Search results for: zoning water quality in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea Watershed area
1674 Tourism-Impact on Environment-Observations from North Coastal Districts of A.P, India
Authors: K. Mythili
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This paper deals with the status of solid waste pollution in touristic spots of North coastal Andhra Pradesh. Case studies of Eco tourism, cultural tourism and pilgrim tourism are elaborately discussed and the study is based on both primary and secondary data. Data collection includes field collection of solid waste, semi structured interviews and observation of tourists. Results indicate generation of 72% Non biodegradable material in Eco touristic places like RK beach Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley. Pydithalli Jathra is a famous cultural touristic attraction and more than one lakh people converge here. The solid waste at this spot includes 20% coconut shells, 50% plastic bottles and covers, 20% Banana peelings and remaining are food materials. Radhasapthami is the most important festival celebrated at famous sun temple Arasavalli of Srikakulam. Here solid waste includes 50% water bottles, plastic covers, 10% papers, 10% hair, 30% left out food material and Banana peelings.
Keywords: Cultural tourism, Eco tourism, Pilgrimage tourism, Solid waste.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33041673 Active Packaging Influence on Shelf Life Extension of Sliced Wheat Bread
Authors: Sandra Muizniece-Brasava, Lija Dukalska, Irisa Murniece, Ilona Dabina-Bicka, Emils Kozlinskis, Svetlana Sarvi, Ralfs Santars, Anna Silvjane
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The research object was wheat bread. Experiments were carried out at the Faculty of Food Technology of the Latvia University of Agriculture. An active packaging in combination with modified atmosphere (MAP, CO2 60% and N2 40%) was examined and compared with traditional packaging in air ambiance. Polymer Multibarrier 60, PP and OPP bags were used. Influence of iron based oxygen absorber in sachets of 100 cc obtained from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Europe Ageless® was tested on the quality during the shelf of wheat bread. Samples of 40±4 g were packaged in polymer pouches (110 mm x 120 mm), hermetically sealed by MULTIVAC C300 vacuum chamber machine, and stored in room temperature +21.0±0.5 °C. The physiochemical properties – weight losses, moisture content, hardness, pH, colour, changes of atmosphere content (CO2 and O2) in headspace of packs, and microbial conditions were analysed before packaging and in the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of storage.Keywords: Active packaging, wheat bread, shelf life.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35421672 Current Situation of Maritime Transport and Logistics in Myanmar
Authors: S. N. S. Thein, H. L. Yang, Z. B. Liu
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There are many modes of transport. Among them, maritime transport is a major transportation mode of international trade. In the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), water transportation served as one of the most important modes of transport for country's exports and imports. Getting the accurate information and data-gathering activity are the most important aspects for any study field. Therefore, in this research, a historical review of the development of ports in Myanmar and how they have changed had been carried out. All the relevant literature and documents have also been reviewed, studied, and organized. The sources of collected data are from reports, journals, internet, as well as from the publications of authorized organizations and international associations. To get better understanding about real situation of maritime transport and logistics in Myanmar; current condition of existing ports, expansion and on-going projects, and future port development plans are described successively. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to build up a comprehensive picture of maritime transport and logistics, in addition to border trade within ASEAN and Myanmar. It will help for academic researchers, decision makers, and stakeholders for national planning as well as for the local and foreign investors to recognize current situation of maritime transport and logistics in Myanmar.
Keywords: ASEAN, border trade, logistics, maritime transport, ports of Myanmar.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13591671 Waterproofing Agent in Concrete for Tensile Improvement
Authors: Muhamad Azani Yahya, Umi Nadiah Nor Ali, Mohammed Alias Yusof, Norazman Mohamad Nor, Vikneswaran Munikanan
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In construction, concrete is one of the materials that can commonly be used as for structural elements. Concrete consists of cement, sand, aggregate and water. Concrete can be added with admixture in the wet condition to suit the design purpose such as to prolong the setting time to improve workability. For strength improvement, concrete is being added with other hybrid materials to increase strength; this is because the tensile strength of concrete is very low in comparison to the compressive strength. This paper shows the usage of a waterproofing agent in concrete to enhance the tensile strength. High tensile concrete is expensive because the concrete mix needs fiber and also high cement content to be incorporated in the mix. High tensile concrete being used for structures that are being imposed by high impact dynamic load such as blast loading that hit the structure. High tensile concrete can be defined as a concrete mix design that achieved 30%-40% tensile strength compared to its compression strength. This research evaluates the usage of a waterproofing agent in a concrete mix as an element of reinforcement to enhance the tensile strength. According to the compression and tensile test, it shows that the concrete mix with a waterproofing agent enhanced the mechanical properties of the concrete. It is also show that the composite concrete with waterproofing is a high tensile concrete; this is because of the tensile is between 30% and 40% of the compression strength. This mix is economical because it can produce high tensile concrete with low cost.
Keywords: High tensile concrete, waterproofing agent, concrete, rheology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14501670 Numerical Investigation of Wave Interaction with Double Vertical Slotted Walls
Authors: H. Ahmed, A. Schlenkhoff
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Recently, permeable breakwaters have been suggested to overcome the disadvantages of fully protection breakwaters. These protection structures have minor impacts on the coastal environment and neighboring beaches where they provide a more economical protection from waves and currents. For regular waves, a numerical model is used (FLOW-3D, VOF) to investigate the hydraulic performance of a permeable breakwater. The model of permeable breakwater consists of a pair of identical vertical slotted walls with an impermeable upper and lower part, where the draft is a decimal multiple of the total depth. The middle part is permeable with a porosity of 50%. The second barrier is located at distant of 0.5 and 1.5 of the water depth from the first one. The numerical model is validated by comparisons with previous laboratory data and semi-analytical results of the same model. A good agreement between the numerical results and both laboratory data and semi-analytical results has been shown and the results indicate the applicability of the numerical model to reproduce most of the important features of the interaction. Through the numerical investigation, the friction factor of the model is carefully discussed.
Keywords: Coastal structures, permeable breakwater, slotted wall, numerical model, energy dissipation coefficient.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22571669 Effect of Addition of Separan at Different Concentrations as a Flocculants on Quality of Sugar Cane Juice
Authors: Ghada A. Abdel-Razig , Isam A. Mohamed Ahmed, Elfadil E. Babiker & Abu ElGasim A. Yagoub
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The study was designed to evaluate the use of low concentrations of separan flocculent (Less than 3 ppm) on physicochemical properties of sugar cane juice. Colour, pH, purity, turbidity, pol, brix, reducing sugars tannins and polyphenols of crushed cane (green and burned) juice, mixed juice and clarified juice were studied. The results showed that pol, brix, reducing sugar and turbidity are higher in crushed cane juice. Clarified burned juice had low turbidity, reducing sugars, pol and brix but had significantly lower pH, purity and colour when compared to crushed juice. Polyphenols of the crushed juice (1.19%) decreased significantly in the clarified juice to 0.006%. Addition of separan at a concentration of 0.015 ppm reduced significantly colour, polyphenols and tannins and reducing sugar compared to the control.Keywords: Separan, Sugar cane, Reducing sugar, Polyphenols, Clarified juice.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29611668 Numerical Study of Laminar Mixed Convection Heat Transfer of a Nanofluid in a Concentric Annular Tube Using Two-Phase Mixture Model
Authors: Roghayyeh Motallebzadeh, Shahin Hajizadeh, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi
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Laminar mixed Convection heat transfer of a nanofluid with prescribed constant heat flux on the inner wall of horizontal annular tube has been studied numerically based on two-phase mixture model in different Rayleigh Numbers and Azimuth angles. Effects of applying of different volume fractions of Al2O3 nanoparticles in water as a base fluid on hydrodynamic and thermal behaviors of the fluid flow such as axial velocity, secondary flow, temperature, heat transfer coefficient and friction coefficient at the inner and outer wall region, has been investigated. Conservation equations in elliptical form has been utilized and solved in three dimensions for a steady flow. It is observed that, there is a good agreement between results in this work and previously published experimental and numerical works on mixed convection in horizontal annulus. These particles cause to increase convection heat transfer coefficient of the fluid, meanwhile there is no considerable effect on friction coefficient.
Keywords: Buoyancy force, Laminar mixed convection, Mixture model, Nanofluid, Two-phase.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28321667 Effects of Stream Tube Numbers on Flow and Sediments using GSTARS-3-A Case Study of the Karkheh Reservoir Dam in Western Dezful
Authors: M. H. Ayazi, M. Qamari, N.Hedayat, A. Rohani
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Simulation of the flow and sedimentation process in the reservoir dams can be made by two methods of physical and mathematical modeling. The study area was within a region which ranged from the Jelogir hydrometric station to the Karkheh reservoir dam aimed at investigating the effects of stream tubes on the GSTARS-3 model behavior. The methodologies was to run the model based on 5 stream tubes in order to observe the influence of each scenario on longitudinal profiles, cross-section, flow velocity and bed load sediment size. Results further suggest that the use of two stream tubes or more which result in the semi-two-dimensional model will yield relatively closer results to the observational data than a singular stream tube modeling. Moreover, the results of modeling with three stream tubes shown to yield a relatively close results with the observational data. The overall conclusion of the paper is with applying various stream tubes; it would be possible to yield a significant influence on the modeling behavior Vis-a Vis the bed load sediment size.Keywords: Karkheh, stream tubes, GSTARS-3 Model, Jelogir hydrometric station.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16041666 Sparse-View CT Reconstruction Based on Nonconvex L1 − L2 Regularizations
Authors: Ali Pour Yazdanpanah, Farideh Foroozandeh Shahraki, Emma Regentova
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The reconstruction from sparse-view projections is one of important problems in computed tomography (CT) limited by the availability or feasibility of obtaining of a large number of projections. Traditionally, convex regularizers have been exploited to improve the reconstruction quality in sparse-view CT, and the convex constraint in those problems leads to an easy optimization process. However, convex regularizers often result in a biased approximation and inaccurate reconstruction in CT problems. Here, we present a nonconvex, Lipschitz continuous and non-smooth regularization model. The CT reconstruction is formulated as a nonconvex constrained L1 − L2 minimization problem and solved through a difference of convex algorithm and alternating direction of multiplier method which generates a better result than L0 or L1 regularizers in the CT reconstruction. We compare our method with previously reported high performance methods which use convex regularizers such as TV, wavelet, curvelet, and curvelet+TV (CTV) on the test phantom images. The results show that there are benefits in using the nonconvex regularizer in the sparse-view CT reconstruction.Keywords: Computed tomography, sparse-view reconstruction, L1 −L2 minimization, non-convex, difference of convex functions.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20421665 Energy Saving in Handling the Air-Conditioning Latent-Load Using a Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioner: Parametric Experimental Analysis
Authors: Mustafa Jaradat
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Reasonable energy saving for dehumidification is feasible with the use of desiccants. Desiccants are able to lower the humidity content in the air irrespective of the dew point temperature. In this paper, a tube bundle liquid desiccant air conditioner was experimentally designed and evaluated using lithium chloride as a desiccant. Several experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of the inlet parameters on the dehumidifier performance. The results show a reduction in the relative humidity in the range of 17 to 46%, and the change in the humidity ratio was between 1.5 to 4.7 g/kg, depending on the inlet conditions. A water removal rate in the range between 0.54 and 1.67 kg/h was observed. The effects of air relative humidity and the desiccant flow rate on the dehumidifier’s performance were investigated. It was found that the moisture removal rate remarkably increased with increasing desiccant flow rate and air inlet humidity ratio. The dehumidifier effectiveness increased sharply with increasing desiccant flow rate. Also, it was found that the dehumidifier effectiveness slightly decreased with air humidity ratio.
Keywords: Air conditioning, dehumidification, desiccant, lithium chloride, tube bundle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5831664 The Effect of Surface Conditions on Wear of a Railway Wheel and Rail
Authors: A. Shebani, S. Iwnicki
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Understanding the nature of wheel and rail wear in the railway field is of fundamental importance to the safe and cost effective operation of the railways. Twin disc wear testing is used extensively for studying wear of wheel and rail materials. The University of Huddersfield twin disc rig was used in this paper to examine the effect of surface conditions on wheel and rail wear measurement under a range of wheel/rail contact conditions, with and without contaminants. This work focuses on an investigation of the effect of dry, wet, and lubricated conditions and the effect of contaminants such as sand on wheel and rail wear. The wheel and rail wear measurements were carried out by using a replica material and an optical profilometer that allows measurement of wear in difficult location with high accuracy. The results have demonstrated the rate at which both water and oil reduce wheel and rail wear. Scratches and other damage were seen on the wheel and rail surfaces after the addition of sand and consequently both wheel and rail wear damage rates increased under these conditions. This work introduced the replica material and an optical instrument as effective tools to study the effect of surface conditions on wheel and rail wear.Keywords: Railway wheel/rail wear, surface conditions, twin disc test rig, replica material, Alicona profilometer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12111663 The Expression of a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein, DRA1, is Regulated by Drought-Responsive Alternative Splicing
Authors: H. Sakamoto, Y. Nakagawara, S. Oguri
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Drought stress is a critical environmental factor that adversely affects crop productivity and quality. Because of their immobile nature, plants have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to drought stress. We identified a novel locus of Arabidopsis, designated DRA1 (drought responsive ankyrin1), whose disruption leads to increased drought-stress tolerance. DRA1 encodes a transmembrane protein with an ankyrin-repeat motif that has been implicated in diverse cellular processes such as signal transduction. RT-PCR analysis revealed that there were at least two splicing variants of DRA1 transcripts in wild-type plants. In response to drought stress, the levels of DRA1 transcripts retaining second and third introns were increased, whereas these introns were removed under unstressed conditions. These results suggest that DRA1 protein may negatively regulate plant drought tolerance and that the expression of DRA1is regulated in response to drought stress by alternative splicing.
Keywords: Alternative splicing, ankyrin repeat, Arabidopsis, drought tolerance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17701662 Effective Relay Communication for Scalable Video Transmission
Authors: Jung Ah Park, Zhijie Zhao, Doug Young Suh, Joern Ostermann
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In this paper, we propose an effective relay communication for layered video transmission as an alternative to make the most of limited resources in a wireless communication network where loss often occurs. Relaying brings stable multimedia services to end clients, compared to multiple description coding (MDC). Also, retransmission of only parity data about one or more video layer using channel coder to the end client of the relay device is paramount to the robustness of the loss situation. Using these methods in resource-constrained environments, such as real-time user created content (UCC) with layered video transmission, can provide high-quality services even in a poor communication environment. Minimal services are also possible. The mathematical analysis shows that the proposed method reduced the probability of GOP loss rate compared to MDC and raptor code without relay. The GOP loss rate is about zero, while MDC and raptor code without relay have a GOP loss rate of 36% and 70% in case of 10% frame loss rate.Keywords: Relay communication, Multiple Description Coding, Scalable Video Coding
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14431661 Gender Mainstreaming in Public Universities in Mexico
Authors: Carlos David Carrillo Trujillo, Rebelín Echeverría Echeverría, Nancy Evia Alamilla, Rocío Quintal López
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Gender as a social construct is a term now widely studied. Within the social sciences it has become very important. In this sense, psychology tries to make some contributions from your area. The intention is to promote equal opportunities for men and women. Social, employment and educational inequities perpetuate sexism, violence and other important social problems in Mexico. The gender perspective is conceptualized as a tool to promote laws, policies, plans, programs and procedures where women are made visible and empowered. The aim of this is the pursuit of equality. Thus, gender mainstreaming is one of the main challenges of education in Mexico. Only a few universities have programs, research or subjects related to the topic. Human resources, and time allocated to teachers are identified as obstacles to the institutionalization of gender. The objective was to make a diagnosis on course offerings and policies on gender. A documentary study and interviews with managers of at least 20 higher education institutions (IES's) were performed. The results indicate the need for greater gender courses, research projects and intervention. The need to promote policies that seek equal opportunities between men and women is also noted.
Keywords: Gender mainstreaming, institutionalization, universities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11321660 Enhancing Multi-Frame Images Using Self-Delaying Dynamic Networks
Authors: Lewis E. Hibell, Honghai Liu, David J. Brown
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This paper presents the use of a newly created network structure known as a Self-Delaying Dynamic Network (SDN) to create a high resolution image from a set of time stepped input frames. These SDNs are non-recurrent temporal neural networks which can process time sampled data. SDNs can store input data for a lifecycle and feature dynamic logic based connections between layers. Several low resolution images and one high resolution image of a scene were presented to the SDN during training by a Genetic Algorithm. The SDN was trained to process the input frames in order to recreate the high resolution image. The trained SDN was then used to enhance a number of unseen noisy image sets. The quality of high resolution images produced by the SDN is compared to that of high resolution images generated using Bi-Cubic interpolation. The SDN produced images are superior in several ways to the images produced using Bi-Cubic interpolation.Keywords: Image Enhancement, Neural Networks, Multi-Frame.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12021659 Are PEG Molecules a Universal Protein Repellent?
Authors: Norzita Ngadi, John Abrahamson, Conan Fee, Ken Morison
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Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecules attached to surfaces have shown high potential as a protein repellent due to their flexibility and highly water solubility. A quartz crystal microbalance recording frequency and dissipation changes (QCM-D) has been used to study the adsorption from aqueous solutions, of lysozyme and α-lactalbumin proteins (the last with and without calcium) onto modified stainless steel surfaces. Surfaces were coated with poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) and silicate before grafting on PEG molecules. Protein adsorption was also performed on the bare stainless steel surface as a control. All adsorptions were conducted at 23°C and pH 7.2. The results showed that the presence of PEG molecules significantly reduced the adsorption of lysozyme and α- lactalbumin (with calcium) onto the stainless steel surface. By contrast, and unexpected, PEG molecules enhanced the adsorption of α-lactalbumin (without calcium). It is suggested that the PEG -α- lactalbumin hydrophobic interaction plays a dominant role which leads to protein aggregation at the surface for this latter observation. The findings also lead to the general conclusion that PEG molecules are not a universal protein repellent. PEG-on-PEI surfaces were better at inhibiting the adsorption of lysozyme and α-lactalbumin (with calcium) than with PEG-on-silicate surfaces.
Keywords: Stainless steel, PEG, QCM-D, protein, PEI layer, silicate layer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22911658 Knowledge Based Wear Particle Analysis
Authors: Mohammad S. Laghari, Qurban A. Memon, Gulzar A. Khuwaja
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The paper describes a knowledge based system for analysis of microscopic wear particles. Wear particles contained in lubricating oil carry important information concerning machine condition, in particular the state of wear. Experts (Tribologists) in the field extract this information to monitor the operation of the machine and ensure safety, efficiency, quality, productivity, and economy of operation. This procedure is not always objective and it can also be expensive. The aim is to classify these particles according to their morphological attributes of size, shape, edge detail, thickness ratio, color, and texture, and by using this classification thereby predict wear failure modes in engines and other machinery. The attribute knowledge links human expertise to the devised Knowledge Based Wear Particle Analysis System (KBWPAS). The system provides an automated and systematic approach to wear particle identification which is linked directly to wear processes and modes that occur in machinery. This brings consistency in wear judgment prediction which leads to standardization and also less dependence on Tribologists.Keywords: Computer vision, knowledge based systems, morphology, wear particles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17521657 Airfoils Aerodynamic Efficiency Study in Heavy Rain via Two Phase Flow Approach
Authors: M. Ismail, Cao Yihua, Zhao Ming
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Heavy rainfall greatly affects the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. There are many accidents of aircraft caused by aerodynamic efficiency degradation by heavy rain. In this Paper we have studied the heavy rain effects on the aerodynamic efficiency of NACA 64-210 & NACA 0012 airfoils. For our analysis, CFD method and preprocessing grid generator are used as our main analytical tools, and the simulation of rain is accomplished via two phase flow approach-s Discrete Phase Model (DPM). Raindrops are assumed to be non-interacting, non-deforming, non-evaporating and non-spinning spheres. Both airfoil sections exhibited significant reduction in lift and increase in drag for a given lift condition in simulated rain. The most significant difference between these two airfoils was the sensitivity of the NACA 64-210 to liquid water content (LWC), while NACA 0012 performance losses in the rain environment is not a function of LWC . It is expected that the quantitative information gained in this paper will be useful to the operational airline industry and greater effort such as small scale and full scale flight tests should put in this direction to further improve aviation safety.
Keywords: airfoil, discrete phase modeling, heavy rain, Reynolds number
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36551656 Automatic Extraction of Arbitrarily Shaped Buildings from VHR Satellite Imagery
Authors: Evans Belly, Imdad Rizvi, M. M. Kadam
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Satellite imagery is one of the emerging technologies which are extensively utilized in various applications such as detection/extraction of man-made structures, monitoring of sensitive areas, creating graphic maps etc. The main approach here is the automated detection of buildings from very high resolution (VHR) optical satellite images. Initially, the shadow, the building and the non-building regions (roads, vegetation etc.) are investigated wherein building extraction is mainly focused. Once all the landscape is collected a trimming process is done so as to eliminate the landscapes that may occur due to non-building objects. Finally the label method is used to extract the building regions. The label method may be altered for efficient building extraction. The images used for the analysis are the ones which are extracted from the sensors having resolution less than 1 meter (VHR). This method provides an efficient way to produce good results. The additional overhead of mid processing is eliminated without compromising the quality of the output to ease the processing steps required and time consumed.Keywords: Building detection, shadow detection, landscape generation, label, partitioning, very high resolution satellite imagery.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8461655 Thermo-Sensitive Hydrogel: Control of Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Transition
Authors: Wanwipa Siriwatwechakul, Nutte Teraphongphom, Vatcharani Ngaotheppitak, Sureeporn Kunataned
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The study investigated the hydrophilic to hydrophobic transition of modified polyacrylamide hydrogel with the inclusion of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIAM). The modification was done by mimicking micellar polymerization, which resulted in better arrangement of NIAM chains in the polyacrylamide network. The degree of NIAM arrangement is described by NH number. The hydrophilic to hydrophobic transition was measured through the partition coefficient, K, of Orange II and Methylene Blue in hydrogel and in water. These dyes were chosen as a model for solutes with different degree of hydrophobicity. The study showed that the hydrogel with higher NH values resulted in better solubility of both dyes. Moreover, in temperature above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIAM)also caused the collapse of NIPAM chains which results in a more hydrophobic environment that increases the solubility of Methylene Blue and decreases the solubility of Orange II in the hydrogels with NIPAM present.Keywords: Thermo-sensitive hydrogel, partition coefficient, the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), micellar polymerization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28611654 Algorithm for Path Recognition in-between Tree Rows for Agricultural Wheeled-Mobile Robots
Authors: Anderson Rocha, Pedro Miguel de Figueiredo Dinis Oliveira Gaspar
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Machine vision has been widely used in recent years in agriculture, as a tool to promote the automation of processes and increase the levels of productivity. The aim of this work is the development of a path recognition algorithm based on image processing to guide a terrestrial robot in-between tree rows. The proposed algorithm was developed using the software MATLAB, and it uses several image processing operations, such as threshold detection, morphological erosion, histogram equalization and the Hough transform, to find edge lines along tree rows on an image and to create a path to be followed by a mobile robot. To develop the algorithm, a set of images of different types of orchards was used, which made possible the construction of a method capable of identifying paths between trees of different heights and aspects. The algorithm was evaluated using several images with different characteristics of quality and the results showed that the proposed method can successfully detect a path in different types of environments.
Keywords: Agricultural mobile robot, image processing, path recognition, Hough transform.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17971653 Principles of Municipal Sewage Sludge Bioconversion into Biomineral Fertilizer
Authors: K. V. Kalinichenko, G. N. Nikovskaya
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The efficiency of heavy metals removal from sewage sludge in bioleaching processes with heterotrophic, chemoautotrophic (sulphur-oxidizing) sludge cenoses and chemical leaching (in distilled water, weakly acidic or alkaline medium) was compared. The efficacy of heavy metals removal from sewage sludge varies from 83 % (Zn) up to 14 % (Cr) and follows the order: Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni > Co > Pb > Cr. The advantages of metals bioleaching process at heterotrophic metabolism were shown. A new process for bioconversation of sewage sludge into fertilizer at middle temperatures after partial heavy metals removal was developed. This process is based on enhancing vital ability of heterotrophic microorganisms by adding easily metabolized nutrients and synthesis of metabolites by growing sludge cenoses. These metabolites possess the properties of heavy metals extractants and flocculants which provide the enhancement of sludge flocks sedimentation. The process results in biomineral fertilizer of prolonged action with immobilized sludge bioelements. The fertilizer satisfies the EU limits for the sewage sludge of agricultural utilization. High efficiency of the biomineral fertilizer obtained has been demonstrated in vegetation experiments.
Keywords: Fertilizer, heavy metals, leaching, sewage sludge.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25961652 Obtaining Constants of Johnson-Cook Material Model Using a Combined Experimental, Numerical Simulation and Optimization Method
Authors: F. Rahimi Dehgolan, M. Behzadi, J. Fathi Sola
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In this article, the Johnson-Cook material model’s constants for structural steel ST.37 have been determined by a method which integrates experimental tests, numerical simulation, and optimization. In the first step, a quasi-static test was carried out on a plain specimen. Next, the constants were calculated for it by minimizing the difference between the results acquired from the experiment and numerical simulation. Then, a quasi-static tension test was performed on three notched specimens with different notch radii. At last, in order to verify the results, they were used in numerical simulation of notched specimens and it was observed that experimental and simulation results are in good agreement. Changing the diameter size of the plain specimen in the necking area was set as the objective function in the optimization step. For final validation of the proposed method, diameter variation was considered as a parameter and its sensitivity to a change in any of the model constants was examined and the results were completely corroborating.
Keywords: Constants, Johnson-Cook material model, notched specimens, quasi-static test, sensitivity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36211651 An AFM Approach of RBC Micro and Nanoscale Topographic Features during Storage
Authors: K. Santacruz-Gomez, E. Silva-Campa, S. Álvarez-García, V. Mata-Haro, D. Soto-Puebla, M. Pedroza-Montero
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Blood gamma irradiation is the only available method to prevent transfusion associated graft versus host disease (TAGVHD). However, when blood is irradiated, determine blood shelf time is crucial. Non irradiated blood have a self-time from 21 to 35 days when is preserved with anticoagulated solution and stored at 4°C. During their storage, red blood cells (RBC) undergo a series of biochemical, biomechanical and molecular changes involving what is known as storage lesion (SL). SL include loss of structural integrity of RBC, decrease of 2,3-diphosphatidylglyceric acid levels, and increase of both ion potassium concentration and hemoglobin (Hb). On the other hand, Atomic force Microscopy (AFM) represents a versatile tool for a nano-scale high resolution topographic analysis in biological systems. In order to evaluate SL in irradiated and nonirradiated blood, RBC topography and morphometric parameters were obtained from an AFM XE-BIO system. Cell viability was followed using flow cytometry. Our results showed that early markers as nanoscale roughness, allow us to evaluate blood quality since other perspective.
Keywords: AFM, Blood γ-irradiation, roughness, Storage lesion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27021650 Roundness Deviation Measuring Strategy at Coordination Measuring Machines and Conventional Machines
Authors: Lenka Ocenasova, Bartosz Gapinski, Robert Cep, Linda Gregova, Branimir Barisic, Jana Novakova, Lenka Petrkovska
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Today technological process makes possible surface control of producing parts which is needful for product quality guarantee. Geometrical structure of part surface includes form, proportion, accuracy to shape, accuracy to size, alignment and surface topography (roughness, waviness, etc.). All these parameters are dependence at technology, production machine parameters, material properties, but also at human, etc. Every parameters approves at total part accuracy, it is means at accuracy to shape. One of the most important accuracy to shape element is roundness. This paper will be deals by comparison of roughness deviations at coordination measuring machines and at special single purpose machines. Will describing measuring by discreet method (discontinuous) and scanning method (continuous) at coordination measuring machines and confrontation with reference method using at single purpose machines.Keywords: Coordinating Measuring Machines (CMM), Measuring Strategy, Roughness Deviation, Accuracy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23791649 Comparison of the Dynamic Characteristics of Active and Passive Hybrid Bearings
Authors: Denis V. Shutin, Alexander Yu. Babin, Leonid A. Savin
Abstract:
One of the ways of reducing vibroactivity of rotor systems is to apply active hybrid bearings. Their design allows correction of the rotor’s location by means of separately controlling the supply pressure of the lubricant into the friction area. In a most simple case, the control system is based on a P-regulator. Increase of the gain coefficient allows decreasing the amplitude of rotor’s vibrations. The same effect can be achieved by means of increasing the pressure in the collector of a traditional passive hybrid bearing. However, these approaches affect the dynamic characteristics of the bearing differently. Theoretical studies show that the increase of the gain coefficient of an active bearing increases the stiffness of the bearing, as well as the increase of the pressure in the collector. Nevertheless, in case of a passive bearing, the damping properties deteriorate, whereas the active hybrid bearings obtain higher damping properties, which allow effectively providing the energy dissipation of the rotor vibrations and reducing the load on the constructional elements of a machine.Keywords: Active bearings, control system, damping, hybrid bearings, stiffness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10521648 The Expression of a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein, DRA1, is Regulated by Drought-Responsive Alternative Splicing
Authors: H. Sakamoto, Y. Nakagawara, S. Oguri
Abstract:
Drought stress is a critical environmental factor that adversely affects crop productivity and quality. Because of their immobile nature, plants have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to drought stress. We identified a novel locus of Arabidopsis, designated DRA1 (drought responsive ankyrin1), whose disruption leads to increased drought-stress tolerance. DRA1 encodes a transmembrane protein with an ankyrin-repeat motif that has been implicated in diverse cellular processes such as signal transduction. RT-PCR analysis revealed that there were at least two splicing variants of DRA1 transcripts in wild-type plants. In response to drought stress, the levels of DRA1 transcripts retaining second and third introns were increased, whereas these introns were removed under unstressed conditions. These results suggest that DRA1 protein may negatively regulate plant drought tolerance and that the expression of DRA1is regulated in response to drought stress by alternative splicing.
Keywords: Alternative splicing, ankyrin repeat, Arabidopsis, drought tolerance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18681647 Video Super-Resolution Using Classification ANN
Authors: Ming-Hui Cheng, Jyh-Horng Jeng
Abstract:
In this study, a classification-based video super-resolution method using artificial neural network (ANN) is proposed to enhance low-resolution (LR) to high-resolution (HR) frames. The proposed method consists of four main steps: classification, motion-trace volume collection, temporal adjustment, and ANN prediction. A classifier is designed based on the edge properties of a pixel in the LR frame to identify the spatial information. To exploit the spatio-temporal information, a motion-trace volume is collected using motion estimation, which can eliminate unfathomable object motion in the LR frames. In addition, temporal lateral process is employed for volume adjustment to reduce unnecessary temporal features. Finally, ANN is applied to each class to learn the complicated spatio-temporal relationship between LR and HR frames. Simulation results show that the proposed method successfully improves both peak signal-to-noise ratio and perceptual quality.
Keywords: Super-resolution, classification, spatio-temporal information, artificial neural network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18091646 Numerical Study of Fatigue Crack Growth at a Web Stiffener of Ship Structural Details
Authors: Wentao He, Jingxi Liu, De Xie
Abstract:
It is necessary to manage the fatigue crack growth (FCG) once those cracks are detected during in-service inspections. In this paper, a simulation program (FCG-System) is developed utilizing the commercial software ABAQUS with its object-oriented programming interface to simulate the fatigue crack path and to compute the corresponding fatigue life. In order to apply FCG-System in large-scale marine structures, the substructure modeling technique is integrated in the system under the consideration of structural details and load shedding during crack growth. Based on the nodal forces and nodal displacements obtained from finite element analysis, a formula for shell elements to compute stress intensity factors is proposed in the view of virtual crack closure technique. The cracks initiating from the intersection of flange and the end of the web-stiffener are investigated for fatigue crack paths and growth lives under water pressure loading and axial force loading, separately. It is found that the FCG-System developed by authors could be an efficient tool to perform fatigue crack growth analysis on marine structures.
Keywords: Crack path, Fatigue crack, Fatigue live, FCG-System, Virtual crack closure technique.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24841645 MIMO System Order Reduction Using Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Swadhin Ku. Mishra, Sidhartha Panda, Simanchala Padhy, C. Ardil
Abstract:
In this paper, real-coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) optimization technique has been applied for large-scale linear dynamic multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system. The method is based on error minimization technique where the integral square error between the transient responses of original and reduced order models has been minimized by RCGA. The reduction procedure is simple computer oriented and the approach is comparable in quality with the other well-known reduction techniques. Also, the proposed method guarantees stability of the reduced model if the original high-order MIMO system is stable. The proposed approach of MIMO system order reduction is illustrated with the help of an example and the results are compared with the recently published other well-known reduction techniques to show its superiority.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2266