Nano-Micro Tubes & Fibers for Biomedical Applications

Polymer based nanometer to micrometer size fibers and tubes are the bases for a wide range of industrial and medical applications and various research branches. They are capable of guiding light, carrying electricity and liquid or exchanging heat. Two production systems were established and built. These systems enable us to produce a wide range of tiny tubes & fibers. Light, nano-micro tubes & fibers, beads, nanoparticles and biological entities and agents (e.g. cells, antibodies and nerve growth factor) were used in this master work. The main focus in this work is on nerve regenerative implants and neural electrodes

Motivation in second language acquisition among learners in Malaysia

Lack of motivation is the critical factor which affects university students’ learning process in Malaysia. Hence, this study is an attempt to investigate the types of motivation which Bachelor students used in learning English at one of the private universities in Malaysia. It was also analysed to determine the motivational level of the Bachelor students who learn English as a Second Language (ESL). This study used a quantitative method where the data was collected through the questionnaire adapted from Gardner’s (1972) Attitude, Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). The questionnaire was distributed to 150 students and the data was analysed quantitatively. The findings showed that the majority of the Bachelor students were instrumentally motivated towards learning ESL. The result concerning the level of motivation showed that the students had a high level of instrumental motivation for learning English, compared to integrative, resultative, and intrinsic ones. Yet, it is also apparent that all four types of motivation are at a high motivational level. Based on the findings, a few suggestions were highlighted. First, the lecturers should always design a classroom environment that promotes students’ motivation towards learning ESL. Second, students should be given more opportunities to visit other English native countries under Global Learning Programmes (GLP). In that case, teachers or lecturers of ESL should promote all types of motivation in the classroom and guide students towards achieving goals

The impact of attitude markers on enhancing evaluation in the review article genre

Academic review writing is not merely about providing an overview but taking a stance and evaluating other scholars’ views in evaluation-loaded texts. In academic review genres, the authors describe, analyse, and evaluate the developments of a research. Perhaps the most noticeable way of such an evaluation in academic review genres is the use of attitudinal lexicon and its categories. The main aim of this research is (1) to investigate what type of attitude markers are frequently used to enhance evaluation in the review articles, and (2) to analyse their functions in the different analytical sections of the review articles. The data, drawn from a randomly selected corpus of thirty-two review articles, was analysed using Wordsmith tools (Scott, 2012) to investigate how evaluation was enhanced by the use of attitudinal lexicon. The results indicated that the attitude markers were more frequent in the Conclusion section than other analytical sections in the corpus. Four types of attitude markers were identified, however only two types (i.e. attitudinal adjectives and adverbs) were the most frequent markers. They appeared more frequently in Move2 and Move3 of the Conclusion sections. This study revealed how the authors professionally communicate with their readers to clarify their evaluation through attitude markers and express importance, limitations and gaps, compare and contrast, and praise and criticize the developments of a research in applied linguistics. The findings of this research can be drawn on in EAP courses for novice writers to facilitate their achievement in academic writing

Historical Arch Bridges-Deterioration and Restoration Techniques

Historic buildings are the most valuable evidence of cultural heritage. They play an essential role in establishing a tangible link between the past and the present by understanding, interpreting, and tracing the epoch of civilization. Unfortunately, the high costs of restoration, vandalism, and arson take their toll. However, new technologies are having a positive impact on the restoration process and are becoming a suitable alternative to labor-intensive, expensive, and unsafe traditional inspections. Therefore, the role of non-destructive testing (NDT) as a new method is becoming more evident. Faro laser scanning, impact echo, impulse sound testing, and geoelectric tomography as non-destructive methods are leading to the inspection of historic structures to preserve their character. These new methods are representative of the development of non-contact techniques for the examination and documentation of structures. Non-destructive testing examines the internal and external structure of complex building components as well as defective areas, quantifies cracks, and detects near-surface moisture. The objective of this work is to identify new adventurous and traditional methods for the reconstruction of the Turkish arch bridges Dara-1 and Halilviran to determine the appropriate rehabilitation methods and their deterioration of construction materials, damage, and failure patterns. Bridge dimensions were measured using a Faro laser scanner, which allows inspectors to capture and evaluate data from bridges and structural components without permanently altering them. The laser captures bridge dimensions by scanning cross-sections of the structure in the horizontal and vertical planes. The data is exported in the form of point clouds that represent all visible aspects and actual dimensions of the bridge in 2D and 3D models. In comparison between traditional and laser scanning methods, the main advantages of the applied method are the time savings on-site and the creation of a three-dimensional model of the structure, which can be used to collect precise and accurate surface data of objects in a non-destructive manner. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-07-010 Full Text: PD

Analysing authorial identity construction in the review article genre in Applied Linguistics

Authorial identity construction is one of many professional rhetorical strategies employed by authors in academic review genres. Authors usually create a persona to represent themselves, their seniority in the field, and the community to which they belong. The author’s visibility is made possible through several rhetorical devices. Perhaps the most remarkable way of such authorial identity construction in the review article genre is self-mentions. The aims of this research are (1) to find out what types of self-mention are frequently used in review articles, (2) to determine the frequency of use and distribution of self-mentions in the review articles, and (3) to investigate the rhetorical function of self-mentions in the different analytical sections of the review articles. The data, drawn from a randomly selected corpus of thirty-two review articles, were analysed using WordSmith Tools Version 6. The findings indicated that first-person plural pronouns were more frequently used than singular pronouns in the whole corpus except in the two review texts. It was also observed that the frequency of occurrence for the exclusive and inclusive pronouns was very close to each other. Most importantly, the inclusive pronouns were used not only as a politeness strategy to appreciate the readers and keep the writers’ claims balanced but also as a persuasive tool to seek the readers’ agreement in the evaluation of research developments. This study revealed that authors construct various professional personas as a rhetorical strategy to carve their authorial identity and credibility in the review article genre. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications in the field of academic writing in applied linguistics as well as other disciplines.

Investigating the Consumer Attitude toward Green Marketing

Recently climate change issues have come to the forefront. Climate change is a global challenge. It is a threat to social and economic stability and sustainable human existence. There is no doubt that climate change affects the fundamental requirement for health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient green food and secured shelter. Many measures have to be planned for and taken into account when adapting to climate changes .As a third world country Bangladesh can place a good phenomena in climate change through adapting consumer attitude towards green marketing . According to the study, consumers are very much sensitive in a few factors. These factors are consumer’s loyalty about green product, Global warming and environmental safety, quality of product, concern about extra price and Luxury and Environmental awareness. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing data. And we distribute 120 questionnaires among the people. And for analyses the data, we use correlation and regression, according to that all of the hypotheses accepted. Keywords: Green product, Green consumer, Corporate Social responsibility, Green marketing

The Effect of Risk Factors on the Resilience of Industrial Equipmen

Recently, to evaluate the response of systems against disruptive events, the application of the resilience concept has been increased. Resilience depicts the system’s ability to return to its normal operational status after the disruption. Various studies in the field of engineering and non-engineering systems have only considered systems’ performance indicators to estimate resilience. Therefore, the impact of operating and environmental factors (risk factors) has been neglected. In this paper, the influence of the risk factors (rock type), as well as the system’s performance indicators, are considered in the resilience estimation of the excavator system of Gol-E-Gohar Iron mine

The Effect of Varicocelectomy on Semen Analysis and Serum Levels of InhibinB

Background: Varicocele means dilation and torsion of spermatic veins. About 15%-40% of infertile men suffer from Varicocele. It seems that 70% of secondary infertility in men occurs due to Varicocele. Varicocele is the most common surgical cause for male infertility. Varicocelectomy is considered as the best treatment method for patients with Varicocele that increases 30%-50% of the postoperative fertility rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Varicocelectomy on inhibin B and use this marker to predict infertility in men.Methods: In this study, all infertile patients in any age that were candidate for Varicocelectomy and hospitalized in Imam Hospital in Urmia were included. Exclusion criteria were defined as orchitis, trauma, diabetes, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and coitus complications. Sperm analysis (SA) was conducted three times for patients and then serum levels of FSH, LH, T, inhibin B, SA were measured before surgery and also six months after surgery. Furthermore, during the hospitalization and infertility period, testes were examined before surgery in terms of consistency and size.Results: The mean ± SEM (standard error median) age of 40 patients was 28.4±5.14 (range: 18-40) years old. Mean size of the testes and mean sperm density and serum levels of LH.FSH remained the same. However, mean sperm motility, serum levels of T and inhibin B were statistically significant after the Varicocelectomy (p-value=0.005). A significant relationship was found between serum levels of inhibin B and infertility; however, there was no significant relationship between sperm count and serum levels of LH, FSH and T. Varicocelectomy can improve sperm motility and increase Inhibin B in patients and so improves spermatogenesis parameters and it may be one of the causes of fertility in patients.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that sperm motility and increase in inhibin B after Varicocelectomy can improve spermatogenesis parameters. Serum levels of FSH, T, LH and sperm morphology and also grade of Varicocele, patient age, and testis size have no effect on spermatogenesis and fertility after Varicocelectomy.