Search results for: reactive power control
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6185

Search results for: reactive power control

3125 The Effects of Production, Transportation and Storage Conditions on Mold Growth in Compound Feeds

Authors: N. Cetinkaya

Abstract:

The objective of the present study is to determine the critical control points during the production, transportation and storage conditions of compound feeds to be used in the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) feed safety management system. A total of 40 feed samples were taken after 20 and 40 days of storage periods from the 10 dairy and 10 beef cattle farms following the transportation of the compound feeds from the factory. In addition, before transporting the feeds from factory immediately after production of dairy and beef cattle compound feeds, 10 from each total 20 samples were taken as 0 day. In all feed samples, chemical composition and total aflatoxin levels were determined. The aflatoxin levels in all feed samples with the exception of 2 dairy cattle feeds were below the maximum acceptable level. With the increase in storage period in dairy feeds, the aflatoxin levels were increased to 4.96 ppb only in a BS8 dairy farm. This value is below the maximum permissible level (10 ppb) in beef cattle feed. The aflatoxin levels of dairy feed samples taken after production varied between 0.44 and 2.01 ppb. Aflatoxin levels were found to be between 0.89 and 3.01 ppb in dairy cattle feeds taken on the 20th day of storage at 10 dairy cattle farm. On the 40th day, feed aflatoxin levels in the same dairy cattle farm were found between 1.12 and 7.83 ppb. The aflatoxin levels were increased to 7.83 and 6.31 ppb in 2 dairy farms, after a storage period of 40 days. These obtained aflatoxin values are above the maximum permissible level in dairy cattle feeds. The 40 days storage in pellet form in the HACCP feed safety management system can be considered as a critical control point.

Keywords: Aflatoxin, beef cattle feed, compound feed, dairy cattle feed, HACCP.

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3124 The Security Trade-Offs in Resource Constrained Nodes for IoT Application

Authors: Sultan Alharby, Nick Harris, Alex Weddell, Jeff Reeve

Abstract:

The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) has received much attention over the last five years. It is predicted that the IoT will influence every aspect of our lifestyles in the near future. Wireless Sensor Networks are one of the key enablers of the operation of IoTs, allowing data to be collected from the surrounding environment. However, due to limited resources, nature of deployment and unattended operation, a WSN is vulnerable to various types of attack. Security is paramount for reliable and safe communication between IoT embedded devices, but it does, however, come at a cost to resources. Nodes are usually equipped with small batteries, which makes energy conservation crucial to IoT devices. Nevertheless, security cost in terms of energy consumption has not been studied sufficiently. Previous research has used a security specification of 802.15.4 for IoT applications, but the energy cost of each security level and the impact on quality of services (QoS) parameters remain unknown. This research focuses on the cost of security at the IoT media access control (MAC) layer. It begins by studying the energy consumption of IEEE 802.15.4 security levels, which is followed by an evaluation for the impact of security on data latency and throughput, and then presents the impact of transmission power on security overhead, and finally shows the effects of security on memory footprint. The results show that security overhead in terms of energy consumption with a payload of 24 bytes fluctuates between 31.5% at minimum level over non-secure packets and 60.4% at the top security level of 802.15.4 security specification. Also, it shows that security cost has less impact at longer packet lengths, and more with smaller packet size. In addition, the results depicts a significant impact on data latency and throughput. Overall, maximum authentication length decreases throughput by almost 53%, and encryption and authentication together by almost 62%.

Keywords: Internet of Things, IEEE 802.15.4, security cost evaluation, wireless sensor network, energy consumption.

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3123 A Study on Cement-Based Composite Containing Polypropylene Fibers and Finely Ground Glass Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

Authors: O. Alidoust, I. Sadrinejad, M. A. Ahmadi

Abstract:

High strength concrete has been used in situations where it may be exposed to elevated temperatures. Numerous authors have shown the significant contribution of polypropylene fiber to the spalling resistance of high strength concrete. When cement-based composite that reinforced by polypropylene fibers heated up to 170 °C, polypropylene fibers readily melt and volatilize, creating additional porosity and small channels in to the matrix that cause the poor structure and low strength. This investigation develops on the mechanical properties of mortar incorporating polypropylene fibers exposed to high temperature. Also effects of different pozzolans on strength behaviour of samples at elevated temperature have been studied. To reach this purpose, the specimens were produced by partial replacement of cement with finely ground glass, silica fume and rice husk ash as high reactive pozzolans. The amount of this replacement was 10% by weight of cement to find the effects of pozzolans as a partial replacement of cement on the mechanical properties of mortars. In this way, lots of mixtures with 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% of polypropylene fibers were cast and tested for compressive and flexural strength, accordance to ASTM standard. After that specimens being heated to temperatures of 300, 600 °C, respectively, the mechanical properties of heated samples were tested. Mechanical tests showed significant reduction in compressive strength which could be due to polypropylene fiber melting. Also pozzolans improve the mechanical properties of sampels.

Keywords: Mechanical properties, compressive strength, Flexural strength, pozzolanic behavior.

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3122 An Experimental Investigation of Thermoelectric Air-Cooling Module

Authors: Yu-Wei Chang, Chiao-Hung Cheng, Wen-Fang Wu, Sih-Li Chen

Abstract:

This article experimentally investigates the thermal performance of thermoelectric air-cooling module which comprises a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and an air-cooling heat sink. The influences of input current and heat load are determined. And performances under each situation are quantified by thermal resistance analysis. Since TEC generates Joule heat, this nature makes construction of thermal resistance network difficult. To simplify the analysis, this article emphasizes on the resistance heat load might meet when passing through the device. Therefore, the thermal resistances in this paper are to divide temperature differences by heat load. According to the result, there exists an optimum input current under every heating power. In this case, the optimum input current is around 6A or 7A. The performance of the heat sink would be improved with TEC under certain heating power and input current, especially at a low heat load. According to the result, the device can even make the heat source cooler than the ambient. However, TEC is not always effective at every heat load and input current. In some situation, the device works worse than the heat sink without TEC. To determine the availability of TEC, this study figures out the effective operating region in which the TEC air-cooling module works better than the heat sink without TEC. The result shows that TEC is more effective at a lower heat load. If heat load is too high, heat sink with TEC will perform worse than without TEC. The limit of this device is 57W. Besides, TEC is not helpful if input current is too high or too low. There is an effective range of input current, and the range becomes narrower when the heat load grows.

Keywords: Thermoelectric cooler, TEC, electronic cooling, heat sink.

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3121 Measuring Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Implementation in Riyadh Hospitals

Authors: A. Alrasheed, I. Connerton

Abstract:

Daily provision of high quality food and hygiene to patients is a challenging goal of the healthcare. In Saudi Arabia, matters related to food safety and hygiene are regulated by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Saudi Food and Drugs Authority (SFDA). The purpose of this research is to discuss the food safety management inconsistencies and flaws, in particular the ones related to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in Riyadh’s MOH hospitals. As required by law, written HACCP regulations must be implemented, and food handlers need to receive the training accordingly. However, in Saudi hospitals, this is not a requirement, and the food handlers do not need to hold training certificates in food safety or HACCP. Nowadays, the matter of food safety and hygiene have become increasingly important since the decision makers want to align these regulations with the majority of the world and to implement HACCP fully and for this purpose, the SFDA was established. 

Keywords: Food safety, patients, hospitals, HACCP, Saudi Arabia.

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3120 Computational and Experimental Investigation of Supersonic Flow and their Controls

Authors: Vasana M. Don, Eldad J. Avital, Fariborz Motallebi

Abstract:

Supersonic open and closed cavity flows are investigated experimentally and computationally. Free stream Mach number of two is set. Schlieren imaging is used to visualise the flow behaviour showing stark differences between open and closed. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate open cavity of flow with aspect ratio of 4. A rear wall treatment is implemented in order to pursue a simple passive control approach. Good qualitative agreement is achieved between the experimental flow visualisation and the CFD in terms of the expansion-shock waves system. The cavity oscillations are shown to be dominated by the first and third Rossister modes combining to high fluctuations of non-linear nature above the cavity rear edge. A simple rear wall treatment in terms of a hole shows mixed effect on the flow oscillations, RMS contours, and time history density fluctuations are given and analysed.

Keywords: Supersonic, Schlieren, open-cavity, flow simulation, passive control.

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3119 Effects of Specific Essential Oil Compounds on, Feed Intake, Milk Production, and Ruminal Environment in Dairy Cows during Heat Exposure

Authors: K. Reza-Yazdi, M. Fallah, M. Khodaparast, F. Kateb, M. Hosseini-Ghaffari

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to determine effect of dietary essential oil (EO) compounds, which contained cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, peppermint, coriander, cumin, lemongrass, and an organic carrier on feed intake, milk composition, and rumen fermentation of dairy cows during heat exposure. Thirty-two Holstein cows (days in milk= 60 ± 5) were assigned to one of two treatment groups: a Control and EO fed. The experiment lasted 28 days. Dry matter intake (DMI) was measured daily while and milk production was measured weekly. Our result showed that DMI and milk yield was decreased (P < 0.01) in control cows relative to EO cows. Furthermore, supplementation with EO was associated with a decrease in the molar proportion of propionate (P < 0.05) and increase (P < 0.05) in acetate to propionate ratio. In conclusion, EO supplementations in diets can be useful nutritional modification to alleviate for the decrease DMI and milk production during heat exposure in lactating dairy cows.

Keywords: Dairy cow, feed additive, plant extract.

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3118 Quality Changes of Venison Marinated in Red Wine Marinade during Storage

Authors: Laima Silina, Ilze Gramatina, Lija Dukalska, Liga Skudra, Tatjana Rakcejeva, Dace Klava, Anita Blija

Abstract:

The objective of the present study was to determine quality parameters changes of red wine marinade marinated venison during storage. Beef as a control was analysed. Protein, fat, moisture and pH content dynamics as well microbiological quality was analyzed. The meat pieces were marinated in red wine marinade at 4±2ºC temperature for 48±1h. Marinated meat was placed in polypropylene trays, hermetically sealed with high barrier polymer film Multibarrier 60 under modified atmosphere (CO2 40%+N2 60%) without and with oxygen absorber sachets, as a control packaging in air ambiance packed marinated venison and beef was used. Meat samples were analyzed after 0, 4, 7, 11 and 14 days of storage. During the storage of meat, protein and moisture content significantly (p<0.05) decreased, pH and colony forming units significantly (p<0.05) increased, fat content does not change in all treatments irrespective of the packaging method.

Keywords: Marinating, modified atmosphere, quality, venison.

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3117 Effects of Molybdenum Treatments on Maize and Sunflower Seedlings

Authors: E. Bodi, Sz. Veres, F. Garousi, Sz. Varallyay, B. Kovacs

Abstract:

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.

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3116 Performance Analysis of Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline Solar Module in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Authors: N. J. Imu, N. Rabbani, Md E. Hossain

Abstract:

Achieving national climate goals requires transforming the energy system and increasing the use of renewable energy in Bangladesh as renewable energy offers an environmentally friendly energy supply. In view of this, Bangladesh has set a goal of 100% renewable power generation by 2050. Among all the renewable energy, solar is the most effective and popular source of renewable energy in Bangladesh. In order to build up on-grid and off-grid solar systems to increase energy transformation, monocrystalline type (highly efficient) solar module, and the polycrystalline type (low-efficient) solar module are commonly used. Due to their low price and availability, polycrystalline-type solar modules dominated the local market in the past years. However, in recent times the use of monocrystalline types modules has increased considerably owing to the significant decrease in price difference that existed between these two modules. Despite the deployment of both mono- and poly-crystalline modules in the market, the proliferation of low-quality solar panels are dominating the market resulting in reduced generation of solar electricity than expected. This situation is further aggravated by insufficient information regarding the effect of solar irradiation on solar module performance in relation to the quality of the materials used for the production of the module. This research aims to evaluate the efficiency of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar modules that are available in Bangladesh by considering seasonal variations. Both types of solar modules have been tested for three different capacities 45W, 60W, and 100W in Dhaka regions to evaluate their power generation capability under Standard Test Conditions (STC). Module testing data were recorded twelve months in a full year from January to December. Data for solar irradiation were collected using HT304N while HT I-V400 multifunction instrument was used for testing voltage and current of photovoltaic (PV) systems and complete power quality analyzer. Results obtained in this study indicated differences between the efficiencies of polycrystalline and monocrystalline solar modules under the country’s solar irradiation. The average efficiencies of 45W, 60W, and 100W monocrystalline solar panels were recorded as 11.73%, 13.41%, and 15.37% respectively while for polycrystalline panels were 8.66%, 9.37%, and 12.34%. Monocrystalline solar panels, which offer greater working output than polycrystalline ones, are also represented by the Pearson Correlation value. The output of polycrystalline solar panels fluctuated highly with the changes in irradiation and temperature whereas monocrystalline panels were much stable.

Keywords: Solar energy, solar irradiation, efficiency, polycrystalline solar module, monocrystalline solar module, SPSS analysis.

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3115 Feasibility Study of a Solar Farm Project with an Executive Approach

Authors: Amir Reza Talaghat

Abstract:

Since 2015, a new approach and policy regarding energy resources protection and using renewable energies has been started in Iran which was developing new projects. Investigating about the feasibility study of these new projects helped to figure out five steps to prepare an executive feasibility study of the concerned projects, which are proper site selections, authorizations, design and simulation, economic study and programming, respectively. The results were interesting and essential for decision makers and investors to start implementing of these projects in reliable condition. The research is obtained through collection and study of the project's documents as well as recalculation to review conformity of the results with GIS data and the technical information of the bidders. In this paper, it is attempted to describe the result of the performed research by describing the five steps as an executive methodology, for preparing a feasible study of installing a 10 MW – solar farm project. The corresponding results of the research also help decision makers to start similar projects is explained in this paper as follows: selecting the best location for the concerned PV plant, reliable and safe conditions for investment and the required authorizations to start implementing the solar farm project in the concerned region, selecting suitable component to achieve the best possible performance for the plant, economic profit of the investment, proper programming to implement the project on time.

Keywords: Solar farm, solar energy, execution of PV power plant, PV power plant, feasibility study.

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3114 Suitable Die Shaping for a Rectangular Shape Bottle by Application of FEM and AI Technique

Authors: N. Ploysook, R. Rugsaj, C. Suvanjumrat

Abstract:

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.

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3113 Effect of Initial Conditions on Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of High Subsonic Jets from Sharp Edged Circular Orifice

Authors: Murugan, K. N. Sharma, S. D.

Abstract:

The present work involves measurements to examine the effects of initial conditions on aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of a Jet at M=0.8 by changing the orientation of sharp edged orifice plate. A thick plate with chamfered orifice presented divergent and convergent openings when it was flipped over. The centerline velocity was found to decay more rapidly for divergent orifice and that was consistent with the enhanced mass entrainment suggesting quicker spread of the jet compared with that from the convergent orifice. The mixing layer region elucidated this effect of initial conditions at an early stage – the growth was found to be comparatively more pronounced for the divergent orifice resulting in reduced potential core size. The acoustic measurements, carried out in the near field noise region outside the jet within potential core length, showed the jet from the divergent orifice to be less noisy. The frequency spectra of the noise signal exhibited that in the initial region of comparatively thin mixing layer for the convergent orifice, the peak registered a higher SPL and a higher frequency as well. The noise spectra and the mixing layer development suggested a direct correlation between the coherent structures developing in the initial region of the jet and the noise captured in the surrounding near field.

Keywords: Convergent orifice jet, Divergent orifice jet, Mass entrainment, mixing layer, near field noise, frequency spectrum, SPL, Strouhal number, wave number, reactive pressure field, propagating pressure field.

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3112 Management and Control of Industrial Effluents Discharged to Public Sewers: A Case Study

Authors: Freeman Ntuli

Abstract:

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

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3111 An Application of Path Planning Algorithms for Autonomous Inspection of Buried Pipes with Swarm Robots

Authors: Richard Molyneux, Christopher Parrott, Kirill Horoshenkov

Abstract:

This paper aims to demonstrate how various algorithms can be implemented within swarms of autonomous robots to provide continuous inspection within underground pipeline networks. Current methods of fault detection within pipes are costly, time consuming and inefficient. As such, solutions tend toward a more reactive approach, repairing faults, as opposed to proactively seeking leaks and blockages. The paper presents an efficient inspection method, showing that autonomous swarm robotics is a viable way of monitoring underground infrastructure. Tailored adaptations of various Vehicle Routing Problems (VRP) and path-planning algorithms provide a customised inspection procedure for complicated networks of underground pipes. The performance of multiple algorithms is compared to determine their effectiveness and feasibility. Notable inspirations come from ant colonies and stigmergy, graph theory, the k-Chinese Postman Problem ( -CPP) and traffic theory. Unlike most swarm behaviours which rely on fast communication between agents, underground pipe networks are a highly challenging communication environment with extremely limited communication ranges. This is due to the extreme variability in the pipe conditions and relatively high attenuation of acoustic and radio waves with which robots would usually communicate. This paper illustrates how to optimise the inspection process and how to increase the frequency with which the robots pass each other, without compromising the routes they are able to take to cover the whole network.

Keywords: Autonomous inspection, buried pipes, stigmergy, swarm intelligence, vehicle routing problem.

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3110 The Effects of Eight Weeks of Interval Endurance Training on hs-CRP Levels and Anthropometric Parameters in Overweight Men

Authors: S. Khoshemehry, M. J. Pourvaghar

Abstract:

Inflammatory markers are known as the main predictors of cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed at determining the effect of 8 weeks of interval endurance training on hs-CRP level and some anthropometric parameters in overweight men. Following the call for participation in research project in Kashan, 73 volunteers participated in it and constituted the statistical population of the study. Then, 28 overweight young men from the age of 22 to 25 years old were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental and control group (n=14). Anthropometric and the blood sample was collected before and after the termination of the program for measuring hs-CRP. The interval endurance program was performed at 60 to 75% of maximum heart rate in 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test whether two samples come from the same distribution and T-test was used to assess the difference of two groups which were statistically significant at the level of 0.05. The result indicated that there was a significant difference between the hs-RP, weight, BMI and W/H ratio of overweight men in posttest in the exercise group (P≤0.05) but not in the control group. Interval endurance training program causes decrease in hs-CRP level and anthropometric parameters.

Keywords: Interval endurance training program, hs-CRP, overweight, anthropometric.

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3109 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

Abstract:

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.

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3108 On-Line Impulse Buying and Cognitive Dissonance: The Moderating Role of the Positive Affective State

Authors: G. Mattia, A. Di Leo, L. Principato

Abstract:

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.

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3107 Study of Hydrophobicity Effect on 220kV Double Tension Insulator String Surface Using Finite Element Method

Authors: M. Nageswara Rao, V. S. N. K. Chaitanya, P. Vijaya Haritha

Abstract:

Insulators are one of the most significant equipment in power system. The insulators’ operation may affect the power flow, line loss and reliability. The electrical parameters that influence the performance of insulator are surface leakage current, corona and dry band arcing. Electric field stresses on the insulator surface will degrade the insulating properties and lead to puncture. Electric filed stresses can be analyzed by numerical methods and experimental evaluation. As per economic aspects, evaluation by numerical methods are best. In outdoor insulation, a hydrophobic surface can facilitate to prevent water film formation on the insulation surface, which is decisive for diminishing leakage currents and partial discharge (PD) under heavy polluted environments and harsh weather conditions. Polymer materials like silicone rubber have an outstanding hydrophobic property among general insulation materials. In this paper, electrical field intensity of 220 kV porcelain and polymer double tension insulator strings at critical regions are analyzed and compared by using Finite Element Method. Hydrophobic conditions of polymer insulator with equal and unequal water molecule conditions are verified by using finite element method.

Keywords: Porcelain insulator, polymer insulator, electric field analysis, EFA, finite element method, FEM, hydrophobicity, FEMM-2D.

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3106 Solid State Drive End to End Reliability Prediction, Characterization and Control

Authors: Mohd Azman Abdul Latif, Erwan Basiron

Abstract:

A flaw or drift from expected operational performance in one component (NAND, PMIC, controller, DRAM, etc.) may affect the reliability of the entire Solid State Drive (SSD) system. Therefore, it is important to ensure the required quality of each individual component through qualification testing specified using standards or user requirements. Qualification testing is time-consuming and comes at a substantial cost for product manufacturers. A highly technical team, from all the eminent stakeholders is embarking on reliability prediction from beginning of new product development, identify critical to reliability parameters, perform full-blown characterization to embed margin into product reliability and establish control to ensure the product reliability is sustainable in the mass production. The paper will discuss a comprehensive development framework, comprehending SSD end to end from design to assembly, in-line inspection, in-line testing and will be able to predict and to validate the product reliability at the early stage of new product development. During the design stage, the SSD will go through intense reliability margin investigation with focus on assembly process attributes, process equipment control, in-process metrology and also comprehending forward looking product roadmap. Once these pillars are completed, the next step is to perform process characterization and build up reliability prediction modeling. Next, for the design validation process, the reliability prediction specifically solder joint simulator will be established. The SSD will be stratified into Non-Operating and Operating tests with focus on solder joint reliability and connectivity/component latent failures by prevention through design intervention and containment through Temperature Cycle Test (TCT). Some of the SSDs will be subjected to the physical solder joint analysis called Dye and Pry (DP) and Cross Section analysis. The result will be feedbacked to the simulation team for any corrective actions required to further improve the design. Once the SSD is validated and is proven working, it will be subjected to implementation of the monitor phase whereby Design for Assembly (DFA) rules will be updated. At this stage, the design change, process and equipment parameters are in control. Predictable product reliability at early product development will enable on-time sample qualification delivery to customer and will optimize product development validation, effective development resource and will avoid forced late investment to bandage the end-of-life product failures. Understanding the critical to reliability parameters earlier will allow focus on increasing the product margin that will increase customer confidence to product reliability.

Keywords: e2e reliability prediction, SSD, TCT, Solder Joint Reliability, NUDD, connectivity issues, qualifications, characterization and control.

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3105 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

Abstract:

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

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3104 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.

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3103 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.

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3102 Attitudes of Academic Staff towards the Use of Information Communication Technology as a Pedagogical Tool for Effective Teaching in FCT College of Education, Zuba-Abuja, Nigeria

Authors: Salako Emmanuel Adekunle

Abstract:

With numerous advantages of ICT in teaching such as using images to improve the retentive memory of students, academic staff is yet to deliver instructions adequately and effectively due to no power supply, lack of technical supports and non-availability of functional ICT tools. This study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of academic staff towards the use of information communication technology as a pedagogical tool for effective teaching in FCT College of Education, Zuba-Abuja, Nigeria. A sample of 200 academic staff from five schools/faculties was involved in the study. The respondents were selected by using simple random sampling technique (SRST). A questionnaire was developed and validated by the experts in Measurement and Evaluation, and reliability co-efficient of 0.85 was obtained. It was used to gather relevant data from the respondents. This study revealed that the respondents had positive attitudes towards the use of ICT as a pedagogical tool for effective teaching. Also, the uses of ICT by the academic staff included: to encourage closer relationship for attainment of higher academic, and to deliver instructions effectively. The study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between the attitudes and the uses of ICT by the academic staff. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made which include: power supply should be provided to operate ICT facilities for effective teaching, and technical assistance on ICT usage for effective delivery of instructions should be provided among other recommendations.

Keywords: Academic staff, attitudes, information communication technology, pedagogical tool, teaching and use.

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3101 Enhance Halorespiration in Rhodopseudomonas palustris with Cytochrome P450cam System from Pseudomonas putida

Authors: Shou-Chen Lo, Chia-Ching Lin, Chieh-Chen Huang

Abstract:

To decompose organochlorides by bioremediation, co-culture biohydrogen producer and dehalogenation microorganisms is a useful method. In this study, we combined these two characteristics from a biohydrogen producer, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, and a dehalogenation microorganism, Pseudomonas putida, to enchance halorespiration in R. palustris. The genes encoding cytochrome P450cam system (camC, camA, and camB) from P. putida were expressed in R. palustris with designated expression plasmid. All tested strains were cultured to log phase then presented pentachloroethane (PCA) in media. The vector control strain could degrade PCA about 78% after 16 hours, however, the cytochrome P450cam system expressed strain, CGA-camCAB, could completely degrade PCA in 12 hours. While taking chlorinated aromatic, 3-chlorobenzoate, as sole carbon source or present benzoate as co-substrate, CGA-camCAB presented faster growth rate than vector control strain.

Keywords: cytochrome P450, halorespiration, nitrogen fixation, Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009

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3100 Influence of Bra Band Tension and Underwire Angles on Breast Motion

Authors: Cheuk Wing Lee, Kit Lun Yick, Sun Pui Ng, Joanne Yip

Abstract:

Daily activities and exercise may result in large displacements of the breasts, which lead to breast pain and discomfort. Therefore, a proper bra design and fit can help to control excessive breast motion to prevent the over-stretching of the connective tissues. Nevertheless, bra fit problems, such as excessively high tension of the shoulder straps and a tight underband could have substantially negative effects on the wear comfort and health of the wearer. The purpose of this study is to, therefore, examine the effects of bra band tension on breast displacement. Usually, human wear trials are carried out, but there are inconsistencies during testing. Therefore, a soft manikin torso is used to examine breast displacement at walking speeds of 2.30 km/h and 4.08 km/h. The breast displacement itself is determined by using a VICON motion capture system. The 3D geometric changes of the underwire bra band tension and the corresponding control of breast movement are also analyzed by using a 3D handheld scanner along with Rapidform software. The results indicate that an appropriate bra band tension can help to reduce breast displacement and provide a comfortable angle for the underwire. The findings can be used by designers and bra engineers as a reference source to advance bra design and development.

Keywords: Bra band, bra features, breast displacement, underwire angle.

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3099 Speed Sensorless IFOC of PMSM Based On Adaptive Luenberger Observer

Authors: Grouz Faten, Sbita Lassaâd

Abstract:

In this paper, Speed Sensorless Indirect Field Oriented Control (IFOC) of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous machine (PMSM) is studied. The closed loop scheme of the drive system utilizes fuzzy speed and current controllers. Due to the well known drawbacks of the speed sensor, an algorithm is proposed in this paper to eliminate it. In fact, based on the model of the PMSM, the stator currents and rotor speed are estimated simultaneously using adaptive Luenberger observer for currents and MRAS (Model Reference Adaptive System) observer for rotor speed. To overcome the sensivity of this algorithm against parameter variation, adaptive for on line stator resistance tuning is proposed. The validity of the proposed method is verified by an extensive simulation work.

Keywords: PMSM, Indirect Field Oriented Control, fuzzy speed and currents controllers, Adaptive Luenberger observer, MRAS.

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3098 Effects of Varying Fermentation Periods on the Chemical Composition of African Yam Bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) and Acha (Digitaria exilis) Flour Blends and Sensory Properties of Their Products

Authors: P. N. Okeke, J. N. Chikwendu

Abstract:

The study evaluated the effects of varying fermentation periods on the nutrients and anti-nutrients composition of African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) and acha (Digitaria exilis) flour blends and sensory properties of their products. The African yam bean seeds and acha grains were fermented for 24 hrs, 48 and 72 hrs, dried (sun drying) and milled into fine flour. The fermented flours were used in a ratio of 70:30 (Protein basis) to formulate composite flour for meat pie and biscuits production. Both the fermented and unfermented flours and products were analyzed for chemical composition using the standard method. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 15 to determine the mean and standard deviation. The 24, 48, and 72 hrs fermentation periods increased protein (22.81, 26.15 and 24.00% respectively). The carbohydrate, ash and moisture contents of the flours were also increased as a result of fermentation (68.01-76.83, 2.26-4.88, and 8.36-13.00% respectively). The 48 hrs fermented flour blends had the highest increase in ash relative to the control (4.88%). Fermentation increased zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorus content of the flours. Treatment drastically reduced the anti-nutrient (oxalate, saponin, tannin, phytate, and hemagglutinin) levels of the flours. Both meat pie and biscuits had increased protein relative to the control (27.36-34.28% and 23.66-25.09%). However, the protein content of the meat pie increased more than that of the biscuits. Zinc, Iron, Magnesium and phosphorus levels increased in both meat pie and biscuits. Organoleptic attributes of the products (meat pie and biscuits) were slightly lower than the control except those of the 72 hrs fermented flours.

Keywords: Fermentation, African yam bean, Acha, biscuits, meat-pie.

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3097 Early-Warning Lights Classification Management System for Industrial Parks in Taiwan

Authors: Yu-Min Chang, Kuo-Sheng Tsai, Hung-Te Tsai, Chia-Hsin Li

Abstract:

This paper presents the early-warning lights classification management system for industrial parks promoted by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) since 2011, including the definition of each early-warning light, objectives, action program and accomplishments. All of the 151 industrial parks in Taiwan were classified into four early-warning lights, including red, orange, yellow and green, for carrying out respective pollution management according to the monitoring data of soil and groundwater quality, regulatory compliance, and regulatory listing of control site or remediation site. The Taiwan EPA set up a priority list for high potential polluted industrial parks and investigated their soil and groundwater qualities based on the results of the light classification and pollution potential assessment. In 2011-2013, there were 44 industrial parks selected and carried out different investigation, such as the early warning groundwater well networks establishment and pollution investigation/verification for the red and orange-light industrial parks and the environmental background survey for the yellow-light industrial parks. Among them, 22 industrial parks were newly or continuously confirmed that the concentrations of pollutants exceeded those in soil or groundwater pollution control standards. Thus, the further investigation, groundwater use restriction, listing of pollution control site or remediation site, and pollutant isolation measures were implemented by the local environmental protection and industry competent authorities; the early warning lights of those industrial parks were proposed to adjust up to orange or red-light. Up to the present, the preliminary positive effect of the soil and groundwater quality management system for industrial parks has been noticed in several aspects, such as environmental background information collection, early warning of pollution risk, pollution investigation and control, information integration and application, and inter-agency collaboration. Finally, the work and goal of self-initiated quality management of industrial parks will be carried out on the basis of the inter-agency collaboration by the classified lights system of early warning and management as well as the regular announcement of the status of each industrial park.

Keywords: Industrial park, soil and groundwater quality management, early-warning lights classification, SOP for reporting and treatment of monitored abnormal events.

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3096 FZP Design Considering Spherical Wave Incidence

Authors: Sergio Pérez-López, Daniel Tarrazó-Serrano, José M. Fuster, Pilar Candelas, Constanza Rubio

Abstract:

Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs) are widely used in many areas, such as optics, microwaves or acoustics. On the design of FZPs, plane wave incidence is typically considered, but that is not usually the case in ultrasounds, especially in applications where a piston emitter is placed at a certain distance from the lens. In these cases, having control of the focal distance is very important, and with the usual Fresnel equation a focal displacement from the theoretical distance is observed due to the plane wave supposition. In this work, a comparison between FZP with plane wave incidence design and FZP with point source design in the case of piston emitter is presented. Influence of the main parameters of the piston in the final focalization profile has been studied. Numerical models and experimental results are shown, and they prove that when spherical wave incidence is considered for the piston case, it is possible to have a fine control of the focal distance in comparison with the classical design method.

Keywords: Focusing, Fresnel zone plate, ultrasound, spherical wave incidence, piston emitter.

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