Search results for: mass rapid transit systems

Authors: Hongda Guo, Wenxia Sima

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Transformer oil is widely used in power systems because of its excellent insulation properties. The accurate measurement of electric field and space charge distribution in transformer oil under high voltage impulse has important theoretical and practical significance, but still remains challenging to date because of its low Kerr constant. In this study, the continuous electric field and space charge distribution over time between parallel-plate electrodes in high-voltage pulsed transformer oil based on the Kerr effect is directly measured using a linear array photoelectrical detector. Experimental results demonstrate the applicability and reliability of this method. This study provides a feasible approach to further study the space charge effects and breakdown mechanisms in transformer oil.

Keywords: electric field, Kerr, space charge, transformer oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Jagroop Singh Sidhu, Buta Singh

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A low computational deblocking filter including three frequency related modes (smooth mode, intermediate mode, and non-smooth mode for low-frequency, mid-frequency, and high frequency regions, respectively) is proposed. The suggested approach requires zero additions, zero subtractions, zero multiplications (for intermediate region), no divisions (for non-smooth region) and no comparison. The suggested method thus keeps the computation lower and thus suitable for image coding systems based on blocks. Comparison of average number of operations for smooth, non-smooth, intermediate (per pixel vector for each block) using filter suggested by Chen and the proposed method filter suggests that the proposed filter keeps the computation lower and is thus suitable for fast processing algorithms.

Keywords: blocking artifacts, computational complexity, non-smooth, intermediate, smooth

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Authors: Ashima Rai

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CATV transmission systems have altered from old cable based one-way analog video transmission to two ways hybrid fiber transmission. The use of optical fiber reduces the RF amplifiers in the transmission, high transmission power or lower fiber transmission losses are required to increase system capability. This paper evaluates and compares Distributed Feedback (DFB) laser and Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) for CATV transmission. The simulation results exhibit the better performer among both lasers taking into consideration the parameters chosen for evaluation.

Keywords: Distributed Feedback (DFB), Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL), Community Access Television (CATV), Composite Second Order (CSO), Composite Triple Beat (CTB), RF

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Konstantza Tonova, Ivan Svinyarov, Milen G. Bogdanov

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Ionic liquids consisting of pairs of imidazolium or phosphonium cation and chloride or saccharinate anion were synthesized and compared with respect to their extraction efficiency towards the fermentative L-lactic acid. The acid partitioning in the equilibrated biphasic systems of ionic liquid and water was quantified through the extraction degree and the partition coefficient. The water transfer from the aqueous into the ionic liquid-rich phase was also always followed. The effect of pH, which determines the state of lactic acid in the aqueous source was studied. The effect of other salting-out substances that modify the ionic liquid/water equilibrium was also investigated in view to reveal the best liquid-liquid system with respect to low toxicity, high extraction and back extraction efficiencies and performance simplicity.

Keywords: ionic liquids, biphasic system, extraction, lactic acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 463

Authors: Anita Bajpai, Sarah Duan, Ashlee Erskine, Shehzein Khan, Raymond Kramer

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Introduction: This research focuses on exploring the beneficial effects if any, of Vitamin-D in reducing the need for supplemental oxygen among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Two questions are investigated – Q1)Doeshaving a healthy level of baselineVitamin-D 25-OH (≥ 30ng/ml) help,andQ2) does administering Vitamin-D therapy after-the-factduring inpatient hospitalization help? Methods/Study Design: This is a comprehensive, retrospective, observational study of all inpatients at RUHS from March through December 2020 who tested positive for COVID-19 based on real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction assay of nasal and pharyngeal swabs and rapid assay antigen test. To address Q1, we looked atall N1=182 patients whose baseline plasma Vitamin-D 25-OH was known and who needed supplemental oxygen. Of this, a total of 121 patients had a healthy Vitamin-D level of ≥30 ng/mlwhile the remaining 61 patients had low or borderline (≤ 29.9ng/ml)level. Similarly, for Q2, we looked at a total of N2=893 patients who were given supplemental oxygen, of which713 were not given Vitamin-D and 180 were given Vitamin-D therapy. The numerical value of the maximum amount of oxygen flow rate(dependent variable) administered was recorded for each patient. The mean values and associated standard deviations for each group were calculated. Thesetwo sets of independent data served as the basis for independent, two-sample t-Test statistical analysis. To be accommodative of any reasonable benefitof Vitamin-D, ap-value of 0.10(α< 10%) was set as the cutoff point for statistical significance. Results: Given the large sample sizes, the calculated statistical power for both our studies exceeded the customary norm of 80% or better (β< 0.2). For Q1, the mean value for maximumoxygen flow rate for the group with healthybaseline level of Vitamin-D was 8.6 L/min vs.12.6L/min for those with low or borderline levels, yielding a p-value of 0.07 (p < 0.10) with the conclusion that those with a healthy level of baseline Vitamin-D needed statistically significant lower levels of supplemental oxygen. ForQ2, the mean value for a maximum oxygen flow rate for those not administered Vitamin-Dwas 12.5 L/min vs.12.8L/min for those given Vitamin-D, yielding a p-valueof 0.87 (p > 0.10). We thereforeconcludedthat there was no statistically significant difference in the use of oxygen therapy between those who were or were not administered Vitamin-D after-the-fact in the hospital. Discussion/Conclusion: We found that patients who had healthy levels of Vitamin-D at baseline needed statistically significant lower levels of supplemental oxygen. Vitamin-D is well documented, including in a recent article in the Lancet, for its anti-inflammatory role as an adjuvant in the regulation of cytokines and immune cells. Interestingly, we found no statistically significant advantage for giving Vitamin-D to hospitalized patients. It may be a case of “too little too late”. A randomized clinical trial reported in JAMA also did not find any reduction in hospital stay of patients given Vitamin-D. Such conclusions come with a caveat that any delayed marginal benefits may not have materialized promptly in the presence of a significant inflammatory condition. Since Vitamin-D is a low-cost, low-risk option, it may still be useful on an inpatient basis until more definitive findings are established.

Keywords: COVID-19, vitamin-D, supplemental oxygen, vitamin-D in primary care

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Authors: C. M. Sapkota, B. P. Sapkota

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Background: Continuous developments in science and technology are increasing the availability of thousands of medical devices – all of which should be of good quality and used appropriately to address global health challenges. It is obvious that bio medical devices are becoming ever more indispensable in health service delivery and among the key workforce responsible for their design, development, regulation, evaluation and training in their use: biomedical technician (BMET) is the crucial. As a pivotal member of health workforce, biomedical technicians are an essential component of the quality health service delivery mechanism supporting the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Methods: The study was based on cross sectional descriptive design. Indicators measuring the quality of health services were assessed in Mechi Zonal Hospital (MZH) and Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital (SZH). Indicators were calculated based on the data about hospital utilization and performance of 2018 available in Medical record section of both hospitals. MZH had employed the BMET during 2018 but SZH had no BMET in 2018.Focus Group Discussion with health workers in both hospitals was conducted to validate the hospital records. Client exit interview was conducted to assess the level of client satisfaction in both the hospitals. Results: In MZH there was round the clock availability and utilization of Radio diagnostics equipment, Laboratory equipment. Operation Theater was functional throughout the year. Bed Occupancy rate in MZH was 97% but in SZH it was only 63%.In SZH, OT was functional only 54% of the days in 2018. CT scan machine was just installed but not functional. Computerized X-Ray in SZH was functional only in 72% of the days. Level of client satisfaction was 87% in MZH but was just 43% in SZH. MZH performed all (256) the Caesarean Sections but SZH performed only 36% of 210 Caesarean Sections in 2018. In annual performance ranking of Government Hospitals, MZH was placed in 1st rank while as SZH was placed in 19th rank out of 32 referral hospitals nationwide in 2018. Conclusion: Biomedical technicians are the crucial member of the human resource for health team with the pivotal role. Trained and qualified BMET professionals are required within health-care systems in order to design, evaluate, regulate, acquire, maintain, manage and train on safe medical technologies. Applying knowledge of engineering and technology to health-care systems to ensure availability, affordability, accessibility, acceptability and utilization of the safer, higher quality, effective, appropriate and socially acceptable bio medical technology to populations for preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care across all levels of the health service delivery.

Keywords: biomedical equipment technicians, BMET, human resources for health, HRH, quality health service, rural hospitals

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Authors: Alireza Barari, Saeed Shirali, Ahmad Abdi

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Introduction: Exercise has contradictory effects on the immune system. Glutamine supplementation may increase the resistance of the immune system in athletes. The Glutamine is one of the most recognized immune nutrients that as a fuel source, substrate in the synthesis of nucleotides and amino acids and is also known to be part of the antioxidant defense. Several studies have shown that improving glutamine levels in plasma and tissues can have beneficial effects on the function of immune cells such as lymphocytes and neutrophils. This study aimed to investigate the effects of resistance training and training combined with glutamine supplementation to improve the levels of cortisol and immunoglobulin in untrained young men. The research shows that physical training can increase the cytokines in the athlete’s body of course; glutamine can counteract the negative effects of resistance training on immune function and stability of the mast cell membrane. Materials and methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on 30 male non-athletes. They were randomly divided into three groups: control (no exercise), resistance training, resistance training and glutamine supplementation, respectively. Resistance training for 4 weeks and glutamine supplementation in 0.3 gr/kg/day after practice was applied. The resistance-training program consisted of eight exercises (leg press, lat pull, chest press, squat, seatedrow, abdominal crunch, shoulder press, biceps curl and triceps press down) four times per week. Participants performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 60–75% 1-RM. Anthropometry indexes (weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage), oxygen uptake (VO2max) Maximal, cortisol levels of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM) were evaluated Pre- and post-test. Results: Results showed four week resistance training with and without glutamine cause significant increase in body weight, BMI and significantly decreased (P < 0/001) in BF. Vo2max also increased in both groups of exercise (P < 0/05) and exercise with glutamine (P < 0/001), such as in both groups significant reduction in IgG (P < 0/05) was observed. But no significant difference observed in levels of cortisol, IgA, IgM in any of the groups. No significant change observed in either parameter in the control group. No significant difference observed between the groups. Discussion: The alterations in the hormonal and immunological parameters can be used in order to assess the effect overload on the body, whether acute or chronically. The plasmatic concentration of glutamine has been associated to the functionality of the immunological system in individuals sub-mitted to intense physical training. resistance training has destructive effects on the immune system and glutamine supplementation cannot neutralize the damaging effects of power exercise on the immune system.

Keywords: glutamine, resistance traning, immuglobulins, cortisol

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Authors: Daniel R. McDougall, Martin D. de Jonge, Gordon M. Miskelly, Duncan J. McGillivray, Andrew G. Jeffs

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The chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is commonly added as a cure-all to seawater in aquaculture hatcheries around the world to reduce heavy metal toxicity, significantly improve the survival of larval shellfish, and to therefore improve the overall production efficiency of the aquaculture industry. However, EDTA is not a biodegradable chemical and is considered to be a persistent organic pollutant, which will accumulate in the environment over time. This makes the use of EDTA unsustainable environmentally, and therefore alternatives should be considered. Ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) is a biodegradable alternative to EDTA with very similar metal chelation properties. This study investigates the effect of EDTA and EDDS at two different concentrations, on metal concentrations found within developing New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) larvae. P. canaliculus is New Zealand’s main shellfish aquaculture species, providing a major export for New Zealand’s economy, with excellent potential for increased production in the near future. It is well known that the early stages of bivalve development are the most vulnerable to metal toxicity and P. canaliculus is no exception. The commercially used concentration (12 µmol L⁻¹) of EDTA added to P. canaliculus larval rearing tanks often increases the yield of D-larvae by over 80%. This concentration of EDTA and EDDS will be tested in this study, along with a lower concentration (3 µmol L⁻¹). After 48 hours of larval development, the D-larvae will be analyzed for heavy metal content with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and heavy metal distribution with synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM). In this study, we found that EDDS also improves the yield of P. canaliculus larvae and could be a viable alternative to EDTA in aquaculture. Furthermore, results suggest a higher concentration of chelating agent is more effective for improving the yield of developing P. canaliculus larvae. Metals with significant differences in concentration with the addition of EDTA were Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb (P < 0.05). We observed for the first time to the author’s best knowledge, metal distribution within 100 µm P. canaliculus D-larvae using synchrotron XFM and found changes in the distribution of metals with the addition of EDTA. XFM also has the potential to provide information about the chemical state of the metals within mussel larvae. This research provides greater insight into the reasons for the effectiveness of adding the chelating agent to aquaculture culture water, and a more environmentally conscious alternative to the currently used EDTA, which could be extremely valuable for the aquaculture industry.

Keywords: EDDS, EDTA, heavy metals, P. canaliculus, toxicity, water treatment

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Authors: Irina Belozerova

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In the recent years, the number of crimes against peace and humanity has constantly been increasing. The development of the international community is inseparably connected to the compliance with the law which protects the rights and interests of citizens in all of their manifestations. The provisions of the law of criminal procedure are no exception. The rights of the victims of genocide, of the war crimes and the crimes against humanity, require particular attention. These crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These crimes have the following features. First, any such crime has a mass character and therefore requires specific regulation in the international criminal law and procedure and the national criminal law and procedure of different countries. Second, the victims of such crimes are usually children, women and old people; the entire national, ethnic, racial or religious groups are destroyed. These features influence the classification of victims by the age criterion. Article 68 of the Rome Statute provides for protection of the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses and thus determines the procedural status of these persons. However, not all the persons whose rights have been violated by the commission of these crimes acquire the status of victims. This is due to the fact that such crimes affect a huge number of persons and it is impossible to mention them all by name. It is also difficult to assess the entire damage suffered by the victims. While assessing the amount of damages it is essential to take into account physical and moral harm, as well as property damage. The procedural status of victims thus gains an exclusive character. In order to determine the full extent of the damage suffered by the victims it is necessary to collect sufficient evidence. However, it is extremely difficult to collect the evidence that would ensure the full and objective protection of the victims’ rights. While making requests for the collection of evidence, the International Criminal Court faces the problem of protection of national security information. Religious beliefs and the family life of victims are of great importance. In some Islamic countries, it is impossible to question a woman without her husband’s consent which affects the objectivity of her testimony. Finally, the number of victims is quantified by hundreds and thousands. The assessment of these elements demands time and highly qualified work. These factors justify the creation of a mechanism that would help to collect the evidence and establish the truth in the international criminal proceedings. This mechanism will help to impose a just and appropriate punishment for the persons accused of having committed a crime, since, committing the crime, criminals could not misunderstand the outcome of their criminal intent.

Keywords: crimes against humanity, evidence in international criminal proceedings, international criminal proceedings, protection of victims

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Authors: Jehad Al Dallal

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A class in an Object-Oriented (OO) system is the basic unit of design, and it encapsulates a set of attributes and methods. In OO systems, instead of redefining the attributes and methods that are included in other classes, a class can inherit these attributes and methods and only implement its unique attributes and methods, which results in reducing code redundancy and improving code testability and maintainability. Such mechanism is called Class Inheritance. However, some software engineering applications may require accounting for all the inherited class members (i.e., attributes and methods). This paper explains how to account for inherited class members and discusses the software engineering applications that require such consideration.

Keywords: class flattening, external quality attribute, inheritance, internal quality attribute, object-oriented design

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Authors: Andrew J. Zacharias

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The forest garden approach (FGA) was established by Trees for the Future (TREES) over the organization’s 30 years of agroforestry projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. This method transforms traditional agricultural systems into highly managed gardens that produce food and marketable products year-round. The effects of the FGA on food security, dietary diversity, and economic resilience have been measured closely, and TREES has begun to closely monitor the environmental impacts through the use of sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as 'drones'. These drones collect thousands of pictures to create 3-D models in both the visible and the near-infrared wavelengths. Analysis of these models provides TREES with quantitative and qualitative evidence of improvements to the annual above-ground biomass and leaf area indices, as measured in-situ using NDVI calculations.

Keywords: agroforestry, biomass, drones, NDVI

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Authors: Thales Maluf, Nazem Nascimento

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The development of society relies heavily on the total amount of energy obtained and its consumption. Over the years, there has been an advancement on energy attainment, which is directly related to some natural resources and developing systems. Some of these resources should be highlighted for its remarkable presence in world´s energy grid, such as water, petroleum, and gas, while others deserve attention for representing an alternative to diversify the energy grid, like geothermal sources. Therefore, because all these resources can be extracted from the underground, drilling wells is a mandatory activity in terms of exploration, and it involves a previous geological study and an adequate preparation. It also involves a cleaning process and an extraction process that can be executed by different procedures. For that reason, this research aims the enhancement of exploration processes through a comparative analysis of drilling costs and techniques used to produce them. The analysis itself is based on a bibliographical review based on books, scientific papers, schoolwork and mainly explore drilling methods and technologies, equipment used, well measurements, extraction methods, and production costs. Besides techniques and costs regarding the drilling processes, some properties and general characteristics of these sources are also compared. Preliminary studies show that there are some major differences regarding the exploration processes, mostly because these resources are naturally distinct. Water wells, for instance, have hundreds of meters of length because water is stored close to the surface, while oil, gas, and geothermal production wells can reach thousands of meters, which make them more expensive to be drilled. The drilling methods present some general similarities especially regarding the main mechanism of perforation, but since water is a resource stored closer to the surface than the other ones, there is a wider variety of methods. Water wells can be drilled by rotary mechanisms, percussion mechanisms, rotary-percussion mechanisms, and some other simpler methods. Oil and gas production wells, on the other hand, require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling with a proper structure called drill rig and resistant materials for the drill bits and the other components, mostly because they´re stored in sedimentary basins that can be located thousands of meters under the ground. Geothermal production wells also require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling and require the existence of an injection well and an extraction well. The exploration efficiency also depends on the permeability of the soil, and that is why it has been developed the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Throughout this review study, it can be verified that the analysis of the extraction processes of energy resources is essential since these resources are responsible for society development. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of costs and well drilling techniques for water, geothermal energy, oil, and gas production, which is the main goal of this research, can enable the growth of energy generation field through the emergence of ideas that improve the efficiency of energy generation processes.

Keywords: drilling, water, oil, Gas, geothermal energy

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Authors: Joseph Ndegwa

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Changes are required if energy systems are to foster long-term growth. The main problems are increasing access to inexpensive, dependable, and sufficient energy supply while addressing environmental implications at all levels. Policies can help to promote sustainable development by providing adequate and inexpensive energy sources to underserved regions, such as liquid and gaseous fuels for cooking and electricity for household and commercial usage. Promoting energy efficiency. Increased utilization of new renewables. Spreading and implementing additional innovative energy technologies. Markets can achieve many of these goals with the correct policies, pricing, and regulations. However, if markets do not work or fail to preserve key public benefits, tailored government policies, programs, and regulations can achieve policy goals. The main strategies for promoting sustainable energy systems are simple. However, they need a broader recognition of the difficulties we confront, as well as a firmer commitment to specific measures. Making markets operate better by minimizing pricing distortions, boosting competition, and removing obstacles to energy efficiency are among the measures. Complementing the reform of the energy industry with policies that promote sustainable energy. Increasing investments in renewable energy. Increasing the rate of technical innovation at each level of the energy innovation chain. Fostering technical leadership in underdeveloped nations by transferring technology and enhancing institutional and human capabilities. promoting more international collaboration. Governments, international organizations, multilateral financial institutions, and civil society—including local communities, business and industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and consumers—all have critical enabling roles to play in the problem of sustainable energy. Partnerships based on integrated and cooperative approaches and drawing on real-world experience will be necessary. Setting the required framework conditions and ensuring that public institutions collaborate effectively and efficiently with the rest of society are common themes across all industries and geographical areas in order to achieve sustainable development. Powerful tools for sustainable development include energy. However, significant policy adjustments within the larger enabling framework will be necessary to refocus its influence in order to achieve that aim. Many of the options currently accessible will be lost or the price of their ultimate realization (where viable) will grow significantly if such changes don't take place during the next several decades and aren't started right enough. In any case, it would seriously impair the capacity of future generations to satisfy their demands.

Keywords: sustainable development, reliable, price, policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Minh-Thuan Nguyen, Phuong-Thai Nguyen, Van-Vinh Nguyen, Quang-Minh Nguyen

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Research on automatically generating descriptions for e-commerce products is gaining increasing attention in recent years. However, the generated descriptions of their systems are often less informative and attractive because of lacking training datasets or the limitation of these approaches, which often use templates or statistical methods. In this paper, we explore a method to generate production descriptions by using the GPT-2 model. In addition, we apply text paraphrasing and task-adaptive pretraining techniques to improve the qualify of descriptions generated from the GPT-2 model. Experiment results show that our models outperform the baseline model through automatic evaluation and human evaluation. Especially, our methods achieve a promising result not only on the seen test set but also in the unseen test set.

Keywords: GPT-2, product description, transformer, task-adaptive, language model, pretraining

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Authors: Muhammad Mufakkar, Ghulam Hussain Bhatti, Maryem Rana

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The study of the coordination behavior of thiones is of considerable interest due to the similarity of their binding sites to those in living systems. The complexation of thiones towards Copper(I) has also received considerable attraction in view of their variable bonding modes, structural diversity and promising biological implications. Copper (I) complexes of thioureas of the general formula: CuLCl, CuL2Cl and CuL3Cl [where L= Thiourea and its N- and N, N/- mono and di alkyl and phenyl derivatives] have been prepared using Cu(I)CN in the presence of HCl. The complexes have been characterized by thermal, IR and NMR(1H and 13C) spectroscopy. An upfield shift in 13C NMR and downfield shifts in 1H NMR are consistent with the sulfur coordination to Copper(I). The disappearance of a band around 2200 cm⁻¹ in IR and a resonance around 146 ppm in 13C NMR indicates that during the course of reaction the cyanide group of the Copper(I) salt has been replaced by chloride leading to the formation of chlorido complexes.

Keywords: Thiones, complexation, spectra, TGA, thermogram, chemical shifts, deshielding, resonance

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Authors: Vanessa Funk, Steven Blum, Stephanie Cole, Jorge Maciel, Matthew Lux

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Paper-based synthetic gene circuits offer a new paradigm for programmable, fieldable biodetection. We demonstrate that by freeze-drying gene circuits with in vitro expression machinery, we can use complimentary RNA sequences to trigger colorimetric changes upon rehydration. We have successfully utilized both green fluorescent protein and luciferase-based reporters for easy visualization purposes in solution. Through several efforts, we are aiming to use this new platform technology to address a variety of needs in portable detection by demonstrating several more expression and reporter systems for detection functions on paper. In addition to RNA-based biodetection, we are exploring the use of various mechanisms that cells use to respond to environmental conditions to move towards all-hazards detection. Examples include explosives, heavy metals for water quality, and toxic chemicals.

Keywords: cell-free lysates, detection, gene circuits, in vitro

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Authors: Elvis Nyirenda

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This research study work was done to evaluate and propose an optimum measure to enhance the uptake of clean energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, the study also aims at enhancing the country’s energy mix from the overdependence on hydro power which is susceptible to droughts and climate change challenges The country in the years 2015 - 2016 and 2018 - 2019 had received rainfall below average due to climate change and a shift in the weather pattern; this resulted in prolonged power outages and load shedding for more than 10 hours per day. ZESCO Limited, the utility company that owns infrastructure in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity (state-owned), is seeking alternative sources of energy in order to reduce the over-dependence on hydropower stations. One of the alternative sources of energy is Solar Energy from the sun. However, solar power is intermittent in nature and to smoothen the load curve, investment in robust energy storage facilities is of great importance to enhance security and reliability of electricity supply in the country. The methodology of the study looked at the historical performance of the Kafue gorge upper power station and utilised the hourly generation figures as input data for generation modelling in Homer software. The average yearly demand was derived from the available data on the system SCADA. The two dams were modelled as natural battery with the absolute state of charging and discharging determined by the available water resource and the peak electricity demand. The software Homer Energy System is used to simulate the scheme incorporating a pumped storage facility and Solar photovoltaic systems. The pumped hydro scheme works like a natural battery for the conservation of water, with the only losses being evaporation and water leakages from the dams and the turbines. To address the problem of intermittency on the solar resource and the non-availability of water for hydropower generation, the study concluded that utilising the existing Hydro power stations, Kafue Gorge upper and Kafue Gorge Lower to work conjunctively with Solar energy will reduce power deficits and increase the security of supply for the country. An optimum capacity of 350MW of solar PV can be integrated while operating Kafue Gorge power station in both generating and pumping mode to enable efficient utilisation of water at Kafue Gorge upper Dam and Kafue Gorge Lower dam.

Keywords: hydropower, solar power systems, energy storage, photovoltaics, solar irradiation, pumped hydro storage system, supervisory control and data acquisition, Homer energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Adel Mohsen

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A direct method based on the good Broyden's updates for evaluating the inverse of a nonsingular square matrix of full rank and solving related system of linear algebraic equations is studied. For a matrix A of order n whose LU-decomposition is A = LU, the multiplication count is O (n3). This includes the evaluation of the LU-decompositions of the inverse, the lower triangular decomposition of A as well as a “reduced matrix inverse”. If an explicit value of the inverse is not needed the order reduces to O (n3/2) to compute to compute inv(U) and the reduced inverse. For a symmetric matrix only O (n3/3) operations are required to compute inv(L) and the reduced inverse. An example is presented to demonstrate the capability of using the reduced matrix inverse in treating ill-conditioned systems. Besides the simplicity of Broyden's update, the method provides a mean to exploit the possible sparsity in the matrix and to derive a suitable preconditioner.

Keywords: Broyden's updates, matrix inverse, inverse factorization, solution of linear algebraic equations, ill-conditioned matrices, preconditioning

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Authors: Tristan R. Fraser, Christopher D. Steadman, Christopher J. Boos

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Myopericarditis is an inflammation syndrome characterised by clinical diagnostic criteria for pericarditis, such as chest pain, combined with evidence of myocardial involvement, such as elevation of biomarkers of myocardial damage, e.g., troponins. It can rarely be a complication of therapeutics used for dysregulated immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for example, mesalazine. The infrequency of mesalazine-induced myopericarditis adds to the challenge in its recognition. Rapid diagnosis and the early introduction of treatment are crucial. This case report follows a 24-year-old professional footballer with a past medical history of ulcerative colitis, recently started on mesalazine for disease control. Three weeks after mesalazine was initiated, he was admitted with fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain worse whilst supine and on deep inspiration, as well as elevated venous blood cardiac troponin T level (cTnT, 288ng/L; normal: <13ng/L). Myocarditis was confirmed on initial inpatient cardiac MRI, revealing the presence of florid myocarditis with preserved left ventricular systolic function and an ejection fraction of 67%. This was a longitudinal case study following the progress of a single individual with myopericarditis over four acute hospital admissions over nine weeks, with admissions ranging from two to five days. Parameters examined included clinical signs and symptoms, serum troponin, transthoracic echocardiogram, and cardiac MRI. Serial measurements of cardiac function, including cardiac MRI and transthoracic echocardiogram, showed progressive deterioration of cardiac function whilst mesalazine was continued. Prior to cessation of mesalazine, transthoracic echocardiography revealed a small global pericardial effusion of < 1cm and worsening left ventricular systolic function with an ejection fraction of 45%. After recognition of mesalazine as a potential cause and consequent cessation of the drug, symptoms resolved, with cardiac MRI performed as an outpatient showing resolution of myocardial oedema. The patient plans to make a return to competitive sport. Patients suffering from myopericarditis are advised to refrain from competitive sport for at least six months in order to reduce the risk of cardiac remodelling and sudden cardiac death. Additional considerations must be taken in individuals for whom competitive sport is an essential component of their livelihood, such as professional athletes. Myopericarditis is an uncommon, however potentially serious medical condition with a wide variety of aetiologies, including viral, autoimmune, and drug-related causes. Management is mainly supportive and relies on prompt recognition and removal of the aetiological process. Mesalazine-induced myopericarditis is a rare condition; as such increasing awareness of mesalazine as a precipitant of myopericarditis is vital for optimising the management of these patients.

Keywords: myopericarditis, mesalazine, inflammatory bowel disease, professional athlete

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Aziz Soubai

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The primary issue is that English as foreign language learners don’t use English outside the classroom. The only little exposure is inside the classroom, and that’s not enough to make them good language learners! Edmodo, like the other Learning Management Systems, can be used to encourage students to collaborate with each other and with global classrooms on projects where English is used- Some examples of collaboration with different schools will be mentioned and how the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) model and its stages can be applied in the activities, especially for teachers who are hesitant to introduce technology or don’t have a lot of technical knowledge. There will also be some focus on Edmodo groups and on how flipped and blended learning can be used as an extension for classroom time and to help the teacher address language problems and improve students’ language skills, especially writing, reading and communication. It is also equally important to use Edmodo badges and certificates for motivating and engaging learners and gamifying the lesson.

Keywords: EFL learners, language classroom-learning management system, edmodo, SAMR, language skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: I. Muslih, A. Alkhalailah, A. Merdji

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Photovoltaic efficiency is highly affected by dust accumulation; the dust particles prevent direct solar radiation from reaching the panel surface; therefore a reduction in output power will occur. A study of dust and soiling accumulation effect on the output power of PV panels was conducted for different periods of time from May to October in three countries of the MENA region, Jordan, Egypt, and Algeria, under local weather conditions. This study leads to build a more realistic equation to estimate the power reduction as a function of time. This logarithmic function shows the high reduction in power in the first days with 10% reduction in output power compared to the reference system, where it reaches a steady state value after 60 days to reach a maximum value of 30%.

Keywords: dust effect, MENA, solar energy, PV system

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Authors: Leslie Nobler

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African fabrics based specifically on the Dutch Wax Print, or Ankara, popularized during Africa's colonial era, have had an enormous impact on western fashion (especially in the US and UK), in the last half-decade. The trend has had an effect on the world of visual arts as well, which circuitously, also heavily impacts fashion design. In fashion, and notably in celebrity apparel choices, this is in part due to ‘identity’ and taking pride in one's African roots; in the visual arts, artists such as Yinka Shonibare and Njideka Akunyili Crosby are making statements about identity politics, colonialism up through post-colonialism, and racism. The ‘global village’ brought on by the internet has driven this proliferation, as have improvements in the printing technology with which the Ankara print is made, combining wax-resist with roller printing. The newest patterns can now be designed authentically in western African and easily sent electronically to Europe for printing. Examples of Ankara's new reach across the Atlantic abound. They have taken several paths, which the paper will detail. Briefly, the first is its greater utilization in the fashion world, from authentic textile shops in African American neighborhoods to copied (knocked-off) low-end reproductions in discount chains. Secondly, we are seeing far more uses of these textiles/patterns in important works of fine arts from major museums, in Philadelphia to Palm Beach to the Mass MOCA (in the US), all the way to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and everywhere in between. And lastly, but quite significantly, we see this trend throughout social media thanks to Instagram, Pinterest and celebrity photos –even at the recent royal wedding. What shall sustain this major new design direction is that Ankara changes with and adapts to the times. Some of it is now printed in West Africa, often in the Nigeria area. And some may be designed in Europe or even at knock-off apparel studios in NY or Asia. But it stays utterly relevant because the motifs are based on objects and scenes in everyday life. In my design studio and university design classes, this idea is first and foremost, from our big spiritual eye motifs to drawings of our art supplies to the ‘politically-loaded’ chain patterns. This first-hand creativity experience becomes part of the research of this paper, along with historic and contemporary sources of inquiry, both through a literature/image search and anecdotal experience into what is behind this exciting and surprising trend.

Keywords: African wax print, Ankara, identity (politics), textile design, surface design

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Authors: J. Fernandez, N. Aguilar, R. Fernandez de Canete, J. C. Ramos-Diaz

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In this paper, a simulation model of the glucose-insulin system for a patient undergoing diabetes Type 1 is developed by using a causal modeling approach under system dynamics. The OpenModelica simulation environment has been employed to build the so called causal model, while the glucose-insulin model parameters were adjusted to fit recorded mean data of a diabetic patient database. Model results under different conditions of a three-meal glucose and exogenous insulin ingestion patterns have been obtained. This simulation model can be useful to evaluate glucose-insulin performance in several circumstances, including insulin infusion algorithms in open-loop and decision support systems in closed-loop.

Keywords: causal modeling, diabetes, glucose-insulin system, diabetes, causal modeling, OpenModelica software

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Authors: Madhu Jain, Rakesh Kumar Meena

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This paper investigates a finite M/G/1 fault tolerant multi-component machining system. The system incorporates the features such as standby support, threshold recovery and imperfect coverage make the study closer to real time systems. The performance prediction of M/G/1 fault tolerant system is carried out using recursive approach by treating remaining service time as a supplementary variable. The numerical results are presented to illustrate the computational tractability of analytical results by taking three different service time distributions viz. exponential, 3-stage Erlang and deterministic. Moreover, the cost function is constructed to determine the optimal choice of system descriptors to upgrading the system.

Keywords: fault tolerant, machine repair, threshold recovery policy, imperfect coverage, supplementary variable technique

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Authors: Konstantinos Sofianos, Michail Stefanidakis

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Nowadays, despite the great advances in technology, most educational frameworks lack a strong educational design basis. E-learning has become prevalent, but it faces various challenges such as student isolation and lack of quality in the learning process. An intelligent learning system provides a student with educational material according to their learning background and learning preferences. It records full information about the student, such as demographic information, learning styles, and academic performance. This information allows the system to be fully adapted to the student’s needs. In this paper, we propose a framework and an ontology for music education, consisting of the learner model and all elements of the learning process (learning objects, teaching methods, learning activities, assessment). This framework can be integrated into an intelligent learning system and used for music education in schools for the development of professional skills and beyond.

Keywords: intelligent learning systems, e-learning, music education, ontology, semantic web

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Authors: Khaled M. El-Naggar

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This paper presents a fast and efficient technique for monitoring and supervising power system disturbances generated due to dynamic performance of power systems or faults. Monitoring power system quantities involve monitoring fundamental voltage, current magnitudes, and their frequencies as well as their negative and zero sequence components under different operating conditions. The proposed technique is based on simulated annealing optimization technique (SA). The method uses digital set of measurements for the voltage or current waveforms at power system bus to perform the estimation process digitally. The algorithm is tested using different simulated data to monitor the symmetrical components of power system waveforms. Different study cases are considered in this work. Effects of number of samples, sampling frequency and the sample window size are studied. Results are reported and discussed.

Keywords: estimation, faults, measurement, symmetrical components

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Authors: Neil Bar, Andrew Heweston

Abstract:

Probability of failure (PF) often appears alongside factor of safety (FS) in design acceptance criteria for rock slope, underground excavation and open pit mine designs. However, the design acceptance criteria generally provide no guidance relating to how PF should be calculated for homogeneous and heterogeneous rock masses, or what qualifies a ‘reasonable’ PF assessment for a given slope design. Observational and kinematic methods were widely used in the 1990s until advances in computing permitted the routine use of numerical modelling. In the 2000s and early 2010s, PF in numerical models was generally calculated using the point estimate method. More recently, some limit equilibrium analysis software offer statistical parameter inputs along with Monte-Carlo or Latin-Hypercube sampling methods to automatically calculate PF. Factors including rock type and density, weathering and alteration, intact rock strength, rock mass quality and shear strength, the location and orientation of geologic structure, shear strength of geologic structure and groundwater pore pressure influence the stability of rock slopes. Significant engineering and geological judgment, interpretation and data interpolation is usually applied in determining these factors and amalgamating them into a geotechnical model which can then be analysed. Most factors are estimated ‘approximately’ or with allowances for some variability rather than ‘exactly’. When it comes to numerical modelling, some of these factors are then treated deterministically (i.e. as exact values), while others have probabilistic inputs based on the user’s discretion and understanding of the problem being analysed. This paper discusses the importance of understanding the key aspects of slope design for homogeneous and heterogeneous rock masses and how they can be translated into reasonable PF assessments where the data permits. A case study from a large open pit gold mine in a complex geological setting in Western Australia is presented to illustrate how PF can be calculated using different methods and obtain markedly different results. Ultimately sound engineering judgement and logic is often required to decipher the true meaning and significance (if any) of some PF results.

Keywords: probability of failure, point estimate method, Monte-Carlo simulations, sensitivity analysis, slope stability

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Authors: S. Botman, D. Borchevkin, V. Petrov, E. Bogdanov, M. Patrushev, N. Shusharina

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In this paper, we report the development of the device for diagnostics of cardiovascular system state and associated automated workstation for large-scale medical measurement data collection and analysis. It was shown that optimal design for the monitoring device is wristband as it represents engineering trade-off between accuracy and usability. The monitoring device is based on the infrared reflective photoplethysmographic sensor, which allows collecting multiple physiological parameters, such as heart rate and pulsing wave characteristics. Developed device use BLE interface for medical and supplementary data transmission to the coupled mobile phone, which process it and send it to the doctor's automated workstation. Results of this experimental model approbation confirmed the applicability of the proposed approach.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, health monitoring systems, photoplethysmography, pulse wave, remote diagnostics

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Authors: Denis Ushakov

Abstract:

Cities are the main actors of global production and trade, and dominant share of international business activity is now concentrating within a frame of global urban net. This trend transforms mechanisms and patterns of market economy institutes’ (such as competition, division of labor, international movement of capital and labor force) functioning; stimulates an appearance of new economical (development of rural areas), social (urbanization) and political (political and economical unity of the big countries) problems. All these reasons identified relevance and importance of purpose of this study – to consider a modern role of cities’ business systems in the global economy, to identify sources for global urban competitive advantages, to clear inter-cities economic relationships and patterns of cities’ positioning within a frame of global net.

Keywords: globalization, urban business system, global city, transnationalization, networking

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Authors: Xincheng Jiang, Yanyan An, Yaoyao Huang, Wei Ding, Manli Sun, Hong Li, Huaili Zheng

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The residual antibiotics in the environment will pose a threat to the environment and human health. Thus, efficient removal and rapid detection of norfloxacin (NOR) in wastewater is very important. The main sources of NOR pollution are the agricultural, pharmaceutical industry and hospital wastewater. The total consumption of NOR in China can reach 5440 tons per year. It is found that neither animals nor humans can totally absorb and metabolize NOR, resulting in the excretion of NOR into the environment. Therefore, residual NOR has been detected in water bodies. The hazards of NOR in wastewater lie in three aspects: (1) the removal capacity of the wastewater treatment plant for NOR is limited (it is reported that the average removal efficiency of NOR in the wastewater treatment plant is only 68%); (2) NOR entering the environment will lead to the emergence of drug-resistant strains; (3) NOR is toxic to many aquatic species. At present, the removal and detection technologies of NOR are applied separately, which leads to a cumbersome operation process. The development of simultaneous adsorption-flocculation removal and FTIR detection of pollutants has three advantages: (1) Adsorption-flocculation technology promotes the detection technology (the enrichment effect on the material surface improves the detection ability); (2) The integration of adsorption-flocculation technology and detection technology reduces the material cost and makes the operation easier; (3) FTIR detection technology endows the water treatment agent with the ability of molecular recognition and semi-quantitative detection for pollutants. Thus, it is of great significance to develop a smart water treatment material with high removal capacity and detection ability for pollutants. This study explored the feasibility of combining NOR removal method with the semi-quantitative detection method. A magnetic Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam was synthesized by in-situ loading Cu-Ni-S nanostructures on the surface of Ni foam. The novelty of this material is the combination of adsorption-flocculation technology and semi-quantitative detection technology. Batch experiments showed that Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has a high removal rate of NOR (96.92%), wide pH adaptability (pH=4.0-10.0) and strong ion interference resistance (0.1-100 mmol/L). According to the Langmuir fitting model, the removal capacity can reach 417.4 mg/g at 25 °C, which is much higher than that of other water treatment agents reported in most studies. Characterization analysis indicated that the main removal mechanisms are surface complexation, cation bridging, electrostatic attraction, precipitation and flocculation. Transmission FTIR detection experiments showed that NOR on Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has easily recognizable FTIR fingerprints; the intensity of characteristic peaks roughly reflects the concentration information to some extent. This semi-quantitative detection method has a wide linear range (5-100 mg/L) and a low limit of detection (4.6 mg/L). These results show that Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has excellent removal performance and semi-quantitative detection ability of NOR molecules. This paper provides a new idea for designing and preparing multi-functional water treatment materials to achieve simultaneous removal and semi-quantitative detection of organic pollutants in water.

Keywords: adsorption-flocculation, antibiotics detection, Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam, norfloxacin

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