Search results for: engine performance analysis

Authors: D. Abdelrazek, M. NaguibAly, A. A. Badawi, Asmaa G. Abo Elnour, A. A. El-Kafas

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This work is developed within IAEA Coordinated Research Program 1496, “Innovative methods in research reactor analysis: Benchmark against experimental data on neutronics and thermal-hydraulic computational methods and tools for operation and safety analysis of research reactors.” The study investigates the capability of Code RELAP5/Mod3.4 to solve complex geometry complexity. Its results are compared to the results of PARET, a common code in thermal hydraulic analysis for research reactors, belonging to MTR-PC groups. The WWR-SM reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) in the Republic of Uzbekistan is simulated using both PARET and RELAP5 at steady state. Results from the two codes are compared. REALP5 code succeeded in solving the complex fuel geometry. The PARET code needed some calculations to obtain the final result. Although the final results from the PARET are more accurate, the small differences in both results makes using RELAP5 code recommended in case of complex fuel assemblies.

Keywords: complex fuel geometry, PARET, RELAP5, WWR-SM reactor

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Mohamed Ahmed Tony, Mohamed Hamoud

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The present study was conducted to determine the effect of commercially coated slow-release sodium butyrate (CM3000®) as a feed additive on zootechnical performance, immune status and Clostridium perfringens severity after experimental infection. Three hundred 1-d-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly distributed into 3 treatment groups (4 replicates each) using 25 chicks per replicate on floor pens. Control (C) birds were offered non-supplemented basal diets. Treatments 1 and 2 (T1 and T2) were fed diets containing CM3000® at 300 and 500 g/ton feed, respectively, during the entire experimental period (35 days). Feed and water were offered ad-libitum. Feed consumption and body weight were recorded weekly to calculate body weight gain and feed conversion. Blood samples were collected to evaluate the immune status of the birds against Newcastle disease vaccines using HI test. At the end of the experimental period, 20 birds were chosen randomly from each group (5 birds from each pen) to compare carcass yield. At day 16 of age 20 birds from each group (5 birds/replicate) were bacteriologically examined and proved to be free from Clostridium perfringens. The isolated birds were challenged orally with 1 ml buffer containing 106 CFU/ml Clostridium perfringens local isolate and prepared from necrotic enteritis (NE) diseased farms. Birds were observed on a regular basis daily for any signs of NE. Birds that died in the challenged group were necropsied to determine the cause of death. On day 28 of age, the surviving chickens were killed by cervical dislocation and necropsied immediately. Intestinal tracts were removed and intestinal lesions were scored. Tissue samples of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and cecum for histopathological examination were collected. All collected data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS® version 19 software for personal computers. Means were compared by one-way ANOVA (P<0.05) followed by the Duncan Post Hoc test. The results revealed that body weight gain was significantly (P<0.05) improved in chicks fed on both doses of CM3000® compared to the control one. Final body weight gain in T1 and T2 were 2064.94 and 2141.37 g/bird, respectively, while in the control group, the weight gain showed 1952.78 g/bird. In addition, supplementation of diets with CM3000® increased significantly feed intake (P<0.05). Total feed intake in T1 and T2 were 3186.32 and 3273.29 g/bird, respectively; however, feed intake in the control group recorded 3081.95 g/bird. The best feed conversion was recorded in T2 group (1.53). Feed conversion in the control and T1 groups were 1.58 and 1.54, respectively. Dressing percentage, liver weights and the other carcasses yields were not different between treatments. The butyrate significantly enhanced immune responses measured against Newcastle disease vaccines. Sodium butyrate significantly reduced NE lesions and healthy improved the intestinal tissues in the samples collected from T1 and T2-challenged chickens versus those collected from the control group. In conclusion, exogenous administration of slow-release butyrate (CM3000®) is capable of improving performance, enhancing immunity and NE disease resistance in broiler chickens.

Keywords: sodium butyrate, broiler chicken, zootechnical performance, immunity, necrotic enteritis

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Maria Inês Pinho

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Recent literature on issues of Cultural Management (also called Strategic Management for cultural organizations) systematically seeks for models that allow such equipment to adapt to the constant change that occurs in contemporary societies. In the last decade, the world, and in particular Europe has experienced a serious financial problem that has triggered defensive mechanisms, both in the direction of promoting the balance of public accounts and in the sense of the anonymous loss of the democratic and cultural values of each nation. If in the first case emerged the Troika that led to strong cuts in funding for Culture, deeply affecting those organizations; in the second case, the commonplace citizen is seen fighting for the non-closure of cultural equipment. Despite this, the cultural manager argues that there is no single formula capable of solving the need to adapt to change. In another way, it is up to this agent to know the existing scientific models and to adapt them in the best way to the reality of the institution he coordinates. These actions, as a rule, are concerned with the best performance vis-à-vis external audiences or with the financial sustainability of cultural organizations. They forget, therefore, that all this mechanics cannot function without its internal public, without its Human Resources. The employees of the cultural organization must then have an entrepreneurial posture - must be intrapreneurial. This paper intends to break this form of action and lead the cultural manager to understand that his role should be in the sense of creating value for society, through a good organizational performance. This is only possible with a posture of strategic entrepreneurship. In other words, with a link between: Cultural Management, Cultural Entrepreneurship and Cultural Intrapreneurship. In order to prove this assumption, the case study methodology was used with the symbol of the European Capital of Culture (Casa da Música) as well as qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative techniques included the procedure of in-depth interviews to managers, founders and patrons and focus groups to public with and without experience in managing cultural facilities. The quantitative techniques involved the application of a questionnaire to middle management and employees of Casa da Música. After the triangulation of the data, it was proved that contemporary management of cultural organizations must implement among its practices, the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variables. Also, the topics which characterize the Cultural Intrapreneurship notion (job satisfaction, the quality in organizational performance, the leadership and the employee engagement and autonomy) emerged. The findings show then that to be sustainable, a cultural organization should meet the concerns of both external and internal forum. In other words, it should have an attitude of citizenship to the communities, visible on a social responsibility and a participatory management, only possible with the implementation of the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variable of Cultural Intrapreneurship.

Keywords: cultural entrepreneurship, cultural intrapreneurship, cultural organizations, strategic management

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Najibullah M, Soumendra Nath Kuiry

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Dams and reservoirs are perceived for their estimable alms to irrigation, water supply, flood control, electricity generation, etc. which civilize the prosperity and wealth of society across the world. Meantime the dam breach could cause devastating flood that can threat to the human lives and properties. Failures of large dams remain fortunately very seldom events. Nevertheless, a number of occurrences have been recorded in the world, corresponding in an average to one to two failures worldwide every year. Some of those accidents have caused catastrophic consequences. So it is decisive to predict the dam break flow for emergency planning and preparedness, as it poses high risk to life and property. To mitigate the adverse impact of dam break, modeling is necessary to gain a good understanding of the temporal and spatial evolution of the dam-break floods. This study will mainly deal with one-dimensional (1D) dam break modeling. Less commonly used in the hydraulic research community, another possible option for modeling the rapidly varied dam-break flows is the extended Boussinesq equations (BEs), which can describe the dynamics of short waves with a reasonable accuracy. Unlike the Shallow Water Equations (SWEs), the BEs taken into account the wave dispersion and non-hydrostatic pressure distribution. To capture the dam-break oscillations accurately it is very much needed of at least fourth-order accurate numerical scheme to discretize the third-order dispersion terms present in the extended BEs. The scope of this work is therefore to develop an 1D fourth-order accurate in both space and time Boussinesq model for dam-break flow analysis by using finite-volume / finite difference scheme. The spatial discretization of the flux and dispersion terms achieved through a combination of finite-volume and finite difference approximations. The flux term, was solved using a finite-volume discretization whereas the bed source and dispersion term, were discretized using centered finite-difference scheme. Time integration achieved in two stages, namely the third-order Adams Basforth predictor stage and the fourth-order Adams Moulton corrector stage. Implementation of the 1D Boussinesq model done using PYTHON 2.7.5. Evaluation of the performance of the developed model predicted as compared with the volume of fluid (VOF) based commercial model ANSYS-CFX. The developed model is used to analyze the risk of cascading dam failures similar to the Panshet dam failure in 1961 that took place in Pune, India. Nevertheless, this model can be used to predict wave overtopping accurately compared to shallow water models for designing coastal protection structures.

Keywords: Boussinesq equation, Coastal protection, Dam-break flow, One-dimensional model

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Authors: Dolhadi Bin Zainudin

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The study attempts to predict the relationship between influencing factors in the adoption of ISO 9000:2008 and to identify which how these factors play the main role in achieving ISO 9000 standard. A survey using structured questionnaire was employed. A total of 255 respondents from 255 small and medium enterprises participated in this study. With regards to influencing factors, a discriminant analysis was conducted and the results showed that three out of nine critical success factors is statistically significant between ISO 9000:2008 and non-ISO 9000 certified companies which are communication for quality, information and analysis and organizational culture.

Keywords: ISO 9000, quality management, factors, small and medium enterprise, Malaysia, influencing factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Qianqian Chen

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The article intends to design a new research perspective on a linguistic landscape with the research background on multilingual urban tourism by analyzing the collected data, including a number of surveys on current urban tourism and the possibility of internationalization. The language usage analysis focuses on terms of English, Japanese and Spanish, which is based on the previous investigations. The analysis highlights the fact that contemporary tourism management and planning emphasizes cultural memories and heritage, and the combination between culture and tourism recalls the importance of "re-humanity" inhuman activities.

Keywords: multilingualism, culture, linguistic landscape, Hangzhou

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Intanri Kurniati, Raja Iqbal Mulya Harahap, Agustyas Tjiptaningrum, Reni Zuraida

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Background: Diabetes mellitus is still increasing and has become a health and social burden in the world. It is known that glycation among various proteins is increased in diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic subjects. Some of these glycated proteins are suggested to be involved in the development and progression of chronic diabetic complications. Among these glycated proteins, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) is commonly used as the gold standard index of glycemic control in the clinical setting. HbA1C testing has some methods, and the most commonly used is immunoturbidimetry. This research aimed to compare the HbA1c level between immunoturbidimetry and HbA1C level in T2DM patients. Methods: This research involves 77 patients from Abd Muluk Hospital Bandar Lampung; the patient was asked for consent in this research, then underwent phlebotomy to be tested for HbA1C; the sample was then examined for HbA1C with Turbidimetric Inhibition Immunoassay (TINIA) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. Result: Mean± SD of the samples with the TINIA method was 9.2±1,2; meanwhile, the level HbA1C with the HPLC method is 9.6±1,2. The t-test showed no significant difference between the group subjects. (p<0.05). It was proposed that the two methods have high suitability in testing, and both are eligibly used for the patient. Discussion: There was no significant difference among research subjects, indicating that the high conformity of the two methods is suitable to be used for monitoring patients clinically. Conclusion: There is increasing in HbA1C level in a patient with T2DM measured with HPLC and or Turbidimetric Inhibition Immunoassay (TINIA) method, and there were no significant differences among those methods.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, glycated albumin, HbA1C, HPLC, immunoturbidimetry

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Authors: Yiannis G. Smirlis

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The classification and the prediction of efficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is an important issue, especially in large scale problems or when new units frequently enter the under-assessment set. In this paper, we contribute to the subject by proposing a grid structure based on interval segmentations of the range of values for the inputs and outputs. Such intervals combined, define hyper-rectangles that partition the space of the problem. This structure, exploited by Interval DEA models and a dominance relation, acts as a DEA pre-processor, enabling the classification and prediction of efficiency scores, without applying any DEA models.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, interval DEA, efficiency classification, efficiency prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Fahad Qureshi

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This paper provides detailed study on the diagnosis of intermittent high vibration spikes at exhaust bearing (Non-Drive End) of Mitsubishi H-25 gas turbine installed in a petrochemical plant in Pakistan. The diagnosis is followed by successful root cause analysis of the issue and recommendations for improving the reliability of machine. Engro Polymer and Chemicals (EPCL), a Chlor Vinyl complex, has a captive power plant consisting of one combined cycle power plant (CCPP), having two gas turbines each having 25 MW capacity (make: Hitachi) and one extraction condensing steam turbine having 15 MW capacity (make: HTC). Besides, one 6.75 MW SGT-200 1S gas turbine (make: Alstom) is also available. In 2018, the organization faced an issue of intermittent high vibration at exhaust bearing of one of H-25 units having tag GT-2101 A, which eventually led to tripping of machine at configured securities. Since the machine had surpassed 64,000 running hours and major inspection was also due, so bearings inspection was performed. Inspection revealed excessive coke deposition at labyrinth where evidence of rotor rub was also present. Bearing clearance was also at upper limit, and slight babbitt (soft metal) chip off was observed at one of its pads so it was preventively replaced. The unit was restated successfully and exhibited no abnormality until October 2020, when these spikes reoccurred, leading to machine trip. Recurrence of the issue within two years indicated that root cause was not properly addressed, so this paper furthers the discussion on in-depth analysis of findings and establishes successful root cause analysis, which captured significant learnings both in terms of machine design deficiencies and gaps in operation & maintenance (O & M) regime. Lastly, revised O& M regime along with set of recommendations are proposed to avoid recurrence.

Keywords: exhaust side bearing, Gas turbine, rubbing, vibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Mujde Turkkan, Nurkan Yagiz

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The vibrations, caused by the irregularities of the road surface, are to be suppressed via suspension systems. In this paper, sliding mode control for a half bus model with air suspension system is presented. The bus is modelled as five degrees of freedom (DoF) system. The mathematical model of the half bus is developed using Lagrange Equations. For time domain analysis, the bus model is assumed to travel at certain speed over the bump road. The numerical results of the analysis indicate that the sliding mode controllers can be effectively used to suppress the vibrations and to improve the ride comfort of the busses.

Keywords: active suspension system, air suspension, bus model, sliding mode control

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: Harish Kumar Ponnappan, Joseph C. Chen

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The main objective of this research is to optimize the surface roughness of a milling operation on AISI 1018 steel using live tooling on a HAAS ST-20 lathe. In this study, Taguchi analysis is used to optimize the milling process by investigating the effect of different machining parameters on surface roughness. The L₉ orthogonal array is designed with four controllable factors with three different levels each and an uncontrollable factor, resulting in 18 experimental runs. The optimal parameters determined from Taguchi analysis were feed rate – 76.2 mm/min, spindle speed 1150 rpm, depth of cut – 0.762 mm and 2-flute TiN coated high-speed steel as tool material. The process capability Cp and process capability index Cpk values were improved from 0.62 and -0.44 to 1.39 and 1.24 respectively. The average surface roughness values from the confirmation runs were 1.30 µ, decreasing the defect rate from 87.72% to 0.01%. The purpose of this study is to efficiently utilize the Taguchi design to optimize the surface roughness in a milling operation using live tooling.

Keywords: live tooling, surface roughness, taguchi analysis, CNC milling operation, CNC turning operation

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Yuanchao Sang, Zhihao Gong, Longsheng Chen, Long Chen

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Clothing fashion represents a human’s aesthetic appreciation towards everyday outfits and appetite for fashion, and it reflects the development of status in society, humanity, and economics. However, modelling fashion by machine is extremely challenging because fashion is too abstract to be efficiently described by machines. Even human beings can hardly reach a consensus about fashion. In this paper, we are dedicated to answering a fundamental fashion-related problem: what image feature best describes clothing fashion? To address this issue, we have designed and evaluated various image features, ranging from traditional low-level hand-crafted features to mid-level style awareness features to various current popular deep neural network-based features, which have shown state-of-the-art performance in various vision tasks. In summary, we tested the following 9 feature representations: color, texture, shape, style, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), CNNs with distance metric learning (CNNs&DML), AutoEncoder, CNNs with multiple layer combination (CNNs&MLC) and CNNs with dynamic feature clustering (CNNs&DFC). Finally, we validated the performance of these features on two publicly available datasets. Quantitative and qualitative experimental results on both intra-domain and inter-domain fashion clothing image retrieval showed that deep learning based feature representations far outweigh traditional hand-crafted feature representation. Additionally, among all deep learning based methods, CNNs with explicit feature clustering performs best, which shows feature clustering is essential for discriminative fashion feature representation.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, feature representation, image processing, machine modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: K. D. Rajatha, S. Rajendra Prasad, N. Nethra

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Aeroponics is one of the advanced techniques to cultivate plants without soil with minimal water and nutrient consumption. This is the technology which could bring the vertical growth in agriculture. It is an eco-friendly approach widely used for commercial cultivation of vegetables to obtain the supreme quality and yield. In this context, to harvest potentiality of the technology, an experiment was designed to evaluate the suitability of the aeroponics method over the conventional method for hybrid seed production of tomato. The experiment was carried out under Completely Randomized Design with Factorial (FCRD) concept with three replications during the year 2017-18 at UAS, GKVK Bengaluru. Nutrients and pH were standardized; among the six different nutrient solutions, the crop performance was better in Hoagland’s solution with pH between 5.5-7. The results of the present study revealed that between TAG1F and TAG2F parental lines, TAG1F performed better in both the methods of seed production. Among the methods, aeroponics showed better performance for the quality parameters except for plant spread, due to better availability of nutrients and aeration, huge root biomass in aeroponics. Aeroponics method showed significantly higher plant length (124.9 cm), plant growth rate (0.669), seedling survival rate (100%), early flowering (27.5 days), highest fruit weight (121.5 g), 100 seed weight (0.373 g) and total seed yield plant⁻¹ (11.68 g) compared to the conventional method. By providing the best environment for plant growth, the genetically best possible plant could be grown, thus complete potentiality of the plant could be harvested. Hence, aeroponics could be a promising tool for quality and healthy hybrid seed production throughout the year within protected cultivation.

Keywords: aeroponics, Hoagland’s solution, hybrid seed production, Lycopersicon esculentum

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Mouna Baassi, Mohamed Moussaoui, Hatim Soufi, Sanchaita RajkhowaI, Ashwani Sharma, Subrata Sinha, Said Belaaouad

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is one of the most challenging targets of antiretroviral therapy used in the treatment of AIDS-infected people. The performance of protease inhibitors (PIs) is limited by the development of protease mutations that can promote resistance to the treatment. The current study was carried out using statistics and bioinformatics tools. A series of thirty-three compounds with known enzymatic inhibitory activities against HIV-1 protease was used in this paper to build a mathematical model relating the structure to the biological activity. These compounds were designed by software; their descriptors were computed using various tools, such as Gaussian, Chem3D, ChemSketch and MarvinSketch. Computational methods generated the best model based on its statistical parameters. The model’s applicability domain (AD) was elaborated. Furthermore, one compound has been proposed as efficient against HIV-1 protease with comparable biological activity to the existing ones; this drug candidate was evaluated using ADMET properties and Lipinski’s rule. Molecular Docking performed on Wild Type and Mutant Type HIV-1 proteases allowed the investigation of the interaction types displayed between the proteases and the ligands, Darunavir (DRV) and the new drug (ND). Molecular dynamics simulation was also used in order to investigate the complexes’ stability, allowing a comparative study of the performance of both ligands (DRV & ND). Our study suggested that the new molecule showed comparable results to that of Darunavir and may be used for further experimental studies. Our study may also be used as a pipeline to search and design new potential inhibitors of HIV-1 proteases.

Keywords: QSAR, ADMET properties, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation.

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Authors: Shuo Mu, Guangzhi Jiang, Jinsa Chen

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The analysis of Indel for RNA sequencing of clinical samples is easily affected by sequencing experiment errors and software selection. In order to improve the efficiency and accuracy of analysis, we developed an automatic reporting system for Indel recognition and annotation based on image snapshot of transcriptome reads alignment. This system includes sequence local-assembly and realignment, target point snapshot, and image-based recognition processes. We integrated high-confidence Indel dataset from several known databases as a training set to improve the accuracy of image processing and added a bioinformatical processing module to annotate and filter Indel artifacts. Subsequently, the system will automatically generate data, including data quality levels and images results report. Sanger sequencing verification of the reference Indel mutation of cell line NA12878 showed that the process can achieve 83% sensitivity and 96% specificity. Analysis of the collected clinical samples showed that the interpretation accuracy of the process was equivalent to that of manual inspection, and the processing efficiency showed a significant improvement. This work shows the feasibility of accurate Indel analysis of clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS) transcriptome. This result may be useful for RNA study for clinical samples with microsatellite instability in immunotherapy in the future.

Keywords: automatic reporting, indel, next-generation sequencing, NGS, transcriptome

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Annika Barzen

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In this article, the collection and analysis of drawings are implemented and discussed as a methodological approach to reconstruct children's perspective on horse-assisted interventions. For this purpose, drawings of three children (8-10 years old) were included in the research process in order to clarify the question of what insights can be derived from the drawings about the child's perspective on the intervention. The children were asked to draw a picture of themselves at the horse stable. Practical implementation considerations are disclosed. The developed analysis steps consider the work of two art historians (Erwin Panofsky and Max Imdahl) to capture the visual sense and to interpret the children's drawings. Relevant topics about the children's perspective can be inferred from the drawings. In the drawings, the following topics are important for the children: Overcoming challenges and fears in handling the horse, support from an adult in handling the horse and feeling self-confident and competent to act after completing tasks with the horse. The drawings show the main topics which are relevant for the children and can be used as a basis for conversation. All in all, the child's drawing offers a useful addition to other survey methods in order to gain further insights into the experiences of children in a horse-assisted setting.

Keywords: children's perspective, interpret children's drawings, equine-assisted-intervention, methodical analysis

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Authors: Valerian Omsarashvili, Nino Jamrishvili

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Georgia is one of the hail-dangerous countries of world. The work on action on hail processes in Georgia was conducted in 1960-1989 (East Georgia) over the total area of approximately 1.2 million hectares with average positive economic effect near 75 %. In 2015 in East Georgia, the anti-hail service was restored. Therefore, for the estimation of the effectiveness of action on the hail processes at present, arose the need for the detailed analysis of damage from the hail in the past. The work presents the analysis of the data about the number of days with the hail, the areas of damage of agricultural crops (general and to 100 %), and also the economic damage from the hail, of the caused loss to agricultural crops on the territories land of 123 separate populated areas of into 1982 and 1984-1989. In particular, on the average to one populated area, the total area of agricultural crops damaged from the hail was approximately 140 hectares, to 100% damage - 60 hectares, economic damage - 120 thousand US dollars. The corresponding maps of the distribution of the damaged areas on the investigated territory with the use of GIS-technologies are obtained.

Keywords: damage to agricultural crops, hail, Georgia, economic damage

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Soojin Kim, Jiwon Yang, Sungzoon Cho

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As a seasonal product is only in demand for a short time, inventory management is critical to profits. Both markdowns and stockouts decrease the return on perishable products; therefore, researchers have been interested in the distribution of seasonal products with the aim of maximizing profits. In this study, we propose a data-driven seasonal product sales pattern analysis method for individual retail outlets based on observed sales data clustering; the proposed method helps in determining distribution strategies.

Keywords: clustering, distribution, sales pattern, seasonal product

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Authors: Chih-Hsiang Chang, I-Fan Ho

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This study examines the credibility of the signaling as explanation for IPO initial underpricing. Findings reveal the initial underpricing and the long-term underperformance of IPOs in Taiwan. However, we only find weak support for signaling as explanation of IPO underpricing.

Keywords: signaling, IPO initial underpricing, IPO long-term underperformance, Taiwan’s stock market

Procedia PDF Downloads 455

Authors: Omar Dib, Rita Yaacoub, Luc Eveleigh, Nathalie Locquet, Hussein Dib, Ali Bassal, Christophe B. Y. Cordella

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The potential of front-face fluorescence coupled with chemometric techniques, namely parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and multiple linear regression (MLR) as a rapid analysis tool to characterize Lebanese virgin olive oils was investigated. Fluorescence fingerprints were acquired directly on 102 Lebanese virgin olive oil samples in the range of 280-540 nm in excitation and 280-700 nm in emission. A PARAFAC model with seven components was considered optimal with a residual of 99.64% and core consistency value of 78.65. The model revealed seven main fluorescence profiles in olive oil and was mainly associated with tocopherols, polyphenols, chlorophyllic compounds and oxidation/hydrolysis products. 23 MLR regression models based on PARAFAC scores were generated, the majority of which showed a good correlation coefficient (R > 0.7 for 12 predicted variables), thus satisfactory prediction performances. Acid values, peroxide values, and Delta K had the models with the highest predictions, with R values of 0.89, 0.84 and 0.81 respectively. Among fatty acids, linoleic and oleic acids were also highly predicted with R values of 0.8 and 0.76, respectively. Factors contributing to the model's construction were related to common fluorophores found in olive oil, mainly chlorophyll, polyphenols, and oxidation products. This study demonstrates the interest of front-face fluorescence as a promising tool for quality control of Lebanese virgin olive oils.

Keywords: front-face fluorescence, Lebanese virgin olive oils, multiple Linear regressions, PARAFAC analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 446

Authors: Kiran Bala Das

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This paper examines the Ukraine wheat export condition after Russian-Ukrainian military confrontation. The political conflict in Ukraine and the recent military intervention of Russia in Crimea is raising concern full effect of the events there is still uncertain, but some hints can be seen in the wheat market by analyzing the trend and pattern of Ukraine wheat export. Crimea is extremely important as it is where most of Ukraine grain exported by ship from its ports of the black sea. Ukraine is again seeking to establish itself a significant exporter of agricultural product with its rich black soil, it is chornozem the top soil layer that makes the country soil so fertile and become one of the major exporter of wheat in the world, its generous supplier of wheat make Ukraine 'Bread basket of Europe'. Ukraine possesses 30% of the world’s richest black soil; its agricultural industry has huge potential especially in grains. European Union (EU) is a significant trading partner of Ukraine but geopolitical tension adversely affects the wheat trade from black sea, which threatens Europe breadbasket. This study also highlights an index of export intensity to analyze the intensity of existing trade for the period 2011-2014 between Ukraine and EU countries. The result show export has intensified over the years, but this year low trade intensity. The overall consequence is hard to determine but if the situation deteriorates and Ukraine cutoff export, international wheat price will hike and grain prices (wheat) also come under the current circumstances and the recent development indicates how the grain market get affected and Agri future now in danger in Ukraine, and its forecast that Ukraine harvest low wheat crop this year and projected decline in export of wheat.

Keywords: breadbasket of Europe, export intensity index, growth rate, wheat export

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Authors: Şeyma Dombaycıoğlu, Hilal Köse, Ali Osman Aydın, Hatem Akbulut

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Rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have been considered as one of the most attractive energy storage choices for laptop computers, electric vehicles and cellular phones owing to their high energy and power density. Compared with conventional carbonaceous materials, transition metal oxides (TMOs) have attracted great interests and stand out among versatile novel anode materials due to their high theoretical specific capacity, wide availability and good safety performance. ZnO, as an anode material for LIBs, has a high theoretical capacity of 978 mAh g-1, much higher than that of the conventional graphite anode (∼370 mAhg-1). However, several major problems such as poor cycleability, resulting from the severe volume expansion and contraction during the alloying-dealloying cycles with Li+ ions and the associated charge transfer process, the pulverization and the agglomeration of individual particles, which drastically reduces the total entrance/exit sites available for Li+ ions still hinder the practical use of ZnO powders as an anode material for LIBs. Therefore, a great deal of effort has been devoted to overcome these problems, and many methods have been developed. In most of these methods, it is claimed that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) will radically improve the performance of batteries, because their unique structure may especially enhance the kinetic properties of the electrodes and result in an extremely high specific charge compared with the theoretical limits of graphitic carbon. Due to outstanding properties of CNTs, MWCNT buckypaper substrate is considered a buffer material to prevent mechanical disintegration of anode material during the battery applications. As the bridge connecting the positive and negative electrodes, the electrolyte plays a critical role affecting the overall electrochemical performance of the cell including rate, capacity, durability and safety. Commercial electrolytes for Li-ion batteries normally consist of certain lithium salts and mixed organic linear and cyclic carbonate solvents. Most commonly, LiPF6 is attributed to its remarkable features including high solubility, good ionic conductivity, high dissociation constant and satisfactory electrochemical stability for commercial fabrication. Besides LiPF6, LiBF4 is well known as a conducting salt for LIBs. LiBF4 shows a better temperature stability in organic carbonate based solutions and less moisture sensitivity compared to LiPF6. In this work, free standing zinc oxide (ZnO) and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposite materials were prepared by a sol gel technique giving a high capacity anode material for lithium ion batteries. Electrolyte solutions (including 1 m Li+ ion) were prepared with different Li salts in glove box. For this purpose, LiPF6 and LiBF4 salts and also mixed of these salts were solved in EC:DMC solvents (1:1, w/w). CR2016 cells were assembled by using these prepared electrolyte solutions, the ZnO/MWCNT buckypaper nanocomposites as working electrodes, metallic lithium as cathode and polypropylene (PP) as separator. For investigating the effect of different Li salts on the electrochemical performance of ZnO/MWCNT nanocomposite anode material electrochemical tests were performed at room temperature.

Keywords: anode, electrolyte, Li-ion battery, ZnO/MWCNT

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Authors: Zhanat Shomanova, Ruslan Safarov, Yuri Nosenko, Zheneta Tashmuchambetova, Alima Zharmagambetova

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An effective way of utilization of ferroalloy production wastes is preparing hydrocarbon refining catalysts from them. It is possible due to accordable transition metals containing in the wastes. In the work, we are presenting the results on elemental analysis of sludge samples from Aksu ferroalloy plant (Aksu, Kazakhstan), method of catalysts preparing, results of physical-chemical analysis of obtained catalysts (X-ray analysis, electron microscopy, the BET method etc.), results of using the catalysts in some hydrocarbons refining processes such as hydrocracking of rubber waste, cracking of gasoil, oxidation of cyclohexane. The main results of catalytic activity research are: a) In hydrocracking of rubber waste 64.9% of liquid products were fuel fractions; b) In cracking of gasoil conversion was 51% and selectivity by liquid products was 99%; c) In oxidation of cyclohexane the maximal product yield 87.9% and selectivity by cyclohexanol 93.0% were achieved.

Keywords: catalyst, cyclohexane oxidation, ferroalloy production waste, gasoil cracking

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Authors: Rachel Y. Zhang, Christopher K. Anderson

Abstract:

A critical aspect of revenue management is a firm’s ability to predict demand as a function of price. Historically hotels have used simple time series models (regression and/or pick-up based models) owing to the complexities of trying to build casual models of demands. Machine learning approaches are slowly attracting attention owing to their flexibility in modeling relationships. This study provides an overview of approaches to forecasting hospitality demand – focusing on the opportunities created by machine learning approaches, including K-Nearest-Neighbors, Support vector machine, Regression Tree, and Artificial Neural Network algorithms. The out-of-sample performances of above approaches to forecasting hotel demand are illustrated by using a proprietary sample of the market level (24 properties) transactional data for Las Vegas NV. Causal predictive models can be built and evaluated owing to the availability of market level (versus firm level) data. This research also compares and contrast model accuracy of firm-level models (i.e. predictive models for hotel A only using hotel A’s data) to models using market level data (prices, review scores, location, chain scale, etc… for all hotels within the market). The prospected models will be valuable for hotel revenue prediction given the basic characters of a hotel property or can be applied in performance evaluation for an existed hotel. The findings will unveil the features that play key roles in a hotel’s revenue performance, which would have considerable potential usefulness in both revenue prediction and evaluation.

Keywords: hotel revenue, k-nearest-neighbors, machine learning, neural network, prediction model, regression tree, support vector machine

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Authors: Zakir Husain, Neem Sagar, Neeraj Gupta

Abstract:

Due to the increased penetration of renewable energy resources in the distribution system, the system is no longer passive in nature. In this paper, a steady state analysis of the distribution system has been done with the inclusion of wind generation. The modeling of wind turbine generator system and wind generator has been made to obtain the average active and the reactive power injection into the system. The study has been conducted on a IEEE-33 bus system with two wind generators. The present research work is useful not only to utilities but also to customers.

Keywords: distributed generation, distribution network, radial network, wind turbine generating system

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Authors: J. Fajardo, J. Guerra, E. Gonzales

Abstract:

This paper will outline a study of Brazil's industrial base of defense (IDB), through a bibliographic research method, combined with an analysis of macroeconomic data from several available public data platforms. This paper begins with a brief study about Brazilian national industry, including analyzes of productivity, income, outcome and jobs. Next, the research presents a study on the defense industry in Brazil, presenting the main national companies that operate in the aeronautical, army and naval branches. After knowing the main points of the Brazilian defense industry, data on the productivity of the defense industry of the main countries and competing companies of the Brazilian industry were analyzed, in order to summarize big cases in Brazil with a comparative analysis. Concerned the methodology, were used bibliographic research and the exploration of historical data series, in order to analyze information, to get trends and to make comparisons along the time. The research is finished with the main trends for the development of the Brazilian defense industry, comparing the current situation with the point of view of several countries.

Keywords: economics of defence, industry, trends, market

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Authors: M. Lghoul, N. El Goumi, M. Guernouche

Abstract:

In order to predict the structural and tectonic framework of the Bahira basin and to have a 3D geological modeling of the basin, an integrated multidisciplinary work has been conducted using gravity, magnetic and geological data. The objective of the current study is delineating the subsurfacefeatures, faults, and geological limits, using airborne magnetic and gravity data analysis of the Bahira basin. To achieve our goal, we have applied different enhanced techniques on magnetic and gravity data: power spectral analysis techniques, reduction to pole (RTP), upward continuation, analytical signal, tilt derivative, total horizontal derivative, 3D Euler deconvolutionand source parameter imagining. The major lineaments/faults trend are: NE–SW, NW-SE, ENE–WSW, and WNW–ESE. The 3D Euler deconvolution analysis highlighted a number of fault trend, mainly in the ENE-WSW, WNW-ESE directions. The depth tothe top of the basement sources in the study area ranges between 200 m, in the southern and northern part of the Bahira basin, to 5000 m located in the Eastern part of the basin.

Keywords: magnetic, gravity, structural trend, depth to basement

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Authors: Nur Afiqah Mohd Kamal, Khamarrul Azahari Razak

Abstract:

The earthquake aftermath has become a major concern, especially in high seismicity region. In Kundasang, Sabah, the earthquake on 5th June 2015 resulted in several catastrophes; landslides, rockfalls, mudflows and major slopes affected regardless of the series of the aftershocks. Certainly, the consequences of earthquake generate and induce the episodic disaster, not only life-threatening but it also affects infrastructure and economic development. Therefore, a need for investigating the change in land use and land cover (LULC) of post-earthquake geohazard is essential for identifying the extent of disastrous effects towards the development in Kundasang. With the advancement of remote sensing technology, post-earthquake geohazards (landslides, mudflows, rockfalls, debris flows) assessment can be evaluated by the employment of object-based image analysis in investigating the LULC change which consists of settlements, public infrastructure and vegetation cover. Therefore, this paper discusses the preliminary results on post-earthquakes geohazards distribution in Kundasang and evaluates the LULC classification effect upon the occurrences of geohazards event. The result of this preliminary analysis will provide an overview to determine the extent of geohazard impact on LULC. This research also provides beneficial input to the local authority in Kundasang about the risk of future structural development on the geohazard area.

Keywords: geohazard, land use land cover, object-based image analysis, remote sensing

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Authors: Chih Jou Hsiao, Chung Ming Lo, Li Chun Hsieh

Abstract:

Brain tumor is not the cancer having high incidence rate, but its high mortality rate and poor prognosis still make it as a big concern. On clinical examination, the grading of brain tumors depends on pathological features. However, there are some weak points of histopathological analysis which can cause misgrading. For example, the interpretations can be various without a well-known definition. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of malignant tumors is a challenge to extract meaningful tissues under surgical biopsy. With the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), tumor grading can be accomplished by a noninvasive procedure. To improve the diagnostic accuracy further, this study proposed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on MRI features to provide suggestions of tumor grading. Gliomas are the most common type of malignant brain tumors (about 70%). This study collected 34 glioblastomas (GBMs) and 73 lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) from The Cancer Imaging Archive. After defining the region-of-interests in MRI images, multiple quantitative morphological features such as region perimeter, region area, compactness, the mean and standard deviation of the normalized radial length, and moment features were extracted from the tumors for classification. As results, two of five morphological features and three of four image moment features achieved p values of <0.001, and the remaining moment feature had p value <0.05. Performance of the CAD system using the combination of all features achieved the accuracy of 83.18% in classifying the gliomas into LGG and GBM. The sensitivity is 70.59% and the specificity is 89.04%. The proposed system can become a second viewer on clinical examinations for radiologists.

Keywords: brain tumor, computer-aided diagnosis, gliomas, magnetic resonance imaging

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Authors: Yael Rieder, Yael Gilboa, S. O. Adva, Efrat Halevi, Ronnie Tepper

Abstract:

Background: Operation of ultrasound equipment is a core skill for many clinical specialties. As part of the training program at -Simultech- a simulation center for Ob\Gyn at the Meir Medical Center, Israel, teaching how to operate ultrasound equipment requires dealing with misunderstandings of spatial and 3D orientation, failure of the operator to hold a transducer correctly, and limited ability to evaluate the data on the screen. We have developed a platform intended to endow physicians and sonographers with clinical and operational skills of obstetric ultrasound. Simultech's simulations are focused on medical knowledge, risk management, technology operations and physician-patient communication. The simulations encompass extreme work conditions. Setup: Between eight and ten of the eight hundred and fifty physicians and sonographers of the Clalit health services from seven hospitals and eight community centers across Israel, participate in individual Ob/Gyn training sessions each week. These include Ob/Gyn specialists, experts, interns, and sonographers. Innovative teaching and training methodologies: The six-hour training program includes: (1) An educational computer program that challenges trainees to deal with medical questions based upon ultrasound pictures and films. (2) Sophisticated hands-on simulators that challenge the trainees to practice correct grip of the transducer, elucidate pathology, and practice daily tasks such as biometric measurements and analysis of sonographic data. (3) Participation in a video-taped simulation which focuses on physician-patient communications. In the simulation, the physician is required to diagnose the clinical condition of a hired actress based on the data she provides and by evaluating the assigned ultrasound films accordingly. Giving ‘bad news’ to the patient may put the physician in a stressful situation that must be properly managed. (4) Feedback at the end of each phase is provided by a designated trainer, not a physician, who is specially qualified by Ob\Gyn senior specialists. (5) A group exercise in which the trainer presents a medico-legal case in order to encourage the participants to use their own experience and knowledge to conduct a productive ‘brainstorming’ session. Medical cases are presented and analyzed by the participants together with the trainer's feedback. Findings: (1) The training methods and content that Simultech provides allows trainees to review their medical and communications skills. (2) Simultech training sessions expose physicians to both basic and new, up-to-date cases, refreshing and expanding the trainee's knowledge. (3) Practicing on advanced simulators enables trainees to understand the sonographic space and to implement the basic principles of ultrasound. (4) Communications simulations were found to be beneficial for trainees who were unaware of their interpersonal skills. The trainer feedback, supported by the recorded simulation, allows the trainee to draw conclusions about his performance. Conclusion: Simultech was found to contribute to physicians at all levels of clinical expertise who deal with ultrasound. A break in daily routine together with attendance at a neutral educational center can vastly improve performance and outlook.

Keywords: medical training, simulations, ultrasound, Simultech

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