Search results for: SURF(Speed-Up Robust Features)
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5019

Search results for: SURF(Speed-Up Robust Features)

1269 Sustainable Production of Pharmaceutical Compounds Using Plant Cell Culture

Authors: David A. Ullisch, Yantree D. Sankar-Thomas, Stefan Wilke, Thomas Selge, Matthias Pump, Thomas Leibold, Kai Schütte, Gilbert Gorr

Abstract:

Plants have been considered as a source of natural substances for ages. Secondary metabolites from plants are utilized especially in medical applications but are more and more interesting as cosmetical ingredients and in the field of nutraceuticals. However, supply of compounds from natural harvest can be limited by numerous factors i.e. endangered species, low product content, climate impacts and cost intensive extraction. Especially in the pharmaceutical industry the ability to provide sufficient amounts of product and high quality are additional requirements which in some cases are difficult to fulfill by plant harvest. Whereas in many cases the complexity of secondary metabolites precludes chemical synthesis on a reasonable commercial basis, plant cells contain the biosynthetic pathway – a natural chemical factory – for a given compound. A promising approach for the sustainable production of natural products can be plant cell fermentation (PCF®). A thoroughly accomplished development process comprises the identification of a high producing cell line, optimization of growth and production conditions, the development of a robust and reliable production process and its scale-up. In order to address persistent, long lasting production, development of cryopreservation protocols and generation of working cell banks is another important requirement to be considered. So far the most prominent example using a PCF® process is the production of the anticancer compound paclitaxel. To demonstrate the power of plant suspension cultures here we present three case studies: 1) For more than 17 years Phyton produces paclitaxel at industrial scale i.e. up to 75,000 L in scale. With 60 g/kg dw this fully controlled process which is applied according to GMP results in outstanding high yields. 2) Thapsigargin is another anticancer compound which is currently isolated from seeds of Thapsia garganica. Thapsigargin is a powerful cytotoxin – a SERCA inhibitor – and the precursor for the derivative ADT, the key ingredient of the investigational prodrug Mipsagargin (G-202) which is in several clinical trials. Phyton successfully generated plant cell lines capable to express this compound. Here we present data about the screening for high producing cell lines. 3) The third case study covers ingenol-3-mebutate. This compound is found in the milky sap of the intact plants of the Euphorbiacae family at very low concentrations. Ingenol-3-mebutate is used in Picato® which is approved against actinic keratosis. Generation of cell lines expressing significant amounts of ingenol-3-mebutate is another example underlining the strength of plant cell culture. The authors gratefully acknowledge Inspyr Therapeutics for funding.

Keywords: Ingenol-3-mebutate, plant cell culture, sustainability, thapsigargin

Procedia PDF Downloads 231
1268 Teachers' Attitude and Knowledge as Predictors of Effective Use of Digital Devices for the Education of Students with Special Needs in Oyo, Nigeria

Authors: Faseluka Olamide Tope

Abstract:

Giving quality education to students with special needs requires that all necessary resources should be harnessed and digital devices has become important part of resources used as instructional materials in educating students with special needs. Teachers who will make use of these technologies are considered as a part of the most important elements in any educational programme and the effective usage of these technologies largely depends on them. Out of numerous determinants of the effective use of these digital devices, this study examines teachers’ attitude and knowledge as predictors of effective use of digital technology for education of special needs student in Oyo state, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design of the expo-facto type was adopted for the study, using simple random sampling technique. The study was carried out among sixty (60) participants. Two research questions and two research hypotheses were formulated and used. The data collected through the research instruments for the study were analysedusing frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, Pearson, Product, Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple Regression Analysis. The study revealed a significant relationship between teachers attitude (50, < 0.05) and effective use of digital technologies for special needs students. Furthermore, there was a significant contribution F (F=4.289; R=0.876 and R2 =0.758) in the joint contribution of the independent variable  (teacher’s attitude and teacher’s knowledge) and dependent variable (effective use of digital technologies) while teachers knowledge have the highest contribution(b=7.926, t=4.376), the study therefore revealed that teachers attitude and knowledge are potent factors that predicts the effective usage of digital technologies for the education of special needs student. The study recommended that due to the ever-changing nature of technology which comes with new features, teachers should be equipped with appropriate knowledge in order to effectively make use of them and teachers should also develop right attitude toward the use of digital technologies

Keywords: teachers’ knowledge, teachers’ attitude, digital devices, special needs students

Procedia PDF Downloads 13
1267 Holographic Visualisation of 3D Point Clouds in Real-time Measurements: A Proof of Concept Study

Authors: Henrique Fernandes, Sofia Catalucci, Richard Leach, Kapil Sugand

Abstract:

Background: Holograms are 3D images formed by the interference of light beams from a laser or other coherent light source. Pepper’s ghost is a form of hologram conceptualised in the 18th century. This Holographic visualisation with metrology measuring techniques by displaying measurements taken in real-time in holographic form can assist in research and education. New structural designs such as the Plexiglass Stand and the Hologram Box can optimise the holographic experience. Method: The equipment used included: (i) Zeiss’s ATOS Core 300 optical coordinate measuring instrument that scanned real-world objects; (ii) Cloud Compare, open-source software used for point cloud processing; and (iii) Hologram Box, designed and manufactured during this research to provide the blackout environment needed to display 3D point clouds in real-time measurements in holographic format, in addition to a portability aspect to holograms. The equipment was tailored to realise the goal of displaying measurements in an innovative technique and to improve on conventional methods. Three test scans were completed before doing a holographic conversion. Results: The outcome was a precise recreation of the original object in the holographic form presented with dense point clouds and surface density features in a colour map. Conclusion: This work establishes a way to visualise data in a point cloud system. To our understanding, this is a work that has never been attempted. This achievement provides an advancement in holographic visualisation. The Hologram Box could be used as a feedback tool for measurement quality control and verification in future smart factories.

Keywords: holography, 3D scans, hologram box, metrology, point cloud

Procedia PDF Downloads 74
1266 Influence of Internal Topologies on Components Produced by Selective Laser Melting: Numerical Analysis

Authors: C. Malça, P. Gonçalves, N. Alves, A. Mateus

Abstract:

Regardless of the manufacturing process used, subtractive or additive, material, purpose and application, produced components are conventionally solid mass with more or less complex shape depending on the production technology selected. Aspects such as reducing the weight of components, associated with the low volume of material required and the almost non-existent material waste, speed and flexibility of production and, primarily, a high mechanical strength combined with high structural performance, are competitive advantages in any industrial sector, from automotive, molds, aviation, aerospace, construction, pharmaceuticals, medicine and more recently in human tissue engineering. Such features, properties and functionalities are attained in metal components produced using the additive technique of Rapid Prototyping from metal powders commonly known as Selective Laser Melting (SLM), with optimized internal topologies and varying densities. In order to produce components with high strength and high structural and functional performance, regardless of the type of application, three different internal topologies were developed and analyzed using numerical computational tools. The developed topologies were numerically submitted to mechanical compression and four point bending testing. Finite Element Analysis results demonstrate how different internal topologies can contribute to improve mechanical properties, even with a high degree of porosity relatively to fully dense components. Results are very promising not only from the point of view of mechanical resistance, but especially through the achievement of considerable variation in density without loss of structural and functional high performance.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, internal topologies, porosity, rapid prototyping, selective laser melting

Procedia PDF Downloads 321
1265 Motivating Factors of Mobile Device Applications toward Learning

Authors: Yen-Mei Lee

Abstract:

Mobile learning (m-learning) has been applied in the education field not only because it is an alternative to web-based learning but also it possesses the ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning features. However, most studies focus on the technology-related issue, such as usability and functionality instead of addressing m-learning from the motivational perspective. Accordingly, the main purpose of the current paper is to integrate critical factors from different motivational theories and related findings to have a better understand the catalysts of an individual’s learning motivation toward m-learning. The main research question for this study is stated as follows: based on different motivational perspectives, what factors of applying mobile devices as medium can facilitate people’s learning motivations? Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT), Malone and Lepper’s taxonomy of intrinsic motivation theory, and different types of motivation concepts were discussed in the current paper. In line with the review of relevant studies, three motivating factors with five essential elements are proposed. The first key factor is autonomy. Learning on one’s own path and applying personalized format are two critical elements involved in the factor of autonomy. The second key factor is to apply a build-in instant feedback system during m-learning. The third factor is creating an interaction system, including communication and collaboration spaces. These three factors can enhance people’s learning motivations when applying mobile devices as medium toward learning. To sum up, in the currently proposed paper, with different motivational perspectives to discuss the m-learning is different from previous studies which are simply focused on the technical or functional design. Supported by different motivation theories, researchers can clearly understand how the mobile devices influence people’s leaning motivation. Moreover, instructional designers and educators can base on the proposed factors to build up their unique and efficient m-learning environments.

Keywords: autonomy, learning motivation, mobile learning (m-learning), motivational perspective

Procedia PDF Downloads 166
1264 Integrating Multiple Types of Value in Natural Capital Accounting Systems: Environmental Value Functions

Authors: Pirta Palola, Richard Bailey, Lisa Wedding

Abstract:

Societies and economies worldwide fundamentally depend on natural capital. Alarmingly, natural capital assets are quickly depreciating, posing an existential challenge for humanity. The development of robust natural capital accounting systems is essential for transitioning towards sustainable economic systems and ensuring sound management of capital assets. However, the accurate, equitable and comprehensive estimation of natural capital asset stocks and their accounting values still faces multiple challenges. In particular, the representation of socio-cultural values held by groups or communities has arguably been limited, as to date, the valuation of natural capital assets has primarily been based on monetary valuation methods and assumptions of individual rationality. People relate to and value the natural environment in multiple ways, and no single valuation method can provide a sufficiently comprehensive image of the range of values associated with the environment. Indeed, calls have been made to improve the representation of multiple types of value (instrumental, intrinsic, and relational) and diverse ontological and epistemological perspectives in environmental valuation. This study addresses this need by establishing a novel valuation framework, Environmental Value Functions (EVF), that allows for the integration of multiple types of value in natural capital accounting systems. The EVF framework is based on the estimation and application of value functions, each of which describes the relationship between the value and quantity (or quality) of an ecosystem component of interest. In this framework, values are estimated in terms of change relative to the current level instead of calculating absolute values. Furthermore, EVF was developed to also support non-marginalist conceptualizations of value: it is likely that some environmental values cannot be conceptualized in terms of marginal changes. For example, ecological resilience value may, in some cases, be best understood as a binary: it either exists (1) or is lost (0). In such cases, a logistic value function may be used as the discriminator. Uncertainty in the value function parameterization can be considered through, for example, Monte Carlo sampling analysis. The use of EVF is illustrated with two conceptual examples. For the first time, EVF offers a clear framework and concrete methodology for the representation of multiple types of value in natural capital accounting systems, simultaneously enabling 1) the complementary use and integration of multiple valuation methods (monetary and non-monetary); 2) the synthesis of information from diverse knowledge systems; 3) the recognition of value incommensurability; 4) marginalist and non-marginalist value analysis. Furthermore, with this advancement, the coupling of EVF and ecosystem modeling can offer novel insights to the study of spatial-temporal dynamics in natural capital asset values. For example, value time series can be produced, allowing for the prediction and analysis of volatility, long-term trends, and temporal trade-offs. This approach can provide essential information to help guide the transition to a sustainable economy.

Keywords: economics of biodiversity, environmental valuation, natural capital, value function

Procedia PDF Downloads 184
1263 Dynamic Exergy Analysis for the Built Environment: Fixed or Variable Reference State

Authors: Valentina Bonetti

Abstract:

Exergy analysis successfully helps optimizing processes in various sectors. In the built environment, a second-law approach can enhance potential interactions between constructions and their surrounding environment and minimise fossil fuel requirements. Despite the research done in this field in the last decades, practical applications are hard to encounter, and few integrated exergy simulators are available for building designers. Undoubtedly, an obstacle for the diffusion of exergy methods is the strong dependency of results on the definition of its 'reference state', a highly controversial issue. Since exergy is the combination of energy and entropy by means of a reference state (also called "reference environment", or "dead state"), the reference choice is crucial. Compared to other classical applications, buildings present two challenging elements: They operate very near to the reference state, which means that small variations have relevant impacts, and their behaviour is dynamical in nature. Not surprisingly then, the reference state definition for the built environment is still debated, especially in the case of dynamic assessments. Among the several characteristics that need to be defined, a crucial decision for a dynamic analysis is between a fixed reference environment (constant in time) and a variable state, which fluctuations follow the local climate. Even if the latter selection is prevailing in research, and recommended by recent and widely-diffused guidelines, the fixed reference has been analytically demonstrated as the only choice which defines exergy as a proper function of the state in a fluctuating environment. This study investigates the impact of that crucial choice: Fixed or variable reference. The basic element of the building energy chain, the envelope, is chosen as the object of investigation as common to any building analysis. Exergy fluctuations in the building envelope of a case study (a typical house located in a Mediterranean climate) are confronted for each time-step of a significant summer day, when the building behaviour is highly dynamical. Exergy efficiencies and fluxes are not familiar numbers, and thus, the more easy-to-imagine concept of exergy storage is used to summarize the results. Trends obtained with a fixed and a variable reference (outside air) are compared, and their meaning is discussed under the light of the underpinning dynamical energy analysis. As a conclusion, a fixed reference state is considered the best choice for dynamic exergy analysis. Even if the fixed reference is generally only contemplated as a simpler selection, and the variable state is often stated as more accurate without explicit justifications, the analytical considerations supporting the adoption of a fixed reference are confirmed by the usefulness and clarity of interpretation of its results. Further discussion is needed to address the conflict between the evidence supporting a fixed reference state and the wide adoption of a fluctuating one. A more robust theoretical framework, including selection criteria of the reference state for dynamical simulations, could push the development of integrated dynamic tools and thus spread exergy analysis for the built environment across the common practice.

Keywords: exergy, reference state, dynamic, building

Procedia PDF Downloads 210
1262 Recent Developments in the Application of Deep Learning to Stock Market Prediction

Authors: Shraddha Jain Sharma, Ratnalata Gupta

Abstract:

Predicting stock movements in the financial market is both difficult and rewarding. Analysts and academics are increasingly using advanced approaches such as machine learning techniques to anticipate stock price patterns, thanks to the expanding capacity of computing and the recent advent of graphics processing units and tensor processing units. Stock market prediction is a type of time series prediction that is incredibly difficult to do since stock prices are influenced by a variety of financial, socioeconomic, and political factors. Furthermore, even minor mistakes in stock market price forecasts can result in significant losses for companies that employ the findings of stock market price prediction for financial analysis and investment. Soft computing techniques are increasingly being employed for stock market prediction due to their better accuracy than traditional statistical methodologies. The proposed research looks at the need for soft computing techniques in stock market prediction, the numerous soft computing approaches that are important to the field, past work in the area with their prominent features, and the significant problems or issue domain that the area involves. For constructing a predictive model, the major focus is on neural networks and fuzzy logic. The stock market is extremely unpredictable, and it is unquestionably tough to correctly predict based on certain characteristics. This study provides a complete overview of the numerous strategies investigated for high accuracy prediction, with a focus on the most important characteristics.

Keywords: stock market prediction, artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, accuracy, deep learning, machine learning, stock price, trading volume

Procedia PDF Downloads 72
1261 The Two Layers of Food Safety and GMOs in the Hungarian Agricultural Law

Authors: Gergely Horváth

Abstract:

The study presents the complexity of food safety dividing it into two layers. Beyond the basic layer of requirements, there is a more demanding higher level linked with quality and purity aspects. It would be important to give special prominence to both layers, given that massive illnesses are caused by foods even though officially licensed. Then the study discusses an exciting safety challenge stemming from the risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Furthermore, it features legal case examples that illustrate how certain liability questions are solved or not yet decided in connection with the production of genetically modified crops. In addition, a special kind of land grabbing, more precisely land grabbing from non-GMO farming systems can also be noticed as well as a new phenomenon eroding food sovereignty. Coexistence, the state where organic, conventional, and GM farming systems are standing alongside each other is an unsuitable experiment that cannot be successful, because of biophysical reasons (such as cross-pollination). Agricultural and environmental lawyers both try to find the optimal solution. Agri-environmental measures are introduced as a special subfield of law maintaining also food safety. The important steps of agri-environmental legislation are aiming at the protection of natural values, the environmental media and strengthening food safety as well, practically the quality of agricultural products intended for human consumption. The major findings of the study focus on searching for the appropriate approach capable of solving the security and safety problems of food production. The most interesting concepts of the Hungarian national and EU food law legislation are analyzed in more detail with descriptive, analytic and comparative methods.

Keywords: food law, food safety, food security, GMO, Genetically Modified Organisms, agri-environmental measures

Procedia PDF Downloads 423
1260 Remote Sensing through Deep Neural Networks for Satellite Image Classification

Authors: Teja Sai Puligadda

Abstract:

Satellite images in detail can serve an important role in the geographic study. Quantitative and qualitative information provided by the satellite and remote sensing images minimizes the complexity of work and time. Data/images are captured at regular intervals by satellite remote sensing systems, and the amount of data collected is often enormous, and it expands rapidly as technology develops. Interpreting remote sensing images, geographic data mining, and researching distinct vegetation types such as agricultural and forests are all part of satellite image categorization. One of the biggest challenge data scientists faces while classifying satellite images is finding the best suitable classification algorithms based on the available that could able to classify images with utmost accuracy. In order to categorize satellite images, which is difficult due to the sheer volume of data, many academics are turning to deep learning machine algorithms. As, the CNN algorithm gives high accuracy in image recognition problems and automatically detects the important features without any human supervision and the ANN algorithm stores information on the entire network (Abhishek Gupta., 2020), these two deep learning algorithms have been used for satellite image classification. This project focuses on remote sensing through Deep Neural Networks i.e., ANN and CNN with Deep Sat (SAT-4) Airborne dataset for classifying images. Thus, in this project of classifying satellite images, the algorithms ANN and CNN are implemented, evaluated & compared and the performance is analyzed through evaluation metrics such as Accuracy and Loss. Additionally, the Neural Network algorithm which gives the lowest bias and lowest variance in solving multi-class satellite image classification is analyzed.

Keywords: artificial neural network, convolutional neural network, remote sensing, accuracy, loss

Procedia PDF Downloads 141
1259 Aerodynamic Investigation of Baseline-IV Bird-Inspired BWB Aircraft Design: Improvements over Baseline-III BWB

Authors: C. M. Nur Syazwani, M. K. Ahmad Imran, Rizal E. M. Nasir

Abstract:

The study on BWB UV begins in UiTM since 2005 and three designs have been studied and published. The latest designs are Baseline-III and inspired by birds that have features and aerodynamics behaviour of cruising birds without flapping capability. The aircraft featuring planform and configuration are similar to the bird. Baseline-III has major flaws particularly in its low lift-to-drag ratio, stability and issues regarding limited controllability. New design known as Baseline-IV replaces straight, swept wing to delta wing and have a broader tail compares to the Baseline-III’s. The objective of the study is to investigate aerodynamics of Baseline-IV bird-inspired BWB aircraft. This will be achieved by theoretical calculation and wind tunnel experiments. The result shows that both theoretical and wind tunnel experiments of Baseline-IV graph of CL and CD versus alpha are quite similar to each other in term of pattern of graph slopes and values. Baseline-IV has higher lift coefficient values at wide range of angle of attack compares to Baseline-III. Baseline-IV also has higher maximum lift coefficient, higher maximum lift-to-drag and lower parasite drag. It has stable pitch moment versus lift slope but negative moment at zero lift for zero angle-of-attack tail setting. At high angle of attack, Baseline-IV does not have stability reversal as shown in Baseline-III. Baseline-IV is proven to have improvements over Baseline-III in terms of lift, lift-to-drag ratio and pitch moment stability at high angle-of-attack.

Keywords: blended wing-body, bird-inspired blended wing-body, aerodynamic, stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 493
1258 Preserving Urban Cultural Heritage with Deep Learning: Color Planning for Japanese Merchant Towns

Authors: Dongqi Li, Yunjia Huang, Tomo Inoue, Kohei Inoue

Abstract:

With urbanization, urban cultural heritage is facing the impact and destruction of modernization and urbanization. Many historical areas are losing their historical information and regional cultural characteristics, so it is necessary to carry out systematic color planning for historical areas in conservation. As an early focus on urban color planning, Japan has a systematic approach to urban color planning. Hence, this paper selects five merchant towns from the category of important traditional building preservation areas in Japan as the subject of this study to explore the color structure and emotion of this type of historic area. First, the image semantic segmentation method identifies the buildings, roads, and landscape environments. Their color data were extracted for color composition and emotion analysis to summarize their common features. Second, the obtained Internet evaluations were extracted by natural language processing for keyword extraction. The correlation analysis of the color structure and keywords provides a valuable reference for conservation decisions for this historic area in the town. This paper also combines the color structure and Internet evaluation results with generative adversarial networks to generate predicted images of color structure improvements and color improvement schemes. The methods and conclusions of this paper can provide new ideas for the digital management of environmental colors in historic districts and provide a valuable reference for the inheritance of local traditional culture.

Keywords: historic districts, color planning, semantic segmentation, natural language processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 66
1257 The Influence of Migration on Migrants' Culture: A Study on Egyptian Nubians' Migration to Investigate Culture Changes

Authors: Tarek Hassan, Sanaa Abouras

Abstract:

Some factors such as interaction of migration process, cultural identity have an impact in a way that may lead to cultural disinheritance. Even if migrants' culture would not be lost, it may be affected by the new society culture. Therefore, it is anticipated that migration of an ethnic group would impact the culture of that group. Nubians; an ethnic group originated in South Egypt, have experienced migration that took place in the sixties of the past century. Nubians were forced to leave their origin land and relocate to Kom Ombo; an Egyptian town to the north of Aswan. The effect of migration on national culture, social homogeneity or the interest of social contact influences the attitudes of natives towards migration. Hence, it is very important for societies to help migrants to adapt to the new culture and at the same time not to impede migrants' effort to maintain their own culture. This study aims to investigate the effect of internal migration on the culture of Egyptian Nubians in order to predict if Nubian can maintain their own culture after the migration. Research question: what is the cultural influence of Nubians' migration from Egyptian Nubia to their new destinations? The researchers' hypothesis: there is mutual influence between the two cultures of Nubians and non-Nubians in Egypt. Results supported researchers' hypothesis as they observed that the Nubians managed to reserve balance between the maintenance of their own culture and the adoption of some cultural features of the community of their new destination(s). Also, the study examined why Nubians adhere to their culture although they left their land forever. Questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data from 80 informants; 40 Nubians and 40 non-Nubians in Kom-Ombo and the two cities of Cairo and Alexandria. Results suggested that there is obvious mutual cultural impact between Nubians and non-Nubians. The findings of this study would trigger the researchers to conduct further research on minorities for the deeper understanding of the impact of/on the culture of minorities.

Keywords: culture change, culture influence, culture maintenance, minority migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 212
1256 Adsorption of Dyes and Iodine: Reaching Outstanding Kinetics with CuII-Based Metal–Organic Nanoballs

Authors: Eder Amayuelas, Begoña Bazán, M. Karmele Urtiaga, Gotzone Barandika, María I. Arriortua

Abstract:

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have attracted great interest in recent years, taking a lead role in the field of catalysis, drug delivery, sensors and absorption. In the past decade, promising results have been reported specifically in the field of adsorption, based on the topology and chemical features of this type of porous material. Thus, its application in industry and environment for the adsorption of pollutants is presented as a response to an increasingly important need. In this area, organic dyes are nowadays widely used in many industries including medicine, textile, leather, printing and plastics. The consequence of this fact is that dyes are present as emerging pollutants in soils and water where they remain for long periods of time due to their high stability, with a potential risk of toxicity in wildlife and in humans. On the other hand, the presence of iodine in soils, water and gas as a nuclear activity pollutant product or its extended use as a germicide is still a problem in many countries, which indicates the imperative need for its removal. In this context, this work presents the characterization as an adsorbent of the activated compound αMOP@Ei2-1 obtained from the already reported [Cu₂₄(m-BDC)₂₄(DMF)₂₀(H₂O)₄]•24DMF•40H₂O (MOP@Ei2-1), where m-BDC is the 1,3-benzenedicarboxylic ligand and DMF is N,N′-dimethylformamide. The structure of MOP@Ei2-1 consists of Cu24 clusters arranged in such a way that 12 paddle-wheels are connected through m-BDC ligands. The clusters exhibit an internal cavity where crystallization molecules of DMF and water are located. Adsorption of dyes and iodine as pollutant examples has been carried out, focusing attention on the kinetics of the rapid process.

Keywords: adsorption, organic dyes, iodine, metal organic frameworks

Procedia PDF Downloads 258
1255 An Overview of Informal Settlement Upgrading Strategies in Kabul City and the Need for an Integrated Multi-Sector Upgrading Model

Authors: Bashir Ahmad Amiri, Nsenda Lukumwena

Abstract:

The developing economies are experiencing an unprecedented rate of urbanization, mainly the urbanization of poverty which is leading to sprawling of slums and informal settlement. Kabul, being the capital and primate city of Afghanistan is grossly encountered to the informal settlement where the majority of the people consider to be informal. Despite all efforts to upgrade and minimize the growth of these settlements, they are growing rapidly. Various interventions have been taken by the government and some international organizations from physical upgrading to urban renewal, but none of them have succeeded to solve the issue of informal settlement. The magnitude of the urbanization and the complexity of informal settlement in Kabul city, and the institutional and capital constraint of the government calls for integration and optimization of currently practiced strategies. This paper provides an overview of informal settlement formation and the conventional upgrading strategies in Kabul city to identify the dominant/successful practices and rationalize the conventional upgrading modes. For this purpose, Hothkhel has been selected as the case study, since it represents the same situation of major informal settlements of the city. Considering the existing potential and features of the Hothkhel and proposed land use by master plan this paper intends to find a suitable upgrading mode for the study area and finally to scale up the model for the city level upgrading. The result highlights that the informal settlements of Kabul city have high (re)development capacity for accepting the additional room without converting the available agricultural area to built-up. The result also indicates that the integrated multi-sector upgrading has the scale-up potential to increase the reach of beneficiaries and to ensure an inclusive and efficient urbanization.

Keywords: informal settlement, upgrading strategies, Kabul city, urban expansion, integrated multi-sector, scale-up

Procedia PDF Downloads 157
1254 Study of Isoprene Emissions in Biogenic ad Anthropogenic Environment in Urban Atmosphere of Delhi: The Capital City of India

Authors: Prabhat Kashyap, Krishan Kumar

Abstract:

Delhi, the capital of India, is one of the most populated and polluted city among the world. In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air is degrading day by day & becomes worst of any major city in the world. The role of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) is not much studied in cities like Delhi as a culprit for degraded air quality. They not only play a critical role in rural areas but also determine the atmospheric chemistry of urban areas as well. Particularly, Isoprene (2-methyl 1,3-butadiene, C5H8) is the single largest emitted compound among other BVOCs globally, that influence the tropospheric ozone chemistry in urban environment as the ozone forming potential of isoprene is very high. It is mainly emitted by vegetation & a small but significant portion is also released by vehicular exhaust of petrol operated vehicles. This study investigates the spatial and temporal variations of quantitative measurements of isoprene emissions along with different traffic tracers in 2 different seasons (post-monsoon & winter) at four different locations of Delhi. For the quantification of anthropogenic and biogenic isoprene, two sites from traffic intersections (Punjabi Bagh & CRRI) and two sites from vegetative locations (JNU & Yamuna Biodiversity Park) were selected in the vicinity of isoprene emitting tree species like Ficus religiosa, Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus species etc. The concentrations of traffic tracers like benzene, toluene were also determined & their robust ratios with isoprene were used to differentiate anthropogenic isoprene with biogenic portion at each site. The ozone forming potential (OFP) of all selected species along with isoprene was also estimated. For collection of intra-day samples (3 times a day) in each season, a pre-conditioned fenceline monitoring (FLM) carbopack X thermal desorption tubes were used and further analysis was done with Gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results of the study proposed that the ambient air isoprene is always higher in post-monsoon season as compared to winter season at all the sites because of high temperature & intense sunlight. The maximum isoprene emission flux was always observed during afternoon hours in both seasons at all sites. The maximum isoprene concentration was found to be 13.95 ppbv at Biodiversity Park during afternoon time in post monsoon season while the lower concentration was observed as low as 0.07 ppbv at the same location during morning hours in winter season. OFP of isoprene at vegetation sites is very high during post-monsoon because of high concentrations. However, OFP for other traffic tracers were high during winter seasons & at traffic locations. Furthermore, high correlation between isoprene emissions with traffic volume at traffic sites revealed that a noteworthy share of its emission also originates from road traffic.

Keywords: biogenic VOCs, isoprene emission, anthropogenic isoprene, urban vegetation

Procedia PDF Downloads 105
1253 3D Numerical Study of Tsunami Loading and Inundation in a Model Urban Area

Authors: A. Bahmanpour, I. Eames, C. Klettner, A. Dimakopoulos

Abstract:

We develop a new set of diagnostic tools to analyze inundation into a model district using three-dimensional CFD simulations, with a view to generating a database against which to test simpler models. A three-dimensional model of Oregon city with different-sized groups of building next to the coastline is used to run calculations of the movement of a long period wave on the shore. The initial and boundary conditions of the off-shore water are set using a nonlinear inverse method based on Eulerian spatial information matching experimental Eulerian time series measurements of water height. The water movement is followed in time, and this enables the pressure distribution on every surface of each building to be followed in a temporal manner. The three-dimensional numerical data set is validated against published experimental work. In the first instance, we use the dataset as a basis to understand the success of reduced models - including 2D shallow water model and reduced 1D models - to predict water heights, flow velocity and forces. This is because models based on the shallow water equations are known to underestimate drag forces after the initial surge of water. The second component is to identify critical flow features, such as hydraulic jumps and choked states, which are flow regions where dissipation occurs and drag forces are large. Finally, we describe how future tsunami inundation models should be modified to account for the complex effects of buildings through drag and blocking.Financial support from UCL and HR Wallingford is greatly appreciated. The authors would like to thank Professor Daniel Cox and Dr. Hyoungsu Park for providing the data on the Seaside Oregon experiment.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, extreme events, loading, tsunami

Procedia PDF Downloads 100
1252 Climate Trends, Variability, and Impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation on Rainfall Amount in Ethiopia

Authors: Zerihun Yohannes Amare, Belayneh Birku Geremew, Nigatu Melise Kebede, Sisaynew Getahun Amera

Abstract:

In Ethiopia, agricultural production is predominantly rainfed. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the driver of climate variability, which affects the agricultural production system in the country. This paper aims to study trends, variability of rainfall, and impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on rainfall amount. The study was carried out in Ethiopia's Western Amhara National Regional State, which features a variety of seasons that characterize the nation. Monthly rainfall data were collected from fifteen meteorological stations of Western Amhara. Selected El Niño and La Niña years were also extracted from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1986 to 2015. Once the data quality was checked and inspected, the monthly rainfall data of the selected stations were arranged in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and analyzed using XLSTAT software. The coefficient of variation and the Mann-Kendall non-parametric statistical test was employed to analyze trends and variability of rainfall and temperature. The long-term recorded annual rainfall data indicated that there was an increasing trend from 1986 to 2015 insignificantly. The rainfall variability was less (Coefficient of Variation, CV = 8.6%); also, the mean monthly rainfall of Western Amhara decreased during El Niño years and increased during La Niña years, especially in the rainy season (JJAS) over 30 years. This finding will be useful to suggest possible adaptation strategies and efficient use of resources during planning and implementation.

Keywords: rainfall, Mann-Kendall test, El Niño, La Niña, Western Amhara, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 76
1251 A Fermatean Fuzzy MAIRCA Approach for Maintenance Strategy Selection of Process Plant Gearbox Using Sustainability Criteria

Authors: Soumava Boral, Sanjay K. Chaturvedi, Ian Howard, Kristoffer McKee, V. N. A. Naikan

Abstract:

Due to strict regulations from government to enhance the possibilities of sustainability practices in industries, and noting the advances in sustainable manufacturing practices, it is necessary that the associated processes are also sustainable. Maintenance of large scale and complex machines is a pivotal task to maintain the uninterrupted flow of manufacturing processes. Appropriate maintenance practices can prolong the lifetime of machines, and prevent associated breakdowns, which subsequently reduces different cost heads. Selection of the best maintenance strategies for such machines are considered as a burdensome task, as they require the consideration of multiple technical criteria, complex mathematical calculations, previous fault data, maintenance records, etc. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, organizations are rapidly changing their way of business, and they are giving their utmost importance to sensor technologies, artificial intelligence, data analytics, automations, etc. In this work, the effectiveness of several maintenance strategies (e.g., preventive, failure-based, reliability centered, condition based, total productive maintenance, etc.) related to a large scale and complex gearbox, operating in a steel processing plant is evaluated in terms of economic, social, environmental and technical criteria. As it is not possible to obtain/describe some criteria by exact numerical values, these criteria are evaluated linguistically by cross-functional experts. Fuzzy sets are potential soft-computing technique, which has been useful to deal with linguistic data and to provide inferences in many complex situations. To prioritize different maintenance practices based on the identified sustainable criteria, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches can be considered as potential tools. Multi-Attributive Ideal Real Comparative Analysis (MAIRCA) is a recent addition in the MCDM family and has proven its superiority over some well-known MCDM approaches, like TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and ELECTRE (ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité). It has a simple but robust mathematical approach, which is easy to comprehend. On the other side, due to some inherent drawbacks of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets (IFS) and Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets (PFS), recently, the use of Fermatean Fuzzy Sets (FFSs) has been proposed. In this work, we propose the novel concept of FF-MAIRCA. We obtain the weights of the criteria by experts’ evaluation and use them to prioritize the different maintenance practices according to their suitability by FF-MAIRCA approach. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to highlight the robustness of the approach.

Keywords: Fermatean fuzzy sets, Fermatean fuzzy MAIRCA, maintenance strategy selection, sustainable manufacturing, MCDM

Procedia PDF Downloads 130
1250 Reducing the Imbalance Penalty Through Artificial Intelligence Methods Geothermal Production Forecasting: A Case Study for Turkey

Authors: Hayriye Anıl, Görkem Kar

Abstract:

In addition to being rich in renewable energy resources, Turkey is one of the countries that promise potential in geothermal energy production with its high installed power, cheapness, and sustainability. Increasing imbalance penalties become an economic burden for organizations since geothermal generation plants cannot maintain the balance of supply and demand due to the inadequacy of the production forecasts given in the day-ahead market. A better production forecast reduces the imbalance penalties of market participants and provides a better imbalance in the day ahead market. In this study, using machine learning, deep learning, and, time series methods, the total generation of the power plants belonging to Zorlu Natural Electricity Generation, which has a high installed capacity in terms of geothermal, was estimated for the first one and two weeks of March, then the imbalance penalties were calculated with these estimates and compared with the real values. These modeling operations were carried out on two datasets, the basic dataset and the dataset created by extracting new features from this dataset with the feature engineering method. According to the results, Support Vector Regression from traditional machine learning models outperformed other models and exhibited the best performance. In addition, the estimation results in the feature engineering dataset showed lower error rates than the basic dataset. It has been concluded that the estimated imbalance penalty calculated for the selected organization is lower than the actual imbalance penalty, optimum and profitable accounts.

Keywords: machine learning, deep learning, time series models, feature engineering, geothermal energy production forecasting

Procedia PDF Downloads 91
1249 C-eXpress: A Web-Based Analysis Platform for Comparative Functional Genomics and Proteomics in Human Cancer Cell Line, NCI-60 as an Example

Authors: Chi-Ching Lee, Po-Jung Huang, Kuo-Yang Huang, Petrus Tang

Abstract:

Background: Recent advances in high-throughput research technologies such as new-generation sequencing and multi-dimensional liquid chromatography makes it possible to dissect the complete transcriptome and proteome in a single run for the first time. However, it is almost impossible for many laboratories to handle and analysis these “BIG” data without the support from a bioinformatics team. We aimed to provide a web-based analysis platform for users with only limited knowledge on bio-computing to study the functional genomics and proteomics. Method: We use NCI-60 as an example dataset to demonstrate the power of the web-based analysis platform and data delivering system: C-eXpress takes a simple text file that contain the standard NCBI gene or protein ID and expression levels (rpkm or fold) as input file to generate a distribution map of gene/protein expression levels in a heatmap diagram organized by color gradients. The diagram is hyper-linked to a dynamic html table that allows the users to filter the datasets based on various gene features. A dynamic summary chart is generated automatically after each filtering process. Results: We implemented an integrated database that contain pre-defined annotations such as gene/protein properties (ID, name, length, MW, pI); pathways based on KEGG and GO biological process; subcellular localization based on GO cellular component; functional classification based on GO molecular function, kinase, peptidase and transporter. Multiple ways of sorting of column and rows is also provided for comparative analysis and visualization of multiple samples.

Keywords: cancer, visualization, database, functional annotation

Procedia PDF Downloads 603
1248 Integration of a Protective Film to Enhance the Longevity and Performance of Miniaturized Ion Sensors

Authors: Antonio Ruiz Gonzalez, Kwang-Leong Choy

Abstract:

The measurement of electrolytes has a high value in the clinical routine. Ions are present in all body fluids with variable concentrations and are involved in multiple pathologies such as heart failures and chronic kidney disease. In the case of dissolved potassium, although a high concentration in the blood (hyperkalemia) is relatively uncommon in the general population, it is one of the most frequent acute electrolyte abnormalities. In recent years, the integration of thin films technologies in this field has allowed the development of highly sensitive biosensors with ultra-low limits of detection for the assessment of metals in liquid samples. However, despite the current efforts in the miniaturization of sensitive devices and their integration into portable systems, only a limited number of successful examples used commercially can be found. This fact can be attributed to a high cost involved in their production and the sustained degradation of the electrodes over time, which causes a signal drift in the measurements. Thus, there is an unmet necessity for the development of low-cost and robust sensors for the real-time monitoring of analyte concentrations in patients to allow the early detection and diagnosis of diseases. This paper reports a thin film ion-selective sensor for the evaluation of potassium ions in aqueous samples. As an alternative for this fabrication method, aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD), was applied due to cost-effectivity and fine control over the film deposition. Such a technique does not require vacuum and is suitable for the coating of large surface areas and structures with complex geometries. This approach allowed the fabrication of highly homogeneous surfaces with well-defined microstructures onto 50 nm thin gold layers. The degradative processes of the ubiquitously employed poly (vinyl chloride) membranes in contact with an electrolyte solution were studied, including the polymer leaching process, mechanical desorption of nanoparticles and chemical degradation over time. Rational design of a protective coating based on an organosilicon material in combination with cellulose to improve the long-term stability of the sensors was then carried out, showing an improvement in the performance after 5 weeks. The antifouling properties of such coating were assessed using a cutting-edge quartz microbalance sensor, allowing the quantification of the adsorbed proteins in the nanogram range. A correlation between the microstructural properties of the films with the surface energy and biomolecules adhesion was then found and used to optimize the protective film.

Keywords: hyperkalemia, drift, AACVD, organosilicon

Procedia PDF Downloads 112
1247 Effects of the Air Supply Outlets Geometry on Human Comfort inside Living Rooms: CFD vs. ADPI

Authors: Taher M. Abou-deif, Esmail M. El-Bialy, Essam E. Khalil

Abstract:

The paper is devoted to numerically investigating the influence of the air supply outlets geometry on human comfort inside living looms. A computational fluid dynamics model is developed to examine the air flow characteristics of a room with different supply air diffusers. The work focuses on air flow patterns, thermal behavior in the room with few number of occupants. As an input to the full-scale 3-D room model, a 2-D air supply diffuser model that supplies direction and magnitude of air flow into the room is developed. Air distribution effect on thermal comfort parameters was investigated depending on changing the air supply diffusers type, angles and velocity. Air supply diffusers locations and numbers were also investigated. The pre-processor Gambit is used to create the geometric model with parametric features. Commercially available simulation software “Fluent 6.3” is incorporated to solve the differential equations governing the conservation of mass, three momentum and energy in the processing of air flow distribution. Turbulence effects of the flow are represented by the well-developed two equation turbulence model. In this work, the so-called standard k-ε turbulence model, one of the most widespread turbulence models for industrial applications, was utilized. Basic parameters included in this work are air dry bulb temperature, air velocity, relative humidity and turbulence parameters are used for numerical predictions of indoor air distribution and thermal comfort. The thermal comfort predictions through this work were based on ADPI (Air Diffusion Performance Index),the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) model and the PPD (Percentage People Dissatisfied) model, the PMV and PPD were estimated using Fanger’s model.

Keywords: thermal comfort, Fanger's model, ADPI, energy effeciency

Procedia PDF Downloads 398
1246 Epstein-Barr Virus-associated Diseases and TCM Syndromes Types: In Search for Correlation

Authors: Xu Yifei, Le Yining, Yang Qingluan, Tu Yanjie

Abstract:

Objective: This study aims to investigate the distribution features of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes and syndrome elements in Epstein-Barr virus-associated diseases and then explores the relations between TCM syndromes or syndrome elements and laboratory indicators of Epstein-Barr virus-associated diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 70 patients with EBV infection was described. We assessed the diagnostic information and laboratory indicators of these patients from Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University between November 2017 and July 2019. The disease diagnosis and syndrome differentiation were based on the diagnostic criteria of EBV-associated diseases and the theory of TCM respectively. Confidence correlation analysis, logistic regression analysis, cluster analysis, and the Sankey diagram were used to analyze the correlation between the data. Results: The differentiation of the 4 primary TCM syndromes in the collected patients was correlated with the indexes of immune function, liver function, inflammation, and anemia, especially the relationship between Qifen syndrome and high lactic acid dehydrogenase level. The common 11 TCM syndrome elements were associated with the increased CD3+ T cell rate, low hemoglobin level, high procalcitonin level, high lactic acid dehydrogenase level, and low albumin level. Conclusion: The changes in immune function indexes, procalcitonin, and liver function-related indexes in patients with EBV-associated diseases were consistent with the evolution law of TCM syndromes. This study provides a reference for judging the pathological stages of these kinds of diseases, predicting their prognosis, and guiding subsequent treatment strategies based on TCM syndrome type.

Keywords: EBV-associated diseases, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome, syndrome element, diagnostics

Procedia PDF Downloads 67
1245 Anatomical, Light and Scanning Electron Microscopical Study of Ostrich (Struthio camelus) Integument

Authors: Samir El-Gendy, Doaa Zaghloul

Abstract:

The current study dealt with the gross and microscopic anatomy of the integument of male ostrich in addition to the histological features of different areas of skin by light and SEM. The ostrich skin is characterized by prominent feather follicles and bristles. The number of feather follicles was determined per cm2 in different regions. The integument of ostrich had many modifications which appeared as callosities and scales, nail and toe pads. They were sternal, pubic and Achilles tendon callosities. The vacuolated epidermal cells were seen mainly in the skin of legs and to a lesser extent in the skin of back and Achilles areas. Higher lipogenic potential was expressed by epidermis from glabrous areas of ostrich skin. The dermal papillae were found in the skin of feathered area of neck and back and this was not a common finding in bird's skin which may give resistance against shearing forces in these regions of ostrich skin. The thickness of the keratin layer of ostrich varied, being thick and characteristically loose in the skin at legs, very thin and wavy at neck, while at Achilles skin area, scale and toe pad were thick and more compact, with the thickest very dense and wavy keratin layer at the nail. The dermis consisted of superficial layer of dense irregular connective tissue characterized by presence of many vacuoles of different sizes just under the basal lamina of the epithelium of epidermis and deep layer of dense regular connective tissue. This result suggested presence of fat droplets in this layer which may be to overcome the lack of good barrier of cutaneous water loss in epidermis.

Keywords: ostrich, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, integument, skin modifications

Procedia PDF Downloads 226
1244 Violence and Challenges in the Pamir Hindu Kush: A Study of the Impact of Change on a Central but Unknown Region

Authors: Skander Ben Mami

Abstract:

Despite its particular patterns and historical importance, the remote region of the Pamir Hindu Kush still lacks public recognition, as well as scientific substance, because of the abundance of classical state-centred geopolitical studies, the resilience of (inter)national narratives, and the political utility of the concepts of 'Central Asia' and 'South Asia'. However, this specific region of about 100 million inhabitants and located at the criss-cross of four geopolitical areas (Indian, Iranian, Chinese and Russian) over a territory of half a million square kilometres features a string of patterns that set it apart from the neighbouring areas of the Fergana, the Gansu and Punjab. Moreover, the Pamir Hindu Kush undergoes a series of parallel social and economic transformations that deserve scrutiny for their strong effect on the people’s lifestyle, particularly in three major urban centres (Aksu in China, Bukhara in Uzbekistan and Islamabad in Pakistan) and their immediate rural surroundings. While the involvement of various public and private stakeholders (States, NGOs, civil movements, private firms…) has undeniably resulted in positive elements (economic growth, connectivity, higher school attendance), it has in the same time generated a collection of negative effects (radicalizing, inequalities, pollution, territorial divide) that need to be addressed to strengthen regional and international security. This paper underscores the region’s strategical importance as the major hotbed and engine of insecurity and violence in Asia, notably in the context of Afghanistan’s enduring violence. It introduces the inner structures of the region, the different sources of violence as well as the governments’ responses to address it.

Keywords: geography, security, terrorism, urbanisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 120
1243 Faster Pedestrian Recognition Using Deformable Part Models

Authors: Alessandro Preziosi, Antonio Prioletti, Luca Castangia

Abstract:

Deformable part models achieve high precision in pedestrian recognition, but all publicly available implementations are too slow for real-time applications. We implemented a deformable part model algorithm fast enough for real-time use by exploiting information about the camera position and orientation. This implementation is both faster and more precise than alternative DPM implementations. These results are obtained by computing convolutions in the frequency domain and using lookup tables to speed up feature computation. This approach is almost an order of magnitude faster than the reference DPM implementation, with no loss in precision. Knowing the position of the camera with respect to horizon it is also possible prune many hypotheses based on their size and location. The range of acceptable sizes and positions is set by looking at the statistical distribution of bounding boxes in labelled images. With this approach it is not needed to compute the entire feature pyramid: for example higher resolution features are only needed near the horizon. This results in an increase in mean average precision of 5% and an increase in speed by a factor of two. Furthermore, to reduce misdetections involving small pedestrians near the horizon, input images are supersampled near the horizon. Supersampling the image at 1.5 times the original scale, results in an increase in precision of about 4%. The implementation was tested against the public KITTI dataset, obtaining an 8% improvement in mean average precision over the best performing DPM-based method. By allowing for a small loss in precision computational time can be easily brought down to our target of 100ms per image, reaching a solution that is faster and still more precise than all publicly available DPM implementations.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, deformable part model, dpm, pedestrian detection, real time

Procedia PDF Downloads 265
1242 Analysis of Noise Environment and Acoustics Material in Residential Building

Authors: Heruanda Alviana Giska Barabah, Hilda Rasnia Hapsari

Abstract:

Acoustic phenomena create an acoustic interpretation condition that describes the characteristics of the environment. In urban areas, the tendency of heterogeneous and simultaneous human activity form a soundscape that is different from other regions, one of the characteristics of urban areas that developing the soundscape is the presence of vertical model houses or residential building. Activities both within the building and surrounding environment are able to make the soundscape with certain characteristics. The acoustics comfort of residential building becomes an important aspect, those demand lead the building features become more diverse. Initial steps in mapping acoustic conditions in a soundscape are important, this is the method to determine uncomfortable condition. Noise generated by road traffic, railway, and plane is an important consideration, especially for urban people, therefore the proper design of the building becomes very important as an effort to bring appropriate acoustics comfort. In this paper the authors developed noise mapping on the location of the residential building. Mapping done by taking some point referring to the noise source. The mapping result become the basis for modeling the acoustics wave interacted with the building model. Material selection is done based on literature study and modeling simulation using Insul by considering the absorption coefficient and Sound Transmission Class. The analysis of acoustics rays is ray tracing method using Comsol simulator software that can show the movement of acoustics rays and their interaction with a boundary. The result of this study can be used to consider boundary material in residential building as well as consideration for improving the acoustic quality in the acoustics zones that are formed.

Keywords: residential building, noise, absorption coefficient, sound transmission class, ray tracing

Procedia PDF Downloads 236
1241 Decision Support System for Fetus Status Evaluation Using Cardiotocograms

Authors: Oyebade K. Oyedotun

Abstract:

The cardiotocogram is a technical recording of the heartbeat rate and uterine contractions of a fetus during pregnancy. During pregnancy, several complications can occur to both the mother and the fetus; hence it is very crucial that medical experts are able to find technical means to check the healthiness of the mother and especially the fetus. It is very important that the fetus develops as expected in stages during the pregnancy period; however, the task of monitoring the health status of the fetus is not that which is easily achieved as the fetus is not wholly physically available to medical experts for inspection. Hence, doctors have to resort to some other tests that can give an indication of the status of the fetus. One of such diagnostic test is to obtain cardiotocograms of the fetus. From the analysis of the cardiotocograms, medical experts can determine the status of the fetus, and therefore necessary medical interventions. Generally, medical experts classify examined cardiotocograms into ‘normal’, ‘suspect’, or ‘pathological’. This work presents an artificial neural network based decision support system which can filter cardiotocograms data, producing the corresponding statuses of the fetuses. The capability of artificial neural network to explore the cardiotocogram data and learn features that distinguish one class from the others has been exploited in this research. In this research, feedforward and radial basis neural networks were trained on a publicly available database to classify the processed cardiotocogram data into one of the three classes: ‘normal’, ‘suspect’, or ‘pathological’. Classification accuracies of 87.8% and 89.2% were achieved during the test phase of the trained network for the feedforward and radial basis neural networks respectively. It is the hope that while the system described in this work may not be a complete replacement for a medical expert in fetus status evaluation, it can significantly reinforce the confidence in medical diagnosis reached by experts.

Keywords: decision support, cardiotocogram, classification, neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 313
1240 Clinical and Radiological Features of Adenomyosis and Its Histopathological Correlation

Authors: Surabhi Agrawal Kohli, Sunita Gupta, Esha Khanuja, Parul Garg, P. Gupta

Abstract:

Background: Adenomyosis is a common gynaecological condition that affects the menstruating women. Uterine enlargement, dysmenorrhoea, and menorrhagia are regarded as the cardinal clinical symptoms of adenomyosis. Classically it was thought, compared with ultrasonography, when adenomyosis is suspected, MRI enables more accurate diagnosis of the disease. Materials and Methods: 172 subjects were enrolled after an informed consent that had complaints of HMB, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, and chronic pelvic pain. Detailed history of the enrolled subjects was taken, followed by a clinical examination. These patients were then subjected to TVS where myometrial echo texture, presence of myometrial cysts, blurring of endomyometrial junction was noted. MRI was followed which noted the presence of junctional zone thickness and myometrial cysts. After hysterectomy, histopathological diagnosis was obtained. Results: 78 participants were analysed. The mean age was 44.2 years. 43.5% had parity of 4 or more. heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) was present in 97.8% and dysmenorrhea in 93.48 % of HPE positive patient. Transvaginal sonography (TVS) and MRI had a sensitivity of 89.13% and 80.43%, specificity of 90.62% and 84.37%, positive likelihood ratio of 9.51 and 5.15, negative likelihood ratio of 0.12 and 0.23, positive predictive value of 93.18% and 88.1%, negative predictive value of 85.29% and 75% and a diagnostic accuracy of 89.74% and 82.5%. Comparison of sensitivity (p=0.289) and specificity (p=0.625) showed no statistically significant difference between TVS and MRI. Conclusion: Prevalence of 30.23%. HMB with dysmenorrhoea and chronic pelvic pain helps in diagnosis. TVS (Endomyometrial junction blurring) is both sensitive and specific in diagnosing adenomyosis without need for additional diagnostic tool. Both TVS and MRI are equally efficient, however because of certain additional advantages of TVS over MRI, it may be used as the first choice of imaging. MRI may be used additionally in difficult cases as well as in patients with existing co-pathologies.

Keywords: adenomyosis, heavy menstrual bleeding, MRI, TVS

Procedia PDF Downloads 477