Search results for: power distribution system

Authors: Julian Thrash, Douglas Folk, Michael Ciracy, Audrey C. Tseng, Kristen M. Stromsodt, Amber Younggren, Christopher Maciolek

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The cardiopulmonary system is comprised of the heart, lungs, and many dynamic feedback mechanisms that control its function based on a multitude of variables. The next generation of cardiopulmonary medical devices will involve adaptive control and smart pacing techniques. However, testing these smart devices on living systems may be unethical and exceedingly expensive. As a solution, a comprehensive computational model of the cardiopulmonary system was implemented in Simulink. The model contains over 240 state variables and over 100 equations previously described in a series of published articles. Simulink was chosen because of its ease of introducing machine learning elements. Initial results indicate that physiologically correct waveforms of pressures and volumes were obtained in the simulation. With the development of a comprehensive computational model, we hope to pioneer the future of predictive medicine by applying our research towards the initial stages of smart devices. After validation, we will introduce and train reinforcement learning agents using the cardiopulmonary model to assist in adaptive control system design. With our cardiopulmonary model, we will accelerate the design and testing of smart and adaptive medical devices to better serve those with cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: adaptive control, cardiopulmonary, computational model, machine learning, predictive medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Shivani Sharma, Prashant Saxena, Inamul Hasan Madar

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Since the time of Darwin, it has been considered that genetic change is the direct indicator of variation in phenotype. But a few studies in system biology in the past years have proposed that epigenetic developmental processes also affect the phenotype thus shifting the focus from a linear genotype-phenotype map to a non-linear G-P map. In this paper, we attempt at explaining the evolution of colour vision in mammals by taking LWS/ Long-wave sensitive gene under consideration.

Keywords: evolution, phenotypes, epigenetics, LWS gene, G-P map

Procedia PDF Downloads 521

Authors: Ludivine Gueho, Sylvain Fleury, Eric Jamet

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Driver distraction is known to be a major contributing factor of car accidents. Since many years, constructors have been designing embedded technologies to face this problem and reduce distraction. Being able to predict user acceptance would further be helpful in the development process to build appropriate systems. The present research aims at modelling the acceptability of a specific system, an innovative personalized and contextualized embedded radio, through an online survey of 202 people in France that assessed the psychological variables determining intentions to use the system. The questionnaire instantiated the dimensions of the extended version of the UTAUT acceptability model. Because of the specific features of the system assessed, we added 4 dimensions: perceived security, anxiety, trust and privacy concerns. Results showed that hedonic motivation, i.e., the fun or pleasure derived from using a technology, and performance expectancy, i.e., the degree to which individuals believe that the characteristics of the system meet their needs, are the most important dimensions in determining behavioral intentions about the innovative radio. To a lesser extent, social influence, i.e., the degree to which individuals think they can use the system while respecting their social group’s norms and while giving a positive image of themselves, had an effect on behavioral intentions. Moreover, trust, that is, the positive belief about the perceived reliability of, dependability of, and confidence in a person, object or process, had a significant effect, mediated by performance expectancy. In an applicative way, the present research reveals that, to be accepted, in-car embedded new technology has to address individual needs, for instance by facilitating the driving activity or by providing useful information. If it shows hedonic qualities by being entertaining, pretty or comfortable, this may improve the intentions to use it. Therefore, it is clearly important to include reflection about user experience in the design process. Finally, the users have to be reassured on the system’s reliability. For example, improving the transparency of the system by providing information about the system functioning, could improve trust. These results bring some highlights on determinant of acceptance of an in-vehicle technology and are useful for constructors to design acceptable systems.

Keywords: acceptability, innovative embedded radio, structural equation, user-centric evaluation, UTAUT

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: A. Terfous, Y. Liu, A. Ghenaim, P. A. Garambois

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With increasing urbanization worldwide, it is crucial to sustainably manage sediment flows in urban networks and especially in stormwater detention basins. One key aspect is to propose optimized designs for detention tanks in order to best reduce flood peak flows and in the meantime settle particles. It is, therefore, necessary to understand complex flows patterns and sediment deposition conditions in stormwater detention basins. The aim of this paper is to study flow structure and particle deposition pattern for a given tank geometry in view to control and maximize sediment deposition. Both numerical simulation and experimental works were done to investigate the flow and sediment distribution in a storm tank with a cavity. As it can be indicated, the settle distribution of the particle in a rectangular tank is mainly determined by the flow patterns and the bed shear stress. The flow patterns in a rectangular tank differ with different geometry, entrance flow rate and the water depth. With the changing of flow patterns, the bed shear stress will change respectively, which also play an influence on the particle settling. The accumulation of the particle in the bed changes the conditions at the bottom, which is ignored in the investigations, however it worth much more attention, the influence of the accumulation of the particle on the sedimentation should be important. The approach presented here is based on the resolution of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations to account for turbulent effects and also a passive particle transport model. An analysis of particle deposition conditions is presented in this paper in terms of flow velocities and turbulence patterns. Then sediment deposition zones are presented thanks to the modeling with particle tracking method. It is shown that two recirculation zones seem to significantly influence sediment deposition. Due to the possible overestimation of particle trap efficiency with standard wall functions and stick conditions, further investigations seem required for basal boundary conditions based on turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress. These observations are confirmed by experimental investigations processed in the laboratory.

Keywords: storm sewers, sediment deposition, numerical simulation, experimental investigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Saeid Seddegh, Xiaolin Wang, Alan D. Henderson, Dong Chen, Oliver Oims

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The main objective of this research is to study the heat transfer processes and phase change behaviour of a phase change material (PCM) in shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. The thermal behaviour in a vertical and horizontal shell-and-tube heat energy storage system using a pure thermal conduction model and a combined conduction-convection heat transfer model is compared in this paper. The model is first validated using published experimental data available in literature and then used to study the temperature variation, solid-liquid interface, phase distribution, total melting and solidification time during melting and solidification processes of PCMs. The simulated results show that the combined convection and conduction model can better describe the energy transfer in PCMs during melting process. In contrast, heat transfer by conduction is more significant during the solidification process since the two models show little difference. Also, it was concluded that during the charging process for the horizontal orientation, convective heat transfer has a strong effect on melting of the upper part of the solid PCM and is less significant during melting of the lower half of the solid PCM. However, in the vertical orientation, convective heat transfer is the same active during the entire charging process. In the solidification process, the thermal behavior does not show any difference between horizontal and vertical systems.

Keywords: latent heat thermal energy storage, phase change material, natural convection, melting, shell and tube heat exchanger, melting, solidification

Procedia PDF Downloads 555

Authors: Eric Mxolisi Mkhondo

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Geometrical deviations and interaction of mechanical parts influences the performance of miniature systems.These deviations tend to cause costly problems during assembly due to imperfections of components, which are invisible to a naked eye.They also tend to cause unsatisfactory performance during operation due to deformation cause by environmental conditions.One of the effective tools to manage the deviations and interaction of parts in the system is tolerance analysis.This is a quantitative tool for predicting the tolerance variations which are defined during the design process.Traditional tolerance analysis assumes that the assembly is static and the deviations come from the manufacturing discrepancies, overlooking the functionality of the whole system and deformation of parts due to effect of environmental conditions. This paper presents an integrated tolerance analysis approach for miniature system in operation.In this approach, a computer-aided design (CAD) model is developed from system’s specification.The CAD model is then used to specify the geometrical and dimensional tolerance limits (upper and lower limits) that vary component’s geometries and sizes while conforming to functional requirements.Worst-case tolerances are analyzed to determine the influenced of dimensional changes due to effects of operating temperatures.The method is used to evaluate the nominal conditions, and worse case conditions in maximum and minimum dimensions of assembled components.These three conditions will be evaluated under specific operating temperatures (-40°C,-18°C, 4°C, 26°C, 48°C, and 70°C). A case study on the mechanism of a zoom lens system is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the methodology.

Keywords: geometric dimensioning, tolerance analysis, worst-case analysis, zoom lens mechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Hung-Jen Lin, Chien-Hao Wang, Chien-Peng Huang, Yu-Sheng Tseng, En-Cheng Yang, Joe-Air Jiang

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Bees’ incoming and outgoing behavior is a decisive index which can indicate the health condition of a colony. Traditional methods for monitoring the behavior of honey bees (Apis mellifera) take too much time and are highly labor-intensive, and the lack of automation and synchronization disables researchers and beekeepers from obtaining real-time information of beehives. To solve these problems, this study proposes to use an Internet of Things (IoT)-based system for counting honey bees’ incoming and outgoing activities using an infrared interruption technique, while environmental factors are recorded simultaneously. The accuracy of the established system is verified by comparing the counting results with the outcomes of manual counting. Moreover, this highly -accurate device is appropriate for providing quantitative information regarding honey bees’ incoming and outgoing behavior. Different statistical analysis methods, including one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA, are used to investigate the influence of environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, illumination and ambient pressure, on bees’ incoming and outgoing behavior. With the real-time data, a standard model is established using the outcomes from analyzing the relationship between environmental factors and bees’ incoming and outgoing behavior. In the future, smart control systems, such as a temperature control system, can also be combined with the proposed system to create an appropriate colony environment. It is expected that the proposed system will make a considerable contribution to the apiculture and researchers.

Keywords: ANOVA, environmental factors, honey bee, incoming and outgoing behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Abdul Karim Zulkarnain, Marchaban, Subagus Wahyono, Ratna Asmah Susidarti

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Mahkota Dewa contains phalerin which has activity as sun screen. In this study, 13 formulations of cream oil in water (o/w) were prepared and tested for their physical characteristics. The physical characteristics were then used for determining the optimum formula. This study aimed to explore the physical stability of optimized formulation of cream, its sun protecting factor (SPF) values using in vitro and in vivo tests. The optimum formula of o/w cream were prepared based on Simplex Lattice Design (LSD) method using software Design Expert®. The formulation of o/w cream were varied based on the proportion of cetyl alcohol, mineral oil and tween 80. The difference of physical characteristic of optimum and predicted formula was tested using t-test with significant level of 95%. The optimum formula of o/w cream was the formula which consists of cetyl alcohol 9.71%, mineral oil, 29%, and tween 80 3.29. Based on t-test, there was no significant difference of physical characteristics of optimum and predicted formulation. Viscosity, spread power, adhesive power, and separation volume ratio of o/w at week 0-4 were relatively stable. The o/w creams were relatively stable at extreme temperature. The o/w creams from mahkota dewa, phalerin, and benzophenone have SPF values of 21.32, 33.12, and 42.49, respectively. The formulas did not irritate the skin based on in vivo test.

Keywords: cream, stability, In vitro, In vivo

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Li-Ting Huang, Yu-Hsiang Shen, Cing-Ciao Ke, Sheng-Pin Tseng, Fan-Pin Tseng, Yu-Ching Ni, Chia-Yu Lin

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Chest radiography is the most common technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of pulmonary diseases. However, the lesions superimposed with normal structures are difficult to be detected in chest radiography. Chest tomosynthesis is a relatively new technique to obtain 3D section images from a set of low-dose projections acquired over a limited angular range. However, there are some limitations with chest tomosynthesis. Patients undergoing tomosynthesis have to be able to hold their breath firmly for 10 seconds. A digital tomosynthesis system with advanced reconstruction algorithm and high-stability motion mechanism was developed by our research group. The potential for the system to perform a bidirectional chest scan within 10 seconds is expected. The purpose of this study is to realize the influences of the scan speed on the image quality for our digital tomosynthesis system. The major factors that lead image blurring are the motion of the X-ray source and the patient. For the fore one, an experiment of imaging a chest phantom with three different scan speeds, which are 6 cm/s, 8 cm/s, and 15 cm/s, was proceeded to understand the scan speed influences on the image quality. For the rear factor, a normal SD (Sprague-Dawley) rat was imaged with it alive and sacrificed to assess the impact on the image quality due to breath motion. In both experiments, the profile of the ROIs (region of interest) and the CNRs (contrast-to-noise ratio) of the ROIs to the normal tissue of the reconstructed images was examined to realize the degradations of the qualities of the images. The preliminary results show that no obvious degradation of the image quality was observed with increasing scan speed, possibly due to the advanced designs for the hardware and software of the system. It implies that higher speed (15 cm/s) than that of the commercialized tomosynthesis system (12 cm/s) for the proposed system is achieved, and therefore a complete chest scan within 10 seconds is expected.

Keywords: chest radiography, digital tomosynthesis, image quality, scan speed

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Andre Sanches Siqueira Campos

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Central banks can play a significant role in promoting regional economic and monetary integration by strengthening the payment and settlement systems. However, close coordination and cooperation require facilitating the implementation of reforms at domestic and cross-border levels in order to benchmark with international standards and commitments to the liberal order. This situation reflects the normative power of the regulatory globalization dimension of strong states, which may drive or constrain regional integration. In the MERCOSUR and SAARC regions, central banks have set financial initiatives that could facilitate South America and South Asia regions to move towards convergence integration and facilitate trade and investments connectivities. This is qualitative method research based on a combination of the Process-Tracing method with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This research approaches multiple forms of data based on central banks, regional organisations, national governments, and financial institutions supported by existing literature. The aim of this research is to analyze the decision-making process of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) towards regional financial cooperation by identifying connectivity instruments that foster, gridlock, or redefine cooperation. The BCB and The RBI manage the monetary policy of the largest economies of those regions, which makes regional cooperation a relevant framework to understand how they provide an effective institutional arrangement for regional organisations to achieve some of their key policies and economic objectives. The preliminary conclusion is that both BCB and RBI demonstrate a reluctance to deepen regional cooperation because of the existing economic, political, and institutional asymmetries. Deepening regional cooperation is constrained by the interests of central banks in protecting their economies from risks of instability due to different degrees of development between countries in their regions and international financial crises that have impacted the international system in the 21st century. Reluctant regional integration also provides autonomy for national development and political ground for the contestation of Global Financial Governance by Brazil and India.

Keywords: Brazil, central banks, decision-making process, global financial governance, India, MERCOSUR, connectivity, payment system, regional cooperation, SAARC

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Jianliang Xu, Zhenghua Dai, Zhongjie Shen, Haifeng Liu, Fuchen Wang

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In an entrained flow gasifier, the combustible components are converted into the gas phase, and the mineral content is converted into ash. Most of the ash particles or droplets are deposited on the refractory or membrane wall and form a slag layer that flows down to the quenching system. The captured particle reaction process and slag flow and phase transformation play an important role in gasifier performance and safe and stable operation. The reaction characteristic of captured char particles on the molten slag had been studied by applied a high-temperature stage microscope. The gasification process of captured chars with CO2 on the slag surface was observed and recorded, compared to the original char gasification. The particle size evolution, heat transfer process are discussed, and the gasification reaction index of the capture char particle are modeled. Molten slag layer promoted the char reactivity from the analysis of reaction index, Coupled with heat transfer analysis, shrinking particle model (SPM) was applied and modified to predict the gasification time at carbon conversion of 0.9, and results showed an agreement with the experimental data. A comprehensive model with gas-particle-slag flow and reaction models was used to model the different industry gasifier. The carbon conversion information in the spatial space and slag layer surface are investigated. The slag flow characteristic, such as slag velocity, molten slag thickness, slag temperature distribution on the membrane wall and refractory brick are discussed.

Keywords: char, slag, numerical simulation, gasification, wall reaction, membrane wall

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Nazim Habibov, Alena Auchynnikava, Lida Fan

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The exploration of the relationship between social trust and the support of the welfare system in transitional countries has attracted growing interests in recent decades. This study estimates the effects of interpersonal and institutional trust on the support of the welfare system in 27 countries in Eastern Europe the former Soviet Union. We estimate the data sets from the Life-in-Transition Survey 2010 and 2016 with binomial regression models. The results indicate that both interpersonal and institutional trust have positive effects on the support for the welfare system in all the three areas under investigation: helping the needy, public healthcare and public education, both in the less developed countries of the former Soviet Union and in the more developed Eastern European countries. Furthermore, the positive effects of interpersonal and institutional trust on support for helping the needy, public healthcare and public education were found to grow over time. In conclusion, this study confirms that interpersonal and institutional trusts have positive effects for the public support of the welfare system in these transitional countries under investigation, regardless of their level of development.

Keywords: central and eastern Europe, former Soviet union, international social welfare policy, comparative social welfare policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: E. T. L. Cöuras Ford, V. A. C. Vale, J. U. L. Mendes

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Two of the objective principal in the study of the aerodynamics of vehicles are the safety and the acting. Those objectives can be reached through the development of devices modify the drainage of air about of the vehicle and also through alterations in the way of the external surfaces. The front lowest profile of the vehicle, for instance, has great influence on the coefficient of aerodynamic penetration (Cx) and later on great part of the pressure distribution along the surface of the vehicle. The objective of this work was of analyzing the aerodynamic behavior that it happens on some types the trucks of vehicles, based on experimentation in aerodynamic tunnel, seeking to determine the aerodynamic efficiency of each one of them.

Keywords: aerodynamic, vehicles, wind tunnel, safety, acting

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Dinmukhamed T., Vassiliy S.

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This article suggests the idea of fitting clothes and accessories based on augmented reality. A logical data model has been developed, taking into account the decision-making module (colors, style, type, material, popularity, etc.) based on personal data (age, gender, weight, height, leg size, hoist length, geolocation, photogrammetry, number of purchases of certain types of clothing, etc.) and statistical data of the purchase history (number of items, price, size, color, style, etc.). Also, in order to provide information to the user, it is planned to develop an augmented reality system using a QR code. This system of selection and fitting of clothing and accessories based on augmented reality will be used in stores to reduce the time for the buyer to make a decision on the choice of clothes.

Keywords: augmented reality, online store, decision-making module, like QR code, clothing store, queue

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Karina Reiter, Stefan Dullinger, Christoph Plutzar, Dietmar Moser

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Due to population growth and changing patterns of production and consumption, the demand for natural resources and, as a result, the pressure on Earth’s ecosystems are growing. Biodiversity mapping can be a useful tool for assessing species endangerment or detecting hotspots of extinction risks. This paper explores the benefits of using the change in trophic energy flows as a consequence of the human alteration of the biosphere in biodiversity mapping. To this end, multiple linear regression models were developed to explain species richness in areas where there is no human influence (i.e. wilderness) for three taxonomic groups (birds, mammals, amphibians). The models were then applied to predict (I) potential global species richness using potential natural vegetation (NPPpot) and (II) global ‘actual’ species richness after biomass appropriation using NPP remaining in ecosystems after harvest (NPPeco). By calculating the difference between predicted potential and predicted actual species numbers, maps of estimated species richness loss were generated. Results show that biomass appropriation for human use can indeed be linked to biodiversity loss. Areas for which the models predicted high species loss coincide with areas where species endangerment and extinctions are recorded to be particularly high by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Furthermore, the analysis revealed that while the species distribution maps of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species used for this research can determine hotspots of biodiversity loss in large parts of the world, the classification system for threatened and extinct species needs to be revised to better reflect local risks of extinction.

Keywords: biodiversity loss, biomass harvest, human appropriation of net primary production, species richness

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Authors: Marita Pigłowska, Beata Kurc, Paweł Daszkiewicz

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Railway vehicles are divided into two groups: traction (powered) vehicles and wagons. The traction vehicles include locomotives (line and shunting), railcars (sometimes referred to as railbuses), and multiple units (electric and diesel), consisting of several or a dozen carriages. In vehicles with diesel traction, fuel energy (petrol, diesel, or compressed gas) is converted into mechanical energy directly in the internal combustion engine or via electricity. In the latter case, the combustion engine generator produces electricity that is then used to drive the vehicle (diesel-electric drive or electric transmission). In Poland, such a solution dominates both in heavy linear and shunting locomotives. The classic diesel drive is available for the lightest shunting locomotives, railcars, and passenger diesel multiple units. Vehicles with electric traction do not have their own source of energy -they use pantographs to obtain electricity from the traction network. To determine the competitiveness of the hydrogen propulsion system, it is essential to understand how it works. The basic elements of the construction of a railway vehicle drive system that uses hydrogen as a source of traction force are fuel cells, batteries, fuel tanks, traction motors as well as main and auxiliary converters. The compressed hydrogen is stored in tanks usually located on the roof of the vehicle. This resource is supplemented with the use of specialized infrastructure while the vehicle is stationary. Hydrogen is supplied to the fuel cell, where it oxidizes. The effect of this chemical reaction is electricity and water (in two forms -liquid and water vapor). Electricity is stored in batteries (so far, lithium-ion batteries are used). Electricity stored in this way is used to drive traction motors and supply onboard equipment. The current generated by the fuel cell passes through the main converter, whose task is to adjust it to the values required by the consumers, i.e., batteries and the traction motor. The work will attempt to construct a fuel cell with unique electrodes. This research is a trend that connects industry with science. The first goal will be to obtain hydrogen on a large scale in tube furnaces, to thoroughly analyze the obtained structures (IR), and to apply the method in fuel cells. The second goal is to create low-energy energy storage and distribution station for hydrogen and electric vehicles. The scope of the research includes obtaining a carbon variety and obtaining oxide systems on a large scale using a tubular furnace and then supplying vehicles. Acknowledgments: This work is supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Education, project "The best of the best! 4.0", number 0911/MNSW/4968 – M.P. and grant 0911/SBAD/2102—B.K.

Keywords: railway, hydrogen, fuel cells, hybrid vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Rama Debbarma, Debanjan Das

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The performance of multiple tuned mass dampers to mitigate the seismic vibration of structures considering real time history data is investigated in this paper. Three different real earthquake time history data like Kobe, Imperial Valley and Mammoth Lake are taken in the present study. The multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMD) are distributed at each storey. For comparative study, single tuned mass damper (STMD) is installed at top of the similar structure. This study is conducted for a fixed mass ratio (5%) and fixed damping ratio (5%) of structures. Numerical study is performed to evaluate the effectiveness of MTMDs and overall system performance. The displacement, acceleration, base shear and storey drift are obtained for both combined system (structure with MTMD and structure with STMD) for all earthquakes. The same responses are also obtained for structure without damper system. From obtained results, it is investigated that the MTMD configuration is more effective for controlling the seismic response of the primary system with compare to STMD configuration.

Keywords: Earthquake, multiple tuned mass dampers, single tuned mass damper, Time history.

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Authors: A. Elsehemy, M. Abdeen , T. Nazmy

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Since the appearance of the Semantic web, many semantic search techniques and models were proposed to exploit the information in ontology to enhance the traditional keyword-based search. Many advances were made in languages such as English, German, French and Spanish. However, other languages such as Arabic are not fully supported yet. In this paper we present a framework for ontology based information retrieval for Arabic language. Our system consists of four main modules, namely query parser, indexer, search and a ranking module. Our approach includes building a semantic index by linking ontology concepts to documents, including an annotation weight for each link, to be used in ranking the results. We also augmented the framework with an automatic document categorizer, which enhances the overall document ranking. We have built three Arabic domain ontologies: Sports, Economic and Politics as example for the Arabic language. We built a knowledge base that consists of 79 classes and more than 1456 instances. The system is evaluated using the precision and recall metrics. We have done many retrieval operations on a sample of 40,316 documents with a size 320 MB of pure text. The results show that the semantic search enhanced with text classification gives better performance results than the system without classification.

Keywords: Arabic text classification, ontology based retrieval, Arabic semantic web, information retrieval, Arabic ontology

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Authors: Ullah Aman

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The practice of giving dowry was meant to assist a newly-wed couple to start their life together with ease; however, now it has turned into a commercial transaction in which monetary considerations receive priority over the personal merits of the bride. The present study was designed to explore the causes and consequences of dowry system and to measure the association between dowry and women prestige in district Swabi. A sample size of 378 household (female) Respondents was randomly selected through proportional allocation method. The data was interpreted into frequency and percentages while to measure the relationship between Dowry system and Women Prestige, Chi-Square statistic was applied. Result indicated that majority of the 316(83.6%) respondents stated that Family members are in favor of high dowry because high dowry is today’s women need which is disclosed by 302(79.9%) of the sample size. In addition to this, most 320(84.7%) of the respondents has opined that low dowry leads to broken families in the society. Moreover, a strong association (p=0.000) was determined between high dowry and women prestige. Similarly, a strong significant relation was found (p=0.000) between women prestige and low dowry mortifying women prestige in our society. The study concluded that dowry, deeply rooted in the society is an immorality which must be strictly banned in the country. It is a herculean task to completely eliminate dowry system from the nation but slowly and gradually efforts are being made in this direction. Dowry is a sure cause of promoting intense conflicts between the families, quarrels and inculcates greed in the society. Government and the builders of the social fabric should strictly work on it, banning this system for each and every class in Pakistan. Moreover, for curbing this mal practice we must put effort to bring social awareness to the society are some of the recommendation.

Keywords: Dowry, women, prestige, causes,

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Authors: Xiaoman Dong

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The refugee problem has a long history, but the scale and severity of modern refugee crises demand us to consider if the progress of political history exacerbates the refugee problem. This paper argues that although sovereignty owes its legitimacy to the protection of human rights, the modern state system complicates the refugee problem by first introducing then blurring the line between human rights and civil rights, and making national identity indispensable to basic livelihood and dignity. This paper first explains the source of the modern state system’s legitimacy by putting it in the context of social contract theories and the politics of nation-building. It then discusses how states create the concept of statelessness, which leads to more violations on human rights. Using historical records of the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this paper reveals that neither the refugee problem of the Cold-War period nor the current refugee crisis is collateral damage of war, but rather the consequence of intentional exclusionary policies produced out of political interests. Finally, it contends that if the modern state system is to sustain, it cannot prioritize the protection of civil rights of a particular group over the protection of basic human rights of all.

Keywords: burden sharing, human rights, legitimacy of state, positive externality, sovereignty

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Authors: Q. Ni, J. A. Serna, D. Holland, X. Wang

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The objective of this study is to develop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques to enhance bone related research applied on normal and disuse (Biglycan knockout) mice bone in vitro by using both low-field and high-field NMR simultaneously. It is known that the total amplitude of T₂ relaxation envelopes, measured by the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill NMR spin echo train (CPMG), is a representation of the liquid phase inside the pores. Therefore, the NMR CPMG magnetization amplitude can be transferred to the volume of water after calibration with the NMR signal amplitude of the known volume of the selected water. In this study, the distribution of mobile water, porosity that can be determined by using low-field (20 MHz) CPMG relaxation technique, and the pore size distributions can be determined by a computational inversion relaxation method. It is also known that the total proton intensity of magnetization from the NMR free induction decay (FID) signal is due to the water present inside the pores (mobile water), the water that has undergone hydration with the bone (bound water), and the protons in the collagen and mineral matter (solid-like protons). Therefore, the components of total mobile and bound water within bone that can be determined by low-field NMR free induction decay technique. Furthermore, the bound water in solid phase (mineral and organic constituents), especially, the dominated component of calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(OH)₂(PO₄)₆) can be determined by using high-field (400 MHz) magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR. With MAS technique reducing NMR spectral linewidth inhomogeneous broadening and susceptibility broadening of liquid-solid mix, in particular, we can conduct further research into the ¹H and ³¹P elements and environments of bone materials to identify the locations of bound water such as OH- group within minerals and bone architecture. We hypothesize that with low-field and high-field magic angle spinning NMR can provide a more complete interpretation of water distribution, particularly, in bound water, and these data are important to access bone quality and predict the mechanical behavior of bone.

Keywords: bone, mice bone, NMR, water in bone

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Authors: Danar Agus Susanto, Hermawan Febriansyah, Meilinda Ayundyahrini

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The availability of spring water to meet people demand is often a problem, especially in tropical areas with very limited surface water sources, or very deep underground water. Although the technology and equipment of pumping system are available and easy to obtain, but in remote areas, the availability of pumping system is difficult, due to the unavailability of fuel or the lack of electricity. Solar Water Pumping System (SWPS) became one of the alternatives that can overcome these obstacles. In the tropical country, sunlight can be obtained throughout the year, even in remote areas. SWPS were already widely built in Indonesia, but many encounter problems during operations, such as decreased of efficiency; pump damaged, damaged of controllers or inverters, and inappropriate photovoltaic performance. In 2011, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) issued the IEC standard 62253:2011 titled Photovoltaic pumping systems - Design qualification and performance measurements. This standard establishes design qualifications and performance measurements related to the product of a solar water pumping system. National Standardization Agency of Indonesia (BSN) as the national standardization body in Indonesia, has not set the standard related to solar water pumping system. This research to study operational procedures of SWPS by adopting of IEC Standard 62253:2011 to be Indonesia Standard (SNI). This research used literature study and field observation for installed SWPS in Indonesia. Based on the results of research on SWPS already installed in Indonesia, IEC 62253: 2011 standard can improve efficiency and reduce operational failure of SWPS. SWPS installed in Indonesia still has GAP of 51% against parameters in IEC standard 62253: 2011. The biggest factor not being met is related to operating and maintenance handbooks for personnel that included operation and repair procedures. This may result in operator ignorance in installing, operating and maintaining the system. The Photovoltaic (PV) was also the most non-compliance factor of 71%, although there are 22 Indonesia Standard (SNI) for PV (modules, installation, testing, and construction). These research samples (installers, manufacturers/distributors, and experts) agreed on the parameter in the IEC standard 62253: 2011 able to improve the quality of SWPS in Indonesia. Recommendations of this study, that is required the adoption of IEC standard 62253:2011 into SNI to support the development of SWPS for remote areas in Indonesia.

Keywords: efficiency, inappropriate installation, remote areas, solar water pumping system, standard

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Authors: Imam Asrowardi, Septafiansyah Dwi Putra, Eko Subyantoro

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Process assessments can improve IT service management system (IT SMS) processes but the assessment method is not always transparent. This paper outlines a project to develop a solution- mediated process assessment tool to enable transparent and objective SMS process assessment. Using the international standards for SMS and process assessment, the tool is being developed following the International standard approach in collaboration and evaluate by expert judgment from committee members and ITSM practitioners.

Keywords: SMS, tools evaluation, ITIL, ISO service

Procedia PDF Downloads 480

Authors: Jang-Hwan Jo

Abstract:

Implementing sustainable island forest management policies requires categorizing islands into groups based on key indicators and establishing a consistent management system. Building on the results of previous studies, a typology of forested islands was established: Type 1 – connected islands with high natural vegetation cover; Type 2 – connected islands with moderate natural vegetation cover; Type 3 – connected islands with low natural vegetation cover; Type 4 – unconnected islands with high natural vegetation cover; Type 5 – unconnected islands with moderate natural vegetation cover; and Type 6 – unconnected islands with low natural vegetation cover. An AHP analysis was conducted with island forest experts to identify priority ecosystem services (ESs) for the sustainable management of each island type. In connected islands, provisioning services (natural resources, natural medicines, etc.) assumed greater importance than regulating (erosion control) and supporting services (genetic diversity). In unconnected islands, particularly those with a small proportion of natural vegetation, regulating services (erosion control) requires greater emphasis in management. Considering that Type 3 islands require urgent management as connectivity to the mainland makes natural vegetation-sparse island forest ecosystems vulnerable to anthropogenic activities, the land-use scoring method was carried out on Jin-do, a Type 3 forested island. Comparisons between AHP-derived expert demand for key island ESs and the spatial distribution of ES supply potential revealed mismatches between the supply and demand of erosion control, freshwater supply, and habitat provision. The framework developed in this study can help guide decisions and indicate where interventions should be focused to achieve sustainable island management.

Keywords: ecosystem service, sustainable management, forested islands, Analytic hierarchy process

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Authors: Thomas Louis, Irina Primac, Florent Morfoisse, Tania Durre, Silvia Blacher, Agnes Noel

Abstract:

In vitro and in vivo lymphangiogenesis assays are essential for the identification of potential lymphangiogenic agents and the screening of pharmacological inhibitors. In the present study, we analyse three biological models: in vitro lymphatic endothelial cell spheroids, in vivo ear sponge assay, and in vivo lymph node colonisation by tumour cells. These assays provide suitable 3D models to test pro- and anti-lymphangiogenic factors or drugs. 3D images were acquired by confocal laser scanning and light sheet fluorescence microscopy. Virtual scan microscopy followed by 3D reconstruction by image aligning methods was also used to obtain 3D images of whole large sponge and ganglion samples. 3D reconstruction, image segmentation, skeletonisation, and other image processing algorithms are described. Fixed and time-lapse imaging techniques are used to analyse lymphatic endothelial cell spheroids behaviour. The study of cell spatial distribution in spheroid models enables to detect interactions between cells and to identify invasion hierarchy and guidance patterns. Global measurements such as volume, length, and density of lymphatic vessels are measured in both in vivo models. Branching density and tortuosity evaluation are also proposed to determine structure complexity. Those properties combined with vessel spatial distribution are evaluated in order to determine lymphangiogenesis extent. Lymphatic endothelial cell invasion and lymphangiogenesis were evaluated under various experimental conditions. The comparison of these conditions enables to identify lymphangiogenic agents and to better comprehend their roles in the lymphangiogenesis process. The proposed methodology is validated by its application on the three presented models.

Keywords: 3D image segmentation, 3D image skeletonisation, cell invasion, confocal microscopy, ear sponges, light sheet microscopy, lymph nodes, lymphangiogenesis, spheroids

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Tereza Dolečková

Abstract:

Following article provides the comparison of international norms and standards formulating personal expenses, and then it illustrates the national concept of personal expenses of the Ministry of Defence. Then a new salary system of soldiers and the importance of the service appraisal in the context of personal expenses of the Ministry of Defence are explained. The first part of the article includes formulation of the approach to the definition of personal expenses within the international norms and standards and also within the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. The structure of employees of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic in years 2012 – 2014 and the amount of military expenses and the share of salary expenses of the Ministry of total expenses of the Ministry are clarified there, also the comparison of the amount of military expenses in chosen member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is done. The salary system of professional soldiers in connection with the amendment of the Act No. 221/1999 Coll. on Professional Soldiers is clarified in the second part of this article. The amendment significantly regulates the salary items of soldiers but changes are also in the service appraisal of soldiers which reflects one of seven salary items of soldiers – the performance bonus. The aim of this article is to clarify different approach to define personal expenses with emphasis on the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic which overlaps to the service appraisal of soldiers of the Army of the Czech Republic and their salary system in connection with personal expenses of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. The efficient and objective system of the service appraisal and the use of its results are connected to the principles of the career advancement; only the best soldiers can advance in the system of the service careers to higher positions. That is why it is necessary to improve the service appraisal so it would provide the maximum information about the performance of a soldier and it would also motivate the soldier in his development. The attention should be paid to the service appraisal of the soldiers of the Army of the Czech Republic to achieve as much objectivity as possible.

Keywords: career, human resource management and development, personal expenses, salary system of soldiers, service appraisal of soldiers, the Army of the Czech Republic

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Kittipon Chittanukul, Chayut Bureethan, Chutimon Piromyaporn

Abstract:

In Thailand, the natural gas pipeline system requires the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for approval by the relevant agency, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), in the pre-construction stage. As of December 2022, PTT has a lot of gas pipeline system spanning around the country. Our experience has shown that the EIA is a significant part of the project plan. In 2011, There was a catastrophic flood in multiple areas of Thailand. It destroyed lives and properties. This event is still in Thai people’s mind. Furthermore, rainfall has been increasing for three consecutive years (2020-2022). Moreover, municipalities are situated in low land river basin and tropical rainfall zone. So many areas still suffer from flooding. Especially in 2022, there will be a 60% increase in water demand compared to the previous year. Therefore, all activities will take into account the quality of the receiving water. The above information emphasizes water and wastewater management are significant in EIA report. PTT has accumulated a large number of lessons learned in water and wastewater management. Our pipeline system execution is composed of EIA stage, construction stage, and operation and maintenance phase. We provide practical Information on water and wastewater management to enhance the EIA process for the pipeline system. The examples of lessons learned in water and wastewater management include techniques to address water and wastewater impact throughout the overall pipelines systems, mitigation measures and monitoring results of these measures. This practical information will alleviate the anxiety of the ONEP committee when approving the EIA report and will build trust among stakeholders in the vicinity of the gas pipeline system area.

Keywords: environmental impact assessment, gas pipeline system, low land basin, high risk flooding area, mitigation measure

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Nur Iffika Ruslan, Ahmad Rosly Abbas, Munirah Stapah@Salleh, Nurfaziera Rahim

Abstract:

Increased concerns and awareness of environmental hazards by fossil fuels burning for energy have become the major factor driving the transition toward green energy. It is expected that an additional of 2,000 MW of renewable energy is to be recorded from the renewable sources by 2025 following the implementation of Large Scale Solar projects in Peninsular Malaysia, including Large Scale Floating Solar projects. Floating Solar has better advantages over its landed counterparts such as the requirement for land acquisition is relatively insignificant. As part of the site selection process established by TNB Research Sdn. Bhd., a set of mandatory and rejection criteria has been developed in order to identify only sites that are feasible for the future development of Large Scale Floating Solar power plant. There are a total of 85 lakes and reservoirs identified within Peninsular Malaysia. Only lakes and reservoirs with a minimum surface area of 120 acres will be considered as potential sites for the development of Large Scale Floating Solar power plant. The result indicates a total of 10 potential Large Scale Floating Solar sites identified which are located in Selangor, Johor, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Perlis and Pahang. This paper will elaborate on the various mandatory and rejection criteria, as well as on the various site selection process required to identify potential (suitable) Large Scale Floating Solar sites in Peninsular Malaysia.

Keywords: Large Scale Floating Solar, Peninsular Malaysia, Potential Sites, Renewable Energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Eun-Chan Kim, Jeong-Hwan Oh, Seung-Guk Lee

Abstract:

Billions of tones of ballast water including various aquatic organisms are being carried around the world by ships. When the ballast water is discharged into new environments, some aquatic organisms discharged with ballast water may become invasive and severely disrupt the native ecology. Thus, International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention in 2004. Regulation A-4 of the convention states that a government in waters under their jurisdiction may grant exemptions to any requirements to ballast water management, but only when they are granted to a ship or ships on a voyage or voyages between specified ports or locations, or to a ship which operates exclusively between specified ports or locations. In order to grant exemptions, risk assessment should be conducted based on the guidelines for risk assessment developed by the IMO. For the risk assessment, it is essential to collect the relevant information and establish a database system. This paper studies the database system for ballast water risk assessment. This database consists of the shipping database, ballast water database, port environment database and species database. The shipping database has been established based on the data collected from the port management information system of Korea Government. For the ballast water database, ballast water discharge has only been estimated by the loading/unloading of the cargoes as the convention has not come into effect yet. The port environment database and species database are being established based on the reference documents, and existing and newly collected monitoring data. This database system has been approved to be a useful system, capable of appropriately analyzing the risk assessment in the all ports of Korea.

Keywords: ballast water, IMO, risk assessment, shipping, environment, species

Procedia PDF Downloads 520

Authors: Naheem Olakunle Adesina

Abstract:

The memristor is considered as one of the promising candidates for mamoelectronic engineering and applications. Owing to its high compatibility with CMOS, nanoscale size, and low power consumption, memristor has been employed in the design of commonly used circuits such as phase-locked loop (PLL). In this paper, we designed a memristor-based loop filter (LF) together with other components of PLL. Following this, we evaluated the noise-rejection feature of loop filter by comparing the noise levels of input and output signals of the filter. Our SPICE simulation results showed that memristor behaves like a linear resistor at high frequencies. The result also showed that loop filter blocks the high-frequency components from phase frequency detector so as to provide a stable control voltage to the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). In addition, we examined the effects of temperature on the performance of the designed phase locked loop circuit. A critical temperature, where there is frequency drift of VCO as a result of variations in control voltage, is identified. In conclusion, the memristor is a suitable choice for nanoelectronic systems owing to a small area, low power consumption, dense nature, high switching speed, and endurance. The proposed memristor-based loop filter, together with other components of the phase locked loop, can be designed using memristive emulator and EDA tools in current CMOS technology and simulated.

Keywords: Fast Fourier Transform, hysteresis curve, loop filter, memristor, noise, phase locked loop, voltage controlled oscillator

Procedia PDF Downloads 186