Search results for: urban network

Authors: G. Agrawal, R. Agrawal, A. Pich

Abstract:

The pH and temperature responsive biodegradable poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) based microgels functionalized with itaconic acid (IA) units are prepared via precipitation polymerization for drug delivery applications. Volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of the obtained microgels is influenced by both IA content and pH of the surrounding medium. The developed microgels can be degraded under acidic conditions due to the presence of hydrazone based crosslinking points inside the microgel network. The microgel particles are able to effectively encapsulate doxorubicin (DOX) drug and exhibit low drug leakage under physiological conditions. At low pH, rapid DOX release is observed due to the changes in electrostatic interactions along with the degradation of particles. The results of the cytotoxicity assay further display that the DOX-loaded microgel exhibit effective antitumor activity against HeLa cells demonstrating their great potential as drug delivery carriers for cancer therapy.

Keywords: degradable, drug delivery, hydrazone linkages, microgels, responsive

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: R. Nagarani

Abstract:

An intrinsic property of software in a real-world environment is its need to evolve, which is usually accompanied by the increase of software complexity and deterioration of software quality, making software maintenance a tough problem. Refactoring is regarded as an effective way to address this problem. Many refactoring approaches at the method and class level have been proposed. But the extent of research on software refactoring at the package level is less. This work presents a novel approach to refactor the package structures of object oriented software using genetic algorithm based community detection. It uses software networks to represent classes and their dependencies. It uses a constrained community detection algorithm to obtain the optimized community structures in software networks, which also correspond to the optimized package structures. It finally provides a list of classes as refactoring candidates by comparing the optimized package structures with the real package structures.

Keywords: community detection, complex network, genetic algorithm, package, refactoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 415

Authors: N. F. F. Ebecken, G. C. Pereira

Abstract:

Ecological systems are exposed and are influenced by various natural and anthropogenic disturbances. They produce various effects and states seeking response symmetry to a state of global phase coherence or stability and balance of their food webs. This research project addresses the development of a computational methodology for modeling plankton food webs. The use of algorithms to establish connections, the generation of representative fuzzy multigraphs and application of technical analysis of complex networks provide a set of tools for defining, analyzing and evaluating community structure of coastal aquatic ecosystems, beyond the estimate of possible external impacts to the networks. Thus, this study aims to develop computational systems and data models to assess how these ecological networks are structurally and functionally organized, to analyze the types and degree of compartmentalization and synchronization between oscillatory and interconnected elements network and the influence of disturbances on the overall pattern of rhythmicity of the system.

Keywords: ecological networks, plankton food webs, fuzzy multigraphs, dynamic of networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Devineni Vijay Bhaskar, Yendluri Raja

Abstract:

We recommend a model for traffic sign detection stranded on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). We first renovate the unique image into the gray scale image through with support vector machines, then use convolutional neural networks with fixed and learnable layers for revealing and understanding. The permanent layer can reduction the amount of attention areas to notice and crop the limits very close to the boundaries of traffic signs. The learnable coverings can rise the accuracy of detection significantly. Besides, we use bootstrap procedures to progress the accuracy and avoid overfitting problem. In the German Traffic Sign Detection Benchmark, we obtained modest results, with an area under the precision-recall curve (AUC) of 99.49% in the group “Risk”, and an AUC of 96.62% in the group “Obligatory”.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, support vector machine, detection, traffic signs, bootstrap procedures, precision-recall curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: T. O. Adeoye

Abstract:

In Nigeria prior to the arrival of the colonial masters, there used to be good family relationship, things were done through cooperation and community effort, even training and upbringing of a child was the responsibility of every member of the community. The advent of western education and civilization brought about movement of youths from rural to urban areas. Hence the tie that binds the village life is broken, community as a whole is no more responsible for the upbringing or home training of her children any more. The study investigates adoption of home nursing as a remedy for child labour in Nigeria, considered challenges like poverty, broken homes and illiteracy among others. For the purpose of verification, a survey in form of an opinion poll was conducted by means of interview using questionnaires for about 3000 respondents. However, out of the respondents that were interviewed as regard parental poverty and its resultant effect on a child only 14.2% of the respondent strongly disagreed that children work on the street because their parents are poor. The study shows that possible solutions of effective ways of controlling child labour is home nursing and also promoting and advocating for the policies against child labour in Nigeria.

Keywords: child abuse, child labour, psychological problem, Street children

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Ahmad Masduki Bin Selamat

Abstract:

Malaysia is becoming a developed country by the year 2020, the problem is that little is known about the perceptions and curricular values of Malaysian high school students who have taken Living Skills as a subject in the regular public school. How these students perceive technology in their daily lives, in the country’s development and in global context, is not known. The study involved form 4 students from four public schools in Petaling District. The study found that the Petaling District students’ knowledge of technology were good, where 76.6 % of them scored 50% marks and above during the achievement test. In addition, it was also found that only excellent and squatter students perceived technology education as important as a school subject, compared to those students from the urban area. It was found that students preferred business and entrepreneurship topics rather than the other Living Skills curriculum. The study suggests that students should be exposed to technology education from the early years of schooling (preschool to secondary). In addition, the acquisition of skills, the evaluation, revision and modification of the instruction as well as the curriculum should be enforced.

Keywords: technology education, living skills, curricular values, public schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 449

Authors: Anna Strąkowska, Marian Zaborski

Abstract:

The studies were focused on POSS application with methylvinylsilicone rubber (MVQ). The obtained results indicate that they can be successfully incorporated into silica-filled rubbers as modifying agents since they enhance cross-link density and improve most properties of the resulting network. It is also worth noting that the incorporation of POSS molecules resulted in stabilizing effect against adverse changes induced by the climatic, ozone or UV ageing of the rubbers. Furthermore, we obtained interesting results of rubbers surface modification using POSS functionalised with halogen groups (Cl, F, and Br). As the results, surface energy of the elastomeric composites and their hydrophobicity increased, barrier properties improved and thermal stability increased as well. Additionally, the studies with silicone rubber and POSS containing acidic and alkaline groups revealed composites with self-healing properties. The observed effects strictly depend on a kind and quantity of functional groups present in angles of POSS cages.

Keywords: elastomeric composites, POSS, properties modyfication, silicone rubber

Procedia PDF Downloads 350

Authors: Abigail Qian Zhou

Abstract:

In today's China, the well-educated middle class, with stable jobs and above-average income, are the driving force behind its Internet society. Through the analysis of data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey and 50 interviewees, this study investigates the current situation of this group’s specific internet usage. The findings of this study demonstrate that daily life among the members of this socioeconomic group is closely tied to the Internet. For Chinese middle class, the Internet is used to socialize and entertain self and others. It is also used to search for and share information as well as to build their identities. The empirical results of this study will provide a reference, supported by factual data, for enterprises seeking to target the Chinese middle class through online marketing efforts.

Keywords: middle class, Internet use, network behaviour, online marketing, China

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Yağmur Can Gündoğan, Kübra Gürcan Bayrak, Ece Özerdem, Buse Katipoğlu, Erhan Ayas, Rifat Yılmaz

Abstract:

Eutectic oxide based ceramic matrix composites have a unique microstructure that does not include grain boundary in the form of a continuous network. Because of this, these materials have the properties of perfect high-temperature strength, creep strength, and high oxidation strength. Mechanical properties of them are much related to occurring solidification structures during eutectic reactions. One of the most important production methods of this kind of material is the process of vacuum arc melting. Within scope of this studying, it is aimed to investigate the production of Al₂O₃-YAG-based eutectic ceramics by Arc melting and Spark Plasma Sintering methods for use in aerospace and defense industries where high-temperature environments play an important role and to examine the effects of ZrO₂ and LiF additions on microstructure development and mechanical properties.

Keywords: alumina, composites, eutectic, YAG

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Yun-Pang Flötteröd, Jakob Erdmann

Abstract:

The human behaviors during evacuations are quite complex. One of the critical behaviors which affect the efficiency of evacuation is route choice. Therefore, the respective simulation modeling work needs to function properly. In this paper, Simulation of Urban Mobility’s (SUMO) current dynamic route modeling during evacuation, i.e. the rerouting functions, is examined with a real case study. The result consistency of the simulation and the reality is checked as well. Four influence factors (1) time to get information, (2) probability to cancel a trip, (3) probability to use navigation equipment, and (4) rerouting and information updating period are considered to analyze possible traffic impacts during the evacuation and to examine the rerouting functions in SUMO. Furthermore, some behavioral characters of the case study are analyzed with use of the corresponding detector data and applied in the simulation. The experiment results show that the dynamic route modeling in SUMO can deal with the proposed scenarios properly. Some issues and function needs related to route choice are discussed and further improvements are suggested.

Keywords: evacuation, microscopic traffic simulation, rerouting, SUMO

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Jie Lin, Yiwen Pan, Li Zhang, Zhangyong Xia

Abstract:

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of lipids, immune cells, and extracellular matrix in the arterial walls. This pathological process can lead to the formation of plaques that can obstruct blood flow and trigger various cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. The underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unclear, although many studies revealed the dysfunction of endothelial cells, recruitment and activation of monocytes and macrophages, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in atherosclerosis. This study aimed to identify hub genes involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and to analyze their biological function in silico, thereby enhancing our understanding of the disease’s molecular mechanisms. Through the analysis of microarray data, we examined the gene expression in media and neo-intima from plaques, as well as distant macroscopically intact tissue, across a cohort of 32 hypertensive patients. Initially, 112 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Subsequent immune infiltration analysis indicated a predominant presence of 27 immune cell types in the atherosclerosis group, particularly noting an increase in monocytes and macrophages. In the Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), 10 modules with a minimum of 30 genes were defined as key modules, with blue, dark, Oliver green and sky-blue modules being the most significant. These modules corresponded respectively to monocyte, activated B cell, and activated CD4 T cell gene patterns, revealing a strong morphological-genetic correlation. From these three gene patterns (modules morphology), a total of 2509 key genes (Gene Significance >0.2, module membership>0.8) were extracted. Six hub genes (CD36, DPP4, HMOX1, PLA2G7, PLN2, and ACADL) were then identified by intersecting 2509 key genes, 102 DEGs with lipid-related genes from the Genecard database. The bio-functional analysis of six hub genes was estimated by a robust classifier with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.873 in the ROC plot, indicating excellent efficacy in differentiating between the disease and control group. Moreover, PCA visualization demonstrated clear separation between the groups based on these six hub genes, suggesting their potential utility as classification features in predictive models. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis highlighted DPP4 as the most interconnected gene. Within the constructed key gene-drug network, 462 drugs were predicted, with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) being identified as a potential therapeutic agent for modulating DPP4 expression. In summary, our study identified critical hub genes implicated in the progression of atherosclerosis through comprehensive bioinformatic analyses. These findings not only advance our understanding of the disease but also pave the way for applying similar analytical frameworks and predictive models to other diseases, thereby broadening the potential for clinical applications and therapeutic discoveries.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, hub genes, drug prediction, bioinformatics

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Vladimir Simovic, Matija Varga, Predrag Oreski

Abstract:

XHTML and XBRL are the standard languages for creating a database for the purpose of displaying financial statements on web applications. Today, XBRL is one of the most popular languages for business reporting. A large number of countries in the world recognize the role of XBRL language for financial reporting and the benefits that the reporting format provides in the collection, analysis, preparation, publication and the exchange of data (information) which is the positive side of this language. Here we present all advantages and opportunities that a company may have by using the XBRL format for business reporting. Also, this paper presents XBRL and other languages that are used for creating the database, such XML, XHTML, etc. The role of the AJAX complex model and technology will be explained in detail, and during the exchange of financial data between the web client and web server. Here will be mentioned basic layers of the network for data exchange via the web.

Keywords: XHTML, XBRL, XML, JavaScript, AJAX technology, data exchange

Procedia PDF Downloads 393

Authors: Ssekamanya, Mastura Badzis, Khamsiah Ismail, Dayang Shuzaidah Bt Abduludin

Abstract:

With rising incidents of school violence worldwide, educators and researchers are trying to understand and find ways to enhance the safety of children at school. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the demographic variables of gender, age, length of service, position, academic qualification, and school location predicted teachers’ awareness about school safety practices in Malaysian primary schools. A stratified random sample of 380 teachers was selected in the central Malaysian states of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Multiple regression analysis revealed that none of the factors was a good predictor of awareness about school safety training, delivery methods of school safety information, and available school safety programs. Awareness about school safety activities was significantly predicted by school location (whether the school was located in a rural or urban area). While these results may reflect a general lack of awareness about school safety among primary school teachers in the selected locations, a national study needs to be conducted for the whole country.

Keywords: school safety awareness, predictors of school safety, multiple regression analysis, malaysian primary schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 458

Authors: Adrià Arbués-Sangüesa, Coloma Ballester, Gloria Haro

Abstract:

Tracking sports players is a widely challenging scenario, specially in single-feed videos recorded in tight courts, where cluttering and occlusions cannot be avoided. This paper presents an analysis of several geometric and semantic visual features to detect and track basketball players. An ablation study is carried out and then used to remark that a robust tracker can be built with Deep Learning features, without the need of extracting contextual ones, such as proximity or color similarity, nor applying camera stabilization techniques. The presented tracker consists of: (1) a detection step, which uses a pretrained deep learning model to estimate the players pose, followed by (2) a tracking step, which leverages pose and semantic information from the output of a convolutional layer in a VGG network. Its performance is analyzed in terms of MOTA over a basketball dataset with more than 10k instances.

Keywords: basketball, deep learning, feature extraction, single-camera, tracking

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Xuran Zhang, Huiru Chen

Abstract:

In recent years, China has made great efforts to cultivate and develop the housing rental market, especially the rental-type public housing, which has been paid attention to by all sectors of the society. This paper takes Hangzhou rental-type public housing as the research object, and divides it into three development stages according to the different supply modes of rental-type public housing. Through data collection and field research, the paper summarizes the spatial characteristics of rental-type public housing from the five perspectives of spatial planning, spatial layout, spatial integration, spatial organization and spatial configuration. On this basis, the paper proposes the optimization of the spatial layout. The study concludes that the spatial layout of rental-type public housing should be coordinated with the development of urban planning. When planning and constructing, it is necessary to select more mixed construction modes, to be properly centralized, and to improve the surrounding transportation service facilities.  It is hoped that the recommendations in this paper will provide a reference for the further development of rental-type public housing in Hangzhou.

Keywords: Hangzhou, rental-type public housing, spatial distribution, spatial optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Aymen Sekhri, Emmanuel Kwabena Frimpong, Bolaji Mubarak Ayeyemi, Aleksi Hirvonen, Matias Hirvonen, Tedros Tesfay Andemichael

Abstract:

Fixation identification, which involves isolating and identifying fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols, is an important aspect of eye-movement data processing that can have a big impact on higher-level analyses. However, fixation identification techniques are frequently discussed informally and rarely compared in any meaningful way. With two state-of-the-art algorithms, we will implement fixation detection and analysis in this work. The velocity threshold fixation algorithm is the first algorithm, and it identifies fixation based on a threshold value. For eye movement detection, the second approach is U'n' Eye, a deep neural network algorithm. The goal of this project is to analyze and visualize eye-tracking data from an eye gaze dataset that has been provided. The data was collected in a scenario in which individuals were shown photos and asked whether or not they recognized them. The results of the two-fixation detection approach are contrasted and visualized in this paper.

Keywords: human-computer interaction, eye-tracking, CNN, fixations, saccades

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Sallama Resen, Celal Öztürk

Abstract:

Distance estimation between tow nodes has wide scope of surveillance and tracking applications. This paper suggests a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology as a media for transceiver and receiver signal in small indoor areas. As an example, BLE communication technologies used in child safety domains. Local network is designed to detect child position in indoor school area consisting Mobile Beacons (MB), Access Points (AP) and Smart Phones (SP) where MBs stuck in children’s shoes as wearable sensors. This paper presents a technique that can detect mobile beacons’ position and help finding children’s location within dynamic environment. By means of bluetooth beacons that are attached to child’s shoes, the distance between the MB and teachers SP is estimated with an accuracy of less than one meter. From the simulation results, it is shown that high accuracy of position coordinates are achieved for multi-mobile beacons in different environments.

Keywords: bluetooth low energy, child safety, mobile beacons, received signal strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 341

Authors: Meet Patel, Darshan Patel, Nilay Shah

Abstract:

Excess growth of wind-based renewable energy sources is required to identify the optimal location and damping capacity of doubly fed induction-generator-based (DFIG) wind farms while it penetrates into the transmission network. In this analysis, various ratings of DFIG wind farms are penetrated into the Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB ) at a different distance of the transmission line. On the basis of detailed examinations, a prime position is evaluated to maximize the stability of overall systems. A damping controller is designed at an optimum location to mitigate the small oscillations. The proposed model was validated using eigenvalue analysis, calculation of the participation factor, and time-domain simulation.

Keywords: DFIG, small signal stability, eigenvalues, time domain simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Chowduru Ramachandra Sharma, Shatunjay Rawat

Abstract:

A false positive state is when the IDS/IPS identifies an activity as an attack, but the activity is acceptable behavior in the system. False positives in a Network Intrusion Detection System ( NIDS ) is an issue because they desensitize the administrator. It wastes computational power and valuable resources when rules are not tuned properly, which is the main issue with anomaly NIDS. Furthermore, most false positives reduction techniques are not performed during the real-time of attempted intrusions; instead, they have applied afterward on collected traffic data and generate alerts. Of course, false positives detection in ‘offline mode’ is tremendously valuable. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement here; automated techniques still need to reduce False Positives in real-time. This paper uses the Snort signature detection model to redirect the alerted attacks to Honeypots and verify attacks.

Keywords: honeypot, TPOT, snort, NIDS, honeybird, iptables, netfilter, redirection, attack detection, docker, snare, tanner

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Corentin Jankowiak, Aggelos Zacharopoulos, Caterina Brandoni

Abstract:

In a context of increasing stress put on the electricity network by the decarbonization of many sectors, energy storage is likely to be the key mitigating element, by acting as a buffer between production and demand. In particular, the highest potential for storage is when connected closer to the loads. Yet, low voltage storage struggles to penetrate the market at a large scale due to the novelty and complexity of the solution, and the competitive advantage of fossil fuel-based technologies regarding regulations. Strong and reliable numerical simulations are required to show the benefits of storage located near loads and promote its development. The present study was restrained from excluding aggregated control of storage: it is assumed that the storage units operate independently to one another without exchanging information – as is currently mostly the case. A computationally light battery model is presented in detail and validated by direct comparison with a domestic battery operating in real conditions. This model is then used to develop Peak-Shaving (PS) control strategies as it is the decentralized service from which beneficial impacts are most likely to emerge. The aggregation of flatter, peak- shaved consumption profiles is likely to lead to flatter and arbitraged profile at higher voltage layers. Furthermore, voltage fluctuations can be expected to decrease if spikes of individual consumption are reduced. The crucial part to achieve PS lies in the charging pattern: peaks depend on the switching on and off of appliances in the dwelling by the occupants and are therefore impossible to predict accurately. A performant PS strategy must, therefore, include a smart charge recovery algorithm that can ensure enough energy is present in the battery in case it is needed without generating new peaks by charging the unit. Three categories of PS algorithms are introduced in detail. First, using a constant threshold or power rate for charge recovery, followed by algorithms using the State Of Charge (SOC) as a decision variable. Finally, using a load forecast – of which the impact of the accuracy is discussed – to generate PS. A performance metrics was defined in order to quantitatively evaluate their operating regarding peak reduction, total energy consumption, and self-consumption of domestic photovoltaic generation. The algorithms were tested on load profiles with a 1-minute granularity over a 1-year period, and their performance was assessed regarding these metrics. The results show that constant charging threshold or power are far from optimal: a certain value is not likely to fit the variability of a residential profile. As could be expected, forecast-based algorithms show the highest performance. However, these depend on the accuracy of the forecast. On the other hand, SOC based algorithms also present satisfying performance, making them a strong alternative when the reliable forecast is not available.

Keywords: decentralised control, domestic integrated batteries, electricity network performance, peak-shaving algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: M. A. Medeiros, A. A. N. Dantas, F. A. N. França, R. F. Amaral

Abstract:

There are several alternatives of coastal erosion control with geosynthetics. As an important stage of any Civil Engineering project, literature review is necessary in order to evaluate these alternatives and to guide the decisions. Ponta Negra beachfront has a very intensive urban pressure. In addition, a very short sand area induces high intensity erosion processes. Different attempts of solving the problem were already built. However, erosion issues are still an important concern since these structures collapsed. Geosynthetics present a great potential to be applied in this area. In order to study coastal erosion control alternatives with the use of geosynthetics, this paper presents a literature review about this subject. Several studies were collected in which beach conditions are similar to those found in Ponta Negra beach. It was possible to evaluate the alternatives that might be used in the area. Further studies include the application of such techniques in pilot areas and the evaluation of the erosion process. Finally, the best alternative for futures studies on Ponta Negra beach is geocontainers of geotextiles.

Keywords: geosynthetics, coastal erosion control, alternatives, Ponta Negra beach

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Athar Hussain Memon

Abstract:

Objectives: We tried to determine the frequency of raised C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study of six months study was conducted at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad from March 2013 to August 2013. All diabetic patients of ≥35 years age of either gender for >01 year duration visited at OPD were evaluated for C-reactive protein and their glycemic status by hemoglobin A1c. The data was analyzed in SPSS and the frequency and percentage were calculated. Results: During six month study period, total 100 diabetic patients were evaluated for C-reactive protein. The majority of patients were from urban areas 75/100 (75%). The mean ±SD for age of patients with diabetes mellitus was 51.63±7.82. The mean age ±SD of patient with raised CRP was 53±7.21. The mean ±SD for HbA1c in patients with raised CRP is 9.55±1.73. The mean random blood sugar level in patients with raised CRP was 247.42 ± 6.62. The majority of subjects were of 50-69 years of age group with female predominance (p=0.01) while the CRP was raised in 70 (70%) patients in relation to age (p=0.02) and gender (p=0.01), respectively. Both HbA1c and CRP were raised in 64.9% (p=0.04) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean ±SD of CRP was 5.8±1.21 while for male and female individuals with raised CRP was 3.52±1.22 and 5.7±1.63, respectively. Conclusions: The raised CRP was observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c, diabetes and metabolism

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Abdurraheem A. Yakub

Abstract:

Housing is one of the needs of mankind and is one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living. This research was set out to analyze the housing qualities and conditions in Kano. Primary data was collected through both Personal observations where the researcher carried out an inspection of the study area prior to interview/implementation of questionnaires and took into consideration the type of housing units, construction materials and services available as well as the environmental condition of the study area. This was followed by an interview which was done through personal contact with the various people related to the study. In the course of doing that, questions were asked orally and notes were taken to record the responses. Thereafter, the Questionnaire was implemented which was earlier designed to elicit information from households in the study area using well-structured questions related to the type of facilities provided in the housing unit, types of houses and response with regard to quality of their houses and neighborhoods, tenure of house. The research work looked at the prevailing housing qualities and conditions and the state of the existing facilities and amenities within the environment and offered recommendations on policies and measures that could help improve the situation.

Keywords: housing provision, housing quality, housing standard, housing condition, housing affordability and housing facilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Patrizia Poscic, Sanja Candrlic, Danijela Jaksic

Abstract:

The University of Rijeka, Department of Informatics participated in the Stand4Info project, co-financed by the European Union, with the main idea of an alignment of study programs with occupational and qualifications standards in the field of Informatics. A brief overview of our research methodology, goals and deliverables is shown. Our main research and project objectives were: a) development of occupational standards, qualification standards and study programs based on the Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF), b) higher education quality improvement in the field of information and communication sciences, c) increasing the employability of students of information and communication technology (ICT) and science, and d) continuously improving competencies of teachers in accordance with the principles of CROQF. CROQF is a reform instrument in the Republic of Croatia for regulating the system of qualifications at all levels through qualifications standards based on learning outcomes and following the needs of the labor market, individuals and society. The central elements of CROQF are learning outcomes - competences acquired by the individual through the learning process and proved afterward. The place of each acquired qualification is set by the level of the learning outcomes belonging to that qualification. The placement of qualifications at respective levels allows the comparison and linking of different qualifications, as well as linking of Croatian qualifications' levels to the levels of the European Qualifications Framework and the levels of the Qualifications framework of the European Higher Education Area. This research has made 3 proposals of occupational standards for undergraduate study level (System Analyst, Developer, ICT Operations Manager), and 2 for graduate (master) level (System Architect, Business Architect). For each occupational standard employers have provided a list of key tasks and associated competencies necessary to perform them. A set of competencies required for each particular job in the workplace was defined and each set of competencies as described in more details by its individual competencies. Based on sets of competencies from occupational standards, sets of learning outcomes were defined and competencies from the occupational standard were linked with learning outcomes. For each learning outcome, as well as for the set of learning outcomes, it was necessary to specify verification method, material, and human resources. The task of the project was to suggest revision and improvement of the existing study programs. It was necessary to analyze existing programs and determine how they meet and fulfill defined learning outcomes. This way, one could see: a) which learning outcomes from the qualifications standards are covered by existing courses, b) which learning outcomes have yet to be covered, c) are they covered by mandatory or elective courses, and d) are some courses unnecessary or redundant. Overall, the main research results are: a) completed proposals of qualification and occupational standards in the field of ICT, b) revised curricula of undergraduate and master study programs in ICT, c) sustainable partnership and association stakeholders network, d) knowledge network - informing the public and stakeholders (teachers, students, and employers) about the importance of CROQF establishment, and e) teachers educated in innovative methods of teaching.

Keywords: study program, qualification standard, occupational standard, higher education, informatics and computer science

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Moumita Chanda, Md. Fazlul Karim Patwary

Abstract:

Smoking is one of the most popular recreational drug use behaviors, and it contributes to birth defects, COPD, heart attacks, and erectile dysfunction. To completely eradicate this disease, it is imperative that it be identified and treated. Numerous smoking cessation programs have been created, and they demonstrate how beneficial it may be to help someone stop smoking at the ideal time. A tomography meter is an effective smoking detector. Other wearables, such as RF-based proximity sensors worn on the collar and wrist to detect when the hand is close to the mouth, have been proposed in the past, but they are not impervious to deceptive variables. In this study, we create a machine that can discriminate between smokers and non-smokers in real-time with high sensitivity and specificity by watching and collecting the human lung and analyzing the X-ray data using machine learning. If it has the highest accuracy, this machine could be utilized in a hospital, in the selection of candidates for the army or police, or in university entrance.

Keywords: CNN, smoker detection, non-smoker detection, OpenCV, artificial Intelligence, X-ray Image detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Jiashu Shen

Abstract:

This study aims at exploring the characteristics of sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Chinese college students from the 'one-child' families compared with those with siblings. This study utilized the data from the 'National College Student Survey on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2019'. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between the 'only-child' and their sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, and risky sexual behaviors (RSB) stratified by sex and home regions, respectively. Compared with students with siblings, the 'only-child' students scored higher in sex-related knowledge (only-child students: 4.49 ± 2.28, students with siblings: 3.60 ± 2.27). Stronger associations between only-child and more liberal sexual attitudes were found in urban areas, including the approval of premarital sexual intercourse (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.50-1.65) and multiple sexual partners (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.72-1.99). For risky sexual behaviors, being only-child is more likely to use condoms in first sexual intercourse, especially among male students (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.58-0.80). Only-child students are more likely to have more sexual knowledge, more liberal sexual attitude, and less risky sexual behavior. Further health policy and sex education should focus more on students with siblings.

Keywords: attitudes and behaviors, only-child students, sexual knowledge, students with siblings

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: B. Madhevan, R. Sakkaravarthi, R. Diya

Abstract:

The number and variety of mobile robot applications are increasing day by day, both in an industry and in our daily lives. First developed as a tool, nowadays mobile robots can be integrated as an entity in Internet-accessible resources. The present work is organized around four potential resources such as cloud computing, Internet of things, Big data analysis and Co-simulation. Further, the focus relies on integrating, analyzing and discussing the need for integrating Internet-accessible resources and the challenges deriving from such integration, and how these issues have been tackled. Hence, the research work investigates the concepts of the Internet-accessible resources from the aspect of the autonomous mobile robots with an overview of the performances of the currently available database systems. IaR is a world-wide network of interconnected objects, can be considered an evolutionary process in mobile robots. IaR constitutes an integral part of future Internet with data analysis, consisting of both physical and virtual things.

Keywords: internet-accessible resources, cloud computing, big data analysis, internet of things, mobile robot

Procedia PDF Downloads 384

Authors: Getaneh Berie Tarekegn

Abstract:

Wireless communication via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has drawn a great deal of attention due to its flexibility in establishing line-of-sight (LoS) communications. However, in complex urban and dynamic environments, the movement of UAVs can be blocked by trees and high-rise buildings that obstruct directional paths. With reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), this problem can be effectively addressed. To achieve this goal, accurate channel estimation in RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communications is crucial. This paper proposes an accurate channel estimation model using long short-term memory (LSTM) for a multi-user RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communication system. According to simulation results, LSTM can improve the channel estimation performance of RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communication.

Keywords: channel estimation, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, long short-term memory, unmanned aerial vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Masho Mebrahtom Gebrehiwet

Abstract:

Tigray highlands in northern Ethiopia are characterized by a wide range of ecological conditions and climate. We investigated edible and medicinal plants used during the siege of Tigray, which caused the deaths of nearly 600,000 civilians, mainly due to starvation and lack of medicine. We used semi-structured interviews, observation and guided field walks with 500 informants (300 males and 200 females) selected randomly from two districts. A total of 25 species of medicinal plants were collected and identified for treating 30 human ailments. Furthermore, a total of 21 edible plants were also collected and identified. Nearly 68.75% of these species were wild and harvested mainly for their leaves, and the remedies were administered through dermal, nasal and oral routes. Oral and dermal applications were the highest and most used route of application. Famen foods significantly saved thousands of human lives during the siege of Tigray, both in urban and rural communities. We suggest domestication of some of the wild medicinal plants for long term conservation of the species. Documentation of farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of ethnobotany would be very important before the indigenous knowledge is lost forever.

Keywords: siege, Tigray, medicinal plants, edible plants

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: Norbert Csizmadia

Abstract:

The 21st Century's main power centers are the cities. More than 52% of the world’s population lives in cities, in particular in the megacities which have a population over 10 million people and is still growing. According to various research and forecasts, the main economic concentration will be in 40 megacities and global centers. Based on various competitiveness analyzes and indices, global city centers, and city networks are outlined, but if we look at other aspects of urban development like complexity, connectivity, creativity, technological development, viability, green cities, pedestrian and child friendly cities, creative and cultural centers, cultural spaces and knowledge centers, we get a city competitiveness index with quite new complex indicators. The research shows this result. In addition to the megacities and the global centers, with the investigation of functionality, we got 64 so-called ‘fusiononopolis’ (i.e., fusion-polis) which stand for the most decisive economic power centers of the 21st century. In this city competition Asian centers considerably rise, as the world's functional city competitiveness index is being formed.

Keywords: economic geography, human geography, technological development, urbanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 357