bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection of diabetic retinopathy using deep learning methodology
Authors: Mushtaq Gazala , Siddiqui Farheen
Published: February 2021

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that targets the eyes by damaging the retinal blood vessels. Initially it is asymptomatic or causes fluctuating vision problems. As it becomes severe, it affects both the eyes and eventually causes partial or complete vision loss. Primarily occurs when the blood sugar level is unmanageable. Therefore, the person with diabetes mellitus is always at a high risk of acquiring this disease. The early detection can deter the contingency of complete and permanent blindness. Thus, requires an efficient screening system. The present work considers a deep learning methodology specifically a Densely Connected Convolutional Network DenseNet-169, which is applied for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy. It classifies the fundus images based on its severity levels as No DR, Mild, Moderate, Severe and Proliferative DR. The datasets that are taken into consideration are Diabetic Retinopathy Detection 2015 and Aptos 2019 Blindness Detection which are both obtained from Kaggle. The proposed method is accomplished through various steps: Data Collection, Preprocessing, Augmentation and modelling. Our proposed model achieved 90% of accuracy. The Regression model was also employed, manifested up an accuracy of 78%. The main aim of this work is to develop a robust system for detecting DR automatically.
Hybrid data clustering approaches using bacterial colony optimization and k-means
Authors: Revathi J , Eswaramurthy V P , Padmavathi P
Published: February 2021

Data clustering is a fashionable data analysis technique in the data mining. K-means is a popular clustering technique for solving a clustering problem. However, the k-means clustering technique extremely depends on the initial position and converges to a local optimum. On the other hand, the bacterial colony optimization (BCO) is a well-known recently proposed data clustering algorithm. However, it is a high computational cost to complete a given solution. Hence, this research paper proposes a new hybrid data clustering method for solving data clustering problem. The proposed hybrid data clustering algorithm is a combination of the BCO and K-means called BCO+KM clustering algorithm. The experimental result shows that the proposed hybrid BCO+KM data clustering algorithm reveal better cluster partitions.
Reinforcement Learning For Walking Robot
Authors: Akila V , Anita Christaline J , Jothi Mani A , Meenakshi K
Published: February 2021

Reinforcement learning namely Deep Q Learning neural network is used to make a robot walk in a controlled environment. The main objective of this paper is to make a robot learn to walk by building a model in hardware with six forms of movement. The basic alignment of robot at any moment depends on the direction of movement of stepper motor of a leg joint by test and trial method without any preordained model. The robot is made to freely walk which is stopped without falling down and is able to move freely over a transportable platform. Hardware robot communicates to the learning model which is run on the local machine through a USB port connection.
Performance Analysis of Image Denoising using Deep Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Thayammal S , Sankaramalliga G , Priyadarsini S , Ramalakshmi K
Published: February 2021

A performance analysis of conventional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based denoising method is proposed. In this image denoising method, the contrast of images is adaptively enhanced. Generally, it is not possible to capture the imageswith good quality for all situations. Because they are captured in various light conditions.So, the captured images are suffered by noise, which results in poor perceived image quality. Thus, it is necessary to improve the quality of images with edge detail preservation as much as possible. The convolutional neural network model for low light image enhancement is already developed and is named as DnCNNs. Here, the performance analysis of image denoising using the DnCNNmodel is presented. The DnCNN implicitly removes the noise in the image. The simulation results afford better reference for application developers.
Selection of Excitation Signals and Acoustic Pressure Measurement for In-Vivo Studies with Ultrasound Array Research Platform II
Authors: Mohamed Moubark Asraf , Nie Luzhen , Hairi Mohd Zaman Mohd , Asyraf Zulkifley Mohd , Hamid Md Ali Sawal , Freear Steven
Published: February 2021

In recent years, the Ultrasound Group at the University of Leeds has developed an open platform (OP) known as Ultrasound Array Research Platform II (UARPII). The OP serves as a main component for researchers to test and implement new algorithms which is not feasible with the commercially available clinical scanners. In this paper, three types of excitation signals, the square pulse, 2-cycle sinusoid and linear frequency modulated chirps which are commonly employed in ultrasound imaging, were investigated for in-vivo experiments with the UARP II OP. The USA food and drug administration (FDA) provides strict guidelines that need to be followed when working with in-vivo medium. This is to ensure that the acoustic beam intensities do not cause any types of thermal damage and cavitation. The acoustic pressures produced by those excitation signals were measured with a needle hydrophone. The main three parameters of the excitation signals measured and calculated are the mechanical index (MI), spatial peak pulse average intensity (SPPA) and spatial peak temporal average intensity (SPTA). By considering advantages and disadvantages of all investigated excitation signals, the 2-cycle sinusoidal signal has been selected for all simulations and experiments with the in-vivo medium.
Detecting driver mental fatigue based on Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals during simulated driving
Authors: Pradeep Kumar S , Murugan Suganiya , Selvaraj Jerritta , Sahayadhas Arun
Published: February 2021

More than 20% of road accidents are due to driver fatigue and considered to be major inference for transportation safety. This study aims to analyze fatigue state from the EEG signals of the drivers while performing a simulated driving task. Ten healthy participants involved in this study at three different timings. EEG signals were recorded continuously during monotonous driving in the simulator. Based on the video analysis the fatigue state and normal state related EEG signals were collected and decomposed using discrete wavelet transform. In this work the alpha and theta sub bands were considered for analysing the fatigue state of drivers. Features were extracted and classified using machine learning algorithm such as SVM, KNN and Ensemble. The result shows an accuracy of 97.8% in occipital region (O1 in alpha and O2 in theta) for classifying the fatigue state.
Behavior investigation of powder actuated shear connectors in composite beams with profiled sheeting
Authors: TONKIKH Gennadiy P , CHESNOKOV Denis
Published: February 2021

Eurocode 4 and Russian SP266.1325800.2016 composite structure design codes require touse shear connectors for providing a combined action of steel beam and concrete slab. Both codes also allow use steel profiled sheeting as a stay-in-place formwork. In this case, the designer has to use a reduction factor to define the real shear resistance. However, the existing method is mostly based on round-shape welded studs and does not take into account the peculiarity of powder actuated shear connectors.

This paper presents the result of an investigation of the behaviour of powder actuated shear connectors Hilti X-HVB in composite beams. One of the goals was to explore the influence of the steel profiled sheeting`s geometry on shear resistance of the connectors. Fifteen test series were conducted with different numbers of connectors, slab thicknesses, installation parameters of the connectors and types of profiled sheeting. All types of sheeting that were used as the test samplesare manufactured according to the Russian national standard and are widely used for composite slab design. Some test cases had smaller edge distances for shear connectors installation in profiled sheeting than allowed by the technical data of the producer, because they took place in real practice in CIS countries.

The test results have been evaluated according to Appendix B of Eurocode 4. The results for samples with solid slabs are in fully agreement with external experience. Most of series with profiled sheeting also match predicted design values; however, there were some series with insufficient results. Therefore, a deeper analysis and additional testing are necessary. The current investigation results could be used to specify the existing reduction factor that is included in the Russian composite structure design code SP266.1325800.2016
A platform to test and automation on gesture and motion controls of play station 4 using robotic arm
Authors: Sakthi D , Vijay T P , Subramaniam Venkat
Published: February 2021

Gesture and motion play an important role in computer games. This paper reveals about automation testing for gesture and motion-based interaction on play station4 and to provide a single automation test setup for multiple devices of same family. Generally, play station 4 gesture controls are tested manually by using move motion controller which leads to tedious effort of building a gesture and motion test. The proposed system provides low cost and effective automation test solution for gesture and motion-controlled devices. The created platform ‘TAGMED’ - Test Automation for Gesture and Motion Enabled Devices, a test automation tool to provide automation testing through the gesture and motion input simulation to play station4 gaming consoles. The automation test solution has robotic arm tweaked to handle PS4 MOVE controller and simulate gesture input on testing device, the platform captures the corresponding output, compares the captured output with the expected output and provides the report. This helps in bringing better accuracy of recognition, repeatability and defect less testing.
Design and analysis of a radial centrifugal pump for cryogenic helium based application
Authors: Das J , Lakhera V J , Sarkar B
Published: February 2021

A centrifugal pump is a rotordynamic machine that has wide spread application in industry. After analytical design, it is important to check the machine performance by some numerical method to be assured of machine performance before manufacturing. In the present study, a centrifugal pump conforming to a specific process requirement for cryogenic helium fluid has been developed in detail. This involves analytical design derivation of the stator and rotor part, computer aided design (CAD) modelling, meshing and detailed computational dynamic analysis (CFD) analysis. In line with analytical prediction, it is seen from simulation results that the designed machine meets the given requirements with an achieved hydraulic efficiency of 88%.
Finite Element simulation and Optimisation of blank holder force and rectangular drawbead geometry using Taguchi method for hemispherical cup
Authors: Eklarkar Shripad V , Nandedkar V M
Published: February 2021

In sheet metal forming process for obtaining good component one of the important practices is to controlling the sheet material flow into the die cavity. This is possible by applying the proper blank holding force and optimized drawbead geometry on the surface of the die.This paper aims to investigate the effect of drawbead geometry and blank holding force on thickness of formed component and restraining force using the Taguchi optimized technique. FE simulation is carried out by hyperform software and L9 orthogonal array design of experiments is used for simulation. Furthermore the values of thickness and drawbead forces predicted by developing a linear regression model. From the result, it is noticed that the shoulder radius and drawbead height are more influencing parameters for controlling the restraining force and thickness variation. The obtained results are validated by conducting conformation test and values obtained are the good agreement with the literature data and simulated results.
Potentials of plastic oil as Buton asphalt solvent
Authors: Hariadi D , Saleh S M , Yamin R A , Aprilia S
Published: February 2021

Plastic is a polymer that is difficult to be decomposed, one way to decompose it through pyrolysis. Buton Asphalt (Asbuton) has a high hardness (low penetration) so Asbuton cannot be used directly. Therefore, its use must be mixed with other asphalt which is softer, lighter oil, or other solvents. This research looks the effect of quality Plastic-type Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) to the potential of plastic oil resulting from the pyrolysis of plastic waste as asphalt solvent in Asbuton. Based on the quality of the LDPE plastic used in this study be distinguished; LDPE-White, Mix-plastic LDPE, and Blend-Plastic LDPE. From this case study, it can be concluded that based on its chemical compound, all plastic oils produced in this study can be categorized as carbon compounds rather than hydrocarbon compounds and only oils from LDPE blend-plastics contain carbonyl groups. Therefore, the oil is more suitable to be used as a solvent or solvent.
Study on natural ventilation performance in flats design at Banda Aceh
Authors: Iqbal M , Munir A , Sari L H
Published: February 2021

Flats are one of the solutions to housing problems faced by all countries in the world, especially developing countries like Indonesia. Flats are intended for low-income society. But ventilation problems often occur in some vertical housing due to non-optimal layout and lack of openings in each unit. The cheapest solution is to optimize the natural ventilation to expediting air circulation from inside to outside. The purpose of this study is to review natural ventilation performance in flats design at Banda Aceh. Natural ventilation offers healthy and comfortable air circulation without additional energy. The performance of natural ventilation is affected by the building’s layout and orientation, the opening’s orientations, locations, dimensions, types and the air-flow controller. The methodology used is the observation method with a descriptive survey that aims to look for symptoms with an observation method. The study begins with a field study and then conducts an analysis to compare existing conditions with theoretical studies. The results obtained are the design of these flats has been designed to be able to maximize the natural ventilation system, but the air movement cannot be felt by the occupants due to the opening’s dimensions which is not following the existing standards.
An evaluation of the tropical architectural concept on the building design for achieving thermal comfort (Case study: engineering faculty of Syiah Kuala university)
Authors: Ghassan M L , Sari L H , Munir A
Published: February 2021

Thermal comfort is one of the main goals in architectural design. For the tropics, thermal comfort can be achieved with passive cooling and active cooling. Buildings in the tropics should be designed to maximize the application of passive cooling to achieve thermal comfort by adapting to the climate using the concept of tropical architecture. The study was performed at the building of the Faculty of Engineering of Syiah Kuala University seen to be applying tropical architecture. The research aims to find out how the application of tropical architectural concepts in building designs to achieve thermal comfort. The methodology used was a qualitative method by observing the mass and orientation of the building, roofs, ceilings, walls, openings and vents, shading, and landscaping. The results indicated that the rectangular building with the shortest side faces east-west aiming to reduce the hottest exposure to solar radiation in the east and west. There are many openings on the north-south side to maximize air flow. The gable shape with a slope of 30° is a form of adaptation to the tropical climate to shade the building from the sun and rain. The use of vertical, horizontal, and hallway shading devices as shade can protect direct light from the sun. The building maximizes cross air flow with many openings. It is recommended to conduct further research in this study which is accompanied by field measurements and thermal comfort simulation tests.
The evaluation of green open space of disaster prone coastal areas
Authors: Abubakar A , Fuady M , Achmad A
Published: February 2021

The utilization of Green Open Space (GOS) is one of the aspects of urban environment that has an important value to the human life in urban areas considering its function in providing benefits ecologically, socially, culturally, aesthetically, and economically. An aappropriate utilization aims to improve the quality and quantity of green space, especially in the coastal areas, the use of green space is interesting to study because most of the land planned as green space is considered as a potential land and tends to be often misused on its use. This study aims to identify the existing land use andevaluate the use of GOS to increase the potential development of GOS utilization in coastal areas in Banda Aceh as stipulated in the Regional Spatial Plan (RSP) of Banda Aceh. The evaluation starts from analyzing the existing land use of GOS that has been determined in the SRP of Banda Aceh City through the processing of satellite images in 2016 by using the geospatial information systems application as an analytical aid. The image illustrates the existing land use conditions. The outcome obtained indicates that there is a change in the function of GOS that has been designated as a residential area and trade and services as well as the utilization of GOS that is not optimal yet. The results are expected to be a reference in optimizing the use of green open space in disaster-prone coastal areas in the city of Banda Aceh.
Shear failure of building floor beams due to December 7, 2016 Pidie Jaya earthquake
Authors: Muyasir A , Hasan M , Afifuddin M
Published: February 2021

The 6.5 Mw magnitude earthquake experienced in Pidie Jaya Regency on December 7, 2016 caused the failure of several structures including the District Attorney’s Building with almost all the beams on the first floor observed to have shear cracks. Besides that, some flexural cracks were also found, although only in a few places. This study aimed to determine the cause of the shear failure in the building and the amount of deformation observed in the structures due to the earthquake. Therefore, an assessment was conducted in the field to determine the quality of concrete and the adequacy of shear reinforcement installed. A time history analysis was also performed using the Pidie Jaya earthquake history recorded by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The results showed the required shear strength of the floor beams due to earthquake load was lower than its shear capacity due to a low compressive strength of the concrete in the beam and installation of insufficient shear reinforcement. Furthermore, the flexural strength required in the beams in some places was also greater than the available flexural capacity. The lateral deformations due to the earthquake were also observed to be very large thereby causing the inter-story drift of the building structures to exceed the value allowed by earthquake-resistant building standards (SNI 1726:2012). This subsequently led to the failure of the building floor beams, however, since the strength of the column was greater than the required standard, no crack was observed in the columns.
Mapping of the depth of hard/dense layer at Banda Aceh-Indonesia and the surrounding areas
Authors: Yunita H , Al-Huda N , Saidi T , Sundary D , Gunawan H , Yulianur A , Setiawan B , Adrian F , Sartika D , Oucherif M S
Published: February 2021

The 26 December 2004 disaster caused enormous casualties and damages in affected regions. Indonesia suffered a loss of 42.7 trillion Rupiah. On the other hand, this disaster has raised awareness among some people to carry out construction following engineering principles, so that the newly constructed buildings have an adequate level of safety. A hard/dense soil layer has a close relationship with the safety level of a building. This paper proposes a map of the depth of hard/dense (stable) layer at one of the worst affected cities, i.e., Banda Aceh (Indonesia) of the boxing day 2004 disaster. A static cone penetration test (CPT) was employed to determine the depth of stable soil. The data from the 35 cone penetration tests were used to develop the zoning map of the depth of the stable soil in the study location. The dominant hard/dense soil depth in the study location is > 10 meters below the existing ground level. In certain places, such as the areas around Lambung, Neusu Aceh, Lambaro Skep, Jeulingke, Doi, Kopelma Darussalam, and Lamjame, the depth of stable soil is from 5 to 10 meters.
Architecture in between: connecting between traditional Acehnese house and the current condition of modern Acehnese community
Authors: Izziah  , Meutia E , Sahputra Z , Irwansyah M
Published: February 2021

The formation of traditional architecture cannot be separated from the local wisdom of the community which is very friendly to environment. In this regard, the notion of ‘locality’ (such as local material, technology and culture) and ‘climate’ are used as a guide to the construction of buildings. The traditional Aceh house, the so-called Acehnese house (rumoh Aceh), that referred to as a type of stilted house is earthquake resistant. The house was also designed to anticipate flood and ocean tide and could provide comfort to the dwellers and be friendly to the local environment. The existence of Acehnese houses, however, has been extinguished. Houses owners prefer to demolish or sell the houses and to reconstruct new buildings with different styles. This study, thus, aims to explore the development of traditional architectural concept that suit to present context. It assesses three representative traditional houses found in Lambenot village. In order to accomplish the study, primary data collection was carried out through field observation, documentation and interviews with several informants including house owners. In additions, literature review is needed to support primary data. In doing this study, the paper shows the form of conservation efforts carried out by the Lambenot village community in order to maintain their collective memory of life journey. The benefit of this study is to give alternative toward preservation effort on how Acehnese houses can be used as an adaptive housing model for contemporary needs both architectural and structural aspects.
The simultaneous of electroflotation and biocoagulation on the treatment of peat water using mung bean (Vigna radiata) as natural coagulant
Authors: Putra R S , Tyagustin N S , Putri C I
Published: February 2021

The simultaneous of electroflotation and biocoagulation performance using mung bean flour (Vigna radiata) with 250 mesh as a natural coagulant on the treatment of peat water has been carried out. The electroflotation was carried out using graphite as anode and stainless steel as a cathode electrode with a DC constant voltage of 20 V for 30 mins operation. The mung bean in the doses of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/500 mL was used to treat the peat water. The effectiveness of the simultaneous of electrofotation and biocoagulation was in term of turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH. Initially, the peat water sample had the parameters as much as 224.3 NTU, 1076 mg/L, and 2.7 respectively for turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH. The results showed that the simultaneous of electroflotation and biocoagulation (EB) process had decreased those parameters as much as 84.5%, 70.2%, and changes the pH to be 6.8.
Enhancement of electroflotation using Musa acuminate peel as biocoagulant on the wastewater treatment of chemical laboratory
Authors: Putra R S , Firdaus F R F
Published: February 2021

In this study, the combined biocoagulation electroflotation process using Musa acuminate peel coagulant was evaluated using chemical laboratory wastewater as water sample. The effectiveness of the combined biocoagulation electroflotation process was seen based on the proportion of turbidity removal (%) and the proportion of TDS removal (%). The results showed that the proportion of turbidity reduction in chemical laboratory waste was 98,23% and the proportion of TDS disposal was 28,85% using an optimum coagulant dose of 0,5g/500 mL of chemical laboratory wastewater.
The effect of amino acids extracted from tofu wastewater on chitosan performance for methylene blue removal from water
Authors: Fathana H , Rahmi  , Lubis S , Adlim
Published: February 2021

In this study, we have modified chitosan using amino acids to form a chitosan-amino acid film. Amino acids were extracted from the tofu wastewater of the tofu producer, Timbul Jaya in Banda Aceh. The amino acid loaded on chitosan was varied (1, 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 mL). The best chitosan-amino acid films were obtained at 0.5 mL amino acid loading. Chitosan-amino acid films were characterized using XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis), DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), and FT-IR (Fourier Transform Red Spectroscopy). XRD data showed that amino acid loading did not affect the crystallinity of chitosan. Based on TGA and DSC data, the addition of amino acids slightly decreased the thermal properties of chitosan. FTIR data confirmed the amount of amino acids loaded can increase the amine group in chitosan. Adding amino acids to chitosan film was able to increase the adsorption capacity of chitosan.
The impact of solvent concentration on the characteristic of silica from rice husk ash using sol gel method
Authors: Zuwanna I , Riza M , Aprilia S
Published: February 2021

Synthesis of silica particle was conducted using the sol gel method from Aceh Besar rice husk ash. Sol gel method is an environmental-friendly and easy process to extract silica particles (SiO2) that consists of two stages of hydrolysis and polycondensation. The aim of this research was to analyse the influence of variations in the solvent concentration (1 N, 1.5 N, 2 N, 2.5 N and 3 N) using the sol gel method on the characteristics of silica particle. The rice husk ash was refluxed using solvent (sodium hydroxide) and the acidification process was using hydrochloric acid (HCl). The result of this study indicated that the highest yield in treatment was using 3 N NaOH, which was 39.66 percent. Based on XRD result, the silica was in the crystalline phase and had a particle size of 13,59-41,56 nm and functional groups of silanol (Si-OH) and siloxane (Si-O-Si). Based on the result of SEM characterization, uneven and agglomerated particle shapes were obtained.
Selective esterification of glycerol diacetin and triacetin over rice husk biosilica catalyst with microwave heating
Authors: Tasuna N , Hidayatillah K H , Marwan  , Zuhra
Published: February 2021

Selectivity towards diacetin and triacetin was investigated in esterification of glycerol using rice husk biosilica catalyst. The reaction was carried out in a microwave-irradiated batch reactor using acetic acid to glycerol molar ratio of 1:3, catalyst amount of 3% and 5% of the glycerol volume, and reaction time of 20 and 30 minutes. The biosilica catalyst was prepared by treating rice husk with hydrochloric acid and followed by calcination at 600°C. SEM analysis of the resulted catalyst reveals significant change of rice husk morphology and its XRD analysis shows the characteristics of amorphous silica. Furthermore, FTIR analysis of the reaction sample reveals the presence of an ester group of triacetin at 1709.5 cm−1. Product distribution of the glycerol esterification identified by GC-MS shows the highest total selectivity for diacetin and triacetin of 79.3% at the reaction condition of 30 minutes and 3% catalyst loading. However, individual selectivity for triacetin as the final product of this consecutive esterification steps was low, less than 5%.
Preparation and characterization of chitosan-starch Janeng membranes cross-linking with citric acid
Authors: Saiful  , Mardiana L , Rahmah Z , Ajrina M , Imanda M R , Rahmi  , Khairi  , Ramli M , Marlina
Published: February 2021

Neat chitosan membranes have shortcomings in their application owing to weak mechanical properties, thus, requiring modification. In this study, a chitosan membrane was modified utilizing starch and cross-linking agent (citric acid) addition. The characterization of chitosan-starch membranes using Universal Testing Machine, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) had proven the cross-linking formation. The cross-linked membrane had better tensile strength (11.07 kgf/mm2) than the uncross-linked membrane (66.07kgf/mm2). The DSC thermogram of uncross-linked and cross-linked membranes showed endothermic and exothermic peaks at different temperatures. In addition to the membranes’ thermal characteristics, the DTA thermogram showed the decomposition process on the uncross-linked membrane uncross-linking occurred at a temperature range of 277.74-363.27 °C, while the decomposition of the cross-linked membrane was observed at a range of 287.83-356.38 °C. The FT-IR spectra confirmed a decrease in the intensity of the absorption peak associated with cross-linking formation within the membrane.
Thermal conductivity of rice straw polypropylene particleboard
Authors: Ismail I , Fitri N , Mursal  , Fadzullah S H S
Published: February 2021

The availability of rice straw in Indonesia, including in some other Asian countries, is very abundant. However, it has not been used optimally. One possibility of using rice straw is for heat insulation in buildings. This study aims to analyze the thermal conductivity of rice straw polypropylene composite/particleboard. In this study, particulate composites from rice straw have been produced by using recycled plastic polypropylene (homopolymer) as adhesive. The particle size of rice straw used in this study was 20 mesh. The composition of rice straw and polypropylene were varied (the ratio of rice straw particle to polypropylene is 30/70 wt. %, 40/60 wt. %, 50/50 wt. %, and 60/40 wt. %). The composite samples were produced by using a hot press with 3 tons of load. The thermal conductivity of rice straw composite samples has been measured. We found that our composite thermal conductivity is 0.223 (±0.015) W/m °C for rice straw 30 wt.% and polypropylene 70 wt. %. For rice straw composition 60 wt. %, its thermal conductivity reduces to 0.191 (±0.002) W/m °C. The composite thickness swelling is found to be 0.76 (±0.26) % for rice straw 30 wt.% (after 24 hours immersing in water). The percentage of thickness swelling is 1.80 (±0.10) % for rice straw 60 wt. %. The results of our study revealed that the thermal conductivity of rice straw composite decreased as the thickness swelling increased. This behavior is related to the porosity of the composite.
Spread of liquid waste in un-licited gold mining by geoelectrical method in Krueng Sabee sub-district Aceh
Authors: Aflah N , Syafrizal  , Mulkal  , Harisman H , Lubis M R , Muchlis
Published: February 2021

Illegal gold mining has increased significantly in Keude village of Krueng Sabee Aceh Jaya subdistrict. This causes environmental damage in the form of waste mercury pollution in the area. Environmental pollution caused by waste needs to be addressed. However, it needs to determine the appropriate method to overcome it by knowing the depth and the spread of mercury waste. This study aims to visualize subsurface conditions in the area of Krueng Sabee to provide information and data on the spread of mercury wastes. By using the method of geoelectric resistivity Schlumberger array, the contamination can be seen below the surface by the resistivity value of the sites. Results from these measurements after inverted using Earth Imager software of Res2Dinv can get a picture and visualize the location of subsurface conditions of the study. The results show that the resistivity value of waste mercury-contaminated soil at the study site ranged from 2–5 Ωm, and waste mercury contamination occurs vertically to a depth of 3 meters.
Graphite oxide tribo-layer formation under boundary lubrication of diesel fuel
Authors: Fuadi Z , Kurniawan R , Kanda K , Adachi K
Published: February 2021

Friction and wear of mechanical components (such as engines) is controlled by some kind of boundary films (also referred to as tribo-layer). In some cases, such boundary film is formed on the contact interface due to a tribo-chemical process in the presence of liquid media. In this paper, we demonstrate the formation of graphite oxide tribo-layer on the contact interface of steel in the presence of diesel fuel liquid media. A Raman spectrometer was used to analyse the tribo-layer structure. Although the intensity is low, it is shown that the tribo-layer has a structure of graphite oxide, demonstrated by the presence of D band peak at approximately 1350 cm−1 and G band peak at approximately 1550 cm−1 in the Raman spectra. Such graphite solid films on the sliding surfaces have ability to control friction and wear. This finding demonstrates the possibility of in-situ formation of solid protective film of a tribo-pair components using the working fluid where the use of lubricants is restricted as they contaminate the working fluid.
The effect of bypass diode installation on partially covered solar panel output power
Authors: Muliadi M , Sara I D , Suriadi S
Published: February 2021

Shadow or partial shading is a bad phenomenon that affects the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems in producing energy. Shadows can be caused by moving clouds, building shadows, tree shadows, bird droppings or dust covering the surface of solar panels. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of installing bypass diode on the output power of a partially closed solar panel based on three configurations of the solar module arrangement namely, a configuration without using bypass diode, two solar modules with one bypass diode, and one solar module with one bypass diode. Furthermore, the three configurations were tested with a shadow pattern scenario is 12.5% to 100% of solar panel area using Matlab software. The result shows the I-V and P-V characteristics when experiencing shading 12.5% - 100%. The peak power value or maximum power value of the one solar module configuration with one bypass diode is greater than the two solar module configuration with one bypass diode and the configuration without using a bypass diode. Different from shadow conditions 100% the effect of installing bypass diode on the configuration of two solar modules with one bypass diode and the configuration of one solar module with one bypass diode the resulting power is the same as the configuration without using a bypass diode, which is 179.2 W.
Provincial economic level analysis in Indonesia based on the geothermal energy potential and growth regional domestic products using cluster analysis
Authors: Idroes G M , Syahnur S , Majid S A. , Sasmita N R , Idroes R
Published: February 2021

This study aims to determine the provincial economic level in Indonesia based on geothermal energy potential and growing regional domestic product (GRDP). The data used in this research is secondary data. The type of data is a cross-section from 34 Provinces in Indonesia in 2018. Geothermal Energy Potential Data is obtained from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), and GRDP data for each province is obtained from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS). This study divided data into 5 clusters using the k-means method. The results showed that there are 2 provinces in cluster 1, 1 province in cluster 2, 8 provinces in cluster 3, 22 provinces in cluster 4, and 1 province in cluster 5.
The optimization of hybrid power generator system (PV-Wind turbine) using Homer software
Authors: Suriadi S , Daru W I , R Halid S , Syukri M , Gapy M
Published: February 2021

There is a higher electricity demand due to increasing population and economic development. Conventional power companies struggle to meet these needs both in generation and distribution. However, the common use of electric and other power generators, driven mostly by fossils fuels, shows certain limitations including decreasing efficiency and energy resources. Therefore, the application of renewable energy sources is greatly significant. The purpose of this research was to analyse the potentials of hybrid power generator system (PV-Wind turbine) and the optimization of electric energy requirement using hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) software. The results confirmed this study as useful and a valid reference for government in building power generation systems through renewable energy utilization.
Optical polarization skyrmionic fields in free space
Authors: Gutiérrez-Cuevas Rodrigo , Pisanty Emilio
Published: February 2021

We construct optical beams in free space with robust skyrmionic structures in their polarization fields, both in the electric spin vector for near-circular fields and in the polarization direction for near-linear fields, and for both Bloch (spiral) and Néel (hedgehog) textures. These structures are made possible by the spin–orbit coupling of tightly-focused nonparaxial optics as applied to higher-order Full-Poincaré beams, as well as by standing-wave configurations comprising forwards- and backwards-propagating waves. Our constructions show near-uniform circular and linear polarizations, providing a high degree of topological protection in the absence of nonlinear interactions.
Axial superlocalization with vortex beams
Authors: Koutný D , Hradil Z , Řeháček J , Sánchez-Soto L L
Published: February 2021

Improving axial resolution is paramount importance for three-dimensional optical imaging systems. Here, we investigate the ultimate precision in axial localization using vortex beams. For Laguerre–Gauss (LG) beams, this limit can be achieved with just an intensity scan. The same is not true for superpositions of LG beams, in particular for those with intensity profiles that rotate on defocusing. Microscopy methods based on rotating vortex beams may thus benefit from replacing traditional intensity sensors with advanced mode-sorting techniques.
Sex Moderates Treatment Effects of Integrated Collaborative Care for Comorbid Obesity and Depression: The RAINBOW RCT
Authors: Lv Nan , Xiao Lan , Rosas Lisa G , Venditti Elizabeth M , Smyth Joshua M , Lewis Megan A , Snowden Mark B , Ronneberg Corina R , Williams Leanne M , Gerber Ben S , Ajilore Olusola A , Patel Aashutos S , Ma Jun
Published: February 2021

Background

Sex influences health and related behaviors due to biological and psychosocial/socioeconomic factors. Assessing sex-specific responses to integrated treatment for comorbid obesity and depression could inform intervention targeting.

Purpose

To test (a) whether sex moderates the effects of integrated collaborative care on weight and depression outcomes through 24 months and (b) whether treatment response at 6 months predicts 12 and 24 month outcomes by sex.

Methods

Secondary data analyses on weight and depression severity (SCL-20) measured over 24 months among 409 adults with obesity and depression in the Research Aimed at Improving Both Mood and Weight trial.

Results

Men achieved significantly greater weight reductions in intervention versus usual care than women, whereas women achieved significantly greater percentage reductions in SCL-20 than men at both 12 and 24 months. In logistic models, at 80% specificity for correctly identifying participants not achieving clinically significant long-term outcomes, women who lost <3.0% weight and men who lost <4.1% weight at 6 months had ≥84% probability of not meeting 5% weight loss at 24 months. Similarly, at 80% specificity, women who reduced SCL-20 by <39.5% and men who reduced by <53.0% at 6 months had ≥82% probability of not meeting 50% decrease in SCL-20 at 24 months.

Conclusions

Sex modified the integrated treatment effects for obesity and depression. Sex-specific responses at 6 months predicted clinically significant weight loss and depression outcomes through 24 months. Based on early responses, interventions may need to be tailored to address sex-specific barriers and facilitators to achieving healthy weight and depression outcomes at later time points.

Clinical Trial Registration

NCT02246413 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02246413).
Rhythm
Authors: Marcus Laura
Published: February 2021

The topic of rhythm in literary theory draws both on discussions of poetry and prose and on much broader currents of thought in the natural sciences and philosophy. In Western thought, rhythm was a central focus of attention in ancient Greece, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when theorists and practitioners of literature and the other arts often referred back to classical models. This is also the case in more recent theorizing of rhythm in the context of everyday life in advanced modern or, as some would say, postmodern societies. Nietzsche, who constantly circled around the term and with frequent direct and metaphorical references to dance, is in many ways the central figure in these discussions. He was massively influential after his death in 1900, both in Germany and more widely, for example, in Britain and North America, and he was taken up again, along with Heidegger, in much French thought after World War 2. Contemporary debates around rhythm and its relation to meter continue to refer to classical Greece, and in Chinese and Indian thought there is a similar continuity of attention to issues of rhythm.
Thing
Authors: Kang Woosung
Published: February 2021

Thing is a categorically indeterminate and comprehensive concept that cannot easily be pinned down to any single or specific meaning. It has a long history of heterogeneous significations, from material objects, through legal issues, to supersensible noumena. For modern philosophies of subjectivity, things are reducible to that which is available for human thinking and acting. Things are represented as objects for the subject in the form of presence-at-hand, and this representational relationship forms the basic structure of the world in modernity. Under the capitalist system of commodity exchanges, moreover, this anthropocentric relationship with things undergoes what is called reification or fetishism, which turns all things human into relations between objects. The objectification of things makes it possible for humans to dominate the world, but fetishism in turn dominates human beings as mere objects. Heidegger’s attempt to deconstruct this objectification reverberates with the Marxist critique of capitalist commodification, and in literature, with the modernist endeavor to overcome reification. These efforts to secure the thingness of the thing are linked to the early 21st century’s efforts to re-establish non-humanistic relations with things and the world. Recently, under the banner of an “ontological turn,” there has been an explosion of interest in things, motivated in particular by growing concerns about anthropocentrism. Indeed, in the face of unprecedented technological change and hyper-digitalization, a new relation between human and nonhuman is desperately required. New ontologies thus try to build a non-hierarchal, object-oriented, monistic universe of hybrids, quasi-objects, and assemblages, such that human beings become only a part of the parliament of things.
Marginalized Voices in the Global Media Dialogue
Authors: Carilli Theresa
Published: February 2021

Marginalization, a fluid concept, challenges status quo understandings and representations of individuals throughout the world. Considered to reference individuals who have been excluded from the mainstream dialogue, marginalization has developed into a term that evokes an examination of the master narrative, also known as the metanarrative. In a world where the master narrative predominates, individuals are systematically excluded based on a characteristic or characteristics they possess that disrupt a specified system of cultural norms. In relation to the global media, marginalized voices represent groups that have self-contained cultural norms and rules that differ from mainstream norms and rules. While marginalized groups may share some norms, rules, and values with the mainstream culture, they possess differences that can be viewed as transgressive, existing outside the mainstream norms, rules, and values. Media representations of groups that are globally marginalized, and sometimes stigmatized, include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, class, ableism, and religion. A study of these marginalized groups reveals an implied system of privilege that reifies the status quo and supports the master narrative. Media invisibility results from marginalization, and when marginalized groups are represented, often those representations are through a marketable, stereotypical lens. As a result of the dearth of images, and a system of privilege, few studies examine marginalized groups in countries throughout the world. By creating a global dialogue about marginalized voices, images, and self-representations, advocacy for difference and understanding allows these voices, images, and self-representations to become expressive renderings of specific transgressive cultural norms.
Recovery From Disasters
Authors: Kushma Jane
Published: February 2021

Recovery from disasters is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon. The impacts of disasters are felt by individuals, families, business and industry, communities, regions, and countries. Many factors influence the quality and pace of recovery, and recovery processes will vary widely. Scholars from many academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, economics, political science, public administration, geography, planning, psychology, sociology, social work) study various aspects of recovery, which makes the discovery, integration, synthesis, and application of findings more challenging. While research about recovery has been limited as compared to other phases of the disaster cycle, research has progressed to make analytic distinctions for various disaster impacts, recovery activities, and recovery outcomes (National Research Council, p. 147). This conceptual clarification has expanded the knowledge base for recovery in a number of important areas. As recovery scholarship has evolved, research has examined such areas as synthesis research and emphasized the connection between recovery policy and practice, but critical needs remain on the horizon.