Search results for: water problems

Authors: Mihai Rebenciuc, Simona Mihaela Bibic

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Branch of modern mathematics, graphs represent instruments for optimization and solving practical applications in various fields such as economic networks, engineering, network optimization, the geometry of social action, generally, complex systems including contemporary urban problems (path or transport efficiencies, biourbanism, & c.). In this paper is studied the interconnection of some urban network, which can lead to a simulation problem of a digraph through another digraph. The simulation is made univoc or more general multivoc. The concepts of fragment and atom are very useful in the study of connectivity in the digraph that is simulation - including an alternative evaluation of k- connectivity. Rough set approach in (bi)digraph which is proposed in premier in this paper contribute to improved significantly the evaluation of k-connectivity. This rough set approach is based on generalized rough sets - basic facts are presented in this paper.

Keywords: (Bi)digraphs, rough set theory, systems of interacting agents, complex systems.

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Authors: L. Grinis, V. Haslavsky

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Stuck-pipe in drilling operations is one of the most pressing and expensive problems in the oil industry. This paper describes a computational simulation and an experimental study of the hydrodynamic vibrator, which may be used for liquidation of stuck-pipe problems during well drilling. The work principle of the vibrator is based upon the known phenomena of Vortex Street of Karman and the resulting generation of vibrations. We will discuss the computational simulation and experimental investigations of vibrations in this device. The frequency of the vibration parameters has been measured as a function of the wide range Reynolds Number. The validity of the computational simulation and of the assumptions on which it is based has been proved experimentally. The computational simulation of the vibrator work and its effectiveness was carried out using FLUENT software. The research showed high degree of congruence with the results of the laboratory tests and allowed to determine the effect of the granular material features upon the pipe vibration in the well. This study demonstrates the potential of using the hydrodynamic vibrator in a well drilling system.

Keywords: Drilling, stuck-pipe, vibration, vortex shedding.

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Authors: S. Raja Balachandar, K.Kannan

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A new Meta heuristic approach called "Randomized gravitational emulation search algorithm (RGES)" for solving vertex covering problems has been designed. This algorithm is found upon introducing randomization concept along with the two of the four primary parameters -velocity- and -gravity- in physics. A new heuristic operator is introduced in the domain of RGES to maintain feasibility specifically for the vertex covering problem to yield best solutions. The performance of this algorithm has been evaluated on a large set of benchmark problems from OR-library. Computational results showed that the randomized gravitational emulation search algorithm - based heuristic is capable of producing high quality solutions. The performance of this heuristic when compared with other existing heuristic algorithms is found to be excellent in terms of solution quality.

Keywords: Vertex covering Problem, Velocity, Gravitational Force, Newton's Law, Meta Heuristic, Combinatorial optimization.

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Authors: Stanislav Aryeh V. Fradkin, Sharif E.Guseynov

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There is a complex situation on the transport environment in the cities of the world. For the analysis and prevention of environmental problems an accurate calculation hazardous substances concentrations at each point of the investigated area is required. In the turbulent atmosphere of the city the wellknown methods of mathematical statistics for these tasks cannot be applied with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Therefore, to solve this class of problems apparatus of mathematical physics is more appropriate. In such models, because of the difficulty as a rule the influence of uneven land surface on streams of air masses in the turbulent atmosphere of the city are not taken into account. In this paper the influence of the surface roughness, which can be quite large, is mathematically shown. The analysis of this problem under certain conditions identified the possibility of areas appearing in the atmosphere with pressure tending to infinity, i.e. so-called "wall effect".

Keywords: Air pollution, concentration of harmful substances, physical-mathematical model, urban area.

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Authors: A. S. Telang, P. P. Bedekar

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In today’s world, electrical energy has become an indispensable component of all aspects of modern human life. Reliability, security and stability are the key aspects of any power system. Failure to meet any of these three aspects results into a great impediment to modern life. Modern power systems are being subjected to heavily stressed conditions leading to voltage stability problems. If the voltage stability problems are not mitigated properly through proper voltage stability assessment methods, cascading events may occur which may lead to voltage collapse or blackout events. Modern FACTS devices like STATCOM are one of the measures to overcome the blackout problems. As these devices are very costly, they must be installed properly at suitable locations, mostly at weak bus. Line voltage stability indices such as FVSI, Lmn and LQP play important role for identification of a weak bus. This paper presents evaluation of these line stability indices for the assessment of reliable information about the closeness of the power system to voltage collapse. PSAT is a user-friendly MATLAB toolbox, of which CPF is an important feature which has been extensively used for the placement of STATCOM to assess the stability. Novelty of the present research work lies in that the active and reactive load has been changed simultaneously at all the load buses under consideration. MATLAB code has been developed for the same and tested successfully on various standard IEEE test systems. The results for standard IEEE14 bus test system, specifically, are presented in this paper.

Keywords: Voltage stability analysis, voltage collapse, PSAT, CPF, VSI, FVSI, Lmn, LQP.

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Authors: M. Nakkuntod, S. Srinarang, K.W. Hilu

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Water lily (Nymphaea L.) is the largest genus of Nymphaeaceae. This family is composed of six genera (Nuphar, Ondinea, Euryale, Victoria, Barclaya, Nymphaea). Its members are nearly worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. The classification of some species in Nymphaea is ambiguous due to high variation in leaf and flower parts such as leaf margin, stamen appendage. Therefore, the phylogenetic relationships based on 18S rDNA were constructed to delimit this genus. DNAs of 52 specimens belonging to water lily family were extracted using modified conventional method containing cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The results showed that the amplified fragment is about 1600 base pairs in size. After analysis, the aligned sequences presented 9.36% for variable characters comprising 2.66% of parsimonious informative sites and 6.70% of singleton sites. Moreover, there are 6 regions of 1-2 base(s) for insertion/deletion. The phylogenetic trees based on maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood with high bootstrap support indicated that genus Nymphaea was a paraphyletic group because of Ondinea, Victoria and Euryale disruption. Within genus Nymphaea, subgenus Nymphaea is a basal lineage group which cooperated with Euryale and Victoria. The other four subgenera, namely Lotos, Hydrocallis, Brachyceras and Anecphya were included the same large clade which Ondinea was placed within Anecphya clade due to geographical sharing.

Keywords: nrDNA, phylogeny, taxonomy, Waterlily.

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Authors: P. Luangpaiboon, P. Aungkulanon

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This work presents a multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) model based on the desirability function approach for solving the aggregate production planning (APP) decision problem upon Masud and Hwang-s model. The proposed model minimises total production costs, carrying or backordering costs and rates of change in labor levels. An industrial case demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed model to the APP problems with three scenarios of inventory levels. The proposed model yields an efficient compromise solution and the overall levels of DM satisfaction with the multiple combined response levels. There has been a trend to solve complex planning problems using various metaheuristics. Therefore, in this paper, the multi-objective APP problem is solved by hybrid metaheuristics of the hunting search (HuSIHSA) and firefly (FAIHSA) mechanisms on the improved harmony search algorithm. Results obtained from the solution of are then compared. It is observed that the FAIHSA can be used as a successful alternative solution mechanism for solving APP problems over three scenarios. Furthermore, the FAIHSA provides a systematic framework for facilitating the decision-making process, enabling a decision maker interactively to modify the desirability function approach and related model parameters until a good optimal solution is obtained with proper selection of control parameters when compared.

Keywords: Aggregate Production Planning, Desirability Function Approach, Improved Harmony Search Algorithm, Hunting Search Algorithm and Firefly Algorithm.

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Authors: Rahman Davtalab, Saba Ghotbi

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Florida is one of the most vulnerable states to natural disasters among the 50 states of the USA. The state exposed by tropical storms, hurricanes, storm surge, landslide, etc. Besides the mentioned natural phenomena, global warming, sea-level rise, and other anthropogenic environmental changes make a very complicated and unpredictable system for decision-makers. In this study, we tried to highlight the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on surface water and groundwater systems for three different geographical locations in Florida; Main Canal of Jacksonville Beach in the northeast of Florida adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, Grace Lake in central Florida, far away from surrounded coastal line, and Mc Dill in Florida and adjacent to Tampa Bay and Mexican Gulf. An integrated hydrologic and hydraulic model was developed and simulated for all three cases, including surface water, groundwater, or a combination of both. For the case study of Main Canal-Jacksonville Beach, the investigation showed that a 76 cm sea-level rise in time horizon 2060 could increase the flow velocity of the tide cycle for the main canal's outlet and headwater. This case also revealed how the sea level rise could change the tide duration, potentially affecting the coastal ecosystem. As expected, sea-level rise can raise the groundwater level. Therefore, for the Mc Dill case, the effect of groundwater rise on soil storage and the performance of stormwater retention ponds is investigated. The study showed that sea-level rise increased the pond’s seasonal high water up to 40 cm by time horizon 2060. The reliability of the retention pond is dropped from 99% for the current condition to 54% for the future. The results also proved that the retention pond could not retain and infiltrate the designed treatment volume within 72 hours, which is a significant indication of increasing pollutants in the future. Grace Lake case study investigates the effects of climate change on groundwater recharge. This study showed that using the dynamically downscaled data of the groundwater recharge can decline up to 24 % by the mid-21st century. 

Keywords: groundwater, surface water, Florida, retention pond, tide, sea-level rise

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Authors: Nachawit Tikul

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This study aimed to determine low-income housing adaptations for flooding, which causes living problems and housing damage, and the results from improvement. Three low-income settlements in Chiang Mai which experienced different flood types, i.e. flash floods in Samukeepattana, drainage floods in Bansanku, and river floods in Kampangam, were chosen for the study. Almost all of the residents improved their houses to protect the property from flood damage by changing building materials to flood damage resistant materials for walls, floors, and other parts of the structure that were below the base of annual flood elevation. They could only build some parts of their own homes, so hiring skilled workers or contractors was still important. Building materials which have no need for any special tools and are easy to access and use for construction, as well as low cost, are selected for construction. The residents in the three slums faced living problems for only a short time and were able to cope with them. This may be due to the location of the three slums near the city where assistance is readily available. But the housing and the existence in the slums can endure only the regular floods and residence still have problems in unusual floods, which have been experienced 1-2 times during the past 10 years. The residents accept the need for evacuations and prepare for them. When faced with extreme floods, residence have evacuated to the nearest safe place such as schools and public building, and come back to repair the houses after the flood. These are the distinguishing characteristics of low-income living which can withstand serious situations due to the simple lifestyle. Therefore, preparation of living areas for use during severe floods and encouraging production of affordable flood resistant materials should be areas of concern when formulating disaster assistance policies for low income people.

Keywords: Flooding, low-income settlement, housing, adaptation.

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Authors: Thanaa Abdel Moghny, Mohamed Keshawy, Mahmoud Fathy, Abdul-Raheim M. Abdul-Raheim, Khalid I. Kabel, Ahmed F. El-Kafrawy, Mahmoud Ahmed Mousa, Ahmed E. Awadallah

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Ecological pollution is of great concern for human health and the environment. Numerous organic and inorganic pollutants usually discharged into the water caused carcinogenic or toxic effect for human and different life form. In this respect, this work aims to treat water contaminated by organic and inorganic waste using sorbent based on polystyrene. Therefore, two different series of adsorbent material were prepared; the first one included the preparation of polymeric sorbent from the reaction of styrene acrylate ester and alkyl acrylate. The second series involved syntheses of composite ion exchange resins of waste polystyrene and   amorphous carbon thin film (WPS/ACTF) by solvent evaporation using micro emulsion polymerization. The produced ACTF/WPS nanocomposite was sulfonated to produce cation exchange resins ACTF/WPSS nanocomposite. The sorbents of the first series were characterized using FTIR, ¹H NMR, and gel permeation chromatography. The thermal properties of the cross-linked sorbents were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis, and the morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The removal of organic pollutant was determined through absorption tests in a various organic solvent. The chemical and crystalline structure of nanocomposite of second series has been proven by studies of FTIR spectrum, X-rays, thermal analysis, SEM and TEM analysis to study morphology of resins and ACTF that assembled with polystyrene chain. It is found that the composite resins ACTF/WPSS are thermally stable and show higher chemical stability than ion exchange WPSS resins. The composite resin was evaluated for calcium hardness removal. The result is evident that the ACTF/WPSS composite has more prominent inorganic pollutant removal than WPSS resin. So, we recommend the using of nanocomposite resin as new potential applications for water treatment process.

Keywords: Nanocomposite, sorbent materials, waste water, waste polystyrene.

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Authors: Md. Jahidul Islam, A. K. M. Rakinul Islam, Md. Salamah Meherier

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This study investigates the suitability of using plastic, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as a partial replacement of natural coarse and fine aggregates (for example, brick chips and natural sand) to produce lightweight concrete for load bearing structural members. The plastic coarse aggregate (PCA) and plastic fine aggregate (PFA) were produced from melted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Tests were conducted using three different water–cement (w/c) ratios, such as 0.42, 0.48, and 0.57, where PCA and PFA were used as 50% replacement of coarse and fine aggregate respectively. Fresh and hardened properties of concrete have been compared for natural aggregate concrete (NAC), PCA concrete (PCC) and PFA concrete (PFC). The compressive strength of concrete at 28 days varied with the water–cement ratio for both the PCC and PFC. Between PCC and PFC, PFA concrete showed the highest compressive strength (23.7 MPa) at 0.42 w/c ratio and also the lowest compressive strength (13.7 MPa) at 0.57 w/c ratio. Significant reduction in concrete density was mostly observed for PCC samples, ranging between 1977–1924 kg/m³. With the increase in water–cement ratio PCC achieved higher workability compare to both NAC and PFC. It was found that both the PCA and PFA contained concrete achieved the required compressive strength to be used for structural purpose as partial replacement of the natural aggregate; but to obtain the desired lower density as lightweight concrete the PCA is most suited.

Keywords: Polyethylene terephthalate, plastic aggregate, concrete, fresh and hardened properties.

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Authors: Hanizam Awang, Mohammed Zuhear Al-Mulali

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In this study, the possibility of using unground oil palm ash (UOPA) for producing foamed concrete is investigated. The UOPA used in this study is produced by incinerating palm oil biomass at a temperature exceeding 1000ºC. A semi-structural density of 1300kg/m3 was used with filler to binder ratio of 1.5 and preliminary water to binder ratio of 0.45. Cement was replaced by UOPA at replacement levels of 0, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65% by weight of binder. Properties such as density, compressive strength, drying shrinkage and water absorption were investigated to the age of 90 days. The mix with a 35% of UOPA content was chosen to be used as the base material of a newly designed interlocking, mortar-less block system.

Keywords: Foamed concrete, oil palm ash, strength, interlocking block.

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Authors: M. Ashaque Meah, M. Shah Noor, M Asif Arefin, Md. Fazlul Karim

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A numerical technique in a boundary-fitted curvilinear grid model is developed to simulate the extent of inland inundation along the coastal belts of Peninsular Malaysia and Southern Thailand due to 2004 Indian ocean tsunami. Tsunami propagation and run-up are also studied in this paper. The vertically integrated shallow water equations are solved by using the method of lines (MOL). For this purpose the boundary-fitted grids are generated along the coastal and island boundaries and the other open boundaries of the model domain. A transformation is used to the governing equations so that the transformed physical domain is converted into a rectangular one. The MOL technique is applied to the transformed shallow water equations and the boundary conditions so that the equations are converted into ordinary differential equations initial value problem. Finally the 4^th order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve these ordinary differential equations. The moving boundary technique is applied instead of fixed sea side wall or fixed coastal boundary to ensure the movement of the coastal boundary. The extent of intrusion of water and associated tsunami propagation are simulated for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand. The simulated results are compared with the results obtained from a finite difference model and the data available in the USGS website. All simulations show better approximation than earlier research and also show excellent agreement with the observed data.

Keywords: Open boundary condition, moving boundary condition, boundary-fitted curvilinear grids, far field tsunami, Shallow Water Equations, tsunami source, Indonesian tsunami of 2004.

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Authors: H. M. N. L. Handagiripathira

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The distributions of naturally occurring and anthropogenic radioactive materials were determined in surface sediments taken at 27 different locations along the bank of Negombo Lagoon in Sri Lanka. Hydrographic parameters of lagoon water and the grain size analyses of the sediment samples were also carried out for this study. The conductivity of the adjacent water was varied from 13.6 mS/cm to 55.4 mS/cm near to the southern end and the northern end of the lagoon, respectively, and equally salinity levels varied from 7.2 psu to 32.1 psu. The average pH in the water was 7.6 and average water temperature was 28.7 °C. The grain size analysis emphasized the mass fractions of the samples as sand (60.9%), fine sand (30.6%) and fine silt+clay (1.3%) in the sampling locations. The surface sediment samples of wet weight, 1 kg each from upper 5-10 cm layer, were oven dried at 105 °C for 24 hours to get a constant weight, homogenized and sieved through a 2 mm sieve (IAEA technical series no. 295). The radioactivity concentrations were determined using gamma spectrometry technique. Ultra Low Background Broad Energy High Purity Ge Detector, BEGe (Model BE5030, Canberra) was used for radioactivity measurement with Canberra Industries' Laboratory Source-less Calibration Software (LabSOCS) mathematical efficiency calibration approach and Geometry composer software. The mean activity concentration was found to be 24 ± 4, 67 ± 9, 181 ± 10, 59 ± 8, 3.5 ± 0.4 and 0.47 ± 0.08 Bq/kg for 238U, 232Th, 40K, 210Pb, 235U and 137Cs respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate in air, radium equivalent activity, external hazard index, annual gonadal dose equivalent and annual effective dose equivalent were 60.8 nGy/h, 137.3 Bq/kg, 0.4, 425.3 mSv/year and 74.6 mSv/year, respectively. The results of this study will provide baseline information on the natural and artificial radioactive isotopes and environmental pollution associated with information on radiological risk.

Keywords: Gamma spectrometry, lagoon, radioactivity, sediments.

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Authors: A. Hossain, M. A. Gafur, F. Gulshan, A. S. W. Kurny

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Al-Si-Mg-Ni(-Cu) alloys are widely used in the automotive industry. They have the advantage of low weight associated with low coefficient of thermal expansion and excellent mechanical properties – mainly at high temperatures. The corrosion resistance of these alloys in coastal area, particularly sea water, however is not yet known. In this investigation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization have been used to evaluate the corrosion resistance of Al-6Si-0.5Mg-2Ni (-2Cu) alloys in simulated sea water environments. The potentiodynamic polarization curves reveal that 2 wt% Cu content alloy (Alloy-2) is more prone to corrosion than the Cu free alloy (Alloy-1). But the EIS test results showed that corrosion resistance or charge transfer resistance (Rct) increases with the addition of Cu. Due to addition of Cu and thermal treatment, the magnitude of open circuit potential (OCP), corrosion potential (Ecorr) and pitting corrosion potential (Epit) of Al-6Si-0.5Mg-2Ni alloy in NaCl solution were shifted to the more noble direction.

Keywords: Al-Si alloy, potentiodynamic polarization, EIS, SEM.

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Authors: N. Areerachakul

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The surface water used in this study was collected from the Chao Praya River at the lower part at the Nonthaburi bridge. It was collected and used throughout the experiment. TOC (also known as DOC) in the range between 2.5 to 5.6 mg/l were investigated in this experiment. The use of conventional treatment methods such as FeCl3 and PAC showed that TOC removal was 65% using FeCl3 and 78% using PAC (powder activated carbon). The advanced oxidation process alone showed only 35% removal of TOC. Coupling advanced oxidation with a small amount of PAC (0.05g/L) increased efficiency by upto 55%. The combined BAC with advanced oxidation process and small amount of PAC demonstrated the highest efficiency of up to 95% of TOC removal and lower sludge production compared with other methods.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation process, TOC, PAC

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Authors: Nguyen Thi Thu Trang

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Climate change and sea level rise is one of the greatest challenges facing human beings in the 21^st century. Because of sea level rise, several low-lying coastal areas around the globe are at risk of being completely submerged, disappearing under water. Particularly in Viet Nam, the rise in sea level is predicted to result in more frequent and even permanently inundated coastal plains. As a result, land reserving fund of coastal cities is going to be narrowed in near future, while construction ground is becoming increasingly limited due to a rapid growth in population. Faced with this reality, the solutions are being discussed not only in tradition view such as accommodation is raised or moved to higher areas, or “living with the water”, but also forwards to “living on the water”. Therefore, the concept of a sustainable floating community with floating houses based on the precious value of long term historical tradition of water dwellings in Viet Nam would be a sustainable solution for adaptation of climate change and sea level rise in the coastal areas. The sustainable floating community is comprised of sustainability in four components: architecture, environment, socio-economic and living quality. This research paper is focused on sustainability in architectural component of floating community. Through detailed architectural analysis of current floating houses and floating communities in Viet Nam, this research not only accumulates precious values of traditional architecture that need to be preserved and developed in the proposed concept, but also illustrates its weaknesses that need to address for optimal design of the future sustainable floating communities. Based on these studies the research would provide guidelines with appropriate architectural solutions for the concept of sustainable floating community with floating housing units that are adapted to climate change and sea level rise in Viet Nam.

Keywords: Climate change, floating houses, floating community, Viet Nam.

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Authors: Wei Zhang, Su-Yan Tang, Yi-Fan Zhu, Wei-Ping Wang

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Support vector regression (SVR) has been regarded as a state-of-the-art method for approximation and regression. The importance of kernel function, which is so-called admissible support vector kernel (SV kernel) in SVR, has motivated many studies on its composition. The Gaussian kernel (RBF) is regarded as a “best" choice of SV kernel used by non-expert in SVR, whereas there is no evidence, except for its superior performance on some practical applications, to prove the statement. Its well-known that reproducing kernel (R.K) is also a SV kernel which possesses many important properties, e.g. positive definiteness, reproducing property and composing complex R.K by simpler ones. However, there are a limited number of R.Ks with explicit forms and consequently few quantitative comparison studies in practice. In this paper, two R.Ks, i.e. SV kernels, composed by the sum and product of a translation invariant kernel in a Sobolev space are proposed. An exploratory study on the performance of SVR based general R.K is presented through a systematic comparison to that of RBF using multiple criteria and synthetic problems. The results show that the R.K is an equivalent or even better SV kernel than RBF for the problems with more input variables (more than 5, especially more than 10) and higher nonlinearity.

Keywords: admissible support vector kernel, reproducing kernel, reproducing kernel Hilbert space, support vector regression.

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Authors: I. Alhassan, A. M. Saddiq, A. G. Gashua, K. K. Gwio-Kura

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The main objective of any irrigation program is the development of an efficient water management system to sustain crop growth and development and avoid physiological water stress in the growing plants. Field experiment to evaluate the effects of some soil moisture conservation practices on yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize was carried out in three locations (i.e. Mubi and Yola in the northern Guinea Savannah and Ganye in the southern Guinea Savannah of Adamawa State, Nigeria) during the dry seasons of 2013 and 2014. The experiment consisted of three different irrigation levels (7, 10 and 12 day irrigation intervals), two levels of mulch (mulch and un-mulched) and two tillage practices (no tillage and minimum tillage) arranged in a randomized complete block design with split-split plot arrangement and replicated three times. The Blaney-Criddle method was used for measuring crop evapotranspiration. The results indicated that seven-day irrigation intervals and mulched treatment were found to have significant effect (P>0.05) on grain yield and water use efficiency in all the locations. The main effect of tillage was non-significant (P<0.05) on grain yield and WUE. The interaction effects of irrigation and mulch were significant (P>0.05) on grain yield and WUE at Mubi and Yola. Generally, higher grain yield and WUE were recorded on mulched and seven-day irrigation intervals, whereas lower values were recorded on un-mulched with 12-day irrigation intervals. Tillage exerts little influence on the yield and WUE. Results from Ganye were found to be generally higher than those recorded in Mubi and Yola; it also showed that an irrigation interval of 10 days with mulching could be adopted for the Ganye area, while seven days interval is more appropriate for Mubi and Yola.

Keywords: Irrigation, maize, mulching, tillage, guinea savannah.

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Authors: V. Anastasov, I.Khamis

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The paper presents an overview of environmental issues that may be expected with nuclear desalination. The analysis of coupling nuclear power with desalination plants indicates that adverse marine impacts can be mitigated with alternative intake designs or cooling systems. The atmospheric impact of desalination may be greatly reduced through the coupling with nuclear power, while maximizing the socio-economic benefit for both processes. The potential for tritium contamination of the desalinated water was reviewed. Experience with the systems and practices related to the radiological quality of the product water, shows no examples of cross-contamination. Furthermore, the indicators for the public acceptance of nuclear desalination, as one of the most important sustainability aspects of any such large project, show a positive trend. From the data collected, a conclusion is made that nuclear desalination should be supported by decision-makers.

Keywords: Environmental impacts, nuclear desalination, publicacceptance, tritium.

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Authors: Sindhu Govardhan, Kenneth G. Crowther

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Modernisation of the water sector is leading to increased connectivity and integration of emerging technologies with traditional ones, leading to new security risks. The convergence of Information Technology (IT) with Operation Technology (OT) results in solutions that are spread across larger geographic areas, increasingly consist of interconnected Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) devices and software, rely on the integration of legacy with modern technologies, use of complex supply chain components leading to complex architectures and communication paths. The result is that multiple parties collectively own and operate these emergent technologies, threat actors find new paths to exploit, and traditional cybersecurity controls are inadequate. Our approach is to explicitly identify and draw data flows that cross trust boundaries between owners and operators of various aspects of these emerging and interconnected technologies. On these data flows, we layer potential attack vectors to create a frame of reference for evaluating possible risks against connected technologies. Finally, we identify where existing controls, mitigations, and other remediations exist across industry partners (e.g., suppliers, product vendors, integrators, water utilities, and regulators). From these, we are able to understand potential gaps in security, the roles in the supply chain that are most likely to effectively remediate those security gaps, and test cases to evaluate and strengthen security across these partners. This informs a “shared responsibility” solution that recognises that security is multi-layered and requires collaboration to be successful. This shared responsibility security framework improves visibility, understanding, and control across the entire supply chain, and particularly for those water utilities that are accountable for safe and continuous operations.

Keywords: Cyber security, shared responsibility, IIOT, threat modelling.

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Authors: Pattaranut Eakwaropas, Khemjira Jarmkom, Warachate Khobjai, Surachai Techaoei

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The aim of this study is to improve Pang-Rum (PR) hardness by adding natural binders. PR is one of Thai tradition aroma products. In the past, it was used for aesthetic propose on face and body with good odor. Nowadays, PR is not popular and going to be disappeared. Five natural materials, i.e. agar, rice flour, glutinous flour, corn starch, and tapioca starch were selected to use as binders. Binders were dissolved with boiled water into concentration 5% and 10% w/w except agar that was prepared 0.5% and 1% w/w. PR with and without binder were formulated. Physical properties, i.e. weight, shape, color, and hardness were evaluated. PR with 10% of corn starch solution had suitable hardness (14.2±0.9 kg) and the best appearance. In the future, it would be planned to study about odor and physical stability for decorated product development.

Keywords: Aromatic water, hardness, natural binder, pang-rum.

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Authors: Alireza Faed, David Forbes

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Complaints today have the ability to retain customer loyalty using state of the art systems and strategies in customer relationship management to analyze and respond to a plethora of customer perception. The Majority of companies are not aware of the beneficiary utilization of customer complaints for the sake of quality improvements. Also, some companies have problems determining how resolution of complaints can be profitable. In this study, we will define the problems and ascertain the importance of customer management system on the companies. Furthermore, we will determine the impact of such a system on efficiency, confidence, profitability and customer complaints. Eventually, we will develop methods and address the issues. In this paper, we used an open-ended questionnaire and distributed that to 30 randomly chosen respondents which were the passengers in an airport. We also define three hypotheses for our study and we will validate each of them. Then using frequency, Chi- Square and quality control method we optimized the size of customers- negative feedback and improved the process of customer retention.

Keywords: Complaint, Complaint management system, Customer relationship management, Retention.

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Authors: T. Utarasakul

Abstract:

Khao Yai National Park is the First National Park in Thailand and approximately 800,000 tourists visited Khao Yai yearly. This study aimed to identify the perception of tourists in Khao Yai National Park according to the implementation of eco-friendly cleansers along their leisure in the campsites. Due to tourist’s activities in the park were affected on quality of environment; especially on water resource. Therefore, eco-friendly cleansers were used in campsites for tourists and restaurants during high tourist season. The results indicated positive effects of environmental friendly cleansers on water quality in Lam Ta Khong River, as well as the tourist’s perception on eco-friendly cleansers.

Keywords: Eco-friendly cleansers, Campsite, Khao Yai National Park.

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Authors: Grace Rachid, Mutasem El-Fadel, Mahmoud Al-Hindi, Ibrahim Jamali, Daniel Abdel Nour

Abstract:

This study examines the feasibility of indirect solar desalination in oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It relies on value engineering (VE) and costbenefit with sensitivity analyses to identify optimal coupling configurations of desalination and solar energy technologies. A comparative return on investment was assessed as a function of water costs for varied plant capacities (25,000 to 75,000 m3/day), project lifetimes (15 to 25 years), and discount rates (5 to 15%) taking into consideration water and energy subsidies, land cost as well as environmental externalities in the form of carbon credit related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The results showed reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic technologies (PVs) as the most promising configuration, robust across different prices for Brent oil, discount rates, as well as different project lifetimes. Environmental externalities and subsidies analysis revealed that a 16% reduction in existing subsidy on water tariffs would ensure economic viability. Additionally, while land costs affect investment attractiveness, the viability of RO coupled with PV remains possible for a land purchase cost <$ 80/m2 or a lease rate <$1/m2/yr. Beyond those rates, further subsidy lifting is required.

Keywords: Solar energy, desalination, value engineering, CBA, carbon credit, subsidies.

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Authors: Teti Estiasih, Harijono, Weny Bekti Sunarharum, Atina Rahmawati

Abstract:

This research studied the hypoglycemic effect of water soluble polysaccharide (WSP) extracted from yam (Dioscorea hispida) tuber by three different methods: aqueous extraction, papain assisted extraction, and tempeh inoculums assisted extraction. The two later extraction methods were aimed to remove WSP binding protein to have more pure WSP. The hypoglycemic activities were evaluated by means in vivo test on alloxan induced hyperglycemic rats, glucose response test (GRT), in situ glucose absorption test using everted sac, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) analysis. All yam WSP extracts exhibited ability to decrease blood glucose level in hyperglycemia condition as well as inhibited glucose absorption and SCFA formation. The order of hypoglycemic activity was tempeh inoculums assisted- >papain assisted- >aqueous WSP extracts. GRT and in situ glucose absorption test showed that order of inhibition was papain assisted- >tempeh inoculums assisted- >aqueous WSP extracts. Digesta of caecum of yam WSP extracts oral fed rats had more SCFA than control. Tempeh inoculums assisted WSP extract exhibited the most significant hypoglycemic activity.

Keywords: hypoglycemic activity, papain, tempeh inoculums, water soluble polysaccharides, yam (Discorea hispida)

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Authors: Liu-Chao Qiu

Abstract:

The damage caused by surge waves generated in water bodies by flow-like landslides can be very high in terms of human lives and economic losses. The complicated phenomena occurred in this highly unsteady process are difficult to model because three interacting phases: air, water and sediment are involved. The problem therefore is challenging since the effects of non-Newtonian fluid describing the rheology of the flow-like landslides, multi-phase flow and free surface have to be included in the simulation. In this work, the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package FLUENT is used to model the surge waves due to flow-like landslides. The comparison between the numerical results and experimental data reported in the literature confirms the accuracy of the method.

Keywords: Flow-like landslide, surge wave, VOF, non-Newtonian fluids, multi-phase flows, free surface flow.

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Authors: Md. Fazlul Karim, Esa Al-Islam

Abstract:

This paper describes the development of a boundary fitted nested grid (BFNG) model to compute tsunami propagation of 2004 Indonesian tsunami in Southern Thailand coastal waters. We develop a numerical model employing the shallow water nested model and an orthogonal boundary fitted grid to investigate the tsunami impact on the Southern Thailand due to the Indonesian tsunami of 2004. Comparisons of water surface elevation obtained from numerical simulations and field measurements are made.

Keywords: Boundary-fitted nested grid model, finite difference method, Indonesian tsunami of 2004, Southern Thailand.

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Authors: A. Ali, V. Strezov, P. Davies, I. Wright, T. Kan

Abstract:

The environmental impacts arising from mining activities affect the air, water, and soil quality. Impacts may result in unexpected and adverse environmental outcomes. This study reports on the impact of coal production on sediment in Sydney region of Australia. The sediment samples upstream and downstream from the discharge points from three mines were taken, and 80 parameters were tested. The results were assessed against sediment quality based on presence of metals. The study revealed the increment of metal content in the sediment downstream of the reference locations. In many cases, the sediment was above the Australia and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council and international sediment quality guidelines value (SQGV). The major outliers to the guidelines were nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn).

Keywords: Coal mine, environmental impact, produced water, sediment quality guidelines value.

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Authors: Bogdan Walek, Cyril Klimes

Abstract:

This paper focuses on testing database of existing information system. At the beginning we describe the basic problems of implemented databases, such as data redundancy, poor design of database logical structure or inappropriate data types in columns of database tables. These problems are often the result of incorrect understanding of the primary requirements for a database of an information system. Then we propose an algorithm to compare the conceptual model created from vague requirements for a database with a conceptual model reconstructed from implemented database. An algorithm also suggests steps leading to optimization of implemented database. The proposed algorithm is verified by an implemented prototype. The paper also describes a fuzzy system which works with the vague requirements for a database of an information system, procedure for creating conceptual from vague requirements and an algorithm for reconstructing a conceptual model from implemented database.

Keywords: testing, database, relational database, information system, conceptual model, fuzzy, uncertain information, database testing, reconstruction, requirements, optimization

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