Search results for: quick cloth cleaning
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 833

Search results for: quick cloth cleaning

773 A Practical Approach Towards Disinfection Challenges in Sterile Manufacturing Area

Authors: Doris Lacej, Eni Bushi

Abstract:

Cleaning and disinfection procedures are essential for maintaining the cleanliness status of the pharmaceutical manufacturing environment particularly of the cleanrooms and sterile unit area. The Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Annex 1 recommendation highly requires the implementation of the standard and validated cleaning and disinfection protocols. However, environmental monitoring has shown that even a validated cleaning method with certified agents may result in the presence of atypical microorganisms’ colony that exceeds GMP limits for a specific cleanroom area. In response to this issue, this case study aims to arrive at the root cause of the microbial contamination observed in the sterile production environment in Profarma pharmaceutical industry in Albania through applying a problem-solving practical approach that ensures the appropriate sterility grade. The guidelines and literature emphasize the importance of several factors in the prevention of possible microbial contamination occurring in cleanrooms, grade A and C. These factors are integrated into a practical framework, to identify the root cause of the presence of Aspergillus Niger colony in the sterile production environment in Profarma pharmaceutical industry in Albania. In addition, the application of a semi-automatic disinfecting system such as H2O2 FOG into sterile grade A and grade C cleanrooms has been an effective solution in eliminating the atypical colony of Aspergillus Niger. Selecting the appropriate detergents and disinfectants at the right concentration, frequency, and combination; the presence of updated and standardized guidelines for cleaning and disinfection as well as continuous training of operators on these practices in accordance with the updated GMP guidelines are some of the identified factors that influence the success of achieving sterility grade. However, to ensure environmental sustainability it is important to be prepared for identifying the source of contamination and making the appropriate decision. The proposed case-based practical approach may help pharmaceutical companies to achieve sterile production and cleanliness environmental sustainability in challenging situations. Apart from the integration of valid agents and standardized cleaning and disinfection protocols according to GMP Annex 1, pharmaceutical companies must be careful and investigate the source and all the steps that can influence the results of an abnormal situation. Subsequently apart from identifying the root cause it is important to solve the problem with a successful alternative approach.

Keywords: cleanrooms, disinfectants, environmental monitoring, GMP Annex 1

Procedia PDF Downloads 184
772 Theoretical Analysis of the Existing Sheet Thickness in the Calendering of Pseudoplastic Material

Authors: Muhammad Zahid

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The mechanical process of smoothing and compressing a molten material by passing it through a number of pairs of heated rolls in order to produce a sheet of desired thickness is called calendering. The rolls that are in combination are called calenders, a term derived from kylindros the Greek word for the cylinder. It infects the finishing process used on cloth, paper, textiles, leather cloth, or plastic film and so on. It is a mechanism which is used to strengthen surface properties, minimize sheet thickness, and yield special effects such as a glaze or polish. It has a wide variety of applications in industries in the manufacturing of textile fabrics, coated fabrics, and plastic sheeting to provide the desired surface finish and texture. An analysis has been presented for the calendering of Pseudoplastic material. The lubrication approximation theory (LAT) has been used to simplify the equations of motion. For the investigation of the nature of the steady solutions that exist, we make use of the combination of exact solution and numerical methods. The expressions for the velocity profile, rate of volumetric flow and pressure gradient are found in the form of exact solutions. Furthermore, the quantities of interest by engineering point of view, such as pressure distribution, roll-separating force, and power transmitted to the fluid by the rolls are also computed. Some results are shown graphically while others are given in the tabulated form. It is found that the non-Newtonian parameter and Reynolds number serve as the controlling parameters for the calendering process.

Keywords: calendering, exact solutions, lubrication approximation theory, numerical solutions, pseudoplastic material

Procedia PDF Downloads 114
771 Giant Achievements in Food Processing

Authors: Farnaz Amidi Fazli

Abstract:

After long period of human experience about food processing from raw eating to canning of food in the last century now it is time to use novel technologies which are sometimes completely different from common technologies. It is possible to decontaminate food without using heat or the foods are stored without using cold chain. Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing is a non-thermal method of food preservation that uses short bursts of electricity, PEF can be used for processing liquid and semi-liquid food products. PEF processing offers high quality fresh-like liquid foods with excellent flavor, nutritional value, and shelf-life. High pressure processing (HPP) technology has the potential to fulfill both consumer and scientific requirements. The use of HPP for over 50 years has found applications in non-food industries. For food applications, ‘high pressure’ can be generally considered to be up to 600 MPa for most food products. After years, freezing has its high potential to food preservation due to new and quick freezing methods. Foods which are prepared by this technology have more acceptability and high quality comparing with old fashion slow freezing. Thus, quick freezing has further been adopted as a widespread commercial method for long-term preservation of perishable foods which improved both the health and convenience of everyone in the industrialised countries. Above parameters are achieved by Fluidised-bed freezing systems, freezing by immersion and Hydrofluidisation on the other hand new thawing methods like high-pressure, microwave, ohmic, and acoustic thawing have a key role in quality and adaptability of final product.

Keywords: quick freezing, thawing, high pressure, pulse electric, hydrofluidisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 294
770 Polymer Nanocoatings With Enhanced Self-Cleaning and Icephobic Properties

Authors: Bartlomiej Przybyszewski, Rafal Kozera, Katarzyna Zolynska, Anna Boczkowska, Daria Pakula

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The build-up and accumulation of dirt, ice, and snow on structural elements and vehicles is an unfavorable phenomenon, leading to economic losses and often also posing a threat to people. This problem occurs wherever the use of polymer coatings has become a standard, among others in photovoltaic farms, aviation, wind energy, and civil engineering. The accumulated pollution on the photovoltaic modules can reduce their efficiency by several percent, and snow stops power production. Accumulated ice on the blades of wind turbines or the wings of airplanes and drones disrupts the airflow by changing their shape, leading to increased drag and reduced efficiency. This results in costly maintenance and repairs. The goal of the work is to reduce or completely eliminate the accumulation of dirt, snow, and ice build-up on polymer coatings by achieving self-cleaning and icephobic properties. It is done by the use of a multi-step surface modification of the polymer nanocoatings. For this purpose, two methods of surface structuring and the preceding volumetric modification of the chemical composition with proprietary organosilicon compounds and/or mineral additives were used. To characterize the surface topography of the modified coatings, light profilometry was utilized. Measurements of the wettability parameters (static contact angle and contact angle hysteresis) on the investigated surfaces allowed to identify their wetting behavior and determine relation between hydrophobic and anti-icing properties. Ice adhesion strength was measured to assess coatings' anti-icing behavior.

Keywords: anti-icing properties, self-cleaning, polymer coatings, icephobic coatings

Procedia PDF Downloads 81
769 Structural Analysis of Hydro-Turbine Spiral Casing and Stay Ring Using Ansys

Authors: Surjit Angra, Pooja Rani, Vinod Kumar

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In hydro power plant spiral casing and Stay ring is meant to guide the water flow to guide vane and runner. Spiral casing and Stay ring is subjected to static i.e. pressure load as well as fluctuating load acting on the structure due to water hammer effect in water conductor system. Finite element method has been used to calculate stresses on spiral casing and stay ring. These calculations were done for the maximum possible loading under operating condition "LC1 Quick Shut Down”. The design load is reached for the spiral casing and stay ring during the emergency closure of the guide apparatus "LC1 Quick Shut Down”. During this operation the forces from the head cover to the stay ring also reach their maximum.

Keywords: hydro-turbine, spiral casing, stay ring, structural analysis

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768 Icephobic and Hydrophobic Behaviour of Laser Patterned Transparent Coatings

Authors: Bartłomiej Przybyszewski, Rafał Kozera, Anna Boczkowska, Maciej Traczyk, Paulina Kozera, Malwina Liszewska, Daria Pakuła

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The goal of the work was to reduce or completely eliminate the accumulation of dirt, snow and ice build-up on transparent coatings by achieving self-cleaning and icephobic properties. The research involved the use of laser surface texturing technology for chemically modified coatings of the epoxy materials group and their hybrids used to protect glass surfaces. For this purpose, two methods of surface structuring and the preceding volumetric modification of the chemical composition with proprietary organosilicon compounds and/or mineral additives were used. An attractive approach to the topic was the development of efficient and, most importantly, durable coatings with self-cleaning and ice-phobic properties that reduced or avoided dirt build-up and adhesion of water, snow and ice. With a view to the future industrial application of the developed technologies, all methods meet the requirements in terms of their practical use on a large scale.

Keywords: icephobic coatings, hydrophobic coatings, transparent coatings, laser patterning

Procedia PDF Downloads 78
767 Womens’ Atti̇tudes and Behavi̇ors towards Breastfeedi̇ng in Publi̇c

Authors: Irem Ozten, Neri̇man Caglayan Keles

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Aim: Breastfeeding is a special process for a mother and her baby, and it is the first feeding option for a baby. However, not every society approves of breastfeeding in public to the same degree. The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes and behaviors of women living in Türkiye toward breastfeeding in public. Materials and methods: This descriptive study was carried out in December 2023 with 515 women (N=515) who had babies aged 0-5 years and breastfed their babies. Based on the review of the literature, an online (Google Forms) data collection form consisting of 40 questions was created. While 13 of these questions were about sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics, 27 were about breastfeeding in public. It took each participant 5-7 minutes to respond to the data collection form by marking their choices on the form. The responses of the participants were analyzed using the R Core Team statistics program. Results: The mean age of the participants (N=515) was 30.6±4.07 (range: 20-44). According to their statements, 76.1% of the participants had undergraduate university degrees, and 77.1% of them had given vaginal birth in their last delivery. While 68.3% of the participants stated that they had heard about the concept of breastfeeding in public, 47.4% said they comfortably breastfed their babies in public, but 33.6% said they breastfed their babies for a shorter period than usual. It was determined that 40% of the participants were embarrassed about being seen by someone while breastfeeding their babies in public, 38.6% were afraid of men while breastfeeding, and 89.7% looked for a suitable place to breastfeed their babies. Among the participants, 93.6% stated that they covered their breasts with a cloth while breastfeeding, 49.5% thought a mother should breastfeed her baby in a place where she can be alone with her baby, and 29.1% thought a mother should breastfeed her baby in private. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, although most women had heard of the concept of breastfeeding in public, and some were comfortable breastfeeding in public, some breastfed their baby in public for a shorter period than usual, they covered their breasts with a cloth while breastfeeding their babies, they were embarrassed about being seen by someone while breastfeeding, and they were afraid of men while breastfeeding. Therefore, awareness should be raised about breastfeeding in public, and environments where mothers can conveniently breastfeed their babies should be created.

Keywords: breastfeeding in public, breastfeeding, breastfeeding attitudes, breastfeeding bahaviors

Procedia PDF Downloads 63
766 E-Government Development in Nigeria, 'Bank Verification No': An Anti-Corruption Tool

Authors: Ernest C. Nwadinobi, Amanda Peart, Carl Adams

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The leading countries like the USA, UK and some of the European countries have moved their focus away from just developing the e-government platform towards just the electronic services which aim at providing access to information to its citizens or customers, but they have gone to make significant backroom changes that can accommodate this electronic service being provided to its customers or citizens. E-government has moved from just providing electronic information to citizens and customers alike to serving their needs. In developing countries like Nigeria, the enablement of e-government is being used as an anti-corruption tool. The introduction of the Bank verification number (BVN) scheme by the Central Bank of Nigeria, has helped the government in not just saving money but also protecting customer’s transaction and enhancing confidence in the banking sector. This has helped curtail the high rate of cyber and financial crime that has been part of the system. The use of BVN as an anti-corruption tool in Nigeria came at a time there was need for openness, accountability, and discipline, after years of robbing the treasury and recklessness in handling finances. As there has not been a defined method for measuring the strength or success of e-government development, in this case BVN, in Nigeria, progress will remain at the same level. The implementation strategy of the BVN in Nigeria has mostly been a quick fix, quick win solution. In fact, there is little or no indication to show evidence of a framework for e-government. Like other leading countries, there is the need for proper implementation of strategy and framework especially towards a customer orientated process, which will accommodate every administrative body of the government institution including private business rather than focusing on a non-flexible organisational structure. The development of e-government must have a strategy and framework for it to work, and this strategy must enclose every public administration and will not be limited to any individual bodies or organization. A defined framework or monitoring method must be put in place to help evaluate and benchmark government development in e-government. This framework must follow the same concept or principles. In censorious analyses of the existing methods, this paper will denote areas that must be included in the existing approach to be able to channel e-government development towards its defined strategic objectives.

Keywords: Bank Verification No (BVN), quick-fix, anti-corruption, quick-win

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765 Antibacterial and Antioxidant Capacity of Fabric Treated with Purple-Fleshed Sweet Potato Extract

Authors: Kyung Hwa Hong, Eunmi Koh

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Wool and cotton fabrics are pretreated by a tannic acid aqueous solution to increase their dyeability and then dyed by Purple-Fleshed Sweet Potato (PSP) extract. The dyed fabrics are then investigated by various analysis techniques. The results revealed that wool and cotton fabrics can be dyed bluish red through the pretreatment and dyeing process. Both wool and cotton fabrics only pretreated with tannic acid display decreased L* value but no significant changes in a* and b* values as the concentration of tannic acid increases. And, as expected, the pretreated fabrics are even darker and show a richer purple color after the dyeing process with the PSP extract. With regard to the colorfastness of wool and cotton fabrics dyed by PSP extract in cleaning circumstances, such as dry-cleaning (for wool) and washing (for cotton), the wool and cotton fabrics had a 4.0 and 4.0 grade of colorfastness to dry-cleaning and washing, respectively. However, they both exhibited significantly inferior colorfastness to light (grade of 1.5). Thus, it was found that there is still a need for improvement with regard to color fastness, particularly against light. On the other hand, the wool and cotton fabrics also showed antibacterial and antioxidant characteristics. In addition, both the wool and cotton fabrics showed potential antibacterial ability (>99%) against Staphylococcus aureus; however, they showed somewhat insufficient antibacterial ability (60.8% for wool and 94.8% for cotton) against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Also, their antioxidant abilities increased up to ca. 90% with an increase in the tannic acid concentration (up to 0.5%). However, after the dyeing process, the antibacterial and antioxidant ability tended to decrease. This is assumed to have occurred because functional moieties such as phenolic acids were detached from the pretreated fabrics into the hot water (the dyeing solution) during the dyeing process. Therefore, further study would be necessary to derive the optimum treatment and dyeing conditions so as to maximize the coloring effect and functionalities of the fabrics.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, purple-fleshed sweet potato, fabrics

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764 Superhydrophobic Behavior of SnO₂-TiO₂ Composite Thin Films

Authors: Debarun Dhar Purkayastha, Talinungsang

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SnO₂-TiO₂ nanocomposite thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method on borosilicate glass substrate. The films were annealed at a temperature of 300ᵒC, 400ᵒC, and 500ᵒC respectively for 2h in the air. The films obtained were further modified with stearic acid in order to decrease the surface energy. The X-ray diffraction patterns for the SnO₂-TiO₂ thin films after annealing at different temperatures can be indexed to the mixture of TiO₂ (rutile and anatase) and SnO₂ (tetragonal) phases. The average crystallite size calculated from Scherrer’s formula is found to be 6 nm. The SnO₂-TiO₂ thin films were hydrophilic which on modification with stearic acid exhibit superhydrophobic behavior. The increase in hydrophobicity of SnO₂ film with stearic acid modification is attributed to the change in surface energy of the film. The films exhibit superhydrophilic behavior under UV irradiation for 1h. Thus, it is observed that stearic acid modified surfaces are superhydrophobic but convert into superhydrophilic on being subjected to UV irradiation. SnO₂-TiO₂ thin films have potential for self-cleaning applications because of photoinduced hydrophilicity under UV irradiation.

Keywords: nanocomposite, self-cleaning, superhydrophobic, surface energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 156
763 The Role of Gender Differences in the Use of National Parks and Forested Areas in Slavonice, Czech Republic Using Quick Response Code

Authors: Chingkheihunba Pebam, Shima Yazdanmehr

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This research project aims to study the role that gender has upon the use of National Parks and forested recreation areas in Slavonice, Czech Republic. Furthermore, this study investigate the role and significance that forested areas have upon the daily lives of local residents. This research proposes to observe the users at twenty distinct locations during twelve weeks study period. The study locations are within close proximity to the historic and recreational destination of Slavonice, situated in the southern part of the Czech Republic. This research aims to monitor the frequency of human presence and their associated movements in various recreation and tourism destinations in a discreet manner without disturbing the ecological elements such as wildlife/flora and fauna using uniquely generated Quick Response Codes (QR) for each twenty locations.

Keywords: national park, gender, czech republic, QR code

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762 Data Quality Enhancement with String Length Distribution

Authors: Qi Xiu, Hiromu Hota, Yohsuke Ishii, Takuya Oda

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Recently, collectable manufacturing data are rapidly increasing. On the other hand, mega recall is getting serious as a social problem. Under such circumstances, there are increasing needs for preventing mega recalls by defect analysis such as root cause analysis and abnormal detection utilizing manufacturing data. However, the time to classify strings in manufacturing data by traditional method is too long to meet requirement of quick defect analysis. Therefore, we present String Length Distribution Classification method (SLDC) to correctly classify strings in a short time. This method learns character features, especially string length distribution from Product ID, Machine ID in BOM and asset list. By applying the proposal to strings in actual manufacturing data, we verified that the classification time of strings can be reduced by 80%. As a result, it can be estimated that the requirement of quick defect analysis can be fulfilled.

Keywords: string classification, data quality, feature selection, probability distribution, string length

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761 MBR-RO System Operation in Quantitative and Qualitative Promotion of Waste Water Cleaning: Case Study of Shokohieyh Qoms’ Waste Water Cleaning

Authors: A. A. Hassani, M. Nasri Nasrabadi

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According to population growth and increasing water needs of industrial and agricultural sections and lack of existing water sources, also increases of wastewater and new wastewater treatment plant construction’s high costs, it is inevitable to reuse wastewater with the approach of increasing wastewater treatment capacity and output sewage quality. In this regard, the first sewage reuse plan in industrial uses was designed with the approach of qualitative and quantitative improvement due to the increased organic load of the output sewage of Qom Shokohieh city’s’ in wastewater treatment plant. This research investigated qualitative factors COD, BOD, TSS, TDS, and input and output heavy metal of MBR-RO system and ability of increase wastewater acceptance capacity by existing in wastewater treatment plant. For this purpose, experimental results of seven-month navigation system have been used from 07/01/2013 to 02/01/2014. Existing data analysis showed that MBR system is able to remove 93.2% COD, 94.4% BOD, 13.8% TDS, 98% heavy metals and RO system is able to remove 98.9% TDS. This study showed that MBR-RO integration system is able to increase the capacity of refinery by 30%.

Keywords: industrial wastewater, wastewater reuse, MBR, RO

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760 Influence of Magnetized Water on the Split Tensile Strength of Concrete

Authors: Justine Cyril E. Nunag, Nestor B. Sabado Jr., Jienne Chester M. Tolosa

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Concrete has high compressive strength but a low-tension strength. The small tensile strength of concrete is regarded as its primary weakness, which is why it is typically reinforced with steel, a material that is resistant to tension. Even with steel, however, cracking can occur. In strengthening concrete, only a few researchers have modified the water to be used in a concrete mix. This study aims to compare the split tensile strength of normal structural concrete to concrete prepared with magnetic water and a quick setting admixture. In this context, magnetic water is defined as tap water that has undergone a magnetic process to become magnetized water. To test the hypothesis that magnetized concrete leads to higher split tensile strength, twenty concrete specimens were made. There were five groups, each with five samples, that were differentiated by the number of cycles (0, 50, 100, and 150). The data from the Universal Testing Machine's split tensile strength were then analyzed using various statistical models and tests to determine the significant effect of magnetized water. The result showed a moderate (+0.579) but still significant degree of correlation. The researchers also discovered that using magnetic water for 50 cycles did not result in a significant increase in the concrete's split tensile strength, which influenced the analysis of variance. These results suggest that a concrete mix containing magnetic water and a quick-setting admixture alters the typical split tensile strength of normal concrete. Magnetic water has a significant impact on concrete tensile strength. The hardness property of magnetic water influenced the split tensile strength of concrete. In addition, a higher number of cycles results in a strong water magnetism. The laboratory test results show that a higher cycle translates to a higher tensile strength.

Keywords: hardness property, magnetic water, quick-setting admixture, split tensile strength, universal testing machine

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759 Cleaning of Scientific References in Large Patent Databases Using Rule-Based Scoring and Clustering

Authors: Emiel Caron

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Patent databases contain patent related data, organized in a relational data model, and are used to produce various patent statistics. These databases store raw data about scientific references cited by patents. For example, Patstat holds references to tens of millions of scientific journal publications and conference proceedings. These references might be used to connect patent databases with bibliographic databases, e.g. to study to the relation between science, technology, and innovation in various domains. Problematic in such studies is the low data quality of the references, i.e. they are often ambiguous, unstructured, and incomplete. Moreover, a complete bibliographic reference is stored in only one attribute. Therefore, a computerized cleaning and disambiguation method for large patent databases is developed in this work. The method uses rule-based scoring and clustering. The rules are based on bibliographic metadata, retrieved from the raw data by regular expressions, and are transparent and adaptable. The rules in combination with string similarity measures are used to detect pairs of records that are potential duplicates. Due to the scoring, different rules can be combined, to join scientific references, i.e. the rules reinforce each other. The scores are based on expert knowledge and initial method evaluation. After the scoring, pairs of scientific references that are above a certain threshold, are clustered by means of single-linkage clustering algorithm to form connected components. The method is designed to disambiguate all the scientific references in the Patstat database. The performance evaluation of the clustering method, on a large golden set with highly cited papers, shows on average a 99% precision and a 95% recall. The method is therefore accurate but careful, i.e. it weighs precision over recall. Consequently, separate clusters of high precision are sometimes formed, when there is not enough evidence for connecting scientific references, e.g. in the case of missing year and journal information for a reference. The clusters produced by the method can be used to directly link the Patstat database with bibliographic databases as the Web of Science or Scopus.

Keywords: clustering, data cleaning, data disambiguation, data mining, patent analysis, scientometrics

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758 Automation of Process Waste-Free Air Filtration in Production of Concrete, Reinforced with Basalt Fiber

Authors: Stanislav Perepechko

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Industrial companies - one of the major sources of harmful substances to the atmosphere. The main cause of pollution on the concrete plants are cement dust emissions. All the cement silos, pneumatic transport, and ventilation systems equipped with filters, to avoid this. Today, many Russian companies have to decide on replacement morally and physically outdated filters and guided back to the electrostatic filters as usual equipment. The offered way of a cleaning of waste-free filtering of air differs in the fact that a filtering medium of the filter is used in concrete manufacture. Basalt is widespread and pollution-free material. In the course of cleaning, one part of basalt fiber and cement immediately goes to the mixer through flow-control units of initial basalt fiber and cement. Another part of basalt fiber goes to filters for purification of the air used in systems of an air lift, and ventilating emissions passes through them, and with trapped particles also goes to the mixer through flow-control units of the basalt fiber fulfilled in filters. At the same time, regulators are adjusted in such a way that total supply of basalt fiber and cement into the mixer remains invariable and corresponds to a given technological mode.

Keywords: waste-free air filtration, concrete, basalt fiber, building automation

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757 Quick Sequential Search Algorithm Used to Decode High-Frequency Matrices

Authors: Mohammed M. Siddeq, Mohammed H. Rasheed, Omar M. Salih, Marcos A. Rodrigues

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This research proposes a data encoding and decoding method based on the Matrix Minimization algorithm. This algorithm is applied to high-frequency coefficients for compression/encoding. The algorithm starts by converting every three coefficients to a single value; this is accomplished based on three different keys. The decoding/decompression uses a search method called QSS (Quick Sequential Search) Decoding Algorithm presented in this research based on the sequential search to recover the exact coefficients. In the next step, the decoded data are saved in an auxiliary array. The basic idea behind the auxiliary array is to save all possible decoded coefficients; this is because another algorithm, such as conventional sequential search, could retrieve encoded/compressed data independently from the proposed algorithm. The experimental results showed that our proposed decoding algorithm retrieves original data faster than conventional sequential search algorithms.

Keywords: matrix minimization algorithm, decoding sequential search algorithm, image compression, DCT, DWT

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756 Time and Cost Efficiency Analysis of Quick Die Change System on Metal Stamping Industry

Authors: Rudi Kurniawan Arief

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Manufacturing cost and setup time are the hot topics to improve in Metal Stamping industry because material and components price are always rising up while costumer requires to cut down the component price year by year. The Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is one of many methods to reduce waste in stamping industry. The Japanese Quick Die Change (QDC) dies system is one of SMED systems that could reduce both of setup time and manufacturing cost. However, this system is rarely used in stamping industries. This paper will analyze how deep the QDC dies system could reduce setup time and the manufacturing cost. The research is conducted by direct observation, simulating and comparing of QDC dies system with conventional dies system. In this research, we found that the QDC dies system could save up to 35% of manufacturing cost and reduce 70% of setup times. This simulation proved that the QDC die system is effective for cost reduction but must be applied in several parallel production processes.

Keywords: press die, metal stamping, QDC system, single minute exchange die, manufacturing cost saving, SMED

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755 Practical Software for Optimum Bore Hole Cleaning Using Drilling Hydraulics Techniques

Authors: Abdulaziz F. Ettir, Ghait Bashir, Tarek S. Duzan

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A proper well planning is very vital to achieve any successful drilling program on the basis of preventing, overcome all drilling problems and minimize cost operations. Since the hydraulic system plays an active role during the drilling operations, that will lead to accelerate the drilling effort and lower the overall well cost. Likewise, an improperly designed hydraulic system can slow drill rate, fail to clean the hole of cuttings, and cause kicks. In most cases, common sense and commercially available computer programs are the only elements required to design the hydraulic system. Drilling optimization is the logical process of analyzing effects and interactions of drilling variables through applied drilling and hydraulic equations and mathematical modeling to achieve maximum drilling efficiency with minimize drilling cost. In this paper, practical software adopted in this paper to define drilling optimization models including four different optimum keys, namely Opti-flow, Opti-clean, Opti-slip and Opti-nozzle that can help to achieve high drilling efficiency with lower cost. The used data in this research from vertical and horizontal wells were recently drilled in Waha Oil Company fields. The input data are: Formation type, Geopressures, Hole Geometry, Bottom hole assembly and Mud reghology. Upon data analysis, all the results from wells show that the proposed program provides a high accuracy than that proposed from the company in terms of hole cleaning efficiency, and cost break down if we consider that the actual data as a reference base for all wells. Finally, it is recommended to use the established Optimization calculations software at drilling design to achieve correct drilling parameters that can provide high drilling efficiency, borehole cleaning and all other hydraulic parameters which assist to minimize hole problems and control drilling operation costs.

Keywords: optimum keys, namely opti-flow, opti-clean, opti-slip and opti-nozzle

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754 Design and Implementation of an Efficient Solar-Powered Pumping System

Authors: Mennatallah M. Fouad, Omar Hussein, Lamia A. Shihata

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The main problem in many rural areas is the absence of electricity and limited access to water. The novelty of this work lies in implementing a small-scale experimental setup for a solar-powered water pumping system with a battery back-up system. Cooling and cleaning of the PV panel are implemented to enhance its overall efficiency and output. Moreover, a simulation for a large scale solar-powered pumping system is performed using PVSyst software. Results of the experimental setup show that the PV system with a battery backup proved to be a feasible and viable system to operate the water pumping system. Excess water from the pumping system is used to cool and clean the PV panel and achieved an average percentage increase in the PV output by 21.8%. Simulation results have shown that the system provides adequate output to power the solar-powered system and saves 0.3 tons of CO₂ compared to conventional fossil fuels. It is recommended for hot countries to adopt this system, which would help in decreasing the dependence on the depleting fossil fuels, provide access to electricity to areas where there is no electricity supply and also provide a source of water for crop growth as well as decrease the carbon emissions.

Keywords: efficient solar pumping, PV cleaning, PV cooling, PV-operated water pump

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753 Parametric Study of a Washing Machine to Develop an Energy Efficient Program Regarding the Enhanced Washing Efficiency Index and Micro Organism Removal Performance

Authors: Peli̇n Yilmaz, Gi̇zemnur Yildiz Uysal, Emi̇ne Bi̇rci̇, Berk Özcan, Burak Koca, Ehsan Tuzcuoğlu, Fati̇h Kasap

Abstract:

Development of Energy Efficient Programs (EEP) is one of the most significant trends in the wet appliance industry of the recent years. Thanks to the EEP, the energy consumption of a washing machine as one of the most energy-consuming home appliances can shrink considerably, while its washing performance and the textile hygiene should remain almost unchanged. Here in, the goal of the present study is to achieve an optimum EEP algorithm providing excellent textile hygiene results as well as cleaning performance in a domestic washing machine. In this regard, steam-pretreated cold wash approach with a combination of innovative algorithm solution in a relatively short washing cycle duration was implemented. For the parametric study, steam exposure time, washing load, total water consumption, main-washing time, and spinning rpm as the significant parameters affecting the textile hygiene and cleaning performance were investigated within a Design of Experiment study using Minitab 2021 statistical program. For the textile hygiene studies, specific loads containing the contaminated cotton carriers with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria were washed. Then, the microbial removal performance of the designed programs was expressed as log reduction calculated as a difference of microbial count per ml of the liquids in which the cotton carriers before and after washing. For the cleaning performance studies, tests were carried out with various types of detergents and EMPA Standard Stain Strip. According to the results, the optimum EEP program provided an excellent hygiene performance of more than 2 log reduction of microorganism and a perfect Washing Efficiency Index (Iw) of 1.035, which is greater than the value specified by EU ecodesign regulation 2019/2023.

Keywords: washing machine, energy efficient programs, hygiene, washing efficiency index, microorganism, escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa, laundry

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752 Quasi-Static Resistance Function Quantification for Lightweight Sandwich Panels: Experimental Study

Authors: Yasser A. Khalifa, Michael J. Tait, A. M. Asce, Wael W. El-Dakhakhni, M. Asce

Abstract:

The quasi-static resistance functions for orthogonal corrugated core sandwich panels were determined experimentally. According to the American and Canadian codes for blast resistant designs of buildings UFC 3-340-02, ASCE/SEI 59-11, and CSA/ S850-12 the dynamic behavior is related to the static behavior under uniform loading. The target was to design a lightweight, relatively cheap, and quick sandwich panel to be employed as a sacrificial cladding for important buildings. For that an available corrugated cold formed steel sheet profile in North America was used as a core for the sandwich panel, in addition to using a quick, relatively low cost fabrication technique in the construction process. Six orthogonal corrugated core sandwich panels were tested and the influence of core sheet gauge on the behavior of the sandwich panels was explored using two different gauges. Failure modes, yield forces, ultimate forces, and corresponding deformations were determined and discussed.

Keywords: cold formed steel, lightweight structure, sandwich panel, sacrificial cladding, uniform loading

Procedia PDF Downloads 465
751 Website Appeal’s Impact on Brand Outcomes: The Mediated Effect of Emotional Attractiveness in the Relationship between Consistent Image and Brand Value

Authors: Salvador Treviño-Martinez, Christian Reich-Lopez

Abstract:

This paper investigates the relationship between website appeal and brand value outcomes (brand attraction, brand loyalty, brand relationship, and brand experience), considering the mediating effect of emotional attractiveness. Data were collected from 221 customers of a quick-service restaurant in Culiacan, Mexico, using an online survey distributed via WhatsApp, following the clients' navigation of the restaurant's website. The study employed PLS-SEM to test the proposed hypotheses and performed 5,000 bootstrapping subsamples to obtain results. The findings indicate that consistent image, a key component of website appeal, has a statistically significant direct and mediated effect (through emotional attractiveness) on the aforementioned brand outcomes. The study's limitations include the convenience sampling method and the single company client database used for the sample composition. This research contributes to the branding and website quality literature by testing nine hypotheses using the Stimuli-Organism-Response theoretical approach in an underexplored context: quick-service restaurants in Latin America.

Keywords: website appeal, branding, emotional attractiveness, consistent image, website quality

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750 Italian Emigration to Germany as Represented in the Films Francesco Rosi and Toni Trupia

Authors: Patrizia Palumbo

Abstract:

There are only two Italian films dealing with the Italian emigration to Germany: I magliari directed by Francesco Rosi and Itaker. Vietato agli italiani directed by Toni Trupia. Consequently, the analysis of these two films is essential to any study of the representation of the Italians’ experience in Germany, their hosting country. Francesco Rosi’s I magliari and Toni Trupia’s Itaker. Vietato agli italiani, released respectively in 1959 and in 2012, are both set in the second half of the twentieth century and deal with door to door Italian cloth sellers in German cities, con artists marketing rags as fine fabric to exclusively German customers. However, the perspective of the directors and screenwriters are, if not antithetical, profoundly different. Indeed, from 1959 to 2012, years in which the two films were released, Italy went from being a country of emigration to a country of both immigration (albeit now temporary) and emigration. The paper entitled ‘Representation of the Italian Emigration to Germany in the Films of Francesco Rosi and Toni Trupia’ will analyze, therefore, the two substantially different historical contingencies in which the two movies were produced and cast light on how the same historical reality, that of Italian cloth sellers in German cities, is portrayed by Rosi and Trupia’s films. In particular, it will show how in both films the female character is the site on which power (or the lack of it) is contested. More precisely, it will highlight how the German blond woman in Rosi’s film and the dark haired Albanian woman in Trupia’s film are a reflection of the changes Italy underwent in the last fifty years. Finally, this paper will comment on why Italian emigration to Germany has been overlooked by Italian scholars. Although these scholars are all familiar with many of the films directed by Francesco Rosi, one of the auteurs of Italian cinema, no real critical study of I magliari exists. Rosi’s film, it can be argued, may have aroused the uneasiness engendered by all works dealing with facts evoking shameful and humiliating times. The same is true for Trupia’s film. Even though his Itaker. Vietato agli italiani is set in the sixties, it cannot prescind from the reality of contemporary Italian emigration to Germany and Italy’s economic and political crisis. Bringing attention to Rosi and Trupia’s film seems to be a valid way to rekindle the interest in Italian emigration to Germany, a phenomenon that has contributed to the economic, social and cultural history of both Italy and Germany.

Keywords: film, Germany, history, Italian emigration

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749 A Quick Prediction for Shear Behaviour of RC Membrane Elements by Fixed-Angle Softened Truss Model with Tension-Stiffening

Authors: X. Wang, J. S. Kuang

Abstract:

The Fixed-angle Softened Truss Model with Tension-stiffening (FASTMT) has a superior performance in predicting the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) membrane elements, especially for the post-cracking behaviour. Nevertheless, massive computational work is inevitable due to the multiple transcendental equations involved in the stress-strain relationship. In this paper, an iterative root-finding technique is introduced to FASTMT for solving quickly the transcendental equations of the tension-stiffening effect of RC membrane elements. This fast FASTMT, which performs in MATLAB, uses the bisection method to calculate the tensile stress of the membranes. By adopting the simplification, the elapsed time of each loop is reduced significantly and the transcendental equations can be solved accurately. Owing to the high efficiency and good accuracy as compared with FASTMT, the fast FASTMT can be further applied in quick prediction of shear behaviour of complex large-scale RC structures.

Keywords: bisection method, FASTMT, iterative root-finding technique, reinforced concrete membrane

Procedia PDF Downloads 246
748 Thermal End Effect on the Isotachophoretic Separation of Analytes

Authors: Partha P. Gopmandal, S. Bhattacharyya

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We investigate the thermal end effect on the pseudo-steady state behavior of the isotachophoretic transport of ionic species in a 2-D microchannel. Both ends of the channel are kept at a constant temperature which may lead to significant changes in electrophoretic migration speed. A mathematical model based on Nernst-Planck equations for transport of ions coupled with the equation for temperature field is considered. In addition, the charge conservation equations govern the potential field due to the external electric field. We have computed the equations for ion transport, potential and temperature in a coupled manner through the finite volume method. The diffusive terms are discretized via central difference scheme, while QUICK (Quadratic Upwind Interpolation Convection Kinematics) scheme is used to discretize the convective terms. We find that the thermal end effect has significant effect on the isotachophoretic (ITP) migration speed of the analyte. Our result shows that the ITP velocity for temperature dependent case no longer varies linearly with the applied electric field. A detailed analysis has been made to provide a range of the key parameters to minimize the Joule heating effect on ITP transport of analytes.

Keywords: finite volume method, isotachophoresis, QUICK scheme, thermal effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 247
747 Comparison of Microbiological Assessment of Non-adhesive Use and the Use of Adhesive on Complete Dentures

Authors: Hyvee Gean Cabuso, Arvin Taruc, Danielle Villanueva, Channela Anais Hipolito, Jia Bianca Alfonso

Abstract:

Introduction: Denture adhesive aids to provide additional retention, support and comfort for patients with loose dentures, as well as for patients who seek to achieve optimal denture adhesion. But due to its growing popularity, arising oral health issues should be considered, including its possible impact that may alter the microbiological condition of the denture. Changes as such may further resolve to denture-related oral diseases that can affect the day-to-day lives of patients. Purpose: The study aims to assess and compare the microbiological status of dentures without adhesives versus dentures when adhesives were applied. The study also intends to identify the presence of specific microorganisms, their colony concentration and their possible effects on the oral microflora. This study also aims to educate subjects by introducing an alternative denture cleaning method as well as denture and oral health care. Methodology: Edentulous subjects age 50-80 years old, both physically and medically fit, were selected to participate. Before obtaining samples for the study, the alternative cleaning method was introduced by demonstrating a step-by-step cleaning process. Samples were obtained by swabbing the intaglio surface of their upper and lower prosthesis. These swabs were placed in a thioglycollate broth, which served as a transport and enrichment medium. The swabs were then processed through bacterial culture. The colony-forming units (CFUs) were calculated on MacConkey Agar Plate (MAP) and Blood Agar Plate (BAP) in order to identify and assess the microbiological status, including species identification and microbial counting. Result: Upon evaluation and analysis of collected data, the microbiological assessment of the upper dentures with adhesives showed little to no difference compared to dentures without adhesives, but for the lower dentures, (P=0.005), which is less than α = 0.05; therefore, the researchers reject (Ho) and that there is a significant difference between the mean ranks of the lower denture without adhesive to those with, implying that there is a significant decrease in the bacterial count. Conclusion: These results findings may implicate the possibility that the addition of denture adhesives may contribute to the significant decrease of microbial colonization on the dentures.

Keywords: denture, denture adhesive, denture-related, microbiological assessment

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746 Attribute Analysis of Quick Response Code Payment Users Using Discriminant Non-negative Matrix Factorization

Authors: Hironori Karachi, Haruka Yamashita

Abstract:

Recently, the system of quick response (QR) code is getting popular. Many companies introduce new QR code payment services and the services are competing with each other to increase the number of users. For increasing the number of users, we should grasp the difference of feature of the demographic information, usage information, and value of users between services. In this study, we conduct an analysis of real-world data provided by Nomura Research Institute including the demographic data of users and information of users’ usages of two services; LINE Pay, and PayPay. For analyzing such data and interpret the feature of them, Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is widely used; however, in case of the target data, there is a problem of the missing data. EM-algorithm NMF (EMNMF) to complete unknown values for understanding the feature of the given data presented by matrix shape. Moreover, for comparing the result of the NMF analysis of two matrices, there is Discriminant NMF (DNMF) shows the difference of users features between two matrices. In this study, we combine EMNMF and DNMF and also analyze the target data. As the interpretation, we show the difference of the features of users between LINE Pay and Paypay.

Keywords: data science, non-negative matrix factorization, missing data, quality of services

Procedia PDF Downloads 97
745 Deep Feature Augmentation with Generative Adversarial Networks for Class Imbalance Learning in Medical Images

Authors: Rongbo Shen, Jianhua Yao, Kezhou Yan, Kuan Tian, Cheng Jiang, Ke Zhou

Abstract:

This study proposes a generative adversarial networks (GAN) framework to perform synthetic sampling in feature space, i.e., feature augmentation, to address the class imbalance problem in medical image analysis. A feature extraction network is first trained to convert images into feature space. Then the GAN framework incorporates adversarial learning to train a feature generator for the minority class through playing a minimax game with a discriminator. The feature generator then generates features for minority class from arbitrary latent distributions to balance the data between the majority class and the minority class. Additionally, a data cleaning technique, i.e., Tomek link, is employed to clean up undesirable conflicting features introduced from the feature augmentation and thus establish well-defined class clusters for the training. The experiment section evaluates the proposed method on two medical image analysis tasks, i.e., mass classification on mammogram and cancer metastasis classification on histopathological images. Experimental results suggest that the proposed method obtains superior or comparable performance over the state-of-the-art counterparts. Compared to all counterparts, our proposed method improves more than 1.5 percentage of accuracy.

Keywords: class imbalance, synthetic sampling, feature augmentation, generative adversarial networks, data cleaning

Procedia PDF Downloads 102
744 RF Plasma Discharge Equipment for Conservation Treatments of Paper Supports

Authors: Emil Ghiocel Ioanid, Viorica Frunză, Dorina Rusu, Ana Maria Vlad, Catalin Tanase, Simona Dunca

Abstract:

The application of cold radio-frequency (RF) plasma in the conservation of cultural heritage became important in the last decades due to the positive results obtained in decontamination treatments. This paper presents an equipment especially designed for RF cold plasma application on paper documents, developed within a research project. The equipment allows the application of decontamination and cleaning treatments on any type of paper support, as well as the coating with a protective polymer. The equipment consists in a Pyrex vessel, inside which are placed two plane-parallel electrodes, capacitively coupled to a radio-frequency generator. The operating parameters of the equipment are: 1.2 MHz frequency, 50V/cm electric field intensity, current intensity in the discharge 100 mA, 40 W power in the discharge, the pressure varying from 5∙10-1 mbar to 5.5∙10-1 mbar, depending on the fragility of the material, operating in gaseous nitrogen. In order to optimize the equipment treatments in nitrogen plasma have been performed on samples infested with microorganisms, then the decontamination and the changes in surface properties (color, pH) were assessed. The analyses results presented in the table revealed only minor modifications of surface pH the colorimetric analysis showing a slight change to yellow. The equipment offers the possibility of performing decontamination, cleaning and protective coating of paper-based documents in successive stages, thus avoiding the recontamination with harmful biological agents.

Keywords: nitrogen plasma, cultural heritage, paper support, radio-frequency

Procedia PDF Downloads 499