Assessing the Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance of Quantity Surveying Students

Previous studies have established that Emotional Intelligence (EI) has an effect on the performance of students. EI of construction students has been found to be lower than their counterparts in other disciplines. These studies, however did not evaluate the EI in relation to performance. Thus this creates a gap with regards to the relationship of EI and the academic performance of construction students. Therefore, this study assessed the emotional intelligence and academic performance among quantity surveying students. Data were collected by means of closed–ended questionnaires, which were administered online. Data gathered were analysed using descriptive (Mean, Frequency and Standard Deviations) and inferential (Analysis of Variance) statistics through the use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS software). The 16-item Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale was used to evaluate the level of emotional intelligence and explore the effect on academic performance. The results of the study indicated that quantity surveying students have a high level of EI, and a significant difference was found between students EI and academic performance. Students with higher Academic performance were found to have higher level of Self-Emotion Appraisal (SEA) and Use of Emotions (UOE). However, the results did not show a significant difference under Others’ Emotion Appraisal (OEA) and Regulation of Emotions (ROE). Thus this study concluded that EI of quantity surveying students gave an indication of the level of academic performance (CGPA) and therefore recommends that EI should be incorporated into academic curricula to improve the EI level of constructionstudents.&nbsp

What can we learn from multi-objective meta-optimization of Evolutionary Algorithms in continuous domains?

Properly configuring Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) is a challenging task made difficult by many different details that affect EAs' performance, such as the properties of the fitness function, time and computational constraints, and many others. EAs' meta-optimization methods, in which a metaheuristic is used to tune the parameters of another (lower-level) metaheuristic which optimizes a given target function, most often rely on the optimization of a single property of the lower-level method. In this paper, we show that by using a multi-objective genetic algorithm to tune an EA, it is possible not only to find good parameter sets considering more objectives at the same time but also to derive generalizable results which can provide guidelines for designing EA-based applications. In particular, we present a general framework for multi-objective meta-optimization, to show that "going multi-objective" allows one to generate configurations that, besides optimally fitting an EA to a given problem, also perform well on previously unseen ones

WISE colours and star-formation in the host galaxies of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1

We investigate the mid-infrared properties of the largest (42 objects) sample of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (RL NLS1) collected to date, using data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We analyse the mid-IR colours of these objects and compare them to what is expected from different combinations of AGN and galaxy templates. We find that, in general, the host-galaxy emission gives an importan contribution to the observed mid-IR flux in particular at the longest wavelengths (W3, at 12micron, and W4, at 22micron). In about half of the sources (22 objects) we observe a very red mid-IR colour (W4-W3>2.5) that can be explained only using a starburst galaxy template (M82). Using the 22micron luminosities, corrected for the AGN contribution, we have then estimated the star-formation rate for 20 of these "red" RL NLS1, finding values ranging from 10 to 500 Msun/y. For the RL NLS1 showing bluer colours, instead, we cannot exclude the presence of a star-forming host galaxy although, on average, we expect a lower star-formation rate. Studying the radio (1.4GHz) to mid-IR (22micron) flux ratios of the RL NLS1 in the sample we found that in ~10 objects the star-forming activity could represent the most important component also at radio frequencies, in addition (or in alternative) to the relativistic jet. We conclude that both the mid-IR and the radio emission of RL NLS1 are a mixture of different components, including the relativistic jet, the dusty torus and an intense star-forming activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Numerical analysis of energy recovery system for turbocharged internal combustion engines via a parallel compounding turbine

Increasing energy efficiency requirements mandatory ask for optimizing energy utilization in many devices, which include internal combustion engines. One of the most investigated subjects is the energy recovery from the exhaust, such as turbo-compound systems, which usually consist in a secondary turbine located afterward the turbocharger. Here an alternative arrangement is proposed and analysed via a numerical model. The recovery turbine works in parallel to the main turbine and uses the gasses which would be otherwise wasted through the waste-gate valve, once the set-point boost pressure is reached. The reference case analysed is a 12.4L turbocharged diesel engine, commonly used in marine, road and light railroad applications, with a nominal power of 380kW. The results showed that an overall 8% of power can be gained, without nor increasing the fuel mass flow rate, neither requiring significant modifications to the baseline engine. Moreover, in the case of the recovery system failure, the operation of the engine is not affected, thus resulting in no engine availability reduction. This work also shows a feasible way to convert the mechanical energy delivered by the recovery turbine into electrical energy, by making use of a high-speed electrical generator

Upgrading n-Heptane via Catalytic Hydroisomerisation

An atmospheric pressure upgrading of n-heptane was carried out in a temperature range of 300 to 450oC over an in situ developed molybdenum carbide phase supported over sulphated zirconia. Although a decreased in surface area with increased in pore volume were observed after carburization, the physicochemical data showed no noticeable alteration to the zirconia structure or the sulphate species. The catalyst formed a good system with high selectivity to iso-heptanes under either low temperature or high space velocity. It therefore has promising features that could offer mitigation to some of the challenges faced by the petroleum refineries with noble metals promoted zeolites. Keywords: n-heptane, hydroisomerisation, carbide catalyst, stability, sulphated zirconia

Stunting or runting syndrome in broiler chickens and its pathological changes

A disease with stunting or runting syndrome in broiler chickens was investigated in 13 districts of West Java and Central Java provinces. A total of 291 chicken's samples both with clinically stunted or runted were collected from 37 poultry farms. Blood samples were collected randomly from chickens in poultry farms for packed cells volume analysis. Tissues of liver, spleen, thymus, proventriculus, ventriculus intestines, caecum, pancreas, bursa fabricious and heart were collected for histopathological examination. Field surveys showed that prevalence rate of stunting or runting syndrome was varied from one farm to others between 0,1% to 50%. Clinical signs were noted as ununiformity of body size in a flock of chicken, stunted and/or runted of body weight gain and protrude of wing feather. Pathologic changes were hyperemic thymus, athropic thymus and athropic pancreas. While microscopically included dilatation crypt of Lieberkuhn, inflammation of thymus, pancreatitis and enteritis variably among each locations. The PCV level did not show direct link to the affected stunting or runting syndrome.   Key words: Syndrome, stunting, runting, pathology anatomy, histopatholog

The primordial environment of super massive black holes: large scale galaxy overdensities around z∼6z\sim6 QSOs with LBT

We investigated the presence of galaxy overdensities around four $z\sim6$ QSOs, namely SDSS J1030+0524 (z = 6.28), SDSS J1148+5251 (z = 6.41), SDSS J1048+4637 (z = 6.20) and SDSS J1411+1217 (z = 5.95), through deep $r$-, $i$- and $z$- band imaging obtained with the wide-field ($\sim23'\times25'$) Large Binocular Camera (LBC) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We adopted color-color selections within the $i-z$ vs $r-z$ plane to identify samples of $i$-band dropouts at the QSO redshift and measure their relative abundance and spatial distribution in the four LBC fields, each covering $\sim8\times8$ physical Mpc at $z\sim6$. The same selection criteria were then applied to $z$-band selected sources in the $\sim$1 deg$^2$ Subaru-XMM Newton Deep Survey to derive the expected number of dropouts over a blank LBC-sized field ($\sim$0.14 deg$^2$). The four observed QSO fields host a number of candidates larger than what is expected in a blank field. By defining as $i$-band dropouts objects with $z_{AB}1.4$ and undetected in the $r$-band, we found 16, 10, 9, 12 dropouts in SDSS J1030+0524, SDSS J1148+5251, SDSS J1048+4637, and SDSS J1411+1217, respectively, whereas only 4.3 such objects are expected over a 0.14 deg$^2$ blank field. This corresponds to overdensity significances of 3.3, 1.9, 1.7, 2.5$\sigma$, respectively. By considering the total number of dropouts in the four LBC fields and comparing it with what is expected in four blank fields of 0.14 deg$^2$ each, we find that high-z QSOs reside in overdense environments at the $3.7\sigma$ level. This is the first direct and unambiguous measurement of the large scale structures around $z\sim6$ QSOs. [shortened]Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

A Sustainability 3D Framework of the 20 Regions of Italy and Comparison With World Countries

An Input-State-Output (I-S-O) framework has been recently introduced to investigate the multidimensional aspects of sustainability (namely environmental, social and economic ones) of economic systems through a thermodynamically and logically ordered scheme. This approach provides an overall view of sustainability (the three dimensions together) facilitating the convergence of information from sets of indicators without aggregating results into single numbers and, consequently, losing information. In this paper we present the application of the I-S-O framework for the 20 regions of Italy. The emergy flow, the Gini Index of income distribution, and the regional Gross Domestic Product are used as systemic indicators for input, state, and output of the systems, respectively. We observe diversity among regions in the light of very different values of the three indicators. The per capita use of resources in the North of Italy is generally 2 to 4 times larger than in the South (excluding Puglia and Sardegna); the regional GDP per capita in the North doubles that of the Southern regions. The distribution of income, that is slightly better in two regions of the north (Trentino AA and Friuli VG), some of Center Italy, and Puglia in the South, only partially reflects that North-South discrepancy. Using the same measures, the 20 Regions are included in a global overview recently produced for 99 world countries. Regional values cover a wide range of countries; nevertheless, our values tend to be more similar to those of developed countries. Based on indicator values, Regions are also categorized, which enables interpretation of this overview at both sub-national and supra-national level

Résultats De 5ans De Thyroïdectomie Au Service D’orl Et Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale De l’Hôpital National De Niamey (Niger)

Purpose: To evaluate the results of thyroidectomy in the Oto-RhinoLaryngology and Neck Surgery office of the National Hospital of Niamey in Niger. Materials and methods: we analyzed the epidemiological aspects, the indications, the technics and the evolution of thyroidectomy through a retrospective and descriptive study conducted from January 2010 to December 2015. Results: Thyroidectomy represents 8, 51% (n = 236/2773) of the ENT operative activities and an average of 47.2 cases per year for 5 years. Among the patients, there were 15 men and 221 women, a sex ratio of 0.17. The mean age was 37.25 years (extreme 22 and 61 years). The operative indications are dominated by multinodular goiter euthyroid (43.22%), thyroid nodules (39.40%), hyperthyroidism (goiter and Basedow) and substernal goiters, respectively, representing 8.90% and 6.35%. The gestures performed were subtotal thyroidectomy in 56 cases (23.73%), complete thyroidectomy in 85 cases (36.02%) and lobo-isthmectomy in 95 cases (40.25%). The recurrent nerve was searched in 235 cases (99%) and found in 215 cases (91, 10%). It was found 1 case (0.42%) of splitting of the left nerve recurrent. 2 cases (0.84%) of immediate postoperative hemorrhage was recorded. Morbidity was 0.29% with 4 cases of definitive unilateral recurrent paralysis and 3 cases of transient hypoparathyroidism. No mortality was encountered. Conclusion: The thyroidectomy is a frequent intervention in the ENT and Neck Surgery office of the National Hospital of Niamey. Multinodular goiter remains the first surgical indication. Recurrent and hypoparathyroid morbidity was very low