Search results for: efficiency zone

Authors: Jhoga Parth, T. Nasar, K. V. Anand

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An idealized definition of shoreline is that it is the zone of coincidence of three spheres such as atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Despite its apparent simplicity, this definition in practice a challenge to apply. In reality, the shoreline location deviates continually through time, because of various dynamic factors such as wave characteristics, currents, coastal orientation and the bathymetry, which makes the shoreline volatile. This necessitates us to monitor the shoreline in a temporal basis. If shoreline’s nature is understood at particular coastal stretch, it need not be the same trend at the other location, though belonging to the same sea front. Shoreline change is hence a local phenomenon and has to be studied with great intensity considering as many factors involved as possible. Erosion and accretion of sediment are such natures of a shoreline, which needs to be quantified by comparing with its predeceasing variations and understood before implementing any coastal projects. In recent years, advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) acts as an emerging tool to quantify the intra and inter annual sediment rate getting accreted or deposited compared to other conventional methods in regards with time was taken and man power. Remote sensing data, on the other hand, paves way to acquire historical sets of data where field data is unavailable with a higher resolution. Short term and long term period shoreline change can be accurately tracked and monitored using a software residing in GIS - Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) developed by United States Geological Survey (USGS). In the present study, using DSAS, End Point Rate (EPR) is calculated analyze the intra-annual changes, and Linear Rate Regression (LRR) is adopted to study inter annual changes of shoreline. The shoreline changes are quantified for the scenario during the construction of breakwater in Ponnani river inlet along Kerala coast, India. Ponnani is a major fishing and landing center located 10°47’12.81”N and 75°54’38.62”E in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. The rate of erosion and accretion is explored using satellite and field data. The full paper contains the rate of change of shoreline, and its analysis would provide us understanding the behavior of the inlet at the study area during the construction of the training walls.

Keywords: DSAS, end point rate, field measurements, geo-informatics, shoreline variation

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Authors: Parthiban S. R.

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Spiral heat exchangers are known as excellent heat exchanger because of far compact and high heat transfer efficiency. An innovative spiral heat exchanger based on polymer materials is designed for waste heat recovery process. Such a design based on polymer film technology provides better corrosion and chemical resistance compared to conventional metal heat exchangers. Due to the smooth surface of polymer film fouling is reduced. A new arrangement for flow of hot flue gas and cold fluid is employed for design, flue gas flows in axial path while the cold fluid flows in a spiral path. Heat load recovery achieved with the presented heat exchanger is in the range of 1.5 kW thermic but potential heat recovery about 3.5 kW might be achievable. To measure the performance of the spiral tube heat exchanger, its model is suitably designed and fabricated so as to perform experimental tests. The paper gives analysis of spiral tube heat exchanger.

Keywords: spiral heat exchanger, polymer based materials, fouling factor, heat load

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Authors: Maged Kamal

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Previous research papers have suggested that enhancing the environmental performance in textiles and apparel industry would affect positively on the overall enterprise competitiveness. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding simplifying the available theory to get it practically implemented with more confidence of the expected results, especially for small and medium enterprises. The aim of this paper is to simplify and best use of the concerned international norms to produce a systematic approach that could be used as a guideline for practical application of the main sustainable principles in medium size textile business. The increasing in efficiency which has been resulted from the implementation of the suggested approach/model originated from reduction in raw materials usage, energy, and water savings, in addition to the risk reduction for the people and the environment. The practical case study has been implemented in a textile factory producing knitted fabrics, readymade garments, dyed and printed fabrics. The results were analyzed to examine the effect of the suggested change on the enterprise profitability.

Keywords: apparel industry, environmental management, sustainability, textiles

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Authors: Wenqian Bai

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Background: In response to the post-pandemic directives of Xi Jinping concerning the new era of ecological civilization, China has embarked on ecological restoration projects across its territorial spaces. This initiative faces challenges such as complex evaluation metrics and subpar informatization standards. Methodology: This research focuses on Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province, to assess its resource and environmental carrying capacities and the appropriateness of land use for development from ecological, agricultural, and urban perspectives. The study incorporates a range of spatial data to evaluate factors like ecosystem services (including water conservation, soil retention, and biodiversity), ecological vulnerability (addressing issues like soil erosion and desertification), and resilience. Utilizing the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model along with the ‘Three Zones and Three Lines’ strategy, the research maps out ecological corridors and significant ecological networks. These frameworks support the ecological restoration and environmental enhancement of the area. Results: The study identifies critical ecological zones in Mianzhu City's northwestern region, highlighting areas essential for protection and particularly crucial for water conservation. The southeastern region is categorized as a generally protected ecological zone with respective ratings for water conservation functionality and ecosystem resilience. The research also explores the spatial challenges of three ecological functions and underscores the substantial impact of human activities, such as mining and agricultural expansion, on the ecological baseline. The proposed spatial arrangement for ecological restoration, termed ‘One Mountain, One Belt, Four Rivers, Five Zones, and Multiple Corridors’, strategically divides the city into eight major restoration zones, each with specific tasks and projects. Conclusion: With its significant ‘mountain-plain’ geography, Mianzhu City acts as a crucial ecological buffer for the Yangtze River's upper reaches. Future development should focus on enhancing ecological corridors in agriculture and urban areas, controlling soil erosion, and converting farmlands back to forests and grasslands to foster ecosystem rehabilitation.

Keywords: ecological restoration, resource and environmental carrying capacity, land development suitability, ecosystem services, ecological vulnerability, ecological networks

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Authors: Pyung Soo Kim, Eung Hyuk Lee, Mun Suck Jang

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In the current paper, an indoor positioning system is proposed with consideration of measurement delay. Firstly, an estimation filter with a measurement delay is designed for the indoor positioning mechanism under a weighted least square criterion, which utilizes only finite measurements on the most recent window. The proposed estimation filtering based scheme gives the filtered estimates for position, velocity and acceleration of moving target in real-time, while removing undesired noisy effects and preserving desired moving positions. Secondly, the proposed scheme is shown to have good inherent properties such as unbiasedness, efficiency, time-invariance, deadbeat, and robustness due to the finite memory structure. Finally, computer simulations shows that the performance of the proposed estimation filtering based scheme can outperform to the existing infinite memory filtering based mechanism.

Keywords: indoor positioning system, wireless sensor networks, measurement delay

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Authors: Reza Karami, Ali Akbar Ebrahimi

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This paper discusses concurrent engineering of robot manipulators, based on the Holistic Concurrent Design (HCD) methodology and by using a hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform. The methodology allows for considering numerous design variables with different natures concurrently. It redefines the ultimate goal of design based on the notion of satisfaction, resulting in the simplification of the multi-objective constrained optimization process. It also formalizes the effect of designer’s subjective attitude in the process. To enhance modeling efficiency for both computation and accuracy, a hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform is used, which involves physical joint modules and the control unit in addition to the software modules. This platform is implemented in the HCD design architecture to reliably evaluate the design attributes and performance super criterion during the design process. The resulting overall architecture is applied to redesigning kinematic, dynamic and control parameters of an industrial robot manipulator.

Keywords: concurrent engineering, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, robot manipulator, multidisciplinary systems, mechatronics

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Authors: Zaki Ahmad Khan, Jamshed Siddiqui, Abdus Samad

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The Scheduling and mapping of tasks on a set of processors is considered as a critical problem in parallel and distributed computing system. This paper deals with the problem of dynamic scheduling on a special type of multiprocessor architecture known as Linear Crossed Cube (LCQ) network. This proposed multiprocessor is a hybrid network which combines the features of both linear type of architectures as well as cube based architectures. Two standard dynamic scheduling schemes namely Minimum Distance Scheduling (MDS) and Two Round Scheduling (TRS) schemes are implemented on the LCQ network. Parallel tasks are mapped and the imbalance of load is evaluated on different set of processors in LCQ network. The simulations results are evaluated and effort is made by means of through analysis of the results to obtain the best solution for the given network in term of load imbalance left and execution time. The other performance matrices like speedup and efficiency are also evaluated with the given dynamic algorithms.

Keywords: dynamic algorithm, load imbalance, mapping, task scheduling

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Authors: Michael Zhang, Nicholas Marriage, Valerie Astle, Marie-Louise Ratican, Jonathan Ash, Haddijatou Hughes

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Objective: Young infants are often brought to the Emergency Department (ED) with a variety of complaints, some of them are non-specific and present as a diagnostic challenge to the attending clinician. Whilst invasive investigations such as blood tests and lumbar puncture are necessary in some cases to exclude serious infections, some basic clinical tools in additional to thorough clinical history can be useful to assess the risks of serious conditions in these young infants. This study aimed to examine the utilization of one of clinical tools in this regard. Methods: This retrospective observational study examined the medical records of infants under 6 months presenting to a mixed urban ED between January 2013 and December 2014. The infants deemed to have non-specific complaints or diagnoses by the emergency clinicians were selected for analysis. The ones with clear systemic diagnoses were excluded. Among all relevant clinical information and investigation results, utilization of Standard Paediatric Observation Chart (SPOC) was particularly scrutinized in these medical records. This specific chart was developed by the expert clinicians in local health department. It categorizes important clinical signs into some color-coded zones as a visual cue for serious implication of some abnormalities. An infant is regarded as SPOC positive when fulfills 1 red zone or 2 yellow zones criteria, and the attending clinician would be prompted to investigate and treat for potential serious conditions accordingly. Results: Eight hundred and thirty-five infants met the inclusion criteria for this project. The ones admitted to the hospital for further management were more likely to have SPOC positive criteria than the discharged infants (Odds ratio: 12.26, 95% CI: 8.04 – 18.69). Similarly, Sepsis alert criteria on SPOC were positive in a higher percentage of patients with serious infections (56.52%) in comparison to those with mild conditions (15.89%) (p < 0.001). The SPOC sepsis criteria had a sensitivity of 56.5% (95% CI: 47.0% - 65.7%) and a moderate specificity of 84.1% (95% CI: 80.8% - 87.0%) to identify serious infections. Applying to this infant population, with a 17.4% prevalence of serious infection, the positive predictive value was only 42.8% (95% CI: 36.9% - 49.0%). However, the negative predictive value was high at 90.2% (95% CI: 88.1% - 91.9%). Conclusions: Standard Paediatric Observation Chart has been applied as a useful clinical tool in the clinical practice to help identify and manage young sick infants in ED effectively.

Keywords: clinical tool, infants, non-specific complaints, Standard Paediatric Observation Chart

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Authors: Hafiz Md. HasanBabu, Khandaker Mohammad Mohi Uddin, Md. IstiakJaman Ami, Rahat Hossain Faisal

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Computing in biomolecular programming performs through the different types of reactions. Proteins and nucleic acids are used to store the information generated by biomolecular programming. DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid) can be used to build a molecular computing system and operating system for its predictable molecular behavior property. The DNA device has clear advantages over conventional devices when applied to problems that can be divided into separate, non-sequential tasks. The reason is that DNA strands can hold so much data in memory and conduct multiple operations at once, thus solving decomposable problems much faster. Programmable Logic Array, abbreviated as PLA is a programmable device having programmable AND operations and OR operations. In this paper, a DNA PLA is designed by different molecular operations using DNA molecules with the proposed algorithms. The molecular PLA could take advantage of DNA's physical properties to store information and perform calculations. These include extremely dense information storage, enormous parallelism, and extraordinary energy efficiency.

Keywords: biological systems, DNA computing, parallel computing, programmable logic array, PLA, DNA

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Authors: Komon Paisal

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The aim of this research was to create collaborative learning activities in the course of Principles of Mathematics for graduate level by investigating the students’ ability in proving the mathematics principles as well as their attitudes towards the activities. The samples composed of 2 main group; lecturers and students. The lecturers consisted of 3 teachers who taught the course of Principles of Mathematics at Rajabhat Suan Sunandha Unicersity in the academic year 2012. The students consisted of 32 students joining the cooperative learning activities in the subject of Principles of Mathematics in the academic year 2012. The research tools included activity plan for cooperative learning, testing on mathematics with the reliability of 0.8067 and the attitude questionnaires reported by the students. The results showed that: 1) the efficiency of the developed cooperative learning activities was 69.76/ 68.57 which was lower than the set criteria at 70/70. 2) The students joining the cooperative learning activities were able to prove the principles of mathematics at the average of 70%. 3) The students joining the cooperative learning activities reported moderate attitude towards the activities.

Keywords: instructional design, pedagogical, teaching strategies, learning strategies

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Authors: Katherine Denise Queri

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The effects of sick workers have an impact in administration of labor. This study aims to provide knowledge on the disease that is Alzheimer’s while presenting an answer to the research question of when and how is the disease considered as a disaster inside the workplace. The study has the following as its research objectives: 1. Define Alzheimer’s disease, 2. Evaluate the effects and consequences of an employee suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, 3. Determine the concept of organizational effectiveness in the area of Human Resources, and 4. Identify common figures associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The researcher gathered important data from books, video presentations, and interviews of workers suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and from the internet. After using all the relevant data collection instruments mentioned, the following data emerged: 1. Alzheimer’s disease has certain consequences inside the workplace, 2. The occurrence of Alzheimer’s Disease in an employee’s life greatly affects the company where the worker is employed, and 3. The concept of workplace efficiency suggests that an employer must prepare for such disasters that Alzheimer’s disease may bring to the company where one is employed. Alzheimer’s disease can present disaster in any workplace.

Keywords: administration, Alzheimer's disease, conflict, disaster, employment

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Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale

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With the evolution of the productive processes, demonstrated mainly by the presence every time larger of the irrigation and to crescent it disputes for water, accompanied by your shortage (distances every time larger), there is need to project facilities that can provide supply of water with larger speed and efficiency. Being like this, the presence of hydraulic pumps in an irrigation project or water supply for small communities, is of highest importance, and the knowledge of the fundamental parts to your good operation it deserves the due attention and care. Hydraulic pumps are machines of flow, whose function is to supply energy for the water, in order to press down her, through the conversion of mechanical energy of your originating from rotor a motor the combustion or of an electric motor. This way, the hydraulic pumps are had as generating hydraulic machines. The objective of this work was to project and to build a radial centrifugal pump for agricultural application in small communities.

Keywords: centrifuge pump, hydraulic energy, agricultural applications, irrigation

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Authors: C. Virgilio, J. Carlier, P. Campistron, M. Toubal, P. Garnier, L. Broussous, V. Thomy, B. Nongaillard

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Wetting efficiency of microstructures or nanostructures patterned on Si wafers is a real challenge in integrated circuits manufacturing. In fact, bad or non-uniform wetting during wet processes limits chemical reactions and can lead to non-complete etching or cleaning inside the patterns and device defectivity. This issue is more and more important with the transistors size shrinkage and concerns mainly high aspect ratio structures. Deep Trench Isolation (DTI) structures enabling pixels’ isolation in imaging devices are subject to this phenomenon. While low-frequency acoustic reflectometry principle is a well-known method for Non Destructive Test applications, we have recently shown that it is also well suited for nanostructures wetting characterization in a higher frequency range. In this paper, we present a high-frequency acoustic reflectometry characterization of DTI wetting through a confrontation of both experimental and modeling results. The acoustic method proposed is based on the evaluation of the reflection of a longitudinal acoustic wave generated by a 100 µm diameter ZnO piezoelectric transducer sputtered on the silicon wafer backside using MEMS technologies. The transducers have been fabricated to work at 5 GHz corresponding to a wavelength of 1.7 µm in silicon. The DTI studied structures, manufactured on the wafer frontside, are crossing trenches of 200 nm wide and 4 µm deep (aspect ratio of 20) etched into a Si wafer frontside. In that case, the acoustic signal reflection occurs at the bottom and at the top of the DTI enabling its characterization by monitoring the electrical reflection coefficient of the transducer. A Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) model has been developed to predict the behavior of the emitted wave. The model shows that the separation of the reflected echoes (top and bottom of the DTI) from different acoustic modes is possible at 5 Ghz. A good correspondence between experimental and theoretical signals is observed. The model enables the identification of the different acoustic modes. The evaluation of DTI wetting is then performed by focusing on the first reflected echo obtained through the reflection at Si bottom interface, where wetting efficiency is crucial. The reflection coefficient is measured with different water / ethanol mixtures (tunable surface tension) deposited on the wafer frontside. Two cases are studied: with and without PFTS hydrophobic treatment. In the untreated surface case, acoustic reflection coefficient values with water show that liquid imbibition is partial. In the treated surface case, the acoustic reflection is total with water (no liquid in DTI). The impalement of the liquid occurs for a specific surface tension but it is still partial for pure ethanol. DTI bottom shape and local pattern collapse of the trenches can explain these incomplete wetting phenomena. This high-frequency acoustic method sensitivity coupled with a FDTD propagative model thus enables the local determination of the wetting state of a liquid on real structures. Partial wetting states for non-hydrophobic surfaces or low surface tension liquids are then detectable with this method.

Keywords: wetting, acoustic reflectometry, gigahertz, semiconductor

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Authors: Khalid Obaed Mahmod, Mesut Cevik

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The term smart city has appeared recently and was accompanied by many definitions and concepts, but as a simplified and clear definition, it can be said that the smart city is a geographical location that has gained efficiency and flexibility in providing public services to citizens through its use of technological and communication technologies, and this is what distinguishes it from other cities. Smart cities connect the various components of the city through the main and sub-networks in addition to a set of applications and thus be able to collect data that is the basis for providing technological solutions to manage resources and provide services. The basis of the work of the smart city is the use of artificial intelligence and the technology of the Internet of Things. The work presents the concept of smart cities, the pillars, standards, and evaluation indicators on which smart cities depend, and the reasons that prompted the world to move towards its establishment. It also provides a simplified hypothetical way to measure the ideal smart city model by defining some indicators and key pillars, simulating them with logic circuits, and testing them to determine if the city can be considered an ideal smart city or not.

Keywords: factors, indicators, logic gates, pillars, smart city

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Authors: G. S. Walia, H. P. Singh, D. Padma

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The integration of wide variety of communication services is made possible with invention of 3G technology. Code Division Multiple Access 2000 operates on various RF channel bandwidths 1.2288 or 3.6864 Mcps (1x or 3x systems). It is a 3G system which offers high bandwidth and wireless broadband services but its efficiency is lowered due to various factors like fading, interference, scattering, absorption etc. This paper investigates the effect of diversity (MRC), roll off factor in Root Raised Cosine (RRC) filter for the BPSK and QPSK modulation schemes. It is possible to transmit data with minimum Inter symbol Interference and within limited bandwidth with proper pulse shaping technique. Bit error rate (BER) performance is analyzed by applying diversity technique by varying the roll off factor for BPSK and QPSK. Roll off factor reduces the ISI and diversity reduces the Fading.

Keywords: CDMA2000, root raised cosine, roll-off factor, ISI, diversity, interference, fading

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Authors: Reza Bahboodian

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One of the most important factors in the use of construction machinery is the fuel consumption cost of this equipment. The use of diesel engines in off-road vehicles is an important source of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter 10 in off-road vehicles (construction and mining) may be high. Due to the high cost of fuel, it is necessary to minimize fuel consumption. Factors affecting the fuel consumption of these cars are very diverse. Climate changes such as changes in pressure, temperature, humidity, fuel type selection, type of gearbox used in the car are effective in fuel consumption and pollution, and engine efficiency. In this paper, methods for reducing fuel consumption and pollutants by considering valid European and European standards are examined based on new methods such as hybridization, optimal gear change, adding hydrogen to diesel fuel, determining optimal working fluids, and using oxidation catalysts.

Keywords: improve fuel consumption, construction machinery, pollutant reduction, determining the optimal working cycle

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Authors: Draou Azeddine, Mazin Alahmadi, Abdulrahmane Alkassem, Alamri Abdullah

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The demand for electric power in Saudi Arabia is steadily increasing with economic growth. More power plants should be installed to increase generation capacity and meet demand. Electricity in Saudi Arabia is mainly dependent on fossil fuels, which are a major problem as they deplete natural resources and increase CO₂ emissions. In this research work, performance and techno-economic analyzes are conducted to evaluate a microgrid system based on hybrid PV/wind diesel power sources as a stand-alone system for rural electrification in Saudi Arabia. The total power flow, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) efficiency, effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, and total harmonic distortion (THD) are analyzed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. Various simulation studies have been carried out under different irradiation conditions. The sizing, optimization, and economic feasibility analysis were performed using Homer energy software.

Keywords: WIND, solar, microgrid, energy

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Authors: Y. Boulaksil, J. C. Fransoo, E.E. Blanco, S. Koubida

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In this paper, we study the small traditional retailers that are located in the neighborhoods of big cities in emerging markets. Although modern retailing has grown in the last two decades in these markets, the number of small retailers is still increasing and serving a substantial part of the daily demand for many basic products, such as bread, milk, and cooking oil. We conduct an empirical study to understand the business environment of these small traditional retailers in emerging markets by collecting data from 333 small retailers, spread over 8 large cities in Morocco. We analyze the data and describe their business environment with a focus on the informal credits they offer to their customers. We find that smaller small retailers that are funded from personal savings and managed by the owner himself offer relatively the most credits. Our study also provides interesting insights about these small retailers that will help FMCG manufacturers that are (planning to be) active in Morocco and other emerging markets. We also discuss a number opportunities to improve the efficiency of the supply chains that serve them.

Keywords: small retailers, big cities, emerging markets, empirical study, supply chain management, Morocco

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Authors: Abbas Anser, Ahmad Irfan

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The main purpose of the VAV (Variable Air Volume) in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is to reduce energy consumption and make the buildings comfortable for the occupants. For better performance of the air conditioning system, different control techniques have been developed. In this paper, an Improved Sliding Mode Control (ISMC), based on Power Rate Exponential Reaching Law (PRERL), has been implemented on a VAV air conditioning system. Through the proposed technique, fast response and robustness have been achieved. To verify the efficacy of ISMC, a comparison of the suggested control technique has been made with Exponential Reaching Law (ERL) based SMC. And secondly, chattering, which is unfavorable as it deteriorates the mechanical parts of the air conditioning system by the continuous movement of the mechanical parts and consequently it increases the energy loss in the air conditioning system, has been alleviated. MATLAB/SIMULINK results show the effectiveness of the utilized scheme, which ensures the enhancement of the energy efficiency of the VAV air conditioning system.

Keywords: PID, SMC, HVAC, PRERL, feedback linearization, VAV, chattering

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Authors: Ali Dehgan Moroozeh, B. Farhadi Bansouleh

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Evapotranspiration is one of the most important components of the hydrological cycle. Evapotranspiration (ETo) is an important variable in water and energy balances on the earth’s surface, and knowledge of the distribution of ET is a key factor in hydrology, climatology, agronomy and ecology studies. Many researchers have a valid relationship, which is a function of climate factors, to estimate the potential evapotranspiration presented to the plant water stress or water loss, prevent. The FAO-Penman method (PM) had been recommended as a standard method. This method requires many data and these data are not available in every area of world. So, other methods should be evaluated for these conditions. When sufficient or reliable data to solve the PM equation are not available then Hargreaves equation can be used. The Hargreaves equation (HG) requires only daily mean, maximum and minimum air temperature extraterrestrial radiation .In this study, Hargreaves method (HG) were evaluated in 12 stations in the North West region of Iran. Results of HG and M.HG methods were compared with results of PM method. Statistical analysis of this comparison showed that calibration process has had significant effect on efficiency of Hargreaves method.

Keywords: evapotranspiration, hargreaves, equation, FAO-Penman method

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Authors: Luqman Ali Shah, Murtaza Sayed, Mohammad Siddiq

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Three-dimensional cross-linked polymer microgels with temperature responsive N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) and pH-sensitive methacrylic acid (MAA) were successfully synthesized by free radical emulsion polymerization with different amount of MAA. Silver and gold nanoparticles with size of 6.5 and 3.5 nm (±0.5 nm) respectively were homogeneously reduced inside these materials by chemical reduction method at pH 2.78 and 8.36 for the preparation of hybrid materials. The samples were characterized by FTIR, DLS and TEM techniques. The catalytic activity of the hybrid materials was investigated for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4- NP) using NaBH4 as reducing agent by UV-visible spectroscopy. The hybrid polymer network synthesized at pH 8.36 shows enhanced catalytic efficiency compared to catalysts synthesized at pH 2.78. In this study, it has been explored that catalyst activity strongly depends on amount of MAA, synthesis pH and type of metal nanoparticles entrapped.

Keywords: cross-linked polymer microgels, free radical polymerization, metal nanoparticles, catalytic activity, comparative study

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Authors: M. Zulfiker Mahmud, M. Naimur Rahman, Farhad Bin Ashraf, Norbahiah Misran, Mohammad Tariqul Islam

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This study proposes a diamond-shaped microstrip patch antenna for ultra-wideband applications. The antenna is made up of a diamond shape radiating patch, partial ground plane, and three asterisk-shaped parasitic elements. The parasitic elements are positioned above the ground plane to enhance the bandwidth and gain. The proposed antenna has a compact dimension of 30 x 25 x 1.6 mm3 and achieves an overall bandwidth (S11<-10dB) is 5.8 GHz from 2.7 GHz to 8.5 GHz. The antenna attains more than 4 dBi realized the gain and 80% efficiency over the bandwidth with omnidirectional radiation pattern. The design and simulation of the proposed antenna are performed in Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio. The observation during the analysis of the simulated data reveals that the proposed antenna is suitable for Ultra wide-band (UWB) applications where high gain is required.

Keywords: diamond-shaped antenna, microstrip antenna, parasitic resonator, UWB applications

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Authors: Mohamed Suleiman, Zarina Bibi Ibrahim, Nor Ain Azeany, Khairil Iskandar Othman

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In this paper, a class of variable order fully implicit multistep Block Backward Differentiation Formulas (VOBBDF) using uniform step size for the numerical solution of stiff ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is developed. The code will combine three multistep block methods of order four, five and six. The order selection is based on approximation of the local errors with specific tolerance. These methods are constructed to produce two approximate solutions simultaneously at each iteration in order to further increase the efficiency. The proposed VOBBDF is validated through numerical results on some standard problems found in the literature and comparisons are made with single order Block Backward Differentiation Formula (BBDF). Numerical results shows the advantage of using VOBBDF for solving ODEs.

Keywords: block backward differentiation formulas, uniform step size, ordinary differential equations

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Authors: Vaisnavy Govindasamy, Saba Ishrat

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Introduction: The Dexamethasone Intravitreal Implant 0.7 mg (OzurdexTM, Allergan®) is a biodegradable corticosteroid implant approved by the FDA for managing diabetic macular edema (DMO), macular edema following branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), and posterior segment non-infectious uveitis. This implant can release dexamethasone over a six-month period, exhibiting peak effectiveness between 60 and 90 days post-administration. The intravitreal injection should be performed under sterile conditions. At James Cook University Hospital (JCUH), Ozurdex injections are currently administered in the Vitreo-Retinal (VR) theatre. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and potential advantages of establishing a dedicated clinic for Ozurdex administration separate from the VR theatre setting. Method: Retrospectively, data of all Ozurdex injections administered between October 2021 to October 2022 was collected from operating theatre registers at JCUH. Data pertaining to the indications for Ozurdex; waiting times from referral date to date of injection; duration of theatre time consumed; and post-injection complications were collected from electronic notes. The resources needed to establish a dedicated Ozurdex clinic were evaluated. Over a six-month period from October 2023 to March 2024, we gathered data on utilization of theatre 28. Results: A total of 135 Ozurdex injections were administered. Among the indications, uveitis represented 47.3% of cases, DMO with 23.6% and RVO with 22.9%. Remaining cases lacked sufficient data. Each Ozurdex injection procedure consumed 15 minutes in the VR theatre list. Complications arose in 5% of injections, totaling 7 cases. These included glaucoma, ocular hypertension, subconjunctival haemorrhage and implant migration. Waiting times averaged 6 weeks from date for referral to procedure date. We also found that, on an average theatre 28 was offered but remained unused for 4 days, totalling eight sessions in a month. Analysis: Establishing a sperate Ozurdex clinic would improve the quality of patient care in following ways: 1.Decrease injection waiting times (currently averaging 6 weeks), leading to better visual outcomes. 2.Free up approximately three hours of theatre time in Vitreo-Retina theatres each month, allowing for 3-4 additional surgeries. Reduce waiting times for critical retinal surgeries and enhance visual outcomes. 3.Provide additional training opportunities for trainees and retina fellows, improving their skills. 4.Optimize the use of empty theatre slots (theatre 28) currently experiencing underutilization of resources. Conclusion: These findings support the implementation of a separate clinic for administering Ozurdex injections at JCUH. It is evident that introducing a dedicated clinic will enhance operational efficiency, optimise resource utilsation, and improve overall quality of care for patients undergoing this treatment.

Keywords: opthalmology, ozurdex, efficiency, complication

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Authors: Arvind Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Dattatraya H. Nagaraj, Amanpreet Singh, Jayanthi Prattapati

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In recent years, the use of renewable energy resources instead of pollutant fossil fuels and other forms has increased. Photovoltaic generation is becoming increasingly important as a renewable resource since it does not cause in fuel costs, pollution, maintenance, and emitting noise compared with other alternatives used in power applications. In this paper, Perturb and Observe and Incremental Conductance methods are used to improve energy conversion efficiency under different environmental conditions. PI controllers are used to control easily DC-link voltage, active and reactive currents. The whole system is simulated under standard climatic conditions (1000 W/m2, 250C) in MATLAB and the irradiance is varied from 1000 W/m2 to 300 W/m2. The use of PI controller makes it easy to directly control the power of the grid connected PV system. Finally the validity of the system will be verified through the simulations in MATLAB/Simulink environment.

Keywords: incremental conductance algorithm, modeling of PV panel, perturb and observe algorithm, photovoltaic system and simulation results

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Authors: Yarra Sulina, Nunna Tagore Sai Priya, Ankhi Banerjee

Abstract:

With the rapid growth in tourist arrivals, there has been a huge demand for the growth of infrastructure in the destinations. With the increasing preference of tourists to stay near attractions, there has been a considerable change in the land use around tourist sites. However, with the inclusion of certain regulations and guidelines provided by the authorities based on the nature of tourism activity and geographical constraints, the pattern of growth of built form is different for various tourist sites. Therefore, this study explores the patterns of growth of built-up for a decade from 2009 to 2019 through two-dimensional and three-dimensional analysis. Land use maps are created through supervised classification of satellite images obtained from LANDSAT 4-5 and LANDSAT 8 for 2009 and 2019, respectively. The overall expansion of the built-up area in the region is analyzed in relation to the distance from the city's geographical center and the tourism-related growth regions are identified which are influenced by the proximity of tourist attractions. The primary tourist sites of various destinations with different geographical characteristics and tourism activities, that have undergone a significant increase in built-up area and are occupied with tourism-related infrastructure are selected for further study. Proximity analysis of the tourism-related growth sites is carried out to delineate the influence zone of the tourist site in a destination. Further, a temporal analysis of volumetric growth of built form is carried out to understand the morphology of the tourist precincts over time. The Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) are used to extract the building footprints along with building height. Factors such as building height, and building density are evaluated to understand the patterns of three-dimensional growth of the built area in the region. The study also explores the underlying reasons for such changes in built form around various tourist sites and predicts the impact of such growth patterns in the region. The building height and building density around tourist site creates a huge impact on the appeal of the destination. The surroundings that are incompatible with the theme of the tourist site have a negative impact on the attractiveness of the destination that leads to negative feedback by the tourists, which is not a sustainable form of development. Therefore, proper spatial measures are necessary in terms of area and volume of the built environment for a healthy and sustainable environment around the tourist sites in the destination.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, growth patterns, land-use changes, 3-dimensional analysis of built-up area

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Authors: Idris Lawal

Abstract:

Electronic payment system is simply a payment or monetary transaction made over the internet or a network of computers. This study was carried out in order to assess how electronic payment system has impacted on banks service delivery, to examine the efficiency of electronic payment system in Nigeria and to determine the level of customer's satisfaction as a direct result of the deployment of electronic payment systems. It is an empirical study conducted using structured questionnaire distributed to officials and customers of Access Bank plc. Chi-square(x2) was adopted for the purpose of data analysis. The result of the study showed that the development of electronic payment system offer great benefit to bank customers including improved services, reduced turn-around time, ease of banking transaction, significant cost saving etc. The study recommends that customer protection laws should be properly put in place to safeguard the interest of end users of e-payment instruments.

Keywords: bank, electronic payment systems, service delivery, customer's satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Chang Hsueh-Sheng, Chen Tzu-Ling

Abstract:

Earthquake is an unpredictable natural disaster and intensive earthquakes have caused serious impacts on social-economic system, environmental and social resilience, and further increase vulnerability. Due to earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do. When buildings located nearby earthquake-prone areas and constructed upon poorer soil areas might result in earthquake-induced ground damage. In addition, many existing buildings built before any improved seismic provisions began to be required in building codes and inappropriate land usage with highly dense population might result in much serious earthquake disaster. Indeed, not only do earthquake disaster impact seriously on urban environment, but urban growth might increase the vulnerability. Since 1980s, ‘Cutting down risks and vulnerability’ has been brought up in both urban planning and architecture and such concept has way beyond retrofitting of seismic damages, seismic resistance, and better anti-seismic structures, and become the key action on disaster mitigation. Land use planning and zoning are two critical non-structural measures on controlling physical development while it is difficult for zoning boards and governing bodies restrict development of questionable lands to uses compatible with the hazard without credible earthquake loss projection. Therefore, identifying potential earthquake exposure, vulnerability people and places, and urban development areas might become strongly supported information for decision makers. Taiwan locates on the Pacific Ring of Fire where a seismically active zone is. Some of the active faults have been found close by densely populated and highly developed built environment in the cities. Therefore, this study attempts to base on the perspective of carrying capacity and draft out micro-zonation according to both vulnerability index and urban growth index while considering spatial variances of multi factors via geographical weighted principle components (GWPCA). The purpose in this study is to construct supported information for decision makers on revising existing zoning in high-risk areas for a more compatible use and the public on managing risks.

Keywords: earthquake disaster, vulnerability, urban growth, carrying capacity, /geographical weighted principle components (GWPCA), bivariate spatial association statistic

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Authors: Fatma Ezzahra Kateb, Neila Boulila Taktak, Mohamed Kabir Hassan

Abstract:

We examine the impact of Islamic accounting and auditing standards issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) on the income smoothing perspective of Islamic financial institutions located in the Middle East and North Africa region between 2013 and 2018. Based on General Least square regression for panel data, we find a significant and positive relationship between intentional income smoothing and earning persistence and cash flow predictability in all models. However, we discovered that AAOIFI accounting standards (FAS) had a negative and significant effect on intentional income smoothing and earning persistence. As a result, the income smoothing efficiency is lower for IFIs that use FASs than IFIs that use IFRSs. Our findings emphasize the need for specific standards to enhance the relevance of financial reports disclosed by Islamic financial institutions.

Keywords: AAOIFI, financial reporting quality, income smoothing perspective, MENA countries

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Authors: A. Veeresh Babu, M. Vijay Kumar, P. Ravi Kumar, Katam Ganesh Babu

Abstract:

Biodiesel can be considered as a potential alternative fuel for compression ignition engines. These can be obtained from various resources. However, the usage of biodiesel in high percentage in compression ignition may cause some technical problems because of their higher viscosity, high pour point, and low volatility. Ethanol can be used as a fuel extender to enable use of higher percentage of biodiesel in CI engine. Blends of ethanol-animal fat oil biodiesel-diesel have been prepared and experimental study has been carried out. We have found that B40E20 fuel blend (40% biodiesel and 20 % ethanol in diesel) reduces the specific fuel consumption and improves brake thermal efficiency of engine compared to B40 fuel blend. We observed that fuel characteristics improved considerably with addition of ethanol to biodiesel. Emissions of CO, HC and smoke were reduced while CO2 emissions were increased because of more complete combustion of the blend.

Keywords: diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, CI engine, engine performance, exhaust emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 709