Search results for: random waves

Authors: Elmira Shamshity

Abstract:

This study aimed to explore the economic approach for the Setiu wetland evaluation as a future protection strategy. A questionnaire survey was used based on the single-bounded dichotomous choice, contingent valuation method to differentiate individuals’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for the conservation of the Setiu wetland. The location of study was Terengganu province in Malaysia. The results of the random questionnaire survey showed that protection of Setiu ecosystem is important to the indigenous community. The mean WTP for protection of ecosystem Setiu wetland was 12.985 Ringgit per month per household for 10 years. There was significant variation in the stated amounts of WTP based on the respondents’ knowledge, household income, educational level, and the bid amounts. The findings of this study may help improving understanding the WTP of indigenous people for the protection of wetland, and providing useful information for policy makers to design an effective program of ecosystem protection.

Keywords: willingness to pay, ecosystem, setiu wetland, Terengganu Malaysia

Procedia PDF Downloads 608

Authors: Ramazan Kadiev, Arkadi Ponossov

Abstract:

Semidiscrete systems contain both continuous and discrete components. This means that the dynamics is mostly continuous, but at certain instants, it is exposed to abrupt influences. Such systems naturally appear in applications, for example, in biological and ecological models as well as in the control theory. Therefore, the study of semidiscrete systems has recently attracted the attention of many specialists. Stochastic effects are an important part of any realistic approach to modeling. For example, stochasticity arises in the population dynamics, demographic and ecological due to a change in time of factors external to the system affecting the survival of the population. In control theory, random coefficients can simulate inaccuracies in measurements. It will be shown in the presentation how to incorporate such effects into semidiscrete systems. Stability analysis is an essential part of modeling real-world problems. In the presentation, it will be explained how sufficient conditions for the moment stability of solutions in terms of the coefficients for linear semidiscrete stochastic equations can be derived using non-Lyapunov technique.

Keywords: abrupt changes, exponential stability, regularization, stochastic noises

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Mark Edward S. Paulo

Abstract:

This study was conducted to determine the extent of constructivist learning in science classes of the college department of Southville International School and Colleges. This explores the students’ assessment of their learning when professors would give lecture and various activities in the classroom and at the same time their perception on how their professors maintain a constructivist learning environment. In this study, a total of 185 students participated. These students were enrolled in Science courses offered in the first semester of AY 2014 to 2015. Descriptive correlational method was used in this study while simple random sampling technique was utilized in getting the number of target population. The results revealed that student often observed that their professors apply constructivist approach when teaching sciences. A positive correlation was found between students’ level of learning and extent of constructivism.

Keywords: college teaching, constructivism, pedagogy, student-centered approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Mladen Dragičević, Mirjana Pejić Bach, Vanja Šimičević

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to develop models that would enable predicting student success. These models could improve allocation of students among colleges and optimize the newly introduced model of government subsidies for higher education. For the purpose of collecting data, an anonymous survey was carried out in the last year of undergraduate degree student population using random sampling method. Decision trees were created of which two have been chosen that were most successful in predicting student success based on two criteria: Grade Point Average (GPA) and time that a student needs to finish the undergraduate program (time-to-degree). Decision trees have been shown as a good method of classification student success and they could be even more improved by increasing survey sample and developing specialized decision trees for each type of college. These types of methods have a big potential for use in decision support systems.

Keywords: data mining, knowledge discovery in databases, prediction models, student success

Procedia PDF Downloads 408

Authors: Martha E. Aguiar-Barrera, Humberto Gutierrez-Pulido, Veronica Vargas-Alejo

Abstract:

Identifying and modeling random phenomena is a fundamental cognitive process to understand and transform reality. Recognizing situations governed by chance and giving them a scientific interpretation, without being carried away by beliefs or intuitions, is a basic training for citizens. Hence the importance of generating teaching-learning processes, supported using technology, paying attention to model creation rather than only executing mathematical calculations. In order to develop the student's knowledge about basic probability distributions and decision making; in this work a model eliciting activity (MEA) is reported. The intention was applying the Model and Modeling Perspective to design an activity related to civil engineering that would be understandable for students, while involving them in its solution. Furthermore, the activity should imply a decision-making challenge based on sample data, and the use of the computer should be considered. The activity was designed considering the six design principles for MEA proposed by Lesh and collaborators. These are model construction, reality, self-evaluation, model documentation, shareable and reusable, and prototype. The application and refinement of the activity was carried out during three school cycles in the Probability and Statistics class for Civil Engineering students at the University of Guadalajara. The analysis of the way in which the students sought to solve the activity was made using audio and video recordings, as well as with the individual and team reports of the students. The information obtained was categorized according to the activity phase (individual or team) and the category of analysis (sample, linearity, probability, distributions, mechanization, and decision-making). With the results obtained through the MEA, four obstacles have been identified to understand and apply the binomial distribution: the first one was the resistance of the student to move from the linear to the probabilistic model; the second one, the difficulty of visualizing (infering) the behavior of the population through the sample data; the third one, viewing the sample as an isolated event and not as part of a random process that must be viewed in the context of a probability distribution; and the fourth one, the difficulty of decision-making with the support of probabilistic calculations. These obstacles have also been identified in literature on the teaching of probability and statistics. Recognizing these concepts as obstacles to understanding probability distributions, and that these do not change after an intervention, allows for the modification of these interventions and the MEA. In such a way, the students may identify themselves the erroneous solutions when they carrying out the MEA. The MEA also showed to be democratic since several students who had little participation and low grades in the first units, improved their participation. Regarding the use of the computer, the RStudio software was useful in several tasks, for example in such as plotting the probability distributions and to exploring different sample sizes. In conclusion, with the models created to solve the MEA, the Civil Engineering students improved their probabilistic knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts such as sample, population, and probability distribution.

Keywords: linear model, models and modeling, probability, randomness, sample

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Hyuk Sang Yoo, Young Ju Son, Wei Mao, Myung Gu Kang, Sol Lee

Abstract:

Biomedical applications of electrospun nanofibrous meshes have been received tremendous attentions because of their unique structures and versatilities as biomaterials. Incorporation of growth factors in fibrous meshes can be performed by surface-modification and encapsulation. Those growth factors stimulate differentiation and proliferation of specific types of cells and thus lead tissue regenerations of specific cell types. Topographical cues of electrospun nanofibrous meshes also increase differentiation of specific cell types according to alignments of fibrous structures. Wound healing treatments of diabetic ulcers were performed using nanofibrous meshes encapsulating multiple growth factors. Aligned nanofibrous meshes and those with random configuration were compared for differentiating mesenchymal stem cells into neuronal cells. Thus, nanofibrous meshes can be applied to drug delivery carriers and matrix for promoting cellular proliferation.

Keywords: nanofiber, tissue, mesh, drug

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Naragain Phumchusri, Krisada Roekdethawesab, Manoj Lohatepanont

Abstract:

Overbooking is an approach of selling more goods or services than available capacities because sellers anticipate that some buyers will not show-up or may cancel their bookings. At present, many airlines deploy overbooking strategy in order to deal with the uncertainty of their customers. Particularly, some airlines sell more cargo capacity than what they have available to freight forwarders with beliefs that some of them will cancel later. In this paper, we propose methods to find the optimal overbooking level of volume and weight for air cargo in order to minimize the total cost, containing cost of spoilage and cost of offloaded. Cancellations of volume and weight are jointly random variables with a known joint distribution. Heuristic approaches applying the idea of weight and volume independency is considered to find an appropriate answer to the full problem. Computational experiments are used to explore the performance of approaches presented in this paper, as compared to a naïve method under different scenarios.

Keywords: air cargo overbooking, offloading capacity, optimal overbooking level, revenue management, spoilage capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Collen Maseloane, Chris Cloete

Abstract:

The study investigated the status of building condition assessments of state-owned immovable assets in South Africa. A stratified random sample of 200 (out of 372) personnel was drawn from the eight rele-vant business units of the Department of Public Works (DPW). A questionnaire comprising open-ended questions was distributed to the sampled participants and a total of 139 completed questionnaires were received. A significant number of state asset properties were found to be in poor condition owing to the asset managers’ inability to access automated information on the conditions of assets. It is recommended that the immovable asset register of the Department requires constant enhancement to update information on the condition of each state-owned immovable asset under its custodianship. Implementation of the proposals should contribute to the maintenance of the value of state assets in South Africa.

Keywords: building condition assessment, immovable asset register, life cycle asset management, public works, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: P. Senthilraja, C. Rukumani Khandhan, M. Palaniappan, S. L. Rama, P. Sai Sushimitha, R. Madhan, J. Vinumathi, N. Vijayarangan

Abstract:

Nowadays, the logistics achieve a vast improvement in efficient delivery of goods. The technology improvement also helps to improve its development, but still the owners of transport vehicles face problems, i.e., fuel theft in vehicles by the drivers or by an unknown person. There is no proper solution to overcome the problems. This scheme is to determine the amount of fuel that has been stolen and also to determine the position of the vehicle at a particular time using the technologies like GPS, GSM, ultrasonic fuel level sensor and numeric lock system. The ultrasonic sensor uses the ultrasonic waves to calculate the height of the tank up to which the fuel is available. Based on height it is possible to calculate the amount of fuel. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system. The scientific community uses GPS for its precision timing capability and position information. The GSM provides the periodic information about the fuel level. A numeric lock system has been provided for fuel tank opening lever. A password is provided to access the fuel tank lever and this is authenticated only by the driver and the owner. Once the fuel tank is opened an alert is sent to owner through a SMS including the timing details. Third party monitoring software is a user interface that updates the information automatically into the database which helps to retrieve the data as and when required. Third party monitoring software provides vehicle’s information to the owner and also shows the status of the vehicle. The techniques that are to be proposed will provide an efficient output. This project helps to overcome the theft and hence to put forth fuel economy.

Keywords: fuel theft, third party monitoring software, bioinformatics, biomedicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 393

Authors: Oleg Oborin

Abstract:

This paper is dedicated to the development of the model, which can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of long-term corporate strategies and identify the best strategies. The theoretical model of the relatively homogenous product market (such as iron and steel industry, mobile services or road transport) has been developed. In the model, the market consists of a large number of companies with different internal characteristics and objectives. The companies can perform mergers and acquisitions in order to increase their market share. The model allows the simulation of long-time dynamics of the market (for a period longer than 20 years). Therefore, a large number of simulations on random input data was conducted in the framework of the model. After that, the results of the model were compared with the dynamics of real markets, such as the US steel industry from the beginning of the XX century to the present day, and the market of mobile services in Germany for the period between 1990 and 2015.

Keywords: Economic Modelling, Long-Time Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Presto Tri Sambodo, Suharjana, Galih Yoga Santiko

Abstract:

Having an ideal body shape healthy body are the desire of everyone, both young and old. The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) the effect of block circuit training on aerobic fitness and body fat percentage, (2) the effect of non-block circuit training on aerobic fitness and body fat percentage, and (3) differences in the effect of exercise on block and non-circuit training block against aerobic fitness and body fat percentage. This research is an experimental research with the prestest posttest design Two groups design. The population in this study were 57 members of fat loss at GOR UNY Fitness Center. The retrieval technique uses purposive random sampling with a sample of 20 people. The instruments with rockport test (1.6 KM) and body fat percentage with a scale of bioelectrical impedance analysis omron (BIA). So it can be concluded the circuit training between block and non-block has a significant effect on aerobic fitness and body fat percentage. And for differences in the effect of circuit training between blocks and non-blocks, it is more influential on aerobic fitness than the percentage of body fat.

Keywords: circuit training, aerobic fitness, body fat percentage, healthy body

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Pitimanus Bunlue

Abstract:

This research aim (1) to determine the content of communication, social capital and cultural capital to promote tourism in the province to create awareness, motivation and desire to tourists visiting Thailand (2) to evaluate the performance of innovation communication social capital and cultural capital to promote tourism southern of Thailand. This research is a qualitative research. A research synthesis projects on social capital and cultural capital by use focus group discussions with media professionals and academics to communicate using a random sample specific. The result show that (1) Innovative communication, social capital and cultural capital and effective communication innovations after everyone wants to travel to Ranong province is the very highest level. (2) Information and experience about Ranong at a high level. (3) The data shows the strengths of each of the attractions at a high level. (4) The data shows a lifestyle that is unique to the province is moderate.

Keywords: innovative communication, promoting tourism, southern of Thailand, social capital

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Manan Aslam, Shafqat Rasool

Abstract:

This paper attempts to examine impact of major factors affecting marketed surplus of seed cotton in district Khanewal (Punjab) using primary source of data. A representative sample of 40 cotton farmers was selected using stratified random sampling technique. The impact of major factors on marketed surplus of seed cotton growers was estimated by employing double log form of regression analysis. The value of adjusted R2 was 0.64 whereas the F-value was 10.81. The findings of analysis revealed that experience of farmers, education of farmers, area under cotton crop and distance from wholesale market were the significant variables affecting marketed surplus of cotton whereas the variables (marketing cost and sale price) showed insignificant impact. The study suggests improving prevalent marketing practices to increase volume of marketed surplus of cotton in district Khanewal.

Keywords: seed cotton, marketed surplus, double log regression analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Shiuh-Kuang Yang, Sheam-Chyun Lin, Jyin-Wen Cheng, Deng-Guei Hsu

Abstract:

The torsional mode of guided wave, T(0,1), has been applied to detect characteristics and defects in pipelines, especially in the cases of coated, elevated and buried pipes. The signals of minor corrosions would be covered by the noise, unfortunately, because the coated material and buried medium always induce a strong attenuation of the guided wave. Furthermore, the guided wave would be attenuated more seriously and make the signals hard to be identified when setting the array ring of the transducers on a general corrosion area of the pipe. The objective of this study is then to discuss the effects of the above-mentioned general corrosion on guided wave tests by experiments and signal processing techniques, based on the use of the finite element method, the two-dimensional Fourier transform and the continuous wavelet transform. Results show that the excitation energy would be reduced when the array ring set on the pipe surface having general corrosion. The non-uniformed contact surface also produces the unwanted asymmetric modes of the propagating guided wave. Some of them are even mixing together with T(0,1) mode and increase the difficulty of measurements, especially when a defect or local corrosion merged in the general corrosion area. It is also showed that the guided waves attenuation are increasing with the increasing corrosion depth or the rising inspection frequency. However, the coherent signals caused by the general corrosion would be decayed with increasing frequency. The results obtained from this research should be able to provide detectors to understand the impact when the array ring set on the area of general corrosion and the way to distinguish the localized corrosion which is inside the area of general corrosion.

Keywords: guided wave, finite element method, two-dimensional fourier transform, wavelet transform, general corrosion, localized corrosion

Procedia PDF Downloads 405

Authors: Zhidong Zhang, Zhi-Chao Zhang

Abstract:

This study examines adolescent psychological and behavioral problems. The Achenbach systems of empirically based assessment (ASEBA) were used as the instrument. The problem framework consists of internal, external and social behavioral problems which are theoretically developed based on about 113 items plus relevant background variables. In this study, the sample consist of 1,975 sixth and seventh grade students in Northeast China. Stratified random sampling method was used to collect the data, meaning that samples were from different school districts, schools, and classes. The researchers looked at both macro and micro effect. Therefore, multilevel analysis techniques were used in the data analysis. The parts of the research results indicated that the background variables such as extracurricular activities were directly related to students’ internal problems.

Keywords: behavioral problems, anxious/depressed problems, internalizing problems, mental health, under-represented groups, empirically-based assessment, hierarchical modeling, ASEBA, multilevel analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 604

Authors: Geetanjali Sharma

Abstract:

Guillain Barre’ syndrome (GBS) is an auto-immune mediated demyelination poly-radiculo-neuropathy. Clinical features include progressive symmetrical ascending muscle weakness of more than two limbs, areflexia with or without sensory, autonomic and brainstem abnormalities, the purpose of this study was to determine subclinical neurological changes of CNS with GBS and to establish the presence of central demyelination in GBS. The study was prospective and conducted in the Department of Physiology, Pt. B. D. Sharma Post-graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India to find out early central demyelination in clinically diagnosed patients of GBS. These patients were referred from the department of Medicine of our Institute to our department for electro-diagnostic evaluation. The study group comprised of 40 subjects (20 clinically diagnosed GBS patients and 20 healthy individuals as controls) aged between 6-65 years. Brain Stem evoked Potential (BAEP) were done in both groups using RMS EMG EP mark II machine. BAEP parameters included the latencies of waves I to IV, inter peak latencies I-III, III-IV & I-V. Statistically significant increase in absolute peak and inter peak latencies in the GBS group as compared with control group was noted. Results of evoked potential reflect impairment of auditory pathways probably due to focal demyelination in Schwann cell derived myelin sheaths that cover the extramedullary portion of auditory nerves. Early detection of the sub-clinical abnormalities is important as timely intervention reduces morbidity.

Keywords: brainstem, demyelination, evoked potential, Guillain Barre’

Procedia PDF Downloads 303

Authors: Panupong Chanplin, Wilailuk Mepracha, Sathapath Kilaso

Abstract:

The aims of this research were twofold: 1) to logo design of Huay Kon Border Market, Chaloemphrakiat District, Nan Province and 2) to study the level of tourist satisfaction towards logo design of Huay Kon Border Market, Chaloemphrakiat District, Nan Province. Tourist satisfaction was measured using four criteria: a unique product identity, ease of remembrance, product utility, and beauty/impressiveness. The researcher utilized a probability sampling method via simple random sampling. The sample consisted of 30 tourists in the Huay Kon Border Market. Statistics utilized for data analysis were percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results suggest that tourist had high levels of satisfaction towards all four criteria of the logo design that was designed to target them. This study proposes that specifically logo designed of Huay Kon Border Market could also be implemented with other real media already available on the market.

Keywords: satisfaction, logo, design, Huay Kon border market

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Niyom Suwandej, Kevin Wongleedee

Abstract:

The objectives of this research were to study an importance of tourists’ destination loyalty from the perspective of inbound tourists visiting Bangkok and to study their level of interest to recommend as a tourist destination to others. A probability random sampling of 200 inbound tourists was utilized. The design of sampling was to collect half male and half female sample. A Likert-five-scale questionnaire was developed to collect the data. In addition, in-depth interviews were also used to obtain their perspective and experience of visiting Thailand. The findings disclosed that positive tourist perception influenced destination loyalty. Also, the majority of respondents had a high level of loyalty. When examined in detail, the destination loyalty indicators can be ranked according to the mean average from high to low as follows: to recommend the destination, to say positive thing about the destination, to plan to visit the destination in the near future, to acquire more information about the destination, and to spend more money at the destination.

Keywords: destination loyalty, inbound tourists, impact, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Silumpa Suboonsan, Suwat Pattaramalai

Abstract:

In this paper, the performance of internet usage by using Vertical Handover (VHO) between cellular network and wireless local area network (WLAN) on Silom line Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) is evaluated. In the evaluation model, there is the WLAN on every BTS station and there are cellular base stations along the BTS path. The maximum data rates for cellular network are 7.2, 14.4, 42, and 100Mbps and for WLAN are 54, 150, and 300Mbps. The simulation are based on users using internet, watching VDOs and browsing web pages, on the BTS train from first station to the last station (full time usage) and on the BTS train for traveling some number of stations (random time). The results shows that VHO system has throughput a lot more than using only cellular network when the data rate of WLAN is more than one of cellular network. Lastly, the number of watching HD VDO and Full HD VDO is higher on VHO system on both regular time and rush hour of BTS travelling.

Keywords: vertical handover, WLAN, cellular, silom line BTS

Procedia PDF Downloads 478

Authors: M. Ashaque Meah, Md. Fazlul Karim, M. Shah Noor, Nazmun Nahar Papri, M. Khalid Hossen, M. Ismoen

Abstract:

Tsunami and inundation modelling due to far field tsunami propagation in a limited area is a very challenging numerical task because it involves many aspects such as the formation of various types of waves and the irregularities of coastal boundaries. To compute the effect of far field tsunami and extent of inland inundation due to far field tsunami along the coastal belts of west coast of Malaysia and Southern Thailand, a formulated boundary condition and a moving boundary condition are simultaneously used. In this study, a boundary fitted curvilinear grid system is used in order to incorporate the coastal and island boundaries accurately as the boundaries of the model domain are curvilinear in nature and the bending is high. The tsunami response of the event 26 December 2004 along the west open boundary of the model domain is computed to simulate the effect of far field tsunami. Based on the data of the tsunami source at the west open boundary of the model domain, a boundary condition is formulated and applied to simulate the tsunami response along the coastal and island boundaries. During the simulation process, a moving boundary condition is initiated instead of fixed vertical seaside wall. The extent of inland inundation and tsunami propagation pattern are computed. Some comparisons are carried out to test the validation of the simultaneous use of the two boundary conditions. All simulations show excellent agreement with the data of observation.

Keywords: open boundary condition, moving boundary condition, boundary-fitted curvilinear grids, far-field tsunami, shallow water equations, tsunami source, Indonesian tsunami of 2004

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Mirza Waseem Abbas, Abdul Qayyum, Muhammad Islam

Abstract:

Climate change has emerged as a significant threat to global food security, affecting crop production systems worldwide. This research paper aims to examine the specific impacts of climate change on wheat production in Pakistan, Punjab in particular, a country highly dependent on wheat as a staple food crop. Through a comprehensive review of scientific literature, field observations, and data analysis, this study assesses the key climatic factors influencing wheat cultivation and the subsequent implications for food security in the region. A comparison of two subsequent Wheat seasons in Punjab was examined through climatic conditions, area, yield, and production data. From the analysis, it is observed that despite a decrease in the area under cultivation in the Punjab during the Wheat 2023 season, the production and average yield increased due to favorable weather conditions. These uncertain climatic conditions have a direct impact on crop yields. Last year due to heat waves, Wheat crop in Punjab suffered a significant loss. Through crop insurance, Wheat growers were provided with yield loss protection keeping in view the devastating heat wave and floods last year. Under crop insurance by the Government of the Punjab, 534,587 Wheat growers were insured with a $1.6 million premium subsidy. However, due to better climatic conditions, no loss in the yield was recorded in the insured areas. Crop Insurance is one of the suitable options for policymakers to protect farmers against climatic losses in the future as well.

Keywords: climate change, crop insurance, heatwave, wheat yield punjab

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Jaechun No

Abstract:

As the technology of NAND flash memory rapidly grows, SSD is becoming an excellent alternative for storage solutions, because of its high random I/O throughput and low power consumption. These SSD potentials have drawn great attention from IT enterprises that seek for better I/O performance. However, high SSD cost per capacity makes it less desirable to construct a large-scale storage subsystem solely composed of SSD devices. An alternative is to build a hybrid storage subsystem where both HDD and SSD devices are incorporated in an economic manner, while employing the strengths of both devices. This paper presents a hybrid file system, called hybridFS, that attempts to utilize the advantages of HDD and SSD devices, to provide a single, virtual address space by integrating both devices. HybridFS not only proposes an efficient implementation for the file management in the hybrid storage subsystem but also suggests an experimental framework for making use of the excellent features of existing file systems. Several performance evaluations were conducted to verify the effectiveness and suitability of hybridFS.

Keywords: hybrid file mapping, data layout, hybrid device integration, extent allocation

Procedia PDF Downloads 507

Authors: Cabangile Ncengeni Ngwane, Gerald Mills

Abstract:

Anthropogenic climate change is exacerbating natural hazards such as droughts, heat waves and sea-level rise. The associated risks are the greatest in places where socio-ecological systems are exposed to these changes and the populations and infrastructure are vulnerable. Identifying the communities at risk and enhancing local resilience are key issues in responding to the current and project climate changes. This paper explores the types of risks associated with multiple overlapping hazards in Durban, South Africa where the social, cultural and economic dimensions that contribute to exposure and vulnerability are compounded by its history of apartheid. As a result, climate change risks are highly concentrated in marginalized communities that have the least adaptive capacity. In this research, a Geographic Information System is to explore the spatial correspondence among geographic layers representing hazards, exposure and vulnerability across Durban. This quantitative analysis will allow authors to identify communities at high risk and focus our study on the nature of the current human-environment relationships that result in risk inequalities. This work will employ qualitative methods to critically examine policies (including educational practices and financial support systems) and on-the-ground actions that are designed to improve the adaptive capacity of these communities and meet UN Sustainable Development Goals. This work will contribute to a growing body of literature on disaster risk management, especially as it relates to developing economies where socio-economic inequalities are correlated with ethnicity and race.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, disaster risk reduction, exposure, resilience, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Guram Adamashvili

Abstract:

Surface plasmon polariton is a surface optical wave which undergoes a strong enhancement and spatial confinement of its wave amplitude near an interface of two-dimensional layered structures. Phosphorene (single-layer black phosphorus) and other two-dimensional anisotropic phosphorene-like materials are recognized as promising materials for potential future applications of surface plasmon polariton. A theory of an optical breather of self-induced transparency for surface plasmon polariton propagating in monolayer or few-layer phosphorene is developed. A theory of an optical soliton of self-induced transparency for surface plasmon polariton propagating in monolayer or few-layer phosphorene have been investigated earlier Starting from the optical nonlinear wave equation for surface TM-modes interacting with a two-dimensional layer of atomic systems or semiconductor quantum dots and a phosphorene monolayer (or other two-dimensional anisotropic material), we have obtained the evolution equations for the electric field of the breather. In this case, one finds that the evolution of these pulses become described by the damped Bloch-Maxwell equations. For surface plasmon polariton fields, breathers are found to occur. Explicit relations of the dependence of breathers on the local media, phosphorene anisotropic conductivity, transition layer properties and transverse structures of the SPP, are obtained and will be given. It is shown that the phosphorene conductivity reduces exponentially the amplitude of the surface breather of SIT in the process of propagation. The direction of propagation corresponding to the maximum and minimum damping of the amplitude are assigned along the armchair and zigzag directions of black phosphorus nano-film, respectively. The most rapid damping of the intensity occurs when the polarization of breather is along the armchair direction.

Keywords: breathers, nonlinear waves, solitons, surface plasmon polaritons

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Rungnapa Chantra

Abstract:

As health care rapidly changes, the nursing profession is also evolving to improve quality of care while maintaining competency in their practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors of disaster nurse competencies and investigate the predictable variables in disaster nurse competencies in Suratthani Province, Thailand. The sample consisted of 305 nurses who were recruited by simple random sampling. The development questionnaires from ICN Framework and research contains Pre/Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery/Rehabilitation Competencies (α=0.87). The data were analyzed using Principle Components Extraction and Orthogonal Rotation with Varimax Method. The findings were as follows; four significant factors of disaster nurse competencies in Suratthani Province, Thailand were identified. These factors were described by 62 variables that accounted for 50.01% of the total variance. The results of this study could be for agencies that are responsible for the development of nursing competencies and should be aware of the development of knowledge and skills in disaster management.

Keywords: disaster nursing competency of nurses, nursing informatics, health science, medical

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Hussein M. Elmehdi

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the results of our recent experiments done to examine the effect of air bubbles, which were introduced to bio-samples during preparation, on the rheological properties of soft biological materials. To effectively achieve this, we three samples each prepared with differently. Our soft biological systems comprised of three types of flour dough systems made from different flour varieties with variable protein concentrations. The samples were investigated using ultrasonic waves operated at low frequency in transmission mode. The sample investigated included dough made from bread flour, wheat flour and all-purpose flour. During mixing, the main ingredient of the samples (the flour) was transformed into cohesive dough comprised of the continuous dough matrix and air pebbles. The rheological properties of such materials determine the quality of the end cereal product. Two ultrasonic parameters, the longitudinal velocity and attenuation coefficient were found to be very sensitive to properties such as the size of the occluded bubbles, and hence have great potential of providing quantitative evaluation of the properties of such materials. The results showed that the magnitudes of the ultrasonic velocity and attenuation coefficient peaked at optimum mixing times; the latter of which is taken as an indication of the end of the mixing process. There was an agreement between the results obtained by conventional rheology and ultrasound measurements, thus showing the potential of the use of ultrasound as an on-line quality control technique for dough-based products. The results of this work are explained with respect to the molecular changes occurring in the dough system as the mixing process proceeds; particular emphasis is placed on the presence of free water and bound water.

Keywords: ultrasound, soft biological materials, velocity, attenuation

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Yanrong Song, Zikai Dong, Runqin Xu, Jinrong Tian, Kexuan Li

Abstract:

Nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) technique has become one of the main techniques to achieve mode-locked fiber lasers for its compactness, implementation, and low cost. In this paper, we demonstrate a compact mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser based on NPR technique in the all normal dispersion (ANDi) regime. In the laser cavity, there are no physical filter and polarization controller in laser cavity. Mode-locked pulse train is achieved in ANDi regime based on NPR technique. The fiber birefringence induced filtering effect is the mainly reason for mode-locking. After that, an extra 20 m long single-mode fiber is inserted in two different positions, dissipative soliton operation and noise like pulse operations are achieved correspondingly. The nonlinear effect is obviously enhanced in the noise like pulse regime and broadband spectrum generated owing to enhanced stimulated Raman scattering effect. When the pump power is 210 mW, the central wavelength is 1030 nm, and the corresponding 1st order Raman scattering stokes wave generates and locates at 1075 nm. When the pump power is 370 mW, the 1st and 2nd order Raman scattering stokes wave generate and locate at 1080 nm, 1126 nm respectively. When the pump power is 600 mW, the Raman continuum is generated with cascaded multi-order stokes waves, and the spectrum extends to 1188 nm. The total flat spectrum is from 1000nm to 1200nm. The maximum output average power and pulse energy are 18.0W and 14.75nJ, respectively.

Keywords: fiber laser, mode-locking, nonlinear polarization rotation, Raman scattering

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Krisada Lekdee, Sunee Sammatat, Nittaya Boonsit

Abstract:

This paper proposes a GLMM with spatial and temporal effects for malaria data in Thailand. A Bayesian method is used for parameter estimation via Gibbs sampling MCMC. A conditional autoregressive (CAR) model is assumed to present the spatial effects. The temporal correlation is presented through the covariance matrix of the random effects. The malaria quarterly data have been extracted from the Bureau of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand. The factors considered are rainfall and temperature. The result shows that rainfall and temperature are positively related to the malaria morbidity rate. The posterior means of the estimated morbidity rates are used to construct the malaria maps. The top 5 highest morbidity rates (per 100,000 population) are in Trat (Q3, 111.70), Chiang Mai (Q3, 104.70), Narathiwat (Q4, 97.69), Chiang Mai (Q2, 88.51), and Chanthaburi (Q3, 86.82). According to the DIC criterion, the proposed model has a better performance than the GLMM with spatial effects but without temporal terms.

Keywords: Bayesian method, generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), malaria, spatial effects, temporal correlation

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Zhou BingHai, Fradet Victor

Abstract:

Lean philosophy follows the simple principle of “creating more value with fewer resources”. In accordance with this policy, material handling can be managed by the mean of Kanban which by triggering every feeding tour only when needed regulates the flow of material in one of the most efficient way. This paper focuses on Kanban Supermarket’s parameters and their optimization on a purely cost-based point of view. Number and size of forklifts, as well as size of the containers they carry, will be variables of the cost function which includes handling costs, inventory costs but also shortage costs. With an innovative computational approach encoded into industrial engineering software Tecnomatix and reproducing real-life conditions, a fictive assembly line is established and produces a random list of orders. Multi-scenarios are then run to study the impact of each change of parameter and the variation of costs it implies. Lastly, best-case scenarios financially speaking are selected.

Keywords: Kanban, supermarket, parts-feeding policies, multi-scenario simulation, assembly line

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Nanteza Rachel

Abstract:

Background: Worldwide, there were 36.7 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in 2015, up from 35 million at the end of 2013. Wakiso district is one of the hotspots for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) infection in Uganda, with the prevalence of 8.1 %. Herbal medicine has gained popularity among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients as adjuvant therapy to reduce the adverse effects of ART. Regardless of the subsidized and physical availability of the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), majority of Africans living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) resort to adding to their ART traditional medicine. Result found out from a pilot observation made by the PI that indicate 13 out of 30 People Living with AIDS(PLWA) who are attending Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) clinics in Wakiso district reported to be using herbal preparations despite the fact that they were taking Anti Retro Viral (ARVs) this prompted this study to be done. Purpose of the study: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and anti-retroviral therapy among HIV/AIDS patients attending selected HIV clinics in Wakiso district. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study with both quantitative data collection (use of a questionnaire) and qualitative data collection (key informants’ interviews). A mixed method of sampling was used, that is, purposive and random sampling. Purposive sampling was based on the location in the district and used to select 7 health facilities basing on the 7 health sub districts from Wakiso. Simple random sampling was used to select one HIV clinic from each of the 7 health sub districts. Furthermore, the study units were enrolled in to the study as they entered into the HIV clinics, and 105 respondents were interviewed. Both manual and computer packages (SPSS) were used to analyze the data Results: The prevalence of concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART was 38 (36.2%). Commonly HIV symptom treated with herbs was fever 27(71.1%), diarrhea 3(7.9%) and cough 2(5.3%). Commonly used herbs for fever (Omululuza (Vernonica amydalina), Ekigagi (Aloe sp), Nalongo (Justicia betonica Linn) while for diarrhea was Ntwatwa. The side effects also included; too much pain, itchy pain of HIV, aneamia,felt sick, loss/gain appetite, joint pain and bad dreams. Herbs used to sooth the side effects were; for aneamia was avocado leaves Parea Americana mill The significant factors associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine were being familiar with herbs and conventional medicine for management HIV symptoms being expensive. The other significant factor was exhibiting hostility to patients by health personnel providing HIV care. Conclusion: Herbal medicine is widely used by clients in HIV/AIDS care. Patients being familiar with herbs and conventional medicine being expensive were associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART. The exhibition of hostility to the HIV/AIDS patients by the health care providers was also associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART among HIV/AIDS patients.

Keywords: HIV patients, herbal medicine, antiretroviral therapy, factors associated

Procedia PDF Downloads 99