bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring Mother Tongue Education in the Foundation Phase to Promote Linguistic Diversity: Learning Barriers in a Historically disadvantaged School
Authors: Maimona Salie
Published: August 2022

This study focused on exploring the challenges of mother tongue education in the Foundation Phase in promoting linguistic diversity at a historically disadvantaged school in the Western Cape, South Africa. It adopted a qualitative case study located within an interpretive research paradigm. Focus group discussions and interviews were used for data collection, and the thematic analysis technique was employed for qualitative data. Thirty-two participants including twelve Foundation Phase learners (n=12: females = 6; males = 6; ages 7-9 years), eight Foundation Phase educators (n=8 female educators, ages 29-56 years), and twelve parents or caregivers (n=12, ages between 29-57 years) were purposively selected as participants from a historically disadvantaged school. This study found that non-mother tongue English-speaking learners in the Foundation Phase, growing up in historically disadvantaged areas and attending disadvantaged schools, experienced several learning barriers. These included educators’ lack of proficiency regarding non-mother tongue learners’ language, psychological-social barriers, and cultural diversity. This study concluded that some learners' linguistic rights in the Foundation Phase classrooms were seriously compromised because they did not receive their mother tongue instruction.
Study of the Cassava Production System in the Department of Tivaouane, Senegal
Authors: CISSE Alpha , SALL Moussa , DIA Souleymane , DIEYE Ousmane , Seck Mouhamed , SARR Saer , SEMBENE Mbacke
Published: August 2022

Cassava plays an important role in improving food security and reducing poverty in rural areas. Despite its importance, its production in Senegal remains low compared to other African countries. Nowadays, it is confronted with numerous constraints. It is in this context that a study was conducted on the cassava production system in the Thiès "cassava granary" region, with the objective of examining farmers' cultivation practices. It was conducted in eight communes located in the department of Tivaouane, some of which are located in the Niayes agro-ecological zone and others in the central-northern groundnut basin. Surveys were conducted among the largest cassava producers in these communes. Analysis of the results showed that cassava is only grown in the rainy season with the same cultivation practices that have been used for years. Of the five varieties listed by the President of the Senegalese Cassava Interprofession, only four are grown in the areas surveyed. The Terrasse (43%) and Kombo (36%) varieties are grown more by our respondents in the Niayes area. Soya (75%) and Wallet "Parydiey" (20% of our sample) dominate in the central-northern groundnut basin.
On Icy Ocean Worlds, Size Controls Ice Shell Geometry
Authors: Kang Wanying , Jansen Malte
Published: August 2022

The ice shell and subsurface ocean on icy worlds are strongly coupled together—heat and salinity flux from the ice shell induced by the ice thickness gradient drives circulation in the ocean, and in turn, the heat transport by ocean circulation shapes the ice shell. Since measurements in the near future are likely to remain constrained to above the ice shell, understanding this ocean−ice interaction is crucial. Using an ocean box model and a series of experiments simulating the 2D ocean circulation, we find that large icy moons with strong gravity tend to have stronger ocean heat transport under the same ice shell topography. As a result, the equilibrium ice shell geometry is expected to be flatter on moons with larger size, and vice versa. This finding is broadly consistent with the observed ice shell geometry for Enceladus and Europa.
Gas and Cosmic-Ray Properties in the MBM 53, 54, and 55 Molecular Clouds and the Pegasus Loops Revealed by H i Line Profiles, Dust, and Gamma-Ray Data
Authors: Mizuno T. , Hayashi K. , Metzger J. , Moskalenko I. V. , Orlando E. , Strong A. W. , Yamamoto H.
Published: August 2022

In studying the interstellar medium (ISM) and Galactic cosmic rays (CRs), uncertainty of the interstellar gas density has always been an issue. To overcome this difficulty, we used a component decomposition of the 21 cm H i emission line and used the resulting gas maps in an analysis of γ-ray data obtained by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) for the MBM 53, 54, and 55 molecular clouds and the Pegasus loop. We decomposed the ISM gas into intermediate-velocity clouds, narrow-line and optically thick H i, broad-line and optically thin H i, CO-bright H2, and CO-dark H2 using detailed correlations with the H i line profiles from the HI4PI survey, the Planck dust-emission model, and the Fermi-LAT γ-ray data. We found the fractions of the optical depth correction to the H i column density and CO-dark H2 to be nearly equal. We fitted the CR spectra directly measured at/near the Earth and the measured γ-ray emissivity spectrum simultaneously. We obtained a spectral break in the interstellar proton spectrum at ∼7 GeV, and found that the γ-ray emissivity normalization agrees with the AMS-02 proton spectrum within 10%, relaxing the tension with the CR spectra previously claimed.
High Equivalent Width of Hα+[N ii] Emission in z ∼ 8 Lyman-break Galaxies from IRAC 5.8 μm Observations: Evidence for Efficient Lyman-continuum Photon Production in the Epoch of Reionization
Authors: Stefanon Mauro , Bouwens Rychard J. , Illingworth Garth D. , Labbé Ivo , Oesch Pascal A. , Gonzalez Valentino
Published: August 2022

We measure, for the first time, the median equivalent width (EW) of Hα+[N ii] in star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 8. Our estimate leverages the unique photometric depth of the Spitzer/IRAC 5.8 μm band mosaics (probing ≈5500–7100 Å at z ∼ 8) of the GOODS Reionization Era Wide Area Treasury from Spitzer (GREATS) program. We median-stacked the stamps of 102 Lyman-break galaxies in the 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm bands, after carefully removing potential contamination from neighboring sources. We infer an extreme rest-frame EW0(Hα+[N ii]) =

2328

−
1127

+
1326

Å from the measured red [3.6] − [5.8] = 0.82 ± 0.27 mag, consistent with young (≲107 yr) average stellar population ages at z ∼ 8. This implies an ionizing photon production efficiency of

l

o

g

(

ξ

i

o

n

,
0

/

e

r

g

H

z

−
1

)
=

25.97

−
0.28

+
0.18

. Such a high value for photoproduction, similar to the highest values found at z ≲ 4, indicates that only modest escape fractions f
esc ≲ 0.3 (at 2σ) are sufficient for galaxies brighter than M
UV < −18 mag to reionize the neutral hydrogen at z ∼ 8. This requirement is relaxed even more to f
esc ≤ 0.1 when considering galaxies brighter than M
UV ≈ −13 mag, consistent with recent luminosity functions and as typically assumed in studies addressing reionization. These exceptional results clearly indicate that galaxies can be the dominant source of reionizing photons, and provide us with an exciting glimpse into what we might soon learn about the early universe, and particularly about the reionization epoch, from forthcoming JWST/MIRI and NIRCam programs.
Convolutional Neural Networks for Searching Superflares from Pixel-level Data of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Authors: Tu Zuo-Lin , Wu Qin , Wang Wenbo , Zhang G. Q. , Liu Zi-Ke , Wang F. Y.
Published: August 2022

In this work, six convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been trained based on 15,638 superflare candidates on solar-type stars, which are collected from the three years of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations. These networks are used to replace the manually visual inspection, which was a direct way of searching for superflares, and exclude false-positive events in recent years. Unlike other methods, which only used stellar light curves to search for superflare signals, we try to identify superflares through TESS pixel-level data with lower risk of mixing false-positive events and give more reliable identification results for statistical analysis. The evaluated accuracy of each network is around 95.57%. After applying ensemble learning to these networks, the stacking method promotes accuracy to 97.62% with a 100% classification rate, and the voting method promotes accuracy to 99.42% with a relatively lower classification rate at 92.19%. We find that superflare candidates with short duration and low peak amplitude have lower identification precision, as their superflare features are hard to be identified. The database includes 71,732 solar-type stars and 15,638 superflare candidates from TESS with corresponding feature images and arrays, and the trained CNNs in this work are public available.
Interstellar Complex Organic Molecules in SiO-traced Massive Outflows
Authors: Rojas-García O. S. , Gómez-Ruiz A. I. , Palau A. , Orozco-Aguilera M. T. , Dagostino M. Chavez , Kurtz S. E.
Published: August 2022

The interstellar medium contains dust and gas, in which molecules can proliferate at high densities and in cold conditions. Interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) are C-bearing species that contain at least six atoms. As they are detected in young stellar objects, iCOMs are expected to inhabit early stages of star formation evolution. In this study, we try to determine which iCOMs are present in the outflow component of massive protostars. To do this, we analyzed the morphological extension of blue- and redshifted iCOM emission in a sample of 11 massive protostars employing mapping observations at 1 mm within a ∼1 GHz bandwidth for both the IRAM-30 m and APEX telescopes. We modeled the iCOM emission of the central pointing spectra of our objects using the XCLASS local thermal equilibrium radiative transfer code. We detected the presence of several iCOMs such as CH3OH, 13CH3OH, CH3OCHO, C2H5C15N, and (c-C3H2)CH2. In G034.41+0.24, G327.29-0.58, G328.81+0.63, G333.13-0.43, G340.97-1.02, G351.45+0.66, and G351.77-0.54, the iCOM lines show a faint broad-line profile. Due to the offset peak positions of the blue- and redshifted emission, covering from ∼0.1 to 0.5 pc, these wings are possibly related to movements external to the compact core, such as large-scale low-velocity outflows. We have also established a correlation between the parent iCOM molecule CH3OH and the shock tracer SiO, reinforcing the hypothesis that shock environments provide the conditions to boost the formation of iCOMs via gas-phase reactions.
Evaluation of Quality of Nursing Work-Life: Based on Swanson’s Theory of Caring
Authors: Ellina Agusta Dian , Nursalam Nursalam , Yunitasari Esti , Adiutama Novian Mahayu
Published: August 2022

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: Quality of Nursing Work-Life has become a major factor in influencing the quality of nursing services. Meanwhile, the caringbehavior that is shown by nurses can predict the value of their work quality
AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to assess the QNWL and to identify the predictors based on Swanson's theory of caring including compassion,competence, and upholding trust.
METHODOLOGY: Cross-sectional studies were conducted in a nurse at a hospital in Tulungagung and a hospital in Banyuwangi (n
= 420 by simple random sampling) from January to April 2021. The instrument in this study was developed by standard guidelines of Swanson's theory andQNWL's instruments. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors.
RESULTS: The mean score of QNWL was 132.05 (SD = 0.936) (range of possible score = 32 - 160). Upholding trust (0.01), Compassion (0.03), and competence (0.02) significantly predicted QNWL (R Square = 0.795).
CONCLUSION: The constructs of Swanson's Theory significantly predicted QNWL. This study supports an investigation about the factors underlying QNWL on a larger scale, as well as the identification of targets in designing future interventions.
Factors Associated with Games Addiction among Internet Game Players Visiting Internet Gaming Cafes in Northern Sumatera
Authors: Pinem Belli Susandro , Loebis Bahagia , Camellia Vita
Published: August 2022

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of teenagers experiencing addiction game Indonesia continued to increase.

AIM: Study aimed to investigate factors associated with game addiction among internet game players visiting internet gaming cafes using Indonesian version the Game Addiction Scale (GAS) score.

METHODS: Cross-sectional was conducted from November to December 2020 at an internet gaming cafe in the Tanjung Sari village, Medan city. The study subjects were online game players at four internet gaming cafes. A structured interview was conducted on online game players before being assigned to fill out identity and answer the Indonesian version of the GAS questionnaire.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Age, number of playing game mates, daily duration of sleep, weekly duration of playing online games, online game group membership, and parental monthly income were found to be associated with gaming addiction as measured by GAS scores. Meanwhile, educational background and monthly cost of playing games were found to be not associated with game addiction as measured by the GAS score.
What Did the Neonatal Integrative Developmental Care Model and Routine Developmental Care Affect on Stress of Premature Babies?
Authors: Kolomboy Fajrillah , Fatmawati Andi , Hadriani Hadriani , Lisnawati Lisnawati , Elisanti Alinea Dwi
Published: August 2022

BACKGROUND: Neonatal integrative developmental care model (NIDCM) is a holistic model of premature baby care referring to seven basic neuroprotective developmental cares (DCs) by involving the family.

AIM: This study aimed to assess the effect of the application of NIDCM on the stress response of premature babies.

METHODS: The research design used was quasi-experimental with a non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test. The study was conducted in the neonatal care room of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Makassar Hospital from January 2020 to April 2021. The sample was 76 subjects consisting of 38 premature babies (19 controls and 19 interventions) and 38 mothers (19 controls and 19 interventions). The collected samples were taken to the Medical Research Laboratory of Universitas Hasanuddin (HUMRC) for testing. Furthermore, baby stress was assessed from salivary cortisol levels by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the effect of initial cortisol, final cortisol, and birth weight on changes in salivary cortisol in premature babies was determined using the Chi-square test.

RESULTS: Neither NIDCM intervention nor routine DC has been shown to descriptive statistically decrease the stress response of premature babies in the neonatal care room, some of which are even increased. However, specifically in premature babies with a birth weight of <1800 g, NIDCM showed a better effect in lowering cortisol after treatment than regular DC.

CONCLUSIONS: The application of NIDCM intervention reduces the stressor felt by the babies in the neonatal care room, besides the condition of babies with a birth weight of fewer than 1800 g needs special attention with the NIDCM intervention.
The dynamics of an aquatic ecological model with aggregation, Fear and Harvesting Effects
Authors: Thirthar Ashraf Adnan , Majeed Salam J. , Shah Kamal , Abdeljawad Thabet
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we investigate an aquatic ecological model of microcystis aeruginosa-filter feeding fish and predatory fish model with aggregation effect of microcystis aeruginosa. Fear effect of predatory fish on filter feeding fish and harvesting effect of big fish is considered. Mathematical analysis includes two parts. The first is theoretical part, which includes proving the positive and constraining solutions of the model. Also finding equilibrium points and studying their local stability is included in this part. In addition, analyzing the local bifurcation of equilibrium points and indicating the type of bifurcation is discussed here. On the other hand, the second part contains the numerical simulation of all the theoretical results, where we compare the numerical values of the conditions obtained in the theoretical part.
Hermite-Hadamard inequality involving Caputo-Fabrizio fractional integrals and related inequalities via $ s $-convex functions in the second sense
Authors: Abbasi Anjum Mustafa Khan , Anwar Matloob
Published: August 2022

In this paper, firstly, Hermite-Hadamard inequality via s-convex functions in the second sense using Caputo-Fabrizio fractional integral operator is established. We also compare our results with the existing ones. It is also shown that the obtained results are a generalization of the existing results. Finally, we give their applications to special means.
Some new numerical schemes for finding the solutions to nonlinear equations
Authors: Khan Awais Gul , Ameen Farah , Awan Muhammad Uzair , Nonlaopon Kamsing
Published: August 2022

We introduce a sequence of third and fourth-order iterative schemes for finding the roots of nonlinear equations by using the decomposition technique and Simpson's one-third rule. We also discuss the convergence analysis of our suggested iterative schemes. With the help of different numerical examples, we demonstrate the validity, efficiency and implementation of our proposed schemes.
Classification of vertices on social networks by multiple approaches
Authors: Aslan Hacı İsmail , Ko Hoon , Choi Chang
Published: August 2022

Due to the advent of the expressions of data other than tabular formats, the topological compositions which make samples interrelated came into prominence. Analogically, those networks can be interpreted as social connections, dataflow maps, citation influence graphs, protein bindings, etc. However, in the case of social networks, it is highly crucial to evaluate the labels of discrete communities. The reason for such a study is the importance of analyzing graph networks to partition the vertices by only using the topological features of network graphs. For each interaction-based entity, a social graph, a mailing dataset, and two citation sets are selected as the testbench repositories. The research mainly focused on evaluating the significance of three artificial intelligence approaches on four different datasets consisting of vertices and edges. Overall, one of these methods so-called "harmonic functions", resulted in the best form to classify those constituents of graph-shaped datasets. This research not only accessed the most valuable method but also determined how graph neural networks work and the need to improve against non-neural network approaches which are faster and computationally cost-effective. Also in this paper, we will show that there is a limit to be accessed by prospective graph neural network variations by using the topological features of trialed networks.
Partial differential equations from theory to applications: Dedicated to Alberto Farina, on the occasion of his 50th birthday
Authors: Dipierro Serena , Lombardini Luca
Published: August 2022

Partial differential equations are a classical and very active field of research. One of its salient features is to break the rigid distinction between the evolution of the theory and the applications to real world phenomena, since the two are intimately intertwined in the harmonious development of such a fascinating and multifaceted topic of investigation.
DIAGNOSIS OF BRAIN TUMOR USING MULTISCALE CONVOLUTION NEURAL NETWORK
Authors: Yektaei Homayoon , Yektaei Hanieh , Hoseyni Yasaman
Published: August 2022

Nowadays, the number of patients with brain tumors is steadily increasing, diagnosis and isolation of the tumor play an important role in the process of treatment and surgery. Due to the high error of manual segmentation of the tumor, algorithms that perform this operation with less error are of great importance. Convolutional neural networks have made great progress in the field of medical imaging. The use of imaging techniques and pattern recognition in the diagnosis and automatic determination of brain tumors by MRI imaging reduces errors, human error and speeds up detection. The artificial convolutional neural network (CNN) has been widely used in the diagnosis of intelligent cancers and has significantly reduced the error rate. Therefore, in this paper, we present a new method using a combination of convolutional and multi-scale artificial neural network that has significantly increased the accuracy of tumor diagnosis. This study presents a multidisciplinary convolution neural network (MCNN) approach to classifying tumors that can be used as an important part of automated diagnosis systems for accurate cancer diagnosis. Based on the MCNN structure, which presents the MRI image to several deep convolutional neural networks of varying sizes and resolutions, the stage of extracting classical hand-made features is avoided. This approach proposes better classification rates than the classical methods. This study uses a multi-scale convolution technique to achieve a detection accuracy of 95/4%, which shows the efficiency of the proposed method.
The Power of Virtual Exchange as an Overarching Tool to Unify Language, Culture, and Communication
Authors: Oggel Gerdientje , Aibar Cristina Pascual , Fildjokic Mirjana
Published: August 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most classes in higher education were offered online, and student and staff mobility came to a sudden halt. With its focus on online interaction and collaboration between students from different cultural backgrounds, Virtual Exchange (VE) has presented itself as an excellent opportunity to students and educators to combine the benefits of both digitalization and internationalization. This paper looks at the role of a series of factors in the interdisciplinary VE called 'The new normality,' which took place between BA Social Psychology students at a large public research institution in Eastern Spain and students from different BAs enrolled in Spanish proficiency courses at large public research university in the North of the Netherlands. This project had two main goals: 1) to create an environment for students to share their pandemic experiences across cultures and disciplines; 2) to determine to what extent this exchange of ideas contributed to the development of students’ intercultural awareness and competence and communicative competence.
The Effect of Monetary Policy on Price Stability and Gross Domestic Product in Ghana
Authors: Bediako Yaw , Gyaase Patrick Ohemeng , Sackey Frank Gyimah
Published: August 2022

This study examined the effects of monetary policy on price stability and gross domestic product (GDP) in Ghana using a predictive data analytical model adapted from Friedman's (1982) models. Monetary policy adopted a two-target framework based on both the policy interest rate target and the bank credit aggregate target. Hypotheses tests were conducted using Vector Auto-Regressions (VARs) and Multiple Regression Analyses using secondary data. The VAR tests produced a statistically weak relationship between both price stability and real GDP and the two-target monetary policy framework. The results from the multiple regression analyses, however, indicated statistically significant relationships between the price stability and interest rate targets and those of real GDP and bank credit aggregate targets, thus confirming the model’s predictive capability. The study therefore recommends that for the achievement of price stability and the expansion of real GDP simultaneously, a two-target framework of monetary policy be implemented in Ghana.
An Analysis on E-Evaluation of Food Quality Traceability System
Authors: Peng Liu , Qiang Li , Wen Liu , Shanshan Yuan , Yiying Nian , Yue Dai , Min Duan
Published: August 2022

In recent years, China has obtained positive achievements in the construction of traceability systems for key products, such as edible agricultural products and food. However, problems such as complex situations, one-sided information, repeated system construction, and lack of qualification of information testing agencies still exist in food quality traceability. Based on the development features of the industry, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions for the construction of a food quality traceability system.
Predictive Assessment of Fetus Features Using Scanned Image Segmentation Techniques and Deep Learning Strategy
Authors: Umamaheswaran S.  , John Rajan , Nagarajan S.  , Karthick Raghunath K. M.  , Arvind K. S.
Published: August 2022

Fetus weight at various stages of pregnancy is a critical component in determining the health of the baby. Abnormalities arising early in the pregnancy may be prevented by preventive measures. A variety of techniques suggested to predict foetus weight. Computer vision is a capability that can estimate the weight of a baby based on ultra-sonograms taken at various stages of pregnancy. Using the scanned data, one may train an advanced convolutional neural network that helps in accurately forecasting the fetus's size, weight, and overall health. The research utilizes computer vision techniques with image clustering methods for preprocessing, to predict the foetus's health, training datasets defective foetus datasets and healthy foetus datasets. Developing an integrated computer vision and a deep neural network is the hour which decrease the cost of operations and manual processes This study estimate the fetus's weight with optimal accuracy range at varying gestation age.
Understanding Consumer Intention Towards Blockchain-Based Mobile Payment Adoption Services in Pakistan
Authors: Ali Zulfiqar , Bano Hasin
Published: August 2022

The paper reflects the application of a positivist study and quantitative methods for evaluation of variable relationships. The researcher developed a survey-based methodology and disseminated the questionnaire to consumers of Pakistan through online. Structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analysis and all supporting statistical tests have been applied on the data in order to evaluate the accuracy;the findings suggest that the usability and factors like the security of online services influence the consumers. Moreover, the performance and effectiveness of these measures influence the decision to use and recommend the services to others as well. The study contributed to the literature by validating and supporting the applicability, usage and development of mobile payment services and produces important implications for the managerial and policymakers of these industries.
Design of Improved Acetone Gas Sensors Based on ZnO Doped rGO Nanosheets
Authors: Gangodkar Durgaprasad , Rane Lalita , Karanam Sai Ashish Kumar , Daware Pratibha , Taka Gem , Roy Bhaskar
Published: August 2022

To meet future social and environmental objectives for diagnosis of human diseases has offered to develop the proficient gas sensors devices with higher selectivity and sensitivity. For the production of ZnO doped reduced graphene oxide (ZnO doped rGO) nanocomposite, a one-pot hydrothermal approach. The morphological, structural and composition of nanocomposite were investigated to confirm ZnO nanoparticle effectively doped on rGO nanosheets. The nanocomposite has exhibited a superior acetone sensing characteristics. Furthermore, the nanocomposite has a high selectivity for acetone vapour. These findings emphasise advantageous synergistic effects among ZnO and excellent rGO sheet substrate properties.
Synthesis of White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (WMTA) Using Silica from Rice Husk Ash and CaCO3 from Limestone
Authors: Yunita Anfi'na Ilma , Wibowo Muhammad Wahyu Arif , Suyanta Suyanta , Nuryono Nuryono
Published: August 2022

White mineral trioxide aggregate (WMTA) was successfully synthesized using silica from rice husk ash (RHA) and precipitate calcium carbonate (PCC) from limestone. Silica was synthesized from rice husk ash by the sol-gel method with the help of a strong base NaOH to obtain sodium silicate solution. In contrast, PCC in the calcite structure was extracted from limestone by a carbonation method. The limestone powder sample was calcined at 900 °C for 3 hours, dissolved in 0.8 M nitric acid solution, and was followed by carbonation for 60 minutes. The synthesis of WMTA was carried out by mixing silica, PCC, bismuth oxide, aluminum oxide, NH3 solution catalysts and treating the mixture thermally at 950 °C for 3 hours. Products were characterized by Fourtier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the RHA silica had an amorphous phase that peaked at 2θ= 22°, but the background intensity was irregular. The PCC obtained through isolation from limestone is predominantly calcite structure. WMTA has been successfully synthesized by thermal treatment at 950 °C using NH3 solution catalyst, as evidenced by the presence of tricalcium silicate (C3S), dicalcium silicate (C2S), tricalcium aluminate (C3A), and Bi2O3.
Effect of Holes and Defects on Flexural Strength and Fracture Toughness of GFRP Composite under Three-Point Bending
Authors: Kumar Pawan
Published: August 2022

The glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials are widely used in industries; these composites are coupled into large structures by drilled holes. In the present investigation, the characteristics of such drilled holes and defects were studied using GFRP composite samples with open-hole (at different positions), half-through holes and epoxy filled holes under three-point bend loading conditions. The “composite with epoxy filled holes” envisages maximum flexural strength, "composite with holes at a depth of 2.5 mm" showed intermediate and "composite with an open hole" exhibited minimum flexural strength. However, the flexural strength of the "composite" was increased when the relative distance between the holes was increased. The hypothesis of investigating the effect of defects in the form of Teflon exhibited significant results. The flexural strength was minimum in the case of multiple defects, however, it showed maximum fracture toughness. It was also observed that if the defect is present only at one end, it exhibited maximum flexural strength and minimum fracture toughness value.
Molecular Docking Study, Synthesis and Characterization of New Hybrid Anthracene-Thiophene Compounds with Chalcone and Pyridine Scaffolds
Authors: Bakar Bazri Izwan , Alidmat Mohammad Murwih , Khairuddean Melati , Wahyuningsih Tutik Dwi
Published: August 2022

Breast cancer is a major health problem with an increasing number of cases over the years. Few classes of anticancer agents have been developed, but they established toxic effects on normal cells. In this study, a new hybrid anthracene-thiophene chalcone 1 has been synthesized via a Claisen-Schmidt condensation of substituted anthracene aldehyde and a thiophene ketone. The cyclo-condensation reaction of chalcone 1 formed a new anthracene-thiophene pyridine 2. The synthesized compounds were structurally characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The molecular docking activities using AutoDock 4.2 software were performed to study the intermolecular interactions between these compounds with breast cancer protein, 3ERT as the estrogen receptor-α. Chalcone 1 showed free binding energy of -9.81 kcal/mol, while pyridine 2 exhibited better free binding energy of -10.45 kcal/mol against 3ERT protein. The interactions in pyridine 2 include one hydrogen bonding with MET343 amino acid and several hydrophobic interactions such as π-σ interaction with LEU384, π-anion interaction with ASP351, π-alkyl interactions with ALA350, LEU346, LEU391, LEU525, and MET388 and also a π-sulfur interaction with MET343. Chalcone 1 has only noncovalent interactions such as π-σ interaction with THR347 and π-alkyl interactions with ALA350, LEU346, LEU349, LEU387, LEU391, LEU525, and MET388. The molecular docking study of these compounds indicated that chalcone 1 and pyridine 2 showed a promising anticancer effect.
Effect of Carbon Nanotubes Addition on the Formability of Al-CNT Composite
Authors: Mansoor Muhammad , Shahid Muhammad , Ejaz Noveed
Published: August 2022

Being very strong fibers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are excellent choice for various metal matrix composites (MMCs). Many researchers have reported amelioration in mechanical and thermal characteristics of the MMCs driven by CNTs addition. However, the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) addition on the formability of the MMC is relatively less addressed area. In present study, 0.2 wt. % MWCNTs were added in aluminum matrix using induction melting technique and their effect on the various aspect of metal forming characteristics were studied. Two different type of MMC were prepared i.e., re-melting flux (RM) MMC using re-melting flux and multi-functional flux (MF) MMC using multifunctional flux.The experimental results showed that the MF Flux MMC had ultimate tensile strength 65% more than pure aluminum. An analogous behavior was seen in true stress-true strain characteristics along with necking stress and tensile toughness. Contrarily, the hardening factor, strength coefficient, necking strain and strain rate sensitivity values decreased in case of RM Flux MMC and increased for MF Flux MMC as compare to the pure aluminum. This behavior of the materials could be attributed to the process variation used for the incorporation of nanotubes in aluminum matrix.
Effect of Titania and Silver Nanoparticles on the Tensile Strength of Cement-Like Mineral Trioxide Aggregate
Authors: Wibowo Muhammad Wahyu Arif , Yunita Anfi'na Ilma , Mukaromah Laela , Kartini Indriana , Nuryono Nuryono
Published: August 2022

Several attempts have been conducted to improve the mechanical properties of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), including the addition of various nanoparticle materials such as silver and titania. The smaller the added material, the higher the material’s ability to fill the cavity of MTA, thus increasing the tensile strength of MTA after hydration. In this study, the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) concentration and titania (TiO2) mass variation on the tensile strength of MTA was investigated. The ratio of MTA mass to AgNP volume used was 1 g to 330 μL, while TiO2 was added to MTA powder in a solid-solid state with a mass variation. The results show that the addition of AgNP and TiO2 to MTA powder can significantly increase the tensile strength of MTA from 0.404±0.125 to 1.044±0.021 and 1.378±0.391 MPa for 1.5% Ag and 0.5% TiO2, respectively.
First-Principle Study of the Thermodynamic Properties of VSb2 Compound as a Function of Pressure and Temperature
Authors: Darhi Zakariae , Malki Siham , Guesmi Ibtissam , El Farh Larbi , Challioui Allal
Published: August 2022

In our paper, we interested in the study of the thermodynamic properties of the compound VSb2. For this, we used the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method implemented in the Wien2k code. The latter is based on the density functional theory (DFT). We also used the Quasi-Harmonic Debye model implemented in the Gibbs2 code. The exchange-correlation energy of electrons was treated using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) parameterized by Perdew-Burke and Ernzerhof. The calculation of the pressure and the temperature dependence of the thermodynamic properties of VSb2 material is obtained from that of the electronic structure, within the framework of the Quasi-Harmonic Approximation (QHA). We selected a volumes grid enclosing the equilibrium geometry. At these fixed volumes, the rest of the structural parameters are relaxed and we obtain the energy curve as a function of the volume E(V). The thermodynamic properties such as the primitive cell volume V(Bohr3), the bulk modulus B (GPa), the heat capacities CV(J.mol-1.K-1) and CP(J.mol-1.K-1), the thermal expansion coefficient α (K-1), the Grüneisen parameter γ, and the Debye temperature θD(K) have been studied depending on the temperature (T) in the range [0 ; 500 K], and the pressure (P) in the interval [0 ; 15 GPa]. The increase of the bulk modulus is in agreement with the decrease of the volume, also the volume of the primitive cell and bulk modulus are more sensitive to pressure than to temperature. The thermal expansion is more sensitive at low temperatures than at high temperatures. A specific heat behavior of was found, with a Dulong-Petit limit value of 48.16 J.mol-1.K-1. The effect of the pressure on the Grüneisen parameter is opposite to Debye temperature.
Eutectic Si Accumulation in Liquid Forged A356 Alloy Wheel and its Adverse Effect on Tensile Fracture Behavior
Authors: Mudassar Hussain , Liu Mao Wen , Xu Cong , Handa Shuji , Yamagata Hiroshi , Ma Chao Li
Published: August 2022

This investigation is aimed to study microstructural heterogeneities raised due to the inherent melt transport phenomenon and their effect on mechanical properties. Modified, Cleaned, and degassed A356 aluminum alloy melt was poured at 704°C in H13 tool steel die, while temperatures of lower die segment, side segment, and upper segment were 368°C, 375°C, and 290°C respectively. Then liquid melt was forged till its complete solidification under pressure using a hydraulic forging press. The liquid forged wheel was subjected to metallurgical investigation of microstructure, mechanical properties, and fractography of tensile test samples at different cross-sections along the protrusion of the wheel. Results conclude gradual variation in accumulation of eutectic Si phase from surface to the center of thickness and from flange to the outer rim region. The elastic properties are not affected by accumulation of the eutectic silicon however, plasticity have adversely affected with decrease in effective ductile cross-section. Also, refinement of primary α-aluminum and modification in the eutectic silicon phase in specific areas of the wheel is observed.
Impurity Driven Embrittlement in AISI 1020 Steel during Thermal Treatments
Authors: Mansoor Muhammad , Zubair Nouman , Ejaz Noveed
Published: August 2022

One of the prime mechanical properties of any steel is impact strength, which may change dramatically due to the thermal treatments. The present investigation covers the influence of different thermally treated conditions on the impact strength of AISI 1020 steel. The thermal conditions included are: as rolled, oil quenched & tempered, air quenched, normalized and annealed condition. To evaluate the characteristics of the steel in different thermal conditions; optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, hardness testing and room temperature impact testing were carried out. Experimental results elaborated the existence of a narrow temperature range (250 ± 50 °C), which may decrease the impact strength drastically, when the steel is heat treated. In this temperature range toughness scavengers i.e., As, S, Sb etc. are precipitated on the grain boundary, which cause the noticeable decrease in impact strength. Optimum impact strength could be achievable where this critical temperature range was avoided.
Visible Ranges Photo Detector Fabricated Based on Nano Copper Oxide Deposited by Reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition
Authors: Alshaikhli Zahraa S. , Alhasan Sarmad Fawzi Hamza , Salim Evan T. , Parmin Nor Azizah
Published: August 2022

This manuscript presents the reactive pulsed laser deposition method was used to prepare and deposit the high-quality copper oxide (Cu2O) Nanofilms using high purity copper metal, Oxygen, and heating at 300 C, at different laser energies rated (800 mj, 1000 mj, and 1200 mj) respectively. The presented results show high ranges of transparent values with the increasing laser energies from 66%-90%. As the laser energies increased the optical energy band gap value was increased from 2.32eV – 2.47eV. Further, the AFM, XRD, I-V, and spectral response tasted and investigated the surface topography, homogeneity, roughness’s, structural and optoelectronic properties for the deposited Cu2O nanofilms, respectively.
Designing Derivative Compounds of 4-Chlorophenyloxy N-Alkyl Phosphoramidates as Anti-Cervical Cancer Agents Based on QSAR Model
Authors: Utri Chynthia Azhari , Pranowo Harno Dwi , Pranowo Deni
Published: August 2022

Design of 4-chlorophenyloxy n-alkyl phosphoramidates derivative compounds as anti-cervical cancer agents using the QSAR model research was purposed to determine the best QSAR equation from 4-chlorophenyloxy N-alkyl phosphoramidates (3’-[4-fluoroaryl-(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)]-3’-deoxythymidine) derivative compound and design a new compound of 4-chlorophenyloxy N-alkyl phosphoramidates derivative which has better activity than derivative compounds that synthesized before. Designing new anti-cervical cancer was done using electronic descriptor and molecular descriptor, which is obtained using DFT/ B3LYP/6-31G calculation. The linear regression method arranged the best QSAR equation and predicted the IC50. The best QSAR model to design the anti-cervical cancer compound is log IC50 = -498.629 + (-69.645 × qCl) + (-1267.348 × qC12) + (-25.627 × qC17) + (-1209.520 × qO4) + (0.541 × log P ), with statistic parameter n = 21, r2 = 0.867, SEE = 0,179, Fcount/Ftable = 6.758 external validation of QSAR equation, n = 5, r2 = 0.7302, PRESS = 1.798. The best compound is P-01 with the compound reference is PHO-016 (R1: 2-COCH3-Ph and R2: CF3CH2): 3’-[4-(2-acetylphenyl)-(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)]-3’-deoxythymidine 5’-O-[4-chlorophenyl N-(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)phosphate] who has IC50: -10.693 and log P: 2.450. The result can be the best suggestion for anti-cervical cancer candidates with better biology activity and can enter the membrane cell.
Leveraging Deep Learning and Grab Cut for Automatic Segmentation of White Blood Cell Images
Authors: Oyebode Kazeem Oyeyemi
Published: August 2022

White blood cell image segmentation provides the opportunity for medical experts to objectively diagnose the medical conditions of patients suffering from Leukemia, for example. Due to the rigorous nature of cell image acquisition (staining process and non-uniform illumination) efficient tools must be deployed to achieve the desired segmentation result. In this paper, a deep learning model is proposed together with a grab cut. The developed deep learning model provides an initial coarse segmentation of white blood cell images. However, the objective of this segmentation is to localize or identify regions of interest from white blood cell images. A bounding is generated from the localized cell image and then used to initiate an automatic cell image segmentation using grab cut. Results of the two publicly available datasets of white blood cell images are considered satisfactory on the proposed model.
Soluble Salts Transport in Building Materials
Authors: Albuquerque A.P.R. , Delgado J.M.P.Q.
Published: August 2022

The most widely used materials in building construction are porous materials and the combined effect of rising dampness with soluble salts is one major problem. This phenomenon is caused by the migration of the salt ions dissolved in water into the porous network of the construction materials in the building walls, which causes fractures in the materials after several cycles of crystallization/dissolution. This work presents an extensive experimental campaign with different cycles of water absorption (capillarity absorption tests) and drying (drying tests). The samples of building material used are red brick, and the samples were, previously, submitted to capillarity absorption tests with two different saturated solutions (sodium sulphate and potassium chloride). The results showed that the two salts studied influence the porous materials and their capillary coefficient in clearly different ways and the samples immersed in sodium chloride present higher drying rates than those immersed in a saturated sodium sulphate solution.
Shape Memory Hybrid Composites for Aerospace Applications
Authors: Ozair Huma , Khurram Aqeel Ahmed , Baluch Abrar Ul Haq , Wadood Abdul , Qazi Ibrahim
Published: August 2022

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are smart materials that have the ability to recover large strain. The shape memory and superelasticity in these alloys is due to stress induced martensitic transformation that strongly depends upon the phase transformation temperatures. These alloys are being investigated for a number of applications due to their remarkable properties such as improved impact and damage resistance, vibration damping, seismic damping, shape morphing and crack closure properties. In this work, these alloys were integrated in fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) to develop hybrid composite structures that can benefit from both fiber strength and intrinsic properties of SMAs resulting in weight efficient smart materials with better mechanical properties. The experimental investigation on impact performance of nitinol SMAs wire reinforced glass fiber composites (GFRP) showed 18% increase in toughness, as compared to steel wire reinforced glass fiber composites. In this paper, the effect of shape memory alloys wires in composite materials and their targeted applications especially for aerospace industry is presented.
Moisture Diffusion in Passion Fruit Seeds under Infrared Drying
Authors: Batista Ageu S. , Souza Marcos F.F. , Prado Manoel Marcelo
Published: August 2022

In order to contribute for a better understanding of the moisture diffusion in infrared (IR) drying of residual seeds from passion fruit processing, the effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) in the particles was determined from experimental drying kinetics using two different approaches, in which it is considered either as a constant parameter during the process or as dependent on moisture ratio (XR). Experiments were conducted with the seeds arranged in a single layer and exposed to three IR source temperature levels (50, 65 and 80°C). The IR source was set at a distance of 15 cm from the samples. The average effective moisture diffusivity was in the range from 2.76 x 10-11 to 11.03 x 10-11 m2 s-1. The activation energy for IR drying was 53.3 kJ/mol. Results of Deff as a function of XR, obtained using the slope method, indicated that at higher IR source temperatures the vapor diffusion is the main mechanism of moisture transport, while at lowest drying temperature, the process is controlled by both liquid and vapor diffusion.
Utilization of E-Waste as a Concrete Mixture for Infrastructural Buildings
Authors: Raffik R. , Sharma Harish , Aliyu Daha Shehu , Bondinuba Francis Kwesi , Kannadasan B. , Ismail Rabah Mahmoud Ahmad
Published: August 2022

The Portland cement has showed a negative impacts to the environmental and therefore researchers from all over the world are interested in using wastes and their recovered extraction processes to discover fresh construction materials. The present review manuscript is an attempt to reconsider the use of abandoned computer / electronic wastes, also known as E-waste, which is used as alternative materials for the development of a variety of non-toxic concrete for the industrial and construction sectors. The main goal of this review is to provide current position of concrete materials for this reason, it is necessary for understanding these modern, complicated, valuable, but hazardous wastes. These materials are used as alternate for crude aggregate in building material production. The brand-new, cutting-edge, and ground-breaking concept are used for the production of environmentally friendly, cost-effective green concretes. Furthermore, chemical, physical, and metallurgical reuse procedures for E-waste, as well as its benefits and dis-advantage with heat, tensile, the endurance characteristics for Electronic-wastes such as green concretes, unsafe compound, are appraised. This research also examines the application glass as E-waste from cathode rays are used in concrete, mortar, and cement paste. The E-waste materials are used as bituminous mixture. The "Urban Mining" strategies have recognized the application of non-biodegradable materials recovered as E-waste plastics as a partial substitute for natural courses or fine components. This review paper assists to promote the implementation of green precast E-waste in the construction sector in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, it also impasse the exhaustion of natural resources, environmental contamination in earth and underground water. It also concern over the environmental pollution and to defend the health of living organisms.