Abstract: Since the initial creation of the Barbie doll in 1959, it
became a symbol of US society. Likewise, the Licca-chan, a Japanese
doll created in 1967, also became a Japanese symbolic doll of Japanese
society. Prior to the introduction of Licca-chan, Barbie was already
marketed in Japan but their sales were dismal. Licca-chan (an actual
name: Kayama Licca) is a plastic doll with a variety of sizes ranging
from 21.0 cm to 29.0 cm which many Japanese girls dream of having.
For over 35 years, the manufacturer, Takara Co., Ltd. has sold over 48
million dolls and has produced doll houses, accessories, clothes, and
Licca-chan video games for the Nintendo DS. Many First-generation
Licca-chan consumers still are enamored with Licca-chan, and go to
Licca-chan House, in an amusement park with their daughters. These
people are called Licca-chan maniacs, as they enjoy touring the
Licca-chan’s factory in Tohoku or purchase various Licca-chan
accessories. After the successful launch of Licca-chan into the
Japanese market, a mixed-like doll from the US and Japan, a doll,
JeNny, was later sold in the same Japanese market by Takara Co., Ltd.
in 1982.
Comparison of these cultural iconic dolls, Barbie and Licca-chan,
are analyzed in this paper. In fact, these dolls have concepts of girls’
dreams. By using concepts of mythology of Jean Baudrillard, these
dolls can be represented idealized images of figures in the products for
consumers, but at the same time, consumers can see products with
different perspectives, which can cause controversy.
Abstract: Fungal mutant strains have produced cellulase and
xylanase enzymes, and have induced high hydrolysis with enhanced
of rice straw. The mutants were obtained by exposing Penicillium
strain to UV-light treatments. Screening and selection after treatment
with UV-light were carried out using cellulolytic and xylanolytic
clear zones method to select the hypercellulolytic and
hyperxylanolytic mutants. These mutants were evaluated for their
cellulase and xylanase enzyme production as well as their abilities for
biodegradation of rice straw. The mutant 12 UV/1 produced 306.21%
and 209.91% cellulase and xylanase, respectively, as compared with
the original wild type strain. This mutant showed high capacity of
rice straw degradation. The effectiveness of tested mutant strain and
that of wild strain was compared in relation to enhancing the
composting process of rice straw and animal manures mixture. The
results obtained showed that the compost product of inoculated
mixture with mutant strain (12 UV/1) was the best compared to the
wild strain and un-inoculated mixture. Analysis of the composted
materials showed that the characteristics of the produced compost
were close to those of the high quality standard compost. The results
obtained in the present work suggest that the combination between
rice straw and animal manure could be used for enhancing the
composting process of rice straw and particularly when applied with
fungal decomposer accelerating the composting process.
Abstract: Previous studies on financial distress prediction choose
the conventional failing and non-failing dichotomy; however, the
distressed extent differs substantially among different financial
distress events. To solve the problem, “non-distressed”, “slightlydistressed”
and “reorganization and bankruptcy” are used in our article
to approximate the continuum of corporate financial health. This paper
explains different financial distress events using the two-stage method.
First, this investigation adopts firm-specific financial ratios, corporate
governance and market factors to measure the probability of various
financial distress events based on multinomial logit models.
Specifically, the bootstrapping simulation is performed to examine the
difference of estimated misclassifying cost (EMC). Second, this work
further applies macroeconomic factors to establish the credit cycle
index and determines the distressed cut-off indicator of the two-stage
models using such index. Two different models, one-stage and
two-stage prediction models are developed to forecast financial
distress, and the results acquired from different models are compared
with each other, and with the collected data. The findings show that the
one-stage model has the lower misclassification error rate than the
two-stage model. The one-stage model is more accurate than the
two-stage model.
Abstract: Power systems are operating under stressed condition
due to continuous increase in demand of load. This can lead to
voltage instability problem when face additional load increase or
contingency. In order to avoid voltage instability suitable size of
reactive power compensation at optimal location in the system is
required which improves the load margin. This work aims at
obtaining optimal size as well as location of compensation in the 39-
bus New England system with the help of Bacteria Foraging and
Genetic algorithms. To reduce the computational time the work
identifies weak candidate buses in the system, and then picks only
two of them to take part in the optimization. The objective function is
based on a recently proposed voltage stability index which takes into
account the weighted average sensitivity index is a simpler and faster
approach than the conventional CPF algorithm. BFOA has been
found to give better results compared to GA.
Abstract: Africa enjoys some of the best solar radiation levels in
the world averaging between 4-6 kWh/m2/day for most of the year
and the global economic and political conditions that tend to make
African countries more dependent on their own energy resources
have caused growing interest in renewable energy based
technologies. However to-date, implementation of modern Energy
Technologies in Africa is still very low especially the use of solar
conversion technologies. This paper presents literature review and
analysis relating to the techno-economic feasibility of solar
photovoltaic power generation in Africa. The literature is basically
classified into the following four main categories. Techno-economic
feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, design methods,
performance evaluations of various systems and policy of potential
future of technological development of photovoltaic (PV) in Africa
by exploring the impact of alternative policy instruments and
technology cost reductions on the financial viability of investing solar
photovoltaic in Africa.
Abstract: Skin aging is a slow multifactorial process influenced
by both internal as well as external factors. Ultra-violet radiations
(UV), diet, smoking and personal habits are the most common
environmental factors that affect skin aging. Fat contents and fibrous
proteins as collagen and elastin are core internal structural
components. The direct influence of UV on elastin integrity and
health is central on aging of skin especially by time. The deposition
of abnormal elastic material is a major marker in a photo-aged skin.
Searching for compounds that may protect against cutaneous photodamage
is exceedingly valued. Retinoids and alpha hydroxy acids
have been endorsed by some researchers as possible candidates for
protecting and or repairing the effect of UV damaged skin. For
consolidating a better system of anti- and protective effects of such
anti-aging agents, we evaluated the combinatory effects of various
dosages of lactic acid and retinol on the dermal fibroblast’s elastin
levels exposed to UV. The UV exposed cells showed significant
reduction in the elastin levels. A combination of drugs with a higher
concentration of lactic acid (30 -35 mM) and a lower concentration of
retinol (10-15mg/mL) showed to work better in maintaining elastin
concentration in UV exposed cells. We assume this preservation
could be the result of increased tropo-elastin gene expression
stimulated by retinol whereas lactic acid probably repaired the UV
irradiated damage by enhancing the amount and integrity of the
elastin fibers.
Abstract: In this paper, effects of using Alumina-water
nanofluid on the rate of heat transfer have been investigated
numerically. Physical model is a square enclosure with insulated top
and bottom horizontal walls, while the vertical walls are kept at
different constant temperatures. Two appropriate models are used to
evaluate the viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluid. The
governing stream-vorticity equations are solved using a second order
central finite difference scheme, coupled to the conservation of mass
and energy. The study has been carried out for the Richardson
number 0.1 to 10 and the solid volume fraction 0 to 0.04. Results are
presented by isotherms lines, average Nusselt number and normalized
Nusselt number in different range of φ and Ri for forced, combined
and natural convection dominated regime. It is found that higher heat
transfer rate is predicted when the effects of nanoparticle is taken into
account.
Abstract: Humans are social mammals, of the primate order.
Our biology, our behaviour and our pathologies are unique to us. In
our desire to understand, reduce solitary confinement one source of
information is the many reports of social isolation of other social
mammals, especially primates. A behavioural study was conducted in
the department of pharmacology at Indira Gandhi Medical College,
Shimla in Himachalpradesh province in India using white albino
mice. Different behavioural parameters were observed by using open
field, tail suspension, tests for aggressive behaviour and social
interactions and the effect of isolation was studied. The results were
evaluated and the standard statistics were applied. The said study was
done to establish facts that isolation itself impairs social behaviour
and can lead to alcohol dependence as well as related drug
dependence.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the political and economic issues
that people with disabilities face related to globalization; how people
with disabilities have been adapting globalization and surviving under
worldwide competition system. It explains that economic
globalization exacerbates inequality and deprivation of people with
disabilities. The rising tide of neo-liberal welfare policies emphasized
efficiency, downsized social expenditure for people with disabilities,
excluded people with disabilities against labor market, and shifted
them from welfare system to nothing. However, there have been
people with disabilities' political responses to globalization, which are
characterized by a global network of people with disabilities as well as
participation to global governance. Their resistance can be seen as an
attempt to tackle the problems that economic globalization has
produced. It is necessary paradigm shift of disability policy from
dependency represented by disability benefits to independency
represented by labor market policies for people with disabilities.
Abstract: A well designed and executed Production Planning
and Control (PPC) system is one of the key levers for superior
performance in the current manufacturing set-up. Hence, measuring
the PPC system performance has become a necessity for long term
success. The present study examined PPC related issues which
impact the production capacity and productivity of leather companies
with special focus on Kombolcha Tannery Share Company (KTSC),
Ethiopia. Physical observation, interview, and questionnaire were
used to generate necessary information from the respondents and
reach valid conclusions. Company annual reports were referred and
analyzed to triangulate primary data. Consequently, the study
revealed that KTSC runs below its capacity due to its inefficient PPC
system being in use for which the root causes were identified. The
study thereby conceptualizes a PPC system improvement framework
comprising three pillars viz., management culture, internal capability
and performance measurement together with key considerations in
each case. The study findings enable the company to recognize the
importance of efficient PPC system as a source of competitive
advantage. It also aid managers in evaluating various PPC execution
schemes to enhance productivity.
Abstract: Numerical studies were conducted using Lattice
Boltzmann Method (LBM) to study the natural convection in a square
cavity in the presence of roughness. An algorithm based on a single
relaxation time Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) model of Lattice
Boltzmann Method (LBM) was developed. Roughness was
introduced on both the hot and cold walls in the form of sinusoidal
roughness elements. The study was conducted for a Newtonian fluid
of Prandtl number (Pr) 1.0. The range of Ra number was explored
from 10^3 to 10^6 in a laminar region. Thermal and hydrodynamic
behavior of fluid was analyzed using a differentially heated square
cavity with roughness elements present on both the hot and cold wall.
Neumann boundary conditions were introduced on horizontal walls
with vertical walls as isothermal. The roughness elements were at the
same boundary condition as corresponding walls. Computational
algorithm was validated against previous benchmark studies
performed with different numerical methods, and a good agreement
was found to exist. Results indicate that the maximum reduction in
the average heat transfer was 16.66 percent at Ra number 10^5.
Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of the autonomous
mobile robot (AMR) navigation task based on the hybrid control
modes. The novel hybrid control mode, based on multi-sensors
information by using the fuzzy approach, has been presented in this
research. The system operates in real time, is robust, enables the robot
to operate with imprecise knowledge, and takes into account the
physical limitations of the environment in which the robot moves,
obtaining satisfactory responses for a large number of different
situations. An experiment is simulated and carried out with a pioneer
mobile robot. From the experimental results, the effectiveness and
usefulness of the proposed AMR obstacle avoidance and navigation
scheme are confirmed. The experimental results show the feasibility,
and the control system has improved the navigation accuracy. The
implementation of the controller is robust, has a low execution time,
and allows an easy design and tuning of the fuzzy knowledge base.
Abstract: Activated carbons (M4P0, M4P2, and M5P2) used in
this research were produced from palm shell and polyetherether
ketone (PEEK) via carbonization, impregnation and microwave
activation. The adsorption/desorption process was carried out using
static volumetric adsorption. Regeneration is important in the overall
economy of the process and waste minimization. This work focuses
on the thermal regeneration of the CO2 exhausted microwave
activated carbons. The regeneration strategy adopted was thermal
with nitrogen purge desorption with N2 feed flow rate of 20 ml/min
for 1 h at atmospheric pressure followed by drying at 150oC.Seven
successive adsorption/regeneration processes were carried out on the
material. It was found that after seven adsorption regeneration cycles;
the regeneration efficiency (RE) for CO2 activated carbon from palm
shell only (M4P0) was more than 90% while that of hybrid palm
shell-PEEK (M4P2, M5P2) was above 95%. The cyclic adsorption
and regeneration shows the stability of the adsorbent materials.
Abstract: In this paper, we used data mining to extract
biomedical knowledge. In general, complex biomedical data
collected in studies of populations are treated by statistical methods,
although they are robust, they are not sufficient in themselves to
harness the potential wealth of data. For that you used in step two
learning algorithms: the Decision Trees and Support Vector Machine
(SVM). These supervised classification methods are used to make the
diagnosis of thyroid disease. In this context, we propose to promote
the study and use of symbolic data mining techniques.
Abstract: Everyday life is and will be influenced depending on
the developments that society undergoes throughout the history.
Particularly, countries undergoing transition from one system to
another sustain the greatest impact in trying to embrace the modern
system. Kosovo society had the fortune to experience a change,
which began in late 1999 to continue up to date. One of the
'developments' of the time with the evolution in Kosovo society was
the transition from the traditional education system into the modern
one. This transformation began immediately after the war, to
continue even today. It was started by internationals, which governed
and administered Kosovo society, including education. There was a
great 'evolution', because almost the entire system was 'changed'.
Among other things, for the first time it was enabled the opening of
private schools from the lowest level up to the colleges and
universities. This paper will address: how much was ready the society
to embrace such a 'cultural' change in education, respectively, how
much were prepared teachers for such changes; as it was actually
thought to be a modern education system, how much was it according
to international standards; what are the results and current situation in
Kosovo education.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the kinematic
characteristics and differences of the snatch barbell trajectory of 53 kg
class female weight lifters. We take the 2014 Taiwan College Cup
players as examples, and tend to make kinematic applications through
the proven weightlifting barbell track system. The competition videos
are taken by consumer camcorder with a tripod which set up at the side
of the lifter. The results will be discussed in three parts, the first part is
various lifting phase, the second part is the compare lifting between
success and unsuccessful, and the third part is to compare the
outstanding player with the general. Conclusion through the barbell
can be used to observe the trajectories of our players lifting the usual
process cannot be observed in the presence of malfunction or habits, so
that the coach can find the problem and guide the players more
accurately. Our system can be applied in practice and competition to
increase the resilience of the lifter on the field.
Abstract: Poly vinyl acetate (PVA)-based titania (TiO2)–carbon
nanotube composite nanofibers (PVA-TCCNs) with various
PVA-to-solvent ratios and PVA-based TiO2 composite nanofibers
(PVA-TN) were synthesized using an electrospinning process,
followed by thermal treatment. The photocatalytic activities of these
nanofibers in the degradation of airborne monocyclic aromatics under
visible-light irradiation were examined. This study focuses on the
application of these photocatalysts to the degradation of the target
compounds at sub-part-per-million indoor air concentrations. The
characteristics of the photocatalysts were examined using scanning
electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible
spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. For all the
target compounds, the PVA-TCCNs showed photocatalytic
degradation efficiencies superior to those of the reference PVA-TN.
Specifically, the average photocatalytic degradation efficiencies for
benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and o-xylene (BTEX) obtained using
the PVA-TCCNs with a PVA-to-solvent ratio of 0.3 (PVA-TCCN-0.3)
were 11%, 59%, 89%, and 92%, respectively, whereas those observed
using PVA-TNs were 5%, 9%, 28%, and 32%, respectively.
PVA-TCCN-0.3 displayed the highest photocatalytic degradation
efficiency for BTEX, suggesting the presence of an optimal
PVA-to-solvent ratio for the synthesis of PVA-TCCNs. The average
photocatalytic efficiencies for BTEX decreased from 11% to 4%, 59%
to 18%, 89% to 37%, and 92% to 53%, respectively, when the flow
rate was increased from 1.0 to 4.0 L min1. In addition, the average
photocatalytic efficiencies for BTEX increased 11% to ~0%, 59% to
3%, 89% to 7%, and 92% to 13%, respectively, when the input
concentration increased from 0.1 to 1.0 ppm. The prepared
PVA-TCCNs were effective for the purification of airborne aromatics
at indoor concentration levels, particularly when the operating
conditions were optimized.
Abstract: Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a noninvasive
technique that registers signals originating from the firing of neurons
in the brain. The Emotiv EEG Neuroheadset is a consumer product
comprised of 14 EEG channels and was used to record the reactions
of the neurons within the brain to two forms of stimuli in 10
participants. These stimuli consisted of auditory and visual formats
that provided directions of ‘right’ or ‘left.’ Participants were
instructed to raise their right or left arm in accordance with the
instruction given. A scenario in OpenViBE was generated to both
stimulate the participants while recording their data. In OpenViBE,
the Graz Motor BCI Stimulator algorithm was configured to govern
the duration and number of visual stimuli. Utilizing EEGLAB under
the cross platform MATLAB®, the electrodes most stimulated during
the study were defined. Data outputs from EEGLAB were analyzed
using IBM SPSS Statistics® Version 20. This aided in determining
the electrodes to use in the development of a brain-machine interface
(BMI) using real-time EEG signals from the Emotiv EEG
Neuroheadset. Signal processing and feature extraction were
accomplished via the Simulink® signal processing toolbox. An
Arduino™ Duemilanove microcontroller was used to link the Emotiv
EEG Neuroheadset and the right and left Mecha TE™ Hands.
Abstract: The article discusses the legal framework of the
government’s environmental function and analyzes the role of the
national policy in protection of wetlands. The problem is of interest
for it deals with the most important branch of economy – utilization
of Kazakhstan’s natural resources, protection of health and
environmental wellbeing of the population. Development of a longterm
environmental program addressing the protection of wetlands
represents the final stage of the government’s environmental policy,
and is a relatively new function for the public administration system.
It appeared due to the environmental measures that require immediate
decisions to be taken. It is an integral part of the effort in the field of
management of state-owned natural resource, as well as of the
measures aimed at efficient management of natural resources to avoid
their early depletion or contamination.
Abstract: In this paper, reliable consensus of multi-agent systems
with sampled-data is investigated. By using a suitable
Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and some techniques such as
Wirtinger Inequality, Schur Complement and Kronecker Product, the
results of such system are obtained by solving a set of Linear Matrix
Inequalities (LMIs). One numerical example is included to show the
effectiveness of the proposed criteria.