Search results for: relative entropy

Authors: Abayomi T. Ogunjimi, Gbenga Alebiowu

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Mechanical properties of paracetamol tablets containing Neem (Azadirachta indica) gum were compared with standard Acacia gum BP as binder. Two dimensionless binding quantities BEN and BEC were used in assessing the influence of binder type on two mechanical properties, Tensile Strength (TS) and Brittle Fracture Index (BFI). The two quantities were also used to assess the influence of relative density and binder concentration on TS and BFI as well as compare Binding Efficiencies (BE). The result shows that TS is dependent on relative density, binder type and binder concentration while BFI is dependent on the binder type and binder concentration; and that although, the inclusion of NMG in a paracetamol tablet formulation may not enhance the TS of the tablets produced, however it will decrease the tendency of the tablets to cap or laminate. This work concludes that BEN may be useful in quantitative assessment while BEC may be appropriate for qualitative assessment.

Keywords: binding efficiency, brittle fracture index, dimensionless binding, tensile strength

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Authors: Regina R. Gunawan, Indwiani Astuti, H. Raden Danarto

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Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Cancer is caused by mutations that alter the function of normal human genes and give rise to cancer genes. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small non-coding RNA that regulates the gen through complementary bond towards mRNA target and cause mRNA degradation. miRNA works by either promoting or suppressing cell proliferation. miRNA level expression in cancer may offer another value of miRNA as a biomarker in cancer diagnostic. miRNA-21 is believed to have a role in carcinogenesis by enhancing proliferation, anti-apoptosis, cell cycle progression and invasion of tumor cells. Hsa-miR-21-5p marker has been identified in Prostate Cancer (PCa) and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patient’s urine. This research planned to explore the diagnostic performance of miR-21 to differentiate PCa and BPH patients. In this study, urine samples were collected from 20 PCa patients and 20 BPH patients. miR-21 relative expression against the reference gene was analyzed and compared between the two. miRNA expression was analyzed using the comparative quantification method to find the fold change. miR-21 validity in identifying PCa patients was performed by quantifying the sensitivity and specificity with the contingency table. miR-21 relative expression against miR-16 in PCa patient and in BPH patient has 12,98 differences in fold change. From a contingency table of Cq expression of miR-21 in identifying PCa patients from BPH patient, Cq miR-21 has 100% sensitivity and 75% specificity. miR-21 relative expression can be used in discriminating PCa from BPH by using a urine sample. Furthermore, the expression of miR-21 has higher sensitivity compared to PSA (Prostate specific antigen), therefore miR-21 has a high potential to be analyzed and developed more.

Keywords: benign prostate hyperplasia, biomarker, miRNA-21, prostate cancer

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Authors: Ayesha Asif, Muhammad Zeeshan

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The sensitivity of hospital-microenvironments for all types of pollutants, due to the presence of patients with immune deficiencies, makes them complex indoor spaces. Keeping in view, this study investigated indoor air quality (IAQ) of two most sensitive places, i.e., operation theater (OT) and intensive care unit (ICU), of a publically managed hospital. Taking CO₂ concentration as air quality indicator and temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) as thermal comfort parameters, continuous monitoring of the three variables was carried out. Measurements were recorded at an interval of 1 min for weekdays and weekends, including occupational and non-occupational hours. Outdoor T and RH measurements were also used in the analysis. Results show significant variation (p < 0.05) in CO₂, T and RH values over the day during weekdays while no significant variation (p > 0.05) have been observed during weekends of both the monitored sites. Maximum observed values of CO₂ in OT and ICU were found to be 2430 and 624 ppm, T as 24.7ºC and 28.9ºC and RH as 29.6% and 32.2% respectively.

Keywords: indoor air quality, CO₂ concentration, hospital building, comfort assessment

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Authors: Mousa Bani Baker, Raed Abendeh, Zaidoon Abu Salem, Hesham Ahmad

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This research paper was commissioned to discuss the Jordanian marble, which is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however, stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphised limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. The marble has many uses; one of them is using the white marble that has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with its softness, relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Another use of it is the construction marble which is “a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine which is capable of taking a polish” Marble Institute of America. This report focuses most about the marble in Jordan and its properties: rock definition, physical properties, the marble occurrences in Jordan, types of Jordanian marble and their prices and test done on this marble.

Keywords: marble, metamorphic, non-foliated, compressive strength, recrystallized, Moh’s hardness, abrasion, absorption, modulus of rupture, porosity

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Authors: A. Jawahar

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In this paper, the dependence of soliton pulses with respect to phase in a 10 Gbps, single channel, dispersion uncompensated telecommunication system was studied. The characteristic feature of periodic soliton interaction was noted at the Interaction point (I=6202.5Km) in one collision length of L=12405.1 Km. The interaction point is located for 10Gbps system with an initial relative spacing (qo) of soliton as 5.28 using Perturbation theory. It is shown that, when two in-phase solitons are launched, they interact at the point I=6202.5 Km, but the interaction could be restricted with introduction of different phase initially. When the phase of the input solitons increases, the deviation of soliton pulses at the I also increases. We have successfully demonstrated this effect in a telecommunication set-up in terms of Quality factor (Q), where the Q=0 for in-phase soliton. The Q was noted to be 125.9, 38.63, 47.53, 59.60, 161.37, and 78.04 for different phases such as 10o, 20o, 30o, 45o, 60o and 90o degrees respectively at Interaction point I.

Keywords: Soliton interaction, Initial relative spacing, phase, Perturbation theory and telecommunication system

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Authors: Selvamuthukumaran Thirunavukkarasu, Arivudainambi Sundararajan

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The plant active molecules with their known mode of action are important leads to the development of newer insecticides. Lactone glycoside was identified earlier as the active principle in Cleistanthus collinus (Roxb.) Benth. (Fam: Euphorbiaceae). It possessed feeding deterrent, insecticidal and insect growth regulatory actions at varying concentrations. Deducing its mode of action opens a possibility of its further development. A no-choice leaf disc bioassay was carried out with lactone glycoside at different doses for different instars and Deterrence Indices were worked out. Using regression analysis concentrations imparting 10, 30 and 50 per cent deterrence (DI10, DI30 & DI50) were worked out. At these doses, effect on nutritional indices like Relative Consumption and Growth Rates (RCR & RGR), Efficiencies of Conversion of Ingested and Digested food (ECI & ECD) and Approximate Digestibility (AD) were worked out. The Relative Consumption and Growth Rate of control and lactone glycoside larva were compared by regression analysis. Regression analysis of deterrence indices revealed that the concentrations needed for imparting 50 per cent deterrence was 60.66, 68.47 and 71.10 ppm for third, fourth and fifth instars respectively. Relative consumption rate (RCR) and relative growth rate (RGR) were reduced. This confirmed the antifeedant action of the fraction. Approximate digestibility (AD) was found greater in treatments indicating reduced faeces because of poor digestibility and retention of food in the gut. Efficiency of conversion of both ingested and digested (ECI and ECD) food was also found to be greatly reduced. This indicated presence of toxic action. This was proved by comparing growth efficiencies of control and lactone glycoside treated larvae. Lactone glycoside was found to possess both feeding deterrent and toxic modes of action. Studies on molecular targets based on this preliminary site of action lead to new insecticide development.

Keywords: Spodoptera litura Fabricius, Cleistanthus collinus (Roxb.) Benth, feeding deterrence, mode of action

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Authors: Nikhil V. Nayak

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In this paper, the influence of air cooling intake on the gas turbine performance is presented. A comparison among different cooling systems, i.e., evaporative and cooling coil, is performed. A computer simulation model for the employed systems is developed in order to evaluate the performance of the studied gas turbine unit, at Marka Power Station, Amman, Bangalore. The performance characteristics are examined for a set of actual operational parameters including ambient temperature, relative humidity, turbine inlet temperature, pressure ratio, etc. The obtained results showed that the evaporative cooling system is capable of boosting the power and enhancing the efficiency of the studied gas turbine unit in a way much cheaper than cooling coil system due to its high power consumption required to run the vapor-compression refrigeration unit. Nevertheless, it provides full control on the temperature inlet conditions regardless of the relative humidity ratio.

Keywords: power augmentation, temperature control, evaporative cooling, cooling coil, gas turbine

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Authors: I. Hua Chu, Hsiang-Chi Yu, Hsuan Su

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Purpose: To examine the associations between self-determined motivation and physical activity in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) in a longitudinal study. Methods: Patients with CHD were recruited for this study. Their motivations for exercise were measured by the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2). Physical activity was assessed using the 7-day physical activity recall questionnaire. Duration and energy expenditure of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were used in data analysis. All outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 12 months follow up. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis. Results: The results of the 45 participants (mean age 60.24 yr; 90.2% male) revealed that there were significant negative correlations between amotivation at baseline and duration (r=-.295, p=.049) and energy expenditure (r=-.300, p=.045) of MVPA at 12 months. In contrast, there were significant positive correlations between calculated relative autonomy index (RAI) at baseline and duration (r=.377, p=.011) and energy expenditure (r=.382, p=.010) of MVPA at 12 months. There was no significant correlation between other subscales of the BREQ-2 and duration or energy expenditure of MVPA. Regression analyses revealed that RAI was a significant predictor of duration (p=.011) and energy expenditure (p=.010) of MVPA at 12 months follow-up. Conclusions: These results suggest that the relative degree of self-determined motivation could predict long-term MVPA behaviors in CHD patients. Physical activity interventions are recommended to target enhancing one’s identified and intrinsic motivation to increase the likelihood of physical activity participation in this population.

Keywords: self-determined motivation, physical activity, coronary heart disease, relative autonomy index (RAI)

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Authors: Jun Ying Lin, Tzu Hsiang Yen, Cha'o Kuang Chen

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Nowadays, the great majority believe that there is great potentiality in hydrogen storage alloy storing hydrogen by physical and chemical absorption. However, the hydrogen storage alloy is limited by high operation temperature. Scientists find that adding transition elements can improve the properties of hydrogen storage alloy. In this research, outstanding improvements of kinetic and thermal properties are given by the addition of Palladium and Titanium hydride to Magnesium-based hydrogen storage alloy. Magnesium-based alloy is the main material, into which TiH2 / Pd are added separately. Following that, materials are milled by a Planetary Ball Miller at 650 rpm. TGA/DSC and PCT measure the capacity, spending time and temperature of abs/des-orption. Additionally, SEM and XRD analyze the structures and components of material. It is clearly shown that Pd is beneficial to kinetic properties. 2MgH2-0.1Pd has the highest capacity of all the alloys listed, approximately 5.5 wt%. Secondly, there are not any new Ti-related compounds found from XRD analysis. Thus, TiH2, considered as the catalyst, leads to the condition of 2MgH2-TiH2 and 2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd efficiently absorbing hydrogen in low temperature. 2MgH2-TiH2 can reach roughly 3.0 wt% in 82.4 minutes at 50°C and 8 minutes at 100°C, while2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd can reach 2.0 wt% in 400 minutes at 50°C and in 48 minutes at 100°C. The lowest temperature of 2MgH2-0.1Pd and 2MgH2-TiH2 is similar (320°C), otherwise the lowest temperature of 2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd decrease by 20°C. From XRD, it can be observed that PdTi2 and Pd3Ti are produced by mechanical alloying when adding Pd as well as TiH2 into MgH2. Due to the synergistic effects between Pd and TiH2, 2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd owns the lowest dehydrogenation temperature. Furthermore, the Pressure-Composition-Temperature (PCT) curve of 2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd is measured at different temperature, 370°C, 350°C, 320°C and 300°C separately. The plateau pressure is given form the PCT curves above. In accordance to different plateau pressures, enthalpy and entropy in the Van’t Hoff equation can be solved. In 2MgH2-TiH2-0.1Pd, the enthalpy is 74.9 KJ/mol and the entropy is 122.9 J/mol. Activation means that hydrogen storage alloy undergoes repeat abs/des-orpting processes. It plays an important role in the abs/des-orption. Activation shortens the abs/des-orption time because of the increase in surface area. From SEM, it is clear that the grain size and surface become smaller and rougher

Keywords: hydrogen storage materials, magnesium hydride, abs-/des-orption performance, Plateau pressure

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Authors: Luz Hurtado, Rodrigo Rojas, Jaime Romero, Christopher Concha

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The culture of the marine fish red cusk eel Genypterus chilensis is currently considered a priority for Chilean aquaculture which is a Chilean native species of high gastronomic demand and market value. The microbiota was analyzed in terms of diversity and structure using massive Illumina sequencing. The analysis of alpha diversity was performed in samples of G. chilensis larvae of 6, 18 and 32 dph (days post-hatching) and it was observed that there were significant differences (P = 0.05) between the days of culture for the Chao1 index, being the larvae of 18 dph the one with the highest index followed by the larvae of 6 dph, The lowest value for this index was presented in larvae of 32 dph. There were no significant differences in larvae between the days of culture for the Shannon (P=0.0857) and Simpson (P=0.0714) indices. In general, the larvae of G. chilensis have high rates of diversity. When analyzing the beta diversity, a differentiation between the bacterial communities is observed depending on the day of the culture of the larvae. Considering the PCoA elaborated from the unweighted UniFrac statistic, the explained variance was 46.2% (PC1 29.2% and PC2 17.0%) and in the case of the PCoA elaborated with the weighted UniFrac statistic; the explained variance was 65.5% (PC1 41.8% and PC2 23.7%) these differences were significant based on the Permanova statistical analysis (P= 0.002 and 0.037 respectively). When analyzing the taxonomic composition of the microbiota of the larvae in the different days of culture it was observed that at the phyla level the most abundant in the larvae of 6 dph were Proteobacteria (57%) Verrucomicrobia (24%) and Firmicutes (14%), for the larvae of 18 dph the predominant phyla were Proteobacteria (90%), Dependientiae (5%), Actinobacteria (2%) and Plactomyces (2%), for the larvae of 32 dph the phyla that presented the highest relative abundance were Proteobacteria (57%), Firmicutes (29%), Verrucomicrobia (5%) and Actinobacteria (5%), when comparing the larvae between the days it was observed that the phylum Proteobacteria was the most abundant in the samples of larvae of 6, 18 and 32 dph being the larvae of 18 dph those that present the highest relative abundance, the larvae of 6 dph were those that presented the highest relative abundance for the phylum Verrucomicrobia and in the larvae of 32 dph was observed greater abundance of the phylum Firmicutes compared to the other days of larval culture. At the level of genera, those with the highest relative abundance in larvae of 6 dph were Rubritalea (30%), Psychrobacter (28%), staphylococcus (17%) and Ralstonia (10%), for the larvae of 18 dph the genera with the highest abundance were Psychrobacter (47%), Litoreibacter (13%), Nautella (9%) and Cohesibacter (8%), for the larvae of 32 dph the most abundant genera were Alloiococcus (25%), Dialister (14%), Neptunomonas (13%) and Piscirickettsia (11%). When observing the taxonomic composition of the larvae between the days of larval culture, it is observed that there are differences between them.

Keywords: microbiota, diversity, G. Chilensis, larvae

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Authors: Benhaddadi M., Déry D.

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Electric motors are the single biggest consumer of electricity, and the consumption will have more than to double by 2050. Meanwhile, the existing technologies offer the potential to reduce the motor energy demand by up to 30 %, whereas the know-how to realise energy savings is not extensively applied. That is why the authors first conducted a detailed analysis of the regulation of the electric motor market in North America To illustrate the colossal energy savings potential permitted by the VFD, the authors have equipped experimental setup, based on centrifugal pump, simultaneously equipped with regulating throttle valves and variable frequency drive VFD. The obtained experimental results for 1.5 HP motor pump are extended to another motor powers, as centrifugal pumps that are different in power may have similar operational characteristics if they are located in a similar kind of process, permitting the simulations for 5 HP and 100 HP motors. According to the obtained results, VFDs tend to be most cost-effective when fitted to larger motor pumps, in addition to higher duty cycle of the motor and relative time operating at lower than full load. The energy saving permitted by the VFD use is huge, and the payback period for drive investment is short. Nonetheless, it’s important to highlight that there is no general rule of thumb that can be used to obtain the impact of the relative time operating at lower than full load. Indeed, in terms of energy-saving differences, 50 % flow regulation is tremendously better than 75 % regulation, but a slightly enhanced relative to 25 %. Two main distinct reasons can explain this somewhat not anticipated results: the characteristics of the process and the drop in efficiency when motor is operating at low speed.

Keywords: motor, drive, energy efficiency, centrifugal pump

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Authors: Azadeh Rouhandeh, Chris Joslin, Zhen Qu, Yuu Ono

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The centre of rotation of the hip joint is needed for an accurate simulation of the joint performance in many applications such as pre-operative planning simulation, human gait analysis, and hip joint disorders. In human movement analysis, the hip joint center can be estimated using a functional method based on the relative motion of the femur to pelvis measured using reflective markers attached to the skin surface. The principal source of errors in estimation of hip joint centre location using functional methods is soft tissue artefacts due to the relative motion between the markers and bone. One of the main objectives in human movement analysis is the assessment of soft tissue artefact as the accuracy of functional methods depends upon it. Various studies have described the movement of soft tissue artefact invasively, such as intra-cortical pins, external fixators, percutaneous skeletal trackers, and Roentgen photogrammetry. The goal of this study is to present a non-invasive method to assess the displacements of the markers relative to the underlying bone using optical motion capture data and tissue thickness from ultrasound measurements during flexion, extension, and abduction (all with knee extended) of the hip joint. Results show that the artefact skin marker displacements are non-linear and larger in areas closer to the hip joint. Also marker displacements are dependent on the movement type and relatively larger in abduction movement. The quantification of soft tissue artefacts can be used as a basis for a correction procedure for hip joint kinematics.

Keywords: hip joint center, motion capture, soft tissue artefact, ultrasound depth measurement

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Authors: Fellah Sihem

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The optimal use of soil moisture by culture, is related to the leaf area index, which stood in the cycle and its modulation according to the prevailing stress intensity. For a given stock of water in the soil, cultivar adapted and saving water is one that is no luxury consumption during the preanthesis. It modulates the leaf area index to regulate sweating in the degree of its water supply. In plants water saving, avoidance of dehydration is related to the reduction of water loss by cuticular and stomatal pathways. Muchow and Sinclair reported that the test of relative water content (TRE) is considered the best indicator of leaf water status. The search for indicators of the ability of the plant to make good use of the water, under water stress is a prerequisite for progress in improving performance under water stress. This experiment aims to characterize a set of durum wheat varieties, tested jars and vegetation under different levels of water stress to the surface of the leaf, relative water content, cell integrity, the accumulated biomass and efficiency of water use. The experiment was conducted during the 2005/2006 academic year, at the Agricultural Research Station of the Field Crop Institute of Setif, under semi-controlled conditions. Five genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf) were evaluated for their ability to tolerate moderate and severe water stress. The results showed that geno types respond differently to water stress. Dry matter accumulation and growth rate varied among geno types and were significantly reduced. At severe water stress biomass accumulated by Boussalam was the least affected.

Keywords: water stress, triticum durum, biomass, cell membrane integrity, relative water content

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Authors: Reza Ziaie Moayed, Javad Shamsi Soosahab

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Helical piles are being used extensively in engineering applications all over the world. There are insufficient studies on the helical piles' behavior in anisotropic soils. In this paper, numerical modeling was adopted to investigate the effect of elastic modulus anisotropy on helical pile behavior resting on anisotropic sand by using a finite element limit analysis. The load-displacement behavior of helical piles under compression and tension loads is investigated in different relative densities of soils, and the effect of the ratio of horizontal elastic modulus with respect to vertical elastic modulus (EH/EV) is evaluated. The obtained results illustrate that in sandy soils, the anisotropic ratio of elastic modulus (EH/EV) has notable effect on bearing capacity of helical piles in different relative density. Therefore, it may be recommended that the effect of anisotropic condition of soil elastic modulus should be considered in helical piles behavior.

Keywords: helical piles, bearing capacity, numerical modeling, soil anisotropy

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Authors: Amanda J. Burridge, Keith J. Edwards, Paul A. Wilkinson, Tom Batstone, Erik H. Murchie, Lorna McAusland, Ana Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Ivan Jauregui, Tracy Lawson, Silvere R. M. Vialet-Chabrand

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The rate of genetic progress in wheat production must be improved to meet global food security targets. However, past selection for domestication traits has reduced the genetic variation in modern wheat cultivars, a fact that could severely limit the future rate of genetic gain. The genetic variation in agronomically important traits for the wild relatives and progenitors of wheat is far greater than that of the current domesticated cultivars, but transferring these traits into modern cultivars is not straightforward. Between the elite cultivars of wheat, photosynthetic capacity is a key trait for which there is limited variation. Early screening of wheat wild relative and progenitors has shown differences in photosynthetic capacity and efficiency not only between wild relative species but marked differences between the accessions of each species. By identifying wild relative accessions with improved photosynthetic traits and characterising the genetic variation responsible, it is possible to incorporate these traits into advanced breeding programmes by wide crossing and introgression programmes. To identify the potential variety of photosynthetic capacity and efficiency available in the secondary and tertiary genepool, a wide scale survey was carried out for over 600 accessions from 80 species including those from the genus Aegilops, Triticum, Thinopyrum, Elymus, and Secale. Genotype data were generated for each accession using a ‘Wheat Wild Relative’ Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array composed of 35,000 SNP markers polymorphic between wild relatives and elite hexaploid wheat. This genotype data was combined with phenotypic measurements such as gas exchange (CO₂, H₂O), chlorophyll fluorescence, growth, morphology, and RuBisCO activity to identify potential breeding material with enhanced photosynthetic capacity and efficiency. The data and associated analysis tools presented here will prove useful to anyone interested in increasing the genetic diversity in hexaploid wheat or the application of complex genotyping data to plant breeding.

Keywords: wheat, wild relatives, pre-breeding, genomics, photosynthesis

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Authors: Gamze Ozel, Selen Cakmakyapan

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We introduce a new model called the Marshall-Olkin Rayleigh distribution which extends the Rayleigh distribution using Marshall-Olkin transformation and has increasing and decreasing shapes for the hazard rate function. Various structural properties of the new distribution are derived including explicit expressions for the moments, generating and quantile function, some entropy measures, and order statistics are presented. The model parameters are estimated by the method of maximum likelihood and the observed information matrix is determined. The potentiality of the new model is illustrated by means of real life data set.

Keywords: Marshall-Olkin distribution, Rayleigh distribution, estimation, maximum likelihood

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Authors: P. Sathyakala, G. Sai Sundara Krishnan

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The objective of this paper is to derive an exergy model for a solar water heater with honey comb structure in order to identify the element which has larger irreversibility in the system. This will help us in finding the means to reduce the wasted work potential so that the overall efficiency of the system can be improved by finding the ways to reduce those wastages.

Keywords: exergy, energy balance, entropy balance, work potential, degradation, honey comb, flat plate collector

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Authors: Sateesh Kumar Pisini, Swetha Priya Darshini Thammadi, Sanjay Kumar Shukla

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Granular piles are a popular ground improvement technique in soft cohesive soils as well as for loose non-cohesive soils. The present experimental study has been carried out on granular piles in loose (Relative density = 30%) and medium dense (Relative density = 60%) sands with geogrid reinforcement within the sand bed over the granular piles. A group of five piles were installed in the sand at different spacing, s = 2d, 3d and 4d, d being the diameter of the pile. The length (L = 0.4 m) and diameter (d = 50 mm) of the piles were kept constant for all the series of experiments. The load-settlement behavior of reinforced sand bed and granular piles system was studied by applying the load on a square footing. The results show that the effect of reinforcement increases the load bearing capacity of the piles. It is also found that an increase in spacing between piles decreases the settlement for both loose and medium dense soil.

Keywords: granular pile, load-carrying capacity, settlement, geogrid reinforcement, sand

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Authors: Purba Biswas, Priyanka Dey

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Worldwide rapid urbanisation has accelerated city expansion in both developed and developing nations. This unprecedented urbanisation trend due to the increasing population and economic growth has caused challenges for the decision-makers in city planning and urban management. Metropolitan cities, class-I towns, and major urban centres undergo a continuous process of evolution due to interaction between socio-cultural and economic attributes. This constant evolution leads to urban expansion in all directions. Understanding the patterns and dynamics of urban built-up growth is crucial for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers, as it aids in resource management, decision-making, and the development of sustainable strategies to address the complexities associated with rapid urbanisation. Identifying spatio-temporal patterns of urban growth has emerged as a crucial challenge in monitoring and assessing present and future trends in urban development. Analysing urban growth patterns and tracking changes in land use is an important aspect of urban studies. This study analyses spatio-temporal urban transformations and land-use and land cover changes using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Built-up growth analysis has been done for the city of Surat as a case example, using the GIS tools of NDBI and GIS models of the Built-up Urban Density Index and Shannon Entropy Index to identify trends and the geographical direction of transformation from 2005 to 2020. Surat is one of the fastest-growing urban centres in both the state and the nation, ranking as the 4th fastest-growing city globally. This study analyses the dynamics of urban built-up area transformations both zone-wise and geographical direction-wise, in which their trend, rate, and magnitude were calculated for the period of 15 years. This study also highlights the need for analysing and monitoring the urban growth pattern of class-I cities in India using spatio-temporal and quantitative techniques like GIS for improved urban management.

Keywords: urban expansion, built-up, geographic information system, remote sensing, Shannon’s entropy

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Authors: Huey-Kuo Chen

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Travel demand forecasting including four travel choices, i.e., trip generation, trip distribution, modal split and traffic assignment constructs the core of transportation planning. In its current application, travel demand forecasting has associated with three important issues, i.e., interface inconsistencies among four travel choices, inefficiency of commonly used solution algorithms, and undesirable multiple path solutions. In this paper, each of the three issues is extensively elaborated. An ideal unified framework for the combined model consisting of the four travel choices and variable demand functions is also suggested. Then, a few remarks are provided in the end of the paper.

Keywords: travel choices, B algorithm, entropy maximization, dynamic traffic assignment

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Authors: Zuhair Kadhim Jahanger, S. Joseph Antony

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The available studies in the literature which dealt with the scale effects of strip footings on different sand packing systematically still remain scarce. In this research, the variation of ultimate bearing capacity and deformation pattern of soil beneath strip footings of different widths under plane-strain condition on the surface of loose, medium-dense and dense sand have been systematically studied using experimental and noninvasive methods for measuring microscopic deformations. The presented analyses are based on model scale compression test analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Upper bound analysis of the current study shows that the maximum vertical displacement of the sand under the ultimate load increases for an increase in the width of footing, but at a decreasing rate with relative density of sand, whereas the relative vertical displacement in the sand decreases for an increase in the width of the footing. A well agreement is observed between experimental results for different footing widths and relative densities. The experimental analyses have shown that there exists pronounced scale effect for strip surface footing. The bearing capacity factors Nγ rapidly decrease up to footing widths B=0.25 m, 0.35 m, and 0.65 m for loose, medium-dense and dense sand respectively, after that there is no significant decrease in Nγ. The deformation modes of the soil as well as the ultimate bearing capacity values have been affected by the footing widths. The obtained results could be used to improve settlement calculation of the foundation interacting with granular soil.

Keywords: DPIV, granular mechanics, scale effect, upper bound analysis

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Authors: Lawan Muhammad Adam, Abduljabar Hilal Alsayoud

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One of the most promising techniques to produce pure hydrogen is through a palladium-based membrane (Pd-membrane). Density functional theory (DFT) is employed in this work to examine how the physical and chemical adsorption properties of hydrogen on the surface of Pd-Pt can be mutated in the presence of contaminating gases, CH₄, CO, and CO₂. The main target is to survey the energy topology related to hydrogen adsorption while adjusting the stages of freedom in both the structure and composition. The adsorption sites, crystal plane of the slab, and relative orientation of the adsorbed molecules on its surface, as well as various arrangements of adsorbed species, have been considered in this study. The dependency of hydrogen adsorption on surface coverage is studied. The study demonstrated the physical adsorption energies of the molecules on the surface concerning the different coverages of hydrogen atoms. The most stable combinations of the adsorption sites (Top, Hollow, and Bridge) with various orientations of gaseous molecules on the Pd-Pt surface were identified according to their calculated energies. When the binding of contaminating gaseous species to the Pd-Pt surface and their impact on the physical adsorption energies of the H₂ are examined, it is observed that the most poisonous gas relative to all other gases modifies the energetics of the adsorption process of hydrogen on the surface.

Keywords: DFT, Pd-Pt-membrane, H₂, CO, CO₂

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Authors: Mojtaba Barzegar, Alireza Shirazi, Saied Rabi Mahdavi

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Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is an innovative treatment modality that the delivery of a large single dose of radiation to the tumor bed during the surgery. The radiotherapy success depends on the absorbed dose delivered to the tumor. The achievement better accuracy in patient treatment depends upon the measured dose by standard dosimeter such as ionization chamber, but because of the high density of electric charge/pulse produced by the accelerator in the ionization chamber volume, the standard correction factor for ion recombination Ksat calculated with the classic two-voltage method is overestimated so the use of dose/pulse independent dosimeters such as chemical Fricke and ethanol chlorobenzene (ECB) dosimeters have been suggested. Dose measurement is usually calculated and calibrated in the Zmax. Ksat calculated by comparison of ion chamber response and ECB dosimeter at each applicator degree, size, and dose. The relative output factors for IORT applicators have been calculated and compared with experimentally determined values and the results simulated by Monte Carlo software. The absorbed doses have been calculated and measured with statistical uncertainties less than 0.7% and 2.5% consecutively. The relative differences between calculated and measured OF’s were up to 2.5%, for major OF’s the agreement was better. In these conditions, together with the relative absorbed dose calculations, the OF’s could be considered as an indication that the IORT electron beams have been well simulated. These investigations demonstrate the utility of the full Monte Carlo simulation of accelerator head with ECB dosimeter allow us to obtain detailed information of clinical IORT beams.

Keywords: intra operative radiotherapy, ethanol chlorobenzene, ksat, output factor, monte carlo simulation

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Authors: A. J. S. P. Nileema, S. Kulatunga , S. H. Palihawadana

Abstract:

Computer aided detection (CAD) system was developed for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis using digital chest X-rays with MATLAB image processing techniques using a statistical approach. The study comprised of 200 digital chest radiographs collected from the National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases - Welisara, Sri Lanka. Pre-processing was done to remove identification details. Lung fields were segmented and then divided into four quadrants; right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, right lower quadrant, and left lower quadrant using the image processing techniques in MATLAB. Contrast, correlation, homogeneity, energy, entropy, and maximum probability texture features were extracted using the gray level co-occurrence matrix method. Descriptive statistics and normal distribution analysis were performed using SPSS. Depending on the radiologists’ interpretation, chest radiographs were classified manually into PTB - positive (PTBP) and PTB - negative (PTBN) classes. Features with standard normal distribution were analyzed using an independent sample T-test for PTBP and PTBN chest radiographs. Among the six features tested, contrast, correlation, energy, entropy, and maximum probability features showed a statistically significant difference between the two classes at 95% confidence interval; therefore, could be used in the classification of chest radiograph for PTB diagnosis. With the resulting value ranges of the five texture features with normal distribution, a classification algorithm was then defined to recognize and classify the quadrant images; if the texture feature values of the quadrant image being tested falls within the defined region, it will be identified as a PTBP – abnormal quadrant and will be labeled as ‘Abnormal’ in red color with its border being highlighted in red color whereas if the texture feature values of the quadrant image being tested falls outside of the defined value range, it will be identified as PTBN–normal and labeled as ‘Normal’ in blue color but there will be no changes to the image outline. The developed classification algorithm has shown a high sensitivity of 92% which makes it an efficient CAD system and with a modest specificity of 70%.

Keywords: chest radiographs, computer aided detection, image processing, pulmonary tuberculosis

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Authors: Paul Pistone

Abstract:

Nihilism claims that there are no actual intrinsic goods. Desire, however, directly contradicts this claim. To desire, something is more than to be motivated to bring about the desired ends. It is more than to take pleasure in it, seeming that one has obtained her desired end. Desire is, further, more than believing that something is good. Desire is the perception that something is good for the self. In this paper, it is argued that desire is an agent-relative value seeming. This implies that there are intrinsic values. It will be argued that: (1) there are intrinsic values related to life and flourishing, (2) that it is metaphysically impossible that there are no intrinsic values, (3) that desire is our psychological mechanism which enables us to perceive a state of affairs or event as an agent-relative good, and (4) while we can be wrong about the large scale object of desire (i.e., the instrumental desire) we cannot be wrong about what is at the root of our desire (i.e., the intrinsic desire). The method of this paper will be to examine the claims of nihilism and moral realism in recent literature, present a case for moral realism, discuss a few theories of desire, connect moral realism to an evaluative perceptual model of desire, and conclude that not only is this the best theory of desire but that this psychological faculty offers a clear counterexample to nihilism.

Keywords: desire, moral realism, nihilism, perception

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Authors: Ahmad Zaini, F. Muhammad Reza Hadafi, Surya Sumpeno, Muhtadin, Mochamad Hariadi

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The lack of information about museum’s collection reduces the number of visits of museum. Museum’s revitalization is an urgent activity to increase the number of visits. The research's roadmap is building a web-based application that visualizes museum in the virtual form including museum's statue reconstruction in the form of 3D. This paper describes implementation of three-dimensional model reconstruction method based on light-strip pattern on the museum statue using 3D scanner. Noise removal, alignment, meshing and refinement model's processes is implemented to get a better 3D object reconstruction. Model’s texture derives from surface texture mapping between object's images with reconstructed 3D model. Accuracy test of dimension of the model is measured by calculating relative error of virtual model dimension compared against the original object. The result is realistic three-dimensional model textured with relative error around 4.3% to 5.8%.

Keywords: 3D reconstruction, light pattern structure, texture mapping, museum

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Authors: Hossein Motaghedi, Siavash Salamatpoor, Abbas Mokhtari

Abstract:

Noor costal city which is located in Mazandaran province, Iran, regularly visited by many tourists. Accordingly, many tall building and heavy structures are going to be constructed over this coastal area. This region is overlaid by poorly graded clean sand and because of high water level, is susceptible to liquefaction. In this study, undrained triaxial tests under isotropic consolidation were conducted on the reconstituted samples of Noor sand, which underlies a densely populated, seismic region of southern bank of Caspian Sea. When the strain level is large enough, soil samples under shearing tend to be in a state of continuous deformation under constant shear and normal stresses. There exists a correlation between the void ratio and mean effective principal stress, which is referred to as the ultimate steady state line (USSL). Soil behavior can be achieved by expressing the state of effective confining stress and defining the location of this point relative to the steady state line. Therefore, one can say that sand behavior not only is dependent to relative density but also a description of stress state has to be defined. The current study tries to investigate behavior of this sand under different conditions such as confining effective stress and relative density using undrained monotonic triaxial compression tests. As expected, the analyzed results show that the sand behavior varies from dilative to contractive state while initial isotropic effective stress increases. Therefore, confining effective stress level will directly affect the overall behavior of sand. The observed behavior obtained from the conducted tests is then compared with some previously tested sands including Yamuna, Ganga, and Toyoura.

Keywords: noor sand, liquefaction, undrained test, steady state

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Authors: Zahira Belkacemi

Abstract:

One of the most important tools in conservation biology is information on the geographic distribution of species and the variables determining those patterns. In this study, we used maximum-entropy niche modeling (Maxent) to predict the current and future distribution of Anthus pratensis using climatic variables. The results showed that the species would not be highly affected by the climate change in shifting its distribution; however, the results of this study should be improved by taking into account other predictors, and that the NATURA 2000 protected sites will be efficient at 42% in protecting the species.

Keywords: anthus pratensis, climate change, Europe, species distribution model

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Authors: M. M. Hefnawy, A. M. A. Homoda, M. A. Abounassif, A. M. Alanazia, A. Al-Majed, Gamal A. E. Mostafa

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PVC membrane sensors using different approach e.g. ion-pair, ionophore, and Schiff-base has been used as testing membrane sensor. Analytical applications of membrane sensors for direct measurement of variety of different ions in complex biological and environmental sample are reported. The most important step of such PVC membrane sensor is the sensing active material. The potentiometric sensors have some outstanding advantages including simple design, operation, wide linear dynamic range, relative fast response time, and rotational selectivity. The analytical applications of these techniques to pharmaceutical compounds in dosage forms are also discussed. The construction and electrochemical response characteristics of Poly (vinyl chloride) membrane sensors for moxifloxacin HCl (MOX) are described. The sensing membranes incorporate ion association complexes of moxifloxacin cation and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) (sensor 1), phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) (sensor 2) or phosphotungstic acid (PTA) (sensor 3) as electroactive materials. The sensors display a fast, stable and near-Nernstian response over a relative wide moxifloxacin concentration range (1 ×10-2-4.0×10-6, 1 × 10-2-5.0×10-6, 1 × 10-2-5.0×10-6 M), with detection limits of 3×10-6, 4×10-6 and 4.0×10-6 M for sensor 1, 2 and 3, respectively over a pH range of 6.0-9.0. The sensors show good discrimination of moxifloxacin from several inorganic and organic compounds. The direct determination of 400 µg/ml of moxifloxacin show an average recovery of 98.5, 99.1 and 98.6 % and a mean relative standard deviation of 1.8, 1.6 and 1.8% for sensors 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The proposed sensors have been applied for direct determination of moxifloxacin in some pharmaceutical preparations. The results obtained by determination of moxifloxacin in tablets using the proposed sensors are comparable favorably with those obtained using the US Pharmacopeia method. The sensors have been used as indicator electrodes for potentiometric titration of moxifloxacin.

Keywords: potentiometry, PVC, membrane sensors, ion-pair, ionophore, schiff-base, moxifloxacin HCl, sodium tetraphenyl borate, phosphomolybdic acid, phosphotungstic acid

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Authors: Neda Nabid

Abstract:

Friction-based supplemental devices have been extensively used for seismic protection and strengthening of structures, however, the conventional use of these dampers may not necessarily lead to an efficient structural performance. Conventionally designed friction dampers follow a uniform height-wise distribution pattern of slip load values for more practical simplicity. This can lead to localizing structural damage in certain story levels, while the other stories accommodate a negligible amount of relative displacement demand. A practical performance-based optimization methodology is developed to tackle with structural damage localization of RC frame buildings with friction energy dissipation devices under severe earthquakes. The proposed methodology is based on the concept of uniform damage distribution theory. According to this theory, the slip load values of the friction dampers redistribute and shift from stories with lower relative displacement demand to the stories with higher inter-story drifts to narrow down the discrepancy between the structural damage levels in different stories. In this study, the efficacy of the proposed design methodology is evaluated through the seismic performance of five different low to high-rise RC frames equipped with friction wall dampers under six real spectrum-compatible design earthquakes. The results indicate that compared to the conventional design, using the suggested methodology to design friction wall systems can lead to, by average, up to 40% reduction of maximum inter-story drift; and incredibly more uniform height-wise distribution of relative displacement demands under the design earthquakes.

Keywords: friction damper, nonlinear dynamic analysis, RC structures, seismic performance, structural damage

Procedia PDF Downloads 202