Search results for: António Real

Authors: Doaa Saad, Igor Verner, Rinat B. Rosenberg-Kima

Abstract:

This case study demonstrates how the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy can be used to develop robotics competencies in middle-school science teachers without programming knowledge, thereby reducing their anxiety about robotics. Sixteen middle school science teachers participated in a teachers’ professional development program. The strategy combines the progression of real-world tasks with explicit instruction that serves as the backbone of instruction. The designed progression includes three tasks that integrate building and programming robots, pedagogy, and science knowledge, with an increasing level of complexity and decreasing level of support. We used EV3 LEGO kits and programming blocks, a new technology for most of the participating teachers. Pre-post questionnaires were used to examine teachers’ anxiety in performing robotics tasks before the program began and after the program ended. In addition, post-program questionnaires were used to obtain teachers’ feedback on the program’s overall quality. The case study results showed that teachers were less anxious about performing robotics tasks after the program and were highly satisfied with the professional development program. Overall, our research findings indicate a positive effect of the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy for preparing in-service science teachers to integrate robotics activities into their science classes.

Keywords: competencies, educational robotics, task-centered instructional strategy, teachers’ professional development

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Xinyue Ma, Dishen Zhang, Yijun Liu, Yutian Jiang, Huiyan Yu, Chufeng Gu

Abstract:

Conformity is defined as one in a social group changing his or her behavior to match the others’ behavior in the group. It is used to find that people show a higher level of online conformity behavior than offline. However, as anonymity can decrease the level of online conformity behavior, the difference between online and offline conformity behavior among Chinese college students still needs to be tested. In this study, college students (N = 60) have been randomly assigned into three groups: control group, offline experimental group, and online experimental group. Through comparing the results of offline experimental group and online experimental group with the Mann-Whitney U test, this study verified the results of Asch’s experiment, and found out that people show a lower level of online conformity behavior than offline, which contradicted the previous finding found in China. These results can be used to explain why some people make a lot of vicious remarks and radical ideas on the Internet but perform normally in their real life: the anonymity of the network makes the online group pressure less than offline, so people are less likely to conform to social norms and public opinions on the Internet. What is more, these results support the importance and relevance of online voting, because fewer online group pressures make it easier for people to expose their true ideas, thus gathering more comprehensive and truthful views and opinions.

Keywords: anonymity, Asch’s group conformity, Chinese college students, online conformity

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Sidney A. Lima, Hermann J. H. Kux, Elcio H. Shiguemori

Abstract:

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) usually navigate through the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) associated with an Inertial Navigation System (INS). However, GNSS can have its accuracy degraded at any time or even turn off the signal of GNSS. In addition, there is the possibility of malicious interferences, known as jamming. Therefore, the image navigation system can solve the autonomy problem, because if the GNSS is disabled or degraded, the image navigation system would continue to provide coordinate information for the INS, allowing the autonomy of the system. This work aims to evaluate the accuracy of the positioning though photogrammetry concepts. The methodology uses orthophotos and Digital Surface Models (DSM) as a reference to represent the object space and photograph obtained during the flight to represent the image space. For the calculation of the coordinates of the perspective center and camera attitudes, it is necessary to know the coordinates of homologous points in the object space (orthophoto coordinates and DSM altitude) and image space (column and line of the photograph). So if it is possible to automatically identify in real time the homologous points the coordinates and attitudes can be calculated whit their respective accuracies. With the methodology applied in this work, it is possible to verify maximum errors in the order of 0.5 m in the positioning and 0.6º in the attitude of the camera, so the navigation through the image can reach values equal to or higher than the GNSS receivers without differential correction. Therefore, navigating through the image is a good alternative to enable autonomous navigation.

Keywords: autonomy, navigation, security, photogrammetry, remote sensing, spatial resection, UAS

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Jugoslav Jokovic, Tijana Dimitrijevic, Nebojsa Doncov

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to investigate the possibilities and effectiveness of the TLM (Transmission Line Matrix) method for modelling of up-to-date microstrip antennas with circular geometry that have significant application in modern wireless communication systems. The coaxially fed microstrip antenna configurations with circular patch are analyzed by using the in-house 3DTLMcyl_cw solver based on computational electromagnetic TLM method adapted to the cylindrical grid and enhanced with the compact wire model. Opposed to the widely used rectangular TLM mesh, where a staircase approximation has to be used to describe curved boundaries, precise modelling of circular boundaries can be accomplished in the cylindrical grid irrespective of the mesh resolution. Using the compact wire model incorporated in cylindrical mesh, it is possible to model coaxial feed and include the influence of the real excitation in the antenna model. The conventional and inverted configuration of a coaxially fed circular patch antenna are considered, comparing the resonances obtained using TLM cylindrical model with results reached by the corresponding model in a rectangular grid as well as with experimental ones. Bearing in mind that accuracy of simulated results depends on a relevantly created model, besides structure geometry and dimensions, it is important to consider additional modelling issues, regarding appropriate mesh resolution and a relevant extension of a mesh around the considered structure that would provide convergence of the results.

Keywords: computational electromagnetic, coaxial feed, microstrip antenna, TLM modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Shavindrie Cooray

Abstract:

It is vital that students are supported in having balanced conversations about topics that might be controversial. This process is crucial to the development of critical thinking skills. This can be difficult to attain in e-learning environments, with some research finding students report a perceived loss in the quality of knowledge exchange and performance. This research investigated if Systems Theory could be applied to structure the discussion, improve information sharing, and reduce conflicts when students are working in online environments. This research involved 160 participants across four categories of student groups at a college in the Northeastern US. Each group was provided with a shared problem, and each group was expected to make a proposal for a solution. Two groups worked face-to-face; the first face to face group engaged with the problem and each other with no intervention from a facilitator; a second face to face group worked on the problem using Systems tools to facilitate problem structuring, group discussion, and decision-making. There were two types of virtual teams. The first virtual group also used Systems tools to facilitate problem structuring and group discussion. However, all interactions were conducted in a synchronous virtual environment. The second type of virtual team also met in real time but worked with no intervention. Findings from the study demonstrated that the teams (both virtual and face-to-face) using Systems tools shared more information with each other than the other teams; additionally, these teams reported an increased level of disagreement amongst their members, but also expressed more confidence and satisfaction with the experience and resulting decision compared to the other groups.

Keywords: e-learning, virtual teams, systems approach, conflicts

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Huawei Bai, Jianguo Yao, Fellow, IEEE

Abstract:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of heart arrhythmia and is closely associated with mortality and morbidity in heart failure, stroke, and coronary artery disease. The development of single spot optical sensors enables widespread photoplethysmography (PPG) screening, especially for AF, since it represents a more convenient and noninvasive approach. To our knowledge, most existing studies based on public and unbalanced datasets can barely handle the multiple noises sources in the real world and, also, lack interpretability. In this paper, we construct a large- scale PPG dataset using measurements collected from PPG wrist- watch devices worn by volunteers and propose an attention-based two-stream heterogeneous neural network (TSHNN). The first stream is a hybrid neural network consisting of a three-layer one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and two-layer attention- based bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) network to learn representations from temporally sampled signals. The second stream extracts latent representations from the PPG time-frequency spectrogram using a five-layer CNN. The outputs from both streams are fed into a fusion layer for the outcome. Visualization of the attention weights learned demonstrates the effectiveness of the attention mechanism against noise. The experimental results show that the TSHNN outperforms all the competitive baseline approaches and with 98.09% accuracy, achieves state-of-the-art performance.

Keywords: PPG wearables, atrial fibrillation, feature fusion, attention mechanism, hyber network

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Harun Gülan, Muhsin Tunay Gencoglu, Mehmet Cebeci

Abstract:

The main function of the insulators used in high voltage (HV) transmission lines is to insulate the energized conductor from the pole and hence from the ground. However, when the insulators fail to perform this insulation function due to various effects, failures occur. The deterioration of the insulation results either from breakdown or surface flashover. The surface flashover is caused by the layer of pollution that forms conductivity on the surface of the insulator, such as salt, carbonaceous compounds, rain, moisture, fog, dew, industrial pollution and desert dust. The source of the majority of failures and interruptions in HV lines is surface flashover. This threatens the continuity of supply and causes significant economic losses. Pollution flashover in HV insulators is still a serious problem that has not been fully resolved. In this study, a water jet test system has been established in order to investigate the behavior of insulators under dirty conditions and to determine their flashover performance. Flashover behavior of the insulators is examined by applying impulse voltages in the test system. This study aims to investigate the insulator behaviour under high impulse voltages. For this purpose, a water jet test system was installed and experimental results were obtained over a real system and analyzed. By using the water jet test system instead of the actual insulator, the damage to the insulator as a result of the flashover that would occur under impulse voltage was prevented. The results of the test system performed an important role in determining the insulator behavior and provided predictability.

Keywords: insulator, pollution flashover, high impulse voltage, water jet model

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Polina Pekker

Abstract:

This work analyzes the role of lecturers in e-learning in Russia. It is based on qualitative research of lecturers who conduct courses on Russian national platforms of open education. The platform is based on edx software (provider of massive open online courses). The interviews with e-learning lecturers were conducted: from December 2015 till January 2016 and from April 2016 till May 2016. The results of interviews (face-to-face, telephone, skype) show, firstly, the difference between the role of lecturers in e-learning and in traditional education and, secondly, that the competition between lecturers is high in Russia. The results of interviews in Russia show that e-learning lecturer should have several special professional competences: the ability to keep attention of audiences without real contact, the ability to work on camera and competences related with e-learning course support (test, forum, communication on forum and etc.) It is concluded that lecturers need special course on acting and speech skills and on conducting and organizing of e-learning course in Russia. It is planned to conduct French study. When results from French research will be totally ready, they will be compared to Russian. As well French platform, France Universite Numerique, was launched earlier, in January 2014, so Russian lecturers should get best practice from the French colleagues.

Keywords: e-courses lecturer, e-learning, professional competences of lecturers, national Russian and French platforms of open education

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Sadia Idrees, Gianpaolo Vignali, Simeon Gill

Abstract:

The study aims to establish the virtual size and fit technology features to enhance fashion online retailing platforms, utilising digital human measurements to provide customised style and function to consumers. A few firms in the UK have launched advanced interactive fashion shopping domains for personalised shopping globally, aided by the latest internet technology. Virtual size and fit interfaces have a great potential to provide a personalised better-fitted garment to promote mass customisation globally. Made-to-measure clothing, consuming unstitched fabric is a common practice offered by fashion brands in Pakistan. This product is regarded as economical and sustainable to be utilised by consumers in Pakistan. Although the manual sizing system is practiced to sell garments online, virtual size and fit visualisation and recommendation technologies are uncommon in Pakistani fashion interfaces. A comparative assessment of Pakistani fashion brand websites and UK technology-driven fashion interfaces was conducted to highlight the vast potential of the virtual size and fit technology. The results indicated that web 2.0 technology adopted by Pakistani apparel brands has limited features, whereas companies practicing web 3.0 technology provide interactive online real-store shopping experience leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and globalisation of brands.

Keywords: e-commerce, mass customization, virtual size and fit, web 3.0 technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Naydelis Brito Suárez, Deni Librado Torres Román, Fernando Hermosillo Reynoso

Abstract:

Automatic detection and generation of a dynamic ROI (Region of Interest) in vehicle traffic surveillance videos based on a static camera in Intelligent Transportation Systems is challenging for computer vision-based systems. The dynamic ROI, being a changing ROI, should capture any other moving object located outside of a static ROI. In this work, the video is represented by a Tensor model composed of a Background and a Foreground Tensor, which contains all moving vehicles or objects. The values of each pixel over a time interval are represented by time series, and some pixel rows were selected. This paper proposes a pixel entropy-based algorithm for automatic detection and generation of a dynamic ROI in traffic videos under the assumption of two types of theoretical pixel entropy behaviors: (1) a pixel located at the road shows a high entropy value due to disturbances in this zone by vehicle traffic, (2) a pixel located outside the road shows a relatively low entropy value. To study the statistical behavior of the selected pixels, detecting the entropy changes and consequently moving objects, Shannon, Tsallis, and Approximate entropies were employed. Although Tsallis entropy achieved very high results in real-time, Approximate entropy showed results slightly better but in greater time.

Keywords: convex hull, dynamic ROI detection, pixel entropy, time series, moving objects

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Hadi Gholizadeh, Ali Tajdin

Abstract:

To have effective production planning, it is necessary to control the quality of processes. This paper aims at improving the performance of the disposable essentials process using statistical quality control and goal programming in a vague environment. That is expressed uncertainty because there is always a measurement error in the real world. Therefore, in this study, the conditions are examined in a vague environment that is a distance-based environment. The disposable essentials process in Kach Company was studied. Statistical control tools were used to characterize the existing process for four factor responses including the average of disposable glasses’ weights, heights, crater diameters, and volumes. Goal programming was then utilized to find the combination of optimal factors setting in a vague environment which is measured to apply uncertainty of the initial information when some of the parameters of the models are vague; also, the fuzzy regression model is used to predict the responses of the four described factors. Optimization results show that the process capability index values for disposable glasses’ average of weights, heights, crater diameters and volumes were improved. Such increasing the quality of the products and reducing the waste, which will reduce the cost of the finished product, and ultimately will bring customer satisfaction, and this satisfaction, will mean increased sales.

Keywords: goal programming, quality control, vague environment, disposable glasses’ optimization, fuzzy regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Dang HuynhMinhTam, Kuang-Cong Lu, Yi-Hung Chen, Zhung-Yu Lin, Cheng-Siang Cheng

Abstract:

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology become a predominant technique to mitigate carbon dioxide and achieve net-zero emissions goals. This research targets to continuously capture the low concentration CO₂ from the tail gas of the regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) in the high technology industry. A rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor is investigated to capture the efficiency of CO₂ using a mixture of NaOH/Na₂CO₃ solutions to simulate the real absorbed solution. On a lab scale, semi-batch experiments of continuous gas flow and circulating absorbent solution are conducted to find the optimal parameters and are then examined in a continuous operation. In the semi-batch tests, the carbon capture efficiency and pH variation in the conditions of a low concentration CO₂ (about 1.13 vol%), the NaOH concentration of 1 wt% or 2 wt% mixed with 14 wt% Na₂CO₃, the rotating speed (600, 900, 1200 rpm), the gas-liquid ratio (100, 200, and 400), and the temperature of absorbent solution of 40 ºC are studied. The CO₂ capture efficiency significantly increases with higher rotating speed and smaller gas-liquid ratio, respectively, while the difference between the NaOH concentration of 1 wt% and 2 wt% is relatively small. The maximum capture efficiency is close to 80% in the conditions of the NaOH concentration of 1 wt%, the G/L ratio of 100, and the rotating speed of 1200 rpm within the first 5 minutes. Furthermore, the continuous operation based on similar conditions also demonstrates the steady efficiency of the carbon capture of around 80%.

Keywords: carbon dioxide capture, regenerative thermal oxidizer, rotating packed bed, sodium hydroxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Wanwisa Deenin, Abdulhadee Yakoh, Chahya Kreangkaiwal, Orawon Chailapakul, Kanitha Patarakul, Sudkate Chaiyo

Abstract:

LipL32 is an outer membrane protein present only on pathogenic Leptospira species, which are the causative agent of leptospirosis. Leptospirosis symptoms are often misdiagnosed with other febrile illnesses as the clinical manifestations are non-specific. Therefore, an accurate diagnostic tool for leptospirosis is indeed critical for proper and prompt treatment. Typical diagnosis via serological assays is generally performed to assess the antibodies produced against Leptospira. However, their delayed antibody response and complicated procedure are undoubtedly limited the practical utilization especially in primary care setting. Here, we demonstrate for the first time an early-stage detection of LipL32 by an integrated lateral-flow immunoassay with electrochemical readout (eLFIA). A ferrocene trace tag was monitored via differential pulse voltammetry operated on a smartphone-based device, thus allowing for on-field testing. Superior performance in terms of the lowest detectable limit of detection (LOD) of 8.53 pg/mL and broad linear dynamic range (5 orders of magnitude) among other sensors available thus far was established. Additionally, the developed test strip provided a straightforward yet sensitive approach for diagnosis of leptospirosis using the collected human sera from patients, in which the results were comparable to the real-time polymerase chain reaction technique.

Keywords: leptospirosis, electrochemical detection, lateral flow immunosensor, point-of-care testing, early-stage detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Mayank Mundhra, Chester Rebeiro

Abstract:

Cryptocurrencies are rapidly finding wide application in areas such as Real Time Gross Settlements and Payments Systems. Ripple is a cryptocurrency that has gained prominence with banks and payment providers. It solves the Byzantine General’s Problem with its Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA), where each server maintains a list of servers, called Unique Node List (UNL) that represents the network for the server, and will not collectively defraud it. The server believes that the network has come to a consensus when members of the UNL come to a consensus on a transaction. In this paper we improve Ripple to achieve better speed, security, last mile connectivity and ease of use. We implement guidelines and automated systems for building and maintaining UNLs for resilience, robustness, improved security, and efficient information propagation. We enhance the system so as to ensure that each server receives information from across the whole network rather than just from the UNL members. We also introduce the paradigm of UNL overlap as a function of information propagation and the trust a server assigns to its own UNL. Our design not only reduces vulnerabilities such as eclipse attacks, but also makes it easier to identify malicious behaviour and entities attempting to fraudulently Double Spend or stall the system. We provide experimental evidence of the benefits of our approach over the current Ripple scheme. We observe ≥ 4.97x and 98.22x in speedup and success rate for information propagation respectively, and ≥ 3.16x and 51.70x in speedup and success rate in consensus.

Keywords: Ripple, Kelips, unique node list, consensus, information propagation

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Jonas Colin

Abstract:

Standing at the vanguard of AI development, Alpha represents an unprecedented synthesis of logical rigor and human abstraction, meticulously crafted to mirror the user's unique persona and personality, a feat previously unattainable in AI development. Alpha, an avant-garde artefact in the realm of artificial intelligence, epitomizes a paradigmatic shift in personalized digital interaction, amalgamating user-specific dialogic patterns with the sophisticated algorithmic prowess of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 to engender a platform for enhanced metacognitive engagement and individualized user experience. Underpinned by a sophisticated algorithmic framework, Alpha integrates vast datasets through a complex interplay of neural network models and symbolic AI, facilitating a dynamic, adaptive learning process. This integration enables the system to construct a detailed user profile, encompassing linguistic preferences, emotional tendencies, and cognitive styles, tailoring interactions to align with individual characteristics and conversational contexts. Furthermore, Alpha incorporates advanced metacognitive elements, enabling real-time reflection and adaptation in communication strategies. This self-reflective capability ensures continuous refinement of its interaction model, positioning Alpha not just as a technological marvel but as a harbinger of a new era in human-computer interaction, where machines engage with us on a deeply personal and cognitive level, transforming our interaction with the digital world.

Keywords: chatbot, GPT 3.5, metacognition, symbiose

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Hai Hoang, Thanh Xuan Nguyen Thi, Guillaume Galliero

Abstract:

Coarse-Grained (CG) molecular simulations have shown to be an efficient way to estimate thermophysical (static and dynamic) properties of fluids. Several strategies have been developed and reported in the literature for defining CG molecular models. Among them, those based on a top-down strategy (i.e. CG molecular models related to macroscopic observables), despite being heuristic, have increasingly gained attention. This is probably due to its simplicity in implementation and its ability to provide reasonable results for not only simple but also complex systems. Regarding simple Force-Fields associated with these CG molecular models, it has been found that the four parameters Mie chain model is one of the best compromises to describe thermophysical static properties (e.g. phase diagram, saturation pressure). However, parameterization procedures of these Mie-chain GC molecular models given in literature are generally insufficient to simultaneously provide static and dynamic (e.g. viscosity) properties. To deal with such situations, we have extended the corresponding states by using a quantity associated with the liquid viscosity. Results obtained from molecular simulations have shown that our approach is able to yield good estimates for both static and dynamic thermophysical properties for various real non-associating fluids. In addition, we will show that on simple (e.g. phase diagram, saturation pressure) and complex (e.g. thermodynamic response functions, thermodynamic energy potentials) static properties, results of our scheme generally provides improved results compared to existing approaches.

Keywords: coarse-grained model, mie potential, molecular simulations, thermophysical properties, phase equilibria

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Yu Qin, Wanjiaman Li

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: C. M. Balaceanu, G. Suciu, C. S. Bosoc, O. Orza, C. Fernandez, Z. Viniczay

Abstract:

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the best option for smart vineyard applications, even if it is necessary to integrate the technologies required for the development. This article is based on the research and the results obtained in the DISAVIT project. For Smart Agriculture, the project aims to provide a trustworthy, intelligent, integrated vineyard management solution that is based on the IoT. To have interoperability through the use of a multiprotocol technology (being the future connected wireless IoT) it is necessary to adopt an agnostic approach, providing a reliable environment to address cyber security, IoT-based threats and traceability through blockchain-based design, but also creating a concept for long-term implementations (modular, scalable). The ones described above represent the main innovative technical aspects of this project. The DISAVIT project studies and promotes the incorporation of better management tools based on objective data-based decisions, which are necessary for agriculture adapted and more resistant to climate change. It also exploits the opportunities generated by the digital services market for smart agriculture management stakeholders. The project's final result aims to improve decision-making, performance, and viticulturally infrastructure and increase real-time data accuracy and interoperability. Innovative aspects such as end-to-end solutions, adaptability, scalability, security and traceability, place our product in a favorable situation over competitors. None of the solutions in the market meet every one of these requirements by a unique product being innovative.

Keywords: blockchain, IoT, smart agriculture, vineyard

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Sai-Kit Choi

Abstract:

While traditional social services heavily depended on Government funding and support, there were always time lag, and resources mismatch with the fast growing and changing social needs. This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of implementing Circular Economy concept in a social service setting with comparison to Government Policy in response to social needs in 3 areas: response time, suitability, and community participation. To investigate the effectiveness of implementing Circular Economy concept in a social service setting, a real service model, a community resources sharing platform, was set up and statistics of the first 6 months’ operation data were used as comparison with traditional social services. Literature review was conducted as a reference basis of traditional social services under Government Policy. Case studies were conducted to provide the qualitative perspectives of the innovative approach. The results suggest that the Circular Economy model showed extraordinarily high level of community participation. In addition, it could utilize community resources in response precisely to the burning social needs. On the other hand, the available resources were unstable when comparing to those services supported by Government funding. The research team concluded that Circular Economy has high potential in applications in social service, especially in certain areas, such as resources sharing platform. Notwithstanding, it should be aware of the stability of resources when the services targeted to support some crucial needs.

Keywords: circular economy, social innovation, community participation, sharing economy, social response

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Sarra Zaied, Arthur Bonpain, Pierre Yves Fravallo

Abstract:

The permanent supply of marine litter implies their accumulation in the oceans, which causes the presence of more compact wastes layers. Their Spatio-temporal distribution is never homogeneous and depends mainly on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the environment and the size and location of the wastes. As part of optimizing collect of marine plastic wastes, it is important to measure and monitor their evolution over time. For this, many research studies have been dedicated to describing the wastes behavior in order to identify their accumulation in oceans areas. Several models are therefore developed to understand the mechanisms that allow the accumulation and the displacements of marine litter. These models are able to accurately simulate the drift of wastes to study their behavior and stranding. However, these works aim to study the wastes behavior over a long period of time and not at the time of waste collection. This work investigates the transport of floating marine litter (FML) to provide basic information that can help in optimizing wastes collection by proposing a model for predicting their behavior during collection. The proposed study is based on a Lagrangian modeling approach that uses the main factors influencing the dynamics of the waste. The performance of the proposed method was assessed on real data collected from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS). Evaluation results in the Java Sea (Indonesia) prove that the proposed model can effectively predict the position and the velocity of marine wastes during collection.

Keywords: floating marine litter, lagrangian transport, particle-tracking model, wastes drift

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Gangadhara Siva Naga Venkata Krishna Satya Narayana Swamy Undi

Abstract:

Particulate matter (PM) pollution in ambient air is a major environmental health risk factor contributing to disease and mortality worldwide. Current air pollution control methods have limitations in reducing real-world ambient PM levels. This study demonstrates the efficacy of using pulsed radio wave technology as a distinct approach to lower outdoor particulate pollution. Experimental data were compared with computational models to evaluate the efficiency of pulsed waves in coagulating and settling PM. Results showed 50%+ reductions in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations at the city scale, with particle removal rates exceeding gravity settling by over 3X. Historical air quality data further validated the significant PM reductions achieved in test cases. Computational analyses revealed the underlying coagulation mechanisms induced by the pulsed waves, supporting the feasibility of this strategy for ambient particulate control. The pulsed electromagnetic technology displayed robustness in sustainably managing PM levels across diverse urban and industrial environments. Findings highlight the promise of this advanced approach as a next-generation solution to mitigate particulate air pollution and associated health burdens globally. The technology's scalability and energy efficiency can help address a key gap in current efforts to improve ambient air quality.

Keywords: particulate matter, mitigation technologies, clean air, ambient air pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: F. Javier Benitez, Francisco J. Real, Juan Luis Acero, Francisco Casas

Abstract:

Three emerging contaminants (amitriptyline hydrochloride, methyl salicylate and 2-phenoxyethanol) frequently found in waste-waters were selected to be individually degraded in ultra-pure water by the combined advanced oxidation process constituted by UV radiation and chlorine. The influence of pH, initial chlorine concentration and nature of the contaminants was firstly explored. The trend for the reactivity of the selected compounds was deduced: amitriptyline hydrochloride > methyl salicylate > 2-phenoxyethanol. A later kinetic study was carried out and focused on the specific evaluation of the first-order rate constants and the determination of the partial contribution to the global reaction of the direct photochemical pathway and the radical pathway. A comparison between the rate constant values among photochemical experiments without and with the presence of Cl₂ reveals a clear increase in the oxidation efficiency of the combined process with respect to the photochemical reaction alone. In a second stage, the simultaneous oxidation of mixtures of the selected contaminants in several types of water (ultrapure water, surface water from a reservoir, and two secondary effluents) was also performed by the same combination UV/Cl₂ under more realistic operating conditions. The efficiency of this combined system UV/Cl₂ was compared to other oxidants such as the UV/S₂O₈^2- and UV/H₂O₂ AOPs. Results confirmed that the UV/Cl₂ system provides higher elimination efficiencies among the AOPs tested.

Keywords: emerging contaminants, UV/chlorine advanced oxidation process, amitriptyline, methyl salicylate, 2-phenoxyethanol, chlorination, photolysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Dani Sukkar, Ali Kanso, Philippe Laval-Gilly, Jairo Falla-Angel

Abstract:

The honeybees' immune system is challenged by different risk factors that induce various responses. However, complex scenarios where bees are exposed to different pesticides simultaneously with immune activation are not well evaluated. The Toll pathway is one of the main signaling pathways studied in invertebrate immune responses, and it is a good indicator of the effect of such complex interactions in addition to key signaling elements of other pathways like Relish of the immune deficiency (IMD) pathway or Eater, the phagocytosis receptor or vitellogenin levels. Honeybee hemocytes extracted from 5th instar larvae were exposed to imidacloprid and/or amitraz with or without the presence of the zymosan a as an immune activator. The gene expression of multiple immune related genes were studied, including spaetzle, Toll, myD88, relish, eater and vitellogenin, by real-time polymerase chain reaction after RNA extraction. The results demonstrated that the Toll pathway is mainly affected by the pesticides; imidacloprid and amitraz, especially by their different combinations. Furthermore, immune activation by zymosan A, a fungal cell-wall component, acts to mitigate to some extent the effect of pesticides on the different levels of the Toll pathway. In addition, imidacloprid, amitraz, and zymosan A have complex and context-specific interactions depending on the levels of immune activation and the pathway evaluated affecting immune-gene expression differently.

Keywords: toll pathway, immune modulation, β-glucan, imidacloprid, amitraz, honeybees, immune genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Zhipeng Chen, Peng Zhang, Qingyun Liu, Li Guo

Abstract:

With the Internet becoming the dominant channel for business and life, many IPs are increasingly masked using web proxies for illegal purposes such as propagating malware, impersonate phishing pages to steal sensitive data or redirect victims to other malicious targets. Moreover, as Internet traffic continues to grow in size and complexity, it has become an increasingly challenging task to detect the proxy service due to their dynamic update and high anonymity. In this paper, we present an approach based on behavioral graph analysis to study the behavior similarity of web proxy users. Specifically, we use bipartite graphs to model host communications from network traffic and build one-mode projections of bipartite graphs for discovering social-behavior similarity of web proxy users. Based on the similarity matrices of end-users from the derived one-mode projection graphs, we apply a simple yet effective spectral clustering algorithm to discover the inherent web proxy users behavior clusters. The web proxy URL may vary from time to time. Still, the inherent interest would not. So, based on the intuition, by dint of our private tools implemented by WebDriver, we examine whether the top URLs visited by the web proxy users are web proxies. Our experiment results based on real datasets show that the behavior clusters not only reduce the number of URLs analysis but also provide an effective way to detect the web proxies, especially for the unknown web proxies.

Keywords: bipartite graph, one-mode projection, clustering, web proxy detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Danni Cheng

Abstract:

Purpose:Surgicallyinclusive treatment(SIT)isthemajor treatment fororopharyngealsquamouscellcarcinoma (OPSCC) in Eastern countries, while nonsurgical treatments(NSTs) are the priority treatment in Western countries. The preferred treatmentsforOPSCC patients remaindebated. Methods:Atotalof 153 consecutive OPSCC casesdiagnosed between 2009 and 2019inWCH, and 15,400 OPSCC cases from SEER database (2000-2017) were obtained. Clinical characteristics, treatments, and survival outcomes were retrospectively collected. We conductedKaplan-Meier curves univariate and multivariate analysis to compare the prognosis of OPSCC patients in WCH, SEER Asian, and SEER all ethnic population by different treatment modalities,HPVstatus, ages, and TNM stages. Results: The 5-year overall survival rate was 59% in WCH, 64% in the SEER all ethnic and 67% in SEER Asian group. In both univariate and multivariate analysis, SIT was observed as a consistent benefit factor for OPSCC patients in all three populations when classified by genders, tumor stages, and HPV status. Patients who underwent SIT had significantly better survival outcomes than those who received NSTsin WCH, SEER Asian, and SEER all ethnic groups. HPV positive status was the beneficial factor of OPSCC patients in all three groups. Besides, male patients had worse survival outcomes in both WCH and SEER Asian group, whereas male patients had better outcomes in the SEER all ethnic group. Conclusion: In contrast to nowadaysNSTs are the first-line therapiesfor OPSCC, our ten-year real-world data and SEER data indicated that OPSCC patients who underwent SIT had better prognosis than NSTs.

Keywords: OPSCC, survival outcome, SEER, treatment modalities

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Adrian Rifqi, Febe Napitupulu, Erdi Hermawan, Edwin Putra, Yang Leprilian

Abstract:

This article focuses on the implementation of the production improvement process of the Indonesian land certificate product that printed in Perum Peruri as the state-owned enterprises. Based on the data obtained, there are several complaints from customers of the 2019 land certificate production. The complaints become a negative value to loyal customers of Perum Peruri. Almost all the complaints are referring to ‘defective printouts and the difference between products in packaging and packaging labels both in terms of type and quantity’. To overcome this problem, we intend to make an improvement to the production process that focuses on complaints ‘there is a difference between products in packaging with packaging labels’. Improvements in the land certificate production process are relying on the technology of the scales and QR code on the packaging label. In addition, using the QR code on the packaging label will facilitate the process of tracking product data. With this method, we hope to reduce the error rate between products in packaging with the packaging label both in terms of quantity, type, and product number on the land certificate and error rate of sending land certificates, which will be sent to many places to 0%. With this solution, we also hope to get precise data and real-time reports on the production of land certificates in the near future, so track and trace implementation can be done as the solution of the land certificate production.

Keywords: land certificates, QR code, track and trace, packaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Ahmad Khachan, Ahmet Ozmen

Abstract:

This study aims to introduce a mobile bite-sized learning concept, a mobile application with social networks motivation factors that will encourage students to practice critical thinking, improve analytical skills and learn knowledge sharing. We do not aim to propose another e-learning or distance learning based tool like Moodle and Edmodo; instead, we introduce a mobile learning tool called Interactive M-learning Application. The tool reconstructs and strengthens the bonds between educators and learners and provides a foundation for integrating mobile devices in education. The application allows learners to stay connected all the time, share ideas, ask questions and learn from each other. It is built on Android since the Android has the largest platform share in the world and is dominating the market with 74.45% share in 2018. We have chosen Google-Firebase server for hosting because of flexibility, ease of hosting and real time update capabilities. The proposed m-learning tool was offered to four groups of university students in different majors. An improvement in the relation between the students, the teachers and the academic institution was obvious. Student’s performance got much better added to better analytical and critical skills advancement and moreover a willingness to adopt mobile learning in class. We have also compared our app with another tool in the same class for clarity and reliability of the results. The student’s mobile devices were used in this experimental study for diversity of devices and platform versions.

Keywords: education, engineering, interactive software, undergraduate education

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Veniamin Boiarkin, Bruno Bogaz Zarpelão, Muttukrishnan Rajarajan

Abstract:

The manufacturing sector is a vital component of most economies, which leads to a large number of cyberattacks on organisations, whereas disruption in operation may lead to significant economic consequences. Adversaries aim to disrupt the production processes of manufacturing companies, gain financial advantages, and steal intellectual property by getting unauthorised access to sensitive data. Access to sensitive data helps organisations to enhance the production and management processes. However, the majority of the existing data-sharing mechanisms are either susceptible to different cyber attacks or heavy in terms of computation overhead. In this paper, a privacy-preserving data-sharing scheme for smart utilities is proposed. First, a customer’s privacy adjustment mechanism is proposed to make sure that end-users have control over their privacy, which is required by the latest government regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. Secondly, a local differential privacy-based mechanism is proposed to ensure the privacy of the end-users by hiding real data based on the end-user preferences. The proposed scheme may be applied to different industrial control systems, whereas in this study, it is validated for energy utility use cases consisting of smart, intelligent devices. The results show that the proposed scheme may guarantee the required level of privacy with an expected relative error in utility.

Keywords: data-sharing, local differential privacy, manufacturing, privacy-preserving mechanism, smart utility

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: AliAkbar Hafezi, Jahanbakhsh Asadi, Majid Shahbazi, Alijan Tabarraei, Nader Mansour Samaei, Hamed Sheibak, Roghaye Gharaei

Abstract:

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In most cancer cells, apoptosis is blocked. As for the importance of apoptosis in cancer cell death and the role of different genes in its induction or inhibition, the search for compounds that can begin the process of apoptosis in tumor cells is discussed as a new strategy in anticancer drug discovery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Naringenin (NGEN) on the apoptosis in the T47D cell line of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study in vitro, the T47D cell line of breast cancer was selected as a sample. The cells at 24, 48, and 72 hours were treated with doses of 20, 200, and 1000 µm of Naringenin. Then, the transcription levels of the genes involved in apoptosis, including Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase 3, Caspase 8, Caspase 9, P53, PARP-1, and FAS, were assessed using Real Time-PCR. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0. Results: The results showed that Naringenin at doses of 20, 200, and 1000 µm in all three times of 24, 48, and 72 hours increased the expression of Caspase 3, P53, PARP-1 and FAS and reduced the expression of Bcl-2 and increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, nevertheless in none of the studied doses and times, had not a significant effect on the expression of Bax, Caspase 8 and Caspase 9. Conclusion: This study indicates that Naringenin can reduce the growth of some cancer cells and cause their deaths through increased apoptosis and decreased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene expression and, resulting in the induction of apoptosis via both internal and external pathways.

Keywords: apoptosis, breast cancer, naringenin, T47D cell line

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: C. B. Le, V. N. Pham

Abstract:

In modern data analysis, multi-source data appears more and more in real applications. Multi-source data clustering has emerged as a important issue in the data mining and machine learning community. Different data sources provide information about different data. Therefore, multi-source data linking is essential to improve clustering performance. However, in practice multi-source data is often heterogeneous, uncertain, and large. This issue is considered a major challenge from multi-source data. Ensemble is a versatile machine learning model in which learning techniques can work in parallel, with big data. Clustering ensemble has been shown to outperform any standard clustering algorithm in terms of accuracy and robustness. However, most of the traditional clustering ensemble approaches are based on single-objective function and single-source data. This paper proposes a new clustering ensemble method for multi-source data analysis. The fuzzy optimized multi-objective clustering ensemble method is called FOMOCE. Firstly, a clustering ensemble mathematical model based on the structure of multi-objective clustering function, multi-source data, and dark knowledge is introduced. Then, rules for extracting dark knowledge from the input data, clustering algorithms, and base clusterings are designed and applied. Finally, a clustering ensemble algorithm is proposed for multi-source data analysis. The experiments were performed on the standard sample data set. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the FOMOCE method compared to the existing clustering ensemble methods and multi-source clustering methods.

Keywords: clustering ensemble, multi-source, multi-objective, fuzzy clustering

Procedia PDF Downloads 166