Abstract: In mechanical and environmental engineering, mixed
convection is a frequently encountered thermal fluid phenomenon
which exists in atmospheric environment, urban canopy flows, ocean
currents, gas turbines, heat exchangers, and computer chip cooling
systems etc... . This paper deals with a numerical investigation of
mixed convection in a vertical heated channel. This flow results from
the mixing of the up-going fluid along walls of the channel with the
one issued from a flat nozzle located in its entry section. The fluiddynamic
and heat-transfer characteristics of vented vertical channels
are investigated for constant heat-flux boundary conditions, a
Rayleigh number equal to 2.57 1010, for two jet Reynolds number
Re=3 103 and 2104 and the aspect ratio in the 8-20 range. The system
of governing equations is solved with a finite volumes method and an
implicit scheme. The obtained results show that the turbulence and
the jet-wall interaction activate the heat transfer, as does the drive of
ambient air by the jet. For low Reynolds number Re=3 103, the
increase of the aspect Ratio enhances the heat transfer of about 3%,
however; for Re=2 104, the heat transfer enhancement is of about
12%. The numerical velocity, pressure and temperature fields are
post-processed to compute the quantities of engineering interest such
as the induced mass flow rate, and average Nusselt number, in terms
of Rayleigh, Reynolds numbers and dimensionless geometric
parameters are presented.
Abstract: In-place sorting algorithms play an important role in many fields such as very large database systems, data warehouses, data mining, etc. Such algorithms maximize the size of data that can be processed in main memory without input/output operations. In this paper, a novel in-place sorting algorithm is presented. The algorithm comprises two phases; rearranging the input unsorted array in place, resulting segments that are ordered relative to each other but whose elements are yet to be sorted. The first phase requires linear time, while, in the second phase, elements of each segment are sorted inplace in the order of z log (z), where z is the size of the segment, and O(1) auxiliary storage. The algorithm performs, in the worst case, for an array of size n, an O(n log z) element comparisons and O(n log z) element moves. Further, no auxiliary arithmetic operations with indices are required. Besides these theoretical achievements of this algorithm, it is of practical interest, because of its simplicity. Experimental results also show that it outperforms other in-place sorting algorithms. Finally, the analysis of time and space complexity, and required number of moves are presented, along with the auxiliary storage requirements of the proposed algorithm.
Abstract: This paper focuses on Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) occurred in the urban coastal regions of the Mediterranean basin in the last thirty years. LULCC were assessed diachronically (1975-2006) in two urban areas, Rome (Italy) and Athens (Greece), by using CORINE land cover maps. In strictly coastal territories a persistent growth of built-up areas at the expenses of both agricultural and forest land uses was found. On the contrary, a different pattern was observed in the surrounding inland areas, where a high conversion rate of the agricultural land uses to both urban and forest land uses was recorded. The impact of city growth on the complex pattern of coastal LULCC is finally discussed.
Abstract: In recent years image watermarking has become an
important research area in data security, confidentiality and image
integrity. Many watermarking techniques were proposed for medical
images. However, medical images, unlike most of images, require
extreme care when embedding additional data within them because
the additional information must not affect the image quality and
readability. Also the medical records, electronic or not, are linked to
the medical secrecy, for that reason, the records must be confidential.
To fulfill those requirements, this paper presents a lossless
watermarking scheme for DICOM images. The proposed a fragile
scheme combines two reversible techniques based on difference
expansion for patient's data hiding and protecting the region of
interest (ROI) with tamper detection and recovery capability.
Patient's data are embedded into ROI, while recovery data are
embedded into region of non-interest (RONI). The experimental
results show that the original image can be exactly extracted from the
watermarked one in case of no tampering. In case of tampered ROI,
tampered area can be localized and recovered with a high quality
version of the original area.
Abstract: As the web continues to grow exponentially, the idea
of crawling the entire web on a regular basis becomes less and less
feasible, so the need to include information on specific domain,
domain-specific search engines was proposed. As more information
becomes available on the World Wide Web, it becomes more difficult
to provide effective search tools for information access. Today,
people access web information through two main kinds of search
interfaces: Browsers (clicking and following hyperlinks) and Query
Engines (queries in the form of a set of keywords showing the topic
of interest) [2]. Better support is needed for expressing one's
information need and returning high quality search results by web
search tools. There appears to be a need for systems that do reasoning
under uncertainty and are flexible enough to recover from the
contradictions, inconsistencies, and irregularities that such reasoning
involves. In a multi-view problem, the features of the domain can be
partitioned into disjoint subsets (views) that are sufficient to learn the
target concept. Semi-supervised, multi-view algorithms, which
reduce the amount of labeled data required for learning, rely on the
assumptions that the views are compatible and uncorrelated. This
paper describes the use of semi-structured machine learning approach
with Active learning for the “Domain Specific Search Engines". A
domain-specific search engine is “An information access system that
allows access to all the information on the web that is relevant to a
particular domain. The proposed work shows that with the help of
this approach relevant data can be extracted with the minimum
queries fired by the user. It requires small number of labeled data and
pool of unlabelled data on which the learning algorithm is applied to
extract the required data.
Abstract: The prospective analysis is presented as an important tool to identify the most relevant opportunities and needs in research and development from planned interventions in innovation systems. This study chose Phyllanthus niruri, known as "stone break" to describe the knowledge about the specie, by using biotechnological forecasting through the software Vantage Point. It can be seen a considerable increase in studies on Phyllanthus niruri in recent years and that there are patents about this plant since twenty-five years ago. India was the country that most carried out research on the specie, showing interest, mainly in studies of hepatoprotection, antioxidant and anti-cancer activities. Brazil is in the second place, with special interest for anti-tumor studies. Given the identification of the Brazilian groups that exploit the species it is possible to mediate partnerships and cooperation aiming to help on the implementing of the Program of Herbal medicines (phytotherapics) in Brazil.
Abstract: Data clustering is an important data exploration technique
with many applications in data mining. We present an enhanced
version of the well known single link clustering algorithm. We will
refer to this algorithm as DCBOR. The proposed algorithm alleviates
the chain effect by removing the outliers from the given dataset.
So this algorithm provides outlier detection and data clustering
simultaneously. This algorithm does not need to update the distance
matrix, since the algorithm depends on merging the most k-nearest
objects in one step and the cluster continues grow as long as possible
under specified condition. So the algorithm consists of two phases;
at the first phase, it removes the outliers from the input dataset. At
the second phase, it performs the clustering process. This algorithm
discovers clusters of different shapes, sizes, densities and requires
only one input parameter; this parameter represents a threshold for
outlier points. The value of the input parameter is ranging from 0 to
1. The algorithm supports the user in determining an appropriate
value for it. We have tested this algorithm on different datasets
contain outlier and connecting clusters by chain of density points,
and the algorithm discovers the correct clusters. The results of
our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of
DCBOR.
Abstract: Lately, an interest has grown greatly in the usages of
RFID in an un-presidential applications. It is shown in the adaptation
of major software companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle
the RFID capabilities in their major software products. For example
Microsoft SharePoints 2010 workflow is now fully compatible with
RFID platform. In addition, Microsoft BizTalk server is also capable
of all RFID sensors data acquisition. This will lead to applications
that required high bit rate, long range and a multimedia content in
nature. Higher frequencies of operation have been designated for
RFID tags, among them are the 2.45 and 5.8 GHz. The higher the
frequency means higher range, and higher bit rate, but the drawback
is the greater cost. In this paper we present a single layer, low
profile patch antenna operates at 5.8 GHz with pure resistive input
impedance of 50 and close to directive radiation. Also, we propose
a modification to the design in order to improve the operation band
width from 8.7 to 13.8
Abstract: We measured the major and trace element contents
and Rb-Sr isotopic compositions of 12 tektites from the Maoming
area, Guandong province (south China). All the samples studied are
splash-form tektites which show pitted or grooved surfaces with
schlieren structures on some surfaces. The trace element ratios Ba/Rb
(avg. 4.33), Th/Sm (avg. 2.31), Sm/Sc (avg. 0.44), Th/Sc (avg. 1.01) ,
La/Sc (avg. 2.86), Th/U (avg. 7.47), Zr/Hf (avg. 46.01) and the rare
earth elements (REE) contents of tektites of this study are similar to the
average upper continental crust. From the chemical composition, it is
suggested that tektites in this study are derived from similar parental
terrestrial sedimentary deposit which may be related to post-Archean
upper crustal rocks. The tektites from the Maoming area have high
positive εSr(0) values-ranging from 176.9~190.5 which indicate that
the parental material for these tektites have similar Sr isotopic
compositions to old terrestrial sedimentary rocks and they were not
dominantly derived from recent young sediments (such as soil or
loess). The Sr isotopic data obtained by the present study support the
conclusion proposed by Blum et al. (1992)[1] that the depositional age
of sedimentary target materials is close to 170Ma (Jurassic). Mixing
calculations based on the model proposed by Ho and Chen (1996)[2]
for various amounts and combinations of target rocks indicate that the
best fit for tektites from the Maoming area is a mixture of 40% shale,
30% greywacke, 30% quartzite.
Abstract: New lead-free ferroelectric relaxor ceramics were
prepared by conventional solid-state synthesis in the BaTiO3-Bi2O3-
Y2O3 systems. Some of these ceramics present a ferroelectric relaxor
with transition temperature close to room temperature. These new
materials are very interesting for applications and can replace leadbased
ceramic to prevent the toxic pollutions during the preparation
state. In the other hand, the energy band diagram shows the
potentiality of these compounds for the solar energy conversion.
Thus, some compositions have been tested successfully for H2
production upon visible light. The best activity occurs in alkaline
media with a rate evolution of about 0.15 mL g-1 mn-1 and a quantum
yield of 1% under polychromatic light.
Abstract: Natural Disasters have always occurred through earth life. As human life developed on earth, he faced with different disasters. Since disasters would destroy his living areas and ruin his life, he learned how to respond and overcome to these matters. Nowadays, in the era of industrialized world and informatics, the man kind seeks for stages and classification of pre and post disaster process in order to identify a framework in these circumstances. Because too many parameters complicate these frameworks and proceedings, it seems that this goal has not been properly established yet and the only resource is guidelines of UNDRO (1982) [1]. This paper will discuss about temporary housing as one of an approved stage in disaster management field and investigate the affects of disapproval or dismissal of this at two earthquakes which took place in Iran.
Abstract: The study of proteomics reached unexpected levels of
interest, as a direct consequence of its discovered influence over
some complex biological phenomena, such as problematic diseases
like cancer. This paper presents a new technique that allows for an
accurate analysis of the human interactome network. It is basically
a two-step analysis process that involves, at first, the detection of
each protein-s absolute importance through the betweenness centrality
computation. Then, the second step determines the functionallyrelated
communities of proteins. For this purpose, we use a community
detection technique that is based on the edge betweenness
calculation. The new technique was thoroughly tested on real biological
data and the results prove some interesting properties of those proteins that are involved in the carcinogenesis process. Apart from its
experimental usefulness, the novel technique is also computationally
effective in terms of execution times. Based on the analysis- results, some topological features of cancer mutated proteins are presented
and a possible optimization solution for cancer drugs design is suggested.
Abstract: Computerized lip reading has been one of the most
actively researched areas of computer vision in recent past because
of its crime fighting potential and invariance to acoustic environment.
However, several factors like fast speech, bad pronunciation,
poor illumination, movement of face, moustaches and beards make
lip reading difficult. In present work, we propose a solution for
automatic lip contour tracking and recognizing letters of English
language spoken by speakers using the information available from
lip movements. Level set method is used for tracking lip contour
using a contour velocity model and a feature vector of lip movements
is then obtained. Character recognition is performed using modified
k nearest neighbor algorithm which assigns more weight to nearer
neighbors. The proposed system has been found to have accuracy
of 73.3% for character recognition with speaker lip movements as
the only input and without using any speech recognition system in
parallel. The approach used in this work is found to significantly
solve the purpose of lip reading when size of database is small.
Abstract: In this paper real money demand function is analyzed
within multivariate time-series framework. Cointegration approach is
used (Johansen procedure) assuming interdependence between
money demand determinants, which are nonstationary variables. This
will help us to understand the behavior of money demand in Croatia,
revealing the significant influence between endogenous variables in
vector autoregrression system (VAR), i.e. vector error correction
model (VECM). Exogeneity of the explanatory variables is tested.
Long-run money demand function is estimated indicating slow speed
of adjustment of removing the disequilibrium. Empirical results
provide the evidence that real industrial production and exchange
rate explains the most variations of money demand in the long-run,
while interest rate is significant only in short-run.
Abstract: Ten lactating multiparous Holstein cows were used in
a cross-over design with two dietary treatments and 28-d periods
(with 14 d as an adaptation) to study the effect of restaurant fat on
milk production and composition. Each cow was offered 14.7 kg
DM /d of the basal concentrate diet based on barley and corn (crude
protein = 17.7%, neutral detergent fiber = 23.5%, and acid detergent
fiber = 5.8% of dry matter) with free access to alfalfa. Dietary
treatments were arranged as supplying each cow with 0 (CONTROL)
or 150 g/day (RF) of restaurant fat. Supplemental RF did not
significantly (P > 0.25) affect milk yield, composition, and
composition yields, except for milk fat contents. Milk fat contents
were depressed (P < 0.05) with supplemental RF. Our results indicate
that RF could depress milk fat without affecting milk yield and that
the depression in milk fat in response to RF precedes the depression
in milk yield.
Abstract: A novel file splitting technique for the reduction of the nth-order entropy of text files is proposed. The technique is based on mapping the original text file into a non-ASCII binary file using a new codeword assignment method and then the resulting binary file is split into several subfiles each contains one or more bits from each codeword of the mapped binary file. The statistical properties of the subfiles are studied and it is found that they reflect the statistical properties of the original text file which is not the case when the ASCII code is used as a mapper. The nth-order entropy of these subfiles are determined and it is found that the sum of their entropies is less than that of the original text file for the same values of extensions. These interesting statistical properties of the resulting subfiles can be used to achieve better compression ratios when conventional compression techniques are applied to these subfiles individually and on a bit-wise basis rather than on character-wise basis.
Abstract: To support mobility in ATM networks, a number of
technical challenges need to be resolved. The impact of handoff
schemes in terms of service disruption, handoff latency, cost
implications and excess resources required during handoffs needs to
be addressed. In this paper, a one phase handoff and route
optimization solution using reserved PVCs between adjacent ATM
switches to reroute connections during inter-switch handoff is
studied. In the second phase, a distributed optimization process is
initiated to optimally reroute handoff connections. The main
objective is to find the optimal operating point at which to perform
optimization subject to cost constraint with the purpose of reducing
blocking probability of inter-switch handoff calls for delay tolerant
traffic. We examine the relation between the required bandwidth
resources and optimization rate. Also we calculate and study the
handoff blocking probability due to lack of bandwidth for resources
reserved to facilitate the rapid rerouting.
Abstract: This article is devoted to the numerical solution of
large-scale quadratic eigenvalue problems. Such problems arise in
a wide variety of applications, such as the dynamic analysis of
structural mechanical systems, acoustic systems, fluid mechanics,
and signal processing. We first introduce a generalized second-order
Krylov subspace based on a pair of square matrices and two initial
vectors and present a generalized second-order Arnoldi process for
constructing an orthonormal basis of the generalized second-order
Krylov subspace. Then, by using the projection technique and the
refined projection technique, we propose a restarted generalized
second-order Arnoldi method and a restarted refined generalized
second-order Arnoldi method for computing some eigenpairs of largescale
quadratic eigenvalue problems. Some theoretical results are also
presented. Some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the
effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Abstract: Avalanche release of snow has been modeled in the present studies. Snow is assumed to be represented by semi-solid and the governing equations have been studied from the concept of continuum approach. The dynamical equations have been solved for two different zones [starting zone and track zone] by using appropriate initial and boundary conditions. Effect of density (ρ), Eddy viscosity (η), Slope angle (θ), Slab depth (R) on the flow parameters have been observed in the present studies. Numerical methods have been employed for computing the non linear differential equations. One of the most interesting and fundamental innovation in the present studies is getting initial condition for the computation of velocity by numerical approach. This information of the velocity has obtained through the concept of fracture mechanics applicable to snow. The results on the flow parameters have found to be in qualitative agreement with the published results.
Abstract: Architecture as a form of art, whilst actively
developing, finds new methods and conceptions. Currently,
architectural animation is actively developing as a step, successive to
architectural visualization. Interesting vistas of architectural ideas
were discovered by artists of Japanese animation, in which there are
traditional spirits, kami, and imaginary spaces relating to them.
Anime art should be considered abstract painting, another kind of an
architectural workshop, where new architectural ideas are generated.