Search results for: Long Short Term Memory

Authors: Kriti Singh, Saurabh Tripathi, Pankaj Chaudhary, Abid Ali Ansari, Seema Nigam

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Introduction: The introduction of android and iOS has changed our lives dramatically over the past few years. The new generation is more dependent on their mobile phones for carrying out their daily pursuits. Smartphones have revolutionized our lives. The cutdown in rates of mobile network services has been affecting us drastically. A new type of dependence is seen among the people for Smartphones. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the state of addiction among the group of medical students, along with its association with sleep hygiene and anxiety. Material and Method: Study included 50 individuals in the age group of 18-35 years. Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version, Sleep Hygiene Index, and Perceived Stress Scales were used conducting the study. Results: Mean age of 22 years (12%). The majority of subjects were 20-year olds (15 out of 50), the majority were males with few females. Mean Smartphone addiction score 39 (very severe), Mean Sleep Hygiene Index score 26.76 (moderate maladaptive hygiene and Mean Perceived Stress score of 19.92 (moderate stress). Conclusion: In majority students were found to have a very severe Smartphone Addiction with moderate sleep hygiene and a moderate level of perceived stress. The Smartphone was being used was for surfing social media applications.

Keywords: addiction perceived stress, sleep hygiene index, smartphone

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: A. Ikhlef

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Image noise in computed tomography, is mainly caused by the statistical noise, system noise reconstruction algorithm filters. Since last few years, low dose x-ray imaging became more and more desired and looked as a technical differentiating technology among CT manufacturers. In order to achieve this goal, several technologies and techniques are being investigated, including both hardware (integrated electronics and photon counting) and software (artificial intelligence and machine learning) based solutions. From a hardware point of view, electronic noise could indeed be a potential driver for low and ultra-low dose imaging. We demonstrated that the reduction or elimination of this term could lead to a reduction of dose without affecting image quality. Also, in this study, we will show that we can achieve this goal using conventional electronics (low cost and affordable technology), designed carefully and optimized for maximum detective quantum efficiency. We have conducted the tests using large imaging objects such as 30 cm water and 43 cm polyethylene phantoms. We compared the image quality with conventional imaging protocols with radiation as low as 10 mAs (<< 1 mGy). Clinical validation of such results has been performed as well.

Keywords: computed tomography, electronic noise, scintillation detector, x-ray detector

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Authors: Yesim Tumsek, Erkan Celebi

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In order to simulate the infinite soil medium for soil-foundation interaction problem, the essential geotechnical parameter on which the foundation stiffness depends, is the value of soil shear modulus. This parameter directly affects the site and structural response of the considered model under earthquake ground motions. Strain-dependent shear modulus under cycling loads makes difficult to estimate the accurate value in computation of foundation stiffness for the successful dynamic soil-structure interaction analysis. The aim of this study is to discuss in detail how to use the appropriate value of soil shear modulus in the computational analyses and to evaluate the effect of the variation in shear modulus with strain on the impedance functions used in the sub-structure method for idealizing the soil-foundation interaction problem. Herein, the impedance functions compose of springs and dashpots to represent the frequency-dependent stiffness and damping characteristics at the soil-foundation interface. Earthquake-induced vibration energy is dissipated into soil by both radiation and hysteretic damping. Therefore, flexible-base system damping, as well as the variability in shear strengths, should be considered in the calculation of impedance functions for achievement a more realistic dynamic soil-foundation interaction model. In this study, it has been written a Matlab code for addressing these purposes. The case-study example chosen for the analysis is considered as a 4-story reinforced concrete building structure located in Istanbul consisting of shear walls and moment resisting frames with a total height of 12m from the basement level. The foundation system composes of two different sized strip footings on clayey soil with different plasticity (Herein, PI=13 and 16). In the first stage of this study, the shear modulus reduction factor was not considered in the MATLAB algorithm. The static stiffness, dynamic stiffness modifiers and embedment correction factors of two rigid rectangular foundations measuring 2m wide by 17m long below the moment frames and 7m wide by 17m long below the shear walls are obtained for translation and rocking vibrational modes. Afterwards, the dynamic impedance functions of those have been calculated for reduced shear modulus through the developed Matlab code. The embedment effect of the foundation is also considered in these analyses. It can easy to see from the analysis results that the strain induced in soil will depend on the extent of the earthquake demand. It is clearly observed that when the strain range increases, the dynamic stiffness of the foundation medium decreases dramatically. The overall response of the structure can be affected considerably because of the degradation in soil stiffness even for a moderate earthquake. Therefore, it is very important to arrive at the corrected dynamic shear modulus for earthquake analysis including soil-structure interaction.

Keywords: clay soil, impedance functions, soil-foundation interaction, sub-structure approach, reduced shear modulus

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Thammamonr Khunrattanaporn

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The purpose of the research was to examine the relationship between the marketing mix factors and valuable of Muay Thai Training and Thai massage in foreign tourists’ perception. The research used the 8 P’s of marketing framework presented in the theory of compound marketing services strategy. Data was collect using survey for 400 questionnaires using the Quota sampling from foreign tourists travelling in Thailand. The data was analyzed to determine valuation statistics, the frequency, percent average, means and standard deviation and pearson's correlation coefficients. The result shows the foreign tourists’ perception with the marketing mix strategy in term of Muay Thai training and massage regarding curriculum areas: product, pricing, channel distribution, Promotion, Personnel services, Physical evidence and external partnerships the overall, it significant at a high level. The awareness level of service and value for travelers had two aspects of service quality and value for money it significant at the highest level.

Keywords: foreign tourists’ perception, marketing mix strategy, Muay Thai training, the massage

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Teboho J. Mosikari, Johannes T. Tsoku, Diteboho L. Xaba

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The increase of capital mobility across emerging economies has become an interesting topic for many economic policy makers. The current study tests the validity of Feldstein–Horioka puzzle for 5 BRICS countries. The sample period of the study runs from 2001 to 2014. The study uses the following parameter estimates well known as the Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS), and Dynamic OLS (DOLS). The results of the study show that investment and savings are cointegrated in the long run. The parameters estimated using FMOLS and DOLS are 0.85 and 0.74, respectively. These results imply that policy makers within BRICS countries have to consider flexible monetary and fiscal policy instruments to influence the mobility of capital with the bloc.

Keywords: Feldstein and Horioka puzzle, saving and investment, panel models, BRICS countries

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: They Shao Peng

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Machine vision system for inspection is an automated technology that is normally utilized to analyze items on the production line for quality control purposes, it also can be known as an automated visual inspection (AVI) system. By applying automated visual inspection, the existence of items, defects, contaminants, flaws, and other irregularities in manufactured products can be easily detected in a short time and accurately. However, AVI systems are still inflexible and expensive due to their uniqueness for a specific task and consuming a lot of set-up time and space. With the rapid development of mobile devices, smartphones can be an alternative device for the visual system to solve the existing problems of AVI. Since the smartphone-based AVI system is still at a nascent stage, this led to the motivation to investigate the smartphone-based AVI system. This study is aimed to provide a low-cost AVI system with high efficiency and flexibility. In this project, the object detection models, which are You Only Look Once (YOLO) model and Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) model, are trained, evaluated, and integrated with the smartphone and webcam devices. The performance of the smartphone-based AVI is compared with the webcam-based AVI according to the precision and inference time in this study. Additionally, a mobile application is developed which allows users to implement real-time object detection and object detection from image storage.

Keywords: automated visual inspection, deep learning, machine vision, mobile application

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Manoj M. Sarode, Sharad P. Jadhav, Mukesh D. Patil, Pushparaj S. Suryawanshi

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Even though the PID controller is widely used in industrial process, tuning of PID parameters are not easy. It is a time consuming and requires expert people. Another drawback of PID controller is that process dynamics might change over time. This can happen due to variation of the process load, normal wear and tear etc. To compensate for process behavior change over time, expert users are required to recalibrate the PID gains. Implementation of model based controllers usually needs a process model. Identification of process model is time consuming job and no guaranty of model accuracy. If the identified model is not accurate, performance of the controller may degrade. Model based controllers are quite expensive and the whole procedure for the implementation is sometimes tedious. To eliminate such issues Autotuning PID controller becomes vital element. Software based Relay Feedback Autotuning Controller proves to be efficient, upgradable and maintenance free controller. In Relay Feedback Autotune controller PID parameters can be achieved with a very short span of time. This paper presents the real time implementation of LabVIEW based Relay Feedback Autotuning PID controller. It is successfully developed and implemented to control level of a laboratory setup. Its performance is analyzed for different setpoints and found satisfactorily.

Keywords: autotuning, PID, liquid level control, recalibrate, labview, controller

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Authors: Mohamed A. Deyab, Omnia El-Shamy

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The main objective of this case study is to integrate the advantages of cathodic protection technologies in order to lessen chloride-induced corrosion in reinforced concrete. This research employs potentiodynamic polarisation, impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and surface characteristics. The results showed how effectively the new cathodic control strategy is preventing corrosion of the concrete iron rods. Over time, the protective system becomes more reliable and effective. The potentials of the zinc electrode persist still more negative after 30 days, implying that the zinc electrode can maintain powerful electrocatalytic behavior for a long period of time. As per the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), using the CP technique reduces the rate of corrosion of rebar iron in cementitious materials over time.

Keywords: cathodic protection, corrosion, reinforced concrete, chloride

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Authors: Hamed Rahmani, Wim Groot

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The term "youth not in employment, education or training (NEET)" refers to a combination of youth unemployment and school dropout. This study investigates the variables that increase the risk of becoming NEET in Iran. A selection bias-adjusted Probit model was employed using machine learning to identify these risk factors. We used cross-sectional data obtained from the Statistical Centre of Iran and the Ministry of Cooperatives Labour and Social Welfare that was taken from the labour force survey conducted in the spring of 2021. We look at years of education, work experience, housework, the number of children under the age of six in the home, family education, birthplace, and the amount of land owned by households. Results show that hours spent performing domestic chores enhance the likelihood of youth becoming NEET, and years of education and years of potential work experience decrease the chance of being NEET. The findings also show that female youth born in cities were less likely than those born in rural regions to become NEET.

Keywords: NEET youth, probit, CART, machine learning, unemployment

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Authors: Riktesh Srivastava

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Online Shopping have established an astonishing evolution in the last few years. And it is now apparent that B2C architecture is becoming progressively imperative channel for even traditional brick and mortar type traders as well. In this completion knowing customers and predicting behavior are extremely important. More important, when any customer logs onto the B2C architecture, the traces of their buying patterns can be stored and used for future predictions. Such a prediction is called Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Earlier, we used Net Present Value to do so, however, it ignores two important aspects of B2C architecture, “market risks” and “big amount of customer data”. Now, we use RFM- Recency, Frequency and Monetary Value to estimate the CLV, and as the term exemplifies, market risks, is well sheltered. Big Data Analysis is also roofed in RFM, which gives real exploration of the Big Data and lead to a better estimation for future cash flow from customers. In the present paper, 6 factors (collected from varied sources) are used to determine as to what attracts the customers to the B2C architecture. For these 6 factors, RFM is computed for 3 years (2013, 2014 and 2015) respectively. CLV and Revenue are the two parameters defined using RFM analysis, which gives the clear picture of the future predictions.

Keywords: CLV, RFM, revenue, recency, frequency, monetary value

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Ederaldo Godoy Junior, Ricardo O. Jesus, Pedro H. Jesus, José R. Camargo, Jorge Y. Oliveira, Nicoly Milhardo Lourenço

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This work aimed at the comparative study of the quality and quantity of biogas produced by archaea strain Methanothrix soehngenii operating in different versions of anaerobic digesters upflow sludge bed in the brewery wastewater treatment in Brazil in the tropical region. Four types of UASB digesters were studied made of different geometries and materials which are: a UASB IC steel 20 meters high; a circular UASB steel 6 meters high; an UASB reinforced concrete lined with geomembrane PEAB with 6 meters high; and finally a UASB plug flow comprising two UASB in serious rotomolded HDPE 6 meters high.Observed clearly that the biogas produced in the digester UASB steel H2S concentrations had values lower than the HDPE. With respect to efficiency in short time, the UASB IC showed the best results to absorb overloads, as the UASB circular steel showed an efficiency of 90% removal of the organic load. The UASB system plug flow in HDPE showed the lowest cost of deployment, and its efficiency in removing the organic load was 80%.

Keywords: biogas, achaeas, UASB, Brewery effluent

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Sudirman

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Competence is a term describing capability that correlates with a person’s occupation. The competence of a teacher consists of four, i.e., pedagogical, professional, personality and social competence. These four components are implemented during interacting with students to motivate the students and improve their achievement. The objective of this qualitative study is to explore the roles and contributions of certified teachers in alleviating the issue of poverty to promote a sustainable development. The data comprise primary and secondary data which were generated from observation, interview, documentation and library research. Furthermore, this study offers in-depth information regarding the performance of the teachers in coping with poverty and sustaining development. The result shows that the teacher’s competence positively contributes to the improvement of students’ achievement. This helps the students to prepare for the real work experience by which it results in a better income and, therefore, alleviate poverty. All in all, the quality of today’s teachers can be measured by their contribution in enhancing the students’ competence prior to entering real work, resulting in a wealthy society. This is to deal with poverty and conceptualizing a sustainable development.

Keywords: competence, development, poverty, teachers

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: N. Chayaopas, W. Assawinchaichote

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In order to maximize energy capturing from wind energy, controlling the doubly fed induction generator to have optimal power from the wind, generator speed and output electrical power control in wind energy system have a great importance due to the nonlinear behavior of wind velocities. In this paper purposes the design of a control scheme is developed for power control of wind energy system via H∞ fuzzy integral controller. Firstly, the nonlinear system is represented in term of a TS fuzzy control design via linear matrix inequality approach to find the optimal controller to have an H∞ performance are derived. The proposed control method extract the maximum energy from the wind and overcome the nonlinearity and disturbances problems of wind energy system which give good tracking performance and high efficiency power output of the DFIG.

Keywords: doubly fed induction generator, H-infinity fuzzy integral control, linear matrix inequality, wind energy system

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Authors: Bilal Ahmad

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative illnesses. However, how Gut-microbiota plays a role in the pathogenesis of AD is not well elucidated. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize and understand the current findings that may elucidate the gut microbiota's role in the development of AD. Methods: A literature review of all the relevant papers known to the author was conducted. Relevant articles, abstracts and research papers were collected from well-accepted web sources like PubMed, PMC, and Google Scholar. Results: Recent studies have shown that Gut-microbiota has an important role in the progression of AD via Gut-Microbiota-Brain Axis. The onset of AD supports the ‘Hygiene Hypothesis’, which shows that AD might begin in the Gut, causing dysbiosis, which interferes with the intestinal barrier by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and making its way up to the brain via the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Molecular mechanisms lipopolysaccharides and serotonin kynurenine (tryptophan) pathways have a direct association with inflammation, the immune system, neurodegeneration, and AD. Conclusion: The studies helped to analyze the molecular basis of AD, other neurological conditions like depression, autism, and Parkinson's disease and how they are linked to Gut-microbiota. Further, studies to explore the therapeutic effects of probiotics in AD and cognitive enhancement should be warranted to provide significant clinical and practical value.

Keywords: gut-microbiota, Alzheimer’s disease, second brain aging, lipopolysaccharides, short-chain fatty acids

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Yu-Lin Chen, Kimberly Koester, Marissa Raymond-Flesh, Anika Thapar, Jay Thapar

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Purpose: Effectively communicating adolescent health topics to teens and their parents is crucial. This study emphasizes critically evaluating the optimal use of artificial intelligence tools (AI), which are increasingly prevalent in disseminating health information. By fostering a deeper understanding of AI voice preference in the context of health, the research aspires to have a ripple effect, enhancing the collective health literacy and decision-making capabilities of both teenagers and their parents. This study explores AI voices' potential within health learning modules for annual well-child visits. We aim to identify preferred voice characteristics and understand factors influencing perceived trustworthiness, ultimately aiming to improve health literacy and decision-making in both demographics. Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed preferences and trust perceptions of AI voices in learning modules among teens (11-18) and their parents/guardians in Northern California. The study involved the development of four distinct learning modules covering various adolescent health-related topics, including general communication, sexual and reproductive health communication, parental monitoring, and well-child check-ups. Participants were asked to evaluate eight AI voices across the modules, considering a set of six factors such as intelligibility, naturalness, prosody, social impression, trustworthiness, and overall appeal, using Likert scales ranging from 1 to 10 (the higher, the better). They were also asked to select their preferred choice of voice for each module. Descriptive statistics summarized participant demographics. Chi-square/t-tests explored differences in voice preferences between groups. Regression models identified factors impacting the perceived trustworthiness of the top-selected voice per module. Results: Data from 104 participants (teen=63; adult guardian = 41) were included in the analysis. The mean age is 14.9 for teens (54% male) and 41.9 for the parent/guardian (12% male). At the same time, similar voice quality ratings were observed across groups, and preferences varied by topic. For instance, in general communication, teens leaned towards young female voices, while parents preferred mature female tones. Interestingly, this trend reversed for parental monitoring, with teens favoring mature male voices and parents opting for mature female ones. Both groups, however, converged on mature female voices for sexual and reproductive health topics. Beyond preferences, the study delved into factors influencing perceived trustworthiness. Interestingly, social impression and sound appeal emerged as the most significant contributors across all modules, jointly explaining 71-75% of the variance in trustworthiness ratings. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of catering AI voices to specific audiences and topics. Social impression and sound appeal emerged as critical factors influencing perceived trustworthiness across all modules. These findings highlight the need to tailor AI voices by age and the specific health information being delivered. Ensuring AI voices resonate with both teens and their parents can foster their engagement and trust, ultimately leading to improved health literacy and decision-making for both groups. Limitations and future research: This study lays the groundwork for understanding AI voice preferences for teenagers and their parents in healthcare settings. However, limitations exist. The sample represents a specific geographic location, and cultural variations might influence preferences. Additionally, the modules focused on topics related to well-child visits, and preferences might differ for more sensitive health topics. Future research should explore these limitations and investigate the long-term impact of AI voice on user engagement, health outcomes, and health behaviors.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, trustworthiness, voice, adolescent

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Authors: Devendra Gupta, Vikash Arya, Prabhat K. Singh

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Background: Ultrasound guidance could be beneficial in placing central venous catheters by improving the success rate, reducing the number of needle passes, and decreasing complications. Central venous cannulation set has a single puncture needle of a fixed length of 6.4 cm. However, the average distance of midpoint of IJV to the skin is around 1 cm to 2 cm. The long length needle has tendency to go in depth more than required and this is very common during learning period of any individual. Therefore, we devised a long needle with a guard which can be adjusted according to the required length. Methods: After approval from the institute ethics committee and patient’s written informed consent, a prospective, randomized, single-blinded controlled study was conducted. Adult patient aged of both sexes with ASA grade 1-2 undergoing surgery requiring internal jugular venous (IJV) access was included. After intubation, the head was rotated to the contralateral side at 30 degree head rotation on the position of the right IJV. The transducer probe a 6.5 to 13-MHz linear transducer (Sonosite, USA) had been placed at the apex of triangle with minimal pressure to avoid IJV compression. The distance from skin to midpoint of the right IJV and skin to anterior wall of Common Carotid Artery (CCA) had been done using B-mode duplex sonography with a 6.5 to 13-MHz linear transducer. Depending upon the results of randomization 420 patients had been divided into two groups of equal numbers (n=210). Group 1. USG guided right sided IJV cannulation was done with conventional (6.4 cm) needle; and Group 2. USG guided right sided IJV cannulation was done with conventional (6.4 cm) needle with guard fixed to a required length (length between skin and midpoint of IJV) by an experienced anesthesiologist. Independent observer has noted the number of attempts and occurrence of complications (CCA puncture, pneumothorax or adjacent tissue damage). Results: Demographic data were similar in both the group. The groups were comparable when considered for relationship of IJV to CCA. There was no significant difference between groups as regard to distance of midpoint of IJV to the skin (p<0.05). IJV cannulation was successfully done in single attempts in 180 (85.7%), in two attempts in 27 (12.9%) and three attempts in 3 (1.4%) in group I, whereas in single attempt in 207 (98.6%) and second attempts in 3 (1.4%) in group II (p <0.000). Incidence of carotid artery puncture was significantly more in group I (7.1%) compared to group II (0%) (p<0.000). Incidence of adjacent tissue puncture was significantly more in group I (8.6%) compared to group II (0%) (p<0.000). Conclusion: Therefore IJV catheterization using guard over the needle at predefined length with the help of real-time ultrasound results in better success rates and lower immediate complications.

Keywords: ultrasound guided, internal jugular vein cannulation, measured guided needle, common carotid artery puncture

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Authors: Seyed Fakhroddin Hejazi, Mohammad Saleh Sadeghi, Leili Iranirad

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Silent myocardial infarction is defined as the appearance of pathological Q waves in the electrocardiogram, without objective signs of myocardial infarction and any minimal or atypical symptoms. Although this condition has been known for a long time, but little is known about its phenomenon and the mechanisms of it remain unclear. Its coincidence with stroke is also still controversial. This case report introduces a middle-aged man with silent myocardial infarction presented with homonymous hemianopia, which except stage 1 hypertension, had no other major cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, family history of cardiac diseases and smoking. In conclusion, this case report indicated that existence of only one cardiovascular risk factor would lead to the development of MI or stroke.

Keywords: silent myocardial infarction, homonymous hemianopia, stroke, hypertension

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Authors: Hong-Yi Lin, Feng-Tyan Lin

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In a Bike-sharing system (BSS), users can easily rent bikes from any station in the city for mid-range or short-range trips. BSS can also be integrated with other types of transport system, especially Green Transportation system, such as rail transport, bus etc. Since BSS records time and place of each pickup and return, the operational data can reflect more authentic and dynamic state of user behaviors. Furthermore, land uses around docking stations are highly associated with origins and destinations for the BSS users. As urban researchers, what concerns us more is to take BSS into consideration during the urban planning process and enhance the quality of urban life. This research focuses on the simulation of travel behavior of BSS users in Kaohsiung. First, rules of users’ behavior were derived by analyzing operational data and land use patterns nearby docking stations. Then, integrating with Monte Carlo method, these rules were embedded into a travel behavior simulation model, which was implemented by NetLogo, an agent-based modeling tool. The simulation model allows us to foresee the rent-return behaviour of BSS in order to choose potential locations of the docking stations. Also, it can provide insights and recommendations about planning and policies for the future BSS.

Keywords: agent-based model, bike-sharing system, BSS operational data, simulation

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Authors: Ergun Sakalar, Kubra Bilgic

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Faster detection and characterization of pathogens are the basis of the evoid from foodborne pathogens. Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes are common foodborne bacteria that are among the most life-threatining. It is important to rapid and accurate detection of these pathogens to prevent food poisoning and outbreaks or to manage food chains. The present work promise to develop a sensitive, species specific and reliable PCR based detection system for simultaneous detection of Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. For this purpose, three genes were picked out, ompC for Salmonella spp., ipaH for Shigella spp. and hlyA for L. monocytogenes. After short pre-enrichment of milk was passed through a vacuum filter and bacterial DNA was exracted using commercially available kit GIDAGEN®(Turkey, İstanbul). Detection of amplicons was verified by examination of the melting temperature (Tm) that are 72° C, 78° C, 82° C for Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and L. monocytogenes, respectively. The method specificity was checked against a group of bacteria strains, and also carried out sensitivity test resulting in under 10² CFU mL⁻¹ of milk for each bacteria strain. Our results show that the flourescence based triplex qPCR method can be used routinely to detect Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and L. monocytogenes during the milk processing procedures in order to reduce cost, time of analysis and the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.

Keywords: evagreen, food-born bacteria, pathogen detection, real-time pcr

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Authors: Francisco Toledo-Castillo, María Josefa Sospedra-Baeza, Sergio Hidalgo-Fuentes

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Motorcycles constitute about 9% of all motorized vehicles in Spain and are generally overrepresented in traffic accidents, accounting for 21% of total accidents. Six years of motorcycle accident data were obtained through the national accident database of Spain (Dirección General de Tráfico). Some of the studied factors are age, gender, helmet wearing, alcohol consumption, speeding, subject’s driving license and for how long it has been held, the trip purpose, and the presence of a passenger on the vehicle. Key findings show helmet use, unsafe speed, the trip purpose, weather, distraction, collision type and other variables play significant roles in crash-injury outcomes. Finally, we examine evolution of mortality and severity from 2006 to 2011.

Keywords: motorcycle accidents, risk factors, statistics, Spain

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Authors: Zichun Guo

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Guangzhou's house price has long been lower than the other three major cities; with the gradual increase in Guangzhou's house price, the influencing factors of house price have gradually been paid attention to; this paper tries to use house price data and POI (Point of Interest) data, and explores the distribution of house price and influencing factors by applying the Kriging spatial interpolation method and geographically weighted regression model in ArcGIS. The results show that the interpolation result of house price has a significant relationship with the economic development and development potential of the region and that different POI types have different impacts on the growth of house prices in different regions.

Keywords: POI, house price, spatial heterogeneity, Guangzhou

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Authors: Xianghan O'Dea

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This article argues an urgent need to better understand the personal experiences of Chinese top-up students studying in the UK since the number of Chinese students taking year-long top-up programmes in the UK has risen rapidly in recent years. This lack of knowledge could potentially have implications for the reputation of some UK institutions and also the attractiveness of the UK higher education sector to future international students. This longitudinal study explored the academic and social experiences of twelve Chinese top-up students in a UK institution in-depth and revealed that the students felt their experiences were influenced significantly by their surrounding contexts at the macro and meso levels, which, however, have been largely overlooked in existing research. This article suggests the importance of improving the communications between the partner institutions in China and the UK, and also providing sufficient pre-departure and after arrival support to Chinese top-up students at the institutional level.

Keywords: articulation agreements, Chinese top-up students, top-up programmes, U-curve

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Authors: Taha Bensiradj, Samira Moussaoui

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Hybrid Sensors and Vehicular Networks (HSVN), represent a hybrid network, which uses several generations of Ad-Hoc networks. It is used especially in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). The HSVN allows making collaboration between the Wireless Sensors Network (WSN) deployed on the border of the road and the Vehicular Network (VANET). This collaboration is defined by messages exchanged between the two networks for the purpose to inform the drivers about the state of the road, provide road safety information and more information about traffic on the road. Moreover, this collaboration created by HSVN, also allows the use of a network and the advantage of improving another network. For example, the dissemination of information between the sensors quickly decreases its energy, and therefore, we can use vehicles that do not have energy constraint to disseminate the information between sensors. On the other hand, to solve the disconnection problem in VANET, the sensors can be used as gateways that allow sending the messages received by one vehicle to another. However, because of the short communication range of the sensor and its low capacity of storage and processing of data, it is difficult to ensure the exchange of road messages between it and the vehicle, which can be moving at high speed at the time of exchange. This represents the time where the vehicle is in communication range with the sensor. This work is the proposition of a communication protocol between the sensors and the vehicle used in HSVN. The latter has as the purpose to ensure the exchange of road messages in the available time of exchange.

Keywords: HSVN, ITS, VANET, WSN

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Authors: Tom Spears, Zotique Laframboise

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Soil inorganic carbon is the most common form of carbon in arid and semiarid regions, and has a very long turnover time. However, little is known about dissolved inorganic carbon storage and its turnover time in these soils. With 81 arid soil samples taken from 6 profiles in the Nepean Desert, Canada, we investigated the soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and the soil dissolved inorganic carbon (SDIC) in whole profiles of saline and alkaline soils by analyzing their contents and ages with radiocarbon dating. The results showed that there is considerable SDIC content in SIC, and the variations of SDIC and SIC contents in the saline soil profile were much larger than that in the alkaline profile. We investigated the possible implications for tectonic platelet activity but identified none.

Keywords: soil, carbon storage, acidity, soil inorganic carbon (SIC)

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Authors: Wafa’ Alsharafat, Khalid Batiha, Alaa Kassab

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Wireless sensor network (WSN) is comprised of a huge number of small and cheap devices known as sensor nodes. Usually, these sensor nodes are massively and deployed randomly as in Ad-hoc over hostile and harsh environment to sense, collect and transmit data to the needed locations (i.e., base station). One of the main advantages of WSN is that the ability to work in unattended and scattered environments regardless the presence of humans such as remote active volcanoes environments or earthquakes. In WSN expanding network, lifetime is a major concern. Clustering technique is more important to maximize network lifetime. Nature-inspired algorithms are developed and optimized to find optimized solutions for various optimization problems. We proposed Energy Efficient Firefly Algorithm to improve network lifetime as long as possible.

Keywords: wireless network, SN, Firefly, energy efficiency

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Authors: Hiroshi Ikeda

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In this research, a questionnaire survey was conducted to measure nap, drowsiness and fatigue of drivers who work long shifts, to discuss about the work environment and health conditions for taxi and bus drivers who work at night time. The questionnaire sheet used for this research was organized into the following categories: tension/tiredness, drowsiness while driving, and the nap situation during night-time work. The number of taxi drivers was 127 and the number of bus drivers was 40. Concerning the results of a comparison of nap hours of taxi and bus drivers, the taxi drivers’ nap hours are overwhelmingly shorter, and also the frequency of drivers who feel drowsiness is higher. The burden on bus drivers does not change because of the system of a two-driver rotation shift. In particular, the working environment of the taxi driver may lead to greater fatigue accumulation than the bus driver’s environment.

Keywords: bus and taxi, drowsiness, fatigue, nap

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Authors: Henni Mansour Abdelwaheb

Abstract:

This study discusses the design of a bounded position/force feedback controller developed to ensure position and force tracking for bilateral teleoperation arms operating with variable delay, and actuator saturation. Also, an adaptive robust Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network is used to estimate the environment torque. The parameters of the environment torque are then sent from the slave site to the master site as a non-power signal to avoid passivity problems. Moreover, a nonlinear function is applied to each controller term as a smooth saturation function, providing a bounded control signal and preserving the system’s actuators. Lastly, the Lyapunov approach demonstrates the global stability of the controlled system, and numerical experiment results further confirm the validity of the presented strategy.

Keywords: teleoperation manipulators system, time-varying delay, actuator saturation, adaptive robust rbf neural network approximation, uncertainties

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Authors: We'aam Alali, Ziad Saffour, Saker Saloum

Abstract:

Low-pressure, sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) remote radio-frequency (RF) plasma, ignited in a hollow cathode discharge (HCD-L300) plasma system, has been shown to be a powerful method in cotton fabric finishing to achieve water-repellent property. This plasma was ignited at an SF6 flow rate of (200 cm), low pressure (0.5 mbar), and radio frequency (13.56 MHz) with a power of (300 W). The contact angle has been measured as a function of the plasma exposure period using the water contact angle measuring device (WCA), and the changes in the morphology, chemical structure, and mechanical properties as tensile strength and elongation at the break of the fabric have also been investigated using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and tensile test device, respectively. In addition, weight loss of the fabric and the fastness of washing have been studied. It was found that the exposure period of the fabric to the plasma is an important parameter. Moreover, a good water-repellent cotton fabric can be obtained by treating it with SF₆ plasma for a short time (1 min) without degrading its mechanical properties. Regarding the modified morphology of the cotton fabric, it was found that grooves were formed on the surface of the fibers after treatment. Chemically, the fluorine atoms were attached to the surface of the fibers.

Keywords: cotton fabric, SEM, SF₆ plasma, water-repellency

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Authors: R. Ondarza-Rovira, T. J. M. Boyd

Abstract:

Intense femtosecond laser light incident on over-critical density plasmas has shown to emit a prolific number of high-order harmonics of the driver frequency, with spectra characterized by power-law decays Pm ~ m-p, where m denotes the harmonic order and p the spectral decay index. When the laser pulse is p-polarized, plasma effects do modify the harmonic spectrum, weakening the so-called universal decay with p=8/3 to p=5/3, or below. In this work, appeal is made to a single particle radiation model in support of the predictions from particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Using this numerical technique we further show that the emission radiated by electrons -that are relativistically accelerated by the laser field inside the plasma, after being expelled into vacuum, the so-called Brunel electrons is characterized not only by the plasma line but also by ultraviolet harmonic orders described by the 5/3 decay index. Results obtained from these simulations suggest that for ultra-relativistic light intensities, the spectral decay index is further reduced, with p now in the range 2/3 ≤ p ≤ 4/3. This reduction is indicative of a transition from the regime where Brunel-induced plasma radiation influences the spectrum to one dominated by bremsstrahlung emission from the Brunel electrons.

Keywords: ultra-relativistic, laser-plasma interactions, high-order harmonic emission, radiation, spectrum

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Authors: M. Kowalski, M. Kastek, M. Szustakowski

Abstract:

Multispectral screening systems are becoming more popular because of their very interesting properties and applications. One of the most significant applications of multispectral screening systems is prevention of terrorist attacks. There are many kinds of threats and many methods of detection. Visual detection of objects hidden under clothing of a person is one of the most challenging problems of threats detection. There are various solutions of the problem; however, the most effective utilize multispectral surveillance imagers. The development of imaging devices and exploration of new spectral bands is a chance to introduce new equipment for assuring public safety. We investigate the possibility of long lasting detection of potentially dangerous objects covered with various types of clothing. In the article we present the results of comparative studies of passive imaging in three spectrums – visible, infrared and terahertz

Keywords: terahertz, infrared, object detection, screening camera, image processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 361