Search results for: vector density
2012 Hairy Beggarticks (Bidens pilosa L. - Asteraceae) Control in Sunflower Fields Using Pre-Emergence Herbicides
Authors: Alexandre M. Brighenti
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One of the most damaging species in sunflower crops in Brazil is the hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa L.). The large number of seeds, the various vegetative cycles during the year, the staggered germination and the scarcity of selective and effective herbicides to control this weed in sunflower are some of attributes that hinder the effectiveness in controlling hairy beggarticks populations. The experiment was carried out with the objectives of evaluating the control of hairy beggarticks plants in sunflower crops, and to assess sunflower tolerance to residual herbicides. The treatments were as follows: S-metolachlor (1,200 and 2,400 g ai ha-1), flumioxazin (60 and 120 g ai ha-1), sulfentrazone (150 and 300 g ai ha-1) and two controls (weedy and weed-free check). Phytotoxicity on sunflower plants, percentage of control and density of hairy beggarticks plants, sunflower stand and plant height, head diameter, oil content and sunflower yield were evaluated. The herbicides flumioxazin and sulfentrazone were the most efficient in hairy beggarticks control. S-metolachlor provided acceptable control levels. S-metolachlor (1,200 g ha-1), flumioxazin (60 g ha-1) and sulfentrazone (150 g ha-1) were the most selective doses for sunflower crop.Keywords: flumioxazin, Helianthus annuus, S-metolachlor, sulfentrazone, weeds
Procedia PDF Downloads 3612011 Research on Spatial Allocation Optimization of Urban Elderly Care Facilities Based on ArcGIS Technology
Authors: Qiao Qiao
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With the development of The Times, the elderly demand for pension service facilities is increasing. Taking 26 street towns in Jiangjin District of Chongqing as examples, ArcGIS spatial analysis method was used to analyze the distribution status of the elderly population, the core density of the elderly population, and the spatial layout characteristics of institutional elderly care facilities in Jiangjin District of Chongqing. The results showed that there were differences in the structure and aging degree of the elderly population in each street town. There is a certain imbalance between the spatial distribution of the elderly population and the planning and construction of elderly care facilities. The accessibility of elderly care facilities is uneven. Therefore, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the spatial layout of institutional elderly care facilities, improve the accessibility of facilities, strengthen the participation of multiple subjects, and provide a reference for the future construction planning of elderly care facilities.Keywords: institutional pension facilities, spatial layout, accessibility, ArcGIS
Procedia PDF Downloads 102010 Water Equivalent from the Point of View of Fast Neutron Removal Cross-Section
Authors: Mohammed Alrajhi
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Radiological properties of gel dosimeters and phantom materials are often evaluated in terms of effective atomic number, electron density, photon mass attenuation coefficient, photon mass energy absorption coefficient and total stopping power of electrons. To evaluate the water equivalence of such materials for fast neutron attenuation 19 different types of gel dosimeters and phantom materials were considered. Macroscopic removal cross-sections for fast neutrons (ΣR cm-1) have been calculated for a range of ferrous-sulphate and polymeric gel dosimeters using Nxcom Program. The study showed that the value of ΣR/ρ (cm2.g-1) for all polymer gels were in close agreement (1.5- 2.8%) with that of water. As such, the slight differences in ΣR/ρ between water and gels are small and may be considered negligible. Also, the removal cross-section of the studied phantom materials were very close (~ ±1.5%) to that of water except bone (cortical) which had about 38% variation. Finally, the variation of removal cross-section with hydrogen content was studied.Keywords: cross-section, neutron, photon, coefficient, mathematics
Procedia PDF Downloads 3722009 Pt Decorated Functionalized Acetylene Black as Efficient Cathode Material for Li Air Battery and Fuel Cell Applications
Authors: Rajashekar Badam, Vedarajan Raman, Noriyoshi Matsumi
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Efficiency of energy converting and storage systems like fuel cells and Li-Air battery principally depended on oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) which occurs at cathode. As the kinetics of the ORR is very slow, it becomes the rate determining step. Exploring carbon substrates for enhancing the dispersion and activity of the metal catalyst and commercially viable simple preparation method is a very crucial area of research in the field of energy materials. Hence, many researchers made large number of carbon-based ORR materials today. But, there are hardly few studies on the effect of interaction between Pt-carbon and carbon-electrolyte on activity. In this work, we have prepared functionalized carbon-based Pt catalyst (Pt-FAB) with enhanced interfacial properties that lead to efficient ORR catalysis. The present work deals with a single-pot method to exfoliate and functionalized acetylene black with enhanced interaction with Pt as well as electrolyte. Acetylene black was functionalized and exfoliated using a facile single pot acid treatment method. The resulted FAB was further decorated with Pt-nano particles (Pt-np). The TEM images of Pt-FAB with uniformly decorated Pt-np of ~3 nm. Further, XPS studies of Pt 4f peak revealed that Pt0 peak was shifted by 0.4 eV in Pt-FAB compared to binding energy of typical Pt⁰ found in Pt/C. The shift can be ascribed to the modulation of electronic state and strong electronic interaction of Pt with carbon. Modulated electronic structure of Pt and strong electronic interaction of Pt with FAB enhances the catalytic activity and durability respectively. To understand the electrode electrolyte interface, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was carried out. These measurements revealed that the charge transfer resistance of electrode to electrolyte for Pt-FAB is 10 times smaller than that of conventional Pt/C. The interaction with electrolyte helps reduce the interface boundaries, which in turn affects the overall catalytic performance of the electrode. Cyclic voltammetric measurements in 0.1M HClO₄ aq. at a potential scan rate of 50 mVs-1 was employed to evaluate electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of Pt. ECSA of Pt-FAB was found to be as high as 67.2 m²g⁻¹. The three-electrode system showed very high ORR catalytic activity. Mass activity at 0.9 V vs. RHE showed 460 A/g which is much higher than the DOE target values for the year 2020. Further, it showed enhanced performance by showing 723 mW/cm² of highest power density and 1006 mA/cm² of current density at 0.6 V in fuel cell single cell type configuration and 1030 mAhg⁻¹ of rechargeable capacity in Li air battery application. The higher catalytic activity can be ascribed to the improved interaction of FAB with Pt and electrolyte. The aforementioned results evince that Pt-FAB will be a promising cathode material for efficient ORR with significant cyclability for its application in fuel cells and Li-Air batteries. In conclusion, a disordered material was prepared from AB and was systematically characterized. The extremely high ORR activity and ease of preparation make it competent for replacing commercially available ORR materials.Keywords: functionalized acetylene black, oxygen reduction reaction, fuel cells, Functionalized battery
Procedia PDF Downloads 1082008 Diesel Engine Performance Optimization to Reduce Fuel Consumption and Emissions Issues
Authors: hadi kargar, bahador shabani
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In this article, 16 cylinder motor combustion CFD modeling with a diameter of 165 mm and 195 mm along the way to help the FIRE software to optimize its function to work. A three-dimensional model of the processes that formed inside the cylinder made that involves mixing the fuel and air, ignition and spraying. In this three-dimensional model, all chemical species, density of air fuel spraying and spray with full profile intended to detailed results from mixing the fuel and air, igniting the ignition advance, spray, and mixed media in different times and get fit by moving the piston. Optimal selection of the model for the shape of the piston and spraying fuel specifications (including the management of spraying, the number of azhneh hole, start time of spraying and spraying angle) to achieve the best fuel consumption and minimal pollution. The spray hole 6 and 7 in three different configurations with five spraying and gives the best geometry and various performances in the simulation. 6 hole spray angle, finally spraying 72.5 degrees and two forms of spraying a better performance in comparison with other items of their own.Keywords: spray, FIRE, CFD, optimize, diesel engine
Procedia PDF Downloads 4192007 Wear Behavior and Microstructure of Eutectic Al - Si Alloys Manufactured by Selective Laser Melting
Authors: Nan KANG, Pierre Coddet, Hanlin Liao, Christian Coddet
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In this study, the almost dense eutectic Al-12Si alloys were fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) from the powder mixture of pure Aluminum and pure Silicon, which show the mean particle sizes of 30 μm and 5μm respectively, under the argon environment. The image analysis shows that the highest value of relative density (95 %) was measured for the part obtained at the laser power of 280 W. X ray diffraction (XRD), Optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to determine the microstructures of the SLM-processed Al-Si alloy, which illustrate that the SLM samples present the ultra-fine microstructure. The XRD results indicate that no clearly phase transformation happened during the SLM process. Additionally, the vaporization behavior of Aluminum was detected for the parts obtained at high laser power. Besides, the maximum microhardness value, about 95 Hv, was measured for the samples obtained at laser power of 280 W, and which shows the highest wear resistance.Keywords: al-Si alloy, selective laser melting, wear behavior, microstructure
Procedia PDF Downloads 4012006 Critical Review Whether Restricting Dietary Saturated Fat Can Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Obi Olor, Asu-Nnandi Judith, Ishiekwen Bridget
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Regardless of the settled perception that the substitution of saturated fats for starches or unsaturated fats builds low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in people, in animal models, the relationship of saturated fat intake to the hazard of atherosclerotic cardiovascular ailment in people remains controversial. Clinical trials that supplanted immersed fat with polyunsaturated fat have, for the most part, demonstrated a lessening in CVD occasions, albeit a few reviews demonstrated no impacts. An autonomous relationship of soaked fat admission with CVD chance has not reliably appeared in planned epidemiologic reviews, albeit some have confirmed an expanded hazard in youthful people and in ladies. Substitution of soaked fat by polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat reduces LDL and HDL cholesterol. Given the differing qualities of these cardio-protective eating methodologies and their healthy parts, one of the needs in research should be to attempt more near trials. These trials decide persistent worthiness, consequences for surrogate markers of hazard, and which at last affects morbidity and mortality.Keywords: cardiovascular disease, dietary saturated fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat
Procedia PDF Downloads 372005 A QoS Aware Cluster Based Routing Algorithm for Wireless Mesh Network Using LZW Lossless Compression
Authors: J. S. Saini, P. P. K. Sandhu
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The multi-hop nature of Wireless Mesh Networks and the hasty progression of throughput demands results in multi- channels and multi-radios structures in mesh networks, but the main problem of co-channels interference reduces the total throughput, specifically in multi-hop networks. Quality of Service mentions a vast collection of networking technologies and techniques that guarantee the ability of a network to make available desired services with predictable results. Quality of Service (QoS) can be directed at a network interface, towards a specific server or router's performance, or in specific applications. Due to interference among various transmissions, the QoS routing in multi-hop wireless networks is formidable task. In case of multi-channel wireless network, since two transmissions using the same channel may interfere with each other. This paper has considered the Destination Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV) routing protocol to locate the secure and optimised path. The proposed technique also utilizes the Lempel–Ziv–Welch (LZW) based lossless data compression and intra cluster data aggregation to enhance the communication between the source and the destination. The use of clustering has the ability to aggregate the multiple packets and locates a single route using the clusters to improve the intra cluster data aggregation. The use of the LZW based lossless data compression has ability to reduce the data packet size and hence it will consume less energy, thus increasing the network QoS. The MATLAB tool has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the projected technique. The comparative analysis has shown that the proposed technique outperforms over the existing techniques.Keywords: WMNS, QOS, flooding, collision avoidance, LZW, congestion control
Procedia PDF Downloads 3382004 Application of Generalized Autoregressive Score Model to Stock Returns
Authors: Katleho Daniel Makatjane, Diteboho Lawrence Xaba, Ntebogang Dinah Moroke
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The current study investigates the behaviour of time-varying parameters that are based on the score function of the predictive model density at time t. The mechanism to update the parameters over time is the scaled score of the likelihood function. The results revealed that there is high persistence of time-varying, as the location parameter is higher and the skewness parameter implied the departure of scale parameter from the normality with the unconditional parameter as 1.5. The results also revealed that there is a perseverance of the leptokurtic behaviour in stock returns which implies the returns are heavily tailed. Prior to model estimation, the White Neural Network test exposed that the stock price can be modelled by a GAS model. Finally, we proposed further researches specifically to model the existence of time-varying parameters with a more detailed model that encounters the heavy tail distribution of the series and computes the risk measure associated with the returns.Keywords: generalized autoregressive score model, South Africa, stock returns, time-varying
Procedia PDF Downloads 5022003 Using Emerging Hot Spot Analysis to Analyze Overall Effectiveness of Policing Policy and Strategy in Chicago
Authors: Tyler Gill, Sophia Daniels
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The paper examines how accessing the spatial-temporal constrains of data will help inform policymakers and law enforcement officials. The authors utilize Chicago crime data from 2006-2016 to demonstrate how the Emerging Hot Spot Tool is an ideal hot spot clustering approach to analyze crime data. Traditional approaches include density maps or creating a spatial weights matrix to include the spatial-temporal constrains. This new approach utilizes a space-time implementation of the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to visualize the data more quickly to make better decisions. The research will help complement socio-cultural research to find key patterns to help frame future policies and evaluate the implementation of prior strategies. Through this analysis, homicide trends and patterns are found more effectively and recommendations for use by non-traditional users of GIS are offered for real life implementation.Keywords: crime mapping, emerging hot spot analysis, Getis-Ord Gi*, spatial-temporal analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 2442002 Early Gastric Cancer Prediction from Diet and Epidemiological Data Using Machine Learning in Mizoram Population
Authors: Brindha Senthil Kumar, Payel Chakraborty, Senthil Kumar Nachimuthu, Arindam Maitra, Prem Nath
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Gastric cancer is predominantly caused by demographic and diet factors as compared to other cancer types. The aim of the study is to predict Early Gastric Cancer (ECG) from diet and lifestyle factors using supervised machine learning algorithms. For this study, 160 healthy individual and 80 cases were selected who had been followed for 3 years (2016-2019), at Civil Hospital, Aizawl, Mizoram. A dataset containing 11 features that are core risk factors for the gastric cancer were extracted. Supervised machine algorithms: Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Multilayer perceptron, and Random Forest were used to analyze the dataset using Python Jupyter Notebook Version 3. The obtained classified results had been evaluated using metrics parameters: minimum_false_positives, brier_score, accuracy, precision, recall, F1_score, and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve. Data analysis results showed Naive Bayes - 88, 0.11; Random Forest - 83, 0.16; SVM - 77, 0.22; Logistic Regression - 75, 0.25 and Multilayer perceptron - 72, 0.27 with respect to accuracy and brier_score in percent. Naive Bayes algorithm out performs with very low false positive rates as well as brier_score and good accuracy. Naive Bayes algorithm classification results in predicting ECG showed very satisfactory results using only diet cum lifestyle factors which will be very helpful for the physicians to educate the patients and public, thereby mortality of gastric cancer can be reduced/avoided with this knowledge mining work.Keywords: Early Gastric cancer, Machine Learning, Diet, Lifestyle Characteristics
Procedia PDF Downloads 1612001 Effect of Non-Crimp Fabric Structure on Mechanical Properties of Laminates
Authors: Hireni R. Mankodi, D. J. Chudasama
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The textile preforms play a key role in providing the mechanical properties and gives the idea about selection parameter of preforms to improve the quality and performance of laminates. The main objectives of this work are to study the effect of non-crimp fabric preform structure in final properties of laminates. It has been observed that the multi-axial preform give better mechanical properties of laminates as compared to woven and biaxial fabrics. This study investigated the effect of different non-crimp glass preform structure on tensile strength, bending and compression properties of glass laminates. The different woven, bi-axial and multi-axial fabrics with similar GSM used to manufacture the laminates using polyester resin. The structural and mechanical properties of preform and laminates were studied using standard methods. It has been observed that the glass fabric geometry, including type of weaves, warps and filling density and number of layer plays significant role in deciding mechanical properties of laminates.Keywords: preform, non-crimp structure, laminates, bi-axial, multiaxial
Procedia PDF Downloads 4932000 Investigation of Comfort Properties of Knitted Fabrics
Authors: Mehmet Karahan, Nevin Karahan
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Water and air permeability and thermal resistance of fabrics are the important attributes which strongly influence the thermo-physiological comfort properties of sportswear fabrics in different environmental conditions. In this work, terry and fleece fabrics were developed by varying the fiber content and areal density of fabrics. Further, the thermo-physical properties, including air permeability, water vapor permeability, and thermal resistance, of the developed fabrics were analyzed before and after washing. The multi-response optimization of thermo-physiological comfort properties was done by using principal component analysis (PCA) and Taguchi signal to noise ratio (PCA-S/N ratio) for optimal properties. It was found that the selected parameters resulted in a significant effect on thermo-physiological comfort properties of knitted fabrics. The PCA analysis showed that before wash, 100% cotton fabric with an aerial weight of 220 g.m⁻² gave optimum values of thermo-physiological comfort.Keywords: thermo-physiological comfort, fleece knitted fabric, air permeability, water vapor transmission, cotton/polyester
Procedia PDF Downloads 1171999 Visco-Acoustic Full Wave Inversion in the Frequency Domain with Mixed Grids
Authors: Sheryl Avendaño, Miguel Ospina, Hebert Montegranario
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Full Wave Inversion (FWI) is a variant of seismic tomography for obtaining velocity profiles by an optimization process that combine forward modelling (or solution of wave equation) with the misfit between synthetic and observed data. In this research we are modelling wave propagation in a visco-acoustic medium in the frequency domain. We apply finite differences for the numerical solution of the wave equation with a mix between usual and rotated grids, where density depends on velocity and there exists a damping function associated to a linear dissipative medium. The velocity profiles are obtained from an initial one and the data have been modeled for a frequency range 0-120 Hz. By an iterative procedure we obtain an estimated velocity profile in which are detailed the remarkable features of the velocity profile from which synthetic data were generated showing promising results for our method.Keywords: seismic inversion, full wave inversion, visco acoustic wave equation, finite diffrence methods
Procedia PDF Downloads 4611998 Analysis of Ecological Footprint of Residents for Urban Spatial Restructuring
Authors: Taehyun Kim, Hyunjoo Park, Taehyun Kim
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Since the rapid economic development, Korea has recently entered a period of low growth due to population decline and aging. Due to the urbanization around the metropolitan area and the hollowing of local cities, the ecological capacity of a city is decreasing while ecological footprints are increasing, requiring a compact space plan for maintaining urban functions. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between urban spatial structure and residents' ecological footprints for sustainable spatial planning. To do this, we try to analyze the relationship between intra-urban spatial structure, such as net/gross density and service accessibility, and resident ecological footprints of food, housing, transportation, goods and services through survey and structural equation modeling. The results of the study will be useful in establishing an implementation plan for sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially for sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) in the future.Keywords: ecological footprint, structural equation modeling, survey, sustainability, urban spatial structure
Procedia PDF Downloads 2651997 Unravelling Cross-Commodity Price Transmission Dynamics between Coastal and Freshwater Fish Species in Bangladesh: A Structural VAR Analysis
Authors: Farhana Arefeen Mila, Luis Emilio Morales, Nam Hoang, Sujana Adapa, Garry Griffith
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This study investigates the existence of price transmission asymmetries and imperfections among the coastal and freshwater fish species in Bangladesh. Using a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model, we explore how price changes in one fish species impact the prices of others in the retail market. Monthly data from the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) covering the period from 2012 to 2023 was analyzed. Price series were detrended using the Hodrick-Prescott filter, and unit root tests confirmed stationarity after detrending. The findings indicate that there are significant interdependencies and asymmetries in price transmission, particularly the strong influence of Hilsha on the broader fish market. Hilsha’s price shocks generate immediate responses across other species, reflecting its cultural and economic importance. Silver Pomfret demonstrates some independence but is still affected by broader market fluctuations, particularly those involving Hilsha. Meanwhile, Rohu and Catla exhibit high interdependence, where price changes in one species closely impact the other, underscoring their substitutable nature in consumer preferences. These findings emphasize the need for joint interventions and market monitoring to stabilize prices effectively. Stakeholders are encouraged to monitor Hilsha’s market, consider coordinated interventions for Rohu and Catla, and establish data-sharing partnerships to enhance market stability. Additionally, promoting consumer awareness of price trends and sustainable practices can further support market resilience and long-term sustainability in the fisheries sector.Keywords: price transmission, cross commodity, fish, Bangladesh, CCF, SVAR, IRF
Procedia PDF Downloads 121996 Biosynthesis of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Property
Authors: Prachi Singh
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This paper presents a low-cost, eco-friendly and reproducible microbe mediated biosynthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles. TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized using the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, from titanium as a precursor, were confirmed by TEM analysis. The morphological characteristics state spherical shape, with the size of individual or aggregate nanoparticles, around 30-40 nm. Microbial resistance represents a challenge for the scientific community to develop new bioactive compounds. Here, the antibacterial effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on Escherichia coli was investigated, which was confirmed by CFU (Colony-forming unit). Further, growth curve study of E. coli Hb101 in the presence and absence of TiO2 nanoparticles was done. Optical density decrease was observed with the increase in the concentration of TiO2. It could be attributed to the inactivation of cellular enzymes and DNA by binding to electron-donating groups such as carboxylates, amides, indoles, hydroxyls, thiols, etc. which cause little pores in bacterial cell walls, leading to increased permeability and cell death. This justifies that TiO2 nanoparticles have efficient antibacterial effect and have potential to be used as an antibacterial agent for different purposes.Keywords: antibacterial effect, CFU, Escherichia coli Hb101, growth curve, TEM, TiO2 nanoparticle, Toxicity, UV-Vis
Procedia PDF Downloads 2961995 Evaluation of Iron Oxide-Functionalized Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Self-Standing Electrode for Symmetric Supercapacitor Application
Authors: B. V. Bhaskara Rao, Rodrigo Espinoza
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The rapid development of renewable energy sources has drawn great attention to energy storage devices, especially supercapacitors, because of their high power density and rate performance. This work focus on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles synthesized by reverse co-precipitation and MWCNTs functionalized by –COOH acid functionalization. The results show that Optimized 25wt% Fe₃O₄@FMWCNT show high specific capacitance 100 mF/cm² at one mA/cm² whereas 15wt% Fe₃O₄@FMWCNT showed high stability (80% retention capacity) over 5000 cycles. The electrolyte used in the coin cell is LiPF6 and the thickness of the electrode is 30 microns. The optimized Fe₃O₄@FMWCNT bucky papers coin cell electrochemical studies suggest that 25wt% Fe₃O₄@FMWCNT could be a good candidate for high-capacity supercapacitor devices. This could be further tested for flexible and planar supercapacitor device application with gel electrolytes.Keywords: self-standing electrode, Fe₃O4@FMWCNT, supercapacitor, symmetric coin-cell
Procedia PDF Downloads 1561994 Surface Adjustments for Endothelialization of Decellularized Porcine Pericardium
Authors: M. Markova, E. Filova, O. Kaplan, R. Matejka, L. Bacakova
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The porcine pericardium is used as a material for cardiac and aortic valves substitutes. Current biological aortic heart valve prosthesis have a limited lifetime period because they undergo degeneration. In order to make them more biocompatible and prolong their lifetime it is necessary to reseed the decellularized prostheses with endothelial cells and with valve interstitial cells. The endothelialization of the prosthesis-surface may be supported by suitable chemical surface modification of the prosthesis. The aim of this study is to prepare bioactive fibrin layers which would both support endothelialization of porcine pericardium and enhance differentiation and maturation of the endothelial cells seeded. As a material for surface adjustments we used layers of fibrin with/without heparin and some of them with adsorbed or chemically bound FGF2, VEGF or their combination. Fibrin assemblies were prepared in 24-well cell culture plate and were seeded with HSVEC (Human Saphenous Vein Endothelial Cells) at a density of 20,000 cells per well in EGM-2 medium with 0.5% FS and without heparin, without FGF2 and without VEGF; medium was supplemented with aprotinin (200 U/mL). As a control, surface polystyrene (PS) was used. Fibrin was also used as homogeneous impregnation of the decellularized porcine pericardium throughout the scaffolds. Morphology, density, and viability of the seeded endothelial cells were observed from micrographs after staining the samples by LIVE/DEAD cytotoxicity/viability assay kit on the days 1, 3, and 7. Endothelial cells were immunocytochemically stained for proteins involved in cell adhesion, i.e. alphaV integrin, vinculin, and VE-cadherin, markers of endothelial cells differentiation and maturation, i.e. von Willebrand factor and CD31, and for extracellular matrix proteins typically produced by endothelial cells, i.e. type IV collagen and laminin. The staining intensities were subsequently quantified using a software. HSVEC cells grew on each of the prepared surfaces better than on control surface. They reached confluency. The highest cell densities were obtained on the surface of fibrin with heparin and both grow factors used together. Intensity of alphaV integrins staining was highest on samples with remained fibrin layer, i.e. on layers with lower cell densities, i.e. on fibrin without heparin. Vinculin staining was apparent, but was rather diffuse, on fibrin with both FGF2 and VEGF and on control PS. Endothelial cells on all samples were positively stained for von Willebrand factor and CD31. VE-cadherin receptors clusters were best developed on fibrin with heparin and growth factors. Significantly stronger staining of type IV collagen was observed on fibrin with heparin and both growth factors. Endothelial cells on all samples produced laminin-1. Decellularized pericardium was homogeneously filled with fibrin structures. These fibrin-modified pericardium samples will be further seeded with cells and cultured in a bioreactor. Fibrin layers with/without heparin and with adsorbed or chemically bound FGF2, VEGF or their combination are good surfaces for endothelialization of cardiovascular prostheses or porcine pericardium based heart valves. Supported by the Ministry of Health, grants No15-29153A and 15-32497A, and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, project No. P108/12/G108.Keywords: aortic valves prosthesis, FGF2, heparin, HSVEC cells, VEGF
Procedia PDF Downloads 2651993 Numerical Model for Investigation of Recombination Mechanisms in Graphene-Bonded Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Amir Sharifi Miavaghi
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It is believed recombination mechnisms in graphene-bonded perovskite solar cells based on numerical model in which doped-graphene structures are employed as anode/cathode bonding semiconductor. Moreover, the dark-light current density-voltage density-voltage curves are investigated by regression analysis. Loss mechanisms such as back contact barrier, deep surface defect in the adsorbent layer is determined by adapting the simulated cell performance to the measurements using the differential evolution of the global optimization algorithm. The performance of the cell in the connection process includes J-V curves that are examined at different temperatures and open circuit voltage (V) under different light intensities as a function of temperature. Based on the proposed numerical model and the acquired loss mechanisms, our approach can be used to improve the efficiency of the solar cell further. Due to the high demand for alternative energy sources, solar cells are good alternatives for energy storage using the photovoltaic phenomenon.Keywords: numerical model, recombination mechanism, graphen, perovskite solarcell
Procedia PDF Downloads 701992 Design of an Electric Vehicle Model with a Dynamo Drive Setup Using Model-Based Development (MBD) (EV Using MBD)
Authors: Gondu Vykunta Rao, Madhuri Bayya, Aruna Bharathi M., Paramesw Chidamparam, B. Murali
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The increase in software content in today’s electric vehicles is increasing attention to having vast, unique topographies from low emission to high efficiency, whereas the chemical batteries have huge short comes, such as limited cycle life, power density, and cost. As for understanding and visualization, the companies are turning toward the virtual vehicle to test their design in software which is known as a simulation in the loop (SIL). In this project, in addition to the electric vehicle (EV) technology, we are adding a dynamo with the vehicle for regenerative braking. Traditionally the principle of dynamos is used in lighting the purpose of the bicycle. Here by using the same mechanism, we are running the vehicle as well as charging the vehicle from system-level simulation to the model in the loop and then to the Hardware in Loop (HIL) by using model-based development.Keywords: electric vehicle, simulation in the loop (SIL), model in loop (MIL), hardware in loop (HIL), dynamos, model-based development (MBD), permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), current control (CC), field-oriented control (FOC), regenerative braking
Procedia PDF Downloads 1221991 DFT Study of Half Sandwich of Vanadium (IV) Cyclopentadienyl Complexes
Authors: Salem El-Tohami Ashoor
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A novel new vanadium (IV) complexes incorporating the chelating diamido cyclopentadienyl {ArN(CH2)3NAr)}2-((ηn-Cp)Cp)} (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3)(Cp = C5H5 and n = 1,2,3,4 and 5) have been studied with calculation of the properties of species involved in various of cyclopentadienyl reaction. These were carried out under investigation of density functional theory (DFT) calculation, and comparing together. Other methods, explicitly including electron correlation, are necessary for more accurate calculations; MB3LYP (Becke) (Lee–Yang–Parr) level of theory often being used to obtain more exact results. These complexes were estimated of electronic energy for molecular system, because it accounts for all electron correlation interactions. The optimised of [V(ArN(CH2)3NAr)2Cl(η5-Cp)] (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3 and Cp= C5H5) was found to be thermally more stable than others of vanadium cyclopentadienyl. In the meantime the complex [V(ArN(CH2)3NAr)2Cl(η1-Cp)] (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3 and Cp= C5H5) which is showed a low thermal stability in case of the just one carbon of cyclopentadienyl can be insertion with vanadium metal centre. By using Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model, as a basis of the molecular orbital (MO) analysis and showed the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest occupied molecular orbital LUMO.Keywords: vanadium (IV) cyclopentadienyl complexes, DFT, MO, HOMO, LUMO
Procedia PDF Downloads 4101990 Engineering Parameters and Classification of Marly Soils of Tabriz
Authors: Amirali Mahouti, Hooshang Katebi
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Enlargement of Tabriz metropolis to the east and north-east caused urban construction to be built on Marl layers and because of increase in excavations depth, further information of this layer is inescapable. Looking at geotechnical investigation shows there is not enough information about Tabriz Marl and this soil has been classified only by color. Tabriz Marl is lacustrine carbonate sediment outcrops, surrounds eastern, northern and southern region of city in the East Azerbaijan Province of Iran and is known as bed rock of city under alluvium sediments. This investigation aims to characterize geotechnical parameters of this soil to identify and set it in classification system of carbonated soils. For this purpose, specimens obtained from 80 locations over the city and subjected to physical and mechanical tests, such as Atterberg limits, density, moisture content, unconfined compression, direct shear and consolidation. CaCO3 content, organic content, PH, XRD, XRF, TGA and geophysical downhole tests also have been done on some of them.Keywords: carbonated soils, classification of soils, mineralogy, physical and mechanical tests for Marls, Tabriz Marl
Procedia PDF Downloads 3171989 Microplastics in Different Coastal Zone Compartments at the South-Eastern Baltic Sea
Authors: Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė, Arūnas Balčiūnas, Renata Rubavičiūtė
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Research on microplastic pollution in aquatic environments is being conducted worldwide. This presented research focused on the South-Eastern Baltic Sea, where, due to the natural conditions, algae accumulation on beaches is common. The present conditions enabled to apply and integrate of various microplastic extraction techniques: filtration, density separation, and sample aeration in order to investigate the microplastic concentrations within different beach compartments (nearshore water reference zone, nearshore algal scum zone, beach surface sand reference zone, beach wrack zone). This study demonstrates results from a total of 496 collected samples. The comparison of microplastic mean concentrations in water-based (0,016 item/cm³) and land-based (0,29 item/cm³) samples gave a clear insight into the microplastic accumulation hot spots, which pose pollution hazards to marine ecosystems and humans.Keywords: beach wrack, marine litter, microplastics, pollution
Procedia PDF Downloads 641988 Depletion Layer Parameters of Al-MoO3-P-CdTe-Al MOS Structures
Authors: A. C. Sarmah
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The Al-MoO3-P-CdTe-Al MOS sandwich structures were fabricated by vacuum deposition method on cleaned glass substrates. Capacitance versus voltage measurements were performed at different frequencies and sweep rates of applied voltages for oxide and semiconductor films of different thicknesses. In the negative voltage region of the C-V curve a high differential capacitance of the semiconductor was observed and at high frequencies (<10 kHz) the transition from accumulation to depletion and further to deep depletion was observed as the voltage was swept from negative to positive. A study have been undertaken to determine the value of acceptor density and some depletion layer parameters such as depletion layer capacitance, depletion width, impurity concentration, flat band voltage, Debye length, flat band capacitance, diffusion or built-in-potential, space charge per unit area etc. These were determined from C-V measurements for different oxide and semiconductor thicknesses.Keywords: debye length, depletion width, flat band capacitance, impurity concentration
Procedia PDF Downloads 4511987 Affordable Aerodynamic Balance for Instrumentation in a Wind Tunnel Using Arduino
Authors: Pedro Ferreira, Alexandre Frugoli, Pedro Frugoli, Lucio Leonardo, Thais Cavalheri
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The teaching of fluid mechanics in engineering courses is, in general, a source of great difficulties for learning. The possibility of the use of experiments with didactic wind tunnels can facilitate the education of future professionals. The objective of this proposal is the development of a low-cost aerodynamic balance to be used in a didactic wind tunnel. The set is comprised of an Arduino microcontroller, programmed by an open source software, linked to load cells built by students from another project. The didactic wind tunnel is 5,0m long and the test area is 90,0 cm x 90,0 cm x 150,0 cm. The Weq® electric motor, model W-22 of 9,2 HP, moves a fan with nine blades, each blade 32,0 cm long. The Weq® frequency inverter, model WEGCFW 08 (Vector Inverter) is responsible for wind speed control and also for the motor inversion of the rotational direction. A flat-convex profile prototype of airfoil was tested by measuring the drag and lift forces for certain attack angles; the air flux conditions remained constant, monitored by a Pitot tube connected to a EXTECH® Instruments digital pressure differential manometer Model HD755. The results indicate a good agreement with the theory. The choice of all of the components of this proposal resulted in a low-cost product providing a high level of specific knowledge of mechanics of fluids, which may be a good alternative to teaching in countries with scarce educational resources. The system also allows the expansion to measure other parameters like fluid velocity, temperature, pressure as well as the possibility of automation of other functions.Keywords: aerodynamic balance, wind tunnel, strain gauge, load cell, Arduino, low-cost education
Procedia PDF Downloads 4471986 Correlation of Hyperlipidemia with Platelet Parameters in Blood Donors
Authors: S. Nishat Fatima Rizvi, Tulika Chandra, Abbas Ali Mahdi, Devisha Agarwal
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Introduction: Blood components are an unexplored area prone to numerous discoveries which influence patient’s care. Experiments at different levels will further change the present concept of blood banking. Hyperlipidemia is a condition of elevated plasma level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as well as decreased plasma level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Studies show that platelets play a vital role in the progression of atherosclerosis and thrombosis, a major cause of death worldwide. They are activated by many triggers like elevated LDL in the blood resulting in aggregation and formation of plaques. Hyperlipidemic platelets are frequently transfused to patients with various disorders. Screening the random donor platelets for hyperlipidemia and correlating the condition with other donor criteria such as lipid rich diet, oral contraceptive pills intake, weight, alcohol intake, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, family history of heart diseases will lead to further deciding the exclusion criteria for donor selection. This will help in making the patients safe as well as the donor deferral criteria more stringent to improve the quality of blood supply. Technical evaluation and assessment will enable blood bankers to supply safe blood and improve the guidelines for blood safety. Thus, we try to study the correlation between hyperlipidemic platelets with platelets parameters, weight, and specific history of the donors. Methodology: This case control study included 100 blood samples of Blood donors, out of 100 only 30 samples were found to be hyperlipidemic and were included as cases, while rest were taken as controls. Lipid Profile were measured by fully automated analyzer (TRIGL:triglycerides),(LDL-C:LDL –Cholesterol plus 2nd generation),CHOL 2: Cholesterol Gen 2), HDL C 3: HDL-Cholesterol plus 3rdgeneration)-(Cobas C311-Roche Diagnostic).And Platelets parameters were analyzed by the Sysmex KX21 automated hematology analyzer. Results: A significant correlation was found amongst hyperlipidemic level in single time donor. In which 80% donors have history of heart disease, 66.66% donors have sedentary life style, 83.3% donors were smokers, 50% donors were alcoholic, and 63.33% donors had taken lipid rich diet. Active physical activity was found amongst 40% donors. We divided donors sample in two groups based on their body weight. In group 1, hyperlipidemic samples: Platelet Parameters were 75% in normal 25% abnormal in >70Kg weight while in 50-70Kg weight 90% were normal 10% were abnormal. In-group 2, Non Hyperlipidemic samples: platelet Parameters were 95% normal and 5% abnormal in >70Kg weight, while in 50-70Kg Weight, 66.66% normal and 33.33% abnormal. Conclusion: The findings indicate that Hyperlipidemic status of donors may affect the platelet parameters and can be distinguished on history by their weight, Smoking, Alcoholic intake, Sedentary lifestyle, Active physical activity, Lipid rich diet, Oral contraceptive pills intake, and Family history of heart disease. However further studies on a large sample size will affirm this finding.Keywords: blood donors, hyperlipidemia, platelet, weight
Procedia PDF Downloads 3141985 Numerical Studies for Standard Bi-Conjugate Gradient Stabilized Method and the Parallel Variants for Solving Linear Equations
Authors: Kuniyoshi Abe
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Bi-conjugate gradient (Bi-CG) is a well-known method for solving linear equations Ax = b, for x, where A is a given n-by-n matrix, and b is a given n-vector. Typically, the dimension of the linear equation is high and the matrix is sparse. A number of hybrid Bi-CG methods such as conjugate gradient squared (CGS), Bi-CG stabilized (Bi-CGSTAB), BiCGStab2, and BiCGstab(l) have been developed to improve the convergence of Bi-CG. Bi-CGSTAB has been most often used for efficiently solving the linear equation, but we have seen the convergence behavior with a long stagnation phase. In such cases, it is important to have Bi-CG coefficients that are as accurate as possible, and the stabilization strategy, which stabilizes the computation of the Bi-CG coefficients, has been proposed. It may avoid stagnation and lead to faster computation. Motivated by a large number of processors in present petascale high-performance computing hardware, the scalability of Krylov subspace methods on parallel computers has recently become increasingly prominent. The main bottleneck for efficient parallelization is the inner products which require a global reduction. The resulting global synchronization phases cause communication overhead on parallel computers. The parallel variants of Krylov subspace methods reducing the number of global communication phases and hiding the communication latency have been proposed. However, the numerical stability, specifically, the convergence speed of the parallel variants of Bi-CGSTAB may become worse than that of the standard Bi-CGSTAB. In this paper, therefore, we compare the convergence speed between the standard Bi-CGSTAB and the parallel variants by numerical experiments and show that the convergence speed of the standard Bi-CGSTAB is faster than the parallel variants. Moreover, we propose the stabilization strategy for the parallel variants.Keywords: bi-conjugate gradient stabilized method, convergence speed, Krylov subspace methods, linear equations, parallel variant
Procedia PDF Downloads 1641984 Multivariate Data Analysis for Automatic Atrial Fibrillation Detection
Authors: Zouhair Haddi, Stephane Delliaux, Jean-Francois Pons, Ismail Kechaf, Jean-Claude De Haro, Mustapha Ouladsine
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been considered as the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and a major public health burden associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Nowadays, telemedical approaches targeting cardiac outpatients situate AF among the most challenged medical issues. The automatic, early, and fast AF detection is still a major concern for the healthcare professional. Several algorithms based on univariate analysis have been developed to detect atrial fibrillation. However, the published results do not show satisfactory classification accuracy. This work was aimed at resolving this shortcoming by proposing multivariate data analysis methods for automatic AF detection. Four publicly-accessible sets of clinical data (AF Termination Challenge Database, MIT-BIH AF, Normal Sinus Rhythm RR Interval Database, and MIT-BIH Normal Sinus Rhythm Databases) were used for assessment. All time series were segmented in 1 min RR intervals window and then four specific features were calculated. Two pattern recognition methods, i.e., Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) neural network were used to develop classification models. PCA, as a feature reduction method, was employed to find important features to discriminate between AF and Normal Sinus Rhythm. Despite its very simple structure, the results show that the LVQ model performs better on the analyzed databases than do existing algorithms, with high sensitivity and specificity (99.19% and 99.39%, respectively). The proposed AF detection holds several interesting properties, and can be implemented with just a few arithmetical operations which make it a suitable choice for telecare applications.Keywords: atrial fibrillation, multivariate data analysis, automatic detection, telemedicine
Procedia PDF Downloads 2681983 Reproducibility of Dopamine Transporter Density Measured with I-123-N-ω-Fluoropropyl-2β-Carbomethoxy-3β-(4-Iodophenyl)Nortropane SPECT in Phantom Studies and Parkinson’s Disease Patients
Authors: Yasuyuki Takahashi, Genta Hoshi, Kyoko Saito
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Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of I-123-N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4- iodophenyl) nortropane (I-123 FP-CIT) SPECT by using specific binding ratio (SBR) in phantom studies and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients. Methods: We made striatum phantom originally and confirmed reproducibility. The phantom studies changed head position and accumulation of FP-CIT, each. And image processing confirms influence on SBR by 30 cases. 30 PD received a SPECT for 3 hours post injection of I-123 FP-CIT 167MBq. Results: SBR decreased in rotatory direction by the patient position by the phantom studies. And, SBR improved the influence after the attenuation and the scatter correction in the cases (y=0.99x+0.57 r2=0.83). However, Stage II recognized dispersion in SBR by low accumulation. Conclusion: Than the phantom studies that assumed the normal cases, the SPECT image after the attenuation and scatter correction had better reproducibility.Keywords: 123I-FP-CIT, specific binding ratio, Parkinson’s disease
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