Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of the solution-focused brief therapy on improving the psychological wellbeing of family supervisor woman. This study has been carried out by semi-experimental method and in the form of pre-test, post-test performance on two groups (experimental and control), so that one sample group of 30 individuals was randomly achieved and were randomly divided in two groups of experimental (n=15) and control (n=15). To collect data, Ryff scale psychological wellbeing was used. After conducting pre-test (RSPWB) for two experimental and control groups, Solution-focused brief therapy interference was conducted on the experimental group during five two-hour sessions. Finally, Ryff scale psychological wellbeing was reused for the two groups as post-test and achieved outcomes that were analyzed using covariance. The results indicated that the significant increase of average marks of the experimental group in psychological wellbeing had better function than that of the control group. Finally, solution-focused brief therapy for improving psychological well-being of family supervisor women has a suitable capability and could be used in this way.
Abstract: We investigate the performance of an integrated cascade (IC) refrigeration system which uses environment friendly zeotropic mixtures. Computational calculation has been carried out by varying pressure level at the evaporator and the condenser of the system. Effects of mass flow rate of the refrigerant on the coefficient of performance (COP) are presented. We show that the integrated cascade system produces ultra-low temperatures in the evaporator by using environment friendly zeotropic mixture.
Abstract: This paper presents results of numerical and experimental studies on a two-dimensional (2D) flapping elliptic airfoil in a forward flight condition at Reynolds number of 5000. The study is motivated from an earlier investigation which shows that the deterioration in thrust performance of a sinusoidal heaving and pitching 2D (NACA0012) airfoil at high flapping frequency can be recovered by changing the effective angle of attack profile to square wave, sawtooth, or cosine wave shape. To better understand why such modifications lead to superior thrust performance, we take a closer look at the transient aerodynamic force behavior of an airfoil when the effective angle of attack profile changes gradually from a generic smooth trapezoidal profile to a sinusoid shape by modifying the base length of the trapezoid. The choice of using a smooth trapezoidal profile is to avoid the infinite acceleration condition encountered in the square wave profile. Our results show that the enhancement in the time-averaged thrust performance at high flapping frequency can be attributed to the delay and reduction in the drag producing valley region in the transient thrust force coefficient when the effective angle of attack profile changes from sinusoidal to trapezoidal.
Abstract: The present study is based on the three-dimensional digital analysis by the finite elements method of the mechanical loading effect on the delamination of unidirectional and multidirectional stratified composites. The aim of this work is the determination of the release energy rate G in mode I and the Von Mises equivalent constraint distribution along the damaged area under the influence of several parameters such as the applied load and the delamination size. The results obtained in this study show that the unidirectional composite laminates have better mechanical resistance one the loading line than the multidirectional composite laminates.
Abstract: Among other traditional and non-traditional
additives, polymers have shown an efficient performance in the field
and improved sustainability. Polyacrylamide (PAM) is one such
additive that has demonstrated many advantages including a
reduction in permeability, an increase in durability and the provision
of strength characteristics. However, information about its effect on
the improved geotechnical characteristics is very limited to the field
performance monitoring. Therefore, a laboratory investigation was
carried out to examine the basic and engineering behaviors of three
types of soils treated with a PAM additive. The results showed an
increase in dry density and unconfined compressive strength for all
the soils. The results further demonstrated an increase in unsoaked
CBR and a reduction in permeability for all stabilized samples.
Abstract: In this paper, an improved active snubber cell is proposed on account of soft switching (SS) family of pulse width modulation (PWM) DC-DC converters. The improved snubber cell provides zero-voltage transition (ZVT) turn on and zero-current transition (ZCT) turn off for main switch. The snubber cell decreases EMI noise and operates with SS in a wide range of line and load voltages. Besides, all of the semiconductor devices in the converter operate with SS. There is no additional voltage and current stress on the main devices. Additionally, extra voltage stress does not occur on the auxiliary switch and its current stress is acceptable value. The improved converter has a low cost and simple structure. The theoretical analysis of converter is clarified and the operating states are given in detail. The experimental results of converter are obtained by prototype of 500 W and 100 kHz. It is observed that the experimental results and theoretical analysis of converter are suitable with each other perfectly.
Abstract: To focus on the vibration mode of a cone loudspeaker,
which acts as an electroacoustic transducer, excitation experiments
were performed using two types of loudspeaker units: one employing
an impulse hammer and the other a sweep signal. The on-axis sound
pressure frequency properties of the loudspeaker were evaluated, and
the characteristic properties of the loudspeakers were successfully
determined in both excitation experiments. Moreover, under
conditions identical to the experiment conditions, a coupled analysis of
the vibration-acoustics of the cone loudspeaker was performed using
an acoustic analysis software program that considers the impact of
damping caused by air viscosity. The result of sound pressure
frequency properties with the numerical analysis are the most closely
match that measured in the excitation experiments over a wide range
of frequency bands.
Abstract: Mining big data represents a big challenge nowadays. Many types of research are concerned with mining massive amounts of data and big data streams. Mining big data faces a lot of challenges including scalability, speed, heterogeneity, accuracy, provenance and privacy. In telecommunication industry, mining big data is like a mining for gold; it represents a big opportunity and maximizing the revenue streams in this industry. This paper discusses the characteristics of big data (volume, variety, velocity and veracity), data mining techniques and tools for handling very large data sets, mining big data in telecommunication and the benefits and opportunities gained from them.
Abstract: 10 clinically healthy hemal nodes were collected from male bulls aged 2-3 years. Light microscopy revealed a capsule of connective tissue consisted mainly of collagen fiber surrounding hemal node, numerous erythrocytes were found in wide subcapsular sinus under the capsule. The parenchyma of the hemal node was divided into cortex and medulla. Diffused lymphocytes, and lymphoid follicles, having germinal centers were the main components of the cortex, while in the medulla there was wide medullary sinus, diffused lymphocytes and few lymphoid nodules. The area occupied with lymph nodules was larger than that occupied with non-nodular structure of lymphoid cords and blood sinusoids. Electron microscopy revealed the cellular components of hemal node including elements of circulating erythrocytes intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells, mast cells, reticular cells, macrophages, megakaryocytes and endothelial cells lining the blood sinuses. The lymphocytes were somewhat triangular in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent erythrocytes. Nuclei were triangular to oval in shape, lightly stained with clear nuclear membrane indentation and clear nucleoli. The reticular cells were elongated in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent lymphocytes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and few lysosomes were seen in their cytoplasm. Nucleus was elongated in shape with less condensed chromatin. Plasma cells were oval to irregular in shape with numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum containing electron lucent material occupying the whole cytoplasm and few mitochondria were found. Nuclei were centrally located and oval in shape with heterochromatin emarginated and often clumped near the nuclear membrane. Occasionally megakaryocytes and mast cells were seen among lymphocytes. Megakaryocytes had multilobulated nucleus and free ribosomes often appearing as small aggregates in their cytoplasm, while mast cell had their characteristic electron dense granule in the cytoplasm, few electron lucent granules were found also, we conclude that, the main function of the hemal node of cattle is proliferation of lymphocytes. No role for plasma cell in erythrophagocytosis could be suggested.
Abstract: The soil profile at site of the bridge project includes soft fine grained soil layer located between 5.0 m to 11.0 m in depth, it has high water content, low SPT no., and low bearing capacity. The clay layer induces high settlement due to surcharge application of earth embankment at ramp T1, ramp T2, and ramp T3 especially at heights from 9m right 3m. Calculated settlement for embankment heights less than 3m may be accepted regarding Saudi Code for soil and foundation. The soil and groundwater at the project site comprise high contents of sulfates and chlorides of high aggressively on concrete and steel bars, respectively. Regarding results of the study, it has been recommended to use stone column piles or new technology named PCC piles as soil improvement to improve the bearing capacity of the weak layer. The new technology is cast in-situ thin wall concrete pipe piles (PCC piles), it has economically advantageous and high workability. The technology can save time of implementation and cost of application is almost 30% of other types of piles.
Abstract: Healthcare waste management continues to present an
array of challenges for developing countries, and Liberia is of no
exception. There is insufficient information available regarding the
generation, handling, and disposal of health care waste. This face
serves as an impediment to healthcare management schemes. The
specific objective of this study is to present an evaluation of the
current health care management practices in Liberia. It also presented
procedures, techniques used, methods of handling, transportation, and
disposal methods of wastes as well as the quantity and composition
of health care waste. This study was conducted as an investigative
case study, covering three different health care facilities; a hospital, a
health center, and a clinic in Monrovia, Montserrado County. The
average waste generation was found to be 0-7kg per day at the clinic
and health center and 8-15kg per/day at the hospital. The composition
of the waste includes hazardous and non-hazardous waste i.e. plastic,
papers, sharps, and pathological elements etc. Nevertheless, the
investigation showed that the healthcare waste generated by the
surveyed healthcare facilities were not properly handled because of
insufficient guidelines for separate collection, and classification, and
adequate methods for storage and proper disposal of generated
wastes. This therefore indicates that there is a need for improvement
within the healthcare waste management system to improve the
existing situation.
Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to establish the relationship between models of state organization and the various types of collective identity expressed by the Spanish. The question of nationalism and identity ascription in Spain has always been a topic of special importance due to the presence in that country of territories where the population emits very different opinions of nationalist sentiment than the rest of Spain. The current situation of sovereignty challenge of Catalonia to the central government exemplifies the importance of the subject matter. In order to analyze this process of interrelation, we use a secondary data mining by applying the multiple correspondence analysis technique (MCA). As a main result a typology of four types of expression of collective identity based on models of State organization are shown, which are connected with the party position on this issue.
Abstract: This paper is a qualitative research report. A group of
students form a public university in a small town in Colombia
participated in this study which aimed at describing to what extend
the use of social ads, published on the internet, helped to develop
their critical thinking skills. Students’ productions, field notes, video
recordings and direct observation were the instruments and
techniques used by the researches in order to gather the data which
was analyzed under the principles of grounded theory and
triangulation. The implementation of social ads into the classroom
evidenced a noticeable improvement in students’ ability to interpret
and argue social issues, as well as, their self-improvement in oral and
written production in English, as a foreign language.
Abstract: Copreneurship is a term used to describe the business
pattern of operations run by married couples who share commitment,
goals, and responsibilities in handling a business. Research conducted
overseas showed that copreneurship business activities grew quickly
and played a role in elevating families’ and nations’ socio-economic
standards. In Malaysia, copreneurship has long been cultivated by
spouses. Thus, this study aimed to explore the factors that motivate
married partners to start a copreneurship business, and who is the
dominant partner in the management of this business. The study
participants are four entrepreneurial couples who are SME business
operators selected through purposive sampling. In-depth interviews
and direct observation were used as methods of measurement for
triangulation of qualitative data in this study. The findings of the
interviews were administered using NVivo 8.0 software. The result
shows that freedom is a key factor that drives entrepreneurs to set up
copreneurship businesses, and that the husband dominates the
management aspects of the business. The study gives an overview of
the parties involved in entrepreneurship to provide understanding of
the copreneurship concept as it is practiced. This study provides
academic value by creating understanding of the importance of a
harmonious family institution specifically for forming entrepreneurs
in the familial environment in Malaysia.
Abstract: Sun tracking systems are the systems following the sun ray by a right angle or by predetermined certain angle. In this study, we used theoretical trajectory of sun for latitude of central Anatolia in Turkey. A two degree of freedom spherical mechanism was designed to have a large workspace able to follow the sun's theoretical motion by the right angle during the whole year. An inverse kinematic analysis was generated to find the positions of mechanism links for the predicted trajectory. Force and torque analysis were shown for the first day of the year.
Abstract: This project aims at building an efficient and
automatic power monitoring SCADA system, which is capable of
monitoring the electrical parameters of high voltage powered devices
in real time for example RMS voltage and current, frequency, energy
consumed, power factor etc. The system uses RS-485 serial
communication interface to transfer data over longer distances.
Embedded C programming is the platform used to develop two
hardware modules namely: RTU and Master Station modules, which
both use the CC2540 BLE 4.0 microcontroller configured in slave /
master mode. The Si8900 galvanic ally isolated microchip is used to
perform ADC externally. The hardware communicates via UART
port and sends data to the user PC using the USB port. Labview
software is used to design a user interface to display current state of
the power loads being monitored as well as logs data to excel
spreadsheet file. An understanding of the Si8900’s auto baud rate
process is key to successful implementation of this project.
Abstract: The importance of culture and tourism in the attractiveness and competitiveness of the countries is central, and many regions are evidencing their cultural assets, tangible and intangible, as a means to create comparative advantages in tourism and produce a distinctive place in response to the pressures of globalization. Culture and tourism are interlinked because of their obvious combination and growth potential. Cultural tourism is a crucial global tourism market with fast growing. Regions can develop significant relations between culture and tourism to increase their attractiveness as places to visit, live and invest, increasing their competitiveness. Accordingly, having new and creative approach to historical areas as cultural value-based destinations can improve their conditions to promote tourism. Furthermore, in 21st century, media become the most important factor affecting the development of urban cities, including public places. As a result of the digital revolution, re-imaging and re-linkage public places by media are essential to create more interactions between public spaces and users, interaction media display, and urban screens, one of the most important defined media. This interaction can transform the urban space from being neglected to be more interactive space with users, especially the pedestrians. The paper focuses on The Walled City of Famagusta. As many other historic quarters elsewhere in the world, is in a process, of decay and deterioration, and its functionally distinctive areas are severely threatened by physical, functional, locational, and image obsolescence at varying degrees. So the focus on the future development of this area through tourism promotion can be an appropriate decision for the monument enhancement of the spatial quality in Walled City of Famagusta. In this paper, it is aimed to identify the effects of these new digital factors to transform public spaces especially in historic urban areas to promote creative tourism. Accordingly, two different analysis methods are used as well as a theoretical review. The first is case study on site and the second is Close ended questionnaire, test many concepts raised in this paper. The physical analysis on site carried out in order to evaluate the walled city restoration for touristic purpose. Besides, theoretical review is done in order to provide background to the subject and cleared Factors to attract tourists.
Abstract: Hydrologic models are increasingly used as tools to
predict stormwater quantity and quality from urban catchments.
However, due to a range of practical issues, most models produce
gross errors in simulating complex hydraulic and hydrologic systems.
Difficulty in finding a robust approach for model calibration is one of
the main issues. Though automatic calibration techniques are
available, they are rarely used in common commercial hydraulic and
hydrologic modelling software e.g. MIKE URBAN. This is partly
due to the need for a large number of parameters and large datasets in
the calibration process. To overcome this practical issue, a
framework for automatic calibration of a hydrologic model was
developed in R platform and presented in this paper. The model was
developed based on the time-area conceptualization. Four calibration
parameters, including initial loss, reduction factor, time of
concentration and time-lag were considered as the primary set of
parameters. Using these parameters, automatic calibration was
performed using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). ABC is
a simulation-based technique for performing Bayesian inference
when the likelihood is intractable or computationally expensive to
compute. To test the performance and usefulness, the technique was
used to simulate three small catchments in Gold Coast. For
comparison, simulation outcomes from the same three catchments
using commercial modelling software, MIKE URBAN were used.
The graphical comparison shows strong agreement of MIKE URBAN
result within the upper and lower 95% credible intervals of posterior
predictions as obtained via ABC. Statistical validation for posterior
predictions of runoff result using coefficient of determination (CD),
root mean square error (RMSE) and maximum error (ME) was found
reasonable for three study catchments. The main benefit of using
ABC over MIKE URBAN is that ABC provides a posterior
distribution for runoff flow prediction, and therefore associated
uncertainty in predictions can be obtained. In contrast, MIKE
URBAN just provides a point estimate. Based on the results of the
analysis, it appears as though ABC the developed framework
performs well for automatic calibration.
Abstract: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA found in
many different species. They play crucial roles in cancer such as
biological processes of apoptosis and proliferation. The identification
of microRNA-target genes can be an essential first step towards to
reveal the role of microRNA in various cancer types. In this paper,
we predict miRNA-target genes for lung cancer by integrating
prediction scores from miRanda and PITA algorithms used as a
feature vector of miRNA-target interaction. Then, machine-learning
algorithms were implemented for making a final prediction. The
approach developed in this study should be of value for future studies
into understanding the role of miRNAs in molecular mechanisms
enabling lung cancer formation.
Abstract: An experiment to verify the relationships between
physiological indexes of an e-learner and the presence or absence of an
operation during e-learning is described. Electroencephalogram
(EEG), hemoencephalography (HEG), skin conductance (SC), and
blood volume pulse (BVP) values were measured while participants
performed experimental learning tasks. The results show that there are
significant differences between the SC values when reading with
clicking on learning materials and the SC values when reading without
clicking, and between the HEG ratio when reading (with and without
clicking) and the HEG ratio when resting for four of five participants.
We conclude that the SC signals can be used to estimate whether or not
a learner is performing an active task and that the HEG ratios can be
used to estimate whether a learner is learning.