Search results for: integrated audit quality model

Authors: Franco Ferrucci, Driss Stitou, Pascal Ortega, Franck Lucas

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The energy situation in tropical insular regions, as found in the French Polynesian islands, presents a number of challenges, such as high dependence on imported fuel, high transport costs from the mainland and weak electricity grids. Alternatively, these regions have a variety of renewable energy resources, which favor the exploitation of smart microgrids and energy storage technologies. With regards to the electrical energy demand, the high temperatures in these regions during the entire year implies that a large proportion of consumption is used for cooling buildings, even during the evening hours. In this context, this paper presents an air conditioning system driven by photovoltaic (PV) electricity that combines a refrigeration system and a thermochemical storage process. Thermochemical processes are able to store energy in the form of chemical potential with virtually no losses, and this energy can be used to produce cooling during the evening hours without the need to run a compressor (thus no electricity is required). Such storage processes implement thermochemical reactors in which a reversible chemical reaction between a solid compound and a gas takes place. The solid/gas pair used in this study is BaCl2 reacting with ammonia (NH3), which is also the coolant fluid in the refrigeration circuit. In the proposed system, the PV-driven electric compressor is used during the daytime either to run the refrigeration circuit when a cooling demand occurs or to decompose the ammonia-charged salt and remove the gas from thermochemical reactor when no cooling is needed. During the evening, when there is no electricity from solar source, the system changes its configuration and the reactor reabsorbs the ammonia gas from the evaporator and produces the cooling effect. In comparison to classical PV-driven air conditioning units equipped with electrochemical batteries (e.g. Pb, Li-ion), the proposed system has the advantage of having a novel storage technology with a much longer charge/discharge life cycle, and no self-discharge. It also allows a continuous operation of the electric compressor during the daytime, thus avoiding the problems associated with the on-off cycling. This work focuses on the system concept and on the efficiency study of its main components. It also compares the thermochemical with electrochemical storage as well as with other forms of thermal storage, such as latent (ice) and sensible heat (chilled water). The preliminary results show that the system seems to be a promising alternative to simultaneously fulfill cooling and energy storage needs in tropical insular regions.

Keywords: microgrid, solar air-conditioning, solid/gas sorption, thermochemical storage, tropical and insular regions

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: Ebrahim Tilahun, Erkan Sahinkaya, Bariş Calli̇

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Raw biogas is a valuable renewable energy source however it usually needs removal of the impurities. The presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the biogas has detrimental corrosion effects on the cogeneration units. Removal of H2S from the biogas can therefore significantly improve the biogas quality. In this work, a conventional bioscrubber (CBS), and a dense membrane bioscrubber (DMBS) were comparatively evaluated in terms of H2S removal efficiency (RE), CH4 enrichment and alkaline consumption at gas residence times ranging from 5 to 20 min. Both bioscrubbers were fed with a synthetic biogas containing H2S (1%), CO2 (39%) and CH4 (60%). The results show that high RE (98%) was obtained in the DMBS when gas residence time was 20 min, whereas slightly lower CO2 RE was observed. While in CBS system the outlet H2S concentration was always lower than 250 ppmv, and its H2S RE remained higher than 98% regardless of the gas residence time, although the high alkaline consumption and frequent absorbent replacement limited its cost-effectiveness. The result also indicates that in DMBS when the gas residence time increased to 20 min, the CH4 content in the treated biogas enriched upto 80%. However, while operating the CBS unit the CH4 content of the raw biogas (60%) decreased by three fold. The lower CH4 content in CBS was probably caused by extreme dilution of biogas with air (N2 and O2). According to the results obtained here the DMBS system is a robust and effective biotechnology in comparison with CBS. Hence, DMBS has a better potential for real scale applications.

Keywords: biogas, bioscrubber, desulfurization, PDMS membrane

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: S. Southamirajan, D. Dhavashankaran

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Fly ash is one of the major residues generated during combustion of coal in thermal power plants. Fly ash brick technology is the process of converting industrial waste materials into quality building material. Another issue in earth is dumping of the Bagasse ash, rice husk ash and copper slag waste. In a growing country like India a huge amount of fly ash waste materials are polluting the environment. The necessity of recycling the materials play a big role in the development of the safe and non- polluted earth. Fly ash, lime, gypsum and quarry dust are used as a replacement material for fly ash. The fly ash was replaced by the Bagasse ash and rice husk ash in the proportion of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, 15%, 17.5%, 20%, 22.5%, 25%27.5% and 30%. Two types of fly ash bricks were casted. One type is Bagasse ash replaced fly ash and another type is rice husk ash replaced fly ash bricks then copper slag are partially replaced in quarry dust. The prepared bricks are cured for 7 days and 28 days and dried in regular temperature. The mechanical and durability properties of optimum percentages of Bagasse ash and rice husk ash replaced fly ash bricks. The use of Bagasse ash and rice husk ash provides for considerable value – added utilization of Bagasse and rice husk in bricks and significant reductions in the production of greenhouse gases by the cement industry.

Keywords: Bagasse Ash, Fly ash, bricks, mechanical & durability properties, Rice husk ash

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: S. Hellam, Y. Oulahrir, F. El Mounchid, A. Sadiq, S. Mbarki

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In this paper, we propose a method for three-dimensional (3-D)-model indexing based on defining a new descriptor, which we call new descriptor using spherical harmonics. The purpose of the method is to minimize, the processing time on the database of objects models and the searching time of similar objects to request object. Firstly we start by defining the new descriptor using a new division of 3-D object in a sphere. Then we define a new distance which will be used in the search for similar objects in the database.

Keywords: 3D indexation, spherical harmonic, similarity of 3D objects, measurement similarity

Procedia PDF Downloads 422

Authors: Ana Paula S. A. Correa, Allan K. R. Galardo, Luana A. Lima, Talita F. Sobral, Josiane N. Muller, Jessica F. S. Barroso, Nercy V. R. Furtado, Ednaldo C. Rêgo., Jose B. P. Lima

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Malaria is a public health problem in the Brazilian Legal Amazon. Among the integrated approaches for anopheline control, the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) remains one of the main tools in the basic strategy applied in the Amazonian States, where the National Malaria Control Program currently uses one of the insecticides from the pyrethroid class, the Etofenprox WP. Understanding the residual efficacy of insecticides on different surfaces is essential to determine the spray cycles, in order to maintain a rational use and to avoid product waste. The aim of this study was to evaluate the residual efficacy of Etofenprox - VECTRON ® 20 WP on surfaces of Unplastered Cement (UC) and Unpainted Wood (UW) on panels, in field, and in semi-field evaluation of Brazil’s Amapa State. The evaluation criteria used was the cone bioassay test, following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended method, using plastic cones and female mosquitos of Anopheles sp. The tests were carried out in laboratory panels, semi-field evaluation in a “test house” built in the Macapa municipality, and in the field in 20 houses, being ten houses per surface type (UC and UW), in an endemic malaria area in Mazagão’s municipality. The residual efficacy was measured from March to September 2017, starting one day after the spraying, repeated monthly for a period of six months. The UW surface presented higher residual efficacy than the UC. In fact, the UW presented a residual efficacy of the insecticide throughout the period of this study with a mortality rate above 80% in the panels (= 95%), in the "test house" (= 86%) and in field houses ( = 87%). On the UC surface it was observed a mortality decreased in all the tests performed, with a mortality rate of 45, 47 and 29% on panels, semi-field and in field, respectively; however, the residual efficacy ≥ 80% only occurred in the first evaluation after the 24-hour spraying bioassay in the "test house". Thus, only the UW surface meets the specifications of the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) regarding the duration of effective action (three to six months). To sum up, the insecticide residual efficacy presented variability on the different surfaces where it was sprayed. Although the IRS with Etofenprox WP was efficient on UW surfaces, and it can be used in spraying cycles at 4-month intervals, it is important to consider the diversity of houses in the Brazilian Legal Amazon, in order to implement alternatives for vector control, including the evaluation of new products or different formulations types for insecticides.

Keywords: Anopheles, vector control, insecticide, bioassay

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Daniel Tochwin

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Continuous improvement is an essential part of effective process performance management. In order to achieve continuous quality improvement, each organization must use the appropriate selection of tools and techniques. The basic condition for success is a proper understanding of the business need faced by the company and the selection of appropriate methods to improve a given production process. The main aim of this article is to analyze the methods of conduct which are popular in practice when implementing process improvements and then to determine whether the tested methods include repetitive systematics of the approach, i.e., a similar sequence of the same or similar actions. Based on an extensive literature review, 4 methods of continuous improvement of production processes were selected: A3 report, Gemba Kaizen, PDCA cycle, and Deming cycle. The research shows that all frequently used improvement methods are generally based on the PDCA cycle, and the differences are due to "(re)interpretation" and the need to adapt the continuous improvement approach to the specific business process. The research shows that all the frequently used improvement methods are generally based on the PDCA cycle, and the differences are due to "(re) interpretation" and the need to adapt the continuous improvement approach to the specific business process.

Keywords: continuous improvement, lean methods, process improvement, PDCA

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Tri Wijayanti Septiarini, Agus Maman Abadi, Muhammad Rifki Taufik

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The exchange rate of IDR/USD can be the indicator to analysis Indonesian economy. The exchange rate as a important factor because it has big effect in Indonesian economy overall. So, it needs the analysis data of exchange rate. There is decomposition data of exchange rate of IDR/USD to be frequency and time. It can help the government to monitor the Indonesian economy. This method is very effective to identify the case, have high accurate result and have simple structure. In this paper, data of exchange rate that used is weekly data from December 17, 2010 until November 11, 2014.

Keywords: the exchange rate, fuzzy mamdani, discrete wavelet transforms, fuzzy wavelet

Procedia PDF Downloads 554

Authors: J. Franco Macías, E. Montes Alba, A. López Vásquez

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The growing development in the poultry industry has generated a strong and adverse impact on quality and availability of water resources. Inside this industry, is finding out the treatment of by-products such as feathers, viscera and blood demanding highly water consumption, generating contaminant discharges as well. As one of current of treatment of by-products is the effluent of cooking condensate steam that has contaminant organic load; therefore, it is necessary to implement removal treatments before discharging it toward water sources. The photo catalysis appears as a promising alternative of treatment due to the different advantages it has, among others, includes low cost, easily operation, high efficiency and elimination of a wide variety of contaminants in a watery environment. This study has evaluated a heterogeneous photo catalytic treatment for removal contaminant organic load. This process was developed in oxidation and reduction conditions. It was analyzed the effect of factors such as pH, catalyst and sacrifice agent concentration. Finally, good conditions to removal contaminant organic load were achieved to determine percentage of contaminant organic load by means of response surface methodology.

Keywords: poultry industry, advanced oxidation process, photocatalysis, photodegradation, TiO2

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Authors: G. Sevilla, S. Zapata, F. Giraldo, E. Torres, C. Collazos

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This work describes a framework for teaching of global software engineering (GSE) in university undergraduate programs. This framework proposes a method of teaching that incorporates adequate techniques of software requirements elicitation and validated tools of communication, critical aspects to global software development scenarios. The use of proposed framework allows teachers to simulate small software development companies formed by Latin American students, which build information systems. Students from three Latin American universities played the roles of engineers by applying an iterative development of a requirements specification in a global software project. The proposed framework involves the use of a specific purpose Wiki for asynchronous communication between the participants of the process. It is also a practice to improve the quality of software requirements that are formulated by the students. The additional motivation of students to participate in these practices, in conjunction with peers from other countries, is a significant additional factor that positively contributes to the learning process. The framework promotes skills for communication, negotiation, and other complementary competencies that are useful for working on GSE scenarios.

Keywords: requirements analysis, distributed requirements engineering, practical experiences, collaborative support

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Authors: Andrey V. Osipov, Sergey A. Kukushkin, Andrey V. Luk’yanov

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A method is developed for the solid-phase synthesis of epitaxial layers when the substrate itself is involved into a topochemical reaction and the reaction product grows in the interior of substrate layer. It opens up new possibilities for the relaxation of the elastic energy due to the attraction of point defects formed during the topochemical reaction in anisotropic media. The presented method of silicon carbide (SiC) formation employs a topochemical reaction between the single-crystalline silicon (Si) substrate and gaseous carbon monoxide (CO). The corresponding theory of interaction of point dilatation centers in anisotropic crystals is developed. It is eliminated that the most advantageous location of the point defects is the direction (111) in crystals with cubic symmetry. The single-crystal SiC films with the thickness up to 200 nm have been grown on Si (111) substrates owing to the topochemical reaction with CO. Grown high-quality single-crystal SiC films do not contain misfit dislocations despite the huge lattice mismatch value of ~20%. Also the possibility of growing of thick wide-gap semiconductor films on these templates SiC/Si(111) and, accordingly, its integration into Si electronics, is demonstrated. Finally, the ab initio theory of SiC formation due to the topochemical reaction has been developed.

Keywords: epitaxy, silicon carbide, topochemical reaction, wide-bandgap semiconductors

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Authors: B. Ravi Kumar, S. Gajanana, K. Hemachandra Reddy, K. Udayani

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Physically into various derived shapes and sizes under the effect of externally applied forces. The spinning process is an advanced plastic working technology and is frequently used for manufacturing axisymmetric shapes. Over the last few decades, Sheet metal spinning has developed significantly and spun products have widely used in various industries. Nowadays the process has been expanded to new horizons in industries, since tendency to use minimum tool and equipment costs and also using lower forces with the output of excellent surface quality and good mechanical properties. The automation of the process is of greater importance, due to its wider applications like decorative household goods, rocket nose cones, gas cylinders, etc. This paper aims to gain insight into the conventional spinning process by employing experimental and numerical methods. The present work proposes an approach for optimizing process parameters are mandrel speed (rpm), roller nose radius (mm), thickness of the sheet (mm). Forming force, surface roughness and strain are the responses.in spinning of Aluminum (2024-T3) using DOE-Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The FEA software is used for modeling and analysis. The process parameters considered in the experimentation.

Keywords: FEA, RSM, process parameters, sheet metal spinning

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Perla Elizabeth Jimarez Rocha, Carolina Daniela Tejeda Franco, Arturo Minor Martínez, Annel Gomez Coello

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One of the biggest problems in developing new therapies for the management and treatment of voice disorders is the difficulty of objectively evaluating the results of each treatment. A system was proposed that captures and records voice signals, in addition to analyzing the vocal quality (fundamental frequency, zero crossings, energy, and amplitude spectrum), as well as the subglottic pressure (cm H2O) during the sustained phonation of the vowel / a /; a recording system is implemented, as well as an interactive system that records information on subglottic pressure. In Mexico City, a control group of 31 patients with phoniatric pathology is proposed; non-invasive tests were performed for these most common vocal pathologies (Nodules, Polyps, Irritative Laryngitis, Ventricular Dysphonia, Laryngeal Cancer, Dysphonia, and Dysphagia). The most common pathology was irritative laryngitis (32%), followed by vocal fold paralysis (unilateral and bilateral,19.4 %). We take into consideration men and women in the pathological groups due to the physiological difference. They were separated in gender by the difference in the morphology of the respiratory tract.

Keywords: amplitude spectrum, energy, fundamental frequency, subglottic pressure, zero crossings

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Ramona-Niculina Jurcau, Ioana-Marieta Jurcau

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Background: Preparing in the stress field (SF) is, increasingly, a concern for doctors of different specialties. Aims: The aim was to evaluate the importance of an e-learning program for doctors postgraduate courses, in SF. Methods: Doctors (n= 40 male, 40 female) of different specialties and ages (31-71 years), who attended postgraduate courses in SF, voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that included the following themes: Importance of SF courses for specialty practiced by each respondent doctor (using visual analogue scale, VAS); What SF themes would be indicated as e-learning (EL); Preferred form of SF information assimilation: Classical lectures (CL), EL or a combination of these methods (CL+EL); Which information on the SF course are facilitated by EL model versus CL; In their view which are the first four advantages and the first four disadvantages of EL compared to CL, for SF. Results: To most respondents, the SF courses are important for the specialty they practiced (VAS by an average of 4). The SF themes suggested to be done as EL were: Stress mechanisms; stress factor models for different medical specialties; stress assessment methods; primary stress management methods for different specialties. Preferred form of information assimilation was CL+EL. Aspects of the course facilitated by EL versus CL model: Active reading of theoretical information, with fast access to keywords details; watching documentaries in everyone's favorite order; practice through tests and the rapid control of results. The first four EL advantages, mentioned for SF were: Autonomy in managing the time allocated to the study; saving time for traveling to the venue; the ability to read information in various contexts of time and space; communication with colleagues, in good times for everyone. The first three EL disadvantages, mentioned for SF were: It decreases capabilities for group discussion and mobilization for active participation; EL information accession may depend on electrical source or/and Internet; learning slowdown can appear, by temptation of postponing the implementation. Answering questions was partially influenced by the respondent's age and genre. Conclusions: 1) Post-graduate courses in SF are of interest to doctors of different specialties. 2) The majority of participating doctors preferred EL, but combined with CL (CL+EL). 3) Preference for EL was manifested mainly by young or middle age men doctors. 4) It is important to balance the proper formula for chosen EL, to be the most efficient, interesting, useful and agreeable.

Keywords: stress field, doctors’ postgraduate courses, classical lectures, e-learning lecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Mallikarjun B. Channappagoudar, Pallapa Venkataram

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The dynamic nature of Mobile adhoc network (MANET) due to mobility and disconnection of mobile nodes, leads to various problems in predicting the movement of nodes and their location information updation, for efficient interaction among the application specific nodes. Location management is one of the main challenges to be considered for an efficient service provision to the applications of a MANET. In this paper, we propose a location management protocol, for locating the nodes of a MANET and to maintain uninterrupted high-quality service for distributed applications by intelligently anticipating the change of location of its nodes. The protocol predicts the node movement and application resource scarcity, does the replacement with the chosen nodes nearby which have less mobility and rich in resources, with the help of both static and mobile agents, and maintains the application continuity by providing required network resources. The protocol has been simulated using Java Agent Development Environment (JADE) Framework for agent generation, migration and communication. It consumes much less time (response time), gives better location accuracy, utilize less network resources, and reduce location management overhead.

Keywords: mobile agent, location management, distributed applications, mobile adhoc network

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: Luis Fernando Calvo Prieto, Raul Herrero Martínez, Mónica Santamarta Llorente, Sergio Paniagua Bermejo

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The project that is presented starts from the questioning about the compartmentalization of knowledge that occurs in university higher education. There are several authors who describe the problems associated with this reality (Rodamillans, M) indicating a lack of integration of the knowledge acquired by students throughout the subjects taken in their university degree. Furthermore, this disintegration is accentuated by the enrollment system of some Faculties and/or Schools of Engineering, which allows the student to take subjects outside the recommended curricular path. This problem is accentuated in an ostentatious way when trying to find an integration between humanistic subjects and the world of experimental sciences or engineering. This abrupt separation between humanities and sciences can be observed in any study plan of Spanish degrees. Except for subjects such as economics or English, in the Faculties of Sciences and the Schools of Engineering, the absence of any humanistic content is striking. At some point it was decided that the only value to take into account when designing their study plans was “usefulness”, considering the humanities systematically useless for their training, and therefore banishing them from the study plans. forgetting the role they have on the capacity of both Leadership and Civic Humanism in our professionals of tomorrow. The teaching guides for the different subjects in the branch of science or engineering do not include any competency, not even transversal, related to leadership capacity or the need, in today's world, for social, civic and humanitarian knowledge part of the people who will offer medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, biotechnological or engineering solutions to a society that is generated thanks to more or less complex relationships based on human relationships and historical events that have occurred so far. If we want professionals who know how to deal effectively and rationally with their leadership tasks and who, in addition, find and develop an ethically civic sense and a humanistic profile in their functions and scientific tasks, we must not leave aside the importance that it has, for the themselves, know the causes, facts and consequences of key events in the history of humanity. The words of the humanist Paul Preston are well known: “he who does not know his history is condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past.” The idea, therefore, that today there can be men of science in the way that the scientists of the Renaissance were, becomes, at the very least, difficult to conceive. To think that a Leonardo da Vinci can be repeated in current times is a more than crazy idea; and although at first it may seem that the specialization of a professional is inevitable but beneficial, there are authors who consider (Sánchez Inarejos) that it has an extremely serious negative side effect: the entrenchment behind the different postulates of each area of knowledge, disdaining everything. what is foreign to it.

Keywords: STEM, higher education, social sciences, history

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Fitih Ademe, Kibebew Kibret, Sheleme Beyene, Mezgebu Getnet, Gashaw Meteke

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Soil moisture and nutrient availability are the two key edaphic factors that affect crop yields and are directly or indirectly affected by climate variability and change. The study examined climate-induced yield level, yield variability and gap of maize during 1981-2010 main growing season in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia. Pearson correlation test was employed to see the relationship between climate variables and yield. The coefficient of variation (CV) was used to analyze annual yield variability. Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer cropping system model (DSSAT-CSM) was used to simulate the growth and yield of maize for the study period. The result indicated that maize grain yield was strongly (P<0.01) and positively correlated with seasonal rainfall (r=0.67 at Melkassa and r = 0.69 at Ziway) in the CRV while day temperature affected grain yield negatively (r= -0.44) at Ziway (P<0.05) during the simulation period. Variations in total seasonal rainfall at Melkassa and Ziway explained 44.9 and 48.5% of the variation in yield, respectively, under optimum nutrition. Following variation in rainfall, high yield variability (CV=23.5%, Melkassa and CV=25.3%, Ziway) was observed for optimum nutrient simulation than the corresponding nutrient limited simulation (CV=16%, Melkassa and 24.1%, Ziway) in the study period. The observed farmers’ yield was 72, 52 and 43% of the researcher-managed, water-limited and potential yield of the crop, respectively, indicating a wide maize yield gap in the region. The study revealed rainfed crop production in the CRV is prone to yield variabilities due to its high dependence on seasonal rainfall and nutrient level. Moreover, the high coefficient of variation in the yield gap for the 30-year period also foretells the need for dependable water supply at both locations. Given the wide yield gap especially during lower rainfall years across the simulation periods, it signifies the requirement for a more dependable application of irrigation water and a potential shift to irrigated agriculture; hence, adopting options that can improve water availability and nutrient use efficiency would be crucial for crop production in the area.

Keywords: climate variability, crop model, water availability, yield gap, yield variability

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Authors: Alebiosu Olugbenga Shadrak, Victor Victoria

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Honey bees exhibit preferences in their foraging behaviour on pollen and nectar for food and honey production, respectively. Melissopalynology is the study of pollen in honey and other honey products. Several work have been conducted on the palynological studies of honeys from the southern parts of Nigeria but with relatively scant records from the Northern region of the country. This present study aimed at revealing the favourably visited plants by honey bees, Apis melifera var. adansonii, at some apiaries in Northern Nigeria, as well as determining the quality of honeys produced. Honeys were harvested and collected from four apiaries of the region, namely: Sarkin Dawa missionary bee farm, Taraba State; Eleeshuwa Bee Farm, Keffi, Nassarawa State, Bulus Beekeeper Apiaries, Kagarko, Kaduna State and Mai Gwava Bee Farm, Kano State. These honeys were acetolysed for palynological microscopic analysis and subjected to standard treatment methods for the determination of their proximate composition and sugar profiling. Fresh anthers of two dominantly represented plants in the honeys were then collected for the quantification of their pollen protein contents, using the micro-kjeldhal procedure. A total of 30 pollen types were identified in the four honeys, and some of them were common to the honeys. A classification method for expressing pollen frequency class was employed: Senna cf. siamea, Terminalia cf. catappa, Mangifera indica, Parinari curatelifolia, Vitellaria paradoxa, Elaeis guineensis, Parkia biglobosa, Phyllantus muellerianus and Berlina Grandiflora, as “Frequent” (16-45%); while the others are either Rare (3-15%) or Sporadic (less than 3 %). Pollen protein levels of the two abundantly represented plants, Senna siamea (15.90mg/ml) and Terminalia catappa (17.33mg/ml) were found to be considerably lower. The biochemical analyses revealed varying amounts of proximate composition, non-reducing sugar and total sugar levels in the honeys. The results of this study indicate that pollen and nectar of the “Frequent” plants were preferentially foraged by honeybees in the apiaries. The estimated pollen protein contents of Senna same and Terminalia catappa were considerably lower and not likely to have influenced their favourable visitation by honeybees. However, a relatively higher representation of Senna cf. siamea in the pollen spectrum might have resulted from its characteristic brightly coloured and well scented flowers, aiding greater entomophily. Terminalia catappa, Mangifera indica, Elaeis guineensis, Vitellaria paradoxa, and Parkia biglobosa are typical food crops; hence they probably attracted the honeybees owing to the rich nutritional values of their fruits and seeds. Another possible reason for a greater entomophily of the favourably visited plants are certain nutritional constituents of their pollen and nectar, which were not investigated in this study. The nutritional composition of the honeys was observed to fall within the safe limits of international norms, as prescribed by Codex Alimentarius Commission, thus they are good honeys for human consumption. It is therefore imperative to adopt strategic conservation steps in ensuring that these favourably visited plants are protected from indiscriminate anthropogenic activities and also encourage apiarists in the country to establish their bee farms more proximally to the plants for optimal honey yield.

Keywords: honeybees, melissopalynology, preferentially foraged, nutritional, bee farms, proximally

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Authors: Mahmoud Hassan Onsa, Saadelnour Abdueljabbar Adam

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Wastes from slaughterhouses in most towns in Sudan are often poorly managed and sometimes discharged into adjoining streams due to poor implementation of standards, thus causing environmental and public health hazards and also there is a large amount of manure from dairy farms. This paper presents solution of organic waste from cow dairy farms and slaughterhouse the anaerobic digestion and biogas production. The paper presents the findings of experimental investigation of biogas production with and without pasteurization using cow manure, blood and rumen content were mixed at two proportions, 72.3% manure, 21.7%, rumen content and 6% blood for bio digester1with 62% dry matter at the beginning and without pasteurization and 72.3% manure, 21.7%, rumen content and 6% blood for bio-digester2 with 10% dry matter and pasteurization. The paper analyses the quantitative and qualitative composition of biogas: gas content, the concentration of methane. The highest biogas output 2.9 mL/g dry matter/day (from bio-digester2) together with a high quality biogas of 87.4% methane content which is useful for combustion and energy production and healthy bio-fertilizer but biodigester1 gave 1.68 mL/g dry matter/day with methane content 85% which is useful for combustion, energy production and can be considered as new technology of dryer bio-digesters.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, bio-digester, blood, cow manure, rumen content

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Authors: Hassan Abo Salem, Guo Feng, Xiaolin Huang

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The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of mirror therapy on motor recovery and functional abilities after stroke. The following databases were searched from inception to May 2014: Cochrane Stroke, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, PsycINFO, and PEDro. Two reviewers independently screened and selected all randomized controlled trials that evaluate the effect of mirror therapy in stroke rehabilitation.12 randomized controlled trials studies met the inclusion criteria; 10 studies utilized the effect of mirror therapy for the upper limb and 2 studies for the lower limb. Mirror therapy had a positive effect on motor recover and function; however, we found no consistent influence on activity of daily living, Spasticity and balance. This meta-analysis suggests that, Mirror therapy has additional effect on motor recovery but has a small positive effect on functional abilities after stroke. Further high-quality studies with greater statistical power are required in order to accurately determine the effectiveness of mirror therapy following stroke.

Keywords: mirror therapy, motor recovery, stroke, balance

Procedia PDF Downloads 543

Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, H. C. Chen, C. Shih, S. W. Chen, S. C. Chiang, C. C. Liu

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In this research, TRACE model of Chinshan BWR/4 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been developed for the simulation and analysis of Ultimate Response Guideline (URG). The main actions of URG are the depressurization and low pressure water injection of reactor and containment venting. This research focuses to verify the URG efficiency under Fukushima-like conditions. Trace analysis results show that the URG can keep the PCT below the criteria 1088.7 K under Fukushima-like conditions. It indicated that Chinshan NPP was safe.

Keywords: BWR, trace, safety analysis, URG

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Authors: Serife Gulden Yilmaz, Suleyman Karaman

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Sheep breeding is important in terms of meeting both the demand of red meat consumption and the availability of industrial raw materials and the employment of the rural sector in Turkey. It is also very important to ensure the selection and continuity of the breeds that are raised in order to increase quality and productive products related to sheep breeding. The protection of local breeds and crossbreds also enables the development of the sector in the region and the reduction of imports. In this study, the data were obtained from the records of the Turkish Statistical Institute and Antalya Sheep & Goat Breeders' Association. Spatial distribution of sheep breeds in Antalya is reviewed statistically in terms of concentration at the local level for 2015 period spatially. For this reason; mapping, box plot, linear regression are used in this study. Concentration is introduced by means of studbook data on sheep breeding as locals and total sheep farm by mapping. It is observed that Pırlak breed (17.5%) and Merinos crossbreed (16.3%) have the highest concentration in the region. These breeds are respectively followed by Akkaraman breed (11%), Pirlak crossbreed (8%), Merinos breed (7.9%) Akkaraman crossbreed (7.9%) and Ivesi breed (7.2%).

Keywords: sheep breeds, local, spatial distribution, agglomeration, Antalya

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Authors: Chechen Liao, Yi-Jen Huang, Yu-Ting Lu

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This study explores and complements digital aspects. In this study, we construct a research model based on the theory of reasoned action and extend it with the advantages and disadvantages of intangibility (convenience, perceived risk), some characteristics of digital products (price, variety, trialability), and factors related to entertainment (perceived playfulness) to predict what consumers really consider when they buy digital music. Eight hypotheses were tested and supported. Finally, we prove that the theory of reasoned action is still valid in the field of digital products.

Keywords: digital music, digital product, theory of reasoned action

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Authors: Ali Mashayekh, Mahdiye Khorasani, Thomas weyh

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The demand for battery electric vehicles (BEV) is steadily increasing, and it can be assumed that electric mobility will dominate the market for individual transportation in the future. Regarding BEVs, the focus of state-of-the-art research and development is on vehicle batteries since their properties primarily determine vehicles' characteristic parameters, such as price, driving range, charging time, and lifetime. State-of-the-art battery packs consist of invariable configurations of battery cells, connected in series and parallel. A promising alternative is battery systems based on multilevel inverters, which can alter the configuration of the battery cells during operation via semiconductor switches. The main benefit of such topologies is that a three-phase AC voltage can be directly generated from the battery pack, and no separate power inverters are required. Therefore, modular battery systems based on different multilevel inverter topologies and reconfigurable battery systems are currently under investigation. Another advantage of the multilevel concept is that the possibility to reconfigure the battery pack allows battery cells with different states of charge (SoC) to be connected in parallel, and thus low-loss balancing can take place between such cells. In contrast, in conventional battery systems, parallel connected (hard-wired) battery cells are discharged via bleeder resistors to keep the individual SoCs of the parallel battery strands balanced, ultimately reducing the vehicle range. Different multilevel inverter topologies and reconfigurable batteries have been described in the available literature that makes the before-mentioned advantages possible. However, what has not yet been described is how an intelligent operating algorithm needs to look like to keep the SoCs of the individual battery strands of a modular battery system with integrated power electronics balanced. Therefore, this paper suggests an SoC balancing approach for Battery Modular Multilevel Management (BM3) converter systems, which can be similarly used for reconfigurable battery systems or other multilevel inverter topologies with parallel connectivity. The here suggested approach attempts to simultaneously utilize all converter modules (bypassing individual modules should be avoided) because the parallel connection of adjacent modules reduces the phase-strand's battery impedance. Furthermore, the presented approach tries to reduce the number of switching events when changing the switching state combination. Thereby, the ohmic battery losses and switching losses are kept as low as possible. Since no power is dissipated in any designated bleeder resistors and no designated active balancing circuitry is required, the suggested approach can be categorized as a proactive balancing approach. To verify the algorithm's validity, simulations are used.

Keywords: battery management system, BEV, battery modular multilevel management (BM3), SoC balancing

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Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Ying-Chuan Chen, Yu-Ching Lin

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There has been renewal of interest in the relation between Green IT and cloud computing in recent years. Cloud computing has to be a highly elastic environment which provides stable services to users. The growing use of cloud computing facilities has caused marked energy consumption, putting negative pressure on electricity cost of computing center or data center. Each year more and more network devices, storages and computers are purchased and put to use, but it is not just the number of computers that is driving energy consumption upward. We could foresee that the power consumption of cloud computing facilities will double, triple, or even more in the next decade. This paper aims at resource allocation and scheduling technologies that are short of or have not well developed yet to reduce energy utilization in cloud computing platform. In particular, our approach relies on recalling services dynamically onto appropriate amount of the machines according to user’s requirement and temporarily shutting down the machines after finish in order to conserve energy. We present initial work on integration of resource and power management system that focuses on reducing power consumption such that they suffice for meeting the minimizing quality of service required by the cloud computing platform.

Keywords: cloud computing, energy utilization, power consumption, resource allocation

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Authors: Kaustav Kundu, Alberto Portioli Staudacher

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Construction industry plays a vital role in the economy of the world. But due to high uncertainty and variability in the industry, its performance is not as efficient in terms of quality, lead times, productivity and costs as of other industries. Moreover, there are continuous conflicts among the different actors in the construction supply chains in terms of profit sharing. Previous studies suggested partnership as an important approach to promote cooperation among the different actors in the construction supply chains and thereby it improves the overall performance. Construction practitioners tried to focus on partnership which can enhance the performance of construction supply chains but they are not fully aware of different approaches and techniques for improving partnership. In this research, a systematic review on partnership in relation to construction supply chains is carried out to understand different elements influencing the partnership. The research development of this domain is analyzed by reviewing selected articles published from 1996 to 2015. Based on the papers, three major elements influencing partnership in construction supply chains are identified: “Lean approach”, “Relationship building” and “E-commerce applications”. This study analyses the contributions in the areas within each element and provides suggestions for future developments of partnership in construction supply chains.

Keywords: partnership, construction, lean, SCM, supply chain management

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Authors: T. Konst

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Most jobs include training and communication tasks, but often the people in these jobs lack pedagogical competences to plan, implement and assess learning. This paper aims to discuss how a learning approach called innovation pedagogy developed in higher education can be utilized for learning development in various organizations. The methods presented how to implement innovation pedagogy such as process consultation and train the trainer model can provide added value to develop pedagogical knowhow in organizations and thus support their internal learning and development.

Keywords: innovation pedagogy, learning, organizational development, process consultation

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, Petra Badke-Schaub

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Facilitating Design Thinking (DT) and Creative Problem Solving (CPS) in engineering education could benefit students by aiding them to think creatively and meaningfully in their education and future profession. A study in the pseudonym of a ‘popup class’ was conducted for a week at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) to have an indication for the perceived relevance, benefits and challenges of DT and CPS from the perspective of engineering students in India. 30 third year Bachelor of Technology students from various technical fields participated in the study. They were introduced to the notion of DT and CPS via a mix of theoretical lectures, case discussions and practical workshops. Their reactions were identified on the basis of silent observations made during the course and responses were recorded through a questionnaire, which was filled after the course. All the respondents felt that DT and CPS are relevant to their education. It was perceived by them that there is a subtle improvement in the quality, quantity and approach of solutions to open ended problems. 90% responded positively to the induction of such an exercise in their education and reasoned it by stating that it’s important for engineers to know, how to solve open-ended real world problems in a meaningful and innovative way.

Keywords: creative problem solving, design thinking, India, undergraduate engineering education

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Authors: Javed Younas

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Fiscal challenges pervade the electricity sector in many developing countries. Low bill payment and high theft mean utility customers have little incentive to conserve. It also means electricity distribution companies have less to invest in infrastructure maintenance, modernization, and technical upgrades. The low-quality electricity services can result impair the economic benefits from connections to the electrical grid. We study the impacts of two interventions implemented in Karachi, Pakistan, with the goal of reducing distribution losses and increasing revenue recovery: infrastructure improvements that made illegal connections physically more difficult and institutional innovations designed to increase communities’ trust in and cooperation with the utility. Using differences in implementation timing across space, we estimate the interventions’ impacts before the COVID-19 pandemic and their role in mitigating the pandemic’s effects on electricity services. Results indicate that the infrastructure improvements reduced losses, as well as the electricity delivered to the distribution system, a proxy for a generation. The institutional innovations significantly impacted revenue recovery, but not losses in their initial months; however, the efforts mitigated the pandemic’s negative effect on the utility finances.

Keywords: electricity, infrastructure, losses, revenue recovery

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Erinda Male

Abstract:

Participation of a lawyer in any criminal proceedings on behalf of an accused person or a victim is essential to a fair trial. Legal representation is particularly crucial in proceedings before international tribunals, especially in the International Criminal Court. The paper thus focuses on the importance of the legal representation of victims and defendants before the ICC, as well as on the role of the legal representative in the proceedings before the court and the principle of freedom of choice of legal representatives. Also, the paper presents a short overview of the significance of legal representatives for victims and the necessity to protect their primary role in the ICC system, and ensure that it is coherent and respectful of victims’ rights. Victim participation is an important part of the ICC Statute and it is designed to help ensure that those most affected by the crimes are able to engage with the Court. Proper and quality legal representation ensures meaningful participation of victims at stages of the proceedings before ICC. Finally, the paper acknowledges the role of legal representatives during the pre-trial, trial and post-trial phase, the different modalities in selecting the legal representatives as well as balancing victims’ participation with the right of the accused to a fair trial.

Keywords: fair trial, freedom of choice principle, international criminal court, legal representatives, victims

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: M. F. Chow, M. F. Abu Bakar

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Green roof system is considered a relatively new concept in Malaysia even though it has been implemented widely in the developed countries. Generally, green roofs provide many benefits such as enhancing aesthetical quality of the built environment, reduce urban heat island effect, reduce energy consumption, improve stormwater attenuation, and reduce noise pollution. A better understanding on the implementation of green roof system in Malaysia is crucial, as Malaysia’s climate is different if compared with the climate in temperate countries where most of the green roof studies have been conducted. This study has concentrated on the technical aspect of green roof system which focuses on i) types of plants and method of planting; ii) engineering design for green roof system; iii) its hydrological performance on reducing stormwater runoff; and iv) benefits of green roofs with respect to energy. Literature review has been conducted to identify the development and obstacles associated with green roofs systems in Malaysia. The study had identified the challenges and potentials of green roofs development in Malaysia. This study also provided the recommendations on standard design and strategies on the implementation of green roofs in Malaysia in the near future.

Keywords: engineering design, green roof, sustainable development, tropical countries

Procedia PDF Downloads 422