Search results for: firm’s distributed capacity
1084 Segmenting Ultrasound B-Mode Images Using RiIG Distributions and Stochastic Optimization
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In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for delineating the endocardial wall from a human heart ultrasound scan. We assume that the gray levels in the ultrasound images are independent and identically distributed random variables with different Rician Inverse Gaussian (RiIG) distributions. Both synthetic and real clinical data will be used for testing the algorithm. Algorithm performance will be evaluated using the expert radiologist evaluation of a soft copy of an ultrasound scan during the scanning process and secondly, doctor’s conclusion after going through a printed copy of the same scan. Successful implementation of this algorithm should make it possible to differentiate normal from abnormal soft tissue and help disease identification, what stage the disease is in and how best to treat the patient. We hope that an automated system that uses this algorithm will be useful in public hospitals especially in Third World countries where problems such as shortage of skilled radiologists and shortage of ultrasound machines are common. These public hospitals are usually the first and last stop for most patients in these countries.
Keywords: Endorcardial Wall, Rician Inverse Distributions, Segmentation, Ultrasound Images.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15721083 Incidence of Pathogenic Bacteria in Cakes and Tarts Displayed for Sale in Tripoli, Libya
Authors: Sabrin M. Al-Jafaeri, Nuri S. Madi, Mohamed H. Nahaisi
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This study was conducted to investigate the incidence of pathogenic bacteria: Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli O157 and Staphylococcus aureus in cakes and tarts collected from thirtyfive confectionery producing and selling premises located within Tripoli city, Libya. The results revealed an incidence of S. aureus with 94.4 and 48.0 %, E. coli O157 with 14.7 and 4.0 % and Salmonella sp. with 5.9 and 8.0 % in cakes and tarts samples respectively; while Shigella was not detected in all samples. In order to determine the source of these pathogenic bacteria, cotton swabs were taken from the hands of workers on the production line, the surfaces of preparation tables and cream whipping instruments. The results showed that the cotton swabs obtained from the hands of workers contained S. aureus and Salmonella sp. with an incidence of 42.9 and 2.9 %, the cotton swabs obtained from the surfaces of preparation tables 22.9 and 2.9 % and the cotton swabs obtained from the cream whipping instruments 14.3 and 0.0 % respectively; while E. coli O157 and Shigella sp. were not detected in all swabs. Additionally, other bacteria were isolated from the hands of workers and the Surfaces of producing equipments included: Aeromonas sp., Pseudomonas sp., E. coli, Klebsiella sp., Enterobacter sp., Citrobacter sp., Proteus sp., Serratia sp. and Acinetobacter sp. These results indicate that some of the cakes and tarts might pose threat to consumer's health. Meanwhile, occurrences of pathogenic bacteria on the hands of those who are working in production line and the surfaces of equipments reflect poor hygienic practices at most confectionery premises examined in this study. Thus, firm and continuous surveillance of these premises is needed to insure the consumer's health and safety.Keywords: Pathogenic bacteria, Cakes, Tarts, Confectionery producing and selling premises.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26051082 Mobility Analysis of the Population of Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer
Authors: F. Ghaiti
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In this paper, we present the 2006 survey study origin destination and price that we carried out during 2006 fall in the area in the Moroccan region of Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer. The survey concerns the people-s characteristics, their displacements behavior and the price that they will be able to pay for a tramway ticket. The main objective is to study a set of relative features to the households and to their displacement's habits and to their choices among public and privet transport modes. A comparison between this survey results and that of the 1996's is made. A pricing scheme is also given according to the tram capacity. (The Rabat-Salé tramway is under construction right now and it will be operational beginning 2010).
Keywords: Matrix O/D, Theory of pricing, Urban transport survey.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26401081 The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in the National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Nada Azhar
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The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) CSR on the National Commercial Bank (NCB) in Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve this, a case study was made of the CSR activities of this bank from the perspective of its branch managers. The NCB was chosen as it was one of the first Saudi banks to engage in CSR and currently has a wide range of CSR initiatives. A qualitative research method was used. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to eighty branch managers of the NCB, with fifty-five usable questionnaires returned and twenty managers were interviewed as part of the primary research. Data from both questionnaires and interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Six themes emerged from the questionnaire findings were used to develop the interview questions. These themes are the following: Awareness of employees about CSR in the NCB; CSR activities as a type of investment; Government and media support; Increased employee loyalty in the NCB; Prestige and profit to the NCB; and View of CSR in Islam. This paper makes a theoretical contribution in that it investigates and increases understanding of the effect of CSR on the NCB in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it makes a practical contribution by making recommendations which can support the development of CSR in the NCB. A limitation of the paper is that it is a case study of only one bank. It is therefore recommended that future research could be conducted with other banks in Saudi Arabia, or indeed, with a range of other types of firm within the financial services area in Saudi Arabia. In this way, the same issues could be explored but with a greater potential generalisability of findings of CSR within the Saudi Arabian financial services industry. In addition, this paper takes a qualitative approach and it is suggested that future research be carried out using mixed methods, which could provide a greater depth of analysis.Keywords: Branch managers, corporate social responsibility. national commercial bank, Saudi Arabia.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21491080 FEA-Based Calculation of Performances of IPM Machines with Five Topologies for Hybrid- Electric Vehicle Traction
Authors: Aimeng Wang, Dejun Ma, Hui Wang
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The paper presents a detailed calculation of characteristic of five different topology permanent magnet machines for high performance traction including hybrid -electric vehicles using finite element analysis (FEA) method. These machines include V-shape single layer interior PM, W-shape single-layer interior PM, Segment interior PM and surface PM on the rotor and with distributed winding on the stator. The performance characteristics which include the back-emf voltage and its harmonic, magnet mass, iron loss and ripple torque are compared and analyzed. One of a 7.5kW IPM prototype was tested and verified finite-element analysis results. The aim of the paper is given some guidance and reference for machine designer which are interested in IPM machine selection for high performance traction application.
Keywords: Interior permanent magnet machine, finite-element analysis (FEA), five topologies, electric vehicle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 39241079 Modeling and Optimization of Aggregate Production Planning - A Genetic Algorithm Approach
Authors: B. Fahimnia, L.H.S. Luong, R. M. Marian
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The Aggregate Production Plan (APP) is a schedule of the organization-s overall operations over a planning horizon to satisfy demand while minimizing costs. It is the baseline for any further planning and formulating the master production scheduling, resources, capacity and raw material planning. This paper presents a methodology to model the Aggregate Production Planning problem, which is combinatorial in nature, when optimized with Genetic Algorithms. This is done considering a multitude of constraints of contradictory nature and the optimization criterion – overall cost, made up of costs with production, work force, inventory, and subcontracting. A case study of substantial size, used to develop the model, is presented, along with the genetic operators.Keywords: Aggregate Production Planning, Costs, and Optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25851078 Performance Evaluation of Task Scheduling Algorithm on LCQ Network
Authors: Zaki Ahmad Khan, Jamshed Siddiqui, Abdus Samad
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The Scheduling and mapping of tasks on a set of processors is considered as a critical problem in parallel and distributed computing system. This paper deals with the problem of dynamic scheduling on a special type of multiprocessor architecture known as Linear Crossed Cube (LCQ) network. This proposed multiprocessor is a hybrid network which combines the features of both linear types of architectures as well as cube based architectures. Two standard dynamic scheduling schemes namely Minimum Distance Scheduling (MDS) and Two Round Scheduling (TRS) schemes are implemented on the LCQ network. Parallel tasks are mapped and the imbalance of load is evaluated on different set of processors in LCQ network. The simulations results are evaluated and effort is made by means of through analysis of the results to obtain the best solution for the given network in term of load imbalance left and execution time. The other performance matrices like speedup and efficiency are also evaluated with the given dynamic algorithms.Keywords: Dynamic algorithm, Load imbalance, Mapping, Task scheduling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20191077 Implementing Adaptive Steganography by Exploring the Ycbcr Color Model Characteristics
Authors: Surbhi Gupta, Alka Handa, Parvinder S.Sandhu
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Stegnography is a new way of secret communication the most widely used mechanism on account of its simplicity is the use of the least significant bit. We have used the least significant bit (2 LSB and 4 LSB) substitution method. Depending upon the characteristics of the individual portions of cover image we decide whether to use 2 LSB or 4 LSB thus it is an adaptive stegnography technique. We used one of the three channels to behave as indicator to indicate the presence of hidden data in other two channels. The module showed impressive results in terms of capacity to hide the data. In proposed method, instead of using RGB color space directly, YCbCr color space is used to make use of human visual system characteristic.Keywords: Stegoimage, steganography, Pixel indicator, segmentation, YCbCr..
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21811076 Scheduling Multiple Workflow Using De-De Dodging Algorithm and PBD Algorithm in Cloud: Detailed Study
Authors: B. Arun Kumar, T. Ravichandran
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Workflow scheduling is an important part of cloud computing and based on different criteria it decides cost, execution time, and performances. A cloud workflow system is a platform service facilitating automation of distributed applications based on new cloud infrastructure. An aspect which differentiates cloud workflow system from others is market-oriented business model, an innovation which challenges conventional workflow scheduling strategies. Time and Cost optimization algorithm for scheduling Hybrid Clouds (TCHC) algorithm decides which resource should be chartered from public providers is combined with a new De-De algorithm considering that every instance of single and multiple workflows work without deadlocks. To offset this, two new concepts - De-De Dodging Algorithm and Priority Based Decisive Algorithm - combine with conventional deadlock avoidance issues by proposing one algorithm that maximizes active (not just allocated) resource use and reduces Makespan.Keywords: Workflow Scheduling, cloud workflow, TCHC algorithm, De-De Dodging Algorithm, Priority Based Decisive Algorithm (PBD), Makespan.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27951075 Parallezation Protein Sequence Similarity Algorithms using Remote Method Interface
Authors: Mubarak Saif Mohsen, Zurinahni Zainol, Rosalina Abdul Salam, Wahidah Husain
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One of the major problems in genomic field is to perform sequence comparison on DNA and protein sequences. Executing sequence comparison on the DNA and protein data is a computationally intensive task. Sequence comparison is the basic step for all algorithms in protein sequences similarity. Parallel computing is an attractive solution to provide the computational power needed to speedup the lengthy process of the sequence comparison. Our main research is to enhance the protein sequence algorithm using dynamic programming method. In our approach, we parallelize the dynamic programming algorithm using multithreaded program to perform the sequence comparison and also developed a distributed protein database among many PCs using Remote Method Interface (RMI). As a result, we showed how different sizes of protein sequences data and computation of scoring matrix of these protein sequence on different number of processors affected the processing time and speed, as oppose to sequential processing.
Keywords: Protein sequence algorithm, dynamic programming algorithm, multithread
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19021074 Extraction of Bran Protein Using Enzymes and Polysaccharide Precipitation
Authors: Sudarat Jiamyangyuen, Tipawan Thongsook, Riantong Singanusong, Chanida Saengtubtim
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Rice bran is normally used as a raw material for rice bran oil production or sold as feed with a low price. Conventionally, the protein in defatted rice bran was extracted using alkaline extraction and acid precipitation, which involves in chemical usage and lowering some nutritious component. This study was conducted in order to extract of rice bran protein concentrate (RBPC) from defatted rice bran using enzymes and employing polysaccharides in a precipitating step. The properties of RBPC obtained will be compared to those of a control sample extracted using a conventional method. The results showed that extraction of protein from rice bran using enzymes exhibited the higher protein recovery compared to that extraction with alkaline. The extraction conditions using alcalase 2% (v/w) at 50 C, pH 9.5 gave the highest protein (2.44%) and yield (32.09%) in extracted solution compared to other enzymes. Rice bran protein concentrate powder prepared by a precipitation step using alginate (protein in solution: alginate 1:0.016) exhibited the highest protein (27.55%) and yield (6.84%). Precipitation using alginate was better than that of acid. RBPC extracted with alkaline (ALK) or enzyme alcalase (ALC), then precipitated with alginate (AL) (samples RBP-ALK-AL and RBP-ALC-AL) yielded the precipitation rate of 75% and 91.30%, respectively. Therefore, protein precipitation using alginate was then selected. Amino acid profile of control sample, and sample precipitated with alginate, as compared to casein and soy protein isolated, showed that control sample showed the highest content among all sample. Functional property study of RBP showed that the highest nitrogen solubility occurred in pH 8-10. There was no statically significant between emulsion capacity and emulsion stability of control and sample precipitated by alginate. However, control sample showed a higher of foaming capacity and foaming stability compared to those of sample precipitated with alginate. The finding was successful in terms of minimizing chemicals used in extraction and precipitation steps in preparation of rice bran protein concentrate. This research involves in a production of value-added product in which the double amount of protein (28%) compared to original amount (14%) contained in rice bran could be beneficial in terms of adding to food products e.g. healthy drink with high protein and fiber. In addition, the basic knowledge of functional property of rice bran protein concentrate was obtained, which can be used to appropriately select the application of this value-added product from rice bran.Keywords: Alginate, carrageenan, rice bran, rice bran protein.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26651073 Removal of Vanadium from Industrial Effluents by Natural Ion Exchanger
Authors: Shashikant R. Kuchekar, Haribhau R. Aher, Priti M. Dhage
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The removal vanadium from aqueous solution using natural exchanger was investigated. The effects of pH, contact time and exchanger dose were studied at ambient temperature (25 0C ± 2 0C). The equilibrium process was described by the Langmuir isotherm model with adsorption capacity for vanadium. The natural exchanger i.e. tamarindus seeds powder was treated with formaldehyde and sulpuric acid to increase the adsorptivity of metals. The maximum exchange level was attained as 80.1% at pH 3 with exchanger dose 5 g and contact time 60 min. Method is applied for removal of vanadium from industrial effluents.
Keywords: Industrial effluent, natural ion exchange, Tamarindus indica, vanadium.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7341072 Estimating Shortest Circuit Path Length Complexity
Authors: Azam Beg, P. W. Chandana Prasad, S.M.N.A Senenayake
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When binary decision diagrams are formed from uniformly distributed Monte Carlo data for a large number of variables, the complexity of the decision diagrams exhibits a predictable relationship to the number of variables and minterms. In the present work, a neural network model has been used to analyze the pattern of shortest path length for larger number of Monte Carlo data points. The neural model shows a strong descriptive power for the ISCAS benchmark data with an RMS error of 0.102 for the shortest path length complexity. Therefore, the model can be considered as a method of predicting path length complexities; this is expected to lead to minimum time complexity of very large-scale integrated circuitries and related computer-aided design tools that use binary decision diagrams.Keywords: Monte Carlo circuit simulation data, binary decision diagrams, neural network modeling, shortest path length estimation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13771071 GeNS: a Biological Data Integration Platform
Authors: Joel Arrais, João E. Pereira, João Fernandes, José Luís Oliveira
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The scientific achievements coming from molecular biology depend greatly on the capability of computational applications to analyze the laboratorial results. A comprehensive analysis of an experiment requires typically the simultaneous study of the obtained dataset with data that is available in several distinct public databases. Nevertheless, developing a centralized access to these distributed databases rises up a set of challenges such as: what is the best integration strategy, how to solve nomenclature clashes, how to solve database overlapping data and how to deal with huge datasets. In this paper we present GeNS, a system that uses a simple and yet innovative approach to address several biological data integration issues. Compared with existing systems, the main advantages of GeNS are related to its maintenance simplicity and to its coverage and scalability, in terms of number of supported databases and data types. To support our claims we present the current use of GeNS in two concrete applications. GeNS currently contains more than 140 million of biological relations and it can be publicly downloaded or remotely access through SOAP web services.Keywords: Data integration, biological databases
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16321070 Target Tracking by Flying Drone with Fixed Camera
Authors: Guilhem Baccialone, Nicolas Delaunay, Juan-Diego Gonzales, Céline Leclercq, Adrien Leroux, Santa Pallier
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This paper presents the software conception of a quadrotor UAV, named SKYWATCHER, which is able to follow a target. This capacity can at a long turn time permit to follow another drone and combine their performance in order to military missions for example.
From a low-cost architecture constructed by five students we implemented a software and added a camera to create a visual servoing. This project demonstrates the possibility to associate the technology of stabilization and the technology of visual enslavement.
Keywords: Quadrotor, visual servoing, student project, image processing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, stabilization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22551069 Packing and Covering Radii of Linear Error-Block Codes
Authors: Rabiˆı DARITI, El Mamoun SOUIDI
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Linear error-block codes are a natural generalization of linear error correcting codes. The purpose of this paper is to generalize some results on the packing and the covering radii to the error-block case. We study their properties when a code undergoes some specific modifications and combinations with another code. We give a few bounds on the packing and the covering radii of these codes.
Keywords: Linear error-block codes, π-distance, Correction capacity, Packing radius, Covering radius.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21831068 Fashion Consumption for Fashion Innovators: A Study of Fashion Consumption Behavior of Innovators and Non-Innovators
Authors: Vaishali P. Joshi, Pallav Joshi
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The objective of this study is to examine the differences fashion innovators and non-fashion innovators in their fashion consumption behavior in terms of their pre-purchase behavior, purchase behavior and post purchase behavior. The questionnaire was distributed to a female college student for data collection for achieving the objective of the first part of the study. Question-related to fashion innovativeness and fashion consumption behavior was asked. The sample was comprised of 81 college females ages 18 through 30 who were attending Business Management degree. A series of attitude questions was used to categorize respondents on the Innovativeness Scale. 32 respondents with a score of 21 and above were designated as Fashion innovators and the remainder (49) as Non-fashion innovators. Findings showed that there exist significant differences between innovators and non-innovators in their fashion consumption behavior. Data was analyzed through frequency distribution table. Many differences were found in the behavior of innovators and non-innovators in terms of their pre-purchase, actual purchase, and post-purchase behavior.Keywords: Consumption behavior, fashion, innovativeness, frequency distribution table.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18191067 Calculation of Heating Load for an Apartment Complex with Unit Building Method
Authors: Ju-Seok Kim, Sun-Ae Moon, Tae-Gu Lee, Seung-Jae Moon, Jae-Heon Lee
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As a simple to method estimate the plant heating energy capacity of an apartment complex, a new load calculation method has been proposed. The method which can be called as unit building method, predicts the heating load of the entire complex instead of summing up that of each apartment belonging to complex. Comparison of the unit heating load for various floor sizes between the present method and conventional approach shows a close agreement with dynamic load calculation code. Some additional calculations are performed to demonstrate it-s application examples.Keywords: Unit Building Method, Unit Heating Load, TFMLoad.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34351066 Memory and Higher Cognition
Authors: A. Páchová
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Working memory (WM) can be defined as the system which actively holds information in the mind to do tasks in spite of the distraction. Contrary, short-term memory (STM) is a system that represents the capacity for the active storing of information without distraction. There has been accumulating evidence that these types of memory are related to higher cognition (HC). The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between HC and memory (visual STM and WM, auditory STM and WM). 59 primary school children were tested by intelligence test, mathematical tasks (HC) and memory subtests. We have shown that visual but not auditory memory is a significant predictor of higher cognition. The relevance of these results are discussed.Keywords: higher cognition, long-term memory, short-term memory, working memory
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15491065 A New Approach for Network Reconfiguration Problem in Order to Deviation Bus Voltage Minimization with Regard to Probabilistic Load Model and DGs
Authors: Mahmood Reza Shakarami, Reza Sedaghati
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Recently, distributed generation technologies have received much attention for the potential energy savings and reliability assurances that might be achieved as a result of their widespread adoption. The distribution feeder reconfiguration (DFR) is one of the most important control schemes in the distribution networks, which can be affected by DGs. This paper presents a new approach to DFR at the distribution networks considering wind turbines. The main objective of the DFR is to minimize the deviation of the bus voltage. Since the DFR is a nonlinear optimization problem, we apply the Adaptive Modified Firefly Optimization (AMFO) approach to solve it. As a result of the conflicting behavior of the single- objective function, a fuzzy based clustering technique is employed to reach the set of optimal solutions called Pareto solutions. The approach is tested on the IEEE 32-bus standard test system.
Keywords: Adaptive Modified Firefly Optimization (AMFO), Pareto solutions, feeder reconfiguration, wind turbines, bus voltage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20161064 Mechanical Properties of Enset Fibers Obtained from Different Breeds of Enset Plant
Authors: Diriba T. Balcha, Boris Kulig, Oliver Hensel, Eyassu Woldesenbet
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Enset fiber is agricultural waste and available in a surplus amount in Ethiopia. However, the hypothesized variation in properties of this fiber due to diversity of its plant source breed, fiber position within plant stem and chemical treatment duration had not proven that its application for the development of composite products is problematic. Currently, limited data are known on the functional properties of the fiber as a potential functional fiber. Thus, an effort is made in this study to narrow the knowledge gaps by characterizing it. The experimental design was conducted using Design-Expert software and the tensile test was conducted on Enset fiber from 10 breeds: Dego, Dirbo, Gishera, Itine, Siskela, Neciho, Yesherkinke, Tuzuma, Ankogena, and Kucharkia. The effects of 5% Na-OH surface treatment duration and fiber location along and across the plant pseudostem was also investigated. The test result shows that the rupture stress variation is not significant among the fibers from 10 Enset breeds. However, strain variation is significant among the fibers from 10 Enset breeds that breed Dego fiber has the highest strain before failure. Surface treated fibers showed improved rupture strength and elastic modulus per 24 hours of treatment duration. Also, the result showed that chemical treatment can deteriorate the load-bearing capacity of the fiber. The raw fiber has the higher load-bearing capacity than the treated fiber. And, it was noted that both the rupture stress and strain increase in the top to bottom gradient, whereas there is no significant variation across the stem. Elastic modulus variation both along and across the stem was insignificant. The rupture stress, elastic modulus, and strain result of Enset fiber are 360.11 ± 181.86 MPa, 12.80 ± 6.85 GPa and 0.04 ± 0.02 mm/mm, respectively. These results show that Enset fiber is comparable to other natural fibers such as abaca, banana, and sisal fibers and can be used as alternatives natural fiber for composites application. Besides, the insignificant variation of properties among breeds and across stem is essential for all breeds and all leaf sheath of the Enset fiber plant for fiber extraction. The use of short natural fiber over the long is preferable to reduce the significant variation of properties along the stem or fiber direction. In conclusion, Enset fiber application for composite product design and development is mechanically feasible.Keywords: Agricultural waste, chemical treatment, fiber characteristics, natural fiber.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7301063 Appropriate Technology: Revisiting the Movement in Developing Countries for Sustainability
Authors: Jayshree Patnaik, Bhaskar Bhowmick
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The economic growth of any nation is steered and dependent on innovation in technology. It can be preferably argued that technology has enhanced the quality of life. Technology is linked both with an economic and a social structure. But there are some parts of the world or communities which are yet to reap the benefits of technological innovation. Business and organizations are now well equipped with cutting-edge innovations that improve the firm performance and provide them with a competitive edge, but rarely does it have a positive impact on any community which is weak and marginalized. In recent times, it is observed that communities are actively handling social or ecological issues with the help of indigenous technologies. Thus, "Appropriate Technology" comes into the discussion, which is quite prevalent in the rural third world. Appropriate technology grew as a movement in the mid-1970s during the energy crisis, but it lost its stance in the following years when people started it to describe it as an inferior technology or dead technology. Basically, there is no such technology which is inferior or sophisticated for a particular region. The relevance of appropriate technology lies in penetrating technology into a larger and weaker section of community where the “Bottom of the pyramid” can pay for technology if they find the price is affordable. This is a theoretical paper which primarily revolves around how appropriate technology has faded and again evolved in both developed and developing countries. The paper will try to focus on the various concepts, history and challenges faced by the appropriate technology over the years. Appropriate technology follows a documented approach but lags in overall design and diffusion. Diffusion of technology into the poorer sections of community remains unanswered until the present time. Appropriate technology is multi-disciplinary in nature; therefore, this openness allows having a varied working model for different problems. Appropriate technology is a friendly technology that seeks to improve the lives of people in a constraint environment by providing an affordable and sustainable solution. Appropriate technology needs to be defined in the era of modern technological advancement for sustainability.
Keywords: Appropriate technology, community, developing country, sustainability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18621062 Crowdfunding for Saudi Arabia Green Projects
Authors: Saleh Komies, Mona Alharbi, Razan Alhayyani, Mozah Almulhim, Roseanne Khawaja, Ahmed Alradhi
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One of the proposed solutions that face some challenges is encouraging sustainable energy consumption across Saudi Arabia through crowdfunding platforms. To address these challenges, we need to determine the level of awareness of crowdfunding and green projects, as well as the preferences and willingness of Saudis to utilize crowdfunding as an alternative funding source for green projects in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we aim to determine the influence of environmental awareness and concern on the propensity to crowdfund green projects. The survey is being conducted as part of environmental initiatives to assess public perceptions and opinions on crowdfunding green projects in Saudi Arabia. A total of 450 responses to an online questionnaire distributed via convenience and snowball sampling were utilized for data analysis. The survey reveals that Saudis have a low understanding of crowdfunding concepts and a relatively high understanding of implementing green projects. The public is interested in crowdfunding green projects if there is a return on investment.
Keywords: Crowdfunding, green projects, renewable energy, Saudi Arabia, solar farms, wind resources.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2561061 Ec-A: A Task Allocation Algorithm for Energy Minimization in Multiprocessor Systems
Authors: Anju S. Pillai, T.B. Isha
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With the necessity of increased processing capacity with less energy consumption; power aware multiprocessor system has gained more attention in the recent future. One of the additional challenges that is to be solved in a multi-processor system when compared to uni-processor system is job allocation. This paper presents a novel task dependent job allocation algorithm: Energy centric- Allocation (Ec-A) and Rate Monotonic (RM) scheduling to minimize energy consumption in a multiprocessor system. A simulation analysis is carried out to verify the performance increase with reduction in energy consumption and required number of processors in the system.
Keywords: Energy consumption, Job allocation, Multiprocessor systems, Task dependent.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21861060 Congestion Management in a Deregulated Power System with Micro Grid
Authors: Guguloth Ramesh, T. K. Sunil Kumar
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This paper presents congestion management in deregulated power systems. In a deregulated environment, every buyer wants to buy power from the cheapest generator available, irrespective of relative geographical location of buyer and seller. As a consequence of this, the transmission corridors evacuating the power of cheaper generators would get overloaded if all such transactions are approved. Congestion management is a mechanism to prioritize the transactions and commit to such a schedule which would not overload the network. The congestions in the transmission lines are determined by Optimal Power Flow (OPF) solution, which is carried by primal liner programming method. Congestion in the transmission lines are alleviated by connected Distributed Generation (DG) of micro grid at load bus. A method to determine the optimal location of DG unit has been suggested based on transmission line relief sensitivity based approach. The effectiveness of proposed method has been demonstrated on modified IEEE-14 and 30 bus test systems.
Keywords: Congestion management, Distribution Generation (DG), Transmission Line Relief (TLR) sensitivity index, OPF.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 38921059 Study the Effect of Roughness on the Higher Order Moment to Extract Information about the Turbulent Flow Structure in an Open Channel Flow
Authors: Md Abdullah Al Faruque, Ram Balachandar
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The present study was carried out to understand the extent of effect of roughness and Reynolds number in open channel flow (OCF). To this extent, four different types of bed surface conditions consisting smooth, distributed roughness, continuous roughness, natural sand bed and two different Reynolds number for each bed surfaces were adopted in this study. Particular attention was given on mean velocity, turbulence intensity, Reynolds shear stress, correlation, higher order moments and quadrant analysis. Further, the extent of influence of roughness and Reynolds number in the depth-wise direction also studied. Increasing Reynolds shear stress near rough beds are noticed due to arrays of discrete roughness elements and flow over these elements generating a series of wakes which contributes to the generation of significantly higher Reynolds shear stress.
Keywords: Bed roughness, ejection, sweep, open channel flow, Reynolds Shear Stress, turbulent boundary layer, velocity triple product.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17301058 A Qualitative Evaluation of an Instrument for Measuring the Influence of Factors Affecting Use of Business-to-Employee (B2E) Portals
Authors: Md. Mahbubur Rahim
Abstract:
B2E portals represent a new class of web-based information technologies which many organisations are introducing in recent years to stay in touch with their distributed workforces and enable them to perform value added activities for organisations. However, actual usage of these emerging systems (measured using suitable instruments) has not been reported in the contemporary scholarly literature. We argue that many of the instruments to measure usage of various types of IT-enabled information systems are not directly applicable for B2E portals because they were developed for the context of traditional mainframe and PC-based information systems. It is therefore important to develop a new instrument for web-based portal technologies aimed at employees. In this article, we report on the development and initial qualitative evaluation of an instrument that seeks to operationaise a set of independent factors affecting the usage of portals by employees. The proposed instrument is useful to IT/e-commerce researchers and practitioners alike as it enhances their confidence in predicting employee usage of portals in organisations.Keywords: Portal, business-to-employees, instrument, evaluation, qualitative research.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13461057 Optimization of Structure of Section-Based Automated Lines
Authors: R. Usubamatov, M. Z. Abdulmuin
Abstract:
Automated production lines with so called 'hard structures' are widely used in manufacturing. Designers segmented these lines into sections by placing a buffer between the series of machine tools to increase productivity. In real production condition the capacity of a buffer system is limited and real production line can compensate only some part of the productivity losses of an automated line. The productivity of such production lines cannot be readily determined. This paper presents mathematical approach to solving the structure of section-based automated production lines by criterion of maximum productivity.
Keywords: optimization production line, productivity, sections
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13241056 Yield Prediction Using Support Vectors Based Under-Sampling in Semiconductor Process
Authors: Sae-Rom Pak, Seung Hwan Park, Jeong Ho Cho, Daewoong An, Cheong-Sool Park, Jun Seok Kim, Jun-Geol Baek
Abstract:
It is important to predict yield in semiconductor test process in order to increase yield. In this study, yield prediction means finding out defective die, wafer or lot effectively. Semiconductor test process consists of some test steps and each test includes various test items. In other world, test data has a big and complicated characteristic. It also is disproportionably distributed as the number of data belonging to FAIL class is extremely low. For yield prediction, general data mining techniques have a limitation without any data preprocessing due to eigen properties of test data. Therefore, this study proposes an under-sampling method using support vector machine (SVM) to eliminate an imbalanced characteristic. For evaluating a performance, randomly under-sampling method is compared with the proposed method using actual semiconductor test data. As a result, sampling method using SVM is effective in generating robust model for yield prediction.
Keywords: Yield Prediction, Semiconductor Test Process, Support Vector Machine, Under Sampling
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23961055 Mobile Robot Path Planning Utilizing Probability Recursive Function
Authors: Ethar H. Khalil, Bahaa I. Kazem
Abstract:
In this work a software simulation model has been proposed for two driven wheels mobile robot path planning; that can navigate in dynamic environment with static distributed obstacles. The work involves utilizing Bezier curve method in a proposed N order matrix form; for engineering the mobile robot path. The Bezier curve drawbacks in this field have been diagnosed. Two directions: Up and Right function has been proposed; Probability Recursive Function (PRF) to overcome those drawbacks. PRF functionality has been developed through a proposed; obstacle detection function, optimization function which has the capability of prediction the optimum path without comparison between all feasible paths, and N order Bezier curve function that ensures the drawing of the obtained path. The simulation results that have been taken showed; the mobile robot travels successfully from starting point and reaching its goal point. All obstacles that are located in its way have been avoided. This navigation is being done successfully using the proposed PRF techniques.Keywords: Mobile robot, path planning, Bezier curve.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1461