Search results for: Temperature Related Alterations to Mineral Levels and Crystalline Structure in Porcine Long Bone: Intense Heat vs. Open Flame

Authors: Jordan Georgiev Deliversky

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Fight against migrant smuggling has been put as a priority issues at the European Union policy agenda for more than a decade. The trafficked person, who has been targeted as the object of criminal exploitation, is specifically unique for human trafficking. Generally, the beginning of human trafficking activities is related to profit from the victim’s exploitation. The objective of this paper is to present measures that could result in the limitation of corruption mainly through analyzing the existing legislation framework against corruption in Europe. The analysis is focused on exploring the multiple origins of factors influencing migration processes in Europe, as corruption could be characterized as one of the most significant reasons for refugees to flee their countries. The main results show that law enforcement must turn the focus on the financing of the organized crime groups that are involved in migrant smuggling activities. Corruption has a significant role in managing smuggling operations and in particular when criminal organizations and networks are involved. Illegal migrants and refugees usually represent significant sources of additional income for officials involved in the process of boarding protection and immigration control within the European Union borders.

Keywords: Corruption, influence, human smuggling, legislation, migration.

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Authors: Z. Ž. Lazarević, D. L. Sekulić, V. N. Ivanovski, N. Ž. Romčević

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NiFe2O4 (nickel ferrite), ZnFe2O4 (zinc ferrite) and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (nickel-zinc ferrite) were prepared by mechanochemical route in a planetary ball mill starting from mixture of the appropriate quantities of the Ni(OH)2/Fe(OH)3, Zn(OH)2/Fe(OH)3 and Ni(OH)2/Zn(OH)2/Fe(OH)3 hydroxide powders. In order to monitor the progress of chemical reaction and confirm phase formation, powder samples obtained after 25 h, 18 h and 10 h of milling were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), IR, Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopy. It is shown that the soft mechanochemical method, i.e. mechanochemical activation of hydroxides, produces high quality single phase ferrite samples in much more efficient way. From the IR spectroscopy of single phase samples it is obvious that energy of modes depends on the ratio of cations. It is obvious that all samples have more than 5 Raman active modes predicted by group theory in the normal spinel structure. Deconvolution of measured spectra allows one to conclude that all complex bands in the spectra are made of individual peaks with the intensities that vary from spectrum to spectrum. The deconvolution of Raman spectra allows to separate contributions of different cations to a particular type of vibration and to estimate the degree of inversion.

Keywords: Ferrites, Raman spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, Mössbauer measurements.

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Authors: Adam Niewiadomski

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The research objective of the project and article “European Ecological Network Natura 2000 – opportunities and threats” Natura 2000 sites constitute a form of environmental protection, several legal problems are likely to result. Most controversially, certain sites will be subject to two regimes of protection: as national parks and as Natura 2000 sites. This dualism of the legal regulation makes it difficult to perform certain legal obligations related to the regimes envisaged under each form of environmental protection. Which regime and which obligations resulting from the particular form of environmental protection have priority and should prevail? What should be done if these obligations are contradictory? Furthermore, an institutional problem consists in that no public administration authority has the power to resolve legal conflicts concerning the application of a particular regime on a given site. There are also no criteria to decide priority and superiority of one form of environmental protection over the other. Which regulations are more important, those that pertain to national parks or to Natura 2000 sites? In the light of the current regulations, it is impossible to give a decisive answer to these questions. The internal hierarchy of forms of environmental protection has not been determined, and all such forms should be treated equally.

Keywords: Natura 2000, European Ecological Network.

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Xiaoxian Zhu, Mandella Osei-Assibey Bonsu

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This study explores the effects of national culture on consumer behaviour by identifying the characteristics of Chinese consumers’ decision making in Europe. It offers a better understanding of how cultural factors affect consumers’ behaviour, and how consumers make decisions in other nations with different culture. It adopted a grounded theory approach and conducted 24 in-depth interviews. Grounded theory models are developed to link the causal conditions, process, and consequences. Results reveal that some cultural factors including conservatism, emotionality, acquaintance community, long-term orientation and principles affect Chinese consumers when making purchase decisions in Europe. Most Chinese consumers plan and prepare their expenditure and stay in Europe as cultural learners, and purchase durable products or assets as investment, and share their experiences within a community. This study identified potential problems such as political and social environment, complex procedures, and restrictions. This study found that external factors influence internal factors and then internal characters determine consumer behaviour. This study proposes that cultural traits developed in convergence evolution through social selection and Chinese consumers persist most characters but adapt some perceptions and actions overtime in other countries. This study suggests that cultural marketing could be adopted by companies to reflect consumers’ preferences. Agencies, shops, and the authorities could take actions to reduce the complexity and restrictions.

Keywords: National culture, consumer behaviour, cultural marketing, decision making.

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Authors: H. Heidari-Bafroui, B. Ribeiro, A. Charbaji, C. Anagnostopoulos, M. Faghri

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In this paper, we report the development of a portable and inexpensive infrared lightbox for improving the detection limits of paper-based phosphate devices. Commercial paper-based devices utilize the molybdenum blue protocol to detect phosphate in the environment. Although these devices are easy to use and have a long shelf life, their main deficiency is their low sensitivity based on the qualitative results obtained via a color chart. To improve the results, we constructed a compact infrared lightbox that communicates wirelessly with a smartphone. The system measures the absorbance of radiation for the molybdenum blue reaction in the infrared region of the spectrum. It consists of a lightbox illuminated by four infrared light-emitting diodes, an infrared digital camera, a Raspberry Pi microcontroller, a mini-router, and an iPhone to control the microcontroller. An iPhone application was also developed to analyze images captured by the infrared camera in order to quantify phosphate concentrations. Additionally, the app connects to an online data center to present a highly scalable worldwide system for tracking and analyzing field measurements. In this study, the detection limits for two popular commercial devices were improved by a factor of 4 for the Quantofix devices (from 1.3 ppm using visible light to 300 ppb using infrared illumination) and a factor of 6 for the Indigo units (from 9.2 ppm to 1.4 ppm) with repeatability of less than or equal to 1.2% relative standard deviation (RSD). The system also provides more granular concentration information compared to the discrete color chart used by commercial devices and it can be easily adapted for use in other applications.

Keywords: Infrared lightbox, paper-based device, phosphate detection, smartphone colorimetric analyzer.

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Authors: Liwen Hou

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The booming mobile business has been penetrating the taxi industry worldwide with P2P (peer to peer) taxi services, as an emerging business model, transforming the industry. Parallel with other mobile businesses, member recommendations and online reviews are believed to be very effective with regard to acquiring new users for P2P taxi services. Based on an empirical dataset of the taxi industry in China, this study aims to reveal which factors influence users’ recommendations and review-writing behaviors. Differing from the existing literature, this paper takes the taxi driver’s perspective into consideration and hence selects a group of variables related to the drivers. We built two models to reflect the factors that influence the number of recommendations and reviews posted on the platform (i.e., the app). Our models show that all factors, except the driver’s score, significantly influence the recommendation behavior. Likewise, only one factor, passengers’ bad reviews, is insignificant in generating more drivers’ reviews. In the conclusion, we summarize the findings and limitations of the research.

Keywords: Online recommendation, P2P taxi service, review-writing, word of mouth.

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Authors: Hyun-Ho Lee, Kee-Won Kim

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The arithmetic operations over GF(2m) have been extensively used in error correcting codes and public-key cryptography schemes. Finite field arithmetic includes addition, multiplication, division and inversion operations. Addition is very simple and can be implemented with an extremely simple circuit. The other operations are much more complex. The multiplication is the most important for cryptosystems, such as the elliptic curve cryptosystem, since computing exponentiation, division, and computing multiplicative inverse can be performed by computing multiplication iteratively. In this paper, we present a parallel computation algorithm that operates Montgomery multiplication over finite field using redundant basis. Also, based on the multiplication algorithm, we present an efficient semi-systolic multiplier over finite field. The multiplier has less space and time complexities compared to related multipliers. As compared to the corresponding existing structures, the multiplier saves at least 5% area, 50% time, and 53% area-time (AT) complexity. Accordingly, it is well suited for VLSI implementation and can be easily applied as a basic component for computing complex operations over finite field, such as inversion and division operation.

Keywords: Finite field, Montgomery multiplication, systolic array, cryptography.

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Authors: Md Asif Imrul, Maria Rafique, M. Habibur Rahman

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The study deals with an investigation into the impact of the relocation of tannery industry on water quality parameters of Buriganga. For this purpose, previous records have been collected from authentic data resources and for the attainment of present values, several samples were collected from three major locations of the Buriganga River during summer and winter seasons in 2018 to determine the distribution and variation of water quality parameters. Samples were collected six ft below the river water surface. Analysis indicates slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (6.8-7.49) in nature. Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Solids (TS) & Total Suspended Solids (TSS) have been found greater in summer. On the other hand, Dissolved Oxygen is found greater in rainy seasons. Relocation shows improvement in water quality parameters. Though the improvement related to relocation of tannery industry is not adequate to turn the water body to be an inhabitable place for aquatic lives.

Keywords: Buriganga river, river pollution, tannery industry, water quality parameters.

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Authors: O. S. Ebrahim, M. A. Badr, A. S. Elgendy, K. O. Shawky, P. K. Jain

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This paper demonstrates an improved Loss Model Control (LMC) for a 3-phase induction motor (IM) driving pump load. Compared with other power loss reduction algorithms for IM, the presented one has the advantages of fast and smooth flux adaptation, high accuracy, and versatile implementation. The performance of LMC depends mainly on the accuracy of modeling the motor drive and losses. A loss-model for IM drive that considers the surplus power loss caused by inverter voltage harmonics using closed-form equations and also includes the magnetic saturation has been developed. Further, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) controller is synthesized and trained offline to determine the optimal flux level that achieves maximum drive efficiency. The drive’s voltage and speed control loops are connecting via the stator frequency to avoid the possibility of excessive magnetization. Besides, the resistance change due to temperature is considered by a first-order thermal model. The obtained thermal information enhances motor protection and control. These together have the potential of making the proposed algorithm reliable. Simulation and experimental studies are performed on 5.5 kW test motor using the proposed control method. The test results are provided and compared with the fixed flux operation to validate the effectiveness.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, ANN, efficiency optimization, induction motor, IM, Pulse Width Modulated, PWM, harmonic losses.

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Authors: Mofid Gorjibandpy, Mehdi Kazemi Sangsereki

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In a bi-fuel diesel engine, the carburetor plays a vital role in switching from fuel gas to petrol mode operation and viceversa. The carburetor is the most important part of the fuel system of a diesel engine. All diesel engines carry variable venturi mixer carburetors. The basic operation of the carburetor mainly depends on the restriction barrel called the venturi. When air flows through the venturi, its speed increases and its pressure decreases. The main challenge focuses on designing a mixing device which mixes the supplied gas is the incoming air at an optimum ratio. In order to surmount the identified problems, the way fuel gas and air flow in the mixer have to be analyzed. In this case, the Computational Fluid Dynamics or CFD approach is applied in design of the prototype mixer. The present work is aimed at further understanding of the air and fuel flow structure by performing CFD studies using a software code. In this study for mixing air and gas in the condition that has been mentioned in continuance, some mixers have been designed. Then using of computational fluid dynamics, the optimum mixer has been selected. The results indicated that mixer with 12 holes can produce a homogenous mixture than those of 8-holes and 6-holes mixer. Also the result showed that if inlet convergency was smoother than outlet divergency, the mixture get more homogenous, the reason of that is in increasing turbulence in outlet divergency.

Keywords: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Venturi mixer, Air-fuel ratio, Turbulence.

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Authors: Alaa A. Shamaun Al-Abboodi, Yunis A. A. Bapeer

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400 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross-308) randomly divided to 2 main groups, 1st main group (GA) was feeding basal diet with medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) at rate of 0.15% and divided to four subgroups, 3 subgroups vaccinated with different routes with Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) and non-vaccinated group. The 2nd main group (GB) feeding basal diet without MCFA and divided the same as 1st main group. The parameters used in this study included: ND antibody titers at 1, 10, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of age and values of CD4 and CD8 at 1, 20, 30 and 42 days of age. This experiment detected increase in ND antibodies titers in (G1, G2, G3) groups were fed on basal diet MCFA comparing to groups were fed without adding MCFA (G5, G6, G7) and control groups (G4, G8). The results of cellular immune response (CD4 and CD8) T-cells in broiler chicks indicated that there was obviously significant relationship between dietary Fatty Acid (FA) versus the diet without FA on the level of CD4 parameter, for the entire experimental period. The effect of different ages was statistically significant in creating different values of CD4 level, whereas the CD4 level decreases markedly with age. However, analyzing the data of different vaccination methods, oculonasal method of vaccination led to the highest value of CD4 compared with the oral, S/C and control groups. There were statistical differences in CD8 values due to supplementation of FA versus the basal diet and due to the effect of different age periods. As for the age effect, the CD8 value at 20 days of age was significantly higher than at 42 and 30 days.

Keywords: Broiler, CD4 and CD8, fatty acids, Newcastle disease.

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Authors: A. Seham A. Elgamal, Reham H. Saleh

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Chronic kidney disease became a global health problem worldwide. Therefore, in order to maintain a patient’s life and improve the survival rate, hemodialysis is essential to replace the function of their kidneys. However, those patients may complain about multiple physical and psychological stressors due to the nature of the disease and the need for frequent hemodialysis sessions. So, those patients use various strategies to cope with the stressors related to their disease and the treatment procedures. Cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out to achieve the aim of the study. A convenient sample including all adult patients was recruited for this study. Hemodialysis Stressors Scale (HSS) and Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS) were used to investigate the stressors and coping strategies of 89 hemodialysis patients, at a governmental hospital (King Khalid Hospital-Jeddah). Results of the study revealed that 50.7% experienced physiological stressors and 38% experienced psychosocial stressors. Also, optimistic, fatalistic, and supportive coping strategies were the most common coping strategies used by the patients with mean scores (2.88 + 0.75, 2.87 + 0.75, and 1.82 + 0.71), respectively. In conclusion, being familiar with the types of stressors and the effective coping strategies of hemodialysis patients and their families are important in order to enhance their adaptation with chronic kidney diseases.

Keywords: Coping strategies, hemodialysis, physiological stressors, psychological stressors.

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Authors: M. O. Oke, T. S. Workneh

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Drying behavior of blanched sweet potato in a cabinet dryer using different five air temperatures (40-80°C) and ten sweet potato varieties sliced to 5mm thickness were investigated. The drying data were fitted to eight models. The Modified Henderson and Pabis model gave the best fit to the experimental moisture ratio data obtained during the drying of all the varieties while Newton (Lewis) and Wang and Singh models gave the least fit. The values of Deff obtained for Bophelo variety (1.27 x 10-9 to 1.77 x 10-9 m2/s) was the least while that of S191 (1.93 x 10-9 to 2.47 x 10-9 m2/s) was the highest which indicates that moisture diffusivity in sweet potato is affected by the genetic factor. Activation energy values ranged from 0.27-6.54 kJ/mol. The lower activation energy indicates that drying of sweet potato slices requires less energy and is hence a cost and energy saving method. The drying behavior of blanched sweet potato was investigated in a cabinet dryer. Drying time decreased considerably with increase in hot air temperature. Out of the eight models fitted, the Modified Henderson and Pabis model gave the best fit to the experimental moisture ratio data on all the varieties while Newton, Wang and Singh models gave the least. The lower activation energy (0.27 - 6.54 kJ/mol) obtained indicates that drying of sweet potato slices requires less energy and is hence a cost and energy saving method.

Keywords: Sweet Potato Slice, Drying Models, Moisture Ratio, Moisture Diffusivity, Activation Energy.

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Authors: Nuridayanti Che Khalib, Kaliyaperumal Thanigaimani, Suhana Arshad, Ibrahim Abdul Razak

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The 1:1 cocrystal of 2-amino-4-chloro-6- methylpyrimidine (2A4C6MP) with 4-methylbenzoic acid (4MBA) (I) has been prepared by slow evaporation method in methanol, which was crystallized in monoclinic C2/c space group, Z = 8, and a = 28.431 (2) Å, b = 7.3098 (5) Å, c = 14.2622 (10) Å and β = 109.618 (3)°. The presence of unionized –COOH functional group in cocrystal I was identified both by spectral methods (1H and 13C NMR, FTIR) and X-ray diffraction structural analysis. The 2A4C6MP molecule interact with the carboxylic group of the respective 4MBA molecule through N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a cyclic hydrogen–bonded motif R2 2(8). The crystal structure was stabilized by Npyrimidine—H⋯O=C and C=O—H⋯Npyrimidine types hydrogen bonding interactions. Theoretical investigations have been computed by HF and density function (B3LYP) method with 6–311+G (d,p)basis set. The vibrational frequencies together with 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts have been calculated on the fully optimized geometry of cocrystal I. Theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Solvent–free formation of this cocrystal I is confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction analysis.

Keywords: Supramolecular Cocrystal, 2-amino-4-chloro-6- methylpyrimidine, Hartree-Fock and DFT Studies, Spectroscopic Analysis.

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Authors: Orhan Çoban, Nuryağdı Rozıyev, Fehmi Karasioğlu

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Sustainable development is one of the most debated issues, recently. In terms of providing more livable Earth continuity, while Production activities are going on, on the other hand protecting the environment has importance. As a strategy for sustainable development, eco-innovation is the application of innovations to reduce environmental burdens. Endeavors to understand ecoinnovation processes have been affected from environmental economics and innovation economics from neoclassical economics, and evolutionary economics other than neoclassical economics. In the light of case study analyses, this study aims to display activities in this field through case studies after explaining the theoretical framework of eco-innovations. This study consists of five sections including introduction and conclusion. In the second part of the study identifications of the concepts related with eco-innovation are described and eco-innovations are classified. Third section considers neoclassical and evolutionary approaches from neoclassical economics and evolutionary economics, respectively. Fourth section gives the case studies of successful eco-innovations. Last section is the conclusion part and offers suggestions for future eco-innovation research according to the theoretical framework and the case studies.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, Innovation, Ecoinnovation, Neoclassical Approach, Evolutionary Approach, Case Studies

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Authors: Ahmed Bensenouci

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This paper provides the design steps of a robust Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) based iterative multivariable PID controller whose duty is to drive a sample power system that comprises a synchronous generator connected to a large network via a step-up transformer and a transmission line. The generator is equipped with two control-loops, namely, the speed/power (governor) and voltage (exciter). Both loops are lumped in one where the error in the terminal voltage and output active power represent the controller inputs and the generator-exciter voltage and governor-valve position represent its outputs. Multivariable PID is considered here because of its wide use in the industry, simple structure and easy implementation. It is also preferred in plants of higher order that cannot be reduced to lower ones. To improve its robustness to variation in the controlled variables, H∞-norm of the system transfer function is used. To show the effectiveness of the controller, divers tests, namely, step/tracking in the controlled variables, and variation in plant parameters, are applied. A comparative study between the proposed controller and a robust H∞ LMI-based output feedback is given by its robustness to disturbance rejection. From the simulation results, the iterative multivariable PID shows superiority.

Keywords: Linear matrix inequality, power system, robust iterative PID, robust output feedback control

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Authors: Bing-Wen Chen, Alvin W. Y. Su, Yu-Lin Wang

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Electromyography (EMG) is one of the important indicators during exercise, as it is closely related to the level of muscle activations. This work quantifies the muscle conditions of the lower limbs in a constant workload exercise. Surface EMG signals of the vastus laterals (VL), vastus medialis (VM), rectus femoris (RF), gastrocnemius medianus (GM), gastrocnemius lateral (GL) and Soleus (SOL) were recorded from fourteen healthy males. The EMG signals were segmented in two phases: activation segment (AS) and relaxation segment (RS). Period entropy (PE), peak count (PC), zero crossing (ZC), wave length (WL), mean power frequency (MPF), median frequency (MDF) and root mean square (RMS) are calculated to provide the quantitative information of the measured EMG segments. The outcomes reveal that the PE, PC, ZC and RMS have significantly changed (p<.001); WL presents moderately changed (p<.01); MPF and MDF show no changed (p>.05) during exercise. The results also suggest that the RS is also preferred for performance evaluation, while the results of the extracted features in AS are usually affected directly by the amplitudes. It is further found that the VL exhibits the most significant changes within six muscles during pedaling exercise. The proposed work could be applied to quantify the stamina analysis and to predict the instant muscle status in athletes.

Keywords: EMG, feature extraction, muscle status, pedaling exercise, relaxation segment.

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Authors: Jelena S. Kiurski, Vesna S. Kecić, Snežana M. Aksentijević

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The identification and evaluation of organic and inorganic pollutants were performed in a flexographic facility in Novi Sad, Serbia. Air samples were collected and analyzed in situ, during 4-hours working time at five sampling points by the mobile gas chromatograph and ozonometer at the printing of collagen casing. Experimental results showed that the concentrations of isopropyl alcohol, acetone, total volatile organic compounds and ozone varied during the sampling times. The highest average concentrations of 94.80 ppm and 102.57 ppm were achieved at 200 minutes from starting the production for isopropyl alcohol and total volatile organic compounds, respectively. The mutual dependences between target hazardous and microclimate parameters were confirmed using a multiple linear regression model with software package STATISTICA 10. Obtained multiple coefficients of determination in the case of ozone and acetone (0.507 and 0.589) with microclimate parameters indicated a moderate correlation between the observed variables. However, a strong positive correlation was obtained for isopropyl alcohol and total volatile organic compounds (0.760 and 0.852) with microclimate parameters. Higher values of parameter F than F_critical for all examined dependences indicated the existence of statistically significant difference between the concentration levels of target pollutants and microclimates parameters. Given that, the microclimate parameters significantly affect the emission of investigated gases and the application of eco-friendly materials in production process present a necessity.

Keywords: Flexographic printing, indoor air, multiple regression analysis, pollution emission.

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Authors: M. Siosemarde, F. Kave, E. Pazira, H. Sedghi, S. J. Ghaderi

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Salinity is a measure of the amount of salts in the water. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) as salinity parameter are often determined using laborious and time consuming laboratory tests, but it may be more appropriate and economical to develop a method which uses a more simple soil salinity index. Because dissolved ions increase salinity as well as conductivity, the two measures are related. The aim of this research was determine of constant coefficients for predicting of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) based on Electrical Conductivity (EC) with Statistics of Correlation coefficient, Root mean square error, Maximum error, Mean Bias error, Mean absolute error, Relative error and Coefficient of residual mass. For this purpose, two experimental areas (S1, S2) of Khuzestan province-IRAN were selected and four treatments with three replications by series of double rings were applied. The treatments were included 25cm, 50cm, 75cm and 100cm water application. The results showed the values 16.3 & 12.4 were the best constant coefficients for predicting of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) based on EC in Pilot S1 and S2 with correlation coefficient 0.977 & 0.997 and 191.1 & 106.1 Root mean square errors (RMSE) respectively.

Keywords: constant coefficients, electrical conductivity, Khuzestan plain and total dissolved solids.

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Authors: H. D. Ibrahim, H. C. Chinwenyi, A. H. Usman

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Valuing derivatives (options, futures, swaps, forwards, etc.) is one uneasy task in financial mathematics. The two ways this problem can be effectively resolved in finance is by the use of two methods (Martingales and Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)) to obtain their respective options price valuation formulas. This research paper examined two different stochastic financial models which are Constant Elasticity of Variance (CEV) model and Black-Karasinski term structure model. Assuming their respective option price valuation formulas, we proved the analogous of the Martingales and PDEs options price valuation formulas for the two different Stochastic Differential Equation (SDE) models. This was accomplished by using the applications of Girsanov theorem for defining an Equivalent Martingale Measure (EMM) and the Feynman-Kac theorem. The results obtained show the systematic proof for analogous of the two (Martingales and PDEs) options price valuation formulas beginning with the Martingales option price formula and arriving back at the Black-Scholes parabolic PDEs and vice versa.

Keywords: Option price valuation, Martingales, Partial Differential Equations, PDEs, Equivalent Martingale Measure, Girsanov Theorem, Feyman-Kac Theorem, European Put Option.

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Authors: Raghavi Janaswamy, Saraswathi K. Vasudev

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Music is one of the supreme arts of expressions, next to the speech itself. Its evolution over centuries has paved the way with a variety of training protocols and performing methods. Indian classical music is one of the most elaborate and refined systems with immense emphasis on the voice culture related to range, breath control, quality of the tone, flexibility and diction. Several exercises namely saraliswaram, jantaswaram, dhatuswaram, upper stayi swaram, alamkaras and varnams lay the required foundation to gain the voice culture and deeper understanding on the voice development and further on to the intricacies of the raga system. This article narrates a few of the Carnatic music training methods with an emphasis on the advanced practice methods for articulating the vocal skills, continuity in the voice, ability to produce gamakams, command in the multiple speeds of rendering with reasonable volume. The creativity on these exercises and their impact on the voice production are discussed. The articulation of the outlined conscious practice methods and vocal exercises bestow the optimum use of the natural human vocal system to not only enhance the signing quality but also to gain health benefits.

Keywords: Carnatic music, Saraliswaram, Varnam, Vocal training.

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Authors: Justina I. R. Udotong

Abstract:

Toxicity of copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and iron (Fe) to Tilapia guinensis was carried out for 4 days with a view to determining their effects on the liver and muscle tissues. Tilapia guinensis samples of about 10 - 14cm length and 0.2 – 0.4kg weight each were obtained from University of Calabar fish ponds and acclimated for three (3) days before the experimental set up. Survivors after the 96-hr LC50 test period were selected from test solutions of the heavy metals for the histopathological studies. Histological preparations of liver and muscle tissues were randomly examined for histopathological lesions. Results of the histological examinations showed gross abnormalities in the liver tissues due to pathological and degenerative changes compared to liver and muscle tissues from control samples (tilapia fishes from aquaria without heavy metals). Extensive hepatocyte necrosis with chronic inflammatory changes was observed in the liver of fishes exposed to Cu solution. Similar but less damaging effects were observed in the liver of fishes exposed to Pb and Fe. The extent of lesion observed was therefore heavy metal-related. However, no pathologic changes occurred in the muscle tissues.

Keywords: Degenerative changes, heavy metal, hepatocyte necrosis, histopathology, toxicity.

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Authors: Hiram I. Beltrán, Arturo Rojo-Domínguez, Máximo Eduardo Sánchez Gutiérrez, Pedro Pablo González Pérez

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A computational platform is presented in this contribution. It has been designed as a virtual laboratory to be used for exploring optimization algorithms in biological problems. This platform is built on a blackboard-based agent architecture. As a test case, the version of the platform presented here is devoted to the study of protein folding, initially with a bead-like description of the chain and with the widely used model of hydrophobic and polar residues (HP model). Some details of the platform design are presented along with its capabilities and also are revised some explorations of the protein folding problems with different types of discrete space. It is also shown the capability of the platform to incorporate specific tools for the structural analysis of the runs in order to understand and improve the optimization process. Accordingly, the results obtained demonstrate that the ensemble of computational tools into a single platform is worthwhile by itself, since experiments developed on it can be designed to fulfill different levels of information in a self-consistent fashion. By now, it is being explored how an experiment design can be useful to create a computational agent to be included within the platform. These inclusions of designed agents –or software pieces– are useful for the better accomplishment of the tasks to be developed by the platform. Clearly, while the number of agents increases the new version of the virtual laboratory thus enhances in robustness and functionality.

Keywords: genetic algorithms, multi-agent systems, bioinformatics, optimization, protein folding, structural biology.

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Authors: Brehme D’napoli Reis de Mesquita, Marcus Vin´ıcius de Souza Almeida, Caio Vin´ıcius Silva do Carmo

Abstract:

Educational robotics has emerged as a pedagogical tool, utilizing technological artifacts to engage students’ curiosity and interest. It fosters active learning of STEM education competencies while also cultivating essential behavioral skills. Robotic competitions provide students with platforms to collaboratively devise diverse solutions to shared problems, fostering experience exchange, collaboration, and personal growth. Despite the prevalence of current robotic competitions, especially in Brazil, simulating real-world challenges like natural disasters, there is a notable absence of industry-related tasks. This article presents an educational robotics initiative centered around material transportation within smart manufacturing using automated guided vehicles. The proposed robotics challenge was executed in a competition held in Ac¸ailˆandia city, Maranh˜ao, Brazil, yielding satisfactory results and inspiring teams to develop time-limited solution strategies.

Keywords: Educational robotics, STEM education, robotic competitions, material transportation, smart manufacturing.

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Authors: Reza Ariaeinejad, Norm Archer

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Self-management is becoming a new emphasis for healthcare systems around the world. But there are many different problems with adoption of new health-related intervention systems. The situation is even more complicated for chronically ill patients with disabilities, illiteracy, and impairment in judgment in addition to their conditions, or having multiple co-morbidities. Providing online decision support to manage patient health and to provide better support for chronically ill patients is a new way of dealing with chronic disease management. In this study, the importance of mobile technology through an m-Health system that supports self-management interventions including the care provider, family and social support, education and training, decision support, recreation, and ongoing patient motivation to promote adherence and sustainability of the intervention are discussed. A proposed theoretical model for adoption and sustainability of system use is developed, based on UTAUT2 and IS Continuance of Use models, both of which have been pre-validated through longitudinal studies. The objective of this paper is to show the importance of using mobile technology in adoption and sustainability of use of an m-Health system which will result in commercially sustainable self-management support for chronically ill patients.

Keywords: M-health, e-health, self-management, disease.

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Authors: Esra Yel, Tabriz Aslanov, Merve Sogancioglu, Suheyla Kocaman, Gulnare Ahmetli

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The disposal of waste plastics has become a major worldwide environmental problem. Pyrolysis of waste plastics is one of the routes to waste minimization and recycling that has been gaining interest. In pyrolysis, the pyrolysed material is separated into gas, liquid (both are fuel) and solid (char) products. All fractions have utilities and economical value depending upon their characteristics. The first objective of this study is to determine the co-pyrolysis product fractions of waste HDPE- (high density polyethylene) and LDPE (low density polyethylene)-olive pomace (OP) and to determine the qualities of the solid product char. Chars obtained at 700 °C pyrolysis were used in biocomposite preparation as additive. As the second objective, the effects of char on biocomposite quality were investigated. Pyrolysis runs were performed at temperature 700 °C with heating rates of 5 °C/min. Biocomposites were prepared by mixing of chars with bisphenol-F type epoxy resin in various wt%. Biocomposite properties were determined by measuring electrical conductivity, surface hardness, Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the composites. The best electrical conductivity results were obtained with HDPE-OP char. For HDPE-OP char and LDPE-OP char, compared to neat epoxy, the tensile strength values of the composites increased by 102% and 78%, respectively, at 10% char dose. The hardness measurements showed similar results to the tensile tests, since there is a correlation between the hardness and the tensile strength.

Keywords: Pyrolysis, olive pomace, char, biocomposite, PE plastics.

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Authors: Saeid Eshghi, Neeraj Saxena, Abdulmajeed Alsultan

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Carbon dioxide (CO₂) alongside other gas emissions in the atmosphere cause a greenhouse effect, resulting in an increase of the average temperature of the planet. Transportation vehicles are among the main contributors of CO₂ emission. Stationary vehicles with initiated motors produce more emissions than mobile ones. Intersections with traffic lights that force the vehicles to become stationary for a period of time produce more CO₂ pollution than other parts of the road. This paper focuses on analyzing the CO₂ produced by the traffic flow at Anzac Parade Road - Barker Street intersection in Sydney, Australia, before and after the implementation of Light rail transport (LRT). The data are gathered during the construction phase of the LRT by collecting the number of vehicles on each path of the intersection for 15 minutes during the evening rush hour of 1 week (6-7 pm, July 04-31, 2018) and then multiplied by 4 to calculate the flow of vehicles in 1 hour. For analyzing the data, the microscopic simulation software “VISSIM” has been used. Through the analysis, the traffic flow was processed in three stages: before and after implementation of light rail train, and one during the construction phase. Finally, the traffic results were input into another software called “EnViVer”, to calculate the amount of CO₂ during 1 h. The results showed that after the implementation of the light rail, CO₂ will drop by a minimum of 13%. This finding provides an evidence that light rail is a sustainable mode of transport.

Keywords: Carbon dioxide, emission modeling, light rail, microscopic model, traffic flow.

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Authors: Chaiwat Waree

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This research aims at development of the Multiple Intelligences Measurement of Elementary Students. The structural accuracy test and normality establishment are based on the Multiple Intelligences Theory of Gardner. This theory consists of eight aspects namely linguistics, logic and mathematics, visual-spatial relations, body and movement, music, human relations, self-realization/selfunderstanding and nature. The sample used in this research consists of elementary school students (aged between 5-11 years). The size of the sample group was determined by Yamane Table. The group has 2,504 students. Multistage Sampling was used. Basic statistical analysis and construct validity testing were done using confirmatory factor analysis. The research can be summarized as follows; 1. Multiple Intelligences Measurement consisting of 120 items is content-accurate. Internal consistent reliability according to the method of Kuder-Richardson of the whole Multiple Intelligences Measurement equals .91. The difficulty of the measurement test is between .39-.83. Discrimination is between .21-.85. 2). The Multiple Intelligences Measurement has construct validity in a good range, that is 8 components and all 120 test items have statistical significance level at .01. Chi-square value equals 4357.7; p=.00 at the degree of freedom of 244 and Goodness of Fit Index equals 1.00. Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index equals .92. Comparative Fit Index (CFI) equals .68. Root Mean Squared Residual (RMR) equals 0.064 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation equals 0.82. 3). The normality of the Multiple Intelligences Measurement is categorized into 3 levels. Those with high intelligence are those with percentiles of more than 78. Those with moderate/medium intelligence are those with percentiles between 24 and 77.9. Those with low intelligence are those with percentiles from 23.9 downwards.

Keywords: Multiple Intelligences, Measurement, Elementary Students.

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Authors: C. S. Caires, A. Barbosa, W. Hanyou

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In this paper, we present the main results achieved during a five-week international workshop on Interactive Furniture for the Classroom, with 22 Chinese design students, in Jiangmen city (Guangdong province, China), and five teachers from Portugal, France, Iran, Macao SAR, and China. The main goal was to engage design students from China with new skills and practice methodologies towards interactive design research for furniture and product design for the classroom. The final results demonstrate students' concerns on improving Chinese furniture design for the classrooms, including solutions related to collaborative learning and human-interaction design for interactive furniture products. The findings of the research led students to the fabrication of five original prototypes: two for kindergartens ('Candy' and 'Tilt-tilt'), two for primary schools ('Closer' and 'Eks(x)'), and one for art/creative schools ('Wave'). From the findings, it was also clear that collaboration, personalization, and project-based teaching are still neglected when designing furniture products for the classroom in China. Students focused on these issues and came up with creative solutions that could transform this educational field in China.

Keywords: Product design, interface design, interactive design, collaborative education and design research, design prototyping.

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Authors: Md. Ashikur Rahman Khan, M. M. Rahman, K. Kadirgama

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Artificial neural networks (ANN) are used in distinct researching fields and professions, and are prepared by cooperation of scientists in different fields such as computer engineering, electronic, structure, biology and so many different branches of science. Many models are built correlating the parameters and the outputs in electrical discharge machining (EDM) concern for different types of materials. Up till now model for Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy in the case of electrical discharge machining performance characteristics has not been developed. Therefore, in the present work, it is attempted to generate a model of material removal rate (MRR) for Ti-5Al-2.5Sn material by means of Artificial Neural Network. The experimentation is performed according to the design of experiment (DOE) of response surface methodology (RSM). To generate the DOE four parameters such as peak current, pulse on time, pulse off time and servo voltage and one output as MRR are considered. Ti-5Al-2.5Sn alloy is machined with positive polarity of copper electrode. Finally the developed model is tested with confirmation test. The confirmation test yields an error as within the agreeable limit. To investigate the effect of the parameters on performance sensitivity analysis is also carried out which reveals that the peak current having more effect on EDM performance.

Keywords: Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, material removal rate, copper tungsten, positive polarity, artificial neural network, multi-layer perceptron.

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