Search results for: monitoring and modeling

Authors: Said Ettaieb, Kamel Hamrouni, Su Ruan

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This paper presents a new method based both on Active Shape Model and a priori knowledge about the spatio-temporal shape variation for tracking deformable structures in medical imaging. The main idea is to exploit the a priori knowledge of shape that exists in ASM and introduce new knowledge about the shape variation over time. The aim is to define a new more stable method, allowing the reliable detection of structures whose shape changes considerably in time. This method can also be used for the three-dimensional segmentation by replacing the temporal component by the third spatial axis (z). The proposed method is applied for the functional and morphological study of the heart pump. The functional aspect was studied through temporal sequences of scintigraphic images and morphology was studied through MRI volumes. The obtained results are encouraging and show the performance of the proposed method.

Keywords: active shape model, a priori knowledge, spatiotemporal shape variation, deformable structures, medical images

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Authors: Sachin Kamble, Shradha Gawankar

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This paper presents the findings of successful implementation of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) of cement dispatch activities in a cement manufacturing plant located in India. Simulation model was developed for the purpose of identifying and analyzing the areas for improvement. The company was facing a problem of low throughput rate and subsequent forced stoppages of the plant leading to a high production loss of 15000MT per month. It was found from the study that the present systems and procedures related to the in-plant logistics plant required significant changes. The major recommendations included process improvement at the entry gate, reducing the cycle time at the security gate and installation of an additional weigh bridge. This paper demonstrates how BPR can be implemented for improving the in-plant logistics process. Various recommendations helped the plant to increase its throughput by 14%.

Keywords: in-plant logistics, cement logistics, simulation modelling, business process re-engineering, supply chain management

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Authors: M. Brandt, A. Peniak, J. Makarovič, P. Rafajdus

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This paper deals with a novel approach of power transformers diagnostics. This approach identifies the exact location and the range of a fault in the transformer and helps to reduce operation costs related to handling of the faulty transformer, its disassembly and repair. The advantage of the approach is a possibility to simulate healthy transformer and also all faults, which can occur in transformer during its operation without its disassembling, which is very expensive in practice. The approach is based on creating frequency dependent impedance of the transformer by sweep frequency response analysis measurements and by 3D FE parametrical modeling of the fault in the transformer. The parameters of the 3D FE model are the position and the range of the axial short circuit. Then, by comparing the frequency dependent impedances of the parametrical models with the measured ones, the location and the range of the fault is identified. The approach was tested on a real transformer and showed high coincidence between the real fault and the simulated one.

Keywords: transformer, parametrical model of transformer, fault, sweep frequency response analysis, finite element method

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Authors: C. Pislaru, A. Shebani

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This paper uses the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for system identification of nonlinear systems. Five nonlinear systems are used to examine the activity of RBFNN in system modeling of nonlinear systems; the five nonlinear systems are dual tank system, single tank system, DC motor system, and two academic models. The feed forward method is considered in this work for modelling the non-linear dynamic models, where the K-Means clustering algorithm used in this paper to select the centers of radial basis function network, because it is reliable, offers fast convergence and can handle large data sets. The least mean square method is used to adjust the weights to the output layer, and Euclidean distance method used to measure the width of the Gaussian function.

Keywords: system identification, nonlinear systems, neural networks, radial basis function, K-means clustering algorithm

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Authors: Aline F. Marcon, Eduardo F. da Silva, Marina Bouzon

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The impact of lean management on environmental sustainability is the research line that receives the most attention from academicians. Therefore, the social dimension of sustainable development has so far received less attention. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of intra-plant lean manufacturing practices on social sustainability indicators extracted from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) parameters. The method is two-phased, including MCDM approach to uncover the most relevant practices regarding social performance and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method to reveal the structural relationship among lean practices. Professionals from the academic and industrial fields answered the questionnaires. From the results of this paper, it is possible to verify that practices such as “Safety Improvement Programs”, “Total Quality Management” and “Cross-functional Workforce” are the ones which have the most positive influence on the set of GRI social indicators.

Keywords: indicators, ISM, lean, social, sustainability

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Authors: H. Golchoobian, M. H. Taheri, S. Saedodin, A. Sarafraz

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This paper investigates the possibility of using three systems of organic Rankine auxiliary power generation, ejector refrigeration and absorption to recover energy from a diesel car. The analysis is done for both urban and suburban driving modes that vary from 60 to 120 km/h. Various refrigerants have also been used for organic Rankine and Ejector refrigeration cycles. The capacity was evaluated by Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system in both urban and suburban conditions for cyclopentane and ammonia as refrigerants. Also, for these two driving plans, produced cooling by absorption refrigeration system under variable ambient temperature conditions and in ejector refrigeration system for R123, R134a and R141b refrigerants were investigated.

Keywords: absorption system, diesel engine, ejector refrigeration, energy recovery, organic Rankine cycle

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Authors: Francesca Crivellari, Nicholas Mavrogiannis, Zachary Gagnon

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Portable diagnostic methods have become increasingly important for a number of different purposes: point-of-care screening in developing nations, environmental contamination studies, bio/chemical warfare agent detection, and end-user use for commercial health monitoring. The cheapest and most portable methods currently available are paper-based – lateral flow and dipstick methods are widely available in drug stores for use in pregnancy detection and blood glucose monitoring. These tests are successful because they are cheap to produce, easy to use, and require minimally invasive sampling. While adequate for their intended uses, in the realm of blood-borne pathogens and numerous cancers, these paper-based methods become unreliable, as they lack the nM/pM sensitivity currently achieved by clinical diagnostic methods. Clinical diagnostics, however, utilize techniques involving surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), which are expensive and unfeasible in terms of portability. To develop a better, competitive biosensor, we must reduce the cost of one, or increase the sensitivity of the other. Electric fields are commonly utilized in microfluidic devices to manipulate particles, biomolecules, and cells. Applications in this area, however, are primarily limited to interfaces formed between immiscible interfaces. Miscible, liquid-liquid interfaces are common in microfluidic devices, and are easily reproduced with simple geometries. Here, we demonstrate the use of electrical fields at liquid-liquid electrical interfaces, known as fluidic dielectrophoresis, (fDEP) for biodetection in a microfluidic device. In this work, we apply an AC electric field across concurrent laminar streams with differing conductivities and permittivities to polarize the interface and induce a discernible, near-immediate, frequency-dependent interfacial tilt. We design this aqueous electrical interface, which becomes the biosensing “substrate,” to be intelligent – it “moves” only when a target of interest is present. This motion requires neither labels nor expensive electrical equipment, so the biosensor is inexpensive and portable, yet still capable of sensitive detection. Nanoparticles, due to their high surface-area-to-volume ratio, are often incorporated to enhance detection capabilities of schemes like SPR and fluorimetric assays. Most studies currently investigate binding at an immobilized solid-liquid or solid-gas interface, where particles are adsorbed onto a planar surface, functionalized with a receptor to create a reactive substrate, and subsequently flushed with a fluid or gas with the relevant analyte. These typically involve many preparation and rinsing steps, and are susceptible to surface fouling. Our microfluidic device is continuously flowing and renewing the “substrate,” and is thus not subject to fouling. In this work, we demonstrate the ability to electrokinetically detect biomolecules binding to functionalized nanoparticles at liquid-liquid interfaces using fDEP. In biotin-streptavidin experiments, we report binding detection limits on the order of 1-10 pM, without amplifying signals or concentrating samples. We also demonstrate the ability to detect this interfacial motion, and thus the presence of binding, using impedance spectroscopy, allowing this scheme to become non-optical, in addition to being label-free.

Keywords: biodetection, dielectrophoresis, microfluidics, nanoparticles

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Authors: Chawarat Rotejanaprasert, Andrew Lawson

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Early detection of unusual health events depends on the ability to detect rapidly any substantial changes in disease, thus facilitating timely public health interventions. To assist public health practitioners to make decisions, statistical methods are adopted to assess unusual events in real time. We introduce a surveillance Kullback-Leibler (SKL) measure for timely detection of disease outbreaks for small area health data. The detection methods are compared with the surveillance conditional predictive ordinate (SCPO) within the framework of Bayesian hierarchical Poisson modeling and applied to a case study of a group of respiratory system diseases observed weekly in South Carolina counties. Properties of the proposed surveillance techniques including timeliness and detection precision are investigated using a simulation study.

Keywords: Bayesian, spatial, temporal, surveillance, prospective

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Authors: Laidi Maamar, Hanini Salah

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The present work investigates the potential of artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the horizontal global solar radiation (HGSR). The ANN is developed and optimized using three years meteorological database from 2011 to 2013 available at the meteorological station of Blida (Blida 1 university, Algeria, Latitude 36.5°, Longitude 2.81° and 163 m above mean sea level). Optimal configuration of the ANN model has been determined by minimizing the Root Means Square Error (RMSE) and maximizing the correlation coefficient (R2) between observed and predicted data with the ANN model. To select the best ANN architecture, we have conducted several tests by using different combinations of parameters. A two-layer ANN model with six hidden neurons has been found as an optimal topology with (RMSE=4.036 W/m²) and (R²=0.999). A graphical user interface (GUI), was designed based on the best network structure and training algorithm, to enhance the users’ friendliness application of the model.

Keywords: artificial neural network, global solar radiation, solar energy, prediction, Algeria

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Authors: Liyew Yizengaw Yitayih

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This nanotechnology study focuses on how potassium ions (K+) affect lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery performance. By adding potassium ions (K+) to the lithium tin oxide (LiSnO) anode and employing styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) as a binder, the doping of K+ was specifically studied. The methods employed in this study include computer modeling and simulation, material fabrication, and electrochemical characterization. The potassium ions (Li+) were successfully doped into the LiSnO lattice during charge/discharge cycles, which increased the lithium-ion diffusivity and electrical conductivity within the anode. However, it was found that internal doping of potassium ions (K+) into the LiSnO lattice occurred at high potassium ion concentrations (>16.6%), which hampered lithium ion transfer because of repulsion and physical blockage. The electrochemical efficiency of lithium-ion batteries was improved by this comprehensive study's presentation of potassium ions' (K+) potential advantages when present in the appropriate concentrations in electrode materials.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, LiSnO anode, potassium doping, lithium-ion diffusivity, electronic conductivity

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Authors: Majid Afkhami, Maryam Ehsanpour

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The present study provides information about the nature of adverse effects on fish and the ecological impact that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollutant are having in the northern coast of Hormuz Strait. The glucose and cholesterol levels were higher in fish from the St3 than in Walton's mudskipper from other stations however St3 samples had lowest total proteins levels. There was a significant positive correlation between glucose and cholesterol with PAHs concentrations in sediment and tissue samples (P<0.05). However, total proteins had adverse significant correlation with PAHs concentrations (P>0.05). The adverse correlation was seen between length and body weight of fish samples with PAHs concentrations. According to the results of this study, the monitoring of contaminants bioaccumulation in the northern part of Hormuz Strait is necessary, because this will give an indication of the temporal and spatial extent of the process, as well as an assessment of the potential impact on aquatic organisms health.

Keywords: PAHs, blood metabolic factors, Periophthalmus waltoni, Hormuz Strait

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Authors: O. Ahmed Apampa, Yinusa, A. Jimoh

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The aim of this study was to develop an appropriate model for predicting the compaction behavior of lateritic soils and corn cob ash (CCA) stabilized lateritic soils. This was done by first adopting an equation earlier developed for fine-grained soils and subsequent adaptation by others and extending it to modified lateritic soil through the introduction of alpha and beta parameters which are polynomial functions of the CCA binder input. The polynomial equations were determined with MATLAB R2011 curve fitting tool, while the alpha and beta parameters were determined by standard linear programming techniques using the Solver function of Microsoft Excel 2010. The model so developed was a good fit with a correlation coefficient R2 value of 0.86. The paper concludes that it is possible to determine the optimum moisture content and the maximum dry density of CCA stabilized soils from the compaction test of the unmodified soil, and recommends that this procedure is extended to other binder stabilized lateritic soils to facilitate quick decision making in roadworks.

Keywords: compaction, corn cob ash, lateritic soil, stabilization

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Authors: Ch. Sridevi, S. P. Shailender Kumar, B. Gurudayal, A. Chalapathi Rao, K. Koteswara Rao, P. Srinivasulu

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System reliability and system availability evaluation plays a crucial role in ensuring the seamless operation of complex satellite data reception system with consistent performance for longer periods. This paper presents a novel approach for the same using a case study on one of the antenna systems at satellite data reception ground station in India. The methodology involves analyzing system's components, their failure rates, system's architecture, generation of logical reliability block diagram model and estimating the reliability of the system using the component level mean time between failures considering exponential distribution to derive a baseline estimate of the system's reliability. The model is then validated with collected system level field failure data from the operational satellite data reception systems that includes failure occurred, failure time, criticality of the failure and repair times by using statistical techniques like median rank, regression and Weibull analysis to extract meaningful insights regarding failure patterns and practical reliability of the system and to assess the accuracy of the developed reliability model. The study mainly focused on identification of critical units within the system, which are prone to failures and have a significant impact on overall performance and brought out a reliability model of the identified critical unit. This model takes into account the interdependencies among system components and their impact on overall system reliability and provides valuable insights into the performance of the system to understand the Improvement or degradation of the system over a period of time and will be the vital input to arrive at the optimized design for future development. It also provides a plug and play framework to understand the effect on performance of the system in case of any up gradations or new designs of the unit. It helps in effective planning and formulating contingency plans to address potential system failures, ensuring the continuity of operations. Furthermore, to instill confidence in system users, the duration for which the system can operate continuously with the desired level of 3 sigma reliability was estimated that turned out to be a vital input to maintenance plan. System availability and station availability was also assessed by considering scenarios of clash and non-clash to determine the overall system performance and potential bottlenecks. Overall, this paper establishes a comprehensive methodology for reliability and availability analysis of complex satellite data reception systems. The results derived from this approach facilitate effective planning contingency measures, and provide users with confidence in system performance and enables decision-makers to make informed choices about system maintenance, upgrades and replacements. It also aids in identifying critical units and assessing system availability in various scenarios and helps in minimizing downtime and optimizing resource allocation.

Keywords: exponential distribution, reliability modeling, reliability block diagram, satellite data reception system, system availability, weibull analysis

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Authors: Maria Valeria De Bonis, Gianpaolo Ruocco

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Nowadays, computational modeling is paving new design and verification ways in a number of industrial sectors. The technology is ripe to challenge some case in the Bioengineering and Medicine frameworks: for example, looking at the strategical and ethical importance of oncology research, efforts should be made to yield new and powerful resources to tumor knowledge and understanding. With these driving motivations, we approach this gigantic problem by using some standard engineering tools such as the mathematics behind the biomass transfer. We present here some bacterial colonization studies in complex structures. As strong analogies hold with some tumor proliferation, we extend our study to a benchmark case of solid tumor. By means of a commercial software, we model biomass and energy evolution in arbitrary media. The approach will be useful to cast virtualization cases of cancer growth in human organs, while augmented reality tools will be used to yield for a realistic aid to informed decision in treatment and surgery.

Keywords: bacteria, simulation, tumor, precision medicine

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Authors: V. D. Thi, M. Li, M. Khelifa, M. El Ganaoui, Y. Rogaume

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This paper presents a two-dimensional model to study the heat and moisture transfer through porous building materials. Dynamic and static coupled models of heat and moisture transfer in porous material under low temperature are presented and the coupled models together with variable initial and boundary conditions have been considered in an analytical way and using the finite element method. The resulting coupled model is converted to two nonlinear partial differential equations, which is then numerically solved by an implicit iterative scheme. The numerical results of temperature and moisture potential changes are compared with the experimental measurements available in the literature. Predicted results demonstrate validation of the theoretical model and effectiveness of the developed numerical algorithms. It is expected to provide useful information for the porous building material design based on heat and moisture transfer model.

Keywords: finite element method, heat transfer, moisture transfer, porous materials, wood

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Authors: Shaghayegh Shajari, Mehdi Mahmoodi, Mahmood Rajabian, Uttandaraman Sundararaj, Les J. Sudak

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Although several strain sensors based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been reported, the stretchability and sensitivity of these sensors have remained as a challenge. Highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors are in great demand for human motion monitoring and human-machine interface. This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of a new type of strain sensors based on a stretchable fluoropolymer / CNT nanocomposite system made via melt-mixing technique. Electrical and mechanical characterizations were obtained. The results showed that this nanocomposite sensor has high stretchability up to 280% of strain at an optimum level of filler concentration. The piezoresistive properties and the strain sensing mechanism of the strain sensor were investigated using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). High sensitivity was obtained (gauge factor as large as 12000 under 120% applied strain) in particular at the concentrations above the percolation threshold. Due to the tunneling effect, a non- linear piezoresistivity was observed at high concentrations of CNT loading. The nanocomposites with good conductivity and lightweight could be a promising candidate for strain sensing applications.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, fluoropolymer, piezoresistive, strain sensor

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Authors: Han-Wei Shih, Yao-Nan Wang, Ko-Tung Chang, Lung-Ming Fu

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A multi-channel cell growth real-time monitor and evaluation system using charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors with 40X lens integrating a NI LabVIEW image processing program is proposed and demonstrated. The LED light source control of monitor system is utilizing 8051 microprocessor integrated with NI LabVIEW software. In this study, the same concentration RAW264.7 cells growth rate and morphology in four different culture conditions (DMEM, LPS, G1, G2) were demonstrated. The real-time cells growth image was captured and analyzed by NI Vision Assistant every 10 minutes in the incubator. The image binarization technique was applied for calculating cell doubling time and cell division index. The cells doubling time and cells division index of four group with DMEM, LPS, LPS+G1, LPS+G2 are 12.3 hr,10.8 hr,14.0 hr,15.2 hr and 74.20%, 78.63%, 69.53%, 66.49%. The image magnification of multi-channel CCDs cell real-time monitoring system is about 100X~200X which compares with the traditional microscope.

Keywords: charge-coupled device (CCD), RAW264.7, doubling time, division index

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Authors: Monday Dickson

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Shortly before the end of the second world war, allied leaders and other western powers designed an economic regime that would foster, among other things, global economic reconstruction, prosperity and overall development of countries of the world. They founded both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a general consensus that while the latter should specialize in monitoring global and national economies and acting as a lender of last resort, the former should focus on fighting poverty and promoting development. In setting the rules for world trade, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) evolved into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This paper, therefore, examines the impact of the activities of these institutions on the transformation and development aspirations of countries of the Third World. The study adopts the descriptive and analytical methods of investigation and derived relevant secondary data from books, journal articles, encyclopedia as well as reports from countries of the Third World. Findings show that rather than fostering poverty reduction and overall development as envisaged, the activities of global economy system leads to the “development of underdevelopment” of the Third World Countries. The strategic options that are available to countries of the Third World derived from the ability of the national governments to develop programmes of systematic exploration and exploitation of vital indices of relations with strategic countries to advance their development agenda.

Keywords: development, global economic system, prosperity, third world

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Authors: R. Kandiah, K. Miyamoto

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In Sri Lanka, the Jaffna area is a high drought affected area and depends mainly on groundwater aquifers for water needs. Water for daily activities is extracted from wells. As households manually extract water from the wells, it is not drawn from mid evening to early morning. The water inflow at night provides the maximum water level that decreases during the daytime due to extraction. The storage volume of water in wells is limited or at its lowest level during the dry season. This study analyzes the domestic water budget during the dry season in the Jaffna area. In order to evaluate the water inflow rate into wells, storage volume and extraction volume from wells over time, water pressure is measured at the bottom of three wells, which are located in coastal area denoted as well A, in nonspecific area denoted as well B, and agricultural area denoted as well C. The water quality at the wells A, B, and C, are mostly fresh, modest fresh, and saline respectively. From the monitoring, we can find that the daily inflow amount of water into the wells and daily water extraction depend on each other, that is, higher extraction yields higher inflow. And, in the dry season, the daily inflow volume and the daily extraction volume of each well are almost in balance.

Keywords: accessible volume, consumption volume, inflow rate, water budget

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Authors: B. Razmi, F. Rafiee, M. Baziar, A. Saeedi Azizkandi

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In the present research, a series of 3-D finite element numerical modeling was performed to study the effect of system frequency and excitation specifications on the internal forces of the piled raft (PR) system in a dry sand layer. The results of numerical simulations were first compared with those associated with centrifuge tests. The natural frequency of superstructure, modeled on the piled raft foundation, was smaller than the natural frequency of the fixed-base super-structure. This difference was greater for super-structures with higher frequencies. In PR systems, the excitation with a frequency close to the system frequency produced the largest responses. Furthermore, based on the results of presented numerical analyses, ignoring the interactions and characteristics of all components of a pile-raft-structure, may lead to highly uneconomical design.

Keywords: centrifuge test, excitation frequency, natural frequency of super-structure, piled raft foundation, 3-D finite element model

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Authors: Shailaja Grover, Purvi Tiwari, Vigneshwaran S. R., U. Dinesh Kumar

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In India, grapes are one of the most important horticulture crops. Grapes are most vulnerable to downy mildew, which is one of the most devasting diseases. In the absence of a precise weather-based advisory system, farmers spray pesticides on their crops extensively. There are two main challenges associated with using these pesticides. Firstly, most of these sprays were panic sprays, which could have been avoided. Second, farmers use more expensive "Preventive and Eradicate" chemicals than "Systemic, Curative and Anti-sporulate" chemicals. When these chemicals are used indiscriminately, they can enter the fruit and cause health problems such as cancer. This paper utilizes decision trees and predictive modeling techniques to provide grape farmers with customized advice on grape disease management. This model is expected to reduce the overall use of chemicals by approximately 50% and the cost by around 70%. Most of the grapes produced will have relatively low residue levels of pesticides, i.e., below the permissible level.

Keywords: analytics in agriculture, downy mildew, weather based advisory, decision tree, predictive modelling

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Authors: Ali Driouiche, Abdallah Hadfi

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During this work on scaling phenomenon observed in the irrigation water pipes in the agricultural region of Greater Agadir, a follow-up was carried out during a year of the physico-chemical quality of these waters. Sampling was conducted from 120 sampling points, well distributed in the study area and involved 120 water samples. The parameters measured for each sample are temperature, pH, conductivity, total hardness and the concentrations of the ions HCO₃₋, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, SO₄₋, NO₃₋, Cl₋ and OH₋. Indeed, the monitoring of the physico-chemical quality shows that the total hardness varies between 20 and 65 °F and the complete alkalimetric title varies from 14 °F to 42 °F. For the kinetic study of the scaling power, an object of this work, 6 samples which have high hardness were selected from the 120 samples analyzed. This study was carried out using the controlled degassing method Laboratoire de Chimie et de Génie de l’Environnement (LCGE) where it was developed) and showed that the studied waters are calcifying. The germination time Tg varies between 16 and 34 minutes. The highlighting of new scale inhibitors to prevent the formation of scale in the pipelines of the agricultural sector of Greater Agadir will also be discussed.

Keywords: agadir, clogging pipes, localized irrigation, scaling power

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Authors: N. P. Yadav, Deepti Verma

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This paper focuses on the mathematical modeling for solidification of Al alloy in a cube mould cavity to study the solidification behavior of casting process. The parametric investigation of solidification process inside the cavity was performed by using computational solidification/melting model coupled with Volume of fluid (VOF) model. The implicit filling algorithm is used in this study to understand the overall process from the filling stage to solidification in a model metal casting process. The model is validated with past studied at same conditions. The solidification process are analyzed by including the effect of pouring velocity and temperature of liquid metal, effect of wall temperature as well natural convection from the wall and geometry of the cavity. These studies show the possibility of various defects during solidification process.

Keywords: buoyancy driven flow, natural convection driven flow, residual flow, secondary flow, volume of fluid

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Authors: Yusra Abdulsalam Alqamati, Ahmed Alkilany

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The teaching staff is a distinct group whose impact is on the educational process and which plays an important role in enhancing the quality of the academic education process. To improve the management effectiveness of the academy, the Teaching Staff Management System (TSMS) proposes that all teacher processes be digitized. Since the BPMN approach can accurately describe the processes, it lacks a clear picture of the process flow map, something that the process mining approach has, which is extracting information from event logs for discovery, monitoring, and model enhancement. Therefore, these two methodologies were combined to create the most accurate representation of system operations, the ability to extract data records and mining processes, recreate them in the form of a Petri net, and then generate them in a BPMN model for a more in-depth view of process flow. Additionally, the TSMS processes will be orchestrated to handle all requests in a guaranteed small-time manner thanks to the integration of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the BPM engine, and allowing business owners to take part throughout the entire TSMS project development lifecycle.

Keywords: process mining, BPM, business process model and notation, Petri net, teaching staff, Google Cloud Platform

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Authors: Soheil Mohtaram, Wu Weidong, Yashar Aryanfar

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This research investigates the points with heat recovery potential in a triple-pressure cogeneration combined cycle power plant and determines the amount of waste heat that can be recovered. A modified cycle arrangement is then adopted for accessing thermal potentials. Modeling the energy system is followed by thermodynamic and energetic evaluation, and then the price of the manufactured products is also determined using the Total Revenue Requirement (TRR) method and term economic analysis. The results of optimization are then presented in a Pareto chart diagram by implementing a new model with dual objective functions, which include power cost and produce heat. This model can be utilized to identify the optimal operating point for such power plants based on electricity and heat prices in different regions.

Keywords: heat loss, recycling, unused energy, efficient production, optimization, triple-pressure cogeneration

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Authors: J. W. Mbogani, B. A. Bunyasi

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The special skills for five students in the vocational class in Kakamega program for Hearing impaired were identified within one term period of the Kenyan education system. Three students were identified as having a liking for tailoring. The remaining two students did not show any interest in any vocational subject. The three students were attached to two professionals in practicing general tailors within the school vicinity for scaffolding purposes. The students were allowed to attend general classes under the normal curriculum and were withdrawn after eleven in the morning for tailoring classes. The students were then monitored with the guideline of a checklist. The purpose of monitoring was to establish whether the behavior of the students reflected a motivated student. It was established that two of them improved in their school attendance in terms of regularity, punctuality and responsibility accomplishment. The third student ended up attending only tailoring classes. The socialization aspect of the two students improved a lot. They also tended to identify more with the teachers than their fellow students. We recommend that learners with special needs in education should be subjected to the normal curriculum. They may benefit more and attain a skill that could help them economically. Further study should also be done to in several institutions involving learners in other classes.

Keywords: general tailoring, scaffolding, term, vocational class

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Authors: Nicki Mohammadi, Emma Reford, Natalia Romano Spica, Laura Tabacof, Jenna Tosto-Mancuso, David Putrino, Christopher P. Kellner

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Introductory Statement: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic demanded an unprecedented need for the rapid development, dispersal, and application of infection testing. However, despite the impressive mobilization of resources, individuals were incredibly limited in their access to tests, particularly during the initial months of the pandemic (March-April 2020) in New York City (NYC). Access to COVID-19 testing is crucial in understanding patients’ illness experiences and integral to the development of COVID-19 standard-of-care protocols, especially in the context of overall access to healthcare resources. Succinct Description of basic methodologies: 18 Patients in a COVID-19 Remote Patient Monitoring Program (Precision Recovery within the Mount Sinai Health System) were interviewed regarding their experience with COVID-19 during the first wave (March-May 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Patients were asked about their experiences navigating COVID-19 diagnoses, the health care system, and their recovery process. Transcribed interviews were analyzed for thematic codes, using grounded theory to guide the identification of emergent themes and codebook development through an iterative process. Data coding was performed using NVivo12. References for the domain “testing” were then extracted and analyzed for themes and statistical patterns. Clear Indication of Major Findings of the study: 100% of participants (18/18) referenced COVID-19 testing in their interviews, with a total of 79 references across the 18 transcripts (average: 4.4 references/interview; 2.7% interview coverage). 89% of participants (16/18) discussed the difficulty of access to testing, including denial of testing without high severity of symptoms, geographical distance to the testing site, and lack of testing resources at healthcare centers. Participants shared varying perspectives on how the lack of certainty regarding their COVID-19 status affected their course of recovery. One participant shared that because she never tested positive she was shielded from her anxiety and fear, given the death toll in NYC. Another group of participants shared that not having a concrete status to share with family, friends and professionals affected how seriously onlookers took their symptoms. Furthermore, the absence of a positive test barred some individuals from access to treatment programs and employment support. Concluding Statement: Lack of access to COVID-19 testing in the first wave of the pandemic in NYC was a prominent element of patients’ illness experience, particularly during their recovery phase. While for some the lack of concrete results was protective, most emphasized the invalidating effect this had on the perception of illness for both self and others. COVID-19 testing is now widely accessible; however, those who are unable to demonstrate a positive test result but who are still presumed to have had COVID-19 in the first wave must continue to adapt to and live with the effects of this gap in knowledge and care on their recovery. Future efforts are required to ensure that patients do not face barriers to care due to the lack of testing and are reassured regarding their access to healthcare. Affiliations- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 2Abilities Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY

Keywords: accessibility, COVID-19, recovery, testing

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Authors: Vishal Kumar, Soumitra Satapathi

Abstract:

Föster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a powerful technique used to probe close-range molecular interactions. Physically, the FRET phenomenon manifests as a dipole–dipole interaction between closely juxtaposed fluorescent molecules (10–100 Å). Our effort is to employ this FRET technique to make a prototype device for highly sensitive detection of environment pollutant. Among the most common environmental pollutants, nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are of particular interest because of their durability and toxicity. That’s why, sensitive and selective detection of small amounts of nitroaromatic explosives, in particular, 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been a critical challenge due to the increasing threat of explosive-based terrorism and the need of environmental monitoring of drinking and waste water. In addition, the excessive utilization of TNP in several other areas such as burn ointment, pesticides, glass and the leather industry resulted in environmental accumulation, and is eventually contaminating the soil and aquatic systems. To the date, high number of elegant methods, including fluorimetry, gas chromatography, mass, ion-mobility and Raman spectrometry have been successfully applied for explosive detection. Among these efforts, fluorescence-quenching methods based on the mechanism of FRET show good assembly flexibility, high selectivity and sensitivity. Here, we report a FRET-based sensor system for the highly selective detection of NACs, such as TNP, DNT and TNT. The sensor system is composed of a copolymer Poly [(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-co-(Boc-Trp-EMA)] (RP) bearing tryptophan derivative in the side chain as donor and dansyl tagged copolymer P(MMA-co-Dansyl-Ala-HEMA) (DCP) as an acceptor. Initially, the inherent fluorescence of RP copolymer is quenched by non-radiative energy transfer to DCP which only happens once the two molecules are within Förster critical distance (R0). The excellent spectral overlap (Jλ= 6.08×10¹⁴ nm⁴M⁻¹cm⁻¹) between donors’ (RP) emission profile and acceptors’ (DCP) absorption profile makes them an exciting and efficient FRET pair i.e. further confirmed by the high rate of energy transfer from RP to DCP i.e. 0.87 ns⁻¹ and lifetime measurement by time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to validate the 64% FRET efficiency. This FRET pair exhibited a specific fluorescence response to NACs such as DNT, TNT and TNP with 5.4, 2.3 and 0.4 µM LODs, respectively. The detection of NACs occurs with high sensitivity by photoluminescence quenching of FRET signal induced by photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from electron-rich FRET pair to electron-deficient NAC molecules. The estimated stern-volmer constant (KSV) values for DNT, TNT and TNP are 6.9 × 10³, 7.0 × 10³ and 1.6 × 104 M⁻¹, respectively. The mechanistic details of molecular interactions are established by time-resolved fluorescence, steady-state fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the sensing process is of mixed type, i.e. both dynamic and static quenching as lifetime of FRET system (0.73 ns) is reduced to 0.55, 0.57 and 0.61 ns DNT, TNT and TNP, respectively. In summary, the simplicity and sensitivity of this novel FRET sensor opens up the possibility of designing optical sensor of various NACs in one single platform for developing multimodal sensor for environmental monitoring and future field based study.

Keywords: FRET, nitroaromatic, stern-Volmer constant, tryptophan and dansyl tagged copolymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Raeesa Moolla, Ryan S. Johnson

Abstract:

Air travel, and the use of airports, has experienced proliferative growth in the past few decades, resulting in the concomitant release of air pollutants. Air pollution needs to be monitored because of the known relationship between exposure to air pollutants and increased adverse effects on human health. This study monitored a group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); specifically BTEX (viz. benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes), as many are detrimental to human health. Through the use of passive sampling methods, the spatial variability of BTEX within an international airport was investigated, in order to determine ‘hotspots’ where occupational exposure to BTEX may be intensified. The passive sampling campaign revealed BTEX_total concentrations ranged between 12.95–124.04 µg m^-3. Furthermore, BTEX concentrations were dispersed heterogeneously within the airport. Due to the slow wind speeds recorded (1.13 m.s^-1); the hotspots were located close to their main BTEX sources. The main hotspot was located over the main apron of the airport. Employees working in this area may be chronically exposed to these emissions, which could be potentially detrimental to their health.

Keywords: air pollution, air quality, hotspot monitoring, volatile organic compounds

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Ihsane Modhaffar, Kamal Gueraoui, Abouelkacem Qais, Abderrahmane Maaouni, Samir Men-La-Yakhaf, Hamid Eltourroug

Abstract:

The main objective of this paper is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to simulate and characterize the fiber suspension in flow in rectangular cavities. The model is intended to describe the velocity profile and to predict the fiber orientation. The flow was considered to be incompressible, and behave as Newtonian fluid containing suspensions of short-fibers. The numerical model for determination of velocity profile and fiber orientation during mold-filling stage of injection molding process was solved using finite volume method. The governing equations of this problem are: the continuity, the momentum and the energy. The obtained results were compared to available experimental findings. A good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data was achieved.

Keywords: injection, composites, short-fiber reinforced thermoplastics, fiber orientation, incompressible fluid, numerical simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 457