Search results for: spatial semantic
945 Phytoplankton of the Atlantic Ocean off Lagos
Authors: Ikenna Charles Onyema, Prince Tolut Bako
Abstract:
A study was carried out in the Atlantic Ocean off the Lighthouse Beach, Lagos. There were monthly and spatial variations in physical and chemical characteristics of the neritic ocean (August-December, 2014). Mean and standard deviation values for air temperature were 27. 67, ± 2.98 oC, water temperature (28.37 ± 1.88), pH (7.85 ± 0.17), Conductivity (44738.75 ± 6262.76 µS/cm), Total dissolved solids (29236.71 ± 4273.30 mg/L), Salinity (27.11 ± 3.91 ‰), Alkalinity (126.99 ± 42.81 mg/L) and Chloride (15056. 67 ± 2165.78 mg/L). Higher estimates were recorded in the dry than wet months for these characteristics. On the other hand, reducing values were recorded for Acidity (2.34 ± 0.63 mg/L), Total hardness (4711.98 ± 691.50 mg/L), Phosphate (1.1 ± 0.78 mg/L), Sulphate (2601.99 ± 447.04 mg/L) and Nitrate (0.12 ± 0.06 mg/L). Values for Total suspended solids and Biological oxygen demand values were low ( < 1mg/L). Twenty-one species of phytoplankton were recorded. Diatoms recorded 80.92% and were the dominant group. Hemidiscus cuneiformis, Coscinodiscus centralis, Coscinodiscus lineatus, Coscinodiscus radiatus and Oscillatoria limosa were more frequently occurring species. Biddulphia sinensis and four species of Ceratium, were representatives of the dry season. The dry season also recorded comparatively higher individuals of phytoplankton than the wet season. Spirogyra sp. (green algae) appeared only in the wet season. Species abundance (N) was highest in December at Station 1 (13.15%) (dry season) and lowest in August (wet season) at Station 3 (2.96%). The physico-chemical factors and phytoplankton reflected a tropical unpolluted neritic oceanic environment.Keywords: sea, physico-chemistry, micro-algae, lighthouse beach
Procedia PDF Downloads 208944 Received Signal Strength Indicator Based Localization of Bluetooth Devices Using Trilateration: An Improved Method for the Visually Impaired People
Authors: Muhammad Irfan Aziz, Thomas Owens, Uzair Khaleeq uz Zaman
Abstract:
The instantaneous and spatial localization for visually impaired people in dynamically changing environments with unexpected hazards and obstacles, is the most demanding and challenging issue faced by the navigation systems today. Since Bluetooth cannot utilize techniques like Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and Time of Arrival (TOA), it uses received signal strength indicator (RSSI) to measure Receive Signal Strength (RSS). The measurements using RSSI can be improved significantly by improving the existing methodologies related to RSSI. Therefore, the current paper focuses on proposing an improved method using trilateration for localization of Bluetooth devices for visually impaired people. To validate the method, class 2 Bluetooth devices were used along with the development of a software. Experiments were then conducted to obtain surface plots that showed the signal interferences and other environmental effects. Finally, the results obtained show the surface plots for all Bluetooth modules used along with the strong and weak points depicted as per the color codes in red, yellow and blue. It was concluded that the suggested improved method of measuring RSS using trilateration helped to not only measure signal strength affectively but also highlighted how the signal strength can be influenced by atmospheric conditions such as noise, reflections, etc.Keywords: Bluetooth, indoor/outdoor localization, received signal strength indicator, visually impaired
Procedia PDF Downloads 125943 Climatic and Environmental Factors Affecting Human Comfort Evaluation: Case Study of Shiraz Iran
Authors: Hamid Yazdani, Fatemeh Abbasi
Abstract:
Understanding the natural potentials, as the basis for the prevailing context of human activities, environmental planning, and land-use form shows. In this regard, regional characteristics and spatial distribution of the dominant elements in shaping human behavior and environment play a role Knndhayy. As far as today's studies of human Byvklymay basis for urban planning, settlement, architecture, Tourism and so on. In this study, comfort or lack of comfort in Shiraz in Horn of models and indices based on eco-Baker, Trjvng, were examined and the best time to do-using 39 years of data (TCI) stress, and the effective temperature Environmental activities and tourism in the city was established. The results showed that the worth parameters used, the ability to detect Terms of comfort and discomfort are Shiraz, despite minor differences, relatively homogenous aspects of the city provide a comfortable climate. Studies showed that having diversity in the worth of Shiraz during the year, the situation is heating up much coolness; during winter and summer Find out eco comfort zone and during the transition from cold to warm in spring and autumn (April) and warm to cold (November) climate Iran is close to human comfort. Totally, unique human comfort conditions in spring, the best season for environmental activities Tourism in Shiraz.Keywords: BIO comfort Klymayy, Trjvng, baker, effective temperature, stress and (TCI)
Procedia PDF Downloads 338942 Real-Time Observation of Concentration Distribution for Mix Liquids including Water in Micro Fluid Channel with Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging Method
Authors: Hiroki Takiguchi, Masahiro Furuya, Takahiro Arai
Abstract:
In order to quantitatively comprehend thermal flow for some industrial applications such as nuclear and chemical reactors, detailed measurements for temperature and abundance (concentration) of materials at high temporal and spatial resolution are required. Additionally, rigorous evaluation of the size effect is also important for practical realization. This paper introduces a real-time spectroscopic imaging method in micro scale field, which visualizes temperature and concentration distribution of a liquid or mix liquids with near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region. This imaging principle is based on absorption of pre-selected narrow band from absorption spectrum peak or its dependence property of target liquid in NIR region. For example, water has a positive temperature sensitivity in the wavelength at 1905 nm, therefore the temperature of water can be measured using the wavelength band. In the experiment, the real-time imaging observation of concentration distribution in micro channel was demonstrated to investigate the applicability of micro-scale diffusion coefficient and temperature measurement technique using this proposed method. The effect of thermal diffusion and binary mutual diffusion was evaluated with the time-series visualizations of concentration distribution.Keywords: near-infrared spectroscopic imaging, micro fluid channel, concentration distribution, diffusion phenomenon
Procedia PDF Downloads 153941 Kinematic Analysis of Heel Height Effect on Knee Direction Correction in a Patient with Genu Recurvatum: A Case Study
Authors: Parya Salimitari, Farhad Tabatabai Ghomsheh, Siyamak Khorramymehr, Hossein Taghadosi, Mohammad Hossein Dashti
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of heel height on the knee joint direction in Genu recurvatum patients compared to normal state. The test was performed on a patient with Genu recurvatum and a healthy person with similar and match biomechanical conditions. Subjects were tested under six different positions of shoes with heels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cm after marking during the gate. The results of the spatial temporal geometry obtained from Vicon Motion System (six-camera T10 model, Oxford Metrics Ltd., Oxford, UK), and were used to compute and analyze the kinematic results. In this study, we tried to determine the effect of shoe heel intervention on knee joint direction correction. The results indicate that the 1 cm heel has been optimized and significantly improved in knee joint flexion and flexion-extension angle so that the difference in knee flexion-extension angle between the patient and the healthy person at some stages of walking has reached zero (good posture). The 3 cm heel compared with the 0 cm heel has reduced the knee recurvatum index (KRI) by up to 21.74% in the patient (from 219.233 mm to 47.6714 mm). According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that heel increase is effective in correcting knee joints in Genu recurvatum and the optimum heel height is 1 cm.Keywords: joint alignment of knee, gait analysis, genu recurvatum, heel lift, kinematics, motion-analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 194940 Evaluation of Ceres Wheat and Rice Model for Climatic Conditions in Haryana, India
Authors: Mamta Rana, K. K. Singh, Nisha Kumari
Abstract:
The simulation models with its soil-weather-plant atmosphere interacting system are important tools for assessing the crops in changing climate conditions. The CERES-Wheat & Rice vs. 4.6 DSSAT was calibrated and evaluated for one of the major producers of wheat and rice state- Haryana, India. The simulation runs were made under irrigated conditions and three fertilizer applications dose of N-P-K to estimate crop yield and other growth parameters along with the phenological development of the crop. The genetic coefficients derived by iteratively manipulating the relevant coefficients that characterize the phenological process of wheat and rice crop to the best fit match between the simulated and observed anthesis, physological maturity and final grain yield. The model validated by plotting the simulated and remote sensing derived LAI. LAI product from remote sensing provides the edge of spatial, timely and accurate assessment of crop. For validating the yield and yield components, the error percentage between the observed and simulated data was calculated. The analysis shows that the model can be used to simulate crop yield and yield components for wheat and rice cultivar under different management practices. During the validation, the error percentage was less than 10%, indicating the utility of the calibrated model for climate risk assessment in the selected region.Keywords: simulation model, CERES-wheat and rice model, crop yield, genetic coefficient
Procedia PDF Downloads 294939 State Estimation Based on Unscented Kalman Filter for Burgers’ Equation
Authors: Takashi Shimizu, Tomoaki Hashimoto
Abstract:
Controlling the flow of fluids is a challenging problem that arises in many fields. Burgers’ equation is a fundamental equation for several flow phenomena such as traffic, shock waves, and turbulence. The optimal feedback control method, so-called model predictive control, has been proposed for Burgers’ equation. However, the model predictive control method is inapplicable to systems whose all state variables are not exactly known. In practical point of view, it is unusual that all the state variables of systems are exactly known, because the state variables of systems are measured through output sensors and limited parts of them can be only available. In fact, it is usual that flow velocities of fluid systems cannot be measured for all spatial domains. Hence, any practical feedback controller for fluid systems must incorporate some type of state estimator. To apply the model predictive control to the fluid systems described by Burgers’ equation, it is needed to establish a state estimation method for Burgers’ equation with limited measurable state variables. To this purpose, we apply unscented Kalman filter for estimating the state variables of fluid systems described by Burgers’ equation. The objective of this study is to establish a state estimation method based on unscented Kalman filter for Burgers’ equation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulations.Keywords: observer systems, unscented Kalman filter, nonlinear systems, Burgers' equation
Procedia PDF Downloads 145938 Understanding Regional Circulations That Modulate Heavy Precipitations in the Kulfo Watershed
Authors: Tesfay Mekonnen Weldegerima
Abstract:
Analysis of precipitation time series is a fundamental undertaking in meteorology and hydrology. The extreme precipitation scenario of the Kulfo River watershed is studied using wavelet analysis and atmospheric transport, a lagrangian trajectory model. Daily rainfall data for the 1991-2020 study periods are collected from the office of the Ethiopian Meteorology Institute. Meteorological fields on a three-dimensional grid at 0.5o x 0.5o spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution are also obtained from the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS). Wavelet analysis of the daily precipitation processed with the lag-1 coefficient reveals some high power recurred once every 38 to 60 days with greater than 95% confidence for red noise. The analysis also identified inter-annual periodicity in the periods 2002 - 2005 and 2017 - 2019. Back trajectory analysis for 3-day periods up to May 19/2011, indicates the Indian Ocean source; trajectories crossed the eastern African escarpment to arrive at the Kulfo watershed. Atmospheric flows associated with the Western Indian monsoon redirected by the low-level Somali winds and Arabian ridge are responsible for the moisture supply. The time-localization of the wavelet power spectrum yields valuable hydrological information, and the back trajectory approaches provide useful characterization of air mass source.Keywords: extreme precipitation events, power spectrum, back trajectory, kulfo watershed
Procedia PDF Downloads 59937 Passive and Active Spatial Pendulum Tuned Mass Damper with Two Tuning Frequencies
Authors: W. T. A. Mohammed, M. Eltaeb, R. Kashani
Abstract:
The first bending modes of tall asymmetric structures in the two lateral X and Y-directions have two different natural frequencies. To add tuned damping to these bending modes, one needs to either a) use two pendulum-tuned mass dampers (PTMDs) with one tuning frequency, each PTMD targeting one of the bending modes, or b) use one PTMD with two tuning frequencies (one in each lateral directions). Option (a), being more massive, requiring more space, and being more expensive, is less attractive than option (b). Considering that the tuning frequency of a pendulum depends mainly on the pendulum length, one way of realizing option (b) is by constraining the swinging length of the pendulum in one direction but not in the other; such PTMD is dubbed passive Bi-PTMD. Alternatively, option (b) can be realized by actively setting the tuning frequencies of the PTMD in the two directions. In this work, accurate physical models of passive Bi-PTMD and active PTMD are developed and incorporated into the numerical model of a tall asymmetric structure. The model of PTMDs plus structure is used for a)synthesizing such PTMDs for particular applications and b)evaluating their damping effectiveness in mitigating the dynamic lateral responses of their target asymmetric structures, perturbed by wind load in X and Y-directions. Depending on how elaborate the control scheme is, the active PTMD can either be made to yield the same damping effectiveness as the passive Bi-PTMD of the same size or the passive Bi-TMD twice as massive as the active PTMD.Keywords: active tuned mass damper, high-rise building, multi-frequency tuning, vibration control
Procedia PDF Downloads 93936 Microscopic Simulation of Toll Plaza Safety and Operations
Authors: Bekir O. Bartin, Kaan Ozbay, Sandeep Mudigonda, Hong Yang
Abstract:
The use of microscopic traffic simulation in evaluating the operational and safety conditions at toll plazas is demonstrated. Two toll plazas in New Jersey are selected as case studies and were developed and validated in Paramics traffic simulation software. In order to simulate drivers’ lane selection behavior in Paramics, a utility-based lane selection approach is implemented in Paramics Application Programming Interface (API). For each vehicle approaching the toll plaza, a utility value is assigned to each toll lane by taking into account the factors that are likely to impact drivers’ lane selection behavior, such as approach lane, exit lane and queue lengths. The results demonstrate that similar operational conditions, such as lane-by-lane toll plaza traffic volume can be attained using this approach. In addition, assessment of safety at toll plazas is conducted via a surrogate safety measure. In particular, the crash index (CI), an improved surrogate measure of time-to-collision (TTC), which reflects the severity of a crash is used in the simulation analyses. The results indicate that the spatial and temporal frequency of observed crashes can be simulated using the proposed methodology. Further analyses can be conducted to evaluate and compare various different operational decisions and safety measures using microscopic simulation models.Keywords: microscopic simulation, toll plaza, surrogate safety, application programming interface
Procedia PDF Downloads 174935 Flame Volume Prediction and Validation for Lean Blowout of Gas Turbine Combustor
Authors: Ejaz Ahmed, Huang Yong
Abstract:
The operation of aero engines has a critical importance in the vicinity of lean blowout (LBO) limits. Lefebvre’s model of LBO based on empirical correlation has been extended to flame volume concept by the authors. The flame volume takes into account the effects of geometric configuration, the complex spatial interaction of mixing, turbulence, heat transfer and combustion processes inside the gas turbine combustion chamber. For these reasons, flame volume based LBO predictions are more accurate. Although LBO prediction accuracy has improved, it poses a challenge associated with Vf estimation in real gas turbine combustors. This work extends the approach of flame volume prediction previously based on fuel iterative approximation with cold flow simulations to reactive flow simulations. Flame volume for 11 combustor configurations has been simulated and validated against experimental data. To make prediction methodology robust as required in the preliminary design stage, reactive flow simulations were carried out with the combination of probability density function (PDF) and discrete phase model (DPM) in FLUENT 15.0. The criterion for flame identification was defined. Two important parameters i.e. critical injection diameter (Dp,crit) and critical temperature (Tcrit) were identified, and their influence on reactive flow simulation was studied for Vf estimation. Obtained results exhibit ±15% error in Vf estimation with experimental data.Keywords: CFD, combustion, gas turbine combustor, lean blowout
Procedia PDF Downloads 259934 Challenging Weak Central Coherence: An Exploration of Neurological Evidence from Visual Processing and Linguistic Studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Jessica Scher Lisa, Eric Shyman
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder that is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction (i.e. deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors, and establishing/maintaining social relationships), as well as by the presence of repetitive behaviors and perseverative areas of interest (i.e. stereotyped or receptive motor movements, use of objects, or speech, rigidity, restricted interests, and hypo or hyperactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment). Additionally, diagnoses of ASD require the presentation of symptoms in the early developmental period, marked impairments in adaptive functioning, and a lack of explanation by general intellectual impairment or global developmental delay (although these conditions may be co-occurring). Over the past several decades, many theories have been developed in an effort to explain the root cause of ASD in terms of atypical central cognitive processes. The field of neuroscience is increasingly finding structural and functional differences between autistic and neurotypical individuals using neuro-imaging technology. One main area this research has focused upon is in visuospatial processing, with specific attention to the notion of ‘weak central coherence’ (WCC). This paper offers an analysis of findings from selected studies in order to explore research that challenges the ‘deficit’ characterization of a weak central coherence theory as opposed to a ‘superiority’ characterization of strong local coherence. The weak central coherence theory has long been both supported and refuted in the ASD literature and has most recently been increasingly challenged by advances in neuroscience. The selected studies lend evidence to the notion of amplified localized perception rather than deficient global perception. In other words, WCC may represent superiority in ‘local processing’ rather than a deficit in global processing. Additionally, the right hemisphere and the specific area of the extrastriate appear to be key in both the visual and lexicosemantic process. Overactivity in the striate region seems to suggest inaccuracy in semantic language, which lends itself to support for the link between the striate region and the atypical organization of the lexicosemantic system in ASD.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, neurology, visual processing, weak coherence
Procedia PDF Downloads 117933 Gis Database Creation for Impacts of Domestic Wastewater Disposal on BIDA Town, Niger State Nigeria
Authors: Ejiobih Hyginus Chidozie
Abstract:
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a configuration of computer hardware and software specifically designed to effectively capture, store, update, manipulate, analyse and display and display all forms of spatially referenced information. GIS database is referred to as the heart of GIS. It has location data, attribute data and spatial relationship between the objects and their attributes. Sewage and wastewater management have assumed increased importance lately as a result of general concern expressed worldwide about the problems of pollution of the environment contamination of the atmosphere, rivers, lakes, oceans and ground water. In this research GIS database was created to study the impacts of domestic wastewater disposal methods on Bida town, Niger State as a model for investigating similar impacts on other cities in Nigeria. Results from GIS database are very useful to decision makers and researchers. Bida Town was subdivided into four regions, eight zones, and 24 sectors based on the prevailing natural morphology of the town. GIS receiver and structured questionnaire were used to collect information and attribute data from 240 households of the study area. Domestic wastewater samples were collected from twenty four sectors of the study area for laboratory analysis. ArcView 3.2a GIS software, was used to create the GIS databases for ecological, health and socioeconomic impacts of domestic wastewater disposal methods in Bida town.Keywords: environment, GIS, pollution, software, wastewater
Procedia PDF Downloads 416932 Energy Efficient Plant Design Approaches: Case Study of the Sample Building of the Energy Efficiency Training Facilities
Authors: Idil Kanter Otcu
Abstract:
Nowadays, due to the growing problems of energy supply and the drastic reduction of natural non-renewable resources, the development of new applications in the energy sector and steps towards greater efficiency in energy consumption are required. Since buildings account for a large share of energy consumption, increasing the structural density of buildings causes an increase in energy consumption. This increase in energy consumption means that energy efficiency approaches to building design and the integration of new systems using emerging technologies become necessary in order to curb this consumption. As new systems for productive usage of generated energy are developed, buildings that require less energy to operate, with rational use of resources, need to be developed. One solution for reducing the energy requirements of buildings is through landscape planning, design and application. Requirements such as heating, cooling and lighting can be met with lower energy consumption through planting design, which can help to achieve more efficient and rational use of resources. Within this context, rather than a planting design which considers only the ecological and aesthetic features of plants, these considerations should also extend to spatial organization whereby the relationship between the site and open spaces in the context of climatic elements and planting designs are taken into account. In this way, the planting design can serve an additional purpose. In this study, a landscape design which takes into consideration location, local climate morphology and solar angle will be illustrated on a sample building project.Keywords: energy efficiency, landscape design, plant design, xeriscape landscape
Procedia PDF Downloads 251931 Species Distribution Modelling for Assessing the Effect of Land Use Changes on the Habitat of Endangered Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Wardatutthoyyibah, Satyawan Pudyatmoko, Sena Adi Subrata, Muhammad Ali Imron
Abstract:
The proboscis monkey is an endemic species to the island of Borneo with conservation status IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) of endangered. The population of the monkey has a specific habitat and sensitive to habitat disturbances. As a consequence of increasing rates of land-use change in the last four decades, its population was reported significantly decreased. We quantified the effect of land use change on the proboscis monkey’s habitat through the species distribution modeling (SDM) approach with Maxent Software. We collected presence data and environmental variables, i.e., land cover, topography, bioclimate, distance to the river, distance to the road, and distance to the anthropogenic disturbance to generate predictive distribution maps of the monkeys. We compared two prediction maps for 2000 and 2015 data to represent the current habitat of the monkey. We overlaid the monkey’s predictive distribution map with the existing protected areas to investigate whether the habitat of the monkey is protected under the protected areas networks. The results showed that almost 50% of the monkey’s habitat reduced as the effect of land use change. And only 9% of the current proboscis monkey’s habitat within protected areas. These results are important for the master plan of conservation of the endangered proboscis monkey and provide scientific guidance for the future development incorporating biodiversity issue.Keywords: endemic species, land use change, maximum entropy, spatial distribution
Procedia PDF Downloads 143930 Organic Pollution of Waters and Sediments in the Middle and Lower Valley of the Medjerda, Tunisia
Authors: Samia Khadhar, Anis Chekirbene, Nouha Khiari, Amira Mabrouki
Abstract:
The persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in aquatic environments are one of the most worrying problems for environmental sustainability and human health because of their carcinogenic and toxic characteristics. Human anthropogenic actions (wastewater discharges, agricultural and industrial activities) without prior treatment are the main cause of this organic pollution. Oued Madjerda is considered the most important river in Tunisia, hence the importance of assessing the level of organic pollution of water and sediments, taking into account the anthropogenic stress exerted on this river. Water and sediment samples were taken from the middle and lower valley of the Medjerda to determine the state of contamination by 7PCBs, priority 15PAHs, and pesticides. The analysis was performed by gas chromatography (GC) and liquid phase coupled to HPLC MS-MS mass spectroscopy. The results showed that for the waters, the total PAH and PCB contents vary respectively from 0.0023 to 7.72 mg/l and from 0.0001 to 0.179 mg/l. In surface sediments 0 to 15 cm, 7PCB levels vary from 1,112 to 110,062 µg/kg-1. In this study, we tried to determine the concentration of 96 pesticides in surface sediments; analyzes showed the presence of Buprofezin, propamocarb-HCl, hexaconazole, flutriafol, quinalphos, and tebufenpyrad with concentrations varying from 1.06 to 2.388 µg/kg-1. The pace of the spatial variation confirms the impact of wastewater discharged on the quality of water and sediments despite the perennial aspect of the river.Keywords: Wadi Madjerda, organic pollution, water and sediments surface, anthropics stress
Procedia PDF Downloads 117929 Understanding Cognitive Fatigue From FMRI Scans With Self-supervised Learning
Authors: Ashish Jaiswal, Ashwin Ramesh Babu, Mohammad Zaki Zadeh, Fillia Makedon, Glenn Wylie
Abstract:
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a neuroimaging technique that records neural activations in the brain by capturing the blood oxygen level in different regions based on the task performed by a subject. Given fMRI data, the problem of predicting the state of cognitive fatigue in a person has not been investigated to its full extent. This paper proposes tackling this issue as a multi-class classification problem by dividing the state of cognitive fatigue into six different levels, ranging from no-fatigue to extreme fatigue conditions. We built a spatio-temporal model that uses convolutional neural networks (CNN) for spatial feature extraction and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network for temporal modeling of 4D fMRI scans. We also applied a self-supervised method called MoCo (Momentum Contrast) to pre-train our model on a public dataset BOLD5000 and fine-tuned it on our labeled dataset to predict cognitive fatigue. Our novel dataset contains fMRI scans from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients and healthy controls (HCs) while performing a series of N-back cognitive tasks. This method establishes a state-of-the-art technique to analyze cognitive fatigue from fMRI data and beats previous approaches to solve this problem.Keywords: fMRI, brain imaging, deep learning, self-supervised learning, contrastive learning, cognitive fatigue
Procedia PDF Downloads 179928 Fake news and Conspiracy Narratives in the Covid-19 Crisis: An International Comparison
Authors: Caja Thimm
Abstract:
Already well before the Corona pandemic hit the world, ‘fake news‘ were no longer regarded as harmless twists of the truth but as intentionally composed disinformation, often with the goal of manipulative populist propaganda. During the Corona crisis, particularly conspiracy narratives have become a worldwide phenomenon with dangerous consequences (anti vaccination myths). The success of these manipulated news need s to be counteracted by trustworthy news, which in Europe particularly includes public broadcasting media and their social media channels. To understand better how the main public broadcasters in Germany, the UK, and France used Instagram strategically, a comparative study was carried out. The study – comparative analysis of Instagram during the Corona Crisis In our empirical study, we compared the activities by selected formats during the Corona crisis in order to see how the public broadcasters reached their audiences and how this might, in the longer run, affect journalistic strategies on social media platforms. First analysis showed that the increase in the use of social media overall was striking. Almost one in two adult online users (48 %) obtained information about the virus in social media, and in total, 38% of the younger age group (18-24) looked for Covid19 information on Instagram, so the platform can be regarded as one of the central digital spaces for Corona related information searches. Quantitative measures showed that 47% of recent posts by the broadcasters were related to Corona, and 7% treated conspiracy myths. For the more detailed content analysis, the following categories of analysis were applied: • Digital storytelling and instastories • Textuality and semantic keys • links to information • stickers • videochat • fact checking • news ticker • service • infografics and animated tables Additionally to these basic features, we particularly looked for new formats created during the crisis. Journalistic use of social media platforms opens up immediate and creative ways of applying the media logics of the respective platforms, and particularly the BBC and ARD formats proved to be interactive, responsive, and entertaining. Among them were new formats such as a space for user questions and personal uploads, interviews, music, comedy, etc. Particularly the fact checking channel got a lot of attention, as many user questions were focused on the conspiracy theories, which dominated the public discourse during many weeks in 2020. In the presentation, we will introduce eight particular strategies that show how public broadcasting journalism can adopt digital platforms and use them creatively and, hence help to counteract against conspiracy narratives and fake news.Keywords: fake news, social media, digital journalism, digital methods
Procedia PDF Downloads 148927 Research Methods and Design Strategies to Improve Resilience in Coastal and Estuary Cities
Authors: Irene Perez Lopez
Abstract:
Delta and estuary cities are spaces constantly evolving, incessantly altered by the ever-changing actions of water transformation. Strategies that incorporate comprehensive and integrated approaches to planning and design with water will play a powerful role in defining new types of flood defense. These strategies will encourage more resilient and active urban environments, allowing for new spatial and functional programs. This abstract presents the undergoing research in Newcastle, the first urbanized delta in New South Wales (Australia), and the region's second-biggest catchment and estuary. The research methodology is organized in three phases: 1) a projective cartography that analyses maps and data across the region's recorded history, identifying past and present constraints, and predicting future conditions. The cartography aids to identify worst-case scenarios, revealing the implications of land reclamation that have not considered the confronting evolution of climate change and its conflicts with inhabitation; 2) the cartographic studies identify the areas under threat and form the basis for further interdisciplinary research, complimented by community consultation, to reduce flood risk and increase urban resilience and livability; 3) a speculative or prospective phase of design with water to generate evidence-based guidelines that strengthen urban resilience of shorelines and flood prone areas.Keywords: coastal defense, design, urban resilience, mapping
Procedia PDF Downloads 122926 Urban Heat Island Effects on Human Health in Birmingham and Its Mitigation
Authors: N. A. Parvin, E. B. Ferranti, L. A. Chapman, C. A. Pfrang
Abstract:
This study intends to investigate the effects of the Urban Heat Island on public health in Birmingham. Birmingham is located at the center of the West Midlands and its weather is Highly variable due to geographical factors. Residential developments, road networks and infrastructure often replace open spaces and vegetation. This transformation causes the temperature of urban areas to increase and creates an "island" of higher temperatures in the urban landscape. Extreme heat in the urban area is influencing public health in the UK as well as in the world. Birmingham is a densely built-up area with skyscrapers and congested buildings in the city center, which is a barrier to air circulation. We will investigate the city regarding heat and cold-related human mortality and other impacts. We are using primary and secondary datasets to examine the effect of population shift and land-use change on the UHI in Birmingham. We will also use freely available weather data from the Birmingham Urban Observatory and will incorporate satellite data to determine urban spatial expansion and its effect on the UHI. We have produced a temperature map based on summer datasets of 2020, which has covered 25 weather stations in Birmingham to show the differences between diurnal and nocturnal summer and annual temperature trends. Some impacts of the UHI may be beneficial, such as the lengthening of the plant growing season, but most of them are highly negative. We are looking for various effects of urban heat which is impacting human health and investigating mitigation options.Keywords: urban heat, public health, climate change
Procedia PDF Downloads 90925 Optimal and Critical Path Analysis of State Transportation Network Using Neo4J
Authors: Pallavi Bhogaram, Xiaolong Wu, Min He, Onyedikachi Okenwa
Abstract:
A transportation network is a realization of a spatial network, describing a structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity. Examples include road networks, railways, air routes, pipelines, and many more. The transportation network plays a vital role in maintaining the vigor of the nation’s economy. Hence, ensuring the network stays resilient all the time, especially in the face of challenges such as heavy traffic loads and large scale natural disasters, is of utmost importance. In this paper, we used the Neo4j application to develop the graph. Neo4j is the world's leading open-source, NoSQL, a native graph database that implements an ACID-compliant transactional backend to applications. The Southern California network model is developed using the Neo4j application and obtained the most critical and optimal nodes and paths in the network using centrality algorithms. The edge betweenness centrality algorithm calculates the critical or optimal paths using Yen's k-shortest paths algorithm, and the node betweenness centrality algorithm calculates the amount of influence a node has over the network. The preliminary study results confirm that the Neo4j application can be a suitable tool to study the important nodes and the critical paths for the major congested metropolitan area.Keywords: critical path, transportation network, connectivity reliability, network model, Neo4j application, edge betweenness centrality index
Procedia PDF Downloads 128924 Comparison of Physicochemical Properties of DNA-Ionic Liquids Complexes
Authors: Ewelina Nowak, Anna Wisla-Swider, Gohar Khachatryan, Krzysztof Danel
Abstract:
Complexes of ionic liquids with different heterocyclic-rings were synthesized by ion exchange reactions with pure salmon DNA. Ionic liquids (ILs) like 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium chloride and 1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bromide were used. The ILs were built into helical state and confirmed by IR spectrometric techniques. Patterns of UV-Vis, photoluminescence, IR, and CD spectra indicated inclusion of small molecules into DNA structure. Molecular weight and radii of gyrations values of ILs-DNA complexes chains were established by HPSEC–MALLS–RI method. Modification DNA with 1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bromide gives more uniform material and leads to elimination of high molecular weight chains. Thus, the incorporation DNA double helical structure with both 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium chloride exhibited higher molecular weight values. Scanning electron microscopy images indicate formation of nanofibre structures in all DNA complexes. Fluorescence depends strongly on the environment in which the chromophores are inserted and simultaneously on the molecular interactions with the biopolymer matrix. The most intensive emission was observed for DNA-imidazole ring complex. Decrease in intensity UV-Vis peak absorption is a consequence of a reduction in the spatial order of polynucleotide strands and provides different π–π stacking structure. Changes in optical properties confirmed by spectroscopy methods make DNA-ILs complexes potential biosensor applications.Keywords: biopolymers, biosensors, cationic surfactant, DNA, DNA-gels
Procedia PDF Downloads 178923 Sensitivity Analysis of Principal Stresses in Concrete Slab of Rigid Pavement Made From Recycled Materials
Authors: Aleš Florian, Lenka Ševelová
Abstract:
Complex sensitivity analysis of stresses in a concrete slab of the real type of rigid pavement made from recycled materials is performed. The computational model of the pavement is designed as a spatial (3D) model, is based on a nonlinear variant of the finite element method that respects the structural nonlinearity, enables to model different arrangements of joints, and the entire model can be loaded by the thermal load. Interaction of adjacent slabs in joints and contact of the slab and the subsequent layer are modeled with the help of special contact elements. Four concrete slabs separated by transverse and longitudinal joints and the additional structural layers and soil to the depth of about 3m are modeled. The thickness of individual layers, physical and mechanical properties of materials, characteristics of joints, and the temperature of the upper and lower surface of slabs are supposed to be random variables. The modern simulation technique Updated Latin Hypercube Sampling with 20 simulations is used. For sensitivity analysis the sensitivity coefficient based on the Spearman rank correlation coefficient is utilized. As a result, the estimates of influence of random variability of individual input variables on the random variability of principal stresses s1 and s3 in 53 points on the upper and lower surface of the concrete slabs are obtained.Keywords: concrete, FEM, pavement, sensitivity, simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 322922 Spatio-Temporal Variability in Reciprocal Resource Subsidies across Adjacent Terrestrial and Aquatic Eastern Cape Ecosystems
Authors: Tiyisani L. Chavalala, Nicole B. Richoux, Martin H. Villet
Abstract:
Rivers and their adjacent ecosystems are linked by reciprocal ecological subsidies. Rivers receive nutrients and energy from land, and these transfers can represent important food subsidies, a phenomenon known as allochthony. Emergence of adult aquatic invertebrates can also provide important food sources to terrestrial consumers. Reciprocal subsidies are influenced by factors such as canopy cover, river flow rate and channel width, which can be highly variable through space and time. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the main trophic links between adjacent ecosystems (terrestrial and freshwater systems) in several Eastern Cape Rivers with different catchment sizes and flow rates and to develop an understanding of the factors that affect the strength of these links and their spatial dynamics. Food sources and consumers were sampled during four seasons (August 2016, November 2016, February 2017 and May 2017), and stable isotope ratios will serve as tracers to estimate the food web structures. Emergence traps are being used to quantify the rates of emergence of adult aquatic insects, and infall-pan traps are being used to quantify the terrestrial insects falling into rivers as potential food subsidies.Keywords: emerging aquatic insects, in-falling terrestrial insects, reciprocal resource subsidies, stable isotopes
Procedia PDF Downloads 196921 Flood Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Nigeria Using Geographic Information System
Authors: Dinebari Akpee, Friday Aabe Gaage, Florence Fred Nwaigwu
Abstract:
Natural disasters like flood affect many parts of the world including developing countries like Nigeria. As a result, many human lives are lost, properties damaged and so much money is lost in infrastructure damages. These hazards and losses can be mitigated and reduced by providing reliable spatial information to the generality of the people through about flood risks through flood inundation maps. Flood inundation maps are very crucial for emergency action plans, urban planning, ecological studies and insurance rates. Nigeria experience her worst flood in her entire history this year. Many cities were submerged and completely under water due to torrential rainfall. Poor city planning, lack of effective development control among others contributes to the problem too. Geographic information system (GIS) can be used to visualize the extent of flooding, analyze flood maps to produce flood damaged estimation maps and flood risk maps. In this research, the under listed steps were taken in preparation of flood risk maps for the study area: (1) Digitization of topographic data and preparation of digital elevation model using ArcGIS (2) Flood simulation using hydraulic model and integration and (3) Integration of the first two steps to produce flood risk maps. The results shows that GIS can play crucial role in Flood disaster control and mitigation.Keywords: flood disaster, risk maps, geographic information system, hazards
Procedia PDF Downloads 216920 Discourse Analysis: Where Cognition Meets Communication
Authors: Iryna Biskub
Abstract:
The interdisciplinary approach to modern linguistic studies is exemplified by the merge of various research methods, which sometimes causes complications related to the verification of the research results. This methodological confusion can be resolved by means of creating new techniques of linguistic analysis combining several scientific paradigms. Modern linguistics has developed really productive and efficient methods for the investigation of cognitive and communicative phenomena of which language is the central issue. In the field of discourse studies, one of the best examples of research methods is the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). CDA can be viewed both as a method of investigation, as well as a critical multidisciplinary perspective. In CDA the position of the scholar is crucial from the point of view exemplifying his or her social and political convictions. The generally accepted approach to obtaining scientifically reliable results is to use a special well-defined scientific method for researching special types of language phenomena: cognitive methods applied to the exploration of cognitive aspects of language, whereas communicative methods are thought to be relevant only for the investigation of communicative nature of language. In the recent decades discourse as a sociocultural phenomenon has been the focus of careful linguistic research. The very concept of discourse represents an integral unity of cognitive and communicative aspects of human verbal activity. Since a human being is never able to discriminate between cognitive and communicative planes of discourse communication, it doesn’t make much sense to apply cognitive and communicative methods of research taken in isolation. It is possible to modify the classical CDA procedure by means of mapping human cognitive procedures onto the strategic communicative planning of discourse communication. The analysis of the electronic petition 'Block Donald J Trump from UK entry. The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry' (584, 459 signatures) and the parliamentary debates on it has demonstrated the ability to map cognitive and communicative levels in the following way: the strategy of discourse modeling (communicative level) overlaps with the extraction of semantic macrostructures (cognitive level); the strategy of discourse management overlaps with the analysis of local meanings in discourse communication; the strategy of cognitive monitoring of the discourse overlaps with the formation of attitudes and ideologies at the cognitive level. Thus, the experimental data have shown that it is possible to develop a new complex methodology of discourse analysis, where cognition would meet communication, both metaphorically and literally. The same approach may appear to be productive for the creation of computational models of human-computer interaction, where the automatic generation of a particular type of a discourse could be based on the rules of strategic planning involving cognitive models of CDA.Keywords: cognition, communication, discourse, strategy
Procedia PDF Downloads 246919 Hydrological Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products Using IHACRES Rainfall-Runoff Model over a Basin in Iran
Authors: Mahmoud Zakeri Niri, Saber Moazami, Arman Abdollahipour, Hossein Ghalkhani
Abstract:
The objective of this research is to hydrological evaluation of four widely-used satellite precipitation products named PERSIANN, TMPA-3B42V7, TMPA-3B42RT, and CMORPH over Zarinehrood basin in Iran. For this aim, at first, daily streamflow of Sarough-cahy river of Zarinehrood basin was simulated using IHACRES rainfall-runoff model with daily rain gauge and temperature as input data from 1988 to 2008. Then, the model was calibrated in two different periods through comparison the simulated discharge with the observed one at hydrometric stations. Moreover, in order to evaluate the performance of satellite precipitation products in streamflow simulation, the calibrated model was validated using daily satellite rainfall estimates from the period of 2003 to 2008. The obtained results indicated that TMPA-3B42V7 with CC of 0.69, RMSE of 5.93 mm/day, MAE of 4.76 mm/day, and RBias of -5.39% performs better simulation of streamflow than those PERSIANN and CMORPH over the study area. It is noteworthy that in Iran, the availability of ground measuring station data is very limited because of the sparse density of hydro-meteorological networks. On the other hand, large spatial and temporal variability of precipitations and lack of a reliable and extensive observing system are the most important challenges to rainfall analysis, flood prediction, and other hydrological applications in this country.Keywords: hydrological evaluation, IHACRES, satellite precipitation product, streamflow simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 229918 Aqueous Hydrogen Sulphide in Slit-Shaped Silica Nano-Pores: Confinement Effects on Solubility, Structural and Dynamical Properties
Authors: Sakiru Badmos, David R. Cole, Alberto Striolo
Abstract:
It is known that confinement in nm-size pores affects many structural and transport properties of water and co-existing volatile species. Of particular interest for fluids in sub-surface systems, in catalysis, and in separations are reports that confinement can enhance the solubility of gases in water. Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations were performed for aqueous H₂S confined in slit-shaped silica pores at 313K. The effect of pore width on the H₂S solubility in water was investigated. Other properties of interest include the molecular distribution of the various fluid molecules within the pores, the hydration structure for solvated H₂S molecules, and the dynamical properties of the confined fluids. The simulation results demonstrate that confinement reduces the H₂S solubility in water and that the solubility increases with pore size. Analysis of spatial distribution functions suggests that these results are due to perturbations on the coordination of water molecules around H₂S due to confinement. Confinement is found to dampen the dynamical properties of aqueous H₂S as well. Comparing the results obtained for aqueous H₂S to those reported elsewhere for aqueous CH₄, it can be concluded that H₂S permeates hydrated slit-shaped silica nano-pores faster than CH₄. In addition to contributing to better understanding the behavior of fluids in subsurface formations, these observations could also have important implications for developing new natural gas sweetening technologies.Keywords: confinement, interfacial properties, molecular dynamic simulation, sub-surface formations
Procedia PDF Downloads 154917 Segmental Dynamics of Poly(Alkyl Methacrylate) Chain in Ultra-Thin Spin-Cast Films
Authors: Hiroyuki Aoki
Abstract:
Polymeric materials are often used in a form of thin film such as food wrap and surface coating. In such the applications, polymer films thinner than 100 nm have been often used. The thickness of such the ultra-thin film is less than the unperturbed size of a polymer chain; therefore, the polymer chain in an ultra-thin film is strongly constrained. However, the details on the constrained dynamics of polymer molecules in ultra-thin films are still unclear. In the current study, the segmental dynamics of single polymer chain was directly investigated by fluorescence microscopy. The individual chains of poly(alkyl methacrylate) labeled by a perylenediimide dye molecule were observed by a highly sensitive fluorescence microscope in a defocus condition. The translational and rotational diffusion of the center segment in a single polymer chain was directly analyzed. The segmental motion in a thin film with a thickness of 10 nm was found to be suppressed compared to that in a bulk state. The detailed analysis of the molecular motion revealed that the diffusion rate of the in-plane rotation was similar to the thin film and the bulk; on the other hand, the out-of-plane motion was restricted in a thin film. This result indicates that the spatial restriction in an ultra-thin film thinner than the unperturbed chain dimension alters the dynamics of individual molecules in a polymer system.Keywords: polymer materials, single molecule, molecular motion, fluorescence microscopy, super-resolution techniques
Procedia PDF Downloads 309916 DCDNet: Lightweight Document Corner Detection Network Based on Attention Mechanism
Authors: Kun Xu, Yuan Xu, Jia Qiao
Abstract:
The document detection plays an important role in optical character recognition and text analysis. Because the traditional detection methods have weak generalization ability, and deep neural network has complex structure and large number of parameters, which cannot be well applied in mobile devices, this paper proposes a lightweight Document Corner Detection Network (DCDNet). DCDNet is a two-stage architecture. The first stage with Encoder-Decoder structure adopts depthwise separable convolution to greatly reduce the network parameters. After introducing the Feature Attention Union (FAU) module, the second stage enhances the feature information of spatial and channel dim and adaptively adjusts the size of receptive field to enhance the feature expression ability of the model. Aiming at solving the problem of the large difference in the number of pixel distribution between corner and non-corner, Weighted Binary Cross Entropy Loss (WBCE Loss) is proposed to define corner detection problem as a classification problem to make the training process more efficient. In order to make up for the lack of Dataset of document corner detection, a Dataset containing 6620 images named Document Corner Detection Dataset (DCDD) is made. Experimental results show that the proposed method can obtain fast, stable and accurate detection results on DCDD.Keywords: document detection, corner detection, attention mechanism, lightweight
Procedia PDF Downloads 345