Search results for: biological control agent

Authors: K. Abuzayan, H. Alabed, J. Ezarrugh, M. Agila

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Static and dynamic balance are essential in daily and sports life. Many factors have been identified as influencing static balance control. Therefore, the aim of this study was to apply the (XCoM) method and other relevant variables (CoP, CoM, Fh, KE, P, Q, and, AI) to investigate sport related activities such as hopping and jumping. Many studies have represented the CoP data without mentioning its accuracy, so several experiments were done to establish the agreement between the CoP and the projected CoM in a static condition. Five male healthy (Mean ± SD:- age 24.6 years ±4.5, height 177 cm ± 6.3, body mass 72.8 kg ± 6.6) participated in this study. Results found that The implementation of the XCoM method was found to be practical for evaluating both static and dynamic balance. The general findings were that the CoP, the CoM, the XCoM, Fh, and Q were more informative than the other variables (e.g. KE, P, and AI) during static and dynamic balance. The XCoM method was found to be applicable to dynamic balance as well as static balance.

Keywords: centre of mass, static balance, dynamic balance, extrapolated centre of mass

Procedia PDF Downloads 406

Authors: Saman Ahani, Aboozar Dehghan, Roham Vali, Hamid Salehian, Amin Ebrahimi

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Pulsed-wave (PW) doppler ultrasonography is a non-invasive, relatively accurate imaging technique that can measure blood speed. The imaging could be obtained via the common carotid artery, as one of the main vessels supplying the blood of vital organs. In horses, factors such as susceptibility to depression of the cardiovascular system and their large muscular mass have rendered them vulnerable to changes in blood speed. One of the most important factors causing blood velocity changes is the administration of anesthetic drugs, including Ketamine and Acepromazine. Thus, in this study, the Pulsed-wave doppler technique was performed to assess the highest blood velocity in the common carotid artery following administration of Ketamine and Acepromazine. Six male and six female healthy Kurdish horses weighing 351 ± 46 kg (mean ± SD) and aged 9.2 ± 1.7 years (mean ± SD) were housed under animal welfare guidelines. After fasting for six hours, the normal blood flow velocity in the common carotid artery was measured using a Pulsed-wave doppler ultrasonography machine (BK Medical, Denmark), and a high-frequency linear transducer (12 MHz) without applying any sedative drugs as a control group. The same procedure was repeated after each individual received the following medications: 1.1, 2.2 mg/kg Ketamine (Pfizer, USA), and 0.5, 1 mg/kg Acepromizine (RACEHORSE MEDS, Ukraine), with an interval of 21 days between the administration of each dose and/or drug. The ultrasonographic study was done five (T5) and fifteen (T15) minutes after injecting each dose intravenously. Lastly, the statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 22 for Windows and a P value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Five minutes after administration of Ketamine (1.1, 2.2 mg/kg) in both male and female horses, the blood velocity decreased to 38.44, 34.53 cm/s in males, and 39.06, 34.10 cm/s in females in comparison to the control group (39.59 and 40.39 cm/s in males and females respectively) while administration of 0.5 mg/kg Acepromazine led to a significant rise (73.15 and 55.80 cm/s in males and females respectively) (p<0.05). It means that the most drastic change in blood velocity, regardless of gender, refers to the latter dose/drug. In both medications and both genders, the increase in doses led to a decrease in blood velocity compared to the lower dose of the same drug. In all experiments in this study, the blood velocity approached its normal value at T15. In another study comparing the blood velocity changes affected by Ketamine and Acepromazine through femoral arteries, the most drastic changes were attributed to Ketamine; however, in this experiment, the maximum blood velocity was observed following administration of Acepromazine via the common carotid artery. Therefore, further experiments using the same medications are suggested using Pulsed-wave doppler measuring the blood velocity changes in both femoral and common carotid arteries simultaneously.

Keywords: Acepromazine, common carotid artery, horse, ketamine, pulsed-wave doppler ultrasonography

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Fuad M. Alkoot

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Different experimental technologies such as microarray sequencing have been proposed to generate high-resolution genetic data, in order to understand the complex dynamic interactions between complex diseases and the biological system components of genes and gene products. However, the generated samples have a very large dimension reaching thousands. Therefore, hindering all attempts to design a classifier system that can identify diseases based on such data. Additionally, the high overlap in the class distributions makes the task more difficult. The data we experiment with is generated for the identification of autism. It includes 142 samples, which is small compared to the large dimension of the data. The classifier systems trained on this data yield very low classification rates that are almost equivalent to a guess. We aim at reducing the data dimension and improve it for classification. Here, we experiment with applying a multistage PCA on the genetic data to reduce its dimensionality. Results show a significant improvement in the classification rates which increases the possibility of building an automated system for autism detection.

Keywords: PCA, gene expression, dimensionality reduction, classification, autism

Procedia PDF Downloads 542

Authors: Sadek A. Makhlouf, Hassan M. Nouh

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Bone hydatidosis is an infection in worldwide distribution. Although there is no evidence in literature on Bone Hydatid disease in Libya, we tried to present the first epidemiological study of this disease in Eastern Libya through retrospective study from 1995 to 2013. Our data were collected from 3 hospitals in Eastern Libya particularly the sheep-raising areas with total number of musculoskeletal infection cases of two thousand one hundred ninety-four (2,194). There were five (5) five cases of bone infection, four (4) of it have been diagnosed after more than three (3) months. Our study is comparable to other international study but this type of bone infection need further studies for effective control strategies for all dogs to avoid serious complications that might happened from the delay in diagnosing this type of disease.

Keywords: bone infection, hydatidosis, Eastern Libya, sheep-raising areas

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Nguyen Chan Hung, Mai Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Xuan Ha, Tran Xuan Duc, Dang Bao Lam, Nguyen Hoang Viet

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This paper presents a design and implementation of a navigation controller for a humanoid mobile robot platform to operate in indoor office environments. In order to fulfil the requirement of recognizing and approaching human to provide service while avoiding random obstacles, a behavior-based fuzzy logic controller was designed to simultaneously coordinate multiple behaviors. Experiments in real office environment showed that the fuzzy controller deals well with complex scenarios without colliding with random objects and human.

Keywords: behavior control, fuzzy logic, humanoid robot, mobile robot

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: Shosh Kazaz, Shmuel Banai, Vered Zilberberg

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Optimizing high business performance and employee's well-being simultaneously often challenges organizations. 'TIP' intervention enables achieving them both as the given project demonstrates. Increasing outcomes and improving performance were the initial motivators for this explorative project, followed by a request of the head of the Cardiology department: 'I know we are the best at our clinical practice, but we need to take it further and break our own glass ceiling.' Two guided interventions were conducted in two different units within the department, designed to implement advanced managerial and business-oriented tools, along with 'soft tools' based on coaching psychology and particularly wellness coaching. The organ department multi-disciplinary teams were assembled, aiming to manage and lead the process: mapping the patients' flow, creating solutions, implementing, assessing, improving and assimilating them. Approximately four months later, without additional external resources, meaningful results emerged by the teams in terms of business and performance: shortening the hospitalization length at a given procedure (from 7 to 2.1 days); increasing the availability of Catheterization laboratory by 16% daily – resulting profitability raise; improving patients' journey and experience. A year later, those results are maintained. Furthermore, interviews with the participants revealed positive perceptions regarding the department; a higher sense of joyfulness, connectedness, belonging and a better department climate were reported. Additionally, participants reported a higher sense of fulfillment as opposed to their earliest skepticism and cynicism about their ability to enhance outcomes without more resources (budget and/or manpower), experiencing a mindset change toward the possibility of leading personal and professional growth processes. These reports were supported by analyzing a set of questionnaires that the participants completed, parallel to a control group of non-participating colleagues. Although the assessment was taken a year after the completion of the project and during 'covid-19th-3rd national quarantine, the results indicated a significant impact on several personal parameters associated with wellness, compared to the control group. The participants were higher in self-efficacy and organizational commitment; men were higher in resilience and optimism and women were higher in well-being. In conclusion, the 'TIP' relatively short intervention integrates advanced managerial and wellness coaching tools, empowers organizational resources: Team, Individual and Process and by that generates multi-impact measurable results in terms of employee's wellness parameters along with business performance and patient care.

Keywords: coaching, health and wellness, health management, leadership and well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Álvaro Ramírez Vidal, Martín Muñoz Morales, Francisco Jesús Fernández Morales, Luis Rodríguez Romero, José Villaseñor Camacho, Javier Llanos López

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In recent times, environmental problems have led to the extensive use of biological systems to solve them. Among the different types of biological systems, the use of plants such as aquatic macrophytes in constructed wetlands and terrestrial plant species for treating polluted soils and sludge has gained importance. Though the use of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment is a well-researched domain, the slowness of pollutant degradation and high biomass production pose some challenges. Plants used in CW participate in different mechanisms for the capture and degradation of pollutants that also can retain some pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) that are very persistent in the environment. Thus, these systems present advantages in line with the guidelines published for the transition towards friendly and ecological procedures as they are environmentally friendly systems, consume low energy, or capture atmospheric CO₂. However, the use of CW presents some drawbacks, as the slowness of pollutant degradation or the production of important amounts of plant biomass, which need to be harvested and managed periodically. Taking this opportunity in mind, it is important to highlight that this residual biomass (of lignocellulosic nature) could be used as the feedstock for the generation of carbonaceous materials using thermochemical transformations such as slow pyrolysis or hydrothermal carbonization to produce high-value biomass-derived carbons through sustainable processes as adsorbents, catalysts…, thereby improving the circular carbon economy. Thus, this work carried out the analysis of some PPCPs commonly found in urban wastewater, as salicylic acid or ibuprofen, to evaluate the remediation carried out for the Phragmites Australis. Then, after the harvesting, this biomass can be used to synthesize electrodes through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and produce high-value biomass-derived carbons with electrocatalytic activity to remove heavy metals and persistent pollutants, promoting circular economy concepts. To do this, it was chosen biomass derived from the natural environment in high environmental risk as the Daimiel Wetlands National Park in the center of Spain, and the rest of the biomass developed in a CW specifically designed to remove pollutants. The research emphasizes the impact of the composition of the biomass waste and the synthetic parameters applied during HTC on the electrocatalytic activity. Additionally, this parameter can be related to the physicochemical properties, as porosity, surface functionalization, conductivity, and mass transfer of the electrodes lytic inks. Data revealed that carbon materials synthesized have good surface properties (good conductivities and high specific surface area) that enhance the electro-oxidants generated and promote the removal of PPCPs and the chemical oxygen demand of polluted waters.

Keywords: constructed wetlands, carbon materials, heavy metals, pharmaceutical and personal care products, hydrothermal carbonization

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Authors: Muslim Malik, Avadhesh Kumar

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A stronger concept of exact controllability which is called Total Controllability is introduced in this manuscript. Sufficient conditions have been established for the total controllability of a control problem, governed by second order nonlinear differential equation with delay and non-instantaneous impulses in a Banach space X. The results are obtained using the strongly continuous cosine family and Banach fixed point theorem. Also, the total controllability of an integrodifferential problem is investigated. At the end, some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the analytical findings.

Keywords: Banach fixed point theorem, non-instantaneous impulses, strongly continuous cosine family, total controllability

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Authors: Mustafa Engin Başoğlu, Bekir Çakır

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The most important component affecting the efficiency of photovoltaic power systems are solar panels. Efficiency of these systems are significantly affected because of being low efficiency of solar panel. Therefore, solar panels should be operated under maximum power point conditions through a power converter. In this study, design boost converter with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) operation has been designed and performed with Incremental Conductance (Inc-Cond) algorithm by using direct duty control. Furthermore, it is shown that performance of boost converter with MPPT operation fails under low load resistance connection.

Keywords: boost converter, incremental conductance (Inc-Cond), MPPT, solar panel

Procedia PDF Downloads 1032

Authors: K. K. Saju, A. R. Reghuraj

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High reflectance of surgical instruments under bright light hinders the visual clarity during laparoscopic surgical procedures leading to loss of precision and device control and creates strain and undesired difficulties to surgeons. Majority of the surgical instruments are made of surgical grade steel. Instruments with a non reflective surface can enhance the visual clarity during precision surgeries. A conversion coating of black oxide has been successfully developed 410 grade surgical stainless steel .The characteristics of the developed coating suggests the application of this technique for developing 410 grade surgical instruments with minimal reflectance.

Keywords: conversion coatings, 410 stainless steel, black oxide, reflectance

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Authors: Cindy Sithole, Didier Nyembwe, Peter Olubambi

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The sand casting process involves pattern making, mould making, metal pouring and shake out. Every step in the sand moulding process is very critical for production of good quality castings. However, waste generated during the sand moulding operation and lack of quality are matters that influences performance inefficiencies and lack of competitiveness in South African foundries. Defects produced from the sand moulding process are only visible in the final product (casting) which results in increased number of scrap, reduced sales and increases cost in the foundry. The purpose of this Research is to propose six sigma technique (DMAIC, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) intervention in sand moulding foundries and to reduce variation caused by deficiencies in the sand moulding process in South African foundries. Its objective is to create sustainability and enhance productivity in the South African foundry industry. Six sigma is a data driven method to process improvement that aims to eliminate variation in business processes using statistical control methods .Six sigma focuses on business performance improvement through quality initiative using the seven basic tools of quality by Ishikawa. The objectives of six sigma are to eliminate features that affects productivity, profit and meeting customers’ demands. Six sigma has become one of the most important tools/techniques for attaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage for sand casting foundries in South Africa means improved plant maintenance processes, improved product quality and proper utilization of resources especially scarce resources. Defects such as sand inclusion, Flashes and sand burn on were some of the defects that were identified as resulting from the sand moulding process inefficiencies using six sigma technique. The courses were we found to be wrong design of the mould due to the pattern used and poor ramming of the moulding sand in a foundry. Six sigma tools such as the voice of customer, the Fishbone, the voice of the process and process mapping were used to define the problem in the foundry and to outline the critical to quality elements. The SIPOC (Supplier Input Process Output Customer) Diagram was also employed to ensure that the material and process parameters were achieved to ensure quality improvement in a foundry. The process capability of the sand moulding process was measured to understand the current performance to enable improvement. The Expected results of this research are; reduced sand moulding process variation, increased productivity and competitive advantage.

Keywords: defects, foundries, quality improvement, sand moulding, six sigma (DMAIC)

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Authors: Nancy N. Sharmila, Aparna Mishra

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Hemiparesis affects almost 80% of stroke patients each year. It is marked by paralysis or weakness on one half of the body. Our model provides both assistance and physical therapy for hemiparesis patients for swift recovery. In order to accomplish our goal a force is provided that pulls the forearm up (as in flexing the arm), and pushes the forearm down (as in extending the arm), which will also assist the user during ADL (Activities of Daily Living). The model consists of a mechanical component which is placed around the patient’s bicep and an EMG control circuit to assist patients in daily activities, which makes it affordable and easy to use. In order to enhance the neuromuscular system’s effectiveness in synchronize the movement, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) concept is used. The EMG signals are acquired from the unaffected arm as an input to drive the orthosis. This way the patient is invigorated to use the orthosis for regular exercise.

Keywords: EMG, hemiparesis, orthosis, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Ahmed Khattab, Bassem Shetta

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Today, there are many branches of technology, one of them is the internet of things. In this paper, it's focused specifically on automating all the home appliances through E-mail using Node JS server, the server side stores, and processes this data. The server side contains user interface and notification system functionalities which is operated by Raspberry Pi. It will present the security requirements for the smart home. In this application, the privilege of home control including special persons to use it, using the hardware appliances through mobiles and tablets is achieved. The proposed application delivers high quality of service, long lifetime, low maintenance, fast deployment, and low power requirements with low cost needed for development.

Keywords: Raspberry Pi, E-mail, home automation, temperature sensor, PIR sensor, actuators, relay

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Shao-Ku Kao

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This paper presents an active rectifier with time-domain delay compensation to enhance the efficiency. A delay calibration circuit is designed to convert delay time to voltage and adaptive control on/off delay in variable input voltage. This circuit is designed in 0.18 mm CMOS process. The input voltage range is from 2 V to 3.6 V with the output voltage from 1.8 V to 3.4 V. The efficiency can maintain more than 85% when the load from 50 Ω ~ 1500 Ω for 3.6 V input voltage. The maximum efficiency is 92.4 % at output power to be 38.6 mW for 3.6 V input voltage.

Keywords: wireless power transfer, active diode, delay compensation, time to voltage converter, PCE

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Güler Duru Aşiret

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Introduction: Poor sleep quality is a common problem among the older people living in nursing homes. Our study aimed at assessing the effect of individual reminiscence therapy on the sleep quality of the elderly living in nursing homes. Methods: The study had 22 people in the intervention group and 24 people in the control group. The intervention group had reminiscence therapy once a week for 12 weeks in the form of individual sessions of 25-30 minutes. In our study, we first determined the dates suitable for the intervention group and researcher and planned the date and time of individual reminiscence therapies, which would take 12 weeks. While preparing this schedule, we considered subjects’ time schedules for their regular visits to health facilities and the arrival of their visitors. At this stage, the researcher informed the participants that their regular attendance in sessions would affect the intervention outcome. One topic was discussed every week. Weekly topics included: introduction in the first week; childhood and family life, school days, starting work and work life (a day at home for housewives), a fun day out of home, marriage (friendship for the singles), plants and animals they loved, babies and children, food and cooking, holidays and travelling, special days and celebrations, assessment and closure, in the following weeks respectively. The control group had no intervention. Study data was collected by using an introductory information form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: In our study, participants’ average age was 76.02 ± 7.31. 58.7% of them were male and 84.8% were single. All of them had at least one chronic disease. 76.1% did not need help for performing their daily life activities. The length of stay in the institution was 6.32 ± 3.85 years. According to the participants’ descriptive characteristics, there was no difference between groups. While there was no statistically significant difference between the pretest PSQI median scores (p > 0.05) of both groups, PSQI median score had a statistically significant decrease after 12 weeks of reminiscence therapy (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant change in the median scores of the subcomponents of sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance and use of sleep medication before and after reminiscence therapy. After the 12-weeks reminiscence therapy, there was a statistically significant change in the median scores for the PSQI subcomponents of subjective sleep quality (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our study found that reminiscence therapy increased the sleep quality of the elderly living in nursing homes. Acknowledgment: This study (project no 2017-037) was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Aksaray University. We thank the elderly subjects for their kind participation.

Keywords: nursing, older people, reminiscence therapy, sleep

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Authors: Nazli W. Hardy

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A critical component in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is the need for secure and appropriate transmission, processing, and storage of the data. Our current forms of authentication, and identity and access management do not suffice because they are not designed to service cohesive, integrated, interconnected devices, and service applications. The seemingly endless opportunities of IoT are in fact circumscribed on multiple levels by concerns such as trust, privacy, security, loss of control, and related issues. This paper considers multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms and cohesive identity relationship management (IRM) standards. It also surveys messaging protocols that are appropriate for the IoT ecosystem.

Keywords: identity relation management, multifactor authentication, protocols, survey of internet of things ecosystem

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Authors: Suruchi Saini, Hitender Kumar Tyagi

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With the rapid progress of the nanotechnology industry, it is becoming increasingly important to have compact semiconductor devices to function and offer the best results at various technology nodes. While performing the scaling of the device, several short-channel effects occur. To minimize these scaling limitations, some device architectures have been developed in the semiconductor industry. FinFET is one of the most promising structures. Also, the double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor has the benefit of suppressing short channel effects (SCE) and functioning well for less than 14 nm technology nodes. In the present research, the MuGFET simulation tool is used to analyze and explain the electrical behaviour of a double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor. The drift-diffusion and Poisson equations are solved self-consistently. Various models, such as Fermi-Dirac distribution, bandgap narrowing, carrier scattering, and concentration-dependent mobility models, are used for device simulation. The transfer and output characteristics of the double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor are determined at 10 nm technology node. The performance parameters are extracted in terms of threshold voltage, trans-conductance, leakage current and current on-off ratio. In this paper, the device performance is analyzed at different structure parameters. The utilization of the Id-Vg curve is a robust technique that holds significant importance in the modeling of transistors, circuit design, optimization of performance, and quality control in electronic devices and integrated circuits for comprehending field-effect transistors. The FinFET structure is optimized to increase the current on-off ratio and transconductance. Through this analysis, the impact of different channel widths, source and drain lengths on the Id-Vg and transconductance is examined. Device performance was affected by the difficulty of maintaining effective gate control over the channel at decreasing feature sizes. For every set of simulations, the device's features are simulated at two different drain voltages, 50 mV and 0.7 V. In low-power and precision applications, the off-state current is a significant factor to consider. Therefore, it is crucial to minimize the off-state current to maximize circuit performance and efficiency. The findings demonstrate that the performance of the current on-off ratio is maximum with the channel width of 3 nm for a gate length of 10 nm, but there is no significant effect of source and drain length on the current on-off ratio. The transconductance value plays a pivotal role in various electronic applications and should be considered carefully. In this research, it is also concluded that the transconductance value of 340 S/m is achieved with the fin width of 3 nm at a gate length of 10 nm and 2380 S/m for the source and drain extension length of 5 nm, respectively.

Keywords: current on-off ratio, FinFET, short-channel effects, transconductance

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Authors: Domenico Panno, Antonino D’amico, Hamed Jafargholi

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This paper presents an experimental analysis of the performance of a system for freezing fish products equipped with a modulating vapour injection scroll compressor operating with R448A refrigerant. Freezing is a critical process for the preservation of seafood products, as it influences quality, food safety, and environmental sustainability. The use of a modulating scroll compressor with vapour injection, associated with the R448A refrigerant, is proposed as a solution to optimize the performance of the system, reducing energy consumption and mitigating the environmental impact. The steam injection modulating scroll compressor represents an advanced technology that allows you to adjust the compressor capacity based on the actual cooling needs of the system. Vapour injection allows the optimization of the refrigeration cycle, reducing the evaporation temperature and improving the overall efficiency of the system. The use of R448A refrigerant, with a low global warming potential (GWP), is part of an environmental sustainability perspective, helping to reduce the climate impact of the system. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of the system through a series of experiments conducted on a pilot plant for the freezing of fish products. Several operational variables were monitored and recorded, including evaporation temperature, condensation temperature, energy consumption, and freezing time of seafood products. The results of the experimental analysis highlighted the benefits deriving from the use of the modulating vapour injection scroll compressor with the R448A refrigerant. In particular, a significant reduction in energy consumption was recorded compared to conventional systems. The modulating capacity of the compressor made it possible to adapt the cold production to variations in the thermal load, ensuring optimal operation of the system and reducing energy waste. Furthermore, the use of an electronic expansion valve highlighted greater precision in the control of the evaporation temperature, with minimal deviation from the desired set point. This helped ensure better quality of the final product, reducing the risk of damage due to temperature changes and ensuring uniform freezing of the fish products. The freezing time of seafood has been significantly reduced thanks to the configuration of the entire system, allowing for faster production and greater production capacity of the plant. In conclusion, the use of a modulating vapour injection scroll compressor operating with R448A refrigerant has proven effective in improving the performance of a system for freezing fish products. This technology offers an optimal balance between energy efficiency, temperature control, and environmental sustainability, making it an advantageous choice for food industries.

Keywords: freezing, scroll compressor, energy efficiency, vapour injection

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Authors: Yujie Yuan, Yiyang Fan, Hong Fan

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Objective: The RNA methylation recognition protein Aly/REF export factor (ALYREF) is considered one type of “reader” protein acting as a recognition protein of m5C, has been reported involved in several biological progresses including cancer initiation and progression. 5-methylcytosine (m5C) is a conserved and prevalent RNA modification in all species, as accumulating evidence suggests its role in the promotion of tumorigenesis. It has been claimed that ALYREF mediates nuclear export of mRNA with m5C modification and regulates biological effects of cancer cells. However, the systematical regulatory pathways of ALYREF in cancer tissues have not been clarified, yet. Methods: The expression level of ALYREF in pan-cancer and their normal tissues was compared through the data acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer data analysis Portal UALCAN was used to analyze the relationship between ALYREF and clinical pathological features. The relationship between the expression level of ALYREF and prognosis of pan-cancer, and the correlation genes of ALYREF were figured out by using Gene Expression Correlation Analysis database GEPIA. Immune related genes were obtained from TISIDB (an integrated repository portal for tumor-immune system interactions). Immune-related research was conducted by using Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumor tissues using Expression data (ESTIMATE) and TIMER. Results: Based on the data acquired from TCGA, ALYREF has an obviously higher-level expression in various types of cancers compared with relevant normal tissues excluding thyroid carcinoma and kidney chromophobe. The immunohistochemical images on The Human Protein Atlas showed that ALYREF can be detected in cytoplasm, membrane, but mainly located in nuclear. In addition, a higher expression level of ALYREF in tumor tissue generates a poor prognosis in majority of cancers. According to the above results, cancers with a higher expression level of ALYREF compared with normal tissues and a significant correlation between ALYREF and prognosis were selected for further analysis. By using TISIDB, we found that portion of ALYREF co-expression genes (such as BIRC5, H2AFZ, CCDC137, TK1, and PPM1G) with high Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) were involved in anti-tumor immunity or affect resistance or sensitivity to T cell-mediated killing. Furthermore, based on the results acquired from GEPIA, there was significant correlation between ALYREF and PD-L1. It was exposed that there is a negative correlation between the expression level of ALYREF and ESTIMATE score. Conclusion: The present study indicated that ALYREF plays a vital and universal role in cancer initiation and progression of pan-cancer through regulating mitotic progression, DNA synthesis and metabolic process, and RNA processing. The correlation between ALYREF and PD-L1 implied ALYREF may affect the therapeutic effect of immunotherapy of tumor. More evidence revealed that ALYREF may play an important role in tumor immunomodulation. The correlation between ALYREF and immune cell infiltration level indicated that ALYREF can be a potential therapeutic target. Exploring the regulatory mechanism of ALYREF in tumor tissues may expose the reason for poor efficacy of immunotherapy and offer more directions of tumor treatment.

Keywords: ALYREF, pan-cancer, immunotherapy, PD-L1

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Authors: Nidhi Vijay, A. K. Sharma

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Many industrial applications require power from dc source. DC-DC boost converters are now being used all over the world for rapid transit system. Although these provide high efficiency, smooth control, fast response and regeneration, conventional DC-DC boost converters are unable to provide high step up voltage gain due to effect of power switches, rectifier diodes and equivalent series resistance of inductor and capacitor. This paper proposes new transformerless dc-dc converters to achieve high step up voltage gain as compared to the conventional converter without an extremely high duty ratio. Only one power stage is used in this converter. Steady-state analysis of voltage gain is discussed in brief. Finally, a comparative analysis is given in order to verify the results.

Keywords: MATLAB, DC-DC boost converter, voltage gain, voltage stress

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Authors: Akwesi Assensoh-Kodua

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Online Social Networks (OSN) has come and gone, yet the explosion of business activities on such platforms continuous to surge high, giving advantage to the bold entrepreneurs. It is therefore a practical requirement that practitioners and researchers understand the key determinants of costumers’ online social network business activities and continuance intention. An exploratory literature research to examine OSN continuous intention of business participants on OSN revealed that the practice of doing business on social network has come to stay and the following factors are the likely drivers for this new business model: perceived trust, perceived ease of use, confirmation, habit, social norm, perceived behavioural control, expected benefit, and satisfaction are the most probable factors that can lead to online social network (OSN) continuance intention.

Keywords: online social network, continuance intention, business continuance

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Authors: Dengpan Wu, Dan Liu

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In view of the present cloud security problem has increasingly become one of the major obstacles hindering the development of the cloud computing, put forward a kind of memory based on Xen cloud environment security isolation technology implementation. And based on Xen virtual machine monitor system, analysis of the model of memory virtualization is implemented, using Xen memory virtualization system mechanism of super calls and grant table, based on the virtual machine manager internal implementation of access control module (ACM) to design the security isolation system memory. Experiments show that, the system can effectively isolate different customer domain OS between illegal access to memory data.

Keywords: cloud security, memory isolation, xen, virtual machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 390

Authors: A. Cilek, S. Berberoglu, A. Akin Tanriover, C. Donmez

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Wetlands are the areas which have important effects and functions on protecting human life, adjust to nature, and biological variety, besides being potential exploitation sources. Observing the changes in these sensitive areas is important to study for data collecting and correct planning for the future. Remote sensing and Geographic Information System are being increasingly used for environmental studies such as biotope mapping and habitat monitoring. Akyatan Lagoon, one of the most important wetlands in Turkey, has been facing serious threats from agricultural applications in recent years. In this study, seasonal and temporal monitoring in wetlands system are determined by using remotely sensed data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) between 1985 and 2015. The research method is based on classifying and mapping biotopes in the study area. The natural biotope types were determined as coastal sand dunes, salt marshes, river beds, coastal woods, lakes, lagoons.

Keywords: biotope mapping, GIS, remote sensing, wetlands

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Authors: D. P. Gangwar

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Identification of human through facial images has got great importance in forensic science. The video recordings, CCTV footage, passports, driver licenses and other related documents are invariably sent to the laboratory for comparison of the questioned photographs as well as video recordings with suspected photographs/recordings to prove the identity of a person. More than 300 questioned and 300 control photographs received in actual crime cases, received from various investigation agencies, have been compared by me so far using various familiar analysis and comparison techniques such as Holistic comparison, Morphological analysis, Photo-anthropometry and superimposition. On the basis of findings obtained during the examination huge photo exhibits, a realistic and comprehensive technique has been proposed which could be very useful for forensic.

Keywords: CCTV Images, facial features, photo-anthropometry, superimposition

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Authors: Tugrul Oktay, Mehmet Konar, Mustafa Soylak, Firat Sal, Murat Onay, Orhan Kizilkaya

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In this paper, autonomous performance of a small manufactured unmanned helicopter is tried to be increased. For this purpose, a small unmanned helicopter is manufactured in Erciyes University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It is called as ZANKA-Heli-I. For performance maximization, autopilot parameters are determined via minimizing a cost function consisting of flight performance parameters such as settling time, rise time, overshoot during trajectory tracking. For this purpose, a stochastic optimization method named as simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation is benefited. Using this approach, considerable autonomous performance increase (around %23) is obtained.

Keywords: small helicopters, hierarchical control, stochastic optimization, autonomous performance maximization, autopilots

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Authors: Jongwan Kim

Abstract:

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is a subject covering the study, plan, and design of interactions between humans and computers. The prevalent use of digital mobile devices is increasing the need for education and research on HCI. This work is focused on a new education method geared towards reducing errors while developing application programs that incorporate role-changing brainstorming techniques during HCI design process. The proposed method has been applied to a capstone design course in the last spring semester. Students discovered some examples about UI design improvement and their error discovering and reducing capability was promoted. An UI design improvement, PC voice control for people with disabilities as an assistive technology examplar, will be presented. The improvement of these students' design ability will be helpful to the real field work.

Keywords: HCI, design process, error reducing education, role-changing brainstorming, assistive technology

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Authors: Zahirah Dhurmeea, Iker Zudaire, Heidi Pethybridge, Emmanuel Chassot, Maria Cedras, Natacha Nikolic, Jerome Bourjea, Wendy West, Chandani Appadoo, Nathalie Bodin

Abstract:

Scientific advice on the status of fish stocks relies on indicators that are based on strong assumptions on biological parameters such as condition, maturity and fecundity. Currently, information on the biology of albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga, in the Indian Ocean is scarce. Consequently, many parameters used in stock assessment models for Indian Ocean albacore originate largely from other studied stocks or species of tuna. Inclusion of incorrect biological data in stock assessment models would lead to inappropriate estimates of stock status used by fisheries manager’s to establish future catch allowances. The reproductive biology of albacore tuna in the western Indian Ocean was examined through analysis of the sex ratio, spawning season, length-at-maturity (L50), spawning frequency, fecundity and fish condition. In addition, the total lipid content (TL) and lipid class composition in the gonads, liver and muscle tissues of female albacore during the reproductive cycle was investigated. A total of 923 female and 867 male albacore were sampled from 2013 to 2015. A bias in sex-ratio was found in favour of females with fork length (LF) <100 cm. Using histological analyses and gonadosomatic index, spawning was found to occur between 10°S and 30°S, mainly to the east of Madagascar from October to January. Large females contributed more to reproduction through their longer spawning period compared to small individuals. The L50 (mean ± standard error) of female albacore was estimated at 85.3 ± 0.7 cm LF at the vitellogenic 3 oocyte stage maturity threshold. Albacore spawn on average every 2.2 days within the spawning region and spawning months from November to January. Batch fecundity varied between 0.26 and 2.09 million eggs and the relative batch fecundity (mean  standard deviation) was estimated at 53.4 ± 23.2 oocytes g-1 of somatic-gutted weight. Depending on the maturity stage, TL in ovaries ranged from 7.5 to 577.8 mg g-1 of wet weight (ww) with different proportions of phospholipids (PL), wax esters (WE), triacylglycerol (TAG) and sterol (ST). The highest TL were observed in immature (mostly TAG and PL) and spawning capable ovaries (mostly PL, WE and TAG). Liver TL varied from 21.1 to 294.8 mg g-1 (ww) and acted as an energy (mainly TAG and PL) storage prior to reproduction when the lowest TL was observed. Muscle TL varied from 2.0 to 71.7 g-1 (ww) in mature females without a clear pattern between maturity stages, although higher values of up to 117.3 g-1 (ww) was found in immature females. TL results suggest that albacore could be viewed predominantly as a capital breeder relying mostly on lipids stored before the onset of reproduction and with little additional energy derived from feeding. This study is the first one to provide new information on the reproductive development and classification of albacore in the western Indian Ocean. The reproductive parameters will reduce uncertainty in current stock assessment models which will eventually promote sustainability of the fishery.

Keywords: condition, size-at-maturity, spawning behaviour, temperate tuna, total lipid content

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Authors: Dinesh Sivaguru, Kamal Thilakasiri

Abstract:

Preventing money laundering and terrorist financing is a major national and international problem today. Several attempts have been made to prevent money laundering by national and international dimension. These are often counteracted by the multi dynamic nature of the crimes. However, launders are often to use remittance systems to clean their ill-gotten money. This study presents the role of domestic financial institutions and the effective practices and actions should implement within domestic financial institutions to control and prevent financial crimes. This thesis highlights the progress that is required to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, further it is an original contribution to the knowledge in an under researched field in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: money laundering, terrorists financing, financial institutions, regulatory bodies

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Authors: Péter Tanos, József Kovács, Angéla Anda, Gábor Várbíró, Sándor Molnár, István Gábor Hatvani

Abstract:

The River Tisza is the second largest river in Central Europe. In this study, Morlet wavelet spectrum (periodicity) analysis was used with chemical, biological and physical water quality data for the Hungarian section of the River Tisza. In the research 15, water quality parameters measured at 14 sampling sites in the River Tisza and 4 sampling sites in the main artificial changes were assessed for the time period 1993 - 2005. Results show that annual periodicity was not always to be found in the water quality parameters, at least at certain sampling sites. Periodicity was found to vary over space and time, but in general, an increase was observed in the company of higher trophic states of the river heading downstream.

Keywords: annual periodicity water quality, spatiotemporal variability of periodic behavior, Morlet wavelet spectrum analysis, River Tisza

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Authors: J. R. Wang, W. Y. Li, H. T. Lin, B. H. Lee, C. Shih, S. W. Chen

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In this research, the TRACE/PARCS model of Lungmen ABWR has been developed for verification of ultimate response guideline (URG) efficiency. This ultimate measure was named as DIVing plan, abbreviated from system depressurization, water injection and containment venting. The simulation initial condition is 100% rated power/100% rated core flow. This research focuses on the estimation of the time when the fuel might be damaged with no water injection by using TRACE/PARCS first. Then, the effect of the reactor core isolation system (RCIC), control depressurization and ac-independent water addition system (ACIWA), which can provide the injection with 950 gpm are also estimated for the station blackout (SBO) transient.

Keywords: ABWR, TRACE, safety analysis, PARCS

Procedia PDF Downloads 444