Search results for: Public Bicycle Sharing system
2954 Designing a Pre-Assessment Tool to Support the Achievement of Green Building Certifications
Authors: Jisun Mo, Paola Boarin
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The impact of common buildings on climate and environment has prompted people to get involved in the green building standards aimed at implementing rating tools or certifications. Thus, green building rating systems were introduced to the construction industry, and the demand for certified green buildings has increased gradually and succeeded considerably in enhancing people’s environmental awareness. However, the existing certification process has been unsatisfactory in attracting stakeholders and/or professionals who are actively engaged in adopting a rating system. It is because they have faced recurring barriers regarding limited information in understanding the rating process, time-consuming procedures and higher costs, which have a direct influence on pursuing green building rating systems. To promote the achievement of green building certifications within the building industry more successfully, this paper aims at designing a Pre-Assessment Tool (PAT) framework that can help stakeholders and/or professionals engaged in the construction industry to clarify their basic knowledge, timeframe and extra costs needed to activate a green building certification. First, taking the first steps towards the rating tool seems to be complicated because of upfront commitment to understanding the overall rating procedure is required. This conceptual PAT framework can increase basic knowledge of the rating tool and the certification process, mainly in terms of all resources or information of each credit requirements. Second, the assessment process of rating tools is generally known as a “lengthy and time-consuming system”, contributing to unenthusiastic reactions concerning green building projects. The proposed framework can predict the timeframe needed to identify how long it will take for a green project to process each credit requirement and the documentation required from the beginning of the certification process to final approval. Finally, most people often have the initial perception that pursuing green building certification costs more than constructing a non-green building, which makes it more difficult to execute rating tools. To overcome this issue, this PAT will help users to estimate the extra expenses such as certification fees and third-party contributions based on the track of the amount of time it takes to implement the rating tool throughout all the related stages. Also, it can prevent unexpected or hidden costs occurring in the process of assessment. Therefore, this proposed PAT framework can be recommended as an effective method to support the decision-making of inexperienced users and play an important role in promoting green building certification.
Keywords: Barriers, certification process, green building rating systems, pre-assessment tool.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8282953 Identifying the Objectives of Outsourcing Logistics Services as a Basis for Measuring Its Financial and Operational Performance
Authors: Carlos Sanchís-Pedregosa, María del Mar González-Zamora, José A. D. Machuca
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Logistics outsourcing is a growing trend and measuring its performance, a challenge. It must be consistent with the objectives set for logistics outsourcing, but we have found no objective-based performance measurement system. We have conducted a comprehensive review of the specialist literature to cover this gap, which has led us to identify and define these objectives. The outcome is that we have obtained a list of the most relevant objectives and their descriptions. This will enable us to analyse in a future study whether the indicators used for measuring logistics outsourcing performance are consistent with the objectives pursued with the outsourcing. If this is not the case, a proposal will be made for a set of financial and operational indicators to measure performance in logistics outsourcing that take the goals being pursued into account.
Keywords: Outsourcing, Performance measurement, Logistics, Objectives, Indicators
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29602952 A Comparison of Recent Methods for Solving a Model 1D Convection Diffusion Equation
Authors: Ashvin Gopaul, Jayrani Cheeneebash, Kamleshsing Baurhoo
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In this paper we study some numerical methods to solve a model one-dimensional convection–diffusion equation. The semi-discretisation of the space variable results into a system of ordinary differential equations and the solution of the latter involves the evaluation of a matrix exponent. Since the calculation of this term is computationally expensive, we study some methods based on Krylov subspace and on Restrictive Taylor series approximation respectively. We also consider the Chebyshev Pseudospectral collocation method to do the spatial discretisation and we present the numerical solution obtained by these methods.
Keywords: Chebyshev Pseudospectral collocation method, convection-diffusion equation, restrictive Taylor approximation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16802951 Generic Multimedia Database Architecture
Authors: Mohib ur Rehman, Imran Ihsan, Mobin Uddin Ahmed, Nadeem Iftikhar, Muhammad Abdul Qadir
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Multimedia, as it stands now is perhaps the most diverse and rich culture around the globe. One of the major needs of Multimedia is to have a single system that enables people to efficiently search through their multimedia catalogues. Many Domain Specific Systems and architectures have been proposed but up till now no generic and complete architecture is proposed. In this paper, we have suggested a generic architecture for Multimedia Database. The main strengths of our architecture besides being generic are Semantic Libraries to reduce semantic gap, levels of feature extraction for more specific and detailed feature extraction according to classes defined by prior level, and merging of two types of queries i.e. text and QBE (Query by Example) for more accurate yet detailed results.Keywords: Multimedia Database Architecture, Semantics, Feature Extraction, Ontology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17942950 The Cracks Propagation Monitoring of a Cantilever Beam Using Modal Analysis
Authors: Morteza Raki, Abolghasem Zabihollah, Omid Askari
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Cantilever beam is a simplified sample of a lot of mechanical components used in a wide range of applications, including many industries such as gas turbine blade. Due to the nature of the operating conditions, beams are subject to variety of damages especially crack propagates. Crack propagation may lead to catastrophic failure during operation. Therefore, online detection of crack presence and its propagation is very important and may reduce possible significant cost of the whole system failure. This paper aims to investigate the effect of cracks presence and crack propagation on one end fixed beam`s vibration. A finite element model will be developed for the blade in which the modal response of the structure with and without crack will be studied.Keywords: Blade, crack propagation, health monitoring, modal analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20032949 Modeling of the Process Parameters using Soft Computing Techniques
Authors: Miodrag T. Manić, Dejan I. Tanikić, Miloš S. Stojković, Dalibor M. ðenadić
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The design of technological procedures for manufacturing certain products demands the definition and optimization of technological process parameters. Their determination depends on the model of the process itself and its complexity. Certain processes do not have an adequate mathematical model, thus they are modeled using heuristic methods. First part of this paper presents a state of the art of using soft computing techniques in manufacturing processes from the perspective of applicability in modern CAx systems. Methods of artificial intelligence which can be used for this purpose are analyzed. The second part of this paper shows some of the developed models of certain processes, as well as their applicability in the actual calculation of parameters of some technological processes within the design system from the viewpoint of productivity.Keywords: fuzzy logic, manufacturing, neural networks
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19102948 Two Class Motor Imagery Classification via Wave Atom Sub-Bants
Authors: Nebi Gedik
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The goal of motor image brain computer interface research is to create a link between the central nervous system and a computer or device. The most important signal for brain-computer interface is the electroencephalogram. The aim of this research is to explore a set of effective features from EEG signals, separated into frequency bands, using wave atom sub-bands to discriminate right and left-hand motor imagery signals. Over the transform coefficients, feature vectors are constructed for each frequency range and each transform sub-band, and their classification performances are tested. The method is validated using EEG signals from the BCI competition III dataset IIIa and classifiers such as support vector machine and k-nearest neighbors.
Keywords: motor imagery, EEG, Wave atom transform sub-bands, SVM, k-NN
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5992947 Knowledge Discovery from Production Databases for Hierarchical Process Control
Authors: Pavol Tanuska, Pavel Vazan, Michal Kebisek, Dominika Jurovata
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The paper gives the results of the project that was oriented on the usage of knowledge discoveries from production systems for needs of the hierarchical process control. One of the main project goals was the proposal of knowledge discovery model for process control. Specifics data mining methods and techniques was used for defined problems of the process control. The gained knowledge was used on the real production system thus the proposed solution has been verified. The paper documents how is possible to apply the new discovery knowledge to use in the real hierarchical process control. There are specified the opportunities for application of the proposed knowledge discovery model for hierarchical process control.
Keywords: Hierarchical process control, knowledge discovery from databases, neural network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17762946 Fetal and Infant Mortality in Botucatu City, São Paulo State, Brazil: Evaluation of Maternal - Infant Health Care
Authors: Noda L. M., Salvador I. C, C. M. L. G. Parada, Fonseca C. R. B.
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In Brazil, neonatal mortality rate is considered incompatible with the country development conditions, and has been a Public Health concern. Reduction in infant mortality rates has also been part of the Millennium Development Goals, a commitment made by countries, members of the Organization of United Nations (OUN), including Brazil. Fetal mortality rate is considered a highly sensitive indicator of health care quality. Suitable actions, such as good quality and access to health services may contribute positively towards reduction in these fetal and neonatal rates. With appropriate antenatal follow-up and health care during gestation and delivery, some death causes could be reduced or even prevented by means of early diagnosis and intervention, as well as changes in risk factors and interventions. Objectives: To study the quality of maternal and infant health care based on fetal and neonatal mortality, as well as the possible actions to prevent those deaths in Botucatu (Brazil). Methods: Classification of prevention according to the International Classification of Diseases and the modified Wigglesworth´s classification. In order to evaluate adequacy, indicators of quality of antenatal and delivery care were established by the authors. Results: Considering fetal deaths, 56.7% of them occurred before delivery, which reveals possible shortcomings in antenatal care, and 38.2% of them were a result of intra- labor changes, which could be prevented or reduced by adequate obstetric management. These findings were different from those in the group of early neonatal deaths which were also studied. Adequacy of health services showed that antenatal and childbirth care was appropriate for 24% and 33.3% of pregnant women, respectively, which corroborates the results of prevention. These results revealed that shortcomings in obstetric and antenatal care could be the causes of deaths in the study. Early and late neonatal deaths have similar characteristics: 76% could be prevented or reduced mainly by adequate newborn care (52.9%) and adequate health care for gestational women (11.7%). When adequacy of care was evaluated, childbirth and newborn care was adequate in 25.8% and antenatal care was adequate in 16.1%. In conclusion, direct relationship was found between adequacy and quality of care rendered to pregnant women and newborns, and fetal and infant mortality. Moreover, our findings highlight that deaths could be prevented by an adequate obstetric and neonatal management.
Keywords: Fetal Mortality, Infant Mortality, Maternal-Child Health Services, Program Evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 50692945 Supply Chain Management: After Business Process Re-Engineering
Authors: Wan Hasrulnizzam Wan Mahmood, Mohd Razali Muhamad, Nurulain Mat Tahar
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This paper is prepared to provide a review of how an automotive manufacturer, ISUZU HICOM Malaysia Co. Ltd. sustained the supply chain management after business process reengineering in 2007. One of the authors is currently undergoing industrial attachment and has spent almost 6 months researching in the production and operation management system of the company. This study was carried out as part of the tasks in the attachment program. The result shows that delivery lateness and outsourcing are the main barriers that affected productivity. From the gap analysis, the authors found that new business process operation had improved suppliers delivery performance.
Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Business Process Re- Engineering, Delivery, Outsourcing, Automotive Manufacturer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 38432944 Lead in The Soil-Plant System Following Aged Contamination from Ceramic Wastes
Authors: F. Pedron, M. Grifoni, G. Petruzzelli, M. Barbafieri, I. Rosellini, B. Pezzarossa
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Lead contamination of agricultural land mainly vegetated with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) has been investigated. The metal derived from the discharge of sludge from a ceramic industry in the past had used lead paints. The results showed very high values of lead concentration in many soil samples. In order to assess the lead soil contamination, a sequential extraction with H2O, KNO3, EDTA was performed, and the chemical forms of lead in the soil were evaluated. More than 70% of lead was in a potentially bioavailable form. Analysis of Lolium perenne showed elevated lead concentration. A Freundlich-like model was used to describe the transferability of the metal from the soil to the plant.
Keywords: Bioavailability, Freundlich-like equation, sequential extraction, soil lead contamination.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9642943 Testing Visual Abilities of Machines - Visual Intelligence Tests
Authors: Zbigniew Les, Magdalena Les
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Intelligence tests are series of tasks designed to measure the capacity to make abstractions, to learn, and to deal with novel situations. Testing of the visual abilities of the shape understanding system (SUS) is performed based on the visual intelligence tests. In this paper the progressive matrices tests are formulated as tasks given to SUS. These tests require good visual problem solving abilities of the human subject. SUS solves these tests by performing complex visual reasoning transforming the visual forms (tests) into the string forms. The experiment proved that the proposed method, which is part of the SUS visual understanding abilities, can solve a test that is very difficult for human subject.
Keywords: Shape understanding, intelligence test, visual concept, visual reasoning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14102942 Application of Thermoplastic Microbioreactor to the Single Cell Study of Budding Yeast to Decipher the Effect of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural on Growth
Authors: Elif Gencturk, Ekin Yurdakul, Ahmet Y. Celik, Senol Mutlu, Kutlu O. Ulgen
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Yeast cells are generally used as a model system of eukaryotes due to their complex genetic structure, rapid growth ability in optimum conditions, easy replication and well-defined genetic system properties. Thus, yeast cells increased the knowledge of the principal pathways in humans. During fermentation, carbohydrates (hexoses and pentoses) degrade into some toxic by-products such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF or HMF) and furfural. HMF influences the ethanol yield, and ethanol productivity; it interferes with microbial growth and is considered as a potent inhibitor of bioethanol production. In this study, yeast single cell behavior under HMF application was monitored by using a continuous flow single phase microfluidic platform. Microfluidic device in operation is fabricated by hot embossing and thermo-compression techniques from cyclo-olefin polymer (COP). COP is biocompatible, transparent and rigid material and it is suitable for observing fluorescence of cells considering its low auto-fluorescence characteristic. The response of yeast cells was recorded through Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) tagged Nop56 gene product, which is an essential evolutionary-conserved nucleolar protein, and also a member of the box C/D snoRNP complexes. With the application of HMF, yeast cell proliferation continued but HMF slowed down the cell growth, and after HMF treatment the cell proliferation stopped. By the addition of fresh nutrient medium, the yeast cells recovered after 6 hours of HMF exposure. Thus, HMF application suppresses normal functioning of cell cycle but it does not cause cells to die. The monitoring of Nop56 expression phases of the individual cells shed light on the protein and ribosome synthesis cycles along with their link to growth. Further computational study revealed that the mechanisms underlying the inhibitory or inductive effects of HMF on growth are enriched in functional categories of protein degradation, protein processing, DNA repair and multidrug resistance. The present microfluidic device can successfully be used for studying the effects of inhibitory agents on growth by single cell tracking, thus capturing cell to cell variations. By metabolic engineering techniques, engineered strains can be developed, and the metabolic network of the microorganism can thus be manipulated such that chemical overproduction of target metabolite is achieved along with the maximum growth/biomass yield.
Keywords: COP, HMF, ribosome biogenesis, thermoplastic microbioreactor, yeast.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6792941 Industrial Development, Environment And Occupational Problems: The Case Of Iran
Authors: Ghaffari, H., Changi Ashtiani, A., Younessi, A.
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There are three distinct stages in the evolution of economic thought, namely: 1. in the first stage, the major concern was to accelerate economic growth with increased availability of material goods, especially in developing economies with very low living standards, because poverty eradication meant faster economic growth. 2. in the second stage, economists made distinction between growth and development. Development was seen as going beyond economic growth, and bringing certain changes in the structure of the economy with more equitable distribution of the benefits of growth, with the growth coming automatic and sustained. 3. the third stage is now reached. Our concern is now with “sustainable development", that is, development not only for the present but also of the future. Thus the focus changed from “sustained growth" to “sustained development". Sustained development brings to the fore the long term relationship between the ecology and economic development. Since the creation of UNEP in 1972 it has worked for development without destruction for environmentally sound and sustained development. It was realised that the environment cannot be viewed in a vaccum, it is not separate from development, nor is it competing. It suggested for the integration of the environment with development whereby ecological factors enter development planning, socio-economic policies, cost-benefit analysis, trade, technology transfer, waste management, educational and other specific areas. Industrialisation has contributed to the growth of economy of several countries. It has improved the standards of living of its people and provided benefits to the society. It has also created in the process great environmental problems like climate change, forest destruction and denudation, soil erosion and desertification etc. On the other hand, industry has provided jobs and improved the prospects of wealth for the industrialists. The working class communities had to simply put up with the high levels of pollution in order to keep up their jobs and also to save their income. There are many roots of the environmental problem. They may be political, economic, cultural and technological conditions of the modern society. The experts concede that industrial growth lies somewhere close to the heart of the matter. Therefore, the objective of this paper is not to document all roots of an environmental crisis but rather to discuss the effects of industrial growth and development. We have come to the conclusion that although public intervention is often unnecessary to ensure that perfectly competitive markets will function in society-s best interests, such intervention is necessary when firms or consumers pollute.Keywords: Development, Environment, Industrial Development, Iran, Occupational problems, Pollution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16562940 Emergence of Fluoroquinolone Resistance in Pigs, Nigeria
Authors: Igbakura I. Luga, Alex A. Adikwu
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A comparison of resistance to quinolones was carried out on isolates of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coliO157:H7 from cattle and mecA and nuc genes harbouring Staphylococcus aureus from pigs. The isolates were separately tested in the first and current decades of the 21st century. The objective was to demonstrate the dissemination of resistance to this frontline class of antibiotic by bacteria from food animals and bring to the limelight the spread of antibiotic resistance in Nigeria. A total of 10 isolates of the E. coli O157:H7 and 9 of mecA and nuc genes harbouring S. aureus were obtained following isolation, biochemical testing, and serological identification using the Remel Wellcolex E. coli O157:H7 test. Shiga toxin-production screening in the E. coli O157:H7 using the verotoxin E. coli reverse passive latex agglutination (VTEC-RPLA) test; and molecular identification of the mecA and nuc genes in S. aureus. Detection of the mecA and nuc genes were carried out using the protocol by the Danish Technical University (DTU) using the following primers mecA-1:5'-GGGATCATAGCGTCATTATTC-3', mecA-2: 5'-AACGATTGTGACACGATAGCC-3', nuc-1: 5'-TCAGCAAATGCATCACAAACAG-3', nuc-2: 5'-CGTAAATGCACTTGCTTCAGG-3' for the mecA and nuc genes, respectively. The nuc genes confirm the S. aureus isolates and the mecA genes as being methicillin-resistant and so pathogenic to man. The fluoroquinolones used in the antibiotic resistance testing were norfloxacin (10 µg) and ciprofloxacin (5 µg) in the E. coli O157:H7 isolates and ciprofloxacin (5 µg) in the S. aureus isolates. Susceptibility was tested using the disk diffusion method on Muller-Hinton agar. Fluoroquinolone resistance was not detected from isolates of E. coli O157:H7 from cattle. However, 44% (4/9) of the S. aureus were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Resistance of up to 44% in isolates of mecA and nuc genes harbouring S. aureus is a compelling evidence for the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance from bacteria in food animals from Nigeria. Ciprofloxacin is the drug of choice for the treatment of Typhoid fever, therefore widespread resistance to it in pathogenic bacteria is of great public health significance. The study concludes that antibiotic resistance in bacteria from food animals is on the increase in Nigeria. The National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) agency in Nigeria should implement the World Health Organization (WHO) global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. A good starting point can be coordinating the WHO, Office of International Epizootics (OIE), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) tripartite draft antimicrobial resistance monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework in Nigeria.
Keywords: Fluoroquinolone, Nigeria, resistance, Staphylococcus aureus.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10152939 The Euler Equations of Steady Flow in Terms of New Dependent and Independent Variables
Authors: Peiangpob Monnuanprang
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In this paper we study the transformation of Euler equations 1 , u u u Pf t (ρ ∂) + ⋅∇ = − ∇ + ∂ G G G G ∇⋅ = u 0, G where (ux, t) G G is the velocity of a fluid, P(x, t) G is the pressure of a fluid andρ (x, t) G is density. First of all, we rewrite the Euler equations in terms of new unknown functions. Then, we introduce new independent variables and transform it to a new curvilinear coordinate system. We obtain the Euler equations in the new dependent and independent variables. The governing equations into two subsystems, one is hyperbolic and another is elliptic.
Keywords: Euler equations, transformation, hyperbolic, elliptic
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17382938 Studies on Automatic Measurement Technology for Surface Braided Angle of Three-Dimensional Braided Composite Material Performs
Authors: Na Li
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This paper describes a new measuring algorithm for three-dimensional (3-D) braided composite material .Braided angle is an important parameter of braided composites. The objective of this paper is to present an automatic measuring system. In the paper, the algorithm is performed by using vcµ6.0 language on PC. An advanced filtered algorithm for image of 3-D braided composites material performs has been developed. The procedure is completely automatic and relies on the gray scale information content of the images and their local wavelet transform modulus maxims. Experimental results show that the proposed method is feasible. The algorithm was tested on both carbon-fiber and glass-fiber performs.Keywords: Three-Dimensional composite material, Mathematical morphology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13572937 Thermal Analysis of Photovoltaic Integrated Greenhouse Solar Dryer
Authors: Sumit Tiwari, Rohit Tripathi, G. N. Tiwari
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Present study focused on the utilization of solar energy by the help of photovoltaic greenhouse solar dryer under forced mode. A single slope photovoltaic greenhouse solar dryer has been proposed and thermal modelling has been developed. Various parameters have been calculated by thermal modelling such as greenhouse room temperature, cell temperature, crop temperature and air temperature at exit of greenhouse. Further cell efficiency, thermal efficiency, and overall thermal efficiency have been calculated for a typical day of May and November. It was found that system can generate equivalent thermal energy up to 7.65 kW and 6.66 kW per day for clear day of May and November respectively.Keywords: Characteristics curve, Photovoltaic, Thermal modelling, Thermal efficiency.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25222936 Concept, Modules and Objectives of the Syllabus Course: Small Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Rade M. Ciric, Nikola L. J. Rajakovic
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This paper presents a curriculum of the subject small power plants and renewable energy sources, dealing with the concept of distributed generation, renewable energy sources, hydropower, wind farms, geothermal power plants, cogeneration plants, biogas plants of agriculture and animal origin, solar power and fuel cells. The course is taught the manner of connecting small power plants to the grid, the impact of small generators on the distribution system, as well as economic, environmental and legal aspects of operation of distributed generators.Keywords: Distributed generation, renewable energy sources, techno-economic analysis, energy policy, curriculum.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13982935 Performance Analysis of Load Balancing Algorithms
Authors: Sandeep Sharma, Sarabjit Singh, Meenakshi Sharma
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Load balancing is the process of improving the performance of a parallel and distributed system through a redistribution of load among the processors [1] [5]. In this paper we present the performance analysis of various load balancing algorithms based on different parameters, considering two typical load balancing approaches static and dynamic. The analysis indicates that static and dynamic both types of algorithm can have advancements as well as weaknesses over each other. Deciding type of algorithm to be implemented will be based on type of parallel applications to solve. The main purpose of this paper is to help in design of new algorithms in future by studying the behavior of various existing algorithms.Keywords: Load balancing (LB), workload, distributed systems, Static Load balancing, Dynamic Load Balancing
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 59452934 Delay-independent Stabilization of Linear Systems with Multiple Time-delays
Authors: Ping He, Heng-You Lan, Gong-Quan Tan
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The multidelays linear control systems described by difference differential equations are often studied in modern control theory. In this paper, the delay-independent stabilization algebraic criteria and the theorem of delay-independent stabilization for linear systems with multiple time-delays are established by using the Lyapunov functional and the Riccati algebra matrix equation in the matrix theory. An illustrative example and the simulation result, show that the approach to linear systems with multiple time-delays is effective.Keywords: Linear system, Delay-independent stabilization, Lyapunovfunctional, Riccati algebra matrix equation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17632933 Ongoing Gender-Based Challenges in Post-2015 Development Agenda: A Comparative Study between Qatar and Arab States
Authors: Abdel-Samad M. Ali, Ali A. Hadi Al-Shawi
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Discrimination against women and girls impairs progress in all domains of development articulated either in the framework of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Paper aspires to create greater awareness among researchers and policy makers of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them within the Arab region. The study reveals how Arab countries are closing in on gender-oriented targets of the third and fifth MDGs. While some countries can claim remarkable achievements particularly in girls’ equality in education, there is still a long way to go to keep Arab’s commitments to current and future generations in other countries and subregions especially in the economic participation or in the political empowerment of women. No country has closed or even expected to close the economic participation gap or the political empowerment gap. This should provide the incentive to keep moving forward in the Post-2015 Agenda. Findings of the study prove that while Arab states have uneven achievements in reducing maternal mortality, Arab women remain at a disadvantage in the labour market. For Arab region especially LDCs, improving maternal health is part of the unmet agenda for the post-2015 period and still calls for intensified efforts and procedures. While antenatal care coverage is improving across the Arab region, progress is marginal in LDCs. To achieve proper realization of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Arab region in the post-2015 agenda, the study presents critical key challenges to be addressed. These challenges include: Negative cultural norms and stereotypes; violence against women and girls; early marriage and child labour; women’s limited control over their own bodies; limited ability of women to generate their own income and control assets and property; gender-based discrimination in law and in practice; women’s unequal participation in private and public decision making autonomy; and limitations in data. However, in all Arab states, gender equality must be integrated as a goal across all issues, particularly those that affect the future of a country.
Keywords: Gender, equity, millennium development goals, post-2015 development agenda.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13742932 Adaptive Algorithm to Predict the QoS of Web Processes and Workflows
Authors: Jorge Cardoso
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Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) alloworganizations to streamline and automate business processes and reengineer their structure. One important requirement for this type of system is the management and computation of the Quality of Service(QoS) of processes and workflows. Currently, a range of Web processes and workflow languages exist. Each language can be characterized by the set of patterns they support. Developing andimplementing a suitable and generic algorithm to compute the QoSof processes that have been designed using different languages is a difficult task. This is because some patterns are specific to particular process languages and new patterns may be introduced in future versions of a language. In this paper, we describe an adaptive algorithm implemented to cope with these two problems. The algorithm is called adaptive since it can be dynamically changed as the patterns of a process language also change.
Keywords: quality of service, web processes, workflows, web services
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20132931 Modeling of the Internet Film Piracy - Preliminary Report
Authors: Pavel Janak
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This paper covers various aspects of film piracy over the Internet. In order to successfully deal with this matter, it is needed to recognize motivational factors related to film piracy. Thus, this study discusses group factors that could motivate individuals to engage in pirate activities. Furthermore, the paper discusses the theoretical effect on box office revenues and explains it on a proposed scheme of solutions for decreasing revenues. The article also maps the scheme of incentive motivational anti-piracy campaigns. Moreover, the paper proposes the preliminary scheme for system dynamic modeling of the Internet film piracy. Scheme is developed as a model of behaviors, influences and relations among the elements pertaining to the Internet film piracy.
Keywords: Box office, Cinema, Film, Internet piracy, Uploading
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18412930 Relaxation Dynamics of Quantum Emitters Resonantly Coupled to a Localized Surface Plasmon
Authors: Khachatur V. Nerkararyan, Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi
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We investigate relaxation dynamics of a quantum dipole emitter (QDE), e.g., a molecule or quantum dot, located near a metal nanoparticle (MNP) exhibiting a dipolar localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance at the frequency of the QDE radiative transition. It is shown that under the condition of the QDE-MNP characteristic relaxation time being much shorter than that of the QDE in free-space but much longer than the LSP lifetime. It is also shown that energy dissipation in the QDE-MNP system is relatively weak with the probability of the photon emission being about 0.75, a number which, rather surprisingly, does not explicitly depend on the metal absorption characteristics. The degree of entanglement measured by the concurrency takes the maximum value, while the distances between the QDEs and metal ball approximately are equal.
Keywords: Metal nanoparticle, Localized surface plasmon, Quantum dipole emitter, Relaxation dynamics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23512929 Comparison of BER Performances for Conventional and Non-Conventional Mapping Schemes Used in OFDM
Authors: Riddhi Parmar, Shilpi Gupta, Upena Dalal
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Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one of the techniques for high speed data rate communication with main consideration for 4G and 5G systems. In OFDM, there are several mapping schemes which provide a way of parallel transmission. In this paper, comparisons of mapping schemes used by some standards have been made and also has been discussed about the performance of the non-conventional modulation technique. The Comparisons of Bit Error Rate (BER) performances for conventional and non-conventional modulation schemes have been done using MATLAB software. Mentioned schemes used in OFDM system can be selected on the basis of the requirement of power or spectrum efficiency and BER analysis.
Keywords: BER, π/4 differential quadrature phase shift keying (Pi/4 DQPSK), OFDM, phase shift keying, quadrature phase shift keying.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31232928 Multi Objective Micro Genetic Algorithm for Combine and Reroute Problem
Authors: Soottipoom Yaowiwat, Manoj Lohatepanont, Proadpran Punyabukkana
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Several approaches such as linear programming, network modeling, greedy heuristic and decision support system are well-known approaches in solving irregular airline operation problem. This paper presents an alternative approach based on Multi Objective Micro Genetic Algorithm. The aim of this research is to introduce the concept of Multi Objective Micro Genetic Algorithm as a tool to solve irregular airline operation, combine and reroute problem. The experiment result indicated that the model could obtain optimal solutions within a few second.Keywords: Irregular Airline Operation, Combine and RerouteRoutine, Genetic Algorithm, Micro Genetic Algorithm, Multi ObjectiveOptimization, Evolutionary Algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16432927 Packaging Improvement for Unit Cell Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (V-RFB)
Authors: A. C. Khor, M. R. Mohamed, M. H. Sulaiman, M. R. Daud
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Packaging for vanadium redox flow battery is one of the key elements for successful implementation of flow battery in the electrical energy storage system. Usually the bulky battery size and low energy densities make this technology not available for mobility application. ThereforeRFB with improved packaging size and energy capacity are highly desirable. This paper focuses on the study of packaging improvement for unit cell V-RFB to the application on Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Two different designs of 25cm2 and 100cm2 unit cell V-RFB at same current density are used for the sample in this investigation. Further suggestions on packaging improvement are highlighted.
Keywords: Electric vehicle, Redox flow battery, Packaging, Vanadium.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29192926 Towards End-To-End Disease Prediction from Raw Metagenomic Data
Authors: Maxence Queyrel, Edi Prifti, Alexandre Templier, Jean-Daniel Zucker
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Analysis of the human microbiome using metagenomic sequencing data has demonstrated high ability in discriminating various human diseases. Raw metagenomic sequencing data require multiple complex and computationally heavy bioinformatics steps prior to data analysis. Such data contain millions of short sequences read from the fragmented DNA sequences and stored as fastq files. Conventional processing pipelines consist in multiple steps including quality control, filtering, alignment of sequences against genomic catalogs (genes, species, taxonomic levels, functional pathways, etc.). These pipelines are complex to use, time consuming and rely on a large number of parameters that often provide variability and impact the estimation of the microbiome elements. Training Deep Neural Networks directly from raw sequencing data is a promising approach to bypass some of the challenges associated with mainstream bioinformatics pipelines. Most of these methods use the concept of word and sentence embeddings that create a meaningful and numerical representation of DNA sequences, while extracting features and reducing the dimensionality of the data. In this paper we present an end-to-end approach that classifies patients into disease groups directly from raw metagenomic reads: metagenome2vec. This approach is composed of four steps (i) generating a vocabulary of k-mers and learning their numerical embeddings; (ii) learning DNA sequence (read) embeddings; (iii) identifying the genome from which the sequence is most likely to come and (iv) training a multiple instance learning classifier which predicts the phenotype based on the vector representation of the raw data. An attention mechanism is applied in the network so that the model can be interpreted, assigning a weight to the influence of the prediction for each genome. Using two public real-life data-sets as well a simulated one, we demonstrated that this original approach reaches high performance, comparable with the state-of-the-art methods applied directly on processed data though mainstream bioinformatics workflows. These results are encouraging for this proof of concept work. We believe that with further dedication, the DNN models have the potential to surpass mainstream bioinformatics workflows in disease classification tasks.Keywords: Metagenomics, phenotype prediction, deep learning, embeddings, multiple instance learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9102925 A Simplified Model for Mechanical Loads under Angular Misalignment and Unbalance
Authors: Úrsula B. Ferraz, Paulo F. Seixas, Webber E. Aguiar
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This paper presents a dynamic model for mechanical loads of an electric drive, including angular misalignment and including load unbalance. The misalignment model represents the effects of the universal joint between the motor and the mechanical load. Simulation results are presented for an induction motor driving a mechanical load with angular misalignment for both flexible and rigid coupling. The models presented are very useful in the study of mechanical fault detection in induction motors, using mechanical and electrical signals already available in a drive system, such as speed, torque and stator currents.
Keywords: Angular misalignment, fault modeling, unbalance, universal joint.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2722