Search results for: lead time reduction

Authors: Aamna Zafar

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Through linguistic and cultural analysis, this study seeks to trace the development of the English and Urdu languages. Along with examining how the vocabulary and syntax of English and Urdu have evolved over time and the linguistic trends that may be seen in these changes, this study will also look at the historical and cultural influences that have shaped the languages throughout time. The study will also look at how English and Urdu have changed over time, both in terms of language use and communication inside each other's cultures and globally. We'll research how these changes affect social relations and cultural identity, as well as how they might affect the future of these languages.

Keywords: linguistic and cultural analysis, historical factors, cultural factors, vocabulary, syntax, significance

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Authors: Ulrich Wake, Eniman Syamsuddin

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The model for camera model identificaiton is trained using pretrained model ResNet43 and ResNet50. The dataset consists of 500 photos of each phone. Dataset is divided into 1280 photos for training, 320 photos for validation and 400 photos for testing. The model is trained using One Cycle Policy Method and tested using Test-Time Augmentation. Furthermore, the model is trained for 50 epoch using regularization such as drop out and early stopping. The result is 90% accuracy for validation set and above 85% for Test-Time Augmentation using ResNet50. Every model is also trained by slightly updating the pretrained model’s weights

Keywords: ​ One Cycle Policy, ResNet34, ResNet50, Test-Time Agumentation

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Authors: Iyad M. Muslih, Yehya Abdellatif, Sara Qutishat

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Renewable energy and in particular solar photovoltaic energy is emerging as a reasonable power generation source. The intermittent and unpredictable nature of solar energy can represent a serious challenge to the utility grids, specifically at relatively high penetration. To minimize the impact of PV power systems on the grid, self-consumption is encouraged. Self-consumption can be improved by matching the PV power generation with the electrical load consumption profile. This study will focus in studying different load profiles and comparing them to typical solar PV power generation at the selected sites with the purpose of analyzing the mismatch in consumption load profile for different users; residential, commercial, and industrial versus the solar photovoltaic output generation. The PV array orientation can be adjusted to reduce the mismatch effects. The orientation shift produces a corresponding shift in the energy production curve. This shift has a little effect on the mismatch for residential loads due to the fact the peak load occurs at night due to lighting loads. This minor gain does not justify the power production loss associated with the orientation shift. The orientation shift for both commercial and industrial cases lead to valuable decrease in the mismatch effects. Such a design is worth considering for reducing grid penetration. Furthermore, the proposed orientation shift yielded better results during the summer time due to the extended daylight hours.

Keywords: grid impact, HOMER, power mismatch, solar PV energy

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Authors: Yayra Dzakadzie

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The descriptive cross-sectional survey study assessed dishonest academic intention, mediating academic goals, and attitude relationship with academic dishonesty among university undergraduate students in Ghana. The target population for this study was all the final-year undergraduate students enrolled full-time in Ghanaian public universities. One thousand two hundred (1,200) undergraduate students participated in the study. Multistage sampling was used to select the sample for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the needed data to test hypotheses. Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analyses. The results revealed that academic goals and attitudes had direct and indirect effects on academic dishonesty behaviour. Also, academic intention was statistically a significant mediator in the relationship that academic goals and attitude have with academic dishonesty. It was concluded that when academic goals are high, it compels individual students to try new strategies, and when academic goals are low, the students would like to “cut corners” to meet expectations. It was also concluded that when the attitude towards academic dishonesty is low, students are more unlikely to form an intention to be academically dishonest. It is recommended that lecturers should make their students aware of the goals that need to be attained in their courses and provide them with feedback on goal progress. Students should set their proximal goals and enhance their commitment so that they avoid putting things off. Enforcement of rules and regulations against academic dishonesty must be fully adhered to since students’ positive attitudes can result in high intention, which would lead to academic dishonesty behaviour.

Keywords: intention, academic goals, attitude, academic dishonesty, public university

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Authors: M. Fernanda Salgado, Alfonso Tierra, David S. Sandoval, Wilbert G. Aguilar

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Public transportation buses usually vary the speed depending on the places with the number of passengers. They require having efficient travel planning, a plan that will help them choose the fast route. Initially, an estimation tool is necessary to determine the travel time of each route, clearly establishing the possibilities. In this work, we give a practical solution that makes use of a concept that defines as areas of commercial incidence. These areas are based on the hypothesis that in the commercial places there is a greater flow of people and therefore the buses remain more time in the stops. The areas have one or more segments of routes, which have an incidence factor that allows to estimate the times. In addition, initial results are presented that verify the hypotheses and that promise adequately the travel times. In a future work, we take this approach to make an efficient travel planning system.

Keywords: commercial incidence, planning, public transport, speed travel, travel time

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Authors: Mohammad Younus Bhat

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The quaternion offset linear canonical transform (QOLCT), which isa time-shifted and frequency-modulated version of the quaternion linear canonical transform (QLCT), provides a more general framework of most existing signal processing tools. For the generalized QOLCT, the classical Heisenberg’s and Lieb’s uncertainty principles have been studied recently. In this paper, we first define the short-time quaternion offset linear canonical transform (ST-QOLCT) and drive its relationship with the quaternion Fourier transform (QFT). The crux of the paper lies in the generalization of several well-known uncertainty principles for the ST-QOLCT, including Donoho-Stark’s uncertainty principle, Hardy’s uncertainty principle, Beurling’s uncertainty principle, and the logarithmic uncertainty principle.

Keywords: Quaternion Fourier transform, Quaternion offset linear canonical transform, short-time quaternion offset linear canonical transform, uncertainty principle

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Authors: Nur Sofi Hidayah, Ratih Tri Purwatiningsih

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Learning is a process attempts person to obtain a new behavior changes as a whole, as a result of his own experience in the interaction with the environment. Learning involves our brain to think, while the ability of the brain to each student's performance is different. To obtain optimal learning results then need time to learn the exact hour that the brain's performance is not too heavy. Referring to the learning system in Finland which apply 45 minutes to learn and a 15-minute break is expected to be the brain work better, with the rest of the brain, the brain will be more focused and lessons can be absorbed well. It can be concluded that learning in this way students learn with brain always fresh and the best possible use of the time, but it can make students not saturated in a lesson.

Keywords: learning, working hours brain, time efficient learning, working hours in the brain receive stimulus.

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Authors: Rostam Abdi, Ahmad Abdi, Zahra Vahedi Langrodi

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The aim of this study is to investigate four-week resistance exercise and milk supplement on NT-proBNP and plasma troponin I of male students. Concerning the methodology of the study, 21 senior high school students of Ardebil city were selected. The selected subjects were randomly shared in three groups of control, exercise- water and exercise- milk. The exercise program includes resistance exercise for a big muscle group. The subjects of control group rested during the study and did not participate in any training. The subjects of exercise- water experimental group immediately received 400 cc water after exercise and exercise- milk group immediately received 400 cc low fat milk. Control-water groups consumed the same amount of water. 48 hours before and after the last exercise session, the blood sample of the subjects were taken for measuring the variables. NT-proBNP and Troponin I concentrations were measured by ELISA. For data analysis, one-way variance analysis test, correlated t-test and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. The significant difference of p ≤ 0.05 was accepted. Resistance training along with milk consumption leads to increase of plasma NT-proBNP, however; this increase has not reached the significant level. Furthermore, meaningful increase was observed in plasma NT–proBNP in exercise group between pretest and posttest values. Furthermore, no meaningful difference was observed between groups in terms of Troponin I after milk consumption. It seems that endurance exercises lead to change in the structure of heart muscle and is along with an increase of NT-proBNP. Furthermore, there is the possibility that milk consumption can lead to release of heart troponin I. The mechanism through which protein supplements have been put on heart troponin I is unknown and requires more research.

Keywords: resistance exercise, milk, NT-proBNP, Troponin I

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Authors: Bindhiya Thomas, Rehana Hafeez

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Background: The Surgical Ambulatory Unit (SAU) also known as the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) is an established part of many hospitals providing same day emergency care service to surgical patients who would have otherwise required admission through the A&E. Prior to Covid, the SAU was functioning as a 12-hour service, but during the Covid crisis this service was transformed to a 24 hour functioning Surgical Ambulatory Assessment unit (SAAU). We studied the effects that this change brought about in-patient care in our hospital. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the impact of a 24-hour Surgical Ambulatory Assessment unit on patient care during the time of Covid, in particular its role in freeing A&E capacity and delivering effective patient care. Methods: We collected two sets of data retrospectively. The first set was collected over a 6-week period when the SAU was functioning at the Princess Royal University Hospital. On March 23rd, 2020, the SAU was transformed into a 24-hour SAAU. Following this transformation, a second set of patient data was collected over a period of 6 weeks. A comparison was made between data collected from when the hospital had a 12-hour Surgical Ambulatory unit and later when it was transformed into a 24-hour facility. Its effects on the change in the number of patients breaching the four hour waiting period and the number of emergency surgical admissions. Results: The 24-hour Surgical Ambulatory Assessment unit brought significant reductions in the number of patients breaching the waiting period of 4 hours in A&E from 44% during the period of the 12-hour Surgical Ambulatory care facility to 0% from when the 24-hour Surgical Ambulatory Assessment Unit was established. A 28% reduction was also seen in the number of surgical patients' admissions from A&E. Conclusions: The 24-hour SAAU was found to have a profound positive impact on emergency care of surgical patients. Especially during the Covid crisis, it played a crucial role in providing not only effective and accessible patient care but also in reducing the A&E workload and admissions. It thus proved to be a strategic tool that helped to deal with the immense workload in emergency care during the Covid crisis and helped free much needed headspace at a time of uncertainty for the A&E to better configure their services. If sustained, the 24-hour SAAU could be relied on to augment the NHS emergency services in the future, especially in the event of another crisis.

Keywords: Princess Royal University Hospital, surgical ambulatory assessment unit, surgical ambulatory unit, same day emergency care

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Authors: Sheila Shahidi

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UV protection by fabrics has recently become a focus of great interest, particularly in connection with environmental degradation or ozone layer depletion. Fabrics provide simple and convenient protection against UV radiation (UVR), but not all fabrics offer sufficient UV protection. To describe the degree of UVR protection offered by clothing materials, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) is commonly used. UV-protective fabric can be generated by application of a chemical finish using normal wet-processing methodologies. However, traditional wet-processing techniques are known to consume large quantities of water and energy and may lead to adverse alterations of the bulk properties of the substrate. Recently, usage of plasmas to generate physicochemical surface modifications of textile substrates has become an intriguing approach to replace or enhance conventional wet-processing techniques. In this research work the effect of plasma treatment on UV protection properties of fabrics was investigated. DC magnetron sputtering was used and the parameters of plasma such as gas type, electrodes, time of exposure, power and, etc. were studied. The morphological and chemical properties of samples were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Furrier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The transmittance and UPF values of the original and plasma-treated samples were measured using a Shimadzu UV3101 PC (UV–Vis–NIR scanning spectrophotometer, 190–2, 100 nm range). It was concluded that, plasma which is an echo-friendly, cost effective and dry technique is being used in different branches of the industries, and will conquer textile industry in the near future. Also it is promising method for preparation of UV protection textile.

Keywords: fabric, plasma, textile, UV protection

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Authors: Gabriel Malgaresi, Sara Borazjani, Hadi Madani, Pavel Bedrikovetsky

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Suspension-Colloidal flow in porous media occurs in numerous engineering fields, such as industrial water treatment, the disposal of industrial wastes into aquifers with the propagation of contaminants and low salinity water injection into petroleum reservoirs. The main effects are particle mobilization and captured by the porous rock, which can cause pore plugging and permeability reduction which is known as formation damage. Various factors such as fluid salinity, pH, temperature, and rock properties affect particle detachment. Formation damage is unfavorable specifically near injection and production wells. One way to control formation damage is pre-treatment of the rock with nanoparticles. Adsorption of nanoparticles on fines and rock surfaces alters zeta-potential of the surfaces and enhances the attachment force between the rock and fine particles. The main objective of this study is to develop a two-stage mathematical model for (1) flow and adsorption of nanoparticles on the rock in the pre-treatment stage and (2) fines migration and permeability reduction during the water production after the pre-treatment. The model accounts for adsorption and desorption of nanoparticles, fines migration, and kinetics of particle capture. The system of equations allows for the exact solution. The non-self-similar wave-interaction problem was solved by the Method of Characteristics. The analytical model is new in two ways: First, it accounts for the specific boundary and initial condition describing the injection of nanoparticle and production from the pre-treated porous media; second, it contains the effect of nanoparticle sorption hysteresis. The derived analytical model contains explicit formulae for the concentration fronts along with pressure drop. The solution is used to determine the optimal injection concentration of nanoparticle to avoid formation damage. The mathematical model was validated via an innovative laboratory program. The laboratory study includes two sets of core-flood experiments: (1) production of water without nanoparticle pre-treatment; (2) pre-treatment of a similar core with nanoparticles followed by water production. Positively-charged Alumina nanoparticles with the average particle size of 100 nm were used for the rock pre-treatment. The core was saturated with the nanoparticles and then flushed with low salinity water; pressure drop across the core and the outlet fine concentration was monitored and used for model validation. The results of the analytical modeling showed a significant reduction in the fine outlet concentration and formation damage. This observation was in great agreement with the results of core-flood data. The exact solution accurately describes fines particle breakthroughs and evaluates the positive effect of nanoparticles in formation damage. We show that the adsorbed concentration of nanoparticle highly affects the permeability of the porous media. For the laboratory case presented, the reduction of permeability after 1 PVI production in the pre-treated scenario is 50% lower than the reference case. The main outcome of this study is to provide a validated mathematical model to evaluate the effect of nanoparticles on formation damage.

Keywords: nano-particles, formation damage, permeability, fines migration

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Authors: Gabriela Kloudova, Miloslav Stehlik, Peter Sos

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The quality of sleep can affect combat performance where the vigilance, accuracy and reaction time are a decisive factor. In the present study, airborne and special units are measured on duty using actigraphy fingerprint scoring algorithm and QEEG (quantitative EEG). Actigraphic variables of interest will be: mean nightly sleep duration, mean napping duration, mean 24-h sleep duration, mean sleep latency, mean sleep maintenance efficiency, mean sleep fragmentation index, mean sleep onset time, mean sleep offset time and mean midpoint time. In an attempt to determine the individual somnotype of each subject, the data like sleep pattern, chronotype (morning and evening lateness), biological need for sleep (daytime and anytime sleepability) and trototype (daytime and anytime wakeability) will be extracted. Subsequently, a series of recommendations will be included in the training plan based on daily routine, timing of the day and night activities, duration of sleep and the number of sleeping blocks in a defined time. The aim of these modifications in the training plan is to reduce day-time sleepiness, improve vigilance, attention, accuracy, speed of the conducted tasks and to optimize energy supplies. Regular improvement of the training supposed to have long-term neurobiological consequences including neuronal activity changes measured by QEEG. Subsequently, that should enhance cognitive functioning in subjects assessed by the digital cognitive test batteries and improve their overall performance.

Keywords: sleep quality, combat performance, actigraph, somnotype

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Authors: Fujia Yang

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Alongside technological innovation, the current “double reduction” policy and English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in China both emphasise and encourage appropriately integrating educational technologies into the classroom. Therefore, schools are increasingly using digital means to engage students in English reading, but the impact of such technologies on Chinese pupils’ reading achievement remains unclear. To serve as a reference for reforming English reading education in primary schools under the double reduction policy, this study investigates the effects and primary influencing factors of a specific reading programme, Accelerated Reader (AR), on Chinese primary school students’ reading achievement. A quantitative online survey was used to collect 37 valid questionnaires from teachers, and the results demonstrate that, from teachers’ perspectives, the AR program seemed to positively affect students’ reading achievement by recommending material at the appropriate reading levels and developing students’ reading habits. Although the reading enjoyment derived from the AR program does not directly influence students’ reading achievement, these factors are strongly correlated. This can be explained by the self-paced, independent learning AR format, its high accuracy in predicting reading level, the quiz format and external motivation, and the importance of examinations and resource limitations in China. The results of this study may support reforming English reading education in Chinese primary schools.

Keywords: educational technology, reading programme, primary students, accelerated reader, reading effects

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Authors: Nursuhaili Najwa Masrol, Nur Hafizah Mohammed, Nur Nadhirah Rusyda Rosnan, Vijaya Subramaniam, Sim Choon Cheak

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Replanting in oil palm cultivation is vital to enable the introduction of planting materials and provides an opportunity to improve the road, drainage, terrace design, and planting density. Oil palm replanting is fundamentally necessary every 25 years. The adoption of the digital replanting blueprint is imperative as it can assist the Malaysia Oil Palm industry in addressing challenges such as labour shortages and limited expertise related to replanting tasks. Effective replanting planning should commence at least 6 months prior to the actual replanting process. Therefore, this study will help to plan and design the replanting blueprint with high-precision translation on the ground. With the advancement of geospatial technology, it is now feasible to engage in thoroughly researched planning, which can help maximize the potential yield. A blueprint designed before replanting is to enhance management’s ability to optimize the planting program, address manpower issues, or even increase productivity. In terrace planting blueprints, geographic tools have been utilized to design the roads, drainages, terraces, and planting points based on the ARM standards. These designs are mapped with location information and undergo statistical analysis. The geospatial approach is essential in precision agriculture and ensuring an accurate translation of design to the ground by implementing high-accuracy technologies. In this study, geospatial and remote sensing technologies played a vital role. LiDAR data was employed to determine the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), enabling the precise selection of terraces, while ortho imagery was used for validation purposes. Throughout the designing process, Geographical Information System (GIS) tools were extensively utilized. To assess the design’s reliability on the ground compared with the current conventional method, high-precision GPS instruments like EOS Arrow Gold and HIPER VR GNSS were used, with both offering accuracy levels between 0.3 cm and 0.5cm. Nearest Distance Analysis was generated to compare the design with actual planting on the ground. The analysis revealed that it could not be applied to the roads due to discrepancies between actual roads and the blueprint design, which resulted in minimal variance. In contrast, the terraces closely adhered to the GPS markings, with the most variance distance being less than 0.5 meters compared to actual terraces constructed. Considering the required slope degrees for terrace planting, which must be greater than 6 degrees, the study found that approximately 65% of the terracing was constructed at a 12-degree slope, while over 50% of the terracing was constructed at slopes exceeding the minimum degrees. Utilizing blueprint replanting promising strategies for optimizing land utilization in agriculture. This approach harnesses technology and meticulous planning to yield advantages, including increased efficiency, enhanced sustainability, and cost reduction. From this study, practical implementation of this technique can lead to tangible and significant improvements in agricultural sectors. In boosting further efficiencies, future initiatives will require more sophisticated techniques and the incorporation of precision GPS devices for upcoming blueprint replanting projects besides strategic progression aims to guarantee the precision of both blueprint design stages and its subsequent implementation on the field. Looking ahead, automating digital blueprints are necessary to reduce time, workforce, and costs in commercial production.

Keywords: replanting, geospatial, precision agriculture, blueprint

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Authors: Wen Liang Chang, Mei Wei Wang, Ruey Huei Yeh

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This paper studies the comparisons of individual and group replacement policies for a series connection system with two machines. Suppose that manufacturer’s production system is a series connection system which is combined by two machines. For two machines, when machines fail within the operating time, minimal repair is performed for machines by the manufacturer. The manufacturer plans to a preventive replacement for machines at a pre-specified time to maintain system normal operation. Under these maintenance policies, the maintenance cost rate models of individual and group replacement for a series connection system with two machines is derived and further, optimal preventive replacement time is obtained such that the expected total maintenance cost rate is minimized. Finally, some numerical examples are given to illustrate the influences of individual and group replacement policies to the maintenance cost rate.

Keywords: individual replacement, group replacement, replacement time, two machines, series connection system

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Authors: Kathryn H. Yull, Lina T. Al Kury, Frank Christopher Howarth

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Cardiovascular diseases are frequently reported in patients with Type-1 Diabetes mellitus (DM). In addition to changes in cardiac muscle inotropy, electrical abnormalities are also commonly observed in these patients. In the present study, using streptozotocin (STZ) rat model of Type-1 DM, we have characterized the changes in L-type calcium channel activity in single atrioventricular nodal (AVN) myocytes. Ionic currents were recorded from AVN myocytes isolated from the hearts of control rats and from those with STZ-induced diabetes. Patch-clamp recordings were used to assess changes in cellular electrical activity in individual myocytes. Type-1 DM significantly altered the cellular characteristics of L-type calcium current (ICaL). A reduction in peak ICaL density was observed, with no corresponding changes in the activation parameters of the current. ICaL also exhibited faster time-dependent inactivation in AVN myocytes from diabetic rats. A negative shift in the voltage dependence of inactivation was also evident. These findings demonstrate that experimentally–induced type-1 DM significantly alters AVN L-type calcium channel cellular electrophysiology. The changes in ion channel activity may underlie the abnormalities in the cardiac electrical function that contribute to the high mortality levels in patients with DM.

Keywords: cardiac, ion-channel, diabetes, atrioventricular node, calcium channel

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Authors: Xiaofei Hu, Zhiyu Cai, Weian Yao

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V-notch problem under dynamic loading condition is considered in this paper. In the time domain, the precise time domain expanding algorithm is employed, in which a self-adaptive technique is carried out to improve computing accuracy. By expanding variables in each time interval, the recursive finite element formulas are derived. In the space domain, a Symplectic Analytical Singular Element (SASE) for V-notch problem is constructed addressing the stress singularity of the notch tip. Combining with the conventional finite elements, the proposed SASE can be used to solve the dynamic stress intensity factors (DSIFs) in a simple way. Numerical results show that the proposed SASE for V-notch problem subjected to dynamic loading condition is effective and efficient.

Keywords: V-notch, dynamic stress intensity factor, finite element method, precise time domain expanding algorithm

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Authors: Dinoo Kirthinanda, Sujani Wijeratne

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Pseudohyperkalaemia is a common benign in vitro phenomenon caused by the release of potassium ions (K+) from cells during specimen processing. Analysis of haemolysed blood samples for predominantly intracellular electrolytes may lead to re-investigation and potentially harmful interventions. We report a case of a 52-year male with myeloproliferative disease manifested as Polycythaemia Rubra Vera, Hypertension and hypertensive nephropathy with stage 3 chronic kidney disease admitted to Neuro-intensive care unit (NICU) with an intra-cerebral haemorrhage secondary to hypertensive bleed. His initial blood investigations showed hyperkalemia with serum K+ 6.2 mmol/L yet the bedside arterial blood gas analysis yielded K+ of 4.6 mmol/L. The patient was however given hyperkalemia regime twice based on venous electrolyte analysis. The discrepancy between the bedside electrolyte analysis using arterial blood and venous blood prompted further evaluation. The 12 lead Electrocardiogram showed U waves and sinus bradycardia corresponding to the serum K+ of 2.8 mmol/L on arterial blood gas analysis. Immediate K+ replacement ensured the patient did not develop life-threatening cardiac complications. Pseudohyperkalaemia may pose diagnostic challenges in the absence of detectable haemolysis and should be suspected in susceptible patients with normal Electrocardiogram and Glomerular Filtration Rate to avoid potentially life-threatening interventions. When in doubt, rapid analysis of arterial blood gas may be useful for accurate quantification of potassium.

Keywords: patient safety, pseudohyperkalaemia, haemolysis, myeloproliferative disorder

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Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková

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This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.

Keywords: controlling, information, risks, risk factor, crisis

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Authors: Jaroslav Knapek, Kamila Vavrova, Tomas Kralik, Tereza Humesova

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The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is one of the most important and critical problems of waste water treatment plants. Currently, 180 thousand tonnes of sludge dry matter are produced in the Czech Republic, which corresponds to approximately 17.8 kg of stabilized sludge dry matter / year per inhabitant of the Czech Republic. Due to the fact that sewage sludge contains a large amount of substances that are not beneficial for human health, the conditions for sludge management will be significantly tightened in the Czech Republic since 2023. One of the tested methods of sludge liquidation is the production of alternative fuel from sludge from sewage treatment plants and paper production. The paper presents an analysis of economic efficiency of alternative fuel production from sludge and its use for fluidized bed boiler with nominal consumption of 5 t of fuel per hour. The evaluation methodology includes the entire logistics chain from sludge extraction, through mechanical moisture reduction to about 40%, transport to the pelletizing line, moisture drying for pelleting and pelleting itself. For economic analysis of sludge pellet production, a time horizon of 10 years corresponding to the expected lifetime of the critical components of the pelletizing line is chosen. The economic analysis of pelleting projects is based on a detailed analysis of reference pelleting technologies suitable for sludge pelleting. The analysis of the economic efficiency of pellet is based on the simulation of cash flows associated with the implementation of the project over the life of the project. For the entered value of return on the invested capital, the price of the resulting product (in EUR / GJ or in EUR / t) is searched to ensure that the net present value of the project is zero over the project lifetime. The investor then realizes the return on the investment in the amount of the discount used to calculate the net present value. The calculations take place in a real business environment (taxes, tax depreciation, inflation, etc.) and the inputs work with market prices. At the same time, the opportunity cost principle is respected; waste disposal for alternative fuels includes the saved costs of waste disposal. The methodology also respects the emission allowances saved due to the displacement of coal by alternative (bio) fuel. Preliminary results of testing of pellet production from sludge show that after suitable modifications of the pelletizer it is possible to produce sufficiently high quality pellets from sludge. A mixture of sludge and paper waste has proved to be a more suitable material for pelleting. At the same time, preliminary results of the analysis of the economic efficiency of this sludge disposal method show that, despite the relatively low calorific value of the fuel produced (about 10-11 MJ / kg), this sludge disposal method is economically competitive. This work has been supported by the Czech Technology Agency within the project TN01000048 Biorefining as circulation technology.

Keywords: Alternative fuel, Economic analysis, Pelleting, Sewage sludge

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Authors: Golayeh Yousefi, Mehdi Homaee, Ali Akbar Norouzi

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Ongoing monitoring of soil contamination by heavy metals is critical for ecosystem stability and environmental protection, and food security. The conventional methods of determining these soil contaminants are time-consuming and costly. Spectroscopy in the visible near-infrared (VNIR) - short wave infrared (SWIR) region is a rapid, non-destructive, noninvasive, and cost-effective method for assessment of soil heavy metals concentration by studying the spectral properties of soil constituents. The aim of this study is to derive spectral bands and important ranges that are sensitive to heavy metals and can be used to estimate the concentration of these soil contaminants. In other words, the change in the spectral properties of spectrally active constituents of soil can lead to the accurate identification and estimation of the concentration of these compounds in soil. For this purpose, 325 soil samples were collected, and their spectral reflectance curves were evaluated at a range of 350-2500 nm. After spectral preprocessing operations, the partial least-squares regression (PLSR) model was fitted on spectral data to predict the concentration of Cu and Ni. Based on the results, the spectral range of Cu- sensitive spectra were 480, 580-610, 1370, 1425, 1850, 1920, 2145, and 2200 nm, and Ni-sensitive ranges were 543, 655, 761, 1003, 1271, 1415, 1903, 2199 nm. Finally, the results of this study indicated that the spectral data contains a lot of information that can be applied to identify the soil properties, such as the concentration of heavy metals, with more detail.

Keywords: heavy metals, spectroscopy, spectral bands, PLS regression

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Authors: R. Suresh, C. B. Singh, A. K. Sarda

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Background: Over the decades, several surgical techniques have been developed to treat anal fistulas with variable success rates and complications. Large amount of work has been done in radiofrequency excision of the fistula for several years but no work has been done for ablating the tract. Therefore one can consider for obliteration ofanal fistula by Radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Material and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at Lok Nayak Hospital, where a total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study and they were randomly assigned to Group I (fistulectomy)(n=20) and Group II (RFA) (n=20). Aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of RFA of fistula versus fistulectomy in the treatment of a low anal fistula and to evaluate RFA as an effective alternative to fistulectomy with respect to time taken for wound healing as primary outcome and post-operative pain, time taken to return to work as secondary outcomes. Patients with simple low anal fistulas, single internal and external opening, not more than two secondary tracts were included. Patients with high complex fistula, fistulas communicating with cavity, fistula due to condition like tuberculosis, Crohn's, malignancy were excluded from the study. Results: Both groups were comparable with respect to age, sex ratio, type of fistula. Themean healing time was significantly shorter in group II (41.02 days) than in group I(62.68 days).The mean operative time was significantly shorter in groupII (21.40 min) than in group I(28.50 min). The mean time taken to return to work was significantly shorter in group II(8.30 days)than in group I(12.01 days).There was no significant difference in the post operative hospital stay, mean postoperative pain score, wound infection and recurrence between the two groups. Conclusion: The patients who underwent RFA of fistula had shorter wound healing time, operative time and time taken to return to work when compared to those who underwent fistulectomy and therefore RFA shows outcome comparable to fistulectomy in the treatment of low anal fistula.

Keywords: fistulectomy, low anal fistula, radio frequency ablation, wound healing

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Authors: Hatem Abou-Senna

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Interstate 4 (I-4) is a primary east-west transportation corridor between Tampa and Daytona cities, serving commuters, commercial and recreational traffic. I-4 is known to have severe recurring congestion during peak hours. The congestion spans about 11 miles in the evening peak period in the central corridor area as it is considered the only non-tolled limited access facility connecting the Orlando Central Business District (CBD) and the tourist attractions area (Walt Disney World). Florida officials had been skeptical of tolling I-4 prior to the recent legislation, and the public through the media had been complaining about the excessive toll facilities in Central Florida. So, in search for plausible mitigation to the congestion on the I-4 corridor, this research is implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of different toll pricing alternatives that might divert traffic from I-4 to the toll facilities during the peak period. The network is composed of two main diverging limited access highways, freeway (I-4) and toll road (SR 417) in addition to two east-west parallel toll roads SR 408 and SR 528, intersecting the above-mentioned highways from both ends. I-4 and toll road SR 408 are the most frequently used route by commuters. SR-417 is a relatively uncongested toll road with 15 miles longer than I-4 and $5 tolls compared to no monetary cost on 1-4 for the same trip. The results of the calibrated Orlando PARAMICS network showed that percentages of route diversion vary from one route to another and depends primarily on the travel cost between specific origin-destination (O-D) pairs. Most drivers going from Disney (O1) or Lake Buena Vista (O2) to Lake Mary (D1) were found to have a high propensity towards using I-4, even when eliminating tolls and/or providing real-time information. However, a diversion from I-4 to SR 417 for these OD pairs occurred only in the cases of the incident and lane closure on I-4, due to the increase in delay and travel costs, and when information is provided to travelers. Furthermore, drivers that diverted from I-4 to SR 417 and SR 528 did not gain significant travel-time savings. This was attributed to the limited extra capacity of the alternative routes in the peak period and the longer traveling distance. When the remaining origin-destination pairs were analyzed, average travel time savings on I-4 ranged between 10 and 16% amounting to 10 minutes at the most with a 10% increase in the network average speed. High propensity of diversion on the network increased significantly when eliminating tolls on SR 417 and SR 528 while doubling the tolls on SR 408 along with the incident and lane closure scenarios on I-4 and with real-time information provided. The toll roads were found to be a viable alternative to I-4 for these specific OD pairs depending on the user perception of the toll cost which was reflected in their specific travel times. However, on the macroscopic level, it was concluded that route diversion through toll reduction or elimination on surrounding toll roads would only have a minimum impact on reducing I-4 congestion during the peak period.

Keywords: congestion pricing, dynamic feedback assignment, microsimulation, paramics, route diversion

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Authors: Han Kexi, Lv Xuewei, Song Bing

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the preparation of pelletizing with the Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate to satisfy the requirement of smelting titania slag. The effects of the moisture content, mixing time of raw materials, pressure of pellet, roller rotating speed of roller, drying temperature and time on the pelletizing yield and compressive strength were investigated. The experimental results show that the moister content was controlled at 2.0%~2.5%, mixing time at 20 min, the pressure of the ball forming machine at 13~15 mpa, the pelletizing yield can reach up 85%. When the roller rotating speed is 6~8 r/min while the drying temperature and time respectively is 350 ℃ and 40~60 min, the compressive strength of pelletizing more than 1500 N. The preparation of pelletizing can meet the requirement of smelting titania slag.

Keywords: Panzhihua fine ilmenite concentrate, pelletizing, pelletizing yield, compressive strength, drying

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Authors: Annesha Ghosh, S. B. Agrawal

Abstract:

Agricultural sector is facing a serious threat due to climate change and exacerbation of different atmospheric pollutants. Tropospheric ozone (O₃) is considered as a dynamic air pollutant imposing substantial phytotoxicity to natural vegetations and agriculture worldwide. Naturally, plants are exposed to different environmental factors and their interactions. Amongst such interactions, studies related to O₃ and water stress are still rare. In the present experiment, wheat cultivar HD2967 were grown in open top chambers (OTC) under two O₃ concentration; ambient O₃ level (A) and elevated O₃ (E) (ambient + 20 ppb O₃) along with two different water supply; well-watered (W) and 50% water stress conditions (WS), with an aim to assess the individual and interactive effect of two most prevailing stress factors in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Exposure to elevated O₃ dose caused early senescence symptoms and reduction in growth and biomass of the test cultivar. The adversity was more pronounced under the combined effect of EWS. Significant reduction of stomatal conductance (gs) and assimilation rate were observed under combined stress condition compared to the control (AW). However, plants grown under individual stress conditions displayed higher gs, biomass, and antioxidant defense mechanism compared to the plants grown under the presence of combined stresses. Higher induction in most of the enzyme activities of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was displayed by HD 2967 under EW while, under the presence of combined stresses (EWS), a moderate increment of APX and CAT activity was observed only at its vegetative phase. Furthermore, variations in nutrient uptake and redistribution to different plants parts were also observed in the present study. Reduction in water availability has checked nutrient uptake (N, K, P, Ca, Cu, Mg, Zn) in above-ground parts (leaf) and below-ground parts (root). On the other hand, carbon (C) accumulation with subsequent C-N ratio was observed to be higher in the leaves under EWS. Such major nutrient check and limitation in carbon fixation due to lower gs under combined stress conditions might have weakened the defense mechanisms of the test cultivar. Grain yield was significantly reduced under EWS followed by AWS and EW as compared to their control, exhibiting an additive effect on the grain yield.

Keywords: antioxidants, open-top chambers, ozone, water stress, wheat, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: T. H. Huang, C. L. Fern, Y. K. Tseng

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The design and reliability of solar photovoltaic modules are crucial to the development of solar energy, and efforts are still being made to extend the life of photovoltaic modules to improve their efficiency because natural aging is time-consuming and does not provide manufacturers and investors with timely information, accelerated aging is currently the best way to estimate the life of photovoltaic modules. Bifacial solar cells not only absorb light from the front side but also absorb light reflected from the ground on the back side, surpassing the performance of single-sided solar cells. Due to the asymmetry of the two sides of the light, in addition to the difference in photovoltaic conversion efficiency, there will also be differences in heat distribution, which will affect the electrical properties and material structure of the bifacial solar cell itself. In this study, there are two types of experimental samples: packaged and unpackaged and then irradiated with UVC light sources and halogen lamps for accelerated aging, as well as a control group without aging. After two weeks of accelerated aging, the bifacial solar cells were visual observation, and infrared thermal images were taken; then, the samples were subjected to IV measurement, and samples were taken for SEM, Raman, and XRD analyses in order to identify the defects that lead to failure and chemical changes, as well as to analyze the reasons for the degradation of their characteristics. From the results of the analysis, it is found that aging will cause carbonization of the polymer material on the surface of bifacial solar cells, and the crystal structure will be affected.

Keywords: bifacial solar cell, accelerated aging, temperature, characterization, electrical measurement

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Authors: Chien-Song Chyang, Wei-Chih Wang

Abstract:

For the incineration process, the inhibition of dioxin formation is an important issue. Many investigations indicate that adding sulfur compounds in the combustion process can be an effectively inhibition for the dioxin formation. In the process, the ratio of sulfur-to-chlorine plays an important role for the reduction efficiency of dioxin formation. Ca-base sorbent is also a common used for the acid gas removing. Moreover, that is also the indirectly way for dioxin inhibition. Although sulfur and calcium can reduce the dioxin formation, it still have some confusion exists between these additives. To understand and clarify the relationship between the dioxin and simultaneous addition of sulfur and calcium are presented in this study. The experimental data conducted in a pilot scale fluidized bed combustion system at various operating conditions are analysis comprehensively. The focus is on the dioxin of fly ash in this study. The experimental data in this study showed that the PCDD/Fs concentration in the fly ash collected from the baghouse is increased slightly as the simultaneous addition of sulfur and calcium. This work described the CO concentration with the addition of sulfur and calcium at the freeboard temperature from 800°C to 900°C, which is raised by the fuel complexity. The positive correlation exists between the dioxin concentration and CO concentration and carbon contained in the fly ash.. At the same sulfur/chlorine ratio, the toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) can be reduced by increasing the actual concentration of sulfur and calcium. The homologue profiles showed that the P₅CDD and P₅CDF were the two major sources for the toxicity of dioxin. 2,3,7,8-TCDD and 2,3,7,8-TCDF reduced by the addition of pyrite and hydrated lime. The experimental results showed that the trend of PCDD/Fs concentration in the fly ash was different by the different sulfur/chlorine ratio with the addition of sulfur at 800°C.

Keywords: reduction of dioxin emissions, sulfur-to-chlorine ratio, de-chlorination, Ca-based sorbent

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Soma Banerjee, Aamen Talukdar, Argha Mandal, Dipankar Chaudhuri

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Japanese Encephalitis is a major infectious disease with nearly half the world’s population living in areas where it is prevalent. Currently, treatment for it involves only supportive care and symptom management through vaccination. Due to the lack of antiviral drugs against Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), the quest for such agents remains a priority. For these reasons, simulation studies of drug targets against JEV are important. Towards this purpose, docking experiments of the kinase inhibitors were done against the chosen target NS3 helicase as it is a nucleoside binding protein. Previous efforts regarding computational drug design against JEV revealed some lead molecules by virtual screening using public domain software. To be more specific and accurate regarding finding leads, in this study a proprietary software Schrödinger-GLIDE has been used. Druggability of the pockets in the NS3 helicase crystal structure was first calculated by SITEMAP. Then the sites were screened according to compatibility with ATP. The site which is most compatible with ATP was selected as target. Virtual screening was performed by acquiring ligands from databases: KinaseSARfari, KinaseKnowledgebase and Published inhibitor Set using GLIDE. The 25 ligands with best docking scores from each database were re-docked in XP mode. Protein structure alignment of NS3 was performed using VAST against MMDB, and similar human proteins were docked to all the best scoring ligands. The low scoring ligands were chosen for further studies and the high scoring ligands were screened. Seventy-three ligands were listed as the best scoring ones after performing HTVS. Protein structure alignment of NS3 revealed 3 human proteins with RMSD values lesser than 2Å. Docking results with these three proteins revealed the inhibitors that can interfere and inhibit human proteins. Those inhibitors were screened. Among the ones left, those with docking scores worse than a threshold value were also removed to get the final hits. Analysis of the docked complexes through 2D interaction diagrams revealed the amino acid residues that are essential for ligand binding within the active site. Interaction analysis will help to find a strongly interacting scaffold among the hits. This experiment yielded 21 hits with the best docking scores which could be investigated further for their drug like properties. Aside from getting suitable leads, specific NS3 helicase-inhibitor interactions were identified. Selection of Target modification strategies complementing docking methodologies which can result in choosing better lead compounds are in progress. Those enhanced leads can lead to better in vitro testing.

Keywords: antivirals, docking, glide, high-throughput virtual screening, Japanese encephalitis, ns3 helicase

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Authors: Marco Furinghetti, Alberto Pavese, Michele Rinaldi

Abstract:

Concave Surface Slider devices have been more and more used in real applications for seismic protection of both bridge and building structures. Several research activities have been carried out, in order to investigate the lateral response of such a typology of devices, and a reasonably high level of knowledge has been reached. If radial analysis is performed, the frictional force is always aligned with respect to the restoring force, whereas under bidirectional seismic events, a bi-axial interaction of the directions of motion occurs, due to the step-wise projection of the main frictional force, which is assumed to be aligned to the trajectory of the isolator. Nonetheless, if non-linear time history analyses have to be performed, standard codes provide precise rules for the definition of an averagely spectrum-compatible set of accelerograms in radial conditions, whereas for bidirectional motions different combinations of the single components spectra can be found. Moreover, nowadays software for the adjustment of natural accelerograms are available, which lead to a higher quality of spectrum-compatibility and to a smaller dispersion of results for radial motions. In this endeavor a simplified design procedure is defined, for building structures, base-isolated by means of Concave Surface Slider devices. Different case study structures have been analyzed. In a first stage, the capacity curve has been computed, by means of non-linear static analyses on the fixed-base structures: inelastic fiber elements have been adopted and different direction angles of lateral forces have been studied. Thanks to these results, a linear elastic Finite Element Model has been defined, characterized by the same global stiffness of the linear elastic branch of the non-linear capacity curve. Then, non-linear time history analyses have been performed on the base-isolated structures, by applying seven bidirectional seismic events. The spectrum-compatibility of bidirectional earthquakes has been studied, by considering different combinations of single components and adjusting single records: thanks to the proposed procedure, results have shown a small dispersion and a good agreement in comparison to the assumed design values.

Keywords: concave surface slider, spectrum-compatibility, bidirectional earthquake, base isolation

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: N. Benabdeslam, N. Bouzidi, F. Atmani, R. Boucif, A. Sakhri

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to provide answers for a better understanding of the mechanisms involved during grinding. To obtain a phosphate powder, we carry out sieving - grinding circuits for each parameter influencing the process. The analysis of the average particle size of the different tests carried out served in the first place as a basis for the determination of the granulometric curve area, the characteristics and the granular coefficients, then the exploitation of the different results for the calculation of the energies consumed for the fragmentation of different ore types, the energy coefficients as well as the ability to grind. Indeed, a time of 5 to 10 minutes can be chosen as the optimal grinding time in a disc mill for a % in weight of the highest pass. However, grinding time can influence the granular characteristics of ore.

Keywords: characteristic granular, grinding, mineralogical composition, phosphate ore, parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 195