Search results for: CASE technology

Authors: Adel Menchawy, Noha Labib

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Many cities have quarters that confer on them sense of identity and place through its cultural history. They are often vital part of the cities charm and appeal, their functional and visual qualities are important to the city’s image and identity. Brownfield sites present an important part of our built landscape. They provide tangible and intangible links to our past and have great potential to play significant roles in the future of our cities, towns and rural environments. Brownfield sites are places that were previously industrial factories or areas that might have had waste kept at that location or been exposed to many types of hazards. Thus its redevelopment revitalizes and strengthens towns and communities as it helps in economic growth, builds community pride and protects public health and the environment Three case studies are discussed in this paper; the first one is the city of Sterling which was developed and revitalized entirely and became a city with identity after it was derelict, the Second is the city of Castlefield with was a place no one was eager to visit now it became a touristic area. And finally the city of Cleveland which adopted a strategy that transferred it from being a polluted, derelict place into a mixed use development city Brownfield revitalization offers a great opportunity to transfer the city from being derelict, useless and contaminated into a place where tourists would love to come. Also it will increase the economy of the place, increase the social level, it can improve energy efficiency, reduce natural consumption, clean air, water and land and take advantage of existing buildings and sites and transfers them into an adaptive reuse after being remediated

Keywords: Brownfield Revitalization, Sustainable Brownfield, Historical conservation, Adaptive reuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Busra Nur Ozguler Aktel

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This research aims to understand the factors that affect the ways in which tribes perceive and respond to violent conflicts in fragile states, given that tribes are essential stakeholders in many conflict-ridden fragile states, whether Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Nigeria, or Yemen. It explores the primary questions of why some tribes align with extremist groups while others align with states during civil wars and why some tribes switch alignments. It argues that tribes form and switch alignments based on their perception of threats to their traditional tribal structure (internal dynamics) and clientelist relationships (external dynamics). Put differently; threat perceptions lead them to choose either the state or extremist groups that will more likely secure their traditional structure and patronage networks. This study focuses on Iraqi tribes as a case study. It builds a theory of tribal alignment formation based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iraqi Sunni tribes living in the Kurdish region of Iraq and Jordan. As a result of the interviews with tribal leaders and members, local journalists, researchers, and politicians, it concludes that complex (re)alignments of tribes can determine the course and outcome of the conflicts, either mitigating or escalating violence. This study contributes to the larger body of conflict management and peacebuilding literature by introducing tribes as non-state actors and exploring their interactions with other actors in civil wars.

Keywords: civil wars, tribes, alignment formation, side-switching, Iraq

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Ilias Oraifige

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Decision making for sustainable manufacturing design and management requires critical considerations due to the complexity and partly conflicting issues of economic, social and environmental factors. Although there are tools capable of assessing the combination of one or two of the sustainability factors, the frameworks have not adequately integrated all the three factors. Case study and review of existing simulation applications also shows the approach lacks integration of the sustainability factors. In this paper we discussed the development of a simulation based framework for support of a holistic assessment of sustainable manufacturing design and management. To achieve this, a strategic approach is introduced to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing decision supporting tools. Investigation reveals that Discrete Event Simulation (DES) can serve as a rock base for other Life Cycle Analysis frameworks. Simio-DES application optimizes systems for both economic and competitive advantage, Granta CES EduPack and SimaPro collate data for Material Flow Analysis and environmental Life Cycle Assessment, while social and stakeholders’ analysis is supported by Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method. Such a common and integrated framework creates a platform for companies to build a computer simulation model of a real system and assess the impact of alternative solutions before implementing a chosen solution.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, life cycle sustainability analysis, manufacturing, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Adel M. Zakri, Mohammed A. Al-Saleh, Judith. K. Brown, Ali M. Idris

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Betasatellites are small circular single stranded DNA molecules found associated with begomoviruses on field symptomatic plants. Their genome size is about half that of the helper begomovirus, ranging between 1.3 and 1.4 kb. The helper begomoviruses are usually members of the family Geminiviridae. Okra leaves showing vein thickening were collected from okra plants growing in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Total DNA was extracted from leaves and used as a template to amplify circular DNA using rolling circle amplification (RCA) technology. Products were digested with PstI to linearize the helper viral genome(s), and associated DNA satellite(s), yielding a 2.8kbp and 1.4kbp fragment, respectively. The linearized fragments were cloned into the pGEM-5Zf (+) vector and subjected to DNA sequencing. The 2.8 kb fragment was identified as Cotton leaf curl Gezira virus genome, at 2780bp, an isolate closely related to strains reported previously from Saudi Arabia. A clone obtained from the 1.4 kb fragments he 1.4kb was blasted to GeneBank database found to be a betasatellite. The genome of betasatellite was 1357-bp in size. It was found to be a recombinant containing one fragment (877-bp) that shared 91% nt identity with Cotton leaf curl Gezira betasatellite [KM279620], and a smaller fragment [133--bp) that shared 86% nt identity with Tomato leaf curl Sudan virus [JX483708]. This satellite is thus a recombinant between a malvaceous-infecting satellite and a solanaceous-infecting begomovirus.

Keywords: begomovirus, betasatellites, cotton leaf curl Gezira virus, okra plants

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: E. Sahar

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Civic political knowledge is crucial for the stability of democratic countries. In the USA, Americans have poor knowledge about their constitution and their political systems. Some states such as Florida State suffers from a huge decline in civics comparing to the National Average. This study concerns with using new technologies such as augmented reality to engage students in learning civics in classrooms. This is a participatory study, which engage teachers in the process of designing augmented reality civic games. The researcher used survey to find out the materials that teachers struggle with while teaching civics. Four lessons were found the most difficult to teach for middle school students: SS7C1.1 Enlightenment thinkers, SS7C1.2 influencing documents, SS7C1.7-Weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and Forms and systems of governments. For the limited scope of this study, we focused on “Forms and Systems of governments’ as the main project. Augmented Reality is used to help students to engage in learning civics through building a game that is based on the pedagogy constructivism theory. The resulted project meets the educational requirements for civics, provide students with more knowledge in at stake issues such as migration and citizenship, and help them to build leadership skills while playing in groups. The augmented reality game is also designed to test the students learning for each stage. This study helps to generate insightful implications for the use of augmented reality by educators, researchers, instructional designers, and developers who are interested in integrating technology in teaching civics for students in middle school classrooms.

Keywords: augmented reality, games, civics teaching, Florida middle school

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Rupali, Anil Kumar Jaiswal

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Cloud computing can be defined as one of the prominent technologies that lets a user change, configure and access the services online. it can be said that this is a prototype of computing that helps in saving cost and time of a user practically the use of cloud computing can be found in various fields like education, health, banking etc.  Cloud computing is an internet dependent technology thus it is the major responsibility of Cloud Service Providers(CSPs) to care of data stored by user at data centers. Scheduling in cloud computing environment plays a vital role as to achieve maximum utilization and user satisfaction cloud providers need to schedule resources effectively.  Job scheduling for cloud computing is analyzed in the following work. To complete, recreate the task calculation, and conveyed scheduling methods CloudSim3.0.3 is utilized. This research work discusses the job scheduling for circulated processing condition also by exploring on this issue we find it works with minimum time and less cost. In this work two load balancing techniques have been employed: ‘Throttled stack adjustment policy’ and ‘Active VM load balancing policy’ with two brokerage services ‘Advanced Response Time’ and ‘Reconfigure Dynamically’ to evaluate the VM_Cost, DC_Cost, Response Time, and Data Processing Time. The proposed techniques are compared with Round Robin scheduling policy.

Keywords: physical machines, virtual machines, support for repetition, self-healing, highly scalable programming model

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Maged A. Mogalli, Abdullah I. Al-Mansour, Seongkwan Mark Lee

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In the last decades, population growth has gradually exceeded transportation infrastructure growth, and today’s transportation professionals are facing challenge on how to meet the mobility needs of a rising population especially in the absence of adequate public transport, as is the case in Saudi Arabia. The traffic movement congestion can be decreased by carrying out some appropriate alternative designs of interchanges such as diverging diamond interchange (DDI) and single diamond interchange (SPDI). In this paper, evaluation of newly implemented DDIs at the interchange of Makkah road with Prince Turki road and the interchange of King Khaled road with Prince Saud Ibn Mohammed Ibn Mugrin road in Riyadh city was carried out. The comparison between the DDI and SPDI is conducted by evaluating different measures of effectiveness (MOE) such as stop delay, average queue length, and number of stops. In this connection, each interchange type was evaluated for traffic flow at peak hours using micro-simulation program namely 'Synchro/SimTarffic' to measure its effectiveness such as stop delay, average queue length, and number of stops. The results of this study show that DDI provides a better result when compared with SPDI in terms of stope delay, average queue length, and number of stops. The stop delay for the SPDI is greater than DDI by three times. Also, the average queue length is approximately twice that of the SPDI when compared to the DDI. Furthermore, the number of stops for the SPDI is about twice as the DDI.

Keywords: single point diamond interchange, diverging diamond interchange, measures of effectiveness, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Boudjahem Ibtissem, Aouati Amel

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Thaumetopoea pityocampa is one of the major insect pests of pine forests in Algeria, the Mediterranean region, and central Europe. This pest is responsible for several natural and human damages these last years. The caterpillar can feed itself during the larval stage on several species of pine or cedar. The forests attack by the insect can reduce their resistance against other forest enemies, fires, or drought conditions. In this case, the tree becomes more vulnerable to other pests. To understand the eating behavior of the insect in its ecological conditions, and its nutritional preference, we realized a study of the abundance of winter nests of the pine processionary caterpillar in four different forests: Pinus halepensis; Pinus pinaster; Pinus pinea, and Cedrus atlantica. A count of the sites affected by the processionary caterpillar was carried out on a hundred trees from the forests in different regions in Algeria; Alkala region, Mila region, Annaba region, and Blida region; the total rate and average abundance are calculated for each forest. Ecological parameters are also estimated for each infestation. The results indicated a higher rate of infestation in Pinus halepensis trees (85%) followed by Cedrus atlantica (66%) and Pinus pinaster (50%) trees. The Pinus pinea forest is the least attacked region by the pine processionary caterpillar (23%). The abundance of the pine processionary caterpillar can be influenced by the height of the trees, the climate of the region, the age of the forest but also the quality of needles.

Keywords: Thaumetopoea pityocampa, Pinus halepensis, needles, winter nests

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: P. Vanichkobchinda

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The Logistics Transportation techniques, Open Vehicle Routing (OVR) is an approach toward transportation cost reduction, especially for long distance pickup and delivery nodes. The outstanding characteristic of OVR is that the route starting node and ending node are not necessary the same as in typical vehicle routing problems. This advantage enables the routing to flow continuously and the vehicle does not always return to its home base. This research aims to develop a heuristic for the open vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery under time window and loading capacity constraints to minimize the total distance. The proposed heuristic is developed based on the Insertion method, which is a simple method and suitable for the rapid calculation that allows insertion of the new additional transportation requirements along the original paths. According to the heuristic analysis, cost comparisons between the proposed heuristic and companies are using method, nearest neighbor method show that the insertion heuristic. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing. The research indicates that the improvement of new transport's calculation and the open vehicle routing with "Insertion Heuristic" represent a better outcome with 34.3 percent in average. in cost savings. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing.

Keywords: business competitiveness, cost reduction, SMEs, logistics transportation, VRP

Procedia PDF Downloads 689

Authors: Ang Chia Hong, Julian Khoo Xubin, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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Distributed systems offer many benefits to the healthcare industry. From big data analysis to business intelligence, the increased computational power and efficiency from distributed systems serve as an invaluable resource in the healthcare sector to utilize. However, as the usage of these distributed systems increases, many issues arise. The main focus of this paper will be on security issues. Many security issues stem from distributed systems in the healthcare industry, particularly information security. The data of people is especially sensitive in the healthcare industry. If important information gets leaked (Eg. IC, credit card number, address, etc.), a person’s identity, financial status, and safety might get compromised. This results in the responsible organization losing a lot of money in compensating these people and even more resources expended trying to fix the fault. Therefore, a framework for a blockchain-based healthcare data management system for healthcare was proposed. In this framework, the usage of a blockchain network is explored to store the encryption key of the patient’s data. As for the actual data, it is encrypted and its encrypted data, called ciphertext, is stored in a cloud storage platform. Furthermore, there are some issues that have to be emphasized and tackled for future improvements, such as a multi-user scheme that could be proposed, authentication issues that have to be tackled or migrating the backend processes into the blockchain network. Due to the nature of blockchain technology, the data will be tamper-proof, and its read-only function can only be accessed by authorized users such as doctors and nurses. This guarantees the confidentiality and immutability of the patient’s data.

Keywords: distributed, healthcare, efficiency, security, blockchain, confidentiality and immutability

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Lianxue Shi

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Urban waterfront rail transit stations exert a dual impact on both the waterfront and the transit station, resulting in a concentration of development elements in the surrounding space. In order to more effectively develop the space around the station, this study focuses on the perspective of the integration of station, city, and people. Taking Chongqing as an example, based on the Arc GIS platform, it explores the vitality of the site from the three dimensions of crowd activity heat, space facilities heat, and spatial accessibility. It conducts a comprehensive evaluation and interpretation of the vitality surrounding the waterfront rail transit station area in Chongqing. The study found that (1) the spatial vitality in the vicinity of waterfront rail transit stations is correlated with the waterfront's functional zoning and the intensity of development. Stations situated in waterfront residential and public spaces are more likely to experience a convergence of people, whereas those located in waterfront industrial areas exhibit lower levels of vitality. (2) Effective transportation accessibility plays a pivotal role in maintaining a steady flow of passengers and facilitating their movement. However, the three-dimensionality of urban space in mountainous regions is a notable challenge, leading to some stations experiencing limited accessibility. This underscores the importance of enhancing the optimization of walking space, particularly the access routes from the station to the waterfront area. (3) The density of spatial facilities around waterfront stations in old urban areas lags behind the population's needs, indicating a need to strengthen the allocation of relevant land and resources in these areas.

Keywords: rail transit station, waterfront, influence area, spatial vitality, urban vitality

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: M. Zayoud, S. Oueida, S. Ionescu, P. AbiChar

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Background: Wireless sensor network is encompassed of diversified tools of information technology, which is widely applied in a range of domains, including military surveillance, weather forecasting, and earthquake forecasting. Strengthened grounds are always developed for wireless sensor networks, which usually emerges security issues during professional application. Thus, essential technological tools are necessary to be assessed for secure aggregation of data. Moreover, such practices have to be incorporated in the healthcare practices that shall be serving in the best of the mutual interest Objective: Aggregation of encrypted data has been assessed through homomorphic stream cipher to assure its effectiveness along with providing the optimum solutions to the field of healthcare. Methods: An experimental design has been incorporated, which utilized newly developed cipher along with CPU-constrained devices. Modular additions have also been employed to evaluate the nature of aggregated data. The processes of homomorphic stream cipher have been highlighted through different sensors and modular additions. Results: Homomorphic stream cipher has been recognized as simple and secure process, which has allowed efficient aggregation of encrypted data. In addition, the application has led its way to the improvisation of the healthcare practices. Statistical values can be easily computed through the aggregation on the basis of selected cipher. Sensed data in accordance with variance, mean, and standard deviation has also been computed through the selected tool. Conclusion: It can be concluded that homomorphic stream cipher can be an ideal tool for appropriate aggregation of data. Alongside, it shall also provide the best solutions to the healthcare sector.

Keywords: aggregation, cipher, homomorphic stream, encryption

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Bhupinder Kaur, P. P. Srivastav

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The fruit and vegetable industries are responsible for producing huge amount of waste, which is a problem to environmental safety and should be utilized efficiently. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important commercially grown fruit and referred as the “King of fruits”. In 2015, India was the largest producer (18.506 MT) of mangoes and out of which 9.16 % lost during post-harvest handling. The mango kernel and peel represent approximately 17-22% and 7-22% of the overall mass of fruit respectively and discarded as waste. Hence, an attempt has been made with three mango cultivars (Langra, Dashehari, Fazli) to investigate the effect of cryogenic grinding on various characteristics of mango peel powder (MPP). The cryogenic grinding is an emerging technology which is used for retention of beneficial volatile and bioactive components. The feed rate was highest for Langra followed by Chausa. The samples have 2-4% fat along with significant amount of protein (4-6%) and crude fiber (9-13%). Mango peel is also a good source of minerals such as calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Interestingly, the significant amount of essential minerals like phosphorus and chlorine in all the varieties was found with the highest value in Langra (phosphorus 10.83% and chlorine 2.41%) which are not reported earlier. SEM analysis revealed the surface morphology and shape of the particles. Waste utilization is a promising measure from both an environmental and economic point of view. Chemical characterization of the samples indicated its potential to be used for the fortification of food products which in turn reduces hazards due to waste and improve functional quality of the foods.

Keywords: cryogenic grinding, morphological, mineral composition, SEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Muhammad Mohsin, Mir Md Abdus Salam, Pertti Pulkkinen, Ari Pappinen

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Soil and water contamination by heavy metals is a major challenging issue for the environment. Phytoextraction is an emerging, environmentally friendly and cost-efficient technology in which plants are used to eliminate pollutants from the soil and water. We aimed to assess the copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) removal efficiency by two willow varieties such as Klara (S. viminalis x S. schwerinii x S. dasyclados) and Karin ((S.schwerinii x S. viminalis) x (S. viminalis x S.burjatica)) under different soil treatments (control/unpolluted, polluted, lime with polluted, wood ash with polluted). In 180 days of pot experiment, these willow varieties were grown in a highly polluted soil collected from Pyhasalmi mining area in Finland. The lime and wood ash were added to the polluted soil to improve the soil pH and observe their effects on metals accumulation in plant biomass. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ELAN 6000 ICP-EOS, Perkin-Elmer Corporation) was used in this study to assess the heavy metals concentration in the plant biomass. The result shows that both varieties of willow have the capability to accumulate the considerable amount of Cu and Zn varying from 36.95 to 314.80 mg kg⁻¹ and 260.66 to 858.70 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The application of lime and wood ash substantially affected the stimulation of the plant height, dry biomass and deposition of Cu and Zn into total plant biomass. Besides, the lime application appeared to upsurge Cu and Zn concentrations in the shoots and leaves in both willow varieties when planted in polluted soil. However, wood ash application was found more efficient to mobilize the metals in the roots of both varieties. The study recommends willow plantations to rehabilitate the Cu and Zn polluted soils.

Keywords: heavy metals, lime, phytoextraction, wood ash, willow

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Cristina Greco

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The spread of the digital and we-based technologies has led to a transformation process, which has coincided with an increase in the number of cases who are beyond the mainstream storytelling and its codes on the interaction with the user. On the base of a previous research on i-docs and virtual museums, this study analyses interactive and immersive online Graphic Novel – one-page, animated, illustrated, and hybrid – to reflect on the transformational implications of this expressive form on the user perception, remembrance, and awareness. The way in which the user experiences a certain level of interaction with the story and immersion in the semantic and figurative universe would bring user’s attention, activating introspection and self-reflection processes, perception, imagination, and creativity. This would have to do with the involvement of different senses – visual, proprioceptive, tactile, auditory, and vestibular – and the activation of a phenomenon of synaesthesia (involuntary cross-modal sensory association) – where, for example, the aural reconnect the user to another sense, providing a multisensory experience. The case studies show specific forms of interactive and immersive graphic novel and reflect on application that has sought to engage innovative ways to communicate different messages and stimulate cultural memory and collective awareness. The visual semiotic and narrative analysis of the distinctive traits of such a complex textuality, along with a study of the user’s experience through observation in naturalistic settings and interviews, allows us to question the functioning of these configurations, with regard to the relationships between the figurative dimension, the perceptive activity, and their impact on the user’s engagement.

Keywords: collective awareness, cultural memory, graphic novel, interactive and immersive storytelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Jamaiah H. Yahaya, Aziz Deraman, Abdul Razak Hamdan, Yusmadi Yah Jusoh

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One of the most essential issues in software products is to maintain it relevancy to the dynamics of the user’s requirements and expectation. Many studies have been carried out in quality aspect of software products to overcome these problems. Previous software quality assessment models and metrics have been introduced with strengths and limitations. In order to enhance the assurance and buoyancy of the software products, certification models have been introduced and developed. From our previous experiences in certification exercises and case studies collaborating with several agencies in Malaysia, the requirements for user based software certification approach is identified and demanded. The emergence of social network applications, the new development approach such as agile method and other varieties of software in the market have led to the domination of users over the software. As software become more accessible to the public through internet applications, users are becoming more critical in the quality of the services provided by the software. There are several categories of users in web-based systems with different interests and perspectives. The classifications and metrics are identified through brain storming approach with includes researchers, users and experts in this area. The new paradigm in software quality assessment is the main focus in our research. This paper discusses the classifications of users in web-based software system assessment and their associated factors and metrics for quality measurement. The quality model is derived based on IEEE structure and FCM model. The developments are beneficial and valuable to overcome the constraints and improve the application of software certification model in future.

Keywords: software certification model, user centric approach, software quality factors, metrics and measurements, web-based system

Procedia PDF Downloads 408

Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Rokia A. El Banna, Mones M. Abu Shady, Muhammad Al-Tohamy, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mehrevan M. Abd El-Moniem, Mona Anwar

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Association between vitamin D, adiponectin and obesity is a matter of debate, as they play important role in linking obesity with different cardiometabolic risk factors. Objectives: Evaluation of the association between metabolic risk factors with both adiponectin and vitamin D levels and that between adiponectin and vitamin D among obese Egyptian children. Subjects and Methods: This case-control cross-sectional study consisted of 65 obese and 30 healthy children, aged 8-11 years. 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) level, serum adiponectin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. Results: The mean 25(OH) D levels in the obese and control groups were 29.9± 10.3 and 39.7 ± 12.7 ng/mL respectively (P < 0.001). The mean 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels in the obese were lower than that in the control group (P < 0.0001). 25(OH) D were inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), while adiponectin level were inversely correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and positively correlated with HDL-C. However, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels among obese children and total sample. Conclusion: In spite of strong association between vitamin D and adiponectin levels with metabolic risk factors and obesity, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels. In obese children, there are significant negative correlations between 25(OH) D with lipid profile, and between adiponectin levels with blood pressure. At certain adiponectin level, the relation between it and BMI disappears.

Keywords: 25-hydroxy vitamin D, adiponectin, lipid profile, blood pressure, children

Procedia PDF Downloads 376

Authors: Dairi Sabri, Mrad Dounia, Djebbar Yassine, Abida Habib

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Food security, which may be ensured by important agricultural production, needs huge amounts of water for irrigation. Recognizing this, the Algerian government made enormous efforts to mobilize water resources. Every drop of water collected, regardless of its origin, is needed to strengthen agricultural production. The present irrigated area in Algeria is about 1 million hectares while the potential agricultural area all over the country exceeds 9 million ha. This clearly shows the need for non-conventional water resources in Algeria, especially treated wastewater reuse. The use of treated wastewater in agricultural irrigation is still at the experimental stage in Algeria. While 20 million hectares worldwide are irrigated with treated wastewater, only 2300 hectares in Algeria are irrigated on an experimental basis in the regions of Setif, Constantine, Mila Telemcen, Tougourt and Boumerdès. The volume of wastewater discharged nationwide is estimated to be around 750 million cubic meters and is expected to exceed 1.5 billion m3 in 2020. An ambitious program of providing treatment facilities has been initiated in this direction to increase the treatment capacity to 2.5 million m3 per day in 2030. In order to optimize the use of this resource, specific research actions interested in defining treated wastewater reuse opportunities and standards are undertaken. The objective of this study is basically to examine the different components of treated wastewater reuse, including standards, treatment processes, agricultural opportunities and potentials as well as technical and economic aspects governing the feasibility of this technology in Algeria based on Geographic Information System (GIS).

Keywords: wastewater reuse, integrated management, irrigation, GIS

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Wahiba Boudraa, Khalil Draidi, Badis Bakhouch, Farah Chettibi, Meriem Aberkane, Zihad Bouslama, Moussa Houhamdi

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The Gulf of Annaba, located at the extreme north eastern Algerian; our site of study is a marsh administratively it is part of the wilaya of Annaba, municipality of El-Bouni; extends on a surface from 55 hectare, the maximum depth is of less 2m. A scheme of work was adopted for an evaluation and characterization of the reproduction of the water nicheurs birds in the marsh of Boussedra. Some important parameters described by the scientific literature; According to standardized methods, variables were the object of a regular follow-up during the period of reproduction. These parameters were taken into account: the installation date of the nests, the vegetable support; blossoming of eggs, causes of the failure of the blossomings (predation or abandonment), characteristics of the nests (composition, internal diameter, external diameter, depth and heightening), measurements of the distances nest-nest nearest, Depth of water, the measurement of eggs, size of laying, size of laying. The follow-up in the marsh was carried out between March 2013 until the month of July 2014 at a rate of two outputs per weeks, one located and noted the nests to control them each week. The study on the reproduction of the water birds enables us to note that this site plays a very important part in the wintering and the reproduction of certain species important. This study opens broad prospects for study of several phenomena related to the ecology of the water birds, and the conservation of the wetlands.

Keywords: Algeria, Boussedra, nests, reproduction, water birds

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Sharmili Routray, Kishor Chandra Biswal

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The use of corrosion resistant fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement is beneficial in structures particularly those exposed to deicing salts, and/or located in highly corrosive environment. Generally Glass, Carbon and Aramid fibers are used for the strengthening purpose of the structures. Due to the necessities of low weight and high strength materials, it is required to find out the suitable substitute with low cost. Recent developments in fiber production technology allow the strengthening of structures using Basalt fiber which is made from basalt rock. Basalt fiber has good range of thermal performance, high tensile strength, resistance to acids, good electro‐magnetic properties, inert nature, resistance to corrosion, radiation and UV light, vibration and impact loading. This investigation focuses on the effect of fibre content and fiber orientation of basalt fibre on mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. Specimen prepared with unidirectional Basalt fabric as reinforcing materials and epoxy resin as a matrix in polymer composite. In this investigation different fiber orientation are taken and the fabrication is done by hand lay-up process. The variation of the properties with the increasing number of plies of fiber in the composites is also studied. Specimens are subjected to tensile strength test and the failure of the composite is examined with the help of INSTRON universal testing Machine (SATEC) of 600 kN capacities. The average tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of BFRP plates are determined from the test Program.

Keywords: BFRP, fabrication, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), strengthening

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: M. Pilar Valles-gonzalez, Alejandro Gonzalez Meije, Ana Pastor Muro, Maria Garcia-Martinez, Beatriz Gonzalez Caballero

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This paper studies a failure case of a fuel pressure supply tube from an aircraft engine. Multiple fracture cases of the fuel pressure control tube from aircraft engines have been reported. The studied set was composed of the mentioned tube, a welded connecting pipe, where the fracture has been produced, and a union nut. The fracture has been produced in one most critical zones of the tube, in a region next to the supporting body of the union nut to the connector. The tube material was X6CrNiTi18-10, an austenitic stainless steel. Chemical composition was determined using an X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and combustion equipment. Furthermore, the material has been mechanical, by hardness test, and microstructural characterized using a stereomicroscope and an optical microscope. The results confirmed that it is within specifications. To determine the macrofractographic features, a visual examination and a stereo microscope of the tube fracture surface have been carried out. The results revealed a tube plastic macrodeformation, surface damaged, and signs of a possible corrosion process. Fracture surface was also inspected by scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), equipped with a microanalysis system by X-ray dispersive energy (EDX), to determine the microfractographic features in order to find out the failure mechanism involved in the fracture. Fatigue striations, which are typical from a progressive fracture by a fatigue mechanism, have been observed. The origin of the fracture has been placed in defects located on the outer wall of the tube, leading to a final overload fracture.

Keywords: aircraft engine, fatigue, FE-SEM, fractography, fracture, fuel tube, microstructure, stainless steel

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Ebrahim Panah, Muhammad Yasir Babar

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Thanks to the development of online technology and social networks, people are able to communicate as well as learn. WhatsApp is a popular social network which is growingly gaining popularity. This app can be used for communication as well as education. It can be used for instructor-learner, learner-learner, and learner-content interactions; however, very little knowledge is available on these potentials of WhatsApp. The current study was undertaken to investigate university students’ perceptions of WhatsApp used as a tool for instructor-learner dialogue, learner-content dialogue, and learner-learner dialogue. The study adopted a survey approach and distributed the questionnaire developed by Google Forms to 54 (11 males and 43 females) university students. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The result of data analysis indicates that students have positive attitudes towards WhatsApp as a tool for Instructor-Learner Dialogue: it easy to reach the lecturer (4.07), the instructor gives me valuable feedback on my assignment (4.02), the instructor is supportive during course discussion and offers continuous support with the class (4.00). Learner-Content Dialogue: WhatsApp allows me to academically engage with lecturers anytime, anywhere (4.00), it helps to send graphics such as pictures or charts directly to the students (3.98), it also provides out of class, extra learning materials and homework (3.96), and Learner-Learner Dialogue: WhatsApp is a good tool for sharing knowledge with others (4.09), WhatsApp allows me to academically engage with peers anytime, anywhere (4.07), and we can interact with others through the use of group discussion (4.02). It was also found that there are significant positive correlations between students’ perceptions of Instructor-Learner Dialogue (ILD), Learner-Content Dialogue (LCD), Learner-Learner Dialogue (LLD) and WhatsApp Application in classroom. The findings of the study have implications for lectures, policy makers and curriculum developers.

Keywords: instructor-learner dialogue, learners-contents dialogue, learner-learner dialogue, whatsapp application

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Authors: Farhad Salek, Shahaboddin Resalati

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The production of electric vehicles (EVs) featuring lithium-ion battery technology has substantially escalated over the past decade, demonstrating a steady and persistent upward trajectory. The imminent retirement of electric vehicle (EV) batteries after approximately eight years underscores the critical need for their redirection towards recycling, a task complicated by the current inadequacy of recycling infrastructures globally. A potential solution for such concerns involves extending the operational lifespan of electric vehicle (EV) batteries through their utilization in stationary energy storage systems during secondary applications. Such adoptions, however, require addressing the safety concerns associated with batteries’ knee points and thermal runaways. This paper develops an accurate mathematical model representative of the second-life battery packs from a cell-to-pack scale using an equivalent circuit model (ECM) methodology. Neural network algorithms are employed to forecast the degradation parameters based on the EV batteries' aging history to develop a degradation model. The degradation model is integrated with the ECM to reflect the impacts of the cycle aging mechanism on battery parameters during operation. The developed model is tested under real-life load profiles to evaluate the life span of the batteries in various operating conditions. The methodology and the algorithms introduced in this paper can be considered the basis for Battery Management System (BMS) design and techno-economic analysis of such technologies.

Keywords: second life battery, electric vehicles, degradation, neural network

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Authors: Muhammad Umair, Yuri Nikolaev, Denis Artemov, Ighor Uzhinsky

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A flexible manufacturing system is an integral part of a smart factory of industry 4.0 in which every machine is interconnected and works autonomously. Robots are in the process of replacing humans in every industrial sector. As the cyber-physical-system (CPS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are advancing, the manufacturing industry is getting more dependent on computers than human brains. This modernization has boosted the production with high quality and accuracy and shifted from classic production to smart manufacturing systems. However, material handling for such automated productions is a challenge and needs to be addressed with the best possible solution. Conventional clamping systems are designed for manual work and not suitable for highly automated production systems. Researchers and engineers are trying to find the most economical solution for loading/unloading and transportation workpieces from a warehouse to a machine shop for machining operations and back to the warehouse without human involvement. This work aims to propose an advanced multi-shape tooling solution for highly automated manufacturing systems. The currently obtained result shows that it could function well with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and modern conveyor belts. The proposed solution is following requirements to be automation-friendly, universal for different part geometry and production operations. We used a bottom-up approach in this work, starting with studying different case scenarios and their limitations and finishing with the general solution.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, cyber physics system, Industry 4.0, material handling, smart factory, flexible manufacturing system

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Authors: Zair Nadje, Attoui Badra, Miloudi Abdelmonem

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This study aims to assess sensitivity to nitrate pollution and monitor the temporal evolution of nitrate contents in groundwater using statistical models and map their spatial distribution. The nitrate levels observed in the waters of the town of El-Oued differ from one aquifer to another. Indeed, the waters of the Quaternary aquifer are the richest in nitrates, with average annual contents varying from 6 mg/l to 85 mg/l, for an average of 37 mg/l. These levels are higher than the WHO standard (50 mg/l) for drinking water. At the water level of the Terminal Complex (CT) aquifer, the annual average nitrate levels vary from 14 mg/l to 37 mg/l, with an average of 18 mg/l. In the Terminal Complex, excessive nitrate levels are observed in the central localities of the study area. The spatial distribution of nitrates in the waters of the Quaternary aquifer shows that the majority of the catchment points of this aquifer are subject to nitrate pollution. This study shows that in the waters of the Terminal Complex aquifer, nitrate pollution evolves in two major areas. The first focus is South-North, following the direction of underground flow. The second is West-East, progressing towards the East zone. The temporal distribution of nitrate contents in the water of the Terminal Complex aquifer in the city of El-Oued showed that for decades, nitrate contents have suffered a decline after an increase. This evolution of nitrate levels is linked to demographic growth and the rapid urbanization of the city of El-Oued.

Keywords: anthropogenic activities, groundwater, nitrates, pollution, arid zones city of El-Oued, Algeria

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Authors: Kwak, Hyo-Gyung, Gang, Han Gul

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In the context of an increasing need for reliability and safety in concrete structures under blast and impact loading condition, the behavior of concrete under high strain rate condition has been an important issue. Since concrete subjected to impact loading associated with high strain rate shows quite different material behavior from that in the static state, several material models are proposed and used to describe the high strain rate behavior under blast and impact loading. In the process of modelling, in advance, mesh dependency in the used finite element (FE) is the key problem because simulation results under high strain-rate condition are quite sensitive to applied FE mesh size. It means that the accuracy of simulation results may deeply be dependent on FE mesh size in simulations. This paper introduces an improved criterion which can minimize the mesh-dependency of simulation results on the basis of the fracture energy concept, and HJC (Holmquist Johnson Cook), CSC (Continuous Surface Cap) and K&C (Karagozian & Case) models are examined to trace their relative sensitivity to the used FE mesh size. To coincide with the purpose of the penetration test with a concrete plate under a projectile (bullet), the residual velocities of projectile after penetration are compared. The correlation studies between analytical results and the parametric studies associated with them show that the variation of residual velocity with the used FE mesh size is quite reduced by applying a unique failure strain value determined according to the proposed criterion.

Keywords: high strain rate concrete, penetration simulation, failure strain, mesh-dependency, fracture energy

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Authors: Rohini Hariharan, Yazhini R., Blessy Maria Mathew

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The task of detecting email spam is a very important one in the era of digital technology that needs effective ways of curbing unwanted messages. This paper presents an approach aimed at making email spam categorization algorithms transparent, reliable and more trustworthy by incorporating Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME). Our technique assists in providing interpretable explanations for specific classifications of emails to help users understand the decision-making process by the model. In this study, we developed a complete pipeline that incorporates LIME into the spam classification framework and allows creating simplified, interpretable models tailored to individual emails. LIME identifies influential terms, pointing out key elements that drive classification results, thus reducing opacity inherent in conventional machine learning models. Additionally, we suggest a visualization scheme for displaying keywords that will improve understanding of categorization decisions by users. We test our method on a diverse email dataset and compare its performance with various baseline models, such as Gaussian Naive Bayes, Multinomial Naive Bayes, Bernoulli Naive Bayes, Support Vector Classifier, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, and Logistic Regression. Our testing results show that our model surpasses all other models, achieving an accuracy of 96.59% and a precision of 99.12%.

Keywords: text classification, LIME (local interpretable model-agnostic explanations), stemming, tokenization, logistic regression.

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Authors: Alireza Naseri, Susan L. Holdt, Charlotte Jacobsen

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In 2014, the global amount of carrageenan production was 60,000 ton with a value of US$ 626 million. From this number, it can be estimated that the total dried seaweed consumption for this production was at least 300,000 ton/year. The protein content of these types of seaweed is 5 – 25%. If just half of this total amount of protein could be extracted, 18,000 ton/year of a high-value protein product would be obtained. The overall aim of this study was to develop a technology that will ensure further utilization of the seaweed that is used only as raw materials for carrageenan production as single extraction at present. More specifically, proteins should be extracted from the seaweed either before or after extraction of carrageenan with focus on maintaining the quality of carrageenan as a main product. Different mechanical, chemical and enzymatic technologies were evaluated. The optimized process was implemented in lab scale and based on its results; the new experiments were done a pilot and larger scale. In order to calculate the efficiency of the new upstream multi-extraction process, protein content was tested before and after extraction. After this step, the extraction of carrageenan was done and carrageenan content and the effect of extraction on yield were evaluated. The functionality and quality of carrageenan were measured based on rheological parameters. The results showed that by using the new multi-extraction process (submitted patent); it is possible to extract almost 50% of total protein without any negative impact on the carrageenan quality. Moreover, compared to the routine carrageenan extraction process, the new multi-extraction process could increase the yield of carrageenan and the rheological properties such as gel strength in the final carrageenan had a promising improvement. The extracted protein has initially been screened as a plant protein source in typical food applications. Further work will be carried out in order to improve properties such as color, solubility, and taste.

Keywords: carrageenan, extraction, protein, seaweed

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Authors: Ha T. T. Ly, Truc B. Truc, Hai N. Truong, Mai P. T. Nguyen, Ngoc D. Ngo, Khanh V. Tran, Hai T. Le

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Beta thalassemia is one of the most common inherited blood disorders, which is characterized by decreased or absent in beta globin expression. Patients with Beta thalassemia whose anemia is not so severe as to necessitate transfusions are said to have thalassemia intermedia. Objective: The goal of this study is prenatal diagnosis for pregnancy woman with Beta thalassemia intermedia and her husband with Beta thalassemia carrier at high risk of Beta thalassemia major in Northern of Vietnam. Material and method: The family has a 6 years-old compound heterozygous thalassemia major for CD71/72(+A) and Hbb:c. -78A>G/nt-28(A>G) male child. The father was heterozygous for CD71/72(+A) mutation which is Beta plus type and the mother was compound heterozygosity of two different variants, namely, Hbb: c. -78A>G/nt-28(A>G) and CD26(A-G) HbE. Prenatal Beta thalassemia mutation detection in fetal DNA was carried out using multiplex Amplification-refractory mutation system ARMS-PCR and confirmed by direct Sanger-sequencing Hbb gene. Prenatal diagnoses were perfomed by amniotic fluid sampling from pregnant woman in the 16-18th week of pregnancy after the genotypes of parents of the probands were identified. Result: When amniotic fluid sample was analyzed for Beta globin gene (Hbb), we found that the genotype is heterozygous for CD71/72(+A) and CD26(A-G) HbE. This genotype is different from the 1st child of this family. Conclusion: Prenatal diagnosis helps the parents to know the genotype and the thalassemia status of the fetus, so they can have early decision on their pregnancy. Genetic diagnosis provided a useful method in diagnosis for familial members in pedigree, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis.

Keywords: beta thalassemia intermedia, Hbb gene, pedigree, prenatal diagnosis

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Authors: Hamzat Shittu Atunnise

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This study on Assessment of the Implementation of Recommended Teaching and Evaluation Methods of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) Arabic Language Curriculum in Colleges of Education in North Western Nigeria was conducted with four objectives, four research questions and four null hypotheses. Descriptive survey design was used and the multistage sampling procedure adopted. Frequency count and percentage were used to answer research questions and chi-square was used to test all the null hypotheses at an Alpha 0.05 level of significance. Two hundred and ninety one subjects were drawn as sample. Questionnaires were used for data collection. The Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) model of evaluation was employed. The study findings indicated that: there were no significant difference in the perceptions of lecturers and students from Federal and State Colleges of Education on the following: extent of which lecturers employ appropriate methods in teaching the language and extent of which recommended evaluation methods are utilized for the implementation of Arabic Curriculum. Based on these findings, it was recommended among other things that: lecturers should adopt teaching methodologies that promote interactive learning; Governments should ensure that information and communication technology facilities are made available and usable in all Colleges of Education; Lecturers should vary their evaluation methods because other methods of evaluation can meet and surpass the level of learning and understanding which essay type questions are believed to create and that language labs should be used in teaching Arabic in Colleges of Education because comprehensive language learning is possible through both classroom and language lab teaching.

Keywords: assessment, arabic language, curriculum, methods of teaching, evaluation methods, NCE

Procedia PDF Downloads 68