Search results for: Statistical data analysis

Authors: Satya Ranjan Acharya, Yamini Chandra

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Entrepreneurship through higher education has taken a paradigm shift from traditional classroom lecture series method to a modern approach, which lay emphasis on nurturing competencies, enhancing knowledge, skills, attitudes/abilities (KSA), which has positive impact on the development of core capabilities. The present paper was focused on the analysis of entrepreneurship education as a pedagogical intervention for the post-graduate program offered at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gujarat, India. The study is focused on a model with special emphasis on developing KSA and its effect on nurturing entrepreneurial spirit within students. The findings represent demographic and thematic assessment of the implemented pedagogical model with an outcome of students choosing a career in new venture creation or growth/diversification of family owned businesses. This research will be helpful for academicians, research scholars, potential entrepreneurs, ecosystem enablers and students to infer the effectiveness of nurturing entrepreneurial skills and bringing more changes in personal attitudes by the way of enhancing the knowledge and skills required for the execution of an entrepreneurial career. This research is original in nature as it provides an in-depth insight into an implemented model of curriculum, focused on the development and nurturance of basic skills and its impact on the career choice of students.

Keywords: Attitude, entrepreneurship education, knowledge, new venture creation, pedagogical intervention, skills.

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Authors: Kyung-Jung Lee, Young-Hun Ki, Hyun-Sik Ahn

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In this paper, we propose a hardware and software design method for automotive Electronic Control Units (ECU) considering the functional safety. The proposed ECU is considered for the application to Electro-Mechanical Actuator systems and the validity of the design method is shown by the application to the Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) control system which is used as a brake actuator in Brake-By-Wire (BBW) systems. The importance of a functional safety-based design approach to EMB ECU design has been emphasized because of its safety-critical functions, which are executed with the aid of many electric actuators, sensors, and application software. Based on hazard analysis and risk assessment according to ISO26262, the EMB system should be ASIL-D-compliant, the highest ASIL level. To this end, an external signature watchdog and an Infineon 32-bit microcontroller TriCore are used to reduce risks considering common-cause hardware failure. Moreover, a software design method is introduced for implementing functional safety-oriented monitoring functions based on an asymmetric dual core architecture considering redundancy and diversity. The validity of the proposed ECU design approach is verified by using the EMB Hardware-In-the-Loop (HILS) system, which consists of the EMB assembly, actuator ECU, a host PC, and a few debugging devices. Furthermore, it is shown that the existing sensor fault tolerant control system can be used more effectively for mitigating the effects of hardware and software faults by applying the proposed ECU design method.

Keywords: BBW (Brake-By-wire), EMB (Electro-Mechanical Brake), Functional Safety, ISO26262.

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Authors: Marine Segui, Matthieu Mantilla, Ruxandra Mihaela Botez

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This research is the part of a major project at the Research Laboratory in Active Controls, Avionics and Aeroservoelasticity (LARCASE) aiming to improve a Cessna Citation X aircraft cruise performance with an application of the morphing wing technology on its horizontal tail. However, the horizontal stabilizer of the Cessna Citation X turns around its span axis with an angle between -8 and 2 degrees. Within this range, the horizontal stabilizer generates certainly some unwanted drag. To cancel this drag, the LARCASE proposes to trim the aircraft with a horizontal stabilizer equipped by a morphing wing technology. This technology aims to optimize aerodynamic performances by changing the conventional horizontal tail shape during the flight. As a consequence, this technology will be able to generate enough lift on the horizontal tail to balance the aircraft without an unwanted drag generation. To conduct this project, an accurate aerodynamic model of the horizontal tail is firstly required. This aerodynamic model will finally allow precise comparison between a conventional horizontal tail and a morphed horizontal tail results. This paper presents how this aerodynamic model was designed. In this way, it shows how the 2D geometry of the horizontal tail was collected and how the unknown airfoil’s shape of the horizontal tail has been recovered. Finally, the complete horizontal tail airfoil shape was found and a comparison between aerodynamic polar of the real horizontal tail and the horizontal tail found in this paper shows a maximum difference of 0.04 on the lift or the drag coefficient which is very good. Aerodynamic polar data of the aircraft horizontal tail are obtained from the CAE Inc. level D research aircraft flight simulator of the Cessna Citation X.

Keywords: Aerodynamic, Cessna, Citation X, coefficient, Datcom, drag, lift, longitudinal, model, OpenVSP.

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Authors: M. Nageswara Rao, V. S. N. K. Chaitanya, P. Vijaya Haritha

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Insulators are one of the most significant equipment in power system. The insulators’ operation may affect the power flow, line loss and reliability. The electrical parameters that influence the performance of insulator are surface leakage current, corona and dry band arcing. Electric field stresses on the insulator surface will degrade the insulating properties and lead to puncture. Electric filed stresses can be analyzed by numerical methods and experimental evaluation. As per economic aspects, evaluation by numerical methods are best. In outdoor insulation, a hydrophobic surface can facilitate to prevent water film formation on the insulation surface, which is decisive for diminishing leakage currents and partial discharge (PD) under heavy polluted environments and harsh weather conditions. Polymer materials like silicone rubber have an outstanding hydrophobic property among general insulation materials. In this paper, electrical field intensity of 220 kV porcelain and polymer double tension insulator strings at critical regions are analyzed and compared by using Finite Element Method. Hydrophobic conditions of polymer insulator with equal and unequal water molecule conditions are verified by using finite element method.

Keywords: Porcelain insulator, polymer insulator, electric field analysis, EFA, finite element method, FEM, hydrophobicity, FEMM-2D.

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Authors: Wei Yee Teoh, Chee Wei Tan

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The issue of unintentional islanding in PV grid interconnection still remains as a challenge in grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper discusses the overview of popularly used anti-islanding detection methods, practically applied in PV grid-connected systems. Anti-islanding methods generally can be classified into four major groups, which include passive methods, active methods, hybrid methods and communication base methods. Active methods have been the preferred detection technique over the years due to very small non-detected zone (NDZ) in small scale distribution generation. Passive method is comparatively simpler than active method in terms of circuitry and operations. However, it suffers from large NDZ that significantly reduces its performance. Communication base methods inherit the advantages of active and passive methods with reduced drawbacks. Hybrid method which evolved from the combination of both active and passive methods has been proven to achieve accurate anti-islanding detection by many researchers. For each of the studied anti-islanding methods, the operation analysis is described while the advantages and disadvantages are compared and discussed. It is difficult to pinpoint a generic method for a specific application, because most of the methods discussed are governed by the nature of application and system dependent elements. This study concludes that the setup and operation cost is the vital factor for anti-islanding method selection in order to achieve minimal compromising between cost and system quality.

Keywords: Active method, hybrid method, islanding detection, passive method, photovoltaic (PV), utility method

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Authors: Farooq A. Al-Sheikh, Carol Moralejo, Mark Pritzker, William A. Anderson, Ali Elkamel

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Ammonia in mining wastewater is a significant problem, and treatment can be especially difficult in cold climates where biological treatment is not feasible. An adsorption process is one of the alternative processes that can be used to reduce ammonia concentrations to acceptable limits, and therefore a LEWATIT resin strongly acidic H+ form ion exchange resin and a Bowie Chabazite Na form AZLB-Na zeolite were tested to assess their effectiveness. For these adsorption tests, two packed bed columns (a mini-column constructed from a 32-cm long x 1-cm diameter piece of glass tubing, and a 60-cm long x 2.5-cm diameter Ace Glass chromatography column) were used containing varying quantities of the adsorbents. A mining wastewater with ammonia concentrations of 22.7 mg/L was fed through the columns at controlled flowrates. In the experimental work, maximum capacities of the LEWATIT ion exchange resin were 0.438, 0.448, and 1.472 mg/g for 3, 6, and 9 g respectively in a mini column and 1.739 mg/g for 141.5 g in a larger Ace column while the capacities for the AZLB-Na zeolite were 0.424, and 0.784 mg/g for 3, and 6 g respectively in the mini column and 1.1636 mg/g for 38.5 g in the Ace column. In the theoretical work, Thomas, Adams-Bohart, and Yoon-Nelson models were constructed to describe a breakthrough curve of the adsorption process and find the constants of the above-mentioned models. In the regeneration tests, 5% hydrochloric acid, HCl (v/v) and 10% sodium hydroxide, NaOH (w/v) were used to regenerate the LEWATIT resin and AZLB-Na zeolite with 44 and 63.8% recovery, respectively. In conclusion, continuous flow adsorption using a LEWATIT ion exchange resin and an AZLB-Na zeolite is efficient when using a co-flow technique for removal of the ammonia from wastewater. Thomas, Adams-Bohart, and Yoon-Nelson models satisfactorily fit the data with R² closer to 1 in all cases.

Keywords: AZLB-Na zeolite, continuous adsorption, LEWATIT resin, models, regeneration.

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Authors: Dong-Yan Huang, Ee Ping Ong, Susanto Rahardja, Minghui Dong, Haizhou Li

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The transformation of vocal characteristics aims at modifying voice such that the intelligibility of aphonic voice is increased or the voice characteristics of a speaker (source speaker) to be perceived as if another speaker (target speaker) had uttered it. In this paper, the current state-of-the-art voice characteristics transformation methodology is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on voice transformation methodology and issues for improving the transformed speech quality in intelligibility and naturalness are discussed. In particular, it is suggested to use the modulation theory of speech as a base for research on high quality voice transformation. This approach allows one to separate linguistic, expressive, organic and perspective information of speech, based on an analysis of how they are fused when speech is produced. Therefore, this theory provides the fundamentals not only for manipulating non-linguistic, extra-/paralinguistic and intra-linguistic variables for voice transformation, but also for paving the way for easily transposing the existing voice transformation methods to emotion-related voice quality transformation and speaking style transformation. From the perspectives of human speech production and perception, the popular voice transformation techniques are described and classified them based on the underlying principles either from the speech production or perception mechanisms or from both. In addition, the advantages and limitations of voice transformation techniques and the experimental manipulation of vocal cues are discussed through examples from past and present research. Finally, a conclusion and road map are pointed out for more natural voice transformation algorithms in the future.

Keywords: Voice transformation, Voice Quality, Emotion, Individuality, Speaking Style, Speech Production, Speech Perception.

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Authors: Ali Shirazi, Robert A. Taylor, Stephen D. White, Graham L. Morrison

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In this paper, a detailed simulation model of a solar-powered triple-effect LiBr–H₂O absorption chiller is developed to supply both cooling and heating demand of a large-scale building, aiming to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in building sector. TRNSYS 17 is used to simulate the performance of the system over a typical year. A combined energetic-economic-environmental analysis is conducted to determine the system annual primary energy consumption and the total cost, which are considered as two conflicting objectives. A multi-objective optimization of the system is performed using a genetic algorithm to minimize these objectives simultaneously. The optimization results show that the final optimal design of the proposed plant has a solar fraction of 72% and leads to an annual primary energy saving of 0.69 GWh and annual CO₂ emissions reduction of ~166 tonnes, as compared to a conventional HVAC system. The economics of this design, however, is not appealing without public funding, which is often the case for many renewable energy systems. The results show that a good funding policy is required in order for these technologies to achieve satisfactory payback periods within the lifetime of the plant.

Keywords: Economic, environmental, multi-objective optimization, solar air-conditioning, triple-effect absorption chiller.

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Authors: Eronini Umez-Eronini

Abstract:

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) coupled with wind farms have gained attention as a means to address the intermittency and variability of wind power. However, most existing studies and implementations focus on bulk or centralized CAES plants. This study presents a dynamic model of a hybrid wind farm with distributed CAES, using air storage tanks and compressor and expander trains at each wind turbine station. It introduces the concept of a distributed CAES with linked air cooling and heating, and presents an approach to scheduling and regulating the production of compressed air and power in such a system. Mathematical models of the dynamic components of this hybrid wind farm system, including a simple transient wake field model, were developed and simulated using MATLAB, with real wind data and Transmission System Operator (TSO) absolute power reference signals as inputs. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed ad hoc supervisory controller is able to track the minute-scale power demand signal within an error band size comparable to the electrical power rating of a single expander. This suggests that combining the global distributed CAES control with power regulation for individual wind turbines could further improve the system’s performance. The round trip electrical storage efficiency computed for the distributed CAES was also in the range of reported round trip storage electrical efficiencies for improved bulk CAES. These findings contribute to the enhancement of efficiency of wind farms without access to large-scale storage or underground caverns.

Keywords: Distributed CAES, compressed air, energy storage, hybrid wind farm, wind turbines, dynamic simulation.

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Authors: D. Sarkar, M. Pal, A. K. Sarkar

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Asphaltic concrete for pavement construction in India are produced by using crushed stone, gravels etc. as aggregate. In north-Eastern region of India, there is a scarcity of stone aggregate. Therefore the road engineers are always in search of an optional material as aggregate which can replace the regularly used material. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the utilization of substandard or marginal aggregates in flexible pavement construction. The investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effects of using lower quality aggregates such as over burnt brick aggregate on the preparation of asphalt concrete for flexible pavements. The scope of this work included a review of available literature and existing data, a laboratory evaluation organized to determine the effects of marginal aggregates and potential techniques to upgrade these substandard materials, and a laboratory evaluation of these upgraded marginal aggregate asphalt mixtures. Over burnt brick aggregates are water susceptible and can leads to moisture damage. Moisture damage is the progressive loss of functionality of the material owing to loss of the adhesion bond between the asphalt binder and the aggregate surface. Hence zycosoil as an anti striping additive were evaluated in this study. This study summarizes the results of the laboratory evaluation carried out to investigate the properties of asphalt concrete prepared with zycosoil modified over burnt brick aggregate. Marshall specimen were prepared with stone aggregate, zycosoil modified stone aggregate, over burnt brick aggregate and zycosoil modified over burnt brick aggregate. Results show that addition of zycosoil with stone aggregate increased stability by 6% and addition of zycosoil with over burnt brick aggregate increased stability by 30%.

Keywords: Asphalt Concrete, Over Burnt Brick Aggregate, Marshall Stability, Zycosoil.

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Authors: Sitansu Kumar Verma, Soni Yadav, Jitendra Singh, Shraddha, Ajay Kumar

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of approximately 22 nucleotide long non coding RNAs which play critical role in different biological processes. The mature microRNA is usually 19–27 nucleotides long and is derived from a bigger precursor that folds into a flawed stem-loop structure. Mature micro RNAs are involved in many cellular processes that encompass development, proliferation, stress response, apoptosis, and fat metabolism by gene regulation. Resent finding reveals that certain viruses encode their own miRNA that processed by cellular RNAi machinery. In recent research indicate that cellular microRNA can target the genetic material of invading viruses. Cellular microRNA can be used in the virus life cycle; either to up regulate or down regulate viral gene expression Computational tools use in miRNA target prediction has been changing drastically in recent years. Many of the methods have been made available on the web and can be used by experimental researcher and scientist without expert knowledge of bioinformatics. With the development and ease of use of genomic technologies and computational tools in the field of microRNA biology has superior tremendously over the previous decade. This review attempts to give an overview over the genome wide approaches that have allow for the discovery of new miRNAs and development of new miRNA target prediction tools and databases.

Keywords: MicroRNAs, computational tools, gene regulation, databases, RNAi.

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Authors: Yuji Kotani, Shunsuke Kanai, Hisaki Watari

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In recent years, global warming has become a worldwide problem. The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is a top priority for many companies in the manufacturing industry. In the automobile industry as well, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is one of the most important issues. Technology to reduce the weight of automotive parts improves the fuel economy of automobiles, and is an important technology for reducing carbon dioxide. Also, even if this weight reduction technology is applied to electric automobiles rather than gasoline automobiles, reducing energy consumption remains an important issue. Plastic processing of hollow pipes is one important technology for realizing the weight reduction of automotive parts. Ohashi et al. [1],[2] present an example of research on pipe formation in which a process was carried out to enlarge a pipe diameter using a lost core, achieving the suppression of wall thickness reduction and greater pipe expansion than hydroforming. In this study, we investigated a method to increase the wall thickness of a pipe through pipe compression using planetary rolls. The establishment of a technology whereby the wall thickness of a pipe can be controlled without buckling the pipe is an important technology for the weight reduction of products. Using the finite element analysis method, we predicted that it would be possible to increase the compression of an aluminum pipe with a 3mm wall thickness by approximately 20%, and wall thickness by approximately 20% by pressing the hollow pipe with planetary rolls.

Keywords: Pipe-Forming, Wall Thickness, Finite-element-method

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Authors: Abiodun M. Lawal, Benjamin O. Olley

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Long Distance Truck Drivers (LDTDs) have been found to be a high risk group in the spread of HIV/AIDS globally; perhaps, due to their high Sexual Risk Behaviours (SRBs). Interventions for reducing SRBs in trucking population have not been fully exploited. A quasi-experimental control group pretest-posttest design was used to assess the efficacy of psycho-education and behavioural skills training in reducing SRBs among LDTDs. Sixteen drivers rivers were randomly assigned into either experimental or control groups using balloting technique. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Repeated measures t-test and independent t-test were used to test hypotheses. Intervention had significant effect on the SRBs among LDTDs at post-test (t{7}= 6.01, p<.01) and at follow up (t{7} = 6.42, p<.01). No significant difference in sexual risk behaviour of LDTDs at post-test and at follow-up stage. Similarly, intervention had significant effects on sexual risk behaviour at post-test (t {14} = - 4.69, p<.05) and at follow-up (t {14} = -9.56, p<.05) respectively. At post-test and follow-up stages, drivers in experimental group reported reduced SRBs than those in control group. Drivers in experimental group reported lower sexual risk behaviour a week after intervention as well as at three months follow-up than those in control group. It is concluded that HIV/AIDS preventive intervention that provides the necessary informational and behavioural skills content can significantly impact long distance truck drivers’ sexual risk behaviours.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS interventions, Long distance truck drivers, Nigeria, Sexual risk behaviours.

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Authors: Mahdi Sadeghian, Somaye Sadeghian, Reza Dinarvand

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This paper is going to discuss two issues encountered in using PLAXIS. Both issues were monitored during application of PLAXIS to estimate the excavation-induced displacement. Column Soil Mixing (CSM) was applied to stabilise the excavation. It was understood that the estimated excavation induced deformation at the top of the CSM blocks highly depends on the material type defining pavement material adjacent to the CSM blocks. Cohesive material for pavement will result in the unrealistic connection between pavement and CSM even by defining an interface element. To find the most realistic approach, the interface defined in three different manners (1) no interface elements were applied (2) a non-cohesive soil layer was defined between pavement and CSM block to represent the friction between these materials (3) built-in interface elements in PLAXIS was used to define the boundary between the pavement and the CSM block. The result showed that the option 2 would result in more realistic results. The second issue was in the modelling of the contact line between the CSM block and an inclined layer underneath. The analysis result showed that the excavation-induced deformation highly depends on how the PLAXIS user defines the contact area. It was understood that if the contact area had defined as a point in which CSM block had intersected the layer underneath the estimated lateral displacement of CSM block would be unrealistically lower than the model in which the contact area was defined as a line.

Keywords: PLAXIS, FEM, CSM, excavation-induced deformation.

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Authors: Alpha Bolinao, Francine Rose De Castro, Jessie Kate Lumba, Raztine Mae Paeste, Hannah Grace Tosio

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The present study aimed to know the role of verbal bullying in the lives of obese teenagers exposed to it. The study employed a qualitative design specifically the phenomenological approach that focuses on the obese teenagers’ verbal bullying experiences. The study also used the social constructivism approach wherein it described the obese teenagers’ verbal bullying experiences as they interact with the social world. Through purposive and referral sampling technique, the researchers were able to choose twelve (12) respondents from different schools around the City of Manila, enrolled in the School Year 2015-2016, ages 16-21 years old, has experienced verbal bullying for the last ten (10) years and with the Body Mass Index (BMI) of equal to or greater than 30. Upon the consent of the respondents, ethical considerations were ensured. In-depth one (1) hour interviews were guided by the researchers’ aide memoir. The recorded interviews were transcribed into a field text and the responses were thoroughly analyzed through Thematic Analysis and Kelly’s Repertory Grid. It was found that the role of verbal bullying in the lives of obese teenagers exposed to it is a process and is best described through a syringe, or the 5S Responses of Obese Teenagers in Bullying, with five conceptual themes which also signify the experiences and the process that obese teenagers have gone through after experiencing verbal bullying. The themes conceptualized were: Suffering, self-doubt, suppression, self-acceptance and sanguineness. This paper may serve as a basis for a counseling program to help the obese teenagers cope with their bullying experiences.

Keywords: Obesity, obese teenagers, bullying, experiences.

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Authors: A. S. Adelokun, O. O. Gambo, A. A. Adegboye

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This study estimates the private cost of Humanities and Education programs in public universities in Osun state, Nigeria, as well as the private monetary returns to Humanities and Education programs in public universities in the state. It also estimates the private rates of return to Humanities and Education programmes in public universities in Osun state; with the view of providing information on the relative profitability of investments in Humanities and Education programs in public universities in Osun state. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study consisted of all Humanities and Education students from public universities in Osun State and all Humanities and Education graduates who are workers in Osun state establishments. The sample was made up of 600 students and 120 workers. The students were selected through simple random sampling technique from the two public universities in the state while the workers were purposively selected from Osun state establishments. These workers were graduates of Humanities and Education programs. The selected programs included Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English, Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in English, B.A. in Religious Studies, B.Ed. in Religious Studies, B.A. in Yoruba and B.Ed. in Yoruba. Two research instruments were used, namely: Private Costs of University Education Questionnaire (PCUEQ) and Age Education Earnings of Workers Questionnaire (AEEWQ). The data were analyzed using compounding and discount cash flow techniques. The results showed that the private costs of Humanities and Education programs in public universities in Osun state were N855,935.59 and N694,269.34 respectively. The private monetary returns to Humanities and Education programs in public universities in the State were N9,052,859.28 and N9,052,859.28, respectively. The private rates of return to Humanities and Education programmes in public universities in Osun state were 27.36% and 34.40% respectively. The study concluded that it was more profitable to invest in Education programs than in Humanities programs at public universities in Osun state, Nigeria.

Keywords: Rates of return, private cost, investment, education.

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Authors: Aisha Hassan Abdalla Hashim, Fauzana Ridzuan, Nazreen Rusli

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Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) describes how mobile node can change its point of attachment from one access router to another. As a demand for wireless mobile devices increases, many enhancements for macro-mobility (inter-domain) protocols have been proposed, designed and implemented in Mobile IPv6. Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6) is one of them that is designed to reduce the amount of signaling required and to improve handover speed for mobile connections. This is achieved by introducing a new network entity called Mobility Anchor Point (MAP). This report presents a comparative study of the Hierarchical Mobility IPv6 and Mobile IPv6 protocols and we have narrowed down the scope to micro-mobility (intra-domain). The architecture and operation of each protocol is studied and they are evaluated based on the Quality of Service (QoS) parameter; handover latency. The simulation was carried out by using the Network Simulator-2. The outcome from this simulation has been discussed. From the results, it shows that, HMIPv6 performs best under intra-domain mobility compared to MIPv6. The MIPv6 suffers large handover latency. As enhancement we proposed to HMIPv6 to locate the MAP to be in the middle of the domain with respect to all Access Routers. That gives approximately same distance between MAP and Mobile Node (MN) regardless of the new location of MN, and possible shorter distance. This will reduce the delay since the distance is shorter. As a future work performance analysis is to be carried for the proposed HMIPv6 and compared to HMIPv6.

Keywords: Intra-domain mobility, HMIPv6, Handover Latency, proposed HMIPv6.

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Authors: V. Charaia

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From the strategic point of view, not all Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) are always positively benefiting the host economy, i.e. not all Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are promoting local/host economies. FDI could have different impact on different sectors of the economy, based not only on annual investment amount, but MNE motivations and peculiarities of the host economy in particular. FDI analysis based only on its amount can lead to incorrect decisions, it is much more important to understand the essence of investment. Consequently, our research is oriented on MNE’s motivations, answering which sectors are most popular among international investors and why, what motivated them to invest into one or another business. Georgian economy for the last period of time is attracting more and more efficiency seeking investments, which could be translated as - concentrating production in a limited number of locations to supply various markets, while benefiting local economy with: new technologies, employment, exports diversification, increased income for the local economy and so on. Foreign investors and MNEs in particular are no longer and not so much interested in the resource seeking investments, which was the case for Georgia in the last decade of XX century. Despite the fact of huge progress for the Georgian economy, still there is a room for foreign investors to make a local market oriented investments. The local market is still rich in imported products, which should be replaced by local ones. And the last but not the least important issue is that approximately 30% of all FDIs in Georgia according to this research are “efficiency seeking” investments, which is an enormous progress and a hope for future Georgian success.

Keywords: Investments, MNE, FDI motivations, Georgian economy.

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Authors: Taruna Katyal Arora, Geeta Kumari, Hari Shankar, Neelima Mishra

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Substandard and counterfeit antimalarials is a major problem in malaria endemic areas. The availability of counterfeit/ substandard medicines is not only decreasing the efficacy in patients, but it is also one of the contributing factors for developing antimalarial drug resistance. Owing to this, a pilot study was conducted to survey quality of drugs collected from different malaria endemic areas of India. Artesunate+Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AS+SP), Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL), Chloroquine (CQ) tablets were randomly picked from public health facilities in selected states of India. The quality of antimalarial drugs from these areas was assessed by using Global Pharma Health Fund Minilab test kit. This includes physical/visual inspection and disintegration test. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was carried out for semi-quantitative assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients. A total of 45 brands, out of which 21 were for CQ, 14 for AL and 10 for AS+SP were tested from Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), Mizoram, Meghalaya and Gujrat states. One out of 45 samples showed variable disintegration and retension factor. The variable disintegration and retention factor which would have been due to substandard quality or other factors including storage. However, HPLC analysis confirms standard active pharmaceutical ingredient, but may be due to humid temperature and moisture in storage may account for the observed result.

Keywords: Antimalarial medicines, counterfeit, substandard, thin layer chromatography.

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Authors: Pramod Jagtap, Kisan Jadhav, Neha Dand

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Risperidone (RISP) is an antipsychotic agent and has low water solubility and nontargeted delivery results in numerous side effects. Hence, an attempt was made to develop SLNs hydrogel for intranasal delivery of RISP to achieve maximum bioavailability and reduction of side effects. RISP loaded SLNs composed of 1.65% (w/v) lipid mass were produced by high shear homogenization (HSH) coupled ultrasound (US) method using glycerylmonostearate (GMS) or Imwitor 900K (solid lipid). The particles were loaded with 0.2% (w/v) of the RISP & surface-tailored with a 2.02% (w/v) non-ionic surfactant Tween® 80. Optimization was done using 32 factorial design using Design Expert® software. The prepared SLNs dispersion incorporated into Polycarbophil AA1 hydrogel (0.5% w/v). The final gel formulation was evaluated for entrapment efficiency, particle size, rheological properties, X ray diffraction, in vitro diffusion, ex vivo permeation using sheep nasal mucosa and histopathological studies for nasocilliary toxicity. The entrapment efficiency of optimized SLNs was found to be 76 ± 2%, polydispersity index <0.3., particle size 278 ± 5 nm. This optimized batch was incorporated into hydrogel. The pH was found to be 6.4 ± 0.14. The rheological behaviour of hydrogel formulation revealed no thixotropic behaviour. In histopathology study, there was no nasocilliary toxicity observed in nasal mucosa after ex vivo permeation. X-ray diffraction data shows drug was in amorphous form. Ex vivo permeation study shows controlled release profile of drug.

Keywords: Ex vivo, particle size, risperidone, solid lipid nanoparticles.

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Authors: Muhibul Haque Bhuyan

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Spintronic, also termed spin electronics or spin transport electronics, is a kind of new technology, which exploits the two fundamental degrees of freedom- spin-state and charge-state of electrons to enhance the operational speed for the data storage and transfer efficiency of the device. Thus, it seems an encouraging technology to combat most of the prevailing complications in orthodox electron-based devices. This novel technology possesses the capacity to mix the semiconductor microelectronics and magnetic devices’ functionalities into one integrated circuit. Traditional semiconductor microelectronic devices use only the electronic charge to process the information based on binary numbers, 0 and 1. Due to the incessant shrinking of the transistor size, we are reaching the final limit of 1 nm or so. At this stage, the fabrication and other device operational processes will become challenging as the quantum effect comes into play. In this situation, we should find an alternative future technology, and spintronic may be such technology to transfer and store information. This review article provides a detailed discussion of the spintronic technology: fundamentals, materials, devices, circuits, challenges, and current research trends. At first, the fundamentals of spintronics technology are discussed. Then types, properties, and other issues of the spintronic materials are presented. After that, fabrication and working principles, as well as application areas and advantages/disadvantages of spintronic devices and circuits, are explained. Finally, the current challenges, current research areas, and prospects of spintronic technology are highlighted. This is a new paradigm of electronic cum magnetic devices built on the charge and spin of the electrons. Modern engineering and technological advances in search of new materials for this technology give us hope that this would be a very optimistic technology in the upcoming days.

Keywords: Spintronic technology, spin, charge, magnetic devices, spintronic devices, spintronic materials.

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Authors: Mohamed Omar

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Superelastic Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) is accepted when it used as connection in steel structures. The seismic behaviour of steel frames with SMA is being assessed in this study. Three eightstorey steel frames with different SMA systems are suggested, the first one of which is braced with diagonal bracing system, the second one is braced with nee bracing system while the last one is which the SMA is used as connection at the plastic hinge regions of beams. Nonlinear time history analyses of steel frames with SMA subjected to two different ground motion records have been performed using Seismostruct software. To evaluate the efficiency of suggested systems, the dynamic responses of the frames were compared. From the comparison results, it can be concluded that using SMA element is an effective way to improve the dynamic response of structures subjected to earthquake excitations. Implementing the SMA braces can lead to a reduction in residual roof displacement. The shape memory alloy is effective in reducing the maximum displacement at the frame top and it provides a large elastic deformation range. SMA connections are very effective in dissipating energy and reducing the total input energy of the whole frame under severe seismic ground motion. Using of the SMA connection system is more effective in controlling the reaction forces at the base frame than other bracing systems. Using SMA as bracing is more effective in reducing the displacements. The efficiency of SMA is dependant on the input wave motions and the construction system as well.

Keywords: Finite element analysis, seismic response, shapesmemory alloy, steel frame, superelasticity

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Authors: Seyed Mohsen Samaei, Shirley Gato-Trinidad

Abstract:

A pre-treatment stage prior to reverse osmosis (RO) is very important to ensure the long-term performance of the RO membranes in any wastewater treatment using RO. This study aims to evaluate the application of the Actiflo^® clarifier as part of a pre-treatment unit in mining operations. It involves performing analytical testing on RO feed water before and after installation of Actiflo^® unit. Water samples prior to RO plant stage were obtained on different dates from Costerfield mining operations in Victoria, Australia. Tests were conducted in an independent laboratory to determine the concentration of various compounds in RO feed water before and after installation of Actiflo^® unit during the entire evaluated period from December 2015 to June 2018. Water quality analysis shows that the quality of RO feed water has remarkably improved since installation of Actiflo^® clarifier. Suspended solids (SS) and turbidity removal efficiencies has been improved by 91 and 85 percent respectively in pre-treatment system since the installation of Actiflo^®. The Actiflo^® clarifier proved to be a valuable part of pre-treatment system prior to RO. It has the potential to conveniently condition the mining wastewater prior to RO unit, and reduce the risk of RO physical failure and irreversible fouling. Consequently, reliable and durable operation of RO unit with minimum requirement for RO membrane replacement is expected with Actiflo^® in use.

Keywords: Actiflo® clarifier, membrane, mining wastewater, reverse osmosis, wastewater treatment.

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Authors: Ezinne M. Igwe

Abstract:

Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that has in recent times become phenomenal due largely to its quantity of production and specific production style. In the face of recent transformations reshaping the industry, matters have been arising which have not been given due academic attention from an industry player perspective. While re-addressing such issues like structure, policy and informality, this study benefits from a new perspective – that of a community member adopting participant observation to research into a familiar culture. With data drawn from an extensive ethnographic study of the industry, this paper examines these matters with an emphasis on structure and the industry’s overall political economy. Drawing from discourses on the new and old Nollywood labels and other current matters arising within the industry such as the MOPICON bill redraft, corporate financing and possibilities of regeneration, this paper examines structure and power struggle within Nollywood. These are championing regenerative processes that bring about formalization, professionalism and the quest for a transnational presence, which have only been superficially evaluated. Focused essentially on Nollywood’s political economy, this study critically analyses the transforming face of an informal industry, the consistent quest for structure, quality and standard, and issues of corporate sponsorship as possible trends of regeneration. It evaluates them as indicators of regeneration, questioning the possibilities of their sustenance in an industry experiencing increased interactions with the formal economy and an influx of young professionals. With findings that make sustained regeneration both certain (due to increased formal economy interaction) and uncertain (due to the dysfunctionality of the society and its political system), it concludes that the transforming face of the industry suggests impending gentrification of the industry.

Keywords: Formalization, MOPICON, Nollywood, Structure.

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Authors: Patil Ashwini, Archana Thosar

Abstract:

This paper addresses the mathematical model of wind energy system useful for designing fault tolerant control. To serve the demand of power, large capacity wind energy systems are vital. These systems are installed offshore where non planned service is very costly. Whenever there is a fault in between two planned services, the system may stop working abruptly. This might even lead to the complete failure of the system. To enhance the reliability, the availability and reduce the cost of maintenance of wind turbines, the fault tolerant control systems are very essential. For designing any control system, an appropriate mathematical model is always needed. In this paper, the two-mass model is modified by considering the frequent mechanical faults like misalignments in the drive train, gears and bearings faults. These faults are subject to a wear process and cause frictional losses. This paper addresses these faults in the mathematics of the wind energy system. Further, the work is extended to study the variations of the parameters namely generator inertia constant, spring constant, viscous friction coefficient and gear ratio; on the pole-zero plot which is related with the physical design of the wind turbine. Behavior of the wind turbine during drive train faults are simulated and briefly discussed.

Keywords: Mathematical model of wind energy system, stability analysis, shaft stiffness, viscous friction coefficient, gear ratio, generator inertia, fault tolerant control.

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Authors: Kelly Grani Yuen

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Accounting scandals and auditing frauds are perceived to be driven by aggressive companies and misrepresentation of audit reports. However, local legal systems and law enforcements may affect the services auditors provide to their ‘important’ clients. Under the civil law and common law jurisdictions, the standard setters, the government, and the regulatory bodies treat cases differently. As such, whether or not different forms of legal systems and extent of law enforcement plays an important role in auditor’s Audit Quality is a question this paper attempts to explore. The paper focuses on the investigation in Asia, where Hong Kong represents the common-law jurisdiction, while Taiwan and China represent the civil law jurisdiction. Only the ten reputable accounting firms are used in this study due to the differences in rankings and establishments of some of the small local audit firms. This will also contribute to the data collected between the years 2007-2013. By focusing on the use of multiple regression based on the dependent (Audit Quality) and independent variables (Client Importance, Law Enforcement, and Press Freedom), six different models are established. Results demonstrate that since different jurisdictions have different legal systems and market regulations, auditor’s treatment on ‘important’ clients will vary. However, with the moderators in place (law enforcement and press freedom), the relationship between client importance and audit quality may be smoothed out. With that in mind, this study contributes to local governments and standard setters’ consideration on legal reform and proper law enforcement in the market. Perhaps, with such modifications on the economic systems, collusion between companies and auditors can finally be put to a halt.

Keywords: Audit quality, client importance, jurisdiction, modified audit opinions.

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Authors: Lianxue Shi

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Riverfront streets have the dual characteristics of street space and waterfront space, which is not only a vital place for residents to travel and communicate, but also a high-frequency space for people's leisure and entertainment. However, under the development of cities and towns pursuing efficiency, riverfront streets appear to have a variety of problems, such as a lack of multifunctionality, insufficient facilities, and loss of characteristics, which fail to meet the needs of various groups of people, and their inclusiveness is facing a great challenge. It is, therefore, evident that the optimization of riverfront street space from an inclusivity perspective is important to the establishment of a human-centered, high-quality urban space. Therefore, this article starts by exploring the interactive relationship between inclusive design and street space. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the riverfront street space and people's needs, it proposes the four inclusive design orientations of natural inclusion, group inclusion, spatial inclusion, and social inclusion. It then constructs a design framework for the inclusive optimization of riverfront street space, aiming to create streets that are “safe and accessible, diverse and shared, distinctive and friendly, green and sustainable”. Riverfront streets in Wansheng District, Chongqing, are selected as a practice case, and specific strategies are put forward in four aspects: the creation of an accessible slow-traffic system, the provision of diversified functional services, the reshaping of emotional bonds, and the integration of ecological spaces.

Keywords: Inclusive design, riverfront street, spatial optimization, street spaces.

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Authors: Ahmed T. Farid, Khaled Z. Soliman

Abstract:

Due to limited areas and excessive cost of land for projects, backfilling process has become necessary. Also, backfilling will be done to overcome the un-leveling depths or raising levels of site construction, especially near the sea region. Therefore, backfilling soil materials used under the foundation of structures should be investigated regarding its effect on ground motion characteristics, especially at regions subjected to earthquakes. In this research, 60-meter thickness of sandy fill material was used above a fixed 240-meter of natural clayey soil underlying by rock formation to predict the modified ground motion characteristics effect at the foundation level. Comparison between the effect of using three different situations of fill material compaction on the recorded earthquake is studied, i.e. peak ground acceleration, time history, and spectra acceleration values. The three different densities of the compacted fill material used in the study were very loose, medium dense and very dense sand deposits, respectively. Shake computer program was used to perform this study. Strong earthquake records, with Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.35 g, were used in the analysis. It was found that, higher compaction of fill material thickness has a significant effect on eliminating the earthquake ground motion properties at surface layer of fill material, near foundation level. It is recommended to consider the fill material characteristics in the design of foundations subjected to seismic motions. Future studies should be analyzed for different fill and natural soil deposits for different seismic conditions.

Keywords: Fill, material, density, compaction, earthquake, PGA.

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Authors: Abu Salim Mustafa

Abstract:

The comparisons of mycobacterial genomes have identified several Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific genomic regions that are absent in other mycobacteria and are known as regions of differences. Due to M. tuberculosis-specificity, the peptides encoded by these regions could be useful in the specific diagnosis of tuberculosis. To explore this possibility, overlapping synthetic peptides corresponding to 39 proteins predicted to be encoded by genes present in regions of differences were tested for antibody-reactivity with sera from tuberculosis patients and healthy subjects. The results identified four immunodominant peptides corresponding to four different proteins, with three of the peptides showing significantly stronger antibody reactivity and rate of positivity with sera from tuberculosis patients than healthy subjects. The fourth peptide was recognized equally well by the sera of tuberculosis patients as well as healthy subjects. Predication of antibody epitopes by bioinformatics analyses using ABCpred server predicted multiple linear epitopes in each peptide. Furthermore, peptide sequence analysis for sequence identity using BLAST suggested M. tuberculosis-specificity for the three peptides that had preferential reactivity with sera from tuberculosis patients, but the peptide with equal reactivity with sera of TB patients and healthy subjects showed significant identity with sequences present in nob-tuberculous mycobacteria. The three identified M. tuberculosis-specific immunodominant peptides may be useful in the serological diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Keywords: Genomic regions of differences, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, peptides, serodiagnosis.

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Authors: Mohammed A. Al-Manie, Mohammed I. Alkanhal

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In this paper, acoustic techniques are used to detect hidden insect infestations of date palm tress (Phoenix dactylifera L.). In particular, we use an acoustic instrument for early discovery of the presence of a destructive insect pest commonly known as the Red Date Palm Weevil (RDPW) and scientifically as Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier). This type of insect attacks date palm tress and causes irreversible damages at late stages. As a result, the infected trees must be destroyed. Therefore, early presence detection is a major part in controlling the spread and economic damage caused by this type of infestation. Furthermore monitoring and early detection of the disease can asses in taking appropriate measures such as isolating or treating the infected trees. The acoustic system is evaluated in terms of its ability for early discovery of hidden bests inside the tested tree. When signal acquisitions is completed for a number of date palms, a signal processing technique known as time-frequency analysis is evaluated in terms of providing an estimate that can be visually used to recognize the acoustic signature of the RDPW. The testing instrument was tested in the laboratory first then; it was used on suspected or infested tress in the field. The final results indicate that the acoustic monitoring approach along with signal processing techniques are very promising for the early detection of presence of the larva as well as the adult pest in the date palms.

Keywords: Acoustic emissions, acoustic sensors, nondestructivetests, Red Date Palm Weevil, signal processing..

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