Abstract: Experimental investigation of the effect of
hydrophobic injection on siloxane basis on the properties of oldfashioned
type of ceramic brick is presented in the paper. At the
experimental testing, the matrix density, total open porosity, pore size
distribution, sorptivity, water absorption coefficient, sorption and
desorption isotherms are measured for the original, as well as the
hydrophobic-injection treated brick. On the basis of measured data,
the functionality of the hydrophobic injection for the moisture ingress
prevention into the studied ceramic brick is assessed.
Abstract: Cellular networks provide voice and data services to the users with mobility. To deliver services to the mobile users, the cellular network is capable of tracking the locations of the users, and allowing user movement during the conversations. These capabilities are achieved by the location management. Location management in mobile communication systems is concerned with those network functions necessary to allow the users to be reached wherever they are in the network coverage area. In a cellular network, a service coverage area is divided into smaller areas of hexagonal shape, referred to as cells. The cellular concept was introduced to reuse the radio frequency. Continued expansion of cellular networks, coupled with an increasingly restricted mobile spectrum, has established the reduction of communication overhead as a highly important issue. Much of this traffic is used in determining the precise location of individual users when relaying calls, with the field of location management aiming to reduce this overhead through prediction of user location. This paper describes and compares various location management schemes in the cellular networks.
Abstract: The objective of current issue was to develop a model
of testicular herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I infection for
assessment of viral effect on fertility. 56 male mice were inoculated
intraperitoneally with different concentrations of HSV on 8 day post
partum. It was revealed that the optimal dose was 100 plaque
forming units per mice as it provided testicular infection in 100% of
survivors. HSV proteins were detected both in somatic and germ
cells (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatides). Although DNA
load in testis was descending from 3 to 28 days post infection only
12.5% of infected males had offspring after mating with uninfected
females comparing to 87.5% in control (p=0.012). These results are
the first direct evidence for HSV impact in male sterility. Prepuberal
mice appeared to be a suitable model for investigation of
pathogenesis of virus-associated fertility disorders.
Abstract: This paper mathematically analyses the varying
magnitude of production loss, which may occur due to idle time (inprocess
waiting time and traveling time) on a linear walking worker
assembly line. Within this flexible and reconfigurable assembly
system, each worker travels down the line carrying out each
assembly task at each station; and each worker accomplishes the
assembly of a unit from start to finish and then travels back to the
first station to start the assembly of a new product. This strategy of
system design attempts to combine the flexibility of the U-shaped
moving worker assembly cell with the efficiency of the conventional
fixed worker assembly line. The paper aims to evaluate the effect of
idle time that may offset the labor efficiency of each walking worker
providing an insight into the mechanism of such a flexible and
reconfigurable assembly system.
Abstract: A new technique to quantify the differential mode
delay (DMD) in multimode fiber (MMF) is been presented. The
technique measures DMD based on angular launch and
measurements of the difference in modal delay using variable
apertures at the fiber face. The result of the angular spatial filtering
revealed less excitation of higher order modes when the laser beam is
filtered at higher angles. This result would indicate that DMD
profiles would experience a data pattern dependency.
Abstract: In this paper, backup and recovery technique for Peer
to Peer applications, such as a distributed asynchronous Web-Based
Training system that we have previously proposed. In order to
improve the scalability and robustness of this system, all contents and
function are realized on mobile agents. These agents are distributed
to computers, and they can obtain using a Peer to Peer network
that modified Content-Addressable Network. In the proposed system,
although entire services do not become impossible even if some
computers break down, the problem that contents disappear occurs
with an agent-s disappearance. As a solution for this issue, backups
of agents are distributed to computers. If a failure of a computer is
detected, other computers will continue service using backups of the
agents belonged to the computer.
Abstract: Aerial and satellite images are information rich. They are also complex to analyze. For GIS systems, many features require fast and reliable extraction of roads and intersections. In this paper, we study efficient and reliable automatic extraction algorithms to address some difficult issues that are commonly seen in high resolution aerial and satellite images, nonetheless not well addressed in existing solutions, such as blurring, broken or missing road boundaries, lack of road profiles, heavy shadows, and interfering surrounding objects. The new scheme is based on a new method, namely reference circle, to properly identify the pixels that belong to the same road and use this information to recover the whole road network. This feature is invariable to the shape and direction of roads and tolerates heavy noise and disturbances. Road extraction based on reference circles is much more noise tolerant and flexible than the previous edge-detection based algorithms. The scheme is able to extract roads reliably from images with complex contents and heavy obstructions, such as the high resolution aerial/satellite images available from Google maps.
Abstract: With the development of the Polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) products in many applications, the challenge of investigating
the raw material composition and reducing the cost have both
become more and more important. Considerable research has been
done investigating the effect of additives on the PVC products. Most
of the PVC composites research investigates only the effect of
single/few factors, at a time. This isolated consideration of the input
factors does not take in consideration the interaction effect of the
different factors. This paper implements a mixture experimental
design approach to find out a cost-effective PVC composition for the
production of electrical-insulation cables considering the ASTM
Designation (D) 6096. The results analysis showed that a minimum
cost can be achieved through using 20% virgin PVC, 18.75%
recycled PVC, 43.75% CaCO3 with participle size 10 microns, 14%
DOP plasticizer, and 3.5% CPW plasticizer. For maximum UTS the
compound should consist of: 17.5% DOP, 62.5% virgin PVC, and
20.0% CaCO3 of particle size 5 microns. Finally, for the highest
ductility the compound should be made of 35% virgin PVC, 20%
CaCO3 of particle size 5 microns, and 45.0% DOP plasticizer.
Abstract: In this work the numerical simulation of transient heat
transfer in a cylindrical probe is done. An experiment was conducted
introducing a steel cylinder in a heating chamber and registering its
surface temperature along the time during one hour. In parallel, a
mathematical model was solved for one dimension transient heat
transfer in cylindrical coordinates, considering the boundary
conditions of the test. The model was solved using finite difference
method, because the thermal conductivity in the cylindrical steel bar
and the convection heat transfer coefficient used in the model are
considered temperature dependant functions, and both conditions
prevent the use of the analytical solution. The comparison between
theoretical and experimental results showed the average deviation is
below 2%. It was concluded that numerical methods are useful in
order to solve engineering complex problems. For constant k and h,
the experimental methodology used here can be used as a tool for
teaching heat transfer in mechanical engineering, using mathematical
simplified models with analytical solutions.
Abstract: An analytical solution for dispersion of a solute in the
peristaltic motion of a couple stress fluid in the presence of magnetic
field with both homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions is
presented. The average effective dispersion coefficient has been found
using Taylor-s limiting condition and long wavelength approximation.
The effects of various relevant parameters on the average effective
coefficient of dispersion have been studied. The average effective
dispersion coefficient tends to decrease with magnetic field parameter,
homogeneous chemical reaction rate parameter and amplitude ratio
but tends to increase with heterogeneous chemical reaction rate
parameter.
Abstract: Currently electronic slide (e-slide) is one of the most common styles in educational presentation. Unfortunately, the utilization of e-slide for the visually impaired is uncommon since they are unable to see the content of such e-slides which are usually composed of text, images and animation. This paper proposes a model for presenting e-slide in multimodal presentation i.e. using conventional slide concurrent with voicing, in both languages Malay and English. At the design level, live multimedia presentation concept is used, while at the implementation level several components are used. The text content of each slide is extracted using COM component, Microsoft Speech API for voicing the text in English language and the text in Malay language is voiced using dictionary approach. To support the accessibility, an auditory user interface is provided as an additional feature. A prototype of such model named as VSlide has been developed and introduced.
Abstract: the article analyzes the development prospects of
education system in Kazakhstan. Education is among key sources of
culture and social mobility. Modern education must become civic
which means availability of high quality education to all people
irrespective of their racial, ethnic, religious, social, gender and any
other differences. Socially focused nature of modernization of
Kazakhstan-s society is predicated upon formation of a civic
education model in the future. Kazakhstan-s education system
undergoes intensive reforms first of all intended to achieve
international education standards and integration into the global
educational and information space.
Abstract: We discuss a theoretical conceptual framework to help
understand how the new business analytics technologies have
diffused in firms. We draw on three theoretical perspectives for this
purpose. They are innovation diffusion theory, IT Business Value
and the technology-organization-environment theory. We develop a
conceptual framework that helps understand the interlinkages among
factors affecting diffusion of business analytics and its impact on
performance.
Abstract: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common
and disabling condition. Therapist-delivered treatments that use
exposure and response prevention have been found to be very
effective in treating OCD, although they are costly and associated
with high rates of attrition. Effective treatments that can be made
widely available without the need for therapist contact are urgently
needed. This case study represents the first published investigation of
a self-administered cognitive treatment for OCD in a 50-year old
female with a 20 year history of OCD. The treatment evaluation
occurred over 27 weeks, including 12 weeks of self-administration of
the Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy (DIRT) program. Decreases
of between 23% to 33% on measures from pre-treatment to follow-up
were observed. Bearing in mind the methodological limitations
associated with a case study, we conclude that the results reported
here are encouraging and indicate that further research effort
evaluating the effectiveness of self-administered DIRT is warranted.
Abstract: Recent progress in calculation of the one-loop selfenergy
of the electron bound in the Coulomb field is summarized.
The relativistic multipole expansion is introduced. This expansion
is based on a single assumption: except for the part of the time
component of the electron four-momentum corresponding to the
electron rest mass, the exchange of four-momentum between the
virtual electron and photon can be treated perturbatively. For non Sstates
and normalized difference n3En −E1 of the S-states this
itself yields very accurate results after taking the method to the third
order. For the ground state the perturbation treatment of the electron
virtual states with very high three-momentum is to be avoided. For
these states one can always rearrange the pertinent expression in such
a way that free-particle approximation is allowed. Combination of
the relativistic multipole expansion and free-particle approximation
yields very accurate result after taking the method to the ninth order.
These results are in very good agreement with the previous results
obtained by the partial wave expansion and definitely exclude the
possibility that the uncertainity in determination of the proton radius
comes from the uncertainity in the calculation of the one-loop selfenergy.
Abstract: The proper assessment of interaxial distance and
convergence control are important factors in stereoscopic imaging
technology to make an efficient 3D image. To control interaxial
distance and convergence for efficient 3D shooting, horizontal 3D
camera rig is designed using some hardware components like 'LM
Guide', 'Goniometer' and 'Rotation Stage'. The horizontal 3D camera
rig system can be properly aligned by moving the two cameras
horizontally in same or opposite directions, by adjusting the camera
angle and finally considering horizontal swing as well as vertical
swing. In this paper, the relationship between interaxial distance and
convergence angle control are discussed and intensive experiments are
performed in order to demonstrate an easy and effective 3D shooting.
Abstract: Thermochemcial characteristics of powder fabricated
using oxidation treatment of spent PWR fuel and SIMFUEL were
evaluated for recycling of spent fuel such as DUPIC process.
Especially, the influence of spent fuel burn-ups on the powder
fabrication characteristics was experimentally evaluated, ranging from
27,300 to 65,000 MWd/tU. Densities of powder manufactured from an
oxidation, OREOX and the milling processes at the same process
conditions were compared as a function of the fuel burn-ups
respectively. Also, based on chemical analysis results, homogeneity of
fissile elements in oxidized powder was confirmed.
Abstract: This paper discusses coordinated reactive power -
voltage (Q-V) control in a multi machine steam power plant. The
drawbacks of manual Q-V control are briefly listed, and the design
requirements for coordinated Q-V controller are specified.
Theoretical background and mathematical model of the new
controller are presented next followed by validation of developed
Matlab/Simulink model through comparison with recorded
responses in real steam power plant and description of practical
realisation of the controller. Finally, the performance of
commissioned controller is illustrated on several examples of
coordinated Q-V control in real steam power plant and compared
with manual control.
Abstract: This paper presents the determination of the proper
quality costs parameters which provide the optimum return. The
system dynamics simulation was applied. The simulation model was
constructed by the real data from a case of the electronic devices
manufacturer in Thailand. The Steepest Descent algorithm was
employed to optimise. The experimental results show that the
company should spend on prevention and appraisal activities for 850
and 10 Baht/day respectively. It provides minimum cumulative total
quality cost, which is 258,000 Baht in twelve months. The effect of
the step size in the stage of improving the variables to the optimum
was also investigated. It can be stated that the smaller step size
provided a better result with more experimental runs. However, the
different yield in this case is not significant in practice. Therefore, the
greater step size is recommended because the region of optima could
be reached more easily and rapidly.
Abstract: It is necessary to incorporate technological advances
achieved in the field of engineering into dentistry in order to enhance
the process of diagnosis, treatment planning and enable the doctors to
render better treatment to their patients. To achieve this ultimate goal
long distance collaborations are often necessary. This paper discusses
the various collaborative tools and their applications to solve a few
burning problems confronted by the dentists. Customization is often
the solution to most of the problems. But rapid designing,
development and cost effective manufacturing is a difficult task to
achieve. This problem can be solved using the technique of digital
manufacturing. Cases from 6 major branches of dentistry have been
discussed and possible solutions with the help of state of art
technology using rapid digital manufacturing have been proposed in
the present paper. The paper also entails the usage of existing tools in
collaborative and digital manufacturing area.