Search results for: feed physical quality

Authors: Haidy Weliam Megaly Gouda

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Dermatology is often a neglected specialty in low-resource settings despite the high morbidity associated with skin disease. This becomes even more significant when associated with HIV infection, as dermatological conditions are more common and aggressive in HIV-positive patients. African countries have the highest HIV infection rates, and skin conditions are frequently misdiagnosed and mismanaged because of a lack of dermatological training and educational material. The frequent lack of diagnostic tests in the African setting renders basic clinical skills all the more vital. This project aimed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of skin disease in the HIV population in a district hospital in Malawi. A basic dermatological clinical tool was developed and produced in collaboration with local staff and based on available literature and data collected from clinics. The aim was to improve diagnostic accuracy and provide guidance for the treatment of skin disease in HIV-positive patients. A literature search within Embassy, Medline and Google Scholar was performed and supplemented through data obtained from attending 5 Antiretroviral clinics. From the literature, conditions were selected for inclusion in the resource if they were described as specific, more prevalent, or extensive in the HIV population or have more adverse outcomes if they develop in HIV patients. Resource-appropriate treatment options were decided using Malawian Ministry of Health guidelines and textbooks specific to African dermatology. After the collection of data and discussion with local clinical and pharmacy staff, a list of 15 skin conditions was included, and a booklet was created using the simple layout of a picture, a diagnostic description of the disease and treatment options. Clinical photographs were collected from local clinics (with full consent of the patient) or from the book ‘Common Skin Diseases in Africa’ (permission granted if fully acknowledged and used in a not-for-profit capacity). This tool was evaluated by the local staff alongside an educational teaching session on skin disease. This project aimed to reduce uncertainty in diagnosis and provide guidance for appropriate treatment in HIV patients by gathering information into one practical and manageable resource. To further this project, we hope to review the effectiveness of the tool in practice.

Keywords: prevalence and pattern of skin diseases, impact on quality of life, rural Nepal, interventions, quality switched ruby laser, skin color river blindness, clinical signs, circularity index, grey level run length matrix, grey level co-occurrence matrix, local binary pattern, object detection, ring detection, shape identification

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Authors: Ananda Perera

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Diet therapy has a positive impact on many diseases in General Practice. If a meal plan can be generated as easily as writing a drug prescription for dyspepsia, then the evidence and practice gap in nutrition therapy can be narrowed. Meal plans of 50 diet prescriptions were compared with the criteria for a healthy diet given by Australian authorities. The energy value of each meal plan was compared with the recommended daily energy requirements of the authorities for Diet Prescription Generator (DPG) accuracy. Meal plans generated were within the criteria laid down by the Australian authorities for a healthy diet.

Keywords: dieting, obesity, diabetes, weight loss, computerized decision support systems, dieting software, CDSS, meal plans

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Authors: Dimitra C. Banti, Gesthimani Liona, Petros Samaras, Manasis Mitrakas

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Municipal and industrial wastewaters are often treated biologically, by the activated sludge process (ASP). The ASP not only requires large aeration and sedimentation tanks, but also generates large quantities of excess sludge. An alternative technology is the membrane bioreactor (MBR), which replaces two stages of the conventional ASP—clarification and settlement—with a single, integrated biotreatment and clarification step. The advantages offered by the MBR over conventional treatment include reduced footprint and sludge production through maintaining a high biomass concentration in the bioreactor. Notwithstanding these advantages, the widespread application of the MBR process is constrained by membrane fouling. Fouling leads to permeate flux decline, making more frequent membrane cleaning and replacement necessary and resulting to increased operating costs. In general, membrane fouling results from the interaction between the membrane material and the components in the activated sludge liquor. The latter includes substrate components, cells, cell debris and microbial metabolites, such as Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) and Sludge Microbial Products (SMPs). The challenge for effective MBR operation is to minimize the rate of Transmembrane Pressure (TMP) increase. This can be achieved by several ways, one of which is the addition of specific additives, that enhance the coagulation and flocculation of compounds, which are responsible for fouling, hence reducing biofilm formation on the membrane surface and limiting the fouling rate. In this project the effectiveness of a non-commercial composite coagulant was studied as an agent for fouling control in a lab scale MBR system consisting in two aerated tanks. A flat sheet membrane module with 0.40 um pore size was submerged into the second tank. The system was fed by50 L/d of municipal wastewater collected from the effluent of the primary sedimentation basin. The TMP increase rate, which is directly related to fouling growth, was monitored by a PLC system. EPS, MLSS and MLVSS measurements were performed in samples of mixed liquor; in addition, influent and effluent samples were collected for the determination of physicochemical characteristics (COD, BOD5, NO3-N, NH4-N, Total N and PO4-P). The coagulant was added in concentrations 2, 5 and 10mg/L during a period of 2 weeks and the results were compared with the control system (without coagulant addition). EPS fractions were extracted by a three stages physical-thermal treatment allowing the identification of Soluble EPS (SEPS) or SMP, Loosely Bound EPS (LBEPS) and Tightly Bound EPS (TBEPS). Proteins and carbohydrates concentrations were measured in EPS fractions by the modified Lowry method and Dubois method, respectively. Addition of 2 mg/L coagulant concentration did not affect SEPS proteins in comparison with control process and their values varied between 32 to 38mg/g VSS. However a coagulant dosage of 5mg/L resulted in a slight increase of SEPS proteins at 35-40 mg/g VSS while 10mg/L coagulant further increased SEPS to 44-48mg/g VSS. Similar results were obtained for SEPS carbohydrates. Carbohydrates values without coagulant addition were similar to the corresponding values measured for 2mg/L coagulant; the addition of mg/L coagulant resulted to a slight increase of carbohydrates SEPS to 6-7mg/g VSS while a dose of 10 mg/L further increased carbohydrates content to 9-10mg/g VSS. Total LBEPS and TBEPS, consisted of proteins and carbohydrates of LBEPS and TBEPS respectively, presented similar variations by the addition of the coagulant. Total LBEPS at 2mg/L dose were almost equal to 17mg/g VSS, and their values increased to 22 and 29 mg/g VSS during the addition of 5 mg/L and 10 mg/L of coagulant respectively. Total TBEPS were almost 37 mg/g VSS at a coagulant dose of 2 mg/L and increased to 42 and 51 mg/g VSS at 5 mg/L and 10 mg/L doses, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that coagulant addition could potentially affect microorganisms activities, excreting EPS in greater amounts. Nevertheless, EPS increase, mainly SEPS increase, resulted to a higher membrane fouling rate, as justified by the corresponding TMP increase rate. However, the addition of the coagulant, although affected the EPS content in the reactor mixed liquor, did not change the filtration process: an effluent of high quality was produced, with COD values as low as 20-30 mg/L.

Keywords: extracellular polymeric substances, MBR, membrane fouling, EPS

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Authors: Eleonora Di Mario

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This paper describes the application of ground improvement to replace a typical piled foundation scheme in a power plant in Singapore. Several buildings within the plant were founded on vibro-compacted sand, including a turbine unit which had extremely stringent requirements on the allowable settlement. The achieved savings in terms of cost and schedule are presented. The monitoring data collected during the operation of the turbine are compared to the design predictions to validate the design approach, and the quality of the ground improvement works. In addition, the calculated carbon footprint of the ground improvement works are compared to the piled solution, showing that the vibro-compaction has a significantly lower carbon footprint.

Keywords: ground improvement, vibro-compaction, case study, sustainability, carbon footprint

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Authors: Emine Feyza Şükür, Mevlüt Türköz, Murat Dilmeç, Hüseyin Selçuk Halkacı

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In this study, a warm bulge test system was designed, built and experimentally validated to perform warm bulge tests with all necessary systems. In addition, performance of each sub-system is validated through repeated production and/or test runs as well as through part quality measurements. Validation and performance tests were performed to characterize the repeatability of the system. As a result of these tests, the desired temperature distribution on the sheet metal was obtained by the heating systems and the good repeatability of the bulge tests was obtained. Consequently, this study is expected to provide other researchers and manufacturer with a set of design and process guidelines to develop similar systems.

Keywords: design, test unit, warm bulge test unit, validation test

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Authors: Ngoc Quang Nguyen, Daewon Sohn

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Chitosan (CS) is a natural polycationic polysaccharide and pH-sensitive polymer with incomplete deacetylation from claiming chitin. It is also a guaranteeing material in terms of pharmaceutical, chemical, and sustenance industry due to its exceptional structure (reactive –OH and –NH2 groups). In this study, a catechol-functionalized chitosan (CCS, for an eminent level for substitution) was synthesized and propelled by marine mussel cuticles in place on research those intricate connections between Fe³⁺ and catechol under acidic conditions. The ratios of catechol, chitosan and other reagents decide the structure of the hydrogel. The gel formation is then well-maintained by dual cross-linking through electrostatic interactions between Fe³⁺ and CCS and covalent catechol-coupling-based coordinate bonds. The hydrogels showed enhanced cohesiveness and shock-absorbing properties with increasing pH due to coordinate bonds inspired by mussel byssal threads. Thus, the gelation time, rheological properties, UV-vis and ¹H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, and the morphologic aspects were elucidated to describe those crosslinking components and the physical properties of the chitosan backbones and hydrogel frameworks.

Keywords: catechol, chitosan, iron ion, gelation, hydrogel

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Authors: Chika Catherine Ayogu

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Rehabilitation plays an important and integral part in the life of roadway rehabilitation management system. It is a systematic method for inspection and rating the roadway condition in a given area. The system performs a cost effective analysis of various maintenance and rehabilitation strategies. Finally the system prioritize and recommend roadway rehabilitation and maintenance to maximize results within a given budget amount. During execution of maintenance activity, the system also tracks labour, materials, equipment and cost for activities performed. The system implements physical assessment field inspection and rating of each street segment which is then entered into a database. The information is analyzed using a software, and provide recommendations and project future conditions. The roadway management system provides a deterioration curve for each segment based on input then assigns the most cost-effective maintenance strategy based on conditions, surface type and functional classification, and available budget. This paper investigates the roadway management system and its capabilities to assist in applying the right treatment to the right roadway at the right time so that expected service life of the roadway is extended as long as possible with acceptable cost.

Keywords: effectiveness, rehabilitation, roadway, software system

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Authors: Zafar Mahmood, Fahimullah Babar, Surriyia Naz, Hafiz Ur Rehman

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Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) was deposited on a Tec 15 glass substrate with the help of CBD (chemical bath deposition process) and then cadmium telluride CdTe was deposited on CdS with the help of CSS (closed spaced sublimation technique) for the construction of a solar cell. The thicknesses of all the deposited materials were measured with the help of Elipsometry. The IV graphs were drawn in order to observe the current voltage output. The efficiency of the cell was graphed with the fill factor as well (graphs not given here).The efficiency came out to be approximately 16.5 % and the CIGS (copper- indium –gallium- selenide) maximum efficiency is 20 %.The efficiency of a solar cell can further be enhanced by adapting quality materials, good experimental devices and proper procedures. The grain size was analyzed with the help of scanning electron microscope using RBS (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy).

Keywords: CBD, CdS, CdTe, CSS

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Authors: Le Fu, Rui Wu, Gang Feng Liu, Jie Zhao

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Normally, impedance control methods are based on a model that connects a spring and damper in parallel. The series connection, namely the Maxwell model, has emerged as a counterpart and draw the attention of robotics researchers. In the theoretical analysis, it turns out that the two pattern are both equivalents to some extent, but notable differences of response characteristics exist, especially in the effect of damping viscosity. However, this novel impedance control design is lack of validation on realistic robot platforms. In this study, stability analysis and experimental evaluation are achieved using a 3-fingered Barrett® robotic hand BH8-282 endowed with tactile sensing, mounted on a torque-controlled lightweight and collaborative robot KUKA® LBR iiwa 14 R820. Object handover and incoming objects catching tasks are executed for validation and analysis. Experimental results show that the series connection pattern has much better performance in natural impact or shock absorption, which indicate promising applications in robots’ safe and physical interaction with humans and objects in various environments.

Keywords: impedance control, Maxwell model, force control, dexterous manipulation

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Authors: Ebissa Gadissa Kedir

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This paper presents the potential groundwater assessment and sustainable management in the selected study area. It is the most preferred water source in all climatic zones for its convenient availability, drought dependability, excellent quality, and low development cost. The rural areas, which account for more than 85% of the country's population, are encountered a shortage of potable water supply which can be solved by proper groundwater utilization. For the present study area, the groundwater potential is assessed and analysed. Thus, the study area falls in four potential groundwater zones ranging from poor to high. However, the current groundwater management practices in the study area are poor. Despite the pervasive and devastating challenges, immediate and proper responses have not yet been given to the problem. Thus, such frustrating threats and challenges have initiated the researcher to work in the project area.

Keywords: GW potential, GW management, GW sustainability, South gonder, Ethiopia

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Authors: Aayushi Somani, Siba P. Samal

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Three-dimensional (3D) meshes are data structures, which store geometric information of an object or scene, generally in the form of vertices and edges. Current technology in laser scanning and other geometric data acquisition technologies acquire high resolution sampling which leads to high resolution meshes. While high resolution meshes give better quality rendering and hence is used often, the processing, as well as storage of 3D meshes, is currently resource-intensive. At the same time, web applications for data processing have become ubiquitous owing to their accessibility. For 3D meshes, the advancement of 3D web technologies, such as WebGL, WebVR, has enabled high fidelity rendering of huge meshes. However, there exists a gap in ability to stream huge meshes to a native client and browser application due to high network latency. Also, there is an inherent delay of loading WebGL pages due to large and complex models. The focus of our work is to identify the challenges faced when such meshes are streamed into and processed on hand-held devices, owing to its limited resources. One of the solutions that are conventionally used in the graphics community to alleviate resource limitations is mesh compression. Our approach deals with a two-step approach for random accessible progressive compression and its parallel implementation. The first step includes partition of the original mesh to multiple sub-meshes, and then we invoke data parallelism on these sub-meshes for its compression. Subsequent threaded decompression logic is implemented inside the Web Browser Engine with modification of WebGL implementation in Chromium open source engine. This concept can be used to completely revolutionize the way e-commerce and Virtual Reality technology works for consumer electronic devices. These objects can be compressed in the server and can be transmitted over the network. The progressive decompression can be performed on the client device and rendered. Multiple views currently used in e-commerce sites for viewing the same product from different angles can be replaced by a single progressive model for better UX and smoother user experience. Can also be used in WebVR for commonly and most widely used activities like virtual reality shopping, watching movies and playing games. Our experiments and comparison with existing techniques show encouraging results in terms of latency (compressed size is ~10-15% of the original mesh), processing time (20-22% increase over serial implementation) and quality of user experience in web browser.

Keywords: 3D compression, 3D mesh, 3D web, chromium, client-server architecture, e-commerce, level of details, parallelization, progressive compression, WebGL, WebVR

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Authors: D. Alromi, A. Alansari, S. Alghamdi, E. Jambi

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As the need for water is increasing globally, and the available water resources are barely meeting the current quality of life and economy. Air conditioning (AC) condensate water could be explored as an alternative water source, which could be considered within the global calculations of the water supply. The objective of this study is to better understand the potential for recovery of condensate water from air conditioning systems. The results generated so far showed that the AC produces a high quantity of water, and data analysis revealed that the amount of water is positively and significantly correlated with the humidity (P <= 0.05). In the meantime, the amount of heavy metals has been measuring using ICP-OES. The results, in terms of quantity, clearly show that the AC can be used as an alternative source of water, especially in the regions characterized by high humidity. The results also showed that the amount of produced water depends on the type of AC.

Keywords: air conditioning systems, water quantity, water resources, wastewater

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Authors: Lien T. H. Tran, David A. Holloway

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Corporate governance practices have changed significantly across the world in the past three decades. Spectacular corporate failures during this period have acted as a catalyst for the development of codes and guidelines that have resulted in the global acceptance of a ‘best practice’ model. This study assesses the relevance of such a ‘one size fits all model’ for the developing nation state of Vietnam. The findings of this analytical paper is that there are three key elements (government, international institutions and the nature of business) that are pertinent and central to corporate governance developments in the country. We also find that the quality of corporate governance in Vietnam is at a medium level when compared to international practices. Vietnam still has a long way to go to construct and embed effective corporate governance policies and practices and promote ethical business behaviours and sound decision making at board level.

Keywords: corporate governance, government, international institutions, public companies, Vietnam

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Authors: Ana Mouta, Ana Paulino

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The following text presents the ik.model, a theoretical framework that guided the pedagogical implementation of meaningful educational technology-based projects in formal education worldwide. In this paper, we will focus on how this framework has enabled the development of media literacy projects for early childhood education during the last three years. The methodology that guided educators through the challenge of systematically merging analogic and digital means in dialogic high-quality opportunities of world exploration is explained throughout these lines. The effects of this methodology on early age media literacy development are considered. Also considered is the relevance of this skill in terms of post-contemporary challenges posed to learning.

Keywords: early learning, ik.model, media literacy, pedagogy

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Authors: B. M. Patil, S. R. Dharwadkar

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Zirconolite (CaZrTi2O7) is one of the three major phases in the synthetic ceramic 'SYNROC' which is used for immobilization of high-level nuclear waste and also acts as photocatalytic and photophysical properties. In the present work the nanocrystalline CaZrTi2O7 was synthesized from Calcium Zirconyl Titanate tartrate precursor (CZTT) employing two different heating techniques such as Conventional heating (Muffle furnace) and Microwave heating (Microwave Oven). Thermal decomposition of the CZTT precursors in air yielded nanocrystalline CaZrTi2O7 powder as the end product. The products obtained by annealing the CZTT precursor using both heating method were characterized using simultaneous TG-DTA, FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, NTA and thermodilatometric study. The physical characteristics such as crystallinity, morphology and particle size of the product obtained by heating the CZTT precursor at the different temperatures in a Muffle furnace and Microwave oven were found to be significantly different. The microwave heating technique considerably lowered the synthesis temperature of CaZrTi2O7. The influence of microwave heating was more pronounced as compared to Muffle furnace heating. The details of the synthesis of CaZrTi2O7 from CZTT precursor are discussed.

Keywords: CZTT, CaZrTi2O7, microwave, SYNROC, zirconolite

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Authors: Ssu-Han Chen, Der-Baau Perng

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Molding process in IC manufacturing secures chips against the harms done by hot, moisture or other external forces. While a chip was being molded, defects like cracks, dilapidation, or voids may be embedding on the molding surface. The molding surfaces the study poises to treat and the ones on the market, though, differ in the surface where texture similar to defects is everywhere. Manual inspection usually passes over low-contrast cracks or voids; hence an automatic optical inspection system for molding surface is necessary. The proposed system is consisted of a CCD, a coaxial light, a back light as well as a motion control unit. Based on the property of statistical textures of the molding surface, a series of digital image processing and classification procedure is carried out. After training of the parameter associated with above algorithm, result of the experiment suggests that the accuracy rate is up to 93.75%, contributing to the inspection quality of IC molding surface.

Keywords: molding surface, machine vision, statistical texture, discrete Fourier transformation

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Authors: Su-Ping Liu, Yue Tian, Yifan Shen

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This study investigates the effect of corporate governance on earnings management when firms have reported a long stream of earnings increases (hereafter referred to as earnings beaters). We expect that good quality of corporate governance decreases the probability of income-increasing earnings management. We employ transparent tools to capture firms’ opportunistic management behavior, specifically, the repurchase of stock. In addition, we use corporate governance proxies to measure the degree of corporate governance, including board size, board independence, CEO duality, and the frequency of meeting. The results hold after the controlling of variables that suggested in prior literature. We expect that the simple technique, that is, firms’ degree of corporate governance, to be used as an inexpensive first step in detecting earnings management.

Keywords: corporate governance, earnings management, earnings patterns, stock repurchase

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Authors: Junjie Peng, Jinbao Chen, Shuai Kong, Danxu Liu

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On the basis of traditional resource allocation strategies, the usage of resources on physical servers in cloud data center is great uncertain. It will cause waste of resources if the assignment of tasks is not enough. On the contrary, it will cause overload if the assignment of tasks is too much. This is especially obvious when the applications are the same type because of its resource preferences. Considering CPU intensive application is one of the most common types of application in the cloud, we studied the optimization strategy for CPU intensive applications on the same server. We used resource preferences to analyze the case that multiple CPU intensive applications run simultaneously, and put forward a model which can predict the execution time for CPU intensive applications which run simultaneously. Based on the prediction model, we proposed the method to select the appropriate number of applications for a machine. Experiments show that the model can predict the execution time accurately for CPU intensive applications. To improve the execution efficiency of applications, we propose a scheduling model based on priority for CPU intensive applications. Extensive experiments verify the validity of the scheduling model.

Keywords: cloud computing, CPU intensive applications, resource optimization, strategy

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Susana R. Matos, Daniela V. T. A. Costa, Fernando J. Gonçalves

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Because blueberries are worldwide recognized as a good source of beneficial components, their consumption has increased in the past decades, and so have the scientific works about their properties. Hence this work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of some production and conservation factors on the properties of blueberries from cultivar Bluecrop. The physical and chemical analyses were done according to established methodologies and then all data was treated using software SPSS for assessment of the possible differences among the factors investigated and/or the correlations between the variables at study. The results showed that location of production influenced some of the berries properties (caliber, sugars, antioxidant activity, color and texture) and that the age of the bushes was correlated with moisture, sugars and acidity, as well as lightness. On the other hand, altitude of the farm only was correlated to sugar content. With regards to conservation, it influenced only anthocyanins content and DPPH antioxidant activity. Finally, the type of extract and the order of extraction had a pronounced influence on all the phnolic properties evaluated.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, blueberry, conservation, geographical origin, phenolic compounds, statistical analysis

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Authors: Hyung Joo Lee, Jin Young Choi, Gun Soo Park, Kyo Sun Oh, Dong Jun Won

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The fluctuation of the output of the renewable generator caused by weather conditions must be mitigated because it imposes strain on the system and adversely affects power quality. In this paper, we focus on mitigating the output fluctuation of the photovoltaic (PV) using battery energy storage system (BESS). To satisfy tight conditions of system, proposed algorithm is developed. This algorithm focuses on adjusting the integrated output curve considering state of capacity (SOC) of the battery. In this paper, the simulation model is PSCAD / EMTDC software. SOC of the battery and the overall output curve are shown using the simulation results. We also considered losses and battery efficiency.

Keywords: photovoltaic generation, battery energy storage system, renewable integration, power smoothing

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Authors: Christa L. Arnold, Margaret C. Stewart

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This research shares the results of an exploratory study examining Statement Analysis (SA) to detect deception in online truthful and untruthful social media posts. Applying a Law Enforcement methodology SA, used in criminal interview statements, this research analyzes what is stated to assist in evaluating written deceptive information. Preliminary findings reveal qualitative and quantitative nuances for SA in online deception detection and uncover insights regarding digital deceptive behavior. Thus far, findings reveal truthful statements tend to differ from untruthful statements in both content and quality.

Keywords: deception detection, online deception, social media content, statement analysis

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Authors: Débora C. G. Oliveira, Julio D. Salles, Bruna A. Moriy, João A. Rossignolo, Holmer Savastano Jr.

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The objective of this study was to identify the optimal level of partial replacement of Portland cement by the ashes originating from burning straw and bagasse from sugar cane (ASB). Order to this end, were made five series of flat plates and cylindrical bodies: control and others with the partial replacement in 20, 30, 40, and 50% of ASB in relation to the mass of the Ordinary Portland cement, and conducted a mechanical testing of simple axial compression (cylindrical bodies) and the four-point bending (flat plates) and determined water absorption (WA), bulk density (BD) and apparent void volume (AVV) on both types of specimens. Based on the data obtained, it may be noted that the control treatment containing only Portland cement, obtained the best results. However, the cylindrical bodies with 20% ashes showed better results compared to the other treatments. And in the formulations plates, the treatment which showed the best results was 30% cement replacement by ashes.

Keywords: modulus of rupture, simple axial compression, waste, bagasse sugarcane

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Authors: Mona Loraine M. Barabad, Duckshin Park, Michael E. Versoza

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This study gives a comparison of the commuters’ exposure to particulate matter while taking different transportation mode (jeepney, motorcycle and taxi) in Cebu City, Philippines. A personal aerosol monitor (Sidepak AM510) was used for data collection; in addition, both temperature and humidity were also documented. Analysis was done and showed that Jeepney, which is the most commonly used mode in the country, has the highest PM collected having an average of 358.0μg/m^3, followed by the motorcycle with an average of 244.6 μg/m^3. The taxi recorded to have an average of 50.0 μg/m^3 and the lowest between the microenvironments sampled. The outcome was greatly significant to the traffic volume together with several factors that could possibly affect the result. However, due to the lack of time and resources, the data collected was limited. Further and thorough investigation should be implemented to provide more essential information regarding the subject.

Keywords: air quality, particulate matter, Philippines, transportation

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Authors: Kassem Saab, Fritzen Bart, Yves-Marie Seveque

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The deployment of Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC) systems requires the development of robust and reliable Optical Ground Stations (OGS) that can be easily installed and operated. To this end, the Engineering Department of Airbus Defence and Space is actively working on the development of innovative and compact OGS solutions that can be deployed in various environments and provide high-quality connectivity under different atmospheric conditions. This article presents an overview of our recent developments in this field, including an evaluation study of different use cases of the FSOC with respect to different atmospheric conditions. The goal is to provide OGS solutions that are both simple and highly effective, allowing for the deployment of high-speed communication networks in a wide range of scenarios.

Keywords: end to end optical communication, laser propagation, optical ground station, turbulence

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Authors: Ayaz Ahmad

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TOPIC: A study of the formation ,existness and stability of localised pulses in pde Ayaz Ahmad ,NITP, Abstract:In this paper we try to govern the evolution deterministic variable over space and time .We analysis the behaviour of the model which allows us to predict and understand the possible behaviour of the physical system .Bifurcation theory provides a basis to systematically investigate the models for invariant sets .Exploring the behaviour of PDE using bifurcation theory which provides many challenges both numerically and analytically. We use the derivation of a non linear partial differential equation which may be written in this form ∂u/∂t+c ∂u/∂x+∈(∂^3 u)/(∂x^3 )+¥u ∂u/∂x=0 We show that the temperature increased convection cells forms. Through our work we look for localised solution which are characterised by sudden burst of aeroidic spatio-temporal evolution. Key word: Gaussian pulses, Aeriodic ,spatio-temporal evolution ,convection cells, nonlinearoptics, Dr Ayaz ahmad Assistant Professor Department of Mathematics National institute of technology Patna ,Bihar,,India 800005 [email protected] +91994907553

Keywords: Gaussian pulses, aeriodic, spatio-temporal evolution, convection cells, nonlinear optics

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Authors: Mehmet Yörükoğlu, Serhat Aydın

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Since the discovery of the manuscript, mechanical methods for storing, transferring and using the information have evolved into digital methods over the time. In this process, libraries that are the center of the information have also become digitized and become accessible from anywhere and at any time in the world by taking on a structure that has no physical boundaries. In this context, some criteria for information obtained from digital libraries have become more important for users. This paper evaluates the user criteria from different perspectives that make a digital library more useful. The Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis-Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (SWARA-WASPAS) method is used with flexibility and easy calculation steps for the evaluation of digital library criteria. Three different digital libraries are evaluated by information technology experts according to five conflicting main criteria, ‘interface design’, ‘effects on users’, ‘services’, ‘user engagement’ and ‘context’. Finally, alternatives are ranked in descending order.

Keywords: digital library, multi criteria decision making, SWARA-WASPAS method

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Authors: Junze Li, M. Li

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Laser diodes fabricated from the III-nitride material system are emerging solutions for the next generation telecommunication systems and optical clocks based on Ca at 397nm, Rb at 420.2nm and Yb at 398.9nm combined 556 nm. Most of the applications require single longitudinal optical mode lasers, with very narrow linewidth and compact size, such as communication systems and laser cooling. In this case, the GaN based distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode is one of the most effective candidates with gratings are known to operate with narrow spectra as well as high power and efficiency. Given the wavelength range, the period of the first-order diffraction grating is under 100 nm, and the realization of such gratings is technically difficult due to the narrow line width and the high quality nitride overgrowth based on the Bragg grating. Some groups have reported GaN DFB lasers with high order distributed feedback surface gratings, which avoids the overgrowth. However, generally the strength of coupling is lower than that with Bragg grating embedded into the waveguide within the GaN laser structure by two-step-epitaxy. Therefore, the overgrowth on the grating technology need to be studied and optimized. Here we propose to fabricate the fine step shape structure of first-order grating by the nanoimprint combined inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching, then carry out overgrowth high quality AlGaN film by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Then a series of gratings with different period, depths and duty ratios are designed and fabricated to study the influence of grating structure to the nano-heteroepitaxy. Moreover, we observe the nucleation and growth process by step-by-step growth to study the growth mode for nitride overgrowth on grating, under the condition that the grating period is larger than the mental migration length on the surface. The AFM images demonstrate that a smooth surface of AlGaN film is achieved with an average roughness of 0.20 nm over 3 × 3 μm2. The full width at half maximums (FWHMs) of the (002) reflections in the XRD rocking curves are 278 arcsec for the AlGaN film, and the component of the Al within the film is 8% according to the XRD mapping measurement, which is in accordance with design values. By observing the samples with growth time changing from 200s, 400s to 600s, the growth model is summarized as the follow steps: initially, the nucleation is evenly distributed on the grating structure, as the migration length of Al atoms is low; then, AlGaN growth alone with the grating top surface; finally, the AlGaN film formed by lateral growth. This work contributed to carrying out GaN DFB laser by fabricating grating and overgrowth on the nano-grating patterned substrate by wafer scale, moreover, growth dynamics had been analyzed as well.

Keywords: DFB laser, MOCVD, nanoepitaxy, III-niitride

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Authors: M. Ouassaf, S. Belaid

Abstract:

A series of quinoline derivatives with antimalarial activity were subjected to two-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (2D-QSAR) studies. Three models were implemented using multiple regression linear MLR, a regression partial least squares (PLS), nonlinear regression (MNLR), to see which descriptors are closely related to the activity biologic. We relied on a principal component analysis (PCA). Based on our results, a comparison of the quality of, MLR, PLS, and MNLR models shows that the MNLR (R = 0.914 and R² = 0.835, RCV= 0.853) models have substantially better predictive capability because the MNLR approach gives better results than MLR (R = 0.835 and R² = 0,752, RCV=0.601)), PLS (R = 0.742 and R² = 0.552, RCV=0.550) The model of MNLR gave statistically significant results and showed good stability to data variation in leave-one-out cross-validation. The obtained results suggested that our proposed model MNLR may be useful to predict the biological activity of derivatives of quinoline.

Keywords: antimalarial, quinoline, QSAR, PCA, MLR , MNLR, MLR

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Maher Gzam, Noureddine Elmejdoub, Younes Jedoui

Abstract:

Physical parameters involved in the depositional process on stromatolites, which grow in salt marsh domain, are elucidated in this study. Stromatolites start to grow where surface altimetry of the intertidal flat is high enough to reduce water cover (above mean high tide) and to guarantee a lamellar stream flow. Stromatolite aggrades as a thick laminated layer (stromatolite package) allowing pioneer vascular plants (Salicornia Arabica) to colonize this elevated area (6 cm a.m.s.l). In turn halophytic plant, regularly flooded on spring tide, reduce hydrodynamics velocities causing deposition of sediment, as a result, intertidal zone shift on the flat surface with an expanded marsh domain. This positive feedback invokes self organization between stromatolite growth, vegetation proliferation and deposition of sediment and may be applicable to ancient progradational sequence.

Keywords: stromatolites, marsh, deposition of sediment, aggradation, progradation, gulf of Gabes, Tunisia

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Nattapong Techarattanased

Abstract:

This survey research aimed to study the influence of attitude in services, product, and marketing mix affected intention to revisit in boutique hotel of foreign travelers in Bangkok, Thailand. The total 400 sets of closed-ended questionnaires were utilized for conducting data from foreign tourists who come to boutique hotel and can communicate in English. The descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze data. The research found that tourists’ attitude towards the service of check in and check out process, food and beverage, guest room and other facilities affected in opportunity of revisiting, recommending to others and possibility of revisiting in the future at 0.05 statistically significant levels. Tourists’ attitude towards service and marketing mix in term of people, physical evidence, price, process and channel of distribution could forecast intention to revisit in term of recommending to others and intention to revisit in the future at 0.05 statistically significant levels.

Keywords: boutique hotel, foreign tourists, intention to revisit, service marketing mix

Procedia PDF Downloads 239