Abstract: Server provisioning is one of the most attractive topics in virtualization systems. Virtualization is a method of running multiple independent virtual operating systems on a single physical computer. It is a way of maximizing physical resources to maximize the investment in hardware. Additionally, it can help to consolidate servers, improve hardware utilization and reduce the consumption of power and physical space in the data center. However, management of heterogeneous workloads, especially for resource utilization of the server, or so called provisioning becomes a challenge. In this paper, a new concept for managing workloads based on user behavior is presented. The experimental results show that user behaviors are different in each type of service workload and time. Understanding user behaviors may improve the efficiency of management in provisioning concept. This preliminary study may be an approach to improve management of data centers running heterogeneous workloads for provisioning in virtualization system.
Abstract: Supply network management adopts a systematic
and integrative approach to managing the operations and
relationships of various parties in a supply network. The objective
of the manufactures in their supply network is to reduce inventory
costs and increase customer satisfaction levels. One way of doing
that is to synchronize delivery performance. A supply network can
be described by nodes representing the companies and the links
(relationships) between these nodes. Uncertainty in delivery time
depends on type of network relationship between suppliers. The
problem is to understand how the individual uncertainties influence
the total uncertainty of the network and identify those parts of the
network, which has the highest potential for improving the total
delivery time uncertainty.
Abstract: Synchronization between 0.1 Hz oscillations in heart rate and blood pressure is studied and its change during vertical tilt is evaluated in 37 myocardial infarction patients. Two groups of patients are identified with decreased and increased, respectively, synchronization of the studied oscillations as a response to a tilt test. It is shown that assessment of synchronization of 0.1 Hz oscillations as a response to vertical tilt can be used as a guideline for selecting optimal dose of beta-blocker treatment in post-myocardial infarction patients.
Abstract: The studying of enzymatic esterification of carboxylic
acids and higher alcohols was performed by esterase Saccharomyces
cerevisiae in water-organic medium. Investigation of the enzyme
specificity to acetic substrates showed the best result with acetic acid
in esterification reactions with ethanol whereas within other
carboxylic acids the esterification decreased with acids: hexanoic >
pentanoic > butyric > decanoic. In relation to higher alcohols C3-C5,
esterification increased with alcohols propanol < butanol < amylol.
Also it was determined that esterase was more specific to alcohols
with branched chain such as isobutyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol.
Data obtained may have important practical implications, for
example, for application of yeast esterase in producing various
volatile esters as well as in enzymatic transformation of volatile acids
and toxic fusel alcohols into volatile esters by providing the
production of the high quality alcoholic beverages with redused
content of higher alcohols as well as with improved degustational and
hygienic properties.
Abstract: Quality of school meals is one of the major concerns of governments and international organizations worldwide. This study aims to evaluate nutritional compliance of meals served at a Portuguese primary school considering the portions stated by Portuguese Education Ministry. To evaluate adequacy of portions served, weighing of all meal components offered to students and leftovers was performed during ten consecutive days at two different moments. Plate waste (%) was calculated by the ratio of food discarded and food served to the children. Nutritional evaluation of menus was made using the Portuguese Food Composition Table. Meals evaluated showed a percent contribution to energetic daily intake higher than recommendations. Meals served to children were considered high energy and protein dense. No significant waste of soup was accounted and the main meal components wasted were fish and vegetables. It will be necessary to adjust portions indicated by Ministry of Education in order to comply with recommendations and reduce food waste.
Abstract: Verapamil has been shown to inhibit fentanyl uptake in vitro and is a potent P-glycoprotein inhibitor. Tissue partitioning of loperamide, a commercially available opioid, is closely controlled by the P-gp efflux transporter. The following studies were designed to evaluate the effect of opioids on verapamil partitioning in the lung and brain, in vivo. Opioid (fentanyl or loperamide) was administered by intravenous infusion to Sprague Dawley rats alone or in combination with verapamil and plasma, with lung and brain tissues were collected at 1, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 60 minutes. Drug dispositions were modeled by recirculatory pharmacokinetic models. Fentanyl slightly increased the verapamil lung (PL) partition coefficient yet decreased the brain (PB) partition coefficient. Furthermore, loperamide significantly increased PLand PB. Fentanyl reduced the verapamil volume of distribution (V1) and verapamil elimination clearance (ClE). Fentanyl decreased verapamil brain partitioning, yet increased verapamil lung partitioning. Also, loperamide increased lung and brain partitioning in vivo. These results suggest that verapamil and fentanyl may be substrates of an unidentified inward transporter in brain tissue and confirm that verapamil and loperamide are substrates of the efflux transporter P-gp.
Abstract: With the popularity of the multi-core and many-core architectures there is a great requirement for software frameworks which can support parallel programming methodologies. In this paper we introduce an Eclipse toolkit, JConqurr which is easy to use and provides robust support for flexible parallel progrmaming. JConqurr is a multi-core and many-core programming toolkit for Java which is capable of providing support for common parallel programming patterns which include task, data, divide and conquer and pipeline parallelism. The toolkit uses an annotation and a directive mechanism to convert the sequential code into parallel code. In addition to that we have proposed a novel mechanism to achieve the parallelism using graphical processing units (GPU). Experiments with common parallelizable algorithms have shown that our toolkit can be easily and efficiently used to convert sequential code to parallel code and significant performance gains can be achieved.
Abstract: This paper proposes a novel hybrid algorithm for feature selection based on a binary ant colony and SVM. The final subset selection is attained through the elimination of the features that produce noise or, are strictly correlated with other already selected features. Our algorithm can improve classification accuracy with a small and appropriate feature subset. Proposed algorithm is easily implemented and because of use of a simple filter in that, its computational complexity is very low. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated through a real Rotary Cement kiln dataset. The results show that our algorithm outperforms existing algorithms.
Abstract: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged as a cost-effective transport system for urban mobility. However its ability to stimulate land development remains largely unexplored. The study makes use of qualitative (interview method) and quantitative analysis (questionnaire survey and longitudinal analysis of property data) to investigate land development impact resulting from BRT in Beijing, China. The empirical analysis suggests that BRT has a positive impact on the residential and commercial property attractiveness along the busway corridor. The statistical analysis suggests that accessibility advantage conferred by BRT is capitalized into higher property price. The average price of apartments adjacent to a BRT station has gained a relatively faster increase than those not served by the BRT system. The capitalization effect mostly occurs after the full operation of BRT, and is more evident over time and particularly observed in areas which previously lack alternative mobility opportunity.
Abstract: An effort has been taken to simulate the combustion
and performance characteristics of biodiesel fuel in direct injection
(D.I) low heat rejection (LHR) diesel engine. Comprehensive
analyses on combustion characteristics such as cylinder pressure,
peak cylinder pressure, heat release and performance characteristics
such as specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency are
carried out. Compression ignition (C.I) engine cycle simulation was
developed and modified in to LHR engine for both diesel and
biodiesel fuel. On the basis of first law of thermodynamics the
properties at each degree crank angle was calculated. Preparation and
reaction rate model was used to calculate the instantaneous heat
release rate. A gas-wall heat transfer calculations are based on the
ANNAND-s combined heat transfer model with instantaneous wall
temperature to analyze the effect of coating on heat transfer. The
simulated results are validated by conducting the experiments on the
test engine under identical operating condition on a turbocharged D.I
diesel engine. In this analysis 20% of biodiesel (derived from
Jatropha oil) blended with diesel and used in both conventional and
LHR engine. The simulated combustion and performance
characteristics results are found satisfactory with the experimental
value.
Abstract: In this paper as showed a non-invasive 3D eye tracker
for optometry clinical applications. Measurements of biomechanical
variables in clinical practice have many font of errors associated with
traditional procedments such cover test (CT), near point of
accommodation (NPC), eye ductions (ED), eye vergences (EG) and,
eye versions (ES). Ocular motility should always be tested but all
evaluations have a subjective interpretations by practitioners, the
results is based in clinical experiences, repeatability and accuracy
don-t exist. Optometric-lab is a tool with 3 (tree) analogical video
cameras triggered and synchronized in one acquisition board AD.
The variables globe rotation angle and velocity can be quantified.
Data record frequency was performed with 27Hz, camera calibration
was performed in a know volume and image radial distortion
adjustments.
Abstract: A registration framework for image-guided robotic
surgery is proposed for three emergency neurosurgical procedures,
namely Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitoring, External Ventricular
Drainage (EVD) and evacuation of a Chronic Subdural Haematoma
(CSDH). The registration paradigm uses CT and white light as
modalities. This paper presents two simulation studies for a
preliminary evaluation of the registration protocol: (1) The loci of the
Target Registration Error (TRE) in the patient-s axial, coronal and
sagittal views were simulated based on a Fiducial Localisation Error
(FLE) of 5 mm and (2) Simulation of the actual framework using
projected views from a surface rendered CT model to represent white
light images of the patient. Craniofacial features were employed as
the registration basis to map the CT space onto the simulated
intraoperative space. Photogrammetry experiments on an artificial
skull were also performed to benchmark the results obtained from the
second simulation. The results of both simulations show that the
proposed protocol can provide a 5mm accuracy for these
neurosurgical procedures.
Abstract: The growing outsourcing of logistics services
resulting from the ongoing current in firms of costs
reduction/increased efficiency means that it is becoming more and
more important for the companies doing the outsourcing to carry out
a proper evaluation.
The multiple definitions and measures of logistics service
performance found in research on the topic create a certain degree of
confusion and do not clear the way towards the proper measurement
of their performance. Do a model and a specific set of indicators exist
that can be considered appropriate for measuring the performance of
logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments? Are said
indicators in keeping with the objectives pursued by outsourcing? We
aim to answer these and other research questions in the study we have
initiated in the field within the framework of the international High
Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project of which this paper
forms part.
As the first stage of this research, this paper reviews articles
dealing with the topic published in the last 15 years with the aim of
detecting the models most used to make this measurement and
determining which performance indicators are proposed as part of
said models and which are most used. The first steps are also taken in
determining whether these indicators, financial and operational, cover
the aims that are being pursued when outsourcing logistics services.
The findings show there is a wide variety of both models and
indicators used. This would seem to testify to the need to continue
with our research in order to try to propose a model and a set of
indicators for measuring the performance of logistics services
outsourcing in industrial environments.
Abstract: Field experiments were conducted at Annamalai University Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy; to device suitable weed control measures for direct seeded puddled rice and to study the effect of the weed control measures on the soil microbial population. The treatments comprised of incorporation of pressmud @ 6.25 t ha-1 and application of herbicide butachlor @1.5 kg a. i. ha- 1 with and without safener 4 days after sowing (DAS), 8 DAS alone and also in conjunction with hand weeding at 30 DAS. Hand weeding twice and a weedy check were also maintained. At maximum tillering stage, the population of bacteria was significantly reduced by butachlor application. The injury to microbes caused by herbicide disappeared with the advancement of crop's age and at flowering stage of crop, there was no significant difference among the treatments. The fungal and actinomycetes population remained unaltered by weed control treatments at both the stages of observation.
Abstract: The purpose of this work is to present a method for
rigid registration of medical images using 1D binary projections
when a part of one of the two images is missing. We use 1D binary
projections and we adjust the projection limits according to the
reduced image in order to perform accurate registration. We use the
variance of the weighted ratio as a registration function which we
have shown is able to register 2D and 3D images more accurately and
robustly than mutual information methods. The function is computed
explicitly for n=5 Chebyshev points in a [-9,+9] interval and it is
approximated using Chebyshev polynomials for all other points. The
images used are MR scans of the head. We find that the method is
able to register the two images with average accuracy 0.3degrees for
rotations and 0.2 pixels for translations for a y dimension of 156 with
initial dimension 256. For y dimension 128/256 the accuracy
decreases to 0.7 degrees for rotations and 0.6 pixels for translations.
Abstract: In online context, the design and implementation of
effective remote laboratories environment is highly challenging on
account of hardware and software needs. This paper presents the
remote laboratory software framework modified from ilab shared
architecture (ISA). The ISA is a framework which enables students to
remotely acccess and control experimental hardware using internet
infrastructure. The need for remote laboratories came after
experiencing problems imposed by traditional laboratories. Among
them are: the high cost of laboratory equipment, scarcity of space,
scarcity of technical personnel along with the restricted university
budget creates a significant bottleneck on building required
laboratory experiments. The solution to these problems is to build
web-accessible laboratories. Remote laboratories allow students and
educators to interact with real laboratory equipment located
anywhere in the world at anytime. Recently, many universities and
other educational institutions especially in third world countries rely
on simulations because they do not afford the experimental
equipment they require to their students. Remote laboratories enable
users to get real data from real-time hand-on experiments. To
implement many remote laboratories, the system architecture should
be flexible, understandable and easy to implement, so that different
laboratories with different hardware can be deployed easily. The
modifications were made to enable developers to add more
equipment in ISA framework and to attract the new developers to
develop many online laboratories.
Abstract: Soursop (Anona muricata) is one of the underutilized tropical fruits containing nutrients, particularly dietary fibre and antioxidant properties that are beneficial to human health. This objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of matured soursop pulp flour (SPF) to be substituted with high-protein wheat flour in bread. Bread formulation was substituted with different levels of SPF (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%). The effect on physicochemical properties and sensory attributes were evaluated. Higher substitution level of SPF resulted in significantly higher (p
Abstract: Iran is one of the greatest producers of date in the
world. However due to lack of information about its viscoelastic
properties, much of the production downgraded during harvesting
and postharvesting processes. In this study the effect of temperature
and moisture content of product were investigated on stress
relaxation characteristics. Therefore, the freshly harvested date
(kabkab) at tamar stage were put in controlled environment chamber
to obtain different temperature levels (25, 35, 45, and 55 0C) and
moisture contents (8.5, 8.7, 9.2, 15.3, 20, 32.2 %d.b.). A texture
analyzer TAXT2 (Stable Microsystems, UK) was used to apply
uniaxial compression tests. A chamber capable to control temperature
was designed and fabricated around the plunger of texture analyzer to
control the temperature during the experiment. As a new approach a
CCD camera (A4tech, 30 fps) was mounted on a cylindrical glass
probe to scan and record contact area between date and disk.
Afterwards, pictures were analyzed using image processing toolbox
of Matlab software. Individual date fruit was uniaxially compressed
at speed of 1 mm/s. The constant strain of 30% of thickness of date
was applied to the horizontally oriented fruit. To select a suitable
model for describing stress relaxation of date, experimental data were
fitted with three famous stress relaxation models including the
generalized Maxwell, Nussinovitch, and Pelege. The constant in
mentioned model were determined and correlated with temperature
and moisture content of product using non-linear regression analysis.
It was found that Generalized Maxwell and Nussinovitch models
appropriately describe viscoelastic characteristics of date fruits as
compared to Peleg mode.
Abstract: The objective this study was to characterize and
develop anthropomorphic liver phantoms in tomography hepatic
procedures for quality control and improvement professionals in
nuclear medicine. For the conformation of the anthropomorphic
phantom was used in plaster and acrylic. We constructed three
phantoms representing processes with liver cirrhosis. The phantoms
were filled with 99mTc diluted with water to obtain the scintigraphic
images. Tomography images were analyzed anterior and posterior
phantom representing a body with a greater degree cirrhotic. It was
noted that the phantoms allow the acquisition of images similar to
real liver with cirrhosis. Simulations of hemangiomas may contribute
to continued professional education of nuclear medicine, on the
question of image acquisition, allowing of the study parameters such
of the matrix, energy window and count statistics.