Abstract: A four-lobe pressure dam bearing which is
produced by cutting two pressure dams on the upper two lobes and
two relief-tracks on the lower two lobes of an ordinary four-lobe
bearing is found to be more stable than a conventional four-lobe
bearing. In this paper a four-lobe pressure dam bearing supporting
rigid and flexible rotors is analytically investigated to determine its
performance when L/D ratio is varied in the range 0.75 to 1.5. The
static and dynamic characteristics are studied at various L/D ratios.
The results show that the stability of a four-lobe pressure dam
bearing increases with decrease in L/D ratios both for rigid as well as
flexible rotors.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of
strategic management implementations on the institutionalization
levels. In this regard a field study has been made over 31 stone quarry
enterprises in cement producing sector in Konya by using survey
method. In this study, institutionalization levels of the enterprises
have been evaluated regarding three dimensions: professionalization,
management approach, participation in decisions and delegation of
authority. According to the results of the survey, there is a highly
positive and statistically significant relationship between the strategic
management implementations and institutionalization levels of the
enterprises. Additionally,-considering the results of regression
analysis made for establishing the relationship between strategic
management and institutionalization levels- it has been determined
that strategic management implementations of the enterprises can be
used as a variable to explain the institutionalization levels of them,
and also strategic management implementations of the enterprises
increase the institutionalization levels of them.
Abstract: In the classical buckling analysis of rectangular plates
subjected to the concurrent action of shear and uniaxial forces, the
Euler shear buckling stress is generally evaluated separately, so that
no influence on the shear buckling coefficient, due to the in-plane
tensile or compressive forces, is taken into account.
In this paper the buckling problem of simply supported rectangular
plates, under the combined action of shear and uniaxial forces, is
discussed from the beginning, in order to obtain new project formulas
for the shear buckling coefficient that take into account the presence
of uniaxial forces.
Furthermore, as the classical expression of the shear buckling
coefficient for simply supported rectangular plates is considered only
a “rough" approximation, as the exact one is defined by a system of
intersecting curves, the convergence and the goodness of the classical
solution are analyzed, too.
Finally, as the problem of the Euler shear buckling stress
evaluation is a very important topic for a variety of structures, (e.g.
ship ones), two numerical applications are carried out, in order to
highlight the role of the uniaxial stresses on the plating scantling
procedures and the goodness of the proposed formulas.
Abstract: The term Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0) describes a collection of organizational and IT practices that help organizations establish flexible work models, visible knowledge-sharing practices, and higher levels of community participation. E2.0 parallels and builds on another term commonly being used in the industry – Web 2.0. E2.0 represents also new packaging for strategic collaboration and Knowledge Management (KM). Organizations rely on collaboration and KM initiatives to attain innovation, growth, productivity, and performance goals.
Abstract: Extensive use of the Internet coupled with the
marvelous growth in e-commerce and m-commerce has created a
huge demand for information security. The Secure Socket Layer
(SSL) protocol is the most widely used security protocol in the
Internet which meets this demand. It provides protection against
eaves droppings, tampering and forgery. The cryptographic
algorithms RC4 and HMAC have been in use for achieving security
services like confidentiality and authentication in the SSL. But recent
attacks against RC4 and HMAC have raised questions in the
confidence on these algorithms. Hence two novel cryptographic
algorithms MAJE4 and MACJER-320 have been proposed as
substitutes for them. The focus of this work is to demonstrate the
performance of these new algorithms and suggest them as dependable
alternatives to satisfy the need of security services in SSL. The
performance evaluation has been done by using practical
implementation method.
Abstract: Plasmodium vivax malaria differs from P. falciparum malaria in that a person suffering from P. vivax infection can suffer relapses of the disease. This is due the parasite being able to remain dormant in the liver of the patients where it is able to re-infect the patient after a passage of time. During this stage, the patient is classified as being in the dormant class. The model to describe the transmission of P. vivax malaria consists of a human population divided into four classes, the susceptible, the infected, the dormant and the recovered. The effect of a time delay on the transmission of this disease is studied. The time delay is the period in which the P. vivax parasite develops inside the mosquito (vector) before the vector becomes infectious (i.e., pass on the infection). We analyze our model by using standard dynamic modeling method. Two stable equilibrium states, a disease free state E0 and an endemic state E1, are found to be possible. It is found that the E0 state is stable when a newly defined basic reproduction number G is less than one. If G is greater than one the endemic state E1 is stable. The conditions for the endemic equilibrium state E1 to be a stable spiral node are established. For realistic values of the parameters in the model, it is found that solutions in phase space are trajectories spiraling into the endemic state. It is shown that the limit cycle and chaotic behaviors can only be achieved with unrealistic parameter values.
Abstract: We propose a fast and robust hierarchical face detection system which finds and localizes face images with a cascade of classifiers. Three modules contribute to the efficiency of our detector. First, heterogeneous feature descriptors are exploited to enrich feature types and feature numbers for face representation. Second, a PSO-Adaboost algorithm is proposed to efficiently select discriminative features from a large pool of available features and reinforce them into the final ensemble classifier. Compared with the standard exhaustive Adaboost for feature selection, the new PSOAdaboost algorithm reduces the training time up to 20 times. Finally, a three-stage hierarchical classifier framework is developed for rapid background removal. In particular, candidate face regions are detected more quickly by using a large size window in the first stage. Nonlinear SVM classifiers are used instead of decision stump functions in the last stage to remove those remaining complex nonface patterns that can not be rejected in the previous two stages. Experimental results show our detector achieves superior performance on the CMU+MIT frontal face dataset.
Abstract: Refractive index control of benzocyclobutene (BCB 4024-40) is achieved by facilitating different conditions during the thermal curing of BCB film. Refractive index (RI) change of 1.49% is obtained with curing of BCB film using an oven, while the RI change is 0.1% when the BCB is cured using a hotplate. The two different curing methods exhibit a temperature dependent refractive index change of the BCB photosensitive polymer. By carefully controlling the curing conditions, multiple layers of BCB with different RI can be fabricated, which can then be applied in the fabrication of optical waveguides.
Abstract: The oil and gas industry has moved towards Load and
Resistance Factor Design through API RP2A - LRFD and the
recently published international standard, ISO-19902, for design of
fixed steel offshore structures. The ISO 19902 is intended to provide
a harmonized design practice that offers a balanced structural fitness
for the purpose, economy and safety. As part of an ongoing work, the
reliability analysis of tubular joints of the jacket structure has been
carried out to calibrate the load and resistance factors for the design
of offshore platforms in Malaysia, as proposed in the ISO.
Probabilistic models have been established for the load effects (wave,
wind and current) and the tubular joints strengths. In this study the
First Order Reliability Method (FORM), coded in MATLAB
Software has been employed to evaluate the reliability index of the
typical joints, designed using API RP2A - WSD and ISO 19902.
Abstract: Dr Eliyahu Goldratt has done the pioneering work in
the development of Theory of Constraints. Since then, many more
researchers around the globe are working to enhance this body of
knowledge. In this paper, an attempt has been made to compile the
salient features of this theory from the work done by Goldratt and
other researchers. This paper will provide a good starting point to the
potential researchers interested to work in Theory of Constraints. The
paper will also help the practicing managers by clarifying their
concepts on the theory and will facilitate its successful
implementation in their working areas.
Abstract: Bone remodeling occurs by the balanced action of
bone resorbing osteoclasts (OC) and bone-building osteoblasts.
Increased bone resorption by excessive OC activity contributes
to malignant and non-malignant diseases including osteoporosis.
To study OC differentiation and function, OC formed in
in vitro cultures are currently counted manually, a tedious
procedure which is prone to inter-observer differences. Aiming
for an automated OC-quantification system, classification of
OC and precursor cells was done on fluorescence microscope
images based on the distinct appearance of fluorescent nuclei.
Following ellipse fitting to nuclei, a combination of eight
features enabled clustering of OC and precursor cell nuclei.
After evaluating different machine-learning techniques, LOGREG
achieved 74% correctly classified OC and precursor cell
nuclei, outperforming human experts (best expert: 55%). In
combination with the automated detection of total cell areas,
this system allows to measure various cell parameters and most
importantly to quantify proteins involved in osteoclastogenesis.
Abstract: A new digital transceiver circuit for asynchronous frame detection is proposed where both the transmitter and receiver contain all digital components, thereby avoiding possible use of conventional devices like monostable multivibrators with unstable external components such as resistances and capacitances. The proposed receiver circuit, in particular, uses a combinational logic block yielding an output which changes its state as soon as the start bit of a new frame is detected. This, in turn, helps in generating an efficient receiver sampling clock. A data latching circuit is also used in the receiver to latch the recovered data bits in any new frame. The proposed receiver structure is also extended from 4- bit information to any general n data bits within a frame with a common expression for the output of the combinational logic block. Performance of the proposed hardware design is evaluated in terms of time delay, reliability and robustness in comparison with the standard schemes using monostable multivibrators. It is observed from hardware implementation that the proposed circuit achieves almost 33 percent speed up over any conventional circuit.
Abstract: Subdivision is a method to create a smooth surface from a coarse mesh by subdividing the entire mesh. The conventional ways to compute and render surfaces are inconvenient both in terms of memory and computational time as the number of meshes will increase exponentially. An adaptive subdivision is the way to reduce the computational time and memory by subdividing only certain selected areas. In this paper, a new adaptive subdivision method for triangle meshes is introduced. This method defines a new adaptive subdivision rules by considering the properties of each triangle's neighbors and is embedded in a traditional Loop's subdivision. It prevents some undesirable side effects that appear in the conventional adaptive ways. Models that were subdivided by our method are compared with other adaptive subdivision methods
Abstract: This paper presents a unified approach based graph
theory and system theory postulates for the modeling and analysis
of Simple open cycle Gas turbine system. In the present paper, the
simple open cycle gas turbine system has been modeled up to its subsystem
level and system variables have been identified to develop the
process subgraphs. The theorems and algorithms of the graph theory
have been used to represent behavioural properties of the system like
rate of heat and work transfers rates, pressure drops and temperature
drops in the involved processes of the system. The processes have
been represented as edges of the process subgraphs and their limits
as the vertices of the process subgraphs. The system across variables
and through variables has been used to develop terminal equations of
the process subgraphs of the system. The set of equations developed
for vertices and edges of network graph are used to solve the system
for its process variables.
Abstract: The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of soil microorganisms and the burhead plant, as well as the combination of soil microorganisms and plants to remediate monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and triethylene glycol (TEG) in synthetic wastewater. The result showed that a system containing both burhead plant and soil microorganisms had the highest efficiency in EGs removal. Around 100% of MEG and DEG and 85% of TEG were removed within 15 days of the experiments. However, the burhead plant had higher removal efficiency than soil microorganisms for MEG and DEG but the same for TEG in the study systems. The removal rate of EGs in the study system related to the molecular weight of the compounds and MEG, the smallest glycol, was removed faster than DEG and TEG by both the burhead plant and soil microorganisms in the study system.
Abstract: A satellite is being integrated and tested by BISEE (Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Environment Engineering). This paper describes the infrared lamp array simulation technology used for satellite thermal balance and thermal vacuum test. These tests were performed in KM6 space environmental simulator in Beijing, China. New software and hardware developed by BISEE, along with enhanced heat flux uniformity, provided for well accomplished thermal balance and thermal vacuum tests. The flux uniformity of lamp array was satisfied with test requirement. Monitored background radiometer offered reliable heat flux measurements with remarkable repeatability. Simulation software supplied accurate thermal flux distribution predictions.
Abstract: The rheological properties, structure and potential synergistic interactions of whey proteins (1-6%) and inulin (20%) in mixed gels in the presence of CaCl2 was the aim of this study. Whey proteins have a strong influence on inulin gel formation. At low concentrations (2%) whey proteins did not impair in inulin gel formation. At higher concentration (4%) whey proteins impaired inulin gelation and inulin impaired the formation of a Ca2+-induced whey protein network. The presence of whey proteins at a level allowing for protein gel network formation (6%) significantly increased the rheological parameters values of the gels. SEM micrographs showed that whey protein structure was coated by inulin moieties which could make the mixed gels firmer. The protein surface hydrophobicity measurements did not exclude synergistic interactions between inulin and whey proteins, however. The use of an electrophoretic technique did not show any stable inulin-whey protein complexes.
Abstract: Distributed Generation (DG) in the form of renewable
power generation systems is currently preferred for clean power
generation. It has a significant impact on the distribution systems.
This impact may be either positively or negatively depending on the
distribution system, distributed generator and load characteristics. In
this works, an overview of DG is briefly introduced. The technology
of DG is also listed while the technical impacts and economic
impacts are explained.
Abstract: The resident registration number was adopted for the purposes of enhanced services for resident convenience and effective performance of governmental administrative affairs. However, it has been used for identification purposes customarily and irrationally in line with the development and spread of the Internet. In response to the growing concern about the leakage of collected RRNs and possible abuses of stolen RRNs, e.g. identity theft, for crimes, the Korean Communications Commission began to take legal/regulatory actions in 2011 to minimize the online collection and use of resident registration numbers. As the use of the RRN was limited after the revision of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., online business providers were required to have alternatives to the RRN for the purpose of identifying the user's identity and age, in compliance with the law, and settling disputes with customers. This paper presents means of verifying the personal identity by taking advantage of the commonly used infrastructure and simply replacing personal information entered and stored, without requiring users to enter their RRNs.
Abstract: Modern organizations operate under the pressure of
dynamic and often unpredictable changes, both in external and
internal environment. Market success, in this context, requires a
particular competence in the form of flexibility, interpreted here both
on the level of individuals and on the level of organization. This
paper addresses the changes taking place in the sphere of
employment, as observed in economic entities operating on Polish
market. Based on own empirical studies, the authors focus on the
progressing trend of ‘flexibilization’ of employment, particularly in
the context of transformations in organizational structure, designed to
facilitate the transition into management by projects and
differentiation of labor forms.