Search results for: dielectric dissipation factor
5427 Morphometric Relationships of Length-Weight and Length-Length of Oreochromis aureus in Relation to Body Size and Condition Factor from Pakistan
Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Abdus Salam, Sumera Yasmin, Abir Ishtiaq
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In the present study, eighty-three wild Oreochromis aureus of different body size ranging 5.3-14.6 cm in total length were collected from the River Chenab, District Muzzafer Garh, Pakistan to investigate the parameters of length –weight, length-length relationships and condition factor in relation to size. Each fish was measured and weighed on arrival at laboratory. Log transformed regressions were used to test the allometric growth. Length-weight relationship was found highly significant (r = 0.964; P < 0.01). The values of exponent “ b” in Length–weight regression (W=aL^b), deviated from 3, showing isometric growth (b = 2.75). Results for LLRs indicated that these are highly correlated (P < 0.001). Condition factor (K) found constant with increasing body weight, however, showed negative influence with increasing total length.Keywords: lenght-weight, Oreochromis aureus, morphometric study
Procedia PDF Downloads 4395426 A Study on an Evacuation Test to Measure Delay Time in Using an Evacuation Elevator
Authors: Kyungsuk Cho, Seungun Chae, Jihun Choi
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Elevators are examined as one of evacuation methods in super-tall buildings. However, data on the use of elevators for evacuation at a fire are extremely scarce. Therefore, a test to measure delay time in using an evacuation elevator was conducted. In the test, time taken to get on and get off an elevator was measured and the case in which people gave up boarding when the capacity of the elevator was exceeded was also taken into consideration. 170 men and women participated in the test, 130 of whom were young people (20 ~ 50 years old) and 40 were senior citizens (over 60 years old). The capacity of the elevator was 25 people and it travelled between the 2nd and 4th floors. A video recording device was used to analyze the test. An elevator at an ordinary building, not a super-tall building, was used in the test to measure delay time in getting on and getting off an elevator. In order to minimize interference from other elements, elevator platforms on the 2nd and 4th floors were partitioned off. The elevator travelled between the 2nd and 4th floors where people got on and off. If less than 20 people got on the elevator which was empty, the data were excluded. If the elevator carrying 10 passengers stopped and less than 10 new passengers got on the elevator, the data were excluded. Getting-on an empty elevator was observed 49 times. The average number of passengers was 23.7, it took 14.98 seconds for the passengers to get on the empty elevator and the load factor was 1.67 N/s. It took the passengers, whose average number was 23.7, 10.84 seconds to get off the elevator and the unload factor was 2.33 N/s. When an elevator’s capacity is exceeded, the excessive number of people should get off. Time taken for it and the probability of the case were measure in the test. 37% of the times of boarding experienced excessive number of people. As the number of people who gave up boarding increased, the load factor of the ride decreased. When 1 person gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.55 N/s. The case was observed 10 times, which was 12.7% of the total. When 2 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.15 N/s. The case was observed 7 times, which was 8.9% of the total. When 3 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.26 N/s. The case was observed 4 times, which was 5.1% of the total. When 4 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.03 N/s. The case was observed 5 times, which was 6.3% of the total. Getting-on and getting-off time data for people who can walk freely were obtained from the test. In addition, quantitative results were obtained from the relation between the number of people giving up boarding and time taken for getting on. This work was supported by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) grant by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. CRC-16-02-KICT).Keywords: evacuation elevator, super tall buildings, evacuees, delay time
Procedia PDF Downloads 1775425 Altered Lower Extremity Biomechanical Risk Factor Related to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Athlete with Functional Ankle Instability
Authors: Mohammad Karimizadehardakani, Hooman Minoonejad, Reza Rajabi, Ali Sharifnejad
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Background: Ankle sprain is one of the most important risk factor of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Also, functional ankle instability (FAI) population has alterations in lower extremity sagittal plane biomechanics during landing task. We want to examine whether biomechanical alterations demonstrated by FAI patients are associated with the mechanism of ACL injury during high risk and sport related tasks. Methods: Sixteen basketball player with FAI and 16 non-injured control performed a single-leg cross drop landing. Knee sagittal and frontal (ATSF) was calculated. Independent t-tests, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation were used for analysis data. Result: Subject with FAI showed more peak ATFS, posterior ground reaction force (GRF) and less knee flexion, compared to the controls (P= 0.001, P= 0.004, P= 0.011). Knee flexion (r= −0.824, P = 0.011) and posterior GRF (r= 0.901, P = .001) were correlated with ATSF; Posterior GRF was factor that most explained the variance in ATSF (R2= 0.645; P = .001) in the FAI group. Conclusions: Result of our study showed there is a potential biomechanical relationship between the presence of FAI and risk factors associated with ACL injury mechanism.Keywords: functional ankle instability, anterior cruciate ligament, biomechanics, risk factor
Procedia PDF Downloads 2225424 A One Dimensional Particle in Cell Model for Excimer Lamps
Authors: W. Benstaali, A. Belasri
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In this work we study a planar lamp filled with neon-xenon gas. We use a one-dimensional particle in a cell with Monte Carlo simulation (PIC-MCC) to investigate the effect xenon concentration on the energy deposited on excitation, ionization and ions. A Xe-Ne discharge is studied for a gas pressure of 400 torr. The results show an efficient Xe20-Ne mixture with an applied voltage of 1.2KV; the xenon excitation energy represents 65% form total energy dissipated in the discharge. We have also studied electrical properties and the energy balance a discharge for Xe50-Ne which needs a voltage of 2kv; the xenon energy is than more important.Keywords: dielectric barrier discharge, efficiency, excitation, lamps
Procedia PDF Downloads 1645423 Psychopathic Disorders and Judges Sentencing: Can Neurosciences Change this Aggravating Factor in a Mitigating Factor?
Authors: Kevin Moustapha
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Psychopathy is perceived today as being «the most important concept in the criminal justice system» and as «the most important legal notion of the early 21 th century». The explosion of research related to psychopathy seems to perfectly illustrate this trend. Traditionally, many studies tend to focus on links between insanity defense and psychopathy. That is why our purpose in this article is to analyze psychopathic disorders in the scope of judges sentencing in Canada. Indeed, in every Canadian case related to dangerous offenders, judges must balance between fairness and protection of the individuals rights of the accused and protection of society from dangerous predators who may commit future acts of physical or sexual violence. Increasingly, psychopathic disorders are taking an important part in judge sentencing, especially in Canada. This phenomenon can be illustrated by the high proportion of psychopath offenders incarcerated in North American prisons. Many decisions in Canadians courtrooms seem to point out that psychopathy is often used as a strong argument by the judges to preserve public safety. The fact that psychopathy is often associated with violence, recklessness and recidivism, it could explain why many judges consider psychopathic disorders as an aggravating factor. Generally, the judge reasoning is based on article 753 of Canadian Criminal Code related to dangerous offenders, which is used for individuals who show a pattern of repetitive and persistent aggressive behaviour. However, with cognitive neurosciences, the psychopath’s situation in courtrooms would probably change. Cerebral imaging and news data provided by the neurosciences show that emotional and volitional functions in psychopath’s brains are impaired. Understanding these new issues could enable some judges to recognize psychopathic disorders as a mitigating factor. Two important questions ought to be raised in this article: can exploring psychopaths ‘brains really change the judge sentencing in Canadian courtrooms? If yes, can judges consider psychopathy more as a mitigating factor than an aggravating factor?Keywords: criminal law, judges sentencing, neurosciences, psychopathy
Procedia PDF Downloads 9255422 Meteorological Risk Assessment for Ships with Fuzzy Logic Designer
Authors: Ismail Karaca, Ridvan Saracoglu, Omer Soner
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Fuzzy Logic, an advanced method to support decision-making, is used by various scientists in many disciplines. Fuzzy programming is a product of fuzzy logic, fuzzy rules, and implication. In marine science, fuzzy programming for ships is dramatically increasing together with autonomous ship studies. In this paper, a program to support the decision-making process for ship navigation has been designed. The program is produced in fuzzy logic and rules, by taking the marine accidents and expert opinions into account. After the program was designed, the program was tested by 46 ship accidents reported by the Transportation Safety Investigation Center of Turkey. Wind speed, sea condition, visibility, day/night ratio have been used as input data. They have been converted into a risk factor within the Fuzzy Logic Designer application and fuzzy rules set by marine experts. Finally, the expert's meteorological risk factor for each accident is compared with the program's risk factor, and the error rate was calculated. The main objective of this study is to improve the navigational safety of ships, by using the advance decision support model. According to the study result, fuzzy programming is a robust model that supports safe navigation.Keywords: calculation of risk factor, fuzzy logic, fuzzy programming for ship, safety navigation of ships
Procedia PDF Downloads 1895421 English Language Teachers' Personal Motivation Influences Their Professional Motivation
Authors: Gulderen Saglam
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This study explores the elements of personal motivation which influence professional motivation of in-service English language teachers in Bursa in Turkey. Fifty English language teachers participated in a seminar held on ‘teachers’ motivation’ for the length of six hours in two days, which were organized by the local Ministry of Education. During the seminar, teachers firstly aimed to share cornerstones of their professional motivation. Later, those teachers stated the significance of their personal motivation. Two months’ later, those teachers were given the questionnaire including both closed and open-ended questions involving those two types of motivational acts of teachers. Questionnaire items were tested by Crombah’s Alfa Reliability Statistics. Responses to the questionnaire were analyzed by factor analysis and test of normality. The results were also tested by non-parametric and parametric tests. As a result, it was found that language teachers who were personally motivated reported higher professional motivation of theirs in teaching profession in-service.Keywords: influencing factor, in-service-teachers, personal motivation, professional motivation, in-service-teachers, influencing factor
Procedia PDF Downloads 2885420 Application of Multivariate Statistics and Hydro-Chemical Approach for Groundwater Quality Assessment: A Study on Birbhum District, West Bengal, India
Authors: N. C. Ghosh, Niladri Das, Prolay Mondal, Ranajit Ghosh
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Groundwater quality deterioration due to human activities has become a prime factor of modern life. The major concern of the study is to access spatial variation of groundwater quality and to identify the sources of groundwater chemicals and its impact on human health of the concerned area. Multivariate statistical techniques, cluster, principal component analysis, and hydrochemical fancies are been applied to measure groundwater quality data on 14 parameters from 107 sites distributed randomly throughout the Birbhum district. Five factors have been extracted using Varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization. The first factor explains 27.61% of the total variance where high positive loading have been concentrated in TH, Ca, Mg, Cl and F (Fluoride). In the studied region, due to the presence of basaltic Rajmahal trap fluoride contamination is highly concentrated and that has an adverse impact on human health such as fluorosis. The second factor explains 24.41% of the total variance which includes Na, HCO₃, EC, and SO₄. The last factor or the fifth factor explains 8.85% of the total variance, and it includes pH which maintains the acidic and alkaline character of the groundwater. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) grouped the 107 sampling station into two clusters. One cluster having high pollution and another cluster having less pollution. Moreover hydromorphological facies viz. Wilcox diagram, Doneen’s chart, and USSL diagram reveal the quality of the groundwater like the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation or water used for drinking purpose like permeability index of the groundwater, quality assessment of groundwater for irrigation. Gibb’s diagram depicts that the major portion of the groundwater of this region is rock dominated origin, as the western part of the region characterized by the Jharkhand plateau fringe comprises basalt, gneiss, granite rocks.Keywords: correlation, factor analysis, hydrological facies, hydrochemistry
Procedia PDF Downloads 2135419 Synthesis, Growth, Characterization and Quantum Chemical Investigations of an Organic Single Crystal: 2-Amino- 4-Methylpyridinium Quinoline- 2-Carboxylate
Authors: Anitha Kandasamy, Thirumurugan Ramaiah
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Interestingly, organic materials exhibit large optical nonlinearity with quick responses and having the flexibility of molecular tailoring using computational modelling and favourable synthetic methodologies. Pyridine based organic compounds and carboxylic acid contained aromatic compounds play a crucial role in crystal engineering of NCS complexes that displays admirable optical nonlinearity with fast response and favourable physicochemical properties such as low dielectric constant, wide optical transparency and large laser damage threshold value requires for optoelectronics device applications. Based on these facts, it was projected to form an acentric molecule of π-conjugated system interaction with appropriately replaced electron donor and acceptor groups for achieving higher SHG activity in which quinoline-2-carboyxlic acid is chosen as an electron acceptor and capable of acting as an acid as well as a base molecule, while 2-amino-4-methylpyridine is used as an electron donor and previously employed in numerous proton transfer complexes for synthesis of NLO materials for optoelectronic applications. 2-amino-4-mehtylpyridinium quinoline-2-carboxylate molecular complex (2AQ) is having π-donor-acceptor groups in which 2-amino-4-methylpyridine donates one of its electron to quinoline -2-carboxylic acid thereby forming a protonated 2-amino-4-methyl pyridinium moiety and mono ionized quinoline-2-carboxylate moiety which are connected via N-H…O intermolecular interactions with non-centrosymmetric crystal packing arrangement at microscopic scale is accountable to the enhancement of macroscopic second order NLO activity. The 2AQ crystal was successfully grown by a slow evaporation solution growth technique and its structure was determined in orthorhombic crystal system with acentric, P212121, space group. Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals that O…H intermolecular interactions primarily contributed with 31.0 % to the structural stabilization of 2AQ. The molecular structure of title compound has been confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectral studies. The vibrational modes of functional groups present in 2AQ have been assigned by using FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The grown 2AQ crystal exhibits high optical transparency with lower cut-off wavelength (275 nm) within the region of 275-1500 nm. The laser study confirmed that 2AQ exhibits high SHG efficiency of 12.6 times greater than that of KDP. TGA-DTA analysis revealed that 2AQ crystal had a thermal stability of 223 °C. The low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss at higher frequencies confirmed good crystalline nature with fewer defects of grown 2AQ crystal. The grown crystal exhibits soft material and positive photoconduction behaviour. Mulliken atomic distribution and FMOs analysis suggested that the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding which lead to the enhancement of NLO activity. These properties suggest that 2AQ crystal is a suitable material for optoelectronic and laser frequency conversion applications.Keywords: crystal growth, NLO activity, proton transfer complex, quantum chemical investigation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1225418 Study of Motion of Impurity Ions in Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) from View Point of Microstructure of Polymer Solid
Authors: Yuichi Anada
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Electrical properties of polymer solid is characterized by dielectric relaxation phenomenon. Complex permittivity shows a high dependence on frequency of external stimulation in the broad frequency range from 0.1mHz to 10GHz. The complex-permittivity dispersion gives us a lot of useful information about the molecular motion of polymers and the structure of polymer aggregates. However, the large dispersion of permittivity at low frequencies due to DC conduction of impurity ions often covers the dielectric relaxation in polymer solid. In experimental investigation, many researchers have tried to remove the DC conduction experimentally or analytically for a long time. On the other hand, our laboratory chose another way of research for this problem from the point of view of a reversal in thinking. The way of our research is to use the impurity ions in the DC conduction as a probe to detect the motion of polymer molecules and to investigate the structure of polymer aggregates. In addition to the complex permittivity, the electric modulus and the conductivity relaxation time are strong tools for investigating the ionic motion in DC conduction. In a non-crystalline part of melt-crystallized polymers, free spaces with inhomogeneous size exist between crystallites. As the impurity ions exist in the non-crystalline part and move through these inhomogeneous free spaces, the motion of ions reflects the microstructure of non-crystalline part. The ionic motion of impurity ions in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is investigated in this study. Frequency dependence of the loss permittivity of PVDF shows a characteristic of the direct current (DC) conduction below 1 kHz of frequency at 435 K. The electric modulus-frequency curve shows a characteristic of the dispersion with the single conductivity relaxation time. Namely, it is the Debye-type dispersion. The conductivity relaxation time analyzed from this curve is 0.00003 s at 435 K. From the plot of conductivity relaxation time of PVDF together with the other polymers against permittivity, it was found that there are two group of polymers; one of the group is characterized by small conductivity relaxation time and large permittivity, and another is characterized by large conductivity relaxation time and small permittivity.Keywords: conductivity relaxation time, electric modulus, ionic motion, permittivity, poly(vinylidene fluoride), DC conduction
Procedia PDF Downloads 1705417 Inverse Scattering of Two-Dimensional Objects Using an Enhancement Method
Authors: A.R. Eskandari, M.R. Eskandari
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A 2D complete identification algorithm for dielectric and multiple objects immersed in air is presented. The employed technique consists of initially retrieving the shape and position of the scattering object using a linear sampling method and then determining the electric permittivity and conductivity of the scatterer using adjoint sensitivity analysis. This inversion algorithm results in high computational speed and efficiency, and it can be generalized for any scatterer structure. Also, this method is robust with respect to noise. The numerical results clearly show that this hybrid approach provides accurate reconstructions of various objects.Keywords: inverse scattering, microwave imaging, two-dimensional objects, Linear Sampling Method (LSM)
Procedia PDF Downloads 3875416 Influence of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Yields and Grain Quality of Winter Wheat under Different Environmental Conditions
Authors: Alicja Sułek, Grażyna Cacak-Pietrzak, Marta Wyzińska, Anna Nieróbca
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In 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a field experiment was conducted in two locations: Osiny and Wielichowo (Poland). The two-factor experiment was based on the method of randomized subblocks, in three replications. The first factor (A) was dose of nitrogen fertilization (two levels). The second factor (B) was nine winter wheat cultivars. It was found that winter wheat cultivars exhibited different reactions to higher nitrogen fertilization depending on the years and localities. Only KWS Dacanto cultivar under all growing conditions showed a significant increase in grain yield after the application of a higher level of nitrogen fertilization. The increase in nitrogen fertilization influenced the increase in gluten proteins content in wheat grain, but these changes were statistically significant only in the first year of the study. The quality of gluten does not depend on nitrogen fertilization. The quality of wheat grain depends on cultivars.Keywords: fertilization, grain quality, winter wheat, yield
Procedia PDF Downloads 2045415 The Relationship between Impared Fasting Glucose and Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Level
Authors: Nanhee Cho, Eugene Han, Hanbyul Kim, Hochan Cho
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Pre-diabetes includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and there is a strong probability that pre-diabetes will lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is known to be increased as a compensatory response to metabolic imbalance under conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and DM. This study aims to identify the relationship of serum FGF-21 with pre-diabetes, and with biomarkers of related metabolic diseases. Fifty five Korea adult patients participated in a cohort study from June 2012 to December 2015. The analysis revealed that BMI, FBS levels, and serum FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in the IFG group compared to those in the normal group. A multiple regression analysis was conduted on the correlations of serum FGF-21 levels with BMI, and FBS levels, and the result did not show statistical significance. In conclusion, our results revealed that serum FGF-21 level serve as a marker to predict IFG.Keywords: cytokine, fibroblast growth factor 21, impaired fasting glucose, prediabetes
Procedia PDF Downloads 3235414 A Computational Study of Very High Turbulent Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Circular Duct with Hemispherical Inline Baffles
Authors: Dipak Sen, Rajdeep Ghosh
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This paper presents a computational study of steady state three dimensional very high turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics in a constant temperature-surfaced circular duct fitted with 900 hemispherical inline baffles. The computations are based on realizable k-ɛ model with standard wall function considering the finite volume method, and the SIMPLE algorithm has been implemented. Computational Study are carried out for Reynolds number, Re ranging from 80000 to 120000, Prandtl Number, Pr of 0.73, Pitch Ratios, PR of 1,2,3,4,5 based on the hydraulic diameter of the channel, hydrodynamic entry length, thermal entry length and the test section. Ansys Fluent 15.0 software has been used to solve the flow field. Study reveals that circular pipe having baffles has a higher Nusselt number and friction factor compared to the smooth circular pipe without baffles. Maximum Nusselt number and friction factor are obtained for the PR=5 and PR=1 respectively. Nusselt number increases while pitch ratio increases in the range of study; however, friction factor also decreases up to PR 3 and after which it becomes almost constant up to PR 5. Thermal enhancement factor increases with increasing pitch ratio but with slightly decreasing Reynolds number in the range of study and becomes almost constant at higher Reynolds number. The computational results reveal that optimum thermal enhancement factor of 900 inline hemispherical baffle is about 1.23 for pitch ratio 5 at Reynolds number 120000.It also shows that the optimum pitch ratio for which the baffles can be installed in such very high turbulent flows should be 5. Results show that pitch ratio and Reynolds number play an important role on both fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics.Keywords: friction factor, heat transfer, turbulent flow, circular duct, baffle, pitch ratio
Procedia PDF Downloads 3725413 Mechanism of Action of New Sustainable Flame Retardant Additives in Polyamide 6,6
Authors: I. Belyamani, M. K. Hassan, J. U. Otaigbe, W. R. Fielding, K. A. Mauritz, J. S. Wiggins, W. L. Jarrett
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We have investigated the flame-retardant efficiency of special new phosphate glass (P-glass) compositions having different glass transition temperatures (Tg) on the processing conditions of polyamide 6,6 (PA6,6) and the final hybrid flame retardancy (FR). We have showed that the low Tg P glass composition (i.e., ILT 1) is a promising flame retardant for PA6,6 at a concentration of up to 15 wt. % compared to intermediate (IIT 3) and high (IHT 1) Tg P glasses. Cone calorimetry data showed that the ILT 1 decreased both the peak heat release rate and the total heat amount released from the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrids, resulting in an efficient formation of a glassy char layer. These intriguing findings prompted to address several questions concerning the mechanism of action of the different P glasses studied. The general mechanism of action of phosphorous based FR additives occurs during the combustion stage by enhancing the morphology of the char and the thermal shielding effect. However, the present work shows that P glass based FR additives act during melt processing of PA6,6/P glass hybrids. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the Tg of PA6,6/ILT 1 was significantly shifted to a lower Tg (~65 oC) and another transition appeared at high temperature (~ 166 oC), thus indicating a strong interaction between PA6,6 and ILT 1. This was supported by a drop in the melting point and crystallinity of the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material as detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dielectric spectroscopic investigation of the networks’ molecular level structural variations (i.e. hybrids chain motion, Tg and sub-Tg relaxations) agreed very well with the DMA and DSC findings; it was found that the three different P glass compositions did not show any effect on the PA6,6 sub-Tg relaxations (related to the NH2 and OH chain end groups motions). Nevertheless, contrary to IIT 3 and IHT 1 based hybrids, the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material showed an evidence of splitting the PA6,6 Tg relaxations into two peaks. Finally, the CPMAS 31P-NMR data confirmed the miscibility between ILT 1 and PA6,6 at the molecular level, as a much larger enhancement in cross-polarization for the PA6,6/15%ILT 1 hybrids was observed. It can be concluded that compounding low Tg P-glass (i.e. ILT 1) with PA6,6 facilitates hydrolytic chain scission of the PA6,6 macromolecules through a potential chemical interaction between phosphate and the alpha-Carbon of the amide bonds of the PA6,6, leading to better flame retardant properties.Keywords: broadband dielectric spectroscopy, composites, flame retardant, polyamide, phosphate glass, sustainable
Procedia PDF Downloads 2355412 Basic Calibration and Normalization Techniques for Time Domain Reflectometry Measurements
Authors: Shagufta Tabassum
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The study of dielectric properties in a binary mixture of liquids is very useful to understand the liquid structure, molecular interaction, dynamics, and kinematics of the mixture. Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) is a powerful tool for studying the cooperation and molecular dynamics of the H-bonded system. In this paper, we discuss the basic calibration and normalization procedure for time-domain reflectometry measurements. Our approach is to explain the different types of error occur during TDR measurements and how these errors can be eliminated or minimized.Keywords: time domain reflectometry measurement techinque, cable and connector loss, oscilloscope loss, and normalization technique
Procedia PDF Downloads 2065411 An Analytical Approach for the Fracture Characterization in Concrete under Fatigue Loading
Authors: Bineet Kumar
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Many civil engineering infrastructures frequently encounter repetitive loading during their service life. Due to the inherent complexity observed in concrete, like quasi-brittle materials, understanding the fatigue behavior in concrete still posesa challenge. Moreover, the fracture process zone characteristics ahead of the crack tip have been observed to be different in fatigue loading than in the monotonic cases. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the energy dissipation associated with the fracture process zone (FPZ) due to repetitive loading. It is well known that stiffness degradation due to cyclic loadingprovides a better understanding of the fracture behavior of concrete. Under repetitive load cycles, concrete members exhibit a two-stage stiffness degradation process. Experimentally it has been observed that the stiffness decreases initially with an increase in crack length and subsequently increases. In this work, an attempt has been made to propose an analytical expression to predict energy dissipation and later the stiffness degradation as a function of crack length. Three-point bend specimens have been considered in the present work to derive the formulations. In this approach, the expression for the resultant stress distribution below the neutral axis has been derived by correlating the bending stress with the cohesive stresses developed ahead of the crack tip due to the existence of the fracture process zone. This resultant stress expression is utilized to estimate the dissipated energydue to crack propagation as a function of crack length. Further, the formulation for the stiffness degradation has been developed by relating the dissipated energy with the work done. It can be used to predict the critical crack length and fatigue life. An attempt has been made to understand the influence of stress amplitude on the damage pattern by using the information on the rate of stiffness degradation. It has been demonstrated that with the increase in the stress amplitude, the damage/FPZ proceeds more in the direction of crack propagation compared to the damage in the direction parallel to the span of the beam, which causes a lesser rate of stiffness degradation for the incremental crack length. Further, the effect of loading frequency has been investigated in terms of stiffness degradation. Under low-frequency loading cases, the damage/FPZ has been found to spread more in the direction parallel to the span, in turn reducing the critical crack length and fatigue life. In such a case, a higher rate of stiffness degradation has been observed in comparison to the high-frequency loading case.Keywords: fatigue life, fatigue, fracture, concrete
Procedia PDF Downloads 955410 Effect of Soil and Material Characteristics on Safety of Concrete Structures Including SSI
Authors: A. E. Kurtoglu, A. Cevik, M. Bilgehan
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In this parametric study, effect of soil and material characteristics on safety of structures is investigated. The soil parameters such as shear strength, unit weight; geometrical parameters of the structure such as foundation depth and height of building; and material properties such as weight of concrete were selected as input parameters. A real accelerogram of 1989 El-Centro earthquake recorded by the USGS in Imperial Valley is used for this study. It is contained in the standard Strong Motion CD-ROM (SMC) format, which can be recognized and interpreted by FEM software used. The soil-structure interaction model subjected to above-mentioned earthquake was analyzed for 729 cases. Effect of input parameters on safety factor of the soil-structure system was then investigated and the interaction between the input and output parameters is presented in graphical form. Findings showed that all input parameters have significant effects on factor of safety results.Keywords: factor of safety, finite element method, safety of structures, soil structure interaction
Procedia PDF Downloads 5065409 Length-Weight and Length-Length Relationships of Oreochromis aureus in Relation to Body Size from Pakistan
Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Amina Zubari, Abdus Salam, Summera Yasmeen, Syed Ali Ayub Bukhari, Abir Ishtiaq
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In the present study, eighty three wild Oreochromis aureus of different body size ranging 5.3-14.6 cm in total length were collected from the River Chenab, District Muzzafer Garh, Pakistan to investigate the parameters of length –weight, length-length relationships and condition factor in relation to size. Each fish was measured and weighed on arrival at laboratory. Log transformed regressions were used to test the allometric growth. Length-weight relationship was found highly significant (r = 0.964; P < 0.01). The values of exponent “ b” in Length–weight regression (W=aLb), deviated from 3, showing isometric growth (b = 2.75). Results for LLRs indicated that these are highly correlated (P< 0.001). Condition factor (K) found constant with increasing body weight, however, showed negative influence with increasing total length.Keywords: Oreochromis aureus, weight-length relationship, condition factor, predictive equations
Procedia PDF Downloads 8315408 Dust Ion Acoustic Shock Waves in Dissipative Superthermal Plasmas
Authors: Hamid Reza Pakzad
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In this paper, the properties of dust-ion-acoustic (DIA) shock waves in an unmagnetized dusty plasma, whose constituents are inertial ions, superthermal electrons, and stationary dust particles, are investigated by employing the reductive perturbation method. The dissipation is taken into account the kinematic viscosity among the plasma constituents. It is shown that the basic features of DIA shock waves are significantly modified by the effects of electron superthermality and ion kinematic viscosity.Keywords: reductive perturbation method, dust ion acoustic shock wave, superthermal electron, dissipative plasmas
Procedia PDF Downloads 3135407 CFD Investigation on Heat Transfer and Friction Characteristics of Rib Roughened Evacuated Tube Collector Solar Air Heater
Authors: Mohit Singla, Vishavjeet Singh Hans, Sukhmeet Singh
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Heat transfer and friction characteristics of evacuated tube collector solar air heater artificially roughened with periodic circular rib of uniform cross-section were investigated. The present investigation was carried out in ANSYS Fluent 15.0 to study the impact of roughness geometry parameters, i.e. relative roughness pitch (P/e) of 8 and relative roughness height (e/Dh) of 0.064 and flow parameters, i.e. Reynolds number range of 2500-8000 on Nusselt number and friction factor. RNG k-ε with enhanced wall treatment turbulence model was selected for analysis. The results obtained for roughened evacuated tube collector has been compared with smooth evacuated tube collector for the similar flow conditions. With the increment in Reynolds number from 2500 to 8000, Nusselt number augments while friction factor decreases. Maximum enhancement ratio of Nusselt number and friction factor was 1.71 and 2.7 respectively, obtained at Reynolds number value of 8000. The value of thermo-hydraulic performance parameter was varied between 1.18 - 1.23 for the entire range of Reynolds number, indicates the advantage to use the roughened evacuated tube collector over smooth evacuated tube collector in solar air heater.Keywords: artificial roughness, evacuated tube collector, friction factor, Nusselt number
Procedia PDF Downloads 1625406 The Development of Chinese Film Market as Factor of Change in Global Hollywood
Authors: Marcin Adamczak
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The growth of Chinese film market and its dynamic incomparable to any other historical phenomenon has already made China the second world market and potential future leader in 2-3 years period. The growing power of Chines box-office and its future prospects is then the crucial and potentially disturbing factor for persistence of global Hollywood reality. The paper is based on market statistical data. The main findings of the analysis are defining of essential obstacles for the development of Chinese market and its foreign expansion. However, the new strategies employed by the industry (acquisitions of cinema chains abroad, blockbuster made with the involvement of figures from Hollywood star system, coproduction ties within Pacific basin) could be a successful remedy for current shortcomings. The main factor for development will be wider economical framework and maintenance of growth pace. The future state of Chinese film market will be one of the main factors shaping global film culture and film market in following decades of XXI century.Keywords: production studies, film market, Chinese film market, distribution
Procedia PDF Downloads 2155405 Polymorphisms of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) and Susceptibility to Endometriosis
Authors: Z. Chekini, P. Afsharian, F. Ramezanali, A. A. Akhlaghi, R. Aflatoonian
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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine that involves in pathophysiological events of endometriosis. We aimed to evaluate the association between mRNA expression levels and polymorphisms of MIF in endometriosis. Seventy endometriosis patients and 70 volunteer fertile women were recruited. RFLP was applied to determine -173G/C polymorphism. ORF polymorphisms and -794(CATT)5-8 were detected by sequencing. Q-PCR was used for expression study of 14 ectopic tissues of patients. Homozygote of CATT5 was observed only in controls. The CATT5/G haplotype related to controls (p=0.094, OR=0.61). Expression level of MIF with -794(CATT)6,7/-173GC was significantly more than the other haplotypes (p=0.00). We identified four SNPs including: +254rs2096525 (p=0.843), +626rs33958703 (p=0.029), +656rs2070766 (p=0.703) and +509rs182012324 (p=1.00). In conclusion, increased repeat of CATT and presence of C allele in promoter of MIF were significantly associated with mRNA level in patients. It seems that +509rs182012324 and +626rs33958703 SNPs were significantly correlated with susceptibility to endometriosis.Keywords: endometriosis, haplotype, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, polymorphism
Procedia PDF Downloads 4575404 Design of Compact UWB Multilayered Microstrip Filter with Wide Stopband
Authors: N. Azadi-Tinat, H. Oraizi
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Design of compact UWB multilayered microstrip filter with E-shape resonator is presented, which provides wide stopband up to 20 GHz and arbitrary impedance matching. The design procedure is developed based on the method of least squares and theory of N-coupled transmission lines. The dimensions of designed filter are about 11 mm × 11 mm and the three E-shape resonators are placed among four dielectric layers. The average insertion loss in the passband is less than 1 dB and in the stopband is about 30 dB up to 20 GHz. Its group delay in the UWB region is about 0.5 ns. The performance of the optimized filter design perfectly agrees with the microwave simulation softwares.Keywords: method of least square, multilayer microstrip filter, n-coupled transmission lines, ultra-wideband
Procedia PDF Downloads 3925403 Feasibility Study of Wind Energy Potential in Turkey: Case Study of Catalca District in Istanbul
Authors: Mohammed Wadi, Bedri Kekezoglu, Mustafa Baysal, Mehmet Rida Tur, Abdulfetah Shobole
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This paper investigates the technical evaluation of the wind potential for present and future investments in Turkey taking into account the feasibility of sites, installments, operation, and maintenance. This evaluation based on the hourly measured wind speed data for the three years 2008–2010 at 30 m height for Çatalca district. These data were obtained from national meteorology station in Istanbul–Republic of Turkey are analyzed in order to evaluate the feasibility of wind power potential and to assure supreme assortment of wind turbines installing for the area of interest. Furthermore, the data are extrapolated and analyzed at 60 m and 80 m regarding the variability of roughness factor. Weibull bi-parameter probability function is used to approximate monthly and annually wind potential and power density based on three calculation methods namely, the approximated, the graphical and the energy pattern factor methods. The annual mean wind power densities were to be 400.31, 540.08 and 611.02 W/m² for 30, 60, and 80 m heights respectively. Simulation results prove that the analyzed area is an appropriate place for constructing large-scale wind farms.Keywords: wind potential in Turkey, Weibull bi-parameter probability function, the approximated method, the graphical method, the energy pattern factor method, capacity factor
Procedia PDF Downloads 2585402 Immunohistochemical Expression of β-catenin and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma
Authors: Ghada Esheba, Fatimah Alturkistani, Arwa Obaid, Ahdab Bashehab, Moayad Alturkistani
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Introduction: Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are rare epithelial tumors located mainly in the sellar/parasellar region. CPs have been classified histopathologically, genetically, clinically and prognostically into two distinctive subtypes: adamantinomatous and papillary variants. Aim: To examine the pattern of expression of both the β-catenin and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in surgically resected samples of adamantinomatous CP, and to asses for the possibility of using anti-EGFR in the management of ACP patients. Materials and methods: β-catenin and EGFR immunostaining was performed on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 18 ACP cases. Result: 17 out of 18 cases (94%) of ACP exhibited strong nuclear/cytoplasmic expression of β-catenin, 15 (83%) of APC cases were positive for EGFR. Conclusion: Nuclear accumulation of β-catenin is a diagnostic hallmark of ACP. EGFR positivity in most cases of ACP could qualify the use of anti-EGFR therapy.Keywords: craniopharyngioma, adamantinomatous, papillary, epidermal growth factor receptor, B-catenin
Procedia PDF Downloads 2265401 Investigation of Antimicrobial Activity of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Oxygen Plasma Combined with ZnO NPs-Treated Cotton Fabric Coated with Natural Green Tea Leaf Extracts
Authors: Fatma A. Mohamed, Hend M. Ahmed
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This research explores the antimicrobial effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) oxygen plasma treatment combined with ZnO NPs on the cotton fabric, focusing on various treatment durations (5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes) and discharge powers (15.5–17.35 watts) at flow rate 0.5 l/min. After treatment with oxygen plasma and ZnO NPs, the fabric was printed with green tea (Camellia sinensis) at five different concentrations. The study evaluated the treatment's effectiveness by analyzing surface wettability, specifically through wet-out time and hydrophilicity, as well as measuring contact angles. To investigate the chemical changes on the fabric's surface, attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to identify the functional groups formed as a result of the plasma treatment. This comprehensive approach aims to understand how DBD oxygen plasma treatment and ZnO nanoparticles change cotton fabric properties and enhance its antimicrobial potential, paving the way for innovative applications in textiles. In addition to the chemical analysis, the surface morphology of the O₂ plasma/ZnO NPs-treated cotton fabric was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR analysis revealed an increase in polar functional groups (-COOH, -OH, and -C≡O) on the fabric's surface, contributing to enhanced hydrophilicity and functionality. The antimicrobial properties were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods, including agar plate assays and modified Hoenstein tests against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results indicated a significant improvement in antimicrobial effectiveness for the cotton fabric treated with plasma and coated with natural extracts, maintaining this efficacy even after four washing cycles. This research demonstrates that utilizing oxygen DBD plasma/ZnO NPs treatment, combined with the absorption of tea and tulsi leaf extracts, presents a promising strategy for developing natural antimicrobial textiles. This approach is particularly relevant given the increasing medical and healthcare demands for effective antimicrobial materials. Overall, the method not only enhances the absorption of plant extracts but also significantly boosts antimicrobial efficacy, offering valuable insights for future textile applications.Keywords: cotton, ZnO NPs, green tea leaf, antimicrobial avtivity, DBD oxygen plasma
Procedia PDF Downloads 95400 Design and Implementation of Wave-Pipelined Circuit Using Reconfigurable Technique
Authors: Adhinarayanan Venkatasubramanian
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For design of high speed digital circuit wave pipeline is the best approach this can be operated at higher operating frequencies by adjusting clock periods and skews so as latch the o/p of combinational logic circuit at the stable period. In this paper, there are two methods are proposed in automation task one is BIST (Built in self test) and second method is Reconfigurable technique. For the above two approaches dedicated AND gate (multiplier) by applying wave pipeline technique. BIST approach is implemented by Xilinx Spartan-II device. In reconfigurable technique done by ASIC. From the results, wave pipeline circuits are faster than nonpipeline circuit and area, power dissipation are reduced by reconfigurable technique.Keywords: SOC, wave-pipelining, FPGA, self-testing, reconfigurable, ASIC
Procedia PDF Downloads 4265399 Design of Circular Patch Antenna in Terahertz Band for Medical Applications
Authors: Moulfi Bouchra, Ferouani Souheyla, Ziani Kerarti Djalal, Moulessehoul Wassila
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The wireless body network (WBAN) is the most interesting network these days and especially with the appearance of contagious illnesses such as covid 19, which require surveillance in the house. In this article, we have designed a circular microstrip antenna. Gold is the material used respectively for the patch and the ground plane and Gallium (εr=12.94) is chosen as the dielectric substrate. The dimensions of the antenna are 82.10*62.84 μm2 operating at a frequency of 3.85 THz. The proposed, designed antenna has a return loss of -46.046 dB and a gain of 3.74 dBi, and it can measure various physiological parameters and sensors that help in the overall monitoring of an individual's health condition.Keywords: circular patch antenna, Terahertz transmission, WBAN applications, real-time monitoring
Procedia PDF Downloads 3075398 The Effect of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles on the Optical Properties of (PVP-PEG) Blend
Authors: Hussein Hakim, Zainab Al-Ramadhan, Ahmed Hashim
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Polymer nano composites of polyvinylpyrrolidone and poly-ethylene glycol with different concentrations of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nano particles have been prepared by solution cast method. The optical characterizations have been done by analyzing the absorption (A) spectra in the 300–800 nm spectral region. It was found that the optical energy gap decreases with the increasing of Al2O3 nano particles content. The optical constants (refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant) are changing with increasing aluminum oxide nano particle concentrations.Keywords: nanocomposites, polyvinylpyrrolidone, optical constants, polymers, blend
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