Search results for: physical comfort

Authors: M. Z. Bin Mohd Ghazali, N. C. Wilson, A. F. Bin Ahmad Fuad, M. A. H. B. Musa, M. U. Mohamad Sani, F. Zulkifli, M. S. Zainal Abidin

Abstract:

Physical activity levels are low in Malaysia and this study was undertaken to determine if a four week work-based intervention program would be effective in changing physical activity levels. The study was conducted in a Malaysian Government Department and had three stages: baseline data collection, four-week intervention and two-month post intervention data collection. During the intervention and two-month post intervention phases, physical activity levels (determined by a pedometer) and basic health profiles (BMI, abdominal obesity, blood pressure) were measured. Staff (58 males, 47 females) with an average age of 33 years completed baseline data collection. Pedometer steps averaged 7,102 steps/day at baseline, although male step counts were significantly higher than females (7,861 vs. 6114). Health profiles were poor: over 50% were overweight/obese (males 66%, females 40%); hypertension (males 23%, females 6%); excess waist circumference (males 52%, females 17%). While 86 staff participated in the intervention, only 49 regularly reported their steps. There was a significant increase (17%) in average daily steps from 8,965 (week 1) to 10,436 (week 4). Unfortunately, participation in the intervention program was avoided by the less healthy staff. Two months after the intervention there was no significant difference in average steps/day, despite the fact that 89% of staff reporting they planned to make long-term changes to their lifestyle. An unexpected average increase of 2kg in body weight occurred in participants, although this was less than the 5.6kg in non-participants. A number of recommendations are made for future interventions, including the conclusion that pedometers were a useful tool and popular with participants.

Keywords: Pedometers, walking, health, intervention.

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Authors: Makkia, Ahmad, Al-Falahi, Abdullah Abdelaziz Muharram

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Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Yemen are exposed to a myriad of occupational health hazards, including biological, physical, ergonomic, chemical and psychosocial hazards. HCWs operate in an environment that is considered to be one of the most hazardous occupational settings. The current study aimed to assess sng the prevalence of ‎occupational health hazards among Health care workers and associated ‎risk factors in public hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. Descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized; out of 5443 totals of HCWs 396 were selected by multistage sampling technique was carried out in the public hospitals in Sana'a city, Yemen. More the half (60.6%) of HCWs were aged between 20-30 years, 50.8% were males, 56.3% were married, and 45.5% had a diploma qualification, while 65.2% of HCWs had less than 6 years of experience. The results show a high prevalence of occupational hazards (99%); ergonomic hazards (93.4%), biological hazards (87.6%), psychosocial (86.65%), physical hazards (83.3%), and chemical hazards (73.5%). There were no statistically significant differences between demographic characteristics and the prevalence of occupational hazards (p > 0.05). The study revealed that occupational hazards were highly prevalent among the participants. The most common biological hazard was exposure to sharp-related injuries, while the predominant physical hazard was slip, trip, and fall incidents. Ergonomic hazards manifested as back or neck pain during work. Chemical hazards were represented by allergic reactions to medical gloves powder. Psychosocial hazards included experiencing verbal and physical harassment. In conclusion, the study emphasized the importance of raising awareness among HCWs and conducting training courses to prevent occupational hazards.

Keywords: Health workers, occupational hazard, prevalence, risk factors.

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Authors: Ahmad Munawar

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The provision of urban public transport in Indonesia is not free of problems. Some of the problems include: an overall lack of capacity, lack of quality and choice, severe traffic congestions and insufficient fund to renew and repair vehicles. Generally, the comfort and quality of the city bus is poor, and many of the vehicles are dilapidated and dirty. Surveys were carried out in the city of Yogyakarta, by counting city bus vehicles and occupancies, interviewing the bus passengers, drivers and institutional staffs, who involve in public transport management. This paper will then analyze the possible plan to develop the public transport system to become more attractive and to improve the public transport management. The short, medium and long term plans are analyzed, to find the best solutions. Some constraints such as social impacts and financial impact are also taken into accounts.

Keywords: City bus, management, public transport.

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Authors: Gabriella Tjondro, Julita Dortua Laurentina Nainggolan

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Introduction: There are several things affecting menstrual cycle, namely, nutritional status, diet, financial status of one’s household and exercises. The most commonly used parameter to calculate the fat in a human body is body mass index. Therefore, it is necessary to do research to prevent complications caused by menstrual disorder in the future. Design Study: This research is an observational analytical study with the cross-sectional-case control approach. Participants (n = 124; median age = 19.5 years ± SD 3.5) were classified into 2 groups: normal, NM (n = 62; BMI = 18-23 kg/m²) and obese, OB (n = 62; BMI = > 25 kg/m²). BMI was calculated from the equation; BMI = weight, kg/height, m². Results: There were 79.10% from obese group who experienced menstrual cycle disorders (n=53, 79.10%; p value 0.00; OR 5.25) and 20.90% from normal BMI group with menstrual cycle disorders. There were several factors in this research that also influence the menstrual cycle disorders such as stress (44.78%; p value 0.00; OR 1.85), sleep disorders (25.37%; p value 0.00; OR 1.01), physical activities (25.37%; p value 0.00; OR 1.24) and diet (10.45%; p value 0.00; OR 1.07). Conclusion: There is a significant relation between body mass index (obese) and menstrual cycle disorders. However, BMI is not the only factor that affects the menstrual cycle disorders. There are several factors that also can affect menstrual cycle disorders, in this study we use stress, sleep disorders, physical activities and diet, in which none of them are dominant.

Keywords: Menstrual disorders, menstrual cycle, obesity, body mass index, stress, sleep disorders, physical activities, diet.

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Authors: M. F. Sung, Y.D. Kuan, R.J. Shyu, S.M. Lee

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Tread design has evolved over the years to achieve the common tread pattern used in current vehicles. However, to meet safety and comfort requirements, tread design considers more than one design factor. Tread design must consider the grip and drainage, and the manner in which to reduce rolling noise, which is one of the main factors considered by manufacturers. The main objective of this study was the application the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique to simulate the contact surface of the tire and ground. The results demonstrated an air-Pumping and large pressure drop effect in the process of contact surface. The results also revealed that the pressure can be used to analyze sound pressure level (SPL).

Keywords: Air-pumping, computational fluid dynamics, sound pressure level, tire.

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Authors: N. N. Nkomo, M. L. Mayanchi

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The present study investigated various forms of disciplinary procedures or punishment used by teachers in secondary schools in Calabar Municipality, Nigera. There are agitations amongst parents and educators on the use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure against children. Those against the use of corporal punishment argue that this form of punishment does not teach, it only terminates behaviour temporarily and inculcates violence. Those in support are of the view that corporal punishment serves as a deterrent to others. This study sought to find out the most common measure of discipline employed by teachers in private and public schools. The study had three objectives, three research questions and two hypotheses. The design of the present study was the ex-post facto descriptive survey, since variables under study were not manipulated by the researcher. Teachers in Calabar Municipal Secondary Schools formed the population. A sample of 160 teachers was used for the study. The data collection instrument was a facts finding questionnaire titled Disciplinary Procedures Inventory. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentages and chi-square. The major findings were that physical measures such as flogging, exercise/drills, and painful postures were commonly used by teachers in secondary schools. It was also found that these measures were more often used in public schools. It was recommended that teachers should rather employ non-violent techniques of discipline than physical punishment.

Keywords: Discipline, non-violent punishment, physical punishment.

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Authors: Insaf Mehani, N. Settou

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Natural ventilation is an important means to improve indoor thermal comfort and reduce the energy consumption. A solar chimney system is an enhancing natural draft device, which uses solar radiation to heat the air inside the chimney, thereby converting the thermal energy into kinetic energy. The present study considered some parameters such as chimney width and solar intensity, which were believed to have a significant effect on space ventilation. Fluent CFD software was used to predict buoyant air flow and flow rates in the cavities. The results were compared with available published experimental and theoretical data from the literature. There was an acceptable trend match between the present results and the published data for the room air change per hour, ACH. Further, it was noticed that the solar intensity has a more significant effect on ACH.

Keywords: Solar chimney, numerical simulation

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Authors: Armin Samarghandi, Amirreza Jafari, Mohamad Ghiasi

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Since individuals spend the majority of their time indoors, this immediately affects their productivity and health. An essential factor in occupational health and public health is the influence of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in buildings on occupant welfare and productivity. Since then, empirical data have been equivocal, indicating either that the studies are inaccurate or that the research has just scratched the surface of green buildings in offices, accommodation, and hospital settings and not taken the aforementioned holistically. This study compared three green-certified buildings — a residential green building, a green hospital, and a green school — with conventional structures in Tehran, Iran by means of a questionnaire spread among those utilizing these buildings, and assessing their productivity and health rate as opposed to the time they resided, worked in conventional buildings. The results demonstrated higher scores pertaining to productivity, physical and mental wellness as a consequence of better indoor environmental quality (IEQ), natural lighting, design, and sustainability of these building against non-green buildings. In addition, ancillary matters — environmental, financial, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual dimensions of participants — were indirectly evaluated, and the same results are produced.

Keywords: Green building, Iran, productivity, physical and mental health, Tehran.

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Authors: R. Dariani, S. Schmidt, R. Kasper

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Based on a non-linear single track model which describes the dynamics of vehicle, an optimal path planning strategy is developed. Real time optimization is used to generate reference control values to allow leading the vehicle alongside a calculated lane which is optimal for different objectives such as energy consumption, run time, safety or comfort characteristics. Strict mathematic formulation of the autonomous driving allows taking decision on undefined situation such as lane change or obstacle avoidance. Based on position of the vehicle, lane situation and obstacle position, the optimization problem is reformulated in real-time to avoid the obstacle and any car crash.

Keywords: Autonomous driving, Obstacle avoidance, Optimal control, Path planning.

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Authors: Pankaj Chandna, Surinder Deswal, Arunesh Chandra, SK Sharma

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Noise has adverse effect on human health and comfort. Noise not only cause hearing impairment, but it also acts as a causal factor for stress and raising systolic pressure. Additionally it can be a causal factor in work accidents, both by marking hazards and warning signals and by impeding concentration. Industry workers also suffer psychological and physical stress as well as hearing loss due to industrial noise. This paper proposes an approach to enable engineers to point out quantitatively the noisiest source for modification, while multiple machines are operating simultaneously. The model with the point source and spherical radiation in a free field was adopted to formulate the problem. The procedure works very well in ideal cases (point source and free field). However, most of the industrial noise problems are complicated by the fact that the noise is confined in a room. Reflections from the walls, floor, ceiling, and equipment in a room create a reverberant sound field that alters the sound wave characteristics from those for the free field. So the model was validated for relatively low absorption room at NIT Kurukshetra Central Workshop. The results of validation pointed out that the estimated sound power of noise sources under simultaneous conditions were on lower side, within the error limits 3.56 - 6.35 %. Thus suggesting the use of this methodology for practical implementation in industry. To demonstrate the application of the above analytical procedure for estimating the sound power of noise sources under simultaneous operating conditions, a manufacturing facility (Railway Workshop at Yamunanagar, India) having five sound sources (machines) on its workshop floor is considered in this study. The findings of the case study had identified the two most effective candidates (noise sources) for noise control in the Railway Workshop Yamunanagar, India. The study suggests that the modification in the design and/or replacement of these two identified noisiest sources (machine) would be necessary so as to achieve an effective reduction in noise levels. Further, the estimated data allows engineers to better understand the noise situations of the workplace and to revise the map when changes occur in noise level due to a workplace re-layout.

Keywords: Industrial noise, sound power level, multiple noise sources, sources contribution.

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Authors: E. T. L. Cöuras Ford, V. A. C. Vale, J. U. L. Mendes

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The simulation in wind tunnel is used thoroughly to model real situations of drainages of air. Besides the automotive industry, a great number of applications can be numbered: dispersion of pollutant, studies of pedestrians’ comfort, and dispersion of particles. This work had the objective of visualizing the characteristics aerodynamics of two automobiles in different ways. To accomplish that drainage of air a fan that generated a speed exists (measured with anemometer of hot thread) of 4,1m/s and 4,95m/s. To visualize the path of the air through the cars, in the wind tunnel, smoke was used, obtained with it burns of vegetable oil. For “to do smoke” vegetable oil was used, that was burned for a tension of 20V generated by a thread of 2,5mm. The cars were placed inside of the wind tunnel with the drainage of “air-smoke” and photographed, registering like this the path lines around them, in the 3 different speeds.

Keywords: Aerodynamics, Vehicle Drag, Wind tunnel.

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Authors: Bo Yang, Christopher Monterola

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Urban intersection control without the use of the traffic light has the potential to vastly improve the efficiency of the urban traffic flow. For most proposals in the literature, such lightless intersection control depends on the mass market commercialization of highly intelligent autonomous vehicles (AV), which limits the prospects of near future implementation. We present an efficient lightless intersection traffic control scheme that only requires Level 1 AV as defined by NHTSA. The technological barriers of such lightless intersection control are thus very low. Our algorithm can also accommodate a mixture of AVs and conventional vehicles. We also carry out large scale numerical analysis to illustrate the feasibility, safety and robustness, comfort level, and control efficiency of our intersection control scheme.

Keywords: Intersection control, autonomous vehicles, traffic modelling, intelligent transport system.

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Authors: N. Valderrama, W. Albarracín, N. Algecira

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The effect of the inclusion of thyme and rosemary essential oils into chitosan films, as well as the microbiological and physical properties when storing chitosan film with and without the mentioned inclusion was studied. The film forming solution was prepared by dissolving chitosan (2%, w/v), polysorbate 80 (4% w/w CH) and glycerol (16% w/w CH) in aqueous lactic acid solutions (control). The thyme (TEO) and rosemary (REO) essential oils (EOs) were included 1:1 w/w (EOs:CH) on their combination 50/50 (TEO:REO). The films were stored at temperatures of 5, 20, 33°C and a relative humidity of 75% during four weeks. The films with essential oil inclusion did not show an antimicrobial activity against strains. This behavior could be explained because the chitosan only inhibits the growth of microorganisms in direct contact with the active sites. However, the inhibition capacity of TEO was higher than the REO and a synergic effect between TEO:REO was found for S. enteritidis strains in the chitosan solution. Some physical properties were modified by the inclusion of essential oils. The addition of essential oils does not affect the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation), the water solubility, the swelling index nor the DSC behavior. However, the essential oil inclusion can significantly decrease the thickness, the moisture content, and the L* value of films whereas the b* value increased due to molecular interactions between the polymeric matrix, the loosing of the structure, and the chemical modifications. On the other hand, the temperature and time of storage changed some physical properties on the chitosan films. This could have occurred because of chemical changes, such as swelling in the presence of high humidity air and the reacetylation of amino groups. In the majority of cases, properties such as moisture content, tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation, a*, b*, chrome, 7E increased whereas water resistance, swelling index, L*, and hue angle decreased.

Keywords: Chitosan, food additives, modified films, polymers.

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Authors: Michal Kopcek, Tomas Skulavik, Michal Kebisek, Gabriela Krizanova

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The operation of nuclear power plants involves continuous monitoring of the environment in their area. This monitoring is performed using a complex data acquisition system, which collects status information about the system itself and values of many important physical variables e.g. temperature, humidity, dose rate etc. This paper describes a proposal and optimization of communication that takes place in teledosimetric system between the central control server responsible for the data processing and storing and the decentralized measuring stations, which are measuring the physical variables. Analyzes of ongoing communication were performed and consequently the optimization of the system architecture and communication was done.

Keywords: Communication protocol, transmission optimization, data acquisition.

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Authors: Zoran Veršić, Josip Galić, Marin Binički, Lucija Stepinac

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With the current increase in CO2 emissions and global warming, the sustainability of both existing and new solutions must be assessed on a wide scale. As the implementation of closed cavity façades (CCF) is on the rise, various factors must be included in the analysis of new types of CCF. This paper aims to cover the relevant factors included in the sustainability assessment of new types of CCF. Several mathematical models are being used to describe the physical behavior of CCF. Depending on the type of CCF, they cover the main factors which affect the durability of the façade: thermal behavior of various elements in the façade, stress and deflection of the glass panels, pressure and the moisture control in the cavity. CCF itself represents a complex system in which all mentioned factors must be considered mutually. Still, the façade is only an envelope of a more complex system, the building. Choice of the façade dictates the heat loss and the heat gain, thermal comfort of inner space, natural lighting, and ventilation. Annual energy consumption for heating, cooling, lighting, and maintenance costs will present the operational advantages or disadvantages of the chosen façade system in economic and environmental aspects. Still, the only operational viewpoint is not all-inclusive. As the building codes constantly demand higher energy efficiency as well as transfer to renewable energy sources, the ratio of embodied and lifetime operational energy footprint of buildings is changing. With the drop in operational energy CO2 emissions, embodied energy emissions present a larger and larger share in the lifecycle emissions of the building. Taking all into account, the sustainability assessment of a façade, as well as other major building elements, should include all mentioned factors during the lifecycle of an element. The challenge of such an approach is a timescale. Depending on the climatic conditions on the building site, the expected lifetime of a glazed façade can exceed 25 years. In such a timespan, some of the factors can be estimated more precisely than the others. However, the ones depending on the socio-economic conditions are more likely to be harder to predict than the natural ones like the climatic load. This work recognizes and summarizes the relevant factors needed for the assessment of a new type of CCF, considering the entire lifetime of a façade element in an environmental aspect.

Keywords: Assessment, closed cavity façade, life cycle, sustainability.

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Authors: Viviane C. Correia, Sergio F. Santos, Holmer Savastano Jr.

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The main purpose of this work was verify the influence of the accelerated carbonation in the physical and mechanical properties of the hybrid composites, reinforced with micro and nanofibers and composites with microfibers. The composites were produced by the slurry vacuum dewatering method, followed by pressing. It was produced using two formulations: 8% of eucalyptus pulp + 1% of the nanofibrillated cellulose and 9% of eucalyptus pulp, both were subjected to accelerated carbonation. The results showed that the accelerated carbonation contributed to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the hybrid composites and of the composites reinforced with microfibers (eucalyptus pulp).

Keywords: Carbonation, cement composites, nanofibrillated cellulose.

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Authors: Jenica Ileana Corcau, Liviu Dinca

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The electrical power systems of aircrafts have made serious progress in recent years because the aircrafts depend more and more on the electricity. There is a trend in the aircraft industry to replace hydraulic and pneumatic systems with electrical systems, achieving more comfort and monitoring features and enlarging the energetic efficiency. Thus, was born the concept More Electric Aircraft. In this paper is analyzed the integration of a fuel cell into the existing electrical generation and distribution systems of an aircraft. The dynamic characteristics of fuel cell systems necessitate an adaptation of the electrical power system. The architecture studied in this paper consists of a 50kW fuel cell, a dc to dc converter and several loads. The dc to dc converter is used to step down the fuel cell voltage from about 625Vdc to 28Vdc.

Keywords: Electrical power system, More Electric Aircraft, Fuel Cell, dc to dc converter

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Authors: Asim Majeed, Rehan Bhana, Mak Sharma, Rebecca Goode, Nizam Bolia, Mike, Lloyd-Williams

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This study aims to investigate and explore the underlying causes of security concerns of customers emerged when WHSmith transformed its physical system to virtualized business model through NetSuite. NetSuite is essentially fully integrated software which helps transforming the physical system to virtualized business model. Modern organisations are moving away from traditional business models to cloud based models and consequently it is expected to have a better, secure and innovative environment for customers. The vital issue of the modern age race is the security when transforming virtualized through cloud based models and designers of interactive systems often misunderstand privacy and even often ignore it, thus causing concerns for users. The content analysis approach is being used to collect the qualitative data from 120 online bloggers including TRUSTPILOT. The results and finding provide useful new insights into the nature and form of security concerns of online users after they have used the WHSmith services offered online through their website. Findings have theoretical as well as practical implications for the successful adoption of cloud computing Business-to-Business model and similar systems.

Keywords: Innovation, virtualization, cloud computing, organizational flexibility

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Authors: S. Ismail, Z. Yaacob

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The main aim of this research is to study the possible use of recycled fine aggregate made from waste rubble wall to substitute partially for the natural sand used in the production of cement and sand bricks. The bricks specimens were prepared by using 100% natural sand; they were then replaced by recycled fine aggregate at 25, 50, 75, and 100% by weight of natural sand. A series of tests was carried out to study the effect of using recycled aggregate on the physical and mechanical properties of bricks, such as density, drying shrinkage, water absorption characteristic, compressive and flexural strength. Test results indicate that it is possible to manufacture bricks containing recycled fine aggregate with good characteristics that are similar in physical and mechanical properties to those of bricks with natural aggregate, provided that the percentage of recycled fine aggregates is limited up to 50-75%.

Keywords: Bricks, cement, recycled aggregate, sand

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Authors: Fahanim Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Azzam Ismail

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Part and parcel of building green homes (GHs) with favorable thermal comfort (TC) is to design and build with reduced carbon footprint (CF) from embodied energy in the building envelope and reduced operational CF overall. Together, the environmental impact of GHs can be reduced significantly. Nevertheless, there is still a need to identify the base CF value for Malaysian GHs and this can be done by assessing existing ones which can then be compared to conventional and vernacular houses which are built differently with different building materials. This paper underlines the research design and introduces the case studies. For now, the operational CF of the case studies is beyond the scope of this study. Findings from this research could identify the best building material and construction technique combination to build GHs depending on the available skills, financial constraints and the condition of the immediate environment.

Keywords: Embodied carbon footprint, Malaysian green homes.

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Marlene I. C. Tenreiro, Ana C. Correia, Paulo Barracosa, Paula M. R. Correia

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of Serra da Estrela cheese and compare these results with those of the sensory analysis. For the study were taken six samples of Serra da Estrela cheese produced with 6 different ecotypes of thistle in a dairy situated in Penalva do Castelo. The chemical properties evaluated were moisture content, protein, fat, ash, chloride and pH; the physical properties studied were color and texture; and finally a sensory evaluation was undertaken. The results showed moisture varying in the range 40- 48%, protein in the range 15-20%, fat between 41-45%, ash between 3.9-5.0% and chlorides varying from 1.2 to 3.0%. The pH varied from 4.8 to 5.4. The textural properties revealed that the crust hardness is relatively low (maximum 7.3 N), although greater than flesh firmness (maximum 1.7 N), and also that these cheeses are in fact soft paste type, with measurable stickiness and intense adhesiveness. The color analysis showed that the crust is relatively light (L* over 50), and with a predominant yellow coloration (b* around 20 or over) although with a slight greenish tone (a* negative). The results of the sensory analysis did not show great variability for most of the attributes measured, although some differences were found in attributes such as crust thickness, crust uniformity, and creamy flesh.

Keywords: Chemical composition, color, sensorial analysis, Serra da Estrela cheese, texture.

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Authors: Christopher C. Anyadubalu

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Biological, psychological and social experiences and perceptions of healthcare services in patients medically diagnosed of coronary heart disease were investigated using a sample of 10 participants whose responses to the in-depth interview questions were analyzed based on inter-and-intra-case analyses. The results obtained revealed that advancing age, single status, divorce and/or death of spouse and the issue of single parenting negatively impacted patients- biopsychosocial experiences. The patients- experiences of physical signs and symptoms, anxiety and depression, past serious medical conditions, use of self-prescribed medications, family history of poor mental/medical or physical health, nutritional problems and insufficient physical activities heightened their risk of coronary attack. Collectivist culture served as a big source of relieve to the patients. Patients- temperament, experience of different chronic life stresses/challenges, mood alteration, regular drinking, smoking/gambling, and family/social impairments compounded their health situation. Patients were satisfied with the biomedical services rendered by the healthcare personnel, whereas their psychological and social needs were not attended to. Effective procedural treatment model, a holistic and multidimensional approach to the treatment of heart disease patients was proposed.

Keywords: Biopsychosocial, Coronary Heart Disease, Experience, Patients, Perception, Perspective.

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Authors: Jindrich J. Melcher, Marcela Karmazínová

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The paper presents the brief information on particular results of experimental study focused to the problems of behavior of structural plated components made of fiber-cement-based materials and used in building constructions, exposed to atmospheric physical effects given by the weather changes in the summer period. Weather changes represented namely by temperature and rain cause also the changes of the temperature and moisture of the investigated structural components. This can affect their static behavior that means stresses and deformations, which have been monitored as the main outputs of tests performed. Experimental verification is based on the simulation of the influence of temperature and rain using the defined procedure of warming and water sprinkling with respect to the corresponding weather conditions during summer period in the South Moravian region at the Czech Republic, for which the application of these structural components is mainly planned. Two types of components have been tested: (i) glass-fiber-concrete panels used for building façades and (ii) fiber-cement slabs used mainly for claddings, but also as a part of floor structures or lost shuttering, and so on.

Keywords: Atmospheric physical effect, building component, experiment, fiber-cement, glass-fiber-concrete, simulation, static behavior, test, warming, water sprinkling, weather.

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Authors: Kamyar Kabirifar, Majid Azarniush, Behbood Maashkar

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A proper house is a suitable residential area which provides comfort, proper accessibility, security, stability and permanence of structure, enough lighting, proper initial infrastructures and ventilation for its inhabitants and the most important of all, it should be proportional to the family’s financial power .

Saving energy and making optimal usage of it and also taking advantage of stable energies are the bases of green buildings. Making green building will help the health of a person living in it and in its surrounding. It will support the people and provoke their satisfaction. Not only it will bring about the raise of level of the quality of life for building inhabitants, but it will cause the promotion of quality level of life of the people living in the surrounding area and in general the society. 

 

Keywords: Quality of Life, Green Building, environment pollution, Sick Building.

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Authors: Karina Natali, Wei-Hwa Chiang

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This study examines the stack ventilation performance of an office building located in Taipei, Taiwan. Atriums in this building act as stacks that facilitate buoyancy-driven ventilation. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations are used to identify interior airflow patterns, and then used these patterns to assess the building’s heat expulsion efficiency. Ambient temperatures of 20°C were adopted as the typical seasonal spring temperature range in Taipei. Further, “zero-wind” conditions are established to ensure simulation results reflected only the buoyancy effect. After checking results against neutral pressure level (NPL) level, airflow, air velocity, and indoor temperature stratification, the lower stack is modified to reduce the NPL in order to remove heat accumulated on the top floor.

Keywords: Natural ventilation, side outlet, stack effect, thermal comfort.

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Authors: S. Dorbani, F. Kharchi, F. Salem, K. Arroudj, N. Chioukh

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The need for thermal comfort of buildings, with the aim of saving energy, has always generated a big interest during the development of methods, to improve the mode of construction. In the present paper, which is concerned by the valorization of locally abundant materials, mixtures of plaster and dune sand have been studied. To point out the thermal performances of these mixtures, a comparative study has been established between this product and the two materials most commonly used in construction, the concrete and hollow brick. The results showed that optimal mixture is made with 1/3 plaster and 2/3 dune sand. This mortar achieved significant increases in the mechanical strengths, which allow it to be used as a carrier element for buildings, of up to two levels. The element obtained offers an acceptable thermal insulation, with a decrease the outer-wall construction thickness.

Keywords: Local materials, mortar, plaster, dune sand, compaction, mechanical performance, thermal performance.

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Authors: Stefania Arguelles Reyes, Octavio José Salcedo Parra, Alberto Acosta López

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This paper presents a web application for the improvement of images through recognition. The web application is based on the analysis of picture-based recognition methods that allow an improvement on the physical appearance of people posting in social networks. The basis relies on the study of tools that can correct or improve some features of the face, with the help of a wide collection of user images taken as reference to build a facial profile. Automatic facial profiling can be achieved with a deeper study of the Object Detection Library. It was possible to improve the initial images with the help of MATLAB and its filtering functions. The user can have a direct interaction with the program and manually adjust his preferences.

Keywords: Application, MATLAB, make up, model, recognition.

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Authors: Barenten Suciu

Abstract:

In this work, by replacing the traditional solid spokes with colloidal spokes, a vehicle wheel with a built-in suspension structure is proposed. Following the background and description of the wheel system, firstly, a vibration model of the wheel equipped with colloidal spokes is proposed, and based on such model the equivalent damping coefficients and spring constants are identified. Then, a modified model of a quarter-vehicle moving on a rough pavement is proposed in order to estimate the transmissibility of vibration from the road roughness to vehicle body. In the end, the optimal design of the colloidal spokes and the optimum number of colloidal spokes are decided in order to minimize the transmissibility of vibration, i.e., to maximize the ride comfort of the vehicle.

Keywords: Built-in suspension, colloidal spoke, intrinsic spring, vibration analysis, wheel.

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Authors: Z. Ishak, S. Jamaluddin, F.P Chew

Abstract:

This paper examines the students’ self-concept among 16- and 17- year- old adolescents in Malaysian secondary schools. Previous studies have shown that positive self-concept played an important role in student adjustment and academic performance during schooling. This study attempts to investigate the factors influencing students’ perceptions toward their own self-concept. A total of 1168 students participated in the survey. This study utilized the CoPs (UM) instrument to measure self-concept. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed three factors: academic selfconcept, physical self-concept and social self-concept. This study confirmed that students perceived certain internal context factors, and revealed that external context factor also have an impact on their self-concept.

Keywords: Academic self-concept, physical self-concept, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), social self-concept.

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Authors: Ahmed Hossam_ ElDin, Ahmed Farag, Ibrahim Madi., Hanaa Karawia

Abstract:

In our modern society electricity is vital to our health, safety, comfort and well-being. While our daily use of electricity is often taken for granted, public concern has arisen about potential adverse health effects from electric and magnetic – electromagnetic – fields (EMFs) produced by our use of electricity. This paper aims to compare between the measured magnetic field values and the simulated models for the indoor medium to low voltage (MV/LV) distribution substations. To calculate the magnetic flux density in the substations, interactive software SUBCALC is used which is based on closed form solution of the Biot-Savart law with 3D conductor model. The comparison between the measured values and the simulated models was acceptable. However there were some discrepancies, as expected, may be due to the current variation during measurements.

Keywords: Distribution substation, magnetic field, measurement, simulation.

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