Search results for: production components

Authors: Thiago Brito Bezerra, Mauro Lopes de Freitas, Waldir Sabino da Silva Júnior

Abstract:

The Sigma-Delta A/D converters have been proposed as a practical application for A/D conversion at high rates because of its simplicity and robustness to imperfections in the circuit, also because the traditional converters are more difficult to implement in VLSI technology. These difficulties with conventional conversion methods need precise analog components in their filters and conversion circuits, and are more vulnerable to noise and interference. This paper aims to analyze the architecture, function and application of Analog-Digital converters (A/D) Sigma-Delta to overcome these difficulties, showing some simulations using the Simulink software and Multisim.

Keywords: Analysis, Oversampling Modulator, A/D converters, Sigma-Delta.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2685

Authors: Jerico M. Consolacion, Maria Cynthia R. Oliveros

Abstract:

The Philippine White Mallard duck was compared with Pekin duck for potential meat production. A total of 50 ducklings were randomly assigned to five (5) pens per treatment after one month of brooding. Each pen containing five (5) ducks was considered as a replicate. The ducks were raised until 12 weeks of age and slaughtered at the end of the growing period. Meat from both breeds was analyzed. The data were subjected to the Independent-Sample T-test at 5% level of confidence. Results showed that post-mortem pH (0, 20 minutes, 50 minutes, 1 hour and 20 minutes, 1 hour and 50 minutes, and 24 hours ) did not differ significantly (P>0.05) between breeds. However, Pekin ducks (89.84±0.71) had a significantly higher water-holding capacity than Philippine White Mallard ducks (87.93±0.63) (P<0.05). Also, meat color (CIE L, a, b) revealed that no significant differences among the lightness, redness, and yellowness of the skin (breast) in both breeds (P>0.05) except for the yellowness of the lean muscles of the Pekin duck breast. Pekin duck meat (1.15±0.04) had significantly higher crude fat content than Philippine White Mallard (0.47±0.58). The study clearly showed that breed is a factor and provided some pronounced effects among the parameters. However, these results are considered as preliminary information on the meat quality of Philippine White Mallard duck. Hence, further studies are needed to understand and fully utilize it for meat production and develop different meat products from this breed.

Keywords: Crude fat, meat quality, water-holding capacity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1167

Authors: Banti Sidhiwala, T. C. S. M. Gupta

Abstract:

Mineral oils of naphthenic and paraffinic type are in use as insulating liquids in the transformer applications to protect solid insulation from moisture and ensures effective heat transfer/cooling. The performance of these type of oils have been proven in the field over many decades and the condition monitoring and diagnosis of transformer performance have been successfully monitored through oil properties and dissolved gas analysis methods successfully. Different types of gases can represent various types of faults that may occur due to faulty components or unfavorable operating conditions. A large amount of database has been generated in the industry for dissolved gas analysis in mineral oil-based transformer oils, and various models have been developed to predict faults and analyze data. Additionally, oil specifications and standards have been updated to include stray gassing limits that cover low-temperature faults. This modification has become an effective preventative maintenance tool that can help greatly in understanding the reasons for breakdowns of electrical insulating materials and related components. Natural esters have seen a rise in popularity in recent years due to their "green" credentials. Some of its benefits include biodegradability, a higher fire point, improvement in load capability of transformer and improved solid insulation life than mineral oils. However, the stray gassing test shows that hydrogen and hydrocarbons like methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) show very high values which are much higher than the limits of mineral oil standards. Though the standards for these types of esters are yet to be evolved, the higher values of hydrocarbon gases that are available in the market is of concern which might be interpreted as a fault in transformer operation. The current paper focuses on developing a class of natural esters with low levels of stray gassing by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and International Electric Council (IEC) methods much lower values compared to the natural ester-based products reported in the literature. The experimental results of products are explained.

Keywords: Biodegradability, fire point, dissolved gas analysis, natural ester, stray gassing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Mohammad R. Jalali, Mohammad M. Jalali

Abstract:

The earliest theories of sloshing waves and solitary waves based on potential theory idealisations and irrotational flow have been extended to be applicable to more realistic domains. To this end, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are widely used. Three-dimensional CFD methods such as Navier-Stokes solvers with volume of fluid treatment of the free surface and Navier-Stokes solvers with mappings of the free surface inherently impose high computational expense; therefore, considerable effort has gone into developing depth-averaged approaches. Examples of such approaches include Green–Naghdi (GN) equations. In Cartesian system, GN velocity profile depends on horizontal directions, x-direction and y-direction. The effect of vertical direction (z-direction) is also taken into consideration by applying weighting function in approximation. GN theory considers the effect of vertical acceleration and the consequent non-hydrostatic pressure. Moreover, in GN theory, the flow is rotational. The present study illustrates the application of GN equations to propagation of sloshing waves and solitary waves. For this purpose, GN equations solver is verified for the benchmark tests of Gaussian hump sloshing and solitary wave propagation in shallow basins. Analysis of the free surface sloshing of even harmonic components of an initial Gaussian hump demonstrates that the GN model gives predictions in satisfactory agreement with the linear analytical solutions. Discrepancies between the GN predictions and the linear analytical solutions arise from the effect of wave nonlinearities arising from the wave amplitude itself and wave-wave interactions. Numerically predicted solitary wave propagation indicates that the GN model produces simulations in good agreement with the analytical solution of the linearised wave theory. Comparison between the GN model numerical prediction and the result from perturbation analysis confirms that nonlinear interaction between solitary wave and a solid wall is satisfactorilly modelled. Moreover, solitary wave propagation at an angle to the x-axis and the interaction of solitary waves with each other are conducted to validate the developed model.

Keywords: Even harmonic components of sloshing waves, Green–Naghdi equations, nonlinearity, solitary waves.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 862

Authors: Danuvasin Charoen

Abstract:

The software industry has been considered a critical infrastructure for any nation. Several studies have indicated that national competitiveness increasingly depends upon Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and software is one of the major components of ICT, important for both large and small enterprises. Even though there has been strong growth in the software industry in Thailand, the industry has faced many challenges and problems that need to be resolved. For example, the amount of pirated software has been rising, and Thailand still has a large gap in the digital divide. Additionally, the adoption among SMEs has been slow. This paper investigates various issues in the software industry in Thailand, using information acquired through analysis of secondary sources, observation, and focus groups. The results of this study can be used as “lessons learned" for the development of the software industry in any developing country.

Keywords: Software industry, developing nations.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4473

Authors: Wai Keng Teng, Gek Cheng Ngoh, Rozita Yusoff, Mohamed Kheireddine Aroua, Joe Shen Heng

Abstract:

As a by-product of the biodiesel industries, glycerol has been vastly generated which surpasses the market demand. It is imperative to develop an efficient glycerol valorization processes in minimizing the net energy requirement and intensifying the biodiesel production. In this study, base-catalyzed transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate using microwave irradiation as heating method to produce glycerol carbonate was conducted by varying grades of glycerol, i.e. 70%, 86% and 99% purity, that is obtained from biodiesel plant. Metal oxide catalysts were used with varying operating parameters including reaction time, DMC/glycerol molar ratio, catalyst weight %, temperature and stirring speed. From the study on the effect of different operating parameters it was found that the type of catalyst used has the most significant effect on the transesterification reaction. Amidst the metal oxide catalysts examined, CaO gave the best performance. This study indicates the feasibility of producing glycerol carbonate using different grade of glycerol in both conventional thermal activation and microwave irradiation with CaO as catalyst. Microwave assisted transesterification (MAT) of glycerol into glycerol carbonate has demonstrated itself as an energy efficient route by achieving 94.2% yield of GC at 65°C, 5 minutes reaction time, 1 wt% CaO and DMC/glycerol molar ratio of 2. The advantages of MAT transesterification route has made the direct utilization of bioglycerol from biodiesel production without the need of purification. This has marked a more economical and less-energy intensive glycerol carbonate synthesis route.

Keywords: Biodiesel, glycerol, glycerol carbonate, microwave irradiation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2898

Authors: B. B. Rana, M. Yokota, Y. Shimizu, Y. Koide, I. Takamure, T. Kawano, M. Murai

Abstract:

Various genes which control or affect heading time have been found in rice. Out of them, Se1 and E1 loci play important roles in determining heading time by controlling photosensitivity. An isogenic-line pair of late and early lines were developed from progenies of the F₁ from Suweon 258 × 36U. A lateness gene tentatively designated as “Ex” was found to control the difference in heading time between the early and late lines mentioned above. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of Ex on yield and related traits. Indica-type variety Suweon 258 was crossed with 36U, which is an Ur1 (Undulate rachis-1) isogenic line of IR36. In the F₂ population, comparatively early-heading, late-heading and intermediate-heading plants were segregated. Segregation similar to that by the three types of heading was observed in the F₃ and later generations. A late-heading plant and an early-heading plant were selected in the F₈ population from an intermediate-heading F₇ plant, for developing L and E of the isogenic-line pair, respectively. Experiments for L and E were conducted by randomized block design with three replications. Transplanting was conducted on May 3 at a planting distance of 30 cm × 15 cm with two seedlings per hill to an experimental field of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University. Chemical fertilizers containing N, P₂O₅ and K₂O were applied at the nitrogen levels of 4 g/m², 9 g/m² and 18 g/m² in total being denoted by "N4", "N9" and "N18", respectively. Yield, yield components and other traits were measured. Ex delayed 80%-heading by 17 or 18 days in L as compared with E. In total brown rice yield (g/m²), L was 635, 606 and 590, and E was 577, 548 and 501, respectively, at N18, N9 and N4, indicating that Ex increased this trait by 10% to 18%. Ex increased yield-1.5 mm sieve (g/m²) b 9% to 15% at the three fertilizer levels. Ex increased the spikelet number per panicle by 16% to 22%. As a result, the spikelet number per m² was increased by 11% to 18% at the three fertilizer levels. Ex decreased 1000-grain weight (g) by 2 to 4%. L was not significantly different from E in ripened-grain percentage, fertilized-spikelet percentage and percentage of ripened grains to fertilized spikelets. Hence, it is inferred that Ex increased yield by increasing spikelet number per panicle. Hence, Ex could be utilized to develop high yielding varieties for warmer districts.

Keywords: Heading time, lateness gene, photosensitivity, rice, yield, yield components.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 963

Authors: Tolga Yazici

Abstract:

As a matter of the fact that online social networks like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace have experienced an extensive growth in recent years. Social media offers individuals with a tool for communicating and interacting with one another. These social networks enable people to stay in touch with other people and express themselves. This process makes the users of online social networks active creators of content rather than being only consumers of traditional media. That’s why millions of people show strong desire to learn the methods and tools of digital content production and necessary communication skills. However, the booming interest in communication and interaction through online social networks and high level of eagerness to invent and implement the ways to participate in content production raise some privacy and security concerns. This presentation aims to open the assumed revolutionary, democratic and liberating nature of the online social media up for discussion by reviewing some recent political developments in Turkey. Firstly, the role of Internet and online social networks in mobilizing collective movements through social interactions and communications will be questioned. Secondly, some cases from Gezi and Okmeydanı Protests and also December 17-25 period will be presented in order to illustrate misinformation and manipulation in social media and violation of individual privacy through online social networks in order to damage social unity and stability contradictory to democratic nature of online social networking.

Keywords: Online, social media networks, democratic participation, social polarization, privacy of individuals, Turkey.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1854

Authors: D. Hephzibah, P. Kumaran, N. M. Saifuddin

Abstract:

Anaerobic digestion is a well-known technique for sustainable energy recovery from sewage sludge. However, sewage sludge digestion is restricted due to certain factors. Pre-treatment methods have been established in various publications as a promising technique to improve the digestibility of the sewage sludge and to enhance the biogas generated which can be used for energy recovery. In this study, continuous flow microwave (MW) pre-treatment with different intensities were compared by using 5 L semi-continuous digesters at a hydraulic retention time of 27 days. We focused on the effects of MW at different intensities on the sludge solubilization, sludge digestibility, and biogas production of the untreated and MW pre-treated sludge. The MW pre-treatment demonstrated an increase in the ratio of soluble chemical oxygen demand to total chemical oxygen demand (sCOD/tCOD) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration. Besides that, the total volatile solid (TVS) removal efficiency and tCOD removal efficiency also increased during the digestion of the MW pre-treated sewage sludge compared to the untreated sewage sludge. Furthermore, the biogas yield also subsequently increases due to the pre-treatment effect. A higher MW power level and irradiation time generally enhanced the biogas generation which has potential for sustainable energy recovery from sewage treatment plant. However, the net energy balance tabulation shows that the MW pre-treatment leads to negative net energy production.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, biogas, microwave pre-treatment, sewage sludge.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2146

Authors: Jelena S. Kiurski, Vesna S. Kecić, Snežana M. Aksentijević

Abstract:

The identification and evaluation of organic and inorganic pollutants were performed in a flexographic facility in Novi Sad, Serbia. Air samples were collected and analyzed in situ, during 4-hours working time at five sampling points by the mobile gas chromatograph and ozonometer at the printing of collagen casing. Experimental results showed that the concentrations of isopropyl alcohol, acetone, total volatile organic compounds and ozone varied during the sampling times. The highest average concentrations of 94.80 ppm and 102.57 ppm were achieved at 200 minutes from starting the production for isopropyl alcohol and total volatile organic compounds, respectively. The mutual dependences between target hazardous and microclimate parameters were confirmed using a multiple linear regression model with software package STATISTICA 10. Obtained multiple coefficients of determination in the case of ozone and acetone (0.507 and 0.589) with microclimate parameters indicated a moderate correlation between the observed variables. However, a strong positive correlation was obtained for isopropyl alcohol and total volatile organic compounds (0.760 and 0.852) with microclimate parameters. Higher values of parameter F than F_critical for all examined dependences indicated the existence of statistically significant difference between the concentration levels of target pollutants and microclimates parameters. Given that, the microclimate parameters significantly affect the emission of investigated gases and the application of eco-friendly materials in production process present a necessity.

Keywords: Flexographic printing, indoor air, multiple regression analysis, pollution emission.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1307

Authors: Aditya Pratap Singh, Pradeep Tomar

Abstract:

Software reusability is an essential characteristic of Component-Based Software (CBS). The component reusability is an important assess for the effective reuse of components in CBS. The attributes of reusability proposed by various researchers are studied and four of them are identified as potential factors affecting reusability. This paper proposes metric for reusability estimation of black-box software component along with metrics for Interface Complexity, Understandability, Customizability and Reliability. An experiment is performed for estimation of reusability through a case study on a sample web application using a real world component.

Keywords: Component-based software, component reusability, customizability, interface complexity, reliability, understandability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3057

Authors: B.A.Gobin, R.K.Subramanian

Abstract:

This paper gives an overview of the mapping mechanism of SEAM-a methodology for the automatic generation of knowledge models and its mapping onto Java codes. It discusses the rules that will be used to map the different components in the knowledge model automatically onto Java classes, properties and methods. The aim of developing this mechanism is to help in the creation of a prototype which will be used to validate the knowledge model which has been generated automatically. It will also help to link the modeling phase with the implementation phase as existing knowledge engineering methodologies do not provide for proper guidelines for the transition from the knowledge modeling phase to development phase. This will decrease the development overheads associated to the development of Knowledge Based Systems.

Keywords: KBS, OWL, ontology, knowledge models

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1383

Authors: Saeideh Hesam, Alireza Nazemi, Ahmad Haghbin

Abstract:

This paper presents the approximate analytical solution of a Zakharov-Kuznetsov ZK(m, n, k) equation with the help of the differential transform method (DTM). The DTM method is a powerful and efficient technique for finding solutions of nonlinear equations without the need of a linearization process. In this approach the solution is found in the form of a rapidly convergent series with easily computed components. The two special cases, ZK(2,2,2) and ZK(3,3,3), are chosen to illustrate the concrete scheme of the DTM method in ZK(m, n, k) equations. The results demonstrate reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation, differential transform method, closed form solution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1928

Authors: Mohamed Kholif, Suaad Awad Mohamed

Abstract:

In this paper we present semantic assistant agent (SAA), an open source digital library agent which takes user query for finding information in the digital library and takes resources- metadata and stores it semantically. SAA uses Semantic Web to improve browsing and searching for resources in digital library. All metadata stored in the library are available in RDF format for querying and processing by SemanSreach which is a part of SAA architecture. The architecture includes a generic RDF-based model that represents relationships among objects and their components. Queries against these relationships are supported by an RDF triple store.

Keywords: Digital Library, Dublin Core, Ontology, Semantic web.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1766

Authors: Thomas Adi Purnomo Sidhi

Abstract:

Nowadays, network is an essential need in almost every part of human daily activities. People now can seamlessly connect to others through the Internet. With advanced technology, our personal data now can be more easily accessed. One of many components we are concerned for delivering the best network is a security issue. This paper is proposing a method that provides more options for security. This research aims to improve network security by focusing on the physical layer which is the first layer of the OSI model. The layer consists of the basic networking hardware transmission technologies of a network. With the use of observation method, the research produces a schematic design for enhancing the network security through the gray code converter.

Keywords: Network, network security, gray code, physical layer.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2167

Authors: P. Sophon, M. Kruachanta, S. Chaisri, G. Leaungvongpaisan, P. Wongpornchai

Abstract:

The thick bed hydrocarbon reservoirs are primarily interested because of the more prolific production. When the amount of petroleum in the thick bed starts decreasing, the thin bed reservoirs are the alternative targets to maintain the reserves. The conventional interpretation of seismic data cannot delineate the thin bed having thickness less than the vertical seismic resolution. Therefore, spectral decomposition and instantaneous seismic attributes were used to delineate the thin bed in this study. Short Window Discrete Fourier Transform (SWDFT) spectral decomposition and instantaneous frequency attributes were used to reveal the thin bed reservoir, while Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) spectral decomposition and envelope (instantaneous amplitude) attributes were used to indicate hydrocarbon bearing zone. The study area is located in the Pohokura Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. The thin bed target is the uppermost part of Mangahewa Formation, the most productive in the gas-condensate production in the Pohokura Field. According to the time-frequency analysis, SWDFT spectral decomposition can reveal the thin bed using a 72 Hz SWDFT isofrequency section and map, and that is confirmed by the instantaneous frequency attribute. The envelope attribute showing the high anomaly indicates the hydrocarbon accumulation area at the thin bed target. Moreover, the CWT spectral decomposition shows the low-frequency shadow zone and abnormal seismic attenuation in the higher isofrequencies below the thin bed confirms that the thin bed can be a prospective hydrocarbon zone.

Keywords: Hydrocarbon indication, instantaneous seismic attribute, spectral decomposition, thin bed delineation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 639

Authors: Makesh Iyer, T. Shanmuganantham

Abstract:

This work deals with the designing of an efficient low noise amplifier for 10.00 GHz applications. The amplifier is designed using Gallium Arsenide High Electron Mobility Transistor (GaAs HEMT) ATF – 36077 with inductive source degeneration technique which is one of the techniques to improve the stability of the potentially unstable device and make it unconditionally stable. Also, different substrates are used for designing the LNA to identify the suitable substrate that gives optimum results. It is observed that the noise immunity is more in Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) designed using RT Duroid 5880 substrate. This design resulted in noise figure of 0.859 dB and power gain of 15.530 dB. The comparative analysis of the LNA design is discussed in this paper.

Keywords: Low noise amplifier, substrate, distributed components, gain, noise figure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 816

Authors: Naira Sahakyan, Margarit Petrosyan, Armen Trchounian

Abstract:

One of the tasks in contemporary biotechnology, pharmacology and other fields of human activities is to obtain biologically active substances from plants. They are very essential in the treatment of many diseases due to their actually high therapeutic value without visible side effects. However, sometimes the possibility of obtaining the metabolites is limited due to the reduction of wild-growing plants. That is why the plant cell cultures are of great interest as alternative sources of biologically active substances. Besides, during the monitored cultivation, it is possible to obtain substances that are not synthesized by plants in nature. Isolated culture of Ajuga genevensis with high growth activity and ability of regeneration was obtained using MS nutrient medium. The agar-diffusion method showed that aqueous extracts of callus culture revealed high antimicrobial activity towards various gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis A1WT; B. mesentericus WDCM 1873; Staphylococcus aureus WDCM 5233; Staph. citreus WT) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli WKPM M-17; Salmonella typhimurium TA 100) microorganisms. The broth dilution method revealed that the minimal and half maximal inhibitory concentration values against E. coli corresponded to the 70 μg/mL and 140 μg/mL concentration of the extract respectively. According to the photochemiluminescent analysis, callus tissue extracts of leaf and root origin showed higher antioxidant activity than the same quantity of A. genevensis intact plant extract. A. genevensis intact plant and callus culture extracts showed no cytotoxic effect on K-562 suspension cell line of human chronic myeloid leukemia. The GC-MS analysis showed deep differences between the qualitative and quantitative composition of callus culture and intact plant extracts. Hexacosane (11.17%); n-hexadecanoic acid (9.33%); and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (4.28%) were the main components of intact plant extracts. 10-Methylnonadecane (57.0%); methoxyacetic acid, 2-tetradecyl ester (17.75%) and 1-Bromopentadecane (14.55%) were the main components of A. genevensis callus culture extracts. Obtained data indicate that callus culture of A. genevensis can be used as an alternative source of biologically active substances.

Keywords: Ajuga genevensis, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, callus cultures.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1562

Authors: N. Veerasamy, JPH Eloff

Abstract:

Network warfare is an emerging concept that focuses on the network and computer based forms through which information is attacked and defended. Various computer and network security concepts thus play a role in network warfare. Due the intricacy of the various interacting components, a model to better understand the complexity in a network warfare environment would be beneficial. Non-quantitative modeling is a useful method to better characterize the field due to the rich ideas that can be generated based on the use of secular associations, chronological origins, linked concepts, categorizations and context specifications. This paper proposes the use of non-quantitative methods through a morphological analysis to better explore and define the influential conditions in a network warfare environment.

Keywords: Morphological, non-quantitative, network warfare.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1386

Authors: S. Shalaweh, P. Bouic, F. Weitz, R. Henkel

Abstract:

More than 3000 plants of notable phyto-therapeutic value grow in South Africa; these include Cissampelos capensis, commonly known in Afrikaans as dawidjie or dawidjiewortel. C. capensis is the most significant and popular medicinal plant used by the Khoisan as well as other rural groups in the Western region of South Africa. Its rhizomes are traditionally used to treat male fertility problems. Yet, no studies have investigated the effects of this plant or its extracts on human spermatozoa. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effects of C. capensis rhizome extract (CRE) fractions on ejaculated human spermatozoa in vitro. Spermatozoa from a total of 77 semen samples were washed with human tubular fluid medium supplemented with bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA) and incubated for 2 hours with 20 μg/ml progesterone (P4) followed by incubation with different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.5, 5, 50, 200 μg/ml) of fractionated CRE (F1=0% MeOH, F2=30% MeOH, F3=60% MeOH and F4=100% MeOH) for 1.5 hours at 37°C. A sample without addition of CRE fractions served as control. Samples were analyzed for sperm motility, reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA-fragmentation, acrosome reaction and capacitation. Results showed that F1 resulted in significantly higher values for ROS, capacitation and hyper-activation compared to F2, F3, and F4 with P4-stimulated samples generally having higher values. No significant effect was found for the other parameters. In conclusion, alkaloids present in F1 of CRE appear to have triggered sperm intrinsic ROS production leading to sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction induced by P4.

Keywords: Capacitation, acrosome reaction, Cissampelos capensis, DNA fragmentation, ROS.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1915

Authors: H. Dornhackl, K. Kadletz, R. Luh, P. Tavolato

Abstract:

In this paper, we describe the use of formal methods to model malware behaviour. The modelling of harmful behaviour rests upon syntactic structures that represent malicious procedures inside malware. The malicious activities are modelled by a formal grammar, where API calls’ components are the terminals and the set of API calls used in combination to achieve a goal are designated non-terminals. The combination of different non-terminals in various ways and tiers make up the attack vectors that are used by harmful software. Based on these syntactic structures a parser can be generated which takes execution traces as input for pattern recognition.

Keywords: Malware behaviour, modelling, parsing, search, pattern matching.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1522

Authors: Rodrigo Chandia, Mauricio Papa

Abstract:

Efforts to secure supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems must be supported under the guidance of sound security policies and mechanisms to enforce them. Critical elements of the policy must be systematically translated into a format that can be used by policy enforcement components. Ideally, the goal is to ensure that the enforced policy is a close reflection of the specified policy. However, security controls commonly used to enforce policies in the IT environment were not designed to satisfy the specific needs of the SCADA environment. This paper presents a language, based on the well-known XACML framework, for the expression of authorization policies for SCADA systems.

Keywords: Access policy specification, process control systems, network security.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2313

Authors: Hazem J. Smadi

Abstract:

FMEA has been used for several years and proved its efficiency for system’s risk analysis due to failures. Risk priority number found in FMEA is used to rank failure modes that may occur in a system. There are some guidelines in the literature to assign the values of FMEA components known as Severity, Occurrence and Detection. This paper propose a method to assign the value for occurrence in more realistic manner representing the state of the system under study rather than depending totally on the experience of the analyst. This method uses the hazard function of a system to determine the value of occurrence depending on the behavior of the hazard being constant, increasing or decreasing.

Keywords: FMEA, Hazard Function, Risk Priority Number.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3524

Authors: L. Plošek, F. Nsanganwimana, B. Pourrut, J. Elbl, J. Hynšt, A. Kintl, D. Kubná, J. Záhora

Abstract:

Land degradation is of concern in many countries. People more and more must address the problems associated with the degradation of soil properties due to man. Increasingly, organic soil amendments, such as compost are being examined for their potential use in soil restoration and for preventing soil erosion. In the Czech Republic, compost is the most used to improve soil structure and increase the content of soil organic matter. Land reclamation / restoration is one of the ways to evaluate industrially produced compost because Czech farmers are not willing to use compost as organic fertilizer. The most common use of reclamation substrates in the Czech Republic is for the rehabilitation of landfills and contaminated sites.

This paper deals with the influence of reclamation substrates (RS) with different proportions of compost and sand on selected soil properties–chemical characteristics, nitrogen bioavailability, leaching of mineral nitrogen, respiration activity and plant biomass production. Chemical properties vary proportionally with addition of compost and sand to the control variant (topsoil). The highest differences between the variants were recorded in leaching of mineral nitrogen (varies from 1.36mg dm^-3 in C to 9.09mg dm^-3). Addition of compost to soil improves conditions for plant growth in comparison with soil alone. However, too high addition of compost may have adverse effects on plant growth. In addition, high proportion of compost increases leaching of mineral N. Therefore, mixture of 70% of soil with 10% of compost and 20% of sand may be recommended as optimal composition of RS.

Keywords: Biomass, Compost, Reclamation, Respiration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2332

Authors: S. S. Dol

Abstract:

Improvement in vehicle efficiency can reduce global fossil fuels consumptions. For that sole reason, Shell Global Corporation introduces Shell Eco-marathon where student teams require to design, build and test energy-efficient vehicles. Hence, this paper will focus on design processes and the development of a fuel economic vehicle which satisfying the requirements of the competition. In this project, three components are designed and analyzed, which are the body, chassis and powertrain of the vehicle. Optimum design for each component is produced through simulation analysis and theoretical calculation in which improvement is made as the project progresses.

Keywords: Energy efficient vehicle, drag force, chassis, powertrain.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5744

Authors: Su Myat Marlar Soe, May Paing Paing Zaw

Abstract:

It has been defined that the “network is the system". This implies providing levels of service, reliability, predictability and availability that are commensurate with or better than those that individual computers provide today. To provide this requires integrated network management for interconnected networks of heterogeneous devices covering both the local campus. In this paper we are addressing a framework to effectively deal with this issue. It consists of components and interactions between them which are required to perform the service fault management. A real-world scenario is used to derive the requirements which have been applied to the component identification. An analysis of existing frameworks and approaches with respect to their applicability to the framework is also carried out.

Keywords: To diagnose the possible network faults by using thepredetermined rules.

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

Authors: J. Lebre, F. Brójo

Abstract:

Pollution emission levels of aircraft engines are a nowadays high concern. Any technological advance that could reduce emission levels is always welcome. In what concerns aircraft engines, a possible solution for this problem could be the use of regenerators and intercoolers. These components might reduce the specific fuel consumption, increase efficiency and specific thrust and consequently reduce the pollution levels of the engine. This is not a novel solution. These heat exchangers are already is use in stationary engines. For aircraft engines, the extra weight of the needed hardware could overcome the fuel saved. This work compares a conventional engine with configurations that use intercoolers and regenerators.

Keywords: Intercooler, pollution, regenerator, turbofan

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3557

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Pediatric overweight and obesity need attention because they may cause morbid obesity, which may develop metabolic syndrome (MetS). Criteria used for the definition of adult MetS cannot be applied for pediatric MetS. Dynamic physiological changes that occur during childhood and adolescence require the evaluation of each parameter based upon age intervals. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of blood pressure (BP) values within diverse pediatric age intervals and the possible use and clinical utility of a recently introduced Diagnostic Obesity Notation Model Assessment Tension (DONMA tense) Index derived from systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) [SBP+DBP/200]. Such a formula may enable a more integrative picture for the assessment of pediatric obesity and MetS due to the use of both SBP and DBP. 554 children, whose ages were between 6-16 years participated in the study; the study population was divided into two groups based upon their ages. The first group comprises 280 cases aged 6-10 years (72-120 months), while those aged 10-16 years (121-192 months) constituted the second group. The values of SBP, DBP and the formula (SBP+DBP/200) covering both were evaluated. Each group was divided into seven subgroups with varying degrees of obesity and MetS criteria. Two clinical definitions of MetS have been described. These groups were MetS3 (children with three major components), and MetS2 (children with two major components). The other groups were morbid obese (MO), obese (OB), overweight (OW), normal (N) and underweight (UW). The children were included into the groups according to the age- and sex-based body mass index (BMI) percentile values tabulated by WHO. Data were evaluated by SPSS version 16 with p < 0.05 as the statistical significance degree. Tension index was evaluated in the groups above and below 10 years of age. This index differed significantly between N and MetS as well as OW and MetS groups (p = 0.001) above 120 months. However, below 120 months, significant differences existed between MetS3 and MetS2 (p = 0.003) as well as MetS3 and MO (p = 0.001). In comparison with the SBP and DBP values, tension index values have enabled more clear-cut separation between the groups. It has been detected that the tension index was capable of discriminating MetS3 from MetS2 in the group, which was composed of children aged 6-10 years. This was not possible in the older group of children. This index was more informative for the first group. This study also confirmed that 130 mm Hg and 85 mm Hg cut-off points for SBP and DBP, respectively, are too high for serving as MetS criteria in children because the mean value for tension index was calculated as 1.00 among MetS children. This finding has shown that much lower cut-off points must be set for SBP and DBP for the diagnosis of pediatric MetS, especially for children under-10 years of age. This index may be recommended to discriminate MO, MetS2 and MetS3 among the 6-10 years of age group, whose MetS diagnosis is problematic.

Keywords: Blood pressure, children, index, metabolic syndrome, obesity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 801

Authors: M. A. Mebrek, L.H.Abderrahmane, A. Himeur, S. Bendoukha

Abstract:

In this article, we are going to do a study that consist in the configuration of a link between an earth station to broadcast multimedia service and a user of this service via a geostationary satellite in Ka- band and the set up of the different components of this link and then to make the calculation of the link budget for this system. The application carried out in this work, allows us to calculate the link budget in both directions: the uplink and downlink, as well as all parameters used in the calculation and the development of a link budget. Finally, we will try to verify using the application developed the feasibility of implementation of this system.

Keywords: Geostationary satellite, ground station, ka band, link budget, telecommunication.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5562

Authors: Zs. J. Becze, Á. Krivián, M. Sárvári

Abstract:

Hybrid selection and the application of hybrid specific production technologies are important in terms of the increase of the yield and crop safety of maize. The main explanation for this is climate change, since weather extremes are going on and seem to accelerate in Hungary too.

The biological bases, the selection of appropriate hybrids will be of greater importance in the future. The issue of the adaptability of hybrids will be considerably appreciated. Its good agronomical traits and stress bearing against climatic factors and agrotechnical elements (e.g. different types of herbicides) will be important. There have been examples of 3-4 consecutive droughty years in the past decades, e.g. 1992-1993-1994 or 2009-2011-2012, which made the results of crop production critical. Irrigation cannot be the solution for the problem since currently only the 2% of the arable land is irrigated. Temperatures exceeding the multi-year average are characteristic mainly to the July and August in Hungary, which significantly increase the soil surface evaporation, thus further enhance water shortage. In terms of the yield and crop safety of maize, the weather of these two months is crucial, since the extreme high temperature in July decreases the viability of the pollen and the pistil of maize, decreases the extent of fertilization and makes grain-filling tardy. Consequently, yield and crop safety decrease.

Keywords: Abiotic factors, drought, nutrition content, yield.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1899