Search results for: Open Budget Index
935 Water Pollution in Soshanguve Environs of South Africa
Authors: O. I. Nkwonta, G. M. Ochieng
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Surface water pollution is one of the serious environmental problems in rural areas of South Africa due to discharge of household waste into the streams, turning them into open sewers. In this study, samples of water were collected from a stream in Soshanguve and analysed. The result showed that pollution in the area was caused by man and its activities. The water quality in the area was found to have deterioted significantly after water runoff from farms and household wastes. The result shows, fertilizer runoff contributes 50% of the pollution while pesticides and sediments contribute up to 10% respectively in the streams, while household waste contributes up to 30%. This study gives an outline of the sources of water pollution in the area and provides a process of creating a clean and unpolluted environment for Soshanguve community in Pretoria north in order to achieve the 7th aim of the millennium development goals by 2015, which is ensuring environmental sustainability.Keywords: Fertilizer, Household waste, Pollution, Roughing filters.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3845934 Hand Gestures Based Emotion Identification Using Flex Sensors
Authors: S. Ali, R. Yunus, A. Arif, Y. Ayaz, M. Baber Sial, R. Asif, N. Naseer, M. Jawad Khan
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In this study, we have proposed a gesture to emotion recognition method using flex sensors mounted on metacarpophalangeal joints. The flex sensors are fixed in a wearable glove. The data from the glove are sent to PC using Wi-Fi. Four gestures: finger pointing, thumbs up, fist open and fist close are performed by five subjects. Each gesture is categorized into sad, happy, and excited class based on the velocity and acceleration of the hand gesture. Seventeen inspectors observed the emotions and hand gestures of the five subjects. The emotional state based on the investigators assessment and acquired movement speed data is compared. Overall, we achieved 77% accurate results. Therefore, the proposed design can be used for emotional state detection applications.
Keywords: Emotion identification, emotion models, gesture recognition, user perception.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 940933 Javanese Adolescents- Future Orientation and Support for its Effort: An Indigenous Psychological Analysis
Authors: Niken Rarasati, Moh. A. Hakim, Kwartarini W. Yuniarti
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This study aimed to explore future life orientation and support that needed to accomplish it. A total of 258 participants are Javanese high school student. The age of the sample ranges from 14 to 18 years old. Participants were asked about their future aspiration, their reason of choosing them as important goals in their life, and support that they need to accomplished their goals using open ended questionnaire. The responses were categorized through content analysis into four main categories. They are: (1) Self Fulfillment (72.1%) (2) Parents and Family (16.7%) (3) Altruism (8.1%) (4) Social and Economy Status (3.1%). Meanwhile, the categories for support that they needed are shown as follows: (1) Affection Support (64.7%) (2) Spiritual support (17.4%) (3) Material Support (10.9%) (4) Guidance Support (7.0%). The research found that affection support always gets the highest number in every future orientation categories. It can be concluded that although Javanese adolescents have different future orientation, they basically need affection support.Keywords: Affection support, future orientation, indigenous psychology, Javanese adolescent
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2396932 Application of BP Neural Network Model in Sports Aerobics Performance Evaluation
Authors: Shuhe Shao
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This article provides partial evaluation index and its standard of sports aerobics, including the following 12 indexes: health vitality, coordination, flexibility, accuracy, pace, endurance, elasticity, self-confidence, form, control, uniformity and musicality. The three-layer BP artificial neural network model including input layer, hidden layer and output layer is established. The result shows that the model can well reflect the non-linear relationship between the performance of 12 indexes and the overall performance. The predicted value of each sample is very close to the true value, with a relative error fluctuating around of 5%, and the network training is successful. It shows that BP network has high prediction accuracy and good generalization capacity if being applied in sports aerobics performance evaluation after effective training.Keywords: BP neural network, sports aerobics, performance, evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1618931 Empirical Analyses of Determinants of D.J.S.I.US Mean Returns
Authors: Nikolaos Sariannidis, Grigoris Giannarakis, Nikolaos Litinas, Nikos Kartalis
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This study investigates the relationship between 10 year bond value, Yen/U.S dollar exchange rate, non-farm payrolls (all employs) and crude oil to U.S. Dow Jones Sustainability Index. A GARCH model is used to test these relationships for the period January 1st 1999 to January 31st 2008 using monthly data. Results show that an increase of the 10 year bond and non farm payrolls (all employs) lead to an increase of the D.J.S.I returns. On the contrary the volatility of the Yen/U.S dollar exchange rates as well as the increase of crude oil returns has negative effects on the U.S D.J.S.I returns. This study aims at assisting investors to understand the influences certain macroeconomic indicators have on the companies- stock returns as reported by the D.J.S.I.Keywords: Bond value, Corporate Social Responsibility, Crudeoil, D.J.S.I United States, Exchange rate, GARCH, Non-farmpayrolls.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1527930 Analyzing the Effects of Adding Bitcoin to Portfolio
Authors: Shashwat Gangwal
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This paper analyses the effect of adding Bitcoin, to the portfolio (stocks, bonds, Baltic index, MXEF, gold, real estate and crude oil) of an international investor by using daily data available from 2nd of July, 2010 to 2nd of August, 2016. We conclude that adding Bitcoin to portfolio, over the course of the considered period, always yielded a higher Sharpe ratio. This means that Bitcoin’s returns offset its high volatility. This paper, recognizing the fact that Bitcoin is a relatively new asset class, gives the readers a basic idea about the working of the virtual currency, the increasing number developments in the financial industry revolving around it, its unique features and the detailed look into its continuously growing acceptance across different fronts (Banks, Merchants and Countries) globally. We also construct optimal portfolios to reflect the highly lucrative and largely unexplored opportunities associated with investment in Bitcoin.Keywords: Portfolio management, Bitcoin, optimization, Sharpe ratio.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6128929 The Boundary Element Method in Excel for Teaching Vector Calculus and Simulation
Authors: Stephen Kirkup
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This paper discusses the implementation of the boundary element method (BEM) on an Excel spreadsheet and how it can be used in teaching vector calculus and simulation. There are two separate spreadheets, within which Laplace equation is solved by the BEM in two dimensions (LIBEM2) and axisymmetric three dimensions (LBEMA). The main algorithms are implemented in the associated programming language within Excel, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The BEM only requires a boundary mesh and hence it is a relatively accessible method. The BEM in the open spreadsheet environment is demonstrated as being useful as an aid to teaching and learning. The application of the BEM implemented on a spreadsheet for educational purposes in introductory vector calculus and simulation is explored. The development of assignment work is discussed, and sample results from student work are given. The spreadsheets were found to be useful tools in developing the students’ understanding of vector calculus and in simulating heat conduction.Keywords: Boundary element method, laplace equation, vector calculus, simulation, education.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 995928 Rheological Behavior of Fresh Activated Sludge
Authors: Salam K. Al-Dawery
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Despite of few research works on municipal sludge, still there is a lack of actual data. Thus, this work was focused on the conditioning and rheology of fresh activated sludge. The effect of cationic polyelectrolyte has been investigated at different concentrations and pH values in a comparative fashion. Yield stress is presented in all results indicating the minimum stress that necessary to reach flow conditions. Connections between particle-particle is the reason for this yield stress, also, the addition of polyelectrolyte causes strong bonds between particles and water resulting in the aggregation of particles which required higher shear stress in order to flow. The results from the experiments indicate that the cationic polyelectrolytes have significant effluence on the sludge characteristic and water quality such as turbidity, SVI, zone settling rate and shear stress.
Keywords: Rheology, Polyelectrolyte, Settling volume index, Turbidity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1882927 Simulating Pathogen Transport with in a Naturally Ventilated Hospital Ward
Authors: C. A. Gilkeson, C. J. Noakes, P. A. Sleigh, M. A. I. Khan, M. A. Camargo-Valero
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Understanding how airborne pathogens are transported through hospital wards is essential for determining the infection risk to patients and healthcare workers. This study utilizes Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to explore possible pathogen transport within a six-bed partitioned Nightingalestyle hospital ward. Grid independence of a ward model was addressed using the Grid Convergence Index (GCI) from solutions obtained using three fullystructured grids. Pathogens were simulated using source terms in conjunction with a scalar transport equation and a RANS turbulence model. Errors were found to be less than 4% in the calculation of air velocities but an average of 13% was seen in the scalar field. A parametric study of variations in the pathogen release point illustrated that its distribution is strongly influenced by the local velocity field and the degree of air mixing present.Keywords: Natural, Ventilation, Pathogen, Transport
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1493926 Genetic Characterization of Barley Genotypes via Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat
Authors: Mustafa Yorgancılar, Emine Atalay, Necdet Akgün, Ali Topal
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In this study, polymerase chain reaction based Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) from DNA fingerprinting techniques were used to investigate the genetic relationships among barley crossbreed genotypes in Turkey. It is important that selection based on the genetic base in breeding programs via ISSR, in terms of breeding time. 14 ISSR primers generated a total of 97 bands, of which 81 (83.35%) were polymorphic. The highest total resolution power (RP) value was obtained from the F2 (0.53) and M16 (0.51) primers. According to the ISSR result, the genetic similarity index changed between 0.64–095; Lane 3 with Line 6 genotypes were the closest, while Line 36 were the most distant ones. The ISSR markers were found to be promising for assessing genetic diversity in barley crossbreed genotypes.
Keywords: Barley, crossbreed, genetic similarity, ISSR.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 919925 An Aerodynamic Design and Analysis of Motor Cycle Helmet with Anti-Glare Visor
Authors: V. C. Sathish Gandhi, R. Kumaravelan, S. Ramesh, M. Venkatesan, M. Siva Rama Krishnan
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Motor cycle accidents have been increased for the past two decades. Helmet can protect the vehicle riders from severe injuries during road accident to certain extent. To design a functional helmet, it is important to analyze the shape of the helmet and visor portion. Hence, an attempt has been made for design and analysis of new helmet by considering the drag pressure and anti-glare visor. The drag pressure resistance presses the helmet against the neck portion of the rider. The shape of an aerodynamic helmet can be able to reduce the drag pressure. The spherical shape and a new aerodynamic shape helmets are designed with help of Pro-E software and the drag pressures were calculated and comparison has been made on the basis of drag pressure.
Keywords: Helmet, drag pressure, aero-dynamic, refractive index, Pro-E.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4966924 Optimal Trajectory Finding of IDP Ventilation Control with Outdoor Air Information and Indoor Health Risk Index
Authors: Minjeong Kim, Seungchul Lee, Iman Janghorban Esfahani, Jeong Tai Kim, Chang Kyoo Yoo
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This study was carried out for an underground subway station at Seoul Metro, Korea. The optimal set-points of the ventilation control system are determined every 3 hours, then, the ventilation controller adjusts the ventilation fan speed according to the optimal set-point changes. Compared to manual ventilation system which is operated irrespective of the OAQ, the IDP-based ventilation control system saves 3.7% of the energy consumption. Compared to the fixed set-point controller which is operated irrespective of the IAQ diurnal variation, the IDP-based controller shows better performance with a 2% decrease in energy consumption, maintaining the comfortable IAQ range inside the station.
Keywords: Indoor air quality, iterative dynamic algorithm, outdoor air information, ventilation control system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1718923 High-Voltage Resonant Converter with Extreme Load Variation: Design Criteria and Applications
Authors: Jose A. Pomilio, Olavo Bet, Mateus P. Vieira
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The power converter that feeds high-frequency, highvoltage transformers must be carefully designed due to parasitic components, mainly the secondary winding capacitance and the leakage inductance, that introduces resonances in relatively lowfrequency range, next to the switching frequency. This paper considers applications in which the load (resistive) has an unpredictable behavior, changing from open to short-circuit condition faster than the output voltage control loop could react. In this context, to avoid overvoltage and over current situations, that could damage the converter, the transformer or the load, it is necessary to find an operation point that assure the desired output voltage in spite of the load condition. This can done adjusting the frequency response of the transformer adding an external inductance, together with selecting the switching frequency to get stable output voltage independently of the load.
Keywords: High-voltage transformer, Resonant converter, Softcommutation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3068922 Discrete Time Optimal Solution for the Connection Admission Control Problem
Authors: C. Bruni, F. Delli Priscoli, G. Koch, I. Marchetti
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The Connection Admission Control (CAC) problem is formulated in this paper as a discrete time optimal control problem. The control variables account for the acceptance/ rejection of new connections and forced dropping of in-progress connections. These variables are constrained to meet suitable conditions which account for the QoS requirements (Link Availability, Blocking Probability, Dropping Probability). The performance index evaluates the total throughput. At each discrete time, the problem is solved as an integer-valued linear programming one. The proposed procedure was successfully tested against suitably simulated data.
Keywords: Connection Admission Control, Optimal Control, Integer valued Linear Programming, Quality of Service Requirements, Robust Control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1262921 Model-Based Small Area Estimation with Application to Unemployment Estimates
Authors: Hichem Omrani, Philippe Gerber, Patrick Bousch
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The problem of Small Area Estimation (SAE) is complex because of various information sources and insufficient data. In this paper, an approach for SAE is presented for decision-making at national, regional and local level. We propose an Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (EBLUP) as an estimator in order to combine several information sources to evaluate various indicators. First, we present the urban audit project and its environmental, social and economic indicators. Secondly, we propose an approach for decision making in order to estimate indicators. An application is used to validate the theoretical proposal. Finally, a decision support system is presented based on open-source environment.
Keywords: Small area estimation, statistical method, sampling, empirical best linear unbiased predictor (EBLUP), decision-making.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1712920 Steady-State Analysis and Control of Double Feed Induction Motor
Authors: H. Sediki, Dj. Ould Abdeslam, T. Otmane-cherif, A. Bechouche, K. Mesbah
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This paper explores steady-state characteristics of grid-connected doubly fed induction motor (DFIM) in case of unity power factor operation. Based on the synchronized mathematical model, analytic determination of the control laws is presented and illustrated by various figures to understand the effect of the applied rotor voltage on the speed and the active power. On other hand, unlike previous works where the stator resistance was neglected, in this work, stator resistance is included such that the equations can be applied to small wind turbine generators which are becoming more popular. Finally the work is crowned by integration of the studied induction generator in a wind system where an open loop control is proposed confers a remarkable simplicity of implementation compared to the known methods.Keywords: DFIM, equivalent circuit, induction machine, steady state
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1952919 Balancing Strategies for Parallel Content-based Data Retrieval Algorithms in a k-tree Structured Database
Authors: Radu Dobrescu, Matei Dobrescu, Daniela Hossu
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The paper proposes a unified model for multimedia data retrieval which includes data representatives, content representatives, index structure, and search algorithms. The multimedia data are defined as k-dimensional signals indexed in a multidimensional k-tree structure. The benefits of using the k-tree unified model were demonstrated by running the data retrieval application on a six networked nodes test bed cluster. The tests were performed with two retrieval algorithms, one that allows parallel searching using a single feature, the second that performs a weighted cascade search for multiple features querying. The experiments show a significant reduction of retrieval time while maintaining the quality of results.
Keywords: balancing strategies, multimedia databases, parallelprocessing, retrieval algorithms
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1424918 Spectral Broadening in an InGaAsP Optical Waveguide with χ(3) Nonlinearity Including Two Photon Absorption
Authors: Keigo Matsuura, Isao Tomita
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We have studied a method to widen the spectrum of optical pulses that pass through an InGaAsP waveguide for application to broadband optical communication. In particular, we have investigated the competitive effect between spectral broadening arising from nonlinear refraction (optical Kerr effect) and shrinking due to two photon absorption in the InGaAsP waveguide with χ(3) nonlinearity. The shrunk spectrum recovers broadening by the enhancement effect of the nonlinear refractive index near the bandgap of InGaAsP with a bandgap wavelength of 1490 nm. The broadened spectral width at around 1525 nm (196.7 THz) becomes 10.7 times wider than that at around 1560 nm (192.3 THz) without the enhancement effect, where amplified optical pulses with a pulse width of ∼ 2 ps and a peak power of 10 W propagate through a 1-cm-long InGaAsP waveguide with a cross-section of 4 (μm)2.
Keywords: InGaAsP Waveguide, χ(3) Nonlinearity, Spectral Broadening.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4278917 Supporting Technology Transfer with Communities and Social Software Solutions
Authors: G. Schuh, S. Aghassi
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In order to bridge the gap between research and industry, promoting technology and knowledge transfer becomes increasingly important. Especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, having only little R&D resources themselves, depend on external technology development activities for remaining innovative. Academia research on the other hand needs potential industrial partners, who are capable and willing to commercialize their technologies as most public funding programs require some sort of technology transfer or dissemination activities. Modern web technologies offer more and more “social” functionalities and open up new ways of user interaction. In the past years several technology transfer platforms were developed, making use of modern web technologies in order to enable and support technology transfer. In this paper we report on the results of a state-of-the art analyses of existing technology transfer platforms, point out their advantages and deficits and give a perspective to the development of an improved technology transfer platform.
Keywords: Knowledge transfer, social software, technology management, technology transfer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1698916 Low-Cost Space-Based Geoengineering: An Assessment Based on Self-Replicating Manufacturing of in-Situ Resources on the Moon
Authors: Alex Ellery
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Geoengineering approaches to climate change mitigation are unpopular and regarded with suspicion. Of these, space-based approaches are regarded as unworkable and enormously costly. Here, a space-based approach is presented that is modest in cost, fully controllable and reversible, and acts as a natural spur to the development of solar power satellites over the longer term as a clean source of energy. The low-cost approach exploits self-replication technology which it is proposed may be enabled by 3D printing technology. Self-replication of 3D printing platforms will enable mass production of simple spacecraft units. Key elements being developed are 3D-printable electric motors and 3D-printable vacuum tube-based electronics. The power of such technologies will open up enormous possibilities at low cost including space-based geoengineering.
Keywords: 3D printing, in-situ resource utilization, self-replication technology, space-based geoengineering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1101915 School-Based Intervention for Academic Achievement: Targeting Cognitive, Motivational and Affective Factors
Authors: Joan Antony
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Outcome in any learning process should target three goals – propelling the underachiever’s engagement in the learning process, enhancing the drive to achieve, and modifying attitudes and beliefs in his/her capabilities. An intervention study with a three-pronged approach incorporating self-regulatory training targeting three categories of strategies – cognitive, metacognitive and motivational – was designed adopting the before and after control-experimental group design. The evaluation of the training process was based on pre- and post-intervention measures obtained through three indices of measurement – academic scores based on grades on school examinations and comprehension tests, affective variables scores and level of strategy use obtained through responses on scales and questionnaires, and content analysis of subjective responses to open-ended probes. The evaluation relied on three sources – student, teacher and parent. The t-test results for the experimental and control groups on the pre- and post-intervention measurements indicate a significant increase on comprehension tasks for the experimental group. Though statistically significant difference was not found on the school examination scores for the experimental group, there was considerable decline in performance for the control group. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied on the scores obtained on affective variables, namely, self-esteem, personal achievement goals, personal ego goals, personal task goals, and locus of control. The experimental group showed increase in personal achievement goals and personal ego goals as compared to the control group. Responses given by the experimental group to the open-ended probes on causal attributions indicated a considerable shift from external to internal causes when moving from the pre- to post-intervention stage. ANCOVA results revealed significantly higher use of learning strategies inclusive of mental learning strategies, behavioral learning strategies, self-regulatory strategies, and an improvement in study orientation encompassing study habits and study attitudes among the experimental group students. Parents and teachers reported significant progressive transformation towards constructive engagement with study material and self-imposed regulation. The implications of this study are three-fold: firstly, strategies training (cognitive, metacognitive and motivational) should be embedded into daily classroom routine; secondly, scaffolding by teachers through activities based on curriculum will eventually enable students to rely more on their own judgements of effective strategy use; thirdly, enhanced confidence will radiate to the affective aspects with enduring effects on other domains of life as well. The cyclic nature of the interaction between utilizing one’s resources, managing effort and regulating emotions forms the foundation for academic achievement.
Keywords: Academic achievement, cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, motivational strategies.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 475914 Pathogen Removal Under the Influence of Iron
Authors: Umapriya.R., S.Shrihari
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Drinking water is one of the most valuable resources available to mankind. The presence of pathogens in drinking water is highly undesirable. Because of the Lateritic soil, the iron concentrations were high in ground water. High concentration of iron and other trace elements could restrict bacterial growth and modify their metabolic pattern as well. The bacterial growth rate reduced in the presence of iron in water. This paper presents the results of a controlled laboratory study conducted to assess the inhibition of micro-organism (pathogen) in well waters in the presence of dissolved iron concentrations. Synthetic samples were studied in the laboratory and the results compared with field samples. Predictive model for microbial inhibition in the presence of iron is presented. It was seen that the bore wells, open wells and the field results varied, probably due to the nature of micro-organism utilizing the iron in well waters.Keywords: Disinfection, Disinfectant, Iron, Laterite.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1885913 Experimental Validation of Treatment Planning for Multiple Radiotherapy Fields by EDR2 Film Dosimeter
Authors: Vahid Fayaz , Asieh Tavakol
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To investigate the applicability of the EDR-2 film for clinical radiation dosimetry, percentage depth-doses, profiles and distributions in open and dynamically wedged fields were measured using film and compared with data from a Treatment Planning system.The validity of the EDR2 film to measure dose in a plane parallel to the beam was tested by irradiating 10 cm×10 cm and 4 cm×4 cm fields from a Siemens, primus linac with a 6MV beam and a source-to-surface distance of 100 cm. The film was placed Horizontally between solid water phantom blocks and marked with pin holes at a depth of 10 cm from the incident beam surface. The film measurement results, in absolute dose, were compared with ion chamber measurements using a Welhoffer scanning water tank system and Treatment Planning system. Our results indicate a maximum underestimate of calculated dose of 8 % with Treatment Planning system.Keywords: 6MV Photon , EDR-2 film, Radiotherapy, TreatmentPlanning system
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1517912 Enhancing the Performance of a Photovoltaic Module Using Different Cooling Methods
Authors: Ahmed Amine Hachicha, Chaouki Ghenai, Abdul Kadir Hamid
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Temperature effect on the performance of a photovoltaic module is one of the main concerns that face this renewable energy, especially in hot arid region, e.g. United Arab Emirates. Overheating of the PV modules reduces the open circuit voltage and the efficiency of the modules dramatically. In this work, water-cooling is developed to enhance the performance of PV modules. Different scenarios are tested under UAE weather conditions: front, back and double cooling. A spraying system is used for the front cooling whether a direct contact water system is used for the back cooling. The experimental results are compared to non-cooling module and the performance of the PV module is determined for different situations. The experimental results show that the front cooling is more effective than the back cooling and may decrease the temperature of the PV module significantly.
Keywords: PV cooling, solar energy, cooling methods, electrical efficiency, temperature effect.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3553911 Impact of Social Environment on Economic Development in the Baltic States
Authors: B. Zvirbule, I. Vilka
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The Baltic States regained independence and started the pathway from command economy to market economy and entered European Union at the same time. Latter internationally recognized evaluations for the countries are diverse. The present diversity of the Baltic States -Economic Development is a subject of interest because of the similarities – all three are small, open economies, countries have similar geographic location and initially likewise historical and political backgrounds. This article explains relationship between social environment, business environment and economic growth. It argues that the elements of social environment underlie more successful economic development. It researches the causes, why Estonia has performed better in economic outcomes and development. The article analyses selection of socio-economic indicators of all three Baltic States – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for the time period of ten years to include the influence of economic cycles.Keywords: Baltic States, economic development, economic growth, level of education, social environment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2292910 A Comparative Studies on Methanesulfonic and p-Touluene Sulfonic Acid Incorporated Polyacrylamide Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Tin-Air Battery
Authors: S. Sumathi, V. Sethuprakhash, W. J. Basirun
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This study was focused on polymer electrolytes containing methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and p-toluene sulfonic acid (pTSA) mixed with polyacrylamide (PAAm) respectively. Impedance Spectroscopy technique has been employed to compare the ionic conductivity of these polymer electrolytes. The ionic conductivity of the PAAm hydrogel electrolytes increase upon adding the sulfonic acids. Ionic conductivity of PAAm-pTSA is higher than PAAm-MSA. The electrochemical performance evaluations were done with the tin-air cells discharge at zero current for 30minutes and at constant current density of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15mA/cm2. The tin-air cell of PAAm-MSA produce higher specific discharge capacity compared to PAAm-pTSA. Open-circuit voltage measurement revealed a higher voltage for tin-air cell of PAAm-MSA which is 1.27V.
Keywords: Methane sulfonic acid, polyacrylamide, polymer gel electrolytes, p-toluene sulfonic acid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3644909 Dynamic Modeling of a Robot for Playing a Curved 3D Percussion Instrument Utilizing a Finite Element Method
Authors: Prakash Persad, Kelvin Loutan, Jr., Trichelle Seepersad
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The Finite Element Method is commonly used in the analysis of flexible manipulators to predict elastic displacements and develop joint control schemes for reducing positioning error. In order to preserve simplicity, regular geometries, ideal joints and connections are assumed. This paper presents the dynamic FE analysis of a 4- degrees of freedom open chain manipulator, intended for striking a curved 3D surface percussion musical instrument. This was done utilizing the new MultiBody Dynamics Module in COMSOL, capable of modeling the elastic behavior of a body undergoing rigid body type motion.
Keywords: Dynamic modeling, Entertainment robots, Finite element method, Flexible robot manipulators, Multibody dynamics, Musical robots.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2263908 On the Factors Influencing the Competitiveness of Chinese Service Trade after Entering WTO
Authors: Ying Wang
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Service trade is an important force of influencing economic development. A review on the related literatures is done firstly. Then through the construction of a Diamond Model, the main factors which influence the competitiveness of Chinese service trade are determined. With three competitiveness indexes served as the reference series respectively, the influencing factors served as the comparable series, three grey incidence models are then built up to conduct an empirical analysis on the main factors influencing the competitiveness of service trade after China entering WTO. The result indicates that urbanization level, open degree of service industry and foreign direct investment have larger impacts on Chinese service trade competitiveness, followed in turn by GDP in service industry and human capital, while commodity trade has the minimum impact. Further discussion provides train of thought for the upgrade of Chinese service trade competitiveness.
Keywords: Service Trade, Competitiveness, Diamond Model, Grey Incidence Model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1769907 Double-Diffusive Natural Convection with Marangoni and Cooling Effects
Authors: Norazam Arbin, Ishak Hashim
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Double-diffusive natural convection in an open top square cavity and heated from the side is studied numerically. Constant temperatures and concentration are imposed along the right and left walls while the heat balance at the surface is assumed to obey Newton-s law of cooling. The finite difference method is used to solve the dimensionless governing equations. The numerical results are reported for the effect of Marangoni number, Biot number and Prandtl number on the contours of streamlines, temperature and concentration. The predicted results for the average Nusselt number and Sherwood number are presented for various parametric conditions. The parameters involved are as follows; the thermal Marangoni number, 0 ≤ MaT ≤1000 , the solutal Marangoni number, 0 1000 c ≤ Ma ≤ , the Biot number, 0 ≤ Bi ≤ 6 , Grashof number, 5 Gr = 10 and aspect ratio 1. The study focused on both flows; thermal dominated, N = 0.8 , and compositional dominated, N = 1.3 .Keywords: Double-diffusive, Marangoni effects, heat and mass transfer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1870906 Level Set and Morphological Operation Techniques in Application of Dental Image Segmentation
Authors: Abdolvahab Ehsani Rad, Mohd Shafry Mohd Rahim, Alireza Norouzi
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Medical image analysis is one of the great effects of computer image processing. There are several processes to analysis the medical images which the segmentation process is one of the challenging and most important step. In this paper the segmentation method proposed in order to segment the dental radiograph images. Thresholding method has been applied to simplify the images and to morphologically open binary image technique performed to eliminate the unnecessary regions on images. Furthermore, horizontal and vertical integral projection techniques used to extract the each individual tooth from radiograph images. Segmentation process has been done by applying the level set method on each extracted images. Nevertheless, the experiments results by 90% accuracy demonstrate that proposed method achieves high accuracy and promising result.
Keywords: Integral production, level set method, morphological operation, segmentation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4232