Abstract: The fast technology and economic growth in China has
attracted global attention in its tourism development. This study makes
an effort on investigating China-s online tourism market and the
Chinese online travelers- perceptions of hotel websites. The findings
are expected to better understand Chinese customers- online
preference and identified the differences among online travelers from
different regions in the country. Empirical findings showed online
reservation information is the most important factor to Chinese
customers, and tourists from different regions of China have
perception difference on user-friendly factor. The findings benefit
hoteliers from understanding their websites development and
formulating more appropriate online strategies to meet the
requirements of Chinese travelers.
Abstract: This paper examines the problem of designing robust H controllers for for HIV/AIDS infection system with dual drug dosages described by a Takagi-Sugeno (S) fuzzy model. Based on a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, we develop an H controller which guarantees the L2-gain of the mapping from the exogenous input noise to the regulated output to be less than some prescribed value for the system. A sufficient condition of the controller for this system is given in term of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The effectiveness of the proposed controller design methodology is finally demonstrated through simulation results. It has been shown that the anti-HIV vaccines are critically important in reducing the infected cells.
Abstract: A closed-loop controlled wireless power transmission circuit block for implantable biomedical applications is described in this paper. The circuit consists of one front-end rectifier, power management sub-block including bandgap reference and low drop-out regulators (LDOs) as well as transmission power detection / feedback circuits. Simulation result shows that the front-end rectifier achieves 80% power efficiency with 750-mV single-end peak-to-peak input voltage and 1.28-V output voltage under load current of 4 mA. The power management block can supply 1.8mA average load current under 1V consuming only 12μW power, which is equivalent to 99.3% power efficiency. The wireless power transmission block described in this paper achieves a maximum power efficiency of 80%. The wireless power transmission circuit block is designed and implemented using UMC 65-nm CMOS/RF process. It occupies 1 mm × 1.2 mm silicon area.
Abstract: This study was carried out to determine the feedback from the primary school headmasters on in-service training activities. 384 primary school headmasters were asked to give feedback on the in-service training facilities organized by the Ministry of Education through an open –ended question. The study group was formed by 359 primary school headmasters who attended “Management Skills" seminars which were organized in March, April and May in the extent of 2006 In-service Training Facilities Plan by the Ministry of Education and were also volunteers to give feedback on the inservice training activities. The qualitative research method was used in the analysis of the data since the primary school headmasters gave written feedback on the in-service training activities. Having analyzed the feedback, certain categories were formed by coding it. Certain frequencies and percentages were determined according to the codes. It was made obvious that the primary school headmasters benefitted from those facilities by sharing their experiences, problems and their possible solutions mutually
Abstract: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) is a
noninvasive imaging technique that measures the hemodynamic
response related to neural activity in the human brain. Event-related
functional magnetic resonance imaging (efMRI) is a form of
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in which a series of
fMRI images are time-locked to a stimulus presentation and averaged
together over many trials. Again an event related potential (ERP) is a
measured brain response that is directly the result of a thought or
perception. Here the neuronal response of human visual cortex in
normal healthy patients have been studied. The patients were asked
to perform a visual three choice reaction task; from the relative
response of each patient corresponding neuronal activity in visual
cortex was imaged. The average number of neurons in the adult
human primary visual cortex, in each hemisphere has been estimated
at around 140 million. Statistical analysis of this experiment was
done with SPM5(Statistical Parametric Mapping version 5) software.
The result shows a robust design of imaging the neuronal activity of
human visual cortex.
Abstract: This study examines the influence of information
transparency and corporate governance on purchase directors and
officers liability (D&O) insurance decisions. The results show that
companies with greater information transparency have significant
demand for D&O insurance. Greater transparency in voluntary
disclosures is significantly and positively associated with demand for
insurance, indicating that increasing the degree of information
disclosure reduces information asymmetry for insurers, which
stimulates their willingness to provide greater protection.
Analysis of insured and uninsured subsamples indicates that
uninsured companies have superior corporate governance compared to
insured companies. Although insured companies tend to have weaker
corporate governance structures, they appoint Big 4 firms or industry
experts to compensate for the weakness of their corporate governance.
Empirical results indicate that purchasing D&O insurance can
strengthen external corporate governance and increase companies’
willingness to voluntarily provide more transparent information.
Abstract: The main aim of this work is to develop a model of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) separation from natural gas by using membrane separation technology. The model is developed by incorporating three diffusion mechanisms which are Knudsen, viscous and surface diffusion towards membrane selectivity and permeability. The findings from the simulation result shows that the permeability of the gas is dependent toward the pore size of the membrane, operating pressure, operating temperature as well as feed composition. The permeability of methane has the highest value for Poly (1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne ) PTMSP membrane at pore size of 0.1nm and decreasing toward a minimum peak at pore range 1 to 1.5 nm as pore size increased before it increase again for pore size is greater than 1.5 nm. On the other hand, the permeability of hydrogen sulfide is found to increase almost proportionally with the increase of membrane pore size. Generally, the increase of pressure will increase the permeability of gas since more driving force is provided to the system while increasing of temperature would decrease the permeability due to the surface diffusion drop off effect. A corroboration of the simulation result also showed a good agreement with the experimental data.
Abstract: This paper presents the experimental results of
leakage current waveforms which appears on porcelain insulator
surface due to existence of artificial pollutants. The tests have been
done using the chemical compounds of NaCl, Na2SiO3, H2SO4, CaO,
Na2SO4, KCl, Al2SO4, MgSO4, FeCl3, and TiO2. The insulator
surface was coated with those compounds and dried. Then, it was
tested in the chamber where the high voltage was applied. Using
correspondence analysis, the result indicated that the fundamental
harmonic of leakage current was very close to the applied voltage
and third harmonic leakage current was close to the yielded leakage
current amplitude. The first harmonic power was correlated to first
harmonic amplitude of leakage current, and third harmonic power
was close to third harmonic one. The chemical compounds of H2SO4
and Na2SiO3 affected to the power factor of around 70%. Both are the
most conductive, due to the power factor drastically increase among
the chemical compounds.
Abstract: Client expectations and preferences about therapy
represent an important area of investigation as research shows they
are linked to engagement in therapy and therapy outcomes. Studies
examining young people-s expectations and preferences of therapy
remain a neglected area of research. The present study explored what
expectations and preferences young people seeking professional help
held regarding: their role as a client, their therapist-s role, their
therapeutic outcomes, and the processes of therapy. Gender and age
differences were also examined. Participants included 188 young
people aged 12-25 who completed a survey while attending their
initial session at a youth mental health service. Data were analysed
using quantitative methods. Results found the young people held
significantly more pessimistic expectations around therapy when
compared to what they had wanted therapy to be like. Few age and
gender differences were found. Results highlight the importance of a
collaborative therapy approach when working with young people.
Abstract: Let G be an arbitrary group with identity e and let
R be a G-graded ring. In this paper we define graded semiprime submodules of a graded R-moduleM and we give a number of results
concerning such submodules. Also, we extend some results of graded semiprime submoduls to graded weakly semiprime submodules.
Abstract: Experimental investigation has been carried out
towards understanding the complex fluid dynamics involved in the
interaction of vortical structures with zero pressure gradient boundary
layer. A laminar boundary layer is produced on the flat plate placed
in the water flume and the synthetic jet actuator is deployed on top of
the plate at a definite distance from the leading edge. The synthetic
jet actuator has been designed in such a way that the to and fro
motion of the diaphragm is maneuvered at will by varying the
operating parameters to produce the typical streamwise vortical
structures namely hairpin and tilted vortices. PIV measurements are
made on the streamwise plane normal to the plate to evaluate their
interaction with the near wall fluid.
Abstract: An improved processing description to be employed in biosonar signal processing in a cochlea model is proposed and examined. It is compared to conventional models using a modified discrimination analysis and both are tested. Their performances are evaluated with echo data captured from natural targets (trees).Results indicate that the phase characteristics of low-pass filters employed in the echo processing have a significant effect on class separability for this data.
Abstract: Our research aims at helping the tutor on line to
evaluate the student-s cognitive processes. The student is a learner in
French as a Second Language who studies an on-line socio-cognitive
scenario in written communication. In our method, these cognitive
processes are defined. For that, the language abilities and learning
tasks are associated to cognitive operation. Moreover, the found
cognitive processes are named with specific terms. The result was to
create an instrumental pattern to question the learner about the
cognitive processes used to build an item of written comprehension.
Our research follows the principles of the third historical generation
of studies on the cognitive activity of the text comprehension. The
strength of our instrumental pattern stands in the precision and the
logical articulation of the questions to the learner. However, the
learner-s answers can still be subjective but the precision of the
instrument restricts it.
Abstract: Application of projective geometry to the theory of two-ports and cascade circuits with a load change is considered. The equations linking the input and output of a two-port are interpreted as projective transformations which have the invariant as a cross-ratio of four points. This invariant has place for all regime parameters in all parts of a cascade circuit. This approach allows justifying the definition of a regime and its change, to calculate a circuit without explicitly finding the aparameters, to transmit accurately an analogue signal through the unstable two-port.
Abstract: In order to improve the simulation effects of space cold
black environment, this paper described a rectangular channel plate
heat sink. By using fluid mechanics theory and finite element method,
the internal fluid flow and heat transfer in heat sink was numerically
simulated to analyze the impact of channel structural on fluid flow and
heat transfer. The result showed that heat sink temperature uniformity
is well, and the impact of channel structural on the heat sink
temperature uniformity is not significant. The channel depth and
spacing are important factors which affect the fluid flow and heat
transfer in the heat sink. The two factors of heat transfer and resistance
need to be considered comprehensively to determine the optimal flow
structure parameters.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce an efficient solution
method for the Eigen-decomposition of bisymmetric and per
symmetric matrices of symmetric structures. Here we decompose
adjacency and Laplacian matrices of symmetric structures to submatrices
with low dimension for fast and easy calculation of
eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Examples are included to show the
efficiency of the method.
Abstract: Mammography is the most effective procedure for an
early diagnosis of the breast cancer. Nowadays, people are trying to
find a way or method to support as much as possible to the
radiologists in diagnosis process. The most popular way is now being
developed is using Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system to
process the digital mammograms and prompt the suspicious region to
radiologist. In this paper, an automated CAD system for detection
and classification of massive lesions in mammographic images is
presented. The system consists of three processing steps: Regions-Of-
Interest detection, feature extraction and classification. Our CAD
system was evaluated on Mini-MIAS database consisting 322
digitalized mammograms. The CAD system-s performance is
evaluated using Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) and Freeresponse
ROC (FROC) curves. The archived results are 3.47 false
positives per image (FPpI) and sensitivity of 85%.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is the analysis of the
impact of ICT-related training in the adoption of a learning
management systems (LMS) for teaching practicesby faculties in a
higher education institution. Based on comparative analyses the
impact will be obtained by the number of LMS courses created and
managed by participants in ICT for teaching workshops and those
who have not attended to any workshops. Involving near 1320 LMS
courses and 265 faculties, the results evidence that(i) faculties who
have not attend any workshop present a larger distribution of empty
courses and (ii) faculties who have attended three or more workshops
managed a higher distribution of courses with a considerable level of
use intensity, when compared to the others groups. These findings
supportthe idea that faculty training is a crucial factor in the process
of LMS integration in higher education institutions and that faculties
who have been enrolled in three or more workshops develop a higher
level of technical and pedagogical proficiency in LMS.
Abstract: Lake Nasser is one of the largest reservoirs in the
world. Over 120 million metric tons of sediments are deposited in its
dead storage zone every year. The main objective of the present work
was to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of Lake
Nasser sediments. The sample had a relatively low surface area of 2.9
m2/g which increased more than 3-fold upon chemical activation. The
main chemical elements of the raw sediments were C, O and Si with
some traces of Al, Fe and Ca. The organic functional groups for the
tested sample included O-H, C=C, C-H and C-O, with indications of
Si-O and other metal-C and/or metal-O bonds normally associated
with clayey materials. Potentiometric titration of the sample in
different ionic strength backgrounds revealed an alkaline material with
very strong positive surface charge at pH values just a little less than
the pH of zero charge which is ~9. Surface interactions of the
sediments with the background electrolyte were significant. An
advanced surface complexation model was able to capture these
effects, employing a single-site approach to represent protolysis
reactions in aqueous solution, and to determine the significant surface
species in the pH range of environmental interest.
Abstract: For relatively small particles of aluminum (5%) is observed to
corrode before passivation occurs at moderate temperatures (>50oC)
in de-ionized water within one hour. Physical contact with alumina
powder results in a significant increase in both the rate of corrosion
and the extent of corrosion before passivation. Whereas the resulting
release of hydrogen gas could be of commercial interest for portable
hydrogen supply systems, the fundamental aspects of Al corrosion
acceleration in presence of dispersed alumina particles are equally
important. This paper investigates the effects of various amounts of
alumina on the corrosion rate of aluminum powders in water and the
effect of multiple additions of aluminum into a single reactor.