Search results for: hierarchical graph neuron
375 Detection and Quantification of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients as Adulterants in Garcinia cambogia Slimming Preparations Using NIR Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics
Authors: Dina Ahmed Selim, Eman Shawky Anwar, Rasha Mohamed Abu El-Khair
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A rapid, simple and efficient method with minimal sample treatment was developed for authentication of Garcinia cambogia fruit peel powder, along with determining undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in its herbal slimming dietary supplements using near infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Five featured adulterants, including sibutramine, metformin, orlistat, ephedrine, and theophylline are selected as target compounds. The Near infrared spectral data matrix of authentic Garcinia cambogia fruit peel and specimens degraded by intentional contamination with the five selected APIs was subjected to hierarchical clustering analysis to investigate their bundling figure. SIMCA models were established to ensure the genuiness of Garcinia cambogia fruit peel which resulted in perfect classification of all tested specimens. Adulterated samples were utilized for construction of PLSR models based on different APIs contents at minute levels of fraud practices (LOQ < 0.2% w/w).The suggested approach can be applied to enhance and guarantee the safety and quality of Garcinia fruit peel powder as raw material and in dietary supplements.Keywords: Garcinia cambogia, Quality control, NIR spectroscopy, Chemometrics
Procedia PDF Downloads 71374 Flood Predicting in Karkheh River Basin Using Stochastic ARIMA Model
Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi, Abdolrasoul Telvari, Hossein Babazadeh
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Floods have huge environmental and economic impact. Therefore, flood prediction is given a lot of attention due to its importance. This study analysed the annual maximum streamflow (discharge) (AMS or AMD) of Karkheh River in Karkheh River Basin for flood predicting using ARIMA model. For this purpose, we use the Box-Jenkins approach, which contains four-stage method model identification, parameter estimation, diagnostic checking and forecasting (predicting). The main tool used in ARIMA modelling was the SAS and SPSS software. Model identification was done by visual inspection on the ACF and PACF. SAS software computed the model parameters using the ML, CLS and ULS methods. The diagnostic checking tests, AIC criterion, RACF graph and RPACF graphs, were used for selected model verification. In this study, the best ARIMA models for Annual Maximum Discharge (AMD) time series was (4,1,1) with their AIC value of 88.87. The RACF and RPACF showed residuals’ independence. To forecast AMD for 10 future years, this model showed the ability of the model to predict floods of the river under study in the Karkheh River Basin. Model accuracy was checked by comparing the predicted and observation series by using coefficient of determination (R2).Keywords: time series modelling, stochastic processes, ARIMA model, Karkheh river
Procedia PDF Downloads 281373 Computational Aerodynamic Shape Optimisation Using a Concept of Control Nodes and Modified Cuckoo Search
Authors: D. S. Naumann, B. J. Evans, O. Hassan
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This paper outlines the development of an automated aerodynamic optimisation algorithm using a novel method of parameterising a computational mesh by employing user–defined control nodes. The shape boundary movement is coupled to the movement of the novel concept of the control nodes via a quasi-1D-linear deformation. Additionally, a second order smoothing step has been integrated to act on the boundary during the mesh movement based on the change in its second derivative. This allows for both linear and non-linear shape transformations dependent on the preference of the user. The domain mesh movement is then coupled to the shape boundary movement via a Delaunay graph mapping. A Modified Cuckoo Search (MCS) algorithm is used for optimisation within the prescribed design space defined by the allowed range of control node displacement. A finite volume compressible NavierStokes solver is used for aerodynamic modelling to predict aerodynamic design fitness. The resulting coupled algorithm is applied to a range of test cases in two dimensions including the design of a subsonic, transonic and supersonic intake and the optimisation approach is compared with more conventional optimisation strategies. Ultimately, the algorithm is tested on a three dimensional wing optimisation case.Keywords: mesh movement, aerodynamic shape optimization, cuckoo search, shape parameterisation
Procedia PDF Downloads 329372 Complementary Child-Care by Grandparents: Comparisons of Zambia and the Netherlands
Authors: Francis Sichimba
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Literature has increasingly acknowledged the important role that grandparents play in child care with evidence highlighting differences in grand-parental investment between countries and cultures. However, there are very few systematic cross cultural studies on grandparents’ participation in child care. Thus, we decided to conduct this study in Zambia and the Netherlands because the two countries differ rather drastically socially and culturally. The objective of this study was to investigate grand-parental involvement in child care in Zambia and the Netherlands. In line with the general objective, four hypotheses were formulated using nationality, family size, social economic status (SES), attachment security as independent variables. The study sample consisted of 411 undergraduate students from the University of Zambia and the University of Leiden. A questionnaire was used to measure grand-parental involvement in child care. Results indicated that grandparent involvement in child care was prevalent in both Zambia and Netherlands. However, as predicted it was found that Zambian grandparents (M = 9.69, SD=2.40) provided more care for their grandchildren compared to their Dutch counterparts (M = 7.80, SD=3.31) even after controlling for parents being alive. Using hierarchical logistic regression analysis the study revealed that nationality and attachment-related avoidance were significant predictors of grand-parental involvement in child care. It was concluded that grand-parental care is a great resource in offering complementary care in both countries.Keywords: attachment, care, grand-parenting involvement, social economic status
Procedia PDF Downloads 711371 Three-Dimensional Carbon Foams for the Application as Electrode Material in Energy Storage Systems
Authors: H. Beisch, J. Marx, S. Garlof, R. Shvets, I. I. Grygorchak, A. Kityk, B. Fiedler
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Carbon materials, especially three-dimensional carbon foams, show very high potential in the application as electrode material for energy storage systems such as batteries and supercapacitors with unique fast charging and discharging times. Regarding their high specific surface areas (SSA) high specific capacities can be reached. Globugraphite is a newly developed carbon foam with an interconnected globular carbon morphology. Especially, this foam has a statistically distributed hierarchical pore structure resulting from the manufacturing process based on sintered ceramic templates which are synthetized during a final chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. For morphology characterization scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used. In addition, the SSA is carried out by nitrogen adsorption combined with the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) theory. Electrochemical measurements in organic and inorganic electrolyte provide high energy densities and power densities resulting from ion absorption by forming an electrochemical double layer. All values are summarized in a Ragone Diagram. Finally, power densities up to 833 W/kg and energy densities up to 48 Wh/kg could be achieved. The corresponding SSA is between 376 m²/g and 859 m²/g. For organic electrolyte a specific capacity of 71 F/g at a density of 20 mg/cm³ was achieved.Keywords: BET, CVD process, electron microscopy, Ragone diagram
Procedia PDF Downloads 168370 Utilization of an Object Oriented Tool to Perform Model-Based Safety Analysis According to Extended Failure System Models
Authors: Royia Soliman, Salma ElAnsary, Akram Amin Abdellatif, Florian Holzapfel
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Model-Based Safety Analysis (MBSA) is an approach in which the system and safety engineers share a common system model created using a model-based development process. The model can also be extended by the failure modes of the system components. There are two famous approaches for the addition of fault behaviors to system models. The first one is to enclose the failure into the system design directly. The second approach is to develop a fault model separately from the system model, thus combining both independent models for safety analysis. This paper introduces a hybrid approach of MBSA. The approach tries to use informal abstracted models to investigate failure behaviors. The approach will combine various concepts such as directed graph traversal, event lists and Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP). The approach is implemented using an Object Oriented programming language. The components are abstracted to its failure logic and relationships of connected components. The implemented approach is tested on various flight control systems, including electrical and multi-domain examples. The various tests are analyzed, and a comparison to different approaches is represented.Keywords: flight control systems, model based safety analysis, safety assessment analysis, system modelling
Procedia PDF Downloads 152369 A Framework for Automating Software Testing: A Practical Approach
Authors: Ana Paula Cavalcanti Furtado, Silvio Meira
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Context: The quality of a software product can be directly influenced by the quality of its development process. Therefore, immature or ad-hoc test processes are means that are unsuited for introducing systematic test automation, and should not be used to support improving the quality of software. Objective: In order to conduct this research, the benefits and limitations of and gaps in automating software testing had to be assessed in order to identify the best practices and to propose a strategy for systematically introducing test automation into software development processes. Method: To conduct this research, an exploratory bibliographical survey was undertaken so as to underpin the search by theory and the recent literature. After defining the proposal, two case studies were conducted so as to analyze the proposal in a real-world environment. In addition, the proposal was also assessed through a focus group with specialists in the field. Results: The proposal of a Framework for Automating Software Testing (FAST), which is a theoretical framework consisting of a hierarchical structure to introduce test automation. Conclusion: The findings of this research showed that the absence of systematic processes is one of the factors that hinder the introduction of test automation. Based on the results of the case studies, FAST can be considered as a satisfactory alternative that lies within the scope of introducing and maintaining test automation in software development.Keywords: software process improvement, software quality, software testing, test automation
Procedia PDF Downloads 133368 Preparation, Physical and Photoelectrochemical Characterization of Ag/CuCo₂O₄: Application to Solar Light Oxidation of Methyl Orange
Authors: Radia Bagtache, Karima Boudjedien, Ahmed Malek Djaballah, Mohamed Trari
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The compounds with a spinel structure have received special attention because of their numerous applications in electronics, magnetism, catalysis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, etc. Among these oxides, CuCo₂O₄ was selected because of its optimal band gap, very close to the ideal value for solar devices, its low cost, and a potential candidate in the field of energy storage. Herein, we reported the junction Ag/CuCo₂O₄ (5/95 % wt.) prepared by co-precipitation, characterized physically and photo electrochemically. Moreover, its performance was evaluated for the oxidation of methyl orange (MO) under solar light. The X-ray diffraction exhibited narrow peaks ascribed to the spinel CuCo₂O₄ and Ag. The SEM analysis displayed grains with regular shapes. The band gap of CuCo₂O₄ (1.38 eV) was deducted from the diffuse reflectance, and this value decreased down to 1.15 eV due to the synergy effect in the junction. The current-potential (J-E) curve plotted in Na₂SO₄ electrolyte showed a medium hysteresis, characteristic of good chemical stability. The capacitance-2 – potential (C⁻² – E) graph displayed that the spinel behaves as a p-type semiconductor, a property supported by chrono-amperometry. The conduction band, located at 4.05 eV (-0.94 VNHE), was made up of Co³⁺: 3d orbital. The result showed a total discoloration of MO after 2 h of illumination under solar light.Keywords: junction Ag/CuCo₂O₄, semiconductor, environment, sunlight, characterization, depollution
Procedia PDF Downloads 60367 Investigating the Causes of Human Error-Induced Incidents in the Maintenance Operations of Petrochemical Industry by Using Human Factors Analysis and Classification System
Authors: Omid Kalatpour, Mohammadreza Ajdari
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This article studied the possible causes of human error-induced incidents in the petrochemical industry maintenance activities by using Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). The purpose of the study was anticipating and identifying these causes and proposing corrective and preventive actions. Maintenance department in a petrochemical company was selected for research. A checklist of human error-induced incidents was developed based on four HFACS main levels and nineteen sub-groups. Hierarchical task analysis (HTA) technique was used to identify maintenance activities and tasks. The main causes of possible incidents were identified by checklist and recorded. Corrective and preventive actions were defined depending on priority. Analyzing the worksheets of 444 activities in four levels of HFACS showed 37.6% of the causes were at the level of unsafe actions, 27.5% at the level of unsafe supervision, 20.9% at the level of preconditions for unsafe acts and 14% of the causes were at the level of organizational effects. The HFACS sub-groups showed errors (24.36%) inadequate supervision (14.89%) and violations (13.26%) with the most frequency. According to findings of this study, increasing the training effectiveness of operators and supervision improvement respectively are the most important measures in decreasing the human error-induced incidents in petrochemical industry maintenance.Keywords: human error, petrochemical industry, maintenance, HFACS
Procedia PDF Downloads 227366 Knowledge, Hierarchy and Decision-Making: Analysis of Documentary Filmmaking Practices in India
Authors: Nivedita Ghosh
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In his critique of Lefebvre’s view that ‘technological capacities’ are class-dependent, Francois Hetman argues that technology today is participatory, allowing the entry of individuals from different levels of social stratification. As a result, we are entering into an era of technology operators or ‘clerks’ who become the new decision-makers because of the knowledge they possess of the use of technologies. In response to Hetman’s thesis, this paper argues that knowledge of technology, while indeed providing a momentary space for decision-making, does not necessarily restructure social hierarchies. Through case studies presented from the world of Indian documentary filmmaking, this paper puts forth the view that Hetman’s clerks, despite being technologically advanced, do not break into the filmmaking hierarchical order. This remains true even for a situation where technical knowledge rests most with those in the lowest rungs of the filmmaking ladder. Instead, technological knowledge provides the space for other kinds of relationships to evolve, such as those of ‘trusting the technician’ or ‘admiration for the technician’s work’. Furthermore, what continues to define documentary filmmaking hierarchy is conceptualization capacities of the practitioners, which are influenced by a similarity in socio-cultural backgrounds and film school training accessible primarily to the filmmakers instead of the technicians. Accordingly, the paper concludes with the argument that more than ‘technological-capacities’, it is ‘conceptualization capacities’ which are class-dependent, especially when we study the field of documentary filmmaking.Keywords: documentary filmmaking, India, technology, knowledge, hierarchy
Procedia PDF Downloads 250365 General Time-Dependent Sequenced Route Queries in Road Networks
Authors: Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi, Vahid Haghighatdoost
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Spatial databases have been an active area of research over years. In this paper, we study how to answer the General Time-Dependent Sequenced Route queries. Given the origin and destination of a user over a time-dependent road network graph, an ordered list of categories of interests and a departure time interval, our goal is to find the minimum travel time path along with the best departure time that minimizes the total travel time from the source location to the given destination passing through a sequence of points of interests belonging to each of the specified categories of interest. The challenge of this problem is the added complexity to the optimal sequenced route queries, where we assume that first the road network is time dependent, and secondly the user defines a departure time interval instead of one single departure time instance. For processing general time-dependent sequenced route queries, we propose two solutions as Discrete-Time and Continuous-Time Sequenced Route approaches, finding approximate and exact solutions, respectively. Our proposed approaches traverse the road network based on A*-search paradigm equipped with an efficient heuristic function, for shrinking the search space. Extensive experiments are conducted to verify the efficiency of our proposed approaches.Keywords: trip planning, time dependent, sequenced route query, road networks
Procedia PDF Downloads 310364 Sustainability Modelling and Sustainability Evaluation of a Mechanical System in a Concurrent Engineering Environment: A Digraph and Matrix Approach
Authors: Anand Ankush, Wani Mohammed Farooq
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A procedure based on digraph and matrix method is developed for modelling and evaluation of sustainability of Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment.The sustainability parameters of a Mechanical System are identified and are called sustainability attributes. Consideration of attributes and their interrelations is rudiment in modeling and evaluation of sustainability index. Sustainability attributes of a Mechanical System are modelled in termsof sustainability digraph. The graph is represented by a one-to-one matrix for sustainability expression which is based on sustainability attributes. A variable sustainability relationship permanent matrix is defined to develop sustainability expression(VPF-t) which is also useful in comparing two systems in a concurrent environment. The sustainability index of Mechanical System is obtained from permanent of matrix by substituting the numerical values of attributes and their interrelations. A higher value of index implies better sustainability of system.The ideal value of index is obtained from matrix expression which is useful in assessing relative sustainability of a Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment. The procedure is not only useful for evaluation of sustainability of a Mechanical System at conceptual design stage but can also be used for design and development of systems at system design stage. A step-by-step procedure for evaluation of sustainability index is also suggested and is illustrated by means of an example.Keywords: digraph, matrix method, mechanical system, sustainability
Procedia PDF Downloads 352363 Study on the Incidence of Chikungunya Infection in Swat Region
Authors: Nasib Zaman, Maneesha Kour, Muhammad Rizwan, Fazal Akbar
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Abstract: Chikungunya fever is a re-emerging rapidly spreading mosquito-borne disease cause by Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquito vectors. Currently, it is affecting millions of people globally. Objective: This study's main objective was to find the incidence of chikungunya fever in the Swat region and the factors associated with the spread of this infection. Method: This study was carried out in different areas of Swat. Blood samples and data were collected from selected patients, and a questionnaire was filled for each patient. 3-5ml of the specimen was taken from the patient's vein and serum, or plasma was separated by centrifugation. Chikungunya tests were performed for IgG and IgM antibodies. The data was analyzed by SPSS and Graph Paid Prism 5. Results: A total of 169 patients were included in this study, out of which 103 (60.9%) having age less than 30 years were positive for chikungunya infection and 66 (39.1%) having more than 30 years were negative for this infection. Only 1 (0.6%) were positive for both IgG and IgM antibody. About 15 (8.9%) patients have diagnosed with positive IgG antibodies, and 25 (26.6%) patients were positive for IgM positive antibodies. The infection rate was significantly higher in males compared to females 71 (59.6%) vs. 14 (38%) P value=0.088, OR=1.7. Conclusion: This study concludes clinical knowledge and awareness that are necessary for a diagnosis of chikungunya infection properly. Therefore it is important to educate people for the eradication of this infection. Recommendation: This study also recommends investigating the other risk factors associated with this infection.Keywords: Chikungunya, risk factor, Incidence, antibodies, mosquito
Procedia PDF Downloads 105362 Microwave Assisted Thermal Cracking of Castor Oil Zeolite ZSM-5 as Catalyst for Biofuel Production
Authors: Ghazi Faisal Najmuldeen, Ali Abdul Rahman–Al Ezzi, Tharmathas A/L Alagappan
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The aim of this investigation was to produce biofuel from castor oil through microwave assisted thermal cracking with zeolite ZSM-5 as catalyst. The obtained results showed that microwave assisted thermal cracking of castor oil with Zeolite ZSM-5 as catalyst generates products consisting of alcohol, methyl esters and fatty acids. The products obtained from this experimental procedure by the cracking of castor oil are components of biodiesel. Samples of cracked castor oil containing 1, 3 and 5wt % catalyst was analyzed, however, only the sample containing the 5wt % catalyst showed significant presence of condensate. FTIR and GCMS studies show that the condensate obtained is an unsaturated fatty acid, is 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid, suitable for biofuel use. 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid with a molecular weight of 280.445 g/mol. Characterization of the sample demonstrates that functional group for the products from the three samples display a similar peak in the FTIR graph analysis at 1700 cm-1 and 3600 cm-1. The result obtained from GCMS shows that there are 16 peaks obtained from the sample. The compound with the highest peak area is 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid with a retention time of 9.941 and 24.65 peak areas. All these compounds are organic material and can be characterized as biofuel and biodiesel.Keywords: castor oil, biofuel, biodiesel, thermal cracking, microwave
Procedia PDF Downloads 225361 Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship Analysis of Some Benzimidazole Derivatives by Linear Multivariate Method
Authors: Strahinja Z. Kovačević, Lidija R. Jevrić, Sanja O. Podunavac Kuzmanović
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The relationship between antibacterial activity of eighteen different substituted benzimidazole derivatives and their molecular characteristics was studied using chemometric QSAR (Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships) approach. QSAR analysis has been carried out on inhibitory activity towards Staphylococcus aureus, by using molecular descriptors, as well as minimal inhibitory activity (MIC). Molecular descriptors were calculated from the optimized structures. Principal component analysis (PCA) followed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) was performed in order to select molecular descriptors that best describe the antibacterial behavior of the compounds investigated, and to determine the similarities between molecules. The HCA grouped the molecules in separated clusters which have the similar inhibitory activity. PCA showed very similar classification of molecules as the HCA, and displayed which descriptors contribute to that classification. MLR equations, that represent MIC as a function of the in silico molecular descriptors were established. The statistical significance of the estimated models was confirmed by standard statistical measures and cross-validation parameters (SD = 0.0816, F = 46.27, R = 0.9791, R2CV = 0.8266, R2adj = 0.9379, PRESS = 0.1116). These parameters indicate the possibility of application of the established chemometric models in prediction of the antibacterial behaviour of studied derivatives and structurally very similar compounds.Keywords: antibacterial, benzimidazole, molecular descriptors, QSAR
Procedia PDF Downloads 357360 An Adaptive Dimensionality Reduction Approach for Hyperspectral Imagery Semantic Interpretation
Authors: Akrem Sellami, Imed Riadh Farah, Basel Solaiman
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With the development of HyperSpectral Imagery (HSI) technology, the spectral resolution of HSI became denser, which resulted in large number of spectral bands, high correlation between neighboring, and high data redundancy. However, the semantic interpretation is a challenging task for HSI analysis due to the high dimensionality and the high correlation of the different spectral bands. In fact, this work presents a dimensionality reduction approach that allows to overcome the different issues improving the semantic interpretation of HSI. Therefore, in order to preserve the spatial information, the Tensor Locality Preserving Projection (TLPP) has been applied to transform the original HSI. In the second step, knowledge has been extracted based on the adjacency graph to describe the different pixels. Based on the transformation matrix using TLPP, a weighted matrix has been constructed to rank the different spectral bands based on their contribution score. Thus, the relevant bands have been adaptively selected based on the weighted matrix. The performance of the presented approach has been validated by implementing several experiments, and the obtained results demonstrate the efficiency of this approach compared to various existing dimensionality reduction techniques. Also, according to the experimental results, we can conclude that this approach can adaptively select the relevant spectral improving the semantic interpretation of HSI.Keywords: band selection, dimensionality reduction, feature extraction, hyperspectral imagery, semantic interpretation
Procedia PDF Downloads 342359 Genome Sequencing of the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strain 202-3
Authors: Yina A. Cifuentes Triana, Andrés M. Pinzón Velásco, Marío E. Velásquez Lozano
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In this work the sequencing and genome characterization of a natural isolate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (strain 202-3), identified with potential for the production of second generation ethanol from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates is presented. This strain was selected because its capability to consume xylose during the fermentation of sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates, taking into account that many strains of S. cerevisiae are incapable of processing this sugar. This advantage and other prominent positive aspects during fermentation profiles evaluated in bagasse hydrolysates made the strain 202-3 a candidate strain to improve the production of second-generation ethanol, which was proposed as a first step to study the strain at the genomic level. The molecular characterization was carried out by genome sequencing with the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform paired end; the assembly was performed with different programs, finally choosing the assembler ABYSS with kmer 89. Gene prediction was developed with the approach of hidden Markov models with Augustus. The genes identified were scored based on similarity with public databases of nucleotide and protein. Records were organized from ontological functions at different hierarchical levels, which identified central metabolic functions and roles of the S. cerevisiae strain 202-3, highlighting the presence of four possible new proteins, two of them probably associated with the positive consumption of xylose.Keywords: cellulosic ethanol, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, genome sequencing, xylose consumption
Procedia PDF Downloads 315358 Numerical Solution of Manning's Equation in Rectangular Channels
Authors: Abdulrahman Abdulrahman
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When the Manning equation is used, a unique value of normal depth in the uniform flow exists for a given channel geometry, discharge, roughness, and slope. Depending on the value of normal depth relative to the critical depth, the flow type (supercritical or subcritical) for a given characteristic of channel conditions is determined whether or not flow is uniform. There is no general solution of Manning's equation for determining the flow depth for a given flow rate, because the area of cross section and the hydraulic radius produce a complicated function of depth. The familiar solution of normal depth for a rectangular channel involves 1) a trial-and-error solution; 2) constructing a non-dimensional graph; 3) preparing tables involving non-dimensional parameters. Author in this paper has derived semi-analytical solution to Manning's equation for determining the flow depth given the flow rate in rectangular open channel. The solution was derived by expressing Manning's equation in non-dimensional form, then expanding this form using Maclaurin's series. In order to simplify the solution, terms containing power up to 4 have been considered. The resulted equation is a quartic equation with a standard form, where its solution was obtained by resolving this into two quadratic factors. The proposed solution for Manning's equation is valid over a large range of parameters, and its maximum error is within -1.586%.Keywords: channel design, civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, open channel flow, Manning's equation, normal depth, uniform flow
Procedia PDF Downloads 208357 Exploring the Role of Humorous Dialogues in Advertisements of Pakistani Network Companies: Analysis of Discourses through Multi-Modal Critical Approach
Authors: Jane E. Alam Solangi
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The contribution of the study is to explore the important part of humorous dialogues in cellular network advertisements. This promotes the message of valuable construction and promotion of network companies in Pakistan that employ different and broad techniques to give promotion to selling products. It merely instigates the consumers to buy it. The results of the study after analysis of its collected data gives a vision that advertisers of network advertisements use humorous dialogues as a significant device to the greater level. The source of entertainment in the advertisement is accompanied by the texts and humorous discourses to influence buying decisions of the consumers. Therefore, it tends to neutralize personal and social based values. The earlier contribution of scholars presented that the technical employment of humorous devices leads to the successful market of the relevant products. In order to analyze the humorous discourse devices, the approach of multi-modality of Fairclough (1989) is used. It is accompanied by the framework of Kress and van Leeuwen’s (1996). It analyzes the visual graph of the grammar. The overall findings in the study verified the role of humorous devices in the captivation of consumers’ decision to buy the product that interests them. Therefore, the role of humor acts as a breaker of the monotonous rhythm of advertisements.Keywords: advertisements, devices, humorous, multi-modality, networks, Pakistan
Procedia PDF Downloads 92356 Particle Size Analysis of Itagunmodi Southwestern Nigeria Alluvial Gold Ore Sample by Gaudin Schumann Method
Authors: Olaniyi Awe, Adelana R. Adetunji, Abraham Adeleke
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Mining of alluvial gold ore by artisanal miners has been going on for decades at Itagunmodi, Southwestern Nigeria. In order to optimize the traditional panning gravity separation method commonly used in the area, a mineral particle size analysis study is critical. This study analyzed alluvial gold ore samples collected at identified five different locations in the area with a view to determine the ore particle size distributions. 500g measured of as-received alluvial gold ore sample was introduced into the uppermost sieve of an electrical sieve shaker consisting of sieves arranged in the order of decreasing nominal apertures of 5600μm, 3350μm, 2800μm, 355μm, 250μm, 125μm and 90μm, and operated for 20 minutes. The amount of material retained on each sieve was measured and tabulated for analysis. A screen analysis graph using the Gaudin Schuman method was drawn for each of the screen tests on the alluvial samples. The study showed that the percentages of fine particle size -125+90 μm fraction were 45.00%, 36.00%, 39.60%, 43.00% and 36.80% for the selected samples. These primary ore characteristic results provide reference data for the alluvial gold ore processing method selection, process performance measurement and optimization.Keywords: alluvial gold ore, sieve shaker, particle size, Gaudin Schumann
Procedia PDF Downloads 38355 Prototyping the Problem Oriented Medical Record for Connected Health Based on TypeGraphQL
Authors: Sabah Mohammed, Jinan Fiaidhi, Darien Sawyer
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Data integration of health through connected services can save lives in the event of a medical emergency or provide efficient and effective interventions for the benefit of the patients through the integration of bedside and bench side clinical research. Such integration will support all wind of change in healthcare by being predictive, pre-emptive, personalized, problem-oriented and participatory. Prototyping a healthcare system that enables data integration has been a big challenge for healthcare for a long time. However, an innovative solution started to emerge by focusing on problem lists where everything can connect the problem list forming a growing graph. This notion was introduced by Dr. Lawrence Weed in early 70’s, but the enabling technologies weren’t mature enough to provide a successful implementation prototype. In this article, we are describing our efforts in prototyping Dr. Lawrence Weed's problem-oriented medical record (POMR) and his patient case schema (SOAP) to shape a prototype for connected health. For this, we are using the TypeGraphQL API and our enterprise-based QL4POMR to describe a Web-Based gateway for healthcare services connectivity. Our prototype has reported success in connecting to the HL7 FHIR medical record and the OpenTarget biomedical repositories.Keywords: connected health, problem-oriented healthcare record, SOAP, QL4POMR, typegraphQL
Procedia PDF Downloads 90354 Review and Evaluation of Trending Canonical Correlation Analyses-Based Brain Computer Interface Methods
Authors: Bayar Shahab
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The fast development of technology that has advanced neuroscience and human interaction with computers has enabled solutions to various problems, and issues of this new era have been found and are being found like no other time in history. Brain-computer interface so-called BCI has opened the door to several new research areas and have been able to provide solutions to critical and important issues such as supporting a paralyzed patient to interact with the outside world, controlling a robot arm, playing games in VR with the brain, driving a wheelchair or even a car and neurotechnology enabled the rehabilitation of the lost memory, etc. This review work presents state-of-the-art methods and improvements of canonical correlation analyses (CCA), which is an SSVEP-based BCI method. These are the methods used to extract EEG signal features or, to be said in a different way, the features of interest that we are looking for in the EEG analyses. Each of the methods from oldest to newest has been discussed while comparing their advantages and disadvantages. This would create a great context and help researchers to understand the most state-of-the-art methods available in this field with their pros and cons, along with their mathematical representations and usage. This work makes a vital contribution to the existing field of study. It differs from other similar recently published works by providing the following: (1) stating most of the prominent methods used in this field in a hierarchical way (2) explaining pros and cons of each method and their performance (3) presenting the gaps that exist at the end of each method that can open the understanding and doors to new research and/or improvements.Keywords: BCI, CCA, SSVEP, EEG
Procedia PDF Downloads 134353 Perceived Organizational Justice, Trust and Employee Engagement in Bank Managers
Authors: Seemal Mazhar Khan, Tahira Mubashar
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The present research aimed to investigate the relationship in perceived organizational justice, organizational trust and employee engagement in bank employees. It was hypothesized: there is likely to be a relationship in perceived organizational justices, organizational trust and employee engagement; perceived organizational justice and organizational trust are likely to predict employee engagement; there is likely to be effect of bank type and designation on perceived organizational justice, organizational trust and employee engagement. The sample consisted of 150 bank employees (50 from government, 50 from private and 50 from privatized banks) selected from different banks in Lahore, Pakistan. Correlational research design was used to conduct this study. Perceived Organizational Justices Questionnaire, Organizational Trust Questionnaire and Employee Engagement Scale were used for assessment. Pearson product moment correlation, hierarchical regression and multivariate analysis of covariance were applied. Results showed a positive significant relationship in perceived organizational justice and organizational engagement and there were also a positive significant relation between organizational trust and job and organizational engagement. Results showed that organizational trust predicts organizational engagement after controlling the effect of age, marital status and socio-economic status and there is a significant interaction effect of bank type and designation level on organizational trust in bank employees. The findings of the research can serve as a platform for the awareness of important antecedents of employee engagement and organizations can inculcate trust for better and improved engagement of its employees, thereby, enhancing the productivity of their employees.Keywords: bank employees, organizational engagement, perceived organizational justice, trust
Procedia PDF Downloads 388352 Anti-Neuroinflammatory and Anti-Apoptotic Efficacy of Equol, against Lipopolysaccharide Activated Microglia and Its Neurotoxicity
Authors: Lalita Subedi, Jae Kyoung Chae, Yong Un Park, Cho Kyo Hee, Lee Jae Hyuk, Kang Min Cheol, Sun Yeou Kim
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Neuroinflammation may mediate the relationship between low levels of estrogens and neurodegenerative disease. Estrogens are neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory in neurodegenerative disease models. Due to the long term side effects of estrogens, researches have been focused on finding an effective phytoestrogens for biological activities. Daidzein present in soybeans and its active metabolite equol (7-hydroxy-3-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman) bears strong antioxidant and anticancer showed more potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective role in neuroinflammatory model confirmed its in vitro activity with molecular mechanism through NF-κB pathway. Three major CNS cells Microglia (BV-2), Astrocyte (C6), Neuron (N2a) were used to find the effect of equol in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), MAPKs signaling proteins, apoptosis related proteins by western blot analysis. Nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was measured by the Gries method and ELISA, respectively. Cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 were also measured in the conditioned medium of LPS activated cells with or without equol. Equol inhibited the NO production, PGE-2 production and expression of COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-stimulated microglial cells at a dose dependent without any cellular toxicity. At the same time Equol also showed promising effect in modulation of MAPK’s and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression with significant inhibition of the production of proinflammatory cytokine like interleukin -6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α). Additionally, it inhibited the LPS activated microglia-induced neuronal cell death by downregulating the apoptotic phenomenon in neuronal cells. Furthermore, equol increases the production of neurotrophins like NGF and increase the neurite outgrowth as well. In conclusion the natural daidzein metabolite equol are more active than daidzein, which showed a promising effectiveness as an anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective agent via downregulating the LPS stimulated microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis. This work was supported by Brain Korea 21 Plus project and High Value-added Food Technology Development Program 114006-4, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.Keywords: apoptosis, equol, neuroinflammation, phytoestrogen
Procedia PDF Downloads 358351 Depositional Facies, High Resolution Sequence Stratigraphy, Reservoir Characterization of Early Oligocene Carbonates (Mukta Formation) Of North & Northwest of Heera, Mumbai Offshore
Authors: Almas Rajguru, Archana Kamath, Rachana Singh
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The study aims to determine the depositional facies, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, and diagenetic processes of Early Oligocene carbonates in N & N-W of Heera, Mumbai Offshore. Foraminiferal assemblage and microfacies from cores of Well A, B, C, D and E are indicative of facies association related to four depositional environments, i.e., restricted inner lagoons-tidal flats, shallow open lagoons, high energy carbonate bars-shoal complex and deeper mid-ramps of a westerly dipping homoclinal carbonate ramp. Two high-frequency (4th Order) depositional sequences bounded by sequence boundary, DS1 and DS2, displaying hierarchical stacking patterns, are identified and correlated across wells. Vadose zone diagenesis effect during short diastem/ subaerial exposure has rendered good porosity due to dissolution in HST carbonates and occasionally affected underlying TST sediments (Well D, C and E). On mapping and correlating the sequences, the presence of thin carbonate bars that can be potential reservoirs are envisaged along NW-SE direction, towards north and south of Wells E, D and C. A more pronounced development of these bars in the same orientation can be anticipated towards the west of the study area.Keywords: sequence stratigraphy, depositional facies, diagenesis petrography, early Oligocene, Mumbai offshore
Procedia PDF Downloads 66350 On a Transient Magnetohydrodynamics Heat Transfer Within Radiative Porous Channel Due to Convective Boundary Condition
Authors: Bashiru Abdullahi, Isah Bala Yabo, Ibrahim Yakubu Seini
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In this paper, the steady/transient MHD heat transfer within radiative porous channel due to convective boundary conditions is considered. The solution of the steady-state and that of the transient version were conveyed by Perturbation and Finite difference methods respectively. The heat transfer mechanism of the present work ascertains the influence of Biot number〖(B〗_i1), magnetizing parameter (M), radiation parameter(R), temperature difference, suction/injection(S) Grashof number (Gr) and time (t) on velocity (u), temperature(θ), skin friction(τ), and Nusselt number (Nu). The results established were discussed with the help of a line graph. It was found that the velocity, temperature, and skin friction decay with increasing suction/injection and magnetizing parameters while the Nusselt number upsurges with suction/injection at y = 0 and falls at y =1. The steady-state solution was in perfect agreement with the transient version for a significant value of time t. It is interesting to report that the Biot number has a cogent influence consequently, as its values upsurge the result of the present work slant the extended literature.Keywords: heat transfer, thermal radiation, porous channel, MHD, transient, convective boundary condition
Procedia PDF Downloads 114349 Land Cover Classification System for the Estimation of Carbon Storage in Terrestrial Ecosystems
Authors: Lei Zhang
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The carbon cycle greatly influences global change, and the land cover changes contribute to the status and rate of the carbon budget in ecosystems. This paper proposes a land cover classification system for mapping land cover, the national ecological environment assessment, and estimating carbon storage in ecosystems. The classification system consists of basic land cover classes at levels Ⅰ and Ⅱ and auxiliary features at level III. The basic 38 classes characterizing land cover features are derived from 19 criteria referring to composition, structure, pattern, phenology, etc. The basic classes reflect the status of carbon storage in ecosystems. The auxiliary classes at level III complement the attributes of higher levels by 9 criteria. The 5 environmental criteria of temperature, moisture, landform, aspect and slope mainly reflect the potential and intensity of carbon storage in ecosystems. The disturbance of vegetation succession caused by land use type influences the vegetation carbon budget. The other 3 vegetation cover criteria, growth period, and species characteristics further refine the vegetation types. The hierarchical structure of the land cover map (the classes of levels Ⅰ and Ⅱ) is independent of the products of level III, which is helpful for land cover product management and applications. The classification system has been adopted in the Chinese national land cover database for the carbon budget in ecosystems at a 30 m scale.Keywords: classification system, land cover, ecosystem, carbon storage, object based
Procedia PDF Downloads 58348 Interval Bilevel Linear Fractional Programming
Authors: F. Hamidi, N. Amiri, H. Mishmast Nehi
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The Bilevel Programming (BP) model has been presented for a decision making process that consists of two decision makers in a hierarchical structure. In fact, BP is a model for a static two person game (the leader player in the upper level and the follower player in the lower level) wherein each player tries to optimize his/her personal objective function under dependent constraints; this game is sequential and non-cooperative. The decision making variables are divided between the two players and one’s choice affects the other’s benefit and choices. In other words, BP consists of two nested optimization problems with two objective functions (upper and lower) where the constraint region of the upper level problem is implicitly determined by the lower level problem. In real cases, the coefficients of an optimization problem may not be precise, i.e. they may be interval. In this paper we develop an algorithm for solving interval bilevel linear fractional programming problems. That is to say, bilevel problems in which both objective functions are linear fractional, the coefficients are interval and the common constraint region is a polyhedron. From the original problem, the best and the worst bilevel linear fractional problems have been derived and then, using the extended Charnes and Cooper transformation, each fractional problem can be reduced to a linear problem. Then we can find the best and the worst optimal values of the leader objective function by two algorithms.Keywords: best and worst optimal solutions, bilevel programming, fractional, interval coefficients
Procedia PDF Downloads 437347 Adaptive Analysis of Housing Policies in Development Programming After 1970s (Case Study: Kermanshah City in the Western Iran)
Authors: Zeinab. Shahrokhifar, Abolfazl Meshkini, Seyed Ali. Alavi
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Considering the different dimensions of deprivation, housing supply is noted as a basic requirement in Iran after 1979 (coming to work of the new government). The government had built the constitution and obliged to meet this need in the form of five-year development programs in Iran’s provinces. This study focused on the adaptive analysis of housing policies in these five development programs in Kermanshah province located in western Iran. Our research is divided into two different analytical sections. In the first section, we collected the documentary information using approved plans and field studies. In the second section, a questionnaire was prepared and designed for the elite community (30) to support the documentary analysis. The results showed that various projects adopted in the form of strategic plans and implemented the policies included both quantitative and qualitative housing in Kermanshah province after 1979. The quality of housing, from the first to the fifth development plans has improved the situation in the housing indicators. The quantity of housing units for households has also been implemented through various policies that has desired results. The sequences of housing policies and plans do not overlap in the five development programs. According to the radar graph, the development programs overlapped in some policies, which shows the continuation of the previous policies, but this overlap is not perfect.Keywords: law enforcement policy, housing policy, development programs, housing indicators, the city of Kermanshah
Procedia PDF Downloads 62346 Network and Sentiment Analysis of U.S. Congressional Tweets
Authors: Chaitanya Kanakamedala, Hansa Pradhan, Carter Gilbert
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Social media platforms, such as Twitter, are excellent datasets for understanding human interactions and sentiments. This report explores social dynamics among US Congressional members through a network analysis applied to a dataset of tweets spanning 2008 to 2017 from the ’US Congressional Tweets Dataset’. In this report, we preform network analysis where connections between users (edges) are established based on a similarity threshold: two tweets are connected if the tweets they post are similar. By utilizing the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) and NetworkX, we quantified tweet similarity and constructed a graph comprising various interconnected components. Each component represents a cluster of users with closely aligned content. We then preform sentiment analysis on each cluster to explore the prevalent emotions and opinions within these groups. Our findings reveal that despite the initial expectation of distinct ideological divisions typically aligning with party lines, the analysis exposed a high degree of topical convergence across tweets from different political affiliations. The analysis preformed in this report not only highlights the potential of social media as a tool for political communication but also suggests a complex layer of interaction that transcends traditional partisan boundaries, reflecting a complicated landscape of politics in the digital age.Keywords: natural language processing, sentiment analysis, centrality analysis, topic modeling
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