Search results for: deep soil

Authors: Adetunji Olusegun Aderigibigbe

Abstract:

Shales, especially black shales, are of great geological significance, in the study of heavy/trace metal contamination. This is due to their abundance in occurrence and high concentration of heavy metals embedded which are released during their weathering. Heavy metals constitute one of the most dangerous pollution known to human because they are toxic (i.e., carcinogenic), non-biodegradable and can enter the global eco-biological circle. In the past, heavy metal contamination in aquatic environment and agricultural top soil has been attributed to industrial wastes, mining extractions and pollution from traffic vehicles; only a few studies have focused on weathering of shale as possible source of heavy metal contamination. Based on the above background, this study attempts to establish weathering of shale as possible source of trace/heavy metal contaminations. This was done by carefully selecting fresh and their corresponding weathered shale samples from selected localities in Bida and Anambra Basins. The samples were analysed in Activation Laboratories Ltd; Ontario, Canada for trace/heavy metal. It was observed that some major and trace metals were released during weathering, i.e., some were depleted and some enriched. By this contamination of water zones and agricultural top soils are not only traceable to biogenic processes but geogenic inputs (weathering of shale) as well.

Keywords: contamination, fresh samples, heavy metals, pollution, shales, trace metals, weathered samples

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Zhilin Wang, Zhihao Zheng, Linxin Liu

Abstract:

This study proposes a low-code model-building approach that aims to simplify the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) models. With an intuitive way to drag and drop and connect components, users can easily build complex models and integrate multiple algorithms for training. After the training is completed, the system automatically generates a callable model service API. This method not only lowers the technical threshold of AI development and improves development efficiency but also enhances the flexibility of algorithm integration and simplifies the deployment process of models. The core strength of this method lies in its ease of use and efficiency. Users do not need to have a deep programming background and can complete the design and implementation of complex models with a simple drag-and-drop operation. This feature greatly expands the scope of AI technology, allowing more non-technical people to participate in the development of AI models. At the same time, the method performs well in algorithm integration, supporting many different types of algorithms to work together, which further improves the performance and applicability of the model. In the experimental part, we performed several performance tests on the method. The results show that compared with traditional model construction methods, this method can make more efficient use, save computing resources, and greatly shorten the model training time. In addition, the system-generated model service interface has been optimized for high availability and scalability, which can adapt to the needs of different application scenarios.

Keywords: low-code, model building, artificial intelligence, algorithm integration, model deployment

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Rohollah Asadian Kohestani, Nazanin Sedghi

Abstract:

As the number of banks and financial institutions working in Iran has been significantly increased, the attracting and retaining customers and encouraging them to continually use the modern banking services have been important and vital issues. Therefore, there would be a serious competition without a deep perception of consumers and fitness of banking services with their needs in the current economic conditions of Iran. It should be noted that concepts such as 'brand equity' is defined based on the view of consumers; however, it is also focused by shareholders, competitors and other beneficiaries of a firm in addition to bank and its consumers. This study examines the impact of brand equity on the competitive advantage in the banking industry as intensive competition between brands of different banks leads to pay more attention to the brands. This research is based on the Aaker’s model examining the impact of four dimensions of brand equity on the competitive advantage of private banks in Behshahr city. Moreover, conducting an applied research and data analysis has been carried out by a descriptive method. Data collection was done using literature review and questionnaire. A 'simple random' methodology was selected for sampling staff of banks while sampling methodology to select consumers of banks was the distribution of questionnaire between staff and consumers of five private banks including Tejarat, Mellat, Refah K., Ghavamin and, Tose’e Ta’avon banks. Results show that there is a significant relationship between brand equity and their competitive advantage. In this research, software of SPSS 16 and LISREL 8.5, as well as different methods of descriptive inferential statistics for analyzing data and test hypotheses, were employed.

Keywords: brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand equity, competitive advantage

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Ikram Kamal, Mohamed Blaghen

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Xu Jie

Abstract:

As a key network security method, cryptographic services must fully cope with problems such as the wide variety of cryptographic algorithms, high concurrency requirements, random job crossovers, and instantaneous surges in workloads. Its complexity and dynamics also make it difficult for traditional static security policies to cope with the ever-changing situation. Cyber Threats and Environment. Traditional resource scheduling algorithms are inadequate when facing complex decisionmaking problems in dynamic environments. A network cryptographic resource allocation algorithm based on reinforcement learning is proposed, aiming to optimize task energy consumption, migration cost, and fitness of differentiated services (including user, data, and task security). By modeling the multi-job collaborative cryptographic service scheduling problem as a multiobjective optimized job flow scheduling problem, and using a multi-agent reinforcement learning method, efficient scheduling and optimal configuration of cryptographic service resources are achieved. By introducing reinforcement learning, resource allocation strategies can be adjusted in real time in a dynamic environment, improving resource utilization and achieving load balancing. Experimental results show that this algorithm has significant advantages in path planning length, system delay and network load balancing, and effectively solves the problem of complex resource scheduling in cryptographic services.

Keywords: multi-agent reinforcement learning, non-stationary dynamics, multi-agent systems, cooperative and competitive agents

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Khaled S. Al Salhen

Abstract:

Aldehyde oxidase is molybdo-flavoenzyme involved in the oxidation of hundreds of endogenous and exogenous and N-heterocyclic compounds and environmental pollutants. Uncharged N-heterocyclic aromatic compounds such phenanthridine are commonly distributed pollutants in soil, air, sediments, surface water and groundwater, and in animal and plant tissues. Phenanthridine as uncharged N-heterocyclic aromatic compound was incubated with partially purified aldehyde oxidase from rainbow trout fish liver. Reversed-phase HLPC method was used to separate the oxidation products from phenanthridine and the metabolite was identified. The 6(5H)-phenanthridinone was identified the major metabolite by partially purified aldehyde oxidase from fish liver. Kinetic constant for the oxidation reactions were determined spectrophotometrically and showed that this substrate has a good affinity (Km = 78 ± 7.6 µM) for hepatic aldehyde oxidase, coupled with a relatively high oxidation rate (0.77± 0.03 nmol/min/mg protein). In addition, the kinetic parameters of hepatic fish aldehyde oxidase towards the phenanthridine substrate indicate that in vitro biotransformation by hepatic fish aldehyde oxidase will be a significant pathway. This study confirms that partially purified aldehyde oxidase from fish liver is indeed the enzyme responsible for the in vitro production 6(5H)-phenanthridinone metabolite as it is a major metabolite by mammalian aldehyde oxidase.

Keywords: aldehyde oxidase, fish, phenanthridine, specificity

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Ashraf Y. Z. Khalifa, Mohammed A. Almalki

Abstract:

Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) is an important forage crop legume worldwide including Saudia Arabia due to its high nutritive value. Soil bacteria exist in root or root-nodules of Medicago sativa in either symbiotic relationships or in associations. The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize endophytic bacteria that live in association with non-nodulated roots of Medicago sativa growing in Al-Ahsaa region, Saudia Arabia. Several bacterial strains were isolated from sterilized roots of Medicago sativa. Strains were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequences, phylogenetic relationships analysis, morphological and biochemical characteristics. The strains utilized 50% (10 out of 20) of the different chemical substrates contained in the API20E strip. In general, many strains had the ability to ferment/oxidise all the carbohydrate tested except for rhamnose and the polyol carbohydrate, inositol. Comparative sequence analysis of the 16S rDNA gene indicated that the strains were closely related to the genus Bacillus. Furthermore, the growth parameters of Vigna sinensis were enhanced upon single-inoculation of the isolated strains, compared to the uninoculated control plants. The results highlighted that the root-nodules of Medicago sativa harbor non-nodulating bacterial strains that could have significant agricultural applications.

Keywords: Medicago sativa, endophytic bacteria, Pisum sativum, Vigna sinensis

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Eli Maria Forti-Pazzianotto, Carolina Moraes Da Costa, Daniela Faleiros Berteli Merino, Maura Rigoldi Simões Da Rocha, Irineu Rasera-Junior

Abstract:

There is no conclusive evidence to support the use of one type or brand of incentive espirometry over others. The decision as to which equipment is best, have being based on empirical assessment of patient acceptance, ease of use, and cost. The aim was to evaluate the effects of use of two methodologies of breathing exercises, performed by flow-oriented incentive spirometry, in the reversal of diaphragmatic dysfunction in postoperative bariatric surgery. 38 morbid obese women were selected. Respiratory muscle strength was evaluated through the nasal inspiratory pressure (NIP), and the respiratory muscles endurance, through incremental test by measurement of sustained maximal inspiratory pressure (SMIP). They were randomized in 2 groups: 1- Respiron® Classic (RC) the inspirations were slow, deep and sustained for as long as possible (5 sec). 2- Respiron® Athletic1 (RA1) - the inspirations were explosive, quick and intense, raising balls by the explosive way. 6 sets of 15 repetitions with intervals of 30 to 60 seconds were performed in groups. At the end of the intervention program (second PO), the volunteers were reevaluated. The groups were homogeneous with regard to initial assessment. However on reevaluating there was a significant decline of the variable PIN (p= < 0.0001) and SMIP (p=0.0004) in RC. In the RA1 group there was a maintenance of SMIP (p=0.5076) after surgery. The use of the Respiron Athletic 1, as well as the methodology of application used, can contribute positively to preserve the inspiratory muscle endurance and improve the diaphragmatic dysfunction in postoperative period.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, incentive spirometry, respiratory muscle, physiotherapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 374

Authors: Sofia Figueroa, Efrain Bernal, Silvia Del Pilar Forero, Humberto Ramirez

Abstract:

This work shows a detailed review of the scope of global research on the road infrastructure using materials from Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW), also called RCD. In the first phase of this research, a segment of road was designed using recycled materials such as Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) on the top, the natural coarse base including 30% of RAP and recycled concrete blocks. The second part of this segment was designed using regular materials for each layer of the pavement. Both structures were built next to each other in order to analyze and measure the material properties as well as performance and environmental factors in the pavement under real traffic and weather conditions. Different monitoring devices were installed among the structure, based on the literature revision, such as soil cells, linear potentiometer, moisture sensors, and strain gauges that help us to know the C&DW as a part of the pavement structure. This research includes not only the physical characterization but also the measured parameters in a field such as an asphalt mixture (RAP) strain (ετ), vertical strain (εᵥ) and moisture control in coarse layers (%w), and the applied loads and strain in the subgrade (εᵥ). The results will show us what is happening with these materials in order to obtain not only a sustainable solution but also to know its behavior and lifecycle.

Keywords: sustainable pavements, construction & demolition waste-C&DW, recycled rigid concrete, reclaimed asphalt pavement-rap

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: S. Teksin, S. Yayla

Abstract:

The aim of the present study was to investigate details of flow structure in downstream of a circular cylinder base mounted on a flat surface in a rectangular duct with the dimensions of 8000 x 1000 x 750 mm in deep water flow for the Reynolds number 2500, 5000 and 7500. A flexible strip was attached to behind the cylinder and compared the bare body. Also, it was analyzed that how boundary layer affects the structure of flow around the cylinder. Diameter of the cylinder was 60 mm and the length of the flexible splitter plate which had a certain modulus of elasticity was 150 mm (L/D=2.5). Time-averaged velocity vectors, vortex contours, streamwise and transverse velocity components were investigated via Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Velocity vectors and vortex contours were displayed through the sections in which boundary layer effect was not present. On the other hand, streamwise and transverse velocity components were monitored for both cases, i.e. with and without boundary layer effect. Experiment results showed that the vortex formation occured in a larger area for L/D=2.5 and the point where the vortex was maximum from the base of the cylinder was shifted. Streamwise and transverse velocity component contours were symmetrical with reference to the center of the cylinder for all cases. All Froud numbers based on the Reynolds numbers were quite smaller than 1. The flow characteristics of velocity component values of attached circular cylinder arrangement decreased approximately twenty five percent comparing to bare cylinder case.

Keywords: partical image velocimetry, elastic plate, cylinder, flow structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Md. Mahadi Hasan Sany, Mumenunnessa Keya, Sharun Khushbu, Sheikh Abujar

Abstract:

Since the beginning of China's economic reform, trade between the U.S. and China has grown rapidly, and has increased since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. The US imports more than it exports from China, reducing the trade war between China and the U.S. for the 2019 trade deficit, but in 2020, the opposite happens. In international and U.S. trade, Washington launched a full-scale trade war against China in March 2016, which occurred a catastrophic epidemic. The main goal of our study is to measure and predict trade relations between China and the U.S., before and after the arrival of the COVID epidemic. The ML model uses different data as input but has no time dimension that is present in the time series models and is only able to predict the future from previously observed data. The LSTM (a well-known Recurrent Neural Network) model is applied as the best time series model for trading forecasting. We have been able to create a sustainable forecasting system in trade between China and the US by closely monitoring a dataset published by the State Website NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa from January 1, 2015, to April 30, 2021. Throughout the survey, we provided a 180-day forecast that outlined what would happen to trade between China and the US during COVID-19. In addition, we have illustrated that the LSTM model provides outstanding outcome in time series data analysis rather than RFR and SVR (e.g., both ML models). The study looks at how the current Covid outbreak affects China-US trade. As a comparative study, RMSE transmission rate is calculated for LSTM, RFR and SVR. From our time series analysis, it can be said that the LSTM model has given very favorable thoughts in terms of China-US trade on the future export situation.

Keywords: RFR, China-U.S. trade war, SVR, LSTM, deep learning, Covid-19, export value, forecasting, time series analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: F. Deng, R. Sanchez, A. Beltran, S. Maestre

Abstract:

The high nutritional value associated with seafood is related to the presence of essential trace elements. Moreover, seafood is considered an important source of energy, proteins, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Generally, seafood is consumed cooked. Consequently, the nutritional value could be degraded. Seafood, such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed, could be considered as one of the main iodine sources. The deficient or excessive consumption of iodine could cause dysfunction and pathologies related to the thyroid gland. The main objective of this work is to evaluated iodine stability in hake (Merluccius) undergone different culinary techniques. The culinary process considered were: boiling, steaming, microwave cooking, baking, cooking en papillote (twisted cover with the shape of a sweet wrapper) and coating with a batter of flour and deep-frying. The determination of iodine was carried by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Regarding sample handling strategies, liquid-liquid extraction has demonstrated to be a powerful pre-concentration and clean-up approach for trace metal analysis by ICP techniques. Extraction with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH reagent) was used as a sample preparation method in this work. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the stability of iodine was degraded with the cooking processes. The major degradation was observed for the boiling and microwave cooking processes. The content of iodine in hake decreased up to 60% and 52%, respectively. However, if the boiling cooking liquid is preserved, this loss that has been generated during cooking is reduced. Only when the fish was cooked by following the cooking en papillote process the iodine content was preserved.

Keywords: cooking process, ICP-MS, iodine, hake

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Osama H. Elsayed, Mohsen M. S. Asker, Mahmoud A. Swelim, Ibrahim H. Abbas, Aziza I. Attwa, Mohamed E. El Awady

Abstract:

Hydroxy marilone C is a bioactive metabolite was produced from the culture broth of Streptomyces badius isolated from Egyptian soil. hydroxy marilone C was purified and fractionated by silica gel column with a gradient mobile phase dicloromethane (DCM) : Methanol then Sephadex LH-20 column using methanol as a mobile phase. It was subjected to many instruments as Infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Mass spectroscopy (MS) and UV spectroscopy to the elucidation of its structure. It was evaluated for antioxidant, cytotoxicity against human alveolar basal epithelial cell line (A-549) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) and antiviral activities; showed that the maximum antioxidant activity was 78.8 % at 3000 µg/ml after 90 min. and the IC50 value against DPPH radical found about 1500 µg/ml after 60 min. By Using MTT assay the effect of the pure compound on the proliferation of A-549 cells and MCF-7 cells were 443 µg/ml and 147.9 µg/ml, respectively. While for detection of antiviral activity using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells the maximum cytotoxicity was at 27.9% and IC50 was 128.1µg/ml. The maximum concentration required for protecting 50% of the virus-infected cells against H1N1 viral cytopathogenicity (EC50) was 33.25% for 80 µg/ml. This results indicated that the hydroxy marilone C has a potential antitumor and antiviral activities.

Keywords: hydroxy marilone C, production, bioactive compound, Streptomyces badius

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Xi Liu, Fan Yuan

Abstract:

In the evolving landscape of physics-based machine learning (PBML), particularly within fluid dynamics and its applications in electromechanical engineering, robot vision, and robot learning, achieving precision and alignment with researchers' specific needs presents a formidable challenge. In response, this work proposes a methodology that integrates neural transformation with a modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for generating transformed 3D fluid simulations. This approach is useful for nanoscale science, where the unique and complex behaviors of viscoelastic medium demand accurate neurally-transformed simulations for materials understanding and manipulation. In electromechanical engineering, the method enhances the design and functionality of fluid-operated systems, particularly microfluidic devices, contributing to advancements in nanomaterial design, drug delivery systems, and more. The proposed approach also aligns with the principles of PBML, offering advantages such as multi-fluid stylization and consistent particle attribute transfer. This capability is valuable in various fields where the interaction of multiple fluid components is significant. Moreover, the application of neurally-transformed hydrodynamical models extends to manufacturing processes, such as the production of microelectromechanical systems, enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The system's ability to perform neural transfer on 3D fluid scenes using a deep learning algorithm alongside physical models further adds a layer of flexibility, allowing researchers to tailor simulations to specific needs across scientific and engineering disciplines.

Keywords: physics-based machine learning, robot vision, robot learning, hydrodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Souhila Terfi, Fatma Hassaine-Sadi

Abstract:

In the present study, wet digestion with HCl and HNO3 mixture was used to extract the heavy metals (copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd)) from the leaves, the stems and the roots of Malva sylvestris L., which were subsequently analyzed by AAS. The samples (soil and parts of species) were collected from different sites: the industrial area (IA) (Rouiba), the rubbish dump area (RDA) (Boudouaou), the residential area (RA) with large open fields and construction activities (Blida), the Montaigne area (MA) (Chrea) and the high plateau area (HPA) (Berouaguia). The study showed differences in metal concentrations according to the analysed parts and the different sampling locations. In the contaminated site of the industrial area (IA), high content of the toxic heavy metals (Cd: 3.18 µg/g DW and Pb: 34.48 µg/g DW) were found in the leaves of Malva sylvestris L. This finding suggests that the consumers of this species could be exposed to a risk associated with this higher level of these toxic metals. It was found that Malva sylvestris L. is rich by Zn and Cu in some sites, which are considered to be the essential elements for the human health. The obtained results with the control site (Montaigne area) suggest that this species can be applicable in both the health and food, feasible alternatives as medicinal plant without any risk.

Keywords: Malva sylvestris L., toxic heavy metal, medicinal plant, impact on human health

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Huma Aly, Caramel Rodger, Saman Zafar

Abstract:

The present study explored the role of caste system in determining and understanding various personality characteristics related to different castes. It analyzed various personality characteristics of Arains, Jutts and Sheikhs caste of Pakistan. Reasons for the emphasis on within caste marriage in relation to personality characteristics were identified. In the present study a sample of 200 unmarried students were taken from different institutes of Lahore, Pakistan. 117 students were taken from Fast University and 83 from LUMS (Lahore University of Management and Sciences) on the basis of purposive and convenience sampling. 76 Arains, 59 Sheikhs and 65 Jutts were taken. Non-probability purposive sampling, quantitative research method, big five personality scale were used. Kruskal Wallis test was used as three independent groups were taken in the study. Results revealed various personality characteristics associated with different castes namely Arain, Jutts and Sheikhs. Individuals belonging to Jutts caste were reported to be high on being talkative, findings faults, doing thorough job, being depressed, reservedness, quarrelling, reliable, tensed, deep thinker, worrying a lot, imaginative, lazy, inventive, assertive, cold aloof, preserved and rude. Arains were reported to be original, helpful, careless,relaxed, curious, enthusiastic, forgiving, quiet, trusting, moody, shy, retaining anger, routinely working, planners, nervous, playing with ideas, artistic, cooperative, easily distracted and sophisticated. Lastly, Sheikhs were reported to be energetic, disorganized, stable. This study will play a significant part in changing the traditional viewpoint of majority of elders of our society who still have immense association with the caste they belong to.

Keywords: castes, personality, Arains, Jutts, Sheikhs, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: T. Garba, Y. Y. Babanyara, M. Isah, A. K. Muktari, R. Y. Abdullahi

Abstract:

The increased in demand of fuel wood for heating, cooking and sometimes bakery has continued to exert appreciable impact on natural vegetation. This study focus on the use of multi-temporal data from land sat TM of 1986, land sat EMT of 1999 and lands sat ETM of 2006 to investigate the changes of Natural Vegetation resulting from charcoal production activities. The three images were classified based on bare soil, built up areas, cultivated land, and natural vegetation, Rock out crop and water bodies. From the classified images Land sat TM of 1986 it shows natural vegetation of the study area to be 308,941.48 hectares equivalent to 50% of the area it then reduces to 278,061.21 which is 42.92% in 1999 it again depreciated to 199,647.81 in 2006 equivalent to 30.83% of the area. Consequently cultivated continue increasing from 259,346.80 hectares (42%) in 1986 to 312,966.27 hectares (48.3%) in 1999 and then to 341.719.92 hectares (52.78%). These show that within the span of 20 years (1986 to 2006) the natural vegetation is depreciated by 119,293.81 hectares. This implies that if the menace is not control the natural might likely be lost in another twenty years. This is because forest cleared for charcoal production is normally converted to farmland. The study therefore concluded that there is the need for alternatives source of domestic energy such as the use of biomass which can easily be accessible and affordable to people. In addition, the study recommended that there should be strong policies enforcement for the protection forest reserved.

Keywords: charcoal, classification, data, images, land use, natural vegetation

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Ali J. Ghandour, Houssam A. Krayem, Abedelkarim A. Jezzini

Abstract:

High-resolution satellite images and remote sensing can provide global information in a fast way compared to traditional methods of data collection. Under such high resolution, a road is not a thin line anymore. Objects such as cars and trees are easily identifiable. Automatic vehicles enumeration can be considered one of the most important applications in traffic management. In this paper, autonomous vehicle detection and classification approach in highway environment is proposed. This approach consists mainly of three stages: (i) first, a set of preprocessing operations are applied including soil, vegetation, water suppression. (ii) Then, road networks detection and delineation is implemented using built-up area index, followed by several morphological operations. This step plays an important role in increasing the overall detection accuracy since vehicles candidates are objects contained within the road networks only. (iii) Multi-level Otsu segmentation is implemented in the last stage, resulting in vehicle detection and classification, where detected vehicles are classified into cars and trucks. Accuracy assessment analysis is conducted over different study areas to show the great efficiency of the proposed method, especially in highway environment.

Keywords: remote sensing, object identification, vehicle and road extraction, vehicle and road features-based classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Seyed Mostafa Jafari Raad, Hassan Hassanzadeh

Abstract:

Injection of impurities along with CO₂ into saline aquifers provides an exceptional prospect for low-cost carbon capture and storage technologies and can potentially accelerate large-scale implementation of geological storage of CO₂. We have conducted linear stability analyses and numerical simulations to investigate the effects of permitted impurities in CO₂ streams on the onset of natural convection and dynamics of subsequent convective mixing. We have shown that the rate of dissolution of an impure CO₂ stream with H₂S highly depends on the operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, and composition of impurity. Contrary to findings of previous studies, our results show that an impurity such as H₂S can potentially reduce the onset time of natural convection and can accelerate the subsequent convective mixing. However, at the later times, the rate of convective dissolution is adversely affected by the impurities. Therefore, the injection of an impure CO₂ stream can be engineered to improve the rate of dissolution of CO₂, which leads to higher storage security and efficiency. Accordingly, we have identified the most favorable CO₂ stream compositions based on the geophysical properties of target aquifers. Information related to the onset of natural convection such as the scaling relations and the most favorable operating conditions for CO₂ storage developed in this study are important in proper design, site screening, characterization and safety of geological storage. This information can be used to either identify future geological candidates for acid gas disposal or reviewing the current operating conditions of licensed injection sites.

Keywords: CO₂ storage, solubility trapping, convective dissolution, storage efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Issam Aouari, Abdelmalek Abdelhamid

Abstract:

For seismologists, the characterization of seismic demand should include the amplitude and duration of strong shaking in the system. The duration of ground shaking is one of the key parameters in earthquake resistant design of structures. This paper proposes a nonlinear statistical model to estimate earthquake ground motion duration in soft soils using multiple seismicity indicators. Three definitions of ground motion duration proposed by literature have been applied. With a comparative study, we select the most significant definition to use for predict the duration. A stochastic model is presented for the McCann and Shah Method using nonlinear regression analysis based on a data set for moment magnitude, source to site distance and site conditions. The data set applied is taken from PEER strong motion databank and contains shallow earthquakes from different regions in the world; America, Turkey, London, China, Italy, Chili, Mexico...etc. Main emphasis is placed on soft site condition. The predictive relationship has been developed based on 600 records and three input indicators. Results have been compared with others published models. It has been found that the proposed model can predict earthquake ground motion duration in soft soils for different regions and sites conditions.

Keywords: duration, earthquake, prediction, regression, soft soil

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Ahmad E. Aldousaria, Abdulla Al Kafy

Abstract:

Urbanization is an incessant process that involves the transformation of land use/land cover (LULC), resulting in a reduction of cool land covers and thermal comfort zones (TCZs). This study explores the directional shrinkage of TCZs in Kuwait using Landsat satellite data from 1991 – 2021 to predict the future LULC and TCZ distribution for 2026 and 2031 using cellular automata (CA) and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms. Analysis revealed a rapid urban expansion (40 %) in SE, NE, and NW directions and TCZ shrinkage in N – NW and SW directions with 25 % of the very uncomfortable area. The predicted result showed an urban area increase from 44 % in 2021 to 47 % and 52 % in 2026 and 2031, respectively, where uncomfortable zones were found to be concentrated around urban areas and bare lands in N – NE and N – NW directions. This study proposes an effective and sustainable framework to control TCZ shrinkage, including zero soil policies, planned landscape design, manmade water bodies, and rooftop gardens. This study will help urban planners and policymakers to make Kuwait an eco–friendly, functional, and sustainable country.

Keywords: land cover change, thermal environment, green cover loss, machine learning, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Chandan Deep Singh

Abstract:

In present days, companies are facing the rapid competition in terms of customer requirements to be satisfied, new technologies to be integrated into future products, new safety regulations to be followed, new computer-based tools to be introduced into design activities that becomes more scientific. In today’s highly competitive market, survival focuses on various factors such as quality, innovation, adherence to standards, and rapid response as the basis for competitive advantage. For competitive advantage, companies have to produce various competencies: for improving the capability of suppliers and for strengthening the process of integrating technology. For more competitiveness, organizations should operate in a strategy driven way and have a strategic architecture for developing core competencies. Traditional ways to take such experience and develop competencies tend to take a lot of time and they are expensive. A new learning environment, which is built around a gaming engine, supports the development of competences in specific subject areas. Technology competencies have a significant role in firm innovation and competitiveness; they interact with the competitive environment. Technological competencies vary according to the type of competitive environment, thus enhancing firm innovativeness. Technological competency is gained through extensive experimentation and learning in its research, development and employment in manufacturing. This is a review paper based on competency and strategic success of automobile industry. The aim here is to study strategy formulation and competency tools in the industry. This work is a review of literature related to competency and strategy in automobile industry. This study involves review of 34 papers related to competency and strategy.

Keywords: manufacturing competency, strategic success, competitiveness, strategy formulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Ehsan Tuzcuoğlu, Muhammed Emin Çoban, Songül Byraktar

Abstract:

One of the main targets of the washing machine is to remove any dirt and stains from the clothes. Especially, the stain removal is significantly important in the Far East market, where the high percentage of the consumers use the top load washing machines as washing appliance. They use all pretreatment methods (i.e. soaking, prewash, and heavy functions) to eliminate the stains from their clothes. Therefore, with this study it is aimed to study experimentally the stain removal performance of 3 different Top-Loading washing machines of the Far East market with 24 different types of stains which are mostly related to Far East culture. In the meanwhile, the mechanical damge on laundry is examined for each machine to see the mechanical effect of the related stain programs on the textile load of the machines. The test machines vary according to have a heater, moving part(s)on their impeller, and to be in different height/width ratio of the drum. The results indicate that decreasing the water level inside the washing machine might result in better soil removal as well as less textile damage. Beside this, the experimental results reveal that heating has the main effect on stain removal. Two-step (or delayed) heating and a lower amount of water can also be considered as the further parameters

Keywords: laundry, washing machine, top load washing machine, stain removal, textile damage, mechanical textile damage

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: M. Mert, M. T. Ozkan

Abstract:

Pile load tests should be applied to check the bearing capacity calculations and to determine the settlement of the pile corresponding to test load. Strain gauges can be installed into pile in order to determine the shaft resistance of the piles for every soil layer respectively. Detailed results can be obtained by means of strain gauges placed at certain levels into test piles. In the scope of this study, pile load test data obtained from two different projects are examined.  Instrumented static pile load tests were applied on totally 7 test bored piles of different diameters (80 cm, 150 cm, and 200 cm) and different lengths (between 30-76 m) in two different project site. Settlement analysis of test piles is done by using some of load transfer methods and finite element method. Plaxis 3D which is a three-dimensional finite element program is also used for settlement analysis of the test piles. In this study, firstly bearing capacity of test piles are determined and compared with strain gauge data which is required for settlement analysis. Then, settlement values of the test piles are estimated by using load transfer methods developed in recent years and finite element method. The aim of this study is to show similarities and differences between the results obtained from settlement analysis methods and instrumented pile load tests.

Keywords: failure, finite element method, monitoring and instrumentation, pile, settlement

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Muhsina Khadeeja

Abstract:

Introducing theological texts combined with philosophy will be useful in understanding the major difference between theology and philosophy and making a comparative study between these two epistemologies. SHARAHUL AQAID is one of them. Which originated in the Fourteenth century; the time was enriched with theological discourses and religious revisions. Meanwhile, visions of philosophy strengthened and its ideologies were discussed widely until it reflected on Islamic theology. Those philosophers initiated to interpretation of Islamic theology from a philosophical aspect. Some prominent Muslim theologists like Gazzali analyzed that this genre of interpretations and followed questions will threaten the existence of Islamic theology. Understanding these situations, prominent leaders defended Islamic theology through their intellectual works. SHARAHUL AQAID of SADUDDIN THATHAZANI is one of them, which is written as a commentary on UMAR NASAFI's work. The mentioned book is full of answers to the counters of philosophers and rectification of their interpretation. He adopted the philosophical method in this work rather than other methods to make philosophers understand his answers vividly. Because of that, the book is plentiful with philosophical terminologies. Common people can't grasp it without a deep reading. So, the researcher hopes that the analysis of this work will help to elaborate its meanings and make it graspable. The researcher chooses a thematical and critical analysis of the answers of SADUDDIN THAFTHAZANI in SHARAHUL AQAID and on his methodology. This analysis denotes theology and philosophy show similarities rather than contradictions. The researcher concludes this study by examining the difference between theology and philosophy, similarities and contradiction. Finally, researcher proves how both epistemologies coexist.

Keywords: islamic theology, sharahul aqaid, saduddin thafthazani, philosophy

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Miracle Ajah

Abstract:

One of the biggest challenges facing Theological/Religious Education in Nigeria is access to quality learning materials. For instance at the Trinity (Union) Theological College, Umuahia, it was difficult for lecturers to access suitable and qualitative materials for instruction especially the ones that would suit the African context and stimulate a deep rooted interest among the students. Some textbooks written by foreign authors were readily available in the School Library, but were lacking in the College bookshops for students to own copies. Even when the College was able to order some of the books from abroad, it did not usher in the needed enthusiasm expected from the students because they were either very expensive or very difficult to understand during private studies. So it became necessary to develop contextual materials which were affordable and understandable, though with little success. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)’s innovation in the development and sharing of learning resources through its Open Course ware is a welcome development and of great assistance to students. Apart from NOUN students who could easily access the materials, many others from various theological/religious institutes across the nation have benefited immensely. So, the thesis of this paper is that the promotion of open educational resources in theological/religious education in Nigeria would facilitate a better informed/equipped religious leadership, which would in turn impact its adherents for a healthier society and national development. Adopting a narrative and historical approach within the context of Nigeria’s educational system, the paper discusses: educational traditions in Nigeria; challenges facing theological/religious education in Nigeria; and benefits of open educational resources. The study goes further to making recommendations on how OER could positively influence theological/religious education in Nigeria. It is expected that theologians, religious educators, and ODL practitioners would find this work very useful.

Keywords: OER, theological education, religious education, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: ShyamKrishna Kirithivasan, Shreyas Battula, Aditi Soori, Richa Ramesh, Ramamoorthy Srinath

Abstract:

The human brain, among the most complex and mysterious aspects of the body, harbors vast potential for extensive exploration. Unraveling these enigmas, especially within neural perception and cognition, delves into the realm of neural decoding. Harnessing advancements in generative AI, particularly in Visual Computing, seeks to elucidate how the brain comprehends visual stimuli observed by humans. The paper endeavors to reconstruct human-perceived visual stimuli using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). This fMRI data is then processed through pre-trained deep-learning models to recreate the stimuli. Introducing a new architecture named LatentNeuroNet, the aim is to achieve the utmost semantic fidelity in stimuli reconstruction. The approach employs a Latent Diffusion Model (LDM) - Stable Diffusion v1.5, emphasizing semantic accuracy and generating superior quality outputs. This addresses the limitations of prior methods, such as GANs, known for poor semantic performance and inherent instability. Text conditioning within the LDM's denoising process is handled by extracting text from the brain's ventral visual cortex region. This extracted text undergoes processing through a Bootstrapping Language-Image Pre-training (BLIP) encoder before it is injected into the denoising process. In conclusion, a successful architecture is developed that reconstructs the visual stimuli perceived and finally, this research provides us with enough evidence to identify the most influential regions of the brain responsible for cognition and perception.

Keywords: BLIP, fMRI, latent diffusion model, neural perception.

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Samim Khair Mohammad, Takeshi Tsuji, Chanmaly Chhun

Abstract:

The Afghan Tajik (foreland) basin, located in the depression zone between mountain axes, is under compression and deformation during the collision of India with the Eurasian plate. The southern part of the Afghan Tajik basin in the Northern part of Afghanistan has not been well studied and explored, but considered for the significant potential for oil and gas resources. The Afghan Tajik basin depositional environments (< 8km) resulted from mixing terrestrial and marine systems, which has potential prospects of Jurrasic (deep) and Tertiary (shallow) petroleum systems. We used 2D regional seismic profiles with a total length of 674.8 km (or over an area of 2500 km²) in the southern part of the basin. To characterize hydrocarbon systems and structures in this study area, we applied advanced seismic attributes such as spectral decomposition (10 - 60Hz) based on time-frequency analysis with continuous wavelet transform. The spectral decomposition results yield the (averaging 20 - 30Hz group) spectral amplitude anomaly. Based on this anomaly result, seismic, and structural interpretation, the potential hydrocarbon accumulations were inferred around the main thrust folds in the tertiary (Paleogene+Neogene) petroleum systems, which appeared to be accumulated around the central study area. Furthermore, it seems that hydrocarbons dominantly migrated along the main thrusts and then concentrated around anticline fold systems which could be sealed by mudstone/carbonate rocks.

Keywords: The Afghan Tajik basin, seismic lines, spectral decomposition, thrust folds, hydrocarbon reservoirs

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Manjitsingh Rajput

Abstract:

Visual communication plays an important role in artificial intelligence (AI) because it enables machines to understand and interpret visual information, similar to how humans do. This abstract explores the importance of visual communication in AI and emphasizes the importance of various applications such as computer vision, object emphasis recognition, image classification and autonomous systems. In going deeper, with deep learning techniques and neural networks that modify visual understanding, In addition to AI programming, the abstract discusses challenges facing visual interfaces for AI, such as data scarcity, domain optimization, and interpretability. Visual communication and other approaches, such as natural language processing and speech recognition, have also been explored. Overall, this abstract highlights the critical role that visual communication plays in advancing AI capabilities and enabling machines to perceive and understand the world around them. The abstract also explores the integration of visual communication with other modalities like natural language processing and speech recognition, emphasizing the critical role of visual communication in AI capabilities. This methodology explores the importance of visual communication in AI development and implementation, highlighting its potential to enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of AI systems. It provides a comprehensive approach to integrating visual elements into AI systems, making them more user-friendly and efficient. In conclusion, Visual communication is crucial in AI systems for object recognition, facial analysis, and augmented reality, but challenges like data quality, interpretability, and ethics must be addressed. Visual communication enhances user experience, decision-making, accessibility, and collaboration. Developers can integrate visual elements for efficient and accessible AI systems.

Keywords: visual communication AI, computer vision, visual aid in communication, essence of visual communication.

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Taekyong Lee, Joon-Young Kim, Jae-Min Cha

Abstract:

Piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) is an essential design drawing describing the interconnection of process equipment and the instrumentation installed to control the process. P&IDs are modified and managed throughout a whole life cycle of a process plant. For the ease of data transfer, P&IDs are generally handed over from a design company to an engineering company as portable document format (PDF) which is hard to be modified. Therefore, engineering companies have to deploy a great deal of time and human resources only for manually converting P&ID images into a computer aided design (CAD) file format. To reduce the inefficiency of the P&ID conversion, various symbols and texts in P&ID images should be automatically recognized. However, recognizing information in P&ID images is not an easy task. A P&ID image usually contains hundreds of symbol and text objects. Most objects are pretty small compared to the size of a whole image and are densely packed together. Traditional recognition methods based on geometrical features are not capable enough to recognize every elements of a P&ID image. To overcome these difficulties, state-of-the-art deep learning models, RetinaNet and connectionist text proposal network (CTPN) were used to build a system for recognizing symbols and texts in a P&ID image. Using the RetinaNet and the CTPN model carefully modified and tuned for P&ID image dataset, the developed system recognizes texts, equipment symbols, piping symbols and instrumentation symbols from an input P&ID image and save the recognition results as the pre-defined extensible markup language format. In the test using a commercial P&ID image, the P&ID information recognition system correctly recognized 97% of the symbols and 81.4% of the texts.

Keywords: object recognition system, P&ID, symbol recognition, text recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 157