Department of Electronic Engineering
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Item Examination of Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients features for Parkinson's Disease telediagnosis(30th GISFI Standardisation Series Meeting and IEEE 5G Summit,, 2017-11-16) Masunda, Sam; Harisudha, Kuresan; Samiappan, DhanalakshmiThe focus for 5G networks is on high fidelity networks with extreme precision, making complete telediagnostic and telehealth realizations a possibility. The characterization of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is based on motor and non-motor functions of the body. Speech issues in PD patients identify with motor control, not to lost the phonetic learning required to make prosodic qualifications. Speech discourse issues are referred to as one of the most punctual markers for PD and clinical conclusion takes up to five years to identify PD. This means s pitch can be used as one of the biomarkers for PD. Attention is given to prosodic, spectral, vocal tract and excitation source speech features. Fundamental frequency, Pitch Period Entropy (PPE), jitter, shimmer, Melfrequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and Hidden Markov Model (HMM) are the parameters used in this respectItem Development of a wearable wireless body area network for health monitoring of the elderly and disabled(IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2017) Rushambwa, Munyaradzi C; Gezimati, Mavis; Jeeva, J BNovel advancements in systems miniaturization, electronics in health care and communication technologies are enabling the integration of both patients and doctors involvement in health care system. A Wearable Wireless Body Area Network (WWBAN) provides continuous, unobtrusive ambulatory, ubiquitous health monitoring, and provide real time patient’s status to the physician without any constraint on their normal daily life activities. In this project we developed a wearable wireless body area network system that continuously monitor the health of the elderly and the disabled and provide them with independent, safe and secure living. The WWBAN system monitors the following parameters; blood oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter sensor (SpO2), heart rate (HR) pulse sensor, Temperature, hydration, glucose level and fall detection. When the wearable system is put on, the sensor values are processed and analysed. If any of the monitored parameter values falls below or exceeds the normal range, there is trigger of remote alert by which an SMS is send to a doctor or physician via GSM module and network. The developed system offers flexibility and mobility to the user; it is a real time system and has significance in revolutionizing health care system by enabling non-invasive, inexpensive, continuous health monitoringItem Analysis of Jitter and Shimmer for Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis Using Telehealth(International Conference on Cognitive Informatics & Soft Computing (CISC-2017), 2017-12-20) Kuresan, Harisudha; Masunda, Sam; Samiappan, DhanalakshmiThe future of telecommunications is premised on high fidelity net-works with extreme precision, which in turn capacitates deployment of tele-diagnostic tools. Parkinson’s disease (PD) clinical characterization is based on, speech problems, tremors in hands, arms, legs and face, body swelling, muscle rigidity and movement problems. Speech problems are cited as one of the earliest prodromal for PD. However, using clinical diagnosis it takes upto five or more years to detect PD. Therefore with this regard speech can be used as an early biomarker for PD. Features of interest for detecting PD will be prosodic, spectral, vocal tract and excitation source speech features. We infer from the analysis, MFFC with jitter and shimmer feature extraction provides a promising method that can help the clinicians in diagnostic process.Item Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management System (IMSWMS)(2016 Mauritius International Conference on Biological, Chemical and Agricultural Sciences (BCAS-16), 2016-03-20) Nleya, Magripa; Gunda, Lovemore; Chisadza, Zvirevo; Manyuchi, Musaida MercyRapid population growth, industrialization, urbanization and technology trends have led to a sharp increase in solid waste generation. Some municipalities are still using the conventional approach to solid waste management leading to solid waste becoming a sight everywhere. It is important to monitor solid waste collection and record the information pertaining to collection time, area and other related data from a central location. For this purpose, an Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management System (IMSWMS) is presented and discussed in this paper. The system ensures solid waste reduction through proper collection monitoring, waste intelligence initiatives and environmental education. It is an embedded system incorporating global positioning system (GPS), radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is interfaced with a microcontroller and a web based graphical user interface (GUI) that can be accessed from anywhere. The web based GUI allows real time interaction of the central office with waste collection processes and residentsItem BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT REMOVAL FROM MUNICIPAL SEWAGE USING ACTI-ZYME: RECOVERING BIOGAS AND BIO-SOLIDS FROM SEWAGE SLUDGE(Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016-02-05) Manyuchi, Musaida MercyWater scarcity is a global problem hence the need for sustainable wastewater management. Sewage, a form of wastewater is being disposed-of to river bodies untreated. Additionally, disposal of sewage sludge, a by-product from the sewage treatment process, is resulting in landfilling problems. This study focused on the sustainable anaerobic treatment of sewage, coharnessing biogas and bio-solids as value added products utilizing Acti-zyme, an enzyme biocatalyst through bio-augmentation. Emphasis was given to the optimum sewage treatment conditions for removal of bio-nutrients, biogas and bio-solids generation, kinetic and statistical modelling of the bio-nutrient removal in sewage as well as the biogas and bio-solids production from sewage sludge. A techno-economic analysis was then done to check the viability of applying this technology on a large scale. The biochemical properties for Acti-zyme were characterized for potential use in anaerobic sewage treatment with the aim of producing biogas. Acti-zyme was then used for sewage treatment at a temperature of 37 °C, agitation rate of 60 rpm, Acti-zyme loadings of 0-0.070 g/L and retention times of 0-60 days. The total Kjeldahl nitrogen (𝑇𝐾𝑁), biochemical oxygen demand (𝐵𝑂𝐷5), total suspended solids (𝑇𝑆𝑆), total dissolved solids (𝑇𝐷𝑆), electrical conductivity (𝐸𝐶), 𝑝𝐻, chloride ions concentration (𝐶𝐼 −), total phosphorous (𝑇𝑃), sulphate ions concentration (𝑆𝑂4 2−), dissolved oxygen (𝐷𝑂) and the chemical oxygen demand (𝐶𝑂𝐷) of sewage were measured using standard methods. The bio-nutrient removal ratios from the sewage were determined and statistical modelling was carried out for the bio-nutrient removal ratios: The 𝐶𝑂𝐷⁄𝐵𝑂𝐷5, 𝐵𝑂𝐷5⁄𝑇𝐾𝑁, 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝐾𝑁 and the 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝑃. The sewage sludge was anaerobically digested using Acti-zyme in order to obtain biogas and bio-solids. Sewage sludge loading of 5-10 g/L.d and mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures of 37 °C and 55 °C were applied. The biogas quantity produced was measured using the water displacement method. Samples of the biogas were analysed for bio-methane (𝐶𝐻4), carbon dioxide (𝐶𝑂2) and traces gases composition using gas chromatography. The bio-solids obtained were tested for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (𝑁𝑃𝐾) content using 𝑢𝑣 − 𝑣𝑖𝑠 spectrophotometry. Kinetic modelling was carried out in MATLAB R2013A to simulate bio-methane production from sewage sludge. Statistical models for anaerobic sewage sludge digestion for generation of biogas and bio-solids utilizing Acti-zyme, were then simulated from the experimental data. SPSS Statistics 19.0 was used as the statistical modelling package at a p-value of 0.05. Capital budgeting techniques were then used for techno-economic assessment of sewage treatment recovering biogas and bio-solids. vii | P a g e D T e c h C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g Acti-zyme was found to be immotile and contained catalase, proteolytic enzymes and amylase. Acti-zyme did not promote 𝐻2𝑆 production, making it useful in sewage treatment producing biogas. Sewage treatment using Acti-zyme resulted in >60% decrease of the sewage contaminants through bio-augmentation. Optimum sewage treatment conditions were obtained at 0.050 g/L Acti-zyme loading and retention time of 40 days. The 𝐶𝑂𝐷⁄𝐵𝑂𝐷5, 𝐵𝑂𝐷5⁄𝑇𝐾𝑁, 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝐾𝑁 and the 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝑃 ratios obtained were > 1.2, 4.0, 8.0 and 15.0 respectively. The 𝐶𝑂𝐷⁄𝐵𝑂𝐷5, 𝐵𝑂𝐷5⁄𝑇𝐾𝑁, 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝐾𝑁 and the 𝐶𝑂𝐷/𝑇𝑃 bio-nutrient removal models were developed. Optimum biogas production was obtained at a sewage sludge loading of 7.5 g/L.d and Acti-zyme loading of 0.050 g/L with a 78% bio-methane composition was achieved at mesophilic temperatures of 37 °C. Bio-solids with 8.17, 5.84 and 1.34 % of 𝑁𝑃𝐾 respectively were produced. The bio-methane production was simulated to the linear, exponential, logistics kinetic, exponential rise to a maximum, first order exponential model and the modified Gompertz kinetic models. The logistics kinetic model accurately simulated the bio-methane production with a k-value of 0.073 day-1 . Furthermore, linear, quadratic, compound and exponential statistical models were tested and validated for the biogas and the bio-solids generation. The quadratic statistical models were significant for simulating biogas and bio-solids production respectively. A sewage plant with a capacity of 19.6 600 ML/day was considered for techno-economic assessment, with an operating efficiency of 60% and a life span of 20 years. $5.125/day of Actizyme were required for production of 12 769.69 kg/day for biogas costing $1.50/kg and 672.08 kg/day of bio-solids costing $16.00/50kg. A net benefit of $5 656 363.92 per annum for using the Acti-zyme technology in sewage digestion was forecasted, whilst a net energy of 1 387.33 KWh was set to be produced. An investment of $22 199 501.40 was required for kick-starting the project. A positive net present value of $1 186 239.23 was realized with an internal rate of return of 17.6% and a payback period of 5.9 years. For breakeven to be realised, only 183 059.16 KWh must be produced. The techno-economic assessment indicated it is viable to treat sewage using Acti-zyme as bio-augmentation catalyst; co-harnessing biogas and bio-solids as valued added products to an extent of contributing 0.04% to the Zimbabwe gross domestic product.Item Development Of A Solar Photovoltaic System Sizing Application For Zimbabwe(Conference: International Conference on Electrical, Electronics, and Optimization Techniques (ICEEOT), 2016-03-05) Chiteka, Kudzanayi; Enweremadu, Christopher CTo effectively employ solar energy there is need to perform a sizing operation that is optimal and cost effective without compromising on the electricity supply. This study focused on the development of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system sizing application with battery storage that is applicable for all major locations in Zimbabwe. The developed system was applicable for sizing backup systems as well as remote homes in rural areas where access to grid electricity is difficult. In designing the solar system sizing application, a database was integrated with a Visual Basic 6.0 program. The information contained in the integrated database was based on 30 locations in Zimbabwe. Information relating to each of the geographical locations such as average peak sunshine hours values, latitude as well as the insolation values of each place was also included in the code. The sizing procedure consisted of the total load calculation followed by the determination of the solar array size, the tilt angle, inverter size and the charge controller. The load requirements at night were also determined and hence the battery bank was calculated. The application goes ahead to perform a cost analysis in order to determine the average cost per kWh of the generated electricity as well as determine the overall cost of the installation. Results showed that the sizing system developed was able to reduce overdesign installation costs due to generic designs by at least 6%, power losses due to nonoptimal tilt angle by 8% and solar system design time by 85%.Item Towards More Efficient DSP Implementations: An Analysis into the Sources of Error in DSP Design(International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 2014-05-12) Zwavashe, Tinotenda; Duri, Rudo; Mutandavari, MainfordThis paper aims to highlight the commonly encountered sources of errors in Digital Signal Processing applications. Digital signal processing now finds application in a variety of fields due to the simplicity of handling digital signals and many more advantages which come with digital signals over analogue signals (as shall be specified in the introduction). As designers and scholars become more aware of the sources of errors in the processing of digital signals then the efficiency and accuracy of computed results increases. The knowledge also, in some way, aid in the efficient utilization of the available system resources as people become more aware of the overall system being required and the performance characteristics expected while taking down erroneous values to their minimum possible levels. The approach used will take into account the architecture of the Digital Signal Processing system and then analyze the causes of erroneous output from the system by taking into consideration the building blocks of the DSP system.Item Polling, Interrupts & µCOS-II: A Comparative Timing Response Simulation Model for Wireless Processor-to-Processor Communication(International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2014-07-01) Zwavashe, Tinashe; Vasumuthi, DThe paper aims to analyze the timing performance characteristics of systems employing polling, interrupts and a Real Time Operating System (RTOS). The RTOS used, specifically, is uCOS-II. The analysis incorporates a model of an Industrial system made up of microcontrollers which communicate using Zigbee protocol and data is send and received over serial ports of the microcontrollers. One microcontroller functions as the sensor node and the other is the master which receives values from sensor node and sends out appropriate control commands in response to received sensor data. The performance of the master node is taken into account since all monitoring and control is being dedicated to this master node. A physical condition of the industrial environment is sent, and in the model we shall send real time temperature values from sensor node to master node such that when set points are exceeded then master controller sends a command to switch ON cooling system to sensor node. The time taken from when sensor node sends an out of range temperature value up to the time it will receive control command from master node is used to determine the time response of the system under the three scenarios of polling, interrupts and an RTOS. Thus the analysis aims to see how polling the serial port, serial interrupts and an RTOS affect the response, predictability and deterministic behavior of the system.Item Photo-catalytic activity of carbon/nitrogen doped TiO2-SiO2 under UV and visible light irradiation(Materials Science Forum, 2012-12-27) Mungondori, Henry H.; Tichagwa, LilianThe sol gel synthesis method was used to prepare carbon and nitrogen doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) photo-catalyst using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as the precursor. Doping was carried out to modify the absorption band edge of titanium dioxide. To avert the problem associated with use of powder TiO2, the photo-catalyst was immobilized on glass support using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), which served as a binder and precursor for silicon dioxide (SiO2). The prepared photo-catalytic materials were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, BET and DRS. The photo-catalytic efficiency of titanium dioxide immobilized on glass support was evaluated using the degradation of methyl orange (MeO) and phenol red (PRed) under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. Doping with carbon and nitrogen, and incorporation of silicon dioxide into the titanium dioxide matrix allowed utilization of visible light by the prepared TiO2-SiO2 nano-composites. Photo-degradation tests were carried out for doped and undoped photo-catalyst. An increased rate of photo-oxidation of methyl orange and phenol red was observed under visible light irradiation as compared to UV light irradiation.Item Integrating GSM and Zigbee Wireless Networks for Smart A2 farming Enterprises in Zimbabwe(International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2014-06-20) Zwavashe, Tinotenda; Duri, RudoThe paper aims to present a possible solution to farming automation in the Zimbabwean agricultural sector. This is done by presenting a model of a GSM mobile network combined with Zigbee wireless network to come up with a multi monitoring and control system capable of taking care of a large agricultural environment. Human farm workers are able to get data and send control data from anywhere in Zimbabwe by sending and receiving messages over a GSM network to and from a master controller. The master controller communicates with remote/ sensor nodes which are scattered in the different fields over a zigbee network. It is this master controller which sends query commands to sensor nodes to gather sensor data before sending the gathered data to the mobile user. Control commands send by the mobile user also pass through the master node before being channeled to the appropriate sensor node by this master node. The master node will consist the LPC2148 microcontroller while the sensor nodes will comprise the PIC16F877A. Attached to the master node is a real time clock which keeps track of real time which is displayed on LCD. Thus the system can keep track of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures for the day. These values are displayed on LCD and can also be queried by the mobile user at any time.