Search results for: model building

Authors: Alireza Fard Kashani

Abstract:

This study reports on the experiences and attitudes of six Iranian migrant families, from two groups of asylum seekers and skilled workers, with regard to their language, identity, and acculturation in Australia. The participants included first generation parents and 1.5-generation adolescents, who had lived in Australia for a minimum of three years. For this investigation, Mendoza’s (1984, 2016) acculturation model, as well as poststructuralist views of identity, were employed. The semi-structured interview results have highlighted that Iranian parents and adolescents face low degrees of intergenerational conflicts in most domains of their acculturation. However, the structural and lawful patterns in Australia have caused some internal conflicts for the parents, especially fathers (e.g., their power status within the family or their children’s freedom). Furthermore, while most participants reported ‘cultural eclecticism’ as their preferred acculturation orientation, female participants seemed to be more eclectic than their male counterparts who showed inclination towards keeping more aspects of their home culture. This finding, however, highlights a meaningful effort on the part of husbands that in order to make their married lives continue well in Australia they need to re-consider the traditional male-dominated customs they used to have in Iran. As for identity, not only the parents but also the adolescents proudly identified themselves as Persians. In addition, with respect to linguistic behaviour, almost all adolescents showed enthusiasm to retain the Persian language at home to be able to maintain contacts with their relatives and friends in Iran and to enjoy many other benefits the language may offer them in the future.

Keywords: acculturation, asylum seekers, identity, intergenerational conflicts, language, skilled workers, 1.5 generation

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Vishwanath Pethri Kamath, Jayantha Gowda Sarapanahalli, Vishal Mishra, Siddhesh Balwant Bandgar

Abstract:

Recognition of emotional information is essential in any form of communication. Growing HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) in recent times indicates the importance of understanding of emotions expressed and becomes crucial for improving the system or the interaction itself. In this research work, textual data for emotion recognition is used. The text being the least expressive amongst the multimodal resources poses various challenges such as contextual information and also sequential nature of the language construction. In this research work, the proposal is made for a neural architecture to resolve not less than 8 emotions from textual data sources derived from multiple datasets using google pre-trained word2vec word embeddings and a Multi-head attention-based bidirectional LSTM model with a one-vs-all Multi-Level Classification. The emotions targeted in this research are Anger, Disgust, Fear, Guilt, Joy, Sadness, Shame, and Surprise. Textual data from multiple datasets were used for this research work such as ISEAR, Go Emotions, Affect datasets for creating the emotions’ dataset. Data samples overlap or conflicts were considered with careful preprocessing. Our results show a significant improvement with the modeling architecture and as good as 10 points improvement in recognizing some emotions.

Keywords: text emotion recognition, bidirectional LSTM, multi-head attention, multi-level classification, google word2vec word embeddings

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Kalpana Rajouriya, Ajay Taneja

Abstract:

Particulates are ubiquitous in the air environment and cause serious threats to human beings, such as lung cancer, COPD, and Asthma. Particulates mainly arise from industrial effluent, vehicular emission, and other anthropogenic activities. In the glass industrial city Firozabad, real-time monitoring of size segregated Particulate Matter (PM) and black carbon was done by Aerosol Black Carbon Detector (ABCD) and GRIMM portable aerosol Spectrometer at two different sites in which one site is urban and another is rural. The average mass concentration of size segregated PM during the study period (March & April 2022) was recorded as PM10 (223.73 g/m⁻³), PM5.0 (44.955 g/m⁻³), PM2.5 (59.275 g/m⁻³), PM1.0 (33.02 g/m⁻³), PM0.5 (2.05 g/m⁻³), and PM0.25 (2.99 g/m⁻³). The highest concentration of BC was found in Urban due to the emissions from diesel engines and wood burning, while NO2 was highest at the rural sites. The average concentrations of PM10 (6.08 and 2.73 times) PM2.5 exceeded the NAAQS and WHO guidelines. Particulate Matter deposition and health risk assessment was done by MPPD and USEPA model to know about the particulate matter toxicity in industrial residents. Health risk assessment results showed that Children are most likely to be affected by exposure of PM10 and PM2.5 and may have various non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic diseases. Deposition results inferred that the sensitive exposed population, especially 9 years old children, have high PM deposition as well as visualization and may be at risk of developing health-related problems from exposure to size-segregated PM. They will be discussed during presentation.

Keywords: particulate matter, black carbon, NO2, deposition of PM, health risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Alok Pal Jain, Santram Lodhi

Abstract:

Martynia annua Linn. (Martyniaccae) is traditionally used in inflammation and applied locally to tuberculosis glands of camel’s neck. The leaves used topically to bites of venomous insects and wounds of domestic animals. Chemical examination of Martynia annua leaves revealed the presence of glycosides, tannins, proteins, phenols and flavonoids. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-arthritic activity of methanolic extract of Martynia annua leaves. Methanolic extract of Martynia annua leaves was tested by using in vivo collagen-induced arthritis mouse model to investigate the anti-rheumatoid arthritis activity. In addition, antioxidant effect of methanolic extract was determined by the estimation of antioxidants level in joint tissues. The severity of arthritis was assessed by arthritis score and edema. Levels of cytokines TNF-α and IL-6, in the joint tissue homogenate were measured using ELISA. A high dose (250 mg/kg) of methanolic extract was significantly reduced the degree of inflammation in mice as compared with reference drug. Antioxidants level and malondialdehyde (MDA) in joint tissue homogenate found significantly (p < 0.05) higher. Methanolic extract at dose of 250 mg/kg modulated the cytokines production and suppressed the oxidative stress in the mice with collagen-induced arthritis. This study suggested that Martynia annua might be alternative herbal medicine for the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: Martynia annua, collagen, rheumatoid arthritis, antioxidants

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Swajeeth Panchangam, Arun Rajendran, Swarnim Gupta, Ahmed Zeouita

Abstract:

Semiconductor processing chambers tend to operate in controlled but aggressive operating conditions (chemistry, plasma, high temperature etc.) Owing to this, the design of this equipment requires developing robust and reliable hardware and software. Any equipment downtime due to reliability issues can have cost implications both for customers in terms of tool downtime (reduced throughput) and for equipment manufacturers in terms of high warranty costs and customer trust deficit. A thorough reliability assessment of critical parts and a plan for preventive maintenance/replacement schedules need to be done before tool shipment. This helps to save significant warranty costs and tool downtimes in the field. However, designing a proper reliability test plan to accurately demonstrate reliability targets with proper sample size and test duration is quite challenging. This is mainly because components can fail in different failure modes that fit into different Weibull beta value distributions. Without apriori Weibull beta of a failure mode under consideration, it always leads to over/under utilization of resources, which eventually end up in false positives or false negatives estimates. This paper proposes a methodology to design a reliability test plan with optimal model size/duration/both (independent of apriori Weibull beta). This methodology can be used in demonstration tests and can be extended to accelerated life tests to further decrease sample size/test duration.

Keywords: reliability, stochastics, preventive maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 15

Authors: A. Idawaty, O. Mohamed, A. Z. Zuriati

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of an event based Discrete Event Simulation (DES) for a recovery algorithm known Backward Recovery Global Preemptive Utility Accrual Scheduling (BR_GPUAS). This algorithm implements the Backward Recovery (BR) mechanism as a fault recovery solution under the existing Time/Utility Function/ Utility Accrual (TUF/UA) scheduling domain for multiprocessor environment. The BR mechanism attempts to take the faulty tasks back to its initial safe state and then proceeds to re-execute the affected section of the faulty tasks to enable recovery. Considering that faults may occur in the components of any system; a fault tolerance system that can nullify the erroneous effect is necessary to be developed. Current TUF/UA scheduling algorithm uses the abortion recovery mechanism and it simply aborts the erroneous task as their fault recovery solution. None of the existing algorithm in TUF/UA scheduling domain in multiprocessor scheduling environment have considered the transient fault and implement the BR mechanism as a fault recovery mechanism to nullify the erroneous effect and solve the recovery problem in this domain. The developed BR_GPUAS simulator has derived the set of parameter, events and performance metrics according to a detailed analysis of the base model. Simulation results revealed that BR_GPUAS algorithm can saved almost 20-30% of the accumulated utilities making it reliable and efficient for the real-time application in the multiprocessor scheduling environment.

Keywords: real-time system (RTS), time utility function/ utility accrual (TUF/UA) scheduling, backward recovery mechanism, multiprocessor, discrete event simulation (DES)

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Atefeh Esmailnejad, Mohammad Abbaszadeh Hasiri

Abstract:

Coxiella burnetii is a gram-negative obligatory intracellular bacterium that causes Q fever, a significant zoonotic disease. Sheep, cattle, and goats are the most commonly reported reservoirs for the bacteria, but infected cats and dogs have also been implicated in the transmission of the disease to human. The aim of present study was to investigate the presence of antibodies against Coxiella burnetii among companion dogs in Fars province, South of Iran. A total of 181 blood samples were collected from asymptomatic dogs, mostly referred to Veterinary Hospital of Shiraz University for regular vaccination. The IgG antibody detection against Coxiella burnetii was made by indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), employing phase I and II Coxiella burnetii antigens. A logistic regression model was developed to analyze multiple risk factors associated with seropositivity. An overall seropositivity of 7.7% (n=14) was observed. Prevalence was significantly higher in adult dogs above five years (18.18 %) compared with dogs between 1 and five years (7.86 %) and less than one year (6.17%) (P=0.043). Prevalence was also higher in male dogs (11.21 %) than in female (2.7 %) (P=0.035). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of positive cases and breed, type of housing, type of food and exposure to other farm animals (P>0.05). The results of this study showed the presence of Coxiella burnetii infection among the companion dogs population in Fars province. To our knowledge, this is the first study regarding Q fever in dogs carried out in Iran. In areas like Iran, where human cases of Q fever are not common or remain unreported, the public health implications of Q fever seroprevalence in dogs are quite significant.

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii, dog, Iran, Q fever

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: Mauro Masili, Fernanda O. Duarte, Liliane Ventura

Abstract:

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic waves from 100 – 400 nm wavelength. The World Health Organization and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) recommend guidelines on the exposure of the eyes to UV radiation because it is correlated to ophthalmic diseases. Those exposure limits for an 8-h period are 1) UV radiant exposure should not exceed 30 J/m2 when irradiance is spectrally weighted using an actinic action spectrum; 2) unweighted radiant exposure in the UV-A spectral region 315 – 400 nm should not exceed 10 kJ/m2. Sunglasses play an important role in preventing eye injuries related to Sun exposure. We have calculated the direct and diffuse solar UV irradiance in a geometry that refers to an individual wearing a sunglass, in which the solar rays strike on a vertical surface. The diffuse rays are those scattered from the atmosphere and from the local environment. The calculations used the open-source SMARTS2 spectral model, in which we assumed a clear sky condition, aside from information about site location, date, time, ozone column, aerosols, and turbidity. In addition, we measured the spectral transmittance of a typical sunglasses lens and the global solar irradiance was weighted with the spectral transmittance profile of the lens. The radiant exposure incident on the eye’s surface was calculated in the UV and UV-A ranges following the ICNIRP’s recommendations for each day of the year. The tested lens failed the UV-A safe limit, while the UV limit failed to comply with this limit after the aging process. Hence, the ICNIRP safe limits should be considered in the standards to increase the protection against UV radiation on the eye.

Keywords: ICNIRP safe limits, ISO-12312-1, sunglasses, ultraviolet radiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Hao-Yuan Tseng, Chuan-Yang Chang, Ying-Hui Chen, Sheng-Che Chen, Chih-Han Chang

Abstract:

Orthodontic tooth treatment has demonstrated a high success rate in clinical studies. It has been agreed upon that orthodontic tooth movement is based on the ability of surrounding bone and periodontal ligament (PDL) to react to a mechanical stimulus with remodeling processes. However, the mechanism of the tooth movement is still unclear. Recent studies focus on the simple principle compression-tension theory while rare studies directly measure tooth movement. Therefore, tracking tooth movement information during orthodontic treatment is very important in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanism responses of the tooth movement during the orthodontic treatments. A stereovision system applied to track the tooth movement of the patient with the stamp brackets. The system was established by two cameras with their relative position calibrate. And the orthodontic force measured by 3D printing model with the six-axis load cell to determine the initial force application. The result shows that the stereovision system accuracy revealed the measurement presents a maximum error less than 2%. For the study on patient tracking, the incisor moved about 0.9 mm during 60 days tracking, and half of movement occurred in the first few hours. After removing the orthodontic force in 100 hours, the distance between before and after position incisor tooth decrease 0.5 mm consisted with the release of the phenomenon. Using the stereovision system can accurately locate the three-dimensional position of the teeth and superposition of 3D coordinate system for all the data to integrate the complex tooth movement.

Keywords: orthodontic treatment, tooth movement, stereovision system, long-term tracking

Procedia PDF Downloads 421

Authors: Mpaphi Major

Abstract:

Soil erosion is becoming an important aspect of land degradation. Therefore it is of great consideration to note any factor that may escalate the rate of soil erosion in our arable land. There exist 3 main driving forces in soil erosion which are rainfall, wind and land use of which in this project only rainfall and land use will be looked at. With the increase in world population at an alarming rate, the demand for food production is expected to increase which will in turn lead to more land being converted from forests to agricultural use of which very few of it are now fertile. In our country Botswana, the rate of crop production is decreasing due to the wearing away of the fertile top soil and poor arable land management. As a result, some studies on the rate of soil loss and farm management practices should be conducted so that best soil and water conservation practices should be employed and hence reduce the risk of soil loss and increase the rate of crop production and yield. The Soil loss estimation model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) will be used to estimate the rate of soil loss in some selected arable farms within the Palapye watershed and some field observations will be made to determine the management practices used and their impact on the arable land. Upon observations it have been found that many arable fields have been exposed to soil erosion, of which the affected parts are no longer suitable for any crop production unless the land areas are modified. Improper land practices such as ploughing along the slope and land cultivation practices were observed. As a result farmers need to be educated on best conservation practices that can be used to manage their arable land hence reduced risk of soil erosion and improved crop production.

Keywords: soil and water conservation, soil erosion, SLEMSA, land degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: Hyun-Kyung Lee, Jehyung Oh, Young Eun Jeong, Hyun-Shik Lee

Abstract:

Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) are environmental toxicants that persistently accumulate in the human blood. Their widespread detection and accumulation in the environment raise concerns about whether these chemicals might be developmental toxicants and teratogens in the ecosystem. We evaluated and compared the toxicity of PFCs of containing various numbers of carbon atoms (C8-11 carbons) on vertebrate embryogenesis. We assessed the developmental toxicity and teratogenicity of various PFCs. The toxic effects on Xenopus embryos were evaluated using different methods. We measured teratogenic indices (TIs) and investigated the mechanisms underlying developmental toxicity and teratogenicity by measuring the expression of organ-specific biomarkers such as xPTB (liver), Nkx2.5 (heart), and Cyl18 (intestine). All PFCs that we tested were found to be developmental toxicants and teratogens. Their toxic effects were strengthened with increasing length of the fluorinated carbon chain. Furthermore, we produced evidence showing that perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFuDA) are more potent developmental toxicants and teratogens in an animal model compared to the other PFCs we evaluated [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)]. In particular, severe defects resulting from PFDA and PFuDA exposure were observed in the liver and heart, respectively, using the whole mount in situ hybridization, real-time PCR, pathologic analysis of the heart, and dissection of the liver. Our studies suggest that most PFCs are developmental toxicants and teratogens, however, compounds that have higher numbers of carbons (i.e., PFDA and PFuDA) exert more potent effects.

Keywords: PFC, xenopus, fetax, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: Phan Minh Trang, Joacim Rocklöv, Kim Bao Giang, Gunnar Kullgren, Maria Nilsson

Abstract:

There are recent studies from high income countries reporting an association between heat waves and hospital admissions for mental health disorders. It is not previously studied if such relations exist in sub-tropical and tropical low- and middle-income countries. In this study from Vietnam, the assumption was that hospital admissions for mental disorders may be triggered, or exacerbated, by heat exposure and heat waves. A database from Hanoi Mental Hospital with mental disorders diagnosed by the International Classification of Diseases 10, spanning over five years, was used to estimate the heatwave-related impacts on admissions for mental disorders. The relationship was analysed by a Negative Binomial regression model accounting for year, month, and days of week. The focus of the study was heat-wave events with periods of three or seven consecutive days above the threshold of 35oC daily maximum temperature. The preliminary study results indicated that heat-waves increased the risks for hospital admission for mental disorders (F00-79) from heat-waves of three and seven days with relative risks (RRs) of 1.16 (1.01–1.33) and 1.42 (1.02–1.99) respectively, when compared with non-heat-wave periods. Heatwave-related admissions for mental disorders increased statistically significantly among men, among residents in rural communities and in elderly. Moreover, cases for organic mental disorders including symptomatic illnesses (F0-9) and mental retardation (F70-79) raised in high risks during heat waves. The findings are novel studying a sub-tropical middle-income city, facing rapid urbanisation and epidemiological and demographic transitions.

Keywords: mental disorders, admissions for F0-9 or F70-79, maximum temperature, heat waves

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Wi Sung Yoo, Seung Woo Lee, Youn Kyoung Hur, Sung Hwan Kim

Abstract:

Large-scale construction projects are continuously increasing, and the need for tools to monitor and evaluate the project success is emphasized. At the construction industry level, there are limitations in deriving performance evaluation factors that reflect the diversity of construction sites and systems that can objectively evaluate and manage performance. Additionally, there are difficulties in integrating structured and unstructured data generated at construction sites and deriving improvements. In this study, we propose the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to enable performance evaluation that reflects the increased diversity of construction sites and the unstructured data generated, and present a model for measuring performance by the derived indicators. The comprehensive performance of a unit construction site is assessed based on 6 areas (Time, Cost, Quality, Safety, Environment, Productivity) and 26 indicators. We collect performance indicator information from 30 construction sites that meet legal standards and have been successfully performed. And We apply data augmentation and optimization techniques into establishing measurement standards for each indicator. In other words, the KPI for construction site performance evaluation presented in this study provides standards for evaluating performance in six areas using institutional requirement data and document data. This can be expanded to establish a performance evaluation system considering the scale and type of construction project. Also, they are expected to be used as a comprehensive indicator of the construction industry and used as basic data for tracking competitiveness at the national level and establishing policies.

Keywords: key performance indicator, performance measurement, structured and unstructured data, data augmentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 42

Authors: Asima Ranjan Parhi

Abstract:

English language teaching-learning in higher education departments in Indian and Asian contexts needs to be one of innovation and experimentation rather than rigid prescription. The communicative language teaching has been proposing the context to be of primary importance in this process. Today, English print and electronic media have flooded the market with plenty of material suitable to the classroom context. The entries are poetic, catchy and contain a deliberate method in them which could be utilized to teach not only English language but literature, literary terms and the theory of literature. The Bollywood movies, especially through their songs have been propagating a package which may be useful to teach language and even theory in the sub-continent. While investigating, one may be fascinated to see how such material in the body of media (print and electronic), movies and popular songs generate a data for our classroom in our context, thereby developing a mass language with huge pedagogical implications. Harping on the four skills of teaching and learning of a language in general and English language in particular appears stale and mechanical in a decontextualised, matter of fact classroom. So this discussion visualizes a model beyond these skills as well as the conventional theory, literature, language classroom practices in order to build up a systematic pattern stressing the factors responsible in the particular context, that of specific language, society and culture in tune with language-literature teaching. This study intends to examine certain catchy use of the language entries in mass media which could be in the direction of inviting more such investigations in the Asian context in order to develop a common platform of decolonized pedagogy.

Keywords: pedagogy, electronic media, Bollywood, decolonized, mass media

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Rizky Kertanegara

Abstract:

Reception studies is one of the cultural studies lately evolved in the realm of communication science. This qualitative study was pioneered by Stuart Hall who initiated the dominant, negotiation, and opposition of audience reading to the text of the media. In its development, this reception studies is developed by Kim Christian Schroder become multidimensional reception studies. In this update, Schroder aware that there has been a bias between readings made by the informant with readings conducted by researchers over the informant. Therefore, he classifies the reception into two dimensions, namely the dimension of reading by informants and implications dimensions conducted by researcher. Using Schroder approach, these studies seek to describe the reception of adolescent girls, as research subjects, to the elements contained sexual openness in the music video Cinta Laura as the object of research. Researcher wanted to see how they interpret the values of Western culture based on the values of their culture as a teenager. Researchers used a descriptive qualitative research method by conducting in-depth interviews to the informants who comes from a religious school. The selection of informants was done by using purposeful sampling. Collaboration with the school, the researchers were able to select informants who could provide rich data related to the topic. The analysis showed that there is permissiveness informants in addressing sexual openness in the music video. In addition, informants from Catholic schools were more open than the informant derived from Islamic schools in accepting the values of sexual openness. This permisiveness is regarded as a form of self-actualization and gender equality.

Keywords: cultural studies, multidimensional reception model, sexual openness, youth audience

Procedia PDF Downloads 414

Authors: Maria Angela Bedini, Fabio Bronzini

Abstract:

Most of the Italian territory is at seismic risk. Many earthquakes have hit Italy, and devastating effects have been generated. The specific objective of the research is to distinguish the negative approaches that have generated unacceptable social situations of marginalization, abandonment, and economic regression, from positive methodological approaches. On the basis of the different situations examined, the study proposes strategies and guidelines to obtain the best possible results, in Italy or abroad, in the event of new earthquakes. At national and international level, many theoretical studies address the aspects of prevention, while the comparisons, carried out in this study, between the techniques and the operative procedures applied and the results obtained are rare. The adopted methodology compares the different pre-earthquake urban-planning approaches, for the emergency (temporary urban planning), and for the post-earthquake (socio-economic-territorial processes) in Italy. Attention is placed on the current consolidated planning and programming acquisitions, pre and post-earthquake. The main results of the study concern the prospects in Italy of protection from seismic risks in the next decades. An integrated settlement system for a new economic and social model, aimed at the rebirth of territories in crisis, is proposed. Finally, the conclusions describe the disciplinary positions, procedures and the fundamental points generally shared by the scientific community for each approach, in order to identify the strategic choices and the disciplinary and management paths that will be followed in the coming decades.

Keywords: post-earthquake, seismic emergency, seismic prevention, urban planning interventions in Italy

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: David Chao, John Lai, Alvin Wu, Carl Wang

Abstract:

For lithium-ion batteries with multiple cell configurations, some use scenarios can cause uneven aging effects to each cell within the battery because of uneven current distribution. Hence the focus of the study is to explore the aging effect(s) on batteries with different construction designs. In order to systematically study the influence of various factors in some key battery configurations, a detailed analysis of three key battery construction factors is conducted. And those key factors are (1) terminal position; (2) cell alignment matrix; and (3) interconnect resistance between cells. In this study, the 2S2P circuitry has been set as a model multi-cell battery to set up different battery samples, and the aging behavior is studied by a cycling test to analyze the current distribution and recoverable capacity. According to the outcome of aging tests, some key findings are: (I) different cells alignment matrices can have an impact on the cycle life of the battery; (II) symmetrical structure has been identified as a critical factor that can influence the battery cycle life, and unbalanced resistance can lead to inconsistent cell aging status; (III) the terminal position has been found to contribute to the uneven current distribution, that can cause an accelerated battery aging effect; and (IV) the internal connection resistance increase can actually result in cycle life increase; however, it is noteworthy that such increase in cycle life is accompanied by a decline in battery performance. In summary, the key findings from the study can help to identify the key aging factor of multi-cell batteries, and it can be useful to effectively improve the accuracy of battery capacity predictions.

Keywords: multiple cells battery, current distribution, battery aging, cell connection

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Xiyang Li, Qi Yu, Lun Zhang

Abstract:

In the face of natural disasters and other emergency situations, determining the optimal location of rescue centers is crucial for improving rescue efficiency and minimizing impact on affected populations. This paper proposes a method that integrates genetic algorithms (GA) and backpropagation neural networks (BPNN) to address the site selection optimization problem for emergency rescue centers. We utilize BPNN to accurately estimate the cost of delivering supplies from rescue centers to each temporary camp. Moreover, a genetic algorithm with a special partially matched crossover (PMX) strategy is employed to ensure that the number of temporary camps assigned to each rescue center adheres to predetermined limits. Using the population distribution data during the 2022 epidemic in Jiading District, Shanghai, as an experimental case, this paper verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the BPNN-GA method proposed in this study outperforms existing algorithms in terms of computational efficiency and optimization performance. Especially considering the requirements for computational resources and response time in emergency situations, the proposed method shows its ability to achieve rapid convergence and optimal performance in the early and mid-stages. Future research could explore incorporating more real-world conditions and variables into the model to further improve its accuracy and applicability.

Keywords: emergency rescue centers, genetic algorithms, back-propagation neural networks, site selection optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Divya Vats, Sanjay Mahajani

Abstract:

The clarification of sugarcane juice plays a pivotal role in the production of non-centrifugal sugar (NCS), profoundly influencing the quality of the final NCS product. In this study, we have investigated the kinetics and mathematical modeling of the batch clarification process. The turbidity of the clarified cane juice (NTU) emerges as the determinant of the end product’s color. Moreover, this parameter underscores the significance of considering other variables as performance indicators for accessing the efficacy of the clarification process. Temperature-controlled experiments were meticulously conducted in a laboratory-scale batch mode. The primary objective was to discern the essential and optimized parameters crucial for augmenting the clarity of cane juice. Additionally, we explored the impact of pH and flocculant loading on the kinetics. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is employed to comprehend the particle-particle and fluid-particle interaction. This technique facilitated a comprehensive understanding, paving the way for the subsequent multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach in the Ansys fluent. Impressively, these simulations accurately replicated comparable velocity profiles. The final mechanism of this study helps to make a mathematical model and presents a valuable framework for transitioning from the traditional batch process to a continuous process. The ultimate aim is to attain heightened productivity and unwavering consistency in product quality.

Keywords: non-centrifugal sugar, particle image velocimetry, computational fluid dynamics, mathematical modeling, turbidity

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Fabiola Trejo Perez, Rolando Diaz Loving

Abstract:

Sexual pleasure consists of the positively valued feelings induced by sexual stimuli, but it is also weighed down by pop-psychological baggage, and subjected to cross-cultural and cross-historical variation. Social and individual interpretations of what can or can’t be considered as pleasurable are intertwined with culture’s predominant values, norms and beliefs. For each culture, sexual norms work as a guide to be followed in order to model socially accepted behaviors. Therefore, cultural messages regarding sexuality are usually directed to restrict men and women from enjoyment, sexual satisfaction and specifically orgasm. Given that sexual pleasure hasn’t been recognized as an accepted topic of open discussion, particularly for women, people have to eventually complement their knowledge using their own experience filling in the blanks from what little has been said. Thus, this research aims to identify which are the particular social messages associated with the easing or inhibition of sexual pleasure. Three hundred Mexican men and women ages 25 to 35 years old answered a self-report survey composed by the Inventory of facilitators and inhibitors of sexual pleasure and the Sexual premises questionnaire via pencil-paper and online. Results show a high endorsement to double standard messages associated with higher levels of sexual pleasure inhibitors like feeling pressured to have sexual activity, guilt and inability to reach orgasm, in contrast with people who endorse more permissive norms and beliefs, feeling connected to their sexual partners and confident with themselves. These results illustrate that the shaping of sexuality, from experience to society, is comprised of an important relationship between culture and sexual pleasure.

Keywords: culture, sexual double standard, sexual norms and beliefs, sexual pleasure

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Zhiyong Li, Hiroshi Katayama

Abstract:

Since 1990s, e-commerce and internet business have been grown gradually over the word and customers tend to express their demand attributes in terms of specification requirement on parts, component, product structure etc. This paper deals with designing effective decoupling points for build to order systems under e-commerce environment, which can be realized through tradeoff relation analysis between two major criteria, customer order lead time and value of work in progress. These KPIs are critical for successful BTO business, namely time-based service effectiveness on coping with customer requirements for the first issue and cost effective ness with risk aversive operations for the second issue. Approach of this paper consists of investigation of successful business standing for BTO scheme, manufacturing model development of this scheme, quantitative evaluation of proposed models by calculation of two KPI values under various decoupling point distributions and discussion of the results brought by pattern of decoupling point distribution, where some cases provide the pareto optimum performances. To extract the relevant trade-off relation between considered KPIs among 2-dimensional resultant performance, useful logic developed by former research work, i.e. Katayama and Fonseca, is applied. Obtained characteristics are evaluated as effective information for managing BTO manufacturing businesses.

Keywords: build-to-order (BTO), decoupling point, e-commerce, order-to-delivery lead time (ODLT), work in progress (WIP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Birhanu Betela Warssamo

Abstract:

Background: There is limited evidence on the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among waste handlers in the Sidama region, Ethiopia; however, this knowledge is necessary for the effective prevention of HCV infection in the region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected waste collectors from October 2021 to 30 July 2022 in different public hospitals in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. Serum samples were collected from participants and screened for anti-HCV using a rapid immunochromatography assay. Socio-demographic and risk factor information of waste handlers was gathered by pretested and well-structured questionnaires. The generalized linear model (GLM) was conducted using R software, and P-value < 0.05 was declared statistically significant. Results: From a total of 282 participating waste handlers, 16 (5.7%) (95% CI, 4.2 – 8.7) were infected with the hepatitis C virus. The educational status of waste handlers was the significant demographic variable that was associated with the hepatitis C virus (AOR = 0.055; 95% CI = 0.012 – 0.248; P = 0.000). More married waste handlers, 12 (75%), were HCV positive than unmarried, 4 (25%) and married waste handlers were 2.051 times (OR = 2.051, 95%CI = 0.644 –6.527, P = 0.295) more prone to HCV infection, compared to unmarried, which was statistically insignificant. The GLM showed that exposure to blood (OR = 8.26; 95% CI = 1.878–10.925; P = 0.037), multiple sexual partners (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI = 2.751–5.808; P = 0.001), sharp injury (AOR = 2.77; 95% CI = 2.327–3.173; P = 0.036), not using PPE (AOR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.032–0.937; P = 0.001), contact with jaundiced patient (AOR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.093–4.368; P = 0 .0048) and unprotected sex (AOR = 11.91; 95% CI = 5.847–16.854; P = 0.001) remained statistically significantly associated with HCV positivity. Conclusions: The study revealed that there was a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among waste handlers in the Sidama region, Ethiopia. This demonstrated that there is an urgent need to increase preventative efforts and strategic policy orientations to control the spread of the hepatitis C virus.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, risk factors, waste handlers, prevalence, Sidama Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 14

Authors: Mia I. Allen, Bernard N. Johnson, Gagan Deep, Yixin Su, Sangeeta Singth, Ashish Kumar, , Michael A. Nader

Abstract:

With no FDA-approved treatments for cocaine use disorders (CUD), research has focused on the behavioral and neuropharmacological effects of cocaine in animal models, with the goal of identifying novel interventions. While the majority of people with CUD also use tobacco/nicotine, the majority of preclinical cocaine research does not include the co-use of nicotine. The present study examined nicotine and cocaine co-use under several conditions of intravenous drug self-administration in monkeys. In Experiment 1, male rhesus monkeys (N=3) self-administered cocaine (0.001-0.1 mg/kg/injection) alone and cocaine+nicotine (0.01-0.03 mg/kg/injection) under a progressive-ratio schedule of reinforcement. When nicotine was added to cocaine, there was a significant leftward shift and significant increase in peak break point. In Experiment 2, socially housed female and male cynomolgus monkeys (N=14) self-administered cocaine under a concurrent drug-vs-food choice schedule. Combining nicotine significantly decreased cocaine choice ED50 values (i.e., shifted the cocaine dose-response curve to the left) in females but not in males. There was no evidence of social rank differences. In delay discounting studies, the co-use of nicotine and cocaine required significantly larger delays to the preferred drug reinforcer to reallocate choice compared with cocaine alone. Overall, these results suggest drug interactions of nicotine and cocaine co-use is not simply a function of potency but rather a fundamentally distinctive condition that should be utilized to better understand the neuropharmacology of CUD and the evaluation of potential treatments.

Keywords: polydrug use, animal models, nonhuman primates, behavioral pharmacology, drug self-administration

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Jiashu Shen

Abstract:

Objectives: Spirometry is a basic reference for health evaluation which is widely used in clinical. Previous reference of spirometry is not applicable because of drastic changes of social and natural circumstance in China. A new reference values for the spirometry of the Chinese population is extremely needed. Method: Spirometric reference value was established using the statistical modeling method Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, and maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF). Results: Data from 236,606 healthy non-smokers aged 4–90 years was collected from the MJ Health Check database. Spirometry equations for FEV1, FVC, MMEF, and FEV1/FVC were established, including the predicted values and lower limits of normal (LLNs) by sex. The predictive equations that were developed for the spirometric results elaborated the relationship between spirometry and age, and they eliminated the effects of height as a variable. Most previous predictive equations for Chinese spirometry were significantly overestimated (to be exact, with mean differences of 22.21% in FEV1 and 31.39% in FVC for males, along with differences of 26.93% in FEV1 and 35.76% in FVC for females) or underestimated (with mean differences of -5.81% in MMEF and -14.56% in FEV1/FVC for males, along with a difference of -14.54% in FEV1/FVC for females) the results of lung function measurements as found in this study. Through cross-validation, our equations were established as having good fit, and the means of the measured value and the estimated value were compared, with good results. Conclusions: Our study updates the spirometric reference equations for Chinese people of all ages and provides comprehensive values for both physical examination and clinical diagnosis.

Keywords: Chinese, GAMLSS model, reference values, spirometry

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Alireza Rasekh, Peter Sergeant, Jan Vierendeels

Abstract:

This paper copes with the numerical simulation for convective heat transfer in the stator disk of an axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) electrical machine. Overheating is one of the main issues in the design of AFMPs, which mainly occurs in the stator disk, so that it needs to be prevented. A rotor-stator configuration with 16 magnets at the periphery of the rotor is considered. Air is allowed to flow through openings in the rotor disk and channels being formed between the magnets and in the gap region between the magnets and the stator surface. The rotating channels between the magnets act as a driving force for the air flow. The significant non-dimensional parameters are the rotational Reynolds number, the gap size ratio, the magnet thickness ratio, and the magnet angle ratio. The goal is to find correlations for the Nusselt number on the stator disk according to these non-dimensional numbers. Therefore, CFD simulations have been performed with the multiple reference frame (MRF) technique to model the rotary motion of the rotor and the flow around and inside the machine. A minimization method is introduced by a pattern-search algorithm to find the appropriate values of the reference temperature. It is found that the correlations are fast, robust and is capable of predicting the stator heat transfer with a good accuracy. The results reveal that the magnet angle ratio diminishes the stator heat transfer, whereas the rotational Reynolds number and the magnet thickness ratio improve the convective heat transfer. On the other hand, there a certain gap size ratio at which the stator heat transfer reaches a maximum.

Keywords: AFPM, CFD, magnet parameters, stator heat transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Ahmed H. Elkholy

Abstract:

An elastic analysis is developed to obtain the distribution of stresses, strains, bending moment and deformation for a thin hollow, variable thickness cylindrical specimen when subjected to different biaxial loadings. The specimen was subjected to a combination of internal pressure, axial tensile loading and external pressure. Several axial to circumferential stress ratios were investigated in detail. The analytical model was then validated using experimental results obtained from a test rig using several biaxial loadings. Based on the preliminary results obtained, the specimen was then modified geometrically to ensure uniform strain distribution through its wall thickness and along its gauge length. The new design of the specimen has a higher buckling strength and a maximum value of equivalent stress according to the maximum distortion energy theory. A cyclic function generator of the standard servo-controlled, electro-hydraulic testing machine is used to generate a specific signal shape (sine, square,…) at a certain frequency. The two independent controllers of the electronic circuit cause an independent movement to each servo-valve piston. The movement of each piston pressurizes the upper and lower sides of the actuators alternately. So, the specimen will be subjected to axial and diametral loads independent of each other. The hydraulic system has two different pressures: one pressure will be responsible for axial stress produced in the specimen and the other will be responsible for the tangential stress. Changing the two pressure ratios will change the stress ratios accordingly. The only restriction on the maximum stress obtained is the capacity of the testing system and specimen instability due to buckling.

Keywords: biaxial, fatigue, stress, testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Jiandong Ren, Lijun Zhao, Peng Chen

Abstract:

Nafamostat (NA), a synthetic broad-spectrum serine protease inhibitor, has been routinely employed for the treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) and other inflammatory-associated diseases in some East Asia countries. Although the potent inhibitory activity against inflammation-related proteases such as thrombin, trypsin, kallikrein, plasmin, coagulation factors and complement factors is generally considered to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of NA, precise target and molecular mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory activity in the treatment of AP remain largely unknown yet. As an intracellular inflammatory signaling platform, the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is recently identified to be involved in the development of AP. In present study, we have revealed that NA alleviated pancreatic injury in a caerulein-induced AP model by inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome activation in pancreas. Mechanistically, NA interacted with HDAC6, a cytoplasmic deacetylase implicated in the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, and efficiently abrogated the function of HDAC6. This property enabled NA to influence HDAC6 dependent NF-κB transcriptional activity and thus block NF-κB-driven transcriptional priming of NLRP3 inflammasome. Moreover, NA exerted the potential to interfere HDAC6-mediated intracellular transport of NLRP3, thereby leading to the failure of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Our current work has provided valuable insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the immunomodulatory effect of NA in treatment of AP, highlighting its promising application in prevention of NLRP3 inflammasome-associated inflammatory pathological damage.

Keywords: acute pancreatitis, HDAC6, nafamostat, NLRP3 inflammasome

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Yu-ding Du, Qi-lian Bao, Nassim Bessaad, Lin Liu

Abstract:

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is regarded as an effective approach for the purpose of replacing the large amount used track-side balises in modern train localization systems. This paper describes a method based on the data fusion of a GNSS receiver sensor and an odometer sensor that can significantly improve the positioning accuracy. A digital track map is needed as another sensor to project two-dimensional GNSS position to one-dimensional along-track distance due to the fact that the train’s position can only be constrained on the track. A model trained by BP neural network is used to estimate the trend positioning error which is related to the specific location and proximate processing of the digital track map. Considering that in some conditions the satellite signal failure will lead to the increase of GNSS positioning error, a detection step for GNSS signal is applied. An adaptive weighted fusion algorithm is presented to reduce the standard deviation of train speed measurement. Finally an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used for the fusion of the projected 1-D GNSS positioning data and the 1-D train speed data to get the estimate position. Experimental results suggest that the proposed method performs well, which can reduce positioning error notably.

Keywords: multi-sensor data fusion, train positioning, GNSS, odometer, digital track map, map matching, BP neural network, adaptive weighted fusion, Kalman filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Seyed M. Khatami, H. Naderpour, R. Vahdani, R. C. Barros

Abstract:

Many previous studies have been carried out to calculate the impact force and the dissipated energy between two neighboring buildings during seismic excitation, when they collide with each other. Numerical studies are an important part of impact, which several researchers have tried to simulate the impact by using different formulas. Estimation of the impact force and the dissipated energy depends significantly on some parameters of impact. Mass of bodies, stiffness of spring, coefficient of restitution, damping ratio of dashpot and impact velocity are some known and unknown parameters to simulate the impact and measure dissipated energy during collision. Collision is usually shown by force-displacement hysteresis curve. The enclosed area of the hysteresis loop explains the dissipated energy during impact. In this paper, the effect of using different types of impact models is investigated in order to calculate the impact force. To increase the accuracy of impact model and to optimize the results of simulations, a new damping equation is assumed and is validated to get the best results of impact force and dissipated energy, which can show the accuracy of suggested equation of motion in comparison with other formulas. This relation is called "n-m". Based on mathematical relation, an initial value is selected for the mentioned coefficients and kinetic energy loss is calculated. After each simulation, kinetic energy loss and energy dissipation are compared with each other. If they are equal, selected parameters are true and, if not, the constant of parameters are modified and a new analysis is performed. Finally, two unknown parameters are suggested to estimate the impact force and calculate the dissipated energy.

Keywords: impact force, dissipated energy, kinetic energy loss, damping relation

Procedia PDF Downloads 552

Authors: Muhammad Faizan Chinannai, Jaeseung Lee, Mohamed Hassan Gundu, Hyunchul Ju

Abstract:

Fuel cell is known to be an effective renewable energy resource which is commercializing in the present era. It is really important to know about the improvement in performance even when the system faces some defects. This study was carried out to analyze the performance of the Polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFCs) under different operating conditions such as current density, relative humidity and Pt loadings considering defects with load changes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the response of the fuel cell system with defects in Balance of Plants (BOPs) and catalyst layer (CL) degradation by maintaining the coolant flow rate as such to preserve the cell temperature at the required level. Multi-Scale Simulation of 3D two-phase PEFC model with coolant was carried out under different load conditions. For detailed analysis and performance comparison, extensive contours of temperature, current density, water content, and relative humidity are provided. The simulation results of the different cases are compared with the reference data. Hence the response of the fuel cell stack with defects in BOP and CL degradations can be analyzed by the temperature difference between the coolant outlet and membrane electrode assembly. The results showed that the Failure of the humidifier increases High-Frequency Resistance (HFR), air flow defects and CL degradation results in the non-uniformity of current density distribution and high cathode activation overpotential, respectively.

Keywords: PEM fuel cell, fuel cell modeling, performance analysis, BOP components, current density distribution, degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 214