Search results for: pedestrian target selection
3181 The Discourse Analysis of Friday Sermons in Pakistan: A Social Perspective
Authors: Syed Hamid Farooq Bukhari
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This study intends to clarify the Friday sermon by evaluating the formation of its discourse, the composition, and selection of its subject matters, the structure, and functions of its rules as well as the outline of its communication proceeds, and the distinctiveness of its words along with definite provisions. In this research, a qualitative and descriptive method is used to draw out conclusions. This paper considers the sermon mechanism of the speech and advances it contextually. The information was composed in Pakistan and several of its mosques supposing the imams of the city and the location of the mosques. The presentation and analysis of the facts have directed to the subsequent conclusions: (1) the Friday sermon holds verbal discussion that has habitual and classic formation, (2) the approaches of the formation of the subjects consist of storytelling, quotation as well as the use of accepted terms, (3) the composition of the codes involves Arabic, English, Urdu, and many other local languages, (4) the expressions of the speech include all types of sermon acts, (5) different requisites emerge in the sermons demonstrating that the Friday sermon functions as an index or usage of verbal communication in an exacting field.Keywords: Friday, sermons, Pakistan, social
Procedia PDF Downloads 1643180 Evaluation of Erosive Wear Resistance of Commercial Hard Coatings with Plasma Nitride and Without Plasma Nitride in Aluminium Die Casting
Authors: A. Mohammed, R. Lewis, M. Marshall
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Commonly used coatings to protect tools in die casting were used. A heat treatment and then surface coating can have a large effect on erosion damage. Samples have been tested to evaluate their resistances to erosive wear and to assess how this compares with behaviour seen for untreated material. Five commercial (PN + TiN), (PN + TiAlCN), (TiN X 2), (TiN), and (TiAlCN) coatings have been evaluated for their wear resistance. The objective was to permit an optimized selection of coatings to be used to give good resistance to erosive wear. A test-Rig has been developed to study the erosive wear in aluminium die casting and provide an environment similar to industrial operation that is more practical than using actual machines. These surfaces were analysed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Optical Microscopes each with a different level of resolution. Examination of coating materials revealed an important parameter associated with the failure of the coating materials.This was adhesion of the coating material to the substrate surface. A well-adhered coating withstands wear much better compared to the poorest-adhering coating.Keywords: solid particle erosion, PVD-coatings, steel, erosion testing
Procedia PDF Downloads 2463179 Optimal Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling Mission Planning with Complex Constraints
Authors: Jing Yu, Hongyang Liu, Dong Hao
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On-Orbit Refueling is of great significance in extending space crafts' lifetime. The problem of minimum-fuel, time-fixed, Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling mission planning is addressed here with the particular aim of assigning fuel-insufficient satellites to the fuel-sufficient satellites and optimizing each rendezvous trajectory. Constraints including perturbation, communication link, sun illumination, hold points for different rendezvous phases, and sensor switching are considered. A planning model has established as well as a two-level solution method. The upper level deals with target assignment based on fuel equilibrium criterion, while the lower level solves constrained trajectory optimization using special maneuver strategies. Simulations show that the developed method could effectively resolve the Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling mission planning problem and deal with complex constraints.Keywords: mission planning, orbital rendezvous, on-orbit refueling, space mission
Procedia PDF Downloads 2263178 Evaluating of Bearing Capacity of Two Adjacent Strip Foundations Located around a Soil Slip
Authors: M. Meftahi, M. Hoseinzadeh, S. A. Naeini
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Selection of soil bearing capacity is an important issue that should be investigated under different conditions. The bearing capacity of foundation around of soil slope is based on the active and passive forces. On the other hand, due to extension of urban structures, it is inevitable to put the foundations together. Concerning the two cases mentioned above, investigating the behavior of adjacent foundations which are constructed besides soil slope is essential. It should be noted that, according to the conditions, the bearing capacity of adjacent foundations can be less or more than mat foundations. Also, soil reinforcement increases the bearing capacity of adjacent foundations, and the amount of its increase depends on the distance between foundations. In this research, based on numerical studies, a method is presented for evaluating ultimate bearing capacity of adjacent foundations at different intervals. In the present study, the effect of foundation width, the center to center distance of adjacent foundations and reinforced soil has been investigated on the bearing capacity of adjacent foundations beside soil slope. The results indicate that, due to interference of failure surfaces created under foundation, it depends on their intervals and the ultimate bearing capacity of foundation varies.Keywords: adjacent foundation, bearing capacity, reinforcements, settlement, numerical analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1703177 Achieving Supply Chain Competitiveness through Successful Buyer-Supplier Relationships
Authors: Kamran Rashid, Tashfeen M. Azhar, Asad-ur-Rahman Wahla
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Current research aims to understand the role of successful buyer-supplier relationship in achieving supply chain competitiveness in a developing country perspective. Five hypotheses are developed to test structural model. Survey data is collected from the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Analysis is conducted using Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through Smart PLS version 2.0 M3. Results demonstrate positive impact of effective supplier selection, buyer-supplier engagement, and information sharing capability on success of buyer supplier relationship. This successful buyer supplier relationship drives the supply chain firm financial and market performance. Additional analyses with large sample sizes are required in other developing countries to cross validate the results. Current study provides empirical evidence of the role of successful buyer supplier relationship in achieving supply chain competitiveness.Keywords: supply chain management, successful buyer-supplier relationship, supply chain competitiveness, developing country
Procedia PDF Downloads 6603176 Communication of Sensors in Clustering for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Kashish Sareen, Jatinder Singh Bal
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The use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has grown vastly in the last era, pointing out the crucial need for scalable and energy-efficient routing and data gathering and aggregation protocols in corresponding large-scale environments. Wireless Sensor Networks have now recently emerged as a most important computing platform and continue to grow in diverse areas to provide new opportunities for networking and services. However, the energy constrained and limited computing resources of the sensor nodes present major challenges in gathering data. The sensors collect data about their surrounding and forward it to a command centre through a base station. The past few years have witnessed increased interest in the potential use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as they are very useful in target detecting and other applications. However, hierarchical clustering protocols have maximum been used in to overall system lifetime, scalability and energy efficiency. In this paper, the state of the art in corresponding hierarchical clustering approaches for large-scale WSN environments is shown.Keywords: clustering, DLCC, MLCC, wireless sensor networks
Procedia PDF Downloads 4823175 Structuring of Multilayer Aluminum Nickel by Lift-off Process Using Cheap Negative Resist
Authors: Muhammad Talal Asghar
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The lift-off technique of the photoresist for metal patterning in integrated circuit (IC) packaging has been widely utilized in the field of microelectromechanical systems and semiconductor component manufacturing. The main advantage lies in cost-saving, reduction in complexity, and maturity of the process. The selection of photoresist depends upon many factors such as cost, the thickness of the resist, comfortable and valuable parameters extraction. In the present study, an extremely cheap dry film photoresist E8015 of thickness 38-micrometer is processed for the first time for edge profiling, according to the author's best knowledge. Successful extraction of the helpful parameter range for resist processing is performed. An undercut angle of 66 to 73 degrees is realized by parameter variation like exposure energy and development time. Finally, 10-micrometer thick metallic multilayer aluminum nickel is lifted off on the plain silicon wafer. Possible applications lie in controlled self-propagating reactions within structured metallic multilayer that may be utilized for IC packaging in the future.Keywords: lift-off, IC packaging, photoresist, multilayer
Procedia PDF Downloads 2123174 Coupling Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process with Storm Water Management Model for Site Selection of Appropriate Adaptive Measures
Authors: Negin Binesh, Mohammad Hossein Niksokhan, Amin Sarang
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Best Management Practices (BMPs) are considered as one of the most important structural adaptive measures to climate change and urban development challenges in recent decades. However, not every location is appropriate for applying BMPs in the watersheds. In this paper, location prioritization of two kinds of BMPs was done: Pourous pavement and Detention pond. West Flood-Diversion (WFD) catchment in northern parts of Tehran, Iran, was considered as the case study. The methodology includes integrating the results of Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) into Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method using Geographic Information System (GIS). The results indicate that mostly suburban areas of the watershed in northern parts are appropriate for applying detention basin, and downstream high-density urban areas are more suitable for using permeable pavement.Keywords: adaptive measures, BMPs, location prioritization, urban flooding
Procedia PDF Downloads 3663173 The Tourist Satisfaction on Logo Design of Huay Kon Border Market, Chaloemphrakiat District, Nan Province
Authors: Panupong Chanplin, Wilailuk Mepracha, Sathapath Kilaso
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The aims of this research were twofold: 1) to logo design of Huay Kon Border Market, Chaloemphrakiat District, Nan Province and 2) to study the level of tourist satisfaction towards logo design of Huay Kon Border Market, Chaloemphrakiat District, Nan Province. Tourist satisfaction was measured using four criteria: a unique product identity, ease of remembrance, product utility, and beauty/impressiveness. The researcher utilized a probability sampling method via simple random sampling. The sample consisted of 30 tourists in the Huay Kon Border Market. Statistics utilized for data analysis were percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results suggest that tourist had high levels of satisfaction towards all four criteria of the logo design that was designed to target them. This study proposes that specifically logo designed of Huay Kon Border Market could also be implemented with other real media already available on the market.Keywords: satisfaction, logo, design, Huay Kon border market
Procedia PDF Downloads 2233172 Inequality and Poverty Assessment on Affordable Housing in Austria: A Comprehensive Perspective on SDG 1 and SDG 10 (UniNEtZ Project)
Authors: M. Bukowski, K. Kreissl
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Social and environmental pressures in our times bear threats that often cross-border in scale, such as climate change, poverty-driven migration, demographic change as well as socio-economic developments. One of the hot topics is prevailing in many societies across Europe and worldwide, concerns 'affordable housing' and poverty-driven international and domestic migration (including displacements through gentrification processes), focusing here on the urban and regional context. The right to adequate housing and shelter is one of the recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and as such considered as a human right of the second generation. The decreasing supply of affordable housing, especially in urban areas, has reached dimensions that have led to an increasing 'housing crisis'. This crisis, which has even reached middle-income homes, has an even more devastating impact on low income and poor households raising poverty levels. Therefore, the understanding of the connection between housing and poverty is vital to integrate and support the different stakeholders in order to tackle poverty. When it comes to issues of inequalities and poverty within the SDG framework, multi-faceted stakeholders with different claims, distribution of resources and interactions with other development goals (spill-over and trade-offs) account for a highly complex context. To contribute to a sustainable and fair society and hence to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the University of Salzburg participates in the Austrian-wide universities' network 'UniNEtZ'. Our joint target is to develop an options report for the Austrian Government regarding the seventeen SDGs, so far hosted by 18 Austrian universities. In this vein, the University of Salzburg; i.e., the Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, the departments of Geography and Geology and the Department of Sociology and Political Science are focusing on the SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Our target and research focus is to assess and evaluate the status of SDG 1 and 10 in Austria, to find possible solutions and to support stakeholders' integration. We aim at generating and deducing appropriate options as scientific support, from interdisciplinary research studies to 'Sustainability Developing Goals and their Targets' in action. For this reason, and to deal with the complexity of the Agenda 2030, we have developed a special Model for Inequalities and Poverty Assessment (IPAM). Through the example of 'affordable housing' we provide insight into the situation focusing on sustainable outcomes, including ethical and justice perceptions. The IPAM has proven to be a helpful tool in detecting the different imponderables on the Agenda 2030, assessing the situation, showing gaps and options for ethical SDG actions combining different SDG targets. Supported by expert and expert group interviews, this assessment allows different stakeholders to overview a complex and dynamic SDG challenge (here housing) which is necessary to be involved in an action finding process.Keywords: affordable housing, inequality, poverty, sustainable development goals
Procedia PDF Downloads 1053171 Absenteeism of Nursing Staff in Emergency Care Units of a City in the Interior of SãO Paulo
Authors: B. P. G. Figueira, I. C. Pinto, D. Ferro, F. C. M. Zacharias
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The absenteeism at work constitutes in a temporary absence of labor functions resulting from various reasons, bringing damage to production, increasing costs of care and overburdening other workers, has its principal cause due to illness, often due exposure to several risks in the workplace. This study aims to know, identify and analyze the types and causes of absenteeism, such as the frequency at which it occurs by professional category, for employment contract and days not worked in Emergency Care Public in a city in the interior of São Paulo. We conducted exploratory and descriptive study with a quantitative approach, with nursing professionals, after selection of inclusion criteria was reached a universe of 208 subjects, the data collected are for the years from 2010-2013. Research has shown that the professional category of nursing assistant had 88,11% of total absenteeism, absenteeism lasting 1 day was the with the highest frequency, the women were responsible for 74,80% of absenteeism disease. It was concluded that absenteeism shall be monitored to plan control actions, establishing better political for the management of human resources, because it can be an aggravating factor in the quality of care.Keywords: absenteeism; nursing; emergency medical services, human resource
Procedia PDF Downloads 3263170 Animal Modes of Surgical or Other External Causes of Trauma Wound Infection
Authors: Ojoniyi Oluwafeyekikunmi Okiki
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Notwithstanding advances in disturbing wound care and control, infections remain a main motive of mortality, morbidity, and financial disruption in tens of millions of wound sufferers around the sector. Animal models have become popular gear for analyzing a big selection of outside worrying wound infections and trying out new antimicrobial techniques. This evaluation covers experimental infections in animal models of surgical wounds, pores and skin abrasions, burns, lacerations, excisional wounds, and open fractures. Animal modes of external stressful wound infections stated via extraordinary investigators vary in animal species used, microorganism traces, the quantity of microorganisms carried out, the dimensions of the wounds, and, for burn infections, the period of time the heated object or liquid is in contact with the skin. As antibiotic resistance continues to grow, new antimicrobial procedures are urgently needed. Those have to be examined using popular protocols for infections in external stressful wounds in animal models.Keywords: surgical wounds, animals, wound infections, burns, wound models, colony-forming gadgets, lacerated wounds
Procedia PDF Downloads 83169 Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for Modeling of Civic Facilities Using GIS Applications: A Case Study of F-11, Islamabad
Authors: Asma Shaheen Hashmi, Omer Riaz, Khalid Mahmood, Fahad Ullah, Tanveer Ahmad
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The urban landscapes are being change with the population growth and advancements in new technologies. The urban sprawl pattern and utilizes are related to the local socioeconomic and physical condition. Urban policy decisions are executed mostly through spatial planning. A decision support system (DSS) is very powerful tool which provides flexible knowledge base method for urban planning. An application was developed using geographical information system (GIS) for urban planning. A scenario based DSS was developed to integrate the hierarchical muti-criteria data of different aspects of urban landscape. These were physical environment, the dumping site, spatial distribution of road network, gas and water supply lines, and urban watershed management, selection criteria for new residential, recreational, commercial and industrial sites. The model provided a framework to incorporate the sustainable future development. The data can be entered dynamically by planners according to the appropriate criteria for the management of urban landscapes.Keywords: urban, GIS, spatial, criteria
Procedia PDF Downloads 6373168 Critical Discourse Analysis of President Mamnoon Hussain Speech in the Joint Session of Parliament.
Authors: Saeed Qaisrani
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This article briefly reviews the rise of Critical Discourse Analysis about the Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain speech which delivered in the joint session of Parliament and teases out a detailed analysis of the various critiques that have been levelled at CDA and its practitioners over the last twenty years, both by scholars working within the “critical” paradigm and by other critics. A range of criticisms are discussed which target the underlying premises, the analytical methodology and the disputed areas of reader response and the integration of contextual factors. Controversial issues such as the predominantly negative focus of much CDA scholarship, and the status of CDA as an emergent “intellectual orthodoxy”, are also reviewed. The conclusions offer a summary of the principal criticisms that emerge from this overview, and suggest some ways in which these problems could be attenuated. It also focused on the different views about president speech and how it is presented in the Pakistani print and electronic media.Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Analytical methodology, Corpus linguistics, Reader response theory, Critical paradigm, Contextualization.
Procedia PDF Downloads 4853167 A Study of the Growth of Single-Phase Mg0.5Zn0.5O Films for UV LED
Authors: Hong Seung Kim, Chang Hoi Kim, Lili Yue
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Single-phase, high band gap energy Zn0.5Mg0.5O films were grown under oxygen pressure, using pulse laser deposition with a Zn0.5Mg0.5O target. Structural characterization studies revealed that the crystal structures of the ZnX-1MgXO films could be controlled via changes in the oxygen pressure. TEM analysis showed that the thickness of the deposited Zn1-xMgxO thin films was 50–75 nm. As the oxygen pressure increased, we found that one axis of the crystals did not show a very significant increase in the crystallization compared with that observed at low oxygen pressure. The X-ray diffraction peak intensity for the hexagonal-ZnMgO (002) plane increased relative to that for the cubic-ZnMgO (111) plane. The corresponding c-axis of the h-ZnMgO lattice constant increased from 5.141 to 5.148 Å, and the a-axis of the c-ZnMgO lattice constant decreased from 4.255 to 4.250 Å. EDX analysis showed that the Mg content in the mixed-phase ZnMgO films decreased significantly, from 54.25 to 46.96 at.%. As the oxygen pressure was increased from 100 to 150 mTorr, the absorption edge red-shifted from 3.96 to 3.81 eV; however, a film grown at the highest oxygen pressure tested here (200 mTorr).Keywords: MgO, UV LED, ZnMgO, ZnO
Procedia PDF Downloads 4033166 Formulation and Evaluation of Colon-Specific Drug Delivery System of Zaltoprofen
Authors: Surajj Sarode, G. P. Vadnere, G. Vidya Sagar
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Compression coating is one of the strategies for delivering drug to the colon based on Gastrointestinal PH and transit time concept. The main aim of these formulations to develop rapidly disintegrating Zaltoprofen core tablets compression-coated with a mixture of time-dependent hydrophilic swellable polymer HPMC K 15 and PH responsive soluble polymer Chitosan and Guar gum in different ratios. The effect of the proportion of HPMC, Chitosan and Guar gum in the coat on premature drug release in upper part (Stomach and small intestine) of GIT and the amount of drug release in colon target area was studied. The formulations are carried out by using Direct Compression method. Sodium starch Glycolate used for rapid disintegration. FTIR used for Drug-Polymer Interaction studies. The prepared tablets were evaluated for hardness, thickness, friability, in-vitro disintegration, in-Vitro dissolution and in-vitro kinetic study.Keywords: zaltoprofen, chitosan, formulation, drug delivery
Procedia PDF Downloads 4523165 Numerical Prediction of Bearing Strength on Composite Bolted Joint Using Three Dimensional Puck Failure Criteria
Authors: M. S. Meon, M. N. Rao, K-U. Schröder
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Mechanical fasteners especially bolting is commonly used in joining carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite structures due to their good joinability and easy for maintenance characteristics. Since this approach involves with notching, a proper progressive damage model (PDM) need to be implemented and verified to capture existence of damages in the structure. A three dimensional (3D) failure criteria of Puck is established to predict the ultimate bearing failure of such joint. The failure criteria incorporated with degradation scheme are coded based on user subroutine executed in Abaqus. Single lap joint (SLJ) of composite bolted joint is used as target configuration. The results revealed that the PDM adopted here could sufficiently predict the behaviour of composite bolted joint up to ultimate bearing failure. In addition, mesh refinement near holes increased the accuracy of predicted strength as well as computational effort.Keywords: bearing strength, bolted joint, degradation scheme, progressive damage model
Procedia PDF Downloads 5023164 Development of 35kV SF6 Phase-Control Circuit Breaker Equipped with EFDA
Authors: Duanlei Yuan, Guangchao Yan, Zhanqing Chen, Xian Cheng
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This paper mainly focuses on the problem that high voltage circuit breaker’s closing and opening operation at random phase brings harmful electromagnetic transient effects on the power system. To repress the negative transient effects, a 35 kV SF6 phase-control circuit breaker equipped with electromagnetic force driving actuator is designed in this paper. Based on the constructed mathematical and structural models, the static magnetic field distribution and dynamic properties of the under loading actuator are simulated. The prototype of 35 kV SF6 phase-control circuit breaker is developed based on theories analysis and simulation. Tests are carried on to verify the operating reliability of the prototype. The developed circuit breaker can control its operating speed intelligently and switches with phase selection. Results of the tests and simulation prove that the phase-control circuit breaker is feasible for industrial applications.Keywords: phase-control, circuit breaker, electromagnetic force driving actuator, tests and simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3963163 LiDAR Based Real Time Multiple Vehicle Detection and Tracking
Authors: Zhongzhen Luo, Saeid Habibi, Martin v. Mohrenschildt
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Self-driving vehicle require a high level of situational awareness in order to maneuver safely when driving in real world condition. This paper presents a LiDAR based real time perception system that is able to process sensor raw data for multiple target detection and tracking in dynamic environment. The proposed algorithm is nonparametric and deterministic that is no assumptions and priori knowledge are needed from the input data and no initializations are required. Additionally, the proposed method is working on the three-dimensional data directly generated by LiDAR while not scarifying the rich information contained in the domain of 3D. Moreover, a fast and efficient for real time clustering algorithm is applied based on a radially bounded nearest neighbor (RBNN). Hungarian algorithm procedure and adaptive Kalman filtering are used for data association and tracking algorithm. The proposed algorithm is able to run in real time with average run time of 70ms per frame.Keywords: lidar, segmentation, clustering, tracking
Procedia PDF Downloads 4233162 Fabrication of Wearable Antennas through Thermal Deposition
Authors: Jeff Letcher, Dennis Tierney, Haider Raad
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Antennas are devices for transmitting and/or receiving signals which make them a necessary component of any wireless system. In this paper, a thermal deposition technique is utilized as a method to fabricate antenna structures on substrates. Thin-film deposition is achieved by evaporating a source material (metals in our case) in a vacuum which allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target substrate which is encased with a mask that outlines the desired structure. The material then condenses back to solid state. This method is used in comparison to screen printing, chemical etching, and ink jet printing to indicate advantages and disadvantages to the method. The antenna created undergoes various testing of frequency ranges, conductivity, and a series of flexing to indicate the effectiveness of the thermal deposition technique. A single band antenna that is operated at 2.45 GHz intended for wearable and flexible applications was successfully fabricated through this method and tested. It is concluded that thermal deposition presents a feasible technique of producing such antennas.Keywords: thermal deposition, wearable antennas, bluetooth technology, flexible electronics
Procedia PDF Downloads 2823161 Study of the Association between Salivary Microbiological Data, Oral Health Indicators, Behavioral Factors, and Social Determinants among Post-COVID Patients Aged 7 to 12 Years in Tbilisi City
Authors: Lia Mania, Ketevan Nanobashvili
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Background: The coronavirus disease COVID-19 has become the cause of a global health crisis during the current pandemic. This study aims to fill the paucity of epidemiological studies on the impact of COVID-19 on the oral health of pediatric populations. Methods: It was conducted an observational, cross-sectional study in Georgia, in Tbilisi (capital of Georgia), among 7 to 12-year-old PCR or rapid test-confirmed post-Covid populations in all districts of Tbilisi (10 districts in total). 332 beneficiaries who were infected with Covid within one year were included in the study. The population was selected in schools of Tbilisi according to the principle of cluster selection. A simple random selection took place in the selected clusters. According to this principle, an equal number of beneficiaries were selected in all districts of Tbilisi. By July 1, 2022, according to National Center for Disease Control and Public Health data (NCDC.Ge), the number of test-confirmed cases in the population aged 0-18 in Tbilisi was 115137 children (17.7% of all confirmed cases). The number of patients to be examined was determined by the sample size. Oral screening, microbiological examination of saliva, and administration of oral health questionnaires to guardians were performed. Statistical processing of data was done with SPSS-23. Risk factors were estimated by odds ratio and logistic regression with 95% confidence interval. Results: Statistically reliable differences between the averages of oral health indicators in asymptomatic and symptomatic covid-infected groups are: for caries intensity (DMF+def) t=4.468 and p=0.000, for modified gingival index (MGI) t=3.048, p=0.002, for simplified oral hygiene index (S-OHI) t=4.853; p=0.000. Symptomatic covid-infection has a reliable effect on the oral microbiome (Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermalis); (n=332; 77.3% vs n=332; 58.0%; OR=2.46, 95%CI: 1.318-4.617). According to the logistic regression, it was found that the severity of the covid infection has a significant effect on the frequency of pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity B=0.903 AOR=2.467 (CL 1.318-4.617). Symptomatic covid-infection affects oral health indicators, regardless of the presence of other risk factors, such as parental employment status, tooth brushing behaviors, carbohydrate meal, fruit consumption. (p<0.05). Conclusion: Risk factors (parental employment status, tooth brushing behaviors, carbohydrate consumption) were associated with poorer oral health status in a post-Covid population of 7- to 12-year-old children. However, such a risk factor as symptomatic ongoing covid-infection affected the oral microbiome in terms of the abundant growth of pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermalis) and further worsened oral health indicators. Thus, a close association was established between symptomatic covid-infection and microbiome changes in the post-covid period; also - between the variables of oral health indicators and the symptomatic course of covid-infection.Keywords: oral microbiome, COVID-19, population based research, oral health indicators
Procedia PDF Downloads 693160 An Image Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) Approach Using a Linear-Quadratic Regulator (LQR) for Quadcopters
Authors: C. Gebauer, C. Henke, R. Vossen
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Within the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) 2020, a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is used to capture intruder drones by physical interaction. The challenge is motivated by UAV safety. The purpose of this work is to investigate the agility of a quadcopter being controlled visually. The aim is to track and follow a highly dynamic target, e.g., an intruder quadcopter. The following is realized in close range and the opponent has a velocity of up to 10 m/s. Additional limitations are given by the hardware itself, where only monocular vision is present, and no additional knowledge about the targets state is available. An image based visual servoing (IBVS) approach is applied in combination with a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The IBVS is integrated into the LQR and an optimal trajectory is computed within the projected three-dimensional image-space. The approach has been evaluated on real quadcopter systems in different flight scenarios to demonstrate the system's stability.Keywords: image based visual servoing, quadcopter, dynamic object tracking, linear-quadratic regulator
Procedia PDF Downloads 1503159 Outdoor Thermal Comfort Strategies: The Case of Cool Facades
Authors: Noelia L. Alchapar, Cláudia C. Pezzuto, Erica N. Correa
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Mitigating urban overheating is key to achieving the environmental and energy sustainability of cities. The management of the optical properties of the materials that make up the urban envelope -roofing, pavement, and facades- constitutes a profitable and effective tool to improve the urban microclimate and rehabilitate urban areas. Each material that makes up the urban envelope has a different capacity to reflect received solar radiation, which alters the fraction of solar radiation absorbed by the city. However, the paradigm of increasing solar reflectance in all areas of the city without distinguishing their relative position within the urban canyon can cause serious problems of overheating and discomfort among its inhabitants. The hypothesis that supports the research postulates that not all reflective technologies that contribute to urban radiative cooling favor the thermal comfort conditions of pedestrians to equal measure. The objective of this work is to determine to what degree the management of the optical properties of the facades modifies outdoor thermal comfort, given that the mitigation potential of materials with high reflectance in facades is strongly conditioned by geographical variables and by the geometric characteristics of the urban profile aspect ratio (H/W). This research was carried out under two climatic contexts, that of the city of Mendoza-Argentina and that of the city of Campinas-Brazil, according to the Köppen climate classification: BWk and Cwa, respectively. Two areas in two different climatic contexts (Mendoza - Argentina and Campinas - Brazil) were selected. Both areas have comparable urban morphology patterns. These areas are located in a region with low horizontal building density and residential zoning. The microclimatic conditions were monitored during the summer period with temperature and humidity fixed sensors inside vial channels. The microclimate model was simulated in ENVI-Met V5. A grid resolution of 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5m was used for both cities, totaling an area of 145x145x30 grids. Based on the validated theoretical model, ten scenarios were simulated, modifying the height of buildings and the solar reflectivity of facades. The solar reflectivity façades ranges were: low (0.3) and high (0.75). The density scenarios range from 1th to the 5th level. The study scenarios' performance was assessed by comparing the air temperature, physiological equivalent temperature (PET), and thermal climate index (UTCI). As a result, it is observed that the behavior of the materials of the urban outdoor space depends on complex interactions. Many urban environmental factors influence including constructive characteristics, urban morphology, geographic locations, local climate, and so forth. The role of the vertical urban envelope is decisive for the reduction of urban overheating. One of the causes of thermal gain is the multiple reflections within the urban canyon, which affects not only the air temperature but also the pedestrian thermal comfort. One of the main findings of this work leads to the remarkable importance of considering both the urban warming and the thermal comfort aspects of pedestrians in urban mitigation strategies.Keywords: materials facades, solar reflectivity, thermal comfort, urban cooling
Procedia PDF Downloads 923158 The Continuing Professional Development of the Assessment through Research-Based Learning in Higher Education of Thailand
Authors: P. Junpeng, A. Tungkasamit
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Research-based learning is the key for the national research universities of Thailand. The indicator reflects the success of the study in assessing the learning outcomes of students. The development of the lecturers is the most important mechanism in driving. Nowadays the lecturers lack the knowledge and skills of assessment for learning. Therefore, this study aims to develop the knowledge and skills for lecturer’s assessment through research-based learning in higher education. The target group were lecturers who teach in higher education from Khon Kaen University of Thailand. This study was a research and development involved the concept of continuing professional development. Research was conducted in 3 phases: 1) to inspire one’s thought, to accomplish both knowledge and skill, 2) to focus on changes, and 3) to reflect the changes as well as suggest the guidelines for development. The results showed that the lecturers enhanced their knowledge and skill in assessment and emphasized on assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning.Keywords: research-based nexus, professional development, assessment for learning, higher education
Procedia PDF Downloads 3633157 Effect of Mutagenic Compounds on the Yield of Cultivated Pleurotus Pulmonarius
Authors: Simbiat O. Ayilara-Akande, Soji Fakoya
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Quality and yield are always the target of farmers, including mushroom farmers. This study investigated how better Pleurotus pulmonarius can be obtained with the induction of mutagens into the process of spawn production in order to improve both the quality and the yield. Mushroom spawns were treated with ultraviolet radiation (UV) and hydroxylamine hydrochloride (HA) at different exposure times (2, 6, and 10 minutes) and different concentrations (10, 30, and 50Mm), respectively. The treated spawns were used to cultivate mushrooms on five substrates in the family of Gramineae viz: sorghum, rice, bamboo, sugarcane, and corn straws. Matured fruit bodies were harvested after a few weeks, and their parameters were taken and recorded. This study reveals a significant yield increase in mushroom grown on all the substrates when treated with ultraviolet radiation (UV) for 10 minutes and 6 minutes, respectively. Mushroom spawns treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride showed a negative correlation in the yield with an increased in mutagen concentration. Hence, Ultraviolet light could be employed to enhance the quality and yield of mushroom production.Keywords: mushroom, protein, mutagens, yield
Procedia PDF Downloads 1483156 Botnet Detection with ML Techniques by Using the BoT-IoT Dataset
Authors: Adnan Baig, Ishteeaq Naeem, Saad Mansoor
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The Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets have advanced quickly in recent years, and their use is steadily rising daily. However, cyber-attackers can target these gadgets due to their distributed nature. Additionally, many IoT devices have significant security flaws in their implementation and design, making them vulnerable to security threats. Hence, these threats can cause important data security and privacy loss from a single attack on network devices or systems. Botnets are a significant security risk that can harm the IoT network; hence, sophisticated techniques are required to mitigate the risk. This work uses a machine learning-based method to identify IoT orchestrated by botnets. The proposed technique identifies the net attack by distinguishing between legitimate and malicious traffic. This article proposes a hyperparameter tuning model to improvise the method to improve the accuracy of existing processes. The results demonstrated an improved and more accurate indication of botnet-based cyber-attacks.Keywords: Internet of Things, Botnet, BoT-IoT dataset, ML techniques
Procedia PDF Downloads 113155 Impact of Strategic Leadership on Corporate Performance
Authors: Adesina Nathaniel Olanrewaju
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The motivation behind this study is the need to see strategic leadership as one of the key driving forces for improving corporate performance. Strategic leadership is seen as a potent source of management development and sustained competitive advantage for both employee and organizational performance. There is currently a charge on leaders as a major cause of organizational failure. Stakeholders give what they can afford, not necessarily what the organization needs and impose operational and financial decisions on the leaders, 200 respondents were fit for the analysis from the six geo-political regions in Nigeria. The selection was done equally among various parastatals through random sampling technique from the south-south, south-east, south-west, north-east, north-west and north-central. A descriptive research of the survey was employed. The data were subjected to t-test analysis and correlation and regression were used for the analysis. The findings revealed that there is a strong relationship and impact between a strategic leader and corporate performance. Recommendations were made based on the findings that strategic leaders should be given the blueprint, company’s policy and the stakeholders’ expectation within a time frame the work is to be carried out.Keywords: time, strategic, organization, stakeholder, leader, performance
Procedia PDF Downloads 3053154 Contemporary Arabic Novel Probing the Self and the Other: A Contrapuntal Study of Identity, Sexuality, and Fundamentalism
Authors: Jihan Mahmoud
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This paper examines the role played by Arabic novelists in revolutionary change in the Arab world, discussing themes of identity, sexuality and fundamentalism as portrayed in a selection of modern and contemporary Arabic novels that are either written in English or translated from Arabic into English. It particularly focuses on the post-Naguib Mahfouz era. Taking my cue from the current political changes in the Arab world, starting with 9/11/ terrorist attacks in the USA and the UK, the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutions, the rise of political Islam and the emergence of Isis, the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant, the study analyses the differences in the ways contemporary Arab novelists from different Arabic countries represent the interaction between identity, sexual politics and fundamentalist ideas in the Arab world, with a specific focus on the overlap between literature, religion and international politics in the region. It argues that the post-Mahfouz era marked a new phase in the development of the political Arabic novel not only as a force of resistance against political-religious oppression, but as a call for revolution as well. Thus, the Arabic novel reshapes values and prompts future action.Keywords: Arabic novel, Islam, politics, sexuality
Procedia PDF Downloads 5263153 Low-Cost Embedded Biometric System Based on Fingervein Modality
Authors: Randa Boukhris, Alima Damak, Dorra Sellami
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Fingervein biometric authentication is one of the most popular and accurate technologies. However, low cost embedded solution is still an open problem. In this paper, a real-time implementation of fingervein recognition process embedded in Raspberry-Pi has been proposed. The use of Raspberry-Pi reduces overall system cost and size while allowing an easy user interface. Implementation of a target technology has guided to opt some specific parallel and simple processing algorithms. In the proposed system, we use four structural directional kernel elements for filtering finger vein images. Then, a Top-Hat and Bottom-Hat kernel filters are used to enhance the visibility and the appearance of venous images. For feature extraction step, a simple Local Directional Code (LDC) descriptor is applied. The proposed system presents an Error Equal Rate (EER) and Identification Rate (IR), respectively, equal to 0.02 and 98%. Furthermore, experimental results show that real-time operations have good performance.Keywords: biometric, Bottom-Hat, Fingervein, LDC, Rasberry-Pi, ROI, Top-Hat
Procedia PDF Downloads 2053152 Software Quality Assurance in Component Based Software Development – a Survey Analysis
Authors: Abeer Toheed Quadri, Maria Abubakar, Mehreen Sirshar
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Component Based Software Development (CBSD) is a new trend in software development. Selection of quality components is not enough to ensure software quality in Component Based Software System (CBSS). A software product is considered to be a quality product if it satisfies its customer’s needs and has minimum defects. Authors’ survey different research papers and analyzes various techniques which ensure software quality in component based software development. This paper includes an investigation about how to improve the quality of a component based software system without effecting quality attributes. The reported information is identified from literature survey. The developments of component based systems are rising as they reduce the development time, effort and cost by means of reuse. After analysis, it has been explored that in order to achieve the quality in a CBSS we need to have the components that are certified through software measure because the predictability of software quality attributes of system depend on the quality attributes of the constituent components, integration process and the framework used.Keywords: CBSD (component based software development), CBSS (component based software system), quality components, SQA (software quality assurance)
Procedia PDF Downloads 414