Search results for: residential area model

Authors: Mohammed Abdulhameed, Sagir M. Abdullahi

Abstract:

In this paper, based on the applications of nanoparticle, the blood flow along with nanoparticles through stenosed artery is studied. The blood is acted by periodic body acceleration, an oscillating pressure gradient and an external magnetic field. The mathematical formulation is based on Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative without singular kernel. The model of ordinary blood, corresponding to time-derivatives of integer order, is obtained as a limiting case. Analytical solutions of the blood velocity and temperature distribution are obtained by means of the Hankel and Laplace transforms. Effects of the order of Caputo-Fabrizio time-fractional derivatives and three different nanoparticles i.e. Fe3O4, TiO4 and Cu are studied. The results highlights that, models with fractional derivatives bring significant differences compared to the ordinary model. It is observed that the addition of Fe3O4 nanoparticle reduced the resistance impedance of the blood flow and temperature distribution through bell shape stenosed arteries as compared to TiO4 and Cu nanoparticles. On entering in the stenosed area, blood temperature increases slightly, but, increases considerably and reaches its maximum value in the stenosis throat. The shears stress has variation from a constant in the area without stenosis and higher in the layers located far to the longitudinal axis of the artery. This fact can be an important for some clinical applications in therapeutic procedures.

Keywords: nanoparticles, blood flow, stenosed artery, mathematical models

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: K. Govender, M. Sinclair

Abstract:

This paper demonstrates a proof of concept whereby shorter trips and land use densification can be promoted through an alternative approach to planning and implementation of road infrastructure in the South African context. It briefly discusses how the development of the Compact City concept relies on a combination of promoting shorter trips and densification through a change in focus in road infrastructure provision. The methodology developed in this paper uses a traffic model to test the impact of synthesized deterrence functions on congestion locations in the road network through the assignment of traffic on the study network. The results from this study demonstrate that intelligent planning of road infrastructure can indeed promote reduced urban sprawl, increased residential density and mixed-use areas which are supported by an efficient public transport system; and reduced dependence on the freeway network with a fixed road infrastructure budget. The study has resonance for all cities where urban sprawl is seemingly unstoppable.

Keywords: compact cities, densification, road infrastructure planning, transportation modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Abdolghani Ebrahimi, Diego Klabjan, Chenxi Ge, Daniela Ladner, Parker Stride

Abstract:

In this work, we use machine learning and novel data analysis techniques to predict the one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients. Data from 2,322 patients with liver cirrhosis are collected at a single medical center. Different machine learning models are applied to predict one-year mortality. A comprehensive feature space including demographic information, comorbidity, clinical procedure and laboratory tests is being analyzed. A temporal pattern mining technic called Frequent Subgraph Mining (FSM) is being used. Model for End-stage liver disease (MELD) prediction of mortality is used as a comparator. All of our models statistically significantly outperform the MELD-score model and show an average 10% improvement of the area under the curve (AUC). The FSM technic itself does not improve the model significantly, but FSM, together with a machine learning technique called an ensemble, further improves the model performance. With the abundance of data available in healthcare through electronic health records (EHR), existing predictive models can be refined to identify and treat patients at risk for higher mortality. However, due to the sparsity of the temporal information needed by FSM, the FSM model does not yield significant improvements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to apply modern machine learning algorithms and data analysis methods on predicting one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients and builds a model that predicts one-year mortality significantly more accurate than the MELD score. We have also tested the potential of FSM and provided a new perspective of the importance of clinical features.

Keywords: machine learning, liver cirrhosis, subgraph mining, supervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Nicholas Reinicke, Brennan Borlaug, Matthew Moniot

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant change in driving behavior as people respond to the new environment. However, existing methods for analyzing driver behavior, such as travel surveys and travel demand models, are not suited for incorporating abrupt environmental disruptions. To address this, we analyze a set of high-resolution trip data and introduce two new metrics for quantifying driving behavioral shifts as a function of time, allowing us to compare the time periods before and after the pandemic began. We apply these metrics to the Denver, Colorado metropolitan statistical area (MSA) to demonstrate the utility of the metrics. Then, we present a case study for comparing two distinct MSAs, Louisville, Kentucky, and Des Moines, Iowa, which exhibit significant differences in the makeup of their labor markets. The results indicate that although the regions of study exhibit certain unique driving behavioral shifts, emerging trends can be seen when comparing between seemingly distinct regions. For instance, drivers in all three MSAs are generally shown to have spent more time at residential locations and less time in workplaces in the time period after the pandemic started. In addition, workplaces that may be incompatible with remote working, such as hospitals and certain retail locations, generally retained much of their pre-pandemic travel activity.

Keywords: COVID-19, driver behavior, GPS data, signal analysis, telework

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Anna Avramenko, Heikki Haario

Abstract:

This paper reports the development and application of a 2D depth-averaged model. The main goal of this contribution is to apply the depth averaged equations to a wind park model in which the treatment of the geometry, introduced on the mathematical model by the mass and momentum source terms. The depth-averaged model will be used in future to find the optimal position of wind turbines in the wind park. K-E and 2D LES turbulence models were consider in this article. 2D CFD simulations for one hill was done to check the depth-averaged model in practise.

Keywords: depth-averaged equations, numerical modeling, CFD, wind park model

Procedia PDF Downloads 603

Authors: Ahmad Tijani Surajudeen, Muhammad Zahiri Awang Mat, Aliy Abdulwahid Adebisi

Abstract:

With arrival of Islam in the South-Western Nigeria in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, various masājid established in different parts of the area played vital roles towards the betterment and unity of the Muslims. However, despite the fact that the masājid in the South-Western part of Nigeria contributed immensely to the spiritual and educational enhancement of the Muslims, it has not fully captured the holistic educational roles as a unique model used by the Prophet (S.A.W). Therefore, the primary objective of this paper is to investigate and broaden the roles of masjid towards its compartmentalized and holistic contributions among the Muslims in the south-western Nigeria. The findings from the paper have identified five holistic roles of masjid, namely, spiritual, intellectual, physical, social and emotional contributions which have been exemplified in the prophetic model of masjid. The paper has argued that the five factors must be unreservedly unified towards the betterment of the Muslims and enhancement of Islamic education and Arabic Language in the South-Western Nigeria. However, the challenges of masjid management in the South-Western Nigeria are the main hindrance in achieving the holistic roles of masjid. It is thereby suggested that, the management of masjid should take the identified prophetic model of masjid into account in order to positively improve the affairs of Muslims as well as promoting the teaching and learning of Islamic education and Arabic language among the Muslims in the South-Western Nigeria.

Keywords: worship, Islamic education, Arabic language, prophetic holistic model

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Abdulmajeed Bashir Mlitan, Ethan Hack

Abstract:

Soil samples were collected from and around Alkomos cement factory, Alkomos town, Libya. Soil physiochemical properties were determined. In addition, olive leaves were scanned for their fungal content. This work can conclude that the results obtained for the examined physiochemical characteristics of soil in the area studied prove that cement dust from the Alkomos cement factory in Libya has had a significant impact on the soil. The affected soil properties are pH and total calcium content. These characteristics were found to be higher than those in similar soils from the same area. The increment of soil pH in the same area may be a result of precipitation of cement dust over the years. Different responses were found in each season and each site. For instance, the dominance of fungi of soil and leaves was lowest at 100 m from the factory and the evenness and diversity increased at this site compared to the control area and 250 m from the factory.

Keywords: pollution, soil microbial, alkomos, Libya

Procedia PDF Downloads 614

Authors: Rashi Jain

Abstract:

The Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) is an emerging interdisciplinary area where small sensors are placed on/within the human body. These sensors monitor the physiological activities and vital statistics of the body. The data from these sensors is aggregated and communicated to a remote doctor for immediate attention or to a database for records. On 6 Feb 2012, the IEEE 802.15.6 task group approved the standard for Body Area Network (BAN) technologies. The standard proposes the physical and MAC layer for the WBANs. The work provides an introduction to WBANs and overview of the physical and MAC layers of the standard. The physical layer specifications have been covered. A comparison of different protocols used at MAC layer is drawn. An introduction to the network layer and security aspects of the WBANs is made. The WBANs suffer certain limitations such as regulation of frequency bands, minimizing the effect of transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals on the human body, maintaining the energy efficiency among others. This has slowed down their implementation.

Keywords: vehicular networks, sensors, MicroController 8085, LTE

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Chunyue Liu, Hongxing Jiang

Abstract:

Traditional water depth survey of wetland habitats used by waterbirds needs intensive labor, time and money. The optical remote sensing image relies on passive multispectral scanner data has been widely employed to study estimate water depth. This paper presents an innovative method for developing the water depth model based on the characteristics of visible and thermal infrared spectra of Landsat ETM+ image, combing with 441 field water depth data at Etoupao shallow wetland. The wetland is located at Momoge National Nature Reserve of Northeast China, where the largest stopover habitat along the eastern flyway of globally, critically-endangered Siberian Cranes are. The cranes mainly feed on the tubers of emergent aquatic plants such as Scirpus planiculmis and S. nipponicus. The effective water control is a critical step for maintaining the production of tubers and food availability for this crane. The model employing multi-band approach can effectively simulate water depth for this shallow wetland. The model parameters of NDVI and GREEN indicated the vegetation growth and coverage affecting the reflectance from water column change are uneven. Combining with the field-observed water level at the same date of image acquisition, the digital elevation model (DEM) for the underwater terrain was generated. The wetland area and water volume of different water levels were then calculated from the DEM using the function of Area and Volume Statistics under the 3D Analyst of ArcGIS 10.0. The findings provide good references to effectively monitor changes in water level and water demand, develop practical plan for water level regulation and water management, and to create best foraging habitats for the cranes. The methods here can be adopted for the bottom topography simulation and water management in waterbirds’ habitats, especially in the shallow wetlands.

Keywords: remote sensing, water depth reversion, shallow wetland habitat management, siberian crane

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Jui-Ching Chou

Abstract:

Numerical simulation is a popular method used to evaluate the effects of soil liquefaction on a structure or the effectiveness of a mitigation plan. Many constitutive models (UBCSAND model, PM4 model, SANISAND model, etc.) were presented to model the liquefaction phenomenon. In general, inputs of a constitutive model need to be calibrated against the soil cyclic resistance before being applied to the numerical simulation model. Then, simulation results can be compared with results from simplified liquefaction potential assessing methods. In this article, inputs of the UBCSAND model, a simple elastic-plastic stress-strain model, are calibrated against several popular generic liquefaction triggering curves of simplified liquefaction potential assessing methods via FLAC program. Calibrated inputs can provide engineers to perform a preliminary evaluation of an existing structure or a new design project.

Keywords: calibration, liquefaction, numerical simulation, UBCSAND Model

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Devika Nair, Sean Bellairs, Ken Evans

Abstract:

Flow and erosion modeling provides an avenue for simulating the fine suspended sediment in surface water systems like streams and creeks. Fine suspended sediment is highly mobile, and many contaminants that may have been released by any sort of catchment disturbance attach themselves to these sediments. Therefore, a knowledge of fine suspended sediment transport is important in assessing contaminant transport. The CAESAR-Lisflood Landform Evolution Model, which includes a hydrologic model (TOPMODEL) and a hydraulic model (Lisflood), is being used to assess the sediment movement in tropical streams on account of a disturbance in the catchment of the creek and to determine the dynamics of sediment quantity in the creek through the years by simulating the model for future years. The accuracy of future simulations depends on the calibration and validation of the model to the past and present events. Calibration and validation of the model involve finding a combination of parameters of the model, which, when applied and simulated, gives model outputs similar to those observed for the real site scenario for corresponding input data. Calibrating the sediment output of the CAESAR-Lisflood model at the catchment level and using it for studying the equilibrium conditions of the landform is an area yet to be explored. Therefore, the aim of the study was to calibrate the CAESAR-Lisflood model and then validate it so that it could be run for future simulations to study how the landform evolves over time. To achieve this, the model was run for a rainfall event with a set of parameters, plus discharge and sediment data for the input point of the catchment, to analyze how similar the model output would behave when compared with the discharge and sediment data for the output point of the catchment. The model parameters were then adjusted until the model closely approximated the real site values of the catchment. It was then validated by running the model for a different set of events and checking that the model gave similar results to the real site values. The outcomes demonstrated that while the model can be calibrated to a greater extent for hydrology (discharge output) throughout the year, the sediment output calibration may be slightly improved by having the ability to change parameters to take into account the seasonal vegetation growth during the start and end of the wet season. This study is important to assess hydrology and sediment movement in seasonal biomes. The understanding of sediment-associated metal dispersion processes in rivers can be used in a practical way to help river basin managers more effectively control and remediate catchments affected by present and historical metal mining.

Keywords: erosion modelling, fine suspended sediments, hydrology, surface water systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Reiner-Ace P. Mateo, Vince Paolo F. Obille

Abstract:

The traditional method of classifying the potential mineral resources requires a significant amount of time and money. In this paper, an alternative way to classify potential mineral resources with GIS application in Surigao del Sur. The three (3) analog map data inputs integrated to GIS are geologic map, topographic map, and land cover/vegetation map. The indicators used in the classification of potential nickel laterite integrated from the analog map data inputs are a geologic indicator, which is the presence of ultramafic rock from the geologic map; slope indicator and the presence of plateau edges from the topographic map; areas of forest land, grassland, and shrublands from the land cover/vegetation map. The potential mineral of the area was classified from low up to very high potential. The produced mineral potential classification map of Surigao del Sur has an estimated 4.63% low nickel laterite potential, 42.15% medium nickel laterite potential, 43.34% high nickel laterite potential, and 9.88% very high nickel laterite from its ultramafic terrains. For the validation of the produced map, it was compared with known occurrences of nickel laterite in the area using a nickel mining tenement map from the area with the application of remote sensing. Three (3) prominent nickel mining companies were delineated in the study area. The generated potential classification map of nickel-laterite in Surigao Del Sur may be of aid to the mining companies which are currently in the exploration phase in the study area. Also, the currently operating nickel mines in the study area can help to validate the reliability of the mineral classification map produced.

Keywords: mineral potential classification, nickel laterites, GIS, remote sensing, Surigao del Sur

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: V. Pourmostaghimi, M. Zadshakoyan

Abstract:

Efficiency and productivity of the finish hard turning can be enhanced impressively by utilizing accurate predictive models for cutting tool wear. However, the ability of genetic programming in presenting an accurate analytical model is a notable characteristic which makes it more applicable than other predictive modeling methods. In this paper, the genetic equation for modeling of tool flank wear is developed with the use of the experimentally measured flank wear values and genetic programming during finish turning of hardened AISI D2. Series of tests were conducted over a range of cutting parameters and the values of tool flank wear were measured. On the basis of obtained results, genetic model presenting connection between cutting parameters and tool flank wear were extracted. The accuracy of the genetically obtained model was assessed by using two statistical measures, which were root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²). Evaluation results revealed that presented genetic model predicted flank wear over the study area accurately (R² = 0.9902 and RMSE = 0.0102). These results allow concluding that the proposed genetic equation corresponds well with experimental data and can be implemented in real industrial applications.

Keywords: cutting parameters, flank wear, genetic programming, hard turning

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Zilin Zhang

Abstract:

Agent-based simulation has become a popular method of exploring the behavior of all kinds of urban systems. The city clearly is viewed as such a system. Many urban evolution processes, such as the development or the transaction of a piece of land, can be modeled with a set of rules. Such modeling approaches can be used to gain insight into urban-development and land market transactions in the real world. Our work contributes to such type of research by modeling the transactions of lands in a city and its surrounding suburbs. By replicating the demand and supply needs in the land market, we are able to demonstrate the different transaction patterns in three types of residential areas - downtown, city-suburban, and further suburban areas. In addition, we are also able to compare the vital roles of different activation conditions play in generating the various transaction patterns of the land market at the macro level. We use this simulation to loosely test our hypotheses about the nature of activation regimes by the replication of the Zi traders’ model. In the end, we hope our analytical results can be useful for city planners and policymakers to develop rational city plans and policies for shaping sustainable urban development.

Keywords: simulation, agent-based modeling, housing market, city

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Tamás Matuszka, Attila Kiss

Abstract:

Due the proliferation of smartphones in everyday use, several different outdoor navigation systems have become available. Since these smartphones are able to connect to the Internet, the users can obtain location-based information during the navigation as well. The users could interactively get to know the specifics of a particular area (for instance, ancient cultural area, Statue Park, cemetery) with the help of thus obtained information. In this paper, we present an Augmented Reality system which uses Semantic Web technologies and is based on the interaction between the user and the smartphone. The system allows navigating through a specific area and provides information and details about the sight an interactive manner.

Keywords: augmented reality, semantic web, human computer interaction, mobile application

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Neritan Shkodrani

Abstract:

On November 26, 2019, an earthquake hit the central western part of Albania. It was assessed as Mw 6.4. Its epicenter was located offshore north western Durrës, about 7 km north of the city. In this paper, the consequences of settlements of very soft soils have been discussed for the case of a residential building, mentioned as “K Building”, which was suffering a significant tilting after the earthquake. “KBuilding” is an RC framed building having 12+1 (basement) storiesand a floor area of 21000 m2. The construction of the building was completed in 2012. “KBuilding”, located in Durres city, suffered severe non-structural damage during November 26, 2019, Durrës Earthquake sequences. During the in-site inspections immediately after the earthquake, the general condition of the buildings, the presence of observable settlements on the ground, and the crack situation in the structure were determined, and damage inspection were performed. It was significant to note that the “K Building” presented tilting that might be attributed, as it was believed at the beginning, partially to the failure of the columns of the ground floor and partially to liquefaction phenomena, but it did not collapse. At the first moment was not clear if the foundation had a bearing capacity failure or the foundation failed because of the soil liquefaction. Geotechnical soil investigations by using CPTU test were executed, and their data are usedto evaluatebearing capacity, consolidation settlement of the mat foundation, and soil liquefaction since they were believed to be the main reasons of this building tilting.Geotechnical soil investigation consist in 5 (five) Static Cone Penetration tests with pore pressure measurement (piezocone test). They reached a penetration depth of 20.0 m to 30.0 mand, clearly shown the presence of very soft and organic soils in the soil profile of the site. Geotechnical CPT based analysis of bearing capacity, consolidation, and secondary settlement are applied, and results are reported for each test. These results shown very small values of allowable bearing capacity and very high values of consolidation and secondary settlements. Liquefaction analysis based on the data of CPTU tests and the characteristics of ground shaking of the mentioned earthquake has shown the possibility of liquefaction for some layers of the considered soil profile, but the estimated vertical settlements are at a small range and clearly shown that the main reason of the building tilting was not related to the consequences of liquefaction, but was an existing settlement caused from the applied bearing pressure of this building. All the CPTU tests were carried out on August 2021, almost two years after the November 26, 2019, Durrës Earthquake and when the building itself was demolished. After removing the mat foundation on September 2021, it was possible to carry out CPTU tests even on the footprint of the existing building, which made possible to observe the effects of long time applied of foundation bearing pressure to the consolidation on the considered soil profile.

Keywords: bearing capacity, cone penetration test, consolidation settlement, secondary settlement, soil liquefaction, etc

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Abheyjit Singh, Kulwant Singh

Abstract:

There is a gradual depletion of the water table in the earth's crust, and it is required to converse and reduce the scarcity of water. This is only done by rainwater harvesting, recycling of water and by judicially consumption/utilization of water and adopting unique treatment measures. Domestic waste is generated in residential areas, commercial settings, and institutions. Waste, in general, is unwanted, undesirable, and nevertheless an inevitable and inherent product of social, economic, and cultural life. In a cluster, a need-based system is formed where the project is designed for systematic analysis, collection of sewage from the cluster, treating it and then recycling it for multifarious work. The liquid waste may consist of Sanitary sewage/ Domestic waste, Industrial waste, Storm waste, or Mixed Waste. The sewage contains both suspended and dissolved particles, and the total amount of organic material is related to the strength of the sewage. The untreated domestic sanitary sewage has a BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of 200 mg/l. TSS (Total Suspended Solids) about 240 mg/l. Industrial Waste may have BOD and TSS values much higher than those of sanitary sewage. Another type of impurities of wastewater is plant nutrients, especially when there are compounds of nitrogen N phosphorus P in the sewage; raw sanitary contains approx. 35 mg/l Nitrogen and 10 mg/l of Phosphorus. Finally, the pathogen in the waste is expected to be proportional to the concentration of facial coliform bacteria. The coliform concentration in raw sanitary sewage is roughly 1 billion per liter. The system of sewage disposal technique has been universally applied to all conditions, which are the nature of soil formation, Availability of land, Quantity of Sewage to be disposed of, The degree of treatment and the relative cost of disposal technique. The adopted Thappar Model (India) has the following designed parameters consisting of a Screen Chamber, a Digestion Tank, a Skimming Tank, a Stabilization Tank, an Oxidation Pond and a Water Storage Pond. The screening Chamber is used to remove plastic and other solids, The Digestion Tank is designed as an anaerobic tank having a retention period of 8 hours, The Skimming Tank has an outlet that is kept 1 meter below the surface anaerobic condition at the bottom and also help in organic solid remover, Stabilization Tank is designed as primary settling tank, Oxidation Pond is a facultative pond having a depth of 1.5 meter, Storage Pond is designed as per the requirement. The cost of the Thappar model is Rs. 185 Lakh per 3,000 to 4,000 population, and the Area required is 1.5 Acre. The complete structure will linning as per the requirement. The annual maintenance will be Rs. 5 lakh per year. The project is useful for water conservation, silage water for irrigation, decrease of BOD and there will be no longer damage to community assets and economic loss to the farmer community by inundation. There will be a healthy and clean environment in the community.

Keywords: collection, treatment, utilization, economic

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Annika Kjallman Alm, Ove Hellzen, Malin Rising-Homlstrom

Abstract:

The concept of dementia‐friendly communities focuses on the lived experience of people who have dementia and is most relevant to addressing their needs and the needs of those people who live with and provide support for them. The goal of communities becoming dementia‐friendly is for dementia to be normalized and recognized as a disabling condition. People with dementia find being connected to self, to others, and to the environment by meaningful activities as important. According to the concept underlying dementia-friendly communities, people with dementia or cognitive decline can continue to live in the community if their residential community has sufficiently strong social capital. The aim of this study is to explore staff and leaders’ experiences in implementing interventions to enhance a more inclusive dementia-friendly community. A municipality in northern Sweden with a population of approx. 100 000 inhabitants decided to create a dementia friendly municipality. As part of the initiative, a Centre for support was established. The Centre offered support for both individuals and groups, did home visits, and provided information about Dementia. Interviews were conducted with staff who had undergone training in a structured form of multidimensional support, the PER-model®, and worked at the Centre for support. The staff consisted of registered nurses, occupational therapists, and specialized nurses who had worked there for more than five years, and all had training in dementia. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results suggest that implementing the PER-model® of support for persons in the early stages of dementia and their next of kin added a much-needed form of support and perceived possibilities to enhance daily life in the early stages of dementia. The staff appreciated that the structure of PER-model® was evidenced based. They also realized that they never even considered that the person with dementia also needed support in the early stages but that they now had tools for that as well. Creating a dementia friendly municipality offering different kinds of support for all stages of dementia is a challenge. However, evidence-based tools and a broad spectrum of different types of support, whether individual or group, are needed to tailor to everyone’s needs. A conviction that all citizens are equal and should all be involved in the community is a strong motivator.

Keywords: dementia, dementia-friendly, municipality, support

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Kingsley Nnaemeka Ogbu, Constantine Mbajiorgu

Abstract:

Vegetation has a marked effect on runoff and has become an important component in hydrologic model. The watershed Resources Management (WRM) model, a process-based, continuous, distributed parameter simulation model developed for hydrologic and soil erosion studies at the watershed scale lack a crop growth component. As such, this model assumes a constant parameter values for vegetation and hydraulic parameters throughout the duration of hydrologic simulation. Our approach is to develop a crop growth algorithm based on the original plant growth model used in the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate Model (EPIC) model. This paper describes the development of a single crop growth model which has the capability of simulating all crops using unique parameter values for each crop. Simulated crop growth processes will reflect the vegetative seasonality of the natural watershed system. An existing model was employed for evaluating vegetative resistance by hydraulic and vegetative parameters incorporated into the WRM model. The improved WRM model will have the ability to evaluate the seasonal variation of the vegetative roughness coefficient with depth of flow and further enhance the hydrologic model’s capability for accurate hydrologic studies.

Keywords: runoff, roughness coefficient, PAR, WRM model

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: P. S. Hsi, Y. F. Wang, Y. F. Ho, P. C. Hung

Abstract:

The aim of the present study was to explore the dermal exposure assessment model of chemicals that have been developed abroad and to evaluate the feasibility of chemical dermal exposure assessment model for manufacturing industry in Taiwan. We conducted and analyzed six semi-quantitative risk management tools, including UK - Control of substances hazardous to health ( COSHH ) Europe – Risk assessment of occupational dermal exposure ( RISKOFDERM ), Netherlands - Dose related effect assessment model ( DREAM ), Netherlands – Stoffenmanager ( STOFFEN ), Nicaragua-Dermal exposure ranking method ( DERM ) and USA / Canada - Public Health Engineering Department ( PHED ). Five types of manufacturing industry were selected to evaluate. The Monte Carlo simulation was used to analyze the sensitivity of each factor, and the correlation between the assessment results of each semi-quantitative model and the exposure factors used in the model was analyzed to understand the important evaluation indicators of the dermal exposure assessment model. To assess the effectiveness of the semi-quantitative assessment models, this study also conduct quantitative dermal exposure results using prediction model and verify the correlation via Pearson's test. Results show that COSHH was unable to determine the strength of its decision factor because the results evaluated at all industries belong to the same risk level. In the DERM model, it can be found that the transmission process, the exposed area, and the clothing protection factor are all positively correlated. In the STOFFEN model, the fugitive, operation, near-field concentrations, the far-field concentration, and the operating time and frequency have a positive correlation. There is a positive correlation between skin exposure, work relative time, and working environment in the DREAM model. In the RISKOFDERM model, the actual exposure situation and exposure time have a positive correlation. We also found high correlation with the DERM and RISKOFDERM models, with coefficient coefficients of 0.92 and 0.93 (p<0.05), respectively. The STOFFEN and DREAM models have poor correlation, the coefficients are 0.24 and 0.29 (p>0.05), respectively. According to the results, both the DERM and RISKOFDERM models are suitable for performance in these selected manufacturing industries. However, considering the small sample size evaluated in this study, more categories of industries should be evaluated to reduce its uncertainty and enhance its applicability in the future.

Keywords: dermal exposure, risk management, quantitative estimation, feasibility evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Masahiro Ohmura, Koh Kakusho, Takeshi Okadome

Abstract:

This paper presents a regression model with autocorrelated errors in which the inputs are social moods obtained by analyzing the adjectives in Twitter posts using a document topic model. The regression model predicts Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) more precisely than autoregressive moving-average models.

Keywords: stock market prediction, social moods, regression model, DJIA

Procedia PDF Downloads 548

Authors: Magdalena Grudzińska

Abstract:

Passive systems allow solar radiation to be converted into thermal energy thanks to appropriate building construction. Greenhouse systems are particularly worth attention, due to the low costs of their realization and strong architectural appeal. The paper discusses the energy effects of using passive greenhouse systems, such as glazed balconies, in an example residential building. The research was carried out for five localities in Poland, belonging to climatic zones different in terms of external air temperature and insolation: Koszalin, Poznań, Lublin, Białystok and Zakopane The analysed apartment had a floor area of approximately 74 m² Three thermal zones were distinguished in the flat - the balcony, the room adjacent to it, and the remaining space, for which various internal conditions were defined. Calculations of the energy demand were made using the dynamic simulation program, based on the control volume method. The climatic data were represented by Typical Meteorological Years, prepared on the basis of source data collected from 1971 to 2000. In each locality, the introduction of a passive greenhouse system led to a lower demand for heating in the apartment, and the shortening of the heating season. The smallest effectiveness of passive solar energy systems was noted in Białystok. Demand for heating was reduced there by 14.5% and the heating season remained the longest, due to low temperatures of external air and small sums of solar radiation intensity. In Zakopane, energy savings came to 21% and the heating season was reduced to 107 days, thanks to the greatest insolation during winter. The introduction of greenhouse systems caused an increase in cooling demand in the warmer part of the year, but total energy demand declined in each of the discussed places. However, potential energy savings are smaller if the building's annual life cycle is taken into consideration, and amount from 5.6% up to 14%. Koszalin and Zakopane are localities in which the greenhouse system allows the best energy results to be achieved. It should be emphasized that favourable conditions for introducing greenhouse systems are connected with different climatic conditions. In the seaside area (Koszalin) they result from high temperatures in the heating season and the smallest insolation in the summer period, while in the mountainous area (Zakopane) they result from high insolation in the winter and low temperatures in the summer. In the region of middle and middle-eastern Poland active systems (such as solar energy collectors or photovoltaic panels) could be more beneficial, due to high insolation during summer. It is assessed that passive systems do not eliminate the need for traditional heating in Poland. They can, however, substantially contribute to lower use of non-renewable fuels and the shortening of the heating season. The calculations showed diversification in the effectiveness of greenhouse systems resulting from climatic conditions, and allowed to identify areas which are the most suitable for the passive use of solar radiation.

Keywords: solar energy, passive greenhouse systems, glazed balconies, climatic conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Usama Massoud, Abeer A. Kenawy, El-Said A. Ragab, Abbas M. Abbas, Heba M. El-Kosery

Abstract:

Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and Transient Electro Magnetic (TEM) survey have been applied for characterizing the groundwater aquifers at El Sadat industrial area. El-Sadat city is one of the most important industrial cities in Egypt. It has been constructed more than three decades ago at about 80 km northwest of Cairo along the Cairo–Alexandria desert road. Groundwater is the main source of water supplies required for domestic, municipal, and industrial activities in this area due to the lack of surface water sources. So, it is important to maintain this vital resource in order to sustain the development plans of this city. In this study, VES and TEM data were identically measured at 24 stations along three profiles trending NE–SW with the elongation of the study area. The measuring points were arranged in a grid like pattern with both inter-station spacing and line–line distance of about 2 km. After performing the necessary processing steps, the VES and TEM data sets were inverted individually to multi-layer models, followed by a joint inversion of both data sets. Joint inversion process has succeeded to overcome the model-equivalence problem encountered in the inversion of individual data set. Then, the joint models were used for the construction of a number of cross sections and contour maps showing the lateral and vertical distribution of the geo-electrical parameters in the subsurface medium. Interpretation of the obtained results and correlation with the available geological and hydrogeological information revealed TWO aquifer systems in the area. The shallow Pleistocene aquifer consists of sand and gravel saturated with fresh water and exhibits large thickness exceeding 200 m. The deep Pliocene aquifer is composed of clay and sand and shows low resistivity values. The water bearing layer of the Pleistocene aquifer and the upper surface of Pliocene aquifer are continuous and no structural features have cut this continuity through the investigated area.

Keywords: El Sadat city, joint inversion, VES, TEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Adji Achmad Rinaldo Fernandes

Abstract:

SEM analysis is a complex multivariate analysis because it involves a number of exogenous and endogenous variables that are interconnected to form a model. The measurement model is divided into two, namely, the reflective model (reflecting) and the formative model (forming). Before carrying out further tests on SEM, there are assumptions that must be met, namely the linearity assumption, to determine the form of the relationship. There are three modeling approaches to path analysis, including parametric, nonparametric and semiparametric approaches. The aim of this research is to develop semiparametric SEM and obtain the best model. The data used in the research is secondary data as the basis for the process of obtaining simulation data. Simulation data was generated with various sample sizes of 100, 300, and 500. In the semiparametric SEM analysis, the form of the relationship studied was determined, namely linear and quadratic and determined one and two knot points with various levels of error variance (EV=0.5; 1; 5). There are three levels of closeness of relationship for the analysis process in the measurement model consisting of low (0.1-0.3), medium (0.4-0.6) and high (0.7-0.9) levels of closeness. The best model lies in the form of the relationship X1Y1 linear, and. In the measurement model, a characteristic of the reflective model is obtained, namely that the higher the closeness of the relationship, the better the model obtained. The originality of this research is the development of semiparametric SEM, which has not been widely studied by researchers.

Keywords: semiparametric SEM, measurement model, structural model, reflective model, formative model

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Kiatkulchai Jitt-Aer, Graham Wall, Dylan Jones

Abstract:

As a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, logistics applied to disaster relief operations has received great attention in the humanitarian sector. As learned from such disaster, preparing and responding to the aspect of delivering essential items from distribution centres to affected locations are of the importance for relief operations as the nature of disasters is uncertain especially in suffering figures, which are normally proportional to quantity of supplies. Thus, this study proposes a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for humanitarian logistics by integrating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP). The GIS is utilised for acquiring demands simulated from the tsunami flooding model of the affected area in the first stage, and visualising the simulation solutions in the last stage. While CVRP in this study encompasses designing the relief routes of a set of homogeneous vehicles from a relief centre to a set of geographically distributed evacuation points in which their demands are estimated by using both simulation and randomisation techniques. The CVRP is modeled as a multi-objective optimization problem where both total travelling distance and total transport resources used are minimized, while demand-cost efficiency of each route is maximized in order to determine route priority. As the model is a NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, the Clarke and Wright Saving heuristics is proposed to solve the problem for the near-optimal solutions. The real-case instances in the coastal area of Phuket, Thailand are studied to perform the SDSS that allows a decision maker to visually analyse the simulation scenarios through different decision factors.

Keywords: demand simulation, humanitarian logistics, geographical information systems, relief operations, capacitated vehicle routing problem

Procedia PDF Downloads 248

Authors: Mulugeta Fola, Mengistu Ketema, Kumilachew Alamerie

Abstract:

Watershed provides vast economic benefits within and beyond the management area of interest. But most watersheds in Ethiopia are increasingly facing the threats of degradation due to both natural and man-made causes. To reverse these problems, communities’ participation in sustainable management programs is among the necessary measures. Hence, this study assessed the households’ willingness to pay for watershed management practices through a contingent valuation study approach. Double bounded dichotomous choice with open-ended follow-up format was used to elicit the households’ willingness to pay. Based on data collected from 275 randomly selected households, descriptive statistics results indicated that most households (79.64%) were willing to pay for watershed management practices. A bivariate Probit model was employed to identify determinants of households’ willingness to pay and estimate mean willingness to pay. Its result shows that age, gender, income, livestock size, perception of watershed degradation, social position, and offered bids were important variables affecting willingness to pay for watershed management practices. The study also revealed that the mean willingness to pay for watershed management practices was calculated to be 58.41 Birr and 47.27 Birr per year from the double bounded and open-ended format, respectively. The study revealed that the aggregate welfare gains from watershed management practices were calculated to be 931581.09 Birr and 753909.23 Birr per year from double bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended format, respectively. Therefore, the policymakers should make households to pay for the services of watershed management practices in the study area.

Keywords: bivariate probit model, contingent valuation, watershed management practices, willingness to pay

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Ali Siami, Masoud Asayesh, Asghar Najafi, Amirhosein Hamedanian

Abstract:

There are so many noise sources in power generation units that these sources can produce high-level sound noise. Therefore, sound noise reduction methods can assist these industries, especially in these days that laws related to environmental issues become more strict. In a typical power plant, so many machines and devices with high-level sound noise are arranged beside of each others. Therefore, the sound source identification and reducing the noise level can be very vital. In this paper, the procedure for designing, manufacturing and testing of a silencer-muffler used for a power plant steam vent is mentioned. This unit is placed near the residential area and so it is very important to reduce the noise emission. For this purpose, in the first step, measurements have done to identify the sound source and the frequency content of noise. The overall level of noise was so high and it was more than 120dB. Then, the appropriate noise control device is designed according to the measurement results and operational conditions. In the next step, the designed silencer-muffler has been manufactured and installed on the steam discharge of the ejector. For validation of the silencer-muffler effect, the acoustic test was done again in operating mode. Finally, the measurement results before and after the installation are compared. The results have confirmed a considerable reduction in noise level resultant of using silencer-muffler in the designed frequency range.

Keywords: silencer-muffler, sound noise control, sound measurement, steam ejector

Procedia PDF Downloads 384

Authors: Ma. Gracia Corazon Cayanan, Kai Yuen Cheong, Li Sha

Abstract:

Training a language model for a minority language has been a challenging task. The lack of available corpora to train and fine-tune state-of-the-art language models is still a challenge in the area of Natural Language Processing (NLP). Moreover, the need for high computational resources and bulk data limit the attainment of this task. In this paper, we presented the following contributions: (1) we introduce and used a translation pair set of Tagalog and English (TL-EN) in pre-training a language model to a minority language resource; (2) we fine-tuned and evaluated top-ranking and pre-trained semantic textual similarity binary task (STSB) models, to both TL-EN and STS dataset pairs. (3) then, we reduced the size of the model to offset the need for high computational resources. Based on our results, the models that were pre-trained to translation pairs and STS pairs can perform well for STSB task. Also, having it reduced to a smaller dimension has no negative effect on the performance but rather has a notable increase on the similarity scores. Moreover, models that were pre-trained to a similar dataset have a tremendous effect on the model’s performance scores.

Keywords: semantic matching, semantic textual similarity binary task, low resource minority language, fine-tuning, dimension reduction, transformer models

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Abdulsalam Mas’ud

Abstract:

Though Nigerian Biofuel Policy and Incentive was introduced in 2007, however, little if any is known about the impact of such policy for biodiesel development in Nigeria. It can be argued that lack of raw materials is one of the important factors that hinder the proper implementation of the policy. In line with this argument, this study aims to explore the determinants of smallholder farmers’ intention to adopt Jatropha as raw materials for biodiesel development in northern Nigeria, with Jigawa State as area of study. The determinants proposed for investigation covers personal factors, physical factors, institutional factors, economic factors, risk and uncertainty factors as well as social factors. The validation of the proposed model will have the implication of guiding policymakers towards enhancement of farmers’ participation in the Jatropha project for biodiesel raw materials production. The eventual byproducts of the proposed model validation and implementation will be employment generation, poverty reduction, combating dessert encroachment, economic diversification to renewable energy sources and electricity generation.

Keywords: adoption, biodiesel, factors, jatropha

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Eunji Choi, Borang Park, Youngjae Choi, Jinwoo Moon

Abstract:

In this study, a predictive model for estimating the metabolism (MET) of human body was developed for the optimal control of indoor thermal environment. Human body images for indoor activities and human body joint coordinated values were collected as data sets, which are used in predictive model. A deep learning algorithm was used in an initial model, and its number of hidden layers and hidden neurons were optimized. Lastly, the model prediction performance was analyzed after the model being trained through collected data. In conclusion, the possibility of MET prediction was confirmed, and the direction of the future study was proposed as developing various data and the predictive model.

Keywords: deep learning, indoor quality, metabolism, predictive model

Procedia PDF Downloads 257