Search results for: guzheng playing techniques

Authors: Mokhtar Kouki Inès Rekik

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This paper focuses on the assessment of the air pollution and morbidity relationship in Tunisia. Air pollution is measured by ozone air concentration and the morbidity is measured by the number of respiratory-related restricted activity days during the 2-week period prior to the interview. Socioeconomic data are also collected in order to adjust for any confounding covariates. Our sample is composed by 407 Tunisian respondents; 44.7% are women, the average age is 35.2, near 69% are living in a house built after the 1980, and 27.8% have reported at least one day of respiratory-related restricted activity. The model consists on the regression of the number of respiratory-related restricted activity days on the air quality measure and the socioeconomic covariates. In order to correct for zero-inflation and heterogeneity, we estimate several models (Poisson, Negative binomial, Zero inflated Poisson, Poisson hurdle, Negative binomial hurdle and finite mixture Poisson models). Bootstrapping and post-stratification techniques are used in order to correct for any sample bias. According to the Akaike information criteria, the hurdle negative binomial model has the greatest goodness of fit. The main result indicates that, after adjusting for socioeconomic data, the ozone concentration increases the probability of positive number of restricted activity days.

Keywords: bootstrapping, hurdle negbin model, overdispersion, ozone concentration, respiratory-related restricted activity days

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Authors: R. Kanthavel, R. Yogesh Kumar, T. Narendrakumar, B. Santhosh, S. Surya Prakash

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This paper primarily focuses on developing an affordable personal assistant and the implementation of it in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a virtual assistant/friend. The problem in existing home automation techniques is that it requires the usage of exact command words present in the database to execute the corresponding task. Our proposed work is ATOM a.k.a ‘Artificial intelligence Talking Omnipresent Machine’. Our inspiration came from an unlikely source- the movie ‘Iron Man’ in which a character called J.A.R.V.I.S has omnipresence, and device controlling capability. This device can control household devices in real time and send the live information to the user. This device does not require the user to utter the exact commands specified in the database as it can capture the keywords from the uttered commands, correlates the obtained keywords and perform the specified task. This ability to compare and correlate the keywords gives the user the liberty to give commands which are not necessarily the exact words provided in the database. The proposed work has a higher flexibility (due to its keyword extracting ability from the user input) comparing to the existing work Intelligent Home automation System (IHAS), is more accurate, and is much more affordable as it makes use of WI-FI module and raspberry pi 2 instead of ZigBee and a computer respectively.

Keywords: home automation, speech recognition, voice control, personal assistant, artificial intelligence

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Authors: M. Najib Osman, Hanafizan Hussain, Sri Kusuma Wati Mohd Daud

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Avatar was used as user’s symbol of identity in online communications such as Facebook, Twitter, online game, and portal community between unknown people. The development of this symbol is the use of animated character or avatar, which can engage learners in a way that draws them into the e-Learning experience. Immersive learning is one of the most effective learning techniques, and animated characters can help create an immersive environment. E-learning is an ideal learning environment using modern means of information technology, through the effective integration of information technology and the curriculum to achieve, a new learning style which can fully reflect the main role of the students to reform the traditional teaching structure thoroughly. Essential in any e-learning is the degree of interactivity for the learner, and whether the learner is able to study at any time, or whether there is a need for the learner to be online or in a classroom with other learners at the same time (synchronous learning). Ideally, e-learning should engage the learners, allowing them to interact with the course materials, obtaining feedback on their progress and assistance whenever it is required. However, the degree of interactivity in e-learning depends on how the course has been developed and is dependent on the software used for its development, and the way the material is delivered to the learner. Therefore, users’ accessibility that allows access to information at any time and places and their positive attitude towards e-learning such as having interacting with a good teacher and the creation of a more natural and friendly environment for e-learning should be enhanced. This is to motivate their learning enthusiasm and it has been the responsibility of educators to incorporate new technology into their ways of teaching.

Keywords: avatar, e-learning, higher education, students' perception

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Authors: A. Siva, K. Bala Subramanian, Kinson Prabu

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Concrete is widely used construction materials all over the world. Now a day’s fibers are used in this construction due to its advantages like increase in stiffness, energy absorption, ductility and load carrying capacity. The fiber used in the concrete to increases the structural integrity of the member. It is one of the emerging techniques used in the construction industry. In this paper, the effective utilization of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (HPFRC) beams has been experimental investigated. The experimental investigation has been conducted on different steel fibers (Hooked, Crimpled, and Hybrid) under cyclic loading. The behaviour of HPFRC beams is compared with the conventional beams. Totally four numbers of specimens were cast with different content of fiber concrete and compared conventional concrete. The fibers are added to the concrete by base volume replacement of concrete. The silica fume and superplasticizers were used to modify the properties of concrete. Single point loading was carried out for all the specimens, and the beam specimens were subjected to cyclic loading. The load-deflection behaviour of fibers is compared with the conventional concrete. The ultimate load carrying capacity, energy absorption and ductility of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete is higher than the conventional concrete by 5% to 10%.

Keywords: cyclic loading, ductility, high performance fiber reinforced concrete, structural integrity

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Authors: Abdul Salam Turkmani

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The Lower Cretaceous rocks are exposed only in the mountains regions of Syria, such as the Anti- Lebanon mountain on the western side of Damascus. The lower cretaceous sequences are made up of different rocks. The upper and middle parts of the section are composed mainly of carbonate sediments and, less frequently, gypsum and anhydrite. The lower beds are mainly composed of sandstone, conglomerate and clay. Clay samples were collected from the study area, which is located about 45 km west of the city of Damascus, near the border village of Kfer Yabous and to the left of the Damascus -Beirut International Road, within the lower Cretaceous upper Aptian deposits. The properties of clay were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Thermal Analysis (DTA-TG-DSC) techniques. The studied samples of clay were mainly composed of kaolinite, quartz, illite. Chemical analysis shows the content of SiO₂ varied between 46.06 to 73 % Al₂O₃ 14.55-26.56%, about the staining oxides (Fe₂O₃ + TiO₂), the total content is about 4.3 to 12.5%. The physical properties were determined by studying the behavior of the body before and after firing, showed low bending strength values (22.5 kg/cm²) after drying, and (about 247 kg/cm²) after firing at 1180°C, water absorption value was about 10%. The cubic thermal expansion coefficient at 1140°C is 213.77 x 10-7 /°C. All of the presented results confirm the suitability of this clay for the ceramic industry.

Keywords: anti-Lebanon, Damascus, ceramic, clay, thermal analysis, thermal expansion coefficient

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Authors: Shaik Ayesha Fathima, Shaik Noor Jahan, Duvvada Rajeswara Rao

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Earth's environment and its evolution can be seen through satellite images in near real-time. Through satellite imagery, remote sensing data provide crucial information that can be used for a variety of applications, including image fusion, change detection, land cover classification, agriculture, mining, disaster mitigation, and monitoring climate change. The objective of this project is to propose a method for classifying satellite images according to multiple predefined land cover classes. The proposed approach involves collecting data in image format. The data is then pre-processed using data pre-processing techniques. The processed data is fed into the proposed algorithm and the obtained result is analyzed. Some of the algorithms used in satellite imagery classification are U-Net, Random Forest, Deep Labv3, CNN, ANN, Resnet etc. In this project, we are using the DeepLabv3 (Atrous convolution) algorithm for land cover classification. The dataset used is the deep globe land cover classification dataset. DeepLabv3 is a semantic segmentation system that uses atrous convolution to capture multi-scale context by adopting multiple atrous rates in cascade or in parallel to determine the scale of segments.

Keywords: area calculation, atrous convolution, deep globe land cover classification, deepLabv3, land cover classification, resnet 50

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Authors: Khalil Ibrahim, Ahmed Ramadan, Mohamed Fanni, Yo Kobayashi, Ahmed Abo-Ismail, Masakatus G. Fujie

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This paper deals with the design process and the dynamic control simulation of a new type of 4-DOFs parallel mechanism that can be used as an endoscopic surgical manipulator. The proposed mechanism, 2-PUU_2-PUS, is designed based on the screw theory and the parallel virtual chain type synthesis method. Based on the structure analysis of the 4-DOF parallel mechanism, the inverse position equation is studied using the inverse analysis theory of kinematics. The design and the stress analysis of the mechanism are investigated using SolidWorks software. The virtual prototype of the parallel mechanism is constructed, and the dynamic simulation is performed using ADAMS TM software. The system model utilizing PID and PI controllers has been built using MATLAB software. A more realistic simulation in accordance with a given bending angle and point to point control is implemented by the use of both ADAMS/MATLAB software. The simulation results showed that this control method has solved the coordinate control for the 4-DOF parallel manipulator so that each output is feedback to the four driving rods. From the results, the tracking performance is achieved. Other control techniques, such as intelligent ones, are recommended to improve the tracking performance and reduce the numerical truncation error.

Keywords: parallel mechanisms, medical robotics, tracjectory control, virtual chain type synthesis method

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Authors: Lynn Lehmann, Dinorah Leyva, Ana Lazic, Stefan Duhr, Philipp Baaske

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Characterization of biomolecular interactions, such as protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid or protein-small molecule, provides critical insights into cellular processes and is essential for the development of drug diagnostics and therapeutics. Here we present a novel, label-free, and tether-free technology to analyze picomolar to millimolar affinities of biomolecular interactions by Microscale Thermophoresis (MST). The entropy of the hydration shell surrounding molecules determines thermophoretic movement. MST exploits this principle by measuring interactions using optically generated temperature gradients. MST detects changes in the size, charge and hydration shell of molecules and measures biomolecule interactions under close-to-native conditions: immobilization-free and in bioliquids of choice, including cell lysates and blood serum. Thus, MST measures interactions under close-to-native conditions, and without laborious sample purification. We demonstrate how MST determines the picomolar affinities of antibody::antigen interactions, and protein::protein interactions measured from directly from cell lysates. MST assays are highly adaptable to fit to the diverse requirements of different and complex biomolecules. NanoTemper´s unique technology is ideal for studies requiring flexibility and sensitivity at the experimental scale, making MST suitable for basic research investigations and pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: biochemistry, biophysics, molecular interactions, quantitative techniques

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Authors: Mladen Jankovic, Biljana Djuric, Djurdja Oljaca, Vladimir Damjanovic, Radislav Filipovic, Zoran Obrenovic

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One of the key characteristics of zeolites with ZSM-5 crystalline form is the possibility of synthesis in a wide range of molar ratios, from the relatively low ratio of about 20 to highly silicate forms with a Si/Al ratio over 1000. For industrial production and commercial use of this type of zeolite, it is very important to know the influence of the molar Si/Al ratio on the characteristics of zeolite powders. In this paper, the influence of the Si/Al ratio on the characteristics of H-ZSM-5 zeolites synthesized in the presence of tetrapropylammonium bromide is questioned, including the possibility of conversion to the H-form using different acids. The quality of the samples is characterized in terms of crystallinity, chemical composition, morphology, granulometry, specific surface area (BET), pore size and acidity. XRD, FT-IR, EDX, ICP, SEM and TPD instrumental techniques were used to characterize the samples. In most of the performed syntheses, zeolite has been obtained with very good properties. It was shown that the examined conditions have a significant influence on the characteristics of the synthesized powders. The different chemical composition of the starting mixture, ie. the Si/Al ratio, has a very significant influence on the crystal structure of the synthesized powders, and thus on the other tested characteristics. It has been observed that optimal ion exchange results for powders of different Si/Al ratios are achieved by using different acids. Also, the dependence of the specific surface on the concentration of H+ or Na+ ions was confirmed.

Keywords: Characterisation, H-ZSM-5, molar ratio, synthesis, tetrapropylammonium bromide

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Authors: Erina Wulansari, Bambang Soemardiono, Ispurwono Soemarno

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Designing sustainable tourism area is defined as an attempt to design an area, that brings the natural environmental conditions as components are available with a wealth of social conditions and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. To understanding tourism area in this study is not only focus on the location of the tourist object, but rather to a tourist attraction around the area, tourism objects such as the existence of residential area (settlement), a commercial area, public service area, and the natural environmental area. The principle of success in designing a sustainable tourism area is able to integrate and balance between the limited space and the variety of activities that’s always continuously to growth up. The limited space in this area of tourism needs to be managed properly to minimize the damage of environmental as a result of tourism activities hue. This research aims to identify space in this area of tourism through land suitability approach as an effort to create a sustainable design, especially in terms of ecological. This study will be used several analytical techniques to achieve the research objectives as superimposing analysis with GIS 9.3 software and Analysis Hierarchy Process. Expected outcomes are in the form of classification and criteria of usable space in designing embodiment tourism area. In addition, this study can provide input to the order of settlement patterns as part of the environment in the area of sustainable tourism.

Keywords: sustainable tourism area, land suitability, limited space, environment, criteria

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Authors: John Paul Q. Tomas, Mark Wilson L. de los Reyes, Kirsten Joyce P. Vasquez

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The most frequent type of fracture is a wrist fracture, which often makes it difficult for medical professionals to find and locate. In this study, fractures in wrist x-ray pictures were located and identified using deep learning and computer vision. The researchers used image filtering, masking, morphological operations, and data augmentation for the image preprocessing and trained the RetinaNet and Faster R-CNN models with ResNet50 backbones and Adam optimizers separately for each image filtering technique and projection. The RetinaNet model with Anisotropic Diffusion Smoothing filter trained with 50 epochs has obtained the greatest accuracy of 99.14%, precision of 100%, sensitivity/recall of 98.41%, specificity of 100%, and an IoU score of 56.44% for the Posteroanterior projection utilizing augmented data. For the Lateral projection using augmented data, the RetinaNet model with an Anisotropic Diffusion filter trained with 50 epochs has produced the highest accuracy of 98.40%, precision of 98.36%, sensitivity/recall of 98.36%, specificity of 98.43%, and an IoU score of 58.69%. When comparing the test results of the different individual projections, models, and image filtering techniques, the Anisotropic Diffusion filter trained with 50 epochs has produced the best classification and regression scores for both projections.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Wrist Fracture, Deep Learning

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Authors: Amare Worku, Harikrishnan Muralidharan

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The research for more environmentally friendly sources of energy is a result of growing environmental awareness. In this aspect, wind energy is a very good option and there are two different wind turbines, horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and vertical axis turbine (VAWT). For locations outside of integrated grid networks, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) present a feasible solution. However, those turbines have several drawbacks related to various setups, VAWT has a very low efficiency when compared with HAWT, but they work under different conditions and installation areas. This paper reviewed numerous measurements taken to improve the efficiency of VAWT configurations, either directly or indirectly related to the performance efficiency of the turbine. Additionally, the comparison and advantages of HAWT and VAWT turbines and also the findings of the design methodologies used for the VAWT design have been reviewed together with efficiency enhancement revision. Most of the newly modified designs are based on the turbine blade structure modification but need other studies on behalf other than electromechanical modification. Some of the techniques, like continuous variation of pitch angle control and swept area control, are not the most effective since VAWT is Omni-directional, and so wind direction is not a problem like HAWT. Hybrid system technology has become one of the most important and efficient methods to enhance the efficiency of VAWT. Besides hybridization, the contra-rotating method is also good if the installation area is big enough in an urban area.

Keywords: wind turbine, horizontal axis wind turbine, vertical axis wind turbine, hybridization

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Authors: Anurag Kumar Pandey, Tapan Kumar Nath, Santanu Dhara

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Polluted water by industrial effluents or dyes has become a major global concern, particularly in developing countries. Such environmental contaminants constitute a serious threat to biodiversity, ecosystems, and human health worldwide; thus, their treatment is critical. The usage of nanoparticles has been discovered to be a potential water treatment method with high efficiency, cheap manufacturing costs, and green synthesis. Carbon dots have attracted the interest of researchers due to their unique properties, such as high water solubility, ease of production, great electron-donating ability, and low toxicity. In this context, we synthesized iodine-doped clove buds-derived carbon dots (I-CCDs) for the Fenton-like degradation of environmental contaminants in water (such as methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine-B (Rh-B) dye). The formation of I-CCDs has been confirmed using various spectroscopy techniques. I-CCDs have demonstrated remarkable optical, cytocompatibility, and antibacterial capabilities. The C-dots that were synthesized were found to be an effective catalyst for the reduction of MB and Rh-B utilizing NaBH4 as a reducing agent. UV-visible spectroscopy was used to construct a detailed pathway for dye reduction step by step. As-prepared I-CCDs have the potential to be a promising solution for wastewater purification and treatment systems.

Keywords: iodine-doped carbon dots, wastewater treatment and purification, environmental friendly, antibacterial

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Authors: Abhiyan Paudel, Maheshwaran M Pillai

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This paper deals with the optimization and comparison of slender delta wing and blended wing body. The objective is to study the difference between the two wing types and analyze the various aerodynamic characteristics of both of these types.The blended-wing body is an aircraft configuration that has the potential to be more efficient than conventional large transport aircraft configurations with the same capability. The purported advantages of the BWB approach are efficient high-lift wings and a wide airfoil-shaped body. Similarly, symmetric separation vortices over slender delta wing may become asymmetric as the angle of attack is increased beyond a certain value, causing asymmetric forces even at symmetric flight conditions. The transition of the vortex pattern from being symmetric to asymmetric over symmetric bodies under symmetric flow conditions is a fascinating fluid dynamics problem and of major importance for the performance and control of high-maneuverability flight vehicles that favor the use of slender bodies. With the use of Star CCM, we analyze both the fluid properties. The CL, CD and CM were investigated in steady state CFD of BWB at Mach 0.3 and through wind tunnel experiments on 1/6th model of BWB at Mach 0.1. From CFD analysis pressure variation, Mach number contours and turbulence area was observed.

Keywords: Coefficient of Lift, Coefficient of Drag, CFD=Computational Fluid Dynamics, BWB=Blended Wing Body, slender delta wing

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Authors: Ehi E. Aimiuwu

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As of 2017, many online learning professionals, institutions, and journals are still wondering how instructors can keep student engaged in the online learning environment to facilitate active learning effectively. The purpose of this qualitative single-case and narrative research is to explore whether online professors understand their role as mentors and facilitators of students’ academic success by keeping students engaged in active learning based on personalized experience in the field. Data collection tools that were used in the study included an NVivo 12 Plus qualitative software, an interview protocol, a digital audiotape, an observation sheet, and a transcription. Seven online professors in the United States from LinkedIn and residencies were interviewed for this study. Eleven online teaching techniques from previous research were used as the study framework. Data analysis process, member checking, and key themes were used to achieve saturation. About 85.7% of professors agreed on rubric as the preferred online grading technique. About 57.1% agreed on professors logging in daily, students logging in about 2-5 times weekly, knowing students to increase accountability, email as preferred communication tool, and computer access for adequate online learning. About 42.9% agreed on syllabus for clear class expectations, participation to show what has been learned, and energizing students for creativity.

Keywords: class facilitation, class management, online teaching, online education, pedagogy

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Authors: Boumaraf Malak

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The development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are spurring us to pave the way for the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles (AVs). This is open again opportunities for smart roads, smart traffic safety, and mobility comfort. A highly intelligent decision-making system is essential for autonomous driving around dense, dynamic objects. It must be able to handle complex road geometry and topology, as well as complex multiagent interactions, and closely follow higher-level commands such as routing information. Autonomous vehicles have become a very hot research topic in recent years due to their significant ability to reduce traffic accidents and personal injuries. Using new artificial intelligence-based technologies handles important functions in scene understanding, motion planning, decision making, vehicle control, social behavior, and communication for AV. This paper focuses only on deep reinforcement learning-based methods; it does not include traditional (flat) planar techniques, which have been the subject of extensive research in the past because reinforcement learning (RL) has become a powerful learning framework now capable of learning complex policies in high dimensional environments. The DRL algorithm used so far found solutions to the four main problems of autonomous driving; in our paper, we highlight the challenges and point to possible future research directions.

Keywords: deep reinforcement learning, autonomous driving, deep deterministic policy gradient, deep Q-learning

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Authors: Mohamamd Shahjahan

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Background: Cybercrime is common phenomenon at present both developed and developing countries. Young generation, especially adolescents now engaged internet frequently and they commit cybercrime frequently in Bangladesh. Objective: In this regard, the present study on the pattern of cybercrime among youngers of Bangladesh has been conducted. Methods and tools: This study was a cross-sectional study, descriptive in nature. Non-probability accidental sampling technique has been applied to select the sample because of the nonfinite population and the sample size was 167. A printed semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: The study shows that adolescents mainly do hacking (94.6%), pornography (88.6%), software piracy (85 %), cyber theft (82.6%), credit card fraud (81.4%), cyber defamation (75.6%), sweet heart swindling (social network) (65.9%) etc. as cybercrime. According to findings the major causes of cybercrime among the respondents in Bangladesh were- weak laws (88.0%), defective socialization (81.4%), peer group influence (80.2%), easy accessibility to internet (74.3%), corruption (62.9%), unemployment (58.7%), and poverty (24.6%) etc. It is evident from the study that 91.0% respondents used password cracker as the techniques of cyber criminality. About 76.6%, 72.5%, 71.9%, 68.3% and 60.5% respondents’ technique was key loggers, network sniffer, exploiting, vulnerability scanner and port scanner consecutively. Conclusion: The study concluded that pattern of cybercrimes is frequently changing and increasing dramatically. Finally, it is recommending that the private public partnership and execution of existing laws can be controlling this crime.

Keywords: cybercrime, adolescents, pattern, internet

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Authors: Sevde D. Karayel, Ediz Atmaca

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Supplier selection subject is vital because of development competitiveness and performance of firms which have right, rapid and with low cost procurement. Considering the fact that competition between firms is no longer on their supply chains, hence it is very clear that performance of the firms’ not only depend on their own success but also success of all departments in supply chain. For this purpose, firms want to work with suppliers which are cost effective, flexible in terms of demand and high quality level for customer satisfaction. However, diversification and redundancy of their expectations from suppliers, supplier selection problems need to be solved as a hard problem. In this study, supplier selection problem is discussed for critical piece, which is using almost all production of products in and has troubles with lead time from supplier, in a firm that produces medical devices. Analyzing policy in the current situation of the firm in the supplier selection indicates that supplier selection is made based on the purchasing department experience and other authorized persons’ general judgments. Because selection do not make based on the analytical methods, it is caused disruptions in production, lateness and extra cost. To solve the problem, AHP and TOPSIS which are multi-criteria decision making techniques, which are effective, easy to implement and can analyze many criteria simultaneously, are used to make a selection among alternative suppliers.

Keywords: AHP-TOPSIS methods, multi-criteria decision making, supplier selection problem, supply chain management

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Authors: Roham Rafiee, Behzad Mazhari

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Composite structures, having incredible properties, have gained considerable popularity in the last few decades. Among all types, polymer matrix composites are being used extensively due to their unique characteristics including low weight, convenient fabrication process and low cost. Having polymer as matrix, these type of composites show different creep behavior when compared to metals and even other types of composites since most polymers undergo creep even in room temperature. One of the most challenging topics in creep is to introduce new techniques for predicting long term creep behavior of materials. Depending on the material which is being studied the appropriate method would be different. Methods already proposed for predicting long term creep behavior of polymer matrix composites can be divided into five categories: (1) Analytical Modeling, (2) Empirical Modeling, (3) Superposition Based Modeling (Semi-empirical), (4) Rheological Modeling, (5) Finite Element Modeling. Each of these methods has individual characteristics. Studies have shown that none of the mentioned methods can predict long term creep behavior of all PMC composites in all circumstances (loading, temperature, etc.) but each of them has its own priority in different situations. The reason to this issue can be found in theoretical basis of these methods. In this study after a brief review over the background theory of each method, they are compared in terms of their applicability in predicting long-term behavior of composite structures. Finally, the explained materials are observed through some experimental studies executed by other researchers.

Keywords: creep, comparative study, modeling, composite materials

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Authors: K. Bresilla, L. Manfrini, B. Morandi, A. Boini, G. Perulli, L. C. Grappadelli

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Image/video processing for fruit in the tree using hard-coded feature extraction algorithms have shown high accuracy during recent years. While accurate, these approaches even with high-end hardware are computationally intensive and too slow for real-time systems. This paper details the use of deep convolution neural networks (CNNs), specifically an algorithm (YOLO - You Only Look Once) with 24+2 convolution layers. Using deep-learning techniques eliminated the need for hard-code specific features for specific fruit shapes, color and/or other attributes. This CNN is trained on more than 5000 images of apple and pear fruits on 960 cores GPU (Graphical Processing Unit). Testing set showed an accuracy of 90%. After this, trained data were transferred to an embedded device (Raspberry Pi gen.3) with camera for more portability. Based on correlation between number of visible fruits or detected fruits on one frame and the real number of fruits on one tree, a model was created to accommodate this error rate. Speed of processing and detection of the whole platform was higher than 40 frames per second. This speed is fast enough for any grasping/harvesting robotic arm or other real-time applications.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, computer vision, deep learning, fruit recognition, harvesting robot, precision agriculture

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Authors: X. L. Nguyen, T. Y. Chou, F. Y. Min, F. C. Lin, T. V. Hoang, Y. M. Huang

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In Vietnam, land use planning is utilized as an efficient tool for the local government to adjust land use. However, planned locations are facing disapproval from people who live near these planned sites because of environmental problems. The selection of these locations is normally based on the subjective opinion of decision-makers and is not supported by any scientific methods. Many researchers have applied Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) methods in which Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is the most popular techniques in combination with Fuzzy set theory for the subject of rationality assessment of land use planning locations. In this research, the Fuzzy set theory and Analytic Network Process (ANP) multi-criteria-based technique were used for the assessment process. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process was also utilized, and the output results from two methods were compared to extract the differences. The 20 planned landfills in Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province, Vietnam was selected as a case study. The comparison results indicate that there are different between weights computed by AHP and ANP methods and the assessment outputs produced from these two methods also slight differences. After evaluation of existing planned sites, some potential locations were suggested to the local government for possibility of land use planning adjusts.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process, Analytic Network Process, Fuzzy set theory, land use planning

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Authors: Radnoosh Mirzajani, Ebrahim Mirzajani, Heshmatollah Ebrahimi-Najafabadi

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Introduction: Hydrogen peroxide can be produced over the interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with hemoglobin which would facilitate the oxidation process of hemoglobin. The presence of ascorbic acid (AA) can hinder the extreme oxidation of oxyhemoglobin. Methods: Hemoglobin was purified from blood samples according to the method of Williams. UV-V is spectra of Hb solutions mixed with different concentrations of SDS and AA were recorded. Chemical components, concentration, and spectral profiles were estimated using MCR-ALS techniques. Results: The intensity of soret band of OxyHb decreased due to the interaction of Hb with SDS. Furthermore, changes were also observed for peaks at 575 and 540. Subspace plots confirm the presence of OxyHb, MetHb, and Hemichrom in each mixture. The resolved concentration profiles using MCR-ALS reveal that the mole fraction of OxyHb increased upon the presence of AA up to a concentration level of 3 mM. The higher concentration of AA shows a reverse effect. AA demonstrated a dual effect on the interaction of hemoglobin with SDS. AA disturbs the interaction of SDS and hemoglobin and exhibits an antioxidative effect. However, it caused a tiny decrease in the mole fraction of OxyHb. Conclusions: H2O2 produces upon the interaction of OxyHb with SDS. Oxidation of OxyHb facilitates due to overproduction of H2O2. Ascorbic acid interacts with H2O2 to form dehydroascorbic acid. Furthermore, the available free SDS was reduced because the Gibbs free energy for micelle production of SDS became more negative in the presence of AA.

Keywords: hemoglobin, ascorbic acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate, multivariate curve resolution, antioxidant

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Authors: Rasha M. Hussein, Reem M. Hashem, Laila A. Rashed

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Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia disease in the elderly. It is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid β (Aβ) peptides and intracellular hyper-phosphorylated tau protein. In addition, recent evidence indicates that accumulation of intracellular amyloid β peptides may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. This suggests that intracellular Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) that maintain the protein quality control in the cell might be potential candidates for disease amelioration. DNAJB6, a member of DNAJ family of HSP, effectively prevented the aggregation of poly glutamines stretches associated with Huntington’s disease both in vitro and in cells. In addition, DNAJB6 was found recently to delay the aggregation of Aβ42 peptides in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the ability of DNAJB6 to prevent the aggregation of both intracellular and extracellular Aβ peptides using transfection of HEK293 cells with Aβ-GFP and recombinant Aβ42 peptides respectively. We performed western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. We found that DNAJB6 can prevent Aβ-GFP aggregation, but not the seeded aggregation initiated by extracellular Aβ peptides. Moreover, DNAJB6 required interaction with HSP70 to prevent the aggregation of Aβ-GFP protein and its J-domain was essential for this anti-aggregation activity. Interestingly, overexpression of other DNAJ proteins as well as HSPB1 suppressed Aβ-GFP aggregation efficiently. Our findings suggest that DNAJB6 is a promising candidate for the inhibition of Aβ-GFP mediated aggregation through a canonical HSP70 dependent mechanism.

Keywords: Aβ, Alzheimer’s disease, chaperone, DNAJB6, aggregation

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Authors: Mai M. Farid, Mona El-Shabrawy, Sameh R. Hussein, Ahmed Elkhateeb, El-Said S. Abdel-Hameed, Mona M. Marzouk

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Asphodelus aestivus Brot. Is a wild plant distributed in Egypt and is considered one of the five Asphodelus spp. from the family Asphodelaceae; it grows in dry grasslands and on rocky or sandy soil. The chemical components of A. aestivus flowers extract were analyzed using different chromatographic and spectral techniques and led to the isolation of two anthraquinones identified as emodin and emodin-O-glucoside. In addition to, five flavonoid compounds;kaempferol,Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside,Apigenin-6-C-glucoside-7-O-glucoside (Saponarine), luteolin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside, Isoorientin-O-malic acid which is a new compound in nature. The LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of the flower extract of A. aestivus led to the identification of twenty- two compounds characterized by the presence of flavones, flavonols, and flavone C-glycosides. While GC/MS analysis led to the identification of 24 compounds comprising 98.32% of the oil, the major components of the oil were 9, 12, 15-Octadecatrieoic acid methyl ester 28.72%, and 9, 12-Octadecadieroic acid (Z, Z)-methyl ester 19.96%. In vitro cytotoxic activity of the aqueous methanol extract of A. aestivus flowers against HEPG2, HCT-116, MCF-7, and A549 culture was examined and showed moderate inhibition (62.3±1.1)% on HEPG2 cell line followed by (36.8±0.2)% inhibition on HCT-116 and a weak inhibition (5.7± 0.0.2) on MCF-7 cell line followed by (4.5± 0.4) % inhibition on A549 cell line and this is considered the first cytotoxic report of A. aestivus flowers.

Keywords: Anthraquinones, Asphodelus aestivus, Cytotoxic activity, Flavonoids, LC-ESI-MS/MS

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Authors: M. I. Benamrani, H. Benamrani

Abstract:

In the research to replace silicon and other thin-film semiconductor technologies and to develop long-term technology that is environmentally friendly, low-cost, and abundant, there is growing interest today given to organic materials. Our objective is to prepare polymeric layers containing metal particles deposited on a surface of semiconductor material which can have better electrical properties and which could be applied in the fields of nanotechnology as an alternative to the existing processes involved in the design of electronic circuits. This work consists in the development of composite materials by complexation and electroreduction of copper in a film of poly (pyrrole benzoic acid). The deposition of the polymer film on a monocrystalline silicon substrate is made by electrochemical oxidation in an organic medium. The incorporation of copper particles into the polymer is achieved by dipping the electrode in a solution of copper sulphate to complex the cupric ions, followed by electroreduction in an aqueous solution to precipitate the copper. In order to prepare the monocrystalline silicon substrate as an electrode for electrodeposition, an in-depth study on its surface state was carried out using photoacoustic spectroscopy. An analysis of the optical properties using this technique on the effect of pickling using a chemical solution was carried out. Transmission-photoacoustic and impedance spectroscopic techniques give results in agreement with those of photoacoustic spectroscopy.

Keywords: photoacoustic, spectroscopy, copper sulphate, chemical solution

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Authors: Federico Pittino, Thomas Arnold

Abstract:

The shredding of waste materials is a key step in the recycling process towards the circular economy. Industrial shredders for waste processing operate in very harsh operating conditions, leading to the need for frequent maintenance of critical components. Maintenance optimization is particularly important also to increase the machine’s efficiency, thereby reducing the operational costs. In this work, a monitoring system has been developed and deployed on an industrial shredder located at a waste recycling plant in Austria. The machine has been monitored for one year, and methods for predictive maintenance have been developed for two key components: the cutting knives and the drive belt. The large amount of collected data is leveraged by statistical machine learning techniques, thereby not requiring very detailed knowledge of the machine or its live operating conditions. The results show that, despite the wide range of operating conditions, a reliable estimate of the optimal time for maintenance can be derived. Moreover, the trade-off between the cost of maintenance and the increase in power consumption due to the wear state of the monitored components of the machine is investigated. This work proves the benefits of real-time monitoring system for the efficient operation of industrial shredders.

Keywords: predictive maintenance, circular economy, industrial shredder, cost optimization, statistical machine learning

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Authors: Zhidong Zhang, Amanda Resendez

Abstract:

This study is to examine how teachers’ perspective on education technology use in their class influence their students’ achievement. The authors hypothesized that teachers’ perspective can directly or indirectly influence students’ learning, performance, and achievements. In this study, a questionnaire entitled, Teacher’s Perspective on Educational Technology, was delivered to 63 teachers and 1268 students’ mathematics and reading achievement records were collected. The questionnaire consists of four parts: a) demographic variables, b) attitudes on technology integration, c) outside factor affecting technology integration, and d) technology use in the classroom. Kruskal-Wallis and hierarchical regression analysis techniques were used to examine: 1) the relationship between the demographic variables and teachers’ perspectives on educational technology, and 2) how the demographic variables were causally related to students’ mathematics and reading achievements. The study found that teacher demographics were significantly related to the teachers’ perspective on educational technology with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 separately. These teacher demographical variables included the school district, age, gender, the grade currently teach, teaching experience, and proficiency using new technology. Further, these variables significantly predicted students’ mathematics and reading achievements with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 separately. The variations of R² are between 0.176 and 0.467. That means 46.7% of the variance of a given analysis can be explained by the model.

Keywords: teacher's perception of technology use, mathematics achievement, reading achievement, Kruskal-Wallis test, hierarchical regression analysis

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Authors: Mohd Asim, K. Nageswara Rao

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The present work was carried out on River Yamuna passing through Delhi- National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR) of India for a stretch of about 130 km to assess the anthropogenic impact on the channel migration process for a period of 200 years with the help of satellite data and topographical maps with integration of geographic information system environment. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) application was used to quantify river channel migration in ArcGIS environment. The average river channel migration was calculated to be 22.8 m/year for the entire study area. River channel migration was found to be moving in westward and eastward direction. Westward migration is more than 4 km maximum in length and eastward migration is about 4.19 km. The river has migrated a total of 32.26 sq. km of area. The results reveal that the river is being impacted by various human activities. The impact indicators include engineering structures, sand mining, embankments, urbanization, land use/land cover, canal network. The DSAS application was also used to predict the position of river channel in future for 2032 and 2042 by analyzing the past and present rate and direction of movement. The length of channel in 2032 and 2042 will be 132.5 and 141.6 km respectively. The channel will migrate maximum after crossing Okhla Barrage near Faridabad for about 3.84 sq. km from 2022 to 2042 from west to east.

Keywords: river migration, remote sensing, river Yamuna, anthropogenic impacts, DSAS, Delhi-NCR

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Authors: Shaibu Salifu, Ofori Boachie

Abstract:

Philanthropy is part and parcel of African identity; it is intrinsically embedded in the life of Africans where at any point in time people contribute to philanthropy through giving or receiving. Even though, research on corporate philanthropy has gained attention in the academic space of Ghana, little have been done on the effects of corporate foundation giving on female labour force participation in Ghana. We investigate the effects of corporate foundations giving on female labour force participation in Ghana. We applied convenient and purposive sampling techniques to collect qualitative data from thirty (30) women in Ghana through interviews and open-ended questionnaires. We used Nvivo to carryout analysis on the data and our results indicate that corporate foundation giving has significant effect on female labour force participation in Ghana. In addition, contrary to the feminization U-Shape Hypothesis, evidence suggest that, to a larger extent marriage and fertility (birth) of women positively contribute to the female labour force participation in Ghana. Nevertheless, the study was limited by the number of women who were interviewed, time constraints of women for elaborate discussions on the issues (constructs) of the study and fear of victimization by authorities on most of their responses to the interviews. The findings have implications for all stakeholders of philanthropy: academia, governments, civil society organizations, corporate foundations, women of Ghana and other relevant bodies.

Keywords: corporate philanthropy, corporate foundations, corporate foundation giving, female labour force participation, women, Ghana

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Authors: Mabrouka Algherinai, Fatma Karkouri

Abstract:

Today, Short Message Service (SMS) is an important means of communication. SMS is not only used in informal environment for communication and transaction, but it is also used in formal environments such as institutions, organizations, companies, and business world as a tool for communication and transactions. Therefore, there is a need to secure the information that is being transmitted through this medium to ensure security of information both in transit and at rest. But, encryption has been identified as a means to provide security to SMS messages in transit and at rest. Several past researches have proposed and developed several encryption algorithms for SMS and Information Security. This research aims at comparing the performance of common Asymmetric encryption algorithms on SMS security. The research employs the use of three algorithms, namely RSA, McEliece, and RABIN. Several experiments were performed on SMS of various sizes on android mobile device. The experimental results show that each of the three techniques has different key generation, encryption, and decryption times. The efficiency of an algorithm is determined by the time that it takes for encryption, decryption, and key generation. The best algorithm can be chosen based on the least time required for encryption. The obtained results show the least time when McEliece size 4096 is used. RABIN size 4096 gives most time for encryption and so it is the least effective algorithm when considering encryption. Also, the research shows that McEliece size 2048 has the least time for key generation, and hence, it is the best algorithm as relating to key generation. The result of the algorithms also shows that RSA size 1024 is the most preferable algorithm in terms of decryption as it gives the least time for decryption.

Keywords: SMS, RSA, McEliece, RABIN

Procedia PDF Downloads 147