Search results for: pattern recognition techniques

Authors: Halil Ibrahim Demir, Abdullah Hulusi Kokcam, Fuat Simsir, Özer Uygun

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Traditionally, three important manufacturing functions which are process planning, scheduling and due-date assignment are performed sequentially and separately. Although there are numerous works on the integration of process planning and scheduling and plenty of works focusing on scheduling with due date assignment, there are only a few works on integrated process planning, scheduling and due-date assignment. Although due-dates are determined without taking into account of weights of the customers in the literature, here weighted due-date assignment is employed to get better performance. Jobs are scheduled according to weighted earliest due date dispatching rule and due dates are determined according to some popular due date assignment methods by taking into account of the weights of each job. Simulated Annealing, Evolutionary Strategies, Random Search, hybrid of Random Search and Simulated Annealing, and hybrid of Random Search and Evolutionary Strategies, are applied as solution techniques. Three important manufacturing functions are integrated step-by-step and higher integration levels are found better. Search meta-heuristics are found to be very useful while improving performance measure.

Keywords: process planning, weighted scheduling, weighted due-date assignment, simulated annealing, evolutionary strategies, hybrid searches

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Authors: Sara Jelodarian

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Organic agriculture is a kind of living and dynamic agriculture that was introduced in the early 20^th century. The fundamental basis for organic agriculture is in harmony with nature. This version of farming emphasizes removing growth hormones, chemical fertilizers, toxins, radiation, genetic manipulation and instead, integration of modern scientific techniques (such as biologic and microbial control) that leads to the production of healthy food and the preservation of the environment and use of agricultural products such as forage and manure. Supports from governments for the markets producing organic products and taking advantage of the experiences from other successful societies in this field can help progress the positive and effective aspects of this technology, especially in developing countries. This research proves that till 2030, 25% of the global agricultural lands would be covered by organic farming. Consequently Iran, due to its rich genetic resources and various climates, can be a pioneer in promoting organic products. In addition, for sustainable farming, blend of organic and other innovative systems is needed. Important limitations exist to accept these systems, also a diversity of policy instruments will be required to comfort their development and implementation. The paper was conducted to results of compilation of reports, issues, books, articles related to the subject with library studies and research. Likewise we combined experimental and survey to get data.

Keywords: develop, production markets, progress, strategic role, technology

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Authors: Maryam Kiani

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This study focuses on the development of composite nanomaterials based on SiO₂ and carbon black for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts in batteries and fuel cells. The aim was to explore the potential of these composite materials as efficient catalysts for ORR, which is a critical process in energy conversion devices. The SiO₂/carbon black composite nanomaterials were synthesized using a facile and scalable method. The morphology, structure, and electrochemical properties of the materials were characterized using various techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical measurements. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of SiO₂ into the carbon black matrix enhanced the ORR performance of the composite material. The composite nanomaterials exhibited improved electrocatalytic activity, enhanced stability, and increased durability compared to pure carbon black. The presence of SiO₂ facilitated the formation of active sites, improved electron transfer, and increased the surface area available for ORR. This study contributes to the advancement of battery and fuel cell technology by offering a promising approach for the development of high-performance ORR electrocatalysts. The SiO₂/carbon black composite nanomaterials show great potential for improving the efficiency and durability of energy conversion devices, leading to more sustainable and efficient energy solutions.

Keywords: ORR, fuel cells, batteries, electrocatalyst

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Authors: M. Ahmadi, M. Kafil, H. Ebrahimi

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Nowadays, induction motors have a significant role in industries. Condition monitoring (CM) of this equipment has gained a remarkable importance during recent years due to huge production losses, substantial imposed costs and increases in vulnerability, risk, and uncertainty levels. Motor current signature analysis (MCSA) is one of the most important techniques in CM. This method can be used for rotor broken bars detection. Signal processing methods such as Fast Fourier transformation (FFT), Wavelet transformation and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) are used for analyzing MCSA output data. In this study, these signal processing methods are used for broken bar problem detection of Mobarakeh steel company induction motors. Based on wavelet transformation method, an index for fault detection, CF, is introduced which is the variation of maximum to the mean of wavelet transformation coefficients. We find that, in the broken bar condition, the amount of CF factor is greater than the healthy condition. Based on EMD method, the energy of intrinsic mode functions (IMF) is calculated and finds that when motor bars become broken the energy of IMFs increases.

Keywords: broken bar, condition monitoring, diagnostics, empirical mode decomposition, fourier transform, wavelet transform

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Authors: Mariya Salihu Ingawa, Sani Suleiman Isah

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The assessment of Integrated Information System (IIS) in organisation is an important initiative to enable the Information System (IS) managers, as well as top management to understand the success status of their investment in IS integration efforts. However, without a proper assessment, an organisation will not know its IIS status, which may affect their judgment on what action should be taken onwards. Current research on IIS assessment is lacking and those related literature on IIS assessment focus more on assessing the technical aspect of IIS. It is argued that assessing technical aspect alone is inadequate since organisational and strategic aspects in IIS should also be considered. Current methods, techniques and tools used by vendors for IIS assessment also are lack of comprehensive measures to fully assess the Integrated Information System in term of technical, organisational and strategic domains. The purpose of this study is to establish critical success factors for measuring success of an Integrated Information System. These factors are used as the basis for constructing an approach to comprehensively assess IIS in an organisation. A comprehensive list of success factors for IIS assessment, established from literature, was initially presented. An expert surveys using both manual and online methods were conducted to verify the factors. Based on the factors, an instrument for IIS assessment was constructed. The results from a case study indicate that through comprehensive assessment approach, not only the level of success been known, but also reveals the contributing factors. This research contributes to the field of Information Systems specifically in the area of Integrated Information System assessment.

Keywords: integrated information system, expert surveys, organisation, assessment

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Authors: Anyeres N. Atehortua Jimenez, J. David Lambraño, Juan Carlos Muñoz

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Navier-Stokes equations (NSE), which describe the dynamics of a fluid, have an important application on modeling waves used for data inversion techniques as full waveform inversion (FWI). In this work a linearized version of NSE and its variables, neglecting deviatoric terms of stress tensor, is presented. In order to get a theoretical modeling of pressure p(x,t) and wave velocity profile c(x,t), a wave equation of visco-acoustic medium (VAE) is written. A change of variables p(x,t)=q(x,t)h(ρ), is made on the equation for the VAE leading to a well known Klein-Gordon equation (KGE) describing waves propagating in variable density medium (ρ) with dispersive term α^2(x). KGE is reduced to a Poisson equation and solved by proposing a specific function for α^2(x) accounting for the energy dissipation and dispersion. Finally, an integral form solution is derived for p(x,t), c(x,t) and kinematics variables like particle velocity v(x,t), displacement u(x,t) and bulk modulus function k_b(x,t). Further, it is compared this visco-acoustic formulation with another form broadly used in the geophysics; it is argued that this formalism is more general and, given its integral form, it may offer several advantages from the modern parallel computing point of view. Applications to minimize the errors in modeling for FWI applied to oils resources in geophysics are discussed.

Keywords: Navier-Stokes equations, modeling, visco-acoustic, inversion FWI

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Authors: Syed Asif Hassan, Tabrej Khan

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Tuberculosis (TB) caused by bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) continues to take a disturbing toll on human life and healthcare facility worldwide. The global burden of TB remains enormous. The alarming rise of multi-drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis calls for an increase in research efforts towards the development of new target specific therapeutics against diverse strains of M. tuberculosis. Therefore, the discovery of new molecular scaffolds targeting new drug sites should be a priority for a workable plan for fighting resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Mtb non-acylated lipoprotein LprG (Rv1411c) has a Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) agonist actions that depend on its association with triacylated glycolipids binding specifically with the hydrophobic pocket of Mtb LprG lipoprotein. The detection of a glycolipid carrier function has important implications for the role of LprG in Mycobacterial physiology and virulence. Therefore, considering the pivotal role of glycolipids in mycobacterial physiology and host-pathogen interactions, designing competitive antagonist (chemotherapeutics) ligands that competitively bind to glycolipid binding domain in LprG lipoprotein, will lead to inhibition of tuberculosis infection in humans. In this study, a unified approach involving ligand-based virtual screening protocol USRCAT (Ultra Shape Recognition) software and molecular docking studies using Auto Dock Vina 1.1.2 using the X-ray crystal structure of Mtb LprG protein was implemented. The docking results were further confirmed by DSX (DrugScore eXtented), a robust program to evaluate the binding energy of ligands bound to the Ligand binding domain of the Mtb LprG lipoprotein. The ligand, which has the higher hypothetical affinity, also has greater negative value. Based on the USRCAT, Lipinski’s values and molecular docking results, [(2R)-2,3-di(hexadecanoyl oxy)propyl][(2S,3S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-2,6-bis[[(2R,3S,4S,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6 (hydroxymethyl)tetrahydropyran-2-yl]oxy]cyclohexyl] phosphate (XPX) was confirmed as a promising drug-like lead compound (antagonist) binding specifically to the hydrophobic domain of LprG protein with affinity greater than that of PIM2 (agonist of LprG protein) with a free binding energy of -9.98e+006 Kcal/mol and binding affinity of -132 Kcal/mol, respectively. A further, in vitro assay of this compound is required to establish its potency in inhibiting molecular evasion mechanism of MTB within the infected host macrophages. These results will certainly be helpful in future anti-TB drug discovery efforts against Multidrug-Resistance Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Keywords: antagonist, agonist, binding affinity, chemotherapeutics, drug-like, multi drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB), RV1411c protein, toll-like receptor (TLR2)

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Authors: M. Sunitha, B. Nithyavani, Mathew Yohannan, S. Thiruvieni Balajji, M. A. Rathi, C. Arul Raj, P. Ragavendran, V. K. Gopalkrishnan

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Establishment of an early and reliable biomarker for ovarian carcinogenesis whose expression can be monitored through noninvasive techniques will enable early diagnosis of cancer. Carbonic anhydrases (CA) isozymes IX and XII have been suggested to play a role in oncogenic processes. In von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-defective tumors, the cell surface transmembrane carbonic anhydrase (CA) CA XI and CA XII genes are overexpressed because of the absence of pVHL. These enzymes are involved in causing a hypoxia condition, thereby providing an environment for metastasis. Aberrant expression of the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT I is found in a wide spectrum of epithelial malignancies. Studying the mRNA expression of CA IX, CA XII and Glut I isozymes in ovarian cancer cell lines (OAW-42 and PA-1) revealed the expression of these hypoxia genes. Immunohistochemical staining of carbonic anhydrases was also performed in 40 ovarian cancer tissues. CA IX and CA XII were expressed at 540 bp and 520 bp in OAW42, PA1 in ovarian cancer cell lines. GLUT-1 was expressed at 325bp in OAW 42, PA1 genes in ovarian cancer cell lines. Immunohistochemistry revealed high to moderate levels of expression of these enzymes. The immuostaining was seen predominantly on the cell surface membrane. The study concluded that these genes CA IX, CA XII and Glut I are expressed under hypoxic condition in tumor cells. From the present results expression of CA IX, XII and Glut I may represent potential targets in ovarian cancer therapy.

Keywords: ovarian cancer, carbonic anhydrase IX, XII, Glut I, tumor markers

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Authors: Kittipong Tripetch, Nobuhiko Nakano

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This paper proposes one stage and two stage CMOS Complementary Regulated Cascode Distributed Amplifier (CRCDA) design based on Inductive and Transformer coupling techniques. Usually, Distributed amplifier is based on inductor coupling between gate and gate of MOSFET and between drain and drain of MOSFET. But this paper propose some new idea, by coupling with differential primary windings of transformer between gate and gate of MOSFET first stage and second stage of regulated cascade amplifier and by coupling with differential secondary windings transformer of MOSFET between drain and drain of MOSFET first stage and second stage of regulated cascade amplifier. This paper also proposes polynomial modeling of Silicon Transformer passive equivalent circuit from Nanyang Technological University which is used to extract frequency response of transformer. Cadence simulation results are used to verify validity of transformer polynomial modeling which can be used to design distributed amplifier without Cadence. 4 parameters of scattering matrix of 2 port of the propose circuit is derived as a function of 4 parameters of impedance matrix.

Keywords: CMOS regulated cascode distributed amplifier, silicon transformer modeling with polynomial, low power consumption, distribute amplification technique

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Authors: Ahmed Azizeldein Abubaker Abdelhafez

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This review explores the application of biochar as a strategy for enhancing soil fertility in arid regions, with a focus on Arab countries. Biochar, derived from the carbonization of biomass under low-oxygen conditions, has shown promise in improving the physical and chemical properties of soil, such as increasing water retention and nutrient availability. Despite the challenging conditions of arid and semi-arid regions, characterized by poor soil fertility and severe land degradation, biochar application has emerged as a viable method to enhance agricultural productivity and mitigate environmental issues. This paper examines various aspects of biochar, including production methods, such as pyrolysis and gasification, and the effects of biochar on soil fertility. It discusses different application techniques and presents case studies from Arab countries like Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, highlighting the successes and challenges faced in implementing biochar technology. The review also addresses the limitations of biochar use in arid regions and suggests future research directions to optimize its effectiveness. Overall, this study underscores the potential of biochar to contribute significantly to sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration in arid environments, advocating for integrated strategies that combine biochar application with other innovative agricultural practices.

Keywords: biochar, soil fertility, arid region, Arab countries, challenges and limitations

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Authors: Angela Evans, Gabriel Gijon-Nogueron, Alfonso Martinez-Nova

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Background The health sector, whose mission is protecting health, also contributes to the climate crisis, the greatest health threat of the 21st century. The carbon footprint from healthcare exceeds 5% of emissions globally, surpassing 7% in the USA and Australia. Global recognition has led to the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the World Health Organization's Climate Change Action Plan. It is agreed that the majority of health impacts stem from energy and resource consumption, as well as the production of greenhouse gases in the environment and deforestation. Many professional medical associations and healthcare providers advocate for their members to take the lead in environmental sustainability. Objectives To avail and expand ‘Green Podiatry’ via the three pillars of: Exercise ; Evidence ; Everyday changes; to highlight the benefits of physical activity and exercise for both human health and planet health. Walking and running are beneficial for health, provide low carbon transport, and have evidence-based health benefits. Podiatrists are key healthcare professionals in the physical activity space and can influence and guide their patients to increase physical activity and avert the many non-communicable diseases that are decimating public health, eg diabetes, arthritis, depression, cancer, obesity. Methods Publications, conference presentations, and pilot projects pertinent to ‘Green Podiatry’ have been activated since 2021, and a survey of podiatrist’s knowledge and awareness has been undertaken.The survey assessed attitudes towards environmental sustainability in work environment. The questions addressed commuting habits, hours of physical exercise per week, and attitudes in the clinic, such as prescribing unnecessary treatments or emphasizing sports as primary treatment. Results Teaching and Learning modules have been developed for podiatric medicine students and graduates globally. These will be availed. A pilot foot orthoses recycling project has been undertaken and will be reported, in addition to established footwear recycling. The preliminary survey found almost 90% of respondents had no knowledge of green podiatry or footwear recycling. Only 30% prescribe sports/exercise as the primary treatment for patients, and 45% do not to prescribe unnecessary treatments. Conclusions Podiatrists are in a good position to lead in the crucial area of healthcare and climate change implications. Sufficient education of podiatrists is essential for the profession to beneficially promote health and physical activity, which is beneficial for the health of all peoples and all communities.

Keywords: climate change, gait, green, healthcare, sustainability

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Authors: Mompi Sharma, Labananda Choudhury, Anjana M. Saikia

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Background: The period life table is entirely based on the assumption that the mortality patterns of the population existing in the given period will persist throughout their lives. However, it has been observed that the mortality rate continues to decline. As such, if the rates of change of probabilities of death are considered in a life table then we get a dynamic life table. Although, mortality has been declining in all parts of India, one may be interested to know whether these declines had appeared more in an urban area of underdeveloped regions like North-Eastern India. So, attempt has been made to know the mortality pattern and the life expectancy under dynamic scenario in Guwahati, the biggest city of North Eastern India. Further, if the probabilities of death changes then there is a possibility that its different constituent probabilities will also change. Since cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Guwahati. Therefore, an attempt has also been made to formulate dynamic cause specific death ratio and probabilities of death due to CVD. Objectives: To construct dynamic life table for Guwahati for the year 2011 based on the rates of change of probabilities of death over the previous 10 and 25 years (i.e.,2001 and 1986) and to compute corresponding dynamic cause specific death ratio and probabilities of death due to CVD. Methodology and Data: The study uses the method proposed by Denton and Spencer (2011) to construct dynamic life table for Guwahati. So, the data from the Office of the Birth and Death, Guwahati Municipal Corporation for the years 1986, 2001 and 2011 are taken. The population based data are taken from 2001 and 2011 census (India). However, the population data for 1986 has been estimated. Also, the cause of death ratio and probabilities of death due to CVD are computed for the aforementioned years and then extended to dynamic set up for the year 2011 by considering the rates of change of those probabilities over the previous 10 and 25 years. Findings: The dynamic life expectancy at birth (LEB) for Guwahati is found to be higher than the corresponding values in the period table by 3.28 (5.65) years for males and 8.30 (6.37) years for females during the period of 10 (25) years. The life expectancies under dynamic consideration in all the other age groups are also seen higher than the usual life expectancies, which may be possible due to gradual decline in probabilities of death since 1986-2011. Further, a continuous decline has also been observed in death ratio due to CVD along with cause specific probabilities of death for both sexes. As a consequence, dynamic cause of death probability due to CVD is found to be less in comparison to usual procedure. Conclusion: Since incorporation of changing mortality rates in period life table for Guwahati resulted in higher life expectancies and lower probabilities of death due to CVD, this would possibly bring out the real situation of deaths prevailing in the city.

Keywords: cause specific death ratio, cause specific probabilities of death, dynamic, life expectancy

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Authors: Syed Atif Hassan, Luv Mehta, Syed Asif Hassan

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Hit song science is a field of investigation wherein machine learning techniques are applied to music tracks in order to extract such features from audio signals which can capture information that could explain the popularity of respective tracks. Record companies invest huge amounts of money into recruiting fresh talents and churning out new music each year. Gaining insight into the basis of why a song becomes popular will result in tremendous benefits for the music industry. This paper aims to extract basic musical and more advanced, acoustic features from songs while also taking into account external factors that play a role in making a particular song popular. We use a dataset derived from popular Spotify playlists divided by genre. We use ten genres (blues, classical, country, disco, hip-hop, jazz, metal, pop, reggae, rock), chosen on the basis of clear to ambiguous delineation in the typical sound of their genres. We feed these features into three different classifiers, namely, SVM with RBF kernel, a deep neural network, and a recurring neural network, to build separate predictive models and choosing the best performing model at the end. Predicting song popularity is particularly important for the music industry as it would allow record companies to produce better content for the masses resulting in a more competitive market.

Keywords: classifier, machine learning, music tracks, popularity, prediction

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Authors: Ken Hampshire, Thomas Mazzuchi, Shahram Sarkani

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As a subset of metaheuristics, nature-inspired optimization algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) have shown promise both in solving intractable problems and in their extensibility to novel problem formulations due to their general approach requiring few assumptions. Unfortunately, single instantiations of algorithms require detailed tuning of parameters and cannot be proven to be best suited to a particular illustrative problem on account of the “no free lunch” (NFL) theorem. Using these algorithms in real-world problems requires exquisite knowledge of the many techniques and is not conducive to reconciling the various approaches to given classes of problems. This research aims to present a unified view of PSO-based approaches from the perspective of relevant systems engineering problems, with the express purpose of then eliciting the best solution for any problem formulation in an ensemble learning bucket of models approach. The central hypothesis of the research is that extending the PSO algorithms found in the literature to real-world optimization problems requires a general ensemble-based method for all problem formulations but a specific implementation and solution for any instance. The main results are a problem-based literature survey and a general method to find more globally optimal solutions for any systems engineering optimization problem.

Keywords: particle swarm optimization, nature-inspired optimization, metaheuristics, systems engineering, ensemble learning

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Authors: Lamiaa Shehata

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The current (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the international crises, and a lot of efforts have been directed toward the improvement of efficient vaccines, however vaccine hesitancy is one of the universal menaces that make the fulfillment of society immunity very hard. The World Health Organization acknowledges vaccine hesitancy as the society’s maximum risk to people's health protection, especially in little and moderate-revenue nations. Social media is strong in observing audience behaviors and evaluating the circulation, which would supply useful data for strategy makers. It has a significant function in spreading facts during the pandemic, it could assist to boost protective manners. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of social media exposure on vaccine hesitancy. Data were collected using a survey in a form of a structured questionnaire conducted during December 2021- January 2022 using convenient sampling techniques (680) in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between the high exposure to social media and the refusal of the Covid19 vaccine also, the percentage of the refusal of the vaccine is higher in Egypt, however, UAE forced people to take the vaccine. Furthermore, public attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination vary from gender and region. In conclusion, policymakers must adjust their policies through the use of social media to immediate actions to vaccine-related news to support vaccination approval.

Keywords: COVID-19, hesitancy, social media, vaccine

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Authors: Ronal Muresano, Andrea Pagano

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Nowadays, the mathematical/statistical applications are developed with more complexity and accuracy. However, these precisions and complexities have brought as result that applications need more computational power in order to be executed faster. In this sense, the multicore environments are playing an important role to improve and to optimize the execution time of these applications. These environments allow us the inclusion of more parallelism inside the node. However, to take advantage of this parallelism is not an easy task, because we have to deal with some problems such as: cores communications, data locality, memory sizes (cache and RAM), synchronizations, data dependencies on the model, etc. These issues are becoming more important when we wish to improve the application’s performance and scalability. Hence, this paper describes an optimization method developed for Systemic Model of Banking Originated Losses (SYMBOL) tool developed by the European Commission, which is based on analyzing the application's weakness in order to exploit the advantages of the multicore. All these improvements are done in an automatic and transparent manner with the aim of improving the performance metrics of our tool. Finally, experimental evaluations show the effectiveness of our new optimized version, in which we have achieved a considerable improvement on the execution time. The time has been reduced around 96% for the best case tested, between the original serial version and the automatic parallel version.

Keywords: algorithm optimization, bank failures, OpenMP, parallel techniques, statistical tool

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Authors: Rana Sawaya, Jalal Halwani, Isam Bashour, Nada Nehme

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Mismanagement of municipal solid wastes in Lebanon might lead to serious environmental problems, especially that a big portion of mixed wastes including putrescible is transferred to Naameh landfill. One of the consequences of municipal solid waste deposition is the production of landfill leachate, which if unproperly treated will threaten the main crucial matrices such as soil, water, and air. The main aim of this one of a kind study is to assess the risk posed to groundwater as a result of leachate infiltration on off-site wells especially after stoppage of Naameh landfill's operation end of the year 2016 and initiation of the capping process which is still ongoing and will be finalized in December 2019. For this purpose, nine representative points around the landfill were selected to undergo physicochemical and microbial analysis on a seasonal basis (every three months). The study extended from the year 2014 until the end of the year 2016 (closure of Naameh landfill). The preliminary data obtained are statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and was found in conformity with international and Lebanese norms. Thus, the study will be extended an additional year, especially after the finalization of capping and the results obtained, will enable us to propose new techniques and tools (treatment systems) in water resources management depending on the direction of its usage (domestic, irrigation, drinking).

Keywords: contamination, groundwater, leachate, Lebanon, solid waste

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Authors: Kanwal Javid, Shazia Pervaiz, Maria Mumtaz, Muhammad Ameer Nawaz Akram

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Forests and grasslands ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Land management activities influence both ecosystems and enable them to absorb and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). Similarly, in Pakistan, these terrestrial ecosystems are well known to mitigate carbon emissions and have a great source to supply a variety of services such as clean air and water, biodiversity, wood products, wildlife habitat, food, recreation and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the main agenda of developed and developing nations to reduce the impacts of global warming. But the amount of carbon storage within these ecosystems can be affected by many factors related to air quality such as land management, land-use change, deforestation, over grazing and natural calamities. Moreover, the long-term capacity of forests and grasslands to absorb and sequester CO2 depends on their health, productivity, resilience and ability to adapt to changing conditions. Thus, the main rationale of this study is to monitor the difference in carbon amount of forests and grasslands of Northern Pakistan using MODIS data sets and map results using Geographic Information System. Results of the study conclude that forests ecosystems are more effective in reducing the CO2 level and play a key role in improving the quality of air.

Keywords: carbon sequestration, grasslands, global warming, climate change.

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Authors: Zheni S. Stefanova, Kandethody M. Ramachandran

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With the increasing dependency on our computer devices, we face the necessity of adequate, efficient and effective mechanisms, for protecting our network. There are two main problems that Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) attempt to solve. 1) To detect the attack, by analyzing the incoming traffic and inspect the network (intrusion detection). 2) To produce a prompt response when the attack occurs (intrusion prevention). It is critical creating an Intrusion detection model that will detect a breach in the system on time and also challenging making it provide an automatic and with an acceptable delay response at every single stage of the monitoring process. We cannot afford to adopt security measures with a high exploiting computational power, and we are not able to accept a mechanism that will react with a delay. In this paper, we will propose an intrusion response mechanism that is based on artificial intelligence, and more precisely, reinforcement learning techniques (RLT). The RLT will help us to create a decision agent, who will control the process of interacting with the undetermined environment. The goal is to find an optimal policy, which will represent the intrusion response, therefore, to solve the Reinforcement learning problem, using a Q-learning approach. Our agent will produce an optimal immediate response, in the process of evaluating the network traffic.This Q-learning approach will establish the balance between exploration and exploitation and provide a unique, self-learning and strategic artificial intelligence response mechanism for IDS.

Keywords: cyber security, intrusion prevention, optimal policy, Q-learning

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Authors: Rozhgar A. Khailany, Mehri Igci, Emine Bayraktar, Sakip Erturhan, Metin Karakok, Ahmet Arslan

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Kidney cancer is the most lethal urological cancer accounting for 3% of adult malignancies. VHL, a tumor-suppressor gene, is best known to be associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The VHL functions as negative regulator of hypoxia inducible factors. Recent sequencing efforts have identified several novel frequent mutations of histone modifying and chromatin remodeling genes in ccRCC (clear cell RCC) including PBRM1 and SETD2. The PBRM1 gene encodes the BAF180 protein, which involved in transcriptional activation and repression of selected genes. SETD2 encodes a histone methyltransferase, which may play a role in suppressing tumor development. In this study, RNAs of 30 paired tumor and normal samples that were grouped according to the types of kidney cancer and clinical characteristics of patients, including gender and average age were examined by RT-PCR, SSCP and sequencing techniques. VHL, PBRM1 and SETD2 expressions were relatively down-regulated. However, statistically no significance was found (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p > 0.05). Interestingly, no mutation was observed on the contrary of previous studies. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of RCC has aided the development of molecular-targeted drugs for kidney cancer. Further analysis is required to identify the responsible genes rather than VHL, PBRM1 and SETD2 in kidney cancer.

Keywords: kidney cancer, molecular biomarker, expression analysis, mutation screening

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Authors: Tayyaba Bibi, Jenny Ronan, Robert Hernan, Kathleen O’Rourke, Brendan McHugh, Evin McGovern, Michelle Giltrap, Gordon Chambers, James Wilson

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Sediment contamination is a major source of ecosystem stress and has received significant attention from the scientific community. Both the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) require a robust set of tools for biological and chemical monitoring. For the MSFD in particular, causal links between contaminant and effects need to be assessed. Appropriate assessment tools are required in order to make an accurate evaluation. In this study, a range of recommended sediment bioassays and chemical measurements are assessed in a number of potentially impacted and lowly impacted locations around Ireland. Previously, assessment indices have been developed on individual compartments, i.e. contaminant levels or biomarker/bioassay responses. A number of assessment indices are applied to chemical and ecotoxicological data from the Seachange project (Project code) and compared including the metal pollution index (MPI), pollution load index (PLI) and Chapman index for chemistry as well as integrated biomarker response (IBR). The benefits and drawbacks of the use of indices and aggregation techniques are discussed. In addition to this, modelling of raw data is investigated to analyse links between contaminant and effects.

Keywords: bioassays, contamination indices, ecotoxicity, marine environment, sediments

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Authors: Rabson Banda

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This abstract delves into the transformative journey of Rabson Banda, a visionary leader in Zambia who has harnessed the power of photovoice, mental fitness, and entrepreneurship to combat substance use disorders in the face of limited job opportunities in Africa. Rabson's personal battle with alcohol-induced disorder serves as the foundation for his pioneering work in establishing Elevated Initiatives, a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering individuals struggling with addiction through innovative approaches. Through the lens of photovoice, Rabson Banda amplifies the voices of those affected by substance abuse, providing a platform for self-expression and healing. By intertwining mental fitness techniques and entrepreneurial skills, he equips individuals with the tools needed to break free from the cycle of addiction and chart a new path toward holistic wellness and economic independence. Rabson Banda's story embodies resilience, hope, and the unwavering belief in the transformative power of community-driven initiatives. His work not only addresses the immediate challenges of substance use disorders but also addresses the root causes of addiction by advocating for increased job opportunities and economic empowerment in Zambia and across Africa for decent job creation and Entrepreneurship: A Lived Experience of Alcohol-Induced Disorder and Recovery in Zambia.

Keywords: mental fitness, entrepreneurship, photovoice, descent jobs

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Authors: J. Marx, D. Smazna, R. Adelung, B. Fiedler

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Aerographite is a 3D interconnected carbon foam. Its tetrapodal morphology is based on the zinc oxide (ZnO) template structure, which is replicated in the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) into a hollow carbon structure. This replication process is analyzed in ex-situ studies via interrupted synthesis and the observation of the reaction progress by using scanning electron (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Based on the epitaxial growth process, with a layer-by-layer growth behaviour of the wall thickness or number of layers and the catalytical graphitization of the deposited amorphous carbon into graphitic carbon by zinc, a growth model is created. The properties of aerographite, such as the electrical conductivity is dependent on the graphitization and number of layer (wall thickness). Wall thicknesses between 3 nm and 22 nm are achieved by a controlled stepwise reduction of the synthesis time on the basis of the developed growth model, and by a further thermal treatment at 1800 °C the graphitization of the presented carbon foam is modified. The variation of the wall thickness leads to an optimum defect density (ID/IG ratio) and the graphitization to an improvement in the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, a metallic conducting behaviour of untreated and 1800 °C treated aerographite can be observed. Due to these structural and defective modifications, a fundamental structural-property equation for the description of their influences on the electrical conductivity is developed.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), graphitization, wall thickness

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Authors: Majid Rasta, Xiaotao Shi, Mian Adnan Kakakhel, Yanqin Bai, Lao Liu, Jia Manke

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Microplastics (MPs; particles <5 mm) pollution is considered as a globally pervasive threat to aquatic ecosystems, and many studies reported this pollution in rivers, wetlands, lakes, coastal waters and oceans. In the aquatic environments, settling and transport of MPs in water column and sediments are determined by different factors such as hydrologic characteristics, watershed pattern, rainfall events, hydraulic conditions, vegetation, hydrodynamics behavior of MPs, and physical features of particles (shape, size and density). In the meantime, hydraulic conditions (such as turbulence, high/low water speed flows or water stagnation) play a key role in the fate of MPs in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, this study presents a briefly review on the effects of different hydraulic conditions on the fate, transport and accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems. Generally, MPs are distributed horizontally and vertically in aquatic environments. The vertical distribution of MPs in the water column changes with different flow velocities. In the riverine, turbulent flow causing from the rapid water velocity and shallow depth may create a homogeneous mixture of MPs throughout the water column. While low velocity followed by low-turbulent waters can lead to the low level vertical mixing of MP particles in the water column. Consequently, the high numbers of MPs are expected to be found in the sediments of deep and wide channels as well as estuaries. In contrast, observing the lowest accumulation of MP particles in the sediments of straights of the rivers, places with the highest flow velocity is understandable. In the marine environment, hydrodynamic factors (e.g., turbulence, current velocity and residual circulation) can affect the sedimentation and transportation of MPs and thus change the distribution of MPs in the marine and coastal sediments. For instance, marine bays are known as the accumulation area of MPs due to poor hydrodynamic conditions. On the other hand, in the nearshore zone, the flow conditions are highly complex and dynamic. Experimental studies illustrated that maximum horizontal flow velocity in the sandy beach can predict the accumulation of MPs so that particles with high sinking velocities deposit in the lower water depths. As a whole, it can be concluded that the transport and accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems are highly affected by hydraulic conditions. This study provided information about the impacts of hydraulic on MPs pollution. Further research on hydraulics and its relationship to the accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems is needed to increase insights into this pollution.

Keywords: microplastics pollution, hydraulic, transport, accumulation

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Authors: Djamel Remache, Serge Dos Santos, Michael Cliez, Michel Gratton, Patrick Chabrand, Jean-Marie Rossi, Jean-Louis Milan

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Skin tissue is an inhomogeneous and anisotropic material. Uniaxial tensile testing is one of the primary testing techniques for the mechanical characterization of skin at large scales. In order to predict the mechanical behavior of materials, the direct or inverse analytical approaches are often used. However, in case of an inhomogeneous and anisotropic material as skin tissue, analytical approaches are not able to provide solutions. The numerical simulation is thus necessary. In this work, the uniaxial tensile test and the FEM (finite element method) based inverse method were used to identify the anisotropic mechanical properties of porcine skin tissue. The uniaxial tensile experiments were performed using Instron 8800 tensile machine®. The uniaxial tensile test was simulated with FEM, and then the inverse optimization approach (or the inverse calibration) was used for the identification of mechanical properties of the samples. Experimentally results were compared to finite element solutions. The results showed that the finite element model predictions of the mechanical behavior of the tested skin samples were well correlated with experimental results.

Keywords: mechanical skin tissue behavior, uniaxial tensile test, finite element analysis, inverse optimization approach

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Authors: Omotoke Omosalewa Owolowo

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Mass literacy adult and non-formal education are part of the provisions of Nigeria’s National policy on Education. The advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially in this era of industrial revolution, calls for approaching these literacy and adult education in different perspective for community development. There is dire need of Needs Assessment for effective training of rural dwellers to actualize the policy requirement and for the purpose of aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals in South - West Nigeria. The present study is a preliminary survey designed to determine level of awareness, use and familiarity of community dwellers of social media. Adult dwellers from 24 communities from four states in Southern Nigeria constitute the sample, a total of 578 adults (380 females, 198 males) with age range between 21 and 52 years. The survey shows that 68% are aware of SMS, 21% of WhatsApp, 14% of Facebook while the remaining could not say precisely what social medium is their favorite. However, most of them (80%) could not see how their phones can be used to boost their status, improve their vacations or be used to develop them in their respective community. The study is expected to lead to a more elaborate training program on assessment of knowledge acquisition, participation and attitude of adult literate and non- literate members in communities for empowerment and to integrate ICT techniques. The results of this study provides a database for the larger study.

Keywords: mass literacy, community development, information and communication technology, adult learners

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Authors: Muhammad Awais Kiani, Abdul Basit Kiani, Maryam Kiani

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Synergizing Sales and Marketing for Electronics Engineering with Web Development, explores the dynamic relationship between sales, marketing, and web development within the electronics engineering industry. This study is important for the power of digital platforms to connect with customers. Which increases brand visibility and drives sales. It highlights the need for collaboration between sales and marketing teams, as well as the integration of web development strategies to create seamless user experiences and effective lead generation. Furthermore, It also emphasizes the role of data analytics and customer insights in optimizing sales and marketing efforts in the ever-evolving landscape of electronics engineering. Sales and marketing play a crucial role in driving business growth, and in today's digital landscape, web development has become an integral part of these strategies. Web development enables businesses to create visually appealing and user-friendly websites that effectively showcase their products or services. It allows for the integration of e-commerce functionalities, enabling seamless online transactions. Furthermore, web development helps businesses optimize their online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, social media integration, and content management systems. This abstract highlights the symbiotic relationship between sales marketing in the electronics industry and web development, emphasizing the importance of a strong online presence in achieving business success.

Keywords: electronics industry, web development, sales, marketing

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Authors: Sam Bahreini, Payam Hayati

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Metal-organic coordination [Cu(L)₄(SCN)₂] was synthesized applying ultrasonic irradiation, and its photocatalytic performance for the degradation of Remdesivir (RS) under sunlight irradiation was systematically explored for the first time in this study. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized photocatalyst were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. Systematic examinations were carried out by changing irradiation time, temperature, solution pH value, contact time, RS concentration, and catalyst dosage. The photodegradation kinetic profiles were modeled in pseudo-first order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models reflected that photodegradation onto [Cu(L)₄(SCN)₂] catalyst follows pseudo-first order kinetic model. The fabricated [Cu(L)₄(SCN)₂] nanostructure bandgap was determined as 2.60 eV utilizing the Kubelka-Munk formula from the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy method. Decreasing chemical oxygen demand (COD) (from 70.5 mgL-1 to 36.4 mgL-1) under optimal conditions well confirmed mineralizing of the RS drug. The values of ΔH° and ΔS° was negative, implying the process of adsorption is spontaneous and more favorable in lower temperatures.

Keywords: Photocatalytic degradation, COVID-19, density functional theory (DFT), molecular electrostatic potential (MEP)

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Authors: Rishi Richa, N. C. Shahi, J. P. Pandey, S. S. Kautkar

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Citrus fruits rank third in area and production after banana and mango in India. Sweet oranges are the second largest citrus fruits cultivated in the country. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand are the main sweet orange-growing states. Citrus fruits occupy a leading position in the fruit trade of Uttarakhand, is casing about 14.38% of the total area under fruits and contributing nearly 17.75 % to the total fruit production. Malta is grown in most of the hill districts of the Uttarakhand. Malta common is having high acceptability due to its attractive colour, distinctive flavour, and taste. The excellent quality fruits are generally available for only one or two months. However due to its less shelf-life, Malta can not be stored for longer time under ambient conditions and cannot be transported to distant places. Continuous loss of water adversely affects the quality of Malta during storage and transportation. Method of picking, packaging, and cold storage has detrimental effects on moisture loss. The climatic condition such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind condition (aeration) and microbial attack greatly influences the rate of moisture loss and quality. Therefore, different agro-climatic zone will have different moisture loss pattern. The rate of moisture loss can be taken as one of the quality parameters in combination of one or more parameter such as RH, and aeration. The moisture contents of the fruits and vegetables determine their freshness. Hence, it is important to maintain initial moisture status of fruits and vegetable for prolonged period after the harvest. Keeping all points in views, effort was made to store Malta at ambient condition. In this study, the response surface method and experimental design were applied for optimization of independent variables to enhance the shelf life of four months stored malta. Box-Benkhen design, with, 12 factorial points and 5 replicates at the centre point were used to build a model for predicting and optimizing storage process parameters. The independent parameters, viz., scavenger (3, 4 and 5g), polythene thickness (75, 100 and 125 gauge) and fungicide concentration (100, 150 and 200ppm) were selected and analyzed. 5g scavenger, 125 gauge and 200ppm solution of fungicide are the optimized value for storage which may enhance life up to 4months.

Keywords: Malta fruit, scavenger, packaging, shelf life

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Sergio A. Navarro Tuch, Martin Rogelio Bustamante Bello, Leopoldo Julian Lechuga Lopez

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In recent years, Mexico’s population has seen a rise of different physiological and mental negative states. Two main consequences of this problematic are deficient work performance and high levels of stress generating and important impact on a person’s physical, mental and emotional health. Several approaches, such as the use of audiovisual stimulus to induce emotions and modify a person’s emotional state, can be applied in an effort to decreases these negative effects. With the use of different non-invasive physiological sensors such as EEG, luminosity and face recognition we gather information of the subject’s current emotional state. In a controlled environment, a subject is shown a series of selected images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in order to induce a specific set of emotions and obtain information from the sensors. The raw data obtained is statistically analyzed in order to filter only the specific groups of information that relate to a subject’s emotions and current values of the physical variables in the controlled environment such as, luminosity, RGB light color, temperature, oxygen level and noise. Finally, a neural network based control algorithm is given the data obtained in order to feedback the system and automate the modification of the environment variables and audiovisual content shown in an effort that these changes can positively alter the subject’s emotional state. During the research, it was found that the light color was directly related to the type of impact generated by the audiovisual content on the subject’s emotional state. Red illumination increased the impact of violent images and green illumination along with relaxing images decreased the subject’s levels of anxiety. Specific differences between men and women were found as to which type of images generated a greater impact in either gender. The population sample was mainly constituted by college students whose data analysis showed a decreased sensibility to violence towards humans. Despite the early stage of the control algorithm, the results obtained from the population sample give us a better insight into the possibilities of emotional domotics and the applications that can be created towards the improvement of performance in people’s lives. The objective of this research is to create a positive impact with the application of technology to everyday activities; nonetheless, an ethical problem arises since this can also be applied to control a person’s emotions and shift their decision making.

Keywords: data analysis, emotional domotics, performance improvement, neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 120