Search results for: free-surface flow simulation

Authors: Chuan Yang, Jing Bie, Yueh-Lung Lin, Zhong Wang

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Transportation planning is an academic integration discipline combining research and practice with the aim of mobility and accessibility improvements at both strategic-level policy-making and operational dimensions of practical planning. Transportation planning could build the linkage between traffic and social development goals, for instance, economic benefits and environmental sustainability. The transportation planning analysis and evaluation tend to apply empirical quantitative approaches with the guidance of the fundamental principles, such as efficiency, equity, safety, and sustainability. Space syntax theory has been applied in the spatial distribution of pedestrian movement or vehicle flow analysis, however rare has been written about its application in transportation planning. The correlated relationship between the variables of space syntax analysis and authentic observations have declared that the urban configurations have a significant effect on urban dynamics, for instance, land value, building density, traffic, crime. This research aims to explore the potentials of applying Space Syntax methodology to evaluate urban transportation planning through studying the effects of urban configuration on cities transportation performance. By literature review, this paper aims to discuss the effects that urban configuration with different degrees of integration and accessibility have on three elementary components of transportation planning - transportation efficiency, transportation safety, and economic agglomeration development - via intensifying and stabilising the nature movements generated by the street network. And then the potential and limits of Space Syntax theory to study the performance of urban transportation and transportation planning would be discussed in the paper. In practical terms, this research will help future research explore the effects of urban design on transportation performance, and identify which patterns of urban street networks would allow for most efficient and safe transportation performance with higher economic benefits.

Keywords: transportation planning, space syntax, economic agglomeration, transportation efficiency, transportation safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Christopher B. Obida, George A. Blackburn, James D. Whyatt, Kirk T. Semple

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In many regions of the world, especially in developing countries, river network data are outdated or completely absent, yet such information is critical for supporting important functions such as flood mitigation efforts, land use and transportation planning, and the management of water resources. In this study, a method was developed for delineating river networks using Sentinel 1 imagery. Unsupervised classification was applied to multi-temporal Sentinel 1 data to discriminate water bodies from other land covers then the outputs were combined to generate a single persistent water bodies product. A thinning algorithm was then used to delineate river centre lines, which were converted into vector features and built into a topologically structured geometric network. The complex river system of the Niger Delta was used to compare the performance of the Sentinel-based method against alternative freely available water body products from United States Geological Survey, European Space Agency and OpenStreetMap and a river network derived from a Shuttle Rader Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model. From both raster-based and vector-based accuracy assessments, it was found that the Sentinel-based river network products were superior to the comparator data sets by a substantial margin. The geometric river network that was constructed permitted a flow routing analysis which is important for a variety of environmental management and planning applications. The extracted network will potentially be applied for modelling dispersion of hydrocarbon pollutants in Ogoniland, a part of the Niger Delta. The approach developed in this study holds considerable potential for generating up to date, detailed river network data for the many countries where such data are deficient.

Keywords: Sentinel 1, image processing, river delineation, large scale mapping, data comparison, geometric network

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Firoozeh Ghazanfari, Kourosh Amraei, Parisa Poorabadi

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Mild cognitive impairment is one of the neurocognitive disorders that go beyond age-related decline in cognitive functions, but in fact, it is not so severe which affects daily activities. This study aimed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of treatment with cranial electrical stimulation, brain training and their double combination on the language and verbal fluency of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment. This is a single-subject method with comparative intervention designs. Four patients with a definitive diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment by a psychiatrist were selected via purposive and convenience sampling method. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Scale (2017) was used to assess language and verbal fluency. Two groups were formed with different order of cranial electrical stimulation treatment, brain training by pencil and paper method and their double combination, and two patients were randomly replaced in each group. The arrangement of the first group included cranial electrical stimulation, brain training, double combination and the second group included double combination, cranial electrical stimulation and brain training, respectively. Treatment plan included: A1, B, A2, C, A3, D, A4, where electrical stimulation treatment was given in ten 30-minutes sessions (5 mA and frequency of 0.5-500 Hz) and brain training in ten 30-minutes sessions. Each baseline lasted four weeks. Patients in first group who first received cranial electrical stimulation treatment showed a higher percentage of improvement in the language and verbal fluency subscale of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination in comparison to patients of the second group. Based on the results, it seems that cranial electrical stimulation with its effect on neurotransmitters and brain blood flow, especially in the brain stem, may prepare the brain at the neurochemical and molecular level for a better effectiveness of brain training at the behavioral level, and the selective treatment of electrical stimulation solitude in the first place may be more effective than combining it with paper-pencil brain training.

Keywords: cranial electrical stimulation, treatment, brain training, verbal fluency, cognitive impairment

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Aniketh Ravukutam, Rajath Rao M., Pradyumna S. A.

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In the past few decades there has been great advancement in use of aerodynamics in cars. Now its use has been evident from commercial cars to race cars for achieving higher speeds, stability and efficiency. This paper focusses on studying the effects of aerodynamics in Formula Student car. These cars weigh around 200kgs with an average speed of 60kmph. With increasing competition every year, developing a competitive car is a herculean task. The race track comprises mostly of tight corners and little or no straights thus testing the car’s cornering capabilities. Higher cornering speeds can be achieved by increasing traction at the tires. Studying the aerodynamics helps in achieving higher traction without much addition in overall weight of car. The main focus is to develop an aerodynamic package involving front wing, under tray and body to obtain an optimum value of down force. The initial process involves the detail study of geometrical constraints mentioned in the rule book and calculating the limiting value of drag as per the engine specifications. The successive steps involve conduction of various iterations in ANSYS for selection of airfoils, deciding the number of elements, designing the nose for low drag, channelizing the flow under the body and obtain an optimum value of down force within the limits defined in the initial process. The final step involves design of model using these results in Virtual environment called OptimumLap® for detailed study of performance with and without the presence of aerodynamics. The CFD analysis results showed an overall down force of 377.44N with a drag of 164.08N. The corresponding parameters of the last model were applied in OptimumLap® and an improvement of 3.5 seconds in lap times was observed.

Keywords: aerodynamics, formula student, traction, front wing, undertray, body, rule book, drag, down force, virtual environment, computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: D. S. Gomes, A. T. Silva

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Analysis of the uncertainty quantification related to nuclear safety margins applied to the nuclear reactor is an important concept to prevent future radioactive accidents. The nuclear fuel performance code may involve the tolerance level determined by traditional deterministic models producing acceptable results at burn cycles under 62 GWd/MTU. The behavior of nuclear fuel can simulate applying a series of material properties under irradiation and physics models to calculate the safety limits. In this study, theoretical predictions of nuclear fuel failure under transient conditions investigate extended radiation cycles at 75 GWd/MTU, considering the behavior of fuel rods in light-water reactors under reactivity accident conditions. The fuel pellet can melt due to the quick increase of reactivity during a transient. Large power excursions in the reactor are the subject of interest bringing to a treatment that is known as the Fuchs-Hansen model. The point kinetic neutron equations show similar characteristics of non-linear differential equations. In this investigation, the multivariate logistic regression is employed to a probabilistic forecast of fuel failure. A comparison of computational simulation and experimental results was acceptable. The experiments carried out use the pre-irradiated fuels rods subjected to a rapid energy pulse which exhibits the same behavior during a nuclear accident. The propagation of uncertainty utilizes the Wilk's formulation. The variables chosen as essential to failure prediction were the fuel burnup, the applied peak power, the pulse width, the oxidation layer thickness, and the cladding type.

Keywords: logistic regression, reactivity-initiated accident, safety margins, uncertainty propagation

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: M. Ezzat, Y. Zaghloul, T. Sorour, A. Hefny, M. Eid

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Ultimate capacity of large diameter bored piles is usually determined from pile loading tests as recommended by several international codes and foundation design standards. However, loading of this type of piles till achieving apparent failure is practically seldom. In this paper, numerical analyses are carried out to simulate load test of a large diameter bored pile performed at the location of Alzey highway bridge project (Germany). Test results of pile load settlement relationship till failure as well as results of the base and shaft resistances are available. Apparent failure was indicated in this test by the significant increase of the induced settlement during the last load increment applied on the pile head. Measurements of this pile load test are used to assess the quality of the numerical models investigated. Three different material soil models are implemented in the analyses: Mohr coulomb (MC), Soft soil (SS), and Modified Mohr coulomb (MMC). Very good agreement is obtained between the field measured settlement and the calculated settlement using the MMC model. Results of analysis showed also that the MMC constitutive model is superior to MC, and SS models in predicting the ultimate base and shaft resistances of the large diameter bored pile. After calibrating the numerical model, behavior of large diameter bored piles under axial loads is discussed and the formation of the plastic zone around the pile is explored. Results obtained showed that the plastic zone below the base of the pile at failure extended laterally to about four times the pile diameter and vertically to about three times the pile diameter.

Keywords: ultimate capacity, large diameter bored piles, plastic zone, failure, pile load test

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Apoorva Bamal, Agnieszka Indiana Olbert

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Floods are known to be one of the most devastating hydro-climatic events, impacting a wide range of stakeholders in terms of environmental, social and economic losses. With difference in inundation durations and level of impact, flood hazards are of different degrees and strength. Amongst various set of domains being impacted by floods, environmental degradation in terms of water quality deterioration is one of the majorly effected but less highlighted domains across the world. The degraded water quality is caused by numerous natural and anthropogenic factors that are both point and non-point sources of pollution. Therefore, it is essential to understand the nature and source of the water pollution due to flooding. The major impact of floods is not only on the physico-chemical water quality parameters, but also on the biological elements leading to a vivid influence on the aquatic ecosystem. This deteriorated water quality is impacting many water categories viz. agriculture, drinking water, aquatic habitat, and miscellaneous services requiring an appropriate water quality to survive. This study identifies, reviews, evaluates and assesses multiple researches done across the world to determine the impact of floods on water quality. With a detailed statistical analysis of top relevant researches, this study is a synopsis of the methods used in assessment of impact of floods on water quality in different geographies, and identifying the gaps for further abridgement. As per majority of the studies, different flood magnitudes have varied impact on the water quality parameters leading to either increased or decreased values as compared to the recommended values for various categories. There is also an evident shift of the biological elements in the impacted waters leading to a change in its phenology and inhabitants of the specified water body. This physical, chemical and biological water quality degradation by floods is dependent upon its duration, extent, magnitude and flow direction. Therefore, this research provides an overview into the multiple impacts of floods on water quality, along with a roadmap of way forward to an efficient and uniform linkage of floods and impacted water quality dynamics.

Keywords: floods, statistical analysis, water pollution, water quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Ridhish Kumar, Sudeep Nadukkandy, Anirban Roy

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The development of reverse osmosis happened in 1960. Along the years this technique has been widely accepted all over the world for varied applications ranging from seawater desalination to municipal water treatment. Forward osmosis (FO) is one of the foremost technologies for low energy consuming solutions for water purification. In this study, we have carried out a detailed analysis on selection, design, and pricing for a prototype of potable water system for purifying water in emergency situations. The portable and light purification system is envisaged to be driven by FO. This pouch will help to serve as an emergency water filtration device. The current effort employs a model to understand the interplay of permeability and area on the rate of purification of water from any impure source/brackish water. The draw solution for the FO pouch is considered to be a combination of salt and sugar such that dilution of the same would result in an oral rehydration solution (ORS) which is a boon for dehydrated patients. However, the effort takes an extra step to actually estimate the cost and pricing of designing such a prototype. While the mathematical model yields the best membrane (compositions are taken from literature) combination in terms of permeability and area, the pricing takes into account the feasibility of such a solution to be made available as a retail item. The product is envisaged to be a market competitor for packaged drinking water and ORS combination (costing around $0.5 combined) and thus, to be feasible has to be priced around the same range with greater margins in order to have a better distribution. Thus a proper business plan and production of the same has been formulated in order to be a feasible solution for unprecedented calamities and emergency situations.

Keywords: forward osmosis, water treatment, oral rehydration solution, prototype

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Bei Zhang, Zhaoxin Zhang, Lidong Zhao

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Green infrastructures (GIs) for rainwater management can directly meet the multiple purposes of urban greening and non-point source pollution control. To reveal the overall layout law of GIs dominated by typical woody plants and their impact on urban environmental effects, we constructed a HYDRUS-1D and Stormwater management (SWMM) coupling model to simulate the response of typical root woody plant planting methods on urban hydrological. The results showed that the coupling model had high adaptability to the simulation of urban surface runoff control effect under different woody plant planting methods (NSE ≥0.64 and R² ≥ 0.71). The regulation effect on surface runoff showed that the average runoff reduction rate of GIs increased from 60 % to 71 % with the increase of planting area (5% to 25%) under the design rainfall event of the 2-year recurrence interval. Sophora japonica with tap roots was slightly higher than that of without plants (control) and Malus baccata (M. baccata) with fibrous roots. The comprehensive benefit evaluation system of rainwater utilization technology was constructed by using an analytic hierarchy process. The coupling model was used to evaluate the comprehensive benefits of woody plants with different planting areas in the study area in terms of environment, economy, and society. The comprehensive benefit value of planting 15% M. baccata was the highest, which was the first choice for the planting of woody plants in the study area. This study can provide a scientific basis for the decision-making of green facility layouts of woody plants.

Keywords: green infrastructure, comprehensive benefits, runoff regulation, woody plant layout, coupling model

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Arash Parehkar, S. Jamshid Mousavi, Shoubo Bayazidi, Vahid Karami, Laleh Shahidi, Arash Azaranfar, Ali Moridi, M. Shabakhti, Tayebeh Ariyan, Mitra Tofigh, Kaveh Masoumi, Alireza Motahari

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Water resource systems modelling have constantly been a challenge through history for human being. As the innovative methodological development is evolving alongside computer sciences on one hand, researches are likely to confront more complex and larger water resources systems due to new challenges regarding increased water demands, climate change and human interventions, socio-economic concerns, and environment protection and sustainability. In this research, an automatic calibration scheme has been applied on the Gilan’s large-scale water resource model using mathematical programming. The water resource model’s calibration is developed in order to attune unknown water return flows from demand sites in the complex Sefidroud irrigation network and other related areas. The calibration procedure is validated by comparing several gauged river outflows from the system in the past with model results. The calibration results are pleasantly reasonable presenting a rational insight of the system. Subsequently, the unknown optimized parameters were used in a basin-scale linear optimization model with the ability to evaluate the system’s performance against a reduced inflow scenario in future. Results showed an acceptable match between predicted and observed outflows from the system at selected hydrometric stations. Moreover, an efficient operating policy was determined for Sefidroud dam leading to a minimum water shortage in the reduced inflow scenario.

Keywords: auto-calibration, Gilan, large-scale water resources, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Khalifa Abdunaser, Salem Eljawashi

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Study area is threatened by numerous petroleum activities. The most important risk is associated with dramatic dangers of misuse and oil and gas pollutions, such as significant volumes of produced water, which refers to waste water generated during the production of oil and natural gas and disposed on the surface surrounded oil and gas fields. This work concerns the impact of oil exploration and production activities on the physical and environment fate of the area, focusing on the investigation and observation of crude oil migration as toxic fluid. Its penetration in groundwater resulted from the produced water impacted by oilfield operations disposed to the earth surface in Al Wahat area. Describing the areal distribution of the dominant groundwater quality constituents has been conducted to identify the major hydro-geochemical processes that affect the quality of water and to evaluate the relations between rock types and groundwater flow to the quality and geochemistry of water in Post-Eocene aquifer. The chemical and physical characteristics of produced water, where it is produced, and its potential impacts on the environment and on oil and gas operations have been discussed. Field work survey was conducted to identify and locate a large number of monitoring wells previously drilled throughout the study area. Groundwater samples were systematically collected in order to detect the fate of spills resulting from the various activities at the oil fields in the study area. Spatial distribution maps of the water quality parameters were built using Kriging methods of interpolation in ArcMap software. Thematic maps were generated using GIS and remote sensing techniques, which were applied to include all these data layers as an active database for the area for the purpose of identifying hot spots and prioritizing locations based on their environmental conditions as well as for monitoring plans.

Keywords: Sirt Basin, produced water, Al Wahat area, Ground water

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Biki Sarmah, Priyanko Raj Mudiar

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In the modern world of remotely interactive virtual reality-based learning and teaching, including professional skill-building training and acquisition practices, as well as data acquisition and robotic systems, the revolutionary application or implementation of field-programmable neurostimulator aids and first-hand interactive sensitisation techniques into 3D holographic audio-visual platforms have been a coveted dream of many scholars, professionals, scientists, and students. Integration of 'kinaesthetic vibrotactile haptic perception' along with an actuated step magnitude contact profiloscopy in augmented reality-based learning platforms and professional training can be implemented by using an extremely calculated and well-coordinated image telemetry including remote data mining and control technique. A real-time, computer-aided (PLC-SCADA) field calibration based algorithm must be designed for the purpose. But most importantly, in order to actually realise, as well as to 'interact' with some 3D holographic models displayed over a remote screen using remote laser image telemetry and control, all spatio-physical parameters like cardinal alignment, gyroscopic compensation, as well as surface profile and thermal compositions, must be implemented using zero-order type 1 actuators (or transducers) because they provide zero hystereses, zero backlashes, low deadtime as well as providing a linear, absolutely controllable, intrinsically observable and smooth performance with the least amount of error compensation while ensuring the best ergonomic comfort ever possible for the users.

Keywords: haptic feedback, kinaesthetic vibrotactile 3D design, medical simulation training, piezo diaphragm based actuator

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Kizito Ugochukwu Nwajeri

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This paper presents a distinct approach to solving fractional dynamical systems using hybrid block methods (HBMs). Fractional calculus extends the concept of derivatives and integrals to non-integer orders and finds increasing application in fields such as physics, engineering, and finance. However, traditional numerical techniques often struggle to accurately capture the complex behaviors exhibited by these systems. To address this challenge, we develop HBMs that integrate single-step and multi-step methods, enabling the simultaneous computation of multiple solution points while maintaining high accuracy. Our approach employs polynomial interpolation and collocation techniques to derive a system of equations that effectively models the dynamics of fractional systems. We also directly incorporate boundary and initial conditions into the formulation, enhancing the stability and convergence properties of the numerical solution. An adaptive step-size mechanism is introduced to optimize performance based on the local behavior of the solution. Extensive numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the proposed methods, demonstrating significant improvements in accuracy and efficiency compared to traditional numerical approaches. The results indicate that our hybrid block methods are robust and versatile, making them suitable for a wide range of applications involving fractional dynamical systems. This work contributes to the existing literature by providing an effective numerical framework for analyzing complex behaviors in fractional systems, thereby opening new avenues for research and practical implementation across various disciplines.

Keywords: fractional calculus, numerical simulation, stability and convergence, Adaptive step-size mechanism, collocation methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Kuan Yin Hsiao, Shyh Ming Kuo, Yi Jhen Wu, Chin Wen Chuang, Chuen-Fu Lin, Wei-qing Yang, Han Hsiang Huang

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Anti-tumor effects of natural products, like compounds from marine sponges and soft corals, have been investigated for decades. Polymeric nanoparticles prepared from biodegradable and biocompatible molecules, such as Hyaluronan (HA), Chitosan (CHI) and gelatin have been widely studied. Encapsulation of anti-cancer therapies by the biopolymeric nanoparticles in drug delivery system is potentially capable of improving the therapeutic effects and attenuating their toxicity. In the current study, the anti-bladder cancer effects of heteronemin extracted from the sponge Hippospongia sp. with or without HA and CHI nanoparticle encapsulation were assessed and evaluated in vitro. Results showed that IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) of heteronemin toward T24 human bladder cancer cell viability is approximately 0.18 µg/mL. Both plain and HA nanoparticles-encapsulated heteronemin at 0.2 and 0.4 µg/mL significantly reduced T24 cell viability (P<0.001) while HA nanoparticles-encapsulated heteronemin showed weaker viability-inhibitory effects on L929 fibroblasts compared with plain heteronemin at the identical concentrations. HA and CHI nanoparticles-encapsulated heteronemin exhibited significantly stronger inhibitory effects against migration of T24 human bladder cancer cell than those exerted by plain heteronemin at the same concentrations (P<0.001). The flow cytometric results showed that 0.2 µg/mL HA and CHI nanoparticles-encapsulated heteronemin induced higher early apoptosis rate than that induced by plain heteronemin at the same concentration. These results show that HA and CHI nanoparticle encapsulation is able to elevate anti-migratory and apoptosis-inducing effects exerted by heteronemin against bladder cancer cells in vitro. The in vivo anti-bladder cancer effects of the compound with or without HA/CHI nanoparticle encapsulation will be further investigated and examined using murine tumor models. The data obtained from this study will extensively evaluate of the anti-bladder cancer effects of heteronemin as well as HA/CHI-encapsulated heteronemin and pave a way to develop potential bladder cancer treatment.

Keywords: heteronemin, nanoparticles, hyaluronan, chitosan, bladder cancer

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Mohamed Farhat O. Hameed, Yasamin K. A. Alrayk, A. A Shaalan, S. S. A. Obayya

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The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are widely used due to its high sensitivity with molecular labels free. The commercial SPR sensors depend on the conventional prism-coupled configuration. However, this type of configuration suffers from miniaturization and integration. Therefore, the search for compact, portable and highly sensitive SPR sensors becomes mandatory.In this paper, sensitivity enhancement of a novel photonic crystal fiber biosensoris introduced and studied. The suggested design has microstructure of air holes in the core region surrounded by two large semicircular metallized channels filled with the analyte. The inner surfaces of the two channels are coated by a silver layer followed by a gold layer.The simulation results are obtained using full vectorial finite element methodwith perfect matched layer (PML) boundary conditions. The proposed design depends on bimetallic configuration to enhance the biosensor sensitivity. Additionally, the suggested biosensor can be used for multi-channel/multi-analyte sensing. In this study, the sensor geometrical parameters are studied to maximize the sensitivity for the two polarized modes. The numerical results show that high refractive index sensitivity of 4750 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 4300 nm/RIU can be achieved for the quasi (transverse magnetic) TM and quasi (transverse electric) TE modes of the proposed biosensor, respectively. The reportedbiosensor has advantages of integration of microfluidics setup, waveguide and metallic layers into a single structure. As a result, compact biosensor with better integration compared to conventional optical fiber SPR biosensors can be obtained.

Keywords: photonic crystal fibers, gold, silver, surface plasmon, biosensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: O. B. Iskender, K. V. Ling, V. Dubanchet, L. Simonini

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This paper presents a Guidance and Control (G&C) strategy to address spacecraft maneuvering problem for future Rendezvous and Docking (RVD) missions. The proposed strategy allows safe and propellant efficient trajectories for space servicing missions including tasks such as approaching, inspecting and capturing. This work provides the validation test results of the G&C laws using a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) setup with two robotic mockups representing the chaser and the target spacecraft. Through this paper, the challenges of the relative motion control in space are first summarized, and in particular, the constraints imposed by the mission, spacecraft and, onboard processing capabilities. Second, the proposed algorithm is introduced by presenting the formulation of constrained Model Predictive Control (MPC) to optimize the fuel consumption and explicitly handle the physical and geometric constraints in the system, e.g. thruster or Line-Of-Sight (LOS) constraints. Additionally, the coupling between translational motion and rotational motion is addressed via dual quaternion based kinematic description and accordingly explained. The resulting convex optimization problem allows real-time implementation capability based on a detailed discussion on the computational time requirements and the obtained results with respect to the onboard computer and future trends of space processors capabilities. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is presented in the scope of a potential future mission and of the available equipment. The results also cover a comparison between the proposed algorithms with Linear–quadratic regulator (LQR) based control law to highlight the clear advantages of the MPC formulation.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, embedded optimization, real-time experiment, rendezvous and docking, space robotics

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Marta Skwarecka, Patrycja Bloch, Rafal Walkusz, Oliwia Urbanowicz, Grzegorz Zielinski, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski

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Upper respiratory tract infections are one of the most common reasons for visiting a general doctor. Streptococci are the most common bacterial etiological factors in these infections. There are many different types of Streptococci and infections vary in severity from mild throat infections to pneumonia. For example, S. pyogenes mainly contributes to acute pharyngitis, palatine tonsils and scarlet fever, whereas S. Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for several invasive diseases like sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia with high mortality and dangerous complications. There are only a few diagnostic tests designed for detection Streptococci from the infected throat of patients. However, they are mostly based on lateral flow techniques, and they are not used as a standard due to their low sensitivity. The diagnostic standard is to culture patients throat swab on semi selective media in order to multiply pure etiological agent of infection and subsequently to perform antibiogram, which takes several days from the patients visit in the clinic. Therefore, the aim of our studies is to develop and implement to the market a Point of Care device for the rapid identification of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae with simultaneous identification of antibiotic resistance genes. In the course of our research, we successfully selected genes for to-species identification of Streptococci and genes encoding antibiotic resistance proteins. We have developed a reaction to amplify these genes, which allows detecting the presence of S. pyogenes or S. pneumoniae followed by testing their resistance to erythromycin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline. What is more, the detection of β-lactamase-encoding genes that could protect Streptococci against antibiotics from the ampicillin group, which are widely used in the treatment of this type of infection is also developed. The test is carried out directly from the patients' swab, and the results are available after 20 to 30 minutes after sample subjection, which could be performed during the medical visit.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, Streptococci, respiratory infections, diagnostic test

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Kirti Tewari, Rahul Dev

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Solar water heating is a thermodynamic process of heating water using sunlight with the help of solar water heater. Thus, solar water heater is a device used to harness solar energy. In this paper, a modified solar water heating system (MSWHS) has been proposed over flat plate collector (FPC) and Evacuated tube collector (ETC). The modifications include selection of materials other than glass, and glass wool which are conventionally used for fabricating FPC and ETC. Some modifications in design have also been proposed. Its collector is made of double layer of semi-cylindrical acrylic tubes and fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) insulation base. Water tank is made of double layer of acrylic sheet except base and north wall. FRP is used in base and north wall of the water tank. A concept of equivalent thickness has been utilised for calculating the dimensions of collector plate, acrylic tube and tank. A thermal model for the proposed design of MSWHS is developed and simulation is carried out on MATLAB for the capacity of 200L MSWHS having collector area of 1.6 m2, length of acrylic tubes of 2m at an inclination angle 25° which is taken nearly equal to the latitude of the given location. Latitude of Allahabad is 24.45° N. The results show that the maximum temperature of water in tank and tube has been found to be 71.2°C and 73.3°C at 17:00hr and 16:00hr respectively in March for the climatic data of Allahabad. Theoretical performance analysis has been carried out by varying number of tubes of collector, the tank capacity and climatic data for given months of winter and summer.

Keywords: acrylic, fibre reinforced plastic, solar water heating, thermal model, conventional water heaters

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: Parisa Afshin, Terje Grønning

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Norway, similar to many other countries, has set the focus of its policies in creating new strong and highly innovative sectors in recent years, as the oil and gas sector profitability is declining. Biotechnology sector in Norway has a great potential, especially in marine-biotech and cancer medicine. However, Norway being a periphery faces especial challenges in the path of creating internationally well-known biotech sector and an international knowledge hub. The aim of this article is to analyze the progress of the Norwegian biotechnology industry, its pathway to build up an innovation network and conduct collaborative innovation based on its initial conditions and its own advantage and disadvantages. The findings have important implications not only for politicians and academic in understanding the infrastructure of biotechnology sector in the country, but it has important lessons for other periphery countries or regions aiming in creating strong biotechnology sector and catching up with the strong internationally-recognized regions. Data and methodology: To achieve the main goal of this study, information has been collected via secondary resources such as web pages and annual reports published by the officials and mass media along with interviews were used. The data were collected with the goal to shed light on a brief history and current status of Norway biotechnology sector, as well as geographic distribution of biotech industry, followed by the role of academic and industry collaboration and public policies in Norway biotech. As knowledge is the key input in innovation, knowledge perspective of the system such as knowledge flow in the sector regarding the national and regional innovation system has been studied. Primary results: The internationalization has been an important element in development of periphery regions' innovativeness enabling them to overcome their weakness while putting more weight on the importance of regional policies. Following such findings, suggestions on policy decision and international collaboration, regarding national and regional system of innovation, has been offered as means of promoting strong innovative sector.

Keywords: biotechnology sector, knowledge-based industry, national innovation system, regional innovation system

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Tichaona Nharingo, Hope Tauya, Mambo Moyo

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Wood ash has been demonstrated to have favourable adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions but suffers the application problem of difficult to separate/isolate from the batch adsorption systems. Fabrication of wood ash beads using multifunctional group and non-toxic carbohydrate, alginate, may improve the applicability of wood ash in environmental pollutant remediation. In this work, alginate-wood ash beads (AWAB) were fabricated and applied to the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous systems. The beads were characterized by FTIR, TGA/DSC, SEM-EDX and their pHZPC before and after the adsorption of Cd(II) ions. Important adsorption parameters i.e. pH, AWAB dosage, contact time and ionic strength were optimized and the effect of initial concentration of Cd(II) ions to the adsorption process was established. Adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, adsorption mechanism and application of AWAB to real water samples spiked with Cd(II) ions were ascertained. The composite adsorbent was characterized by a heterogeneous macro pore surface comprising of metal oxides, multiple hydroxyl groups and carbonyl groups that were involved in electrostatic interaction and Lewis acid-base interactions with the Cd(II) ions. The pseudo second order and the Freundlich isotherm models best fitted the adsorption kinetics and isotherm data respectively suggesting chemical sorption process and surface heterogeneity. The presence of Pb(II) ions inhibited the adsorption of Cd(II) ions (reduced by 40 %) attributed to the competition for the adsorption sites. The Cd(II) loaded beads could be regenerated using 0.1 M HCl and could be applied to four sorption-desorption cycles without significant loss in its initial adsorption capacity. The high maximum adsorption capacity, stability, selectivity and reusability of AWAB make the adsorbent ideal for application in the removal of Cd(II) ions from real water samples. Column type adsorption experiments need to be explored to establish the potential of the adsorbent in removing Cd(II) ions using continuous flow systems.

Keywords: adsorption, Cd(II) ions, regeneration, wastewater, wood ash-alginate beads

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Authors: Dan Han, Yukun Zhang, Jie Zheng, Rui Zhang

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Making full use of space along transportation infrastructure to develop renewable energy sources, especially solar energy resources, has become a research focus in relevant fields. In recent years, relevant international researches can be classified into three stages of theoretical and technical exploration, exploratory practice as well as planning implementation. Compared with traditional solar energy development mode, the development of solar energy resources in places along the transportation infrastructure has special advantages, which can also bring forth new opportunities for the development of green transportation. 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic', a development model of combining transport and new energy, has been actively studied and applied in developed countries, but it was still in its infancy in China. 'New Silk Road Economic Belt' has great advantage to carry out the 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic' because of the rich solar energy resources in its path, the shortages of renewable energy, the constraints of agricultural land and other reasons. Especially the massive amount of construction of transportation infrastructure brought by Silk Road Economic Belt, large area of developable land along the transportation line will be generated. Abundant solar energy recourses along the Silk Road will provide extremely superb practical opportunities to the land development along transportation infrastructure. We take PVsyst, GIS and Google map software for simulation of its potential by taking Lan-Xin Railway as an example, so potential electrical energy generation can be quantified and further analyzed. Research of 'New Silk Road Economic Belt' combined with 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic' is a creative development for the along transport and energy infrastructure. It not only can make full use of solar radiation and land in its path, but also bring more long-term advantages and benefits.

Keywords: land use, silk road economic belt, solar energy, transportation infrastructure

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Authors: Yichin Chen

Abstract:

Taiwan is an island characterized by an active tectonics and high erosion rates. Monitoring the dynamic landscape of Taiwan is an important issue for disaster mitigation, geomorphological research, and watershed management. Long-term and high spatiotemporal landform data is essential for quantifying and simulating the geomorphological processes and developing warning systems. Recently, the advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and computational photogrammetry technology have provided an effective way to rebuild and monitor the topography changes in high spatio-temporal resolutions. This study rebuilds the 30-years landform change in the Aiyuzi watershed in 1986-2017 by using the aerial photogrammetry-based techniques. The Aiyuzi watershed, located in central Taiwan and has an area of 3.99 Km², is famous for its frequent landslide and debris flow disasters. This study took the aerial photos by using UAV and collected multi-temporal historical, stereo photographs, taken by the Aerial Survey Office of Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau. To rebuild the orthoimages and digital surface models (DSMs), Pix4DMapper, a photogrammetry software, was used. Furthermore, to control model accuracy, a set of ground control points was surveyed by using eGPS. The results show that the generated DSMs have the ground sampling distance (GSD) of ~10 cm and ~0.3 cm from the UAV’s and historical photographs, respectively, and vertical error of ~1 m. By comparing the DSMs, there are many deep-seated landslides (with depth over 20 m) occurred on the upstream in the Aiyuzi watershed. Even though a large amount of sediment is delivered from the landslides, the steep main channel has sufficient capacity to transport sediment from the channel and to erode the river bed to ~20 m in depth. Most sediments are transported to the outlet of watershed and deposits on the downstream channel. This case study shows that UAV and photogrammetry technology are useful for topography change monitoring effectively.

Keywords: aerial photogrammetry, landslide, landform change, Taiwan

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Authors: Giovana Perini-Loureiro

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The purpose of this research was to identify whether the nominalizations terminating in -TION in the academic discourse of native English speakers contain the arguments required by their input verbs. In the perspective of functional linguistics, ideational metaphors, with nominalization as their most pervasive realization, are lexically dense, and therefore frequent in formal texts. Ideational metaphors allow the academic genre to instantiate objectification, de-personalization, and the ability to construct a chain of arguments. The valence of those nouns present in nominalizations tends to maintain the same elements of the valence from its original verbs, but these arguments are not always expressed. The initial hypothesis was that these arguments would also be present alongside the nominalizations, through anaphora or cataphora. In this study, a qualitative analysis of the occurrences of the five more frequent nominalized terminations in -TION in academic texts was accomplished, and thus a verification of the occurrences of the arguments required by the original verbs. The assembling of the concordance lines was done through COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English). After identifying the five most frequent nominalizations (attention, action, participation, instruction, intervention), the concordance lines were selected at random to be analyzed, assuring the representativeness and reliability of the sample. It was possible to verify, in all the analyzed instances, the presence of arguments. In most instances, the arguments were not expressed, but recoverable, either in the context or in the shared knowledge among the interactants. It was concluded that the realizations of the arguments which were not expressed alongside the nominalizations are part of a continuum, starting from the immediate context with anaphora and cataphora; up to a knowledge shared outside the text, such as specific area knowledge. The study also has implications for the teaching of academic writing, especially with regards to the impact of nominalizations on the thematic and informational flow of the text. Grammatical metaphors are essential to academic writing, hence acknowledging the occurrence of its arguments is paramount to achieve linguistic awareness and the writing prestige required by the academy.

Keywords: corpus, functional linguistics, grammatical metaphors, nominalizations, academic English

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Konrad Pietrykowski, Michał Gęca, Michał Bialy

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The paper presents the results of the crankshaft strength simulation. The crankshaft was taken from the opposed piston engine. Calculations were made using finite element method (FEM) in Abaqus software. This program allows to perform strength tests of individual machine parts as well as their assemblies. The crankshaft that was used in the calculations will be used in the two-stroke aviation research aircraft engine. The assumptions for the calculations were obtained from the AVL Boost software, from one-dimensional engine cycle model and from the multibody model using the method developed in the MSC Adams software. The research engine will be equipped with 3 combustion chambers and two crankshafts. In order to shorten the calculation time, only one crankcase analysis was performed. The cut of the shaft has been selected with the greatest forces resulting from the engine operation. Calculations were made for two cases. For maximum piston force when maximum bending load occurs and for the maximum torque. Cast iron material was adopted. For this material, Poisson's number, density, and Young's modulus were determined. The computational grid contained of 1,977,473 Tet elements. This type of elements was chosen because of the complex design of the crankshaft. Results are presented in the form of stress distributions maps and displacements on the surface and inside the geometry of the shaft. The results show the places of tension stresses, however, no stresses are exceeded at any place. The shaft can thus be applied to the engine in its present form. Acknowledgement: This work has been realized in the cooperation with The Construction Office of WSK 'PZL-KALISZ’ S.A. and is part of Grant Agreement No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0002/15 financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: aircraft diesel engine, crankshaft, finite element method, two-stroke engine

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: P. V. Pramila , V. Mahesh

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Pulmonary Function Tests are important non-invasive diagnostic tests to assess respiratory impairments and provides quantifiable measures of lung function. Spirometry is the most frequently used measure of lung function and plays an essential role in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary diseases. However, the test requires considerable patient effort and cooperation, markedly related to the age of patients esulting in incomplete data sets. This paper presents, a nonlinear model built using Multivariate adaptive regression splines and Random forest regression model to predict the missing spirometric features. Random forest based feature selection is used to enhance both the generalization capability and the model interpretability. In the present study, flow-volume data are recorded for N= 198 subjects. The ranked order of feature importance index calculated by the random forests model shows that the spirometric features FVC, FEF 25, PEF,FEF 25-75, FEF50, and the demographic parameter height are the important descriptors. A comparison of performance assessment of both models prove that, the prediction ability of MARS with the `top two ranked features namely the FVC and FEF 25 is higher, yielding a model fit of R2= 0.96 and R2= 0.99 for normal and abnormal subjects. The Root Mean Square Error analysis of the RF model and the MARS model also shows that the latter is capable of predicting the missing values of FEV1 with a notably lower error value of 0.0191 (normal subjects) and 0.0106 (abnormal subjects). It is concluded that combining feature selection with a prediction model provides a minimum subset of predominant features to train the model, yielding better prediction performance. This analysis can assist clinicians with a intelligence support system in the medical diagnosis and improvement of clinical care.

Keywords: FEV, multivariate adaptive regression splines pulmonary function test, random forest

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Authors: Yongrong Li, Ralf Domroes

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Due to significant energy savings, enablement of higher machining speed as well as environmentally friendly features, Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) has been used for many machining processes efficiently. However, in the deep hole drilling field (small tool diameter D < 5 mm) and long tool (length L > 25xD) it is always a bottle neck for a single channel MQL system. The single channel MQL, based on the Venturi principle, faces a lack of enough oil quantity caused by dropped pressure difference during the deep hole drilling process. In this paper, a system concept based on a bypass design has explored its possibility to dynamically reach the required pressure difference between the air inlet and the inside of aerosol generator, so that the deep hole drilling demanded volume of oil can be generated and delivered to tool tips. The system concept has been investigated in static and dynamic laboratory testing. In the static test, the oil volume with and without bypass control were measured. This shows an oil quantity increasing potential up to 1000%. A spray pattern test has demonstrated the differences of aerosol particle size, aerosol distribution and reaction time between single channel and bypass controlled single channel MQL systems. A dynamic trial machining test of deep hole drilling (drill tool D=4.5mm, L= 40xD) has been carried out with the proposed system on a difficult machining material AlSi7Mg. The tool wear along a 100 meter drilling was tracked and analyzed. The result shows that the single channel MQL with a bypass control can overcome the limitation and enhance deep hole drilling with a small tool. The optimized combination of inlet air pressure and bypass control results in a high quality oil delivery to tool tips with a uniform and continuous aerosol flow.

Keywords: deep hole drilling, green production, Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL), near dry machining

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Authors: Zafar Beg, Kumar Gaurav

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The lost Saraswati is described as a large perennial river which was 'lost' in the desert towards the end of the Indus-Saraswati civilisation. It has been proposed earlier that the lost Saraswati flowed in the Sutlej-Yamuna interfluve, parallel to the present day Indus River. It is believed that one of the earliest known ancient civilizations, the 'Indus-Saraswati civilization' prospered along the course of the Saraswati River. The demise of the Indus civilization is considered to be due to desiccation of the river. Today in the Sutlej-Yamuna interfluve, we observe an ephemeral river, known as Ghaggar. It is believed that along with the Ghaggar River, two other Himalayan Rivers Sutlej and Yamuna were tributaries of the lost Saraswati and made a significant contribution to its discharge. Presence of a large number of archaeological sites and the occurrence of thick fluvial sand bodies in the subsurface in the Sutlej-Yamuna interfluve has been used to suggest that the Saraswati River was a large perennial river. Further, the wider course of about 4-7 km recognized from satellite imagery of Ghaggar-Hakra belt in between Suratgarh and Anupgarh strengthens this hypothesis. Here we develop a methodology to estimate the paleo discharge and paleo width of the lost Saraswati River. In doing so, we rely on the hypothesis which suggests that the ancient Saraswati River used to carry the combined flow or some part of the Yamuna, Sutlej and Ghaggar catchments. We first established a regime relationship between the drainage area-channel width and catchment area-discharge of 29 different rivers presently flowing on the Himalayan Foreland from Indus in the west to the Brahmaputra in the East. We found the width and discharge of all the Himalayan rivers scale in a similar way when they are plotted against their corresponding catchment area. Using these regime curves, we calculate the width and discharge of paleochannels originating from the Sutlej, Yamuna and Ghaggar rivers by measuring their corresponding catchment area from satellite images. Finally, we add the discharge and width obtained from each of the individual catchments to estimate the paleo width and paleo discharge respectively of the Saraswati River. Our regime curves provide a first-order estimate of the paleo discharge of the lost Saraswati.

Keywords: Indus civilization, palaeochannel, regime curve, Saraswati River

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Authors: Piotr Muzyk, Beata Morawiec, Mariusz Opara, Andrzej Tomasik, Brygida Przywara-Chowaniec, Wojciech Jachec, Ewa Nowalany-Kozielska, Damian Kawecki

Abstract:

Background: Coronary bifurcation is one of the most complex lesion in patients with coronary ar-tery disease. Provisional T-stenting is currently one of the recommended techniques. The aim was to assess optimal methods of treatment in the era of drug-eluting stents (DES). Methods: The regis-try consisted of data from 1916 patients treated with coronary percutaneous interventions (PCI) using either first- or second-generation DES. Patients with bifurcation lesion entered the analysis. Major adverse cardiac and cardiovascular events (MACCE) were assessed at one year of follow-up and comprised of death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), repeated PCI (re-PCI) of target ves-sel and stroke. Results: Of 1916 registry patients, 204 patients (11%) were diagnosed with bifurcation lesion >50% and entered the analysis. The most commonly used technique was provi-sional T-stenting (141 patients, 69%). Optimization with kissing-balloons technique was performed in 45 patients (22%). In 59 patients (29%) second-generation DES was implanted, while in 112 pa-tients (55%), first-generation DES was used. In 33 patients (16%) both types of DES were used. The procedure success rate (TIMI 3 flow) was achieved in 98% of patients. In one-year follow-up, there were 39 MACCE (19%) (9 deaths, 17 AMI, 16 re-PCI and 5 strokes). Provisional T-stenting resulted in similar rate of MACCE to other techniques (16% vs. 5%, p=0.27) and similar occurrence of re-PCI (6% vs. 2%, p=0.78). The results of post-PCI kissing-balloon technique gave equal out-comes with 3% vs. 16% of MACCE in patients in whom no optimization technique was used (p=0.39). The type of implanted DES (second- vs. first-generation) had no influence on MACCE (4% vs 14%, respectively, p=0.12) and re-PCI (1.7% vs. 51% patients, respectively, p=0.28). Con-clusions: The treatment of bifurcation lesions with PCI represent high-risk procedures with high rate of MACCE. Stenting technique, optimization of PCI and the generation of implanted stent should be personalized for each case to balance risk of the procedure. In this setting, the operator experience might be the factor of better outcome, which should be further investigated.

Keywords: coronary bifurcation, drug eluting stents, long-term follow-up, percutaneous coronary interventions

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Authors: Hashim Isam Jameel Al-Safi, P. Ranjan Sarukkalige

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Climate change is likely to impact the Australian continent by changing the trends of rainfall, increasing temperature, and affecting the accessibility of water quantity and quality. This study investigates the possible impacts of future climate change on the hydrological system of the Harvey River catchment in Western Australia by using the conceptual modelling approach (HBV mode). Daily observations of rainfall and temperature and the long-term monthly mean potential evapotranspiration, from six weather stations, were available for the period (1961-2015). The observed streamflow data at Clifton Park gauging station for 33 years (1983-2015) in line with the observed climate variables were used to run, calibrate and validate the HBV-model prior to the simulation process. The calibrated model was then forced with the downscaled future climate signals from a multi-model ensemble of fifteen GCMs of the CMIP3 model under three emission scenarios (A2, A1B and B1) to simulate the future runoff at the catchment outlet. Two periods were selected to represent the future climate conditions including the mid (2046-2065) and late (2080-2099) of the 21^st century. A control run, with the reference climate period (1981-2000), was used to represent the current climate status. The modelling outcomes show an evident reduction in the mean annual streamflow during the mid of this century particularly for the A1B scenario relative to the control run. Toward the end of the century, all scenarios show a relatively high reduction trends in the mean annual streamflow, especially the A1B scenario, compared to the control run. The decline in the mean annual streamflow ranged between 4-15% during the mid of the current century and 9-42% by the end of the century.

Keywords: climate change impact, Harvey catchment, HBV model, hydrological modelling, GCMs, LARS-WG

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Yuekun Chen, Yousef Sardahi, Salam Hajjar, Christopher Greer

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This paper presents a multi-objective optimal design of a cascade control system for an underactuated mechanical system. Cascade control structures usually include two control algorithms (inner and outer). To design such a control system properly, the following conflicting objectives should be considered at the same time: 1) the inner closed-loop control must be faster than the outer one, 2) the inner loop should fast reject any disturbance and prevent it from propagating to the outer loop, 3) the controlled system should be insensitive to measurement noise, and 4) the controlled system should be driven by optimal energy. Such a control problem can be formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem such that the optimal trade-offs among these design goals are found. To authors best knowledge, such a problem has not been studied in multi-objective settings so far. In this work, an underactuated mechanical system consisting of a rotary servo motor and a ball and beam is used for the computer simulations, the setup parameters of the inner and outer control systems are tuned by NSGA-II (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm), and the dominancy concept is used to find the optimal design points. The solution of this problem is not a single optimal cascade control, but rather a set of optimal cascade controllers (called Pareto set) which represent the optimal trade-offs among the selected design criteria. The function evaluation of the Pareto set is called the Pareto front. The solution set is introduced to the decision-maker who can choose any point to implement. The simulation results in terms of Pareto front and time responses to external signals show the competing nature among the design objectives. The presented study may become the basis for multi-objective optimal design of multi-loop control systems.

Keywords: cascade control, multi-Loop control systems, multiobjective optimization, optimal control

Procedia PDF Downloads 153