Search results for: Complementary and alternative medicine

Authors: Erick López-Ornelas

Abstract:

As the world changes more rapidly, the demand for update information for resource management, environment monitoring, planning are increasing exponentially. Integration of Remote Sensing with GIS technology will significantly promote the ability for addressing these concerns. This paper presents an alternative way of update GIS applications using image processing and high resolution images. We show a method of high-resolution image segmentation using graphs and morphological operations, where a preprocessing step (watershed operation) is required. A morphological process is then applied using the opening and closing operations. After this segmentation we can extract significant cartographic elements such as urban areas, streets or green areas. The result of this segmentation and this extraction is then used to update GIS applications. Some examples are shown using aerial photography.

Keywords: GIS, Remote Sensing, image segmentation, feature extraction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1648

Authors: Tahir Majeed, Michael Handschuh, René Meier

Abstract:

Rheumatoid Arthritis patients have swelling and pain in joints of the hand. The regions where the patient feels pain also show increased body temperature. Thermal cameras can be used to detect the rise in temperature of the affected regions. To monitor the progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis, patients must visit the clinic regularly for scanning and examination. After scanning and evaluation, the dosage of the medicine is regulated accordingly. To monitor the disease progression over time, the correlation of the images between different visits must be established. It has been observed that the thermal measurements do not remain the same over time, even within a single scanning, when low-cost thermal cameras are used. In some situations, temperatures can vary as much as 2◦C within the same scanning sequence. In this paper, it has been shown that although the absolute temperature varies over time, the relative difference between different regions remains similar. Results have been computed over four scanning sequences and are presented.

Keywords: Relative thermal difference, rheumatoid arthritis, thermal imaging, thermal sensors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 522

Authors: Ibrahim Mnafeg, Azgal Abichou, Lotfi Beji

Abstract:

Traditional mechanical control systems in thrust vectoring are efficient in rocket thrust guidance but their costs and their weights are excessive. The fluidic injection in the nozzle divergent constitutes an alternative procedure to achieve the goal. In this paper, we present a 3D analytical model for fluidic injection in a supersonic nozzle integrating an orifice. The fluidic vectoring uses a sonic secondary injection in the divergent. As a result, the flow and interaction between the main and secondary jet has built in order to express the pressure fields from which the forces and thrust vectoring are deduced. Under various separation criteria, the present analytical model results are compared with the existing numerical and experimental data from the literature.

Keywords: Flow separation, Fluidic thrust vectoring, Nozzle, Secondary jet, Shock wave.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2137

Authors: Atisthan Wuttimanop, Suchada Rianmora

Abstract:

To support design process for launching the product on time, reverse engineering (RE) process has been introduced for quickly generating 3D CAD model from its physical object. The accuracy of the 3D CAD model depends upon the data acquisition technique selected, contact or non-contact methods. In order to reduce times used for acquiring surface and eliminating noises, the automated selective acquisition system has been developed and presented in this research as the alternative channel for non-contact acquisition technique where the data is selectively and locally scanned contour by contour without performing data reduction process. The results present as the organized contour points which are directly used to generate 3D virtual model. The comparison between the proposed technique and another non-contact scanning technique has been presented and discussed.

Keywords: Automated selective acquisition system, Non-contact acquisition, Reverse engineering, 3D scanners.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1614

Authors: P. S. A. Souza, M. R. C. Marques, M. M. Rigo, A. A. Cerqueira, J. L. Paiva, F. Merçon, D. V. Perez

Abstract:

Produced water (PW), which is water extracted along with oil, is the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry. With the proper treatment, this wastewater can be used in agricultural irrigation. This study evaluated the effects the application of PW treated by electroflocculation (EF) and combined electroflocculation-reverse osmosis (EF-RO) on soil salinity and sodification parameters. Excessive sodium levels in PW treated by EF may affect soil structural stability and plant growth, and tends to accumulate in upper layers, displacing the nutrient K to deeper layers of the soil profile. PW treated by EF-RO did not promote salinization and soil sodification, indicating that this combined technique may be a viable alternative for oily water treatment aiming at irrigation use in semiarid regions.

Keywords: Electroflocculation, irrigation, produced water, reverse osmosis, soil.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 590

Authors: Kim Nee Goh, Viknesh Kumar Naleyah

Abstract:

Online trading is an alternative to conventional shopping method. People trade goods which are new or pre-owned before. However, there are times when a user is not able to search the items wanted online. This is because the items may not be posted as yet, thus ending the search. Conventional search mechanism only works by searching and matching search criteria (requirement) with data available in a particular database. This research aims to match current search requirements with future postings. This would involve the time factor in the conventional search method. A Car Matching Alert System (CMAS) prototype was developed to test the matching algorithm. When a buyer-s search returns no result, the system saves the search and the buyer will be alerted if there is a match found based on future postings. The algorithm developed is useful and as it can be applied in other search context.

Keywords: Matching algorithm, online trading, search, future postings, car matching

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1434

Authors: Eva Štěpánková

Abstract:

The decision-making process is theoretically clearly defined. Generally, it includes the problem identification and analysis, data gathering, goals and criteria setting, alternatives development and optimal alternative choice and its implementation. In practice however, various modifications of the theoretical decision-making process can occur. The managers can consider some of the phases to be too complicated or unfeasible and thus they do not carry them out and conversely some of the steps can be overestimated. The aim of the paper is to reveal and characterize the perception of the individual phases of decision-making process by the managers. The research is concerned with managers in the military environment – commanders. Quantitative survey is focused cross-sectionally in the individual levels of management of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. On the total number of 135 respondents the analysis focuses on which of the decision-making process phases are problematic or not carried out in practice and which are again perceived to be the easiest. Then it is examined the reasons of the findings.

Keywords: Decision making, decision making process, decision problems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1967

Authors: O. Castellanos Díaz, F. Schoeggl, H. W. Yarranton, M. A. Satyro, T. M. Lovestead, T. J. Bruno

Abstract:

The composition, vapour pressure, and heat capacity of nine biodiesel fuels from different sources were measured. The vapour pressure of the biodiesel fuels is modeled assuming an ideal liquid phase of the fatty acid methyl esters constituting the fuel. New methodologies to calculate the vapour pressure and ideal gas and liquid heat capacities of the biodiesel fuel constituents are proposed. Two alternative optimization scenarios are evaluated: 1) vapour pressure only; 2) vapour pressure constrained with liquid heat capacity. Without physical constraints, significant errors in liquid heat capacity predictions were found whereas the constrained correlation accurately fit both vapour pressure and liquid heat capacity.

Keywords: Biodiesel fuels, Fatty acid methyl ester, Heat capacity, Modeling, Vapour pressure

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6018

Authors: Dursun M., Koc F., Ozbay H.

Abstract:

In this study, a double-sided linear switched reluctance motor (LSRM) drive was investigated as an alternative actuator for vertical linear transportation applications such as a linear elevator door, hospital and subway doors which move linearly and where accurate position control and rapid response is requested. A prototype sliding elevator door that is focused on a home elevator with LSRMs is designed. The motor has 6/4 poles, 3 phases, 8A, 24V, 250 W and 250 N pull forces. Air gap between rotor and translator poles of the designed motor and phase coil-s ideal inductance profile are obtained in compliance with the geometric dimensions. Operation and switching sections as motor and generator has been determined from the inductance profile.

Keywords: Linear switched reluctance motor, sliding door, elevator door, linear motor design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2714

Authors: Zarita Zainuddin, Ong Pauline

Abstract:

Wavelet neural networks (WNNs) have emerged as a vital alternative to the vastly studied multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) since its first implementation. In this paper, we applied various clustering algorithms, namely, K-means (KM), Fuzzy C-means (FCM), symmetry-based K-means (SBKM), symmetry-based Fuzzy C-means (SBFCM) and modified point symmetry-based K-means (MPKM) clustering algorithms in choosing the translation parameter of a WNN. These modified WNNs are further applied to the heterogeneous cancer classification using benchmark microarray data and were compared against the conventional WNN with random initialization method. Experimental results showed that a WNN classifier with the MPKM algorithm is more precise than the conventional WNN as well as the WNNs with other clustering algorithms.

Keywords: Clustering, microarray, symmetry, wavelet neural networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1625

Authors: R. Bourziza, W. El Khoumsi, I. Mghabbar, I. Rahou

Abstract:

The flood-risk zones called Merjas are lowlands that are flooded during the rainy season. Indeed, these depressed areas were reclaimed to dry them out in order to exploit their agricultural potential. Thus, farmers were able to start exploiting these drained lands. As the development of modern agriculture in Morocco progressed, farmers began to practice irrigated agriculture. In a context of vulnerability to floods and the need for optimal exploitation of the agricultural potential of the flood-risk zones, the question of how farmers are adapting to this context and the degree of exploitation of this potential arises. It is in these circumstances that this work was initiated, aiming at the characterization of irrigation practices in the flood-risk zones of the Ghareb lowland (Morocco). This characterization is based on two main axes: the characterization of irrigation techniques used, as well as the management of irrigation in these areas. In order to achieve our objective, two complementary approaches have been adopted; the first one is based on interviews with administrative agents and on farmer surveys, and the second one is based on field measurements of a few parameters, such as flow rate, pressure, uniformity coefficient of drippers and salinity. The results of this work led to conclude that the choice of the practiced crop (crop resistant to excess water in winter and vegetable crops during other seasons) and the availability and nature of water resources are the main criteria that determine the choice of the irrigation system. Even if irrigation management is imprecise, farmers are able to achieve agricultural yields that are comparable to those recorded in the entire irrigated perimeter. However, agricultural yields in these areas are still threatened by climate change, since these areas play the role of water retaining basins during floods by protecting the downstream areas, which can also damage the crops there instilled during the autumn. This work has also noted that the predominance of private pumping in flood-risk zones in the coastal zone creates a risk of marine intrusion, which risks endangering the groundwater table. Thus, this work enabled us to understand the functioning and the adaptation measures of these vulnerable zones for the sustainability of the Merjas and a better valorization of these marginalized lowlands.

Keywords: Flood-risk zones, irrigation practices, climate change, adaptation measures.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 448

Authors: Ákos Dudás, Sándor Juhász

Abstract:

Various mechanisms providing mutual exclusion and thread synchronization can be used to support parallel processing within a single computer. Instead of using locks, semaphores, barriers or other traditional approaches in this paper we focus on alternative ways for making better use of modern multithreaded architectures and preparing hash tables for concurrent accesses. Hash structures will be used to demonstrate and compare two entirely different approaches (rule based cooperation and hardware synchronization support) to an efficient parallel implementation using traditional locks. Comparison includes implementation details, performance ranking and scalability issues. We aim at understanding the effects the parallelization schemes have on the execution environment with special focus on the memory system and memory access characteristics.

Keywords: Lock-free synchronization, mutual exclusion, parallel hash tables, parallel performance

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1831

Authors: Sameerchand Pudaruth, Avinash Mantaye

Abstract:

E-learning refers to the specific kind of learning experienced within the domain of educational technology, which can be used in or out of the classroom. In this paper, we give an overview of an e-learning platform 'An Innovative Interactive and Online English Platform for Upper Primary Students' is an interactive web-based application which will serve as an aid to the primary school students in Mauritius. The objectives of this platform are to offer quality learning resources for the English subject at our primary level of education, encourage self-learning and hence promote e-learning. The platform developed consists of several interesting features, for example, the English Verb Conjugation tool, Negative Form tool, Interrogative Form tool and Close Test Generator. Thus, this learning platform will be useful at a time where our country is looking for an alternative to private tuition and also, looking forward to increase the pass rate.

Keywords: educational technology, e-learning, Mauritius.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2229

Authors: I. V. Kuzminov

Abstract:

The alternative hypothesis of the physics of gravitation is put forward in this paper. The hypothesis is constructed on the laws of classical physics. The process of expansion of the Universe explains the physics of gravity. The expansion of the Universe induces the resistance of gyroscopic forces of electron’s rotation. The second component of gravity forces is the resistance arising from the second derivative of linear expansion. This hypothesis does not reject the existing foundation of settlement, particularly as it is empirically constructed. The forces of gravitation and inertia share a common nature, which has been recognized before. The presented hypothesis does not criticize existing theories of gravitation; rather, it explores a separate theme. It is important to acknowledge that the expansion of the Universe exhibits isotropic characteristics. The proposed hypothesis provides a fundamental direction for further research. It is worth noting that this article does not aim to encompass all possible aspects of future investigations.

Keywords: Gyroscopic forces, the unity of the micro- and macrocosm, the expansion of the universe, the second derivative of expansion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Alpana Agarwal, Akhil Sharma

Abstract:

This work presents a fully differential CMOS amplifier consisting of two self-biased gain boosted inverter stages, that provides an alternative to the power hungry operational amplifier. The self-biasing avoids the use of external biasing circuitry, thus reduces the die area, design efforts, and power consumption. In the present work, regulated cascode technique has been employed for gain boosting. The Miller compensation is also applied to enhance the phase margin. The circuit has been designed and simulated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology. The simulation results show a high DC gain of 100.7 dB, Unity-Gain Bandwidth of 107.8 MHz, and Phase Margin of 66.7^o with a power dissipation of 286 μW and makes it suitable candidate for the high resolution pipelined ADCs.

Keywords: CMOS amplifier, gain boosting, inverter-based amplifier, self-biased inverter.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2641

Authors: T. C. Chu, S.H. Wu

Abstract:

This paper suggests ranking alternatives under fuzzy MCDM (multiple criteria decision making) via an centroid based ranking approach, where criteria are classified to benefit qualitative, benefit quantitative and cost quantitative ones. The ratings of alternatives versus qualitative criteria and the importance weights of all criteria are assessed in linguistic values represented by fuzzy numbers. The membership function for the final fuzzy evaluation value of each alternative can be developed through α-cuts and interval arithmetic of fuzzy numbers. The distance between the original point and the relative centroid is applied to defuzzify the final fuzzy evaluation values in order to rank alternatives. Finally a numerical example demonstrates the computation procedure of the proposed model.

Keywords: Fuzzy MCDM, Criteria, Fuzzy number, Ranking, Relative centroid.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1685

Authors: Pejman Hosseiniun, Rose Shayeghi, Iman Rahbari, Mohamad Reza Kalhor

Abstract:

CNFET has emerged as an alternative material to silicon for high performance, high stability and low power SRAM design in recent years. SRAM functions as cache memory in computers and many portable devices. In this paper, a new SRAM cell design based on CNFET technology is proposed. The proposed SRAM cell design for CNFET is compared with SRAM cell designs implemented with the conventional CMOS and FinFET in terms of speed, power consumption, stability, and leakage current. The HSPICE simulation and analysis show that the dynamic power consumption of the proposed 8T CNFET SRAM cell’s is reduced about 48% and the SNM is widened up to 56% compared to the conventional CMOS SRAM structure at the expense of 2% leakage power and 3% write delay increase.

Keywords: SRAM cell, CNFET, low power, HSPICE.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2707

Authors: Mircea I. Pastrav, Cornelia Baera, Florea Dinu

Abstract:

A different concept for designing and detailing of reinforced concrete precast frame structures is analyzed in this paper. The new detailing of the joints derives from the special hybrid moment frame joints. The special reinforcements of this alternative detailing, named modified special hybrid joint, are bondless with respect to both column and beams. Full scale tests were performed on a plan model, which represents a part of 5 story structure, cropped in the middle of the beams and columns spans. Theoretical approach was developed, based on testing results on twice repaired model, subjected to lateral seismic type loading. Discussion regarding the modified special hybrid joint behavior and further on widening research needed concludes the presentation.

Keywords: Acceptance criteria, modified hybrid joint, repair, seismic loading type.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2018

Authors: Mohd Sazli Saad, Hishamuddin Jamaluddin, Intan Zaurah Mat Darus

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of an active vibration control using direct adaptive controller to suppress the vibration of a flexible beam system. The controller is realized based on linear parametric form. Differential evolution optimisation algorithm is used to optimize the controller using single objective function by minimizing the mean square error of the observed vibration signal. Furthermore, an alternative approach is developed to systematically search for the best controller model structure together with it parameter values. The performance of the control scheme is presented and analysed in both time and frequency domain. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is able to suppress the unwanted vibration effectively.

Keywords: flexible beam, finite difference method, active vibration control, differential evolution, direct adaptive controller

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2569

Authors: Ruskartina Eki, Vincent F. Yu, Santosa Budi, A. A. N. Perwira Redi

Abstract:

This paper introduces symbiotic organism search (SOS) for solving capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP). SOS is a new approach in metaheuristics fields and never been used to solve discrete problems. A sophisticated decoding method to deal with a discrete problem setting in CVRP is applied using the basic symbiotic organism search (SOS) framework. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated on a set of benchmark instances and compared results with best known solution. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm can produce good solution as a preliminary testing. These results indicated that the proposed SOS can be applied as an alternative to solve the capacitated vehicle routing problem.

Keywords: Symbiotic organism search, vehicle routing problem, metaheuristics, Solution Representation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3051

Authors: Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

Abstract:

This paper presents a state-of-the-art survey of the operations research models developed for internal audit planning. Two alternative approaches have been followed in the literature for audit planning: (1) identifying the optimal audit frequency; and (2) determining the optimal audit resource allocation. The first approach identifies the elapsed time between two successive audits, which can be presented as the optimal number of audits in a given planning horizon, or the optimal number of transactions after which an audit should be performed. It also includes the optimal audit schedule. The second approach determines the optimal allocation of audit frequency among all auditable units in the firm. In our review, we discuss both the deterministic and probabilistic models developed for audit planning. In addition, game theory models are reviewed to find the optimal auditing strategy based on the interactions between the auditors and the clients.

Keywords: Operations research applications, audit frequency, audit planning, audit-staff scheduling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2940

Authors: A. H. W. Goh, Y. S. Yong, C. H. Chan, S. J. Then, L. P. Chu, S. W. Chau, H. W. Hon

Abstract:

This paper proposes an alternative control mechanism for an interactive Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) camera control system. Instead of using a mouse or a joystick, the proposed mechanism utilizes a Nintendo Wii remote and infrared (IR) sensor bar. The Wii remote has buttons that allows the user to control the movement of a PTZ camera through Bluetooth connectivity. In addition, the Wii remote has a built-in motion sensor that allows the user to give control signals to the PTZ camera through pitch and roll movement. A stationary IR sensor bar, placed at some distance away opposite the Wii remote, enables the detection of yaw movement. In addition, the Wii remote-s built-in IR camera has the ability to detect its spatial position, and thus generates a control signal when the user moves the Wii remote. Some experiments are carried out and their performances are compared with an industry-standard PTZ joystick.

Keywords: Bluetooth, Infrared, Pan/Tilt/Zoom, PTZ Camera, Visual Surveillance, Wii Remote

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2104

Authors: H. Zemmouri, H. Lounic, N. Mameri

Abstract:

The present study aims to investigate the performance of Moringa oleifera seed extract as natural coagulant in clarification of secondary wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) located in East of Algiers, Algeria. Coagulation flocculation performance of Moringa oleifera was evaluated through supernatant residual turbidity after jar test trials. Various influence parameters namely Moringa oleifera dosage and pH have been considered. Tests on Reghaia wastewater, having 129 NTU of initial turbidity, showed a removal of 69.45% of residual turbidity with only 1.5 mg/l of Moringa oleifera. This sufficient removal capability encourages the use of this bioflocculant for treatment of turbid waters. Indeed, Moringa oleifera which is a natural resource available locally (South of Algeria) coupled to the non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, may be a very interesting alternative to the conventional coagulants used so far.

Keywords: Coagulation flocculation, colloids, Moringa oleifera, secondary wastewater.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2189

Authors: Yu-Yu Wang, Shih-Hua Hsieh, Ru-Shian Hsieh

Abstract:

Wishes and choices being respected, and the right to be supported rather than coerced, have been internationally recognized as the human rights of persons with mental illness. In Taiwan, ‘coerced hospitalization’ has become difficult since the revision of the mental health legislation in 2007. Despite trend towards human rights, the real problem families face when their family members are in mental health crisis is the lack of alternative services. This study aims to explore: 1) When is hospitalization seen as the only solution by family members? 2) What are the barriers for arranging hospitalization, and how are they managed? 3) What have family carers learned, in their experiences of caring for their family members with mental illness? To answer these questions, qualitative approach was adopted, and focus group interviews were taken to collect data. This study includes 24 family carers. The main findings of this research include: First, hospital is the last resort for carers in helplessness. Family carers tend to do everything they could to provide care at home for their family members with mental illness. Carers seek hospitalization only when a patient’s behavior is too violent, weird, and/or abnormal, and beyond their ability to manage. Hospitalization, nevertheless, is never an easy choice. Obstacles emanate from the attitudes of the medical doctors, the restricted areas of ambulance service, and insufficient information from the carers’ part. On the other hand, with some professionals’ proactive assistance, access to medical care while in crisis becomes possible. Some family carers obtained help from the medical doctor, nurse, therapist and social workers. Some experienced good help from policemen, taxi drivers, and security guards at the hospital. The difficulty in accessing medical care prompts carers to work harder on assisting their family members with mental illness to stay in stable states. Carers found different ways of helping the ‘person’ to get along with the ‘illness’ and have better quality of life. Taking back ‘the right to control’ in utilizing medication, from passiveness to negotiating with medical doctors and seeking alternative therapies, are seen in many carers’ efforts. Besides, trying to maintain regular activities in daily life and play normal family roles are also experienced as important. Furthermore, talking with the patient as a person is also important. The authors conclude that in order to protect the human rights of persons with mental illness, it is crucial to make the medical care system more flexible and to make the services more humane: sufficient information should be provided and communicated, and efforts should be made to maintain the person’s social roles and to support the family.

Keywords: Family carers, coercive treatment, independent living, mental health crisis, persons with mental illness.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1028

Authors: Ryan Brading

Abstract:

The results of Taiwan’s presidential election, which took place on 11 January 2020, were alarming for the Kuomintang (KMT). A party that was once the pillar of Taiwan’s institutional apparatus is now losing its direction. Since 2016, the inability of KMT to construct a winning presidential election campaign strategy has made its Chinese ancestry an obstacle in Taiwan’s vibrant and transparent democracy. The appearance of the little-known legislator Han Kuo-yu as the leadership alternative opened the possibility of reigniting the party. Han’s victory in the Kaohsiung mayoral election in November 2018 provided hope that Han could also win the presidency. Wrongly described as a populist, Han, however, was defeated in the January 2020 presidential race. This article analyses why Han is not a populist, his triumph in Kaohsiung, humiliation in running for the presidency and suffering a complete ‘loss of face’ when Kaohsiungers democratically ousted him from the mayoral post on 6 June 2020.

Keywords: Populism, ‘1992 Consensus’, Taiwan, youth vote, Han’s recall.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 407

Authors: Şebnem Ertaş

Abstract:

“Architecture” is one component of sustainable cultural tourism. The sustainability of architecture is possible through preservation and restoration activities. In Turkey, which has an important place in the world’s cultural heritage, several studies focused on the sustainability of the cultural heritage were done in terms of the principles of “preserve-use-sustain”. Within the scope of this study, a methodology will be proposed in order to obtain the development of different scenarios supporting sustainable tourism. Sille is an ancient village located on the Spice Road and Silk Road dating back to the Ottoman and Seljuk eras. However, in recent years it is protected as an archeological site. In the “Alternative Project Phase”, the streets and buildings which bring dynamism to trade are determined; among these, 10 major buildings in Hacı Ali Ağa Street are studied.

Keywords: Tourism, cultural tourism, sustainability of architecture, interior design, Sille.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1814

Authors: C. S. Sastry, Saurabh Jain, Ashish Mishra

Abstract:

Image retrieval is a topic where scientific interest is currently high. The important steps associated with image retrieval system are the extraction of discriminative features and a feasible similarity metric for retrieving the database images that are similar in content with the search image. Gabor filtering is a widely adopted technique for feature extraction from the texture images. The recently proposed sparsity promoting l1-norm minimization technique finds the sparsest solution of an under-determined system of linear equations. In the present paper, the l1-norm minimization technique as a similarity metric is used in image retrieval. It is demonstrated through simulation results that the l1-norm minimization technique provides a promising alternative to existing similarity metrics. In particular, the cases where the l1-norm minimization technique works better than the Euclidean distance metric are singled out.

Keywords: l1-norm minimization, content based retrieval, modified Gabor function.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3440

Authors: S. Azadmard-Damirchi, K. Alirezalu, B. Fathi Achachlouei

Abstract:

Microwave energy is a superior alternative to several other thermal treatments. Extraction techniques are widely employed for the isolation of bioactive compounds and vegetable oils from oil seeds. Among the different and new available techniques, microwave pretreatment of seeds is a simple and desirable method for production of high quality vegetable oils. Microwave pretreatment for oil extraction has many advantages as follow: improving oil extraction yield and quality, direct extraction capability, lower energy consumption, faster processing time and reduced solvent levels compared with conventional methods. It allows also for better retention and availability of desirable nutraceuticals, such as phytosterols and tocopherols, canolol and phenolic compounds in the extracted oil such as rapeseed oil. This can be a new step to produce nutritional vegetable oils with improved shelf life because of high antioxidant content.

Keywords: Microwave pretreatment, vegetable oil extraction, nutraceuticals, oil quality

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4921

Authors: M. Z. Norashikin, M. Z. Ibrahim

Abstract:

The use of plastic materials in agriculture causes serious hazards to the environment. The introduction of biodegradable materials, which can be disposed directly into the soil can be one possible solution to this problem. In the present research results of experimental tests carried out on biodegradable film fabricated from natural waste (corn husk) are presented. The film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscope (AFM) observation. The film is shown to be readily degraded within 7-9 months under controlled soil conditions, indicating a high biodegradability rate. The film fabricated was use to produce biodegradable pot (BioPot) for seedlings plantation. The introduction and the expanding use of biodegradable materials represent a really promising alternative for enhancing sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural activities.

Keywords: Environment, waste, plastic, biodegradable.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5020

Authors: Sandro Bartolini, Alessandro Mecocci, Alessio Medaglini

Abstract:

The growing popularity of systems based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is highlighting their vulnerability particularly in relation to the positioning system used. Typically, UAV architectures use the civilian GPS which is exposed to a number of different attacks, such as jamming or spoofing. This is why it is important to develop alternative methodologies to accurately estimate the actual UAV position without relying on GPS measurements only. In this paper we propose a position estimate method for UAVs based on monocular visual odometry. We have developed a flight control system capable of keeping track of the entire trajectory travelled, with a reduced dependency on the availability of GPS signal. Moreover, the simplicity of the developed solution makes it applicable to a wide range of commercial drones. The final goal is to allow for safer flights in all conditions, even under cyber-attacks trying to deceive the drone.

Keywords: Visual odometry, autonomous UAV, position measurement, autonomous outdoor flight.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 594