Search results for: software development

Authors: Andrea Palazzo, Daniel Macek, Veronika Malinova

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Contour processing is the new technology challenge for architects and construction companies. The many advantages it promises make it one of the most interesting solutions for construction in terms of automation of building processes. The technology for 3D printing houses offers many application possibilities, from low-cost construction, to being considered by NASA for visionary projects as a good solution for building settlements on other planets. Another very important point is that clients, as architects, will no longer have many limits in design concerning ideas and creativity. The prices for real estate are constantly increasing and the lack of availability of construction materials as well as the speculation that has been created around it in 2021 is bringing prices to such a level that in the future real estate developers risk not being able to find customers for these ultra-expensive homes. Hence, this paper starts with the introduction of 3D printing, which now has the potential to gain an important position in the market, becoming a valid alternative to the classic construction process. This technology is not only beneficial from an economic point of view but it is also a great opportunity to have an impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions. Further on in the article we will also understand if, after the COP 26 (2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference), world governments could also push towards building technologies that reduce the waste materials that are needed to be disposed of and at the same time reduce emissions with the contribution of governmental funds. This paper will give us insight on the multiple benefits of 3D printing and emphasise the importance of finding new solutions for materials that can be used by the printer. Therefore, based on the type of material, it will be possible to understand the compatibility with current regulations and how the authorities will be inclined to support this technology. This will help to enable the rise and development of this technology in Europe and in the rest of the world on actual housing projects and not only on prototypes.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, contour crafting, development, new regulation, printing material

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Authors: Cuiyang Feng, Xu Tang, Yi Jin

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Coal is the most important primary energy source in China, which exerts a significant influence on the rapid economic growth. However, it makes the water resources to be a constraint on coal industry development, on account of the reverse geographical distribution between coal and water. To ease the pressure on water shortage, the ‘3 Red Lines’ water policies were announced by the Chinese government, and then ‘water for coal’ plan was added to that policies in 2013. This study utilized a structural path analysis (SPA) based on the multi-regional input-output table to quantify the virtual water flows caused by coal consumption in different stages. Results showed that the direct water input (the first stage) was the highest amount in all stages of coal consumption, accounting for approximately 30% of total virtual water content. Regional analysis demonstrated that virtual water trade alleviated the pressure on water use for coal consumption in water shortage areas, but the import of virtual water was not from the areas which are rich in water. Sectoral analysis indicated that the direct inputs from the sectors of ‘production and distribution of electric power and heat power’ and ‘Smelting and pressing of metals’ took up the major virtual water flows, while the sectors of ‘chemical industry’ and ‘manufacture of non-metallic mineral products’ importantly but indirectly consumed the water. With the population and economic growth in China, the water demand-and-supply gap in coal consumption would be more remarkable. In additional to water efficiency improvement measures, the central government should adjust the strategies of the virtual water trade to address local water scarcity issues. Water resource as the main constraints should be highly considered in coal policy to promote the sustainable development of the coal industry.

Keywords: coal consumption, multi-regional input-output model, structural path analysis, virtual water

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Authors: B. E. Tarazona-Romero, J. G. Ascanio-Villabona, O. Lengerke-Perez, A. D. Rincon-Quintero, C. L. Sandoval-Rodriguez

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Desalination offers solutions for the shortage of water in the world, however, the process of eliminating salts generates a by-product known as brine, generally eliminated in the environment through techniques that mitigate its impact. Brine treatment techniques are vital to developing an environmentally sustainable desalination process. Consequently, this document evaluates three different geometric configurations of solar stills as an alternative for brine treatment to be integrated into a low-scale desalination process. The geometric scenarios to be studied were selected because they have characteristics that adapt to the concept of appropriate technology; low cost, intensive labor and material resources for local manufacturing, modularity, and simplicity in construction. Additionally, the conceptual design of the collectors was carried out, and the ray tracing methodology was applied through the open access software SolTrace and Tonatiuh. The simulation process used 600.00 rays and modified two input parameters; direct normal radiation (DNI) and reflectance. In summary, for the scenarios evaluated, the ladder-type distiller presented higher efficiency values compared to the pyramid-type and single-slope collectors. Finally, the efficiency of the collectors studied was directly related to their geometry, that is, large geometries allow them to receive a greater number of solar rays in various paths, affecting the efficiency of the device.

Keywords: appropriate technology, brine treatment techniques, desalination, monte carlo ray tracing

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Authors: Abdel-Monem Sayed Mohamed

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Egypt rapidly growing development is accompanied by increasing levels of standard living particular in its urban areas. However, there is a limited experience in quantifying the sources of risk management in Egypt and in designing efficient strategies to keep away serious impacts of earthquakes. From the historical point of view and recent instrumental records, there are some seismo-active regions in Egypt, where some significant earthquakes had occurred in different places. The special tectonic features in Egypt: Aswan, Greater Cairo, Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula regions are the territories of a high seismic risk, which have to be monitored by up-to date technologies. The investigations of the seismic events and interpretations led to evaluate the seismic hazard for disaster prevention and for the safety of the dense populated regions and the vital national projects as the High Dam. In addition to the monitoring of the recent crustal movements, the most powerful technique of satellite geodesy GPS are used where geodetic networks are covering such seismo-active regions. The results from the data sets are compared and combined in order to determine the main characteristics of the deformation and hazard estimation for specified regions. The final compiled output from the seismological and geodetic analysis threw lights upon the geodynamical regime of these seismo-active regions and put Aswan and Greater Cairo under the lowest class according to horizontal crustal strains classifications. This work will serve a basis for the development of so-called catastrophic models and can be further used for catastrophic risk management. Also, this work is trying to evaluate risk of large catastrophic losses within the important regions including the High Dam, strategic buildings and archeological sites. Studies on possible scenarios of earthquakes and losses are a critical issue for decision making in insurance as a part of mitigation measures.

Keywords: b-value, Gumbel distribution, seismic and GPS data, strain parameters

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Authors: Mohammed Ahmed Alghamdi, Hazem Mahmoud Ali Darwish, Mostafa Mohamed Abdelraheem

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Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) possess low resistivity, exhibit good adherence to many substrates, and have good transmission characteristics from the visible to near-infrared wavelengths, which make it useful for various applications. Thin films of transparent conducting oxide (TCO’s) have received much attention because of their wide applications in the field of optoelectronic devices. Advancement of transparent conducting oxides TCO’s may not only lie within the improvement of existing materials in use, but also the development of novel materials. Solar cells are devices, which convert solar energy into electricity, either directly via the photovoltaic effect, or indirectly by first converting the solar energy to heat or chemical energy. Solar power has attracted attention of late as the most advanced of the alternative energy resources. The project aims to access the solar energy in Al-Baha region by search for materials (transparent-conductive oxides (TCO's)) to use in solar cells with highly transparent to the solar spectrum, have low electrical resistivity, be stable under H-plasma, and have a suitable structure in particular for a-Si solar cells. As the PV surface is exposed to the sunlight, the module temperature increases. High ambient temperatures along with long sunlight exposure time increases the temperature impact on PV cells efficiency. Since Al-Baha area is characterized by an atmosphere and pressure different from their counterparts in Saudi Arabia due to the height above sea level, hence it is appropriate to do studies to improve the efficiency of solar cells under these conditions. In this work, some ion change materials will be deposited using either sputtering/ or electron beam evaporation techniques. The optical properties of the synthesized materials will be studied in details for solar cell application. As we will study the effect of some dyes on the optical properties of the prepared films. The efficiency and other parameters of solar cell will be determined.

Keywords: thin films, solar cell, optical properties, electrical properties

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Authors: Shahjada Selim

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Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an important impediment to quality of life of men. ED is approximate, three times more common in diabetic than non-diabetic men, and diabetic men develop ED earlier than age-matched non-diabetic subjects. Glycemic control and other factors may contribute in developing and or deteriorating ED. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of ED and its risk factors in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) men in Bangladesh. Methods: During 2013-2014, 3980 diabetic men aged 30-69 years were interviewed at the out-patient departments of seven diabetic centers in Dhaka by using the validated Bengali version of the questionnaire of the International index of erectile function (IIEF) for evaluation of baseline erectile function (EF). The indexes indicate a very high correlation between the items and the questionnaire is consistently reliable. Data were analyzed with Chi-squared (χ²) test using SPSS software. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 3790, ED was found in 2046 (53.98%) of T2DM men. The prevalence of ED was increased with age from 10.5% in men aged 30-39 years to 33.6% in those aged over 60 years (P < 0.001). In comparison with patients with reported diabetes lasting ≤ 5 years (26.4%), the prevalence of ED was less than in those with diabetes of 6-11 years (35.3%) and of 12-30 years (42.5%, P <0.001). ED increased significantly in those who had poor glycemic control. The prevalence of ED in patients with good, fair and poor glycemic control was 22.8%, 42.5% and 47.9% respectively (P = 0.004). Treatment modalities (medical nutrition therapy, oral agents, insulin, and insulin plus oral agents) had significant association with ED and its severity (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Prevalence of ED is very high among T2DM men in Bangladesh and can be reduced the burden by improving glycemic status. Glycemic control, duration of diabetes, treatment modalities, increasing age are associated with ED.

Keywords: erectile dysfunction, diabetes, men, Bangladesh

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Authors: Dongkyu Lee, Doan-Quoc Hoan, Soomi Shin

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This study shows an easy R&D innovation-activity methodology which embodies the methodological strategy of supplementing the disadvantages of 6 sigma by TRIZ and considers the acceptance of employees through the change in the concept of innovation-activity methodology from the focus of chapter development to that of stepwise executed task.

Keywords: idea thinking, 6 sigma, triz, visual planning, R&D, innovation-activity

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Authors: Thamer Kubat, Riadh Al-Mahaidi, Ahmad Shayan

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The alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) in concrete has a negative influence on the mechanical properties and durability of concrete. Confinement by carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is an effective method of treatment for some AAR-affected elements. Eighteen reinforced columns affected by different levels of expansion due to AAR were confined using CFRP to evaluate the effect of expansion level on confinement efficiency. Strength and strain capacities (axial and circumferential) were measured using photogrammetry under uniaxial compressive loading to evaluate the efficiency of CFRP wrapping for the rehabilitation of affected columns. In relation to uniaxial compression capacity, the results indicated that the confinement of AAR-affected columns by one layer of CFRP is sufficient to reach and exceed the load capacity of unaffected sound columns. Parallel to the experimental study, finite element (FE) modeling using ATENA software was employed to predict the behavior of CFRP-confined damaged concrete and determine the possibility of using the model in a parametric study by simulating the number of CFRP layers. A comparison of the experimental results with the results of the theoretical models showed that FE modeling could be used for the prediction of the behavior of confined AAR-damaged concrete.

Keywords: carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), finite element (FE), ATENA, confinement efficiency

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Authors: Monica Dantas

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At what socio-economic costs can the food industry offer products at low prices? This research seeks to understand and to explore how we attribute competence and meaning, what enables the outcomes of agriculture and what institutions provides validation regarding food production. This study objective is to explain and interpret conditions of the present state of agriculture in Brazil centring on two distinct segments, agribusiness and family farming, as the Brazilian, rapidly changing political environment unfolds. The approach is grounded in multidisciplinary literature drawing from the politics of development, the sociology of food, the sustainability framework and the conceptual differences between agribusiness and family farming regarding the innate purpose of the two segments. In addition, a quantitative portion of the research includes secondary data analysis from statistical measurements, economic indicators, federal budget information, and census data to compare the two segments, conveying a general snapshot of the conditions investigated. The results raised questions about the perceived image of the success of agribusiness, against some contradicting economic checks and balances. Analyzing how public funds are invested in agriculture shed light on what can enable or undermine the development of food systems in Brazil. It also revealed how politics, ideology, and corporations might influence the Brazilian Federal. In the 2000-2018 observed timeline of annual federal spending on agriculture in Brazil, there is variation in the amount invested in family farming that seems to 'coincide' with the ideological direction of the federal government in power. It was also observed that significant changes in the institutional framework and financial support either promoted or purposely undermined family farming importance using public institutions to validate support for agribusiness.

Keywords: food politics, sustainability, family farming, food system, public budget

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Authors: Belal Mohamadi Kalesar, Raouf Hasanpour

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Proper placement of Distributed Generation (DG) units such as wind turbine generators in distribution system are still very challenging issue for obtaining their maximum potential benefits because inappropriate placement may increase the system losses. This paper proposes Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique for optimal placement of wind based DG (WDG) in the primary distribution system to reduce energy losses and voltage profile improvement with four different wind levels modeling in year duration. Also, wind turbine is modeled as a DFIG that will be operated at unity power factor and only one wind turbine tower will be considered to install at each bus of network. Finally, proposed method will be implemented on widely used 69 bus power distribution system in MATLAB software environment under four scenario (without, one, two and three WDG units) and for capability test of implemented program it is supposed that all buses of standard system can be candidate for WDG installing (large search space), though this program can consider predetermined number of candidate location in WDG placement to model financial limitation of project. Obtained results illustrate that wind speed increasing in some months will increase output power generated but this can increase / decrease power loss in some wind level, also results show that it is required about 3MW WDG capacity to install in different buses but when this is distributed in overall network (more number of WDG) it can cause better solution from point of view of power loss and voltage profile.

Keywords: wind turbine, DG placement, wind levels effect, PSO algorithm

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Authors: H. M. Côrtes, J. I. Da Silva Filho, M. F. Blos, B. S. Zanon

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In a modern society the factor corresponding to the increase in the level of quality in industrial production demand new techniques of control and machinery automation. In this context, this work presents the implementation of a Paraconsistent-Fuzzy Digital PID controller. The controller is based on the treatment of inconsistencies both in the Paraconsistent Logic and in the Fuzzy Logic. Paraconsistent analysis is performed on the signals applied to the system inputs using concepts from the Paraconsistent Annotated Logic with annotation of two values (PAL2v). The signals resulting from the paraconsistent analysis are two values defined as Dc - Degree of Certainty and Dct - Degree of Contradiction, which receive a treatment according to the Fuzzy Logic theory, and the resulting output of the logic actions is a single value called the crisp value, which is used to control dynamic system. Through an example, it was demonstrated the application of the proposed model. Initially, the Paraconsistent-Fuzzy Digital PID controller was built and tested in an isolated MATLAB environment and then compared to the equivalent Digital PID function of this software for standard step excitation. After this step, a level control plant was modeled to execute the controller function on a physical model, making the tests closer to the actual. For this, the control parameters (proportional, integral and derivative) were determined for the configuration of the conventional Digital PID controller and of the Paraconsistent-Fuzzy Digital PID, and the control meshes in MATLAB were assembled with the respective transfer function of the plant. Finally, the results of the comparison of the level control process between the Paraconsistent-Fuzzy Digital PID controller and the conventional Digital PID controller were presented.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, paraconsistent annotated logic, level control, digital PID

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Authors: Aparna Saha, Tuhin Ahmed

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West Bengal has a number of important rivers, each with its distinctive character and a story. Traditionally, cities have ‘divulged’ to rivers at the river edges and rivers have been an inseparable part of the urban experience. Considering the research aspect, the area is taken in Barrackpore, a small but important outgrowth of Kolkata Municipal Association, West Bengal. Barrackpore, at present, has ample inadequate public open spaces at the neighborhood level where people of different socio-cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds can come together and engage in various leisure activities, but there is no opportunity either, where people can learn about and explore the rich history of the settlement. Pertaining to these issues forms the backdrop of this research paper which has been conceptualized as a place from space that will bring people back to the river and increase community interactions and will also celebrate and commemorate towards the historical importance of the river and its edges. The entire precinct bordering the river represents the transition from pre-independence (Raj era) to Sepoy phase (Swaraj era), finally culminating into the Gandhian philosophy which is being projected into the already existing Gandhi Ghat. The ultimate aim of the paper entitled ‘Utsadhara- Rejuvenating the dead river edge into an urban activity space along the banks of river Hooghly’ is to create a socio-cultural space keeping the heritage identity intact through judicious use of the water body. Also, a balance is kept between the natural ecosystem and the cosmetic development of the surrounding open spaces. It can be duly achieved by the aforementioned methodology provided in the document, but mainly it would focus into preserving the historic ethnicity of the place by holding its character through various facts and figures as well as features. Most importantly the natural topography of the place is left intact. The second priority is given in terms of hierarchy of well connected public plazas, podiums where people from different socio-economic backgrounds irrespective of age and sex could socialize and reach towards venturing into a cordial relationship with one another. The third priority is to provide a platform for the common mass for showcasing their skills and talent through different art and craft forms which in turn would enhance their individual self and also the community as a whole through economic rise. Apart from this here some spaces are created in accordance to different age groups or class of people. The paper intends to see the river as a major multifunctional public space to attract people for different activities and re-establish the relationship of the river with the settlement. Hence, it is apprehended that the paper is not only intended to a simple riverfront conservation project but unlike others it is a place which is created for the people, by the people and of the people towards a holistic community development through a sustainable approach.

Keywords: holistic community development, public activity space, river-urban precinct, urban dead space

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Authors: Vladyslav Povoroznyuk, Anna Musiienko, Nataliia Dzerovych, Roksolana Povoroznyuk

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Osteoporosis and obesity are widespread diseases in people over 50 years associated with changes in structure and body composition. Нigher body mass index (BMI) values are associated with greater bone mineral density (BMD). However, trabecular bone score (TBS) indirectly explores bone quality, independently of BMD. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between the BMD and TBS parameters in Ukrainian men suffering from obesity. We examined 396 men aged 40-89 years. Depending on their BMI all the subjects were divided into two groups: Group I – patients with obesity whose BMI was ≥ 30 kg/m² (n=129) and Group II – patients without obesity and BMI of < 30 kg/m² (n=267). The BMD of total body, lumbar spine L₁-L₄, femoral neck and forearm were measured by DXA (Prodigy, GEHC Lunar, Madison, WI, USA). The TBS of L₁- L₄ was assessed by means of TBS iNsight® software installed on DXA machine (product of Med-Imaps, Pessac, France). In general, obese men had a significantly higher BMD of lumbar spine L₁-L₄, femoral neck, total body and ultradistal forearm (p < 0.001) in comparison with men without obesity. The TBS of L₁-L₄ was significantly lower in obese men compared to non-obese ones (p < 0.001). BMD of lumbar spine L₁-L₄, femoral neck and total body significantly differ in men aged 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 80-89 years (p < 0.05). At the same time, in men aged 70-79 years, BMD of lumbar spine L₁-L₄ (p=0.46), femoral neck (p=0.18), total body (p=0.21), ultra-distal forearm (p=0.13), and TBS (p=0.07) did not significantly differ. A significant positive correlation between the fat mass and the BMD at different sites was observed. However, the correlation between the fat mass and TBS of L₁-L₄ was also significant, though negative.

Keywords: bone mineral density, trabecular bone score, obesity, men

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Authors: Abdur Raheem, Ado Yakub

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Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years of which most of them are the result of intense and bitter competition for political power, the control of limited economic, social and environmental resources. In Nigeria, the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in most parts of the north eastern parts have ignited violence, bloodshed, refuge exodus and internal migration. Not only do the persistent attacks of the sect create widespread insecurity and fear, it has also stifled normal processes of trade and investments most especially real property investment which is acclaimed to accelerate the economic cycle, thus the need to evolve strategies for an improved property market in such areas. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of these social crisis on effective and efficient utilization of real properties as a resource towards the development of the economy, using a descriptive analysis approach where particular emphasis was based on trends in residential housing values; volume of estimated property transactions and real estate investment decisions by affected individuals. Findings indicate that social crisis in the affected areas have been a clog on the wheels of property development and investment as properties worth hundreds of millions have been destroyed thereby having great impact on property values. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to include the need to strategically continue investing in property during such times, the need for Nigerian government to establish an active conflict monitoring and management unit for prompt response, encourage community and neighbourhood policing to ameliorate security challenges in Nigeria.

Keywords: social crisis, property market, economy, resources, north-eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Mahlet Nigussie Worku

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The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different leadership styles on employee engagement in Ethiopian Airlines headquarters located in Addis Ababa. Specific objectives of the study were stated to examine the effects of five leadership styles, namely transformational, transactional, democratic, lassies fair and autocratic leadership styles on employees’ engagement. The study was conducted on 288 sample sizes, and a simple random sampling technique was employed. The quantitative findings were presented and analyzed by table, ANOVA, bivariate correlation and regression model through SPSS software version 23. Out of 288 total distributed questionnaires, 280 were returned, and 8 of the returned were rejected due to missing data, while the remaining 280 responses were used for data analysis. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study employed both descriptive and explanatory research design. Correlation and regression were used to analyze the relationship and its effect between leadership Style and employee engagement. The regression results showed that transformational, transactional and democratic leadership Styles have significant contributions to employee engagement. Similarly, the transformational, transactional land democratic leadership style had a positive and strong correlation with employee engagement. However, lassies-fair and autocratic leadership styles showed a negative and insignificant effect on employee engagement. Finally, based on the findings, workable recommendations and implications for further studies were forwarded.

Keywords: leadership, autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style, employee engagement

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Authors: Reyhan Azeriansyah, Yudo Prasetyo, Bambang Darmo Yuwono

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Land subsidence is one of the problems that occur in the coastal areas of Java Island, one of which is the Semarang and Demak areas located in the northern region of Central Java. The impact of sea erosion, rising sea levels, soil structure vulnerable and economic development activities led to both these areas often occurs on land subsidence. To know how much land subsidence that occurred in the region needs to do the monitoring carried out by remote sensing methods such as PS-InSAR method. PS-InSAR is a remote sensing technique that is the development of the DInSAR method that can monitor the movement of the ground surface that allows users to perform regular measurements and monitoring of fixed objects on the surface of the earth. PS InSAR processing is done using Standford Method of Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS). Same as the recent analysis technique, Persistent Scatterer (PS) InSAR addresses both the decorrelation and atmospheric problems of conventional InSAR. StaMPS identify and extract the deformation signal even in the absence of bright scatterers. StaMPS is also applicable in areas undergoing non-steady deformation, with no prior knowledge of the variations in deformation rate. In addition, this method can also cover a large area so that the decline in the face of the land can cover all coastal areas of Semarang and Demak. From the PS-InSAR method can be known the impact on the existing area in Semarang and Demak region per year. The PS-InSAR results will also be compared with the GPS monitoring data to determine the difference in land decline that occurs between the two methods. By utilizing remote sensing methods such as PS-InSAR method, it is hoped that the PS-InSAR method can be utilized in monitoring the land subsidence and can assist other survey methods such as GPS surveys and the results can be used in policy determination in the affected coastal areas of Semarang and Demak.

Keywords: coastal area, Demak, land subsidence, PS-InSAR, Semarang, StaMPS

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Authors: Rania E. Ramadan

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Dental esthetics is subjective, can be reported by the dentist and not noticed by the patient. However, if there is any imperfection seen by both the dentist and the patient, it is considered as an unesthetic like white and/or brown spot lesions. Many patients nowadays have been concerned about dental esthetics. Esthetic rehabilitation of anterior teeth and even maxillary premolars aid a lot in patients’ satisfaction of their smile consequently, gaining positive psychological impact for the patients. Many cases need esthetic rehabilitation such as diastema closure, spaced teeth and masking discolored teeth. Dental fluorosis and enamel hypo calcification can be presented as white and/or brown spot lesions. There are many treatment options for the management of these spotted teeth. Treatment options range from bleaching, microabrasion, direct composite restorations, porcelain veneers, and complete coverage crowns. The selection of certain options depends on many factors: the patient’s age, socioeconomic status and the severity of the lesion. In this clinical report, a 22-year-old male patient has been presented to the Department of Prosthodontics in Alexandria University, Egypt. His chief complaint was, “I was unpleased by white and brown spots in my teeth and I want to close the space between the two maxillary central.” Upon medical history, clinical examination, diagnostic photographs, and digital smile design by Exocad software, lithium disilicate veneers were chosen as the treatment of choice in maxillary anterior and first premolars.

Keywords: flourosis, ceramic veneers, case report, diastema closure

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Authors: H. Fekhar

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Design and implementation acquisition system using radio frequency (RF) ASK module and micro controllers PIC is proposed in this work. The paper includes hardware and software design. The design tools are divided into two units , namely the sender MCU and receiver.The system was designed to measure temperatures of two furnaces and pressure pneumatic process. The wireless transmitter unit use the 433.95 MHz band directly interfaced to micro controller PIC18F4620. The sender unit consists of temperatures-pressure sensors , conditioning circuits , keypad GLCD display and RF module.Signal conditioner converts the output of the sensors into an electric quantity suitable for operation of the display and recording system.The measurements circuits are connected directly to 10 bits multiplexed A/D converter.The graphic liquid crystal display (GLCD) is used . The receiver (RF) module connected to a second microcontroller ,receive the signal via RF receiver , decode the Address/data and reproduces the original data . The strategy adopted for establishing communication between the sender MCU and receiver uses the specific protocol “Header, Address and data”.The communication protocol dealing with transmission and reception have been successfully implemented . Some experimental results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed wireless system. This embedded system track temperatures – pressure signal reasonably well with a small error.

Keywords: microcontrollers, sensors, graphic liquid cristal display, protocol, temperature, pressure

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Authors: Ali A. Al-Jazaairry, Tahsin T. Sabbagh

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One of the important concerns within the field of geotechnical engineering is the presence of cavities in soils. This present work is an attempt to understand the behaviour of strip footing subjected to inclined load and constructed on cavitied soil. The failure mechanism of strip footing located above such soils was studied analytically. The capability of analytical model to correctly expect the system behaviour is assessed by carrying out verification analysis on available studies. The study was prepared by finite element software (PLAXIS) in which an elastic-perfectly plastic soil model was used. It was indicated, from the results of the study, that the load carrying capacity of foundation constructed on cavity can be analysed well using such analysis. The research covered many foundation cases, and in each foundation case, there occurs a critical depth under which the presence of cavities has shown minimum impact on the foundation performance. When cavities are found above this critical depth, the load carrying capacity of the foundation differs with many influences, such as the location and size of the cavity and footing depth. Figures involving the load carrying capacity with the affecting factors studied are presented. These figures offer information beneficial for the design of strip footings rested on underground cavities. Moreover, the results might be used to design a shallow foundation constructed on cavitied soil, whereas the obtained failure mechanisms may be employed to improve numerical solutions for this kind of problems.

Keywords: axial load, cavity, inclined load, strip footing

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Authors: Anamitra Ghosh, Neeladri Paul

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The present work aims at investigating material combinations and thereby improvising an optimized design of liner-mother plate arrangement and that of the stone box, such that it has low cost, high weldability, sufficiently capable of withstanding the increased amount of corrosive shear and bending loads, and having reduced thermal expansion coefficient at temperatures close to 1000 degrees Celsius. All the above factors have been preliminarily examined using a computational approach via ANSYS Thermo-Structural Computation, a commercial software that uses the Finite Element Method to analyze the response of simulated design specimens of liner-mother plate arrangement and the stone box, to varied bending, shear, and thermal loads as well as to determine the temperature gradients developed across various surfaces of the designs. Finally, the optimized structural designs of the liner-mother plate arrangement and that of the stone box with improved material and better structural and thermal properties are selected via trial-and-error method. The final improvised design is therefore considered to enhance the overall life and reliability of a Direct Charge Transfer Chute that transfers and segregates the hot sinter onto the cooler in a sinter plant.

Keywords: shear, bending, thermal, sinter, simulated, optimized, charge, transfer, chute, expansion, computational, corrosive, stone box, liner, mother plate, arrangement, material

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Authors: N. L. S. Ahmad, Y. L. Thong, P. Nambiar

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An in vitro study was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of small field of view (FOV) cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in determining endodontic working length. The objectives were to determine the accuracy of CBCT in measuring the estimated preoperative working lengths (EPWL), endodontic working lengths (EWL) and file lengths. Access cavities were prepared in 27 molars. For each root canal, the baseline electronic working length was determined using an EAL (Raypex 5). The teeth were then divided into overextended, non-modified and underextended groups and the lengths were adjusted accordingly. Imaging and measurements were made using the respective software of the RVG (Kodak RVG 6100) and CBCT units (Kodak 9000 3D). Root apices were then shaved and the apical constrictions viewed under magnification to measure the control working lengths. The paired t-test showed a statistically significant difference between CBCT EPWL and control length but the difference was too small to be clinically significant. From the Bland Altman analysis, the CBCT method had the widest range of 95% limits of agreement, reflecting its greater potential of error. In measuring file lengths, RVG had a bigger window of 95% limits of agreement compared to CBCT. Conclusions: (1) The clinically insignificant underestimation of the preoperative working length using small FOV CBCT showed that it is acceptable for use in the estimation of preoperative working length. (2) Small FOV CBCT may be used in working length determination but it is not as accurate as the currently practiced method of using the EAL. (3) It is also more accurate than RVG in measuring file lengths.

Keywords: accuracy, CBCT, endodontics, measurement

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Authors: Sara D. Garduno-Diaz, Ramona Milcheva, Chanyu Xu

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Women’s reproductive stages (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and lactation) represent a time of higher micronutrient needs. With a healthy food selection as the first path of choice to cover these increased needs, tandem micronutrient supplementation is often required. Because pregnancy and lactation should be treated with care, all supplements consumed should be of quality ingredients and manufactured through controlled processes. This work describes the process followed for the development of plant-based multiple micronutrient supplements aimed at addressing the growing demand for natural ingredients of non-animal origin. A list of key nutrients for inclusion was prioritized, followed by the identification and selection of qualified raw ingredient providers. Nutrient absorption into the food matrix was carried out through natural processes. The outcome is a new line of products meeting the set criteria of being gluten and lactose-free, suitable for vegans/vegetarians, and without artificial conservatives. In addition, each product provides the consumer with 10 vitamins, 6 inorganic nutrients, 1 source of essential fatty acids, and 1 source of phytonutrients each (maca, moringa, and chlorella). Each raw material, as well as the final product, was submitted to microbiological control three-fold (in-house and external). The final micronutrient mix was then tested for human factor contamination, pesticides, total aerobic microbial count, total yeast count, and total mold count. The product was created with the aim of meeting product standards for the European Union, as well as specific requirements for the German market in the food and pharma fields. The results presented here reach the point of introduction of the newly developed product to the market, with acceptability and effectiveness results to be published at a later date.

Keywords: fertility, lactation, organic, pregnancy, vegetarian

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Authors: Hany Mustafa, Mahmoud Roushdi, Khaled Kheireldin

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Rainfall variability is an important feature of semi-arid climates. Climate change is very likely to increase the frequency, magnitude, and variability of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and storms. The Blue Nile Basin is facing extreme climate change-related events such as floods and droughts and its possible impacts on ecosystem, livelihood, agriculture, livestock, and biodiversity are expected. Rainfall variability is a threat to food production in the Blue Nile Basin countries. This study investigates the long-term variations and trends of seasonal and annual precipitation over the Blue Nile Basin for 102-year period (1901-2002). Six statistical trend analysis of precipitation was performed with nonparametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator. On the other hands, four statistical absolute homogeneity tests: Standard Normal Homogeneity Test, Buishand Range test, Pettitt test and the Von Neumann ratio test were applied to test the homogeneity of the rainfall data, using XLSTAT software, which results of p-valueless than alpha=0.05, were significant. The percentages of significant trends obtained for each parameter in the different seasons are presented. The study recommends adaptation strategies to be streamlined to relevant policies, enhancing local farmers’ adaptive capacity for facing future climate change effects.

Keywords: Blue Nile basin, climate change, Mann-Kendall test, trend analysis

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Authors: J. C. Cabanillas-Noris, M. I. Martínez-Hernández, I. León-Monzón

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The selection of diffractive events in the ALICE experiment during the first data taking period (RUN-I) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was limited by the range over which rapidity gaps occur. It would be possible to achieve better measurements by expanding the range in which the production of particles can be detected. For this purpose, the ALICE Diffractive (AD0) detector has been installed and commissioned for the second phase (RUN-II). Any new detector should be able to take the data synchronously with all other detectors and be operated through the ALICE central systems. One of the key elements that must be developed for the AD0 detector is the Detector Control System (DCS). The DCS must be designed to operate safely and correctly this detector. Furthermore, the DCS must also provide optimum operating conditions for the acquisition and storage of physics data and ensure these are of the highest quality. The operation of AD0 implies the configuration of about 200 parameters, from electronics settings and power supply levels to the archiving of operating conditions data and the generation of safety alerts. It also includes the automation of procedures to get the AD0 detector ready for taking data in the appropriate conditions for the different run types in ALICE. The performance of AD0 detector depends on a certain number of parameters such as the nominal voltages for each photomultiplier tube (PMT), their threshold levels to accept or reject the incoming pulses, the definition of triggers, etc. All these parameters define the efficiency of AD0 and they have to be monitored and controlled through AD0 DCS. Finally, AD0 DCS provides the operator with multiple interfaces to execute these tasks. They are realized as operating panels and scripts running in the background. These features are implemented on a SCADA software platform as a distributed control system which integrates to the global control system of the ALICE experiment.

Keywords: AD0, ALICE, DCS, LHC

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Authors: Liliana Rytel, Jarosław Całka

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One of the diseases that are very common health problem of modern man is the stomach hyperacidity. It is well known that this pathological state, during which gastric glands secrete too much of hydrochloric acid can be caused due to various factors such as stress, eating habits, alcohol, smoking and some, especially anti-inflammatory drugs. Moreover, hyperacidity is recognized as one of factors leading to development of peptic ulcer disease. Therefore, we analyzed expression of substance P (SP) and neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the porcine nodose ganglion sensory neurons innervating prepyloric stomach region in physiological state and following intragastric infusion of hydrochloric acid. The study was performed on 8 immature gilts of the Large White Polish breed. All animals were injected retrograde marker Fast Blue (FB) into the anterior prepyloric stomach wall. After injections of FB, pigs were divided into two groups: control (group C; n = 4) and experimental (HCL group, n = 4) and after convalescence period of 23 days, animals of HCL group were subjected to renewed anaesthesia. Then, 0.25 M aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid with a dose of 5 ml/kg body weight was administered intragastrically with use of a stomach tube. On 28th day, all control and HCL pigs were euthanized and bilateral reght (rNG) and left (lNG) were collected. Cryostat sections were processed for double immunofluorescence using anibodies against SP and NOS. Immunofluorescence staining in the even-numbered ganglia nodes showed the presence of FB-positive cells expressing SP (45,9 ± 3,38% in rNG and 60,4 ± 1,71% in lNG), and nNOS (34,9 ± 6,83% in rNG and 49,9 ± 9,32% in lNG). In HCL group increased expression of both SP (54,8 ± 5,34% in rNG and 56,9 ± 3,28 % in lNG) as well as nNOS (54,9 ± 4,45% in rNG and 52,5 ± 2,17 % in lNG) in FB+ perikaria was found. The acquired results suggest that SP and nNOS are neurotransmitters and/ or neuromodulators participating in the sensory regulation of the prepyloric region of porcine stomach function as well as their potential role in development of the stomach inflamatory state.

Keywords: nNOS, nodose ganglion, pig, SP

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Sayed Ahmed El Sayed, Osama M. Mesalhy, Mohamed A. Abdelatief

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A numerical study has been conducted to clarify fluid flow characteristics, pressure distributions, and skin friction coefficient over a wing-shaped tubes bundle in staggered arrangement with the placement of longitudinal fins (LF) at downstream position of the tube. The air-side Rea were at 1.8 x 103 to 9.7 x 103. The tubes bundle were employed with various fin height [hf] and fin thickness (δ) from (2 mm ≤ hf ≤ 12 mm) and (1.5 mm ≤ δ ≤ 3.5 mm) respectively at the considered Rea range. The flow pattern around the staggered wing-shaped tubes bundle was predicted using the commercial CFD FLUENT 6.3.26 software package. The distribution of average skin friction coefficient around wing-shaped tubes bundle is studied. Correlation of pressure drop coefficient Pdc and skin friction coefficient (Cf) in terms of Rea, design parameters for the studied cases were presented. Results indicated that the values of Pdc for hf = 6 mm are lower than these of NOF and hf = 2 mm by about 11 % and 13 % respectively for considered Rea range. Cf decreases as Rea increases. LFTH with hf = 6 mm offers lower form drag than that with hf = 12 mm and that of NOF. The lowest values of the pumping power are achieved for arrangements of hf = 6 mm for the considered Rea range. δ has negligible effect on skin friction coefficient, while has a slightly variation in ∆Pa. The wing-shaped tubes bundle heat exchanger with hf = 6 mm has the lowest values of ∆Pa, Pdc, Cf, and pumping power and hence the best performance comparing with the other bundles. Comparisons between the experimental and numerical results of the present study and those obtained by similar previous studies showed good agreements.

Keywords: longitudinal fins, skin friction, flow characteristics, FLUENT, wing-shaped tubes

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Authors: Lixin Tian, Wei Xue

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Many jobs in society go underground, such as mine mining, tunnel construction and subways, which are vital to the development of society. Once accidents occur in these places, the interruption of traditional wired communication is not conducive to the development of rescue work. In order to realize the positioning, early warning and command functions of underground personnel and improve rescue efficiency, it is necessary to develop and design an emergency ground communication system. It is easy to be subjected to narrowband interference when performing conventional underground communication. Spreading communication can be used for this problem. However, general spread spectrum methods such as direct spread communication are inefficient, so it is proposed to use parallel combined spread spectrum (PCSS) communication to improve efficiency. The PCSS communication not only has the anti-interference ability and the good concealment of the traditional spread spectrum system, but also has a relatively high frequency band utilization rate and a strong information transmission capability. So, this technology has been widely used in practice. This paper presents a PCSS communication model-multiple detection parallel combined spread spectrum (MDPCSS) communication system. In this paper, the principle of MDPCSS communication system is described, that is, the sequence at the transmitting end is processed in blocks and cyclically shifted to facilitate multiple detection at the receiving end. The block diagrams of the transmitter and receiver of the MDPCSS communication system are introduced. At the same time, the calculation formula of the system bit error rate (BER) is introduced, and the simulation and analysis of the BER of the system are completed. By comparing with the common parallel PCSS communication, we can draw a conclusion that it is indeed possible to reduce the BER and improve the system performance. Furthermore, the influence of different pseudo-code lengths selected on the system BER is simulated and analyzed, and the conclusion is that the larger the pseudo-code length is, the smaller the system error rate is.

Keywords: cyclic shift, multiple detection, parallel combined spread spectrum, PN code

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Authors: Jelena Kovačević Vorgučin, Sibila Petenji Arbutina

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The postmodern age brings a rapid development of technology which inevitably leads to man's need to adapt to modern lifestyle. On the one hand, technological achievements have made human life easier, but there are numerous risks involved. Moreover, man's awareness and perception is changing and adapting unconsciously to the world we live in, while communication in the 21st century is predominantly based on the consumption of images. This paper presents sociological aspects of a community which is confined due to turbulent political-economic circumstances and its impact on the development of media literacy in Serbia. Previous researches led to the conclusion that the media culture is on an extremely low level, and that it can have a strong influence on the general development of the society, starting from the youngest segment of the population. Our aim is to use the conceptual authorial photographs inspired by the obtained research results to emphasize the importance that the impact of visual art has in delivering the message, its role in education and in raising awareness of universal social problems. The paper presents a number of stages involved in the conceptual project which is designed to last over a longer period of time in order to facilitate dissemination of information. First, a survey was carried out in several preschool institutions. This resulted in obtaining the necessary information on the habitual use of the medium of television in children and their carers-parents. The second stage focused on the relationship between the parent and the child in TV consumption. Further, an overview of the visual part of the project was made, which consisted of photographs in various dimensions, ranging from miniature to large dimensions, and following various exhibition principles in both gallery and alternative spaces. This stage of the project placed particular emphasis on the non-standard exhibiting formats and alternative exhibition principles which are increasingly present in all kinds of visual art aimed at achieving a higher level of information noticing and memorizing. The motif on the authorial photographs is children's portraits taken while they are watching different television contents, with emphasis on their emotional response. The importance of the medium of TV is particularly emphasized due to the fact that its consumption is the highest, even though there are newer and more advanced information-technological achievements. The already realized part of the project was used for an analysis of the results in the last stage of the project, which led to the conclusion that the response to the entire visual expression campaign was extremely positive, and action as such very useful indeed. The results obtained speak in favour of widening and continuation of the project, both on a greater number of sites locally as well as in other communities in Serbia with the aim of guiding people towards meaningful consumption of the television medium.

Keywords: alternative space exhibiting, children and TV, conceptual portrait photography, media literacy

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Leng Jian-Wei, Wang Lai-Jun, Li Ye

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In order to measure and analyze the transportation situation within the counties of Shaanxi province over a certain period of time and to promote the province's future transportation planning and development, this paper proposes a reasonable layout plan and compares model rationality. The study uses entropy weight method to measure the transportation advantages of 107 counties in Shaanxi province from three dimensions: road network density, trunk line influence and location advantage in 2013 and 2021, and applies spatial autocorrelation analysis method to analyze the spatial layout and development trend of county-level transportation, and conducts ordinary least square (OLS)regression on transportation impact factors and other influencing factors. The paper also compares the regression fitting degree of the Geographically weighted regression(GWR) model and the OLS model. The results show that spatially, the transportation advantages of Shaanxi province generally show a decreasing trend from the Weihe Plain to the surrounding areas and mainly exhibit high-high clustering phenomenon. Temporally, transportation advantages show an overall upward trend, and the phenomenon of spatial imbalance gradually decreases. People's travel demands have changed to some extent, and the demand for rapid transportation has increased overall. The GWR model regression fitting degree of transportation advantages is 0.74, which is higher than the OLS regression model's fitting degree of 0.64. Based on the evolution of transportation advantages, it is predicted that this trend will continue for a period of time in the future. To improve the transportation advantages of Shaanxi province increasing the layout of rapid transportation can effectively enhance the transportation advantages of Shaanxi province. When analyzing spatial heterogeneity, geographic factors should be considered to establish a more reliable model

Keywords: traffic dominance, GWR model, spatial autocorrelation analysis, temporal and spatial evolution

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Authors: Akbar Esmaeili, Zahra Salarieh

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Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nano-series) are used as catalysts in industrial applications due to their free radical scavenging properties. Given that free radicals play an essential role in the pathology of many neurological diseases, we investigated the use of nanocrystals as a potential therapeutic agent for oxidative damage. This project synthesized nano-series from a new and environmentally friendly bio-pathway. Investigation of cerium nitrate in culture medium containing inoculated Lactobacillus acidophilus strain before incubation produces nano-series. Loaded with glatiramer acetate (GA) was formed by coating carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and CeO2. FE-SEM analysis showed nano-series in the 9-11 nm range, spherical shape, and uniform particle size distribution. Cubic nanoparticles containing anti-multiple sclerosis (anti-Ms) treatment called GA were used. Glycerol monostearate (GMS) was used as a fat base, and evening primrose extract was used as an anti-inflammatory in cubosomes. Design-Expert® software was used to study the effects of different formulation factors on the properties of GAloaded cubic dispersions. Thirty GA-labeled cubic dispersions were prepared with GA-labeled carboxymethylcellulose and evaluated in vitro. The results showed an average nano-series size of 89.02 and a zeta potential of -49.9. Cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 showed a stable release profile for 180 min. The results showed that cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 could be a promising drug carrier with normal release behavior.

Keywords: ciochemistry, biotechnology, molecular, biology

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