Abstract: The effective machine-job assignment of injection
molding machines is very important for industry because it is not
only directly affects the quality of the product but also the
performance and lifetime of the machine as well. The phase of
machine selection was mostly done by professionals or experienced
planners, so the possibility of matching a job with an inappropriate
machine might occur when it was conducted by an inexperienced
person. It could lead to an uneconomical plan and defects. This
research aimed to develop a machine selection system for plastic
injection machines as a tool to help in decision making of the user.
This proposed system could be used both in normal times and in
times of emergency. Fuzzy logic principle is applied to deal with
uncertainty and mechanical factors in the selection of both quantity
and quality criteria. The six criteria were obtained from a plastic
manufacturer's case study to construct a system based on fuzzy logic
theory using MATLAB. The results showed that the system was able
to reduce the defects of Short Shot and Sink Mark to 24.0% and
8.0% and the total defects was reduced around 8.7% per month.
Abstract: In today-s era of plasma and laser cutting, machines using oxy-acetylene flame are also meritorious due to their simplicity and cost effectiveness. The objective to devise a Computer controlled Oxy-Fuel profile cutting machine arose from the increasing demand for metal cutting with respect to edge quality, circularity and lesser formation of redeposit material. The System has an 8 bit micro controller based embedded system, which assures stipulated time response. A new window based Application software was devised which takes a standard CAD file .DXF as input and converts it into numerical data required for the controller. It uses VB6 as a front end whereas MS-ACCESS and AutoCAD as back end. The system is designed around AT89C51RD2, powerful 8 bit, ISP micro controller from Atmel and is optimized to achieve cost effectiveness and also maintains the required accuracy and reliability for complex shapes. The backbone of the system is a cleverly designed mechanical assembly along with the embedded system resulting in an accuracy of about 10 microns while maintaining perfect linearity in the cut. This results in substantial increase in productivity. The observed results also indicate reduced inter laminar spacing of pearlite with an increase in the hardness of the edge region.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose a novel limited feedback scheme for task planning with service robots. Instead of sending the full service robot state information for the task planning, the proposed scheme send the best-M indices of service robots with a indicator. With the indicator, the proposed scheme significantly reduces the communication overhead for task planning as well as mitigates the system performance degradation in terms of the utility. In addition, we analyze the system performance of the proposed scheme and compare the proposed scheme with the other schemes.
Abstract: Migration in breast cancer cell wound healing assay
had been studied using image fractal dimension analysis. The
migration of MDA-MB-231 cells (highly motile) in a wound healing
assay was captured using time-lapse phase contrast video microscopy
and compared to MDA-MB-468 cell migration (moderately motile).
The Higuchi fractal method was used to compute the fractal
dimension of the image intensity fluctuation along a single pixel
width region parallel to the wound. The near-wound region fractal
dimension was found to decrease three times faster in the MDA-MB-
231 cells initially as compared to the less cancerous MDA-MB-468
cells. The inner region fractal dimension was found to be fairly
constant for both cell types in time and suggests a wound influence
range of about 15 cell layer. The box-counting fractal dimension
method was also used to study region of interest (ROI). The MDAMB-
468 ROI area fractal dimension was found to decrease
continuously up to 7 hours. The MDA-MB-231 ROI area fractal
dimension was found to increase and is consistent with the behavior
of a HGF-treated MDA-MB-231 wound healing assay posted in the
public domain. A fractal dimension based capacity index has been
formulated to quantify the invasiveness of the MDA-MB-231 cells in
the perpendicular-to-wound direction. Our results suggest that image
intensity fluctuation fractal dimension analysis can be used as a tool
to quantify cell migration in terms of cancer severity and treatment
responses.
Abstract: Multifunctional structures are a potentially disruptive
technology that allows for significant mass savings on spacecraft.
The specific concept addressed herein is that of a multifunctional
power structure. In this paper, a parametric optimisation of the
design of such a structure that uses commercially available battery
cells is presented. Using numerical modelling, it was found that there
exists several trade-offs aboutthe conflict between the capacity of the
panel and its mechanical properties. It was found that there is no
universal optimal location for the cells. Placing them close to the
mechanical interfaces increases loading in the mechanically weak
cells whereas placing them at the centre of the panel increases the
stress inthe panel and reduces the stiffness of the structure.
Abstract: This paper reports optimization of characteristics of bioballistic transformation of spring soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cultivar Raduga) and getting of transgenic plants, carrying pea lectin gene. This gene will let to create new associative wheat symbiosis with nodule bacteria of field pea, which has growth encouraging, fungistatic and other useful characteristics.
Abstract: The hydrolysis kinetics of polycrystalline lithium hydride (LiH) in argon at various low humidities was measured by gravimetry and Raman spectroscopy with ambient water concentration ranging from 200 to 1200 ppm. The results showed that LiH hydrolysis curve revealed a paralinear shape, which was attributed to two different reaction stages that forming different products as explained by the 'Layer Diffusion Control' model. Based on the model, a novel two-stage rate equation for LiH hydrolysis reactions was developed and used to fit the experimental data for determination of Li2O steady thickness Hs and the ultimate hydrolysis rate vs. The fitted data presented a rise of Hs as ambient water concentration cw increased. However, in spite of the negative effect imposed by Hs increasing, the upward trend of vs remained, which implied that water concentration, rather than Li2O thickness, played a predominant role in LiH hydrolysis kinetics. In addition, the proportional relationship between vsHs and cw predicted by rate equation and confirmed by gravimetric data validated the model in such conditions.
Abstract: As days go by, we hear more and more about HIV,
Ebola, Bird Flu and other dreadful viruses which were unknown a
few decades ago. In both detecting and fighting viral diseases
ordinary methods have come across some basic and important
difficulties. Vaccination is by a sense introduction of the virus to the
immune system before the occurrence of the real case infection. It is
very successful against some viruses (e.g. Poliomyelitis), while
totally ineffective against some others (e.g. HIV or Hepatitis-C). On
the other hand, Anti-virus drugs are mostly some tools to control and
not to cure a viral disease. This could be a good motivation to try
alternative treatments. In this study, some key features of possible
physical-based alternative treatments for viral diseases are presented.
Electrification of body parts or fluids (especially blood) with micro
electric signals with adjusted current or frequency is also studied. The
main approach of this study is to find a suitable energy field, with
appropriate parameters that are able to kill or deactivate viruses. This
would be a lengthy, multi-disciplinary research which needs the
contribution of virology, physics, and signal processing experts. It
should be mentioned that all the claims made by alternative cures
researchers must be tested carefully and are not advisable at the time
being.
Abstract: Most CT reconstruction system x-ray computed
tomography (CT) is a well established visualization technique in
medicine and nondestructive testing. However, since CT scanning
requires sampling of radiographic projections from different viewing
angles, common CT systems with mechanically moving parts are too
slow for dynamic imaging, for instance of multiphase flows or live
animals. A large number of X-ray projections are needed to
reconstruct CT images, so the collection and calculation of the
projection data consume too much time and harmful for patient. For
the purpose of solving the problem, in this study, we proposed a
method for tomographic reconstruction of a sample from a limited
number of x-ray projections by using linear interpolation method. In
simulation, we presented reconstruction from an experimental x-ray
CT scan of a Aluminum phantom that follows to two steps: X-ray
projections will be interpolated using linear interpolation method and
using it for CT reconstruction based upon Ordered Subsets
Expectation Maximization (OSEM) method.
Abstract: The research study evaluated the performance of
irrigation system by using special scientific tools like Remote
Sensing and GIS technology, so that proper measurements could be
taken for the sustainable agriculture and water management.
Different performance evaluation parameters had been calculated for
the purposed data was gathered from field investigation and different
government and private organizations. According to the calculations,
organic matter ranges from 0.19% (low value) to 0.76% (high value).
In flat irrigation system for wheat yield ranges from 3347.16 to
5260.39 kg/ha, while the total water applied to wheat crop ranges
from 252.94 to 279.19 mm and WUE ranges from 13.07 to 18.37
kg/ha/mm. For rice yield ranges from 3347.47 to 5433.07 kg/ha with
total water supplied to rice crop ranges from 764.71 to 978.15 mm
and WUE ranges from 3.49 to 5.71 kg/ha/mm. Similarly, in raised
bed system wheat yield ranges from 4569.13 to 6008.60 kg/ha, total
water supplied ranges from 158.87 to 185.09 mm and WUE ranges
from 27.20 to 33.54 kg/ha/mm while in rice crop, yield ranges from
5285.04 to 6716.69 kg/ha, total water supplied ranges from 600.72 to
755.06 mm and WUE ranges from 6.41 to 10.05 kg/ha/mm. Almost
51.3% water saving is observed in bed irrigation system as compared
to flat system. Less water supplied to beds is more affective as its
WUE value is higher than flat system where more water is supplied
in both the seasons. Similarly, RWS values show that maximum
water deficit while minimum area is getting adequate water supply.
Greater yield is recorded in bed system as plant per square meter is
more in bed system in comparison of flat system Thus, the integration
of GIS tools to regularly compute performance indices could provide
irrigation managers with the means for managing efficiently the
irrigation system.
Abstract: This paper presents a complete procedure for tool path
planning and blade machining in 5-axis manufacturing. The actual
cutting contact and cutter locations can be determined by lead and tilt
angles. The tool path generation is implemented by piecewise curved
approximation and chordal deviation detection. An application about
drive surface method promotes flexibility of tool control and stability
of machine motion. A real manufacturing process is proposed to
separate the operation into three regions with five stages and to modify
the local tool orientation with an interactive algorithm.
Abstract: A new conceptual architecture for low-level neural
pattern recognition is presented. The key ideas are that the brain
implements support vector machines and that support vectors are
represented as memory patterns in competitive queuing memories. A
binary classifier is built from two competitive queuing memories
holding positive and negative valence training examples respectively.
The support vector machine classification function is calculated in
synchronized evaluation cycles. The kernel is computed by bisymmetric
feed-forward networks feed by sensory input and by
competitive queuing memories traversing the complete sequence of
support vectors. Temporary summation generates the output
classification. It is speculated that perception apparatus in the brain
reuses structures that have evolved for enabling fluent execution of
prepared action sequences so that pattern recognition is built on
internalized motor programmes.
Abstract: Generally speaking, the mobile robot is capable of
sensing its surrounding environment, interpreting the sensed
information to obtain the knowledge of its location and the
environment, planning a real-time trajectory to reach the object. In
this process, the issue of obstacle avoidance is a fundamental topic to
be challenged. Thus, an adaptive path-planning control scheme is
designed without detailed environmental information, large memory
size and heavy computation burden in this study for the obstacle
avoidance of a mobile robot. In this scheme, the robot can gradually
approach its object according to the motion tracking mode, obstacle
avoidance mode, self-rotation mode, and robot state selection. The
effectiveness of the proposed adaptive path-planning control scheme
is verified by numerical simulations of a differential-driving mobile
robot under the possible occurrence of obstacle shapes.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to identify the practical strategies of R&D (research and development) entities for developing converging technology in organizational context. Based on the multi-assignation technological domains of patents derived from entire government-supported R&D projects for 13 years, we find that technology convergence is likely to occur when a university solely develops technology or when university develops technology as one of the collaborators. These results reflect the important role of universities in developing converging technology
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present teacher candidates- beliefs about technology integration in their field of study, which is classroom teaching in this case. The study was conducted among the first year students in college of education in Turkey. This study is based on both quantitative and qualitative data. For the quantitative data- Likert scale was used and for the qualitative data pattern matching was employed. The primary findings showed that students defined educational technology as technologies that improve learning with their visual, easily accessible, and productive features. They also believe these technologies could affect their future students- learning positively.
Abstract: Delivering course material via a virtual environment
is beneficial to today-s students because it offers the interactivity,
real-time interaction and social presence that students of all ages
have come to accept in our gaming rich community. It is essential
that the Net Generation also known as Generation Why, have
exposure to learning communities that encompass interactivity to
form social and educational connections. As student and professor
become interconnected through collaboration and interaction in a
virtual learning space, relationships develop and students begin to
take on an individual identity. With this in mind the research project
was developed to investigate the use of virtual environments on
student satisfaction and the effectiveness of course delivery.
Furthermore, the project was designed to integrate both interactive
(real-time) classes conducted in the Virtual Reality (VR)
environment while also creating archived VR sessions for student use
in retaining and reviewing course content.
Abstract: Since the European renewable energy directives set the
target for 22.1% of electricity generation to be supplied by 2010
[1], there has been increased interest in using green technologies
also within the urban enviroment. The most commonly considered
installations are solar thermal and solar photovoltaics. Nevertheless,
as observed by Bahaj et al. [2], small scale turbines can reduce the
built enviroment related CO2 emissions. Thus, in the last few years,
an increasing number of manufacturers have developed small wind
turbines specifically designed for the built enviroment. The present
work focuses on the integration into architectural systems of such
installations and presents a survey of successful case studies.
Abstract: The Prediction of aerodynamic characteristics and
shape optimization of airfoil under the ground effect have been carried
out by integration of computational fluid dynamics and the multiobjective
Pareto-based genetic algorithm. The main flow
characteristics around an airfoil of WIG craft are lift force, lift-to-drag
ratio and static height stability (H.S). However, they show a strong
trade-off phenomenon so that it is not easy to satisfy the design
requirements simultaneously. This difficulty can be resolved by the
optimal design. The above mentioned three characteristics are chosen
as the objective functions and NACA0015 airfoil is considered as a
baseline model in the present study. The profile of airfoil is
constructed by Bezier curves with fourteen control points and these
control points are adopted as the design variables. For multi-objective
optimization problems, the optimal solutions are not unique but a set
of non-dominated optima and they are called Pareto frontiers or Pareto
sets. As the results of optimization, forty numbers of non- dominated
Pareto optima can be obtained at thirty evolutions.
Abstract: The main goal of microarray experiments is to quantify the expression of every object on a slide as precisely as possible, with a further goal of clustering the objects. Recently, many studies have discussed clustering issues involving similar patterns of gene expression. This paper presents an application of fuzzy-type methods for clustering DNA microarray data that can be applied to typical comparisons. Clustering and analyses were performed on microarray and simulated data. The results show that fuzzy-possibility c-means clustering substantially improves the findings obtained by others.
Abstract: The article describes a case study on one of Czech
Republic-s manufacturing middle size enterprises (ME), where due to
the European financial crisis, production lines had to be redesigned
and optimized in order to minimize the total costs of the production
of goods. It is considered an optimization problem of minimizing the
total cost of the work load, according to the costs of the possible
locations of the workplaces, with an application of the Greedy
algorithm and a partial analogy to a Set Packing Problem. The
displacement of working tables in a company should be as a one-toone
monotone increasing function in order for the total costs of
production of the goods to be at minimum. We use a heuristic
approach with greedy algorithm for solving this linear optimization
problem, regardless the possible greediness which may appear and
we apply it in a Czech ME.