Search results for: chemical method
20581 Human Activities Damaging the Ecosystem of Isheri Ogun River, South West Nigeria
Authors: N. B. Ikenweiwe, A. A. Alimi, N. A. Bamidele, O. A. Ewumi, K. Fasina, S. O. Otubusin
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A study on the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the lower course of Ogun River, Isheri-Olofin was carried out between January and December 2014 in order to determine the effects of the anthropogenic activities of the Kara abattoir and domestic waste depositions on the quality of the water. Water samples were taken twice each month at three selected stations A, B and C (based on characteristic features or activity levels) along the water course. Samples were analysed using standard methods for chemical and biological parameters the same day in the laboratory while physical parameters were determined in-situ with water parameters kit. Generally, results of Transparency, Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrates, TDS and Alkalinity fall below the permissible limits of WHO and FEPA standards for drinking and fish production. Results of phosphates, lead and cadmium were also low but still within the permissible limit. Only Temperature and pH were within limit. Low plankton community, (phytoplankton, zooplankton), which ranges from 3, 5 to 40, 23 were as a result of low levels of DO, transparency and phosphate. The presence of coliform bacteria of public health importance like Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Aeromonas sp., Shigella sp, Enterobacter aerogenes as well as gram negative bacteria Proteus morganii are mainly indicators of faecal pollution. Fish and other resources obtained from this water stand the risk of being contaminated with these organisms and man is at the receiving end. The results of the physical, chemical and some biological parameters of Isheri, Ogun River, according to this study showed that the live forms of aquatic and fisheries resources there are dwelling under stress as a result of deposition of bones, horns, faecal components, slurry of suspended solids, fat and blood into the water. Government should therefore establish good monitoring system against illegal waste depositions and create education programmes that will enlighten the community on the social, ecological and economic values of the river.Keywords: damage, ecosystem, human activities, Isheri ogun river
Procedia PDF Downloads 54520580 Optimization of Processing Parameters of Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene Sheets Integrated by Taguchi Method
Authors: Fatemeh Sadat Miri, Morteza Ehsani, Seyed Farshid Hosseini
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The present research is concerned with the optimization of extrusion parameters of ABS sheets by the Taguchi experimental design method. In this design method, three parameters of % recycling ABS, processing temperature and degassing time on mechanical properties, hardness, HDT, and color matching of ABS sheets were investigated. The variations of this research are the dosage of recycling ABS, processing temperature, and degassing time. According to experimental test data, the highest level of tensile strength and HDT belongs to the sample with 5% recycling ABS, processing temperature of 230°C, and degassing time of 3 hours. Additionally, the minimum level of MFI and color matching belongs to this sample, too. The present results are in good agreement with the Taguchi method. Based on the outcomes of the Taguchi design method, degassing time has the most effect on the mechanical properties of ABS sheets.Keywords: ABS, process optimization, Taguchi, mechanical properties
Procedia PDF Downloads 7320579 Optimization Method of Dispersed Generation in Electrical Distribution Systems
Authors: Mahmoud Samkan
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Dispersed Generation (DG) is a promising solution to many power system problems such as voltage regulation and power loss. This paper proposes a heuristic two-step method to optimize the location and size of DG for reducing active power losses and, therefore, improve the voltage profile in radial distribution networks. In addition to a DG placed at the system load gravity center, this method consists in assigning a DG to each lateral of the network. After having determined the central DG placement, the location and size of each lateral DG are predetermined in the first step. The results are then refined in the second step. This method is tested for 33-bus system for 100% DG penetration. The results obtained are compared with those of other methods found in the literature.Keywords: optimal location, optimal size, dispersed generation (DG), radial distribution networks, reducing losses
Procedia PDF Downloads 44320578 Development of Extended Trapezoidal Method for Numerical Solution of Volterra Integro-Differential Equations
Authors: Fuziyah Ishak, Siti Norazura Ahmad
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Volterra integro-differential equations appear in many models for real life phenomena. Since analytical solutions for this type of differential equations are hard and at times impossible to attain, engineers and scientists resort to numerical solutions that can be made as accurately as possible. Conventionally, numerical methods for ordinary differential equations are adapted to solve Volterra integro-differential equations. In this paper, numerical solution for solving Volterra integro-differential equation using extended trapezoidal method is described. Formulae for the integral and differential parts of the equation are presented. Numerical results show that the extended method is suitable for solving first order Volterra integro-differential equations.Keywords: accuracy, extended trapezoidal method, numerical solution, Volterra integro-differential equations
Procedia PDF Downloads 42620577 Analysis of Bio-Oil Produced from Sugar Cane Bagasse Pyrolysis
Authors: D. S. Fardhyanti, M. Megawati, H. Prasetiawan, U. Mediaty
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Currently, fossil fuel is supplying most of world’s energy resources. However, fossil fuel resources are depleted rapidly and require an alternative energy to overcome the increasing of energy demands. Bio-oil is one of a promising alternative renewable energy resources which is converted from biomass through pyrolysis or fast pyrolysis process. Bio-oil is a dark liquid fuel, has a smelling smoke and usually obtained from sugar cane, wood, coconut shell and any other biomass. Sugar cane content analysis showed that the content of oligosaccharide, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin was 16.69%, 25.66%, 51.27% and 6.38% respectively. Sugar cane is a potential sources for bio-oil production shown by its high content of cellulose. In this study, production of bio-oil from sugar cane bagasse was investigated via fast pyrolysis reactor. Fast pyrolysis was carried out at 500 °C with a heating rate of 10 °C and 1 hour holding time at pyrolysis temperature. Physical properties and chemical composition of bio-oil were analyzed. The viscosity, density, calorific value and molecular weight of produced bio-oil was 3.12 cp, 2.78 g/cm3, 11,048.44 cals/g, and 222.67 respectively. The Bio-oil chemical composition was investigated using GC-MS. Percentage value of furfural, phenol, 3-methyl 1,2-cyclopentanedione, 5-methyl-3-methylene 5-hexen-2-one, 4-methyl phenol, 4-ethyl phenol, 1,2-benzenediol, and 2,6-dimethoxy phenol was 20.76%, 16.42%, 10.86%, 7.54%, 7.05%, 7.72%, 5.27% and 6.79% respectively.Keywords: bio-oil, pyrolysis, bagasse, sugar cane, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy
Procedia PDF Downloads 14320576 Matrix Method Posting
Authors: Varong Pongsai
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The objective of this paper is introducing a new method of accounting posting which is called Matrix Method Posting. This method is based on the Matrix operation of pure Mathematics. Although, accounting field is classified as one of the social-science knowledge, many of accounting operations are placed by Mathematics sign and operation. Through the operation applying, it seems to be that the operations of Mathematics should be applied to accounting possibly. So, this paper tries to over-lap Mathematics logic to accounting logic smoothly. According to the context of discovery, deductive approach is employed to prove a simultaneously logical concept of both Mathematics and Accounting. The result proves that the Matrix can be placed to operate accounting perfectly, because Matrix and accounting logic also have a similarity concept which is balancing 2 sides during operations. Moreover, the Matrix posting also has a lot of benefit. It can help financial analyst calculating financial ratios comfortably. Furthermore, the matrix determinant which is a signature operation itself also helps auditors checking out the correction of clients’ recording. If the determinant is not equaled to 0, it will point out that the recording process of clients getting into the problem. Finally, the Matrix should be easily determining a concept of merger and consolidation far beyond the present day concept.Keywords: matrix method posting, deductive approach, determinant, accounting application
Procedia PDF Downloads 36720575 Parameter Estimation of Induction Motors by PSO Algorithm
Authors: A. Mohammadi, S. Asghari, M. Aien, M. Rashidinejad
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After emergent of alternative current networks and their popularity, asynchronous motors became more widespread than other kinds of industrial motors. In order to control and run these motors efficiently, an accurate estimation of motor parameters is needed. There are different methods to obtain these parameters such as rotor locked test, no load test, DC test, analytical methods, and so on. The most common drawback of these methods is their inaccuracy in estimation of some motor parameters. In order to remove this concern, a novel method for parameter estimation of induction motors using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed. In the proposed method, transient state of motor is used for parameter estimation. Comparison of the simulation results purtuined to the PSO algorithm with other available methods justifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.Keywords: induction motor, motor parameter estimation, PSO algorithm, analytical method
Procedia PDF Downloads 63320574 Combined Safety and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for Intelligent Distributed Grids
Authors: Anders Thorsén, Behrooz Sangchoolie, Peter Folkesson, Ted Strandberg
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As more parts of the power grid become connected to the internet, the risk of cyberattacks increases. To identify the cybersecurity threats and subsequently reduce vulnerabilities, the common practice is to carry out a cybersecurity risk assessment. For safety classified systems and products, there is also a need for safety risk assessments in addition to the cybersecurity risk assessment in order to identify and reduce safety risks. These two risk assessments are usually done separately, but since cybersecurity and functional safety are often related, a more comprehensive method covering both aspects is needed. Some work addressing this has been done for specific domains like the automotive domain, but more general methods suitable for, e.g., intelligent distributed grids, are still missing. One such method from the automotive domain is the Security-Aware Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (SAHARA) method that combines safety and cybersecurity risk assessments. This paper presents an approach where the SAHARA method has been modified in order to be more suitable for larger distributed systems. The adapted SAHARA method has a more general risk assessment approach than the original SAHARA. The proposed method has been successfully applied on two use cases of an intelligent distributed grid.Keywords: intelligent distribution grids, threat analysis, risk assessment, safety, cybersecurity
Procedia PDF Downloads 15320573 Heavy Metal Distribution in Tissues of Two Commercially Important Fish Species, Euryglossa orientalis and Psettodes erumei
Authors: Reza Khoshnood, Zahra Khoshnood, Ali Hajinajaf, Farzad Fahim, Behdokht Hajinajaf, Farhad Fahim
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In 2013, 24 fish samples were taken from two fishery regions in Bandar-Abbas and Bandar-Lengeh, the fishing grounds north of Hormoz Strait (Persian Gulf) near the Iranian coastline. The two flat fishes were oriental sole (Euryglossa orientalis) and deep flounder (Psettodes erumei). Using the ROPME method (MOOPAM) for chemical digestion, Cd concentration was measured with a nonflame atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique. The average concentration of Cd in the edible muscle tissue of deep flounder was measured in Bandar-Abbas and was found to be 0.15±.06 µg g-1. It was 0.1±.05 µg.g-1 in Bandar-Lengeh. The corresponding values for oriental sole were 0.2±0.13 and 0.13±0.11 µg.g-1. The average concentration of Cd in the liver tissue of deep flounder in Bandar-Abbas was 0.22±.05 µg g-1 and that in Bandar-Lengeh was 0.2±0.04 µg.g-1. The values for oriental sole were 0.31±0.09 and 0.24±0.13 µg g-1 in Bandar-Abbas and Bandar-Lengeh, respectively.Keywords: trace metal, Euryglossa orientalis, Psettodes erumei, Persian Gulf
Procedia PDF Downloads 66920572 Cosmetic Recommendation Approach Using Machine Learning
Authors: Shakila N. Senarath, Dinesh Asanka, Janaka Wijayanayake
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The necessity of cosmetic products is arising to fulfill consumer needs of personality appearance and hygiene. A cosmetic product consists of various chemical ingredients which may help to keep the skin healthy or may lead to damages. Every chemical ingredient in a cosmetic product does not perform on every human. The most appropriate way to select a healthy cosmetic product is to identify the texture of the body first and select the most suitable product with safe ingredients. Therefore, the selection process of cosmetic products is complicated. Consumer surveys have shown most of the time, the selection process of cosmetic products is done in an improper way by consumers. From this study, a content-based system is suggested that recommends cosmetic products for the human factors. To such an extent, the skin type, gender and price range will be considered as human factors. The proposed system will be implemented by using Machine Learning. Consumer skin type, gender and price range will be taken as inputs to the system. The skin type of consumer will be derived by using the Baumann Skin Type Questionnaire, which is a value-based approach that includes several numbers of questions to derive the user’s skin type to one of the 16 skin types according to the Bauman Skin Type indicator (BSTI). Two datasets are collected for further research proceedings. The user data set was collected using a questionnaire given to the public. Those are the user dataset and the cosmetic dataset. Product details are included in the cosmetic dataset, which belongs to 5 different kinds of product categories (Moisturizer, Cleanser, Sun protector, Face Mask, Eye Cream). An alternate approach of TF-IDF (Term Frequency – Inverse Document Frequency) is applied to vectorize cosmetic ingredients in the generic cosmetic products dataset and user-preferred dataset. Using the IF-IPF vectors, each user-preferred products dataset and generic cosmetic products dataset can be represented as sparse vectors. The similarity between each user-preferred product and generic cosmetic product will be calculated using the cosine similarity method. For the recommendation process, a similarity matrix can be used. Higher the similarity, higher the match for consumer. Sorting a user column from similarity matrix in a descending order, the recommended products can be retrieved in ascending order. Even though results return a list of similar products, and since the user information has been gathered, such as gender and the price ranges for product purchasing, further optimization can be done by considering and giving weights for those parameters once after a set of recommended products for a user has been retrieved.Keywords: content-based filtering, cosmetics, machine learning, recommendation system
Procedia PDF Downloads 13420571 Numerical Simulation of Fluid Structure Interaction Using Two-Way Method
Authors: Samira Laidaoui, Mohammed Djermane, Nazihe Terfaya
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The fluid-structure coupling is a natural phenomenon which reflects the effects of two continuums: fluid and structure of different types in the reciprocal action on each other, involving knowledge of elasticity and fluid mechanics. The solution for such problems is based on the relations of continuum mechanics and is mostly solved with numerical methods. It is a computational challenge to solve such problems because of the complex geometries, intricate physics of fluids, and complicated fluid-structure interactions. The way in which the interaction between fluid and solid is described gives the largest opportunity for reducing the computational effort. In this paper, a problem of fluid structure interaction is investigated with two-way coupling method. The formulation Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) was used, by considering a dynamic grid, where the solid is described by a Lagrangian formulation and the fluid by a Eulerian formulation. The simulation was made on the ANSYS software.Keywords: ALE, coupling, FEM, fluid-structure, interaction, one-way method, two-way method
Procedia PDF Downloads 67820570 Non Chemical-Based Natural Products in the Treatment and Control of Fish Diseases
Authors: Albert P. Ekanem, Austin I. Obiekezie, Elizabeth X. Ntia
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Introduction: Some African plants and bile from animals have shown efficacies in the treatment and control of diseases in farmed fish. The background of the study is based on the fact the African rain forest is blessed with abundance of medicinal plants that should be investigated for their use in the treatment of diseases. The significance of the study is informed by the fact that chemical-based substances accumulates in the tissues of food fish, thereby reducing the food values of such products and moreover, the continuous use of chemotherapeutants in the aquatic environments tends to degrades the affected environment. Methodology: Plants and animal products were extracted, purified and applied under in vitro and in vivo conditions to the affected organisms. Effective plants and biles were analyzed for active biological substances responsible for the activities by both qualitative and HPLC methods. Results: Extracts of Carica papaya and Mucuna pruriens were effective in the treatment of Ichthyophthiriasis in goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) with high host tolerance. Similarly, ectoparasitic monogeneans were effectively dislodged from the gills and skin of goldfish by the application of extracts of Piper guineense at therapeutic concentrations. Artemesia annua with known antimalarial activities in human was also effective against fish monogenean parasites of Clarias gariepinus in a concentration related manner without detriments to the host. Effective antibacterial activities against Aeromonas and Pseudomonas diseases of the African catfish (Heterobranchus longifilis) were demonstrated in some plants such as Phylanthus amarus, Allium sativum, A. annua, and Citrus lemon. Bile from some animals (fish, goat, chicken, cow, and pig) showed great antibacterial activities against some gastrointestinal bacterial pathogens of fish. Conclusions: African plants and some animal bile have shown potential promise in the treatment of diseases in fish and other aquatic animals. The use of chemical-based substances for control of diseases in the aquatic environments should be restricted.Keywords: control, diseases, fish, natural products, treatment
Procedia PDF Downloads 52420569 A Task Scheduling Algorithm in Cloud Computing
Authors: Ali Bagherinia
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Efficient task scheduling method can meet users' requirements, and improve the resource utilization, then increase the overall performance of the cloud computing environment. Cloud computing has new features, such as flexibility, virtualization and etc., in this paper we propose a two levels task scheduling method based on load balancing in cloud computing. This task scheduling method meet user's requirements and get high resource utilization, that simulation results in CloudSim simulator prove this.Keywords: cloud computing, task scheduling, virtualization, SLA
Procedia PDF Downloads 40120568 Integration of the Electro-Activation Technology for Soy Meal Valorization
Authors: Natela Gerliani, Mohammed Aider
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Nowadays, the interest of using sustainable technologies for protein extraction from underutilized oilseeds is growing. Currently, a major disposal problem for the oil industry is by-products of plant food processing such as soybean meal. That is why valorization of soybean meal is important for the oil industry since it contains high-quality proteins and other valuable components. Generally, soybean meal is used in livestock and poultry feed but is rarely used in human feed. Though chemical composition of this meal compensate nutritional deficiency and can be used to balance protein in human food. Regarding the efficiency of soybean meal valorization, extraction is a key process for obtaining enriched protein ingredient, which can be incorporated into the food matrix. However, most of the food components such as proteins extracted from oilseeds by-products imply the utilization of organic and inorganic chemicals (e.g. acids, bases, TCA-acetone) having a significant environmental impact. In a context of sustainable production, the use of an electro-activation technology seems to be a good alternative. Indeed, the electro-activation technology requires only water, food grade salt and electricity as main materials. Moreover, this innovative technology helps to avoid special equipment and trainings for workers safety as well as transport and storage of hazardous materials. Electro-activation is a technology based on applied electrochemistry for the generation of acidic and alkaline solutions on the basis of the oxidation-reduction reactions that occur at the vicinity electrode/solution interfaces. It is an eco-friendly process that can be used to replace the conventional acidic and alkaline extraction. In this research, the electro-activation technology for protein extraction from soybean meal was carried out in the electro-activation reactor. This reactor consists of three compartments separated by cation and anion exchange membranes that allow creating non-contacting acidic and basic solutions. Different current intensities (150 mA, 300 mA and 450 mA) and treatment durations (10 min, 30 min and 50 min) were tested. The results showed that the extracts obtained by the electro-activation method have good quality in comparison to conventional extracts. For instance, extractability obtained with electro-activation method was 55% whereas with the conventional method it was only 36%. Moreover, a maximum protein quantity of 48 % in the extract was obtained with the electro-activation technology comparing to the maximum amount of protein obtained by conventional extraction of 41 %. Hence, the environmentally sustainable electro-activation technology seems to be a promising type of protein extraction that can replace conventional extraction technology.Keywords: by-products, eco-friendly technology, electro-activation, soybean meal
Procedia PDF Downloads 22820567 Hybrid Feature Selection Method for Sentiment Classification of Movie Reviews
Authors: Vishnu Goyal, Basant Agarwal
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Sentiment analysis research provides methods for identifying the people’s opinion written in blogs, reviews, social networking websites etc. Sentiment analysis is to understand what opinion people have about any given entity, object or thing. Sentiment analysis research can be broadly categorised into three types of approaches i.e. semantic orientation, machine learning and lexicon based approaches. Feature selection methods improve the performance of the machine learning algorithms by eliminating the irrelevant features. Information gain feature selection method has been considered best method for sentiment analysis; however, it has the drawback of selection of threshold. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a hybrid feature selection methods comprising of information gain and proposed feature selection method. Initially, features are selected using Information Gain (IG) and further more noisy features are eliminated using the proposed feature selection method. Experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed feature selection methods.Keywords: feature selection, sentiment analysis, hybrid feature selection
Procedia PDF Downloads 34020566 Dissimilarity-Based Coloring for Symbolic and Multivariate Data Visualization
Authors: K. Umbleja, M. Ichino, H. Yaguchi
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In this paper, we propose a coloring method for multivariate data visualization by using parallel coordinates based on dissimilarity and tree structure information gathered during hierarchical clustering. The proposed method is an extension for proximity-based coloring that suffers from a few undesired side effects if hierarchical tree structure is not balanced tree. We describe the algorithm by assigning colors based on dissimilarity information, show the application of proposed method on three commonly used datasets, and compare the results with proximity-based coloring. We found our proposed method to be especially beneficial for symbolic data visualization where many individual objects have already been aggregated into a single symbolic object.Keywords: data visualization, dissimilarity-based coloring, proximity-based coloring, symbolic data
Procedia PDF Downloads 17020565 Study of the Phenomenon Nature of Order and Disorder in BaMn(Fe/V)F7 Fluoride Glass by the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo Method
Authors: Sidi Mohamed Mesli, Mohamed Habchi, Mohamed Kotbi, Rafik Benallal, Abdelali Derouiche
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Fluoride glasses with a nominal composition of BaMnMF7 (M = FeV assuming isomorphous replacement) have been structurally modelled through the simultaneous simulation of their neutron diffraction patterns by a reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) model and by a Rietveld for disordered materials (RDM) method. Model is consistent with an expected network of interconnected [MF6] polyhedra. The RMC results are accompanied by artificial satellite peaks. To remedy this problem, we use an extension of the RMC algorithm, which introduces an energy penalty term in acceptance criteria. This method is called the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC) method. The idea of this paper is to apply the (HRMC) method to the title glasses, in order to make a study of the phenomenon nature of order and disorder by displaying and discussing the partial pair distribution functions (PDFs) g(r). We suggest that this method can be used to describe average correlations between components of fluoride glass or similar system.Keywords: fluoride glasses, RMC simulation, neutron scattering, hybrid RMC simulation, Lennard-Jones potential, partial pair distribution functions
Procedia PDF Downloads 53420564 Assessment of Five Photoplethysmographic Methods for Estimating Heart Rate Variability
Authors: Akshay B. Pawar, Rohit Y. Parasnis
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Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a widely used indicator of the regulation between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the cardiovascular system. Besides being non-invasive, it also has the potential to predict mortality in cases involving critical injuries. The gold standard method for determining HRV is based on the analysis of RR interval time series extracted from ECG signals. However, because it is much more convenient to obtain photoplethysmogramic (PPG) signals as compared to ECG signals (which require the attachment of several electrodes to the body), many researchers have used pulse cycle intervals instead of RR intervals to estimate HRV. They have also compared this method with the gold standard technique. Though most of their observations indicate a strong correlation between the two methods, recent studies show that in healthy subjects, except for a few parameters, the pulse-based method cannot be a surrogate for the standard RR interval- based method. Moreover, the former tends to overestimate short-term variability in heart rate. This calls for improvements in or alternatives to the pulse-cycle interval method. In this study, besides the systolic peak-peak interval method (PP method) that has been studied several times, four recent PPG-based techniques, namely the first derivative peak-peak interval method (P1D method), the second derivative peak-peak interval method (P2D method), the valley-valley interval method (VV method) and the tangent-intersection interval method (TI method) were compared with the gold standard technique. ECG and PPG signals were obtained from 10 young and healthy adults (consisting of both males and females) seated in the armchair position. In order to de-noise these signals and eliminate baseline drift, they were passed through certain digital filters. After filtering, the following HRV parameters were computed from PPG using each of the five methods and also from ECG using the gold standard method: time domain parameters (SDNN, pNN50 and RMSSD), frequency domain parameters (Very low-frequency power (VLF), Low-frequency power (LF), High-frequency power (HF) and Total power or “TP”). Besides, Poincaré plots were also plotted and their SD1/SD2 ratios determined. The resulting sets of parameters were compared with those yielded by the standard method using measures of statistical correlation (correlation coefficient) as well as statistical agreement (Bland-Altman plots). From the viewpoint of correlation, our results show that the best PPG-based methods for the determination of most parameters and Poincaré plots are the P2D method (shows more than 93% correlation with the standard method) and the PP method (mean correlation: 88%) whereas the TI, VV and P1D methods perform poorly (<70% correlation in most cases). However, our evaluation of statistical agreement using Bland-Altman plots shows that none of the five techniques agrees satisfactorily well with the gold standard method as far as time-domain parameters are concerned. In conclusion, excellent statistical correlation implies that certain PPG-based methods provide a good amount of information on the pattern of heart rate variation, whereas poor statistical agreement implies that PPG cannot completely replace ECG in the determination of HRV.Keywords: photoplethysmography, heart rate variability, correlation coefficient, Bland-Altman plot
Procedia PDF Downloads 32420563 Assessement of Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activity of Lavandula antineae Maire from Algeria
Authors: Soumeya Krimat, Tahar Dob, Mohamed Toumi, Aicha Kesouri, Hafidha Metidji, Chelghoum Chabane
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Lavandula antineae Maire is an endemic medicinal plant of Algeria which is traditionally used for the treatment of chills, bruises, oedema and rheumatism. The present study was designed to investigate the phytochemical screening, total phenolic and antioxidant activity of Lavandula antineae Maire for the first time. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of different kind of chemical groups (anthraquinones, terpenes, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, O-heterosides, C-heterosides, phenolic acids). The amounts of total phenolics in the extracts (hydromethanolic and ethyl acetate extract) were determined spectrometrically. From the analyses, ethyl acetate extract had the highest total phenolic content (262.35 mg GA/g extract) and antioxidant activity (IC50=7.10 µg/ml) using DPPH method. The ethyl acetate extract was also more potent on reducing power compared to hydromethanolic extract. The results suggested that L. antineae could be considered as a new potential source of natural antioxidant for pharmaceuticals and food preservation.Keywords: Lavandula antineae, antioxidant activity, phytochemical screening, total phenolics
Procedia PDF Downloads 52120562 Loudspeaker Parameters Inverse Problem for Improving Sound Frequency Response Simulation
Authors: Y. T. Tsai, Jin H. Huang
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The sound pressure level (SPL) of the moving-coil loudspeaker (MCL) is often simulated and analyzed using the lumped parameter model. However, the SPL of a MCL cannot be simulated precisely in the high frequency region, because the value of cone effective area is changed due to the geometry variation in different mode shapes, it is also related to affect the acoustic radiation mass and resistance. Herein, the paper presents the inverse method which has a high ability to measure the value of cone effective area in various frequency points, also can estimate the MCL electroacoustic parameters simultaneously. The proposed inverse method comprises the direct problem, adjoint problem, and sensitivity problem in collaboration with nonlinear conjugate gradient method. Estimated values from the inverse method are validated experimentally which compared with the measured SPL curve result. Results presented in this paper not only improve the accuracy of lumped parameter model but also provide the valuable information on loudspeaker cone design.Keywords: inverse problem, cone effective area, loudspeaker, nonlinear conjugate gradient method
Procedia PDF Downloads 30320561 Effects of Analogy Method on Children's Learning: Practice of Rainbow Experiments
Authors: Hediye Saglam
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This research has been carried out to bring in the 6 acquisitions in the 2014 Preschool Teaching Programme of the Turkish Ministry of Education through the method of analogy. This research is practiced based on the experimental pattern with pre-test and final test controlling groups. The working group of the study covers the group between 5-6 ages. The study takes 5 weeks including the 2 weeks spent for pre-test and the final test. It is conducted with the preschool teacher who gives the lesson along with the researcher in the in-class and out-of-class rainbow experiments of the students for 5 weeks. 'One Sample T Test' is used for the evaluation of the pre-test and final test. SPSS 17 programme is applied for the analysis of the data. Results: As an outcome of the study it is observed that analogy method affects children’s learning of the rainbow. For this very reason teachers should receive inservice training for different methods and techniques like analogy. This method should be included in preschool education programme and should be applied by teachers more often.Keywords: acquisitions of preschool education programme, analogy method, pre-test/final test, rainbow experiments
Procedia PDF Downloads 50520560 Context-Aware Alert Method in Hajj Pilgrim Location-Based Tracking System
Authors: Syarif Hidayat
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As millions of people with different backgrounds perform hajj every year in Saudi Arabia, it brings out several problems. Missing people is among many crucial problems need to be encountered. Some people might have had insufficient knowledge of using tracking system equipment. Other might become a victim of an accident, lose consciousness, or even died, prohibiting them to perform certain activity. For those reasons, people could not send proper SOS message. The major contribution of this paper is the application of the diverse alert method in pilgrims tracking system. It offers a simple yet robust solution to send SOS message by pilgrims during Hajj. Knowledge of context aware computing is assumed herein. This study presents four methods that could be utilized by pilgrims to send SOS. The first method is simple mobile application contains only a button. The second method is based on behavior analysis based off GPS location movement anomaly. The third method is by introducing pressing pattern to smartwatch physical button as a panic button. The fourth method is by identifying certain accelerometer pattern recognition as a sign of emergency situations. Presented method in this paper would be an important part of pilgrims tracking system. The discussion provided here includes easy to use design whilst maintaining tracking accuracy, privacy, and security of its users.Keywords: context aware computing, emergency alert system, GPS, hajj pilgrim tracking, location-based services
Procedia PDF Downloads 21620559 Superchaotropicity: Grafted Surface to Probe the Adsorption of Nano-Ions
Authors: Raimoana Frogier, Luc Girard, Pierre Bauduin, Diane Rebiscoul, Olivier Diat
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Nano-ions (NIs) are ionic species or clusters of nanometric size. Their low charge density and the delocalization of their charges give special properties to some of NIs belonging to chemical classes of polyoxometalates (POMs) or boron clusters. They have the particularity of interacting non-covalently with neutral hydrated surface or interfaces such as assemblies of surface-active molecules (micelles, vesicles, lyotropic liquid crystals), foam bubbles or emulsion droplets. This makes possible to classify those NIs in the Hofmeister series as superchaotropic ions. The mechanism of adsorption is complex, linked to the simultaneous dehydration of the ion and the molecule or supramolecular assembly with which it can interact, all with an enthalpic gain on the free energy of the system. This interaction process is reversible and is sufficiently pronounced to induce changes in molecular and supramolecular shape or conformation, phase transitions in the liquid phase, all at sub-millimolar ionic concentrations. This new property of some NIs opens up new possibilities for applications in fields as varied as biochemistry for solubilization, recovery of metals of interest by foams in the form of NIs... In order to better understand the physico-chemical mechanisms at the origin of this interaction, we use silicon wafers functionalized by non-ionic oligomers (polyethylene glycol chains or PEG) to study in situ by X-ray reflectivity this interaction of NIs with the grafted chains. This study carried out at ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) and has shown that the adsorption of the NIs, such as POMs, has a very fast kinetics. Moreover the distribution of the NIs in the grafted PEG chain layer was quantify. These results are very encouraging and confirm what has been observed on soft interfaces such as micelles or foams. The possibility to play on the density, length and chemical nature of the grafted chains makes this system an ideal tool to provide kinetic and thermodynamic information to decipher the complex mechanisms at the origin of this adsorption.Keywords: adsorption, nano-ions, solid-liquid interface, superchaotropicity
Procedia PDF Downloads 6720558 Chemical Characterization of Octopus Vulgaris Ink and Evaluation of its in-vitro Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Anti-Schistosomicidal Activities
Authors: Salwa A. H. Hamdi, Maha A. M. El-Shazly, Mona Fathi Fol, Hanan S. Mossalem, Mosad A. Ghareeb, Amina M. Ibrahim
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One of the most distinctive and defining features of cephalopods squid, cuttlefish, and Octopus is their inking behavior. Their ink, which is blackened by melanin but also contains other constituents, has been used by humans in various ways for millennia. The present study aims to investigate the chemical profiling of the Octopus vulgaris ink extract and to evaluate its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-schistosomal activities. The present results showed that GC-MS examination of Octopus vulgaris ink comprises 21 compounds. The main detected compounds are (E)-1, 2, 3, 4-Tetra (4-phenylphenyl)-2-butene-1,4-dione, Lipo-3-episapelin A, and 5,10-Dihexyltetrabenzoporphyrin. Results showed that the octopus ink had antioxidant capacity and the capability to mask DPPH free radicals in comparison with ascorbic acid. Octopus Vulgaris ink extract had inhibitory action against three gram-positive bacteria, Streptococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis, and three gram-negative bacteria, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeuroginosa. Additionally, the extracted ink revealed antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus and yeast as Candida albicans. The obtained data indicated the effectiveness of ink extract in pharmaceutical industries as an antioxidant, antimicrobial and antischistosomicidalKeywords: antimicrobial, antioxidant, ink, octopus vulgaris
Procedia PDF Downloads 9520557 Analysis and Simulation of TM Fields in Waveguides with Arbitrary Cross-Section Shapes by Means of Evolutionary Equations of Time-Domain Electromagnetic Theory
Authors: Ömer Aktaş, Olga A. Suvorova, Oleg Tretyakov
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The boundary value problem on non-canonical and arbitrary shaped contour is solved with a numerically effective method called Analytical Regularization Method (ARM) to calculate propagation parameters. As a result of regularization, the equation of first kind is reduced to the infinite system of the linear algebraic equations of the second kind in the space of L2. This equation can be solved numerically for desired accuracy by using truncation method. The parameters as cut-off wavenumber and cut-off frequency are used in waveguide evolutionary equations of electromagnetic theory in time-domain to illustrate the real-valued TM fields with lossy and lossless media.Keywords: analytical regularization method, electromagnetic theory evolutionary equations of time-domain, TM Field
Procedia PDF Downloads 50120556 Numerical Method for Fin Profile Optimization
Authors: Beghdadi Lotfi
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In the present work a numerical method is proposed in order to optimize the thermal performance of finned surfaces. The bidimensional temperature distribution on the longitudinal section of the fin is calculated by restoring to the finite volumes method. The heat flux dissipated by a generic profile fin is compared with the heat flux removed by the rectangular profile fin with the same length and volume. In this study, it is shown that a finite volume method for quadrilaterals unstructured mesh is developed to predict the two dimensional steady-state solutions of conduction equation, in order to determine the sinusoidal parameter values which optimize the fin effectiveness. In this scheme, based on the integration around the polygonal control volume, the derivatives of conduction equation must be converted into closed line integrals using same formulation of the Stokes theorem. The numerical results show good agreement with analytical results. To demonstrate the accuracy of the method, the absolute and root-mean square errors versus the grid size are examined quantitatively.Keywords: Stokes theorem, unstructured grid, heat transfer, complex geometry, effectiveness
Procedia PDF Downloads 26820555 Synthesis of 5-Substituted 1H-Tetrazoles in Deep Eutectic Solvent
Authors: Swapnil A. Padvi, Dipak S. Dalal
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The chemistry of tetrazoles has been grown tremendously in the past few years because tetrazoles are important and useful class of heterocyclic compounds which have a widespread application such as anticancer, antimicrobial, analgesics, antibacterial, antifungal, antihypertensive, and anti-allergic drugs in medicinal chemistry. Furthermore, tetrazoles have application in material sciences as explosives, rocket propellants, and in information recording systems. In addition to this, they have a wide range of application in coordination chemistry as a ligand. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have emerged over the current decade as a novel class of green reaction media and applied in various fields of sciences because of their unique physical and chemical properties similar to the ionic liquids such as low vapor pressure, non-volatility, high thermal stability and recyclability. In addition, the reactants of DES are cheaply available, low-toxic, and biodegradable, which makes them predominantly required for large-scale applications effectively in industrial production. Herein we report the [2+3] cycloaddition reaction of organic nitriles with sodium azide affords the corresponding 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles in six different types of choline chloride based deep eutectic solvents under mild reaction condition. Choline chloride: ZnCl2 (1:2) showed the best results for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1 H-tetrazoles. This method reduces the disadvantages such as: the use of toxic metals and expensive reagents, drastic reaction conditions and the presence of dangerous hydrazoic acid. The approach provides environment-friendly, short reaction times, good to excellent yields; safe process and simple workup make this method an attractive and useful contribution to present green organic synthesis of 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles. All synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectroscopy. DES can be recovered and reused three times with very little loss in activity.Keywords: click chemistry, choline chloride, green chemistry, deep eutectic solvent, tetrazoles
Procedia PDF Downloads 23120554 Reliability of the Estimate of Earthwork Quantity Based on 3D-BIM
Authors: Jaechoul Shin, Juhwan Hwang
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In case of applying the BIM method to the civil engineering in the area of free formed structure, we can expect comparatively high rate of construction productivity as it is in the building engineering area. In this research, we developed quantity calculation error applying it to earthwork and bridge construction (e.g. PSC-I type segmental girder bridge amd integrated bridge of steel I-girders and inverted-Tee bent cap), NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method) tunnel construction, retaining wall construction, culvert construction and implemented BIM based 3D modeling quantity survey. we confirmed high reliability of the BIM-based method in structure work in which errors occurred in range between -6% ~ +5%. Especially, understanding of the problem and improvement of the existing 2D-CAD based of quantity calculation through rock type quantity calculation error in range of -14% ~ +13% of earthwork quantity calculation. It is benefit and applicability of BIM method in civil engineering. In addition, routine method for quantity of earthwork has the same error tolerance negligible for that of structure work. But, rock type's quantity calculated as the error appears significantly to the reliability of 2D-based volume calculation shows that the problem could be. Through the estimating quantity of earthwork based 3D-BIM, proposed method has better reliability than routine method. BIM, as well as the design, construction, maintenance levels of information when you consider the benefits of integration, the introduction of BIM design in civil engineering and the possibility of applying for the effectiveness was confirmed.Keywords: BIM, 3D modeling, 3D-BIM, quantity of earthwork
Procedia PDF Downloads 44220553 Method of Parameter Calibration for Error Term in Stochastic User Equilibrium Traffic Assignment Model
Authors: Xiang Zhang, David Rey, S. Travis Waller
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Stochastic User Equilibrium (SUE) model is a widely used traffic assignment model in transportation planning, which is regarded more advanced than Deterministic User Equilibrium (DUE) model. However, a problem exists that the performance of the SUE model depends on its error term parameter. The objective of this paper is to propose a systematic method of determining the appropriate error term parameter value for the SUE model. First, the significance of the parameter is explored through a numerical example. Second, the parameter calibration method is developed based on the Logit-based route choice model. The calibration process is realized through multiple nonlinear regression, using sequential quadratic programming combined with least square method. Finally, case analysis is conducted to demonstrate the application of the calibration process and validate the better performance of the SUE model calibrated by the proposed method compared to the SUE models under other parameter values and the DUE model.Keywords: parameter calibration, sequential quadratic programming, stochastic user equilibrium, traffic assignment, transportation planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 29920552 Fuzzy Gauge Capability (Cg and Cgk) through Buckley Approach
Authors: Seyed Habib A. Rahmati, Mohsen Sadegh Amalnick
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Different terms of the statistical process control (SPC) has sketch in the fuzzy environment. However, measurement system analysis (MSA), as a main branch of the SPC, is rarely investigated in fuzzy area. This procedure assesses the suitability of the data to be used in later stages or decisions of the SPC. Therefore, this research focuses on some important measures of MSA and through a new method introduces the measures in fuzzy environment. In this method, which works based on Buckley approach, imprecision and vagueness nature of the real world measurement are considered simultaneously. To do so, fuzzy version of the gauge capability (Cg and Cgk) are introduced. The method is also explained through example clearly.Keywords: measurement, SPC, MSA, gauge capability (Cg and Cgk)
Procedia PDF Downloads 651