Search results for: home energy management system (HEMS)

Authors: Pedro M. Abreu, Bruno R. Mendes

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The management of pharmacotherapy and the process of dispensing medicines is becoming critical in clinical pharmacy due to the increase of incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, the complexity and customization of therapeutic regimens, the introduction of innovative and more expensive medicines, the unbalanced relation between expenditure and revenue as well as due to the lack of rationalization associated with medication use. For these reasons, co-payments emerged in Europe in the 70s and have been applied over the past few years in healthcare. Co-payments lead to a rationing and rationalization of user’s access under healthcare services and products, and simultaneously, to a qualification and improvement of the services and products for the end-user. This analysis, under hospital practices particularly and co-payment strategies in general, was carried out on all the European regions and identified four reference countries, that apply repeatedly this tool and with different approaches. The structure, content and adaptation of European co-payments were analyzed through 7 qualitative attributes and 19 performance indicators, and the results expressed in a scorecard, allowing to conclude that the German models (total score of 68,2% and 63,6% in both elected co-payments) can collect more compliance and effectiveness, the English models (total score of 50%) can be more accessible, and the French models (total score of 50%) can be more adequate to the socio-economic and legal framework. Other European models did not show the same quality and/or performance, so were not taken as a standard in the future design of co-payments strategies. In this sense, we can see in the co-payments a strategy not only to moderate the consumption of healthcare products and services, but especially to improve them, as well as a strategy to increment the value that the end-user assigns to these services and products, such as medicines.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy, co-payments, healthcare, medicines

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Byoungjoon Yu, Jihwan Park, Sujung Sin, Junghyun Im, Minsoo Park, Sehwan Park, Seunghee Park

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In this paper, we propose a technology to monitor the soundness of an Internet-based bridge using a non-conductive inspection function. There has been a collapse accident due to the aging of the bridge structure, and it is necessary to prepare for the deterioration of the bridge. The NDT/SHM system for maintenance of existing bridge structures requires a large number of inspection personnel and expensive inspection costs, and access of expensive and large equipment to measurement points is required. Because current drone inspection equipment can only be inspected through camera, it is difficult to inspect inside damage accurately, and the results of an internal damage evaluation are subjective, and it is difficult for non-specialists to recognize the evaluation results. Therefore, it is necessary to develop NDT/SHM techniques for maintenance of new-concept bridge structures that allow for free movement and real-time evaluation of measurement results. This work is financially supported by Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) as 'Smart City Master and Doctor Course Grant Program' and a grant (14SCIP-B088624-01) from Construction Technology Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Keywords: Structural Health Monitoring, SHM, non-contact sensing, nondestructive testing, NDT, Internet of Things, autonomous self-driving drone

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Christina Zourna, Ioanna Papavassiliou-Alexiou

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The purpose of this multi-phased action research PhD study in Greece was to investigate if and how Drama in Education (DiE) – used as an innovative group counselling method – may have positive effects on secondary education students’career self-efficacy and career decision-making skills development. Using both quantitative and qualitative research tools, high quality data were gathered at various stages of the research and were analysed through multivariate methods and open-source computer aided data analysis software such as R Studio, QualCoder, and SPSS packages. After a five-month-long educational intervention based on DiE method, it was found that 9th, 10th, and 11th gradersameliorated their self-efficacy and learned the process of making an informed career decision – through targeted information gathering about themselves and possible study paths – thus, developing career problem-solving and career management skills. Gender differences were non statistically important, while differences in grades showed a minor influence on some of the measured factorssuch as general career indecisiveness and self-evaluation. Students in the 11th grade scored significantly higher than younger students in the career self-efficacy scale and have stronger faith in their abilities e.g., choosing general over vocational school and major study orientation. The study has shown that DiE can be effective in group career guidance, especially concerning the pillars of self-awareness, self-efficacy, and career decision-making processes.

Keywords: career decision-making skills, career self-efficacy, CDDQ scale, CDMSE-SF scale, drama in education method

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Marianne Paimre

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Estonia is heralded as the most successful digital country in the world with the highly acclaimed eHealth system. Yet 40% of the 65–74-year-olds do not use the Internet at all, and digital divide between young and elderly people's use of ICT is larger than in many advanced countries. Poor access to ICT resource and insufficient digital skills can lead to detachment from digital health resources, delayed diagnoses, and increased rates of hospitalization. To reveal digital divide within the elderly population itself, the presentation focuses on the health information behavior of Estonian seniors who either continue or have stopped working after retirement to use digital health applications. The author's main interest is on access, trust, and skills to use the Internet for medical purposes. Fifteen in-depth interviews with 65+ working persons, as well as 15 interviews with full-time retirees, were conducted. Also, six think-aloud protocols were conducted. The results indicate that older adults, who due to the nature of their work, have regular access to computers, often search for health-related information online. They exposed high source criticism and were successful in solving the given tasks. Conversely, most of the fully retired older adults claimed not using computers or other digital devices and cited lack of skills as the main reason for their inactivity. Thus, when developing health applications, it should be borne in mind that the ability and willingness of older adults to use e-solutions are very different.

Keywords: digital divide, digital healthcare, health information behavior, older adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Jing Zhao, Dayong Liu, Shihao Wang, Xinghua Zhu, Delong Li

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Uhumanned Underwater Vehicles generally operate in the deep sea, which has its own unique working conditions. Lithium-ion power batteries should have the necessary stability and endurance for use as an underwater vehicle’s power source. Therefore, it is essential to accurately forecast how long lithium-ion batteries will last in order to maintain the system’s reliability and safety. In order to model and forecast lithium battery Remaining Useful Life (RUL), this research suggests a model based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive noise-Temporal Convolutional Net (CEEMDAN-TCN). In this study, two datasets, NASA and CALCE, which have a specific gap in capacity data fluctuation, are used to verify the model and examine the experimental results in order to demonstrate the generalizability of the concept. The experiments demonstrate the network structure’s strong universality and ability to achieve good fitting outcomes on the test set for various battery dataset types. The evaluation metrics reveal that the CEEMDAN-TCN prediction performance of TCN is 25% to 35% better than that of a single neural network, proving that feature expansion and modal decomposition can both enhance the model’s generalizability and be extremely useful in industrial settings.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, remaining useful life, complete EEMD with adaptive noise, temporal convolutional net

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Funmilola Ajani, I. A. Ayodele, O.A. Filade

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Tourism has direct, indirect and induced impacts on economic development and the industry is one of the most crucial tradable sectors in the world. The study was therefore carried out to assess the potentials of ecotourism to nature conservation and its contributions to the improvement of the livelihood of Oke- Ila Orangun community. One hundred and fifty residents were chosen by stratified random sampling as respondents. Respondents awareness of ecotourism was assessed using an 8-point scale while respondents acceptance of ecotourism was assessed using a 14-point scale. Contributions to improvement of livelihood of residents and perceived constraints identified by residents to the development of the water fall and socio-economic variables among others were also obtained. Also, in-depth interview was conducted with the king of Ayikunnugba. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency count, mean and percentages. Correlation analysis was used to determine whether or not a relationship exists between two variables at 0.05 level of significance. Perception of respondents based on the awareness of ecotourism and contributions to livelihood development was high (78.3%). A significant relationship exists between acceptance of ecotourism and its contributions to peoples’ livelihood. Also, relationship between constraints encountered by respondents and its contributions to peoples livelihood is highly significant(r =0.546; P =0.00). Majority (71.3%) of the respondents believed that the development of the area will not lead to environmental pollution. Public- Private- Partnership (PPP) is therefore recommended so as to enable the recreation site to meet international standard in terms of development and management.

Keywords: Ayikunnugba water fall, ecotourism constraints, nature conservation, awareness

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Ateeth Shetty, K. S. Jayappa, Ratheesh Ramakrishnan, A. S. Rajawat

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Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) was estimated for the period of four months (November, 2013 to February 2014) using Oceansat-2 (Ocean Colour Monitor) satellite images to understand the coastal dynamics and regional sediment transport, especially distribution and budgeting in coastal waters. The coastal zone undergoes continuous changes due to natural processes and anthropogenic activities. The importance of the coastal zone, with respect to safety, ecology, economy and recreation, demands a management strategy in which each of these aspects is taken into account. Monitoring and understanding the sediment dynamics and suspended sediment transport is an important issue for coastal engineering related activities. A study of the transport mechanism of suspended sediments in the near shore environment is essential not only to safeguard marine installations or navigational channels, but also for the coastal structure design, environmental protection and disaster reduction. Such studies also help in assessment of pollutants and other biological activities in the region. An accurate description of the sediment transport, caused by waves and tidal or wave-induced currents, is of great importance in predicting coastal morphological changes. Satellite-derived SSC data have been found to be useful for Indian coasts because of their high spatial (360 m), spectral and temporal resolutions. The present paper outlines the applications of state‐of‐the‐art operational Indian Remote Sensing satellite, Oceansat-2 to study the dynamics of sediment transport.

Keywords: suspended sediment concentration, ocean colour monitor, sediment transport, case – II waters

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Aïssa Rezzoug

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This paper is aimed to bring new elements that demonstrate the tide caused the groundwater to rise in the shoreline band, on which the urban areas occurs, especially in the western coastal cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia like Jeddah. The reason for the last events of Jeddah inundation was the groundwater rise in the city coupled at the same time to a strong precipitation event. This paper will illustrate the tide participation in increasing the groundwater level significantly. It shows that the reason for internal groundwater recharge within the urban area is not only the excess of the water supply coming from surrounding areas, due to the human activity, with lack of sufficient and efficient sewage system, but also due to tide effect. The research study follows a quantitative method to assess groundwater level rise risks through many in-situ measurements and mathematical modelling. The proposed approach highlights groundwater level, in the urban areas of the city on the shoreline band, reaching the high tide level without considering any input from precipitation. Despite the small tide in the Red Sea compared to other oceanic coasts, the groundwater level is considerably enhanced by the tide from the seaside and by the freshwater table from the landside of the city. In these conditions, the groundwater level becomes high in the city and prevents the soil to evacuate quickly enough the surface flow caused by the storm event, as it was observed in the last historical flood catastrophe of Jeddah in 2009.

Keywords: flood, groundwater rise, Jeddah, tide

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Hesham Abd Elkhalek, Sherif M. Hafez, Yasser M. El Fahham

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Allocating limited budget to maintain bridge networks and selecting effective maintenance strategies for each bridge represent challenging tasks for maintenance managers and decision makers. In Egypt, bridges are continuously deteriorating. In many cases, maintenance works are performed due to user complaints. The objective of this paper is to develop a practical and reliable framework to manage the maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) activities of Bridges network considering performance and budget limits. The model solves an optimization problem that maximizes the average condition of the entire network given the limited available budget using Genetic Algorithm (GA). The framework contains bridge inventory, condition assessment, repair cost calculation, deterioration prediction, and maintenance optimization. The developed model takes into account multiple parameters including serviceability requirements, budget allocation, element importance on structural safety and serviceability, bridge impact on network, and traffic. A questionnaire is conducted to complete the research scope. The proposed model is implemented in software, which provides a friendly user interface. The framework provides a multi-year maintenance plan for the entire network for up to five years. A case study of ten bridges is presented to validate and test the proposed model with data collected from Transportation Authorities in Egypt. Different scenarios are presented. The results are reasonable, feasible and within acceptable domain.

Keywords: bridge management systems (BMS), cost optimization condition assessment, fund allocation, Markov chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Minaj Ranjita Singh, Meghna Mukherjee, Abhijeet Jadhav

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This is an exploratory qualitative study with an objective to understand the bathing practices followed by rural women and its consequences. Access to safe bathing spaces in rural India is a neglected issue due to which women are affected in various ways. Today, government policies are largely focused towards the building of toilets, but no importance has been given to the construction of bathrooms. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using in-depth interviews and focused group discussions with rural women in six villages of Odisha, India. The study was approved by an Institutional Research and Ethics Committee, and informed consent was taken from participants. For most of the participants, the access to water, bathing space and toilet was compromised posing various challenges in their daily lives. Women's daily schedule, hygiene practices, dignity, and health are greatly affected due to this lack. Since bathing in the open has been an ancient practice, the community's perception is benign towards the hardship of women. Lack of exposure to concealed bathing, necessary funds, and competing priorities are some of the household level factors which never let them think about having bathrooms and the lack of water supply, proper drainage system, subsidy or financial support are the governance and policy related factors which prevent their access to secured bathing spaces.

Keywords: bathrooms, dignity, exploratory, rural, qualitative, women's health, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Nagaletchumi Balasubramaniam, A. Mohd Isa

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Engineers have a leading role in planning, designing, building and ensuring a sustainable future. Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) acknowledges this role by assigning sustainable development as one of the expected traits that a UNITEN student should have upon graduation, formalized as the Programme Outcomes 7 (PO7): Students graduating from the Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics (BEEE) program will have the ability to demonstrate knowledge of the impact of professional engineering solutions in environmental contexts and the need for sustainable development. This paper explores how PO7 is integrated within the BEEE (Hons) program in UNITEN under the framework of Outcome Base Education (OBE). Five technical core courses were specifically assigned by UNITEN to reflect attainment of PO7. Under UNITEN’s definition, the attainment criterion of a PO is set as 70/40. This means that 70% of the students taking the course achieve at least 40% of the full marks. The paper first gives an overview of the overall OBE system as applied in UNITEN, particularly describing the key and supporting courses approach adopted for each PO. Then, the paper reviews the mechanism in which PO7 is taught and assessed in the five assigned courses. Data on PO7 attainment from four of the five courses are collected and analyzed for two student cohorts to investigate the interrelationship between the courses assigned to PO7. It was found that the five courses have different mechanisms for assessing PO7, and that generally PO7 is attained for the assigned courses. This reflects positively on the UNITEN method for integrating sustainable development within the engineering undergraduate programme.

Keywords: direct assessment, engineering education, outcome base education, programme outcome, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Mohammed Aman Kassim

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This study explored the attitudes of hotel managers toward climate change adaption and mitigation practices in resort hotels located in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia. Weak resource management in the area causes serious environmental problems. So sustainable way forward is needed for the destination in order to reduce environmental damage. Six resorts were selected out of twelve resort hotels in Bishoftu City by using the systematic sampling method, and a total of fifty-six managers were taken for the study. The data analyzed came from self-administered questionnaires, site observation, and a short face-to-face interview with general managers. The results showed that 99% of hotel managers possess positive attitudes toward climate change adaptation and mitigation practices. But they did not show a high commitment to adopting all adaptation and mitigation practices in their hotel’s actions and day-to-day operation. Key adoption influencing factors identified were: owners' commitment toward sustainability, the applicability of government rules and regulations, and incentives for good achievement. The findings also revealed that the attitudes of resort hotel managers toward climate change adaption and mitigation practices are more significantly influenced by their social factors, such as level of education and age, in this study. The study demonstrated that in order to increase managers' commitment and hotels become green: government led-education and training programs, green certification actions, and application of government environmental regulation are important.

Keywords: climate change, climate change adaptation and mitigation practices, environmental attitude, resort hotels

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Berna Eren Tokgoz, Mahdi Safa, Seokyon Hwang

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Power distribution systems are essential and crucial infrastructures for the development and maintenance of a sustainable society. These systems are extremely vulnerable to various types of natural and man-made disasters. The assessment of resilience focuses on preparedness and mitigation actions under pre-disaster conditions. It also concentrates on response and recovery actions under post-disaster situations. The aim of this study is to present a methodology to assess the resilience of electric power distribution poles against wind-related events. The proposed methodology can improve the accuracy and rapidity of the evaluation of the conditions and the assessment of the resilience of poles. The methodology provides a metric for the evaluation of the resilience of poles under pre-disaster and post-disaster conditions. The metric was developed using mathematical expressions for physical forces that involve various variables, such as physical dimensions of the pole, the inclination of the pole, and wind speed. A three-dimensional imaging technology (photogrammetry) was used to determine the inclination of poles. Based on expert opinion, the proposed metric was used to define zones to visualize resilience. Visual representation of resilience is helpful for decision makers to prioritize their resources before and after experiencing a wind-related disaster. Multiple electric poles in the City of Beaumont, TX were used in a case study to evaluate the proposed methodology.  

Keywords: photogrammetry, power distribution systems, resilience metric, system resilience, wind-related disasters

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: B. B. van Schalkwyk, C. B. Schoeman, E. J. Cilliers

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High levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid have caused South African municipalities to experience difficulties in planning for sustainability and, more specifically, sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved living environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this, sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched in this paper as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. A comparative assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. The result of the comparative sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. It is recommended that municipalities use the comparative assessment matrix method to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectorial plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. The comparative assessment matrix method is a valuable planning instrument with which to achieve sustainable community development.

Keywords: sustainable community development, sustainability indicators, comparative sustainability, urbanisation, development planning, urban management

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: B. Arzhanov, A. Correia, P. Delgado, J. Meireles

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Due to the higher power loss levels in electronic components, the thermal design of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) of an assembled device becomes one of the most important quality factors in electronics. Nonetheless, some of leading causes of the microelectronic component failures are due to higher temperatures, the leakages or thermal-mechanical stress, which is a concern, is the reliability of microelectronic packages. This article presents an experimental approach to measure the junction temperature of exposed pad packages. The implemented solution is in a prototype phase, using a temperature-sensitive parameter (TSP) to measure temperature directly on the die, validating the numeric results provided by the Mechanical APDL (Ansys Parametric Design Language) under same conditions. The physical device-under-test is composed by a Thermal Test Chip (TTC-1002) and assembly in a QFN cavity, soldered to a test-board according to JEDEC Standards. Monitoring the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode, is an indirectly method but accurate to obtain the junction temperature of QFN component with an applied power range between 0,3W to 1.5W. The temperature distributions on the PCB test-board and QFN cavity surface were monitored by an infra-red thermal camera (Goby-384) controlled and images processed by the Xeneth software. The article provides a set-up to monitorize in real-time the junction temperature of ICs, namely devices with the exposed pad package (i.e. QFN). Presenting the PCB layout parameters that the designer should use to improve thermal performance, and evaluate the impact of voids in solder interface in the device junction temperature.

Keywords: quad flat no-Lead packages, exposed pads, junction temperature, thermal management and measurements

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Lubna Eljabu, Mohammad Etemad, Stan Matwin

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Port authorities have many challenges in congested ports to allocate their resources to provide a safe and secure loading/ unloading procedure for cargo vessels. Selecting a destination port is the decision of a vessel master based on many factors such as weather, wavelength and changes of priorities. Having access to a tool which leverages AIS messages to monitor vessel’s movements and accurately predict their next destination port promotes an effective resource allocation process for port authorities. In this research, we propose a method, namely, Reference Route of Trajectory (RRoT) to assist port authorities in predicting inflow and outflow traffic in their local environment by monitoring Automatic Identification System (AIS) messages. Our RRoT method creates a reference route based on historical AIS messages. It utilizes some of the best trajectory similarity measure to identify the destination of a vessel using their recent movement. We evaluated five different similarity measures such as Discrete Fr´echet Distance (DFD), Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), Partial Curve Mapping (PCM), Area between two curves (Area) and Curve length (CL). Our experiments show that our method identifies the destination port with an accuracy of 98.97% and an fmeasure of 99.08% using Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) similarity measure.

Keywords: spatial temporal data mining, trajectory mining, trajectory similarity, resource optimization

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Authors: Narendra Nath Patra

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Several recent studies reinforce the existence of a thick molecular disc in galaxies along with the dynamically cold thin disc. Assuming a two-component molecular disc, we model the disc of NGC 6946 as a four-component system consists of stars, HI, thin disc molecular gas, and thick disc molecular gas in vertical hydrostatic equilibrium. Following, we set up the joint Poisson-Boltzmann equation of hydrostatic equilibrium and solve it numerically to obtain a three-dimensional density distribution of different baryonic components. Using the density solutions and the observed rotation curve, we further build a three-dimensional dynamical model of the molecular disc and consecutively produce simulated CO spectral cube and spectral width profile. We find that the simulated spectral width profiles distinguishably differs for different assumed thick disc molecular gas fraction. Several CO spectral width profiles are then produced for different assumed thick disc molecular gas fractions and compared with the observed one to obtain the best fit thick disc molecular gas fraction profile. We find that the thick disc molecular gas fraction in NGC 6946 largely remains constant across its molecular disc with a mean value of 0.70 +/- 0.09. We also estimate the amount of extra-planar molecular gas in NGC 6946. We find 60% of the total molecular gas is extra-planar at the central region, whereas this fraction reduces to ~ 35% at the edge of the molecular disc. With our method, for the first time, we estimate the thick disc molecular gas fraction as a function of radius in an external galaxy with sub-kpc resolution.

Keywords: galaxies: kinematics and dynamic, galaxies: spiral, galaxies: structure , ISM: molecules, molecular data

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Lubica Hikkerova, Jean-Michel Sahut

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Environmental protection remains a global challenge but, since 2012, there has been a progressive decline in corporate engagement in environmental protection issues. This study seeks to investigate the role of financial capacity and governance in improving the level of environmental engagement of companies. The regression technique is applied to data on 351 large European companies from the ASSET4-ESG database for the 2007-2015 period. Firstly, the results show that the companies in the sample are fairly engaged in environmental protection, with a strong dispersion representing nearly four times the average. This means that the companies in the sample do not share the same level of engagement in matters of environmental protection, some being more committed than others. Secondly, the results reveal that the financial capacity of the company, as assessed through its indicators, has a significant effect on its level of environmental protection engagement in the present sample. This effect is more positive the higher the profits the company makes, and more negative the more heavily indebted or, the higher the rates of dividends it pays per share. Lastly, the results also show that a better quality of governance plays an important role in the decision to undertake actions leading to environmental protection. More specifically, the degree of management implication in the running of the business, the respect of the rights of the shareholders, the effectiveness of the control exerted by the board of directors, and, to a lesser extent, the independence of the audit committee, are variables which have a positive and significant influence on the level of environmental engagement of companies.

Keywords: financial capacity, corporate governance, environmental engagement, stakeholder theory, theory of organizational legitimacy, theory of resources and capabilities

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Authors: Bi-Huei Tsai

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Previous studies on financial distress prediction choose the conventional failing and non-failing dichotomy; however, the distressed extent differs substantially among different financial distress events. To solve the problem, “non-distressed”, “slightly-distressed” and “reorganization and bankruptcy” are used in our article to approximate the continuum of corporate financial health. This paper explains different financial distress events using the two-stage method. First, this investigation adopts firm-specific financial ratios, corporate governance and market factors to measure the probability of various financial distress events based on multinomial logit models. Specifically, the bootstrapping simulation is performed to examine the difference of estimated misclassifying cost (EMC). Second, this work further applies macroeconomic factors to establish the credit cycle index and determines the distressed cut-off indicator of the two-stage models using such index. Two different models, one-stage and two-stage prediction models, are developed to forecast financial distress, and the results acquired from different models are compared with each other, and with the collected data. The findings show that the two-stage model incorporating financial ratios, corporate governance and market factors has the lowest misclassification error rate. The two-stage model is more accurate than the one-stage model as its distressed cut-off indicators are adjusted according to the macroeconomic-based credit cycle index.

Keywords: Multinomial logit model, corporate governance, company failure, reorganization, bankruptcy

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Authors: Mandeep Kataria, Ritu Narula, Navneet Kaur

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Asparagine is vital amino acid which is required for the development of brain and it regulates the equilibrium of central nervous system. Asparagine is the chief amino acid that forms acrylamide in baked food by reacting with reducing sugars at high temperature ( Millard Reaction i.e. amino acids and sugars give new flavors at high temperature). It can also be a parameter of freshness in fruit juices because on storage of juices at 37°C caused an 87% loss in the total free amino acids and major decrease was recorded in asparagine contents. With this significance of monitoring asparagine, in the present work a biosensor for determining asparagine in fruit juices is developed. For the construction of biosensor L-asparaginase enzyme (0.5 IU) was co-immobilized with phenol red on TEOS chitosan sol-gel plastic disc and fixed on the fiber optic tip. Tip was immersed in a cell having 5ml of substrate and absorption was noted at response time of 5 min with 10-1 - 10-10 M concentrations of asparagine at 538 nm. L-asparaginase was extracted and from Solanum nigrum Asparagine biosensor was applied fruit juices on the monitoring asparagine contents. L-asparagine concentration found to be present in fruit juices like Guava Juice, Apple Juice, Mango Juice, Litchi juice, Strawberry juice, Pineapple juice Lemon juice, and Orange juice. Hence the developed biosensor has commercial aspects in quality insurance of fruit juices.

Keywords: fiber optic biosensor, chitosan, teos, l-asparaginase

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: A. M. Omoare, E. O. Fakoya

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This study sought to determine the use of indigenous knowledge for selected arable crops production in Ondo Sate. A multistage sampling method was used and 112 arable crops farmers were systematically selected. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that majority of the sampled farmers were male (75.90%). About 75% were married with children. Large proportion of them (62.61%) were within the ages of 30-49 years. Most of them have spent about 10 years in farming (58.92%). The highest raw scores of use of indigenous knowledge were found in planting on mound in yam production, use of native medicine and scare crow method in controlling birds in rice production, timely planting of locally developed resistant varieties in cassava production and soaking of maize seeds in water to determine their viability with raw scores of 313, 310, 305, 303, and 300 respectively, while the lowest raw scores was obtained in use of bell method in controlling birds in rice production with raw scores of 210. The findings established that proverbs (59.8%) and taboos (55.36%) were the most commonly used media in transmitting indigenous knowledge by arable crop farmers. The multiple regression analysis result revealed that age of the farmers and farming experience had a significant relationship with the use of indigenous knowledge of the farmers which gave R2 = 0.83 for semi log function form of equation which is the land equation. The policy implication is that indigenous knowledge should provide basis for designing modern technologies to enhance sustainable agricultural development.

Keywords: crop production, extent of use, indigenous knowledge, arable crops

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Authors: Gabriela V. Angeles Perez, Jose Castillejos Lopez, Araceli L. Reyes Cabello, Emilio Bravo Grajales, Adriana Perez Espinosa, Jose L. Quiroz Fabian

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Road traffic accidents are among the principal causes of traffic congestion, causing human losses, damages to health and the environment, economic losses and material damages. Studies about traditional road traffic accidents in urban zones represents very high inversion of time and money, additionally, the result are not current. However, nowadays in many countries, the crowdsourced GPS based traffic and navigation apps have emerged as an important source of information to low cost to studies of road traffic accidents and urban congestion caused by them. In this article we identified the zones, roads and specific time in the CDMX in which the largest number of road traffic accidents are concentrated during 2016. We built a database compiling information obtained from the social network known as Waze. The methodology employed was Discovery of knowledge in the database (KDD) for the discovery of patterns in the accidents reports. Furthermore, using data mining techniques with the help of Weka. The selected algorithms was the Maximization of Expectations (EM) to obtain the number ideal of clusters for the data and k-means as a grouping method. Finally, the results were visualized with the Geographic Information System QGIS.

Keywords: data mining, k-means, road traffic accidents, Waze, Weka

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: P. Siriarchawatana, K. Leungchavaphongse, N. Covavisaruch, K. Rojananuangnit, P. Boondaeng, N. Panyayingyong

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Glaucoma is a disease that causes visual loss in adults. Glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve and its overall pathophysiology is still not fully understood. Vasculopathy may be one of the possible causes of nerve damage. Photographic imaging of retinal vessels by fundus camera during eye examination may complement clinical management. This paper presents an innovation for measuring central light reflex width-to-retinal vessel diameter ratio (CRR) from digital retinal photographs. Using our edge detection technique, CRRs from glaucoma and normal eyes were compared to examine differences and associations. CRRs were evaluated on fundus photographs of participants from Mettapracharak (Wat Raikhing) Hospital in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Fifty-five photographs from normal eyes and twenty-one photographs from glaucoma eyes were included. Participants with hypertension were excluded. In each photograph, CRRs from four retinal vessels, including arteries and veins in the inferotemporal and superotemporal regions, were quantified using edge detection technique. From our finding, mean CRRs of all four retinal arteries and veins were significantly higher in persons with glaucoma than in those without glaucoma (0.34 vs. 0.32, p < 0.05 for inferotemporal vein, 0.33 vs. 0.30, p < 0.01 for inferotemporal artery, 0.34 vs. 0.31, p < 0.01 for superotemporal vein, and 0.33 vs. 0.30, p < 0.05 for superotemporal artery). From these results, an increase in CRRs of retinal vessels, as quantitatively measured from fundus photographs, could be associated with glaucoma.

Keywords: glaucoma, retinal vessel, central light reflex, image processing, fundus photograph, edge detection

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Authors: Wesley A. Saltarelli, Nicolas R. Finkler, Adriana C. P. Miwa, Maria C. Calijuri, Davi G. F. Cunha

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The metabolism of the streams is an indicator of ecosystem disturbance due to the influences of the catchment on the structure of the water bodies. The study of the respiration and photosynthesis allows the estimation of energy fluxes through the food webs and the analysis of the autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. We aimed at evaluating the metabolism in streams located in the Brazilian savannah, Cerrado (Sao Carlos, SP), by determining and modeling the daily changes of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water during one year. Three water bodies with minimal anthropogenic interference in their surroundings were selected, Espraiado (ES), Broa (BR) and Canchim (CA). Every two months, water temperature, pH and conductivity are measured with a multiparameter probe. Nitrogen and phosphorus forms are determined according to standard methods. Also, canopy cover percentages are estimated in situ with a spherical densitometer. Stream flows are quantified through the conservative tracer (NaCl) method. For the metabolism study, DO (PME-MiniDOT) and light (Odyssey Photosynthetic Active Radiation) sensors log data for at least three consecutive days every ten minutes. The reaeration coefficient (k2) is estimated through the method of the tracer gas (SF6). Finally, we model the variations in DO concentrations and calculate the rates of gross and net primary production (GPP and NPP) and respiration based on the one station method described in the literature. Three sampling were carried out in October and December 2015 and February 2016 (the next will be in April, June and August 2016). The results from the first two periods are already available. The mean water temperatures in the streams were 20.0 +/- 0.8C (Oct) and 20.7 +/- 0.5C (Dec). In general, electrical conductivity values were low (ES: 20.5 +/- 3.5uS/cm; BR 5.5 +/- 0.7uS/cm; CA 33 +/- 1.4 uS/cm). The mean pH values were 5.0 (BR), 5.7 (ES) and 6.4 (CA). The mean concentrations of total phosphorus were 8.0ug/L (BR), 66.6ug/L (ES) and 51.5ug/L (CA), whereas soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations were always below 21.0ug/L. The BR stream had the lowest concentration of total nitrogen (0.55mg/L) as compared to CA (0.77mg/L) and ES (1.57mg/L). The average discharges were 8.8 +/- 6L/s (ES), 11.4 +/- 3L/s and CA 2.4 +/- 0.5L/s. The average percentages of canopy cover were 72% (ES), 75% (BR) and 79% (CA). Significant daily changes were observed in the DO concentrations, reflecting predominantly heterotrophic conditions (respiration exceeded the gross primary production, with negative net primary production). The GPP varied from 0-0.4g/m2.d (in Oct and Dec) and the R varied from 0.9-22.7g/m2.d (Oct) and from 0.9-7g/m2.d (Dec). The predominance of heterotrophic conditions suggests increased vulnerability of the ecosystems to artificial inputs of organic matter that would demand oxygen. The investigation of the metabolism in the pristine streams can help defining natural reference conditions of trophic state.

Keywords: low-order streams, metabolism, net primary production, trophic state

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Authors: S. Asad Ali Gillani, Ahmed Toumi, Anaclet Turatsinze

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After a certain period of time, the degradation of concrete structures is unavoidable. For large concrete areas, thin bonded cement-based overlay is a suitable rehabilitation technique. Previous research demonstrated that durability of bonded cement-based repairs is always a problem and one of its main reasons is deboning at interface. Since durability and efficiency of any repair system mainly depend upon the bond between concrete substrate and repair material, the bond between concrete substrate and repair material can be improved by increasing the surface roughness. The surface roughness can be improved by performing surface treatment of the concrete substrate to enhance mechanical interlocking which is one of the basic mechanisms of adhesion between two surfaces. In this research, bond tensile strength of cement-based overlays having substrate surface prepared using different techniques has been characterized. In first step cement based substrate was prepared and then cured for three months. After curing two different types of the surface treatments were performed on this substrate; cutting and sandblasting. In second step overlay was cast on these prepared surfaces, which were cut and sandblasted surfaces. The overlay was also cast on the surface without any treatment. Finally, bond tensile strength of cement-based overlays was evaluated in direct tension test and the results are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: concrete substrate, surface preparation, overlays, bond tensile strength

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Authors: Magda Olesiuk-Okomska

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Although international criminal law has grown significantly in the last decades, it still remains fragmented and lacks doctrinal cohesiveness. Its concept is described in the doctrine as highly disputable. There is no concrete definition of the term. In the domestic doctrine, the problem of criminal law issues that arise in the international setting, and international issues that arise within the national criminal law, is underdeveloped both theoretically and practically. To the best of author’s knowledge, there are no studies describing international aspects of criminal law in a comprehensive manner, taking a more expansive view of the subject. This paper presents results of a part of the doctoral research, undertaking a theoretical framework of the international criminal law. It aims at sorting out the existing terminology on international aspects of criminal law. It demonstrates differences between the notions of international criminal law, criminal law international and law international criminal. It confronts the notion of criminal law with related disciplines and shows their interplay. It specifies the scope of international criminal law. It diagnoses the current legal framework of international aspects of criminal law, referring to both criminal law issues that arise in the international setting, and international issues that arise in the context of national criminal law. Finally, de lege lata postulates were formulated and direction of changes in international criminal law was proposed. The adopted research hypothesis assumed that the notion of international criminal law was inconsistent, not understood uniformly, and there was no conformity as to its place within the system of law, objective and subjective scopes, while the domestic doctrine did not correspond with international standards and differed from the worldwide doctrine. Implemented research methods included inter alia a dogmatic and legal method, an analytical method, a comparative method, as well as desk research.

Keywords: criminal law, international crimes, international criminal law, international law

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Oktawia Braniewicz

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The phenomenon of emigration and migration increasingly affects Poland's borders as well. For this reason, it is necessary to examine the level of protection of Human Rights in Polish Centres for Foreigners. The field study covered 11 centers for Foreigners in the provinces Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region, Lubelskie Region, Lodzkie Region, Mazowieckie Region and Podlaskie Region. Photographic documentation of living and social conditions, conversations with center employees and refugees allow to show a comprehensive picture of the situation prevailing in Centres for Foreigners. The object of reflection will be, in particular, the standards resulting from art. 8 and 13 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The degree of realization of the right to education and the right to respect for family and private life will be shown. Issues related to learning the Polish language, access to a professional translator and psychological help will also be approximated. Learning Polish is not obligatory, which causes problems with assimilation and integration with other members of the new community. In centers for foreigners, there are no translators - a translator from an external company is rented if necessary. The waiting time for an interpreter makes the refugees feel anxious, unable to communicate with the employees of the centers (this is a situation in which the refugees do not know either English, Polish or Russian). Psychologist's help is available on designated days of the week. There is no separate specialist in child psychology, which is a serious problem.

Keywords: human rights, Polish centres, foreigners, fundamental freedoms

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: E. Salem

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Combustion has been used for a long time as a means of energy extraction. However, in recent years, there has been a further increase in air pollution, through pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, acid etc. In order to solve this problem, there is a need to reduce carbon and nitrogen oxides through learn burning modifying combustors and fuel dilution. A numerical investigation has been done to investigate the effectiveness of several reduced mechanisms in terms of computational time and accuracy, for the combustion of the hydrocarbons/air or diluted with hydrogen in a micro combustor. The simulations were carried out using the ANSYS Fluent 19.1. To validate the results “PREMIX and CHEMKIN” codes were used to calculate 1D premixed flame based on the temperature, composition of burned and unburned gas mixtures. Numerical calculations were carried for several hydrocarbons by changing the equivalence ratios and adding small amounts of hydrogen into the fuel blends then analyzing the flammable limit, the reduction in NOx and CO emissions, then comparing it to experimental data. By solving the conservations equations, several global reduced mechanisms (2-9-12) were obtained. These reduced mechanisms were simulated on a 2D cylindrical tube with dimensions of 40 cm in length and 2.5 cm diameter. The mesh of the model included a proper fine quad mesh, within the first 7 cm of the tube and around the walls. By developing a proper boundary layer, several simulations were performed on hydrocarbon/air blends to visualize the flame characteristics than were compared with experimental data. Once the results were within acceptable range, the geometry of the combustor was modified through changing the length, diameter, adding hydrogen by volume, and changing the equivalence ratios from lean to rich in the fuel blends, the results on flame temperature, shape, velocity and concentrations of radicals and emissions were observed. It was determined that the reduced mechanisms provided results within an acceptable range. The variation of the inlet velocity and geometry of the tube lead to an increase of the temperature and CO2 emissions, highest temperatures were obtained in lean conditions (0.5-0.9) equivalence ratio. Addition of hydrogen blends into combustor fuel blends resulted in; reduction in CO and NOx emissions, expansion of the flammable limit, under the condition of having same laminar flow, and varying equivalence ratio with hydrogen additions. The production of NO is reduced because the combustion happens in a leaner state and helps in solving environmental problems.

Keywords: combustor, equivalence-ratio, hydrogenation, premixed flames

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Aurelien Boutin

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In optical systems such as Variable Optical Delay Lines, where a collimated beam has to go back and forth, corner cubes are used in order to keep the reflected beam parallel to the incoming beam. However, the reflected beam can be laterally shifted, which will lead to losses. In this paper, we report on a patented optical design that allows keeping the reflected beam with the exact same position and direction whatever the displacement of the corner cube leading to zero losses. After explaining how the optical design works and theoretically allows to compensate for any defects in the translation of the corner cube, we will present the results of experimental comparisons between a standard layout (i.e., only corner cubes) and our optical layout. To compare both optical layouts, we used a fiber-to-fiber coupling setup. It consists of a couple of lights from one fiber to the other, thanks to two lenses. The ensemble [fiber+lense] is fixed and called a collimator so that the light is coupled from one collimator to another. Each collimator was precisely made in order to have a precise working distance. In the experiment, we measured and compared the Insertion Losses (IL) variations between both collimators with the distance between them (i.e., natural Gaussian beam coupling losses) and between both collimators in the different optical layouts tested, with the same optical length propagation. We will show that the IL variations of our setup are less than 0.05dB with respect to the IL variations of collimators alone.

Keywords: free-space optics, variable optical delay lines, optical cavity, auto-alignment

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Hieu Duy Nguyen, Chitsan Lin Jr., Dung Duc Tran

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Nowadays, drought and salinity intrusion becomes a severe problem in the Lower Mekong region due to climate change, especially in coastal provinces. Freshwater resources are decreased due to sea-level rise and the decline in water flow from upstream in the dry season. The combination of the above issues can lead to many effects on the environment and human health in affected areas such as the pathological of digestive or decreased the immune system. Tidal cycle and upstream flows are the two main factors affecting the saline intrusion process and the former salt-wedge in the estuary. Under suitable conditions, salt-wedge can be going further upstream under the water surface and affected groundwater. In order to have a proper plan for the mitigation of the above adverse effects, we need to understand the characteristics of this process. In this study, 3D model is used to investigate the movement of salt-wedge under different conditions of tidal and flow discharge. The salinity in the vertical profile is also measured in the dry season of 2017 and 2018 for model calibrating. The data has proved that there is the presence of salt-wedge in the study area. The obtained results will help strategic planners to use and preserve water resources more effectively and serve as a basis for new research directions on saline intrusion and human health.

Keywords: salt-wedge, salinity intrusion, human health, 3D model

Procedia PDF Downloads 99