Search results for: sight loss

Authors: Ghoname Abdullah, Hidekazu Nishimura

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Dust accumulation on the photovoltaic module's surface results in appreciable loss and negatively affects the generated power. Hence, in this paper, the design of a photovoltaic array cleaning system is presented. The cleaning system utilizes one drive motor, two guide rails, and four sweepers during the cleaning process. The cleaning system was experimentally implemented for one month to investigate its efficiency on PV array energy output. The energy capture over a month for PV array cleaned using the proposed cleaning system is compared with that of the energy capture using soiled PV array. The results show a 15% increase in energy generation from PV array with cleaning. From the results, investigating the optimal scheduling of the PV array cleaning could be an interesting research topic.

Keywords: cleaning system, dust accumulation, PV array, PV module, soiling

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Supatchalee Sirichokworrakit

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Fishbone of Nile tilapia (Tilapia nilotica), waste from the frozen Nile tilapia fillet factory, is one of calcium sources. In order to increase fish bone powder value, this study aimed to investigate the effect of tilapia bone flour (TBF) addition (5, 10, 15% by flour weight) on cooking quality, texture and sensory attributes of noodles. The results indicated that tensile strength, color value (a*) and water absorption of noodles significantly decreased (p≤0.05) as the levels of TBF increased from 0-15%. While cooking loss, cooking time and color values (L* and b*) of noodles significantly increased (p≤0.05). Sensory evaluation indicated that noodles with 5% TBF received the highest overall acceptability score.

Keywords: tilapia bone flour, noodles, cooking quality, calcium

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Thu Nguyen, Jane Daugherty-Luck

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Falx subdural hematoma is a life-threatening condition associated with high mortality. We present a patient case who had fallen with no head injury or loss of conspicuousness. She had tenderness along cervical and thoracic lumbar spine. CT head revealed falx subdural hematoma. The patient was managed medically. The pathophysiology of falx subdural hematoma is linked to laceration of bridging veins provoked by frontal or occipital impact. Posttraumatic subdural hematoma is commonly caused by inertia instead of facture or cerebral contusion resulting from direct impact. The theory is consistent with the lack of fracture in most cases in the literature. Our patient had neither contusion nor fracture.

Keywords: falx subdural hematoma, traumatic head injury, CT head scan, bridging veins, inertia

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, Y. Chiang, H. C. Chen, C. Shih

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Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located on the northern coast of Taiwan. Its nuclear steam supply system is a type of BWR/6 designed and built by General Electric on a twin unit concept. First, the methodology of Kuosheng NPP SPU (Stretch Power Uprate) safety analysis TRACE/SNAP model was developed in this research. Then, in order to estimate the safety of Kuosheng NPP under the more severe condition, the SBO (Station Blackout) + LOCA (Loss-of-Coolant Accident) transient analysis of Kuosheng NPP SPU TRACE/SNAP model was performed. Besides, the animation model of Kuosheng NPP was presented using the animation function of SNAP with TRACE/SNAP analysis results.

Keywords: TRACE, safety analysis, BWR/6, severe accident

Procedia PDF Downloads 688

Authors: Yuzhi Cai

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In this paper, we discuss a Bayesian approach to quantile autoregressive (QAR) time series model estimation and forecasting. Together with a combining forecasts technique, we then predict USD to GBP currency exchange rates. Combined forecasts contain all the information captured by the fitted QAR models at different quantile levels and are therefore better than those obtained from individual models. Our results show that an unequally weighted combining method performs better than other forecasting methodology. We found that a median AR model can perform well in point forecasting when the predictive density functions are symmetric. However, in practice, using the median AR model alone may involve the loss of information about the data captured by other QAR models. We recommend that combined forecasts should be used whenever possible.

Keywords: combining forecasts, MCMC, predictive density functions, quantile forecasting, quantile modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Mala Tankam Carine, Kekeunou Sévilor, Nukenine Elias

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Storage and preservation of agricultural products remain the only conditions ensuring the almost permanent availability of foodstuffs. However, infestations due to insects and microorganisms often occur. Callosobruchus maculatus is a pest that causes a lot of damage to cowpea stocks in the tropics. Several methods are adopted to limit their damage, but the use of synthetic chemical insecticides is the most widespread. Biopesticides in sustainable agriculture respond to several environmental, economic and social concerns while offering innovative opportunities that are ecologically and economically viable for producers, workers, consumers and ecosystems. Our main objective is to evaluate the insecticidal efficacy of binary combinations of Fossilshield with root-bark powder of Securidaca longepedunculata against Callosobruchus maculatus in stored cowpea Vigna unguiculata. Laboratory bioassays were conducted in stored grains to evaluate the toxicity of root-bark powder of Securidaca longepedunculata alone or combined with diatomaceous earth Fossil-Shield ® against C. maculatus. Twenty-hour-old adults of C. maculatus were exposed to 50g of cowpea seeds treated with four doses (10, 20, 30, and 40g/kg) of root-bark powder of S. longepedunculata, on the one hand, and (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g/kg) on DE and binary combinations on the other hand. 0g/kg corresponded to untreated control. Adult mortality was recorded up to 7 days (d) post-treatment, whereas the number of F1 progeny was assessed after 30 d. Weight loss and germinative ability were conducted after 120 d. All treatments were arranged according to a completely randomized block with four replicates. The combined mixture of S. longepedunculata and DE controlled the beetle faster compared to the root-bark powder of S. longepedunculata alone. According to the Co-toxicity coefficient, additive effect of binary combinations was recorded at 3-day post-exposure time with the mixture 25% FossilShield + 75% S. longepedunculata. A synergistic action was observed after 3-d post-exposure at mixture 50% FossilShield + 50% S. longepedunculata and at 1-d and 3-d post-exposure periods at mixture 75% FossilShield + 25% S. longepedunculata. The mixture 25% FossilShield + 75% S. longepedunculata induced a decreased progeny of 6 times fewer individuals for 4.5 times less weight loss and 2, 9 times more sprouted grains than with root-bark powder of S. longepedunculata. The combination of FossilShield + S. longepedunculata was more potent than root-bark powder of S. longepedunculata alone, although the root-bark powder of S. longepedunculata caused significant reduction of F1 adults compared to the control. Combined action of botanical insecticides with FossilShield as a grain protectant in an integrated pest management approach is discussed.

Keywords: diatomaceous earth, cowpea, callosobruchus maculatus, securidaca longepedunculata, combined action, co-toxicity coefficient

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Tatiana V. Melnikova, Lyudmila P. Polyakova, Alla A. Oudalova

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As a result of environmental pollution, the production of agriculture and foodstuffs inevitably contain residual amounts of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). The special attention must be given to organic pollutants, including various organochlorinated pesticides (OCP). Among priorities, OCP is DDT (and its metabolite DDE), alfa-HCH, gamma-HCH (lindane). The control of these substances spends proceeding from requirements of sanitary norms and rules. During too time often is lost sight of that the primary product can pass technological processing (in particular irradiation treatment) as a result of which transformation of physicochemical forms of initial polluting substances is possible. The goal of the present work was to study the OCP radiation degradation at a various gamma-radiation dosimetric characteristics. The problems posed for goal achievement: to evaluate the content of the priority of OCPs in food; study the character the degradation of OCP in model solutions (with micro concentrations commensurate with the real content of their agricultural and food products) depending upon dosimetric characteristics of gamma-radiation. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of OCP in food and model solutions by gas chromatograph Varian 3400 (Varian, Inc. (USA)); chromatography-mass spectrometer Varian Saturn 4D (Varian, Inc. (USA)) was carried out. The solutions of DDT, DDE, alpha- and gamma- isomer HCH (0.01, 0.1, 1 ppm) were irradiated on "Issledovatel" (60Co) and "Luch - 1" (60Co) installations at a dose 10 kGy with a variation of dose rate from 0.0083 up to 2.33 kGy/sec. It was established experimentally that OCP residual concentration in individual samples of food products (fish, milk, cereal crops, meat, butter) are evaluated as 10-1-10-4 mg/kg, the value of which depends on the factor-sensations territory and natural migration processes. The results were used in the preparation of model solutions OCP. The dependence of a degradation extent of OCP from a dose rate gamma-irradiation has complex nature. According to our data at a dose 10 kGy, the degradation extent of OCP at first increase passes through a maximum (over the range 0.23 – 0.43 Gy/sec), and then decrease with the magnification of a dose rate. The character of the dependence of a degradation extent of OCP from a dose rate is kept for various OCP, in polar and nonpolar solvents and does not vary at the change of concentration of the initial substance. Also in work conditions of the maximal radiochemical yield of OCP which were observed at having been certain: influence of gamma radiation with a dose 10 kGy, in a range of doses rate 0.23 – 0.43 Gy/sec; concentration initial OCP 1 ppm; use of solvent - 2-propanol after preliminary removal of oxygen. Based on, that at studying model solutions of OCP has been established that the degradation extent of pesticides and qualitative structure of OCP radiolysis products depend on a dose rate, has been decided to continue researches radiochemical transformations OCP into foodstuffs at various of doses rate.

Keywords: degradation extent, dosimetric characteristics, gamma-radiation, organochlorinated pesticides, persistent organic pollutants

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Ho Yuan-Hong, Huang Chiung-Ju

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This study conducts simulation analyses to find the optimal debt ceiling of Taiwan, while factoring in welfare maximization under a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium framework. The simulation is based on Taiwan's 2001 to 2011 economic data and shows that welfare is maximized at a "debt"⁄"GDP" ratio of 0.2, increases in the "debt"⁄"GDP " ratio leads to increases in both tax and interest rates and decreases in the consumption ratio and working hours. The study results indicate that the optimal debt ceiling of Taiwan is 20% of GDP, where if the "debt"⁄"GDP" ratio is greater than 40%, the welfare will be negative and result in welfare loss.

Keywords: debt sustainability, optimal debt ceiling, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium, welfare maximization

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Habtamu Abera Goshu, Ping Yan

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Copy number variation (CNV) is a significant marker of the genetic and phenotypic diversity among individuals that accounts for complex quantitative traits of phenotype and diseases via modulating gene dosage, position effects, alteration of downstream pathways, modification of chromosome structure, and position within the nucleus and disrupting coding regions in the genome. Associating copy number variations (CNVs) with growth and gene expression are a powerful approach for identifying genomic characteristics that contribute to phenotypic and genotypic variation. A previous study using next-generation sequencing illustrated that the choline kinase beta (CHKB), Krüpple-like factor 6 (KLF6), glypican 1(GPC1), and cholinergic receptor muscarinic 3 (CHRM3) genes reside within copy number variable regions (CNVRs) of yak populations that overlap with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of meat quality and growth. As a result, this research aimed to determine the association of CNVs of the KLF6, CHKB, GPC1, and CHRM3 genes with growth traits in the Datong yak breed. The association between the CNV types of the KLF6, CHKB, GPC1, and CHRM3 genes and the growth traits in the Datong yak breed was determined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS software. The CNV types were classified as a loss (a copy number of 0 or 1), gain (a copy number >2), and normal (a copy number of 2) relative to the reference gene, BTF3 in the 387 individuals of Datong yak. These results indicated that the normal CNV types of the CHKB and GPC1 genes were significantly (P<0.05) associated with high body length, height and weight, and chest girth in six-month-old and five-year-old Datong yaks. On the other hand, the loss CNV types of the KLF6 gene is significantly (P<0.05) associated with body weight and length and chest girth at six-month-old and five-year-old Datong yaks. In the contrary, the gain CNV type of the CHRM3 gene is highly (P<0.05) associated with body weight, length, height, and chest girth in six-month-old and five-year-old. This work provides the first observation of the biological role of CNVs of the CHKB, KLF6, GPC1, and CHRM3 genes in the Datong yak breed and might, therefore, provide a novel opportunity to utilize data on CNVs in designing molecular markers for the selection of animal breeding programs for larger populations of various yak breeds. Therefore, we hypothesized that this study provided inclusive information on the application of CNVs of the CHKB, KLF6, GPC1, and CHRM3 genes in growth traits in Datong yaks and its possible function in bovine species.

Keywords: Copy number variation, growth traits, yak, genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

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

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

Keywords: compounding, ebonite dust, natural rubber, vulcanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Parveen Kumar, J. K. Juneja, Chandra Prakash, K. K. Raina

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A series of polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramics with compositional formula Ba0.80-xSmxPb0.20Ti0.90Zr0.10O3 with x varying from 0 to 0.01 in the steps of 0.0025 has been prepared by solid state reaction method. The dielectric constant and tangent loss was measured as a function of frequency from 100Hz to 1MHz at different temperatures (200-500oC). The electrical behavior was then investigated using complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) technique. From the CIS study, it has been found that there is a contribution of both grain and grain boundary in the electrical behavior of such ceramics. Grain and grain boundary resistivity and capacitance were calculated at different temperature using CIS technique. The present paper is about the discussion of grain and grain boundary contribution towards the electrical properties of Sm modified BaTiO3 based ceramics at high temperature.

Keywords: grain, grain boundary, impedance, dielectric

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Rajesh Bansal, Amit Raj Sharma, Vakil Singh

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The success and predictability of titanium implants for long durations are well established and there has been a tremendous increase in the popularity of implants among patients as well as clinicians over the last four decades. However, sometimes complications arise, which lead to the loss of the implant as well as the prosthesis. Fracture of dental implants is rare; however, at times, implants or abutment screws fracture and lead to many problems for the clinician and the patient. Possible causes of implant fracture include improper design, overload, fatigue and corrosion. Six retrieved fractured dental implants, with varying diameters and designs, were collected from time to time to examine by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize fracture behavior and assess the mechanism of fracture. In this investigation, it was observed that fracture of the five dental implants occurred due to fatigue crack initiation and propagation from the thread roots.

Keywords: titanium, dental, implant, fracture, failure

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Kanti Sapkota, Do Hyun Lee, Sung Soo Han

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Nanocomposites have been widely used in various fields such as electronics, catalysis, and in chemical, biological, biomedical and optical fields. They display broad biomedical properties like antidiabetic, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibacterial activities. Moreover, nanomaterials have been used for wastewater treatment. Particularly, bimetallic hybrid nanocomposites exhibit unique features as compared to their monometallic components. Hybrid nanomaterials not only afford the multifunctionality endowed by their constituents but can also show synergistic properties. In addition, these hybrid nanomaterials have noteworthy catalytic and optical properties. Notably, Au−Ag based nanoparticles can be employed in sensor and catalysis due to their characteristic composition-tunable plasmonic properties. Due to their importance and usefulness, various efforts were developed for their preparation. Generally, chemical methods have been described to synthesize such bimetallic nanocomposites. In such chemical synthesis, harmful and hazardous chemicals cause environmental contamination and increase toxicity levels. Therefore, ecologically benevolent processes for the synthesis of nanomaterials are highly desirable to diminish such environmental and safety concerns. In this regard, here we disclose a simple, cost-effective, external additive free and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of Au-Ag@AgCl nanocomposites using Nephrolepis cordifolia root extract. Au-Ag@AgCl NCs were obtained by the simultaneous reduction of cationic Ag and Au into AgCl in the presence of plant extract. The particle size of 10 to 50 nm was observed with the average diameter of 30 nm. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by various modern characterization techniques. For example, UV−visible spectroscopy was used to determine the optical activity of the synthesized NCs, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was employed to investigate the functional groups present in the biomolecules that were responsible for both reducing and capping agents during the formation of nanocomposites. Similarly, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to determine crystallinity, size, oxidation states, thermal stability and weight loss of the synthesized nanocomposites. As a synthetic application, the synthesized nanocomposite exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the multicomponent synthesis of biologically interesting quinoline molecules via domino annulation-aromatization reaction of aniline, arylaldehyde, and phenyl acetylene derivatives. Interestingly, the nanocatalyst was efficiently recycled for five times without substantial loss of catalytic properties.

Keywords: nanoparticles, catalysis, multicomponent, quinoline

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Mohammed Khalil Ur Rahman, Mohammed Alsharon, Arshad Muktar, Zahid Shaik

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Any ailment can go into terminal stages, cancer being one such disease which is many times detected in latent stages. Cancer is often characterized by constitutional symptoms which are agonizing in nature which disturbs patients and their family as well. In order to relieve such intolerable symptoms treatment modality employed is known to be ‘Palliative Care’. The goal of palliative care is to enhance patient’s quality of life by relieving or rather reducing the distressing symptoms of patients such as pain, nausea/ vomiting, anorexia/loss of appetite, excessive salivation, mouth ulcers, weight loss, constipation, oral thrush, emaciation etc. which are due to the effect of disease or due to the undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation etc. Ayurveda and Unani as well as other traditional medicines is getting more and more international attention in recent years and Ayurveda and Unani holistic perspective of the disease, it seems that there are many herbs and herbomineral preparation which can be employed in the treatment of malignancy and also in palliative care. Though many of them have yet to be scientifically proved as anti-cancerous but there is definitely a positive lead that some of these medications relieve the agonising symptoms thereby making life of the patient easy. Health is viewed in Islam in a holistic way. One of the names of the Quran is al-shifa' meaning ‘that which heals’ or ‘the restorer of health’ to refer to spiritual, intellectual, psychological, and physical health. The general aim of medical science, according to Islam, is to secure and adopt suitable measures which, with Allah’s permission, help to preserve or restore the health of the human body. Islam motivates the Physician to view the patient as one organism. The patient has physical, social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions that must be considered in synthesis with an integrated, holistic approach. Aims & Objectives: - To suggest herbs which are mentioned in Ayurveda Unani with potential palliative activity in case of Cancer patients. - Most of tibb nabawi [Prophetic Medicine] is preventive medicine and must have been divinely inspired. - Spiritual Aspects of Healing: Prayer, dua, recitation of the Quran - Remembrance of Allah play a central role.Materials & Method: Literary review of the herbs supported with experiential evidence will be discussed. Discussion: On the basis of collected data subject will be discussed in length. Conclusion: Will be presented in paper.

Keywords: palliative care, holistic, Ayurvedic and Unani traditional system of medicine, Quran, hadith

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Andrew Green, Jiaming Liu, Kellathur Srinivasan, Raymond Chua

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Introduction: The size of Singapore’s online health product (HP) market (e-commerce) is largely unknown. However, it is recognized that a large majority comes from overseas and thus, unregulated. As buying HP from unauthorized sources significantly compromises public health safety, understanding e-commerce users’ demographics and their perceptions on online HP purchasing becomes a pivotal first step to form a basis for recommendations in Singapore’s pharmacovigilance efforts. Objective: To assess the prevalence of online HP purchasing behaviour among Singaporean e-commerce users. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study targeting Singaporean e-commerce users recruited from various local websites and online forums. Participants were not randomized into study arms but instead stratified by random sampling method based on participants’ age. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was used to explore participants' demographics, online HP purchasing behaviour, knowledge and attitude. The association of different variables with online HP purchasing behaviour was analysed using logistic regression statistics. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of HP e-commerce users in Singapore (%) and variables that contribute to the prevalence (adjusted prevalent ratio). Results: The study recruited 372 complete and valid responses. The prevalence of online HP consumers among e-commerce users in Singapore is estimated to be 55.9% (1.7 million consumers). Online purchasing of complementary HP (46.9%) was the most prevalent, followed by medical devices (21.6%) and Western medicine (20.5%). Multivariate analysis showed that age is an independent variable that correlates with the likelihood of buying HP online. The prevalence of HP e-commerce users is highest in the 35-44 age group (64.1%) and lowest among the 16-24 age group (36.4%). The most bought HP through the internet are vitamins and minerals (21.5%), non-herbal (15.9%), herbal (13.9%), weight loss (8.7%) and sports (8.4%) supplements. While the top 3 products are distributed equally between the genders, there is a skew towards female respondents (12.4% in females vs. 4.9% in males) for weight loss supplements and towards males (13.2% in males vs. 3.7% in females) for sports supplements. Even though online consumers are in the younger age brackets, our study found that up to 72.0% of HP bought online are bought for others (buyer’s family and/or friends). Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant association between purchasing HP through online means and the perceptions that 'internet is safe' (adjusted Prevalence Ratio=1.15, CI 1.03-1.28), 'buying HP online is time saving' (PR=1.17, CI 1.01-1.36), and 'recognition of HP brand' (PR=1.21 CI 1.06-1.40). Conclusions: This study has provided prevalence data for online HP market in Singapore, and has allowed the country’s regulatory body to formulate a targeted pharmacovigilance approach to this growing problem.

Keywords: e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, pharmacovigilance, Singapore

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Qian Li, Shouxiang Lu

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With the rapid increase in electric power use, wire and cable fire occur more and more frequent. The fire smoke has a corrosive effect on the solders, which seriously affects the function of electronic equipment. In this research, the effect of environment relative humidity on corrosion behavior of Sn-0.7Cu solder has been researched under 140 g·m⁻³ polyvinyl chloride (PVC) fire smoke atmosphere. The mass loss of Sn-0.7Cu solder increased with the relative humidity. Furthermore, the microstructures and corrosion mechanism were analyzed by using SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS. The result shows that Sn₂₁Cl₁₆(OH)₁₄O₆ is the main corrosion products and the corrosion process is an electrochemical reaction. The present work could provide guidance to the risk assessment for electronic equipment rescue after a fire.

Keywords: corrosion, fire smoke, relative humidity, Sn-0.7Cu solder

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Yadwinder Kumar, Priyanka Rani Amandeep Singh

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In this paper the design of a multiband pre-fractal micro strip antenna with proximity coupling feed is presented. The proposed antenna resonates on seven different frequencies that are 2.6 GHz, 5.1 GHz, 9.4 GHz, 11.5 GHz, 13.8 GHz, 16.3 GHz, and 18.6 GHz. Simulated results presented here shows that the minimum return loss is achieved at the 16.3 GHz frequency which is up to 37 dB. Also the maximum band width of 700 MHz is achieved by the frequency bands 13.4 GHz to 14.1 GHz, 15.9 GHz to 16.6 GHz and 18.2 GHz to 18.9 GHz. The proposed feed line is sandwiched between two substrate layers and increases in the bandwidth of antenna has been observed up to 13% in comparison of micro strip feed line. Effect of key design parameters such as variation in substrate material, substrate height and feeding technique on antenna S-parameter have been investigated and discussed.

Keywords: fractal antenna, pre-fractals, micro strip antenna, ISM band, electromagnetic coupling, VSWR

Procedia PDF Downloads 570

Authors: Andreas Aceranti, Simonetta Vernocchi, Marco Colorato, Massimo Briamo, Giovanni Abalsamo

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Most of the benefits of sport come from related physical activity, however, there are secondary psychological positive effects. There are also obvious disadvantages, high tensions related to failure, injuries, eating disorders and burnout. Depressive symptoms and illnesses related to anxiety or stress can be preventable or even simply alleviated through regular activity and exercise. It has been shown that the practice of a sport brings physical benefits, but can also have psychological and spiritual benefits. Reduced performance in male individuals has been linked to sexual activity before competitions in the past. The long-standing debate about the impact of sexual activity on sports performance has been controversial in the mainstream media in recent decades. This salacious topic has generated extensive discussion, although its high-quality data has been limited. Literature has, so far, mainly included subjective assessments from surveys. However, such surveys can be skewed as these assessments are based on individual beliefs, perceptions, and memory. There has been a long discussion over the years but even there objective data has been lacking. One reason behind coaches' bans on sexual activity before sporting events may be the belief that abstinence increases frustration, which in turn is shifted into aggressive behavior toward competitors. However, this assumption is not always valid. In fact, depriving an athlete of a normal activity can cause feelings of guilt and loss of concentration. Sexual activity during training can promote relaxation and positively influence performance. The author concludes that, although there is a need for scientific research in this area, it seems that sexual intercourse does not decrease performance unless it is accompanied by late night socialization, loss of sleep or drinking. Although the effects of sexual engagement on aerobic and strength athletic performance have not been definitively established, most research seems to rule out a direct impact. In order to analyze, as much as possible without bias, whether sexual activity significantly affects an athletic performance or not, we sampled 5 amateur athletes, between 22 and 25 years old and all male. The study was based on the timing of 4 running races of 5 champions. We asked participants to respect guidelines to avoid sexual activity (sex or masturbation) 12 hours before 2 of the 4 competitions, and to practice before the remaining 2 races.In doing so, we were able to compare and analyze the impact of activity and abstinence on performance results. We have come to the conclusion that sexual behavior on athletic performance needs to be better understood, more randomized trials and high-quality controls are strongly needed but available information suggests that sexual activity the day before a race has no negative effects on performance.

Keywords: sex, masturbation, male performance, soccer

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: J. I. Santos, A. E. Cesarin, C. A. R. Sales, M. B. B. Triano, P. F. R. B. Martins, A. F. Braga, N. J. Neto, A., A. M. Barroso, P. L. C. A. Alves, C. A. M. Huaman

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Climate change projections based on the emission of greenhouse effect gases suggest an increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in up to 750 ppm. In this scenario, we have significant changes in plant development, and consequently, in agricultural systems. This study aims to evaluate the interaction between culture (Glycine max) and weed (Amaranthus viridis and Euphorbia heterophylla) in two conditions of CO₂, 400 and 800 ppm. The results showed that the coexistence of culture with both weed species resulted in a mutual loss, with decrease in dry mass productivity of culture + weeds, in both conditions of CO₂. However, when the culture is grown in association with E. heterophylla, total dry mass of culture + weed was smaller at 800 ppm. Soybean was more aggressive in comparison to the A. viridis in both the concentrations of CO₂, but not in relation to the E. heterophylla.

Keywords: plants interaction, increase of [CO₂], plants of metabolismo C3, glycine max

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Jae-Chang Kwak, Yong-Seo Koo

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The high efficiency power management IC (PMIC) with switching device is presented in this paper. PMIC is controlled with PFM control method in order to have high power efficiency at high current level. Dynamic Threshold voltage CMOS (DT-CMOS) with low on-resistance is designed to decrease conduction loss. The threshold voltage of DT-CMOS drops as the gate voltage increase, resulting in a much higher current handling capability than standard MOSFET. PFM control circuits consist of a generator, AND gate and comparator. The generator is made to have 1.2MHz oscillation voltage. The DC-DC converter based on PFM control circuit and low on-resistance switching device is presented in this paper.

Keywords: DT-CMOS, PMIC, PFM, DC-DC converter

Procedia PDF Downloads 433

Authors: Medina Kadiri

Abstract:

Nigeria has an extensive coastline of 853 km long between latitude 4°10′ to 6°20′ N and longitude 2°45′ to 8°35′ E and situated in the Gulf of Guinea within the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem. There is a substantial coastal community relying on this region for their livelihood of fishing, aquaculture, mariculture for various sea foods either for consumption or economic sustenance or both. Socio-economic study was conducted, using questionnaires and interview, to investigate the health symptoms of harmful algae experienced by these communities on consumption of sea foods. Eighteen symptoms were recorded. Of the respondents who experienced symptoms after consumption of sea foods, overall, more people (33.5%) experienced vomiting as a symptom, followed by nausea (14.03%) and then diarrhea (13.57%). Others were headache (9.95%), mouth tingling (8.6%) and tiredness (7.24%).The least were muscle pain, rashes, confusion, chills, burning sensation, breathing difficulty and balance difficulty which represented 0.45% each and the rest (dizziness, digestive tract tumors, itching, memory loss, & stomach pain) were less than 3% each. In terms of frequency, the most frequent symptom was diarrhea with 87.5% occurrence, closely followed by vomiting with 81.3%. Tiredness was 75% while nausea was 62.5% and headache 50%. Others such as dizziness, itching, memory loss, mouth tingling and stomach pain had about 40% occurrence or less. The least occurring symptoms were muscle pain, rashes, confusion, chills and balance difficulty and burning sensation occurring only once i.e 6.3%. Breathing difficulty was last but one with 12.5%. Visible symptom from seafood and the particular seafood consumed that prompted the visible symptoms, shows that 3.5% of the entire respondents who ate crab experienced various symptoms ranging from vomiting (2.4%), itching (0.5%) and headache (0.4%). For periwinkle, vomiting had 1.7%, while 1.2% represented diarrhea and nausea symptom comprised 0.8% of all the respondents who ate periwinkle. Some respondents who consumed fish shows that 0.4% of the respondents had Itching. From the respondents who preferred to consume shrimps/crayfish and crab, shrimps/crayfish, crab and periwinkle, the most common illness was tiredness (1.2%), while 0.5% had experienced diarrhea and many others. However, for most respondents who claimed to have no preference for any seafood, with 55.7% affirming this with vomiting being the highest (6.1%), followed closely by mouth tingling/ burning sensation (5.8%). Examining the seasonal influence on visible symptoms revealed that vomiting occurred more in the month of January with 5.5%, while headache and itching were predominant in October with (2.8%). Nausea has 3.1% in January than any season of the year, 2.6% of the entire respondents opined to have experience diarrhea in October than in any other season of the year. Regular evaluation of harmful algal poisoning symptoms is recommended for coastal communities.

Keywords: coastal, harmful algae, human poisoning symptoms, Nigeria, phycotoxins

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Authors: Tarek Aly

Abstract:

The shoulder is the most mobile joint whose stability requires the interaction of both dynamic and static stabilizers. Its wide range of movement predisposes to a high susceptibility to dislocation, accounting for nearly 50% of all dislocations. This trauma typically results in ligament injury (e.g., labral tear, capsular strain) or bony fracture (e.g., loss of glenoid or humeral head bone), which frequently causes recurrent instability. Patients with significant glenoid defects may require Latarjet procedure, which involves transferring the coracoid to the antero-inferior glenoid rim. In spite of outstanding results, 15 to 30% of cases suffer complications. In this article, we discuss the diagnosis of recurrent shoulder instability, the surgical technique and various complications of Latarjet procedure.

Keywords: recurrent, anterior gleno-humeral instability, latarjet, unstable shoulder

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: K. K. Saju, A. R. Reghuraj

Abstract:

High reflectance of surgical instruments under bright light hinders the visual clarity during laparoscopic surgical procedures leading to loss of precision and device control and creates strain and undesired difficulties to surgeons. Majority of the surgical instruments are made of surgical grade steel. Instruments with a non reflective surface can enhance the visual clarity during precision surgeries. A conversion coating of black oxide has been successfully developed 410 grade surgical stainless steel .The characteristics of the developed coating suggests the application of this technique for developing 410 grade surgical instruments with minimal reflectance.

Keywords: conversion coatings, 410 stainless steel, black oxide, reflectance

Procedia PDF Downloads 438

Authors: M. A. Sohaly, M. A. Elfouly

Abstract:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous movement disorder that often appears in the elderly. PD is induced by a loss of dopamine secretion. Some drugs increase the secretion of dopamine. In this paper, we will simply study the stability of PD models as a nonlinear delay differential equation. After a period of taking drugs, these act as positive feedback and increase the tremors of patients, and then, the differential equation has positive coefficients and the system is unstable under these conditions. We will present a set of suggested modifications to make the system more compatible with the biodynamic system. When giving a set of numerical examples, this research paper is concerned with the mathematical analysis, and no clinical data have been used.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease, stability, simulation, two delay differential equation

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: M. A. Ahmadu, S. S. Rabia

Abstract:

During the past few decades, energy dissipation in the ionosphere resulting from the geomagnetic activity has caused an increasing number of major disruptions of important power and communication services, malfunctions and loss of expensive facilities. Here, the electron precipitation energy, w(ep) and joule heating energy, w(jh) was used in the computation of this dissipation using Østgaard’s empirical relation from hourly geomagnetic indices of 2012, under the assumption that the magnetosphere does not store any energy, so that at the beginning of the activity t1=0 and end at t2=t, the statistical results obtained show that ionospheric dissipation varies month to month, day to day and hour to hour and estimated with a value ~3.6 w(ep), which is in agreement with experimental result.

Keywords: Ostgaard's, ionospheric dissipation, joule heating, electron precipitation, geomagnetic indices, empirical relation

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Nazli W. Hardy

Abstract:

A critical component in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is the need for secure and appropriate transmission, processing, and storage of the data. Our current forms of authentication, and identity and access management do not suffice because they are not designed to service cohesive, integrated, interconnected devices, and service applications. The seemingly endless opportunities of IoT are in fact circumscribed on multiple levels by concerns such as trust, privacy, security, loss of control, and related issues. This paper considers multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms and cohesive identity relationship management (IRM) standards. It also surveys messaging protocols that are appropriate for the IoT ecosystem.

Keywords: identity relation management, multifactor authentication, protocols, survey of internet of things ecosystem

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Danladi Ali, Abdullahi Mukaila

Abstract:

In this work, GSM signal strength (power) was monitored in an indoor environment. Samples of the GSM signal strength was measured on mobile equipment (ME). One-dimensional multilevel wavelet is used to predict the fading phenomenon of the GSM signal measured and neural network clustering to determine the average power received in the study area. The wavelet prediction revealed that the GSM signal is attenuated due to the fast fading phenomenon which fades about 7 times faster than the radio wavelength while the neural network clustering determined that -75dBm appeared more frequently followed by -85dBm. The work revealed that significant part of the signal measured is dominated by weak signal and the signal followed more of Rayleigh than Gaussian distribution. This confirmed the wavelet prediction.

Keywords: decomposition, clustering, propagation, model, wavelet, signal strength and spectral efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 432

Authors: Milind D. Meshram

Abstract:

Ascarids are the most frequent worm parasite of dogs and cats. There are two species that commonly infect dogs: Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina. Adult roundworms live in the stomach and intestines and can grow to 7 inches (18 cm) long. A female may lay 200,000 eggs in a day. The eggs are protected by a hard shell. They are extremely hardy and can live for months or years in the soil. A dog aged about 6 years, from Satara was referred to Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex (TVCC) with a complaint of abdominal pain, anorexia, loss of condition and dull body coat with mucous pale membrane. The clinical examination revealed Anaemia, palpation of abdomen revealed enlargement of liver, slimy feel of the intestine loop, diarrhea.

Keywords: therapeutic management, Toxocara canis, induced hepatitis, dogs

Procedia PDF Downloads 574

Authors: Osama Terra, Mariesa Nel, Hatem Hussein

Abstract:

Calibration of Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) has a crucial role for the accurate determination of fault locations and the accurate calculation of loss budget of long-haul optical fibre links during installation and repair. A comparison has been made between the Egyptian National Institute for Standards (NIS-Egypt) and the National Metrology institute of South Africa (NMISA-South Africa) for the calibration of an OTDR. The distance and the attenuation scales of a transfer OTDR have been calibrated by both institutes using their standards according to the standard IEC 61746-1 (2009). The results of this comparison have been compiled in this report.

Keywords: OTDR calibration, recirculating loop, concatenated method, standard fiber

Procedia PDF Downloads 424

Authors: Shaina Nagpal, Amit Gupta

Abstract:

In this work, all optical Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) generated single sideband with suppressed carrier is presented to provide better efficiency. The generation of single sideband and enhanced carrier power signal using the SBS technique is further used to strengthen the low shifted sideband and to suppress the upshifted sideband. These generated single sideband signals are able to work at high frequency ranges. Also, generated single sideband is validated over 90 km transmission using single mode fiber with acceptable bit error rate. The results for an equivalent are then compared so that the acceptable technique is chosen and also the required quality for the optimum performance of the system is reported.

Keywords: stimulated Brillouin scattering, radio over fiber, upper side band, quality factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 212