Search results for: William L. Gillis
172 Investigation of Topic Modeling-Based Semi-Supervised Interpretable Document Classifier
Authors: Dasom Kim, William Xiu Shun Wong, Yoonjin Hyun, Donghoon Lee, Minji Paek, Sungho Byun, Namgyu Kim
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There have been many researches on document classification for classifying voluminous documents automatically. Through document classification, we can assign a specific category to each unlabeled document on the basis of various machine learning algorithms. However, providing labeled documents manually requires considerable time and effort. To overcome the limitations, the semi-supervised learning which uses unlabeled document as well as labeled documents has been invented. However, traditional document classifiers, regardless of supervised or semi-supervised ones, cannot sufficiently explain the reason or the process of the classification. Thus, in this paper, we proposed a methodology to visualize major topics and class components of each document. We believe that our methodology for visualizing topics and classes of each document can enhance the reliability and explanatory power of document classifiers.Keywords: data mining, document classifier, text mining, topic modeling
Procedia PDF Downloads 395171 Geographic Differences in Access to HIV Prevention Services and Care among Sexual Minority Men in Puerto Rico
Authors: William Coburn, Dylan Hauchard, Amel Naouali
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Background: The nature of the HIV epidemic in Puerto Rico (PR) is less understood than in the continental U.S. There is evidence to suggest that there are differences in health care access based on geographical location, such that rural areas are less underserved and have less immediate access to HIV prevention resources. Methods: The current study consists of a cross-sectional online survey of self-reporting HIV-negative sexual minority men (SMM) residing in PR. Results: In this sample, there were no differences between urban and rural-based services for SMM. However, more than half of the sample reported that they have never disclosed their gender identity and sexual practices to a physician. Conclusion: HIV is a significant public health concern affecting Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S. Findings in this paper can have implications for HIV prevention services in PR specifically, as few studies have directly focused on the impact of HIV and health care services in PR outside of the continental U.S.Keywords: HIV, Puerto Rico, infectious diseases , public health
Procedia PDF Downloads 221170 A False Introduction: Teaching in a Pandemic
Authors: Robert Michael, Kayla Tobin, William Foster, Rachel Fairchild
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in education, particularly in the teaching of health and physical education (HPE). This study examined a cohort of teachers that experienced being a preservice and first-year teacher during various stages of the pandemic. Qualitative data collection was conducted by interviewing six teachers from different schools in the Eastern U.S. over a series of structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. The pandemic significantly impacted the way HPE was taught as schools shifted to virtual and hybrid models. Findings revealed five major themes: (a) You want me to teach HOW?, (b) PE without equipment and six feet apart, (c) Behind the Scenes, (d) They’re back…I became a behavior management guru, and (e) The Pandemic Crater. Overall, this study highlights the significant challenges faced by preservice and first-year teachers in teaching physical education during the pandemic and underscores the need for ongoing support and resources to help them adapt and succeed in these challenging circumstances.Keywords: teacher education, preservice teachers, first year teachers, health and physical education
Procedia PDF Downloads 175169 Reflector Arrangement Effect on Ultraviolet Lamp Performance by CFX Simulation
Authors: William Sidharta, Chin-Tu Lu
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Fluorescent ultraviolet lamp generates ultraviolet light which is commonly used in industrial field with certain purposes especially for curing process. Due to the value of inefficiency, there are changes in energy from electrical energy to the heat energy and this would make a defect on the industrial product caused by high temperature of lamp tube during ultraviolet light emission. The condition of industrial scale is further worsening, since commonly using dozens of fluorescent ultraviolet lamps to support huge production process and then it will generates much more heat energy. The maximum temperature of fluorescent ultraviolet lamp will get affected by arranging the lamp tube reflector and this study presents CFX simulation results of the maximum lamp tube temperature with some different reflector arrangements on purely natural convection phenomena. There exists certain spaces value of the reflector and the lamp tube to obtaining lower maximum temperature of the fluorescent ultraviolet lamp.Keywords: CFX simulation, fluorescent UV lamp, lamp tube reflector, UV light
Procedia PDF Downloads 458168 Design Procedure of Cold Bitumen Emulsion Mixtures
Authors: Hayder Shanbara, Felicite Ruddock, William Atherton, Ali Al-Rifaie
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In highways construction, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) is used predominantly as a paving material from many years. Around 90 percent of the world road network is laid by flexible pavements. However, there are some restrictions on paving hot mix asphalt such as immoderate greenhouse gas emission, rainy season difficulties, fuel and energy consumption and cost. Therefore, Cold Bitumen Emulsion Mixture (CBEM) is considered an alternative mix to the HMA. CBEM is the popular type of Cold Mix Asphalt (CMA). It is unheated emulsion, aggregate and filler mixtures, which can be prepared and mixed at ambient temperature. This research presents a simple and more practicable design procedure of CBEM and discusses limitations of this design. CBEM is a mixture of bitumen emulsion and aggregates that mixed and produced at ambient temperature. It is relatively easy to produce, but the design procedure that provided by Asphalt Institute (Manual Series 14 (1989)) pose some issues in its practical application.Keywords: cold bitumen, emulsion mixture, design procedure, pavement
Procedia PDF Downloads 243167 Tools for Analysis and Optimization of Standalone Green Microgrids
Authors: William Anderson, Kyle Kobold, Oleg Yakimenko
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Green microgrids using mostly renewable energy (RE) for generation, are complex systems with inherent nonlinear dynamics. Among a variety of different optimization tools there are only a few ones that adequately consider this complexity. This paper evaluates applicability of two somewhat similar optimization tools tailored for standalone RE microgrids and also assesses a machine learning tool for performance prediction that can enhance the reliability of any chosen optimization tool. It shows that one of these microgrid optimization tools has certain advantages over another and presents a detailed routine of preparing input data to simulate RE microgrid behavior. The paper also shows how neural-network-based predictive modeling can be used to validate and forecast solar power generation based on weather time series data, which improves the overall quality of standalone RE microgrid analysis.Keywords: microgrid, renewable energy, complex systems, optimization, predictive modeling, neural networks
Procedia PDF Downloads 275166 Sea-Spray Calculations Using the MESO-NH Model
Authors: Alix Limoges, William Bruch, Christophe Yohia, Jacques Piazzola
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A number of questions arise concerning the long-term impact of the contribution of marine aerosol fluxes generated at the air-sea interface on the occurrence of intense events (storms, floods, etc.) in the coastal environment. To this end, knowledge is needed on sea-spray emission rates and the atmospheric dynamics of the corresponding particles. Our aim is to implement the mesoscale model MESO-NH on the study area using an accurate sea-spray source function to estimate heat fluxes and impact on the precipitations. Based on an original and complete sea-spray source function, which covers a large size spectrum since taking into consideration the sea-spray produced by both bubble bursting and surface tearing process, we propose a comparison between model simulations and experimental data obtained during an oceanic scientific cruise on board the navy ship Atalante. The results show the relevance of the sea-spray flux calculations as well as their impact on the heat fluxes and AOD.Keywords: atmospheric models, sea-spray source, sea-spray dynamics, aerosols
Procedia PDF Downloads 142165 A Comparative Evaluation on the Quality of Products and Quality of Services of the Five Selected Fast Food Restaurants in Manila
Authors: M. Pagasa Nanette Rotairo
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The research focuses on the effectiveness, responsiveness, adequacy, and appropriateness of customer service of selected fast food restaurant using William Dunn’s four evaluation criteria tantamount to the focus of the research. Due to efficiency the fast food restaurants offer and the increasing demand for acquiring its services, the researcher conducted a study on the effectiveness of customer service of five popular restaurants in Metro Manila. Using descriptive method, the research is furthered in par with evaluation and implementation of different instruments effective for data gathering to further scientific judgment. Results of this research indicate that consumers consider the quality service as the major reason in patronizing fast food restaurants while they consider cleanliness and customer satisfaction as their least concern. Details of this study provided support on how the proposed operational model can further improve the services of fast food restaurants.Keywords: customer satisfaction, customer service, restaurant management, business operations
Procedia PDF Downloads 205164 A Theoretical and Corpus-Based Analysis of English and Spanish Syntax Derived from Método de Los Relojes Verb Types According to Systemic-Functional Grammar as a Foundation for Methodological Adaption
Authors: Timothy William Lawrence
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The goal of this paper is to research and categorize the four basic verb types found in the Spanish descriptive grammar book Método de los Relojes using verb clauses as representation as found in M.A.K. Halliday's Systemic-Functional Grammar with the purpose of establishing theoretical along with syntactical parallels and deviations between English and Spanish. Results confirm theoretical correlations exist therefore leading to an analysis of English grammar syntax resulting in delineating commonalities and differences from Spanish. Corpora searches were carried out on different patterns of syntactical structures confirming divergences in verb syntax, making it possible to establish parameters to adapt English verbs to the criteria of the four basic Método de los Relojes verb types.Keywords: corpus studies, Método de los Relojes, structural-functional grammar, verb syntax
Procedia PDF Downloads 185163 A t-SNE and UMAP Based Neural Network Image Classification Algorithm
Authors: Shelby Simpson, William Stanley, Namir Naba, Xiaodi Wang
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Both t-SNE and UMAP are brand new state of art tools to predominantly preserve the local structure that is to group neighboring data points together, which indeed provides a very informative visualization of heterogeneity in our data. In this research, we develop a t-SNE and UMAP base neural network image classification algorithm to embed the original dataset to a corresponding low dimensional dataset as a preprocessing step, then use this embedded database as input to our specially designed neural network classifier for image classification. We use the fashion MNIST data set, which is a labeled data set of images of clothing objects in our experiments. t-SNE and UMAP are used for dimensionality reduction of the data set and thus produce low dimensional embeddings. Furthermore, we use the embeddings from t-SNE and UMAP to feed into two neural networks. The accuracy of the models from the two neural networks is then compared to a dense neural network that does not use embedding as an input to show which model can classify the images of clothing objects more accurately.Keywords: t-SNE, UMAP, fashion MNIST, neural networks
Procedia PDF Downloads 190162 Computational Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics of a Nose Landing Gear
Authors: Kamal Haider
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Numerical simulations over landing gear of simplified and partially-dressed configurations with closed cavity have been performed to compute aerodynamically and aeroacoustics parameters using commercial engineering software. The objective of numerical computations is two folds. Firstly, to validate experimental data of newly built nose landing gear and secondly perform high-fidelity calculations using CFD/FW-H hybrid approach, as future engineering challenges need more advanced aircraft configurations such as performance noise and efficiency. Both geometries are used for multi-block structured, and unstructured/hybrid meshed to develop some understanding of physics in terms of aerodynamics and aeroacoustics. Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) approach is employed to compute surface pressure. Also far-field noise calculations have been generated by Ffowcs-William and Hawking solver. Both results of aerodynamics and aeroacoustics are compared with experimental data.Keywords: landing gear, computational aeroacoustics, computational aerodynamics, detached eddy simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 277161 SHARK FINS Rising: Awesome Power Beneath the Surface
Authors: David Parrish
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A critical challenge for a new school is creating an inclusive, meaningful culture. While a new school offers a “shiny’ exterior, its culture has yet to be created. In 2016, Charles J. Colgan, Sr. High School in Prince William County, opened its door. In its inaugural year, the FIN Friends club was created to start the process of building connections between general education and special education students. In eight years, the club has become a relentless contributor to the most inclusive, welcoming school culture possible. Through a commitment to consistent, year-round activities, the FINS accepts students from all schools and all grades. All schools strive for inclusion and a positive culture. Our model takes explicit action toward these elements. What we have created works; it is replicable and supports any school to build a more inclusive culture. Connections and belonging are directly related to every educational goal, including academic progress, equity, social-emotional health, etc. We want to share our story and collaborate with schools to create their own inclusion movement.Keywords: inclusion, culture, connections, belonging
Procedia PDF Downloads 57160 Long Term Love Relationships Analyzed as a Dynamic System with Random Variations
Authors: Nini Johana Marín Rodríguez, William Fernando Oquendo Patino
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In this work, we model a coupled system where we explore the effects of steady and random behavior on a linear system like an extension of the classic Strogatz model. This is exemplified by modeling a couple love dynamics as a linear system of two coupled differential equations and studying its stability for four types of lovers chosen as CC='Cautious- Cautious', OO='Only other feelings', OP='Opposites' and RR='Romeo the Robot'. We explore the effects of, first, introducing saturation, and second, adding a random variation to one of the CC-type lover, which will shape his character by trying to model how its variability influences the dynamics between love and hate in couple in a long run relationship. This work could also be useful to model other kind of systems where interactions can be modeled as linear systems with external or internal random influence. We found the final results are not easy to predict and a strong dependence on initial conditions appear, which a signature of chaos.Keywords: differential equations, dynamical systems, linear system, love dynamics
Procedia PDF Downloads 348159 Kauffman Model on a Network of Containers
Authors: Johannes J. Schneider, Mathias S. Weyland, Peter Eggenberger Hotz, William D. Jamieson, Oliver Castell, Alessia Faggian, Rudolf M. Füchslin
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In the description of the origin of life, there are still some open gaps, e.g., the formation of macromolecules cannot be fully explained so far. The Kauffman model proposes the existence of autocatalytic sets of macromolecules which mutually catalyze reactions leading to each other’s formation. Usually, this model is simulated in one well-stirred pot only, with a continuous inflow of small building blocks, from which larger molecules are created by a set of catalyzed ligation and cleavage reactions. This approach represents the picture of the primordial soup. However, the conditions on the early Earth must have differed geographically, leading to spatially different outcomes whether a specific reaction could be performed or not. Guided by this picture, the Kauffman model is simulated in a large number of containers in parallel, with neighboring containers being connected by diffusion. In each container, only a subset of the overall reaction set can be performed. Under specific conditions, this approach leads to a larger probability for the existence of an autocatalytic metabolism than in the original Kauffman model.Keywords: agglomeration, autocatalytic set, differential equation, Kauffman model
Procedia PDF Downloads 53158 Phase Detection Using Infrared Spectroscopy: A Build up to Inline Gas–Liquid Flow Characterization
Authors: Kwame Sarkodie, William Cheung, Andrew R. Fergursson
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The characterization of multiphase flow has gained enormous attention for most petroleum and chemical industrial processes. In order to fully characterize fluid phases in a stream or containment, there needs to be a profound knowledge of the existing composition of fluids present. This introduces a problem for real-time monitoring of fluid dynamics such as fluid distributions, and phase fractions. This work presents a simple technique of correlating absorbance spectrums of water, oil and air bubble present in containment. These spectra absorption outputs are derived by using an Fourier Infrared spectrometer. During the testing, air bubbles were introduced into static water column and oil containment and with light absorbed in the infrared regions of specific wavelength ranges. Attenuation coefficients are derived for various combinations of water, gas and oil which reveal the presence of each phase in the samples. The results from this work are preliminary and viewed as a build up to the design of a multiphase flow rig which has an infrared sensor pair to be used for multiphase flow characterization.Keywords: attenuation, infrared, multiphase, spectroscopy
Procedia PDF Downloads 363157 Teachers’ Perception of the Implementation of Inclusive Creative Arts Education
Authors: William Kwabena Nantwi
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This quantitative study investigates Creative Arts teachers' perceptions regarding the implementation of an Inclusive Creative Arts curriculum. The research employs a descriptive approach utilizing a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire comprising 15 items to gather data from Creative Arts educators. The Census with a disproportionate stratified sampling method was utilized to select 226 teachers from five educational circuits (Circuit A, B, C, D & E) within Offinso Municipality, Ghana. The findings indicate that most Creative Arts teachers hold a positive perception towards implementing an inclusive Creative Arts curriculum. Positive perceptions and attitudes among teachers are correlated with increased student engagement and participation in class activities. This study recommends organizing workshops and in-service training sessions focused on inclusive Creative Arts education for Creative Arts teachers. Additionally, it suggests that Colleges of Education and Universities responsible for teacher training integrate foundational courses in Creative Arts and Special Education into their primary education teacher preparation programs.Keywords: perception, attitude, inclusive education, creative art, creative arts teachers, Ghana
Procedia PDF Downloads 18156 Examining Criminology via Diverse Philosophical Paradigms: Considering the Nomological-Deductive Model of Science versus the Humanistic Tradition
Authors: William R. Crawley
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The current paper provides an examination of the primary conceptual and historical foundations leading to contemporary perspectives in criminological theory. This subject area involves the examination of theory that is vast and highly interdisciplinary but must, at its core, consider several postulates. The following areas of consideration will be the focus of this examination: presentation of various definitions of criminology as a discipline and attention to a dialogue which inquires as to whether criminological modes of explanation can be regarded as scientific with respect to focus, methods, and findings – e.g., conceptualization, operationalization, measurement strategies, analytical techniques, etc. Specifically, two opposing philosophical frameworks—naturalistic and anti-naturalistic philosophy—are examined by means of conceptual analysis for their necessary and sufficient conditions. Like all academic disciplines, for practitioners and students of criminology to understand and effectively use insights and discoveries, it is imperative that disciplinary axioms and methodologies are critically scrutinized. This paper provides a primer to this critique.Keywords: anti-naturalistic philosophy, humanistic tradition, is criminology a science, naturalistic philosophy, nomological-deductive model
Procedia PDF Downloads 65155 New York’s Heat Pump Mandate: Doubling Annual Heating Costs to Achieve a 13% Reduction in New York’s CO₂ Gas Emissions
Authors: William Burdick
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Manmade climate change is an existential threat that must be mitigated at the earliest opportunity. The role of government in climate change mitigation is enacting and enforcing law and policy to affect substantial reductions in greenhouse gasses, in the short and long term, without substantial increases in the cost of energy. To be optimally effective those laws and policies must be established and enforced based on peer reviewed evidence and scientific facts and result in substantial outcomes in years, not decades. Over the next fifty years, New York’s 2019 Climate Change and Community Protection Act and 2021 All Electric Building Act that mandate replacing natural gas heating systems with heat pumps will, immediately double annual heating costs and by 2075, yield less than 16.2% reduction in CO₂ emissions from heating systems in new housing units, less than a 13% reduction in total CO₂ emissions, and affect a $40B in cumulative additional heating cost, compared to natural gas fueled heating systems.Keywords: climate change, mandate, heat pump, natural gas
Procedia PDF Downloads 60154 Study of Atmospheric Cascades Generated by Primary Comic Rays, from Simulations in Corsika for the City of Tunja in Colombia
Authors: Tathiana Yesenia Coy Mondragón, Jossitt William Vargas Cruz, Cristian Leonardo Gutiérrez Gómez
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The study of cosmic rays is based on two fundamental pillars: the detection of secondary cosmic rays on the Earth's surface and the detection of the source and origin of the cascade. In addition, the constant flow of RC generates a lot of interest for study due to the incidence of various natural phenomena, which makes it relevant to characterize their incidence parameters to determine their effect not only at subsoil or terrestrial surface levels but also throughout the atmosphere. To determine the physical parameters of the primary cosmic ray, the implementation of robust algorithms capable of reconstructing the cascade from the measured values is required, with a high level of reliability. Therefore, it is proposed to build a machine learning system that will be fed from the cosmic ray simulations in CORSIKA at different energies that lie in a range [10⁹-10¹²] eV. in order to generate a trained particle and pattern recognition system to obtain greater efficiency when inferring the nature of the origin of the cascade for EAS in the atmosphere considering atmospheric models.Keywords: CORSIKA, cosmic rays, eas, Colombia
Procedia PDF Downloads 74153 Multiclass Support Vector Machines with Simultaneous Multi-Factors Optimization for Corporate Credit Ratings
Authors: Hyunchul Ahn, William X. S. Wong
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Corporate credit rating prediction is one of the most important topics, which has been studied by researchers in the last decade. Over the last decade, researchers are pushing the limit to enhance the exactness of the corporate credit rating prediction model by applying several data-driven tools including statistical and artificial intelligence methods. Among them, multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) has been widely applied due to its good predictability. However, heuristics, for example, parameters of a kernel function, appropriate feature and instance subset, has become the main reason for the critics on MSVM, as they have dictate the MSVM architectural variables. This study presents a hybrid MSVM model that is intended to optimize all the parameter such as feature selection, instance selection, and kernel parameter. Our model adopts genetic algorithm (GA) to simultaneously optimize multiple heterogeneous design factors of MSVM.Keywords: corporate credit rating prediction, Feature selection, genetic algorithms, instance selection, multiclass support vector machines
Procedia PDF Downloads 289152 Female Subjectivity in William Faulkner's Light in August
Authors: Azza Zagouani
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Introduction: In the work of William Faulkner, characters often evade the boundaries and categories of patriarchal standards of order. Female characters like Lena Grove and Joanna Burden cross thresholds in attempts to gain liberation, while others fail to do so. They stand as non-conformists and refuse established patterns of feminine behavior, such as marriage and motherhood after. They refute submissiveness, domesticity and abstinence to reshape their own identities. The presence of independent and creative women represents new, unconventional images of female subjectivity. This paper will examine the structures of submission and oppression faced by Lena and Joanna, and will show how, in the end, they reshape themselves and their identities, and disrupt or even destroy patriarchal structures. Objectives: Participants will understand through the examples of Lena Grove and Joanna Burden that female subjectivities are constructions, and are constantly subject to change. Approaches: Two approaches will be used in the analysis of the subjectivity formation of Lena Grove and Joanna Burden. Following the arguments propounded by Judith Butler, We explore the ways in which Lena Grove maneuvers around the restrictions and the limitations imposed on her without any physical or psychological violence. She does this by properly performing the roles prescribed to her gendered body. Her repetitious performances of these roles are both the ones that are constructed to confine women and the vehicle for her travel. Her performance parodies the prescriptive roles and thereby reveals that they are cultural constructions. Second, We will explore the argument propounded by Kristeva that subjectivity is always in a state of development because we are always changing in context with changing circumstances. For example, in Light in August, Lena Grove changes the way she defines herself in light of the events of the novel. Also, Kristeva talks about stages of development: the semiotic stage and the symbolic stage. In Light in August, Joanna shows different levels of subjectivity as time passes. Early in the novel, Joanna is very connected to her upbringing. This suggests Kristeva’s concept of the semiotic, in which the daughter identifies closely to her parents. Kristeva relates the semiotic to a strong daughter/mother connection, but in the novel it is strong daughter/father/grandfather identification instead. Then as Joanna becomes sexually involved with Joe, she breaks off, and seems to go into an identity crisis. To me, this represents Kristeva’s move from the semiotic to the symbolic. When Joanna returns to a religious fanaticism, she is returning to a semiotic state. Detailed outline: At the outset of this paper, We will investigate the subjugation of women: social constraints, and the formation of the feminine identity in Light in August. Then, through the examples of Lena Grove’s attempt to cross the boundaries of community moralities and Joanna Burden’s refusal to submit to the standards of submissiveness, domesticity, and obstinance, We will reveal the tension between progressive conceptions of individual freedom and social constraints that limit this freedom. In the second part of the paper, We will underscore the rhetoric of femininity in Light in August: subjugation through naming. The implications of both female’s names offer a powerful contrast between the two different forms of subjectivity. Conclusion: Through Faulkner’s novel, We demonstrate that female subjectivity is an open-ended issue. The spiral shaping of its form maintains its characteristics as a process changing according to different circumstances.Keywords: female subjectivity, Faulkner’s light August, gender, sexuality, diversity
Procedia PDF Downloads 388151 Comparison between Post- and Oxy-Combustion Systems in a Petroleum Refinery Unit Using Modeling and Optimization
Authors: Farooq A. Al-Sheikh, Ali Elkamel, William A. Anderson
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A fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is one of the effective units in many refineries. Modeling and optimization of FCCU were done by many researchers in past decades, but in this research, comparison between post- and oxy-combustion was studied in the regenerator-FCCU. Therefore, a simplified mathematical model was derived by doing mass/heat balances around both reactor and regenerator. A state space analysis was employed to show effects of the flow rates variables such as air, feed, spent catalyst, regenerated catalyst and flue gas on the output variables. The main aim of studying dynamic responses is to figure out the most influencing variables that affect both reactor/regenerator temperatures; also, finding the upper/lower limits of the influencing variables to ensure that temperatures of the reactors and regenerator work within normal operating conditions. Therefore, those values will be used as side constraints in the optimization technique to find appropriate operating regimes. The objective functions were modeled to be maximizing the energy in the reactor while minimizing the energy consumption in the regenerator. In conclusion, an oxy-combustion process can be used instead of a post-combustion one.Keywords: FCCU modeling, optimization, oxy-combustion, post-combustion
Procedia PDF Downloads 206150 Real-Time Sensor Fusion for Mobile Robot Localization in an Oil and Gas Refinery
Authors: Adewole A. Ayoade, Marshall R. Sweatt, John P. H. Steele, Qi Han, Khaled Al-Wahedi, Hamad Karki, William A. Yearsley
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Understanding the behavioral characteristics of sensors is a crucial step in fusing data from several sensors of different types. This paper introduces a practical, real-time approach to integrate heterogeneous sensor data to achieve higher accuracy than would be possible from any one individual sensor in localizing a mobile robot. We use this approach in both indoor and outdoor environments and it is especially appropriate for those environments like oil and gas refineries due to their sparse and featureless nature. We have studied the individual contribution of each sensor data to the overall combined accuracy achieved from the fusion process. A Sequential Update Extended Kalman Filter(EKF) using validation gates was used to integrate GPS data, Compass data, WiFi data, Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU) data, Vehicle Velocity, and pose estimates from Fiducial marker system. Results show that the approach can enable a mobile robot to navigate autonomously in any environment using a priori information.Keywords: inspection mobile robot, navigation, sensor fusion, sequential update extended Kalman filter
Procedia PDF Downloads 466149 Enhancing the Bionic Eye: A Real-time Image Optimization Framework to Encode Color and Spatial Information Into Retinal Prostheses
Authors: William Huang
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Retinal prostheses are currently limited to low resolution grayscale images that lack color and spatial information. This study develops a novel real-time image optimization framework and tools to encode maximum information to the prostheses which are constrained by the number of electrodes. One key idea is to localize main objects in images while reducing unnecessary background noise through region-contrast saliency maps. A novel color depth mapping technique was developed through MiniBatchKmeans clustering and color space selection. The resulting image was downsampled using bicubic interpolation to reduce image size while preserving color quality. In comparison to current schemes, the proposed framework demonstrated better visual quality in tested images. The use of the region-contrast saliency map showed improvements in efficacy up to 30%. Finally, the computational speed of this algorithm is less than 380 ms on tested cases, making real-time retinal prostheses feasible.Keywords: retinal implants, virtual processing unit, computer vision, saliency maps, color quantization
Procedia PDF Downloads 142148 'Sea Power: Concept, Influence and Securitization'; the Nigerian Navy's Role in a Developing State like Nigeria
Authors: William Abiodun Duyile
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It is common knowledge that marine food has always been found from the sea, energy can also be found underneath and, to a growing extent; other mineral resources have come from the sea spaces. It is the importance of the sea and the sea lines of communication to littoral nations that has made concepts such as sea power, naval power, etc., significant to them. The study relied on documentary data. The documentary data were sourced from government annual departmental reports, newspapers and correspondence. The secondary sources used were subjected to internal and external criticism for authentication, and then to textual and contextual analyses. The study found that the differential level of seamanship amongst states defined their relationship. It was sea power that gave some states an edge over the others. The study proves that over the ages sea power has been core to the development of States or Empires. The study found that the Nigerian Navy was centre to Nigeria’s conquest of the littoral areas of Biafra, like Bonny, Port-Harcourt, and Calabar; it was also an important turning point of the Nigerian civil war since by it Biafra became landlocked. The research was able to identify succinctly the Nigerian Navy’s contribution to the security and development of the Nigerian State.Keywords: sea power, naval power, land locked states, warship
Procedia PDF Downloads 131147 Laboratory Calibration of Soil Pressure Transducer for a Specified Field Application
Authors: Mohammad Zahidul Islam Bhuiyan, Shanyong Wang, Scott William Sloan, Daichao Sheng
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Nowadays soil pressure transducers are widely used to measure the soil stress states in laboratory and field experiments. The soil pressure transducers, investigated here, are traditional diaphragm-type earth pressure cells (DEPC) based on strain gauge principle. It is found that the output of these sensors varies with the soil conditions as well as the position of a sensor. Therefore, it is highly recommended to calibrate the pressure sensors based on the similar conditions of their intended applications. The factory calibration coefficients of the EPCs are not reliable to use since they are normally calibrated by applying fluid (a special type of oil) pressure only over load sensing zone, which does not represent the actual field conditions. Thus, the calibration of these sensors is utmost important, and they play a pivotal role for assessing earth pressures precisely. In the present study, TML soil pressure sensor is used to compare its sensitivity under different calibration systems, for example, fluid calibration, and static load calibration with or without soil. The results report that the sensor provides higher sensitivity (more accurate results) under soil calibration system.Keywords: calibration, soil pressure, earth pressure cell, sensitivity
Procedia PDF Downloads 235146 An Analysis of Non-Elliptic Curve Based Primality Tests
Authors: William Wong, Zakaria Alomari, Hon Ching Lai, Zhida Li
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Modern-day information security depends on implementing Diffie-Hellman, which requires the generation of prime numbers. Because the number of primes is infinite, it is impractical to store prime numbers for use, and therefore, primality tests are indispensable in modern-day information security. A primality test is a test to determine whether a number is prime or composite. There are two types of primality tests, which are deterministic tests and probabilistic tests. Deterministic tests are adopting algorithms that provide a definite answer whether a given number is prime or composite. While in probabilistic tests, a probabilistic result would be provided, there is a degree of uncertainty. In this paper, we review three probabilistic tests: the Fermat Primality Test, the Miller-Rabin Test, and the Baillie-PSW Test, as well as one deterministic test, the Agrawal-Kayal-Saxena (AKS) Test. Furthermore, we do an analysis of these tests. All of the reviews discussed are not based on the Elliptic Curve. The analysis demonstrates that, in the majority of real-world scenarios, the Baillie- PSW test’s favorability stems from its typical operational complexity of O(log 3n) and its capacity to deliver accurate results for numbers below 2^64.Keywords: primality tests, Fermat’s primality test, Miller-Rabin primality test, Baillie-PSW primality test, AKS primality test
Procedia PDF Downloads 82145 Moral Obligation as a Governor to Skeptical Theism's Relativism
Authors: Peter J. Morgan
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In response to evidential arguments from evil, Stephen Wykstra presents CORNEA (Condition of Reasonable Epistemic Access) as a foundational principle for Skeptical Theism which urges one to think in terms of what can be expected in a given situation. The use of CORNEA results in skepticism regarding the ability of human ken to know divine levels of knowledge in instances of intense evil. However, William Rowe presents a critique of Skeptical Theism that questions its ability to argue successfully for theism. Rowe contends that siding with Skeptical Theism is akin to boarding a trolley car that does not stop. Contra Wykstra, Rowe observes that, for all that can be known, there could be greater amounts of evils than goods, and the goods that are seen may not be the best possible goods. This amounts to a mortally challenging critique of Skeptical Theism. However, there is a brake on Rowe’s Trolley. This paper makes the argument that the ubiquitous presence of Moral Obligation (MO) serves as a braking system for Rowe’s Trolley. When the rider begins to feel lost in an epistemic stalemate of good and evil it is MO that turns the tide: MO serves as evidence towards the good on a basic human level, and it is a reminder that God’s character will result in actions towards the good.Keywords: CORNEA, moral obligation, problem of evil, skeptical theism
Procedia PDF Downloads 201144 Multimodal Direct Neural Network Positron Emission Tomography Reconstruction
Authors: William Whiteley, Jens Gregor
Abstract:
In recent developments of direct neural network based positron emission tomography (PET) reconstruction, two prominent architectures have emerged for converting measurement data into images: 1) networks that contain fully-connected layers; and 2) networks that primarily use a convolutional encoder-decoder architecture. In this paper, we present a multi-modal direct PET reconstruction method called MDPET, which is a hybrid approach that combines the advantages of both types of networks. MDPET processes raw data in the form of sinograms and histo-images in concert with attenuation maps to produce high quality multi-slice PET images (e.g., 8x440x440). MDPET is trained on a large whole-body patient data set and evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively against target images reconstructed with the standard PET reconstruction benchmark of iterative ordered subsets expectation maximization. The results show that MDPET outperforms the best previously published direct neural network methods in measures of bias, signal-to-noise ratio, mean absolute error, and structural similarity.Keywords: deep learning, image reconstruction, machine learning, neural network, positron emission tomography
Procedia PDF Downloads 106143 Material Characterization of Medical Grade Woven Bio-Fabric for Use in ABAQUS *FABRIC Material Model
Authors: Lewis Wallace, William Dempster, David Nash, Alexandros Boukis, Craig Maclean
Abstract:
This paper, through traditional test methods and close adherence to international standards, presents a characterization study of a woven Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). Testing is undergone in the axial, shear, and out-of-plane (bend) directions, and the results are fitted to the *FABRIC material model with ABAQUS FEA. The non-linear behaviors of the fabric in the axial and shear directions and behaviors on the macro scale are explored at the meso scale level. The medical grade bio-fabric is tested in untreated and heat-treated forms, and deviations are closely analyzed at the micro, meso, and macro scales to determine the effects of the process. The heat-treatment process was found to increase the stiffness of the fabric during axial and bending stiffness testing but had a negligible effect on the shear response. The ability of *FABRIC to capture behaviors unique to fabric deformation is discussed, whereby the unique phenomenological input can accurately represent the experimentally derived inputs.Keywords: experimental techniques, FEA modelling, materials characterization, post-processing techniques
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