Search results for: long distance

Authors: Claudineia Brazil, Elison Eduardo Jardim Bierhals, Luciane Teresa Salvi, Rafael Haag

Abstract:

Renewable energy sources are dependent on climatic variability, so for adequate energy planning, observations of the meteorological variables are required, preferably representing long-period series. Despite the scientific and technological advances that meteorological measurement systems have undergone in the last decades, there is still a considerable lack of meteorological observations that form series of long periods. The reanalysis is a system of assimilation of data prepared using general atmospheric circulation models, based on the combination of data collected at surface stations, ocean buoys, satellites and radiosondes, allowing the production of long period data, for a wide gamma. The third generation of reanalysis data emerged in 2010, among them is the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) developed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), these data have a spatial resolution of 0.50 x 0.50. In order to overcome these difficulties, it aims to evaluate the performance of solar radiation estimation through alternative data bases, such as data from Reanalysis and from meteorological satellites that satisfactorily meet the absence of observations of solar radiation at global and/or regional level. The results of the analysis of the solar radiation data indicated that the reanalysis data of the CFSR model presented a good performance in relation to the observed data, with determination coefficient around 0.90. Therefore, it is concluded that these data have the potential to be used as an alternative source in locations with no seasons or long series of solar radiation, important for the evaluation of solar energy potential.

Keywords: climate, reanalysis, renewable energy, solar radiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Abderrazek Ben Maatoug, Ibrahim Fatnassi, Wassim Ben Ayed

Abstract:

In this paper we investigate the issue of market risk quantification for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Islamic market equity. We use Value-at-Risk (VaR) as a measure of potential risk in Islamic stock market, for long and short position, based on Riskmetrics model and the conditional parametric ARCH class model volatility with normal, student and skewed student distribution. The sample consist of daily data for the 2006-2014 of 11 Islamic stock markets indices. We conduct Kupiec and Engle and Manganelli tests to evaluate the performance for each model. The main finding of our empirical results show that (i) the superior performance of VaR models based on the Student and skewed Student distribution, for the significance level of α=1% , for all Islamic stock market indices, and for both long and short trading positions (ii) Risk Metrics model, and VaR model based on conditional volatility with normal distribution provides the best accurate VaR estimations for both long and short trading positions for a significance level of α=5%.

Keywords: value-at-risk, risk management, islamic finance, GARCH models

Procedia PDF Downloads 580

Authors: Yasmine Essafi Zouari, Aya Nasreddine

Abstract:

Following a long inflationary period from the post-war era to the mid-1980s (+10.1% annually), France went through a moderate inflation period between 1986 and 2001 (+2.1% annually) and even lower inflation between 2002 and 2016 (+1.4% annually). In 2022, inflation in France increased rapidly and reached 4.5% over one year in March, according to INSEE estimates. Over a long period, even low inflation has an impact on portfolio value and households’ purchasing power. In such a context, inflation hedging should remain an important issue for investors. In particular, long-term investors, who are concerned with the protection of their wealth, seek to hold effective hedging assets. Considering a mixed-asset portfolio composed of housing assets (residential real estate in 150 Grand Paris communes) as well as financial assets, and using both correlation and regression analysis, results confirm the attribute of the direct housing investment as an inflation hedge especially particularly against its unexpected component. Further, cash and bonds were found to provide respectively a partial and an over hedge against unexpected inflation. Stocks act as a perverse hedge against unexpected inflation and provide no significant positive hedge against expected inflation.

Keywords: direct housing, inflation, hedging ability, optimal portfolio, Grand Paris metropolis

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Athanasios A. Tountas, Geoffrey A. Ozin, Mohini M. Sain

Abstract:

Renewable hydrogen (H₂) carriers such as methanol (MeOH), dimethyl ether (DME), oxymethylene dimethyl ethers (OMEs), and conceivably ammonia (NH₃) can be reformed back into H₂ and are fundamental chemical conversions for the long-term viability of the H₂ economy due to their higher densities and ease of transportability compared to H₂. MeOH is an especially important carrier as it is a simple C1 chemical that can be produced from green solar-PV-generated H₂ and direct-air-captured CO₂ with a current commercially practical solar-to-fuel efficiency of 10% from renewable solar energy. MeOH steam reforming (MSR) in stationary systems next to H₂ fuel-cell filling stations can eliminate the need for onboard mobile reformers, and the former systems can be more robust in terms of attaining strict H₂ product specifications, and MeOH is a safe, lossless, and compact medium for long-term H₂ storage. Both thermal- and photo-catalysts are viable options for achieving the stable, long-term performance of stationary MSR systems.

Keywords: fuel-cell vehicle filling stations, methanol steam reforming, hydrogen transport and storage, stationary reformer, liquid hydrogen carriers

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Peter James C. Icalia, Agapita J. Salces, Loida Valenzuela, Kangseok Seo, Geronima Ludan

Abstract:

This study evaluated polymorphism of 11 microsatellite markers in four local genetic groups of cattle. Batanes cattle which has never been studied using microsatellites is evaluated for its genetic distance from the Ilocos cattle while Brahman and Holstein-Sahiwal are also included as there were insemination programs by the government using these two breeds. PCR products that were genotyped for each marker were analyzed using POPGENEv32. Results showed that 55% (Fst=0.5501) of the genetic variation is due to the differences between populations while the remaining 45% is due to individual variation. The Fst value also indicates that there were very great differences from population to population using the range proposed by Sewall and Wright. The constructed phylogenetic tree based on Nei’s genetic distance using the modified neighboor joining procedure of PHYLIPv3.5 showed the admixture of Brahman and Holstein-Sahiwal having them grouped in the same clade. Batanes and Ilocos cattle were grouped in a different cluster showing that they have descended from a single parental population. This would presumably address the claim that Batanes and Ilocos cattle are genetically distant from other groups and still exist despite the artificial insemination program of the government using Brahman and other imported breeds. The knowledge about the genetic structure of this population supports the development of conservation programs for the smallholder farmers.

Keywords: microsatellites, cattle, Philippines, populations, genetic structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Chen-Ya Juan

Abstract:

Problem-Based Learning uses vague questions to guide student thinking and enhance their self-learning and collaboration. Most teachers implement PBL in a physical classroom, where teachers can monitor and evaluate students’ learning progress and guide them to search resources for answers. However, the prevalence of the Covid-19 in the world had changed from physical teaching to distance teaching. This instruction used many cases and applied Problem-Based Learning combined on the distance teaching via the internet for college students. This study involved an experimental group with PBL and a control group without PBL. The teacher divided all students in PBL class into eight groups, and 7~8 students in each group. The teacher assigned different cases for each group of the PBL class. Three stages of instruction were developed, including background knowledge of Learning, case analysis, and solving problems for each case. This study used a quantitative research method, a two-sample t-test, to find a significant difference in groups with PBL and without PBL. Findings indicated that PBL incased the average score of special education knowledge. The average score was improved by 20.46% in the PBL group and 15.4% without PBL. Results didn’t show significant differences (0.589>0.05) in special education professional knowledge. However, the feedback of the PBL students implied learning more about the application, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking. PBL students were more likely to apply professional knowledge on the actual case, find questions, resources, and answers. Most of them understood the importance of collaboration, working as a team, and communicating with other team members. The suggestions of this study included that (a) different web-based teaching instruments influenced student’s Learning; (b) it is difficult to monitor online PBL progress; (c) online PBL should be implemented flexible and multi-oriented; (d) although PBL did not show a significant difference on the group with PBL and without PBL, it did increase student’s problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

Keywords: problem-based learning, college students, distance learning, case analysis, problem-solving

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Jinhoa Lee

Abstract:

The relationships between environmental quality, energy use and economic output have created growing attention over the past decades among researchers and policy makers. Focusing on the empirical aspects of the role of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy use in affecting the economic output, this paper is an effort to fulfill the gap in a comprehensive case study at a country level using modern econometric techniques. To achieve the goal, this country-specific study examines the short-run and long-run relationships among energy consumption (using disaggregated energy sources: crude oil, coal, natural gas, and electricity), CO2 emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) for Turkey using time series analysis from the year 1980-2010. To investigate the relationships between the variables, this paper employs the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test for stationarity, Johansen’s maximum likelihood method for cointegration and a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) for both short- and long-run causality among the research variables for the sample. The long-run equilibrium in the VECM suggests no effects of the CO2 emissions and energy use on the GDP in Turkey. There exists a short-run bidirectional relationship between the electricity and natural gas consumption, and also there is a negative unidirectional causality running from the GDP to electricity use. Overall, the results partly support arguments that there are relationships between energy use and economic output; however, the effects may differ due to the source of energy such as in the case of Turkey for the period of 1980-2010. However, there is no significant relationship between the CO2 emissions and the GDP and between the CO2 emissions and the energy use both in the short term and long term.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, energy consumption, GDP, Turkey, time series analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 495

Authors: Caio E. G. Reis, Jose G. Dórea, Teresa H. M. da Costa

Abstract:

Objective: Epidemiological data shows an inverse association of coffee consumption with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the clinical effects of coffee consumption on the glucose metabolism biomarkers remain controversial. Thus, this paper reviews clinical trials that evaluated the effects of coffee consumption on glucose metabolism. Research Design and Methods: We identified studies published until December 2014 by searching electronic databases and reference lists. We included randomized clinical trials which the intervention group received caffeinated and/or decaffeinated coffee and the control group received water or placebo treatments and measured biomarkers of glucose metabolism. The Jadad Score was applied to evaluate the quality of the studies whereas studies that scored ≥ 3 points were considered for the analyses. Results: Seven clinical trials (total of 237 subjects) were analyzed involving adult healthy, overweight and diabetic subjects. The studies were divided in short-term (1 to 3h) and long-term (2 to 16 weeks) duration. The results for short-term studies showed that caffeinated coffee consumption may increase the area under the curve for glucose response, while for long-term studies caffeinated coffee may improve the glycemic metabolism by reducing the glucose curve and increasing insulin response. These results seem to show that the benefits of coffee consumption occur in the long-term as has been shown in the reduction of type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in epidemiological studies. Nevertheless, until the relationship between long-term coffee consumption and type 2 diabetes mellitus is better understood and any mechanism involved identified, it is premature to make claims about coffee preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee may impairs glucose metabolism in short-term but in the long-term the studies indicate reduction of type 2 diabetes mellitus risk. More clinical trials with comparable methodology are needed to unravel this paradox.

Keywords: coffee, diabetes mellitus type 2, glucose, insulin

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Bhaumik Patel, Amit Gotecha

Abstract:

Commercial centres of different hierarchy and sizes play a vital role in the growth and development of the city. Economic uncertainty and demand for space leads to more urban sprawl and emerging more commercial spaces. The study was focused on the understanding of various indicators affecting the commercial development that can help to solve many issues related to commercial urban development and can guide for future employment growth centre development, Accessibility, Infrastructure, Planning and development regulations and Market forces. The aim of the study was to review characteristics and identifying employment density of Commercial Employment Sub-centres by achieving objectives Understanding various employment sub-centres, Identifying characteristics and deriving behaviour of employment densities and Evaluating and comparing employment sub-centres for the Ahmedabad city. Commercial employment sub-centres one in old city (Kalupur), second in highly developed commercial (C.G.road-Ashram road) and third in the latest developing commercial area (Prahladnagar) were identified by distance from city centre, Land use diversity, Access to Major roads and Public transport, Population density in proximity, Complimentary land uses in proximity and Land price. Commercial activities were categorised into retail, wholesale and service sector and sub categorised into various activities. From the study, Time period of establishment of the unit is a critical parameter for commercial activity, building height, and land-use diversity. Employment diversity is also one parameter for the commercial centre. The old city has retail, wholesale and trading and higher commercial density concerning units and employment both. Prahladnagar area functioned as commercial due to market pressure and developed as more units rather than a requirement. Employment density is higher in the centre of the city, as far as distance increases from city centre employment density and unit density decreases. Characters of influencing employment density and unit density are distance from city centre, development type, establishment time period, building density, unit density, public transport accessibility and road connectivity.

Keywords: commercial employment sub-centres, employment density, employment diversity, unit density

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Jacek Turski

Abstract:

The visual space geometries are constructed in the Riemannian geometry framework from simulated iso-disparity conics in the horizontalvisual plane of the binocular system with the asymmetric eyes (AEs). For the eyes fixating at the abathic distance, which depends on the AE’s parameters, the iso-disparity conics are frontal straight lines in physical space. For allother fixations, the iso-disparity conics consist of families of the ellipses or hyperbolas depending on both the AE’s parameters and the bifoveal fixation. However, the iso-disparity conic’s arcs are perceived in the gaze direction asthe frontal lines and are referred to as visual geodesics. Thus, geometriesof physical and visual spaces are different. A simple postulate that combines simulated iso-disparity conics with basic anatomy od the human visual system gives the relative depth for the fixation at the abathic distance that establishes the Riemann matric tensor. The resulting geodesics are incomplete in the gaze direction and, therefore, give thefinite distances to the horizon that depend on the AE’s parameters. Moreover, the curvature vanishes in this eyes posture such that visual space is flat. For all other fixations, only the sign of the curvature canbe inferred from the global behavior of the simulated iso-disparity conics: the curvature is positive for the elliptic iso-disparity curves and negative for the hyperbolic iso-disparity curves.

Keywords: asymmetric eye model, iso-disparity conics, metric tensor, geodesics, curvature

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Said Yousif Khairi

Abstract:

Being a developing economy, imports of capital, raw materials and manufactories goods are vital for sustainable economic growth. In 2006, Libya imported LD 8 billion (US$ 6.25 billion) which composed of mainly machinery and transport equipment (49.3%), raw material (18%), and food products and live animals (13%). This represented about 10% of GDP. Thus, it is pertinent to investigate factors affecting the amount of Libyan imports. An econometric model representing the aggregate import demand for Libya was developed and estimated using the bounds test procedure, which based on an unrestricted error correction model (UECM). The data employed for the estimation was from 1970–2010. The results of the bounds test revealed that the volume of imports and its determinants namely real income, consumer price index and exchange rate are co-integrated. The findings indicate that the demand for imports is inelastic with respect to income, index price level and The exchange rate variable in the short run is statistically significant. In the long run, the income elasticity is elastic while the price elasticity and the exchange rate remains inelastic. This indicates that imports are important elements for Libyan economic growth in the long run.

Keywords: import demand, UECM, bounds test, Libya

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Faik Derya Ince, Ugur Topgul, Alp Gunay, Can Bayoglu, Dante J. Dorantes-Gonzalez

Abstract:

Explosive attacks are arguably the most lethal threat that may occur in terrorist attacks. In order to counteract this issue, explosive ordnance disposal operators put their lives on the line to dispose of a possible improvised explosive device. Robots can make the disposal process more accurately and saving human lives. For this purpose, there is a demand for more accurate and dexterous manipulating robotic hands that can be teleoperated from a distance. The aim of this project is to design a robotic hand that contains two active and two passive DOF for each finger, as well as a minimum set of tools for mechanical cutting and screw driving within the same robotic hand. Both hand and toolset, are teleoperated from a distance from a haptic robotic glove in order to manipulate dangerous objects such as improvised explosive devices. SolidWorks® Computer-Aided Design, computerized dynamic simulation, and MATLAB® kinematic and static analysis were used for the robotic hand and toolset design. Novel, dexterous and robust solutions for the fingers were obtained, and six servo motors are used in total to remotely control the multi-tooled robotic hand. This project is still undergoing and presents currents results. Future research steps are also presented.

Keywords: Explosive Manipulation, Robotic Hand, Tele-Operation, Tool Integration

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Subramaniam Chandran, A. Geetha

Abstract:

This paper addresses three issues: how to prepare instructional design for imparting English language skill from inter-disciplinary self-learning material; how the disadvantaged students are benefited from such kind of language skill imparted through m-learning; and how do the m-learners perform better than the other learners. This paper examines these issues through an experimental study conducted among the distance learners enrolled in preparatory program for bachelor’s degree. This program is designed for the disadvantage learners especially for the school drop-outs to qualify to pursue graduate program through distant education. It also explains how mobile learning helps them to enhance their capacity in learning despite their rural background and other disadvantages. In India nearly half of the students enrolled in schools do not complete their study. The pursuance of higher education is very low when compared with developed countries. This study finds a significant increase in their learning capacity and mobile learning seems to be a viable alternative where conventional system could not reach the disadvantaged learners. Improving the English language skill is one of the reasons for such kind of performance. Exercises framed from the relevant self-learning material for enhancing English language skill not only improves language skill but also widens the subject-knowledge. This paper explains these issues out of the study conducted among the disadvantaged learners.

Keywords: English language skill, disadvantaged learners, distance education, m-learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 643

Authors: Imam Muthohar, Budi Hartono, Sigit Priyanto, Hardiansyah Hardiansyah

Abstract:

The eruption of Merapi Volcano in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2010 caused many casualties due to minimum preparedness in facing disaster. Increasing population capacity and evacuating to safe places become very important to minimize casualties. Regional government through the Regional Disaster Management Agency has divided disaster-prone areas into three parts, namely ring 1 at a distance of 10 km, ring 2 at a distance of 15 km and ring 3 at a distance of 20 km from the center of Mount Merapi. The success of the evacuation is fully supported by road network infrastructure as a way to rescue in an emergency. This research attempts to model evacuation process based on the rise of refugees in ring 1, expanded to ring 2 and finally expanded to ring 3. The model was developed using SATURN (Simulation and Assignment of Traffic to Urban Road Networks) program version 11.3. 12W, involving 140 centroid, 449 buffer nodes, and 851 links across Yogyakarta Special Region, which was aimed at making a preliminary identification of road networks considered vulnerable to disaster. An assumption made to identify vulnerability was the improvement of road network performance in the form of flow and travel times on the coverage of ring 1, ring 2, ring 3, Sleman outside the ring, Yogyakarta City, Bantul, Kulon Progo, and Gunung Kidul. The research results indicated that the performance increase in the road networks existing in the area of ring 2, ring 3, and Sleman outside the ring. The road network in ring 1 started to increase when the evacuation was expanded to ring 2 and ring 3. Meanwhile, the performance of road networks in Yogyakarta City, Bantul, Kulon Progo, and Gunung Kidul during the evacuation period simultaneously decreased in when the evacuation areas were expanded. The results of preliminary identification of the vulnerability have determined that the road networks existing in ring 1, ring 2, ring 3 and Sleman outside the ring were considered vulnerable to the evacuation of Mount Merapi eruption. Therefore, it is necessary to pay a great deal of attention in order to face the disasters that potentially occur at anytime.

Keywords: model, evacuation, SATURN, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Majeed Mohammed Midhin, Clare Finburgh

Abstract:

To maintain a healthy balanced loyalty between art and politics posits a debatable issue. The artist is always on the look out for the potential tension between those two realms. Therefore, one of the most painful dilemmas the artist finds is how to function in a society without sacrificing the aesthetic values of his/her work. In other words, the life-long awareness of failure which derives from the concept of the artist as caught between unflattering social realities and the need to invent genuine art forms becomes a fertilizing soil for the artists to dig deep into its origin. Thus, within the framework of this dilemma, the question of the responsibility of the artist and the relationship of the art to politics will be illuminating. The present paper tackles the idea of the amorality of the artist in selected plays by Tom Stoppard. However, Stoppard’s awareness of his situation as a refugee has led him to keep at a distance from politics. He tried hard to avoid any intervention into the realms of political debate, especially in his earliest work. On the one hand, it is not meant that he did not interest in politics as such, but rather he preferred to question it than to create a fixed ideological position. On the other hand, Stoppard’s refusal to intervene in politics is ascribed to his feeling of gratitude to Britain where he settled. As a result, Stoppard has frequently been criticized for a lack of political engagement and also for not leaning too much for the left when he does engage. His reaction to these public criticisms finds expression in his self-conscious statements which defensively stressed the artifice of his work. He, like Oscar Wilde thinks that the responsibility of the artist is devoted to the realm of his/her art. Consequently, his consciousness for the role of the artist is truly reflected in his two plays, Artist Descending a Staircase(1972) and Travesties(1974).

Keywords: amorality, dilemma, aesthetic, responsibility of the artist, political theatre

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Gupta Amit, Kumar Ramesh, P. C. Tewari

Abstract:

Globalization is putting enormous pressure on the business organizations specially manufacturing one to rethink the supply chain in innovative manners. Inventory consumes major portion of total sale revenue. Effective and efficient inventory management plays a vital role for the successful functioning of any organization. Selection of inventory policy is one of the important purchasing activities. This paper focuses on selection and ranking of alternative inventory policies. A deterministic quantitative model-based on Distance Based Approach (DBA) method has been developed for evaluation and ranking of inventory policies. We have employed this concept first time for this type of the selection problem. Four inventory policies Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), Just in Time (JIT), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and monthly policy are considered. Improper selection could affect a company’s competitiveness in terms of the productivity of its facilities and quality of its products. The ranking of inventory policies is a multi-criteria problem. There is a need to first identify the selection criteria and then processes the information with reference to relative importance of attributes for comparison. Criteria values for each inventory policy can be obtained either analytically or by using a simulation technique or they are linguistic subjective judgments defined by fuzzy sets, like, for example, the values of criteria. A methodology is developed and applied to rank the inventory policies.

Keywords: inventory policy, ranking, DBA, selection criteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Keisuke Akiyama, Takashi Sakai, Junichiro Koyanagi, Hideki Yoshikawa, Kazuomi Sugamoto

Abstract:

The geometry of acetabular cartilage surface plays an important role in hip joint biomechanics. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphology of acetabular articular cartilage surface in elderly subjects using a 3D-digitizer. Twenty hemipelves from 12 subjects (mean ages 85 years) were scanned with 3D-digitizer. Each acetabular surface model was divided into four regions: anterosuperior (AS), anteroinferior (AI), posterosuperior (PS), and posteroinferior (PI). In the global acetabulum and each region, the acetabular sphere radius and the standard deviation (SD) of the distance from the acetabular sphere center to the acetabular cartilage surface were calculated. In the global acetabulum, the distance between the acetabular surface model and the maximum sphere which did not penetrate over the acetabular surface model was calculated as the inferred femoral head, and then the distribution was mapped at intervals of 0.5 mm. The SD in AS was significantly larger than that in AI (p = 0.006) and PI (p = 0.001). The SD in PS was significantly larger than that in PI (p = 0.005). The closest region (0-0.5 mm) tended to be distributed at anterior or posterosuperior acetabular edge. The contact between the femoral head and acetabulum might start at the periphery of the lunate surface, especially in the anterior or posterosuperior region. From viewpoint of acetabular morphology, the acetabular articular cartilage in the anterior or posterosuperior edge could be more vulnerable due to direct contact mechanism.

Keywords: acetabulum, cartilage, morphology, 3D-digitizer

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Evgeniya Orlova, Dmitriy Feoktistov, Geniy Kuznetsov

Abstract:

Spreading of a droplet over a solid substrate is a key phenomenon observed in the following engineering applications: thin film coating, oil extraction, inkjet printing, and spray cooling of heated surfaces. Droplet cooling systems are known to be more effective than film or rivulet cooling systems. It is caused by the greater evaporation surface area of droplets compared with the film of the same mass and wetting surface. And the greater surface area of droplets is connected with the curvature of the interface. Location of the droplets on the cooling surface influences on the heat transfer conditions. The close distance between the droplets provides intensive heat removal, but there is a possibility of their coalescence in the liquid film. The long distance leads to overheating of the local areas of the cooling surface and the occurrence of thermal stresses. To control the location of droplets is possible by changing the roughness, structure and chemical composition of the surface. Thus, control of spreading can be implemented. The most important characteristic of spreading of droplets on solid surfaces is a dynamic contact angle, which is a function of the contact line speed or capillary number. However, there is currently no universal equation, which would describe the relationship between these parameters. This paper presents the results of the experimental studies of water droplet spreading on metal substrates with different surface roughness. The effect of the droplet growth rate and the surface roughness on spreading characteristics was studied at low capillary numbers. The shadow method using high speed video cameras recording up to 10,000 frames per seconds was implemented. A droplet profile was analyzed by Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analyses techniques. According to change of the dynamic contact angle and the contact line speed three sequential spreading stages were observed: rapid increase in the dynamic contact angle; monotonous decrease in the contact angle and the contact line speed; and form of the equilibrium contact angle at constant contact line. At low droplet growth rate, the dynamic contact angle of the droplet spreading on the surfaces with the maximum roughness is found to increase throughout the spreading time. It is due to the fact that the friction force on such surfaces is significantly greater than the inertia force; and the contact line is pinned on microasperities of a relief. At high droplet growth rate the contact angle decreases during the second stage even on the surfaces with the maximum roughness, as in this case, the liquid does not fill the microcavities, and the droplet moves over the “air cushion”, i.e. the interface is a liquid/gas/solid system. Also at such growth rates pulsation of liquid flow was detected; and the droplet oscillates during the spreading. Thus, obtained results allow to conclude that it is possible to control spreading by using the surface roughness and the growth rate of droplets on surfaces as varied factors. Also, the research findings may be used for analyzing heat transfer in rivulet and drop cooling systems of high energy equipment.

Keywords: contact line speed, droplet growth rate, dynamic contact angle, shadow system, spreading

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Farshad Ghazalian, Laleh Hakemi, Lotfali Pourkazemi, Maryam Ameri, Seyed Hossein Alavi

Abstract:

Background: The use of whole body vibration (WBV) as an exercise method has rapidly increased over the last decade. The aim of this study was to evaluate long term effects of different amplitudes of whole body vibration training with progressive frequencies on lipid profile of young healthy men. Materials and methods: Thirty three healthy male students were divided randomly in three groups: high amplitude vibration group (n=11), low amplitude vibration group (n=11), and control group (n=11). The vibration training consisted of 5 week whole-body vibration 3 times a week with amplitudes 4 and 2 mm and progressive frequencies from 25 Hz with increments of 5 Hz weekly. Concentrations TG, HDL, LDL, cholesterol, and VLDL before and after 5 weeks of training were measured in plasma samples. Statistical analysis was done using one way analysis of variance. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The most important result of the present study is finding no favorable changes of 5-week vibration training with different amplitudes on blood lipid profiles. Discussion and conclusions: It was emphasized that in vibration training there should be a relationship between intensity and volume of exercise and lipid responses in order to improve blood lipoprotein profiles.

Keywords: long term, body, vibration training, lipid

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Xi Zuo

Abstract:

As a part of the urban population that cannot be ignored, women have long been less involved in urban planning due to socio-economic constraints. Urban planning and development have long been influenced by the mainstream "male standard," paying less attention to women's needs for space in the city. However, with the development of the economy and society and the improvement of women's social status, their participation in urban life is gradually increasing, and their needs for the city are diversifying. Therefore, different scholars, planning designers and governmental departments have explored this field in different degrees and directions. This paper summarizes the research on urban planning from women's perspectives and, discusses its strengths, weaknesses, and methodology with specific case studies, and then further discusses the direction of further research on this topic.

Keywords: urban planning, feminism, methodology, gender

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Sofia Nilsson, Alicia Ohlsson, Linda-Marie Lundqvist, Aida Alvinius, Peder Hyllengren, Gerry Larsson

Abstract:

In irregular warfare contexts, military personnel are often presented with morally ambiguous situations where they are aware of the morally correct choice but may feel prevented to follow through with it due to organizational demands. Moral stress and/or injury can be the outcome of the individual’s experienced dissonance. These types of challenges put a large demand on the individual to manage their own emotions and the emotions of others, particularly in the case of a leader. Both the ability and inability for emotional regulation can result in different combinations of short and long term reactions after morally stressful events, which can be either positive or negative. Our study analyzed the combination of these reactions based upon the types of morally challenging events that were described by the subjects. 1)What institutionalized norms concerning emotion regulation are favorable in short-and long-term perspectives after a morally stressful event? 2)What individual emotion-focused coping strategies are favorable in short-and long-perspectives after a morally stressful? To address these questions, we conducted a quantitative study in military contexts in Sweden and Norway on upcoming or current military officers (n=331). We tested a theoretical model built upon a recently developed qualitative study. The data was analyzed using factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and subgroup analyses. The results indicated that an individual’s restriction of emotion in order to achieve an organizational goal, which results in emotional dissonance, can be an effective short term strategy for both the individual and the organization; however, it appears to be unfavorable in a long-term perspective which can result in negative reactions. Our results are intriguing because they showed an increased percentage of reported negative long term reactions (13%), which indicated PTSD-related symptoms in comparison to previous Swedish studies which indicated lower PTSD symptomology.

Keywords: emotion culture, emotion coping, emotion management, military

Procedia PDF Downloads 581

Authors: África Vicario, Fernando J. Álvarez, Felipe Parralejo, Fernando Aranda

Abstract:

The irrigation systems of traditional agriculture, such as gravity-fed irrigation, produce a great waste of water because, generally, there is no control over the amount of water supplied in relation to the water needed. The AIRON Project tries to solve this problem by implementing an IoT-based system to sensor the irrigation plots so that the state of the crops and the amount of water used for irrigation can be known remotely. The IoT system consists of a sensor network that measures the humidity of the soil, the weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, wind and solar radiation) and the irrigation water flow. The communication between this network and a central gateway is conducted by means of long-range wireless communication that depends on the characteristics of the irrigation plot. The main objective of the AIRON project is to deploy an IoT sensor network in two different plots of the irrigation community of Aranjuez in the Spanish region of Madrid. The first plot is 2 km away from the central gateway, so LoRa has been used as the base communication technology. The problem with this plot is the absence of mains electric power, so devices with energy-saving modes have had to be used to maximize the external batteries' use time. An ESP32 SOC board with a LoRa module is employed in this case to gather data from the sensor network and send them to a gateway consisting of a Raspberry Pi with a LoRa hat. The second plot is located 18 km away from the gateway, a range that hampers the use of LoRa technology. In order to establish reliable communication in this case, the long-term evolution (LTE) standard is used, which makes it possible to reach much greater distances by using the cellular network. As mains electric power is available in this plot, a Raspberry Pi has been used instead of the ESP32 board to collect sensor data. All data received from the two plots are stored on a proprietary server located at the irrigation management company's headquarters. The analysis of these data by means of machine learning algorithms that are currently under development should allow a short-term prediction of the irrigation water demand that would significantly reduce the waste of this increasingly valuable natural resource. The major finding of this work is the real possibility of deploying a remote sensing system for irrigated plots by using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices, easily scalable and adaptable to design requirements such as the distance to the control center or the availability of mains electrical power at the site.

Keywords: internet of things, irrigation water control, LoRa, LTE, smart farming

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Khizir Mohd Ismail, Yu Jun Lim, Tshun Howe Yong

Abstract:

The study of flow behavior in an enclosed volume using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been around for decades. However, due to the knowledge limitation of adaptive grid methods, the flow in an enclosed volume near the moving wall using CFD is less explored. A CFD simulation of flow in an enclosed volume near a moving wall was demonstrated and studied by introducing a moving mesh method and was modeled with Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach. A static enclosed volume with controlled opening size in the bottom was positioned against a moving, translational wall with sliding mesh features. Controlled variables such as smoothed, crevices and corrugated wall characteristics, the distance between the enclosed volume to the wall and the moving wall speed against the enclosed chamber were varied to understand how the flow behaves and reacts in between these two geometries. These model simulations were validated against experimental results and provided result confidence when the simulation had shown good agreement with the experimental data. This study had provided better insight into the flow behaving in an enclosed volume when various wall types in motion were introduced within the various distance between each other and create a potential opportunity of application which involves adaptive grid methods in CFD.

Keywords: moving wall, adaptive grid methods, CFD, moving mesh method

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Mohamad Ahrari, Kayvan Sadri, Mahmoud Reza Jafari

Abstract:

PEGylated liposomes have a smaller volume of distribution and decreased clearance, consequently, due to their more prolonged presence in bloodstream and maintaining their stability during this period, these liposomes can be applied for imaging tumoral sites. The purpose of this study is to develop an appropriate radiopharmaceutical agent in long-term imaging for improved diagnosis and evaluation of tumors. In this study, liposomal formulations encapsulating albumin is synthesized by solvent evaporation method along with homogenization, and their characteristics were assessed. Then these liposomes labeled by Philips method and the rate of stability of labeled liposomes in serum, and ultimately the rate of biodistribution and gamma scintigraphy in C26-colon carcinoma tumor-bearing mice, were studied. The result of the study of liposomal characteristics displayed that capable of accumulating in tumor sites based of EPR phenomenon. these liposomes also have high stability for maintaining encapsulated albumin in a long time. In the study of biodistribution of these liposomes in mice, they accumulated more in the kidney, liver, spleen, and tumor sites, which, even after clearing formulations in the bloodstream, they existed in high levels in these organs up to 96 hours. In gamma scintigraphy also, organs with high activity accumulation from early hours up to 96 hours were visible in the form of hot spots. concluded that PEGylated liposomal formulation encapsulating albumin can be labeled with In-Oxine, and obtained stabilized formulation for long-term imaging, that have more favorable conditions for the evaluation of tumors and it will cause early diagnosis of tumors.

Keywords: nano liposome, 111In-oxine, imaging, biodistribution, tumor

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Ali Emre Öztürk, Ergun Ercelebi

Abstract:

Autonomous robotic systems needs an equipment like a human eye for their movement. Robotic camera systems, distance sensors and 3D laser scanners have been used in the literature. In this study a 3D laser scanner has been produced for those autonomous robotic systems. In general 3D laser scanners are using 2 dimension laser range finders that are moving on one-axis (1D) to generate the model. In this study, the model has been obtained by a one-dimensional laser range finder that is moving in two –axis (2D) and because of this the laser scanner has been produced cheaper. Furthermore for the laser scanner a motor driver, an embedded system control board has been used and at the same time a user interface card has been used to make the communication between those cards and computer. Due to this laser scanner, the density of the objects, the distance between the objects and the necessary path ways for the robot can be calculated. The data collected by the laser scanner system is converted in to cartesian coordinates to be modeled in AutoCAD program. This study shows also the synchronization between the computer user interface, AutoCAD and the embedded systems. As a result it makes the solution cheaper for such systems. The scanning results are enough for an autonomous robot but the scan cycle time should be developed. This study makes also contribution for further studies between the hardware and software needs since it has a powerful performance and a low cost.

Keywords: 3D laser scanner, embedded system, 1D laser range finder, 3D model

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Chen-Yuan Hsu

Abstract:

Introduction Elderly is growing and results to live in the long-term care (LTC) and then due to the routine of the facilities in Taiwan, also resulted to losing of those people with environment interaction, so, the self-reliance support (SRS) for those people to experience environment interaction is an essential. Methods This study was recruited samples of a LTC in the central of Taiwan. There was a following research on the SRS group with 20 samples collected and routine care group with 20 samples. A structured questionnaire as the Environment Interaction Dimension, as data collection included demographic information and the dimensions of environment interaction. Data analysis used SPSS 22.0 for Window 2000 to report the finding. Results The Environment Interaction Dimension for Taiwanese is a Chinese version of the containing 8 items. The result of t-test analysis found that environment interaction showed a significant difference between groups (p＜.05), the result recommended that there was a higher score of environment interaction dimension on the SRS group (29.90±5.56) comparing with the routine care group (22.1±5.53). Conclusion This study showed that the SRS group was higher than the routine care group on the environment interaction dimension for Taiwanese elderly living in the LTC. The results can also provide the reference for LTC, to encourage those people to participate in SRS in LTC, and therefore also improving their environment interaction.

Keywords: self-reliance support, environment interaction, long-term care, elderly

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: C. Asha Poorna, P. G. Vinod, A. R. R. Menon

Abstract:

Currently increasing population and their activities like urbanization and industrialization generating the greatest environmental, issue called Waste. And the major problem in waste management is selection of an appropriate site for waste disposal. The selection of suitable site have constrains like environmental, economical and political considerations. In this paper we discuss the strategies to be followed while selecting a site for decentralized system for solid waste disposal, using Geographic Information System (GIS), the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the remote sensing method for Thiruvananthapuram corporation area. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. It lies on the shores of Killiyar and Karamana River. Being on the basin the waste managements must be regulated with the water body. The different criteria considered for waste disposal site selection are lithology, surface water, aquifer, groundwater, land use, contours, aspect, elevation, slope, and distance to road, distance from settlement are examined in relation to land fill site selection. Each criterion was identified and weighted by AHP score and mapped using GIS technique and suitable map is prepared by overlay analysis.

Keywords: waste disposal, solid waste management, Geographic Information System (GIS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Josee Charette

Abstract:

The academic and educational success of migrant students is a current issue in education, especially in western societies such in the province of Quebec, in Canada. For people who immigrate with school-age children, the success of the family’s migratory project is often measured by the benefits drawn by children from the educational institutions of their host society. In order to support the academic achievement of their children, migrant parents try to develop practices that derive from their representations of school and related challenges inspired by the socio-cultural context of their country of origin. These findings lead us to the following question: How does strategies implemented by migrant parents to manage the representational distance between school of their country of origin and school of their host society support or not the academic and educational success of their child? In the context of a qualitative exploratory approach, we have made interviews in the French , English and Spanish languages with 32 newly immigrated parents and 10 of their children. Parents were invited to complete a network of free associations about «School in Quebec» as a premise for the interview. The objective of this paper is to present strategies implemented by migrant parents to manage the distance between their representations of schools in their country of origin and in the host society, and to explore the influence of this management on their child’s academic and educational trajectories. Data analysis led us to develop various types of strategies, such as continuity, adaptation, resources mobilization, compensation and "return to basics" strategies. These strategies seem to be part of a continuum from oppositional-conflict scenario, in which parental strategies act as a risk factor, to conciliator-integrator scenario, in which parental strategies act as a protective factor for migrant students’ academic and educational success. In conclusion, we believe that our research helps in highlighting strategies implemented by migrant parents to support their child’s academic and educational success in the host society and also helps in providing a more efficient support to migrant parents and contributes to develop a wider portrait of migrant students’ academic achievement.

Keywords: academic and educational achievement of immigrant students, family’s migratory project, immigrants parental strategies, representational distance between school of origin and school of host society

Procedia PDF Downloads 432

Authors: Othman Maklouf, Abdunnaser Tresh

Abstract:

GPS and inertial navigation system (INS) have complementary qualities that make them ideal use for sensor fusion. The limitations of GPS include occasional high noise content, outages when satellite signals are blocked, interference and low bandwidth. The strengths of GPS include its long-term stability and its capacity to function as a stand-alone navigation system. In contrast, INS is not subject to interference or outages, have high bandwidth and good short-term noise characteristics, but have long-term drift errors and require external information for initialization. A combined system of GPS and INS subsystems can exhibit the robustness, higher bandwidth and better noise characteristics of the inertial system with the long-term stability of GPS. The most common estimation algorithm used in integrated INS/GPS is the Kalman Filter (KF). KF is able to take advantages of these characteristics to provide a common integrated navigation implementation with performance superior to that of either subsystem (GPS or INS). This paper presents a simplified KF algorithm for land vehicle navigation application. In this integration scheme, the GPS derived positions and velocities are used as the update measurements for the INS derived PVA. The KF error state vector in this case includes the navigation parameters as well as the accelerometer and gyroscope error states.

Keywords: GPS, INS, Kalman filter, inertial navigation system

Procedia PDF Downloads 457

Authors: Martin Hewing, Katharina Hölzle

Abstract:

Organizations increasingly use environmental stimuli and ideas from users within participatory innovation processes in order to tap new sources of knowledge. The research presented in this article focuses on users who shape the distant edges of markets and currently are not using products and services from a domain– so called potential users. Those users at the peripheries are perceived to contribute more novel information, by which they better reflect shifts in needs and behavior than current users in the core market. Their contributions in collaborative and creative problem-solving processes and how they generate ideas for discontinuous innovations are of particular interest. With an experimental design, we compare ideas from potential and current users and analyze the effects of cognitive distance in collaboration and the utilization of explicit and tacit knowledge. We find potential users to generate more original ideas, particularly when they collaborate with someone experienced within the domain. Their ideas are most obviously characterized by an increased level of surprise and unusualness compared to dominant designs, which is rooted in contexts and does not require technological leaps. Collaboration with potential users can therefore result in new ways to leverage technological competences. Furthermore, the cross-fertilization arising from cognitive distance between a potential and a current user is asymmetric due to differences in the nature of their utilized knowledge and personal objectives. This paper discusses implications for innovation research and the management of early innovation processes.

Keywords: user collaboration, co-creation, discontinuous innovation, innovation research

Procedia PDF Downloads 488