Search results for: unit weight

Authors: Rahman Dashti, Ehsan Gord

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In this paper, an improved impedance based fault location method is proposed. In this method, online fault locating is performed using voltage and current information at the beginning of the feeder. Determining precise fault location in a short time increases reliability and efficiency of the system. The proposed method utilizes information about main component of voltage and current at the beginning of the feeder and distributed generation unit (DGU) in order to precisely locate different faults in acceptable time. To evaluate precision and accuracy of the proposed method, a 13-node is simulated and tested using MATLAB.

Keywords: distribution network, fault section determination, distributed generation units, distribution protection equipment

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Authors: Jung-Il Suh, Hong-Gun Park, Jae-Eun Oh

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Recently, the use of long-span precast concrete (PC) construction has increased in modular construction such as storage buildings and parking facilities. When applying long span PC member, reducing weight of long span PC member should be conducted considering lifting capacity of crane and self-weight of PC member and use of structural lightweight concrete made by lightweight aggregate (LWA) can be considered. In the process of lightweight concrete production, segregation and bleeding could occur due to difference of specific gravity between cement (3.3) and lightweight aggregate (1.2~1.8) and reducing weight of binder is needed to prevent the segregation between binder and aggregate. Also, lightweight precast concrete made by cementitious materials such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace (GGBFS) which is lower than specific gravity of cement as a substitute for cement has been studied. When only using fly ash for cementless binder alkali-activation of fly ash is most important chemical process in which the original fly ash is dissolved by a strong alkaline medium in steam curing with high-temperature condition. Because curing condition is similar with environment of precast member production, additional process is not needed. Na-based chloride generally used as a strong alkali activator has a practical problem such as high pH toxicity and high manufacturing cost. Instead of Na-based alkali activator calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] and sodium hydroxide [Na2CO3] might be used because it has a lower pH and less expensive than Na-based alkali activator. This study explored the influences on Ca(OH)2-Na2CO3-activated fly ash system in its microstructural aspects and strength and permeability using powder X-ray analysis (XRD), thermogravimetry (TGA), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). On the basis of microstructural analysis, the conclusions are made as follows. Increase of Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% did not affect improvement of compressive strength. Also, Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% and Na2CO3/FA wt.% had little effect on specific gravity of saturated surface dry (SSD) and absolute dry (AD) condition to calculate water absorption. Especially, the binder is appropriate for structural lightweight concrete because specific gravity of the hardened paste has no difference with that of lightweight aggregate. The XRD and TGA/DTG results did not present considerable difference for the types and quantities of hydration products depending on w/b ratio, Ca(OH)2 wt.%, and Na2CO3 wt.%. In the case of higher molar quantity of Ca(OH)2 to Na2CO3, XRD peak indicated unreacted Ca(OH)2 while DTG peak was not presented because of small quantity. Thus, presence of unreacted Ca(OH)2 is too small quantity to effect on mechanical performance. As a result of MIP, the porosity volume related to capillary pore depends on the w/b ratio. In the same condition of w/b ratio, quantities of Ca(OH)2 and Na2CO3 have more influence on pore size distribution rather than total porosity. While average pore size decreased as Na2CO3/FA w.t% increased, the average pore size increased over 20 nm as Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% increased which has inverse proportional relationship between pore size and mechanical properties such as compressive strength and water permeability.

Keywords: Ca(OH)2, compressive strength, microstructure, fly ash, Na2CO3, water absorption

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Authors: Christopher Hardly Joseph, Nicola Pelagalli, Davide Mencarelli, Luca Pierantoni

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In this contribution, we report the electromagnetic response of a split ring resonator (SRR) based magnetic metamaterial unit cell in free space nature by means of a full-wave electromagnetic simulation. The effective parameters of these designed structures have been analyzed. The structures have been specifically designed to work at high frequency considering the development of many microwave and lower mm-wave devices. In addition to that, the application of the designed metamaterial structures is also proposed, namely metamaterial loaded planar transmission lines, potentially useful to optimize size and quality factor of circuit components and radiating elements.

Keywords: CPW, Microwave Components, Negative Permeability, Split Ring Resonator (SRR)

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Authors: Mukesh Singh Mer, Brij Lal Attri, Raj Narayan, Anil Kumar

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Postharvest studies were conducted under the concept that fruit do not qualify for the fresh market may be used as a source of bioactive compounds. One peach (Prunus persica cvs Red June) were evaluated for their photochemical content and antioxidant capacity during the ripening and over ripening periods (advanced senescence) for 12 and 15 d, respectively. Firmness decreased rapidly during this period from an initial pre –ripe stage of 5.85 lb/in2 for peach until the fruit reached the fully ripe stage of lb/in2. In this study we evaluate the varietal performance in respect of the quality beyond fresh market eating and nutrition levels. The varieties are (T-1 F-16-23), (T-2 Florda king), (T-3 Nectarine), (T-4 Red June). The result pertaining are there the highest fruit length (68.50 mm), fruit breadth (71.38 mm), fruit weight (186.11 g) found in T4 Red June and fruit firmness (8.74 lb/in 2) found in T3-Nectarine. The acidity (1.66 %), ascorbic acid (440 mg/100 g), reducing sugar (19.77 %) and total sugar (51.73 %) found in T4- Red June, T-2 Florda King, T-3 Nectarine at harvesting time but decrease in fruit length ( 60.81 mm), fruit breadth (51.84 mm), fruit weight (143.03 g) found in T4 Red June and fruit firmness (6.29 lb/in 2) found in T3-Nectarine. The acidity (0.80 %), ascorbic acid (329.50 mg/100 g), reducing sugar (34.03 %) and total sugar (26.97 %) found in T1- F-16-23, T-2 Florda King, T-1 F-16-23 and T-3 Nectarine after 15 days in freeze conditions when will have been since reached beyond market. The study reveals that the size and yield good in Red June and the nutritional value higher in Florda King and Nectarine peach. Fruit firmness remained unchanged afterwards. In addition, total soluble solids in peach were basically similar during the ripening and over ripening periods. Further research on secondary metabolism regulation during ripening and advanced senescence is needed to obtain fruit as enriched dietary sources of bioactive compounds or for its use in alternative high value health markets including dietary supplements, functional foods cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: metabolism, acidity, ascorbic acid, pharmaceuticals

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Authors: Hee-Guk Chae, Bo-Bae Song, Kyoung-Il Do, Jeong-Yun Seo, Yong-Seo Koo

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In this study, an improved Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection circuit with low trigger voltage and high holding voltage is proposed. ESD has become a serious problem in the semiconductor process because the semiconductor density has become very high these days. Therefore, much research has been done to prevent ESD. The proposed circuit is a stacked structure of the new unit structure combined by the Zener Triggering (SCR ZTSCR) and the High Holding Voltage SCR (HHVSCR). The simulation results show that the proposed circuit has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage. And the stack technology is applied to adjust the various operating voltage. As the results, the holding voltage is 7.7 V for 2-stack and 10.7 V for 3-stack.

Keywords: ESD, SCR, latch-up, power clamp, holding voltage

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Authors: M. J. Alcedo, K. Ito, K. Maeda

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A stockperson has a significant influence on the productivity and welfare of their animals. This influence may be good or bad depending on their stockmanship competence. In this study, stockmanship competence (SC) is defined as the capacity of the stockperson to ensure the welfare of their animals by providing their animal’s needs. The study was conducted to evaluate the stockmanship competence of backyard goat raisers and to examine its relationship to productivity and economic profitability. This was made possible by interviewing 101 backyard goat raisers who have undergone farmer livestock school on integrated goat management (FLS IGM) in Region I, Philippines on September 3-30, 2012 and March 4-17, 2013. Secondary data needed were gathered from the local government agencies involved. Data on stockmanship, goat productivity and farmer’s income before and after attending FLS-IGM were gathered through a semi-structured interview. Questions for stockamnship were based on the Philippine recommends on goat production, tips on goat raising and other scientific literature. Stockmanship competence index score (SCIS) was computed by summing the raw scores derived from each components of SC divided by the total number of components. Pearson correlation through SPSS was used to see the relationship between SC, productivity and income. Result showed that majority raised native and upgraded goats. The computed mean SCIS before and after undergoing FLS-IGM was 38.53% and 75.81%, respectively, an improvement of 49.17%. Both index scores resulted in significant differences in productivity and income. The median mature weight and mortality rate of goats before FLS-IGM, where SC was low, was 14 kg and 50% respectively. On the other hand, after stockmanship had improved, the median mature weight increased to 19 kgs and mortality rate decreased to 11.11%. Likewise, fewer goat diseases were observed by farmers as compared before. With regards to income, there was 127.34% difference on the median net income derived by farmers. Result implies that improved stockmanship competence can lead not only to increased productivity and income of backyard goat raisers but also welfare of the animal.

Keywords: stockmanship, backyard goat production, animal welfare, Philippines

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Authors: Jing-Jing Wang, Yang Gao, Heather H. M. Kwok, Wendy Y. J. Huang

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Objectives: Intellectual disability (ID) ranks among the top 20 most costly disorders. A child with ID creates a wide set of challenges to the individual, family, and society, and overweight and obesity aggravate those challenges. People with ID have the right to attain optimal health like the rest of the population. They should be given priority to eliminate existing health inequities. Childhood obesity epidemic and associated factors among children, in general, has been well documented, while knowledge about overweight and obesity in children with ID is scarce. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 524 Chinese children with ID (males: 68.9%, mean age: 12.2 years) in Hong Kong in 2015. Children’s height and weight were measured at school. Parents, in the presence of their children, completed a self-administered questionnaire at home about the children’s physical activity (PA), eating habits, and sleep duration in a typical week as well as parenting practices regarding children’s eating and PA, and their socio-demographic characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression estimated the potential risk factors for children being overweight. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children with ID was 31.3%, which was higher than their general counterparts (18.7%-19.9%). Multivariate analyses revealed that the risk factors of overweight and obese in children with ID included: comorbidity with autism, the maternal side being overweight or obese, parenting practices with less pressure to eat more, children having shorter sleep duration, longer periods of sedentary behavior, and higher intake frequencies of sweetened food, fried food, and meats, fish, and eggs. Children born in other places, having snacks more frequently, and having irregular meals were also more likely to be overweight or obese, with marginal significance. Conclusions: Children with ID are more vulnerable to being overweight or obese than their typically developing counterparts. Identified risk factors in this study highlight a multifaceted approach to the involvement of parents as well as the modification of some children’s questionable behaviors to help them achieve a healthy weight.

Keywords: prevalence, risk factors, obesity, children with disability

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Authors: Seyed Mohammad Ali Zahedi

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This field experiment was conducted in Isfahan in 2011 in order to study the effect of plant density and planting pattern on growth, yield and quality of silage corn (SC 704) using a randomized complete block design with split plot layout and four replications. The main plot consisted of three planting patterns (60 and 75 cm single planting row and 75 cm double planting row referred to as 60S, 75S and 75T, respectively). The subplots consisted of four levels of plant densities (65000, 80000, 95000 and 110000 plants per hectare). Each subplot consisted of 7 rows, each with 10m length. Vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plants at silking and hard dough stages (when the plants were harvested for silage) were evaluated. Results of variance analysis showed that the effects of planting pattern and plant density were significant on leaf area per plant, leaf area index (at silking), plant height, stem diameter, dry weights of leaf, stem and ear in silking and harvest stages and on fresh and dry yield, dry matter percentage and crude protein percentage at harvest. There was no planting pattern × plant density interaction for these parameters. As row space increased from 60 cm with single planting to 75 cm with single planting, leaf area index and plant height increased, but leaf area per plant, stem diameter, dry weight of leaf, stem and ear, dry matter percentage, dry matter yield and crude protein percentage decreased. Dry matter yield reduced from 24.9 to 18.5 t/ha and crude protein percentage decreased from 6.11 to 5.60 percent. When the plant density increased from 65000 to 110000 plant per hectare, leaf area index, plant height, dry weight of leaf, stem and ear and dry matter yield increased from 19.2 to 23.3 t/ha, whereas leaf area per plant, stem diameter, dry matter percentage and crude protein percentage decreased from 6.30 to 5.25. The best results were obtained with 60 cm row distance with single planting and 110000 plants per hectare.

Keywords: silage corn, plant density, planting pattern, yield

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Authors: Axel Mancebo, Ana M. Bada, Angel Casacó, Bárbara González, Avelina León, María E. Arteaga, Consuelo González, Belinda Sánchez, Adriana Carr, Nuris Ledón, Arianna Iglesias

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Despite the many preventive and therapeutic modalities aimed at curing cancer, it remains as a serious world health problem. Promising recent developments suggest that cancer immunotherapy may be the next great hope for cancer treatment. EGFRs are receptor tyrosine kinases and it is considered an important therapeutic target related with tumor progression, and several types of molecular therapies, including monoclonal antibodies, small molecules, and vaccines, have been developed to target the HER family of receptors. On the other hand, gangliosides are membrane glycosphingolipids that contain two variants of sialic acid, the N-acetylated (NeuAc) and the N-glycolylated (NeuGc) variant. The high expression of this antigen-specific molecule has been associated with malignant tumor progression and immunosuppressive mechanisms, so ganglioside could be considered as the target for cancer immunotherapy. We have been working for several years in the safety evaluation of cancer vaccines targeting these two systems, the EGF receptor and ganglioside. We presented in this work results of repeated dose toxicity studies performed in Sprague Dawley rats and Cynomolgus monkeys, including clinical observations, body weight and rectal temperature measuring, clinical pathology analysis, gross necropsy and histological examination in rodent studies, and immunological evaluation. Immunizations were capable of inducing mainly inflammatory effects at the injection site, with findings largely attributable to the adjuvants used and probably enhanced by the immunological properties of the antigens. In general, these vaccines were shown to be well tolerated, and these studies in relevant species allow treating cancer patients with tumors during long periods with relative weight safety margin.

Keywords: cancer vaccines, safety, toxicology, rats, non human primates

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Authors: Cassey Younghans

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Background: Current health care trends demonstrate that there is an increasing number of patients being hospitalized with complex comorbidities. These complex needs require advanced therapies, and treatment goals often focus on doing everything possible to prolong life rather than focusing on the individual patient’s quality of life which is the goal of palliative care efforts. Patients benefit from palliative care in the early stages of the illness rather than after the disease progressed or the state of acuity has advanced. The clinical problem identified was that palliative care was not being implemented early enough in the disease process with patients who had complex medical conditions and who would benefit from the philosophy and skills of palliative care professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement study was to increase the number of palliative care screenings and consults completed on adults after being admitted to one Non-ICU and Non-COVID hospital unit. Methods: A retrospective chart review assessing for possible missed opportunities to introduce palliation was performed for patients with six primary diagnoses, including heart failure, liver failure, end stage renal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular accident, and cancer in a population of adults over the ago of 19 on one medical-surgical unit over a three-month period prior to the intervention. An educational session with the nurses on the benefits of palliative care was conducted by the researcher, and a screening tool was implemented. The expected outcome was to have an increase in early palliative care consultation with patients with complex comorbid conditions and a decrease in missed opportunities for the implementation of palliative care. Another retrospective chart review was completed following completion of the three month piloting of the tool. Results: During the retrospective chart review, 46 patients were admitted to the medical-surgical floor with the primary diagnoses identified in the inclusion criteria. Six patients had palliative care consults completed during that time. Twenty-two palliative care screening tools were completed during the intervention period. Of those, 15 of the patients scored a 7 or higher, suggesting that a palliative care consultation was warranted. The final retrospective chart review identified that 4 palliative consults were implemented during that time of the 31 patients who were admitted over the three month time frame. Conclusion: Educating nurses and implementing a palliative care screening upon admission can be of great value in providing early identification of patients who might benefit from palliative care. Recommendations – It is recommended that this screening tool should be used to help identify the patents of whom would benefit from a palliative care consult, and nurses would be able to initiated a palliative care consultation themselves.

Keywords: palliative care, screening, early, palliative care consult

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Authors: Rajesh Kumar Suman, Ipseeta Ray Mohanty, Manjusha K. Borde, Ujjawala maheswari, Y. A. Deshmukh

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Background: Metabolic syndrome encompasses cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease which includes abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. The incidence of metabolic syndrome is on the rise globally. Objective: The present study was designed to develop a unique animal model that will mimic the pathological features seen in a large pool of individuals with diabetes and metabolic syndrome; suitable for pharmacological screening of drugs beneficial in this condition. Material and Methods: A combination of high fat diet (HFD) and low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) at 30, 35 and 40 mg/kg was used to induce metabolic syndrome co-existing with diabetes mellitus in Wistar rats. Results: The 40 mg/kg STZ produced sustained hyperglycemia and the dose was thus selected for our study to induce diabetes mellitus. Rat fed HFD (HF-DC) group showed significant (p < 0.001) increase in body weight on 4th and 7th week as compared with NC (Normal Control) group rats. However, the increase in body weight of HF-DC group rats was not sustained at the end of 10th weeks. Various components of metabolic syndrome such as dyslipidemia {(Increased Triglyceride, total Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol and decreased HDL Cholesterol)}, diabetes mellitus (Blood Glucose, HbA1c, Serum Insulin, C-peptide), hypertension {Systolic Blood pressure (p < 0.001)} were mimicked in the developed model of metabolic syndrome co existing with diabetes mellitus. In addition significant cardiac injury as indicated by CPK-MB levels, artherogenic index, hs-CRP. The decline in hepatic function {(p < 0.01) increase in the level of SGPT (U/L)} and renal function {(increase in creatinine levels (p < 0.01)} when compared to NC group rats. The histopathological assessment confirmed presence of edema, necrosis and inflammation in Heart, Pancreas, Liver and Kidney of HFD-DC group as compared to NC. Conclusion: The present study has developed a unique rodent model of metabolic syndrome; with diabetes as an essential component.

Keywords: diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high fat diet, streptozotocin, rats

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Authors: Brahim Mazian, Anne Bergeret, Jean-Charles Benezet, Sandrine Bayle, Luc Malhautier

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Hemp fibers are increasingly used as reinforcements in polymer matrix composites due to their competitive performance (low density, mechanical properties and biodegradability) compared to conventional fibres such as glass fibers. However, the huge variation of their biochemical, physical and mechanical properties limits the use of these natural fibres in structural applications when high consistency and homogeneity are required. In the hemp industry, traditional processes termed field retting are commonly used to facilitate the extraction and separation of stem fibers. This retting treatment consists to spread out the stems on the ground for a duration ranging from a few days to several weeks. Microorganisms (fungi and bacteria) grow on the stem surface and produce enzymes that degrade pectinolytic substances in the middle lamellae surrounding the fibers. This operation depends on the weather conditions and is currently carried out very empirically in the fields so that a large variability in the hemp fibers quality (mechanical properties, color, morphology, chemical composition…) is resulting. Nonetheless, if controlled, retting might be favorable for good properties of hemp fibers and then of hemp fibers reinforced composites. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the influence of controlled retting within a designed environmental chamber (lab-scale pilot unit) on the quality of the hemp fibres harvested at the seed maturity growth stage. Various assessments were applied directly on fibers: color observations, morphological (optical microscope), surface (ESEM), biochemical (gravimetry) analysis, spectrocolorimetric measurements (pectins content), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile testing. The results reveal that controlled retting leads to a rapid change of color from yellow to dark grey due to development of microbial communities (fungi and bacteria) at the stem surface. An increase of thermal stability of fibres due to the removal of non-cellulosic components along retting is also observed. A separation of bast fibers to elementary fibers occurred with an evolution of chemical composition (degradation of pectins) and a rapid decrease in tensile properties (380MPa to 170MPa after 3 weeks) due to accelerated retting process. The influence of controlled retting on the biocomposite material (PP / hemp fibers) properties is under investigation.

Keywords: controlled retting, hemp fibre, mechanical properties, thermal stability

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Authors: Tarek Fatouh, Chehab Elbelehy, Alaa Abdelsalam, Eman Elakkad, Alaa Abdelshafie

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This paper aims to explore the possibility of time compression in Engineer to Order production networks. A case study research method is used in a Norwegian shipbuilding project by implementing a value stream mapping lean tool with total cycle time as a unit of analysis. The analysis resulted in demonstrating the time deviations for the planned tasks in one of the processes in the shipbuilding project. So, authors developed a future state map by removing time wastes from value stream process.

Keywords: engineer to order, total cycle time, value stream mapping, shipbuilding

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Authors: A. B. Arani, R. Shojaee

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Electrical power distribution system is one of the vital infrastructures of an oil refinery, which requires wide area of study and planning before construction. In this paper, power distribution reliability of Tehran Refinery’s KHDS/GHDS unit has been taken into consideration to investigate the importance of these kinds of studies and evaluate the designed system. In this regard, the authors chose and evaluated different configurations of electrical power distribution along with the existing configuration with the aim of finding the most suited configuration which satisfies the conditions of minimum cost of electrical system construction, minimum cost imposed by loss of load, and maximum power system reliability.

Keywords: power distribution system, oil refinery, reliability, investment cost, interruption cost

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Authors: Filip Varga, Nina Jeran, Martina Biosic, Zlatko Satovic, Martina Grdisa

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Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.), a species endemic to the eastern Adriatic coastline, is the source of natural insecticide pyrethrin. Pyrethrin is a mixture of six compounds (pyrethrin I and II, cinerin I and II, jasmolin I and II) that exhibits high insecticidal activity with no detrimental effects to the environment. A recently optimized matrix-solid phase dispersion method (MSPD), using florisil as the sorbent, acetone-ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) as the elution solvent, and sodium sulfate anhydrous as the drying agent was utilized to extract the pyrethrins from 10 wild populations (20 individuals per population) distributed along the Croatian coast. All six components in the extracts were qualitatively and quantitatively determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Pearson’s correlation index was calculated between pyrethrin compounds, and differences between the populations using the analysis of variance were tested. Additionally, the correlation of each pyrethrin component with spatio-ecological variables (bioclimate, soil properties, elevation, solar radiation, and distance from the coastline) was calculated. Total pyrethrin content ranged from 0.10% to 1.35% of dry flower weight, averaging 0.58% across all individuals. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences between populations based on all six pyrethrin compounds and total pyrethrin content. On average, the lowest total pyrethrin content was found in the population from Pelješac peninsula (0.22% of dry flower weight) in which total pyrethrin content lower than 0.18% was detected in 55% of the individuals. The highest average total pyrethrin content was observed in the population from island Zlarin (0.87% of dry flower weight), in which total pyrethrin content higher than 1.00% was recorded in only 30% of the individuals. Pyrethrin I/pyrethrin II ratio as a measure of extract quality ranged from 0.21 (population from the island Čiovo) to 5.88 (population from island Mali Lošinj) with an average of 1.77 across all individuals. By far, the lowest quality of extracts was found in the population from Mt. Biokovo (pyrethrin I/II ratio lower than 0.72 in 40% of individuals) due to the high pyrethrin II content typical for this population. Pearson’s correlation index revealed a highly significant positive correlation between pyrethrin I content and total pyrethrin content and a strong negative correlation between pyrethrin I and pyrethrin II. The results of this research clearly indicate high intra- and interpopulation diversity of Dalmatian pyrethrum with regards to pyrethrin content and composition. The information obtained has potential use in plant genetic resources conservation and biodiversity monitoring. Possibly the largest potential lies in designing breeding programs aimed at increasing pyrethrin content in commercial breeding lines and reintroduction in agriculture in Croatia. Acknowledgment: This work has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project ‘Genetic background of Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir/ Sch. Bip.) insecticidal potential’ - (PyrDiv) (IP-06-2016-9034).

Keywords: Dalmatian pyrethrum, HPLC, MSPD, pyrethrin

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Authors: Tatsuya Kasuga, Hidehisa Shimada, Kimio Oguchi

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Recent rapid progress in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has advanced the penetration of sensor networks (SNs) and their attractive applications. Agriculture is one of the fields well able to benefit from ICT. Plant factories control several parameters related to plant growth in closed areas such as air temperature, humidity, water, culture medium concentration, and artificial lighting by using computers and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being researched in order to obtain stable and safe production of vegetables and medicinal plants all year anywhere, and attain self-sufficiency in food. By providing isolation from the natural environment, a plant factory can achieve higher productivity and safe products. However, the biggest issue with plant factories is the return on investment. Profits are tenuous because of the large initial investments and running costs, i.e. electric power, incurred. At present, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are being adopted because they are more energy-efficient and encourage photosynthesis better than the fluorescent lamps used in the past. However, further cost reduction is essential. This paper introduces experiments that reveal which color of LED lighting best enhances the growth of cultured radish sprouts. Radish sprouts were cultivated in the experimental environment formed by a hydroponics kit with three cultivation shelves (28 samples per shelf) each with an artificial lighting rack. Seven LED arrays of different color (white, blue, yellow green, green, yellow, orange, and red) were compared with a fluorescent lamp as the control. Lighting duration was set to 12 hours a day. Normal water with no fertilizer was circulated. Seven days after germination, the length, weight and area of leaf of each sample were measured. Electrical power consumption for all lighting arrangements was also measured. Results and discussions: As to average sample length, no clear difference was observed in terms of color. As regards weight, orange LED was less effective and the difference was significant (p < 0.05). As to leaf area, blue, yellow and orange LEDs were significantly less effective. However, all LEDs offered higher productivity per W consumed than the fluorescent lamp. Of the LEDs, the blue LED array attained the best results in terms of length, weight and area of leaf per W consumed. Conclusion and future works: An experiment on radish sprout cultivation under 7 different color LED arrays showed no clear difference in terms of sample size. However, if electrical power consumption is considered, LEDs offered about twice the growth rate of the fluorescent lamp. Among them, blue LEDs showed the best performance. Further cost reduction e.g. low power lighting remains a big issue for actual system deployment. An automatic plant monitoring system with sensors is another study target.

Keywords: electric power consumption, LED color, LED lighting, plant factory

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Authors: Daseul Lee, Jeong Jun Lee, Ok-Sang Jung

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Self-assembly of a series of ZnX2 (X- = Cl-, Br-, and I-) with 2,3-bis(4’-nicotinamidephenoxy)naphthalene (L) as a new bidentate pyridyl-donor ligand yields systematic metallacyclodimeric unit, [ZnX2L]2. The supramolecule constitutes a characteristically stacked forming both 1D suprachannels and cages. Weak C-H⋯π and inter-digitated π⋯π interactions are main driving forces in the formation of both suprachannels and cages. The slightly different features between the suprachannel and cage have been investigated by 1H NMR and TG analysis, which solvent quantitatively exchange within only suprachannels. Photo-unstable CH2I2 molecules are stabilized via capturing within suprachannels, which is monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, the photoluminescence intensity, from the chromophore naphthyl moiety of [ZnCl2L]2, gradually decreases with the addition of CH2I2. And washing off the CH2I2 by dichloromethane returned the PL intensity back to its approximately original signal.

Keywords: metallacyclodimer, suprachannel, π⋯π interaction, molecular recognition

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Authors: Fouzia Khanam, Belal Hossain, Kaosar Afsana, Mahfuzar Rahman

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Aim: Although cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has already been recognized as a major cause of death in developed countries, its prevalence is rising in developing countries as well, and engendering a challenge for the health sector. Bangladesh has experienced an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases over the last few decades. So, the rising prevalence of CVD and its risk factors are imposing a major problem for the country. We aimed to examine the prevalence of CVDs and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors related to it from a population-based survey. Methods: The data used for this study were collected as a part of a large-scale cross-sectional study conducted to explore the overall health status of children, mothers and senior citizens of Bangladesh. Multistage cluster random sampling procedure was applied by considering unions as clusters and households as the primary sampling unit to select a total of 11,428 households for the base survey. Present analysis encompassed 12338 respondents of ≥ 35 years, selected from both rural areas and urban slums of the country. Socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle information were obtained through individual by a face-to-face interview which was noted in ODK platform. And height, weight, blood pressure and glycosuria were measured using standardized methods. Chi-square test, Univariate modified Poisson regression model, and multivariate modified Poisson regression model were done using STATA software (version 13.0) for analysis. Results: Overall, the prevalence of CVD was 4.51%, of which 1.78% had stroke and 3.17% suffered from heart diseases. Male had higher prevalence of stroke (2.20%) than their counterparts (1.37%). Notably, thirty percent of respondents had high blood pressure and 5% population had diabetes and more than half of the population was pre-hypertensive. Additionally, 20% were overweight, 77% were smoker or consumed smokeless tobacco and 28% of respondents were physically inactive. Eighty-two percent of respondents took extra salt while eating and 29% of respondents had deprived sleep. Furthermore, the prevalence of risk factor of CVD varied according to gender. Women had a higher prevalence of overweight, obesity and diabetes. Women were also less physically active compared to men and took more extra salt. Smoking was lower in women compared to men. Moreover, women slept less compared to their counterpart. After adjusting confounders in modified Poisson regression model, age, gender, occupation, wealth quintile, BMI, extra salt intake, daily sleep, tiredness, diabetes, and hypertension remained as risk factors for CVD. Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD is significant in Bangladesh, and there is an evidence of rising trend for its risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes especially in older population, women and high-income groups. Therefore, in this current epidemiological transition, immediate public health intervention is warranted to address the overwhelming CVD risk.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke

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Authors: Haoming Ma, Guo Yu, Peiru Zhou

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Background: Previous studies show that dysglycemia, mostly hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and glycemic variability(GV), are associated with excess mortality in critically ill patients, especially those without diabetes. Glycemic variability is an increasingly important measure of glucose control in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to this association. However, there is limited data pertaining to the relationship between different clinical factors and glycemic variability and clinical outcomes categorized by their DM status. This retrospective study of 958 intensive care unit(ICU) patients was conducted to investigate the relationship between GV and outcome in critically ill patients and further to determine the significant factors that contribute to the glycemic variability. Aim: We hypothesize that the factors contributing to mortality and the glycemic variability are different from critically ill patients with or without diabetes. And the primary aim of this study was to determine which dysglycemia (hyperglycemia\hypoglycemia\glycemic variability) is independently associated with an increase in mortality among critically ill patients in different groups (DM/Non-DM). Secondary objectives were to further investigate any factors affecting the glycemic variability in two groups. Method: A total of 958 diabetic and non-diabetic patients with severe diseases in the ICU were selected for this retrospective analysis. The glycemic variability was defined as the coefficient of variation (CV) of blood glucose. The main outcome was death during hospitalization. The secondary outcome was GV. The logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with mortality. The relationships between GV and other variables were investigated using linear regression analysis. Results: Information on age, APACHE II score, GV, gender, in-ICU treatment and nutrition was available for 958 subjects. Predictors remaining in the final logistic regression model for mortality were significantly different in DM/Non-DM groups. Glycemic variability was associated with an increase in mortality in both DM(odds ratio 1.05; 95%CI:1.03-1.08,p＜0.001) or Non-DM group(odds ratio 1.07; 95%CI:1.03-1.11,p=0.002). For critically ill patients without diabetes, factors associated with glycemic variability included APACHE II score(regression coefficient, 95%CI:0.29,0.22-0.36,p＜0.001), Mean BG(0.73,0.46-1.01,p＜0.001), total parenteral nutrition(2.87,1.57-4.17,p＜0.001), serum albumin(-0.18,-0.271 to -0.082,p＜0.001), insulin treatment(2.18,0.81-3.55,p=0.002) and duration of ventilation(0.006,0.002-1.010,p=0.003).However, for diabetes patients, APACHE II score(0.203,0.096-0.310,p＜0.001), mean BG(0.503,0.138-0.869,p=0.007) and duration of diabetes(0.167,0.033-0.301,p=0.015) remained as independent risk factors of GV. Conclusion: We found that the relation between dysglycemia and mortality is different in the diabetes and non-diabetes groups. And we confirm that GV was associated with excess mortality in DM or Non-DM patients. Furthermore, APACHE II score, Mean BG, total parenteral nutrition, serum albumin, insulin treatment and duration of ventilation were significantly associated with an increase in GV in Non-DM patients. While APACHE II score, mean BG and duration of diabetes (years) remained as independent risk factors of increased GV in DM patients. These findings provide important context for further prospective trials investigating the effect of different clinical factors in critically ill patients with or without diabetes.

Keywords: diabetes, glycemic variability, predictors, severe disease

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Authors: Luciano Oliveira, Elsa Vásquez-Alvarez

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The increase in rail freight transport in Brazil in recent years requires new railway lines and the maintenance of existing ones, which generates high costs for concessionaires. It is in this context that this work is inserted, whose objective is to propose a method that uses Binary Linear Programming for the choice of sleeper and rail fastening, from various options, including the way to apply these materials, with focus to minimize costs. Unit value information, the life cycle each of material type, and service expenses are considered. The model was implemented in commercial software using real data for its validation. The formulated model can be replicated to support decision-making for other railway projects in the choice of sleepers and rail fastening with lowest cost.

Keywords: linear programming, rail fastening, rail sleeper, railway

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Authors: Afshin Zahedi, Keivan Jamshidi

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This study was conducted to determine the neurotoxic effects of different doses of ACR on the thoracic axons of the spinal cord of rat. To evaluate this hypothesis in the thoracic axons, amino-cupric silver staining technique of the de Olmos was conducted to define the histopathologic characteristic (argyrophilia) of axonal damage following ACR exposure. For this purpose 60 adult male rats (Wistar, approximately 250 g) were selected. Rats were hosed in polycarbonate boxes as two per each. Randomly assigned groups of rats (10 rats per exposure group, total 5 exposure groups as A, B, C, D and E) were exposed to 0.5, 5, 50, 100 and 500 mg/kg per day×11days intraperitoneal injection (IP injection) respectively. The remaining 10 rats were housed in group (F) as control group. Control rats received daily injections of 0.9% saline (3ml/kg). As indices of developing neurotoxicity, weight gain, gait scores and landing hindlimb foot splay (LHF) were determined. Weight gains were measured daily prior to injection. Gait scoring involved observation of spontaneous open field locomotion, included evaluations of ataxia, hopping, rearing and hind foot placement, and hindlimb foot splay were determined 3-4 times per week. Gait score was assigned from 1-4. After 11 days, two rats for silver stain, were randomly selected, dissected and proper samples were collected from thoracic portion of the spinal cord of rat. Results did show no neurological behavior in groups A, B and F, whereas severe neurotoxicity was observed in groups C and D. Rats in groups E died within 1-2 hours due to severe toxemia. In histopathological studies based on the de Olmos technique no argyrophilic neurons or processes were observed in stained sections obtained from the thoracic portion of the spinal cord of rats belong to groups A, B and F, while moderate to severe argyrophilic changes were observed in different stained sections obtained from the thoracic portion of the spinal cord of rats belong to groups C and D.

Keywords: acrylamide, rat, axonopathy, argyrophily, de Olmos

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Authors: Pankaj Singh Rawat, Rajeew Kumar, Pradeep Ram, Priyanka Pandey

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Wheat is an important cereal crop for food security. Boosting the wheat production and productivity is the major challenge across the nation. Good quality of seed is required for maintaining optimum plant stand which ultimately increases grain yield. Ensuring a good germination is one of the key steps to ensure proper plant stand and moisture assurance during seed germination may help to speed up the germination. The tiny size of nanoparticles may help in entry of water into seed without disturbing their internal structure. Considering above, a laboratory experiment was conducted during 2012-13 at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India. The completely randomized design was used for statistical analysis. The experiment was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the appropriate concentration of nanoparticles for seed treatment was screened. In second phase seed soaking hours of nanoparticles for better seed germination were standardized. Wheat variety UP2526 was taken as test crop. Four nanoparticles (TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan) were taken for study. The crop germination studies were done in petri dishes and standard package and practices were used to raise the seedlings. The germination studies were done by following standard procedure. In first phase of the experiment, seeds were treated with 50 and 300 ppm of nanoparticles and control was also maintained for comparison. In the second phase of experiment, seeds were soaked for 4 hours, 6 hours and 8 hours with 50 ppm nanoparticles of TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan along with control treatment to identify the soaking time for better seed germination. Experiment revealed that the application of nanoparticles help to enhance seed germination. The study revealed that seed treatment with  nanoparticles at 50 ppm concentration increases root length, shoot length, seedling length, shoot dry weight, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index I and seedling vigour index II as compared to seed soaking at 300 ppm concentration. This experiment showed that seed soaking up to 4 hr was better as compared to 6 and 8 hrs. Seed soaking with nanoparticles specially TiO₂, ZnO, and chitosan proved to enhance germination and seedling growth indices of wheat crop.

Keywords: nanoparticles, seed germination, seed soaking, wheat

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Authors: Yuwaratu Syafira, Wahyu K. Y. Putra, Kusharisupeni Djokosujono

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Background/Objective: Body Mass Index (BMI) serves various purposes, including measuring the prevalence of obesity in a population, and also in formulating a patient’s diet at a hospital, and can be calculated with the equation = body weight (kg)/body height (m)². However, the BMI of an individual with difficulties in carrying their weight or standing up straight can not necessarily be measured. The aim of this study was to form a prediction model for the BMI of young adult students of Public Health Faculty of University of Indonesia. Subject/Method: This study used a cross sectional design, with a total sample of 132 respondents, consisted of 58 males and 74 females aged 21- 30. The dependent variable of this study was BMI, and the independent variables consisted of sex and anthropometric measurements, which included ulna length, arm length, tibia length, knee height, mid-upper arm circumference, and calf circumference. Anthropometric information was measured and recorded in a single sitting. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis were used to create the prediction equation for BMI. Results: The male respondents had an average BMI of 24.63 kg/m² and the female respondents had an average of 22.52 kg/m². A total of 17 variables were analysed for its correlation with BMI. Bivariate analysis showed the variable with the strongest correlation with BMI was Mid-Upper Arm Circumference/√Ulna Length (MUAC/√UL) (r = 0.926 for males and r = 0.886 for females). Furthermore, MUAC alone also has a very strong correlation with BMI (r = 0,913 for males and r = 0,877 for females). Prediction models formed from either MUAC/√UL or MUAC alone both produce highly accurate predictions of BMI. However, measuring MUAC/√UL is considered inconvenient, which may cause difficulties when applied on the field. Conclusion: The prediction model considered most ideal to estimate BMI is: Male BMI (kg/m²) = 1.109(MUAC (cm)) – 9.202 and Female BMI (kg/m²) = 0.236 + 0.825(MUAC (cm)), based on its high accuracy levels and the convenience of measuring MUAC on the field.

Keywords: body mass index, mid-upper arm circumference, prediction model, ulna length

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Authors: Jung-Soo Lee, Ujjal Kumar Nath, IllSup Nou, Dulal Chandra

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Leaf lettuce is one of the most important leafy vegetables that is used as raw for salad and part of everyday dishes in many parts of the world including Asian countries. Since it is used as fresh, its quality maintenance is crucial which depends on several pre- and postharvest factors. In order to investigate the effects of pre-fix factors on the postharvest quality, the interaction of pre-fix factors such as growing conditions and fixed factor like cultivars were evaluated. Four Korean leaf lettuce cultivars ‘Cheongchima’, ‘Cheongchuckmyeon’, ‘Geockchima’ and ‘Geockchuckmyeon’ were grown under natural condition (as control) and altered growing condition (green house) with excess soil water and 50% shading to monitor their postharvest qualities. Several growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves, leaf thickness, fresh biomass yield as well as postharvest qualities like fresh weight loss, respiration rate, changes in color and shelf-life were measured in lettuce during storage up to 36 days at 5°C. Plant height and the number of leaves were affected by both pre-fix growing conditions as well as the cultivars. However, fresh biomass yield was affected by only growing condition, whereas leaf thickness was affected by cultivars. Additionally, the degrees of fresh weight loss and respiration rate of leaf lettuce at postharvest stages were influenced by pre-fix growing conditions and cultivars. However, changes in color of leaves during storage were less remarkable in samples harvested from of ‘Cheongchima’ and ‘Cheongchuckmyeon’ cultivars grown in excess watering with 50% shade than that grown in control condition. Consequently, these two cultivars also showed longer shelf-life when they were grown in excess watering with 50% shade than other cultivars or samples were grown in control condition. Based on the measured parameters, it can be concluded that postharvest quality of leaf lettuce might be accelerated by growing lettuce under excess soil water with 50% shading.

Keywords: cultivar, growing condition, leaf lettuce, postharvest quality, shelf-life

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Authors: Manish Jain, Dinesh Gopalani

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Growing dependency of mankind on software technology increases the need for thorough testing of the software applications and automated testing techniques that support testing activities. We have outlined our testing strategy for performing various types of automated testing of Java applications using AspectJ which has become the de-facto standard for Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP). Likewise JUnit, a unit testing framework is the most popular Java testing tool. In this paper, we have evaluated our proposed AOP approach for automated testing and JUnit on various parameters. First we have provided the similarity between the two approaches and then we have done a detailed comparison of the two testing techniques on factors like lines of testing code, learning curve, testing of private members etc. We established that our AOP testing approach using AspectJ has got several advantages and is thus particularly more effective than JUnit.

Keywords: aspect oriented programming, AspectJ, aspects, JU-nit, software testing

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Authors: Ziaul Islam, Asad Sultan, Sarzamin Khan

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Organic acids and micro encapsulated phyto essential oils have revealed great potential as an antibiotic replacement and as an additive to work tremendously for the health maintenance of broiler chicken. To explore more about organic acids, a total of 600 day-old broiler chicks (Cobb-500) were procured from a local hatchery and distributed into 5 treatment groups having 6 replicates of 20 birds each; the duration of the biological trial was of 35 days. Group T1 served as a control group that were fed on corn soy-based diet only. T2 were fed with a diet having 6% poultry by-product meal (PBM) diet, T3, T4, and T5 were served as the same diet as T2 but supplemented with an organic acid, phyto essential oils alone, and a combination, respectively. The findings declared significant improvement (p<0.05) in body weight gain and FCR in groups T3, T4, and T5 while feed intake was not affected. European broiler performance indicators like production efficiency factor (EPEF) and broiler index (EBI) were improved significantly (p<0.05) by the treatments T3, T4, and T5 compared with T1 and T2. Carcass evaluation depicted significantly better (p<0.05) dressed and eviscerated weight along with carcass yield (T3, T4, T5). Broilers fed organic acid and phyto essential oils supplemented diet had significantly lower (p<0.05) Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coliand Salmonella and increased Lactobacillus counts. Likewise, antibody titer against ND, IB, and IBD were also significantly (p<0.05) improved by the treatments T3, T4 and T5compared with the T1and T2. Litter moisture content was significantly (p<0.05) reduced by treatmentsT3, T4, and T5 on day 28 and 35 compared with the T1 and T2. These findings of the present study revealed that supplementation of organic acids blend and phyto-essential oils as an as an substitute to improve the performance of broilers without the use of feed antibiotics in broilers fed with 6% poultry by-product meal based diet.

Keywords: organic acid, phyto essential oils, growth performance, PBM, gut health, microbiota, immunity

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, Y. Chiang, H. C. Chen, C. Shih

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Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located on the northern coast of Taiwan. Its nuclear steam supply system is a type of BWR/6 designed and built by General Electric on a twin unit concept. First, the methodology of Kuosheng NPP SPU (Stretch Power Uprate) safety analysis TRACE/SNAP model was developed in this research. Then, in order to estimate the safety of Kuosheng NPP under the more severe condition, the SBO (Station Blackout) + LOCA (Loss-of-Coolant Accident) transient analysis of Kuosheng NPP SPU TRACE/SNAP model was performed. Besides, the animation model of Kuosheng NPP was presented using the animation function of SNAP with TRACE/SNAP analysis results.

Keywords: TRACE, safety analysis, BWR/6, severe accident

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Authors: Maftunakhon Latipova, Feruza Khaydarova

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Obesity is considered a chronic metabolic disease that occurs at any age. Regulation of body weight in the body is carried out through complex interaction of a complex of interrelated systems that control the body's energy system. Energy imbalance is the cause of obesity and overweight, in which the supply of energy from food exceeds the energy needs of the body. Obesity is closely related to impaired appetite regulation, and a hypothalamus is a key place for neural regulation of food consumption. The nucleus of the hypothalamus is connected and interdependent on receiving, integrating and sending hunger signals to regulate appetite. Purpose of the study: to identify markers of food behavior. Materials and methods: The screening was carried out to identify eating disorders in 200 men and women aged 18 to 35 years with overweight and obesity and to check the effects of Orexin A and Neuropeptide Y markers. A questionnaire and questionnaires were conducted with over 200 people aged 18 to 35 years. Questionnaires were for eating disorders and hidden depression (on the Zang scale). Anthropometry is measured by OT, OB, BMI, Weight, and Height. Based on the results of the collected data, 3 groups were divided: People with obesity, People with overweight, Control Group of Healthy People. Results: Of the 200 analysed persons, 86% had eating disorders. Of these, 60% of eating disorders were associated with childhood. According to the Zang test result: Normal condition was about 37%, mild depressive disorder 20%, moderate depressive disorder 25% and 18% of people suffered from severe depressive disorder without knowing it. One group of people with obesity had eating disorders and moderate and severe depressive disorder, and group 2 was overweight with mild depressive disorder. According to laboratory data, the first group had the lowest concentration of Orexin A and Neuropeptide U in blood serum. Conclusions: Being overweight and obese are the first signal of many diseases, and prevention and detection of these disorders will prevent various diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Obesity etiology is associated with eating disorders and signal transmission of the orexinorghetic system of the hypothalamus.

Keywords: obesity, endocrinology, hypothalamus, overweight

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Authors: Hamza Ikhlaq, Stephen Franks

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Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting women of reproductive age. The aetiology behind PCOS is poorly understood but influencing ethnic, environmental, and genetic factors have been recognised. However, literature examining the impact of ethnicity is scarce. We hypothesised Body Mass Index (BMI) and ethnicity influence the clinical, metabolic, and biochemical presentations of PCOS, with an interaction between these factors. Methods: A database of 1081 women with PCOS and a control group of 72 women were analysed. BMIs were grouped using the World Health Organisation classification into normal weight, overweight and obese groups. Ethnicities were classified into European, South Asian, and Afro-Caribbean groups. Biochemical and clinical presentations were compared amongst these groups, and statistical analyses were performed to assess significance. Results: This study revealed ethnicity significantly influences biochemical and clinical presentations of PCOS. A greater proportion of South Asian women are impacted by menstrual cycle disturbances and hirsutism than European and Afro-Caribbean women. South Asian and Afro-Caribbean women show greater measures of insulin resistance and weight gain when compared to their European peers. Women with increased BMI are shown to have an increased prevalence of PCOS phenotypes alongside increased levels of insulin resistance and testosterone. Furthermore, significantly different relationships between the waist-hip ratio and measures of insulin and glucose control for Afro-Caribbean women were identified compared to other ethnic groups. Conclusions: The findings of this study show ethnicity significantly influence the phenotypic and biochemical presentations of PCOS, with an interaction between body habitus and ethnicity found. Furthermore, we provide further data on the influences of BMI on the manifestations of PCOS. Therefore, we highlight the need to consider these factors when reviewing diagnostic criteria and delivering clinical care for these groups.

Keywords: PCOS, ethnicity, BMI, clinical

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Authors: Hira Lal Gope, Hidekazu Fukai

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The aim of this study is to develop a system which can identify and sort peaberries automatically at low cost for coffee producers in developing countries. In this paper, the focus is on the classification of peaberries and normal coffee beans using image processing and machine learning techniques. The peaberry is not bad and not a normal bean. The peaberry is born in an only single seed, relatively round seed from a coffee cherry instead of the usual flat-sided pair of beans. It has another value and flavor. To make the taste of the coffee better, it is necessary to separate the peaberry and normal bean before green coffee beans roasting. Otherwise, the taste of total beans will be mixed, and it will be bad. In roaster procedure time, all the beans shape, size, and weight must be unique; otherwise, the larger bean will take more time for roasting inside. The peaberry has a different size and different shape even though they have the same weight as normal beans. The peaberry roasts slower than other normal beans. Therefore, neither technique provides a good option to select the peaberries. Defect beans, e.g., sour, broken, black, and fade bean, are easy to check and pick up manually by hand. On the other hand, the peaberry pick up is very difficult even for trained specialists because the shape and color of the peaberry are similar to normal beans. In this study, we use image processing and machine learning techniques to discriminate the normal and peaberry bean as a part of the sorting system. As the first step, we applied Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) as machine learning techniques to discriminate the peaberry and normal bean. As a result, better performance was obtained with CNN than with SVM for the discrimination of the peaberry. The trained artificial neural network with high performance CPU and GPU in this work will be simply installed into the inexpensive and low in calculation Raspberry Pi system. We assume that this system will be used in under developed countries. The study evaluates and compares the feasibility of the methods in terms of accuracy of classification and processing speed.

Keywords: convolutional neural networks, coffee bean, peaberry, sorting, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 144