Search results for: tool/tissue interaction.
1254 Development of All-male Fingerlings by Heat Treatment and the Genetic Mechanism of Heat Induced Sex Determination in Nile Tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus L.)
Authors: P. O. Angienda, B. O. Aketch, E. N. Waindi
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Juvenile Nile tilapia subjected to heat treatment at temperatures ranging from 260C to 370C showed positive correlation (P<0.01) between treatment temperatures and resultant sex ratios, while, survival rate of the fry showed a negative correlation against temperature (P<0.01). The optimal temperature for both sex shift towards males and survival rates was 36±0.5°C, producing male percentage of 86.31 and a fry survival of 65.25. To determine the genetic basis of temperature sex-determination in Nile tilapia, we employed three microsatellite markers (Abur36, Abur100 and UNH846). Abur36 predicted the sex of 95% of the heat induced individuals, suggesting that the locus influence sex ratio and its interaction with temperature result in male biased sex ratio. This locus could turn out to be the major sex determining gene operating in Nile tilapia. These markers could be used in marker-assisted selection to select genotypes that give a higher percentage of males for commercial production.Keywords: Heat treatment, Microsatellite, Nile tilapia, sex-determination.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36941253 MIBiClus: Mutual Information based Biclustering Algorithm
Authors: Neelima Gupta, Seema Aggarwal
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Most of the biclustering/projected clustering algorithms are based either on the Euclidean distance or correlation coefficient which capture only linear relationships. However, in many applications, like gene expression data and word-document data, non linear relationships may exist between the objects. Mutual Information between two variables provides a more general criterion to investigate dependencies amongst variables. In this paper, we improve upon our previous algorithm that uses mutual information for biclustering in terms of computation time and also the type of clusters identified. The algorithm is able to find biclusters with mixed relationships and is faster than the previous one. To the best of our knowledge, none of the other existing algorithms for biclustering have used mutual information as a similarity measure. We present the experimental results on synthetic data as well as on the yeast expression data. Biclusters on the yeast data were found to be biologically and statistically significant using GO Tool Box and FuncAssociate.
Keywords: Biclustering, mutual information.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16341252 Modernization, Malay Matrimonial Foodways and the Community Social Bonding
Authors: Mohd Zahari, M. S, Kamaruddin, M. S. Y., Muhammad, R., Kutut, M. Z.
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Solidarity and kinship has long been an intangible emblem to Malay community especially in the rural area. It is visibly seen through the dependability among each unit of the community either in religious and social events including the matrimonial or wedding. Nevertheless, the inevitable phenomenon, modernization legitimately alters every facets of human life not only the routines, traditions, rituals, norms but also to the daily activities and the specific occasion. Using triangulation approach of interview and self completed questionnaire this study empirically examine the level of alteration of Malays wedding foodways which relate to the preparation and consumption of it and its impact on the community social bonding. Some meaningful insights were obtained whereby modernization through technology (modern equipments) and social factors (education, migration, and high disposal income) significantly contribute to the alteration of wedding foodways from preparation up to consumption stages. The domino effect of this alteration consequently leads to the fragility of social kinship or somehow reduced cohesiveness and interaction among the individual of Malay society in the rural area.Keywords: Modernization, Malay, Matrimonial, Foodways, Social Bonding
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23961251 The Wine List Design by Upscale Restaurants
Authors: A. Oliveira-Brochado, R. Vinhas da Silva
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This paper investigates the structure and content of the wine lists in upscale restaurants in Portugal (N=61). The respondents considered that a wine list should be easy to use and to modify, welldesigned, modern and varied. Respondents also stated that they perform on average 6 revisions to the wine list per year. The restaurant owner, the restaurant manager and the sommelier were the main persons in charge of the wine list design. One of the most important reasons for selecting wines across most restaurants was to ‘complement the menu’ and ‘pairing food with wine’. Restaurants also reported to be relatively independent from suppliers and magazine evaluations. Moreover, this work revealed that the restaurant wine list is considered by restaurateurs as a strategic tool to sell wine as a complement to the menu, to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, to increase restaurant value and to enhance a successful positioning.
Keywords: Portugal, restaurants, wine list design.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 39651250 Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Hungarian Version of Self-Determination Scale
Authors: E. E. Marschalko, K. Kalcza-Janosi, I. Kotta, B. Bibok
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There is a scarcity of validated instruments in Hungarian for the assessment of self-determination related traits and behaviors. In order to fill in this gap, the aim of this study was the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of Self-Determination Scale (SDS) for the Hungarian population. A total of 4335 adults participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 27.97 (SD = 9.60). The sample consisted mostly of females, less than 20% were males. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed for factorial structure checking and validation Cronbach’s alpha was used to examine the reliability of the factors. Our results revealed that the Hungarian version of SDS has good psychometric properties and it is a reliable tool for psychologists who would like to study or assess self-determination traits in their clients. The adapted and validated Hungarian version of SDS is presented in this paper.
Keywords: self-determination, traits, self-determination scale, awareness of self, perceived choice, adults, Hungarian, psychometric properties
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5241249 Use of a Learner's Log for Effective Self-Directed Learning in PBL
Authors: Amudha Kadirvelu, Sivalal Sadasivan
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While the problem based learning (PBL) approach promotes unsupervised self-directed learning (SDL), many students experience difficulty juggling the role of being an information recipient and information seeker. Logbooks have been used to assess trainee doctors but not in other areas. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of logbook for assessing SDL during PBL sessions in first year medical students. The log book included a learning checklist and knowledge and skills components. Comparisons with the baseline assessment of student performance in PBL and that at semester end after logbook intervention showed significant improvements in student performance (31.5 ± 8 vs. 17.7 ± 4.4; p<0.001) with a large effect size of 3.93. The learner-s log for PBL has played an important role in enhancing SDL in first year medical students. Learner-s log could be a good self-assessment tool for the undergraduate medical students.
Keywords: Problem based learning, self-directed learning, logbook, self-assessment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20171248 Research on Strategy for Automated Scaleless-Map Compilation
Authors: Yin Jie, Qin Qiming, Yin Yong
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As a tool for human spatial cognition and thinking, the map has been playing an important role. Maps are perhaps as fundamental to society as language and the written word. Economic and social development requires extensive and in-depth understanding of their own living environment, from the scope of the overall global to urban housing. This has brought unprecedented opportunities and challenges for traditional cartography . This paper first proposed the concept of scaleless-map and its basic characteristics, through the analysis of the existing multi-scale representation techniques. Then some strategies are presented for automated mapping compilation. Taking into account the demand of automated map compilation, detailed proposed the software - WJ workstation must have four technical features, which are generalization operators, symbol primitives, dynamically annotation and mapping process template. This paper provides a more systematic new idea and solution to improve the intelligence and automation of the scaleless cartography.
Keywords: scaleless-map, strategy, map generalization, automated compilation, WJ workstation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14351247 Influence of After Body Shape on the Performance of Blunt Shaped Bodies as Vortex Shedders
Authors: Lavish Ordia, A. Venugopal, Amit Agrawal, S. V. Prabhu
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The present study explores flow visualization experiments with various blunt shaped bluff bodies placed inside a circular pipe. The bodies mainly comprise of modifications of trapezoidal cylinder, most widely used in practical applications, such as vortex flowmeters. The present configuration possesses the feature of both internal and external flows with low aspect ratio. The vortex dynamics of bluff bodies in such configuration is seldom reported in the literature. Dye injection technique is employed to visualize the complex vortex formation mechanism behind the bluff bodies. The influence of orientation, slit and after body shape is studied in an attempt to obtain better understanding of the vortex formation mechanism. Various wake parameters like Strouhal number, vortex formation length and wake width are documented for these shapes. Vortex formation both with and without shear layer interaction is observed for most of the shapes.
Keywords: Flow visualization, Reynolds number, Strouhal number, vortex, vortex formation length, wake width.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29821246 Love and Money: Societal Attitudes Toward Income Disparities in Age-Gap Relationships
Authors: Victoria S. Scarratt
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Couples involved in age-gap relationships generally evoke negative stereotypes, opinions, and social disapproval. This research seeks to examine whether financial disparities in age-discrepant relationships cause negative attitudes in study participants. It was hypothesized that an age-gap couple (29-year difference) would receive a greater degree of societal disapproval when the couple also had a large salary-gap compared to a similarly aged couple (1-year difference) with a salary-gap. Additionally, there would be no significant difference between age-gap couples without a salary-gap compared to a similarly aged couple without a salary gap. To test the hypothesis, participants were given one of four scenarios regarding a couple in a romantic relationship. Then they were asked to respond to nine Likert scale questions. Results indicated that participants perceived age-gap relationships with a salary disparity to be less equitable in regard to a power imbalance between the couple and the financial and general gain that one partner will receive. A significant interaction was also detected for evoking feelings of disgust in participants, and how morally correct it is for the couple to continue their relationship.
Keywords: Age-gap relationships, financial discrepancies, love, relationships, societal stigmas.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3271245 A Study of the Hand-Hold Impact on the EM Interaction of a Cellular Handset and a Human
Authors: Salah I. Al-Mously, Marai M. Abousetta
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This paper investigates the impact of the hand-hold positions on both antenna performance and the specific absorption rate (SAR) induced in the user-s head. A cellular handset with external antenna operating at GSM-900 frequency is modeled and simulated using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD)-based platform SEMCAD-X. A specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) is adopted to simulate the user-s head, whereas a semirealistic CAD-model of three-tissues is designed to simulate the user-s hand. The results show that in case of the handset in hand close to head at different positions; the antenna total efficiency gets reduced to (14.5% - 5.9%) at cheek-position and to (27.5% to 11.8%) at tilt-position. The peak averaged SAR1g values in head close to handset without hand, are 4.67 W/Kg and 2.66 W/Kg at cheek and tilt-position, respectively. Due to the presence of hand, the SAR1g in head gets reduced to (3.67-3.31 W/Kg) at cheek-position and to (1.84-1.64 W/Kg) at tilt-position, depending on the hand-hold position.Keywords: FDTD, phantom, specific absorption rate (SAR), cellular handset exposure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14111244 Neuroblasts Micropatterning on Nanostructural Modified Chitosan Membranes
Authors: Chun-Yen Sung, Chung-Yao Yang, Tzu-Chun Liao, Wen-Shiang Chen, Chao-Min Cheng, J. Andrew Yeh
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The study describes chitosan membrane platform modified with nanostructure pattern which using nanotechnology to fabricate. The cell-substrate interaction between neuro-2a neuroblasts cell lines and chitosan membrane (flat, nanostructure and nanostructure pattern types) was investigated. The adhered morphology of neuro-2a cells depends on the topography of chitosan surface. We have found that neuro-2a showed different morphogenesis when cells adhered on flat and nanostructure chitosan membrane. The cell projected area of neuro-2a on flat chitosan membrane is larger than on nanostructure chitosan membrane. In addition, neuro-2a cells preferred to adhere on flat chitosan surface region than on nanostructure chitosan membrane to immobilize and differentiation. The experiment suggests surface topography can be used as a critical mechanism to isolate group of neuro-2a to a particular rectangle area on chitosan membrane. Our finding will provide a platform to take patch clamp to record electrophysiological behavior about neurons in vitro in the future.Keywords: Chitosan membrane, neuro-2a, wet chemical etching, solvent casting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17621243 Multiple Organ Manifestation in Neonatal Lupus Erythematous (Report of Two Cases)
Authors: Lubis A., Widayanti R., Hikmah Z., Endaryanto A., Harsono A., Harianto A., Etika R., Handayani D. K., Sampurna M.
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Neonatal lupus erythematous (NLE) is a rare disease marked by clinical characteristic and specific maternal autoantibody. Many cutaneous, cardiac, liver, and hematological manifestations could happen with affect of one organ or multiple. In this case, both babies were premature, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and born through caesarean section from a systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) mother. In the first case, we found a baby girl with dyspnea and grunting. Chest X ray showed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) great I and echocardiography showed small atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). She also developed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated C-reactive protein, hypoalbuminemia, increasing coagulation factors, hyperbilirubinemia, and positive blood culture of Klebsiella pneumonia. Anti-Ro/SSA and Anti-nRNP/sm were positive. Intravenous fluid, antibiotic, transfusion of blood, thrombocyte concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were given. The second baby, male presented with necrotic tissue on the left ear and skin rashes, erythematous macula, athropic scarring, hyperpigmentation on all of his body with various size and facial haemorrhage. He also suffered from thrombocytopenia, mild elevated transaminase enzyme, hyperbilirubinemia, anti-Ro/SSA was positive. Intravenous fluid, methyprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), blood, and thrombocyte concentrate transfution were given. Two cases of neonatal lupus erythematous had been presented. Diagnosis based on clinical presentation and maternal auto antibody on neonate. Organ involvement in NLE can occur as single or multiple manifestations.
Keywords: Neonatus lupus erythematous, maternal autoantibody, clinical characteristic.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21071242 State-Space PD Feedback Control
Authors: John Florescu
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A challenged control problem is when the performance is pushed to the limit. The state-derivative feedback control strategy directly uses acceleration information for feedback and state estimation. The derivative part is concerned with the rateof- change of the error with time. If the measured variable approaches the set point rapidly, then the actuator is backed off early to allow it to coast to the required level. Derivative action makes a control system behave much more intelligently. A sensor measures the variable to be controlled and the measured in formation is fed back to the controller to influence the controlled variable. A high gain problem can be also formulated for proportional plus derivative feedback transformation. Using MATLAB Simulink dynamic simulation tool this paper examines a system with a proportional plus derivative feedback and presents an automatic implementation of finding an acceptable controlled system. Using feedback transformations the system is transformed into another system.Keywords: Feedback, PD, state-space, derivative.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20271241 Cost Based Warranty Optimisation Using Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Dragan D. Stamenkovic, Vladimir M. Popovic
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Warranty is a powerful marketing tool for the manufacturer and a good protection for both the manufacturer and the customer. However, warranty always involves additional costs to the manufacturer, which depend on product reliability characteristics and warranty parameters. This paper presents an approach to optimisation of warranty parameters for known product failure distribution to reduce the warranty costs to the manufacturer while retaining the promotional function of the warranty. Combination free replacement and pro-rata warranty policy is chosen as a model and the length of free replacement period and pro-rata policy period are varied, as well as the coefficients that define the pro-rata cost function. Multiparametric warranty optimisation is done by using genetic algorithm. Obtained results are guideline for the manufacturer to choose the warranty policy that minimises the costs and maximises the profit.Keywords: costs, genetic algorithm, optimisation, warranty.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16971240 Effects of the Stock Market Dynamic Linkages on the Central and Eastern European Capital Markets
Authors: Ioan Popa, Cristiana Tudor, Radu Lupu
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The interdependences among stock market indices were studied for a long while by academics in the entire world. The current financial crisis opened the door to a wide range of opinions concerning the understanding and measurement of the connections considered to provide the controversial phenomenon of market integration. Using data on the log-returns of 17 stock market indices that include most of the CEE markets, from 2005 until 2009, our paper studies the problem of these dependences using a new methodological tool that takes into account both the volatility clustering effect and the stochastic properties of these linkages through a Dynamic Conditional System of Simultaneous Equations. We find that the crisis is well captured by our model as it provides evidence for the high volatility – high dependence effect.Keywords: Stock market interdependences, Dynamic System ofSimultaneous Equations, financial crisis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17841239 Hydrodynamic Modeling of Infinite Reservoir using Finite Element Method
Authors: M. A. Ghorbani, M. Pasbani Khiavi
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In this paper, the dam-reservoir interaction is analyzed using a finite element approach. The fluid is assumed to be incompressible, irrotational and inviscid. The assumed boundary conditions are that the interface of the dam and reservoir is vertical and the bottom of reservoir is rigid and horizontal. The governing equation for these boundary conditions is implemented in the developed finite element code considering the horizontal and vertical earthquake components. The weighted residual standard Galerkin finite element technique with 8-node elements is used to discretize the equation that produces a symmetric matrix equation for the damreservoir system. A new boundary condition is proposed for truncating surface of unbounded fluid domain to show the energy dissipation in the reservoir, through radiation in the infinite upstream direction. The Sommerfeld-s and perfect damping boundary conditions are also implemented for a truncated boundary to compare with the proposed far end boundary. The results are compared with an analytical solution to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed formulation and other truncated boundary conditions in modeling the hydrodynamic response of an infinite reservoir.Keywords: Reservoir, finite element, truncated boundary, hydrodynamic pressure
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23121238 Structural Modelling of the LiCl Aqueous Solution: Using the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC) Simulation
Authors: M. Habchi, S.M. Mesli, M. Kotbi
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The Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation is applied in the study of an aqueous electrolyte LiCl6H2O. On the basis of the available experimental neutron scattering data, RMC computes pair radial distribution functions in order to explore the structural features of the system. The obtained results include some unrealistic features. To overcome this problem, we use the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC), incorporating an energy constraint in addition to the commonly used constraints derived from experimental data. Our results show a good agreement between experimental and computed partial distribution functions (PDFs) as well as a significant improvement in pair partial distribution curves. This kind of study can be considered as a useful test for a defined interaction model for conventional simulation techniques.
Keywords: RMC simulation, HRMC simulation, energy constraint, screened potential, glassy state, liquid state, partial distribution function, pair partial distribution function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14721237 Effect of UV-Treatment on Properties of Biodegradable Film From Rice Starch
Authors: Nawapat Detduangchan, Thawien Wittaya
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Photo-crosslinked rice starch-based biodegradable films were prepared by casting film-solution on leveled trays and ultra violet (UV) irradiation was applied for 10 minute. The effect of the content (3%, 6% and 9 wt. %)of photosensitiser (sodium benzoate) on mechanical properties, water vapor permeability (WVP) and structural properties of rice starch films were investigated. The tensile strength increased while elongation at break and water resistance properties of rice starch films decreased with addition and increasing content of photosensitiser. The % crystallinity of rice starch films were decreased when the content of photosensitiser increased and UV were applied. The results showed that the carboxylate group band of sodium benzoate was found in the FTIR spectrum of rice starch films and found that incorporation of 6% of photosensitiser into the films showed a higher absorption band of resulted films. This result pointed out the highest interaction between starch molecules was occurred.Keywords: Biodegradable film, Rice starch, UV treatment, Photosensitiser, Photo-crosslink
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25111236 Application of Genetic Engineering for Chromium Removal from Industrial Wastewater
Authors: N. K. Srivastava, M. K. Jha, I. D. Mall, Davinder Singh
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The treatment of the industrial wastewater can be particularly difficult in the presence of toxic compounds. Excessive concentration of Chromium in soluble form is toxic to a wide variety of living organisms. Biological removal of heavy metals using natural and genetically engineered microorganisms has aroused great interest because of its lower impact on the environment. Ralston metallidurans, formerly known as Alcaligenes eutrophus is a LProteobacterium colonizing industrial wastewater with a high content of heavy metals. Tris-buffered mineral salt medium was used for growing Alcaligenes eutrophus AE104 (pEBZ141). The cells were cultivated for 18 h at 30 oC in Tris-buffered mineral salt medium containing 3 mM disodium sulphate and 46 mM sodium gluconate as the carbon source. The cells were harvested by centrifugation, washed, and suspended in 10 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.0, containing 46 mM sodium gluconate, and 5 mM Chromium. Interaction among induction of chr resistance determinant, and chromate reduction have been demonstrated. Results of this study show that the above bacteria can be very useful for bioremediation of chromium from industrial wastewater.Keywords: Chromium, Genetic Engineering, IndustrialWastewater, Plasmid
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23511235 MIMO Performances in Tunnel Environment: Interpretation from the Channel Characteristics
Authors: C. Sanchis-Borras, J. M. Molina-Garcia-Pardo, P. Degauque, M. Lienard
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The objective of this contribution is to study the performances in terms of bit error rate, of space-time code algorithms applied to MIMO communication in tunnels. Indeed, the channel characteristics in a tunnel are quite different than those of urban or indoor environment, due to the guiding effect of the tunnel. Therefore, MIMO channel matrices have been measured in a straight tunnel, in a frequency band around 3GHz. Correlation between array elements and properties of the MIMO matrices are first studied as a function of the distance between the transmitter and the receiver. Then, owing to a software tool simulating the link, predicted values of bit error rate are given for VLAST, OSTBC and QSTBC algorithms applied to a MIMO configuration with 2 or 4 array elements. Results are interpreted from the analysis of the channel properties.Keywords: MIMO, propagation channel, space-time algorithms, tunnel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18901234 Particle Image Velocimetry for Measuring Water Flow Velocity
Authors: King Kuok Kuok, Po Chan Chiu
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Floods are natural phenomena, which may turn into disasters causing widespread damage, health problems and even deaths. Nowadays, floods had become more serious and more frequent due to climatic changes. During flooding, discharge measurement still can be taken by standing on the bridge across the river using portable measurement instrument. However, it is too dangerous to get near to the river especially during high flood. Therefore, this study employs Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) as a tool to measure the surface flow velocity. PIV is a image processing technique to track the movement of water from one point to another. The PIV codes are developed using Matlab. In this study, 18 ping pong balls were scattered over the surface of the drain and images were taken with a digital SLR camera. The images obtained were analyzed using the PIV code. Results show that PIV is able to produce the flow velocity through analyzing the series of images captured.
Keywords: Particle Image Velocimetry, flow velocity, surface flow.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28521233 Enhancing Rural Agricultural Value Chains through Electric Mobility Services in Ethiopia
Authors: Clemens Pizzinini, Philipp Rosner, David Ziegler, Markus Lienkamp
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Transportation is a constitutional part of most supply and value chains in modern economies. Smallholder farmers in rural Ethiopia face severe challenges along their supply and value chains. In particular, suitable, affordable, and available transport services are in high demand. To develop context-specific technical solutions, a problem-to-solution methodology based on the interaction with technology is developed. With this approach, we fill the gap between proven transportation assessment frameworks and general user-centered techniques. Central to our approach is an electric test vehicle that is implemented in rural supply and value chains for research, development, and testing. Based on our objective and the derived methodological requirements, a set of existing methods is selected. Local partners are integrated in an organizational framework that executes major parts of this research endeavour in Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
Keywords: Agricultural value chain, participatory methods, agile methods, sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, electric vehicle, transport service.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1711232 Robot Movement Using the Trust Region Policy Optimization
Authors: Romisaa Ali
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The Policy Gradient approach is a subset of the Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) combines Deep Neural Networks (DNN) with Reinforcement Learning (RL). This approach finds the optimal policy of robot movement, based on the experience it gains from interaction with its environment. Unlike previous policy gradient algorithms, which were unable to handle the two types of error variance and bias introduced by the DNN model due to over- or underestimation, this algorithm is capable of handling both types of error variance and bias. This article will discuss the state-of-the-art SOTA policy gradient technique, trust region policy optimization (TRPO), by applying this method in various environments compared to another policy gradient method, the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), to explain their robust optimization, using this SOTA to gather experience data during various training phases after observing the impact of hyper-parameters on neural network performance.
Keywords: Deep neural networks, deep reinforcement learning, Proximal Policy Optimization, state-of-the-art, trust region policy optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1941231 Identity Verification Using k-NN Classifiers and Autistic Genetic Data
Authors: Fuad M. Alkoot
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DNA data have been used in forensics for decades. However, current research looks at using the DNA as a biometric identity verification modality. The goal is to improve the speed of identification. We aim at using gene data that was initially used for autism detection to find if and how accurate is this data for identification applications. Mainly our goal is to find if our data preprocessing technique yields data useful as a biometric identification tool. We experiment with using the nearest neighbor classifier to identify subjects. Results show that optimal classification rate is achieved when the test set is corrupted by normally distributed noise with zero mean and standard deviation of 1. The classification rate is close to optimal at higher noise standard deviation reaching 3. This shows that the data can be used for identity verification with high accuracy using a simple classifier such as the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN).
Keywords: Biometrics, identity verification, genetic data, k-nearest neighbor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11241230 The Public Law Studies: Relationship between Accountability, Environmental Education and Smart Cities
Authors: Aline Alves Bandeira, Luís Pedro Lima, Maria Cecília de Paula Silva, Paulo Henrique de Viveiros Tavares
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Nowadays, the study of public policies regarding management efficiency is essential. Public policies are about what governments do or do not do, being an area that has grown worldwide, contributing through the knowledge of technologies and methodologies that monitor and evaluate the performance of public administrators. The information published on official government websites needs to provide for transparency and responsiveness of managers. Thus, transparency is a primordial factor for the execution of accountability, providing, in this way, services to the citizen with the expansion of transparent, efficient, democratic information and that value administrative eco-efficiency. The ecologically balanced management of a Smart City must optimize environmental education, building a fairer society, which brings about equality in the use of quality environmental resources. Smart Cities add value in the construction of public management, enabling interaction between people, enhancing environmental education and the practical applicability of administrative eco-efficiency, fostering economic development and improving the quality of life.
Keywords: Accountability, environmental education, new public administration, smart cities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6301229 21st Century Biotechnological Research and Development Advancements for Industrial Development in India
Authors: Monisha Isaac
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Biotechnology is a discipline which explains the use of living organisms and systems to construct a product, or we can define it as an application or technology developed to use biological systems and organisms processes for a specific use. Particularly, it includes cells and its components use for new technologies and inventions. The tools developed can be further used in diverse fields such as agriculture, industry, research and hospitals etc. The 21st century has seen a drastic development and advancement in biotechnology in India. Significant increase in Government of India’s outlays for biotechnology over the past decade has been observed. A sectoral break up of biotechnology-based companies in India shows that most of the companies are agriculture-based companies having interests ranging from tissue culture to biopesticides. Major attention has been given by the companies in health related activities and in environmental biotechnology. The biopharmaceutical, which comprises of vaccines, diagnostic, and recombinant products is the most reliable and largest segment of the Indian Biotech industry. India has developed its vaccine markets and supplies them to various countries. Then there are the bio-services, which mainly comprise of contract researches and manufacturing services. India has made noticeable developments in the field of bio industries including manufacturing of enzymes, biofuels and biopolymers. Biotechnology is also playing a crucial and significant role in the field of agriculture. Traditional methods have been replaced by new technologies that mainly focus on GM crops, marker assisted technologies and the use of biotechnological tools to improve the quality of fertilizers and soil. It may only be a small contributor but has shown to have huge potential for growth. Bioinformatics is a computational method which helps to store, manage, arrange and design tools to interpret the extensive data gathered through experimental trials, making it important in the design of drugs.
Keywords: Biotechnology, advancement, agriculture, bio-services, bio-industries, bio-pharmaceuticals.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21221228 Prediction of Bath Temperature Using Neural Networks
Authors: H. Meradi, S. Bouhouche, M. Lahreche
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In this work, we consider an application of neural networks in LD converter. Application of this approach assumes a reliable prediction of steel temperature and reduces a reblow ratio in steel work. It has been applied a conventional model to charge calculation, the obtained results by this technique are not always good, this is due to the process complexity. Difficulties are mainly generated by the noisy measurement and the process non linearities. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have become a powerful tool for these complex applications. It is used a backpropagation algorithm to learn the neural nets. (ANNs) is used to predict the steel bath temperature in oxygen converter process for the end condition. This model has 11 inputs process variables and one output. The model was tested in steel work, the obtained results by neural approach are better than the conventional model.
Keywords: LD converter, bath temperature, neural networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18421227 Identifying Attack Code through an Ontology-Based Multiagent Tool: FROID
Authors: Salvador Mandujano
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This paper describes the design and results of FROID, an outbound intrusion detection system built with agent technology and supported by an attacker-centric ontology. The prototype features a misuse-based detection mechanism that identifies remote attack tools in execution. Misuse signatures composed of attributes selected through entropy analysis of outgoing traffic streams and process runtime data are derived from execution variants of attack programs. The core of the architecture is a mesh of self-contained detection cells organized non-hierarchically that group agents in a functional fashion. The experiments show performance gains when the ontology is enabled as well as an increase in accuracy achieved when correlation cells combine detection evidence received from independent detection cells.Keywords: Outbound intrusion detection, knowledge management, multiagent systems, ontology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16651226 Designing and Evaluating Pedagogic Conversational Agents to Teach Children
Authors: Silvia Tamayo-Moreno, Diana Pérez-Marín
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In this paper, the possibility of children studying by using an interactive learning technology called Pedagogic Conversational Agent is presented. The main benefit is that the agent is able to adapt the dialogue to each student and to provide automatic feedback. Moreover, according to Math teachers, in many cases students are unable to solve the problems even knowing the procedure to solve them, because they do not understand what they have to do. The hypothesis is that if students are helped to understand what they have to solve, they will be able to do it. Taken that into account, we have started the development of Dr. Roland, an agent to help students understand Math problems following a User-Centered Design methodology. The use of this methodology is proposed, for the first time, to design pedagogic agents to teach any subject from Secondary down to Pre-Primary education. The reason behind proposing a methodology is that while working on this project, we noticed the lack of literature to design and evaluate agents. To cover this gap, we describe how User-Centered Design can be applied, and which usability techniques can be applied to evaluate the agent.Keywords: Pedagogic conversational agent, human-computer interaction, user-centered design, natural language interface.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18771225 Performance Analysis of Artificial Neural Network Based Land Cover Classification
Authors: Najam Aziz, Nasru Minallah, Ahmad Junaid, Kashaf Gul
Abstract:
Landcover classification using automated classification techniques, while employing remotely sensed multi-spectral imagery, is one of the promising areas of research. Different land conditions at different time are captured through satellite and monitored by applying different classification algorithms in specific environment. In this paper, a SPOT-5 image provided by SUPARCO has been studied and classified in Environment for Visual Interpretation (ENVI), a tool widely used in remote sensing. Then, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classification technique is used to detect the land cover changes in Abbottabad district. Obtained results are compared with a pixel based Distance classifier. The results show that ANN gives the better overall accuracy of 99.20% and Kappa coefficient value of 0.98 over the Mahalanobis Distance Classifier.Keywords: Landcover classification, artificial neural network, remote sensing, SPOT-5.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1614