6,056 research outputs found
Preparation and characterisation of irradiated waste eggshells as oil adsorbent
Adsorption method had been developed by using natural organic adsorbent for the
removal of oil because of its ability to bind the oil molecules into the surface of adsorbent. In
this study, chicken eggshells waste was used and it undergoes irradiation process with four
different amount of dose which was 0.5 kGy, 1.0 kGy, 1.5 kGy, and 2.0 kGy by using Gamma
Cell Irradiator. Three equipment had been used for the characterization process which were the
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The adsorption experiment was conducted
to calculate the sorption efficiency by using different mass of samples. The result showed that
irradiated chicken eggshells powder with 2.0 kGy amount of radiation dose has a best
performance as oil adsorbent
Self-Configuring and Evolving Fuzzy Image Thresholding
Every segmentation algorithm has parameters that need to be adjusted in order
to achieve good results. Evolving fuzzy systems for adjustment of segmentation
parameters have been proposed recently (Evolving fuzzy image segmentation --
EFIS [1]. However, similar to any other algorithm, EFIS too suffers from a few
limitations when used in practice. As a major drawback, EFIS depends on
detection of the object of interest for feature calculation, a task that is
highly application-dependent. In this paper, a new version of EFIS is proposed
to overcome these limitations. The new EFIS, called self-configuring EFIS
(SC-EFIS), uses available training data to auto-configure the parameters that
are fixed in EFIS. As well, the proposed SC-EFIS relies on a feature selection
process that does not require the detection of a region of interest (ROI).Comment: To appear in proceedings of The 14th International Conference on
Machine Learning and Applications (IEEE ICMLA 2015), Miami, Florida, USA,
201
The social impact and cultural issues affecting the e-learning performance in Libyan Higher Education institutes
This paper analyses the social impact and cultural issues which affect the e-learning performance in Libyan
Higher Education institutes (HEIs). It is described the development and implementation of e-learning systems in
various HEIs with the emphasis on the digital gap in Libya and barriers to successful e-learning implementation in
these institutions. Also the social impact of using e-learning packages and Internet by young people in Libya is
studied and a SWOT analysis of ICT and e-learning in Tripoli University is performed in order to improve the
effectiveness of the use of e-learning systems in Libyan HEIs
Graphene-Dielectric Composite Metamaterials: Evolution from Elliptic to Hyperbolic Wavevector Dispersion and The Transverse Epsilon-Near-Zero Condition
We investigated a multilayer graphene-dielectric composite material,
comprising graphene sheets separated by subwavelength-thick dielectric spacer,
and found it to exhibit hyperbolic isofrequency wavevector dispersion at far-
and mid-infrared frequencies allowing propagation of waves that would be
otherwise evanescent in a dielectric. Electrostatic biasing was considered for
tunable and controllable transition from hyperbolic to elliptic dispersion. We
explored the validity and limitation of the effective medium approximation
(EMA) for modeling wave propagation and cutoff of the propagating spatial
spectrum due to the Brillouin zone edge. We found that EMA is capable of
predicting the transition of the isofrequency dispersion diagram under certain
conditions. The graphene-based composite material allows propagation of
backward waves under the hyperbolic dispersion regime and of forward waves
under the elliptic regime. Transition from hyperbolic to elliptic dispersion
regimes is governed by the transverse epsilon-near-zero (TENZ) condition, which
implies a flatter and wider propagating spectrum with higher attenuation, when
compared to the hyperbolic regime. We also investigate the tunable transparency
of the multilayer at that condition in contrast to other materials exhibiting
ENZ phenomena.Comment: to be published in Journal of Nanophotonic
Designing power system stabilizer for multimachine power system using neuro-fuzzy algorithm
This paper describes a design procedure for a fuzzy logic based power system stabilizer (FLPSS) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and investigates their robustness for a multi-machine power system. Speed deviation of a machine and its derivative are chosen as the input signals to the FLPSS. A four-machine and a two-area power system is used as the case study. Computer simulations for the test system subjected to transient disturbances i.e. a three phase fault, were carried out and the results showed that the proposed controller is able to prove its effectiveness and improve the system damping when compared to a conventional lead-lag based power system stabilizer controller
Theory of Coupled Resonator Optical Waveguides (CROW) Exhibiting High Order Exceptional Points of Degeneracy
We present a novel approach and a theoretical framework for generating high
order exceptional points of degeneracy (EPD) in photonic structures based on
periodic coupled resonators optical waveguides (CROWs). Such EPDs involve the
coalescence of Floquet-Bloch eigenwaves in CROWs, without the presence of gain
and loss, which is in contrast to the requirement of Parity-Time (PT) symmetry
to develop exceptional points based on gain and loss balance. The EPDs arise
here by introducing symmetry breaking in a conventional chain of coupled
resonators through coupling the chain of resonators to an adjacent uniform
optical waveguide, which leads to unique modal characteristics that cannot be
realized in conventional CROWs. Such remarkable characteristics include high
quality factors (Q-factor) and strong field enhancement, even without any
mirrors at the two ends of a cavity. We show for the first time the capability
of CROWs to exhibit EPDs of various order; including the degenerate band edge
(DBE) and the stationary inflection point (SIP). The proposed CROW of finite
length shows enhanced quality factor when operating near the DBE, and the
Q-factor exhibits an anomalous scaling with the CROW's length. We develop the
theory of EPDs in such unconventional CROW using coupled-wave equations, and we
derive an analytical expression for the dispersion relation. The proposed
unconventional CROW concepts have various potential applications including
Q-switching, nonlinear devices, lasers, and extremely sensitive sensors.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
DISABILITY LEARNING TOOL: BRUSHING-TEETH USING MUSIC FOR AUTISM
This research is an attempt of combining music with the 3D animation technique in order to develop a disability-learning tool which can be used as one of occupational therapy for autism children. Autism is a developmental disability of the brain, much like dyslexia, mental retardation, or attention deficit disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. The treatment that we are going to apply in our research is related to the occupational therapies which involved music,
multisensory stimulant and computer usage. Occupational therapy assists autistic people in developing the skills for daily job such as brushing teeth. Music can stimulate brain and help individuals with a wide range of cognitive and emotional challenges to improve their ability to function. Music primarily can help autism children improve their observable level of functioning and selfreported
quality of life in various domains such as cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional and effective development, behavior and social skills. The problem that we are trying to overcome by doing this project is the independence among autism children. At the autism centre where we did our research, they are manually taught by parent or teachers and they have to teach the same thing every day. For example, the teachers have to show them every day on how to brush teeth using the teeth set and the big tooth brush. They seem cannot remember all the steps. In this research, by collaborating these elements, we try to develop a 3D animation disability-learning tool to help in stimulating independence in autism children. Music is included in the animation as part of the treatment. The objectives of this projects are first to investigate and analyze the acceptance of different types of music among autism children. Our second objective is to develop a 3D animation that show steps in brushing teeth according to the beat of the selected music. The third objective is to
analyze the effectiveness of the application in stimulating remembrance brushing technique skills. 3D animation is a technique that can visualize characters or movement as same as in the real life. The current technology of 3D animation exist today is amazing. This application which is called Disability Learning Tool: Brushing-Teeth Using Music for Autism has been tested to a group of autism children
with mild cases and has shown positive result. It can be seen that the independence in the autism children gradually increased. However, there’s a lot more to do for further improvement and we are going to look into each of these weaknesses in detail
A hybrid GA–PS–SQP method to solve power system valve-point economic dispatch problems
This study presents a new approach based on a hybrid algorithm consisting of Genetic Algorithm (GA), Pattern Search (PS) and Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) techniques to solve the well-known power system Economic dispatch problem (ED). GA is the main optimizer of the algorithm, whereas PS and SQP are used to fine tune the results of GA to increase confidence in the solution. For illustrative purposes, the algorithm has been applied to various test systems to assess its effectiveness. Furthermore, convergence characteristics and robustness of the proposed method have been explored through comparison with results reported in literature. The outcome is very encouraging and suggests that the hybrid GA–PS–SQP algorithm is very efficient in solving power system economic dispatch problem
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