Abstract: Buildings are one of the valuable assets to provide
people with shelters for work, leisure and rest. After years of
attacks by weather, buildings will deteriorate which need proper
maintenance in order to fulfill the requirements and satisfaction of
the users. Poorly managed buildings not just give a negative image
to the city itself, but also pose potential risk hazards to the health
and safety of the general public. As a result, the management of
maintenance projects has played an important role in cities like
Hong Kong where the problem of urban decay has drawn much
attention. However, most research has focused on managing new
construction, and little research effort has been put on maintenance
projects. Given the short duration and more diversified nature of
work, repair and maintenance works are found to be more difficult
to monitor and regulate when compared with new works. Project
participants may face with problems in running maintenance
projects which should be investigated so that proper strategies can
be established. This paper aims to provide a thorough analysis on
the problems of running maintenance projects. A review of
literature on the characteristics of building maintenance projects
was firstly conducted, which forms a solid basis for the empirical
study. Results on the problems and difficulties of running
maintenance projects from the viewpoints of industry practitioners
will also be delivered with a view to formulating effective
strategies for managing maintenance projects successfully.
Abstract: Each year many people are reported missing in most of the countries in the world owing to various reasons. Arrangements have to be made to find these people after some time. So the investigating agencies are compelled to make out these people by using manpower. But in many cases, the investigations carried out to find out an absconding for a long time may not be successful. At a time like that it may be difficult to identify these people by examining their old photographs, because their facial appearance might have changed mainly due to the natural aging process. On some occasions in forensic medicine if a dead body is found, investigations should be held to make sure that this corpse belongs to the same person disappeared some time ago. With the passage of time the face of the person might have changed and there should be a mechanism to reveal the person-s identity. In order to make this process easy, we must guess and decide as to how he will look like by now. To address this problem this paper presents a way of synthesizing a facial image with the aging effects.
Abstract: Whilst there is growing evidence that activity across
the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are also many
changes involved with the aging process and subsequently the
potential for reduced indices of health. The nexus between all forms
of health, physical activity and aging is complex and has raised much
interest in recent times due to the realization that a multifaceted
approached is necessary in order to counteract a growing obesity
epidemic. By investigating age based trends within a population
adherring to competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be
gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors influencing
this relationship. This study evaluated those sport psychological
constructs of health, physical fitness, mental health states, and social
dimension factors in sport that were associated with factors to
participate in sport and physical activity based on responses from the
2009 World Masters Games in Sydney. The sample consisted of
7846 athletes who competed at the games and who completed a 56
item sports participation survey using a 7-point Likert response (1 -
not important to 7 - very important). Questions focuses on factors
thought to promote participation, such as weight control, living
longer, improving mental health (self-esteem, mood states),
improving physical health and factors related to the athlete-s
competitive perspective. The most significant factors related to
participation with this cohort of masters athletes were the socializing
environment of sport, getting physically fit and improving
competitive personal best performances. Strategies to increase
participation in masters sport should focus on these factors as other
factors such as weight loss, improving mental health and living
longer were not identified as important determinates of sports
participation at the World Masters level.
Abstract: Most of the drugs used for pharmaceutical purposes
are poorly water-soluble drugs. About 40% of all newly discovered
drugs are lipophilic and the numbers of lipophilic drugs seem to
increase more and more. Drug delivery systems such as
nanoparticles, micelles or liposomes are applied to improve their
solubility and thus their bioavailability. Besides various techniques of
solubilization, oil-in-water emulsions are often used to incorporate
lipophilic drugs into the oil phase. To stabilize emulsions surface
active substances (surfactants) are generally used. An alternative
method to avoid the application of surfactants was of great interest.
One possibility is to develop O/W-emulsion without any addition of
surface active agents or the so called “surfactant-free emulsion or
SFE”. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize SFE as a
drug carrier by varying the production conditions. Lidocaine base
was used as a model drug. The injection method was developed.
Effects of ultrasound as well as of temperature on the properties of
the emulsion were studied. Particle sizes and release were
determined. The long-term stability up to 30 days was performed.
The results showed that the surfactant-free O/W emulsions with
pharmaceutical oil as drug carrier can be produced.
Abstract: Water 2H NMR signal on the surface of nano-silica material, MCM-41, consists of two overlapping resonances. The 2H water spectrum shows a superposition of a Lorentzian line shape and the familiar NMR powder pattern line shape, indicating the existence of two spin components. Chemical exchange occurs between these two groups. Decomposition of the two signals is a crucial starting point for study the exchange process. In this article we have determined these spin component populations along with other important parameters for the 2H water NMR signal over a temperature range between 223 K and 343 K.
Abstract: This paper proposes a Fuzzy Expert System design to
determine the wearing properties of nitrided and non nitrided steel.
The proposed Fuzzy Expert System approach helps the user and the
manufacturer to forecast the wearing properties of nitrided and non
nitrided steel under specified laboratory conditions. Surfaces of the
engineering components are often nitrided for improving wear,
corosion, fatigue specifications. A major property of nitriding
process is reducing distortion and wearing of the metalic alloys. A
Fuzzy Expert System was developed for determining the wearing and
durability properties of nitrided and non nitrided steels that were
tested under different loads and different sliding speeds in the
laboratory conditions.
Abstract: Aluminum/Copper clad sheet has been fabricated using
asymmetric extrusion method, which caused severe shear deformation
between Al and Cu plate to easily bond to each other. Interfacial
microstructure and mechanical properties of Al/Cu clad were studied
by scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive
X-ray detector, micro-hardness, and tension tests. The asymmetric
extrusion bonding was very effective to provide a good interface for
atoms diffusion during subsequent annealing. The strength of bonding
was higher with the increasing extrusion ratio.
Abstract: Aluminum salt that is generally presents as a solid
phase in the water purification sludge (WPS) can be dissolved,
recovering a liquid phase, by adding strong acid to the sludge solution.
According to the reaction kinetics, when reactant is in the form of
small particles with a large specific surface area, or when the reaction
temperature is high, the quantity of dissolved aluminum salt or
reaction rate, respectively are high. Therefore, in this investigation,
water purification sludge (WPS) solution was treated with ultrasonic
waves to break down the sludge, and different acids (1 N HCl and 1 N
H2SO4) were used to acidify it. Acid dosages that yielded the solution
pH of less than two were used. The results thus obtained indicate that
the quantity of dissolved aluminum in H2SO4-acidified solution
exceeded that in HCl-acidified solution. Additionally, ultrasonic
treatment increased the rate of dissolution of aluminum and the
amount dissolved. The quantity of aluminum dissolved at 60℃ was 1.5
to 2.0 times higher than that at 25℃.
Abstract: AAM (active appearance model) has been successfully
applied to face and facial feature localization. However, its performance is sensitive to initial parameter values. In this paper, we propose a two-stage AAM for robust face alignment, which first fits an
inner face-AAM model to the inner facial feature points of the face and then localizes the whole face and facial features by optimizing the
whole face-AAM model parameters. Experiments show that the proposed face alignment method using two-stage AAM is more reliable to the background and the head pose than the standard
AAM-based face alignment method.
Abstract: In this experimental study, performance of a counter
flow Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube (RHVT) with threads cut on its inner
surface was investigated experimentally (pitch is 1 and 2 mm). The
inner diameter of the vortex tube used was D=9 mm and the ratio of
the tube’s length to diameter was L/D=12. The experimental system
was a thermodynamic open system. Flow was controlled by a valve
on the hot outlet side, where the valve was changed from a nearly
closed position to its nearly open position. Fraction of cold flow (ξ) =
0.1-0.9, was determined under 300 and 350 kPa pressurized air. All
experimental data were compared with each other, the maximum
heating performance of the RHVT system was found to be 38.2 oC
and the maximum cooling performance of the RHVT in this study
was found to be -30.9 oC at pitch 1 mm.
Abstract: Polymer-like organic thin films were deposited on both
aluminum alloy type 6061 and glass substrates at room temperature by
Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) methodusing
benzene and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) as precursor materials.
The surface and physical properties of plasma-polymerized organic
thin films were investigated at different r.f. powers. The effects of
benzene/argon ratio on the properties of plasma polymerized benzene
films were also investigated. It is found that using benzene alone
results in a non-coherent and non-adherent powdery deposited
material. The chemical structure and surface properties of the asgrown
plasma polymerized thin films were analyzed on glass
substrates with FTIR and contact angle measurements. FTIR spectra
of benzene deposited film indicated that the benzene rings are
preserved when increasing benzene ratio and/or decreasing r.f.
powers. FTIR spectra of HMDSO deposited films indicated an
increase of the hydrogen concentration and a decrease of the oxygen
concentration with the increase of r.f. power. The contact angle (θ) of
the films prepared from benzene was found to increase by about 43%
as benzene ratio increases from 10% to 20%. θ was then found to
decrease to the original value (51°) when the benzene ratio increases
to 100%. The contact angle, θ, for both benzene and HMDSO
deposited films were found to increase with r.f. power. This signifies
that the plasma polymerized organic films have substantially low
surface energy as the r.f power increases. The corrosion resistance of
aluminum alloy substrate both bare and covered with plasma
polymerized thin films was carried out by potentiodynamic
polarization measurements in standard 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution at
room temperature. The results indicate that the benzene and HMDSO
deposited films are suitable for protection of the aluminum substrate
against corrosion. The changes in the processing parameters seem to
have a strong influence on the film protective ability. Surface
roughness of films deposited on aluminum alloy substrate was
investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM
images indicate that the surface roughness of benzene deposited films
increase with decreasing the benzene ratio. SEM images of benzene
and HMDSO deposited films indicate that the surface roughness
decreases with increasing r.f. power. Studying the above parameters
indicate that the films produced are suitable for specific practical
applications.
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: Fossil fuels are the major source to meet the world
energy requirements but its rapidly diminishing rate and adverse
effects on our ecological system are of major concern. Renewable
energy utilization is the need of time to meet the future challenges.
Ocean energy is the one of these promising energy resources. Threefourths
of the earth-s surface is covered by the oceans. This enormous
energy resource is contained in the oceans- waters, the air above the
oceans, and the land beneath them. The renewable energy source of
ocean mainly is contained in waves, ocean current and offshore solar
energy. Very fewer efforts have been made to harness this reliable
and predictable resource. Harnessing of ocean energy needs detail
knowledge of underlying mathematical governing equation and their
analysis. With the advent of extra ordinary computational resources
it is now possible to predict the wave climatology in lab simulation.
Several techniques have been developed mostly stem from numerical
analysis of Navier Stokes equations. This paper presents a brief over
view of such mathematical model and tools to understand and
analyze the wave climatology. Models of 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations
have been developed to estimate the wave characteristics to assess the
power potential. A brief overview of available wave energy
technologies is also given. A novel concept of on-shore wave energy
extraction method is also presented at the end. The concept is based
upon total energy conservation, where energy of wave is transferred
to the flexible converter to increase its kinetic energy. Squeezing
action by the external pressure on the converter body results in
increase velocities at discharge section. High velocity head then can
be used for energy storage or for direct utility of power generation.
This converter utilizes the both potential and kinetic energy of the
waves and designed for on-shore or near-shore application. Increased
wave height at the shore due to shoaling effects increases the
potential energy of the waves which is converted to renewable
energy. This approach will result in economic wave energy
converter due to near shore installation and more dense waves due to
shoaling. Method will be more efficient because of tapping both
potential and kinetic energy of the waves.
Abstract: This paper deals with the design of a moving sliding
surface in a variable structure plant for a second order system. The
chattering phenomena is also dealt with during the switching process
for an unstable sliding surface condition. The simulation examples
considered in this paper shows the effectiveness of the sliding mode
control method used for the design of the moving sliding surfaces. A
simulink model of the continuous system was also developed in
MATLAB-SIMULINK for the design and hence demonstrated. The
phase portraits and the state plots shows the demonstration of
the powerful control technique which can be applied for second
order systems.
Abstract: Three dimensional nanostructure materials have attracted the attention of many researches because the possibility to apply them for near future devices in sensors, catalysis and energy related. Tin dioxide is the most used material for gas sensing because its three-dimensional nanostructures and properties are related to the large surface exposed to gas adsorption. We propose the use of branch SnO2 nanowhiskers in interaction with ethanol. All Sn atoms are symmetric. The total energy, potential energy and Kinetic energy calculated for interaction between SnO2 and ethanol in different distances and temperatures. The calculations achieved by methods of Langevin Dynamic and Mont Carlo simulation. The total energy increased with addition ethanol molecules and temperature so interactions between them are endothermic.
Abstract: Modularized design approach can facilitate the
modeling of complex systems and support behavior analysis and
simulation in an iterative and thus complex engineering process, by
using encapsulated submodels of components and of their interfaces.
Therefore it can improve the design efficiency and simplify the
solving complicated problem. Multi-drivers off-road vehicle is
comparatively complicated. Driving-line is an important core part to a
vehicle; it has a significant contribution to the performance of a
vehicle. Multi-driver off-road vehicles have complex driving-line, so
its performance is heavily dependent on the driving-line. A typical
off-road vehicle-s driving-line system consists of torque converter,
transmission, transfer case and driving-axles, which transfer the
power, generated by the engine and distribute it effectively to the
driving wheels according to the road condition. According to its main
function, this paper puts forward a modularized approach for
designing and evaluation of vehicle-s driving-line. It can be used to
effectively estimate the performance of driving-line during concept
design stage. Through appropriate analysis and assessment method, an
optimal design can be reached. This method has been applied to the
practical vehicle design, it can improve the design efficiency and is
convenient to assess and validate the performance of a vehicle,
especially of multi-drivers off-road vehicle.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to analyze and compare the instability of a contact surface between Copper and Nickel an alloy cathode in vacuum, the different ratio of Copper and Copper were conducted at 1%, 2% and 4% by using the cathode spot model. The transient recovery voltage is predicted. The cathode spot region is recognized as the collisionless space charge sheath connected with singly ionized collisional plasma. It was found that the transient voltage is decreased with increasing the percentage of an amount of Nickel in cathode materials.
Abstract: Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) technique
obtained a significant attention in machining processes to reduce
environmental loads caused by usage of conventional cutting fluids.
Recently nanofluids are finding an extensive application in the field
of mechanical engineering because of their superior lubrication and
heat dissipation characteristics. This paper investigates the use of a
nanofluid under MQL mode to improve grinding characteristics of
Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Taguchi-s experimental design technique has been
used in the present investigation and a second order model has been
established to predict grinding forces and surface roughness.
Different concentrations of water based Al2O3 nanofluids were
applied in the grinding operation through MQL setup developed in
house and the results have been compared with those of conventional
coolant and pure water. Experimental results showed that grinding
forces reduced significantly when nano cutting fluid was used even at
low concentration of the nano particles and surface finish has been
found to improve with higher concentration of the nano particles.
Abstract: The software industry has been considered a critical
infrastructure for any nation. Several studies have indicated that
national competitiveness increasingly depends upon Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), and software is one of the major
components of ICT, important for both large and small enterprises.
Even though there has been strong growth in the software industry in
Thailand, the industry has faced many challenges and problems that
need to be resolved. For example, the amount of pirated software has
been rising, and Thailand still has a large gap in the digital divide.
Additionally, the adoption among SMEs has been slow. This paper
investigates various issues in the software industry in Thailand, using
information acquired through analysis of secondary sources,
observation, and focus groups. The results of this study can be used
as “lessons learned" for the development of the software industry in
any developing country.
Abstract: Active vibration control is an important problem in
structures. The objective of active vibration control is to reduce the vibrations of a system by automatic modification of the system-s
structural response. In this paper, the modeling and design of a fast
output sampling feedback controller for a smart flexible beam system embedded with shear sensors and actuators for SISO system using
Timoshenko beam theory is proposed. FEM theory, Timoshenko beam theory and the state space techniques are used to model the
aluminum cantilever beam. For the SISO case, the beam is divided into 5 finite elements and the control actuator is placed at finite
element position 1, whereas the sensor is varied from position 2 to 5, i.e., from the nearby fixed end to the free end. Controllers are
designed using FOS method and the performance of the designed FOS controller is evaluated for vibration control for 4 SISO models
of the same plant. The effect of placing the sensor at different locations on the beam is observed and the performance of the
controller is evaluated for vibration control. Some of the limitations of the Euler-Bernoulli theory such as the neglection of shear and
axial displacement are being considered here, thus giving rise to an accurate beam model. Embedded shear sensors and actuators have
been considered in this paper instead of the surface mounted sensors
and actuators for vibration suppression because of lot of advantages. In controlling the vibration modes, the first three dominant modes of
vibration of the system are considered.