Search results for: role model

Authors: Cóndor C. José, Rodrigues E. Camila, Noronha L. Irene, Dos Santos Fernando, Irigoyen M. Claudia, Andrade Lúcia

Abstract:

Sepsis induces alterations in hemodynamics and autonomic nervous system (ASN). The autonomic activity can be calculated by measuring heart rate variability (HRV) that represents the complex interplay between ASN and cardiac pacemaker cells. Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) are known to express genes and secreted factors involved in neuroprotective and immunological effects, also to improve the survival in experimental septic animals. We hypothesized, that WJ-MSCs present an important role in the autonomic activity and in the hemodynamic effects in a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model of sepsis. Methods: We used flow cytometry to evaluate WJ-MSCs phenotypes. We divided Wistar rats into groups: sham (shamoperated); CLP; and CLP+MSC (106 WJ-MSCs, i.p., 6 h after CLP). At 24 h post-CLP, we recorded the systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and heart rate (HR) over 20 min. The spectral analysis of HR and SAP; also the spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (measure by bradycardic and tachycardic responses) were evaluated after recording. The one-way ANOVA and the post hoc Student– Newman– Keuls tests (P< 0.05) were used to data comparison Results: WJ-MSCs were negative for CD3, CD34, CD45 and HLA-DR, whereas they were positive for CD73, CD90 and CD105. The CLP group showed a reduction in variance of overall variability and in high-frequency power of HR (heart parasympathetic activity); furthermore, there is a low-frequency reduction of SAP (blood vessels sympathetic activity). The treatment with WJ-MSCs improved the autonomic activity by increasing the high and lowfrequency power; and restore the baroreflex sensitive. Conclusions: WJ-MSCs attenuate the impairment of autonomic control of the heart and vessels and might therefore play a protective role in sepsis. (Supported by FAPESP).

Keywords: baroreflex response, heart rate variability, sepsis, wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Omar Imhemed Alramli

Abstract:

As Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is transfer protocol in the transportation layer in Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model) or in TCP/IP model of networks. The UDP aspects evaluation were not recognized by using the pcattcp tool on the windows operating system platform like TCP. The study has been carried out to find a tool which supports UDP aspects evolution. After the information collection about different tools, iperf tool was chosen and implemented on Cygwin tool which is installed on both Windows XP platform and also on Windows XP on virtual box machine on one computer only. Iperf is used to make experimental evaluation of UDP and to see what will happen during the sending the packets between the Host and Guest in wired and wireless networks. Many test scenarios have been done and the major UDP aspects such as jitter, packet losses, and throughput are evaluated.

Keywords: TCP, UDP, IPERF, wireless LAN

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Hamed Saremi, Shahla Saremi

Abstract:

In this study, control and management of construction projects is evaluated through developing a dynamic model in which some means are used in order to evaluating planning assumptions and reviewing the effectiveness of some project control policies based on previous researches about time, cost, project schedule pressure management, source management, project control, adding elements and sub-systems from cost management such as estimating consumption budget from budget due to costs, budget shortage effects and etc. using sensitivity analysis, researcher has evaluated introduced model that during model simulation by VENSIM software and assuming optimistic times and adding information about doing job and changes rate and project is forecasted with 373 days (2 days sooner than forecasted) and final profit $ 1,960,670 (23% amount of contract) assuming 15% inflation rate in year and costs rate accordance with planned amounts and other input information and final profit.

Keywords: dynamic planning, cost, time, performance, project management

Procedia PDF Downloads 478

Authors: Ritsuko Kawasaki (Aiba), Takeshi Hiromatsu

Abstract:

Management is required to understand all information security risks within an organization, and to make decisions on which information security risks should be treated in what level by allocating how much amount of cost. However, such decision-making is not usually easy, because various measures for risk treatment must be selected with the suitable application levels. In addition, some measures may have objectives conflicting with each other. It also makes the selection difficult. Moreover, risks generally have trends and it also should be considered in risk treatment. Therefore, this paper provides the extension of the model proposed in the previous study. The original model supports the selection of measures by applying a combination of weighted average method and goal programming method for multi-objective analysis to find an optimal solution. The extended model includes the notion of weights to the risks, and the larger weight means the priority of the risk.

Keywords: information security risk treatment, selection of risk measures, risk acceptance, multi-objective optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 461

Authors: Thanh-Phong Dao, Shyh-Chour Huang

Abstract:

This study presents the optimal design and formulation of a kinematic model of a flexible slider crank mechanism. The objective of the proposed innovative design is to take extra advantage of the compliant mechanism and maximize the fatigue life by applying the Taguchi method. A formulated kinematic model is developed using a Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model (PRBM). By means of mathematic models, the kinematic behaviors of the flexible slider crank mechanism are captured using MATLAB software. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to show the stress distribution. The results show that the optimal shape of the flexible hinge includes a force of 8.5N, a width of 9mm and a thickness of 1.1mm. Analysis of variance shows that the thickness of the proposed hinge is the most significant parameter, with an F test of 15.5. Finally, a prototype is manufactured to prepare for testing the kinematic and dynamic behaviors.

Keywords: kinematic behavior, fatigue life, pseudo-rigid-body model, flexible slider crank mechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 460

Authors: Wookyong Kwon, Sangmoon Lee

Abstract:

In this paper, a sampled-data model predictive tracking control method is presented for mobile robots which is modeled as constrained continuous-time linear parameter varying (LPV) systems. The presented sampled-data predictive controller is designed by linear matrix inequality approach. Based on the input delay approach, a controller design condition is derived by constructing a new Lyapunov function. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method.

Keywords: model predictive control, sampled-data control, linear parameter varying systems, LPV

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Jia Zhang, Fengmei Yao, Yanjing Tan

Abstract:

The accurate estimation of crop yield is of great importance for the food security. In this study, a process-based mechanism model was modified to estimate yield of C4 crop by modifying the carbon metabolic pathway in the photosynthesis sub-module of the RS-P-YEC (Remote-Sensing-Photosynthesis-Yield estimation for Crops) model. The yield was calculated by multiplying net primary productivity (NPP) and the harvest index (HI) derived from the ratio of grain to stalk yield. The modified RS-P-YEC model was used to simulate maize yield in the Northeast China Plain during the period 2002-2011. The statistical data of maize yield from study area was used to validate the simulated results at county-level. The results showed that the Pearson correlation coefficient (R) was 0.827 (P < 0.01) between the simulated yield and the statistical data, and the root mean square error (RMSE) was 712 kg/ha with a relative error (RE) of 9.3%. From 2002-2011, the yield of maize planting zone in the Northeast China Plain was increasing with smaller coefficient of variation (CV). The spatial pattern of simulated maize yield was consistent with the actual distribution in the Northeast China Plain, with an increasing trend from the northeast to the southwest. Hence the results demonstrated that the modified process-based model coupled with remote sensing data was suitable for yield prediction of maize in the Northeast China Plain at the spatial scale.

Keywords: process-based model, C4 crop, maize yield, remote sensing, Northeast China Plain

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Xu Jinsheng, Tong Xin, Zheng Jian, Zhou Changsheng

Abstract:

The NEPE (nitrate ester plasticized polyether) propellant is a kind of particle filling material with relatively high filling fraction. The experimental results show that the microcracks, microvoids and dewetting can cause the stress softening of the material. In this paper, a series of mechanical testing in inclusion with CCD technique were conducted to analyze the evolution of internal defects of propellant. The volume expansion function of the particle filling material was established by measuring of longitudinal and transverse strain with optical deformation measurement system. By analyzing the defects and internal damages of the material, a visco-hyperelastic constitutive model based on free energy theory was proposed incorporating damage function. The proposed constitutive model could accurately predict the mechanical properties of uniaxial tensile tests and tensile-relaxation tests.

Keywords: dewetting, constitutive model， uniaxial tensile tests, visco-hyperelastic, nonlinear

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Yuan-Jye Tseng, Shin-Han Lin

Abstract:

In this research, a mathematical model for integrated evaluation of green design and green manufacturing processes is presented. To design a product, there can be alternative options to design the detailed components to fulfill the same product requirement. In the design alternative cases, the components of the product can be designed with different materials and detailed specifications. If several design alternative cases are proposed, the different materials and specifications can affect the manufacturing processes. In this paper, a new concept for integrating green design and green manufacturing processes is presented. A green design can be determined based the manufacturing processes of the designed product by evaluating the green criteria including energy usage and environmental impact, in addition to the traditional criteria of manufacturing cost. With this concept, a mathematical model is developed to find the green design and the associated green manufacturing processes. In the mathematical model, the cost items include material cost, manufacturing cost, and green related cost. The green related cost items include energy cost and environmental cost. The objective is to find the decisions of green design and green manufacturing processes to achieve the minimized total cost. In practical applications, the decision-making can be made to select a good green design case and its green manufacturing processes. In this presentation, an example product is illustrated. It shows that the model is practical and useful for integrated evaluation of green design and green manufacturing processes.

Keywords: supply chain management, green supply chain, green design, green manufacturing, mathematical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 807

Authors: Kashif Mahmood, Tehreem Fatima, Adeel Hassan

Abstract:

Firms are always concerned with their performance which is directly linked to employees’ performance. In the thrive of this goal, number of researches have been conducted where Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behavior (CPWB) is among those studies. This study is aimed at investigating the role OCB by considering altruism and conscientiousness in an employee’s job performance with the mediating role of CPWB by considering sabotage and withdraw among the employees of hotel industry in Pakistan. A quantitative method was used by following deductive approach in positivist paradigm where survey was conducted through self-administered questionnaires and data was collected from the employees working in hotel industry of Pakistan. Top 10 hotels from the region of Lahore, Punjab was selected as population, and 500 questionnaires were distributed among their employees by using stratified random sampling technique. There is a positive impact of OCB is found on job performance of an employee whereas full mediation of CPWB is also found between OCB and job performance. The study is important for the practitioners in a way that hotel industry is growing at an enormous rate where employee behavior is always a concern specifically in emerging markets due to the exploitation of employees at the workplace, so the findings of the study can be helpful for practitioners and policy makers.

Keywords: organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, employee performance, altruism, conscientiousness, sabotage, withdraw, hotel industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Nikola Tomasevic, Marko Batic, Sanja Vranes

Abstract:

Emerging Semantic Web technologies can be seen as the next step in evolution of the intelligent facility management systems. Particularly, this considers increased usage of open source and/or standardized concepts for data classification and semantic interpretation. To deliver such facility management systems, providing the comprehensive integration and interoperability platform in from of the facility data model is a prerequisite. In this paper, one of the possible modelling approaches to provide such integrative facility data model which was based on the ontology modelling concept was presented. Complete ontology development process, starting from the input data acquisition, ontology concepts definition and finally ontology concepts population, was described. At the beginning, the core facility ontology was developed representing the generic facility infrastructure comprised of the common facility concepts relevant from the facility management perspective. To develop the data model of a specific facility infrastructure, first extension and then population of the core facility ontology was performed. For the development of the full-blown facility data models, Malpensa and Fiumicino airports in Italy, two major European air-traffic hubs, were chosen as a test-bed platform. Furthermore, the way how these ontology models supported the integration and interoperability of the overall airport energy management system was analyzed as well.

Keywords: airport ontology, energy management, facility data model, ontology modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 448

Authors: Abdelhafid Zenati, Mohamed Tadjine

Abstract:

The mathematical formulation of biomedical problems is an important phase to understand and predict the dynamic of the controlled population. In this paper we perform a stability analysis of a coupled model for healthy and cancerous cells dynamics in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, this represents our first aim. Second, we illustrate the effect of the interconnection between healthy and cancer cells. The PDE-based model is transformed to a nonlinear distributed state space model (delay system). For an equilibrium point of interest, necessary and sufficient conditions of global asymptotic stability are given. Thus, we came up to give necessary and sufficient conditions of global asymptotic stability of the origin and the healthy situation and control of the dynamics of normal hematopoietic stem cells and cancerous during myelode Acute leukemia. Simulation studies are given to illustrate the developed results.

Keywords: distributed delay, global stability, modelling, nonlinear models, PDE, state space

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Benjamin Legros, Jan Fransoo, Oualid Jouini

Abstract:

This study aims to evaluate street-turn strategies for empty container repositioning in the hinterland. Containers arrive over time at the (importer) consignee, while the demand for containers arises from the (exporter) shipper. A match can be operated between an empty container from the consignee and the load from the shipper. Therefore, we model the system as a double-ended queue with non-zero matching time and a limited number of resources in order to optimize the reposition- ing decisions. We determine the performance measures when the consignee operates using a fixed withholding threshold policy. We show that the matching time mainly plays a role in the matching proportion, while under a certain duration, it only marginally impacts the consignee’s inventory policy and cost per container. Also, the withholding level is mainly determined by the shipper’s production rate.

Keywords: container, double-ended queue, inventory, Markov decision process, non-zero matching time, street-turn

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Ejaz Ashraf, Raheel Babar, Muhammad Yaseen, Hafiz Khurram Shurjeel, Nosheen Fatima

Abstract:

Main purpose of this study was to assess adoption level of farmers for quinoa cultivation after they had been taught through training and visit extension approach. At this time of the 21^st century, population structure, climate change, food requirements and eating habits of people are changing rapidly. In this scenario, farmers must play their key role in sustainable crop development and production through adoption of new crops that may also be helpful to overcome the issue of food insecurity as well as reducing poverty in rural areas. Its cultivation in Pakistan is at the early stages and there is a need to raise awareness among farmers to grow quinoa crops. In the middle of the 2015, a training and visit extension approach was used to raise awareness and convince farmers to grow quinoa in the area. During training and visit extension program, 80 farmers were randomly selected for the training of quinoa cultivation. Later on, these farmers trained 60 more farmers living into their neighborhood. After six months, a survey was conducted with all 140 farmers to assess the impact of the training and visit program on adoption level of respondents for the quinoa crop. The survey instrument was developed with the help of literature review and other experts of the crop. Validity and reliability of the instrument were checked before complete data collection. The data were analyzed by using SPSS. Multiple regression analysis was used for interpretation of the results from the survey, which indicated that factors like information/ training, change in agronomic and plant protection practices play a key role in the adoption of quinoa cultivation by respondents. In addition, the model explains more than 50% of variation in the adoption level of respondents. It is concluded that farmers need timely information for improved knowledge of agronomic and plant protection practices to adopt cultivation of the quinoa crop in the area.

Keywords: farmers, quinoa, adoption, contact, training and visit

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Youb Said, Fourar Ali

Abstract:

To describe the influence of bottom roughness on the free surface flows by numerical modeling, a two-dimensional model was developed. The equations of continuity and momentum (Naviers Stokes equations) are solved by the finite volume method. We considered a turbulent flow in an open channel with a bottom roughness. For our simulations, the K-ε model was used. After setting the initial and boundary conditions and solve the equations set, we were able to achieve the following results: vortex forming in the hollow causing substantial energy dissipation in the obstacle areas that form the bottom roughness. The comparison of our results with experimental ones shows a good agreement in terms of the results in the rough area. However, in other areas, differences were more or less important. These differences are in areas far from the bottom, especially the free surface area just after the bottom. These disagreements are probably due to experimental constants used by the k-ε model.

Keywords: modeling, free surface flow, turbulence, bottom roughness, finite volume, K-ε model, energy dissipation

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: V. Rashtchi, H. Bizhani, F. R. Tatari

Abstract:

This paper presents a new online loss minimization for an induction motor drive. Among the many loss minimization algorithms (LMAs) for an induction motor, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) has the advantages of fast response and high accuracy. However, the performance of the PSO and other optimization algorithms depend on the accuracy of the modeling of the motor drive and losses. In the development of the loss model, there is always a trade off between accuracy and complexity. This paper presents a new online optimization to determine an optimum flux level for the efficiency optimization of the vector-controlled induction motor drive. An induction motor (IM) model in d-q coordinates is referenced to the rotor magnetizing current. This transformation results in no leakage inductance on the rotor side, thus the decomposition into d-q components in the steady-state motor model can be utilized in deriving the motor loss model. The suggested algorithm is simple for implementation.

Keywords: induction machine, loss minimization, magnetizing current, particle swarm optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 633

Authors: Nader Khalafian, Mohsen Ghaderi

Abstract:

Field observations have revealed many examples of structures which were damaged due to ground surface deformation caused by the faulting phenomena. In this paper some efforts were made in order to estimate the length and location of the ground surface where large displacements were created due to the reverse faulting. This research has conducted in two steps; (1) in the first step, a 2D explicit finite element model were developed using ABAQUS software. A subroutine for Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion with strain softening model was developed by the authors in order to properly model the stress strain behavior of the soil in the fault rapture zone. The results of the numerical analysis were verified with the results of available centrifuge experiments. Reasonable coincidence was found between the numerical and experimental data. (2) In the second step, the effects of the fault dip angle (δ), depth of soil layer (H), dilation and friction angle of sand (ψ and φ) and the amount of fault offset (d) on the soil surface displacement and fault rupture path were investigated. An artificial neural network-based model (ANN), as a powerful prediction tool, was developed to generate a general model for predicting faulting characteristics. A properly sized database was created to train and test network. It was found that the length and location of the zone of displaced ground surface can be accurately estimated using the proposed model.

Keywords: reverse faulting, surface deformation, numerical, neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 421

Authors: Ayesha Waqar Khan, Mariam Altaf, Jamil Ahmad, Shaheen Shahzad

Abstract:

Kidney fibrosis is an anticipated outcome of possibly all types of progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling pathway is responsible for production of matrix-producing fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in diseased kidney. In this study, a discrete model of TGF-beta (transforming growth factor) and CTGF (connective tissue growth factor) was constructed using Rene Thomas formalism to investigate renal fibrosis turn over. The kinetic logic proposed by Rene Thomas is a renowned approach for modeling of Biological Regulatory Networks (BRNs). This modeling approach uses a set of constraints which represents the dynamics of the BRN thus analyzing the pathway and predicting critical trajectories that lead to a normal or diseased state. The molecular connection between TGF-beta, Smad 2/3 (transcription factor) phosphorylation and CTGF is modeled using GenoTech. The order of BRN is CTGF, TGF-B, and SMAD3 respectively. The predicted cycle depicts activation of TGF-B (TGF-β) via cleavage of its own pro-domain (0,1,0) and presentation to TGFR-II receptor phosphorylating SMAD3 (Smad2/3) in the state (0,1,1). Later TGF-B is turned off (0,0,1) thereby activating SMAD3 that further stimulates the expression of CTGF in the state (1,0,1) and itself turns off in (1,0,0). Elevated CTGF expression reactivates TGF-B (1,1,0) and the cycle continues. The predicted model has generated one cycle and two steady states. Cyclic behavior in this study represents the diseased state in which all three proteins contribute to renal fibrosis. The proposed model is in accordance with the experimental findings of the existing diseased state. Extended cycle results in enhanced CTGF expression through Smad2/3 and Smad4 translocation in the nucleus. The results suggest that the system converges towards organ fibrogenesis if CTGF remains constructively active along with Smad2/3 and Smad 4 that plays an important role in kidney fibrosis. Therefore, modeling regulatory pathways of kidney fibrosis will escort to the progress of therapeutic tools and real-world useful applications such as predictive and preventive medicine.

Keywords: CTGF, renal fibrosis signaling pathway, system biology, qualitative modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: A. M. John-Otumu, M. M. Rahman, M. C. Onuoha, E. P. Ojonugwa

Abstract:

A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model for predicting Lassa fever was built using Python 3.8.0 programming language, alongside Keras 2.2.4 and TensorFlow 2.6.1 libraries as the development environment in order to reduce the current high risk of Lassa fever in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. The study was prompted by some major flaws in existing conventional laboratory equipment for diagnosing Lassa fever (RT-PCR), as well as flaws in AI-based techniques that have been used for probing and prognosis of Lassa fever based on literature. There were 15,679 blood smear microscopic image datasets collected in total. The proposed model was trained on 70% of the dataset and tested on 30% of the microscopic images in avoid overfitting. A 3x3x3 convolution filter was also used in the proposed system to extract features from microscopic images. The proposed CNN-based model had a recall value of 96%, a precision value of 93%, an F1 score of 95%, and an accuracy of 94% in predicting and accurately classifying the images into clean or infected samples. Based on empirical evidence from the results of the literature consulted, the proposed model outperformed other existing AI-based techniques evaluated. If properly deployed, the model will assist physicians, medical laboratory scientists, and patients in making accurate diagnoses for Lassa fever cases, allowing the mortality rate due to the Lassa fever virus to be reduced through sound decision-making.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ANN, blood smear, CNN, deep learning, Lassa fever

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Malihe Motiei, Nor Hidayati Zakaria, Davide Aloini

Abstract:

This study aims to present a method to develop the failure measurement model for ERP post-implementation. To achieve this outcome, the study firstly evaluates the suitability of Technology-Organization-Environment framework for the proposed conceptual model. This study explains how to discover the constructs and subsequently to design and evaluate the constructs as formative or reflective. Constructs are used including reflective and purely formative. Then, the risk dimensions are investigated to determine the instruments to examine the impact of risk on ERP failure after implementation. Two construct as formative constructs consist inadequate implementation and poor organizational decision making. Subsequently six construct as reflective construct include technical risks, operational risks, managerial risks, top management risks, lack of external risks, and user’s inefficiency risks. A survey was conducted among Iranian industries to collect data. 69 data were collected from manufacturing sectors and the data were analyzed by Smart PLS software. The results indicated that all measurements included 39 critical risk factors were acceptable for the ERP post-implementation failure model.

Keywords: critical risk factors (CRFs), ERP projects, ERP post-implementation, measurement instruments, ERP system failure measurement model

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Lakhoua Najeh

Abstract:

Aims of the work: After a presentation of the functionality of an example of a mechatronic system which is a paint mixer system, we present the concepts of modeling and safe operation. This paper briefly discusses how to model and protect the functioning of a mechatronic system relying mainly on functional analysis and safe operation techniques. Methods: For the study of an example of a mechatronic system, we use methods for external functional analysis that illustrate the relationships between a mechatronic system and its external environment. Thus, we present the Safe-Structured Analysis Design Technique method (Safe-SADT) which allows the representation of a mechatronic system. A model of operating safety and automation is proposed. This model enables us to use a functional analysis technique of the mechatronic system based on the GRAFCET (Graphe Fonctionnel de Commande des Etapes et Transitions: Step Transition Function Chart) method; study of the safe operation of the mechatronic system based on the Safe-SADT method; automation of the mechatronic system based on a software tool. Results: The expected results are to propose a model and safe operation of a mechatronic system. This methodology enables us to analyze the relevance of the different models based on Safe-SADT and GRAFCET in relation to the control and monitoring functions and to study the means allowing exploiting their synergy. Conclusion: In order to propose a general model of a mechatronic system, a model of analysis, safety operation and automation of a mechatronic system has been developed. This is how we propose to validate this methodology through a case study of a paint mixer system.

Keywords: mechatronic systems, system modeling, safe operation, Safe-SADT

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Maia Seturi, Tamari Todua

Abstract:

Economic growth is seen as the increase in the production capacity of a country. It enables a country to produce more and more material wealth and social benefits. Today, the success of any product on the market is closely related to the issue of branding. The brand is a source of information for a user/consumer, which helps to simplify the choice of goods and reduce consumer risk. The paper studies the role of branding in order to promote Georgian tea brands. The main focus of the research is directed to consumer attitudes regarding Georgian tea brands. The methodology of the paper is based on marketing research. The findings study revealed that the majority of consumers prefer foreign tea brands. The final part of the article presents the main recommendations.

Keywords: marketing research, customer behavior, brand, successful brand

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Makram Ben Jeddou

Abstract:

The ABC classification is widely used by managers for inventory control. The classical ABC classification is based on the Pareto principle and according to the criterion of the annual use value only. Single criterion classification is often insufficient for a closely inventory control. Multi-criteria inventory classification models have been proposed by researchers in order to take into account other important criteria. From these models, we will consider the ZF model in order to make a sensitive analysis on the composite score calculated for each item. In fact, this score based on a normalized average between a good and a bad optimized index can affect the ABC items classification. We will then focus on the weights assigned to each index and propose a classification compromise.

Keywords: ABC classification, multi criteria inventory classification models, ZF-model

Procedia PDF Downloads 508

Authors: Arjun Paul, Adrijit Goswami

Abstract:

In our present work, an economic order quantity inventory model with shortages is developed where holding cost is expressed as linearly increasing function of time and demand rate is a ramp type function of time. The items considered in the model are deteriorating in nature so that a small fraction of the items is depleted with the passage of time. In order to consider a more realistic situation, the deterioration rate is assumed to follow a continuous uniform distribution with the parameters involved being triangular fuzzy numbers. The inventory manager offers his customer a discount in case he is willing to backorder his demand when there is a stock-out. The optimum ordering policy and the optimum discount offered for each backorder are determined by minimizing the total cost in a replenishment interval. For better illustration of our proposed model in both the crisp and fuzzy sense and for providing richer insights, a numerical example is cited to exemplify the policy and to analyze the sensitivity of the model parameters.

Keywords: fuzzy deterioration rate, price discount on backorder, ramp type demand, shortage, time varying holding cost

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Arash Gharibi

Abstract:

Mankind has always used models to solve problems. Essentially, models are simplified versions of reality, whose need stems from having to deal with complexity; many processes or phenomena are too complex to be described completely. Thus a fundamental model requirement is that it contains the characteristic features that are essential in the context of the problem to be solved or described. Models are used in virtually every scientific domain to deal with various problems. During the recent decades, the number of models has increased exponentially. Publication of models as part of original research has traditionally been in in scientific periodicals, series, monographs, agency reports, national journals and laboratory reports. This makes it difficult for interested groups and communities to stay informed about the state-of-the-art. During the modeling process, many important decisions are made which impact the final form of the model. Without a record of these considerations, the final model remains ill-defined and open to varying interpretations. Unfortunately, the details of these considerations are often lost or in case there is any existing information about a model, it is likely to be written intuitively in different layouts and in different degrees of detail. In order to overcome these issues, different domains have attempted to implement their own approaches to preserve their models’ information in forms of model documentation. The most frequently cited model documentation approaches show that they are domain specific, not to applicable to the existing models and evolutionary flexibility and intrinsic corrections and improvements are not possible with the current approaches. These issues are all because of a lack of unified standards for model documentation. As a way forward, this research will propose a new standard for capturing and managing models’ information in a unified way so that interoperability and reusability of models become possible. This standard will also be evolutionary, meaning members of modeling realm could contribute to its ongoing developments and improvements. In this paper, the current 3 of the most common metamodels are reviewed and according to pros and cons of each, a new metamodel is proposed.

Keywords: metamodel, modeling, interoperability, reuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Ahmed H. Amer, A. Amar, Sh. Hamada, I. I. Bondouk, F. A. El-Hussiny

Abstract:

Elastic scattering of α-particles from 9Be and 11B nuclei at different alpha energies have been analyzed. Optical model parameters (OMPs) of α-particles elastic scattering by these nuclei at different energies have been obtained. In the present calculations, the real part of the optical potential are derived by folding of nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction into nuclear matter density distribution of the projectile and target nuclei using computer code FRESCO. A density-dependent version of the M3Y interaction (CDM3Y6), which is based on the G-matrix elements of the Paris NN potential, has been used. Volumetric integrals of the real and imaginary potential depth (JR, JW) have been calculated and found to be energy dependent. Good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions in the whole angular range. In double folding (DF) calculations, the obtained normalization coefficient Nr is in the range 0.70–1.32.

Keywords: elastic scattering, optical model, double folding model, density distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: O. Behar, A. Khellaf, K. Mohammedi, S. Ait Kaci

Abstract:

Up to now, most validation studies have been based on the MBE and RMSE, and therefore, focused only on long and short terms performance to test and classify solar radiation models. This traditional analysis does not take into account the quality of modeling and linearity. In our analysis we have tested 22 solar radiation models that are capable to provide instantaneous direct and global radiation at any given location Worldwide. We introduce a new indicator, which we named Global Accuracy Indicator (GAI) to examine the linear relationship between the measured and predicted values and the quality of modeling in addition to long and short terms performance. Note that the quality of model has been represented by the T-Statistical test, the model linearity has been given by the correlation coefficient and the long and short term performance have been respectively known by the MBE and RMSE. An important founding of this research is that the use GAI allows avoiding default validation when using traditional methodology that might results in erroneous prediction of solar power conversion systems performances.

Keywords: solar radiation model, parametric model, performance analysis, Global Accuracy Indicator (GAI)

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Junaid Jibran Jawed, Prasanta Saini, Subrata Majumdar

Abstract:

Background: Leishmania donovani infection causes severe host immune-suppression through the modulation of pathogen recognition receptors. Apart from TLRs (Toll Like Receptor), recent studies focus on the important contribution of NLR (NOD-Like Receptor) family member NOD1 and NOD2 as these receptors are capable of triggering host innate immunity. The aim of this study was to decipher the role of NOD1/NOD2 receptors during experimental visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and the important link between host failure and parasite evasion strategy. Method: The status of NOD1 and NOD2 receptors were analysed in uninfected and infected cells through western blotting and RT-PCR. The active contributions of these receptors in reducing parasite burden were confirmed by siRNA mediated silencing, and over-expression studies and the parasite numbers were calculated through microscopic examination of the Giemsa-stained slides. In-vivo studies were done by using non-toxic dose of Mw (Mycobacterium indicus pranii), Ara-LAM(Arabinoasylated lipoarabinomannan) along with MDP (Muramyl dipeptide) administration. Result: Leishmania donovani infection of the macrophages reduced the expression of NOD2 receptors whereas NOD1 remain unaffected. MDP, a NOD2-ligand, treatment during over-expression of NOD2, reduced the parasite burden effectively which was associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine generation and NO production. In experimental mouse model, Ara-LAM treatment increased the expression of NOD2 and in combination with MDP it showed active therapeutic potential against VL and found to be more effective than Mw which was already reported to be involved in NOD2 modulation. Conclusion: This work explores the essential contribution of NOD2 during experimental VL and mechanistic understanding of Ara-LAM + MDP combination therapy to work against this disease and highlighted NOD2 as an essential therapeutic target.

Keywords: Ara-LAM (Arabinoacylated Lipoarabinomannan), NOD2 (nucleotide binding oligomerization receptor 2), MDP (muramyl di peptide), visceral Leishmaniasis

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Dzhavidan Zeinalov, Bugra Sen, Firangiz Aslanova

Abstract:

Most text-to-speech models cannot operate well in low-resource languages and require a great amount of high-quality training data to be considered good enough. Yet, with the improvements made in ASR systems, it is now much easier than ever to collect data for the design of custom text-to-speech models. In this work, our work on using the ASR model to collect data to build a viable text-to-speech system for one of the leading financial institutions of Azerbaijan will be outlined. NVIDIA’s implementation of the Tacotron 2 model was utilized along with the HiFiGAN vocoder. As for the training, the model was first trained with high-quality audio data collected from the Internet, then fine-tuned on the bank’s single speaker call center data. The results were then evaluated by 50 different listeners and got a mean opinion score of 4.17, displaying that our method is indeed viable. With this, we have successfully designed the first text-to-speech model in Azerbaijani and publicly shared 12 hours of audiobook data for everyone to use.

Keywords: Azerbaijani language, HiFiGAN, Tacotron 2, text-to-speech, transfer learning, whisper

Procedia PDF Downloads 45

Authors: Ali Masria , Abdelazim Negm, Moheb Iskander, Oliver C. Saavedra

Abstract:

Estuaries play an important role in exchanging water and providing a navigational pathway for ships. These zones are very sensitive and vulnerable to any interventions in coastal dynamics. Almost major of these inlets experience coastal problems such as severe erosion, and accretion. Rosetta promontory, Egypt is an example of this environment. It suffers from many coastal problems as erosion problem along the coastline and siltation problem inside the inlet. It is due to lack of water and sediment resources as a side effect of constructing the Aswan High dam. The shoaling of the inlet leads to hindering the navigation process of fishing boats, negative impacts to estuarine and salt marsh habitat and decrease the efficiency of the cross section to transfer the flow during emergencies to the sea. This paper aims to reach a new condition of stability of Rosetta Promontory by using coastal measures to control the sediment entering, and causes shoaling inside the inlet. These coastal measures include modifying the inlet cross section by using centered jetties, eliminate the coastal dynamic in the entrance using boundary jetties. This target is achieved by using a hydrodynamic model Coastal Modeling System (CMS). Extensive field data collection (hydrographic surveys, wave data, tide data, and bed morphology) is used to build and calibrate the model. About 20 scenarios were tested to reach a suitable solution that mitigate the coastal problems at the inlet. The results show that 360 m jetty in the eastern bank with system of sand bypass from the leeside of the jetty can stabilize the estuary.

Keywords: Rosetta promontory, erosion, sedimentation, inlet stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 587