Search results for: number of parameters.

Authors: Mustafa Midilli, Mustafa Salman, Omer Hakan Muglali, Tülay Ögretmen, Sena Cenesiz, Neslihan Ormanci

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This study examined the effects of zinc (Zn) from different sources and microbial phytase on the broiler performance, biochemical parameters and digestibility of nutrients when they were added to broiler diets containing low available phosphorus. A total of 875, 1-day-old male broilers of the Ross 308 strain were randomly separated into two control groups (positive and negative) and five treatment groups each containing 125 birds; each group was divided into 5 replicates of 25 birds. The positive control (PC) group was fed a diet containing adequate concentration (0.45%) of available phosphorus due to mineral premix (except zinc) and feeds. The negative control (NC) group was fed a basal diet including low concentration (0.30%) of available phosphorus due to mineral premix (except zinc) and feeds. The basal diet was supplemented with 0.30% phosphorus and 500 FTU phytase (PH); 0.30% phosphorus and organic zinc (OZ; 75mg/kg of Zn from Zn-proteinate); 0.30% phosphorus and inorganic zinc (IZ; 75 mg/kg of Zn from ZnSO4); 0.30% phosphorus, organic zinc and 500 FTU phytase (OZ + PH); and 0.30% phosphorus, inorganic zinc and 500 FTU phytase (IZ + PH) in the treatment groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. The lowest value for mean body weight was in the negative control group on a diet containing low available phosphorus. The use of supplementation with organic and inorganic zinc alone or in combination with microbial phytase significantly (P<0.05) increased the digestibility of Zn in the male broilers. Supplementation of those diets with OZ + PH or IZ + PH was very effective for increasing the body weight, body weight gain and the feed conversion ratio. In conclusion, the effects on broilers of diets with low phosphorus levels may be overcome by the addition of inorganic or organic zinc compounds in combination with microbial phytase.

Keywords: Broiler, Performance, Phytase, Phosphorus, Zinc.

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Authors: Dale Dzemydiene, Aurelija Burinskiene, Arunas Miliauskas, Kristina Ciziuniene

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Data flow and the purpose of reporting the data are different and dependent on business needs. Different parameters are reported and transferred regularly during freight delivery. This business practices form the dataset constructed for each time point and contain all required information for freight moving decisions. As a significant amount of these data is used for various purposes, an integrating methodological approach must be developed to respond to the indicated problem. The proposed methodology contains several steps: (1) collecting context data sets and data validation; (2) multi-objective analysis for optimizing freight transfer services. For data validation, the study involves Grubbs outliers analysis, particularly for data cleaning and the identification of statistical significance of data reporting event cases. The Grubbs test is often used as it measures one external value at a time exceeding the boundaries of standard normal distribution. In the study area, the test was not widely applied by authors, except when the Grubbs test for outlier detection was used to identify outsiders in fuel consumption data. In the study, the authors applied the method with a confidence level of 99%. For the multi-objective analysis, the authors would like to select the forms of construction of the genetic algorithms, which have more possibilities to extract the best solution. For freight delivery management, the schemas of genetic algorithms' structure are used as a more effective technique. Due to that, the adaptable genetic algorithm is applied for the description of choosing process of the effective transportation corridor. In this study, the multi-objective genetic algorithm methods are used to optimize the data evaluation and select the appropriate transport corridor. The authors suggest a methodology for the multi-objective analysis, which evaluates collected context data sets and uses this evaluation to determine a delivery corridor for freight transfer service in the multi-modal transportation network. In the multi-objective analysis, authors include safety components, the number of accidents a year, and freight delivery time in the multi-modal transportation network. The proposed methodology has practical value in the management of multi-modal transportation processes.

Keywords: Multi-objective decision support, analysis, data validation, freight delivery, multi-modal transportation, genetic programming methods.

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Authors: A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, Zs. Csanádi, J. Erdős

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In Hungary, the measurement of ambient PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations is great importance for a number of reasons related to human health, the environment and compliance with European Union legislation. However, the monitoring of PAHs associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction is still incomplete. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the concentration levels of PAHs in PM2.5 urban aerosol fraction. PM2.5 and associated PAHs were monitored in November 2014 in an urban site of Győr (Northwest Hungary). The aerosol samples were collected every day for 24-hours over two weeks with a high volume air sampler provided with a PM2.5 cut-off inlet. The levels of 19 PAH compounds associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction were quantified by a gas chromatographic method. Polluted air quality for PM2.5 (>25 g/m3) was indicated in 50% of the collected samples. The total PAHs concentrations ranged from 2.1 to 37.3 ng/m3 with the mean value of 12.4 ng/m3. Indeno(123-cd)pyrene (IND) and sum of three benzofluoranthene isomers were the most dominant PAH species followed by benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Using BaP-equivalent approach on the concentration data of carcinogenic PAH species, BaP, and IND contributed the highest carcinogenic exposure equivalent (1.50 and 0.24 ng/m3 on average). A selected number of concentration ratios of specific PAH compounds were calculated to evaluate the possible sources of PAH contamination. The ratios reflected that the major source of PAH compounds in the PM2.5 aerosol fraction of Győr during the study period was fossil fuel combustion from automobiles.

Keywords: Air, PM2.5, benzo(a)pyrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

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Authors: Redouane Tlemsani, Abdelkader Benyettou

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Work is in on line Arabic character recognition and the principal motivation is to study the Arab manuscript with on line technology.

This system is a Markovian system, which one can see as like a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN). One of the major interests of these systems resides in the complete models training (topology and parameters) starting from training data.

Our approach is based on the dynamic Bayesian Networks formalism. The DBNs theory is a Bayesians networks generalization to the dynamic processes. Among our objective, amounts finding better parameters, which represent the links (dependences) between dynamic network variables.

In applications in pattern recognition, one will carry out the fixing of the structure, which obliges us to admit some strong assumptions (for example independence between some variables). Our application will relate to the Arabic isolated characters on line recognition using our laboratory database: NOUN. A neural tester proposed for DBN external optimization.

The DBN scores and DBN mixed are respectively 70.24% and 62.50%, which lets predict their further development; other approaches taking account time were considered and implemented until obtaining a significant recognition rate 94.79%.

Keywords: Arabic on line character recognition, dynamic Bayesian network, pattern recognition.

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Authors: Alireza Sadrmomtaz

Abstract:

Positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) is a technique in which a single radioactive tracer particle can be accurately tracked as it moves. A limitation of PET is that in order to reconstruct a tomographic image it is necessary to acquire a large volume of data (millions of events), so it is difficult to study rapidly changing systems. By considering this fact, PEPT is a very fast process compared with PET. In PEPT detecting both photons defines a line and the annihilation is assumed to have occurred somewhere along this line. The location of the tracer can be determined to within a few mm from coincident detection of a small number of pairs of back-to-back gamma rays and using triangulation. This can be achieved many times per second and the track of a moving particle can be reliably followed. This technique was invented at the University of Birmingham [1]. The attempt in PEPT is not to form an image of the tracer particle but simply to determine its location with time. If this tracer is followed for a long enough period within a closed, circulating system it explores all possible types of motion. The application of PEPT to industrial process systems carried out at the University of Birmingham is categorized in two subjects: the behaviour of granular materials and viscous fluids. Granular materials are processed in industry for example in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, ceramics, food, polymers and PEPT has been used in a number of ways to study the behaviour of these systems [2]. PEPT allows the possibility of tracking a single particle within the bed [3]. Also PEPT has been used for studying systems such as: fluid flow, viscous fluids in mixers [4], using a neutrally-buoyant tracer particle [5].

Keywords: PET, BGO, Particle Tracking, ECAT 931, List mode, PEPT.

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Authors: Tibor Kulcsar, Gabor Sarossy, Gabor Bereznai, Robert Auer, Janos Abonyi

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On-line (near infrared) spectroscopy is widely used to support the operation of complex process systems. Information extracted from spectral database can be used to estimate unmeasured product properties and monitor the operation of the process. These techniques are based on looking for similar spectra by nearest neighborhood algorithms and distance based searching methods. Search for nearest neighbors in the spectral space is an NP-hard problem, the computational complexity increases by the number of points in the discrete spectrum and the number of samples in the database. To reduce the calculation time some kind of indexing could be used. The main idea presented in this paper is to combine indexing and visualization techniques to reduce the computational requirement of estimation algorithms by providing a two dimensional indexing that can also be used to visualize the structure of the spectral database. This 2D visualization of spectral database does not only support application of distance and similarity based techniques but enables the utilization of advanced clustering and prediction algorithms based on the Delaunay tessellation of the mapped spectral space. This means the prediction has not to use the high dimension space but can be based on the mapped space too. The results illustrate that the proposed method is able to segment (cluster) spectral databases and detect outliers that are not suitable for instance based learning algorithms.

Keywords: indexing high dimensional databases, dimensional reduction, clustering, similarity, k-nn algorithm.

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Authors: Pricillia Priska Sianita

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An aesthetic facial profile is one of the goals in Orthodontics treatment. However, this is not easily achieved, especially in patients with Class II Division 1 malocclusion who have the clinical characteristics of convex profile and significant skeletal discrepancy due to mandibular growth deficiency. Malocclusion with skeletal problems require proper treatment timing for growth stimulation, and it must be done in early age and in need of good cooperation from the patient. If this is not done and the patient has passed the growth period, the ideal treatment is orthognathic surgery which is more complicated and more painful. The growth stimulation of skeletal malocclusion requires a careful cephalometric evaluation ranging from diagnosis to determine the parts that require stimulation to post-treatment evaluation to see the success achieved through changes in the measurement of the skeletal parameters shown in the cephalometric analysis. This case report aims to describe skeletal changes cephalometrically that were achieved through orthodontic treatment in growing period. Material and method: Lateral Cephalograms, pre-treatment, and post-treatment of cases of Class II Division 1 malocclusion is selected from a collection of cephalometric radiographic in a private clinic. The Cephalogram is then traced and measured for the skeletal parameters. The result is noted as skeletal condition data of pre-treatment and post-treatment. Furthermore, superimposition is done to see the changes achieved. The results show that growth stimulation through orthodontic treatment can solve the skeletal problem of Class II Division 1 malocclusion and the skeletal changes that occur can be verified through cephalometric analysis. The skeletal changes have an impact on the improvement of patient's facial profile. To sum up, the treatment timing on a skeletal malocclusion is very important to obtain satisfactory results for the improvement of the aesthetic facial profile, and skeletal changes can be verified through cephalometric evaluation of pre- and post-treatment.

Keywords: Cephalometric evaluation, Class II Division 1 malocclusion, growth stimulation, skeletal changes, skeletal problems.

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Authors: Muftah H. El-Naas, Ameera F. Mohammad, Mabruk I. Suleiman, Mohamed Al Musharfy, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi

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CO₂ capture and storage technologies play a significant role in contributing to the control of climate change through the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The present study evaluates and optimizes CO₂ capture through a process, where carbon dioxide is passed into pH adjusted high salinity water and reacted with sodium chloride to form a precipitate of sodium bicarbonate. This process is based on a modified Solvay process with higher CO₂ capture efficiency, higher sodium removal, and higher pH level without the use of ammonia. The process was tested in a bubble column semi-batch reactor and was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). CO₂ capture efficiency and sodium removal were optimized in terms of major operating parameters based on four levels and variables in Central Composite Design (CCD). The operating parameters were gas flow rate (0.5–1.5 L/min), reactor temperature (10 to 50 ^oC), buffer concentration (0.2-2.6%) and water salinity (25-197 g NaCl/L). The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial using multiple regression and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum values of the selected variables were obtained using response optimizer. The optimum conditions were tested experimentally using desalination reject brine with salinity ranging from 65,000 to 75,000 mg/L. The CO₂ capture efficiency in 180 min was 99% and the maximum sodium removal was 35%. The experimental and predicted values were within 95% confidence interval, which demonstrates that the developed model can successfully predict the capture efficiency and sodium removal using the modified Solvay method.

Keywords: Bubble column reactor, CO2 capture, Response Surface Methodology, water desalination.

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Authors: Md. Shafiqul Islam, Abdullah Khan, Sharon Kao-Walter, Li Jian

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Shear testing is one of the most complex testing areas where available methods and specimen geometries are different from each other. Therefore, a modified shear test specimen (MSTS) combining the simple uniaxial test with a zone of interest (ZOI) is tested which gives almost the pure shear. In this study, material parameters of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) are first measured by tensile tests with a dogbone shaped specimen. These parameters are then used as an input for the finite element analysis. Secondly, a specially designed specimen (MSTS) is used to perform the shear stress tests in a tensile testing machine to get the results in terms of forces and extension, crack initiation etc. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is also performed on the shear fracture surface to find material behavior. These experiments are then simulated by finite element method and compared with the experimental results in order to confirm the simulation model. Shear stress state is inspected to find the usability of the proposed shear specimen. Finally, a geometry correction factor can be established for these two materials in this specific loading and geometry with notch using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM). By these results, strain energy of shear failure and stress intensity factor (SIF) of shear of these two polymers are discussed in the special application of the screw cap opening of the medical or food packages with a temper evidence safety solution.

Keywords: Shear test specimen, Stress intensity factor, Finite Element simulation, Scanning electron microscopy, Screw cap opening.

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Authors: Shiva Osouli, Maryam Atapour, Mehrdad Ahmadi, Shima Shokri

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Citrus leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is native to Asia and one of the most serious pests of Iran’s citrus nursery stocks. In the present study, the possibility of insect mass rearing on four various citrus hosts and the effects of gamma irradiation on the pupal mortality and reproduction of this pest were studied. Trifoliate orange and grapefruit showed less infection, while the number of pupae in Valencia oranges and sweet lemons cages was so high. There was not any significant difference between weight of male and female pupae among different citrus hosts, but generally the weight of male pupae was less than females. Use of Valencia orange or sweet lemons seedlings in especial dark emergence and oviposition cages could be recommended for mass rearing of this pest. In this study, the effects of gamma radiation at doses 100 to 450 Gy on biological and reproductive parameters of the pest has been determined. The results show that mean percent of pupal mortality increased with increasing doses and reached to 28.67% at 450 Gy for male pupae and 38.367% for female pupae. Also, the mean values of this parameter were higher for irradiated female, which indicated the higher sensitivity of this sex. The gamma ray irradiation from 200 and 300 Gy caused decrease in male and female adult moth longevity, respectively. The eggs were laid by emerged females, and their hatchability was decreased by increasing gamma doses. The fecundity of females in both combinations of crosses (irradiated male × normal female and irradiated female × normal male) did not differ, but fertility of laid eggs by irradiated female × normal male affected seriously and the mean values of this parameter reached to zero at 300 Gy. The hatchability percentage of produced eggs by normal female × irradiated male at 300 Gy was 23.29% and reached to less than 2 % at 450 Gy as the highest tested dose. The results of this test show that females have more radio-sensitivity in comparison to males.

Keywords: Citrus leaf miner, Phyllocnistis citrella, citrus hosts, mass rearing, sterile insect technique.

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Authors: A. Naamane, M. Hasnaoui

Abstract:

Numerical modeling of fluid flows, whether compressible or incompressible, laminar or turbulent presents a considerable contribution in the scientific and industrial fields. However, the development of an approximate model of a supersonic flow requires the introduction of specific and more precise techniques and methods. For this purpose, the object of this paper is modeling a supersonic flow of inviscid fluid around a dihedral airfoil. Based on the thin airfoils theory and the non-dimensional stationary Steichen equation of a two-dimensional supersonic flow in isentropic evolution, we obtained a solution for the downstream velocity potential of the oblique shock at the second order of relative thickness that characterizes a perturbation parameter. This result has been dealt with by the asymptotic analysis and characteristics method. In order to validate our model, the results are discussed in comparison with theoretical and experimental results. Indeed, firstly, the comparison of the results of our model has shown that they are quantitatively acceptable compared to the existing theoretical results. Finally, an experimental study was conducted using the AF300 supersonic wind tunnel. In this experiment, we have considered the incident upstream Mach number over a symmetrical dihedral airfoil wing. The comparison of the different Mach number downstream results of our model with those of the existing theoretical data (relative margin between 0.07% and 4%) and with experimental results (concordance for a deflection angle between 1° and 11°) support the validation of our model with accuracy.

Keywords: Asymptotic modelling, dihedral airfoil, supersonic flow, supersonic wind tunnel.

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Authors: Ahmad Habibizad Navin, Yasaman Hashemi, Omid Mirmotahari

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In this paper, we introduce a novel platform encryption method, which modify its keys and random number generators step by step during encryption algorithms. According to complexity of the proposed algorithm, it was safer than any other method.

Keywords: Decryption, Encryption, Algorithm, security.

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Authors: Mohd Azman Abdul Latif, Erwan Basiron

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A flaw or drift from expected operational performance in one component (NAND, PMIC, controller, DRAM, etc.) may affect the reliability of the entire Solid State Drive (SSD) system. Therefore, it is important to ensure the required quality of each individual component through qualification testing specified using standards or user requirements. Qualification testing is time-consuming and comes at a substantial cost for product manufacturers. A highly technical team, from all the eminent stakeholders is embarking on reliability prediction from beginning of new product development, identify critical to reliability parameters, perform full-blown characterization to embed margin into product reliability and establish control to ensure the product reliability is sustainable in the mass production. The paper will discuss a comprehensive development framework, comprehending SSD end to end from design to assembly, in-line inspection, in-line testing and will be able to predict and to validate the product reliability at the early stage of new product development. During the design stage, the SSD will go through intense reliability margin investigation with focus on assembly process attributes, process equipment control, in-process metrology and also comprehending forward looking product roadmap. Once these pillars are completed, the next step is to perform process characterization and build up reliability prediction modeling. Next, for the design validation process, the reliability prediction specifically solder joint simulator will be established. The SSD will be stratified into Non-Operating and Operating tests with focus on solder joint reliability and connectivity/component latent failures by prevention through design intervention and containment through Temperature Cycle Test (TCT). Some of the SSDs will be subjected to the physical solder joint analysis called Dye and Pry (DP) and Cross Section analysis. The result will be feedbacked to the simulation team for any corrective actions required to further improve the design. Once the SSD is validated and is proven working, it will be subjected to implementation of the monitor phase whereby Design for Assembly (DFA) rules will be updated. At this stage, the design change, process and equipment parameters are in control. Predictable product reliability at early product development will enable on-time sample qualification delivery to customer and will optimize product development validation, effective development resource and will avoid forced late investment to bandage the end-of-life product failures. Understanding the critical to reliability parameters earlier will allow focus on increasing the product margin that will increase customer confidence to product reliability.

Keywords: e2e reliability prediction, SSD, TCT, Solder Joint Reliability, NUDD, connectivity issues, qualifications, characterization and control.

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Authors: M. Ghazikhani, M. R. Kalateh, Y. K. Toroghi, M. Dehnavi

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In this study, effects of premixed and equivalence ratios on CO and HC emissions of a dual fuel HCCI engine are investigated. Tests were conducted on a single-cylinder engine with compression ratio of 17.5. Premixed gasoline is provided by a carburetor connected to intake manifold and equipped with a screw to adjust premixed air-fuel ratio, and diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder through an injector at pressure of 250 bars. A heater placed at inlet manifold is used to control the intake charge temperature. Optimal intake charge temperature results in better HCCI combustion due to formation of a homogeneous mixture, therefore, all tests were carried out over the optimum intake temperature of 110-115 ºC. Timing of diesel fuel injection has a great effect on stratification of in-cylinder charge and plays an important role in HCCI combustion phasing. Experiments indicated 35 BTDC as the optimum injection timing. Varying the coolant temperature in a range of 40 to 70 ºC, better HCCI combustion was achieved at 50 ºC. Therefore, coolant temperature was maintained 50 ºC during all tests. Simultaneous investigation of effective parameters on HCCI combustion was conducted to determine optimum parameters resulting in fast transition to HCCI combustion. One of the advantages of the method studied in this study is feasibility of easy and fast transition of typical diesel engine to a dual fuel HCCI engine. Results show that increasing premixed ratio, while keeping EGR rate constant, increases unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions due to quenching phenomena and trapping of premixed fuel in crevices, but CO emission decreases due to increase in CO to CO2 reactions.

Keywords: Dual fuel HCCI engine, premixed ratio, equivalenceratio, CO and UHC emissions.

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Authors: Ahmad I. Ayesh

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This work reports on the fabrication of tin nanoclusters by sputtering and inert-gas condensation inside an ultra-high vacuum compatible system. This technique allows to fine tune the size and yield of nanoclusters by controlling the nanocluster source parameters. The produced nanoclusters are deposited on SiO₂/Si substrate with pre-formed electrical electrodes to produce a nanocluster device. Those devices can be potentially used for gas sensor applications.

Keywords: Tin, nanoclusters, inert-gas condensation.

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Authors: Samy E. Oraby, Ayman M. Alaskari

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In recent years, scanning probe atomic force microscopy SPM AFM has gained acceptance over a wide spectrum of research and science applications. Most fields focuses on physical, chemical, biological while less attention is devoted to manufacturing and machining aspects. The purpose of the current study is to assess the possible implementation of the SPM AFM features and its NanoScope software in general machining applications with special attention to the tribological aspects of cutting tool. The surface morphology of coated and uncoated as-received carbide inserts is examined, analyzed, and characterized through the determination of the appropriate scanning setting, the suitable data type imaging techniques and the most representative data analysis parameters using the MultiMode SPM AFM in contact mode. The NanoScope operating software is used to capture realtime three data types images: “Height", “Deflection" and “Friction". Three scan sizes are independently performed: 2, 6, and 12 μm with a 2.5 μm vertical range (Z). Offline mode analysis includes the determination of three functional topographical parameters: surface “Roughness", power spectral density “PSD" and “Section". The 12 μm scan size in association with “Height" imaging is found efficient to capture every tiny features and tribological aspects of the examined surface. Also, “Friction" analysis is found to produce a comprehensive explanation about the lateral characteristics of the scanned surface. Configuration of many surface defects and drawbacks has been precisely detected and analyzed.

Keywords: SPM AFM contact mode, carbide inserts, scan size, surface defects, surface roughness, PSD.

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Authors: Justinian Anatory, Ekael Stephen Manase

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In recent years, the adoption of mobile phones has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of the world, and Tanzania is not exceptional. We are witnessing a number of new mobile network operators being licensed from time to time by Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). This makes competition in the telecommunications market very stiff. All mobile phone companies are struggling to earn more new customers into their networks. This trend courses a stiff competition. The various measures are being taken by different companies including, lowering tariff, and introducing free short messages within and out of their networks, and free calls during off-peak periods. This paper is aimed at investigating the influence of tariffs on students’ mobile customers in selecting their mobile network operators. About seventy seven students from high learning institutions in Dodoma Municipality, Tanzania, participated in responding to the prepared questionnaires. The sought information was aimed at determining if tariffs influenced students into selection of their current mobile operators. The results indicate that tariffs were the major driving factor in selection of mobile operators. However, female mobile customers were found to be more easily attracted into subscribing to a mobile operator due to low tariffs, a bigger number of free short messages or discounted call charges than their fellow male customers.

Keywords: Consumer Buying, mobile operators, tariff.

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Authors: V. Radenkovs, D. Klava, K. Juhnevica

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The present study addresses problems and solutions related to new functional food production. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) bran obtained from industrial mill company “Dobeles dzirnavieks”, was used to investigate them as raw material like nutrients for Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12. Enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat bran starch was carried out by α-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Sigma Aldrich). The Viscozyme L purchased from (Sigma Aldrich) were used for reducing released sugar. Bifidibacterium lactis Bb-12 purchased from (Probio-Tec® CHR Hansen) was cultivated in enzymatically hydrolysed wheat bran mash. All procedures ensured the number of active Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 in the final product reached 105 CFUg-1. After enzymatic and bacterial fermentations sample were freeze dried for analysis of chemical compounds. All experiments were performed at Faculty of Food Technology of Latvia University of Agriculture in January- March 2013. The obtained results show that both types of wheat bran (enzymatically treated and non-treated) influenced the fermentative activity and number of Bifidibacterium lactis Bb-12 viable in wheat bran mash. Amount of acidity strongly increase during the wheat bran mash fermentation. The main objective of this work was to create low-energy functional enzymatically and bacterially treated food from wheat bran using enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates and following cultivation of Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12.

Keywords: Viscozyme L, α-amylase, Bifidobacterium lactis, fermented wheat bran.

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Authors: Nikolay P. Brayanov, Anna V. Stoynova

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Model-based development approach is gaining more support and acceptance. Its higher abstraction level brings simplification of systems’ description that allows domain experts to do their best without particular knowledge in programming. The different levels of simulation support the rapid prototyping, verifying and validating the product even before it exists physically. Nowadays model-based approach is beneficial for modelling of complex embedded systems as well as a generation of code for many different hardware platforms. Moreover, it is possible to be applied in safety-relevant industries like automotive, which brings extra automation of the expensive device certification process and especially in the software qualification. Using it, some companies report about cost savings and quality improvements, but there are others claiming no major changes or even about cost increases. This publication demonstrates the level of maturity and autonomy of model-based approach for code generation. It is based on a real live automotive seat heater (ASH) module, developed using The Mathworks, Inc. tools. The model, created with Simulink, Stateflow and Matlab is used for automatic generation of C code with Embedded Coder. To prove the maturity of the process, Code generation advisor is used for automatic configuration. All additional configuration parameters are set to auto, when applicable, leaving the generation process to function autonomously. As a result of the investigation, the publication compares the quality of generated embedded code and a manually developed one. The measurements show that generally, the code generated by automatic approach is not worse than the manual one. A deeper analysis of the technical parameters enumerates the disadvantages, part of them identified as topics for our future work.

Keywords: Embedded code generation, embedded C code quality, embedded systems, model-based development.

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Authors: Aljabryn Dalal Hamad

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The present explanatory study concerns with the relation between Diabetes Mellitus and Food Balance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 2005-2010, using published data. Results illustrated that Saudi citizen daily protein consumption (DPC) during 2005-2007 (g/capita/day) is higher than the average global consumption level of protein with 15.27%, daily fat consumption (DFC) with 24.56% and daily energy consumption (DEC) with 16.93% and increases than recommended level by International Nutrition Organizations (INO) with 56% for protein, 60.49% for fat and 27.37% for energy. On the other hand, DPC per capita in Saudi Arabia decreased during the period 2008-2010 from 88.3 to 82.36 gram/ day. Moreover, DFC per capita in Saudi Arabia decreased during the period 2008-2010 from 3247.90 to 3176.43 Cal/capita/ day, and daily energy consumption (DEC) of Saudi citizen increases than world consumption with 16.93%, whereas increases with 27.37% than INO. Despite this, DPC, DFC and DEC per capita in Saudi Arabia still higher than world mean. On the other side, results illustrated that the number of diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia during the same period (2005-2010). The curve of diabetic patient’s number in Saudi Arabia during 2005-2010 is regular ascending with increasing level ranged between 7.10% in 2005 and 12.44% in 2010. It is essential to devise Saudi National programs to educate the public about the relation of food balances and diabetes so it could be avoided, and provide citizens with healthy dietary balances tables.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Food Balance, Energy, Fat, Protein, Saudi Arabia.

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Authors: Tim Engartner

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If science is supposed to gain greater social relevance and acceptance, researchers must not only relate to the broader public, but also promote intercourse within the ivory tower itself. The latter process has been under way successfully for a number of years in the form of transdisciplinary research initiatives. What is still lacking is a broad debate about the necessity to look around properly and face up to opposing views on one and the same topic within our own discipline.

Keywords: Schools of thought, pluralism, openness, value judgements, controversy

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Authors: Jing Zhou, Weiqun Su, Naying Luo, Min Shang, Li Wu

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The coupling of land use system in geographical research is mainly the coupling of pattern and process, which is essentially the human-land coupling, and is an important part of the research and discussion of human-land relationship. Based on the Web of Science database, the paper titles, authors, keywords, and references from 1997-2020 related to land use coupling were used as data sources to explore the research progress of land use coupling. Cite Space bibliometric tool was used for co-occurrence analysis of the issuing country, issuing institution, co-cited author, disciplinary institution, and keywords. The results are shown as follows: (1) From 1997 to 2020, the United States, China, and Germany rank the top, with more than 250 published papers. Although China ranks second in the number of published papers on foreign literature, it has less centrality and less influence. (2) The top 10 institutions (universities) in the number of published papers (more than 300 articles) are mainly from the United States and China, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences has the highest output of papers. At the same time, the phenomenon of multi-institutional cooperation has increased in the field of land use coupling research. (3) From 1997 to 2020, land sensitivity research and the impact of climate change on land use patterns are the main directions of land use coupling research. However, in the past five years, scholars have mainly focused on the coupling research methods of land use and the coupling relationship between ecological and environmental factors and land use.

Keywords: Land use coupling, cite space, knowledge graph, visual analysis, research progress.

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Authors: Mohammed A. Alolfe, Abou-Bakr M. Youssef, Yasser M. Kadah

Abstract:

The proper design of RF pulses in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has a direct impact on the quality of acquired images, and is needed for many applications. Several techniques have been proposed to obtain the RF pulse envelope given the desired slice profile. Unfortunately, these techniques do not take into account the limitations of practical implementation such as limited amplitude resolution. Moreover, implementing constraints for special RF pulses on most techniques is not possible. In this work, we propose to develop an approach for designing optimal RF pulses under theoretically any constraints. The new technique will pose the RF pulse design problem as a combinatorial optimization problem and uses efficient techniques from this area such as genetic algorithms (GA) to solve this problem. In particular, an objective function will be proposed as the norm of the difference between the desired profile and the one obtained from solving the Bloch equations for the current RF pulse design values. The proposed approach will be verified using analytical solution based RF simulations and compared to previous methods such as Shinnar-Le Roux (SLR) method, and analysis, selected, and tested the options and parameters that control the Genetic Algorithm (GA) can significantly affect its performance to get the best improved results and compared to previous works in this field. The results show a significant improvement over conventional design techniques, select the best options and parameters for GA to get most improvement over the previous works, and suggest the practicality of using of the new technique for most important applications as slice selection for large flip angles, in the area of unconventional spatial encoding, and another clinical use.

Keywords: Selective excitation, magnetic resonance imaging, combinatorial optimization, pulse design.

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Authors: Yuan-Jye Tseng, Yi-Shiuan Chen

Abstract:

The paper presented a sustainable design model for integrated evaluation of the design and supply chain of a product for the sustainable objectives. To design a product, there can be alternative ways to assign the detailed specifications to fulfill the same design objectives. In the design alternative cases, different material and manufacturing processes with various supply chain activities may be required for the production. Therefore, it is required to evaluate the different design cases based on the sustainable objectives. In this research, a closed-loop design model is developed by integrating the forward design model and reverse design model. From the supply chain point of view, the decisions in the forward design model are connected with the forward supply chain. The decisions in the reverse design model are connected with the reverse supply chain considering the sustainable objectives. The purpose of this research is to develop a mathematical model for analyzing the design cases by integrated evaluating the criteria in the closed-loop design and the closed-loop supply chain. The decision variables are built to represent the design cases of the forward design and reverse design. The cost parameters in a forward design include the costs of material and manufacturing processes. The cost parameters in a reverse design include the costs of recycling, disassembly, reusing, remanufacturing, and disposing. The mathematical model is formulated to minimize the total cost under the design constraints. In practical applications, the decisions of the mathematical model can be used for selecting a design case for the purpose of sustainable design of a product. An example product is demonstrated in the paper. The test result shows that the sustainable design model is useful for integrated evaluation of the design and the supply chain to achieve the sustainable objectives.

Keywords: Closed-loop design, closed-loop supply chain, design evaluation, mathematical model, supply chain management, sustainable design model.

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Authors: Christopher C. Ihueze, Constance C. Obiuto, Christian E. Okafor, Charles C. Okpala

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This paper presents a methodical approach for designing and optimizing process parameters in oil blending industries. Twenty seven replicated experiments were conducted for production of A-Z crown super oil (SAE20W/50) employing L9 orthogonal array to establish process response parameters. Power law model was fitted to experimental data and the obtained model was optimized applying the central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Quadratic model was found to be significant for production of A-Z crown supper oil. The study recognized and specified four new lubricant formulations that conform to ISO oil standard in the course of analyzing the batch productions of A-Z crown supper oil as: L1: KV = 21.8293Cst, BS200 = 9430.00Litres, Ad102=11024.00Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres, L2: KV = 22.513Cst, BS200 = 12430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 11024.00 Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres, L3: KV = 22.1671Cst, BS200 = 9430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 10481.00 Litres, PVI= 2520 Litres, L4: KV = 22.8605Cst, BS200 = 12430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 10481.00 Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres. The analysis of variance showed that quadratic model is significant for kinematic viscosity production while the R-sq value statistic of 0.99936 showed that the variation of kinematic viscosity is due to its relationship with the control factors. This study therefore resulted to appropriate blending proportions of lubricants base oil and additives and recommends the optimal kinematic viscosity of A-Z crown super oil (SAE20W/50) to be 22.86Cst.

Keywords: Additives, control factors, kinematic viscosity, lubricant, orthogonal array, process parameter.

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Authors: R. Taviv, A.C. Brent, H. Fortuin

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The Long-range Energy and Alternatives Planning (LEAP) energy planning system has been developed for South Africa, for the 2005 base year and a limited number of plausible future scenarios that may have significant implications (negative or positive) in terms of environmental impacts. The system quantifies the national energy demand for the domestic, commercial, transport, industry and agriculture sectors, the supply of electricity and liquid fuels, and the resulting emissions. The South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI) identified the need to develop an environmental assessment tool, based on the LEAP energy planning system, to provide decision-makers and stakeholders with the necessary understanding of the environmental impacts associated with different energy scenarios. A comprehensive analysis of indicators that are used internationally and in South Africa was done and the available data was accessed to select a reasonable number of indicators that could be utilized in energy planning. A consultative process was followed to determine the needs of different stakeholders on the required indicators and also the most suitable form of reporting. This paper demonstrates the application of Energy Environmental Sustainability Indicators (EESIs) as part of the developed tool, which assists with the identification of the environmental consequences of energy generation and use scenarios and thereby promotes sustainability, since environmental considerations can then be integrated into the preparation and adoption of policies, plans, programs and projects. Recommendations are made to refine the tool further for South Africa.

Keywords: Energy modeling, LEAP, environmental impact, environmental indicators, energy sector emissions, sustainable development, South Africa

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Authors: M. Ferguson, T. Konkova, I. Violatos

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Microstructure analysis of additively manufactured (AM) materials is an important step in understanding the interrelationship between mechanical properties and materials performance. Literature on the effect of a laser-based AM process parameters on the microstructure in the substrate-deposit interface is limited. The interface region, the adjoining area of substrate and deposit, is characterized by the presence of the fusion zone (FZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) experiencing rapid thermal gyrations resulting in thermal induced transformations. Inconel 718 was utilized as a work material for both the substrate and deposit. Three blocks of Inconel 718 material were deposited by Direct Energy Deposition (DED) using three different laser powers, 550W, 750W and 950W, respectively. A coupled thermo-mechanical transient approach was utilized to correlate temperature history to the evolution of microstructure. Thermal history of the deposition process was monitored with the thermocouples installed inside the substrate material. Interface region of the blocks were analysed with Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) including electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) technique. Laser power was found to influence the dissolution of intermetallic precipitated phases in the substrate and grain growth in the interface region. Microstructure and thermal history data were utilized to draw conclusive comparisons between the investigated process parameters.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing, direct energy deposition, electron back-scatter diffraction, finite element analysis, Inconel 718, microstructure, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, substrate-deposit interface region.

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Authors: A. Megalingam, M.M.Mayuram

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Evaluation of contact pressure, surface and subsurface contact stresses are essential to know the functional response of surface coatings and the contact behavior mainly depends on surface roughness, material property, thickness of layer and the manner of loading. Contact parameter evaluation of real rough surface contacts mostly relies on statistical single asperity contact approaches. In this work, a three dimensional layered solid rough surface in contact with a rigid flat is modeled and analyzed using finite element method. The rough surface of layered solid is generated by FFT approach. The generated rough surface is exported to a finite element method based ANSYS package through which the bottom up solid modeling is employed to create a deformable solid model with a layered solid rough surface on top. The discretization and contact analysis are carried by using the same ANSYS package. The elastic, elastoplastic and plastic deformations are continuous in the present finite element method unlike many other contact models. The Young-s modulus to yield strength ratio of layer is varied in the present work to observe the contact parameters effect while keeping the surface roughness and substrate material properties as constant. The contacting asperities attain elastic, elastoplastic and plastic states with their continuity and asperity interaction phenomena is inherently included. The resultant contact parameters show that neighboring asperity interaction and the Young-s modulus to yield strength ratio of layer influence the bulk deformation consequently affect the interface strength.

Keywords: Asperity interaction, finite element method, rough surface contact, single layered solid

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Authors: B. B. Weng, Z. Fang, Z. X. Chen, X. P. Wang, G. Q. Lo, D. L. Kwong

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HfOx based Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) is one of the most widely studied material stack due to its promising performances as an emerging memory technology. In this work, we systematically investigated the effect of metal capping layer by preparing sample devices with varying thickness of Ti cap and comparing their operating parameters with the help of an Agilent-B1500A analyzer.

Keywords: HfOx, resistive switching, RRAM, metal capping.

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Authors: Viacheslav Shkuratskyy, Aminu Bello Usman, Michael O’Dea, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Saifur Rahman Sabuj

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This paper examines relationships between solar activity and earthquakes, it applied machine learning techniques: K-nearest neighbour, support vector regression, random forest regression, and long short-term memory network. Data from the SILSO World Data Center, the NOAA National Center, the GOES satellite, NASA OMNIWeb, and the United States Geological Survey were used for the experiment. The 23rd and 24th solar cycles, daily sunspot number, solar wind velocity, proton density, and proton temperature were all included in the dataset. The study also examined sunspots, solar wind, and solar flares, which all reflect solar activity, and earthquake frequency distribution by magnitude and depth. The findings showed that the long short-term memory network model predicts earthquakes more correctly than the other models applied in the study, and solar activity is more likely to effect earthquakes of lower magnitude and shallow depth than earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 or larger with intermediate depth and deep depth

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Keywords: K-Nearest Neighbour, Support Vector Regression, Random Forest Regression, Long Short-Term Memory Network, earthquakes, solar activity, sunspot number, solar wind, solar flares.

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