Search results for: ASIC (application specific integrated circuit)

Authors: Cezarina da Conceição Santinho Maurício, José Duque Vicente

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Established in 1987, the Erasmus Programme is a program for the exchange of higher education students. Its purposes are several. The mobility developed has contributed to the promotion of multiple learning, the internalization the feeling of belonging to a community, and the consolidation of cooperation between entities or universities. It also allows the experience of a European experience, considering multilingualism one of the bases of the European project and vehicle to achieve the union in diversity. The program has progressed and introduced changes Erasmus+ currently offers a wide range of opportunities for higher education, vocational education and training, school education, adult education, youth, and sport. These opportunities are open to students and other stakeholders, such as teachers. Portugal was one of the countries that readily adhered to this program, assuming itself as an instrument of internationalization of polytechnic and university higher education. Students and social work teachers have been involved in this mobility of learning and multicultural interactions. The presence and activation of this program was made possible by Portugal's joining the European Union. This event was reflected in the field of portuguese social work and contributes to its approach to the reality of european social work. Historically, the Portuguese social work has built a close connection with the Latin American world and, in particular, with Brazil. There are several examples that can be identified in the different historical stages. This is the case of the post-revolution period of 1974 and the presence of the reconceptualization movement, the struggle for enrollment in the higher education circuit, the process of winning a bachelor's degree, and postgraduate training (the first doctorates of social work were carried out in Brazilian universities). This influence is also found in the scope of the authors and the theoretical references used. This study examines the participation of graduates and students of social work in the Erasmus program. The following specific goals were outlined: to identify the host countries and universities; to investigate the dimension and type of mobility made, understand the learning and experiences acquired, identify the difficulties felt, capture their perspectives on social work and the contribution of this experience in training. In the methodological field, the option fell on a qualitative methodology, with the application of semi-structured interviews to graduates and students of social work with Erasmus mobility experience. Once the graduates agreed, the interviews were recorded and transcribed, analyzed according to the previously defined analysis categories. The findings emphasize the importance of this experience for students and graduates in informal and formal learning. The authors conclude with recommendations to reinforce this mobility, either at the individual level or as a project built for the group or collective.

Keywords: erasmus programme, graduates and students of social work, participation, social work

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Zhang Kehan, Du Luona

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Wireless power transfer (WPT) systems have been widely investigated for advantages of convenience and safety compared to traditional plug-in charging systems. The research contents include impedance matching, circuit topology, transfer distance et al. for improving the efficiency of WPT system, which is a decisive factor in the practical application. What is more, coil structures such as spiral circular coil and helical coil with variable distance between two turns also have indispensable effects on the efficiency of WPT systems. This paper compares the efficiency of WPT systems utilizing spiral or helical coil with variable distance between two turns, and experimental results show that efficiency of spiral circular coil with an optimum distance between two turns is the highest. According to efficiency formula of resonant WPT system with series-series topology, we introduce M²/R₋₁ to measure the efficiency of spiral circular coil and helical coil WPT system. If the distance between two turns s is too close, proximity effect theory shows that the induced current in the conductor, caused by a variable flux created by the current flows in the skin of vicinity conductor, is the opposite direction of source current and has assignable impart on coil resistance. Thus in two coil structures, s affects coil resistance. At the same time, when the distance between primary and secondary coils is not variable, s can also make the influence on M to some degrees. The aforementioned study proves that s plays an indispensable role in changing M²/R₋₁ and then can be adjusted to find the optimum value with which WPT system achieves the highest efficiency. In actual application situations of WPT systems especially in underwater vehicles, miniaturization is one vital issue in designing WPT system structures. Limited by system size, the largest external radius of spiral circular coil is 100 mm, and the largest height of helical coil is 40 mm. In other words, the turn of coil N changes with s. In spiral circular and helical structures, the distance between each two turns in secondary coil is set as a constant value 1 mm to guarantee that the R2 is not variable. Based on the analysis above, we set up spiral circular coil and helical coil model using COMSOL to analyze the value of M²/R₋₁ when the distance between each two turns in primary coil sp varies from 0 mm to 10 mm. In the two structure models, the distance between primary and secondary coils is 50 mm and wire diameter is chosen as 1.5 mm. The turn of coil in secondary coil are 27 in helical coil model and 20 in spiral circular coil model. The best value of s in helical coil structure and spiral circular coil structure are 1 mm and 2 mm respectively, in which the value of M²/R₋₁ is the largest. It is obviously to select spiral circular coil as the first choice to design the WPT system for that the value of M²/R₋₁ in spiral circular coil is larger than that in helical coil under the same condition.

Keywords: distance between two turns, helical coil, spiral circular coil, wireless power transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: H. Abu-Ali, A. Nabok, T. Smith

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Aptamers are single-strand of DNA or RNA nucleotides sequence which is designed in vitro using selection process known as SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) were developed for the selective detection of many toxic materials. In this work, we have developed an electrochemical biosensor for highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg2+ and Pb2+ using a specific aptamer probe (SAP) labelled with ferrocene (or methylene blue) in (5′) end and the thiol group at its (3′) termini, respectively. The SAP has a specific coil structure that matching with G-G for Pb2+ and T-T for Hg2+ interaction binding nucleotides ions, respectively. Aptamers were immobilized onto surface of screen-printed gold electrodes via SH groups; then the cyclic voltammograms were recorded in binding buffer with the addition of the above metal salts in different concentrations. The resulted values of anode current increase upon binding heavy metal ions to aptamers and analyte due to the presence of electrochemically active probe, i.e. ferrocene or methylene blue group. The correlation between the anodic current values and the concentrations of Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions has been established in this work. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of using a specific DNA aptamers for electrochemical detection of heavy metals. Each increase in concentration of 0.1 μM results in an increase in the anode current value by simple DC electrochemical test i.e (Cyclic Voltammetry), thus providing an easy way of determining Hg2+ and Pb2+concentration.

Keywords: aptamer, based, biosensor, DNA, electrochemical, highly, specific

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Sonia Kudlacik-Kramarczyk, Anna Drabczyk, Dagmara Malina, Bozena Tyliszczak, Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec

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Introduction: In the preparation of polymer materials, compounds of natural origin are currently gaining more and more interest. This is particularly noticeable in the case of synthesis of materials considered for biomedical use. Then, selected material has to meet many requirements. It should be characterized by non-toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Therefore special attention is directed to substances such as polysaccharides, proteins or substances that are the basic building components of proteins, i.e. amino acids. These compounds may be crosslinked with other reagents that leads to the preparation of polymer matrices. Such amino acids as e.g. cysteine or histidine. On the other hand, previously mentioned requirements may be met by polymers obtained as a result of biosynthesis, e.g. polyhydroxybutyrate. This polymer belongs to the group of aliphatic polyesters that is synthesized by microorganisms (selected strain of bacteria) under specific conditions. It is possible to modify matrices based on given polymer with substances of various origin. Such a modification may result in the change of their properties or/and in providing the material with new features desirable in viewpoint of specific application. Described materials are synthesized using UV radiation. Process of photopolymerization is fast, waste-free and enables to obtain final products with favorable properties. Methodology: Polymer matrices have been prepared by means of photopolymerization. First step involved the preparation of solutions of particular reagents and mixing them in the appropriate ratio. Next, crosslinking agent and photoinitiator have been added to the reaction mixture and the whole was poured into the Petri dish and treated with UV radiation. After the synthesis, polymer samples were dried at room temperature and subjected to the numerous analyses aimed at the determining their physicochemical properties. Firstly, sorption properties of obtained polymer matrices have been determined. Next, mechanical properties have been characterized, i.e. tensile strength. The ability to deformation under applied stress of all prepared polymer matrices has been checked. Such a property is important in viewpoint of the application of analyzed materials e.g. as wound dressings. Wound dressings have to be elastic because depending on the location of the wound and its mobility, such a dressing has to adhere properly to the wound. Furthermore, considering the use of the materials for biomedical purposes it is essential to determine its behavior in environments simulating these ones occurring in human body. Therefore incubation studies using selected liquids have also been conducted. Conclusions: As a result of photopolymerization process, polymer matrices based on natural compounds have been prepared. These exhibited favorable mechanical properties and swelling ability. Moreover, biocompatibility in relation to simulated body fluids has been stated. Therefore it can be concluded that analyzed polymer matrices constitute an interesting materials that may be considered for biomedical use and may be subjected to the further more advanced analyses using specific cell lines.

Keywords: photopolymerization, polymer matrices, simulated body fluids, swelling properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Lindani Ncube, Baojin Zhao, Ken Liu, Helen Johanna Van Niekerk

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Acid Base Accounting (ABA) is a tool used to assess the total amount of acidity or alkalinity contained in a specific rock sample, and is based on the total S concentration and the carbonate content of a sample. A preliminary ABA test was conducted on 14 sandstone and 5 coal samples taken from coalfields representing the Main Karoo Basin (Highveld, Vryheid and Molteno/Indwe Coalfields) and the Sub-basins (Witbank and Waterberg Coalfields). The results indicate that sandstone and coal from the Main Karoo Basin have the potential of generating Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) as they contain sufficient pyrite to generate acid, with the final pH of samples relatively low upon complete oxidation of pyrite. Sandstone from collieries representing the Main Karoo Basin are characterised by elevated contents of reactive S%. All the studied samples were characterised by an Acid Potential (AP) that is less than the Neutralizing Potential (NP) except for two samples. The results further indicate that the sandstone from the Main Karoo Basin is prone to acid generation as compared to the sandstone from the Sub-basins. However, the coal has a relatively low potential of generating any acid. The application of ABA in this study contributes to an understanding of the complexities governing water-rock interactions. In general, the coalfields from the Main Karoo Basin have much higher potential to produce AMD during mining processes than the coalfields in the Sub-basins.

Keywords: Main Karoo Basin, sub-basin, coal, sandstone, acid base accounting (ABA)

Procedia PDF Downloads 419

Authors: Emily Stamm, Neil Smyth, Elizabeth O'Sullivan

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In Identity-Based Encryption (IBE), an identity, such as a username, email address, or domain name, acts as the public key. IBE consolidates the PKI by eliminating the repetitive process of requesting public keys for each message encryption. Two of the most popular schemes are Sakai-Kasahara (SAKKE), which is based on elliptic curve pairings, and the Ducas, Lyubashevsky, and Prest lattice scheme (DLP- Lattice), which is based on quantum-secure lattice cryptography. In or- der to embed the schemes in a standard enterprise setting, both schemes are implemented as shared system libraries and integrated into a REST service that functions at the enterprise level. The performance of both schemes as libraries and services is compared, and the practicalities of implementation and application are discussed. Our performance results indicate that although SAKKE has the smaller key and ciphertext sizes, DLP-Lattice is significantly faster overall and we recommend it for most enterprise use cases.

Keywords: identity-based encryption, post-quantum cryptography, lattice-based cryptography, IBE

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Wang-Xi Fan, Yi Ding, Zhong-Dan Tu, Kuo-Shien Huang, Chao-Ming Huang, Jen-Taut Yeh

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Original and/or functionalized activated nanocarbon particles with a quoted specific surface area of 100, 500, 1000 and 1400 m2/g, respectively, were used to investigate the influence of specific surface areas of activated nanocarbon on ultra drawing and ultimate tensile properties of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), UHMWPE/activated nanocarbon and UHMWPE/ functionalized activated nanocarbon fibers. The specific surface areas of well dispersed functionalized activated nanocarbon in UHMWPE/functionalized activated nanocarbon fibers can positively affect their ultra drawing, orientation, ultimate tensile properties and “micro-fibril” characteristics. Excellent orientation and ultimate tensile properties of UHMWPE/nanofiller fibers can be prepared by ultra drawing the UHMWPE/functionalized activated nanocarbon as-prepared fibers with optimal contents and compositions of functionalized activated nanocarbon. The ultimate tensile strength value of the best prepared UHMWPE/functionalized activated nanocarbon drawn fiber reached 8.0 GPa, which was about 2.86 times of that of the best-prepared UHMWPE drawn fiber prepared in this study. Specific surface area, morphological and Fourier transform infrared analyses of original and functionalized activated nanocarbon and/or investigations of thermal, orientation factor and ultimate tensile properties of as-prepared and/or drawn UHMWPE/functionalized activated nanocarbon fibers were performed to understand the above-improved ultra drawing and ultimate tensile properties of the UHMWPE/functionalized activated nanocarbon fibers.

Keywords: activated nanocarbon, specific surface areas, ultradrawing, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: Igor Belykh

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Anti-scatter grids used in radiographic imaging for the contrast enhancement leave specific artifacts. Those artifacts may be visible or may cause Moiré effect when a digital image is resized on a diagnostic monitor. In this paper, we propose an automated grid artifacts detection and suppression algorithm which is still an actual problem. Grid artifacts detection is based on statistical approach in spatial domain. Grid artifacts suppression is based on Kaiser bandstop filter transfer function design and application avoiding ringing artifacts. Experimental results are discussed and concluded with description of advantages over existing approaches.

Keywords: grid, computed radiography, pattern recognition, image processing, filtering

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Craig Mertens

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Teaching art history or any other academic subject to EFL students can be done successfully. A course called Western Images was created to teach Japanese students art history while only using English in the classroom. An approach known as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) was used as a basis for this course. This paper’s purpose is to state the reasons why learning about art history is important, go through the process of creating content for the course, and suggest multiple tasks to help students practice the critical thinking skills used in analyzing and drawing conclusions of works of art from western culture. As a guide for this paper, Brown’s (1995) six elements of a language curriculum will be used. These stages include needs analysis, goals and objectives, assessment, materials, teaching method and tasks, and evaluation of the course. The goal here is to inspire debate and discussion regarding CLIL and its pros and cons, and to question current curriculum in university language courses.

Keywords: art history, EFL, content and language integration learning, critical thinking

Procedia PDF Downloads 581

Authors: Sungho Kim, Dae Shik Kim, Jong Min Lee

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Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process is one of the most important process in modern refinery indusrty. This paper focuses on the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. As the FCC process is difficult to model well, due to its nonlinearities and various interactions between its process variables, rigorous process modeling of whole FCC plant is demanded for control and plant-wide optimization of the plant. In this study, a process design for the FCC plant includes riser reactor, main fractionator, and gas processing unit was developed. A reactor model was described based on four-lumped kinetic scheme. Main fractionator, gas processing unit and other process units are designed to simulate real plant data, using a process flowsheet simulator, Aspen PLUS. The custom reactor model was integrated with the process flowsheet simulator to develop an integrated process model.

Keywords: fluid catalytic cracking, simulation, plant data, process design

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Maureen Lilian Klos

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In this paper, the notion of autonomy in language teaching and learning is explored with a view to designing particular subject-specific academic literacy at higher education level, for mostly English second or third language learners at the Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. These courses that are contextualized in subject-specific fields studied by students in Arts, Education and Social Science Faculties aim to facilitate learners in the manipulation of cognitively demanding academic texts. However, classroom contact time for these courses is limited to one ninety sessions per week. Thus, learners need to be autonomously responsible for developing their own skills when manipulating and negotiating appropriate academic textual conventions. Thus, a model was designed to allow for gradual learner independence in language learning skills. Learners experience of the model was investigated using the Phenomenological Research Approach. Data in the form of individual written reflections and transcripts of unstructured group interviews were analyzed for themes and sub-themes. These findings are discussed in the article with a view to addressing the practical concerns of the learners in this case study.

Keywords: academic literacies, autonomy, language learning and teaching, subject-specific language

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: A. Hidalgo, A. Desportes, E. Bonin, A. Kadaoui, T. Bouaricha

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Present paper is concerned with portfolio management with Black-Litterman (B-L) model. Considered stocks are exclusively limited to large companies stocks on US market. Results obtained by application of the model are presented. From analysis of collected Dow Jones stock data, remarkable explicit analytical expression of optimal B-L parameter τ, which scales dispersion of normal distribution of assets mean return, is proposed in terms of standard deviation of covariance matrix. Implementation has been developed in Matlab environment to split optimization in Markovitz sense from specific elements related to B-L representation.

Keywords: Black-Litterman, Markowitz, market data, portfolio manager opinion

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Yuning Guan

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Under the background of rapid urbanization, mountainous counties need to break through mountain barriers for urban expansion due to undulating topography, resulting in ecological problems such as landscape fragmentation and reduced biodiversity. Green infrastructure networks are constructed to alleviate the contradiction between urban expansion and ecological protection, promoting the healthy and sustainable development of urban ecosystems. This study applies the MSPA model, the MCR model and Linkage Mapper Tools to identify eco-sources and eco-corridors in the Shapingba District of Chongqing and combined with landscape connectivity assessment and circuit theory to delineate the importance levels to extract ecological pinch point areas on the corridors. The results show that: (1) 20 ecological sources are identified, with a total area of 126.47 km², accounting for 31.88% of the study area, and showing a pattern of ‘one core, three corridors, multi-point distribution’. (2) 37 ecological corridors are formed in the area, with a total length of 62.52km, with a ‘more in the west, less in the east’ pattern. (3) 42 ecological pinch points are extracted, accounting for 25.85% of the length of the corridors, which are mainly distributed in the eastern new area. Accordingly, this study proposes optimization strategies for sub-area protection of ecological sources, grade-level construction of ecological corridors, and precise restoration of ecological pinch points.

Keywords: green infrastructure network, morphological spatial pattern, minimal cumulative resistance, mountainous counties, circuit theory, shapingba district

Procedia PDF Downloads 26

Authors: Khan R. Rahaman, Quazi K. Hassan

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Global changes in climate, environment, economies, populations, governments, institutions, and cultures converge in localities. Changes at a local scale, in turn, contribute to global changes as well as being affected by them. Our hypothesis is built on a consideration that temperature does vary at local level (i.e., termed as local warming) in comparison to the predicted models at the regional and/or global scale. To date, the bulk of the research relating local places to global climate change has been top-down, from the global toward the local, concentrating on methods of impact analysis that use as a starting point climate change scenarios derived from global models, even though these have little regional or local specificity. Thus, our focus is to understand such trends over the southern Alberta, which will enable decision makers, scientists, researcher community, and local people to adapt their policies based on local level temperature variations and to act accordingly. Specific objectives in this study are: (i) to understand the local warming (temperature in particular) trend in context of temperature normal during the period 1961-2010 at point locations using meteorological data; (ii) to validate the data by using specific yearly data, and (iii) to delineate the spatial extent of the local warming trends and understanding influential factors to adopt situation by local governments. Existing data has brought the evidence of such changes and future research emphasis will be given to validate this hypothesis based on remotely sensed data (i.e. MODIS product by NASA).

Keywords: local warming, climate change, urban area, Alberta, Canada

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Mutavhatsindi Tshinakaho

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Invasive alien plants (IAP’s) are referred to as species that are non-native to the ecosystem under consideration. Whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic, ecological, or environmental harm. The integrated management of the invasive plant, Tithonia diversifolia, will be assessed through two herbicide trials (one on the seedlings and the other on matured plants) and a competitive trial between Tithonia and invasive grass species. The initial herbicide trial will be undertaken at the University of Venda Agricultural greenhouse facilities, where Tithonia will be planted in pot plants and watered every after two days until they reach at least 30 cm and will then be subjected to four different herbicide treatments (Metsulfuron methyl, Fluroxypyr, Picloram, Triclopyr), water will be utilised as a control. The percentage damage to foliar will be recorded. The second herbicide trial will be undertaken at Levubu road site, where matured Tithonia will be cut at at least 10cm above the ground and the subjected to herbicide treatments (Picloram, Fluroxypyr, Imazapyr, and Water as a control). The site will be visited post treatment for assessment. For the competition trial, tall grass species will be chosen as competitors (Panicum maximum and Eragrostis murvula), they will be grown at six densities per pot in the greenhouse facilities at the University of Venda, were they will be kept watered for the duration of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, plants will be removed from pots, and the above and below ground biomass will be weighed. The expected results are to know the effective integrated management strategy for T. diversifolia, the effective rehabilitation of T. diversifolia invaded habitats, and the effective chemical control of T. diversifolia

Keywords: foliar, biomass, competition, invasion

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: O. R. Razanakoto, L. Temple

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Living in a least developed country, the Malagasy society has a weak capacity to internalize progress, including health concerns. Since the arrival in the fifteenth century of Arabic script, called Sorabe, that was mainly dedicated to the aristocracy, until the colonial era beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and that has popularized the current usual script of the occidental civilization, the upcoming manuscripts that deal with apparent scientific or at least academic issue have been slowly established. So that, the Malagasy communities’ way of life is not well documented yet to allow a precise understanding of the major concerns, reason, and purpose of the existence of the farmers that compose them. A question arises, according to literature, how does Malagasy community that is dominated by agrarian society conceive the conservation of its wellbeing? This study aims to emphasize the scope and the limits of the « One Health » concept or of the Health Integrated Approach (HIA) that evolves at global scale, with regard to the specific context of local Malagasy smallholder farms. It is expected to identify how this society represents linked risks and the mechanisms between human health, animal health, plant health, and ecosystem health within the last 100 years. To do so, the framework to conduct systematic review for agricultural research has been deployed to access available literature. This task has been coupled with the reading of articles that are not indexed by online scientific search engine but that mention part of a history of agriculture and of farmers in Madagascar. This literature review has informed the interactions between human illnesses and those affecting animals and plants (breeded or wild) with any unexpected event (ecological or economic) that has modified the equilibrium of the ecosystem, or that has disturbed the livelihoods of agrarian communities. Besides, drivers that may either accentuate or attenuate the devasting effects of these illnesses and changes were revealed. The study has established that the reasons of human worries are not only physiological. Among the factors that regulate global health, food system and contemporary medicine have helped to the improvement of life expectancy from 55 to 63 years in Madagascar during the last 50 years. However, threats to global health are still occurring. New human or animal illnesses and livestock / plant pathology or enemies may also appear, whereas ancient illnesses that are supposed to have disappeared may be back. This study has highlighted how much important are the risks associated to the impact of unmanaged externalities that weaken community’s life. Many risks, and also solutions, come from abroad and have long term effects even though those happen as punctual event. Thus, a constructivist strategy is suggested to the « One Health » global concept throughout the record of local facts. This approach should facilitate the exploration of methodological pathways and the identification of relevant indicators for research related to HIA.

Keywords: agrarian system, health integrated approach, history, madagascar, resilience, risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Kwok W. Mui, Ling T. Wong, Chin T. Cheung, Ho C. Yu

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Based on an indoor environmental quality (IEQ) index established by previous work that indicates the overall IEQ acceptance from the prospect of an occupant in residential buildings in terms of four IEQ factors - thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual and aural comforts, this study develops a user-friendly IEQ calculator for iOS and Android users to calculate the occupant acceptance and compare the relative performance of IEQ in apartments. The calculator allows the prediction of the best IEQ scenario on a quantitative scale. Any indoor environments under the specific IEQ conditions can be benchmarked against the predicted IEQ acceptance range. This calculator can also suggest how to achieve the best IEQ acceptance among a group of residents.

Keywords: calculator, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), residential buildings, 5-star benchmarks

Procedia PDF Downloads 453

Authors: Ilma Ulfatul Janah, Ibnu Rizky Briwantara, Muhammad Afif

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The agricultural sector is one of the sectors that contribute to national development. The benefit of the agricultural sector can be felt directly by the majority of Indonesian people. Indonesia is one of the agricultural countries and most of the people working in the agricultural sector. Hence, the agricultural sector’s become the second sector which has contributed greatly to the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after the manufacture sector. Based on the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) from 2015 to 2019, one of the targets to be achieved by the Indonesian government is rice’s self-sufficient. Rice is the main food commodities which as most people in Indonesia, and it is making Indonesian government attempt self-sufficient in rice. Indonesia as an agricultural country becomes one of the countries that have a lower percentage of food security than other ASEAN countries. Rice self-sufficiency can be created through agricultural productivity and the availability of a market for the output. There are some problems still to be faced by the farmers such as farmer exchange rate is low. The low exchange rate of farmers showed that the level of the welfare’s Indonesian farmers is still low. The aims of this paper are to resolve problems related to food security and improve the welfare of the national rice farmers. The method by using materials obtained from the analysis of secondary data with the descriptive approach and conceptual framework. Integrated Farmers barn raising rice production is integrated and managed by the government coupled with the implementation of technology in the form of systems connected and accessible to farmers, namely 'SIBUNGTAN'.

Keywords: agriculture, self-sufficiency, technology, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Asli Tiktas, Huseyin Gunerhan, Arif Hepbasli

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Solar energy, with its abundant and clean features, is one of the prominent renewable energy sources in multigeneration energy systems where various outputs, especially power generation, are produced together. In the literature, concentrated solar energy systems, which are an expensive technology, are mostly used in solar power plants where medium-high capacity production outputs are achieved. In addition, although different methods have been developed and proposed for solar energy-supported integrated power generation systems by different investigators, absorption technology, which is one of the key points of the present study, has been used extensively in cooling systems in these studies. Unlike these common uses mentioned in the literature, this study designs a system in which a flat plate solar collector (FPSC), Rankine cycle, absorption heat transformer (AHT), and cooling systems (ACS) are integrated. The system proposed within the scope of this study aims to produce medium-high-capacity electricity, heating, and cooling outputs using a technique different from the literature, with lower production costs than existing systems. With the proposed integrated system design, the average production costs based on electricity, heating, and cooling load production for similar scale systems are 5-10% of the average production costs of 0.685 USD/kWh, 0.247 USD/kWh, and 0.342 USD/kWh. In the proposed integrated system design, this will be achieved by increasing the outlet temperature of the AHT and FPSC system first, expanding the high-temperature steam coming out of the absorber of the AHT system in the turbine up to the condenser temperature of the ACS system, and next directly integrating it into the evaporator of this system and then completing the AHT cycle. Through this proposed system, heating and cooling will be carried out by completing the AHT and ACS cycles, respectively, while power generation will be provided because of the expansion of the turbine. Using only a single generator in the production of these three outputs together, the costs of additional boilers and the need for a heat source are also saved. In order to demonstrate that the system proposed in this study offers a more optimum solution, the techno-economic parameters obtained based on energy, exergy, economic, and environmental analysis were compared with the parameters of similar scale systems in the literature. The design parameters of the proposed system were determined through a parametric optimization study to exceed the maximum efficiency and effectiveness and reduce the production cost rate values of the compared systems.

Keywords: solar energy, absorption technology, Rankine cycle, multigeneration energy system

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Antonios Panagopoulos, Stamoulis Georgios

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Dyslexia's diagnosis is made taking into account reading and writing skills and is carried out by qualified scientific staff. In addition, there are screening tests that are designed to give an indication of possible dyslexic difficulties. Their main advantage is that they create a pleasant environment for the user and reduce the stress that can lead to false results. An online application was created for the first time, as far as authors' knowledge, for screening Dyslexia in Greek high school students named «DyScreTe». Thus, a sample of 240 students between 16 and 18 years old in Greece was taken, of which 120 were diagnosed with dyslexia by an official authority in Greece, and 120 were typically developed. The main hypothesis that was examined is that students who were diagnosed with dyslexia by official authorities in Greece had significantly lower performance in the respective software tests. The results verified the hypothesis we made those children with dyslexia in each test had a lower performance com-pared to the type developed in successful responses, except for the intelligence test. After random sampling, it was shown that the new online application was a useful tool for screening dyslexia. However, computer evaluation cannot replace the diagnosis by a professional expert, but with the results of this application, the interdisciplinary team that deals with the differential diagnosis will create and evaluate, at a later time, the appropriate intervention program.

Keywords: dyslexia, screening tests, deficits, application

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: T. H. N. Nguyen, A. Khodan, M. Amamra, J-V. Vignes, A. Kanaev

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The ultraporous nanofibrous alumina (NOA, Al2O3·nH2O) was synthesized by oxidation of laminated aluminium plates through a liquid mercury-silver layer in a humid atmosphere ~80% at 25°C. The material has an extremely high purity (99%), porosity (90%) and specific area (300 m2/g). The subsequent annealing of raw NOA permits obtaining pure transition phase (γ and θ) nanostructured materials. In this combination, we report on chemical, structural and phase transformations of pure and modified NOA by an impregnation of trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) during thermal annealing in the temperature range between 20 and 1650°C. The mass density, specific area, average diameter and specific area are analysed. The 3D model of pure NOA monoliths and silica modified NOA is proposed, which successfully describes the evolution of specific area, mass density and phase transformations. Activation energies of the mass transport in two regimes of surface diffusion and bulk sintering were obtained based on this model. We conclude about a common origin of modifications of the NOA morphology, chemical composition and phase transition.

Keywords: nanostructured materials, alumina (Al₂O₃), morphology, phase transitions

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: A. Boateng, La Gil-Alana, M. Lesaoana; Hj. Siweya, A. Belete

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This study examines long memory or long-range dependence in the CPI inflation rates of Ghana and South Africa using Whittle methods and autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) models. Standard I(0)/I(1) methods such as Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), Philips-Perron (PP) and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) tests were also employed. Our findings indicate that long memory exists in the CPI inflation rates of both countries. After processing fractional differencing and determining the short memory components, the models were specified as ARFIMA (4,0.35,2) and ARFIMA (3,0.49,3) respectively for Ghana and South Africa. Consequently, the CPI inflation rates of both countries are fractionally integrated and mean reverting. The implication of this result will assist in policy formulation and identification of inflationary pressures in an economy.

Keywords: Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rates, Whittle method, long memory, ARFIMA model

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Ahmidah Elgali

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SCADA is the abbreviation for "Administrative Control And Data Acquisition." SCADA frameworks are generally utilized in industry for administrative control and information securing of modern cycles. Regular SCADA frameworks use PC, journal, slim client, and PDA as a client. In this paper, a Java-empowered cell phone has been utilized as a client in an example SCADA application to show and regulate the place of an example model crane. The paper presents a genuine execution of the online controlling of the model crane through a cell phone. The remote correspondence between the cell phone and the SCADA server is performed through a base station by means of general parcel radio assistance GPRS and remote application convention WAP. This application can be used in industrial sites in areas that are likely to be exposed to a security emergency (like terrorist attacks) which causes the sudden exit of the operators; however, no time to perform the shutdown procedures for the plant. Hence this application allows shutting down units and equipment remotely by mobile and so avoids damage and losses.

Keywords: control, industrial, mobile, network, remote, SCADA

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Authors: Majid Al-Busafi, Alexe Cristina Ioana, Alexe Dan Iulian

Abstract:

The specific competition and pre-competition stress in professional track and field determined an increasing engagement, from a biological and psychological point of view, of the middle distance and long distance runners, to obtain the top performances that would get them to win in a competition. Under these conditions, if the psychological stress is not properly managed, the negative effects can lead to a total drop in self-confidence, and can affect the value, the talent, and the self-trust, which generates an even higher stress. One of the means at our disposal is the psychological training, specially adapted to the athlete's individual characteristics, to the characteristics of the athletic event, or of the competition. This paper aims to highlight certain original aspects regarding the effects of a specific psychological training program on the mood states characterized by psychological activation, vigor, vitality. The subjects were represented by 12 professional middle distance and long distance runners, subjected to an applicative intervention to which they have participated voluntarily, over the course of 6 months (a competition season). The results indicated that The application of a psychological training program, adapted to the track and field competition system, over a period of time characterized by high competition stress, can determine an increase in the states of vigor and psychological activation, at the same time diminishing those moods that have negative effects on the performance, in the middle distance and long distance running events. This conclusion confirms the hypothesis of this research.

Keywords: competition stress, psychological training, track and field, vigor-activity

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Authors: Nora Arbaoui, Rachid Tadili, Ilham Ihoume

Abstract:

To improve the climatic conditions and increase production in the greenhouse during the winter season under the Mediterranean climate, this thesis project proposes a design of an integrated and autonomous solar system for heating, cooling, and conservation of production in an agricultural greenhouse. To study the effectiveness of this system, experiments are conducted in two similar agricultural greenhouses oriented north-south. The first greenhouse is equipped with an active solar system integrated into the double glazing of the greenhouse’s roof, while the second greenhouse has no system, it serves as a controlled greenhouse for comparing thermal and agronomic performance The solar system allowed for an average increase in the indoor temperature of the experimental greenhouse of 6°C compared to the outdoor environment and 4°C compared to the control greenhouse. This improvement in temperature has a favorable effect on the plants' climate and subsequently positively affects their development, quality, and production.

Keywords: solar system, agricultural greenhouse, heating, cooling, storage, drying

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Authors: Nadir Atayev, Mehman Hasanov

Abstract:

Future spacecraft will require a structural change in the way data is transmitted due to the increase in the volume of data required for space communication. Current radio frequency communication systems are already facing a bottleneck in the volume of data sent to the ground segment due to their technological and regulatory characteristics. To overcome these issues, free space optics communication plays an important role in the integrated terrestrial space network due to its advantages such as significantly improved data rate compared to traditional RF technology, low cost, improved security, and inter-satellite free space communication, as well as uses a laser beam, which is an optical signal carrier to establish satellite-ground & ground-to-satellite links. In this approach, there is a need for high-speed and energy-efficient systems as a base platform for sending high-volume video & audio data. Nano Satellite and its branch CubeSat platforms have more technical functionality than large satellites, wheres cover an important part of the space sector, with their Low-Earth-Orbit application area with low-cost design and technical functionality for building networks using different communication topologies. Along the research theme developed in this regard, the output parameter indicators for the FSO of the optical communication transceiver subsystem on the existing CubeSat platforms, and in the direction of improving the mentioned parameters of this communication methodology, 3D optical switch and laser beam controlled optical transponder with 2U CubeSat structural subsystems and application in the Low Earth Orbit satellite network topology, as well as its functional performance and structural parameters, has been studied accordingly.

Keywords: cubesat, free space optics, nano satellite, optical laser communication.

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Authors: Khan R. Rahaman, Quazi K. Hassan

Abstract:

Global changes in climate, environment, economies, populations, governments, institutions, and cultures converge in localities. Changes at a local scale, in turn, contribute to global changes as well as being affected by them. Our hypothesis is built on a consideration that temperature does vary at local level (i.e., termed as local warming) in comparison to the predicted models at the regional and/or global scale. To date, the bulk of the research relating local places to global climate change has been top-down, from the global toward the local, concentrating on methods of impact analysis that use as a starting point climate change scenarios derived from global models, even though these have little regional or local specificity. Thus, our focus is to understand such trends over the southern Alberta, which will enable decision makers, scientists, researcher community, and local people to adapt their policies based on local level temperature variations and to act accordingly. Specific objectives in this study are: (i) to understand the local warming (temperature in particular) trend in context of temperature normal during the period 1961-2010 at point locations using meteorological data; (ii) to validate the data by using specific yearly data, and (iii) to delineate the spatial extent of the local warming trends and understanding influential factors to adopt situation by local governments. Existing data has brought the evidence of such changes and future research emphasis will be given to validate this hypothesis based on remotely sensed data (i.e. MODIS product by NASA).

Keywords: local warming, climate change, urban area, Alberta, Canada

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Authors: Dohun Kim

Abstract:

Technological innovations have stimulated flipped learning in many disciplines, including language teaching. It is a specific type of blended learning, which combines onsite (i.e. face-to-face) with online experiences to produce effective, efficient and flexible learning. Flipped learning literally ‘flips’ conventional teaching and learning activities upside down: it leverages technologies to deliver a lecture and direct instruction—other asynchronous activities as well—outside the classroom to reserve onsite time for interaction and activities in the upper cognitive realms: applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. Unlike the conventional flipped approaches, which focused on video lecture, followed by face-to-face or on-site session, new innovative methods incorporate various means and structures to serve the needs of different academic disciplines and classrooms. In the light of such innovations, this study adopted ‘student-engaged’ approaches to interpreter training and contrasts them with traditional classrooms. To this end, students were also encouraged to engage in asynchronous activities online, and innovative technologies, such as Telepresence, were employed. Based on the class implementation, a thorough examination was conducted to examine how we can structure and implement flipped classrooms for language and interpreting training while actively engaging learners. This study adopted a quantitative research method, while complementing it with a qualitative one. The key findings suggest that the significance of the instructor’s role does not dwindle, but his/her role changes to a moderator and a facilitator. Second, we can apply flipped learning to both theory- and practice-oriented modules. Third, students’ integration into the community of inquiry is of significant importance to foster active and higher-order learning. Fourth, cognitive presence and competence can be enhanced through strengthened and integrated teaching and social presences. Well-orchestrated teaching presence stimulates students to find out the problems and voices the convergences and divergences, while fluid social presence facilitates the exchanges of knowledge and the adjustment of solutions, which eventually contributes to consolidating cognitive presence—a key ingredient that enables the application and testing of the solutions and reflection thereon.

Keywords: blended learning, Community of Inquiry, flipped learning, interpreter training, student-centred learning

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Authors: B. Varaprasad, C. Srinivasa Rao

Abstract:

Hard turning has been explored as an alternative to the conventional one used for manufacture of Parts using tool steels. In the present study, the effects of cutting speed, feed rate and Depth of Cut (DOC) on cutting forces, specific cutting force, power and surface roughness in the hard turning are experimentally investigated. Experiments are carried out using mixed ceramic(Al2O3+TiC) cutting tool of corner radius 0.8mm, in turning operations on AISI H13 tool steel, heat treated to a hardness of 62 HRC. Based on Design of Experiments (DOE), a total of 20 tests are carried out. The range of each one of the three parameters is set at three different levels, viz, low, medium and high. The validity of the model is checked by Analysis of variance (ANOVA). Predicted models are derived from regression analysis. Comparison of experimental and predicted values of specific cutting force, power and surface roughness shows that good agreement has been achieved between them. Therefore, the developed model may be recommended to be used for predicting specific cutting force, power and surface roughness in hard turning of tool steel that is AISI H13 steel.

Keywords: hard turning, specific cutting force, power, surface roughness, AISI H13, mixed ceramic

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Authors: Misuk Kim, Seokho Kang, Jehyuk Lee, Hyunchang Cho, Sungzoon Cho

Abstract:

In semiconductor manufacturing, virtual metrology (VM) refers to methods to predict properties of a wafer based on machine parameters and sensor data of the production equipment, without performing the (costly) physical measurement of the wafer properties (Wikipedia). Additional benefits include avoidance of human bias and identification of important factors affecting the quality of the process which allow improving the process quality in the future. It is however rare to find VM applied to other areas of manufacturing. In this work, we propose to use VM to copper clad laminate (CCL) manufacturing. CCL is a core element of a printed circuit board (PCB) which is used in smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, and laptop computers. The manufacturing of CCL consists of three processes: Treating, lay-up, and pressing. Treating, the most important process among the three, puts resin on glass cloth, heat up in a drying oven, then produces prepreg for lay-up process. In this process, three important quality factors are inspected: Treated weight (T/W), Minimum Viscosity (M/V), and Gel Time (G/T). They are manually inspected, incurring heavy cost in terms of time and money, which makes it a good candidate for VM application. We developed prediction models of the three quality factors T/W, M/V, and G/T, respectively, with process variables, raw material, and environment variables. The actual process data was obtained from a CCL manufacturer. A variety of variable selection methods and learning algorithms were employed to find the best prediction model. We obtained prediction models of M/V and G/T with a high enough accuracy. They also provided us with information on “important” predictor variables, some of which the process engineers had been already aware and the rest of which they had not. They were quite excited to find new insights that the model revealed and set out to do further analysis on them to gain process control implications. T/W did not turn out to be possible to predict with a reasonable accuracy with given factors. The very fact indicates that the factors currently monitored may not affect T/W, thus an effort has to be made to find other factors which are not currently monitored in order to understand the process better and improve the quality of it. In conclusion, VM application to CCL’s treating process was quite successful. The newly built quality prediction model allowed one to reduce the cost associated with actual metrology as well as reveal some insights on the factors affecting the important quality factors and on the level of our less than perfect understanding of the treating process.

Keywords: copper clad laminate, predictive modeling, quality control, virtual metrology

Procedia PDF Downloads 340