Search results for: Zr addition.
1347 An Optimized Method for 3D Magnetic Navigation of Nanoparticles inside Human Arteries
Authors: Evangelos G. Karvelas, Christos Liosis, Andreas Theodorakakos, Theodoros E. Karakasidis
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In the present work, a numerical method for the estimation of the appropriate gradient magnetic fields for optimum driving of the particles into the desired area inside the human body is presented. The proposed method combines Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Covariance Matrix Adaptation (CMA) evolution strategy for the magnetic navigation of nanoparticles. It is based on an iteration procedure that intents to eliminate the deviation of the nanoparticles from a desired path. Hence, the gradient magnetic field is constantly adjusted in a suitable way so that the particles’ follow as close as possible to a desired trajectory. Using the proposed method, it is obvious that the diameter of particles is crucial parameter for an efficient navigation. In addition, increase of particles' diameter decreases their deviation from the desired path. Moreover, the navigation method can navigate nanoparticles into the desired areas with efficiency approximately 99%.
Keywords: CFD, CMA evolution strategy, DEM, magnetic navigation, spherical particles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5301346 The effects of Garlic Oil (Allium sativa), Turmeric Powder (Curcuma longa Linn) and Monensin on Total Apparent Digestibility of Nutrients in Baloochi Lambs
Authors: Ahmad Khalesizadeh, Alireza Vakili, Mohsen Danesh Mesgaran, Reza Valizadeh
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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of garlic oil (Allium sativa), turmeric powder (Curcuma longa Linn) and Monensin on Total apparent digestibility of nutrients in Baloochi lambs. The experiment was designed as a 4 x 4 Latin square using 4 ruminally baloochi lambs with 4 treatments in four 28-d periods. Treatments were control (no additive), garlic oil (0. 4 g/d), monensin (0. 2 g/d) and turmeric powder (20 g/d). Total apparent digestibility's (% of intake) of organic matter (OM), dry matter (DM), crud protein (CP), ether extract(EE), non fiber carbohydrate (NFC), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in the total tract were not influenced by addition of either additives.Keywords: apparent digestibility, essential oil, garlic oil, monensin, turmeric
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20991345 Planar Tracking Control of an Underactuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
Authors: Santhakumar M., Asokan T.
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This paper addresses the problem of trajectory tracking control of an underactuated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the horizontal plane. The underwater vehicle under consideration is not actuated in the sway direction, and the system matrices are not assumed to be diagonal and linear, as often found in the literature. In addition, the effect of constant bias of environmental disturbances is considered. Using backstepping techniques and the tracking error dynamics, the system states are stabilized by forcing the tracking errors to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of zero. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is demonstrated through numerical simulations. Simulations are carried out for an experimental vehicle for smooth, inertial, two dimensional (2D) reference trajectories such as constant velocity trajectory (a circle maneuver – constant yaw rate), and time varying velocity trajectory (a sinusoidal path – sinusoidal yaw rate).Keywords: autonomous underwater vehicle, system matrices, tracking control, time – varying feed back, underactuated control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21471344 Evaluation of Baking Properties and Sensory Quality of Wheat-Cowpea Flour
Authors: Mohamed A. Ahmed, Lydia J. Campbell
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The fortified of soft wheat flour with cowpea flour in bread making was investigated. The Soft wheat flour (SWF) was substituted by cowpea flour at levels of 5, 15 and 20%. The protein content of composite breads ranged from 6.1 – 9.9%. Significant difference was observed in moisture, protein and crude fibre contents of control (wheat bread) and composite bread at 5% addition of cowpea. Water absorption capacities of composite flours increased with increasing levels of cowpea flour in the blend. The specific loaf volume decreased significantly with increased cowpea content of blends. The overall acceptability of the 5% cowpea flour content of composite bread was not significantly different from the control (Soft Wheat-bread) but there is significantly different with increasing the levels of cowpea flour in the blend more than 5%.Keywords: Cowpea flour, wheat flour, baking properties, sensory quality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22061343 Study of Ageing Deterioration of Silicone Rubber Housing Material for Outdoor Polymer Insulators
Authors: S. Thong-om, W. Payakcho, J. Grasasom, B. Marungsri
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This paper presents the experimental results of salt fog ageing test of silicone rubber housing material for outdoor polymer insulator based on IEC 61109. Four types of HTV silicone rubber sheet with different amount of ATH were tested continuously 1000<=hours in salt fog chamber. By visual observation after tested, slightly surface erosion was observed on tested specimen surface near the energized end. Furthermore, increasing in hardness and reduction in hydrophobicity were measured on tested specimen comparing with new specimen. In addition, chemical analysis by ATRFTIR was conducted in order to elucidate the chemical change of tested specimens comparing with new specimen. Physical and chemical results confirmed the experimental results as well.
Keywords: Accelerated ageing test, HTV silicone rubber, housing material, salt fog test, surface erosion, polymer insulator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20861342 Earnings-Related Information, Cognitive Bias, and the Disposition Effect
Authors: Chih-Hsiang Chang, Pei-Shan Kao
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This paper discusses the reaction of investors in the Taiwan stock market to the most probable unknown earnings-related information and the most probable known earnings-related information. As compared with the previous literature regarding the effect of an official announcement of earnings forecast revision, this paper further analyzes investors’ cognitive bias toward the unknown and known earnings-related information, and the role of media during the investors' reactions to the foresaid information shocks. The empirical results show that both the unknown and known earnings-related information provides useful information content for a stock market. In addition, cognitive bias and disposition effect are the behavioral pitfalls that commonly occur in the process of the investors' reactions to the earnings-related information. Finally, media coverage has a remarkable influence upon the investors' trading decisions.Keywords: Cognitive bias, role of media, disposition effect, earnings-related information, behavioral pitfall.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8761341 Present and Future Climate Extreme Indices over Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Authors: Mahmoud Roushdi, Hany Mostafa, Khaled Kheireldin
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Sinai Peninsula and Suez Canal Corridor are promising and important economic regions in Egypt due to the unique location and development opportunities. Thus, the climate change impacts should be assessed over the mentioned area. Accordingly, this paper aims to assess the climate extreme indices in through the last 35 year over Sinai Peninsula and Suez Canal Corridor in addition to predict the climate extreme indices up to 2100. Present and future climate indices were analyzed with using different RCP scenarios 4.5 and 8.5 from 2010 until 2100 for Sinai Peninsula and Suez Canal Corridor. Furthermore, both CanESM and HadGEM2 global circulation models were used. The results indicate that the number of summer days is predicted to increase, on the other hand the frost days is predicted to decrease. Moreover, it is noted a slight positive trend for the percentile of wet and extremely days R95p and R99p for RCP4.5 and negative trend for RCP8.5.
Keywords: Climate change, extreme indices, RCP, Sinai Peninsula.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15711340 Hardware Error Analysis and Severity Characterization in Linux-Based Server Systems
Authors: N. Georgoulopoulos, A. Hatzopoulos, K. Karamitsios, K. Kotrotsios, A. I. Metsai
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Current server systems are responsible for critical applications that run in different infrastructures, such as the cloud, physical machines, and virtual machines. A common challenge that these systems face are the various hardware faults that may occur due to the high load, among other reasons, which translates to errors resulting in malfunctions or even server downtime. The most important hardware parts, that are causing most of the errors, are the CPU, RAM, and the hard drive - HDD. In this work, we investigate selected CPU, RAM, and HDD errors, observed or simulated in kernel ring buffer log files from GNU/Linux servers. Moreover, a severity characterization is given for each error type. Understanding these errors is crucial for the efficient analysis of kernel logs that are usually utilized for monitoring servers and diagnosing faults. In addition, to support the previous analysis, we present possible ways of simulating hardware errors in RAM and HDD, aiming to facilitate the testing of methods for detecting and tackling the above issues in a server running on GNU/Linux.
Keywords: hardware errors, Kernel logs, GNU/Linux servers, RAM, HDD, CPU
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6861339 Experimental Verification and Finite Element Analysis of a Sliding Door System Used in Automotive Industry
Authors: C. Guven, M. Tufekci, E. Bayik, O. Gedik, M. Tas
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A sliding door system is used in commercial vehicles and passenger cars to allow a larger unobstructed access to the interior for loading and unloading. The movement of a sliding door on vehicle body is ensured by mechanisms and tracks having special cross-section which is manufactured by roll forming and stretch bending process. There are three tracks and three mechanisms which are called upper, central and lower on a sliding door system. There are static requirements as strength on different directions, rigidity for mechanisms, door drop off, door sag; dynamic requirements as high energy slam opening-closing and durability requirement to validate these products. In addition, there is a kinematic requirement to find out force values from door handle during manual operating. In this study, finite element analysis and physical test results which are realized for sliding door systems will be shared comparatively.Keywords: Finite element analysis, sliding door, experimental, verification, vehicle tests.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30961338 Sulfate Attack on Pastes Made with Different C3A and C4AF Contents and Stored at 5°C
Authors: Konstantinos Sotiriadis, Radosław Mróz
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In the present work the internal sulfate attack on pastes made from pure clinker phases was studied. Two binders were produced: (a) a binder with 2% C3A and 18% C4AF content; (b) a binder with 10% C3A and C4AF content each. Gypsum was used as the sulfate bearing compound, while calcium carbonate added to differentiate the binders produced. The phases formed were identified by XRD analysis. The results showed that ettringite was the deterioration phase detected in the case of the low C3A content binder. Carbonation occurred in the specimen without calcium carbonate addition, while portlandite was observed in the one containing calcium carbonate. In the case of the high C3A content binder, traces of thaumasite were detected when calcium carbonate was not incorporated in the binder. A solid solution of thaumasite and ettringite was found when calcium carbonate was added. The amount of C3A had not fully reacted with sulfates, since its corresponding peaks were detected.
Keywords: Tricalcium aluminate, calcium aluminate ferrite, sulfate attack, calcium carbonate, low temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19761337 Design and Implementation of DC-DC Converter with Inc-Cond Algorithm
Authors: Mustafa Engin Basoğlu, Bekir Çakır
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The most important component affecting the efficiency of photovoltaic power systems are solar panels. In other words, efficiency of these systems are significantly affected due to the being low efficiency of solar panel. Thus, solar panels should be operated under maximum power point conditions through a power converter. In this study, design of boost converter has been carried out with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm which is incremental conductance (Inc-Cond). By using this algorithm, importance of power converter in MPPT hardware design, impacts of MPPT operation have been shown. It is worth noting that initial operation point is the main criteria for determining the MPPT performance. In addition, it is shown that if value of load resistance is lower than critical value, failure operation is realized. For these analyzes, direct duty control is used for simplifying the control.
Keywords: Boost converter, Incremental Conductance (Inc- Cond), MPPT, Solar panel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36541336 Antimicrobial Properties of SEBS Compounds with Zinc Oxide and Zinc Ions
Authors: Douglas N. Simões, Michele Pittol, Vanda F. Ribeiro, Daiane Tomacheski, Ruth M. C. Santana
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The increasing demand of thermoplastic elastomers is related to the wide range of applications, such as automotive, footwear, wire and cable industries, adhesives and medical devices, cell phones, sporting goods, toys and others. These materials are susceptible to microbial attack. Moisture and organic matter present in some areas (such as shower area and sink), provide favorable conditions for microbial proliferation, which contributes to the spread of diseases and reduces the product life cycle. Compounds based on SEBS copolymers, poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene, are a class of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), fully recyclable and largely used in domestic appliances like bath mats and tooth brushes (soft touch). Zinc oxide and zinc ions loaded in personal and home care products have become common in the last years due to its biocidal effect. In that sense, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc as antimicrobial agent in compounds based on SEBS/polypropylene/oil/ calcite for use as refrigerator seals (gaskets), bath mats and sink squeegee. Two zinc oxides from different suppliers (ZnO-Pe and ZnO-WR) and one masterbatch of zinc ions (M-Zn-ion) were used in proportions of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%. The compounds were prepared using a co-rotating double screw extruder (L/D ratio of 40/1 and 16 mm screw diameter). The extrusion parameters were kept constant for all materials. Tests specimens were prepared using the injection molding machine. A compound with no antimicrobial additive (standard) was also tested. Compounds were characterized by physical (density), mechanical (hardness and tensile properties) and rheological properties (melt flow rate - MFR). The Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) Z 2801:2010 was applied to evaluate antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) NBR 15275:2014 were used to evaluate antifungal properties against Aspergillus niger (A. niger), Aureobasidium pullulans (A. pullulans), Candida albicans (C. albicans), and Penicillium chrysogenum (P. chrysogenum). The microbiological assay showed a reduction over 42% in E. coli and over 49% in S. aureus population. The tests with fungi showed inconclusive results because the sample without zinc also demonstrated an inhibition of fungal development when tested against A. pullulans, C. albicans and P. chrysogenum. In addition, the zinc loaded samples showed worse results than the standard sample when tested against A. niger. The zinc addition did not show significant variation in mechanical properties. However, the density values increased with the rise in ZnO additives concentration, and had a little decrease in M-Zn-ion samples. Also, there were differences in the MFR results in all compounds compared to the standard.
Keywords: Antimicrobial, home device, SEBS, zinc.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20551335 CFD Flow and Heat Transfer Simulation for Empty and Packed Fixed Bed Reactor in Catalytic Cracking of Naphtha
Authors: D. Salari, A. Niaei, P. Chitsaz Yazdi, M. Derakhshani, S. R. Nabavi
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This work aims to test the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to fixed bed catalytic cracking reactors. Studies of CFD with a fixed bed design commonly use a regular packing with N=2 to define bed geometry. CFD allows us to obtain a more accurate view of the fluid flow and heat transfer mechanisms present in fixed bed equipment. Naphtha was used as feedstock and the reactor length was 80cm. It is divided in three sections that catalyst bed packed in the middle section of the reactor. The reaction scheme was involved one primary reaction and 24 secondary reactions. Because of high CPU times in these simulations, parallel processing have been used. In this study the coke formation process in fixed bed and empty tube reactor was simulated and coke in these reactors are compared. In addition, the effect of steam ratio and feed flow rate on coke formation was investigated.Keywords: Coke Formation, CFD Simulation, Fixed Bed, Catalyitic Cracking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25091334 Idea of International Criminal Justice in the Function of Prosecution International Crimes
Authors: Vanda Božić, Željko Nikač
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The wars and armed conflicts have often resulted in violations of international humanitarian law, and often commit the most serious international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, aggression and genocide. However, only in the XX century the rule was articulated idea of establishing a body of international criminal justice in order to prosecute these crimes and their perpetrators. The first steps in this field have been made by establishing the International military tribunals for war crimes at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and the formation of ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In the end, The International Criminal Court was established in Rome in 1998 with the aim of justice and in order to give satisfaction the victims of crimes and their families. The aim of the paper was to provide a historical and comparative analysis of the institutions of international criminal justice based on which these institutions de lege lata fulfilled the goals of individual criminal responsibility and justice. Furthermore, the authors suggest de lege ferenda that the Permanent International Criminal Tribunal, in addition to the prospective case, also takes over the current ICTY and ICTR cases.
Keywords: International crimes, international criminal justice, prosecution of crimes, Ad Hoc tribunal, the International Criminal Court.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9901333 Integrating Visual Modeling throughout the Computer Science Curriculum
Authors: Carol B.Collins, M. H. N Tabrizi
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The purposes of this paper are to (1) promote excellence in computer science by suggesting a cohesive innovative approach to fill well documented deficiencies in current computer science education, (2) justify (using the authors- and others anecdotal evidence from both the classroom and the real world) why this approach holds great potential to successfully eliminate the deficiencies, (3) invite other professionals to join the authors in proof of concept research. The authors- experiences, though anecdotal, strongly suggest that a new approach involving visual modeling technologies should allow computer science programs to retain a greater percentage of prospective and declared majors as students become more engaged learners, more successful problem-solvers, and better prepared as programmers. In addition, the graduates of such computer science programs will make greater contributions to the profession as skilled problem-solvers. Instead of wearily rememorizing code as they move to the next course, students will have the problem-solving skills to think and work in more sophisticated and creative ways.Keywords: Algorithms, CASE, Problem-solving, UML.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13891332 Precision Assessment of the Orthometric Heights Determination in the Northern Part of Libya
Authors: Jamal A. Gledan, Akrm H. Algnin
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The Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite-based technology, has been utilized extensively in the last few years in a wide range of Geometrics and Geographic Information Systems’ (GIS) applications. One of the main challenges dealing with GPS-based heights consists of converting them into Mean Sea Level (MSL) heights, which is used in surveys and mapping.
In this research’s work, differences in heights of 50 points, in northern part of Libya has been carried out by using both ordinary leveling (in which Geoid is the reference datum) and GPS techniques (in which Ellipsoid is the reference datum). In addition, this study utilized the EGM2008 model to obtain the undulation values between the ellipsoidal and orthometric heights. From these values of ellipsoidal heights can be obtained from GPS observations to compute the orthomteric heights. This research presents a suitable alternative, from an economical point of view, to substitute the expensive traditional leveling technique, particularly, for topographic mapping.
Keywords: Geoid undulation, GPS, ordinary and geodetic leveling, orthometric height.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20201331 Transient Analysis & Performance Estimation of Gate Inside Junctionless Transistor (GI-JLT)
Authors: Sangeeta Singh, Pankaj Kumar, P. N. Kondekar
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In this paper, the transient device performance analysis of n-type Gate Inside JunctionLess Transistor (GI-JLT) has been evaluated. 3-D Bohm Quantum Potential (BQP) transport device simulation has been used to evaluate the delay and power dissipation performance. GI-JLT has a number of desirable device parameters such as reduced propagation delay, dynamic power dissipation, power and delay product, intrinsic gate delay and energy delay product as compared to Gate-all-around transistors GAA-JLT. In addition to this, various other device performance parameters namely, on/off current ratio, short channel effects (SCE), transconductance Generation Factor (TGF) and unity gain cut-off frequency (fT ) and subthreshold slope (SS) of the GI-JLT and GAA-JLT have been analyzed and compared. GI-JLT shows better device performance characteristics than GAA-JLT for low power and high frequency applications, because of its larger gate electrostatic control on the device operation.
Keywords: Gate-inside junctionless transistor GI-JLT, Gate-all-around junctionless transistor GAA-JLT, propagation delay, power delay product.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24371330 Age and Sex Pattern of Children-s Disability and Its Severity in Parila Union of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Authors: Md. Emaj Uddin, K. M. Rabiul Karim, Md. Delwar Hossain
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This study examines age and sex patterns of children-s disability in the Parila union of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. For this we assumed that (1) prevalence of disability patterns and its severity in the middle childhood are higher than in the infancy or latter childhood in the Parila union of Rajshahi, (2) prevalence of disability patterns and its severity among the boys compared to girls are higher in the study area of Bangladesh. In order to examine the assumptions 102 samples, including their mothers were selected based on snowball process and the respondents were individually interviewed with semi-structured questionnaire method. The results of the study suggest that disability patterns and its severity among the male children were two-fold higher than the female children. In addition, these patterns of children-s disability and its severity in the middle childhood were also higher than in the infancy or latter childhood. Further study should conduct how socio-structural factors influence age and sex patterns of children-s disability patterns and its severity in Bangladesh.Keywords: Age, Bangladesh, Children's Disability Pattern, Sex, Severity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17471329 The First Ground Track Maintenance Manoeuvre of THEOS Spacecraft
Authors: Pornthep Navakitkanok, Ammarin Pimnoo, Seksan Jaturat
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THEOS is the first earth observation spacecraft of Thailand which was launched on the 1st October 2008 and is currently operated by GISTDA. The transfer phase has been performed by Astrium Flight Dynamics team leading to a hand over to GISTDA teams starting mid-October 2008. The THEOS spacecraft-s orbit is LEO and has the same repetitivity (14+5/26) as the SPOT spacecraft, i.e. the same altitude of 822 km but it has a different mean local solar time (LST). Ground track maintenance manoeuvres are performed to maintain the ground track within a predefined control band around the reference ground track and the band is ±40 km for THEOS spacecraft. This paper presents the first ground track maintenance manoeuvre of THEOS spacecraft and the detailed results. In addition, it also includes one and a half year of operation as seen by GISTDA operators. It finally describes the foreseenable activities for the next orbit control manoeuvre (OCM) preparation.
Keywords: Orbit Control Manoeuvre, Ground Track Error, Local Solar Time Error, LEO, THEOS
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14551328 ME/CFS Health Outcomes: The Interaction of Mode of Illness Onset and Psychiatric Comorbidity
Authors: Mary Gloria C. Njoku, Leonard A. Jason, Nicole Porter, Molly Brown
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The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between mode of illness onset and psychiatric comorbidity on the health outcomes of persons with ME/CFS. A total of 114 individuals with ME/CFS participated in this study. Individuals completed a battery of baseline measures including the fatigue severity scale and measures of disability. Findings indicated that those with sudden illness onset had more impaired physical health functioning. In addition, among individuals with sudden onset, those without psychiatric comorbidity had greater fatigue severity and lower overall physical health than those with psychiatric comordibity. In contrast, among individuals with gradual illness onset, those with psychiatric comorbity had higher fatigue severity than those without comorbid psychiatric disorders. The health outcomes of individuals who have ME/CFS with or without psychiatric comorbidity are impacted by the mode of illness onset and this suggest that it is important to examine these factors in future research.Keywords: Health Outcomes, ME/CFS, Mode of Illness Onset, Psychiatric Comorbidity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20151327 Measurement Tools of the Maturity Model for IT Service Outsourcing in Higher Education Institutions
Authors: Victoriano Valencia García, Luis Usero Aragonés, Eugenio J. Fernández Vicente
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Nowadays, the successful implementation of ICTs is vital for almost any kind of organization. Good governance and ICT management are essential for delivering value, managing technological risks, managing resources and performance measurement. In addition, outsourcing is a strategic IT service solution which complements IT services provided internally in organizations. This paper proposes the measurement tools of a new holistic maturity model based on standards ISO/IEC 20000 and ISO/IEC 38500, and the frameworks and best practices of ITIL and COBIT, with a specific focus on IT outsourcing. These measurement tools allow independent validation and practical application in the field of higher education, using a questionnaire, metrics tables, and continuous improvement plan tables as part of the measurement process. Guidelines and standards are proposed in the model for facilitating adaptation to universities and achieving excellence in the outsourcing of IT services.
Keywords: IT Governance, IT Management, IT Services, Maturity Model, Measurement Tools, Outsourcing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27901326 Flocking Behaviors for Multiple Groups with Heterogeneous Agents
Authors: Jae Moon Lee
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Most of researches for conventional simulations were studied focusing on flocks with a single species. While there exist the flocking behaviors with a single species in nature, the flocking behaviors are frequently observed with multi-species. This paper studies on the flocking simulation for heterogeneous agents. In order to simulate the flocks for heterogeneous agents, the conventional method uses the identifier of flock, while the proposed method defines the feature vector of agent and uses the similarity between agents by comparing with those feature vectors. Based on the similarity, the paper proposed the attractive force and repulsive force and then executed the simulation by applying two forces. The results of simulation showed that flock formation with heterogeneous agents is very natural in both cases. In addition, it showed that unlike the existing method, the proposed method can not only control the density of the flocks, but also be possible for two different groups of agents to flock close to each other if they have a high similarity.Keywords: Flocking behavior, heterogeneous agents, similarity, simulation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16011325 Parametric Analysis of Effective Factors on the Seismic Rehabilitation of the Foundations by Network Micropile
Authors: Keivan Abdollahi, Alireza Mortezaei
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The main objective of seismic rehabilitation in the foundations is decreasing the range of horizontal and vertical vibrations and omitting high frequencies contents under the seismic loading. In this regard, the advantages of micropiles network is utilized. Reduction in vibration range of foundation can be achieved by using high dynamic rigidness module such as deep foundations. In addition, natural frequency of pile and soil system increases in regard to rising of system rigidness. Accordingly, the main strategy is decreasing of horizontal and vertical seismic vibrations of the structure. In this case, considering the impact of foundation, pile and improved soil foundation is a primary concern. Therefore, in this paper, effective factors are studied on the seismic rehabilitation of foundations applying network micropiles in sandy soils with nonlinear reaction.Keywords: Micropile network, rehabilitation, vibration, seismic load.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20281324 Performance Evaluation of an Inventive CO2 Gas Separation Inorganic Ceramic Membrane
Authors: Ngozi Nwogu, Mohammed Kajama, Edward Gobina
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions are considered as the greatest environmental challenge the world is facing today. The tasks to control the emissions include the recovery of CO2 from flue gas. This concern has been improved due to recent advances in materials process engineering resulting in the development of inorganic gas separation membranes with excellent thermal and mechanical stability required for most gas separations. This paper, therefore, evaluates the performance of a highly selective inorganic membrane for CO2 recovery applications. Analysis of results obtained is in agreement with experimental literature data. Further results show the prediction performance of the membranes for gas separation and the future direction of research. The materials selection and the membrane preparation techniques are discussed. Method of improving the interface defects in the membrane and its effect on the separation performance has also been reviewed and in addition advances to totally exploit the potential usage of this innovative membrane.Keywords: Carbon dioxide, gas separation, inorganic ceramic membrane & perm selectivity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29751323 Poverty Measurement by Islamic Institutions
Authors: Mohamed Saladin Abdul Rasool, Arifin Md Salleh, Mohd Fauzi Mohd Harun
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Islamic institutions in Malaysia play a variety of socioeconomic roles such as poverty alleviation. To perform this role, these institutions face a major task in identifying the poverty group. Most of these institutions measure and operationalize poverty from the monetary perspective using variables such as income, expenditure or consumption. In practice, most Islamic institutions in Malaysia use the monetary approach in measuring poverty through the conventional Poverty Line Income (PLI) method and recently, the had al kifayah (HAK) method using total necessities of a household from an Islamic perspective. The objective of this paper is to present the PLI and also the HAK method. This micro-data study would highlight the similarities and differences of both the methods.A survey aided by a structured questionnaire was carried out on 260 selected head of households in the state of Selangor. The paper highlights several demographic factors that are associated with the three monetary indicators in the study, namely income, PLI and HAK. In addition, the study found that these monetary variables are significantly related with each other.Keywords: Poverty line, multidimensional, necessities, monetary
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24481322 The Parameters Analysis for the Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems Based on Radar Sensors
Authors: Jieh-Shian Young, Chan Wei Hsu
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This paper mainly studies the analyses of parameters in the intersection collision avoidance (ICA) system based on the radar sensors. The parameters include the positioning errors, the repeat period of the radar sensor, the conditions of potential collisions of two cross-path vehicles, etc. The analyses of the parameters can provide the requirements, limitations, or specifications of this ICA system. In these analyses, the positioning errors will be increased as the measured vehicle approach the intersection. In addition, it is not necessary to implement the radar sensor in higher position since the positioning sensitivities become serious as the height of the radar sensor increases. A concept of the safety buffer distances for front and rear of the measured vehicle is also proposed. The conditions for potential collisions of two cross-path vehicles are also presented to facilitate the computation algorithm.Keywords: Intersection Collision Avoidance (ICA), Positioning Errors, Radar Sensors, Sensitivity of Positioning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15831321 Design and Implementation of Security Middleware for Data Warehouse Signature Framework
Authors: Mayada AlMeghari
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Recently, grid middlewares have provided large integrated use of network resources as the shared data and the CPU to become a virtual supercomputer. In this work, we present the design and implementation of the middleware for Data Warehouse Signature (DWS) Framework. The aim of using the middleware in the proposed DWS framework is to achieve the high performance by the parallel computing. This middleware is developed on Alchemi.Net framework to increase the security among the network nodes through the authentication and group-key distribution model. This model achieves the key security and prevents any intermediate attacks in the middleware. This paper presents the flow process structures of the middleware design. In addition, the paper ensures the implementation of security for DWS middleware enhancement with the authentication and group-key distribution model. Finally, from the analysis of other middleware approaches, the developed middleware of DWS framework is the optimal solution of a complete covering of security issues.
Keywords: Middleware, parallel computing, data warehouse, security, group-key, high performance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3431320 Real-Time Image Encryption Using a 3D Discrete Dual Chaotic Cipher
Authors: M. F. Haroun, T. A. Gulliver
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In this paper, an encryption algorithm is proposed for real-time image encryption. The scheme employs a dual chaotic generator based on a three dimensional (3D) discrete Lorenz attractor. Encryption is achieved using non-autonomous modulation where the data is injected into the dynamics of the master chaotic generator. The second generator is used to permute the dynamics of the master generator using the same approach. Since the data stream can be regarded as a random source, the resulting permutations of the generator dynamics greatly increase the security of the transmitted signal. In addition, a technique is proposed to mitigate the error propagation due to the finite precision arithmetic of digital hardware. In particular, truncation and rounding errors are eliminated by employing an integer representation of the data which can easily be implemented. The simple hardware architecture of the algorithm makes it suitable for secure real-time applications.Keywords: Chaotic systems, image encryption, 3D Lorenz attractor, non-autonomous modulation, FPGA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12171319 ROI Based Embedded Watermarking of Medical Images for Secured Communication in Telemedicine
Authors: Baisa L. Gunjal, Suresh N. Mali
Abstract:
Medical images require special safety and confidentiality because critical judgment is done on the information provided by medical images. Transmission of medical image via internet or mobile phones demands strong security and copyright protection in telemedicine applications. Here, highly secured and robust watermarking technique is proposed for transmission of image data via internet and mobile phones. The Region of Interest (ROI) and Non Region of Interest (RONI) of medical image are separated. Only RONI is used for watermark embedding. This technique results in exact recovery of watermark with standard medical database images of size 512x512, giving 'correlation factor' equals to 1. The correlation factor for different attacks like noise addition, filtering, rotation and compression ranges from 0.90 to 0.95. The PSNR with weighting factor 0.02 is up to 48.53 dBs. The presented scheme is non blind and embeds hospital logo of 64x64 size.
Keywords: Compression, DWT, ROI, Scrambling, Vertices
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 32821318 Fingerprint Image Encryption Using a 2D Chaotic Map and Elliptic Curve Cryptography
Authors: D. M. S. Bandara, Yunqi Lei, Ye Luo
Abstract:
Fingerprints are suitable as long-term markers of human identity since they provide detailed and unique individual features which are difficult to alter and durable over life time. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt fingerprint images by using a specially designed Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) procedure based on block ciphers. In addition, to increase the confusing effect of fingerprint encryption, we also utilize a chaotic-behaved method called Arnold Cat Map (ACM) for a 2D scrambling of pixel locations in our method. Experimental results are carried out with various types of efficiency and security analyses. As a result, we demonstrate that the proposed fingerprint encryption/decryption algorithm is advantageous in several different aspects including efficiency, security and flexibility. In particular, using this algorithm, we achieve a margin of about 0.1% in the test of Number of Pixel Changing Rate (NPCR) values comparing to the-state-of-the-art performances.Keywords: Arnold cat map, biometric encryption, block cipher, elliptic curve cryptography, fingerprint encryption, Koblitz’s Encoding.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1100