Search results for: environment protection

Authors: Florin Leon

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This paper describes a simulator of traffic scenarios tailored to facilitate autonomous driving model training for urban environments. With the rising prominence of self-driving vehicles, the need for diverse datasets is very important. The proposed simulator provides a flexible framework that allows the generation of custom scenarios needed for the validation and enhancement of trajectory prediction algorithms. Its controlled yet dynamic environment addresses the challenges associated with real-world data acquisition and ensures adaptability to diverse driving scenarios. By providing an adaptable solution for scenario creation and algorithm testing, this tool proves to be a valuable resource for advancing autonomous driving technology that aims to ensure safe and efficient self-driving vehicles.

Keywords: autonomous driving, car simulator, machine learning, model training, urban simulation environment

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Authors: Ankur Chauhan, Amol Singh

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The increasing human resource has led to the rapid increment in the generation of healthcare waste across the world. Since, this waste consists of the infectious and hazardous components emerged from the patient care activities in different healthcare facilities; therefore, its proper management becomes vital for mitigating its negative impact on society and environment. The present research work focuses on the identification of the key success factors for developing a successful healthcare waste management plan. In addition, the key success factors have been studied by developing a causal diagram with the help of a decision making trial and evaluation (DEMATEL) approach. The findings of the study would help in the filtration of dominant key success factors which would further help in making a comparative assessment of the waste management plan of different hospitals.

Keywords: healthcare waste disposal, environment and society, multi-criteria decision making, DEMATEL

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Authors: K. S. Shiny, R. Sundararaj

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Coconut trees (Cocos nucifera L.) are grown in many parts of India and world because of its multiple utilities. During pyrolysis, coconut shells yield oil, which is a dark thick liquid. Upon simple distillation it produces a more or less colourless liquid, termed coconut shell pyrolytic oil distillate (CSPOD). This manuscript reports and discusses the use of coconut shell pyrolytic oil distillate as a potential wood protectant against bio-deterioration. Since botanical products as ecofriendly wood protectant is being tested worldwide, the utilization of CPSOD as wood protectant is of great importance. The efficacy of CSPOD as wood protectant was evaluated as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in terms of its antifungal, antiborer, and termiticidal activities. Specimens of Rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis) in six replicate each for two treatment methods namely spraying and dipping (48hrs) were employed. CSPOD was found to impart total protection against termites for six months compared to control under field conditions. For assessing the efficacy of CSPOD against fungi, the treated blocks were subjected to the attack of two white rot fungi Tyromyces versicolor (L.) Fr. and Polyporus sanguineus (L.) G. Mey and two brown rot fungi, Polyporus meliae (Undrew.) Murrill. and Oligoporus placenta (Fr.) Gilb. & Ryvarden. Results indicated that treatment with CSPOD significantly protected wood from the damage caused by the decay fungi. Efficacy of CSPOD against wood borer Lyctus africanus Lesne was carried out using six pairs of male and female beetles and it gave promising results in protecting the treated wood blocks when compared to control blocks. As far as the treatment methods were concerned, dip treatment was found to be more effective when compared to spraying. The results of the present investigation indicated that CSPOD is a promising botanical compound which has the potential to replace synthetic wood protectants. As coconut shell, pyrolytic oil is a waste byproduct of coconut shell charcoal industry, its utilization as a wood preservative will expand the economic returns from such industries.

Keywords: coconut shell pyrolytic oil distillate, eco-friendly wood protection, termites, wood borers, wood decay fungi

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Authors: Shiuh-Jer Huang, Chen-Zon Yan, C. K. Huang, Chun-Chien Ting

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Since the vision system application in industrial environment for autonomous purposes is required intensely, the image recognition technique becomes an important research topic. Here, deep learning algorithm is employed in image system to recognize the industrial object and integrate with a 7A6 Series Manipulator for object automatic gripping task. PC and Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) are chosen to construct the 3D Vision Recognition System. Depth Camera (Intel RealSense SR300) is employed to extract the image for object recognition and coordinate derivation. The YOLOv2 scheme is adopted in Convolution neural network (CNN) structure for object classification and center point prediction. Additionally, image processing strategy is used to find the object contour for calculating the object orientation angle. Then, the specified object location and orientation information are sent to robotic controller. Finally, a six-axis manipulator can grasp the specific object in a random environment based on the user command and the extracted image information. The experimental results show that YOLOv2 has been successfully employed to detect the object location and category with confidence near 0.9 and 3D position error less than 0.4 mm. It is useful for future intelligent robotic application in industrial 4.0 environment.

Keywords: deep learning, image processing, convolution neural network, YOLOv2, 7A6 series manipulator

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Authors: Martha E. Ikome, John M. Ikome

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Intellectual property should be a day-to-day business decision due to its value, but increasingly, a number of institution are still not aware of the importance. Intellectual Property (IP) and its value are often not adequately appreciated. In the increasingly knowledge-driven economy, IP is a key consideration in day-to-day business decisions because new ideas and products appear almost daily in the market, which results in continuous innovation and research. Therefore, this paper will focus on the importance of IP for universities of technology and also further demonstrates how IP can become an economic tool and the challenges faced by these universities in implementing an IP system.

Keywords: intellectual property, institutions, challenges, protection

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Authors: Majdi Al Shdifat, Juan Chiachio, Esther Puertas, María L. Jalón, Álvaro Blanca-Hoyos

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In recent years, the world has begun to adopt more sustainable practices in response to today's environmental and climate challenges. The construction sector is one of the most resource-intensive among others, so researchers are testing different types of materials with different processes and methodologies to achieve more environmentally and sustainably friendly buildings.Plastic is one of the most harmful materials for the environment. The global production of plastics has increased dramatically in recent decades, and it is one of the most widely used materials. However, plastic waste is not biodegradable and has a chemical composition that is stable for many years in the environment, both on land and in water bodies. Recycled plastics have been tested to be used in construction in many ways to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment and the use of raw materials in construction. In this context, the main objective of this research is to test the use of plastic fibers with one of the most promising materials to replace cement, which is rammed earth. In fact, rammed earth is considered one of the most environmentally friendly materials due to its use of local raw materials, recyclability, and low embodied energy. In this research, three different types of plastic fibers were used. Then, the blends were evaluated by considering their mechanical properties, including compressive strength and tensile strength. In addition, the non-destructive ultrasonic wave velocity was measured. The result shows excellent potential for the use of plastic fibers in rammed earth, especially in terms of compressive strength.

Keywords: mechanical characterization, plastic fibers reinforcement, rammed earth, sustainable material

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Authors: Mesbah Tarek, Kelaiaia Samia, Chiheb Sofien, Kelaiaia Mounia Samira, Labar Hocine

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Short circuit causes important damage in power systems. The aim of this paper is the investigation of the effect of short circuit at the AC side inverter in HVDC transmission line. The cutoff of HVDC transmission line implies important economic losses. In this paper it is proposed an efficient procedure which can protect and eliminate the fault quickly. The theoretical development and simulation are well detailed and illustrated.

Keywords: AC inverter, HVDC, short circuit, switcher gate, power system

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Authors: Maciej Pieńkowski

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Lean Management is nowadays one of the most dominating management concepts within industrial and service environment, providing compelling business benefits to many companies. At the same time, its application in the non-governmental organizations has not been extensively researched yet. Filling this gap will address clear necessity of efficient management system in NGO environment and significantly improve operational performance of many organizations. The goal of the research is to verify effectiveness of Lean Management implementation in the non-governmental organizations, based on Wrocław Food Bank case study. The case study describes a Lean Management implementation project within analyzed organization. During the project, Wrocław Food Bank went through full 5-step Lean Thinking processes, which consist of value identification, value stream mapping, creation of flow, establishing pull and seeking perfection. The research contains a detailed summary of each of those steps and provides with information regarding results of their implementation. The major findings of the study indicate, that application of Lean Management in NGO environment is possible, however physical implementation of its guidelines can be strongly impeded by multiple constraints, which non-governmental organizations are facing. Due to challenges like limited resources, project based activities and lack of traditional supplier-customer relationship, many NGOs may fail in their efforts to implement Lean Management. Successful Lean application requires therefore strong leadership commitment, which would drive transformation to remove barriers and obstacles.

Keywords: lean management, non-governmental organizations, continuous improvement, lean thinking

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Authors: Norbert Szulc, Jakub Wilk, Franciszek Górski

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This paper presents an approach for simulating and testing robotic systems based on PX4, using a local Kubernetes cluster. The approach leverages modern cloud-native tools and runs on single-board computers. Additionally, this solution enables the creation of datasets for computer vision and the evaluation of control system algorithms in an end-to-end manner. This paper compares this approach to method commonly used Docker based approach. This approach was used to develop simulation environment for an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) for RoboBoat 2023 by running a containerized configuration of the PX4 Open-source Autopilot connected to ROS and the Gazebo simulation environment.

Keywords: cloud computing, Kubernetes, single board computers, simulation, ROS

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Authors: Irfan Anjum Manarvi, Zahid Ali kaimkhani

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Predicting location of the fracture in human bones has been a keen area of research for the past few decades. A variety of tests for hardness, deformation, and strain field measurement have been conducted in the past; but considered insufficient due to various limitations. Researchers, therefore, have proposed further studies due to inaccuracies in measurement methods, testing machines, and experimental errors. Advancement and availability of hardware, measuring instrumentation, and testing machines can now provide remedies to these limitations. The human foot is a critical part of the body exposed to various forces throughout its life. A number of products are developed for using it for protection and care, which many times do not provide sufficient protection and may itself become a source of stress due to non-consideration of the delicacy of bones in the feet. A continuous strain or overloading on feet may occur resulting to discomfort and even fracture. Mechanical properties of Tarsals, Metatarsals, and phalanges are, therefore, the primary area of consideration for all such design applications. Hardness is one of the mechanical properties which are considered very important to establish the mechanical resistance behavior of a material against applied loads. Past researchers have worked in the areas of investigating mechanical properties of these bones. However, their results were based on a limited number of experiments and taking average values of hardness due to either limitation of samples or testing instruments. Therefore, they proposed further studies in this area. The present research has been carried out to develop a hardness map of the human foot by measuring micro hardness at various locations of these bones. Results are compiled in the form of distance from a reference point on a bone and the hardness values for each surface. The number of test results is far more than previous studies and are spread over a typical bone to give a complete hardness map of these bones. These results could also be used to establish other properties such as stress and strain distribution in the bones. Also, industrial engineers could use it for design and development of various accessories for human feet health care and comfort and further research in the same areas.

Keywords: tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges, hardness testing, biomechanics of human foot

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Authors: Aidan Battison, Neliswa Mama

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Environmental pollution by ionic species has been identified as one of the biggest challenges to the sustainable development of communities. The widespread use of organic and inorganic chemical products and the release of toxic chemical species from industrial waste have resulted in a need for advanced monitoring technologies for environment protection, remediation and restoration. Some of the disadvantages of conventional sensing methods include expensive instrumentation, well-controlled experimental conditions, time-consuming procedures and sometimes complicated sample preparation. On the contrary, the development of fluorescent chemosensors for biological and environmental detection of metal ions has attracted a great deal of attention due to their simplicity, high selectivity, eidetic recognition, rapid response and real-life monitoring. Coumarin derivatives S1 and S2 (Scheme 1) containing 1,2,3-triazole moieties at position -3- have been designed and synthesized from azide and alkyne derivatives by CuAAC “click” reactions for the detection of metal ions. These compounds displayed a strong preference for Fe3+ ions with complexation resulting in fluorescent quenching through photo-induced electron transfer (PET) by the “sphere of action” static quenching model. The tested metal ions included Cd2+, Pb2+, Ag+, Na+, Ca2+, Cr3+, Fe3+, Al3+, Cd2+, Ba2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Hg2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+. The detection limits of S1 and S2 were determined to be 4.1 and 5.1 uM, respectively. Compound S1 displayed the greatest selectivity towards Fe3+ in the presence of competing for metal cations. S1 could also be used for the detection of Fe3+ in a mixture of CH3CN/H¬2¬O. Binding stoichiometry between S1 and Fe3+ was determined by using both Jobs-plot and Benesi-Hildebrand analysis. The binding was shown to occur in a 1:1 ratio between the sensor and a metal cation. Reversibility studies between S1 and Fe3+ were conducted by using EDTA. The binding site of Fe3+ to S1 was determined by using 13 C NMR and Molecular Modelling studies. Complexation was suggested to occur between the lone-pair of electrons from the coumarin-carbonyl and the triazole-carbon double bond.

Keywords: chemosensor, "click" chemistry, coumarin, fluorescence, static quenching, triazole

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Authors: Raheleh Saifiabolhassan

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After the post-industrial era, when a wide variety of foods and drinks are readily available everywhere, the motive has shifted from meeting basic nutritional needs to enjoy the eating experience. Today, behavioral environmental studies are an essential branch of science when it comes to understanding, analyzing, and evaluating how humans react to the environment. Similarly, these studies explore customer-influencing factors and the effectiveness of restaurant designs. To facilitate a pleasant dining experience, the authors focused on acoustics, flexibility, and lighting. In this study, 2700 square feet of surface area was used to plan a restaurant (called Mesineh) based on behavioral science, considering many factors related to the interaction between the building and the users, such as flexibility and privacy, acoustics, and light. Environment psychology considerations in architectural design have been lacking for several decades. To fill this gap, the author evaluated environmental psychology standards and applied them to Mesineh's design. A sense of nostalgia will be felt by customers of the Mesineh restaurant thanks to its interior design, which combines historical elements with contemporary elements. Additionally, vernacular Persian architectural elements were incorporated into a modern context to fulfill the behavioral science component of interior design.

Keywords: Mesineh restaurant, interior design, behavioral sciences, environment psychology, traditional persian architecture

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Authors: E. Samain, T. Aussenac, D. van Tuinen, S. Selim

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Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria are known as potential biofertilizers and plant resistance inducers. The present work aims to study the durability of the resistance induced as a response to wheat seeds inoculation with PB2 and its influence by Z. tritici strains. The internal and external roots colonization have been determined in vitro, seven days post inoculation, by measuring the colony forming unit (CFU). In planta experimentations were done under controlled conditions included four wheat cultivars with different levels of resistance against Septoria Leaf Blotch (SLB) and four Z. tritici strains with high aggressiveness and resistance levels to fungicides. Plantlets were inoculated with PB2 at sowing and infected with Z. tritici at 3 leaves or tillering growth stages. The infection level with SLB was evaluated at 17 days post inoculation using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed that PB2 has a high potential of wheat root external colonization (> 10⁶ CFU/g of root). However, the internal colonization seems to be cultivar dependent. Indeed, PB2 has not been observed as endophytic for one cultivar but has a high level of internal colonization with more than 104 CFU/g of root concerning the three others. Two wheat cultivars (susceptible and moderated resistant) were used to investigate PB2-induced resistance (PB2-IR). After the first infection with Z. tritici, results showed that PB2-IR has conferred a high protection efficiency (40-90%) against SLB in the two tested cultivars. Whereas the PB2-IR was effective against all tested strains with the moderate resistant cultivar, it was higher with the susceptible cultivar (> 64%) but against three of the four tested strains. Concerning the durability of the PB2-IR, after the second infection timing, it has been observed a significant decrease (10-59%) depending strains in the moderate resistant cultivar. Contrarily, the susceptible cultivar showed a stable and high protection level (76-84%) but against three of the four tested strains and interestingly, the strain that overcame PB2-IR was not the same as that of the first infection timing. To conclude, PB2 induces a high and durable resistance against Z. tritici. The PB2-IR is pathogen strain, plant growth stage and genotype dependent. These results may explain the loss of the induced resistance effectiveness under field conditions.

Keywords: induced resistance, Paenibacillus sp. strain B2, wheat genotypes, Zymoseptoria tritici

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Authors: Su Ying-Ming

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High density of high rise buildings in urban areas lead to a deteriorative Urban Heat Island Effect, gradually. This study focuses on discussing the relationship between urban layout and ventilation comfort in street canyons. This study takes Songjiang Nanjing Rd. area of Taipei, Taiwan as an example to evaluate the wind environment comfort index by field measurement and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to improve both the quality and quantity of the environment. In this study, different factors including street blocks size, the width of buildings, street width ratio and the direction of the wind were used to discuss the potential of ventilation. The environmental wind field was measured by the environmental testing equipment, Testo 480. Evaluation of blocks sizes, the width of buildings, street width ratio and the direction of the wind was made under the condition of constant floor area with the help of Stimulation CFD to adjust research methods for optimizing regional wind environment. The results of this study showed the width of buildings influences the efficiency of outdoor ventilation; improvement of the efficiency of ventilation with large street width was also shown. The study found that Block width and H/D value and PR value has a close relationship. Furthermore, this study showed a significant relationship between the alteration of street block geometry and outdoor comfortableness.

Keywords: urban ventilation path, ventilation efficiency indices, CFD, building layout

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Authors: Sun Ailu, Zhao Wanmin

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In the process of rapid urbanization, old urban renewal is an important task in China's urban construction. This study, using status survey and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, taking Chongqing of China as an example, puts forward the problems faced by the old urban area from the aspects of function, facilities and environment. Further, this study summarizes the types of the old urban area and proposes space renewal strategies for three typical old urban areas, such as old residential area, old factory and old market. These old urban areas are confronted with the problems of functional layout confounding, lack of infrastructure and poor living environment. At last, this paper proposes spatial strategies for urban renewal, which are hoped to be useful for urban renewal management in China.

Keywords: old urban renewal, renewal mode, renewal strategy, Chongqing, China

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Authors: Majid Omidikhankahdani, Maryam Omidikhankahdani

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Chabahar city located southeast of Iran and is one of strategic regional port in Oman sea aim of this study was measuring Chabahar city resident perceptions about tourism positive and negative effect. 322 participants selected via random sampling and fill questionnaire about their attitude toward tourism economic, social cultural and environment positive and negative impact. the result showed perspective of resident tourism have more positive effect than negative effect, also pair sample t test showed significant difference between positive and negative effect of tourism in favor positive effect.

Keywords: tourism economic effect, tourism environment, residents attitude, tourism social-cultural

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Authors: F. S. Al-Anzi, M. Sarfraz, A. Elmi, A. R. Khan

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Researchers are responding to the environmental challenges of Kuwait in localized, innovative, effective and economic ways. One of the vital and significant examples of the natural challenges is lack or water and desertification. In this research, the project team focuses on redesigning a prototype, using Value Engineering Methodology, which would provide similar functionalities to the well-known technology of Waterboxx kits while reducing the capital and operational costs and simplifying the process of manufacturing and usability by regular farmers. The design employs used tires and recycled plastic sheets as raw materials. Hence, this approach is going to help not just fighting desertification but also helping in getting rid of ever growing huge tire dumpsters in Kuwait, as well as helping in avoiding hazards of tire fires yielding in a safer and friendlier environment. Several alternatives for implementing the prototype have been considered. The best alternative in terms of value has been selected after thorough Function Analysis System Technique (FAST) exercise has been developed. A prototype has been fabricated and tested in a controlled simulated lab environment that is being followed by real environment field testing. Water and soil analysis conducted on the site of the experiment to cross compare between the composition of the soil before and after the experiment to insure that the prototype being tested is actually going to be environment safe. Experimentation shows that the design was equally as effective as, and may exceed, the original design with significant savings in cost. An estimated total cost reduction using the VE approach of 43.84% over the original design. This cost reduction does not consider the intangible costs of environmental issue of waste recycling which many further intensify the total savings of using the alternative VE design. This case study shows that Value Engineering Methodology can be an important tool in innovating new designs for reducing costs.

Keywords: desertification, functional analysis, scrap tires, value engineering, waste recycling, water irrigation rationing

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Authors: Tripti Singhal, C. Tara Satyavathi, S. P. Singh, Aruna Kumar, Mukesh Sankar S., C. Bhardwaj, Mallik M., Jayant Bhat, N. Anuradha, Nirupma Singh

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Pearl millet is a climate-resilient nutritious crop. We report iron and zinc content QTLs from 3 divergent locations. The content of grain Fe in the RILs ranged between 36 and 114 mg/kg, and that of Zn from 20 to 106 mg/kg across the three years at over 3 locations (Delhi, Dharwad, and Jodhpur). We used SSRs to generate a linkage map using 210 F₆ RIL derived from the (PPMI 683 × PPMI 627) cross. The linkage map of 151 loci was 3403.6 cM in length. QTL analysis revealed a total of 22 QTLs for both traits at all locations. Inside QTLs, candidate genes were identified using bioinformatics approaches.

Keywords: yield, pearl millet, QTL mapping, multi-environment, RILs

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Authors: Sana El-Azzeh, Farraj Al-Ajmi, Abdulrahman Al-Aqqad, Mohamed Salem

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Thermal comfort is defined according to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 as a condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation. Sustaining this standard of thermal comfort for occupants of buildings or other enclosures is one of the important goals of HVAC design engineers. This paper presents a study of thermal comfort and adaptive behaviors of occupants who occupies two locations at the campus of the Australian College of Kuwait. A longitudinal survey and field measurement were conducted to measure thermal comfort, adaptive behaviors, and indoor environment qualities. The study revealed that female occupants in the selected locations felt warmer than males and needed more air velocity and lower temperature.

Keywords: indoor thermal comfort, educational facility, gender analysis, dry desert climate

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Authors: Sk Ajim Ali

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The present study is an attempt to overview on the major environmental and health impacts due to hazardous waste generation and poor management. In present scenario, not only hazardous waste, but as a common term ‘Waste’ is one of the acceptable and thinkable environmental issues. With excessive increasing population, industrialization and standardization of human’s life style heap in extra waste generation which is directly or indirectly related with hazardous waste generation. Urbanization and population growth are solely responsible for establishing industrial sector and generating various Hazardous Waste (HW) and concomitantly poor management practice arising adverse effect on environment and human health. As compare to other Indian state, West Bengal is not too much former in HW generation. West Bengal makes a rank of 7th in HW generation followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, U.P, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. During the last 30 years, the industrial sectors in W.B have quadrupled in size, during 1995 there were only 440 HW generating Units in West Bengal which produced 129826 MTA hazardous waste but in 2011, it rose up into 609 units and it produced about 259777 MTA hazardous waste. So, the notable thing is that during a 15 year interval there increased 169 waste generating units but it produced about 129951 MTA of hazardous waste. Major chemical industries are the main sources of HW and causes of adverse effect on the environment and human health. HW from industrial sectors contains heavy metals, cyanides, pesticides, complex aromatic compounds (i.e. PCB) and other chemical which are toxic, flammable, reactive, and corrosive and have explosive properties which highly affect the surrounding environment and human health in and around he disposal sites. The main objective of present study is to highlight on the sources and components of hazardous waste in West Bengal and impacts of improper HW management on health and environment. This study is carried out based on a secondary source of data and qualitative method of research. The secondary data has been collected annual report of WBPCB, WHO’s report, research paper, article, books and so on. It has been found that excessive HW generation from various sources and communities has serious health hazards that lead to the spreading of infectious disease and environmental change.

Keywords: environmental impacts, existing HW generation and management practice, hazardous waste (HW), health impacts, recommendation and planning

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Authors: Tuğçe Kök, Gözen Güner Aktaş, Nur Ayalp

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In a global world, Social and cultural sustainability are subjects which have gained significant importance in recent years. The concept of sustainability was included in the document of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) by World Charter for Nature, adopted in 1982 for the first time. However, merged with urban sustainability a new phenomenon has emerged. Sustainability is an essential fact, This fact is discussed via the socio-cultural field of sustainability. Together with central government and local authorities, conservation activities have been intensified on the protection of values on an area scale. Today, local authorities play an important role in the urban historic site rehabilitation and re-construction of traditional houses projects in Ankara, Turkey. Many conservative acts have occurred after 1980’s. To give a remarkable example about the conservation implementations of traditional Turkish houses is ‘Hamamönü, Ankara Re-Construction Project which is one of the historical parts that has suffered from deterioration and unplanned urban development. In this region, preexisting but unused historic fibre of the site has been revised and according to result of this case-study, the relationship between users and re-construction were discussed. Most of the houses were re-constructed in order to build a new tourist attraction area. This study discusses the socio-cultural relations between the new built environment and the visitors, from the point of cultural sustainability. This study questions the transmission of cultural stimulations. A case study was conducted to discuss the perception of cultural aspects of the visitors in the site. The relationship between the real cultural identities and existent ones after the re-constructed project, Which has been transmitted through the visitors and the users of those spaces will be discussed. The aim of the study is to analyze the relation between the cultural identities, which have been tried to be protected with the re-construction project and the users. The purposes of this study are to evaluate the implementations of Altındağ Municipality in Hamamönü and examine the socio-cultural sustainability with the user responses. After the assessment of implementation under socio-cultural sustainability, some proposals for the future of Hamamönü were introduced.

Keywords: social sustainability, cultural sustainability, Hamamönü, Turkey, re-construction

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Authors: Kathia Melbouci, Sylvie Naudet Collette, Vincent Gay-Bellile, Omar Ait-Aider, Michel Dhome

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In this paper, we handle the problem of real time localization and mapping in indoor environment assisted by a partial prior 3D model, using an RGBD sensor. The proposed solution relies on a feature-based RGBD SLAM algorithm to localize the camera and update the 3D map of the scene. To improve the accuracy and the robustness of the localization, we propose to combine in a local bundle adjustment process, geometric information provided by a prior coarse 3D model of the scene (e.g. generated from the 2D floor plan of the building) along with RGBD data from a Kinect camera. The proposed approach is evaluated on a public benchmark dataset as well as on real scene acquired by a Kinect sensor.

Keywords: SLAM, global localization, 3D sensor, bundle adjustment, 3D model

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Authors: Ehsan Kadkhodaie, Shahin Parvar, Soroush Senemar, Mostafa Shriat, Abdolrasoul Malekpour

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The role of oil in supra distribution transformers is so critical and, several standards in determining the quality of oil have been offered. So far, moisture, viscosity and insulation protection of the oil have been measured based on mechanical and chemical methods and systems such as kart fisher, falling ball and TDM 4000 that most of these techniques are destructive and have many problems such as pollution. In this study, due to the properties of oil and also physical behavior of ultrasound wave new method was designed to in the determination of oil indicators including viscosity and moisture. The results show the oil viscosity can be found from the relationship μ = 42.086/√EE and moisture from (PLUS+) = −15.65 (PPM) + 26040 relationship.

Keywords: oil, viscosity, moisture, ultrasonic waves

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Authors: Che Jusoh, Mohd Rahimi, Toby Mundel

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This study was designed to investigate the physiological and performance effects of a local Malaysian native starch (Metroxylin sago) on cycling in a hot (30°C) and humid (78% RH) environment. Eight male, non-heat acclimated, well-trained club cyclists (VO2max 65 ± 10 ml kg-1 min-1, peak aerobic power 397 ± 71 W) completed one familiarization and three experimental trials in our laboratory simulating cycling in environmental conditions of heat and humidity. Each trial consisted of 45 minutes at a fixed workload (55% VO2max) followed by a 15 minute time-trial (~75% VO2max). Sago in porridge form was consumed 1h before exercise (Pre), in gel form during exercise (Dur) and compared to a control trial (Con), using a random, cross-over design. Plasma glucose concentration did not differ between trials (P = 0.06) with an increase from 4.1 ± 0.6 to 6.1 ± 1.6 mmol-1 (Con), 4.8 ± 1.7 to 5.7 ± 0.4 mmol-1 (Pre) and 4.7 ± 0.8 to 6.9 ± 1.4 mmol-1 (Dur) from start to end of exercise. Plasma lactate increased (P = 0.02) from 1.6 ± 0.3 to 7.6 ± 2.2 mmol-1 (Con), 1.7 ± 0.5 to 7.3 ± 2.9 mmol-1 (Pre) and 1.6 ± 0.2 to 7.3 ± 1.8 mmol-1 (Dur) with no effect of trial (P = 0.74). No differences were found between trials for RER (P = 0.328) with values of 0.93 ± 0.05 (Con), 0.94 ± 0.04 (Pre) and 0.92 ± 0.04 (Dur). There were no differences between trials in rectal (P = 0.64) and skin (P = 0.56) temperatures; values reaching 39.1 ± 0.5°C (Con), 38.9 ± 0.4°C (Pre) and 39.1 ± 0.4°C (Dur) for rectal and 32.7 ± 1.2°C (Con), 32.8 ± 1.4°C (Pre) and 32.8 ± 1.8°C (Dur) for skin temperature, respectively. Heart rate (P = 0.07) also did not differ between trials but reached maximal values by the end of time-trial for all trials. Performance was unaffected by trial (P = 0.98) with the average work completed in 15 minutes being 221 ± 33 kJ (Con), 222 ± 31 kJ (Pre) and 219 ± 32 kJ (Dur), respectively. Therefore, the results of this investigation do not support consumption of sago, either before or during exercise, in altering the thermoregulatory, metabolic or performance responses in a hot and humid environment.

Keywords: hot and humid, physiology, time trial performance, thermoregulatory

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Authors: Olatunbosun Samuel Adekogbe

Abstract:

This paper addresses the question of musical signification, revolving around nature and its natural divides; the paper tends to examine the roles of the dispositional apparatus of listeners to react to sounding environments through music as coordinated sound that focuses on the powerful strain between vibrational occurrences of sound and potentials of being structured. This paper sets out to examine music as a simple conventional design that does not allude to something beyond music and sound as a vehicle to communicate through production, perception, translation, and reaction with regard to melodic and semiotic functions of sounds. This paper adopts the application of questionnaire and evolutionary approach methods to probe musical adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behavioural responses to musical sense-making beyond the above-sketched dichotomies, with a major focus on the transition from acoustic-emotional sensibilities to musical meaning in the selected soundscapes. It was observed that music has emancipated itself from the level of mere acoustic processing of sounds to a functional description in terms of allowing music users to share experiences and interact with the soundscaping environment. The paper, therefore, concludes that the audience as music participants and listeners in the selected soundscapes have been conceived as adaptive devices in the paradigm shift, which can build up new semiotic linkages with the sounding environments in southwestern Nigeria.

Keywords: semiotics, sound, music, soundscape, environment

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Authors: Nunik Junara, Sugeng Triyadi

Abstract:

Sustainable Housing in Islamic perspective, can be defined as a multi-dimensional process that seeks to achieve a balance between economic and socio-cultural aspects on the side, and environmental aspect on the other. There are many quotes verses in the Quran and Hadith that leads to the belief that Islam as a Rahmatan lil Alamin, where men are encouraged to act wisely in treating nature and all living things in it. One aspect of the natural environment that closed to human is plants. In the settlement, the availability of plants or also called green open space is highly recommended. The availability of green open space in the neighborhood, both the public and private green open spaces is expected to reduce the effects of global warming that has engulfed various parts of the world. Green open space that can be viewed from the angle of eco-aestetic and eco-medical in sustainable architecture, is expected to increase the temperature and provide aesthetic impression to the surrounding environment. This paper attempts to discuss the principles of Islamic values related to the natural environment as a major resource for sustainability. This paper also aims to raise awareness of the importance of the theme of sustainability in settlements, especially in big cities. Analysis of the availability of green open space in kampung Kauman Malang is one example of the effort to apply the principles of sustainable housing.

Keywords: green open space, sustainable housing, Islamic values, Kampung Kauman Malang

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Authors: Dimitra Riza

Abstract:

This paper examines different ways of exploring a city by using smart phones' applications while walking, and the way this new attitude will change our perception of the urban environment. By referring to various examples of such applications we will consider options and possibilities that open up with new technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as ways of experiencing and interpreting the urban environment. The widespread use of smart phones gave access to information, maps, knowledge, etc. at all times and places. The city tourism marketing takes advantage of this event and promotes the city's attractions through technology. Mobile mediated walking tours, provide new possibilities and modify the way we used to explore cities, for instance by giving directions proper to find easily destinations, by displaying our exact location on the map, by creating our own tours through picking points of interest and interconnecting them to create a route. These apps act as interactive ones, as they filter the user's interests, movements, etc. Discovering a city on foot and visiting interesting sites and landmarks, became very easy, and has been revolutionized through the help of navigational and other applications. In contrast to the re-invention of the city as suggested by the Baudelaire's Flâneur in the 19th century, or to the construction of situations by the Situationists in 60s, the new technological means do not allow people to "get lost", as these follow and record our moves. In the case of strolling or drifting around the city, the option of "getting lost" is desired, as the goal is not the "wayfinding" or the destination, but it is the experience of walking itself. Getting lost is not always about dislocation, but it is about getting a feeling, free of the urban environment while experiencing it. So, on the one hand, walking is considered to be a physical and embodied experience, as the observer becomes an actor and participates with all his senses in the city activities. On the other hand, the use of a screen turns out to become a disembodied experience of the urban environment, as we perceive it in a fragmented and distanced way. Relations with the city are similar to Alberti’s isolated viewer, detached from any urban stage. The smartphone, even if we are present, acts as a mediator: we interact directly with it and indirectly with the environment. Contrary to the Flaneur and to the Situationists, who discovered the city with their own bodies, today the body itself is being detached from that experience. While contemporary cities turn out to become more walkable, the new technological applications tend to open out all possibilities in order to explore them by suggesting multiple routes. Exploration becomes easier, but Perception changes.

Keywords: body, experience, mobile apps, walking

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Authors: Naime Boudemagh

Abstract:

In this work, we aim to improve the detection performances of radar systems. To this end, we propose and analyze a novel censoring technique of undesirable samples, of priori unknown positions, that may be present in the environment under investigation. Therefore, we consider heterogeneous backgrounds characterized by the presence of some irregularities such that clutter edge transitions and/or interfering targets. The proposed detector, termed automatic censoring constant false alarm (AC-CFAR), operates exclusively in a Gaussian background. It is built to allow the segmentation of the environment to regions and switch automatically to the appropriate detector; namely, the cell averaging CFAR (CA-CFAR), the censored mean level CFAR (CMLD-CFAR) or the order statistic CFAR (OS-CFAR). Monte Carlo simulations show that the AC-CFAR detector performs like the CA-CFAR in a homogeneous background. Moreover, the proposed processor exhibits considerable robustness in a heterogeneous background.

Keywords: CFAR, automatic censoring, heterogeneous environments, radar systems

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Authors: Sung-Uk Wee, Chang-Sung Seok, Jae-Mean Koo, Jeong-Min Lee

Abstract:

Gas turbine blade is important part of power plant, so it is necessary to evaluate gas turbine reliability. For better heat efficiency, inlet temperature of gas turbine has been elevated more and more so gas turbine blade is exposed to high-temperature environment. Then, higher inlet temperature affects mechanical behavior of the gas turbine blade, so it is necessary that evaluation of mechanical property of gas turbine blade at high-temperature environment. In this study, tensile test and fatigue test were performed at various high temperature, and fatigue life was predicted by Coffin-Manson equation at each temperature. The experimental results showed that gas turbine blade has a lower elastic modulus and shorter fatigue life at higher temperature.

Keywords: gas turbine blade, tensile test, fatigue life, stress-strain

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Authors: Ben Yahia Nouha, Harris Chris, Sebei Abdelaziz, Boussen Slim, Chaabani Fredj

Abstract:

The present work has set itself the objective of studying non-detritic siliceous rocks of the extreme northwest Tunisia. It aims to examine the origin and their sedimentary depositional environment based on mineralogical and geochemical characteristics. The different sections were located in the area of Babouch and the area of Tabarka. The collected samples were subjected to mineralogical and geochemical characterization using different analytical methods: X-ray diffraction (XRD), geochemical analysis (ICP- AES), isotopic geochemistry (δ18O), to assess their suitability for industrial use. X-ray powder diffraction of the pure siliceous rock indicates quartz as the major mineral, with the total lack of amorphous silica. Trace impurities, such as carbonate and clay minerals, are concealed in the analytical results. The petrographic examination revealed allowed us to deduce that this rock was deriving from tests of siliceous organisms (the radiolarians). The chemical composition shows that SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 represent the most abundant oxides. The other oxides are present in negligible quantities. Geochemical data support a biogenic and non-hydrothermal origin of babouchite silica. Oxygen isotopic has shown that babouchites were formed in an environment with a high temperature ranging from 56 °C to 73 °C.

Keywords: biogenic silica, babouchite formation, XRD, chemical analysis, oxygen isotopic, northwest tunisia

Procedia PDF Downloads 145