Search results for: digital forensic solution
1746 Determination of Gold in Microelectronics Waste Pieces
Authors: S. I. Usenko, V. N. Golubeva, I. A. Konopkina, I. V. Astakhova, O. V. Vakhnina, A. A. Korableva, A. A. Kalinina, K. B. Zhogova
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Gold can be determined in natural objects and manufactured articles of different origin. The up-to-date status of research and problems of high gold level determination in alloys and manufactured articles are described in detail in the literature. No less important is the task of this metal determination in minerals, process products and waste pieces. The latters, as objects of gold content chemical analysis, are most hard-to-study for two reasons: Because of high requirements to accuracy of analysis results and because of difference in chemical and phase composition. As a rule, such objects are characterized by compound, variable and very often unknown matrix composition that leads to unpredictable and uncontrolled effect on accuracy and other analytical characteristics of analysis technique. In this paper, the methods for the determination of gold are described, using flame atomic-absorption spectrophotometry and gravimetric analysis technique. The techniques are aimed at gold determination in a solution for gold etching (KJ+J2), in the technological mixture formed after cleaning stainless steel members of vacuum-deposit installation with concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids as well as in gold-containing powder resulted from liquid wastes reprocessing. Optimal conditions for sample preparation and analysis of liquid and solid waste specimens of compound and variable matrix composition were chosen. The boundaries of relative resultant error were determined for the methods within the range of gold mass concentration from 0.1 to 30g/dm3 in the specimens of liquid wastes and mass fractions from 3 to 80% in the specimens of solid wastes.Keywords: microelectronics waste pieces, gold, sample preparation, atomic-absorption spectrophotometry, gravimetric analysis technique
Procedia PDF Downloads 2041745 Evaluation of Efficiency of Naturally Available Disinfectants and Filter Media in Conventional Gravity Filters
Authors: Abhinav Mane, Kedar Karvande, Shubham Patel, Abhayraj Lodha
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Gravity filters are one of the most commonly used, economically viable and moderately efficient water purification systems. Their efficiency is mainly based on the type of filter media installed and its location within the filter mass. Several researchers provide valuable input in decision of the type of filter media. However, the choice is mainly restricted to the chemical combinations of different substances. This makes it very much dependent on the factory made filter media, and no cheap alternatives could be found and used. This paper presents the use of disinfectants and filter medias either available naturally or could be prepared using natural resources in conventional mechanism of gravity filter. A small scale laboratory investigation was made with variation in filter media thickness and its location from the top surface of the filter. A rigid steel frame based custom fabricated test setup was used to facilitate placement of filter media at different height within the filter mass. Finely grinded sun dried Neem (Azadirachta indica) extracts and porous burnt clay pads were used as two distinct filter media and placed in isolation as well as in combination with each other. Ground water available in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India which mainly consists of harmful materials like Arsenic, Chlorides, Iron, Magnesium and Manganese, etc. was treated in the filters fabricated in the present study. The evaluation was made mainly in terms of the input/output water quality assessment through laboratory tests. The present paper should give a cheap and eco-friendly solution to prepare gravity filter at the merit of household skills and availability.Keywords: fliter media, gravity filters, natural disinfectants, porous clay pads
Procedia PDF Downloads 2581744 Analyzing Political Cartoons in Arabic-Language Media after Trump's Jerusalem Move: A Multimodal Discourse Perspective
Authors: Inas Hussein
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Communication in the modern world is increasingly becoming multimodal due to globalization and the digital space we live in which have remarkably affected how people communicate. Accordingly, Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) is an emerging paradigm in discourse studies with the underlying assumption that other semiotic resources such as images, colours, scientific symbolism, gestures, actions, music and sound, etc. combine with language in order to communicate meaning. One of the effective multimodal media that combines both verbal and non-verbal elements to create meaning is political cartoons. Furthermore, since political and social issues are mirrored in political cartoons, these are regarded as potential objects of discourse analysis since they not only reflect the thoughts of the public but they also have the power to influence them. The aim of this paper is to analyze some selected cartoons on the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital by the American President, Donald Trump, adopting a multimodal approach. More specifically, the present research examines how the various semiotic tools and resources utilized by the cartoonists function in projecting the intended meaning. Ten political cartoons, among a surge of editorial cartoons highlighted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) - an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States - as publications in different Arabic-language newspapers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Iran and UK, were purposively selected for semiotic analysis. These editorial cartoons, all published during 6th–18th December 2017, invariably suggest one theme: Jewish and Israeli domination of the United States. The data were analyzed using the framework of Visual Social Semiotics. In accordance with this methodological framework, the selected visual compositions were analyzed in terms of three aspects of meaning: representational, interactive and compositional. In analyzing the selected cartoons, an interpretative approach is being adopted. This approach prioritizes depth to breadth and enables insightful analyses of the chosen cartoons. The findings of the study reveal that semiotic resources are key elements of political cartoons due to the inherent political communication they convey. It is proved that adequate interpretation of the three aspects of meaning is a prerequisite for understanding the intended meaning of political cartoons. It is recommended that further research should be conducted to provide more insightful analyses of political cartoons from a multimodal perspective.Keywords: Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), multimodal text, political cartoons, visual modality
Procedia PDF Downloads 2401743 Quantifying the Rapid Urbanization Impact on Potential Stormwater Runoff of Dhaka City, Bangladesh
Authors: Md. Kumruzzaman, Anutosh Das, Md. Mosharraf Hossain
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Historically, rapid urban growth activities are considered one of the main culprits behind urban floods or waterlogging. The increased unplanned urbanization of many areas of Dhaka has resulted in waterlogging, urban floods, and increasing groundwater depth. To determine potential groundwater recharge from precipitation, the study is being conducted to examine the changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and urban runoff extent based on the NRCS-CN from 2005–2021. Four kinds of land use are used to examine the LULC change: built-up, bare land, vegetation, and water body. These categories are used for the years 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021. The built-up area is growing at a relatively fast rate: 7.43%, 17.4%, and 5.21%, respectively, between the years 2005 and 2010, 2010 and 2015, and 2015 and 2021. As the amount of impervious surface rose in Dhaka city, stormwater discharge increased from 2005 to 2021. In 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021, heavy stormwater runoff regions made up around 24.873%, 32.616%, 49.118%, and 55.986% of the entire Dhaka city. Stormwater runoff accounted for around 53.738%, 55.092%, 63.472%, and 67.061% of the total rainfall in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021, respectively. Between 2005 and 2021, a significant portion of the natural land cover was altered because of the expanding impervious surface, which also harmed the natural drainage system. Due to careless growth, the potential for stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge in Dhaka city worsens every year. Concerning this situation, a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) can be the best possible solution for minimizing the stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge problem.Keywords: LULC, impervious surface, stormwater runoff, groundwater recharge, SUDS
Procedia PDF Downloads 801742 The Effect of Photovoltaic Integrated Shading Devices on the Energy Performance of Apartment Buildings in a Mediterranean Climate
Authors: Jenan Abu Qadourah
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With the depletion of traditional fossil resources and the growing human population, it is now more important than ever to reduce our energy usage and harmful emissions. In the Mediterranean region, the intense solar radiation contributes to summertime overheating, which raises energy costs and building carbon footprints, alternatively making it suitable for the installation of solar energy systems. In urban settings, where multi-story structures predominate and roof space is limited, photovoltaic integrated shading devices (PVSD) are a clean solution for building designers. However, incorporating photovoltaic (PV) systems into a building's envelope is a complex procedure that, if not executed correctly, might result in the PV system failing. As a result, potential PVSD design solutions must be assessed based on their overall energy performance from the project's early design stage. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate and compare the possible impact of various PVSDs on the energy performance of new apartments in the Mediterranean region, with a focus on Amman, Jordan. To achieve the research aim, computer simulations were performed to assess and compare the energy performance of different PVSD configurations. Furthermore, an energy index was developed by taking into account all energy aspects, including the building's primary energy demand and the PVSD systems' net energy production. According to the findings, the PVSD system can meet 12% to 43% of the apartment building's electricity needs. By highlighting the potential interest in PVSD systems, this study aids the building designer in producing more energy-efficient buildings and encourages building owners to install PV systems on the façade of their buildings.Keywords: photovoltaic integrated shading device, solar energy, architecture, energy performance, simulation, overall energy index, Jordan
Procedia PDF Downloads 841741 Trajectory Optimization of Re-Entry Vehicle Using Evolutionary Algorithm
Authors: Muhammad Umar Kiani, Muhammad Shahbaz
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Performance of any vehicle can be predicted by its design/modeling and optimization. Design optimization leads to efficient performance. Followed by horizontal launch, the air launch re-entry vehicle undergoes a launch maneuver by introducing a carefully selected angle of attack profile. This angle of attack profile is the basic element to complete a specified mission. Flight program of said vehicle is optimized under the constraints of the maximum allowed angle of attack, lateral and axial loads and with the objective of reaching maximum altitude. The main focus of this study is the endo-atmospheric phase of the ascent trajectory. A three degrees of freedom trajectory model is simulated in MATLAB. The optimization process uses evolutionary algorithm, because of its robustness and efficient capacity to explore the design space in search of the global optimum. Evolutionary Algorithm based trajectory optimization also offers the added benefit of being a generalized method that may work with continuous, discontinuous, linear, and non-linear performance matrix. It also eliminates the requirement of a starting solution. Optimization is particularly beneficial to achieve maximum advantage without increasing the computational cost and affecting the output of the system. For the case of launch vehicles we are immensely anxious to achieve maximum performance and efficiency under different constraints. In a launch vehicle, flight program means the prescribed variation of vehicle pitching angle during the flight which has substantial influence reachable altitude and accuracy of orbit insertion and aerodynamic loading. Results reveal that the angle of attack profile significantly affects the performance of the vehicle.Keywords: endo-atmospheric, evolutionary algorithm, efficient performance, optimization process
Procedia PDF Downloads 4051740 Structural Characterization of TIR Domains Interaction
Authors: Sara Przetocka, Krzysztof Żak, Grzegorz Dubin, Tadeusz Holak
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Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play central role in the innate immune response and inflammation by recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). A fundamental basis of TLR signalling is dependent upon the recruitment and association of adaptor molecules that contain the structurally conserved Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain. MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88) is the universal adaptor for TLRs and cooperates with Mal (MyD88 adapter-like protein, also known as TIRAP) in TLR4 response which is predominantly used in inflammation, host defence and carcinogenesis. Up to date two possible models of MyD88, Mal and TLR4 interactions have been proposed. The aim of our studies is to confirm or abolish presented models and accomplish the full structural characterisation of TIR domains interaction. Using molecular cloning methods we obtained several construct of MyD88 and Mal TIR domain with GST or 6xHis tag. Gel filtration method as well as pull-down analysis confirmed that recombinant TIR domains from MyD88 and Mal are binding in complexes. To examine whether obtained complexes are homo- or heterodimers we carried out cross-linking reaction of TIR domains with BS3 compound combined with mass spectrometry. To investigate which amino acid residues are involved in this interaction the NMR titration experiments were performed. 15N MyD88-TIR solution was complemented with non-labelled Mal-TIR. The results undoubtedly indicate that MyD88-TIR interact with Mal-TIR. Moreover 2D spectra demonstrated that simultaneously Mal-TIR self-dimerization occurs which is necessary to create proper scaffold for Mal-TIR and MyD88-TIR interaction. Final step of this study will be crystallization of MyD88 and Mal TIR domains complex. This crystal structure and characterisation of its interface will have an impact in understanding the TLR signalling pathway and possibly will be used in development of new anti-cancer treatment.Keywords: cancer, MyD88, TIR domains, Toll-like receptors
Procedia PDF Downloads 2961739 Social Media Data Analysis for Personality Modelling and Learning Styles Prediction Using Educational Data Mining
Authors: Srushti Patil, Preethi Baligar, Gopalkrishna Joshi, Gururaj N. Bhadri
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In designing learning environments, the instructional strategies can be tailored to suit the learning style of an individual to ensure effective learning. In this study, the information shared on social media like Facebook is being used to predict learning style of a learner. Previous research studies have shown that Facebook data can be used to predict user personality. Users with a particular personality exhibit an inherent pattern in their digital footprint on Facebook. The proposed work aims to correlate the user's’ personality, predicted from Facebook data to the learning styles, predicted through questionnaires. For Millennial learners, Facebook has become a primary means for information sharing and interaction with peers. Thus, it can serve as a rich bed for research and direct the design of learning environments. The authors have conducted this study in an undergraduate freshman engineering course. Data from 320 freshmen Facebook users was collected. The same users also participated in the learning style and personality prediction survey. The Kolb’s Learning style questionnaires and Big 5 personality Inventory were adopted for the survey. The users have agreed to participate in this research and have signed individual consent forms. A specific page was created on Facebook to collect user data like personal details, status updates, comments, demographic characteristics and egocentric network parameters. This data was captured by an application created using Python program. The data captured from Facebook was subjected to text analysis process using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count dictionary. An analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires performed reveals individual student personality and learning style. The results obtained from analysis of Facebook, learning style and personality data were then fed into an automatic classifier that was trained by using the data mining techniques like Rule-based classifiers and Decision trees. This helps to predict the user personality and learning styles by analysing the common patterns. Rule-based classifiers applied for text analysis helps to categorize Facebook data into positive, negative and neutral. There were totally two models trained, one to predict the personality from Facebook data; another one to predict the learning styles from the personalities. The results show that the classifier model has high accuracy which makes the proposed method to be a reliable one for predicting the user personality and learning styles.Keywords: educational data mining, Facebook, learning styles, personality traits
Procedia PDF Downloads 2311738 The Two Layers of Food Safety and GMOs in the Hungarian Agricultural Law
Authors: Gergely Horváth
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The study presents the complexity of food safety dividing it into two layers. Beyond the basic layer of requirements, there is a more demanding higher level linked with quality and purity aspects. It would be important to give special prominence to both layers, given that massive illnesses are caused by foods even though officially licensed. Then the study discusses an exciting safety challenge stemming from the risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Furthermore, it features legal case examples that illustrate how certain liability questions are solved or not yet decided in connection with the production of genetically modified crops. In addition, a special kind of land grabbing, more precisely land grabbing from non-GMO farming systems can also be noticed as well as a new phenomenon eroding food sovereignty. Coexistence, the state where organic, conventional, and GM farming systems are standing alongside each other is an unsuitable experiment that cannot be successful, because of biophysical reasons (such as cross-pollination). Agricultural and environmental lawyers both try to find the optimal solution. Agri-environmental measures are introduced as a special subfield of law maintaining also food safety. The important steps of agri-environmental legislation are aiming at the protection of natural values, the environmental media and strengthening food safety as well, practically the quality of agricultural products intended for human consumption. The major findings of the study focus on searching for the appropriate approach capable of solving the security and safety problems of food production. The most interesting concepts of the Hungarian national and EU food law legislation are analyzed in more detail with descriptive, analytic and comparative methods.Keywords: food law, food safety, food security, GMO, Genetically Modified Organisms, agri-environmental measures
Procedia PDF Downloads 4381737 EDTA Enhanced Plant Growth, Antioxidant Defense System, and Phytoextraction of Copper by Brassica napus L.
Authors: Ume Habiba, Shafaqat Ali, Mujahid Farid, Muhammad Bilal Shakoor
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Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for normal plant growth and development, but in excess, it is also toxic to plants. The present study investigated the influence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in enhancing Cu uptake and tolerance as well as the morphological and physiological responses of Brassica napus L. seedlings under Cu stress. Four-week-old seedlings were transferred to hydroponics containing Hoagland’s nutrient solution. After 2 weeks of transplanting, three levels (0, 50, and 100 μM) of Cu were applied with or without application of 2.5 mM EDTA and plants were further grown for 8 weeks in culture media. Results showed that Cu alone significantly decreased plant growth, biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and gas exchange characteristics. Cu stress also reduced the activities of antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) along with protein contents. Cu toxicity increased the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as indicated by the increased production of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in both leaves and roots. The application of EDTA significantly alleviated Cu-induced toxic effects in B. napus, showing remarkable improvement in all these parameters. EDTA amendment increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes by decreasing the concentrations of MDA and H2O2 both in leaves and roots of B. napus. Although, EDTA amendment with Cu significantly increased Cu uptake in roots, stems, and leaves in decreasing order of concentration but increased the growth, photosynthetic parameters, and antioxidant enzymes. These results showed that the application of EDTA can be a useful strategy for phytoextraction of Cu by B. napus from contaminated soils.Keywords: antioxidants, biomass, copper, EDTA, phytoextraction, tolerance
Procedia PDF Downloads 4111736 Oxygen-Tolerant H₂O₂ Reduction Catalysis by Iron Phosphate Coated Iron Oxides
Authors: Chia-Ting Chang, Chia-Yu Lin
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We report on the decisive role of iron phosphate (FePO₄), formed in-situ during the electrochemical characterization, played in the electrocatalytic activity, especially its oxygen tolerance of iron oxides towards H₂O₂ reduction. Iron oxides studied including, Nanorod arrays (NRs) of β-FeOOH, γ-Fe₂O₃, α-Fe₂O₃, α-Fe₂O₃ nanosheets (α-Fe₂O₃NS), α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (α-Fe₂O₃NP), were synthesized using chemical bath deposition. The nanostructure was controlled simply by adjusting the composition of precursor solution and reaction duration for CBD process, whereas the crystal phase was controlled by adjusting the annealing temperature. It was found that iron phosphate (FePO₄) was deposited in-situ onto the surface of this nanostructured α-Fe₂O₃ during the electrochemical pretreatment in the phosphate electrolyte, and both FePO₄ and α-Fe₂O₃ showed the activity in catalysing the electrochemical reduction of H₂O₂. In addition, the interaction/compatibility between deposited FePO₄ and iron oxides has a decisive effect on the overall electrocatalytic activity of the resultant electrodes; FePO₄ only showed synergetic effect on the overall electrocatalytic activity of α-Fe₂O₃NR and α-Fe2O₃NS. Both α-Fe₂O₃NR and α-Fe₂O₃NS showed two reduction peaks in phosphate electrolyte containing H₂O₂, one being pH-dependent and related to the electrocatalytic properties of FePO₄, and the other one being pH-independent and only related to the intrinsic electrocatalytic properties of α-Fe₂O₃NR and α-Fe₂O₃NS. However, all iron oxides showed only one pH-independent reductive peak in non-phosphate electrolyte containing H₂O₂. The synergesitic catalysis exerted by FePO₄ with α-Fe₂O₃NR or α-Fe₂O₃NS providing additional oxygen-insensitive active site for H₂O₂ reduction, which allows their applications to electrochemical detection of H₂O₂ without the interference of O₂ involving in oxidase-catalyzed chemical processes.Keywords: H₂O₂ reduction, Iron oxide, iron phosphate, O₂ tolerance
Procedia PDF Downloads 4151735 Study of Efficiency of Flying Animal Using Computational Simulation
Authors: Ratih Julistina, M. Agoes Moelyadi
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Innovation in aviation technology evolved rapidly by time to time for acquiring the most favorable value of utilization and is usually denoted by efficiency parameter. Nature always become part of inspiration, and for this sector, many researchers focused on studying the behavior of flying animal to comprehend the fundamental, one of them is birds. Experimental testing has already conducted by several researches to seek and calculate the efficiency by putting the object in wind tunnel. Hence, computational simulation is needed to conform the result and give more visualization which is based on Reynold Averaged Navier-Stokes equation solution for unsteady case in time-dependent viscous flow. By creating model from simplification of the real bird as a rigid body, those are Hawk which has low aspect ratio and Swift with high aspect ratio, subsequently generating the multi grid structured mesh to capture and calculate the aerodynamic behavior and characteristics. Mimicking the motion of downstroke and upstroke of bird flight which produced both lift and thrust, the sinusoidal function is used. Simulation is carried out for varied of flapping frequencies within upper and lower range of actual each bird’s frequency which are 1 Hz, 2.87 Hz, 5 Hz for Hawk and 5 Hz, 8.9 Hz, 13 Hz for Swift to investigate the dependency of frequency effecting the efficiency of aerodynamic characteristics production. Also, by comparing the result in different condition flights with the morphology of each bird. Simulation has shown that higher flapping frequency is used then greater aerodynamic coefficient is obtained, on other hand, efficiency on thrust production is not the same. The result is analyzed from velocity and pressure contours, mesh movement as to see the behavior.Keywords: characteristics of aerodynamic, efficiency, flapping frequency, flapping wing, unsteady simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2451734 Multidimensional Inequality and Deprivation Among Tribal Communities of Andhra Pradesh, India
Authors: Sanjay Sinha, Mohd Umair Khan
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The level of income inequality in India has been worrisome as the World Inequality Report termed it as a “poor and unequal country, with an affluent elite”. As important as income is to understand inequality and deprivation, it is just one dimension. But the historical roots and current realities of inequality and deprivation in India lies in many of the non-income dimensions such as housing, nutrition, education, agency, sense of inclusion etc. which are often ignored, especially in solution-oriented research. The level of inequality and deprivation among the tribal is one such case. There is a corpus of literature establishing that the tribal communities in India are disadvantageous on various grounds. Given their rural geography, issues of access and quality of basic facilities such as education and healthcare are often unaddressed. COVID-19 has further exacerbated this challenge and climate change will make it even more worrying. With this background, a succinct measurement tool at the village level is necessary to design short to medium-term actions with reference to risk mitigation for tribal communities. This research paper examines the level of inequality and deprivation among the tribal communities in the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh state of India using a Multidimensional Inequality and Deprivation Index based on the Alkire-Foster methodology. The methodology is theoretically grounded in the capability approach propounded by Amartya Sen, emphasizing on achieving the “beings and doings” (functionings) an individual reason to value. In the index, the authors have five domains, including Livelihood, Food Security, Education, Health and Housing and these domains are divided into sixteen indicators. This assessment is followed by domain-wise short-term and long-term solutions.Keywords: Andhra Pradesh, Alkire-Foster methodology, deprivation, inequality, multidimensionality, poverty, tribal
Procedia PDF Downloads 1601733 Investigation of Free Vibrations of Opened Shells from Alloy D19: Assistance of the Associated Mass System
Authors: Oleg Ye Sysoyev, Artem Yu Dobryshkin, Nyein Sitt Naing
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Cylindrical shells are widely used in the construction of buildings and structures, as well as in the air structure. Thin-walled casings made of aluminum alloys are an effective substitute for reinforced concrete and steel structures in construction. The correspondence of theoretical calculations and the actual behavior of aluminum alloy structures is to ensure their trouble-free operation. In the laboratory of our university, "Building Constructions" conducted an experimental study to determine the effect of the system of attached masses on the natural oscillations of shallow cylindrical shells of aluminum alloys, the results of which were compared with theoretical calculations. The purpose of the experiment is to measure the free oscillations of an open, sloping cylindrical shell for various variations of the attached masses. Oscillations of an open, slender, thin-walled cylindrical shell, rectangular in plan, were measured using induction accelerometers. The theoretical calculation of the shell was carried out on the basis of the equations of motion of the theory of shallow shells, using the Bubnov-Galerkin method. A significant splitting of the flexural frequency spectrum is found, influenced not only by the systems of attached маsses but also by the values of the wave formation parameters, which depend on the relative geometric dimensions of the shell. The correspondence of analytical and experimental data is found, using the example of an open shell of alloy D19, which allows us to speak about the high quality of the study. A qualitative new analytical solution of the problem of determining the value of the oscillation frequency of the shell, carrying a system of attached masses is shown.Keywords: open hollow shell, nonlinear oscillations, associated mass, frequency
Procedia PDF Downloads 2951732 Structural Evolution of Electrodeposited Ni Coating on Ti-6Al-4V Alloy during Heat Treatment
Authors: M. Abdoos, A. Amadeh, M. Adabi
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In recent decades, the use of titanium and its alloys due to their high mechanical properties, light weight and their corrosion resistance has increased in military and industry applications. However, the poor surface properties can limit their widely usage. Many researches were carried out to improve their surface properties. The most effective technique is based on solid-state diffusion of elements that can form intermetallic compounds with the substrate. In the present work, inter-diffusion of nickel and titanium and formation of Ni-Ti intermetallic compounds in nickel-coated Ti-6Al-4V alloy have been studied. Initially, nickel was electrodeposited on the alloy using Watts bath at a current density of 20 mA/cm2 for 1 hour. The coated specimens were then heat treated in a tubular furnace under argon atmosphere at different temperatures near Ti β-transus to maximize the diffusion rate for various durations in order to improve the surface properties of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The effect of temperature and time on the thickness of diffusion layer and characteristics of intermetallic phases was studied by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and microhardness test. The results showed that a multilayer structure was formed after heat treatment: an outer layer of remaining nickel, an area of intermetallic layers with different compositions and solid solution of Ni-Ti. Three intermetallic layers was detected by EDS analysis, namely an outer layer with about 75 at.% Ni (Ni3Ti), an intermediate layer with 50 at.% Ni (NiTi) and finally an inner layer with 36 at.% Ni (NiTi2). It was also observed that the increase in time or temperature led to the formation of thicker intermetallic layers. Meanwhile, the microhardness of heat treated samples increased with formation of Ni-Ti intermetallics; however, its value depended on heat treatment parameters.Keywords: heat treatment, microhardness, Ni coating, Ti-6Al-4V
Procedia PDF Downloads 4341731 Computational Intelligence and Machine Learning for Urban Drainage Infrastructure Asset Management
Authors: Thewodros K. Geberemariam
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The rapid physical expansion of urbanization coupled with aging infrastructure presents a unique decision and management challenges for many big city municipalities. Cities must therefore upgrade and maintain the existing aging urban drainage infrastructure systems to keep up with the demands. Given the overall contribution of assets to municipal revenue and the importance of infrastructure to the success of a livable city, many municipalities are currently looking for a robust and smart urban drainage infrastructure asset management solution that combines management, financial, engineering and technical practices. This robust decision-making shall rely on sound, complete, current and relevant data that enables asset valuation, impairment testing, lifecycle modeling, and forecasting across the multiple asset portfolios. On this paper, predictive computational intelligence (CI) and multi-class machine learning (ML) coupled with online, offline, and historical record data that are collected from an array of multi-parameter sensors are used for the extraction of different operational and non-conforming patterns hidden in structured and unstructured data to determine and produce actionable insight on the current and future states of the network. This paper aims to improve the strategic decision-making process by identifying all possible alternatives; evaluate the risk of each alternative, and choose the alternative most likely to attain the required goal in a cost-effective manner using historical and near real-time urban drainage infrastructure data for urban drainage infrastructures assets that have previously not benefited from computational intelligence and machine learning advancements.Keywords: computational intelligence, machine learning, urban drainage infrastructure, machine learning, classification, prediction, asset management space
Procedia PDF Downloads 1521730 A Multi-Stage Learning Framework for Reliable and Cost-Effective Estimation of Vehicle Yaw Angle
Authors: Zhiyong Zheng, Xu Li, Liang Huang, Zhengliang Sun, Jianhua Xu
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Yaw angle plays a significant role in many vehicle safety applications, such as collision avoidance and lane-keeping system. Although the estimation of the yaw angle has been extensively studied in existing literature, it is still the main challenge to simultaneously achieve a reliable and cost-effective solution in complex urban environments. This paper proposes a multi-stage learning framework to estimate the yaw angle with a monocular camera, which can deal with the challenge in a more reliable manner. In the first stage, an efficient road detection network is designed to extract the road region, providing a highly reliable reference for the estimation. In the second stage, a variational auto-encoder (VAE) is proposed to learn the distribution patterns of road regions, which is particularly suitable for modeling the changing patterns of yaw angle under different driving maneuvers, and it can inherently enhance the generalization ability. In the last stage, a gated recurrent unit (GRU) network is used to capture the temporal correlations of the learned patterns, which is capable to further improve the estimation accuracy due to the fact that the changes of deflection angle are relatively easier to recognize among continuous frames. Afterward, the yaw angle can be obtained by combining the estimated deflection angle and the road direction stored in a roadway map. Through effective multi-stage learning, the proposed framework presents high reliability while it maintains better accuracy. Road-test experiments with different driving maneuvers were performed in complex urban environments, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.Keywords: gated recurrent unit, multi-stage learning, reliable estimation, variational auto-encoder, yaw angle
Procedia PDF Downloads 1431729 Holistic Approach to Assess the Potential of Using Traditional and Advance Insulation Materials for Energy Retrofit of Office Buildings
Authors: Marco Picco, Mahmood Alam
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Improving the energy performance of existing buildings can be challenging, particularly when facades cannot be modified, and the only available option is internal insulation. In such cases, the choice of the most suitable material becomes increasingly complex, as in addition to thermal transmittance and capital cost, the designer needs to account for the impact of the intervention on the internal spaces, and in particular the loss of usable space due to the additional layers of materials installed. This paper explores this issue by analysing a case study of an average office building needing to go through a refurbishment in order to reach the limits imposed by current regulations to achieve energy efficiency in buildings. The building is simulated through dynamic performance simulation under three different climate conditions in order to evaluate its energy needs. The use of Vacuum Insulated Panels as an option for energy refurbishment is compared to traditional insulation materials (XPS, Mineral Wool). For each scenario, energy consumptions are calculated and, in combination with their expected capital costs, used to perform a financial feasibility analysis. A holistic approach is proposed, taking into account the impact of the intervention on internal space by quantifying the value of the lost usable space and used in the financial feasibility analysis. The proposed approach highlights how taking into account different drivers will lead to the choice of different insulation materials, showing how accounting for the economic value of space can make VIPs an attractive solution for energy retrofitting under various climate conditions.Keywords: vacuum insulated panels, building performance simulation, payback period, building energy retrofit
Procedia PDF Downloads 1541728 Secure Data Sharing of Electronic Health Records With Blockchain
Authors: Kenneth Harper
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The secure sharing of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is a critical challenge in modern healthcare, demanding solutions to enhance interoperability, privacy, and data integrity. Traditional standards like Health Information Exchange (HIE) and HL7 have made significant strides in facilitating data exchange between healthcare entities. However, these approaches rely on centralized architectures that are often vulnerable to data breaches, lack sufficient privacy measures, and have scalability issues. This paper proposes a framework for secure, decentralized sharing of EHRs using blockchain technology, cryptographic tokens, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The blockchain's immutable ledger, decentralized control, and inherent security mechanisms are leveraged to improve transparency, accountability, and auditability in healthcare data exchanges. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of tokenizing patient data through NFTs, creating unique digital identifiers for each record, which allows for granular data access controls and proof of data ownership. These NFTs can also be employed to grant access to authorized parties, establishing a secure and transparent data sharing model that empowers both healthcare providers and patients. The proposed approach addresses common privacy concerns by employing privacy-preserving techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and homomorphic encryption to ensure that sensitive patient information can be shared without exposing the actual content of the data. This ensures compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. Additionally, the integration of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) with blockchain technology allows for enhanced interoperability, enabling healthcare organizations to exchange data seamlessly and securely across various systems while maintaining data governance and regulatory compliance. Through real-world case studies and simulations, this paper demonstrates how blockchain-based EHR sharing can reduce operational costs, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the security and privacy of healthcare data. This decentralized framework holds great potential for revolutionizing healthcare information exchange, providing a transparent, scalable, and secure method for managing patient data in a highly regulated environment.Keywords: blockchain, electronic health records (ehrs), fast healthcare interoperability resources (fhir), health information exchange (hie), hl7, interoperability, non-fungible tokens (nfts), privacy-preserving techniques, tokens, secure data sharing,
Procedia PDF Downloads 221727 Response of Caldeira De Tróia Saltmarsh to Sea Level Rise, Sado Estuary, Portugal
Authors: A. G. Cunha, M. Inácio, M. C. Freitas, C. Antunes, T. Silva, C. Andrade, V. Lopes
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Saltmarshes are essential ecosystems both from an ecological and biological point of view. Furthermore, they constitute an important social niche, providing valuable economic and protection functions. Thus, understanding their rates and patterns of sedimentation is critical for functional management and rehabilitation, especially in an SLR scenario. The Sado estuary is located 40 km south of Lisbon. It is a bar built estuary, separated from the sea by a large sand spit: the Tróia barrier. Caldeira de Tróia is located on the free edge of this barrier, and encompasses a salt marsh with ca. 21,000 m². Sediment cores were collected in the high and low marshes and in the mudflat area of the North bank of Caldeira de Tróia. From the low marsh core, fifteen samples were chosen for ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs determination at University of Geneva. The cores from the high marsh and the mudflat are still being analyzed. A sedimentation rate of 2.96 mm/year was derived from ²¹⁰Pb using the Constant Flux Constant Sedimentation model. The ¹³⁷Cs profile shows a peak in activity (1963) between 15.50 and 18.50 cm, giving a 3.1 mm/year sedimentation rate for the past 53 years. The adopted sea level rise scenario was based on a model built with the initial rate of SLR of 2.1 mm/year in 2000 and an acceleration of 0.08 mm/year². Based on the harmonic analysis of Setubal-Tróia tide gauge of 2005 data, the tide model was estimated and used to build the tidal tables to the period 2000-2016. With these tables, the average mean water levels were determined for the same time span. A digital terrain model was created from LIDAR scanning with 2m horizontal resolution (APA-DGT, 2011) and validated with altimetric data obtained with a DGPS-RTK. The response model calculates a new elevation for each pixel of the DTM for 2050 and 2100 based on the sedimentation rates specific of each environment. At this stage, theoretical values were chosen for the high marsh and the mudflat (respectively, equal and double the low marsh rate – 2.92 mm/year). These values will be rectified once sedimentation rates are determined for the other environments. For both projections, the total surface of the marsh decreases: 2% in 2050 and 61% in 2100. Additionally, the high marsh coverage diminishes significantly, indicating a regression in terms of maturity.Keywords: ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, saltmarsh, sea level rise, response model
Procedia PDF Downloads 2501726 Effects of Ubiquitous 360° Learning Environment on Clinical Histotechnology Competence
Authors: Mari A. Virtanen, Elina Haavisto, Eeva Liikanen, Maria Kääriäinen
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Rapid technological development and digitalization has affected also on higher education. During last twenty years multiple of electronic and mobile learning (e-learning, m-learning) platforms have been developed and have become prevalent in many universities and in the all fields of education. Ubiquitous learning (u-learning) is not that widely known or used. Ubiquitous learning environments (ULE) are the new era of computer-assisted learning. They are based on ubiquitous technology and computing that fuses the learner seamlessly into learning process by using sensing technology as tags, badges or barcodes and smart devices like smartphones and tablets. ULE combines real-life learning situations into virtual aspects and can be flexible used in anytime and anyplace. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of ubiquitous 360 o learning environment on higher education students’ clinical histotechnology competence. A quasi-experimental study design was used. 57 students in biomedical laboratory science degree program was assigned voluntarily to experiment (n=29) and to control group (n=28). Experimental group studied via ubiquitous 360o learning environment and control group via traditional web-based learning environment (WLE) in a 8-week educational intervention. Ubiquitous 360o learning environment (ULE) combined authentic learning environment (histotechnology laboratory), digital environment (virtual laboratory), virtual microscope, multimedia learning content, interactive communication tools, electronic library and quick response barcodes placed into authentic laboratory. Web-based learning environment contained equal content and components with the exception of the use of mobile device, interactive communication tools and quick response barcodes. Competence of clinical histotechnology was assessed by using knowledge test and self-report developed for this study. Data was collected electronically before and after clinical histotechnology course and analysed by using descriptive statistics. Differences among groups were identified by using Wilcoxon test and differences between groups by using Mann-Whitney U-test. Statistically significant differences among groups were identified in both groups (p<0.001). Competence scores in post-test were higher in both groups, than in pre-test. Differences between groups were very small and not statistically significant. In this study the learning environment have developed based on 360o technology and successfully implemented into higher education context. And students’ competence increases when ubiquitous learning environment were used. In the future, ULE can be used as a learning management system for any learning situation in health sciences. More studies are needed to show differences between ULE and WLE.Keywords: competence, higher education, histotechnology, ubiquitous learning, u-learning, 360o
Procedia PDF Downloads 2861725 In a Situation of Great Distress: Cross Border Migration and the Quest for Enduring Security in North-East Nigeria
Authors: Nuhu Bitrus Mailabari
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Nigeria is a highly multifarious nation trapped between affluence and affliction. On one hand, the state has vast territorial size, economic strength, relative internal cohesion, and good external linkages. On the other, it is bedeviled with enormous challenges. It is common knowledge that the North-East geo-political zone has suffered colossal destruction for the most part of the last ten years due to the activities of the insurgent group Boko Haram. Several factors (political, economic, religious, socio-cultural) have been credited with the heightened insecurity in the region. Without a doubt, the security crisis in the region has rekindled several discussions critical to Nigeria’s security architecture. However, the debate on finding an enduring solution to the devastation in the North East continually neglects the nexus between cross border migration and national security. Using content analysis, this paper debates two main issues that continue to affect security in the North East. One, the cumulative impact of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on the free movement of people and goods. Two, the porous nature of Nigeria’s borders. Theoretically, the paper will rely on the systems theory because of its broad focus on structure, linkage, and process. The work concludes in twofold. First, that cross border migration and poor border management processes further worsened the political and socio-economic conditions of a region that is already in a bad state. Secondly, in addition to the existing strategies, Nigeria must develop a holistic approach including new methods of handling cross border movements in solving the security issues.Keywords: border, cross border, migration, Nigeria, northeast region, security
Procedia PDF Downloads 1641724 Biosorption of Methylene Blue and Acid Red-88 from Wastewater by Using Cypress Cones
Authors: Onur Yel
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This study represents the removal of harmful dye substances from wastewaters by using waste and cheap adsorbents. Rapid population growth and industrialization occasion anthropogenic pollution which gives irreversible damage to the environment. One of the ways in which water pollution occurs is caused by the release of the dyestuffs in the textile industry. The release of dyestuffs to the environment directly damages the living creatures that have acquired water habitat. Especially, wastewater cannot be used for nutritional purposes. In addition, some adsorbents have mutagenic and/or carcinogenic effects. By blocking photosynthesis, it hinders the inhibition of photosynthetic bacteria in the water, which damages the ecological balance and also causes the formation of malodorous compounds. Moreover, the lack of oxygen can pose a serious danger to the lives of other living organisms that need oxygen. In recent years, some physical and chemical methods are preferred for the removal of dyestuffs. However, the utilization of these methods is expensive. For this reason, the availability of new and cheap adsorbents becomes the more significant issue. In this study, an investigation of various variables on the removal of Methylene Blue and Acid Red-88 dyestuffs from wastewaters by the usage of pulverized cypress cones has been carried out. Thus, various masses of absorbent (0.1-0.25-0.5-1-2-4-5 grams) are used in 50, 100, 150, 200, 300 ppm concentrations of Methylene Blue and Acid Red-88 dyestuffs’ solutions, and with a variety of the interaction time (0.25-0.5-1-2-4-5 hours). The mixtures were centrifuged and the absorbance of the filtrates was measured on a UV spectrophotometer to determine their remaining concentrations. In the study, the highest removal ratio of Acid Red-88 dyestuff was found to be 81% at 200 ppm of dyestuff with 2 grams of adsorbent at 300 minutes. For Methylene Blue experiments, the removal percentage was found as 98% where 2 grams of adsorbent is used in 200 ppm dyestuff solution at 120 minutes of interaction.Keywords: acid red-88, biosorption, methylene blue, cypress cones, water pollution
Procedia PDF Downloads 1411723 Faster Pedestrian Recognition Using Deformable Part Models
Authors: Alessandro Preziosi, Antonio Prioletti, Luca Castangia
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Deformable part models achieve high precision in pedestrian recognition, but all publicly available implementations are too slow for real-time applications. We implemented a deformable part model algorithm fast enough for real-time use by exploiting information about the camera position and orientation. This implementation is both faster and more precise than alternative DPM implementations. These results are obtained by computing convolutions in the frequency domain and using lookup tables to speed up feature computation. This approach is almost an order of magnitude faster than the reference DPM implementation, with no loss in precision. Knowing the position of the camera with respect to horizon it is also possible prune many hypotheses based on their size and location. The range of acceptable sizes and positions is set by looking at the statistical distribution of bounding boxes in labelled images. With this approach it is not needed to compute the entire feature pyramid: for example higher resolution features are only needed near the horizon. This results in an increase in mean average precision of 5% and an increase in speed by a factor of two. Furthermore, to reduce misdetections involving small pedestrians near the horizon, input images are supersampled near the horizon. Supersampling the image at 1.5 times the original scale, results in an increase in precision of about 4%. The implementation was tested against the public KITTI dataset, obtaining an 8% improvement in mean average precision over the best performing DPM-based method. By allowing for a small loss in precision computational time can be easily brought down to our target of 100ms per image, reaching a solution that is faster and still more precise than all publicly available DPM implementations.Keywords: autonomous vehicles, deformable part model, dpm, pedestrian detection, real time
Procedia PDF Downloads 2811722 Crab Shell Waste Chitosan-Based Thin Film for Acoustic Sensor Applications
Authors: Maydariana Ayuningtyas, Bambang Riyanto, Akhiruddin Maddu
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Industrial waste of crustacean shells, such as shrimp and crab, has been considered as one of the major issues contributing to environmental pollution. The waste processing mechanisms to form new, practical substances with added value have been developed. Chitosan, a derived matter from chitin, which is obtained from crab and shrimp shells, performs prodigiously in broad range applications. A chitosan composite-based diaphragm is a new inspiration in fiber optic acoustic sensor advancement. Elastic modulus, dynamic response, and sensitivity to acoustic wave of chitosan-based composite film contribute great potentials of organic-based sound-detecting material. The objective of this research was to develop chitosan diaphragm application in fiber optic microphone system. The formulation was conducted by blending 5% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution with dissolved chitosan at 0%, 1% and 2% in 1:1 ratio, respectively. Composite diaphragms were characterized for the morphological and mechanical properties to predict the desired acoustic sensor sensitivity. The composite with 2% chitosan indicated optimum performance with 242.55 µm thickness, 67.9% relative humidity, and 29-76% light transmittance. The Young’s modulus of 2%-chitosan composite material was 4.89×104 N/m2, which generated the voltage amplitude of 0.013V and performed sensitivity of 3.28 mV/Pa at 1 kHz. Based on the results above, chitosan from crustacean shell waste can be considered as a viable alternative material for fiber optic acoustic sensor sensing pad development. Further, the research in chitosan utilisation is proposed as novel optical microphone development in anthropogenic noise controlling effort for environmental and biodiversity conservation.Keywords: acoustic sensor, chitosan, composite, crab shell, diaphragm, waste utilisation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2571721 Identification of Damage Mechanisms in Interlock Reinforced Composites Using a Pattern Recognition Approach of Acoustic Emission Data
Authors: M. Kharrat, G. Moreau, Z. Aboura
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The latest advances in the weaving industry, combined with increasingly sophisticated means of materials processing, have made it possible to produce complex 3D composite structures. Mainly used in aeronautics, composite materials with 3D architecture offer better mechanical properties than 2D reinforced composites. Nevertheless, these materials require a good understanding of their behavior. Because of the complexity of such materials, the damage mechanisms are multiple, and the scenario of their appearance and evolution depends on the nature of the exerted solicitations. The AE technique is a well-established tool for discriminating between the damage mechanisms. Suitable sensors are used during the mechanical test to monitor the structural health of the material. Relevant AE-features are then extracted from the recorded signals, followed by a data analysis using pattern recognition techniques. In order to better understand the damage scenarios of interlock composite materials, a multi-instrumentation was set-up in this work for tracking damage initiation and development, especially in the vicinity of the first significant damage, called macro-damage. The deployed instrumentation includes video-microscopy, Digital Image Correlation, Acoustic Emission (AE) and micro-tomography. In this study, a multi-variable AE data analysis approach was developed for the discrimination between the different signal classes representing the different emission sources during testing. An unsupervised classification technique was adopted to perform AE data clustering without a priori knowledge. The multi-instrumentation and the clustered data served to label the different signal families and to build a learning database. This latter is useful to construct a supervised classifier that can be used for automatic recognition of the AE signals. Several materials with different ingredients were tested under various solicitations in order to feed and enrich the learning database. The methodology presented in this work was useful to refine the damage threshold for the new generation materials. The damage mechanisms around this threshold were highlighted. The obtained signal classes were assigned to the different mechanisms. The isolation of a 'noise' class makes it possible to discriminate between the signals emitted by damages without resorting to spatial filtering or increasing the AE detection threshold. The approach was validated on different material configurations. For the same material and the same type of solicitation, the identified classes are reproducible and little disturbed. The supervised classifier constructed based on the learning database was able to predict the labels of the classified signals.Keywords: acoustic emission, classifier, damage mechanisms, first damage threshold, interlock composite materials, pattern recognition
Procedia PDF Downloads 1551720 High Pressure Torsion Deformation Behavior of a Low-SFE FCC Ternary Medium Entropy Alloy
Authors: Saumya R. Jha, Krishanu Biswas, Nilesh P. Gurao
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Several recent investigations have revealed medium entropy alloys exhibiting better mechanical properties than their high entropy counterparts. This clearly establishes that although a higher entropy plays a vital role in stabilization of particular phase over complex intermetallic phases, configurational entropy is not the primary factor responsible for the high inherent strengthening in these systems. Above and beyond a high contribution from friction stresses and solid solution strengthening, strain hardening is an important contributor to the strengthening in these systems. In this regard, researchers have developed severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques like High Pressure Torsion (HPT) to incorporate very high shear strain in the material, thereby leading to ultrafine grained (UFG) microstructures, which cause manifold increase in the strength. The presented work demonstrates a meticulous study of the variation in mechanical properties at different radial displacements from the center of HPT tested equiatomic ternary FeMnNi synthesized by casting route, which is a low stacking fault energy FCC alloy that shows significantly higher toughness than its high entropy counterparts like Cantor alloy. The gradient in grain sizes along the radial direction of these specimens has been modeled using microstructure entropy for predicting the mechanical properties, which has also been validated by indentation tests. The dislocation density is computed by FEM simulations for varying strains and validated by analyzing synchrotron diffraction data. Thus, the proposed model can be utilized to predict the strengthening behavior of similar systems deformed by HPT subjected to varying loading conditions.Keywords: high pressure torsion, severe plastic deformation, configurational entropy, dislocation density, FEM simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1531719 Exploring the Determinants of Boko Haram Terrorism in Nigerian Security Systems and Economy
Authors: Abara Onu, Augustine Mina Ephraim, Emmanuel Teidi
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Terrorism has been a major challenge and is so dare to the Nigerian government in recent times. The actions and activities of the Islamic sect known as Boko Haram had led to enormous loss of lives and properties in the country, mostly the Northern part of Nigeria. Some of these activities entails bombings, suicide attacks, intimidations, sporadic gunfire of the unarmed, blameless and innocent Nigerians, burning of police stations and churches, kidnappings, raping of school girls and women. Nigeria has also been included amongst one of the terrorist countries of the world. This has serious implications for the development of Nigerian economy. Although, Nigeria had made several worried hard work to deal with these challenges masqueraded by terrorism and insecurity in the country but the rate of insurgency and insecurity is still worrisome. The study looks at exploring the determinants of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigerian security systems and economy. Data used for the study work was from questionnaire administered, using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) method to analyse the data. The result shows that Ideology and funding are significant basic factors that propelled the Boko Haram group in Nigeria. The Boko Haram disaster poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s economy and the military is the best option and solution in tackling the Boko Haram menace in Nigeria. The work x-rayed the following recommendations; government should declare war on terrorism and as well seek support and cooperation from international communities who in time or the other might have faced with this kind ugly experience and challenge and were able to tackle it. Nigerian Military needs to be more empowered with high dangerous weapons to combat the insurgency as well as beef up security across the Country to curb the threats.Keywords: terrorism, economy, Boko Haram, Nigeria
Procedia PDF Downloads 2611718 Understanding Cyber Kill Chains: Optimal Allocation of Monitoring Resources Using Cooperative Game Theory
Authors: Roy. H. A. Lindelauf
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Cyberattacks are complex processes consisting of multiple interwoven tasks conducted by a set of agents. Interdictions and defenses against such attacks often rely on cyber kill chain (CKC) models. A CKC is a framework that tries to capture the actions taken by a cyber attacker. There exists a growing body of literature on CKCs. Most of this work either a) describes the CKC with respect to one or more specific cyberattacks or b) discusses the tools and technologies used by the attacker at each stage of the CKC. Defenders, facing scarce resources, have to decide where to allocate their resources given the CKC and partial knowledge on the tools and techniques attackers use. In this presentation CKCs are analyzed through the lens of covert projects, i.e., interrelated tasks that have to be conducted by agents (human and/or computer) with the aim of going undetected. Various aspects of covert project models have been studied abundantly in the operations research and game theory domain, think of resource-limited interdiction actions that maximally delay completion times of a weapons project for instance. This presentation has investigated both cooperative and non-cooperative game theoretic covert project models and elucidated their relation to CKC modelling. To view a CKC as a covert project each step in the CKC is broken down into tasks and there are players of which each one is capable of executing a subset of the tasks. Additionally, task inter-dependencies are represented by a schedule. Using multi-glove cooperative games it is shown how a defender can optimize the allocation of his scarce resources (what, where and how to monitor) against an attacker scheduling a CKC. This study presents and compares several cooperative game theoretic solution concepts as metrics for assigning resources to the monitoring of agents.Keywords: cyber defense, cyber kill chain, game theory, information warfare techniques
Procedia PDF Downloads 1401717 21st Century Business Dynamics: Acting Local and Thinking Global through Extensive Business Reporting Language (XBRL)
Authors: Samuel Faboyede, Obiamaka Nwobu, Samuel Fakile, Dickson Mukoro
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In the present dynamic business environment of corporate governance and regulations, financial reporting is an inevitable and extremely significant process for every business enterprise. Several financial elements such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, ad-hoc filing, and other statutory/regulatory reports provide vital information to the investors and regulators, and establish trust and rapport between the internal and external stakeholders of an organization. Investors today are very demanding, and emphasize greatly on authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. For many companies, the Internet plays a key role in communicating business information, internally to management and externally to stakeholders. Despite high prominence being attached to external reporting, it is disconnected in most companies, who generate their external financial documents manually, resulting in high degree of errors and prolonged cycle times. Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are increasingly susceptible to endorsing error-laden reports, late filing of reports, and non-compliance with regulatory acts. There is a lack of common platform to manage the sensitive information – internally and externally – in financial reports. The Internet financial reporting language known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) continues to develop in the face of challenges and has now reached the point where much of its promised benefits are available. This paper looks at the emergence of this revolutionary twenty-first century language of digital reporting. It posits that today, the world is on the brink of an Internet revolution that will redefine the ‘business reporting’ paradigm. The new Internet technology, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), is already being deployed and used across the world. It finds that XBRL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based information format that places self-describing tags around discrete pieces of business information. Once tags are assigned, it is possible to extract only desired information, rather than having to download or print an entire document. XBRL is platform-independent and it will work on any current or recent-year operating system, or any computer and interface with virtually any software. The paper concludes that corporate stakeholders and the government cannot afford to ignore the XBRL. It therefore recommends that all must act locally and think globally now via the adoption of XBRL that is changing the face of worldwide business reporting.Keywords: XBRL, financial reporting, internet, internal and external reports
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