Search results for: medium entropy alloy matrix composite

Authors: K. Majumdar, S. Datta

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Electricity is recognized as fundamental to industrialization and improving the quality of life of the people. Harnessing the immense untapped hydropower potential in Tripura region opens avenues for growth and provides an opportunity to improve the well-being of the people of the region, while making substantial contribution to the national economy. Gumti hydro power plant generates power to mitigate the crisis of power in Tripura, India. The first unit of hydro power plant (5 MW) was commissioned in June 1976 & another two units of 5 MW was commissioned simultaneously. But out of 15 MW capacity at present only 8-9 MW power is produced from Gumti hydro power plant during rainy season. But during lean season the production reduces to 0.5 MW due to shortage of water. Now, it is essential to implement some mitigation measures so that the further atrocities can be prevented and originality will be possible to restore. The decision making ability of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Concordance Analysis Techniques (CAT) are utilized to identify the better decision or solution to the present problem. Some related attributes are identified by the method of surveying within the experts and the available reports and literatures. Similar criteria are removed and ultimately seven relevant ones are identified. All the attributes are compared with each other and rated accordingly to their importance over the other with the help of Pair wise Comparison Matrix. In the present investigation different mitigation measures are identified and compared to find the best suitable alternative which can solve the present uncertainties involving the existence of the Gumti Hydro Power Plant.

Keywords: concordance analysis techniques, analytic hierarchy process, hydro power

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Authors: Juan Pedro Aznar Alarcon, Josep Maria Sayeras Maspera

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Airbnb and other similar platforms are offering a near substitute to the traditional accommodation service supplied by the hotel sector. In this context, hotels can try to compete by offering higher quality and additional services, which imply the need for new investments or try to compete by reducing prices. The theoretical model presented in this paper analyzes the best response using a sequential game theory model. The main conclusion is that due to the financial constraints that small and medium hotels have these hotels have reduced prices whereas hotels that belong to international groups or have an easy access to financial resources have increased their investment to increase the quality of the service provided. To check the validity of the theoretical model financial data from Barcelona, London and Paris hotels have been used analyzing profitability, quality of the service provided, the investment propensity and the evolution of the gross profit. The model and the empirical data provide the base for some industrial policy in the hospitality industry. To address the extra cost that small hotels in Europe have to face compared by bigger firms would help to improve the level of quality provided and to some extent have positive externalities in terms of job creation and an increasing added value for the industry.

Keywords: Airbnb, profitability, hospitality industry, game theory

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Authors: Kevin Wongleedee

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The purposes of this research were to study the image of a flight attendant career from the perspective of high school students in Bangkok and to study the level of interest to pursue a flight attendant career. A probability random sampling of 400 students was utilized. Half the sample group came from private high schools and the other half came from public high schools. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and small in-depth interviews were also used to get their opinions about the image and their level of interest in the flight attendant career. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents had a medium level of interest in the flight attendant career. High school students who majored in Math-English were more interested in a flight attendant career than high school students who majored in Science-Math with a 0.05 level of significance. The image of flight attendant career was rated as a good career with a chance to travel to many countries. The image of flight attendance career can be ranked as follows: a career with a chance to travel, a career with ability to speak English, a career that requires punctuality, a career with a good service mind, and a career with an understanding of details. The findings from the in-depth interviews revealed that the major obstacles that prevented high school students from choosing a flight attendant as a career were their ability to speak English, their body proportions, and lack of information.

Keywords: flight attendant, high school students, image, media engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Khin Mar Yee, Mu Mu Than, Kyi Lint, Aye Aye Oo, Chan Mya Hmway, Khin Zar Chi Winn

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The dynamic changes of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes in Yangon have generally resulted the improvement of human welfare and economic development since the last twenty years. Making map of LULC is crucially important for the sustainable development of the environment. However, the exactly data on how environmental factors influence the LULC situation at the various scales because the nature of the natural environment is naturally composed of non-homogeneous surface features, so the features in the satellite data also have the mixed pixels. The main objective of this study is to the calculation of accuracy based on change detection of LULC changes by Support Vector Machines (SVMs). For this research work, the main data was satellite images of 1996, 2006 and 2015. Computing change detection statistics use change detection statistics to compile a detailed tabulation of changes between two classification images and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) process was applied with a soft approach at allocation as well as at a testing stage and to higher accuracy. The results of this paper showed that vegetation and cultivated area were decreased (average total 29 % from 1996 to 2015) because of conversion to the replacing over double of the built up area (average total 30 % from 1996 to 2015). The error matrix and confidence limits led to the validation of the result for LULC mapping.

Keywords: land use and land cover change, change detection, image processing, support vector machines

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Authors: Sai Amulya Gollapalli, Dilip A. Patel, Parth Patel K., Lukman E. Mansuri

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Accumulation of moisture is one of the most worrisome aspects of a building. Architects and engineers tend to ignore its vitality during the designing and construction stage. Major fatalities in buildings can be caused by it. People avoid spending a lot of money on waterproofing. If the same mistake is repeated, no deep thinking is done. The quality of workmanship and construction is depleting due to negligence. It is important to do an analysis of the water maintenance issues happening in the current buildings and give a database for all the factors that are causing the defect. In this research, surveys are done with two waterproofing consultants, two client engineers, and two project managers. The survey was based on a matrix that was based on the causes of water maintenance issues. There were around 100 causes that were identified. The causes were categorized into six, namely, manpower, finance, method, management, environment, and material. In the matrices, the causes on the x-direction matched with the causes on the y-direction. 3 Likert scale was used to make a pairwise comparison between causes on each cell. Matrices were evaluated for the main categories and for each category separately. A final ranking was done by the weights achieved, and ‘cracks arriving from various construction joints’ was the highest with 0.57 relative significance, and ‘usage of the material’ was the lowest with 0.03 relative significance. Twelve defects due to water leakage were identified, and interviewees were asked to make a pairwise comparison of them, too, to understand the priorities. When the list of causes is achieved, the prioritization as per the stratification analysis is done. This will be beneficial to the consultants and contractors as they will get a primary idea of which causes to focus on.

Keywords: water leakage, survey, causes, matrices, prioritization

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Authors: Pratima Tatke, Archana Avhad, Bhanu Duggal, Meeta Rajivlochan, Sujata Saunik, Pradip Vyas, Nidhi Pandey, Aditee Dalvi, Jyothi Subramanian

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Background: Smoking is well established risk factor for the development and progression of coronary artery disease. It is strongly related to morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular causes. The aim of this study is to observe effect of smoking status on percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) after 1 year. Methods: 2527 patients who underwent PCI at different hospital of Maharashtra(India) from 2012 to 2015 under the health insurance scheme which is launched by Health department, Government of Maharashtra for below poverty line(BPL) families which covers cardiology. Informed consent of patients was taken .They were followed by telephonic survey after 6months to 1year of PCI . Outcomes of interest included myocardial infarction, restenosis, cardiac rehospitalization, death, and a composite of events after PCI. Made group of two non smokers-1861 and smokers (including patients who quit at time of PCI )-659. Results: Statistical Analysis using Pearson’s chi square test revealed that there was trend seen of increasing incidence of death, Myocardial infarction and Restenosis in smokers than non smokers .Smokers had a greater death risk compared to nonsmoker; 5.7% and 5.1% respectively p=0.518. Also Repeat procedures (2.1% vs. 1.5% p=0.222), breathlessness (17.8% vs. 18.20% p=0.1) and Myocardial Infarction (7.3% vs. 10%) high in smoker than non smokers. Conclusion: Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were observed even after successful PCI in smokers. Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention should be encouraged to stop smoking.

Keywords: coronary artery diseases, major adverse cardiovascular events, percutaneous coronary intervention, smoking

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Authors: V. Baweja, K. K. Gupta, V. Dubey, C. Keshavam

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Antimicrobial activity of six indigenous plants such as Tulsi Ocimum sanctum, Neem Azadirachta indica, Aloe vera, Turmeric Curcuma longa, Lantana Lantana camara, and Clove Syzygium aromaticum was assessed against the gut microbiota of the dengue fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, keeping in view that the presence of midgut bacteria may affect the ability of the vector to transmit pathogens. Eleven different types of bacterial clones were isolated from the midgut of lab-reared fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and were grown on LB agar medium at an optimum temperature of 25 ºC. Identification of these bacteria was done on the basis of their colony characteristic such as colony size, shape, opacity, elevation, consistency, and growth. Light microscopic studies of the gut microbiota revealed dominance of Gram-negative cocci over gram positive cocci and bacilli and Gram-negative bacilli. Identification of species was done by chemical characterization of the colonies. Crude extracts of all test plants were screened for their antimicrobial activities against gut microbiota by disc diffusion assay. The zone of exclusion seen after 24 hr of incubation in different assays revealed the most potent antibacterial activities in neem followed by clove and turmeric. Lantana and Aloe vera were least effective.

Keywords: plant extract, aedes, dengue, antimicrobial activity

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Authors: Erez Yerushalmi, Sani Ziv

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The rising demand for healthcare services, without a corresponding rise in public supply, led to a debate on whether to increase private healthcare provision - especially in hospital services and second-tier healthcare. Proponents for increasing private healthcare highlight gains in efficiency, while opponents its risk to social welfare. None, however, provide a measure of the social value and its impact on the economy in terms of a monetary value. In this paper, we impute a minimum social value of public healthcare that corresponds to indifference between gains in efficiency, with losses to social welfare. Our approach resembles contingent valuation methods that introduce a hypothetical market for non-commodities, but is different from them because we use numerical simulation techniques to exploit certain market failure conditions. In this paper, we develop a general equilibrium model that distinguishes between public-private healthcare services and public-private financing. Furthermore, the social value is modelled as a by product of healthcare services. The model is then calibrated to our unique health focused Social Accounting Matrix of Israel, and simulates the introduction of a hypothetical health-labour market - given that it is heavily regulated in the baseline (i.e., the true situation in Israel today). For baseline parameters, we estimate the minimum social value at around 18% public healthcare financing. The intuition is that the gain in economic welfare from improved efficiency, is offset by the loss in social welfare due to a reduction in available social value. We furthermore simulate a deregulated healthcare scenario that internalizes the imputed value of social value and searches for the optimal weight of public and private healthcare provision.

Keywords: contingent valuation method (CVM), general equilibrium model, hypothetical market, private-public healthcare, social value of public healthcare

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Authors: Ki Moo Lim, Iman R. Tayibnapis

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According to WHO estimation, 38 out of 56 million (68%) global deaths in 2012, were due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). To avert NCD, one of the solutions is early detection of diseases. In order to do that, we developed 'U-Healthcare Mirror', which is able to measure vital sign such as heart rate (HR) and respiration rate without any physical contact and consciousness. To measure HR in the mirror, we utilized digital camera. The camera records red, green, and blue (RGB) discoloration from user's facial image sequences. We extracted blood volume pulse (BVP) from the RGB discoloration because the discoloration of the facial skin is accordance with BVP. We used blind source separation (BSS) to extract BVP from the RGB discoloration and adaptive filters for removing noises. We utilized singular value decomposition (SVD) method to implement the BSS and the adaptive filters. HR was estimated from the obtained BVP. We did experiment for HR measurement by using our method and previous method that used independent component analysis (ICA) method. We compared both of them with HR measurement from commercial oximeter. The experiment was conducted under various distance between 30~110 cm and light intensity between 5~2000 lux. For each condition, we did measurement 7 times. The estimated HR showed 2.25 bpm of mean error and 0.73 of pearson correlation coefficient. The accuracy has improved compared to previous work. The optimal distance between the mirror and user for HR measurement was 50 cm with medium light intensity, around 550 lux.

Keywords: blood volume pulse, heart rate, photoplethysmography, independent component analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: Ru-Yin Yang, Chi Wu, Cheng-Yu Tsai, Yin-Tzu Lin, Wen-Te Liu

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Background: Sleep breathing disorder (SDB) is a condition demonstrated by recurrent episodes of the airway obstruction leading to intermittent hypoxia and quality fragmentation during sleep time. However, the procedures for SDB severity examination remain complicated and costly. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish a simplified examination method for SDB by the respiratory impendence pattern sensor combining the signal processing and machine learning model. Methodologies: We records heart rate variability by the electrocardiogram and respiratory pattern by impendence. After the polysomnography (PSG) been done with the diagnosis of SDB by the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI), we calculate the episodes with the absence of flow and arousal index (AI) from device record. Subjects were divided into training and testing groups. Neuron network was used to establish a prediction model to classify the severity of the SDB by the AI, episodes, and body profiles. The performance was evaluated by classification in the testing group compared with PSG. Results: In this study, we enrolled 66 subjects (Male/Female: 37/29; Age:49.9±13.2) with the diagnosis of SDB in a sleep center in Taipei city, Taiwan, from 2015 to 2016. The accuracy from the confusion matrix on the test group by NN is 71.94 %. Conclusion: Based on the models, we established a prediction model for SDB by means of the wearable sensor. With more cases incoming and training, this system may be used to rapidly and automatically screen the risk of SDB in the future.

Keywords: sleep breathing disorder, apnea and hypopnea index, body parameters, neuron network

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Authors: Ali N. Suri, Ahmad A. Al-Makhlufi

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In this paper the problem of buckling of plates on foundation of finite length and with different side support is studied. The Finite Strip Method is used as tool for the analysis. This method uses finite strip elastic, foundation, and geometric matrices to build the assembly matrices for the whole structure, then after introducing boundary conditions at supports, the resulting reduced matrices is transformed into a standard Eigenvalue-Eigenvector problem. The solution of this problem will enable the determination of the buckling load, the associated buckling modes and the buckling wave length. To carry out the buckling analysis starting from the elastic, foundation, and geometric stiffness matrices for each strip a computer program FORTRAN list is developed. Since stiffness matrices are function of wave length of buckling, the computer program used an iteration procedure to find the critical buckling stress for each value of foundation modulus and for each boundary condition. The results showed the use of elastic medium to support plates subject to axial load increase a great deal the buckling load, the results found are very close with those obtained by other analytical methods and experimental work. The results also showed that foundation compensates the effect of the weakness of some types of constraint of side support and maximum benefit found for plate with one side simply supported the other free.

Keywords: buckling, finite strip, different sides support, plates on foundation

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Authors: Alemaw Kefale, Aramde Fetene, Hayal Desta

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This study analyzed the users' and experts' views on the green space quality and planning models in Debre Berhan (DB) and Debre Markos (DM) cities in Ethiopia. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 350 park users (148 from DB and 202 from DM) to rate the accessibility, size, shape, vegetation cover, social and cultural context, conservation and heritage, community participation, attractiveness, comfort, safety, inclusiveness, and maintenance of green spaces using a Likert scale. A key informant interview was held with 13 experts in DB and 12 in DM. Descriptive statistics and tests of independence of variables using the chi-square test were done. A statistically significant association existed between the perception of green space quality attributes and users' occupation (χ² (160, N = 350) = 224.463, p < 0.001), age (χ² (128, N = 350) = 212.812, p < 0.001), gender (χ² (32, N = 350) = 68.443, p < 0.001), and education level (χ² (192, N = 350) = 293.396, p < 0.001). 61.7 % of park users were unsatisfied with the quality of urban green spaces. The users perceived dense vegetation cover as "good," with a mean value of 3.41, while the remaining were perceived as "medium with a mean value of 2.62 – 3.32". Only quantitative space standards are practiced as a green space planning model, while other models are unfamiliar and never used in either city. Therefore, experts need to be aware of and practice urban green models during urban planning to ensure that new developments include green spaces to accommodate the community's and the environment's needs.

Keywords: urban green space, quality, users and experts, green space planning models, Ethiopia

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Authors: Parmjit S. Panesar, Rupinder Kaur, Ram S. Singh

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Enzymes are the biocatalysts which catalyze the biochemical processes and thus have a wide variety of applications in the industrial sector. β-Galactosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.23) also known as lactase, is one of the prime enzymes, which has significant potential in the dairy and food processing industries. It has the capability to catalyze both the hydrolytic reaction for the production of lactose hydrolyzed milk and transgalactosylation reaction for the synthesis of prebiotics such as lactulose and galactooligosaccharides. These prebiotics have various nutritional and technological benefits. Although, the enzyme is naturally present in almonds, peaches, apricots and other variety of fruits and animals, the extraction of enzyme from these sources increases the cost of enzyme. Therefore, focus has been shifted towards the production of low cost enzyme from the microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi. As compared to yeast and bacteria, fungal β-galactosidase is generally preferred as being extracellular and thermostable in nature. Keeping the above in view, the present study was carried out for the isolation of the β-galactosidase producing fungal strain from the food as well as the agricultural wastes. A total of more than 100 fungal cultures were examined for their potential in enzyme production. All the fungal strains were screened using X-gal and IPTG as inducers in the modified Czapek Dox Agar medium. Among the various isolated fungal strains, the strain exhibiting the highest enzyme activity was chosen for further phenotypic and genotypic characterization. The strain was identified as Rhizomucor pusillus on the basis of 5.8s RNA gene sequencing data.

Keywords: beta-galactosidase, enzyme, fungal, isolation

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Authors: Sukhwinder Singh, Julian Park, Dinesh Kumar Benbi

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Although soil health, which is recognized as one of the key determinants of sustainable agricultural development, can be measured by a range of physical, chemical and biological parameters, the widely used parameters include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), plant available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Soil health is largely affected by the occurrence of natural events or human activities and can be improved by various land management practices. A database of 120 soil samples collected from farmers’ fields spread across three major agro-climatic zones of Punjab suggested that the average pH, EC, OC, P and K was 8.2 (SD = 0.75, Min = 5.5, Max = 9.1), 0.27 dS/m (SD = 0.17, Min = 0.072 dS/m, Max = 1.22 dS/m), 0.49% (SD = 0.20, Min = 0.06%, Max = 1.2%), 19 mg/kg soil (SD = 22.07, Min = 3 mg/kg soil, Max = 207 mg/kg soil) and 171 mg/kg soil (SD = 47.57, Min = 54 mg/kg soil, Max = 288 mg/kg soil), respectively. Region-wise, pH, EC and K were the highest in south-western district of Ferozpur whereas farmers in north-eastern district of Gurdaspur had the best soils in terms of OC and P. The soils in the central district of Barnala had lower OC, P and K than the respective overall averages while its soils were normal but skewed towards alkalinity. Besides agro-climatic conditions, the size of landholding and farmer education showed a significant association with Soil Fertility Index (SFI), a composite index calculated using the aforementioned parameters’ normalized weightage. All the four stakeholder groups cited the current cropping patterns, burning of rice crop residue, and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers for change in soil health. However, the current state of soil health in Punjab is unclear, which needs further investigation based on temporal data collected from the same field to see the short and long-term impacts of various crop combinations and varied cropping intensity levels on soil health.

Keywords: soil health, punjab agriculture, sustainability, soil fertility index

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Authors: Asavasereerat K., Teacharsripaitoon T., Tungyingyong P., Charupongrat S., Noppiboon S. Hochareon L., Kitsuban P.

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Third generation of vaccines is based on gene therapy where DNA is introduced into patients. The antigenic or therapeutic proteins encoded from transgenes DNA triggers an immune-response to counteract various diseases. Moreover, DNA vaccine offers the customization of its ability on protection and treatment with high stability. The production of DNA vaccines become of interest. According to USFDA guidance for industry, the recommended limits for impurities from host cell are lower than 1%, and the active conformation homogeneity supercoiled DNA, is more than 80%. Thus, the purification strategy using two-steps chromatography has been established and verified for its robustness. Herein, pVax1/lacZ, a pre-approved USFDA DNA vaccine backbone, was used and transformed into E. coli strain DH5α. Three purification process parameters including sample-loading flow rate, the salt concentration in washing and eluting buffer, were studied and the experiment was designed using response surface method with central composite face-centered (CCF) as a model. The designed range of selected parameters was 10% variation from the optimized set point as a safety factor. The purity in the percentage of supercoiled conformation obtained from each chromatography step, AIEX and HIC, were analyzed by HPLC. The response data were used to establish regression model and statistically analyzed followed by Monte Carlo simulation using SAS JMP. The results on the purity of the product obtained from AIEX and HIC are between 89.4 to 92.5% and 88.3 to 100.0%, respectively. Monte Carlo simulation showed that the pVAX1/lacZ purification process is robust with confidence intervals of 0.90 in range of 90.18-91.00% and 95.88-100.00%, for AIEX and HIC respectively.

Keywords: AIEX, DNA vaccine, HIC, puification, response surface method, robustness

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Authors: Benaliouche Hana, Abdessemed Djamal, Meniai Abdessalem, Lesage Geoffroy, Heran Marc

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This paper presents a dynamic mathematical model of activated sludge which is able to predict the formation and degradation kinetics of SMP (Soluble microbial products) in membrane bioreactor systems. The model is based on a calibrated version of ASM1 with the theory of production and degradation of SMP. The model was calibrated on the experimental data from MBR (Mathematical modeling Membrane bioreactor) pilot plant. Analytical expressions have been developed, describing the concentrations of the main state variables present in the sludge matrix, with the inclusion of only six additional linear differential equations. The objective is to present a new dynamic mathematical model of activated sludge capable of predicting the formation and degradation kinetics of SMP (UAP and BAP) from the submerged membrane bioreactor (BRMI), operating at low organic load (C / N = 3.5), for two sludge retention times (SRT) fixed at 40 days and 60 days, to study their impact on membrane fouling, The modeling study was carried out under the steady-state condition. Analytical expressions were then validated by comparing their results with those obtained by simulations using GPS-X-Hydromantis software. These equations made it possible, by means of modeling approaches (ASM1), to identify the operating and kinetic parameters and help to predict membrane fouling.

Keywords: Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM1), mathematical modeling membrane bioreactor, soluble microbial products, UAP, BAP, Modeling SMP, MBR, heterotrophic biomass

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Authors: Mathias B. Michael, Esther T. Akinlabi, Tien-Chien Jen

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The current energy crisis in Ghana has affected significant number of industries which have direct impact on the country’s economy. Amongst the affected industries are palm oil production industries even though the impact is less as compared to fully relied national grid industries. Most of the large and medium palm oil production industries are partially grid reliance, however, the unavailability and the high cost palm biomass poses huge challenge. This paper aimed to identify and analyse the energy challenges associated with the palm oil production industries in Ghana. The study is conducted on the nine largest palm oil production plants in Ghana. Data is obtained by the use of questionnaire and observation. Since the study aimed to compare the respective energy challenges associated with nine industrial plants under study and establish a benchmark that represents a common problem of all the nine plants under study, the study uses percentile analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) as the statistical tools to validate the benchmark. The results indicate that lack of sustainability of palm biomass supply chain is the key energy challenge in the palm oil production industries in Ghana. Other problems include intermittent power supply from the grid and the low boiler efficiency due to outmoded conversion technology of the boilers. The result also demonstrates that there are statistically significant differences between the technologies in different age groups in relation to technology conversion efficiency.

Keywords: palm biomass, steam supply, energy challenges, energy benchmark

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Authors: D. Tassalit, N. Chekir, O. Benhabiles, N. A. Laoufi, F. Bentahar

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In the setting of the waters purification, some molecules appear recalcitrant to the traditional treatments. The exploitation of the properties of some catalysts permits to amplify the oxidization performances with ultraviolet radiance and to remove this pollution by a non biological way. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a photocatalysis oxidation system for organic pollutants treatment using a new reactor design and ZnO/TiO2 as a catalyst under UV light. Oxidative degradation of tylosin by hydroxyl radicals (OH°) was studied in aqueous medium using suspended forms of ZnO and TiO2. The results improve that the treatment was affected by many factors such as flow-rate of solution, initial pollutant concentration and catalyst concentration. The rate equation for the tylosin degradation followed first order kinetics and the rate-constants were determined. The reaction rate fitted well with Langmuir–Hinshelwood model and the removed ratio of tylosin was 97 % in less than 60 minutes. To determine the optimum catalyst loading, a series of experiments were carried out by varying the amount of catalyst from 0.05 to 0.5 g/L. The results demonstrate that the rate of photodegradation is optimum with catalyst loading of 0.1 g/L, reaction flow rate of 3.79 mL/s and solution natural pH. The rate was found to increase with the decrease in tylosin concentration from 30 to 5 mg/L. Therefore, this simple photoreactor design for the removal of organic pollutants has the potential to be used in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: advanced oxidation, photocatalysis, TiO2, ZnO, UV light, pharmaceuticals pollutants, Spiramycin, tylosin, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Antonella Cartoni, Mattea Carmen Castrovilli

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A biosensor for lactate detection has been developed using an environmentally friendly approach. The biosensor is based on lactate oxidase (LOX) and has remarkable capabilities for reuse and storage at room temperature. The manufacturing technique employed is ambient electrospray deposition (ESD), which enables efficient and sustainable immobilization of the LOX enzyme on a cost-effective com-mercial screen-printed Prussian blue/carbon electrode (PB/C-SPE). The study demonstrates that the ESD technology allows the biosensor to be stored at ambient pressure and temperature for extended periods without affecting the enzymatic activity. The biosensor can be stored for up to 90 days without requiring specific storage conditions, and it can be reused for up to 24 measurements on both freshly prepared electrodes and electrodes that are three months old. The LOX-based biosensor exhibits a lin-ear range of lactate detection between 0.1 and 1 mM, with a limit of detection of 0.07±0.02 mM. Ad-ditionally, it does not exhibit any memory effects. The immobilization process does not involve the use of entrapment matrices or hazardous chemicals, making it environmentally sustainable and non-toxic compared to current methods. Furthermore, the application of a electrospray deposition cycle on previously used biosensors rejuvenates their performance, making them comparable to freshly made biosensors. This highlights the excellent recycling potential of the technique, eliminating the waste as-sociated with disposable devices.

Keywords: green friendly, reuse, storage performance, immobilization, matrix-free, electrospray deposition, biosensor, lactate oxidase, enzyme

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Authors: Shiri Elisheva Decktor, Sharon Hornstein

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Highway merges and unmarked junctions are key components in any urban road network, which can act as bottlenecks and create traffic disruption. Inefficient highway merges may trigger traffic instabilities such as stop-and-go waves, pose safety conditions and lead to longer journey times. These phenomena occur spontaneously if the average vehicle density exceeds a certain critical value. This study focuses on modeling the traffic using a microscopic traffic flow model. A hybrid traffic model, which combines human-driven and controlled vehicles is assumed. The controlled vehicles obey different driving policies when approaching the merge, or in the vicinity of other vehicles. We developed a co-simulation model in SUMO (Simulation of Urban Mobility), in which the human-driven cars are modeled using the IDM model, and the controlled cars are modeled using a dedicated controller. The scenario chosen for this study is a closed track with one merge and one exit, which could be later implemented using a scaled infrastructure on our lab setup. This will enable us to benchmark the results of this study obtained in simulation, to comparable results in similar conditions in the lab. The metrics chosen for the comparison of the performance of our algorithm on the overall traffic conditions include the average speed, wait time near the merge, and throughput after the merge, measured under different travel demand conditions (low, medium, and heavy traffic).

Keywords: highway merges, traffic modeling, SUMO, driving policy

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Authors: Ahmed Noor Al-qayyim, Barlas Özden Çağlayan

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Structural failure is caused mainly by damage that often occurs on structures. Many researchers focus on obtaining very efficient tools to detect the damage in structures in the early state. In the past decades, a subject that has received considerable attention in literature is the damage detection as determined by variations in the dynamic characteristics or response of structures. This study presents a new damage identification technique. The technique detects the damage location for the incomplete structure system using output data only. The method indicates the damage based on the free vibration test data by using “Two Points - Condensation (TPC) technique”. This method creates a set of matrices by reducing the structural system to two degrees of freedom systems. The current stiffness matrices are obtained from optimization of the equation of motion using the measured test data. The current stiffness matrices are compared with original (undamaged) stiffness matrices. High percentage changes in matrices’ coefficients lead to the location of the damage. TPC technique is applied to the experimental data of a simply supported steel beam model structure after inducing thickness change in one element. Where two cases are considered, the method detects the damage and determines its location accurately in both cases. In addition, the results illustrate that these changes in stiffness matrix can be a useful tool for continuous monitoring of structural safety using ambient vibration data. Furthermore, its efficiency proves that this technique can also be used for big structures.

Keywords: damage detection, optimization, signals processing, structural health monitoring, two points–condensation

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Authors: Syeda Shawana Mahasan, Muhammad Farooq Akhtar

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The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the green marketing mix strategy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the performance of an organization, taking into account the mediating effect of corporate image. The impact of frugal innovation and corporate activism is being examined. The data was gathered from executives at various levels of management, including top, middle, and lower-level managers, from a total of 550 manufacturing enterprises of different sizes, ranging from small to medium to large. The collected replies are processed and analyzed using SMART PLS version 4.0.0.0. The application of PLS-SEM demonstrates that the green marketing mix strategy and corporate social responsibility have a significant impact on organizational performance. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to effectively adopt environmentally sustainable and socially conscious methods within their operations. The results indicate that the corporate image has a key role in mediating the relationship between the green marketing mix strategy, corporate social responsibility, and organizational performance. This demonstrates the imperative for organizations to actively enhance their favorable reputation among stakeholders. The combination of frugal innovation and corporate activism enhances the connection between corporate image and organizational performance. The current study assists managers in recognizing the significance of these particular constructs in maintaining the long-term performance of the organization.

Keywords: green marketing mix strategy, CSR, corporate image, organizational performance, frugal innovation, corporate activism

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Authors: Girlly Marchlina Listyono, Abdurrokhim Abdurrokhim, Emi Sukiyah, Pulung Arya Pranantya

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Jakarta Area is composed by deposit which has various lithology characteristics. Based on its lithology types, colors, textures, mineral dan organic content from 22 wells scattered on Jakarta, lithofacies analysis and intra-wells data correlation can be done. From the analysis, it can be interpretated that Jakarta deposit deposited in marine, transition and terrestrial depositional environments. Terrestrial deposit characterized by domination of relatively coarse clastics and content of remaining roots, woods, plants, high content of quartz, lithic fragment, calcareous and oxidated appearace. The thickness of terrestrial deposit is thickening to south. Transitional deposit characterized by fine to medium clastics with dark color, high content of organic matter, various thickness in any ways. Marine deposit characterized by finer clastics, contain remain of shells, fosil, coral, limestone fragments, glauconites, calcareous. Marine deposit relatively thickening to north. Those lateral variety caused by tectonic, subsidence and stratigraphic condition. Deposition of Jakarta deposit from the data research was started on marine depositional environment which surrounded by the event of cycle of regression and transgression then ended with regression which ongoing until form shore line in north Jakarta nowadays.

Keywords: deposit, Indonesia, Jakarta, sediment, stratigraphy

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Authors: Haifeng Wang, Haili Zhang

Abstract:

Most movie recommendation systems have been developed for customers to find items of interest. This work introduces a predictive model usable by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are in need of a data-based and analytical approach to stock proper movies for local audiences and retain more customers. We used classification models to extract features from thousands of customers’ demographic, behavioral and social information to predict their movie genre preference. In the implementation, a Gaussian kernel support vector machine (SVM) classification model and a logistic regression model were established to extract features from sample data and their test error-in-sample were compared. Comparison of error-out-sample was also made under different Vapnik–Chervonenkis (VC) dimensions in the machine learning algorithm to find and prevent overfitting. Gaussian kernel SVM prediction model can correctly predict movie genre preferences in 85% of positive cases. The accuracy of the algorithm increased to 93% with a smaller VC dimension and less overfitting. These findings advance our understanding of how to use machine learning approach to predict customers’ preferences with a small data set and design prediction tools for these enterprises.

Keywords: computational social science, movie preference, machine learning, SVM

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Daniyar Seitenov, Nazim Mir-Nasiri

Abstract:

Optimization of horizontal axis semi-exposed wind turbine has been performed using a shield protection that automatically protects the generator shaft at extreme wind speeds from over speeding, mechanical damage and continues generating electricity during the high wind speed conditions. A semi-exposed to wind generator has been designed and its structure has been described in this paper. The simplified point-force dynamic load model on the blades has been derived for normal and extreme wind conditions with and without shield involvement. Numerical simulation has been conducted at different values of wind speed to study the efficiency of shield application. The obtained results show that the maximum power generated by the wind turbine with shield does not exceed approximately the rated value of the generator, where shield serves as an automatic break for extreme wind speed values of 15 m/sec and above. Meantime the wind turbine without shield produced a power that is much larger than the rated value. The optimized horizontal axis semi-exposed wind turbine with shield protection is suitable for low and medium power generation when installed on the roofs of high rise buildings for harvesting wind energy. Wind shield works automatically with no power consumption. The structure of the generator with the protection, math simulation of kinematics and dynamics of power generation has been described in details in this paper.

Keywords: renewable energy, wind turbine, wind turbine optimization, high wind speed

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Anas Ali

Abstract:

The British administration at Malabar, the southern coastal commercial outpost in the Indian Subcontinent, faced with a series of perpetual revolts from the Mappila Muslim peasants during the last decades of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century. The control of Malabar region was a concern for the British administrators as the region was a prime centre of spice trade and plantation products. The Madras government set up a special police battalion called the Malabar Special Police in 1884 and summoned different army battalions to Malabar to crush the revolts. The setting up of army camps in the rural Malabar led to the diffusion of modern sports as the army men played different games in the garrisons and with the local people. For the imperial army men deployed in Malabar, sports acted as a viable medium to strengthen solidarity with other European settlers. They actively participated in the ‘Canterbury Week’, an annual sporting event organized by the European planters and organized tournaments among themselves. This paper would argue that, sports enabled the imperial army men, European planters and British administrators to build camaraderie that enabled them to manifest their imperial solidarity during the time of these constant revolts. Based on newspaper reports and colonial memoirs, this paper would look at how modern sports enabled the imperial army men to be ‘good in health’ and create a feeling of ‘being at home’ during this period.

Keywords: imperial army, Malabar, modern sports, mutiny

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Dina Magdy Abdo, Ayat N. El-Shazly, E. A. Abdel-Aal

Abstract:

Forward osmosis (FO) is one of the important processes during the wastewater treatment system for environmental remediation and fresh water regeneration. Both Egypt and China are troubled by over millions of tons of wastewater every year, including domestic and industrial wastewater. However, the traditional FO process in wastewater treatment usually suffers low efficiency and high energy consumption because of the continuously diluted draw solution. An additional concentration process is necessary to keep running of FO separation, causing energy waste. Based on the previous study on photothermal membrane, a sun-driven evaporation process is integrated into the draw solution side of FO system. During the sun-driven evaporation, not only the draw solution can be concentrated to maintain a stable and sustainable FO system, but fresh water can be directly separated for regeneration. Solar energy is the ultimate energy source of everything we have on Earth and is, without any doubt, the most renewable and sustainable energy source available to us. Additionally, the FO membrane process is rationally designed to limit the concentration polarization and fouling. The FO membrane’s structure and surface property will be further optimized by the adjustment of doping ratio of controllable nano-materials, membrane formation conditions, and selection of functional groups. A novel kind of nano-composite functional separation membrane with bi-interception layers and high hydrophilicity will be developed for the application in wastewater treatment. So, herein we aim to design a new wastewater treatment system include forward osmosis with high-efficiency energy recovery via the integration of photothermal membrane.

Keywords: forward osmosis, membrane, solar, water treatement

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Peter Kress, Alexander Pflaum, Ulrich Loewen

Abstract:

The number of Internet-of-Things (IoT) platforms is steadily increasing across various industries, especially for smart factories, smart homes and smart mobility. Also in the manufacturing industry, the number of Industrial-IoT platforms is growing. Both IT players, start-ups and increasingly also established industry players and small-and-medium-enterprises introduce offerings for the connection of industrial equipment on platforms, enabled by advanced information and communication technology. Beside the offered functionalities, the established ecosystem of partners around a platform is one of the key differentiators to generate a competitive advantage. The key question is how platform operators design the business model around their platform to attract a high number of customers and partners to co-create value for the entire ecosystem. The present research tries to answer this question by determining the key characteristics of business models of successful platforms in the manufacturing industry. To achieve that, the authors selected an explorative qualitative research approach and created an inductive comparative case study. The authors generated valuable descriptive insights of the business model elements (e.g., value proposition, pricing model or partnering model) of various established platforms. Furthermore, patterns across the various cases were identified to derive propositions for the successful design of business models of platforms in the manufacturing industry.

Keywords: industrial-internet-of-things, business models, platforms, ecosystems, case study

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Aleksandr I. Korobov, Natalia V. Shirgina, Aleksey I. Kokshaiskiy, Vyacheslav M. Prokhorov

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The paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effect of reverse mechanical load-unloading on the mechanical, linear, and nonlinear elastic properties of n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite. Samples for experimental studies of n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite were obtained by grinding AMg6 polycrystalline alloy in a planetary mill with 0.3 wt % of C60 fullerite in an argon atmosphere. The resulting product consisted of 200-500-micron agglomerates of nanoparticles. X-ray coherent scattering (CSL) method has shown that the average nanoparticle size is 40-60 nm. The resulting preform was extruded at high temperature. Modifications of C60 fullerite interferes the process of recrystallization at grain boundaries. In the samples of n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite, the load curve is measured: the dependence of the mechanical stress σ on the strain of the sample ε under its multi-cycle load-unloading process till its destruction. The hysteresis dependence σ = σ(ε) was observed, and insignificant residual strain ε < 0.005 were recorded. At σ≈500 MPa and ε≈0.025, the sample was destroyed. The destruction of the sample was fragile. Microhardness was measured before and after destruction of the sample. It was found that the loading-unloading process led to an increase in its microhardness. The effect of the reversible mechanical stress on the linear and nonlinear elastic properties of the n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite was studied experimentally by ultrasonic method on the automated complex Ritec RAM-5000 SNAP SYSTEM. In the n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite, the velocities of the longitudinal and shear bulk waves were measured with the pulse method, and all the second-order elasticity coefficients and their dependence on the magnitude of the reversible mechanical stress applied to the sample were calculated. Studies of nonlinear elastic properties of the n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite at reversible load-unloading of the sample were carried out with the spectral method. At arbitrary values of the strain of the sample (up to its breakage), the dependence of the amplitude of the second longitudinal acoustic harmonic at a frequency of 2f = 10MHz on the amplitude of the first harmonic at a frequency f = 5MHz of the acoustic wave is measured. Based on the results of these measurements, the values of the nonlinear acoustic parameter in the n-AMg6/C60 nanocomposite sample at different mechanical stress were determined. The obtained results can be used in solid-state physics, materials science, for development of new techniques for nondestructive testing of structural materials using methods of nonlinear acoustic diagnostics. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project №14-22-00042).

Keywords: nanocomposite, generation of acoustic harmonics, nonlinear acoustic parameter, hysteresis

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Authors: Pijush Roy, Vinay Kumar Rai

Abstract:

The present study highlights the estimation of soil loss and identification of critical area for implementation of best management practice is central to the success of soil conservation programme. The quantification of morphometric and Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) factors using remote sensing and GIS for prioritization of micro-watersheds in Asan River catchment, western Doon valley at foothills of Siwalik ranges in the Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand, India. The watershed has classified as a dendritic pattern with sixth order stream. The area is classified into very high, high, moderately high, medium and low susceptibility zones. High to very high erosion zone exists in the urban area and agricultural land. Average annual soil loss of 64 tons/ha/year has been estimated for the watershed. The optimum management practices proposed for micro-watersheds of Asan River basin are; afforestation, contour bunding suitable sites for water harvesting structure as check dam and soil conservation, agronomical measure and bench terrace.

Keywords: erosion susceptibility zones, morphometric characteristics, prioritization, remote sensing and GIS, universal soil loss equation

Procedia PDF Downloads 286