Bilingual Publishing Co. (BPC): E-Journals
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Control and Treatment of Bone Cancer: A Novel Theoretical Study
No full textThe human body has symmetric bones. This paper uses control engineering concepts to design a suitable controller to synchronize two symmetric bones of the human body to control and treat bone cancer. A Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control (NTSMC) method will be employed to design the proposed control inputs. The control inputs can be the chemical drugs that can be used to treat bone cancer. The dynamical equations of bone cancer will be used to apply the designed control method and test it. For testing the designed controller, Simulink/MATLAB software will be used. The proposed controller is chattering-free, robust against uncertainties and external disturbances, and finite-time stable in the control engineering view. Bone cancer will be treated for almost one year using the proposed control method
On People’s Worries about Becoming a Victim of Events or Conditions Often Blamed on Those up There
No full textThe authors study people’s worries about becoming victimized by events and conditions often blamed on “those up there”. Excessive worries are bad for people’s performance because they lead to risk avoidance and lower self-confidence. In two representative surveys conducted in Germany, it is found that victimization concerns are positively correlated with people’s gender, previous victimization, their estimated likelihood of being victimized, their fear of crime, their crime-avoidance behavior, their striving for tradition and security, and their negative attitudes toward crimes. Negative correlations are found for people’s education, their striving for universalism, and their social capital. When considering all predictors combined, people’s expected likelihood to become victimized is found to be the optimal predictor of victimization concerns. It is recommended that management concentrates on setting realistic levels of such risk estimates to avoid negative effects on people’s performance
Application of Vegetation Indices for Detection and Monitoring Oil Spills in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria
No full textThe study evaluated the environmental effects of an oil spill in Joinkrama 4 and Akimima Ahoada West LGA, Rivers State, Nigeria, using various vegetation indices. Location data for the spill were obtained from the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, and Landsat imagery was acquired from the United States Geological Survey. Three soil samples were collected from the affected area, and their analysis included measuring total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), total hydrocarbons (THC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The obtained data were processed with ArcGIS software, utilizing different vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Atmospheric Resistant Vegetation Index (ARVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Green Short Wave Infrared (GSWIR), and Green Near Infrared (GNIR). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The results consistently indicated a negative impact on the environment resulting from the oil spill. A comparison of spectral reflectance values between the oil spill site and the non-oil spill site showed lower values at the oil spill site across all vegetation indices (NDVI 0.0665-0.2622, ARVI –0.0495-0.1268, SAVI 0.0333-0.1311, GSWIR –0.183-0.0517, GNIR –0.0104-–0.1980), indicating damage to vegetation. Additionally, the study examined the correlation between vegetation indices and environmental parameters associated with the oil spill, revealing significant relationships with TPH, THC, and PAH. A t-test with a significance level of p < 0.05 indicated significantly higher vegetation index values at the non-oil spill site compared to the oil spill site, suggesting a potential disparity in vegetation health between the two areas. Hence, this study emphasizes the harmful effect of oil spills on vegetation and highlights the importance of utilizing vegetation indices and spectral reflectance analysis to detect and monitor the impact of oil spills on vegetation
Sectoral Advanced Planning Systems (APS) Based on Utility Functions
No full textThis paper contains the example of sectoral APS systems, for which the problem algorithmic space coincides with the relevant operational environment with great accuracy. The method of scheduling for technological processes with looping is described, based on the simultaneous application of two criteria: the value of relative direct costs and the average utility of order fulfillment. The influence of buffers on the work of shops is considered. The proposed method provides an automatic grouping of the same type of jobs on all machines involved while taking into account the required duration of jobs. A package of application programs has been developed that allows planning for an average number of orders. The result of the program is a set of non-dominant (not improved) options that are offered to the user for making a final decision
Sustainability as an Ethical Aspect of the Theory-Practice Gap in Business Schools
No full textThis paper aims to reframe sustainability as an ethical aspect of the theory-practice gap in business and management education for sustainable development, which should be viewed as an integral part of knowledge produced and disseminated in business schools. The paper adopts a narrative approach to review the relevant literature on two streams of research, namely, the theory-practice gap and sustainability in reforming business schools. The synthesis and discussion of the existing literature suggest that while sustainability is frequently viewed with an ethical sentiment, the existing research overlooks its significance in bringing together knowledge and practice in business schools. This paper highlights the potential of sustainability as a theoretical lens in bridging the theory-practice gap in business schools; proposing to rethink the conceptual space that lies in ethics for further theoretical developments. The author urges business and management scholars to engage in burgeoning debates on business school reforms relating to the theory-practice gap and sustainability with an emphasis on ethics. The author contends that the neglected theoretical linkages between the theory-practice gap and sustainability provide fruitful directions for future research. Through a moral lens, business schools can move toward responsible management education for a more sustainable future
Ethno-medical Profiling of Myrianthus arboreus P. Beauv: A Phyto-resource Food of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes Blumenbach, 1799) in the Ubangi Eco-region of Democratic Republic of the Congo
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate the ethnomedical knowledge of the population of South Ubangi on Myrianthus arboreus, a plant consumed by chimpanzees, with the assumption that this bio-resource is also used by the population in African Traditional Medicine to treat common diseases. The results revealed that M. arboreus treats 23 diseases in the province of South Ubangi in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of these diseases, six (anaemia, bronchitis, tooth decay, gastritis, hypertension, and spleen) are the most cited. Anaemia and spleen are treated by all socio-cultural groups. The leaf is the most used organ (48%) followed by sap, roots, stems, bark, flowers, and seeds. Expression (61.5%) is the most used method of preparation followed by decoction, maceration, and mastication. Oral (94.5%) is the most used method of administration followed by body bath, massage, anal and auricular route. M. arboreus is a vulnerable species (Iv ≥ 2.5) in the study area. The diseases treated are influenced by the level of education and the profession of the respondents (p < 0.05). While the mode of preparation of recipes is influenced by the family situation, also the composition of recipes is influenced by gender, age and occupation (p < 0.05). The search for new sources of bio-inspired drugs through zoopharmacognosy may thus allow the development of effective phytomedicines for the health care of humans or non-human primates ex situ. Thus the need for advanced phytochemical and pharmacological studies and the domestication of M. arboreus for its multiple food and pharmacological uses is necessary
The Possibilities of Using the Minimax Method to Diagnose the State of the Atmosphere
No full textThe article is devoted to the discussion of the possibilities of approbation of one of the probabilistic methods of verification of evaluation works - the minimax method or the method of establishing the minimum risk of making erroneous diagnoses of the instability of the planetary boundary layer of air. Within the framework of this study, the task of probabilistic forecasting of diagnostic parameters and their combinations, leading in their totality to the formation of an unstable state of the planetary boundary layer of the atmosphere, was carried out. It is this state that, as shown by previous studies, a priori contribution to the development of a number of weather phenomena dangerous for society (squalls, hail, heavy rains, etc.). The results of applying the minimax method made it possible to identify a number of parameters, such as the intensity of circulation, the activity of the Earth’s magnetosphere, and the components of the geostrophic wind velocity, the combination of which led to the development of instability. In the future, it is possible to further expand the number of diagnosed parameters to identify more sensitive elements. In this sense, the minimax method, the usefulness of which is shown in this study, can be considered as one of the preparatory steps for the subsequent more detailed method for forecasting individual hazardous weather phenomena
A Preliminary Study of Agricultural Waste as Biochar Incorporated into Cementitious Materials: Preliminary study of agricultural waste as biochar incorporated cementitious materials for concrete structure
No full textIncorporating small amounts of biochar into cementitious materials has partial effects on the environment. In this present study, rice husk was collected as agricultural biomass from a local area of Roorkee Uttarakhand, which contains siliceous material to a significant extent. Biochar was prepared from agricultural waste in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 500 ℃ for 90 min and ground to a fineness of less than 10 µm. Prior to incorporation into building envelopes such as mortar and concrete, a basic study on cement pastes is essentially required. For this purpose, different dosages of biochar such as 0, 3%, 5% and 10% wt. were replaced with cement in cementitious materials. Physical properties such as water absorption, density and porosity were investigated. Furthermore, mechanical and thermal properties such as compressive strength and thermal conductivity were studied. Advanced tools like field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) were used to identify the hydration products. As the dosages increased in the cement matrix, the physical properties of sample were increased and porosity decreased. The compressive strength of biochar incorporated cement paste improved according to 0, 3%, 5% and 10% wt. It further reveals that as the dosage increased, the thermal conductivity of the samples decreased significantly. Moreover, the sustainable assessment showed that biochar could reduce embodied carbon, embodied energy and strength efficiency substantially over the control sample. A satisfactory result was obtained at 5% wt. and 10 % wt. of biochar. The overall result revealed that biochar up to 10% wt. can be incorporated into mortar and concrete due to better results than the control mix
A Comprehensive Overview of the ELECTRE Method in Multi Criteria Decision-Making
No full textThe ELECTRE (ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalite) method has gained widespread recognition as one of the most effective multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Its versatility allows it to be applied in a wide range of areas such as engineering, economics, business, environmental management and many others. This paper aims to provide an overview of the ELECTRE method, including its fundamental concepts, applications, advantages, and limitations. At its core, the ELECTRE method is an outranking family of MCDM techniques, which allows for the direct comparison of alternatives based on a set of criteria. The method takes into account the preferences and importance of decision-makers and generates a ranking of the alternatives based on their relative strengths and weaknesses. The ELECTRE method is a powerful tool for decision-making, and its applicability to a wide range of fields demonstrates its versatility and adaptability. By understanding its concepts, applications, merits, and demerits, decision-makers can use the ELECTRE method to make informed and effective decisions in a variety of contexts