Monday, September 30, 2019
Miss Havisham & Lady Macbeth similarities/differences Essay
En gà ©nà ©ral, je dois admettre que jââ¬â¢aime le sport. Je pense cette parce que je le trouve particulià ¨rement intà ©ressant et trà ¨s agrà ©able. Ã⬠mon avis, un sport dââ¬â¢Ã ©quipe est infiniment mieux quââ¬â¢un sport individuel. Cependant, il faut jouer au football individuellement puis que quand vous avez la balle, vous jouez par vous-mà ªme. Le sport est bien pour tu comme cââ¬â¢est exercices votre les muscles. Jââ¬â¢adore le sport à lââ¬â¢Ã ©cole car il aide tu faire copains et aussi cââ¬â¢est amonceler de amusant. Ã⬠jouer le football, il faut faire du lââ¬â¢exercice souvent et rà ©gulià ¨rement manger là ©gume, des fruits et boire dââ¬â¢eau beaucoup. Fondamentalement tu dois manger la nourriture saine. Je vous conseille il ne faut pas manger des bonbons ou tout nourriture sucrà ©e parce que cââ¬â¢est trà ¨s mauvais pour les dents et spà ©cialement le cÃ
âur. Pendant le football vous devez porter les jambià ¨res sous vos chaussettes parce que ce sera de protà ©ger votre jambe de se blesser. Prochaine semaine jââ¬â¢ai un match de football avec lââ¬â¢Ã ©cole des mon amis. Antibiotics are chemicals that we use to treat infection, often bacterial infections. They work by either killing the bacteria or by stopping them dividing and growing. Some work by interfering with enzymes that are essential in the replication of genetic material (either DNA or RNA) in the bacterial cells or in protein synthesis. Some work just by blocking the sites where enzymes usually join to the substrate, so they canââ¬â¢t join on and catalyse the reaction. The parent DNA molecule unravels itself and becomes 2 individual strands that stand on either end. The two strands exposed. Free nucleotides are floating in the nucleoplasm and they attach to the exposed bases. A pairs with T, whilst C pairs with G. This process makes sure that the replication procedure is happening exact. The nucleotide joining together is caused by DNA polymerase. DNA polymerase splits the DNA into two separate stran ds and the mRNA (procedures regarding transcription and translation) makes a copy of the split DNA. The mRNA then breaks off from the DNA and finds itself a ribosome to attach to which then allows the ribosome to absorb the mRNA and tRNA details and by doing this, the correct code for the amino acid has been found. Enzymes are very important in the process of DNA replication because if there werenââ¬â¢t any enzymes then theà whole process wouldnââ¬â¢t have been even able to be carried out. DNA polymerases have responsibility to create the bonding of nucleotides and for replacing primers. These things have to happen in order for DNA replication to take place. Protein synthesis is a major part in the bodyââ¬â¢s growth and changes. It helps with the production of amino acid chains which are there for protein. However, the main importance of protein synthesis is the production of endless varieties of enzymes that are there for different reactions and movements made by the body. A body cannot function without enzymes and protein synthesis is needed for our existence.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Methods of Evangelism Essay
The Intellectual Method of Evangelism referred to as ââ¬Å"The Four Spiritual Lawsâ⬠is best known as the widely used way of evangelism used by the popular college ministry known as Campus Crusade and was first published in 1957 by founder, Bill Bright in a pamphlet titled Have You heard of the four Spiritual Laws? In this publication, Bright simplifies the truths of the Gospel in an attempt to reach as many people as possible. What are known as Biblical truths are delivered as spiritual laws in order to assist people to recognize that just as we are governed by manââ¬â¢s laws on earth, there are also spiritual laws that govern the relationship between God and man. The four spiritual laws are: 1) God loves you; 2) Man is sinful and separated from God; 3) Jesus Christ is Godââ¬â¢s only provision for manââ¬â¢s sin and 4) We must individually receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. (Bright, 2007) There are some very obvious advantages in using this method of evangelism. It is s imple and easy to follow and it starts off on a very positive note by explaining Godââ¬â¢s love for mankind rather than addressing the sinful state that all of mankind is in before accepting Christ. Each point also has Scripture references to emphasis or proves that the laws are from God himself. The Four Spiritual Laws has been wildly successful in winning souls for Christ and the publication itself has sold over one hundred million copies and has been translated into all the major languages of the world making it a readily available resource for an evangelism tool. (Moo, 2002) There are however several disadvantages in choosing to use this method of evangelism. By electing to start these laws out on a positive note and addressing Godââ¬â¢s love for mankind first instead of the sinfulness and our need of a Savior, one may get the false impression that he does not need to be saved. In addition with the references to scripture being taken out of context of could easily misunderstand the true meaning. One such example would be the first law, ââ¬Å"God loves youâ⬠and the referenced Scripture John 3:16 and John 10:10. While God does love everyone, these Scriptures taken out of context fail to show that it is Godââ¬â¢s nature and one of Hisà attributes to love us. And the recipient of the word may not understand that a loving God will still judge people for their worldly sins. The main concern with the Four Spiritual Laws is that although this pamphlet although Biblically correct mentions that a person can receive Christ through prayer. Prayer alone is not how you receive Christ. Prayer combined with Faith is what it takes to have a true conversion. (Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation Revised, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977, 113.) Servant Evangelism The Relational Method of Evangelism referred to as Servant Evangelism is based on the ideal that Christians are to reach others by love, compassion and service while embracing a kind heart and a generous attitude along with a loving smile. The motivation that fuels servant evangelism is Jesus, himself especially when he was speaking to His disciples from the scriptures in Matthew Chapter 25 where he tell them that they are to feed the hungry, cloth and shelter the homeless, take care of the sick and visit those in prison as if they were serving Jesus. Servant evangelism is more about ââ¬Ëdoingââ¬â¢ the message of the Gospel than speaking it and drawing people to Christ through those actions. (Tarjanyi, 2013) There are some strong advantages to this sort of evangelism as the perception that non-Christians may have of Christianity may be altered and they may be more willing to remember a more positive image rather than negative one. The focus shifts to the selfless acts of compas sion and service they see these Christians performing in the name of Jesus. Many non-believers that witness Christians performing acts of service are very willing to acknowledge that there must be some other power that drives the Christian to do so. This opening can lead as an avenue to lead a person to Christ. On the other hand, by meeting the physical needs of a lost person and not addressing what may be causing those needs (which could easily be a sinful nature), one may run a risk of never reaching that individual for Christ. This is a definite disadvantage of servant evangelism. At all times, the servant must remain focused just like Jesus did and always turn the needs towards God and draw those in need to the real answer to all their needs. It can become very easy to get consumed with meeting needs and lose focus of the true mission which is to lead people a step closer to God. Evangelism Explosion Evangelism Explosion is a method of evangelism in which the leaders indicate that their principles are drawn directly from the Bible. This method is highly organized and is designed around the focal point ââ¬Å"training those won to the Lord to win, and train, othersâ⬠. (Davis, 2010) the technique utilizes a series of direct confrontational questions which emphasize a key point of the Gospel and the non-Christian is challenged to respond. Questions like, ââ¬Å"Do you know for sure you are going to be with God in Heavenâ⬠or ââ¬Å"If God asked you , ââ¬ËWhy should God let you into Heaven?ââ¬â¢ what would you sayâ⬠are posed and the goal is to get the non-believer to open their mind and heart up to the Gospel message. There is a two-fold advantage to this approach of evangelism. First, this type of evangelism can place a direct challenge on the Christian to become more active in their own community and this aspect of evangelism makes Christians become very good at communicating the Gospel message effectively. The second advantage is that this approach directly confronts the non-believer with their sinful state and refuses to allow them any way to escape the salvation message. The non-Christian cannot dismiss Jesus as their moral teacher. They are left to decide if they will accept Him as Savior. The disadvantages of this confrontational method are also two-fold. Some may say that these sorts of trainings can become too rehearsed and sound memorized and scripted instead of from the heart. This may turn a non-Christian off to hearing the Gospel. The other issue is that the high pressure nature of the question and answer session may produce false converts. The process of going through a premeditated dialogue can leave much open to be criticized by many. Application of These Methods to Your Own Life The method of evangelism that works best for me is Servant Evangelism. Although I do see that there may be several responsibilities that are also attached to this approach, this is the best way that I have been able to be the actual hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and hurting world that may otherwise not be open to hearing the Gospel message. After reading and researching many of the other techniques, I find that servanthood best suits me. As we read in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, God gifts us each uniquely. I feel that the service is a gift. Not everyone can serve with a gratefulà heart. Servant Evangelism is how the Lord reached me and I am sure that impact is part of the reason I have such a deep connection to this technique. Matthew 25 has been adopted as my familyââ¬â¢s scripture verse and is the basis of our family mission statement. I was once a ââ¬Ëleast of theseââ¬â¢ and I will never forget how the Lord reached down and saved me. Telling people about what God is doing in my life is the greatest joy I have ever found. For the people God has placed in my life, servant evangelism is the perfect way to ââ¬Ëshowââ¬â¢ them the Gospel message. I am an active member of an international prison ministry. Time and time again, I have heard the participants on our retreats say that ââ¬Å"people just donââ¬â¢t do these thingsâ⬠. I also get the privilege of serving special needs children and adults as well as traveling with a ministry that visits churches that are in conflict or struggling and every time the people see the people of God come together to serve, not out of our own power but from Godââ¬â¢s power. It makes a great impact on many lives. I could not imagine living a life that was not in service to others. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Beale, G.K. The Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999. The new Greek Testament Commentary. Bright, Bill. Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws? Peachtree City: Campus Crusade, 2007. Davis, James D. ââ¬Å"THE BASICS OF EVANGELISM EXPLOSION.â⬠Sun Sentinel 25 June 2010 (updated): 4D. Judy, Tarjanyi. ââ¬Å"Simple Acts of ââ¬ËServant Evangelismââ¬â¢ Create Atmosphere for Church Growth.â⬠Austin American Statesman 8 April 1995: E.1. CMG Corporate Services, Inc of behalf of itself and the Newspapers. Moo, Douglas J. Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
The current level of government regulation of business is detrimental Term Paper
The current level of government regulation of business is detrimental to our economy - Term Paper Example It was the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century that was the start of modern business organizations. The principles of business have been the same over the years - the availability of land, labor, capital and management. Among the factors of the production, capital has become the most important as the other factors are dependent on it. The capital and the management lead to the concept of Capitalism. Capitalism is the process of earning a living with the use of capital. The era of the capitalism is prominent in the growth of business over the years. It has been present since medieval times. In earlier stages of human history, people were nomadic in nature and they relied on agriculture. However, even at that time, the society consisted of businessmen of various classes and there were signs of business activity. Industrial Revolution, of the nineteenth century, aided the growth of the private business bodies and this helped in the development of economy. In some cases like that i n China and Russia, the capitalism was state controlled and the Government controlled the economic activities of the state. Throughout the stages of the economic development, the governing bodies of the society have maintained some sort of control over the growth of business. In early days, kings and the chiefs had the governing power. The economic activities and business needed their permission. Then came democracy, here the onus fell on governments of the respective countries to control the business activities. In some cases, governmental control has aided the development of the business, while on the other hand it has blocked the natural path of development. As the governmental system strengthened, judicial system developed to further defend the interest of businesses and their stake holders. This helped in the formation of rules and regulations, which were to be followed by the business organizations. The setting up of the rules and regulations paved the way for a more disciplined approach to the setting up of the business. However, there have been complaints that too many rules and regulations gover n business organizations, which is detrimental to the natural growth of the business organizations. Indirectly, this also affects the rate of growth at which the economies grow. Thus, it can be said that the current level of government regulation of business is detrimental to our economy. (Graf, 2003: 1-8) The concept of Regulation The regulation of the business activities has been a problem from the beginning of time. These were the times when the leaders of the tribe or the kings controlled the people and business activity of their dominion. The next stage was of colonialism, the kings of the countries regulated the activities of the business. In the case of USA, the regulation of the business activities started with the advent of colonialism. The Europeans descended the USA and set up colonies in the region. The Government of the respective countries controlled the colonies. The business activities followed the trajectory of that in Europe where guilds were formed to control the business activities. These were formed to protect the people from exploitation of the authority. There were two different types of guilds in the medieval age - merchant guild and the craft guild. The merchant guild was
Friday, September 27, 2019
M6A2 LTABC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
M6A2 LTABC - Essay Example Resistance to change is tridimensional in nature, encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and affective human components or attitudes that inhibit the change process (Hammer, 2006). Examples of Resistance to Change in an Organization The organization under study has experienced regular resistance to changes that border on employeesââ¬â¢ intrinsic rewards. The organization had proposed changes that would result in redefining of the employeesââ¬â¢ tasks and alter their current job positions. According to the resisting employees, any attempt to transfer employees to less interesting, less challenging and less autonomous employment positions would lead to negative change evaluation and erroneous evaluation on employee performances. Cognitively, a decrease in challenges and autonomy would also lead to negative emotional response. According to opposing employees, individual well-being is to some extent influenced by an organizationââ¬â¢s ability to satisfy individual intrinsic needs i ncluding self-determination and autonomy (Brown, 2005). Example two Changes in prestige and powers have as well encountered consistent resistance from employees who feel less rewarded in the process. In the organization under study, the power and prestige changes proposed the alteration in power allocation where some people were to be assigned some influential positions while others were expected to be downgraded. Some leadership positions were also projected to get more privileges than others. According to employees, the power organization changes as well as political ramifications were the major causes for negative evaluation of individual performances. Additionally, power relegation was equated to negative impacts on individualââ¬â¢s behavior (Brown, 2005). Comparison of the Two Examples against the Theory on Resistance to Change In his Life Space Theory, Lewin evaluated the interaction between the environment and individual needs. According to his theory, people try to mainta in a balance between their needs and the environment. When this balance is compromised or disturbed, stress is developed and individuals are forced to restore the balance (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). In example one, an attempt to redefine the position destabilized the employees balance with their environment, leading to resistance. In example two, an attempt to deny people their coveted powers and prestige created stresses that required immediate action to restore normalcy with the environment. Additionally, Lewin observed organizational changes as based on three main steps. The initial step is unfreezing step where employees are trained to understand the need for organizational change. Secondly, employees need to undergo a work change training program based on a structured plan (Williams, 2006). The final step is refreezing, which involves the institutionalization of the new behaviors and structures. In the two examples, the organization management did not follow the required steps a s stipulated by Lewinââ¬â¢s theory, advancing change resistance Happenings in the Organization under Study The organization under study does not entirely understand the procedure required in
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Sustainable MARKETING campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc Essay
Sustainable MARKETING campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc - Essay Example More than the investments and the banking solution provided by the multi-million dollar enterprise, the services of the entity are directed to produce a positive impact on the community. The housing loans and investment solutions provided by Virginia Community capital Inc. for the housing and infrastructure development projects in the economy are aimed at benefit the economically weaker section of the community. The housing projects are also funded by the company in the geographically backward areas of the community. VCC was founded in 1995 and operated in micro lending projects in 3 countries till 2005. The organization transformed into a large multimillion dollar community development financial institution with its equity base rising to 17 million dollar. The capital base of the entity grew from 15 million dollar in 2005 to 19 million dollars in 2007 (Virginia Community Capital, 2013, p.1). The asset base grew to 28.3 million dollars by 2007. VCC has been involved in 23 housing pro jects aimed at community development in Virginia. The activities of VCC have created 623 housing facilities that are affordable to the economically weaker sections of the community. ... The company could plan to undertake activities of sustainable marketing campaign for delivering regulated community development financial services to this new market that has not been done earlier. The target market of Southside where VCC has planned to deliver funding solutions through savings programs and advisory services which had no or limited market penetration in the earlier stages have been shown in the map as given below (Virginia Community Capital, 2013, p.1). The Southside is the one of the vast regions of Virginia in which the Virginia Community Capital Inc. has provided investment solutions to the enterprises for carrying out economic housing development projects in order to create affordable housing facilities and increase the scope of employment in the region. The rationale behind choosing the customers of this market is to narrow the economic gap by increasing the purchasing power of the people through services like savings program, advisory services for fund investme nt in housing projects, etc. The savings programs would allow the economically downward sections of the communities of Southside to be able to purchase accommodation facilities that are already available at affordable prices in the economic housing development projects. Thus VCC would be able to play a crucial role in the stimulating the demand for the housing and facilities that are already available from the housing development projects. VCC: marketing campaign and its goals The three areas of interest for VCC in the marketing campaign are the people of the community, the planet or the communities in which VCC has the objective to achieve sustainable economic development through funding of housing projects
E-COMMERCE PROJECT. ElecTeesElecME Dissertation
E-COMMERCE PROJECT. ElecTeesElecME - Dissertation Example Acknowledgements 5 2. Abstract 6 3. Project Set Up 7 3.1. Purpose 7 3.2. Scope 8 3.3. Risks 9 3.4. Feasibility 9 4. Analysis 11 4.1. Fact Finding 11 4.1.1. Methodology 11 4.1.2. Findings 13 4.1.3. Findings for Methodology 18 5. Project Plan 19 5.1. Brief Description 19 5.1.1. Waterfall Model 20 5.1.2. Implementation of Waterfall Model 23 5.1.3. Timeline 24 5.2. Resources 25 5.2.1. Hardware 25 5.2.2. Software 26 5.2.3. Human Resources 27 5.3. Specification of Requirements 27 5.3.1. Functional Requirements 27 5.3.2. Explanation of Major Functions 30 5.3.3. Non-Functional Requirements 34 5.3.4. User Interface Requirements 36 5.4. Analysis of Design ââ¬â Methodology 39 5.4.1. Programming Language 39 5.4.2. Database 42 5.4.3. Design Methods 44 5.4.4. Analysis of Construction 48 6. User Guide 55 7. Testing 56 7.1. ... Appendix B ââ¬â Logical Data Model 73 List of Tables Table 1 - Online Retail Shopping Transactions by Country 12 Table 2 - Functional Requirements 24 Table 3 - Non Functional Requirements 30 Table 4 - User Interface Requirements 32 Table 5 - Functional Requirements Testing 48 Table 6 - Non Functional Requirements Testing 50 Table 7 - Problems and Solutions 53 Table 8 - Experiences 53 List of Figures Figure 1 - Penetration Rate of Retail Sales Against Conventional Retail Sales 14 Figure 2 - Percentages of Internet Shoppers by Country 15 Figure 3 - Graphic Waterfall Model 17 Figure 4 ââ¬â RAD (Rapid Application Development) Model 38 Figure 5 - Use Case Diagram for Login 41 Figure 6 - Basic Use Case Diagram for Online Shopping 41 Figure 7 ââ¬â Expanded Use Case Diagram for Online Retailing 42 Figure 8 - Complete Online Shopping Use Case Diagram 42 Figure 9 - Alternative View Use Case Diagram for Online Shopping 43 Figure 10 - Advanced Use Case Diagram for Online Shopping 43 Figure 11 - Sequence Diagram for Login 44 1 Acknowledgements I am very thankful to the University for providing me with an opportunity to polish my skills and to apply them to positive aims. I would also like to thank my tutor for his detailed help and support during thick and thin with the same amount of patience and resolve. My friendsââ¬â¢ cooperation was also vital to my success as was the support showered by my father that I have found unwavering. I must also acknowledge Godââ¬â¢s blessings in His support extended to me and I am extremely thankful to Him for hearing my prayers. 2 Abstract The introduction of the internet has revolutionised the way in which business is conducted. Electronic commerce has emerged as a potent methodology of doing business in the online domains. More and more
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Logic Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Logic Application - Essay Example Now, this belief goes against the teachings of Bible about stealing. The fact is that a culture is surrounded by a variety of beliefs and human actions that they perform in different situations. Sometimes, those actions earn people benefits even when they are wrong if compared with the Godââ¬â¢s words. In such situations, those negative actions become common human behaviors, as well as part of the culture. The impact of following the culture blindly is not good for a society in the long-term. For example, if people adopt the habit of stealing each otherââ¬â¢s assets, it will give rise to insecurity and mistrust everywhere in the society. People should understand that stealing is wrong because it makes the environment insecure. As Kurtus (2010) states, ââ¬Å"There have been cases of a mob of angry people catching a purse-snatcher and beating him senselessâ⬠. People should understand that what a person earns is his/her personal asset and nobody has the right to steal that asset even if a person has an excess of an
Monday, September 23, 2019
Bertrand Russell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Bertrand Russell - Essay Example There are people around the world who might actually think this way. They have no concern regarding God, religion, and anything spiritual. They have no time for all this or they are simply not bothered to actually find out the evidence for Christianity. Thus, till someone has actually researched and looked into every aspect of the religion they cannot just say there is no evidence for God. Like Hitchens said regarding God that ââ¬Å"there exists not a shred of respectable evidenceâ⬠(Stokes, 2012, p. 11). Besides this, the ââ¬Å"lack of evidenceâ⬠is also an excuse for those not wanting to change their views. They just chose to believe something and therefore, they would not simply change because of some evidence they come across or are told of. They cannot be forced to believe. As Jesus said: ââ¬Å"Seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened, ask and it will be given you.à For he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened, and to him who asks it shall be givenâ⬠(Githaite, 2007, p. 211). It clearly means that God will be available to those who actually make an effort to seek him and look for him; who try to find evidence regarding his existence. God does not force Himself upon us. However, He has not even left us to our own devices for us to work out our ways. God follows us and draws us to Himself. Jesus is quoted to have said: ââ¬Å"No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws himâ⬠(Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 652). It is we who have to open up our minds and hearts to Him. God has given clues regarding his existence, he has given us a sound mind and heart and it is up to the human beings to look for them. God is visible to those who seek him while He hides away from the ones who do not. That is, ââ¬Å"the evidence is there for those who have eyes to seeâ⬠(Kreeft, 1988, p. 44). When it is said that enough evidence does not exist to prove that there is a God, it does not defini tely mean that existence of God becomes a scientific fact; rather, the present evidence just makes the Christian belief rational. Previously one major reason behind there being so many atheists was that the philosophers of those times were mostly atheists and they gave very solid arguments against God, gaining followers and making a huge impact. Now, however, the philosophers are theists and again their arguments are apparently very valid and intellectual, thus they being outspoken Christians and the belief in God. There is just too much information and evidence of the existence of God. To start with there is the Big Bang Theory according to which the universe was created out of nothing. Big Bang led to not just the formation of this universe, matter and energy but also time and space. It just does not make any sense that anything at all can be created out of nothing; it is just not possible either scientifically or philosophically. That only leaves one idea: that there is a very po werful Higher Being who formed the universe and now controls it. The Big Bang was caused by Him. In fact, the universe was not just formed but also maintained continuously and intelligently. There is scientific evidence to prove this fact. Stephen Hawking found that in case the universe had expanded less than even one part in a hundred thousand million million a second after the Big Bang, the universe would have re-collapsed into a hot fireball. It is very obvious that a great and powerful mind is
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Child soldiers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1
Child soldiers - Research Paper Example This paper looks into the causes behind using children in warfare, as well as the various brutal techniques employed by the authorities to recruit or make use of them (War Child; UNICEF). First of all, the reason why children are being used in war is because of the increasing trend in the prevalence of HIV/AIDs. As more and more years go by, the number of adults dying from this disease causes majority of the children to lose at least one or both of their parents. This happens mostly in countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDs. Consequently, there are millions of orphans in these countries with only a few options available for survival. The situation is made worse by the fact that only a few of these countries contain orphanages. Moreover, numerous of these orphans have watched their parents die right before their eyes, and have thus been driven to fend for themselves. As a result, these orphans think that they have nothing more to lose by participating in war (Singer, Peter W 42). In addition to this is the continuous prevalence of global conflict. The number of internal conflicts going on the world today has approximately doubled ever since the Cold War ended. In such violent environments, children have grown up surrounded by bloodshed and have accepted it as a ââ¬Ëpermanent way of lifeââ¬â¢. Such children are always seen as potential soldiers. Besides seeing all the violence and fighting around them, many children are not provided with lifeââ¬â¢s basic necessities (education, health care, adequate housing, food, and water). This is especially true for those children who grow up in the middle of war. This is because such environments make it impossible for communities to provide its children with proper care and education. Thus, the weak social structures of such places cause children to turn towards war as a means of escaping these problems (Singer, Peter W 43). Besides this, the manufacture of light weapons contributes to the prevalence,
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Portfolio Analysis Essay Example for Free
Portfolio Analysis Essay ABSTRACT This paper discusses the portfolio analysis. The paper includes a brief discussion on the meaning of the portfolio and why it is important for an investor to consider portfolio. Ità also explains how an investor would select a particular asset to be a part of his portfolio. The limitations and disadvantages of having a portfolio analysis is also discussed in the last paragraphs of the paper. An investor or entrepreneur must study where he or she must invest in. These assets are combined in order to maximize the return of investment of the investor and entrepreneur. The combination of these assets, according to Weston and Copeland (1992) can be called a portfolio. The aim of an investor is to maximize their investments. Weston and Copeland (1992) believe in applying the portfolio theory to optimize the selection of assets. Each portfolio has a certain degree of risk and advantages. The weighted average of the returns of the individual assets is done in order to compute for the rate of return of the portfolio. A risk of a portfolio is the combination of all assets. The risk of the portfolio is different from the asset if it is held in isolation. A particular asset can be considered as very risky if it is held in isolation. However, this may not be so if it is combined with the other assets. Rather, these assets may contribute largely to an optimal portfolio of the investor. The risk of a particular portfolio depends on the risk factors of the assets. Litterman and Winkemann (1996) had noted that investors select their portfolio depending on the benchmark or the standard that they had set. The benchmark depends on the selection of the investors. These can be a liability stream, performance index or cash return. Experts are trying to understand the risk of assets and portfolio. Littermann and Winkelmann (1996) had recommended the use of risk factors. One of the most important risk factors that the investors must looked out for is the market exposure of the portfolio. This makes the risk of portfolio very unpredictable that is why investors are expected to risk their assets when they are managing their portfolio and are deciding on where to put their money. The analysis of oneââ¬â¢s portfolio is important in its management. Through the analysis of the portfolio an investor can estimate the return or the loss that a particular asset may contribute. Having been able to study the portfolio does not mean a total success because as stated above, investing is a risk and an investor decides based on uncertainty. There may be cases that an investor had chosen the wrong combination of assets that may result to losses. Every businesses are exposed to risk and the percentage of failing is not fixed. An investor may estimate that the percentage of success is 75% and the percentage of failure is 25%. However, this may not be the case. It could be the other way around. Failure percentage can be higher than that of the success depending on the events that may happen. Even though the investors have uncovered all the risk factors that is connected with the success of the investment, there could be other complications that can occur once the investment had already been decided. à à à à à à à à à à à Investing in stocks and bonds are also a part of the portfolio. There is no fixed amount of return concerning stocks. A particular company stock may be high now but because of matters in the economy or problems in the company it could go very low. The limitations of having the portfolio analysis is that the computation of the portfolio may now approach the benchmark of the investor however, there could be times that the portfolio of an investor changes because of the ââ¬Å"risk factorsâ⬠à in the market. REFERENCES: Littermann R. and Winkelmann K. 1996.à Managing Market Exposure. Retrieved last February 20, 2008 from Goldman Sachs. Website: http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~charvey/Teaching/IntesaBci_2001/GS_Managing_market_exposure.pdf Weston, J. and Copeland, T. 1992. Managerial Finance 9th edition. Dryden Press. United States ofAmerica.
Friday, September 20, 2019
L. Pisonis Nut Oil Extraction
L. Pisonis Nut Oil Extraction The search for new crops to provide vegetable oils for use in the industry and also for human consumption is growing increasingly over the past two decades. A rapid search on Web of Scienceââ¬Å¾Ã ¢ platform present more than 19200 results related to nuts, more than 7600 documents are related to edible oils, and more than 22000 results associated with vegetable oil. Additionally, the published items regarding vegetable oil increased from 282 in 1996, to more than 1930 in 2016 proving the growing interest by the scientific community in such field of study [1]. Several Brazilian seeds/nuts species, especially from the Amazonian area have been studied during the last years and most of them were shown to present bioactive compounds and also potential as functional foods [2]-[7]. Nevertheless, some other species are not well-known or were not summited to any further study to elucidate other characteristics. Lecythis pisonis Camb., a Lecythydaceae tree that grows in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and in the Guyanas, commonly known as sapucaia provide nuts particularly similar with that of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa). The delicious edible kernels of sapucaia present a characteristic sweet flavor, being considered more digestible than Brazil nut [8]. In addition to the economic and ecological importance of sapucaia, often used to shade cocoa plantations in Brazilian agroforestry systems [9], the nuts from L. pisonis are a valuable source of macro and micronutrients, essential amino acids, minerals such as P, K, S, Mg, Ca, Mn, Ba, Zn, Fe, Sr, Cu, B, Al, and Cl [3], [10], and also fibers [11]. Furthermore, the sapucaia nuts constitute a relevant source of lipids, about 51-64% [5], [8], [10], [11], in which there is a predominance of the linoleic acid (essential fatty acid). Although sapucaia can be considered a potential crop to provide raw material for the production of vegetable oil, the available papers that studied the nuts have mostly focused on the mineral and fatty acid profile [3], [5], [10], [12], [13], and the latest reports are limited to some agronomic, microbial and pharmacological aspects [9], [14]-[17]. Vegetable oils are widely utilized in many applications such as food, cosmetic, pharmaceutics, and biofuel industries. Consequently, stability tests, rheological essays, phase transitions and other properties of the oils should be well characterized to optimize processing conditions and energy inputs [18], [19]. No reference has been found regarding the total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, thermal and rheological characterization of sapucaia nut oil. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the sapucaia nut oils extracted by Soxhlet and Bligh Dyer means and evaluated for their fatty acid composition, rheological behavior, and thermal properties by using DSC and TG/TGA analysis, total phenolic content, antioxidant properties and oxidative stability by Rancimat in addition to Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). 2.1 Chemicals Other reagents used in the experiments were of analytical grade. The aqueous solutions were prepared using ultrapure water. 2.2 Samples Lecythis pisonis nuts were harvest from a crop area located in the city of Araguanà £, Maranhà £o State, Brazil. The nuts (Fig. 1) were dried in an air-circulating oven (Soc. Fabbe, Brazil) at 40 à °C for 24 h. Nutshells were removed manually using a stainless steel knife and then submitted to freeze-drying (Liotop L101, Liobras, Brazil) to remove the residual moisture. Prior to the oil extraction, the nut samples were crushed for 30 s with the aid of a stainless steel knife grinder (MA630/1 Marconi Ltda., Brazil). 2.3 Extraction of nuts oils The oil content of L. pisonis nut samples was extracted by the Bligh Dyer method described in AOCS Ba 3-38 method, and also using n-hexane with Soxhlet apparatus (Vidrolaborà ®, Labor Quimi, Brazil) according to American Oil and Chemical Society Official Method (1997). Oils were named LP1 and LP2, respectively. After the oil extraction, solvents were removed at 43 à °C under reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator (Model 801, Fisatom Ltda., Brazil). Samples were dried at 45 à °C in an air circulating oven (Solab, Brazil) and then flushed with gaseous N2 before storage. The oils were kept in an amber glass and stored at -10 à °C until further analysis. 2.4 Analytical determinations 2.4.1 Water content and apparent pH Water content was measured by volumetric Karl Fischer titration using a titration system (V30 Mettler-Toledo, Switzerland) [21]. The determination of the pH was performed according to Pena Muniz et al. (2015), as recommended by the Brazilian National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance without previous dilution of the oil, with the aid of a digital pH meter (Model PG1800 Gehaka) at 25 à ± 2 à °C. The results represent the mean of three measurements. 2.4.2 Measurement of fatty acid composition Fatty acid composition of fresh L. pisonis oils was investigated according to AOCS Official Method Ce 1a-13 [20] by using a GC-MS system (GC-2010) coupled to a mass spectrometer (GCMS-TQ8030) and automatic injection system by headspace (Shimadzu, Japan). Oil samples solubilized with hexane were methylated as described by AOCS Ce 2-66 and then injected into a capillary HP88 column (60 m ÃÆ'- 0.250 mm i.d., 0.2 ÃŽà ¼m film thickness, Agilent Technologies) using helium as carrier gas (0.64 mL/min). Oven temperature was programmed to be 175 à °C (isothermal) and the detector was held at 250 à °C. An aliquot of 1 ÃŽà ¼L of the sample was injected using the split injection mode (1:100). Fatty acid composition was expressed as the percentage of the total peak area of all the fatty acids in the oil sample. 2.4.3 Rheological studies Rheological measurements of oils were performed according to Teixeira et al. (2016), by using a Haake Mars II (Thermo Electron GmbH, Germany) rheometer connected to a thermostatic bath (Haake K15), a thermo-circulator water unit (Haake DC5B3) and a Peltier temperature control (Haake UTM Controller). A sensor cone-plate (C60/2 à °Ti L) with a diameter of 60 mm and a cone angle of 2 à ° was used. Samples remained in the rheometer for 5 min prior to analysis, and sampling was carried out in duplicate. The following measurements were performed: i) flow curve ( = 0.01-500 s-1, t = 300 s); ii) dynamic stress sweep (à ââ¬Å¾ = 0.01-100 Pa, à â⬠° = 1 Hz) and subsequent dynamic frequency sweep (à â⬠° = 0.1-100 Hz, à ââ¬Å¾ = 1.0 Pa); and iii) temperature sweep (T = 10-60 à °C, t = 1440 s, 2 à °C/min and 60-10 à °C, t = 600 s, 5 à °C/min; à â⬠° = 1 Hz, à ââ¬Å¾ = 1.0 Pa). Temperature sweeps were performed at a constant tension of 0.5% in the Linear Viscoelastic Region (LVR). The samples were covered by using a sample hood in order to avoid interference of the ambient temperature. The coefficient of determination (R2) and chi-square (à â⬠¡2) were chosen to evaluate the fit of the Ostwald-de Waele (Eq. (1)) and Herschel-Bulkley (Eq. (2)) models to the experimentally obtained flow curves: Ostwald-de Waele (OW) (1) à ââ¬Å¾ = + ()nH Herschel-Bulkley (HB) (2) where à ââ¬Å¾ is the shear stress (Pa), is the shear rate (s-1), à ââ¬Å¾0H is the HB yield stress (Pa), K and KH are the consistency index (Paà ·sn), and n and nH are the flow behavior indexes (dimensionless). The effect of the temperature on apparent viscosity was evaluated according to an Arrhenius type equation (Eq. (3)), using a shear rate of 53.4 s-1. (3) where is the apparent viscosity at a specific shear rate, is the preexponential factor, is the activation energy (J.mol-1), is the gas constant (8.31 J. K-1 . mol-1) and is the absolute temperature (K). 2.4.4 Oxidative Stability Index The oxidative stability index (OSI) was estimated in a Metrohm Rancimat model 743 (Herisau, Switzerland), following the American Oil Chemists Society Official Method Cd 12b-92 [20]. Briefly, increasing water conductivities were continually measured while air (20 L/h) was bubbled into the oil (3 à ± 0.1 g) heated to 110 à °C and their volatile compounds were collected in water. The time taken to reach the conductivity inflection time was recorded. IP was registered by Rancimat 743 PC Software 1.1. 2.4.5 Infrared spectroscopy Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were determined by using a Vertex-70 spectrometer (Bruker, USA) with an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory, at 25 à °C. The oil samples were placed uniformly in the ATR crystal (1.5 mm active area). The FTIR spectra were recorded in the wavenumber range of 4000 to 600 cmÃâ ââ¬â¢1 with a spectral resolution of 4 cmÃâ ââ¬â¢1 [23]. 2.4.6 TG-TGA Thermal decomposition TGA analyses were performed in TGA 4000 equipment (PerkinElmer Inc. Waltham, USA). Oil sample (~10 mg) was placed into the platinum pan and then placed in a furnace. The sample was heated from 30 to 750 à °C (10 à °C/min) in the air atmosphere (70 mL/min flow rate) or under a nitrogen atmosphere. Data on the weight changes of oil samples were obtained from the Pyrisââ¬Å¾Ã ¢ software. TG and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves were further analyzed by using Origin 8.6 software (OriginLab, Massachusetts, USA). The thermal stability was measured from the extrapolated onset temperature of the first step of thermal decomposition from respective TG curves, by using the beginning and the peak temperature of the respective DTG peak, as the temperature limits of the data analysis software of the instrument. 2.4.7 DSC Analysis For DSC analysis, a DSC 8500 (PerkinElmer Inc. Waltham, USA) equipped with Pyrisââ¬Å¾Ã ¢ software was used. Nitrogen (99.99% purity, White Martins, Brazil) was the purge gas (20 mL/min). The DSC instrument was previously calibrated with Indium (m.p. 156.6 à °C, ÃŽâ⬠H = 28.45 J/g). The sample was weighed into an aluminum pan and sealed. An empty hermetically sealed aluminum sample pan was used as the reference. In order to reduce temperature gradients, the sample mass was kept small (~ 9.0 mg). The methodology applied was adapted from Zhang et al. (2013). For cooling and melting curves, the samples were first rapidly heated to 80 à °C (30 à °C/min) from room temperature and held for 10 min. Then, the samples were cooled to Ãâ ââ¬â¢80 à °C (10 à °C /min) and held for 10 min to make them fully crystallized, then heated to 80 à °C (5 à °C /min). To study the effect of the cooling rate on crystallization, samples were rapidly heated to 80 à °C (30 à °C/min) from room temperature to erase the crystallization memory, and held for 5 min, then the samples were cooled to Ãâ ââ¬â¢80 à °C at the cooling rates of 2 à °C/min, 5 à °C/min and 10 à °C/min, respectively. The cooling thermogram was recorded. For investigating melting profile of L. pisonis oils under isothermal crystallization, the samples were heated at 80 à °C (30 à °C/min) for 5 min and then cooled (100 à °C/min) to a preset temperature (Ãâ ââ¬â¢10 à °C, 0 à °C, 10 à °C, 20 à °C), and hold at that temperature for 10 min for crystallization, then heated to 80 à °C (5 à °C/min). The melting thermogram was recorded. Pyrisââ¬Å¾Ã ¢ manager software was used to calculate the parameters of crystallization and melting, enthalpies, and the solid fat content (SFC) which was estimated based on the integrated area under the melting curve [25]. To measure the cloud point of the oils, the cooling curves at the rate of 2 à °C/min were used. The cloud point was the onset temperature of the initial small exothermic peak on these cooling curves [26]. 2.4.8 Total phenolic compounds Contents of the total phenolic compounds (TPC) were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent assay in methanolic extracts of vegetable oils [27]using microplates technique [28],with gallic acid as a standard for the calibration curve. The absorbance at 720 nm was measured using a spectrophotometer (Tecan Nanoquant Infiniteà ® M200, Tecan Trading AG, Switzerland) after reaction with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent in the alkaline medium stand in the dark for 1 h. Contents of the TPC were expressed in mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g of oil. 2.4.9 Antioxidant essays of the oil extracts The free radical scavenging evaluated by the DPPH assay was determined in triplicate using the method proposed byBrand-Williams et al., (1995). The absorbance at a wavelength of 517 nm was measured using a spectrophotometer (Tecan Nanoquant Infiniteà ® M200, Tecan Trading AG, Switzerland). ABTS scavenging activity of oil extracts was determined in triplicate using the method described by Re et al., (1999). The absorbance at 734 nm was measured. The total antioxidant potential of the oil extracts was performed using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay [31]. Measurements were performed using the spectrophotometer at 593 nm. The absorbance of the samples was compared to a standard curve (100-1000 à µmol/L) and results expressed in mmoL Trolox equivalent per g of oil [mmol TE/g]. All the essays had minor changes as proposed by Zielinski et al., (2016). The determinations were performed in triplicate. 2.5 Data analysis Origin 8.6 software (OriginLab, Massachusetts, USA) was employed to data treatment and graphs. Statistica 10.0 (Statsoft, Brazil) was used for statistical analysis, including means and standard deviations (SD). The experiments were carried out in triplicate. 3.1 Water content and apparent pH As expected for this type of raw material, sapucaia (Lecythis pisonis) oil (SO) samples presented very low water content, to be specific 0.077 à ± 0.006 %, and 0.097 à ± 0.006 % for LP1 and LP2, respectively. Regarding the apparent pH of SO, LP1 presented 5.720 à ± 0.036 and LP2 showed a pH value of 5.353 à ± 0.040. 3.2 Phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties Concerning the content of phenolic compounds in SO, LP1 presented higher TPC content than LP2(Table 1). In this regard, SO present greater TPC content (1.418 mg GAE/100 g, average value) than almond oil (0.95 mg GAE/100 g), however, Brazil nut has twice the content of TPC (3.64 mg GAE/100 g) than sapucaia, and macadamia presents fifteen times more TPC (22.5 mg GAE/100 g) [33]. In general terms, the sample LP1 obtained by a cold extraction process showed better antioxidant characteristics than LP2. Natural antioxidants that might prevent biological systems from reactive oxygen species are generally present in vegetable oils as phenolic compounds, phytosterols, tocopherols (Vitamin E) and carotenoid compounds [34]. The results found by in vitro antioxidant assays present some variations that might be assigned to the different mechanisms in the analysis (Table 1). These assays are grouped in the electron-transfer category and there is some specificity among them. DPPH and ABTS radical cations have the same mechanism and present characteristic color which can be monitored by a spectrophotometer when the oil extract is mixed with a reactant solution and the reduced form of the radical shows a loss of color as a result of the donation of a hydrogen atom. Similarly, in the presence of antioxidants compounds, FRAP is characterized by electron transfer ability, tha t results in the reduction of iron ions [35] 3.3 Fatty acids profile Fourteen different fatty acids (FA) were identified in the studied SO (Table 2). The oils were composed predominantly of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) (61-73%), in which 39.08-45.66% were monounsaturated (MUFA), and 21.95-27.63% were comprised of polyunsaturated (PUFA), such as linoleic and ÃŽà ±-linolenic acids, which have been proved to effectively reduce the risk of cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes [36]. Such FA profile is rather common for Brazilian edible nuts [5], [37], which reinforces the idea of consuming more nuts rich in fatty acids beneficial to human health, since the main commercial source of PUFA, such as à â⬠°-3 and à â⬠°-6 has been fish and fish fat [36]. Among the MUFAs, oleic was the major FA found in SO, ranging from 35.54-44.28% for LP2, and LP1, respectively. Important to note that oleic acid is the primary à â⬠°-9 FA in the human diet, and it is the predominant MUFA in many oil nuts, totalizing, for example 38.50% in Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) [22], 65.59% in garampara (Dipteryx lacunifera) [5], 67.62% in tucumà £ (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.) and 39.04% in cutia nut (Couepia edulis) [37]. Besides, the SO presented 21.65-27.19% of linoleic acid, an essential FA which presence in reasonable amounts is important for human health [38]. SO also contains two important cis-MUFA, the cis-Vaccenic and cis-11-Eicosenoic in amounts higher than 1.0%. With regard to the saturated fatty acids (SFA), it is noticed that they represented 25.01-37.25% of total FA, mainly palmitic (14.70-21.38%) and stearic (9.63-11.09%); likewise, other SFA such as myristic, heptadecanoic, and behenic were identified in smaller amounts. Arachidic acid, which is usually present in peanut oil was also found in SO in small quantities and the result is in agreement with Costa and Jorge (2012) who found about 0.22% C20:0 for L. pisonis oil. A similar pattern occurs for Brazil nut, which shows 0.36% arachidic acid, and 14.26% palmitic acid [22]. A good factor to evaluate the quality and digestibility of a vegetable oil can be obtained by the amount and composition of UFA and SFA. A high amount of linoleic acid in comparison to oleic acid (à â⬠°-9) represents a better quality of the vegetable oil [5]. In this regard, the relationship between linoleic/oleic acids should be considered. The oils can present diverse values for this relationship depending on the extraction method. According to Table 3, the UFA/SFA ratio, as well as the linoleic/oleic ratio for sapucaia oils are lower to those found by [5] and [10], once their oils showed higher content of linoleic acid (Table 2). When compared to other Brazilian oleaginous nuts such as Brazil nut, garampara [5], and cutia nut [37] the unsaturation relationship values between linoleic and oleic acid were also quite different. 3.4 Oxidative Stability Index The oxidative stability index (OSI) is considered an important step in evaluating oil quality. The OSI was evaluated during Rancimat analysis until the end point of stability for SO samples and was expressed in hours. Experimental results confirmed that Bligh Dyer (13.28 à ± 0.22 h), which is a cold extraction process, is a technique that causes less damage to the oil in comparison to Soxhlet (7.18 à ± 0.50 h) which provided almost one-half of the OSI. The high oleic acid content in SO tends to protect the oil against thermo-oxidation. Costa and Jorge (2012) found 24.89 h of OSI (evaluation at 100 à °C) for L. pisonis oil extracted by cold pressing. At the same Rancimat conditions used in this study, similar results were found for Brazil nut oil (8.24 h), hazelnut (8.88 h) and macadamia (7.38 h) [33]. 3.5 Thermal decomposition Thermogravimetric curve (TG) shows the mass loss, and the derivative thermogravimetric curve (DTG) shows the rate of mass loss of SO during thermal decomposition from 30 to 750 à °C by TGA (Fig. 2). The values of mass loss are indicated in Table 4. The TG curves indicated that SO were thermally stable up to 303 à °C with a mass loss of ~5%. This can be explained by the loss of moisture and volatile compounds in the oils. The oxidative process in vegetable oils is characterized initially by the oxidation forming secondary products (peroxides). The following phase corresponds to the decomposition of MUFA, mainly oleic acid and the polymerization of the substances remaining from the previous phase [39]. Dynamic and inert atmospheres cause different pattern in the TG/DTG profiles. The decomposition and carbonization processes in the air atmosphere occurred in three phases of the curve starting at around 130 à °C, achieving about 53-58% mass loss at 405-440 à °C, and ending at a temperature range of 611-625 à °C, while for nitrogen atmosphere, the process showed two steps, initiating at ~160 à °C, reaching 62-75 % mass loss at 426-435 à °C, and finishing at 500 à °C. DTG curves (Fig. 2) shows more clearly the steps of thermal decomposition. At the higher above-mentioned temperatures, the mass loss reached 100% (no residue remaining). The high UFA content in SO, mainly oleic and linoleic acid are related to be responsible for the occurrence of oxidative degradation reactions [22]. The high values of Ti (onset temperature) showed that SO have high thermal stability, being that the higher is the Ti of decomposition of the oil, the higher is the thermal stability. The results are similar to that of Brazil nut, which is thermally stable up to 209-220 à °C and reaches a maximum mass loss of 97% at 580-602 à °C [22], [39]. Differences between the thermal behaviors of SO can be related to the FA compositional differences, and also because of the presence of natural antioxidants which tends to protect the oils against oxidation, thus retarding the degradation [40]. 3.6 Thermal behavior for crystallization and melting 3.6.1 Temperature for crystallization and the influence of scanning rate In order to investigate the melting profile of SO under isothermal crystallization, previous tests were done. In one hand, the melting thermogram (Fig. 3 a, b) revealed that when frozen at -10 à °C the oil samples showed endothermic peaks at -6.81 à °C (LP1) and at -6.16 à °C (LP2), with a enthalpy of 9.28 J/g for LP1 and 7.26 for LP2. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that there was no event afterward 0 à °C, revealing that no crystallization occurs after that temperature. Such a feature may confirm the liquid state of the SO at room temperature (25 à °C). During cooling, the oils exhibited two transitions. The thermograms showed that the position of the exotherms is dependent on the cooling rate, while the amount of the exotherms is independent on the cooling rate. In addition, increasing the cooling rate causes the crystallization peak temperature to shift to lower temperatures, the peak height and area increase (Fig. 3 c, d). This behavior may correspond to the differential crystallization of higher melting triacylglycerols (TAGs) firstly and lower melting TAGs secondly. Similar results are described for palm oil fractions [24]. The scanning rate of 2 à °C/min reduces the lag in output response from the DSC instrument as well as preserves the minor peaks and reduces the smoothing tendencies, which occurred at a higher scanning rate; however, the first peak is too small when compared to the rate of 5 à °C/min, which provided better resolution for the peak analysis in the Pyrisââ¬Å¾Ã ¢ software. 3.6.2 Cooling curve During cooling (Fig. 4a), SO presented a similar pattern of crystallization showing two distinct peaks (exothermic) in the crystallization behavior, namely peak 1 (PC1) and peak 2 (PC2). PC1 which indicates the change from liquid to solid was found in the temperature of -11.56 (LP1) and -12.51 (LP2), while the PC2 was observed in the temperature range of -59.80 to -73.93 à °C, both related to the crystallization of TAGs. The crystallization onset temperature occurs at around -8.0 à °C and this process extends over a range of 15-23 à °C. The sum of the crystallization enthalpy of the two peaks for the two oils were -22.17 and -32.56 J/g for LP1 and LP2, respectively (Table 5). Heat is released during the phase transition of oil from liquid form to solid form; for this reason, values for crystallization enthalpy were negative [41]. Different endothermic and exothermic peaks are exhibited according to different contents of saturated or unsaturated TAG and FA present in the oils [42]. Smaller or shoulder peak are also correlated to the differing type of TAG. In addition, an inseparable shoulder peak which melts at the same temperature range comes from the complex nature of the TAG [43]. 3.6.3 Heating curve During melting, SO were found to be completely melted at 8.28 à °C and 6.29 à °C (LP1 and LP2, respectively) when heated at 5 à °C/min (Fig. 4b). Moreover, LP1 showed a single major shoulder before the maximum melting peaks (PM) at -18.42 à °C, while LP2 showed a major shoulder before PM (-21.47 à °C) and an additional one, after the major peak at -6.61 à °C. The melting curve of SO began at -25.77 à °C (LP1), and -29.87 à °C (LP2) and the major peak was observed in a temperature region varying between -7.99 to -10.13 à °C, ending the events around -1.09 to -1.68 à °C. The process comprises a melting range of 24-28 à °C, with a melting enthalpy of 59.34 (LP1) and 64.76J/g (LP2) (Table 5). During heating treatment of oil, multiple endothermic regions are correlated to the separate melting events of the TAG. Furthermore, the composition and polymorphism of the oils can cause some overlapping effects, resulting in different shapes of the endothermic peaks [18]. The phase transitions are principally determined by the degree of heterogeneity in the composition of the oils, and include breaking/formation of hydrogen bonds, being a result of structural rearrangements in the chains of glycerides. [44]. 3.6.4 Cloud point The cloud point is referred as the temperature at which oil begins to cloud as a result as a result of the first stage of crystallization under controlled cooling, and it is related to the oils degree of unsaturation. The higher is the unsaturation of the oil, the lower the cloud point [26]. The cooling curves of sapucaia oils showed an initial small exothermic peak at -6.87 à °C (LP1) and -7.00 à °C (LP2). This peak corresponded to the first stage of crystallization and cloud point corresponded to the onset of crystallization. A second large exothermic peak at Ãâ ââ¬â¢49.95 à °C (LP1) and -49.96 à °C (LP2) with further cooling indicated the oil underwent an additional crystallization step. The same behavior was found for hazelnut oils, which presented the first small exothermic peak at -12.4 à °C and a large one at -31.5 à °C [26]. The lower cloud point of sapucaia oils was also a result of the lower content of SFA compared to the UFA. 3.6.5 Solid Fat Content The solid fat content (SFC) is considered an important physical property of lipids because it expresses their physical, sensorial, technological and protecting/release properties, and it affects physical properties such as consistency, spreadability, and stability [45]. According to the melting thermograms (Fig. 4b), SO presented no changes in SFC previously to -40 à °C, so then the data analysis was performed in the range of -40 to 20 à °C (melting peak region). The SFC showed less than 2.5% decrease between -40 to -30 à °C for the two oils, and started to drop rapidly at around -20 up to 0 à °C; then slowed down from 6 to 10 à °C until there was no solid fat remaining (Fig. 5). The SFC is associated with the FA profile. Oils with higher content of UFA are easier to melt compared to ones with higher SFA [41], [45]. 3.7 Rheology properties 3.7.1 Steady state rheology The results for rheological behavior of SO shows that the apparent viscosity (ÃŽà ·) tends to decrease with increasing temperature (T) and also with increasing the shear rate (ÃŽà ³), indicating that the flow of the sapucaia oils is pseudoplastic (n > 1) (Table 6, 7 and Fig. 6). On the one hand, it is usual for oils to exhibit a dependency of T; on the other hand, a non-dependency of higher ÃŽà ³ is observed. At 50 à °C, the ÃŽà · is almost constant throughout the entire range tested, with minimum influence of the ÃŽà ³. Furthermore, 2.0 s-1wasthe maximum value of ÃŽà ³ which induced major changes in ÃŽà · (see detail in Fig. 6, b and c). According to Gila et al. (2015), a greater amount of FAs such as C18:1 and C18:2 as the major components of the oils appear to make a great contribution to the flow behavior of oils. The experimental data fitted by Ostwald-de Waele (OW) and Herschel-Bulkley (HB) models (Fig. 6a, Table 6) showed a good fit (R2 > 0.999; à â⬠¡2 KH values decrease (Fig. 6e and Table 6). Similar observation for many edible oils such as coconut, sunflower, canola, corn [47] and olive oils [48] was reported. The OW model showed that the oils were non-Newtonian (n nH > 1) at 30 and 40 à °C (Fig. 6f). The HB model is able to determine yield stress (à ââ¬Å¾0H), at which a material begins to deform plastically without returning to its original shape when the applied stress is removed. SO have small values for à ââ¬Å¾0H which also tends to decrease with the increase of T. Fig. 7 shows the non
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Essay --
The International Workers of the World, or the IWW is a leftist federation of unions which made major contributions to the American labor movement in the early twentieth century after its June 1905 founding form the amalgamation of several smaller unions. It has been the subject of historical, inquiries, discussions, and debates; but despite considerable attention, the historical understanding of the unique and radical brand of politics exercised by IWW members, or ââ¬ËWobbliesââ¬â¢, remains fluid. Controversies persist from the earliest attempts by scholars to define and understand the IWW agenda and the place it had in the progress of the labor movement. Current historical inquiry fails to examine the early ideological formation of Wobbly thought and how these underpinning influences affected the growth and activities of the union. Modern scholarship relating to the IWW relies overwhelmingly on the aspects of the union as an institution, despite the decentralised nature of th e Wobblies and American labor as a whole, and this stems from the work of earlier historians. While looking more deeply into the aspects of the organisation and what they accomplished, the focus remains upon the institution. The individual members and their sociocultural experiences have been lost and repeatedly overlooked by the emphasis on the structure and effects of the IWW. Scholarship which attempts to analyze and understand the formative days of the IWW and their radical ideology has been largely stymied due to the lack of primary sources available from the Union at its height in the 1917, and before. This dearth of firsthand material was left by the widespread governmental crackdown on ââ¬Ësubversiveââ¬â¢ organisations that came with America's entry into the First... ...hersââ¬â¢ at the beginning of the twentieth century through immigration restrictions the deportation of radicals. Most interestingly, it is argued the government crushed the IWW because of public demand, ââ¬Å"to calm [the public] by fighting crime in whatever form they might imagine itâ⬠(192-193.) Similarly, Paul Murphyââ¬â¢s 1979, World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States, examined the repression of free speech and assembly during the war as birthing the judicial enforcement of these rights by their decisions. For example the dissenting opinion of Justice Brandeis in Gilbert v Minnesota over the similarly anti world war Non Partisan Leagues actions had become the majority opinion by Gitlow v New York after repeated abuses, particularly aimed at labor and the IWW convinced the Federal Courts that it was their obligation to protect minority groups. (268.)
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
New Ways of Learning in the Workplace :: Workforce Work Working Job Essays
New Ways of Learning in the Workplace In today's "high performance organizations," workers must be prepared for continuous on-the-job growth and development. Given the increased age, variety of experiences, and diverse lifestyles and cultures of the working population, it is understandable that adult education practices must move beyond the traditional model of teachers as purveyors of knowledge and learners as passive recipients. Methods and techniques that draw upon workers' previous experiences, link concepts and practices, and encourage reflection and the transfer of knowledge from one situation to another are vital to the learning process. This Digest addresses some of the new ways to learn at work, such as action learning, situated learning, and incidental learning. Action Learning Action learning is a systematic process through which individuals learn by doing. It is based on the premise that learning requires action and action requires learning. It engages individuals in just-in-time learning by "providing opportunities for them to develop knowledge and understanding at the appropriate time based on immediate felt needs" (Lewis and Williams 1994, p. 11). Learning itself is the desired outcome of action learning, not problem solving. It is the learning that occurs in the process of finding solutions to problems that constitutes action learning. It is a type of learning that helps individuals respond more effectively to change. Action learning has been adopted in the workplace as a viable approach to experiential management education and development and an important element of a training and development strategy (Vince and Martin 1993). It involves the members of an organization in group situations with the goal of helping each group member learn through the process of finding solutions to their own problems. Through this process, learners increase their self-awareness and develop new knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills for making changes and redefining their roles within new contexts (Williams 1992). The properties of action learning clarify its relevance to workplace learning (Beaty et al. 1993): Learning is based on the solution of real problems. Learning occurs with and from others who are also engaged in managing real problems. Members of the group are responsible for solving their own problems, unlike those on a project team or task force. Members of the group are concerned with implementing actions, moving beyond the stages of analysis and recommendation. Situated Learning Situated learning is another approach that is receiving attention in the field of adult and workplace learning. In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are taught in contexts that reflect how the knowledge will be used in real-life situations.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Overcoming Gender Differences Essay -- Papers
Overcoming Gender Differences Men and women come from different worlds. Let's face it, they simply can not communicate. Take the following story for example: Tom and Mary were going to a party. Tom was driving and after about twenty minutes and going around the same block many times, it was clear to Mary that Tom was lost. She suggested that he call for help. Tom became silent. They eventually arrived at the party, but the tension form the moment lasted the entire evening. Mary had no idea why Tom was so upset. Mary, on one hand thought that she was offering Tom help. Tom, on the other hand "heard" that he was incompetent and couldn't get them there, (Gray, 20). In most instances, men and women interpret each other wrongly as well as attempt to make amends in the same mistaken manner. Communication has become the source of our problems. Men expect women to think and react the way men do. Women expect men to feel and communicate the way that women do. Both are mistaken. If we could understand each other better, many conflicts could be prevented. But more importantly, if we could only understand each other better, when conflicts do arise, we could overcome them a lot quicker and easier. Men and women have different values. Men and women cope with stress differently, and are motivated differently. Men and women speak different languages and commonly misunderstand each other. Finally men and women keep score differently and have different needs for support. Painful arguments, regardless can be avoided. Understanding these differences are crucial in day to day situations, but they become even more crucial when dealing in situations when c onflicts must be resolved. "If we recognize and understand the difference... ...portant role due to the fact that negotiations are based solely on the need for good communication. With good communication along with empathy, and a little luck the connections we make and the negotiations we encounter will be successful ones. Bibliography: Author Unknown. "The Economic and Societal Context" (article from Professor Umana in section) Birkoff, Juliana. "Gender, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution," 5-28-2000, *http://conflict-resolution.net/articles/birkoff.cfmplain=t* Edelman. "Divorce: From Pain to Peace" Reader Gray, John, Ph.D. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Harper Collins: New York, 1992. Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don't Understand. Balentine Books: New York, 1991. Ury, William. Getting to Yes. Penguin Books: New York, 1991.
Assessment Of Equipment Diagnostic Radiology Health And Social Care Essay
Handiness and the usage of X-ray equipment in both private and authorities infirmaries is on the addition today in developed and developing states. Quality control of such equipment is of peculiar importance to forestall evitable high doses, radiation escapes and to guarantee dose optimisation. The consequences of quality control in this survey indicate that the end product measured in GHL ( M2 ) ranged between 0.0318 and 0.1192 mGy ( ma ) -1, while comparatively higher values which ranged from 0.0762 to 0.2156 mGy ( ma ) -1 was found in four other infirmaries. The tubing electromotive force truth measured indicates fluctuation among the infirmaries investigated. The divergence in electromotive force truth ranged between 0.9 and 10.9 % in the two units of GHL ( M1 and M2 ) . In the three other infirmaries the scope of divergences are 0.2 to 0.5 % ( PSH ) , 45.5 to 72.7 % ( NOH, the highest ) 22.9 to 23.3 % ( NARH ) . Both GHL ( M1 ) and PSH complied with the demand of à ± 5 % . As r egard timer truth, one-dimensionality of the tubing current and beam alliance ; NOH and NARH exceeded the acceptable bounds of à ±5 % , à ±10 % and à ±3 % severally. The effect of non-compliance in most portion include: repetition exposures, more disbursals and more significantly, extra dosage to the patient.Keywords: Quality confidence, quality control, environmental monitoring, radiation, X-ray end productIntroductionIn Nigeria, X-rays is the most often used ionizing radiation in medical specialty despite progresss in magnetic resonance imagination and ultrasound techniques. It has maintained a cardinal function in diagnosing of diseases, hurt and in X-ray therapy. In consequence it is the largest manmade beginning of ionising radiation to the universe population ( ICRP, 1991 ; UNSCEAR, 1993 ; Muhogora and Nyanda, 2001 ) . X ray is the major subscriber to the effectual dosage of both the patient and the forces. Because of the radiological hazards involved, it is normally recomm ended that dosage to patient from X-ray be kept every bit low as moderately accomplishable ( ALARA ) with equal image quality ( IAEA, 1996 ) . In add-on, programmes for diagnostic imagination sections, irrespective of the size, should at least contain the undermentioned constituents: equipment quality control, administrative duties, hazard direction and radiation safety programme. Equipment quality control unit carries out rating of equipment public presentation to guarantee proper image quality, every bit good as patient and operator safety ( Papp, 2002 ) . Furthermore, radiation safety unit is to guarantee that patient exposure is kept every bit low as moderately accomplishable and that departmental forces, medical staff and members of the general populace are protected from overexposure to ionising radiation. Presently, there are far above 4000 X-ray machines in Nigeria ( Elegba, 2006 ) out of which less than 5 % are under regulative control. These thereby pose a great jeopardy to the patient, forces and challenges to the regulative organic structure in Nigeria. As a consequence of handiness of X-ray installations, some new while others are 2nd manus ( known locally as Tokunbo ) , there has been a changeless addition in the figure and frequence of X-ray scrutinies in recent times. In Northwestern part of Nigeria for illustration, a study of 124 establishments with beginnings of ionising radiation indicates that 203 X-ray installings were found with merely 90 sealed radiation beginnings ( Mallam et al. , 2004 ) . In the same study, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital ( ABUTH ) complex on norm carries out over 250 diagnostic X-ray scrutinies per twenty-four hours in the three infirmary installations located in Zaria, Kaduna and Malunfasi. The population of the open persons and the fre quence of exposure is an indicant that one-year collective dosage to patient can be rather important. The quality control ( QC ) programme comprises the regular testing that must be carried out on each major constituent of the system to guarantee optimal public presentation within the system ( West,1993 ) . In diagnostic radiology QC trial is carried out to guarantee that a high quality diagnostic image is produced for a minimal radiation dosage to the patient ( NRPB, 1988 ) . The major equipment in diagnostic radiology to which quality control can be applied include X-ray production, sensing, image processing and image viewing equipment among others. The equipment testing is coupled with everyday environmental monitoring and appraisal of image quality ( Oluwafisoye et al. , 2009 ) .( 1.1 ) Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority ( NNRA )Due to the hurtful effects of ionising radiation, the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority ( NNRA ) was established by the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act of 1995. This national regulative organic structure is charged with primary duty of atomic safety and radiation protection. The Act empowered the NNRA to categorise and licence activities affecting exposure to ionising radiation in peculiar, the ownership, production, processing, industry, purchase, sale, import, export, managing, usage, transmutation, transportation, trading, assignment, conveyance, storage, and disposal of any radioactive stuffs, atomic stuffs, radioactive waste, and any equipment breathing ionising radiation. In this respect, the NNRA in her papers made proviso for minimal demand for the equipment care in line with international regulative policies. As portion of the attempt at heightening safety in the usage of ionising radiation in Nigeria, the National Institute of Radiation Protection and Research ( NIRPR ) was established under the counsel of NNRA. The Institute trains forces in the radiation protection. The present measurings were conducted to look into the suitableness of the quality control trials and the stated tolerance degrees for assorted X-ray equipment at four Nigerian infirmaries. Additionally, environmental radiation supervising around the installations was carried out to determine the safety degree of both the patient and forces.( 2 ) MATERIALS AND METHODSQuality control trial ( kVp truth and duplicability, mAs one-dimensionality ) of four government-owned infirmaries, one general infirmary ( GHL ) , two specializer infirmaries [ Psychiatric infirmary ( PSH ) and National Orthopaedic infirmary ( NOH ) ] and one military infirmary ( NARH ) , all located in Lagos were carried out. The GHL has two functional X-ray units depicted as machine 1 ( M1 ) and machine 2 ( m 2 ) . The probe was carried out with the aid of the staff of the radiology section of each infirmary. Meanwhile, each of the X ray installations was used for both pediatric and big scrutinies. In all the infirmar ies there was no old exposure and QC informations available. The information use was done utilizing Microsoft Excel, 2003.( 2.1 ) Measurement of X-ray tubing Output and exposure clip merchandiseX-ray tubing end product is the sum of exposure, in millirontgens ( Mister ) delivered to a point in the Centre of the utile X-ray beam at a distance of 1 meter from the focal topographic point for 1 ma of negatron passing through the tubing. The end product expresses the ability of the tubing to change over electronic energy into X-ray exposure. X-ray tubing end product is the individual most of import parametric quantity to quantify radiation output ( Zoetelief et al, 2006 ) . The free-in-air exposure, FAE ( Mister ) was measured utilizing mill calibrated KV metre ( US made Victoreen X-ray trial device, theoretical account 4000 M+ ) obtained from the Department of Physics ( DOP ) University of Ibadan. The consistence of X-ray tubing end product with the tubing current ( ma ) or tube current exposure-time merchandise ( ma ) was measured for the scope of ma or ma values used in pattern. The sensor ( KV metre ) measures the mean, effectual and maximal extremum tubing electromotive force, power stage, exposure and exposure clip. This system determines the tubing electromotive force with truth of à ± 2 % ( Victoreen, 1995 ) . The internal ionisation chamber that measures exposure has volume of 36 cm3. The exposure clip is measured to an truth of à ± 2 % . The FAE ( Mister ) measured is converted into end product in mGy ( ma ) -1 by multiplying by a factor 0.00877/ ma ( Chang Jong and Hui- Yu, 1999 ) where ma in the denominator is the merchandise of the tubing current and exposure clip set at the clip of measuring of the end product.( 2.2 ) Environmental Monitoring and General ObservationsThe guiding rule used in all regulative paperss is that, radiation doses to the populace and to the people who work with radiation must be kept every bit low as moderately accomplishable ( ALARA rule ) . In kernel, radiation workers and the patient should be monitored at all times when working. The ground for this monitoring is to guarantee that the pattern being followed by the workers in their day-to-day modus operandi are safe and do non ensue in high doses being received. In the present survey, the dose rate at different points of involvement ( the console, entryway door behind the wall, patient waiting seats ) was measured with radiation sensor ( radiation proctor 4 minirad 1000+ ) . This device measures radiation dosage rate in ?Sv/ hour.( 2.3 ) Optical and Radiation Field Congruence/ Beam AlignmentThe beam control system is required for modulating the size of X-ray field country. Therefore, it plays an of import function in dose delivered to the patient because it controls the sum of patient surface country exposed to radiation and image contrast ( due to scattered radiation ) . The parametric quantities taken into consideration in beam control system includ e ; beam alliance, optical radiation field congruity, truth of the x Y graduated tables and illuminator bulb brightness. In this survey optical radiation field and beam alliance were examined.( 2.4 ) Ocular reviewsOne of the three parts of a quality control programme for a radiographic installation is ocular review. This portion includes look intoing the chief constituents of the equipment for proper operation, safety and good mechanical status. It is expected that they should include ; protective lead dress, lead shield of the cell wall, overhead tubing Crane, radiographic tabular array, control panel and other installations such as door and automatic visible radiation.( 3 ) RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONFive X-ray units in four infirmaries were investigated in the survey. Both the QC and environmental appraisal of the installations were carried out. Table 1 presents the radiographic equipment information at assorted infirmaries investigated. The old ages of industry of the equipment scope from 9 to 31 old ages, while the twelvemonth of installing is between 5 and 31 old ages. The consequence of age on the end product of an X-ray machine is good documented ( Mallam et al. , 2004, Ogundare et al. 2004 ) .( 3.1 ) X ray tubing OutputThe consequence of X-ray tubing end product at a distance of 1m each from the focal point of five X-ray units are presented in Table 2. The values of end product obtained in GHL ( M2 ) are comparatively low, those measured in GHL ( M1 ) are higher than those found in M2. It ranged from 0.0318 to 0.1192 mGy ( ma ) -1. However, higher end products are found at the same electromotive force in PSH and NOH. As an illustration, at 80kVp the end products are 0.0796, 0.1676, 0.2156 and 0.0762 mGy ( ma ) -1 for GHL ( M1 ) , PSH, NOH and NARH severally. The fluctuation in the end product could be attributed to the wave form, anode stuff, filtration, and tube age and anode surface harm. Knowledge of the end product value for a given X-ray tubing permit s the finding of both patient and movie exposures. It is besides used in the computation of Entrance Surface Dose ( ESD ) delivered to the patient at the point where the X-ray beam enters the patient. This dosimetry parametric quantity ( ESD ) gives the perspective appraisal of absorbed dosage to the patient. Although the entryway surface dosage is a hapless hazard index, it can be used to gauge the effectual dosage ( ED ) which better quantifies patient hazard ( Gkanatsios and Huda,1997 ) . The fluctuation in the end product among the infirmaries could take to fluctuation in doses delivered to the patients during the scrutinies. The consistence of X-ray tubing end product with ma was measured for a scope of ma for the five X-ray units at different electromotive forces. The consequences are presented in figures 1-3. Furthermore, consequences of end product measured at different kVp above 80 kVp ( GHL and NARH ) show strong correlativity with ma, nevertheless, the end products measured at lower electromotive force of 60 and 75 kVp indicate weak correlativity with ma. The X-ray tubing and the anode current are extremely stabilized at this point ( Suliman and Elshiekh, 2008 ) . The consequences of the tubing electromotive force truth for five X-ray units investigated are presented in tabular arraies 3a-3d. The tabular arraies show the tubing electromotive force set, the tubing electromotive force measured and the magnitude of divergence. It should be noted that the magnitude of divergence in kVp vary from infirmary to infirmary. In GHL, the divergence ranged between 0.9 and10.9 % for the two machines ( M1 and M2 ) . The scopes of magnitude of divergence for the three other infirmaries are ; 0.2 to 0.5 % , 45.5 to 72.7 % ( highest in this survey ) and 22.9 to 23.3 % in PSH, NOH and NARH severally. Both m1 ( GHL ) and PSH comply with the demand of à ± 5 % , while M2 ( GHL ) , NOH and NARH exceeded the demand. The grounds for higher divergence in kVp found in NOH and NARH are multifactorial. The European Commission recommended a high technique of 125 kilovolts IAEA ( 1995 ) which likely consequences in low doses, but the radiotherapists prefer the higher contrast thorax radiogram which consequences from low kVp. Earlier study indicated that increasing the tubing potency ( kVp ) from 8-13 kilovolt in lumbar and pectoral spinal column scrutiny resulted in a dose decrease of 26-36 % ( Martin et al, 1993 ) . The higher divergences outside the tolerance bound as obtained in the present survey show disagreements in kVp between the measured and the set values particularly if the tubings are non adequately maintained. Furthermore, the overly high divergence between the set and the measured kVp could cut down the image contrast ( Livingstone et al, 2004 ) . The unexpected elevated value of proficient parametric quantities which consequences from defective machine could impact both patient dosage and image quality. The tendencies found in GHL ( M2 ) , NOH and NARH require regular and repeated QC trials.( 3.2 ) Quality Control ( QC ) TrialTable 4 is the sum-up of the QC trials carried out on the equipment at different infirmaries. The kVp truth trials show conformity with acceptable bound in GHL ( M1 and M2 ) and PSH while NOH and NARH show non-compliance with acceptable bound of 5 % . As respects the kVp consistence, similar tendency is found in the infirmaries as those found in kVp truth. In footings of timer truth, it is postulated that exposure clip straight affect the entire measure of radiation emitted from an X-ray tubing. Therefore, an accurate exposure timer is critical for decently exposed radiogram and sensible patient radiation exposure. Both GHL and PSH met the the acceptable variableness bound. Since the timer truth in NOH and NARH are above the bound of acceptableness, it is expected that the radiation dosage delivered to the patient will be higher than the expected value required to bring forth the movie. Furthermore, the one-dimensionality of tubing current ( ma ) and beam alliance of both NOH and NARH fell abruptly of the acceptable bound of 10 % and 3 % severally. Regulation of X-ray tubing filament temperature ( along with the exposure clip find the quality of X raies in the X-ray beam ) is done with millampere picker in an X-ray generator. The beam limitation system is required for modulating the size of the X-ray field country. The mechanism contro ls the sum of patient anatomy exposed to radiation beam ( Papp, 2002 ) . This plays a cardinal function in patient dose and image contrast. The addition in country increases the production of the scattered radiation, hence higher patient dosage and wellness hazard. The non-compliance of optical radiation field and radiation field congruity may stem from the displacement in mechanism that moves the shutter, doing improper public presentation. This leads to higher patient dosage and repetition images ( consequence in more movies being used and more disbursals ) .( 3.3 ) Forces DistributionThe saloon chart in figure 4 shows the distribution of forces. It indicates that two classs of forces are losing ; Radiation Protection Officer/ Medical Physicist and Record Officer. The tendency is similar to the earlier work reported elsewhere ( Oluwafisoye et al. , 2009 ) . The tendency shows that radiation protection of the patients, visitants and forces is non the preoccupation of the direction of the infirmaries investigated. The absence of the record officers indicate that record maintaining at the infirmaries is far from being equal. A record maintaining system is necessary to document the quality control processs, the figure of culls and other activitie s traveling on at the X-ray units of the infirmary.( 3.4 ) Visual/ General ObservationsThe consequence of ocular observations is presented in table 5. It shows that all the basic constituents inspected were functional except LED index on the control panel found in GHL ( M2 ) . Table 6 shows the general observations carried out at assorted infirmaries investigated. Columns 1 and 2 show that the chief door taking to the X-ray room is non lead-lined. Columns 3 and 4 indicate that merely NOH has efficient 2nd door and lead-lined. The cells of the four infirmaries are efficient. This indicates that the interior decorator of the console put in topographic point equal steps that prevent the technicians from immaterial beams during exposures. The doors to the units lack automatic control, connoting that during the exposure the doors do non shut automatically as a consequence, controlled entree to the country where radiation exposure may be taking topographic point is non ensured. Lead apron was non provided in NARH. Nevertheless, the lead apron provided in GHL was non efficient. Regulation for good pattern stipulates that lead aprons and baseball mitts should be available in the radiographic room and have a lower limit of 0.5 millimeters of lead tantamount thickness ( Papp,2002 ) . It is besides apparent that technique charts were losing in all the units, an indicant that technique parametric quantities are chosen at random by the radiographers responsible for the exposure of the patient. This could take to hapless matching of patient size and technique parametric quantities. Furthermore, warning visible radiation was non provided in any of the units to warn visitants or other forces of the exposure traveling on in the X-ray room. The forces monitoring badge was merely available in NOH, bespeaking that forces dose supervising in GHL, PSH and NARH are non-existent.( 3.5 ) Dose degreeConsequence of environmental dose monitoring at the chosen locations within and in the immediate environment of each of the X-ray units investigated is presented in table 7. The consequences in all the five units indicate that the dose rate measured at the sofa are by and large really high. At the border of the cell the dosage rates recorded are greater than the background dosage rate by a factor of 7, 20, and 10 in GHL ( M1 ) , PSH and NARH, severally. The dose rate measured within the cell is comparable to the background. This status is safe for the radiographer ; nevertheless, the dose rate is high within the entryway door in GHL ( M1 ) and NARH, it is greater than the backg round dosage rate by a factor of 6 and 7.5 each. In add-on, the dose rate measured at the waiting anteroom of the patients is comparable with the background dosage rate in PSH and NARH, but higher than the background dosage rate by a factor of 10 in NOH. The high dosage rate experienced in NOH could be attributed to damaged door of the X-ray units. Another possible account for the high dosage rate at the waiting anteroom is the direct nexus between the anteroom and the X-ray machine. It is interesting to observe that there were no escapes experienced in the five X-ray units investigated as reported in the earlier survey carried out in Nigeria ( Oluwafisoye et al. , 2009 ) . Apparently, this present survey is the first QC trial and environmental monitoring attempts carried out in the five X-ray units in four infirmaries investigated. This is an indicant that the consequences are preliminary against which future measurings could be compared. Besides, the usage of thermoluminescent dosemeters ( TLD ) for the forces monitoring has ne'er been undertaken in the five units. Personnel monitoring is indispensable, since there is a nexus between the ionizing radiation and coevals of reactive O series [ ROS ] ( Cohen, 2002 ) . These ROS have been implicated in the etiology of over 100 diseases. Radiation is one of the major exogenic beginnings of free groups in adult male and it has been proved that ionising radiation produces ROS in biological system capable of destructing biomolecules such as DNA, lipoids, proteins and saccharide ( Olisekodiaka et al. , 2009 ) . Workers runing X-ray equipment are exposed to long term low doses of ionising radiation which may imp act their antioxidant position. Consequences of the QC trials and monitoring were sent to the direction of the four infirmaries investigated. In Addition, recommendations on the necessity of regular QC trial were forwarded to each infirmary for necessary actions.( 4 ) DecisionQuality control trials of five X-ray units are undertaken with intent of safety and dose optimisation in the X-rays Centres investigated. The ages of three out of five machines are good over 10 old ages. In add-on, the divergence of the measured kVp from set value on the control panel varied among the infirmaries. Two out of the five machines complied with the needed criterion of pattern, while three exceeded the demand. The QC trial carried out on kVp truth and consistence show non- conformity in two infirmaries. The distribution of forces show that, the preoccupation of the authorization of the X-ray unit investigated was the quality of the radiogram produced at the disbursal of safety of the patient. The fluctuation in the end product of th e assorted tubing is an indicant that doses among the infirmaries differ. In each of the X-ray units investigated there was no specialised installation to execute pediatric scrutinies and movie screening.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Use of Adobe in Cyprus
What is Adobe? Production, Application & A ; Features Adobe is a composite edifice stuff made with dirt and straws. Needed sum of H2O is added to dirty and straws which is traditionally crushed and squezed by pes, to blend the stuffs making clay. In some parts, droppings is used alternatively of straws. Straws are used to adhere the bricks together. It besides allow the bricks to dry every bit. Some experiments show that utilizing straws in adobe bricks make them more immune for clefts. Dung is chiefly used to avoid insects. The mixture is so casted into wooden frames ( normally 30cm ten 45cmx 6cm ) .It is compressed within the wooden frames to forestall the spreads, doing it heavy and strong. Excess clay is glanced off the frames to do a level surface for the bricks. Wooden frames are removed and adobe bricks are left to dry in a level surface, under the Sun for a few yearss. It is a low-priced and easy to do stuff which was widely used all around the universe extensively in Egypt, Sudan, Middle East and Asia Minor. As it is an earth stuff, it is suited for semi-arid climes where summers are hot and dry and winters cold and wet. It has a high thermal mass which is defined as the ability of the stuff to absorb heat. It helps to stabilise the inside temperature of the edifices. Main natural stuffs of adobe can easy be found locally. Soil types and colorss depends on the vicinity and that is the chief ground to see different coloured adobe edifices in different countries. Load bearing walls made from adobe bricks are normally 45-50cm broad. Minimal breadth should non be less than 30 centimeter. Adobe walls carry their ain weight into foundations so there is no demand for other sturctures to transport the burden of the walls. Normally, 80-100 centimeter high rock walls are built as a base for the adobe walls to forestall the affect of land humidness on adobe bricks. As there are non any other constructions to transport the adobe walls, land is dug for the termss. The deepness of the excavated country depends on the local features of the land and the frost degree of the dirt. The misguided apparatus of the foundations might do clefts on the walls. Courses of adobe bricks are lined horizantally and binded together with clay howitzer to organize the adobe walls. Mud plaster which is a breathable stuff that can let the wet of the adobe walls to vaporize ; is used to stick on the first bed of the adobe walls. Fine grained straws are added where straw fibres increase adhering and to obtain a smooth surface. Mud plaster is a lasting stuff but the concluding coating of the wall is made by stick oning calcium hydroxide based paste which is a water-repellent stuff to protect the structural feature of the adobe. As it is an earth stuff, one-year fix is recommended. Worn surfaces are replaced by clay howitzer and plastered once more. This procedure is normally carried out during fall. In adobe houses, the breadth of the edifices do no transcend 4m ( 13ft ) by and large. The infinites are largely rectangular and in some instances they might be square shaped. It is recommended to construct maximal two floors with adobe. Ceiling beams which were normally wood, are placed parallel to the short side of the rectangle with 30-40cm intervals. For these beams, cypress tree was normally used in Cyprus. Bushes or reeds were placed above the beams or in some instances reeds in the signifier of mats might be used if available. On top of this bed, 20-25 centimeter midst clay is casted and compressed by a rock roller. This type of roofs need one-year fix, which normally carried out in fall. If the roof is build with a incline, tiles are used to cover the clay bed. This will cut down the scratch of the clay and reduces the demand for care. Use of Adobe in Cyprus Adobe is a common edifice stuff in Cyprus from early ages. Building stuffs might change in different parts, such as Kyrenia and Paphos ( which are coastal parts of the island ) rock was used to construct shelters. In the fields and foothills, adobe was widely used. The usage of the stuffs depended on the regional handiness and climatic factors. As adobe is an insulating stuff, bulk of the houses were build utilizing adobe. Mesaoria vale which is located between Kyrenia Mountains in the North and Trodos Mountains in the sou'-west of the island, is an aluvial field where most of the adobe edifices can be seen. Reports on dirt studies in Cyprus shows that there are chiefly two types of dirt in the island. One is ââ¬Ëdeep soilsââ¬â¢ which can be found in fields and 2nd one is ââ¬Ëshallow soilsââ¬â¢ which can be found in mountain and semi mountain countries. ââ¬ËDeep soilââ¬â¢ consequences show that % 60 of the dirt in fields is clay. Large sum of the field lands is calcareus with Ca carbonate content up to % 40-60. Limestone is a sedimentary stone which includes high degrees of Ca carbonate. Limestone is processed in different phases to bring forth calcium hydroxide. Including insularity characteristics of adobe, suited ingredients can be found locally around the island which are dirt with high clay content, and limestone to bring forth calcium hydroxide. Adobe bricks are dried under Sun where limestone and roof tiles are baked in local furnaces by utilizing wood or fuel. This makes adobe a sustainable and natural stuff. Limestone was besides used to construct patio walls. Nicosia is located in the Mesaoria vale where adobe edifices can widely be seen. After the declaration of independency of the island in 1960, concrete edifices started to lift over the island. Nowadays, little sums of Earth edifices are built around Cyprus. Cyprus is hot and dry during summer where the demand for airing is extremely demanded inside the edifices. Privacy was an of import factor on determining the traditional house design of Cyprus where Windowss were built above oculus degree to maintain the privateness. Windows on adobe walls were made by puting wooden headers on top of the gaps to back up the bricks above. Terra rossa dirt is present in some countries of Mesaoria field which is a ruddy brown dirt. Colour of adobe bricks might change in different parts of the island. Partition walls inside the edifices were normally built with light timber-framing filled with rubble or plaster. As adobe is a heavy stuff, it was used to construct the external walls merely. Testing adobe samples from the Davies House I scratched a really small sum of adobe from the external wall of the Davies House. It was easy crumbled into little pieces chiefly because of the low strenght of the wall. My chief purpose to prove these samples is to happen out and specify the ingredients of the adobe used in this peculiar edifice. My purpose was besides to happen out the age of the stuff if possible. First phase in the research lab was to look at the samples under a microscope. A little sum from the sample was taken and placed on a faux pas. Soil and straw atoms were clearly seen but it was difficult to place the stuffs clearly. As they were assorted and largely binded with each other, I need to divide the ingredients. The manner of dividing the composite stuff is to blend the coveted sum of sample with H2O and leave it for one twenty-four hours. By this manner, dense and heavy stuffs which are dirt atoms in this instance will drop ; where the light stuffs will drift on the liquid which are the straws that has lower denseness than H2O which makes them float. One-half of the adobe sample is grained by utilizing a cock. A all right grained pulverization was obtained. 5gr of the pulverization was weighted by a sensitive weighting graduated table. It was put inside a glass beaker and 200ml of distilled H2O added to the sample. The mixture was stirred manually for a few proceedingss and so placed on the magnetic scaremonger hot plate. The characteristic of this hot plate is that it has a magnetic field and if a magnet is placed inside the solution, the magnet will do a round spin and stir it. A magnet was put inside the solution and left to stir and heat for about 15 proceedingss. I used a thermometer to mensurate the temperature of the solution and around 42à ° , closed the hot plate. By stirring and warming, I achieved a well-mixed solution. After a few proceedingss, I covered the beaker with a level glass dish and go forth it for a dark. Through research I found out that calcium hydroxide was used to stick on the adobe walls. There are some grounds on the walls of the Davies House but to turn out that, I used hydrochloric acid. Lime is a stuff that contains calcium carbonate. The reaction of hydrochloric acid or any acerb with Ca carbonate will stop up with bring forthing C dioxide which can be seen by bare oculus as air bubbles. In order to turn out that calcium hydroxide was used in Davies House, I put a small sum of adobe pulverization in a trial tubing. Couple of beads of hydrochloric acid is adequate to see the air bubbles. As a consequence, reaction of the acid with the adobe sample is positive which proves that calcium hydroxide was used in this edifice. It besides raises another inquiry that if the type of dirt in Mesaoria contains % 40-60 Ca carbonate, does the reaction with the acid is because of the type of dirt used in adobe bricks? The mixture was left for a dark. Dense and heavy and indissoluble stuffs sink at the underside of the beaker, where light 1s float on the H2O. Water is non clear which can be defined that some of the dirt was dissolved in H2O. A filter paper was placed inside a funnel and an empty glass beaker was placed below. In order to roll up the natation stuffs, I poured the H2O into the funnel easy without upseting the underside. It was difficult to roll up all of the drifting stuff so I used a metal spatula to roll up the staying from the mixture. The H2O was filtered from the funnel, go forthing the straw atoms on the filter paper. Straws were collected from the filter paper and was put together with the 1s that were collected manually inside a porcelain crucible. I left them dry in the room temperature for 15 proceedingss and set them in the oven for 35-40 proceedingss. They were dried wholly and ready to burden. I changed the filter paper and poured the staying H2O into the funnel. Some of the indissoluble stuffs remained at the underside of the beaker so I collected them by the aid of the metal spatula and set indoors another porcelain crucible. Water was filtered after 2 hours from the funnel and I collected the stuffs from the filter paper and put them inside the crucible. Same procedure was made to dry the stuffs. I let them dry in room temperature for a piece and set them in oven for 40-45 proceedingss. Consequences I weighted the obtained stuffs individually by utilizing a reasonable weight graduated table. Insoluble Materials ( dirt, pebbles ) : 4.56gr ( Waââ¬Å¡? ) Floating Materials ( straws ) : 0.06gr ( Waââ¬Å¡Ã¢â¬Å¡ ) Exact sum of the whole sample was 5.04 gr. The expression below will give the per centums of the stuffs in the sample. Waââ¬Å¡ Total Weight x 100 = % .. Waââ¬Å¡Ã¢â¬Å¡? Total Weight x 100 = % .. Insoluble Materials ( dirt, pebbles ) : % 90.48 Floating Materials ( straws ) : % 1.19 As the H2O was non clear after go forthing the solution for a dark, it is defined that there are soluble stuffs in the mixture. So if soluble stuffs are Waââ¬Å¡? ; Waââ¬Å¡? + Waââ¬Å¡Ã¢â¬Å¡ + Waââ¬Å¡? = 5.04 gr Waââ¬Å¡? = 0.42gr Waââ¬Å¡? = % 8.33 Experiment shows that most of the adobe stuff is dirt. Straws were used to beef up the binding of the bricks. The sum of straws in 5gr is 0.06gr which is really few. As the edifice is old and ignored, straw atoms might hold been disapeared or decayed within the dirt through clip. Original ingredients of the adobe is soil, straws and H2O. In order to turn out that the detached stuffs from my sample is straws, they need to be identified under a microscope. They are most likely straws but there is a possibility that they might be timber. Timber and wooden stuffs are identified under a microscope by looking at the layout of the cells. Wood are chiefly classified in two groups which are soft and difficult forests but the layout of their cells are similar. If horizantal beams of cells are seen under a microscope, it is a wooden construction. Following measure of placing the straw atoms will be to look under a microscope after cutting really thin subdivisions of the pieces. One manner of thinking the age of the wood is to place the fungus formations within the stuff. The dimensions of the fungus might mention to its age. This can be done by utilizing a microscope but merely if the detached atoms are timber/wood but non straw. Figures Straws under the microscope: Dirt atoms under microscope: Bibliography Hadjiparaskevas C. Soil study in Cyprus. In: Zdruli P. ( ed. ) , Steduto P. ( ed. ) , Lacirignola C. ( ed. ) , Montanarella L. ( ed. ) . Soil resources of Southern and Eastern Mediterranean states. Bari: CIHEAM,2001. p. 101-110 ( Options Mediterraneennes: Serie B. Etudes et Recherches ; n. 34 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lime.org/lime_basics/index.asp Oliver, P. ( 2006 ) . Built to run into demands: cultural issues in common architecture. Amsterdam, Architectural. Pg.129-142 Oliver, P. ( erectile dysfunction ) ( 1997 ) Encyclopedia ofVernacularArchitecture of the World, Volume 2, Cultures and Habitats. Pg. 1540-1563 Gunce K. , Erturk Z. , & A ; Erturk S. ( 2008 ) . Questioning the ââ¬Å" prototype homes â⬠in the model of Cyprus traditional architecture. Building and Environment. 43, 823-833. Adobe, 2014. . Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Anink, D. , 1996. Handbook of sustainable edifice: an environmental penchant method for choice of stuffs for usage in building and renovation. James & A ; James, London. Dincyurek, O. , Turker, O.. , 2007. Learning from traditional built environment of Cyprus: Re-interpretation of the contextual values. Building and Environment 42, 3384ââ¬â3392. Earth Materials URL hypertext transfer protocol: //earth.sustainablesources.com/ ( accessed 3.25.14 ) . Earth Plaster, Mud Plaster, and Clay Plasters For Straw Bale and Adobe Walls, n.d. Buildings with Awareness. URL hypertext transfer protocol: //www.buildingwithawareness.com/earth-plaster-walls.html ( accessed 3.25.14 ) . Hadjichristos, C. , 2006. Cyprus: Capital of cyprus and its d-visions. AD Architectural Design 76, 12ââ¬â19. Roy, R.L. , 2006. Earth-sheltered houses: how to construct an low-cost belowground place. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. Snell, C. , 2005. Constructing green: a complete how-to usher to alternative edifice methods: Earth plaster, straw bale, cordwood, hazelnut, populating roofs. Lark Books, New York. Stedman, M. , 1973. Adobe architecture. 1
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