Search results for: autoregressive moving average model

Authors: Chalachew Kassaw, Henok Ababu, Bethelhem Sileshy, Lulu Abebe, Birhanie Mekuriaw

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Background: Psychological discomfort is a state of emotional distress caused by everyday stressors and obligations that are difficult to manage. Orthopedic trauma has a wide range of effects on survivors' physical health, as well as a variety of mental health concerns that impede recovery. Psychiatric and behavioral conditions are 3-5 times more common in people who have undergone physical trauma, and they are a predictor of poor outcomes. Despite the above facts, there is a shortage of research done on the subject. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of psychological distress and associated factor among patients attending orthopedic treatment at Gedeo zone, South Ethiopia 2022. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken at Dilla University Referral Hospital from October –November 2022. The data was collected via a face-to-face interview, and the Kessler psychological distress scale (K-10) was used to assess psychological distress. A total of 386 patients receiving outpatient and inpatient services at the orthopedic unit were chosen using a simple random selection technique. A Statistical Package for the Social Science version 21 (SPSS-21) was used to enter and evaluate the data. To find related factors, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regressions were used. Variables having a p-value of less than 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. Result: A total of 386 participants with a response rate of 94.8% were included in the study. Out of all respondents, 114 (31.4%) of the individuals have experienced psychological distress. Independent variables such as Females [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=5.8, 95%CI=(4.6-15.6)], Average monthly income of <3500 birrs [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =4.8, 95% CI=(2.4-9.8) ], Current history of substance use [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =2.6, 95% CI=(1.66-4.7)], Strong social support [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.4, 95% CI= 0.4(0.2-0.8)], and Poor sleep quality (PSQI score>5) [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.0, 95%CI= 2.0(1.2-2.8)] were significantly associated with psychological distress. Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological distress was high. Being female, having poor social support, and having a high PSQI score were significantly associated factors with psychological distress. It is good if clinicians emphasize orthopedic patients, especially females and those having poor social support and low sleep quality symptoms.

Keywords: psychological distress, orthopedic unit, Dilla University hospital, Dilla Town, Southern Ethiopia

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Authors: Reza Bazargan lari, Mohammad H. Fattahi

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Natural resources management including water resources requires reliable estimations of time variant environmental parameters. Small improvements in the estimation of environmental parameters would result in grate effects on managing decisions. Noise reduction using wavelet techniques is an effective approach for pre-processing of practical data sets. Predictability enhancement of the river flow time series are assessed using fractal approaches before and after applying wavelet based pre-processing. Time series correlation and persistency, the minimum sufficient length for training the predicting model and the maximum valid length of predictions were also investigated through a fractal assessment.

Keywords: wavelet, de-noising, predictability, time series fractal analysis, valid length, ANN

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Authors: N. K. Mohd Affendi, T. A. R. Tuan Abdullah, S. A. Syed Mustaffa

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In power industry transformer is an important component and most of us familiar by the functioning principle of a transformer electrically. There are many losses occur during the operation of a transformer that causes heat generation. This heat, if not dissipated properly will reduce the lifetime and effectiveness of the transformer. Transformer cooling helps in maintaining the temperature rise of various paths. This paper proposed to minimize the ambient temperature of the transformer room in order to lower down the temperature of the transformer. A simulation has been made using finite element methods programs called FEMM (Finite Elements Method Magnetics) to create a virtual model based on actual measurement of a transformer. The generalization of the two-dimensional (2D) FEMM results proves that by minimizing the ambient temperature, the heat of the transformer is decreased. The modeling process and of the transformer heat flow has been presented.

Keywords: heat generation, temperature rise, ambient temperature, FEMM

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Authors: Susan Corby, Pete Burgess, Armin Hoeland, Helene Michel, Laurent Willemez

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In German 1st instance labour courts, lay judges always sit with a professional judge and in British and French 1st instance labour courts, lay judges sometimes sit with a professional judge. The lay judges’ main contribution is their workplace knowledge, but they act in a juridical setting where legal norms prevail. Accordingly, the research question is: does the professional judge dominate the lay judges? The research, funded by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, is based on over 200 qualitative interviews conducted in France, Germany and Great Britain in 2016-17 with lay and professional judges. Each interview lasted an hour on average, was audio-recorded, transcribed and then analysed using MaxQDA. Status theories, which argue that external sources of (perceived) status are imported into the court, and complementary notions of informational advantage suggest professional judges might exercise domination and control. Furthermore, previous empirical research on British and German labour courts, now some 30 years old, found that professional judges dominated. More recent research on lay judges and professional judges in criminal courts also found professional judge domination. Our findings, however, are more nuanced and distinguish between the hearing and deliberations, and also between the attitudes of judges in the three countries. First, in Germany and Great Britain the professional judge has specialist knowledge and expertise in labour law. In contrast, French professional judges do not study employment law and may only seldom adjudicate on employment law cases. Second, although the professional judge chairs and controls the hearing when he/she sits with lay judges in all three countries, exceptionally in Great Britain lay judges have some latent power as they have to take notes systematically due to the lack of recording technology. Such notes can be material if a party complains of bias, or if there is an appeal. Third, as to labour court deliberations: in France, the professional judge alone determines the outcome of the case, but only if the lay judges have been unable to agree at a previous hearing, which only occurs in 20% of cases. In Great Britain and Germany, although the two lay judges and the professional judge have equal votes, the contribution of British lay judges’ workplace knowledge is less important than that of their German counterparts. British lay judges essentially only sit on discrimination cases where the law, the purview of the professional judge, is complex. They do not sit routinely on unfair dismissal cases where workplace practices are often a key factor in the decision. Also, British professional judges are less reliant on their lay judges than German professional judges. Whereas the latter are career judges, the former only become professional judges after having had several years’ experience in the law and many know, albeit indirectly through their clients, about a wide range of workplace practices. In conclusion, whether or if the professional judge dominates lay judges in labour courts varies by country, although this is mediated by the attitudes of the interactionists.

Keywords: cross-national comparisons, labour courts, professional judges, lay judges

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Authors: Mohammed Ali

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A flexible manufacturing system has been studied under different manufacturing strategies. The aim of this paper is to test the impact of number of pallets and routing flexibility (design strategy) on system performance operating at different sequencing and dispatching rules (control strategies) at unbalanced load condition (planning strategies). A computer simulation model is developed to evaluate the effects of aforementioned strategies on the make-span time, which is taken as the system performance measure. The impact of number of pallets is shown with the different levels of routing flexibility. In this paper, the same manufacturing system is modeled under different combination of sequencing and dispatching rules. The result of the simulation shows that there is definite range of pallets for each level of routing flexibility at which the systems performs satisfactorily.

Keywords: flexible manufacturing system, manufacturing, strategy, makespan

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Authors: Mian Jiang, Zhenyi Wu

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We have incorporated green components into existing analytical chemistry curriculum with the aims to present a more environment benign approach in both teaching laboratory and undergraduate research. These include the use of cheap, sustainable, and market-available material; minimized waste disposal, replacement of non-aqueous media; and scale-down in sample/reagent consumption. Model incorporations have covered topics in quantitative chemistry as well as instrumental analysis, lower division as well as upper level, and research in traditional titration, spectroscopy, electrochemical analysis, and chromatography. The green embedding has made chemistry more daily life relevance, and application focus. Our approach has the potential to expand into all STEM fields to make renewable, high-impact education experience for undergraduate students.

Keywords: green analytical chemistry, pencil lead, mercury, renewable

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Authors: Saleem Z. Ramadan

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The material selection problem is concerned with the determination of the right material for a certain product to optimize certain performance indices in that product such as mass, energy density, and power-to-weight ratio. This paper is concerned about optimizing the selection of the manufacturing process along with the material used in the product under performance indices and availability constraints. In this paper, the material selection problem is formulated using binary programming and solved by genetic algorithm. The objective function of the model is to minimize the total manufacturing cost under performance indices and material and manufacturing process availability constraints.

Keywords: optimization, material selection, process selection, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Harish Ramesh Babu, Marco Böcker, Mario Raddatz, Sebastian Henkel, Horst Biermann, Uwe Gampe

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Thermal power machines are subjected to cyclic loading conditions under elevated temperatures. At these extreme conditions, the durability of the components has a significant influence. The material mechanical behaviour has to be known in detail for a failsafe construction. For this study a nickel-based alloy is considered, the deformation and fatigue behaviour of the material is analysed under cyclic loading. A viscoplastic model is used for calculating the deformation behaviour as well as to simulate the rate-dependent and cyclic plasticity effects. Finally, the cyclic deformation results of the finite element simulations are compared with low cycle fatigue (LCF) experiments.

Keywords: complex low cycle fatigue, elevated temperature, fe-simulation, viscoplastic

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Authors: Hassina Gheribi, Salim Boukebbab

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The measurement of the parts manufactured on CMM (coordinate measuring machine) is based on the association of a surface of perfect geometry to the group of dots palpated via a mathematical calculation of the distances between the palpated points and itself surfaces. Surfaces not being never perfect, they are measured by a number of points higher than the minimal number necessary to define them mathematically. However, the central problems of three-dimensional metrology are the estimate of, the orientation parameters, location and intrinsic of this surface. Including the numerical uncertainties attached to these parameters help the metrologist to make decisions to be able to declare the conformity of the part to specifications fixed on the design drawing. During this paper, we will present a data-processing model in Visual Basic-6 which makes it possible automatically to determine the whole of these parameters, and their uncertainties.

Keywords: coordinate measuring machines (CMM), associated surface, uncertainties of measurement, acquisition and modeling

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Authors: Lincoln Panjaitan, Antonius Sumarlin

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The development of property businesses in the metropolitan area is growing rapidly forcing big real estate developers to come up with various strategies in winning the heart of consumers. This empirical research is focusing on how the two schools of marketing thoughts; namely, Modern and postmodern marketing employed by the preceding developers to retain consumers’ commitment toward their prospective brands. The data was collected from three different properties of PT. Intiland Tbk using accidental sampling technique. The data of 600 respondents was then put into Structural Equation Model (SEM). The result of the study suggests that both schools of thought can equally produce commitment and loyalty of consumers; however, the difference lays where the loyalty belongs to. The first is more toward developer’s brand and the latter is more toward the co-creation value of the housing community.

Keywords: consumer loyalty, consumer commitment, knowledge sharing platform, marketing mix

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Authors: Mesias Alfeus, Kirsty Fitzhenry, Alessia Lederer

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The present paper provides empirical studies to estimate defaultable bonds in the South African financial market. The main goal is to estimate the unobservable factors affecting bond yields for South African major banks. The maximum likelihood approach is adopted for the estimation methodology. Extended Kalman filtering techniques are employed in order to tackle the situation that the factors cannot be observed directly. Multi-dimensional Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR)-type factor models are considered. Results show that default risk increased sharply in the South African financial market during COVID-19 and the CIR model with jumps exhibits a better performance.

Keywords: default intensity, unobservable state variables, CIR, α-CIR, extended kalman filtering

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Authors: Kunihisa Kakumoto

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Purpose: The global environmental problem is now raised in the global dimension. The sprawl phenomenon over the natural limitation is to be made a forecast beforehand in an algorithmic way so that the condition of our social life can hopefully be protected under the natural limitation. The sustainable condition in the globe is now to be found to keep the balance between the capacity of nature and the possibility of our social lives. The amount of water on the earth is limited. Therefore, on the reason, sustainable conditions are strongly dependent on the capacity of water. The amount of water can be considered in relation to the area of the green planting because a certain volume of the water can be obtained in the forest, where the green planting can be preserved. We can find the sustainable conditions of the water in relation to the green planting area. The reduction of CO₂ by green planting is also possible. Possible Measure and the Methods: Until now, by the opportunity of many international conferences, the concept of the solar community as one prototype has been introduced by technical papers. The algorithmic trial calculation on the basic concept of the solar community can be taken into consideration. The concept of the solar community is based on the collected data of the solar model house. According to the algorithmic results of the prototype, the simulation work in the globe can be performed as the algorithmic conversion results. This algorithmic study can be simulated by the amount of water, also in relation to the green planting area. Additionally, the submission of CO₂ in the solar community and the reduction of CO₂ by green planting can be calculated. On the base of these calculations in the solar community, the sustainable conditions on the globe can be simulated as the conversion results in an algorithmic way. The digital formation in the solar community can also be taken into consideration by this opportunity. Conclusion: For the finding of sustainable conditions around the globe, the solar community as one prototype has been taken into consideration. The role of the water is very important because the capacity of the water supply is very limited. But, at present, the cycle of the social community is not composed by the point of the natural mechanism. The simulative calculation of this study can be shown by the limitation of the total water supply. According to this process, the total capacity of the water supply and the capable residential number of the population and the areas can be taken into consideration by the algorithmic calculation. For keeping enough water, the green planting areas are very important. The planting area is also very important to keep the balance of CO₂. The simulative calculation can be performed by the relation between the submission and the reduction of CO₂ in the solar community. For the finding of this total balance and the sustainable conditions, the green planting area and the total amount of water can be recognized by the algorithmic simulative calculation. The study for the finding of sustainable conditions can be performed by the simulative calculations on the algorithmic model in the solar community as one prototype. The example of one prototype can be in balance. The activity of the social life must be in the capacity of the natural mechanism. The capable capacity of the natural environment in our world is very limited.

Keywords: the solar community, the sustainable condition, the natural limitation, the algorithmic calculation

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Authors: Husam El-Asfour, Fateh Adhnouss, Kenneth McIsaac, Abdul Mutalib Wahaishi, Raafat Aburukba, Idris El-Feghia

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Although intelligence is commonly referred to as the observable behavior in various fields and domains, it must also be shown how it develops by exhibiting multiple forms and without observing the inherent behavior. There have been several official and informal definitions of intelligence in various areas; however, no scientific agreement on a definition has been agreed upon. There must be a single definition, structure, and precise modeling for articulating how intelligence is perceived by people and machines in order to comprehend intelligence. Another key challenge is defining the different environment types based on the integral elements (agents) and their possible interactions. On the basis of conceptualization, this paper proposes a formal model for defining and developing intelligence. Forms of intelligence are derived from an ontological view, and thus intelligence is defined, described, and modeled based on the various types of environments.

Keywords: intelligence, forms, transformation, conceptualization, ontological view

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Authors: Belau Olatunde Gbadamosi, Oluchi Okere

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Spurred by the ease of access to and the cost-effectiveness of open-source software such as DSpace, EPrints, and Greenstone Digital Libraries for hosting digital content, many libraries have added institutional repositories (IRs) to their repertoire of digital assets. This paper adopts a qualitative approach based on focus group discussions and the system development life cycle model (SDLC) to describe the experience of Albert Ilemobade Library (the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria (FUTA) in the development of their IR - FUTASpace. Peculiar challenges experienced in the course of the development and solutions adopted are also reported. This study will serve as a reference point to other institutions, particularly those operating in developing countries, which may be poorly funded.

Keywords: institutional repository, digital libraries, university libraries, DSpace

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Authors: Sara Assi, Berthe Hayar, Claudio Pisano, Nadine Darwiche, Walid Saad

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Nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology to medicine, is an emerging discipline that has gained significant attention in recent years. Current breakthroughs in nanomedicine have paved the way to develop effective drug delivery systems that can be used to target cancer. The use of nanotechnology provides effective drug delivery, enhanced stability, bioavailability, and permeability, thereby minimizing drug dosage and toxicity. As such, the use of nanoparticle (NP) formulations in drug delivery has been applied in various cancer models and have shown to improve the ability of drugs to reach specific targeted sites in a controlled manner. Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide; in particular, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer diagnosed amongst men and women and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths, highlighting the need for novel therapies. Retinoids, consisting of natural and synthetic derivatives, are a class of chemical compounds that have shown promise in preclinical and clinical cancer settings. However, retinoids are limited by their toxicity and resistance to treatment. To overcome this resistance, various synthetic retinoids have been developed, including the adamantyl retinoid ST1926, which is a potent anti-cancer agent. However, due to its limited bioavailability, the development of ST1926 has been restricted in phase I clinical trials. We have previously investigated the preclinical efficacy of ST1926 in CRC models. ST1926 displayed potent inhibitory and apoptotic effects in CRC cell lines by inducing early DNA damage and apoptosis. ST1926 significantly reduced the tumor doubling time and tumor burden in a xenograft CRC model. Therefore, we developed ST1926-NPs and assessed their efficacy in CRC models. ST1926-NPs were produced using Flash NanoPrecipitation with the amphiphilic diblock copolymer polystyrene-b-ethylene oxide and cholesterol as a co-stabilizer. ST1926 was formulated into NPs with a drug to polymer mass ratio of 1:2, providing a stable formulation for one week. The contin ST1926-NP diameter was 100 nm, with a polydispersity index of 0.245. Using the MTT cell viability assay, ST1926-NP exhibited potent anti-growth activities as naked ST1926 in HCT116 cells, at pharmacologically achievable concentrations. Future studies will be performed to study the anti-tumor activities and mechanism of action of ST1926-NPs in a xenograft mouse model and to detect the compound and its glucuroconjugated form in the plasma of mice. Ultimately, our studies will support the use of ST1926-NP formulations in enhancing the stability and bioavailability of ST1926 in CRC.

Keywords: nanoparticles, drug delivery, colorectal cancer, retinoids

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Authors: Alina Mirza, Sumrin M. Kabir, Shahzad A. Sheikh

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The Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with high data rate, high spectral efficiency and its ability to mitigate the effects of multipath makes them most suitable in wireless application. Impulsive noise distorts the OFDM transmission and therefore methods must be investigated to suppress this noise. In this paper, a State Space Recursive Least Square (SSRLS) algorithm based adaptive impulsive noise suppressor for OFDM communication system is proposed. And a comparison with another adaptive algorithm is conducted. The state space model-dependent recursive parameters of proposed scheme enables to achieve steady state mean squared error (MSE), low bit error rate (BER), and faster convergence than that of some of existing algorithm.

Keywords: OFDM, impulsive noise, SSRLS, BER

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Authors: Peter G. Hollis, Kim G. Clarke

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Accurate quantification of the overall volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (KLa) is ubiquitously measured in bioprocesses by analysing the response of dissolved oxygen (DO) to a step change in the oxygen partial pressure in the sparge gas using a DO probe. Typically, the response lag (τ) of the probe has been ignored in the calculation of KLa when τ is less than the reciprocal KLa, failing which a constant τ has invariably been assumed. These conventions have now been reassessed in the context of multiphase bioprocesses, such as a hydrocarbon-based system. Here, significant variation of τ in response to changes in process conditions has been documented. Experiments were conducted in a 5 L baffled stirred tank bioreactor (New Brunswick) in a simulated hydrocarbon-based bioprocess comprising a C14-20 alkane-aqueous dispersion with suspended non-viable Saccharomyces cerevisiae solids. DO was measured with a polarographic DO probe fitted with a Teflon membrane (Mettler Toledo). The DO concentration response to a step change in the sparge gas oxygen partial pressure was recorded, from which KLa was calculated using a first order model (without incorporation of τ) and a second order model (incorporating τ). τ was determined as the time taken to reach 63.2% of the saturation DO after the probe was transferred from a nitrogen saturated vessel to an oxygen saturated bioreactor and is represented as the inverse of the probe constant (KP). The relative effects of the process parameters on KP were quantified using a central composite design with factor levels typical of hydrocarbon bioprocesses, namely 1-10 g/L yeast, 2-20 vol% alkane and 450-1000 rpm. A response surface was fitted to the empirical data, while ANOVA was used to determine the significance of the effects with a 95% confidence interval. KP varied with changes in the system parameters with the impact of solid loading statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Increased solid loading reduced KP consistently, an effect which was magnified at high alkane concentrations, with a minimum KP of 0.024 s-1 observed at the highest solids loading of 10 g/L. This KP was 2.8 fold lower that the maximum of 0.0661 s-1 recorded at 1 g/L solids, demonstrating a substantial increase in τ from 15.1 s to 41.6 s as a result of differing process conditions. Importantly, exclusion of KP in the calculation of KLa was shown to under-predict KLa for all process conditions, with an error up to 50% at the highest KLa values. Accurate quantification of KLa, and therefore KP, has far-reaching impact on industrial bioprocesses to ensure these systems are not transport limited during scale-up and operation. This study has shown the incorporation of τ to be essential to ensure KLa measurement accuracy in multiphase bioprocesses. Moreover, since τ has been conclusively shown to vary significantly with process conditions, it has also been shown that it is essential for τ to be determined individually for each set of process conditions.

Keywords: effect of process conditions, measuring oxygen transfer coefficients, multiphase bioprocesses, oxygen probe response lag

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Authors: José Anderson Rodrigues de Souza, Teles de Sales Bezerra, Saulo Aislan da Silva Eleuterio, Jeronimo Silva Rocha

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Mobile devices are increasingly occupying sectors of society and one of its most important features is mobility. However, the use of mobile devices is subject to the lifetime of the batteries. Thus, the use of energy batteries has become an important issue in the study of wireless network technologies. In this context, new solutions that enable aggregate energy efficiency not only through energy saving, and principally they are evaluated from a more realistic model of energy discharge, if easy adaptation to existing protocols. This paper presents a study on the energy needed and the lifetime for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) using a heterogeneous network and applying the LEACH protocol.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks, energy efficiency, heterogeneous, LEACH protocol

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Authors: A. Alhelfi, B. Sunden

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Cavitation in cryogenic liquids is widely present in contemporary science. In the current study, we re-examine a previously validated acoustic cavitation model which was developed for a gas bubble in liquid water. Furthermore, simulations of cryogenic fluids including the thermal effect, the effect of acoustic pressure amplitude and the frequency of sound field on the bubble dynamics are presented. A gas bubble (Helium) in liquids Nitrogen, Oxygen and Hydrogen in an acoustic field at ambient pressure and low temperature is investigated numerically. The results reveal that the oscillation of the bubble in liquid Hydrogen fluctuates more than in liquids Oxygen and Nitrogen. The oscillation of the bubble in liquids Oxygen and Nitrogen is approximately similar.

Keywords: cryogenic liquids, cavitation, rocket engineering, ultrasound

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Authors: Siti Nurhidayah Naqiah Abdull Rani, Herlina Abdul Rahim

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Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has always been of great interest in the food and agriculture industries. The development of predictive models has facilitated the estimation process in recent years. In this research, 176 crude palm oil (CPO) samples acquired from Felda Johor Bulker Sdn Bhd were studied. A FOSS NIRSystem was used to tak e absorbance measurements from the sample. The wavelength range for the spectral measurement is taken at 1600nm to 1900nm. Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) prediction model with 50 optimal number of principal components was implemented to study the relationship between the measured Free Fatty Acid (FFA) values and the measured spectral absorption. PLSR showed predictive ability of FFA values with correlative coefficient (R) of 0.9808 for the training set and 0.9684 for the testing set.

Keywords: palm oil, fatty acid, NIRS, PLSR

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Authors: Xianghan O'Dea

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This article argues an urgent need to better understand the personal experiences of Chinese top-up students studying in the UK since the number of Chinese students taking year-long top-up programmes in the UK has risen rapidly in recent years. This lack of knowledge could potentially have implications for the reputation of some UK institutions and also the attractiveness of the UK higher education sector to future international students. This longitudinal study explored the academic and social experiences of twelve Chinese top-up students in a UK institution in-depth and revealed that the students felt their experiences were influenced significantly by their surrounding contexts at the macro and meso levels, which, however, have been largely overlooked in existing research. This article suggests the importance of improving the communications between the partner institutions in China and the UK, and also providing sufficient pre-departure and after arrival support to Chinese top-up students at the institutional level.

Keywords: articulation agreements, Chinese top-up students, top-up programmes, U-curve

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Authors: N. Tavakoli Shirazi

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This study investigates the effects of pipe-wall viscoelasticity on water hammer pressures. Tests have been conducted in a reservoir-pipe-valve system configured of a main viscoelastic pipeline and two short steel pipes placed upstream and downstream of the main pipe. Rapid closure of a manually operated valve at the downstream end generates water hammer. Experimental measurements at several positions along the pipeline have been collected from the papers. Computer simulations of the experiment have been performed and the results of runs with various options affecting the water hammer are provided and discussed. It is shown that the incorporation of viscoelastic pipe wall mechanical behavior in the hydraulic transient model contributes to a favorable fitting between numerical results and observed data.

Keywords: pipe system, PVC pipe, viscoelasticity, water hammer

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Authors: R. Alrashedi, A. Persaud

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This study provides insights into the readiness of users to participate in e-government activities in Saudi Arabia. A user-centric model of e-participation is developed based on a review of the literature and empirically tested. The findings are based on an online survey of a sample of 200 hundred Saudi citizens and residents living in Saudi Arabia. The study found that trust of the government, attitude towards e-participation, e-participation through the use of social media, and social influence and social identity positively influence e-participation while perceived benefits of e-government is negatively related to e-participation. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the drivers of e-participation. The study also provides insights that could be used by policymakers to increase the level of e-participation in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: e-government, e-participation, social media, trust, social influence and social identity

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Authors: Amdy Moustapha Drame, Ilya V. Germashev, E. A. Markushevskaya

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Among the main problems of medicine is breast cancer, from which a significant number of women around the world are constantly dying. Therefore, the detection of malignant breast tumors is an urgent task. For many years, various technologies for detecting these tumors have been used, in particular, in thermal imaging in order to determine different levels of breast cancer development. These periodic screening methods are a diagnostic tool for women and may have become an alternative to older methods such as mammography. This article proposes a model for the identification of malignant neoplasms of the mammary glands by the asymmetry of internal and external thermal imaging fields.

Keywords: asymmetry, breast cancer, tumors, deep learning, thermogram, convolutional transformation, classification

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Authors: Yamileth P. Herrera, Ronald R. Gutierrez, Carlos, Pacheco-Bustos

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This research aims at the numerical modeling of a rectangular contact tank in order to improve the hydrodynamic behavior and the retention time of the water to be treated with the disinfecting agent. The methodology to be followed includes a hydraulic analysis of the tank to observe the fluid velocities, which will allow evidence of low-speed areas that may generate pathogenic agent incubation or high-velocity areas, which may decrease the optimal contact time between the disinfecting agent and the microorganisms to be eliminated. Based on the results of the numerical model, the efficiency of the tank under the geometric and hydraulic conditions considered will be analyzed. This would allow the performance of the tank to be improved before starting a construction process, thus avoiding unnecessary costs.

Keywords: contact tank, numerical models, hydrodynamic modeling, residence time

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Authors: Somnath Mukhuti, Prem Kumar Ghosh

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Background and significance of the study Indian stock market has undergone sudden changes after the current China crisis in terms of turnover, market capitalization, share prices, etc. The average returns on equity investment in both markets have more than three and half times after global financial crisis owing to the development of industrial activity, corporate sectors development, enhancement in global consumption, change of global financial association and fewer imports from developed countries. But the economic policies of both the economies are far different, that is to say, where Indian economy maintaining a conservative policy, Chinese economy maintaining an aggressive policy. Besides this, Chinese economy recently lowering its currency for increasing mysterious growth but Indian does not. But on August 24, 2015 Indian stock market and world stock markets were fall down due to the reason of Chinese stock market. Keeping in view of the above, this study seeks to examine the influence of Chinese stock on Indian stock market. Methodology This research work is based on daily time series data obtained from yahoo finance database between 2009 (April 1) to 2015 (September 28). This study is based on two important stock markets, that is, Indian stock market (Bombay Stock Exchange) and Chinese stock market (Shanghai Stock Exchange). In the course of analysis, the daily raw data were converted into natural logarithm for minimizing the problem of heteroskedasticity. While tackling the issue, correlation statistics, ADF and PP unit root test, bivariate cointegration test and causality test were used. Major findings Correlation statistics show that both stock markets are associated positively. Both ADF and PP unit root test results demonstrate that the time series data were not normal and were not stationary at level however stationary at 1st difference. The bivariate cointegration test results indicate that the Indian stock market was associated with Chinese stock market in the long-run. The Granger causality test illustrates there was a unidirectional causality between Indian stock market and Chinese stock market. Concluding statement The empirical results recommend that India’s stock market was not very much dependent on Chinese stock market because of Indian economic conservative policies. Nevertheless, Indian stock market might be sturdy if Indian economic policies are changed slightly and if increases the portfolio investment with Chinese economy. Indian economy might be a third largest economy in 2030 if India increases its portfolio investment and trade relations with both Chinese economy and US economy.

Keywords: Indian stock market, China stock market, bivariate cointegration, causality test

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Authors: Galal Elkobrosy, Amr M. Abdelrazek, Bassuny M. Elsouhily, Mohamed E. Khidr

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Crank shaft length, connecting rod length, crank angle, engine rpm, cylinder bore, mass of piston and compression ratio are the inputs that can control the performance of the slider crank mechanism and then its efficiency. Several combinations of these seven inputs are used and compared. The throughput engine torque predicted by the simulation is analyzed through two different regression models, with and without interaction terms, developed according to multi-linear regression using LU decomposition to solve system of algebraic equations. These models are validated. A regression model in seven inputs including their interaction terms lowered the polynomial degree from 3^rd degree to 1^st degree and suggested valid predictions and stable explanations.

Keywords: design of experiments, regression analysis, SI engine, statistical modeling

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Authors: Nabila Louai, Fouad Khaldi, Houria Benharchache

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In this paper, the case of meeting a household’s electrical energy demand with hybrid systems has been examined. The objective is to study technological feasibility and economic viability of the electrification project by a hybrid system (PV/ wind) of a residential home located in Batna-Algeria and to reduce the emissions from traditional power by using renewable energy. An autonomous hybrid wind/photovoltaic (PV)/battery power system and a PV/Wind grid connected system, has been carried out using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) simulation software. As a result, it has been found that electricity from the grid can be supplied at a lower price than electricity from renewable energy at this moment.

Keywords: batna, household, hybrid system, renewable energy, techno-economy

Procedia PDF Downloads 584

Authors: M. Naji, A. R. Khalim, M. Naji

Abstract:

Integral Abutment Bridges (IAB) are defined as simple or multiple span bridges in which the bridge deck is cast monolithically with the abutment walls. This kind of bridges are becoming very popular due to different aspects such as good response under seismic loading, low initial costs, elimination of bearings and less maintenance. However, the main issue related to the analysis of this type of structures is dealing with soil-structure interaction of the abutment walls and the supporting piles. A two-dimensional, non-linear finite element (FE) model of an integral abutment bridge has been developed to study the effect of lateral time history displacement loading on the soil system.

Keywords: integral abutment bridge, soil structure interaction, finite element modeling, soil-pile interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Ahmed Z. Gabr, Ahmed A. Helal, Hussein E. Said

Abstract:

With the incessant increase of power systems capacity and voltage grade, the safety of grounding grid becomes more and more prominent. In this paper, the designing substation grounding grid is presented by means of genetic algorithm (GA). This approach purposes to control the grounding cost of the power system with the aid of controlling grounding rod number and conductor lengths under the same safety limitations. The proposed technique is used for the design of the substation grounding grid in Khalda Petroleum Company “El-Qasr” power plant and the design was simulated by using CYMGRD software for results verification. The result of the design is highly complying with IEEE 80-2000 standard requirements.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, optimum grounding grid design, power system analysis, power system protection, single layer model, substation

Procedia PDF Downloads 515