Search results for: Hesham Ahmed Hassan
161 Analyses of Natural Convection Heat Transfer from a Heated Cylinder Mounted in Vertical Duct
Authors: H. Bhowmik, A. Faisal, Ahmed Al Yaarubi, Nabil Al Alawi
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Experiments are conducted to analyze the steady-state and the power-on transient natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder mounted in a vertical up flow circular duct. The heat flux ranges from 177 W/m2 to 2426 W/m2 and the Rayleigh number ranges from 1×104 to 4.35×104. For natural air flow and constant heat flux condition, the effects of heat transfer around the cylinder under steady-state condition are investigated. The steady-state results compare favorably with that of the available data. The effects of transient heat transfer data on different angular position of the thermocouple (0o, 90o, 180o) are also reported. It is observed that the transient heat transfer around the cylinder is strongly affected by the position of thermocouples. In the transient region, the rate of heat transfer obtained at 90o and 180o are higher than that of stagnation point (0o). Finally, the dependence of the average Nusselt number on Rayleigh number for steady and transient natural convection heat transfer are analyzed, and a correlation equation is presented.
Keywords: Steady-state, transient, natural convection, Rayleigh number, Nusselt number, Fourier Number.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1212160 Cereals' Products with Red Grape and Walnut Extracts as Functional Foods for Prevention of Kidney Dysfunction
Authors: Sahar Y. Al-Okbi, Doha A. Mohamed, Thanaa E. Hamed, Ahmed Ms Hussein
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In the present research, two nutraceuticals made from red grape and walnut that showed previously to improve kidney dysfunction were incorporated separately into functional foods' bread made from barley and rice bran. The functional foods were evaluated in rats in which chronic renal failure was induced through feeding diet rich in adenine and phosphate (APD). The evaluation based on assessing kidney function, oxidative stress, inflammatory biomarkers and body weight gain. Results showed induction of chronic kidney failure reflected in significant increase in plasma urea, creatinine, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor- α and low density lipoprotein cholesterol along with significant reduction of plasma albumin, and total antioxidant and creatinine clearance and body weight gain on feeding APD compared to control healthy group. Feeding the functional foods produced amelioration in the different biochemical parameters and body weight gain indicating improvement in kidney function.
Keywords: Functional food, kidney dysfunction, rats.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2290159 Bioprocessing of Proximally Analyzed Wheat Straw for Enhanced Cellulase Production through Process Optimization with Trichodermaviride under SSF
Authors: Ishtiaq Ahmed, Muhammad Anjum Zia, Hafiz Muhammad Nasir Iqbal
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The purpose of the present work was to study the production and process parameters optimization for the synthesis of cellulase from Trichoderma viride in solid state fermentation (SSF) using an agricultural wheat straw as substrates; as fungal conversion of lignocellulosic biomass for cellulase production is one among the major increasing demand for various biotechnological applications. An optimization of process parameters is a necessary step to get higher yield of product. Several kinetic parameters like pretreatment, extraction solvent, substrate concentration, initial moisture content, pH, incubation temperature and inoculum size were optimized for enhanced production of third most demanded industrially important cellulase. The maximum cellulase enzyme activity 398.10±2.43 μM/mL/min was achieved when proximally analyzed lignocellulosic substrate wheat straw inocubated at 2% HCl as pretreatment tool along with distilled water as extraction solvent, 3% substrate concentration 40% moisture content with optimum pH 5.5 at 45°C incubation temperature and 10% inoculum size.Keywords: Cellulase, Lignocellulosic residue, Processoptimization, Proximal analysis, SSF, Trichoderma viride.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2525158 Seasonal Heat Stress Effect on Cholesterol, Estradiol and Progesterone during Follicular Development in Egyptian Buffalo
Authors: Heba F. Hozyen, Hodallah H. Ahmed, S. I. A. Shalaby, G. E. S. Essawy
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Biochemical and hormonal changes that occur in both follicular fluid and blood are involved in the control of ovarian physiology. The present study was conducted on follicular fluid and serum samples obtained from 708 buffaloes. Samples were examined for estradiol, progesterone, and cholesterol concentrations in relation to seasonal changes, ovarian follicular size, and stage of estrous cycle. The obtained results revealed that follicular fluid and serum levels of estradiol, progesterone, and cholesterol were significantly lower during summer and autumn when compared to winter and spring seasons. With the increase in follicular size, the follicular fluid levels of progesterone and cholesterol were significantly decreased, while estradiol levels were significantly increased. Estradiol and progesterone levels were significantly higher in follicular fluid than blood, while cholesterol was significantly lower in follicular fluid than serum. In conclusion, the current study threw a light on the hormonal changes in the follicular fluid and blood under the effect of heat stress which could be related to the low fertility of buffalo in the summer.Keywords: Buffalo, follicular fluid, follicular development, seasonal changes, steroids.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1944157 Capacity Optimization for Local and Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Ayman A. El-Saleh, Mahamod Ismail, Mohd. A. M. Ali, Ahmed N. H. Alnuaimy
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The dynamic spectrum allocation solutions such as cognitive radio networks have been proposed as a key technology to exploit the frequency segments that are spectrally underutilized. Cognitive radio users work as secondary users who need to constantly and rapidly sense the presence of primary users or licensees to utilize their frequency bands if they are inactive. Short sensing cycles should be run by the secondary users to achieve higher throughput rates as well as to provide low level of interference to the primary users by immediately vacating their channels once they have been detected. In this paper, the throughput-sensing time relationship in local and cooperative spectrum sensing has been investigated under two distinct scenarios, namely, constant primary user protection (CPUP) and constant secondary user spectrum usability (CSUSU) scenarios. The simulation results show that the design of sensing slot duration is very critical and depends on the number of cooperating users under CPUP scenario whereas under CSUSU, cooperating more users has no effect if the sensing time used exceeds 5% of the total frame duration.Keywords: Capacity, cognitive radio, optimization, spectrumsensing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1605156 Investigations of Natural Convective Heat Transfer in Rectangular Thermal Passages
Authors: Hussain H. Al-Kayiem, Ahmed K. Hussein, Toh Seng Peow
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The evaluation of the convective heat transfer of flow in passages with rectangular cross section is still of interest for the heat transfer investigators, as in the air heater solar collectors. The aim of this paper is to present investigation results on the natural convection heat transfer in a solar air heater. The effect of the channel length as heat transfer surface and the inclination of the passage were investigated. The results were obtained experimentally and theoretically. For that, an experimental test rig was fabricated with channel lengths of 1m, 1.5m, and 2m. For each length, the air outlet and inlet temperatures, absorber and cover temperatures, solar radiation intensity and air flow rate were measured at 10o, 30o, 50o, 70o, and 90o tilt angles. Measurements were recorded every 2 hours interval to investigate the transient behavior of the system. The experimental and theoretical results are presented in terms of Nu number versus Ra number and discussed. The percentages of differences between experimental and theoretical results are within the margin of 6% to 13%, effectively. It is recommended to extend the investigation to study the same configurations with different artificial surface roughing by ribs or pins.
Keywords: Convective heat transfer, Flat plate, Natural convection, Passage flow, Solar energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2059155 A New Strategy for Minimizing Precipitations during ASP Flooding in Carbonate Reservoirs
Authors: Khaled Abdalla Elraies, Shuaib Ahmed
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A large quantity of world-s oil reserves exists in carbonate reservoirs. Carbonate reservoirs are very sensitive to chemical enhanced oil recovery process because of containing large amount of calcite, dolomite and calcium sulfate minerals. These minerals cause major obstacles during alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. Alkali reacts with these minerals and form undesired precipitations which plug effective porous openings, reduce permeability and cause scale occurrence at the wellbore. In this paper, a new chemical combination consists of acrylic acid and alkali was used to minimize precipitation problem during ASP flooding. A series of fluid-fluid compatibility tests were performed using acrylic acid and different concentrations of alkaline. Two types of alkalis namely; sodium carbonate and sodium metaborate were screened. As a result, the combination of acrylic acid and sodium carbonate was not effective in preventing calcium and magnesium precipitations. However, acrylic acid and sodium metaborate showed promising results for keeping all solutions without any precipitations. The ratio of acrylic acid to sodium metaborate of 0.7:1.0 was found to be optimum for achieving a compatible solution for 30 days at 80oC.Keywords: Fluid-fluid compatibility test, Carbonate reservoirs, Precipitations and ASP flooding.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2737154 Encryption Efficiency Analysis and Security Evaluation of RC6 Block Cipher for Digital Images
Authors: Hossam El-din H. Ahmed, Hamdy M. Kalash, Osama S. Farag Allah
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This paper investigates the encryption efficiency of RC6 block cipher application to digital images, providing a new mathematical measure for encryption efficiency, which we will call the encryption quality instead of visual inspection, The encryption quality of RC6 block cipher is investigated among its several design parameters such as word size, number of rounds, and secret key length and the optimal choices for the best values of such design parameters are given. Also, the security analysis of RC6 block cipher for digital images is investigated from strict cryptographic viewpoint. The security estimations of RC6 block cipher for digital images against brute-force, statistical, and differential attacks are explored. Experiments are made to test the security of RC6 block cipher for digital images against all aforementioned types of attacks. Experiments and results verify and prove that RC6 block cipher is highly secure for real-time image encryption from cryptographic viewpoint. Thorough experimental tests are carried out with detailed analysis, demonstrating the high security of RC6 block cipher algorithm. So, RC6 block cipher can be considered to be a real-time secure symmetric encryption for digital images.
Keywords: Block cipher, Image encryption, Encryption quality, and Security analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2409153 Design and Analysis of MEMS based Accelerometer for Automatic Detection of Railway Wheel Flat
Authors: Rajib Ul Alam Uzzal, Ion Stiharu, Waiz Ahmed
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This paper presents the modeling of a MEMS based accelerometer in order to detect the presence of a wheel flat in the railway vehicle. A haversine wheel flat is assigned to one wheel of a 5 DOF pitch plane vehicle model, which is coupled to a 3 layer track model. Based on the simulated acceleration response obtained from the vehicle-track model, an accelerometer is designed that meets all the requirements to detect the presence of a wheel flat. The proposed accelerometer can survive in a dynamic shocking environment with acceleration up to ±150g. The parameters of the accelerometer are calculated in order to achieve the required specifications using lumped element approximation and the results are used for initial design layout. A finite element analysis code (COMSOL) is used to perform simulations of the accelerometer under various operating conditions and to determine the optimum configuration. The simulated results are found within about 2% of the calculated values, which indicates the validity of lumped element approach. The stability of the accelerometer is also determined in the desired range of operation including the condition under shock.
Keywords: MEMS accelerometer, Pitch plane vehicle, wheel flat.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3061152 RANS Simulation of Viscous Flow around Hull of Multipurpose Amphibious Vehicle
Authors: M. Nakisa, A. Maimun, Yasser M. Ahmed, F. Behrouzi, A. Tarmizi
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The practical application of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), for predicting the flow pattern around Multipurpose Amphibious Vehicle (MAV) hull has made much progress over the last decade. Today, several of the CFD tools play an important role in the land and water going vehicle hull form design. CFD has been used for analysis of MAV hull resistance, sea-keeping, maneuvering and investigating its variation when changing the hull form due to varying its parameters, which represents a very important task in the principal and final design stages. Resistance analysis based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation has become a decisive factor in the development of new, economically efficient and environmentally friendly hull forms. Three-dimensional finite volume method (FVM) based on Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) has been used to simulate incompressible flow around three types of MAV hull bow models in steady-state condition. Finally, the flow structure and streamlines, friction and pressure resistance and velocity contours of each type of hull bow will be compared and discussed.
Keywords: RANS Simulation, Multipurpose Amphibious Vehicle, Viscous Flow Structure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2950151 Coding based Synchronization Algorithm for Secondary Synchronization Channel in WCDMA
Authors: Deng Liao, Dongyu Qiu, Ahmed K. Elhakeem
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A new code synchronization algorithm is proposed in this paper for the secondary cell-search stage in wideband CDMA systems. Rather than using the Cyclically Permutable (CP) code in the Secondary Synchronization Channel (S-SCH) to simultaneously determine the frame boundary and scrambling code group, the new synchronization algorithm implements the same function with less system complexity and less Mean Acquisition Time (MAT). The Secondary Synchronization Code (SSC) is redesigned by splitting into two sub-sequences. We treat the information of scrambling code group as data bits and use simple time diversity BCH coding for further reliability. It avoids involved and time-costly Reed-Solomon (RS) code computations and comparisons. Analysis and simulation results show that the Synchronization Error Rate (SER) yielded by the new algorithm in Rayleigh fading channels is close to that of the conventional algorithm in the standard. This new synchronization algorithm reduces system complexities, shortens the average cell-search time and can be implemented in the slot-based cell-search pipeline. By taking antenna diversity and pipelining correlation processes, the new algorithm also shows its flexible application in multiple antenna systems.Keywords: WCDMA cell-search, synchronization algorithm, secondary synchronization channel, antenna diversity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2375150 Comparative Study of Conventional and Satellite Based Agriculture Information System
Authors: Rafia Hassan, Ali Rizwan, Sadaf Farhan, Bushra Sabir
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The purpose of this study is to compare the conventional crop monitoring system with the satellite based crop monitoring system in Pakistan. This study is conducted for SUPARCO (Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission). The study focused on the wheat crop, as it is the main cash crop of Pakistan and province of Punjab. This study will answer the following: Which system is better in terms of cost, time and man power? The man power calculated for Punjab CRS is: 1,418 personnel and for SUPARCO: 26 personnel. The total cost calculated for SUPARCO is almost 13.35 million and CRS is 47.705 million. The man hours calculated for CRS (Crop Reporting Service) are 1,543,200 hrs (136 days) and man hours for SUPARCO are 8, 320hrs (40 days). It means that SUPARCO workers finish their work 96 days earlier than CRS workers. The results show that the satellite based crop monitoring system is efficient in terms of manpower, cost and time as compared to the conventional system, and also generates early crop forecasts and estimations. The research instruments used included: Interviews, physical visits, group discussions, questionnaires, study of reports and work flows. A total of 93 employees were selected using Yamane’s formula for data collection, which is done with the help questionnaires and interviews. Comparative graphing is used for the analysis of data to formulate the results of the research. The research findings also demonstrate that although conventional methods have a strong impact still in Pakistan (for crop monitoring) but it is the time to bring a change through technology, so that our agriculture will also be developed along modern lines.
Keywords: Crop reporting service, SRS/GIS, satellite remote sensing/geographic information system, area frame, sample frame.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1310149 Employing QR Code as an Effective Educational Tool for Quick Access to Sources of Kindergarten Concepts
Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, M. Abd El-Salam
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This study discusses a simple solution for the problem of shortage in learning resources for kindergarten teachers. Occasionally, kindergarten teachers cannot access proper resources by usual search methods as libraries or search engines. Furthermore, these methods require a long time and efforts for preparing. The study is expected to facilitate accessing learning resources. Moreover, it suggests a potential direction for using QR code inside the classroom. The present work proposes that QR code can be used for digitizing kindergarten curriculums and accessing various learning resources. It investigates using QR code for saving information related to the concepts which kindergarten teachers use in the current educational situation. The researchers have established a guide for kindergarten teachers based on the Egyptian official curriculum. The guide provides different learning resources for each scientific and mathematical concept in the curriculum, and each learning resource is represented as a QR code image that contains its URL. Therefore, kindergarten teachers can use smartphone applications for reading QR codes and displaying the related learning resources for students immediately. The guide has been provided to a group of 108 teachers for using inside their classrooms. The results showed that the teachers approved the guide, and gave a good response.
Keywords: Kindergarten, child, learning resources, QR code, smart phone, mobile.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1543148 Design of One – Dimensional Tungsten Gratings for Thermophotovoltaic Emitters
Authors: Samah. G. Babiker, Shuai Yong, Mohamed Osman Sid-Ahmed Xie Ming, A.M. Abdelbagi
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In this paper, a one - dimensional microstructure tungsten grating (pyramids) is optimized for potential application as thermophotovoltaic (TPV) emitter. The influence of gratings geometric parameters on the spectral emittance are studied by using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA).The results show that the spectral emittance is affected by the gratings geometrical parameters. The optimum parameters are grating period of 0.5µm, a filling ratio of 0.8 and grating height of h=0.2µm. A broad peak of high emittance is obtained at wavelengths between 0.5 and 1.8µm. The emittance drops below 0.2 at wavelengths above 1.8µm. This can be explained by the surface plasmon polaritons excitation coupled with the grating microstructures. At longer wavelengths, the emittance remains low and this is highly desired for thermophotovoltaic applications to reduce the thermal leakage due to low-energy photons that do not produce any photocurrent. The proposed structure can be used as a selective emitter for a narrow band gap cell such as GaSb. The performance of this simple 1-D emitter proved to be superior to that from more complicated structures. Almost all the radiation from the emitter incident, at angles up to 40°, on the cell, could be utilized to produce a photocurrent. There is no need for a filter.
Keywords: Thermophotovoltaic, RCWA, Grating, Emittance, Surface plasmon polaritons
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2215147 Magnetohydrodynamic Maxwell Nanofluids Flow over a Stretching Surface through a Porous Medium: Effects of Non-Linear Thermal Radiation, Convective Boundary Conditions and Heat Generation/Absorption
Authors: Sameh E. Ahmed, Ramadan A. Mohamed, Abd Elraheem M. Aly, Mahmoud S. Soliman
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In this paper, an enhancement of the heat transfer using non-Newtonian nanofluids by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection along stretching sheets embedded in an isotropic porous medium is investigated. Case of the Maxwell nanofluids is studied using the two phase mathematical model of nanofluids and the Darcy model is applied for the porous medium. Important effects are taken into account, namely, non-linear thermal radiation, convective boundary conditions, electromagnetic force and presence of the heat source/sink. Suitable similarity transformations are used to convert the governing equations to a system of ordinary differential equations then it is solved numerically using a fourth order Runge-Kutta method with shooting technique. The main results of the study revealed that the velocity profiles are decreasing functions of the Darcy number, the Deborah number and the magnetic field parameter. Also, the increase in the non-linear radiation parameters causes an enhancement in the local Nusselt number.
Keywords: MHD, nanofluids, stretching surface, non-linear thermal radiation, convective condition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 941146 Hydrogen Sulphide Removal Using a Novel Biofilter Media
Authors: Z. M. Shareefdeen, A. Aidan, W.Ahmed, M. B. Khatri, M. Islam, R. Lecheheb, F. Shams
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Air emissions from waste treatment plants often consist of a combination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors. Hydrogen sulfide is one of the major odorous gases present in the waste emissions coming from municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is odorous, highly toxic and flammable. Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. Biofiltration has become a widely accepted technology for treating air streams containing H2S. When compared with other nonbiological technologies, biofilter is more cost-effective for treating large volumes of air containing low concentrations of biodegradable compounds. Optimization of biofilter media is essential for many reasons such as: providing a higher surface area for biofilm growth, low pressure drop, physical stability, and good moisture retention. In this work, a novel biofilter media is developed and tested at a pumping station of a municipality located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The media is found to be very effective (>99%) in removing H2S concentrations that are expected in pumping stations under steady state and shock loading conditions.Keywords: biofilter media, hydrogen sulphide, pumping station, biofiltration
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1939145 Tibyan Automated Arabic Correction Using Machine-Learning in Detecting Syntactical Mistakes
Authors: Ashwag O. Maghraby, Nida N. Khan, Hosnia A. Ahmed, Ghufran N. Brohi, Hind F. Assouli, Jawaher S. Melibari
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The Arabic language is one of the most important languages. Learning it is so important for many people around the world because of its religious and economic importance and the real challenge lies in practicing it without grammatical or syntactical mistakes. This research focused on detecting and correcting the syntactic mistakes of Arabic syntax according to their position in the sentence and focused on two of the main syntactical rules in Arabic: Dual and Plural. It analyzes each sentence in the text, using Stanford CoreNLP morphological analyzer and machine-learning approach in order to detect the syntactical mistakes and then correct it. A prototype of the proposed system was implemented and evaluated. It uses support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to detect Arabic grammatical errors and correct them using the rule-based approach. The prototype system has a far accuracy 81%. In general, it shows a set of useful grammatical suggestions that the user may forget about while writing due to lack of familiarity with grammar or as a result of the speed of writing such as alerting the user when using a plural term to indicate one person.
Keywords: Arabic Language acquisition and learning, natural language processing, morphological analyzer, part-of-speech.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1022144 Development of UiTM Robotic Prosthetic Hand
Authors: M. Amlie A. Kasim, Ahsana Aqilah, Ahmed Jaffar, Cheng Yee Low, Roseleena Jaafar, M. Saiful Bahari, Armansyah
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The study of human hand morphology reveals that developing an artificial hand with the capabilities of human hand is an extremely challenging task. This paper presents the development of a robotic prosthetic hand focusing on the improvement of a tendon driven mechanism towards a biomimetic prosthetic hand. The design of this prosthesis hand is geared towards achieving high level of dexterity and anthropomorphism by means of a new hybrid mechanism that integrates a miniature motor driven actuation mechanism, a Shape Memory Alloy actuated mechanism and a passive mechanical linkage. The synergy of these actuators enables the flexion-extension movement at each of the finger joints within a limited size, shape and weight constraints. Tactile sensors are integrated on the finger tips and the finger phalanges area. This prosthesis hand is developed with an exact size ratio that mimics a biological hand. Its behavior resembles the human counterpart in terms of working envelope, speed and torque, and thus resembles both the key physical features and the grasping functionality of an adult hand.
Keywords: Prosthetic hand, Biomimetic actuation, Shape Memory Alloy, Tactile sensing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2629143 Causes and Implications of Obesity in Urban School Going Children
Authors: Mohammad Amjad, Muhammad Iqbal Zafar, Ashfaq Ahmed Maan, Muhammad Tayyab Kashif
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Obesity is an abnormal physical condition where an increased and undesirable fat accumulates in the human body. Obesity is an international phenomenon. In the present study, 12 schools were randomly selected from each district considering the areas i.e. Elite Private Schools in the private sector, Government schools in urban areas and Government schools in rural areas. Interviews were conducted with male students studying in grade 5 to grade 9 in each school. The sample size was 600 students; 300 from Faisalabad district and 300 from Rawalpindi district in Pakistan. A well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The calibrated scales were used to attain the heights and weights of the respondents. Obesity of school-going children depends on family types, family size, family history, junk food consumption, mother’s education, weekly time spent in walking, and sports facility at school levels. Academic performance, physical health and psychological health of school going children are affected with obesity. Concrete steps and policies could minimize the incidence of obesity in children in Pakistan.
Keywords: BMI, cardiovascular disease, fast food, morbidity and overweight.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 916142 The Attitude of Second Year Pharmacy Students towards Lectures, Exams and E-Learning
Authors: Ahmed T. Alahmar
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There is an increasing trend toward student-centred interactive e-learning methods and students’ feedback is a valuable tool for improving learning methods. The aim of this study was to explore the attitude of second year pharmacy students at the University of Babylon, Iraq, towards lectures, exams and e-learning. Materials and methods: Ninety pharmacy students were surveyed by paper questionnaire about their preference for lecture format, use of e-files, theoretical lectures versus practical experiments, lecture and lab time. Students were also asked about their predilection for Moodle-based online exams, different types of exam questions, exam time and other extra academic activities. Results: Students prefer to read lectures on paper (73.3%), use of PowerPoint file (76.7%), short lectures of less than 10 pages (94.5%), practical experiments (66.7%), lectures and lab time of less than two hours (89.9% and 96.6 respectively) and intra-lecture discussions (68.9%). Students also like to have paper-based exam (73.3%), short essay (40%) or MCQ (34.4%) questions and also prefer to do extra activities like reports (22.2%), seminars (18.6%) and posters (10.8%). Conclusion: Second year pharmacy students have different attitudes toward traditional and electronic leaning and assessment methods. Using multimedia, e-learning and Moodle are increasingly preferred methods among some students.
Keywords: Pharmacy, students, lecture, exam, e-learning, Moodle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1414141 Inverse Heat Conduction Analysis of Cooling on Run Out Tables
Authors: M. S. Gadala, Khaled Ahmed, Elasadig Mahdi
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In this paper, we introduced a gradient-based inverse solver to obtain the missing boundary conditions based on the readings of internal thermocouples. The results show that the method is very sensitive to measurement errors, and becomes unstable when small time steps are used. The artificial neural networks are shown to be capable of capturing the whole thermal history on the run-out table, but are not very effective in restoring the detailed behavior of the boundary conditions. Also, they behave poorly in nonlinear cases and where the boundary condition profile is different. GA and PSO are more effective in finding a detailed representation of the time-varying boundary conditions, as well as in nonlinear cases. However, their convergence takes longer. A variation of the basic PSO, called CRPSO, showed the best performance among the three versions. Also, PSO proved to be effective in handling noisy data, especially when its performance parameters were tuned. An increase in the self-confidence parameter was also found to be effective, as it increased the global search capabilities of the algorithm. RPSO was the most effective variation in dealing with noise, closely followed by CRPSO. The latter variation is recommended for inverse heat conduction problems, as it combines the efficiency and effectiveness required by these problems.
Keywords: Inverse Analysis, Function Specification, Neural Net Works, Particle Swarm, Run Out Table.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1693140 Fish Locomotion for Innovative Marine Propulsion Systems
Authors: Omar B. Yaakob, Yasser M. Ahmed, Ahmad F. Said
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There is an essential need for obtaining the mathematical representation of fish body undulations, which can be used for designing and building new innovative types of marine propulsion systems with less environmental impact. This research work presents a case study to derive the mathematical model for fish body movement. Observation and capturing image methods were used in this study in order to obtain a mathematical representation of Clariasbatrachus fish (catfish). An experiment was conducted by using an aquarium with dimension 0.609 m x 0.304 m x 0.304 m, and a 0.5 m ruler was attached at the base of the aquarium. Progressive Scan Monochrome Camera was positioned at 1.8 m above the base of the aquarium to provide swimming sequences. Seven points were marked on the fish body using white marker to indicate the fish movement and measuring the amplitude of undulation. Images from video recordings (20 frames/s) were analyzed frame by frame using local coordinate system, with time interval 0.05 s. The amplitudes of undulations were obtained for image analysis from each point that has been marked on fish body. A graph of amplitude of undulations versus time was plotted by using computer to derive a mathematical fit. The function for the graph is polynomial with nine orders.
Keywords: Fish locomotion, body undulation, steady and unsteady swimming modes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2185139 Nano-Texturing of Single Crystalline Silicon via Cu-Catalyzed Chemical Etching
Authors: A. A. Abaker Omer, H. B. Mohamed Balh, W. Liu, A. Abas, J. Yu, S. Li, W. Ma, W. El Kolaly, Y. Y. Ahmed Abuker
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We have discovered an important technical solution that could make new approaches in the processing of wet silicon etching, especially in the production of photovoltaic cells. During its inferior light-trapping and structural properties, the inverted pyramid structure outperforms the conventional pyramid textures and black silicone. The traditional pyramid textures and black silicon can only be accomplished with more advanced lithography, laser processing, etc. Importantly, our data demonstrate the feasibility of an inverted pyramidal structure of silicon via one-step Cu-catalyzed chemical etching (CCCE) in Cu (NO3)2/HF/H2O2/H2O solutions. The effects of etching time and reaction temperature on surface geometry and light trapping were systematically investigated. The conclusion shows that the inverted pyramid structure has ultra-low reflectivity of ~4.2% in the wavelength of 300~1000 nm; introduce of Cu particles can significantly accelerate the dissolution of the silicon wafer. The etching and the inverted pyramid structure formation mechanism are discussed. Inverted pyramid structure with outstanding anti-reflectivity includes useful applications throughout the manufacture of semi-conductive industry-compatible solar cells, and can have significant impacts on industry colleagues and populations.
Keywords: Cu-catalyzed chemical etching, inverted pyramid nanostructured, reflection, solar cells.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 854138 The Martingale Options Price Valuation for European Puts Using Stochastic Differential Equation Models
Authors: H. C. Chinwenyi, H. D. Ibrahim, F. A. Ahmed
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In modern financial mathematics, valuing derivatives such as options is often a tedious task. This is simply because their fair and correct prices in the future are often probabilistic. This paper examines three different Stochastic Differential Equation (SDE) models in finance; the Constant Elasticity of Variance (CEV) model, the Balck-Karasinski model, and the Heston model. The various Martingales option price valuation formulas for these three models were obtained using the replicating portfolio method. Also, the numerical solution of the derived Martingales options price valuation equations for the SDEs models was carried out using the Monte Carlo method which was implemented using MATLAB. Furthermore, results from the numerical examples using published data from the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), all share index data show the effect of increase in the underlying asset value (stock price) on the value of the European Put Option for these models. From the results obtained, we see that an increase in the stock price yields a decrease in the value of the European put option price. Hence, this guides the option holder in making a quality decision by not exercising his right on the option.
Keywords: Equivalent Martingale Measure, European Put Option, Girsanov Theorem, Martingales, Monte Carlo method, option price valuation, option price valuation formula.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 722137 Fuzzy Modeling for Micro EDM Parameters Optimization in Drilling of Biomedical Implants Ti-6Al-4V Alloy for Higher Machining Performance
Authors: Ahmed A.D. Sarhan, Lim Siew Fen, Mum Wai Yip, M. Sayuti
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Ti6Al4V alloy is highly used in the automotive and aerospace industry due to its good machining characteristics. Micro EDM drilling is commonly used to drill micro hole on extremely hard material with very high depth to diameter ratio. In this study, the parameters of micro-electrical discharge machining (EDM) in drilling of Ti6Al4V alloy is optimized for higher machining accuracy with less hole-dilation and hole taper ratio. The micro-EDM machining parameters includes, peak current and pulse on time. Fuzzy analysis was developed to evaluate the machining accuracy. The analysis shows that hole-dilation and hole-taper ratio are increased with the increasing of peak current and pulse on time. However, the surface quality deteriorates as the peak current and pulse on time increase. The combination that gives the optimum result for hole dilation is medium peak current and short pulse on time. Meanwhile, the optimum result for hole taper ratio is low peak current and short pulse on time.
Keywords: Micro EDM, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, fuzzy logic based analysis, optimization, machining accuracy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2731136 Role of Social Capital on Consumer Attitudes, Peer Influence and Behavioral Intentions: A Social Media Perspective
Authors: Qazi Mohammed Ahmed, Osman Sadiq Paracha, Iftikhar Hussain
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The study aims to explore the unaddressed relationship between social capital and consumers’ underlying behavioral intentions. The study postulates that this association is mediated by the role of attitudes and peer influence. The research attains evidence from a usable sample of 673 responses. The majority consists of the young and energetic social media users of Pakistan that utilize virtual communities as a way of life. A variance based structural equation modeling has been applied through SmartPLS 3. The results reveal that social capital exerts a statistically supportive association with both attitudes and peer influence. Contrastingly, this predictor variable shows an insignificant linkage with behavioral intentions but this relationship is fully mediated by consumer attitudes and peer influence. The paper enhances marketing literature with respect to an unexplored society of Pakistan. It also provides a lens for the contemporary advertisers, in terms of supporting their social media campaigns with affiliative and cohesive elements. The study also identifies a series of predictor variables that could further be tested with attitudes, subjective norms and behavioral responses.Keywords: Behavioral intentions, consumer attitudes, peer influence, social capital.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 572135 Effect of Temperature on the Water Retention Capacity of Liner Materials
Authors: Ahmed M. Al-Mahbashi, Mosleh A. Al-Shamrani, Muawia Dafalla
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Mixtures of sand and clay are frequently used to serve for specific purposes in several engineering practices. In environmental engineering, liner layers and cover layers are common for controlling waste disposal facilities. These layers are exposed to moisture and temperature fluctuation specially when existing in unsaturated condition. The relationship between soil suction and water content for these materials is essential for understanding their unsaturated behavior and properties such as retention capacity and unsaturated follow (hydraulic conductivity). This study is aimed at investigating retention capacity for two sand-natural expansive clay mixtures (15% (C15) and 30% (C30) expansive clay) at two ambient temperatures within the range of 5 -50 °C. Soil water retention curves (SWRC) for these materials were determined at these two ambient temperatures using different salt solutions for a wide range of suction (up to 200MPa). The results indicate that retention capacity of C15 mixture underwent significant changes due to temperature variations. This effect tends to be less visible when the clay fraction is doubled (C30). In addition, the overall volume change is marginally affected by high temperature within the range considered in this study.
Keywords: Soil water retention curve, sand-expansive clay mixture, suction, temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 627134 Isolation and Identification of Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase Type- 2 (GAT2) Genes from Three Egyptian Olive Cultivars
Authors: Yahia I. Mohamed, Ahmed I. Marzouk, Mohamed A. Yacout
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Aim of this work was to study the genetic basis for oil accumulation in olive fruit via tracking DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) gene in three Egyptian Origen Olive cultivars namely Toffahi, Hamed and Maraki using molecular marker techniques and bioinformatics tools. Results illustrate that, firstly: specific genomic band of Maraki cultivars was identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) and identical for this gene in Olea europaea with 100% of similarity. Secondly, differential genomic band of Maraki cultivars which produced from RAPD fingerprinting technique reflected predicted distinguished sequence which identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) in Fragaria vesca subsp. Vesca with 76% of sequential similarity. Third and finally, specific genomic specific band of Hamed cultivars was identified as two fragments, 1- Olea europaea cultivar Koroneiki diacylglycerol acyltransferase type 2 mRNA, complete cds with two matches regions with 99% or 2- Predicted: Fragaria vesca subsp. vesca diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2-like (LOC101313050), mRNA with 86 % of similarity.
Keywords: Olea europaea, fingerprinting, Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type- 2 (DGAT2).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2407133 Design and Control Strategy of Diffused Air Aeration System
Authors: Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. Ahmed, Hassen T. Dorrah
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During the past decade, pond aeration systems have been developed which will sustain large quantities of fish and invertebrate biomass. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is considered to be among the most important water quality parameters in fish culture. Fishponds in aquaculture farms are usually located in remote areas where grid lines are at far distance. Aeration of ponds is required to prevent mortality and to intensify production, especially when feeding is practical, and in warm regions. To increase pond production it is necessary to control dissolved oxygen. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are becoming useful as alternate approaches to conventional techniques or as components of integrated systems. They have been used to solve complicated practical problems in various areas and are becoming more and more popular nowadays. This paper presents a new design of diffused aeration system using fuel cell as a power source. Also fuzzy logic control Technique (FLC) is used for controlling the speed of air flow rate from the blower to air piping connected to the pond by adjusting blower speed. MATLAB SIMULINK results show high performance of fuzzy logic control (FLC).Keywords: aeration system, Fuel cell, Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, fuzzy logic control
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3508132 Electric Vehicle Market Penetration Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Policy-Making: A Case Study of United Arab Emirates
Authors: Ahmed Kiani
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The United Arab Emirates is clearly facing a multitude of challenges in curbing its greenhouse gas emissions to meet its pre-allotted framework of Kyoto protocol and COP21 targets due to its hunger for modernization, industrialization, infrastructure growth, soaring population and oil and gas activity. In this work, we focus on the bonafide zero emission electric vehicles market penetration in the country’s transport industry for emission reduction. We study the global electric vehicle market trends, the complementary battery technologies and the trends by manufacturers, emission standards across borders and prioritized advancements which will ultimately dictate the terms of future conditions for the United Arab Emirate transport industry. Based on our findings and analysis at every stage of current viability and state-of-transport-affairs, we postulate policy recommendations to local governmental entities from a supply and demand perspective covering aspects of technology, infrastructure requirements, change in power dynamics, end user incentives program, market regulators behavior and communications amongst key stakeholders.
Keywords: Electric vehicles, greenhouse gas emission reductions, market analysis, policy recommendations.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1533