Search results for: power quality improvement

Authors: N. Wongsai, R. Wetprasit, V. Siddoo

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The recently introduced ISO/IEC 29110 standard Lifecycle profile for Very Small Entities (VSE) has been adopted and practiced in many small and medium software companies, including in Thailand’s software industry. Many Thai companies complete their software process improvement (SPI) initiative program and have been certified. There are, however, a number of participants fail to success. This study was concerned with the factors that influence the accomplishment of the standard implementation in various VSE characteristics. In order to achieve this goal, exploring and extracting critical factors from prior studies were carried out and then the obtained factors were validated by the standard experts. Data analysis of comments and recommendations was performed using a qualitative content analysis method. This paper presents the initial set of influence factors in both positive and negative impact the ISO/IEC 29110 implementation with an aim at helping such SPI practitioners with some considerations to manage appropriate adoption approach in order to achieve its implementation.

Keywords: barriers, critical success factors, ISO/IEC 29110, Software Process Improvement, SPI, Very-Small Entity, VSE

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Authors: Debalina Datta, Pratyaypratim Datta, Kunal Kanti Majumdar

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Introduction: In India 8.1% of total population is elderly. The standard of living and meaningfulness of life are indirectly measured by assessing quality of life of elderly. So, it is important to improve quality of life. Quality of life is an individual’s understanding of his/ her life situation with respect to his/ her values and cultural context as well as in relation to his/her goals, expectations and concerns. The present study was planned to assess the quality of life of geriatric people in urban West Bengal, India. Materials and methods: It was a community based cross sectional observational study conducted among people aged 60 years and above in Kolkata and Sonarpur region of West Bengal, India. Data collection was done by house to house visit using Quality of Life- BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BERF) developed by WHO. Analysis of quality of life of physical, psychological, social relationship and environmental domain was done using SPSS (version 16.0). Results: Transformed score (0-100 scale) was used for each domain. Mean of physical, psychological, social relationship and environmental domain were found to be 42.25, 40.84, 39.62 and 48.36 respectively. There was no significant difference in score between Kolkata and Sonarpur people in any domain except social relationship domain, where people living at Sonarpur scored significantly better. Conclusion: Rehabilitation of old age people can be done by improving their quality of life. Social interaction with people of all ages, allowing them to take important family decision, engaging them in different social activities can help a lot.

Keywords: quality of life, elderly, Urban West Bengal, India

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Authors: Mohammad Arif Sobhan Bhuiyan, Zainal Abidin Nordin, Mamun Bin Ibne Reaz

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A compact and power efficient high performance Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is a must in analog and digital circuits especially in the communication system, but the best trade-off among the performance parameters is a challenge for researchers. In this paper, a design of a compact 3-stage differential voltage controlled ring oscillator (VCRO) with low phase noise, low power and higher tuning bandwidth is proposed in 0.18 µm CMOS technology. The VCRO is designed with symmetric load and positive feedback techniques to achieve higher gain and minimum delay. The proposed VCRO can operate at tuning range of 3.9-5.0 GHz at 1.6 V supply voltage. The circuit consumes only 1.0757 mW of power and produces -129 dbc/Hz. The total active area of the proposed VCRO is only 11.74 x 37.73 µm2. Such a VCO can be the best choice for compact and low-power RF applications.

Keywords: CMOS, VCO, VCRO, oscillator

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Authors: Juan Luis Leal, Rafael Maestre, Ovidio López

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As innovation progresses, more possibilities are made available to increase the efficiency and reach of solutions for Smart Cities, most of which require the data provided by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and may even have higher power requirements such as motors or actuators. A reliable power supply with the lowest maintenance is a requirement for the success of these solutions in the long term. Energy harvesting, mainly solar, becomes the solution of choice in most cases, but only if there is enough power to be harvested, which may depend on the device location (e.g., outdoors vs. indoor). This is the case of Smart Waste Containers with compaction systems, which have moderately high-power requirements, and may be installed in places with little sunlight for solar generation. It should be noted that waste is unloaded from the containers with cranes, so sudden and irregular movements may happen, making wired power unviable. In these cases, a wireless power supply may be a great alternative. This paper proposes a cost-effective two coil resonant wireless power transfer (WPT) system and describes its implementation, which has been carried out within an R&D project and validated in real settings with smart containers. Experimental results prove that the developed system achieves wireless power transmission up to 35W in the range of 5 cm to 1 m with a peak efficiency of 78%. The circuit is operated at relatively low resonant frequencies, which combined with enough wire-to-wire separation between the coil windings, reduce the losses caused by the proximity effect and, therefore, allow the use of common stranded wire instead of Litz wire, this without reducing the efficiency significantly. All these design considerations led to a final system that achieves a high efficiency for the desired charging range, simplifying the energy supply for Smart Containers as well as other devices that may benefit from a cost-effective wireless charging system.

Keywords: electromagnetic coupling, resonant wireless charging, smart recycling containers, wireless power transfer

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Authors: Jae Kyung Lee, Joon Young Park

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Maintenance on power transmission lines requires a lot of works. Sometimes they should be maintained on live-line environment with high altitude. Therefore, there always exist risks of falling from height and electric shock. To decline those risks, drones are recently applying on the electric power industry. This paper presents new operational technology while inspecting power transmission line. This paper also describes a technique for creating a flight path of a drone for transmission line inspection and a technique for controlling the drones of different types. Its technical and economical feasibilities have confirmed through experiments.

Keywords: drones, transmission line, inspection, control system

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Authors: Akinwale S. O., Koya O. A.

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The need to provide ecologically-friendly and effective lawn mowing solution is crucial for the well-being of humans. This study involved the modification of a human-powered lawn mower designed to cut tall grasses in residential areas. This study designed and fabricated a reel-type mower blade system and a pedal-powered test rig for the blade system. It also evaluated the performance of the machine. The machine was tested on some overgrown grass plots at College of Education Staff School Ilesa. Parameters such as theoretical field capacity, field efficiency and effective field capacity were determined from the data gathered. The quality of cut achieved by the unit was also documented. Test results showed that the fabricated cutting system produced a theoretical field capacity of 0.11 ha/h and an effective field capacity of 0.08ha/h. Moreover, the unit’s cutting system showed a substantial improvement over existing reel mower designs in its ability to cut on both the forward and reverse phases of its motion. This study established that the blade system described herein has the capacity to cut tall grasses. Hence, this device can therefore eliminate the need for powered mowers entirely on small residential lawns.

Keywords: effective field capacity, field efficiency, theoretical field capacity, quality of cut

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Authors: Daniela Monteiro

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Considering the entry into force of the new EU audit reform regarding statutory auditors, in effect in all member states since 2016, this research aims to identify which audit regulation rules are associated with a high-level audit quality on both its dimensions, i.e., the actual quality and the perceived quality, in relation to public interest entities, within the European Union, and whether those rules have the same impact on both dimensions. Its measurement was based on the following proxies: the quality of financial information through earnings management and the impact of qualified opinions on financial costs. We considered in the research regulation subjects such as auditors’ rotation and provision of services (NAS) and also the level of market concentration. The criteria to include these issues in the research was its contemplation of the new rules. We studied the period before the audit reform (2009-2015) when the regulation measures were less uniform. Besides the consideration of both dimensions of audit quality and several regulation measures, we believe our conclusions configure an important contribution to this research field, considering the involvement of the first 15 member states of the European Union. The results consolidate the assumption that the balance between competence and independence is not the only challenge related to the regulation of the audit profession. The evidence demonstrates that the balance between actual and perceived quality is also a relevant matter. The major conclusion is that the challenge is to keep balanced both actual and perceived audit quality whilst ensuring the independence and competence of auditors.

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Authors: Stamatis Zoras, Boris Ceranic, Ashley Redfern

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Green House Gas emissions from domestic properties currently account for a substantial part of the total UK’s carbon emissions and is a priority area for UK to reach zero carbon emissions. However, GHG emissions of urban complexes depend on building, road, structural developments etc surfaces that form urban microclimate. This in turn may further influence renewable energy system power generation that depend on solar or wind potential. Moreover, urban climatic conditions are also influenced by the installation of those power generation systems that may impact their own power generation efficiency. Increased air temperature is attributed to densely installed roof based solar panels that consequently impact their own production efficiency. Installation of roof based solar panels requires adequate guidance to enable housing businesses, councils and organisations to implement sufficient measures for improved power generation in relation to local urban microclimate. How microclimate is affected and how, in return, it affects solar power productivity. Derby Council & Derby Homes have been collecting solar panel power generation data for a large number of properties. The different building areas and system operation performance will be studied against microclimate conditions through time. It is envisaged that the outcomes of the study will support a working up strategy for Derby city to ensure that owned homes would be able to access information and data of solar photo voltaic PV and solar thermal panels potential on social housing, helping residents on low incomes create their own green energy to power their homes and heat their homeshot water.

Keywords: microclimate, solar power, urban climatology, urban morphology

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Authors: Sayyed Benyamin Alavi, Giovanni Cerri, Leila Chennaoui, Ambra Giovannelli, Stefano Mazzoni

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Primary energy consumption and emissions of pollutants (including CO2) sustainability call to search methodologies to lower power absorption for unit of a given product. Cool production plants based on vapour compression are widely used for many applications: air conditioning, food conservation, domestic refrigerators and freezers, special industrial processes, etc. In the field of cool production, the amount of Yearly Consumed Primary Energy is enormous, thus, saving some percentage of it, leads to big worldwide impact in the energy consumption and related energy sustainability. Among various techniques to reduce power required by a Vapour Compression Cool Production Plant (VCCPP), the technique based on Power Regeneration by means of Internal Direct Cycle (IDC) will be considered in this paper. Power produced by IDC reduces power need for unit of produced Cool Power by the VCCPP. The paper contains basic concepts that lead to develop IDCs and the proposed options to use the IDC Power. Among various selections for using turbo machines, Best Economically Available Technologies (BEATs) have been explored. Based on vehicle engine turbochargers, they have been taken into consideration for this application. According to BEAT Database and similarity rules, the best turbo machine selection leads to the minimum nominal power required by VCCPP Main Compressor. Results obtained installing the prototype in “ad hoc” designed test bench will be discussed and compared with the expected performance. Forecasts for the upgrading VCCPP, various applications will be given and discussed. 4-6% saving is expected for air conditioning cooling plants and 15-22% is expected for cryogenic plants.

Keywords: Refrigeration Plant, Vapour Pressure Amplifier, Compressor, Expander, Turbine, Turbomachinery Selection, Power Saving

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Authors: Mousa Meratizaman, Sina Monadizadeh, Majid Amidpour

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One of the most favorable thermal desalination methods used widely today is Multi Effect Desalination. High energy consumption in this method causes coupling it with high temperature power cycle like gas turbine. This combination leads to higher energy efficiency. One of the high temperature power systems which have cogeneration opportunities is Solid Oxide Fuel Cell / Gas Turbine. Integration of Multi Effect Desalination with Solid Oxide Fuel Cell /Gas Turbine power cycle in a range of 300-1000 kW is considered in this article. The exhausted heat of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell /Gas Turbine power cycle is used in Heat Recovery Steam Generator to produce needed motive steam for Desalination unit. Thermodynamic simulation and parametric studies of proposed system are carried out to investigate the system performance.

Keywords: solid oxide fuel cell, thermodynamic simulation, multi effect desalination, gas turbine hybrid cycle

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Authors: Wilson Enríquez, Daniel Cardenas

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This article proposes a filter bank format combined with the mathematical tool called polyphase decomposition and the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) with the purpose of improving the performance of the fifth-generation communication systems (5G). We started with a review of the literature and the study of the filter bank theory and its combination with DFT in order to improve the performance of wireless communications since it reduces the computational complexity of these communication systems. With the proposed technique, several experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the structures in 5G systems. Finally, the results are presented in graphical form in terms of bit error rate against the ratio bit energy/noise power spectral density (BER vs. Eb / No).

Keywords: multi-carrier system (5G), filter bank, polyphase decomposition, FIR equalizer

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Authors: Ebrahim Rahmani, Siyamak Moazeni

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According to the Iraq's first constitutional law (approved 2005), Iraq is an independent with sovereignty and its governmental structure is parliamentary democratic republic and federal. Even in reforms in 2009, this article of law did not changed at all. But considering the existence of this emphasis and clarity which is mentioned in the law, different and sometimes contradictory interpretations and positions are expressed about federalism in the way that we can say, considering the importance of the matter, federalism is a focus point to create and expansion of the cold war among leaders of different groups of the country. Iraq's today political and security position has granted the suitable opportunity to Iraq's Kurdistan in appearing of the recent security crisis to increase its share from the central political power or to achieve to its independent dream. The federalism the weakest point of Iraq's territorial integrity in a way that if different groups do not come to a consensus about it and do not think about a mechanism which is accepted by all of them, this can effect on and Iraq's political stability and security. Iraq's Kurdistan follows the option of disintegration and separation under the shadow of political and security changes, even with existence of some Iraqi groups' hopes regarding the improvement of situation after parliament election and also considering Masoud Barezani's power will for separation from Iraq as well as regarding special international changes and disintegration of Karime from Ukraine and ISIS crises; concerns have been created among regional and international powers and interior players. In this article, a paradox due constitutional law about federalism, Iraq's central government view and its politicians to the matter and the regional effect of this action on region's geopolitics are reviewed as well.

Keywords: constitutional law, federalism, decomposition, Iraq's Kurdistan

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Adaileh, Souheil Khaddaj

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Outcomes of exhaustion of natural resources started influencing each spirit on this planet. Energy is an essential factor in this aspect. To restore the circumstance to the appropriate track, all attempts must focus on two fundamental branches: producing electricity from clean and renewable reserves and decreasing the overall unnecessary consumption of energy. The focal point of this paper will be on lessening the power consumption in the household's segment. This paper is an attempt to give a clear understanding of a framework called Reduction of Energy Consumption in Household Sector (RECHS) and how it should help householders to reduce their power consumption by substituting their household appliances, turning-off the appliances when stand-by modus is detected, and scheduling their appliances operation periods. Technically, the framework depends on utilizing Z-Wave compatible plug-ins which will be connected to the usual house devices to gauge and control them remotely and semi-automatically. The suggested framework underpins numerous quality characteristics, for example, integrability, scalability, security and adaptability.

Keywords: smart energy management systems, internet of things, wireless mesh networks, microservices, cloud computing, big data

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Authors: R. W. C. Devindi, S. M. Buddika Harshanath

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E-learning is a widely used technology for learning in the modern world. With the pandemic situation the popularity of using e-learning has been increased in a larger capacity. The e-learning educational systems require software resources as well as hardware usually but it is hard for most of the education institutions to afford those resources. Also with the massive user load e-learning has to broaden the server side resources as well. Therefore, in the present cloud computing was implemented in order to make the e – learning systems more efficient. The researcher has analyzed the quality of the e-learning systems on the perception of the learners and the teachers with the aid of hypothesis and has given the analyzed results and the discussion in this report. Therefore, the future research will be able to get some steps to increase the quality of the online learning systems furthermore. In the case of e-learning, quality assurance and cost effectiveness are essential. A complex quality assurance system is used in the stated project. There are no well-defined standard evaluation measures in this field. As a result, accurately assessing the e-learning system's overall quality is challenging. The researcher has done the analysis with the aid of standard methods and software.

Keywords: LMS–learning management system, SPSS–statistical package for social sciences (software), eigen value, hypothesis

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Authors: Shabnam Dadparvar, Laijin Shen

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After a period of conflict between Russia and the West, new signs of confrontation between the United States and China are observed. China, as the most populous country in the world with a high rate of economic growth, neither stands the hegemonic power of the United States nor has the intention of direct confrontation with it. By raising the costs of the United States’ leadership at the international level, China seeks to find a better status without direct confrontation with the US. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as a soft balancing strategy against the hegemony of the United States is used as a tool to reach this goal. The authors by using a descriptive-analytical method try to explain the policies of China and the United States on Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well as confrontation between these two countries within the framework of 'balance of soft power theory'.

Keywords: balance of soft power, Central Asia, Shanghai cooperation organization, terrorism

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Authors: Andrea Szabo Nagy, Zsofia Csanadi

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concentration levels of common inorganic gases, benzene and particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅) in ambient air of Győr (Hungary) based on the latest published monitoring data. The concentrations of PM10-bound heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As and Ni) and some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also assessed. The levels of pollutants were compared with the Hungarian and EU limit or target values defined for health protection and the WHO air quality guidelines (AQGs) or estimated reference levels. Based on the Hungarian or the EU air quality standards and using the Hungarian Air Quality Index it was found that mainly an excellent (SO₂, CO, C₆H₆, heavy metals) or good (NO₂, O₃, PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)) air quality was observed in the urban area of Győr for the year 2016. The annual mean pollutant concentrations (excluding BaP) were not exceeded or just reached the WHO AQGs or reference levels.

Keywords: aerosols, air pollutant, air quality, health protection

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Authors: A. Clementking, C. Jothi Venkateswaran

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Mathematical and computational functionalities such as descriptive mining, optimization, and predictions are espoused to resolve natural resource planning. The water quality prediction and its attributes influence determinations are adopted optimization techniques. The water properties are tainted while merging water resource one with another. This work aimed to predict influencing water resource distribution connectivity in accordance to water quality and sediment using an innovative proposed master-slave neural network back-propagation model. The experiment results are arrived through collecting water quality attributes, computation of water quality index, design and development of neural network model to determine water quality and sediment, master–slave back propagation neural network back-propagation model to determine variations on water quality and sediment attributes between the water resources and the recommendation for connectivity. The homogeneous and parallel biochemical reactions are influences water quality and sediment while distributing water from one location to another. Therefore, an innovative master-slave neural network model [M (9:9:2)::S(9:9:2)] designed and developed to predict the attribute variations. The result of training dataset given as an input to master model and its maximum weights are assigned as an input to the slave model to predict the water quality. The developed master-slave model is predicted physicochemical attributes weight variations for 85 % to 90% of water quality as a target values.The sediment level variations also predicated from 0.01 to 0.05% of each water quality percentage. The model produced the significant variations on physiochemical attribute weights. According to the predicated experimental weight variation on training data set, effective recommendations are made to connect different resources.

Keywords: master-slave back propagation neural network model(MSBPNNM), water quality analysis, multivariate analysis, environmental mining

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Authors: Muhammad Akram, Abdurrahman Ilgan, Oyku Ozu-Cengiz

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The quality of Work life is the general state of wellbeing of employees in the workplace. The quality of work life focuses on changing climate at work so that employees can lead improved work life. This study was designed to compare the quality of work life between Turkish and Pakistani public school teachers based on their location, gender, and marital status. A 30 items scale named The Quality of School Work Life (QSWL) was used for this study. 995 teachers from 8 Turkish provinces and 716 from four Pakistani districts were conveniently selected. The overall reliability coefficient of the scale was measured as .81. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis yielded five subscales of the construct. The Study revealed that Turkish and Pakistani teachers significantly differed, separately, on all the five subscales of Quality of School Work Life. However, no significant differences were found between Turkish and Pakistani teachers perspectives on the composite score of the QSWL. Further, Male, married, and Single teachers did not significantly differ on their perceptions of QSWL in both countries. However, Pakistani female teachers significantly perceived better QSWL than female teachers in Turkey. The study provided initial validity and reliability evidence of the QSWL.

Keywords: developmental opportunities, fair wages, quality of work life, Pakistan

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Authors: Abdellah Boualouch, Ahmed Essadki, Tamou Nasser, Ali Boukhriss, Abdellatif Frigui

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This paper presents a power control for a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) using in Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) connected to the grid. The proposed control strategy employs two nonlinear controllers, Backstipping (BSC) and sliding-mode controller (SMC) scheme to directly calculate the required rotor control voltage so as to eliminate the instantaneous errors of active and reactive powers. In this paper the advantages of BSC and SMC are presented, the performance and robustness of this two controller’s strategy are compared between them. First, we present a model of wind turbine and DFIG machine, then a synthesis of the controllers and their application in the DFIG power control. Simulation results on a 1.5MW grid-connected DFIG system are provided by MATLAB/Simulink.

Keywords: backstipping, DFIG, power control, sliding-mode, WESC

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Authors: Mehak Munjal, Raj Kishore Sharma, Gurmeet Singh

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Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are an alternative sustainable approach that utilize bacteria present in waste water as a bio-catalyst for the production of energy. It is a promising growing technology with minimal requirement for chemical supplements. Here electrode material plays a vital role in its performance. The present study represents CoFe2O4 spinel as a novel anode material in the MFC. It not only improve the bacterial metabolics but also enhance the power output. Generally, biocompatible conductive carbon paper/cloth, graphite and stainless steel are utilised as anode in MFCs. However, these materials lack electrochemical activity for anodic microbial reaction. Therefore, we developed CoFe2O4 on graphite sheet which enhanced the anodic charge transfer process. Redox pair in CoFe2O4 helped in improvement of extracellular electron transfer, thereby enhancing the performance. The physical characterizations (FT-IR, XRD, Raman) and electrochemical measurements demonstrate the strong interaction with E.coli bacteria and thus providing an excellent power density i.e. 1850 mW/m2 .The maximum anode half -cell potential is measured to be 0.65V. Therefore, use of noble metal free anodic material further decrease the cost and the long term cell stability makes it an effective material for practical applications.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell, cobalt ferrite, E. coli, bioelectricity

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Authors: Mohab Magdy Mostafa Mohamed

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The objective of this paper is to introduce a vertical handover (VHO) algorithm between wireless LANs (WLANs) and LTE mobile networks. The proposed algorithm is based on the fuzzy control theory and takes into consideration power level, subscriber velocity, and target cell load instead of only power level in traditional algorithms. Simulation results show that network performance in terms of number of handovers and handover occurrence distance is improved.

Keywords: vertical handover, fuzzy control theory, power level, speed, target cell load

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Authors: Mehdi Ameur, Ahmed Essakdi, Tamou Nasser

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The purpose of this paper is the analysis and modeling of the photovoltaic system with MPPT techniques. This system is developed by combining the models of established solar module and DC-DC converter with the algorithms of perturb and observe (P&O), incremental conductance (INC) and fuzzy logic controller(FLC). The system is simulated under different climate conditions and MPPT algorithms to determine the influence of these conditions on characteristic power-voltage of PV system. According to the comparisons of the simulation results, the photovoltaic system can extract the maximum power with precision and rapidity using the MPPT algorithms discussed in this paper.

Keywords: photovoltaic array, maximum power point tracking, MPPT, perturb and observe, P&O, incremental conductance, INC, hill climbing, HC, fuzzy logic controller, FLC

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Authors: Artem Surkov

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This work is devoted to a problem of aesthetic quality determinism in the context of contemporary art. The object of study is photography regarding as a kind of art which demands specific system of quality marking. Objective: To define aesthetic criteria in photography art. For current searching different kind of texts by such powerful authors like Clement Greenberg and Rosalind Krauss, Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, Charlott Cotton and Boris Groys, Viktor Miziano and Ekaterina Degot' were analyzed. Before all, there are two different kinds of photography: the classic art photography (by Ansel Adams) and the photography as kind of art (by Andreas Gursky). In this text we are talking about the photography as kind of art. The main principle of current searching is synthesis of two different approaches: modernism and postmodernism. This method helps us to define uniform criteria of aesthetic quality in photography as kind of art. The criteria mentioned in conclusion paragraph are: aesthetic rationality, aesthetic economy, awareness (using photographic technics or references), and intention to go beyond form, practice and method.

Keywords: aesthetic, art, criteria of quality, photography, visually

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Authors: Khaled Mawardi

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Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) is an evergreen of the Laurus genus of the Lauraceae Family. It is a plant native to the southern Mediterranean and widespread in Syria. It is a plant with enormous industrial applications. For instance, they are used as platform chemicals in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Herein, we report an efficient extraction of Bay laurel oil from Bay laurel fruits via a comparative investigation of boiled water conventional extraction technique and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) by microwave heating at atmospheric pressure. In order to optimize the extraction efficiency, we investigated several extraction parameters, such as extraction time and microwave power. In addition, to demonstrate the feasibility of the method, oil obtained under optimal conditions by method (MAE) was compared quantitatively and qualitatively with that obtained by the conventional method. After 1h of microwave-assisted extraction (power of 600W), an oil yield of 9.8% with identified lauric acid content of 22.7%. In comparison, an extended extraction of up to 4h was required to obtain a 9.7% yield of oil extraction with 21.2% of lauric acid content. The change in microwave power impacts the fatty acids profile and also the quality parameters of Laurel Oil. It was found that the profile of fatty acids changed with the power, where the lauric acid content increased from 22.7% at 600W to 30.5% at 1200W owing to a decrease of oleic acid content from 32.8% at 600W to 28.3% at 1200W and linoleic acid content from 22.3% at 600W to 20.6% at 1200W. In addition, we observed a decrease in oil yield from 9.8% at 600W to 5.1% at 1200W. Summarily, the overall results indicated that the extraction of laurel fruit oils could be successfully performed using (MAE) at a short extraction time and lower energy compared with the fixed oil obtained by conventional processes of extraction. Microwave heating exerted more aggressive effects on the oil. Indeed, microwave heating inflicted changes in the fatty acids profile of oil; the most affected fraction was the unsaturated fatty acids, with higher susceptibility to oxidation.

Keywords: microwaves, extraction, Laurel oil, solvent-free

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Authors: Talbi Mohammed, Oustous Aziz, Ben Messaoud Mounir, Sebihi Rajaa, Khalis Mohammed

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Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women around the world. Screening mammography is the reference examination, due to its sensitivity for detecting small lesions and micro-calcifications. Therefore, it is essential to ensure quality mammographic examinations with the most optimal dose. These conditions depend on the choice of exposure parameters. Clinically, practices must be evaluated in order to determine the most appropriate exposure parameters. Material and Methods: We performed our measurements on a mobile mammography unit (PLANMED Sofie-classic.) in Morocco. A solid dosimeter (AGMS Radcal) and a MTM 100 phantom allow to quantify the delivered dose and the image quality. For image quality assessment, scores are defined by the rate of visible inserts (MTM 100 phantom), obtained and compared for each acquisition. Results: The results show that the parameters of the mammography unit on which we have made our measurements can be improved in order to offer a better compromise between image quality and breast dose. The last one can be reduced up from 13.27% to 22.16%, while preserving comparable image quality.

Keywords: Mammography, Breast Dose, Image Quality, Phantom

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Authors: Bhim Kumar Dahal

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Transportation network development in the developing country is in rapid pace. The majority of the network belongs to railway and expressway which passes through diverse topography, landform and geological conditions despite the avoidance principle during route selection. Construction of such networks demand many low to high embankment which required improvement in the foundation soil. This paper is mainly focused on the various advanced ground improvement techniques used to improve the soft soil, modelling approach and its predictability for embankments construction. The ground improvement techniques can be broadly classified in to three groups i.e. densification group, drainage and consolidation group and reinforcement group which are discussed with some case studies.  Various methods were used in modelling of the embankments from simple 1-dimensional to complex 3-dimensional model using variety of constitutive models. However, the reliability of the predictions is not found systematically improved with the level of sophistication.  And sometimes the predictions are deviated more than 60% to the monitored value besides using same level of erudition. This deviation is found mainly due to the selection of constitutive model, assumptions made during different stages, deviation in the selection of model parameters and simplification during physical modelling of the ground condition. This deviation can be reduced by using optimization process, optimization tools and sensitivity analysis of the model parameters which will guide to select the appropriate model parameters.

Keywords: cement, improvement, physical properties, strength

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Authors: Assamen Ayalew Ejigu, Liang-Chiun Chao

Abstract:

In recent semiconductor and nanotechnology, quality material synthesis, proper characterizations, and productions are the big challenges. As cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is a promising semiconductor material for photovoltaic (PV) and other optoelectronic applications, this study was aimed at to grow and characterize high quality Cu2O nanorods for the improvement of the efficiencies of thin film solar cells and other potential applications. In this study, well-structured cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanorods were successfully fabricated using IBSD method in which the Cu2O samples were grown on silicon substrates with a substrate temperature of 400°C in an IBSD chamber of pressure of 4.5 x 10-5 torr using copper as a target material. Argon, and oxygen gases were used as a sputter and reactive gases, respectively. The characterization of the Cu2O nanorods (NRs) were done in comparison with Cu2O thin film (TF) deposited with the same method but with different Ar:O2 flow rates. With Ar:O2 ratio of 9:1 single phase pure polycrystalline Cu2O NRs with diameter of ~500 nm and length of ~4.5 µm were grow. Increasing the oxygen flow rates, pure single phase polycrystalline Cu2O thin film (TF) was found at Ar:O2 ratio of 6:1. The field emission electron microscope (FE-SEM) measurements showed that both samples have smooth morphologies. X-ray diffraction and Rama scattering measurements reveals the presence of single phase Cu2O in both samples. The differences in Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL) bands of the two samples were also investigated and the results showed us there are differences in intensities, in number of bands and in band positions. Raman characterization shows that the Cu2O NRs sample has pronounced Raman band intensities, higher numbers of Raman bands than the Cu2O TF which has only one second overtone Raman signal at 2 (217 cm-1). The temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra measurements, showed that the defect luminescent band centered at 720 nm (1.72 eV) is the dominant one for the Cu2O NRs and the 640 nm (1.937 eV) band was the only PL band observed from the Cu2O TF. The difference in optical and structural properties of the samples comes from the oxygen flow rate change in the process window of the samples deposition. This gave us a roadmap for further investigation of the electrical and other optical properties for the tunable fabrication of the Cu2O nano/micro structured sample for the improvement of the efficiencies of thin film solar cells in addition to other potential applications. Finally, the novel morphologies, excellent structural and optical properties seen exhibits the grown Cu2O NRs sample has enough quality to be used in further research of the nano/micro structured semiconductor materials.

Keywords: defect levels, nanorods, photoluminescence, Raman modes

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Authors: Fayssal Amrane, Azeddine Chaiba

Abstract:

In this paper, type-2 fuzzy logic control (T2FLC) and neuro-fuzzy control (NFC) for a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) based on direct power control (DPC) with a fixed switching frequency is proposed for wind generation application. First, a mathematical model of the doubly-fed induction generator implemented in d-q reference frame is achieved. Then, a DPC algorithm approach for controlling active and reactive power of DFIG via fixed switching frequency is incorporated using PID. The performance of T2FLC and NFC, which is based on the DPC algorithm, are investigated and compared to those obtained from the PID controller. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the NFC is more robust, superior dynamic performance for wind power generation system applications.

Keywords: doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), direct power control (DPC), neuro-fuzzy control (NFC), maximum power point tracking (MPPT), space vector modulation (SVM), type 2 fuzzy logic control (T2FLC)

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Authors: Liane J. Ioannou, Jonathan Serpell, Joanne Dean, Cino Bendinelli, Jenny Gough, Dean Lisewski, Julie Miller, Win Meyer-Rochow, Stan Sidhu, Duncan Topliss, David Walters, John Zalcberg, Susannah Ahern

Abstract:

Background: The occurrence of thyroid cancer is increasing throughout the developed world, including Australia and New Zealand, and since the 1990s has become the fastest increasing malignancy. Following the success of a number of institutional databases that monitor outcomes after thyroid surgery, the Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons (ANZES) agreed to auspice the development of a bi-national thyroid cancer registry. Objectives: To establish a bi-national population-based clinical quality registry with the aim of monitoring and improving the quality of care provided to patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Australia and New Zealand. Patients and Methods: The Australian and New Zealand Thyroid Cancer Registry (ANZTCR) captures clinical data for all patients, over the age of 18 years, diagnosed with thyroid cancer, confirmed by histopathology report, that have been diagnosed, assessed or treated at a contributing hospital. Data is collected by endocrine surgeons using a web-based interface, REDCap, primarily via direct data entry. Results: A multi-disciplinary Steering Committee was formed, and with operational support from Monash University the ANZTCR was established in early 2017. The pilot phase of the registry is currently operating in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, with over 30 sites expected to come on board across Australia and New Zealand in 2018. A modified-Delphi process was undertaken to determine the key quality indicators to be reported by the registry, and a minimum dataset was developed comprising information regarding thyroid cancer diagnosis, pathology, surgery, and 30-day follow up. Conclusion: There are very few established thyroid cancer registries internationally, yet clinical quality registries have shown valuable outcomes and patient benefits in other cancers. The establishment of the ANZTCR provides the opportunity for Australia and New Zealand to further understand the current practice in the treatment of thyroid cancer and reasons for variation in outcomes. The engagement of endocrine surgeons in supporting this initiative is crucial. While the pilot registry has a focus on early clinical outcomes, it is anticipated that future collection of longer-term outcome data particularly for patients with the poor prognostic disease will add significant further value to the registry.

Keywords: thyroid cancer, clinical registry, population health, quality improvement

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Authors: Jamal Radaideh

Abstract:

Al-Asfar Lake is located about 14 km east of Al-Ahsa and is one of the most important wetland lakes in the Al Ahsa/Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahsa is may be the largest oasis in the world, having an area of 20,000 hectares, in addition, it is of the largest and oldest agricultural centers in the region. The surplus farm irrigation water beside additional water supplied by treated wastewater from Al-Hofuf sewage station is collected by a drainage network and discharged into Al-Asfar Lake. The lake has good wetlands, sand dunes as well as large expanses of open and shallow water. Salt tolerant vegetation is present in some of the shallow areas around the lake, and huge stands of Phragmites reeds occur around the lake. The lake presents an important habitat for wildlife and birds, something not expected to find in a large desert. Although high evaporation rates in the range of 3250 mm are common, the water remains in the evaporation lakes during all seasons of the year is used to supply cattle with drinking water and for aquifer recharge. Investigations showed that high concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and salinity discharge to Al Asfar Lake from the D2 drain exist. It is expected that the majority of BOD, COD and N originates from wastewater discharge and leachate from surplus irrigation water which also contribute to the majority of P and salinity. The significant content of nutrients and biological oxygen demand reduces available oxygen in the water. The present project aimed to improve the water quality of the lake using constructed wetland trains which will be built around the lake. Phragmites reeds, which already occur around the lake, will be used.

Keywords: Al Asfar lake, constructed wetland, water quality, water treatment

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