Search results for: Open burning

Authors: Sougata Bardhan, Yona Chen, Warren A. Dick

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Generation of electricity from coal has increased over the years in the United States and around the world. Burning of coal results in annual production of upwards of 100 millions tons (United States only) of coal combustion products (CCPs). Only about a third of these products are being used to create new products while the remainder goes to landfills. Application of CCPs mixed with composted organic materials onto soil can improve the soil-s physico-chemical conditions and provide essential plant nutritients. Our objective was to create plant growth media utilizing CCPs and compost in way which maximizes the use of these products and, at the same time, maintain good plant growth. Media were formulated by adding composted organic matter (COM) to CCPs at ratios ranging from 2:8 to 8:2 (v/v). The quality of these media was evaluated by measuring their physical and chemical properties and their effect on plant growth. We tested the media by 1) measuring their physical and chemical properties and 2) the growth of three plant species in the experimental media: wheat (Triticum sativum), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) and marigold (Tagetes patula). We achieved significantly (p < 0.001) higher growth (7-130%) in the experimental media containing CCPs compared to a commercial mix. The experimental media supplied adequate plant nutrition as no fertilization was provided during the experiment. Based on the results, we recommend the use of CCPs and composts for the creation of plant growth media.

Keywords: Coal ash, FGD gypsum, organic compost, and plant growth media.

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Authors: T. Nozu, K. Hibi, T. Nishiie

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This paper discusses the applicability of the numerical model for a damage prediction method of the accidental hydrogen explosion occurring in a hydrogen facility. The numerical model was based on an unstructured finite volume method (FVM) code “NuFD/FrontFlowRed”. For simulating unsteady turbulent combustion of leaked hydrogen gas, a combination of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and a combustion model were used. The combustion model was based on a two scalar flamelet approach, where a G-equation model and a conserved scalar model expressed a propagation of premixed flame surface and a diffusion combustion process, respectively. For validation of this numerical model, we have simulated the previous two types of hydrogen explosion tests. One is open-space explosion test, and the source was a prismatic 5.27 m³ volume with 30% of hydrogen-air mixture. A reinforced concrete wall was set 4 m away from the front surface of the source. The source was ignited at the bottom center by a spark. The other is vented enclosure explosion test, and the chamber was 4.6 m × 4.6 m × 3.0 m with a vent opening on one side. Vent area of 5.4 m² was used. Test was performed with ignition at the center of the wall opposite the vent. Hydrogen-air mixtures with hydrogen concentrations close to 18% vol. were used in the tests. The results from the numerical simulations are compared with the previous experimental data for the accuracy of the numerical model, and we have verified that the simulated overpressures and flame time-of-arrival data were in good agreement with the results of the previous two explosion tests.

Keywords: Deflagration, Large Eddy Simulation, Turbulent combustion, Vented enclosure.

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Authors: Blessing Ojeme, Frederick Quinn, Russell Karls, Shannon Quinn

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The detection and segmentation of mitochondria from fluorescence microscopy is crucial for understanding the complex structure of the nervous system. However, the constant fission and fusion of mitochondria and image distortion in the background make the task of detection and segmentation challenging. Although there exists a number of open-source software tools and artificial intelligence (AI) methods designed for analyzing mitochondrial images, the availability of only a few combined expertise in the medical field and AI required to utilize these tools poses a challenge to its full adoption and use in clinical settings. Motivated by the advantages of automated methods in terms of good performance, minimum detection time, ease of implementation, and cross-platform compactibility, this study proposes a fully automated framework for the detection and segmentation of mitochondria using both image shape information and descriptive statistics. Using the low-cost, open-source Python and OpenCV library, the algorithms are implemented in three stages: pre-processing; image binarization; and coarse-to-fine segmentation. The proposed model is validated using the fluorescence mitochondrial dataset. Ground truth labels generated using Labkit were also used to evaluate the performance of our detection and segmentation model using precision, recall and rand index. The study produces good detection and segmentation results and reports the challenges encountered during the image analysis of mitochondrial morphology from the fluorescence mitochondrial dataset. A discussion on the methods and future perspectives of fully automated frameworks concludes the paper.

Keywords: 2D, Binarization, CLAHE, detection, fluorescence microscopy, mitochondria, segmentation.

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Authors: Norlyda Mohamed, Daud Mohamad, Shaharuddin Cik Soh

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Let Gα ,β (γ ,δ ) denote the class of function f (z), f (0) = f ′(0)−1= 0 which satisfied e δ {αf ′(z)+ βzf ′′(z)}> γ i Re in the open unit disk D = {z ∈ı : z < 1} for some α ∈ı (α ≠ 0) , β ∈ı and γ ∈ı (0 ≤γ <α ) where δ ≤ π and α cosδ −γ > 0 . In this paper, we determine some extremal properties including distortion theorem and argument of f ′( z ) .

Keywords: Argument of f ′(z) , Carathéodory Function, Closeto- convex Function, Distortion Theorem, Extremal Properties

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Authors: A. A. Njoh, S. T. Ndoula, A. Adidja, G. N. Menan, A. Mengue, E. Mboke, H. B. Bachir, S. C. Nchinjoh, L. Adisso, Y. Saidu, L. Cleenewerck de Kiev

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Vaccines serve a great deal in protecting the population globally. Vaccine products are subject to rigorous quality control and approval before use to ensure safety. Even if all actors take the required precautions, some people could still have adverse events following immunization (AEFI) caused by the vaccine composition or an error in its administration. AEFI underreporting is pronounced in low-income settings like Cameroon. The Country introduced electronic platforms to strengthen surveillance. With the introduction of many novel vaccines, like COVID-19 and the novel Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV) 2, there was a need to monitor AEFI in Cameroon. A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2022. Data on AEFI per region of Cameroon were reviewed for the previous five years. Data were analyzed with MS Excel, and the results were presented in proportions. AEFI reporting was uncommon in Cameroon. With the introduction of novel vaccines in 2021, the health authorities engaged in new tools and training to capture cases. AEFI detected almost doubled using the open data kit (ODK) compared to previous platforms, especially following the introduction of the nOPV2 and COVID-19 vaccines. The AEFI rate was 1.9 and 160 per administered 100,000 doses of nOPV2 and COVID-19 vaccines, respectively. This mobile tool captured individual information for people with AEFI from all regions. The platform helped to identify common AEFI following the use of these new vaccines. The ODK mobile technology was vital in improving AEFI reporting and providing data to monitor the use of new vaccines in Cameroon.

Keywords: Adverse events following immunization, AEFI, Cameroon, COVID-19 vaccines, novel oral polio vaccine 2, open data kit.

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Authors: Violina R. Angelova, Venelina T. Popova, Radka V. Ivanova, Givko T. Ivanov, Krasimir I. Ivanov

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A comparative research on the impact of compost on uptake and allocation of nutrients and heavy metals and quality of Oriental tobacco Krumovgrad 90 has been carried out. The experiment was performed on an agricultural field contaminated by the lead zinc smelter near the town of Kardzali, Bulgaria, after closing the lead production. The compost treatments had significant effects on the uptake and allocation of plant nutrients and heavy metals. The incorporation of compost leads to decrease in the amount of heavy metals present in the tobacco leaves, with Cd, Pb and Zn having values of 36%, 12% and 6%, respectively. Application of the compost leads to increased content of potassium, calcium and magnesium in the leaves of tobacco, and therefore, may favorably affect the burning properties of tobacco. The incorporation of compost in the soil has a negative impact on the quality and typicality of the oriental tobacco variety of Krumovgrad 90. The incorporation of compost leads to an increase in the size of the tobacco plant leaves, the leaves become darker in colour, less fleshy and undergo a change in form, becoming (much) broader in the second, third and fourth stalk position. This is accompanied by a decrease in the quality of the tobacco. The incorporation of compost also results in an increase in the mineral substances (pure ash), total nicotine and nitrogen, and a reduction in the amount of reducing sugars, which causes the quality of the tobacco leaves to deteriorate (particularly in the third and fourth harvests).

Keywords: Chemical composition, compost, oriental tobacco, quality.

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Authors: Sukhwinder Singh Billing, Sushma Gupta, Sukhjit Singh Dhaliwal

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the present paper, using the technique of differential subordination, we obtain certain results for analytic functions defined by a multiplier transformation in the open unit disc E = { z : IzI < 1}. We claim that our results extend and generalize the existing results in this particular direction

Keywords: function, Differential subordination, Multiplier transformation.

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Authors: Babatunde Kasim Oladele

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One of the major objectives of the Nigeria national policy on education is the provision of equal educational opportunities to all citizens at different levels of education. With regards to higher education, an aspect of the policy encourages distance learning to be organized and delivered by tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This study therefore, determines how much of the Government resources are committed, how the resources are utilized and what alternative sources of funding are available for this system of education. This study investigated the trends in recurrent costs between 2004/2005 and 2013/2014 at University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre (DLC). A descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. Questionnaire was the research instrument used for the collection of data. The population of the study was 280 current distance learning education students, 70 academic staff and 50 administrative staff. Only 354 questionnaires were correctly filled and returned. Data collected were analyzed and coded using the frequencies, ratio, average and percentages were used to answer all the research questions. The study revealed that staff salaries and allowances of academic and non-academic staff represent the most important variable that influences the cost of education. About 55% of resources were allocated to this sector alone. The study also indicates that costs rise every year with increase in enrolment representing a situation of diseconomies of scale. This study recommends that Universities who operates distance learning program should strive to explore other internally generated revenue option to boost their revenue. University of Ibadan, being the premier university in Nigeria, should be given foreign aid and home support, both financially and materially, to enable the institute to run a formidable distance education program that would measure up in planning and implementation with those of developed nation.

Keywords: Open education, distance education, University of Ibadan, cost of education, Nigeria.

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Authors: David C. White

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This paper describes the architectural design considerations for building a new class of application, a Personal Knowledge Integrator and a particular example a Knowledge Theatre. It then supports this description by describing a scenario of a child acquiring knowledge and how this process could be augmented by the proposed architecture and design of a Knowledge Theatre. David Merrill-s first “principles of instruction" are kept in focus to provide a background to view the learning potential.

Keywords: Knowledge, personal, open data, visualization, learning, teaching

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Authors: Nuri Yucel, Muhammed Ilter Berberoglu, Salih Karaaslan, Nureddin Dinler

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The objective of this study is to investigate fire behaviors, experimentally and numerically, in a scaled version of an underground station. The effect of ventilation velocity on the fire is examined. Fire experiments are simulated by burning 10 ml isopropyl alcohol fuel in a fire pool with dimensions 5cm x 10cm x 4 mm at the center of 1/100 scaled underground station model. A commercial CFD program FLUENT was used in numerical simulations. For air flow simulations, k-ω SST turbulence model and for combustion simulation, non-premixed combustion model are used. This study showed that, the ventilation velocity is increased from 1 m/s to 3 m/s the maximum temperature in the station is found to be less for ventilation velocity of 1 m/s. The reason for these experimental result lies on the relative dominance of oxygen supply effect on cooling effect. Without piston effect, maximum temperature occurs above the fuel pool. However, when the ventilation velocity increased the flame was tilted in the direction of ventilation and the location of maximum temperature moves along the flow direction. The velocities measured experimentally in the station at different locations are well matched by the CFD simulation results. The prediction of general flow pattern is satisfactory with the smoke visualization tests. The backlayering in velocity is well predicted by CFD simulation. However, all over the station, the CFD simulations predicted higher temperatures compared to experimental measurements.

Keywords: Fire, underground station, flame propagation, CFDsimulation, k-ω SST turbulence model, non-premixed combustionmodel.

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Authors: Farhad Abbas Gandomkar, Mona Danesh

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This paper aims to determine Fundamental Natural Frequency (FNF) of a structural composite floor system known as Chromite. To achieve this purpose, FNFs of studied panels are determined by development of Finite Element Models (FEMs) in ABAQUS program. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) code in Steel Design Guide Series 11 presents a fundamental formula to calculate FNF of a steel framed floor system. This formula has been used to verify results of the FEMs. The variability in the FNF of the studied system under various parameters such as dimensions of floor, boundary conditions, rigidity of main and secondary beams around the floor, thickness of concrete slab, height of composite joists, distance between composite joists, thickness of top and bottom flanges of the open web steel joists, and adding tie beam perpendicular on the composite joists, is determined. The results show that changing in dimensions of the system, its boundary conditions, rigidity of main beam, and also adding tie beam, significant changes the FNF of the system up to 452.9%, 50.8%, - 52.2%, %52.6%, respectively. In addition, increasing thickness of concrete slab increases the FNF of the system up to 10.8%. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that variation in rigidity of secondary beam, height of composite joist, and distance between composite joists, and thickness of top and bottom flanges of open web steel joists insignificant changes the FNF of the studied system up to -0.02%, -3%, -6.1%, and 0.96%, respectively. Finally, the results of this study help designer predict occurrence of resonance, comfortableness, and design criteria of the studied system.

Keywords: Fundamental natural frequency, chromite composite floor system, finite element method, low and high frequency floors, comfortableness, resonance.

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Authors: Xin-Lei Feng, Ting-Zhu Huang

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Allowing diagonalizability of sign pattern is still an open problem. In this paper, we make a carefully discussion about allowing unitary diagonalizability of two sign pattern. Some sufficient and necessary conditions of allowing unitary diagonalizability are also obtained.

Keywords: Sign pattern, unitary diagonalizability, eigenvalue, allowing diagonalizability.

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Authors: Maslina Darus, Khalifa Al-Shaqsi

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In this paper, a generalized derivatives operator n λ,βf introduced by the authors will be discussed. Some subordination and superordination results involving this operator for certain normalized analytic functions in the open unit disk will be investigated. Our results extend corresponding previously known results.

Keywords: Analytic functions, Univalent functions, Derivative operator, Differential subordination, Differential superordination.

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Authors: S. Zeynep Siretioglu Girgin, Gizem Turna Cebeci

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Turkey’s immigration policy is a controversial issue considering its legal, economic, social, and political and human rights dimensions. Formulation of an immigration policy goes hand in hand with political processes, where natives’ attitudes play a significant role. On the other hand, as was the case in Turkey, radical changes made in immigration policy or policies lacking transparency may cause severe reactions by the host society. The underlying discussion paper aims to analyze quantitatively the effects of the existing ‘open door’ immigration policy on the economic integration of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and on the perception of the native population of refugees. For the analysis, semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group interviews have been conducted. After the introduction, a literature review is provided, followed by theoretical background on the explanation of natives’ attitudes towards immigrants. In the next section, a qualitative analysis of natives’ attitudes towards Syrian refugees is presented with the subtopics of (i) awareness, general opinions and expectations, (ii) open-door policy and management of the migration process, (iii) perception of positive and negative impacts of immigration, (iv) economic integration, and (v) cultural similarity. Results indicate that, natives concurrently have social, economic and security concerns regarding refugees, while difficulties regarding security and economic integration of refugees stand out. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, such as the educational level and employment status, are not sufficient to explain the overall attitudes towards refugees, while they can be used to explain the awareness of the respondents and the priority of the concerns felt.

Keywords: Economic integration, immigration policy, integration policies, migrants, natives’ attitudes, perception, Syrian refugees, Turkey.

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Authors: Muhammad Yasir Wadood, Fatemeh Babaeian

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By developing ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, there is a high demand for UWB filters with low insertion loss, wide bandwidth, and having a planar structure which is compatible with other components of the UWB system. A microstrip interdigital filter is a great option for designing UWB filters. However, the presence of via holes in this structure creates difficulties in the fabrication procedure of the filter. Especially in the higher frequency band, any misalignment of the drilled via hole with the Microstrip stubs causes large errors in the measurement results compared to the desired results. Moreover, in this case (high-frequency designs), the line width of the stubs are very narrow, so highly precise small via holes are required to be implemented, which increases the cost of fabrication significantly. Also, in this case, there is a risk of having fabrication errors. To combat this issue, in this paper, a via-less UWB microstrip filter is proposed which is designed based on a modification of a conventional inter-digital bandpass filter. The novel approaches in this filter design are 1) replacement of each via hole with a quarter-wavelength open circuit stub to avoid the complexity of manufacturing, 2) using a bend structure to reduce the unwanted coupling effects and 3) minimising the size. Using the proposed structure, a UWB filter operating in the frequency band of 3.9-6.6 GHz (1-dB bandwidth) is designed and fabricated. The promising results of the simulation and measurement are presented in this paper. The selected substrate for these designs was Rogers RO4003 with a thickness of 20 mils. This is a common substrate in most of the industrial projects. The compact size of the proposed filter is highly beneficial for applications which require a very miniature size of hardware.

Keywords: Band-pass filters, inter-digital filter, microstrip, via-less.

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Authors: Kui Du

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Recently, Uhlig [Numer. Algorithms, 52(3):335-353, 2009] proposed open questions about the ratios between the spectral norm, the numerical radius and the spectral radius of a square matrix. In this note, we provide some observations to answer these questions.

Keywords: Spectral norm, Numerical radius, Spectral radius, Ratios

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Authors: B. A. Parate, K. D. Deodhar, V. K. Dixit, V. Venkateswara Rao

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This article outlines the ballistics of main seat ejection cartridges for aircraft application. The ballistics of main seat ejection cartridges plays a vital role during the ejection of the pilot in an emergency. The ballistic parameters such as maximum pressure, time to reach the maximum pressure, and time required to reach half the maximum pressure that responsible to the spinal injury of the pilot are assessed. Therefore, the evaluations of these parameters are very critical during various stages of development. Elaborate testing is carried out for main seat ejection cartridges on seat ejection tower (SET) at different operating temperatures considering physiological limits. As these trials are cumbersome in nature, a vented vessel (VV) testing facility is devised to lay down the performance parameters at hot and cold temperature conditions. Single base (SB) propellant having hepta-tubular configuration is selected as the main filling. Gun powder plays the role of a booster based on ballistic requirements. The evaluation methodology of various performance parameters of main seat ejection cartridges is explained in this paper. Physiological parameters such as maximum seat ejection velocity, acceleration, and rate of rising of acceleration are also experimentally determined on SET. All the parameters are observed well within physiological limits. This paper addresses the internal ballistic of main seat ejection cartridges, propellant selection, its calculation, and evaluation of various performance parameters for aircraft application.

Keywords: Ballistics of seat ejection, ejection seat, gas generator, gun propulsion, main seat ejection cartridges, maximum pressure, performance parameters, propellant, progressive burning and vented vessel.

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Authors: A-M. Saarela

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At the Savonia University of Applied Sciences (UAS), curriculum and studies have been improved by applying an Open Innovation Space approach (OIS). It is based on multidisciplinary action learning. The key elements of OIS-ideology are work-life orientation, and student-centric communal learning. In this approach, every participant can learn from each other and innovations will be created. In this social innovation educational approach, all practices are carried out in close collaboration with enterprises in real-life settings, not in classrooms. As an example, in this paper, Savonia UAS’s Future Food RDI hub (FF) shows how OIS practices are implemented by providing food product development and consumer research services for enterprises in close collaboration with academicians, students and consumers. In particular one example of OIS experimentation in the field is provided by a consumer research carried out utilizing verbal analysis protocol combined with audiovisual observation (VAP-WAVO). In this case, all co-learners were acting together in supermarket settings to collect the relevant data for a product development and the marketing department of a company. The company benefitted from the results obtained, students were more satisfied with their studies, educators and academicians were able to obtain good evidence for further collaboration as well as renewing curriculum contents based on the requirements of working life. In addition, society will benefit over time as young university adults find careers more easily through their OIS related food science studies. Also this knowledge interaction model re-news education practices and brings working-life closer to educational research institutes.

Keywords: Collaboration, education, food science, industry, knowledge transfer, RDI, student.

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Authors: Ntloana Hlabishi Peter

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The availability of public transportation modes and qualitative infrastructure is a burning issue that affects urban sustainability. Public transportation is indispensable in providing adequate transportation means to people at an affordable price, and it promotes public transport reliance. Burgersfort town has a critical condition on the urban public transportation infrastructure which affects the bus and taxi public transport modes and the existing infrastructure. The municipality is regarded as one of the mining towns in Limpopo Province considering the availability of mining activities and proposal on establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The study aim is to assess the efficacy of current public transportation infrastructure and to propose relevant recommendations that will unlock the possibility of future supportable public transportation systems. The Key Informant Interview (KII) was used to acquire data on the views from commuters and stakeholders involved. There KII incorporated three relevant questions in relation to services rendered in public transportation. Relevant literature relating to public transportation modes and infrastructure revealed the imperatives of public transportation infrastructure, and relevant legislation was reviewed concerning public transport infrastructure. The finding revealed poor conditions on the public transportation ranks and also inadequate parking space for public transportation modes. The study reveals that 100% of people interviewed were not satisfied with the condition of public transportation infrastructure and 100% are not satisfied with the services offered by public transportation sectors. The findings revealed that the municipality is the main player who can upgrade the existing conditions of public transportation. The study recommended that an intermodal transportation facility must be established to resolve the emerging challenges.

Keywords: Public transportation, modes, infrastructure, urban sustainability.

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Authors: Ivaylo I. Atanasov, Evelina N.Pencheva

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This paper presents a mark-up approach to service creation in Next Generation Networks. The approach allows deriving added value from network functions exposed by Parlay/OSA (Open Service Access) interfaces. With OSA interfaces service logic scripts might be executed both on callrelated and call-unrelated events. To illustrate the approach XMLbased language constructions for data and method definitions, flow control, time measuring and supervision and database access are given and an example of OSA application is considered.

Keywords: Service creation, mark-up approach.

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Authors: M. Ashaque Meah, M. Shah Noor, M Asif Arefin, Md. Fazlul Karim

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A numerical technique in a boundary-fitted curvilinear grid model is developed to simulate the extent of inland inundation along the coastal belts of Peninsular Malaysia and Southern Thailand due to 2004 Indian ocean tsunami. Tsunami propagation and run-up are also studied in this paper. The vertically integrated shallow water equations are solved by using the method of lines (MOL). For this purpose the boundary-fitted grids are generated along the coastal and island boundaries and the other open boundaries of the model domain. A transformation is used to the governing equations so that the transformed physical domain is converted into a rectangular one. The MOL technique is applied to the transformed shallow water equations and the boundary conditions so that the equations are converted into ordinary differential equations initial value problem. Finally the 4^th order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve these ordinary differential equations. The moving boundary technique is applied instead of fixed sea side wall or fixed coastal boundary to ensure the movement of the coastal boundary. The extent of intrusion of water and associated tsunami propagation are simulated for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand. The simulated results are compared with the results obtained from a finite difference model and the data available in the USGS website. All simulations show better approximation than earlier research and also show excellent agreement with the observed data.

Keywords: Open boundary condition, moving boundary condition, boundary-fitted curvilinear grids, far field tsunami, Shallow Water Equations, tsunami source, Indonesian tsunami of 2004.

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Authors: Anna Słupik, Anna Mosiołek, Sebastian Wójtowicz, Dariusz Białoszewski

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Introduction: Whole-Body Vibration (WBV) uses high frequency mechanical stimuli generated by a vibration plate and transmitted through bone, muscle and connective tissues to the whole body. Research has shown that long-term vibration-plate training improves neuromuscular facilitation, especially in afferent neural pathways, responsible for the conduction of vibration and proprioceptive stimuli, muscle function, balance and proprioception. Some researchers suggest that the vibration stimulus briefly inhibits the conduction of afferent signals from proprioceptors and can interfere with the maintenance of body balance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a single set of exercises associated with whole-body vibration on the joint position sense and body balance. Material and methods: The study enrolled 55 people aged 19-24 years. These individuals were randomly divided into a test group (30 persons) and a control group (25 persons). Both groups performed the same set of exercises on a vibration plate. The following vibration parameters: frequency of 20Hz and amplitude of 3mm, were used in the test group. The control group performed exercises on the vibration plate while it was off. All participants were instructed to perform six dynamic exercises lasting 30 seconds each with a 60-second period of rest between them. The exercises involved large muscle groups of the trunk, pelvis and lower limbs. Measurements were carried out before and immediately after exercise. Joint position sense (JPS) was measured in the knee joint for the starting position at 45° in an open kinematic chain. JPS error was measured using a digital inclinometer. Balance was assessed in a standing position with both feet on the ground with the eyes open and closed (each test lasting 30 sec). Balance was assessed using Matscan with FootMat 7.0 SAM software. The surface of the ellipse of confidence and front-back as well as right-left swing were measured to assess balance. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 10.0 PL software. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups, both before and after the exercise (p> 0.05). JPS did not change in both the test (10.7° vs. 8.4°) and control groups (9.0° vs. 8.4°). No significant differences were shown in any of the test parameters during balance tests with the eyes open or closed in both the test and control groups (p> 0.05). Conclusions: 1. Deterioration in proprioception or balance was not observed immediately after the vibration stimulus. This suggests that vibrationinduced blockage of proprioceptive stimuli conduction can have only a short-lasting effect that occurs only as long as a vibration stimulus is present. 2. Short-term use of vibration in treatment does not impair proprioception and seems to be safe for patients with proprioceptive impairment. 3. These results need to be supplemented with an assessment of proprioception during the application of vibration stimuli. Additionally, the impact of vibration parameters used in the exercises should be evaluated.

Keywords: Balance, joint position sense, proprioception, whole body vibration.

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Authors: Aseel Hatif Jassam, Hadeel Hatif Jassam

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The paper discusses the phallocentric discourse that is challenged by women in general and women of color in particular in spite of the simultaneity of oppression due to race, class, and gender in the diaspora. Therefore, the paper gives a brief account of women's experience in the light of postcolonial feminist theory. The paper also casts light on the theories of Luce Irigaray and Helen Cixous, two feminist theorists who support and advise women to have their own discourse to challenge the infectious patriarchal sentence advocated by Sigmund Freud and Harold Bloom's model of literary history. Black women authors like Buchi Emecheta as well as her alter ego Adah, a Nigerian-born girl and the protagonist of her semi-autobiographical novel, Second Class Citizen, suffer from this phallocentric and oppressive sentence and displacement as they migrate from Nigeria, a former British colony where they feel marginalized, to North London with the hope of realizing their dreams. Yet in the British diaspora, they get culturally shocked and continue to suffer from further marginalization due to class and race and are insulted and inferiorized ironically by their patriarchal husbands who try to put an end to their dreams of authorship. With the phallocentric belief that women are not capable of self-representation in the background of their mindsets, the violent Sylvester Onwordi and Francis Obi, the husbands of both Emecheta and Adah respectively have practiced oppression on them by burning their own authoritative voices, represented by the novels they write while they are struggling with their economically atrocious living experiences in the British diaspora.

Keywords: Authorship, British diaspora, discourse, phallocentric, patriarchy.

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Authors: Amir Khalid, B. Manshoor

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The mixture formation prior to the ignition process plays as a key element in the diesel combustion. Parametric studies of mixture formation and ignition process in various injection parameter has received considerable attention in potential for reducing emissions. Purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of injection pressure on mixture formation and ignition especially during ignition delay period, which have to be significantly influences throughout the combustion process and exhaust emissions. This study investigated the effects of injection pressure on diesel combustion fundamentally using rapid compression machine. The detail behavior of mixture formation during ignition delay period was investigated using the schlieren photography system with a high speed camera. This method can capture spray evaporation, spray interference, mixture formation and flame development clearly with real images. Ignition process and flame development were investigated by direct photography method using a light sensitive high-speed color digital video camera. The injection pressure and air motion are important variable that strongly affect to the fuel evaporation, endothermic and prolysis process during ignition delay. An increased injection pressure makes spray tip penetration longer and promotes a greater amount of fuel-air mixing occurs during ignition delay. A greater quantity of fuel prepared during ignition delay period thus predominantly promotes more rapid heat release.

Keywords: Mixture Formation, Diesel Combustion, Ignition Process, Spray, Rapid Compression Machine.

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Authors: Sukhwinder Singh Billing, Sushma Gupta, Sukhjit Singh Dhaliwal

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In the present paper, we investigate a differential subordination involving multiplier transformation related to a sector in the open unit disk E = {z : |z| < 1}. As special cases to our main result, certain sufficient conditions for strongly starlike and strongly convex functions are obtained.

Keywords: Analytic function, Multiplier transformation, Strongly starlike function, Strongly convex function.

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Authors: A. Abdulla Khairi Mohamed, Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Gehan Selim

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Walkability in civic and public spaces in Libyan cities is challenging due to the lack of accessibility design, informal merging into car traffic, and the general absence of adequate urban and space planning. The lack of accessible and pedestrian-friendly public spaces in Libyan cities has emerged as a major concern for the government if it is to develop smart and sustainable spaces for the 21st century. A walkable urban space has become a driver for urban development and redistribution of land use to ensure pedestrian and walkable routes between sites of living and workplaces. The characteristics of urban open space in the city centre play a main role in attracting people to walk when attending their daily needs, recreation and daily sports. There is significant gap in the understanding of perceptions, feasibility and capabilities of Libyan urban space to accommodate enhance or support the smart design of a walkable pedestrian-friendly environment that is safe and accessible to everyone. The paper aims to undertake observations of walkability and walkable space in the city of Tripoli as a benchmark for Libyan cities; assess the validity and consistency of the seven principal aspects of smart design, safety, accessibility and 51 factors that affect the walkability in open urban space in Tripoli, through the analysis of 10 local urban spaces experts (town planner, architect, transport engineer and urban designer); and explore user groups’ perceptions of accessibility in walkable spaces in Libyan cities through questionnaires. The study sampled 200 respondents in 2015-16. The results of this study are useful for urban planning, to classify the walkable urban space elements which affect to improve the level of walkability in the Libyan cities and create sustainable and liveable urban spaces.

Keywords: Walkability, sustainability, liveability, accessibility, safety.

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Authors: Anna Słupik, Krzysztof Jaworski, Anna Mosiołek, Dariusz Białoszewski

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Background: Maintaining the correct body balance is essential in the prevention of falls in the elderly, which is especially important for women because of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the serious consequences of falls. One of the exercise methods which is very popular among adults, and which may affect body balance in the positive way is the Pilates method. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of regular Pilates exercises on the ability to maintain body balance in static conditions in adult healthy women. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 20 healthy women attending Pilates twice a week for at least 1 year. The control group consisted of 20 healthy women physically inactive. Women in the age range from 35 to 50 years old without pain in musculoskeletal system or other pain were only qualified to the groups. Body balance was assessed using MatScan VersaTek platform with Sway Analysis Module based on Matscan Clinical 6.7 software (Tekscan Inc., U.S.A). The balance was evaluated under the following conditions: standing on both feet with eyes open, standing on both feet with eyes closed, one-leg standing (separately on the right and left foot) with eyes open. Each test lasted 30 seconds. The following parameters were calculated: estimated size of the ellipse of 95% confidence, the distance covered by the Center of Gravity (COG), the size of the maximum shift in the sagittal and frontal planes and load distribution between the left and right foot, as well as between rear- and forefoot. Results: It was found that there is significant difference between the groups in favor of the study group in the size of the confidence ellipse and maximum shifts of COG in the sagittal plane during standing on both feet, both with the eyes open and closed (p <0.05). While standing on one leg both on the right and left leg, with eyes opened there was a significant difference in favor of the study group, in terms of the size of confidence ellipse, the size of the maximum shifts in the sagittal and in the frontal plane (p <0.05). There were no differences between the distribution of load between the right and left foot (standing with both feet), nor between fore- and rear foot (in standing with both feet or one-leg). Conclusions: 1. Static balance in women exercising regularly by Pilates method is better than in inactive women, which may in the future prevent falls and their consequences. 2. The observed differences in maintaining balance in frontal plane in one-leg standing may indicate a positive impact of Pilates exercises on the ability to maintain global balance in terms of reduced support surface. 3. Pilates method can be used as a form preventive therapy for all people who are expected to have problems with body balance in the future, for example in chronic neurological disorders or vestibular problems. 4. The results have shown that, further prospective randomized research on a larger and more representative group is needed.

Keywords: Balance exercises, body balance, Pilates, pressure distribution, women.

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Authors: Shattyk Aliyev, Zhakypbek Altayev, Zuchra Ismagambetova, Yerkin Massanov

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Information society is an absolutely new public formation at which the infrastructure and the social relations correspond to the socialized essence of «information genotype» mankind. Information society is a natural social environment which allows the person to open completely the information nature, to use intelligence for joint creation with other people of new information on the basis of knowledge earlier saved up by previous generations.

Keywords: Information society, Philosophy, Education, Globalization and innovation.

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Authors: Chaouki Ghenai

Abstract:

Computational fluid dynamics analysis of the burning of syngas fuels derived from biomass and plastic solid waste mixture through gasification process is presented in this paper. The syngas fuel is burned in gas turbine can combustor. Gas turbine can combustor with swirl is designed to burn the fuel efficiently and reduce the emissions. The main objective is to test the impact of the alternative syngas fuel compositions and lower heating value on the combustion performance and emissions. The syngas fuel is produced by blending palm kernel shell (PKS) with polyethylene (PE) waste via catalytic steam gasification (fluidized bed reactor). High hydrogen content syngas fuel was obtained by mixing 30% PE waste with PKS. The syngas composition obtained through the gasification process is 76.2% H2, 8.53% CO, 4.39% CO2 and 10.90% CH4. The lower heating value of the syngas fuel is LHV = 15.98 MJ/m3. Three fuels were tested in this study natural gas (100%CH4), syngas fuel and pure hydrogen (100% H2). The power from the combustor was kept constant for all the fuels tested in this study. The effect of syngas fuel composition and lower heating value on the flame shape, gas temperature, mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) per unit of energy generation is presented in this paper. The results show an increase of the peak flame temperature and NO mass fractions for the syngas and hydrogen fuels compared to natural gas fuel combustion. Lower average CO2 emissions at the exit of the combustor are obtained for the syngas compared to the natural gas fuel.

Keywords: CFD, Combustion, Emissions, Gas Turbine Combustor, Gasification, Solid Waste, Syngas and Waste to Energy.

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Authors: Matheus Müller, Delma Vidal

Abstract:

The present paper aims to expose two techniques of dewatering for sludge, analyzing its operations and dewatering processes, aiming at improving the conditions of disposal of residues with high liquid content. It describes the field tests performed on two geotextile systems, a closed geotextile tube and an open geotextile drying bed, both of which are submitted to two filling cycles. The sludge used in the filling cycles for the field trials is from the water treatment plant of the Technological Center of Aeronautics – CTA, in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Data about volume and height abatement due to the dewatering and consolidation were collected per time, until it was observed constancy. With the laboratory analysis of the sludge allied to the data collected in the field, it was possible to perform a critical comparative study between the observed and the scientific literature, in this way, this paper expresses the data obtained and compares them with the bibliography. The tests were carried out on three fronts: field tests, including the filling cycles of the systems with the sludge from CTA, taking measurements of filling time per cycle and maximum filling height per cycle, heights against the abatement by dewatering of the systems over time; tests carried out in the laboratory, including the characterization of the sludge and removal of material samples from the systems to ascertain the solids content within the systems per time and; comparing the data obtained in the field and laboratory tests with the scientific literature. Through the study, it was possible to perceive that the process of densification of the material inside a closed system, such as the geotextile tube, occurs faster than the observed in the drying bed system. This process of accelerated densification can be brought about by the pumping pressure of the sludge in its filling and by the confinement of the residue through the permeable geotextile membrane (allowing water to pass through), accelerating the process of densification and dewatering by its own weight after the filling with sludge.

Keywords: Consolidation, dewatering, geotextile drying bed, geotextile tube.

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