Search results for: digital infinite impulse response filter
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 8709

Search results for: digital infinite impulse response filter

5739 Modeling Floodplain Vegetation Response to Groundwater Variability Using ArcSWAT Hydrological Model, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - Normalised Difference Vegetation Index Data, and Machine Learning

Authors: Newton Muhury, Armando A. Apan, Tek Maraseni

Abstract:

This study modelled the relationships between vegetation response and available water below the soil surface using the Terra’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) generated Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and soil water content (SWC) data. The Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) interface known as ArcSWAT was used in ArcGIS for the groundwater analysis. The SWAT model was calibrated and validated in SWAT-CUP software using 10 years (2001-2010) of monthly streamflow data. The average Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency during the calibration and validation was 0.54 and 0.51, respectively, indicating that the model performances were good. Twenty years (2001-2020) of monthly MODIS NDVI data for three different types of vegetation (forest, shrub, and grass) and soil water content for 43 sub-basins were analysed using the WEKA, machine learning tool with a selection of two supervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). The modelling results show that different types of vegetation response and soil water content vary in the dry and wet season. For example, the model generated high positive relationships (r=0.76, 0.73, and 0.81) between the measured and predicted NDVI values of all vegetation in the study area against the groundwater flow (GW), soil water content (SWC), and the combination of these two variables, respectively, during the dry season. However, these relationships were reduced by 36.8% (r=0.48) and 13.6% (r=0.63) against GW and SWC, respectively, in the wet season. On the other hand, the model predicted a moderate positive relationship (r=0.63) between shrub vegetation type and soil water content during the dry season, which was reduced by 31.7% (r=0.43) during the wet season. Our models also predicted that vegetation in the top location (upper part) of the sub-basin is highly responsive to GW and SWC (r=0.78, and 0.70) during the dry season. The results of this study indicate the study region is suitable for seasonal crop production in dry season. Moreover, the results predicted that the growth of vegetation in the top-point location is highly dependent on groundwater flow in both dry and wet seasons, and any instability or long-term drought can negatively affect these floodplain vegetation communities. This study has enriched our knowledge of vegetation responses to groundwater in each season, which will facilitate better floodplain vegetation management.

Keywords: ArcSWAT, machine learning, floodplain vegetation, MODIS NDVI, groundwater

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5738 Computational, Human, and Material Modalities: An Augmented Reality Workflow for Building form Found Textile Structures

Authors: James Forren

Abstract:

This research paper details a recent demonstrator project in which digital form found textile structures were built by human craftspersons wearing augmented reality (AR) head-worn displays (HWDs). The project utilized a wet-state natural fiber / cementitious matrix composite to generate minimal bending shapes in tension which, when cured and rotated, performed as minimal-bending compression members. The significance of the project is that it synthesizes computational structural simulations with visually guided handcraft production. Computational and physical form-finding methods with textiles are well characterized in the development of architectural form. One difficulty, however, is physically building computer simulations: often requiring complicated digital fabrication workflows. However, AR HWDs have been used to build a complex digital form from bricks, wood, plastic, and steel without digital fabrication devices. These projects utilize, instead, the tacit knowledge motor schema of the human craftsperson. Computational simulations offer unprecedented speed and performance in solving complex structural problems. Human craftspersons possess highly efficient complex spatial reasoning motor schemas. And textiles offer efficient form-generating possibilities for individual structural members and overall structural forms. This project proposes that the synthesis of these three modalities of structural problem-solving – computational, human, and material - may not only develop efficient structural form but offer further creative potentialities when the respective intelligence of each modality is productively leveraged. The project methodology pertains to its three modalities of production: 1) computational, 2) human, and 3) material. A proprietary three-dimensional graphic statics simulator generated a three-legged arch as a wireframe model. This wireframe was discretized into nine modules, three modules per leg. Each module was modeled as a woven matrix of one-inch diameter chords. And each woven matrix was transmitted to a holographic engine running on HWDs. Craftspersons wearing the HWDs then wove wet cementitious chords within a simple falsework frame to match the minimal bending form displayed in front of them. Once the woven components cured, they were demounted from the frame. The components were then assembled into a full structure using the holographically displayed computational model as a guide. The assembled structure was approximately eighteen feet in diameter and ten feet in height and matched the holographic model to under an inch of tolerance. The construction validated the computational simulation of the minimal bending form as it was dimensionally stable for a ten-day period, after which it was disassembled. The demonstrator illustrated the facility with which computationally derived, a structurally stable form could be achieved by the holographically guided, complex three-dimensional motor schema of the human craftsperson. However, the workflow traveled unidirectionally from computer to human to material: failing to fully leverage the intelligence of each modality. Subsequent research – a workshop testing human interaction with a physics engine simulation of string networks; and research on the use of HWDs to capture hand gestures in weaving seeks to develop further interactivity with rope and chord towards a bi-directional workflow within full-scale building environments.

Keywords: augmented reality, cementitious composites, computational form finding, textile structures

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5737 Prognostic Value of Serum Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP-9) in Critically Ill Septic Patients

Authors: Sherif Sabri, Nael Samir, Mohamed Ali, Ahmed ElSakhawy

Abstract:

Introduction: There is growing evidence to support the hypothesis that serum matrix metalloproteinase -9 in could be an early predictor of mortality in septic patients. Aim of the work: Study the relationship of matrix metalloproteinase 9 in patients with SIRS in comparison to septic patients in day 0 and day 2. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted on 40 adult critically ill patients staying more than 24 hours in ICU either surgical or medical department, El Fayoum General Hospital in the period from November 2014 to March 2015. Patients met at least two of the criteria for severe inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Diagnostic criteria include several clinical and laboratory findings of sepsis induced tissue hypoperfusion or organ dysfunction. Samples were grouped as drawn either at admission, or at day 2 after admission. Results: Patients were divided into two groups: The non-sepsis (SIRS) group, which included 15 (37.5%) patients with no later evidence of sepsis were enrolled as controls. The Sepsis group, which included 25 patients diagnosed to have SIRS with later evidence of sepsis with positive culture. Exploring serum level of MMP-9 in non-survivors and survivors, there was significant increase in non-survivors if compared to survivors at admission p-value 0.001 (mean value in survivors 4.4mg/dl±4.1mg/dl at admission versus mean value in non-survivors 11.9mg/dl±5.8mg/dl) and after two days of admission was also significant increase p-value 0.001 (mean value in survivors 10.9mg/dl ±9.4mg/dl versus mean value in non-survivors 22.6mg/dl±10.4). Conclusion: MMP-9 levels in septic patients have a beneficial role in ICU for high-risk stratification as it is an independent marker of mortality in severe sepsis.

Keywords: matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9), sepsis, septic shock, systemic inflamatory response syndrome

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5736 Email Phishing Detection Using Natural Language Processing and Convolutional Neural Network

Authors: M. Hilani, B. Nassih

Abstract:

Phishing is one of the oldest and best known scams on the Internet. It can be defined as any type of telecommunications fraud that uses social engineering tricks to obtain confidential data from its victims. It’s a cybercrime aimed at stealing your sensitive information. Phishing is generally done via private email, so scammers impersonate large companies or other trusted entities to encourage victims to voluntarily provide information such as login credentials or, worse yet, credit card numbers. The COVID-19 theme is used by cybercriminals in multiple malicious campaigns like phishing. In this environment, messaging filtering solutions have become essential to protect devices that will now be used outside of the secure perimeter. Despite constantly updating methods to avoid these cyberattacks, the end result is currently insufficient. Many researchers are looking for optimal solutions to filter phishing emails, but we still need good results. In this work, we concentrated on solving the problem of detecting phishing emails using the different steps of NLP preprocessing, and we proposed and trained a model using one-dimensional CNN. Our study results show that our model obtained an accuracy of 99.99%, which demonstrates how well our model is working.

Keywords: phishing, e-mail, NLP preprocessing, CNN, e-mail filtering

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5735 Air Pollution Control from Rice Shellers - a Case Study

Authors: S. M. Ahuja

Abstract:

A Rice Sheller is used for obtaining polished white rice from paddy. There are about 3000 Rice Shellers in Punjab and 50000 in India. During the process of shelling lot of dust is emitted from different unit operations like paddy silo, paddy shaker, bucket elevators, huskers, paddy separator etc. These dust emissions have adverse effect on the health of the workers and the wear and tear of the shelling machinery is also fast. All the dust emissions spewing out of these unit operations of a rice Sheller were contained by providing suitable hoods and enclosures while ensuring their workability. These were sucked by providing an induced draft fan followed by a high efficiency cyclone separator that has got an overall dust collection efficiency of more than 90 %. This cyclone separator replaced two cyclone separators and a filter bag house, which the Rice Sheller was already having. The dust concentration in the stack after the installation of cyclone separator is well within the stipulated standards. Besides controlling pollution there is improvement in the quality of products like bran and the life of shelling machinery has also enhanced. The payback period of this technology is less than four shelling months.

Keywords: air pollution, cyclone separator, pneumatic conveying, rice shellers

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5734 Seismic Retrofitting of RC Buildings with Soft Storey and Floating Columns

Authors: Vinay Agrawal, Suyash Garg, Ravindra Nagar, Vinay Chandwani

Abstract:

Open ground storey with floating columns is a typical feature in the modern multistory constructions in urban India. Such features are very much undesirable in buildings built in seismically active areas. The present study proposes a feasible solution to mitigate the effects caused due to non-uniformity of stiffness and discontinuity in load path and to simultaneously hold the functional use of the open storey particularly under the floating column, through a combination of various lateral strengthening systems. An investigation is performed on an example building with nine different analytical models to bring out the importance of recognising the presence of open ground storey and floating columns. Two separate analyses on various models of the building namely, the equivalent static analysis and the response spectrum analysis as per IS: 1893-2002 were performed. Various measures such as incorporation of Chevron bracings and shear walls, strengthening the columns in the open ground storey, and their different combinations were examined. The analysis shows that, in comparison to two short ones separated by interconnecting beams, the structural walls are most effective when placed at the periphery of the buildings and used as one long structural wall. Further, it can be shown that the force transfer from floating columns becomes less horizontal when the Chevron Bracings are placed just below them, thereby reducing the shear forces in the beams on which the floating column rests.

Keywords: equivalent static analysis, floating column, open ground storey, response spectrum analysis, shear wall, stiffness irregularity

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5733 Reinventing Education Systems: Towards an Approach Based on Universal Values and Digital Technologies

Authors: Ilyes Athimni, Mouna Bouzazi, Mongi Boulehmi, Ahmed Ferchichi

Abstract:

The principles of good governance, universal values, and digitization are among the tools to fight corruption and improve the quality of service delivery. In recent years, these tools have become one of the most controversial topics in the field of education and a concern of many international organizations and institutions against the problem of corruption. Corruption in the education sector, particularly in higher education, has negative impacts on the quality of education systems and on the quality of administrative or educational services. Currently, the health crisis due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the difficulties encountered by education systems in most countries of the world. Due to the poor governance of these systems, many educational institutions were unable to continue working remotely. To respond to these problems encountered by most education systems in many countries of the world, our initiative is to propose a methodology to reinvent education systems based on global values and digital technologies. This methodology includes a work strategy for educational institutions, whether in the provision of administrative services or in the teaching method, based on information and communication technologies (ICTs), intelligence artificial, and intelligent agents. In addition, we will propose a supervisory law that will be implemented and monitored by intelligent agents to improve accountability, transparency, and accountability in educational institutions. On the other hand, we will implement and evaluate a field experience by applying the proposed methodology in the operation of an educational institution and comparing it to the traditional methodology through the results of teaching an educational program. With these specifications, we can reinvent quality education systems. We also expect the results of our proposal to play an important role at local, regional, and international levels in motivating governments of countries around the world to change their university governance policies.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, corruption in education, distance learning, education systems, ICTs, intelligent agents, good governance

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5732 Racial Distress in the Digital Age: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Effects of Social Media Exposure to Police Brutality on Black Students

Authors: Amanda M. McLeroy, Tiera Tanksley

Abstract:

The 2020 movement for Black Lives, ignited by anti-Black police brutality and exemplified by the public execution of George Floyd, underscored the dual potential of social media for political activism and perilous exposure to traumatic content for Black students. This study employs Critical Race Technology Theory (CRTT) to scrutinize algorithmic anti-blackness and its impact on Black youth's lives and educational experiences. The research investigates the consequences of vicarious exposure to police brutality on social media among Black adolescents through qualitative interviews and quantitative scale data. The findings reveal an unprecedented surge in exposure to viral police killings since 2020, resulting in profound physical, socioemotional, and educational effects on Black youth. CRTT forms the theoretical basis, challenging the notion of digital technologies as post-racial and neutral, aiming to dismantle systemic biases within digital systems. Black youth, averaging over 13 hours of daily social media use, face constant exposure to graphic images of Black individuals dying. The study connects this exposure to a range of physical, socioemotional, and mental health consequences, emphasizing the urgent need for understanding and support. The research proposes questions to explore the extent of police brutality exposure and its effects on Black youth. Qualitative interviews with high school and college students and quantitative scale data from undergraduates contribute to a nuanced understanding of the impact of police brutality exposure on Black youth. Themes of unprecedented exposure to viral police killings, physical and socioemotional effects, and educational consequences emerge from the analysis. The study uncovers how vicarious experiences of negative police encounters via social media lead to mistrust, fear, and psychosomatic symptoms among Black adolescents. Implications for educators and counselors are profound, emphasizing the cultivation of empathy, provision of mental health support, integration of media literacy education, and encouragement of activism. Recognizing family and community influences is crucial for comprehensive support. Professional development opportunities in culturally responsive teaching and trauma-informed approaches are recommended for educators. In conclusion, creating a supportive educational environment that addresses the emotional impact of social media exposure to police brutality is crucial for the well-being and development of Black adolescents. Counselors, through safe spaces and collaboration, play a vital role in supporting Black youth facing the distressing effects of social media exposure to police brutality.

Keywords: black youth, mental health, police brutality, social media

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5731 Study of Land Use Changes around an Archaeological Site Using Satellite Imagery Analysis: A Case Study of Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, India

Authors: Pranita Shivankar, Arun Suryawanshi, Prabodhachandra Deshmukh, S. V. C. Kameswara Rao

Abstract:

Many undesirable significant changes in landscapes and the regions in the vicinity of historically important structures occur as impacts due to anthropogenic activities over a period of time. A better understanding of such influences using recently developed satellite remote sensing techniques helps in planning the strategies for minimizing the negative impacts on the existing environment. In 1982, a fossilized hominid skull cap was discovered at a site located along the northern bank of the east-west flowing river Narmada in the village Hathnora. Close to the same site, the presence of Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic tools have been discovered in the immediately overlying pebbly gravel, suggesting that the ‘Narmada skull’ may be from the Middle Pleistocene age. The reviews of recently carried out research studies relevant to hominid remains all over the world from Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic sites suggest succession and contemporaneity of cultures there, enhancing the importance of Hathnora as a rare precious site. In this context, the maximum likelihood classification using digital interpretation techniques was carried out for this study area using the satellite imagery from Landsat ETM+ for the year 2006 and Landsat TM (OLI and TIRS) for the year 2016. The overall accuracy of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification of 2016 imagery was around 77.27% based on ground truth data. The significant reduction in the main river course and agricultural activities and increase in the built-up area observed in remote sensing data analysis are undoubtedly the outcome of human encroachments in the vicinity of the eminent heritage site.

Keywords: cultural succession, digital interpretation, Hathnora, Homo Sapiens, Late Acheulian, Middle Palaeolithic

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5730 An Efficient Hybrid Feedstock Pretreatment Technique for the Release of Fermentable Sugar from Cassava Peels for Biofuel Production

Authors: Gabriel Sanjo Aruwajoye, E. B. Gueguim Kana

Abstract:

Agricultural residues present a low-cost feedstock for bioenergy production around the world. Cassava peels waste are rich in organic molecules that can be readily converted to value added products such as biomaterials and biofuels. However, due to the presence of high proportion of structural carbohydrates and lignin, the hydrolysis of this feedstock is imperative to achieve maximum substrate utilization and energy yield. This study model and optimises the release of Fermentable Sugar (FS) from cassava peels waste using the Response Surface Methodology. The investigated pretreatment input parameters consisted of soaking temperature (oC), soaking time (hours), autoclave duration (minutes), acid concentration (% v/v), substrate solid loading (% w/v) within the range of 30 to 70, 0 to 24, 5 to 20, 0 to 5 and 2 to 10 respectively. The Box-Behnken design was used to generate 46 experimental runs which were investigated for FS release. The obtained data were used to fit a quadratic model. A coefficient of determination of 0.87 and F value of 8.73 was obtained indicating the good fitness of the model. The predicted optimum pretreatment conditions were 69.62 oC soaking temperature, 2.57 hours soaking duration, 5 minutes autoclave duration, 3.68 % v/v HCl and 9.65 % w/v solid loading corresponding to FS yield of 91.83g/l (0.92 g/g cassava peels) thus 58% improvement on the non-optimised pretreatment. Our findings demonstrate an efficient pretreatment model for fermentable sugar release from cassava peels waste for various bioprocesses.

Keywords: feedstock pretreatment, cassava peels, fermentable sugar, response surface methodology

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5729 Networked Media, Citizen Journalism and Political Participation in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia: Insight from a European Research Project

Authors: Andrea Miconi

Abstract:

The research will focus on the results of the Tempus European Project eMEDia dedicated to Cross-Media Journalism. The project is founded by the European Commission as it involves four European partners - IULM University, Tampere University, University of Barcelona, and the Mediterranean network Unimed - and three Tunisian Universities – IPSI La Manouba, Sfax and Sousse – along with the Tunisian Ministry for Higher Education and the National Syndicate of Journalists. The focus on Tunisian condition is basically due to the role played by digital activists in its recent history. The research is dedicated to the relationship between political participation, news-making practices and the spread of social media, as it is affecting Tunisian society. As we know, Tunisia during the Arab Spring had been widely considered as a laboratory for the analysis the use of new technologies for political participation. Nonetheless, the literature about the Arab Spring actually fell short in explaining the genesis of the phenomenon, on the one hand by isolating technologies as a casual factor in the spread of demonstrations, and on the other by analyzing North-African condition through a biased perspective. Nowadays, it is interesting to focus on the consolidation of the information environment three years after the uprisings. And what is relevant, only a close, in-depth analysis of Tunisian society is able to provide an explanation of its history, and namely of the part of digital media in the overall evolution of political system. That is why the research is based on different methodologies: desk stage, interviews, and in-depth analysis of communication practices. Networked journalism is the condition determined by the technological innovation on news-making activities: a condition upon which professional journalist can no longer be considered the only player in the information arena, and a new skill must be developed. Along with democratization, nonetheless, the so-called citizen journalism is also likely to produce some ambiguous effects, such as the lack of professional standards and the spread of information cascades, which may prove to be particularly dangerous in an evolving media market as the Tunisian one. This is why, according to the project, a new profile must be defined, which is able to manage this new condition, and which can be hardly reduced to the parameters of traditional journalistic work. Rather than simply using new devices for news visualization, communication professionals must also be able to dialogue with all new players and to accept the decentralized nature of digital environments. This networked nature of news-making seemed to emerge during the Tunisian revolution, when bloggers, journalists, and activists used to retweet each other. Nonetheless, this intensification of communication exchange was inspired by the political climax of the uprising, while all media, by definition, are also supposed to bring some effects on people’s state of mind, culture and daily life routines. That is why it is worth analyzing the consolidation of these practices in a normal, post-revolutionary situation.

Keywords: cross-media, education, Mediterranean, networked journalism, social media, Tunisia

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5728 Assessment of Sex Differences in Serum Urea and Creatinine Level in Response to Spinal Cord Injury Using Albino Rat Models

Authors: Waziri B. I., Elkhashab M. M.

Abstract:

Background: One of the most serious consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI) is progressive deterioration of renal function mostly as a result of urine stasis and ascending infection of the paralyzed bladder. This necessitates for investigation of early changes in serum urea and creatinine and associated sex related differences in response to SCI. Methods: A total of 24 adult albino rats weighing above 150g were divided equally into two groups, a control and experimental group (n = 12) each containing an equal number of male and female rats. The experimental group animals were paralyzed by complete transection of spinal cord below T4 level after deep anesthesia with ketamine 75mg/kg. Blood samples were collected from both groups five days post SCI for analysis. Mean values of serum urea (mmol/L) and creatinine (µmol/L) for both groups were compared. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The results showed significantly higher levels (P < 0.05) of serum urea and creatinine in the male SCI models with mean values of 92.12 ± 0.98 and 2573 ± 70.97 respectively compared with their controls where the mean values for serum urea and creatinine were 6.31 ± 1.48 and 476. 95 ± 4.67 respectively. In the female SCI models, serum urea 13.11 ± 0.81 and creatinine 519.88 ± 31.13 were not significantly different from that of female controls with serum urea and creatinine levels of 11.71 ± 1.43 and 493.69 ± 17.10 respectively (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Spinal cord injury caused a significant increase in serum Urea and Creatinine levels in the male models compared to the females. This indicated that males might have higher risk of renal dysfunction following SCI.

Keywords: albino rats, creatinine, spinal cord injury (SCI), urea

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5727 Aristotle's Notion of Akratic Action through the Prism of Moral Psychology

Authors: Manik Konch

Abstract:

Actions are generally evaluated from moral point of view. Either the action is praised or condemned, but in all cases it involves the agent who performs it. The agent is held morally responsible for bringing out an action. This paper is an attempt to explore the Aristotle’s notion of action and its relation with moral development in response to modern philosophical moral psychology. Particularly, the distinction between voluntary, involuntary, and non-voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics with some basic problems from the perspective of moral psychology: the role of choice, moral responsibility, desire, and akrasia for an action. How to do a morally right action? Is there any role of virtue, character to do a moral action? These problems are analyzed and interpreted in order to show that the Aristotelian theory of action significantly contributes to the philosophical study of moral psychology. In this connection, the paper juxtaposes Aristotle’s theory of action with response from David Charles, John R. Searle’s, and Alfred Mele theorization of action in the mechanism of human moral behaviours. To achieve this addressed problem, we consider, how the recent moral philosophical moral psychology research can shed light on Aristotle's ethics by focusing on theory of action. In this connection, we argue that the desire is the only responsible for the akratic action. According to Aristotle, desire is primary source of action and it is the starting point of action and also the endpoint of an action. Therefore we are trying to see how desire can make a person incontinent and motivate to do such irrational actions. Is there any causes which we can say such actions are right or wrong? To measure an action we have need to see the consequences such act. Thus, we discuss the relationship between akrasia and action from the perspective of contemporary moral psychologists and philosophers whose are currently working on it.

Keywords: action, desire, moral psychology, Aristotle

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5726 Unveiling the Potential of PANI@MnO2@rGO Ternary Nanocomposite in Energy Storage and Gas Sensing

Authors: Ahmad Umar, Sheikh Akbar, Ahmed A. Ibrahim, Mohsen A. Alhamami

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The development of advanced materials for energy storage and gas sensing applications has gained significant attention in recent years. In this study, we synthesized and characterized PANI@MnO2@rGO ternary nanocomposites (NCs) to explore their potential in supercapacitors and gas sensing devices. The ternary NCs were synthesized through a multi-step process involving the hydrothermal synthesis of MnO2 nanoparticles, preparation of PANI@rGO composites and the assembly to the ternary PANI@MnO2@rGO ternary NCs. The structural, morphological, and compositional characteristics of the materials were thoroughly analyzed using techniques such as XRD, FESEM, TEM, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. In the realm of gas sensing, the ternary NCs exhibited excellent performance as NH3 gas sensors. The optimized operating temperature of 100 °C yielded a peak response of 15.56 towards 50 ppm NH3. The nanocomposites demonstrated fast response and recovery times of 6 s and 10 s, respectively, and displayed remarkable selectivity for NH3 gas over other tested gases. For supercapacitor applications, the electrochemical performance of the ternary NCs was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques. The composites exhibited pseudocapacitive behavior, with the capacitance reaching up to 185 F/g at 1 A/g and excellent capacitance retention of approximately 88.54% over 4000 charge-discharge cycles. The unique combination of rGO, PANI, and MnO2 nanoparticles in these ternary NCs offer synergistic advantages, showcasing their potential to address challenges in energy storage and gas sensing technologies.

Keywords: paniI@mnO2@rGO ternary NCs, synergistic effects, supercapacitors, gas sensing, energy storage

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5725 Vision and Challenges of Developing VR-Based Digital Anatomy Learning Platforms and a Solution Set for 3D Model Marking

Authors: Gizem Kayar, Ramazan Bakir, M. Ilkay Koşar, Ceren U. Gencer, Alperen Ayyildiz

Abstract:

Anatomy classes are crucial for general education of medical students, whereas learning anatomy is quite challenging and requires memorization of thousands of structures. In traditional teaching methods, learning materials are still based on books, anatomy mannequins, or videos. This results in forgetting many important structures after several years. However, more interactive teaching methods like virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification, and motion sensors are becoming more popular since such methods ease the way we learn and keep the data in mind for longer terms. During our study, we designed a virtual reality based digital head anatomy platform to investigate whether a fully interactive anatomy platform is effective to learn anatomy and to understand the level of teaching and learning optimization. The Head is one of the most complicated human anatomy structures, with thousands of tiny, unique structures. This makes the head anatomy one of the most difficult parts to understand during class sessions. Therefore, we developed a fully interactive digital tool with 3D model marking, quiz structures, 2D/3D puzzle structures, and VR support so as to integrate the power of VR and gamification. The project has been developed in Unity game engine with HTC Vive Cosmos VR headset. The head anatomy 3D model has been selected with full skeletal, muscular, integumentary, head, teeth, lymph, and vein system. The biggest issue during the development was the complexity of our model and the marking of it in the 3D world system. 3D model marking requires to access to each unique structure in the counted subsystems which means hundreds of marking needs to be done. Some parts of our 3D head model were monolithic. This is why we worked on dividing such parts to subparts which is very time-consuming. In order to subdivide monolithic parts, one must use an external modeling tool. However, such tools generally come with high learning curves, and seamless division is not ensured. Second option was to integrate tiny colliders to all unique items for mouse interaction. However, outside colliders which cover inner trigger colliders cause overlapping, and these colliders repel each other. Third option is using raycasting. However, due to its own view-based nature, raycasting has some inherent problems. As the model rotate, view direction changes very frequently, and directional computations become even harder. This is why, finally, we studied on the local coordinate system. By taking the pivot point of the model into consideration (back of the nose), each sub-structure is marked with its own local coordinate with respect to the pivot. After converting the mouse position to the world position and checking its relation with the corresponding structure’s local coordinate, we were able to mark all points correctly. The advantage of this method is its applicability and accuracy for all types of monolithic anatomical structures.

Keywords: anatomy, e-learning, virtual reality, 3D model marking

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5724 Ethical Issues around Online Marketing to Children

Authors: Chris Preston

Abstract:

As we devise ever more sophisticated methods of on-line marketing, devising systems that are able to reach into the everyday lives of consumers, we are confronted by a generation of children who face unprecedented intervention by commercial organisations into young minds, via electronic devices, and whether by computer, tablet or phone, such children have been somehow reduced to the status of their devices, with little regard for their well being as individuals. This discussion paper seeks to draw attention to such practice and questions the ethics of digital marketing methods.

Keywords: online marketing to children, online research of children, online targeting of children, consumer rights, ethics

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5723 On the Possibility of Real Time Characterisation of Ambient Toxicity Using Multi-Wavelength Photoacoustic Instrument

Authors: Tibor Ajtai, Máté Pintér, Noémi Utry, Gergely Kiss-Albert, Andrea Palágyi, László Manczinger, Csaba Vágvölgyi, Gábor Szabó, Zoltán Bozóki

Abstract:

According to the best knowledge of the authors, here we experimentally demonstrate first, a quantified correlation between the real-time measured optical feature of the ambient and the off-line measured toxicity data. Finally, using these correlations we are presenting a novel methodology for real time characterisation of ambient toxicity based on the multi wavelength aerosol phase photoacoustic measurement. Ambient carbonaceous particulate matter is one of the most intensively studied atmospheric constituent in climate science nowadays. Beyond their climatic impact, atmospheric soot also plays an important role as an air pollutant that harms human health. Moreover, according to the latest scientific assessments ambient soot is the second most important anthropogenic emission source, while in health aspect its being one of the most harmful atmospheric constituents as well. Despite of its importance, generally accepted standard methodology for the quantitative determination of ambient toxicology is not available yet. Dominantly, ambient toxicology measurement is based on the posterior analysis of filter accumulated aerosol with limited time resolution. Most of the toxicological studies are based on operational definitions using different measurement protocols therefore the comprehensive analysis of the existing data set is really limited in many cases. The situation is further complicated by the fact that even during its relatively short residence time the physicochemical features of the aerosol can be masked significantly by the actual ambient factors. Therefore, decreasing the time resolution of the existing methodology and developing real-time methodology for air quality monitoring are really actual issues in the air pollution research. During the last decades many experimental studies have verified that there is a relation between the chemical composition and the absorption feature quantified by Absorption Angström Exponent (AAE) of the carbonaceous particulate matter. Although the scientific community are in the common platform that the PhotoAcoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) is the only methodology that can measure the light absorption by aerosol with accurate and reliable way so far, the multi-wavelength PAS which are able to selectively characterise the wavelength dependency of absorption has become only available in the last decade. In this study, the first results of the intensive measurement campaign focusing the physicochemical and toxicological characterisation of ambient particulate matter are presented. Here we demonstrate the complete microphysical characterisation of winter time urban ambient including optical absorption and scattering as well as size distribution using our recently developed state of the art multi-wavelength photoacoustic instrument (4λ-PAS), integrating nephelometer (Aurora 3000) as well as single mobility particle sizer and optical particle counter (SMPS+C). Beyond this on-line characterisation of the ambient, we also demonstrate the results of the eco-, cyto- and genotoxicity measurements of ambient aerosol based on the posterior analysis of filter accumulated aerosol with 6h time resolution. We demonstrate a diurnal variation of toxicities and AAE data deduced directly from the multi-wavelength absorption measurement results.

Keywords: photoacoustic spectroscopy, absorption Angström exponent, toxicity, Ames-test

Procedia PDF Downloads 286
5722 Analysis of Long-Term Response of Seawater to Change in CO₂, Heavy Metals and Nutrients Concentrations

Authors: Igor Povar, Catherine Goyet

Abstract:

The seawater is subject to multiple external stressors (ES) including rising atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification, global warming, atmospheric deposition of pollutants and eutrophication, which deeply alter its chemistry, often on a global scale and, in some cases, at the degree significantly exceeding that in the historical and recent geological verification. In ocean systems the micro- and macronutrients, heavy metals, phosphor- and nitrogen-containing components exist in different forms depending on the concentrations of various other species, organic matter, the types of minerals, the pH etc. The major limitation to assessing more strictly the ES to oceans, such as pollutants (atmospheric greenhouse gas, heavy metals, nutrients as nitrates and phosphates) is the lack of theoretical approach which could predict the ocean resistance to multiple external stressors. In order to assess the abovementioned ES, the research has applied and developed the buffer theory approach and theoretical expressions of the formal chemical thermodynamics to ocean systems, as heterogeneous aqueous systems. The thermodynamic expressions of complex chemical equilibria, involving acid-base, complex formation and mineral ones have been deduced. This thermodynamic approach utilizes thermodynamic relationships coupled with original mass balance constraints, where the solid phases are explicitly expressed. The ocean sensitivity to different external stressors and changes in driving factors are considered in terms of derived buffering capacities or buffer factors for heterogeneous systems. Our investigations have proved that the heterogeneous aqueous systems, as ocean and seas are, manifest their buffer properties towards all their components, not only to pH, as it has been known so far, for example in respect to carbon dioxide, carbonates, phosphates, Ca2+, Mg2+, heavy metal ions etc. The derived expressions make possible to attribute changes in chemical ocean composition to different pollutants. These expressions are also useful for improving the current atmosphere-ocean-marine biogeochemistry models. The major research questions, to which the research responds, are: (i.) What kind of contamination is the most harmful for Future Ocean? (ii.) What are chemical heterogeneous processes of the heavy metal release from sediments and minerals and its impact to the ocean buffer action? (iii.) What will be the long-term response of the coastal ocean to the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic pollutants? (iv.) How will change the ocean resistance in terms of future chemical complex processes and buffer capacities and its response to external (anthropogenic) perturbations? The ocean buffer capacities towards its main components are recommended as parameters that should be included in determining the most important ocean factors which define the response of ocean environment at the technogenic loads increasing. The deduced thermodynamic expressions are valid for any combination of chemical composition, or any of the species contributing to the total concentration, as independent state variable.

Keywords: atmospheric greenhouse gas, chemical thermodynamics, external stressors, pollutants, seawater

Procedia PDF Downloads 125
5721 Gathering Space after Disaster: Understanding the Communicative and Collective Dimensions of Resilience through Field Research across Time in Hurricane Impacted Regions of the United States

Authors: Jack L. Harris, Marya L. Doerfel, Hyunsook Youn, Minkyung Kim, Kautuki Sunil Jariwala

Abstract:

Organizational resilience refers to the ability to sustain business or general work functioning despite wide-scale interruptions. We focus on organization and businesses as a pillar of their communities and how they attempt to sustain work when a natural disaster impacts their surrounding regions and economies. While it may be more common to think of resilience as a trait possessed by an organization, an emerging area of research recognizes that for organizations and businesses, resilience is a set of processes that are constituted through communication, social networks, and organizing. Indeed, five processes, robustness, rapidity, resourcefulness, redundancy, and external availability through social media have been identified as critical to organizational resilience. These organizing mechanisms involve multi-level coordination, where individuals intersect with groups, organizations, and communities. Because the nature of such interactions are often networks of people and organizations coordinating material resources, information, and support, they necessarily require some way to coordinate despite being displaced. Little is known, however, if physical and digital spaces can substitute one for the other. We thus are guided by the question, is digital space sufficient when disaster creates a scarcity of physical space? This study presents a cross-case comparison based on field research from four different regions of the United States that were impacted by Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Sandy (2012), Maria (2017), and Harvey (2017). These four cases are used to extend the science of resilience by examining multi-level processes enacted by individuals, communities, and organizations that together, contribute to the resilience of disaster-struck organizations, businesses, and their communities. Using field research about organizations and businesses impacted by the four hurricanes, we code data from interviews, participant observations, field notes, and document analysis drawn from New Orleans (post-Katrina), coastal New Jersey (post-Sandy), Houston Texas (post-Harvey), and the lower keys of Florida (post-Maria). This paper identifies an additional organizing mechanism, networked gathering spaces, where citizens and organizations, alike, coordinate and facilitate information sharing, material resource distribution, and social support. Findings show that digital space, alone, is not a sufficient substitute to effectively sustain organizational resilience during a disaster. Because the data are qualitative, we expand on this finding with specific ways in which organizations and the people who lead them worked around the problem of scarce space. We propose that gatherings after disaster are a sixth mechanism that contributes to organizational resilience.

Keywords: communication, coordination, disaster management, information and communication technologies, interorganizational relationships, resilience, work

Procedia PDF Downloads 156
5720 Tribological Response of Self-Mated Zircaloy-4 under Varying Conditions

Authors: Bharat Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Vijay Chaudhry

Abstract:

Zirconium alloys are widely used for the core components of a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) or Canada deuterium (CANDU) reactor due to their low neutron absorption cross-section and excellent mechanical properties. The components made of Zirconium alloys are subjected to flow-induced vibrations, resulting in fretting wear at the interface of; pressure tubes and bearing pads, pressure tubes and calandria tubes, and calandria tubes and Liquid injection shutdown system (LISS) nozzles. There is a need to explore the tribological response under such conditions. Present work simulates the contact between calandria tube and LISS nozzle of PHWR/CANDU reactor as cylinder-on-cylinder contact configuration. Reciprocating tribo-tests were conducted on Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) under the self-mated condition at varying amplitude, frequency, and sliding time. To understand the active wear mechanism, worn surfaces were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The change in amplitude severely affects the wear than other factors. The wear mechanism transits from adhesion to abrasion with increasing test amplitude. The dominant wear mechanisms are micro-cutting and micro-plowing followed by delamination in some areas. However, the coefficient of friction has indifferent behaviors.

Keywords: zircaloy-4, tribology, calandria tube, LISS nozzle, PHWR

Procedia PDF Downloads 187
5719 Quantum Inspired Security on a Mobile Phone

Authors: Yu Qin, Wanjiaman Li

Abstract:

The widespread use of mobile electronic devices increases the complexities of mobile security. This thesis aims to provide a secure communication environment for smartphone users. Some research proves that the one-time pad is one of the securest encryption methods, and that the key distribution problem can be solved by using the QKD (quantum key distribution). The objective of this project is to design an Android APP (application) to exchange several random keys between mobile phones. Inspired by QKD, the developed APP uses the quick response (QR) code as a carrier to dispatch large amounts of one-time keys. After evaluating the performance of APP, it allows the mobile phone to capture and decode 1800 bytes of random data in 600ms. The continuous scanning mode of APP is designed to improve the overall transmission performance and user experience, and the maximum transmission rate of this mode is around 2200 bytes/s. The omnidirectional readability and error correction capability of QR code gives it a better real-life application, and the features of adequate storage capacity and quick response optimize overall transmission efficiency. The security of this APP is guaranteed since QR code is exchanged face-to-face, eliminating the risk of being eavesdropped. Also, the id of QR code is the only message that would be transmitted through the whole communication. The experimental results show this project can achieve superior transmission performance, and the correlation between the transmission rate of the system and several parameters, such as the QR code size, has been analyzed. In addition, some existing technologies and the main findings in the context of the project are summarized and critically compared in detail.

Keywords: one-time pad, QKD (quantum key distribution), QR code, application

Procedia PDF Downloads 134
5718 Blending Synchronous with Asynchronous Learning Tools: Students’ Experiences and Preferences for Online Learning Environment in a Resource-Constrained Higher Education Situations in Uganda

Authors: Stephen Kyakulumbye, Vivian Kobusingye

Abstract:

Generally, World over, COVID-19 has had adverse effects on all sectors but with more debilitating effects on the education sector. After reactive lockdowns, education institutions that could continue teaching and learning had to go a distance mediated by digital technological tools. In Uganda, the Ministry of Education thereby issued COVID-19 Online Distance E-learning (ODeL) emergent guidelines. Despite such guidelines, academic institutions in Uganda and similar developing contexts with academically constrained resource environments were caught off-guard and ill-prepared to transform from face-to-face learning to online distance learning mode. Most academic institutions that migrated spontaneously did so with no deliberate tools, systems, strategies, or software to cause active, meaningful, and engaging learning for students. By experience, most of these academic institutions shifted to Zoom and WhatsApp and instead conducted online teaching in real-time than blended synchronous and asynchronous tools. This paper provides students’ experiences while blending synchronous and asynchronous content-creating and learning tools within a technological resource-constrained environment to navigate in such a challenging Uganda context. These conceptual case-based findings, using experience from Uganda Christian University (UCU), point at the design of learning activities with two certain characteristics, the enhancement of synchronous learning technologies with asynchronous ones to mitigate the challenge of system breakdown, passive learning to active learning, and enhances the types of presence (social, cognitive and facilitatory). The paper, both empirical and experiential in nature, uses online experiences from third-year students in Bachelor of Business Administration student lectured using asynchronous text, audio, and video created with Open Broadcaster Studio software and compressed with Handbrake, all open-source software to mitigate disk space and bandwidth usage challenges. The synchronous online engagements with students were a blend of zoom or BigBlueButton, to ensure that students had an alternative just in case one failed due to excessive real-time traffic. Generally, students report that compared to their previous face-to-face lectures, the pre-recorded lectures via Youtube provided them an opportunity to reflect on content in a self-paced manner, which later on enabled them to engage actively during the live zoom and/or BigBlueButton real-time discussions and presentations. The major recommendation is that lecturers and teachers in a resource-constrained environment with limited digital resources like the internet and digital devices should harness this approach to offer students access to learning content in a self-paced manner and thereby enabling reflective active learning through reflective and high-order thinking.

Keywords: synchronous learning, asynchronous learning, active learning, reflective learning, resource-constrained environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 112
5717 Mobile Technology as a Catalyst for Creative Teaching: A Developmental Based Research Study in a Large Public School in Mozambique

Authors: L. O'Sullivan, C. Murphy

Abstract:

This study examined the impact, if any, of mobile technology on the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education for All. It focused specifically on teachers and their practice, in a school with large class sizes and limited teaching resources. Teachers in third grade in a large public school in Mozambique were provided with an iPad connected to a projector, powered by a mobile solar-panel. Teachers also participated in ten days of professional development workshops over thirteen months. Teacher discussions, micro-teaching sessions and classes in the school were video-recorded, and data was triangulated using surveys and additional documents including class plans, digital artifacts created by teachers, workshop notes and researcher field notes. The catalyst for teachers’ creativity development was to use the photographic capabilities of the iPad to capture the local context and make lessons relevant to the lived experience of the students. In the transition stage, teachers worked with lesson plans and support from the professional development workshops to make small incremental changes to their practice, which scaffolded their growing competence in the creative use of the technology as a tool for teaching and developing new teaching resources. Over the full period of the study, these small changes in practice resulted in a cultural shift in how teachers approached all lessons, even those in which they were not using the technology. They developed into working as a community of practice. The digital lessons created were re-used and further developed by other teachers, providing a relevant and valuable bank of content in a context lacking in books and other teaching resources. This study demonstrated that mobile technology proved to be a successful catalyst for impacting creative teaching practice in this context, and supports the Quality Education for All Sustainable Development Goal.

Keywords: mobile technology, creative teaching, sub-Saharan Africa, quality education for all

Procedia PDF Downloads 106
5716 Finite Element Simulation of RC Exterior Beam-Column Joints Using Damage Plasticity Model

Authors: A. M. Halahla, M. H. Baluch, M. K. Rahman, A. H. Al-Gadhib, M. N. Akhtar

Abstract:

In the present study, 3D simulation of a typical exterior (RC) beam–column joint (BCJ) strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) sheet are carried out. Numerical investigations are performed using a nonlinear finite element ( FE) analysis by incorporating damage plasticity model (CDP), for material behaviour the concrete response in compression, tension softening were used, linear plastic with isotropic hardening for reinforcing steel, and linear elastic lamina material model for CFRP sheets using the commercial FE software ABAQUS. The numerical models developed in the present study are validated with the results obtained from the experiment under monotonic loading using the hydraulic Jack in displacement control mode. The experimental program includes casting of deficient BCJ loaded to failure load for both un-strengthened and strengthened BCJ. The failure mode, and deformation response of CFRP strengthened and un-strengthened joints and propagation of damage in the components of BCJ are discussed. Finite element simulations are compared with the experimental result and are noted to yield reasonable comparisons. The damage plasticity model was able to capture with good accuracy of the ultimate load and the mode of failure in the beam column joint.

Keywords: reinforced concrete, exterior beam-column joints, concrete damage plasticity model, computational simulation, 3-D finite element model

Procedia PDF Downloads 362
5715 A CORDIC Based Design Technique for Efficient Computation of DCT

Authors: Deboraj Muchahary, Amlan Deep Borah Abir J. Mondal, Alak Majumder

Abstract:

A discrete cosine transform (DCT) is described and a technique to compute it using fast Fourier transform (FFT) is developed. In this work, DCT of a finite length sequence is obtained by incorporating CORDIC methodology in radix-2 FFT algorithm. The proposed methodology is simple to comprehend and maintains a regular structure, thereby reducing computational complexity. DCTs are used extensively in the area of digital processing for the purpose of pattern recognition. So the efficient computation of DCT maintaining a transparent design flow is highly solicited.

Keywords: DCT, DFT, CORDIC, FFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 458
5714 “Post-Industrial” Journalism as a Creative Industry

Authors: Lynette Sheridan Burns, Benjamin J. Matthews

Abstract:

The context of post-industrial journalism is one in which the material circumstances of mechanical publication have been displaced by digital technologies, increasing the distance between the orthodoxy of the newsroom and the culture of journalistic writing. Content is, with growing frequency, created for delivery via the internet, publication on web-based ‘platforms’ and consumption on screen media. In this environment, the question is not ‘who is a journalist?’ but ‘what is journalism?’ today. The changes bring into sharp relief new distinctions between journalistic work and journalistic labor, providing a key insight into the current transition between the industrial journalism of the 20th century, and the post-industrial journalism of the present. In the 20th century, the work of journalists and journalistic labor went hand-in-hand as most journalists were employees of news organizations, whilst in the 21st century evidence of a decoupling of ‘acts of journalism’ (work) and journalistic employment (labor) is beginning to appear. This 'decoupling' of the work and labor that underpins journalism practice is far reaching in its implications, not least for institutional structures. Under these conditions we are witnessing the emergence of expanded ‘entrepreneurial’ journalism, based on smaller, more independent and agile - if less stable - enterprise constructs that are a feature of creative industries. Entrepreneurial journalism is realized in a range of organizational forms from social enterprise, through to profit driven start-ups and hybrids of the two. In all instances, however, the primary motif of the organization is an ideological definition of journalism. An example is the Scoop Foundation for Public Interest Journalism in New Zealand, which owns and operates Scoop Publishing Limited, a not for profit company and social enterprise that publishes an independent news site that claims to have over 500,000 monthly users. Our paper demonstrates that this journalistic work meets the ideological definition of journalism; conducted within the creative industries using an innovative organizational structure that offers a new, viable post-industrial future for journalism.

Keywords: creative industries, digital communication, journalism, post industrial

Procedia PDF Downloads 266
5713 Beak Size and Asynchronous Hatch in Broiler Chicks

Authors: Mariana Thimotheo, Gabriel Carvalho Ripamonte, Marina De Almeida Nogueira, Silvia Camila Da Costa Aguiar, Marcelo Henrique Santana Ulian, Euclides Braga Malheiros, Isabel Cristina Boleli

Abstract:

Beak plays a fundamental role in the hatching process of the chicks, since it is used for internal and external pipping. The present study examined whether the size of the beak influences the birth period of the broiler chicks in the hatching window. It was analyzed the beak size (length, height and width) of one-hundred twenty nine newly hatched chicks from light eggs (56.22-61.05g) and one-hundred twenty six chicks from heavy eggs (64.95-70.90g), produced by 38 and 45 weeks old broiler breeders (Cobb 500®), respectively. Egg incubation occurred at 37.5°C and 60% RH, with egg turning every hour. Length, height and width of the beaks were measured using a digital caliper (Zaas precision - digital caliper 6", 0.01mm) and the data expressed in millimeters. The beak length corresponded to distance between the tip of the beak and the rictus. The height of the beak was measured in the region of the culmen and its width in the region of the nostrils. Data were analyzed following a 3x2 factorial experimental design, being three birth periods within the hatching window (early: 471.78 to 485.42h, intermediate: 485.43 to 512.27h, and late: 512.28 to 528.72h) and two egg weights (light and heavy). There was a significant interaction between birth period and egg weight for beak height (P < 0.05), which was higher in the intermediate chicks from heavy eggs than in the other chicks from the same egg weight and chicks from light eggs (P < 0.05), that did not differ (P > 0.05). The beak length was influenced only for a birth period, and decreased through the hatch window (early < intermediate < late) (P < 0.05). The width of the beaks was influenced by both main factors, birth period and egg weight (P < 0.05). Early and intermediate chicks had similar beak width, but greater than late chicks, and chicks from heavy eggs presented greater beak width than chicks from light eggs (P < 0.05). In sum, the results show that chicks with longer beak hatch first and that beak length is an important variable for hatch period determination mainly for light eggs.

Keywords: beak dimensions, egg weight, hatching period, hatching window

Procedia PDF Downloads 154
5712 Sorting Fish by Hu Moments

Authors: J. M. Hernández-Ontiveros, E. E. García-Guerrero, E. Inzunza-González, O. R. López-Bonilla

Abstract:

This paper presents the implementation of an algorithm that identifies and accounts different fish species: Catfish, Sea bream, Sawfish, Tilapia, and Totoaba. The main contribution of the method is the fusion of the characteristics of invariance to the position, rotation and scale of the Hu moments, with the proper counting of fish. The identification and counting is performed, from an image under different noise conditions. From the experimental results obtained, it is inferred the potentiality of the proposed algorithm to be applied in different scenarios of aquaculture production.

Keywords: counting fish, digital image processing, invariant moments, pattern recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 393
5711 Effect of Phosphorus and Potassium Nutrition on Growth, Yield and Minerals Accumulation of Two Soybean Cultivars Differing in Phytate Contents

Authors: Taliman Nisar Ahmad, Hirofume Saneoka

Abstract:

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) nutrition on grain yield, phytic acid and grain quality of high-phytate (Akimaro) and low-phytate line. Phosphorus and potassium were applied as; P₁ (20 kg ha⁻¹) and P₂ (100 kg ha⁻¹), same as K₁ (20 kg ha⁻¹) and K₂ (100 kg ha⁻¹), respectively. Low-phytate soybean had the highest grain yield, and 75% increase was observed compared to the high-phytate under same treatments. Highly significant differences of seed phytate P were observed in both cultivars, and the phytate P in high-phytate was found 39% higher than low-phytate, whereas no significant differences observed in response to P and K treatment. Percentage of phytate P from total P in seeds was 28 to 35% in low-phytate and 72 to 81% in high-phytate in different treatments. The lipid content in low-phytate was found lowered compared to that of high-phytate. Crude protein in grains was also found significantly higher in PK combined. No significant difference was observed in seed calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and Zinc (Zn) in different treatments, but high-phytate showed 87% increase in seed Ca and 76% of Mg compared to low-phytate; however, low-phytate showed 82% increase in Zn content over high-phytate. The result illustrates that low-phytate soybean achieved higher grain yield and grain Pi in response to increased P and K nutrition. To achieve higher yield and quality seeds from the low-phytate soybean, it is recommended that proper phosphorus and potassium nutrition to be applied suggested in this study.

Keywords: phytic acid, low-phytate soybean, high-phytate soybean, P and K nutrition, protein content, soybean

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
5710 Examining E-learning Capability in Chinese Higher Education: A Case Study of Hong Kong

Authors: Elson Szeto

Abstract:

Over the past 15 years, digital technology has ubiquitously penetrated societies around the world. New values of e-learning are emerging in the preparation of future talents, while e-learning is a key driver of widening participation and knowledge transfer in Chinese higher education. As a vibrant, Chinese society in Asia, Hong Kong’s new generation university students, perhaps the digital natives, have been learning with e-learning since their basic education. They can acquire new knowledge with the use of different forms of e-learning as a generic competence. These students who embrace this competence further their study journeys in higher education. This project reviews the Government’s policy of Information Technology in Education which has largely put forward since 1998. So far, primary to secondary education has embraced advantages of e-learning capability to advance the learning of different subject knowledge. Yet, e-learning capacity in higher education is yet to be fully examined in Hong Kong. The study reported in this paper is a pilot investigation into e-learning capacity in Chinese higher education in the region. By conducting a qualitative case study of Hong Kong, the investigation focuses on (1) the institutional ICT settings in general; (2) the pedagogic responses to e-learning in specific; and (3) the university students’ satisfaction of e-learning. It is imperative to revisit the e-learning capacity for promoting effective learning amongst university students, supporting new knowledge acquisition and embracing new opportunities in the 21st century. As a pilot case study, data will be collected from individual interviews with the e-learning management team members of a university, teachers who use e-learning for teaching and students who attend courses comprised of e-learning components. The findings show the e-learning capacity of the university and the key components of leveraging e-learning capability as a university-wide learning settings. The findings will inform institutions’ senior management, enabling them to effectively enhance institutional e-learning capacity for effective learning and teaching and new knowledge acquisition. Policymakers will be aware of new potentials of e-learning for the preparation of future talents in this society at large.

Keywords: capability, e-learning, higher education, student learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 260