Search results for: road profile

Authors: Peng Li, Luan Wang, Haifeng Fei, Renhong Xie, Yibin Rui, Shanhong Guo

Abstract:

The applications of satellite-based automatic identification system (S-AIS) pave the road for wide-range maritime traffic monitoring and management. But the coverage of satellite’s view includes multiple AIS self-organizing networks, which leads to the collision of AIS signals from different cells. The contribution of this work is to propose an improved multi-channel blind source separation algorithm based on Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) and advanced stochastic optimization to perform separation of the mixed AIS signals. The proposed approach adopts modified ABC algorithm to get an optimized initial separating matrix, which can expedite the initialization bias correction, and utilizes the Adaptive Moment Estimation (Adam) to update the separating matrix by adjusting the learning rate for each parameter dynamically. Simulation results show that the algorithm can speed up convergence and lead to better performance in separation accuracy.

Keywords: satellite-based automatic identification system, blind source separation, artificial bee colony, adaptive moment estimation

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Collins C. Chiemeke, I. B. Osazuwa, S. O. Ibe, G. N. Egwuonwu, C. D. Ani, E. C. Chii

Abstract:

The study area is Zaria, located in the basement complex of northern Nigeria. The rock type forming the major part of the Zaria batholith is granite. This research work was carried out to compare the responses of seismic refraction tomography and resistivity tomography in the same geologic environment and under the same conditions. Hence, the choice of the site that has a visible granitic outcrop that extends across a narrow stream channel and is flanked by unconsolidated overburden, a neutral profile that was covered by plain overburden and a site with thick lateritic cover became necessary. The results of the seismic and resistivity tomography models reveals that seismic velocity and resistivity does not always simultaneously increase with depth, but their responses in any geologic environment are determined by changes in the mechanical and chemical content of the rock types rather than depth.

Keywords: environment, resistivity, response, seismic, velocity

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Nattachote Rugthaicharoencheep

Abstract:

This paper presents a feeder reconfiguration problem in distribution systems. The objective is to minimize the system power loss and to improve bus voltage profile. The optimization problem is subjected to system constraints consisting of load-point voltage limits, radial configuration format, no load-point interruption, and feeder capability limits. A method based on genetic algorithm, a search algorithm based on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics, is proposed to determine the optimal pattern of configuration. The developed methodology is demonstrated by a 33-bus radial distribution system with distributed generations and feeder capacitors. The study results show that the optimal on/off patterns of the switches can be identified to give the minimum power loss while respecting all the constraints.

Keywords: network reconfiguration, distributed generation capacitor placement, loss reduction, genetic algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Monika Patel, Kazuaki Matsumura

Abstract:

Synthetic hydrogels, with their unique properties such as porosity, strength, and swelling in aqueous environment, are being used in many fields from food additives to regenerative medicines, from diagnostic and pharmaceuticals to drug delivery systems (DDS). But, hydrogels also have some limitations in terms of homogeneity of drug distribution and quantity of loaded drugs. As an alternate, polymeric micelles are extensively used as DDS. With the ease of self-assembly, and distinct stability they remarkably improve the solubility of hydrophobic drugs. However, presently, combinational therapy is the need of time and so are systems which are capable of releasing more than one drug. And it is one of the major challenges towards DDS to control the release of each drug independently, which simple DDS cannot meet. In this work, we present an amphiphilic polypeptide based micelle hydrogel composite to study the dual drug release for wound healing purposes using Amphotericin B (AmpB) and Curcumin as model drugs. Firstly, two differently charged amphiphilic polypeptide chains were prepared namely, poly L-Lysine-b-poly phenyl alanine (PLL-PPA) and poly Glutamic acid-b-poly phenyl alanine (PGA-PPA) through ring opening polymerization of amino acid N-carboxyanhydride. These polymers readily self-assemble to form micelles with hydrophobic PPA block as core and hydrophilic PLL/PGA as shell with an average diameter of about 280nm. The thus formed micelles were loaded with the model drugs. The PLL-PPA micelle was loaded with curcumin and PGA-PPA was loaded with AmpB by dialysis method. Drug loaded micelles showed a slight increase in the mean diameter and were fairly stable in solution and lyophilized forms. For forming the micelles hydrogel composite, the drug loaded micelles were dissolved and were cross linked using genipin. Genipin uses the free –NH2 groups in the PLL-PPA micelles to form a hydrogel network with free PGA-PPA micelles trapped in between the 3D scaffold formed. Different composites were tested by changing the weight ratios of the both micelles and were seen to alter its resulting surface charge from positive to negative with increase in PGA-PPA ratio. The composites with high surface charge showed a burst release of drug in initial phase, were as the composites with relatively low net charge showed a sustained release. Thus the resultant surface charge of the composite can be tuned to tune its drug release profile. Also, while studying the degree of cross linking among the PLL-PPA particles for effect on dual drug release, it was seen that as the degree of crosslinking increases, an increase in the tendency to burst release the drug (AmpB) is seen in PGA-PPA particle, were as on the contrary the PLL-PPA particles showed a slower release of Curcumin with increasing the cross linking density. Thus, two different pharmacokinetic profile of drugs were seen by changing the cross linking degree. In conclusion, a unique charged amphiphilic polypeptide based micelle hydrogel composite for dual drug delivery. This composite can be finely tuned on the basis of need of drug release profiles by changing simple parameters such as composition, cross linking and pH.

Keywords: amphiphilic polypeptide, dual drug release, micelle hydrogel composite, tunable DDS

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Aodai Abdul-Illah Ismail

Abstract:

Even though the dramatic progress that has been made in traffic safety, but still millions of peoples get killed or injured as a result of traffic crashes, besides the huge amount of economic losses due to these crashes. So traffic safety continues to be one of the most important serious issues worldwide, and it affects everyone who uses the road network system, whether you drive, walk, cycle, or push a pram. One of the most important sides that offers promise for further progress in relation to traffic safety is related to risky groups (special population groups) who may have higher potential to be involved in accidents. Traffic safety needs of risky groups are different from each other and also from the average population. Due to the various limitations between these special groups from each other and from the average population, it is not possible to address all the issues –at the same time- raising the importance ranking among the other safety issues. This paper explains a procedure used to identify the most critical traffic safety issues of five risky groups, which include younger, older and female drivers, people with disabilities and school aged children. Multi criteria used in selecting the critical issues because the single criteria is not sufficient. Highway safety professionals were surveyed to obtain the ranking of importance among the risky groups and then to develop the final ranking among issues by applying weight for each of the criteria.

Keywords: traffic safety, risky groups, old drivers, young drivers

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Alan S. Hoback

Abstract:

Most people see human faces in car front and back ends because of the process of pareidolia. 96 people were surveyed to see how many of them saw a face in the vehicle styling. Participants were aged 18 to 72 years. 94% of the participants saw faces in the front-end design of production models. All participants that recognized faces indicated that most styles showed some degree of an angry expression. It was found that women were more likely to see faces in inanimate objects. However, with respect to whether women were more likely to perceive anger in the vehicle design, the results need further clarification. Survey responses were correlated to the design features of vehicles to determine what cues the respondents were likely looking at when responding. Whether the features looked anthropomorphic was key to anger perception. Features such as the headlights which could represent eyes and the air intake that could represent a mouth had high correlations to trends in scores. Results are compared among models, makers, by groupings of body styles classifications for the top 12 brands sold in the US, and by year for the top 20 models sold in the US in 2016. All of the top models sold increased in perception of an angry expression over the last 20 years or since the model was introduced, but the relative change varied by body style grouping.

Keywords: aggressive driving, face recognition, road rage, vehicle styling

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Deepa Shokeen, Bani Tamber Aeri

Abstract:

Food choice is a complex process influenced by the interplay of multiple factors, including physical, socio-cultural and economic factors comprising macro or micro level food environments. While a clear understanding of the relationship between what we eat and the environmental context in which these food choices are made is still needed; it has however now been shown that food environments do play a significant role in the obesity epidemic and increasing cardio-metabolic risk factors. Evidence in other countries indicates that the food environment may strongly influence the prevalence of obesity and cardio-metabolic risk factors among young adults. Although in the Indian context, data does indicate the associations between sedentary lifestyle, stress, faulty diets but very little evidence supports the role of food environment in influencing cardio-metabolic health among employed adults. Thus, this research is required to establish how different environments affect different individuals as individuals interact with the environment on a number of levels. Methodology: The objective of the present study is to assess the effect of selected food and nutrition environments with emphasis on worksite environment and to analyse its impact on the food choices and dietary behaviour of the employees (25-45 years of age) of the organizations under study. In the proposed study an attempt will be made to randomly select various worksite environments from Delhi and NCR. The study will be conducted in two phases. In phase I, Information will be obtained on their socio-demographic profile and various factors influencing their food choices including most commonly consumed foods and most frequently visited eating outlets in and around the work place. Data will also be gathered on anthropometry (height, weight, waist circumference), biochemical parameters (lipid profile and fasting glucose), blood pressure and dietary intake. Based on the findings of phase I, a list of the most frequently visited eating outlets in and around the workplace will be prepared in Phase II. These outlets will then be subjected to nutrition environment assessment survey (NEMS). On the basis of the information gathered from phase I and phase II, influence of selected food and nutrition environments on food choice, dietary behaviour and prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors among employed adults will be assessed. Expected outcomes: The proposed study will try to ascertain the impact of selected food and nutrition environments on food choice and dietary intake of the working adults as it is important to learn how these food environments influence the eating perceptions and health behavior of the adults. In addition to this, anthropometry blood pressure and biochemical assessment of the subjects will be done to assess the prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors. If the findings indicate that the work environment, where most of these young adults spend their productive hours of the day, influence their health, than perhaps steps maybe needed to make these environments more conducive to health.

Keywords: food and nutrition environment, cardio-metabolic risk factors, India, worksite environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Haruna Abdu Usman, J. Mohammed Umar, U. M. Bashir

Abstract:

Solid waste management continued to be the biggest threat to the sustainability of urban centers of developing countries. Most streets corners of these urban centers are characterized by heaps of uncollected wastes at drains, public spaces and road sides destroying the aesthetic qualities and environmental ecosystems of these cities. Also, harboring disease vectors and rodents putting the health of the populace at risk, thus posing a serious challenge to the municipalities who are in most cases responsible for the solid waste management in these cities. The typical or commonest method adapted by these agencies in dealing with the solid waste management is the conventional approach; focusing mainly on waste collection ,treatment(composting and incineration)and disposal giving little consideration to the 3RS, of waste reduce, re-used and recycled. The resultant consequence being huge budget spending in solid waste management as high as 80% but little collection rate as low as 50%. This paper attempt to analyze the impacts and effects of the conventional solid waste management practices on the stakeholders in solid waste management; the municipal authorities, the communities, formal and informal waste managers, the NGOs and CBOs and suggests appropriate measures that would lessen the effects.

Keywords: conventional waste management, solid waste, waste stakeholders, developing countries

Procedia PDF Downloads 435

Authors: K. A. Ghazaryan, T. H. Derdzyan

Abstract:

For assessment of the soils pollution level of the open mine and tailing dump of surrounding territories of Akhtala ore processing combine by heavy metals in 2013 collected soil samples and analyzed for different heavy metals, such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni and Cd. The main soil type in the study sites was the mountain cambisol. To classify soil pollution level contamination indices like Contamination factors (Cf), Degree of contamination (Cd), Pollution load index (PLI) and Geoaccumulation index (I-geo) are calculated. The distribution pattern of trace metals in the soil profile according to I geo, Cf and Cd values shows that the soil is very polluted. And also the PLI values for the 19 sites were >1, which indicates deterioration of site quality.

Keywords: soils pollution, heavy metal, geoaccumulation index, pollution load index, contamination factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 418

Authors: M. Akhondizadeh, Mohsen Khajoei, Mojtaba Khajoei

Abstract:

The purpose of the present work was the design of a towing machine which was decided to be manufactured by Arman Gohar-e-Sirjan company in the Gol-e-Gohar iron ore complex in Iran. The load analysis has been conducted to determine the static and dynamic loads at the critical conditions. The inertial forces due to the velocity increment and road bump have been considered in load evaluation. The form of loading of the present machine is hauling and/or conveying the mineral machines on the mini ramp. Several stages of these forms of loading, from the initial touch of the tow and carried machine to the final position, have been assessed to determine the critical state. The stress analysis has been performed by the ANSYS software. Several geometries for the main load-carrying elements have been analyzed to have the optimum design by the minimum weight of the structure. Finally, a structure with a total weight of 38 tons has been designed with a static load-carrying capacity of 80 tons by considering the 40 tons additional capacity for dynamic effects. The stress analysis for 120 tons load gives the minimum safety factor of 1.18.

Keywords: mechanical design, stress analysis, tow structure, dynamic load, static load

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Swapna Begum, Higano Yoshiro

Abstract:

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. It is considered as one of the traffic congested cities in the world. The growth of the population of this city is increasing day by day. The land use pattern and the increased socio-economic characteristics increase the motor vehicle ownership of this city. The rapid unplanned urbanization and poor transportation planning have deteriorated the transport environment of this city. Also, the huge travel demand with non-motorized traffics on streets is accounted for enormous traffic congestion in this city. The land transport sector in Dhaka is mainly dependent on road transport comprised of both motorized and non-motorized modes of travel. This improper modal mix and the un-integrated system have resulted in huge traffic congestion in this city. Moreover, this city has no well-organized public transport system and any Mass Transit System to cope with this ever increasing demand. Traffic congestion causes serious air pollution and adverse impact on the economy by deteriorating the accessibility, level of service, safety, comfort and operational efficiency. Therefore, there is an imperative need to introduce a well-organized, properly scheduled mass transit system like (Bus Rapid Transit) BRT minimizing the existing problems.

Keywords: air pollution, BRT, mass transit, traffic congestion

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Ankita Shukla, Tiratha Raj Singh

Abstract:

Colorectal cancer (CRC) imposes serious mortality burden worldwide and it has been increasing for past consecutive years. Continuous efforts have been made so far to diagnose the disease condition and to identify the root cause for it. In this study, we performed the pathway level as well as the differential gene expression studies for CRC. We analyzed the gene expression profile GSE24514 from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) along with the gene pathways involved in the CRC. This analysis helps us to understand the behavior of the genes that have shown differential expression through their targeted pathways. Pathway analysis for the targeted genes covers the wider area which therefore decreases the possibility to miss the significant ones. This will prove to be beneficial to expose the ones that have not been given attention so far. Through this analysis, we attempt to understand the various neighboring genes that have close relationship to the targeted one and thus proved to be significantly controlling the CRC. It is anticipated that the identified hub and neighboring genes will provide new directions to look at the pathway level differently and will be crucial for the regulatory processes of the disease.

Keywords: mismatch repair, microsatellite instability, carcinogenesis, morbidity

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Ayon Mukherjee

Abstract:

Covariate-adjusted response-adaptive (CARA) designs use the available responses to skew the treatment allocation in a clinical trial in towards treatment found at an interim stage to be best for a given patient's covariate profile. Extensive research has been done on various aspects of CARA designs with the patient responses assumed to follow a parametric model. However, ranges of application for such designs are limited in real-life clinical trials where the responses infrequently fit a certain parametric form. On the other hand, robust estimates for the covariate-adjusted treatment effects are obtained from the parametric assumption. To balance these two requirements, designs are developed which are free from distributional assumptions about the survival responses, relying only on the assumption of proportional hazards for the two treatment arms. The proposed designs are developed by deriving two types of optimum allocation designs, and also by using a distribution function to link the past allocation, covariate and response histories to the present allocation. The optimal designs are based on biased coin procedures, with a bias towards the better treatment arm. These are the doubly-adaptive biased coin design (DBCD) and the efficient randomized adaptive design (ERADE). The treatment allocation proportions for these designs converge to the expected target values, which are functions of the Cox regression coefficients that are estimated sequentially. These expected target values are derived based on constrained optimization problems and are updated as information accrues with sequential arrival of patients. The design based on the link function is derived using the distribution function of a probit model whose parameters are adjusted based on the covariate profile of the incoming patient. To apply such designs, the treatment allocation probabilities are sequentially modified based on the treatment allocation history, response history, previous patients’ covariates and also the covariates of the incoming patient. Given these information, an expression is obtained for the conditional probability of a patient allocation to a treatment arm. Based on simulation studies, it is found that the ERADE is preferable to the DBCD when the main aim is to minimize the variance of the observed allocation proportion and to maximize the power of the Wald test for a treatment difference. However, the former procedure being discrete tends to be slower in converging towards the expected target allocation proportion. The link function based design achieves the highest skewness of patient allocation to the best treatment arm and thus ethically is the best design. Other comparative merits of the proposed designs have been highlighted and their preferred areas of application are discussed. It is concluded that the proposed CARA designs can be considered as suitable alternatives to the traditional balanced randomization designs in survival trials in terms of the power of the Wald test, provided that response data are available during the recruitment phase of the trial to enable adaptations to the designs. Moreover, the proposed designs enable more patients to get treated with the better treatment during the trial thus making the designs more ethically attractive to the patients. An existing clinical trial has been redesigned using these methods.

Keywords: censored response, Cox regression, efficiency, ethics, optimal allocation, power, variability

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Anna Claudia Pellicelli, Silvia Procacci

Abstract:

The study aims to demonstrate how different locations, where the same product is unveiled and tested, can provide a different result in terms of perception by the same kind of people. The experiment was done in occasion of the presentation of a new bike. A group of dealers has been invited in Lloret de Mar, two persons from the headquarter were present to run the presentation, together with an outsourced trainer. Half day dedicated to the theoretical presentation and half day to the test of the new bike on the road, including the test of its direct competitors. The same presentation, organized in the same way, has been delivered in Italy, in 4 locations often used to run business meetings with dealers. In the end of all days of the presentation, dealers had to fill a questionnaire regarding the evaluation of the different bikes tested. The result of the questionnaire showed how the group invited in Spain rated much higher the new bike compared with the dealers testing the bike in locations already known and close to their home. So, in terms of business strategy, it is important to take into account how the location and the way of presenting any product or service can have a favourable impact on the people we want to convince. The next step of the experiment will be to cross check the sales of that bike with the dealers and measure if there is a relation between the top sellers and the one that appreciated the bike the most, in Spain. It would mean that they were able to transfer to customers the same good feelings and impressions they had in Spain.

Keywords: product presentation, locations, emotional effect, business strategy

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Kamal Tolani, Sandeep Kumar, Rohit Luthra, Ankit Dadhania, Krishnaprasad K., Ram Gupta, Deepa Joshi

Abstract:

Background: Post-operative analgesia remains a clinical challenge, with central and peripheral sensitization playing a pivotal role in treatment-related complications and impaired quality of life. Centrally acting opioids offer poor risk benefit profile with increased intensity of gastrointestinal or central side effects and slow onset of clinical analgesia. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical feasibility of induction and maintenance therapy with Tapentadol Nasal Spray (NS) in moderate to severe acute post-operative pain. Methods: Phase III, randomized, active-controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial involving 294 cases who had undergone surgical procedures under general anesthesia or regional anesthesia. Post-surgery patients were randomized to receive either Tapentadol NS 45 mg or Tramadol 100mg IV as a bolus and subsequent 50 mg or 100 mg dose over 2-3 minutes. The frequency of administration of NS was at every 4-6 hours. At the end of 24 hrs, patients in the tramadol group who had a pain intensity score of ≥4 were switched to oral tramadol immediate release 100mg capsule until the pain intensity score reduced to <4. All patients who had achieved pain intensity ≤ 4 were shifted to a lower dose of either Tapentadol NS 22.5 mg or oral Tramadol immediate release 50mg capsule. The statistical analysis plan was envisaged as a non-inferiority trial involving comparison with Tramadol for Pain intensity difference at 60 minutes (PID60min), Sum of Pain intensity difference at 60 minutes (SPID60min), and Physician Global Assessment at 24 hrs (PGA24 hrs). Results: The per-protocol analyses involved 255 hospitalized cases undergoing surgical procedures. The median age of patients was 38.0 years. For the primary efficacy variables, Tapentadol NS was non-inferior to Inj/Oral Tramadol in relief of moderate to severe post-operative pain. On the basis of SPID60min, no clinically significant difference was observed between Tapentadol NS and Tramadol IV (1.73±2.24 vs. 1.64± 1.92, -0.09 [95% CI, -0.43, 0.60]). In the co-primary endpoint PGA24hrs, Tapentadol NS was non–inferior to Tramadol IV (2.12 ± 0.707 vs. 2.02 ±0.704, - 0.11[95% CI, -0.07, 0.28). However, on further assessment at 48hr, 72 hrs, and 120hrs, clinically superior pain relief was observed with the Tapentadol NS formulation that was statistically significant (p <0.05) at each of the time intervals. Secondary efficacy measures, including the onset of clinical analgesia and TOTPAR, showed non-inferiority to Tramadol. The safety profile and need for rescue medication were also similar in both the groups during the treatment period. The most common concomitant medications were anti-bacterial (98.3%). Conclusion: Tapentadol NS is a clinically feasible option for improved compliance as induction and maintenance therapy while offering a sustained and persistent patient response that is clinically meaningful in post-surgical settings.

Keywords: tapentadol nasal spray, acute pain, tramadol, post-operative pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Aliasghar Baziar, Hassan Masoumi, Alireza Ale Saadi

Abstract:

The control of the response of electric motors plays a significant role in the damping of transient responses. In this regard, this paper presents a static VAR compensator (SVC) based on a fuzzy logic which is applied to an industrial power network consisting of three phase synchronous, asynchronous and DC motor loads. The speed and acceleration variations of a specific machine are the inputs of the proposed fuzzy logic controller (FLC). In order to verify the effectiveness and proficiency of the proposed Fuzzy Logic based SVC (FLSVC), several non-linear time-domain digital simulation tests are performed. The proposed fuzzy model can properly control the response of electric motors. The results show that the FLSVC is successful to improve the voltage profile significantly over a wide range of operating conditions and disturbances thus improving the overall dynamic performance of the network.

Keywords: fuzzy logic controller, VAR compensator, single cage asynchronous motor, DC motor

Procedia PDF Downloads 614

Authors: Sergio Pérez-López, Daniel Tarrazó-Serrano, José M. Fuster, Pilar Candelas, Constanza Rubio

Abstract:

Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs) are widely used in many areas, such as optics, microwaves or acoustics. On the design of FZPs, plane wave incidence is typically considered, but that is not usually the case in ultrasounds, especially in applications where a piston emitter is placed at a certain distance from the lens. In these cases, having control of the focal distance is very important, and with the usual Fresnel equation a focal displacement from the theoretical distance is observed due to the plane wave supposition. In this work, a comparison between FZP with plane wave incidence design and FZP with point source design in the case of piston emitter is presented. Influence of the main parameters of the piston in the final focalization profile has been studied. Numerical models and experimental results are shown, and they prove that when spherical wave incidence is considered for the piston case, it is possible to have a fine control of the focal distance in comparison with the classical design method.

Keywords: focusing, Fresnel zone plates, FZP, ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Ashish Dhamaniya, Vineet Jain, Rajesh Chouhan

Abstract:

Traffic management is one of the gigantic issue in most of the urban roads in al-most all metropolitan cities in India. Speed is one of the critical traffic parameters for effective Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) implementation as it decides the arrival rate of vehicles on an intersection which are majorly the point of con-gestions. The study aimed to leverage Machine Learning (ML) models to produce precise predictions of speed on urban roadway links. The research objective was to assess how categorized traffic volume and road width, serving as variables, in-fluence speed prediction. Four tree-based regression models namely: Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Extra Tree (ET), and Extreme Gradient Boost (XGB)are employed for this purpose. The models' performances were validated using test data, and the results demonstrate that Random Forest surpasses other machine learning techniques and a conventional utility theory-based model in speed prediction. The study is useful for managing the urban roadway network performance under mixed traffic conditions and effective implementation of ITS.

Keywords: stream speed, urban roads, machine learning, traffic flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Antarjeeta Nayak, Jalandhar Pradhan, Ramakrishna Biswal

Abstract:

Poverty is a complex phenomenon influenced by a large number of factors and which can be studied from many different perspectives. Most of the poverty assessments can be divided into three broad categories- construction of poverty profile (who the poor are), causes of poverty (why people are poor) and poverty alleviation strategies (what to do about poverty). In this regard, we need to know more about poverty, the factors that drive it and those that maintain it. Specifically, how people perceive and experience poverty will generate a body of knowledge that would enable government and poverty alleviation agencies to better target their interventions and understand the stigma associated with poverty. In the Indian context, the perceptions of the causes of poverty are particularly relevant because of the persistent higher percent of people below poverty line and wider economic-social inequalities despite the continuing decline of poverty in the present times. In this study we investigated the perceived attributions for poverty among youths (University students) in India. A questionnaire having 35 questions was administered to a sample of 200 University students (n=200). Findings showed that Indian youth were more inclined to attribute poverty to Structural factors; supporting system-blame hypothesis.

Keywords: poverty, perception of the causes of poverty, Indian youth, social sciences and humanities

Procedia PDF Downloads 406

Authors: Siti Indati Mustapa, Hussain Ali Bekhet

Abstract:

Global CO2 emission and increasing fuel consumption to meet energy demand requirement has become a threat in recent decades. Effort to reduce the CO2 emission is now a matter of priority in most countries of the world including Malaysia. Transportation has been identified as the most intensive sector of carbon-based fuels and achievement of the voluntary target to meet 40% carbon intensity reduction set at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) means that the emission from the transport sector must be reduced accordingly. This posed a great challenge to Malaysia and effort has to be made to embrace suitable and appropriate energy policy for sustainable energy and emission reduction of this sector. The focus of this paper is to analyse the trends of Malaysia’s energy consumption and emission of four different transport sub-sectors (road, rail, aviation and maritime). Underlying factors influencing the growth of energy consumption and emission trends are discussed. Besides, technology status towards energy efficiency in transportation sub-sectors is presented. By reviewing the existing policies and trends of energy used, the paper highlights prospective policy options towards achieving emission reduction in the transportation sector.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, transportation sector, fuel consumption, energy policy, Malaysia

Procedia PDF Downloads 450

Authors: Chandan Pramanik, Bikramjit Chanda

Abstract:

Large metal mines operated with open-cast mining methods must transition to underground mining at the conclusion of the operation; however, this requires a period of a difficult time when production convergence due to interference between the two mining methods. A transition model with collaborative mining operations is presented and established in this work, based on the case of the South Kaliapani Underground Project, to address these technical issues of inadequate production security and other mining challenges during the transition phase and beyond. By integrating the technology of the small-scale Drift and Fill method and Highly productive Sub Level Open Stoping at deep section, this hybrid mining concept tries to eliminate major bottlenecks and offers an optimized production profile with the safe and sustainable operation. Considering every geo-mining aspect, this study offers a genuine and precise technical deliberation for the transition from open pit to underground mining.

Keywords: drift and fill, geo-mining aspect, sublevel open stoping, underground mining method

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

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

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Alaa Mostafa, Samuel Dagogo-Jack, Vivian Thieu, Maria Yu, Nan Zhang, Dara Schuster, Luis-Emilio Garcia-Perez

Abstract:

Dulaglutide (DU), a once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, was studied in the AWARD clinical trial program in adult patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and demonstrated significant hemoglobin A1c (A1c) reduction and potential for weight loss. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of DU 1.5 mg and DU 0.75 mg in patients with T2D by baseline A1c <8.5% or ≥8.5%, a post-hoc analysis was conducted on AWARD-1 to -6 and -8 at 6 months. Across 7 studies, 55% to 82% of the DU-treated patients had a baseline A1c <8.5%, and 18% to 45% had a baseline A1c ≥8.5%. The ranges of A1c reductions with baseline A1c <8.5% and ≥8.5%, respectively, were: DU 1.5 mg: -0.67% to -1.25% and -1.22% to -2.37%; DU 0.75 mg: -0.53% to -1.07% and -1.37% to -2.19%. The A1c reduction from the pooled analysis was greater in patients with baseline A1c ≥8.5% than patients with baseline A1c <8.5%, respectively: DU 1.5 mg: -1.86% and -1.02%; DU 0.75 mg: -1.75% and -0.83%. DU treatments were well tolerated among baseline A1c subgroups. Across the AWARD program, DU 1.5 mg and DU 0.75 mg demonstrated significant A1c reduction in both subgroups with an acceptable safety profile. Compared to patients with baseline A1c <8.5%, patients with baseline A1c ≥8.5% had greater A1c reduction. Disclosures: This study was supported and conducted by Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA.

Keywords: A1c reduction, dulaglutide, type 2 diabetes, weight loss

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Mozhgan Aliakbari, Sara Moridpour

Abstract:

In recent years, much attention has been given to truck drivers’ fatigue management. Long working hours negatively influence truck drivers’ physiology, health, and safety. However, there is little empirical research in the heavy vehicle transport sector in Australia to identify the influence of working hours’ management on drivers’ fatigue and consequently, on the risk of crashes and injuries. There is no national legislation regulating the number of hours or kilometres travelled by truck drivers. Consequently, it is almost impossible to define a standard number of hours or kilometres for truck drivers in a safety management system. This paper reviews the existing studies concerning safe system interventions such as tachographs in relation to fatigue caused by long working hours. This paper also reviews the literature to identify the influence of frequency of rest breaks on the reduction of work-related road transport accidents involving trucks. A framework is presented to manage truck drivers’ fatigue, which may result in the reduction of injuries and fatalities involving heavy vehicles.

Keywords: fatigue, time management, trucks, traffic safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: A. J. Al-Graitti, G. A. Khalid, P. Berthelson, A. Mason-Jones, R. Prabhu, M. D. Jones

Abstract:

Motor vehicle related pedestrian road traffic collisions are a major road safety challenge, since they are a leading cause of death and serious injury worldwide, contributing to a third of the global disease burden. The auto rickshaw, which is a common form of urban transport in many developing countries, plays a major transport role, both as a vehicle for hire and for private use. The most common auto rickshaws are quite unlike ‘typical’ four-wheel motor vehicle, being typically characterised by three wheels, a non-tilting sheet-metal body or open frame construction, a canvas roof and side curtains, a small drivers’ cabin, handlebar controls and a passenger space at the rear. Given the propensity, in developing countries, for auto rickshaws to be used in mixed cityscapes, where pedestrians and vehicles share the roadway, the potential for auto rickshaw impacts with pedestrians is relatively high. Whilst auto rickshaws are used in some Western countries, their limited number and spatial separation from pedestrian walkways, as a result of city planning, has not resulted in significant accident statistics. Thus, auto rickshaws have not been subject to the vehicle impact related pedestrian crash kinematic analyses and/or injury mechanics assessment, typically associated with motor vehicle development in Western Europe, North America and Japan. This study presents a parametric analysis of auto rickshaw related pedestrian impacts by computational simulation, using a Finite Element model of an auto rickshaw and an LS-DYNA 50^th percentile male Hybrid III Anthropometric Test Device (dummy). Parametric variables include auto rickshaw impact velocity, auto rickshaw impact region (front, centre or offset) and relative pedestrian impact position (front, side and rear). The output data of each impact simulation was correlated against reported injury metrics, Head Injury Criterion (front, side and rear), Neck injury Criterion (front, side and rear), Abbreviated Injury Scale and reported risk level and adds greater understanding to the issue of auto rickshaw related pedestrian injury risk. The parametric analyses suggest that pedestrians are subject to a relatively high risk of injury during impacts with an auto rickshaw at velocities of 20 km/h or greater, which during some of the impact simulations may even risk fatalities. The present study provides valuable evidence for informing a series of recommendations and guidelines for making the auto rickshaw safer during collisions with pedestrians. Whilst it is acknowledged that the present research findings are based in the field of safety engineering and may over represent injury risk, compared to “Real World” accidents, many of the simulated interactions produced injury response values significantly greater than current threshold curves and thus, justify their inclusion in the study. To reduce the injury risk level and increase the safety of the auto rickshaw, there should be a reduction in the velocity of the auto rickshaw and, or, consideration of engineering solutions, such as retro fitting injury mitigation technologies to those auto rickshaw contact regions which are the subject of the greatest risk of producing pedestrian injury.

Keywords: auto rickshaw, finite element analysis, injury risk level, LS-DYNA, pedestrian impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: S. Mamoucha, N. Tsafantakis, Α. Ioannidis, S. Chatzipanagiotou, C. Nikolaou, L. Skaltsounis, N. Fokialakis, N. Christodoulakis

Abstract:

Introduction: Plant secondary metabolites (SM) can be grouped into three chemically distinct groups: terpenes, phenolics, and nitrogen-containing compounds. For many years the adaptive significance of SM was unknown. They were thought to be functionless end-products. Currently it is accepted that many secondary metabolites (also known as natural products) have important ecological roles in plants. For instance, they serve as attractants (odor, color, taste) for pollinators and seed-dispersing animals. Moreover, they protect plants from herbivores, microbial pathogens and from environmental stress (high and low temperatures, drought, alkalinity, salinity, radiation etc). It is well known that both biotic and abiotic stress often increase the accumulation of SM. The local climatic conditions, seasonal changes, external factors such as light, temperature, humidity affect the biosynthesis and composition of secondary metabolites. A well known dioecious evergreen plant, Pistacia lentiscus L. (mastic tree), was selected in order to study the metabolic variations occur in response to the different climate conditions, due to the seasonal variation and its effect on the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds. Materials-methods: Young and mature leaves were collected in January and July 2014, dried and extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (Dionex ASE™ 350) using solvents of increased polarity (DCM, MeOH, and H2O). GC-MS and UHPLC-HRMS analysis were carried out in order to define the nature and the relative abundance of SM. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by using the Agar Disc Diffusion Assay against ATCC and clinical isolates strains: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans and Klebsiella pneumoniae. All tests were carried out in duplicate and the average radii of the inhibition zones were calculated for each extract. Results: According to the phytochemical profile obtained from each extract, the biosynthesis of SM varied both qualitatively and quantitatively under the two different types of seasonal stress. With exception of the biologically inactive nonpolar DCM extract of July, all extracts inhibited the growth of most of the investigated microorganisms. A clear positive correlation has been observed between the relative abundance of SM and the bioactivity of the DCM extracts of January and July. Observed changes during phytochemical analysis were mainly focused on the triterpenoid content. On the other hand, the bioactivity of the polar extracts (MeOH and H2O) of January and July resulted practically invariable against most of the microorganisms, besides the significant variation of the SM content due to the seasonal variation. Conclusion: Our results clearly confirmed the hypothesis of abiotic stress as an important regulating factor that significantly affects the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and thus the presence of bioactive compounds. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by IKY - State Scholarship Foundation, Athens, Greece.

Keywords: antibacterial screening, phytochemical profile, Pistacia lentiscus, abiotic stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 233

Authors: Nosheen Zareen Khan, Abdul Majeed Siddiqui, Muhammad Afzal Rana

Abstract:

The steady flow of a second order fluid through constricted tube with slip velocity at wall is modeled and analyzed theoretically. The governing equations are simplified by implying no slip in radial direction. Based on Karman Pohlhausen procedure polynomial solution for axial velocity profile is presented. An expressions for pressure gradient, shear stress, separation and reattachment points and radial velocity are also calculated. The effect of slip and no slip velocity on velocity, shear stress, pressure gradient are discussed and depicted graphically. It is noted that when Reynolds number increases velocity of the fluid decreases in both slip and no slip conditions. It is also found that the wall shear stress, separation and reattachment points are strongly effected by Reynolds number.

Keywords: approximate solution, constricted tube, non-Newtonian fluids, Reynolds number

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Ajay Kumar, Neha Gupta

Abstract:

This work presents the sensitivity assessment of Gallium Nitride (GaN) material-based FinFET by dielectric modulation in the nanocavity gap for label-free biosensing applications. The significant deflection is observed in the electrical characteristics such as drain current (ID), transconductance (gm), surface potential, energy band profile, electric field, sub-threshold slope (SS), and threshold voltage (Vth) in the presence of biomolecules owing to GaN material. Further, the device sensitivity is evaluated to identify the effectiveness of the proposed biosensor and its capability to detect the biomolecules with high precision or accuracy. Higher sensitivity is observed for Gelatin (k=12) in terms of on-current (SION), threshold voltage (SVth), and switching ratio (SSR) by 104.88%, 82.12%, and 119.73%, respectively. This work is performed using a powerful tool 3D Sentaurus TCAD using a well-calibrated structure. All the results pave the way for GaN-FinFET as a viable candidate for label-free dielectric modulated biosensor applications.

Keywords: biosensor, biomolecules, FinFET, sensitivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: A. Chennai, M. Yahia, H. Boussenan

Abstract:

Our study was designed to highlight changes in certain biochemical parameters such as (CH, TG, HDL, TGO, TGP, LDL, and CRP), hormones (FSH, LH, PRL, TSH, and leptin), in women who suffer from over weight and fertile controls as well as the research for potential pathophysiological link between obesity and infertility in this population of women. This practical work has been focused on a population of 24 over weight infertile women, compared to control subjects without any pathology causing disturbance parameters to be studied to determine the contribution of obesity in the etiology of infertility. The assay results revealed a highly significant difference between the two groups in the serum levels of CH, TG, HDL, and TGO TGP (P <0.0001) as well as the rate of LDL (p=0.0017) and CRP (p=0.02). Hormonal profile also shows a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.0001) for LH and leptin but no difference was found for serum TSH. A significant correlation between leptin and FSH, LH, and FSH, age and LH, PRL and age and between HDL and CRP. The present study suggests that obesity is associated with infertility, but no direct pathophysiological link between obesity and infertility has been determined. More in-depth studies are needed to determine the exact mechanism by which overweight leads to female infertility.

Keywords: fertility, obesity, hormones, biochemical, pathophysiological

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: D. Latha, V. Sunitha, Samson Mathew

Abstract:

In India, most of the pavement is laid by bituminous road and the consumption of binder is high for pavement construction and also modified binders are used to satisfy any specific pavement requirement. Since the binders are visco-elastic material which is having the mechanical properties of binder transition from visco-elastic solid to visco-elastic fluid. In this paper, two different protocols were used to measure the viscosity property of binder using a Brookfield Viscometer and there is a need to find the appropriate mixing and compaction temperatures of various types of binders which can result in complete aggregate coating and adequate field density of HMA mixtures. The aim of this work is to find the transition temperature from Non-Newtonian behavior to Newtonian behavior of the binder by adopting a steady shear protocol and the shear rate ramp protocol. The transition from non-Newtonian to Newtonian can occur through an increase of temperature and shear of the material. The test has been conducted for unmodified binder VG 30. The transition temperature was found in the unmodified binder VG is 120oC. So the application of both modified binder and unmodified binder in the pavement construction needs to be studied properly by considering temperature and traffic loading factors of the respective project site.

Keywords: unmodified and modified binders, Brookfield viscometer, transition temperature, steady shear and shear rate protocol

Procedia PDF Downloads 191