Search results for: Environmental impact assessment review

Authors: Mahmud Fotuhi-Firuzabad, Saeed Afshar

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a preventive maintenance application-based study and modeling of failure rates in breakers of electrical distribution systems. This is a critical issue in the reliability assessment of a system. In the analysis conducted in this paper, the impacts of failure rate variations caused by a preventive maintenance are examined. This is considered as a part of a Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) application program. A number of load point reliability indices is derived using the mathematical model of the failure rate, which is established using the observed data in a distribution system.

Keywords: Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), failure rate, preventive maintenance (PM), Distribution System Reliability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2495

Authors: B. A. Mir, Asim Malik

Abstract:

Bottom ash is a by-product of the combustion process of coal in furnaces in the production of electricity in thermal power plants. In India, about 75% of total power is produced by using pulverized coal. The coal of India has a high ash content which leads to the generation of a huge quantity of bottom ash per year posing the dual problem of environmental pollution and difficulty in disposal. This calls for establishing strategies to use this industry by-product effectively and efficiently. However, its large-scale utilization is possible only in geotechnical applications, either alone or with soil. In the present investigation, bottom ash was collected from National Capital Power Station Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, India. Test samples of bottom ash admixed with 20% clayey soil were prepared and treated with different cement content by weight and subjected to various laboratory tests for assessing its suitability as an engineered construction material. This study has shown that use of 10% cement content is a viable chemical additive to enhance the mechanical properties of bottom ash, which can be used effectively as an engineered construction material in various geotechnical applications. More importantly, it offers an interesting potential for making use of an industrial waste to overcome challenges posed by bottom ash for a sustainable environment.

Keywords: Bottom ash, environmental pollution, solid waste, sustainable environment, waste utilization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1721

Authors: Raziya Ashimova

Abstract:

This article is devoted to the problems of the disproportional development of regions in the Republic Kazakhstan. The threats proceeding from problem regions, make strong impact on the country-s sustainable development, therefore they are necessary to be considered at the level of national security.

Keywords: Economic development, Kazakhstan, National security regional economy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1320

Authors: A. Lincoln, O. Adedoyin

Abstract:

In recent times, corporations are increasingly under pressure to ensure diversity within their boardrooms and a large number of academic research have reported findings consistent with the view that boards perform better when they include a diverse range of people. Women have unique characteristics needed to positively influence the strategic direction of a corporation and contribute to the growth of firms. In spite of such revelations, evidence suggests that women are under-represented in senior executive and board positions. In many parts of Africa, socio-cultural traditions inhibit women from attaining these roles. Given the emphasis placed on board diversity and inclusion of women as an essential part of good corporate governance, the relationship between gender diversity and board effectiveness deserves both theoretical and empirical investigation. This research is important because it represents the first theoretical review on gender diversity in corporate boards in Nigeria.

Keywords: Boards, Corporate Governance, Gender Diversity, Nigeria.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3423

Authors: Yogesh D. Bansod, Jiri Bursa

Abstract:

The quantitative study of cell mechanics is of paramount interest, since it regulates the behaviour of the living cells in response to the myriad of extracellular and intracellular mechanical stimuli. The novel experimental techniques together with robust computational approaches have given rise to new theories and models, which describe cell mechanics as combination of biomechanical and biochemical processes. This review paper encapsulates the existing continuum-based computational approaches that have been developed for interpreting the mechanical responses of living cells under different loading and boundary conditions. The salient features and drawbacks of each model are discussed from both structural and biological points of view. This discussion can contribute to the development of even more precise and realistic computational models of cell mechanics based on continuum approaches or on their combination with microstructural approaches, which in turn may provide a better understanding of mechanotransduction in living cells.

Keywords: Cell mechanics, computational models, continuum approach, mechanical models.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2957

Authors: Giovanni Cicceri, Roberta Maisano, Nathalie Morey, Salvatore Distefano

Abstract:

The main goal of this paper is to present a solution for a water purification system based on an Environmental Internet of Things (EIoT) platform to monitor and control water quality and machine learning (ML) models to support decision making and speed up the processes of purification of water. A real case study has been implemented by deploying an EIoT platform and a network of devices, called Gramb meters and belonging to the Gramb project, on wastewater purification systems located in Calabria, south of Italy. The data thus collected are used to control the wastewater quality, detect anomalies and predict the behaviour of the purification system. To this extent, three different statistical and machine learning models have been adopted and thus compared: Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) autoencoder, and Facebook Prophet (FP). The results demonstrated that the ML solution (LSTM) out-perform classical statistical approaches (ARIMA, FP), in terms of both accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness in monitoring and controlling the wastewater purification processes.

Keywords: EIoT, machine learning, anomaly detection, environment monitoring.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1028

Authors: Raúl González Muñoz, Essam Shehab, Martin Weinitzke, Chris Fowler, Paul Baguley

Abstract:

Software applications have become crucial for the aerospace industry, providing a wide range of functionalities and capabilities. However, due to the considerable time difference between aircraft and software life cycles, obsolescence has turned into a major challenge for industry in last decades. This paper aims to provide a view on the different causes of software obsolescence within aerospace industry, as well as a perception on the importance of each of them. The key research question addressed is what drives software obsolescence in the aerospace industry, managing large software application portfolios. This question has been addressed by conducting firstly an in depth review of current literature and secondly by arranging an industry workshop with professionals from aerospace and consulting companies. The result is a set of drivers of software obsolescence, distributed among three different environments and several domains. By incorporating monitoring methodologies to assess those software obsolescence drivers, benefits in maintenance efforts and operations disruption avoidance are expected.

Keywords: Aerospace industry, obsolescence drivers, software lifecycle, software obsolescence.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 943

Authors: Nurul Zahirah M.A., N. Zainul Abidin

Abstract:

Green buildings have been commonly cited to be more expensive than conventional buildings. However, limited research has been conducted to clearly identify elements that contribute to this cost differential. The construction cost of buildings can be typically divided into “hard" costs and “soft" cost elements. Using a review analysis of existing literature, the study identified six main elements in green buildings that contribute to the general cost elements that are “soft" in nature. The six elements found are insurance, developer-s experience, design cost, certification, commissioning and energy modeling. Out of the six elements, most literatures have highlighted the increase in design cost for green design as compared to conventional design due to additional architectural and engineering costs, eco-charettes, extra design time, and the further need for a green consultant. The study concluded that these elements of soft cost contribute to the green premium or cost differential of green buildings.

Keywords: Green building, cost differential, soft cost, intangible cost.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2778

Authors: Marina Kapsali, John S. Anagnostopoulos

Abstract:

Greek islands’ interconnection (IC) with larger power systems, such as the mainland grid, is a crucial issue that has attracted a lot of interest; however, the recent economic recession that the country undergoes together with the highly capital intensive nature of this kind of projects have stalled or sifted the development of many of those on a more long-term basis. On the other hand, most of Greek islands are still heavily dependent on the lengthy and costly supply chain of oil imports whilst the majority of them exhibit excellent potential for wind energy (WE) applications. In this respect, the main purpose of the present work is to investigate −through a parametric study which varies both in wind farm (WF) and submarine IC capacities− the impact of large-scale WE development on the IC of the third in size island of Greece (Lesbos) with the mainland system. The energy and economic performance of the system is simulated over a 25-year evaluation period assuming two possible scenarios, i.e. S(a): without the contribution of the local Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and S(b): the TPP is maintained to ensure electrification of the island. The economic feasibility of the two options is investigated in terms of determining their Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) including also a sensitivity analysis on the worst/reference/best Cases. According to the results, Lesbos island IC presents considerable economic interest for covering part of island’s future electrification needs with WE having a vital role in this challenging venture.

Keywords: Electricity generation cost, levelized cost of energy, mainland grid, wind energy rejection.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1028

Authors: Khan Farhan Rafat, Riaz Ahmed

Abstract:

Renowned offshore organizations are drifting towards collaborative exertion to win and implement international projects for business gains. However, devoid of financial constraints, with the availability of skilled professionals, and despite improved project management practices through state-of-the-art tools and techniques, project delays have become a norm these days. This situation calls for exploring the factor(s) affecting the bonding between project management performance and project success. In the context of the well-known 3M’s of project management (that is, manpower, machinery, and materials), machinery and materials are dependent upon manpower. Because the body of knowledge inveterate on the influence of national culture on men, hence, the realization of the impact on the link between project management performance and project success need to be investigated in detail to arrive at the possible cause(s) of project delays. This research initiative was, therefore, undertaken to fill the research gap. The unit of analysis for the proposed research excretion was the individuals who had worked on skyscraper construction projects. In reverent studies, project management is best described using construction examples. It is due to this reason that the project oriented city of Dubai was chosen to reconnoiter on causes of project delays. A structured questionnaire survey was disseminated online with the courtesy of the Project Management Institute local chapter to carry out the cross-sectional study. The Construction Industry Institute, Austin, of the United States of America along with 23 high-rise builders in Dubai were also contacted by email requesting for their contribution to the study and providing them with the online link to the survey questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument was warranted using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.70. The appropriateness of sampling adequacy and homogeneity in variance was ensured by keeping Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity in the range ≥ 0.60 and < 0.05, respectively. Factor analysis was used to verify construct validity. During exploratory factor analysis, all items were loaded using a threshold of 0.4. Four hundred and seventeen respondents, including members from top management, project managers, and project staff, contributed to the study. The link between project management performance and project success was significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed), and 0.05 level (2-tailed) for Pearson’s correlation. Before initiating the moderator analysis test for linearity, multicollinearity, outliers, leverage points and influential cases, test for homoscedasticity and normality were carried out which are prerequisites for conducting moderator review. The moderator analysis, using a macro named PROCESS, was performed to verify the hypothesis that national culture has an influence on the said link. The empirical findings, when compared with Hofstede's results, showed high power distance as the cause of construction project delays in Dubai. The research outcome calls for the project sponsors and top management to reshape their project management strategy and allow for low power distance between management and project personnel for timely completion of projects.

Keywords: Causes of construction project delays, construction industry, construction management, power distance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3121

Authors: Javadi Alimohammad, Javadi Maryam, Feizi Fereidoon

Abstract:

A review of the literature found that Domestic violence and child maltreatment co-occur in many families, the purpose of this study attempts to emphasize the factors relating to intra-family relationships (order point of view) on violence against the children, For this purpose a survey technique on the sample size amounted 200 students of governmental guidance schools of city of Gilanegharb in country of Iran were considered. For measurement of violence against the children (VAC) the CTS scaled has been used .The results showed that children have experienced the violence more than once during the last year. degree of order in family is high. Explanation result indicated that the order variables in family including collective thinking, empathy, communal co-circumstance have significant effects on VAC.

Keywords: Violence, domestic violence, violence against children, order, guidance school, family, children.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1293

Authors: Esyin Chew, Haydn Blackey

Abstract:

There are increasingly plagiarism offences for students in higher education in the digital educational world. On the other hand, various and competitive online assessment and plagiarism detection tools are available in the market. Taking the University of Glamorgan as a case study, this paper describes and introduces an institutional journey on electronic plagiarism detection to inform the initial experience of an innovative tool and method which could be further explored in the future research. The comparative study and system workflow for e-plagiarism detection tool are discussed. Benefits for both academics and students are also presented. Electronic plagiarism detection tools brought great benefits to both academics and students in Glamorgan. On the other hand, the debates raised in such initial experience are discussed.

Keywords: Educational Technology, Plagiarism detection, Turnitin

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1843

Authors: Nomataru P. Gontse, Lavanithum Joseph

Abstract:

Deafness coupled with a lack of support and resources in developing countries poses a serious threat to the well- being of children. The mismatch between the needs of persons with disabilities and the resources available to them is a key factor in service provision in resource constrained contexts. Furthermore, deafness in children is the most common childhood sensory disorder in developing countries, and as such seriously affected with regard to resource constraints. This paper discusses the issues and research protocol for a Ph.D. study that aims to develop a practice guideline that is contextually sensitive and includes an interdisciplinary approach that will improve the outcomes of learners and the relationships in hearing households with deaf learners in rural areas of the Eastern Cape, one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. The guideline developed will consider the lived experiences of deaf children and their hearing families on the impact deafness has on their relationships and communication at home. Ethical clearance for the study has been obtained. The methodology is a mixed-methods approach in the form of a survey using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with deaf learners in primary and high school and their hearing parents to get their perspective on the impact deafness has on their relationships and communication at home. The study is conducted using adolescent learners from Grades 7 to 12 (excluding learners younger than 12 years and older than 21 years). An audiologist, teachers, and support staff will also give their views on how the intervention is currently done and possible suggestions on how management can be done differently. Data collection will be conducted in isiXhosa by the researcher, as isiXhosa is dominant in this region. The interviews will be conducted in South African Sign Language by the sign language interpreter for deaf learners and educational professionals. An expected outcome for this study is the development of recommendations and a practice guideline for deaf children diagnosed late from rural or under-resourced environments. To ensure the implementation of the findings, in the end, professionals will be given feedback on the outcomes of the study so that they can identify areas within their practices that require updated knowledge. The developed guideline is expected to have an impact on the Department of Education policies both regionally and nationally, providing recommendations for a strategic management plan and practice guidelines for this vulnerable and marginalized population. The IsiXhosa specific context could be generalized to other similar contexts.

Keywords: Deafness, family-centred approach, early identification, rural communities.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 383

Authors: Anwaar Ahmed, Muhammad Bilal Khurshid, Samuel Labi

Abstract:

The effect of trucks on the level of service is determined by considering passenger car equivalents (PCE) of trucks. The current version of Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) uses a single PCE value for all tucks combined. However, the composition of truck traffic varies from location to location; therefore, a single PCE value for all trucks may not correctly represent the impact of truck traffic at specific locations. Consequently, present study developed separate PCE values for single-unit and combination trucks to replace the single value provided in the HCM on different freeways. Site specific PCE values, were developed using concept of spatial lagging headways (that is the distance between rear bumpers of two vehicles in a traffic stream) measured from field traffic data. The study used data from four locations on a single urban freeway and three different rural freeways in Indiana. Three-stage-leastsquares (3SLS) regression techniques were used to generate models that predicted lagging headways for passenger cars, single unit trucks (SUT), and combination trucks (CT). The estimated PCE values for single-unit and combination truck for basic urban freeways (level terrain) were: 1.35 and 1.60, respectively. For rural freeways the estimated PCE values for single-unit and combination truck were: 1.30 and 1.45, respectively. As expected, traffic variables such as vehicle flow rates and speed have significant impacts on vehicle headways. Study results revealed that the use of separate PCE values for different truck classes can have significant influence on the LOS estimation.

Keywords: Level of Service, Capacity Analysis, Lagging Headway.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2096

Authors: W. Katsarapong, W. Srisang, K. Jaroensutasinee, M. Jaroensutasinee

Abstract:

National Biodiversity Database System (NBIDS) has been developed for collecting Thai biodiversity data. The goal of this project is to provide advanced tools for querying, analyzing, modeling, and visualizing patterns of species distribution for researchers and scientists. NBIDS data record two types of datasets: biodiversity data and environmental data. Biodiversity data are specie presence data and species status. The attributes of biodiversity data can be further classified into two groups: universal and projectspecific attributes. Universal attributes are attributes that are common to all of the records, e.g. X/Y coordinates, year, and collector name. Project-specific attributes are attributes that are unique to one or a few projects, e.g., flowering stage. Environmental data include atmospheric data, hydrology data, soil data, and land cover data collecting by using GLOBE protocols. We have developed webbased tools for data entry. Google Earth KML and ArcGIS were used as tools for map visualization. webMathematica was used for simple data visualization and also for advanced data analysis and visualization, e.g., spatial interpolation, and statistical analysis. NBIDS will be used by park rangers at Khao Nan National Park, and researchers.

Keywords: GLOBE protocol, Biodiversity, Database System, ArcGIS, Google Earth and webMathematica.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1984

Authors: Saratu Yusuf Ilu, Mumtaz B. Mustafa, Siti Salwah Salim, Mehdi Malekzadeh

Abstract:

Children today use computer based application in various activities especially for learning and education. Many of these tools and application such as the Computer Aided Pronunciation Training (CAPT) systems enable children to explore and experience them with little supervision from the adults. In order for these tools and application to have maximum effect on the children’s learning and education, it must be attractive to the children to use them. This could be achieved with the proper user interface (UI) design. As children grow, so do their ability, taste and preferences. They interact differently with these applications as they grow older. This study reviews several articles on how age factors influence the UI design. The review focuses on age related abilities such as cognitive, literacy, concentration and feedback requirement. We have also evaluated few of existing CAPT systems and determine the influence of age-based factors on the interface design.

Keywords: Children, age-based interaction, learning application, age-based UI.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1992

Authors: Abhijit Mitra

Abstract:

Different pseudo-random or pseudo-noise (PN) as well as orthogonal sequences that can be used as spreading codes for code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular networks or can be used for encrypting speech signals to reduce the residual intelligence are investigated. We briefly review the theoretical background for direct sequence CDMA systems and describe the main characteristics of the maximal length, Gold, Barker, and Kasami sequences. We also discuss about variable- and fixed-length orthogonal codes like Walsh- Hadamard codes. The equivalence of PN and orthogonal codes are also derived. Finally, a new PN sequence is proposed which is shown to have certain better properties than the existing codes.

Keywords: Code division multiple access, pseudo-noise codes, maximal length, Gold, Barker, Kasami, Walsh-Hadamard, autocorrelation, crosscorrelation, figure of merit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6054

Authors: Angelo Corallo, Maria Elena Latino, Marta Menegoli

Abstract:

Agri-food value chain involves various stakeholders with different roles. All of them abide by national and international rules and leverage marketing strategies to advance their products. Food products and related processing phases carry with it a big mole of data that are often not used to inform final customer. Some data, if fittingly identified and used, can enhance the single company, and/or the all supply chain creates a math between marketing techniques and voluntary traceability strategies. Moreover, as of late, the world has seen buying-models’ modification: customer is careful on wellbeing and food quality. Food citizenship and food democracy was born, leveraging on transparency, sustainability and food information needs. Internet of Things (IoT) and Analytics, some of the innovative technologies of Industry 4.0, have a significant impact on market and will act as a main thrust towards a genuine ‘4.0 change’ for agriculture. But, realizing a traceability system is not simple because of the complexity of agri-food supply chain, a lot of actors involved, different business models, environmental variations impacting products and/or processes, and extraordinary climate changes. In order to give support to the company involved in a traceability path, starting from business model analysis and related business process a Framework to Manage Product Data in Agri-Food Supply Chain for Voluntary Traceability was conceived. Studying each process task and leveraging on modeling techniques lead to individuate information held by different actors during agri-food supply chain. IoT technologies for data collection and Analytics techniques for data processing supply information useful to increase the efficiency intra-company and competitiveness in the market. The whole information recovered can be shown through IT solutions and mobile application to made accessible to the company, the entire supply chain and the consumer with the view to guaranteeing transparency and quality.

Keywords: Agriculture 4.0, agri-food supply chain, Industry 4.0, voluntary traceability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2348

Authors: M. Kouhirostamkolaei, M. Kouhirostami, M. Sam, J. Woo, A. T. Asutosh, J. Li, C. Kibert

Abstract:

Construction is one of the most energy consumed activities in the urban environment that results in a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. Thus, the impact of the construction industry on global warming is undeniable. Thus, reducing building energy consumption and mitigating carbon production can slow the rate of global warming. The purpose of this study is to determine the amount of energy consumption and carbon dioxide production during the operation phase and the impact of using new shells on energy saving and carbon footprint. Therefore, a residential building with a re-enforced concrete structure is selected in Babolsar, Iran. DesignBuilder software has been used for one year of building operation to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide production and energy consumption in the operation phase of the building. The primary results show the building use 61750 kWh of energy each year. Computer simulation analyzes the effect of changing building shells -using XPS polystyrene and new electrochromic windows- as well as changing the type of lighting on energy consumption reduction and subsequent carbon dioxide production. The results show that the amount of energy and carbon production during building operation has been reduced by approximately 70% by applying the proposed changes. The changes reduce CO₂e to 11345 kg CO₂/yr. The result of this study helps designers and engineers to consider material selection’s process as one of the most important stages of design for improving energy performance of buildings.

Keywords: Construction materials, green construction, energy simulation, carbon footprint, energy saving, concrete structure, DesignBuilder.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 994

Authors: M.A. Calin, S.V. Parasca, M.R. Calin, D. Savastru, D. Manea

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to examine the effects of laser radiation on the skin wound healing using infrared thermography as non-invasive method for the monitoring of the skin temperature changes during laser treatment. Thirty Wistar rats were used in this study. A skin lesion was performed at the leg on all rats. The animals were exposed to laser radiation (λ = 670 nm, P = 15 mW, DP = 16.31 mW/cm2) for 600 s. Thermal images of wound were acquired before and after laser irradiation. The results have demonstrated that the tissue temperature decreases from 35.5±0.50°C in the first treatment day to 31.3±0.42°C after the third treatment day. This value is close to the normal value of the skin temperature and indicates the end of the skin repair process. In conclusion, the improvements in the wound healing following exposure to laser radiation have been revealed by infrared thermography.

Keywords: skin, wound, laser, thermal image

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1655

Authors: S. V. Ukwungwu, A. J. Abbas, G. G. Nasr

Abstract:

The increasing high price of natural gas and oil with attendant increase in energy demand on world markets in recent years has stimulated interest in recovering residual oil saturation across the globe. In order to meet the energy security, efforts have been made in developing new technologies of enhancing the recovery of oil and gas, utilizing techniques like CO₂ flooding, water injection, hydraulic fracturing, surfactant flooding etc. Surfactant flooding however optimizes production but poses risk to the environment due to their toxic nature. Amongst proven records that have utilized other type of bacterial in producing biosurfactants for enhancing oil recovery, this research uses a technique to combine biosurfactants that will achieve a scale of EOR through lowering interfacial tension/contact angle. In this study, three biosurfactants were produced from three Bacillus species from freeze dried cultures using sucrose 3 % (w/v) as their carbon source. Two of these produced biosurfactants were screened with the TEMCO Pendant Drop Image Analysis for reduction in IFT and contact angle. Interfacial tension was greatly reduced from 56.95 mN.m^-1 to 1.41 mN.m^-1 when biosurfactants in cell-free culture (Bacillus licheniformis) were used compared to 4. 83mN.m^-1 cell-free culture of Bacillus subtilis. As a result, cell-free culture of (Bacillus licheniformis) changes the wettability of the biosurfactant treatment for contact angle measurement to more water-wet as the angle decreased from 130.75^o to 65.17^o. The influence of microbial treatment on crushed rock samples was also observed by qualitative wettability experiments. Treated samples with biosurfactants remained in the aqueous phase, indicating a water-wet system. These results could prove that biosurfactants can effectively change the chemistry of the wetting conditions against diverse surfaces, providing a desirable condition for efficient oil transport in this way serving as a mechanism for EOR. The environmental friendly effect of biosurfactants applications for industrial purposes play important advantages over chemically synthesized surfactants, with various possible structures, low toxicity, eco-friendly and biodegradability.

Keywords: Bacillus, biosurfactant, enhanced oil recovery, residual oil, wettability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1498

Authors: A. M. Tarola, R. Preti, A. M. Girelli, P. Campana

Abstract:

Goat dairy products are gaining popularity worldwide. In developing countries, but also in many marginal regions of the Mediterranean area, goats represent a great part of the economy and ensure food security. In fact, these small ruminants are able to convert efficiently poor weedy plants and small trees into traditional products of high nutritional quality, showing great resilience to different climatic and environmental conditions. In developed countries, goat milk is appreciated for the presence of health-promoting compounds, bioactive compounds such as conjugated linoleic acids, oligosaccharides, sphingolipids and polyammines. This paper focuses on the recent advances in literature on the nutritional properties of goat milk and on innovative techniques to improve its quality as to become a promising functional food. The environmental sustainability of different methodologies of production has also been examined. Goat milk is valued today as a food of high nutritional value and functional properties as well as small environmental footprint. It is widely consumed in many countries due to high nutritional value, lower allergenic potential, and better digestibility when compared to bovine milk, that makes this product suitable for infants, elderly or sensitive patients. The main differences in chemical composition between a cow and goat milk rely on fat globules that in goat milk are smaller and in fatty acids that present a smaller chain length, while protein, fat, and lactose concentration are comparable. Milk nutritional properties have demonstrated to be strongly influenced by animal diet, genotype, and welfare, but also by season and production systems. Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the dairy industry in goat milk for its relatively high concentration of prebiotics and a good amount of probiotics, which have recently gained importance for their therapeutic potential. Therefore, goat milk is studied as a promising matrix to develop innovative functional foods. In addition to the economic and nutritional value, goat milk is considered a sustainable product for its small environmental footprint, as they require relatively little water and land, and less medical treatments, compared to cow, these characteristics make its production naturally vocated to organic farming. Organic goat milk production has becoming more and more interesting both for farmers and consumers as it can answer to several concerns like environment protection, animal welfare and economical sustainment of rural populations living in marginal lands. These evidences make goat milk an ancient food with novel properties and advantages to be valorized and exploited.

Keywords: Goat milk, nutritional quality, bioactive compounds, sustainable production.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1117

Authors: S. M. Ali, A. Salam Khan, A. U. Khan, M. Tariq, M. S. Hussain, B. A. Abbasi, I. Hussain, U. Farid

Abstract:

Environment and surrounding plays a pivotal rule in structuring life-style of the consumers. Living standards intern effect the energy consumption of the consumers. In smart grid paradigm, climate drifts, weather parameter and green environmental directly relates to the energy profiles of the various consumers, such as residential, commercial and industrial. Considering above factors helps policy in shaping utility load curves and optimal management of demand and supply. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop correlation models of load and weather parameters and critical analysis of the factors effecting energy profiles of smart grid consumers. In this paper, we elaborated various environment and weather parameter factors effecting demand of consumers. Moreover, we developed correlation models, such as Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, an inter-relation between dependent (load) parameter and independent (weather) parameters. Furthermore, we validated our discussion with real-time data of Texas State. The numerical simulations proved the effective relation of climatic drifts with energy consumption of smart grid consumers.

Keywords: Climatic drifts, correlation analysis, energy consumption, smart grid, weather parameter.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1780

Authors: H. Ahmed, A. Schlenkhoff, R. Rousta, R. Abdelaziz

Abstract:

Vertical slotted walls can be used as permeable breakwaters to provide economical and environmental protection from undesirable waves and currents inside the port. The permeable breakwaters are partially protection and have been suggested to overcome the environmental disadvantages of fully protection breakwaters. For regular waves a semi-analytical model is based on an eigenfunction expansion method and utilizes a boundary condition at the surface of each wall are developed to detect the energy dissipation through the slots. Extensive laboratory tests are carried out to validate the semi-analytic models. The structure of the physical model contains two walls and it consists of impermeable upper and lower part, where the draft is based a decimal multiple of the total depth. The middle part is permeable with a porosity of 50%. The second barrier is located at a distant of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 times of the water depth from the first one. A comparison of the theoretical results with previous studies and experimental measurements of the present study show a good agreement and that, the semi-analytical model is able to adequately reproduce most the important features of the experiment.

Keywords: Permeable breakwater, double vertical slotted walls, semi-analytical model, transmission coefficient, reflection coefficient, energy dissipation coefficient.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2065

Authors: Jana Kisková, Dana Gabriková

Abstract:

Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) is suggested to be a candidate gene implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This meta-analytic review evaluates the relationship between ASD and MAOA markers such as 30 bp variable number tandem repeats in the promoter region (uVNTR) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by using findings from recently published studies. It seems that in Caucasian males, the risk of developing ASD increase with the presence of 4- repeat allele in the promoter region of MAOA gene whereas no differences were found between autistic patients and controls in Egyptian, West Bengal and Korean population. Some studies point to the importance of specific haplotype groups of SNPs and interaction of MAOA with others genes (e. g. FOXP2 or SRY). The results of existing studies are insufficient and further research is needed.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, MAOA, uVNTR, single nucleotide polymorphism.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3440

Authors: Shrikrishan Yadav, Akhilesh Saini, Krishna Chandra Roy

Abstract:

The electromagnetic spectrum is a natural resource and hence well-organized usage of the limited natural resources is the necessities for better communication. The present static frequency allocation schemes cannot accommodate demands of the rapidly increasing number of higher data rate services. Therefore, dynamic usage of the spectrum must be distinguished from the static usage to increase the availability of frequency spectrum. Cognitive radio is not a single piece of apparatus but it is a technology that can incorporate components spread across a network. It offers great promise for improving system efficiency, spectrum utilization, more effective applications, reduction in interference and reduced complexity of usage for users. Cognitive radio is aware of its environmental, internal state, and location, and autonomously adjusts its operations to achieve designed objectives. It first senses its spectral environment over a wide frequency band, and then adapts the parameters to maximize spectrum efficiency with high performance. This paper only focuses on the analysis of Bit-Error-Rate in cognitive radio by using Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm. It is theoretically as well as practically analyzed and interpreted in the sense of advantages and drawbacks and how BER affects the efficiency and performance of the communication system.

Keywords: BER, Cognitive Radio, Environmental Parameters, PSO, Radio spectrum, Transmission Parameters

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2155

Authors: Patrick T. I. Lam, Wenjing Yang

Abstract:

A smart city project embraces benefits and costs which can be classified under direct and indirect categories. Externalities come into the picture, but they are often difficult to quantify. Despite this barrier, policy makers need to carry out cost-benefit analysis to justify the huge investments needed to make a city smart. The recent trend is towards the engagement of the private sector to utilize their resources and expertise, especially in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) areas, where innovations blossom. This study focuses on the identification of costs (on a life cycle basis) and benefits associated with smart city project developments based on a comprehensive literature review and case studies, where public-private partnerships would warrant consideration, the related costs and benefits are highlighted. The findings will be useful for policy makers of cities.

Keywords: Costs and benefits, identification, public-private partnerships, smart city projects.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1700

Authors: Amin Almasi

Abstract:

Reliability assessment and risk analysis of rotating machine rotors in various overload and malfunction situations present challenge to engineers and operators. In this paper a new analytical method for evaluation of rotor under large deformation is addressed. Model is presented in general form to include also composite rotors. Presented simulation procedure is based on variational work method and has capability to account for geometric nonlinearity, large displacement, nonlinear support effect and rotor contacting other machine components. New shape functions are presented which capable to predict accurate nonlinear profile of rotor. The closed form solutions for various operating and malfunction situations are expressed. Analytical simulation results are discussed

Keywords: Large Deformation, Nonlinear, Rotor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1358

Authors: Farag Azzedin, Ahmad Ridha, Ali Rizvi

Abstract:

Trust management is one of the drawbacks in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) system. Lack of centralized control makes it difficult to control the behavior of the peers. Reputation system is one approach to provide trust assessment in P2P system. In this paper, we use fuzzy logic to model trust in a P2P environment. Our trust model combines first-hand (direct experience) and second-hand (reputation)information to allow peers to represent and reason with uncertainty regarding other peers' trustworthiness. Fuzzy logic can help in handling the imprecise nature and uncertainty of trust. Linguistic labels are used to enable peers assign a trust level intuitively. Our fuzzy trust model is flexible such that inference rules are used to weight first-hand and second-hand accordingly.

Keywords: P2P Systems; Trust, Reputation, Fuzzy Logic.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2159

Authors: Sebastian Tschöpe, Konja Knüppel, Peter Nyhuis

Abstract:

In times when product life cycles are decreasing, while market demands are increasing, manufacturing enterprises are confronted with the challenge of more frequent and more complex ramp-ups. Thus it becomes obvious that ramp-up management is going to be a topic enterprises have to focus on in the future. Since each ramp-up is unique concerning the product, the process, the technology, the circumstances and the coaction of these four factors, the knowledge of the ramp-up situation and the current ramp-up capability of the enterprise are fundamental requirements for the subsequent improvement of the ramp-up capability of the production system.

In this article a methodology is going to be presented which can be used to define typical production ramp-up situations, to identify the current ramp-up capability of a production system and to improve it with respect to a specific situation. Additionally there will be a description of the functionality of a software-tool developed based on this methodology.

Keywords: Assessment methodology, ramp-up, ramp-up capability, software-tool.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2011