Search results for: algorithm techniques

Authors: Ayanda Ndokwana, Stanley Fore

Abstract:

Industrial prosperity and rapid expansion of human population in South Africa over the past two decades, have increased the use of conventional fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal and natural gas to meet the country’s energy demands. However, the inevitable depletion of fossil fuel reserves, global volatile oil price and large carbon footprint are some of the crucial reasons the South African Government needs to make a considerable investment in the development of the biofuel industry. In South Africa, this industry is still at the introductory stage with no large scale manufacturing plant that has been commissioned yet. Bioethanol is a potential replacement of gasoline which is a fossil fuel that is used in motor vehicles. Using bioethanol for the transport sector as a source of fuel will help Government to save heavy foreign exchange incurred during importation of oil and create many job opportunities in rural farming. In 2007, the South African Government developed the National Biofuels Industrial Strategy in an effort to make provision for support and attract investment in bioethanol production. However, capital investment in the production of bioethanol on a large scale, depends on the sound economic assessment of the available manufacturing technologies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the profitability of an advanced bioethanol manufacturing technology which uses maize as a feedstock in South Africa. The impact of fiber or bran fractionation in this technology causes it to possess a number of merits such as energy efficiency, low capital expenditure, and profitability compared to a conventional dry-mill bioethanol technology. Quantitative techniques will be used to collect and analyze numerical data from suitable organisations in South Africa. The dependence of three profitability indicators such as the Discounted Payback Period (DPP), Net Present Value (NPV) and Return On Investment (ROI) on plant capacity will be evaluated. Profitability analysis will be done on the following plant capacities: 100 000 ton/year, 150 000 ton/year and 200 000 ton/year. The plant capacity with the shortest Discounted Payback Period, positive Net Present Value and highest Return On Investment implies that a further consideration in terms of capital investment is warranted.

Keywords: bioethanol, economic evaluation, maize, profitability indicators

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Recep Karadag

Abstract:

Natural dyeing had started since pre-historical times for dyeing of textile materials. The natural dyeing had continued to beginning of 20th century. At the end of 19th century some synthetic dyes were synthesized. Although development of dyeing technologies and methods, natural dyeing was not developed in recent years. Despite rapid advances of synthetic dyestuff industries, natural dye processes have not developed. Therefore natural dyeing was not competed against synthetic dyes. At the same time, it was very difficult that large quantities of coloured textile was dyed with natural dyes And it was very difficult to get reproducible results in the natural dyeing using classical and traditional processes. However, natural dyeing has used slightly in the textile handicraft up to now. It is very important view that re-using of natural dyes to create awareness in textiles in recent years. Natural dyes have got many awareness and sustainability properties. Natural dyes are more eco-friendly than synthetic dyes. A lot of natural dyes have got antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal and anti –UV properties. It had been known that were obtained limited numbers colours with natural dyes in the past. On the contrary, colour scale is too wide with natural dyes. Except fluorescent colours, numerous colours can be obtained with natural dyes. Fastnesses of dyed textiles with natural dyes are good that there are light, washing, rubbing, etc. The fastness values can be improved depend on dyeing processes. Thanks to these properties mass production can be made with natural dyes in textiles. Therefore fabric dyeing machine was designed. This machine is too suitable for natural dyeing and mass production. Also any dyeing machine can be modified for natural dyeing. Although dye extraction and dyeing are made separately in the traditional natural dyeing processes and these procedures are become by designed this machine. Firstly, colouring compounds are extracted from natural dye resources, then dyeing is made with extracted colouring compounds. The colouring compounds are moderately dissolved in water. Less water is used in the extraction of colouring compounds from dye resources and dyeing with this new technique on the contrary much quantity water needs to use for dissolve of the colouring compounds in the traditional dyeing. This dyeing technique is very useful method for mass productions with natural dyes in traditional natural dyeing that use less energy, less dye materials, less water, etc. than traditional natural dyeing techniques. In this work, cotton, silk, linen and wool fabrics were dyed with some natural dye plants by the technique. According to the analysis very good results were obtained by this new technique. These results are shown sustainability and awareness of natural dyes for textiles.

Keywords: antibacterial, antimicrobial, natural dyes, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 501

Authors: S. Padma, D. H. Tejavathi

Abstract:

Somatic embryogenesis is a remarkable illustration of the dictum of plant totipotency where developmental reconstruction of somatic cells takes place towards the embryogenic pathway. It recapitulates the morphological and developmental process that occurs in zygotic embryogenesis. S. androgynous commonly called as multivitamin plant. The leaves are consumed as green leafy vegetable by the Southeast Asian communities due to their rich nutritional profile. Despite being a good nutritional vegetable with proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, it is warned for excessive intake due to the presence of alkoloid called papaverine. Papaverine at higher concentrations is toxic and leads to a syndrome called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. In the present study, morphogenetic potential of shoot tip, leaf and nodal explants of Sauropus androgynous was investigated to develop and enhance the reliable plant regeneration protocol via somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryos were derived directly from the embryogenic callus derived from shoot tip, node and leaf cultures on Phillips and Collins (L2) medium supplemented with NAA at various concentrations ranging from 5.3 µM/l to 26.85 µM/l within two months of inoculation. Thus obtained embryos were sub cultured to modified L2 media supplemented with increased vitamin level for the further growth. Somatic embryos with well-developed cotyledons were transferred to normal and modified L2 basal medium for conversion. The plantlets thus obtained were subjected to brief acclimatization before transferring them to land. About 95% of survival rate was recorded. The augmentation process of culturing various explants through somatic embryogenesis using synthetic medium with various plant growth regulators under controlled conditions have aggrandized the commercial production of Sauropus making it easily available over the conventional propagation methods. In addition, regeneration process through somatic embryogenesis has ameliorated the development of desired character in Sauropus with low papaverine content thereby providing a valuable resource to the food and pharmaceutical industry. Based on this research, plant tissue culture techniques have shown promise for economical and convenient application in Sauropus androgynous breeding.

Keywords: L2 medium, multivitamin plant, NAA, papaverine

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Sultan Ben Jaber

Abstract:

Optical properties of molecules exhibit dramatic changes when adsorbed close to nano-structure metallic surfaces such as gold and silver nanomaterial. This phenomena opened a wide range of research to improve conventional spectroscopies efficiency. A well-known technique that has an intensive focus of study is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), as since the first observation of SERS phenomena, researchers have published a great number of articles about the potential mechanisms behind this effect as well as developing materials to maximize the enhancement. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy are complementary techniques; thus, surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) also shows a noticeable enhancement of molecules in the mid-IR excitation on nonmetallic structure substrates. In the SEIRA, vibrational modes that gave change in dipole moments perpendicular to the nano-metallic substrate enhanced 200 times greater than the free molecule’s modes. SEIRA spectroscopy is promising for the characterization and identification of adsorbed molecules on metallic surfaces, especially at trace levels. IR reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) is a well-known technique for measuring IR spectra of adsorbed molecules on metallic surfaces. However, SEIRA spectroscopy sensitivity is up to 50 times higher than IRAS. SEIRA enhancement has been observed for a wide range of molecules adsorbed on metallic substrates such as Au, Ag, Pd, Pt, Al, and Ni, but Au and Ag substrates exhibited the highest enhancement among the other mentioned substrates. In this work, trace levels of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) have been detected using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) substrates with surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA). AuNPs were first prepared and washed, then mixed with different concentrations of MDMA samples. The process of fabricating the substrate prior SEIRA measurements included mixing of AuNPs and MDMA samples followed by vigorous stirring. The stirring step is particularly crucial, as stirring allows molecules to be robustly adsorbed on AuNPs. Thus, remarkable SEIRA was observed for MDMA samples even at trace levels, showing the rigidity of our approach to preparing SEIRA substrates.

Keywords: surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), amphetamines, methylene dioxy- methamphetamine (MDMA), enhancement factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Margarida Porfírio Tomás, Paula Pereira, José Palma Oliveira

Abstract:

Robotic grasping is advancing rapidly, but transferring techniques from rigid to deformable objects remains a challenge. Deformable and flexible items, such as food containers, demand nuanced handling due to their changing shapes. Bridging this gap is crucial for applications in food processing, surgical robotics, and household assistance. AGILEHAND, a Horizon project, focuses on developing advanced technologies for sorting, handling, and packaging soft and deformable products autonomously. These technologies serve as strategic tools to enhance flexibility, agility, and reconfigurability within the production and logistics systems of European manufacturing companies. Key components include intelligent detection, self-adaptive handling, efficient sorting, and agile, rapid reconfiguration. The overarching goal is to optimize work environments and equipment, ensuring both efficiency and safety. As new technologies emerge in the food industry, there will be some implications, such as labour force, safety problems and acceptance of the new technologies. To overcome these implications, AGILEHAND emphasizes the integration of social sciences and humanities, for example, the application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The project aims to create a change management manual, that will outline strategies for developing digital skills and managing health and safety transitions. It will also provide best practices and models for organizational change. Additionally, AGILEHAND will design effective training programs to enhance employee skills and knowledge. This information will be obtained through a combination of case studies, structured interviews, questionnaires, and a comprehensive literature review. The project will explore how organizations adapt during periods of change and identify factors influencing employee motivation and job satisfaction. This project received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No101092043 (AGILEHAND).

Keywords: change management, technology acceptance model, organizational change, health and safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 30

Authors: Ahmed Abdulrahman, Jalal Foroozesh

Abstract:

CO₂ based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques have gained massive attention from major oil firms since they resolve the industry's two main concerns of CO₂ contribution to the greenhouse effect and the declined oil production. Carbonated water injection (CWI) is a promising EOR technique that promotes safe and economic CO₂ storage; moreover, it mitigates the pitfalls of CO₂ injection, which include low sweep efficiency, early CO₂ breakthrough, and the risk of CO₂ leakage in fractured formations. One of the main challenges that hinder the wide adoption of this EOR technique is the complexity of accurate modeling of the kinetics of CO₂ mass transfer. The mechanisms of CO₂ mass transfer during CWI include the slow and gradual cross-phase CO₂ diffusion from carbonated water (CW) to the oil phase and the CO₂ dispersion (within phase diffusion and mechanical mixing), which affects the oil physical properties and the spatial spreading of CO₂ inside the reservoir. A 2D non-equilibrium compositional simulator has been developed using a fully implicit finite difference approximation. The material balance term (k) was added to the governing equation to account for the slow cross-phase diffusion of CO₂ from CW to the oil within the gird cell. Also, longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients have been added to account for CO₂ spatial distribution inside the oil phase. The CO₂-oil diffusion coefficient was calculated using the Sigmund correlation, while a scale-dependent dispersivity was used to calculate CO₂ mechanical mixing. It was found that the CO₂-oil diffusion mechanism has a minor impact on oil recovery, but it tends to increase the amount of CO₂ stored inside the formation and slightly alters the residual oil properties. On the other hand, the mechanical mixing mechanism has a huge impact on CO₂ spatial spreading (accurate prediction of CO₂ production) and the noticeable change in oil physical properties tends to increase the recovery factor. A sensitivity analysis has been done to investigate the effect of formation heterogeneity (porosity, permeability) and injection rate, it was found that the formation heterogeneity tends to increase CO₂ dispersion coefficients, and a low injection rate should be implemented during CWI.

Keywords: CO₂ mass transfer, carbonated water injection, CO₂ dispersion, CO₂ diffusion, cross phase CO₂ diffusion, within phase CO2 diffusion, CO₂ mechanical mixing, non-equilibrium simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Kei Kamada, Rikito Murakami, Masahiko Ito, Mototaka Arakawa, Yasuhiro Shoji, Toshiyuki Ueno, Masao Yoshino, Akihiro Yamaji, Shunsuke Kurosawa, Yuui Yokota, Yuji Ohashi, Akira Yoshikawa

Abstract:

Techniques of energy harvesting y have been widely developed in recent years, due to high demand on the power supply for ‘Internet of things’ devices such as wireless sensor nodes. In these applications, conversion technique of mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy using magnetostrictive materials n have been brought to attention. Among the magnetostrictive materials, Fe-Ga and Fe-Al alloys are attractive materials due to the figure of merits such price, mechanical strength, high magnetostrictive constant. Up to now, bulk crystals of these alloys are produced by the Bridgman–Stockbarger method or the Czochralski method. Using these method big bulk crystal up to 2~3 inch diameter can be grown. However, non-uniformity of chemical composition along to the crystal growth direction cannot be avoid, which results in non-uniformity of magnetostriction constant and reduction of the production yield. The micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method has been developed as a shaped crystal growth technique. Our group have reported shaped crystal growth of oxide, fluoride single crystals with different shape such rod, plate tube, thin fiber, etc. Advantages of this method is low segregation due to high growth rate and small diffusion of melt at the solid-liquid interface, and small kerf loss due to near net shape crystal. In this presentation, we report the shaped long plate crystal growth of Fe-Ga and Fe-Al alloys using the μ-PD method. Alloy crystals were grown by the μ-PD method using calcium oxide crucible and induction heating system under the nitrogen atmosphere. The bottom hole of crucibles was 5 x 1mm² size. A <100> oriented iron-based alloy was used as a seed crystal. 5 x 1 x 320 mm³ alloy crystal plates were successfully grown. The results of crystal growth, chemical composition analysis, magnetostrictive properties and a prototype vibration energy harvester are reported. Furthermore, continuous crystal growth using powder supply system will be reported to minimize the chemical composition non-uniformity along the growth direction.

Keywords: crystal growth, micro-pulling-down method, Fe-Ga, Fe-Al

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Chairul Fajar, Muhammad Nur Hidayat, Muksalmina

Abstract:

The issue of Over Dimension Over Loading (ODOL) in Indonesia remains a significant challenge, causing traffic accidents, disrupting traffic flow, accelerating road damage, and potentially leading to bridge collapses. Klaten Regency, located on the slopes of Mount Merapi along the Woro River in Kemalang District, has potential Class C excavation materials such as sand and stone. Data from the Klaten Regency Transportation Department indicates that ODOL violations account for 72%, while non-violating vehicles make up only 28%. ODOL involves modifying factory-standard vehicles beyond the limits specified in the Type Test Registration Certificate (SRUT) to save costs and travel time. This study aims to develop a prototype ‘Sabrang’ monitoring system based on Arduino Mega to control and monitor ODOL freight transportation in the mining of Class C excavation materials in Klaten Regency. The prototype is designed to automatically measure the dimensions and weight of objects using a microcontroller. The data analysis techniques used in this study include the Normality Test and Paired T-Test, comparing sensor measurement results on scaled objects. The study results indicate differences in measurement validation under room temperature and ambient temperature conditions. Measurements at room temperature showed that the majority of H0 was accepted, meaning there was no significant difference in measurements when the prototype tool was used. Conversely, measurements at ambient temperature showed that the majority of H0 was rejected, indicating a significant difference in measurements when the prototype tool was used. In conclusion, the ‘Sabrang’ monitoring system prototype is effective for controlling ODOL, although measurement results are influenced by temperature conditions. This study is expected to assist in the monitoring and control of ODOL, thereby enhancing traffic safety and road infrastructure.

Keywords: over dimension over loading, prototype, microcontroller, Arduino, normality test, paired t-test

Procedia PDF Downloads 0

Authors: Rina Arum Prastyanti

Abstract:

Information technology has changed the ways of transacting and enabling new opportunities in business transactions. Problems to be faced by consumers M Commerce, among others, the consumer will have difficulty accessing the full information about the products on offer and the forms of transactions given the small screen and limited storage capacity, the need to protect children from various forms of excess supply and usage as well as errors in access and disseminate personal data, not to mention the more complex problems as well as problems agreements, dispute resolution that can protect consumers and assurance of security of personal data. It is no less important is the risk of payment and personal information of payment dal am also an important issue that should be on the swatch solution. The purpose of this study is 1) to describe the phenomenon of the use of Mobile Commerce in Indonesia. 2) To determine the form of legal protection for the consumer use of Mobile Commerce. 3) To get the right type of law so as to provide legal protection for consumers Mobile Commerce users. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. Primary and secondary data sources. This research is a normative law. Engineering conducted engineering research library collection or library research. The analysis technique used is deductive analysis techniques. Growing mobile technology and more affordable prices as well as low rates of provider competition also affects the increasing number of mobile users, Indonesia is placed into 4 HP users in the world, the number of mobile phones in Indonesia is estimated at around 250.1 million telephones with a population of 237 556. 363. Indonesian form of legal protection in the use of mobile commerce still a part of the Law No. 11 of 2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions and until now there is no rule of law that specifically regulates mobile commerce. Legal protection model that can be applied to protect consumers of mobile commerce users ensuring that consumers get information about potential security and privacy challenges they may face in m commerce and measures that can be used to limit the risk. Encourage the development of security measures and built security features. To encourage mobile operators to implement data security policies and measures to prevent unauthorized transactions. Provide appropriate methods both time and effectiveness of redress when consumers suffer financial loss.

Keywords: mobile commerce, legal protection, consumer, effectiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Stefanie Ficht, Lukas Schübel, Magdalena Kleybolte, Markus Eblenkamp, Jana Steger, Dirk Wilhelm, Petra Mela

Abstract:

Although 3D printing as transformative technology has become of increasing interest in the medical field and the demand for biodegradable polymers has developed to a considerable extent, there are only a few additively manufactured, biodegradable implants on the market. Additionally, the sterilization of such implants and its side effects on degradation have still not been sufficiently studied. Within this work, thermosensitive poly p-dioxanone (PPDO) samples were printed with fused filament fabrication (FFF) and investigated. Subsequently, H₂O₂ plasma and gamma radiation were used as low-temperature sterilization techniques and compared among each other and the control group (no sterilization). In order to assess the effect of different sterilization on the degradation behavior of PPDO, the samples were immersed in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) over 28 days, and surface morphology, thermal properties, molecular weight, inherent viscosity, and mechanical properties were examined at regular time intervals. The study demonstrates that PPDO was printed with great success and that thermal properties, molecular weight (Mw), and inherent viscosity (IV) were not significantly affected by the printing process itself. H₂O₂ plasma sterilization did not significantly harm the thermosensitive polymer, while gamma radiation lowered IV and Mw statistically significantly compared to the control group (p < 0.001). During immersion in PBS, a decrease in Mw and mechanical strength occurred for all samples. However, gamma sterilized samples were affected to a much higher extent compared to the two other sample groups both in final values and timeline. This was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy showing no changes of surface morphology of (non-sterilized) control samples, first microcracks appearing on plasma sterilized samples after two weeks while being present on gamma sterilized samples already immediately after radiation to then further deteriorate over immersion duration. To conclude, we demonstrated that FFF and H₂O₂ plasma sterilization are well suited for processing thermosensitive, biodegradable polymers used for the development of innovative short-term medical applications.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, sterilization, biodegradable, thermosensitive, medical application

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Tshilidzi C. Manyanya, Nthaduleni S. Nethengwe, Edmore Kori

Abstract:

The UNFCCC, FAO, GCF, IPCC and other global structures advocate for agro-ecology do address food security and sovereignty. However, most of the expected outcomes concerning agro-ecological were not empirically tested for universal application. Agro-ecology is theorised to increase crop health over ago-ecological farms and decrease over conventional farms. Increased crop health means increased carbon sequestration and thus less CO2 in the atmosphere. This is in line with the view that global warming is anthropogenically enhanced through GHG emissions. Agro-ecology mainly affects crop health, soil carbon content and yield on the cultivated land. Economic sustainability is directly related to yield capacity, which is theorized to increase by 3-10% in a space of 3 - 10 years as a result of agro-ecological implementation. This study aimed to empirically assess the practicality and validity of these assumptions. The study utilized mainly GIS and RS techniques to assess the effectiveness of agro-ecology in crop health improvement from satellite images. The assessment involved a longitudinal study (2013 – 2015) assessing the changes that occur after a farm retrofits from conventional agriculture to agro-ecology. The assumptions guided the objectives of the study. For each objective, an agro-ecological farm was compared with a conventional farm in the same climatic conditional occupying the same general location. Crop health was assessed using satellite images analysed through ArcGIS and Erdas. This entailed the production of NDVI and Re-classified outputs of the farm area. The NDVI ranges of the entire period of study were thus compared in a stacked histogram for each farm to assess for trends. Yield capacity was calculated based on the production records acquired from the farmers and plotted in a stacked bar graph as percentages of a total for each farm. The results of the study showed decreasing crop health trends over 80% of the conventional farms and an increase over 80% of the organic farms. Yield capacity showed similar patterns to those of crop health. The study thus showed that agro-ecology is an effective strategy for crop-health improvement and yield increase.

Keywords: agro-ecosystem, conventional farm, dialectical, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: Saniya Ablatt, Matthew Jacobsson, Jamie Whisler, Austin Forbes

Abstract:

Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is a complication that occurs in up to 41% of patients after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Although certain characteristics such as individual patient anatomy are known risk factors for POPF, the effect of barbed suture techniques remains underexplored. This study examines whether the use of Stratafix barbed suture versus PDS impacts the risk of developing POPF. After obtaining IRB exemption, a retrospective chart review was initiated involving patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for the treatment of malignant or premalignant lesions of the pancreas at our institution between April 1st 2020 and April 30th 2022. Patients were stratified into 2 groups respective to the technique used to suture the pancreatico-jejunal anastomosis: Group 1 was composed to patients in which 4.0 Stratafix® suture was used n=41. Group 1 was composed to patients in which 4.0 PDS suture was used n=42. Data regarding patient age, sex, BMI, presence or absence of biochemical leak, presence or absence of grade B & C postoperative pancreatic fistulas, rate and type of in hospital complication, rate of reoperation, 30 day readmission rate, 90 day mortality, and total mortality were compared between groups. 83 patients were included in our study with 42 receiving Stratafix and 41 receiving PDS (50.6% vs 49.4%). Stratafix patients had less biochemical leaks (0.0% vs 4.8%, p=0.19) and higher rates of POPF but this was not statistically significant (7.2% vs 2.4%, p=0.26). Additionally, there was no difference between the use of stratafix versus PDS on the risk of clinically relevant grade B or C POPF (p=0.26, OR=3.25 [CI= 0.74-16.43]). Of the independent variables including age, race, sex, BMI, and ASA class, BMI greater than 25 increased the risk of clinically relevant POPF by 7.7 times compared to patients with BMI less than 25 (p=0.03, OR=7.79 [1.04-88.51]). Despite no significant difference in primary outcomes, the Stratafix group had lower rates of secondary outcomes including 90-day mortality; bleeding, cardiac, and infectious complications; reoperation; and 30-day readmission. On statistical analysis, Stratafix decreased the risk of 30-day readmission (p=0.04, OR=0.21, CI=0.04-0.97) and had a marginally significant effect on the risk of reoperation (p=0.08, OR=0.24, CI=0.04-1.26). There was no difference between the use of Stratafix versus PDS on the risk of POPF (p=0.26). However, Stratafix decreased the risk of 30-day readmission (p=0.04) and BMI greater than 25 increased the risk of clinically relevant POPF (p=0.03).

Keywords: pancreas, hepatobiliary surgery, hepatobiliary, pancreatic leak, biochemical leak, fistula, pancreatic fistula

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: M. S. Abd El-Sadek, M. A. Omar, Gharib M. Taha

Abstract:

In recent years, photocatalytic degradation of various kinds of organic and inorganic pollutants using semiconductor powders as photocatalysts has been extensively studied. Owing to its relatively high photocatalytic activity, biological and chemical stability, low cost, nonpoisonous and long stable life, Tin oxide materials have been widely used as catalysts in chemical reactions, including synthesis of vinyl ketone, oxidation of methanol and so on. Tin oxide (SnO₂), with a rutile-type crystalline structure, is an n-type wide band gap (3.6 eV) semiconductor that presents a proper combination of chemical, electronic and optical properties that make it advantageous in several applications. In the present work, SnO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature by the sol-gel process and thermohydrolysis of SnCl₂ in isopropanol by controlling the crystallite size through calculations. The synthesized nanoparticles were identified by using XRD analysis, TEM, FT-IR, and Uv-Visible spectroscopic techniques. The crystalline structure and grain size of the synthesized samples were analyzed by X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and the XRD patterns confirmed the presence of tetragonal phase SnO₂. In this study, Methylene blue degradation was tested by using SnO₂ nanoparticles (at different calculations temperatures) as a photocatalyst under sunlight as a source of irradiation. The results showed that the highest percentage of degradation of Methylene blue dye was obtained by using SnO₂ photocatalyst at calculations temperature 800 ᵒC. The operational parameters were investigated to be optimized to the best conditions which result in complete removal of organic pollutants from aqueous solution. It was found that the degradation of dyes depends on several parameters such as irradiation time, initial dye concentration, the dose of the catalyst and the presence of metals such as silver as a dopant and its concentration. Percent degradation was increased with irradiation time. The degradation efficiency decreased as the initial concentration of the dye increased. The degradation efficiency increased as the dose of the catalyst increased to a certain level and by further increasing the SnO₂ photocatalyst dose, the degradation efficiency is decreased. The best degradation efficiency on which obtained from pure SnO₂ compared with SnO₂ which doped by different percentage of Ag.

Keywords: SnO₂ nanoparticles, a sol-gel method, photocatalytic applications, methylene blue, degradation efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Xiaoyu Shen, Fang Fang, Chujun Qiu

Abstract:

Herewith we present a Fourier method for credit risk quantification and allocation in the factor-copula model framework. The key insight is that, compared to directly computing the cumulative distribution function of the portfolio loss via Monte Carlo simulation, it is, in fact, more efficient to calculate the transformation of the distribution function in the Fourier domain instead and inverting back to the real domain can be done in just one step and semi-analytically, thanks to the popular COS method (with some adjustments). We also show that the Euler risk allocation problem can be solved in the same way since it can be transformed into the problem of evaluating a conditional cumulative distribution function. Once the conditional or unconditional cumulative distribution function is known, one can easily calculate various risk metrics. The proposed method not only fills the niche in literature, to the best of our knowledge, of accurate numerical methods for risk allocation but may also serve as a much faster alternative to the Monte Carlo simulation method for risk quantification in general. It can cope with various factor-copula model choices, which we demonstrate via examples of a two-factor Gaussian copula and a two-factor Gaussian-t hybrid copula. The fast error convergence is proved mathematically and then verified by numerical experiments, in which Value-at-Risk, Expected Shortfall, and conditional Expected Shortfall are taken as examples of commonly used risk metrics. The calculation speed and accuracy are tested to be significantly superior to the MC simulation for real-sized portfolios. The computational complexity is, by design, primarily driven by the number of factors instead of the number of obligors, as in the case of Monte Carlo simulation. The limitation of this method lies in the "curse of dimension" that is intrinsic to multi-dimensional numerical integration, which, however, can be relaxed with the help of dimension reduction techniques and/or parallel computing, as we will demonstrate in a separate paper. The potential application of this method has a wide range: from credit derivatives pricing to economic capital calculation of the banking book, default risk charge and incremental risk charge computation of the trading book, and even to other risk types than credit risk.

Keywords: credit portfolio, risk allocation, factor copula model, the COS method, Fourier method

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Malik Abid Hussain Khokhar, Muhammad Naveed Tahir, Muhammad Amin

Abstract:

Energy demand has been increased manifold due to increasing population, urban sprawl and rapid socio-economic improvements. Low water capacity in dams for continuation of hydrological power, land cover and land use are the key parameters which are creating problems for more energy production. Overall installed hydropower capacity of Pakistan is more than 35000 MW whereas Pakistan is producing up to 17000 MW and the requirement is more than 22000 that is resulting shortfall of 5000 - 7000 MW. Therefore, there is a dire need to develop small hydropower to fulfill the up-coming requirements. In this regards, excessive rainfall, snow nurtured fast flowing perennial tributaries and streams in northern mountain regions of Pakistan offer a gigantic scope of hydropower potential throughout the year. Rivers flowing in KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) province, GB (Gilgit Baltistan) and AJK (Azad Jammu & Kashmir) possess sufficient water availability for rapid energy growth. In the backdrop of such scenario, small hydropower plants are believed very suitable measures for more green environment and power sustainable option for the development of such regions. Aim of this study is to estimate hydropower potential sites for small hydropower plants and stream distribution as per steam network available in the available basins in the study area. The proposed methodology will focus on features to meet the objectives i.e. site selection of maximum hydropower potential for hydroelectric generation using well emerging GIS tool SWAT as hydrological run-off model on the Neelum, Kunhar and the Dor Rivers’ basins. For validation of the results, NDWI will be computed to show water concentration in the study area while overlaying on geospatial enhanced DEM. This study will represent analysis of basins, watershed, stream links, and flow directions with slope elevation for hydropower potential to produce increasing demand of electricity by installing small hydropower stations. Later on, this study will be benefitted for other adjacent regions for further estimation of site selection for installation of such small power plants as well.

Keywords: energy, stream network, basins, SWAT, evapotranspiration

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Zheng Wang, Zhenhong Li, Jon Mills

Abstract:

Ground-based synthetic aperture radar (GBSAR) represents a powerful remote sensing tool for deformation monitoring towards various geohazards, e.g. landslides, mudflows, avalanches, infrastructure failures, and the subsidence of residential areas. Unlike spaceborne SAR with a fixed revisit period, GBSAR data can be acquired with an adjustable temporal resolution through either continuous or discontinuous operation. However, challenges arise from processing high temporal-resolution continuous GBSAR data, including the extreme cost of computational random-access-memory (RAM), the delay of displacement maps, and the loss of temporal evolution. Moreover, repositioning errors between discontinuous campaigns impede the accurate measurement of surface displacements. Therefore, a versatile package with two complete chains is developed in this study in order to process both continuous and discontinuous GBSAR data and address the aforementioned issues. The first chain is based on a small-baseline subset concept and it processes continuous GBSAR images unit by unit. Images within a window form a basic unit. By taking this strategy, the RAM requirement is reduced to only one unit of images and the chain can theoretically process an infinite number of images. The evolution of surface displacements can be detected as it keeps temporarily-coherent pixels which are present only in some certain units but not in the whole observation period. The chain supports real-time processing of the continuous data and the delay of creating displacement maps can be shortened without waiting for the entire dataset. The other chain aims to measure deformation between discontinuous campaigns. Temporal averaging is carried out on a stack of images in a single campaign in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of discontinuous data and minimise the loss of coherence. The temporal-averaged images are then processed by a particular interferometry procedure integrated with advanced interferometric SAR algorithms such as robust coherence estimation, non-local filtering, and selection of partially-coherent pixels. Experiments are conducted using both synthetic and real-world GBSAR data. Displacement time series at the level of a few sub-millimetres are achieved in several applications (e.g. a coastal cliff, a sand dune, a bridge, and a residential area), indicating the feasibility of the developed GBSAR data processing package for deformation monitoring of a wide range of scientific and practical applications.

Keywords: ground-based synthetic aperture radar, interferometry, small baseline subset algorithm, deformation monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Zuzanna Miodonska, Michal Krecichwost, Pawel Badura

Abstract:

Sigmatism (lisping) is a speech disorder in which sibilant consonants are mispronounced. The diagnosis of this phenomenon is usually based on the auditory assessment. However, the progress in speech analysis techniques creates a possibility of developing computer-aided sigmatism diagnosis tools. The aim of the study is to statistically verify whether specific acoustic features of sibilant sounds may be related to pronunciation correctness. Such knowledge can be of great importance while implementing classifiers and designing novel tools for automatic sibilants pronunciation evaluation. The study covers analysis of various speech signal measures, including features proposed in the literature for the description of normative sibilants realization. Amplitudes and frequencies of three fricative formants (FF) are extracted based on local spectral maxima of the friction noise. Skewness, kurtosis, four normalized spectral moments (SM) and 13 mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) with their 1st and 2nd derivatives (13 Delta and 13 Delta-Delta MFCC) are included in the analysis as well. The resulting feature vector contains 51 measures. The experiments are performed on the speech corpus containing words with selected sibilant sounds (/ʃ, ʒ/) pronounced by 60 preschool children with proper pronunciation or with natural pathologies. In total, 224 /ʃ/ segments and 191 /ʒ/ segments are employed in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test is employed for the analysis of stigmatism and normative pronunciation. Statistically, significant differences are obtained in most of the proposed features in children divided into these two groups at p < 0.05. All spectral moments and fricative formants appear to be distinctive between pathology and proper pronunciation. These metrics describe the friction noise characteristic for sibilants, which makes them particularly promising for the use in sibilants evaluation tools. Correspondences found between phoneme feature values and an expert evaluation of the pronunciation correctness encourage to involve speech analysis tools in diagnosis and therapy of sigmatism. Proposed feature extraction methods could be used in a computer-assisted stigmatism diagnosis or therapy systems.

Keywords: computer-aided pronunciation evaluation, sigmatism diagnosis, speech signal analysis, statistical verification

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: K. W. Lee, C. M. Choi, H. C. Tsang, W. K. Fong, Y. K. Cheng, L. Y. Chan, C. K. Yuen, P. W. Lau, Y. L. To, K. C. Chow

Abstract:

QR (Quick Response) Code is a matrix barcode. It enables users to open websites, photos and other information with mobile devices by just snapping the code. In usual Long Term Oxygen Therapy arrangement, piles of LTOT related information like leaflets from different oxygen service providers are given to patients to choose an appropriate plan according to their needs. If these printed materials are transformed into electronic format (QR Code), it would be more environmentally-friendly. More importantly, electronic materials including LTOT equipment operation and dyspnoea relieving techniques also empower patients in long-term disease management. The objective to this study is to investigate the effect of QR code in patient education on new LTOT users. This study was carried out in medical wards of North District Hospital. Adult patients and relatives who followed commands, were able to use smartphones with internet services and required LTOT arrangement on hospital discharge were recruited. In LTOT arrangement, apart from the usual LTOT education booklets which included patients’ personal information (e.g. oxygen titration and six-minute walk test results etc.), extra leaflets consisted of 1. QR codes of LTOT plans from different oxygen service providers, 2. Education materials of dyspnoea management and 3. Instructions on LTOT equipment operation were given. Upon completion of LTOT arrangement, a questionnaire about the use of QR code on patient education was filled in by patients or relatives. A total of 10 new LTOT users were recruited from November 2017 to January 2018. Initially, 70% of them did not know anything about the QR code, but all of them understood its operation after a simple demonstration. 70% of them agreed that it was convenient to use (20% strongly agree, 40% agree, 10% somewhat agree). 80% of them agreed that QR code could facilitate the retrieval of more LTOT related information (10% strongly agree, 70% agree) while 90% agreed that we should continue delivering QR code leaflets to new LTOT users in the future (30% strongly agree, 40% agree, 20% somewhat agree). It is proven that QR code is a convenient and environmentally-friendly tool to deliver information. It is also relatively easy to be introduced to new users. It has received welcoming feedbacks from current users.

Keywords: long-term oxygen therapy, physiotherapy, patient education, QR code

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Petr Slobodian, Pavel Riha, Jiri Matyas, Robert Olejnik, Nuri Karakurt

Abstract:

Thermoelectric devices generate an electrical current when there is a temperature gradient between the hot and cold junctions of two dissimilar conductive materials typically n-type and p-type semiconductors. Consequently, also the polymeric semiconductors composed of polymeric matrix filled by different forms of carbon nanotubes with proper structural hierarchy can have thermoelectric properties which temperature difference transfer into electricity. In spite of lower thermoelectric efficiency of polymeric thermoelectrics in terms of the figure of merit, the properties as stretchability, flexibility, lightweight, low thermal conductivity, easy processing, and low manufacturing cost are advantages in many technological and ecological applications. Polyethylene-octene copolymer based highly elastic composites filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCTs) were prepared by sonication of nanotube dispersion in a copolymer solution followed by their precipitation pouring into non-solvent. The electronic properties of MWCNTs were moderated by different treatment techniques such as chemical oxidation, decoration by Ag clusters or addition of low molecular dopants. In this concept, for example, the amounts of oxygenated functional groups attached on MWCNT surface by HNO₃ oxidation increase p-type charge carriers. p-type of charge carriers can be further increased by doping with molecules of triphenylphosphine. For partial altering p-type MWCNTs into less p-type ones, Ag nanoparticles were deposited on MWCNT surface and then doped with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquino-dimethane. Both types of MWCNTs with the highest difference in generated thermoelectric power were combined to manufacture polymeric based thermoelectric module generating thermoelectric voltage when the temperature difference is applied between hot and cold ends of the module. Moreover, it was found that the generated voltage by the thermoelectric module at constant temperature gradient was significantly affected when exposed to vapors of different volatile organic compounds representing then a self-powered thermoelectric sensor for chemical vapor detection.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, polymer composites, thermoelectric materials, self-powered gas sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Syed Mamoon Siyar, Fayaz Ali, Sajjad Ahmad, Samina Jahandad, George Kontakiotis, Hammad T. Janjuhah, Assimina Antonarakou, Waqas Naseem

Abstract:

The Cretaceous Chichali Formation in the Chanda-01, Chanda-02, Chanda-03 and Mela-05 wells and the oil samples from Chanda-01 and Chanda-01 wells located in the Kohat Basin, Pakistan, were analyzed with the objectives of evaluating the hydrocarbon generation potential, source, thermal maturity and depositional of organic matter, and oil-source correlation by employing geochemical screening techniques and biomarker studies. The total organic carbon (TOC) values in Chanda-02, Chanda-03 and Mela-05 indicate, in general, poor to fair, fair and fair to good source rock potential with low genetic potential, respectively. The nature of organic matter has been determined by standard cross plots of Rock Eval pyrolysis parameters, indicating that studied cuttings from the Chichali Formation dominantly contain type III kerogen at present and show maturity for oil generation in the studied wells. The organic petrographic study also confirmed the vitrinite (type III) as a major maceral in the investigated Chichali Shales and its reflectance values show maturity for oil. The different ratios of non-biomarkers and biomarkers i.e., steranes, terpenes and aromatics parameters, indicate the marine source of organic matter deposited in the anoxic environment for the Chichali Formation in Chanda-01 and Chanda-02 wells and mixed source input of organic matter deposited in suboxic conditions for oil in the same wells. The CPI, and different biomarkers parameters such as C29 S/S+R, ββ/αα+ββ), M29/H30, Ts/Ts+Tm, H31 (S/S+R) and aromatic compounds methyl phenanthrene index (MPI) and organic petrographic analysis (vitrinite reflectance) suggest mature stage of oil generation for Chichali Shales and oil samples in the study area with little high thermal maturity in case of oils. Based on source and thermal maturity biomarkers and non-biomarkers parameters, the produced oils have no correlation with the Cretaceous Chichali Formation in the studied Chanda-01 and Chanda-02 wells in Kohat Basin, Pakistan, but it has been suggested that these oils have been generated by the strata containing high terrestrial organic input compare to Chichali Shales.

Keywords: Organic geochemistry, Chichali Shales and crude oils, Kohat Basin, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Claire Far, Sara Wilkinson, Deborah Ascher Barnstone

Abstract:

Energy issues have been a growing concern in current decades. Limited energy resources and increasing energy consumption from one side and environmental pollution and waste of resources from the other side have substantially affected the future of human life. Around 40 percent of total energy consumption of Australian buildings goes to heating and cooling due to the low thermal performance of the buildings. Thermal performance of buildings determines the amount of energy used for heating and cooling of the buildings which profoundly influences energy efficiency. Therefore, employing sustainable design principles and effective use of construction materials for building envelope can play crucial role in the improvement of energy efficiency of existing dwellings and enhancement of thermal comfort of the occupants. The energy consumption for heating and cooling normally is determined by the quality of the building envelope. Building envelope is the part of building which separates the habitable areas from exterior environment. Building envelope consists of external walls, external doors, windows, roof, ground and the internal walls that separate conditioned spaces from non-condition spaces. The energy loss from the building envelope is the key factor. Heat loss through conduction, convection and radiation from building envelope. Thermal performance of the building envelope can be improved by using different methods of retrofitting depending on the climate conditions and construction materials. Based on the available studies, the importance of employing sustainable design principles has been highlighted among the Australian building professionals. However, the residential building sector still suffers from a lack of having the best practice examples and experience for effective use of construction materials for building envelope. As a result, this study investigates the effectiveness of different energy retrofitting techniques and examines the impact of employing those methods on energy consumption of existing dwellings in Sydney, the most populated city in Australia. Based on the research findings, the best thermal retrofitting methods for increasing thermal comfort and energy efficiency of existing residential dwellings as well as reducing their environmental impact and footprint have been identified and proposed.

Keywords: thermal comfort, energy consumption, residential dwellings, sustainable design principles, thermal retrofit

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Shiying Fan, Xinyong Li

Abstract:

The development of highly efficient multifunctional catalytic materials towards HER, ORR and Photo-fuel cell applications in terms of combined electrochemical and photo-electrochemical principles have currently confronted with dire challenges. In this study, novel palladium (Pd) and ruthenium (Ru) Bimetal Quantum Dots (BQDs) co-anchored on Titania nanotube (NTs) arrays electrodes have been successfully constructed by facial two-step electrochemical strategy. Double Schottky junctions with superior performance in electrocatalytic (EC) hydrogen generations and solar fuel cell energy conversions (PE) have been found. Various physicochemical techniques including UV-vis spectroscopy, TEM/EDX/HRTEM, SPV/TRV and electro-chemical strategy including EIS, C-V, I-V, and I-T, etc. were chronically utilized to systematically characterize the crystal-, electronic and micro-interfacial structures of the composites with double Schottky junction, respectively. The characterizations have implied that the marvelous enhancement of separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs generations is mainly caused by the Schottky-barriers within the nanocomposites, which would greatly facilitate the interfacial charge transfer for H₂ generations and solar fuel cell energy conversions. Moreover, the DFT calculations clearly indicated that the oriented growth of Ru and Pd bimetal atoms at the anatase (101) surface is mainly driven by the interaction between Ru/Pd and surface atoms, and the most active site for bimetal Ru and Pd adatoms on the perfect TiO₂ (101) surface is the 2cO-6cTi-3cO bridge sites and the 2cO-bridge sites with the highest adsorption energy of 9.17 eV. Furthermore, the electronic calculations show that in the nanocomposites, the number of impurity (i.e., co-anchored Ru-Pd BQDs) energy levels near Fermi surface increased and some were overlapped with original energy level, promoting electron energy transition and reduces the band gap. Therefore, this work shall provide a deeper insight for the molecular design of Bimetal Quantum Dots (BQDs) assembled onto Tatiana NTs composites with superior performance for electrocatalytic hydrogen productions and solar fuel cell energy conversions (PE) simultaneously.

Keywords: eletrocatalytic, Ru-Pd bimetallic quantum dots, titania nanotube arrays, double Schottky junctions, hydrogen production

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Jin Liang, James H. Liu, Ti-Jun Xiao

Abstract:

It is known that there exist many physical phenomena where abrupt or impulsive changes occur either in the system dynamics, for example, ad-hoc network, or in the input forces containing impacts, for example, the bombardment of space antenna by micrometeorites. There are many other examples such as ultra high-speed optical signals over communication networks, the collision of particles, inventory control, government decisions, interest changes, changes in stock price, etc. These are impulsive phenomena. Hence, as a combination of the traditional initial value problems and the short-term perturbations whose duration can be negligible in comparison with the duration of the process, the systems with impulsive conditions (i.e., impulsive systems) are more realistic models for describing the impulsive phenomenon. Such a situation is also suitable for the delay systems, which include some of the past states of the system. So far, there have been a lot of research results in the study of impulsive systems with delay both in finite and infinite dimensional spaces. In this paper, we investigate the periodicity of solutions to the nonautonomous impulsive evolution equations with infinite delay in Banach spaces, where the coefficient operators (possibly unbounded) in the linear part depend on the time, which are impulsive systems in infinite dimensional spaces and come from the optimal control theory. It was indicated that the study of periodic solutions for these impulsive evolution equations with infinite delay was challenging because the fixed point theorems requiring some compactness conditions are not applicable to them due to the impulsive condition and the infinite delay. We are happy to report that after detailed analysis, we are able to combine the techniques developed in our previous papers, and some new ideas in this paper, to attack these impulsive evolution equations and derive periodic solutions. More specifically, by virtue of the related transition operator family (evolution family), we present a Poincaré operator given by the nonautonomous impulsive evolution system with infinite delay, and then show that the operator is a condensing operator with respect to Kuratowski's measure of non-compactness in a phase space by using an Amann's lemma. Finally, we derive periodic solutions from bounded solutions in view of the Sadovskii fixed point theorem. We also present a relationship between the boundedness and the periodicity of the solutions of the nonautonomous impulsive evolution system. The new results obtained here extend some earlier results in this area for evolution equations without impulsive conditions or without infinite delay.

Keywords: impulsive, nonautonomous evolution equation, optimal control, periodic solution

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Yusuf Bulale, Mark Prince, Geoff Tansley, Peter Brett

Abstract:

Cochlear Implantation (CI) which became a routine procedure for the last decades is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound for patients who are severely and profoundly deaf. Today, cochlear implantation technology uses electrode array (EA) implanted manually into the cochlea. The optimal success of this implantation depends on the electrode technology and deep insertion techniques. However, this manual insertion procedure may cause mechanical trauma which can lead to a severe destruction of the delicate intracochlear structure. Accordingly, future improvement of the cochlear electrode implant insertion needs reduction of the excessive force application during the cochlear implantation which causes tissue damage and trauma. This study is examined tool-tissue interaction of large prototype scale digit embedded with distributive tactile sensor based upon cochlear electrode and large prototype scale cochlea phantom for simulating the human cochlear which could lead to small-scale digit requirements. The digit, distributive tactile sensors embedded with silicon-substrate was inserted into the cochlea phantom to measure any digit/phantom interaction and position of the digit in order to minimize tissue and trauma damage during the electrode cochlear insertion. The digit has provided tactile information from the digit-phantom insertion interaction such as contact status, tip penetration, obstacles, relative shape and location, contact orientation and multiple contacts. The tests demonstrated that even devices of such a relative simple design with low cost have a potential to improve cochlear implant surgery and other lumen mapping applications by providing tactile sensory feedback information and thus controlling the insertion through sensing and control of the tip of the implant during the insertion. In that approach, the surgeon could minimize the tissue damage and potential damage to the delicate structures within the cochlear caused by current manual electrode insertion of the cochlear implantation. This approach also can be applied to other minimally invasive surgery applications as well as diagnosis and path navigation procedures.

Keywords: cochlear electrode insertion, distributive tactile sensory feedback information, flexible digit, minimally invasive surgery, tool/tissue interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: Marcela De Oliveira, Marina P. Da Silva, Fernando C. G. Da Rocha, Jorge M. Santos, Jaime S. Cardoso, Paulo N. Lisboa-Filho

Abstract:

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system characterized by neurodegeneration, inflammation, demyelination, and axonal loss. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), due to the richness in the information details provided, is the gold standard exam for diagnosis and follow-up of neurodegenerative diseases, such as MS. Brain atrophy, the gradual loss of brain volume, is quite extensive in multiple sclerosis, nearly 0.5-1.35% per year, far off the limits of normal aging. Thus, the brain volume quantification becomes an essential task for future analysis of the occurrence atrophy. The analysis of MRI has become a tedious and complex task for clinicians, who have to manually extract important information. This manual analysis is prone to errors and is time consuming due to various intra- and inter-operator variability. Nowadays, computerized methods for MRI segmentation have been extensively used to assist doctors in quantitative analyzes for disease diagnosis and monitoring. Thus, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the brain volume in MRI of MS patients. We used MRI scans with 30 slices of the five patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis according to the McDonald criteria. The computational methods for the analysis of images were carried out in two steps: segmentation of the brain and brain volume quantification. The first image processing step was to perform brain extraction by skull stripping from the original image. In the skull stripper for MRI images of the brain, the algorithm registers a grayscale atlas image to the grayscale patient image. The associated brain mask is propagated using the registration transformation. Then this mask is eroded and used for a refined brain extraction based on level-sets (edge of the brain-skull border with dedicated expansion, curvature, and advection terms). In the second step, the brain volume quantification was performed by counting the voxels belonging to the segmentation mask and converted in cc. We observed an average brain volume of 1469.5 cc. We concluded that the automatic method applied in this work can be used for the brain extraction process and brain volume quantification in MRI. The development and use of computer programs can contribute to assist health professionals in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In future works, we expect to implement more automated methods for the assessment of cerebral atrophy and brain lesions quantification, including machine-learning approaches. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by a grant from Brazilian agency Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (number 2019/16362-5).

Keywords: brain volume, magnetic resonance imaging, multiple sclerosis, skull stripper

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Joshua Buli, David Pietrowski, Samuel Britton

Abstract:

Processing SAR data usually requires constraints in extent in the Fourier domain as well as approximations and interpolations onto a planar surface to form an exploitable image. This results in a potential loss of data requires several interpolative techniques, and restricts visualization to two-dimensional plane imagery. The data can be interpolated into a ground plane projection, with or without terrain as a component, all to better view SAR data in an image domain comparable to what a human would view, to ease interpretation. An alternate but computationally heavy method to make use of more of the data is the basis of this research. Pre-processing of the SAR data is completed first (matched-filtering, motion compensation, etc.), the data is then range compressed, and lastly, the contribution from each pulse is determined for each specific point in space by searching the time history data for the reflectivity values for each pulse summed over the entire collection. This results in a per-3D-point reflectivity using the entire collection domain. New advances in GPU processing have finally allowed this rapid projection of acquired SAR data onto any desired reference surface (called backprojection). Mathematically, the computations are fast and easy to implement, despite limitations in SAR phase history data size and 3D-point cloud size. Backprojection processing algorithms are embarrassingly parallel since each 3D point in the scene has the same reflectivity calculation applied for all pulses, independent of all other 3D points and pulse data under consideration. Therefore, given the simplicity of the single backprojection calculation, the work can be spread across thousands of GPU threads allowing for accurate reflectivity representation of a scene. Furthermore, because reflectivity values are associated with individual three-dimensional points, a plane is no longer the sole permissible mapping base; a digital elevation model or even a cloud of points (collected from any sensor capable of measuring ground topography) can be used as a basis for the backprojection technique. This technique minimizes any interpolations and modifications of the raw data, maintaining maximum data integrity. This innovative processing will allow for SAR data to be rapidly brought into a common reference frame for immediate exploitation and data fusion with other three-dimensional data and representations.

Keywords: backprojection, data fusion, exploitation, three-dimensional, visualization

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Ayele Tamene

Abstract:

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Tangible heritage e includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., which are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. The research addressed the challenges and prospects of preservation of tangible cultural heritage management in Lake Tana islands; Amahara Regional State. Specifically, the research inquired the major factors which affected tangible cultural heritage management, investigated how communities successfully involved in tangible cultural heritage management, and described the contribution of cultural management to tourism development. It employed qualitative research approaches to grasp the existing condition in the study area. Major techniques of data gathering such as in-depth interview, observation/photographing and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) were used. Related documents collected through secondary sources were examined and analyzed. In Lake Tana Islands precious heritages such as ancient religious manuscripts (written since 9th century), sacral wall paintings, gold and silver Crosses, crowns and prestigious clothes of the various kings of the medieval and the 19th century are found. The study indicated that heritages in Tana islands were affected by both natural and manmade problems. In Lake Tana Islands, movable heritages were looted several times by foreign aggressors, tourists, and local people who serve there. Some heritages were affected by visitors by their camera flash light and hand touch. Most heritages in the Tana islands lacked community ownership and preserved non- professionally which highly affected their originality and authenticity. Therefore, the local community and the regional government should work together in the preservation of these heritage sites and enhance their role for socio-economic development as a center of research and tourist destinations.

Keywords: cultural heritages, heritage preservation, lake Tana heritages, non professional preservation tangible heritages

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Shani Brathwaite, Deborah Villarroel-Lamb

Abstract:

Wave run-up may be defined as the time-varying position of the landward extent of the water’s edge, measured vertically from the mean water level position. The hydrodynamics of the swash zone and the accurate prediction of maximum wave run-up, play a critical role in the study of coastal engineering. The understanding of these processes is necessary for the modeling of sediment transport, beach recovery and the design and maintenance of coastal engineering structures. However, due to the complex nature of the swash zone, there remains a lack of detailed knowledge in this area. Particularly, there has been found to be insufficient consideration of bed porosity and ultimately infiltration/exfiltration processes, in the development of wave run-up models. Theoretically, there should be an inverse relationship between maximum wave run-up and beach porosity. The greater the rate of infiltration during an event, associated with a larger bed porosity, the lower the magnitude of the maximum wave run-up. Additionally, most models have been developed using data collected on North American or Australian beaches and may have limitations when used for operational forecasting in Trinidad. This paper aims to assess the influence and significance of infiltration and exfiltration processes on wave run-up magnitudes within the swash zone. It also seeks to pay particular attention to how well various empirical formulae can predict maximum run-up on contrasting beaches in Trinidad. Traditional surveying techniques will be used to collect wave run-up and cross-sectional data on various beaches. Wave data from wave gauges and wave models will be used as well as porosity measurements collected using a double ring infiltrometer. The relationship between maximum wave run-up and differing physical parameters will be investigated using correlation analyses. These physical parameters comprise wave and beach characteristics such as wave height, wave direction, period, beach slope, the magnitude of wave setup, and beach porosity. Most parameterizations to determine the maximum wave run-up are described using differing parameters and do not always have a good predictive capability. This study seeks to improve the formulation of wave run-up by using the aforementioned parameters to generate a formulation with a special focus on the influence of infiltration/exfiltration processes. This will further contribute to the improvement of the prediction of sediment transport, beach recovery and design of coastal engineering structures in Trinidad.

Keywords: beach porosity, empirical models, infiltration, swash, wave run-up

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Abu S. Mustafa, Mohammad W. Khan, Faraz Shaheed Khan, Nazima Habibi

Abstract:

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide prevalence. There are at least four species and several strains of Brucella that cause human disease. Brucella genomes have very limited variation across strains, which hinder strain identification using classical molecular techniques, including PCR and 16 S rDNA sequencing. The aim of this study was to perform whole genome sequencing of clinical isolates of Brucella and perform bioinformatics and comparative genomics analyses to determine the existence of genetic differences across the isolates of a single Brucella species and strain. The draft sequence data were generated from 15 clinical isolates of Brucella melitensis (biovar 2 strain 63/9) using MiSeq next generation sequencing platform. The generated reads were used for further assembly and analysis. All the analysis was performed using Bioinformatics work station (8 core i7 processor, 8GB RAM with Bio-Linux operating system). FastQC was used to determine the quality of reads and low quality reads were trimmed or eliminated using Fastx_trimmer. Assembly was done by using Velvet and ABySS softwares. The ordering of assembled contigs was performed by Mauve. An online server RAST was employed to annotate the contigs assembly. Annotated genomes were compared using Mauve and ACT tools. The QC score for DNA sequence data, generated by MiSeq, was higher than 30 for 80% of reads with more than 100x coverage, which suggested that data could be utilized for further analysis. However when analyzed by FastQC, quality of four reads was not good enough for creating a complete genome draft so remaining 11 samples were used for further analysis. The comparative genome analyses showed that despite sharing same gene sets, single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions existed across different genomes, which provided a variable extent of diversity to these bacteria. In conclusion, the next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and comparative genome analysis can be utilized to find variations (point mutations, insertions and deletions) across different genomes of Brucella within a single strain. This information could be useful in surveillance and epidemiological studies supported by Kuwait University Research Sector grants MI04/15 and SRUL02/13.

Keywords: brucella, bioinformatics, comparative genomics, whole genome sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Aliyu J. Abubakar, Mazlan Hashim, Amin B. Pour

Abstract:

Exploiting geothermal resources for either power, home heating, Spa, greenhouses, industrial or tourism requires an initial identification of suitable areas. This can be done cost-effectively using remote sensing satellite imagery which has synoptic capabilities of covering large areas in real time and by identifying possible areas of hydrothermal alteration and minerals related to Geothermal systems. Earth features and minerals are known to have unique diagnostic spectral reflectance characteristics that can be used to discriminate them. The focus of this paper is to investigate the applicability of mapping hydrothermal alteration in relation to geothermal systems (thermal springs) at Yankari Park Northeastern Nigeria, using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite data for resource exploration. The ASTER Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) bands are used to highlight and discriminate alteration areas by employing sophisticated digital image processing techniques including image transformations and spectral mapping methods. Field verifications are conducted at the Yankari Park using hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) monterra to identify locations of hydrothermal alteration and rock samples obtained at the vicinity and surrounding areas of the ‘Mawulgo’ and ‘Wikki’ thermal springs. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) results of rock samples obtained from the field validated hydrothermal alteration by the presence of indicator minerals including; Dickite, Kaolinite, Hematite and Quart. The study indicated the applicability of mapping geothermal anomalies for resource exploration in unmapped sparsely vegetated savanna environment characterized by subtle surface manifestations such as thermal springs. The results could have implication for geothermal resource exploration especially at the prefeasibility stages by narrowing targets for comprehensive surveys and in unexplored savanna regions where expensive airborne surveys are unaffordable.

Keywords: geothermal exploration, image enhancement, minerals, spectral mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 345