Search results for: solution parameters

Authors: M. Naveed Yasin, Robert Brooke, Andrew Chan, Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse, Drew Evans, Darren Svirskis, Ilva D. Rupenthal

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Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is a robust conducting polymer (CP) exhibiting high conductivity and environmental stability. It can be synthesized by either chemical, electrochemical or vapour phase polymerization (VPP). Dexamethasone sodium phosphate (dexP) is an anionic drug molecule which has previously been loaded onto PEDOT as a dopant via electrochemical polymerisation; however this technique requires conductive surfaces from which polymerization is initiated. On the other hand, VPP produces highly organized biocompatible CP structures while polymerization can be achieved onto a range of surfaces with a relatively straight forward scale-up process. Following VPP of PEDOT, dexP can be loaded and subsequently released via ion-exchange. This study aimed at preparing and characterising both non-porous and porous VPP PEDOT structures including examining drug loading and release via ion-exchange. Porous PEDOT structures were prepared by first depositing a sacrificial polystyrene (PS) colloidal template on a substrate, heat curing this deposition and then spin coating it with the oxidant solution (iron tosylate) at 1500 rpm for 20 sec. VPP of both porous and non-porous PEDOT was achieved by exposing to monomer vapours in a vacuum oven at 40 mbar and 40 °C for 3 hrs. Non-porous structures were prepared similarly on the same substrate but without any sacrificial template. Surface morphology, compositions and behaviour were then characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) respectively. Drug loading was achieved by 50 CV cycles in a 0.1 M dexP aqueous solution. For drug release, each sample was exposed to 20 mL of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) placed in a water bath operating at 37 °C and 100 rpm. Film was stimulated (continuous pulse of ± 1 V at 0.5 Hz for 17 mins) while immersed into PBS. Samples were collected at 1, 2, 6, 23, 24, 26 and 27 hrs and were analysed for dexP by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC Agilent 1200 series). AFM and SEM revealed the honey comb nature of prepared porous structures. XPS data showed the elemental composition of the dexP loaded film surface, which related well with that of PEDOT and also showed that one dexP molecule was present per almost three EDOT monomer units. The reproducible electroactive nature was shown by several cycles of reduction and oxidation via CV. Drug release revealed success in drug loading via ion-exchange, with stimulated porous and non-porous structures exhibiting a proof of concept burst release upon application of an electrical stimulus. A similar drug release pattern was observed for porous and non-porous structures without any significant statistical difference, possibly due to the thin nature of these structures. To our knowledge, this is the first report to explore the potential of VPP prepared PEDOT for stimuli-responsive drug delivery via ion-exchange. The produced porous structures were ordered and highly porous as indicated by AFM and SEM. These porous structures exhibited good electroactivity as shown by CV. Future work will investigate porous structures as nano-reservoirs to increase drug loading while sealing these structures to minimize spontaneous drug leakage.

Keywords: PEDOT for ion-exchange drug delivery, stimuli-responsive drug delivery, template based porous PEDOT structures, vapour phase polymerization of PEDOT

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Authors: Vandita Mishra

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From the management of patients, reception, record, and assistants in a clinical practice; to the management of ongoing research, clinical cases and department profile in an academic setup, the healthcare provider has to deal with all of it. The victory lies in smooth running of the show in both the above situations with an apt solution of problems encountered and smooth management of crisis faced. Thus this paper amalgamates dental science with health administration by means of introduction of a concept for practice management and problem-solving called 'Quality Circles'. This concept uses various tools for problem solving given by experts from different fields. QC tools can be applied in both clinical and academic settings in dentistry for better productivity and for scientifically approaching the process of continuous improvement in both the categories. When approached through QC, our organization showed better patient outcomes and more patient satisfaction. Introduced in 1962 by Kaoru Ishikawa, this tool has been extensively applied in certain fields outside dentistry and healthcare. By exemplification of some clinical cases and virtual scenarios, the tools of Quality circles will be elaborated and discussed upon.

Keywords: academics, dentistry, healthcare, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Mostafa Feiz, Hossein Hadizadeh, Mohammad Safari

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The Chalpo copper area is located in northeastern Iran, which is part of the structural zone of central Iran and the back-arc basin of Sabzevar. This sedimentary basin accumulated in destructive-Oligomiocene sediments is named the Nasr-Chalpo-Sangerd (NCS) basin. The sedimentary layers in this basin originated mainly from Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks and intermediate to mafic-post ophiolitic volcanic rocks, deposited as a nonconformity. The mineralized sandstone layers in the Chalpo area include leached zones (with a thickness of 5 to 8 meters) and mineralized lenses with a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 meters. Ore minerals include primary sulfide minerals, such as chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite, as well as secondary minerals, such as covellite, digenite, malachite, and azurite, formed in three stages that comprise primary, simultaneously, and supergene stage. The best agents that control the mineralization in this area include the permeability of host rocks, the presence of fault zones as the conduits for copper oxide solutions, and significant amounts of plant fossils, which create a reducing environment for the deposition of mineralized layers. Statistical studies on copper layers indicate that Ag, Cd, Mo, and S have the maximum positive correlation with Cu, whereas TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, Sc, Tm, Sn, and the REEs have a negative correlation. The calculations of mass changes on copper-bearing layers and primary sandstone layers indicate that Pb, As, Cd, Te, and Mo are enriched in the mineralized zones, whereas SiO₂, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, V, Sr, and Ba are depleted. The combination of geological, stratigraphic, and geochemical studies suggests that the origin of copper may have been the underlying red strata that contained hornblende, plagioclase, biotite, alkaline feldspar, and labile minerals. Dehydration and hydrolysis of these minerals during the diagenetic process caused the leaching of copper and associated elements by circling fluids, which formed an oxidant-hydrothermal solution. Copper and silver in this oxidant solution might have moved upwards through the basin-fault zones and deposited in the reducing environments in the sandstone layers that have had abundant organic matters. Copper in these solutions probably was carried by chloride complexes. The collision of oxidant and reduced solutions caused the deposition of Cu and Ag, whereas some stable elements in oxidant environments (e.g., Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂, REEs) become unstable in the reduced condition. Therefore, the copper-bearing sandstones in the study area are depleted from these elements resulting from the leaching process. The results indicate that during the mineralization stage, LREEs and MREEs were depleted, but Cu, Ag, and S were enriched. Based on field evidence, it seems that the circulation of connate fluids in the reb-bed strata, produced by diagenetic processes, encountered to reduced facies, which formed earlier by abundant fossil-plant debris in the sandstones, is the best model for precipitating sulfide-copper minerals.

Keywords: Chalpo, oligo-miocene red beds, sandstone-hosted copper mineralization, mass change, LREEs, MREEs

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Authors: Apidet Booranawong, Wiklom Teerapabkajorndet

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An enhanced ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing (E-AODV) protocol for control system applications in wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) is proposed. Our routing algorithm is designed by considering both wireless network communication and the control system aspects. Control system error and network delay are the main selection criteria in our routing protocol. The control and communication performance is evaluated on multi-hop IEEE 802.15.4 networks for building-temperature control systems. The Gilbert-Elliott error model is employed to simulate packet loss in wireless networks. The simulation results demonstrate that the E-AODV routing approach can significantly improve the communication performance better than an original AODV routing under various packet loss rates. However, the control performance result by our approach is not much improved compared with the AODV routing solution.

Keywords: WSANs, building temperature control, AODV routing protocol, control system error, settling time, delay, delivery ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: B. Gonzalez-Yebra, H. Barajas, P. Palomares, M. Hernandez, O. Torres, M. Ayala, A. L. González, G. Vazquez-Ortiz, M. L. Guzman

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Leukemia arises by molecular alterations of the normal hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transforming it into a leukemic stem cell (LSC) with high cell proliferation, self-renewal, and cell differentiation. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) originates from an LSC-leading to elevated proliferation of myeloid cells and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) originates from an LSC development leading to elevated proliferation of lymphoid cells. In both cases, LSC can be identified by multicolor flow cytometry using several antibodies. However, to date, LSC levels in peripheral blood (PB) are not established well enough in ALL and CML patients. On the other hand, the detection of the minimal residue disease (MRD) in leukemia is mainly based on the identification of the mRNA bcr-abl gene in CML patients and some other genes in ALL patients. There is no a properly biomarker to detect MDR in both types of leukemia. The objective of this study was to determine mRNA bcr-abl and the percentage of LSC in peripheral blood of patients with CML and ALL and identify a possible association between the amount of LSC in PB and clinical data. We included in this study 19 patients with Leukemia. A PB sample was collected per patient and leukocytes were obtained by Ficoll gradient. The immunophenotype for LSC CD34+ was done by flow cytometry analysis with CD33, CD2, CD14, CD16, CD64, HLA-DR, CD13, CD15, CD19, CD10, CD20, CD34, CD38, CD71, CD90, CD117, CD123 monoclonal antibodies. In addition, to identify the presence of the mRNA bcr-abl by RT-PCR, the RNA was isolated using TRIZOL reagent. Molecular (presence of mRNA bcr-abl and LSC CD34+) and clinical results were analyzed with descriptive statistics and a multiple regression analysis was performed to determine statistically significant association. In total, 19 patients (8 patients with ALL and 11 patients with CML) were analyzed, 9 patients with de novo leukemia (ALL = 6 and CML = 3) and 10 under treatment (ALL = 5 and CML = 5). The overall frequency of mRNA bcr-abl was 31% (6/19), and it was negative in ALL patients and positive in 80% in CML patients. On the other hand, LSC was determined in 16/19 leukemia patients (%LSC= 0.02-17.3). The Novo patients had higher percentage of LSC (0.26 to 17.3%) than patients under treatment (0 to 5.93%). The amount of LSC was significantly associated with the amount of LSC were: absence of treatment, the absence of splenomegaly, and a lower number of leukocytes, negative association for the clinical variables age, sex, blasts, and mRNA bcr-abl. In conclusion, patients with de novo leukemia had a higher percentage of circulating LSC than patients under treatment, and it was associated with clinical parameters as lack of treatment, absence of splenomegaly and a lower number of leukocytes. The mRNA bcr-abl detection was only possible in the series of patients with CML, and molecular detection of LSC could be identified in the peripheral blood of all leukemia patients, we believe the identification of circulating LSC may be used as biomarker for the detection of the MRD in leukemia patients.

Keywords: stem cells, leukemia, biomarkers, flow cytometry

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Authors: Francis Alterado, Jennifer Enriquez

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Semantic Based Analysis in Complaint Management System with Analytics is an enhanced tool of providing complaints by the clients as well as a mechanism for Palawan Polytechnic College to gather, process, and monitor status of these complaints. The study has a mobile application that serves as a remote facility of communication between the students and the school management on the issues encountered by the student and the solution of every complaint received. In processing the complaints, text mining and clustering algorithms were utilized. Every module of the systems was tested and based on the results; these are 100% free from error before integration was done. A system testing was also done by checking the expected functionality of the system which was 100% functional. The system was tested by 10 students by forwarding complaints to 10 departments. Based on results, the students were able to submit complaints, the system was able to process accordingly by identifying to which department the complaints are intended, and the concerned department was able to give feedback on the complaint received to the student. With this, the system gained 4.7 rating which means Excellent.

Keywords: technology adoption, emerging technology, issues challenges, algorithm, text mining, mobile technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Venkata Reddy Kota

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These days, the industrial trend is moving away from heavy and bulky passive components to power converter systems that use more and more semiconductor elements. Also, it is difficult to connect the traditional converters to the high and medium voltage. For these reasons, a new family of multilevel inverters has appeared as a solution for working with higher voltage levels. Different modulation topologies like Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM), Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation (SHE-PWM) are available for multilevel inverters. In this work, different hybrid modulation techniques which are combination of fundamental frequency modulation and multilevel sinusoidal-modulation are compared. The main characteristic of these modulations are reduction of switching losses with good harmonic performance and balanced power loss dissipation among the device. The proposed hybrid modulation schemes are developed and simulated in Matlab/Simulink for cascaded H-bridge inverter. The results validate the applicability of the proposed schemes for cascaded multilevel inverter.

Keywords: hybrid PWM techniques, cascaded multilevel inverters, switching loss minimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 603

Authors: N. Fusun Oyman Serteller

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In this paper, the techniques to solve time dependent electromagnetic wave propagation equations based on the Finite Difference Method (FDM) are proposed by comparing the results with Finite Element Method (FEM) in 2D while discussing some special simulation examples.  Here, 2D dynamical wave equations for lossy media, even with a constant source, are discussed for establishing symbolic manipulation of wave propagation problems. The main objective of this contribution is to introduce a comparative study of two suitable numerical methods and to show that both methods can be applied effectively and efficiently to all types of wave propagation problems, both linear and nonlinear cases, by using symbolic computation. However, the results show that the FDM is more appropriate for solving the nonlinear cases in the symbolic solution. Furthermore, some specific complex domain examples of the comparison of electromagnetic waves equations are considered. Calculations are performed through Mathematica software by making some useful contribution to the programme and leveraging symbolic evaluations of FEM and FDM.

Keywords: finite difference method, finite element method, linear-nonlinear PDEs, symbolic computation, wave propagation equations

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Marina Sartor Hoffer

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The multicultural composition of today's societies poses new challenges to educational contexts. Schools are therefore called first to develop dialogic aptitudes and communicative skills adapted to the complex reality of post-modern societies. It is indispensable for educators and for young people to learn theoretical and practical tools during their scholastic path, in order to allow the knowledge of themselves and of the others with the aim of recognizing the value of the others regardless of their culture. Dialogic Skills help to understand and manage individual differences by allowing the solution of problems and preventing conflicts. The Educational Sector of Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis offers a range of methods and techniques for this purpose. Educational Transactional Analysis is firmly anchored in the Personalist Philosophy and deserves to be promoted as a theoretical frame suitable to face the challenges of contemporary education. The goal of this paper is therefore to outline some conceptual and methodological signposts for the education to dialogue by drawing concepts and methodologies from educational transactional analysis.

Keywords: dialogic process, education to dialogue, educational transactional analysis, personalism, the good of the relationship

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: Bonchan Koo, Junhee Han, Dohyung Lee

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The research attempts to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of a design optimization procedure which combines wavelets-based solution algorithm and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) database management technique. Aerodynamic design procedure calls for high fidelity computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations and the consideration of large number of flow conditions and design constraints. Even with significant computing power advancement, current level of integrated design process requires substantial computing time and resources. POD reduces the degree of freedom of full system through conducting singular value decomposition for various field simulations. For additional efficiency improvement of the procedure, adaptive wavelet technique is also being employed during POD training period. The proposed design procedure was applied to the optimization of wing aerodynamic performance. Throughout the research, it was confirmed that the POD/wavelets design procedure could significantly reduce the total design turnaround time and is also able to capture all detailed complex flow features as in full order analysis.

Keywords: POD (Proper Orthogonal Decomposition), wavelets, CFD, design optimization, ROM (Reduced Order Model)

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Authors: Sadia Arshad

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The new coronavirus disease or COVID-19 still poses an alarming situation around the world. Modeling based on the derivative of fractional order is relatively important to capture real-world problems and to analyze the realistic situation of the proposed model. Weproposed a mathematical model for the investigation of COVID-19 dynamics in a generalized fractional framework. The new model is formulated in the Caputo sense and employs a nonlinear time-varying transmission rate. The existence and uniqueness solutions of the fractional order derivative have been studied using the fixed-point theory. The associated dynamical behaviors are discussed in terms of equilibrium, stability, and basic reproduction number. For the purpose of numerical implementation, an effcient approximation scheme is also employed to solve the fractional COVID-19 model. Numerical simulations are reported for various fractional orders, and simulation results are compared with a real case of COVID-19 pandemic. According to the comparative results with real data, we find the best value of fractional orderand justify the use of the fractional concept in the mathematical modelling, for the new fractional modelsimulates the reality more accurately than the other classical frameworks.

Keywords: fractional calculus, modeling, stability, numerical solution

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Authors: S. Abdullahi, M. Momoh, K. U. Isah

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Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films of 75.5 nm and 130.5 nm were deposited at room temperature onto chemically and ultrasonically cleaned corning glass substrate by radio frequency technique and annealed at 150°C under nitrogen atmosphere for 60 minutes. The optical properties of the films were ascertained by UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry. Influence of the thickness of the films on the optical properties was studied keeping other deposition parameters constant. The optical transmittance spectra reveal a maximum transmittance of 81.49% and 84.26% respectively. The band gap of the films is found to be direct allowed transition and decreases with the increase in thickness of the films. The band gap energy (Eg) is in the range of 3.28 eV to 3.31 eV, respectively. These thin films are suitable for solar cell applications.

Keywords: optical constants, RF sputtering, Urbach energy, zinc oxide thin film

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Authors: Rasaq Kareem, Jacob Gbadeyan

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In this study, analysis of the entropy generation of an unsteady reactive hydromagnetic generalized couette fluid flow of a two-step exothermic chemical reaction through a channel with isothermal wall temperature under the influence of different chemical kinetics namely: Sensitized, Arrhenius and Bimolecular kinetics was investigated. The modelled nonlinear dimensionless equations governing the fluid flow were simplified and solved using the combined Laplace Differential Transform Method (LDTM). The effects of fluid parameters associated with the problem on the fluid temperature, entropy generation rate and Bejan number were discussed and presented through graphs.

Keywords: couette, entropy, exothermic, unsteady

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Authors: Salah A. Al-Garyani, Yousef Swesi

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Gas hydrates can be hazardous to upstream operations. On the other hand, the high gas storage capacity of hydrate may be utilized for natural gas storage and transport. Research on the promotion of hydrate formation, as related to natural gas storage and transport, has received relatively little attention. The primary objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the effects of ionic surfactants, particularly their molecular structures and concentration, on the formation of tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate, which is often used as a model hydrate former for screening hydrate promoters or inhibitors. The surfactants studied were sodium n-dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium n-hexadecyl sulfate (SHS). Our results show that, at concentrations below the solubility limit, the induction time decreases with increasing surfactant concentration. At concentrations near or above the solubility, however, the surfactant concentration no longer has any effect on the induction time. These observations suggest that the effect of surfactant on THF hydrate formation is associated with surfactant monomers, not the formation of micelle as previously reported. The lowest induction time (141.25 ± 21 s, n = 4) was observed in a solution containing 7.5 mM SDS. The induction time decreases by a factor of three at concentrations near or above the solubility, compared to that without surfactant.

Keywords: tetrahydrofuran, hydrate, surfactant, induction time, monomers, micelle

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Kuei-Chun Liu, Yu-Yu Lai, Ching-Hong Wu

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A good automated testing tool could reduce as much as possible the manual work done by testers. Traditional record-replay testing tool provides an automated testing solution by recording mouse coordinates as test scripts, but it will be easily broken if any change of resolutions. Therefore, more and more testers design multiple test scripts to automate the testing process for different devices. In order to improve the traditional record-replay approach and reduce the effort that the testers spending on writing test scripts, we propose an approach for generating the Android application test scripts based on accessibility service without connecting to a computer. This approach simulates user input actions and replays them correctly even at the different conditions such as the internet connection is unstable when the device under test, the different resolutions on Android devices. In this paper, we describe how to generate test scripts automatically and make a comparison with existing tools for Android such as Robotium, Appium, UIAutomator, and MonkeyTalk.

Keywords: accessibility service, Appium, automated testing, MonkeyTalk, Robotium, testing, UIAutomator

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Virany Diana, Martono Tri Utomo, Risa Etika

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Background: Shock is one severe condition that can be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Preterm infants are very susceptible to shock caused by many complications such as asphyxia, patent ductus arteriosus, intra ventricle haemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, persistent pulmonal hypertension of the newborn, and septicaemia. Limited hemodynamic monitoring for early detection of shock causes delayed intervention and comprises the outcomes. Clinical parameters still used in neonatal shock detection, such as Capillary Refill Time, heart rate, cold extremity, and urine production. Blood pressure is most frequently used to evaluate preterm's circulation, but hypotension indicates uncompensated shock. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is known as a noninvasive tool for monitoring and detecting the state of inadequate tissue perfusion. Muscle oxygen saturation shows decreased cardiac output earlier than systemic parameters of tissue oxygenation when cerebral regional oxygen saturation is still stabilized by autoregulation. However, to our best knowledge, until now, no study has analyzed the decrease of muscle oxygen regional saturation (mRSO₂) and the ratio of muscle and cerebral oxygen regional saturation (mRSO₂/cRSO₂) by NIRS in preterm with shock. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the decrease of mRSO₂ and ratio of muscle to cerebral oxygen regional saturation (mRSO₂/cRSO₂) by NIRS in preterm with shock. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on preterm infants with 28-34 weeks gestational age, admitted to the NICU of Dr. Soetomo Hospital from November to January 2022. Patients were classified into two groups: shock and non-shock. The diagnosis of shock is based on clinical criteria (tachycardia, prolonged CRT, cold extremity, decreased urine production, and MAP Blood Pressure less than GA in weeks). Measurement of mRSO₂ and cRSO₂ by NIRS was performed by the doctor in charge when the patient came to NICU. Results: We enrolled 40 preterm infants. The initial conventional hemodynamic parameter as the basic diagnosis of shock showed significant differences in all variables. Preterm with shock had higher mean HR (186.45±1.5), lower MAP (29.8±2.1), and lower SBP (45.1±4.28) than non-shock children, and most had a prolonged CRT. The patients’ outcome was not a significant difference between shock and non-shock patients. The mean mRSO₂ in the shock and non-shock groups were 33,65 ± 11,32 vs. 69,15 ± 3,96 (p=0.001), and the mean ratio mRSO₂/cRSO₂ 0,45 ± 0,12 vs. 0,84 ± 0,43 (p=0,001), were significantly different. The mean cRSO₂ in the shock and non-shock groups were 71,60 ± 4,90 vs. 81,85 ± 7,85 (p 0.082), not significantly different. Conclusion: The decrease of mRSO₂ and ratio of mRSO₂/cRSO₂ can differentiate between shock and non-shock in the preterm infant when cRSO₂ is still normal.

Keywords: preterm infant, regional muscle oxygen saturation, regional cerebral oxygen saturation, NIRS, shock

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Authors: Daumantas Zidanavicius

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In order to investigate the bond between concrete and steel in the circular steel tube column filled with concrete, the 7 series of specimens were tested with the same geometrical parameters but different concrete properties. Two types of specimens were chosen. For the first type, the expansive additives to the concrete mixture were taken to increase internal forces. And for the second type, mechanical components were used. All 7 series of the short columns were modeled by FEM and tested experimentally. In the work, big attention was taken to the bond-slip models between steel and concrete. Results show that additives to concrete let increase the bond strength up to two times and the mechanical anchorage –up to 6 times compared to control specimens without additives and anchorage.

Keywords: concrete filled steel tube, push-out test, bond slip relationship, bond stress distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Qiaosi Li, Frankie Kwan Kit Wong, Tung Fung

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Lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) loading with novel sensors offers a low cost approach for data acquisition in complex environment. This study established a framework for applying UAV system in complex environment quick mapping and assessed the performance of UAV-based hyperspectral image and digital surface model (DSM) derived from photogrammetric point clouds for 13 species classification in wetland area Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, Hong Kong. The study area was part of shallow bay with flat terrain and the major species including reedbed and four mangroves: Kandelia obovata, Aegiceras corniculatum, Acrostichum auerum and Acanthus ilicifolius. Other species involved in various graminaceous plants, tarbor, shrub and invasive species Mikania micrantha. In particular, invasive species climbed up to the mangrove canopy caused damage and morphology change which might increase species distinguishing difficulty. Hyperspectral images were acquired by Headwall Nano sensor with spectral range from 400nm to 1000nm and 0.06m spatial resolution image. A sequence of multi-view RGB images was captured with 0.02m spatial resolution and 75% overlap. Hyperspectral image was corrected for radiative and geometric distortion while high resolution RGB images were matched to generate maximum dense point clouds. Furtherly, a 5 cm grid digital surface model (DSM) was derived from dense point clouds. Multiple feature reduction methods were compared to identify the efficient method and to explore the significant spectral bands in distinguishing different species. Examined methods including stepwise discriminant analysis (DA), support vector machine (SVM) and minimum noise fraction (MNF) transformation. Subsequently, spectral subsets composed of the first 20 most importance bands extracted by SVM, DA and MNF, and multi-source subsets adding extra DSM to 20 spectrum bands were served as input in maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) and SVM classifier to compare the classification result. Classification results showed that feature reduction methods from best to worst are MNF transformation, DA and SVM. MNF transformation accuracy was even higher than all bands input result. Selected bands frequently laid along the green peak, red edge and near infrared. Additionally, DA found that chlorophyll absorption red band and yellow band were also important for species classification. In terms of 3D data, DSM enhanced the discriminant capacity among low plants, arbor and mangrove. Meanwhile, DSM largely reduced misclassification due to the shadow effect and morphological variation of inter-species. In respect to classifier, nonparametric SVM outperformed than MLC for high dimension and multi-source data in this study. SVM classifier tended to produce higher overall accuracy and reduce scattered patches although it costs more time than MLC. The best result was obtained by combining MNF components and DSM in SVM classifier. This study offered a precision species distribution survey solution for inaccessible wetland area with low cost of time and labour. In addition, findings relevant to the positive effect of DSM as well as spectral feature identification indicated that the utility of UAV-borne hyperspectral and photogrammetry deriving 3D data is promising in further research on wetland species such as bio-parameters modelling and biological invasion monitoring.

Keywords: digital surface model (DSM), feature reduction, hyperspectral, photogrammetric point cloud, species mapping, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

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Authors: D. Mala, S. Sendhilnathan, D. Ratchagaraja

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In this paper, the performance of heat pipe in terms of overall heat transfer coefficient and thermal resistance is quantified by varying the volume of working fluid and the performance parameters are contemplated. For this purpose Al2O3 nano particles with a density of 9.8 gm/cm3 and a volume concentration of 1% is used as the working fluid in experimental heat pipe. The performance of heat pipe was evaluated by conducting experiments with different thermal loads and different angle of inclinations. Thermocouples are used to record the temperature distribution across the experiment. The results provide evidence that the suspension of Al2O3 nano particles in the base fluid increases the thermal efficiency of heat pipe and can be used in practical heat exchange applications.

Keywords: heat pipe, angle of inclination, thermal resistance, thermal efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 552

Authors: Arash Esmaeili, Zhibang Liu, Yang Xiang, Jimmy Yun, Lei Shao

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A high pressure carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption from a specific gas in a conventional column has been evaluated by the Aspen HYSYS simulator using a wide range of single absorbents and blended solutions to estimate the outlet CO₂ concentration, absorption efficiency and CO₂ loading to choose the most proper solution in terms of CO₂ capture for environmental concerns. The property package (Acid Gas-Chemical Solvent) which is compatible with all applied solutions for the simulation in this study, estimates the properties based on an electrolyte non-random two-liquid (E-NRTL) model for electrolyte thermodynamics and Peng-Robinson equation of state for the vapor and liquid hydrocarbon phases. Among all the investigated single amines as well as blended solutions, piperazine (PZ) and the mixture of piperazine and monoethanolamine (MEA) have been found as the most effective absorbents respectively for CO₂ absorption with high reactivity based on the simulated operational conditions.

Keywords: absorption, amine solutions, Aspen HYSYS, carbon dioxide, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: A. M. S. S. Amarasiri, A. P. Attanayake, K. A. P. W. Jayatilaka, L. K. B. Mudduwa

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Adriamycin (ADR) is an effective anthracyclin antitumor drug, but its clinical use is limited due to renal toxicity. The leaves of Asparagus falcatus (Family: Liliaceae) have been used in the management of renal diseases since antiquity. In the present investigation, the aqueous leaf extract of A. falcatus was evaluated for acute nephroprotective activity in ADR induced nephrotoxic rats. Nephrotoxicity was induced in healthy male Wistar rats by intraperitoneal administration of ADR 20 mg/kg. The lyophilized powder of the aqueous refluxed (4h) leaf extract of A. falcatus was administered orally at three selected doses; 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg for three consecutive days. Fosinopril sodium (0.09 mg/kg) was used as the standard drug. Administration of the plant extract and the standard drug was commenced 24 hours after the induction of nephrotoxicity to rats. The nephroprotective effect was determined by selected biochemical parameters and by the assessment of histopathology on H and E stained kidney sections. The results were compared to a group of control rats with ADR induced nephrotoxicity. A group of rats administered with the equivalent volume of normal saline served as the healthy control. Administration of ADR 20 mg/kg produced a significant increase in the concentrations of serum creatinine (61%) and urine protein (73%) followed by a significant decrease in serum total protein (21%) and albumin (44%) of the plant extract treated animals compared to the healthy control group (p < 0.05). The aqueous extract of Asparagus falcatus at the three doses; 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg and the standard drug were found to decrease the elevation of concentrations of serum creatinine (33%, 51%, 54% and 42%) and urine protein (8%, 63%, 80% and 86%) respectively. The serum concentrations of total protein (12%, 17%, 29% and 12%) and albumin (3%, 17%, 17% and 16%) were significantly increased compared to the nephrotoxic control group respectively. Assessment of histopathology on H and E stained kidney sections demonstrated that ADR induced renal injury, as evidenced by loss of brush border, cytoplasmic vacuolization, pyknosis in renal tubular epithelial cells, haemorrhages, glomerular congestion and presence of hyaline casts. Treatment with the plant extract and the standard drug resulted in attenuation of the morphological destruction in rats. The results of the present study revealed that the aqueous leaf extract of A. falcatus possesses significant nephroprotective activity against adriamycin induced acute nephrotoxicity. The improved kidney functions were supported with the results of selected biochemical parameters and histological changes observed on H and E stained sections of the kidney tissues in Wistar rats.

Keywords: adriamycin induced nephrotoxicity, asparagus falcatus, biochemical assessment, histopathological assessment, nephroprotective activity

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Authors: Aliseydi Bozkurt, Ugur Yılmaz

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Objective: It was aimed to evaluate the current status of semen parameters in fertile males with one or more children and whose wife having a pregnancy for the last 1-12 months in Malatya region. Methods: Sperm samples were obtained from 131 voluntary fertile men. In each analysis, sperm volume (ml), number of sperm (sperm/ml), sperm motility and sperm viscosity were examined with Makler device. Classification was made according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Results: Mean ejaculate volume ranged from 1.5 ml to 5.5 ml, sperm count ranged from 27 to 180 million/ml and motility ranged from 35 to 90%. Sperm motility was found to be on average; 69.9% in A, 7.6% in B, 8.7% in C, 13.3% in D category. Conclusion: The mean spermiogram values of fertile males in Malatya region were found to be similar to those in fertile males determined by the WHO. This study has a regional classification value in terms of spermiogram values.

Keywords: fertile men, infertility, spermiogram, sperm motility

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Authors: Ridha Zgolli, Hatem Kanfoudi

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Cavitating flows inside a diesel injection nozzle hole were simulated using a mixture model. A 2D numerical model is proposed in this paper to simulate steady cavitating flows. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the liquid and vapor mixture, which is considered as a single fluid with variable density which is expressed as function of the vapor volume fraction. The closure of this variable is provided by the transport equation with a source term TEM. The processes of evaporation and condensation are governed by changes in pressure within the flow. The source term is implanted in the CFD code ANSYS CFX. The influence of numerical and physical parameters is presented in details. The numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental data for steady flow.

Keywords: cavitation, injection nozzle, numerical simulation, k–ω

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Authors: Chalakorn Chitsaart, Suchada Rianmora, Noppawat Vongpiyasatit

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In order to reduce the transportation time and cost for direct interface between customer and manufacturer, the image processing technique has been introduced in this research where designing part and defining manufacturing process can be performed quickly. A3D virtual model is directly generated from a series of multi-view images of an object, and it can be modified, analyzed, and improved the structure, or function for the further implementations, such as computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). To estimate and quote the production cost, the user-friendly platform has been developed in this research where the appropriate manufacturing parameters and process detections have been identified and planned by CAM simulation.

Keywords: image processing technique, feature detections, surface registrations, capturing multi-view images, Production costs and Manufacturing processes

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Authors: Y. R. Adullayev, О. О. Karimzada

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Analytical expressions for inductances, current, ampere-turns, excitation winding, maximum width, coordinates of the levitation screen (LS) are derived for the calculation of electromagnetic devices based on tracking systems with levitation elements (TS with LS). Taking into account the expression of the complex magnetic resistance of the screen, the dependence of the screen width on the heating temperature of the physical and technical characteristics of the screen material and the relationship of the geometric dimensions of the magnetic circuit is established. Analytic expressions for a number of functional dependencies characterizing complex parameter relationships in explicit form are obtained and analyzed.

Keywords: tracking systems, levitation screens, electromagnetic levitation, excitation windings, magnetic cores, defining converter, receiving converter, electromagnetic force, electrical and magnetic resistance

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Authors: Intissar Abbes, Yousra Hallem, Jean-michel Sahut

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The purpose of this research is to explore the legitimacy of a proximity mobile payment (PMP) system by taking into account the social aspects related to its use (social acceptability). We have chosen to focus on the acceptability process of a PMP application (‘Flashplay’) from the first testing to the adoption in a service context. This PMP solution is a pilot program developed as part of a global strategy of disintermediation in various sectors (retail, catering, and entertainment). This case is particularly interesting for two reasons: the context and environment are suitable to the adoption of innovation in payment like other African countries and the possibility to study different stages of the social acceptability process of that PMP system. The neo-institutional theory is mobilized to identify the three pillars of legitimacy: cognitive, normative and regulatory. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with 27 customers using the PMP service. Results highlighted the importance of the consumption system and the service provider as institutions. Recommendations are thus proposed to PMP service providers in order to rethink the design and implementation strategies of their PMP system to ensure their adoption and promote the institutionalization of this type of consumption practice.

Keywords: legitimacy, payment, acceptability, mobility

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Authors: Shuja Alharbi

Abstract:

Oil and Gas industry has many applications considered as toxic or hazardous, where process fluid leakage is not permitted and leads to health, safety, and environmental impacts. Caustic/Acidic applications, High Benzene Concentrations, Hydrogen sulfide rich oil/gas as well as liquids operating above their auto-ignition temperatures are examples of such liquids that pose as a risk to the industry operation, and for those, special arrangements are in place to allow for the safe operation environment. Pumps in the industry requires special attention, specifically in the interface between the fluid and the environment, where the potential of leakages are foreseen. Mechanical Seals are used to contain the fluid within the equipment, but the prices are ever increasing for such seals, along with maintenance, design, and operating requirements. Several alternatives to seals are being employed nowadays, such as Sealless systems, which is hermitically sealed from the atmosphere and does not require sealing. This technology is considered relatively new and requires more studies to understand the limitations and factors associated from an owner and design perspective. Things like financial factors, maintenance factors, and design limitation should be studies further in order to have a mature and reliable technical solution available to end users.

Keywords: pump, sealless, selection, failure

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Velvizhi Dharmalingam, Rajalaksmi Ramalingam, Rekha Prabhu, Ilavarasan Raju

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Background: The use of herbal products for various therapeutic regimens has increased tremendously in the developing countries. Elaeocarpus ganitrus(Rudraksha) is a broad-leaved tree, belonging to the family Elaeocarpaceae found in tropical and subtropical areas. It is popular in an indigenous system of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani. According to Ayurvedic medicine, Rudraksha is used in the managing of blood pressure, asthma, mental disorders, diabetes, gynaecological disorders, neurological disorders such as epilepsy and liver diseases. Objectives: The present study aimed to study the physicochemical parameters of Elaeocarpus ganitrus(fruits) and identify the phenolic compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid, and chebulinic acid). To estimate the microbial load and the antibacterial activity of extract of Elaeocarpus ganitrus for selective pathogens. Methodology: The dried powdered fruit of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was performed the physicochemical parameters (such as Loss on drying, Alcohol soluble extractive, Water soluble extractive, Total ash and Acid insoluble ash) and pH was measured. The dried coarse powdered fruit of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was extracted successively with hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and aqueous alcohol by cold percolation method. Identification of phenolic compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid, chebulinic acid) was done by HPTLC method and confirmed by co-TLC using different solvent system.The successive extracts of Elaeocarpus ganitrus and standards (like gallic acid, ellagic acid, and chebulinic acid) was approximately weighed and made up with alcohol. HPTLC (CAMAG) analysis was performed on a TLC over silica gel 60F254 precoated aluminium plate, layer thickness 0.2 mm (E.Merck, Germany) by using ATS4, Visualizer and Scanner with wavelength at 254 nm, 366 nm and derivatized with different reagents. The microbial load such as total bacterial count, total fungal count, Enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by serial dilution method and antibacterial activity of was measured by Kirby bauer method for selective pathogens. Results: The physicochemical parameter of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was studied for standardization of crude drug. Among all the successive extracts were identified with phenolic compounds and Elaeocarpus ganitrus extract having potent antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, Elaeocarpus ganitrus, HPTLC, phenolic compounds

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Authors: Mona Elsalamawy, Ashraf Ragab Mohamed, Abdellatif Elsayed Abosen

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This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of different crystalline coating materials concerning of chloride ions penetration. The concrete ages at the coating installation and its moisture conditions were addressed; where, these two factors may play a dominant role for the effectiveness of the used materials. Rapid chloride ions penetration test (RCPT) was conducted at different ages and moisture conditions according to the relevant standard. In addition, the contaminated area and the penetration depth of the chloride ions were investigated immediately after the RCPT test using chemical identifier, 0.1 M silver nitrate AgNO₃ solution. Results have shown that, the very low chloride ions penetrability, for the studied crystallization materials, were investigated only with the old age concrete (G1). The significant reduction in chloride ions’ penetrability was illustrated after 7 days of installing the crystalline coating layers. Using imageJ is more reliable to describe the contaminated area of chloride ions, where the distribution of aggregate and heterogeneous of cement mortar was considered in the images analysis.

Keywords: chloride permeability, contaminated area, crystalline waterproofing materials, RCPT, XRD

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Authors: Gabriel Chenevert, Abhilash Arora, Zeljko Pantic

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The major problem underwater acoustic communication faces is the low data rate due to low signal frequency. By contrast, the Wi-Fi communication protocol offers high throughput but limited operating range due to the attenuation effect of the sea and ocean medium. However, short-range near-field underwater wireless power transfer systems offer an environment where Wi-Fi communication can be effectively integrated to collect data and deliver instructions to sensors in underwater sensor networks. In this paper, low-power, low-cost off-the-shelf Wi-Fi modules are explored experimentally for four selected parameters for different distances between units and water salinities. The results reveal a shorter operating range and stronger dependence on water salinity than reported so far for high-end Wi-Fi modules.

Keywords: Wi-Fi, wireless power transfer, underwater communications, ESP

Procedia PDF Downloads 101