Search results for: distribution ratio
8607 Residual Stress Around Embedded Particles in Bulk YBa2Cu3Oy Samples
Authors: Anjela Koblischka-Veneva, Michael R. Koblischka
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To increase the flux pinning performance of bulk YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO or Y-123) superconductors, it is common to employ secondary phase particles, either Y2BaCuO5 (Y-211) particles created during the growth of the samples or additionally added (nano)particles of various types, embedded in the superconducting Y-123 matrix. As the crystallographic parameters of all the particles indicate a misfit to Y-123, there will be residual strain within the Y-123 matrix around such particles. With a dedicated analysis of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data obtained on various bulk, Y-123 superconductor samples, the strain distribution around such embedded secondary phase particles can be revealed. The results obtained are presented in form of Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) mappings. Around large Y-211 particles, the strain can be so large that YBCO subgrains are formed. Therefore, it is essential to properly control the particle size as well as their distribution within the bulk sample to obtain the best performance. The impact of the strain distribution on the flux pinning properties is discussed.Keywords: Bulk superconductors, EBSD, Strain, YBa2Cu3Oy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1488606 Landslide and Liquefaction Vulnerability Analysis Using Risk Assessment Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process Implication: Suitability of the New Capital of the Republic of Indonesia on Borneo Island
Authors: Rifaldy, Misbahudin, Khalid Rizky, Ricky Aryanto, M. Alfiyan Bagus, Fahri Septianto, Firman Najib Wibisana, Excobar Arman
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Indonesia is a country that has a high level of disaster because it is on the ring of fire, and there are several regions with three major plates meeting in the world. So that disaster analysis must always be done to see the potential disasters that might always occur, especially in this research are landslides and liquefaction. This research was conducted to analyze areas that are vulnerable to landslides and liquefaction hazards and their relationship with the assessment of the issue of moving the new capital of the Republic of Indonesia to the island of Kalimantan with a total area of 612,267.22 km². The method in this analysis uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process and consistency ratio testing as a complex and unstructured problem-solving process into several parameters by providing values. The parameters used in this analysis are the slope, land cover, lithology distribution, wetness index, earthquake data, peak ground acceleration. Weighted overlay was carried out from all these parameters using the percentage value obtained from the Analytical Hierarchy Process and confirmed its accuracy with a consistency ratio so that a percentage of the area obtained with different vulnerability classification values was obtained. Based on the analysis results obtained vulnerability classification from very high to low vulnerability. There are (0.15%) 918.40083 km² of highly vulnerable, medium (20.75%) 127,045,44815 km², low (56.54%) 346,175.886188 km², very low (22.56%) 138,127.484832 km². This research is expected to be able to map landslides and liquefaction disasters on the island of Kalimantan and provide consideration of the suitability of regional development of the new capital of the Republic of Indonesia. Also, this research is expected to provide input or can be applied to all regions that are analyzing the vulnerability of landslides and liquefaction or the suitability of the development of certain regions.Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, Borneo Island, landslide and liquefaction, vulnerability analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1748605 Multi-Subpopulation Genetic Algorithm with Estimation of Distribution Algorithm for Textile Batch Dyeing Scheduling Problem
Authors: Nhat-To Huynh, Chen-Fu Chien
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Textile batch dyeing scheduling problem is complicated which includes batch formation, batch assignment on machines, batch sequencing with sequence-dependent setup time. Most manufacturers schedule their orders manually that are time consuming and inefficient. More power methods are needed to improve the solution. Motivated by the real needs, this study aims to propose approaches in which genetic algorithm is developed with multi-subpopulation and hybridised with estimation of distribution algorithm to solve the constructed problem for minimising the makespan. A heuristic algorithm is designed and embedded into the proposed algorithms to improve the ability to get out of the local optima. In addition, an empirical study is conducted in a textile company in Taiwan to validate the proposed approaches. The results have showed that proposed approaches are more efficient than simulated annealing algorithm.Keywords: estimation of distribution algorithm, genetic algorithm, multi-subpopulation, scheduling, textile dyeing
Procedia PDF Downloads 2988604 Estimation of the Effect of Initial Damping Model and Hysteretic Model on Dynamic Characteristics of Structure
Authors: Shinji Ukita, Naohiro Nakamura, Yuji Miyazu
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In considering the dynamic characteristics of structure, natural frequency and damping ratio are useful indicator. When performing dynamic design, it's necessary to select an appropriate initial damping model and hysteretic model. In the linear region, the setting of initial damping model influences the response, and in the nonlinear region, the combination of initial damping model and hysteretic model influences the response. However, the dynamic characteristics of structure in the nonlinear region remain unclear. In this paper, we studied the effect of setting of initial damping model and hysteretic model on the dynamic characteristics of structure. On initial damping model setting, Initial stiffness proportional, Tangent stiffness proportional, and Rayleigh-type were used. On hysteretic model setting, TAKEDA model and Normal-trilinear model were used. As a study method, dynamic analysis was performed using a lumped mass model of base-fixed. During analysis, the maximum acceleration of input earthquake motion was gradually increased from 1 to 600 gal. The dynamic characteristics were calculated using the ARX model. Then, the characteristics of 1st and 2nd natural frequency and 1st damping ratio were evaluated. Input earthquake motion was simulated wave that the Building Center of Japan has published. On the building model, an RC building with 30×30m planes on each floor was assumed. The story height was 3m and the maximum height was 18m. Unit weight for each floor was 1.0t/m2. The building natural period was set to 0.36sec, and the initial stiffness of each floor was calculated by assuming the 1st mode to be an inverted triangle. First, we investigated the difference of the dynamic characteristics depending on the difference of initial damping model setting. With the increase in the maximum acceleration of the input earthquake motions, the 1st and 2nd natural frequency decreased, and the 1st damping ratio increased. Then, in the natural frequency, the difference due to initial damping model setting was small, but in the damping ratio, a significant difference was observed (Initial stiffness proportional≒Rayleigh type>Tangent stiffness proportional). The acceleration and the displacement of the earthquake response were largest in the tangent stiffness proportional. In the range where the acceleration response increased, the damping ratio was constant. In the range where the acceleration response was constant, the damping ratio increased. Next, we investigated the difference of the dynamic characteristics depending on the difference of hysteretic model setting. With the increase in the maximum acceleration of the input earthquake motions, the natural frequency decreased in TAKEDA model, but in Normal-trilinear model, the natural frequency didn’t change. The damping ratio in TAKEDA model was higher than that in Normal-trilinear model, although, both in TAKEDA model and Normal-trilinear model, the damping ratio increased. In conclusion, in initial damping model setting, the tangent stiffness proportional was evaluated the most. In the hysteretic model setting, TAKEDA model was more appreciated than the Normal-trilinear model in the nonlinear region. Our results would provide useful indicator on dynamic design.Keywords: initial damping model, damping ratio, dynamic analysis, hysteretic model, natural frequency
Procedia PDF Downloads 1748603 Optimal Portfolio Selection under Treynor Ratio Using Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Imad Zeyad Ramadan
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In this paper a genetic algorithm was developed to construct the optimal portfolio based on the Treynor method. The GA maximizes the Treynor ratio under budget constraint to select the best allocation of the budget for the companies in the portfolio. The results show that the GA was able to construct a conservative portfolio which includes companies from the three sectors. This indicates that the GA reduced the risk on the investor as it choose some companies with positive risks (goes with the market) and some with negative risks (goes against the market).Keywords: oOptimization, genetic algorithm, portfolio selection, Treynor method
Procedia PDF Downloads 4458602 Estimation of Shear Wave Velocity from Cone Penetration Test for Structured Busan Clays
Authors: Vinod K. Singh, S. G. Chung
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The degree of structuration of Busan clays at the mouth of Nakdong River mouth was highly influenced by the depositional environment, i.e., flow of the river stream, marine regression, and transgression during the sedimentation process. As a result, the geotechnical properties also varies along the depth with change in degree of structuration. Thus, the in-situ tests such as cone penetration test (CPT) could not be used to predict various geotechnical properties properly by using the conventional empirical methods. In this paper, the shear wave velocity (Vs) was measured from the field using the seismic dilatometer. The Vs was also measured in the laboratory from high quality undisturbed and remolded samples using bender element method to evaluate the degree of structuration. The degree of structuration was quantitatively defined by the modulus ratio of undisturbed to remolded soil samples which is found well correlated with the normalized void ratio (e0/eL) where eL is the void ratio at the liquid limit. It is revealed that the empirical method based on laboratory results incorporating e0/eL can predict Vs from the field more accurately. Thereafter, the CPT based empirical method was developed to estimate the shear wave velocity taking the effect of structuration in the consideration. The developed method was found to predict shear wave velocity reasonably for Busan clays.Keywords: level of structuration, normalized modulus, normalized void ratio, shear wave velocity, site characterization
Procedia PDF Downloads 2348601 Comparison of Heuristic Methods for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem
Authors: Regita P. Permata, Ulfa S. Nuraini
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Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is the most studied problem in combinatorial optimization. In simple language, TSP can be described as a problem of finding a minimum distance tour to a city, starting and ending in the same city, and exactly visiting another city. In product distribution, companies often get problems in determining the minimum distance that affects the time allocation. In this research, we aim to apply TSP heuristic methods to simulate nodes as city coordinates in product distribution. The heuristics used are sub tour reversal, nearest neighbor, farthest insertion, cheapest insertion, nearest insertion, and arbitrary insertion. We have done simulation nodes using Euclidean distances to compare the number of cities and processing time, thus we get optimum heuristic method. The results show that the optimum heuristic methods are farthest insertion and nearest insertion. These two methods can be recommended to solve product distribution problems in certain companies.Keywords: Euclidean, heuristics, simulation, TSP
Procedia PDF Downloads 1258600 Extreme Temperature Forecast in Mbonge, Cameroon Through Return Level Analysis of the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution
Authors: Nkongho Ayuketang Arreyndip, Ebobenow Joseph
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In this paper, temperature extremes are forecast by employing the block maxima method of the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution to analyse temperature data from the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). By considering two sets of data (raw data and simulated data) and two (stationary and non-stationary) models of the GEV distribution, return levels analysis is carried out and it was found that in the stationary model, the return values are constant over time with the raw data, while in the simulated data the return values show an increasing trend with an upper bound. In the non-stationary model, the return levels of both the raw data and simulated data show an increasing trend with an upper bound. This clearly shows that although temperatures in the tropics show a sign of increase in the future, there is a maximum temperature at which there is no exceedance. The results of this paper are very vital in agricultural and environmental research.Keywords: forecasting, generalized extreme value (GEV), meteorology, return level
Procedia PDF Downloads 4778599 Estimation of Carbon Dioxide Absorption in DKI Jakarta Green Space
Authors: Mario Belseran
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The issue of climate change become world attention where one of them increase in air temperature due to greenhouse gas emissions. This climate change is caused by gases in the atmosphere, one of which is CO2. DKI Jakarta as the capital has a dense population with a variety of existing land use. Land use that is dominated by settlements resulting in fewer green space, which functions to absorb atmospheric CO2. Image interpretation SPOT-7 is used to determine the greenness level of vegetation on a green space using the vegetation index NDVI, EVI, GNDVI and OSAVI. Measuring the diameter and height of trees were also performed to obtain the value of biomass that will be used as the CO2 absorption value. The CO2 absorption value that spread in Jakarta are classified into three classes: high, medium, and low. The distribution pattern of CO2 absorption value at green space in Jakarta dominance in the medium class with the distribution pattern is located in South Jakarta, East Jakarta, North Jakarta and West Jakarta. The distribution pattern of green space in Jakarta scattered randomly and more dominate in East Jakarta and South JakartaKeywords: carbon dioxide, DKI Jakarta, green space, SPOT-7, vegetation index
Procedia PDF Downloads 2788598 Superordinated Control for Increasing Feed-in Capacity and Improving Power Quality in Low Voltage Distribution Grids
Authors: Markus Meyer, Bastian Maucher, Rolf Witzmann
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The ever increasing amount of distributed generation in low voltage distribution grids (mainly PV and micro-CHP) can lead to reverse load flows from low to medium/high voltage levels at times of high feed-in. Reverse load flow leads to rising voltages that may even exceed the limits specified in the grid codes. Furthermore, the share of electrical loads connected to low voltage distribution grids via switched power supplies continuously increases. In combination with inverter-based feed-in, this results in high harmonic levels reducing overall power quality. Especially high levels of third-order harmonic currents can lead to neutral conductor overload, which is even more critical if lines with reduced neutral conductor section areas are used. This paper illustrates a possible concept for smart grids in order to increase the feed-in capacity, improve power quality and to ensure safe operation of low voltage distribution grids at all times. The key feature of the concept is a hierarchically structured control strategy that is run on a superordinated controller, which is connected to several distributed grid analyzers and inverters via broad band powerline (BPL). The strategy is devised to ensure both quick response time as well as the technically and economically reasonable use of the available inverters in the grid (PV-inverters, batteries, stepless line voltage regulators). These inverters are provided with standard features for voltage control, e.g. voltage dependent reactive power control. In addition they can receive reactive power set points transmitted by the superordinated controller. To further improve power quality, the inverters are capable of active harmonic filtering, as well as voltage balancing, whereas the latter is primarily done by the stepless line voltage regulators. By additionally connecting the superordinated controller to the control center of the grid operator, supervisory control and data acquisition capabilities for the low voltage distribution grid are enabled, which allows easy monitoring and manual input. Such a low voltage distribution grid can also be used as a virtual power plant.Keywords: distributed generation, distribution grid, power quality, smart grid, virtual power plant, voltage control
Procedia PDF Downloads 2668597 Genetic Variation in CYP4F2 and VKORC1: Pharmacogenomics Implications for Response to Warfarin
Authors: Zinhle Cindi, Collet Dandara, Mpiko Ntsekhe, Edson Makambwa, Miguel Larceda
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Background: Warfarin is the most commonly used drug in the management of thromboembolic disease. However, there is a huge variability in the time, number of doses or starting doses for patients to achieve the required international normalised ratio (INR) which is compounded by a narrow therapeutic index. Many genetic-association studies have reported on European and Asian populations which have led to the designing of specific algorithms that are now being used to assist in warfarin dosing. However, very few or no studies have looked at the pharmacogenetics of warfarin in African populations, yet, huge differences in dosage requirements to reach the same INR have been observed. Objective: We set out to investigate the distribution of 3 SNPs CYP4F2 c.1347C > T, VKORC1 g.-1639G > A and VKORC1 c.1173C > T among South African Mixed Ancestry (MA) and Black African patients. Methods: DNA was extracted from 383 participants and subsequently genotyped using PCR/RFLP for the CYP4F2 c.1347 (V433M) (rs2108622), VKORC1 g.-1639 (rs9923231) and VKORC1 c.1173 (rs9934438) SNPs. Results: Comparing the Black and MA groups, significant differences were observed in the distribution of the following genotypes; CYP4F2 c.1347C/T (23% vs. 39% p=0.03). All VKORC1 g.-1639G > A genotypes (p < 0.006) and all VKORC1 c.1173C > T genotypes (p < 0.007). Conclusion: CYP4F2 c.1347T (V433M) reduces CYP4F2 protein levels and therefore expected to affect the amount of warfarin needed to block vitamin k recycling. The VKORC1 g-1639A variant alters transcriptional regulation therefore affecting the function of vitamin k epoxide reductase in vitamin k production. The VKORC1 c.1173T variant reduces the enzyme activity of VKORC1 consequently enhancing the effectiveness of warfarin. These are preliminary results; more genetic characterization is required to understand all the genetic determinants affecting how patients respond to warfarin.Keywords: algorithms, pharmacogenetics, thromboembolic disease, warfarin
Procedia PDF Downloads 2568596 Exploring the Correlation between Population Distribution and Urban Heat Island under Urban Data: Taking Shenzhen Urban Heat Island as an Example
Authors: Wang Yang
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Shenzhen is a modern city of China's reform and opening-up policy, the development of urban morphology has been established on the administration of the Chinese government. This city`s planning paradigm is primarily affected by the spatial structure and human behavior. The subjective urban agglomeration center is divided into several groups and centers. In comparisons of this effect, the city development law has better to be neglected. With the continuous development of the internet, extensive data technology has been introduced in China. Data mining and data analysis has become important tools in municipal research. Data mining has been utilized to improve data cleaning such as receiving business data, traffic data and population data. Prior to data mining, government data were collected by traditional means, then were analyzed using city-relationship research, delaying the timeliness of urban development, especially for the contemporary city. Data update speed is very fast and based on the Internet. The city's point of interest (POI) in the excavation serves as data source affecting the city design, while satellite remote sensing is used as a reference object, city analysis is conducted in both directions, the administrative paradigm of government is broken and urban research is restored. Therefore, the use of data mining in urban analysis is very important. The satellite remote sensing data of the Shenzhen city in July 2018 were measured by the satellite Modis sensor and can be utilized to perform land surface temperature inversion, and analyze city heat island distribution of Shenzhen. This article acquired and classified the data from Shenzhen by using Data crawler technology. Data of Shenzhen heat island and interest points were simulated and analyzed in the GIS platform to discover the main features of functional equivalent distribution influence. Shenzhen is located in the east-west area of China. The city’s main streets are also determined according to the direction of city development. Therefore, it is determined that the functional area of the city is also distributed in the east-west direction. The urban heat island can express the heat map according to the functional urban area. Regional POI has correspondence. The research result clearly explains that the distribution of the urban heat island and the distribution of urban POIs are one-to-one correspondence. Urban heat island is primarily influenced by the properties of the underlying surface, avoiding the impact of urban climate. Using urban POIs as analysis object, the distribution of municipal POIs and population aggregation are closely connected, so that the distribution of the population corresponded with the distribution of the urban heat island.Keywords: POI, satellite remote sensing, the population distribution, urban heat island thermal map
Procedia PDF Downloads 1038595 High Altitude Glacier Surface Mapping in Dhauliganga Basin of Himalayan Environment Using Remote Sensing Technique
Authors: Aayushi Pandey, Manoj Kumar Pandey, Ashutosh Tiwari, Kireet Kumar
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Glaciers play an important role in climate change and are sensitive phenomena of global climate change scenario. Glaciers in Himalayas are unique as they are predominantly valley type and are located in tropical, high altitude regions. These glaciers are often covered with debris which greatly affects ablation rate of glaciers and work as a sensitive indicator of glacier health. The aim of this study is to map high altitude Glacier surface with a focus on glacial lake and debris estimation using different techniques in Nagling glacier of dhauliganga basin in Himalayan region. Different Image Classification techniques i.e. thresholding on different band ratios and supervised classification using maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) have been used on high resolution sentinel 2A level 1c satellite imagery of 14 October 2017.Here Near Infrared (NIR)/Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) ratio image was used to extract the glaciated classes (Snow, Ice, Ice Mixed Debris) from other non-glaciated terrain classes. SWIR/BLUE Ratio Image was used to map valley rock and Debris while Green/NIR ratio image was found most suitable for mapping Glacial Lake. Accuracy assessment was performed using high resolution (3 meters) Planetscope Imagery using 60 stratified random points. The overall accuracy of MLC was 85 % while the accuracy of Band Ratios was 96.66 %. According to Band Ratio technique total areal extent of glaciated classes (Snow, Ice ,IMD) in Nagling glacier was 10.70 km2 nearly 38.07% of study area comprising of 30.87 % Snow covered area, 3.93% Ice and 3.27 % IMD covered area. Non-glaciated classes (vegetation, glacial lake, debris and valley rock) covered 61.93 % of the total area out of which valley rock is dominant with 33.83% coverage followed by debris covering 27.7 % of the area in nagling glacier. Glacial lake and Debris were accurately mapped using Band ratio technique Hence, Band Ratio approach appears to be useful for the mapping of debris covered glacier in Himalayan Region.Keywords: band ratio, Dhauliganga basin, glacier mapping, Himalayan region, maximum likelihood classifier (MLC), Sentinel-2 satellite image
Procedia PDF Downloads 2278594 Modelling Hydrological Time Series Using Wakeby Distribution
Authors: Ilaria Lucrezia Amerise
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The statistical modelling of precipitation data for a given portion of territory is fundamental for the monitoring of climatic conditions and for Hydrogeological Management Plans (HMP). This modelling is rendered particularly complex by the changes taking place in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, presumably to be attributed to the global climate change. This paper applies the Wakeby distribution (with 5 parameters) as a theoretical reference model. The number and the quality of the parameters indicate that this distribution may be the appropriate choice for the interpolations of the hydrological variables and, moreover, the Wakeby is particularly suitable for describing phenomena producing heavy tails. The proposed estimation methods for determining the value of the Wakeby parameters are the same as those used for density functions with heavy tails. The commonly used procedure is the classic method of moments weighed with probabilities (probability weighted moments, PWM) although this has often shown difficulty of convergence, or rather, convergence to a configuration of inappropriate parameters. In this paper, we analyze the problem of the likelihood estimation of a random variable expressed through its quantile function. The method of maximum likelihood, in this case, is more demanding than in the situations of more usual estimation. The reasons for this lie, in the sampling and asymptotic properties of the estimators of maximum likelihood which improve the estimates obtained with indications of their variability and, therefore, their accuracy and reliability. These features are highly appreciated in contexts where poor decisions, attributable to an inefficient or incomplete information base, can cause serious damages.Keywords: generalized extreme values, likelihood estimation, precipitation data, Wakeby distribution
Procedia PDF Downloads 1368593 Viscoelastic Cell Concentration in a High Aspect Ratio Microchannel Using a Non-Powered Air Compressor
Authors: Jeonghun Nam, Seonggil Kim, Hyunjoo Choi, Chae Seung Lim
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Quantification and analysis of rare cells are challenging in clinical applications and cell biology due to its extremely small number in blood. In this work, we propose a viscoelastic microfluidic device for continuous cell concentration without sheath flows. Due to the viscoelastic effect on suspending cells, cells with the blockage ratio higher than 0.1 could be tightly focused at the center of the microchannel. The blockage ratio was defined as the particle diameter divided by the channel width. Finally, cells were concentrated through the center outlet and the additional suspending medium was removed to the side outlets. Since viscoelastic focusing is insensitive to the flow rate higher than 10 μl/min, the non-powered hand pump sprayer could be used with no accurate control of the flow rate, which is suitable for clinical settings in resource-limited developing countries. Using multiple concentration processes, high-throughput concentration of white blood cells in lysed blood sample was achieved by ~ 300-fold.Keywords: cell concentration, high-throughput, non-powered, viscoelastic fluid
Procedia PDF Downloads 2858592 Video Compression Using Contourlet Transform
Authors: Delara Kazempour, Mashallah Abasi Dezfuli, Reza Javidan
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Video compression used for channels with limited bandwidth and storage devices has limited storage capabilities. One of the most popular approaches in video compression is the usage of different transforms. Discrete cosine transform is one of the video compression methods that have some problems such as blocking, noising and high distortion inappropriate effect in compression ratio. wavelet transform is another approach is better than cosine transforms in balancing of compression and quality but the recognizing of curve curvature is so limit. Because of the importance of the compression and problems of the cosine and wavelet transforms, the contourlet transform is most popular in video compression. In the new proposed method, we used contourlet transform in video image compression. Contourlet transform can save details of the image better than the previous transforms because this transform is multi-scale and oriented. This transform can recognize discontinuity such as edges. In this approach we lost data less than previous approaches. Contourlet transform finds discrete space structure. This transform is useful for represented of two dimension smooth images. This transform, produces compressed images with high compression ratio along with texture and edge preservation. Finally, the results show that the majority of the images, the parameters of the mean square error and maximum signal-to-noise ratio of the new method based contourlet transform compared to wavelet transform are improved but in most of the images, the parameters of the mean square error and maximum signal-to-noise ratio in the cosine transform is better than the method based on contourlet transform.Keywords: video compression, contourlet transform, discrete cosine transform, wavelet transform
Procedia PDF Downloads 4418591 Cyclic Liquefaction Resistance of Reinforced Sand
Authors: S. A. Naeini, Z. Eftekhari
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Liquefaction phenomenon in sand is nowadays a classical soil mechanics subject. Using a cyclic triaxial test apparatus, we use non-woven geotextile reinforcement to improve the liquefaction resistance of sand. The layer configurations used are zero, one, two and three horizontal reinforcing layers in a triaxial test sample. The influences of the number of geotextile layers, and cyclic stress ratio (CSR) were studied and described. The results illustrated that the geotextile inclusion increases liquefaction resistance.Keywords: liquefaction resistance, geotextile, sand, cyclic triaxial test, cyclic stress ratio
Procedia PDF Downloads 5758590 Women And Gender Inequality: The Academic Experience
Authors: Akanle Florence Foluso
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This paper examined briefly the patriarchy nature of gendered power system: a network of social, political and economic relationships through which men dominate and control female labour, as well as define women’s status, privileges and rights in the society. The paper discusses the historical perspective of “the academic experience of women. It takes a look at the plight of women in a academia in some Nigeria. Universities in at present to see if both men and women have equal opportunities. This paper focuses on women in Academics today, it examines the overall gender proportions of men and women by universities, women/men ratios by lecturers, women and men ratio of associate professors, women and men ratio of professors by universities. It also examines women and men ratio by Dean also executive heads (Vice Chancellors) Expofactor design was be used. The study population comprised of three selected universities from Ondo, Ekiti and Zanfara respectively. Involuntary and indept interview was used to collect data for the study data for the study was also collected from so purposively selected academic staff in the categories of Dean and senior staff who are familiar with gender issues. Findings souls that there is gender inequality academia.Keywords: women, gender, inequality, academia
Procedia PDF Downloads 758589 Numerical Study of Natural Convection in a Triangular Enclosure as an Attic for Different Geometries and Boundary Conditions
Authors: H. Golchoobian, S. Saedodin, M. H. Taheri, A. Sarafraz
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In this paper, natural convection in an attic is numerically investigated. The geometry of the problem is considered to be a triangular enclosure. ANSYS Fluent software is used for modeling and numerical solution. This study is for steady state. Four right-angled triangles with height to base ratios of 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 are considered. The behavior of various parameters related to its performance, including temperature distribution and velocity vectors are evaluated, and graphs for the Nusselt number have been drawn. Also, in this study, the effect of geometric shape of enclosure with different height-to-base ratios has been evaluated for three types of boundary conditions of winter, summer day and one another state. It can be concluded that as the bottom side temperature and ratio of base to height of the enclosure increases, the convective effects become more prominent and circulation happened.Keywords: enclosure, natural convection, numerical solution, Nusselt number, triangular
Procedia PDF Downloads 1938588 The Effects of Different Sowing Times on Seed Yield and Quality of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) in East Mediterranean Region of Turkey
Authors: Lale Efe, Zeynep Gokce
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In this study carried out in 2013-14 growing season in East Mediterranean Region of Turkey, it was aimed to investigate the effects of different sowing times on the seed yield and quality of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graceum L.). Three fenugreek genotypes (Gürarslan, Candidate Line-1 and Genotype-1) were sown on 13.11.2013 and 07.03.2014 according to factorial randomized block design with 3 replications. Plant height (cm), branch number per plant, first pod height (cm), pod length (mm), seed number per pod (g), seed yield per plant (g), seed yield per decar (kg), thousand seed weight (g), mucilage rate (%), seed protein ratio (%), seed oil ratio (%), oleic acid (%), linoleic acid (%), palmitic acid (%) and stearic acid (%) were investigated. Among genotypes, while the highest seed yield per plant was obtained from Genotype-1 (5 g/plant), the lowest seed yield per plant was obtained from cv. Gürarslan (3.4 g/plant). According to genotype x sowing date interactions, it can be said that the highest seed yield per plant was taken in autumn sowing from Genotype-1 (6.6 g/plant) and the lowest seed yield per plant was taken in spring sowing from cv. Gürarslan (2.9 g/plant). Genotype-1 had the highest linoleic acid ratio (41.6 %). Cv. Gürarslan and Candidate Line-1 had the highest oleic acid ratio (respectively 17.8 % and 17.6%).Keywords: fenugreek, seed yield and quality, sowing times, Trigonella foenum graecum L.
Procedia PDF Downloads 2018587 Genetic Polymorphisms of the Human Organic Cation Transporter 2 gene, SLC22A2, in the Zulu population
Authors: N. Hoosain, S. Nene, B. Pearce, C. Jacobs, M. Du Plessis, M. Benjeddou
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Organic Cation Transporters play a vital role in the absorption, tissue distribution and elimination of various substrates. Numerous studies have suggested that variations in non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SLC22A2 could influence an individual’s response to various treatments, including clinically important drugs. This study is the first to determine the baseline frequency distribution for twenty SNPs of SLC22A2in the Zulu population. DNA was collected from 101 unrelated “healthy” Zulu participants. Genotypes of all samples were determined using a multiplex PCR and SNaPshot assay followed by the generation of the haplotype structure. This is the first time that the baseline frequency distribution of SNPs is reported for the Zulu population. Data from this study could be used in in vitro and in vivo pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic studies to evaluate the potential role the studied SNPs play in the therapeutic efficacy of clinically important drugs.Keywords: SLC22A2 gene, SNaPshot assay, PCR, Zulu population
Procedia PDF Downloads 2878586 The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) in the Wetlands of North East of Algeria
Authors: Aicha Beya Mammeria, Idir Bitam
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Our study focuses on the distribution of the white stork "Ciconia ciconia L. 1758" in the wetlands of El Tarf (North eastern of Algeria): recognized by its remarkable number of breeding pairs, monitoring of nesting, using a GPS has been performed in an attempt to explain the functioning of populations and population strategies for an overall design of its distribution, which has not so far been investigated in this region. Between 2012 and 2013, the number of breeding pairs has increased considerably from 174 in 1996 to 475 in 2007 and 968 in 2013. It should be noted that in the distribution of breeding pairs between 1996 and 2011, there is a significant development since the density of nests increased from 25.22 in 1996 to 84.16 couples/100 km² in 2013. More endemic bread apears in the region, this fluctuation is related to climatic change and changing season. Changes related to local climatic conditions might induce binding conditions for the development of this species.Keywords: white stork, Ciconia ciconia, wetland El Tarf, northeast Algeria, climatic changing, density
Procedia PDF Downloads 5328585 Performance Improvement of The Nano-Composite Based Proton Exchange Membranes (PEMs)
Authors: Yusuf Yılmaz, Kevser Dincer, Derya Saygılı
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In this study, performance of PEMs was experimentally investigated. Coating on the cathode side of the PEMs fuel cells was accomplished with the spray method by using NaCaNiBO. A solution having 0,1 gr NaCaNiBO +10 mL methanol was prepared. This solution was taken out and filled into a spray. Then the cathode side of PEMs fuel cells was cladded with NaCaNiBO by using spray method. After coating, the membrane was left out to dry for 24 hours. The PEM fuel cells were mounted to the system in single, double, triple and fourfold manner in order to spot the best performance. The performance parameter considered was the power to current ratio. The best performance was found to occur at the 300th second with the power/current ratio of 3.55 Watt/Ampere and on the fourfold parallel mounting after the coating; whereas the poorest performance took place at the 210th second, power to current ratio of 0.12 Watt/Ampere and on the twofold parallel connection after the coating.Keywords: nano-composites, proton exchange membranes, performance improvement, fuel cell
Procedia PDF Downloads 3698584 Alternator Fault Detection Using Wigner-Ville Distribution
Authors: Amin Ranjbar, Amir Arsalan Jalili Zolfaghari, Amir Abolfazl Suratgar, Mehrdad Khajavi
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This paper describes two stages of learning-based fault detection procedure in alternators. The procedure consists of three states of machine condition namely shortened brush, high impedance relay and maintaining a healthy condition in the alternator. The fault detection algorithm uses Wigner-Ville distribution as a feature extractor and also appropriate feature classifier. In this work, ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and also SVM (support vector machine) were compared to determine more suitable performance evaluated by the mean squared of errors criteria. Modules work together to detect possible faulty conditions of machines working. To test the method performance, a signal database is prepared by making different conditions on a laboratory setup. Therefore, it seems by implementing this method, satisfactory results are achieved.Keywords: alternator, artificial neural network, support vector machine, time-frequency analysis, Wigner-Ville distribution
Procedia PDF Downloads 3708583 Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio: A Predictor of Cardiometabolic Complications in Morbid Obese Girls
Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma
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Obesity is a low-grade inflammatory state. Childhood obesity is a multisystem disease, which is associated with a number of complications as well as potentially negative consequences. Gender is an important universal risk factor for many diseases. Hematological indices differ significantly by gender. This should be considered during the evaluation of obese children. The aim of this study is to detect hematologic indices that differ by gender in morbid obese (MO) children. A total of 134 MO children took part in this study. The parents filled an informed consent form and the approval from the Ethics Committee of Namik Kemal University was obtained. Subjects were divided into two groups based on their genders (64 females aged 10.2±3.1 years and 70 males aged 9.8±2.2 years; p ≥ 0.05). Waist-to-hip as well as head-to-neck ratios and body mass index (BMI) values were calculated. The children, whose WHO BMI-for age and sex percentile values were > 99 percentile, were defined as MO. Hematological parameters [haemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocyte count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, red blood cell distribution width, leukocyte count, neutrophil %, lymphocyte %, monocyte %, eosinophil %, basophil %, platelet count, platelet distribution width, mean platelet volume] were determined by the automatic hematology analyzer. SPSS was used for statistical analyses. P ≤ 0.05 was the degree for statistical significance. The groups included children having mean±SD value of BMI as 26.9±3.4 kg/m2 for males and 27.7±4.4 kg/m2 for females (p ≥ 0.05). There was no significant difference between ages of females and males (p ≥ 0.05). Males had significantly increased waist-to-hip ratios (0.95±0.08 vs 0.91±0.08; p=0.005) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration values (33.6±0.92 vs 33.1±0.83; p=0.001) compared to those of females. Significantly elevated neutrophil (4.69±1.59 vs 4.02±1.42; p=0.011) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (1.70±0.71 vs 1.39±0.48; p=0.004) were detected in females. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of C-reactive protein values (p ≥ 0.05). Adipose tissue plays important roles during the development of obesity and associated diseases such as metabolic syndrom and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). These diseases may cause changes in complete blood cell count parameters. These alterations are even more important during childhood. Significant gender effects on the changes of neutrophils, one of the white blood cell subsets, were observed. The findings of the study demonstrate the importance of considering gender in clinical studies. The males and females may have distinct leukocyte-trafficking profiles in inflammation. Female children had more circulating neutrophils, which may be the indicator of an increased risk of CVDs, than male children within this age range during the late stage of obesity. In recent years, females represent about half of deaths from CVDs; therefore, our findings may be the indicator of the increasing tendency of this risk in females starting from childhood.Keywords: children, gender, morbid obesity, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio
Procedia PDF Downloads 2728582 Durability and Early-Age Behavior of Sprayed Concrete with an Expansion Admixture
Authors: Kyong-Ku Yun, Kyeo-Re Lee, Kyong Namkung, Seung-Yeon Han, Pan-Gil Choi
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Sprayed concrete is a way to spray a concrete using a machinery with high air pressure. There are insufficient studies on the durability and early-age behavior of sprayed concrete using high quality expansion agent. A series of an experiment were executed with 5 varying expansion agent replacement rates, while all the other conditions were kept constant, including cement binder content and water-cement ratio. The tests includes early-age shrinkage test, rapid chloride permeability test, and image analysis of air void structure. The early-age expansion test with the variation of expansion agent show that the expansion strain increases as the ratio of expansion agent increases. The rapid chloride permeability test shows that it decrease as the expansion agent increase. Therefore, expansion agent affects into the rapid chloride permeability in a better way. As expansion agent content increased, spacing factor slightly decreased while specific surface kept relatively stable. As a results, the optimum ratio of expansion agent would be selected between 7 % and 11%.Keywords: sprayed concrete, durability, early-age behavior, expansion admixture
Procedia PDF Downloads 5068581 Effects of Hierarchy on Poisson’s Ratio and Phononic Bandgaps of Two-Dimensional Honeycomb Structures
Authors: Davood Mousanezhad, Ashkan Vaziri
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As a traditional cellular structure, hexagonal honeycombs are known for their high strength-to-weight ratio. Here, we introduce a class of fractal-appearing hierarchical metamaterials by replacing the vertices of the original non-hierarchical hexagonal grid with smaller hexagons and iterating this process to achieve higher levels of hierarchy. It has been recently shown that the isotropic in-plane Young's modulus of this hierarchical structure at small deformations becomes 25 times greater than its regular counterpart with the same mass. At large deformations, we find that hierarchy-dependent elastic buckling introduced at relatively early stages of deformation decreases the value of Poisson's ratio as the structure is compressed uniaxially leading to auxeticity (i.e., negative Poisson's ratio) in subsequent stages of deformation. We also show that the topological hierarchical architecture and instability-induced pattern transformations of the structure under compression can be effectively used to tune the propagation of elastic waves within the structure. We find that the hierarchy tends to shift the existing phononic bandgaps (defined as frequency ranges of strong wave attenuation) to lower frequencies while opening up new bandgaps. Deformation is also demonstrated as another mechanism for opening more bandgaps in hierarchical structures. The results provide new insights into the role of structural organization and hierarchy in regulating mechanical properties of materials at both the static and dynamic regimes.Keywords: cellular structures, honeycombs, hierarchical structures, metamaterials, multifunctional structures, phononic crystals, auxetic structures
Procedia PDF Downloads 3478580 The Quality of Economic Growth Regency and Cities in West Java Province: Inclusive Economic Growth
Authors: Fryanto Anugrah Rhamdhani Rhamdhani, Hana Riana Permatasari
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The aim of this study analyzes the inclusive of economic growth and analyzes the inclusive of economic growth determinant in regency and city (West Java Province). The background this study Economic Growth can do not afford to reduce poverty, Disparity and expand The Workforce. Referring Central Bureau Of Statistic West Java Province report in 2015 recorded only 5 regions able reduce poverty, 3 regions able reduce Gini Ratio and 7 regions able Workforce Absorption, meanwhile, 11 regions was improved Economic Growth. The Inclusive of Economic Growth definition based on various literature means the quality Economic Growth able reduce Poverty, Gini Ratio, and Workforce absorption. This study adopted the measurement Inclusive Economic of Growth Klassen and analyzes factor in Term Reducing Poverty, Gini Ratio, and the workforce Absorption. Data used panels data composite time series and cross-section including 25 regency and cities regions from Central Bureau Of Statistic West Java Province during 2014-2015. As a result, the measurement inclusive economic of growth Klassen 2014-2015 from 25 regency and cities shows all region does not inclusive reducing Poverty, only 2 regions able reduce Gini Ratio and 3 regions able increase Workforce absorption. Different from the result the measurement Inclusive Economic of Growth for workforce absorption, several regions shows a negative coefficient indicates Economic Growth decline Workforce absorption. The outcome of this study analyzes factor of Inclusive economic of Growth, so that give recommendations for government achieve inclusive economic of growth toward Sustainable Economic. Can be Concluded above low-quality Economic Growth, that due to all region does not inclusive Economic of Growth.Keywords: inclusive economic growth, Gini ratio, poverty, workforce
Procedia PDF Downloads 2608579 The Effect of Geometrical Ratio and Nanoparticle Reinforcement on the Properties of Al-based Nanocomposite Hollow Sphere Structures
Authors: Mostafa Amirjan
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In the present study, the properties of Al-Al2O3 nanocomposite hollow sphere structures were investigated. For this reason, the Al-based nanocomposite hollow spheres with different amounts of nano alumina reinforcement (0-10wt %) and different ratio of thickness to diameter (t/D: 0.06-0.3) were prepared via a powder metallurgy method. Then, the effect of mentioned parameters was studied on physical and quasi static mechanical properties of their related prepared structures (open/closed cell) such as density, hardness, strength and energy absorption. It was found that as the t/D ratio increases the relative density, compressive strength and energy absorption increase. The highest values of strength and energy absorption were obtained from the specimen with 5 wt. % of nanoparticle reinforcement, t/D of 0.3 (t=1 mm, D=400µm) as 22.88 MPa and 13.24 MJ/m3, respectively. The moderate specific strength of prepared composites in the present study showed the good consistency with the properties of others low carbon steel composite with similar structure.Keywords: hollow sphere structure foam, nanocomposite, thickness and diameter (t/D ), powder metallurgy
Procedia PDF Downloads 4528578 Predicting the Potential Geographical Distribution of the Banana Aphid (Pentalonia nigronervosa) as Vector of Banana Bunchy Top Virus Using Diva-GIS
Authors: Marilyn Painagan
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This study was conducted to predict the potential geographical distribution of the banana aphid (Pentalonia negronervosa) in North Cotabato through climate envelope approach of DIVA-GIS, a software for analyzing the distribution of organisms to elucidate geographic and ecological patterns. A WorldClim database that was based on weather conditions recorded last 1950 to 2000 with a spatial resolution of approximately 1x1 km. was used in the bioclimatic modelling, this database includes temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration and bioclimatic variables which was measured at many different locations, a bioclimatic modelling was done in the study. The study revealed that the western part of Magpet and Arakan and the municipality of Antipas are at high potential risk of occurrence of banana aphid while it is not likely to occur in the municipalities of Aleosan, Midsayap, Pikit, M’lang and Tulunan. The result of this study can help developed strategies for monitoring and managing this serious pest of banana and to prepare a mitigation measures on those areas that are potential for future infestation.Keywords: banana aphid, bioclimatic model, bunchy top, climatic envelope approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 256