Search results for: local stereo matching

Authors: S. Bennoud, S. Hocine, H. Slme

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Developments in turbine cooling technology play an important role in increasing the thermal efficiency and the power output of recent gas turbines, in particular the turbojets. Advanced turbojets operate at high temperatures to improve thermal efficiency and power output. These temperatures are far above the permissible metal temperatures. Therefore, there is a critical need to cool the blades in order to give theirs a maximum life period for safe operation. The focused objective of this work is to calculate the turbojet performances, as well as the calculation of turbine blades cooling. The developed application able the calculation of turbojet performances to different altitudes in order to find a point of optimal use making possible to maintain the turbine blades at an acceptable maximum temperature and to limit the local variations in temperatures in order to guarantee their integrity during all the lifespan of the engine.

Keywords: brayton cycle, turbine blades cooling, turbojet cycle, turbojet performances

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Authors: O. Arbouche, Y. Benallou, K. Amara

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We report a first-principles study of structural, electronic and magnetic properties of ternary plumbides (rare earth-transition metal-Plumb) Dy2Ni2Pb crystallizes with the orthorhombic structure of the Mn2AlB2 type (space group Cmmm), were studied by means of the full-relativistic version of the full-potential augmented plane wave plus local orbital method within the frame work of spin-polarized density functional theory (SP-DFT). The electronic exchange-correlation energy is described by generalized gradient approximation (GGA). We have calculated the lattice parameters, bulk modulii and the first pressure derivatives of the bulk modulii, total densities of states and magnetic properties. The calculated total magnetic moment is found to be equal to 9.52 μB.

Keywords: spin-polarized, magnetic properties, Dy2Ni2Pb, Density functional theory

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Authors: Moanaro Ao, Nzanthung Ngullie

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Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has unique challenges in hilly urban settlements. Efforts have been taken by municipalities, private players, non-governmental organizations, etc. for managing solid waste by preventing its generation, reusing, and recovering them into useful products to the extent possible, thereby minimizing its impact on the environment and human health. However, there are many constraints that lead to inadequate management of solid waste. Kohima is an unplanned hill station city in the North Eastern Region of India. The city is facing numerous issues due to the mismanagement of the MSW generated. Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) is the Urban Local Body (ULB) responsible for providing municipal services. The present MSWM system in Kohima comprises of collection, transportation, and disposal of waste without any treatment. Several efforts and experimental projects on waste management have been implemented without any success. Waste management in Kohima city is challenging due to its remote location, difficult topography, dispersed settlements within the city, sensitive ecosystem, etc. Furthermore, the narrow road network in Kohima with limited scope for expansion, inadequate infrastructure facilities, and financial constraints of the ULB add up to the problems faced in managing solid waste. This hill station also has a unique system of traditional local self-governance. Thus, shifting from a traditional system to a modern system in implementing systematic and scientific waste management is also a challenge in itself. This study aims to analyse the existing situation of waste generation, evaluate the effectiveness of the existing management system of MSW, and evolve a strategic approach to achieve a sustainable and resilient MSWM system. The results from the study show that a holistic approach, including social aspects, technical aspects, environmental aspects, and financial aspects, is needed to reform the MSWM system. Stringent adherence to source segregation is required by encouraging public participation through awareness programs. Active involvement of community-based organizations (CBOs) has brought a positive change in sensitizing the public. A waste management model was designed to be adopted at a micro-level such as composting household biodegradable waste and incinerator plants at the community level for non-biodegradable waste. Suitable locations for small waste stations were identified using geographical information system (GIS) tools for waste recovery and recycling. Inculcating the sense of responsibility in every waste generator towards waste management by implementing incentive-based strategies at the Ward level was explored. Initiatives based on the ‘polluters pay principle’ were also explored to make the solid waste management model “self-sustaining”.

Keywords: municipal solid waste management, public participation, source segregation, sustainable

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Authors: Fabricia G. F. S. Rossato, Ieda G. Hidalgo, Andres Susseta, Felipe Casale, Leticia H. Nakamiti

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This research was conducted to show the useful source of biomass energy provided from forest waste and the black liquor from the pulping process. This energy source could be able to assist and improve its area environment in a sustainable way. The research will demonstrate the challenges from producing the biomass energy and the implantation of the pulp industry in the city of Três Lagoas, MS. – Brazil. Planted forest’s potential, energy production in the pulp industries and its consequence of impacts on the local region environmental was also studied and examined. The present study is classified as descriptive purposes as it exposes the characteristics of a given population and the means such as bibliographical and documentary. All the data and information collected and demonstrate in this study was carefully analyzed and provided from reliable sources such as official government agencies.

Keywords: Brazil, pulp industry, renewable energy, Três Lagoas

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Authors: Muhammad Yusuf Abduh, Robert Manurung, Hero Jan Heeres

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Biodiesel can be produced in small scale mobile units which are designed with local input and demand. Unlike the typical biodiesel production plants, mobile biodiesel unit consiss of a biodiesel production facility placed inside a standard cargo container and mounted on a truck so that it can be transported to a region near the location of raw materials. In this paper, we review the existing concept and unit for the development of community-scale and mobile production of biodiesel. This includes the main reactor technology to produce biodiesel as well as the pre-treatment prior to the reaction unit. The pre-treatment includes the oil-expeller unit to obtain oil from the oilseeds as well as the quality control of the oil before it enters the reaction unit. This paper also discusses the post-treatment after the production of biodiesel. It includes the refining and purification of biodiesel to meet the product specification set by the biodiesel industry.

Keywords: biodiesel, community scale, mobile biodiesel unit, reactor technology

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Authors: Navdeep Singh Randhawa, Shally Sharma

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Wireless Sensor Network is an autonomous technology emanating in the current scenario at a fast pace. This technology faces a number of defiance’s and energy management is one of them, which has a huge impact on the network lifetime. To sustain energy the different types of routing protocols have been flourished. The classical routing protocols are no more compatible to perform in complicated environments. Hence, in the field of routing the intelligent algorithms based on nature systems is a turning point in Wireless Sensor Network. These nature-based algorithms are quite efficient to handle the challenges of the WSN as they are capable of achieving local and global best optimization solutions for the complex environments. So, the main attention of this paper is to develop a routing algorithm based on some swarm intelligent technique to enhance the performance of Wireless Sensor Network.

Keywords: wireless sensor network, routing, swarm intelligence, MPRSO

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Authors: Bibi Somayeh Aliakbari, Niknaz Kachooei, Fatemeh Amiri Najafabadi

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According to the results of contemporary urbanism, social living moved into buildings and the quality of urban space has been declining. But still, there are life in open public space and it is one of reason attendance and activities of people in open public spaces.The purpose of this research is finding reason creation friendly public space in urban spaces and also use these in new urban spaces.The research methodology consisted of a qualitative model based on observation and graphical analysis. In this paper case study is public space historical, moderns in urban scales and local scales in Iran.This paper shows that Existence of friendly public space in cities cause is attendance and activities of people in open public spaces that it is reason the revitalization of public open spaces in cities.

Keywords: public space, public open space, friendly public space, Iran

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Authors: Elmira Fotoohi

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Representation of women in commercials and the place of sex in advertising is a part of communication studies and all of them are subset of advertising sociology. In this context, a lot of national and international studies have been done from different aspects. But in the meantime, and in connection with women issues, researchers in Communication Science and Sociology are interested in two topics “use of pornographic images of women” and “repeated representations of women in traditional roles and gender stereotypes by emphasizing the differences between men and women”, more than any other topics. Considering a number of changes that have occurred in social institutions and at different levels, the main research question currently are, what is the role of women in our TV ads and how are they represented in them? Do the local television ads represent women in the same issues as the researchers on this topic has proposed or new changes have occurred? Many scholars and thinkers in the field of media outlet that, today, media not just focus on women as gender issues or sex objects, but also seeks to strengthen the gender division of labor in the family and emphasize on the traditional muliebrity and masculinity stereotype.

Keywords: women, representation, tv commercials, advertising sociology, gender stereotypes

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Authors: Andreas Kohlhepp, Gerrit Schatte, Wieland Christoph, Spliethoff Hartmut

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In recent years the research of heat transfer phenomena of water and other working fluids near the critical point experiences a growing interest for power engineering applications. To match the highly volatile characteristics of renewable energies, conventional power plants need to shift towards flexible operation. This requires speeding up the load change dynamics of steam generators and their heating surfaces near the critical point. In dynamic load transients, both a high heat flux with an unfavorable ratio to the mass flux and a high difference in fluid and wall temperatures, may cause problems. It may lead to deteriorated heat transfer (at supercritical pressures), dry-out or departure from nucleate boiling (at subcritical pressures), all cases leading to an extensive rise of temperatures. For relevant technical applications, the heat transfer coefficients need to be predicted correctly in case of transient scenarios to prevent damage to the heated surfaces (membrane walls, tube bundles or fuel rods). In transient processes, the state of the art method of calculating the heat transfer coefficients is using a multitude of different steady-state correlations for the momentarily existing local parameters for each time step. This approach does not necessarily reflect the different cases that may lead to a significant variation of the heat transfer coefficients and shows gaps in the individual ranges of validity. An algorithm was implemented to calculate the transient behavior of steam generators during load changes. It is used to assess existing correlations for transient heat transfer calculations. It is also desirable to validate the calculation using experimental data. By the use of a new full-scale supercritical thermo-hydraulic test rig, experimental data is obtained to describe the transient phenomena under dynamic boundary conditions as mentioned above and to serve for validation of transient steam generator calculations. Aiming to improve correlations for the prediction of the onset of deteriorated heat transfer in both, stationary and transient cases the test rig was specially designed for this task. It is a closed loop design with a directly electrically heated evaporation tube, the total heating power of the evaporator tube and the preheater is 1MW. To allow a big range of parameters, including supercritical pressures, the maximum pressure rating is 380 bar. The measurements contain the most important extrinsic thermo-hydraulic parameters. Moreover, a high geometric resolution allows to accurately predict the local heat transfer coefficients and fluid enthalpies.

Keywords: departure from nucleate boiling, deteriorated heat transfer, dryout, supercritical working fluid, transient operation of steam generators

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Authors: J. Dutton, L. Knight

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Achieving quality and respectful maternal health care is part of the global agenda to improve reproductive health and achieve universal reproductive rights. Barriers to quality of care in South African maternal health facilities exist at both systemic and individual levels. Addition to this, the normalization of gender violence within South Africa has a large impact on people seeking health care as well as those who provide care within health facilities. The hierarchical environment of South Africa’s public health system penalizes both patients and providers who battle to assume any assessable power. This paper explores how systemic and individual level barriers to quality of care affect the midwifery profession within South African maternal health services and create, at times, an environment of enmity rather than care. This paper analyzes and discusses the data collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with nurses and midwives at three maternal health facilities in South Africa. This study has taken a holistic approach to understand the realities of nurses and midwives in order to explore the ways in which experience informs their practice and treatment of pregnant women. Through collecting and analyzing narratives, linkages between nurses and midwives day-to-day and historical experiences and disrespectful care have been made. Findings from this study show that barriers to quality of care take form in complex and interrelated ways. The physical structure of the health facility, human resource shortages, and the current model of maternal health care, which often lacks a person-centered approach, is entangled within personal beliefs and attitudes of what it means to be a midwife to create an environment that is often not conducive to a positive birthing experience. This entanglement sits within a society of high rates of violence, inequality, and poverty. Having teased out the nuances of each of these barriers and the multiple ways they reinforce each other, the findings of this paper demonstrate that birth, and the work of a midwife, are situated in a mode of discipline and punishment within this context. For analytical purposes, this paper has broken down the individual barriers to quality care and discusses the current and historical significance before returning to the interrelated forms in which barriers to quality maternal health care manifest. In conclusion this paper questions the role of agency in the ability to subvert systemic barriers to quality care and ideas around shifting attitudes and beliefs of and about midwives. International and local policies and guidelines have a role to play in realizing such shifts, however, as this paper suggests, when policy does not speak to the local context there is the risk of it contributing to frustrations and impeding the path to quality and respectful maternal health care.

Keywords: disrespect and abuse in childbirth, midwifery, South African maternal health care, quality of care

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Authors: A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, Zs. Csanádi, J. Erdős

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An assessment of the air quality of Győr (Hungary) was performed by determining the ambient concentrations of PM10-bound carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) in different seasons. A high volume sampler was used for the collection of ambient aerosol particles, and the associated cPAH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzo[a]anthracene, benzofluoranthene isomers, indeno[123-cd]pyrene and dibenzo[ah]anthracene) were analyzed by a gas chromatographic method. Higher mean concentrations of total cPAHs were detected in samples collected in winter (9.62 ng/m³) and autumn (2.69 ng/m³) compared to spring (1.05 ng/m³) and summer (0.21 ng/m³). The calculated BaP toxic equivalent concentrations have also reflected that the local population appears to be exposed to significantly higher cancer risk in the heating seasons. Moreover, the concentration levels of cPAHs determined in this study were compared to other Hungarian urban sites.

Keywords: air, carcinogenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), PM10

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Authors: Janet Jeanne B. Comia, Camille R. Del Rosario, Ma. Janzen A. Dizon, Jacob Russell A. Gooh, Patricia Ann S. Muli

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The researchers conducted the study in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.There is a substantial lack of research regarding this place as a destination for tourism as well as its potentials. The researchers aspired to determine how the locals perceive the tourism development in the province in terms of activities, attractions, as well as tourist influx. The main instrument used in the study is the interview method to get more in-depth information regarding the subject. The results showed that attractions and activities greatly increased. There has been a very evident ascent in the number of tourists, foreign and local, visiting the place leading to an increase in tourist influx. Results also presented that tourist congestion is moderate and manageable. It has been observed as well that the town lacked tourism-related merchandise available for tourist consumption and the same can be said for the accommodation and lodging facilities in the destination.

Keywords: tourism development, tourism activities, tourist attractions, tourist influx

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Authors: M. E. Abou-Hashem El Dib, M. K. Swailem, M. M. Metwally, A. I. El Awady

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The present work illustrates a parametric study for the effect of stiffeners on the performance of slender built up steel I-columns. To achieve the desired analysis, finite element technique is used to develop nonlinear three-dimensional models representing the investigated columns. The finite element program (ANSYS 13.0) is used as a calculation tool for the necessary nonlinear analysis. A validation of the obtained numerical results is achieved. The considered parameters in the study are the column slenderness ratio and the horizontal stiffener's dimensions as well as the number of stiffeners. The dimensions of the stiffeners considered in the analysis are the stiffener width and the stiffener thickness. Numerical results signify a considerable effect of stiffeners on the performance and failure load of slender built up steel I-columns.

Keywords: columns, local buckling, slender, stiffener, thin walled section

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Authors: Gabriel Ugalahi, Dominic S. Nyitamen

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This project seeks to improve Wi-Fi reception by utilizing the properties of directional microstrip patch antennae. Where there is a dense population of Wi-Fi signal, several signal sources transmitting on the same frequency band and indeed channel constitutes interference to each other. The time it takes for request to be received, resolved and response given between a user and the resource provider is increased considerably. By deploying a directional patch antenna with a narrow bandwidth, the range of frequency received is reduced and should help in limiting the reception of signal from unwanted sources. A rectangular microstrip patch antenna (RMPA) is designed to operate at the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (2.4GHz) commonly used in Wi-Fi network deployment. The dimensions of the antenna are calculated and these dimensions are used to generate a model on Advanced Design System (ADS), a microwave simulator. Simulation results are then analyzed and necessary optimization is carried out to further enhance the radiation quality so as to achieve desired results. Impedance matching at 50Ω is also obtained by using the inset feed method. Final antenna dimensions obtained after simulation and optimization are then used to implement practical construction on an FR-4 double sided copper clad printed circuit board (PCB) through a chemical etching process using ferric chloride (Fe2Cl). Simulation results show an RMPA operating at a centre frequency of 2.4GHz with a bandwidth of 40MHz. A voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of 1.0725 is recorded on a return loss of -29.112dB at input port showing an appreciable match in impedance to a source of 50Ω. In addition, a gain of 3.23dBi and directivity of 6.4dBi is observed during far-field analysis. On deployment, signal reception from wireless devices is improved due to antenna gain. A test source with a received signal strength indication (RSSI) of -80dBm without antenna installed on the receiver was improved to an RSSI of -61dBm. In addition, the directional radiation property of the RMPA prioritizes signals by pointing in the direction of a preferred signal source thus, reducing interference from undesired signal sources. This was observed during testing as rotation of the antenna on its axis resulted to the gain of signal in-front of the patch and fading of signals away from the front.

Keywords: advanced design system (ADS), inset feed, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), rectangular microstrip patch antenna (RMPA), voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)

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Authors: Hichem Boulechfar, Mahfoud Djezzar

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Two-dimensional double diffusive natural convection in an annular elliptical space filled with fluid-saturated porous medium, is analyzed by solving numerically the mass balance, momentum, energy and concentration equations, using Darcy's law and Boussinesq approximation. Both walls delimiting the annular space are maintained at two uniform different temperatures and concentrations. The external parameter considered is the Lewis number. For the present work, the heat and mass transfer for natural convection is studied for the case of aiding buoyancies, where the flow is generated in a cooperative mode by both temperature and solutal gradients. The local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are presented in term of the external parameter.

Keywords: double diffusive, natural convection, porous media, elliptical annulus

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Authors: Isabel N. Sierra-Garcia, Maria J. Ferreira, Sandro Figuereido, Newton Gomes, Helena Silva, Angela Cunha

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Plant-associated microbial communities are considered crucial in the adaptation of halophytes to coastal environments. The plant microbiota can be horizontally acquired from the environment or vertically transmitted from generation to generation via seeds. Recruiting of the microbial communities by the plant is affected by geographical location, soil source, host genotype, and cultivation practice. There is limited knowledge reported on the microbial communities in halophytes the influence of biotic and abiotic factors. In this work, the microbiota associated with the halophyte Salicornia ramosissima was investigated to determine whether the structure of bacterial communities is influenced by host genotype or soil source. For this purpose, two contrasting sites where S. ramosissima is established in the estuarine system of the Ria de Aveiro were investigated. One site corresponds to a natural salt marsh where S. ramosissima plants are present (wild plants), and the other site is a former salt pan that nowadays are subjected to intensive crop production of S. ramosissima (crop plants). Bacterial communities from the rhizosphere, seeds and root endosphere of S. ramossisima from both sites were investigated by sequencing bacterial 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The analysis of the sequences showed that the three plant-associated compartments, rhizosphere, root endosphere, and seed endosphere, harbor distinct microbiomes. However, bacterial richness and diversity were higher in seeds of wild plants, followed by rhizosphere in both sites, while seeds in the crop site had the lowest diversity. Beta diversity measures indicated that bacterial communities in root endosphere and seeds were more similar in both wild and crop plants in contrast to rhizospheres that differed by local, indicating that the recruitment of the similar bacterial communities by the plant genotype is active in regard to the site. Moreover, bacterial communities from the root endosphere and rhizosphere were phylogenetically more similar in both sites, but the phylogenetic composition of seeds in wild and crop sites was distinct. These results indicate that cultivation practices affect the seed microbiome. However, minimal vertical transmission of bacteria from seeds to adult plants is expected. Seeds from the crop site showed higher abundances of Kushneria and Zunongwangia genera. Bacterial members of the classes Alphaprotebacteria and Bacteroidia were the most ubiquitous across sites and compartments and might encompass members of the core microbiome. These findings indicate that bacterial communities associated with S. ramosissima are more influenced by host genotype rather than local abiotic factors or cultivation practices. This study provides a better understanding of the composition of the plant microbiota in S. ramosissima , which is essential to predict the interactions between plant and associated microbial communities and their effects on plant health. This knowledge is useful to the manipulations of these microbial communities to enhance the health and productivity of this commercially important plant.

Keywords: halophytes, plant microbiome, Salicornia ramosissima, agriculture

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Authors: Amy Y. Wang, Eko L. Yi

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Can vicarious experiences of workplace ostracism affect employees’ willingness to voice? Given the increasingly interdependent nature of the modern workplace in which employees rely on social interactions to fulfill organizational goals, workplace ostracism –the extent to which an individual perceives that he or she is ignored or excluded by others in the workplace– has garnered significant interest from scholars and practitioners alike. Extending beyond conventional studies that largely focus on the perspectives and outcomes of ostracized targets, we address the indirect effects of workplace ostracism on third-party employees embedded in the same social context. Using a social information processing approach, we propose that the ostracism of coworkers acts as political information that influences third-party employees in their decisions to engage in risky and discretionary behaviors such as employee voice. To make sense of and to navigate through experiences of workplace ostracism, we posit that both political understanding and political skill allow third party employees to minimize the risks and uncertainty of voicing. This conceptual model was tested by a study involving 154 supervisor-subordinate dyads of a publicly listed bio-technology firm located in Mainland China. Each supervisor and their direct subordinates composed of a work team; each team had a minimum of two subordinates and a maximum of four subordinates. Human resources used the master list to distribute the ID coded questionnaires to the matching names. All studied constructs were measured using existing scales proved effective in previous literature. Hypotheses were tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Hierarchal Multiple Regression. All three hypotheses were supported which showed that employees were less likely to engage in voice behaviors when their coworkers reported having experienced ostracism in the workplace. Results also showed a significant three-way interaction between political understanding and political skill on the relationship between coworkers’ ostracism and employee voice, indicating that political savviness is a valuable resource in mitigating ostracism’s negative and indirect effects. Our results illustrated that an employee’s coworkers being ostracized indeed adversely impacted his or her own voice behavior. However, not all individuals reacted passively to the social context; rather, we found that politically savvy individuals – possessing both political understanding and political skill – and their voice behaviors were less impacted by ostracism in their work environment. At the same time, we found that having only political understanding or only political skill was significantly less effective in mitigating ostracism’s negative effects, suggesting a necessary duality of political knowledge and political skill in combatting ostracism. Organizational implications, recommendations, and future research ideas are also discussed.

Keywords: employee voice, organizational politics, social information processing, workplace ostracism

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Authors: Federica Marangio

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This study looks at the triangle of knowledge: research-education-innovation as growth engine of an inclusive and sustainable society, where the research is the strategic process which allows the acquisition of knowledge, innovation appraises the knowledge acquired and the education is the enabling factor of the human capital to create entrepreneurial capital. Where does Italy and China stand in the global geography of innovation? Europe is calling on a smart, inclusive and sustainable growth through a specializing process that looks at the social and economic challenges, able to understand the characteristics of specific geographic areas. It is easily questionable why it is not as simple as it looks to come up with entrepreneurial ideas in all the geographic areas. Seen that the technology plus the human capital should be the means through which is possible to innovate and contribute to the boost of innovation culture, then the young educated people can be seen as the society changing agents and it becomes clear the importance of investigating the skills and competencies that lead to innovation. By starting innovation-based activities, other countries on an international level, are able now to be part of an healthy innovative ecosystem which is the result of a strong growth policy which enables innovation. Analyzing the geography of the innovation on a global scale, comes to light that the innovative entrepreneurship is the process which portrays the competitiveness of the regions in the knowledge-based economy as strategic process able to match intellectual capital and market opportunities. The level of innovative entrepreneurship is not only the result of the endogenous growth ability of the enterprises, but also by significant relations with other enterprises, universities, other centers of education and institutions. To obtain more innovative entrepreneurship is necessary to stimulate more synergy between all these territory actors in order to create, access and value existing and new knowledge ready to be disseminate. This study focuses on individual’s lived experience and the researcher believed that she can’t understand the human actions without understanding the meaning that they attribute to their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and so given she needed to understand the deeper perspectives captured through face-to face interaction. A case study approach will contribute to the betterment of knowledge in this field. This case study will represent a picture of the innovative ecosystem and the entrepreneurial mindset as a key ingredient of endogenous growth and a must for sustainable local and regional development and social cohesion. The case study will be realized analyzing two Chinese companies. A structured set of questions will be asked in order to gain details on what generated success or failure in the different situations with the past and at the moment of the research. Everything will be recorded not to lose important information during the transcription phase. While this work is not geared toward testing a priori hypotheses, it is nevertheless useful to examine whether the projects undertaken by the companies, were stimulated by enabling factors that, as result, enhanced or hampered the local innovation culture.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, education, geography of innovation, education.

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Authors: Yassine Ait-El-Aoud, Michael Okomoto, Andrew M. Luce, Alkim Akyurtlu, Richard M. Osgood III

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Light scattering of metal nanoparticles (NPs) has a unique, and technologically important effect on enhancing light absorption in substrates because most of the light scatters into the substrate near the localized plasmon resonance of the NPs. The optical response, such as the resonant frequency and forward- and backward-scattering, can be tuned to trap light over a certain spectral region by adjusting the nanoparticle material size, shape, aggregation state, Metallic vs. insulating state, as well as local environmental conditions. In this work, we examined the light scattering characteristics of ordered arrays of metal nanoparticles and the light trapping, in order to enhance absorption, by measuring the forward- and backward-scattering using a UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer. Samples were fabricated using the popular self-assembly process method: dip coating, combined with nanosphere lithography.

Keywords: dip coating, light-scattering, metal nanoparticles, nanosphere lithography

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Authors: Mehrnaz Mostafavi

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The assessment and categorization of incidental lung nodules present a considerable challenge in healthcare, often necessitating resource-intensive multiple computed tomography (CT) scans for growth confirmation. This research addresses this issue by introducing a distinct computational approach leveraging radiomics and deep-learning methods. However, understanding local services is essential before implementing these advancements. With diverse tracking methods in place, there is a need for efficient and accurate identification approaches, especially in the context of managing lung nodules alongside pre-existing cancer scenarios. This study explores the integration of text-based algorithms in medical data curation, indicating their efficacy in conjunction with machine learning and deep-learning models for identifying lung nodules. Combining medical images with text data has demonstrated superior data retrieval compared to using each modality independently. While deep learning and text analysis show potential in detecting previously missed nodules, challenges persist, such as increased false positives. The presented research introduces a Structured-Query-Language (SQL) algorithm designed for identifying pulmonary nodules in a tertiary cancer center, externally validated at another hospital. Leveraging natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, the algorithm categorizes lung nodule reports based on sentence features, aiming to facilitate research and assess clinical pathways. The hypothesis posits that the algorithm can accurately identify lung nodule CT scans and predict concerning nodule features using machine-learning classifiers. Through a retrospective observational study spanning a decade, CT scan reports were collected, and an algorithm was developed to extract and classify data. Results underscore the complexity of lung nodule cohorts in cancer centers, emphasizing the importance of careful evaluation before assuming a metastatic origin. The SQL and NLP algorithms demonstrated high accuracy in identifying lung nodule sentences, indicating potential for local service evaluation and research dataset creation. Machine-learning models exhibited strong accuracy in predicting concerning changes in lung nodule scan reports. While limitations include variability in disease group attribution, the potential for correlation rather than causality in clinical findings, and the need for further external validation, the algorithm's accuracy and potential to support clinical decision-making and healthcare automation represent a significant stride in lung nodule management and research.

Keywords: lung cancer diagnosis, structured-query-language (SQL), natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, CT scans

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Authors: Susanna Asatryan

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The author will introduce a single module related to English teaching methodology for master course students getting specialization “A Foreign Language Teacher of High Schools And Professional Educational Institutions” of Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences. The overall aim of the presentation is to introduce learning and teaching strategies within EXE Computer program for Mastery student-teachers of the University. The author will display the advantages of the use of this program. The learners interact with the teacher in the classroom as well as they are provided an opportunity for virtual domain to carry out their learning procedures in association with assessment and self-assessment. So they get integrated into blended learning. As this strategy is in its piloting stage, the author has elaborated a single module, embracing 3 main sections: -Teaching English vocabulary at high school, -Teaching English grammar at high school, and -Teaching English pronunciation at high school. The author will present the above mentioned topics with corresponding sections and subsections. The strong point is that preparing this module we have planned to display it on the blended learning landscape. So for this account working with EXE program is highly effective. As it allows the users to operate several tools for self-learning and self-testing/assessment. The author elaborated 3 single EXE files for each topic. Each file starts with the section’s subject-specific description: - Objectives and Pre-knowledge, followed by the theoretical part. The author associated and flavored her observations with appropriate samples of charts, drawings, diagrams, recordings, video-clips, photos, pictures, etc. to make learning process more effective and enjoyable. Before or after the article the author has downloaded a video clip, related to the current topic. EXE offers a wide range of tools to work out or prepare different activities and exercises for the learners: 'Interactive/non-interactive' and 'Textual/non-textual'. So with the use of these tools Multi-Select, Multi-Choice, Cloze, Drop-Down, Case Study, Gap-Filling, Matching and different other types of activities have been elaborated and submitted to the appropriate sections. The learners task is to prepare themselves for the coming module or seminar, related to teaching methodology of English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The point is that the teacher has an opportunity for face to face communication, as well as to connect with the learners through the Moodle, or as a single EXE file offer it to the learners for their self-study and self-assessment. As for the students’ feedback –EXE environment also makes it available.

Keywords: blended learning, EXE program, learning/teaching strategies, self-study/assessment, virtual domain,

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Authors: S. Khalifa, R. Chkoundali

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The specific role of banks in economic development varies, depending on scope. Firstly, the participation of banks in economic development focus around providing credit and services to generate revenues, which are then invested back into a local, national or international community. The specific roles banks play in the economic development of a small community differ from the role banks play in national or international economic development. Although the role can vary, factors such as access to credit and bank investment policies or practices remain constant, no matter the scope of economic development. This paper provides an overview of the economic situation of Africa and its short-term outlook. He referred to the progress made in the implementation of the Medium-Term Strategy (2008-2012) and some major achievements of the Bank, as the speed and flexibility with which she responded to the oil crisis, food and financial.

Keywords: economic growth, bank, Africa, economic development

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Authors: Rohin Sharma, Sumantu Chaulagain

Abstract:

This paper presents calculations of total energy of InGaN alloy carried out in a disordered quasirandom structure for a triclinic super cell. This structure replicates the disorder and composition effect in the alloy. First principle calculations within the density functional theory with the local density approximation approach is employed to accurately determine total energy of the system. Lattice constants and band gaps associated with the ground states are then estimated for different concentration ratios of the alloy. We provide precise results of quasirandom structures of the alloy and their lattice constants with the total energy and band gap energy of the system for the range of seven different composition ratios and their respective lattice parameters.

Keywords: DFT, ground state, LDA, quasicrystal, triclinic super cell

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Authors: Luke Onyekakeyah, Cynthia Onyekakeyah

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The conflict in Northeastern Nigeria could mar local and international efforts to salvage the drying Lake Chad, which at present is merely 20 per cent of its original size. The conflict which began in 2009, assumed a monstrous dimension to the extent that any prospects of a redeeming action on the Lake is bleak. The concern of the authorities in the basin countries is how to bring the conflict to an end in the interest of the ecologically-dependent riparian population. Lake Chad is Africa’s fourth largest lake. From a previous 388,500 km2 some 600, 000 years ago, the Lake has shrunk to a maximum length of 25,000 km2. During the last four decades, the Lake has been susceptible to increasing variability and irregular rainfall. Dry spell, excessive evaporation and sandstorm have adversely affected the Lake, such that a 2001 estimate put the Lake to a meager 19,000 km2. Given the critical importance of the Lake as a source of livelihood for over 20 million people, there is mounting concern that an unprecedented human and ecological catastrophe is unfolding, should the Lake eventually dries up. The study evaluates the Lake Chad and how the conflict has adversely impacted it.

Keywords: lake chad, conflict, salvage, Nigeria

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Authors: Kalpana Adhikari, Mandip Subedi, Keshab Sharma, Indra P. Acharya

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The Gorkha Nepal earthquake of moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8 struck the central region of Nepal on April 25, 2015 with the epicenter about 77 km northwest of Kathmandu Valley . Peak ground acceleration observed during the earthquake was 0.18g. This motion induced several geotechnical effects such as landslides, foundation failures liquefaction, lateral spreading and settlement, and local amplification. An aftershock of moment magnitude (Mw) 7.3 hit northeast of Kathmandu on May 12 after 17 days of main shock caused additional damages. Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal, have a population over four million. As the Kathmandu Valley deposits are composed mainly of sand, silt and clay layers with a shallow ground water table, liquefaction is highly anticipated. Extensive liquefaction was also observed in Kathmandu Valley during the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake. Field investigations were carried out in Kathmandu Valley immediately after Mw 7.8, April 25 main shock and Mw 7.3, May 12 aftershock. Geotechnical investigation of both liquefied and non-liquefied sites were conducted after the earthquake. This paper presents observations of liquefaction and liquefaction induced damage, and the liquefaction potential assessment based on Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) for liquefied and non-liquefied sites. SPT based semi-empirical approach has been used for evaluating liquefaction potential of the soil and Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI) has been used to determine liquefaction probability. Recorded ground motions from the event are presented. Geological aspect of Kathmandu Valley and local site effect on the occurrence of liquefaction is described briefly. Observed liquefaction case studies are described briefly. Typically, these are sand boils formed by freshly ejected sand forced out of over-pressurized sub-strata. At most site, sand was ejected to agricultural fields forming deposits that varied from millimetres to a few centimeters thick. Liquefaction-induced damage to structures in these areas was not significant except buildings on some places tilted slightly. Boiled soils at liquefied sites were collected and the particle size distributions of ejected soils were analyzed. SPT blow counts and the soil profiles at ten liquefied and non-liquefied sites were obtained. The factors of safety against liquefaction with depth and liquefaction potential index of the ten sites were estimated and compared with observed liquefaction after 2015 Gorkha earthquake. The liquefaction potential indices obtained from the analysis were found to be consistent with the field observation. The field observations along with results from liquefaction assessment were compared with the existing liquefaction hazard map. It was found that the existing hazard maps are unrepresentative and underestimate the liquefaction susceptibility in Kathmandu Valley. The lessons learned from the liquefaction during this earthquake are also summarized in this paper. Some recommendations are also made to the seismic liquefaction mitigation in the Kathmandu Valley.

Keywords: factor of safety, geotechnical investigation, liquefaction, Nepal earthquake

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Authors: Tarek Aboueldahab, Hanan Farag

Abstract:

Cost minimization of Multiple Vehicle Routing Problem becomes a critical issue in the field of transportation because it is NP-hard optimization problem and the search space is complex. Many researches use the hybridization of artificial intelligence (AI) models to solve this problem; however, it can not guarantee to reach the best solution due to the difficulty of searching the whole search space. To overcome this problem, we introduce the hybrid model of Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) with a passive congregation which enable searching the whole search space to compromise between both local and global search. The practical experiment shows that our model obviously outperforms other hybrid models in cost minimization.

Keywords: cost minimization, multi-vehicle routing problem, passive congregation, discrete swarm, passive congregation

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Abder-Rahman Ali, Adélaïde Albouy-Kissi, Manuel Grand-Brochier, Viviane Ladan-Marcus, Christine Hoeffl, Claude Marcus, Antoine Vacavant, Jean-Yves Boire

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In this paper, we present a new segmentation approach for focal liver lesions in contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging. This approach, based on a two-cluster Fuzzy C-Means methodology, considers type-II fuzzy sets to handle uncertainty due to the image modality (presence of speckle noise, low contrast, etc.), and to calculate the optimum inter-cluster threshold. Fine boundaries are detected by a local recursive merging of ambiguous pixels. The method has been tested on a representative database. Compared to both Otsu and type-I Fuzzy C-Means techniques, the proposed method significantly reduces the segmentation errors.

Keywords: defuzzification, fuzzy clustering, image segmentation, type-II fuzzy sets

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Authors: Yamba Dabone, Tounwendyam Frédéric Ouedraogo, Pengwendé Justin Kouraogo, Oumarou Sie

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Reliable data transport over the Internet is one of the goals of researchers in the field of computer science. Data such as videos and audio files are becoming increasingly large. As a result, transporting them over the Internet is becoming difficult. Therefore, it has been important to establish a method to locally interconnect autonomous systems (AS) with each other to facilitate traffic exchange. It is in this context that Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) are set up to facilitate local and even regional traffic. They are now the lifeblood of the Internet. Therefore, it is important to think about the factors that can characterize IXPs. However, other more quantifiable characteristics can help determine the quality of an IXP. In addition, these characteristics may allow ISPs to have a clearer view of the exchange node and may also convince other networks to connect to an IXP. To that end, we define five new IXP characteristics: the attraction rate (τₐₜₜᵣ); and the peering rate (τₚₑₑᵣ); the target rate of an IXP (Objₐₜₜ); the number of IXP links (Nₗᵢₙₖ); the resistance rate τₑ𝒻𝒻 and the attraction failure rate (τ𝒻).

Keywords: characteristic, autonomous system, internet service provider, internet exchange point, rate

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Authors: Anurag Bhambhani, Jan Peter Van Der Hoek, Zoran Kapelan

Abstract:

The food system depends on the availability of Phosphorus (P) and Nitrogen (N). Growing population, depleting Phosphorus reserves and energy-intensive industrial nitrogen fixation are threats to their future availability. Recovering P and N from domestic sewage water offers a solution. Recovered P and N can be applied to agricultural land, replacing virgin P and N. Thus, recovery from sewage water offers a solution befitting a circular economy. To ensure minimum waste and maximum resource efficiency a circularity assessment method is crucial to optimize nutrient flows and minimize losses. Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) is a useful method to quantify the circularity of materials. It was developed for materials that remain within the market and recently extended to include biotic materials that may be composted or used for energy recovery after end-of-use. However, MCI has not been used in the context of nutrient recovery. Besides, MCI is time-static, i.e., it cannot account for dynamic systems such as the terrestrial nutrient cycles. Nutrient application to agricultural land is a highly dynamic process wherein flows and stocks change with time. The rate of recycling of nutrients in nature can depend on numerous factors such as prevailing soil conditions, local hydrology, the presence of animals, etc. Therefore, a dynamic model of nutrient flows with indicators is needed for the circularity assessment. A simple substance flow model of P and N will be developed with the help of flow equations and transfer coefficients that incorporate the nutrient recovery step along with the agricultural application, the volatilization and leaching processes, plant uptake and subsequent animal and human uptake. The model is then used for calculating the proportions of linear and restorative flows (coming from reused/recycled sources). The model will simulate the adsorption process based on the quantity of adsorbent and nutrient concentration in the water. Thereafter, the application of the adsorbed nutrients to agricultural land will be simulated based on adsorbate release kinetics, local soil conditions, hydrology, vegetation, etc. Based on the model, the restorative nutrient flow (returning to the sewage plant following human consumption) will be calculated. The developed methodology will be applied to a case study of resource recovery from wastewater. In the aforementioned case study located in Italy, biochar or zeolite is to be used for recovery of P and N from domestic sewage through adsorption and thereafter, used as a slow-release fertilizer in agriculture. Using this model, information regarding the efficiency of nutrient recovery and application can be generated. This can help to optimize the recovery process and application of the nutrients. Consequently, this will help to optimize nutrient recovery and application and reduce the dependence of the food system on the virgin extraction of P and N.

Keywords: circular economy, dynamic substance flow, nutrient cycles, resource recovery from water

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Hassan Masoumi, Ahad Salimi, Nazanin Barhemmat, Babak Gholami

Abstract:

Artificial neural networks have gained a lot of interest as empirical models for their powerful representational capacity, multi input and output mapping characteristics. In fact, most feed-forward networks with nonlinear nodal functions have been proved to be universal approximates. In this paper, we propose a new supervised method for color image classification based on self organizing feature maps (SOFM). This algorithm is based on competitive learning. The method partitions the input space using self-organizing feature maps to introduce the concept of local neighborhoods. Our image classification system entered into RGB image. Experiments with simulated data showed that separability of classes increased when increasing training time. In additional, the result shows proposed algorithms are effective for color image classification.

Keywords: classification, SOFM algorithm, neural network, neighborhood, RGB image

Procedia PDF Downloads 462