Search results for: ArcGIS base maps

Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale, Rubens Maribondo do Nascimento, José Ubiragi de Lima Mendes

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Given the unquestionable need of environmental preservation of discarded industrial residues, The scrape of tires have been seen as a salutary alternative for addictive in concrete, asphalt production and of other composites materials. In this work, grew a composite the base of scrape of tire as reinforcement and latex as matrix, to be used as insulating thermal in "cold" systems (0º). Analyzed the acting of the material was what plays the thermal conservation when submitted the flow of heat. Verified the temperature profiles in the internal surfaces and it expresses of the composite as well as the temperature gradient in the same. As a consequence, in function of the answers of the system, conclusions were reached.

Keywords: cold system, latex, flow of heat, asphalt production

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Satyam Raikwar, Thomas Herlitzius, Jens Fehrmann

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In recent years, the autonomous navigation of orchard and field robots is an emerging technology of the mobile robotics in agriculture. One of the core aspects of autonomous navigation builds upon path planning, which is still a crucial issue. Generally, for simple representation, the path planning for a mobile robot is performed in a two-dimensional space, which creates a path between the start and goal point. This paper presents the automatic path planning approach for robots used in orchards and vineyards using occupancy grid maps with field consideration. The orchards and vineyards are usually structured environment and their topology is assumed to be constant over time; therefore, in this approach, an RGB image of a field is used as a working environment. These images undergone different image processing operations and then discretized into two-dimensional grid matrices. The individual grid or cell of these grid matrices represents the occupancy of the space, whether it is free or occupied. The grid matrix represents the robot workspace for motion and path planning. After the grid matrix is described, a probabilistic roadmap (PRM) path algorithm is used to create the obstacle-free path over these occupancy grids. The path created by this method was successfully verified in the test area. Furthermore, this approach is used in the navigation of the orchard robot.

Keywords: orchard robots, automatic path planning, occupancy grid, probabilistic roadmap

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Dosu Malomo, O. E. Edeh, P. O. Okolo, F. C. Ibeh

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The preparation of various samples of ebonite vulcanizates and their physico-mechanical properties have been investigated using standard methods. This work explores the production of ebonite dust, production of ebonite vulcanizates and investigation of the characterisation of the ebonite. Five different ebonite materials – labelled A, B, C, D, and E with sulphur content in parts per hundred grams of rubber (Phr) of 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 respectively were produced. The physico-mechanical properties carried out were tensile strength, hardness and abrasion resistance. The tensile strength (MPa) for sample A, B, C, D and E were 5.6, 3.5, 4.7, 1.7 and 2.0 respectively while the abrasion(%mass loss) were 8.49, 4.24, 2.59, 1.08 and 1.05 respectively and the hardness (IRHD) being 63, 64, 65, 70 and 82. The results show that the preparation of ebonite from natural rubber as a base polymer is feasible considering the results of characterisation obtained.

Keywords: compounding, ebonite dust, natural rubber, vulcanization

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Authors: Renato Figueira Franco

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This paper aims to create a representational information system applied to the securities market, particularly the development of an ontology applied to the analysis of the Key Information Documents of Contracts for Difference. The process of obtaining knowledge and its proper formal representation has raised the attention both from the scientific literature and the capital markets supervisory authorities. The formal knowledge representation is embodied in the construction of ontologies, which are responsible for defining a knowledge base structure of a given scientific domain, facilitating its understanding, and allowing its sharing among the scientific community. The scope of this study is restricted to the analysis of capital markets ontologies in order to capture its structure, semantics and knowledge sharing between people and systems.

Keywords: ontology, financial markets, CFD, PRIIPs, key information documents

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Authors: Surajit Bhattacharya, Daniel Veltri, Atit A. Patel, Daniel N. Cox

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miRNAs have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, however identification of biologically-relevant target genes for this epigenetic regulatory mechanism remains a significant challenge. To address this knowledge gap, we have developed a novel tool in R, Intra-miR-ExploreR, that facilitates integrated discovery of miRNA targets by incorporating target databases and novel target prediction algorithms, using statistical methods including Pearson and Distance Correlation on microarray data, to arrive at high confidence intragenic miRNA target predictions. We have explored the efficacy of this tool using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for bioinformatics analyses and functional validation. A number of putative targets were obtained which were also validated using qRT-PCR analysis. Additional features of the tool include downloadable text files containing GO analysis from DAVID and Pubmed links of literature related to gene sets. Moreover, we are constructing interaction maps of intragenic miRNAs, using both micro array and RNA-seq data, focusing on neural tissues to uncover regulatory codes via which these molecules regulate gene expression to direct cellular development.

Keywords: miRNA, miRNA:mRNA target prediction, statistical methods, miRNA:mRNA interaction network

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Authors: Ainura Kairanbayeva

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Currently, the issue of maintaining the operational condition of highways at the required level is acute in Kazakhstan. The impact of landslides on the state of the road industry in Kazakhstan has been poorly studied. This article presents the classification of natural hazards and examines the influence of atmospheric natural processes on the operational condition of the sections of the highway "Ayusai–Kosmostantsia" passing along the mountain slopes of the Trans-Ili Alatau. According to the results of field studies, multi-turn reflected cracks have been identified, this is also due to the fact that the base of the road is made of a sand-gravel mixture and is not treated with reinforcing additives and the actual density of the asphalt concrete pavement is below regulatory requirements.

Keywords: building materials and products, construction of highways and engineering structures, construction processes, displacements of the earth's surface, geodynamic processes

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Authors: C. A. Sharma, Birendra P. Singh

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Ichnofacies analysis is considered the best paleontological tool for interpreting ancient depositional environments. Nineteen (19) ichnogenera (namely: Bergaueria, Catenichnus, Cochlichnus, Cruziana, Diplichnites, Dimorphichnus, Diplocraterion, Gordia, Guanshanichnus, Lockeia, Merostomichnites, Monomorphichnus, Palaeophycus, Phycodes, Planolites, Psammichnites, Rusophycus, Skolithos and Treptichnus) are recocered from the Tal Group (Cambrian) of the Nigalidhar Syncline. The stratigraphic occurrences of these ichnogenera represent alternating proximal Cruziana and Skolithos ichnofacies along the contact of Sankholi and Koti-Dhaman formations of the Tal Group. Five ichnogenera namely Catenichnus, Guanshanichnus, Lockeia, Merostomichnites and Psammichnites are recorded for the first time from the Nigalidhar Syncline. Cruziana ichnofacies is found in the upper part of the Sankholi Formation to the lower part of the Koti Dhaman Formation in the NigaliDhar Syncline. The preservational characters here indicate a subtidal environmental condition with poorly sorted, unconsolidated substrate. Depositional condition ranging from moderate to high energy levels below the fair weather base but above the storm wave base under nearshore to foreshore setting in a wave dominated shallow water environment is also indicated. The proximal Cruziana-ichnofacies is interrupted by the Skolithos ichnofacies in the Tal Group of the Nigalidhar Syncline which indicate fluctuating high energy condition which was unfavorable for the opportunistic organism which were dominant during the proximal Cruziana ichnofacies. The excursion of Skolithos ichnofacies (as a pipe rock in the upper part of Sankholi Formation) into the proximal Cruziana ichnofacies in the Tal Group indicate that increased energy and allied parameters attributed to the high rate of sedimentation near the proximal part of the basin. The level bearing the Skolithos ichnofacies in the Nigalidhar Syncline at the juncture of Sankholi and Koti-Dhaman formations can be correlated to the level marked as unconformity in between the Deo-Ka-Tibba and the Dhaulagiri formations by the conglomeratic horizon in the Mussoorie Syncline, Lesser Himalaya, India. Thus, the Tal Group of the Nigalidhar syncline at this stratigraphic level represent slightly deeper water condition than the Mussoorie Syncline, where in the later the aerial exposure dominated which leads to the deposition of conglomeratic horizon and subsequent formation of unconformity. The overall ichnological and sedimentological dataset allow us to infer that the Cambrian successions of Nigalidhar Syncline were deposited in a wave-dominated proximal part of the basin under the foreshore to close to upper shoreface regimes of the shallow marine setting.

Keywords: Cambrian, Ichnofacies, Lesser Himalaya, Nigalidhar, Tal Group

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Authors: Elvan Ender, Ozge Celik

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Transportation systems play a vital role in access and egress in our lives. Concerns about environmental quality, social equity, economic vitality, and the threat of climate change have converged to produce a growing interest in the concept of sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainable transportation. Cities should respect nature, consider the urban ecological environment as an asset, integrate environmental issues into urban planning and administration, and accelerate the transition to sustainable development. This paper reviews current pedestrian and bike transportation in Bursa and proves the effects of unbalanced distribution to neighbourhoods of this presence. In this way creating proposal map for walking and bicycling to constitute a preliminary base for the physical urban planning of Bursa, has been aimed.

Keywords: Bursa, proposal map, sustainability, transportation

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Authors: A. Dėdelė, A. Miškinytė

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The assessment of air pollution exposure in different microenvironments is important for better understanding the relationship between health effects caused by air pollution. The recent researches revealed that the level of air pollution in transport microenvironment contributes considerably to the total exposure of air pollution. The aim of the study was to determine air pollution of nitrogen dioxide and to assess the exposure of NO2 dependence on the chosen commuting mode using a global positioning system (GPS). The same travel destination was chosen and 30 rides in three different commuting modes: cycling, walking, and public transport were made. Every different mean of transport is associated with different route. GPS device and travel diary data were used to track all routes of different commuting modes. Air pollution of nitrogen dioxide was determined using the ADMS-Urban dispersion model. The average annual concentration of nitrogen dioxide was modeled for 2011 year in Kaunas city. The geographical information systems were used to visualize the travel routes, to create maps indicating the route of different commuting modes and to combine modelled nitrogen dioxide data. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the selected commuting mode and the exposure of nitrogen dioxide. The concentrations in the microenvironments were 22.4 μg/m3, 21.4 μg/m3, and 25.9 μg/m3 for cycling, walking and public transport respectively. Of all the modes of commuting, the highest average exposure of nitrogen dioxide was found travelling by public transport, while the lowest average concentration of NO2 was determined by walking.

Keywords: nitrogen dioxide, dispersion model, commuting mode, GPS

Procedia PDF Downloads 417

Authors: Ebrahim Alrashed

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Wireless sensor networks are vulnerable to attacks from adversaries attempting to disrupt their operations. Sink-hole attacks are a type of attack where an adversary node drops data forwarded through it and hence affecting the reliability and accuracy of the network. Since sensor nodes have limited battery power, it is essential that any solution to the sinkhole attack problem be very energy-aware. In this paper, we present a reliable and energy efficient scheme to forward data from source nodes to the base station while under sink-hole attack. The scheme also detects sink-hole attack nodes and avoid paths that includes them.

Keywords: energy-aware routing, reliability, sink-hole attack, WSN

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Authors: Seyed Esmail Seyedi Bariran, Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari

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In robotics literature, the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is commonly associated with a priori-posteriori problem. The autonomous vehicle needs a neutral map to spontaneously track its local position, i.e., “localization” while at the same time a precise path estimation of the environment state is required for effective route planning and obstacle avoidance. On the other hand, the environmental noise factors can significantly intensify the inherent uncertainties in using odometry information and measurements obtained from the robot’s exteroceptive sensor which in return directly affect the overall performance of the corresponding SLAM. Therefore, the current work is primarily dedicated to provide a diagnostic analysis of six SLAM algorithms including FastSLAM, L-SLAM, GraphSLAM, Grid SLAM and DP-SLAM. A SLAM simulated environment consisting of two sets of landmark locations and robot waypoints was set based on modified EKF and UKF in MATLAB using two separate maps for indoor and outdoor route planning subject to natural and artificial obstacles. The simulation results are expected to provide an unbiased platform to compare the estimation performances of the five SLAM models as well as on the reliability of each SLAM model for indoor and outdoor applications.

Keywords: route planning, obstacle, estimation performance, FastSLAM, L-SLAM, GraphSLAM, Grid SLAM, DP-SLAM

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Authors: A. Salemi Golezania, A. Sharifi Fateha

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In this study a nano-composite catalyst was synthesized by incorporation of chromium into the framework of MCM-41 as a base catalyst. Mesoporous silica molecular sieves MCM-41 were synthesized under Hydrothermal Continues pH Adjusting Path Way. Then, MCM-41 was impregnated by chromium nitrate aqueous solution for several times under water aspiration. Raw powder was cured by heat treatment in vacuum furnace at 500°C. Phase formation, morphology and gas absorption properties of resulted materials were characterized by XRD, TEM and BET analysis, respectively. The results showed that high quality hexagonal meso structure as a matrix and Cr as a second phase has been formed with a narrow size pore diameter distribution and high surface area in Cr/MCM-41 nano-composite structure. The specific surface and total volume of porosity of the synthesized nanocomposite are obtained 931m^2/gr and 1.12 cm^3/gr, respectively.

Keywords: nano-catalyst, MCM-41, Cr/MCM-41, Marine Science and Engineering

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Authors: Kai-Cheng Hsu, Tzu-Ying Sung, Jinn-Moon Yang

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the main causes of cancer death in the world. Although several drugs have been developed to treat colorectal cancer, such as Regorafenib and 5-FU, their efficacy is often limited by the development of drug resistance. Therefore, development of new drugs with new scaffolds is necessary to treat CRC. Here, we used site-moiety maps to identify inhibitors against PIM1, LIMK1, SRC, and mTOR, which are often overexpressed in CRC. A site-moiety map represents physicochemical properties and moiety preferences of a binding site through anchors. An anchor contains three elements: (1) conserved interacting residues of a binding pocket; (2) moiety preference of the binding pocket; and (3) the type (e.g., hydrogen-bonding or van der Waals interactions) of interaction between the moieties and the binding pocket. Then, we performed a structure-based virtual screening of ~260,000 compounds and selected compound candidates with high site-moiety map scores for bioassays. Among these candidates, compound 1 and compound 2 inhibited the growth of CRC cells with IC50 values of <10 μM. The experimental result of enzyme-based assays indicated that compound 1 is a dual inhibitor against PIM1 (IC50 6 μM) and LIMK1(IC50 11 μM). Compound 2 was predicted as a SRC inhibitor and will be further validated. The compounds inhibited different protein targets compared to the current drugs. We believe that the compounds provide a starting point to design new drugs for CRC treatment.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, drug discovery, site-moiety map, virtual screening, PIM1, LIMK1

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Nasser S. Shebka

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Fuzzy logic is used in complex adaptive systems where classical tools of representing knowledge are unproductive. Nevertheless, the incorporation of fuzzy logic, as it’s the case with all artificial intelligence tools, raised some inconsistencies and limitations in dealing with increased complexity systems and rules that apply to real-life situations and hinders the ability of the inference process of such systems, but it also faces some inconsistencies between inferences generated fuzzy rules of complex or imprecise knowledge-based systems. The use of fuzzy logic enhanced the capability of knowledge representation in such applications that requires fuzzy representation of truth values or similar multi-value constant parameters derived from multi-valued logic, which set the basis for the three t-norms and their based connectives which are actually continuous functions and any other continuous t-norm can be described as an ordinal sum of these three basic ones. However, some of the attempts to solve this dilemma were an alteration to fuzzy logic by means of non-monotonic logic, which is used to deal with the defeasible inference of expert systems reasoning, for example, to allow for inference retraction upon additional data. However, even the introduction of non-monotonic fuzzy reasoning faces a major issue of conflict resolution for which many principles were introduced, such as; the specificity principle and the weakest link principle. The aim of our work is to improve the logical representation and functional modelling of AI systems by presenting a method of resolving existing and potential rule conflicts by representing temporal modalities within defeasible inference rule-based systems. Our paper investigates the possibility of resolving fuzzy rules conflict in a non-monotonic fuzzy reasoning-based system by introducing temporal modalities and Kripke's general weak modal logic operators in order to expand its knowledge representation capabilities by means of flexibility in classifying newly generated rules, and hence, resolving potential conflicts between these fuzzy rules. We were able to address the aforementioned problem of our investigation by restructuring the inference process of the fuzzy rule-based system. This is achieved by using time-branching temporal logic in combination with restricted first-order logic quantifiers, as well as propositional logic to represent classical temporal modality operators. The resulting findings not only enhance the flexibility of complex rule-base systems inference process but contributes to the fundamental methods of building rule bases in such a manner that will allow for a wider range of applicable real-life situations derived from a quantitative and qualitative knowledge representational perspective.

Keywords: fuzzy rule-based systems, fuzzy tense inference, intelligent systems, temporal modalities

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Authors: Rujia Chen, Ajit Narayanan

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Convolutional neural networks (CNN), as typically applied in deep learning, use layer-wise backpropagation (BP) to construct filters and kernels for feature extraction. Such filters are 2D or 3D groups of weights for constructing feature maps at subsequent layers of the CNN and are shared across the entire input. BP as a gradient descent algorithm has well-known problems of getting stuck at local optima. The use of genetic algorithms (GAs) for evolving weights between layers of standard artificial neural networks (ANNs) is a well-established area of neuroevolution. In particular, the use of crossover techniques when optimizing weights can help to overcome problems of local optima. However, the application of GAs for evolving the weights of filters and kernels in CNNs is not yet an established area of neuroevolution. In this paper, a GA-based filter development algorithm is proposed. The results of the proof-of-concept experiments described in this paper show the proposed GA algorithm can find filter weights through evolutionary techniques rather than BP learning. For some simple classification tasks like geometric shape recognition, the proposed algorithm can achieve 100% accuracy. The results for MNIST classification, while not as good as possible through standard filter learning through BP, show that filter and kernel evolution warrants further investigation as a new subarea of neuroevolution for deep architectures.

Keywords: neuroevolution, convolutional neural network, genetic algorithm, filters, kernels

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Authors: Ahmed Rouili

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Cantilever L-shaped walls are known to be relatively economical as retaining solution. The design starts by proportioning the wall dimensions for which the stability is checked for. A ratio between the lengths of the base and the stem, falling between 0,5 to 0,7, ensure the stability requirements in most cases. However, the displacement pattern of the wall in terms of rotations and translations, and the lateral pressure profile, do not have the same figure for all wall’s proportioning, as it is usually assumed. In the present work, the results of a numerical analysis are presented, different wall geometries were considered. The results show that the proportioning governs the equilibrium between the instantaneous rotation and the translation of the wall-toe, also, the lateral pressure estimation based on the average value between the at-rest and the active pressure, recommended by most design standards, is found to be not applicable for all walls.

Keywords: cantilever wall, proportioning, numerical analysis, lateral pressure estimation

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Authors: Kay Fielden, Eelin Tan, Lan Nguyen

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In this research project, data was gathered at a Covid 19 Conference held in June 2021 from industry leaders who discussed the impact of the global pandemic on the status of the New Zealand hospitality industry. Panel discussions on financials, human resources, health and safety, and recovery were conducted. The themes explored for the finance panel were customer demographics, hospitality sectors, financial practices, government impact, and cost of compliance. The aim was to see how the hospitality industry has responded to the global pandemic and the steps that have been taken for the industry to recover or sustain their business. The main research question for this qualitative study is: What are the factors that have impacted on finance for the hospitality industry in New Zealand due to Covid 19? For financials, literature has been gathered to study global effects, and this is being compared with the data gathered from the discussion panel through the lens of resilience theory. Resilience theory applied to the hospitality industry suggests that the challenges imposed by Covid 19 have been the catalyst for government initiatives, technical innovation, engaging local communities, and boosting confidence. Transformation arising from these ground shifts have been a move towards sustainability, wellbeing, more awareness of climate change, and community engagement. Initial findings suggest that there has been a shift in customer base that has prompted regional accommodation providers to realign offers and to become more flexible to attract and maintain this realigned customer base. Dynamic pricing structures have been required to meet changing customer demographics. Flexible staffing arrangements include sharing staff between different accommodation providers, owners with multiple properties adopting different staffing arrangements, maintaining a good working relationship with the bank, and conserving cash. Uncertain times necessitate changing revenue strategies to cope with external factors. Financial support offered by the government has cushioned the financial downturn for many in the hospitality industry, and managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) arrangements have offered immediate financial relief for those hotels involved. However, there is concern over the long-term effects. Compliance with mandated health and safety requirements has meant that the hospitality industry has streamlined its approach to meeting those requirements and has invested in customer relations to keep paying customers informed of the health measures in place. Initial findings from this study lie within the resilience theory framework and are consistent with findings from the literature.

Keywords: global pandemic, hospitality industry, new Zealand, resilience

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Authors: Hateem Zafar Kayani, Nageen Hussain

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The main aim is to analyze the mutations of DNASE I gene in diabetic patients. A total of 120 diabetes patients and 120 controls were sampled. The total number of male diabetic patients included in the study was 79 (66%) while female patients were 41 (34%) in number. Exon 8 of the DNASE I gene was amplified by using thermo cycler. The possible band of interest was located at 165 base pairs. Two samples showed similar missense mutations at 127th position of exon 8 which replaced amino acid Arginine (Arg) to Glutamine (Gln). All controls showed no mutations. The association of diabetes with different levels of blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) were found to be significant.

Keywords: deoxyribonuclease I, polymerase chain reaction, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Chaitanya Sharma, Vikas Upadhyay, A. Tripathi

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Friction stir welding and tungsten inert gas welding techniques were employed to weld armor grade aluminum alloy to investigate the effect of welding processes on tensile behavior of weld joints. Tensile tests, Vicker microhardness tests and optical microscopy were performed on developed weld joints and base metal. Welding process influenced tensile behavior and microstructure of weld joints. Friction stir welded joints showed tensile behavior better than tungsten inert gas weld joints.

Keywords: friction stir welding, microstructure, tensile properties, fracture locations

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Authors: Enes Huylu, Sude Erkin, Nur A. Özdemir, Hatice K. Güney, Cemre S. Atılgan, Hüseyin Y. Altıntaş, Aysemin Top, Muammer Yılman, Özak Durmuş

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Remanufacturing (reman) applications allow manufacturers to contribute to the circular economy and help to introduce products with almost the same quality, environment-friendly, and lower cost. The objective of this study is to present that the carbon footprint of automotive spare parts used in vehicles could be reduced by reman applications based on Life Cycle Analysis which was framed with ISO 14040 principles. In that case, it was aimed to investigate reman applications for 21 parts in total. So far, research and calculations have been completed for the alternator, turbocharger, starter motor, compressor, manual transmission, auto transmission, and DPF (diesel particulate filter) parts, respectively. Since the aim of Ford Motor Company and Ford OTOSAN is to achieve net zero based on Science-Based Targets (SBT) and the Green Deal that the European Union sets out to make it climate neutral by 2050, the effects of reman applications are researched. In this case, firstly, remanufacturing articles available in the literature were searched based on the yearly high volume of spare parts sold. Paper review results related to their material composition and emissions released during incoming production and remanufacturing phases, the base part has been selected to take it as a reference. Then, the data of the selected base part from the research are used to make an approximate estimation of the carbon footprint reduction of the relevant part used in Ford OTOSAN. The estimation model is based on the weight, and material composition of the referenced paper reman activity. As a result of this study, it was seen that remanufacturing applications are feasible to apply technically and environmentally since it has significant effects on reducing the emissions released during the production phase of the vehicle components. For this reason, the research and calculations of the total number of targeted products in yearly volume have been completed to a large extent. Thus, based on the targeted parts whose research has been completed, in line with the net zero targets of Ford Motor Company and Ford OTOSAN by 2050, if remanufacturing applications are preferred instead of recent production methods, it is possible to reduce a significant amount of the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of spare parts used in vehicles. Besides, it is observed that remanufacturing helps to reduce the waste stream and causes less pollution than making products from raw materials by reusing the automotive components.

Keywords: greenhouse gas emissions, net zero targets, remanufacturing, spare parts, sustainability

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Authors: Hanizam Awang, Mohammed Zuhear Al-Mulali

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In this study, the possibility of using unground oil palm ash (UOPA) for producing foamed concrete is investigated. The UOPA used in this study is produced by incinerating palm oil biomass at a temperature exceeding 1000ºC. A semi-structural density of 1300kg/m3 was used with filler to binder ratio of 1.5 and preliminary water to binder ratio of 0.45. Cement was replaced by UOPA at replacement levels of 0, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65% by weight of binder. Properties such as density, compressive strength, drying shrinkage and water absorption were investigated to the age of 90 days. The mix with a 35% of UOPA content was chosen to be used as the base material of a newly designed interlocking, mortar-less block system.

Keywords: foamed concrete, oil palm ash, strength, interlocking block

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Authors: Isiya Shinkafi Salihu

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Open education resources (OER) are open learning materials in different formats, course content and context to support learning globally. This study investigated the level of awareness of Hospitality and Tourism OER among students in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management in a University. Specifically, it investigated students’ awareness, use and accessibility of OER in learning. The research design method used was the quantitative approach, using an online questionnaire. The thesis research shows that respondents frequently use OER but with little knowledge of the content and context of the material. Most of the respondents’ have little knowledge about the concept even though they use it. Information and communication technologies are tools for information gathering, social networking and knowledge sharing and transfer. OER are open education materials accessible online such as curriculum, maps, course materials, and videos that users create, adapt, reuse for learning and research. Few of the respondents that used OER in learning faced some challenges such as high cost of data, poor connectivity and lack of proper guidance. The results suggest a lack of awareness of OER among students in the faculty of tourism and the need for support from the teachers in the utilization of OER. The thesis also reveals that some of the international students are accessing the internet as beginners in their studies which require guidance. The research, however, recommends that further studies should be conducted to other faculties.

Keywords: creative commons, open education resources, open licenses, information and communication technology

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Authors: Stefan Peters, Phillip Roetman

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The global loss of biodiversity is threatening the benefits nature provides to human populations and has become a more pressing issue than climate change and requires immediate attention. While there have been successful global agreements for environmental protection, such as the Montreal Protocol, these are rare, and we cannot rely on them solely. Thus, it is crucial to take national and local actions to support biodiversity. Australia is one of the 17 countries in the world with a high level of biodiversity, and its cities are vital habitats for endangered species, with more of them found in urban areas than in non-urban ones. However, the protection of biodiversity in metropolitan Adelaide has been inadequate, with over 130 species disappearing since European colonization in 1836. In this research project we conceptualized, developed and implemented a framework for wildlife Habitat Hotspots and Habitat Corridor modelling in an urban context using geographic data and GIS modelling and analysis. We used detailed topographic and other geographic data provided by a local council, including spatial and attributive properties of trees, parcels, water features, vegetated areas, roads, verges, traffic, and census data. Weighted factors considered in our raster-based Habitat Hotspot model include parcel size, parcel shape, population density, canopy cover, habitat quality and proximity to habitats and water features. Weighted factors considered in our raster-based Habitat Corridor model include habitat potential (resulting from the Habitat Hotspot model), verge size, road hierarchy, road widths, human density, and presence of remnant indigenous vegetation species. We developed a GIS model, using Python scripting and ArcGIS-Pro Model-Builder, to establish an automated reproducible and adjustable geoprocessing workflow, adaptable to any study area of interest. Our habitat hotspot and corridor modelling framework allow to determine and map existing habitat hotspots and wildlife habitat corridors. Our research had been applied to the study case of Burnside, a local council in Adelaide, Australia, which encompass an area of 30 km2. We applied end-user expertise-based category weightings to refine our models and optimize the use of our habitat map outputs towards informing local strategic decision-making.

Keywords: biodiversity, GIS modeling, habitat hotspot, wildlife corridor

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Authors: Fangjing Zhou, Wen Chen, Brian J. Hall, Yu Wang, Carl Latkin, Li Ling, Joseph D. Tucker

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Background: Economic and social reforms designed to open China to the world has been successful, but also appear to have rapidly laid the foundation for the reemergence of STIs since 1980s. Changes in sexual behaviors, relationships, and norms among Chinese contributed to the STIs epidemic. As the massive population moved during the last 30 years, early coital debut, multiple sexual partnerships, and unprotected sex have increased within the general population. Our objectives were to assess associations between residences location, sexual risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adults living in Guangzhou, China. Methods: Stratified cluster sampling followed a two-step process was used to select populations aged 18-59 years in Guangzhou, China. Spatial methods including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were utilized to identify 1400 coordinates with latitude and longitude. Face-to-face household interviews were conducted to collect self-report data on sexual risk behaviors and diagnosed STIs. Kulldorff’s spatial scan statistic was implemented to identify and detect spatial distribution and clusters of sexual risk behaviors and STIs. The presence and location of statistically significant clusters were mapped in the study areas using ArcGIS software. Results: In this study, 1215 of 1400 households attempted surveys, with 368 refusals, resulting in a sample of 751 completed surveys. The prevalence of self-reported sexual risk behaviors was between 5.1% and 50.0%. The self-reported lifetime prevalence of diagnosed STIs was 7.06%. Anal intercourse clustered in an area located along the border within the rural-urban continuum (p=0.001). High rate clusters for alcohol or other drugs using before sex (p=0.008) and migrants who lived in Guangzhou less than one year (p=0.007) overlapped this cluster. Excess cases for sex without a condom (p=0.031) overlapped the cluster for college students (p<0.001). Conclusions: Short-term migrants and college students reported greater sexual risk behaviors. Programs to increase safer sex within these communities to reduce the risk of STIs are warranted in Guangzhou. Spatial analysis identified geographical clusters of sexual risk behaviors, which is critical for optimizing surveillance and targeting control measures for these locations in the future.

Keywords: cluster analysis, migrant, sexual risk behaviors, spatial distribution

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Authors: Shivarudraswamy, Anubhav Shrivastava, Lakshya Bhat

Abstract:

Distributed generation has indeed become a major area of interest in recent years. Distributed Generation can address large number of loads in a power line and hence has better efficiency over the conventional methods. However there are certain drawbacks associated with it, increase in voltage being the major one. This paper addresses the voltage control at the buses for an IEEE 30 bus system by regulating reactive power. For carrying out the analysis, the suitable location for placing distributed generators (DG) is identified through load flow analysis and seeing where the voltage profile is dipping. MATLAB programming is used to regulate the voltage at all buses within +/-5% of the base value even after the introduction of DG’s. Three methods for regulation of voltage are discussed. A sensitivity based analysis is later carried out to determine the priority among the various methods listed in the paper.

Keywords: distributed generators, distributed system, reactive power, voltage control

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Authors: Guneet Saini, Shahrukh, Sunil Sharma

Abstract:

Traffic congestion is the most critical issue faced by those in the transportation profession today. Over the past few years, roundabouts have been recognized as a measure to promote efficiency at intersections globally. In developing countries like India, this type of intersection still faces a lot of issues, such as bottleneck situations, long queues and increased waiting times, due to increasing traffic which in turn affect the performance of the entire urban network. This research is a case study of a non-conventional roundabout, in terms of geometric design, in a small town in India. These types of roundabouts should be analyzed for their functionality in mixed traffic conditions, prevalent in many developing countries. Microscopic traffic simulation is an effective tool to analyze traffic conditions and estimate various measures of operational performance of intersections such as capacity, vehicle delay, queue length and Level of Service (LOS) of urban roadway network. This study involves analyzation of an unsymmetrical non-circular 6-legged roundabout known as “Kala Aam Chauraha” in a small town Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, India using VISSIM simulation package which is the most widely used software for microscopic traffic simulation. For coding in VISSIM, data are collected from the site during morning and evening peak hours of a weekday and then analyzed for base model building. The model is calibrated on driving behavior and vehicle parameters and an optimal set of calibrated parameters is obtained followed by validation of the model to obtain the base model which can replicate the real field conditions. This calibrated and validated model is then used to analyze the prevailing operational traffic performance of the roundabout which is then compared with a proposed alternative to improve efficiency of roundabout network and to accommodate pedestrians in the geometry. The study results show that the alternative proposed is an advantage over the present roundabout as it considerably reduces congestion, vehicle delay and queue length and hence, successfully improves roundabout performance without compromising on pedestrian safety. The study proposes similar designs for modification of existing non-conventional roundabouts experiencing excessive delays and queues in order to improve their efficiency especially in the case of developing countries. From this study, it can be concluded that there is a need to improve the current geometry of such roundabouts to ensure better traffic performance and safety of drivers and pedestrians negotiating the intersection and hence this proposal may be considered as a best fit.

Keywords: operational performance, roundabout, simulation, VISSIM

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Authors: Dagmara Wrzecionkowska

Abstract:

Mass media campaigns against obesity are often designed to impact large audiences. This usually means that their audience is defined based on general demographic characteristics like age, gender, occupation etc., not taking into account psychographics like behavior, motivations, wants, etc. Using psychographics, as the base for the audience segmentation, is a common practice in case of successful campaigns, as it allows developing more relevant messages. It also serves a purpose of identifying key segments, those that generate the best return on investment. For a health campaign, that would be segments that have the best chance of being converted into healthy lifestyle at the lowest cost. This paper presents the limitations of the demographic targeting, based on the findings from the reception study of IMSS anti-obesity TV commercials and proposes mothers as the first level of segmentation, in the process of identifying the key segment for these campaigns.

Keywords: anti-obesity campaigns, mothers, segmentation, targeting

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Authors: Carolina Rezende, Julio Cesar Neves Monteiro

Abstract:

Traditionally, History and fiction are considered to be opposing fields of study. While one is linked to the study of facts, things that have happened within the limits of ‘reality’, the other explores a made-up world, originated from imagination and fantasy. However, despite their apparent discrepancies, there is a fundamental trait that brings them closer. Historical narratives, similarly to fiction ones, are produced based on multiple interpretations of an event, which are transmitted in a rather subjective way by language. It is within this perspective of history and fiction intertwined that this paper aims to discuss the translation of historical facts in the graphic novel Angola Janga, by Marcelo D’Salete, as well as presenting it as a historical document. The novel, which is divided into 11 short stories, narrates the rebellions that took place in Serra da Barriga, between the 16th and 17th centuries, that resulted in the Guerra dos Palmares. The graphic novel in question is a result of the author’s 11-year historical and bibliographical research, which combines history and fiction in order to shed a light of the confrontation that history seems to overlook. Also, the book includes a foreword, glossary, chronological line of Guerra dos Palmares, as well as maps and references used by the author during his research. For that, a few segments from the book will be selected and translated in order to show such connection between history and fiction, and the discussion resulted from it will be based on the works of Southgate (2009), Pym (2001) and D’hulst (2001).

Keywords: graphic novel, history, fiction, Palmares

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Authors: Mrinmoy Dhara, Vivek K. Sengar, Shovan L. Chattoraj, Soumiya Bhattacharjee

Abstract:

Remote sensing techniques have emerged as an asset for various geological studies. Satellite images obtained by different sensors contain plenty of information related to the terrain. Digital image processing further helps in customized ways for the prospecting of minerals. In this study, an attempt has been made to map the hydrothermally altered zones using multispectral and hyperspectral datasets of South East Rajasthan. Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Hyperion (Level1R) dataset have been processed to generate different Band Ratio Composites (BRCs). For this study, ASTER derived BRCs were generated to delineate the alteration zones, gossans, abundant clays and host rocks. ASTER and Hyperion images were further processed to extract mineral end members and classified mineral maps have been produced using Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) method. Results were validated with the geological map of the area which shows positive agreement with the image processing outputs. Thus, this study concludes that the band ratios and image processing in combination play significant role in demarcation of alteration zones which may provide pathfinders for mineral prospecting studies.

Keywords: ASTER, hyperion, band ratios, alteration zones, SAM

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Authors: R. Buntem, K. Samkongngam

Abstract:

The silicate glass was prepared using rice husk as the source of silica. The base composition of glass sample is composed of SiO2 (from rice husk ash), Na2CO3, K2CO3, ZnO, H3BO3, CaO, Al2O3 or Al, and CuO. Aluminum is used in place of Al2O3 in order to reduce Cu2+ to Cu+. The red color of Cu2O in the glass matrix was observed when the Al was added into the glass mixture. The expansion coefficients of the copper doped glass are in the range of 1.2 x 10-5-1.4x10-5 (ºC -1) which is common for the silicate glass. The finger prints of the bond vibrations were studied using IR spectroscopy. While the oxidation state and the coordination information of the copper ion in the glass matrix were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. From the data, Cu+ and Cu2+ exist in the glass matrix. The red particles of Cu2O can be formed in the glass matrix when enough aluminum was added.

Keywords: copper in glass, coordination information, silicate glass, XANES spectrum

Procedia PDF Downloads 245