Search results for: historical natural disaster

Authors: N. Stevulova, I. Schwarzova

Abstract:

The possibility of using industrial hemp as a source of natural fibers for purpose of construction, mainly for the preparation of lightweight composites based on hemp hurds is described. In this article, an overview of measurement results of important technical parameters (compressive strength, density, thermal conductivity) of composites based on organic filler - chemically modified hemp hurds in three solutions (EDTA, NaOH and Ca(OH)₂) and inorganic binder MgO-cement after 7, 28, 60, 90 and 180 days of hardening is given. The results of long-term water storage of 28 days hardened composites at room temperature were investigated. Changes in the properties of composites caused by chemical treatment of hemp material are discussed.

Keywords: Hemp hurds, chemical modification, lightweight composites, testing material properties.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2267

Authors: Krassimir Genov, Vladimir Georgiev, Todor Batakliev, Dipak K. Sarker

Abstract:

The Bulgarian natural expanded mineral obtained from Bentonite AD perlite (A deposit of "The Broken Mountain" for perlite mining, near by the village of Vodenicharsko, in the municipality of Djebel), was loaded with silver (as ion form - Ag+ 2 and 5 wt% by the incipient wetness impregnation method), and as atomic silver - Ag0 using Tollen-s reagent (silver mirror reaction). Some physicochemical characterization of the samples are provided via: DC arc-AES, XRD, DR-IR and UV-VIS. The aim of this work was to obtain and test the silver-loaded catalyst for ozone decomposition. So the samples loaded with atomic silver show ca. 80% conversion of ozone 20 minutes after the reaction start. Then conversion decreases to ca. 20 % but stay stable during the prolongation of time.

Keywords: aluminum-silicates, Ag/perlite expanded glass, ozone decomposition

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2268

Authors: Ngozi Nwogu, Edward Gobina

Abstract:

A dip-coating process has been used to form an asymmetric silica membrane with improved membrane performance and reproducibility. First, we deposited repeatedly silica on top of a commercial alumina membrane support to improve its structural make up. The membrane is further processed under clean room conditions to avoid dust impurity and subsequent drying in an oven for high thermal, chemical and physical stability. The resulting asymmetric membrane exhibits a gradual change in the membrane layer thickness. Compared to the support, the dual-layer process improves the gas flow rates. For the scientific applications for natural gas purification, CO2, CH4 and H2 gas flow rates were. In addition, the membrane selectively separated hydrogen.

Keywords: Gas permeation, Silica membrane, separation factor, membrane layer thickness.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2387

Authors: Shih-Hsu Wang, Yuan-Yuan Cheng, Ming-Tsung Lee, Wei-Chih Wang

Abstract:

Determining reasonable fees is the main objective of designing the cost estimation and payment systems for consultant contracts. However, project clients utilize different cost estimation and payment systems because of their varying views on the reasonableness of consultant fees. This study reviews the cost estimation and payment systems of consultant contracts for five countries, including the US (Washington State Department of Transportation), Japan (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), China (Engineering Design Charging Standard) and UK (Her Majesty's Treasure). Specifically, this work investigates the budgeting process, contractor selection method, contractual price negotiation process, cost review, and cost-control concept of the systems used in these countries. The main finding indicates that that project client-s view on whether the fee is high will affect the way he controls it. In the US, the fee is commonly considered to be high. As a result, stringent auditing system (low flexibility given to the consultant) is then applied. In the UK, the fee is viewed to be low by comparing it to the total life-cycle project cost. Thus, a system that has high flexibility in budgeting and cost reviewing is given to the consultant. In terms of the flexibility allowed for the consultant, the systems applied in Japan and China fall between those of the US and UK. Both the US and UK systems are helpful in determining a reasonable fee. However, in the US system, rigid auditing standards must be established and additional cost-audit manpower is required. In the UK system, sufficient historical cost data should be needed to evaluate the reasonableness of the consultant-s proposed fee

Keywords: Consultant Services, Cost Estimation and Payment System, Payment Flexibility, Cost-control Concept

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1686

Authors: Anjum Iqbal, Mohd Aizaini Maarof

Abstract:

Artificial Immune System (AIS) is relatively naive paradigm for intelligent computations. The inspiration for AIS is derived from natural Immune System (IS). Classically it is believed that IS strives to discriminate between self and non-self. Most of the existing AIS research is based on this approach. Danger Theory (DT) argues this approach and proposes that IS fights against danger producing elements and tolerates others. We, the computational researchers, are not concerned with the arguments among immunologists but try to extract from it novel abstractions for intelligent computation. This paper aims to follow DT inspiration for intelligent data processing. The approach may introduce new avenue in intelligent processing. The data used is system calls data that is potentially significant in intrusion detection applications.

Keywords: artificial immune system, danger theory, intelligent processing, system calls

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1883

Authors: G. Sakar, F. Ç. Bolat

Abstract:

In this study free vibration analysis of aluminum honeycomb sandwich structures were carried out experimentally and numerically. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of sandwich structures fabricated with different configurations for clamped-free boundary condition were determined. The effects of lower and upper face sheet thickness, the core material thickness, cell diameter, cell angle and foil thickness on the vibration characteristics were examined. The numerical studies were performed with ANSYS package. While the sandwich structures were modeled in ANSYS the continuum model was used. Later, the numerical results were compared with the experimental findings.

Keywords: Sandwich structure, free vibration, numeric analysis, 3D model, continuum model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2987

Authors: M. Karami Khorramabadi, M. M. Najafizadeh, J. Alibabaei Shahraki, P. Khazaeinejad

Abstract:

Analytical solution of the first-order and third-order shear deformation theories are developed to study the free vibration behavior of simply supported functionally graded plates. The material properties of plate are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction as a power law distribution of volume fraction of the constituents. The governing equations of functionally graded plates are established by applying the Hamilton's principle and are solved by using the Navier solution method. The influence of side-tothickness ratio and constituent of volume fraction on the natural frequencies are studied. The results are validated with the known data in the literature.

Keywords: Free vibration, Functionally graded plate, Naviersolution method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1588

Authors: C. R. Ríos-Soberanis, V. M. Moo-Huchin, R. J. Estrada-Leon, E. Perez-Pacheco

Abstract:

Polymers from renewable resources have attracted an increasing amount of attention over the last two decades, predominantly due to two major reasons: firstly environmental concerns, and secondly the realization that our petroleum resources are finite. Finding new uses for agricultural commodities is also an important area of research. Therefore, it is crucial to get new sources of natural materials that can be used in different applications. Ramon tree (Brosimum alicastrum) is a tropical plant that grows freely in Yucatan countryside. This paper focuses on the seeds recollection, processing and starch extraction and characterization in order to find out about its suitability as biomaterial. Results demonstrated that it has a high content of qualities to be used not only as comestible but also as an important component in polymeric blends.

Keywords: Biomaterials, biopolymer, starch, characterization techniques.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2371

Authors: Nermen N. Maximous, George F. Nakhla, W. K. Wan

Abstract:

This research aimed at investigating the Cr (III), Cd (II) and Pb (II) removal efficiencies by using the newly synthesized metal oxides/ polyethersulfone (PES), Al2O3/PES and ZrO2/PES, membranes from synthetic wastewater and exploring fouling mechanisms. A Comparative study between the removal efficiencies of Cr (III), Cd (II) and Pb (II) from synthetic and natural wastewater by using adsorption onto agricultural by products and the newly synthesized Al2O3/PES and ZrO2/PES membranes was conducted to assess the advantages and limitations of using the metal oxides/PES membranes for heavy metals removal. The results showed that about 99 % and 88 % removal efficiencies were achieved by the tested membranes for Pb (II) and Cr (III), respectively.

Keywords: Adsorption, metals removal, ultrafiltrationmembranes, wastewater

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5684

Authors: Adinarayanane Ramamurthy, Monsingh D. Devadas

Abstract:

Cities denote instantaneously a challenge and an opportunity for climate change policy. Cities are the place where most energy services are needed because urbanization is closely linked to high population densities and concentration of economic activities and production (Urban energy demand). Consequently, it is critical to explain about the role of cities within the world-s energy systems and its correlation with the climate change issue. With more than half of the world-s population already living in urban areas, and that percentage expected to rise to 75 per cent by 2050, it is clear that the path to sustainable development must pass through cities. Cities expanding in size and population pose increased challenges to the environment, of which energy is part as a natural resource, and to the quality of life. Nowadays, most cities have already understood the importance of sustainability, both at their local scale as in terms of their contribution to sustainability at higher geographical scales. It requires the perception of a city as a complex and dynamic ecosystem, an open system, or cluster of systems, where the energy as well as the other natural resources is transformed to satisfy the needs of the different urban activities. In fact, buildings and transportation generally represent most of cities direct energy demand, i.e., between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the overall consumption. Buildings, both residential and services are usually influenced by the local physical and social conditions. In terms of transport, the energy demand is also strongly linked with the specific characteristics of a city (urban mobility).The concept of a “smart city" builds on statistics as seven key axes of a city-s success in moving towards common platform (brain nerve)of sustainable urban energy systems. With the aforesaid knowledge, the authors have suggested a frame work to role of cities, as energy actors for smart city management. The authors have discusses the potential elements needed for energy in smart cities and also identified potential energy actions and relevant barriers. Furthermore, three levels of city smartness in cities actions to overcome market /institutional failures with a local approach are distinguished. The authors have made an attempt to conceive and implement concepts of city smartness by adopting the city or local government as nerve center through an integrated planning approach. Finally, concluding with recommendations for the organization of the Smart Sustainable Cities for positive changes of urban India.

Keywords: Urbanization, Urban Energy Demand, Sustainable Urban Energy Systems, Integrated Planning Approach, Smart Sustainable City.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2965

Authors: A. Buruzs, A. Torma

Abstract:

The relationship of the automotive industry with raw material supply is a major challenge and presents obstacles. Automobiles are ones of the most complex products using a large variety of materials. Safety, eco-friendliness and comfort requirements, physical, chemical and economic limitations set the framework in which this industry continuously optimizes the efficient and responsible use of resources. The concept of circular economy covers the issues of waste generation, resource scarcity and economic advantages. However, circularity is already known for the automobile industry – several efforts are done to foster material reuse, product remanufacturing and recycling. The aim of this study is to give an overview on how the producers comply with the growing demands on one hand, and gain efficiency and increase profitability on the other hand from circular economy.

Keywords: Automotive industry, circular economy, international requirements, natural resources.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3991

Authors: Mahdi Alsagour, Sam Ramrattan

Abstract:

This paper was developed to investigate two types of sands from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for potential use in the global metal casting industry. Four types of sands were selected for study, two of the sand systems investigated are natural sands from the KSA. The third sand sample is a heat processed synthetic sand and the last sample is commercially available US silica sand that is used as a control in the study. The purpose of this study is to define the durability of the four sand systems selected for foundry usage. Additionally, chemical analysis of the sand systems is presented before and after elevated temperature exposure. Results show that Saudi silica sands are durable and can be used in foundry processing.

Keywords: Alternative molding media, foundry sand, reclamation, silica sand, specialty sand.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 733

Authors: Yong-Sung Kim, Je-Seok Shin, Ho-Jun Jo Jin-O Kim

Abstract:

Home Energy Management System (HEMS), which makes the residential consumers, contribute to the demand response is attracting attention in recent years. An aim of HEMS is to minimize their electricity cost by controlling the use of their appliances according to electricity price. The use of appliances in HEMS may be affected by some conditions such as external temperature and electricity price. Therefore, the user’s usage pattern of appliances should be modeled according to the external conditions, and the resultant usage pattern is related to the user’s comfortability on use of each appliances. This paper proposes a methodology to model the usage pattern based on the historical data with the copula function. Through copula function, the usage range of each appliance can be obtained and is able to satisfy the appropriate user’s comfort according to the external conditions for next day. Within the usage range, an optimal scheduling for appliances would be conducted so as to minimize an electricity cost with considering user’s comfort. Among the home appliance, electric heater (EH) is a representative appliance, which is affected by the external temperature. In this paper, an optimal scheduling algorithm for an electric heater (EH) is addressed based on the method of branch and bound. As a result, scenarios for the EH usage are obtained according to user’s comfort levels and then the residential consumer would select the best scenario. The case study shows the effects of the proposed algorithm compared with the traditional operation of the EH, and it represents impacts of the comfort level on the scheduling result.

Keywords: Load scheduling, usage pattern, user’s comfort, copula function, branch, bound, electric heater.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2075

Authors: N. M. Nusi, M. Othman, M. Suleiman, F. Ismail, N. Alias

Abstract:

In this paper, an alternating implicit block method for solving two dimensional scalar wave equation is presented. The new method consist of two stages for each time step implemented in alternating directions which are very simple in computation. To increase the speed of computation, a group of adjacent points is computed simultaneously. It is shown that the presented method increase the maximum time step size and more accurate than the conventional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and other existing method of natural ordering.

Keywords: FDTD, Scalar wave equation, alternating direction implicit (ADI), alternating group explicit (AGE), asymmetric approximation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1904

Authors: Zeynep Orhan, Zeynep Altan

Abstract:

Word sense disambiguation is an important intermediate stage for many natural language processing applications. The senses of an ambiguous word are the classification of usages for that specific word. This paper deals with the methodologies of determining the senses for a given word if they can not be obtained from an already available resource like WordNet. We offer a method that helps us to determine the sense boundaries gradually. In this method, first we decide on some features that are thought to be effective on the senses and divide the instances first into two, then according to the results of evaluations we continue dividing instances gradually. In a second method we use the pseudo words. We devise artificial words depending on some criteria and evaluate classification algorithms on these previously classified words.

Keywords: Word sense disambiguation, sense determination, pseudo words, sense granularity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1410

Authors: Tomáš Bakalár, Milan Búgel, Henrieta Pavolová

Abstract:

This study deals with evaluation of influence of salinity (NaCl) onto equilibrium of Cu and Ni removal from aqueous solutions by natural sorbent – zeolite. Equilibrium data were obtained by batch experiments. The salinity of the aqueous solution was influenced by dissolving NaCl in distilled water. It was studied in the range of NaCl concentrations from 1 g.l-1 to 100g.l-1. For Cu sorption there is a significant influence of salinity. The maximum capacity of zeolite for Cu was decreasing with growing concentration of NaCl. For Ni sorption there is not so significant influence of salinity as for Cu. The maximum capacity of zeolite for Ni was slightly decreasing with growing concentration of NaCl.

Keywords: Cu, Ni, sorption, zeolite.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1302

Authors: Abbas Teimouri, Alireza Najafi Chermahini, Leila Ghorbanian

Abstract:

An efficient and green protocol for the synthesis of α- aminonitriles derivatives by one-pot reaction of different aldehydes with amines and trimethylsilyl cyanides has been developed using natural alumina, alumina sulfuric acid (ASA), nano-γ-alumina, nanoalumina sulfuric acid (nano-ASA) under microwave irradiation and solvent-free conditions. The advantages of methods are short reaction times, high yields, milder conditions and easy work up. The catalysts can be recovered for the subsequent reactions and reused without any appreciable loss of efficiency.

Keywords: Nano-γ-alumina, nano-alumina sulfuric acid, green synthesis, microwave irradiation, α-aminonitriles derivatives.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5051

Authors: S. Fore, L. Zuze

Abstract:

Frequent machine breakdowns, low plant availability and increased overtime are a great threat to a manufacturing plant as they increase operating costs of an industry. The main aim of this study was to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) at a manufacturing company through the implementation of innovative maintenance strategies. A case study approach was used. The paper focuses on improving the maintenance in a manufacturing set up using an innovative maintenance regime mix to improve overall equipment effectiveness. Interviews, reviewing documentation and historical records, direct and participatory observation were used as data collection methods during the research. Usually production is based on the total kilowatt of motors produced per day. The target kilowatt at 91% availability is 75 Kilowatts a day. Reduced demand and lack of raw materials particularly imported items are adversely affecting the manufacturing operations. The company had to reset its targets from the usual figure of 250 Kilowatt per day to mere 75 per day due to lower availability of machines as result of breakdowns as well as lack of raw materials. The price reductions and uncertainties as well as general machine breakdowns further lowered production. Some recommendations were given. For instance, employee empowerment in the company will enhance responsibility and authority to improve and totally eliminate the six big losses. If the maintenance department is to realise its proper function in a progressive, innovative industrial society, then its personnel must be continuously trained to meet current needs as well as future requirements. To make the maintenance planning system effective, it is essential to keep track of all the corrective maintenance jobs and preventive maintenance inspections. For large processing plants these cannot be handled manually. It was therefore recommended that the company implement (Computerised Maintenance Management System) CMMS.

Keywords: Maintenance, Manufacturing, Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3988

Authors: Edison Muzenda, John Kabuba, Freeman Ntuli, Mansoor Mollagee

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate ammonium exchange capacity of natural and activated clinoptilolite from Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa. X – ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis showed that the clinoptilolite contained exchangeable ions of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. This analysis also confirmed that the zeolite sample had a high silicon composition compared to aluminium. Batch equilibrium studies were performed in an orbital shaker and the data fitted the Langmuir isotherm very well. The ammonium exchange capacity was found to increase with pH and temperature. Clinoptilolite functionalization with hydrochloric acid increased its ammonia uptake ability.

Keywords: Activated clinoptilolite, Ammonium exchange, Equilibrium, Functionalization, Langmuir isotherm

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2252

Authors: Nelson F.F. Ebecken, Gilberto C. Pereira

Abstract:

The objective of this work is to explicit knowledge on the interactions between the chlorophyll-a and nine meroplankton larvae of epibenthonic fauna. The studied case is the Arraial do Cabo upwelling system, Southeastern of Brazil, which provides different environmental conditions. To assess this information a network approach based in probability estimative was used. Comparisons among the generated graphs are made in the light of different water masses, application of Shannon biodiversity index, and the closeness and betweenness centralities measurements. Our results show the main pattern among different water masses and how the core organisms belonging to the network skeleton are correlated to the main environmental variable. We conclude that the approach of complex networks is a promising tool for environmental diagnostic.

Keywords: Coastal upwelling, Ecological networks, Plankton - interactions, Environmental analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1636

Authors: M. Csete, G. Szendrö

Abstract:

The last Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stating that the greatest risk in climate change affects sustainability is now widely known and accepted. However, it has not provoked substantial reaction and attention in Hungary, while international and national efforts have also not achieved expected results so far. Still, there are numerous examples on different levels (national, regional, local, household) making considerable progress in limiting their own emissions and making steps toward mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. The local level is exceptionally important in sustainability adaptation, as local communities are often able to adapt more flexibly to changes in the natural environment.The aim of this paper is to attempt a review of the national climate policy and the local climate change strategies in Hungary considering sustainable development.

Keywords: adaptation, climate policy, mitigation, localsustainability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1437

Authors: N. Damenia, E. Kharaishvili, N. Sagareishvili, M. Saghareishvili

Abstract:

Women's Employment is one of the most important issues in the global economy. The article discusses the stated topic in Georgia, through historical content, Soviet experience, and modern perspectives. The paper discusses segmentation insa terms of employment and related problems. Based on statistical analysis, women's unemployment rate and its factors are analyzed. The level of employment of women in Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) is discussed and is compared with Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). The study analyzes women’s level of development, according to the average age of marriage and migration level. The focus is on Georgia's Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, which includes economic, social, trade and political issues. One part of it is gender equality at workplaces. According to the research, the average monthly remuneration of women managers in the financial and insurance sector equaled to 1044.6 Georgian Lari, while in overall business sector average monthly remuneration equaled to 961.1 GEL. Average salaries are increasing; however, the employment rate remains problematic. For example, in 2017, 74.6% of men and 50.8% of women were employed from a total workforce. It is also interesting that the proportion of men and women at managerial positions is 29% (women) to 71% (men). Based on the results, the main recommendation for government and civil society is to consider women as a part of the country’s economic development. In this aspect, the experience of developed countries should be considered. It is important to create additional jobs in urban or rural areas and help migrant women return and use their working resources properly.

Keywords: Employment of women, segregation in terms of employment, women's employment level in Transcaucasia, migration level.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 724

Authors: S. Kotsiantis, A. Kostoulas, S. Lykoudis, A. Argiriou, K. Menagias

Abstract:

Estimates of temperature values at a specific time of day, from daytime and daily profiles, are needed for a number of environmental, ecological, agricultural and technical applications, ranging from natural hazards assessments, crop growth forecasting to design of solar energy systems. The scope of this research is to investigate the efficiency of data mining techniques in estimating minimum, maximum and mean temperature values. For this reason, a number of experiments have been conducted with well-known regression algorithms using temperature data from the city of Patras in Greece. The performance of these algorithms has been evaluated using standard statistical indicators, such as Correlation Coefficient, Root Mean Squared Error, etc.

Keywords: regression algorithms, supervised machine learning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3418

Authors: Nikola Karanovic, Aleksandar Djuric

Abstract:

This paper introduces a method of calculating the quantities of construction materials and construction waste on site in city of Novi Sad. In buildings is about 40% of the total weight of materials that are in circulation in the world economic space. The best solution for this waste is to be stored at source, at the point of generation. There are several treatment options for this type of waste, reduction at source, reuse, recycling. Beside its negative effects on the environment, construction waste can be and resource. Novi Sad is divided in 16 single family resident zones and 10 multi family resident zones. For every zone of the city, quantities of used construction materials and construction waste were obtained. Rational use of natural resources is an essential factor in applying the principles of development with savings.

Keywords: Construction materials, Construction waste, Novi Sad, Recycling

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1654

Authors: Naeleh Motamedi, Masoud Mahmoudkhan Shirazi, Nima Nouraei

Abstract:

Natural disasters, including earthquake, kill many people around the world every year. Society rescue actions, which start after the earthquake and are called LAST in abbreviation, include locating, access, stabilization and transportation. In the present article, we have studied the process of local accessibility to the injured and transporting them to health care centers. With regard the heavy traffic load due to earthquake, the destruction of connecting roads and bridges and the heavy debris in alleys and street, which put the lives of the injured and the people buried under the debris in danger, accelerating the rescue actions and facilitating the accessibilities are of great importance, obviously. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is among the crowded cities in the world and is the center of extensive economic, political, cultural and social activities. Tehran has a population of about 9.5 millions and because of the immigration of people from the surrounding cities. Furthermore, considering the fact that Tehran is located on two important and large faults, a 6 Richter magnitude earthquake in this city could lead to the greatest catastrophe during the entire human history. The present study is a kind of review and a major part of the required information for it, has been obtained from libraries all of the rescue vehicles around the world, including rescue helicopters, ambulances, fire fighting vehicles and rescue boats, and their applied technology, and also the robots specifically designed for the rescue system and the advantages and disadvantages of them, have been investigated. The studies show that there is a significant relationship between the rescue team-s arrival time at the incident zone and the number of saved people; so that, if the duration of burial under debris 30 minutes, the probability of survival is %99.3, after a day is %81, after 2days is %19 and after 5days is %7.4. The exiting transport systems all have some defects. If these defects are removed, more people could be saved each hour and the preparedness against natural disasters is increased. In this study, transport system has been designed for the rescue team and the injured; which could carry the rescue team to the incident zone and the injured to the health care centers. In addition, this system is able to fly in the air and move on the earth as well; so that the destruction of roads and the heavy traffic load could not prevent the rescue team from arriving early at the incident zone. The system also has the equipment required firebird for debris removing, optimum transport of the injured and first aid.

Keywords: earthquake, accelerating, accessibilities transportation, rescue system

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1569

Authors: Christian A. Romero, Tanja Grkovic, John. R. J. French, D. İpek. Kurtböke, Ronald J. Quinn

Abstract:

A high-throughput and automated 1H NMR metabolic fingerprinting dereplication approach was used to accelerate the discovery of unknown bioactive secondary metabolites. The applied dereplication strategy accelerated the discovery of new natural products, provided rapid and competent identification and quantification of the known secondary metabolites and avoided time-consuming isolation procedures. The effectiveness of the technique was demonstrated by the isolation and elucidation of arglecins B (1), C (2) and actinofuranosin A (3) from a termite-gut associated Streptomyces sp. (USC 597) grown under solid state fermentation. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive interpretation of 1H, 13C and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. These represent the first report of arglecin analogues isolated from a termite gut-associated Streptomyces species.

Keywords: Actinomycetes, actinofuranosin, antibiotics, arglecins, NMR spectroscopy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Magdi M. E. Zumrawi, Faiza O. A. Khalill

Abstract:

Steel slag is a by-product of the steel industry and can be used potentially as aggregate in the asphalt mixture. This study evaluates the use of Steel Slag Aggregates (SSA) as a substitute for natural aggregates in the production of hot mix asphalt (HMA) for road construction. Based on intensive laboratory testing program, the characteristic properties of SSA were assessed to determine its suitability to be used in HMA. Four different percentages (0, 50, 75, and 100%) of SSA were used, and the proposed mix designs for HMA were conducted in accordance with Marshall mix design. The experiment results revealed that the addition of SSA has a significant improvement on the properties of HMA. An increase in density and stability and a reduction in flow and air voids values were clearly observed in specimens prepared with 100% SSA. It is concluded that the steel slag can be considered reasonable alternative source of aggregate for concrete asphalt mixture production.

Keywords: Aggregate, asphalt mixture, stability, steel slag.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3252

Authors: G. Martino, F. Silva, E. Marchal

Abstract:

The control over delivered iron ore blend characteristics is one of the most important aspects of the mining business. The iron ore price is a function of its composition, which is the outcome of the beneficiation process. So, end-to-end integrated planning of mine operations can reduce risks of penalties on the iron ore price. In a standard iron mining company, the production chain is composed of mining, ore beneficiation, and client supply. When mine planning and client supply decisions are made uncoordinated, the beneficiation plant struggles to deliver the best blend possible. Technological improvements in several fields allowed bridging the gap between departments and boosting integrated decision-making processes. Clusterization and classification algorithms over historical production data generate reasonable previsions for quality and volume of iron ore produced for each pile of run-of-mine (ROM) processed. Mathematical modeling can use those deterministic relations to propose iron ore blends that better-fit specifications within a delivery schedule. Additionally, a model capable of representing the whole production chain can clearly compare the overall impact of different decisions in the process. This study shows how flexibilization combined with a planning optimization model between the mine and the ore beneficiation processes can reduce risks of out of specification deliveries. The model capabilities are illustrated on a hypothetical iron ore mine with magnetic separation process. Finally, this study shows ways of cost reduction or profit increase by optimizing process indicators across the production chain and integrating the different plannings with the sales decisions.

Keywords: Clusterization and classification algorithms, integrated planning, optimization, mathematical modeling, penalty minimization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 645

Authors: Weitao Lin

Abstract:

To quickly extract adequate information from large-scale unstructured text data, this paper studies the representation of events in Chinese scenarios and performs the regularized abstraction. It proposes a Chinese event detection technique based on dependency parsing and rule matching. The method first performs dependency parsing on the original utterance, then performs pattern matching at the word or phrase granularity based on the results of dependent syntactic analysis, filters out the utterances with prominent non-event characteristics, and obtains the final results. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the method.

Keywords: Natural Language Processing, Chinese event detection, rules matching, dependency parsing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Miracle Ajah

Abstract:

One of the biggest challenges facing Theological/ Religious Education in Nigeria is access to quality learning materials. For instance at the Trinity (Union) Theological College, Umuahia, it was difficult for lecturers to access suitable and qualitative materials for instruction especially the ones that would suit the African context and stimulate a deep rooted interest among the students. Some textbooks written by foreign authors were readily available in the School Library, but were lacking in the College bookshops for students to own copies. Even when the College was able to order some of the books from abroad, it did not usher in the needed enthusiasm expected from the students because they were either very expensive or very difficult to understand during private studies. So it became necessary to develop contextual materials which were affordable and understandable, though with little success. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)’s innovation in the development and sharing of learning resources through its Open Courseware is a welcome development and of great assistance to students. Apart from NOUN students who could easily access the materials, many others from various theological/religious institutes across the nation have benefited immensely. So, the thesis of this paper is that the promotion of open educational resources in theological/religious education in Nigeria would facilitate a better informed/equipped religious leadership, which would in turn impact its adherents for a healthier society and national development. Adopting a narrative and historical approach within the context of Nigeria’s educational system, the paper discusses: educational traditions in Nigeria; challenges facing theological/religious education in Nigeria; and benefits of open educational resources. The study goes further to making recommendations on how OER could positively influence theological/religious education in Nigeria. It is expected that theologians, religious educators, and ODL practitioners would find this work very useful.

Keywords: Nigeria, OER, religious education, theological education.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2408