Search results for: Advanced treatment
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1937

Search results for: Advanced treatment

1367 Mobile Cloud Middleware: A New Service for Mobile Users

Authors: K. Akherfi, H. Harroud

Abstract:

Cloud computing (CC) and mobile cloud computing (MCC) have advanced rapidly the last few years. Today, MCC undergoes fast improvement and progress in terms of hardware (memory, embedded sensors, power consumption, touch screen, etc.) software (more and more sophisticated mobile applications) and transmission (higher data transmission rates achieved with different technologies such as 3Gs). This paper presents a review on the concept of CC and MCC. Then, it discusses what has been done regarding middleware in cloud and mobile cloud computing. Later, it shows the architecture of our proposed middleware along with its functionalities which will be provided to mobile clients in order to overcome the well known problems (such as low battery power, slow CPU speed and little memory…).

Keywords: Context-aware, cloud computing, middleware, mobile cloud.

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1366 Advanced Gronwall-Bellman-Type Integral Inequalities and Their Applications

Authors: Zixin Liu, Shu Lü, Shouming Zhong, Mao Ye

Abstract:

In this paper, some new nonlinear generalized Gronwall-Bellman-Type integral inequalities with mixed time delays are established. These inequalities can be used as handy tools to research stability problems of delayed differential and integral dynamic systems. As applications, based on these new established inequalities, some p-stable results of a integro-differential equation are also given. Two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the validity of the main results.

Keywords: Gronwall-Bellman-Type integral inequalities, integrodifferential equation, p-exponentially stable, mixed delays.

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1365 Preliminary Evaluation of Different Water Qualities on Leucaena Leucocephala Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

Authors: Maher J. Tadros, Naji K. Al-Mefleh

Abstract:

The evaluation of non-conventional water resources on seed germination and seedling growth performance at early growth stages is still in progress especially in forage crops. This study was designed to test the effect of four types of water qualities (treated wastewater (TWW), industrial water (IW), grey water (GW), and Distilled water (DW)) on germination and early seedling vigor of Leucaena leucocephala. The results showed that the germination was not significantly affected by the different water qualities. Seed germination reached maximum after 17, 14, 14, and 21 days under GW, IW, TWW, and DW treatments, respectively. The highest mean of shoot length was scored under the GW treatment. And, the highest mean of root length was scored under DW which was not significant from GW treatment. The means of shoot fresh was the highest under the TWW. The means of root fresh weight was not significantly different from each other's under different treatments. The growth performance was in progress with no mortality during 21 days of growth. Thus, the best non-conventional water qualities alternatives based on the cleanness, nutrients, and toxicity are the GW, TWW and IW, respectively.

Keywords: Seed germination, Growth performance, Leucaena, Multipurpose forest trees, Waste water, Grey water

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1364 Chemotherapy Safety Protocol for Oncology Nurses: It's Effect on Their Protective Measures Practices

Authors: Magda M. Mohsen, Manal E. Fareed

Abstract:

Background: Widespread use of chemotherapeutic drugs in the treatment of cancer has lead to higher health hazards among employee who handle and administer such drugs, so nurses should know how to protect themselves, their patients and their work environment against toxic effects of chemotherapy. Aim of this study was carried out to examine the effect of chemotherapy safety protocol for oncology nurses on their protective measure practices. Design: A quasi experimental research design was utilized. Setting: The study was carried out in oncology department of Menoufia university hospital and Tanta oncology treatment center. Sample: A convenience sample of forty five nurses in Tanta oncology treatment center and eighteen nurses in Menoufiya oncology department. Tools: 1. an interviewing questionnaire that covering sociodemographic data, assessment of unit and nurses' knowledge about chemotherapy. II: Obeservational check list to assess nurses' actual practices of handling and adminestration of chemotherapy. A base line data were assessed before implementing Chemotherapy Safety protocol, then Chemotherapy Safety protocol was implemented, and after 2 monthes they were assessed again. Results: reveled that 88.9% of study group I and 55.6% of study group II improved to good total knowledge scores after educating on the safety protocol, also 95.6% of study group I and 88.9% of study group II had good total practice score after educating on the safety protocol. Moreover less than half of group I (44.4%) reported that heavy workload is the most barriers for them, while the majority of group II (94.4%) had many barriers for adhering to the safety protocol such as they didn’t know the protocol, the heavy work load and inadequate equipment. Conclusions: Safety protocol for Oncology Nurses seemed to have positive effect on improving nurses' knowledge and practice. Recommendation: chemotherapy safety protocol should be instituted for all oncology nurses who are working in any oncology unit and/ or center to enhance compliance, and this protocol should be done at frequent intervals.

Keywords: Chemotherapy Safety protocol, Effect, protective measure practice.

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1363 A SAW-less Dual-Band CDMA Diversity and Simultaneous-GPS Zero-IF Receiver

Authors: Bassem Fahs, Philippe Barré, Patrick Ozenne, Eric Chartier, Guillaume Hérault, Sébastien Jacquet, Sébastien Clamagirand

Abstract:

We present a dual-band (Cellular & PCS) dual-path zero-IF receiver for CDMA2000 diversity, monitoring and simultaneous-GPS. The secondary path is a SAW-less diversity CDMA receiver which can be also used for advanced features like monitoring when supported with an additional external VCO. A GPS receiver is integrated with its dedicated VCO allowing simultaneous positioning during a cellular call. The circuit is implemented in a 0.25μm 40GHz-fT BiCMOS process and uses a HVQFN 56-pin package. It consumes a maximum 300mW from a 2.8V supply in dual-modes. The chip area is 12.8mm2.

Keywords: CDMA, diversity, GPS, zero-IF, SAW-less

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1362 Experimental Analysis of Composite Timber-Concrete Beam with CFRP Reinforcement

Authors: O. Vlcek

Abstract:

The paper deals with current issues in research of advanced methods to increase reliability of traditional timber structural elements. It analyses the issue of strengthening of bent timber beams, such as ceiling beams in old (historical) buildings with additional concrete slab in combination with externally bonded fibre - reinforced polymer. The paper describes experimental testing of composite timber-concrete beam with FRP reinforcement and compares results with FEM analysis.

Keywords: Timber-concrete composite, strengthening, fibre-reinforced polymer, experimental analysis.

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1361 The Image as an Initial Element of the Cognitive Understanding of Words

Authors: S. Pesina, T. Solonchak

Abstract:

An analysis of word semantics focusing on the invariance of advanced imagery in several pressing problems. Interest in the language of imagery is caused by the introduction, in the linguistics sphere, of a new paradigm, the center of which is the personality of the speaker (the subject of the language). Particularly noteworthy is the question of the place of the image when discussing the lexical, phraseological values ​​and the relationship of imagery and metaphors. In part, the formation of a metaphor, as an interaction between two intellective entities, occurs at a cognitive level, and it is the category of the image, having cognitive roots, which aides in the correct interpretation of the results of this process on the lexical-semantic level.

Keywords: Image, metaphor, concept, creation of a metaphor, cognitive linguistics, erased image, vivid image.

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1360 Cell Biomass and Lipid Productivities of Meyerella planktonica under Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Growth Conditions

Authors: Rory Anthony Hutagalung, Leonardus Widjaya

Abstract:

Microalgae Meyerella planktonica is a potential biofuel source because it can grow in bulk in either autotrophic or heterotrophic condition. However, the quantitative growth of this algal type is still low as it tends to precipitates on the bottom. Besides, the lipid concentration is still low when grown in autotrophic condition. In contrast, heterotrophic condition can enhance the lipid concentration. The combination of autotrophic condition and agitation treatment was conducted to increase the density of the culture. On the other hand, a heterotrophic condition was set up to raise the lipid production. A two-stage experiment was applied to increase the density at the first step and to increase the lipid concentration in the next step. The autotrophic condition resulted higher density but lower lipid concentration compared to heterotrophic one. The agitation treatment produced higher density in both autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. The two-stage experiment managed to enhance the density during the autotrophic stage and the lipid concentration during the heterotrophic stage. The highest yield was performed by using 0.4% v/v glycerol as a carbon source (2.9±0.016 x 10^6 cells w/w) attained 7 days after the heterotrophic stage began. The lipid concentration was stable starting from day 7.

Keywords: Agitation, Glycerol, Heterotrophic, Lipid Productivity, Meyerella planktonica.

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1359 SCR-Based Advanced ESD Protection Device for Low Voltage Application

Authors: Bo Bae Song, Byung Seok Lee, Hyun Young Kim, Chung Kwang Lee, Yong Seo Koo

Abstract:

This paper proposed a silicon controller rectifier (SCR) based ESD protection device to protect low voltage ESD for integrated circuit. The proposed ESD protection device has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage compared with conventional SCR-based ESD protection devices. The proposed ESD protection circuit is verified and compared by TCAD simulation. This paper verified effective low voltage ESD characteristics with low trigger voltage of 5.79V and high holding voltage of 3.5V through optimization depending on design variables (D1, D2, D3 and D4).

Keywords: ESD, SCR, Holding voltage, Latch-up.

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1358 Artificial Intelligence Support for Interferon Treatment Decision in Chronic Hepatitis B

Authors: Alexandru George Floares

Abstract:

Chronic hepatitis B can evolve to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Interferon is the only effective treatment, for carefully selected patients, but it is very expensive. Some of the selection criteria are based on liver biopsy, an invasive, costly and painful medical procedure. Therefore, developing efficient non-invasive selection systems, could be in the patients benefit and also save money. We investigated the possibility to create intelligent systems to assist the Interferon therapeutical decision, mainly by predicting with acceptable accuracy the results of the biopsy. We used a knowledge discovery in integrated medical data - imaging, clinical, and laboratory data. The resulted intelligent systems, tested on 500 patients with chronic hepatitis B, based on C5.0 decision trees and boosting, predict with 100% accuracy the results of the liver biopsy. Also, by integrating the other patients selection criteria, they offer a non-invasive support for the correct Interferon therapeutic decision. To our best knowledge, these decision systems outperformed all similar systems published in the literature, and offer a realistic opportunity to replace liver biopsy in this medical context.

Keywords: Interferon, chronic hepatitis B, intelligent virtualbiopsy.

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1357 Enhancing the Network Security with Gray Code

Authors: Thomas Adi Purnomo Sidhi

Abstract:

Nowadays, network is an essential need in almost every part of human daily activities. People now can seamlessly connect to others through the Internet. With advanced technology, our personal data now can be more easily accessed. One of many components we are concerned for delivering the best network is a security issue. This paper is proposing a method that provides more options for security. This research aims to improve network security by focusing on the physical layer which is the first layer of the OSI model. The layer consists of the basic networking hardware transmission technologies of a network. With the use of observation method, the research produces a schematic design for enhancing the network security through the gray code converter.

Keywords: Network, network security, gray code, physical layer.

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1356 Dynamic High-Rise Moment Resisting Frame Dissipation Performances Adopting Glazed Curtain Walls with Superelastic Shape Memory Alloy Joints

Authors: Lorenzo Casagrande, Antonio Bonati, Ferdinando Auricchio, Antonio Occhiuzzi

Abstract:

This paper summarizes the results of a survey on smart non-structural element dynamic dissipation when installed in modern high-rise mega-frame prototypes. An innovative glazed curtain wall was designed using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) joints in order to increase the energy dissipation and enhance the seismic/wind response of the structures. The studied buildings consisted of thirty- and sixty-storey planar frames, extracted from reference three-dimensional steel Moment Resisting Frame (MRF) with outriggers and belt trusses. The internal core was composed of a CBF system, whilst outriggers were placed every fifteen stories to limit second order effects and inter-storey drifts. These structural systems were designed in accordance with European rules and numerical FE models were developed with an open-source code, able to account for geometric and material nonlinearities. With regard to the characterization of non-structural building components, full-scale crescendo tests were performed on aluminium/glass curtain wall units at the laboratory of the Construction Technologies Institute (ITC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), deriving force-displacement curves. Three-dimensional brick-based inelastic FE models were calibrated according to experimental results, simulating the fac¸ade response. Since recent seismic events and extreme dynamic wind loads have generated the large occurrence of non-structural components failure, which causes sensitive economic losses and represents a hazard for pedestrians safety, a more dissipative glazed curtain wall was studied. Taking advantage of the mechanical properties of SMA, advanced smart joints were designed with the aim to enhance both the dynamic performance of the single non-structural unit and the global behavior. Thus, three-dimensional brick-based plastic FE models were produced, based on the innovated non-structural system, simulating the evolution of mechanical degradation in aluminium-to-glass and SMA-to-glass connections when high deformations occurred. Consequently, equivalent nonlinear links were calibrated to reproduce the behavior of both tested and smart designed units, and implemented on the thirty- and sixty-storey structural planar frame FE models. Nonlinear time history analyses (NLTHAs) were performed to quantify the potential of the new system, when considered in the lateral resisting frame system (LRFS) of modern high-rise MRFs. Sensitivity to the structure height was explored comparing the responses of the two prototypes. Trends in global and local performance were discussed to show that, if accurately designed, advanced materials in non-structural elements provide new sources of energy dissipation.

Keywords: Advanced technologies, glazed curtain walls, non-structural elements, seismic-action reduction, shape memory alloy.

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1355 Towards the Design of Gripper Independent of Substrate Surface Structures

Authors: Annika Schmidt, Ausama Hadi Ahmed, Carlo Menon

Abstract:

End effectors for robotic systems are becoming more and more advanced, resulting in a growing variety of gripping tasks. However, most grippers are application specific. This paper presents a gripper that interacts with an object’s surface rather than being dependent on a defined shape or size. For this purpose, ingressive and astrictive features are combined to achieve the desired gripping capabilities. The developed prototype is tested on a variety of surfaces with different hardness and roughness properties. The results show that the gripping mechanism works on all of the tested surfaces. The influence of the material properties on the amount of the supported load is also studied and the efficiency is discussed.

Keywords: Claw, dry adhesion, insects, material properties.

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1354 On the Operation Mechanism and Device Modeling of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs)

Authors: Li Yuan, Weizhu Wang, Kean Boon Lee, Haifeng Sun, Susai Lawrence Selvaraj, Shane Todd, Guo-Qiang Lo

Abstract:

In this work, the physical based device model of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) has been established and the corresponding device operation behavior has been investigated also by using Sentaurus TCAD from Synopsys. Advanced AlGaN/GaN hetero-structures with GaN cap layer and AlN spacer have been considered and the GaN cap layer and AlN spacer are found taking important roles on the gate leakage blocking and off-state breakdown voltage enhancement.

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN, HEMT, Physical mechanism, TCAD simulation

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1353 Limits of Phase Modulated Frequency Shifted Holographic Vibrometry at Low Amplitudes of Vibrations

Authors: Pavel Psota, Vít Lédl, Jan Václavík, Roman Doleček, Pavel Mokrý, Petr Vojtíšek

Abstract:

This paper presents advanced time average digital holography by means of frequency shift and phase modulation. This technique can measure amplitudes of vibrations at ultimate dynamic range while the amplitude distribution evaluation is done independently in every pixel. The main focus of the paper is to gain insight into behavior of the method at low amplitudes of vibrations. In order to reach that, a set of experiments was performed. Results of the experiments together with novel noise suppression show the limit of the method to be below 0.1 nm.

Keywords: Acousto-optical modulator, digital holography, low amplitudes, vibrometry.

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1352 Pefloxacin as a Surrogate Marker for Ciprofloxacin Resistance in Salmonella: Study from North India

Authors: Varsha Gupta, Priya Datta, Gursimran Mohi, Jagdish Chander

Abstract:

Fluoroquinolones form the mainstay of therapy for the treatment of infections due to Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica. There is a complex interplay between several resistance mechanisms for quinolones and various fluoroquinolones discs, giving varying results, making detection and interpretation of fluoroquinolone resistance difficult. For detection of fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella ssp., we compared the use of pefloxacin and nalidixic acid discs as surrogate marker. Using MIC for ciprofloxacin as the gold standard, 43.5% of strains showed MIC as ≥1 μg/ml and were thus resistant to fluoroquinoloes. Based on the performance of nalidixic acid and pefloxacin discs as surrogate marker for ciprofloxacin resistance, both the discs could correctly detect all the resistant phenotypes; however, use of nalidixic acid disc showed false resistance in the majority of the sensitive phenotypes. We have also tested newer antimicrobial agents like cefixime, imipenem, tigecycline and azithromycin against Salmonella spp. Moreover, there was a comeback of susceptibility to older antimicrobials like ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole. We can also use cefixime, imipenem, tigecycline and azithromycin in the treatment of multidrug resistant S. typhi due to their high susceptibility.

Keywords: Pefloxacin, salmonella, surrogate marker.

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1351 The Development of the Prototype of Bamboo Shading Device

Authors: N. Tuaycharoen, W. Konisranukul

Abstract:

The main aim of this research was to investigate a prototype bamboo shading device. There were two objectives to this study: first, to investigate the effects of non-chemical treatments on bamboo shading devices damaged by powder-post beetles and fungi, and second to develop a prototype bamboo shading device. This study of the effects of non-chemical treatments on bamboo shading devices damage by powder-post beetles in the laboratory showed that, among seven treatments tested, wood vinegar treatment can protect powder-post beetles better than the original method by up to 92.91%. It was also found that wood vinegar treatment shows the best performance in fungi protection and works better than the original method by up to 40%. A second experiment was carried out by constructing four bamboo shading devices and installing them on a building for 28 days. All aspects of shading device were investigated in terms of their beauty, durability, and ease of construction and assembly. The final prototype was developed from the lessons learned from the test results. In conclusion, this study showed the effectiveness of some natural preservatives against insect and fungi damage, and it also illustrated the characteristics of a prototype bamboo shading device that can be constructed by rural workers within one week.

Keywords: Bamboo, shading device, energy conservation, alternative materials.

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1350 Optimal Assessment of Faulted Area around an Industrial Customer for Critical Sag Magnitudes

Authors: Marios N. Moschakis

Abstract:

This paper deals with the assessment of faulted area around an industrial customer connected to a particular electric grid that will cause a certain sag magnitude on this customer. The faulted (critical or exposed) area’s length is calculated by adding all line lengths in the neighborhood of the critical node (customer). The applied method is the so-called Method of Critical Distances. By using advanced short-circuit analysis, the Critical Area can be accurately calculated for radial and meshed power networks due to all symmetrical and asymmetrical faults. For the demonstration of the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, a study case is used.

Keywords: Critical area, fault-induced voltage sags, industrial customers, power quality.

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1349 A Hybrid Multi-Objective Firefly-Sine Cosine Algorithm for Multi-Objective Optimization Problem

Authors: Gaohuizi Guo, Ning Zhang

Abstract:

Firefly algorithm (FA) and Sine Cosine algorithm (SCA) are two very popular and advanced metaheuristic algorithms. However, these algorithms applied to multi-objective optimization problems have some shortcomings, respectively, such as premature convergence and limited exploration capability. Combining the privileges of FA and SCA while avoiding their deficiencies may improve the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithm. This paper proposes a hybridization of FA and SCA algorithms, named multi-objective firefly-sine cosine algorithm (MFA-SCA), to develop a more efficient meta-heuristic algorithm than FA and SCA.

Keywords: Firefly algorithm, hybrid algorithm, multi-objective optimization, Sine Cosine algorithm.

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1348 Biological Data Integration using SOA

Authors: Noura Meshaan Al-Otaibi, Amin Yousef Noaman

Abstract:

Nowadays scientific data is inevitably digital and stored in a wide variety of formats in heterogeneous systems. Scientists need to access an integrated view of remote or local heterogeneous data sources with advanced data accessing, analyzing, and visualization tools. This research suggests the use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to integrate biological data from different data sources. This work shows SOA will solve the problems that facing integration process and if the biologist scientists can access the biological data in easier way. There are several methods to implement SOA but web service is the most popular method. The Microsoft .Net Framework used to implement proposed architecture.

Keywords: Bioinformatics, Biological data, Data Integration, SOA and Web Services.

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1347 Grain Size Effect on Durability of Bioclogging Treatment

Authors: T. Farah, H. Souli, J. –M. Fleureau, G. Kermouche, J. –J. Fry, B. Girard, D. Aelbrecht

Abstract:

In this work, the bioclogging of two soils with different granulometries is presented. The durability of the clogging is also studied under cycles of hydraulic head and under cycles of desaturation-resaturation. The studied materials present continuous grain size distributions. The first one corresponding to the "material 1” presents grain sizes between 0.4 and 4mm. The second material called "material 2" is composed of grains with size varying between 1 and 10mm. The results show that clogging occurs very quickly after the injection of nutrition and an outlet flow near to 0 is observed. The critical hydraulic head is equal to 0.76 for "material 1", and 0.076 for "material 2". The durability tests show a good resistance to unclogging under cycles of hydraulic head and desaturation-resaturation for the "material 1". Indeed, the flow after the cycles is very low. In contrast, "material 2", shows a very bad resistance, especially under the hydraulic head cycles. The resistance under the cycles of desaturation-resaturation is better but an important increase of the flow is observed. The difference of behavior is due to the granulometry of the materials. Indeed, the large grain size contributes to the reduction of the efficiency of the bioclogging treatment in this material. 

Keywords: Bioclogging, Granulometry, permeability, nutrition.

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1346 Managing the Baltic Sea Region Resilience: Prevention, Treatment Actions and Circular Economy

Authors: J. Burlakovs, Y. Jani, L. Grinberga, M. Kriipsalu, O. Anne, I. Grinfelde, W. Hogland

Abstract:

The worldwide future sustainable economies are oriented towards the sea: the maritime economy is becoming one of the strongest driving forces in many regions as population growth is the highest in coastal areas. For hundreds of years sea resources were depleted unsustainably by fishing, mining, transportation, tourism, and waste. European Sustainable Development Strategy is identifying and developing actions to enable the EU to achieve a continuous, long-term improvement of the quality of life through the creation of sustainable communities. The aim of this paper is to provide insight in Baltic Sea Region case studies on implemented actions on tourism industry waste and beach wrack management in coastal areas, hazardous contaminants and plastic flow treatment from waste, wastewaters and stormwaters. These projects mentioned in study promote successful prevention of contaminant flows to the sea environments and provide perspectives for creation of valuable new products from residuals for future circular economy are the step forward to green innovation winning streak.

Keywords: Resilience, hazardous waste, phytoremediation, water management, circular economy.

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1345 Modeling Decentralized Source-Separation Systems for Urban Waste Management

Authors: Bernard J.H. Ng, Apostolos Giannis, Victor Chang, Rainer Stegmann, Jing-Yuan Wang

Abstract:

Decentralized eco-sanitation system is a promising and sustainable mode comparing to the century-old centralized conventional sanitation system. The decentralized concept relies on an environmentally and economically sound management of water, nutrient and energy fluxes. Source-separation systems for urban waste management collect different solid waste and wastewater streams separately to facilitate the recovery of valuable resources from wastewater (energy, nutrients). A resource recovery centre constituted for 20,000 people will act as the functional unit for the treatment of urban waste of a high-density population community, like Singapore. The decentralized system includes urine treatment, faeces and food waste co-digestion, and horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste treatment in composting plants. A design model is developed to estimate the input and output in terms of materials and energy. The inputs of urine (yellow water, YW) and faeces (brown water, BW) are calculated by considering the daily mean production of urine and faeces by humans and the water consumption of no-mix vacuum toilet (0.2 and 1 L flushing water for urine and faeces, respectively). The food waste (FW) production is estimated to be 150 g wet weight/person/day. The YW is collected and discharged by gravity into tank. It was found that two days are required for urine hydrolysis and struvite precipitation. The maximum nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) recovery are 150-266 kg/day and 20-70 kg/day, respectively. In contrast, BW and FW are mixed for co-digestion in a thermophilic acidification tank and later a decentralized/centralized methanogenic reactor is used for biogas production. It is determined that 6.16-15.67 m3/h methane is produced which is equivalent to 0.07-0.19 kWh/ca/day. The digestion residues are treated with horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal waste in co-composting plants.

Keywords: Decentralization, ecological sanitation, material flow analysis, source-separation

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1344 Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Black Tea Extract and Quercetin in Atherosclerotic Rats

Authors: Wahyu Widowati, Hana Ratnawati, Tjandrawati Mozefis, Dwiyati Pujimulyani, Yelliantty Yelliantty

Abstract:

Background: Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with complex and multifactorial process including atherogenic lipoprotein, oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL), endothelial dysfunction, plaque stability, vascular inflammation, thrombotic and fibrinolytic disorder, exercises and genetic factor Epidemiological studies have shown tea consumption inversely associated with the development and progression of atherosclerosis. The research objectives: to elucidate hypolipidemic, antioxidant effects, as well as ability to improve coronary artery’s histopathologyof black tea extract (BTE) and quercetin in atherosclerotic rats. Methods: The antioxidant activity was determined by using Superoxide Dismutase activity (SOD) of serum and lipid peroxidation product (Malondialdehyde) of plasma and lipid profile including cholesterol total, LDL, triglyceride (TG), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) of atherosclerotic rats. Inducing atherosclerotic, rats were given cholesterol and cholic acid in feed during ten weeks until rats indicated atherosclerotic symptom with narrowed artery and foamy cells in the artery’s wall. After rats suffered atherosclerotic, the high cholesterol feed and cholic acid were stopped and rats were given BTE 450; 300; 150 mg/kg body weight (BW) daily, quercetin 15; 10; 5 mg/kg BW daily, compared to rats were given vitamin E 60 mg/kg/BW; simvastatin 2.7 mg/kg BW, probucol 30 mg/kg BW daily for 21 days (first treatment) and 42 days (second treatment), negative control (normal feed), positive control (atherosclerotic rats). Results: BTE and quercetin could lower cholesterol total, triglyceride, LDL MDA and increase HDL, SOD were comparable with simvastatin, probucol both for 21 days and 42 days treatment, as well to improve coronary arteries histopathology. Conclusions: BTE andquercetin have hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects, as well as improve coronary arteries histopathology in atherosclerotic rats.

Keywords: Black tea, quercetin, atherosclerosis, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, cardiovascular disease.

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1343 Design of a Compact Meshed Antennas for 5G Communication Systems

Authors: Chokri Baccouch, Chayma Bahhar, Hedi Sakli, Nizar Sakli, Taoufik Aguili

Abstract:

This paper presents a hybrid system solar cell antenna for 5G mobile communications networks. We propose here a solar cell antenna with either a front face collection grid or mesh patch. The solar cell antenna of our contribution combines both optical and radiofrequency signals. Thus, we propose two solar cell antenna structures in the frequency bands of future 5G standard respectively in both 2.6 and 3.5 GHz bands. Simulation using the Advanced Design System (ADS) software allows us to analyze and determine the antenna parameters proposed in this work such as the reflection coefficient (S11), gain, directivity and radiated power.

Keywords: Patch antenna, solar cell, DC, RF, 5G.

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1342 The Impact of E-Learning on Medication Administration of Nursing Students: What Recent Studies Say?

Authors: Z. Karakus, Z. Ozer

Abstract:

Nurses are responsible for the care and treatment of individuals, as well as health maintenance and education. Medication administration is an important part of health promotion. The administration of a medicine is a common but important clinical procedure for nurses because of its complex structure. Therefore, medication errors are inevitable for nurses or nursing students. Medication errors can cause ineffective treatment, patient’s prolonged hospital stay, disablement or death. Additionally, medication errors affect the global economy adversely by increasing health costs. Hence, preventing or decreasing of medication errors is a critical and essential issue in nursing. Nurse educators are in pursuit of new teaching methods to teach students significance of medication application. In the light of technological developments of this age, e-learning has started to be accepted as an important teaching method. E-learning is the use of electronic media and information and communication technologies in education. It has advantages such as flexibility of time and place, lower costs, faster delivery and lower environmental impact. Students can make their own schedule and decide the learning method. This study is conducted to determine the impact of e-learning on medication administration of nursing students.

Keywords: E-Learning, Medication Administration, Nursing, Nursing Students.

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1341 Properties of the CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots Treated by O3 Plasma for Integration in the Perovskite Solar Cell

Authors: Sh. Sousani, Z. Shadrokh, M. Hofbauerová, J. Kollár, M. Jergel, V. Nádaždy, M. Omastová, E. Majková

Abstract:

In this paper, we discuss the preparation and impact of post-treatment procedures, including purification, passivation, and ligand exchange, on the formation and stability of halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs). CsPbBr3 quantum dots were synthesized via the conventional hot-injection method using cesium oleate, PbBr2, and oleylamine (OAm) & oleic acid (OA) and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) as ligands. Characterization by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) confirms the QDs' cubic shape and monodispersity with an average size of 10-14 nm. The photoluminescent (PL) properties of perovskite quantum dots/CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite (PQDs/MAPI)  bilayers with OAm&OA and DDAB ligands spin coated on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrate were explored. The impact of ligand type and oxygen plasma treatment on linear optical behaviour and PQDs/MAPI interface formation in ITO/PQDs/MAPI perovskite structures was examined. The obtained results have direct implications for selection of suitable ligands and processes for photovoltaic applications and enhancing their stability.

Keywords: Perovskite quantum dots, ligand exchange, photoluminescence, O3 plasma.

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1340 An Overview of the Factors Affecting Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation and its Potential Application in Soil Improvement

Authors: Wei-Soon Ng, Min-Lee Lee, Siew-Ling Hii

Abstract:

Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a relatively green and sustainable soil improvement technique. It utilizes biochemical process that exists naturally in soil to improve engineering properties of soils. The calcite precipitation process is uplifted by the mean of injecting higher concentration of urease positive bacteria and reagents into the soil. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the factors affecting the MICP in soil. Several factors were identified including nutrients, bacteria type, geometric compatibility of bacteria, bacteria cell concentration, fixation and distribution of bacteria in soil, temperature, reagents concentration, pH, and injection method. These factors were found to be essential for promoting successful MICP soil treatment. Furthermore, a preliminary laboratory test was carried out to investigate the potential application of the technique in improving the shear strength and impermeability of a residual soil specimen. The results showed that both shear strength and impermeability of residual soil improved significantly upon MICP treatment. The improvement increased with increasing soil density.

Keywords: Bacteria, biocementation, bioclogging, calcite precipitation, soil improvement.

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1339 Regional Medical Imaging System

Authors: Michal Javornik, Otto Dostal, Karel Slavicek

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to introduce an advanced system for the support of processing of medical image information, and the terminology related to this system, which can be an important element to a faster transition to a fully digitalized hospital. The core of the system is a set of DICOM compliant applications running over a dedicated computer network. The whole integrated system creates a collaborative platform supporting daily routines in the radiology community, developing communication channels, supporting the exchange of information and special consultations among various medical institutions as well as supporting medical training for practicing radiologists and medical students. It gives the users outside of hospitals the tools to work in almost the same conditions as in the radiology departments.

Keywords: DICOM, Integration, Medical Education, MedicalImaging

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1338 Verifying the Supremacy of Volume Modulated Arc Therapy Over Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy: Pelvis Malignancies’ Perspective

Authors: M. Umar Farooq, T. Ahmad Afridi, M. Zia-Ul-Islam Arsalan, U. Hussain Haider, S. Ullah

Abstract:

Cancer, a leading fatal disease worldwide, can be treated with various techniques including radiation therapy. It involves the use of ionizing radiation to target cancer cells. On basis of source placement, radiation therapy is of two types i.e., Brachytherapy and External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT). EBRT has evolved from 2-D conventional therapy to 3-D Conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and then Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). IMRT improves dose conformity and sparing of organs at risk. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) is a modern technique that uses treatment delivery in arcs with rotation of the gantry. In this report, a dosimetry comparison was performed between IMRT and VMAT. This study was conducted in the Radiotherapy Department of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Lahore (INMOL). Ten patients with Prostate Carcinoma were selected for this study to compare the methods. Simulation of these patients was done with help of a CT Simulator. All target volumes and organs were delineated by the oncologists. Then suitable fields/arcs were applied which cover volumes effectively. This was followed by the optimization of plans for both techniques for every patient. Finally, a comparison of evaluating parameters e.g., Conformity Index (CI), Volume Coverage, Homogeneity Index (HI), Organ Doses, and MUs (Monitor Units) was performed. We obtained better results of target conformity indices from VMAT (CI = 1.16) than IMRT (CI = 1.24). VMAT was better in organ sparing too. Also, VMAT shows fewer MUs (733 MUs) as compared to IMRT (2149 MUs). From this study, it is concluded that VMAT is a better treatment technique than IMRT. This technique will enhance treatment efficiency as it takes less time in obtaining the required results. Also, a very less scatter dose will be delivered to the patient.

Keywords: 2-D Conventional Radiotherapy, 3-D Conformal Radiotherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy, Prostate Carcinoma, Radiotherapy, Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy.

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