Search results for: content based image retrieval (CBIR)
15652 Predictive Maintenance Based on Oil Analysis Applicable to Transportation Fleets
Authors: Israel Ibarra Solis, Juan Carlos Rodriguez Sierra, Ma. del Carmen Salazar Hernandez, Isis Rodriguez Sanchez, David Perez Guerrero
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At the present paper we try to explain the analysis techniques use for the lubricating oil in a maintenance period of a city bus (Mercedes Benz Boxer 40), which is call ‘R-24 route’, line Coecillo Centro SA de CV in Leon Guanajuato, to estimate the optimal time for the oil change. Using devices such as the rotational viscometer and the atomic absorption spectrometer, they can detect the incipient form when the oil loses its lubricating properties and, therefore, cannot protect the mechanical components of diesel engines such these trucks. Timely detection of lost property in the oil, it allows us taking preventive plan maintenance for the fleet.Keywords: atomic absorption spectrometry, maintenance, predictive velocity rate, lubricating oils
Procedia PDF Downloads 56015651 Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation by GIS Tourism Inventory System Project
Authors: Gamze Safak, Umut Arslanoglu
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Cultural and tourism conservation and development zones and tourism centers are the boundaries declared for the purpose of protecting, using, and evaluating the sectoral development and planned development in areas where historical and cultural values are heavily involved and/or where tourism potential is high. The most rapidly changing regions in Turkey are tourism areas, especially the coastal areas. Planning these regions is not about only an economic gain but also a natural and physical environment and refers to a complex process. If the tourism sector is not well controlled, excessive use of natural resources and wrong location choices may cause damage to natural areas, historical values, and socio-cultural structure. Since the strategic decisions taken in the environmental order and zoning plans, which are the means of guiding the physical environment of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which have the authority to make plans in tourism centers, are transformed into plan decisions that find the spatial expression, comprehensive evaluation of all kinds of data, following the historical development and based on the correct and current data is required. In addition, the authority has a number of competences in tourism promotion as well as the authority to plan, leading to the necessity of taking part in the applications requiring complex analysis such as the management and integration of the country's economic, political, social and cultural resources. For this purpose, Tourism Inventory System (TES) project, which consists of a series of subsystems, has been developed in order to solve complex planning and method problems in the management of site-related information. The scope of the project is based on the integration of numerical and verbal data in the regions within the jurisdiction of the authority, and the monitoring of the historical development of urban planning studies, making the spatial data of the institution easily accessible, shared, questionable and traceable in international standards. A dynamic and continuous system design has been put into practice by utilizing the advantage of the use of Geographical Information Systems in the planning process to play a role in making the right decisions, revealing the tools of social, economic, cultural development, and preservation of natural and cultural values. This paper, which is prepared by the project team members in TES (Tourism Inventory System), will present a study regarding the applicability of GIS in cultural and natural heritage conservation.Keywords: cultural conservation, GIS, geographic information system, tourism inventory system, urban planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 11315650 Hierarchical Checkpoint Protocol in Data Grids
Authors: Rahma Souli-Jbali, Minyar Sassi Hidri, Rahma Ben Ayed
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Grid of computing nodes has emerged as a representative means of connecting distributed computers or resources scattered all over the world for the purpose of computing and distributed storage. Since fault tolerance becomes complex due to the availability of resources in decentralized grid environment, it can be used in connection with replication in data grids. The objective of our work is to present fault tolerance in data grids with data replication-driven model based on clustering. The performance of the protocol is evaluated with Omnet++ simulator. The computational results show the efficiency of our protocol in terms of recovery time and the number of process in rollbacks.Keywords: data grids, fault tolerance, clustering, chandy-lamport
Procedia PDF Downloads 32815649 Effect of Mechanical Loading on the Delamination of Stratified Composite in Mode I
Authors: H. Achache, Y. Madani, A. Benzerdjeb
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The present study is based on the three-dimensional digital analysis by the finite elements method of the mechanical loading effect on the delamination of unidirectional and multidirectional stratified composites. The aim of this work is the determination of the release energy rate G in mode I and the Von Mises equivalent constraint distribution along the damaged area under the influence of several parameters such as the applied load and the delamination size. The results obtained in this study show that the unidirectional composite laminates have better mechanical resistance one the loading line than the multidirectional composite laminates.Keywords: delamination, release energy rate, stratified composite, finite element method, ply
Procedia PDF Downloads 41715648 An Observation of the Information Technology Research and Development Based on Article Data Mining: A Survey Study on Science Direct
Authors: Muhammet Dursun Kaya, Hasan Asil
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One of the most important factors of research and development is the deep insight into the evolutions of scientific development. The state-of-the-art tools and instruments can considerably assist the researchers, and many of the world organizations have become aware of the advantages of data mining for the acquisition of the knowledge required for the unstructured data. This paper was an attempt to review the articles on the information technology published in the past five years with the aid of data mining. A clustering approach was used to study these articles, and the research results revealed that three topics, namely health, innovation, and information systems, have captured the special attention of the researchers.Keywords: information technology, data mining, scientific development, clustering
Procedia PDF Downloads 27115647 Security in Resource Constraints: Network Energy Efficient Encryption
Authors: Mona Almansoori, Ahmed Mustafa, Ahmad Elshamy
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Wireless nodes in a sensor network gather and process critical information designed to process and communicate, information flooding through such network is critical for decision making and data processing, the integrity of such data is one of the most critical factors in wireless security without compromising the processing and transmission capability of the network. This paper presents mechanism to securely transmit data over a chain of sensor nodes without compromising the throughput of the network utilizing available battery resources available at the sensor node.Keywords: hybrid protocol, data integrity, lightweight encryption, neighbor based key sharing, sensor node data processing, Z-MAC
Procedia PDF Downloads 13915646 The Transcription Factor HNF4a: A Key Player in Haematological Disorders
Authors: Tareg Belali, Mosleh Abomughaid, Muhanad Alhujaily
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HNF4a is one of the steroid hormone receptor family of transcription factors with roles in the development of the liver and the regulation of several critical metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis, drug metabolism, and apolipoproteins and blood coagulation. The transcriptional potency of HNF4a is well known due to its involvement in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. However, recently HNF4a has been discovered to be closely associated with several haematological disorders, mainly because of genetic mutations, drugs, and hepatic disorders. We review HNF4a structure and function and its role in haematological disorders. We discuss possible good therapies that are based on targeting HNF4a.Keywords: hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha, HNF4a nuclear receptor, steroid hormone receptor family of transcription factors, hematological disorders
Procedia PDF Downloads 8815645 Teachers' Perceptions of Physical Education and Sports Calendar and Conducted in the Light of the Objective of the Lesson Approach Competencies
Authors: Chelali Mohammed
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In the context of the application of the competency-based approach in the system educational Algeria, the price of physical education and sport must privilege the acquisition of learning approaches and especially the approach science, which from problem situations, research and develops him information processing and application of knowledge and know-how in new situations in the words of ‘JOHN DEWEY’ ‘learning by practice’. And to achieve these goals and make teaching more EPS motivating, consistent and concrete, it is appropriate to perform a pedagogical approach freed from the constraints and open to creativity and student-centered in the light of the competency approach adopted in the formal curriculum. This approach is not unusual, but we think it is a highly professional nature requires the competence of the teacher.Keywords: approach competencies, physical, education, teachers
Procedia PDF Downloads 59715644 The Good Form of a Sustainable Creative Learning City Based on “The Theory of a Good City Form“ by Kevin Lynch
Authors: Fatemeh Moosavi, Tumelo Franck Nkoshwane
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Peter Drucker the renowned management guru once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Mr. Drucker is also the man who placed human capital as the most vital resource of any institution. As such any institution bent on creating a better future, requires a competent human capital, one that is able to execute with efficiency and effectiveness the objective a society aspires to. Technology today is accelerating the rate at which many societies transition to knowledge based societies. In this accelerated paradigm, it is imperative that those in leadership establish a platform capable of sustaining the planned future; intellectual capital. The capitalist economy going into the future will not just be sustained by dollars and cents, but by individuals who possess the creativity to enterprise, innovate and create wealth from ideas. This calls for cities of the future, to have this premise at the heart of their future plan, if the objective of designing sustainable and liveable future cities will be realised. The knowledge economy, now transitioning to the creative economy, requires cities of the future to be ‘gardens’ of inspiration, to be places where knowledge, creativity, and innovation can thrive as these instruments are becoming critical assets for creating wealth in the new economic system. Developing nations must accept that learning is a lifelong process that requires keeping abreast with change and should invest in teaching people how to keep learning. The need to continuously update one’s knowledge, turn these cities into vibrant societies, where new ideas create knowledge and in turn enriches the quality of life of the residents. Cities of the future must have as one of their objectives, the ability to motivate their citizens to learn, share knowledge, evaluate the knowledge and use it to create wealth for a just society. The five functional factors suggested by Kevin Lynch;-vitality, meaning/sense, adaptability, access, control, and monitoring should form the basis on which policy makers and urban designers base their plans for future cities. The authors of this paper believe that developing nations “creative economy clusters”, cities where creative industries drive the need for constant new knowledge creating sustainable learning creative cities. Obviously the form, shape and size of these districts should be cognisant of the environmental, cultural and economic characteristics of each locale. Gaborone city in the republic of Botswana is presented as the case study for this paper.Keywords: learning city, sustainable creative city, creative industry, good city form
Procedia PDF Downloads 30215643 Land Art in Public Spaces Design: Remediation, Prevention of Environmental Risks and Recycling as a Consequence of the Avant-Garde Activity of Landscape Architecture
Authors: Karolina Porada
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Over the last 40 years, there has been a trend in landscape architecture which supporters do not perceive the role of pro-ecological or postmodern solutions in the design of public green spaces as an essential goal, shifting their attention to the 'sculptural' shaping of areas with the use of slopes, hills, embankments, and other forms of terrain. This group of designers can be considered avant-garde, which in its activities refers to land art. Initial research shows that such applications are particularly frequent in places of former post-industrial sites and landfills, utilizing materials such as debris and post-mining waste in their construction. Due to the high degradation of the environment surrounding modern man, the brownfields are a challenge and a field of interest for the representatives of landscape architecture avant-garde, who through their projects try to recover lost lands by means of transformations supported by engineering and ecological knowledge to create places where nature can develop again. The analysis of a dozen or so facilities made it possible to come up with an important conclusion: apart from the cultural aspects (including artistic activities), the green areas formally referring to the land are important in the process of remediation of post-industrial sites and waste recycling (e. g. from construction sites). In these processes, there is also a potential for applying the concept of Natural Based Solutions, i.e. solutions allowing for the natural development of the site in such a way as to use it to cope with environmental problems, such as e.g. air pollution, soil phytoremediation and climate change. The paper presents examples of modern parks, whose compositions are based on shaping the surface of the terrain in a way referring to the land art, at the same time providing an example of brownfields reuse and application of waste recycling. For the purposes of object analysis, research methods such as historical-interpretation studies, case studies, qualitative research or the method of logical argumentation were used. The obtained results provide information about the role that landscape architecture can have in the process of remediation of degraded areas, at the same time guaranteeing the benefits, such as the shaping of landscapes attractive in terms of visual appearance, low costs of implementation, and improvement of the natural environment quality.Keywords: brownfields, contemporary parks, landscape architecture, remediation
Procedia PDF Downloads 14515642 Cybercrime Stage Based Intervention: Through the Eyes of a Cyber Threat Actor
Authors: Jonathan W. Z. Lim, Vrizlynn L. L. Thing
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Cybercrimes are on the rise, in part due to technological advancements, as well as increased avenues of exploitation. Sophisticated threat actors are leveraging on such advancements to execute their malicious intentions. The increase in cybercrimes is prevalent, and it seems unlikely that they can be easily eradicated. A more serious concern is that the community may come to accept the notion that this will become the trend. As such, the key question revolves around how we can reduce cybercrime in this evolving landscape. In our paper, we propose to build a systematic framework through the lens of a cyber threat actor. We explore the motivation factors behind the crimes and the crime stages of the threat actors. We then formulate intervention plans so as to discourage the act of committing malicious cyber activities and also aim to integrate ex-cyber offenders back into society.Keywords: crime motivations, crime prevention, cybercrime, ex-cyber criminals
Procedia PDF Downloads 13215641 The Facilitatory Effect of Phonological Priming on Visual Word Recognition in Arabic as a Function of Lexicality and Overlap Positions
Authors: Ali Al Moussaoui
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An experiment was designed to assess the performance of 24 Lebanese adults (mean age 29:5 years) in a lexical decision making (LDM) task to find out how the facilitatory effect of phonological priming (PP) affects the speed of visual word recognition in Arabic as lexicality (wordhood) and phonological overlap positions (POP) vary. The experiment falls in line with previous research on phonological priming in the light of the cohort theory and in relation to visual word recognition. The experiment also departs from the research on the Arabic language in which the importance of the consonantal root as a distinct morphological unit is confirmed. Based on previous research, it is hypothesized that (1) PP has a facilitating effect in LDM with words but not with nonwords and (2) final phonological overlap between the prime and the target is more facilitatory than initial overlap. An LDM task was programmed on PsychoPy application. Participants had to decide if a target (e.g., bayn ‘between’) preceded by a prime (e.g., bayt ‘house’) is a word or not. There were 4 conditions: no PP (NP), nonwords priming nonwords (NN), nonwords priming words (NW), and words priming words (WW). The conditions were simultaneously controlled for word length, wordhood, and POP. The interstimulus interval was 700 ms. Within the PP conditions, POP was controlled for in which there were 3 overlap positions between the primes and the targets: initial (e.g., asad ‘lion’ and asaf ‘sorrow’), final (e.g., kattab ‘cause to write’ 2sg-mas and rattab ‘organize’ 2sg-mas), or two-segmented (e.g., namle ‘ant’ and naħle ‘bee’). There were 96 trials, 24 in each condition, using a within-subject design. The results show that concerning (1), the highest average reaction time (RT) is that in NN, followed firstly by NW and finally by WW. There is statistical significance only between the pairs NN-NW and NN-WW. Regarding (2), the shortest RT is that in the two-segmented overlap condition, followed by the final POP in the first place and the initial POP in the last place. The difference between the two-segmented and the initial overlap is significant, while other pairwise comparisons are not. Based on these results, PP emerges as a facilitatory phenomenon that is highly sensitive to lexicality and POP. While PP can have a facilitating effect under lexicality, it shows no facilitation in its absence, which intersects with several previous findings. Participants are found to be more sensitive to the final phonological overlap than the initial overlap, which also coincides with a body of earlier literature. The results contradict the cohort theory’s stress on the onset overlap position and, instead, give more weight to final overlap, and even heavier weight to the two-segmented one. In conclusion, this study confirms the facilitating effect of PP with words but not when stimuli (at least the primes and at most both the primes and targets) are nonwords. It also shows that the two-segmented priming is the most influential in LDM in Arabic.Keywords: lexicality, phonological overlap positions, phonological priming, visual word recognition
Procedia PDF Downloads 17915640 The Experiences of Rural Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients in Newfoundland and Labrador and Their Challenges and Needs in Relocating to Urban Settings for Treatment
Authors: Mei Li, Victor Meddalena
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Background: Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has rapidly aging population and is characterized by its vast geography with high proportion of dispersed rural communities when compared to other provinces in Canada. Structural, demographic and geographic factors have created big gaps for rural residents across NL with respect to accessing various health and social services. While the barriers are well documented for patients’ access to cancer care in rural and remote areas, challenges faced by family caregivers are not fully recognized. Caregiving burden coupled with challenges associated with relocation and frequent travels create situations where caregivers are vulnerable physically, emotionally, financially and socially. This study examines the experiences of family caregivers living in rural NL through a social justice lens. It is expected to identify the gaps existing in social policy and support for rural family caregivers. It will make a novel contribution to the literature in this regard. Methods: Design: This qualitative study adopted the hermeneutic phenomenology to best describe and interpret rural-based family caregivers’ living experiences and explore the meaning, impact, and the influence of both individual experience and contextual factors shaping these experiences. Data Collection: In-depth interviews with key informants were conducted with 12 participants from various rural communities in NL. A case study was also used to explore an individual’s experience in complex social units consisting of multiple variables of in-depth understanding of the reality. Data Analysis: Thematic analysis guided by the Voice-Centred Relational (VCR) method was employed to explore the relationships and contexts of participants. Emerging Themes: Six major emerging themes were identified, namely, overwhelming caregiving burden on rural family caregivers, long existing financial hardship, separation from family and community, low level of social support and self-reliance coping strategies, and social vulnerability and isolation. Conclusion: Understanding the lived experiences of rural-based family caregivers is critical to inform the policy makers the gap of health and social service in NL. The findings of this study also have implications for family caregivers who are vulnerable in other similar contexts. This study adds innovative insights for policy making and service provision in this regard.Keywords: family caregivers, policy, relocation, rural
Procedia PDF Downloads 13815639 Ground States of Structure of Even ¹⁰⁴-¹⁰⁶ Ru Isotopes
Authors: I. Hossain, Huda H. Kassim, Fadhil I. Sharrad, Said A. Mansour
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In this conference, we apply the interacting boson model-1 (IBM-1) formula for U(5) symmetry in order to calculate the energy levels and reduced transition probabilities for a few yrast transitions in Ru with neutron N=60, 62. The neutron rich even-even isotopes of Ru are very interesting to investigate using IBM-1, because even 104,106Ru isotopes are great consequence due to excited near the magic number 50. The calculation of ground state band and B(E2) values using IBM-1 for Z=44 are not calculated to describe the valuable information of nuclear structure by U(5) limit. The parameters in the formula are deduced based on the experimental energy level and value of B(E2, 2+->0+). The yrast states and transition strength B(E2) from 1st 4+ to 1st 2+, 1st 6+ to 1st 4+ and 1st 8+ to 1st 6+ states of Ru for even N= 60, 62 were calculated. The quadrupole moments, deformation parameters and U(5) limit were discussed for those nuclei.Keywords: B(E2), energy level, ¹⁰⁴Ru, ¹⁰⁶Ru
Procedia PDF Downloads 34015638 Optimal Control of Volterra Integro-Differential Systems Based on Legendre Wavelets and Collocation Method
Authors: Khosrow Maleknejad, Asyieh Ebrahimzadeh
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In this paper, the numerical solution of optimal control problem (OCP) for systems governed by Volterra integro-differential (VID) equation is considered. The method is developed by means of the Legendre wavelet approximation and collocation method. The properties of Legendre wavelet accompany with Gaussian integration method are utilized to reduce the problem to the solution of nonlinear programming one. Some numerical examples are given to confirm the accuracy and ease of implementation of the method.Keywords: collocation method, Legendre wavelet, optimal control, Volterra integro-differential equation
Procedia PDF Downloads 38215637 A Strategy of Direct Power Control for PWM Rectifier Reducing Ripple in Instantaneous Power
Authors: T. Mohammed Chikouche, K. Hartani
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In order to solve the instantaneous power ripple and achieve better performance of direct power control (DPC) for a three-phase PWM rectifier, a control method is proposed in this paper. This control method is applied to overcome the instantaneous power ripple, to eliminate line current harmonics and therefore reduce the total harmonic distortion and to improve the power factor. A switching table is based on the analysis on the change of instantaneous active and reactive power, to select the optimum switching state of the three-phase PWM rectifier. The simulation result shows feasibility of this control method.Keywords: power quality, direct power control, power ripple, switching table, unity power factor
Procedia PDF Downloads 31415636 Wireless Battery Charger with Adaptive Rapid-Charging Algorithm
Authors: Byoung-Hee Lee
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Wireless battery charger with adaptive rapid charging algorithm is proposed. The proposed wireless charger adopts voltage regulation technique to reduce the number of power conversion steps. Moreover, based on battery models, an adaptive rapid charging algorithm for Li-ion batteries is obtained. Rapid-charging performance with the proposed wireless battery charger and the proposed rapid charging algorithm has been experimentally verified to show more than 70% charging time reduction compared to conventional constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging without the degradation of battery lifetime.Keywords: wireless, battery charger, adaptive, rapid-charging
Procedia PDF Downloads 36515635 A Survey of Crowdsourcing Technology and Application
Authors: Qianjia Cheng, Hongquan Jiang
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Crowdsourcing solves the problems that computers can't handle by integrating computers and the Internet. Its extensive knowledge sources, high efficiency, and high quality have made crowdsourcing attract wide attention in industry and academia in recent years. The development of online crowdsourcing platforms such as Clickworker, Amazon Mechanical Turk(Mturk) tends to mature gradually. This paper sorts out the concept of crowdsourcing, sorts out the workflow of competitive crowdsourcing, summarizes the related technologies of crowdsourcing based on workflow, quality control, cost control, and delay control, and introduces the typical crowdsourcing platform. Finally, we highlight some open problems of the current crowdsourcing and present some future research directions in this area.Keywords: application, crowdsourcing, crowdsourcing platform, system architecture
Procedia PDF Downloads 8215634 Grid Computing for Multi-Objective Optimization Problems
Authors: Aouaouche Elmaouhab, Hassina Beggar
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Solving multi-objective discrete optimization applications has always been limited by the resources of one machine: By computing power or by memory, most often both. To speed up the calculations, the grid computing represents a primary solution for the treatment of these applications through the parallelization of these resolution methods. In this work, we are interested in the study of some methods for solving multiple objective integer linear programming problem based on Branch-and-Bound and the study of grid computing technology. This study allowed us to propose an implementation of the method of Abbas and Al on the grid by reducing the execution time. To enhance our contribution, the main results are presented.Keywords: multi-objective optimization, integer linear programming, grid computing, parallel computing
Procedia PDF Downloads 47415633 Venezuela in the US Oil Geopolitics: An Analysis in the Light of the New Oil Landscape
Authors: William Clavijo, Edmar Almeida
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The article analyzes the importance of Venezuela in the US geopolitics of oil considering the new oil landscape. To this end, the importance of oil in the geopolitics of the United States is discussed from the perspective of energy security as well as considering a broader view of national security. Based on this discussion, the relevance of Venezuelan oil reserves on US geopolitical agenda is analyzed. Among the results, the article shows that the transformations in the supply structure of the international oil market during the last decade have allowed the United States to achieve greater levels of independence from oil imports from other producing countries. This new reality has profoundly changed the US interest in Venezuelan oil to a broader subject that involves sensitive issues of its national security agenda.Keywords: oil geopolitics, Venezuela, United States, energy security, national security
Procedia PDF Downloads 15915632 The Egyptian eGovernment Journey
Authors: Ali Abdelsattar Elshabrawy
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The Egyptian government is struggling to build it's eGovernment project. They succeeded to build the Egyptian digital portal, which contain links for number of services provided by different ministries. For achieving such success, their are requirements necessary to build such a project such as: internet dissemination, IT literacy, Strategy, disqualification of paper based services. This paper is going to clarify the main obstacles to the Egyptian eGovernment project from both the supply and demand sides. Also will clarify the most critical requirements in this phase of the project lifecycle. This paper should be in great value for the project team and also for many other developing countries that share the same obstacles.Keywords: the egyptian egovernment project lifecycle, supply side barriers, demand side barriers, egovernment project requirements
Procedia PDF Downloads 14215631 The Quality of Accounting Information of Private Companies in the Czech Republic
Authors: Kateřina Struhařová
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The paper gives the evidence of quality of accounting information of Czech private companies. In general the private companies in the Czech Republic do not see the benefits of providing accounting information of high quality. Based on the research of financial statements of entrepreneurs and companies in Zlin region it was confirmed that the quality of accounting information differs among the private entities and that the major impact on the accounting information quality has the fact if the financial statements are audited as well as the size of the entity. Also the foreign shareholders and lenders have some impact on the accounting information quality.Keywords: accounting information quality, financial statements, Czech Republic, private companies
Procedia PDF Downloads 29715630 Glycosaminoglycan, a Cartilage Erosion Marker in Synovial Fluid of Osteoarthritis Patients Strongly Correlates with WOMAC Function Subscale
Authors: Priya Kulkarni, Soumya Koppikar, Narendrakumar Wagh, Dhanshri Ingle, Onkar Lande, Abhay Harsulkar
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Cartilage is an extracellular matrix composed of aggrecan, which imparts it with a great tensile strength, stiffness and resilience. Disruption in cartilage metabolism leading to progressive degeneration is a characteristic feature of Osteoarthritis (OA). The process involves enzymatic depolymerisation of cartilage specific proteoglycan, releasing free glycosaminoglycan (GAG). This released GAG in synovial fluid (SF) of knee joint serves as a direct measure of cartilage loss, however, limited due to its invasive nature. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) is widely used for assessing pain, stiffness and physical-functions in OA patients. The scale is comprised of three subscales namely, pain, stiffness and physical-function, intends to measure patient’s perspective of disease severity as well as efficacy of prescribed treatment. Twenty SF samples obtained from OA patients were analysed for their GAG values in SF using DMMB based assay. LK 1.0 vernacular version was used to attain WOMAC scale. The results were evaluated using SAS University software (Edition 1.0) for statistical significance. All OA patients revealed higher GAG values compared to the control value of 78.4±30.1µg/ml (obtained from our non-OA patients). Average WOMAC calculated was 51.3 while pain, stiffness and function estimated were 9.7, 3.9 and 37.7, respectively. Interestingly, a strong statistical correlation was established between WOMAC function subscale and GAG (p = 0.0102). This subscale is based on day-to-day activities like stair-use, bending, walking, getting in/out of car, rising from bed. However, pain and stiffness subscale did not show correlation with any of the studied markers and endorsed the atypical inflammation in OA pathology. On one side, where knee pain showed poor correlation with GAG, it is often noted that radiography is insensitive to cartilage degenerative changes; thus OA remains undiagnosed for long. Moreover, active cartilage degradation phase remains elusive to both, patient and clinician. Through analysis of large number of OA patients we have established a close association of Kellgren-Lawrence grades and increased cartilage loss. A direct attempt to correlate WOMAC and radiographic progression of OA with various biomarkers has not been attempted so far. We found a good correlation in GAG levels in SF and the function subscale.Keywords: cartilage, Glycosaminoglycan, synovial fluid, western ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index
Procedia PDF Downloads 43715629 Settlement Network Supplying Energy
Authors: Balázs Kulcsár
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Few people now doubt the future of the global energy transition. The only question is whether the pace of renewables' penetration will be sufficient to compete with the rate of warming. Dynamic changes are also taking place in the Hungarian electricity system. In addition to nuclear power, which provides the basic electricity supply, the most dynamic is solar power, which is largely small-scale and residential. The emergence of solar power is outlining the emergence of energy production and supply fabric of municipalities. This creates the potential for over-producing municipalities to supply the electricity needs of neighboring settlements with lower production beyond renewables. By taking advantage of this energy sharing, electricity supply based on pure renewables can be achieved more quickly.Keywords: renewable energy, energy geography, self-sufficiency, energy transition
Procedia PDF Downloads 17415628 Use of EPR in Experimental Mechanics
Authors: M. Sikoń, E. Bidzińska
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An attempt to apply EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) spectroscopy to experimental analysis of the mechanical state of the loaded material is considered in this work. Theory concerns the participation of electrons in transfer of mechanical action. The model of measurement is shown by applying classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. Theoretical analysis is verified using EPR spectroscopy twice, once for the free spacemen and once for the mechanical loaded spacemen. Positive results in the form of different spectra for free and loaded materials are used to describe the mechanical state in continuum based on statistical mechanics. Perturbation of the optical electrons in the field of the mechanical interactions inspires us to propose new optical properties of the materials with mechanical stresses.Keywords: Cosserat medium, EPR spectroscopy, optical active electrons, optical activity
Procedia PDF Downloads 36915627 Approaches To Counseling As Done By Traditional Cultural Healers In North America
Authors: Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Barbara Mainguy
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We describe the type of counseling done by traditional cultural healers in North America. We follow an autoethnographic course development through the first author’s integration of mainstream training and Native-American heritage and study with traditional medicine people. We assemble traditional healing elders from North America and discuss with them their practices and their philosophies of healing. We draw parallels for their approaches in some European-based philosophies and religion, including the work of Heidegger, Levin, Fox, Kierkegaard, and others. An example of the treatment process with a depressed client is provided and similarities and differences with conventional psychotherapies are described.Keywords: indigenous approaches to counseling, indigenous bodywork, indigenous healing, North American indigenous people
Procedia PDF Downloads 26515626 India-Afghanistan Relations Post 9\11
Authors: Saifurahman Fayiz
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Geo-strategically and geo-politically location of Afghanistan has endured the consideration of Indian government policy. Afghanistan has a durable and widespread economic, historical, military, and cultural relationship with India. Afghanistan has significant and durable bilateral relations with its neighbor India. India has enjoyed friendly relations with Afghanistan since 1947. After the collapse of the Taliban regime, India and Afghanistan started diplomatic relations. The relationship between the two countries was friendly and stable. The objective of this research is to study the India- Afghanistan relationship from 2001 to 2021 from different aspects. The research conducted a qualitative research method based on descriptive. The research findings propose that India should expand its soft power in Afghanistan, and India’s foreign policy in Afghanistan should be evaluated.Keywords: relation, policy, soft power, sector
Procedia PDF Downloads 16115625 Box-Behnken Design for the Biosorption of Cationic Dye from Aqueous Solution Using a Zero-Valent Iron Nano Algal Composite
Authors: V. Sivasubramanian, M. Jerold
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The advancement of adsorption is the development of nano-biocomposite for the sorption dyes and heavy metal ions. In fact, Nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI) is cost-effective reducing agent and a most reliable biosorbent for the dye biosorption. In this study, nano zero valent iron Sargassum swartzii (nZVI-SS) biocomposite, a novel marine algal based biosorbent, was used for the removal of simulated crystal violet (CV) in batch mode of operation. The Box-Behnen design (BBD) experimental results revealed the biosoprtion was maximum at pH 7.5, biosorbent dosage 0.1 g/L and initial CV concentration of 100 mg/L. Therefore, the result implies that nZVI-SS biocomposite is a cheap and most promising biosorbent for the removal of CV from wastewater.Keywords: algae, biosorption, zero-valent, dye, waste water
Procedia PDF Downloads 23815624 The Impact of the Information Technologies on the Accounting Department of the Romanian Companies
Authors: Dumitru Valentin Florentin
Abstract:
The need to use high volumes of data and the high competition are only two reasons which make necessary the use of information technologies. The objective of our research is to establish the impact of information technologies on the accounting department of the Romanian companies. In order to achieve it, starting from the literature review we made an empirical research based on a questionnaire. We investigated the types of technologies used, the reasons which led to the implementation of certain technologies, the benefits brought by the use of the information technologies, the difficulties brought by the implementation and the future effects of the applications. The conclusions show that there is an evolution in the degree of implementation of the information technologies in the Romanian companies, compared with the results of other studies conducted a few years before.Keywords: information technologies, impact, company, Romania, empirical study
Procedia PDF Downloads 41715623 Conceptual Design of an Automated Biomethane Test Using Interacting Criteria
Authors: Vassilis C. Moulianitis, Evgenios Scourboutis, Ilias Katsanis, Paraskevas Papanikos, Nikolas Zacharopoulos
Abstract:
This paper presents the conceptual design of an automated biomethane potential measurement system. First, the design specifications for the BMP system and the basic components of the system will be presented. Three concepts that meet the design specifications will be presented. The basic characteristics of each concept will be analyzed in detail. The concepts will be evaluated using a set of design criteria that includes flexibility, cost, size, complexity, aesthetics, and accessibility in order to determine the best solution. The evaluation will be based on the discrete Choquet integral.Keywords: automated biomethane test, conceptual mechatronics design, concept evaluation, Choquet integral
Procedia PDF Downloads 86