Search results for: reducing sugars

Authors: Salisu ibrahim, Abdalla Rababah

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In this research, we use Weighted G2-Multi-degree reduction of Bezier curve of degree n to a Bezier curve of degree m, m < n. The degree reduction of Bezier curves is used to represent a given Bezier curve of n by a Bezier curve of degree m, m < n. Exact degree reduction is not possible, and degree reduction is approximate process in nature. We derive a weighted degree reducing method that is geometrically continuous at the end points. Different norms will be considered, several error minimizations will be given. The proposed methods produce error function that are less than the errors of existing methods.

Keywords: Bezier curves, multiple degree reduction, geometric continuity, error function

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Authors: Kareem Saber

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Many products’ design instructors search for how to help students to develop their designs simply by reducing design stages and extrapolating simple design process forms to achieve design creativity. So, the researcher extrapolated a new design process form called “hierarchical design” which reduced design process into three stages and he had tried that methodology on about two hundred students. That trial had led to great results as students could develop their designs which characterized by creativity and innovation. That proved the success and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Keywords: mind mapping, morphological analysis, product design, design process

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Authors: Reza Shakoori

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This paper presents a structural correction of Arabic and Persian strokes using manipulation of their chain codes in order to improve the rate and performance of Persian and Arabic handwritten word recognition systems. It collects pure and effective features to represent a character with one consolidated feature vector and reduces variations in order to decrease the number of training samples and increase the chance of successful classification. Our results also show that how the proposed approaches can simplify classification and consequently recognition by reducing variations and possible noises on the chain code by keeping orientation of characters and their backbone structures.

Keywords: Arabic, chain code normalization, OCR systems, image processing

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Authors: Mirjana Petronijević, Sanja Panić, Aleksandra Cvetanović, Branko Kordić, Nenad Grba

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Enzyme peroxidases are biological catalysts and play a major role in phenolic wastewater treatments and other environmental applications. The most studied species from the peroxidases family is horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In environmental processes, HRP could be used in its free or immobilized form. Enzyme immobilization onto solid support is performed to improve the enzyme properties, prolong its lifespan and operational stability and allow its reuse in industrial applications. One of the enzyme supports of a newer generation is magnetic particles (MPs). Fe₃O₄ MPs are the most widely pursued immobilization of enzymes owing to their remarkable advantages of biocompatibility and non-toxicity. Also, MPs can be easily separated and recovered from the water by applying an external magnetic field. On the other hand, metals and metal oxides are not suitable for the covalent binding of enzymes, so it is necessary to perform their surface modification. Fe₃O₄ MPs functionalization could be performed during the process of their synthesis if it takes place in the presence of plant extracts. Extracts of plant material, such as wild plants, herbs, even waste materials of the food and agricultural industry (bark, shell, leaves, peel), are rich in various bioactive components such as polyphenols, flavonoids, sugars, etc. When the synthesis of magnetite is performed in the presence of plant extracts, bioactive components are incorporated into the surface of the magnetite, thereby affecting its functionalization. In this paper, the suitability of bio-magnetite as solid support for covalent immobilization of HRP across glutaraldehyde was examined. The activity of immobilized HRP at different pH values (4-9) and temperatures (20-80°C) and reusability were examined. Bio-MP was synthesized by co-precipitation method from Fe(II) and Fe(III) sulfate salts in the presence of water extract of the Allium cepa peel. The water extract showed 81% of antiradical potential (according to DPPH assay), which is connected with the high content of polyphenols. According to the FTIR analysis, the bio-magnetite contains oxygen functional groups (-OH, -COOH, C=O) suitable for binding to glutaraldehyde, after which the enzyme is covalently immobilized. The immobilized enzyme showed high activity at ambient temperature and pH 7 (30 U/g) and retained ≥ 80% of its activity at a wide range of pH (5-8) and temperature (20-50°C). The HRP immobilized onto bio-MPs showed remarkable stability towards temperature and pH variations compared to the free enzyme form. On the other hand, immobilized HRP showed low reusability after the first washing cycle enzyme retains 50% of its activity, while after the third washing cycle retains only 22%.

Keywords: bio-magnetite, enzyme immobilization, water extracts, environmental protection

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Authors: Abdullah Aljumah, Tariq Ahamad

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The simplest possible human-computer interaction is mobile cloud computing as it emerges and makes the use of all modern-day human-oriented technology. The main aim of this idea is the QoS (quality of service) by using user-friendly and reliable software over the global network in order to make it economical by reducing cost, reliable, and increase the main storage. Since we studied and went through almost all the existing related work in this area and we came up with some challenges that will rise or might be rising for some basic areas in mobile cloud computing and mostly stogie and security area. In this research article, we suggest some recommendation for mobile cloud computing and for its security that will help in building more powerful tools to handle all this pressure.

Keywords: Cloud Computing, MCC, SAAS, computer interaction

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Authors: J. G. Batista, T. S. Santiago, E. A. Ribeiro, G. A. P. Thé

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This work deals with parameter identification of permanent magnet motors, a class of ac motor which is particularly important in industrial automation due to characteristics like applications high performance, are very attractive for applications with limited space and reducing the need to eliminate because they have reduced size and volume and can operate in a wide speed range, without independent ventilation. By using experimental data and genetic algorithm we have been able to extract values for both the motor inductance and the electromechanical coupling constant, which are then compared to measure and/or expected values.

Keywords: modeling, AC servomotor, permanent magnet synchronous motor-PMSM, genetic algorithm, vector control, robotic manipulator, control

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Authors: Hafiz Gulfam Ahmad, Chuangdong Li, Zeeshan Ahmad

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In this paper, we proposed a parallel IDS and honeypot based approach to detect and analyze the unknown and known attack taxonomy for improving the IDS performance and protecting the network from intruders. The main theme of our approach is to record and analyze the intruder activities by using both the low and high interaction honeypots. Our architecture aims to achieve the required goals by combing signature based IDS, honeypots and generate the new signatures. The paper describes the basic component, design and implementation of this approach and also demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach reducing the probability of network attacks.

Keywords: network security, intrusion detection, honeypot, snort, nmap

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Authors: Samira Ghizellaoui, Manel Boumagoura

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The municipality of Constantine in eastern Algeria draws water from the Hamma groundwater source. The high fouling capacity is due to the high content of bicarbonate (442 mg/L) and calcium (136 mg/L). This work focuses on the use of three new green inhibitors for reducing calcium carbonate scale formation: gallic acid, quercetin and alginate, and on the comparison between them. These inhibitors have proven to be green antiscalants because they have no impact on the environment. Electrochemical methods (chronoamperometry and impedancemetry) were used to evaluate their performance. According to the study, these inhibitors are excellent green chemical inhibitors of scaling, and the best inhibitor is quercetin because it gave a good result with a lower concentration (2mg/L) compared to others inhibitors.

Keywords: scaling, green inhibitor, chronoamperometry, impedancemetry

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Authors: M. Kamel El-Sayed

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In this research, we have linked the concept of rough set and topological structure to the creation of a new topological structure that assists in the analysis of the information systems of some electrical engineering issues. We used non-specific information whose boundaries do not have an empty set in the top topological structure is rough set. It is characterized by the fact that it does not contain a large number of elements and facilitates the establishment of rules. We used this structure in reducing the specifications of electrical information systems. We have provided a detailed example of this method illustrating the steps used. This method opens the door to obtaining multiple topologies, each of which uses one of the non-defined groups (rough set) in the overall information system.

Keywords: electrical engineering, information system, rough set, rough topology, topology

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Authors: Lubaina Soni, Claire Farrell, Christopher Szota, Tim D. Fletcher

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Green roofs are a promising engineered ecosystem for reducing stormwater runoff and restoring vegetation cover in cities. Plants can contribute to rainfall retention by rapidly depleting water in the substrate; however, this increases the risk of plant drought stress. Green roof configurations, therefore, need to provide plants the opportunity to efficiently deplete the substrate but also avoid severe drought stress. This study used green roof modules placed in a rainout shelter during a six-month rainfall regime simulated in Melbourne, Australia. Rainfall was applied equally with an overhead irrigation system on each module. Aside from rainfall, modules were under natural climatic conditions, including temperature, wind, and radiation. A single species, Ficinia nodosa, was planted with five different treatments and three replicates of each treatment. In this experiment, we tested the impact of three plant cover treatments (0%, 50% and 100%) on rainfall retention and plant drought stress. We also installed two runoff zone treatments covering 50% of the substrate surface for additional modules with 0% and 50% plant cover to determine whether directing rainfall resources towards plant roots would reduce drought stress without impacting rainfall retention. The retention performance for the simulated rainfall events was measured, quantifying all components for hydrological performance and survival on green roofs. We found that evapotranspiration and rainfall retention were similar for modules with 50% and 100% plant cover. However, modules with 100% plant cover showed significantly higher plant drought stress. Therefore, planting at a lower cover/density reduced plant drought stress without jeopardizing rainfall retention performance. Installing runoff zones marginally reduced evapotranspiration and rainfall retention, but by approximately the same amount for modules with 0% and 50% plant cover. This indicates that reduced evaporation due to the installation of the runoff zones likely contributed to reduced evapotranspiration and rainfall retention. Further, runoff occurred from modules with runoff zones faster than those without, indicating that we created a faster pathway for water to enter and leave the substrate, which also likely contributed to lower overall evapotranspiration and retention. However, despite some loss in retention performance, modules with 50% plant cover installed with runoff zones showed significantly lower drought stress in plants compared to those without runoff zones. Overall, we suggest that reducing plant cover represents a simple means of optimizing green roof performance but creating runoff zones may reduce plant drought stress at the cost of reduced rainfall retention.

Keywords: green roof, plant cover, plant drought stress, rainfall retention

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Authors: Ignatio Madanhire, Charles Mbohwa

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This study explores to improve the resource efficiency, waste water reduction and to reduce losses of raw materials in a beverage making industry. A number of cleaner production technologies were put across in this work. It was also noted that cleaner production technology practices are not only desirable from the environmental point of view, but they also make good economic sense, in their contribution to the bottom line by conserving resources like energy, raw materials and manpower, improving yield as well as reducing treatment/disposal costs. This work is a resource in promoting adoption and implementation of CP in other industries for sustainable development.

Keywords: resource efficiency, beverages, reduce losses, cleaner production, energy, yield

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Authors: N. Chaitawittanun, M. Munlin

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Due to rapid advancement of powerful image processing software, digital images are easy to manipulate and modify by ordinary people. Lots of digital images are edited for a specific purpose and more difficult to distinguish form their original ones. We propose a clustering method to detect a copy-move image forgery of JPEG, BMP, TIFF, and PNG. The process starts with reducing the color of the photos. Then, we use the clustering technique to divide information of measuring data by Hausdorff Distance. The result shows that the purposed methods is capable of inspecting the image file and correctly identify the forgery.

Keywords: image detection, forgery image, copy-paste, attack detection

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Authors: Mercedes Del Rio Merino, Jaime Santacruz Astorqui, Paola Villoria Saez, Carmen Viñas Arrebola

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The lack of treatment of the waste from construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a problem that must be solved immediately. It is estimated that in the world not to use CDW generates an increase in the use of new materials close to 20% of the total value of the materials used. The problem is even greater in case these wastes are considered hazardous because the final deposition of them may also generate significant contamination. Therefore, the possibility of including CDW in the manufacturing of building materials, represents an interesting alternative to ensure their use and to reduce their possible risk. In this context and in the last years, many researches are being carried out in order to analyze the viability of using CDW as a substitute for the traditional raw material of high environmental impact. Even though it is true, much remains to be done, because these works generally characterize materials but not specific applications that allow the agents of the construction to have the guarantees required by the projects. Therefore, it is necessary the involvement of all the actors included in the life cycle of these new construction materials, and also to promote its use for, for example, definition of standards, tax advantages or market intervention is necessary. This paper presents the main findings reached in "Waste to resources (W2R)" project since it began in October 2014. The main goal of the project is to develop new materials, elements and construction systems, manufactured from CDW, to be used in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Other objectives of the project are: to quantify the CDW generated in the energy rehabilitation works, specifically wastes from the building envelope; and to study the traceability of CDW generated and promote CDW reuse and recycle in order to get close to the life cycle of buildings, generating zero waste and reducing the ecological footprint of the construction sector. This paper determines the most important aspects to consider during the design of new constructive solutions, which improve the energy efficiency of buildings and what materials made with CDW would be the most suitable for that. Also, a survey to select best practices for reducing "close to zero waste" in refurbishment was done. Finally, several pilot rehabilitation works conform the parameters analyzed in the project were selected, in order to apply the results and thus compare the theoretical with reality. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the Spanish State Secretariat for Research, Development and Innovation of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under "Waste 2 Resources" Project (BIA2013-43061-R).

Keywords: building waste, construction and demolition waste, recycling, resources

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Authors: Vivek Kumar Gupta, Kripi Vohra, Monika Gupta

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Pulses have been a vital ingredient of the balanced human diet in India. Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus or Lens esculenta Moench.) is a common legume known since biblical times. Lentil seeds, with or without hulls, are cooked as dhal and this has been the main dish for millennia in the South Asian region. Oxidative stress can damage lipids, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates and DNA in cells and tissues, resulting in membrane damage, fragmentation or random cross linking of molecules like DNA, enzymes and structural proteins and even lead to cell death induced by DNA fragmentation and lipid peroxidation. These consequences of oxidative stress construct the molecular basis in the development of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and autoimmune. The aim of the present work is to assess the antioxidant potential of the peteroleum ether, acetone, methanol and water extract of the Lens esculenta seeds. In vitro antioxidant assessment of the extracts was carried out using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, reducing power assay. The quantitative estimation of total phenolic content, total flavonoid content in extracts and in plant material, total saponin content, total alkaloid content, crude fibre content, total volatile content, fat content and mucilage content in drug material was also carried out. Though all the extracts exhibited dose dependent reducing power activity the acetone extract was found to possess significant hydrogen donating ability in DPPH (45.83%-93.13%) and hydroxyl radical scavenging system (28.7%-46.41%) than the peteroleum ether, methanol and water extracts. Total phenolic content in the acetone and methanol extract was found to be 608 and 188 mg gallic acid equivalent of phenol/g of sample respectively. Total flavonoid content of acetone and methanol extract was found to be 128 and 30.6 mg quercetin equivalent/g of sample respectively. It is evident that acetone extract of Lentil seeds possess high levels of polyphenolics and flavonoids that could be utilized as antioxidants and neutraceuticals.

Keywords: antioxidant, flavanoids, Lens esculenta, polyphenols

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Authors: Olga Gomez De Miranda, Jose R. Ochoa-Gomez, Stefaan De Wildeman, Luciano Monsegue, Soraya Prieto, Leire Lorenzo, Cristina Dineiro

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The chemical industry is facing a new revolution. As long as processes based on the exploitation of fossil resources emerged with force in the XIX century, Society currently demands a new radical change that will lead to the complete and irreversible implementation of a circular sustainable economic model. The implementation of biorefineries will be essential for this. There, renewable raw materials as sugars and other biomass resources are exploited for the development of new materials that will partially replace their petroleum-derived homologs in a safer, and environmentally more benign approach. Isosorbide, (1,4:3,6-dianhydro-d-glucidol) is a primary bio-based derivative obtained from the plant (poly) saccharides and a very interesting example of a useful chemical produced in biorefineries. It can, in turn, be converted to other secondary monomers as isosorbide bis-methyl carbonate (IBMC), whose main field of application can be as a key biodegradable intermediary substitute of bisphenol-A in the manufacture of polycarbonates, or as an alternative to the toxic isocyanates in the synthesis of new polyurethanes (non-isocyanate polyurethanes) both with a huge application market. New products will present advantageous mechanical or optical properties, as well as improved behavior in non-toxicity and biodegradability aspects in comparison to their petro-derived alternatives. A robust production process of IBMC, a biomass-derived chemical, is here presented. It can be used with different raw material qualities using dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as both co-reactant and solvent. It consists of the transesterification of isosorbide with DMC under soft operational conditions, using different basic catalysts, always active with the isosorbide characteristics and purity. Appropriate isolation processes have been also developed to obtain crude IBMC yields higher than 90%, with oligomers production lower than 10%, independently of the quality of the isosorbide considered. All of them are suitable to be used in polycondensation reactions for polymers obtaining. If higher qualities of IBMC are needed, a purification treatment based on nanofiltration membranes has been also developed. The IBMC reaction-isolation conditions established in the laboratory have been successfully modeled using appropriate software programs and moved to a pilot-scale (production of 100 kg of IBMC). It has been demonstrated that a highly efficient IBMC production process able to be up-scaled under suitable market conditions has been obtained. Operational conditions involved the production of IBMC involve soft temperature and energy needs, no additional solvents, and high operational efficiency. All of them are according to green manufacturing rules.

Keywords: biomass, catalyst, isosorbide bis-methyl carbonate, polycarbonate, polyurethane, transesterification

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Authors: Kai Zhang, Xi Jiang

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Effect of fuel variabilities on premixed combustion of bio-syngas mixtures is of great importance in bio-syngas utilisation. The uncertainties of concentrations of fuel constituents such as H2, CO and CH4 may lead to unpredictable combustion performances, combustion instabilities and hot spots which may deteriorate and damage the combustion hardware. Numerical modelling and simulations can assist in understanding the behaviour of bio-syngas combustion with pre-defined species concentrations, while the evaluation of variabilities of concentrations is expensive. To be more specific, questions such as ‘what is the burning velocity of bio-syngas at specific equivalence ratio?’ have been answered either experimentally or numerically, while questions such as ‘what is the likelihood of burning velocity when precise concentrations of bio-syngas compositions are unknown, but the concentration ranges are pre-described?’ have not yet been answered. Uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods can be used to tackle such questions and assess the effects of fuel compositions. An efficient probabilistic UQ method based on Polynomial Chaos Expansion (PCE) techniques is employed in this study. The method relies on representing random variables (combustion performances) with orthogonal polynomials such as Legendre or Gaussian polynomials. The constructed PCE via Galerkin Projection provides easy access to global sensitivities such as main, joint and total Sobol indices. In this study, impacts of fuel compositions on combustion (adiabatic flame temperature and laminar flame speed) of bio-syngas fuel mixtures are presented invoking this PCE technique at several equivalence ratios. High-pressure effects on bio-syngas combustion instability are obtained using detailed chemical mechanism - the San Diego Mechanism. Guidance on reducing combustion instability from upstream biomass gasification process is provided by quantifying the significant contributions of composition variations to variance of physicochemical properties of bio-syngas combustion. It was found that flame speed is very sensitive to hydrogen variability in bio-syngas, and reducing hydrogen uncertainty from upstream biomass gasification processes can greatly reduce bio-syngas combustion instability. Variation of methane concentration, although thought to be important, has limited impacts on laminar flame instabilities especially for lean combustion. Further studies on the UQ of percentage concentration of hydrogen in bio-syngas can be conducted to guide the safer use of bio-syngas.

Keywords: bio-syngas combustion, clean energy utilisation, fuel variability, PCE, targeted uncertainty reduction, uncertainty quantification

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Authors: Valentin Nicorescu, Nicoleta C. Predescu, Camelia Papuc, Iuliana Gajaila, Carmen D. Petcu

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The oxidation of the fresh muscle oxymyoglobin (bright red colour) to metmyoglobin (brown colour) leads to discoloration of red meats. After slaughter, enzymatic systems involved in metmyoglobin reduction are continually depleted as time post-mortem progresses, thus the meat colour is affected. Phenolic compounds are able to scavenge reactive species involved in oxymyoglobin oxidation and to reduce metmyoglobin to oxymyoglobin. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of polyphenols extracted from hawthorn fruits on the stability of oxymyoglobin and myofibrillar proteins in ground pork subject to refrigeration for 6 days. Hawthorn polyphenols (HP) were added in ground pork in 100, 200 and 300 ppm concentrations. Oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin were evaluated spectrophotometrically at every 2 days and electrophoretic pattern of myofibrillar proteins was investigated at days 0 and 6 by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). For all meat samples, oxymyoglobin concentration significantly decreased during the first 4 days of refrigeration. After 6 days, the significant decrease of oxymyoglobin concentration continued only in the negative control samples. In samples treated with HP and butylated hydroxylanisole (BHA - positive control), oxymyoglobin concentration increased after 6 days of refrigeration, the highest levels complying with the following order: 100 ppm HP > 200 ppm HP > 300 ppm HP > 100 ppm BHA. The increase in metmyoglobin was coincidental with the decrease in oxymyoglobin; metmyoglobin concentration progressively increased during the first 4 days of refrigeration in all meat samples. After 6 days, in meat samples treated with HP and BHA, lower metmyoglobin concentrations were found (compared to day 4), respecting the following order: 100 ppm HP < 200 ppm HP < 300 ppm HP < 100 ppm BHA. These results showed that hawthorn polyphenols and BHA reduced metmyoglobin (MbFe3+) to oxymyoglobin (MbFe2+), and the strongest reducing character was recorded for 100 ppm HP. After 6 days of refrigeration, electrophoretic pattern of myofibrillar proteins showed minor changes compared to day 0, indicating that HP prevent protein degradation as well as synthetic antioxidant BHA. Also, HP did not induce cross-links in the myofibrillar proteins, to form protein aggregates, and no risk of reducing their ability to retain water was identified. The pattern of oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin concentrations determined in this study showed that hawthorn polyphenols are able to reduce metmyoglobin to oxymyoglobin and to delay oxymyoglobin oxidation, especially when they are added to ground meat in concentration of 100 ppm. This work was carried out through Partnerships in priority areas Program – PN II, implemented with the support of MEN – UEFISCDI (Romania), project nr. 149/2014.

Keywords: Hawthorn polyphenols, metmyoglobin, oxymyoglobin, proteins stability

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Authors: Ali Sagiroglu, Sema Noyan Alacali, Guray Arslan

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This paper presents a study on the influence of the safety factor in the concrete contribution to shear strength of high-strength concrete (HSC) beams according to TS500. In TS500, the contribution of concrete to shear strength is obtained by reducing diagonal cracking strength with a safety factor of 0.8. It was investigated that the coefficient of 0.8 considered in determining the contribution of concrete to the shear strength corresponds to which value of failure probability. Also, the changes in the reduction factor depending on different coefficients of variation of concrete were examined.

Keywords: reinforced concrete, beam, shear strength, failure probability, safety factor

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Authors: Olga Mironiuk, Małgorzata Kossowska

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of Situational Attribution Training on reducing automatic in-group stereotyping in females. The experiment was conducted with the control of age and level of prejudice. 90 female participants were randomly assigned to two conditions: experimental and control group (each group was also divided into younger- and older-aged condition). Participants from the experimental condition were subjected to more extensive training. In the first part of the experiment, the experimental group took part in the first session of Situational Attribution Training while the control group participated in the Grammatical Training Control. In the second part of the research both groups took part in the Situational Attribution Training (which was considered as the second training session for the experimental group and the first one for the control condition). The training procedure was based on the descriptions of ambiguous situations which could be explained using situational or dispositional attributions. The participant’s task was to choose the situational explanation from two alternatives, out of which the second one presented the explanation based on neutral or stereotypically associated with women traits. Moreover, the experimental group took part in the third training session after two- day time delay, in order to check the persistence of the training effect. The main hypothesis stated that among participants taking part in the more extensive training, the automatic in-group stereotyping would be less frequent after having finished training sessions. The effectiveness of the training was tested by measuring the response time and the correctness of answers: the longer response time for the examples where one of two possible answers was based on the stereotype trait and higher correctness of answers was considered to be a proof of the training effectiveness. As the participants’ level of prejudice was controlled (using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory), it was also assumed that the training effect would be weaker for participants revealing a higher level of prejudice. The obtained results did not confirm the hypothesis based on the response time: participants from the experimental group responded faster in case of situations where one of the possible explanations was based on stereotype trait. However, an interesting observation was made during the analysis of the answers’ correctness: regardless the condition and age group affiliation, participants made more mistakes while choosing the situational explanations when the alternative was based on stereotypical trait associated with the dimension of warmth. What is more, the correctness of answers was higher in the third training session for the experimental group in case when the alternative of situational explanation was based on the stereotype trait associated with the dimension of competence. The obtained results partially confirm the effectiveness of the training.

Keywords: female, in-group stereotyping, prejudice, situational attribution training

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Authors: Pisut Boonkaew, Jatuporn Thongsri

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In hard disk drive manufacturing industry, the process of reducing an unnecessary part and qualifying the quality of part before assembling is important. Thus, clamp was designed and fabricated as a fixture for holding in testing process. Basically, testing by trial and error consumes a long time to improve. Consequently, the simulation was brought to improve the part and reduce the time taken. The problem is the present clamp has a low life expectancy because of the critical stress that occurred. Hence, the simulation was brought to study the behavior of stress and compressive force to improve the clamp expectancy with all probability of designs which are present up to 27 designs, which excluding the repeated designs. The probability was calculated followed by the full fractional rules of six sigma methodology which was provided correctly. The six sigma methodology is a well-structured method for improving quality level by detecting and reducing the variability of the process. Therefore, the defective will be decreased while the process capability increasing. This research focuses on the methodology of stress and fatigue reduction while compressive force still remains in the acceptable range that has been set by the company. In the simulation, ANSYS simulates the 3D CAD with the same condition during the experiment. Then the force at each distance started from 0.01 to 0.1 mm will be recorded. The setting in ANSYS was verified by mesh convergence methodology and compared the percentage error with the experimental result; the error must not exceed the acceptable range. Therefore, the improved process focuses on degree, radius, and length that will reduce stress and still remain in the acceptable force number. Therefore, the fatigue analysis will be brought as the next process in order to guarantee that the lifetime will be extended by simulating through ANSYS simulation program. Not only to simulate it, but also to confirm the setting by comparing with the actual clamp in order to observe the different of fatigue between both designs. This brings the life time improvement up to 57% compared with the actual clamp in the manufacturing. This study provides a precise and trustable setting enough to be set as a reference methodology for the future design. Because of the combination and adaptation from the six sigma method, finite element, fatigue and linear regressive analysis that lead to accurate calculation, this project will able to save up to 60 million dollars annually.

Keywords: clamp, finite element analysis, structural, six sigma, linear regressive analysis, fatigue analysis, probability

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Authors: J. Iwaro, A. Mwasha, K. Ramsubhag

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Global warming has become a threat of our time. It poses challenges to the existence of beings on earth, the built environment, natural environment and has made a clear impact on the level of energy and water consumption. As such, increase in the ambient temperature increases indoor and outdoor temperature level of the buildings which brings about the use of more energy and mechanical air conditioning systems. In addition, in view of the increased modernization and economic growth in the developing countries, a significant amount of energy is being used, especially those with hot climatic conditions. Since modernization in developing countries is rising rapidly, more pressure is being placed on the buildings and energy resources to satisfy the indoor comfort requirements. This paper presents a sustainable passive roof solution as a means of reducing energy cooling loads for satisfying human comfort requirements in a hot climate. As such, the study based on the field study data discusses indoor thermal roof design strategies for a hot climate by investigating the impacts of roof thermal performance on indoor thermal comfort in naturally ventilated building envelope small scaled structures. In this respect, the traditional concrete flat roof, corrugated galvanised iron roof and pre-painted standing seam roof were used. The experiment made used of three identical small scale physical models constructed and sited on the roof of a building at the University of the West Indies. The results show that the utilization of insulation in traditional roofing systems will significantly reduce heat transfer between the internal and ambient environment, thus reducing the energy demand of the structure and the relative carbon footprint of a structure per unit area over its lifetime. Also, the application of flat slab concrete roofing system showed the best performance as opposed to the metal roof sheeting alternative systems. In addition, it has been shown experimentally through this study that a sustainable passive roof solution such as insulated flat concrete roof in hot dry climate has a better cooling strength that can provide building occupant with a better thermal comfort, conducive indoor conditions and energy efficiency.

Keywords: building envelope, roof, energy consumption, thermal comfort

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Authors: Shashank Gupta, Shiva Garg

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The purpose of the present paper is to study the changes in the strength characteristics of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and also the density when different expansion agents are used. The expansion agent so used releases air in the concrete thereby making it lighter by reducing its density. It also increases the workability of the concrete. The various air entraining agents used for this study are hydrogen peroxide, oleic acid, and olive oil. The addition of these agents causes the concrete to rise like cake but it reduces the strength of concrete due to the formation of air voids. The amount of agents chosen for concrete production are 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% by weight of cement.

Keywords: AAC, olive oil, hydrogen peroxide, oleic acid, steam curing

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Authors: J. T. Manhire

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A tax authority wants to take actions it knows will foster the greatest degree of voluntary taxpayer compliance to reduce the “tax gap.” This paper suggests that even if a tax authority could attain a state of complete knowledge, there are constraints on whether and to what extent such actions would result in reducing the macro-level tax gap. These limits are not merely a consequence of finite agency resources. They are inherent in the system itself. To show that this is one possible interpretation of the tax gap data, the paper formulates known results in a different way by analyzing tax compliance as a population with a single covariate. This leads to a standard use of the logistic map to analyze the dynamics of non-compliance growth or decay over a sequence of periods. This formulation gives the same results as the tax gap studies performed over the past fifty years in the U.S. given the published margins of error. Limitations and recommendations for future work are discussed, along with some implications for tax policy.

Keywords: income tax, logistic map, tax compliance, tax law

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Authors: Saidi Nabiha, Khaled Zaatouri, Walid Fajraoui, Tahar Ezzeddine

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The market of Wireless Sensor Network WSN has a great potential and development opportunities. Researchers are focusing on optimization in many fields like efficient deployment and routing protocols. In this article, we will concentrate on energy efficiency for WSN because WSN nodes are habitually deployed in severe No Man’s Land with batteries are not rechargeable, so reducing energy consumption represents an important challenge to extend the life of the network. We will present the design of new WSN mote based on ultra low power STM32L microcontrollers and the ZIGBEE transceiver CC2520. We will compare it to existent motes and we will conclude that our mote is promising in energy consumption.

Keywords: component, WSN mote, power consumption, STM32L, sensors, CC2520

Procedia PDF Downloads 572

Authors: Vinai K. Singh

Abstract:

For reducing impulsive noise without degrading image contours, median filtering is a powerful tool. In multiband images as for example colour images or vector fields obtained by optic flow computation, a vector median filter can be used. Vector median filters are defined on the basis of a suitable distance, the best performing distance being the Euclidean. Euclidean distance is evaluated by using the Euclidean norms which is quite demanding from the point of view of computation given that a square root is required. In this paper an optimal piece-wise linear approximation of the Euclidean norm is presented which is applied to vector median filtering.

Keywords: euclidean norm, quasi euclidean norm, vector median filtering, applied mathematics

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Authors: Zeynep Yilmazer Hitit, Patrick C. Hallenbeck

Abstract:

Fuel reserve requirements due to depletion of fossil fuels have increased interest in biohydrogen since the 1990’s. In fermentative hydrogen production, pure, mixed, and co-cultures can be used to produce hydrogen. Several previous studies have evaluated hydrogen production by pure cultures of Clostridium butyricum or Enterobacter aerogenes. Evaluating hydrogen production by co-culture of these microorganisms is an interestıng approach since E. aerogenes is a facultative microorganism with resistance to oxygen in contrast to the strict anaerobe C. butyricum, and therefore has the ability to maintain anaerobic conditions. It was found that using co-cultures of facultative E. aerogenes (as a reducing agent and H2 producer) and the obligate anaerobe C. butyricum for producing hydrogen increases the yield of hydrogen by about 50% compared to C. butyricum by itself. Also, using different types of microorganisms for hydrogen production eliminates the need to use expensive reducing agents. C. butyricum strain pre-cultured anaerobically at 37 0C for 15h by inoculating 100 mL of GP medium (pH 6.8) consisting of 1% glucose, 2% polypeptone, 0.2% KH2PO4, 0.05% yeast extract, 0.05% MgSO4. 7H2O and E. aerogenes strain was pre-cultured aerobically at 30 0C, 150 rpm for 9 h by inoculating 100 mL of TGY medium (pH 6.8), consisting of 0.1% glucose, 0.5% tryptone, 0.1% K2HPO4, 0.5% yeast extract. All duplicate batch experiments were conducted in 100 mL bottles with different inoculum ratios of Clostridium butyricum and Enterobater aerogenes (C:E) using 5x diluted rich media (GP) consisting of 2 g/L glucose, 4g/L polypeptone, 0.4 g/L KH2PO4, 0.1 g/L yeast extract, 0.1 MgSO4.7H2O. The range of inoculum ratio of C. butyricum to E. aerogenes were 2:1,4:1,8:1, 1:2,1:4, 1:8, 1:0, 0:1. Using glucose as a carbon source aided in the observation of microbial behavior as well as making the effect of inoculum ratio more evident. Nearly all the glucose in the medium was used to produce hydrogen, except at a 1:0 ratio of inoculum (i.e. containing only C. butyricum). Low glucose consumption leads to a higher hydrogen yield due to cumulative hydrogen production and consumption of glucose, but not as much as C:E, 8:1. The lowest hydrogen yield was achieved in 1:8 inoculum ratio of C:E, 71.9 mL, 1.007±0.01 mol H2/mol glucose and the highest cumulative hydrogen, hydrogen yield and dry cell weight were achieved in 8:1 inoculum ratio of C:E, 117.4 mL, 2.035±0.082 mol H2/mol glucose, 0.4 g/L respectively. In this study effect of inoculum ratio on dark fermentative biohydrogen production using C. butyricum and E. aerogenes was investigated. The maximum hydrogen yield of 2.035mol H2/mol glucose was obtained using 2g/L glucose, an initial pH of 6 and an inoculum ratio of C. butyricum to E. aerogenes of 8:1. Results showed that inoculum ratio is an important parameter on hydrogen production due to competition between the two microorganisms in using substrate for growth and production of by-products. The results presented here could be of great significance for further waste management studies using co-culture hydrogen production.

Keywords: biohydrogen, Clostridium butyricum, dark fermentation, Enterobacter aerogenes, inoculum ratio in biohydrogen production

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Authors: Esther Acha, Jose Cambra, De Chen

Abstract:

Hydrogen is considered an important energy vector for the 21st century. Nowadays there are some difficulties for hydrogen economy implantation, and one of them is the high purity required for hydrogen. This energy vector is still being mainly produced from fuels, from wich hydrogen is produced as a component of a mixture containing other gases, such as CO, CO2 and H2O. A forthcoming sustainable pathway for hydrogen is steam-reforming of bio-oils derived from biomass, e.g. via fast pyrolysis. Bio-oils are a mixture of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, sugars phenols, guaiacols, syringols, furans, multi-functional compounds and also up to a 30 wt% of water. The sorption enhanced steam reforming (SESR) process is attracting a great deal of attention due to the fact that it combines both hydrogen production and CO2 separation. In the SESR process, carbon dioxide is captured by an in situ sorbent, which shifts the reversible reforming and water gas shift reactions to the product side, beyond their conventional thermodynamic limits, giving rise to a higher hydrogen production and lower cost. The hydrogen containing mixture has been obtained from the SESR of bio-oil type compounds. Different types of catalysts have been tested. All of them contain Ni at around a 30 wt %. Two samples have been prepared with the wet impregnation technique over conventional (gamma alumina) and non-conventional (olivine) supports. And a third catalysts has been prepared over a hydrotalcite-like material (HT). The employed sorbent is a commercial dolomite. The activity tests were performed in a bench-scale plant (PID Eng&Tech), using a stainless steel fixed bed reactor. The catalysts were reduced in situ in the reactor, before the activity tests. The effluent stream was cooled down, thus condensed liquid was collected and weighed, and the gas phase was analysed online by a microGC. The hydrogen yield, and process behavior was analysed without the sorbent (the traditional SR where a second purification step will be needed but that operates in steady state) and the SESR (where the purification step could be avoided but that operates in batch state). The influence of the support type and preparation method will be observed in the produced hydrogen yield. Additionally, the stability of the catalysts is critical, due to the fact that in SESR process sorption-desorption steps are required. The produced hydrogen yield and hydrogen purity has to be high and also stable, even after several sorption-desorption cycles. The prepared catalysts were characterized employing different techniques to determine the physicochemical properties of the fresh-reduced and used (after the activity tests) materials. The characterization results, together with the activity results show the influence of the catalysts preparation method, calcination temperature, or can even explain the observed yield and conversion.

Keywords: CO2 sorbent, enhanced steam reforming, hydrogen

Procedia PDF Downloads 577

Authors: Mohammad Ali Hasanzadeh, Thierry Van Elslander, Eddy Van De Voorde

Abstract:

About 90 percent of world merchandise trade by volume being carried by sea. Maritime transport remains as back bone behind the international trade and globalization meanwhile all seaborne goods need using at least two ports as origin and destination. Amid seaborne traded cargos, container traffic is a prosperous market with about 16% in terms of volume. Albeit containerized cargos are less in terms of tonnage but, containers carry the highest value cargos amongst all. That is why efficient handling of containers in ports is very important. Accidents are the foremost causes that lead to port inefficiency and a surge in total transport cost. Having different port safety management systems (PSMS) in place, statistics on port accidents show that numerous accidents occur in ports. Some of them claim peoples’ life; others damage goods, vessels, port equipment and/or the environment. Several accident investigation illustrate that the most common accidents take place throughout transport operation, it sometimes accounts for 68.6% of all events, therefore providing a safer workplace depends on reducing collision risk. In order to quantify risks at the port area different variables can be used as exposure measurement. One of the main motives for defining and using exposure in studies related to infrastructure is to account for the differences in intensity of use, so as to make comparisons meaningful. In various researches related to handling containers in ports and intermodal terminals, different risk exposures and also the likelihood of each event have been selected. Vehicle collision within the port area (10-7 per kilometer of vehicle distance travelled) and dropping containers from cranes, forklift trucks, or rail mounted gantries (1 x 10-5 per lift) are some examples. According to the objective of the current research, three categories of accidents selected for collision risk assessment; fall of container during ship to shore operation, dropping container during transfer operation and collision between vehicles and objects within terminal area. Later on various consequences, exposure and probability identified for each accident. Hence, reducing collision risks profoundly rely on picking the right risk exposures and probability of selected accidents, to prevent collision accidents in container terminals and in the framework of risk calculations, such risk exposures and probabilities can be useful in assessing the effectiveness of safety programs in ports.

Keywords: container terminal, collision, seaborne trade, risk exposure, risk probability

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Joyce Cruz Ferraz Dutra, Marcele Fonseca Passos, Rubens Maciel Filho, Douglas Fernandes Barbin, Gustavo Mockaitis

Abstract:

The search for alternatives to control hunger in the world, generated a major environmental problem. Intensive systems of fish production can cause an imbalance in the aquatic environment, triggering the phenomenon of eutrophication. Currently, there are many forms of growth control aquatic plants, such as mechanical withdrawal, however some difficulties arise for their final destination. The Egeria densa is a species of submerged aquatic macrophyte-rich in cellulose and low concentrations of lignin. By applying the concept of second generation energy, which uses lignocellulose for energy production, the reuse of these aquatic macrophytes (Egeria densa) in the biofuels production can turn an interesting alternative. In order to make lignocellulose sugars available for effective fermentation, it is important to use pre-treatments in order to separate the components and modify the structure of the cellulose and thus facilitate the attack of the microorganisms responsible for the fermentation. Therefore, the objective of this research work was to evaluate the structural and morphological transformations occurring in the biomass of aquatic macrophytes (E.densa) submitted to a thermal pretreatment. The samples were collected in an intensive fish growing farm, in the low São Francisco dam, in the northeastern region of Brazil. After collection, the samples were dried in a 65 0C ventilation oven and milled in a 5mm micron knife mill. A duplicate assay was carried, comparing the in natural biomass with the pretreated biomass with heat (MT). The sample (MT) was submitted to an autoclave with a temperature of 1210C and a pressure of 1.1 atm, for 30 minutes. After this procedure, the biomass was characterized in terms of degree of crystallinity and morphology, using X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results showed that there was a decrease of 11% in the crystallinity index (% CI) of the pretreated biomass, leading to the structural modification in the cellulose and greater presence of amorphous structures. Increases in porosity and surface roughness of the samples were also observed. These results suggest that biomass may become more accessible to the hydrolytic enzymes of fermenting microorganisms. Therefore, the morphological transformations caused by the thermal pretreatment may be favorable for a subsequent fermentation and, consequently, a higher yield of biofuels. Thus, the use of thermally pretreated aquatic macrophytes (E.densa) can be an environmentally, financially and socially sustainable alternative. In addition, it represents a measure of control for the aquatic environment, which can generate income (biogas production) and maintenance of fish farming activities in local communities.

Keywords: aquatics macrophyte, biofuels, crystallinity, morphology, pretreatment thermal

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Alexander Street, Nina Wollersberger, Paul Fernie, Leonardo Muller, Ming Hung HSU, Helen Odell-Miller, Jorg Fachner, Patrizia Di Campli San Vito, Stephen Brewster, Hari Shaji, Satvik Venkatesh, Paolo Itaborai, Nicolas Farina, Alexis Kirke, Sube Banerjee, Eduardo Reck Miranda

Abstract:

Escalating neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in people with dementia may lead to earlier care home admission. Music listening has been reported to stimulate cognitive function, potentially reducing agitation in this population. We present a scoping review, reporting on current developments and discussing the potential for music listening with related technology in managing agitation in dementia care. Of two searches for music listening studies, one focused on older people or people living with dementia where music listening interventions, including technology, were delivered in participants’ homes or in institutions to address neuropsychiatric symptoms, quality of life and independence. The second included any population focusing on the use of music technology for health and wellbeing. In search one 70/251 full texts were included. The majority reported either statistical significance (6, 8.5%), significance (17, 24.2%) or improvements (26, 37.1%). Agitation was specifically reported in 36 (51.4%). The second search included 51/99 full texts, reporting improvement (28, 54.9%), significance (11, 21.5%), statistical significance (1, 1.9%) and no difference compared to the control (6, 11.7%). The majority in the first focused on mood and agitation, and the second on mood and psychophysiological responses. Five studies used AI or machine learning systems to select music, all involving healthy controls and reporting benefits. Most studies in both reviews were not conducted in a home environment (review 1 = 12; 17.1%; review 2 = 11; 21.5%). Preferred music listening may help manage NPS in the care home settings. Based on these and other data extracted in the review, a reasonable progression would be to co-design and test music listening systems and protocols for NPS in all settings, including people’s homes. Machine learning and automated technology for music selection and arousal adjustment, driven by live biodata, have not been explored in dementia care. Such approaches may help deliver the right music at the appropriate time in the required dosage, reducing the use of medication and improving quality of life.

Keywords: music listening, dementia, agitation, scoping review, technology

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