Analysing DBD plasma lamp intensity versus power consumption using a push-pull pulsed power supply

In this paper characteristic of a DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) plasma lamp is investigated based on the lamp intensity and power consumption. A pulsed power supply with controllable parameters based on a push-pull converter is developed for lamp excitation at different voltage levels and repetition rate. The experimentations were conducted for 28 different operating points with the frequency range of 2 kHz to 15 Khz at output voltage levels of between 7.4 kV up to 13 kV. The obtained results show the feasibility of finding an optimum operation point due to nonlinear behaviour of the DBD lamp.

Effect of pulsed power on particle matter in diesel engine exhaust using a DBD plasma reactor

Nonthermal plasma (NTP) treatment of exhaust gas is a promising technology for both nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM) reduction by introducing plasma into the exhaust gases. This paper considers the effect of NTP on PM mass reduction, PM size distribution, and PM removal efficiency. The experiments are performed on real exhaust gases from a diesel engine. The NTP is generated by applying high-voltage pulses using a pulsed power supply across a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The effects of the applied high-voltage pulses up to 19.44 kVpp with repetition rate of 10 kHz are investigated. In this paper, it is shown that the PM removal and PM size distribution need to be considered both together, as it is possible to achieve high PM removal efficiency with undesirable increase in the number of small particles. Regarding these two important factors, in this paper, 17 kVpp voltage level is determined to be an optimum point for the given configuration. Moreover, particles deposition on the surface of the DBD reactor is found to be a significant phenomenon, which should be considered in all plasma PM removal tests.

A class E resonant inverter for use as electronic fluorescent lamp ballast

Class E Resonant Inverters are theoretically capable of delivering any power to a load and achieve 100% efficiency at any frequency of operation. In practice efficiency in the “high 90's” can be achieved into megahertz frequencies regardless of inverter output powers. The topology also allows the manipulation of output power through sub-optimal operation, with a negligible efficiency penalty. The 24W inverter discussed in this paper was specifically designed to harness the benefits, and discuss the shortcomings, of the Class E topology for use in the growing market for portable, battery powered lighting. It exhibits a peak recorded power efficiently of over 98%, and a conservatively measured efficiency of 95% across a range of dimming settings.

Corneal sensitivity and slit scanning in vivo confocal microscopy of the subbasal nerve plexus of the normal central and peripheral human cornea

Purpose: To determine the subbasal nerve density and tortuosity at 5 corneal locations and to investigate whether these microstructural observations correlate with corneal sensitivity. Method: Sixty eyes of 60 normal human subjects were recruited into 1 of 3 age groups, group 1: aged ,35 years, group 2: aged 35–50 years, and group 3: aged .50 years. All eyes were examined using slit-lamp biomicroscopy, noncontact corneal esthesiometry, and slit scanning in vivo confocal microscopy. Results: The mean subbasal nerve density and the mean corneal sensitivity were greatest centrally (14,731 6 6056 mm/mm2 and 0.38 6 0.21 millibars, respectively) and lowest in the nasal mid periphery (7850 6 4947 mm/mm2 and 0.49 6 0.25 millibars, respectively). The mean subbasal nerve tortuosity coefficient was greatest in the temporal mid periphery (27.3 6 6.4) and lowest in the superior mid periphery (19.3 6 14.1). There was no significant difference in mean total subbasal nerve density between age groups. However, corneal sensation (P = 0.001) and subbasal nerve tortuosity (P = 0.004) demonstrated significant differences between age groups. Subbasal nerve density only showed significant correlations with corneal sensitivity threshold in the temporal cornea and with subbasal nerve tortuosity in the inferior and nasal cornea. However, these correlations were weak. Conclusions: This study quantitatively analyzes living human corneal nerve structure and an aspect of nerve function. There is no strong correlation between subbasal nerve density and corneal sensation. This study provides useful baseline data for the normal living human cornea at central and mid-peripheral locations

Grading scales for contact lens complications

Purpose. To devise and validate artist-rendered grading scales for contact lens complications Methods. Each of eight tissue complications of contact lens wear (listed under 'Results') was painted by a skilled ophthalmic artist (Terry R. Tarrant) in five grades of severity: 0 (normal), 1 (trace), 2 (mild), 3 (moderate) and 4 (severe). A representative slit lamp photograph of a tissue response of each of the eight complications was shown to 404 contact lens practitioners who had never before used clinical grading scales. The practitioners were asked to grade each tissue response to the nearest 0.1 grade unit by interpolation. Results. The standard deviation (± s.d.) of the 404 responses for each tissue complication is tabulated below:_ing_ 0.5 Endothelial pplymegethisjij-4 0.7 Epithelial microcysts 0.5 Endothelial blebs_ 0.4 Stromal edema_onjunctiva! hyperemia 0.4 Stromal neovascularization 0.4 Papillary conjunctivitis 0.5 The frequency distributions and best-fit normal curves were also plotted. The precision of grading (s.d. x 2) ranged from 0.8 to 1.4, with a mean precision of 1.0. Conclusions. Grading scales afford contact lens practitioners with a method of quantifying the severity of adverse tissue responses to contact lens wear. It is noteworthy that the statistically verified precision of grading (1.0 scale unit) concurs precisely with the essential design feature of the grading scales that each grading step of 1.0 corresponds to clinically significant difference in severity. Thus, as a general rule, a difference or change in grade of > 1.0 can be taken to be both clinically and statistically significant when using these grading scales. Trained observers are likely to achieve even greater grading precision. Supported by Hydron Limited.

A mask-based approach for the geometric calibration of thermal-infrared cameras

Accurate and efficient thermal-infrared (IR) camera calibration is important for advancing computer vision research within the thermal modality. This paper presents an approach for geometrically calibrating individual and multiple cameras in both the thermal and visible modalities. The proposed technique can be used to correct for lens distortion and to simultaneously reference both visible and thermal-IR cameras to a single coordinate frame. The most popular existing approach for the geometric calibration of thermal cameras uses a printed chessboard heated by a flood lamp and is comparatively inaccurate and difficult to execute. Additionally, software toolkits provided for calibration either are unsuitable for this task or require substantial manual intervention. A new geometric mask with high thermal contrast and not requiring a flood lamp is presented as an alternative calibration pattern. Calibration points on the pattern are then accurately located using a clustering-based algorithm which utilizes the maximally stable extremal region detector. This algorithm is integrated into an automatic end-to-end system for calibrating single or multiple cameras. The evaluation shows that using the proposed mask achieves a mean reprojection error up to 78% lower than that using a heated chessboard. The effectiveness of the approach is further demonstrated by using it to calibrate two multiple-camera multiple-modality setups. Source code and binaries for the developed software are provided on the project Web site.

The effect of light intensity and temperature on photocatalytic water splitting

Photocatalytic water splitting is a process which could potentially lead to commercially viable solar hydrogen production. This thesis uses an engineering perspective to investigate the technology. The effect of light intensity and temperature on photocatalytic water splitting was examined to evaluate the prospect of using solar concentration to increase the feasibility of the process. P25 TiO2 films deposited on conducting glass were used as photocatalyst electrodes and coupled with platinum electrodes which were also deposited on conducting glass. These films were used to form a photocatalysis cell and illuminated with a Xenon arc lamp to simulate solar light at intensities up to 50 suns. They were also tested at temperatures between 20°C and 100°C. The reaction demonstrated a sub-linear relationship with intensity. Photocurrent was proportional to intensity with an exponential value of 0.627. Increasing temperature resulted in an exponential relationship. This proved to follow an Arrhenius relationship with an activation energy of 10.3 kJ mol-1 and a pre-exponential factor of approximately 8.7×103. These results then formed the basis of a mathematical model which extrapolated beyond the range of the experimental tests. This model shows that the loss of efficiency from performing the reaction under high light intensity is offset by the increased reaction rate and efficiency from the associated temperature increase. This is an important finding for photocatalytic water splitting. It will direct future research in system design and materials research and may provide an avenue for the commercialisation of this technology.

The music of the spheres

This article describes a method for making a spectroscope from scrap materials, i.e. a fragment of compact disc, a cardboard box, a tube and a digital camera to record the spectrum. An image processing program such as ImageJ can be used to calculate the wavelength of emission and absorption lines from the digital photograph. Multiple images of a spectrum can be stacked to reduce random noise, enabling spectra of faint objects to be obtained. Some basic experiments are described, such as viewing the spectrum produced by various types of lamp and the Sun. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd.

A typology for business transformations (research in progress)

The term “business transformation” is a buzzword, often used to signify fundamental changes undergone by organisations. Despite numerous works in enterprise transformation, IT-enabled business transformation and organizational transformation, there appears to be a lack of consensus on what actually constitutes a business transformation as opposed to other types of redesign or organisational improvement projects. Consequently, knowledge about which elements of a business system that are impacted by such an endeavour is largely inconsistent, and partially conflicting. We present a business transformation typology that considers 18 attributes pertaining to the transforming organisation and the transformation initiative. To explore our typology, we analysed 10 published case studies and classified them along two dimensions – one ranging from marginal to fundamental changes, and another on internal and external visibility. Our literature review reveals how the terminology has been misused, and we provide some directions to provide more clarity around transformation phenomena in IS research.

Residence time investigation in a co-axial dielectric barrier discharge reactor

The residence time distribution (RTD) is a crucial parameter when treating engine exhaust emissions with a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) reactor. In this paper, the residence time of such a reactor is investigated using a finite element based software: COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) discharge is being introduced as a promising method for pollutant emission reduction. DBD is one of the most advantageous of NTP technologies. In a two cylinder co-axial DBD reactor, tubes are placed between two electrodes and flow passes through the annuals between these barrier tubes. If the mean residence time increases in a DBD reactor, there will be a corresponding increase in reaction time and consequently, the pollutant removal efficiency can increase. However, pollutant formation can occur during increased mean residence time and so the proportion of fluid that may remain for periods significantly longer than the mean residence time is of great importance. In this study, first, the residence time distribution is calculated based on the standard reactor used by the authors for ultrafine particle (10-500 nm) removal. Then, different geometrics and various inlet velocities are considered. Finally, for selected cases, some roughness elements added inside the reactor and the residence time is calculated. These results will form the basis for a COMSOL plasma and CFD module investigation.

ICT to enhance the triangle of life : the soil, the seed, and the life-giver farmer

This paper reports on the outcomes of an ICT enabled social sustainability project “Green Lanka1” trialled in the Wilgamuwa village, which is situated in the Dambulla district of Sri Lanka. The main goals of the project were focused towards the provision of information about market prices, transportation options, agricultural decision support and modern agriculture practices of the farmer communities to improve their livelihood with the effective use of technologies. The project used Web and Mobile (SMS) enabled systems. The Green Lanka project was sponsored by the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka under the Institutional Capacity Building Programme (ICBP) grant scheme which was sponsored by the World Bank. Six hundred families in Wilgamuwa village participated in the project activities. The project was designed, executed and studied through an Action Research approach. The lessons learned through the project activities provide an important understanding of the complex interaction between different stakeholders in the process of implementation of ICT enabled solutions within digitally divided societies. The paper analyses the processes used to reduce the resistance to change and improved involvement of farmer communities in ICT enabled projects. It also analyses the interaction between stakeholders involved in design and implementation of the project activities to improve the chances of project success.

State of multilevel research perspective in the information systems discipline

Existing distinctions among macro and micro approaches have been jeopardising the advances of Information Systems (IS) research. Both approaches have been criticized for explaining one level while neglecting the other; thereby, the current situation necessitates the application of multilevel research for revealing the deficiencies. Instead of studying single level (macro or micro), multilevel research entails more than one level of conceptualization and analysis, simultaneously. As the notion of multilevel is borrowed from reference disciplines, there tends to be confusions and inconsistencies within the IS discipline, which hinders the adoption of multilevel research. This paper speaks for the potential value of multilevel research, by investigating the current application status of multilevel research within the IS domain. A content analysis of multilevel research articles from major IS conferences and journals is presented. Analysis results suggest that IS scholars have applied multilevel research to produce high quality work ranging from a variety of topics. However, researchers have not yet been consistently defining “multilevel”, leading to idiosyncratic meanings of multilevel research, most often, in authors’ own interpretations. We argue that a rigorous definition of “multilevel research” needs to be explicated for consistencies in research community.

Implementing green business processes : the importance of functional affordances of information systems

An environmentally sustainable and thus green business process is one that delivers organizational value whilst also exerting a minimal impact on the natural environment. Recent works from the field of Information Systems (IS) have argued that information systems can contribute to the design and implementation of sustainable business processes. While prior research has investigated how information systems can be used in order to support sustainable business practices, there is still a void as to the actual changes that business processes have to undergo in order to become environmentally sustainable, and the specific role that information systems play in enabling this change. In this paper, we provide a conceptualization of environmentally sustainable business processes, and discuss the role of functional affordances of information systems in enabling both incremental and radical changes in order to make processes environmentally sustainable. Our conceptualization is based on (a) a fundamental definition of the concept of environmental sustainability, grounded in two basic components:the environmental source and sink functions of any project or activity, and (b) the concept of functional affordances, which describe the potential uses originating in the material properties of information systems in relation to their use context. In order to illustrate the application of our framework and provide a first evaluation, we analyse two examples from prior research where information systems impacted on the sustainability of business processes.

Who is more susceptible to phishing emails? : a Saudi Arabian study

Phishing emails cause enormous losses to both users and organisations. The goal of this study is to determine which individuals are more vulnerable to phishing emails. To gain this information an experiment has been developed which involves sending phishing email to users and collecting information about users. The detection deception model has been applied to identify users’ detection behaviour. We find that users who have less email experience and high levels of submissiveness have increased susceptibility. Among those, users who have high susceptibility levels and high openness and extraversion are more likely to carry on the harmful action embedded in phishing emails.

The association between pterygium and conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence : The Norfolk Island Eye Study

Purpose: To investigate the association between conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence (UVAF), a biomarker of ocular ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, and prevalent pterygium. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on Norfolk Island, South Pacific. All permanent residents aged ‡15 were invited to participate. Participants completed a sun exposure questionnaire and underwent autorefraction and slit lamp biomicroscope examination. Area of conjunctival UVAF (sum of temporal ⁄ nasal area in right and left eyes) was determined using computerized methods. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to estimate the associations with pterygia and UVAF, respectively. Results: Of 641 participants, 70 people (10.9%) had pterygium in one or both eyes, and prevalence was higher in males (15.0% versus 7.7%, p = 0.003). Significant independent associations with pterygium in any eye were UVAF (per 10 mm2) [odds ratio (OR) 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16–1.28, p = 0.002], tanning skin phenotype (OR 2.17,1.20–3.92, p = 0.010) and spending more than three-quarters of the day outside (OR 2.22, 1.20–4.09, p = 0.011). Increasing quartile of UVAF was associated with increased risk of pterygium following adjustment of age, sex and time outdoors (pTrend = 0.002). Independent associations with increasing UVAF (per 10 mm2) were decreasing age, time outdoors, skin type and male gender (all p < 0.001). UVAF area correlated well with the duration of outdoor activity (pTrend < 0.001). Conclusion: Pterygium occurs in approximately one-tenth of Norfolk Islanders. Increasing conjunctival UVAF is associated with prevalent pterygia, confirming earlier epidemiological, laboratory and ray-tracing studies that pterygia are associated with UVR. Protection from the sun should be encouraged to reduce the prevalence of pterygium in the community.