Search results for: Towards Better Quality in Healthcare
2343 Valuing Environmental Impact of Air Pollution in Moscow with Hedonic Prices
Authors: V. Komarova
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The main purpose of this research is the calculation of implicit prices of the environmental level of air quality in the city of Moscow on the basis of housing property prices. The database used contains records of approximately 20 thousand apartments and has been provided by a leading real estate agency operating in Russia. The explanatory variables include physical characteristics of the houses, environmental (industry emissions), neighbourhood sociodemographic and geographic data: GPS coordinates of each house. The hedonic regression results for ecological variables show «negative» prices while increasing the level of air contamination from such substances as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and particles (CO, NO2, SO2, TSP). The marginal willingness to pay for higher environmental quality is presented for linear and log-log models.
Keywords: Air pollution, environment, hedonic prices, real estate, willingness to pay.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19562342 Adverse Curing Conditions and Performance of Concrete: Bangladesh Perspective
Authors: T. Manzur
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Concrete is the predominant construction material in Bangladesh. In large projects, stringent quality control procedures are usually followed under the supervision of experienced engineers and skilled labors. However, in the case of small projects and particularly at distant locations from major cities, proper quality control is often an issue. It has been found from experience that such quality related issues mainly arise from inappropriate proportioning of concrete mixes and improper curing conditions. In most cases external curing method is followed which requires supply of adequate quantity of water along with proper protection against evaporation. Often these conditions are found missing in the general construction sites and eventually lead to production of weaker concrete both in terms of strength and durability. In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the performance of general concreting works of the country when subjected to several adverse curing conditions that are quite common in various small to medium construction sites. A total of six different types of adverse curing conditions were simulated in the laboratory and samples were kept under those conditions for several days. A set of samples was also submerged in normal curing condition having proper supply of curing water. Performance of concrete was evaluated in terms of compressive strength, tensile strength, chloride permeability and drying shrinkage. About 37% and 25% reduction in 28-day compressive and tensile strength were observed respectively, for samples subjected to most adverse curing condition as compared to the samples under normal curing conditions. Normal curing concrete exhibited moderate permeability (close to low permeability) whereas concrete under adverse curing conditions showed very high permeability values. Similar results were also obtained for shrinkage tests. This study, thus, will assist concerned engineers and supervisors to understand the importance of quality assurance during the curing period of concrete.
Keywords: Adverse, concrete, curing, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, permeability, tensile strength.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10512341 Quality Evaluation of Grape Seed Oils of the Ionian Islands Based on GC-MS and Other Spectroscopic Techniques
Authors: I. Oikonomou, I. Lappa, D. Daferera, C. Kanakis, L. Kiokakis, K. Skordilis, A. Avramouli, E. Kalli, C. Pappas, P. A. Tarantilis, E. Skotti
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Grape seeds are waste products of wineries and often referred to as an important agricultural and industrial waste product with the potential to be used in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic applications. In this study, grape seed oil from traditional Ionian varieties was examined for the determination of the quality and the characteristics of each variety. Initially, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, after transesterification. Furthermore, other quality parameters of the grape seed oils were determined by Spectroscopy techniques, UV-Vis and Raman included. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of the oil was measured by 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays and their antioxidant capacity expressed in Trolox equivalents. K and ΔΚ indices were measured in 232, 268, 270 nm, as an oil quality index. The results indicate that the air-dried grape seed total oil content ranged from 5.26 to 8.77% w/w, which is in accordance with the other grape seed varieties tested in similar studies. The composition of grape seed oil is predominated with linoleic and oleic fatty acids, with the linoleic fatty acid ranging from 53.68 to 69.95% and both the linoleic and oleic fatty acids totaling 78-82% of FAMEs, which is analogous to the fatty acid composition of safflower oil. The antioxidant assays ABTS and DPPH scored high, exhibiting that the oils have potential in the cosmetic and culinary businesses. Above that, our results demonstrate that Ionian grape seed oils have prospects that can go further than cosmetic or culinary use, into the pharmaceuticals industry. Finally, the reclamation of grape seeds from wineries waste stream is in accordance with the bio-economy strategic framework and contributes to environmental protection.
Keywords: Antioxidant capacity, fatty acid methyl esters, grape seed oil, GC-MS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7342340 Neural Network Monitoring Strategy of Cutting Tool Wear of Horizontal High Speed Milling
Authors: Kious Mecheri, Hadjadj Abdechafik, Ameur Aissa
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The wear of cutting tool degrades the quality of the product in the manufacturing processes. The on line monitoring of the cutting tool wear level is very necessary to prevent the deterioration of the quality of machining. Unfortunately there is not a direct manner to measure the cutting tool wear on line. Consequently we must adopt an indirect method where wear will be estimated from the measurement of one or more physical parameters appearing during the machining process such as the cutting force, the vibrations, or the acoustic emission etc…. In this work, a neural network system is elaborated in order to estimate the flank wear from the cutting force measurement and the cutting conditions.
Keywords: Flank wear, cutting forces, high speed milling, signal processing, neural network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25692339 Co-Composting of Poultry Manure with Different Organic Amendments
Authors: M. E. Silva, I. Brás
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To study the influence of different organic amendments on the quality of poultry manure compost, three pilot composting trials were carried out with different mixes: poultry manure/carcasse meal/ashes/grape pomace (Pile 1), poultry manure/ cellulosic sludge (Pile 2) and poultry manure (Pile 3). For all piles, wood chips were applied as bulking agent. The process was monitored, over time, by evaluating standard physical and chemical parameters, such as, pH, electric conductivity, moisture, organic matter and ash content, total carbon and total nitrogen content, carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) and content in mineral elements. Piles 1 and 2 reached a thermophilic phase, however having different trends. Pile 1 reached this phase earlier than Pile 2. For both, the pH showed a slight alkaline character and the electric conductivity was lower than 2 mS/cm. Also, the initial C/N value was 22 and reached values lower than 15 at the end of composting process. The total N content of the Pile 1 increased slightly during composting, in contrast with the others piles. At the end of composting process, the phosphorus content ranged between 54 and 236 mg/kg dry matter, for Pile 2 and 3, respectively. Generally, the Piles 1 and 3 exhibited similar heavy metals content. This study showed that organic amendments can be used as carbon source, given that the final composts presented parameters within the range of those recommended in the 2nd Draft of EU regulation proposal (DG Env.A.2 2001) for compost quality.
Keywords: Co-composting, compost quality, organic amendments, poultry manure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12802338 Conflicts Identification among Non-functional Requirements using Matrix Maps
Authors: Abdul H, Jamil A, Imran U
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Conflicts identification among non-functional requirements is often identified intuitively which impairs conflict analysis practices. This paper proposes a new model to identify conflicts among non-functional requirements. The proposed model uses the matrix mechanism to identify the quality based conflicts among non-functional requirements. The potential conflicts are identified through the mapping of low level conflicting quality attributes to low level functionalities using the matrices. The proposed model achieves the identification of conflicts among product and process requirements, identifies false conflicts, decreases the documentation overhead, and maintains transparency of identified conflicts. The attributes are not concomitantly taken into account by current models in practice.
Keywords: Conflict Identification, Matrix Maps, Non-functional Requirements, Requirements Analysis, Software Engineering
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25492337 Developing Manufacturing Process for the Graphene Sensors
Authors: Abdullah Faqihi, John Hedley
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Biosensors play a significant role in the healthcare sectors, scientific and technological progress. Developing electrodes that are easy to manufacture and deliver better electrochemical performance is advantageous for diagnostics and biosensing. They can be implemented extensively in various analytical tasks such as drug discovery, food safety, medical diagnostics, process controls, security and defence, in addition to environmental monitoring. Development of biosensors aims to create high-performance electrochemical electrodes for diagnostics and biosensing. A biosensor is a device that inspects the biological and chemical reactions generated by the biological sample. A biosensor carries out biological detection via a linked transducer and transmits the biological response into an electrical signal; stability, selectivity, and sensitivity are the dynamic and static characteristics that affect and dictate the quality and performance of biosensors. In this research, a developed experimental study for laser scribing technique for graphene oxide inside a vacuum chamber for processing of graphene oxide is presented. The processing of graphene oxide (GO) was achieved using the laser scribing technique. The effect of the laser scribing on the reduction of GO was investigated under two conditions: atmosphere and vacuum. GO solvent was coated onto a LightScribe DVD. The laser scribing technique was applied to reduce GO layers to generate rGO. The micro-details for the morphological structures of rGO and GO were visualised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy so that they could be examined. The first electrode was a traditional graphene-based electrode model, made under normal atmospheric conditions, whereas the second model was a developed graphene electrode fabricated under a vacuum state using a vacuum chamber. The purpose was to control the vacuum conditions, such as the air pressure and the temperature during the fabrication process. The parameters to be assessed include the layer thickness and the continuous environment. Results presented show high accuracy and repeatability achieving low cost productivity.Keywords: Laser scribing, LightScribe DVD, graphene oxide, scanning electron microscopy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6452336 Towards an Enhanced Quality of IPTV Media Server Architecture over Software Defined Networking
Authors: Esmeralda Hysenbelliu
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The aim of this paper is to present the QoE (Quality of Experience) IPTV SDN-based media streaming server enhanced architecture for configuring, controlling, management and provisioning the improved delivery of IPTV service application with low cost, low bandwidth, and high security. Furthermore, it is given a virtual QoE IPTV SDN-based topology to provide an improved IPTV service based on QoE Control and Management of multimedia services functionalities. Inside OpenFlow SDN Controller there are enabled in high flexibility and efficiency Service Load-Balancing Systems; based on the Loading-Balance module and based on GeoIP Service. This two Load-balancing system improve IPTV end-users Quality of Experience (QoE) with optimal management of resources greatly. Through the key functionalities of OpenFlow SDN controller, this approach produced several important features, opportunities for overcoming the critical QoE metrics for IPTV Service like achieving incredible Fast Zapping time (Channel Switching time) < 0.1 seconds. This approach enabled Easy and Powerful Transcoding system via FFMPEG encoder. It has the ability to customize streaming dimensions bitrates, latency management and maximum transfer rates ensuring delivering of IPTV streaming services (Audio and Video) in high flexibility, low bandwidth and required performance. This QoE IPTV SDN-based media streaming architecture unlike other architectures provides the possibility of Channel Exchanging between several IPTV service providers all over the word. This new functionality brings many benefits as increasing the number of TV channels received by end –users with low cost, decreasing stream failure time (Channel Failure time < 0.1 seconds) and improving the quality of streaming services.
Keywords: Improved QoE, OpenFlow SDN controller, IPTV service application, softwarization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10192335 Hyperspectral Imaging and Nonlinear Fukunaga-Koontz Transform Based Food Inspection
Authors: Hamidullah Binol, Abdullah Bal
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Nowadays, food safety is a great public concern; therefore, robust and effective techniques are required for detecting the safety situation of goods. Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) is an attractive material for researchers to inspect food quality and safety estimation such as meat quality assessment, automated poultry carcass inspection, quality evaluation of fish, bruise detection of apples, quality analysis and grading of citrus fruits, bruise detection of strawberry, visualization of sugar distribution of melons, measuring ripening of tomatoes, defect detection of pickling cucumber, and classification of wheat kernels. HSI can be used to concurrently collect large amounts of spatial and spectral data on the objects being observed. This technique yields with exceptional detection skills, which otherwise cannot be achieved with either imaging or spectroscopy alone. This paper presents a nonlinear technique based on kernel Fukunaga-Koontz transform (KFKT) for detection of fat content in ground meat using HSI. The KFKT which is the nonlinear version of FKT is one of the most effective techniques for solving problems involving two-pattern nature. The conventional FKT method has been improved with kernel machines for increasing the nonlinear discrimination ability and capturing higher order of statistics of data. The proposed approach in this paper aims to segment the fat content of the ground meat by regarding the fat as target class which is tried to be separated from the remaining classes (as clutter). We have applied the KFKT on visible and nearinfrared (VNIR) hyperspectral images of ground meat to determine fat percentage. The experimental studies indicate that the proposed technique produces high detection performance for fat ratio in ground meat.Keywords: Food (Ground meat) inspection, Fukunaga-Koontz transform, hyperspectral imaging, kernel methods.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14932334 Self-Organization-Based Approach for Embedded Real-Time System Design
Authors: S. S. Bendib, L. W. Mouss, S. Kalla
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This paper proposes a self-organization-based approach for real-time systems design. The addressed issue is the mapping of an application onto an architecture of heterogeneous processors while optimizing both makespan and reliability. Since this problem is NP-hard, a heuristic algorithm is used to obtain efficiently approximate solutions. The proposed approach takes into consideration the quality as well as the diversity of solutions. Indeed, an alternate treatment of the two objectives allows to produce solutions of good quality while a self-organization approach based on the neighborhood structure is used to reorganize solutions and consequently to enhance their diversity. Produced solutions make different compromises between the makespan and the reliability giving the user the possibility to select the solution suited to his (her) needs.Keywords: Embedded real-time systems design, makespan, reliability, self-organization, compromises.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4422333 Thermodynamic Analysis of Ammonia-Water Based Regenerative Rankine Cycle with Partial Evaporation
Authors: Kyoung Hoon Kim
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A thermodynamic analysis of a partial evaporating Rankine cycle with regeneration using zeotropic ammonia-water mixture as a working fluid is presented in this paper. The thermodynamic laws were applied to evaluate the system performance. Based on the thermodynamic model, the effects of the vapor quality and the ammonia mass fraction on the system performance were extensively investigated. The results showed that thermal efficiency has a peak value with respect to the vapor quality as well as the ammonia mass fraction. The partial evaporating ammonia based Rankine cycle has a potential to improve recovery of low-grade finite heat source.
Keywords: Ammonia-water, Rankine cycle, partial evaporating, thermodynamic performance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10532332 Impact of Hepatitis C Virus Chronic Infection on Quality of Life in Egypt
Authors: Ammal M. Metwally, Ghada A. Abdel-Latif, Walaa A. Fouad, Thanaa M. Rabah, Amira Mohsen, Fatma A. Shaaban, Iman I. Salama
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The study aimed at determining the impact of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on patients’ Quality of Life (QoL), its relation to geographical characteristics of patients, awareness of the disease, treatment regimen, co-morbid psychiatric or other diseases. 457 patients were randomly selected from ten National Treatment Reference Centers of Ministry of Health hospitals from four community locations representing Egypt. Health related QoL assessment questionnaire with the 36-item Short Form used for assessment of the enrolled patients. The study showed no significant difference between HCV patients in different governorates as regards total QoL. Females, illiterate patients and those had bilharziasis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension or were depressed had significantly the lowest QoL score. HCV patients who knew the danger of the disease had significant lower mean score of physical and mental health components. Optimal care of overall well-being of HCV patients requires adequate knowledge of their neurological and psychological status. It is important to know how to cope with having a family member with hepatitis C and more importantly to know what should you say and what shouldn’t you say as a positive hopeful attitude is essential for combating HCV chronic infection.
Keywords: Hepatitis C virus chronic infection, physical health component and mental health component of QoL, total quality of life.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20522331 Tourist’s Perception toward Implementation of Eco-Friendly Cleansers at Campsites in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
Authors: T. Utarasakul
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Khao Yai National Park is the First National Park in Thailand and approximately 800,000 tourists visited Khao Yai yearly. This study aimed to identify the perception of tourists in Khao Yai National Park according to the implementation of eco-friendly cleansers along their leisure in the campsites. Due to tourist’s activities in the park were affected on quality of environment; especially on water resource. Therefore, eco-friendly cleansers were used in campsites for tourists and restaurants during high tourist season. The results indicated positive effects of environmental friendly cleansers on water quality in Lam Ta Khong River, as well as the tourist’s perception on eco-friendly cleansers.
Keywords: Eco-friendly cleansers, Campsite, Khao Yai National Park.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16712330 The Methodology of Out-Migration in Georgia
Authors: Shorena Tsiklauri
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Out-migration is an important issue for Georgia as well as since independence has loosed due to emigration one fifth of its population. During Soviet time out-migration from USSR was almost impossible and one of the most important instruments in regulating population movement within the Soviet Union was the system of compulsory residential registrations, so-called “propiska”. Since independent here was not any regulation for migration from Georgia. The majorities of Georgian migrants go abroad by tourist visa and then overstay, becoming the irregular labor migrants. The official statistics on migration published for this period was based on the administrative system of population registration, were insignificant in terms of numbers and did not represent the real scope of these migration movements. This paper discusses the data quality and methodology of migration statistics in Georgia and we are going to answer the questions: what is the real reason of increasing immigration flows according to the official numbers since 2000s?Keywords: Data quality, Georgia, methodology, out-migration, policy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19032329 Soil Remediation Technologies towards Green Remediation Strategies
Authors: G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, M. Grifoni, M. Barbafieri, I. Rosellini, B. Pezzarossa
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As a result of diverse industrial activities, pollution from numerous contaminant affects both groundwater and soils. Many contaminated sites have been discovered in industrialized countries and their remediation is a priority in environmental legislations. The aim of this paper is to provide the evolution of remediation from consolidated invasive technologies to environmental friendly green strategies. Many clean-up technologies have been used. Nowadays the technologies selection is no longer exclusively based on eliminating the source of pollution, but the aim of remediation includes also the recovery of soil quality. “Green remediation”, a strategy based on “soft technologies”, appears the key to tackle the issue of remediation of contaminated sites with the greatest attention to environmental quality, including the preservation of soil functionality.
Keywords: Bioremediation, green remediation, phytoremediation, remediation technologies, soil.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18402328 Effect of Synthetic Queen Mandibular Pheromone on Pollination of Cotton by Honey Bees, Apis mellifera
Authors: M. Keshlaf, R. Mensah, O. Nicetic, R. Spooner-Hart
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The effectiveness of a commercial bee attractant, synthetic honey bee queen mandibular pheromone (Fruit Boost®) for enhancing pollination of Gossypium hirsutum was evaluated in a transgenic (Bt) cotton crop. The study assessed the number of bee visitations to blossoms of plants treated with Fruit Boost® as well, as effects on fruit set, yield, and lint quality. Bee activity on plots sprayed with pheromone concentrations of 50 and 500 queen equivalents (QEQ) /ha did not differ significantly from water-only control, on the day of application or the subsequent day. Application of the pheromone did not increase fruit set, yield, or lint quality. Two consecutive pheromone applications, applied two days apart, were not significantly different from a single application for any parameter.
Keywords: Apis mellifera, cotton, pollination, QMP pheromone
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22512327 The Determination of Heavy Metal in Herb Used in Dusit Community to Develop a Sustainable Quality of Life
Authors: Chinnawat Satsananan
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This research aimed to find amount of heavy metal in herb used in Dusit community and compare of heavy metal in each part by quantity in herb and standard determination in Thai herb books to develop a sustainable quality of life, the result of study in 14 herbs do not find sample of heavy metal., by quantity of heavy contamination of 4 kinds: Cd, Co, Fe and Pb have lower than standard of 2 organizations: Thai herb standard, and World Health Organization, from the test 14 herbs have Fe in every part of herbs and all 14 kinds has Fe that is necessary for our health.
Keywords: Herbs Plants, Heavy Metal, Dusit District
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18292326 Ultra-Low Loss Dielectric Properties of (Mg1-xNix)2(Ti0.95Sn0.05)O4 Microwave Ceramics
Authors: Bing-Jing Li, Sih-Yin Wang, Tse-Chun Yeh, Yuan-Bin Chen
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Microwave dielectric ceramic materials of (Mg1-xNix)2(Ti0.95Sn0.05)O4 for x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.09 were prepared and sintered at 1250–1400 ºC. The microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of the ceramic materials were examined and measured. The observations shows that the content of Ni2+ ions has little effect on the crystal structure, dielectric constant, temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf) and sintering temperatures of the ceramics. However, the quality values (Q×f) are greatly improved due to the addition of Ni2+ ions. The present study showed that the ceramic material prepared for x = 0.05 and sintered at 1325ºC had the best Q×f value of 392,000 GHz, about 23% improvement compared with that of Mg2(Ti0.95Sn0.05)O4.
Keywords: (Mg1-xNix)2(Ti0.95Sn0.05)O4, microwave dielectric ceramics, high quality factor, high frequency wireless communication.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19992325 Progressive Changes in Physicochemical Constituent of Rainwater: A Case Study at Oyoko, a Rural Community in Ghana
Authors: J. O. Yeboah, K Aboraa, K. Kodom
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The chemical and physical characteristics of rainwater harvested from a typical rooftop were progressively studied. The samples of rainwater collected were analyzed for pH, major ion concentrations, TDS, turbidity, conductivity. All the Physicochemical constituents fell within the WHO guideline limits at some points as rainfall progresses except the pH. All the components of rainwater quality measured during the study showed higher concentrations during the early stages of rainfall and reduce as time progresses. There was a downward trend in terms of pH as rain progressed, with 18% of the samples recording pH below the WHO limit of 6.5-8.0. It was observed that iron concentration was above the WHO threshold value of 0.3 mg/l on occasions of heavy rains. The results revealed that most of physicochemical characteristics of rainwater samples were generally below the WHO threshold, as such, the rainwater characteristics showed satisfactory conditions in terms of physicochemical constituents.
Keywords: Conductivity, pH, physicochemistry, rainwater quality, TDS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13202324 Chemical Species Concentration Measurement via Wireless Sensors
Authors: Jer Hayes, Stephen Beirne, Breda M. Kiernan, Conor Slater, King-Tong Lau, Dermot Diamond
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This paper describes studies carried out to investigate the viability of using wireless cameras as a tool in monitoring changes in air quality. A camera is used to monitor the change in colour of a chemically responsive polymer within view of the camera as it is exposed to varying chemical species concentration levels. The camera captures this image and the colour change is analyzed by averaging the RGB values present. This novel chemical sensing approach is compared with an established chemical sensing method using the same chemically responsive polymer coated onto LEDs. In this way, the concentration levels of acetic acid in the air can be tracked using both approaches. These approaches to chemical plume tracking have many applications for air quality monitoring.Keywords: Environmental sensing, chemical sensors, wirelesssensor networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14622323 A CUSUM Control Chart to Monitor Wafer Quality
Authors: Sheng-Shu Cheng, Fong-Jung Yu
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C-control chart assumes that process nonconformities follow a Poisson distribution. In actuality, however, this Poisson distribution does not always occur. A process control for semiconductor based on a Poisson distribution always underestimates the true average amount of nonconformities and the process variance. Quality is described more accurately if a compound Poisson process is used for process control at this time. A cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart is much better than a C control chart when a small shift will be detected. This study calculates one-sided CUSUM ARLs using a Markov chain approach to construct a CUSUM control chart with an underlying Poisson-Gamma compound distribution for the failure mechanism. Moreover, an actual data set from a wafer plant is used to demonstrate the operation of the proposed model. The results show that a CUSUM control chart realizes significantly better performance than EWMA.
Keywords: Nonconformities, Compound Poisson distribution, CUSUM control chart.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27152322 An Investigation of Final Tests of Translation as Practiced in Iranian Undergraduate English Translation Program
Authors: Hossein Heidari Tabrizi, Azizeh Chalak
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The present study examined how translation teachers develop final tests as measures for checking on the quality of students’ academic translation in Iranian context. To achieve this goal, thirty experienced male and female translation teachers from the four types of the universities offering the program were invited to an in-depth 30-minute one-session semi-structured interview. The responses provided showed how much discrepancy exists among the Iranian translation teachers (as developers of final translation tests), who are least informed with the current translation evaluation methods. It was also revealed that the criteria they use for developing such tests and scoring student translations are not theory-driven but are highly subjective, mainly based on their personal experience and intuition. Hence, the quality and accountability of such tests are under serious question. The results also confirmed that the dominant method commonly and currently practiced is the purely essay-type format. To remedy the situation, some suggestions are in order. As part of the solution, to improve the reliability and validity of such tests, the present summative, product-oriented evaluation should be accompanied with some formative, process-oriented methods of evaluation. Training the teachers and helping them get acquainted with modern principles of translation evaluation as well as the existing models, and rating scales does improve the quality of academic translation evaluation.Keywords: Iranian universities, students’ academic translations, translation final tests, undergraduate translation programs.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20202321 Effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria Inoculant on Fermentation Quality of Sweet Sorghum Silage
Authors: Azizza Mala, Babo Fadlalla, Elnour Mohamed, Siran Wang, Junfeng Li, Tao Shao
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Sweet sorghum is considered one of the best plants for silage production and is now a more important feed crop in many countries worldwide. It is simple to ensile because of its high water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) concentration and low buffer capacity. This study investigated the effect of adding Pediococcus acidilactici AZZ5 and Lactobacillus plantarum AZZ4 isolated from elephant grass on the fermentation quality of sweet sorghum silage. One commercial bacteria Lactobacillus Plantarum, Ecosyl MTD/1(CB), and two strains were used as additives Pediococcus acidilactici (AZZ5), Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. Plantarum (AZZ4) at 6 log colony forming units (cfu)/g of fresh sweet sorghum grass in laboratory silos (1000 g). After 15, 30, and 60 days, the silos for each treatment were opened. All of the isolated strains enhanced the silage quality of sweet sorghum silage compared to the control, as evidenced by significantly (P < 0.05) lower ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) content and undesirable microbial counts, as well as greater lactic acid (LA) contents and lactic acid/acetic acid (LA/AA) ratios. In addition, AZZ4 performed better than all other inoculants during ensiling, as evidenced by a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in pH and ammonia-N contents and a significant increase in LA contents.
Keywords: Fermentation, Lactobacillus plantarum, lactic acid bacteria, Pediococcus acidilactic, sweet sorghum.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1852320 Development of Non-functional Requirements for Decision Support Systems
Authors: Kassem Saleh
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Decision Support System (DSS) are interactive software systems that are built to assist the management of an organization in the decision making process when faced with nonroutine problems in a specific application domain. Non-functional requirements (NFRs) for a DSS deal with the desirable qualities and restrictions that the DSS functionalities must satisfy. Unlike the functional requirements, which are tangible functionalities provided by the DSS, NFRs are often hidden and transparent to DSS users but affect the quality of the provided functionalities. NFRs are often overlooked or added later to the system in an ad hoc manner, leading to a poor overall quality of the system. In this paper, we discuss the development of NFRs as part of the requirements engineering phase of the system development life cycle of DSSs. To help eliciting NFRs, we provide a comprehensive taxonomy of NFRs for DSSs.Keywords: Decision support system, Development, Elicitation, Non-functional requirements, Taxonomy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24572319 Remarks Regarding Queuing Model and Packet Loss Probability for the Traffic with Self-Similar Characteristics
Authors: Mihails Kulikovs, Ernests Petersons
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Network management techniques have long been of interest to the networking research community. The queue size plays a critical role for the network performance. The adequate size of the queue maintains Quality of Service (QoS) requirements within limited network capacity for as many users as possible. The appropriate estimation of the queuing model parameters is crucial for both initial size estimation and during the process of resource allocation. The accurate resource allocation model for the management system increases the network utilization. The present paper demonstrates the results of empirical observation of memory allocation for packet-based services.Keywords: Queuing System, Packet Loss Probability, Measurement-Based Admission Control (MBAC), Performanceevaluation, Quality of Service (QoS).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17612318 Evaluation of Storage Stability and Quality Parameters in Biscuit Made from Blends of Wheat, Cassava (Manihot esculenta) and Carrot (Daucus carota) Flour
Authors: Aminat. O Adelekan, Olawale T. Gbadebo
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Biscuit is one of the most consumed cereal foods in Nigeria and research has shown that locally available tropical crops like cassava, sweet potato can be made into flour and used in the production of biscuits and other pastries. This study investigates some quality parameters in biscuits made from blends of wheat, cassava and carrot flour. The values of result of samples increased with increasing percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour in some quality parameter like fiber, ash, gluten content, and carbohydrate. The protein content reduced significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour which ranged from 14.80% to 11.80% compared with the control sample which had 15.60%. There was a recorded significant increase (P < 0.05) in some mineral composition such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamin A and C composition as the percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour increased. During storage stability test, samples stored in the fridge and freezer were found to be the best storage location to preserve the sensory attributes and inhibit microbial growth when compared with storage under the sun and on the shelf. Biscuit made with blends of wheat, cassava and carrot flour can therefore serve as an alternative to biscuits made from 100% wheat flour, as they are richer in vitamin A, vitamin C, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and some essential minerals.
Keywords: Biscuit, carrot, flour blends, storage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7912317 Effect of Different Treatments on the Periphyton Quantity and Quality in Experimental Fishponds
Authors: T. Kosáros, D. Gál, F. Pekár, Gy. Lakatos
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Periphyton development and composition were studied in three different treatments: (i) two fishpond units of wetland-type wastewater treatment pond systems, (ii) two fishponds in combined intensive-extensive fish farming systems and (iii) three traditional polyculture fishponds. Results showed that amounts of periphyton developed in traditional polyculture fishponds (iii) were different compared to the other treatments (i and ii), where the main function of ponds was stated wastewater treatment. Negative correlation was also observable between water quality parameters and periphyton production. The lower trophity, halobity and saprobity level of ponds indicated higher amount of periphyton. The dry matter content of periphyton was significantly higher in the samples, which were developed in traditional polyculture fishponds (2.84±3.02 g m-2 day-1, whereby the ash content in dry matter 74%), than samples taken from (i) (1.60±2.32 g m-2 day-1, 61%) and (ii) fishponds (0.65±0.45 g m-2 day-1, 81%).Keywords: Artificial substrate, fishpond, periphyton, waterquality
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14382316 Experimental and Theoretical Study of Melt Viscosity in Injection Process
Authors: Chung-Chih Lin, Wen-Teng Wang, Chin-Chiuan Kuo, Chieh-Liang Wu
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The state of melt viscosity in injection process is significantly influenced by the setting parameters due to that the shear rate of injection process is higher than other processes. How to determine plastic melt viscosity during injection process is important to understand the influence of setting parameters on the melt viscosity. An apparatus named as pressure sensor bushing (PSB) module that is used to evaluate the melt viscosity during injection process is developed in this work. The formulations to coupling melt viscosity with fill time and injection pressure are derived and then the melt viscosity is determined. A test mold is prepared to evaluate the accuracy on viscosity calculations between the PSB module and the conventional approaches. The influence of melt viscosity on the tensile strength of molded part is proposed to study the consistency of injection quality.
Keywords: Injection molding, melt viscosity, injection quality, injection speed.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 43862315 Fault Classification of a Doubly FED Induction Machine Using Neural Network
Authors: A. Ourici
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Rapid progress in process automation and tightening quality standards result in a growing demand being placed on fault detection and diagnostics methods to provide both speed and reliability of motor quality testing. Doubly fed induction generators are used mainly for wind energy conversion in MW power plants. This paper presents a detection of an inter turn stator and an open phase faults, in a doubly fed induction machine whose stator and rotor are supplied by two pulse width modulation (PWM) inverters. The method used in this article to detect these faults, is based on Park-s Vector Approach, using a neural network.Keywords: Doubly fed induction machine, inter turn stator fault, neural network, open phase fault, Park's vector approach, PWMinverter.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16372314 Optimization of End Milling Process Parameters for Minimization of Surface Roughness of AISI D2 Steel
Authors: Pankaj Chandna, Dinesh Kumar
Abstract:
The present work analyses different parameters of end milling to minimize the surface roughness for AISI D2 steel. D2 Steel is generally used for stamping or forming dies, punches, forming rolls, knives, slitters, shear blades, tools, scrap choppers, tyre shredders etc. Surface roughness is one of the main indices that determines the quality of machined products and is influenced by various cutting parameters. In machining operations, achieving desired surface quality by optimization of machining parameters, is a challenging job. In case of mating components the surface roughness become more essential and is influenced by the cutting parameters, because, these quality structures are highly correlated and are expected to be influenced directly or indirectly by the direct effect of process parameters or their interactive effects (i.e. on process environment). In this work, the effects of selected process parameters on surface roughness and subsequent setting of parameters with the levels have been accomplished by Taguchi’s parameter design approach. The experiments have been performed as per the combination of levels of different process parameters suggested by L9 orthogonal array. Experimental investigation of the end milling of AISI D2 steel with carbide tool by varying feed, speed and depth of cut and the surface roughness has been measured using surface roughness tester. Analyses of variance have been performed for mean and signal-to-noise ratio to estimate the contribution of the different process parameters on the process.
Keywords: D2 Steel, Orthogonal Array, Optimization, Surface Roughness, Taguchi Methodology.
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