Search results for: distance running

Authors: Ngo Thi Thu, Kazuo Tanaka, Masahiro Tanaka, Dao Ngoc Chien

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Nanometric superfocusing of optical intensity near the tip of partially metal- coated dielectric conical probe of the convergent surface plasmon polariton wave is investigated by the volume integral equation method. It is possible to perform nanofocusing using this probe by using both linearly and radially polarized Gaussian beams as the incident waves. Strongly localized and enhanced optical near-fields can be created on the tip of this probe for the cases of both incident Gaussian beams. However the intensity distribution near the probe tip was found to be very sensitive to the shape of the probe tip.

Keywords: waveguide, surface plasmons, electromagnetic theory

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Authors: Jing Ma, Xindong An

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Green infrastructure, the most important aspect of improving the quality of life, has been a crucial element of the liveability measurement. With demanding of more liveable urban environment from increasing population in city area, access to green infrastructure in walking distance should be taken into consideration. This article exemplifies the study on accessibility measurement of green infrastructure in central Auckland (New Zealand), using network analysis tool on the basis of GIS, to verify the accessibility levels of green infrastructure. It analyses the overall situation of green infrastructure and draws some conclusions on the city’s different levels of accessibility according to the categories and facilities distribution, which provides valuable references and guidance for the future facility improvement in planning strategies.

Keywords: quality of life, green infrastructure, GIS, accessibility

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: U. Chattaraj, K. Dhusiya, M. Raviteja

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Perception reaction time of drivers is an outcome of human thought process, which is vague and approximate in nature and also varies from driver to driver. So, in this study a fuzzy logic based model for prediction of the same has been presented, which seems suitable. The control factors, like, age, experience, intensity of driving of the driver, speed of the vehicle and distance of stimulus have been considered as premise variables in the model, in which the perception reaction time is the consequence variable. Results show that the model is able to explain the impacts of the control factors on perception reaction time properly.

Keywords: driver, fuzzy logic, perception reaction time, premise variable

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Authors: Amit Kumar, Amanpreet Chander, Ashish Sahani

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This paper presents our recent work on real-time human activity detection based on the media pipe pipeline and machine learning algorithms. The proposed system can detect human activities, including running, jumping, squatting, bending to the left or right, and standing still. This is a robust solution for developing a yoga, dance, metaverse, and fitness application that checks for the correction of the pose without having any additional monitor like a personal trainer. MediaPipe solution offers an open-source cross-platform which utilizes a two-step detector-tracker ML pipeline for live detection of key landmarks on our body which can be used for motion data collection. The prediction of real-time poses uses a variety of machine learning techniques and different types of analysis. Without primarily relying on powerful desktop environments for inference, our method achieves real-time performance on the majority of contemporary mobile phones, desktops/laptops, Python, or even the web. Experimental results show that our method outperforms the existing method in terms of accuracy and real-time capability, achieving an accuracy of 99.92% on testing datasets.

Keywords: human activity detection, media pipe, machine learning, metaverse applications

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Authors: Bojana Tot, Goran BošKović, Goran Vujić

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Route optimisation is a process of planning one or multiple routes, with the purpose of minimizing overall costs, while achieving the highest possible performance under a set of given constraints. It combines routing or route planning, which is the process of creating the most cost-effective route by minimizing the distance or travelled time necessary to reach a set of planned stops, and route scheduling, which is the process of assigning an arrival and service time for each stop, with drivers being given shifts that adhere to their working hours. The objective of this paper is to provide benefits on the implementation of waste collection route optimisation and thus achieve economic efficiency for public utility companies, better service for citizens and positive environment and health.

Keywords: waste management, environment, collection route optimisation, GIS

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Komal Fizza

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All around the world in every field professionals are taking great support from their computers. Computer assisted strategies not only increase the efficiency of the professionals but also in case of healthcare they help in life-saving interventions. The background of this current research is aimed towards two things; first to find out if computer assisted strategies are useful for Pharmacist for not and secondly how much these assist a Pharmacist to do quality interventions. Shifa International Hospital is a 500 bedded hospital, and it is running Antimicrobial Stewardship, during their stewardship rounds pharmacists observed that a lot of wrong doses of antibiotics were coming at times those were being overlooked by the other pharmacist even. So, with the help of MIS team the patients were categorized into adult and peads depending upon their age. Minimum and maximum dose of every single antibiotic present in the pharmacy that could be dispensed to the patient was developed. These were linked to the order entry window. So whenever pharmacist would type any order and the dose would be below or above the therapeutic limit this would give an alert to the pharmacist. Whenever this message pop-up this was recorded at the back end along with the antibiotic name, pharmacist ID, date, and time. From 14th of January 2015 and till 14th of March 2015 the software stopped different users 350 times. Out of this 300 were found to be major errors which if reached to the patient could have harmed them to the greater extent. While 50 were due to typing errors and minor deviations. The pilot study showed that computer assisted strategies can be of great help to the pharmacist. They can improve the efficacy and quality of interventions.

Keywords: antibiotics, computer assisted strategies, pharmacist, stewardship

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Authors: Sourabh Joshi, Geetinder Kaur, Sarabjit Kaur, Gulwatanpreet Singh, Geetika Mannan

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In this paper, we have use an algorithm that able to obtain an optimal solution to travelling salesman problem from a huge search space, quickly. This algorithm is based upon the ant colony optimization technique and employees roulette wheel selection mechanism. To illustrate it more clearly, a program has been implemented which is based upon this algorithm, that presents the changing process of route iteration in a more intuitive way. In the event, we had find the optimal path between hundred cities and also calculate the distance between two cities.

Keywords: ant colony, optimization, travelling salesman problem, roulette wheel selection

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Authors: Ananya G., B. Varshitha, Shwetha S., Kavitha S. N., Praveen Kumar Gupta

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Teleportation is the ability to travel by just reappearing at some other spot. Though teleportation has never been achieved, quantum teleportation is possible. Quantum teleportation is a process of transferring the quantum state of a particle onto another particle, under the circumstance that one does not get to know any information about the state in the process of transformation. This paper presents a brief overview of quantum teleportation, discussing the topics like Entanglement, EPR Paradox, Bell's Theorem, Qubits, elements for a successful teleport, some examples of advanced teleportation systems (also covers few ongoing experiments), applications (that includes quantum cryptography), and the current hurdles for future scientists interested in this field. Finally, major advantages and limitations to the existing teleportation theory are discussed.

Keywords: teleportation, quantum teleportation, quantum entanglement, qubits, EPR paradox, bell states, quantum particles, spooky action at a distance

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Authors: Ashwini Shripatwar, Mayur Biyani, Nikhil Rao, Rajendra Bodake, Sachin Sane

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This paper documents the correlation of valve cover sealing, cracking, and warpage Finite Element Modelling with observations on engine test development. The valve cover is a component mounted on engine head with a gasket which provides sealing against oil which flows around camshaft, valves, rockers, and other overhead components. Material nonlinearity and contact nonlinearity characteristics are taken into consideration because the valve cover is made of a composite material having temperature dependent elastic-plastic properties and because the gasket load-deformation curve is also nonlinear. The leakage is observed between the valve cover and the engine head due to the insufficient contact pressure. The crack is observed on the valve cover due to force application at a region with insufficient stiffness and with elevated temperature. The valve cover shrinkage is observed during the disassembly process on hot exhaust side bolt holes after the engine has been running. In this paper, an analytical approach is developed to correlate a Finite Element Model with the observed failures and to address the design issues associated with the failure modes in question by making design changes in the model.

Keywords: cracking issue, gasket sealing analysis, nonlinearity of contact and material, valve cover

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Authors: Toby Li, Julian Zhu

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In this paper, a model based on a simplified geometry is introduced to give a very conservative collision probability prediction for the Starlink satellite in its most densely clustered region. Under the model in this paper, the probability of collision for Starlink satellite where it clustered most densely is found to be 8.484 ∗ 10^−4. It is found that the predicted collision probability increased nonlinearly with the increased safety distance set. This simple model provides evidence that the continuous development of maneuver avoidance systems is necessary for the future of the orbital safety of satellites under the harsher Lower Earth Orbit environment.

Keywords: Starlink, collision probability, debris, geometry model

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Authors: Haruna Modibbo Usman, Mustapha Muktar, Nasiru Inuwa

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This paper examined the long run relationship between health outcomes and economic growth in Nigeria from 1961 to 2012. Using annual time series data, Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test is conducted to check the stochastic properties of the variables. Also, the long run relationship among the variables is confirmed based on Johansen Multivariate Cointegration approach whereas the long run and short run dynamics are observed using Vector Error Correction Mechanism (VECM). In addition, VEC Granger causality test is employed to examine the direction of causality among the variables. On the whole, the results obtained revealed the existence of a long run relationship between health outcomes and economic growth in Nigeria and that both life expectancy and crude death rate as measures of health are found to have a long run negative and statistically significant impact on the economic growth over the study period. This is further buttressed by the results of Granger causality test which indicated the existence of unidirectional causality running from life expectancy and crude death rate to economic growth. The study therefore, calls for governments at various levels to create preconditions for health improvements in Nigeria in order to boost the level of health outcomes.

Keywords: cointegration, economic growth, Granger causality, health outcomes, VECM

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Authors: Yanping Liao, Zenan Wu, Ruigang Zhao

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Frequency diverse array (FDA) beamforming is a technology developed in recent years, and its antenna pattern has a unique angle-distance-dependent characteristic. However, the beam is always required to have strong concentration, high resolution and low sidelobe level to form the point-to-point interference in the concentrated set. In order to eliminate the angle-distance coupling of the traditional FDA and to make the beam energy more concentrated, this paper adopts a multi-carrier FDA structure based on proposed power exponential frequency offset to improve the array structure and frequency offset of the traditional FDA. The simulation results show that the beam pattern of the array can form a dot-shape beam with more concentrated energy, and its resolution and sidelobe level performance are improved. However, the covariance matrix of the signal in the traditional adaptive beamforming algorithm is estimated by the finite-time snapshot data. When the number of snapshots is limited, the algorithm has an underestimation problem, which leads to the estimation error of the covariance matrix to cause beam distortion, so that the output pattern cannot form a dot-shape beam. And it also has main lobe deviation and high sidelobe level problems in the case of limited snapshot. Aiming at these problems, an adaptive beamforming technique based on exponential correction for multi-carrier FDA is proposed to improve beamforming robustness. The steps are as follows: first, the beamforming of the multi-carrier FDA is formed under linear constrained minimum variance (LCMV) criteria. Then the eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance matrix is ​​performed to obtain the diagonal matrix composed of the interference subspace, the noise subspace and the corresponding eigenvalues. Finally, the correction index is introduced to exponentially correct the small eigenvalues ​​of the noise subspace, improve the divergence of small eigenvalues ​​in the noise subspace, and improve the performance of beamforming. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can make the multi-carrier FDA form a dot-shape beam at limited snapshots, reduce the sidelobe level, improve the robustness of beamforming, and have better performance.

Keywords: adaptive beamforming, correction index, limited snapshot, multi-carrier frequency diverse array, robust

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Authors: Gashin Shahsavari, Gilles Arnaud-Fassetta, Alberto Campisano, Roberto Bertilotti, Fabien Riou

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Sewer deposits have been identified as a major cause of dysfunctions in combined sewer systems regarding sewer management, which induces different negative consequents resulting in poor hydraulic conveyance, environmental damages as well as worker’s health. In order to overcome the problematics of sedimentation, flushing has been considered as the most operative and cost-effective way to minimize the sediments impacts and prevent such challenges. Flushing, by prompting turbulent wave effects, can modify the bed form depending on the hydraulic properties and geometrical characteristics of the conduit. So far, the dynamics of the bed-load during high-flow events in combined sewer systems as a complex environment is not well understood, mostly due to lack of measuring devices capable to work in the “hostile” in combined sewer system correctly. In this regards, a one-episode flushing issue from an opening gate valve with weir function was carried out in a trunk sewer in Paris to understanding its cleansing efficiency on the sediments (thickness: 0-30 cm). During more than 1h of flushing within 5 m distance in downstream of this flushing device, a maximum flowrate and a maximum level of water have been recorded at 5 m in downstream of the gate as 4.1 m3/s and 2.1 m respectively. This paper is aimed to evaluate the efficiency of this type of gate for around 1.1 km (from the point -50 m to +1050 m in downstream from the gate) by (i) determining bed grain-size distribution and sediments evolution through the sewer channel, as well as their organic matter content, and (ii) identifying sections that exhibit more changes in their texture after the flush. For the first one, two series of sampling were taken from the sewer length and then analyzed in laboratory, one before flushing and second after, at same points among the sewer channel. Hence, a non-intrusive sampling instrument has undertaken to extract the sediments smaller than the fine gravels. The comparison between sediments texture after the flush operation and the initial state, revealed the most modified zones by the flush effect, regarding the sewer invert slope and hydraulic parameters in the zone up to 400 m from the gate. At this distance, despite the increase of sediment grain-size rages, D50 (median grain-size) varies between 0.6 mm and 1.1 mm compared to 0.8 mm and 10 mm before and after flushing, respectively. Overall, regarding the sewer channel invert slope, results indicate that grains smaller than sands (< 2 mm) are more transported to downstream along about 400 m from the gate: in average 69% before against 38% after the flush with more dispersion of grain-sizes distributions. Furthermore, high effect of the channel bed irregularities on the bed material evolution has been observed after the flush.

Keywords: bed-load evolution, combined sewer systems, flushing efficiency, sediments transport

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Authors: Sautma Ronni Basana, Zeplin Jiwa Husada Tarigan, Widjojo Suprapto

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Companies have already implemented the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to increase the data integration so that they can improve their business performance. Although some companies have managed to implement the ERP well, they still need to improve gradually so that the ERP functions can be optimized. To obtain a faster and more accurate data, the key users and IT department have to customize the process to suit the needs of the company. In reality, sustaining the ERP technology system requires soft and hard ERP so it enables to improve the business performance of the company. Soft and hard ERP are needed to build a tough system to ensure the integration among departments running smoothly. This research has three questions. First, is the soft ERP bringing impacts to the hard ERP and system integration. Then, is the hard ERP having impacts to the system integration. Finally, is the business performance of the manufacturing companies is affected by the soft ERP, hard ERP, and system integration. The questionnaires are distributed to 100 manufacturing companies in East Java, and are collected from 90 companies which have implemented the ERP, with the response rate of 90%. From the data analysis using PLS program, it is obtained that the soft ERP brings positive impacts to the hard ERP and system integration for the companies. Then, the hard ERP brings also positive impacts to the system integration. Finally, the business process performance of the manufacturing companies is affected by the system integration, soft ERP, and hard ERP simultaneously.

Keywords: soft ERP, hard ERP, system integration, business performance

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Authors: Ki Ok Choi, Sung Ho Hong, Dong Suck Kim, Don Mook Choi

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Rack type warehouses are different from general buildings in the kinds, amount, and arrangement of stored goods, so the fire risk of rack type warehouses is different from those buildings. The fire pattern of rack type warehouses is different in combustion characteristic and storing condition of stored goods. The initial fire burning rate is different in the surface condition of materials, but the running time of fire is closely related with the kinds of stored materials and stored conditions. The stored goods of the warehouse are consisted of diverse combustibles, combustible liquid, and so on. Fire detection time may be delayed because the residents are less than office and commercial buildings. If fire detectors installed in rack type warehouses are inadaptable, the fire of the warehouse may be the great fire because of delaying of fire detection. In this paper, we studied what kinds of fire detectors are optimized in early detecting of rack type warehouse fire by real-scale fire tests. The fire detectors used in the tests are rate of rise type, fixed type, photo electric type, and aspirating type detectors. We considered optimum fire detecting method in rack type warehouses suggested by the response characteristic and comparative analysis of the fire detectors.

Keywords: fire detector, rack, response characteristic, warehouse

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Authors: Azimollah Aleshzadeh, Enver Vural Yavuz

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The main goal of this study is to produce landslide susceptibility maps using different data-driven bivariate statistical approaches; namely, entropy weight method (EWM), evidence belief function (EBF), and information content model (ICM), at Uzundere county, Erzurum province, in the north-eastern part of Turkey. Past landslide occurrences were identified and mapped from an interpretation of high-resolution satellite images, and earlier reports as well as by carrying out field surveys. In total, 42 landslide incidence polygons were mapped using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software and randomly split into a construction dataset 70 % (30 landslide incidences) for building the EWM, EBF, and ICM models and the remaining 30 % (12 landslides incidences) were used for verification purposes. Twelve layers of landslide-predisposing parameters were prepared, including total surface radiation, maximum relief, soil groups, standard curvature, distance to stream/river sites, distance to the road network, surface roughness, land use pattern, engineering geological rock group, topographical elevation, the orientation of slope, and terrain slope gradient. The relationships between the landslide-predisposing parameters and the landslide inventory map were determined using different statistical models (EWM, EBF, and ICM). The model results were validated with landslide incidences, which were not used during the model construction. In addition, receiver operating characteristic curves were applied, and the area under the curve (AUC) was determined for the different susceptibility maps using the success (construction data) and prediction (verification data) rate curves. The results revealed that the AUC for success rates are 0.7055, 0.7221, and 0.7368, while the prediction rates are 0.6811, 0.6997, and 0.7105 for EWM, EBF, and ICM models, respectively. Consequently, landslide susceptibility maps were classified into five susceptibility classes, including very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. Additionally, the portion of construction and verification landslides incidences in high and very high landslide susceptibility classes in each map was determined. The results showed that the EWM, EBF, and ICM models produced satisfactory accuracy. The obtained landslide susceptibility maps may be useful for future natural hazard mitigation studies and planning purposes for environmental protection.

Keywords: entropy weight method, evidence belief function, information content model, landslide susceptibility mapping

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Authors: Odewumi Olatunde, Adegun Sunday

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Linguistic diversity is seen to complicate attempts to build a stable and cohesive political community. Hence, the challenge of integration is enormous in a multi-ethno-lingual country like Nigeria. In the same vein, justification for minority language rights claims in relation to broader political theories of justice, freedom and democracy cannot be ignored. It is in the light of the fore-going that this paper explores Nigeria’s experiments at language policy and planning(LPP) and the long drawn agitations for self-determination and linguistic freedom by the minority ethnic groups in the polity which has been exacerbated by the National Policy on Education language provisions. The paper succinctly reviews Nigeria’s LPP efforts and its attendant theater of conflicts; explores international attempts at evolving normative principles of freedom and equality for language policy and finally evaluates the position of the Nigerian LPP in the light of evolving international conventions. On this premise, it is concluded that giving a conscientious and honest implementation of the Nigerian language provisions as assessed from their face validity, the nation’s efforts could be exonerated from running afoul of any known civilized values and best practices. It is, therefore, recommended that an effectual and consistent commitment to implementation driven by a renewed political will is what is required for the nation to succeed in this direction.

Keywords: integration, rights, challenge, conventions, policy

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Authors: Jame O. Ezema, Odenigbo Veronica

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The study covers the topic Information Communication and Technology (ICTs) knowledge as a way of enhancing Literacy and Lifelong learning in Nigeria. This work delved into defining of ICTs. Types of ICTs and media technologies were also mentioned. It further explained how ICTs can be strengthened and the uses of ICTs in education was duly emphasized. The paper also enumerated some side effects of ICTs on learners while the role of ICTs in enhancing literacy was explained. The study carried out strategies to use ICTs meaningfully in Literacy Programs and also emphasized the word lifelong learning in Nigeria. Some recommendations were made towards acquiring ICTs knowledge, so as to enhance Literacy and Lifelong learning in Nigeria.

Keywords: literacy, distance-learning, life-long learning for sustainable development, e-learning

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Authors: Anton Golubkov, Gleb Ermachkov, Aleksandr Smerdin, Oleg Sidorov, Victor Philippov

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Current collection quality is one of the limiting factors when increasing trains movement speed in the rail sector. With the movement speed growth, the impact forces on the current collector from the rolling stock and the aerodynamic influence increase, which leads to the spread in the contact pressure values, separation of the current collector head from the contact wire, contact arcing and excessive wear of the contact elements. The upcoming trend in resolving this issue is the use of the automatic control systems providing stabilization of the contact pressure value. The present paper considers the features of the contemporary automatic control systems of the current collector’s pressure; their major disadvantages have been stated. A scheme of current collector pressure automatic control has been proposed, distinguished by a proactive influence on undesirable effects. A mathematical model of contact strips wearing has been presented, obtained in accordance with the provisions of the central composition rotatable design program. The analysis of the obtained dependencies has been carried out. The procedures for determining the optimal current collector pressure on the contact wire and the pressure control principle in the pneumatic drive have been described.

Keywords: contact strip, current collector, high-speed running, program control, wear

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Authors: Ozan Ozkan, Hilal Turkoglu Sasmazel

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Natural polymers are widely used in tissue engineering applications, because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability and solubility in the physiological medium. On the other hand, synthetic polymers are also widely utilized in tissue engineering applications, because they carry no risk of infectious diseases and do not cause immune system reaction. However, the disadvantages of both polymer types block their individual usages as tissue scaffolds efficiently. Therefore, the idea of usage of natural and synthetic polymers together as a single 3D hybrid scaffold which has the advantages of both and the disadvantages of none has been entered to the literature. On the other hand, even though these hybrid structures support the cell adhesion and/or proliferation, various surface modification techniques applied to the surfaces of them to create topographical changes on the surfaces and to obtain reactive functional groups required for the immobilization of biomolecules, especially on the surfaces of synthetic polymers in order to improve cell adhesion and proliferation. In a study presented here, to improve the surface functionality and topography of the layer by layer electrospun 3D poly-epsilon-caprolactone/chitosan/poly-epsilon-caprolactone hybrid tissue scaffolds by using atmospheric pressure plasma method, thus to improve cell adhesion and proliferation of these tissue scaffolds were aimed. The formation/creation of the functional hydroxyl and amine groups and topographical changes on the surfaces of scaffolds were realized by using two different atmospheric pressure plasma systems (nozzle type and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) type) carried out under different gas medium (air, Ar+O2, Ar+N2). The plasma modification time and distance for the nozzle type plasma system as well as the plasma modification time and the gas flow rate for DBD type plasma system were optimized with monitoring the changes in surface hydrophilicity by using contact angle measurements. The topographical and chemical characterizations of these modified biomaterials’ surfaces were carried out with SEM and ESCA, respectively. The results showed that the atmospheric pressure plasma modifications carried out with both nozzle type plasma and DBD plasma caused topographical and functionality changes on the surfaces of the layer by layer electrospun tissue scaffolds. However, the shelf life studies indicated that the hydrophilicity introduced to the surfaces was mainly because of the functionality changes. Therefore, according to the optimized results, samples treated with nozzle type air plasma modification applied for 9 minutes from a distance of 17 cm and Ar+O2 DBD plasma modification applied for 1 minute under 70 cm3/min O2 flow rate were found to have the highest hydrophilicity compared to pristine samples.

Keywords: biomaterial, chitosan, hybrid, plasma

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Authors: A. Guellati, F-M Lounis, N. Guemras, K. Daoud

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Micro droplet formation is considered as a growing emerging area of research due to its wide-range application in chemistry as well as biology. The mechanism of micro droplet formation using two immiscible liquids running through a T-junction has been widely studied. We believe that the flow of these two immiscible phases can be of greater important factor that could have an impact on out-flow hydrodynamic behavior, the droplets generated and the size of the droplets. In this study, the type of the capillary tubes used also represents another important factor that can have an impact on the generation of micro droplets. The tygon capillary tubing with hydrophilic inner surface doesn't allow regular out-flows due to the fact that the continuous phase doesn't adhere to the wall of the capillary inner surface. Teflon capillary tubing, presents better wettability than tygon tubing, and allows to obtain steady and regular regimes of out-flow, and the micro droplets are homogeneoussize. The size of the droplets is directly dependent on the flows of the continuous and dispersed phases. Thus, as increasing the flow of the continuous phase, to flow of the dispersed phase stationary, the size of the drops decreases. Inversely, while increasing the flow of the dispersed phase, to flow of the continuous phase stationary, the size of the droplet increases.

Keywords: microfluidic system, micro droplets generation, t-junction, fluids engineering

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Authors: Yi Jin, Xu Tang, Cuiyang Feng

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The ‘11th five-year’ and ‘12th five-year’ plans have clearly put forward to strictly control the total amount and intensity of energy and water consumption. The synergy effect of energy and water has rarely been considered in the process of energy and water saving in China, where its contribution cannot be maximized. Energy sectors consume large amounts of energy and water when producing massive energy, which makes them both energy and water intensive. Therefore, the synergy effect in these sectors is significant. This paper assesses and optimizes the synergy effect in three energy sectors under the background of promoting energy and water saving. Results show that: From the perspective of critical path, chemical industry, mining and processing of non-metal ores and smelting and pressing of metals are coupling points in the process of energy and water flowing to energy sectors, in which the implementation of energy and water saving policies can bring significant synergy effect. Multi-objective optimization shows that increasing efforts on input restructuring can effectively improve synergy effects; relatively large synergetic energy saving and little water saving are obtained after solely reducing the energy and water intensity of coupling sectors. By optimizing the input structure of sectors, especially the coupling sectors, the synergy effect of energy and water saving can be improved in energy sectors under the premise of keeping economy running stably.

Keywords: critical path, energy sector, multi-objective optimization, synergy effect, water

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Authors: Ahmad Masduki Bin Selamat, Kang Chia Yang

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The International Standard Organization (ISO) is an international consensus on good management practice. It is derived from the Greek word “isos” meaning equal. ISO is aimed to give organization guidelines on what bring quality management system that leads to continuous improvement. The need of quality product is essential these days, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors. The requirement to produce good product is demanded, hence the certification of ISO enables the company to gain the trust from the public. Due to this, organizations whether government or private sectors in Malaysia are going for the ISO certification. However recently there has been an introduction of Islamic standard known as Islamic Standard Institute 2020 (ISI 2020). The ISI standards emphasize more on values that should be in the employees’ mind. By possessing good values, employees will work only for the betterment of the company. Currently only the feelings of being paid for the job exist in the employees’ mind. The non-Malays like Chinese and others, which comprise 40% of the sample size, are not aware about the existence of any Islamic quality system. As for the Malay managers, they support the Islamic quality systems. For them such values are encouraged by religion. By imitating religion, Allah promises a better life in this world and hereafter. Even though ISI 2020 is still new but the majority of Malays would support the need of Islamic quality system. Our findings suggest that integration of these two-quality systems running parallel would bring a better result.

Keywords: International Standard Organization (ISO), Islamic standard, quality, ISI 2020

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Authors: Temitayo Abayomi Ewemoje, Oluwamayowa Oluwafemi Oluwaniyi

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Agriculture and food processing, industry are among the largest industrial sectors that uses large amount of energy. Thus, a larger amount of gases from their fuel combustion technologies is being released into the environment. The choice of input energy supply not only directly having affects the environment, but also poses a threat to human health. The study was therefore designed to assess each unit production processes in order to identify hotspots using life cycle assessments (LCA) approach in South-western Nigeria. Data such as machine power rating, operation duration, inputs and outputs of shea butter materials for unit processes obtained at site were used to modelled Life Cycle Impact Analysis on GaBi6 (Holistic Balancing) software. Four scenarios were drawn for the impact assessments. Material sourcing from Kaiama, Scenarios 1, 3 and Minna Scenarios 2, 4 but different heat supply sources (Liquefied Petroleum Gas ‘LPG’ Scenarios 1, 2 and 10.8 kW Diesel Heater, scenarios 3, 4). Modelling of shea butter production on GaBi6 was for 1kg functional unit of shea butter produced and the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) midpoint assessment was tool used to was analyse the life cycle inventories of the four scenarios. Eight categories in all four Scenarios were observed out of which three impact categories; Global Warming Potential (GWP) (0.613, 0.751, 0.661, 0.799) kg CO2¬-Equiv., Acidification Potential (AP) (0.112, 0.132, 0.129, 0.149) kg H+ moles-Equiv., and Smog (0.044, 0.059, 0.049, 0.063) kg O3-Equiv., categories had the greater impacts on the environment in Scenarios 1-4 respectively. Impacts from transportation activities was also seen to contribute more to these environmental impact categories due to large volume of petrol combusted leading to releases of gases such as CO2, CH4, N2O, SO2, and NOx into the environment during the transportation of raw shea kernel purchased. The ratio of transportation distance from Minna and Kaiama to production site was approximately 3.5. Shea butter unit processes with greater impacts in all categories was the packaging, milling and with the churning processes in ascending order of magnitude was identified as hotspots that may require attention. From the 1kg shea butter functional unit, it was inferred that locating production site at the shortest travelling distance to raw material sourcing and combustion of LPG for heating would reduce all the impact categories assessed on the environment.

Keywords: GaBi6, Life cycle assessment, shea butter production, TRACI

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Authors: Raúl González Muñoz, Essam Shehab, Martin Weinitzke, Chris Fowler, Paul Baguley

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Software applications have become crucial to the aerospace industry, providing a wide range of functionalities and capabilities used during the design, manufacturing and support of aircraft. However, as this criticality increases, so too does the risk for business operations when facing a software failure. Hence, there is a need for new methodologies to be developed to support aerospace companies in effectively managing their software portfolios, avoiding the hazards of business disruption and additional costs. This paper aims to provide a definition of operational software maturity, and how this can be used to assess software operational behaviour, as well as a view on the different aspects that drive software maturity within the aerospace industry. The key research question addressed is, how can operational software maturity monitoring assist the aerospace industry in effectively managing large software portfolios? This question has been addressed by conducting an in depth review of current literature, by working closely with aerospace professionals and by running an industry case study within a major aircraft manufacturer. The results are a software maturity model composed of a set of drivers and a prototype tool used for the testing and validation of the research findings. By utilising these methodologies to assess the operational maturity of software applications in aerospace, benefits in maintenance activities and operations disruption avoidance have been observed, supporting business cases for system improvement.

Keywords: aerospace, software lifecycle, software maintenance, software maturity

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Authors: Youngseok Kim, Chul Park, Jonghwa Yi, Sangsik Choi

Abstract:

The 2-MHz Side Scan SONAR (SSS) attached to the boat for inspection of underwater structures is affected by shaking. It is difficult to determine the exact scale of damage of structure. In this study, a motion sensor is attached to the inside of the 2-MHz SSS to get roll, pitch, and yaw direction data, and developed the image stabilization tool to correct the sonar image. We checked that reliable data can be obtained with an average error rate of 1.99% between the measured value and the actual distance through experiment. It is possible to get the accurate sonar data to inspect damage in underwater structure.

Keywords: image stabilization, motion sensor, safety inspection, sonar image, underwater structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Gabriella Kengyel

Abstract:

This study aims to describe the differences between the attitudes of the right-wing extremists with internal or external control towards migrants. They both have a significantly higher score on Rotter's Locus of Control Scale, and they are quite xenophobic (54%) according to Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Present research suggests their motives are different. Principle components analysis shows that extremists with internal control reject migrants because of welfare chauvinism and they think that there is some kind of political conspirationism behind the European Refugee Crisis. Contrarily extremist with external control believe in a common enemy and they are significantly more ethnocentric and less skeptical in politics. Results suggest that extremist with internal control shows hostility toward minorities and migrants mainly because of their own reference group.

Keywords: control, extremist, migrant, right-wing

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Chiranjit Das, Sanjay Jharkharia

Abstract:

This study is focused on transport mode selection under lead time variability and emissions constraint. In order to reduce the carbon emissions generation due to transportation, organization has often faced a dilemmatic choice of transport mode selection since logistic cost and emissions reduction are complementary with each other. Another important aspect of transportation decision is lead-time variability which is least considered in transport mode selection problem. Thus, in this study, we provide a comprehensive mathematical based analytical model to decide transport mode selection under emissions constraint. We also extend our work through analysing the effect of lead time variability in the transport mode selection by a sensitivity analysis. In order to account lead time variability into the model, two identically normally distributed random variables are incorporated in this study including unit lead time variability and lead time demand variability. Therefore, in this study, we are addressing following questions: How the decisions of transport mode selection will be affected by lead time variability? How lead time variability will impact on total supply chain cost under carbon emissions? To accomplish these objectives, a total transportation cost function is developed including unit purchasing cost, unit transportation cost, emissions cost, holding cost during lead time, and penalty cost for stock out due to lead time variability. A set of modes is available to transport each node, in this paper, we consider only four transport modes such as air, road, rail, and water. Transportation cost, distance, emissions level for each transport mode is considered as deterministic and static in this paper. Each mode is having different emissions level depending on the distance and product characteristics. Emissions cost is indirectly affected by the lead time variability if there is any switching of transport mode from lower emissions prone transport mode to higher emissions prone transport mode in order to reduce penalty cost. We provide a numerical analysis in order to study the effectiveness of the mathematical model. We found that chances of stock out during lead time will be higher due to the higher variability of lead time and lad time demand. Numerical results show that penalty cost of air transport mode is negative that means chances of stock out zero, but, having higher holding and emissions cost. Therefore, air transport mode is only selected when there is any emergency order to reduce penalty cost, otherwise, rail and road transport is the most preferred mode of transportation. Thus, this paper is contributing to the literature by a novel approach to decide transport mode under emissions cost and lead time variability. This model can be extended by studying the effect of lead time variability under some other strategic transportation issues such as modal split option, full truck load strategy, and demand consolidation strategy etc.

Keywords: carbon emissions, inventory theoretic model, lead time variability, transport mode selection

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Ahmed Al-Adaileh

Abstract:

Renewable energy sources, domestic storage systems, controllable loads and machine learning technologies will be key components of future smart homes management systems. An energy management scheme that uses a Deep Learning (DL) approach to support the smart home management systems, which consist of a standalone photovoltaic system, storage unit, heating ventilation air-conditioning system and a set of conventional and smart appliances, is presented. The objective of the proposed scheme is to apply DL-based machine learning to predict various running parameters within a smart home's environment to achieve maximum comfort levels for occupants, reduced electricity bills, and less dependency on the public grid. The problem is using Reinforcement learning, where decisions are taken based on applying the Continuous-time Markov Decision Process. The main contribution of this research is the proposed framework that applies DL to enhance the system's supervised dataset to offer unlimited chances to effectively support smart home systems. A case study involving a set of conventional and smart appliances with dedicated processing units in an inhabited building can demonstrate the validity of the proposed framework. A visualization graph can show "before" and "after" results.

Keywords: smart homes systems, machine learning, deep learning, Markov Decision Process

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Aftab Ali

Abstract:

Cryopreservation of semen is one of the key factors for a successful breeding business along with other factors. To achieve high fertility in boar, one should know about spermatozoa response to different treatments proceeds during cryopreservation. The running project is highly focused on cryopreservation and its effects on sperm quality parameters in both boar and bull semen. Semen sample from A, B, C, and D, were subjected to different thawing conditions and were analyzed upon different treatments in the study. Parameters like sperm cell motility, viability, acrosome, DNA integrity, and phospholipase C zeta were detected by different established methods. Different techniques were used to assess different parameters. Motility was detected using computer assisted sperm analysis, phospholipase C zeta using luminometry while viability, acrosome integrity, and DNA integrity were analyzed using flow cytometry. Thawing conditions were noted to have an effect on sperm quality parameters with motility being the most critical parameter. The results further indicated that the most critical step during cryopreservation of boar semen is when sperm cells are subjected to freezing and thawing. The findings of the present study provide insight that; boar semen cryopreservation is still suboptimal in comparison to bull semen cryopreservation. Thus, there is a need to conduct more research to improve the fertilizing potential of cryopreserved boar semen.

Keywords: cryopreservation, computer assisted sperm, flow cytometry, luminometry

Procedia PDF Downloads 129