Abstract: High level and high velocity flood flows are
potentially harmful to bridge piers as evidenced in many toppled
piers, and among them the single-column piers were considered as
the most vulnerable. The flood flow characteristic parameters
including drag coefficient, scouring and vortex shedding are built into
a pier-flood interaction model to investigate structural safety against
flood hazards considering the effects of local scouring, hydrodynamic
forces, and vortex induced resonance vibrations. By extracting the
pier-flood simulation results embedded in a neural networks code,
two cases of pier toppling occurred in typhoon days were reexamined:
(1) a bridge overcome by flash flood near a mountain side;
(2) a bridge washed off in flood across a wide channel near the
estuary. The modeling procedures and simulations are capable of
identifying the probable causes for the tumbled bridge piers during
heavy floods, which include the excessive pier bending moments and
resonance in structural vibrations.
Abstract: In this paper, the potential use of an exponential
hidden Markov model to model a hidden pavement deterioration
process, i.e. one that is not directly measurable, is investigated. It is
assumed that the evolution of the physical condition, which is the
hidden process, and the evolution of the values of pavement distress
indicators, can be adequately described using discrete condition states
and modeled as a Markov processes. It is also assumed that condition
data can be collected by visual inspections over time and represented
continuously using an exponential distribution. The advantage of
using such a model in decision making process is illustrated through
an empirical study using real world data.
Abstract: Corporate identity, which has several advantages such
that the employees become integrated with their corporations,
corporation is distinguished from its competitors and it is recognized
by the masses, is the total of the distinctive corporate features that
and corporation has. That the information takes part in production as
a more important component than labor and capital has required that
the corporations are reorganized as information-based. Therefore,
information and its management have reached a basic and prevalent
position in having sustainable competitive advantage. Thanks to the
information management which regulates the information and makes
it reachable and available, information will be produced in line with a
specific purpose in the corporations and be used in all the corporate
processes. As an auxiliary power for increase in the economic
potential, efficiency and productivity of the corporation, corporate
identity consists of four components. These are corporate philosophy,
corporate design, corporate behavior and corporate communication.
In this study, the effects of the information management on corporate
identity are discussed from the point of these four elements.
Abstract: In this paper we address a multi-objective scheduling problem for unrelated parallel machines. In unrelated parallel systems, the processing cost/time of a given job on different machines may vary. The objective of scheduling is to simultaneously determine the job-machine assignment and job sequencing on each machine. In such a way the total cost of the schedule is minimized. The cost function consists of three components, namely; machining cost, earliness/tardiness penalties and makespan related cost. Such scheduling problem is combinatorial in nature. Therefore, a Simulated Annealing approach is employed to provide good solutions within reasonable computational times. Computational results show that the proposed approach can efficiently solve such complicated problems.
Abstract: Principle component analysis is often combined with
the state-of-art classification algorithms to recognize human faces.
However, principle component analysis can only capture these
features contributing to the global characteristics of data because it is a
global feature selection algorithm. It misses those features
contributing to the local characteristics of data because each principal
component only contains some levels of global characteristics of data.
In this study, we present a novel face recognition approach using
non-negative principal component analysis which is added with the
constraint of non-negative to improve data locality and contribute to
elucidating latent data structures. Experiments are performed on the
Cambridge ORL face database. We demonstrate the strong
performances of the algorithm in recognizing human faces in
comparison with PCA and NREMF approaches.
Abstract: Human amniotic membrane (HAM) is a useful
biological material for the reconstruction of damaged ocular surface.
The processing and preservation of HAM is critical to prevent the
patients undergoing amniotic membrane transplant (AMT) from cross
infections. For HAM preparation human placenta is obtained after an
elective cesarean delivery. Before collection, the donor is screened
for seronegativity of HCV, Hbs Ag, HIV and Syphilis. After
collection, placenta is washed in balanced salt solution (BSS) in
sterile environment. Amniotic membrane is then separated from the
placenta as well as chorion while keeping the preparation in BSS.
Scrapping of HAM is then carried out manually until all the debris is
removed and clear transparent membrane is acquired. Nitrocellulose
membrane filters are then placed on the stromal side of HAM, cut
around the edges with little membrane folded towards other side
making it easy to separate during surgery. HAM is finally stored in
solution of glycerine and Dulbecco-s Modified Eagle Medium
(DMEM) in 1:1 ratio containing antibiotics. The capped borosil vials
containing HAM are kept at -80°C until use. This vial is thawed to
room temperature and opened under sterile operation theatre
conditions at the time of surgery.
Abstract: Qk
n has been shown as an alternative to the hypercube
family. For any even integer k ≥ 4 and any integer n ≥ 2, Qk
n is
a bipartite graph. In this paper, we will prove that given any pair of
vertices, w and b, from different partite sets of Qk
n, there exist 2n
internally disjoint paths between w and b, denoted by {Pi | 0 ≤ i ≤ 2n-1}, such that 2n-1
i=0 Pi covers all vertices of Qk
n. The result is
optimal since each vertex of Qk
n has exactly 2n neighbors.
Abstract: This article proposes modeling, simulation and
kinematic and workspace analysis of a spatial cable suspended robot
as incompletely Restrained Positioning Mechanism (IRPM). These
types of robots have six cables equal to the number of degrees of
freedom. After modeling, the kinds of workspace are defined then an
statically reachable combined workspace for different geometric
structures of fixed and moving platform is obtained. This workspace
is defined as the situations of reference point of the moving platform
(center of mass) which under external forces such as weight and with
ignorance of inertial effects, the moving platform should be in static
equilibrium under conditions that length of all cables must not be
exceeded from the maximum value and all of cables must be at
tension (they must have non-negative tension forces). Then the effect
of various parameters such as the size of moving platform, the size of
fixed platform, geometric configuration of robots, magnitude of
applied forces and moments to moving platform on workspace of
these robots with different geometric configuration are investigated.
Obtained results should be effective in employing these robots under
different conditions of applied wrench for increasing the workspace
volume.
Abstract: Recently research on human wayfinding has focused
mainly on mental representations rather than processes of
wayfinding. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the
rationality behind applying multi-agent simulation paradigm to the
modeling of rescuer team wayfinding in order to develop
computational theory of perceptual wayfinding in crisis situations
using image schemata and affordances, which explains how people
find a specific destination in an unfamiliar building such as a
hospital. The hypothesis of this paper is that successful navigation is
possible if the agents are able to make the correct decision through
well-defined cues in critical cases, so the design of the building
signage is evaluated through the multi-agent-based simulation. In
addition, a special case of wayfinding in a building, finding one-s
way through three hospitals, is used to demonstrate the model.
Thereby, total rescue time for rescue operation during building fire is
computed. This paper discuses the computed rescue time for various
signage localization and provides experimental result for
optimization of building signage design. Therefore the most
appropriate signage design resulted in the shortest total rescue time in
various situations.
Abstract: This paper addresses a stock-cutting problem with rotation of items and without the guillotine cutting constraint. In order to solve the large-scale problem effectively and efficiently, we propose a simple but fast heuristic algorithm. It is shown that this heuristic outperforms the latest published algorithms for large-scale problem instances.
Abstract: In this paper, a new approach is introduced to solve
Blasius equation using parameter identification of a nonlinear
function which is used as approximation function. Bees Algorithm
(BA) is applied in order to find the adjustable parameters of
approximation function regarding minimizing a fitness function
including these parameters (i.e. adjustable parameters). These
parameters are determined how the approximation function has to
satisfy the boundary conditions. In order to demonstrate the
presented method, the obtained results are compared with another
numerical method. Present method can be easily extended to solve a
wide range of problems.
Abstract: Web sites are rapidly becoming the preferred media
choice for our daily works such as information search, company
presentation, shopping, and so on. At the same time, we live in a
period where visual appearances play an increasingly important
role in our daily life. In spite of designers- effort to develop a web
site which be both user-friendly and attractive, it would be difficult
to ensure the outcome-s aesthetic quality, since the visual
appearance is a matter of an individual self perception and opinion.
In this study, it is attempted to develop an automatic system for
web pages aesthetic evaluation which are the building blocks of
web sites. Based on the image processing techniques and artificial
neural networks, the proposed method would be able to categorize
the input web page according to its visual appearance and aesthetic
quality. The employed features are multiscale/multidirectional
textural and perceptual color properties of the web pages, fed to
perceptron ANN which has been trained as the evaluator. The
method is tested using university web sites and the results
suggested that it would perform well in the web page aesthetic
evaluation tasks with around 90% correct categorization.
Abstract: Today many developers use the Java components
collected from the Internet as external LIBs to design and
develop their own software. However, some unknown security
bugs may exist in these components, such as SQL injection bug
may comes from the components which have no specific check
for the input string by users. To check these bugs out is very
difficult without source code. So a novel method to check the
bugs in Java bytecode based on points-to dataflow analysis is in
need, which is different to the common analysis techniques base
on the vulnerability pattern check. It can be used as an assistant
tool for security analysis of Java bytecode from unknown
softwares which will be used as extern LIBs.
Abstract: Knowledge about the magnetic quantities in a magnetic circuit is always of great interest. On the one hand, this information is needed for the simulation of a transformer. On the other hand, parameter studies are more reliable, if the magnetic quantities are derived from a well established model. One possibility to model the 3-phase transformer is by using a magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC). Though this is a well known system, it is often not an easy task to set up such a model for a large number of lumped elements which additionally includes the nonlinear characteristic of the magnetic material. Here we show the setup of a solver for a MEC and the results of the calculation in comparison to measurements taken. The equations of the MEC are based on a rearranged system of the nodal analysis. Thus it is possible to achieve a minimum number of equations, and a clear and simple structure. Hence, it is uncomplicated in its handling and it supports the iteration process. Additional helpful tasks are implemented within the solver to enhance the performance. The electric circuit is described by an electric equivalent circuit (EEC). Our results for the 3-phase transformer demonstrate the computational efficiency of the solver, and show the benefit of the application of a MEC.
Abstract: The growth of open networks created the interest to commercialise it. The establishment of an electronic business mechanism must be accompanied by a digital-electronic payment system to transfer the value of transactions. Financial organizations are requested to offer a secure e-payment synthesis with equivalent levels of trust and security served in conventional paper-based payment transactions. The paper addresses the challenge of the first trade problem in e-commerce, provides a brief literature review on electronic payment and attempts to explain the underlying concept and method of trust in relevance to electronic payment.
Abstract: Corrugated wire mesh laminates (CWML) are a class
of engineered open cell structures that have potential for applications
in many areas including aerospace and biomedical engineering. Two
different methods of fabricating corrugated wire mesh laminates from
stainless steel, one using a high temperature Lithobraze alloy and the
other using a low temperature Eutectic solder for joining the
corrugated wire meshes are described herein. Their implementation is
demonstrated by manufacturing CWML samples of 304 and 316
stainless steel (SST). It is seen that due to the facility of employing
wire meshes of different densities and wire diameters, it is possible to
create CWML laminates with a wide range of effective densities. The
fabricated laminates are tested under uniaxial compression. The
variation of the compressive yield strength with relative density of the
CWML is compared to the theory developed by Gibson and Ashby for
open cell structures [22]. It is shown that the compressive strength of
the corrugated wire mesh laminates can be described using the same
equations by using an appropriate value for the linear coefficient in the
Gibson-Ashby model.
Abstract: Word sense disambiguation is an important intermediate stage for many natural language processing applications. The senses of an ambiguous word are the classification of usages for that specific word. This paper deals with the methodologies of determining the senses for a given word if they can not be obtained from an already available resource like WordNet. We offer a method that helps us to determine the sense boundaries gradually. In this method, first we decide on some features that are thought to be effective on the senses and divide the instances first into two, then according to the results of evaluations we continue dividing instances gradually. In a second method we use the pseudo words. We devise artificial words depending on some criteria and evaluate classification algorithms on these previously classified words.
Abstract: This paper proposes a Web service and serviceoriented
architecture (SOA) for a computer-adaptive testing (CAT)
process on e-learning systems. The proposed architecture is
developed to solve an interoperability problem of the CAT process by
using Web service. The proposed SOA and Web service define all
services needed for the interactions between systems in order to
deliver items and essential data from Web service to the CAT Webbased
application. These services are implemented in a XML-based
architecture, platform independence and interoperability between the
Web service and CAT Web-based applications.
Abstract: The adoption of e-learning in Hong Kong has been
increasing rapidly in the past decade. To understand the e-learning
experiences of the students, the School of Professional and Continuing
Education of The University of Hong Kong conducted a survey. The
survey aimed to collect students- experiences in using learning
management system, their perceived e-learning advantages, barriers in
e-learning and preferences in new e-learning development. A
questionnaire with 84 questions was distributed in mid 2012 and 608
valid responds were received. The analysis results showed that the
students found e-learning helpful to their study. They preferred
interactive functions and mobile features. Blended learning mode,
both face-to-face learning mode integrated with online learning and
face-to-face learning mode supplemented with online resources, were
preferred by the students. The results of experiences of Hong Kong
students in e-learning provided a contemporary reference to the
e-learning practitioners to understand the e-learning situation in Asia.
Abstract: We studied the selection of nest sites by Persian
ground Jay (Podoces pleskei), in a semi -desert central Iran. Habitat
variables such as plant species number, height of plant species,
vegetation percent and distance to water sources of nest sites were
compared with randomly selected non- used sites. The results showed that the most important factors influencing nesting site selection were total vegetation percent and number of shrubs
(Zgophyllum eurypterum and Atraphaxis spinosa). The mean vegetation percent of 20 area selected by Persian Ground Jay was
(4.41+ 0.17), which was significantly larger than that of the non –
selected area (2.08 + 0.06). The number of Zygophyllum eurypterum (1.13+ 0.01) and Atraphaxis spinosa (1.36+ 0.10) were also significantly higher compared with the control area (0.43+ 0.07)
and (0.58+ 0.9) respectively.