Search results for: Portuguese quality press.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3066

Search results for: Portuguese quality press.

2196 Software Industrialization in Systems Integration

Authors: Matthias Minich, B. Harriehausen-Muehlbauer, C. Wentzel

Abstract:

Today-s economy is in a permanent change, causing merger and acquisitions and co operations between enterprises. As a consequence, process adaptations and realignments result in systems integration and software development projects. Processes and procedures to execute such projects are still reliant on craftsman-ship of highly skilled workers. A generally accepted, industrialized production, characterized by high efficiency and quality, seems inevitable. In spite of this, current concepts of software industrialization are aimed at traditional software engineering and do not consider the characteristics of systems integration. The present work points out these particularities and discusses the applicability of existing industrial concepts in the systems integration domain. Consequently it defines further areas of research necessary to bring the field of systems integration closer to an industrialized production, allowing a higher efficiency, quality and return on investment.

Keywords: Software Industrialization, Systems Integration, Software Product Lines, Component Based Development, Model Driven Development.

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2195 An Evaluation of the Usability of IT Faculty Educational Portal at University of Benghazi

Authors: Nasser M. Amaitik, Mohammed J. El-Sahli

Abstract:

Evaluation of educational portals is an important subject area that needs more attention from researchers. A university that has an educational portal which is difficult to use and interact by teachers or students or management staff can reduce the position and reputation of the university. Therefore, it is important to have the ability to make an evaluation of the quality of e-services the university provide to improve them over time. The present study evaluates the usability of the Information Technology Faculty portal at University of Benghazi. Two evaluation methods were used: a questionnaire-based method and an online automated tool-based method. The first method was used to measure the portal's external attributes of usability (Information, Content and Organization of the portal, Navigation, Links and Accessibility, Aesthetic and Visual Appeal, Performance and Effectiveness and educational purpose) from users' perspectives, while the second method was used to measure the portal's internal attributes of usability (number and size of HTML files, number and size of images, load time, HTML check errors, browsers compatibility problems, number of bad and broken links), which cannot be perceived by the users. The study showed that some of the usability aspects have been found at the acceptable level of performance and quality, and some others have been found otherwise. In general, it was concluded that the usability of IT faculty educational portal generally acceptable. Recommendations and suggestions to improve the weakness and quality of the portal usability are presented in this study.

Keywords: Automated tools-based evaluation, Educational portals, Evaluation criteria, Questionnaire-based evaluation, Usability evaluation.

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2194 Micro-Study of Dissimilar Welded Materials

Authors: E. M. Anawa, A. G. Olabi

Abstract:

The dissimilar joint between aluminum/titanium alloys (Al 6082 and Ti G2) were successfully achieved by CO2 laser welding with a single pass and without filler material using the overlap joint design. Laser welding parameters ranges combinations were experimentally determined using Taguchi approach with the objective of producing welded joint with acceptable welding profile and high quality of mechanical properties. In this study a joining of dissimilar Al 6082 / Ti G2 was resulted in three distinct regions fusion area in the weldment. These regions are studied in terms of its microstructural characteristics and microhardness which are directly affecting the welding quality. The weld metal was mainly composed of martensite alpha prime. In two different metals in the two different sides of joint HAZ, grain growth was detected. The microhardness of the joint distribution also has shown microhardness increasing in the HAZ of two base metals and a varying microhardness in fusion zone.

Keywords: Micro-hardness, Microstructure, laser welding, dissimilar jointed materials.

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2193 A Graph Theoretic Approach for Quantitative Evaluation of NAAC Accreditation Criteria for the Indian University

Authors: Nameesh Miglani, Rajeev Saha, R. S. Parihar

Abstract:

Estimation of the quality regarding higher education within a university is practically long drawn process besides being difficult to measure primarily due to lack of a standard scale. National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) evolved a methodology of assessment which involves self-appraisal by each university/college and an assessment of performance by an expert committee. The attributes involved in assessing a university may not be totally independent from each other thereby necessitating the consideration of interdependencies. The present study focuses on evaluation of assessment criteria using graph theoretic approach and fuzzy treatment of data collected from the students. The technique will provide a suitable platform to university management team to cross check assessment of education quality by considering interdependencies of the attributes using graph theory.

Keywords: Graph theory, NAAC accreditation criteria, Indian University accreditation process.

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2192 Enhancing Learning Experiences in Outcomebased Higher Education: A Step towards Student Centered Learning

Authors: K. Kumpas

Abstract:

Bologna process has influenced enhancing studentcentered learning in Estonian higher education since 2009, but there is no information about what helps or hinders students to achieve learning outcomes and how quality of student-centered learning might be improved. The purpose of this study is to analyze two questions from outcome-based course evaluation questionnaire which is used in Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences. In this qualitative research, 384 students from 22 different courses described what helped and hindered them to achieve learning outcomes. The analysis showed that the aspects that hinder students to achieve learning outcomes are mostly personal: time management, family and personal matters, motivation and non-academic activities. The results indicate that students- learning is commonly supported by school, where teacher, teaching and characteristics of teaching methods help mostly to achieve learning outcomes, also learning material, practical assignments and independent study was brought up as one of the key elements.

Keywords: Learning outcomes, learning quality, student-centered learning

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2191 Groundwater Quality Improvement by Using Aeration and Filtration Methods

Authors: Nik N. Nik Daud, Nur H. Izehar, B. Yusuf, Thamer A. Mohamed, A. Ahsan

Abstract:

An experiment was conducted using two aeration methods (water-into-air and air-into-water) and followed by filtration processes using manganese greensand material. The properties of groundwater such as pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and heavy metal concentration (iron and manganese) will be assessed. The objectives of this study are i) to determine the effective aeration method and ii) to assess the effectiveness of manganese greensand as filter media in removing iron and manganese concentration in groundwater. Results showed that final pH for all samples after treatment are in range from 7.40 and 8.40. Both aeration methods increased the dissolved oxygen content. Final turbidity for groundwater samples are between 3 NTU to 29 NTU. Only three out of eight samples achieved iron concentration of 0.3mg/L and less and all samples reach manganese concentration of 0.1mg/L and less. Air-into-water aeration method gives higher percentage of iron and manganese removal compare to water-into-air method.

Keywords: Aeration, filtration, groundwater, water quality.

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2190 An Assessment of Water Pollution of the Beshar River Aquatic Ecosystems

Authors: Amir Eghbal Khajeh Rahimi, Fardin Boustani, Omid Tabiee, Masoud Hashemi

Abstract:

The Beshar River is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems in the upstream of the Karun watershed in south of Iran which is affected by point and non point pollutant sources . This study was done in order to evaluate the effects of pollutants activities on the water quality of the Beshar river and its aquatic ecosystems. This river is approximately 190 km in length and situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20´ to 51° 48´ E and 30° 18´ to 30° 52´ N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province in south-west Iran. In this research project, five study stations were selected to examine water pollution in the Beshar River systems. Human activity is now one of the most important factors affecting on hydrology and water quality of the Beshar river. Humans use large amounts of resources to sustain various standards of living, although measures of sustainability are highly variable depending on how sustainability is defined. The Beshar river ecosystems are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to human activities. Therefore, to determine the impact of human activities on the Beshar River, the most important water quality parameters such as pH, dissolve oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Total Dissolve Solids (TDS), Nitrates (NO3-N) and Phosphates (PO4) were estimated at the five stations. As the results show, the most important pollution index parameters such as BOD5, NO3 and PO4 increase and DO and pH decrease according to human activities (P<0.05). However, due to pollutant degradation and dilution, pollution index parameters improve downstream sampling stations.

Keywords: Human activities, Water pollution, Beshar River, Iran.

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2189 Quality Evaluation of Cookies Produced from Blends of Sweet Potato and Fermented Soybean Flour

Authors: Abayomi H. T., Oresanya T. O., Opeifa A. O., Rasheed T. R.

Abstract:

The study was conducted to evaluate the quality characteristics of cookies produced from sweet potato-fermented soybean flour. Cookies were subjected to proximate and sensory analysis to determine the acceptability of the product. Protein, fat and ash increased as the proportion of soybean flour increased, ranging from 13.8-21.7, 1.22-5.25 and 2.20-2.57 respectively. The crude fibre content was within the range of 3.08-4.83%. The moisture content of the cookies decreased with increase in soybean flour from 3.42- 2.13%. Cookies produced from whole sweet potato flour had the highest moisture content of 3.42% while 30% substitution had the lowest moisture content 2.13%. A nine point hedonic scale was used to evaluate the organoleptic characteristics of the cookies. The sensory analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the cookies produced even when compared to the control 100% sweet potato cookies. The overall acceptance of the cookies was ranked to 20% soybean flour substitute.

Keywords: Cookies, Fermented Soybean, Overall Acceptability, Sweet Potatoes.

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2188 Modelling Indoor Air Carbon Dioxide (CO2)Concentration using Neural Network

Authors: J-P. Skön, M. Johansson, M. Raatikainen, K. Leiviskä, M. Kolehmainen

Abstract:

The use of neural networks is popular in various building applications such as prediction of heating load, ventilation rate and indoor temperature. Significant is, that only few papers deal with indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) prediction which is a very good indicator of indoor air quality (IAQ). In this study, a data-driven modelling method based on multilayer perceptron network for indoor air carbon dioxide in an apartment building is developed. Temperature and humidity measurements are used as input variables to the network. Motivation for this study derives from the following issues. First, measuring carbon dioxide is expensive and sensors power consumptions is high and secondly, this leads to short operating times of battery-powered sensors. The results show that predicting CO2 concentration based on relative humidity and temperature measurements, is difficult. Therefore, more additional information is needed.

Keywords: Indoor air quality, Modelling, Neural networks

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2187 iDENTM Phones Automated Stress Testing

Authors: Wei Hoo Chong

Abstract:

System testing is actually done to the entire system against the Functional Requirement Specification and/or the System Requirement Specification. Moreover, it is an investigatory testing phase, where the focus is to have almost a destructive attitude and test not only the design, but also the behavior and even the believed expectations of the customer. It is also intended to test up to and beyond the bounds defined in the software/hardware requirements specifications. In Motorola®, Automated Testing is one of the testing methodologies uses by GSG-iSGT (Global Software Group - iDEN TM Subcriber Group-Test) to increase the testing volume, productivity and reduce test cycle-time in iDEN TM phones testing. Testing is able to produce more robust products before release to the market. In this paper, iHopper is proposed as a tool to perform stress test on iDEN TM phonse. We will discuss the value that automation has brought to iDEN TM Phone testing such as improving software quality in the iDEN TM phone together with some metrics. We will also look into the advantages of the proposed system and some discussion of the future work as well.

Keywords: Testing, automated testing, stress testing, software quality.

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2186 Plecoptera Fauna of Alara and Karpuz Streams and Determination of their Relationships with Water Quality

Authors: Hasan Kalyoncu, Ayşe Güneş

Abstract:

This study was carried on 12 determined stations, on Alara and Karpuz Streams, between January and November 2014. Seasonal samples were taken from the stations to analyze physicochemical parameters and Plecoptera Fauna in the water. The correlation between identified taxa and physicochemical data were tried to determine. As the result of the study, 2088 individuals from Plecoptera fauna were examined, 3 genera and 13 species were identified. The taxa of Brachyptera risi, Capnia bifrons, Dinocras cephalotes, Diura bicaudata, Isogenus nebecula, Isogenus sp., Isoperla grammatica, Leuctra hippopus, Leuctra inermis, Leuctra moselyi, Leuctra sp., Nemoura sp., Perla bipunctata, Perla marginata, Protonemura meyeri and Rhabdiopteryx acuminata were determined. In Alara Stream, the dominant species were; Isogenus nebecula at stations I and IV, Leuctra moselyi at station II, Leuctra hippopus at stations III, V and VI. In Karpuz Stream, Brachyptera risi was the dominant species in all stations. While Leuctra hippopus was the dominant taxon in Alara Stream, in Karpuz Stream it was Brachyptera risi. The highest diversity value was at station III and the lowest was at station VI in Alara Stream and the lowest diversity value was at station VI, while the highest was at station I in Karpuz Stream. In Alara Stream, the most similar stations were I and III, while in Karpuz Stream the highest similarity was determined between stations I and II. As for the evaluation result, the water quality of Alara and Karpuz Streams were determined as at oligosaprobic level.

Keywords: Alara Stream, Karpuz Stream, Plecoptera, water quality.

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2185 Governmentality and the Norwegian Knowledge Promotion Reform

Authors: Christin Tønseth

Abstract:

The Norwegian ‘knowledge promotion reform’ was implemented in elementary schools and upper secondary schools in 2006. The goal of the reform was that all pupils should develop basic skills and competencies in order to take an active part in the knowledge society. This paper discusses how governmentality as a management principle is demonstrated through the Norwegian ‘knowledge promotion reform’. Evaluation reports and political documents are the basis for the discussion. The ‘knowledge promotion reform’ was including quality assurance for schools, teachers, and students and the authorities retained control by using curricula and national tests. The reform promoted several intentions that were not reached. In light of governmentality, it seemed that thoughts and intentions by the authorities differed from those in the world of practice. The quality assurances did not motivate the practitioners to be self-governing. The relationship between the authorities and the implementation actors was weak, and the reform was, therefore, difficult to implement in practice.

Keywords: Education politics, governance, governmentality, the Norwegian knowledge promotion reform.

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2184 Influence of Dietary Inclusion of Butyric Acids, Calcium Formate, Organic Acids and Its Salts on Rabbits Productive Performance, Carcass Traits and Meat Quality

Authors: V. Viliene, A. Raceviciute-Stupeliene, V. Sasyte, V. Slausgalvis, R. Gruzauskas, J. Al-Saifi

Abstract:

Animal nutritionists and scientists have searched for alternative measures to improve the production. One of such alternative is use of organic acids as feed additive in animal nutrition. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of butyric acids, calcium formate, organic acids, and its salts (BCOS) additives on rabbit’s productive performance, carcass traits and meat quality. The study was conducted with 14 Californian breed rabbits. The rabbits were assigned to two treatment groups (seven rabbits per each treatment group). The dietary treatments were 1) control diet, 2) diet supplemented with a mixture BCOS - 2 kg/t of feed. Growth performance characteristics (body weight, daily weight gain, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio, mortality) were evaluated. Rabbits were slaughtered; carcass characteristics and meat quality were evaluated. Samples loin and hind leg meat were analysed to determine carcass characteristics, pH and colour measurements, cholesterol, and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) content in loin and hind leg meat. Differences between treatments were significant for body weight (1.30 vs. 1.36 kg; P<0.05), daily weight gain (16.60 vs. 17.85 g; P<0.05), and daily feed intake (78.25 vs. 80.58 g; P<0.05) for control and experimental group respectively for the entire experimental period (from 28–77 days old). No significant differences were found in feed conversion ratio and mortality. The feed additives insertion in the diets did not significantly influence the carcass yield or the proportions of the various carcass parts and organs. Differences between treatments were significant for pH value after 48h in loin (5.86 vs. 5.74; P<0.05), hind leg meat (6.62 vs. 6.65; P<0.05), more intense colour b* of loin (5.57 vs. 6.06; P<0.05), less intense colour a* (14.99 vs. 13.15; P<0.05) in hind leg meat. Cholesterol content in hind leg meat decreased by 17.67 mg/100g compared to control group (P<0.05). After storage for three months, MDA concentration decreased in loin and hind leg meat by 0.3 μmol/kg and 0.26 μmol/kg respectively compared to that of the control group (P<0.05). The results of this study suggest that BCOS could potentially be used in rabbit nutrition with consequent benefits on the rabbits’ productivity and nutritional quality of rabbit meat for consumers.

Keywords: Butyric acids, calcium formate, meat quality, organic acids salts, rabbits, productivity.

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2183 The Effects of Applying Wash and Green-A Syrups as Substitution of Sugar on Dough and Cake Properties

Authors: Banafsheh Aghamohammadi, Masoud Honarvar, Babak Ghiassi Tarzi

Abstract:

Usage of different components has been considered to improve the quality and nutritional properties of cakes in recent years. The effects of applying some sweeteners, instead of sugar, have been evaluated in cakes and many bread formulas up to now; but there has not been any research about the usage of by-products of sugar factories such as Wash and Green-A Syrups in cake formulas. In this research, the effects of substituting 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of sugar with Wash and Green-A Syrups on some dough and cake properties, such as pH, viscosity, density, volume, weight loss, moisture, water activity, texture, staling, color and sensory evaluations, are studied. The results of these experiments showed that the pH values were not significantly different among any of the all cake batters and also most of the cake samples. Although differences among viscosity and specific gravity of all treatments were both significant and insignificant, these two parameters resulted in higher volume in all samples than the blank one. The differences in weight loss, moisture content and water activity of samples were insignificant. Evaluating of texture showed that the softness of most of samples is increased and the staling is decreased. Crumb color and sensory evaluations of samples were also affected by the replacement of sucrose with Wash and Green-A Syrups. According to the results, we can increase the shelf life and improve the quality and nutritional values of cake by using these kinds of syrups in the formulation.

Keywords: Cake, green-A syrup, quality tests, sensory evaluation, wash syrup.

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2182 Using Interval Constrained Petri Nets and Fuzzy Method for Regulation of Quality: The Case of Weight in Tobacco Factory

Authors: Nabli L., Dhouibi H., Collart Dutilleul S., Craye E.

Abstract:

The existence of maximal durations drastically modifies the performance evaluation in Discrete Event Systems (DES). The same particularity may be found on systems where the associated constraints do not concern the time. For example weight measures, in chemical industry, are used in order to control the quantity of consumed raw materials. This parameter also takes a fundamental part in the product quality as the correct transformation process is based upon a given percentage of each essence. Weight regulation therefore increases the global productivity of the system by decreasing the quantity of rejected products. In this paper we present an approach based on mixing different characteristics theories, the fuzzy system and Petri net system to describe the behaviour. An industriel application on a tobacco manufacturing plant, where the critical parameter is the weight is presented as an illustration.

Keywords: Petri Net, Manufacturing systems, Performance evaluation, Fuzzy logic, Tolerant system.

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2181 Economic Assessment of Green House for Cultivation of Float Based Seedling Production in India

Authors: Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Aswathaman Vijayan

Abstract:

In conventional seedling production, the seedlings are being grown in the open field under natural conditions. Here they are susceptible to sudden changes in climate were their quality and yield is affected. Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and performance of crops in main field; they serve as a foundation for the economic returns to the farmer. Producing quality seedling demands usage of hybrid seeds as they have the ability to result in better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance, and so forth. Hybrid seed production poses major operational challenge and its seed use efficiency plays an important role. Thus in order to overcome the difficulties currently present in conventional seedling production and to efficiently use hybrid seeds, ITC Limited Agri Business Divisions - Sustainability Cell as conceptualized a novel method of seedling production unit for farmers in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The “Green House based Float Seedling" methodology aims at a protected cultivation technique wherein the micro climate surrounding the plant/seedling body is controlled partially or fully as per the requirement of the species. This paper reports on the techno economic evaluation of green house for cultivation of float based seedling production with experimental results that was attained from the pilot implementation in West Godavari District, Rajahmundry region of India.

Keywords: Economic Assessment, Float Seedling, Green House, ITC Limited, Payback period.

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2180 A Review of Quality Relationship between IT Processes, IT Products and IT Services

Authors: Whee Yen Wong, Chan Wai Lee, Kim Yeow Tshai

Abstract:

Producing IT products/services required carefully designed. IT development process is intangible and labour intensive. Making optimal use of available resources, both soft (knowledge, skill-set etc.) and hard (computer system, ancillary equipment etc.), is vital if IT development is to achieve sensible economical advantages. Apart from the norm of Project Life Cycle and System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), there is an urgent need to establish a general yet widely acceptable guideline on the most effective and efficient way to precede an IT project in the broader view of Product Life Cycle. The current paper proposes such a framework with two major areas of concern: (1) an integration of IT Products and IT Services within an existing IT Process architecture and; (2) how IT Product and IT Services are built into the framework of Product Life Cycle, Project Life Cycle and SDLC.

Keywords: Mapping of Quality Relationship, IT Processes/IT Products/IT Services, Product Life Cycle, System Development Life Cycle.

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2179 Driver Readiness in Autonomous Vehicle Take-Overs

Authors: Abdurrahman Arslanyilmaz, Salman Al Matouq, Durmus V. Doner

Abstract:

Level 3 autonomous vehicles are able to take full responsibility over the control of the vehicle unless a system boundary is reached or a system failure occurs, in which case, the driver is expected to take-over the control of the vehicle. While this happens, the driver is often not aware of the traffic situation or is engaged in a secondary task. Factors affecting the duration and quality of take-overs in these situations have included secondary task type and nature, traffic density, take-over request (TOR) time, and TOR warning type and modality. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study examined time buffer for TORs when a system failure occurs immediately before intersections. The first objective of this study is to investigate the effect of time buffer (3 and 7 seconds) on the duration and quality of take-overs when a system failure occurs just prior to intersections. In addition, eye-tracking has become one of the most popular methods to report what individuals view, in what order, for how long, and how often, and it has been utilized in driving simulations with various objectives. However, to the extent of authors’ knowledge, none has compared drivers’ eye gaze behavior in the two different time buffers in order to examine drivers’ attention and comprehension of salient information. The second objective is to understand the driver’s attentional focus on comprehension of salient traffic-related information presented on different parts of the dashboard and on the roads.

Keywords: Autonomous vehicles, driving simulation, eye gaze, attention, comprehension, take-over duration, take-over quality, time buffer.

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2178 Customer Segmentation in Foreign Trade based on Clustering Algorithms Case Study: Trade Promotion Organization of Iran

Authors: Samira Malekmohammadi Golsefid, Mehdi Ghazanfari, Somayeh Alizadeh

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to segment the countries based on the value of export from Iran during 14 years ending at 2005. To measure the dissimilarity among export baskets of different countries, we define Dissimilarity Export Basket (DEB) function and use this distance function in K-means algorithm. The DEB function is defined based on the concepts of the association rules and the value of export group-commodities. In this paper, clustering quality function and clusters intraclass inertia are defined to, respectively, calculate the optimum number of clusters and to compare the functionality of DEB versus Euclidean distance. We have also study the effects of importance weight in DEB function to improve clustering quality. Lastly when segmentation is completed, a designated RFM model is used to analyze the relative profitability of each cluster.

Keywords: Customers segmentation, Customer relationship management, Clustering, Data Mining

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2177 Optimal Placement of DG in Distribution System to Mitigate Power Quality Disturbances

Authors: G.V.K Murthy, S. Sivanagaraju, S. Satyanarayana, B. Hanumantha Rao

Abstract:

Distributed Generation (DG) systems are considered an integral part in future distribution system planning. Appropriate size and location of distributed generation plays a significant role in minimizing power losses in distribution systems. Among the benefits of distributed generation is the reduction in active power losses, which can improve the system performance, reliability and power quality. In this paper, Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is proposed to determine the optimal DG-unit size and location by loss sensitivity index in order to minimize the real power loss, total harmonic distortion (THD) and voltage sag index improvement. Simulation study is conducted on 69-bus radial test system to verify the efficacy of the proposed method.

Keywords: Distributed generation, artificial bee colony method, loss reduction, radial distribution network.

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2176 Data Collection in Hospital Emergencies: A Questionnaire Survey

Authors: Nouha Mhimdi, Wahiba Ben Abdessalem Karaa, Henda Ben Ghezala

Abstract:

Many methods are used to collect data like questionnaires, surveys, focus group interviews. Or the collection of poor-quality data resulting, for example, from poorly designed questionnaires, the absence of good translators or interpreters, and the incorrect recording of data allow conclusions to be drawn that are not supported by the data or to focus only on the average effect of the program or policy. There are several solutions to avoid or minimize the most frequent errors, including obtaining expert advice on the design or adaptation of data collection instruments; or use technologies allowing better "anonymity" in the responses. In this context, and to overcome the aforementioned problems, we suggest in this paper an approach to achieve the collection of relevant data, by carrying out a large-scale questionnaire-based survey. We have been able to collect good quality, consistent and practical data on hospital emergencies to improve emergency services in hospitals, especially in the case of epidemics or pandemics.

Keywords: Data collection, survey, database, data analysis, hospital emergencies.

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2175 Influence of Insulation System Methods on Dissipation Factor and Voltage Endurance

Authors: Farzad Yavari, Hamid Chegini, Saeed Lotfi

Abstract:

This paper reviews the comparison of Resin Rich (RR) and Vacuum Pressure Impregnation (VPI) insulation system qualities for stator bar of rotating electrical machines. Voltage endurance and tangent delta are two diagnostic tests to determine the quality of insulation systems. The paper describes the trend of dissipation factor while performing voltage endurance test for different stator bar samples made with RR and VPI insulation system methods. Some samples were made with the same strands and insulation thickness but with different main wall material to prove the influence of insulation system methods on stator bar quality. Also, some of the samples were subjected to voltage at the temperature of their insulation class, and their dissipation factor changes were measured and studied.

Keywords: Vacuum pressure impregnation, resin rich, insulation, stator bar, dissipation factor, voltage endurance.

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2174 Design of Active Power Filters for Harmonics on Power System and Reducing Harmonic Currents

Authors: Düzgün Akmaz, Hüseyin Erişti

Abstract:

In the last few years, harmonics have been occurred with the increasing use of nonlinear loads, and these harmonics have been an ever increasing problem for the line systems. This situation importantly affects the quality of power and gives large losses to the network. An efficient way to solve these problems is providing harmonic compensation through parallel active power filters. Many methods can be used in the control systems of the parallel active power filters which provide the compensation. These methods efficiently affect the performance of the active power filters. For this reason, the chosen control method is significant. In this study, Fourier analysis (FA) control method and synchronous reference frame (SRF) control method are discussed. These control methods are designed for both eliminate harmonics and perform reactive power compensation in MATLAB/Simulink pack program and are tested. The results have been compared for each two methods.

Keywords: Harmonics, Harmonic compensation, Parallel active power filters, Power quality.

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2173 A Control Strategy Based on UTT and ISCT for 3P4W UPQC

Authors: Yash Pal, A.Swarup, Bhim Singh

Abstract:

This paper presents a novel control strategy of a threephase four-wire Unified Power Quality (UPQC) for an improvement in power quality. The UPQC is realized by integration of series and shunt active power filters (APFs) sharing a common dc bus capacitor. The shunt APF is realized using a thee-phase, four leg voltage source inverter (VSI) and the series APF is realized using a three-phase, three leg VSI. A control technique based on unit vector template technique (UTT) is used to get the reference signals for series APF, while instantaneous sequence component theory (ISCT) is used for the control of Shunt APF. The performance of the implemented control algorithm is evaluated in terms of power-factor correction, load balancing, neutral source current mitigation and mitigation of voltage and current harmonics, voltage sag and swell in a three-phase four-wire distribution system for different combination of linear and non-linear loads. In this proposed control scheme of UPQC, the current/voltage control is applied over the fundamental supply currents/voltages instead of fast changing APFs currents/voltages, there by reducing the computational delay and the required sensors. MATLAB/Simulink based simulations are obtained, which support the functionality of the UPQC. MATLAB/Simulink based simulations are obtained, which support the functionality of the UPQC.

Keywords: Power Quality, UPQC, Harmonics, Load Balancing, Power Factor Correction, voltage harmonic mitigation, currentharmonic mitigation, voltage sag, swell

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2172 Characterization and Development of Anthropomorphic Phantoms Liver for Use in Nuclear Medicine

Authors: Ferreira F. C. L., Souza D. N., Rodrigues T. M. A., Cunha C. J., Dullius M. A., Andrade J. E., Sousa A. H., Vieira J. P. C., Carvalho Júnior A. B., Santos L. P. B., Passos R. O.

Abstract:

The objective this study was to characterize and develop anthropomorphic liver phantoms in tomography hepatic procedures for quality control and improvement professionals in nuclear medicine. For the conformation of the anthropomorphic phantom was used in plaster and acrylic. We constructed three phantoms representing processes with liver cirrhosis. The phantoms were filled with 99mTc diluted with water to obtain the scintigraphic images. Tomography images were analyzed anterior and posterior phantom representing a body with a greater degree cirrhotic. It was noted that the phantoms allow the acquisition of images similar to real liver with cirrhosis. Simulations of hemangiomas may contribute to continued professional education of nuclear medicine, on the question of image acquisition, allowing of the study parameters such of the matrix, energy window and count statistics.

Keywords: Nuclear medicine, liver phantom, control quality

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2171 A Research on the Coordinated Development of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle Under the Background of New Urbanization

Authors: Deng Tingting

Abstract:

The coordinated and integrated development of regions is an inevitable requirement for China to move towards high-quality sustainable development. As one of the regions with the best economic foundation and the strongest economic strength in the western China, it is a typical area with national importance and strong network connection characteristics in terms of the comprehensive effect of linking the inland hinterland and connecting the western and national urban networks. The integrated development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is of great strategic significance for the rapid and high-quality development of the western region. In the context of new urbanization, this paper takes 16 urban units within the economic circle as the research object, based on the 5-year panel data of population, regional economy and spatial construction and development from 2016 to 2020, using the entropy method and Theil index to analyze the three target layers, and cause analysis. The research shows that there are temporal and spatial differences in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, and there are significant differences between the core city and the surrounding cities. Therefore, by reforming and innovating the regional coordinated development mechanism, breaking administrative barriers, and strengthening the "polar nucleus" radiation function to release the driving force for economic development, especially in the gully areas of economic development belts, will not only promote the coordinated development of internal regions, but also promote the coordinated and sustainable development of the western region and toward a high-quality development path.

Keywords: Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, new urbanization, coordinated regional development, Theil Index.

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2170 A Decision Boundary based Discretization Technique using Resampling

Authors: Taimur Qureshi, Djamel A Zighed

Abstract:

Many supervised induction algorithms require discrete data, even while real data often comes in a discrete and continuous formats. Quality discretization of continuous attributes is an important problem that has effects on speed, accuracy and understandability of the induction models. Usually, discretization and other types of statistical processes are applied to subsets of the population as the entire population is practically inaccessible. For this reason we argue that the discretization performed on a sample of the population is only an estimate of the entire population. Most of the existing discretization methods, partition the attribute range into two or several intervals using a single or a set of cut points. In this paper, we introduce a technique by using resampling (such as bootstrap) to generate a set of candidate discretization points and thus, improving the discretization quality by providing a better estimation towards the entire population. Thus, the goal of this paper is to observe whether the resampling technique can lead to better discretization points, which opens up a new paradigm to construction of soft decision trees.

Keywords: Bootstrap, discretization, resampling, soft decision trees.

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2169 On-Time Performance and Service Regularity of Stage Buses in Mixed Traffic

Authors: Suwardo, Madzlan B. Napiah, Ibrahim B. Kamaruddin

Abstract:

Stage bus operated in the mixed traffic might always meet many problems about low quality and reliability of services. The low quality and reliability of bus service can make the system not attractive and directly reduce the interest of using bus service. This paper presents the result of field investigation and analysis of on-time performance and service regularity of stage bus in mixed traffic. Data for analysis was collected from the field by on-board observation along the Ipoh-Lumut corridor in Perak, Malaysia. From analysis and discussion, it can be concluded that on-time performance and service regularity varies depend on station, typical day, time period, operation characteristics of bus and characteristics of traffic. The on-time performance and service regularity of stage bus in mixed traffic can be derived by using data collected by onboard survey. It is clear that on-time performance and service regularity of the existing stage bus system was low.

Keywords: mixed traffic, on-time performance, service regularity, stage bus

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2168 Analysis of Diverse Cluster Ensemble Techniques

Authors: S. Sarumathi, N. Shanthi, P. Ranjetha

Abstract:

Data mining is the procedure of determining interesting patterns from the huge amount of data. With the intention of accessing the data faster the most supporting processes needed is clustering. Clustering is the process of identifying similarity between data according to the individuality present in the data and grouping associated data objects into clusters. Cluster ensemble is the technique to combine various runs of different clustering algorithms to obtain a general partition of the original dataset, aiming for consolidation of outcomes from a collection of individual clustering outcomes. The performances of clustering ensembles are mainly affecting by two principal factors such as diversity and quality. This paper presents the overview about the different cluster ensemble algorithm along with their methods used in cluster ensemble to improve the diversity and quality in the several cluster ensemble related papers and shows the comparative analysis of different cluster ensemble also summarize various cluster ensemble methods. Henceforth this clear analysis will be very useful for the world of clustering experts and also helps in deciding the most appropriate one to determine the problem in hand.

Keywords: Cluster Ensemble, Consensus Function, CSPA, Diversity, HGPA, MCLA.

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2167 Minimizing Energy Consumption in Wireless Sensor Networks using Binary Integer Linear Programming

Authors: Chompunut Jantarasorn, Chutima Prommak

Abstract:

The important issue considered in the widespread deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is an efficiency of the energy consumption. In this paper, we present a study of the optimal relay station planning problems using Binary Integer Linear Programming (BILP) model to minimize the energy consumption in WSNs. Our key contribution is that the proposed model not only ensures the required network lifetime but also guarantees the radio connectivity at high level of communication quality. Specially, we take into account effects of noise, signal quality limitation and bit error rate characteristics. Numerical experiments were conducted in various network scenarios. We analyzed the effects of different sensor node densities and distribution on the energy consumption.

Keywords: Binary Integer Linear Programming, BILP, Energy consumption, Optimal node placement and Wireless sensor networks.

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