Search results for: yield andyield components.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2137

Search results for: yield andyield components.

847 Investigating Activity Recognition Using 9-Axis Sensors and Filters in Wearable Devices

Authors: Jun Gil Ahn, Jong Kang Park, Jong Tae Kim

Abstract:

In this paper, we analyze major components of activity recognition (AR) in wearable device with 9-axis sensors and sensor fusion filters. 9-axis sensors commonly include 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis magnetometer. We chose sensor fusion filters as Kalman filter and Direction Cosine Matrix (DCM) filter. We also construct sensor fusion data from each activity sensor data and perform classification by accuracy of AR using Naïve Bayes and SVM. According to the classification results, we observed that the DCM filter and the specific combination of the sensing axes are more effective for AR in wearable devices while classifying walking, running, ascending and descending.

Keywords: Accelerometer, activity recognition, directional cosine matrix filter, gyroscope, Kalman filter, magnetometer.

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846 Identification of Individual Objects at the Intelligent Assembly Cell

Authors: Ružarovský, Roman, Danišová, Nina, Velíšek, Karol

Abstract:

In this contribution is presented a complex design of individual objects identification in the workplace of intelligent assembly cell. Intelligent assembly cell is situated at Institute of Manufacturing Systems and Applied Mechanics and is used for pneumatic actuator assembly. Pneumatic actuator components are pneumatic roller, cover, piston and spring. Two identification objects alternatives for assembly are designed in the workplace of industrial robot. In the contribution is evaluated and selected suitable alternative for identification – 2D codes reader. The complex design of individual object identification is going out of intelligent manufacturing systems knowledge. Intelligent assembly and manufacturing systems as systems of new generation are gradually loaded in to the mechanical production, when they are removeing human operation out of production process and they also short production times.

Keywords: system, cell, intelligent, mechanics, device

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845 Effect of Variable viscosity on Convective Heat Transfer along an Inclined Plate Embedded in Porous Medium with an Applied Magnetic Field

Authors: N.S. Tomer, Phool Singh, Manoj Kumar

Abstract:

The flow and heat transfer characteristics for natural convection along an inclined plate in a saturated porous medium with an applied magnetic field have been studied. The fluid viscosity has been assumed to be an inverse function of temperature. Assuming temperature vary as a power function of distance. The transformed ordinary differential equations have solved by numerical integration using Runge-Kutta method. The velocity and temperature profile components on the plate are computed and discussed in detail for various values of the variable viscosity parameter, inclination angle, magnetic field parameter, and real constant (λ). The results have also been interpreted with the aid of tables and graphs. The numerical values of Nusselt number have been calculated for the mentioned parameters.

Keywords: Heat Transfer, Magnetic Field, Porosity, Viscosity

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844 Online Collaborative Learning System Using Speech Technology

Authors: Sid-Ahmed. Selouani, Tang-Ho Lê, Chadia Moghrabi, Benoit Lanteigne, Jean Roy

Abstract:

A Web-based learning tool, the Learn IN Context (LINC) system, designed and being used in some institution-s courses in mixed-mode learning, is presented in this paper. This mode combines face-to-face and distance approaches to education. LINC can achieve both collaborative and competitive learning. In order to provide both learners and tutors with a more natural way to interact with e-learning applications, a conversational interface has been included in LINC. Hence, the components and essential features of LINC+, the voice enhanced version of LINC, are described. We report evaluation experiments of LINC/LINC+ in a real use context of a computer programming course taught at the Université de Moncton (Canada). The findings show that when the learning material is delivered in the form of a collaborative and voice-enabled presentation, the majority of learners seem to be satisfied with this new media, and confirm that it does not negatively affect their cognitive load.

Keywords: E-leaning, Knowledge Network, Speech recognition, Speech synthesis.

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843 A Deep Learning Framework for Polarimetric SAR Change Detection Using Capsule Network

Authors: Sanae Attioui, Said Najah

Abstract:

The Earth's surface is constantly changing through forces of nature and human activities. Reliable, accurate, and timely change detection is critical to environmental monitoring, resource management, and planning activities. Recently, interest in deep learning algorithms, especially convolutional neural networks, has increased in the field of image change detection due to their powerful ability to extract multi-level image features automatically. However, these networks are prone to drawbacks that limit their applications, which reside in their inability to capture spatial relationships between image instances, as this necessitates a large amount of training data. As an alternative, Capsule Network has been proposed to overcome these shortcomings. Although its effectiveness in remote sensing image analysis has been experimentally verified, its application in change detection tasks remains very sparse. Motivated by its greater robustness towards improved hierarchical object representation, this study aims to apply a capsule network for PolSAR image Change Detection. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed change detection method can yield a significantly higher detection rate compared to methods based on convolutional neural networks.

Keywords: Change detection, capsule network, deep network, Convolutional Neural Networks, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar images, PolSAR images.

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842 Investigation of Genetic Variation for Agronomic Traits among the Recombinant Inbred Lines of Wheat from the Norstar × Zagross Cross under Water Stress Condition

Authors: Mohammad Reza Farzami Pour

Abstract:

Determination of genetic variation is useful for plant breeding and hence production of more efficient plant species under different conditions, like drought stress. In this study a sample of 28 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of wheat developed from the cross of Norstar and Zagross varieties, together with their parents, were evaluated for two years (2010-2012) under normal and water stress conditions using split plot design with three replications. Main plots included two irrigation treatments of 70 and 140 mm evaporation from Class A pan and sub-plots consisted of 30 genotypes. The effect of genotypes and interaction of genotypes with years and water regimes were significant for all characters. Significant genotypic effect implies the existence of genetic variation among the lines under study. Heritability estimates were high for 1000 grain weight (0.87). Biomass and grain yield showed the lowest heritability values (0.42 and 0.50, respectively). Highest genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV) belonged to harvest index. Moderate genetic advance for most of the traits suggested the feasibility of selection among the RILs under investigation. Some RILs were higher yielding than either parent at both environments.

Keywords: Wheat, genetic gain, heritability, recombinant inbred lines.

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841 Optimization of Kinematics for Birds and UAVs Using Evolutionary Algorithms

Authors: Mohamed Hamdaoui, Jean-Baptiste Mouret, Stephane Doncieux, Pierre Sagaut

Abstract:

The aim of this work is to present a multi-objective optimization method to find maximum efficiency kinematics for a flapping wing unmanned aerial vehicle. We restrained our study to rectangular wings with the same profile along the span and to harmonic dihedral motion. It is assumed that the birdlike aerial vehicle (whose span and surface area were fixed respectively to 1m and 0.15m2) is in horizontal mechanically balanced motion at fixed speed. We used two flight physics models to describe the vehicle aerodynamic performances, namely DeLaurier-s model, which has been used in many studies dealing with flapping wings, and the model proposed by Dae-Kwan et al. Then, a constrained multi-objective optimization of the propulsive efficiency is performed using a recent evolutionary multi-objective algorithm called є-MOEA. Firstly, we show that feasible solutions (i.e. solutions that fulfil the imposed constraints) can be obtained using Dae-Kwan et al.-s model. Secondly, we highlight that a single objective optimization approach (weighted sum method for example) can also give optimal solutions as good as the multi-objective one which nevertheless offers the advantage of directly generating the set of the best trade-offs. Finally, we show that the DeLaurier-s model does not yield feasible solutions.

Keywords: Flight physics, evolutionary algorithm, optimization, Pareto surface.

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840 Simulation and Experimentation of Multibody Mechanical Systems with Clearance Revolute Joints

Authors: A.F. Haroun, S.M. Megahed

Abstract:

Clearance in the joints of multibody mechanical systems such as linkage mechanisms and robots is a main source of vibration, and noise of the whole system, and wear of the joints themselves. This clearance is an inevitable matter and cannot be eliminated, since it allows the relative motion between joint components and make them assemblage. This paper presents an experimental verification of the obtained simulation results of a slider – crank mechanism of one clearance revolute joint. The simulation results are obtained with the aid of CAD and dynamic simulation softwares, which is an effective method of simulation multibody systems with clearance joints and have many advantages. The comparison between both simulation and experimental results shows that the simulation results are so close to the experimental ones which proves the accuracy and efficiency of this method of modeling and simulation of mechanical systems with clearance joints.

Keywords: CAD and dynamic simulator softwares, Clearance joints, , Experimental results, Slider – crank mechanism.

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839 Developing a Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework for the National University of Malaysia

Authors: Z.F. Fadzil, H.S. Hashim, A.I. Che-Ani, S. Aziz

Abstract:

Campus sustainability is the goal of a university striving for sustainable development. This study found that of 17 popular approaches, two comprehensive campus sustainability assessment frameworks were developed in the context of Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE), and used by many university campuses around the world. Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating Systems (STARS) and the Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF) approaches are more comprehensive than others. Therefore, the researchers examined aspects and elements used by CSAF and STARS in the approach to develop a campus sustainability assessment framework for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Documents analysis found that CSAF and STARS do not focus on physical development, especially the construction industry, as key elements of campus sustainability assessment. This finding is in accordance with the Sustainable UKM Programme which consists of three main components of sustainable community, ecosystem and physical development.

Keywords: Campus sustainability, campus sustainability assessment, sustainability assessment framework, sustainable campus

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838 Principal Component Regression in Noninvasive Pineapple Soluble Solids Content Assessment Based On Shortwave Near Infrared Spectrum

Authors: K. S. Chia, H. Abdul Rahim, R. Abdul Rahim

Abstract:

The Principal component regression (PCR) is a combination of principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR). The objective of this paper is to revise the use of PCR in shortwave near infrared (SWNIR) (750-1000nm) spectral analysis. The idea of PCR was explained mathematically and implemented in the non-destructive assessment of the soluble solid content (SSC) of pineapple based on SWNIR spectral data. PCR achieved satisfactory results in this application with root mean squared error of calibration (RMSEC) of 0.7611 Brix°, coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.5865 and root mean squared error of crossvalidation (RMSECV) of 0.8323 Brix° with principal components (PCs) of 14.

Keywords: Pineapple, Shortwave near infrared, Principal component regression, Non-invasive measurement; Soluble solids content

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837 Design of an Experimental Setup to Study the Drives of Battery Electric Vehicles

Authors: Valery Vodovozov, Zoja Raud, Tõnu Lehtla

Abstract:

This paper describes the design considerations of an experimental setup for research and exploring the drives of batteryfed electric vehicles. Effective setup composition and its components are discussed. With experimental setup described in this paper, durability and functional tests can be procured to the customers. Multiple experiments are performed in the form of steady-state system exploring, acceleration programs, multi-step tests (speed control, torque control), load collectives or close-to-reality driving tests (driving simulation). Main focus of the functional testing is on the measurements of power and energy efficiency and investigations in driving simulation mode, which are used for application purposes. In order to enable the examination of the drive trains beyond standard modes of operation, different other parameters can be studied also.

Keywords: Electric drive, electric vehicle, propulsion, test bench.

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836 Application of Adaptive Neural Network Algorithms for Determination of Salt Composition of Waters Using Laser Spectroscopy

Authors: Tatiana A. Dolenko, Sergey A. Burikov, Alexander O. Efitorov, Sergey A. Dolenko

Abstract:

In this study, a comparative analysis of the approaches associated with the use of neural network algorithms for effective solution of a complex inverse problem – the problem of identifying and determining the individual concentrations of inorganic salts in multicomponent aqueous solutions by the spectra of Raman scattering of light – is performed. It is shown that application of artificial neural networks provides the average accuracy of determination of concentration of each salt no worse than 0.025 M. The results of comparative analysis of input data compression methods are presented. It is demonstrated that use of uniform aggregation of input features allows decreasing the error of determination of individual concentrations of components by 16-18% on the average.

Keywords: Inverse problems, multi-component solutions, neural networks, Raman spectroscopy.

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835 Application of Life Data Analysis for the Reliability Assessment of Numerical Overcurrent Relays

Authors: Mohd Iqbal Ridwan, Kerk Lee Yen, Aminuddin Musa, Bahisham Yunus

Abstract:

Protective relays are components of a protection system in a power system domain that provides decision making element for correct protection and fault clearing operations. Failure of the protection devices may reduce the integrity and reliability of the power system protection that will impact the overall performance of the power system. Hence it is imperative for power utilities to assess the reliability of protective relays to assure it will perform its intended function without failure. This paper will discuss the application of reliability analysis using statistical method called Life Data Analysis in Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), a government linked power utility company in Malaysia, namely Transmission Division, to assess and evaluate the reliability of numerical overcurrent protective relays from two different manufacturers.

Keywords: Life data analysis, Protective relays, Reliability, Weibull Distribution.

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834 Change of the Thermal Conductivity of Polystyrene Insulation in term of Temperature at the Mid Thickness of the Insulation Material: Impact on the Cooling Load

Authors: M. Khoukhi

Abstract:

Accurate prediction of the cooling/heating load and consequently, the sizing of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment require precise calculation of the heat transfer mainly by conduction through envelope components of a building. The thermal resistance of most thermal insulation materials depends on the operating temperature. The temperature to which the insulation materials are exposed varies, depending on the thermal resistance of the materials, the location of the insulation layer within the assembly system, and the effective temperature which depends on the amount of solar radiation received on the surface of the assembly. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the change of the thermal conductivity of polystyrene insulation material in terms of the temperature at the mid-thickness of the material and its effect on the cooling load required by the building.

Keywords: Operating temperature, polystyrene insulation, thermal conductivity, cooling load.

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833 An Approach for Transient Response Calculation of large Nonproportionally Damped Structures using Component Mode Synthesis

Authors: Alexander A. Muravyov

Abstract:

A minimal complexity version of component mode synthesis is presented that requires simplified computer programming, but still provides adequate accuracy for modeling lower eigenproperties of large structures and their transient responses. The novelty is that a structural separation into components is done along a plane/surface that exhibits rigid-like behavior, thus only normal modes of each component is sufficient to use, without computing any constraint, attachment, or residual-attachment modes. The approach requires only such input information as a few (lower) natural frequencies and corresponding undamped normal modes of each component. A novel technique is shown for formulation of equations of motion, where a double transformation to generalized coordinates is employed and formulation of nonproportional damping matrix in generalized coordinates is shown.

Keywords: component mode synthesis, finite element models, transient response, nonproportional damping

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832 An Enhance of the Energy Effectiveness of the Convectors Used for Heating or Cooling

Authors: K. Fraňa, M. Müller, F. Lemfeld

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to present a research study of the convectors that are used for heating or cooling of the living room or industrial halls. The key points are experimental measurement and comprehensive numerical simulation of the flow coming throughout the part of the convector such as heat exchanger, input from the fan etc.. From the obtained results, the components of the convector are optimized in sense to increase thermal power efficiency due to improvement of heat convection or reduction of air drag friction. Both optimized aspects are leading to the more effective service conditions and to energy saving. The significant part of the convector research is a design of the unique measurement laboratory and adopting measure techniques. The new laboratory provides possibility to measure thermal power efficiency and other relevant parameters under specific service conditions of the convectors.

Keywords: Heating, cooling, floor convectors, large eddy simulation, measurement techniques.

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831 Identification of PIP Aquaporin Genes from Wheat

Authors: Sh. A. Yousif, M. Bhave

Abstract:

There is strong evidence that water channel proteins 'aquaporins (AQPs)' are central components in plant-water relations as well as a number of other physiological parameters. We had previously reported the isolation of 24 plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) type AQPs. However, the gene numbers in rice and the polyploid nature of bread wheat indicated a high probability of further genes in the latter. The present work focused on identification of further AQP isoforms in bread wheat. With the use of altered primer design, we identified five genes homologous, designated PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b, TaPIP2;2, TaPIP2;2a, TaPIP2;2b. Sequence alignments indicate PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b are likely to be homeologues of two previously reported genes while the other three are new genes and could be homeologs of each other. The results indicate further AQP diversity in wheat and the sequence data will enable physical mapping of these genes to identify their genomes as well as genetic to determine their association with any quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with plant-water relation such as salinity or drought tolerance.

Keywords: Aquaporins, homeologues, PIP, wheat

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830 Resource Constraint Mobile Agent Framework For Ambient Intelligence

Authors: Yung-Chuan Lee, Shahram Rahimi, Bidyut Gupta

Abstract:

In this paper, we introduce an mobile agent framework with proactive load balancing for ambient intelligence (AmI) environments. One of the main obstacles of AmI is the scalability in which the openness of AmI environment introduces dynamic resource requirements on agencies. To mediate this scalability problem, our framework proposes a load balancing module to proactively analyze the resource consumption of network bandwidth and preferred agencies to suggest the optimal communication method to its user. The framework generally formulates an AmI environment that consists of three main components: (1) mobile devices, (2) hosts or agencies, and (3) directory service center (DSC). A preliminary implementation was conducted with NetLogo and the experimental results show that the proposed approach provides enhanced system performance by minimizing the network utilization to provide users with responsive services.

Keywords: Ambient intelligence, load balancing, multiagent systems, ubiquitous computing.

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829 A Scatter Search and Help Policies Approaches for a New Mixed Model Assembly Lines Sequencing Problem

Authors: N. Manavizadeh , M. Rabbani , H. Sotudian , F. Jolai

Abstract:

Mixed Model Production is the practice of assembling several distinct and different models of a product on the same assembly line without changeovers and then sequencing those models in a way that smoothes the demand for upstream components. In this paper, we consider an objective function which minimizes total stoppage time and total idle time and it is presented sequence dependent set up time. Many studies have been done on the mixed model assembly lines. But in this paper we specifically focused on reducing the idle times. This is possible through various help policies. For improving the solutions, some cases developed and about 40 tests problem was considered. We use scatter search for optimization and for showing the efficiency of our algorithm, experimental results shows behavior of method. Scatter search and help policies can produce high quality answers, so it has been used in this paper.

Keywords: mixed model assembly lines, Scatter search, help policies, idle time, Stoppage time

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828 Rating Charts of R-22 Alternatives Flow through Adiabatic Capillary Tubes

Authors: E. Elgendy, J. Schmidt

Abstract:

Drop-in of R-22 alternatives in refrigeration and air conditioning systems requires a redesign of system components to improve system performance and reliability with the alternative refrigerants. The present paper aims at design adiabatic capillary tubes for R-22 alternatives such as R-417A, R-422D and R-438A. A theoretical model has been developed and validated with the available experimental data from literature for R-22 over a wide range of both operating and geometrical parameters. Predicted lengths of adiabatic capillary tube are compared with the lengths of the capillary tube needed under similar experimental conditions and majority of predictions are found to be within 4.4% of the experimental data. Hence, the model has been applied for R-417A, R- 422D and R-438A and capillary tube selection charts and correlations have been computed. Finally a comparison between the selected refrigerants and R-22 has been introduced and the results showed that R-438A is the closest one to R-22.

Keywords: Adiabatic flow, Capillary tube, R-22 alternatives, Rating charts, Modelling.

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827 The Content of Acrylamide in Deep-fat Fried, Shallow Fried and Roasted Potatoes

Authors: Irisa Murniece, Daina Karklina, Ruta Galoburda

Abstract:

Potato is one of the main components of warm meals in Latvia. Consumption of fried potatoes in Latvia is the highest comparing to Nordic and other Baltic countries. Therefore acrylamide (AA) intake coming from fried potatoes in population might be high as well. The aim of the research was to determine AA content in traditionally cooked potatoes bred and cultivated in Latvia. Five common Latvian potato varieties were selected: Lenora, Brasla, Imanta, Zile and Madara. A two-year research was conducted during two periods: just after harvesting and after six months of storage. The following cooking methods were used: shallow frying (150 ± 5 °C); deep-fat frying (180 ± 5 °C) and roasting (210 ± 5 °C). Time and temperature was recorded during frying. AA was extracted from potatoes by solid phase extraction and AA content was determined by LC-MS/MS. AA content significantly differs (p<0.05) in potatoes per variety, per each frying method and per time.

Keywords: potato, frying, roasting, variety, acrylamide, Latvia.

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826 Instability Problem of Turbo-Machines with Radial Distortion Problems

Authors: Yasuo Obikane, Sofiane Khelladi

Abstract:

In the upstream we place a piece of ring and rotate it with 83Hz, 166Hz, 333Hz,and 666H to find the effect of the periodic distortion.In the experiment this type of the perturbation will not allow since the mechanical failure of any parts of the equipment in the upstream will destroy the blade system. This type of study will be only possible by CFD. We use two pumps NS32 (ENSAM) and three blades pump (Tamagawa Univ). The benchmark computations were performed without perturbation parts, and confirm the computational results well agreement in head-flow rate. We obtained the pressure fluctuation growth rate that is representing the global instability of the turbo-system. The fluctuating torque components were 0.01Nm(5000rpm), 0.1Nm(10000rmp), 0.04Nm(20000rmp), 0.15Nm( 40000rmp) respectively. Only for 10000rpm(166Hz) the output toque was random, and it implies that it creates unsteady flow by separations on the blades, and will reduce the pressure loss significantly

Keywords: inlet distorsion, perturbation, turbo-machine

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825 Effect of Local Dual Frequency Sonication on Drug Distribution from Nanomicelles

Authors: Hadi Hasanzadeh, Manijhe Mokhtari-Dizaji, S.Zahra Bathaie, Zuhair M. Hassan, Hamid R. Miri, Mahbobe Alamolhoda, Vahid Nilchiani, Hamid Goudarzi

Abstract:

The nanosized polymeric micelles release the drug due to acoustic cavitation, which is enhanced in dual frequency ultrasonic fields. In this study, adult female Balb/C mice were transplanted with spontaneous breast adenocarcinoma tumors and were injected with a dose of 1.3 mg/kg doxorubicin in one of three forms: free doxorubicin, micellar doxorubicin without sonication and micellar doxorubicin with sonication. To increase cavitation yield, the tumor region was sonicated with low level dual frequency of 3 MHz and 28 kHz. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after injection, and their tumor, heart, spleen, liver, kidneys and plasma were separated and homogenized. The drug content in their tumor, heart, spleen, liver, kidneys and plasma was determined using tissue fluorimetry. The results show that in the group that received micellar doxorubicin with sonication, the drug concentration in the tumor tissue was nine and three times higher than in the free doxorubicin group and the micellar doxorubicin without sonication group, respectively. In the micellar doxorubicin with sonication group, the drug concentration in other tissues was lower than other groups (p<0.05). We conclude that dual frequency sonication improves drug release from micelles and increases the drug uptake by tumors due to sonoporation.

Keywords: Nanomicelles, Dual frequency ultrasound, Drug delivery

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824 Multidimensional Compromise Optimization for Development Ranking of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and Turkey

Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

In this research, a multidimensional  compromise optimization method is proposed for multidimensional decision making analysis in the development ranking of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and Turkey. The proposed approach presents ranking solutions resulting from different multicriteria decision analyses, which yield different ranking orders for the same ranking problem, consisting of a set of alternatives in terms of numerous competing criteria when they are applied with the same numerical data. The multiobjective optimization decision making problem is considered in three sequential steps. In the first step, five different criteria related to the development ranking are gathered from the research field. In the second step, identified evaluation criteria are, objectively, weighted using standard deviation procedure. In the third step, a country selection problem is illustrated with a numerical example as an application of the proposed multidimensional  compromise optimization model. Finally, multidimensional  compromise optimization approach is applied to rank the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and Turkey. 

Keywords: Standard deviation, performance evaluation, multicriteria decision making, multidimensional compromise optimization, vector normalization, multicriteria decision making, multicriteria analysis, multidimensional decision analysis.

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823 Production of Biodiesel Using Tannery Fleshing as a Feedstock via Solid-State Fermentation

Authors: C. Santhana Krishnan, A. M. Mimi Sakinah, Lakhveer Singh, Zularisam A. Wahid

Abstract:

This study was initiated to evaluate and optimize the conversion of animal fat from tannery wastes into methyl ester. In the pre-treatment stage, animal fats feedstock was hydrolysed and esterified through solid state fermentation (SSF) using Microbacterium species immobilized onto sand silica matrix. After 72 hours of fermentation, predominant esters in the animal fats were found to be with 83.9% conversion rate. Later, esterified animal fats were transesterified at 3 hour reaction time with 1% NaOH (w/v %), 6% methanol to oil ratio (w/v %) to produce 89% conversion rate. C13 NMR revealed long carbon chain in fatty acid methyl esters at 22.2817-31.9727 ppm. Methyl esters of palmitic, stearic, oleic represented the major components in biodiesel.

Keywords: Tannery wastes, fatty animal fleshing, trans-esterification, immobilization, solid state fermentation.

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822 Six Sigma in Mexican Manufacturing Companies

Authors: Diego Tlapa, Jorge Limón, Yolanda Báez, Julián Aguilar

Abstract:

This work is about Six Sigma (SS) implementation in Mexico by using an empirical study. Main goals are to analyze the degree of importance of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of SS and to examine if these factors are grouped in some way. A literature research and a survey were conducted to capture SS practitioner’s viewpoint about CSFs in SS implementation and their impact on the performance within manufacturing companies located in Baja California, Mexico. Finally, a Principal Component Analysis showed that nine critical success factors could be grouped in three components, which are: management vision, implementation strategy, and collaborative team. In the other hand, SS’s success is represented by cost reduction, variation reduction, experience and self-esteem of the workers, and quality improvement. Concluding remarks arising from the study are that CSFs are changing through time and paying attention to these nine factors can increase SS’s success likelihood.

Keywords: Six sigma, Critical Success Factors, Factor Analysis.

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821 Study of Temperature Distribution in Coolant Channel of Nuclear Power with Fuel Cylinder Element Using Fluent Software

Authors: Elham Zamiri

Abstract:

In this research, we have focused on numeral simulation of a fuel rod in order to examine distribution of heat temperature in components of fuel rod by Fluent software by providing steady state, single phase fluid flow, frequency heat flux in a fuel rod in nuclear reactor to numeral simulation. Results of examining different layers of a fuel rod consist of fuel layer, gap, pod, and fluid cooling flow, also examining thermal properties and fluids such as heat transition rate and pressure drop. The obtained results through analytical method and results of other sources have been compared and have appropriate correspondence. Results show that using heavy water as cooling fluid along with few layers of gas and pod have the ability of reducing the temperature from above 300 C to 70 C. This investigation is developable for any geometry and material used in the nuclear reactor.

Keywords: Nuclear fuel fission, numberal simulation, fuel rod, reactor, fluent software.

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820 Determination of the Element Contents in Turkish Coffee and Effect of Sugar Addition

Authors: M. M. Fercan, A. S. Kipcak, O. Dere Ozdemir, M. B. Piskin, E. Moroydor Derun

Abstract:

Coffee is a widely consumed beverage with many components such as caffeine, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and minerals. Coffee consumption continues to increase due to its physiological effects, its pleasant taste, and aroma. Robusta and Arabica are two basic types of coffee beans. The coffee bean used for Turkish coffee is Arabica. There are many elements in the structure of coffee and have various effect on human health such as Sodium (Na), Boron (B), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe). In this study, the amounts of Mg, Na, Fe, and B contents in Turkish coffee are determined and effect of sugar addition is investigated for conscious consumption. The analysis of the contents of coffees was determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). From the results of the experiments the Mg, Na, Fe and B contents of Turkish coffee after sugar addition were found as 19.83, 1.04, 0.02, 0.21 ppm, while without using sugar these concentrations were found 21.46, 0.81, 0.008 and 0.16 ppm. In addition, element contents were calculated for 1, 3 and 5 cups of coffee in order to investigate the health effects.

Keywords: Health effect, ICP-OES, sugar, Turkish coffee.

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819 Utilization of Sugarcane Bagasses for Lactic Acid Production by acid Hydrolysis and Fermentation using Lactobacillus sp

Authors: Woranart Jonglertjunya, Nattawadee Pranrawang, Nuanyai Phookongka, Thanasak Sridangtip, Watthana Sawedrungreang, Chularat Krongtaew

Abstract:

Sugarcane bagasses are one of the most extensively used agricultural residues. Using acid hydrolysis and fermentation, conversion of sugarcane bagasses to lactic acid was technically and economically feasible. This research was concerned with the solubility of lignin in ammonium hydroxide, acid hydrolysis and lactic acid fermentation by Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus casei. The lignin extraction results for different ammonium hydroxide concentrations showed that 10 % (v/v) NH4OH was favorable to lignin dissolution. Acid hydrolysis can be enhanced with increasing acid concentration and reaction temperature. The optimum glucose and xylose concentrations occurred at 121 ○C for 1 hour hydrolysis time in 10% sulphuric acid solution were 32 and 11 g/l, respectively. In order to investigate the significance of medium composition on lactic acid production, experiments were undertaken whereby a culture of Lactococcus lactis was grown under various glucose, peptone, yeast extract and xylose concentrations. The optimum medium was composed of 5 g/l glucose, 2.5 g/l xylose, 10 g/l peptone and 5 g/l yeast extract. Lactococcus lactis represents the most efficient for lactic acid production amongst those considered. The lactic acid fermentation by Lactococcus lactis after 72 hours gave the highest yield of 1.4 (g lactic acid per g reducing sugar).

Keywords: sugarcane bagasses, acid hydrolysis, lactic acid, fermentation

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818 Examining the Potential of Linear Parks as Sustainable Development Components

Authors: Andreas Savvides, Chloe Kadi

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate how the planning and design of open parks within neighborhoods and communities can promote physical activity in order to enhance the health of the local population. A review of relevant literature was conducted for studies regarding the relationship between health and physical activity and the park characteristics that can promote physical activity among people. The findings of the literature review were then compared and analyzed, in order to identify the main characteristics of urban parks that can promote physical activity and enhance public health. In order to find out how the characteristics identified in the literature were applied in real life, an analysis of three existing parks in three different countries was conducted. The parks, apart from their geographical location, also vary in size and layout. The parks were chosen because they are urban open parks and they include facilities for physical activity.

Keywords: Urban planning, active living behavior, open parks, sustainable mobility.

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