Search results for: writing system variation
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 19967

Search results for: writing system variation

19397 Analogy in Microclimatic Parameters, Chemometric and Phytonutrient Profiles of Cultivated and Wild Ecotypes of Origanum vulgare L., across Kashmir Himalaya

Authors: Sumira Jan, Javid Iqbal Mir, Desh Beer Singh, Anil Sharma, Shafia Zaffar Faktoo

Abstract:

Background and Aims: Climatic and edaphic factors immensely influence crop quality and proper development. Regardless of economic potential, Himalayan Oregano has not subjected to phytonutrient and chemometric evaluation and its relationship with environmental conditions are scarce. The central objective of this research was to investigate microclimatic variation among wild and cultivated populations located in a microclimatic gradient in north-western Himalaya, Kashmir and analyse if such disparity was related with diverse climatic and edaphic conditions. Methods: Micrometeorological, Atomic absorption spectroscopy for micro elemental analysis was carried for soil. HPLC was carried out to estimate variation in phytonutrients and phytochemicals. Results: Geographic variation in phytonutrient was observed among cultivated and wild populations and among populations diverse within regions. Cultivated populations exhibited comparatively lesser phytonutrient value than wild populations. Moreover, our results observed higher vegetative growth of O. vulgare L. with higher pH (6-7), elevated organic carbon (2.42%), high nitrogen (97.41Kg/ha) and manganese (10-12ppm) and zinc contents (0.39-0.50) produce higher phytonutrients. HPLC data of phytonutrients like quercetin, betacarotene, ascorbic acid, arbutin and catechin revealed direct relationship with UV-B flux (r2=0.82), potassium (r2=0.97) displaying parallel relationship with phytonutrient value. Conclusions: Catechin was found as predominant phytonutrient among all populations with maximum accumulation of 163.8 ppm while as quercetin exhibited lesser value. Maximum arbutin (53.42ppm) and quercetin (2.87ppm) accumulated in plants thriving under intense and high UV-B flux. Minimum variation was demonstrated by beta carotene and ascorbic acid.

Keywords: phytonutrient, ascorbic acid, beta carotene, quercetin, catechin

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19396 Prediction of Compressive Strength of Concrete from Early Age Test Result Using Design of Experiments (Rsm)

Authors: Salem Alsanusi, Loubna Bentaher

Abstract:

Response Surface Methods (RSM) provide statistically validated predictive models that can then be manipulated for finding optimal process configurations. Variation transmitted to responses from poorly controlled process factors can be accounted for by the mathematical technique of propagation of error (POE), which facilitates ‘finding the flats’ on the surfaces generated by RSM. The dual response approach to RSM captures the standard deviation of the output as well as the average. It accounts for unknown sources of variation. Dual response plus propagation of error (POE) provides a more useful model of overall response variation. In our case, we implemented this technique in predicting compressive strength of concrete of 28 days in age. Since 28 days is quite time consuming, while it is important to ensure the quality control process. This paper investigates the potential of using design of experiments (DOE-RSM) to predict the compressive strength of concrete at 28th day. Data used for this study was carried out from experiment schemes at university of Benghazi, civil engineering department. A total of 114 sets of data were implemented. ACI mix design method was utilized for the mix design. No admixtures were used, only the main concrete mix constituents such as cement, coarse-aggregate, fine aggregate and water were utilized in all mixes. Different mix proportions of the ingredients and different water cement ratio were used. The proposed mathematical models are capable of predicting the required concrete compressive strength of concrete from early ages.

Keywords: mix proportioning, response surface methodology, compressive strength, optimal design

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19395 Analyzing Current Transformer’s Transient and Steady State Behavior for Different Burden’s Using LabVIEW Data Acquisition Tool

Authors: D. Subedi, D. Sharma

Abstract:

Current transformers (CTs) are used to transform large primary currents to a small secondary current. Since most standard equipment’s are not designed to handle large primary currents the CTs have an important part in any electrical system for the purpose of Metering and Protection both of which are integral in Power system. Now a days due to advancement in solid state technology, the operation times of the protective relays have come to a few cycles from few seconds. Thus, in such a scenario it becomes important to study the transient response of the current transformers as it will play a vital role in the operating of the protective devices. This paper shows the steady state and transient behavior of current transformers and how it changes with change in connected burden. The transient and steady state response will be captured using the data acquisition software LabVIEW. Analysis is done on the real time data gathered using LabVIEW. Variation of current transformer characteristics with changes in burden will be discussed.

Keywords: accuracy, accuracy limiting factor, burden, current transformer, instrument security factor

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19394 On Grammatical Metaphors: A Corpus-Based Reflection on the Academic Texts Written in the Field of Environmental Management

Authors: Masoomeh Estaji, Ahdie Tahamtani

Abstract:

Considering the necessity of conducting research and publishing academic papers during Master’s and Ph.D. programs, graduate students are in dire need of improving their writing skills through either writing courses or self-study planning. One key feature that could aid academic papers to look more sophisticated is the application of grammatical metaphors (GMs). These types of metaphors represent the ‘non-congruent’ and ‘implicit’ ways of decoding meaning through which one grammatical category is replaced by another, more implied counterpart, which can alter the readers’ understanding of the text as well. Although a number of studies have been conducted on the application of GMs across various disciplines, almost none has been devoted to the field of environmental management, and the scope of the previous studies has been relatively limited compared to the present work. In the current study, attempts were made to analyze different types of GMs used in academic papers published in top-tiered journals in the field of environmental management, and make a list of the most frequently used GMs based on their functions in this particular discipline to make the teaching of academic writing courses more explicit and the composition of academic texts more well-structured. To fulfill these purposes, a corpus-based analysis based on the two theoretical models of Martin et al. (1997) and Liardet (2014) was run. Through two stages of manual analysis and concordancers, ten recent academic articles entailing 132490 words published in two prestigious journals were precisely scrutinized. The results yielded that through the whole IMRaD sections of the articles, among all types of ideational GMs, material processes were the most frequent types. The second and the third ranks would apply to the relational and mental categories, respectively. Regarding the use of interpersonal GMs, objective expanding metaphors were the highest in number. In contrast, subjective interpersonal metaphors, either expanding or contracting, were the least significant. This would suggest that scholars in the field of Environmental Management tended to shift the focus on the main procedures and explain technical phenomenon in detail, rather than to compare and contrast other statements and subjective beliefs. Moreover, since no instances of verbal ideational metaphors were detected, it could be deduced that the act of ‘saying or articulating’ something might be against the standards of the academic genre. One other assumption would be that the application of ideational GMs is context-embedded and that the more technical they are, the least frequent they become. For further studies, it is suggested that the employment of GMs to be studied in a wider scope and other disciplines, and the third type of GMs known as ‘textual’ metaphors to be included as well.

Keywords: English for specific purposes, grammatical metaphor, academic texts, corpus-based analysis

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19393 Contact Phenomena in Medieval Business Texts

Authors: Carmela Perta

Abstract:

Among the studies flourished in the field of historical sociolinguistics, mainly in the strand devoted to English history, during its Medieval and early modern phases, multilingual texts had been analysed using theories and models coming from contact linguistics, thus applying synchronic models and approaches to the past. This is true also in the case of contact phenomena which would transcend the writing level involving the language systems implicated in contact processes to the point of perceiving a new variety. This is the case for medieval administrative-commercial texts in which, according to some Scholars, the degree of fusion of Anglo-Norman, Latin and middle English is so high a mixed code emerges, and there are recurrent patterns of mixed forms. Interesting is a collection of multilingual business writings by John Balmayn, an Englishman overseeing a large shipment in Tuscany, namely the Cantelowe accounts. These documents display various analogies with multilingual texts written in England in the same period; in fact, the writer seems to make use of the above-mentioned patterns, with Middle English, Latin, Anglo-Norman, and the newly added Italian. Applying an atomistic yet dynamic approach to the study of contact phenomena, we will investigate these documents, trying to explore the nature of the switching forms they contain from an intra-writer variation perspective. After analysing the accounts and the type of multilingualism in them, we will take stock of the assumed mixed code nature, comparing the characteristics found in this genre with modern assumptions. The aim is to evaluate the possibility to consider the switching forms as core elements of a mixed code, used as professional variety among merchant communities, or whether such texts should be analysed from a switching perspective.

Keywords: historical sociolinguistics, historical code switching, letters, medieval england

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19392 Antioxidant Face Mask from Purple Sweet Potato (Ipomea Batatas) with Oleum Cytrus

Authors: Lilis Kistriyani, Dine Olisvia, Lutfa Rahmawati

Abstract:

Facial mask is an important part of every beauty treatment because it will give a smooth and gentle effect on the face. This research is done to make edible film that will be applied for face mask. The main ingredient in making this edible film is purple sweet potato powder with the addition of glycerol as plasticizer. One of the ingredients in purple sweet potato is a flavonoid compound. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of increasing the amount of glycerol to flavonoids release and the effect on the physical properties and biological properties of edible film produced. The stages of this research are the making of edible film, then perform some analysis, among others, spectrophotometer UV-vis analysis to find out how many flavonoids can be released into facial skin, tensile strength and elongation of break analysis, biodegradability analysis, and microbiological analysis. The variation of edible film is the volume of glycerol that is 1 ml, 2 ml, 3 ml. The results of spectrophotometer UV-vis analysis showed that the most flavonoid release concentration is 20.33 ppm in the 2 ml glycerol variation. The best tensile strength value is 8,502 N, and the greatest elongation of break value is 14% in 1 ml glycerol variation. In the biodegradability test, the more volume of glycerol added the faster the edible film is degraded. The results of microbiological analysis showed that purple sweet potato extract has the ability to inhibit the growth of Propionibacterium acnes seen in the presence of inhibiting zone which is 18.9 mm.

Keywords: face mask, edible film, plasticizer, flavonoid

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19391 Variation with Depth of Physico-Chemical, Mineralogical and Physical Properties of Overburden over Gneiss Basement Complex in Minna Metropolis, North Central Nigeria

Authors: M. M. Alhaji, M. Alhassan, A. M. Yahaya

Abstract:

Soil engineers pay very little or no attention to variation in the mineralogical and consequently, the geotechnical properties of overburden with depth on basement complexes, a situation which can lead to sudden failure of civil engineering structures. Soil samples collected at depths ranging from 0.5m to 4.0m at 0.5m intervals, from a trial pit dogged manually to depth of 4.0m on an overburden over gneiss basement complex, was evaluated for physico-chemical, mineralogical and physical properties. This is to determine the variation of these properties with depth within the profile of the strata. Results showed that sodium amphibolite and feldspar, which are both primary minerals dominate the overall profile of the overburden. Carbon which dominates the lower profile of the strata was observed to alter to gregorite at upper section of the profile. Organic matter contents and cation exchange capacity reduces with increase in depth while lost on ignition and pH were relatively constant with depth. The index properties, as well as natural moisture contents, increases from 0.5m to between 1.0m to 1.5m depth after which the values reduced to constant values at 3.0m depth. The grain size analysis shows high composition of sand sized particles with silts of low to non-plasticity. The maximum dry density (MDD) values are generally relatively high and increases from 2.262g/cm³ at 0.5m depth to 2.410g/cm³ at 4.0m depth while the optimum moisture content (OMC) reduced from 9.8% at 0.5m depth to 6.7% at 4.0m depth.

Keywords: Gneiss basement complex, mineralogical properties, North Central Nigeria, physico-chemical properties, physical properties, overburden soil

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19390 Way to Successful Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation in Developing Countries: Case of Public Sector Unit

Authors: Suraj Kumar Mukti

Abstract:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a management tool to integrate all departments in an organization. It integrates business processes, manages resources efficiently and provides an appropriate decision support system to management. ERP system implementation is a typical and time taking process as well as money consuming process. Articles related to key success factors of ERP system implementation are available in the literature, but rare authors have focused on roadmap of successful ERP system implementation. Postponement is better if the organization is not ready to implement ERP system in better way; hence checking of organization’s preparation to adopt new system is an important prerequisite to ensure the success of ERP system implementation in an organization. Then comes what will be called as success of ERP system implementation. Benefits achieved by ERP system may be categorized into two categories; viz. tangible and intangible benefits. This research article presents a roadmap to ensure the success of ERP system implementation and benefits achieved through the new system as in success indicator. A case study is presented to evaluate the success and benefit achieved through the new system. The article gives a comprehensive approach to academicians and a roadmap to the organizations seeking to implement the ERP system.

Keywords: ERP system, decision support system, tangible, intangible

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19389 Image Processing of Scanning Electron Microscope Micrograph of Ferrite and Pearlite Steel for Recognition of Micro-Constituents

Authors: Subir Gupta, Subhas Ganguly

Abstract:

In this paper, we demonstrate the new area of application of image processing in metallurgical images to develop the more opportunity for structure-property correlation based approaches of alloy design. The present exercise focuses on the development of image processing tools suitable for phrase segmentation, grain boundary detection and recognition of micro-constituents in SEM micrographs of ferrite and pearlite steels. A comprehensive data of micrographs have been experimentally developed encompassing the variation of ferrite and pearlite volume fractions and taking images at different magnification (500X, 1000X, 15000X, 2000X, 3000X and 5000X) under scanning electron microscope. The variation in the volume fraction has been achieved using four different plain carbon steel containing 0.1, 0.22, 0.35 and 0.48 wt% C heat treated under annealing and normalizing treatments. The obtained data pool of micrographs arbitrarily divided into two parts to developing training and testing sets of micrographs. The statistical recognition features for ferrite and pearlite constituents have been developed by learning from training set of micrographs. The obtained features for microstructure pattern recognition are applied to test set of micrographs. The analysis of the result shows that the developed strategy can successfully detect the micro constitutes across the wide range of magnification and variation of volume fractions of the constituents in the structure with an accuracy of about +/- 5%.

Keywords: SEM micrograph, metallurgical image processing, ferrite pearlite steel, microstructure

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19388 Family Photos as Catalysts for Writing: A Pedagogical Exercise in Visual Analysis with MA Students

Authors: Susana Barreto

Abstract:

This paper explores a pedagogical exercise that employs family photos as catalysts for teaching visual analysis and inspiring academic writing among MA students. The study aimed to achieve two primary objectives: to impart students with the skills of analyzing images or artifacts and to ignite their writing for research purposes. Conducted at Viana Polytechnic in Portugal, the exercise involved two classes on Arts Management and Art Education Master course comprising approximately twenty students from diverse academic backgrounds, including Economics, Design, Fine Arts, and Sociology, among others. The exploratory exercise involved selecting an old family photo, analyzing its content and context, and deconstructing the chosen images in an intuitive and systematic manner. Students were encouraged to engage in photo elicitation, seeking insights from family/friends to gain multigenerational perspectives on the images. The feedback received from this exercise was consistently positive, largely due to the personal connection students felt with the objects of analysis. Family photos, with their emotional significance, fostered deeper engagement and motivation in the learning process. Furthermore, visual analysing family photos stimulated critical thinking as students interpreted the composition, subject matter, and potential meanings embedded in the images. This practice enhanced their ability to comprehend complex visual representations and construct compelling visual narratives, thereby facilitating the writing process. The exercise also facilitated the identification of patterns, similarities, and differences by comparing different family photos, leading to a more comprehensive analysis of visual elements and themes. Throughout the exercise, students found analyzing their own photographs both enjoyable and insightful. They progressed through preliminary analysis, explored content and context, and artfully interwove these components. Additionally, students experimented with various techniques such as converting photos to black and white, altering framing angles, and adjusting sizes to unveil hidden meanings.The methodology employed included observation, documental analysis of written reports, and student interviews. By including students from diverse academic backgrounds, the study enhanced its external validity, enabling a broader range of perspectives and insights during the exercise. Furthermore, encouraging students to seek multigenerational perspectives from family and friends added depth to the analysis, enriching the learning experience and broadening the understanding of the cultural and historical context associated with the family photos Highlighting the emotional significance of these family photos and the personal connection students felt with the objects of analysis fosters a deeper connection to the subject matter. Moreover, the emphasis on stimulating critical thinking through the analysis of composition, subject matter, and potential meanings in family photos suggests a targeted approach to developing analytical skills. This improvement focuses specifically on critical thinking and visual analysis, enhancing the overall quality of the exercise. Additionally, the inclusion of a step where students compare different family photos to identify patterns, similarities, and differences further enhances the depth of the analysis. This comparative approach adds a layer of complexity to the exercise, ultimately leading to a more comprehensive understanding of visual elements and themes. The expected results of this study will culminate in a set of practical recommendations for implementing this exercise in academic settings.

Keywords: visual analysis, academic writing, pedagogical exercise, family photos

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19387 Battery Energy Storage System Economic Benefits Assessment on a Network Frequency Control

Authors: Kréhi Serge Agbli, Samuel Portebos, Michaël Salomon

Abstract:

Here a methodology is considered aiming at evaluating the economic benefit of the provision of a primary frequency control unit using a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). In this methodology, two control types (basic and hysteresis) are implemented and the corresponding minimum energy storage system power allowing to maintain the frequency drop inside a given threshold under a given contingency is identified and compared using DigSilent’s PowerFactory software. Following this step, the corresponding energy storage capacity (in MWh) is calculated. As PowerFactory is dedicated to dynamic simulation for transient analysis, a first order model related to the IEEE 9 bus grid used for the analysis under PowerFactory is characterized and implemented on MATLAB-Simulink. Primary frequency control is simulated using the two control types over one-month grid's frequency deviation data on this Simulink model. This simulation results in the energy throughput both basic and hysteresis BESSs. It emerges that the 15 minutes operation band of the battery capacity allocated to frequency control is sufficient under the considered disturbances. A sensitivity analysis on the width of the control deadband is then performed for the two control types. The deadband width variation leads to an identical sizing with the hysteresis control showing a better frequency control at the cost of a higher delivered throughput compared to the basic control. An economic analysis comparing the cost of the sized BESS to the potential revenues is then performed.

Keywords: battery energy storage system, electrical network frequency stability, frequency control unit, PowerFactor

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19386 Spatiotemporal Variation Characteristics of Soil pH around the Balikesir City, Turkey

Authors: Çağan Alevkayali, Şermin Tağil

Abstract:

Determination of soil pH surface distribution in urban areas is substantial for sustainable development. Changes on soil properties occur due to functions on performed in agriculture, industry and other urban functions. Soil pH is important to effect on soil productivity which based on sensitive and complex relation between plant and soil. Furthermore, the spatial variability of soil reaction is necessary to measure the effects of urbanization. The objective of this study was to explore the spatial variation of soil pH quality and the influence factors of human land use on soil Ph around Balikesir City using data for 2015 and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For this, soil samples were taken from 40 different locations, and collected with the method of "Systematic Random" from the pits at 0-20 cm depths, because anthropologic sourced pollutants accumulate on upper layers of soil. The study area was divided into a grid system with 750 x 750 m. GPS was used to determine sampling locations, and Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation technique was used to analyze the spatial distribution of pH in the study area and to predict the variable values of un-exampled places with the help from the values of exampled places. Natural soil acidity and alkalinity depend on interaction between climate, vegetation, and soil geological properties. However, analyzing soil pH is important to indirectly evaluate soil pollution caused by urbanization and industrialization. The result of this study showed that soil pH around the Balikesir City was neutral, in generally, with values were between 6.5 and 7.0. On the other hand, some slight changes were demonstrated around open dump areas and the small industrial sites. The results obtained from this study can be indicator of important soil problems and this data can be used by ecologists, planners and managers to protect soil supplies around the Balikesir City.

Keywords: Balikesir, IDW, GIS, spatial variability, soil pH, urbanization

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19385 An Experimental Investigation of the Variation of Evaporator Efficiency According to Load Amount and Textile Type in Hybrid Heat Pump Dryers

Authors: Gokhan Sir, Muhammed Ergun, Onder Balioglu

Abstract:

Nowadays, laundry dryers containing heaters and heat pumps are used to provide fast and efficient drying. In this system, as the drying capacity changes, the sensible and latent heat transfer rate in the evaporator changes. Therefore, the drying time measured for the unit capacity increases as the drying capacity decreases. The objective of this study is to investigate the evaporator efficiency according to load amount and textile type in hybrid heat pump dryers. Air side flow rate and system temperatures (air side and refrigeration side) were monitored instantly, and the specific moisture extraction rate (SMER), evaporator efficiency, and heat transfer mechanism between the textile and hybrid heat pump system were examined. Evaporator efficiency of heat pump dryers for cotton and synthetic based textile types in load amounts of 2, 5, 8 and 10 kg were investigated experimentally. As a result, the maximum evaporator efficiency (%72) was obtained in drying cotton and synthetic based textiles with a capacity of 5 kg; the minimum evaporator efficiency (%40) was obtained in drying cotton and synthetic based textiles with a capacity of 2 kg. The experimental study also reveals that capacity-dependent flow rate changes are the major factor for evaporator efficiency.

Keywords: evaporator, heat pump, hybrid, laundry dryer, textile

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19384 Fruit Identification System in Sweet Orange Citrus (L.) Osbeck Using Thermal Imaging and Fuzzy

Authors: Ingrid Argote, John Archila, Marcelo Becker

Abstract:

In agriculture, intelligent systems applications have generated great advances in automating some of the processes in the production chain. In order to improve the efficiency of those systems is proposed a vision system to estimate the amount of fruits in sweet orange trees. This work presents a system proposal using capture of thermal images and fuzzy logic. A bibliographical review has been done to analyze the state-of-the-art of the different systems used in fruit recognition, and also the different applications of thermography in agricultural systems. The algorithm developed for this project uses the metrics of the fuzzines parameter to the contrast improvement and segmentation of the image, for the counting algorith m was used the Hough transform. In order to validate the proposed algorithm was created a bank of images of sweet orange Citrus (L.) Osbeck acquired in the Maringá Farm. The tests with the algorithm Indicated that the variation of the tree branch temperature and the fruit is not very high, Which makes the process of image segmentation using this differentiates, This Increases the amount of false positives in the fruit counting algorithm. Recognition of fruits isolated with the proposed algorithm present an overall accuracy of 90.5 % and grouped fruits. The accuracy was 81.3 %. The experiments show the need for a more suitable hardware to have a better recognition of small temperature changes in the image.

Keywords: Agricultural systems, Citrus, Fuzzy logic, Thermal images.

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19383 Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of Calpain1 Gene and Meat Tenderness Traits in Different Genotypes of Chicken: Malaysian Native and Commercial Broiler Line

Authors: Abtehal Y. Anaas, Mohd. Nazmi Bin Abd. Manap

Abstract:

Meat Tenderness is one of the most important factors affecting consumers' assessment of meat quality. Variation in meat tenderness is genetically controlled and varies among breeds, and it is also influenced by environmental factors that can affect its creation during rigor mortis and postmortem. The final postmortem meat tenderization relies on the extent of proteolysis of myofibrillar proteins caused by the endogenous activity of the proteolytic calpain system. This calpain system includes different calcium-dependent cysteine proteases, and an inhibitor, calpastatin. It is widely accepted that in farm animals including chickens, the μ-calpain gene (CAPN1) is a physiological candidate gene for meat tenderness. This study aimed to identify the association of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in the CAPN1 gene with the tenderness of chicken breast meat from two Malaysian native and commercial broiler breed crosses. Ten, five months old native chickens and ten, 42 days commercial broilers were collected from the local market and breast muscles were removed two hours after slaughter, packed separately in plastic bags and kept at -20ºC for 24 h. The tenderness phenotype for all chickens’ breast meats was determined by Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF). Thawing and cooking losses were also measured in the same breast samples before using in WBSF determination. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify the previously reported C7198A and G9950A SNPs in the CAPN1 gene and assess their associations with meat tenderness in the two breeds. The broiler breast meat showed lower shear force values and lower thawing loss rates than the native chickens (p<0.05), whereas there were similar in the rates of cooking loss. The study confirms some previous results that the markers CAPN1 C7198A and G9950A were not significantly associated with the variation in meat tenderness in chickens. Therefore, further study is needed to confirm the functional molecular mechanism of these SNPs and evaluate their associations in different chicken populations.

Keywords: CAPNl, chicken, meat tenderness, meat quality, SNPs

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19382 Cosmic Background Reduction in the Radiocarbon Measurements by Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry

Authors: Natasa Todorovic, Jovana Nikolov

Abstract:

Guard detector efficiency, cosmic background, and its variation were determinate using ultra low-level liquid scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220, equipped with an anti-Compton guard detector, in the surface laboratory at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, Atmospheric pressure variation has an observable effect on the anti-Compton guard detector count rate. and the cosmic muon flux is lower during a high-pressure period. Also, the guard detector Compton continuum provides a good view of the level of gamma radiation in the laboratory environment. The efficiency of the guard detector in the channel interval from 750 to 1024 was assessed to 93.45%; efficiency in the entire window (channels 1 to 1024) was 75.23%, which is in good agreement with literature data.

Keywords: cosmic radiation, background reduction, liquid scintillation counting, guard detector efficiency

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19381 Characteristics Influencing Response of a Base Isolated Building

Authors: Ounis Hadj Mohamed, Ounis Abdelhafid

Abstract:

In order to illustrate the effect of damping on the response of a base-isolated building, a parametric study is led, taking into account the progressive variation of the damping ratio (10% to 30%) under different types of seismic excitations (near and far field). A time history analysis is used to determine the response of the structure in terms of relative displacement and understory drift at various levels of the building. Thus, the results show that the efficiency of the isolator increases with the assumed damping ratio, provided that this latter is less or equal to 20%. Beyond this value, the isolator becomes less convenient. Furthermore, a strong deviation of energy capacity by the LRB (Lead Rubber Bearing) system is recorded.

Keywords: damping, base isolation, LRB, seismic excitation, hysteresis

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19380 Correlation Volumic Shrinkage, Conversion Degree of Dental Composites

Authors: A. Amirouche, M. Mouzali, D. C. Watts

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During polymerization of dental composites, the volumic shrinkage is related to the conversion degree. The variation of the volumic shrinkage (S max according to the degree of conversion CD.), was examined for the experimental composites: (BisGMA/TEGDMA): (50/50), (75/25), (25/75) mixed with seven radiopac fillers: La2O3, BaO, BaSO4, SrO, ZrO2 , SrZrO3 and BaZrO 3 with different contents in weight, from 0 to 80%. We notice that whatever the filler and the composition in monomers, Smax increases with the increase in CD. This variation is, linear in particular in the case of the fillers containing only one heavy metal, and that whatever the composition in monomers. For a given salt, the increase of BisGMA composition leads to significant increase of S max more pronounced than the increase in CD. The variation of ratio (S max / CD.) with the increase of filler content is negligible. However the fillers containing two types of heavy metals have more effect on the volumic shrinkage than on the degree of conversion. Whatever the composition in monomer, and the content of filler containing only one heavy atom, S max increases with the increase in CD. Nevertheless, S max is affected by the viscosity of the medium compared with CD. For high percentages of mineral fillers (≥ 70% in weight), the diagrams S max according to CD are deviated of the linearity, owing to the fact that S max is affected by the high percentage of fillers compared with CD. The number of heavy atoms influences directly correlation (S max / CD.). In the case of the two mineral fillers: SrZrO3 and BaZrO3 ratio (S max / CD) moves away from the proportionality. The linearity of the diagrams Smax according to CD is less regular, due to the viscosity of high content of BisGMA. The study of Smax and DC of four commercial composites are presented and compared to elaborate experimental composites.

Keywords: Dental composites, degree of conversion, volumic shrinkage, photopolymerization

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19379 Myanmar Consonants Recognition System Based on Lip Movements Using Active Contour Model

Authors: T. Thein, S. Kalyar Myo

Abstract:

Human uses visual information for understanding the speech contents in noisy conditions or in situations where the audio signal is not available. The primary advantage of visual information is that it is not affected by the acoustic noise and cross talk among speakers. Using visual information from the lip movements can improve the accuracy and robustness of automatic speech recognition. However, a major challenge with most automatic lip reading system is to find a robust and efficient method for extracting the linguistically relevant speech information from a lip image sequence. This is a difficult task due to variation caused by different speakers, illumination, camera setting and the inherent low luminance and chrominance contrast between lip and non-lip region. Several researchers have been developing methods to overcome these problems; the one is lip reading. Moreover, it is well known that visual information about speech through lip reading is very useful for human speech recognition system. Lip reading is the technique of a comprehensive understanding of underlying speech by processing on the movement of lips. Therefore, lip reading system is one of the different supportive technologies for hearing impaired or elderly people, and it is an active research area. The need for lip reading system is ever increasing for every language. This research aims to develop a visual teaching method system for the hearing impaired persons in Myanmar, how to pronounce words precisely by identifying the features of lip movement. The proposed research will work a lip reading system for Myanmar Consonants, one syllable consonants (င (Nga)၊ ည (Nya)၊ မ (Ma)၊ လ (La)၊ ၀ (Wa)၊ သ (Tha)၊ ဟ (Ha)၊ အ (Ah) ) and two syllable consonants ( က(Ka Gyi)၊ ခ (Kha Gway)၊ ဂ (Ga Nge)၊ ဃ (Ga Gyi)၊ စ (Sa Lone)၊ ဆ (Sa Lain)၊ ဇ (Za Gwe) ၊ ဒ (Da Dway)၊ ဏ (Na Gyi)၊ န (Na Nge)၊ ပ (Pa Saug)၊ ဘ (Ba Gone)၊ ရ (Ya Gaug)၊ ဠ (La Gyi) ). In the proposed system, there are three subsystems, the first one is the lip localization system, which localizes the lips in the digital inputs. The next one is the feature extraction system, which extracts features of lip movement suitable for visual speech recognition. And the final one is the classification system. In the proposed research, Two Dimensional Discrete Cosine Transform (2D-DCT) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) with Active Contour Model (ACM) will be used for lip movement features extraction. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is used for finding class parameter and class number in training set and testing set. Then, experiments will be carried out for the recognition accuracy of Myanmar consonants using the only visual information on lip movements which are useful for visual speech of Myanmar languages. The result will show the effectiveness of the lip movement recognition for Myanmar Consonants. This system will help the hearing impaired persons to use as the language learning application. This system can also be useful for normal hearing persons in noisy environments or conditions where they can find out what was said by other people without hearing voice.

Keywords: feature extraction, lip reading, lip localization, Active Contour Model (ACM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Two Dimensional Discrete Cosine Transform (2D-DCT)

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19378 Spiritual Warriors: Christian Testimony and Psychotherapy in Ritual Abuse Memoir

Authors: Jocelyn Cohen

Abstract:

This paper identifies a powerful synchronicity of two traditions of life-story writing in the autobiographies of ritual abuse (RA) survivors, the Christian conversion narrative and the memoir of healing from childhood sexual trauma. Using methodologies from literary studies, history, and psychology, a close reading of three RA memoirs sheds light on a taboo and deeply suspect form of violence. Treatment of RA survivors and the unique role of psychotherapists, in particular, deserve far greater attention from multi-disciplinary scholars. Each story reflects salient characteristics of the Christian conversion narrative, a genre which originated in the US in the early 19th century with the serendipitous confluence of the simultaneous emergence of print culture and the basic structures of evangelicalism during the Second Great Awakening. The impulse of writing is thus to give testimony against the sin they witnessed and endured as young children during ritual violence perpetrated within the church. Importantly, RA is seen as an inherent if obscure aspect of Christian discourse itself, not in opposition to it, and not as an aberration. In RA's memoir, healing comes in part from the Christian narrative praxis of personal redemption, framed as prevailing in a war between good and evil. In other words, storytelling itself affects the healing, much as it does by means of each writer’s 'talking cure,' in the relationship with a psychotherapist who guides her through a repair of the life-story through the excavation of traumatic memories and their integration into the writer’s psyche. Integrating literary techniques into the psychotherapeutic relationship, therapists leverage the deep linguistic structures that clients possess as a resource to aid in their healing.

Keywords: memoir, psychotherapy, religion, trauma

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19377 Representation of the Solution of One Dynamical System on the Plane

Authors: Kushakov Kholmurodjon, Muhammadjonov Akbarshox

Abstract:

This present paper is devoted to a system of second-order nonlinear differential equations with a special right-hand side, exactly, the linear part and a third-order polynomial of a special form. It is shown that for some relations between the parameters, there is a second-order curve in which trajectories leaving the points of this curve remain in the same place. Thus, the curve is invariant with respect to the given system. Moreover, this system is invariant under a non-degenerate linear transformation of variables. The form of this curve, depending on the relations between the parameters and the eigenvalues of the matrix, is proved. All solutions of this system of differential equations are shown analytically.

Keywords: dynamic system, ellipse, hyperbola, Hess system, polar coordinate system

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19376 Crossing Multi-Source Climate Data to Estimate the Effects of Climate Change on Evapotranspiration Data: Application to the French Central Region

Authors: Bensaid A., Mostephaoui T., Nedjai R.

Abstract:

Climatic factors are the subject of considerable research, both methodologically and instrumentally. Under the effect of climate change, the approach to climate parameters with precision remains one of the main objectives of the scientific community. This is from the perspective of assessing climate change and its repercussions on humans and the environment. However, many regions of the world suffer from a severe lack of reliable instruments that can make up for this deficit. Alternatively, the use of empirical methods becomes the only way to assess certain parameters that can act as climate indicators. Several scientific methods are used for the evaluation of evapotranspiration which leads to its evaluation either directly at the level of the climatic stations or by empirical methods. All these methods make a point approach and, in no case, allow the spatial variation of this parameter. We, therefore, propose in this paper the use of three sources of information (network of weather stations of Meteo France, World Databases, and Moodis satellite images) to evaluate spatial evapotranspiration (ETP) using the Turc method. This first step will reflect the degree of relevance of the indirect (satellite) methods and their generalization to sites without stations. The spatial variation representation of this parameter using the geographical information system (GIS) accounts for the heterogeneity of the behaviour of this parameter. This heterogeneity is due to the influence of site morphological factors and will make it possible to appreciate the role of certain topographic and hydrological parameters. A phase of predicting the evolution over the medium and long term of evapotranspiration under the effect of climate change by the application of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios gives a realistic overview as to the contribution of aquatic systems to the scale of the region.

Keywords: climate change, ETP, MODIS, GIEC scenarios

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19375 Semi-Analytic Method in Fast Evaluation of Thermal Management Solution in Energy Storage System

Authors: Ya Lv

Abstract:

This article presents the application of the semi-analytic method (SAM) in the thermal management solution (TMS) of the energy storage system (ESS). The TMS studied in this work is fluid cooling. In fluid cooling, both effective heat conduction and heat convection are indispensable due to the heat transfer from solid to fluid. Correspondingly, an efficient TMS requires a design investigation of the following parameters: fluid inlet temperature, ESS initial temperature, fluid flow rate, working c rate, continuous working time, and materials properties. Their variation induces a change of thermal performance in the battery module, which is usually evaluated by numerical simulation. Compared to complicated computation resources and long computation time in simulation, the SAM is developed in this article to predict the thermal influence within a few seconds. In SAM, a fast prediction model is reckoned by combining numerical simulation with theoretical/empirical equations. The SAM can explore the thermal effect of boundary parameters in both steady-state and transient heat transfer scenarios within a short time. Therefore, the SAM developed in this work can simplify the design cycle of TMS and inspire more possibilities in TMS design.

Keywords: semi-analytic method, fast prediction model, thermal influence of boundary parameters, energy storage system

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19374 Using Multi-Arm Bandits to Optimize Game Play Metrics and Effective Game Design

Authors: Kenny Raharjo, Ramon Lawrence

Abstract:

Game designers have the challenging task of building games that engage players to spend their time and money on the game. There are an infinite number of game variations and design choices, and it is hard to systematically determine game design choices that will have positive experiences for players. In this work, we demonstrate how multi-arm bandits can be used to automatically explore game design variations to achieve improved player metrics. The advantage of multi-arm bandits is that they allow for continuous experimentation and variation, intrinsically converge to the best solution, and require no special infrastructure to use beyond allowing minor game variations to be deployed to users for evaluation. A user study confirms that applying multi-arm bandits was successful in determining the preferred game variation with highest play time metrics and can be a useful technique in a game designer's toolkit.

Keywords: game design, multi-arm bandit, design exploration and data mining, player metric optimization and analytics

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19373 Optimizing Operation of Photovoltaic System Using Neural Network and Fuzzy Logic

Authors: N. Drir, L. Barazane, M. Loudini

Abstract:

It is well known that photovoltaic (PV) cells are an attractive source of energy. Abundant and ubiquitous, this source is one of the important renewable energy sources that have been increasing worldwide year by year. However, in the V-P characteristic curve of GPV, there is a maximum point called the maximum power point (MPP) which depends closely on the variation of atmospheric conditions and the rotation of the earth. In fact, such characteristics outputs are nonlinear and change with variations of temperature and irradiation, so we need a controller named maximum power point tracker MPPT to extract the maximum power at the terminals of photovoltaic generator. In this context, the authors propose here to study the modeling of a photovoltaic system and to find an appropriate method for optimizing the operation of the PV generator using two intelligent controllers respectively to track this point. The first one is based on artificial neural networks and the second on fuzzy logic. After the conception and the integration of each controller in the global process, the performances are examined and compared through a series of simulation. These two controller have prove by their results good tracking of the MPPT compare with the other method which are proposed up to now.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking, neural networks, photovoltaic, P&O

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19372 Authentic Visual Resources for the Foreign Language Classroom

Authors: O. Yeret

Abstract:

Visual resources are all around us, especially in today's media-driven world, which gravitates, more and more, towards the visual. As a result, authentic resources, such as television advertisements, become testaments – authentic cultural materials – that reflect the landscape of certain groups and communities during a specific point in time. Engaging language students with popular advertisements can provide a great opportunity for developing cultural awareness, a component that is sometimes overlooked in the foreign language classroom. This paper will showcase practical examples of using Israeli Television Ads in various Modern Hebrew language courses. Several approaches for combining the study of language and culture, through the use of advertisements, will be included; for example, targeted assignments based on students' proficiency levels, such as: asking to recognize vocabulary words and answer basic information questions, as opposed to commenting on the significance of an ad and analyzing its particular cultural elements. The use of visual resources in the language classroom does not only enable students to learn more about the culture of the target language, but also to combine their language skills. Most often, interacting with an ad requires close listening and some reading (through captions or other data). As students analyze the ad, they employ their writing and speaking skills by answering questions in text or audio form. Hence, these interactions are able to elicit complex language use across the four domains: listening, speaking, writing, and reading. This paper will include examples of practical assignments that were developed for several Modern Hebrew language courses, together with the specific advertisements and questions related to them. Conclusions from the process and recent feedback notes received from students regarding the use of visual resources will be mentioned as well.

Keywords: authentic materials, cultural awareness, second language acquisition, visual resources

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19371 Frequency Control of Self-Excited Induction Generator Based Microgrid during Transition from Grid Connected to Island Mode

Authors: Azhar Ulhaq, Zubair Yameen, Almas Anjum

Abstract:

Frequency behaviour of self-excited induction generator (SEIG) wind turbines during control mode transition from grid connected to islanded mode is studied in detail. A robust control scheme for frequency regulation based on combined action of STATCOM, energy storage system (ESS) and pitch angle control for wind powered microgrid (MG) is proposed. Suggested STATCOM controller comprises a 3-phase voltage source converter (VSC) that contains insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) based pulse width modulation (PWM) inverters along with a capacitor bank. Energy storage system control consists of current controlled voltage source converter and battery bank. Both of them acting simultaneously after detection of island compensates for reactive and active power demands, thus regulating frequency at point of common coupling (PCC) and also improves load stability. STATCOM integrates at point of common coupling and ESS is connected to microgrids main bus. Results reveal that proposed control not only stabilizes frequency during transition duration but also minimizes sudden frequency imbalance caused by load variation or wind intermittencies in islanded operation. System is investigated with and without suggested control scheme. The efficacy of proposed strategy has been verified by simulation in MATLAB/Simulink.

Keywords: energy storage system, island, wind, STATCOM, self-excited induction generator, SEIG, transient

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19370 Thermodynamics of the Local Hadley Circulation Over Central Africa

Authors: Landry Tchambou Tchouongsi, Appolinaire Derbetini Vondou

Abstract:

This study describes the local Hadley circulation (HC) during the December-February (DJF) and June-August (JJA) seasons, respectively, in Central Africa (CA) from the divergent component of the mean meridional wind and also from a new method called the variation of the ψ vector. Historical data from the ERA5 reanalysis for the period 1983 to 2013 were used. The results show that the maximum of the upward branch of the local Hadley circulation in the DJF and JJA seasons is located under the Congo Basin (CB). However, seasonal and horizontal variations in the mean temperature gradient and thermodynamic properties are largely associated with the distribution of convection and large-scale upward motion. Thus, temperatures beneath the CB show a slight variation between the DJF and JJA seasons. Moreover, energy transport of the moist static energy (MSE) adequately captures the mean flow component of the HC over the tropics. By the way, the divergence under the CB is enhanced by the presence of the low pressure of western Cameroon and the contribution of the warm and dry air currents coming from the Sahara.

Keywords: Circulation, reanalysis, thermodynamic, local Hadley.

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19369 From Linear to Nonlinear Deterrence: Deterrence for Rising Power

Authors: Farhad Ghasemi

Abstract:

Along with transforming the international system into a complex and chaotic system, the fundamental question arises: how can deterrence be reconstructed conceptually and theoretically in this system model? The deterrence system is much more complex today than it was seven decades ago. This article suggests that the perception of deterrence as a linear system is a fundamental mistake because it does not consider the new dynamics of the international system, including network power dynamics. The author aims to improve this point by focusing on complexity and chaos theories, especially their nonlinearity and cascading failure principles. This article proposes that the perception of deterrence as a linear system is a fundamental mistake, as the new dynamics of the surrounding international system do not take into account. The author recognizes deterrence as a nonlinear system and introduces it as a concept in strategic studies.

Keywords: complexity, international system, deterrence, linear deterrence, nonlinear deterrence

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19368 Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on Climatic Zones over the Korean Peninsula for Natural Disaster Management Information

Authors: Sejin Jung, Dongho Kang, Byungsik Kim

Abstract:

Assessing the impact of climate change requires the use of a multi-model ensemble (MME) to quantify uncertainties between scenarios and produce downscaled outlines for simulation of climate under the influence of different factors, including topography. This study decreases climate change scenarios from the 13 global climate models (GCMs) to assess the impacts of future climate change. Unlike South Korea, North Korea lacks in studies using climate change scenarios of the CoupledModelIntercomparisonProject (CMIP5), and only recently did the country start the projection of extreme precipitation episodes. One of the main purposes of this study is to predict changes in the average climatic conditions of North Korea in the future. The result of comparing downscaled climate change scenarios with observation data for a reference period indicates high applicability of the Multi-Model Ensemble (MME). Furthermore, the study classifies climatic zones by applying the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system to the MME, which is validated for future precipitation and temperature. The result suggests that the continental climate (D) that covers the inland area for the reference climate is expected to shift into the temperate climate (C). The coefficient of variation (CVs) in the temperature ensemble is particularly low for the southern coast of the Korean peninsula, and accordingly, a high possibility of the shifting climatic zone of the coast is predicted. This research was supported by a grant (MOIS-DP-2015-05) of Disaster Prediction and Mitigation Technology Development Program funded by Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS, Korea).

Keywords: MME, North Korea, Koppen–Geiger, climatic zones, coefficient of variation, CV

Procedia PDF Downloads 109