Search results for: spectrum database
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3045

Search results for: spectrum database

1605 Analyzing Migration Patterns Using Public Disorder Event Data

Authors: Marie E. Docken

Abstract:

At some point in the lifecycle of a country, patterns of political and social unrest of varying degrees are observed. Events involving public disorder or civil disobedience may produce effects that range a wide spectrum of varying outcomes, depending on the level of unrest. Many previous studies, primarily theoretical in nature, have attempted to measure public disorder in answering why or how it occurs in society by examining causal factors or underlying issues in the social or political position of a population. The main objective in doing so is to understand how these activities evolve or seek some predictive capability for the events. In contrast, this research involves the fusion of analytics and social studies to provide more knowledge of the public disorder and civil disobedience intensity in populations. With a greater understanding of the magnitude of these events, it is believed that we may learn how they relate to extreme actions such as mass migration or violence. Upon establishing a model for measuring civil unrest based upon empirical data, a case study on various Latin American countries is performed. Interpretations of historical events are combined with analytical results to provide insights regarding the magnitude and effect of social and political activism.

Keywords: public disorder, civil disobedience, Latin America, metrics, data analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 149
1604 Real-Time Recognition of the Terrain Configuration to Improve Driving Stability for Unmanned Robots

Authors: Bongsoo Jeon, Jayoung Kim, Jihong Lee

Abstract:

Methods for measuring or estimating of ground shape by a laser range finder and a vision sensor (exteroceptive sensors) have critical weakness in terms that these methods need prior database built to distinguish acquired data as unique surface condition for driving. Also, ground information by exteroceptive sensors does not reflect the deflection of ground surface caused by the movement of UGVs. Therefore, this paper proposes a method of recognizing exact and precise ground shape using Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as a proprioceptive sensor. In this paper, firstly this method recognizes attitude of a robot in real-time using IMU and compensates attitude data of a robot with angle errors through analysis of vehicle dynamics. This method is verified by outdoor driving experiments of a real mobile robot.

Keywords: inertial measurement unit, laser range finder, real-time recognition of the ground shape, proprioceptive sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 292
1603 Lab Bench for Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging System

Authors: Karthiyayini Nagarajan, P. V. Ramakrishna

Abstract:

Radar Imaging techniques provides extensive applications in the field of remote sensing, majorly Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that provide high resolution target images. This paper work puts forward the effective and realizable signal generation and processing for SAR images. The major units in the system include camera, signal generation unit, signal processing unit and display screen. The real radio channel is replaced by its mathematical model based on optical image to calculate a reflected signal model in real time. Signal generation realizes the algorithm and forms the radar reflection model. Signal processing unit provides range and azimuth resolution through matched filtering and spectrum analysis procedure to form radar image on the display screen. The restored image has the same quality as that of the optical image. This SAR imaging system has been designed and implemented using MATLAB and Quartus II tools on Stratix III device as a System (Lab Bench) that works in real time to study/investigate on radar imaging rudiments and signal processing scheme for educational and research purposes.

Keywords: synthetic aperture radar, radio reflection model, lab bench, imaging engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 502
1602 Evaluation of Greenhouse Covering Materials

Authors: Mouustafa A. Fadel, Ahmed Bani Hammad, Faisal Al Hosany, Osama Iwaimer

Abstract:

Covering materials of greenhouses is the most governing component of the construction which controls two major parameters the amount of light and heat diffused from the surrounding environment into the internal space. In hot areas, balancing between inside and outside the greenhouse consumes most of the energy spent in production systems. In this research, a special testing apparatus was fabricated to simulate the structure of the greenhouse provided with a 400W full spectrum light. Tests were carried out to investigate the effectiveness of different commercial covering material in light and heat diffusion. Twenty one combinations of Fiberglass, Polyethylene, Polycarbonate, Plexiglass and Agril (PP nonwoven fabric) were tested. It was concluded that Plexiglass was the highest in light transparency of 87.4% where the lowest was 33% and 86.8% for Polycarbonate sheets. The enthalpy of the air moving through the testing rig was calculated according to air temperature differences between inlet and outlet openings. The highest enthalpy value was for one layer of Fiberglass and it was 0.81 kj/kg air while it was for both Plexiglass and blocked Fiberglass with a value of 0.5 kj/kg air. It is concluded that, although Plexiglass has high level of transparency which is indeed very helpful under low levels of solar flux, it is not recommended under hot arid conditions where solar flux is available most of the year. On the other hand, it might be a disadvantage to use Plixeglass specially in summer where it helps to accumulate more heat inside the greenhouse.

Keywords: greenhouse, covering materials, aridlands, environmental control

Procedia PDF Downloads 480
1601 Automatic Classification of Periodic Heart Sounds Using Convolutional Neural Network

Authors: Jia Xin Low, Keng Wah Choo

Abstract:

This paper presents an automatic normal and abnormal heart sound classification model developed based on deep learning algorithm. MITHSDB heart sounds datasets obtained from the 2016 PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge database were used in this research with the assumption that the electrocardiograms (ECG) were recorded simultaneously with the heart sounds (phonocardiogram, PCG). The PCG time series are segmented per heart beat, and each sub-segment is converted to form a square intensity matrix, and classified using convolutional neural network (CNN) models. This approach removes the need to provide classification features for the supervised machine learning algorithm. Instead, the features are determined automatically through training, from the time series provided. The result proves that the prediction model is able to provide reasonable and comparable classification accuracy despite simple implementation. This approach can be used for real-time classification of heart sounds in Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), e.g. remote monitoring applications of PCG signal.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, discrete wavelet transform, deep learning, heart sound classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 351
1600 The Distribution of HLA-B*15:01 and HLA-B*51:01 Alleles in Thai Population: Clinical Implementation and Diagnostic Process of COVID-19 Severity

Authors: Aleena Rena Onozuka, Patompong Satapornpong

Abstract:

Introduction: In a Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)’s immune response, HLA alleles (HLA class I and class II) play a crucial role in fighting against pathogens. HLA-B*15:01 allele had a significant association with asymptomatic COVID-19 infection (p-value = 5.67 x 10-5 ; OR = 2.40 and 95% CI = 1.54 - 3.64). There was also a notable linkage between HLA-B*51:01 allele and critically ill patients with COVID-19 (p-value = 0.007 and OR = 3.38). This study has described the distribution of HLA marker alleles in Thais and sub-groups. Objective: We want to investigate the prevalence of HLA-B*15:01 and HLA-B*51:01 alleles in the Thai population. Materials and Methods: 200 healthy Thai population were included in this study from the College of Pharmacy, Rangsit University. HLA-B alleles were genotyped using the sequence-specific oligonucleotides process (PCR-SSOs). Results: We found out that HLA-B*46:01 (12.00%), HLA-B*15:02 (9.25%), HLA-B*40:01 (6.50%), HLA-B*13:01 (6.25%), and HLA-B* 38:02 (5.50%) alleles were more common than other alleles in Thai population. HLA-B*46:01 and HLA-B*15:02 were the most common allele found across four regions. Moreover, the frequency of HLA-B*15:01 and HLA-B*51:01 alleles were similarly distributed in Thai population (0.50, 5.25 %) and (p-value > 0.05), respectively. The frequencies of HLA-B*15:01 and HLA-B*51:01 alleles were not significantly different from other populations compared to the Thai population. Conclusions: We can screen for HLA-B*15:01 and HLA-B*51:01 alleles to determine the symptoms of COVID-19 since they are universal HLA-B markers. Importantly, the database of HLA markers indicates the association between HLA frequency and populations. However, we need further research on larger numbers of COVID-19 patients and in different populations.

Keywords: HLA-B*15:01, HLA-B*51:01, COVID-19, HLA-B alleles

Procedia PDF Downloads 124
1599 Mitigation of High Voltage Equipment Design Deficiencies for Improved Operation and Maintenance

Authors: Riyad Awad, Abdulmohsen Alghadeer, Meshari Otaibi

Abstract:

Proper operation and maintenance (O&M) activities of high voltage equipment can lead to an increased asset lifecycle and maintain its integrity and reliability. Such a vital process is important to be proactively considered during equipment design and manufacturing phases by removing and eliminating any obstacles in the equipment which adversely affect the (O&M) activities. This paper presents a gap analysis pertaining to difficulties in performing operations and maintenance (O&M) high voltage electrical equipment, includes power transformers, switch gears, motor control center, disconnect switches and circuit breakers. The difficulties are gathered from field personnel, equipment design review comments, quality management system, and lessons learned database. The purpose of the gap analysis is to mitigate and prevent the (O&M) difficulties as early as possible in the design stage of the equipment lifecycle. The paper concludes with several recommendations and corrective actions for all identified gaps in order to reduce the cost (O&M) difficulties and improve the equipment lifecycle.

Keywords: operation and maintenance, high voltage equipment, equipment lifecycle, reduce the cost of maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 176
1598 Design and Implementation of a Lab Bench for Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging System

Authors: Karthiyayini Nagarajan, P. V. RamaKrishna

Abstract:

Radar Imaging techniques provides extensive applications in the field of remote sensing, majorly Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) that provide high resolution target images. This paper work puts forward the effective and realizable signal generation and processing for SAR images. The major units in the system include camera, signal generation unit, signal processing unit and display screen. The real radio channel is replaced by its mathematical model based on optical image to calculate a reflected signal model in real time. Signal generation realizes the algorithm and forms the radar reflection model. Signal processing unit provides range and azimuth resolution through matched filtering and spectrum analysis procedure to form radar image on the display screen. The restored image has the same quality as that of the optical image. This SAR imaging system has been designed and implemented using MATLAB and Quartus II tools on Stratix III device as a System(lab bench) that works in real time to study/investigate on radar imaging rudiments and signal processing scheme for educational and research purposes.

Keywords: synthetic aperture radar, radio reflection model, lab bench

Procedia PDF Downloads 472
1597 Leveraging Li-Fi to Enhance Security and Performance of Medical Devices

Authors: Trevor Kroeger, Hayden Williams, Edward Holzinger, David Coleman, Brian Haberman

Abstract:

The network connectivity of medical devices is increasing at a rapid rate. Many medical devices, such as vital sign monitors, share information via wireless or wired connections. However, these connectivity options suffer from a variety of well-known limitations. Wireless connectivity, especially in the unlicensed radio frequency bands, can be disrupted. Such disruption could be due to benign reasons, such as a crowded spectrum, or to malicious intent. While wired connections are less susceptible to interference, they inhibit the mobility of the medical devices, which could be critical in a variety of scenarios. This work explores the application of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) communication to enhance the security, performance, and mobility of medical devices in connected healthcare scenarios. A simple bridge for connected devices serves as an avenue to connect traditional medical devices to the Li-Fi network. This bridge was utilized to conduct bandwidth tests on a small Li-Fi network installed into a Mock-ICU setting with a backend enterprise network similar to that of a hospital. Mobile and stationary tests were conducted to replicate various different situations that might occur within a hospital setting. Results show that in room Li-Fi connectivity provides reasonable bandwidth and latency within a hospital like setting.

Keywords: hospital, light fidelity, Li-Fi, medical devices, security

Procedia PDF Downloads 105
1596 Geothermal Energy Evaluation of Lower Benue Trough Using Spectral Analysis of Aeromagnetic Data

Authors: Stella C. Okenu, Stephen O. Adikwu, Martins E. Okoro

Abstract:

The geothermal energy resource potential of the Lower Benue Trough (LBT) in Nigeria was evaluated in this study using spectral analysis of high-resolution aeromagnetic (HRAM) data. The reduced to the equator aeromagnetic data was divided into sixteen (16) overlapping blocks, and each of the blocks was analyzed to obtain the radial averaged power spectrum which enabled the computation of the top and centroid depths to magnetic sources. The values were then used to assess the Curie Point Depth (CPD), geothermal gradients, and heat flow variations in the study area. Results showed that CPD varies from 7.03 to 18.23 km, with an average of 12.26 km; geothermal gradient values vary between 31.82 and 82.50°C/km, with an average of 51.21°C/km, while heat flow variations range from 79.54 to 206.26 mW/m², with an average of 128.02 mW/m². Shallow CPD zones that run from the eastern through the western and southwestern parts of the study area correspond to zones of high geothermal gradient values and high subsurface heat flow distributions. These areas signify zones associated with anomalous subsurface thermal conditions and are therefore recommended for detailed geothermal energy exploration studies.

Keywords: geothermal energy, curie-point depth, geothermal gradient, heat flow, aeromagnetic data, LBT

Procedia PDF Downloads 82
1595 Research Activity in Computational Science Using High Performance Computing: Co-Authorship Network Analysis

Authors: Sul-Ah Ahn, Youngim Jung

Abstract:

The research activities of the computational scientists using high-performance computing are analyzed using bibliometric approaches. This study aims at providing computational scientists using high-performance computing and relevant policy planners with useful bibliometric results for an assessment of research activities. In order to achieve this purpose, we carried out a co-authorship network analysis of journal articles to assess the research activities of computational scientists using high-performance computing as a case study. For this study, we used journal articles of the Scopus database from Elsevier covering the time period of 2006-2015. We extracted the author rank in the computational science field using high-performance computing by the number of papers published during ten years from 2006. Finally, we drew the co-authorship network for 50 top-authors and their coauthors and described some features of the co-authorship network in relation to the author rank. Suggestions for further studies are discussed.

Keywords: co-authorship network analysis, computational science, high performance computing, research activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 326
1594 Research Design for Developing and Validating Ice-Hockey Team Diagnostics Scale

Authors: Gergely Geczi

Abstract:

In the modern world, ice hockey (and, in a broader sense, team sports) is becoming an increasingly popular field of entertainment. Although the main element is most likely perceived as the show itself, winning is an inevitable part of the successful operation of any sports team. In this paper, the author creates a research design allowing him to develop and validate an ice-hockey team-focused diagnostics scale, which enables researchers and practitioners to identify the problems associated with underperforming teams. The construction of the scale starts with personal interviews with experts of the field, carefully chosen from the sector of Hungarian ice hockey. Based on the interviews, the author is shown to be in the position to create the categories and the relevant items for the scale. When constructed, the next step is the validation process on a Hungarian sample. Data for validation are acquired through reaching the licensed database of the Hungarian Ice-Hockey Federation involving Hungarian ice-hockey coaches and players. The Ice-Hockey Team Diagnostics Scale is to be created to orient practitioners in understanding both effective and underperforming teamwork.

Keywords: diagnostics scale, effective versus underperforming team work, ice-hockey, research design

Procedia PDF Downloads 135
1593 Influence of Optical Fluence Distribution on Photoacoustic Imaging

Authors: Mohamed K. Metwally, Sherif H. El-Gohary, Kyung Min Byun, Seung Moo Han, Soo Yeol Lee, Min Hyoung Cho, Gon Khang, Jinsung Cho, Tae-Seong Kim

Abstract:

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality that combines the absorption contrast of light with ultrasound resolution. Laser is used to deposit optical energy into a target (i.e., optical fluence). Consequently, the target temperature rises, and then thermal expansion occurs that leads to generating a PA signal. In general, most image reconstruction algorithms for PAI assume uniform fluence within an imaging object. However, it is known that optical fluence distribution within the object is non-uniform. This could affect the reconstruction of PA images. In this study, we have investigated the influence of optical fluence distribution on PA back-propagation imaging using finite element method. The uniform fluence was simulated as a triangular waveform within the object of interest. The non-uniform fluence distribution was estimated by solving light propagation within a tissue model via Monte Carlo method. The results show that the PA signal in the case of non-uniform fluence is wider than the uniform case by 23%. The frequency spectrum of the PA signal due to the non-uniform fluence has missed some high frequency components in comparison to the uniform case. Consequently, the reconstructed image with the non-uniform fluence exhibits a strong smoothing effect.

Keywords: finite element method, fluence distribution, Monte Carlo method, photoacoustic imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 382
1592 Medical Knowledge Management since the Integration of Heterogeneous Data until the Knowledge Exploitation in a Decision-Making System

Authors: Nadjat Zerf Boudjettou, Fahima Nader, Rachid Chalal

Abstract:

Knowledge management is to acquire and represent knowledge relevant to a domain, a task or a specific organization in order to facilitate access, reuse and evolution. This usually means building, maintaining and evolving an explicit representation of knowledge. The next step is to provide access to that knowledge, that is to say, the spread in order to enable effective use. Knowledge management in the medical field aims to improve the performance of the medical organization by allowing individuals in the care facility (doctors, nurses, paramedics, etc.) to capture, share and apply collective knowledge in order to make optimal decisions in real time. In this paper, we propose a knowledge management approach based on integration technique of heterogeneous data in the medical field by creating a data warehouse, a technique of extracting knowledge from medical data by choosing a technique of data mining, and finally an exploitation technique of that knowledge in a case-based reasoning system.

Keywords: data warehouse, data mining, knowledge discovery in database, KDD, medical knowledge management, Bayesian networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 399
1591 Principal Component Analysis in Drug-Excipient Interactions

Authors: Farzad Khajavi

Abstract:

Studies about the interaction between active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients are so important in the pre-formulation stage of development of all dosage forms. Analytical techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermal gravimetry (TG), and Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are commonly used tools for investigating regarding compatibility and incompatibility of APIs with excipients. Sometimes the interpretation of data obtained from these techniques is difficult because of severe overlapping of API spectrum with excipients in their mixtures. Principal component analysis (PCA) as a powerful factor analytical method is used in these situations to resolve data matrices acquired from these analytical techniques. Binary mixtures of API and interested excipients are considered and produced. Peaks of FTIR, DSC, or TG of pure API and excipient and their mixtures at different mole ratios will construct the rows of the data matrix. By applying PCA on the data matrix, the number of principal components (PCs) is determined so that it contains the total variance of the data matrix. By plotting PCs or factors obtained from the score of the matrix in two-dimensional spaces if the pure API and its mixture with the excipient at the high amount of API and the 1:1mixture form a separate cluster and the other cluster comprise of the pure excipient and its blend with the API at the high amount of excipient. This confirms the existence of compatibility between API and the interested excipient. Otherwise, the incompatibility will overcome a mixture of API and excipient.

Keywords: API, compatibility, DSC, TG, interactions

Procedia PDF Downloads 137
1590 The Development of Wind Energy and Its Social Acceptance: The Role of Income Received by Wind Farm Owners, the Case of Galicia, Northwest Spain

Authors: X. Simon, D. Copena, M. Montero

Abstract:

The last decades have witnessed a significant increase in renewable energy, especially wind energy, to achieve sustainable development. Specialized literature in this field has carried out interesting case studies to extensively analyze both the environmental benefits of this energy and its social acceptance. However, to the best of our knowledge, work to date makes no analysis of the role of private owners of lands with wind potential within a broader territory of strong wind implantation, nor does it estimate their economic incomes relating them to social acceptance. This work fills this gap by focusing on Galicia, territory housing over 4,000 wind turbines and almost 3,400 MW of power. The main difficulty in getting this financial information is that it is classified, not public. We develop methodological techniques (semi- structured interviews and work groups), inserted within the Participatory Research, to overcome this important obstacle. In this manner, the work directly compiles qualitative and quantitative information on the processes as well as the economic results derived from implementing wind energy in Galicia. During the field work, we held 106 semi-structured interviews and 32 workshops with owners of lands occupied by wind farms. The compiled information made it possible to create the socioeconomic database on wind energy in Galicia (SDWEG). This database collects a diversity of quantitative and qualitative information and contains economic information on the income received by the owners of lands occupied by wind farms. In the Galician case, regulatory framework prevented local participation under the community wind farm formula. The possibility of local participation in the new energy model narrowed down to companies wanting to install a wind farm and demanding land occupation. The economic mechanism of local participation begins here, thus explaining the level of acceptance of wind farms. Land owners can receive significant income given that these payments constitute an important source of economic resources, favor local economic activity, allow rural areas to develop productive dynamism projects and improve the standard of living of rural inhabitants. This work estimates that land owners in Galicia perceive about 10 million euros per year in total wind revenues. This represents between 1% and 2% of total wind farm invoicing. On the other hand, relative revenues (Euros per MW), far from the amounts reached in other spaces, show enormous payment variability. This signals the absence of a regulated market, the predominance of partial agreements, and the existence of asymmetric positions between owners and developers. Sustainable development requires the replacement of conventional technologies by low environmental impact technologies, especially those that emit less CO₂. However, this new paradigm also requires rural owners to participate in the income derived from the structural transformation processes linked to sustainable development. This paper demonstrates that regulatory framework may contribute to increasing sustainable technologies with high social acceptance without relevant local economic participation.

Keywords: regulatory framework, social acceptance, sustainable development, wind energy, wind income for landowners

Procedia PDF Downloads 148
1589 Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Some Benzoxazole Derivatives as Inhibitors of Acetylcholinesterase / Butyrylcholinesterase and Tyrosinase

Authors: Ozlem Temiz-Arpaci, Meryem Tasci, Fatma Sezer Senol, İlkay Erdogan Orhan

Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive deterioration of memory and cognition, occurs more frequently in elderly people. Current treatment approaches in this disease with the major therapeutic strategy are based on the AChE and BChE inhibition. On the other hand, tyrosinase inhibition has become a target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) since this enzyme may play a role in neuromelanin formation in the human brain and could be critical in the formation of dopamine neurotoxicity associated with neurodegeneration linked to PD. Also benzoxazoles are structural isosteres of natural nucleotides that can interact with biopolymers so that benzoxazoles showed a lot of different biological activities. In this study, a series of 2,5-disubstituted-benzoxazole derivatives were synthesized and were evaluated as possible inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) / butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and tyrosinase. The results demonstrated that the compounds exhibited a weak spectrum of AChE / BChE inhibitory activity ranging between 3.92% - 54.32% except compound 8 which showed no activity against AChE and compound 4 which showed no activity against BChE at the specified molar concentrations. Also, the compounds indicated lower than tyrosinase inhibitory activity of ranging between 8.14% - 22.90% to that of reference (kojic acid).

Keywords: AChE and BChE inhibition, Alzheimer’s disease, benzoxazoles, tyrosinase inhibition

Procedia PDF Downloads 344
1588 Effects of Cell Phone Electromagnetic Radiation on the Brain System

Authors: A. Alao Olumuyiwa

Abstract:

Health hazards reported to be associated with exposure to electromagnetic radiations which include brain tumors, genotoxic effects, neurological effects, immune system deregulation, allergic responses and some cardiovascular effects are discussed under a closed tabular model in this study. This review however showed that there is strong and robust evidence that chronic exposures to electromagnetic frequency across the spectrum, through strength, consistency, biological plausibility and many dose-response relationships, may result in brain cancer and other carcinogenic disease symptoms. There is therefore no safe threshold because of the genotoxic nature of the mechanism that may however be involved. The discussed study explains that the cell phone has induced effects upon the blood –brain barrier permeability and the cerebellum exposure to continuous long hours RF radiation may result in significant increase in albumin extravasations. A physical Biomodeling approach is however employed to review this health effects using Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of different GSM machines to critically examine the symptoms such as a decreased loco motor activity, increased grooming and reduced memory functions in a variety of animal spices in classified grouped and sub grouped models.

Keywords: brain cancer, electromagnetic radiations, physical biomodeling, specific absorption rate (SAR)

Procedia PDF Downloads 350
1587 Different Tools and Complex Approach for Improving Phytoremediation Technology

Authors: T. Varazi, M. Pruidze, M. Kurashvili, N. Gagelidze, M. Sutton

Abstract:

The complex phytoremediation approach given in the presented work implies joint application of natural sorbents, microorganisms, natural biosurfactants and plants. The approach is based on using the natural mineral composites, microorganism strains with high detoxification abilities, plants-phytoremediators and natural biosurfactants for enhancing the uptake of intermediates of pollutants by plant roots. In this complex strategy of phytoremediation technology, the sorbent serves to uptake and trap the pollutants and thus restrain their emission in the environment. The role of microorganisms is to accomplish the first stage biodegradation of organic contaminants. This is followed by application of a phytoremediation technology through purposeful planting of selected plants. Thus, using of different tools will provide restoration of polluted environment and prevention of toxic compounds’ dissemination from hotbeds of pollution for a considerable length of time. The main idea and novelty of the carried out work is the development of a new approach for the ecological safety. The wide spectrum of contaminants: Organochlorine pesticide – DDT, heavy metal –Cu, oil hydrocarbon (hexadecane) and wax have been used in this work. The presented complex biotechnology is important from the viewpoint of prevention, providing total rehabilitation of soil. It is unique to chemical pollutants, ecologically friendly and provides the control of erosion of soils.

Keywords: bioremediation, phytoremediation, pollutants, soil contamination

Procedia PDF Downloads 300
1586 Physicochemical and Functional Characteristics of Hemp Protein Isolate

Authors: El-Sohaimy Sobhy A., Androsova Natalia, Toshev Abuvali Djabarovec

Abstract:

The conditions of the isolation of proteins from the hemp seeds were optimized in the current work. Moreover, the physicochemical and functional properties of hemp protein isolate were evaluated for its potential application in food manufacturing. The elastin protein is the most predominant protein in the protein profile with a molecular weight of 58.1 KDa, besides albumin, with a molecular weight of 31.5 KDa. The FTIR spectrum detected the absorption peaks of the amide I in 1750 and 1600 cm⁻¹, which pointed to C=O stretching while N-H was stretching at 1650-1580 cm⁻¹. The peak at 3250 was related to N-H stretching of primary aliphatic amine (3400-3300 cm⁻¹), and the N-H stretching for secondary (II) amine appeared at 3350-3310 cm⁻¹. Hemp protein isolate (HPI) was showed high content of arginine (15.52 g/100 g), phenylalanine+tyrosine (9.63 g/100 g), methionine + cysteine (5.49 g/100 g), leucine + isoleucine (5.21 g/100 g) and valine (4.53 g/100 g). It contains a moderate level of threonine (3.29 g/100 g) and lysine (2.50 g/100 g), with the limiting amino acid being a tryptophan (0.22 g/100 g HPI). HPI showed high water-holding capacity (4.5 ± 2.95 ml/g protein) and oil holding capacity (2.33 ± 1.88 ml/g) values. The foaming capacity of HPI was increased with increasing the pH values to reach the maximum value at pH 11 (67.23±3.20 %). The highest emulsion ability index of HPI was noted at pH 9 (91.3±2.57 m2/g) with low stability (19.15±2.03).

Keywords: Cannabis sativa ssp., protein isolate, isolation conditions, amino acid composition, chemical properties, functional properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 184
1585 Performants: Making the Organization of Concerts Easier

Authors: Ioannis Andrianakis, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, Kyriakos Chatzidimitriou, Dimitrios Tampakis, Manolis Falelakis

Abstract:

Live music, whether performed in organized venues, restaurants, hotels or any other spots, creates value chains that support and develop local economies and tourism development. In this paper, we describe PerformAnts, a platform that increases the mobility of musicians and their accessibility to remotely located venues by rationalizing the cost of live acts. By analyzing the event history and taking into account their potential availability, the platform provides bespoke recommendations to both bands and venues while also facilitating the organization of tours and helping rationalize transportation expenses by realizing an innovative mechanism called “chain booking”. Moreover, the platform provides an environment where complicated tasks such as technical and financial negotiations, concert promotion or copyrights are easily manipulated by users using best practices. The proposed solution provides important benefits to the whole spectrum of small/medium size concert organizers, as the complexity and the cost of the production are rationalized. The environment is also very beneficial for local talent, musicians that are very mobile, venues located away from large urban areas or in touristic destinations, and managers who will be in a position to coordinate a larger number of musicians without extra effort.

Keywords: machine learning, music industry, creative industries, web applications

Procedia PDF Downloads 103
1584 Inhibition of 3-Deoxy-D-Arabino-Heptulosonate 7-Phosphate Synthase from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using High Throughput Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamics Studies

Authors: Christy Rosaline, Rathankar Roa, Waheeta Hopper

Abstract:

Persistence of tuberculosis, emergence of multidrug-resistance and extensively drug-resistant forms of the disease, has increased the interest in developing new antitubercular drugs. Developing inhibitors for 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtbDAH7Ps), an enzyme involved in shikimate pathway, gives a selective target for antitubercular agents. MtbDAH7Ps was screened against ZINC database, and shortlisted compounds were subjected to induce fit docking. Prime/Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born Surface Area calculation was used to validate the binding energy of ligand-protein complex. Molecular Dynamics analysis for of the lead compounds–MtbDAH7Ps complexes showed that the backbone of MtbDAH7Ps in their complexes were stable. These results suggest that the shortlisted lead compounds ZINC04097114, ZINC15163225, ZINC16857013, ZINC06275603, and ZINC05331260 could be developed into novel drug leads to inhibit DAH7Ps in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Keywords: MtbDAH7Ps, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, HTVS, molecular dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 185
1583 Numerical Evaluation of the Degradation of Shear Modulus and Damping Evolution of Soils in the Eastern Region of Algiers Using Geophysical and Geotechnical Tests

Authors: Mohamed Khiatine, Ramdane Bahar

Abstract:

The research performed during the last years has revealed that the seismic response of the soilis significantly non linear and hysteresis to the deformationsitundergoes during earthquakes and notably during violent shaking. This nonlinear behavior of soils can be characterized by curves showing the evolution of shearmodulus and damping versus distortion. Also, in this context, geotechnical seismic engineering problems often require the characterization of dynamic soil properties over a wide range of deformation. This determination of dynamic soil properties is key to predict the seismic response of soils for important civil engineering structures. This communication discusses a numerical analysis method for evaluating the nonlinear dynamic properties of soils in Algeriausing the FLAC2D software and the database resulting from geophysical and geotechnical studies when laboratory dynamic tests are not available. The nonlinear model proposed by Ramberg-Osgood and limited by the Mohr-coulomb criterion is used.

Keywords: degradation, shear modulus, damping, ramberg-osgood, numerical analysis.

Procedia PDF Downloads 110
1582 TeleMe Speech Booster: Web-Based Speech Therapy and Training Program for Children with Articulation Disorders

Authors: C. Treerattanaphan, P. Boonpramuk, P. Singla

Abstract:

Frequent, continuous speech training has proven to be a necessary part of a successful speech therapy process, but constraints of traveling time and employment dispensation become key obstacles especially for individuals living in remote areas or for dependent children who have working parents. In order to ameliorate speech difficulties with ample guidance from speech therapists, a website has been developed that supports speech therapy and training for people with articulation disorders in the standard Thai language. This web-based program has the ability to record speech training exercises for each speech trainee. The records will be stored in a database for the speech therapist to investigate, evaluate, compare and keep track of all trainees’ progress in detail. Speech trainees can request live discussions via video conference call when needed. Communication through this web-based program facilitates and reduces training time in comparison to walk-in training or appointments. This type of training also allows people with articulation disorders to practice speech lessons whenever or wherever is convenient for them, which can lead to a more regular training processes.

Keywords: web-based remote training program, Thai speech therapy, articulation disorders, speech booster

Procedia PDF Downloads 382
1581 A Literature Review on Sexual Abuse Prevention for People with Intellectual Disability

Authors: Hanh Thi My Nguyen, Phuong Thu Dinh

Abstract:

People with intellectual disability are at high risk for sexual abuse. The reasons may originate from their communication skills deficits, lack of skills and knowledge to protect themselves from sexual abuse, or limited access to sexual abuse prevention programs. This article aims to present a systematic review about strategies for preventing sexual abuse for young people with intellectual disability. A range of articles in 10 years from 2009 to 2018 are searched by using online database. 5 papers are included for the final review. The results of this comprehensive literature review showed that there are two main strategies used: programs designed for people with intellectual, including evaluation on sex education programs; and sexual education program for parents of children with intellectual disability. However, none of the papers were conducted in low-and middle-income countries. Therefore, cautions should be taken when it comes to interpret these findings. The findings of studies showed that participants increased their awareness and skills for protecting themselves from sexual abuse after participating in the programs. It is also recommended that more effective evidence-based programs should be developed.

Keywords: intellectual disability, prevention, sexual abuse, sexual education program

Procedia PDF Downloads 213
1580 Pod and Wavelets Application for Aerodynamic Design Optimization

Authors: Bonchan Koo, Junhee Han, Dohyung Lee

Abstract:

The research attempts to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of a design optimization procedure which combines wavelets-based solution algorithm and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) database management technique. Aerodynamic design procedure calls for high fidelity computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations and the consideration of large number of flow conditions and design constraints. Even with significant computing power advancement, current level of integrated design process requires substantial computing time and resources. POD reduces the degree of freedom of full system through conducting singular value decomposition for various field simulations. For additional efficiency improvement of the procedure, adaptive wavelet technique is also being employed during POD training period. The proposed design procedure was applied to the optimization of wing aerodynamic performance. Throughout the research, it was confirmed that the POD/wavelets design procedure could significantly reduce the total design turnaround time and is also able to capture all detailed complex flow features as in full order analysis.

Keywords: POD (Proper Orthogonal Decomposition), wavelets, CFD, design optimization, ROM (Reduced Order Model)

Procedia PDF Downloads 470
1579 Background Check System for Turkish IT Companies

Authors: Arzu Baloglu, Ugur Kaplancali

Abstract:

This paper focuses on Background Check Systems and Pre-Employment Screening. In our study, we attempted to make an online background checking site that will help employers when hiring employees. Our site has two types of users which are free and powered user. Free users are the employees and powered users are the employers which will hire employers. The database of the site will contain all the information about the employees and employers which are registered in the system so the employers can make a search based on their searching criteria to find the suitable employee for the job. The web site also has a comments and points system. The current employer can make comments to his/her employees and can also give them points. The comments will be shown on employee’s profile, so; when an employer searches for an employee he/she can check the points and comments of the employee to see whether he or she is capable of the job or not. The employers can also follow some employees if they desire. This paper has been designed and implemented with using ASP.NET, C# and JavaScript. The outputs have a user friendly interface. The interface also aimed to provide the useful information for Turkish Technology Companies.

Keywords: background, checking, verification, human resources, online

Procedia PDF Downloads 201
1578 A Comparative Study of k-NN and MLP-NN Classifiers Using GA-kNN Based Feature Selection Method for Wood Recognition System

Authors: Uswah Khairuddin, Rubiyah Yusof, Nenny Ruthfalydia Rosli

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparative study between k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) and Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) classifier using Genetic Algorithm (GA) as feature selector for wood recognition system. The features have been extracted from the images using Grey Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM). The use of GA based feature selection is mainly to ensure that the database used for training the features for the wood species pattern classifier consists of only optimized features. The feature selection process is aimed at selecting only the most discriminating features of the wood species to reduce the confusion for the pattern classifier. This feature selection approach maintains the ‘good’ features that minimizes the inter-class distance and maximizes the intra-class distance. Wrapper GA is used with k-NN classifier as fitness evaluator (GA-kNN). The results shows that k-NN is the best choice of classifier because it uses a very simple distance calculation algorithm and classification tasks can be done in a short time with good classification accuracy.

Keywords: feature selection, genetic algorithm, optimization, wood recognition system

Procedia PDF Downloads 549
1577 Optical Characterization and Surface Morphology of SnO2 Thin Films Prepared by Spin Coating Technique

Authors: J. O. Ajayi, S. S. Oluyamo, D. B. Agunbiade

Abstract:

In this work, tin oxide thin films (SnO2) were prepared using the spin coating technique. The effects of precursor concentration on the thin film properties were investigated. Tin oxide was synthesized from anhydrous Tin (II) Chloride (SnCl2) dispersed in Methanol and Acetic acid. The metallic oxide (SnO2) films deposited were characterized using the UV Spectrophotometer and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). From the absorption spectra, absorption increases with decrease in precursor concentration. Absorbance in the VIS region is lower than 0 % at higher concentration. The optical transmission spectrum shows that transmission increases as the concentration of precursor decreases and the maximum transmission in visible region is about 90% for films prepared with 0.2 M. Also, there is increase in the reflectance of thin films as concentration of precursor increases. The films have high transparency (more than 85%) and low reflectance (less than 40%) in the VIS region. Investigation showed that the direct band gap value increased from 3.79eV, to 3.82eV as the precursor concentration decreased from 0.6 M to 0.2 M. Average direct bandgap energy for all the tin oxide films was estimated to be 3.80eV. The effect of precursor concentration was directly observed in crystal outgrowth and surface particle densification. They were found to increase proportionately with higher concentration.

Keywords: anhydrous TIN (II) chloride, densification, NIS- VIS region, spin coating technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 267
1576 Judicial Institutions in a Post-Conflict Society: Gaining Legitimacy through a Holistic Reform

Authors: Abdul Salim Amin

Abstract:

This paper focuses on how judiciaries in post-conflict society gain legitimacy through reformation. Legitimacy plays a pivotal role in shaping peoples’ behavior to submit to the law and verifies the rightfulness of an organ for taking binding decisions. Among various dynamics, judicial independence, access to justice and behavioral changes of the judicial officials broadly contribute in legitimation of judiciary in general, and the court in particular. Increasing the independence of judiciary through reform limits the interference of governmental branches in judicial issues and protects basic rights of the citizens. Judicial independence does not only matter in institutional terms, individual independence also influences the impartiality and integrity of judges, which can be increased through education and better administration of justice. Finally, access to justice as an intertwined concept both at the legal and moral spectrum of judicial reform avails justice to the citizen and increases the level of public trust and confidence. Efficient legal decisions on fostering such elements through holistic reform create a rule of law atmosphere. Citizens do not accept illegitimate judiciary and do not trust its decisions. Lack of such tolerance and confidence deters the rule of law and, thus, undermines the democratic development of a society.

Keywords: legitimacy, judicial reform, judicial independence, access to justice, legal training, informal justice, rule of law

Procedia PDF Downloads 505