Search results for: vibration monitoring.

Authors: Sh. Ranjbar-Bahadori, N. Farhadifar, L. Mohammadyar

Abstract:

Plant preparations from thyme and garlic have been shown to be effective acaricides against the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. In a layer house with a history of D. gallinae problem, mites were detected in the monitoring traps for the first time and number of them was counted. Then, some rows of layer house was sprayed twice using a concentration of 0.21 mg/cm² thyme essential oil and 0.07 mg/cm² garlic juice and a similar row was used as an untreated control group. Red mite traps made of cardboard were used to assess the mite density during days 1 and 7 after treatment and always removed after 24 h. the collected mites were counted and the efficacy against all mite stages (larvae, nymphs and adults) was calculated. Results showed that on day 1 and 7 after the administration of garlic extract efficacy rate was 92.05% and 74.62%, respectively. Moreover, efficacy rate on day 1 and 7 was 89.4% and 95.37% when treatment was done with thyme essential oil. It is concluded that using garlic juice to control of D. gallinae is more effective on short time. But thyme essential oil has a long time effect in compare to garlic preparation.

Keywords: Dermanyssus gallinae, Essential oil, Garlic, Thyme, Efficacy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3773

Authors: Homayon Ahmad Panahi, Mahshid Nikpour Nezhati, Faranak Mahmoudi, Elham Moniri, Meghdad Karimi

Abstract:

A new chelating resin is prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-4 with 1-amino-2-naphthole through an azo spacer. The resulting sorbent has been characterized by FT-IR, elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and studied for preconcentrating of Fe (II) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for metal monitoring. The optimum pH value for sorption of the iron ions was 6.5. The resin was subjected to evaluation through batch binding of mentioned metal ion. Quantitative desorption occurs instantaneously with 0.5 M HNO3. The sorption capacity was found 4.1 mmol.g-1 of resin for Fe (II) in the aqueous solution. The chelating resin can be reused for 10 cycles of sorption-desorption without any significant change in sorption capacity. A recovery of 97% was obtained the metal ions with 0.5 M HNO3 as eluting agent. The method was applied for metal ions determination from industrial waste water sample.

Keywords: Amberlite XAD-4, Iron (II), Flame atomic absorption, Chelator, 1-amino-2- naphthole

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2022

Authors: Luis Arias, Jorge E. Pezoa, Daniel Sbárbaro

Abstract:

In this paper, an automated algorithm to estimate and remove the continuous baseline from measured spectra containing both continuous and discontinuous bands is proposed. The algorithm uses previous information contained in a Continuous Database Spectra (CDBS) to obtain a linear basis, with minimum number of sampled vectors, capable of representing a continuous baseline. The proposed algorithm was tested by using a CDBS of flame spectra where Principal Components Analysis and Non-negative Matrix Factorization were used to obtain linear bases. Thus, the radical emissions of natural gas, oil and bio-oil flames spectra at different combustion conditions were obtained. In order to validate the performance in the baseline estimation process, the Goodness-of-fit Coefficient and the Root Mean-squared Error quality metrics were evaluated between the estimated and the real spectra in absence of discontinuous emission. The achieved results make the proposed method a key element in the development of automatic monitoring processes strategies involving discontinuous spectral bands.

Keywords: Flame spectra, removing baseline, recovering spectrum.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1752

Authors: Iva Košek Bartošová, Andrea Jokešová, Eva Kozlová, Helena Matějová

Abstract:

The paper presents results of a research team from Faculty of Education, University of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic. It introduces with the most reading methods used in the 1^st classes of a primary school and presents results of a pilot research focused on mastering reading techniques and the quality of reading comprehension of pupils in the first half of a school year during training in teaching reading by an analytic-synthetic method and by a genetic method. These methods of practicing reading skills are the most used ones in the Czech Republic. During the school year 2015/16 there has been a measurement made of two groups of pupils of the 1^st year and monitoring of quantitative and qualitative parameters of reading pupils’ outputs by several methods. Both of these methods are based on different theoretical basis and each of them has a specific educational and methodical procedure. This contribution represents results during a piloting project and draws pilot conclusions which will be verified in the subsequent broader research at the end of the school year of the first class of primary school.

Keywords: Analytic-synthetic method of reading, genetic method of reading, reading comprehension, reading literacy, reading methods, reading speed.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1042

Authors: Masamitsu Chikaraishi, Mutsuto Kawahara

Abstract:

This paper focuses on a technique for identifying the geological boundary of the ground strata in front of a tunnel excavation site using the first order adjoint method based on the optimal control theory. The geological boundary is defined as the boundary which is different layers of elastic modulus. At tunnel excavations, it is important to presume the ground situation ahead of the cutting face beforehand. Excavating into weak strata or fault fracture zones may cause extension of the construction work and human suffering. A theory for determining the geological boundary of the ground in a numerical manner is investigated, employing excavating blasts and its vibration waves as the observation references. According to the optimal control theory, the performance function described by the square sum of the residuals between computed and observed velocities is minimized. The boundary layer is determined by minimizing the performance function. The elastic analysis governed by the Navier equation is carried out, assuming the ground as an elastic body with linear viscous damping. To identify the boundary, the gradient of the performance function with respect to the geological boundary can be calculated using the adjoint equation. The weighed gradient method is effectively applied to the minimization algorithm. To solve the governing and adjoint equations, the Galerkin finite element method and the average acceleration method are employed for the spatial and temporal discretizations, respectively. Based on the method presented in this paper, the different boundary of three strata can be identified. For the numerical studies, the Suemune tunnel excavation site is employed. At first, the blasting force is identified in order to perform the accuracy improvement of analysis. We identify the geological boundary after the estimation of blasting force. With this identification procedure, the numerical analysis results which almost correspond with the observation data were provided.

Keywords: Parameter identification, finite element method, average acceleration method, first order adjoint equation method, weighted gradient method, geological boundary, navier equation, optimal control theory.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1584

Authors: Soo-young Ye, Gi-Ryon Kim, Dong-Keun Jung, Seong-wan Baik, Gye-rok Jeon

Abstract:

In this paper, algorithm estimating the blood pressure was proposed using the pulse transit time (PTT) as a more convenient method of measuring the blood pressure. After measuring ECG and pressure pulse, and photoplethysmography, the PTT was calculated from the acquired signals. Thereafter, the system to indirectly measure the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure was composed using the statistic method. In comparison between the blood pressure indirectly measured by proposed algorithm estimating the blood pressure and real blood pressure measured by conventional sphygmomanometer, the systolic pressure indicates the mean error of ±3.24mmHg and the standard deviation of 2.53mmHg, while the diastolic pressure indicates the satisfactory result, that is, the mean error of ±1.80mmHg and the standard deviation of 1.39mmHg. These results are satisfied with the regulation of ANSI/AAMI for certification of sphygmomanometer that real measurement error value should be within the mean error of ±5mmHg and the standard deviation of 8mmHg. These results are suggest the possibility of applying to portable and long time blood pressure monitoring system hereafter.

Keywords: Blood pressure, Systolic, Diastolic, Pulse transit time.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6579

Authors: S. Rokhsari, M. Delavar, A. Sadeghi-Niaraki, A. Abed-Elmdoust, B. Moshiri

Abstract:

Traffic incident has bad effect on all parts of society so controlling road networks with enough traffic devices could help to decrease number of accidents, so using the best method for optimum site selection of these devices could help to implement good monitoring system. This paper has considered here important criteria for optimum site selection of traffic camera based on aggregation methods such as Bagging and Dempster-Shafer concepts. In the first step, important criteria such as annual traffic flow, distance from critical places such as parks that need more traffic controlling were identified for selection of important road links for traffic camera installation, Then classification methods such as Artificial neural network and Decision tree algorithms were employed for classification of road links based on their importance for camera installation. Then for improving the result of classifiers aggregation methods such as Bagging and Dempster-Shafer theories were used.

Keywords: Aggregation, Bagging theory, Dempster-Shafer theory, Site selection

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1706

Authors: M. Geetha Priya, D. Krishnaveni

Abstract:

Snow depth estimation and monitoring studies have been carried out for decades using empirical relationship or extrapolation of point measurements carried out in field. With the development of advanced satellite based remote sensing techniques, a modified approach is proposed in the present study to estimate the winter accumulated snow depth at basin scale. Assessment of snow depth by differencing Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generated at the beginning and end of winter season can be experimented for the region of interest (Himalayan and polar regions) accounting for winter accumulation (solid precipitation). The proposed approach is based on existing geodetic method that is being used for glacier mass balance estimation. Considering the satellite datasets purely acquired during beginning and end of winter season, it is possible to estimate the change in depth or thickness for the snow that is accumulated during the winter as it takes one year for the snow to get transformed into firn (snow that has survived one summer or one-year old snow).

Keywords: Digital elevation model, snow depth, geodetic method, snow cover.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 716

Authors: Mmapula Petunia Tsweleng

Abstract:

This qualitative study presents an exploration and findings thereof the quality of primary caregiving relationships between adolescents orphaned through Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and their grandmothers. This exploration was based on in-depth narratives of six stakeholders who provided community-based psychosocial support services to children and families affected by AIDS. The narratives show that grandmothers provided high-quality parental care and support to the orphans. Furthermore, stakeholders categorised grandmother caregiving as genuine. Findings also show that the orphans thrived emotionally, socially, and cognitively and performed well academically. However, it was also identified that grandmothers’ caregiving had elements of overprotectiveness as well as susceptibility to manipulation -which appeared to be a threat to the positive development of the orphans. Relevant interventions, with a special focus on strengthening grandmother caregiving, are needed. Special attention should be on equipping grandmothers with a better understanding of adolescent behaviours and abilities to provide appropriate monitoring and supervision.

Keywords: Adolescent orphans, AIDS, caregiving relationships, grandmothers.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Desmond B. Keenan

Abstract:

The clinical usefulness of heart rate variability is limited to the range of Holter monitoring software available. These software algorithms require a normal sinus rhythm to accurately acquire heart rate variability (HRV) measures in the frequency domain. Premature ventricular contractions (PVC) or more commonly referred to as ectopic beats, frequent in heart failure, hinder this analysis and introduce ambiguity. This investigation demonstrates an algorithm to automatically detect ectopic beats by analyzing discrete wavelet transform coefficients. Two techniques for filtering and replacing the ectopic beats from the RR signal are compared. One technique applies wavelet hard thresholding techniques and another applies linear interpolation to replace ectopic cycles. The results demonstrate through simulation, and signals acquired from a 24hr ambulatory recorder, that these techniques can accurately detect PVC-s and remove the noise and leakage effects produced by ectopic cycles retaining smooth spectra with the minimum of error.

Keywords: Heart rate variability, vagal tone, sympathetic, parasympathetic, wavelets, ectopic beats, spectral analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2070

Authors: H. Amoozad-khalili, R. Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, N.Shahab-Dehkordi

Abstract:

The main aim of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is to produce, distribute, logistics and deliver goods and equipment in right location, right time, right amount to satisfy costumers, with minimum time and cost waste. So implementing techniques that reduce project time and cost, and improve productivity and performance is very important. Emerging technologies such as the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) are now making it possible to automate supply chains in a real time manner and making them more efficient than the simple supply chain of the past for tracing and monitoring goods and products and capturing data on movements of goods and other events. This paper considers concepts, components and RFID technology characteristics by concentration of warehouse and inventories management. Additionally, utilization of RFID in the role of improving information management in supply chain is discussed. Finally, the facts of installation and this technology-s results in direction with warehouse and inventory management and business development will be presented.

Keywords: Logistics, Supply Chain Management, RFIDTechnology, Inventory Control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1835

Authors: Insung Jung, lockjo Koo, Gi-Nam Wang

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to design a model of human vital sign prediction for decreasing prediction error by using two states mapping based time series neural network BP (back-propagation) model. Normally, lot of industries has been applying the neural network model by training them in a supervised manner with the error back-propagation algorithm for time series prediction systems. However, it still has a residual error between real value and prediction output. Therefore, we designed two states of neural network model for compensation of residual error which is possible to use in the prevention of sudden death and metabolic syndrome disease such as hypertension disease and obesity. We found that most of simulations cases were satisfied by the two states mapping based time series prediction model compared to normal BP. In particular, small sample size of times series were more accurate than the standard MLP model. We expect that this algorithm can be available to sudden death prevention and monitoring AGENT system in a ubiquitous homecare environment.

Keywords: Neural network, U-healthcare, prediction, timeseries, computer aided prediction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1982

Authors: Nga T.T. Mai, Emilía Martinsdóttir, Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, Gudrun Olafsdóttir, Sigurjón Arason

Abstract:

Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is an important commercial fish and shows to be more and more demanded for human consumption. Therefore, it is very important to find good methods for monitoring the freshness of the fish in order to keep it in the best quality for human consumption. In this study, the fish was stored in ice up to 2 weeks. Quality changes during storage were assessed by the Quality Index Method (QIM), quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and Torry scheme, by texture measurements: puncture tests and Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) tests on texture analyzer TA.XT2i, and by electronic nose (e-nose) measurements using FreshSense instrument. Storage time of herring in ice could be estimated by QIM with ± 2 days using 5 herring per lot. No correlation between instrumental texture parameters and storage time or between sensory and instrumental texture variables was found. E-nose measurements could be use to detect the onset of spoilage.

Keywords: Herring, Quality Index Method (QIM), freshness, storage time.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1650

Authors: M. Gooroochurn, M. Ovinis, D. Kerr, K. Bouazza-Marouf, M. Vloeberghs

Abstract:

A registration framework for image-guided robotic surgery is proposed for three emergency neurosurgical procedures, namely Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitoring, External Ventricular Drainage (EVD) and evacuation of a Chronic Subdural Haematoma (CSDH). The registration paradigm uses CT and white light as modalities. This paper presents two simulation studies for a preliminary evaluation of the registration protocol: (1) The loci of the Target Registration Error (TRE) in the patient-s axial, coronal and sagittal views were simulated based on a Fiducial Localisation Error (FLE) of 5 mm and (2) Simulation of the actual framework using projected views from a surface rendered CT model to represent white light images of the patient. Craniofacial features were employed as the registration basis to map the CT space onto the simulated intraoperative space. Photogrammetry experiments on an artificial skull were also performed to benchmark the results obtained from the second simulation. The results of both simulations show that the proposed protocol can provide a 5mm accuracy for these neurosurgical procedures.

Keywords: Image-guided Surgery, Multimodality Registration, Photogrammetry, Preoperative to Intraoperative Registration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1531

Authors: Sajjad A. Memon, Sadaf T. Qureshi, Naeem A. Laghari, Noor M. Khuhro

Abstract:

The present study represents the occupational radiation doses received by selected workers of Nuclear Institute of Medicine and Radiotherapy (NIMRA) Jamshoro Pakistan and conducted to discuss about how we be careful and try to avoid make ourselves overconscious. Film badges with unique identification number were issued to radiation worker to detect occupational radiation doses. In this study, only 08 workers with high radiation doses were assessed amongst 35 radiation workers during the period of January 2012 to December 2012. The selected radiation workers’ occupational doses were according to designated work areas and in the range of 1.21 to 7.78 mSv (mili Sieveret) out of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv. By the comparison of different studies and earth’s HNBR (High Natural Background Radiation) locations’ doses, it is concluded that the worker’s high doses are of magnitude of HNBR Regions and were in the acceptable range of National and International regulatory bodies so we must not to show any type of overconsciousness but be careful in handling the radioactive sources.

Keywords: Natural background radiation, Occupational dose, Overconscious, Personal monitoring.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1671

Authors: Hossam el-ddin Mostafa, Pavel Čičak

Abstract:

The mobile users with Laptops need to have an efficient access to i.e. their home personal data or to the Internet from any place in the world, regardless of their location or point of attachment, especially while roaming outside the home subnet. An efficient interpretation of packet losses problem that is encountered from this roaming is to the centric of all aspects in this work, to be over-highlighted. The main previous works, such as BER-systems, Amigos, and ns-2 implementation that are considered to be in conjunction with that problem under study are reviewed and discussed. Their drawbacks and limitations, of stopping only at monitoring, and not to provide an actual solution for eliminating or even restricting these losses, are mentioned. Besides that, the framework around which we built a Triple-R sequence as a costeffective solution to eliminate the packet losses and bridge the gap between subnets, an area that until now has been largely neglected, is presented. The results show that, in addition to the high bit error rate of wireless mobile networks, mainly the low efficiency of mobile-IP registration procedure is a direct cause of these packet losses. Furthermore, the output of packet losses interpretation resulted an illustrated triangle of the registration process. This triangle should be further researched and analyzed in our future work.

Keywords: Amigos, BER-systems, ns-2 implementation, packetlosses, registration process, roaming.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1471

Authors: M. A. Ahmadi, O. Alidoust, I. Sadrinejad, M. Nayeri

Abstract:

Self-compacting concrete (SCC), a new kind of high performance concrete (HPC) have been first developed in Japan in 1986. The development of SCC has made casting of dense reinforcement and mass concrete convenient, has minimized noise. Fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) flows into formwork and around obstructions under its own weight to fill it completely and self-compact (without any need for vibration), without any segregation and blocking. The elimination of the need for compaction leads to better quality concrete and substantial improvement of working conditions. SCC mixes generally have a much higher content of fine fillers, including cement, and produce excessively high compressive strength concrete, which restricts its field of application to special concrete only. To use SCC mixes in general concrete construction practice, requires low cost materials to make inexpensive concrete. Rice husk ash (RHA) has been used as a highly reactive pozzolanic material to improve the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the cement paste and the aggregate in self compacting concrete. Mechanical experiments of RHA blended Portland cement concretes revealed that in addition to the pozzolanic reactivity of RHA (chemical aspect), the particle grading (physical aspect) of cement and RHA mixtures also exerted significant influences on the blending efficiency. The scope of this research was to determine the usefulness of Rice husk ash (RHA) in the development of economical self compacting concrete (SCC). The cost of materials will be decreased by reducing the cement content by using waste material like rice husk ash instead of. This paper presents a study on the development of Mechanical properties up to 180 days of self compacting and ordinary concretes with rice-husk ash (RHA), from a rice paddy milling industry in Rasht (Iran). Two different replacement percentages of cement by RHA, 10%, and 20%, and two different water/cementicious material ratios (0.40 and 0.35), were used for both of self compacting and normal concrete specimens. The results are compared with those of the self compacting concrete without RHA, with compressive, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity. It is concluded that RHA provides a positive effect on the Mechanical properties at age after 60 days. Base of the result self compacting concrete specimens have higher value than normal concrete specimens in all test except modulus of elasticity. Also specimens with 20% replacement of cement by RHA have the best performance.

Keywords: Self compacting concrete (SCC), Rice husk ash(RHA), Mechanical properties.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3679

Authors: Odón R. Sánchez-Ccoyllo, Elizabeth Ayma-Choque, Alan Llacza

Abstract:

Sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and surface-ozone (O₃) concentrations are associated with diseases. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the air-quality Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model with a horizontal resolution of 5 km x 5 km. For this purpose, the measurements of the hourly SO₂ and O₃ concentrations available in three air quality monitoring stations in Lima, Peru were used for the purpose of validating the simulations of the SO₂ and O₃ concentrations obtained with the WRF-Chem model in February 2018. For the quantitative evaluation of the simulations of these gases, statistical techniques were implemented, such as the average of the simulations; the average of the measurements; the Mean Bias (MeB); the Mean Error (MeE); and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results of these statistical metrics indicated that the simulated SO₂ and O₃ values over-predicted the SO₂ and O₃ measurements. For the SO₂ concentration, the MeB values varied from 0.58 to 26.35 µg/m³; the MeE values varied from 8.75 to 26.5 µg/m³; the RMSE values varied from 13.3 to 31.79 µg/m³; while for O₃ concentrations the statistical values of the MeB varied from 37.52 to 56.29 µg/m³; the MeE values varied from 37.54 to 56.70 µg/m³; the RMSE values varied from 43.05 to 69.56 µg/m³.

Keywords: Ground-ozone, Lima, Sulphur dioxide, WRF-Chem.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 364

Authors: Marshal D. Kafle, Jun H. Kim, Hyun W. Been, Kyoung M. Min, Sung H. Kim

Abstract:

Fluid viscous damping systems are well suited for many air vehicles subjected to shock and vibration. These damping system work with the principle of viscous fluid throttling through the orifice to create huge pressure difference between compression and rebound chamber and obtain the required damping force. One application of such systems is its use in aircraft door system to counteract the door’s velocity and safely stop it. In exigency situations like crash or emergency landing where the door doesn’t open easily, possibly due to unusually tilting of fuselage or some obstacles or intrusion of debris obstruction to move the parts of the door, such system can be combined with other systems to provide needed force to forcefully open the door and also securely stop it simultaneously within the required time i.e. less than 8 seconds. In the present study, a hydraulic system called snubber along with other systems like actuator, gas bottle assembly which together known as emergency power assist system (EPAS) is designed, built and experimentally studied to check the magnitude of angular velocity, damping force and time required to effectively open the door. Whenever needed, the gas pressure from the bottle is released to actuate the actuator and at the same time pull the snubber’s piston to operate the emergency opening of the door. Such EPAS installed in the suspension arm of the aircraft door is studied explicitly changing parameters like orifice size, oil level, oil viscosity and bypass valve gap and its spring of the snubber at varying temperature to generate the optimum design case. Comparative analysis of the EPAS at several cases is done and conclusions are made. It is found that during emergency condition, the system opening time and angular velocity, when snubber with 0.3mm piston and shaft orifice and bypass valve gap of 0.5 mm with its original spring is used, shows significant improvement over the old ones.

Keywords: Aircraft Door Damper, Bypass Valve, Emergency Power Assist System, Hydraulic Damper, Oil viscosity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4122

Authors: Yue-Der Lin, Ya-Hsueh Chien, Yen-Ting Lin, Shih-Fan Wang, Cheng-Lun Tsai, Ching-Che Tsai

Abstract:

Capacitive electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement is an attractive approach for long-term health monitoring. However, there is little literature available on its implementation, especially for multichannel system in standard ECG leads. This paper begins from the design criteria for capacitive ECG measurement and presents a multichannel limb-lead capacitive ECG system with conductive fabric tapes pasted on a double layer PCB as the capacitive sensors. The proposed prototype system incorporates a capacitive driven-body (CDB) circuit to reduce the common-mode power-line interference (PLI). The presented prototype system has been verified to be stable by theoretic analysis and practical long-term experiments. The signal quality is competitive to that acquired by commercial ECG machines. The feasible size and distance of capacitive sensor have also been evaluated by a series of tests. From the test results, it is suggested to be greater than 60 cm2 in sensor size and be smaller than 1.5 mm in distance for capacitive ECG measurement.

Keywords: capacitive driven-body (CDB) circuit, capacitive electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement, capacitive sensor, conductive fabric tape, power-line interference (PLI).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3131

Authors: Raziah Bi Mohamed Sadique, Jamal Roudaki, Murray B. Clark, Norhayati Alias

Abstract:

Economic crime (i.e. corporate fraud) has a significant impact on business. This study analyzes the fraud cases reported by the Malaysian Securities Commission. Frauds involving market manipulation and/or illegal share trading are the most common types of fraud reported over the 6 years analyzed. The highest number of frauds reported involved investment and fund holding companies. Alarmingly the results indicate quite a high number of frauds cases are committed by management. The higher number of Chinese perpetrators may be due to fact that they are the dominant group in Malaysian business. The result also shows that more than half of companies involved with fraud are privately held companies in the investment/fund/finance sector. The results of this study highlight general characteristic of perpetrators (person and company) that commit fraud which could help the regulators in their monitoring and enforcement activities. To investors, this would help in analyzing their business investment or portfolio risk.

Keywords: Corporate fraud, economic crime, fraudcharacteristic, perpetrators

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5300

Authors: A. Mavrikos, N. Petsas, E. Kaltsi, D. Kaliampakos

Abstract:

The lignite-fired power plants in the Western Macedonia Lignite Center produce more than 810⁶ t of fly ash per year. Approximately 90% of this quantity is used for restoration-reclamation of exhausted open-cast lignite mines and slope stabilization of the overburden. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the environmental behavior of the mixture of waste rock and fly ash that is being used in the external deposition site of the South Field lignite mine. For this reason, a borehole was made within the site and 86 samples were taken and subjected to chemical analyses and leaching tests. The results showed very limited leaching of trace elements and heavy metals from this mixture. Moreover, when compared to the limit values set for waste acceptable in inert waste landfills, only few excesses were observed, indicating only minor risk for groundwater pollution. However, due to the complexity of both the leaching process and the contaminant pathway, more boreholes and analyses should be made in nearby locations and a systematic groundwater monitoring program should be implemented both downstream and within the external deposition site.

Keywords: Co-deposition, fly ash, leaching tests, lignite, waste rock.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1893

Authors: M. Ramadan, B. Salah

Abstract:

This paper introduces a framework to digitalize lean manufacturing tools to enhance smart lean-based manufacturing environments or Lean 4.0 manufacturing systems. The paper discusses the integration between lean tools and the powerful features of recent real-time data capturing systems with the help of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to develop an intelligent real-time monitoring and controlling system of production operations concerning lean targets. This integration is represented in the Lean 4.0 system called Dynamic Value Stream Mapping (DVSM). Moreover, the paper introduces the practice of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and ICT to smartly support lean tools and practices during daily production runs to keep the lean system alive and effective. This work introduces a practical description of how the lean method tools 5S, standardized work, and poka-yoke can be digitalized and smartly monitored and controlled through DVSM. A framework of the three tools has been discussed and put into practice in a German switchgear manufacturer.

Keywords: Lean manufacturing, Industry 4.0, radio frequency identification, value stream mapping.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3110

Authors: Bireswar Paul, Amitava Datta

Abstract:

Indoor air environment is a big concern in the last few decades in the developing countries, with increased focus on monitoring the air quality. In this work, an experimental study has been conducted to establish the existence of carbon nanoparticles below the size range of 10 nm in the non-sooting zone of a LPG/air partially premixed flame. Mainly, four optical techniques, UV absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and TEM have been used to characterize and measure the size of carbon nanoparticles in the sampled materials collected from the inner surface of the flame front. The existence of the carbon nanoparticles in the sampled material has been confirmed with the typical nature of the absorption and fluorescence spectra already reported in the literature. The band gap energy shows that the particles are made up of three to six aromatic rings. The size measurement by DLS technique also shows that the particles below the size range of 10 nm. The results of DLS are also corroborated by the TEM image of the same material. 

Keywords: Indoor air, carbon nanoparticles, LPG, partially premixed flame, optical techniques.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 880

Authors: Afzeri, R. Muhida, Darmawan, A. N. Berahim

Abstract:

Sharing the manufacturing facility through remote operation and monitoring of a machining process is challenge for effective use the production facility. Several automation tools in term of hardware and software are necessary for successfully remote operation of a machine. This paper presents a prototype of workpiece holding attachment for remote operation of milling process by self configuration the workpiece setup. The prototype is designed with mechanism to reorient the work surface into machining spindle direction with high positioning accuracy. Variety of parts geometry is hold by attachment to perform single setup machining. Pin type with array pattern additionally clamps the workpiece surface from two opposite directions for increasing the machining rigidity. Optimum pins configuration for conforming the workpiece geometry with minimum deformation is determined through hybrid algorithms, Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Prototype with intelligent optimization technique enables to hold several variety of workpiece geometry which is suitable for machining low of repetitive production in remote operation.

Keywords: Optimization, Remote machining, GeneticAlgorithms, Machining Fixture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2639

Authors: E. A. Feilat, I. A. Metwally, S. Al-Matri, A. S. Al-Abri

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of five blackouts that occurred on 28 August to 8 September 2011 due to bushing failures of the 132/33 kV, 125 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station. The investigation aims to explore the root causes of the bushing failures and come up with recommendations that help in rectifying the problem and avoiding the reoccurrence of similar type of incidents. The incident reports about the failed bushings and the SCADA reports at this grid station were examined and analyzed. Moreover, comprehensive power quality field measurements at ten 33/11 kV substations (S/Ss) in JBB Ali area were conducted, and frequency scans were performed to verify any harmonic resonance frequencies due to power factor correction capacitors. Furthermore, the daily operations of the on-load tap changers (OLTCs) of both the 125 MVA and 20 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station have been analyzed. The investigation showed that the five bushing failures were due to a local problem, i.e. internal degradation of the bushing insulation. This has been confirmed by analyzing the time interval between successive OLTC operations of the faulty grid transformers. It was also found that monitoring the number of OLTC operations can help in predicting bushing failure.

Keywords: Modeling and simulation, power system, transformer, bushing, OLTC, power quality, partial discharge.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10777

Authors: H. Ucar, U. Aridogan

Abstract:

Composite structures become intriguing for the design of aerospace, automotive and marine applications due to weight reduction, corrosion resistance and radar signature reduction demands and requirements. Studies on piezoelectric ceramic transducers (PZT) for diagnostics and health monitoring have gained attention for their sensing capabilities, however PZT structures are prone to fail in case of heavy operational loads. In this paper, we develop a piezo-based Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite finite element (FE) model, validate with experimental setup, and identify the applicability and limitations of PZTs for a marine application. A case study is conducted to assess the piezo-based sensing capabilities in a representative marine composite structure. A FE model of the composite structure combined with PZT patches is developed, afterwards the response and functionality are investigated according to the sea conditions. Results of this study clearly indicate the blockers and critical aspects towards industrialization and wide-range use of PZTs for marine composite applications.

Keywords: FRP, marine composite, piezoelectric transducer, sea state, wave-induced loads.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 487

Authors: Dutescu Adriana, Amariei Corneliu, Sahlian Daniela, Stanila Aurelian, Stanila Oana

Abstract:

20 years of dentistry was a period of transition from communist to market economy but Romanian doctors have insufficient management knowledge. Recently, the need for modern management has increased due to technologies and superior materials appearance, as patient-s demands. Research goal is to increase efficiency by evaluating dental medical office cost categories in real pricing procedures. Empirical research is based on guided study that includes information about the association between categories of cost perception and therapeutic procedures commonly used in dental offices. Due to the obtained results to identify all the labours that make up a settled procedure costs were determined for each procedure. Financial evaluation software was created with the main functions: introducing and maintaining patient records, treatment and appointments made, procedures cost and monitoring office productivity. We believe that the study results can significantly improve the financial management of dental offices, increasing the effectiveness and quality of services.

Keywords: costs, financial methods, management.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1460

Authors: Deepak Goswami, Padma Lochan Hazarika, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma

Abstract:

The customary practice of identifying industrial sickness is a set traditional techniques which rely upon a range of manual monitoring and compilation of financial records. It makes the process tedious, time consuming and often are susceptible to manipulation. Therefore, certain readily available tools are required which can deal with such uncertain situations arising out of industrial sickness. It is more significant for a country like India where the fruits of development are rarely equally distributed. In this paper, we propose an approach based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to deal with industrial sickness with specific focus on a few such units taken from a less developed north-east (NE) Indian state like Assam. The proposed system provides decision regarding industrial sickness using eight different parameters which are directly related to the stages of sickness of such units. The mechanism primarily uses certain signals and symptoms of industrial health to decide upon the state of a unit. Specifically, we formulate an ANN based block with data obtained from a few selected units of Assam so that required decisions related to industrial health could be taken. The system thus formulated could become an important part of planning and development. It can also contribute towards computerization of decision support systems related to industrial health and help in better management.

Keywords: Industrial, Health, Classification, ANN, MLP, MSE.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1693

Authors: Ming-Ta Yang, Jyh-Cherng Gu, Chun-Wei Huang, Jin-Lung Guan

Abstract:

Time base maintenance (TBM) is conventionally applied by the power utilities to maintain circuit breakers (CBs), transformers, bus bars and cables, which may result in under maintenance or over maintenance. As information and communication technology (ICT) industry develops, the maintenance policies of many power utilities have gradually changed from TBM to condition base maintenance (CBM) to improve system operating efficiency, operation cost and power supply reliability. This paper discusses the feasibility of using intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) to construct a CB CBM management platform. CBs in power substations can be monitored using IEDs with additional logic configuration and wire connections. The CB monitoring data can be sent through intranet to a control center and be analyzed and integrated by the Elipse Power Studio software. Finally, a human-machine interface (HMI) of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system can be designed to construct a CBM management platform to provide maintenance decision information for the maintenance personnel, management personnel and CB manufacturers.

Keywords: Circuit breaker, Condition base maintenance, Intelligent electronic device, Time base maintenance, SCADA.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2287