Search results for: Process layout design.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 9227

Search results for: Process layout design.

2507 Ready or Not? Markers of Starting Romantic Intimacy at Emerging Adulthood: The Turkish Experience

Authors: Ali Eryılmaz, Hasan Atak

Abstract:

Emerging adulthood, the new period which is especially prevalent in the developed or industrialized countries during ages 18 to 29, is a new conceptualization proposed by Arnett. Intimacy is a superordinate concept which includes intimate interaction and intimate relationship. This study includes two proceses which are scale development and conduction of gender differences about markers of starting romantic intimacy among Turkish emerging adults. In first process, Markers of Starting Romantic Intimacy Scale, with 17 items and 5 factors, was developed using by 220 participants. In the second step, the scale was administered to 318 Turkish male and female emerging adults between ages 22 and 25. Results show that there is no significant difference between gender and total score of the scale. With respect to gender, there are significant differences between gender and in four subscales which are self perception, affective and cognitive intimacy, self knowledge and romantic verbalizations. Moreover, there is no significant relationship between gender and behavioral intimacy subscale.

Keywords: Emerging Adulthood, Turkey, Romantic Intimac, Relationship, Marker.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1974
2506 Design of Salbutamol Sulphate Gastroretentive Nanoparticles via Surface Charge Manipulation

Authors: Diky Mudhakir, M. Fauzi Bostanudin, Fiki Firmawan, Rachmat Mauludin

Abstract:

In the present study, development of salbutamol sulphate nanoparticles that adhere to gastric mucus was investigated. Salbutamol sulphate has low bioavailability due to short transit time in gastric. It also has a positive surface charge that provides hurdles to be encapsulated by the positively strong mucoadhesive polymer of chitosan. To overcome the difficulties, the surface charge of active ingredient was modified using several nonionic and anionic stomach-specific polymers. The nanoparticles were prepared using ionotropic gelation technique. The evaluation involved determination of particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release and in vitro mucoadhesion test. Results exhibited that the use of anionic alginate polymer was more satisfactory than that of nonionic polymer. Characteristics of the particles was nano-size, high encapsulation efficiency, fulfilled the drug release requirements and adhesive towards stomach for around 11 hours. This result shows that the salbutamol sulphate nanoparticles can be utilized for improvement its delivery.

Keywords: Mucoadhesive, salbutamol sulphate, nanosize, anionic polymer.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2552
2505 Neutralization of Alkaline Waste-Waters using a Blend of Microorganisms

Authors: Rita Kumar, Alka Sharma, Purnima Dhall, Niha M. Kulshreshtha, Anil Kumar

Abstract:

The efficient operation of any biological treatment process requires pre-treatment of incompatible pollutants such as acids, bases, oil, toxic substances, etc. which hamper the treatment of other major components which are otherwise degradable. The pre-treatment of alkaline waste-waters, generated from various industries like textile, paper & pulp, potato-processing industries, etc., having a pH of 10 or higher, is essential. The pre-treatment, i.e., neutralization of such alkaline waste-waters can be achieved by chemical as well as biological means. However, the biological pretreatment offers better package over the chemical means by being safe and economical. The biological pre-treatment can be accomplished by using a blend of microorganisms able to withstand such harsh alkaline conditions. In the present study, for the proper pre-treatment of alkaline waste-waters, a package of alkalophilic bacteria is formulated to neutralise the alkaline pH of the industrial waste-waters. The developed microbial package is cost-effective as well as environmental friendly.

Keywords: alkaline, alkalophilic bacteria, biological, pollutants, textile.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3070
2504 Automatic Generation Control of Interconnected Power System with Generation Rate Constraintsby Hybrid Neuro Fuzzy Approach

Authors: Gayadhar Panda, Sidhartha Panda, C. Ardil

Abstract:

The design of Automatic Generation Control (AGC) system plays a vital role in automation of power system. This paper proposes Hybrid Neuro Fuzzy (HNF) approach for AGC of two-area interconnected reheat thermal power system with the consideration of Generation Rate Constraint (GRC). The advantage of proposed controller is that it can handle the system non-linearities and at the same time the proposed approach is faster than conventional controllers. The performance of HNF controller has been compared with that of both conventional Proportional Integral (PI) controller as well as Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) both in the absence and presence of Generation Rate Constraint (GRC). System performance is examined considering disturbance in each area of interconnected power system.

Keywords: Automatic Generation Control (AGC), Dynamic Response, Generation Rate Constraint (GRC), Proportional Integral(PI) Controller, Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC), Hybrid Neuro-Fuzzy(HNF) Control, MATLAB/SIMULINK.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4112
2503 Impact of Customer Management System in Improving Customer Retention: Optimization of Negative Customer Feedback

Authors: Alireza Faed, David Forbes

Abstract:

Complaints today have the ability to retain customer loyalty using state of the art systems and strategies in customer relationship management to analyze and respond to a plethora of customer perception. The Majority of companies are not aware of the beneficiary utilization of customer complaints for the sake of quality improvements. Also, some companies have problems determining how resolution of complaints can be profitable. In this study, we will define the problems and ascertain the importance of customer management system on the companies. Furthermore, we will determine the impact of such a system on efficiency, confidence, profitability and customer complaints. Eventually, we will develop methods and address the issues. In this paper, we used an open-ended questionnaire and distributed that to 30 randomly chosen respondents which were the passengers in an airport. We also define three hypotheses for our study and we will validate each of them. Then using frequency, Chi- Square and quality control method we optimized the size of customers- negative feedback and improved the process of customer retention.

Keywords: Complaint, Complaint management system, Customer relationship management, Retention.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2303
2502 Cursive Handwriting in an Internet Age

Authors: Karen Armstrong

Abstract:

Recent concerns about the value of teaching cursive handwriting in the classroom are based on the belief that cursive handwriting or penmanship is an outdated and unnecessary skill in today’s online world. The discussion of this issue begins with a description of current initiatives to eliminate handwriting instruction in schools. This is followed by a brief history of cursive writing through the ages. Next considered is a description of its benefits as a preliminary process for younger children as compared with immediate instruction in keyboarding, particularly in the areas of vision, cognition, motor skills and automatic fluency. Also considered, is cursive’s companion, paper itself, and the impact of a paperless, “screen and keyboard” environment. The discussion concludes with a consideration of the unique contributions of cursive and keyboarding as written forms of communication, along with their respective surfaces, paper and screen. Finally, an assessment of the practical utility of each skill is followed by an informal assessment of what is lost and what remains as we move from a predominantly paper and pen world of handwriting to texting and keyboarding in an environment of screens.

Keywords: Asemic writing, cursive, handwriting, keyboarding, paper.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5473
2501 Millimeter Wave I/Q Generation with the Inductive Resonator Matched Poly-Phase Filter

Authors: Ki-Jin Kim, Sanghoon Park, K. H. Ahn

Abstract:

A way of generating millimeter wave I/Q signal using inductive resonator matched poly-phase filter is suggested. Normally the poly-phase filter generates quite accurate I/Q phase and magnitude but the loss of the filter is considerable due to series connection of passive RC components. This loss term directly increases system noise figure when the poly-phase filter is used in RF Front-end. The proposed matching method eliminates above mentioned loss and in addition provides gain on the passive filter. The working algorithm is illustrated by mathematical analysis. The generated I/Q signal is used in implementing millimeter wave phase shifter for the 60 GHz communication system to verify its effectiveness. The circuit is fabricated in 90 nm TSMC RF CMOS process under 1.2 V supply voltage. The measurement results showed that the suggested method improved gain by 6.5 dB and noise by 2.3 dB. The summary of the proposed I/Q generation is compared with previous works.

Keywords: Millimeter Wave Circuits, Local Distribution, I/Q Generator.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1987
2500 Seismic Assessment of Old Existing RC Buildings with Masonry Infill in Madinah as per ASCE

Authors: Tarek M. Alguhane, Ayman H. Khalil, M. N. Fayed, Ayman M. Ismail

Abstract:

An existing RC building in Madinah is seismically evaluated with and without infill wall. Four model systems have been considered i.e. model I (no infill), model IIA (strut infill-update from field test), model IIB (strut infill- ASCE/SEI 41) and model IIC (strut infill-Soft storey- ASCE/SEI 41). Three dimensional pushover analyses have been carried out using SAP2000 software incorporating inelastic material behavior for concrete, steel and infill walls. Infill wall has been modeled as equivalent strut according to suggested equation matching field test measurements and to the ASCE/SEI 41 equation. The effect of building modeling on the performance point as well as capacity and demand spectra due to EQ design spectrum function in Madinah area has been investigated. The response modification factor (R) for the 5 story RC building is evaluated from capacity and demand spectra (ATC-40) for the studied models. The results are summarized and discussed.

Keywords: Infill wall, Pushover Analysis, Response Modification Factor, Seismic Assessment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3232
2499 Assembly and Alignment of Ship Power Plants in Modern Shipbuilding

Authors: A. O. Mikhailov, K. N. Morozov

Abstract:

Fine alignment of main ship power plants mechanisms and shaft lines provides long-term and failure-free performance of propulsion system while fast and high-quality installation of mechanisms and shaft lines decreases common labor intensity. For checking shaft line allowed stress and setting its alignment it is required to perform calculations considering various stages of life cycle. In 2012 JSC SSTC developed special software complex “Shaftline” for calculation of alignment of having its own I/O interface and display of shaft line 3D model. Alignment of shaft line as per bearing loads is rather labor-intensive procedure. In order to decrease its duration, JSC SSTC developed automated alignment system from ship power plants mechanisms. System operation principle is based on automatic simulation of design load on bearings. Initial data for shaft line alignment can be exported to automated alignment system from PC “Shaft line”.

Keywords: ANSYS, propulsion shaft, shaftline alignment, ship power plants.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3092
2498 The Influence of Website Quality on Customer E-Satisfaction in Low Cost Airline

Authors: Zainab bt Khalifah, Wong Chiet Bing, Noor Hazarina Hashim

Abstract:

The evolution of customer behavior in purchasing products or services through the Internet leads to airline companies engaging in the e-ticketing process in order to maintain their business. A well-designed website is vitally significant for the airline companies to provide effective communication, support, and competitive advantage. This study was conducted to identify the dimensions of website quality for low cost airline and to investigate the relationship between the website quality and customer esatisfaction at low cost airline. A total of 381 responses were conveniently collected among local passengers at Low Cost Carrier Terminal, Kuala Lumpur via questionnaire distribution. This study found that the five determinant factors of website quality for AirAsia were Information Content, Navigation, Responsiveness, Personalization, and Security and Privacy. The results of this study revealed that there is a positive relationship between the five dimensions of website quality and customer e-satisfaction, and also information content was the most significant contributor to customer e-satisfaction.

Keywords: Website Quality, Customer E-Satisfaction, Low Cost Airline.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3720
2497 Himmapan Creatures: The Tactile Texture Designed for the Blind

Authors: Chantana Insra

Abstract:

The main purpose of this research aimed to create tactile texture designed media for the blind used for extra learning outside classrooms in order to enhance imagination of the blind about Himmapan creatures, furthermore, the main objective of the research focused on improving the visual disabled perception to be equal to normal people. The target group of the research is blinded students studying in The Bangkok school for the blind between grade 4-6 in the second semester of 2011 who are able to read the braille language. The research methodology consisted of the field study and the documentary study related to the blind, tactile texture designed media and Himmapan creatures. 10 pictures of tactile texture designed media were created in the designing process which began after the analysis had conducted based the primary and secondary data. The works had presented to experts in the visual disabled field who evaluated the works. After approval, the works used as prototype to teach the blind. KeywordsBlind, Himmapan Creatures, Tactile Texture.

Keywords: Blind, Himmapan Creatures, Tactile Texture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2002
2496 Submicron Size of Alumina/Titania Tubes for CO2-CH4 Conversion

Authors: Chien-Wan Hun, Shao-Fu Chang, Jheng-En Yang, Chien-Chon Chen, Wern-Dare Jheng

Abstract:

This research provides a systematic way to study and better understand double nano-tubular structure of alunina (Al2O3) and titania (TiO2). The TiO2 NT was prepared by immersing Al2O3 template in 0.02 M titanium fluoride (TiF4) solution (pH=3) at 25 °C for 120 min, followed by annealing at 450 °C for 1 h to obtain anatase TiO2 NT in the Al2O3 template. Large-scale development of film for nanotube-based CO2 capture and conversion can potentially result in more efficient energy harvesting. In addition, the production process will be relatively environmentally friendly. The knowledge generated by this research will significantly advance research in the area of Al2O3, TiO2, CaO, and Ca2O3 nano-structure film fabrication and applications for CO2 capture and conversion. This green energy source will potentially reduce reliance on carbon-based energy resources and increase interest in science and engineering careers.

Keywords: Alumina, titania, nano-tubular, film, CO2.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1551
2495 A Multiple Beam LTE Base Station Antenna with Simultaneous Vertical and Horizontal Sectorization

Authors: Mohamed Sanad, Noha Hassan

Abstract:

A low wind-load light-weight broad-band multi-beam base station antenna has been developed. It can generate any required number of beams with the required beamwidths. It can have horizontal and vertical sectorization at the same time. Vertical sectorization doubles the overall number of beams. It will be very valuable in LTE-A and 5G. It can be used to serve vertically split inner and outer cells, which improves system performance. The intersection between the beams of the proposed multi-beam antenna can be controlled by optimizing the design parameters of the antenna. The gain at the points of intersection between the beams, the null filling and the overlap between the beams can all be modified. The proposed multi-beam base station antenna can cover an unlimited number of wireless applications, regardless of their frequency bands. It can simultaneously cover all, current and future, wireless technology generations such as 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE), --- etc. For example, in LTE, it covers the bands 450-470 MHz, 690-960 MHz, 1.4-2.7 GHz and 3.3-3.8 GHz. It has at least 2 ports for each band in each beam for ±45° polarizations. It can include up to 72 ports or even more, which could facilitate any further needed capacity expansions.

Keywords: Base station antenna, multi-beam antenna, smart antenna, vertical sectorization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1987
2494 The Concentration Effects for the Adsorption Behavior of Heptyl Viologen Cation Radicals on Indium-Tin-Oxide Electrode Surfaces

Authors: Yusuke Ayato, Takashi Itahashi, Akiko Takatsu, Kenji Kato, Naoki Matsuda

Abstract:

In situ observation of absorption spectral change of heptil viologen cation radical (HV+.) was performed by slab optical waveguide (SOWG) spectroscopy utilizing indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes. Synchronizing with electrochemical techniques, we observed the adsorption process of HV+.on the ITO electrode. In this study, we carried out the ITO-SOWG observations using KBr aqueous solution containing different concentration of HV to investigate the concentration dependent spectral change. A few specific absorption bands, which indicated HV+.existed as both monomer and dimer on ITO electrode surface with a monolayer or a few layers deposition, were observed in UV-visible region. The change in the peak position of the absorption spectra from adsorption species of HV+. were correlated with the concentration of HV as well as the electrode potential.

Keywords: absorption phenomena, heptil viologen, indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrode, in situ, slab optical waveguide(SOWG) spectroscopy,

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1514
2493 A Review on Development of Historical City Center and Revitalization Process in Isfahan/Iran

Authors: Reihaneh Rafiemanzelat, Maryam Imani Emadi

Abstract:

The need to protect our cultural heritage was stressed on revitalization of historical city centers in communities. The main aim of this research is to attract finance and activities to the historical city centers through the citizens and municipalities participation while cities expanded their boundaries toward suburban areas. Today the main problems which facing to the most historical city centers, is loss of their centrality through effect of urbanization on any point of the cities which is the most important issue on neglect and abandonment of the historical central area by decentralizing living, commerce and public areas. This article evaluate the ways in which city center revitalization can be effect on vitality and viability of the central area in case of Naghshe Jahan square which situated at the center of Isfahan city, Iran. Constructed between 1598 and 1629, it is now an important historical site, and one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Keywords: City centers, revitalization, urban development, vitality and viability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1797
2492 Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Lysozyme-Silver Nanoparticles Complex

Authors: S. Ashrafpour, T. Tohidi Moghadam, B. Ranjbar

Abstract:

Identifying the nature of protein-nanoparticle interactions and favored binding sites is an important issue in functional characterization of biomolecules and their physiological responses. Herein, interaction of silver nanoparticles with lysozyme as a model protein has been monitored via fluorescence spectroscopy. Formation of complex between the biomolecule and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) induced a steady state reduction in the fluorescence intensity of protein at different concentrations of nanoparticles. Tryptophan fluorescence quenching spectra suggested that silver nanoparticles act as a foreign quencher, approaching the protein via this residue. Analysis of the Stern-Volmer plot showed quenching constant of 3.73 μM−1. Moreover, a single binding site in lysozyme is suggested to play role during interaction with AgNPs, having low affinity of binding compared to gold nanoparticles. Unfolding studies of lysozyme showed that complex of lysozyme- AgNPs has not undergone structural perturbations compared to the bare protein. Results of this effort will pave the way for utilization of sensitive spectroscopic techniques for rational design of nanobiomaterials in biomedical applications.

Keywords: Nanocarrier, Nanoparticles, Surface Plasmon Resonance, Quenching Fluorescence.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2552
2491 A Spiral Dynamic Optimised Hybrid Fuzzy Logic Controller for a Unicycle Mobile Robot on Irregular Terrains

Authors: Abdullah M. Almeshal, Mohammad R. Alenezi, Talal H. Alzanki

Abstract:

This paper presents a hybrid fuzzy logic control strategy for a unicycle trajectory following robot on irregular terrains. In literature, researchers have presented the design of path tracking controllers of mobile robots on non-frictional surface. In this work, the robot is simulated to drive on irregular terrains with contrasting frictional profiles of peat and rough gravel. A hybrid fuzzy logic controller is utilised to stabilise and drive the robot precisely with the predefined trajectory and overcome the frictional impact. The controller gains and scaling factors were optimised using spiral dynamics optimisation algorithm to minimise the mean square error of the linear and angular velocities of the unicycle robot. The robot was simulated on various frictional surfaces and terrains and the controller was able to stabilise the robot with a superior performance that is shown via simulation results.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic control, mobile robot, trajectory tracking, spiral dynamic algorithm.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1715
2490 A New Design Partially Blind Signature Scheme Based on Two Hard Mathematical Problems

Authors: Nedal Tahat

Abstract:

Recently, many existing partially blind signature scheme based on a single hard problem such as factoring, discrete logarithm, residuosity or elliptic curve discrete logarithm problems. However sooner or later these systems will become broken and vulnerable, if the factoring or discrete logarithms problems are cracked. This paper proposes a secured partially blind signature scheme based on factoring (FAC) problem and elliptic curve discrete logarithms (ECDL) problem. As the proposed scheme is focused on factoring and ECDLP hard problems, it has a solid structure and will totally leave the intruder bemused because it is very unlikely to solve the two hard problems simultaneously. In order to assess the security level of the proposed scheme a performance analysis has been conducted. Results have proved that the proposed scheme effectively deals with the partial blindness, randomization, unlinkability and unforgeability properties. Apart from this we have also investigated the computation cost of the proposed scheme. The new proposed scheme is robust and it is difficult for the malevolent attacks to break our scheme.

Keywords: Cryptography, Partially Blind Signature, Factoring, Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithms.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1753
2489 Feature Preserving Image Interpolation and Enhancement Using Adaptive Bidirectional Flow

Authors: Shujun Fu, Qiuqi Ruan, Wenqia Wang

Abstract:

Image interpolation is a common problem in imaging applications. However, most interpolation algorithms in existence suffer visually to some extent the effects of blurred edges and jagged artifacts in the image. This paper presents an adaptive feature preserving bidirectional flow process, where an inverse diffusion is performed to enhance edges along the normal directions to the isophote lines (edges), while a normal diffusion is done to remove artifacts (''jaggies'') along the tangent directions. In order to preserve image features such as edges, angles and textures, the nonlinear diffusion coefficients are locally adjusted according to the first and second order directional derivatives of the image. Experimental results on synthetic images and nature images demonstrate that our interpolation algorithm substantially improves the subjective quality of the interpolated images over conventional interpolations.

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, bidirectional flow, directionalderivatives, edge enhancement, image interpolation, inverse flow, shock filter.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1477
2488 Nutritional Composition of Iranian Desi and Kabuli Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.) Cultivars in Autumn Sowing

Authors: Khosro Mohammadi

Abstract:

The grain quality of chickpea in Iran is low and instable, which may be attributed to the evolution of cultivars with a narrow genetic base making them vulnerable to biotic stresses. Four chickpea varieties from diverse geographic origins were chosen and arranged in a randomized complete block design. Mesorhizobium sp. cicer strain SW7 was added to all the chickpea seeds. Chickpea seeds were planted on October 9, 2013. Each genotype was sown 5 m in length, with 35 cm inter-row spacing, in 3 rows. Weeds were removed manually in all plots. Results showed that Analysis of variance on the studied traits showed significant differences among genotypes for N, P, K and Fe contents of chickpea, but there is not a significant difference among Ca, Zn and Mg continents of chickpea. The experimental coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 7.3 to 15.8. In general, the CV value lower than 20% is considered to be good, indicating the accuracy of conducted experiments. The highest grain N was observed in Hashem and Jam cultivars. The highest grain P was observed in Jam cultivar. Phosphorus content (mg/100g) ranged from 142.3 to 302.3 with a mean value of 221.3. The negative correlation (-0.126) was observed between the N and P of chickpea cultivars. The highest K and Fe contents were observed in Jam cultivar.

Keywords: Cultivar, genotype, nitrogen, nutrient, yield.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2199
2487 Multiclass Support Vector Machines with Simultaneous Multi-Factors Optimization for Corporate Credit Ratings

Authors: Hyunchul Ahn, William X. S. Wong

Abstract:

Corporate credit rating prediction is one of the most important topics, which has been studied by researchers in the last decade. Over the last decade, researchers are pushing the limit to enhance the exactness of the corporate credit rating prediction model by applying several data-driven tools including statistical and artificial intelligence methods. Among them, multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) has been widely applied due to its good predictability. However, heuristics, for example, parameters of a kernel function, appropriate feature and instance subset, has become the main reason for the critics on MSVM, as they have dictate the MSVM architectural variables. This study presents a hybrid MSVM model that is intended to optimize all the parameter such as feature selection, instance selection, and kernel parameter. Our model adopts genetic algorithm (GA) to simultaneously optimize multiple heterogeneous design factors of MSVM.

Keywords: Corporate credit rating prediction, feature selection, genetic algorithms, instance selection, multiclass support vector machines.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1392
2486 Fatigue and Stiffness Analysis of Rotating Drum Composter

Authors: Remigijus Janulionis, Marijus Šeporaitis, Aleksandra Legha, Raimundas Ručys

Abstract:

All types of farms have a waste problem. Livestock farms have huge amounts of manure and vegetable farms have to deal with inedible parts of vegetables or rotten, damaged and unacceptable vegetable waste. All of this waste needs to be disposed of safely, ecologically, and as quickly as possible. One of the options is composting using bioreactors, which are rotating drum composters. This type of composting allows biodegradable waste to be disposed of quickly and in an environmentally friendly manner, turning it into a useful product such as soil fertilizer or livestock bedding. This paper presents the fatigue and stiffness analysis of a rotating drum composter. The analysis was performed using a 3D finite element model. It was found that the analyzed composter design has good mechanical strength, good fatigue strength for a cylinder, and acceptable fatigue strength for tire rings. The deformation analysis of the cylinder indicated that the front and rear door support mechanisms should allow the positioning angle to be changed to ensure tightness.

Keywords: 3D modeling, fatigue, Finite Element Method, Goodman’s diagram.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 136
2485 Transient Three Dimensional FE Modeling for Thermal Analysis of Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Aluminum Alloy

Authors: N. Karunakaran, V. Balasubramanian

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at establishing the temperature distribution during the welding of aluminum alloy plates by Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (PCGTAW) and Constant Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (CCGTAW) processes. Pulsing of the GTA welding current influences the dimensions and solidification rate of the fused zone, it also reduces the weld pool volume hence a narrower bead. In this investigation, the base material considered was aluminum alloy AA 6351 T6, which is finding use in aircraft, automobile and high-speed train components. A finite element analysis was carried out using ANSYS, and the results of the FEA were compared with the experimental results. It is evident from the study that the finite element analysis using ANSYS can be effectively used to model PCGTAW process for finding temperature distribution.

Keywords: Gas tungsten arc welding, pulsed current, finite element analysis, thermal analysis, aluminum alloy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2262
2484 A Survey of Business Component Identification Methods and Related Techniques

Authors: Zhongjie Wang, Xiaofei Xu, Dechen Zhan

Abstract:

With deep development of software reuse, componentrelated technologies have been widely applied in the development of large-scale complex applications. Component identification (CI) is one of the primary research problems in software reuse, by analyzing domain business models to get a set of business components with high reuse value and good reuse performance to support effective reuse. Based on the concept and classification of CI, its technical stack is briefly discussed from four views, i.e., form of input business models, identification goals, identification strategies, and identification process. Then various CI methods presented in literatures are classified into four types, i.e., domain analysis based methods, cohesion-coupling based clustering methods, CRUD matrix based methods, and other methods, with the comparisons between these methods for their advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, some insufficiencies of study on CI are discussed, and the causes are explained subsequently. Finally, it is concluded with some significantly promising tendency about research on this problem.

Keywords: Business component, component granularity, component identification, reuse performance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1954
2483 Characteristics of Suspended Solids Removal by Electrocoagulation

Authors: C. Phalakornkule, W. Worachai, T. Satitayut

Abstract:

The electrochemical coagulation of a kaolin suspension was investigated at the currents of 0.06, 0.12, 0.22, 0.44, 0.85 A (corresponding to 0.68, 1.36, 2.50, 5.00, 9.66 mA·cm-2, respectively) for the contact time of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 min. The TSS removal efficiency at currents of 0.06 A, 0.12 A and 0.22 A increased with the amount of iron generated by the sacrificial anode, while the removal efficiencies did not increase proportionally with the amount of iron generated at the currents of 0.44 and 0.85 A, where electroflotation was clearly observed. Zeta potential measurement illustrated the presence of the highly positive charged particles created by sorption of highly charged polymeric metal hydroxyl species onto the negative surface charged kaolin particles at both low and high applied currents. The disappearance of the individual peaks after certain contact times indicated the attraction between these positive and negative charged particles causing agglomeration. It was concluded that charge neutralization of the individual species was not the only mechanism operating in the electrocoagulation process at any current level, but electrostatic attraction was likely to co-operate or mainly operate.

Keywords: Coagulation, Electrocoagulation, Electrostatics, Suspended solids, Zeta potential

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2690
2482 Understanding Physical Activity Behavior of Type 2 Diabetics Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and Structural Equation Modeling

Authors: D. O. Omondi, M. K. Walingo, G. M. Mbagaya, L. O. A. Othuon

Abstract:

Understanding patient factors related to physical activity behavior is important in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior model to understand physical activity behavior among sampled Type 2 diabetics in Kenya. The study was conducted within the diabetic clinic at Kisii Level 5 Hospital and adopted sequential mixed methods design beginning with qualitative phase and ending with quantitative phase. Qualitative data was analyzed using grounded theory analysis method. Structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood was used to analyze quantitative data. The common fit indices revealed that the theory of planned behavior fitted the data acceptably well among the Type 2 diabetes and within physical activity behavior {¤ç2 = 213, df = 84, n=230, p = .061, ¤ç2/df = 2.53; TLI = .97; CFI =.96; RMSEA (90CI) = .073(.029, .08)}. This theory proved to be useful in understanding physical activity behavior among Type 2 diabetics.

Keywords: Physical activity, Theory of Planned Behavior, Type2 diabetes, Kenya.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1965
2481 Effects of Temperature and Enzyme Concentration on Quality of Pineapple and Pawpaw Blended Juice

Authors: Ndidi F. Amulu, Calistus N. Ude, Patrick E. Amulu, Nneka N. Uchegbu

Abstract:

The effects of temperature and enzyme concentration on the quality of mixed pineapple and pawpaw blended fruits juice were studied. Extracts of the two fruit juices were separately treated at 70  for 15 min each so as to inactivate micro-organisms. They were analyzed and blended in different proportions of 70% pawpaw and 30% pineapple, 60% pawpaw and 40% pineapple, 50% pineapple and 50% pawpaw, 40% pawpaw and 60% pineapple. The characterization of the fresh pawpaw and pineapple juice before blending showed that the juices have good quality. The high water content of the product may have affected the viscosity, vitamin C content and total soluble solid of the blended juice to be low. The effects of the process parameters on the quality showed that better quality of the blended juice can be obtained within the optimum temperature range of (50-70 °C) and enzyme concentration range (0.12-0.18 w/v). The ratio of mix 60% pineapple juice: 40% pawpaw juice has better quality. This showed that pawpaw and pineapple juices can blend effectively to produce a quality juice.

Keywords: Clarification, pawpaw, pineapple, viscosity, vitamin C.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1806
2480 Energy Consumption Forecast Procedure for an Industrial Facility

Authors: Tatyana Aleksandrovna Barbasova, Lev Sergeevich Kazarinov, Olga Valerevna Kolesnikova, Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Filimonova

Abstract:

We regard forecasting of energy consumption by private production areas of a large industrial facility as well as by the facility itself. As for production areas, the forecast is made based on empirical dependencies of the specific energy consumption and the production output. As for the facility itself, implementation of the task to minimize the energy consumption forecasting error is based on adjustment of the facility’s actual energy consumption values evaluated with the metering device and the total design energy consumption of separate production areas of the facility. The suggested procedure of optimal energy consumption was tested based on the actual data of core product output and energy consumption by a group of workshops and power plants of the large iron and steel facility. Test results show that implementation of this procedure gives the mean accuracy of energy consumption forecasting for winter 2014 of 0.11% for the group of workshops and 0.137% for the power plants.

Keywords: Energy consumption, energy consumption forecasting error, energy efficiency, forecasting accuracy, forecasting.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1704
2479 Synthesis of Aragonite Superstructure from Steelmaking Slag via Indirect CO2 Mineral Sequestration

Authors: Weijun Bao, Huiquan Li

Abstract:

Using steelmaking slag as a raw material, aragonite superstructure product had been synthesized via an indirect CO2 mineral sequestration rout. It mainly involved two separate steps, in which the element of calcium is first selectively leached from steelmaking slag by a novel leaching media consisting of organic solvent Tributyl phosphate (TBP), acetic acid, and ultra-purity water, followed by enhanced carbonation in a separate step for aragonite superstructure production as well as efficiency recovery of leaching media. Based on the different leaching medium employed in the steelmaking slag leaching process, two typical products were collected from the enhanced carbonation step. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. It reveals that the needle-like aragonite crystals self-organized into aragonite superstructure particles including aragonite microspheres as well as dumbbell-like spherical particles, can be obtained from the steelmaking slag with the purity over 99%.

Keywords: Aragonite superstructure, Steelmaking slag, Indirect CO2 mineral sequestration, Selective leaching, Enhanced carbonation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2050
2478 Pulse Oximeter Concept for Vascular Occlusion Test

Authors: Fatanah M. Suhaimi, J. Geoffrey Chase, Christopher G. Pretty, Rodney Elliott, Geoffrey M. Shaw

Abstract:

Microcirculatory dysfunction is very common in sepsis and may results in organ failure and increased risk of death. Analyzing oxygen utilization can potentially assess microcirculation function of an individual. In this study, a modified pulse oximeter is used to extract information signals due to absorption of red (R) and infrared (IR) light. IR and R signal are related to the overall blood volume and reduced hemoglobin, respectively. Differences between these two signals thus represent the amount of oxygenated hemoglobin. Avascular occlusion test has been conducted on healthy individuals to validate the pulse oximeter concept. In this test, both R and IR signals rapidly changed according to the occlusion process. The pulse oximeter concept presented is capable of extracting valuable information to assess microcirculation condition. Implementing this concept on ICU patients has the potential to aid sepsis diagnosis and provide more accurate tracking of patient state and sepsis status.

Keywords: Microcirculation, sepsis, sepsis diagnosis, oxygen extraction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2006