Search results for: correlation between vehicles
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 5106

Search results for: correlation between vehicles

3426 Geophysical Methods and Machine Learning Algorithms for Stuck Pipe Prediction and Avoidance

Authors: Ammar Alali, Mahmoud Abughaban

Abstract:

Cost reduction and drilling optimization is the goal of many drilling operators. Historically, stuck pipe incidents were a major segment of non-productive time (NPT) associated costs. Traditionally, stuck pipe problems are part of the operations and solved post-sticking. However, the real key to savings and success is in predicting the stuck pipe incidents and avoiding the conditions leading to its occurrences. Previous attempts in stuck-pipe predictions have neglected the local geology of the problem. The proposed predictive tool utilizes geophysical data processing techniques and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict drilling activities events in real-time using surface drilling data with minimum computational power. The method combines two types of analysis: (1) real-time prediction, and (2) cause analysis. Real-time prediction aggregates the input data, including historical drilling surface data, geological formation tops, and petrophysical data, from wells within the same field. The input data are then flattened per the geological formation and stacked per stuck-pipe incidents. The algorithm uses two physical methods (stacking and flattening) to filter any noise in the signature and create a robust pre-determined pilot that adheres to the local geology. Once the drilling operation starts, the Wellsite Information Transfer Standard Markup Language (WITSML) live surface data are fed into a matrix and aggregated in a similar frequency as the pre-determined signature. Then, the matrix is correlated with the pre-determined stuck-pipe signature for this field, in real-time. The correlation used is a machine learning Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) algorithm, which selects relevant features from the class and identifying redundant features. The correlation output is interpreted as a probability curve of stuck pipe incidents prediction in real-time. Once this probability passes a fixed-threshold defined by the user, the other component, cause analysis, alerts the user of the expected incident based on set pre-determined signatures. A set of recommendations will be provided to reduce the associated risk. The validation process involved feeding of historical drilling data as live-stream, mimicking actual drilling conditions, of an onshore oil field. Pre-determined signatures were created for three problematic geological formations in this field prior. Three wells were processed as case studies, and the stuck-pipe incidents were predicted successfully, with an accuracy of 76%. This accuracy of detection could have resulted in around 50% reduction in NPT, equivalent to 9% cost saving in comparison with offset wells. The prediction of stuck pipe problem requires a method to capture geological, geophysical and drilling data, and recognize the indicators of this issue at a field and geological formation level. This paper illustrates the efficiency and the robustness of the proposed cross-disciplinary approach in its ability to produce such signatures and predicting this NPT event.

Keywords: drilling optimization, hazard prediction, machine learning, stuck pipe

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3425 An Accidental Forecasting Modelling for Various Median Roads

Authors: Pruethipong Xinghatiraj, Rajwanlop Kumpoopong

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Considering the current situation of road safety, Thailand has the world’s second-highest road fatality rate. Therefore, decreasing the road accidents in Thailand is a prime policy of the Thai government seeking to accomplish. One of the approaches to reduce the accident rate is to improve road environments to fit with the local behavior of the road users. The Department of Highways ensures that choosing the road median types right to the road characteristics, e.g. roadside characteristics, traffic volume, truck traffic percentage, etc., can decrease the possibility of accident occurrence. Presently, raised median, depressed median, painted median and median barriers are typically used in Thailand Highways. In this study, factors affecting road accident for each median type will be discovered through the analysis of the collecting of accident data, death numbers on sample of 600 Kilometers length across the country together with its roadside characteristics, traffic volume, heavy vehicles percentage, and other key factors. The benefits of this study can assist the Highway designers to select type of road medians that can match local environments and then cause less accident prone.

Keywords: highways, road safety, road median, forecasting model

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3424 A Functional Thermochemical Energy Storage System for Mobile Applications: Design and Performance Analysis

Authors: Jure Galović, Peter Hofmann

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Thermochemical energy storage (TCES), as a long-term and lossless energy storage principle, provides a contribution for the reduction of greenhouse emissions of mobile applications, such as passenger vehicles with an internal combustion engine. A prototype of a TCES system, based on reversible sorption reactions of LiBr composite and methanol has been designed at Vienna University of Technology. In this paper, the selection of reactive and inert carrier materials as well as the design of heat exchangers (reactor vessel and evapo-condenser) was reviewed and the cycle stability under real operating conditions was investigated. The performance of the developed system strongly depends on the environmental temperatures, to which the reactor vessel and evapo-condenser are exposed during the phases of thermal conversion. For an integration of the system into mobile applications, the functionality of the designed prototype was proved in numerous conducted cycles whereby no adverse reactions were observed.

Keywords: dynamic applications, LiBr composite, methanol, performance of TCES system, sorption process, thermochemical energy storage

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3423 Digital Image Correlation Based Mechanical Response Characterization of Thin-Walled Composite Cylindrical Shells

Authors: Sthanu Mahadev, Wen Chan, Melanie Lim

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Anisotropy dominated continuous-fiber composite materials have garnered attention in numerous mechanical and aerospace structural applications. Tailored mechanical properties in advanced composites can exhibit superiority in terms of stiffness-to-weight ratio, strength-to-weight ratio, low-density characteristics, coupled with significant improvements in fatigue resistance as opposed to metal structure counterparts. Extensive research has demonstrated their core potential as more than just mere lightweight substitutes to conventional materials. Prior work done by Mahadev and Chan focused on formulating a modified composite shell theory based prognosis methodology for investigating the structural response of thin-walled circular cylindrical shell type composite configurations under in-plane mechanical loads respectively. The prime motivation to develop this theory stemmed from its capability to generate simple yet accurate closed-form analytical results that can efficiently characterize circular composite shell construction. It showcased the development of a novel mathematical framework to analytically identify the location of the centroid for thin-walled, open cross-section, curved composite shells that were characterized by circumferential arc angle, thickness-to-mean radius ratio, and total laminate thickness. Ply stress variations for curved cylindrical shells were analytically examined under the application of centric tensile and bending loading. This work presents a cost-effective, small-platform experimental methodology by taking advantage of the full-field measurement capability of digital image correlation (DIC) for an accurate assessment of key mechanical parameters such as in-plane mechanical stresses and strains, centroid location etc. Mechanical property measurement of advanced composite materials can become challenging due to their anisotropy and complex failure mechanisms. Full-field displacement measurements are well suited for characterizing the mechanical properties of composite materials because of the complexity of their deformation. This work encompasses the fabrication of a set of curved cylindrical shell coupons, the design and development of a novel test-fixture design and an innovative experimental methodology that demonstrates the capability to very accurately predict the location of centroid in such curved composite cylindrical strips via employing a DIC based strain measurement technique. Error percentage difference between experimental centroid measurements and previously estimated analytical centroid results are observed to be in good agreement. The developed analytical modified-shell theory provides the capability to understand the fundamental behavior of thin-walled cylindrical shells and offers the potential to generate novel avenues to understand the physics of such structures at a laminate level.

Keywords: anisotropy, composites, curved cylindrical shells, digital image correlation

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3422 TP53 Mutations in Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer in Young Pakistani Patients

Authors: Nadia Naseem, Farwa Batool, Nasir Mehmood, AbdulHannan Nagi

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Background: The incidence and mortality of breast cancer vary significantly in geographically distinct populations. In Pakistan, breast cancer has shown an increase in incidence in young females and is characterized by more aggressive behavior. The tumor suppressor TP53 gene is a crucial genetic factor that plays a significant role in breast carcinogenesis. This study investigated the TP53 mutations in molecular subtypes of both nodes negative and positive breast cancer in young Pakistani patients. Material and Methods: p53, Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), Her-2 neu and Ki 67 expressions were analyzed immunohistochemically in a series of 75 node negative (A) and 75 node positive (B) young (aged: 19-40 years) breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2014 to 2017 at two leading hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan. Tumor tissue specimens and peripheral blood samples were examined for TP53 mutations by direct sequencing of the gene (exons 4-9). The relation of TP53 mutations to these markers and clinicopathological data was investigated. Results: Mean age of the patients was 32.4 + 9.1 SD. Invasive breast carcinoma was the most frequent histological variant (A=92%, B=94.6%). Grade 3 carcinoma was the commonest grade (A=72%, B=81.3%). Triple negative cases (ER-, PR-, Her-2) formed most of the molecular subtypes (A=44%, B=50.6%). A total of 17.2% (A: 6.6%, B: 10.6%) patients showed TP53 mutations. Mutations were significantly more frequent in triple negative cases (A: 74.8%, B: 62.2%) compared to HER2-positive patients (P < 0.0001). In the multivariate analysis of the whole patient group, the independent prognosticator were triple negative cases (P=0.021), TP53 overexpression by IHC (P=0.001) and advanced-stage disease (P=0.007). No statistically significant correlation between TP53 mutations and clinicopathological parameters was found (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that TP53 mutations are infrequently present in breast carcinoma of young Pakistani population and there was no significant correlation between p53 mutation and early onset disease. Immunohistochemically detected TP53 expression in our resource-constrained to set up can be beneficial in predicting mutations at the younger age in our population.

Keywords: immunohistochemistry (IHC), invasive breast carcinoma (IBC), Pakistan, TP53

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3421 The Correlation between Eye Movements, Attentional Shifting, and Driving Simulator Performance among Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Authors: Navah Z. Ratzon, Anat Keren, Shlomit Y. Greenberg

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Car accidents are a problem worldwide. Adolescents’ involvement in car accidents is higher in comparison to the overall driving population. Researchers estimate the risk of accidents among adolescents with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be 1.2 to 4 times higher than that of their peers. Individuals with ADHD exhibit unique patterns of eye movements and attentional shifts that play an important role in driving. In addition, deficiencies in cognitive and executive functions among adolescents with ADHD is likely to put them at greater risk for car accidents. Fifteen adolescents with ADHD and 17 matched controls participated in the study. Individuals from both groups attended local public schools and did not have a driver’s license. Participants’ mean age was 16.1 (SD=.23). As part of the experiment, they all completed a driving simulation session, while their eye movements were monitored. Data were recorded by an eye tracker: The entire driving session was recorded, registering the tester’s exact gaze position directly on the screen. Eye movements and simulator data were analyzed using Matlab (Mathworks, USA). Participants’ cognitive and metacognitive abilities were evaluated as well. No correlation was found between saccade properties, regions of interest, and simulator performance in either group, although participants with ADHD allocated more visual scan time (25%, SD = .13%) to a smaller segment of dashboard area, whereas controls scanned the monitor more evenly (15%, SD = .05%). The visual scan pattern found among participants with ADHD indicates a distinct pattern of engagement-disengagement of spatial attention compared to that of non-ADHD participants as well as lower attention flexibility, which likely affects driving. Additionally the lower the results on the cognitive tests, the worse driving performance was. None of the participants had prior driving experience, yet participants with ADHD distinctly demonstrated difficulties in scanning their surroundings, which may impair driving. This stresses the need to consider intervention programs, before driving lessons begin, to help adolescents with ADHD acquire proper driving habits, avoid typical driving errors, and achieve safer driving.

Keywords: ADHD, attentional shifting, driving simulator, eye movements

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3420 Approximating Maximum Speed on Road from Curvature Information of Bezier Curve

Authors: M. Yushalify Misro, Ahmad Ramli, Jamaludin M. Ali

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Bezier curves have useful properties for path generation problem, for instance, it can generate the reference trajectory for vehicles to satisfy the path constraints. Both algorithms join cubic Bezier curve segment smoothly to generate the path. Some of the useful properties of Bezier are curvature. In mathematics, the curvature is the amount by which a geometric object deviates from being flat, or straight in the case of a line. Another extrinsic example of curvature is a circle, where the curvature is equal to the reciprocal of its radius at any point on the circle. The smaller the radius, the higher the curvature thus the vehicle needs to bend sharply. In this study, we use Bezier curve to fit highway-like curve. We use the different approach to finding the best approximation for the curve so that it will resemble highway-like curve. We compute curvature value by analytical differentiation of the Bezier Curve. We will then compute the maximum speed for driving using the curvature information obtained. Our research works on some assumptions; first the Bezier curve estimates the real shape of the curve which can be verified visually. Even, though, the fitting process of Bezier curve does not interpolate exactly on the curve of interest, we believe that the estimation of speed is acceptable. We verified our result with the manual calculation of the curvature from the map.

Keywords: speed estimation, path constraints, reference trajectory, Bezier curve

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3419 Linguistic Competencies of Students with Hearing Impairment

Authors: Khalil Ullah Khan

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Linguistic abilities in students with hearing impairment yet remain a concern for educationists. The emerging technological support and provisions in the recent era vow to have addressed the situation and claim significant contributions in terms of linguistic repertoire. Being a descriptive and quantitative paradigm of study, the purpose of this research set forth was to assess the linguistic competencies of students with hearing impairment in the English language. The goals were further broken down to identify the level of reading abilities in the subject population. The population involved students with HI studying at a higher secondary level in Lahore. A simple random sampling technique was used to choose a sample of fifty students. A purposive curriculum-based assessment was designed in line with the accelerated learning program by the Punjab Government to assess Linguistic competence among the sample. Further to it, an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) corresponding to reading levels was also developed by researchers duly validated and piloted before the final use. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to reach the findings. Spearman’s correlation was used to find out the relationship between the degree of hearing loss, grade level, gender and type of amplification device. An Independent sample t-test was used to compare means among groups. Major findings of the study revealed that students with hearing impairment exhibit significant deviation from the mean scores when compared in terms of grades, severity and amplification device. The study divulged that respective students with HI have yet failed to qualify for an independent level of reading according to their grades, as the majority fall at the frustration level of word recognition and passage comprehension. The poorer performance can be attributed to lower linguistic competence, as it is shown in the frustration levels of reading, writing and comprehension. The correlation analysis did reflect an improved performance grade. Wise. However, scores could only correspond to frustration level, and independent levels were never achieved. Reported achievements at the instructional level of the subject population may further to linguistic skills if practiced purposively.

Keywords: linguistic competence, hearing impairment, reading levels, educationist

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3418 A Deep Learning-Based Pedestrian Trajectory Prediction Algorithm

Authors: Haozhe Xiang

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With the rise of the Internet of Things era, intelligent products are gradually integrating into people's lives. Pedestrian trajectory prediction has become a key issue, which is crucial for the motion path planning of intelligent agents such as autonomous vehicles, robots, and drones. In the current technological context, deep learning technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated and gradually replacing traditional models. The pedestrian trajectory prediction algorithm combining neural networks and attention mechanisms has significantly improved prediction accuracy. Based on in-depth research on deep learning and pedestrian trajectory prediction algorithms, this article focuses on physical environment modeling and learning of historical trajectory time dependence. At the same time, social interaction between pedestrians and scene interaction between pedestrians and the environment were handled. An improved pedestrian trajectory prediction algorithm is proposed by analyzing the existing model architecture. With the help of these improvements, acceptable predicted trajectories were successfully obtained. Experiments on public datasets have demonstrated the algorithm's effectiveness and achieved acceptable results.

Keywords: deep learning, graph convolutional network, attention mechanism, LSTM

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3417 Correlation of Hyperlipidemia with Platelet Parameters in Blood Donors

Authors: S. Nishat Fatima Rizvi, Tulika Chandra, Abbas Ali Mahdi, Devisha Agarwal

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Introduction: Blood components are an unexplored area prone to numerous discoveries which influence patient’s care. Experiments at different levels will further change the present concept of blood banking. Hyperlipidemia is a condition of elevated plasma level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as well as decreased plasma level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Studies show that platelets play a vital role in the progression of atherosclerosis and thrombosis, a major cause of death worldwide. They are activated by many triggers like elevated LDL in the blood resulting in aggregation and formation of plaques. Hyperlipidemic platelets are frequently transfused to patients with various disorders. Screening the random donor platelets for hyperlipidemia and correlating the condition with other donor criteria such as lipid rich diet, oral contraceptive pills intake, weight, alcohol intake, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, family history of heart diseases will lead to further deciding the exclusion criteria for donor selection. This will help in making the patients safe as well as the donor deferral criteria more stringent to improve the quality of blood supply. Technical evaluation and assessment will enable blood bankers to supply safe blood and improve the guidelines for blood safety. Thus, we try to study the correlation between hyperlipidemic platelets with platelets parameters, weight, and specific history of the donors. Methodology: This case control study included 100 blood samples of Blood donors, out of 100 only 30 samples were found to be hyperlipidemic and were included as cases, while rest were taken as controls. Lipid Profile were measured by fully automated analyzer (TRIGL:triglycerides),(LDL-C:LDL –Cholesterol plus 2nd generation),CHOL 2: Cholesterol Gen 2), HDL C 3: HDL-Cholesterol plus 3rdgeneration)-(Cobas C311-Roche Diagnostic).And Platelets parameters were analyzed by the Sysmex KX21 automated hematology analyzer. Results: A significant correlation was found amongst hyperlipidemic level in single time donor. In which 80% donors have history of heart disease, 66.66% donors have sedentary life style, 83.3% donors were smokers, 50% donors were alcoholic, and 63.33% donors had taken lipid rich diet. Active physical activity was found amongst 40% donors. We divided donors sample in two groups based on their body weight. In group 1, hyperlipidemic samples: Platelet Parameters were 75% in normal 25% abnormal in >70Kg weight while in 50-70Kg weight 90% were normal 10% were abnormal. In-group 2, Non Hyperlipidemic samples: platelet Parameters were 95% normal and 5% abnormal in >70Kg weight, while in 50-70Kg Weight, 66.66% normal and 33.33% abnormal. Conclusion: The findings indicate that Hyperlipidemic status of donors may affect the platelet parameters and can be distinguished on history by their weight, Smoking, Alcoholic intake, Sedentary lifestyle, Active physical activity, Lipid rich diet, Oral contraceptive pills intake, and Family history of heart disease. However further studies on a large sample size will affirm this finding.

Keywords: blood donors, hyperlipidemia, platelet, weight

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3416 Relationship Between Insulin Resistance and Some Coagulation and Fibrinolytic Parameters in Subjects With Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Amany Ragab, Nashwa Khairat Abousamra, Omayma Saleh, Asmaa Higazy

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Insulin resistance syndrome has been shown to be associated with many coagulation and fibrinolytic proteins and these associations suggest that some coagulation and fibrinolytic proteins have a role in atherothrombotic disorders. This study was conducted to determine the levels of some of the haemostatic parameters in subjects having metabolic syndrome and to correlate these values with the anthropometric and metabolic variables associated with this syndrome. The study included 46 obese non diabetic subjects of whom 28 subjects(group1) fulfilled the ATP III criteria of the metabolic syndrome and 18 subjects (group2) did not have metabolic syndrome as well as 14 lean subjects (group 3) of matched age and sex as a control group. Clinical and laboratory evaluation of the study groups stressed on anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, and sagittal abdominal diameter), blood pressure, and laboratory measurements of fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, serum lipids, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), antithrombin III activity (ATIII), protein C and von Willebrand factor (vWf) antigen. There was significant increase in the concentrations of t-PA and vWf antigens in subjects having metabolic syndrome (group 1) in comparison to the other groups while there were non-significant changes in the levels of protein C antigen and AT III activity. Both t-PA and vWf showed significant correlation with HOMA-IR as a measure of insulin sensitivity. The t-PA showed also significant correlation with most of the variables of metabolic syndrome including waist circumference, BMI, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, and HDL cholesterol. On the other hand, vWf showed significant correlations with fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin and sagital abdominal diameter, with non-significant correlations with the other variables. Haemostatic and fibrinolytic parameters should be included in the features and characterization of the insulin resistance syndrome. t-PA and vWf antigens concentrations were increased in subjects with metabolic syndrome and correlated with the HOMA-IR measure of insulin sensitivity. Taking into consideration that both t-PA and vWf are mainly released from vascular endothelium, these findings could be an indicator of endothelial dysfunction in that group of subjects.

Keywords: insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome, coagulation

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3415 Evaluation of Some Trace Elements in Biological Samples of Egyptian Viral Hepatitis Patients under Nutrition Therapy

Authors: Tarek Elnimr, Reda Morsy, Assem El Fert, Aziza Ismail

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Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Disease caused by the hepatitis virus, the virus can cause hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness. A growing body of evidence indicates that many trace elements play important roles in a number of carcinogenic processes that proceed with various mechanisms. To examine the status of trace elements during the development of hepatic carcinoma, we determined the iron, copper, zinc and selenium levels in some biological samples of patients at different stages of viral hepatic disease. We observed significant changes in the iron, copper, zinc and selenium levels in the biological samples of patients hepatocellular carcinoma, relative to those of healthy controls. The mean hair, nail, RBC, serum and whole blood copper levels in patients with hepatitis virus were significantly higher than that of the control group. In contrast the mean iron, zinc, and selenium levels in patients having hepatitis virus were significantly lower than those of the control group. On the basis of this study, we identified the impact of natural supplements to improve the treatment of viral liver damage, using the level of some trace elements such as, iron, copper, zinc and selenium, which might serve as biomarkers for increases survival and reduces disease progression. Most of the elements revealed diverse and random distribution in the samples of the donor groups. The correlation study pointed out significant disparities in the mutual relationships among the trace elements in the patients and controls. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis of the element data manifested diverse apportionment of the selected elements in the scalp hair, nail and blood components of the patients compared with the healthy counterparts.

Keywords: hepatitis, hair, nail, blood components, trace element, nutrition therapy, multivariate analysis, correlation, ICP-MS

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3414 Modeling and Dynamics Analysis for Intelligent Skid-Steering Vehicle Based on Trucksim-Simulink

Authors: Yansong Zhang, Xueyuan Li, Junjie Zhou, Xufeng Yin, Shihua Yuan, Shuxian Liu

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Aiming at the verification of control algorithms for skid-steering vehicles, a vehicle simulation model of 6×6 electric skid-steering unmanned vehicle was established based on Trucksim and Simulink. The original transmission and steering mechanism of Trucksim are removed, and the electric skid-steering model and a closed-loop controller for the vehicle speed and yaw rate are built in Simulink. The simulation results are compared with the ones got by theoretical formulas. The results show that the predicted tire mechanics and vehicle kinematics of Trucksim-Simulink simulation model are closed to the theoretical results. Therefore, it can be used as an effective approach to study the dynamic performance and control algorithm of skid-steering vehicle. In this paper, a method of motion control based on feed forward control is also designed. The simulation results show that the feed forward control strategy can make the vehicle follow the target yaw rate more quickly and accurately, which makes the vehicle have more maneuverability.

Keywords: skid-steering, Trucksim-Simulink, feedforward control, dynamics

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3413 Identification of the Target Genes to Increase the Immunotherapy Response in Bladder Cancer Patients using Computational and Experimental Approach

Authors: Sahar Nasr, Lin Li, Edwin Wang

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Bladder cancer (BLCA) is known as the 13th cause of death among cancer patients worldwide, and ~575,000 new BLCA cases are diagnosed each year. Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most prevalent subtype among BLCA patients, which can be categorized into muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Currently, various therapeutic options are available for UC patients, including (1) transurethral resection followed by intravesical instillation of chemotherapeutics or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for NMIBC patients, (2) neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy (NAC) plus radical cystectomy is the standard of care for localized MIBC patients, and (3) systematic chemotherapy for metastatic UC. However, conventional treatments may lead to several challenges for treating patients. As an illustration, some patients may suffer from recurrence of the disease after the first line of treatment. Recently, immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) has been introduced as an alternative treatment strategy for the first or second line of treatment in advanced or metastatic BLCA patients. Although ICT showed lucrative results for a fraction of BLCA patients, ~80% of patients were not responsive to it. Therefore, novel treatment methods are required to augment the ICI response rate within BLCA patients. It has been shown that the infiltration of T-cells into the tumor microenvironment (TME) is positively correlated with the response to ICT within cancerous patients. Therefore, the goal of this study is to enhance the infiltration of cytotoxic T-cells into TME through the identification of target genes within the tumor that are responsible for the non-T-cell inflamed TME and their inhibition. BLCA bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and immune score for TCGA samples were used to determine the Pearson correlation score between the expression of different genes and immune score for each sample. The genes with strong negative correlations were selected (r < -0.2). Thereafter, the correlation between the expression of each gene and survival in BLCA patients was calculated using the TCGA data and Cox regression method. The genes that are common in both selected gene lists were chosen for further analysis. Afterward, BLCA bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data were ranked based on the expression of each selected gene and the top and bottom 25% samples were used for pathway enrichment analysis. If the pathways related to the T-cell infiltration (e.g., antigen presentation, interferon, or chemokine pathways) were enriched within the low-expression group, the gene was included for downstream analysis. Finally, the selected genes will be used to calculate the correlation between their expression and the infiltration rate of the activated CD+8 T-cells, natural killer cells and the activated dendric cells. A list of potential target genes has been identified and ranked based on the above-mentioned analysis and criteria. SUN-1 got the highest score within the gene list and other identified genes in the literature as benchmarks. In conclusion, inhibition of SUN1 may increase the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the efficacy of ICI in BLCA patients. BLCA tumor cells with and without SUN-1 CRISPR/Cas9 knockout will be injected into the syngeneic mouse model to validate the predicted SUN-1 effect on increasing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Keywords: data analysis, gene expression analysis, gene identification, immunoinformatic, functional genomics, transcriptomics

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3412 Elevating User Experience for Thailand Drivers: Dashboard Design Analysis in Electric Vehicles

Authors: Poom Thiparapkul, Tanat Jiravansirikul, Pakpoom Thongsari

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This study explores the design of electric vehicle (EV) dashboards with a focus on user interaction. Findings from a Thai sample reveal a preference for physical buttons over touch interfaces due to their immediate feedback. Touchscreens lack this assurance, leading to potential uncertainty. Users' smartphone experiences create a learning curve that doesn't translate well to in-car touch systems. Gender-wise, females exhibit slightly longer decision times. Designing EV dashboards should consider these factors, prioritizing user experience while avoiding overreliance on smartphone principles. A successful example is Subaru XV's design, which calculates screen angles and button positions for targeted users. In summary, EV dashboards should be intuitive, minimize touch dependency, and accommodate user habits. Balancing modernity with functionality can enhance driving experiences while ensuring safety. A user-centered approach, acknowledging gender differences, will yield efficient and safe driving environments.

Keywords: user experience design, user experience, electric vehicle, dashboard design, Thailand driver.

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3411 Activation of NLRP3 Inflammasomes by Helicobacter pylori Infection in Innate Cellular Model and Its Correlation to IL-1β Production

Authors: Islam Nowisser, Noha Farag, Mohamed El Azizi

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Helicobacter pylori is a highly important human pathogen which inhabits about 50% of the population worldwide. Infection with this bacteria is very hard to treat, with high probability of recurrence. H. pylori causes severe gastric diseases, including peptic ulcer, gastritis, and gastric cancer, which has been linked to chronic inflammation. The infection has been reported to be associated with high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-1β and TNF-α. The aim of the current study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which H. pylori activates NLRP3 inflammasome and its contribution to Il-1 β production in an innate cellular model. H. pylori PMSS1 and G27 standard strains, as well as the PMSS1 isogenic mutant strain PMSS1ΔVacA and G27ΔVacA, G27ΔCagA in addition to clinical isolates obtained from biopsy samples from the antrum and corpus mucosa of chronic gastritis patients, were used to establish infection in RAW-264.7 macrophages. The production levels of TNF-α and IL-1β was assessed using ELISA. Since expression of these cytokines is often regulated by the transcription factor complex, nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), the activation of NF-κB in H. pylori infected cells was also evaluated by luciferase assay. Genomic DNA was extracted from bacterial cultures of H. pylori clinical isolates as well as the standard strains and their corresponding mutants, where they were evaluated for the cagA pathogenicity island and vacA expression. The correlation between these findings and expression of the cagA Pathogenicity Island and vacA in the bacteria was also investigated. The results showed IL-1β, and TNF-α production significantly increased in raw macrophages following H. pylori infection. The cagA+ and vacA+ H. pylori strains induced significant production of IL-1β compared to cagA- and vacA- strains. The activation pattern of NF-κB was correlated in the isolates to their cagA and vacA expression profiles. A similar finding could not be confirmed for TNF-α production. Our study shows the ability of H. pylori to activate NF-kB and induce significant IL-1β production as a possible mechanism for the augmented inflammatory response seen in subjects infected with cagA+ and vacA+ H. pylori strains that would lead to the progression to more severe form of the disease.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, IL-1β, inflammatory cytokines, nuclear factor KB, TNF-α

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3410 Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance Complementarity in Multinational Enterprises of the EU and India: A Socio-Political Approach

Authors: Moses Pinto, Ana Paula Monte

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The present research analyses the interactions between various categories of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that mediate the relationship between CSR and financial performance in Multinational Enterprises (MNE) in light of the present socio-political factors prevalent in the countries under observation. In the research it has been hypothesized that the absence of consensus in the empirical literature on the CSR–financial performance relationship may be explained by the existence of synergies (Complementarities) between the different CSR components. Upon investigation about whether such relationships exist, a final unbalanced panel sample of 1000 observations taken from 100 Multinational Enterprises per year functioning in the Schengen countries and one south east Asian country namely: India, over the span of 10 years i.e. from the year 2008 to 2018 has been analyzed. The empirical analysis used in the research methodology employs dynamic Panel Data in time series specifically, the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) which had been used to detect the varying degrees of relationships between the CSR and financial performance parameters in the background of the socio-political factors prevailing in the countries at the time and also taking into account the bilateral treaty obligations between the countries under observation. The econometric model has employed the financial ratio namely the Return on Assets (ROA) as an indicator of financial performance in order to gauge the internal performance and valuation of a firm as opposed to the Tobin’s Q that provides for the external evaluation of a firm’s financial performance which may not always be accurate. The various CSR dimensions have demonstrated significant correlations to the ‘ROA’ which include some negatively associated correlations and one positively associated correlation that is highly significant throughout the analysis of the observations, namely the correlation between the ‘ROA’ and the CSR dimension: ‘Environment’. The results provide a deeper insight in the synergistic CSR activities that managers could adapt into their Firm’s CSR strategy in order to enhance the ‘ROA’ and also to understand which interactions between the CSR dimensions can be adapted together due to their positively correlated association with each other and the ROA. The future lines of research would be inclined to investigate the effects of socio-political factors on the ROA of the MNEs through better designed econometric models.

Keywords: CSR, financial performance, complementarity, sociopolitical factors

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3409 Investigation of Attitude of Production Workers towards Job Rotation in Automotive Industry against the Background of Demographic Change

Authors: Franciska Weise, Ralph Bruder

Abstract:

Due to the demographic change in Germany along with the declining birth rate and the increasing age of population, the share of older people in society is rising. This development is also reflected in the work force of German companies. Therefore companies should focus on improving ergonomics, especially in the area of age-related work design. Literature shows that studies on age-related work design have been carried out in the past, some of whose results have been put into practice. However, there is still a need for further research. One of the most important methods for taking into account the needs of an aging population is job rotation. This method aims at preventing or reducing health risks and inappropriate physical strain. It is conceived as a systematic change of workplaces within a group. Existing literature does not cover any methods for the investigation of the attitudes of employees towards job rotation. However, in order to evaluate job rotation, it is essential to have knowledge of the views of people towards rotation. In addition to an investigation of attitudes, the design of rotation plays a crucial role. The sequence of activities and the rotation frequency influence the worker and as well the work result. The evaluation of preliminary talks on the shop floor showed that team speakers and foremen share a common understanding of job rotation. In practice, different varieties of job rotation exist. One important aspect is the frequency of rotation. It is possible to rotate never, more than one time or even during every break, or more often than every break. It depends on the opportunity or possibility to rotate whenever workers want to rotate. From the preliminary talks some challenges can be derived. For example a rotation in the whole team is not possible, if a team member requires to be trained for a new task. In order to be able to determine the relation of the design and the attitude towards job rotation, a questionnaire is carried out in the vehicle manufacturing. The questionnaire will be employed to determine the different varieties of job rotation that exist in production, as well as the attitudes of workers towards those different frequencies of job rotation. In addition, younger and older employees will be compared with regard to their rotation frequency and their attitudes towards rotation. There are three kinds of age groups. Three questions are under examination. The first question is whether older employees rotate less frequently than younger employees. Also it is investigated to know whether the frequency of job rotation and the attitude towards the frequency of job rotation are interconnected. Moreover, the attitudes of the different age groups towards the frequency of rotation will be examined. Up to now 144 employees, all working in production, took part in the survey. 36.8 % were younger than thirty, 37.5 % were between thirty und forty-four and 25.7 % were above forty-five years old. The data shows no difference between the three age groups in relation to the frequency of job rotation (N=139, median=4, Chi²=.859, df=2, p=.651). Most employees rotate between six and seven workplaces per day. In addition there is a statistically significant correlation between the frequency of job rotation and the attitude towards the frequency (Spearman-Rho: 2-sided=.008, correlation coefficient=.223). Less than four workplaces per day are not enough for the employees. The third question, which differences can be found between older and younger people who rotate in a different way and with different attitudes towards job rotation, cannot be possible answered. Till now the data shows that younger people would like to rotate very often. Regarding to older people no correlation can be found with acceptable significance. The results of the survey will be used to improve the current practice of job rotation. In addition, the discussions during the survey are expected to help sensitize the employees with respect to rotation issues, and to contribute to optimizing rotation by means of qualification and an improved design of job rotation. Together with the employees and the results of the survey there must be found standards which show how to rotate in an ergonomic way while consider the attitude towards job rotation.

Keywords: job rotation, age-related work design, questionnaire, automotive industry

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3408 The Environmental Benefits of the Adoption of Emission Control for Locomotives in Brazil

Authors: Rui de Abrantes, André Luiz Silva Forcetto

Abstract:

Air pollution is a big problem in many cities around the world. Brazilian big cities also have this problem, where millions of people are exposed daily to pollutants levels above the recommended by WHO. Brazil has taken several actions to reduce air pollution, among others, controlling the atmospheric emissions from vehicles, non-road mobile machinery, and motorcycles, but on the other side, there are no emissions controls for locomotives, which are exposing the population to tons of pollutants annually. The rail network is not homogeneously distributed in the national territory; it is denser near the big cities, and this way, the population is more exposed to pollutants; apart from that, the government intends to increase the rail network as one of the strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation, complying with the international agreements against the climate changes. This paper initially presents the estimated emissions from locomotive fleets with no emission control and with emission control equivalent to US Tier 3 from 2028 and for the next 20 years. However, we realized that a program equivalent to phase Tier 3 would not be effective, so we proposed a program in two steps that will avoid the release of more than 2.4 million tons of CO and 531,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 3.7 million tons of nitrogen oxides, and 102,000 tons of particulate matter in 20 years.

Keywords: locomotives, emission control, air pollution, pollutants emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 49
3407 Reinforcement Learning for Self Driving Racing Car Games

Authors: Adam Beaunoyer, Cory Beaunoyer, Mohammed Elmorsy, Hanan Saleh

Abstract:

This research aims to create a reinforcement learning agent capable of racing in challenging simulated environments with a low collision count. We present a reinforcement learning agent that can navigate challenging tracks using both a Deep Q-Network (DQN) and a Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) method. A challenging track includes curves, jumps, and varying road widths throughout. Using open-source code on Github, the environment used in this research is based on the 1995 racing game WipeOut. The proposed reinforcement learning agent can navigate challenging tracks rapidly while maintaining low racing completion time and collision count. The results show that the SAC model outperforms the DQN model by a large margin. We also propose an alternative multiple-car model that can navigate the track without colliding with other vehicles on the track. The SAC model is the basis for the multiple-car model, where it can complete the laps quicker than the single-car model but has a higher collision rate with the track wall.

Keywords: reinforcement learning, soft actor-critic, deep q-network, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, gaming

Procedia PDF Downloads 46
3406 A Metaheuristic Approach for the Pollution-Routing Problem

Authors: P. Parthiban, Sonu Rajak, R. Dhanalakshmi

Abstract:

This paper presents an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) approach, combined with a Speed Optimization Algorithm (SOA) to solve the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) with environmental considerations, which is well known as Pollution-Routing Problem (PRP). It consists of routing a number of vehicles to serve a set of customers, and determining fuel consumption, driver wages and their speed on each route segment, while respecting the capacity constraints and time windows. Since VRP is NP-hard problem, so PRP also a NP-hard problem, which requires metaheuristics to solve this type of problems. The proposed solution method consists of two stages. Stage one is to solve a Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window (VRPTW) using ACO and in the second stage, a SOA is run on the resulting VRPTW solution. Given a vehicle route, the SOA consists of finding the optimal speed on each arc of the route to minimize an objective function comprising fuel consumption costs and driver wages. The proposed algorithm tested on benchmark problem, the preliminary results show that the proposed algorithm can provide good solutions within reasonable computational time.

Keywords: ant colony optimization, CO2 emissions, speed optimization, vehicle routing

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3405 Multi-Objective Four-Dimensional Traveling Salesman Problem in an IoT-Based Transport System

Authors: Arindam Roy, Madhushree Das, Apurba Manna, Samir Maity

Abstract:

In this research paper, an algorithmic approach is developed to solve a novel multi-objective four-dimensional traveling salesman problem (MO4DTSP) where different paths with various numbers of conveyances are available to travel between two cities. NSGA-II and Decomposition algorithms are modified to solve MO4DTSP in an IoT-based transport system. This IoT-based transport system can be widely observed, analyzed, and controlled by an extensive distribution of traffic networks consisting of various types of sensors and actuators. Due to urbanization, most of the cities are connected using an intelligent traffic management system. Practically, for a traveler, multiple routes and vehicles are available to travel between any two cities. Thus, the classical TSP is reformulated as multi-route and multi-vehicle i.e., 4DTSP. The proposed MO4DTSP is designed with traveling cost, time, and customer satisfaction as objectives. In reality, customer satisfaction is an important parameter that depends on travel costs and time reflects in the present model.

Keywords: multi-objective four-dimensional traveling salesman problem (MO4DTSP), decomposition, NSGA-II, IoT-based transport system, customer satisfaction

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3404 Temperature Rises Characteristics of Distinct Double-Sided Flat Permanent Magnet Linear Generator for Free Piston Engines for Hybrid Vehicles

Authors: Ismail Rahama Adam Hamid

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of a thermal model for a flat, double-sided linear generator designed for use in free-piston engines. The study conducted in this paper examines the influence of temperature on the performance of the permeant magnet linear generator, an integral and pivotal component within the system. This research places particular emphasis on the Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet, which serves as a source of magnetic field for the linear generator. In this study, an internal combustion engine that tends to produce heat is connected to a generator. Considering the temperatures rise from both the combustion process and the thermal contributions of current-carrying conductors and frictional forces. Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method, a thermal model of the (NdFeB) magnet within the linear generator is constructed and analyzed. Furthermore, the temperature field is examined to ensure that the linear generator operates under stable conditions without the risk of demagnetization.

Keywords: free piston engine, permanent magnet, linear generator, demagnetization, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 56
3403 Oligoalkylamine Modified Poly(Amidoamine) Generation 4.5 Dendrimer for the Delivery of Small Interfering RNA

Authors: Endris Yibru Hanurry, Wei-Hsin Hsu, Hsieh-Chih Tsai

Abstract:

In recent years, the discovery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has got great attention for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. However, the therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs has been faced with many drawbacks because of short half-life in blood circulation, poor membrane penetration, weak endosomal escape and inadequate release into the cytosol. To overcome these drawbacks, we designed a non-viral vector by conjugating polyamidoamine generation 4.5 dendrimer (PDG4.5) with diethylenetriamine (DETA)- and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) followed by binding with siRNA to form polyplexes through electrostatic interaction. The result of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear single–quantum correlation spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful conjugation of DETA and TEPA with PDG4.5. Then, the size, surface charge, morphology, binding ability, stability, release assay, toxicity and cellular internalization were analyzed to explore the physicochemical and biological properties of PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA polyplexes at specific N/P ratios. The polyplexes (N/P = 8) exhibited spherical nanosized (125 and 85 nm) particles with optimum surface charge (13 and 26 mV), showed strong siRNA binding ability, protected the siRNA against enzyme digestion and accepted biocompatibility to the HeLa cells. Qualitatively, the fluorescence microscopy image revealed the delocalization (Manders’ coefficient 0.63 and 0.53 for PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA, respectively) of polyplexes and the translocation of the siRNA throughout the cytosol to show a decent cellular internalization and intracellular biodistribution of polyplexes in HeLa cells. Quantitatively, the flow cytometry result indicated that a significant (P < 0.05) amount of siRNA was internalized by cells treated with PDG4.5-DETA (68.5%) and PDG4.5-TEPA (73%) polyplexes. Generally, PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA were ideal nanocarriers of siRNA in vitro and might be used as promising candidates for in vivo study and future pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: non-viral carrier, oligoalkylamine, poly(amidoamine) dendrimer, polyplexes, siRNA

Procedia PDF Downloads 132
3402 Transverse Vibration of Elastic Beam Resting on Variable Elastic Foundation Subjected to moving Load

Authors: Idowu Ibikunle Albert, Atilade Adesanya Oluwafemi, Okedeyi Abiodun Sikiru, Mustapha Rilwan Adewale

Abstract:

These present-day all areas of transport have experienced large advances characterized by increases in the speeds and weight of vehicles. As a result, this paper considered the Transverse Vibration of an Elastic Beam Resting on a Variable Elastic Foundation Subjected to a moving Load. The beam is presumed to be uniformly distributed and has simple support at both ends. The moving distributed moving mass is assumed to move with constant velocity. The governing equations, which are fourth-order partial differential equations, were reduced to second-order partial differential equations using an analytical method in terms of series solution and solved by a numerical method using mathematical software (Maple). Results show that an increase in the values of beam parameters, moving Mass M, and k-stiffness K, significantly reduces the deflection profile of the vibrating beam. In the results, it was equally found that moving mass is greater than moving force.

Keywords: elastic beam, moving load, response of structure, variable elastic foundation

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3401 Factors Related to Health Promotion Behavior of Older Employees in Factory

Authors: Kanda Janyam, Piyaporn Vijit

Abstract:

Background: As a consequence of sustained declines in fertility and mortality during the last three decades of the 20th century, Thailand faces a rapidly growing population of older persons. This demographic change directly affect Thailand workforce. Therefore, the study of health promotion behaviour of the older employees will benefit the employers as they can then develop the preparation for promoting well-being in older persons. Purpose: The current study aims to investigate health promotion behaviour and factors related to health promotion behaviour of older employees in factory. Methodology: The research instrument was questionnaire on health promotion behaviour and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was launched with 326 employees aged between 45-59 years in three factories in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. The data collection started in December 2011. The data were analysed with mean, standard deviation, and correlation. Results: The results revealed that overall health promotion behaviour of the older employees in factory was at a high level. Moreover, when considered by aspect, it was found that their responsibility for health, nutrition, success in life, interpersonal relationship were at a high level while stress management, and exercise were at a moderate level. The results from correlation analysis indicated that the overall health promotion behaviour was positively related to knowledge of health promotion behaviour, attitude toward health promotion behaviour, health perception, the policy of health promotion, participation in health promotion activities, convenience in obtaining health promotion services, health resources, advice from people supporting health, and information received from the media. In addition, the results of the interviews with four key informants helped to confirm the factors related to health promotion behaviour of older employees in factory. Therefore, health promotion for elderly employees in factory is likely to be successful, if the support is given to the four health promotion factors that are divided into: leading factors consisting of attitude toward health promotion behaviour, and health perception, and supporting factors consisting of advice from other people, and information on health from various media. Practical implications: The results of the study identified the factors related to health promotion behaviour of older employees in factory. Such information will benefit employers as they can then develop specific strategies to increase their staffs’ well-being and, hence, presumably enhance the organization productivity.

Keywords: health promotion behavior, older, employee, factory

Procedia PDF Downloads 263
3400 Morphological Investigation of Sprawling Along Emerging Peri-Urban Transit Corridor of Mowe-Ibafo Axis of the Lagos Megacity Region

Authors: Folayele Oluyemi Akindeju, Tobi Joseph Ajoro

Abstract:

The city as a complex system exhibiting chaotic behaviour is in a state of constant change, in response to prevailing social, economic, environmental and technological factors. Without adequate investigation and control mechanisms to tame the sporadic nature of growth in most urban areas of cities in developing regions, organic sprawling visibly manifests with its attendant problems, most especially at peri-urban areas. The Lagos Megacity region in southwest Nigeria, as one of the largest megacities in the world contends with the challenges of sprawling at the peri-urban areas especially along emerging transit corridors. Due to the seemingly unpredictable nature of this growth, this paper attempts a morphological investigation into the growth of peri-urban settlements along the Mowe-Ibafo transit corridor of the Megacity region over a temporal space of three decades (1984-2014). This study adopts the application of the Fractal Analysis and Regression Analysis methods through the correlation of population density and fractal dimension values to establish the pattern and nature of growth, due to the inadequacies of conventional methods of urban analysis which cannot deal with the unpredictability of such complex urban forms as the peri-urban areas. It was deduced that the dynamic urban expansion in the last three decades resulted in about 74.2% urban change rate between 1984 and 2000 and 63.4% urban change rate between 2000 and 2014. With the R2 value between the fractal dimension and population density been 1, the regression model indicates a positive correlation between Fractal Dimension (D) and Population Density (pop/km2), where the increase in the population density from 5740 pop/km2 to 8060 pop/km2 and later decrease to 7580 pop/km2 leads to an increase in the fractal dimension of urban growth from 1.451 in 1984 to 1.853 in 2014. This, therefore, justifies the ability to predict and determine the nature and direction of growth of complex entities and is sufficient to substantially suggest the need for adequate policy framework towards sustainable urban planning and infrastructural provision in the Peri-urban areas.

Keywords: fractal analysis, Lagos Megacity, peri-urban, sprawling, urban morphology

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3399 Quantification of the Erosion Effect on Small Caliber Guns: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

Authors: Dhouibi Mohamed, Stirbu Bogdan, Chabotier André, Pirlot Marc

Abstract:

Effects of erosion and wear on the performance of small caliber guns have been analyzed throughout numerical and experimental studies. Mainly, qualitative observations were performed. Correlations between the volume change of the chamber and the maximum pressure are limited. This paper focuses on the development of a numerical model to predict the maximum pressure evolution when the interior shape of the chamber changes in the different weapon’s life phases. To fulfill this goal, an experimental campaign, followed by a numerical simulation study, is carried out. Two test barrels, « 5.56x45mm NATO » and « 7.62x51mm NATO,» are considered. First, a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) with a contact scanning probe is used to measure the interior profile of the barrels after each 300-shots cycle until their worn out. Simultaneously, the EPVAT (Electronic Pressure Velocity and Action Time) method with a special WEIBEL radar are used to measure: (i) the chamber pressure, (ii) the action time, (iii) and the bullet velocity in each barrel. Second, a numerical simulation study is carried out. Thus, a coupled interior ballistic model is developed using the dynamic finite element program LS-DYNA. In this work, two different models are elaborated: (i) coupled Eularien Lagrangian method using fluid-structure interaction (FSI) techniques and a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element using a lumped parameter model (LPM) as a subroutine. Those numerical models are validated and checked through three experimental results, such as (i) the muzzle velocity, (ii) the chamber pressure, and (iii) the surface morphology of fired projectiles. Results show a good agreement between experiments and numerical simulations. Next, a comparison between the two models is conducted. The projectile motions, the dynamic engraving resistances and the maximum pressures are compared and analyzed. Finally, using this obtained database, a statistical correlation between the muzzle velocity, the maximum pressure and the chamber volume is established.

Keywords: engraving process, finite element analysis, gun barrel erosion, interior ballistics, statistical correlation

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3398 The Role of Hemoglobin in Psychological Well Being and Academic Achievement of College Female Students

Authors: Ramesh Adsul, Vikas Minchekar

Abstract:

The present study attempts to explore the differences in academic achievement and psychological well being and its components – satisfaction, efficiency, sociability, mental health, interpersonal relations in low and moderate level of hemoglobin of college female students. It also tries to find out how hemoglobin, psychological well –being and academic achievement correlate to each other. For this study 200 (100 low hemoglobin level and 100 moderate hemoglobin level) college female students were selected by random sampling method. This sample is collected from the project ‘Health awareness and hemoglobin improvement programme’, which is being collaboratively conducted by ‘Akshyabhasha, MESA, U.S.A. and Smt. M.G. Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Sangli, Maharashtra, India. Psychological Well-Being Scale was used to collect the data. Students’ academic achievement was collected through college record, and hemoglobin level of female students was collected from project record. Data was analyzed by using independent ‘t’ test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The finding of the study revealed significant differences between low hemoglobin and moderate hemoglobin groups regarding efficiency and mental health. No significant difference was observed on satisfaction, sociability and interpersonal relations. It is also found that there is significant difference between low hemoglobin and moderate hemoglobin groups on academic achievement. The study revealed positive correlation between hemoglobin and academic achievement and psychological well-being and academic achievement. Moderate hemoglobin level create more efficiency, better mental health and good academic achievement in female students. One could say that there is significant role hemoglobin plays in psychological well being and academic achievement of college female students. Anemia is widely prevalent in all the states if India among all age groups. In India, college girls contribute major portion of population. It has been reported that 80% female population has hemoglobin deficiency, due to illiteracy of female, family structure, status of women, diet habits, gender discrimination and various superstitions. The deficiency of hemoglobin affects physical and mental health, general behavior and academic performance of students. This study is useful to educational managements, counselors, parents, students and Government also. In the development of personality physical as well as psychological health is essential. This research findings will create awareness about physical and mental health among people and society.

Keywords: academic achievement, college female students, hemoglobin, psychological well-being

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3397 A New Computational Tool for Noise Prediction of Rotating Surfaces (FACT)

Authors: Ana Vieira, Fernando Lau, João Pedro Mortágua, Luís Cruz, Rui Santos

Abstract:

The air transport impact on environment is more than ever a limitative obstacle to the aeronautical industry continuous growth. Over the last decades, considerable effort has been carried out in order to obtain quieter aircraft solutions, whether by changing the original design or investigating more silent maneuvers. The noise propagated by rotating surfaces is one of the most important sources of annoyance, being present in most aerial vehicles. Bearing this is mind, CEIIA developed a new computational chain for noise prediction with in-house software tools to obtain solutions in relatively short time without using excessive computer resources. This work is based on the new acoustic tool, which aims to predict the rotor noise generated during steady and maneuvering flight, making use of the flexibility of the C language and the advantages of GPU programming in terms of velocity. The acoustic tool is based in the Formulation 1A of Farassat, capable of predicting two important types of noise: the loading and thickness noise. The present work describes the most important features of the acoustic tool, presenting its most relevant results and framework analyses for helicopters and UAV quadrotors.

Keywords: rotor noise, acoustic tool, GPU Programming, UAV noise

Procedia PDF Downloads 401