Search results for: self-emulsifying drug delivery system

Authors: Viktória Sugár, Attila Talamon, András Horkai, Michihiro Kita

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The dense urban fabric of the 7^th district of Budapest -known as the former Jewish Quarter-, contains mainly historical style, multi-story tenement houses with courtyards. The high population density and the unsatisfactory energetic state of the buildings result high energy consumption. As a preliminary survey of a complex rehabilitation plan, the authors aim to determine the energy demand of the area. The energy demand was calculated by analyzing the structure and the energy consumption of each building by using Geographic Information System (GIS) methods. The carbon dioxide emission was also calculated, to assess the potential of reducing the present state value by complex structural and energetic rehabilitation. As a main focus of the survey, an energy intensity map has been created about the area.

Keywords: CO₂, energy intensity map, geographic information system (GIS), Hungary, Jewish quarter, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Nadeen Eltoukhy, Sahar S. Sheta, Walaa Elnaggar, Karim Bakr

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Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the clinical efficacy and side effects of oral versus intralesional propranolol treatment of infantile capillary hemangiomas in infants. Methods: The study enrolled 40 infants diagnosed with infantile capillary hemangiomas. Patients were divided into 2 groups: Group A (Non-invasive group) included 20 infants who received oral propranolol hydrochloride starting at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day BID, then increased to a max of 2 mg/kg/day BID gradually over 2 weeks for 3 months. Group B (Invasive group) included 20 infants who received intralesional propranolol injection at a dose of 1 mg/mL; the volume of the injected drug depended on the size of the lesion (0.2 mL injected per cm of lesion diameter), with a maximum volume of 1 mL for a lesion of 5 cm diameter under complete aseptic conditions in the operating theater. Results: At three months after initiating treatment, the circumferential size of the hemangioma showed a statistically significant decrease in both groups; in Group A from 3.66±2.89 cm to 1.56±1.26 cm with p-value <0.05 and in Group B from 2.99±2.73 cm to 1.32±1.18 cm with p-value <0.05. There is no statistically significant comparative difference between the two groups (p-value = 0.538 = insignificant). Regarding the complications of oral propranolol, one patient (5%) had bradycardia, and one patient (5%) had diarrhea. In the injection group, 20 patients (100%) had local edema, and one patient (5%) had a local infection. Conclusions: Both oral non-invasive and intralesional invasive propranolol are safely used to successfully treat and decrease the size of infantile hemangioma while showing no statistically comparative difference between both treatment techniques.

Keywords: hemangioma, oral beta blocker, intralesional beta blocker, infants

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Guncel Ozturk

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Background: Rhinoplasty is the most commonly performed cosmetic operations in plastic surgery. Maneuvers used in rhinoplasty lead to a firm and stiff nasal tip in the early postoperative months. This unnatural stability of the nose may easily cause distortion in the reshaped nose after severe trauma. Moreover, a firm nasal tip may cause difficulties in performing activities such as touching, hugging, or kissing. Decreasing the stability and increasing the mobility of the nasal tip would help rhinoplasty patients to avoid these small but relatively important problems. Methods: We use delivery approach with closed rhinoplasty and changed positions of intranasal incisions to reach a dynamic and mobile nose. A total of 203 patients who had undergone primary closed rhinoplasty in private practice were inspected retrospectively. Posterior strut flap that was connected with connective tissues in the caudal of septum and the medial crurals were formed. Cartilage of the posterior strut graft was left 2 mm thick in the distal part of septum, it was cut vertically, and the connective tissue in the distal part was preserved. Results: The median patient age was 24 (range 17-42) years. The median follow-up period was15.2 (range12-26) months. Patient satisfaction was assessed with the 'Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation' (ROE) questionnaire. Twelve months after surgeries, 87.5% of patients reported excellent outcomes, according to ROE. Conclusion: The soft tissue connections between that segment and surrounding structures should be preserved to save the support of the tip while having a mobile tip at the same time with this method. These modifications would access to a mobile, non-stiff, and dynamic nasal tip in the early postoperative months. Further and prospective studies should be performed for supporting this method.

Keywords: closed rhinoplasty, dynamic, mobile, tip

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Qazi Mahdia Ghyas

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Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) has implemented in Bangladesh to ensure the good Governance. e-GP has transformed Bangladesh's procurement process electronically. But, to our best knowledge, there is no study to understand the key features of e-GP in Bangladesh. So, this study tries to identify the features of performance improvement after implementing an e-GP system that will help for further improvements. Data was collected from the PROMIS Overall Report (Central Procurement Technical Unit website) for the financial year from Q1 _July- Sep 2015-16 to Q4 _Apr- Jun 2021-22. This study did component factor analysis on KPIs and found nineteen KPIs that are statistically significant and represent time savings, efficiency, accountability, anti-corruption and compliance key features in procurement activities of e-GP. Based on the analysis, some practical measures have been recommended for better improvement of e-GP. This study has some limitations. Because of having multicollinearity issues, all the 42 KPIs (except 19) did not show a good fit for component factor analysis.

Keywords: public procurement, electronic government procurement, KPI, performance evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: K. Mirudhula, R. Saravanan

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Bhavani basin is the fourth largest Sub Basin in the Cauvery basin. The entire command area of all three major canals that takes off from the Bhavani river falls within the Erode District i.e. Lower Bhavani Project (LBP), Kodiveri and Kalingarayan canals. The LBP canal is a major source of irrigation in Erode District. Many of these canals are unlined and leakage takes place from them. Thus the seepage from the canal helps in recharging the wells in the area, enabling to get adequate water supply for the crops when water was not released from Bhavanisagar Dam. In this study, the groundwater recharge is determined by groundwater flow modeling using Visual MODFLOW model. For this purpose, three major natural sources of groundwater recharge are taken into consideration such as rainfall infiltration, canal seepage and return flow of irrigation. The model was run and ZONEBUDGET gives an idea about the amount of recharge from lined/unlined canal to the field. Unlined canal helps to recharge the groundwater about 20% more than the lined canal. The analysis reveals that the annual rainfall also has rapidly changed in this region. In the LBP canal Head reach meets their requirement with available quantity of water from the canal system. Tail end reach does not receive the required quantity of water because of seepage loss and conveyance loss. Hence the lined canal can be provided for full length of the main canal. Branch canals and minor distributaries are suggested to maintain the canals with unlined canal system.

Keywords: lower Bhavani basin, erode, groundwater flow modeling, irrigation practice, lined canal system

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: Masoud Fathi Kazerouni, Jens Schlemper, Klaus-Dieter Kuhnert

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Green planet is one of the Earth’s names which is known as a terrestrial planet and also can be named the fifth largest planet of the solar system as another scientific interpretation. Plants do not have a constant and steady distribution all around the world, and even plant species’ variations are not the same in one specific region. Presence of plants is not only limited to one field like botany; they exist in different fields such as literature and mythology and they hold useful and inestimable historical records. No one can imagine the world without oxygen which is produced mostly by plants. Their influences become more manifest since no other live species can exist on earth without plants as they form the basic food staples too. Regulation of water cycle and oxygen production are the other roles of plants. The roles affect environment and climate. Plants are the main components of agricultural activities. Many countries benefit from these activities. Therefore, plants have impacts on political and economic situations and future of countries. Due to importance of plants and their roles, study of plants is essential in various fields. Consideration of their different applications leads to focus on details of them too. Automatic recognition of plants is a novel field to contribute other researches and future of studies. Moreover, plants can survive their life in different places and regions by means of adaptations. Therefore, adaptations are their special factors to help them in hard life situations. Weather condition is one of the parameters which affect plants life and their existence in one area. Recognition of plants in different weather conditions is a new window of research in the field. Only natural images are usable to consider weather conditions as new factors. Thus, it will be a generalized and useful system. In order to have a general system, distance from the camera to plants is considered as another factor. The other considered factor is change of light intensity in environment as it changes during the day. Adding these factors leads to a huge challenge to invent an accurate and secure system. Development of an efficient plant recognition system is essential and effective. One important component of plant is leaf which can be used to implement automatic systems for plant recognition without any human interface and interaction. Due to the nature of used images, characteristic investigation of plants is done. Leaves of plants are the first characteristics to select as trusty parts. Four different plant species are specified for the goal to classify them with an accurate system. The current paper is devoted to principal directions of the proposed methods and implemented system, image dataset, and results. The procedure of algorithm and classification is explained in details. First steps, feature detection and description of visual information, are outperformed by using Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), HARRIS-SIFT, and FAST-SIFT methods. The accuracy of the implemented methods is computed. In addition to comparison, robustness and efficiency of results in different conditions are investigated and explained.

Keywords: SIFT combination, feature extraction, feature detection, natural images, natural plant recognition, HARRIS-SIFT, FAST-SIFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Ankit Patil, Tushar D. Deshpande, Yogesh M. Nimdeo

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Pickering emulsions (PE) were developed in response to increased demand for organic, eco-friendly, and biocompatible products. These emulsions are usually stabilized by solid particles. In this research, we created chitosan-based sunflower oil-in-water (O/W) PE without the need for a surfactant. In our work, we employed chitosan, a biopolymer derived from chitin, as a stabilizer. This decision was influenced by chitosan's biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial capabilities. It also has other functional properties, such as antioxidant activity, a probiotic delivery mechanism, and the ability to encapsulate bioactive compounds. The purpose of this study was to govern key parameters that can be changed to obtain stable PE, such as the concentration of chitosan (0.3-0.5 wt.%), the concentration of oil (0.8-1 vol%), the pH of the emulsion (3-7) manipulated by the addition of 1M HCl/ 4M NaOH, and the amount of electrolyte (NaCl-0-300mM) added to increase or decrease ionic strength. A careful combination of these properties resulted in the production of the most stable and optimal PE. Particle size study found that emulsions with pH 6, 0.4% chitosan, and 300 mM salts were exceptionally stable, with droplet size 886 nm, PI of 0.1702, and zeta potential of 32.753.83 mV. It is fair to infer that when ionic strength rises, particle size, zeta potential, and PI value decrease. A lower PI value suggests that emulsion nanoparticles are more homogeneous. The addition of sodium chloride increases the ionic strength of the emulsion, facilitating the formation of more compact and ordered particle layers. These findings provide light on the creation of stimulus-responsive chitosan-based PE capable of encapsulating bioactive materials, functioning as antioxidants, and serving as food-grade emulsifiers.

Keywords: pickering emulsion, biocompatibility, eco-friendly, chitosan

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: V. K. Tewari, M. Hussain, H. K. D. Gupta

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B-Methylprednisolone-level-1-benefit (20%) usually given in paraplegia (but within 8hrs). Patients wait-long-duration for physiological-recovery. Intrathecal-Sodium-Nitroprusside(ITSNP) has been used-in vasospasm-due-to-subarachnoid-hemorrhage. ITSNP-has been studied-here for wide-window-period-range for-treatment, fast-recovery/affordability. 2- for acute-cases-and 1-mechanism-for chronic-cases, which-are-interrelated, are being-proposed-for-physiological-recovery. retrograde-neurotransmission, vasospasm and long-term-potentiation-(ltp) mechanisms are proposed here for recovery. It’s a case-control-prospective-study. 82paraplegia-patients(10patients taken as control-no superfusion or dextrose5% superfusion and 72patients as ITSNP-group). The mean time for superfusion was 14.11 days. ITSNP administered at a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg bo wt. Pre/post ITSNP monitored by SSEP/MEP. After-2-Hours in ITSNP-group Mean-Change-From-Baseline-Asia Motor/Sensory-Score 13.84%/13.10%, after-24-hours MOTOR-1.27-points decrease(3.77%) and SENSORY 10.5points-increase(6.22%)as compared to Control-group no-change noted upto 24-hours, At-7days ITSNP motor/sensory;11.56%/6.22% as compared to Control-group 7.60/4.48%, At-2-months in ITSNP 27.69%/6.22% as compared to Control-group 16.02/4.5%. SSEP/MEP-documented-improvements-noted. ITSNP, a-swift-acting-drug in treatment-of-paraplegia, is effective within-two-hours(mean-change-MOTOR-13.84% and SENSORY-13.10%) on-mean14.11th postparaplegia-day with a small-detrimental-response after-24-hours which-recovers-fast.

Keywords: paraplegias, intrathecal sodium nitroprusside, retrograde transmission, the 10, 000 fold effect, perforators, vasodilatations, long term potenciations

Procedia PDF Downloads 413

Authors: António J. Gano, Carmen Rangel

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Currently, electric energy storage systems for stationary applications have known an increasing interest, namely with the integration of local renewable energy power sources into energy communities. Li-ion batteries are considered the leading electric storage devices to achieve this integration, and Battery Management Systems (BMS) are decisive for their control and optimum performance. In this work, the advancement of a smart BMS (sBMS) prototype with a modular distributed topology is described. The system, still under development, has a distributed architecture with modular characteristics to operate with different battery pack topologies and charge capacities, integrating adaptive algorithms for functional state real-time monitoring and management of multicellular Li-ion batteries, and is intended for application in the context of a local energy community fed by renewable energy sources. This sBMS system includes different developed hardware units: (1) Cell monitoring units (CMUs) for interfacing with each individual cell or module monitoring within the battery pack; (2) Battery monitoring and switching unit (BMU) for global battery pack monitoring, thermal control and functional operating state switching; (3) Main management and local control unit (MCU) for local sBMS’s management and control, also serving as a communications gateway to external systems and devices. This architecture is fully expandable to battery packs with a large number of cells, or modules, interconnected in series, as the several units have local data acquisition and processing capabilities, communicating over a standard CAN bus and will be able to operate almost autonomously. The CMU units are intended to be used with Li-ion cells but can be used with other cell chemistries, with output voltages within the 2.5 to 5 V range. The different unit’s characteristics and specifications are described, including the different implemented hardware solutions. The developed hardware supports both passive and active methods for charge equalization, considered fundamental functionalities for optimizing the performance and the useful lifetime of a Li-ion battery package. The functional characteristics of the different units of this sBMS system, including different process variables data acquisition using a flexible set of sensors, can support the development of custom algorithms for estimating the parameters defining the functional states of the battery pack (State-of-Charge, State-of-Health, etc.) as well as different charge equalizing strategies and algorithms. This sBMS system is intended to interface with other systems and devices using standard communication protocols, like those used by the Internet of Things. In the future, this sBMS architecture can evolve to a fully decentralized topology, with all the units using Wi-Fi protocols and integrating a mesh network, making unnecessary the MCU unit. The status of the work in progress is reported, leading to conclusions on the system already executed, considering the implemented hardware solution, not only as fully functional advanced and configurable battery management system but also as a platform for developing custom algorithms and optimizing strategies to achieve better performance of electric energy stationary storage devices.

Keywords: Li-ion battery, smart BMS, stationary electric storage, distributed BMS

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Jamaiah H. Yahaya, Aziz Deraman, Abdul Razak Hamdan, Yusmadi Yah Jusoh

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One of the most essential issues in software products is to maintain it relevancy to the dynamics of the user’s requirements and expectation. Many studies have been carried out in quality aspect of software products to overcome these problems. Previous software quality assessment models and metrics have been introduced with strengths and limitations. In order to enhance the assurance and buoyancy of the software products, certification models have been introduced and developed. From our previous experiences in certification exercises and case studies collaborating with several agencies in Malaysia, the requirements for user based software certification approach is identified and demanded. The emergence of social network applications, the new development approach such as agile method and other varieties of software in the market have led to the domination of users over the software. As software become more accessible to the public through internet applications, users are becoming more critical in the quality of the services provided by the software. There are several categories of users in web-based systems with different interests and perspectives. The classifications and metrics are identified through brain storming approach with includes researchers, users and experts in this area. The new paradigm in software quality assessment is the main focus in our research. This paper discusses the classifications of users in web-based software system assessment and their associated factors and metrics for quality measurement. The quality model is derived based on IEEE structure and FCM model. The developments are beneficial and valuable to overcome the constraints and improve the application of software certification model in future.

Keywords: software certification model, user centric approach, software quality factors, metrics and measurements, web-based system

Procedia PDF Downloads 408

Authors: Prakash Singh, Thembinkosi Twalo

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The sustainability of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), in South Africa, is being threatened by the reported cases of poor administration, weak management of resources, inappropriate job performance, and inappropriate job behaviour of some of the workers. Since the structural-functionalists assume that formal education is a solution to societal challenges, it therefore means that the BCMM should not be experiencing this threat since many of its workers have various levels of formal education. Consequently, this study using the mixed method research approach, set out to investigate the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education at the BCMM. Considering the impact of human factors in the labour process, this study draws attention to the divergent objectives of skill and skill bearer, with the application of knowledge subject to the knowledge bearer’s motives, will, attitudes, ethics and values. Consequently, inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices could be due to numerous factors such as lack of the necessary capabilities or refusal to apply what has been learnt due to racial or other prejudices. The role of the human factor in the labour process is a serious omission in human capital theory, which regards schooling as the only factor contributing to the ability to do a job. For this reason this study’s theoretical framework is an amalgamation of the four theories - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital – in an effort to obtain a broader view of the factors that shape job behaviour and performance. Since it has been established that human nature plays a crucial role in how workers undertake their responsibilities, it is important that this be taken into consideration in the BCMM’s monitoring and evaluation of the workers’ job performance practices. Hence, this exploratory study brings to the fore, the effects of poor job performance practices on the job satisfaction of workers.

Keywords: human capital, poor job performance practices, service delivery, workers’ job satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: Sakapas Saengchai

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A Study on Strengthening the Security of the Thai-Myanmar Border Trade Area of the people in the Mae Sot customs checkpoint area, Tak province, was designed as a qualitative research study. Its objectives were to study the principles of strengthening border trade security and enhancing people's participation. To develop a border trade model that enhances the spatial economy and improves people's quality of life by collecting data using a participant observation method. In-depth interview group chats border checkpoint administrators, Mae Sot customs checkpoint, Tak province, private entrepreneurs, community leaders, and the opening of a community forum to exchange opinions with people in the area. The results of the study found that 1. Security development is to promote crime reduction. Reduce drug trafficking problems Smuggling and human trafficking have been reduced. Including planning and preparation to protect people from terrorism, epidemics, and communicable diseases, including cooperation with Burma on border rules for people and workers, 2. Wealth development is to promote investment. Transport links value chain logistics Cross-border goods and services on the Thai-Myanmar border Both amending regulations and laws to promote fair trade. Emphasis on convenient and fast service as well as promoting the Thai border area to be a tourist attraction that can create prosperity and income for the community in the area By using balanced natural resources, with production and consumption that are environmentally friendly, and emphasizes the participation of the public sector, the private sector, and people from all sectors in the sustainable development of the Thai border.

Keywords: security, border trade, customs, participation, people

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: S. K. Ashiquer Rahman

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Innovation, sustainability, and higher education are vital issues of the knowledge economy and society. In fact, the concentration on these issues, educators and researchers convinced the learners to prepare productive citizens for the knowledge economy and society, and many initiatives have been launched worldwide. The concept of a knowledge economy requires simultaneous and balanced progress in three dimensions (Innovation, Education and Sustainability) which are totally interdependent and correlated. The paper discusses the importance of an integrated approach to the knowledge economy and society from the perspective of higher education institutions. It remarks on the advent of a knowledge-based economy and society and the need for the combination of Innovation, sustainability, and education. This paper introduces nine (9) important issues or challenges of higher education institutions that have emphasized, cross-linked each other, and combined in a new education system that can form a new generation for the completive world as well as able to manage the knowledge-based economy and societal system. Moreover, the education system must be the foundation for building the necessary knowledge-based economy and society, which must manage the innovation process through a more sustainable world. In this viewpoint, Innovation, sustainability and higher education are becoming more and more central in our economy and society, and it is directly associated with the possibility of global wealth distribution to the economy and society. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the knowledge-based economy and social paradigm in order to create the opportunity for higher education institutions' development. The paper uses the collective action methodologies to examine “the mechanisms and strategies” used by higher education institutions’ authority to accommodate an integrated pattern as per connecting behaviors of knowledge economy and society. The paper accomplishes that the combination of Innovation, sustainability and education is a very helpful approach to building a knowledge-based economy and society for practicing the higher education institution’s challenges.

Keywords: education, innovation, knowledge economy, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Manik Sharma

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Understanding the anatomy and normal anatomical variations of the lower limb arterial system is undeniably important not only to understand the pathology involving the vessels of the lower limb but also as a part of endovascular intervention and surgical planning in cases that demand them as a part of treatment. There have been very few cases of duplication of SFA cited in the literature, close to six worldwide and this being the seventh case in the world and first to be reported in the Indian population. We incidentally came across this normal variant during US lower limb (US-LL) duplex scan in a patient with claudicating pain in bilateral lower limbs hence suspected of having peripheral vascular disease. It was confirmed on CT-Peripheral Angiography (CT-PA), which was done successively.

Keywords: peripheral vascular disease, claudicating pain, normal anatomical variants, endovascular intervention, duplication, CT-peripheral angiography, duplex scan, Iohexol

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Tarek Taha Kandil

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In higher education, the use of automated grading systems is on the rise, automating the assessment of students' work and providing practical feedback. Sustainable Grader Scope addresses the environmental impact of these computational tasks. This system uses an AI-powered algorithm and is designed to minimize grading process emissions. It reduces carbon emissions through energy-efficient computing and carbon-conscious scheduling. Students submit their computational workloads to the system, which evaluates submissions using containers and a distributed infrastructure. A carbon-conscious scheduler manages workloads across global campuses, optimizing emissions using real-time carbon intensity data. This ensures the university stays within government-set emission limits while tracking and reducing its carbon footprint.

Keywords: sustainability, green graders, digital sustainable grader scope, environmental responsibility; higher education.

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Authors: Emery A. Coppola Jr., Suna Cinar, Ferenc Szidarovszky

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Over-pumping of groundwater resources is a serious problem world-wide. In addition to depleting this valuable resource, hydraulically connected sensitive ecological resources like wetlands and surface water bodies are often impacted and even destroyed by over-pumping. Effectively managing groundwater in a way that satisfy human demand while preserving natural resources is a daunting challenge that will only worsen with growing human populations and climate change. As presented in this paper, a numerical flow model developed for a hypothetical but realistic groundwater/surface water system was combined with formal optimization. Response coefficients were used in an optimization management model to maximize groundwater pumping in a complex, multi-layered aquifer system while protecting against groundwater over-draft, streamflow depletion, and wetland impacts. Pumping optimization was performed for different constraint sets that reflect different resource protection preferences, yielding significantly different optimal pumping solutions. A sensitivity analysis on the optimal solutions was performed on select response coefficients to identify differences between wet and dry periods. Stochastic optimization was also performed, where uncertainty associated with changing irrigation demand due to changing weather conditions are accounted for. One of the strengths of this optimization approach is that it can efficiently and accurately identify superior management strategies that minimize risk and adverse environmental impacts associated with groundwater pumping under different hydrologic conditions.

Keywords: numerical groundwater flow modeling, water management optimization, groundwater overdraft, streamflow depletion

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Gang Liu, Huimin Song, Can Wang, Runnan Zhang, Lu Fang

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Currently, resource sharing and system security are critical issues. This paper proposes a POL module composed of PRIV ILEGE attribute (PA), obligation and log which improves attribute based access control (ABAC) model in dynamically granting authorizations and revoking authorizations. The following describes the new model termed PABAC in terms of the POL module structure, attribute definitions, policy formulation and authorization architecture, which demonstrate the advantages of it. The POL module addresses the problems which are not predicted before and not described by access control policy. It can be one of the subject attributes or resource attributes according to the practical application, which enhances the flexibility of the model compared with ABAC. A scenario that illustrates how this model is applied to the real world is provided.

Keywords: access control, attribute based access control, granting authorizations, privilege, revoking authorizations, system security

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: Amos King'ori Githu

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Water safety is crucial for all ages, but particularly for children. In the past decade, preschool institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa have seen the inclusion of swimming as one of the co-curricular activities. However, these countries face challenges in adopting frameworks, staffing, and resources to heighten water safety, quality, and drowning prevention, hence the focus of this research. It is worth noting that drowning is a leading cause of injury-related deaths among children. Universally, the highest drowning rates occur among children aged 1-4 years and 5-9 years. Preschool children even stand a higher risk of drowning as they are active, eager, and curious to explore their environment. If not supervised closely around or in water, these children can drown quickly in just a few inches of water. Thus, this empirical review focuses on the identification, assessment, and analysis of water safety efforts to curb drowning among children and assess the quality of water to mitigate contamination that may eventually pose infection risks to the children. In addition, it outlines the use of behavioral theories and evaluation frameworks to guide the above. Notably, a search on ten databases was adopted for crucial peer-reviewed articles, and five were selected in the eventual review. This research relied extensively on secondary data to curb water infections and drowning-inflicted deaths among children. It suffices to say that interventions must be supported that adopt an array of strategies, are guided by planning and theory as well as evaluation frameworks, and are vast in intervention design, evaluation, and delivery methodology. Finally, this approach will offer solid evidence that can be shared to guide future practices and policies in preschools on child safety and drowning prevention.

Keywords: water quality and safety, drowning prevention, preschool children, sub-saharan Africa, supervision

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Authors: Chowduru Ramachandra Sharma, Shatunjay Rawat

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A false positive state is when the IDS/IPS identifies an activity as an attack, but the activity is acceptable behavior in the system. False positives in a Network Intrusion Detection System ( NIDS ) is an issue because they desensitize the administrator. It wastes computational power and valuable resources when rules are not tuned properly, which is the main issue with anomaly NIDS. Furthermore, most false positives reduction techniques are not performed during the real-time of attempted intrusions; instead, they have applied afterward on collected traffic data and generate alerts. Of course, false positives detection in ‘offline mode’ is tremendously valuable. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement here; automated techniques still need to reduce False Positives in real-time. This paper uses the Snort signature detection model to redirect the alerted attacks to Honeypots and verify attacks.

Keywords: honeypot, TPOT, snort, NIDS, honeybird, iptables, netfilter, redirection, attack detection, docker, snare, tanner

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Asimiyu Mohammed Jinadu

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Housing is a basic necessity of life. Housing plays a central role in the life of living organisms as it provides the basic platform for the life support systems in human settlements. It is considered a social service and a basic right. Despite the importance of housing, Nigeria as a nation is faced with the problem of quantitative and qualitative shortfall in the number of housing units required to accommodate the citizens. This study examined the accessibility and affordability problems of low-income housing in Nigeria. It relied on secondary data obtained for the records of government ministries and agencies. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis, and the information was presented in simple tables and charts. The findings show that over the years the government has provided serviced plots of land, owner occupier houses and mortgage loans for the people. As at 2016, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has completed a total of 23,038 housing units while another 14, 488 units were on-going under the Public Private Partnership scheme across the country. The study revealed that a total of 910, 671 housing units were proposed by the Government under the various low-income housing programmes between 1960 and 2017, but only 156, 336 units were delivered within the period, representing 17.17% success rate. Amongst others, the low-income group faced the problems of low access to and unaffordability of the few low-income housing delivered in Nigeria. The study recommended that all abandoned housing projects should be reviewed, rationalized, completed and made available to the targeted low-income people. Investment in micro housing finance, design and implementation of pro-poor housing programme and massive investment in innovative slum upgrading programmes by both the government and private sector are also recommended to ameliorate the housing problems of the low-income group in Nigeria.

Keywords: housing, low income group, problem, programme

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Hechmi Saidi, Noureddine Hamdi

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The performance of decode and forward (DF) multihop free space optical (FSO) scheme deploying multiple input multiple output (MIMO) configuration under gamma-gamma (GG) statistical distribution, that adopts M-ary pulse position modulation (MPPM) coding, is investigated. We have extracted exact and estimated values of symbol-error rates (SERs) respectively. The probability density function (PDF)’s closed-form formula is expressed for our designed system. Thanks to the use of DF multihop MIMO FSO configuration and MPPM signaling, atmospheric turbulence is combatted; hence the transmitted signal quality is improved.

Keywords: free space optical, gamma gamma channel, radio frequency, decode and forward, multiple-input multiple-output, M-ary pulse position modulation, symbol error rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Nadish Anand, Richard D. Gould

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A simplistic model is introduced for determining the thermal characteristics of a Low-rise Residential (LRR) building and then predicts the energy usage by its Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) system according to changes in weather conditions which are reflected in the Ambient Temperature (Outside Air Temperature). The LRR buildings are treated as a simple lump for solving the heat transfer problem and the model is derived using the lumped capacitance model of transient conduction heat transfer from bodies. Since most contemporary HVAC systems have a thermostat control which will have an offset temperature and user defined set point temperatures which define when the HVAC system will switch on and off. The aim is to predict without any error the Body Temperature (i.e. the Inside Air Temperature) which will estimate the switching on and off of the HVAC system. To validate the mathematical model derived from lumped capacitance we have used EnergyPlus simulation engine, which simulates Buildings with considerable accuracy. We have predicted through the low order model the Inside Air Temperature of a single house kept in three different climate zones (Detroit, Raleigh & Austin) and different orientations for summer and winter seasons. The prediction error from the model for the same day as that of model parameter calculation has showed an error of < 10% in winter for almost all the orientations and climate zones. Whereas the prediction error is only <10% for all the orientations in the summer season for climate zone at higher latitudes (Raleigh & Detroit). Possible factors responsible for the large variations are also noted in the work, paving way for future research.

Keywords: building energy, energy consumption, energy+, HVAC, low order model, lumped capacitance

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Authors: Shabnam Pashaei, Mohammadali Badamchizadeh

Abstract:

This paper presents a new fractional-order terminal sliding mode control for synchronization of two different fractional-order chaotic systems with uncertainty and external disturbances. A fractional-order integral type nonlinear switching surface is presented. Then, using the Lyapunov stability theory and sliding mode theory, a fractional-order control law is designed to synchronize two different fractional-order chaotic systems. Finally, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the performance and applicability of the proposed method. Based on numerical results, the proposed controller ensures that the states of the controlled fractional-order chaotic response system are asymptotically synchronized with the states of the drive system.

Keywords: terminal sliding mode control, fractional-order calculus, chaotic systems, synchronization

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Authors: Yue Meng, Lingyun Wei

Abstract:

In this paper, the coordination problem of a supply chain system composed of multiple retailers and manufacturers is studied under the background of the new retail supply chain. Taking a system composed of two retailers and one manufacturer as an example, this paper introduces an online store owned by the manufacturer to reflect the characteristics of the combination of online and offline new retail. Then, this paper gives the conditions that need to be satisfied to realize the coordination between retailers and manufacturers, such as the revenue sharing coefficient. The supply chain coordination model is compared with the newsboy model through a specific example. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that the profits of the coordinated supply chain and its members are better than the corresponding profits under the newsboy model; that is, the coordination of the supply chain is realized by using the revenue sharing contract and the transshipment fund mechanism.

Keywords: transshipment, coordination, multi-retailer, revenue-sharing contract

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Authors: Salina Saddick, Mohamed Afifi, Osama Abuznadah

Abstract:

This study was carried out to determine the median lethal concentrations (LC50) of Zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) on Oreochromis niloticus and Tilapia zillii. The biochemical and molecular potential effects of ZnNPs (500 and 2000 μg L−1) on the antioxidant system in the brain tissue of O. niloticus and T. zillii were investigated. Four hundred fish were used for acute and sub-acute studies. ZnNP LC50 concentrations were investigated in O. niloticus and T. zillii. The effect of 500 and 2000 μg L−1 ZnNPs on brain antioxidants of O. niloticus and T. zillii was investigated. The result indicated that 69 h LC50 was 5.5 ± 0.6 and 5.6 ± 0.4 for O. nilotica and T. zillii, respectively. Fish exposed to 500 μg L−1 ZnNPs showed a significant increase in reduced glutathione (GSH), total glutathione (tGSH) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity and gene expression. On the contrary, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels significantly decreased. Meanwhile, fish exposed to 2000 μg L−1 ZnNPs showed a significant decrease of GSH, tGSH levels, SOD, CAT, GR, GPx and GST activity and gene expression. On the contrary, MDA levels significantly increased. It was concluded that, the 96 h LC50 of ZnNPs was 5.5 ± 0.6 and 5.6 ± 0.4 for O. nilotica and T. zillii, respectively. ZnNPs in exposure concentrations of 2000 μg/L induced a deleterious effect on the brain antioxidant system of O. nilotica and T. zillii. In contrast, ZnNPs in exposure concentrations of 500 μg L−1 produced an inductive effect on the brain antioxidant system of O. nilotica and T. zillii.

Keywords: ZnNPs, LC50, antioxidants, O. nilotica

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Authors: Watcharet Kongwarakom, Tosaphol Ratniyomchai, Thanatchai Kulworawanichpong

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This paper presents a design and analysis of wireless charging lane system (WCLS) for light rail transit (LRT) by considering the performance of wireless charging, traffic conditions and energy consumption drawn by the LRT system. The dynamic of the vehicle movement in terms of the vehicle speed profile during running on the WCLS, a dwell time during stopping at the station for taking the WCLS and the capacity of the WCLS in each section are taken into account to alignment design of the WCLS. This paper proposes a case study of the design of the WCLS into 2 sub-cases including continuous and discontinuous WCLS with the same distance of WCLS in total. The energy consumption by the LRT through the WCLS with the different designs of the WCLS is compared to find out the better configuration of those two cases by considering the best performance of the power transfer between the LRT and the WCLS.

Keywords: Light rail transit, Wireless charging lane, Energy consumption, Power transfer

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Authors: Marina Kapsali, John S. Anagnostopoulos

Abstract:

Greek islands’ interconnection (IC) with larger power systems, such as the mainland grid, is a crucial issue that has attracted a lot of interest; however, the recent economic recession that the country undergoes together with the highly capital intensive nature of this kind of projects have stalled or sifted the development of many of those on a more long-term basis. On the other hand, most of Greek islands are still heavily dependent on the lengthy and costly supply chain of oil imports whilst the majority of them exhibit excellent potential for wind energy (WE) applications. In this respect, the main purpose of the present work is to investigate −through a parametric study which varies both in wind farm (WF) and submarine IC capacities− the impact of large-scale WE development on the IC of the third in size island of Greece (Lesbos) with the mainland system. The energy and economic performance of the system is simulated over a 25-year evaluation period assuming two possible scenarios, i.e. S(a): without the contribution of the local Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and S(b): the TPP is maintained to ensure electrification of the island. The economic feasibility of the two options is investigated in terms of determining their Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) including also a sensitivity analysis on the worst/reference/best Cases. According to the results, Lesbos island IC presents considerable economic interest for covering part of island’s future electrification needs with WE having a vital role in this challenging venture.

Keywords: electricity generation cost, levelized cost of energy, mainland grid, wind energy rejection

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Authors: Serban Stere, Stefan Burciu

Abstract:

The challenging and continuously growing competition in the urban freight transport market emphasizes the need for optimal planning of transportation processes in terms of identifying the solution of consolidating traffic flows in congested urban areas. The aim of the present paper is to present the mathematical framework and propose a methodology of combining urban traffic flows between the distribution centers located at the boundary of a congested urban area. The three scenarios regarding traffic flow between consolidation centers that are taken into consideration in the paper are based on the same characteristics of traffic flows. The scenarios differ in terms of the accessibility of the four consolidation centers given by the infrastructure, the connections between them, and the possibility of consolidating traffic flows for one or multiple destinations. Also, synthetical indicators will allow us to compare the scenarios considered and chose the indicated for our distribution system.

Keywords: distribution system, single and multiple destinations, urban consolidation centers, traffic flow consolidation schemes

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Authors: Prem K. Mony, Bharadwaj Amrutur, Prashanth Thankachan, Swarnarekha Bhat, Suman Rao, Maryann Washington, Annamma Thomas, N. Sheela, Hiteshwar Rao, Sumi Antony

Abstract:

The disease burden among mothers and newborns is caused mostly by a handful of avoidable conditions occurring around the time of childbirth and within the first month following delivery. Real-time monitoring of vital parameters of mothers and neonates offers a potential opportunity to impact access as well as the quality of care in vulnerable populations. We describe the design, development and testing of an innovative wearable device for remote biomonitoring (RBM) of body temperatures in mothers and neonates in a hospital in southern India. The architecture consists of: [1] a low-cost, wearable sensor tag; [2] a gateway device for ‘real-time’ communication link; [3] piggy-backing on a commercial GSM communication network; and [4] an algorithm-based data analytics system. Requirements for the device were: long battery-life upto 28 days (with sampling frequency 5/hr); robustness; IP 68 hermetic sealing; and human-centric design. We undertook pre-clinical laboratory testing followed by clinical trial phases I & IIa for evaluation of safety and efficacy in the following sequence: seven healthy adult volunteers; 18 healthy mothers; and three sets of babies – 3 healthy babies; 10 stable babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and 1 baby with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). The 3-coin thickness, pebble-design sensor weighing about 8 gms was secured onto the abdomen for the baby and over the upper arm for adults. In the laboratory setting, the response-time of the sensor device to attain thermal equilibrium with the surroundings was 4 minutes vis-a-vis 3 minutes observed with a precision-grade digital thermometer used as a reference standard. The accuracy was ±0.1°C of the reference standard within the temperature range of 25-40°C. The adult volunteers, aged 20 to 45 years, contributed a total of 345 hours of readings over a 7-day period and the postnatal mothers provided a total of 403 paired readings. The mean skin temperatures measured in the adults by the sensor were about 2°C lower than the axillary temperature readings (sensor =34.1 vs digital = 36.1); this difference was statistically significant (t-test=13.8; p<0.001). The healthy neonates provided a total of 39 paired readings; the mean difference in temperature was 0.13°C (sensor =36.9 vs digital = 36.7; p=0.2). The neonates in the NICU provided a total of 130 paired readings. Their mean skin temperature measured by the sensor was 0.6°C lower than that measured by the radiant warmer probe (sensor =35.9 vs warmer probe = 36.5; p < 0.001). The neonate with HIE provided a total of 25 paired readings with the mean sensor reading being not different from the radian warmer probe reading (sensor =33.5 vs warmer probe = 33.5; p=0.8). No major adverse events were noted in both the adults and neonates; four adult volunteers reported mild sweating under the device/arm band and one volunteer developed mild skin allergy. This proof-of-concept study shows that real-time monitoring of temperatures is technically feasible and that this innovation appears to be promising in terms of both safety and accuracy (with appropriate calibration) for improved maternal and neonatal health.

Keywords: public health, remote biomonitoring, temperature surveillance, wearable sensors, mothers and newborns

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Authors: Marlene Perez Villalpando, Kelly Joel Gurubel Tun

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose an optimal control strategy for a hydroelectric power plant subject to input disturbances like meteorological phenomena. The engineering characteristics of the system are described by a nonlinear model. The random availability of renewable sources is predicted by a high-order neural network trained with an extended Kalman filter, whereas the power generation is regulated by the optimal control law. The main advantage of the system is the stabilization of the amount of power generated in the plant. A control supervisor maintains stability and availability in hydropower reservoirs water levels for power generation. The proposed approach demonstrated a good performance to stabilize the reservoir level and the power generation along their desired trajectories in the presence of disturbances.

Keywords: hydropower, high order neural network, Kalman filter, optimal control

Procedia PDF Downloads 302