Search results for: Statistical quality control
4198 Effects of Molybdenum Treatments on Maize and Sunflower Seedlings
Authors: E. Bodi, Sz. Veres, F. Garousi, Sz. Varallyay, B. Kovacs
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The aim of the present study was to examine whether increasing molybdenum (Mo) concentration affects the growth and Mo concentration of maize (Zea mays L. cv Norma SC) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv Arena PR) seedlings within laboratory conditions. In this experiment, calcareous chernozem soil was used and Mo was supplemented into the soil as ammonium molybdate [(NH4)6Mo7O24.4H2O] in four different concentrations as follow: 0 (control), 30, 90 and 270 mg·kg-1. In this study, we found that molybdenum in small amount (30 mg·kg-1) affects positively on growth of maize and sunflower seedlings, however, higher concentration of Mo reduces the dry weights of shoots and roots. In the case of maize the highest Mo treatment (270 mg·kg-1) and in sunflower 90 mg·kg-1 treatment caused significant reduction in plant growth. In addition, we observed that molybdenum contents in the roots and shoots were very low in case of control soil but were significantly elevated with increasing concentration of Mo treatment. Only in case of sunflower the highest 270 mg·kg-1 Mo treatment caused decrease in Mo concentration.
Keywords: Dry weight, maize, molybdenum, sunflower.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28034197 Gait Recognition System: Bundle Rectangle Approach
Authors: Edward Guillen, Daniel Padilla, Adriana Hernandez, Kenneth Barner
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Biometrics methods include recognition techniques such as fingerprint, iris, hand geometry, voice, face, ears and gait. The gait recognition approach has some advantages, for example it does not need the prior concern of the observed subject and it can record many biometric features in order to make deeper analysis, but most of the research proposals use high computational cost. This paper shows a gait recognition system with feature subtraction on a bundle rectangle drawn over the observed person. Statistical results within a database of 500 videos are shown.Keywords: Autentication, Biometrics, Gait Recognition, Human Identification, Security.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18774196 Grid Artifacts Suppression in Computed Radiographic Images
Authors: Igor Belykh
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Anti-scatter grids used in radiographic imaging for the contrast enhancement leave specific artifacts. Those artifacts may be visible or may cause Moiré effect when digital image is resized on a diagnostic monitor. In this paper we propose an automated grid artifactsdetection and suppression algorithm which is still an actual problem. Grid artifacts detection is based on statistical approach in spatial domain. Grid artifacts suppression is based on Kaiser bandstop filter transfer function design and application avoiding ringing artifacts. Experimental results are discussed and concluded with description of advantages over existing approaches.
Keywords: Computed radiography, grid artifacts, image filtering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42924195 Suitable Die Shaping for a Rectangular Shape Bottle by Application of FEM and AI Technique
Authors: N. Ploysook, R. Rugsaj, C. Suvanjumrat
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The characteristic requirement for producing rectangular shape bottles was a uniform thickness of the plastic bottle wall. Die shaping was a good technique which controlled the wall thickness of bottles. An advance technology which was the finite element method (FEM) for blowing parison to be a rectangular shape bottle was conducted to reduce waste plastic from a trial and error method of a die shaping and parison control method. The artificial intelligent (AI) comprised of artificial neural network and genetic algorithm was selected to optimize the die gap shape from the FEM results. The application of AI technique could optimize the suitable die gap shape for the parison blow molding which did not depend on the parison control method to produce rectangular bottles with the uniform wall. Particularly, this application can be used with cheap blow molding machines without a parison controller therefore it will reduce cost of production in the bottle blow molding process.
Keywords: AI, bottle, die shaping, FEM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26214194 Assessment of the Benefits of Renewable Energy to the Azerbaijan Ecosystem
Authors: N. S. Imamverdiyev
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The transition to renewable energy sources has become a critical component of global efforts to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable development. However, the deployment of renewable energy technologies can also have significant impacts on ecosystems and the services they provide, such as carbon sequestration, soil fertility, water quality, and biodiversity. These technologies also highlight the potential co-benefits of renewable energy deployment for ecosystem services, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air and water quality. Renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass, are increasingly being used to meet the world's energy needs due to their environmentally friendly nature and the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure can also impact ecosystem services, which are the benefits that humans derive from nature, such as clean water, air, and food. This geographic assessment aims to evaluate the relationship between renewable energy infrastructure and ecosystem services. Potential solutions such as the use of ecological benefit measures, biodiversity-friendly design of renewable energy infrastructure, and stakeholder participation in decision-making processes are being investigated to determine the positive effects of renewable energy infrastructure on ecosystem services.
Keywords: Renewable energy, solar energy, climate change, energy production.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1934193 Reduced Rule Based Fuzzy Logic Controlled Isolated Bidirectional Converter Operating in Extended Phase Shift Control for Bidirectional Energy Transfer
Authors: Anupam Kumar, Abdul Hamid Bhat, Pramod Agarwal
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Bidirectional energy transfer capability with high efficiency and reduced cost is fast gaining prominence in the central part of a lot of power conversion systems in Direct Current (DC) microgrid. Preferably, under the economics constraints, these systems utilise a single high efficiency power electronics conversion system and a dual active bridge converter. In this paper, modeling and performance of Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converter with Extended Phase Shift (EPS) is evaluated with two batteries on both sides of DC bus and bidirectional energy transfer is facilitated and this is further compared with the Single Phase Shift (SPS) mode of operation. Optimum operating zone is identified through exhaustive simulations using MATLAB/Simulink and SimPowerSystem software. Reduced rules based fuzzy logic controller is implemented for closed loop control of DAB converter. The control logic enables the bidirectional energy transfer within the batteries even at lower duty ratios. Charging and discharging of batteries is supervised by the fuzzy logic controller. State of charge, current and voltage for both the batteries are plotted in the battery characteristics. Power characteristics of batteries are also obtained using MATLAB simulations.
Keywords: Fuzzy logic controller, rule base, membership functions, dual active bridge converter, bidirectional power flow, duty ratio, extended phase shift, state of charge.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8704192 Evaluation of Cast-in-Situ Pile Condition Using Pile Integrity Test
Authors: Mohammad I. Hossain, Omar F. Hamim
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This paper presents a case study on a pile integrity test for assessing the integrity of piles as well as a physical dimension (e.g., cross-sectional area, length), continuity, and consistency of the pile materials. The recent boom in the socio-economic condition of Bangladesh has given rise to the building of high-rise commercial and residential infrastructures. The advantage of the pile integrity test lies in the fact that it is possible to get an approximate indication regarding the quality of the sub-structure before commencing the construction of the super-structure. This paper aims at providing a classification of cast-in-situ piles based on characteristic reflectograms obtained using the Sonic Integrity Testing program for the sub-soil condition of Narayanganj, Bangladesh. The piles have been classified as 'Pile Type-1', 'Pile Type-2', 'Pile Type-3', 'Pile type-4', 'Pile Type-5' or 'Pile Type-6' from the visual observations of reflections from the generated stress waves by striking the pile head with a handheld hammer. With respect to construction quality and integrity, piles have been further classified into three distinct categories, i.e., satisfactory, may be satisfactory, and unsatisfactory.
Keywords: Cast-in-situ piles, characteristic reflectograms, pile integrity test, sonic integrity testing program.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6804191 On the Influence of Certain Natural Factors on the Sperm Quality and Sexual Behaviour of Rams
Authors: Pascal Constantin, Gîlcă Ioan, Radu Rusu Răzvan, Nacu Gherasim
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In the Northern hemisphere, sheep reproduction is seasonal (September-November). Among several natural factors influencing the reproduction status of rams, we studied the daylight length and temperature. Rams from different breeds were studied: Merinos de Palas (half-precocious), Karakul de Botosani (halfbelated) and Turcana (belated breed, low reproductive plasticity). In Merinos de Palas, ejaculate volume during sexual repose is 51.3% from normal quantity. When autumn climate was experimentally induced, ejaculate volume reached 98.45% (Merinos), 94.97% (Karakul) and 97.59% (Turcana). Semen density increased from 1.031-1.033 till 1.035 after exposition to artificial light and temperature conditions. Spermatozoids mobility and sperm pH improved, passing over 82% and 6.75, values identical to those in the natural reproduction season. Behaviour analysis after photoperiodicity indicated that over 83.3% Merinos and Karakul males and all Turcana rams exteriorised normal and intense sexual reflexes. Certain effort and reduced expenses brought rams in good condition, producing higher quantity and quality sperm.Keywords: natural factors, photoperiodicity, sexual behaviour, Romanian sheep.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16554190 Authentication and Data Hiding Using a Reversible ROI-based Watermarking Scheme for DICOM Images
Authors: Osamah M. Al-Qershi, Khoo Bee Ee
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In recent years image watermarking has become an important research area in data security, confidentiality and image integrity. Many watermarking techniques were proposed for medical images. However, medical images, unlike most of images, require extreme care when embedding additional data within them because the additional information must not affect the image quality and readability. Also the medical records, electronic or not, are linked to the medical secrecy, for that reason, the records must be confidential. To fulfill those requirements, this paper presents a lossless watermarking scheme for DICOM images. The proposed a fragile scheme combines two reversible techniques based on difference expansion for patient's data hiding and protecting the region of interest (ROI) with tamper detection and recovery capability. Patient's data are embedded into ROI, while recovery data are embedded into region of non-interest (RONI). The experimental results show that the original image can be exactly extracted from the watermarked one in case of no tampering. In case of tampered ROI, tampered area can be localized and recovered with a high quality version of the original area.Keywords: DICOM, reversible, ROI-based, watermarking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17194189 Management and Control of Industrial Effluents Discharged to Public Sewers: A Case Study
Authors: Freeman Ntuli
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An overview of the important aspects of managing and controlling industrial effluent discharges to public sewers namely sampling, characterization, quantification and legislative controls has been presented. The findings have been validated by means of a case study covering three industrial sectors namely, tanning, textile finishing and food processing industries. Industrial effluents discharges were found to be best monitored by systematic and automatic sampling and quantified using water meter readings corrected for evaporative and consumptive losses. Based on the treatment processes employed in the public owned treatment works and the chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand levels obtained, the effluent from all the three industrial sectors studied were found to lie in the toxic zone. Thus, physico-chemical treatment of these effluents is required to bring them into the biodegradable zone. KL values (quoted to base e) were greater than 0.50 day-1 compared to 0.39 day-1 for typical municipality wastewater.Keywords: biodegradability, industrial effluent, pollution control, public sewers
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31774188 The Impact of Revenue Gap on Economic Growth: A Case Study of Pakistan
Authors: M. Ilyas, M. W. Siddiqi
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This study employs auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds approach to cointegration for long run and errorcorrection modeling (ECM) for short run analysis to examine the relationship between revenue gap and economic growth for Pakistan using annual time series data over the period 1980 to 2008. The short and long run results indicate that revenue gap is statistical significant and negatively effect economic growth. The significant and negative coefficient of error correction term in ECM indicates that after a shock, the long rum equilibrium will again converge towards equilibrium about 10.406 percent within a year.
Keywords: ARDL cointegration, Economic Growth, RevenueGap, Pakistan.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25664187 Influencing Factors of Residents’ Intention to Participate in the Governance of Old Community Renewal: A Case Study of Nanjing
Authors: Tiantian Gu, Dezhi Li, Mian Zhang, Ying Jiang
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Considering the characteristics of residents’ participation in the governance of old community renewal (OCR), a theoretical model of the determinant of residents’ intention to participate in the governance of OCR has been built based on the theory of planned behavior. Seven old communities in Nanjing have been chosen as cases to conduct empirical analysis. The result indicates that participation attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have significant positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the governance of the OCR. Recognition of the community, cognition of the OCR and perceived behavioral control have indirect positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the OCR. In addition, the education level and the length of residence have positive effects on their participation intention, while the gender, age, and monthly income have little effect on it. The research result provides suggestions for the improvement of residents’ participation in the OCR.Keywords: Old community renewal, residents’ participation in governance, intention, theory of planned behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7564186 Factors Affecting Media Literacy of Early Teenagers
Authors: Khajornjit Bunnag
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The purposes of this research are: 1) to study the media literacy of early teenagers, and 2) to study the interaction between gender and timing of media exposure that affects the media literacy of teenagers. The sample of the study included 400 young people aged between 11 to 17 and who were living in Bangkok. The data was collected using questionnaires. Two-way ANOVA was used in analyzing the collected data. The result revealed that gender and timing of media exposure affected the media literacy of early teenagers with statistical significance at the level of 0.05.Keywords: Gender, Media Literacy, Teenager, Timing of Media Exposure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26014185 Annual Changes in Some Qualitative Parameters of Groundwater in Shirvan Plain North East of Iran
Authors: Hadi Ghorbani, Samira Mohammadi Sadabad
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Shirvan is located in plain in Northern Khorasan province north east of Iran and has semiarid to temperate climate. To investigate the annual changes in some qualitative parameters such as electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids and chloride concentrations which have increased during ten continuous years. Fourteen groundwater sources including deep as well as semi-deep wells were sampled and were analyzed using standard methods. The trends of obtained data were analyzed during these years and the effects of different factors on the changes in electrical conductivity, concentration of chloride and total dissolved solids were clarified. The results showed that the amounts of some qualitative parameters have been increased during 10 years time which has led to decrease in water quality. The results also showed that increased in urban populations as well as extensive industrialization in the studied area are the most important reasons to influence underground water quality. Furthermore decrease in water quantity is also evident due to more water utilization and occurrence of recent droughts in the region during recent years.
Keywords: Chloride, Electrical Conductivity, Shirvan, Total Dissolved Solids.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13594184 Variability of Metal Composition and Concentrations in Road Dust in the Urban Environment
Authors: Sandya Mummullage, Prasanna Egodawatta, Ashantha Goonetilleke, Godwin A. Ayoko
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Urban road dust comprises of a range of potentially toxic metal elements and plays a critical role in degrading urban receiving water quality. Hence, assessing the metal composition and concentration in urban road dust is a high priority. This study investigated the variability of metal composition and concentrations in road dust in 4 different urban land uses in Gold Coast, Australia. Samples from 16 road sites were collected and tested for selected 12 metal species. The data set was analyzed using both univariate and multivariate techniques. Outcomes of the data analysis revealed that the metal concentrations inroad dust differs considerably within and between different land uses. Iron, aluminum, magnesium and zinc are the most abundant in urban land uses. It was also noted that metal species such as titanium, nickel, copper and zinc have the highest concentrations in industrial land use. The study outcomes revealed that soil and traffic related sources as key sources of metals deposited on road surfaces.
Keywords: Metals build-up, Pollutant accumulation, Stormwater quality, Urban road dust.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23504183 Using Analytic Hierarchy Process as a Decision-Making Tool in Project Portfolio Management
Authors: D. Danesh, M. J. Ryan, A. Abbasi
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Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is an essential component of an organisation’s strategic procedures, which requires attention of several factors to envisage a range of long-term outcomes to support strategic project portfolio decisions. To evaluate overall efficiency at the portfolio level, it is essential to identify the functionality of specific projects as well as to aggregate those findings in a mathematically meaningful manner that indicates the strategic significance of the associated projects at a number of levels of abstraction. PPM success is directly associated with the quality of decisions made and poor judgment increases portfolio costs. Hence, various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques have been designed and employed to support the decision-making functions. This paper reviews possible options to enhance the decision-making outcomes in organisational portfolio management processes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) both from academic and practical perspectives and will examine the usability, certainty and quality of the technique. The results of the study will also provide insight into the technical risk associated with current decision-making model to underpin initiative tracking and strategic portfolio management.Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, decision support systems, multi-criteria decision-making, project portfolio management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42724182 Hydrochemical Contamination Profiling and Spatial-Temporal Mapping with the Support of Multivariate and Cluster Statistical Analysis
Authors: S. Barbosa, M. Pinto, J. A. Almeida, E. Carvalho, C. Diamantino
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The aim of this work was to test a methodology able to generate spatial-temporal maps that can synthesize simultaneously the trends of distinct hydrochemical indicators in an old radium-uranium tailings dam deposit. Multidimensionality reduction derived from principal component analysis and subsequent data aggregation derived from clustering analysis allow to identify distinct hydrochemical behavioral profiles and generate synthetic evolutionary hydrochemical maps.
Keywords: Contamination plume migration, K-means of PCA scores, groundwater and mine water monitoring, spatial-temporal hydrochemical trends.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6264181 Adaptive Early Packet Discarding Policy Based on Two Traffic Classes
Authors: Rawya Rizk, Rehab Abdel-Kader, Rabab Ramadan
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Unlike the best effort service provided by the internet today, next-generation wireless networks will support real-time applications. This paper proposes an adaptive early packet discard (AEPD) policy to improve the performance of the real time TCP traffic over ATM networks and avoid the fragmentation problem. Three main aspects are incorporated in the proposed policy. First, providing quality-of-service (QoS) guaranteed for real-time applications by implementing a priority scheduling. Second, resolving the partially corrupted packets problem by differentiating the buffered cells of one packet from another. Third, adapting a threshold dynamically using Fuzzy logic based on the traffic behavior to maintain a high throughput under a variety of load conditions. The simulation is run for two priority classes of the input traffic: real time and non-real time classes. Simulation results show that the proposed AEPD policy improves throughput and fairness over that using static threshold under the same traffic conditions.Keywords: Early packet discard, Fuzzy logic, packet dropping policies, quality-of-service (QoS), TCP over ATM
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14254180 On-Line Impulse Buying and Cognitive Dissonance: The Moderating Role of the Positive Affective State
Authors: G. Mattia, A. Di Leo, L. Principato
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The purchase impulsiveness is preceded by a lack of self-control: consequently, it is legitimate to believe that a consumer with a low level of self-control can result in a higher probability of cognitive dissonance. Moreover, the process of purchase is influenced by the pre-existing affective state in a considerable way. With reference to on-line purchases, digital behavior cannot be merely ascribed to the rational sphere, given the speed and ease of transactions and the hedonistic dimension of purchases. To our knowledge, this research is among the first cases of verification of the effect of moderation exerted by the positive affective state in the on-line impulse purchase of products with a high expressive value such as a smartphone on the occurrence of cognitive dissonance. To this aim, a moderation analysis was conducted on a sample of 212 impulsive millennials buyers. Three scales were adopted to measure the constructs of interest: IBTS for impulsivity, PANAS for the affective state, Sweeney for cognitive dissonance. The analysis revealed that positive affective state does not affect the onset of cognitive dissonance.
Keywords: Cognitive dissonance, impulsive buying, online shopping, online consumer behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17704179 Application of HSA and GA in Optimal Placement of FACTS Devices Considering Voltage Stability and Losses
Authors: A. Parizad, A. Khazali, M. Kalantar
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Voltage collapse is instability of heavily loaded electric power systems that cause to declining voltages and blackout. Power systems are predicated to become more heavily loaded in the future decade as the demand for electric power rises while economic and environmental concerns limit the construction of new transmission and generation capacity. Heavily loaded power systems are closer to their stability limits and voltage collapse blackouts will occur if suitable monitoring and control measures are not taken. To control transmission lines, it can be used from FACTS devices. In this paper Harmony search algorithm (HSA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) have applied to determine optimal location of FACTS devices in a power system to improve power system stability. Three types of FACTS devices (TCPAT, UPFS, and SVC) have been introduced. Bus under voltage has been solved by controlling reactive power of shunt compensator. Also a combined series-shunt compensators has been also used to control transmission power flow and bus voltage simultaneously. Different scenarios have been considered. First TCPAT, UPFS, and SVC are placed solely in transmission lines and indices have been calculated. Then two types of above controller try to improve parameters randomly. The last scenario tries to make better voltage stability index and losses by implementation of three types controller simultaneously. These scenarios are executed on typical 34-bus test system and yields efficiency in improvement of voltage profile and reduction of power losses; it also may permit an increase in power transfer capacity, maximum loading, and voltage stability margin.Keywords: FACTS Devices, Voltage Stability Index, optimal location, Heuristic methods, Harmony search, Genetic Algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20114178 Spatial Analysis and Statistics for Zoning of Urban Areas
Authors: Benedetto Manganelli, Beniamino Murgante
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The use of statistical data and of the neural networks, capable of elaborate a series of data and territorial info, have allowed the making of a model useful in the subdivision of urban places into homogeneous zone under the profile of a social, real estate, environmental and urbanist background of a city. The development of homogeneous zone has fiscal and urbanist advantages. The tools in the model proposed, able to be adapted to the dynamic changes of the city, allow the application of the zoning fast and dynamic.
Keywords: Homogeneous Urban Areas, Multidimensional Scaling, Neural Network, Real Estate Market, Urban Planning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19334177 Effect of Different Oils on Quality of Deep-fried Dough Stick
Authors: Nuntaporn Aukkanit
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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of oils on chemical, physical, and sensory properties of deep-fried dough stick. Five kinds of vegetable oil which were used for addition and frying consist of: palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, and canola oil. The results of this study showed that using different kinds of oil made significant difference in the quality of deep-fried dough stick. Deep-fried dough stick fried with the rice bran oil had the lowest moisture loss and oil absorption (p≤0.05), but it had some unsatisfactory physical properties (color, specific volume, density, and texture) and sensory characteristics. Nonetheless, deep-fried dough stick fried with the sunflower oil had moisture loss and oil absorption slightly more than the rice bran oil, but it had almost higher physical and sensory properties. Deep-fried dough sticks together with the sunflower oil did not have different sensory score from the palm oil, commonly used for production of deep-fried dough stick. These results indicated that addition and frying with the sunflower oil are appropriate for the production of deep-fried dough stick.
Keywords: Deep-fried dough stick, palm oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18524176 Development of a Telemedical Network Supporting an Automated Flow Cytometric Analysis for the Clinical Follow-up of Leukaemia
Authors: Claude Takenga, Rolf-Dietrich Berndt, Erling Si, Markus Diem, Guohui Qiao, Melanie Gau, Michael Brandstoetter, Martin Kampel, Michael Dworzak
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In patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), treatment response is increasingly evaluated with minimal residual disease (MRD) analyses. Flow Cytometry (FCM) is a fast and sensitive method to detect MRD. However, the interpretation of these multi-parametric data requires intensive operator training and experience. This paper presents a pipeline-software, as a ready-to-use FCM-based MRD-assessment tool for the daily clinical practice for patients with ALL. The new tool increases accuracy in assessment of FCM-MRD in samples which are difficult to analyse by conventional operator-based gating since computer-aided analysis potentially has a superior resolution due to utilization of the whole multi-parametric FCM-data space at once instead of step-wise, two-dimensional plot-based visualization. The system developed as a telemedical network reduces the work-load and lab-costs, staff-time needed for training, continuous quality control, operator-based data interpretation. It allows dissemination of automated FCM-MRD analysis to medical centres which have no established expertise for the benefit of an even larger community of diseased children worldwide. We established a telemedical network system for analysis and clinical follow-up and treatment monitoring of Leukaemia. The system is scalable and adapted to link several centres and laboratories worldwide.Keywords: Data security, flow cytometry, leukaemia, telematics platform, telemedicine.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15684175 GSA-Based Design of Dual Proportional Integral Load Frequency Controllers for Nonlinear Hydrothermal Power System
Authors: M. Elsisi, M. Soliman, M. A. S. Aboelela, W. Mansour
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This paper considers the design of Dual Proportional- Integral (DPI) Load Frequency Control (LFC), using gravitational search algorithm (GSA). The design is carried out for nonlinear hydrothermal power system where generation rate constraint (GRC) and governor dead band are considered. Furthermore, time delays imposed by governor-turbine, thermodynamic process, and communication channels are investigated. GSA is utilized to search for optimal controller parameters by minimizing a time-domain based objective function. GSA-based DPI has been compared to Ziegler- Nichols based PI, and Genetic Algorithm (GA) based PI controllers in order to demonstrate the superior efficiency of the proposed design. Simulation results are carried for a wide range of operating conditions and system parameters variations.Keywords: Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Load Frequency Control (LFC), Dual Proportional-Integral (DPI) controller.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19854174 On Determining the Most Effective Technique Available in Software Testing
Authors: Qasim Zafar, Matthew Anderson, Esteban Garcia, Steven Drager
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Software failures can present an enormous detriment to people's lives and cost millions of dollars to repair when they are unexpectedly encountered in the wild. Despite a significant portion of the software development lifecycle and resources are dedicated to testing, software failures are a relatively frequent occurrence. Nevertheless, the evaluation of testing effectiveness remains at the forefront of ensuring high-quality software and software metrics play a critical role in providing valuable insights into quantifiable objectives to assess the level of assurance and confidence in the system. As the selection of appropriate metrics can be an arduous process, the goal of this paper is to shed light on the significance of software metrics by examining a range of testing techniques and metrics as well as identifying key areas for improvement. In doing so, this paper presents a method to compare the effectiveness of testing techniques with heterogeneous output metrics. Additionally, through this investigation, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how metrics can help to drive informed decision-making on delivering high-quality software and facilitate continuous improvement in testing practices.
Keywords: Software testing, software metrics, testing effectiveness, black box testing, random testing, adaptive random testing, combinatorial testing, fuzz testing, equivalence partition, boundary value analysis, white box testings.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 674173 The Micro Ecosystem Restoration Mechanism Applied for Feasible Research of Lakes Eutrophication Enhancement
Authors: Ching-Tsan Tsai, Sih-Rong Chen, Chi-Hung Hsieh
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The technique of inducing micro ecosystem restoration is one of aquatic ecology engineering methods used to retrieve the polluted water. Batch scale study, pilot plant study, and field study were carried out to observe the eutrophication using the Inducing Ecology Restorative Symbiosis Agent (IERSA) consisting mainly degraded products by using lactobacillus, saccharomycete, and phycomycete. The results obtained from the experiments of the batch scale and pilot plant study allowed us to development the parameters for the field study. A pond, 5 m to the outlet of a lake, with an area of 500 m2 and depth of 0.6-1.2 m containing about 500 tons of water was selected as a model. After the treatment with 10 mg IERSA/L water twice a week for 70 days, the micro restoration mechanisms consisted of three stages (i.e., restoration, impact maintenance, and ecology recovery experiment after impact). The COD, TN, TKN, and chlorophyll a were reduced significantly in the first week. Although the unexpected heavy rain and contaminate from sewage system might slow the ecology restoration. However, the self-cleaning function continued and the chlorophyll a reduced for 50% in one month. In the 4th week, amoeba, paramecium, rotifer, and red wriggle worm reappeared, and the number of fish flies appeared up to1000 fish fries/m3. Those results proved that inducing restorative mechanism can be applied to improve the eutrophication and to control the growth of algae in the lakes by gaining the selfcleaning through inducing and competition of microbes. The situation for growth of fishes also can reach an excellent result due to the improvement of water quality.Keywords: Ecosystem restoration, eutrophication, lake.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18724172 Development and Validation of a UPLC Method for the Determination of Albendazole Residues on Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Equipment Surfaces
Authors: R. S. Chandan, M. Vasudevan, Deecaraman, B. M. Gurupadayya
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In Pharmaceutical industries, it is very important to remove drug residues from the equipment and areas used. The cleaning procedure must be validated, so special attention must be devoted to the methods used for analysis of trace amounts of drugs. A rapid, sensitive and specific reverse phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method was developed for the quantitative determination of Albendazole in cleaning validation swab samples. The method was validated using an ACQUITY HSS C18, 50 x 2.1mm, 1.8μ column with a isocratic mobile phase containing a mixture of 1.36g of Potassium dihydrogenphosphate in 1000mL MilliQ water, 2mL of triethylamine and pH adjusted to 2.3 ± 0.05 with ortho-phosphoric acid, Acetonitrile and Methanol (50:40:10 v/v). The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.5 mL min-1 with a column temperature of 350C and detection wavelength at 254nm using PDA detector. The injection volume was 2µl. Cotton swabs, moisten with acetonitrile were used to remove any residue of drug from stainless steel, teflon, rubber and silicon plates which mimic the production equipment surface and the mean extraction-recovery was found to be 91.8. The selected chromatographic condition was found to effectively elute Albendazole with retention time of 0.67min. The proposed method was found to be linear over the range of 0.2 to 150µg/mL and correlation coefficient obtained is 0.9992. The proposed method was found to be accurate, precise, reproducible and specific and it can also be used for routine quality control analysis of these drugs in biological samples either alone or in combined pharmaceutical dosage forms.
Keywords: Cleaning validation, Albendazole, residues, swab analysis, UPLC.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31054171 Leaf Chlorophyll of Corn, Sweet basil and Borage under Intercropping System in Weed Interference
Authors: F. Zaefarian, M. Bagheri, B. Bicharanlou, G.A. Asadi, V. Akbarpour
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Intercropping is one of the sustainable agricultural factors. The SPAD meter can be used to predict nitrogen index reliably, it may also be a useful tool for assessing the relative impact of weeds on crops. In order to study the effect of weeds on SPAD in corn (Zea mays L.), sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and borage (Borago officinalis L.) in intercropping system, a factorial experiment was conducted in three replications in 2011. Experimental factors were included intercropping of corn with sweet basil and borage in different ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 corn: borage or sweet basil) and weed infestation (weed control and weed interference). The results showed that intercropping of corn with sweet basil and borage increased the SPAD value of corn compare to monoculture in weed interference condition. Sweet basil SPAD value in weed control treatments (43.66) was more than weed interference treatments (40.17). Corn could increase the borage SPAD value compare to monoculture in weed interference treatments.Keywords: Borage, Sweet basil, SPAD, Weed Infestation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21074170 The Effect of Four-Week Resistance Exercise along with Milk Consumption on NT-proBNP and Plasma Troponin I
Authors: Rostam Abdi, Ahmad Abdi, Zahra Vahedi Langrodi
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to investigate four-week resistance exercise and milk supplement on NT-proBNP and plasma troponin I of male students. Concerning the methodology of the study, 21 senior high school students of Ardebil city were selected. The selected subjects were randomly shared in three groups of control, exercise- water and exercise- milk. The exercise program includes resistance exercise for a big muscle group. The subjects of control group rested during the study and did not participate in any training. The subjects of exercise- water experimental group immediately received 400 cc water after exercise and exercise- milk group immediately received 400 cc low fat milk. Control-water groups consumed the same amount of water. 48 hours before and after the last exercise session, the blood sample of the subjects were taken for measuring the variables. NT-proBNP and Troponin I concentrations were measured by ELISA. For data analysis, one-way variance analysis test, correlated t-test and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. The significant difference of p ≤ 0.05 was accepted. Resistance training along with milk consumption leads to increase of plasma NT-proBNP, however; this increase has not reached the significant level. Furthermore, meaningful increase was observed in plasma NT–proBNP in exercise group between pretest and posttest values. Furthermore, no meaningful difference was observed between groups in terms of Troponin I after milk consumption. It seems that endurance exercises lead to change in the structure of heart muscle and is along with an increase of NT-proBNP. Furthermore, there is the possibility that milk consumption can lead to release of heart troponin I. The mechanism through which protein supplements have been put on heart troponin I is unknown and requires more research.
Keywords: Resistance exercise, milk, NT-proBNP, Troponin I.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7144169 Per Flow Packet Scheduling Scheme to Improve the End-to-End Fairness in Mobile Ad Hoc Wireless Network
Authors: K. Sasikala, R. S. D Wahidabanu
Abstract:
Various fairness models and criteria proposed by academia and industries for wired networks can be applied for ad hoc wireless network. The end-to-end fairness in an ad hoc wireless network is a challenging task compared to wired networks, which has not been addressed effectively. Most of the traffic in an ad hoc network are transport layer flows and thus the fairness of transport layer flows has attracted the interest of the researchers. The factors such as MAC protocol, routing protocol, the length of a route, buffer size, active queue management algorithm and the congestion control algorithms affects the fairness of transport layer flows. In this paper, we have considered the rate of data transmission, the queue management and packet scheduling technique. The ad hoc network is dynamic in nature due to various parameters such as transmission of control packets, multihop nature of forwarding packets, changes in source and destination nodes, changes in the routing path influences determining throughput and fairness among the concurrent flows. In addition, the effect of interaction between the protocol in the data link and transport layers has also plays a role in determining the rate of the data transmission. We maintain queue for each flow and the delay information of each flow is maintained accordingly. The pre-processing of flow is done up to the network layer only. The source and destination address information is used for separating the flow and the transport layer information is not used. This minimizes the delay in the network. Each flow is attached to a timer and is updated dynamically. Finite State Machine (FSM) is proposed for queue and transmission control mechanism. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated in ns-2 simulation environment. The throughput and fairness based on mobility for different flows used as performance metrics. We have compared the performance of the proposed approach with ATP and the transport layer information is used. This minimizes the delay in the network. Each flow is attached to a timer and is updated dynamically. Finite State Machine (FSM) is proposed for queue and transmission control mechanism. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated in ns-2 simulation environment. The throughput and fairness based on not mobility for different flows used as performance metrics. We have compared the performance of the proposed approach with ATP and MC-MLAS and the performance of the proposed approach is encouraging.
Keywords: ATP, End-to-End fairness, FSM, MAC, QoS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1986