Search results for: international production networks

Authors: Zhuomin Zou, Thijs Van Landeghem, Elke Gruyaert

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Using supplementary cementitious materials, such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) and limestone to replace Portland cement (PC) is a promising method to reduce the carbon emissions from cement production. To efficiently use GGBFS and limestone, it is necessary to carefully select the particle size distribution (PSD) of the binders. This study investigated the effects of the PSD of binders on the performance of slag-limestone ternary cement. Based on the PSD parameters of the binders, three types of ternary cements with a similar overall PSD were designed, i.e., No.1 fine GGBFS, medium PC, and coarse limestone; No.2 fine limestone, medium PC, and coarse GGBFS; No.3. fine PC, medium GGBFS, and coarse limestone. The binder contents in the ternary cements were 50% PC, 40% slag, and 10% limestone. The mortar performance of the three ternary cements was investigated in terms of flow table value, strength at 28 days, carbonation resistance and non-steady state chloride migration resistance at 28 days. Results show that ternary cement with fine limestone (No.2) has the weakest performance among the three ternary cements. Ternary cements with fine slag (No.1) show an overall comparable performance to ternary cement with fine PC (No.3). Moreover, the chloride migration coefficient of ternary cements with fine slag (No.1) is significantly lower than the other two ternary cements.

Keywords: Limestone, particle size distribution, slag, ternary cement.

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Authors: Andreas Theissler, Ian Dear

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In the automotive industry test drives are being conducted during the development of new vehicle models or as a part of quality assurance of series-production vehicles. The communication on the in-vehicle network, data from external sensors, or internal data from the electronic control units is recorded by automotive data loggers during the test drives. The recordings are used for fault analysis. Since the resulting data volume is tremendous, manually analysing each recording in great detail is not feasible. This paper proposes to use machine learning to support domainexperts by preventing them from contemplating irrelevant data and rather pointing them to the relevant parts in the recordings. The underlying idea is to learn the normal behaviour from available recordings, i.e. a training set, and then to autonomously detect unexpected deviations and report them as anomalies. The one-class support vector machine “support vector data description” is utilised to calculate distances of feature vectors. SVDDSUBSEQ is proposed as a novel approach, allowing to classify subsequences in multivariate time series data. The approach allows to detect unexpected faults without modelling effort as is shown with experimental results on recordings from test drives.

Keywords: Anomaly detection, fault detection, test drive analysis, machine learning.

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Authors: Excellence Favor, Bakari M. M. Mwinyiwiwa

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Access to information holds the key to the empowerment of everybody despite where they are living. This research has been carried out in respect of the people living in developing countries, considering their plight and complex geographical, demographic, social-economic conditions surrounding the areas they live, which hinder access to information and of professionals providing services such as medical workers, which has led to high death rates and development stagnation. Research on Unified Communications and Integrated Collaborations (UCIC) system in the health sector of developing countries aims at creating a possible solution of bridging the digital canyon among the communities. The system is meant to deliver services in a seamless manner to assist health workers situated anywhere to be accessed easily and access information which will enhance service delivery. The proposed UCIC provides the most immersive telepresence experience for one-to-one or many-to-many meetings. Extending to locations anywhere in the world, the transformative platform delivers Ultra-low operating costs through the use of general purpose networks and using special lenses and track systems. The essence of this study is to create a security model for the deployment of the UCIC system in the health sector of developing countries. The model approach used for building the UCIC system security carefully considers the specific requirements for the health sector environment organization such as data centre, national, regional and district hospitals, and health centers IV, III, II and I and then builds the single best possible secure network to meet their needs. The security model demonstrates on how the components of the UCIC system will be protected physically and logically in the health sector environment. The UCIC system once adopted and implemented correctly will bring enhancement to the speed and quality of services offered by health workers. The capacities of UCIC will help health workers shorten decision cycles, accelerate service delivery and save lives by speeding access to information and by making it possible for all health workers and patients to collaborate ubiquitously.

Keywords: Developing Countries, Health Sector Environment, Security, Unified Communications and Integrated Collaborations.

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Authors: F. S. Eguakun, P. O. Adesoye

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One of the major problems being faced by human society is that the global temperature is believed to be rising due to human activity that releases carbon IV Oxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Carbon IV Oxide is the most important greenhouse gas influencing global warming and possible climate change. With climate change becoming alarming, reducing CO2 in our atmosphere has become a primary goal of international efforts. Forest lands are major sink and could absorb large quantities of carbon if the trees are judiciously managed. The study aims at estimating the carbon sequestration capacity of Pinus caribaea (pine) and Tectona grandis (Teak) under the prevailing environmental conditions and exploring tree growth variables that influences the carbon sequestration capacity in Omo Forest Reserve, Ogun State, Nigeria. Improving forest management by manipulating growth characteristics that influences carbon sequestration could be an adaptive strategy of forestry to climate change. Random sampling was used to select Temporary Sample Plots (TSPs) in the study area from where complete enumeration of growth variables was carried out within the plots. The data collected were subjected to descriptive and correlational analyses. The results showed that average carbon stored by Pine and Teak are 994.4±188.3 Kg and 1350.7±180.6 Kg respectively. The difference in carbon stored in the species is significant enough to consider choice of species relevant in climate change adaptation strategy. Tree growth variables influence the capacity of the tree to sequester carbon. Height, diameter, volume, wood density and age are positively correlated to carbon sequestration. These tree growth variables could be manipulated by the forest manager as an adaptive strategy for climate change while plantations of high wood density species could be relevant for management strategy to increase carbon storage.

Keywords: Adaptation, carbon sequestration, climate change, growth variables, wood density.

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Authors: Zhi Zhang, Tao Tang, Guangda Lu, Cheng Qin, Huogen Huang, Shaotao Zheng

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High purity hydrogen and the valuable by-product of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be produced by the methane catalytic decomposition. The methane conversion and the performance of CNTs were determined by the choices of catalysts and the condition of decomposition reaction. In this paper, Ni/MgO and Ni/O-D (oxidized diamond) catalysts were prepared by wetness impregnation method. The effects of reaction temperature and space velocity of methane on the methane conversion were investigated in a fixed-bed. The surface area, structure and micrography were characterized with BET, XPS, SEM, EDS technology. The results showed that the conversion of methane was above 8% within 150 min (T=500) for 33Ni/O-D catalyst and higher than 25% within 120 min (T=650) for 41Ni/MgO catalyst. The initial conversion increased with the increasing temperature of the decomposition reaction, but their catalytic activities decreased rapidly while at too higher temperature. To decrease the space velocity of methane was propitious to promote the methane conversion, but not favor of the hydrogen yields. The appearance of carbon resulted from the methane decomposition lied on the support type and the condition of catalytic reaction. It presented as fiber shape on the surface of Ni/O-D at the relatively lower temperature such as 500 and 550, but as grain shape stacked on and overlayed on the surface of the metal nickel while at 650. The carbon fiber can form on the Ni/MgO surface at 650 and the diameter of the carbon fiber increased with the decreasing space velocity.

Keywords: methane, catalytic decomposition, hydrogen, carbon nanofiber

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino

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The development of tourism causes negative impacts on the environment. It is in this context, through the Ecological Footprint (EF) method that this study aimed to characterize the impacts of ecotourism on the community of Mateiros, Jalapão, Brazil. The EF, which consisted in its original a method to construct a land use matrix, considering some major categories of human consumption such as food, housing, transportation, consumer goods and services, and six other categories from the main land use which are divided into the topics: land use, degraded environment, gardens, fertile land, pasture and forests protected by the government. The main objective of this index is to calculate the land area required for the production and maintenance of goods and services consumed by a community. The field research was conducted throughout the year of 2014 until July 2015. After the calculations of each category, these components were added according to the presented method in order to determine the annual EF of the tourism sector in Mateiros. The results show that the EF resulting from tourism in Mateiros is 2,194.22 hectares of land required for tourism activities in the region. The EF of tourism was considered high, nevertheless, if it is added the total of hectares needed annually for tourism activities, the result found would be 2,194.22 hectares needed to absorb the CO₂ emissions generated in the region directly from the tourism sector.

Keywords: Sustainable tourism, tourism ecological footprint, Jalapão/TO/Brazil.

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Authors: A. Samraj, S. Sayeed, J. E. Raja., J. Hossen, A. Rahman

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Monitoring the tool flank wear without affecting the throughput is considered as the prudent method in production technology. The examination has to be done without affecting the machining process. In this paper we proposed a novel work that is used to determine tool flank wear by observing the sound signals emitted during the turning process. The work-piece material we used here is steel and aluminum and the cutting insert was carbide material. Two different cutting speeds were used in this work. The feed rate and the cutting depth were constant whereas the flank wear was a variable. The emitted sound signal of a fresh tool (0 mm flank wear) a slightly worn tool (0.2 -0.25 mm flank wear) and a severely worn tool (0.4mm and above flank wear) during turning process were recorded separately using a high sensitive microphone. Analysis using Singular Value Decomposition was done on these sound signals to extract the feature sound components. Observation of the results showed that an increase in tool flank wear correlates with an increase in the values of SVD features produced out of the sound signals for both the materials. Hence it can be concluded that wear monitoring of tool flank during turning process using SVD features with the Fuzzy C means classification on the emitted sound signal is a potential and relatively simple method.

Keywords: Fuzzy c means, Microphone, Singular ValueDecomposition, Tool Flank Wear.

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Authors: N. Cetinkaya, Y. S. Kuleyin

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The aim of this study was to estimate the digestibility of the fruit internal skin of different varieties of hazelnuts to propose hazelnut fruit skin as an alternative feed source as roughage in ruminant nutrition. In 2015, the fruit internal skins of three different varieties of round hazelnuts (RH), pointed hazelnuts (PH) and almond hazelnuts (AH) were obtained from hazelnut processing factory then their crude nutrients analysis were carried out. Organic matter digestibility (OMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) values of hazelnut fruit skins were estimated from gas measured by in vitro gas production method. Their antioxidant activities were determined by spectrophotometric method. Crude nutrient values of three different varieties were; organic matter (OM): 87.83, 87.81 and 87.78%), crude protein (CP): 5.97, 5.93 and 5.89%, neutral detergent fiber (NDF): 30.30, 30.29 and 30.29%, acid detergent fiber (ADF): 48.68, 48.67 and 48.66% and acid detergent lignin (ADL): 25.43, 25.43 and 25.39% respectively. OMD from 24 h incubation time of RH, PH and AH were 22.04, 22.46 and 22.74%; ME_GP values were 3.69, 3.75 and 3.79 MJ/kg DM; and antioxidant activity values were 94.60, 94.54 and 94.52 IC 50 mg/mL respectively. The fruit internal skin of different varieties of hazelnuts may be considered as an alternative roughage for ruminant nutrition regarding to their crude and digestible nutritive values. Moreover, hazelnut fruit skin has a rich antioxidant content so it may be used as a feed additive for both ruminant and non-ruminant animals.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, hazelnut fruit skin, metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility.

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Authors: J. M. Owoyemi, O. S. Ogunrinde

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The suitability of Newsprint and Kraft papers for the production of cement bonded ceiling board was investigated. Sample boards were produced from newsprint paper (100%), mixture of newsprint and Kraft paper (50:50) and Kraft paper (100%) at 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 cement/paper mixing ratio respectively with 3% additive concentration of calcium chloride (CaCl₂). Density, flexural and thickness swelling properties of the boards were investigated. The effects of paper type and mixing ratio on the physical and mechanical properties were also examined. The bending properties of the board which include Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) increased linearly with increase in density. Modulus of rupture of boards increased as the density and mixing ratio increased. The thickness swelling property for the two paper types decreased as the board density and mixing ratio increased. Boards made from Kraft paper recorded higher strength values than the ones made from recycled newsprint paper while the mixture of kraft and newsprint papers had the best surface finish. The result of the study will help in managing the large quality of waste from paper converting/carton industry and that the ceiling boards produced could be installed with clout nails or used with suspended ceiling fittings.

Keywords: Cement, Kraft paper, Mixing ratio, Newsprint.

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Authors: Aryanejad Mir Bahador Goli, Zahra Honarmand Shah Zileh

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In most study fields, a phenomenon may not be studied directly but it will be examined indirectly by phenomenon model. Making an accurate model of system, there is attained new information from modeled phenomenon without any charge, danger, etc... there have been developed more solutions for describing and analyzing the recent complicated systems but few of them have analyzed the performance in the range of system description. Petri nets are of limited solutions which may make such union. Petri nets are being applied in problems related to modeling and designing the systems. Theory of Petri nets allow a system to model mathematically by a Petri net and analyzing the Petri net can then determine main information of modeled system-s structure and dynamic. This information can be used for assessing the performance of systems and suggesting corrections in the system. In this paper, beside the introduction of Petri nets, a real case study will be studied in order to show the application of generalized stochastic Petri nets in modeling a resource sharing production system and evaluating the efficiency of its machines and robots. The modeling tool used here is SHARP software which calculates specific indicators helping to make decision.

Keywords: Flexible manufacturing system, generalizedstochastic Petri nets, Markov chain, performance evaluation.

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Authors: Mochammad Dewo, Sumarsono Sudarto

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The Exponential Triple Smoothing Algorithm approach nowadays, which is used to anticipate the export value of Indonesia's two major commodities, coal and palm oil, has a Mean Percentage Absolute Error (MAPE) value of 30-50%, which may be considered as a "reasonable" forecasting mistake. Forecasting errors of more than 30% shall have a domino effect on industrial output, as extra production adds to raw material, manufacturing and storage expenses. Whereas, reaching an "excellent" classification with an error value of less than 10% will provide new investors and exporters with confidence in the commercial development of related sectors. Industrial growth will bring out a positive impact on economic development. It can be applied for other commodities if the forecast error is less than 10%. The purpose of this project is to create a forecasting technique that can produce precise forecasting results with an error of less than 10%. This research analyzes forecasting methods such as ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average), ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and LSTM (Long-Short Term Memory). By providing a MAPE of 1%, this study reveals that ANN is the most successful strategy for forecasting coal and palm oil commodities in Indonesia.

Keywords: ANN, Artificial Neural Network, ARIMA, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average, export value, forecast, LSTM, Long Short Term Memory.

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Authors: Liubov A. Magerramova, Mikhail A. Petrov, Vladimir V. Isakov, Liana A. Shcherbinina, Suren G. Gukasyan, Daniil V. Povalyukhin, Olga G. Klimova-Korsmik, Darya V. Volosevich

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Aircraft engines are developing along the path of increasing resource, strength, reliability, and safety. The building of gas turbine engine body parts is a complex design and technological task. Particularly complex in the design and manufacturing are the casings of the input stages of helicopter gearboxes and central drives of aircraft engines. Traditional technologies, such as precision casting or isothermal forging, are characterized by significant limitations in parts production. For parts like housing, additive technologies guarantee spatial freedom and limitless or flexible design. This article presents the results of computational and experimental studies. These investigations justify the applicability of additive technologies (AT) to reduce the weight of aircraft housing gearbox parts by up to 32%. This is possible due to geometrical optimization compared to the classical, less flexible manufacturing methods and as-casted aircraft parts with over-insured values of safety factors. Using an example of the body of the input stage of an aircraft gearbox, visualization of the layer-by-layer manufacturing of a part based on thermal deformation was demonstrated.

Keywords: Additive technologies, gas turbine engines, geometric optimization, weight reduction.

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Authors: T. A. Abegunde, O. B. Oyewole, T. A. Sanni

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A process of conversion of flour from three varieties of cassava, namely Odongbo, ofege and TMS30752 to ethanol using α-amylase locally sourced from germinated unhusked paddy rice and yeast isolated from palm wine was developed. It involves the germination of paddy rice for a period of 15days to produce α-amylase for starch hydrolysis and isolation of yeast from palm wine for fermentation. The results showed that optimum amylase yield of “ofada” rice paddy was at 6^th day germination which was 576.9ml/g. Ethanol yield for TMS30572 (440.3%) was significantly higher than “Odongbo” (160.2%) and “Ofege’’ (115.1%), Sugar conversion efficiency were 311.0%v/v, 268.2%v/v and 186.84%v/v for TMS30572, “Odongbo” and “Ofege” respectively. The ethanol boiling points were 78^oC, 76^oC and 80^oC for TMS30572, “Odongbo” and “Ofege” respectively. This study showed that cassava varieties affects quality of ethanol produced and germination of “ofada” rice for 6 days ensures optimum production of crude amylase enzyme.

Keywords: Cassava, ethanol, fermentation, hydrolysis, α-amylase.

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Authors: Abdelrahman Ahmed Mohamed Osman

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Over the past few years, a number of efforts have been exerted to build parallel processing systems that utilize the idle power of LAN-s and PC-s available in many homes and corporations. The main advantage of these approaches is that they provide cheap parallel processing environments for those who cannot afford the expenses of supercomputers and parallel processing hardware. However, most of the solutions provided are not very flexible in the use of available resources and very difficult to install and setup. In this paper, a multi-level web-based parallel processing system (MWPS) is designed (appendix). MWPS is based on the idea of volunteer computing, very flexible, easy to setup and easy to use. MWPS allows three types of subscribers: simple volunteers (single computers), super volunteers (full networks) and end users. All of these entities are coordinated transparently through a secure web site. Volunteer nodes provide the required processing power needed by the system end users. There is no limit on the number of volunteer nodes, and accordingly the system can grow indefinitely. Both volunteer and system users must register and subscribe. Once, they subscribe, each entity is provided with the appropriate MWPS components. These components are very easy to install. Super volunteer nodes are provided with special components that make it possible to delegate some of the load to their inner nodes. These inner nodes may also delegate some of the load to some other lower level inner nodes .... and so on. It is the responsibility of the parent super nodes to coordinate the delegation process and deliver the results back to the user. MWPS uses a simple behavior-based scheduler that takes into consideration the current load and previous behavior of processing nodes. Nodes that fulfill their contracts within the expected time get a high degree of trust. Nodes that fail to satisfy their contract get a lower degree of trust. MWPS is based on the .NET framework and provides the minimal level of security expected in distributed processing environments. Users and processing nodes are fully authenticated. Communications and messages between nodes are very secure. The system has been implemented using C#. MWPS may be used by any group of people or companies to establish a parallel processing or grid environment.

Keywords: Volunteer computing, Parallel Processing, XMLWebServices, .NET Remoting, Tuplespace.

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Authors: Eylem Koç, Hasan Arda Burhan

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Location selection presents a crucial decision problem in today’s business world where strategic decision making processes have critical importance. Thus, location selection has strategic importance for companies in boosting their strength regarding competition, increasing corporate performances and efficiency in addition to lowering production and transportation costs. A right choice in location selection has a direct impact on companies’ commercial success. In this study, a store location selection problem of Carglass Turkey which operates in vehicle glass branch is handled. As this problem includes both tangible and intangible criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was accepted as the main methodology. The model consists of control hierarchy and BOCR subnetworks which include clusters of actors, alternatives and criteria. In accordance with the management’s choices, five different locations were selected. In addition to the literature review, a strict cooperation with the actor group was ensured and maintained while determining the criteria and during whole process. Obtained results were presented to the management as a report and its feasibility was confirmed accordingly.

Keywords: Analytic Network Process, BOCR, location selection, multi-actor decision making, multi-criteria decision making, real life problem.

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Authors: Mithilesh Singh, Rakhi Chaturvedi

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Neem is a highly heterozygous and commercially important perennial plant. Conventionally, it is propagated by seeds which loose viability within two weeks. Strictly cross pollinating nature of the plant causes serious barrier to the genetic improvement by conventional methods. Alternative methods of tree improvement such as somatic hybridization, mutagenesis and genetic transformation require an efficient in vitro plant regeneration system. In this regard, somatic embryogenesis particularly secondary somatic embryogenesis may offer an effective system for large scale plant propagation without affecting the clonal fidelity of the regenerants. It can be used for synthetic seed production, which further bolsters conservation of this tree species which is otherwise very difficult The present report describes the culture conditions necessary to induce and maintain repetitive somatic embryogenesis, for the first time, in neem. Out of various treatments tested, the somatic embryos were induced directly from immature zygotic embryos of neem on MS + TDZ (0.1 μM) + ABA (4 μM), in more than 76 % cultures. Direct secondary somatic embryogenesis occurred from primary somatic embryos on MS + IAA (5 μM) + GA3 (5 μM) in 12.5 % cultures. Embryogenic competence of the explant as well as of the primary embryos was maintained for a long period by repeated subcultures at frequent intervals. A maximum of 10 % of these somatic embryos were converted into plantlets.

Keywords: Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Cytokinin, Somatic embryogenesis, zygotic embryo culture.

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Authors: Ali A. Bazzi, Ameer Hamza, Riley O’Hara, Kimberly Kado, Karen H. Hagglund, Lamia Fathallah, Robert T. Morris

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Introduction: Endometrial Cancer is a common gynecologic malignancy primarily treated with complete surgical staging, which may include complete pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. The role of lymphadenectomy is controversial, especially the intraoperative indications for the procedure. Three factors are important in decision to proceed with lymphadenectomy: Myometrial invasion, maximum tumor dimension, and histology. Many institutions incorporate these criteria in varying degrees in the decision to proceed with lymphadenectomy. This investigation assesses the use of intraoperatively measured MTD with and without pre-operative histologic grade. Methods: This study compared retrospectively EEC patients with intraoperatively measured MTD ≤2 cm to those with MTD >2 cm from January 1, 2002 to August 31, 2017. This assessment compared those with MTD ≤ 2cm with endometrial biopsy (EB) grade 1-2 to patients with MTD > 2cm with EB grade 3. Lymph node metastasis (LNM), recurrence, and survival were compared in these groups. Results: This study reviewed 222 patient cases. In tumors > 2 cm, LNM occurred in 20% cases while in tumors ≤ 2 cm, LNM was found in 6% cases (p=0.04). Recurrence and mean survival based on last follow up visit in these two groups were not statistically different (p=0.78 and 0.36 respectively). Data demonstrated a trend that when combined with preoperative EB International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade, a higher proportion of patients with EB FIGO Grade 3 and MTD > 2 cm had LNM compared to those with EB FIGO Grade 1-2 and MTD ≤ 2 cm (43% vs, 11%, p=0.06). LNM was found in 15% of cases in which lymphadenectomy was performed based on current practices, whereas if the criteria of EB FIGO 3 and MTD > 2 cm were used the incidence of LNM would have been 44% cases. However, using this criterion, two patients would not have had their nodal metastases detected. Compared to the current practice, the sensitivity and specificity of the proposed criteria would be 60% and 81%, respectively. The PPV and NPV would be 43% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that MTD combined with EB FIGO grade can detect LNM in a higher proportion of cases when compared to current practice. MTD combined with EB FIGO grade may eliminate the need of frozen section sampling in a substantial number of cases.

Keywords: Endometrial cancer, FIGO grade, lymphadenectomy, tumor size.

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Authors: Tsietsi J. Pilusa, Tumisang G. Seodigeng

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This study evaluates the benefits of advanced waste management practices in unlocking waste-to-energy opportunities within the solid waste industry. The key drivers of sustainable waste management practices, specifically with respect to packaging waste-to-energy technology options are discussed. The success of a waste-to-energy system depends significantly on the appropriateness of available technologies, including those that are well established as well as those that are less so. There are hard and soft interventions to be considered when packaging an integrated waste treatment solution. Technology compatibility with variation in feedstock (waste) quality and quantities remains a key factor. These factors influence the technology reliability in terms of production efficiencies and product consistency, which in turn, drives the supply and demand network. Waste treatment technologies rely on the waste material as feedstock; the feedstock varies in quality and quantities depending on several factors; hence, the technology fails, as a result. It is critical to design an advanced waste treatment technology in an integrated approach to minimize the possibility of technology failure due to unpredictable feedstock quality, quantities, conversion efficiencies, and inconsistent product yield or quality. An integrated waste-to-energy approach offers a secure system design that considers sustainable waste management practices.

Keywords: Emerging markets, evaluation tool, interventions, waste treatment technologies.

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Authors: Sangamesh G. Sakri, Akash N. Patil, Sadashivappa M. Kotli

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Agro based industries in India are considered as the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). In India, MSMEs contribute approximately 8 percent of the country’s GDP, 42 percent of the manufacturing output and 40 percent of exports. The toor dal (scientific name Cajanus cajan, commonly known as yellow gram, pigeon pea) is the second largest pulse crop in India accounting for about 20% of total pulse production. The toor dal milling industry in India is one of the major agro-processing industries in the country. Most of the dal mills are concentrated in pulse producing areas, which are spread all over the country. In Karnataka state, Gulbarga is a district, where toor dal is the main crop and is grown extensively. There are more than 500 dal mills in and around the Gulbarga district to process dal. However, the majority of these dal milling units use traditional methods of processing which are energy and capital intensive. There exists a huge energy saving potential in these mills. An energy audit is conducted on a dal mill in Gulbarga to understand the energy consumption pattern to assess the energy saving potential, and an economic analysis is conducted to identify energy conservation opportunities.

Keywords: Conservation, demand side management, load curve, toor dal.

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Authors: Ivan C. Mustakerov, Daniela I. Borissova

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The increasing competitiveness in manufacturing industry is forcing manufacturers to seek effective processing schedules. The paper presents an optimization manufacture scheduling approach for dependent details processing with given processing sequences and times on multiple machines. By defining decision variables as start and end moments of details processing it is possible to use straightforward variables restrictions to satisfy different technological requirements and to formulate easy to understand and solve optimization tasks for multiple numbers of details and machines. A case study example is solved for seven base moldings for CNC metalworking machines processed on five different machines with given processing order among details and machines and known processing time-s duration. As a result of linear optimization task solution the optimal manufacturing schedule minimizing the overall processing time is obtained. The manufacturing schedule defines the moments of moldings delivery thus minimizing storage costs and provides mounting due-time satisfaction. The proposed optimization approach is based on real manufacturing plant problem. Different processing schedules variants for different technological restrictions were defined and implemented in the practice of Bulgarian company RAIS Ltd. The proposed approach could be generalized for other job shop scheduling problems for different applications.

Keywords: Optimal manufacturing scheduling, linear programming, metalworking machines production, dependant details processing.

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Authors: Rudolf Egger

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This paper explores the relationships between the basic learning processes of leading trade union workers and their methods for coping with the changes in the life-courses of societies today. It will discuss the fragile discourse on lifelong learning in trade unions and the “production of self-techniques” to get in touch with the new economic forms. On the basis of an empirical project, different processes of the socialization of leading trade union workers will be analysed to discover the consequences of the lifelong learning discourse. The results show what competences they need to develop for the “wider benefits of negotiations”. The main challenge remains to make visible how deeply intertwined trade union learning and education are with development in an ongoing dynamic economic process, rather than a quick-fix injection of skills and information. There is a complex relationship existing between the three ‘partners’, work, learning and society forming. The author suggests that contemporary trade unions could be trendsetters who make their own learning agendas by drawing less on formal education and more on informal and non-formal learning contexts. This is in parallel with growing political and scientific consciousness of the need to arrive at new educational/vocational policies and practices.

Keywords: Lifelong learning, Trade unions, Non-formal learning, Educational/vocational policies.

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Authors: René Čechmánek, Vladan Prachař, Ludvík Lederer, Jiří Loskot

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Thin-walled elements with a matrix set on a base of high-valuable Portland cement with dispersed reinforcement from alkali-resistant glass fibres are used in a range of applications as claddings of buildings and infrastructure constructions as well as various architectural elements of residential buildings. Even though their elementary thickness and therefore total weight is quite low, architects and building companies demand on even further decreasing of the bulk density of these fibre-cement elements for the reason of loading elimination of connected superstructures and easier assembling in demand conditions. By the means of various kinds of light-weight aggregates it is possible to achieve light-weighing of these composite elements. From the range of possible fillers with different material properties granulated expanded glass worked the best. By the means of laboratory testing an effect of two fillers based on expanded glass on the fibre reinforced cement composite was verified. Practical applicability was tested in the production of commonly manufactured glass fibre reinforced concrete elements, such as channels for electrical cable deposition, products for urban equipment and especially various cladding elements. Even though these are not structural elements, it is necessary to evaluate also strength characteristics and resistance to environment for their durability in certain applications.

Keywords: Fibre-cement composite, granulated expanded glass, light-weighing.

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Authors: Ghada Elshafei, Abdelazim Negm

Abstract:

Life cycle assessment is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision. In this paper, the life cycle assessment of aluminum and beech wood as two commonly used materials in Egypt for window frames are heading, highlighting their benefits and weaknesses. Window frames of the two materials have been assessed on the basis of their production, energy consumption and environmental impacts. It has been found that the climate change of the windows made of aluminum and beech wood window, for a reference window (1.2m×1.2m), are 81.7 mPt and -52.5 mPt impacts respectively. Among the most important results are: fossil fuel consumption, potential contributions to the green building effect and quantities of solid waste tend to be minor for wood products compared to aluminum products; incineration of wood products can cause higher impacts of acidification and eutrophication than aluminum, whereas thermal energy can be recovered.

Keywords: Aluminum window, beech wood window, green building, life cycle assessment, life cycle analysis, SimaPro software, window frame.

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Authors: H. L. Ku, K. C. Yang, S. Y. Jhou, S. C. Lee, C. S. Lin

Abstract:

Characterized as rich mineral substances, low temperature, few bacteria, and stability with numerous implementation aspects on aquaculture, food, drinking, and leisure, the deep sea water (DSW) development has become a new industry in the world. It has been report that marine algae contain various biologically active compounds. This research focued on the affections in cultivating Sagrassum cristaefolium with different concentration of deep sea water(DSW) and surface sea water(SSW). After two and four weeks, the total phenolic contents were compared in Sagrassum cristaefolium culturing with different ways, and the reductive activity of them was also be tried with potassium ferricyanide. Those fresh seaweeds were dried with oven and were ground to powder. Progressively, the marine algae we cultured was extracted by water under the condition with heating them at 90Ôäâ for 1hr.The total phenolic contents were be executed using Folin–Ciocalteu method. The results were explaining as follows: the highest total phenolic contents and the best reductive ability of all could be observed on the 1/4 proportion of DSW to SSW culturing in two weeks. Furthermore, the 1/2 proportion of DSW to SSW also showed good reductive ability and plentiful phenolic compositions. Finally, we confirmed that difference proportion of DSW and SSW is the major point relating to ether the total phenolic components or the reductive ability in the Sagrassum cristaefolium. In the future, we will use this way to mass production the marine algae or other micro algae on industry applications.

Keywords: deep sea water(DSW), surface sea water(SSW), phenolic contents, reductive ability.

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Authors: Mohamad Azmi Haniffa, Fakhruldin Mohd Hashim

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Pipeline infrastructures normally represent high cost of investment and the pipeline must be free from risks that could cause environmental hazard and potential threats to personnel safety. Pipeline integrity such monitoring and management become very crucial to provide unimpeded transportation and avoiding unnecessary production deferment. Thus proper cleaning and inspection is the key to safe and reliable pipeline operation and plays an important role in pipeline integrity management program and has become a standard industry procedure. In view of this, understanding the motion (dynamic behavior), prediction and control of the PIG speed is important in executing pigging operation as it offers significant benefits, such as estimating PIG arrival time at receiving station, planning for suitable pigging operation, and improves efficiency of pigging tasks. The objective of this paper is to review recent developments in speed control system of pipeline PIGs. The review carried out would serve as an industrial application in a form of quick reference of recent developments in pipeline PIG speed control system, and further initiate others to add-in/update the list in the future leading to knowledge based data, and would attract active interest of others to share their view points.

Keywords: Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG), In Line Inspection Tools (ILI), PIG motion, PIG speed control system

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Authors: Y. A. Shapovalov, F. M. Gumerov, M. K. Nauryzbaev, S. V. Mazanov, R. A. Usmanov, A. V. Klinov, L. K. Safiullina, S. A. Soshin

Abstract:

A flow-through installation was created and manufactured for the transesterification of triglycerides of fatty acids and production of biodiesel fuel under supercritical fluid conditions. Transesterification of rapeseed oil with ethanol was carried out according to two parameters: temperature and the ratio of alcohol/oil mixture at the constant pressure of 19 MPa. The kinetics of the yield of fatty acids ethyl esters (FAEE) was determined in the temperature range of 320-380 °C at the alcohol/oil molar ratio of 6:1-20:1. The content of the formed FAEE was determined by the method of correlation of the resulting biodiesel fuel by its kinematic viscosity. The maximum FAEE yield (about 90%) was obtained within 30 min at the ethanol/oil molar ratio of 12:1 and a temperature of 380 °C. When studying of transesterification of triglycerides, a kinetic model of an isothermal flow reactor was used. The reaction order implemented in the flow reactor has been determined. The first order of the reaction was confirmed by data on the conversion of FAEE during the reaction at different temperatures and the molar ratios of the initial reagents (ethanol/oil). Using the Arrhenius equation, the values of the effective constants of the transesterification reaction rate were calculated at different reaction temperatures. In addition, based on the experimental data, the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor of the transesterification reaction were determined.

Keywords: Biodiesel, fatty acid esters, supercritical fluid technology, transesterification.

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Authors: Anil S. Khopkar, Kartik S. Pandya

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Lightning overvoltage phenomenon in power systems cannot be avoided; however, it can be controlled to certain extent. To prevent system failure, power system equipment must be protected against overvoltage. Metal Oxide Surge Arrestors (MOSA) are connected in the system to provide protection against overvoltages. Under normal working conditions, MOSA function as, insulators, offering a conductive path during overvoltage events. MOSA consists of zinc oxide elements (ZnO Blocks) which has non-linear V-I characteristics. The ZnO blocks are connected in series and fitted in ceramic or polymer housing. Over time, these components degrade due to continuous operation. The degradation of zinc oxide elements increases the leakage current flowing through the surge arrestors. This increased leakage current results in elevated temperatures within the surge arrester, further decreasing the resistance of the zinc oxide elements. Consequently, the leakage current increases, leading to higher temperatures within the MOSA. This cycle creates thermal runaway conditions for the MOSA. Once a surge arrester reaches the thermal runaway condition, it cannot return to normal working conditions. This condition is a primary cause of premature failure of surge arrestors. Given that MOSA constitutes a core protective device for electrical power systems against transients, it contributes significantly to the reliable operation of power system networks. Therefore, periodic condition monitoring of surge arrestors is essential. Both online and offline condition monitoring techniques are available for surge arrestors. Offline condition monitoring techniques are not as popular because they require the removal of surge arrestors from the system, which requires system shutdown. Therefore, online condition monitoring techniques are more commonly used. This paper presents an evaluation technique for the surge arrester condition based on leakage current analysis. The maximum amplitudes of total leakage current (IT), fundamental resistive leakage current (IR), and third harmonic resistive leakage current (I3rd) are analyzed as indicators for surge arrester condition monitoring.

Keywords: Metal Oxide Surge Arrester, MOSA, Over voltage, total leakage current, resistive leakage current, third harmonic resistive leakage current, capacitive leakage current.

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Authors: A. A. Ladele, N. T. Meludu, O. Ezekiel, T. F. Olaoye, O. M. Okanlawon

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Value addition to agricultural produce is of possible potential in reducing poverty, improving food security and malnutrition, therefore the need to develop small and microenterprises of sweet potato production. A study was carried out in Nigeria to determine the acceptability of blends sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) and commodities yellow maize (Zea mays), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), soybean (Glycine max), bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean), guinea corn (Sorghum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) through sensory evaluation. Sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) roots were processed using two methods: oven and sun drying. The blends were also assessed in terms of functional, chemical and color properties. Most acceptable blends include BAW (80:20 of sweet potato/wheat), BBC (80:20 of sweet potato/guinea corn), AAB (60:40 of sweet potato/guinea corn), YTE (100% soybean), TYG (100% sweet potato), KTN (100% wheat flour), XGP (80:20 of sweet potato/soybean), XAX (60:40 of sweet potato/wheat), LSS (100% Roselle), CHK (100% Guinea corn), and ABC (60:40% of sweet potato/ yellow maize). In addition, carried out chemical analysis revealed that sweet potato has high percentage of vitamins A and C, potassium (K), manganese (Mn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe) and fibre content. There is also an increase of vitamin A and Iron in the blended products.

Keywords: Blends, diversification, sensory evaluation, sweet potato, utilization.

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Authors: K. Ishii, T. Furuichi, A. Fujiyama, S. Hariya

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Rice straw pellets are a promising fuel as a renewable energy source. Financial analysis is needed to make a utilization system using rise straw pellets financially feasible, considering all regional conditions including stakeholders related to the collection and storage, production, transportation and heat utilization. We conducted the financial analysis of feasibility for a heat utilization system using rice straw pellets which has been developed for the first time in Nanporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Especially, we attempted to clarify the effect of factors required for the system to be financial feasibility, such as the heating energy demand and collection and storage method of rice straw. The financial feasibility was found to improve when increasing the heating energy demand and collecting wheat straw in August separately from collection of rice straw in November because the costs of storing rice straw and producing pellets were reduced. However, the system remained financially unfeasible. This study proposed a contractor program funded by a subsidy from Nanporo local government where a contracted company, instead of farmers, collects and transports rice straw in order to ensure the financial feasibility of the system, contributing to job creation in the region.

Keywords: Rice straw, pellets, heating energy demand, collection, storage.

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Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

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The opportunity provided by advances in technology as regard to sports betting is so numerous. Nigerian youth are not left out especially with the use of phones and visit to sports betting outlets. Today, it is more difficult to differentiate a true fan as there are quite a number of them that became fans as a result of betting on live games. This study investigated the influence of online sports events on betting among Nigerian youth. A descriptive survey research design was used and the population consists of all Nigerian youth that engages in betting and lives within the southwest zone of Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was used to pick three states from the southwest zone of Nigeria. 2500 respondents comprising of males and females were sampled from the three states. A structured questionnaire on Online Sports Event Contribution to Sports Betting (OSECSB) was used. The instrument consists of three sections. Section A seeks information on the demographic data of the respondents. Section B seeks information on online sports events while section C was used to extract information on sports betting. The modified instrument which consists of 14 items has a reliability coefficient of 0.74. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 significance level. The completed questionnaire was collated, coded, and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage and pie chart, and inferential statistics of multiple regressions. The findings of this study revealed that online sports betting is a significant predictor of an increase in sports betting among Nigerian youth. The media and television, as well as globalization and the internet, coupled with social media and various online platforms, have all contributed to the immense increase in sports betting. The increase in the advertisement of the betting platform during live matches, especially football, is becoming more alarming. In most organized international events, the media attention, as well as sponsorship rights, are now been given to one or two betting platforms. There is a need for all stakeholders to put in place school-based intervention programs to reorientate our youth about the consequences of addiction to betting. Such programs must include meta-analyses and emotional control towards sports betting.

Keywords: Betting platform, Nigerian fans, Nigerian youth, sports betting.

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