Search results for: attention-based fully convolutional network

Authors: Muhammad Affan, Muhammad Ilyas Raza, Muhammad Harris Hashmi

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This work is attributed to the battery management unit design of student Satellites under Pakistan National Student Satellite Program (PNSSP). The aim has been to design a customized, low-cost, efficient, reliable and less-complex battery management scheme for the Satellite. Nowadays, Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries have become the de-facto standard for remote applications, especially for satellites. Li-ion cells are selected for secondary storage. The design also addresses Li-ion safety requirements by monitoring, balancing and protecting cells for safe and prolonged operation. Accurate voltage measurement of individual cells was the main challenge because all the actions triggered were based on the digital voltage measurement. For this purpose, a resistive-divider network is used to maintain simplicity and cost-effectiveness. To cater the problem of insufficient i/o pins on microcontroller, fast multiplexers and de-multiplexers were used. The discrepancy inherited in the given design is the dissipation of heat due to the dissipative resistors. However, it is still considered to be the optimum adoption, considering the simple and cost-effective nature of the passive balancing technique. Furthermore, it is a completely unique solution, customized to meet specific requirements. However, there is still an option for a more advanced and expensive design.

Keywords: satellite, battery module, passive balancing, dissipative

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Dilip Singh Sisodia, Shrish Verma

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Spamming is the most common issue seen nowadays in the Internet especially in Online Social Networking Sites (like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ etc.). Spam messages keep wasting Internet bandwidth and the storage space of servers. On social network sites; spammers often disguise themselves by creating fake accounts and hijacking user’s accounts for personal gains. They behave like normal user and they continue to change their spamming strategy. To prevent this, most modern spam-filtering solutions are deployed on the receiver side; they are good at filtering spam for end users. In this paper we are presenting some spamming techniques their behaviour and possible solutions. We have analyzed how Spammers enters into online social networking sites (OSNSs) and how they target it and the techniques they use for it. The five discussed techniques of spamming techniques which are clickjacking, social engineered attacks, cross site scripting, URL shortening, and drive by download. We have used elgg framework for demonstration of some of spamming threats and respective implementation of solutions.

Keywords: online social networking sites, spam, attacks, internet, clickjacking / likejacking, drive-by-download, URL shortening, networking, socially engineered attacks, elgg framework

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: Rodrigo T. Sepulveda-Hirose, Ana B. Carrera-Aguilar, Francisco Andree Ramirez-Casas, Alondra Orozco-Gomez, Miguel Angel Sanchez-Caro, Carlos Herrera-Ventosa

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High concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere pose a threat to human health, especially over areas with high concentrations of population; however, field air pollution monitoring is expensive and time-consuming. In order to achieve reduced costs and global coverage of the whole urban area, remote sensing can be used. This study evaluates PM2.5 concentrations, over the Mexico City´s metropolitan area, are estimated using atmospheric reflectance from LANDSAT 8, satellite imagery and historical PM2.5 measurements of the Automatic Environmental Monitoring Network of Mexico City (RAMA). Through the processing of the available satellite images, a preliminary model was generated to evaluate the optimal bands for the generation of the final model for Mexico City. Work on the final model continues with the results of the preliminary model. It was found that infrared bands have helped to model in other cities, but the effectiveness that these bands could provide for the geographic and climatic conditions of Mexico City is still being evaluated.

Keywords: air pollution modeling, Landsat 8, PM2.5, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Yiu K. C. Jacky, Tang S. K. Eric, W. Y. Tsang, C. Y. Li, C. K. Leung

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Objectives : (1) To enhance the competence of nurses on using IPMOE for drug administration; (2) To ensure the transition on implementation of IPMOE in safer and smooth way hospital-wide. Methodology: (1) Well-structured Governance: To make provision for IPMOE implementation, multidisciplinary governance structure at Corporate and Local levels are well established. (2) Staff Engagement: A series of staff engagement events were conducted including Staff Forum, IPMOE Hospital Visit, Kick-off Ceremony and establishment of IPMOE Webpage for familiarizing the forthcoming implementation with frontline staff. (3) Well-organized training program: from Workshop to Workplace Two different IPMOE training programs were tailor-made which aimed at introducing the core features of administration module. Fifty-five identical training classes and six train-the-trainer workshops were organized at 2-3Q 2015. Lending Scheme on IPMOE hardware for hands-on practicing was launched and further extended the training from workshop to workplace. (4) Standard Guidelines and Workflow: the related workflow and guidelines are developed which facilitates users to acquire the competence towards IPMOE and fully familiarize with the standardized contingency plan. (5) Facilities and Equipment: The installations of IPMOE hardware were promptly arranged for rollout. Besides, IPMOE training venue was well-established for staff training. (6) Risk Management Strategy: UCH Medication Safety Forum is organized in December 2015 for sharing “Tricks & Tips” on IPMOE which further disseminate at webpage for arousal of medication safety. Hospital-wide annual audit on drug administration was planned to figure out the compliance and deliberate the rooms for improvement. Results: Through the comprehensive training plan, over 1,000 UCH nurses attended the training program with positive feedback. They agreed that their competence on using IPMOE was enhanced. By the end of November 2015, 28 wards (over 1,000 Inpatient-bed) involving departments of M&G, SUR, O&T and O&G have been successfully rolled out IPMOE in 5-month. A smooth and safe transition of implementation of IPMOE was achieved. Eventually, we all get prepared for embedding IPMOE into daily nursing and work altogether for medication safety at UCH.

Keywords: drug administration, inpatient medication order entry system, medication safety, nursing informatics

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Authors: Arnab Mondal, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Ranjit Kumar Upadhyay

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We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of a neuronal cable. The processes of one- dimensional (1D) and 2D diffusion are considered for a single variable, which is the membrane voltage, i.e., membrane voltage diffusively interacts for spatiotemporal pattern formalism. The recovery and other variables interact through the membrane voltage. A 3D Leech-Heart (LH) model is introduced to investigate the nonlinear responses of an excitable neuronal cable. The deterministic LH model shows different types of firing properties. We explore the parameter space of the uncoupled LH model and based on the bifurcation diagram, considering v_k2_ashift as a bifurcation parameter, we analyze the 1D diffusion dynamics in three regimes: bursting, regular spiking, and a quiescent state. Depending on parameters, it is shown that the diffusive system may generate regular and irregular bursting or spiking behavior. Further, it is explored a 2D diffusion acting on the membrane voltage, where different types of patterns can be observed. The results show that the LH neurons with different firing characteristics depending on the control parameters participate in a collective behavior of an information processing system that depends on the overall network.

Keywords: bifurcation, pattern formation, spatio-temporal dynamics, stability analysis

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Authors: Yacine Babou, Nitesh Ranjan, Branimir Radisavljevic , Martin Seeger, Daniel Over, Torsten Votteler, Bernardo Galletti, Paulo Cristini

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In the frame of replacement of Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas as insulating and switching medium, diverse alternative gases, offering acceptable Global Warming Potential and fulfilling requirements in terms of heat dissipation, insulation and arc quenching performances are currently investigated for High Voltage Circuit Breaker applications. Among the potential gases, CO₂ seems a promising candidate for replacing SF6, because on one hand it is environmentally friendly, harmless, non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable and on the other hand previous studies have demonstrated its fair interruption capabilities. The present study aims at investigating the performance of CO₂ for the thermal interruption in high voltage self-blast circuit breakers. In particular, the correlation between thermal interruption performance and arc voltage is considered and the effect of the arc-network interaction on the performance is rigorously analyzed. For the considered designs, the thermal interruption was evaluated by varying the slope at current zero (i.e., di/dt) for which the breaker could interrupt. Besides, the characteristics of the post-arc current are examined in detail for various rated voltages and currents. The outcome of these experimental investigations will be reported and analyzed.

Keywords: current zero measurement, high voltage circuit breaker, thermal arc discharge, thermal interruption

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Authors: Mojtaba Noghabaei, Khashayar Asadi, Kevin Han

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Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology has recently attracted the attention of construction companies for real-time performance monitoring. To effectively use SLAM for construction performance monitoring, SLAM results should be registered to a Building Information Models (BIM). Registring SLAM and BIM can provide essential insights for construction managers to identify construction deficiencies in real-time and ultimately reduce rework. Also, registering SLAM to BIM in real-time can boost the accuracy of SLAM since SLAM can use features from both images and 3d models. However, registering SLAM with the BIM in real-time is a challenge. In this study, a novel SLAM platform named Model-Based SLAM (MB-SLAM) is proposed, which not only provides automated registration of SLAM and BIM but also improves the localization accuracy of the SLAM system in real-time. This framework improves the accuracy of SLAM by aligning perspective features such as depth, vanishing points, and vanishing lines from the BIM to the SLAM system. This framework extracts depth features from a monocular camera’s image and improves the localization accuracy of the SLAM system through a real-time iterative process. Initially, SLAM can be used to calculate a rough camera pose for each keyframe. In the next step, each SLAM video sequence keyframe is registered to the BIM in real-time by aligning the keyframe’s perspective with the equivalent BIM view. The alignment method is based on perspective detection that estimates vanishing lines and points by detecting straight edges on images. This process will generate the associated BIM views from the keyframes' views. The calculated poses are later improved during a real-time gradient descent-based iteration method. Two case studies were presented to validate MB-SLAM. The validation process demonstrated promising results and accurately registered SLAM to BIM and significantly improved the SLAM’s localization accuracy. Besides, MB-SLAM achieved real-time performance in both indoor and outdoor environments. The proposed method can fully automate past studies and generate as-built models that are aligned with BIM. The main contribution of this study is a SLAM framework for both research and commercial usage, which aims to monitor construction progress and performance in a unified framework. Through this platform, users can improve the accuracy of the SLAM by providing a rough 3D model of the environment. MB-SLAM further boosts the application to practical usage of the SLAM.

Keywords: perspective alignment, progress monitoring, slam, stereo matching.

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Authors: Frank C. Amaechi, Adeyinka A. Aderinto, Usman A. Ojedokun, Oludayo Tade

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Illicit trading in new naira notes has become a common practice in most communities in Nigeria despite the Central Bank Act’s in 2007 proscription of all forms of naira abuse. This study investigated the socio-economic factors sustaining illicit trading in new naira notes in Ibadan metropolis. The study was exploratory and cross-sectional in design. Neutralization theory was adopted as theoretical framework. Data were generated through the combination of in-depth interview and key informant interview methods. The purposive sampling technique was utilised to select five illicit traders of new naira notes, 32 patrons of the trade and six bank officials. Findings revealed that illicit trading in Nigeria’s national currency is flourishing because of the frequent demand for new naira notes that are not readily available in Nigerian banks. Also, the norm of cash spraying at social events is sustaining the illicit markets for new naira notes in Ibadan metropolis. In addition, a chain of network, comprising three principal actors, is behind the illegal business. A strict enforcement of the law banning cash spraying is advocated as a means of arresting this phenomenon.

Keywords: illicit trading, naira notes, national currency, Nigeria

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Authors: Ässia Boukhatmi, Roger Nyffenegger

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The expansion of solar energy as a means to address the climate crisis is undisputed, but the increasing number of new photovoltaic (PV) modules being put on the market is simultaneously leading to increased challenges in terms of managing the growing waste stream. Many of the discarded modules are still fully functional but are often damaged by improper handling after disassembly or not properly tested to be considered for a second life. In addition, the collection rate for dismantled PV modules in several European countries is only a fraction of previous projections, partly due to the increased number of illegal exports. The underlying problem for those market imperfections is an insufficient data exchange between the different actors along the PV value chain, as well as the limited traceability of PV panels during their lifetime. As part of the Horizon 2020 project CIRCUSOL, an asset database prototype was developed to tackle the described problems. In an iterative process applying the design science research methodology, different business models, as well as the technical implementation of the database, were established and evaluated. To explore the requirements of different stakeholders for the development of the database, surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with various representatives of the solar industry. The proposed database prototype maps the entire value chain of PV modules, beginning with the digital product passport, which provides information about materials and components contained in every module. Product-related information can then be expanded with performance data of existing installations. This information forms the basis for the application of data analysis methods to forecast the appropriate end-of-life strategy, as well as the circular economy potential of PV modules, already before they arrive at the recycling facility. The database prototype could already be enriched with data from different data sources along the value chain. From a business model perspective, the database offers opportunities both in the area of reuse as well as with regard to the certification of sustainable modules. Here, participating actors have the opportunity to differentiate their business and exploit new revenue streams. Future research can apply this approach to further industry and product sectors, validate the database prototype in a practical context, and can serve as a basis for standardization efforts to strengthen the circular economy.

Keywords: business model, circular economy, database, design science research, solar industry

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Authors: Farah Kanani

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Blue Tide Environmental is a company focused on developing a network of used motor oil recycling facilities across the U.S. They initiated the redesign of its recycling plant in Texas, and aimed to establish an updated carbon footprint of re-refined used motor oils compared to an equivalent product derived from virgin stock that is not re-refined. The aim was to quantify emissions savings of a circular alternative to conventional end-of-life combustion of used motor oil (UMO). To do so, they mandated an ISO-compliant carbon footprint, utilizing complex models requiring geographical and temporal accuracy to accommodate the U.S. refinery market. The quantification of linear and circular flows, proxies for fuel substitution and system expansion for multi-product outputs were all critical methodological choices and were tested through sensitivity analyses. The re-refined system consisted of continuous recycling of UMO and thus, end-of-life is considered non-existent. The unique perspective to this topic will be from a life cycle i.e. holistic one and essentially demonstrate using this example of how a cradle-to-cradle model can be used to quantify a comparative carbon footprint. The intended audience is lubricant manufacturers as the consumers, motor oil industry professionals and other industry members interested in performing a cradle-to-cradle modeling.

Keywords: circularity, used motor oil, re-refining, systems expansion

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Authors: Peter J. H. Carnell, Panayiotis Theophanous

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Natural gas due to its cleaner combustion characteristics is expected to be the most widely used fuel in the move towards less polluting and renewable energy sources. Thus, the developed world is supplied by a complex network of gas pipelines and natural gas is becoming a major source of fuel. Natural gas delivered directly from the well will differ in composition from gas derived from LNG or produced by anaerobic digestion processes. Each will also have specific contaminants and properties although gas from all sources is likely to enter the distribution system and be blended to provide the desired characteristics such as Higher Heating Value and Wobbe No. The absence of a standard gas composition poses problems when the gas is used as a chemical feedstock, in specialised furnaces or on gas turbines. The chemical industry has suffered in the past as a result of variable gas composition. Transition metal catalysts used in ammonia, methanol and hydrogen plants were easily poisoned by sulphur, chlorides and mercury reducing both activity and catalyst expected lives from years to months. These plants now concentrate on purification and conditioning of the natural gas feed using fixed bed technologies, allowing them to run for several years and having transformed their operations. Similar technologies can be applied to the power industry reducing maintenance requirements and extending the operating life of gas turbines.

Keywords: gas composition, gas conditioning, gas turbines, power generation, purification

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Zareen Khan

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Islamic Banking has experienced high growth in Pakistan in recent years and has successfully survived the economic downturn of 2009-2011. Despite the increase in branch network and expansion of services, it is unclear if Islamic banks are truly following the theory and practical application of Shariah Law. This paper explores the theological basis of Islamic finance and examines the discrepancies between the theory and practice of Islamic banking using Pakistan as a case study. It discusses areas where Islamic banks lack proper Shariah compliance and analyzes the financial weaknesses of Islamic banks in terms of the services offered. Furthermore, the paper offers plausible explanations for the clientele of Islamic banks. The case study has three major findings. Firstly, most of the employees of Islamic banks come from conventional banking backgrounds and the banks have to invest in additional trainings to specialize employees in Islamic Banking. Secondly despite the efforts of State Bank of Pakistan, there is a lack of accounting and auditing standards tailored for Islamic Banking. Thirdly, majority of the clients of Islamic banks in Pakistan are accustomed to conventional banking causing the bankers to “speak the conventional banking language.” Combined, these three factors can create gaps in the practical application of Islamic finance in Islamic banks in Pakistan.

Keywords: islamic finance, comparing theory with practice, islamic banking, Pakistan

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Authors: Godwin A. Otogo, Sansanee Wangvoralak, Graham J. Pierce, Lee C. Hastie, Beth Scott

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The squid Loligo forbesii is suspected to be an important species in marine food webs, as it can strongly impact its prey and be impacted upon by predation, competition, fishing and/or climate variability. To quantify these impacts in the food web, the measurement of its trophic position and ecological role within well-studied ecosystems is essential. An Ecopath model was balanced and run for the Moray Firth ecosystem and was used to investigate the significance of this squid’s trophic roles. The network analysis routine included in Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) was used to estimate trophic interaction, system indicators (health condition and developmental stage) and food web features. Results indicated that within the Moray Firth squid occupy a top trophic position in the food web and also a major prey item for many other species. Results from Omnivory Index (OI) showed that squid is a generalized feeder transferring energy across wide trophic levels and is more important as a predator than that as a prey in the Moray Firth ecosystem. The results highlight the importance of taking squid into account in the management of Europe’s living marine resources.

Keywords: Squid, Loligo forbesii, Ecopath, Moray Firth, Trophic level

Procedia PDF Downloads 469

Authors: Zeinab Yazdanfar, Dilan Robert, Daniel Lester, S. Setunge

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Scour has been identified as the most common threat to bridge stability worldwide. Traditionally, scour around bridge piers is calculated using the empirical approaches that have considerable limitations and are difficult to generalize. The multi-physic nature of scouring which involves turbulent flow, soil mechanics and solid-fluid interactions cannot be captured by simple empirical equations developed based on limited laboratory data. These limitations can be overcome by direct numerical modeling of coupled hydro-mechanical scour process that provides a robust prediction of bridge scour and valuable insights into the scour process. Several numerical models have been proposed in the literature for bridge scour estimation including Eulerian flow models and coupled Euler-Lagrange models incorporating an empirical sediment transport description. However, the contact forces between particles and the flow-particle interaction haven’t been taken into consideration. Incorporating collisional and frictional forces between soil particles as well as the effect of flow-driven forces on particles will facilitate accurate modeling of the complex nature of scour. In this study, a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Model (CFD-DEM) has been developed to simulate the scour process that directly models the hydro-mechanical interactions between the sediment particles and the flowing water. This approach obviates the need for an empirical description as the fundamental fluid-particle, and particle-particle interactions are fully resolved. The sediment bed is simulated as a dense pack of particles and the frictional and collisional forces between particles are calculated, whilst the turbulent fluid flow is modeled using a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stocks (RANS) approach. The CFD-DEM model is validated against experimental data in order to assess the reliability of the CFD-DEM model. The modeling results reveal the criticality of particle impact on the assessment of scour depth which, to the authors’ best knowledge, hasn’t been considered in previous studies. The results of this study open new perspectives to the scour depth and time assessment which is the key to manage the failure risk of bridge infrastructures.

Keywords: bridge scour, discrete element method, CFD-DEM model, multi-phase model

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Authors: Younis Elhaddad, Alfonso Ortega

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Oil production by means of gas lift is a standard technique in oil production industry. To optimize the total amount of oil production in terms of the amount of gas injected is a key question in this domain. Different methods have been tested to propose a general methodology. Many of them apply well-known numerical methods. Some of them have taken into account the power of evolutionary approaches. Our goal is to provide the experts of the domain with a powerful automatic searching engine into which they can introduce their knowledge in a format close to the one used in their domain, and get solutions comprehensible in the same terms, as well. These proposals introduced in the genetic engine the most expressive formal models to represent the solutions to the problem. These algorithms have proven to be as effective as other genetic systems but more flexible and comfortable for the researcher although they usually require huge search spaces to justify their use due to the computational resources involved in the formal models. The first step to evaluate the viability of applying our approaches to this realm is to fully understand the domain and to select an instance of the problem (gas lift optimization) in which applying genetic approaches could seem promising. After analyzing the state of the art of this topic, we have decided to choose a previous work from the literature that faces the problem by means of numerical methods. This contribution includes details enough to be reproduced and complete data to be carefully analyzed. We have designed a classical, simple genetic algorithm just to try to get the same results and to understand the problem in depth. We could easily incorporate the well mathematical model, and the well data used by the authors and easily translate their mathematical model, to be numerically optimized, into a proper fitness function. We have analyzed the 100 curves they use in their experiment, similar results were observed, in addition, our system has automatically inferred an optimum total amount of injected gas for the field compatible with the addition of the optimum gas injected in each well by them. We have identified several constraints that could be interesting to incorporate to the optimization process but that could be difficult to numerically express. It could be interesting to automatically propose other mathematical models to fit both, individual well curves and also the behaviour of the complete field. All these facts and conclusions justify continuing exploring the viability of applying the approaches more sophisticated previously proposed by our research group.

Keywords: evolutionary automatic programming, gas lift, genetic algorithms, oil production

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Authors: Bahman Ghorashi

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The immense awareness of the global climate change has compelled traditional fossil fuel companies to develop strategies to reduce their carbon footprint and simultaneously consider the production of various sources of clean energy in order to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations. Similarly, supply chain issues, the scarcity of certain raw materials, energy costs as well as market needs, and changing consumer expectations have forced the traditional chemical industry to reexamine their time-honored modes of operation. This study examines how such transformative change might occur through the applications of agile principles as well as industry 4.0 technologies. Clearly, such a transformation is complex, costly, and requires a total commitment on the part of the top leadership and the entire management structure. Factors that need to be considered include organizational speed of change, a restructuring that would lend itself toward collaboration and the selling of solutions to customers’ problems, rather than just products, integrating ‘along’ as well as ‘across’ value chains, mastering change and uncertainty as well as a recognition of the importance of concept-to-cash time, i.e., the velocity of introducing new products to market, and the leveraging of people and information. At the same time, parallel to implementing such major shifts in the ethos, and the fabric of the organization, the change leaders should remain mindful of the companies’ DNA while incorporating the necessary DNA defying shifts. Furthermore, such strategic maneuvers should inevitably incorporate the managing of the upstream and downstream operations, harnessing future opportunities, preparing and training the workforce, implementing faster decision making and quick adaptation to change, managing accelerated response times, as well as forming autonomous and cross-functional teams. Moreover, the leaders should establish the balance between high-value solutions versus high-margin products, fully implement digitization of operations and, when appropriate, incorporate the latest relevant technologies, such as: AI, IIoT, ML, and immersive technologies. This study presents a summary of the agile principles and the relevant technologies and draws lessons from some of the best practices that are already implemented within the chemical industry in order to establish a roadmap to agility. Finally, the critical role of educational institutions in preparing the future workforce for Industry 4.0 is addressed.

Keywords: agile principles, immersive technologies, industry 4.0, workforce preparation

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Authors: Weirong Wang, Shenghong Huang, Xisheng Luo, Zhenyu Li

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Material mixing process and related dynamic issues at extreme compressing conditions have gained more and more concerns in last ten years because of the engineering appealings in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and hypervelocity aircraft developments. However, there lacks models and methods that can handle fully coupled turbulent material mixing and complex fluid evolution under conditions of high energy density regime up to now. In aspects of macro hydrodynamics, three numerical methods such as direct numerical simulation (DNS), large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) has obtained relative acceptable consensus under the conditions of low energy density regime. However, under the conditions of high energy density regime, they can not be applied directly due to occurrence of dissociation, ionization, dramatic change of equation of state, thermodynamic properties etc., which may make the governing equations invalid in some coupled situations. However, in view of micro/meso scale regime, the methods based on Molecular Dynamics (MD) as well as Monte Carlo (MC) model are proved to be promising and effective ways to investigate such issues. In this study, both classical MD and first-principle based electron force field MD (eFF-MD) methods are applied to investigate Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability of metal Lithium and gas Hydrogen (Li-H2) interface mixing at different shock loading speed ranging from 3 km/s to 30 km/s. It is found that: 1) Classical MD method based on predefined potential functions has some limits in application to extreme conditions, since it cannot simulate the ionization process and its potential functions are not suitable to all conditions, while the eFF-MD method can correctly simulate the ionization process due to its ‘ab initio’ feature; 2) Due to computational cost, the eFF-MD results are also influenced by simulation domain dimensions, boundary conditions and relaxation time choices, etc., in computations. Series of tests have been conducted to determine the optimized parameters. 3) Ionization induced by strong shock compression has important effects on Li-H2 interface evolutions of RMI, indicating a new micromechanism of RMI under conditions of high energy density regime.

Keywords: first-principle, ionization, molecular dynamics, material mixture, Richtmyer-Meshkov instability

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Authors: Bismina Akbar, Smitha M. V.

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Flooding is a global phenomenon that causes widespread devastation, economic damage, and loss of human lives. In the past twenty years, the number of reported flood events has increased significantly. Millions of people around the globe are at risk of flooding from coastal, dam breaks, groundwater, and urban surface water and wastewater sources. Climate change is one of the important causes for them since it affects, directly and indirectly, the river network. Although the contribution of climate change is undeniable, human contributions are there to increase the frequency of floods. There are different types of floods, such as Flash floods, Coastal floods, Urban floods, River (or fluvial) floods, and Ponding (or pluvial flooding). This study focuses on formulating mitigation strategies for urban flood risk reduction through analysis of different best practice case studies, including China, Japan, Indonesia, and Brazil. The mitigation measures suggest that apart from the structural and non-structural measures, environmental considerations like blue-green solutions are beneficial for flood risk reduction. And also, Risk-Informed Master plans are essential nowadays to take risk-based decision processes that enable more sustainability and resilience.

Keywords: hazard, mitigation, risk reduction, urban flood

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Authors: Raymond Treacy, Paul Humphreys, Ronan McIvor, Trevor Cadden, Alan McKittrick

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This study employed event study methodology to examine the role of institutions, resources and dynamic capabilities in the relationship between the Environmental Management System ISO 14001 adoption and firm performance. Utilising financial data from 140 ISO 14001 certified firms and 320 non-certified firms, the results of the study suggested that the UK and Irish manufacturers were not implementing ISO 14001 solely to gain legitimacy. In contrast, the results demonstrated that firms were fully integrating the ISO 14001 standard within their operations as certified firms were able to improve both financial and operating performance when compared to non-certified firms. However, while there were significant and long lasting improvements for employee productivity, manufacturing cost efficiency, return on assets and sales turnover, the sample firms operating cycle and fixed asset efficiency displayed evidence of diminishing returns in the long-run, underlying the observation that no operating advantage based on incremental improvements can be everlasting. Hence, there is an argument for investing in dynamic capabilities which help renew and refresh the resource base and help the firm adapt to changing environments. Indeed, the results of the regression analysis suggest that dynamic capabilities for innovation acted as a moderator in the relationship between ISO 14001 certification and firm performance. This, in turn, will have a significant and symbiotic influence on sustainability practices within the participating organisations. The study not only provides new and original insights, but demonstrates pragmatically how firms can take advantage of environmental management systems as a moderator to significantly enhance firm performance. However, while it was shown that firm innovation aided both short term and long term ROA performance, adaptive market capabilities only aided firms in the short-term at the marketing strategy deployment stage. Finally, the results have important implications for firms operating in an economic recession as the results suggest that firms should scale back investment in R&D while operating in an economic downturn. Conversely, under normal trading conditions, consistent and long term investments in R&D was found to moderate the relationship between ISO 14001 certification and firm performance. Hence, the results of the study have important implications for academics and management alike.

Keywords: supply chain management, environmental management systems, quality management, sustainability, firm performance

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Authors: Tomilola J. Ajayi

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A category of nanovalves system containing the α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) ring on a stalk tethered to the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) is theoretically and computationally modelled. This functions to control opening and blocking of the MSN pores for efficient targeted drug release system. Modeling of the nanovalves is based on the interaction between α-CD and the stalk (p-anisidine) in relation to pH variation. Conformational analysis was carried out prior to the formation of the inclusion complex, to find the global minimum of both neutral and protonated stalk. B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) basis set was employed to attain all theoretically possible conformers of the stalk. Six conformers were taken into considerations, and the dihedral angle (θ) around the reference atom (N17) of the p-anisidine stalk was scanned from 0° to 360° at 5° intervals. The most stable conformer was obtained at a dihedral angle of 85.3° and was fully optimized at B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) level of theory. The most stable conformer obtained from conformational analysis was used as the starting structure to create the inclusion complexes. 9 complexes were formed by moving the neutral guest into the α-CD cavity along the Z-axis in 1 Å stepwise while keeping the distance between dummy atom and OMe oxygen atom on the stalk restricted. The dummy atom and the carbon atoms on α-CD structure were equally restricted for orientation A (see Scheme 1). The generated structures at each step were optimized with B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) methods to determine their energy minima. Protonation of the nitrogen atom on the stalk occurs at acidic pH, leading to unsatisfactory host-guest interaction in the nanogate; hence there is dethreading. High required interaction energy and conformational change are theoretically established to drive the release of α-CD at a certain pH. The release was found to occur between pH 5-7 which agreed with reported experimental results. In this study, we applied the theoretical model for the prediction of the experimentally observed pH-responsive nanovalves which enables blocking, and opening of mesoporous silica nanoparticles pores for targeted drug release system. Our results show that two major factors are responsible for the cargo release at acidic pH. The higher interaction energy needed for the complex/nanovalve formation to exist after protonation as well as conformational change upon protonation are driving the release due to slight pH change from 5 to 7.

Keywords: nanovalves, nanogate, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, cargo

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Authors: Jessica Ding

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The field of global health is currently advocating for a resurgence in the use of traditional medicines to improve people-centered care. Healthcare policies are rapidly changing in response; in China, the increasing presence of TCM in the same spaces as biomedicine has led to a new term: integrative medicine. However, the existence of TCM as a part of integrative medicine creates a pressing paradoxical tension where TCM is both seen as a marginalized system within ‘modern’ hospitals and as a modality worth integrating. Additionally, the impact of such shifts has not been fully explored: the World Health Organization for one focuses only on three angles —practices, products, and practitioners— with regards to traditional medicines. Through ten weeks of fieldwork conducted at an urban hospital in Shanghai, China, this research expands the perspective of existing strategies by looking at integrative care through a fourth lens: patients and families. The understanding of self-care, health-seeking behavior, and non-professional caregiving structures are critical to grasping the significance of traditional medicine for people-centered care. Indeed, those individual and informal health care expectations align with the very spaces and needs that traditional medicine has filled before such ideas of integration. It specifically looks at this issue via three processes that operationalize experiences of care: (1) how aspects of TCM are valued within integrative medicine, (2) how negotiations of care occur between patients and doctors, and (3) how 'good quality' caregiving presents in integrative clinical spaces. This research hopes to lend insight into how culturally embedded traditions, bureaucratic and institutional rationalities, and social patterns of health-seeking behavior influence care to shape illness experiences at the intersection of two medical modalities. This analysis of patients’ clinical and illness experiences serves to enrich the narratives of integrative medical care’s ability to provide patient-centered care to determine how international policies are realized at the individual level. This anthropological study of the integration of Traditional Chinese medicine in local contexts can reveal the extent to which global strategies, as promoted by the WHO and the Chinese government actually align with the expectations and perspectives of patients receiving care. Ultimately, this ethnographic analysis of a local Chinese context hopes to inform global policies regarding the future use and integration of traditional medicines.

Keywords: emergent systems, global health, integrative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, TCM

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Authors: Said Benkaciali, Mourad Haddadi, Abdallah Khellaf, Kacem Gairaa, Mawloud Guermoui

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In this study, many experiments were carried out to assess the influence of the input parameters on the performance of multilayer perceptron which is one the configuration of the artificial neural networks. To estimate the daily global solar radiation on the horizontal surface, we have developed some models by using seven combinations of twelve meteorological and geographical input parameters collected from a radiometric station installed at Ghardaïa city (southern of Algeria). For selecting of best combination which provides a good accuracy, six statistical formulas (or statistical indicators) have been evaluated, such as the root mean square errors, mean absolute errors, correlation coefficient, and determination coefficient. We noted that multilayer perceptron techniques have the best performance, except when the sunshine duration parameter is not included in the input variables. The maximum of determination coefficient and correlation coefficient are equal to 98.20 and 99.11%. On the other hand, some empirical models were developed to compare their performances with those of multilayer perceptron neural networks. Results obtained show that the neural networks techniques give the best performance compared to the empirical models.

Keywords: empirical models, multilayer perceptron neural network, solar radiation, statistical formulas

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Authors: P. Abhishesh, B. S. Ryuh, Y. S. Oh, H. J. Moon, R. Akanksha

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This paper discusses about the conceptual design and development of the control system software using Programmable logic controller (PLC) for autonomous driving and agricultural operations of Multipurpose Agricultural Robot Platform (MARP). Based on given initial conditions by field analysis and desired agricultural operations, the structural design development of MARP is done using modelling and analysis tool. PLC, being robust and easy to use, has been used to design the autonomous control system of robot platform for desired parameters. The robot is capable of performing autonomous driving and three automatic agricultural operations, viz. hilling, mulching, and sowing of seeds in the respective order. The input received from various sensors on the field is later transmitted to the controller via ZigBee network to make the changes in the control program to get desired field output. The research is conducted to provide assistance to farmers by reducing labor hours for agricultural activities by implementing automation. This study will provide an alternative to the existing systems with machineries attached behind tractors and rigorous manual operations on agricultural field at effective cost.

Keywords: agricultural operations, autonomous driving, MARP, PLC

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Authors: Swati Kishor Zode, Rahul Ambekar

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Data mining is the extraction of fascinating examples on the other hand information from enormous measure of information and choice is made as indicated by the applicable information extracted. As of late, with the dangerous advancement in internet, stockpiling of information and handling procedures, privacy preservation has been one of the major (higher) concerns in data mining. Various techniques and methods have been produced for protection saving data mining. In the situation of Clinical Decision Support System, the choice is to be made on the premise of the data separated from the remote servers by means of Internet to diagnose the patient. In this paper, the fundamental thought is to build the precision of Decision Support System for multiple diseases for different maladies and in addition protect persistent information while correspondence between Clinician side (Client side) also, the Server side. A privacy preserving protocol for clinical decision support network is proposed so that patients information dependably stay scrambled amid diagnose prepare by looking after the accuracy. To enhance the precision of Decision Support System for various malady C5.0 classifiers and to save security, a Homomorphism encryption algorithm Paillier cryptosystem is being utilized.

Keywords: classification, homomorphic encryption, clinical decision support, privacy

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Authors: Yuya Tanigami, Naoaki Yamanaka, Satoru Okamoto

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Economic losses due to delays in traffic congestion regarding urban transportation networks have become a more serious social problem as traffic volume increases. Platooning has recently been attracting attention from many researchers to alleviate traffic jams, especially on the highway. On highways, platooning can have positive effects, such as reducing inter-vehicular distance and reducing air resistance. However, the impacts of platooning on urban roads have not been addressed in detail since traffic lights may break the platoons. In this study, we propose a platooning method using L2 norm and cosine similarity to form a platoon with highly similar routes. Also, we investigate the sorting method within a platoon according to each vehicle’s straightness. Our proposed sorting platoon method, which uses two lanes, eliminates Head of Line Blocking at the intersection and improves throughput at intersections. This paper proposes a cyber-physical system (CPS) approach to collaborative urban platoon control. We conduct simulations using the traffic simulator SUMO and the road network, which imitates Manhattan Island. Results from the SUMO confirmed that our method shortens the average travel time by 10-20%. This paper shows the validity of forming a platoon based on destination vectors and sorting vehicles within a platoon.

Keywords: CPS, platooning, connected car, vector correlation

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Authors: Sidi Mohamed Mesli, Mohamed Habchi, Mohamed Kotbi, Rafik Benallal, Abdelali Derouiche

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Fluoride glasses with a nominal composition of BaMnMF7 (M = FeV assuming isomorphous replacement) have been structurally modelled through the simultaneous simulation of their neutron diffraction patterns by a reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) model and by a Rietveld for disordered materials (RDM) method. Model is consistent with an expected network of interconnected [MF6] polyhedra. The RMC results are accompanied by artificial satellite peaks. To remedy this problem, we use an extension of the RMC algorithm, which introduces an energy penalty term in acceptance criteria. This method is called the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC) method. The idea of this paper is to apply the (HRMC) method to the title glasses, in order to make a study of the phenomenon nature of order and disorder by displaying and discussing the partial pair distribution functions (PDFs) g(r). We suggest that this method can be used to describe average correlations between components of fluoride glass or similar system.

Keywords: fluoride glasses, RMC simulation, neutron scattering, hybrid RMC simulation, Lennard-Jones potential, partial pair distribution functions

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Authors: Prakash Thapa, Gye Choon Park, Sung Gi Kwon, Jin Lee

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The generation of electric power from a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is influenced by temperature, pressure, humidity, flow rate of reactant gaseous and partial flooding of membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Among these factors, temperature and cathode flooding are the most affecting parameters on the performance of fuel cell. This paper describes the detail design and effect of these parameters on PEM fuel cell. Performance of all parameters was monitored, analyzed and controlled by using 5KWatt PEM fuel cell. In the real-time data communication for remote monitoring and control of PEM fuel cell, a normalized least mean square algorithm in cognitive radio environment is used. By the use of this method, probability of energy signal detection will be maximum which solved the frequency shortage problem. So the monitoring system hanging out and slow speed problem will be solved. Also from the control unit, all parameters are controlled as per the system requirement. As a result, PEM fuel cell generates maximum electricity with better performance.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, pressure, temperature and humidity sensor (PTH), efficiency curve, cognitive radio network (CRN)

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Authors: Sultan Çağırıcı, Arsida Bajrami, Beyza Aslan, Hacı Ali Erdoğan, Nejla Sözer Topçular, Dilek Bozkurt, Vildan Yayla

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Objective: Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is phenotypically characterized by asymmetric rigidity, apraxia, alien-limb phenomenon, cortical sensory loss, dystonia and myoclonus. The underlying pathologies consists of corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supra nuclear palsy, Alzheimer's, Creutzfeldt-Jakob and frontotemporal degeneration. CBD is a degenerative disease with clinical symptoms related to the prominent involvement of cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. CBD is a pathological diagnosis and antemortem clinical diagnosis may change many times. In this paper, we described the clinical features and discussed a cases diagnosed with symmetric CBS because of its rarity. Case: Seventy-five-year-old woman presented with a three years history of difficulty in speaking and reading. Involuntary hand jerks and slowness of movement also had began in the last six months. In the neurological examination the patient was alert but not fully oriented. The speech was non-fluent, word finding difficulties were present. Bilateral limited upgaze, bradimimia, bilateral positive cogwheel' rigidity but prominent in the right side, postural tremor and negative myoclonus during action on the left side were detected. Receptive language was normal but expressive language and repetition were impaired. Acalculia, alexia, agraphia and apraxia were also present. CSF findings were unremarkable except for elevated protein level (75 mg/dL). MRI revealed bilateral symmetric cortical atrophy prominent in the frontoparietal region. PET showed hypometabolism in the left caudate nucleus. Conclusion: The increase of data related to neurodegenerative disorders associated with dementia, movement disorders and other findings results in an expanded range of diagnosis and transitions between clinical diagnosis. When considered the age of onset, clinical symptoms, imaging findings and prognosis of this patient, clinical diagnosis was CBS and pathologic diagnosis as probable CBD. Imaging of CBD usually consist of typical asymmetry between hemispheres. Still few cases with clinical appearance of CBD may show symmetrical cortical cerebral atrophy. It is presented this case who was diagnosed with CBD although we found symmetrical cortical cerebral atrophy in MRI.

Keywords: symmetric cortical atrophy, corticobasal degeneration, corticobasal syndrome

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Authors: Mohammad Obeidat, Ayman Mansour

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In this paper a unique issue rising from feedback control of Atrial Fibrillation monitoring system with embedded communication channels has been investigated. One of the important factors to measure the performance of the feedback control closed loop system is disturbance and noise attenuation factor. It is important that the feedback system can attenuate such disturbances on the atrial fibrillation heart rate signals. Communication channels depend on network traffic conditions and deliver different throughput, implying that the sampling intervals may change. Since signal estimation is updated on the arrival of new data, its dynamics actually change with the sampling interval. Consequently, interaction among sampling, signal estimation, and the controller will introduce new issues in remotely controlled Atrial Fibrillation system. This paper treats a remotely controlled atrial fibrillation system with one communication channel which connects between the heart rate and rhythm measurements to the remote controller. Typical and optimal signal estimation schemes is represented by a signal averaging filter with its time constant derived from the step size of the signal estimation algorithm.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, communication channels, closed loop, estimation

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Authors: Lakrim Abderrazak, Tahri Driss

Abstract:

This paper presents a new behavioural electrothermal model of power Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET under SPICE. This model is based on the MOS model level 1 of SPICE, in which phenomena such as Drain Leakage Current IDSS, On-State Resistance RDSon, gate Threshold voltage VGSth, the transconductance (gfs), I-V Characteristics Body diode, temperature-dependent and self-heating are included and represented using behavioural blocks ABM (Analog Behavioural Models) of Spice library. This ultimately makes this model flexible and easily can be integrated into the various Spice -based simulation softwares. The internal junction temperature of the component is calculated on the basis of the thermal model through the electric power dissipated inside and its thermal impedance in the form of the localized Foster canonical network. The model parameters are extracted from manufacturers' data (curves data sheets) using polynomial interpolation with the method of simulated annealing (S A) and weighted least squares (WLS). This model takes into account the various important phenomena within transistor. The effectiveness of the presented model has been verified by Spice simulation results and as well as by data measurement for SiC MOS transistor C2M0025120D CREE (1200V, 90A).

Keywords: SiC power MOSFET, DC electro-thermal model, ABM Spice library, SPICE modelling, behavioural model, C2M0025120D CREE.

Procedia PDF Downloads 567