Search results for: magnetic field measurement

Authors: Huang Bai-Cheng

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When deploying the Oriented Fast and Rotated Binary Robust Independent Elementary Feature (BRIEF) (ORB) extraction algorithm on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), the access of global storage for 31×31 pixel patches of the features has become the bottleneck of the system efficiency. Therefore, a feature zone strategy has been proposed. Zones are searched as features are detected. Pixels around the feature zones are extracted from global memory and distributed into patches corresponding to feature coordinates. The proposed FPGA structure is targeted on a Xilinx FPGA development board of Zynq UltraScale+ series, and multiple datasets are tested. Compared with the streaming pixel patch extraction method, the proposed architecture obtains at least two times acceleration consuming extra 3.82% Flip-Flops (FFs) and 7.78% Look-Up Tables (LUTs). Compared with the non-streaming one, the proposed architecture saves 22.3% LUT and 1.82% FF, causing a latency of only 0.2ms and a drop in frame rate for 1. Compared with the related works, the proposed strategy and hardware architecture have the superiority of keeping a balance between FPGA resources and performance.

Keywords: feature extraction, real-time, ORB, FPGA implementation

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Authors: N. K. Mohd Affendi, T. A. R. Tuan Abdullah, S. A. Syed Mustaffa

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In power industry transformer is an important component and most of us familiar by the functioning principle of a transformer electrically. There are many losses occur during the operation of a transformer that causes heat generation. This heat, if not dissipated properly will reduce the lifetime and effectiveness of the transformer. Transformer cooling helps in maintaining the temperature rise of various paths. This paper proposed to minimize the ambient temperature of the transformer room in order to lower down the temperature of the transformer. A simulation has been made using finite element methods programs called FEMM (Finite Elements Method Magnetics) to create a virtual model based on actual measurement of a transformer. The generalization of the two-dimensional (2D) FEMM results proves that by minimizing the ambient temperature, the heat of the transformer is decreased. The modeling process and of the transformer heat flow has been presented.

Keywords: heat generation, temperature rise, ambient temperature, FEMM

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Authors: Ali Kharazi, Hassanali Aghajani, Hesami Azizi

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Tourism entrepreneurship is a growing field that has the potential to create new opportunities for sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to identify and classify the entrepreneurial opportunities in the blind tourism industry in Khuzestan Province of Iran that can be created through the operation of blinds’ tours. This study used a mixed methods approach. The qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 tourist guides and tourism activists, while the quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 40 blind people who had participated in blinds’ tours. The findings of this study suggest that there are a number of entrepreneurial opportunities in the blind tourism industry in Khuzestan Province, including (1) developing and providing accessible tourism services, such as tours, accommodations, restaurants, and transportation, (2) creating and marketing blind-friendly tourism products and experiences (3) training and educating tourism professionals on how to provide accessible and inclusive tourism services. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of tourism entrepreneurship by providing insights into the entrepreneurial opportunities in the blind tourism industry. The findings of this study can be used to develop policies and programs that support the development of the blind tourism industry. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. This study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities within the blind tourism industry in Khuzestan Province, Iran. In addition, Khuzestan province has made relatively good development in the field of blinds’ tourism. Blind tourists have become loyal customers of blinds’ tours, which has increased their self-confidence and social participation. Tourist guides and centers of tourism services are interested in participating in blinds’ tours more than before, and even other parts outside the tourism field have encouraged sponsorship. Education had a great impact on the quality of tourism services, especially for the blind. It has played a significant role in improving the quality of tourism services for the blind. However, the quality and quantity of infrastructure should be increased in different sectors of tourism services to foster future growth. These opportunities can be used to create new businesses and jobs and to promote sustainable development in the region.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, tourism, blind, sustainable development, Khuzestan

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Authors: Jennifer Duffy, Liz Fleming

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Teacher shortage in special education is an American educational problem. Due to the implementation of The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004), there has been an increase in the number of students requiring special education services. Consequently, there has been an influx to hire more special education teachers. However, the historic challenge of hiring certified special education teachers has been intensified with this the profession’s increasing demand of positions to fill. Efforts to improve recruitment and entry into the field must be informed by an understanding of the factors that initially inspire special education teachers to choose this career pathway. Hence, an understanding of reasons why teachers select special education as a profession is needed. The purpose of this study was to explore personal, academic, and professional motivations that lead to the selection of special education as a career choice. Using the grounded theory approach, this research investigation examined the factors that were most instrumental in influencing applicants to select special education as a career choice. Over one hundred de-identified graduate school applications to Bay Path University’s Graduate Special Education Programs from 2014- 2017 were qualitatively analyzed. Grounded coding was used to discover themes that emerged in applicants’ admissions essays explaining why he/she was pursuing a career in special education. The central themes that were most influential in applicants’ selection of special education as a career trajectory were (a) personal/familial connections to disability, (b) meaningful paraprofessional experiences working with disabled children, (c) aptitudes for teaching, and (d) finding personal rewards and professional fulfillment by advocating for vulnerable children. Implications from these findings include educating family members of children with disabilities about possible career tracks in special education, designing programs for paraprofessionals to become certified teachers, exposing prospective teacher candidates to the field of special education, and recruiting professionals from the human services field who seek to improve the quality of life and educational opportunities for children with special needs.

Keywords: career choice, professional pathways to teaching children with disabilities, special education, teacher recruitment

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Authors: Eduarda Dutra De Souza, Gabriela Hammes, Marina Bouzon, Carlos M. Taboada Rodriguez

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The search for minimizing harmful impacts on the environment has become the focus of global society, affecting mainly how to manage organizations. Thus, companies have sought to transform their activities into environmentally friendly initiatives by applying green practices throughout their supply chains. In the logistics domain, the implementation of environmentally sound practices is still in its infancy in emerging countries such as Brazil. Given the need to reduce these environmental damages, this study aims to evaluate the performance of green logistics (GL) in the plastics industry sector in order to help to improve environmental performance within organizations and reduce the impact caused by their activities. The performance tool was based on theoretical research and the use of experts in the field. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritize green practices and assign weight to the indicators contained in the proposed tool. The tool also allows the co-production of a single indicator. The developed tool was applied in an industry of the plastic packaging sector. However, this tool may be applied in different industry sectors, and it is adaptable to different sizes of companies. Besides the contributions to the literature, this work also presents future paths of research in the field of green logistics.

Keywords: AHP, green logistics, green supply chain, performance evaluation

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Authors: Nadia Pourabbas Tahvildari

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National identity is formed in the process of time and in the community while influenced by the historical events. The country which has a more coherent national and historical identity would be successful as well as strengthening solidarity and social cohesion. Among the international community where the various likes challenge the subject of identity, taking into consideration the components which using identity seems to be very critical. Handicrafts as reflecting the historical and cultural characteristics of the product location can be used as an important component in order to introduce the culture and identity to be evaluated. As one of the most durable crafts for man, handicrafts have played a continuous role in sustaining human culture. Today without the presence of handicrafts, restoration of culture and national identity and religious beliefs of the past clans and people, is not only difficult but is even impossible also. Due to its brilliant historical experience and having rich culture and civilization, Iran has accomplished to the high competence in the field of traditional arts and handicrafts. This article is a scientific approach which by using descriptive – analytic method based on library studies tried to address the issue of handicrafts looking to examine the position of the industry to consolidate the national identity. Studies indicate that Iran as one of the original human habitats in the field of handicrafts has adequate enrichment and in case there will be an appropriate planning and investment away from oil-based industry, it would be beneficent. Furthermore, the quality and variety of handicrafts can be used as an essential yardstick for the consolidation of Iran national identity in the age of globalization.

Keywords: handicrafts, Iran national identity, globalization, cultural heritage

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Authors: Davood Barari Tari

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In order to investigate the correlation of rice traits in different nitrogen management methods by modeling programming, an experiment was laid out in rice paddy field in an experimental field at Caspian Coastal Sea region from 2013 to 2014. Variety used was Shiroudi as a high yielding variety. Nitrogen management was in two methods. Amount of nitrogen at four levels (30, 60, 90, and 120 Kg N ha-1 and control) and nitrogen-splitting at four levels (T1: 50% in base + 50% in maximum tillering stage, T2= 33.33% basal +33.33% in maximum tillering stage +33.33% in panicle initiation stage, T3=25% basal+37.5% in maximum tillering stage +37.5% in panicle initiation stage, T4: 25% in basal + 25% in maximum tillering stage + 50% in panicle initiation stage). Results showed that nitrogen traits, total grain number, filled spikelets, panicle number per m2 had a significant correlation with grain yield. Results related to calibrated and validation of rice model methods indicated that correlation between rice yield and yield components was accurate. The correlation between panicle length and grain yield was minimum. Physiological indices was simulated with low accuracy. According to results, investigation of the correlation between rice traits in physiological, morphological and phenological characters and yield by modeling and simulation methods are very useful.

Keywords: rice, physiology, modelling, simulation, yield traits

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Authors: Siti Nurhidayah Naqiah Abdull Rani, Herlina Abdul Rahim

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Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has always been of great interest in the food and agriculture industries. The development of predictive models has facilitated the estimation process in recent years. In this research, 176 crude palm oil (CPO) samples acquired from Felda Johor Bulker Sdn Bhd were studied. A FOSS NIRSystem was used to tak e absorbance measurements from the sample. The wavelength range for the spectral measurement is taken at 1600nm to 1900nm. Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) prediction model with 50 optimal number of principal components was implemented to study the relationship between the measured Free Fatty Acid (FFA) values and the measured spectral absorption. PLSR showed predictive ability of FFA values with correlative coefficient (R) of 0.9808 for the training set and 0.9684 for the testing set.

Keywords: palm oil, fatty acid, NIRS, PLSR

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Authors: Y. Lu, L. Liu, J. Guo

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Monolayer graphene and dichaclogenide semiconductor materials attract extensive research interest for potential nanoelectronics applications. The ultimate scaling limit of double gate MoS2 Field-Effect-Transistors (FETs) with a monolayer thin body is examined and compared with ultra-thin-body Si FETs by using self-consistent quantum transport simulation in the presence of phonon scattering. Modelling of phonon scattering, quantum mechanical effects, and self-consistent electrostatics allows us to accurately assess the performance potential of monolayer MoS2 FETs. The results revealed that monolayer MoS2 FETs show 52% smaller Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) and 13% Smaller Sub-Threshold Swing (SS) than 3 nm-thick-body Si FETs at a channel length of 10 nm with the same gating. With a requirement of SS<100mV/dec, the scaling limit of monolayer MoS2 FETs is assessed to be 5 nm, comparing with 8nm of the ultra-thin-body Si counterparts due to the monolayer thin body and higher effective mass which reduces direct source-to-drain tunnelling. By comparing with the ITRS target for high performance logic devices of 2023; double gate monolayer MoS2 FETs can fulfil the ITRS requirements.

Keywords: nanotransistors, monolayer 2D materials, quantum transport, scaling limit

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Authors: Laith F. Gulli, Nicole M. Mallory

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We developed a novel measurement instrument to assess Knowledge of Educational Programs in Professional Psychotherapy Programs (KEP-PPP or KEP-Triple P) within the United States. The instrument was designed by a Panel of Experts (PoE) that consisted of Licensed Psychotherapists and Medical Care Providers. Licensure track psychotherapy programs are listed in the databases of the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE); American Psychological Association (APA); Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). A complete list of psychotherapy programs can be obtained from these professional databases, selecting search fields of (All Programs) in (All States). Each program has a Web link that electronically and directly connects to the institutional program, which can be researched using the KEP-Triple P. The 29-item KEP Triple P was designed to consist of six categorical fields; Institutional Type: Degree: Educational Delivery: Accreditation: Coursework Competency: and Special Program Considerations. The KEP-Triple P was designed to determine whether a specific course(s) is offered in licensure track psychotherapy programs. The KEP-Triple P is designed to be modified to assess any part or the entire curriculum of licensure graduate programs. We utilized the KEP-Triple P instrument to study whether a graduate course in Addictions was offered in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) programs. Marriage and Family Therapists are likely to commonly encounter patients with Addiction(s) due to the broad treatment scope providing psychotherapy services to individuals, couples and families of all age groups. Our study of 124 MFT programs which concluded at the end of 2016 found that we were able to assess 61 % of programs (N = 76) since 27 % (N = 34) of programs were inaccessible due to broken Web links. From the total of all MFT programs 11 % (N = 14) did not have a published curriculum on their Institutional Web site. From the sample study, we found that 66 % (N = 50) of curricula did not offer a course in Addiction Treatment and that 34 % (N =26) of curricula did require a mandatory course in Addiction Treatment. From our study sample, we determined that 15 % (N = 11) of MFT doctorate programs did not require an Addictions Treatment course and that 1 % (N = 1) did require such a course. We found that 99 % of our study sample offered a Campus based program and 1 % offered a hybrid program with both online and residential components. From the total sample studied, we determined that 84 % of programs would be able to obtain reaccreditation within a five-year period. We recommend that MFT programs initiate procedures to revise curricula to include a required course in Addiction Treatment prior to their next accreditation cycle, to improve the escalating addiction crisis in the United States. This disparity in MFT curricula raises serious ethical and legal consideration for national and Federal stakeholders as well as for patients seeking a competently trained psychotherapist.

Keywords: addiction, competency, curriculum, psychotherapy

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Authors: Safa Gharbi, Hayfa Zgaya, Nesrine Zoghlami, Slim Hammadi, Cyril De Barbarin, Laurent Vinatier, Christiane Coupier

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Increasing productivity and quality of service, improving the working comfort and ensuring the efficiency of all processes are important challenges for every warehouse. The order picking is recognized to be the most important and costly activity of all the process in warehouses. This paper presents a new approach using Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of logistics. It aims to create a Head-Up Display (HUD) interface with a Warehouse Management System (WMS), using AR glasses. Integrating AR technology allows the optimization of order picking by reducing time of picking process, increasing the efficiency and delivering quickly. The picker will be able to access immediately to all the information needed for his tasks. All the information is displayed when needed in the field of vision (FOV) of the operator, without any action requested from him. These research works are part of the industrial project RASL (Réalité Augmentée au Service de la Logistique) which gathers two major partners: the LAGIS (Laboratory of Automatics, Computer Engineering and Signal Processing in Lille-France) and Genrix Group, European leader in warehouses logistics, who provided his software for implementation, and his logistics expertise.

Keywords: Augmented Reality (AR), logistics and optimization, Warehouse Management System (WMS), Head-Up Display (HUD)

Procedia PDF Downloads 481

Authors: Md Mizanur Rahman, Lotanna Micah Nneji, Adeola C. Adeniyi, Edem Archibong Eniang, Abiodun B. Onadeko, Felista Kasyoka Kilunda, Babatunde E. Adedeji, Ifeanyi C. Nneji, Adiaha A. A. Ugwumba, Jie-Qiong Jin, Min-Sheng Peng, Caroline Olory, Nsikan Eninekit, Jing Che

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Nigeria contains a number of forest habitats that believed to host highly rich amphibian diversity. However, a dearth of herpetological studies has restricted information on the amphibian diversity in Nigeria. To cover the gap of knowledge, this study focused field surveys on relatively less studied forests–Afi Forest Reserve and Ikpan forest ecosystem. The goal of this study is to make a checklist and to investigate the habitat preferences of amphibians in these two forests. The study areas were surveyed between August 2018 and July 2019 following visual and acoustic methods. Individuals were identified using the morphological and molecular (16S ribosomal RNA) approach. Literature searches were conducted to document additional species that were not encountered during the current field surveys. Using the observational records and arrays of diversity indices, the patterns of species richness and abundance across habitat types were evaluated. Voucher specimens and tissue samples were deposited in the museums of the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan Nigeria, and the remainder at the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China. The result of this study revealed the presence of 30 and 31 amphibian species from the Afi Forest Reserve and the Ikpan Forest Ecosystem, respectively. There were two unidentified species from AFR and one from IFE. In total, 324 individuals of amphibian species were observed from the two study areas. Forest and swamps showed high species diversity and richness than the agricultural field and savannah. Savannah and agricultural fields had the highest similarity in the species composition. Given the increased human disturbances and consequent threats to these forests, this study offers recommendations for the initiation of conservation plans immediately.

Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, cryptic species, ecology, integrated taxonomy, species inventory

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Authors: Mawloud Mosbah, Bachir Boucheham

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We present here the results for a comparative study of some techniques, available in the literature, related to the relevance feedback mechanism in the case of a short-term learning. Only one method among those considered here is belonging to the data mining field which is the K-Nearest Neighbours Algorithm (KNN) while the rest of the methods is related purely to the information retrieval field and they fall under the purview of the following three major axes: Shifting query, Feature Weighting and the optimization of the parameters of similarity metric. As a contribution, and in addition to the comparative purpose, we propose a new version of the KNN algorithm referred to as an incremental KNN which is distinct from the original version in the sense that besides the influence of the seeds, the rate of the actual target image is influenced also by the images already rated. The results presented here have been obtained after experiments conducted on the Wang database for one iteration and utilizing colour moments on the RGB space. This compact descriptor, Colour Moments, is adequate for the efficiency purposes needed in the case of interactive systems. The results obtained allow us to claim that the proposed algorithm proves good results; it even outperforms a wide range of techniques available in the literature.

Keywords: CBIR, category search, relevance feedback, query point movement, standard Rocchio’s formula, adaptive shifting query, feature weighting, original KNN, incremental KNN

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Malika Souada, Juanita Rausch, Benjamin Guinot, Christine Bugajny

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The increase of global commerce and tourism makes the shipping sector an important contributor of atmospheric pollution. Both, airborne particles and gaseous pollutants have negative impact on health and climate. This is especially the case in port cities, due to the proximity of the exposed population to the shipping emissions in addition to other multiple sources of pollution linked to the surrounding urban activity. The objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of fine particles (immission), specifically PM2.5, PM1, PM0.3, BC and sulphates, in a context where maritime passenger traffic plays an important role (port area of Bordeaux centre). The methodology is based on high temporal resolution measurements of pollutants, correlated with meteorological and ship movements data. Particles and gaseous pollutants from seven maritime passenger ships were sampled and analysed during the docking, manoeuvring and berthing phases. The particle mass measurements were supplemented by measurements of the number concentration of ultrafine particles (<300 nm diameter). The different measurement points were chosen by taking into account the local meteorological conditions and by pre-modelling the dispersion of the smoke plumes. The results of the measurement campaign carried out during the summer of 2021 in the port of Bordeaux show that the detection of concentrations of particles emitted by ships proved to be punctual and stealthy. Punctual peaks of ultrafine particle concentration in number (P#/m3) and BC (ng/m3) were measured during the docking phases of the ships, but the concentrations returned to their background level within minutes. However, it appears that the influence of the docking phases does not significantly affect the air quality of Bordeaux centre in terms of mass concentration. Additionally, no clear differences in PM2.5 concentrations between the periods with and without ships at berth were observed. The urban background pollution seems to be mainly dominated by exhaust and non-exhaust road traffic emissions. However, temporal high-resolution measurements suggest a probable emission of gaseous precursors responsible for the formation of secondary aerosols related to the ship activities. This was evidenced by the high values of the PM1/BC and PN/BC ratios, tracers of non-primary particle formation, during periods of ship berthing vs. periods without ships at berth. The research findings from this study provide robust support for port area air quality assessment and source apportionment.

Keywords: characterization, fine particulate matter, harbour air quality, shipping impacts

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Authors: Levente Varga, Dávid Deritei, Mária Ercsey-Ravasz, Răzvan Florian, Zsolt I. Lázár, István Papp, Ferenc Járai-Szabó

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One of the major shortcomings of widely used scientometric indicators is that different disciplines cannot be compared with each other. The issue of cross-disciplinary normalization has been long discussed, but even the classification of publications into scientific domains poses problems. Structural properties of citation networks offer new possibilities, however, the large size and constant growth of these networks asks for precaution. Here we present a new tool that in order to perform cross-field normalization of scientometric indicators of individual publications relays on the structural properties of citation networks. Due to the large size of the networks, a systematic procedure for identifying scientific domains based on a local community detection algorithm is proposed. The algorithm is tested with different benchmark and real-world networks. Then, by the use of this algorithm, the mechanism of the scientometric indicator normalization process is shown for a few indicators like the citation number, P-index and a local version of the PageRank indicator. The fat-tail trend of the article indicator distribution enables us to successfully perform the indicator normalization process.

Keywords: citation networks, cross-field normalization, local cluster detection, scientometric indicators

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Authors: Myoung-Jin Lee, Sung-Jin Lee, Young-Kon Park, Jin-Wook Kim, Bo-Kyoung Kim, Song-Hun Chong, Sun-Ii Kim

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The ability to resist the shear strength arises mainly from the web panel of steel girders and as such, the shear buckling strength of these girders has been extensively investigated. For example, Blaser’s reported that when buckling occurs, the tension field has an effect after the buckling strength of the steel is reached. The findings of these studies have been applied by AASHTO, AISC, and to the European Code that provides guidelines for designs aimed at preventing shear buckling. Steel girders are susceptible to corrosion resulting from exposure to natural elements such as rainfall, humidity, and temperature. This corrosion leads to a reduction in the size of the web panel section, thereby resulting in a decrease in the shear strength. The decrease in the panel section has a significant effect on the maintenance section of the bridge. However, in most conventional designs, the influence of corrosion is overlooked during the calculation of the shear buckling strength and hence over-design is common. Therefore, in this study, a steel girder with an A/D of 1:1, as well as a 6-mm-, 16-mm-, and 12-mm-thick web panel, flange, and intermediate reinforcing material, respectively, were used. The total length was set to that (3200 mm) of the default model. The effect of corrosion shear buckling was investigated by determining the volume amount of corrosion, shape of the erosion patterns, and the angular change in the tensile field of the shear buckling strength. This study provides the basic data that will enable designs that incorporate values closer (than those used in most conventional designs) to the actual shear buckling strength.

Keywords: corrosion, shear buckling strength, steel girder, shear strength

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Authors: Hassan. A. Abas, Saad A. Aiban

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Soil improvement by means of stone column method is used to improve sabkha soils in order to limit total and differential settlement and to achieve the required bearing capacity. Full-scale plate test was performed on site to confirm the achievement of required bearing capacity at the specified settlement. Despite the fact that this technique is widely used to improve sabkha soils, there are no studies focusing on the behavior of stone columns in such problematic soils. Sabkha soils are known for its high compressibility, low strength and water sensitivity due to loss of salt cementation upon flooding during installation of stone columns. Numerical modeling of plate load test assist to understand complicated behavior of sabkha – stone column interaction. This paper presents a three-dimensional Finite element model, using PLAXIS 3D software, to simulate vertical plate load tests on a stone column installed in sabkha. The predicted settlement values are in reasonable agreement with the field measure values and the field load - settlement curve can be predicted with good accuracy.

Keywords: soil improvement, stone column, sabkha, PLAXIS 3D

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Lina Khashogji

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This study highlights on analysing the educational experience of female Saudi Arabian students in private schools in Islamic studies subjects. Exploring how school environment, teachers’ authority and textbooks could influence the level of individuality. Considering the complex interaction between religious is social and political power in Saudi Arabia. The study draws on phenomenology as a guiding theoretical framework using multi methods. It includes a vertical/horizontal individualism measurement tool “survey” used on 120 students of two age groups (9-12) and (13-15). Semi-structured interviews with eight school teachers, observational notes in the classroom, and textbook analysis. The study links the interactions between the student mind, the teacher, the classroom and the curriculum.

Keywords: education, individualism, identity development, Islamic studies, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 345

Authors: Dorota Witkowska, Paweł Gosek, Lukasz Swiecicki, Wojciech Jernajczyk, Bruce J. West, Miroslaw Latka

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In clinical practice, the selection of an antidepressant often degrades to lengthy trial-and-error. In this work we employ a normalized wavelet power of alpha waves as a biomarker of antidepressant treatment response. This novel EEG metric takes into account both non-stationarity and intersubject variability of alpha waves. We recorded resting, 19-channel EEG (closed eyes) in 22 inpatients suffering from unipolar (UD, n=10) or bipolar (BD, n=12) depression. The EEG measurement was done at the end of the short washout period which followed previously unsuccessful pharmacotherapy. The normalized alpha wavelet power of 11 responders was markedly different than that of 11 nonresponders at several, mostly temporoparietal sites. Using the prediction of treatment response based on the normalized alpha wavelet power, we achieved 81.8% sensitivity and 81.8% specificity for channel T4.

Keywords: alpha waves, antidepressant, treatment outcome, wavelet

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Authors: Chen Yuan, Nick Green, Stuart Blackburn

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The investment casting process offers a great freedom of design combined with the economic advantage of near net shape manufacturing. It is widely used for the production of high value precision cast parts in particularly in the aerospace sector. Various combinations of materials have been used to produce the ceramic moulds, but most investment foundries use a silica based binder system in conjunction with fused silica, zircon, and alumino-silicate refractories as both filler and coarse stucco materials. However, in the context of advancing alloy technologies, silica based systems are struggling to keep pace, especially when net-shape casting titanium alloys. Study has shown that the casting of titanium based alloys presents considerable problems, including the extensive interactions between the metal and refractory, and the majority of metal-mould interaction is due to reduction of silica, present as binder and filler phases, by titanium in the molten state. Cleaner, more refractory systems are being devised to accommodate these changes. Although yttria has excellent chemical inertness to titanium alloy, it is not very practical in a production environment combining high material cost, short slurry life, and poor sintering properties. There needs to be a cost effective solution to these issues. With limited options for using pure oxides, in this work, a silica-free magnesia spinel MgAl₂O₄ was used as a primary coat filler and alumina as a binder material to produce facecoat in the investment casting mould. A comparison system was also studied with a fraction of the rare earth oxide Y₂O₃ adding into the filler to increase the inertness. The stability of the MgAl₂O₄/Al₂O₃ and MgAl₂O₄/Y₂O₃/Al₂O₃ slurries was assessed by tests, including pH, viscosity, zeta-potential and plate weight measurement, and mould properties such as friability were also measured. The interaction between the face coat and titanium alloy was studied by both a flash re-melting technique and a centrifugal investment casting method. The interaction products between metal and mould were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The depth of the oxygen hardened layer was evaluated by micro hardness measurement. Results reveal that introducing a fraction of Y₂O₃ into magnesia spinel can significantly increase the slurry life and reduce the thickness of hardened layer during centrifugal casting.

Keywords: titanium alloy, mould, MgAl₂O₄, Y₂O₃, interaction, investment casting

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Authors: C.W. Kan

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This paper investigates the use of atmospheric pressure plasma for improving the surface hydrophobicity of polyurethane synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane (TMS). The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment with TMS is a single-step process to enhance the hydrophobicity of polyurethane synthetic leather. The hydrophobicity of the treated surface was examined by contact angle measurement. The physical and chemical surface changes were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The purpose of this paper is to provide learning materials for understanding how to use atmospheric pressure plasma in the textile finishing process to transform a hydrophilic surface to hydrophobic.

Keywords: Learning materials, atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, surface

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Authors: Gökhan Altay, Cafer Kayadelen

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Rock fall is a movement of huge rock blocks from dip slopes due to physical effects. It generally occurs where loose tuffs lying under basalt flow or stringcourse is being constituted by limestone layers which stand on clay. By corrosion of some parts, big cracks occur on layers and these cracks continue to grow with the effect of freezing-thawing. In this way, the breaking rocks fall down from these dip slopes. Earthquakes which can induce lots of rock movements is another reason for rock fall events. In Turkey, we have a large number of regions prone to the earthquake as in the World so this increases the possibility of rock fall events. A great number of rock fall events take place in Turkey as in the World every year. The rock fall events occurring in urban areas cause serious damages in houses, roads and workplaces. Sometimes it also hinders transportation and furthermore it maybe kills people. In Turkey, rock fall events happen mostly in Spring and Winter because of freezing- thawing of water in rock cracks frequently. In mountain and inclined areas, rock fall is risky for engineering construction and environment. Some countries can invest significant money for these risky areas. For instance, in Switzerland, approximately 6.7 million dollars is spent annually for a distance of 4 km, to the systems to prevent rock fall events. In Turkey, we have lots of urban areas and engineering structure that have the rock fall risk. The embankments are preferable for rock fall events because of its low maintenance and repair costs. Also, embankments are able to absorb much more energy according to other protection systems. The current design method of embankments is only depended on field tests results so there are inadequate studies about this design method. In this paper, the field test modeled in three dimensions and analysis are carried out with the help of ANSYS programme. By the help of field test from literature the numerical model validated. After the validity of numerical models additional parametric studies performed. Changes in deformation of embankments are investigated by the changes in, geometry, velocity and impact height of falling rocks.

Keywords: ANSYS, embankment, impact height, numerical analysis, rock fall

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Authors: Ikram Kamal, Mohamed Blaghen

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Petroleum hydrocarbons are serious problems and global pollutants in the environment due to their toxicity, carcinogenicity and persistent organic pollutant properties. One of the approaches to enhance biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons is to use biosurfactant. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic biomolecules produced as metabolic by-products from microorganisms they received considerable attention in the field of environmental remediation processes such as bioremediation. Biosurfactants have been considered as a desirable alternative to synthetic surfactants in various applications particularly in the environmental field. In comparison with their synthetic counterparts, biosurfactants have been reported to be less toxic, biodegradable and persistent. In this study we have investigated the potential of bacterial strains collected aseptically from the lagoon Marchika (water and soil) in Nador, Morocco; for the production of biosurfactants. This study also aimed to optimize the biosurfactant production process by changing the variables that influence the type and amount of biosurfactant produced by these microorganisms such as: carbon sources and also other physical and chemical parameters such as temperature and pH. Emulsification index, methylene blue test and thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the ability of strains used in this study to produce compounds that could emulsify gasoline. In addition, a HPLC/MS was used to separate and identify different biosurfactants purified.

Keywords: petroleum hydrocarbons, biosurfactants, biodegradation, lagoon marchika, emulsification index

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Authors: Abdelkader Basli, Jean-Claude Delaunay, Eric Pedrot, Jean-Michel Mérillon, Jean-Pierre Monti, Khodir Madani, Mohamed Chibane, Tristan Richard

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The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Origanum glandulosum collected in Algeria have been studied. Extract was prepared from aerial part of endemic Algerian oregano. The produced extract has been characterized in terms of total phenols (using Folin method), total flavonoid, antioxidant activities (using the DPPH radical scavenging method and ORAC assay) and microbial activity against four bacteria: Streptococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae one yeast: Candida albicans and one fungi: Aspergillus niger. The results pointed the antioxidant activities of the extract of O. glandulosum and antimicrobial activities against all bacteria and C. Candida, but no effect on A. niger. High performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (LC-NMR) were used to separate and identify the major compounds present in the oregano extract. Rosmarinic acid, globoidnan A and B, lithospermic acid B and three flavonoids were identified.

Keywords: origanum glandulosum, antioxidant, microbial activity, polyphenol, LC-MS, LC-NMR

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Authors: Heidi von Korff

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The electricity grid is changing in terms of flexibility. Distributed generation (DG) policy is being discussed worldwide and implemented. Developers and utilities are seeking a pathway towards Zero Net Energy (ZNE) communities and the interconnection to the distribution grid. Using the VISDOM platform for establishing a method for managing and monitoring energy consumption loads of ZNE communities as a capacity resource for the grid. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy security are primary policy drivers for incorporating high-performance energy standards and sustainability practices in residential households, such as a market transformation of ZNE and nearly ZNE (nZNE) communities. This research investigates how load data impacts ZNE, to see if there is a correlation to the daily load variations in a single ZNE home. Case studies will include a ZNE community in California and a nearly ZNE community (All – Electric) in the Netherlands, which both are in measurement and verification (M&V) phases and connected to the grid for simulations of methods.

Keywords: zero net energy, distributed generation, renewable energy, zero net energy community

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Authors: Rupali Thorat, S. B. Dodake, V. N. Palsande, S. D. Patil

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A field experiment was conducted to study the “Response of onion to FYM and inorganic fertilizers application on growth, yield and nutrient uptake in lateritic soil of Konkan” at the farm of Pangari block of Irrigation of Scheme, Central Experimentation Station, Wakawali during Rabi 2009-10. There were 12 treatment combinations, comprising of 3 levels of NPK fertilizers (C1 ,C2-125 kg N, 62.5 kg P205 and 62.5 kg K20 ha-1 and C3-150 kg N, 75 kg P205 and 75 kg K20 ha-1) and 4 levels of FYM (F1-10 t FYM ha-1, F2 - 15 t FYM ha-1, F3-20 t FYM ha-1, F4-25 t FYM ha-1) replicated thrice using Factorial Randomized Block Design. The observations on plant height, number of leaves, girth of plant, polar and equatorial diameter of bulb as well as dry matter yield, onion bulb yield recorded during the course of field study were subjected to statistical analysis. Similarly nutrient content and uptake, quality parameters of bulb and soil properties were also determined and their data were also analyzed statistically. It is revealed from the study that the growth attributes, dry matter yield, onion bulb yield, nutrient content, nutrient uptake, quality parameters were improved significantly due to application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 along with FYM @ 20 t ha-1(C3F3). Application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 along with FYM @ 20 t ha-1 (C3F3) registered highest onion bulb yield (t ha-1). The quality of onion as well as availability of N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in the soil was improved due to application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 and FYM @ 20 t ha-1.

Keywords: onion, FYM, yield, nutrient uptake and fertilizer

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Authors: Hai Huu Le, Paul Junor, Moshi Geso, Graeme O’Keefe

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In this paper, the authors propose a personal wearable directionally-sensitive radiation dosimeter using multiple semiconductor CdZnTe detectors. The proposed dosimeter not only measures the real-time dose rate but also provide the direction of the radioactive source. A linear relationship between radioactive source direction and the radiation intensity measured by each detectors is established and an equation to determine the source direction is derived by the authors. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed dosimeter is verified by simulation using Geant4 package. Results have indicated that in a measurement duration of about 7 seconds, the proposed dosimeter was able to estimate the direction of a 10μCi 137/55Cs radioactive source to within 2 degrees.

Keywords: dose rate, Geant4 package, radiation dosimeter, radioactive source direction

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Authors: Marwa Ben Khalifa, Zeineb Ben Salem, Wissem Frikha

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This paper presents a case study of “Radès la Goulette” bridge project using the technique of prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) associated with step by step construction of preloading embankments with averaged height of about 6 m. These embankments are founded on a highly compressible layer of Tunis soft soil. The construction steps included extensive soil instrumentation such as piezometers and settlement plates for monitoring the dissipation of excess pore water pressures and settlement during the consolidation of Tunis soft soil. An axisymmetric numerical model using the 2D finite difference code FLAC was developed and calibrated using laboratory tests to predict the soil behavior and consolidation settlements. The constitutive model impact for simulating the soft soil behavior is investigated. The results of analyses show that numerical analysis provided satisfactory predictions for the field performance during the construction of Radès la Goulette embankment. The obtained results show the effectiveness of PVD in the acceleration of the consolidation time. A comparison of numerical results with theoretical analysis was presented.

Keywords: tunis soft soil, radès bridge project, prefabricated vertical drains, FLAC, acceleration of consolidation

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Authors: Igor B. Sivaev

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Design of molecular machines is an extraordinary growing and very important area of research that it was recognized by awarding Sauvage, Stoddart and Feringa the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2016 'for the design and synthesis of molecular machines'. Based on the type of motion being performed, molecular machines can be divided into two main types: molecular motors and molecular switches. Molecular switches are molecules or supramolecular complexes having bistability, i.e., the ability to exist in two or more stable forms, among which may be reversible transitions under external influence (heating, lighting, changing the medium acidity, the action of chemicals, exposure to magnetic or electric field). Molecular switches are the main structural element of any molecular electronics devices. Therefore, the design and the study of molecules and supramolecular systems capable of performing mechanical movement is an important and urgent problem of modern chemistry. There is growing interest in molecular switches and other devices of molecular electronics based on transition metal complexes; therefore choice of suitable stable organometallic unit is of great importance. An example of such unit is bis(dicarbollide) complexes of transition metals [3,3’-M(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]ⁿ⁻. The control on the ligand rotation in such complexes can be reached by introducing substituents which could provide stabilization of certain rotamers due to specific interactions between the ligands, on the one hand, and which can participate as Lewis bases in complex formation with external metals resulting in a change in the rotation angle of the ligands, on the other hand. A series of isomeric methyl sulfide derivatives of cobalt bis(dicarbollide) complexes containing methyl sulfide substituents at boron atoms in different positions of the pentagonal face of the dicarbollide ligands [8,8’-(MeS)₂-3,3’-Co(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂]⁻, rac-[4,4’-(MeS)₂-3,3’-Co(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂]⁻ and meso-[4,7’-(MeS)₂-3,3’-Co(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂]⁻ were synthesized by the reaction of CoCl₂ with the corresponding methyl sulfide carborane derivatives [10-MeS-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻ and [10-MeS-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻. In the case of asymmetrically substituted cobalt bis(dicarbollide) complexes the corresponding rac- and meso-isomers were successfully separated by column chromatography as the tetrabutylammonium salts. The compounds obtained were studied by the methods of ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹B NMR spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, controlled potential coulometry and quantum chemical calculations. It was found that in the solid state, the transoid- and gauche-conformations of the 8,8’- and 4,4’-isomers are stabilized by four intramolecular CH···S(Me)B hydrogen bonds each one (2.683-2.712 Å and 2.709-2.752 Å, respectively), whereas gauche-conformation of the 4,7’-isomer is stabilized by two intramolecular CH···S hydrogen bonds (2.699-2.711 Å). The existence of the intramolecular CH·S(Me)B hydrogen bonding in solutions was supported by the 1H NMR spectroscopy. These data are in a good agreement with results of the quantum chemical calculations. The corresponding iron and nickel complexes were synthesized as well. The reaction of the methyl sulfide derivatives of cobalt bis(dicarbollide) with various labile transition metal complexes results in rupture of intramolecular hydrogen bonds and complexation of the methyl sulfide groups with external metal. This results in stabilization of other rotational conformation of cobalt bis(dicarbollide) and can be used in design of molecular switches. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (16-13-10331).

Keywords: molecular switches, NMR spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction, transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes, quantum chemical calculations

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Authors: Ziyuan Wu, Yulong Jia, Xiang Zhang, Wanting Zhou, Lei Li

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly evolving field involving a large number of interconnected embedded devices. In the design of embedded System-on-Chip (SoC), the key issues are power consumption, performance, and security. However, the easy-to-implement software and untrustworthy third-party IP cores may threaten the safety of hardware assets. Considering that illegal access and malicious attacks against SoC resources pass through the bus that integrates IPs, we propose a Lightweight Hardware Firewall (LHF) to protect SoC, which monitors and disallows the offending bus transactions based on physical addresses. Furthermore, under the LHF architecture, this paper refines two types of firewalls: Destination Hardware Firewall (DHF) and Source Hardware Firewall (SHF). The former is oriented to fine-grained detection and configuration, whose core technology is based on the method of dynamic grading units. In addition, we design the SHF based on static entries to achieve lightweight. Finally, we evaluate the hardware consumption of the proposed method by both Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and IC. Compared with the exciting efforts, LHF introduces a bus latency of zero clock cycles for every read or write transaction implemented on Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGAs. Meanwhile, the DC synthesis results based on TSMC 90nm show that the area is reduced by about 25% compared with the previous method.

Keywords: IoT, security, SoC, bus architecture, lightweight hardware firewall, FPGA

Procedia PDF Downloads 59