Abstract: Globally, many women are still disadvantaged when it
comes to business opportunities. Entrepreneurship development
programs, specifically designed to assist women entrepreneurs, are
assisting in solving this problem to a certain extent. The purpose of
this study is to identify the factors that motivate females to start their
own business. Females, from three different groups (2013, 2014 and
2015), who were all enrolled in a short learning program specifically
designed for women in early start-up stage or intending to start a
business, were asked what motivated them to start a business. The
results indicated that, from all three groups, the majority of the
women wanted to start a business to be independent and have
freedom and to add towards a social goal. The results further
indicated that in general, women would enter into entrepreneurship
activity due to pull factors rather than push factors.
Abstract: A Multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) two-phase model was developed with the aim to simulate
the in-core coolant circuit of a pressurized heavy water reactor
(PHWR) of a commercial nuclear power plant (NPP). Due to the
fact that this PHWR is a Reactor Pressure Vessel type (RPV),
three-dimensional (3D) detailed modelling of the large reservoirs of
the RPV (the upper and lower plenums and the downcomer) were
coupled with an in-house finite volume one-dimensional (1D) code
in order to model the 451 coolant channels housing the nuclear fuel.
Regarding the 1D code, suitable empirical correlations for taking into
account the in-channel distributed (friction losses) and concentrated
(spacer grids, inlet and outlet throttles) pressure losses were used.
A local power distribution at each one of the coolant channels
was also taken into account. The heat transfer between the coolant
and the surrounding moderator was accurately calculated using a
two-dimensional theoretical model. The implementation of subcooled
boiling and condensation models in the 1D code along with the use
of functions for representing the thermal and dynamic properties of
the coolant and moderator (heavy water) allow to have estimations
of the in-core steam generation under nominal flow conditions for a
generic fission power distribution. The in-core mass flow distribution
results for steady state nominal conditions are in agreement with the
expected from design, thus getting a first assessment of the coupled
1/3D model. Results for nominal condition were compared with
those obtained with a previous 1/3D single-phase model getting more
realistic temperature patterns, also allowing visualize low values of
void fraction inside the upper plenum. It must be mentioned that the
current results were obtained by imposing prescribed fission power
functions from literature. Therefore, results are showed with the aim
of point out the potentiality of the developed model.
Abstract: The use of solar energy as a source for pumping water
is one of the promising areas in the photovoltaic (PV) application.
The energy of photovoltaic pumping systems (PVPS) can be widely
improved by employing an MPPT algorithm. This will lead
consequently to maximize the electrical motor speed of the system.
This paper presents a modified incremental conductance (IncCond)
MPPT algorithm with direct control method applied to a standalone
PV pumping system. The influence of the algorithm parameters on
system behavior is investigated and compared with the traditional
(INC) method. The studied system consists of a PV panel, a DC-DC
boost converter, and a PMDC motor-pump. The simulation of the
system by MATLAB-SIMULINK is carried out. Simulation results
found are satisfactory.
Abstract: Large-scale machine tools for the manufacturing of
large work pieces, e.g. blades, casings or gears for wind turbines,
feature pose-dependent dynamic behavior. Small structural damping
coefficients lead to long decay times for structural vibrations that
have negative impacts on the production process. Typically, these
vibrations are handled by increasing the stiffness of the structure by
adding mass. This is counterproductive to the needs of sustainable
manufacturing as it leads to higher resource consumption both in
material and in energy. Recent research activities have led to higher
resource efficiency by radical mass reduction that is based on controlintegrated
active vibration avoidance and damping methods. These
control methods depend on information describing the dynamic
behavior of the controlled machine tools in order to tune the
avoidance or reduction method parameters according to the current
state of the machine. This paper presents the appearance, consequences and challenges
of the pose-dependent dynamic behavior of lightweight large-scale
machine tool structures in production. It starts with the theoretical
introduction of the challenges of lightweight machine tool structures
resulting from reduced stiffness. The statement of the pose-dependent
dynamic behavior is corroborated by the results of the experimental
modal analysis of a lightweight test structure. Afterwards, the
consequences of the pose-dependent dynamic behavior of lightweight
machine tool structures for the use of active control and vibration
reduction methods are explained. Based on the state of the art of
pose-dependent dynamic machine tool models and the modal
investigation of an FE-model of the lightweight test structure, the
criteria for a pose-dependent model for use in vibration reduction are
derived. The description of the approach for a general posedependent
model of the dynamic behavior of large lightweight
machine tools that provides the necessary input to the aforementioned
vibration avoidance and reduction methods to properly tackle
machine vibrations is the outlook of the paper.
Abstract: Well logging records can help to answer many
questions from a wide range of special interested information and
basic petrophysical properties to formation evaluation of oil and gas
reservoirs. The accurate calculations of porosity in carbonate
reservoirs are the most challenging aspects of the well logging
analysis. Many equations have been developed over the years based
on known physical principles or on empirically derived relationships,
which are used to calculate porosity, estimate lithology, and water
saturation; however these parameters are calculated from well logs by
using modern technique in a current study. Nasiriya oil field is one of
the giant oilfields in the Middle East, and the formation under study
is the Mishrif carbonate formation which is the shallowest
hydrocarbon bearing zone in this oilfield. Neurolog software was
used to digitize the scanned copies of the available logs.
Environmental corrections had been made as per Schlumberger charts
2005, which supplied in the Interactive Petrophysics software. Three
saturation models have been used to calculate water saturation of
carbonate formations, which are simple Archie equation, Dual water
model, and Indonesia model. Results indicate that the Mishrif
formation consists mainly of limestone, some dolomite, and shale.
The porosity interpretation shows that the logging tools have a good
quality after making the environmental corrections. The average
formation water saturation for Mishrif formation is around 0.4-
0.6.This study is provided accurate behavior of petrophysical
properties with depth for this formation by using modern software.
Abstract: Non-linear dynamic time history analysis is
considered as the most advanced and comprehensive analytical
method for evaluating the seismic response and performance of
multi-degree-of-freedom building structures under the influence of
earthquake ground motions. However, effective and accurate
application of the method requires the implementation of advanced
hysteretic constitutive models of the various structural components
including masonry infill panels. Sophisticated computational research
tools that incorporate realistic hysteresis models for non-linear
dynamic time-history analysis are not popular among the professional
engineers as they are not only difficult to access but also complex and
time-consuming to use. In addition, commercial computer programs
for structural analysis and design that are acceptable to practicing
engineers do not generally integrate advanced hysteretic models
which can accurately simulate the hysteresis behavior of structural
elements with a realistic representation of strength degradation,
stiffness deterioration, energy dissipation and ‘pinching’ under cyclic
load reversals in the inelastic range of behavior. In this scenario,
push-over or non-linear static analysis methods have gained
significant popularity, as they can be employed to assess the seismic
performance of building structures while avoiding the complexities
and difficulties associated with non-linear dynamic time-history
analysis. “Push-over” or non-linear static analysis offers a practical
and efficient alternative to non-linear dynamic time-history analysis
for rationally evaluating the seismic demands. The present paper is
based on the analytical investigation of the effect of distribution of
masonry infill panels over the elevation of planar masonry infilled
reinforced concrete [R/C] frames on the seismic demands using the
capacity spectrum procedures implementing nonlinear static analysis
[pushover analysis] in conjunction with the response spectrum
concept. An important objective of the present study is to numerically
evaluate the adequacy of the capacity spectrum method using
pushover analysis for performance based design of masonry infilled
R/C frames for near-field earthquake ground motions.
Abstract: This study aimed to 1) develop pre-service teachers’
leadership skills through camp-based learning, and 2) develop preservice
teachers’ teamwork skills through camp-based learning. An
applied research methodology was used. The target group was
derived from a purposive selection. It involved 32 fourth-year
students in Early Childhood Education Program enrolling a course
entitled Seminar in Early Childhood Education provided during
second semester of academic year 2013. The treatment was camp-based
learning activities which applied a PDCA process including
four stages: 1) plan, 2) do, 3) check, and 4) act. Research instruments
were a learning camp program, a camp-based learning management
plan, a 5-level assessment form for leadership skills and a 5-level
assessment form for assessing teamwork skills. Data were analyzed
using descriptive statistics. Results were: 1) pre-service teachers’
leadership skills yielded the before treatment average score at x= 3.4,
S.D.=0.6 2and the after-treatment average score at x 4.29 , S.D.=0.66
pre-service teachers’ teamwork skills yielded the before-treatment
average score at x=3.31, S.D.=0.60 and the after-treatment average
score at x=4.42, S.D.=0.66 Both differences were statistically
significant at the .05 level. Thus, the pre-service teachers’ leadership
and teamwork skills were significantly improved through the camp-based
learning approach.
Abstract: The wider growing Finite Element Method (FEM)
application is caused by its benefits of cost saving and environment
friendly. Also, by using FEM a deep understanding of certain
phenomenon can be achieved. This paper observed the role of
material properties and volumetric change when Solid State Phase
Transformation (SSPT) takes place in residual stress formation due to
a welding process of ferritic steels through coupled Thermo-
Metallurgy-Mechanical (TMM) analysis. The correctness of FEM residual stress prediction was validated by
experiment. From parametric study of the FEM model, it can be
concluded that the material properties change tend to over-predicts
residual stress in the weld center whilst volumetric change tend to
underestimates it. The best final result is the compromise of both by
incorporates them in the model which has a better result compared to
a model without SSPT.
Abstract: Many herbal medicinal products are considered
potential anti-hypercholesterolemic agents with encouraging safety
profiles, however only a limited amount of clinical research exists to
support their efficacy. The present study was designed to compare the
antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant activities of the crude
ethanolic extracts of Citrus reticulata fruit peel, Zingiber officinale
rhizome and Sesamum indicum seeds. Forty-five rats were used throughout the experiment which are
extended for four weeks. These were divided into nine groups, five
rats per each group as follows; group 1 was the normal control group
(rats only fed standard normal rat diet), group 2 was the
hypercholesterolemic control group (rats fed only
hypercholesterolemic diet which contained 1% cholesterol plus 10%
saturated animal fat added to the normal rat diet), groups 3 and 4
were fed hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Citrus reticulata
ethanolic extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 3) and 500mg/kg
(group 4)) administered daily via oral route, groups 5 and 6 were
given hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Zingiber officinale
ethanolic extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 5) and 500mg/kg
(group 6)) daily through oral route, groups 7 and 8 fed on
hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Sesamum indicum ethanolic
extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 7) and 500mg/kg (group 8))
daily orally; and group 9 rats were given hypercholesterolemic diet in
addition to atorvastatin (0.18mg/kg) daily via oral route as a standard
reference antihypercholesterolemic drug. Blood samples from all
groups were drawn from the retro-orbital venous plexus four weeks
following treatment after overnight fasting and the lipid profile (total
cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low
density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels) were
measured and the risk ratio (TC/HDL-C) was assessed. The
antioxidant activity of the three plants extracts was determined using
DPPH free-radical antioxidant assay. Results of in vivo and in vitro
antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant assay respectively, revealed
that the three extracts possess comparable antioxidant and
antihypercholesterolemic activities.
Abstract: The contemporary battlefield creates a demand for
more costly and highly advanced munitions. Training personnel
responsible for operations as well as immediate execution of combat
tasks which engage real asset is unrealistic and economically not
feasible. Owing to a wide array of exploited simulators and various
types of imitators, it is possible to reduce the costs. One of the
effective elements of training, which can be applied in the training of
all service branches, is imitator of aerial targets. This research serves
as an introduction to the commencement of design analysis over a
real aerial target imitator. Within the project, the basic aerodynamic
calculations were made, which enabled to determine its geometry,
design layout, performance as well as mass balance of individual
components. The conducted calculations of the parameters of flight
characteristics come closer to the real performance of such
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine lifelong
education for teachers as a tool for achieving effective teaching and
learning. Lifelong education enhances social inclusion, personal
development, citizenship, employability, teaching and learning,
community and the nation. It is imperative that the teacher needs to
update his knowledge regularly to be able to perform optimally, since
he has a major position in the inculcation of desirable elements in
students, and the challenges of lifelong education were also
discussed. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A
simple random sampling technique was used to select 80 teachers as
sample from a population of 105 senior secondary school teachers in
Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State. A 20-item self
designed questionnaire subjected to expert validation and reliability
was used to collect data. The reliability Alpha coefficient of 0.87 was
established using Cronbach’s Alpha technique, mean scores and
standard deviation were used to answer the 2 research questions
while chi-square was used to analyse data for the 2 null hypotheses,
which states that lifelong education for teachers is not a significant
tool for achieving effective teaching and lifelong education for
teachers does not significantly impact on effective learning. The
findings of the study revealed that, lifelong education for teachers can
be used as a tool for achieving effective teaching and learning, and
the study recommended among others that government, organizations
and individuals should in collaboration put lifelong education
programmes for teachers on the priority list. The paper concluded
that the strategic position of lifelong education for teachers towards
enhanced teaching, learning and the production of quality manpower
in the society makes it imperative for all hands to be on “deck” to
support the programme financially and otherwise.
Abstract: The objective of the paper is a numerical study of heat
transfer between perforated metal plates and the surrounding air
flows. Different perforation structures can nowadays be found in
various industrial products. Besides improving the mechanical
properties, the perforations can intensify the heat transfer as well. The
heat transfer coefficient depends on a wide range of parameters such
as type of perforation, size, shape, flow properties of the surrounding
air etc. The paper was focused on three different perforation
structures which have been investigated from the point of the view of
the production in the previous studies. To determine the heat
coefficients and the Nusselt numbers, the numerical simulation
approach was adopted. The calculations were performed using the
OpenFOAM software. The three-dimensional, unstable, turbulent and
incompressible air flow around the perforated surface metal plate was
considered.
Abstract: NiFe2O4 (nickel ferrite), ZnFe2O4 (zinc ferrite) and
Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (nickel-zinc ferrite) were prepared by
mechanochemical route in a planetary ball mill starting from mixture
of the appropriate quantities of the Ni(OH)2/Fe(OH)3,
Zn(OH)2/Fe(OH)3 and Ni(OH)2/Zn(OH)2/Fe(OH)3 hydroxide
powders. In order to monitor the progress of chemical reaction and
confirm phase formation, powder samples obtained after 25 h, 18 h
and 10 h of milling were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),
transmission electron microscopy (TEM), IR, Raman and Mössbauer
spectroscopy. It is shown that the soft mechanochemical method, i.e.
mechanochemical activation of hydroxides, produces high quality
single phase ferrite samples in much more efficient way. From the IR
spectroscopy of single phase samples it is obvious that energy of
modes depends on the ratio of cations. It is obvious that all samples
have more than 5 Raman active modes predicted by group theory in
the normal spinel structure. Deconvolution of measured spectra
allows one to conclude that all complex bands in the spectra are made
of individual peaks with the intensities that vary from spectrum to
spectrum. The deconvolution of Raman spectra allows to separate
contributions of different cations to a particular type of vibration and
to estimate the degree of inversion.
Abstract: Recent investigations have demonstrated the global
sea level rise due to climate change impacts. In this study, climate
changes study the effects of increasing water level in the strait of
Hormuz. The probable changes of sea level rise should be
investigated to employ the adaption strategies. The climatic output
data of a GCM (General Circulation Model) named CGCM3 under
climate change scenario of A1b and A2 were used. Among different
variables simulated by this model, those of maximum correlation
with sea level changes in the study region and least redundancy
among themselves were selected for sea level rise prediction by using
stepwise regression. One of models (Discrete Wavelet artificial
Neural Network) was developed to explore the relationship between
climatic variables and sea level changes. In these models, wavelet
was used to disaggregate the time series of input and output data into
different components and then ANN was used to relate the
disaggregated components of predictors and input parameters to each
other. The results showed in the Shahid Rajae Station for scenario
A1B sea level rise is among 64 to 75 cm and for the A2 Scenario sea
level rise is among 90 t0 105 cm. Furthermore, the result showed a
significant increase of sea level at the study region under climate
change impacts, which should be incorporated in coastal areas
management.
Abstract: Kurtbogazi Dam has gained special meaning for Ankara, Turkey for the last decade due to the rapid depletion of nearby resources of drinking water. In this study, the results of the analyses of Kurtbogazi Dam outlet water and the rivers flowing into the Kurtbogazi Dam were discussed for the period of last five years between 2008 and 2012. Some physical and chemical properties (pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), nitrate, phosphate and chlorine) of these water resources were evaluated. They were classified according to the Council Directive (75/440/EEC). Moreover, the properties of these surface waters were assessed to determine the quality of water for drinking and irrigation purposes using Piper, US Salinity Laboratory and Wilcox diagrams. The results showed that all the water resources are acceptable level as surface water except for Pazar Stream in terms of ortho-phosphate and BOD5 concentration for 2008.
Abstract: At present, in China, the research about the urban
sustainability construction is still in the exploratory stage. The
ecological problems of the coastal area are more sensitive and
complicated. In the background of global warming with serious
ecological damage, this paper deeply researches on the main
characteristics of urban sustainability and measures how to build urban
sustainability. Through combining regional environmental with
economic ability along the coastal area, then authors put forward the
system planning framework, construction strategy and the evaluation
index system, in order to seek the way of building urban sustainability
along coastal area in China.
Abstract: In this paper, a novel fuzzy approach is developed
while solving the Dynamic Routing and Wavelength Assignment
(DRWA) problem in optical networks with Wavelength Division
Multiplexing (WDM). In this work, the effect of nonlinear and linear
impairments such as Four Wave Mixing (FWM) and amplifier
spontaneous emission (ASE) noise are incorporated respectively. The
novel algorithm incorporates fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to reduce
the effect of FWM noise and ASE noise on a requested lightpath
referred in this work as FWM aware fuzzy dynamic routing and
wavelength assignment algorithm. The FWM crosstalk products and
the static FWM noise power per link are pre computed in order to
reduce the set up time of a requested lightpath, and stored in an
offline database. These are retrieved during the setting up of a
lightpath and evaluated online taking the dynamic parameters like
cost of the links into consideration.
Abstract: In this study, a general approach to the reliability
based limit analysis of laterally loaded piles is presented. In
engineering practice the uncertainties play a very important role. The
aim of this study is to evaluate the lateral load capacity of free-head
and fixed-head long pile when plastic limit analysis is considered. In
addition to the plastic limit analysis to control the plastic behaviour
of the structure, uncertain bound on the complementary strain energy
of the residual forces is also applied. This bound has significant effect
for the load parameter. The solution to reliability-based problems is
obtained by a computer program which is governed by the reliability
index calculation.
Abstract: Underwater acoustic networks have attracted great
attention in the last few years because of its numerous applications.
High data rate can be achieved by efficiently modeling the physical
layer in the network protocol stack. In Acoustic medium,
propagation speed of the acoustic waves is dependent on many
parameters such as temperature, salinity, density, and depth.
Acoustic propagation speed cannot be modeled using standard
empirical formulas such as Urick and Thorp descriptions. In this
paper, we have modeled the acoustic channel using real time data of
temperature, salinity, and speed of Bay of Bengal (Indian Coastal
Region). We have modeled the acoustic channel by using Mackenzie
speed equation and real time data obtained from National Institute of
Oceanography and Technology. It is found that acoustic propagation
speed varies between 1503 m/s to 1544 m/s as temperature and
depth differs. The simulation results show that temperature, salinity,
depth plays major role in acoustic propagation and data rate
increases with appropriate data sets substituted in the simulated
model.
Abstract: Obturator Foramen is a specific structure in Pelvic
bone images and recognition of it is a new concept in medical image
processing. Moreover, segmentation of bone structures such as
Obturator Foramen plays an essential role for clinical research in
orthopedics. In this paper, we present a novel method to analyze the
similarity between the substructures of the imaged region and a hand
drawn template as a preprocessing step for computation of Pelvic
bone rotation on hip radiographs. This method consists of integrated
usage of Marker-controlled Watershed segmentation and Zernike
moment feature descriptor and it is used to detect Obturator Foramen
accurately. Marker-controlled Watershed segmentation is applied to
separate Obturator Foramen from the background effectively. Then,
Zernike moment feature descriptor is used to provide matching
between binary template image and the segmented binary image for
final extraction of Obturator Foramens. Finally, Pelvic bone rotation
rate calculation for each hip radiograph is performed automatically to
select and eliminate hip radiographs for further studies which depend
on Pelvic bone angle measurements. The proposed method is tested
on randomly selected 100 hip radiographs. The experimental results
demonstrated that the proposed method is able to segment Obturator
Foramen with 96% accuracy.