Abstract: The irradiation of polymeric materials has received
much attention because it can produce diverse changes in chemical
structure and physical properties. Thus, studying the chemical and
structural changes of polymers is important in practice to achieve
optimal conditions for the modification of polymers. The effect of
gamma irradiation on the crystalline structure of poly(vinylidene
fluoride) (PVDF) has been investigated using differential scanning
calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction techniques (XRD). Gamma
irradiation was carried out in atmosphere air with doses between 100
kGy at 3,000 kGy with a Co-60 source. In the melting thermogram of
the samples irradiated can be seen a bimodal melting endotherm is
detected with two melting temperature. The lower melting
temperature is attributed to melting of crystals originally present and
the higher melting peak due to melting of crystals reorganized upon
heat treatment. These results are consistent with those obtained by
XRD technique showing increasing crystallinity with increasing
irradiation dose, although the melting latent heat is decreasing.
Abstract: Large scale Indian manufacturers started
implementing Six Sigma to their supply core to fulfill the endless
need of high quality products. As well, they initiated encouraging
their suppliers to apply the well-ascertain SS management practice
and kept no resource for supplier enterprises, generally small midsized
enterprises to think for the admittance of Six Sigma as a quality
promotion drive. There are many issues to study for requisite changes
before the introduction of Six Sigma in auto SMEs. This paper
converges on impeding factors while implementing SS drive and also
pinpoints the gains achieved through successful implementation. The
result of this study suggest some operational guidelines for effective
implementation of Six Sigma from evidences acquired through
research questionnaire and interviews with industrial professionals,
apportioned to assort auto sector mid-sized enterprises (MSEs) in
India.
Abstract: Debts reconstruction under some of moratorium
projects is one of important method that highly benefits to both the
Banks and farmers. The method can reduce probabilities for nonprofits
loan. This paper discuss about debts reconstruction and career
development training for farmers in Thailand between 2011 and
2013. The research designed is mix-method between quantitative
survey and qualitative survey. Sample size for quantitative method is
1003 cases. Data gathering procedure is between October and
December 2013. Main results affirmed that debts reconstruction is
needed. And there are numerous benefits from farmers’ career
development training. Many of farmers who attend field school
activities able to bring knowledge learned to apply for the farms’
work. They can reduce production costs. Framers’ quality of life and
their household well-being also improve. This program should apply
in any countries where farmers have highly debts and highly risks for
not return the debts.
Abstract: Centrifugal-casting machine is used in manufacturing
special machine components like multi-layer journal bearing used in
all internal combustion engine, steam, gas turbine and air craft turboengine
where isotropic properties and high precisions are desired.
Moreover, this machine can be used in manufacturing thin wall hightech
machine components like cylinder liners and piston rings of IC
engine and other machine parts like sleeves, and bushes. Heavy-duty
machine component like railway wheel can also be prepared by
centrifugal casting. A lot of technological developments are required
in casting process for production of good casted machine body and
machine parts. Usually defects like blowholes, surface roughness,
chilled surface etc. are found in sand casted machine parts. But these
can be removed by centrifugal casting machine using rotating
metallic die. Moreover, die rotation, its temperature control, and good
pouring practice can contribute to the quality of casting because of
the fact that the soundness of a casting in large part depends upon
how the metal enters into the mold or dies and solidifies. Poor
pouring practice leads to variety of casting defects such as
temperature loss, low quality casting, excessive turbulence, over
pouring etc. Besides these, handling of molten metal is very
unsecured and dangerous for the workers. In order to get rid of all
these problems, the need of an automatic pouring device arises. In
this research work, a robot assisted pouring device and a centrifugal
casting machine are designed, developed constructed and tested
experimentally which are found to work satisfactorily. The robot
assisted pouring device is further modified and developed for using it
in actual metal casting process. Lot of settings and tests are required
to control the system and ultimately it can be used in automation of
centrifugal casting machine to produce high-tech machine parts with
desired precision.
Abstract: This paper investigates the application of metallic
coatings on high fiber volume fraction carbon/epoxy polymer matrix
composites. For the grip of the metallic layer, a method of modifying
the surface of the composite by introducing a mixture of copper and
steel powder (filler powders) which can reduce the impact of thermal
spray particles. The powder was introduced to the surface at the time
of the forming. Arc spray was used to project the zinc coating layer.
The substrate was grit blasted to avoid poor adherence. The porosity, microstructure, and morphology of layers are
characterized by optical microscopy, SEM and image analysis. The
samples were studied also in terms of hardness and erosion resistance.
This investigation did not reveal any visible evidence damage to the
substrates. The hardness of zinc layer was about 25.94 MPa and the
porosity was around (∼6.70%). The erosion test showed that the zinc
coating improves the resistance to erosion. Based on the results
obtained, we can conclude that thermal spraying allows the production
of protective coating on PMC. Zinc coating has been identified as a
compatible material with the substrate. The filler powders layer
protects the substrate from the impact of hot particles and allows
avoiding the rupture of brittle carbon fibers.
Abstract: Pain management is a question of quality of life and
an indicator for nursing quality. Chronic pain which is predominant
in oncology and palliative nursing situations is perceived today as a
multifactorial, individual emotional experience with specific
characteristics including the sociocultural dimension when dealing
with migrant patients. This dimension of chronic pain is of major
importance in professional nursing of migrant patients in hospices or
palliative care units. Objectives of the study are: 1. To find out more
about the sociocultural views on pain and nursing care, on customs
and nursing practices connected with pain of both Turkish Muslim
and German Christian women, 2. To improve individual and family
oriented nursing practice with view to sociocultural needs of patients
in severe pain in palliative care. In a qualitative-explorative comparative study 4 groups of women,
Turkish Muslims immigrants (4 from the first generation, 5 from the
second generation) and German Christian women of two generations
(5 of each age group) of the same age groups as the Turkish women
and with similar educational backgrounds were interviewed (semistructured
ethnographic interviews using Spradley, 1979) on their
perceptions and experiences of pain and nursing care within their
families. For both target groups the presentation will demonstrate the
following results in detail: Utterance of pain as well as “private” and
“public” pain vary within different societies and cultures. Permitted
forms of pain utterance are learned in childhood and determine
attitudes and expectations in adulthood. Language, especially when
metaphors and symbols are used, plays a major role for
misunderstandings. The sociocultural context of illness may include
specific beliefs that are important to the patients and yet seem more
than far-fetched from a biomedical perspective. Pain can be an
influential factor in family relationships where respect or hierarchies
do not allow the direct utterance of individual needs. Specific
resources are often, although not exclusively, linked to religious
convictions and are significantly helpful in reducing pain. The discussion will evaluate the results of the study with view to
the relevant literature and present nursing interventions and
instruments beyond medication that are helpful when dealing with
patients from various socio-cultural backgrounds in painful end-oflife
situations.
Abstract: Our purpose is to investigate how the relationship
between employees and innovation management processes can drive
organizations to successful innovations. This research is deeply
related to a new way of thinking about human resources management
practices. It’s not simply about improving the employees’
engagement, but rather about a different and more radical
commitment: the employee can take on the role traditionally played
by the customer, namely to become the first tester of an innovative
product or service, the first user/customer and eventually the first
investor in the innovation. This new perception of employees could
create the basis of a novelty in the innovation process where
innovation is taken to a next level when the problems with customer
driven innovation on the one hand, and employees driven innovation
on the other can be balanced. This research identifies an effective
approach to innovation where the employees will participate
throughout the whole innovation process, not only in the idea
creation but also in the idea definition and development by giving
feedback in parallel to that provided by customers and lead-users.
Abstract: Discussing the nexus between global health policy and local practices, this article addresses the recent Ebola outbreak as a role model for narrative co-constructions of epidemic risk. We will demonstrate in how far a theory-driven and methodologically rooted analysis of narrativity can help to improve mechanisms of prevention and intervention whenever epidemic risk needs to be addressed locally in order to contribute to global health. Analyzing the narrative transformation of Ebola, we will also address issues of transcultural problem-solving and of normative questions at stake. In this regard, we seek to contribute to a better understanding of a key question of global health and justice as well as to the underlying ethical questions. By highlighting and analyzing the functions of narratives, this paper provides a translational approach to refine our practices by which we address epidemic risk, be it on the national, the transnational or the global scale.
Abstract: The increasing availability of information about earth
surface elevation (Digital Elevation Models DEM) generated from
different sources (remote sensing, Aerial Images, Lidar) poses the
question about how to integrate and make available to the most than
possible audience this huge amount of data. In order to exploit the potential of 3D elevation representation the
quality of data management plays a fundamental role. Due to the high
acquisition costs and the huge amount of generated data, highresolution
terrain surveys tend to be small or medium sized and
available on limited portion of earth. Here comes the need to merge
large-scale height maps that typically are made available for free at
worldwide level, with very specific high resolute datasets. One the
other hand, the third dimension increases the user experience and the
data representation quality, unlocking new possibilities in data
analysis for civil protection, real estate, urban planning, environment
monitoring, etc. The open-source 3D virtual globes, which are
trending topics in Geovisual Analytics, aim at improving the
visualization of geographical data provided by standard web services
or with proprietary formats. Typically, 3D Virtual globes like do not
offer an open-source tool that allows the generation of a terrain
elevation data structure starting from heterogeneous-resolution terrain
datasets. This paper describes a technological solution aimed to set
up a so-called “Terrain Builder”. This tool is able to merge
heterogeneous-resolution datasets, and to provide a multi-resolution
worldwide terrain services fully compatible with CesiumJS and
therefore accessible via web using traditional browser without any
additional plug-in.
Abstract: 21st century has transformed the labor market
landscape in a way of posing new and different demands on
university graduates as well as university lecturers, which means that
the knowledge and academic skills students acquire in the course of
their studies should be applicable and transferable from the higher
education context to their future professional careers. Given the
context of the Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) classroom, the
teachers’ objective is not only to teach the language itself, but also to
prepare students to use that language as a medium to develop generic
skills and competences. These include media and information
literacy, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and analytical
skills, effective written and oral communication, as well as
collaborative work and social skills, all of which are necessary to
make university graduates more competitive in everyday professional
environments. On the other hand, due to limitations of time and large
numbers of students in classes, the frequently topic-centered syllabus
of LSP courses places considerable focus on acquiring the subject
matter and specialist vocabulary instead of sufficient development of
skills and competences required by students’ prospective employers.
This paper intends to explore some of those issues as viewed both by
LSP lecturers and by business professionals in their respective
surveys. The surveys were conducted among more than 50 LSP
lecturers at higher education institutions in Croatia, more than 40 HR
professionals and more than 60 university graduates with degrees in
economics and/or business working in management positions in
mainly large and medium-sized companies in Croatia. Various elements of LSP course content have been taken into
consideration in this research, including reading and listening
comprehension of specialist texts, acquisition of specialist vocabulary
and grammatical structures, as well as presentation and negotiation
skills. The ability to hold meetings, conduct business correspondence,
write reports, academic texts, case studies and take part in debates
were also taken into consideration, as well as informal business
communication, business etiquette and core courses delivered in a
foreign language. The results of the surveys conducted among LSP
lecturers will be analyzed with reference to what extent those
elements are included in their courses and how consistently and
thoroughly they are evaluated according to their course requirements.
Their opinions will be compared to the results of the surveys
conducted among professionals from a range of industries in Croatia
so as to examine how useful and important they perceive the same
elements of the LSP course content in their working environments.
Such comparative analysis will thus show to what extent the syllabi
of LSP courses meet the demands of the employment market when it
comes to the students’ language skills and competences, as well as
transferable skills. Finally, the findings will also be compared to the
observations based on practical teaching experience and the relevant
sources that have been used in this research. In conclusion, the ideas and observations in this paper are merely
open-ended questions that do not have conclusive answers, but might
prompt LSP lecturers to re-evaluate the content and objectives of
their course syllabi.
Abstract: The application of recycle waste tires into civil
engineering practices, namely asphalt paving mixtures and cementbased
materials has been gaining ground across the world. This
review summarizes and compares the recent achievements in the area
of plain rubberized concrete (PRC), in details. Different treatment
methods have been discussed to improve the performance of
rubberized Portland cement concrete. The review also includes the
effects of size and amount of tire rubbers on mechanical and
durability properties of PRC. The microstructure behaviour of the
rubberized concrete was detailed.
Abstract: Thoracotomy is a great surgery that has serious pulmonary complications, so purpose of this study was to determine the response of diaphragmatic excursion to inspiratory muscle trainer post thoracotomy. Thirty patients of both sexes (16 men and 14 women) with age ranged from 20 to 40 years old had done thoracotomy participated in this study. The practical work was done in cardiothoracic department, Kasr-El-Aini hospital at faculty of medicine for individuals 3 days Post operatively. Patients were assigned into two groups: group A (study group) included 15 patients (8 men and 7 women) who received inspiratory muscle training by using inspiratory muscle trainer for 20 minutes and routine chest physiotherapy (deep breathing, cough and early ambulation) twice daily, 3 days per week for one month. Group B (control group) included 15 patients (8 men and 7 women) who received the routine chest physiotherapy only (deep breathing, cough and early ambulation) twice daily, 3 days per week for one month. Ultrasonography was used to evaluate the changes in diaphragmatic excursion before and after training program. Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in diaphragmatic excursion in the study group (59.52%) more than control group (18.66%) after using inspiratory muscle trainer post operatively in patients post thoracotomy. It was concluded that the inspiratory muscle training device increases diaphragmatic excursion in patients post thoracotomy through improving inspiratory muscle strength and improving mechanics of breathing and using of inspiratory muscle trainer as a method of physical therapy rehabilitation to reduce post-operative pulmonary complications post thoracotomy.
Abstract: For several hundred years, the design of railway tracks
has practically remained unchanged. Traditionally, rail tracks are
placed on a ballast layer due to several reasons, including economy,
rapid drainage, and high load bearing capacity. The primary function
of ballast is to distributing dynamic track loads to sub-ballast and
subgrade layers, while also providing lateral resistance and allowing
for rapid drainage. Upon repeated trainloads, the ballast becomes
fouled due to ballast degradation and the intrusion of fines which
adversely affects the strength and deformation behaviour of ballast.
This paper presents the use of three-dimensional discrete element
method (DEM) in studying the shear behaviour of the fouled ballast
subjected to direct shear loading. Irregularly shaped particles of
ballast were modelled by grouping many spherical balls together in
appropriate sizes to simulate representative ballast aggregates. Fouled
ballast was modelled by injecting a specified number of miniature
spherical particles into the void spaces. The DEM simulation
highlights that the peak shear stress of the ballast assembly decreases
and the dilation of fouled ballast increases with an increase level of
fouling. Additionally, the distributions of contact force chain and
particle displacement vectors were captured during shearing progress,
explaining the formation of shear band and the evolutions of
volumetric change of fouled ballast.
Abstract: Many cluster based routing protocols have been
proposed in the field of wireless sensor networks, in which a group of
nodes are formed as clusters. A cluster head is selected from one
among those nodes based on residual energy, coverage area, number
of hops and that cluster-head will perform data gathering from
various sensor nodes and forwards aggregated data to the base station
or to a relay node (another cluster-head), which will forward the
packet along with its own data packet to the base station. Here a
Game Theory based Diligent Energy Utilization Algorithm (GTDEA)
for routing is proposed. In GTDEA, the cluster head selection is done
with the help of game theory, a decision making process, that selects
a cluster-head based on three parameters such as residual energy
(RE), Received Signal Strength Index (RSSI) and Packet Reception
Rate (PRR). Finding a feasible path to the destination with minimum
utilization of available energy improves the network lifetime and is
achieved by the proposed approach. In GTDEA, the packets are
forwarded to the base station using inter-cluster routing technique,
which will further forward it to the base station. Simulation results
reveal that GTDEA improves the network performance in terms of
throughput, lifetime, and power consumption.
Abstract: This paper looks at healing performances as
ethnographic expressions of local knowledge and culture embedded
within the Malay psyche and gemeinschaft. As society develops and
progresses, these healing performances are caught within conflicting
trajectories which become compounded by the contestations of
tradition, religious concerns, locality and modernity. As
exemplifications of the Malay ethos, these performances practice
common rituals, cater to the innate needs of the practitioners and
serve the targeted, closed, local community. This paper traces the
ethnographic methods in documenting these practices as rituals of
healing in a post-modern world. It delineates the ethnographic
concepts used to analyze these rituals, and to semiotically read the
varied binarial oppositions and juxtapositions. The paper concludes
by highlighting the reconciliatory processes involved in maintaining
these ritual performances as exemplifications of the Malay ethos
playing an important role in the re-aligning, re-balancing and healing
of the Malay community’s psyche.
Abstract: This paper describes an ab-initio design, development and calibration results of an Optical Sensor Ground Reaction Force Measurement Platform (OSGRFP) for gait and geriatric studies. The developed system employs an array of FBG sensors to measure the respective ground reaction forces from all three axes (X, Y and Z), which are perpendicular to each other. The novelty of this work is two folded. One is in its uniqueness to resolve the tri axial resultant forces during the stance in to the respective pure axis loads and the other is the applicability of inherently advantageous FBG sensors which are most suitable for biomechanical instrumentation. To validate the response of the FBG sensors installed in OSGRFP and to measure the cross sensitivity of the force applied in other directions, load sensors with indicators are used. Further in this work, relevant mathematical formulations are presented for extracting respective ground reaction forces from wavelength shifts/strain of FBG sensors on the OSGRFP. The result of this device has implications in understanding the foot function, identifying issues in gait cycle and measuring discrepancies between left and right foot. The device also provides a method to quantify and compare relative postural stability of different subjects under test, which has implications in post-surgical rehabilitation, geriatrics and optimizing training protocols for sports personnel.
Abstract: Medicinal and aromatic plants are promising and are characterized by the biosynthesis of odorous molecules that make up the so-called essential oils (EO), which have long been known for their antiseptic and therapeutic activity in folk medicine. Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine, they are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious diseases of fungal origin, against dermatophytes, those of bacterial origin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of drying in the shade on the water content and on the content of essential oils extracted from leaves of Eucalyptus camendulensis for better quality control of medicinal and aromatic plants. The water content of the Eucalyptus camendulensis plant material decreases during the drying process. It decreased from 100% to 0.006% for the drying in the shade after ten days. The moisture content is practically constant at the end of the drying period. The drying in the shade increases the concentration of essential oils of Eucalyptus camendulensis. When the leaves of Eucalyptus camendulensis plant are in the shade, the maximum of the essential oil content was obtained on the eighth day, the recorded value was 1.43% ± 0.01%. Beyond these periods, the content continuously drop in before stabilizing. The optimum drying time is between 6 and 9 days.
Abstract: We have aimed to produce a self-cleaning transparent
polymer coating with polyurethane (PU) matrix as the latter is highly
solvent, chemical and weather resistant having good mechanical
properties. Nano-silica modified by 1H, 1H, 2H, 2Hperflurooctyltriethoxysilane
was incorporated into the PU matrix for
attaining self-cleaning ability through hydrophobicity. The
modification was confirmed by particle size analysis and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM). Thermo-gravimetric (TGA) studies were
carried to ascertain the grafting of silane onto the silica. Several
coating formulations were prepared by varying the silica loading
content and compared to a commercial equivalent. The effect of
dispersion and the morphology of the coated films were assessed by
SEM analysis. All coating standardized tests like solvent resistance,
adhesion, flexibility, acid, alkali, gloss etc. have been performed as
per ASTM standards. Water contact angle studies were conducted to
analyze the hydrophobic character of the coating. In addition, the
coatings were also subjected to salt spray and accelerated weather
testing to analyze the durability of the coating.
Abstract: Landfill waste is a common problem as it has an
economic and environmental impact even if it is closed. Landfill
waste contains a high density of various persistent compounds such
as heavy metals, organic and inorganic materials. As persistent
compounds are slowly-degradable or even non-degradable in the
environment, they often produce sublethal or even lethal effects on
aquatic organisms. The aims of the present study were to estimate
sublethal effects of the Kairiai landfill (WGS: 55°55‘46.74“,
23°23‘28.4“) leachate on the locomotor activity of rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss juveniles using the original system package
developed in our laboratory for automated monitoring, recording and
analysis of aquatic organisms’ activity, and to determine patterns of
fish behavioral response to sublethal effects of leachate. Four
different concentrations of leachate were chosen: 0.125; 0.25; 0.5 and
1.0 mL/L (0.0025; 0.005; 0.01 and 0.002 as part of 96-hour LC50,
respectively). Locomotor activity was measured after 5, 10 and 30
minutes of exposure during 1-minute test-periods of each fish (7 fish
per treatment). The threshold-effect-concentration amounted to 0.18
mL/L (0.0036 parts of 96-hour LC50). This concentration was found
to be even 2.8-fold lower than the concentration generally assumed to
be “safe” for fish. At higher concentrations, the landfill leachate
solution elicited behavioral response of test fish to sublethal levels of
pollutants. The ability of the rainbow trout to detect and avoid
contaminants occurred after 5 minutes of exposure. The intensity of
locomotor activity reached a peak within 10 minutes, evidently
decreasing after 30 minutes. This could be explained by the
physiological and biochemical adaptation of fish to altered
environmental conditions. It has been established that the locomotor
activity of juvenile trout depends on leachate concentration and
exposure duration. Modeling of these parameters showed that the
activity of juveniles increased at higher leachate concentrations, but
slightly decreased with the increasing exposure duration. Experiment
results confirm that the behavior of rainbow trout juveniles is a
sensitive and rapid biomarker that can be used in combination with
the system for fish behavior monitoring, registration and analysis to
determine sublethal concentrations of pollutants in ambient water.
Further research should be focused on software improvement aimed
to include more parameters of aquatic organisms’ behavior and to
investigate the most rapid and appropriate behavioral responses in
different species. In practice, this study could be the basis for the
development and creation of biological early-warning systems
(BEWS).
Abstract: 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.