Search results for: segmentation evaluation

Authors: Cherifi Mehdi, Lahdir Mourad, Ameur Soltane

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Image compression is the heart of several multimedia techniques. It is used to reduce the number of bits required to represent an image. Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite allows the acquisition of 12 image files every 15 minutes and that results in a large databases sizes. In this paper, a novel image compression method based on the arithmetic coding with the sorted Run Length Coding (SRLC) for MSG images is proposed. The SRLC allows us to find the occurrence of the consecutive pixels of the original image to create a sorted run. The arithmetic coding allows the encoding of the sorted data of the previous stage to retrieve a unique code word that represents a binary code stream in the sorted order to boost the compression ratio. Through this article, we show that our method can perform the best results concerning compression ratio and bit rate unlike the method based on the Run Length Coding (RLC) and the arithmetic coding. Evaluation criteria like the compression ratio and the bit rate allow the confirmation of the efficiency of our method of image compression.

Keywords: image compression, arithmetic coding, Run Length Coding, RLC, Sorted Run Length Coding, SRLC, Meteosat Second Generation, MSG

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Mohammad Hosseinzade

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Settlement and bearing capacity of a piled raft are the two important issues for the foundations of the structures built on coastal areas from the geotechnical engineering point of view. Strip piled raft as a load carrying system could be used to reduce the possible extensive consolidation settlements and improve bearing capacity of structures in soft ground. The aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of strip piled raft embedded in soft clay. The efficiency of bearing capacity of strip piled raft foundation is evaluated numerically in two cases: in first case, the cap is placed directly on the ground surface and in the second, the cap is placed above the ground. Regarding to the fact that the geotechnical parameters of the soft clay are considered at low level, low bearing capacity is expected. The length, diameter and axe-to-axe distance of piles are the parameters which varied in this research to find out how they affect the bearing capacity. Results indicate that increasing the length and the diameter of the piles increase the bearing capacity. The complementary results will be presented in the final version of the paper.

Keywords: soft clay, strip piled raft, bearing capacity, settlement

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Authors: Elitsa Kolentsova, Dimitar Dimitrov, Krasimir Ivanov

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The catalytic oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde is an important industrial process in which the waste gas in addition to CO contains methanol and dimethyl ether (DME). Evaluation of the possibility of removing the harmful components from the exhaust gasses needs a more complex investigation. Our previous work indicates that supported Cu-Mn oxide catalysts are promising for effective deep oxidation of these compounds. This work relates to the catalyst, comprising copper-manganese spinel, coated on carrier γ-Al₂O₃. The effect of preparation conditions on the active component composition and activity behavior of the catalysts is discussed. Different organometallic compounds on the base of four natural amino acids (Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Leucine) as precursors were used for the preparation of catalysts with Cu/Mn molar ratio 1:5. X-Ray and TEM analysis were performed on the catalyst’s bulk, and surface composition and the specific surface area was determined by BET method. The results obtained show that the activity of the catalysts increase up to 40% although there are some specific features, depending on the nature of the amino acid and the oxidized compound.

Keywords: Cu-Mn/γ-Al₂O₃, CO and VOCs oxidation, heterogeneous catalysis, amino acids

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Authors: Waseem Al Talalwah, Shorok Al Dorazi, Roger Soames

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Persistent sciatic artery is a rare anatomical vascular variation resulting from a lack of regression of the embryonic dorsal axial artery. The axial artery is the main artery supplying the lower limb during development in the first trimester. The current research includes 206 sciatic artery cases in 171 patients between 1864 and 2012. It aims to identify the risk factor of sciatic artery aneurysm in congenital limb anomalies. Sciatic artery aneurysm was diagnosed incidentally in amniotic band syndrome (ABS) existing with no congenital anomaly in 0.7% or with double knee in 0.7%, with the tibia in 0.7% and with hemihypertrophy or soft tissue hypertrophy in 1.4%. Therefore, the current study indicates a relationship the same gene responsible for the congenital limb deformities may be responsible for non-regression of the sciatic artery. Furthermore, pediatricians should refer cases of congenital limb anomalies for vascular evaluation prior to corrective surgical intervention.

Keywords: amniotic band syndrome, congenital limb deformities, double knee, sciatic artery, sciatic artery aneurysm , soft tissue hypertrophy

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Authors: Pimploi Tirastittam, Phutthiwat Waiyawuththanapoom

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Nowadays the promotion of the public transportation system in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area is increased such as the “Free Bus for Thai Citizen” Campaign and the prospect of the several MRT routes to increase the convenient and comfortable to the Bangkok Metropolitan area citizens. But citizens do not make full use of them it because the citizens are lack of the data and information and also the confident to the public transportation system of Thailand especially in the time and safety aspects. This research is the Public Transport Planning System by Dijkstra Algorithm: Case Study Bangkok Metropolitan Area by focusing on buses, BTS and MRT schedules/routes to give the most information to passengers. They can choose the way and the routes easily by using Dijkstra STAR Algorithm of Graph Theory which also shows the fare of the trip. This Application was evaluated by 30 normal users to find the mean and standard deviation of the developed system. Results of the evaluation showed that system is at a good level of satisfaction (4.20 and 0.40). From these results we can conclude that the system can be used properly and effectively according to the objective.

Keywords: Dijkstra algorithm, graph theory, public transport, Bangkok metropolitan area

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Authors: Zahra Mohagheghian, Fatema Agharebparast

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Professional ethic is a subject that has been an issue today, so most of the businesses, including the teaching profession, understand the need and importance of it. So they need to develop a code of professional ethics for their own. In this regard, this study seeks to answer the question, with respect to the integrity of the Qur'an (Nahl / 89), is it possible to contemplate the divine teachers conduct to extract the divine pattern for teaching and training? In the code of conduct for divine teachers what are the most important moral obligations and duties of the teaching professionals? The results of this study show that the teaching of Khidr, according to the Quran’s verses, Abundant and subtle hints emphasized that it can be as comprehensive and divine pattern used in teaching and in the drafting of the charter of professional ethics of teachers used it. Also, the results show that in there have been many ethical principles in prophet Khidr’s teaching pattern.The most important ethical principles include: Student assessment, using objective and not subjective examples, assessment during teaching, flexibility, and others. According to each of these principles can help teachers achieve their educational goals and lead human being in their path toward spiritual evaluation.

Keywords: professional ethics, teaching-learning process, teacher, student, Quran

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Authors: Hisyam Hidayatullah

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Utilization game on a lesson needs to be done in order to provide proper motoric learning model to improve students' skills. Approach to the game, as one of the models of a motoric learning, is intended to improve student learning outcomes math trigonometry materials generally that prioritize a Memory or rote. The purpose of this study is producting innovation to improve a cognitive abilities of students in the field, to improve student performance, and ultimately to improve student understanding in determining a value of trigonometry in various quadrants, and it apply a approach to the game Domino "Cassava H154M" who is adopted from cassava game and it has made total revised in cassava content. The game is divided into 3 sessions: sine cassava, cosine cassava and cassava tangent. Researchers using action of research method, which consists of several stages such as: planning, implementation, observation, reporting and evaluation. Researchers found that a game approaches can improve student learning outcomes, enhance students' creativity in terms of their motoric learning, and creating a supportive learning environment.

Keywords: cassava "H154M", motoric, value of trigonometry, quadrant

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Authors: Reihaneh Rafiemanzelat

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One of the most recent fields of investigation in urban issues focuses on the walkability in urban spaces. The paper aims to establish the theoretical relationship between the people's link with definite urban public spaces and the social identity processes derived from the relation with these places. The theoretical aspects which are examined for this purpose are: the concept of walkability and its developments and the social identity theories derived from walkable spaces. In fact, the paper presents the main results obtained from an empirical investigation which concern to the genesis of urban social identity in particular street as one of the main elements of public spaces in cities. İsmet İnönü Blvd which known as Salamis Street in Famagusta, North Cyprus is one of the main street in city whit high level of physical and social activities all the time. The urban social identity of users was analyzed, focusing on three main factors: walkability of space, social identification, and image of the space. These three factors were analyzed in relation to a series of items in the initial questionnaire, evaluation of existing natural resources, and environmental attitudes.

Keywords: walkability, urban public space, pedestrian, social activity, social identity

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Authors: Abdollah Javanmard, Fariborz Shekari

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Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), vetch (Vicia villosa), and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) monocultures as well as mixtures of barley with each of the above legumes, in three seeding ratios (i.e., barley: legume 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 based on seed numbers) were used to investigate forage yield and competition indices. The results showed that intercropping reduced the dry matter yield of the three component plants, compared with their respective monocrops. The greatest value of total dry matter yield was obtained from barley25-grasspea75 (5.44 t ha-1) mixture, followed by grass pea sole crop (4.99 t ha-1). The total AYL values were positive and greater than 0 in all mixtures, indicating an advantage from intercropping over sole crops. Intercropped barley had a higher relative crowding coefficient (K=1.64) than intercropped legumes (K=1.20), indicating that barley was more competitive than legumes in mixtures. Furthermore, grass pea was more competitive than vetch in mixtures with barley. The highest LER, SPI and MAI were obtained when barley was mixed at a rate of 25% with 75% seed rate of grass pea. It is concluded that intercropping of barley with grass pea has a good potential to improve the performance of forage with high land-use efficiency.

Keywords: forage, grass pea, intercropping, LER, monetary advantage

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Authors: Yadpiroon Onmek, Jean Triboulet, Sebastien Druon, Bruno Jouvencel

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The objective of this paper is to develop the 3D underwater reconstruction of archaeology object, which is based on the fusion between a sonar system and stereo camera system. The underwater images are obtained from a calibrated camera system. The multiples image pairs are input, and we first solve the problem of image processing by applying the well-known filter, therefore to improve the quality of underwater images. The features of interest between image pairs are selected by well-known methods: a FAST detector and FLANN descriptor. Subsequently, the RANSAC method is applied to reject outlier points. The putative inliers are matched by triangulation to produce the local sparse point clouds in 3D space, using a pinhole camera model and Euclidean distance estimation. The SFM technique is used to carry out the global sparse point clouds. Finally, the ICP method is used to fusion the sonar information with the stereo model. The final 3D models have a précised by measurement comparing with the real object.

Keywords: 3D reconstruction, archaeology, fusion, stereo system, sonar system, underwater

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Authors: R. Niranchana, K. Meena Alias Jeyanthi

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As a result of the present climate change dilemma, the energy balancing strategy is to construct a sustainable environment has become a top concern for researchers worldwide. The environment itself has always been a solution from the earliest days of human evolution. Carbon capture begins with its accurate estimation and monitoring credit inventories, and its efficient use. Sustainable urban planning with deliverables of re-use energy models might benefit from assessment methods like biomass carbon credit ranking. The term "biomass energy" refers to the various ways in which living organisms can potentially be converted into a source of energy. The approaches that can be applied to biomass and an algorithm for evaluating carbon credits are presented in this paper. The micro-climate evaluation using Computational Fluid dynamics was carried out across the location (1 km x1 km) at Dindigul, India (10°24'58.68" North, 77°54.1.80 East). Sustainable Urban design must be carried out considering environmental and physiological convection, conduction, radiation and evaporative heat exchange due to proceeding solar access and wind intensities.

Keywords: biomass, climate assessment, urban planning, multi-regression, carbon estimation algorithm

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Authors: Xu Xiao China, Xu Lei China

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After the 1990s, the concept of urban sustainable development has been increasing attention in urban planning and urban design. High carbon city, not a sustainable city construction model, has become an important problem which restricts the sustainable development of the city. Therefore, low-carbon city construction is the urgent need to solve the problem, and China is one of the core areas of low-carbon city construction in the world. The research work of low-carbon cities were participated by the Chinese government and academic institutes on theory and practice since 2007, and nowadays it comes to a practice stage with six low-carbon pilot provinces and 36 low-carbon pilot cities identified. To achieve the low-carbon target, developing low-carbon energy, adopting non-pollution technique, constructing green buildings and adopting ecolife-style are suggest by the government. Meanwhile, besides a new standard system and a new eco-environmental status evaluation method, the government also established the Chinese urban development institute including the Low-Carbon City Group. Finally, we want to transform the modern industrial civilization into an ecological civilization and realize sustainable urban development.

Keywords: low-carbon city, China, development practice, system construction, urban sustainability

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Authors: Yared Assefa Demessie

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This study may help to establish the appropriateness of ceramic waste aggregate for concrete production since it is obviously understood that the rising from continuous urbanization and industrialization development leads depletion of natural construction resource and the disposal of waste material. It can be used as base to conduct a study on the alternative readily available materials like ceramic industrial waste aggregates can lead to environmental concrete. The study assessed the fresh and hardened properties of the concrete produced by replacing part of the natural fine aggregate with an aggregate produced from ceramic industrial waste. In the study, experimental investigation was employed which involved two major tasks: material specifications and experimental evaluation of concrete were done in the laboratory. Experimental investigations such that workability, unit weight, compressive strength test, tensile strength test and flexural strength test for C-25 concrete mixes with different percentages of ceramic industrial waste aggregate after a curing period of 7 and 28 days has done and interpreted the result statically using mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variance.

Keywords: ceramic industrial waste, fresh concrete, hardened concrete, fine aggregate

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Authors: Murat Gunduz, Mustafa Ozdemir

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In this research, a framework is to be proposed to model the safety performance in construction sites. Determinants of safety performance are to be defined through extensive literature review and a multidimensional safety performance model is to be developed. In this context, a questionnaire is to be administered to construction companies with sites. The collected data through questionnaires including linguistic terms are then to be defuzzified to get concrete numbers by using fuzzy set theory which provides strong and significant instruments for the measurement of ambiguities and provides the opportunity to meaningfully represent concepts expressed in the natural language. The validity of the proposed safety performance model, relationships between determinants of safety performance are to be analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) which is a highly strong multi variable analysis technique that makes possible the evaluation of latent structures. After validation of the model, a safety performance index assessment tool is to be proposed by the help of software. The proposed safety performance assessment tool will be based on the empirically validated theoretical model.

Keywords: Fuzzy set theory, safety performance assessment, safety index, structural equation modeling (SEM), construction sites

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Authors: Ali Zain Ul Abadeen, Arshad Hussain

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Roads are considered as the national capital, and huge developmental budget is spent on its construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation. Due to proliferating traffic volume, heavier loads and challenging environmental factors, the need for high-performance asphalt pavement is increased. In this research, the asphalt mixture was modified with carbon nanotubes ranging from 0.2% to 2% of binder to study the effect of CNT modification on rutting potential and fatigue life of asphalt mixtures. During this study, the conventional and modified asphalt mixture was subjected to a uni-axial dynamic creep test and dry Hamburg wheel tracking test to study rutting resistance. Fatigue behavior of asphalt mixture was studied using a four-point bending test apparatus. The plateau value of asphalt mixture was taken as a measure of fatigue performance according to the ratio of dissipated energy approach. Results of these experiments showed that CNT modified asphalt mixtures had reduced rut depth and increased rutting and fatigue resistance at higher percentages of carbon nanotubes.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, fatigue, four point bending test, modified asphalt, rutting

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Authors: Binjuan Xu, Qian Zhao, Ping Jiang, Bo Guo, Zhijun Cheng, Xiaoyue Wu

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Astronautical valves are key units in engine systems of astronautical products; their reliability will influence results of rocket or missile launching, even lead to damage to staff and devices on the ground. Besides failure in engine system may influence the hitting accuracy and flight shot of missiles. Therefore high reliability is quite essential to astronautical products. There are quite a few literature doing research based on few failure test data to estimate valves’ reliability, thus this paper proposed a new method to estimate valves’ reliability, according to the corresponding tests of different failure modes, this paper takes advantage of tests data which acquired from temperature, vibration, and action tests to estimate reliability in every failure modes, then this paper has regarded these three kinds of tests as three stages in products’ process to integrate these results to acquire valves’ reliability. Through the comparison of results achieving from tests data and simulated data, the results have illustrated how to obtain valves’ reliability based on the few failure data with failure modes and prove that the results are effective and rational.

Keywords: censored data, temperature tests, valves, vibration tests

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Authors: Amir Mukhtar, Dr. Likun Xia

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An improved, robust and efficient visual target tracking algorithm using particle filtering is proposed. Particle filtering has been proven very successful in estimating non-Gaussian and non-linear problems. In this paper, the particle filter is used with color feature to estimate the target state with time. Color distributions are applied as this feature is scale and rotational invariant, shows robustness to partial occlusion and computationally efficient. The performance is made more robust by choosing the different (YIQ) color scheme. Tracking is performed by comparison of chrominance histograms of target and candidate positions (particles). Color based particle filter tracking often leads to inaccurate results when light intensity changes during a video stream. Furthermore, background subtraction technique is used for size estimation of the target. The qualitative evaluation of proposed algorithm is performed on several real-world videos. The experimental results demonstrate that the improved algorithm can track the moving objects very well under illumination changes, occlusion and moving background.

Keywords: tracking, particle filter, histogram, corner points, occlusion, illumination

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Authors: Sagar Saroha, Sawan S. Sinha, Sunil Lakshmipathy

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Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model is the popular computational tool for prediction of turbulent flows. Being computationally less expensive as compared to direct numerical simulation (DNS), RANS has received wide acceptance in industry and research community as well. However, for high Reynolds number flows, the traditional RANS approach based on the Boussinesq hypothesis is incapacitated to capture all the essential flow characteristics, and thus, its performance is restricted in high Reynolds number flows of practical interest. RANS performance turns out to be inadequate in regimes like flow over curved surfaces, flows with rapid changes in the mean strain rate, duct flows involving secondary streamlines and three-dimensional separated flows. In the recent decade, partially averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) methodology has gained acceptability among seamless bridging methods of turbulence- placed between DNS and RANS. PANS methodology, being a scale resolving bridging method, is inherently more suitable than RANS for simulating turbulent flows. The superior ability of PANS method has been demonstrated for some cases like swirling flows, high-speed mixing environment, and high Reynolds number turbulent flows. In our work, we intend to evaluate PANS in case of separated turbulent flows past bluff bodies -which is of broad aerodynamic research and industrial application. PANS equations, being derived from base RANS, continue to inherit the inadequacies from the parent RANS model based on linear eddy-viscosity model (LEVM) closure. To enhance PANS’ capabilities for simulating separated flows, the shortcomings of the LEVM closure need to be addressed. Inabilities of the LEVMs have inspired the development of non-linear eddy viscosity models (NLEVM). To explore the potential improvement in PANS performance, in our study we evaluate the PANS behavior in conjugation with NLEVM. Our work can be categorized into three significant steps: (i) Extraction of PANS version of NLEVM from RANS model, (ii) testing the model in the homogeneous turbulence environment and (iii) application and evaluation of the model in the canonical case of separated non-homogeneous flow field (flow past prismatic bodies and bodies of revolution at high Reynolds number). PANS version of NLEVM shall be derived and implemented in OpenFOAM -an open source solver. Homogeneous flows evaluation will comprise the study of the influence of the PANS’ filter-width control parameter on the turbulent stresses; the homogeneous analysis performed over typical velocity fields and asymptotic analysis of Reynolds stress tensor. Non-homogeneous flow case will include the study of mean integrated quantities and various instantaneous flow field features including wake structures. Performance of PANS + NLEVM shall be compared against the LEVM based PANS and LEVM based RANS. This assessment will contribute to significant improvement of the predictive ability of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools in massively separated turbulent flows past bluff bodies.

Keywords: bridging methods of turbulence, high Re-CFD, non-linear PANS, separated turbulent flows

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Authors: Mosaab A. Omar, Mohammad Saleh Al-Aboody, Mohmed A. Rizk, Shimaa M. Elsayed, Ahmed ElSify, Naoaki Yokoyama, Ikuo Igarashi

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Enoxacin is a broad-spectrum 6-fluoronaphthyridinone antibacterial agent (fluoroquinolones) structurally related to nalidixic acid used mainly in the treatment of urinary tract infections and gonorrhea. Also, it has been shown recently that it may have cancer inhibiting effect. The primary antibabesial effect of Enoxacin is due to inhibition of DNA gyrase subunit A, and DNA topoisomerase. In the present study, enoxacin was tested as a potent inhibitor against the in vitro growth of bovine and equine Piroplasms. The in vitro growth of five Babesia species that were tested was significantly inhibited (P<0.05) by micromolar concentrations of enoxacin (IC50 values= 13.5, 7.2, 7.5, and 24.2 µM for Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina, Babesia caballi, and Theileria equi, respectively). Enoxacin IC50 values for Babesia and Theileria parasites were satisfactory as the drug is a potent antibacterial drug with minimum side effects. Therefore, enoxacin might be used for the treatment of Babesiosis and Theileriosis especially in case of mixed infections with bacterial diseases or in the case of animal sensitivity against diminazin toxicity.

Keywords: enoxacin, Babesia, Theileria, IC50 and dimenazin

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Authors: Kumaresh Selvakumar, Man Young Kim

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A wet scrubber is an air pollution control device that removes particulate matter and acid gases from waste gas streams found in marine engine exhaust. If the flue gases in the exhaust is employed for CFD simulation, it makes the problem complicate due to the involvement of emissions. Owing to the fact, the scrubber system in this paper is handled with appropriate approach by designing with the flow properties of hot air and water droplet injections to evaluate the flow behavior inside the system. Since the wet scrubber has the capability of operating over wide range of mixture compositions, the current scrubber model with the designing approach doesn’t deviate from the actual behavior of the system. The scrubber design is constructed with engine exhaust pipe with the purpose of measuring the flow properties inside the scrubber by the influence of exhaust pipe characteristics. The flow properties are computed by the thermodynamic variables such as temperature and pressure with the flow velocity. In this work, numerical analyses have been conducted for the flow of fluid in the scrubber system through CFD technique.

Keywords: wet scrubber, water droplet injections, thermodynamic variables, CFD technique

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Authors: Xiaoci Li, Yonghua Huang, Hui Lin

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Optimization of the concentration of components in mixed refrigerants leads to potential improvement of either thermodynamic cycle performance or safety performance of heat pumps and refrigerators. R32+R1234yf and R125+R290 are two promising binary mixed refrigerants for the application of heat pumps working in the cold areas. The p-ρ-T data of these mixtures are one of the fundamental and necessary properties for design and evaluation of the performance of the heat pumps. Although the property data of mixtures can be predicted by the mixing models based on the pure substances incorporated in programs such as the NIST database Refprop, direct property measurement will still be helpful to reveal the true state behaviors and verify the models. Densities of the mixtures of R32+R1234yf an d R125+R290 are measured by an Anton Paar U shape oscillating tube digital densimeter DMA-4500 in the range of temperatures from 0°C to 100 °C and pressures up to 10 MPa. The accuracy of the measurement reaches 0.00005 g/cm³. The experimental data are compared with the predictions by Refprop in the corresponding range of pressure and temperature.

Keywords: mixed refrigerant, density measurement, densimeter, thermodynamic property

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Authors: E. Azizi Asiyabar

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The phenomenon of migration to larger cities has brought about a range of consequences, including increased travel demand and the necessity for smooth traffic flow to expedite transportation. Regrettably, insufficient urban transportation infrastructure has given rise to various issues, including air pollution, heightened fuel consumption, and wasted time. To address traffic-related problems and the economic, social, and environmental challenges that ensue, a well-equipped, efficient, fast, cost-effective, and high-capacity transportation system is imperative, with a focus on reliability. This study undertakes a comprehensive examination of rail transportation systems and subsequently compares their advantages and limitations. The findings of this investigation reveal that hybrid monorails exhibit lower maintenance requirements and associated costs when compared to other types of monorails, standard trains, and urban light rail systems. Given their favorable attributes in terms of pollution reduction, increased transportation speed, and enhanced quality of service, hybrid monorails emerge as a highly recommended and suitable option.

Keywords: comparing, most efficient, selecting, urban transportation

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Authors: Maryam Azimi, Amin Banitalebi-Dehkordi, Yuanyuan Dong, Mahsa T. Pourazad, Panos Nasiopoulos

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While there exists a wide variety of Low Dynamic Range (LDR) quality metrics, only a limited number of metrics are designed specifically for the High Dynamic Range (HDR) content. With the introduction of HDR video compression standardization effort by international standardization bodies, the need for an efficient video quality metric for HDR applications has become more pronounced. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of the existing full-reference LDR and HDR video quality metrics on HDR content and identify the most effective one for HDR applications. To this end, a new HDR video data set is created, which consists of representative indoor and outdoor video sequences with different brightness, motion levels and different representing types of distortions. The quality of each distorted video in this data set is evaluated both subjectively and objectively. The correlation between the subjective and objective results confirm that VIF quality metric outperforms all to their tested metrics in the presence of the tested types of distortions.

Keywords: HDR, dynamic range, LDR, subjective evaluation, video compression, HEVC, video quality metrics

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Authors: Song Xinze, Cai Kejian

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To further explore the application of waste plastics in asphalt pavement, this paper begins with the classification and characteristics of waste plastics. It then provides a state-of-the-art review of the preparation methods and processes of waste plastic modifiers, waste plastic-modified asphalt, and waste plastic-modified asphalt mixtures. The paper also analyzes the factors influencing the compatibility between waste plastics and asphalt and summarizes the performance evaluation indicators for waste plastic-modified asphalt and its mixtures. It explores the research approaches and findings of domestic and international scholars and presents examples of waste plastics applications in pavement engineering. The author believes that there is a basic consensus that waste plastics can improve the high-temperature performance of asphalt. The use of cracking processes to solve the storage stability of waste plastic polymer-modified asphalt is the key to promoting its application. Additionally, the author anticipates that future research will concentrate on optimizing the recycling, processing, screening, and preparation of waste plastics, along with developing composite plastic modifiers to improve their compatibility and long-term performance in asphalt pavements.

Keywords: waste plastics, asphalt pavement, asphalt performance, asphalt modification

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Authors: Llham Lhoume, Rachid Tadili, Nora Arbaoui

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One of the most crucial ways to combat food insecurity is to minimize crop losses, food drying is one of the most organic, effective, low-cost and energy-efficient food preservation methods. In this regard, we undertake in this study an experimental evaluation and analysis of the thermal performance of different natural convection drying systems: a solar greenhouse dryer, an indirect solar dryer with a single compartment and a solar dryer with two compartments. These systems have been implemented at the Solar Energy and Environment Laboratory of Mohammed V University (Morocco). The objective of this work is to study the feasibility of converting a solar greenhouse into a solar dryer for use during the summer. On the other hand, to study the thermal performances of this greenhouse dryer by comparing it with other solar dryers. The experimental study showed that the drying of verbena leaves took 6 hours in the indirect dryer 1, 3 hours in the indirect dryer, 2 and 4 hours in the greenhouse dryer, but the amortization period of the solar greenhouse dryer is lower than the other two solar dryers. The results of this study provide key information on the implementation and performance of these systems for drying a food of great global interest.

Keywords: solar energy, drying, agriculture, biotechnologie

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Authors: Parag Katira, Frederika Rentzeperis, Zuzanna Nowicka, Giada Fiandaca, Thomas Veith, Jack Farinhas, Noemi Andor

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Resource limitations shape the outcome of competitions between genetically heterogeneous pre-malignant cells. One example of such heterogeneity is in the ploidy (DNA content) of pre-malignant cells. A whole-genome duplication (WGD) transforms a diploid cell into a tetraploid one and has been detected in 28-56% of human cancers. If a tetraploid subclone expands, it consistently does so early in tumor evolution, when cell density is still low, and competition for nutrients is comparatively weak – an observation confirmed for several tumor types. WGD+ cells need more resources to synthesize increasing amounts of DNA, RNA, and proteins. To quantify resource limitations and how they relate to ploidy, we performed a PAN cancer analysis of WGD, PET/CT, and MRI scans. Segmentation of >20 different organs from >900 PET/CT scans were performed with MOOSE. We observed a strong correlation between organ-wide population-average estimates of Oxygen and the average ploidy of cancers growing in the respective organ (Pearson R = 0.66; P= 0.001). In-vitro experiments using near-diploid and near-tetraploid lineages derived from a breast cancer cell line supported the hypothesis that DNA content influences Glucose- and Oxygen-dependent proliferation-, death- and migration rates. To model how subpopulations with variable DNA content compete in the resource-limited environment of the human brain, we developed a stochastic state-space model of the brain (S3MB). The model discretizes the brain into voxels, whereby the state of each voxel is defined by 8+ variables that are updated over time: stiffness, Oxygen, phosphate, glucose, vasculature, dead cells, migrating cells and proliferating cells of various DNA content, and treat conditions such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Well-established Fokker-Planck partial differential equations govern the distribution of resources and cells across voxels. We applied S3MB on sequencing and imaging data obtained from a primary GBM patient. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of four surgical specimens collected during the 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ surgeries of the GBM and used HATCHET to quantify its clonal composition and how it changes between the two surgeries. HATCHET identified two aneuploid subpopulations of ploidy 1.98 and 2.29, respectively. The low-ploidy clone was dominant at the time of the first surgery and became even more dominant upon recurrence. MRI images were available before and after each surgery and registered to MNI space. The S3MB domain was initiated from 4mm³ voxels of the MNI space. T1 post and T2 flair scan acquired after the 1ˢᵗ surgery informed tumor cell densities per voxel. Magnetic Resonance Elastography scans and PET/CT scans informed stiffness and Glucose access per voxel. We performed a parameter search to recapitulate the GBM’s tumor cell density and ploidy composition before the 2ⁿᵈ surgery. Results suggest that the high-ploidy subpopulation had a higher Glucose-dependent proliferation rate (0.70 vs. 0.49), but a lower Glucose-dependent death rate (0.47 vs. 1.42). These differences resulted in spatial differences in the distribution of the two subpopulations. Our results contribute to a better understanding of how genomics and microenvironments interact to shape cell fate decisions and could help pave the way to therapeutic strategies that mimic prognostically favorable environments.

Keywords: tumor evolution, intra-tumor heterogeneity, whole-genome doubling, mathematical modeling

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Authors: Silvia D. Vaca, Benjamin J. Kuo, Joao Ricardo N. Vissoci, Catherine A. Staton, Linda W. Xu, Michael Muhumuza, Hussein Ssenyonjo, John Mukasa, Joel Kiryabwire, Henry E. Rice, Gerald A. Grant, Michael M. Haglund

Abstract:

Background: While delays to care exist in resource rich settings, greater delays are seen along the care continuum in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) largely due to limited healthcare capacity to address the disproportional rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). While many LMICs have government subsidized systems to offset surgical costs, the burden of securing funds by the patients for medications, supplies, and CT diagnostics poses a significant challenge to timely surgical interventions. In Kampala Uganda, the challenge of obtaining timely CT scans is twofold. First, due to a lack of a functional CT scanner at the tertiary hospital, patients need to arrange their own transportation to the nearby private facility for CT scans. Second, self-financing for the private CT scans ranges from $80 - $130, which is near the average monthly income in Kampala. These bottlenecks contribute significantly to the care continuum delays and are associated with poor TBI outcomes. Objective: The objectives of this study are to 1) describe the temporal delays through a modified three delays model that fits the context of neurosurgical interventions for TBI patients in Kampala and 2) investigate the association between delays and mortality. Methods: Prospective data were collected for 563 TBI patients presenting to a tertiary hospital in Kampala from 1 June – 30 November 2016. Four time intervals were constructed along five time points: injury, hospital arrival, neurosurgical evaluation, CT results, and definitive surgery. Time interval differences among mild, moderate and severe TBI and their association with mortality were analyzed. Results: The mortality rate of all TBI patients presenting to MNRH was 9.6%, which ranged from 4.7% for mild and moderate TBI patients receiving surgery to 81.8% for severe TBI patients who failed to receive surgery. The duration from injury to surgery varied considerably across TBI severity with the largest gap seen between mild TBI (174 hours) and severe TBI (69 hours) patients. Further analysis revealed care continuum differences for interval 3 (neurosurgical evaluation to CT result) and 4 (CT result to surgery) between severe TBI patients (7 hours for interval 3 and 24 hours for interval 4) and mild TBI patients (19 hours for interval 3, and 96 hours for interval 4). These post-arrival delays were associated with mortality for mild (p=0.05) and moderate TBI (p=0.03) patients. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first analysis using a modified ‘three delays’ framework to analyze the care continuum of TBI patients in Uganda from injury to surgery. We found significant associations between delays and mortality for mild and moderate TBI patients. As it currently stands, poorer outcomes were observed for these mild and moderate TBI patients who were managed non-operatively or failed to receive surgery while surgical services were shunted to more severely ill patients. While well intentioned, high mortality rates were still observed for the severe TBI patients managed surgically. These results suggest the need for future research to optimize triage practices, understand delay contributors, and improve pre-hospital logistical referral systems.

Keywords: care continuum, global neurosurgery, Kampala Uganda, LMIC, Mulago, prospective registry, traumatic brain injury

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Sukrit Ghorai

Abstract:

Proof of controlling crack width is a basic condition for securing suitable performance in serviceability limit state. The cracking in concrete can occur at any time from the casting of time to the years after the concrete has been set in place. Most codes struggle with offering procedure for crack width calculation. There is lack in availability of design charts for designers to compute crack width with ease. The focus of the study is to utilize design charts and parametric equations in calculating crack width with minimum error. The paper contains a simplified procedure to calculate crack width for reinforced concrete (RC) sections subjected to bending with axial tensile force following the guidelines of Euro code [DS EN-1992-1-1 & DS EN-1992-1-2]. Numerical examples demonstrate the application of the suggested procedure. Comparison with parallel analytical tools support the validity of result and show the percentage deviation of crack width in both the procedures. The technique is simple, user-friendly and ready to evolve for a greater spectrum of section sizes and materials.

Keywords: concrete structures, crack width calculation, serviceability limit state, structural design, bridge engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Mohd Tariq

Abstract:

The three phase system drives produce the problem of more torque pulsations and harmonics. This issue prevents the smooth operation of the drives and it also induces the amount of heat generated thus resulting in an increase in power loss. Higher phase system offers smooth operation of the machines with greater power capacity. Five phase variable-speed induction motor drives are commonly used in various industrial and commercial applications like tractions, electrical vehicles, ship propulsions and conveyor belt drive system. In this work, a comparative analysis of the different modulation schemes applied on the five-level five-phase Packed U Cell (PUC) inverter fed induction motor drives is presented. The performance of the inverter is greatly affected with the modulation schemes applied. The system is modeled, designed, and implemented in MATLAB^®/Simulink environment. Experimental validation is done for the prototype of single phase, whereas five phase experimental validation is proposed in the future works.

Keywords: Packed U-Cell (PUC) inverter, five-phase system, pulse width modulation (PWM), induction motor (IM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Nilki Upathissa, Torin Wirasinghe

Abstract:

This solution addresses the challenges faced by traditional bookstores and the limitations of digital media, striking a balance between the tactile experience of printed books and the convenience of modern technology. The book exchange system offers a sustainable alternative, empowering users to access a diverse range of books while promoting community engagement. The user-friendly interfaces incorporated into the book exchange system ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for users. Intuitive features for book management, search, and messaging facilitate effortless exchanges and interactions between users. By streamlining the process, the system encourages readers to explore new books aligned with their interests, enhancing the overall reading experience. Central to the system's success is the hybrid recommendation engine, which leverages advanced technologies such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models. By analyzing user input, the engine accurately predicts genre preferences, enabling personalized book recommendations. The hybrid approach integrates multiple technologies, including user interfaces, machine learning models, and recommendation algorithms, to ensure the accuracy and diversity of the recommendations. The evaluation of the book exchange system with the hybrid recommendation engine demonstrated exceptional performance across key metrics. The high accuracy score of 0.97 highlights the system's ability to provide relevant recommendations, enhancing users' chances of discovering books that resonate with their interests. The commendable precision, recall, and F1score scores further validate the system's efficacy in offering appropriate book suggestions. Additionally, the curve classifications substantiate the system's effectiveness in distinguishing positive and negative recommendations. This metric provides confidence in the system's ability to navigate the vast landscape of book choices and deliver recommendations that align with users' preferences. Furthermore, the implementation of this book exchange system with a hybrid recommendation engine has the potential to revolutionize the way readers interact with printed books. By facilitating book exchanges and providing personalized recommendations, the system encourages a sense of community and exploration within the reading community. Moreover, the emphasis on sustainability aligns with the growing global consciousness towards eco-friendly practices. With its robust technical approach and promising evaluation results, this solution paves the way for a more inclusive, accessible, and enjoyable reading experience for book lovers worldwide. In conclusion, the developed book exchange system with a hybrid recommendation engine represents a progressive solution to the challenges faced by traditional bookstores and the limitations of digital media. By promoting sustainability, widening access to printed books, and fostering engagement with reading, this system addresses the evolving needs of book enthusiasts. The integration of user-friendly interfaces, advanced machine learning models, and recommendation algorithms ensure accurate and diverse book recommendations, enriching the reading experience for users.

Keywords: recommendation systems, hybrid recommendation systems, machine learning, data science, long short-term memory, recurrent neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 72