Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which sense
environmental data with battery-powered nodes, require multi-hop
communication. This power-demanding task adds an extra workload
that is unfairly distributed across the network. As a result, nodes run
out of battery at different times: this requires an impractical
individual node maintenance scheme. Therefore we investigate a new
Cooperative Sensing approach that extends the WSN operational life
and allows a more practical network maintenance scheme (where all
nodes deplete their batteries almost at the same time). We propose a
novel cooperative algorithm that derives a piecewise representation
of the sensed signal while controlling approximation accuracy.
Simulations show that our algorithm increases WSN operational life
and spreads communication workload evenly. Results convey a
counterintuitive conclusion: distributing workload fairly amongst
nodes may not decrease the network power consumption and yet
extend the WSN operational life. This is achieved as our cooperative
approach decreases the workload of the most burdened cluster in the
network.
Abstract: In this paper genetic based test data compression is
targeted for improving the compression ratio and for reducing the
computation time. The genetic algorithm is based on extended pattern
run-length coding. The test set contains a large number of X value
that can be effectively exploited to improve the test data
compression. In this coding method, a reference pattern is set and its
compatibility is checked. For this process, a genetic algorithm is
proposed to reduce the computation time of encoding algorithm. This
coding technique encodes the 2n compatible pattern or the inversely
compatible pattern into a single test data segment or multiple test data
segment. The experimental result shows that the compression ratio
and computation time is reduced.
Abstract: This research tested the performance of alternative
warehouse designs concerning the picking process. The chosen
performance measures were Travel Distance and Total Fulfilment
Time. An explanatory case study was built up around a model
implemented with SIMUL8. Hypotheses were set by selecting
outcomes from the literature survey matching popular empirical
findings. 17.4% reductions were found for Total Fulfilment Time and
Resource Utilisation. The latter was then used as a proxy for
operational efficiency. Literal replication of theoretical data-patterns
was considered as an internal validity sign. Assessing the estimated
changes benefits ahead of implementation was found to be a
contribution to practice.
Abstract: Recent investigations have demonstrated the global
sea level rise due to climate change impacts. In this study, climate
changes study the effects of increasing water level in the strait of
Hormuz. The probable changes of sea level rise should be
investigated to employ the adaption strategies. The climatic output
data of a GCM (General Circulation Model) named CGCM3 under
climate change scenario of A1b and A2 were used. Among different
variables simulated by this model, those of maximum correlation
with sea level changes in the study region and least redundancy
among themselves were selected for sea level rise prediction by using
stepwise regression. One of models (Discrete Wavelet artificial
Neural Network) was developed to explore the relationship between
climatic variables and sea level changes. In these models, wavelet
was used to disaggregate the time series of input and output data into
different components and then ANN was used to relate the
disaggregated components of predictors and input parameters to each
other. The results showed in the Shahid Rajae Station for scenario
A1B sea level rise is among 64 to 75 cm and for the A2 Scenario sea
level rise is among 90 t0 105 cm. Furthermore, the result showed a
significant increase of sea level at the study region under climate
change impacts, which should be incorporated in coastal areas
management.
Abstract: The paper is focused on the operational model for
transport the single wagon consignments on railway network by
using two different models of train formation. The paper gives an
overview of possibilities of improving the quality of transport
services. Paper deals with two models used in problematic of train
formatting - time continuously and time discrete. By applying these
models in practice, the transport company can guarantee a higher
quality of service and expect increasing of transport performance.
The models are also applicable into others transport networks. The
models supplement a theoretical problem of train formation by new
ways of looking to affecting the organization of wagon flows.
Abstract: In this glasshouse study, we developed a new imagebased
non-destructive technique for detecting leaf P status of
different crops such as cotton, tomato and lettuce. The plants were
grown on a nutrient solution containing different P concentrations,
e.g. 0%, 50% and 100% of recommended P concentration (P0 = no P,
L; P1 = 2.5 mL 10 L-1 of P and P2 = 5 mL 10 L-1 of P). After 7 weeks
of treatment, the plants were harvested and data on leaf P contents
were collected using the standard destructive laboratory method and
at the same time leaf images were collected by a handheld crop image
sensor. We calculated leaf area, leaf perimeter and RGB (red, green
and blue) values of these images. These data were further used in
linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to estimate leaf P contents, which
successfully classified these plants on the basis of leaf P contents.
The data indicated that P deficiency in crop plants can be predicted
using leaf image and morphological data. Our proposed nondestructive
imaging method is precise in estimating P requirements of
different crop species.
Abstract: The aim of the study is to improve the understanding
of latent and sensible thermal energy storage within a paraffin wax
media by an array of cylindrical tubes arranged both in in-line and
staggered layouts. An analytical and experimental study is carried out
in a horizontal shell-and-tube type system during melting process.
Pertamina paraffin-wax was used as a phase change material (PCM),
while the tubes are embedded in the PCM. From analytical study we
can obtain the useful information in designing a thermal energy
storage such as: the motion of interface, amount of material melted at
any time in the process, and the heat storage characteristic during
melting. The use of staggered tubes is proposed compared to in-line
layout in a heat exchanger as thermal storage. The experimental study
is used to verify the validity of the analytical predictions. From the
comparisons, the analytical and experimental data are in a good
agreement.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the orbit avoidance strategy of
the optical remote sensing satellite. The optical remote sensing
satellite, moving along the Sun-synchronous orbit, is equipped with
laser warning equipment to alert CCD camera from laser attacks. This
paper explores the strategy of satellite avoidance to protect the CCD
camera and also the satellite. The satellite could evasive to several
target points in the orbital coordinates of virtual satellite. The so-called
virtual satellite is a passive vehicle which superposes the satellite at the
initial stage of avoidance. The target points share the consistent cycle
time and the same semi-major axis with the virtual satellite, which
ensures the properties of the satellite’s Sun-synchronous orbit remain
unchanged. Moreover, to further strengthen the avoidance capability
of satellite, it can perform multi-target-points avoid maneuvers. On
occasions of fulfilling the satellite orbit tasks, the orbit can be restored
back to virtual satellite through orbit maneuvers. There into, the avoid
maneuvers adopts pulse guidance. In addition, the fuel consumption is
optimized. The avoidance strategy discussed in this article is
applicable to optical remote sensing satellite when it is encountered
with hostile attack of space-based laser anti-satellite.
Abstract: In this paper, a novel Linear Feedback Shift Register
(LFSR) with Look Ahead Clock Gating (LACG) technique is
presented to reduce the power consumption in modern processors
and System-on-Chip. Clock gating is a predominant technique used
to reduce unwanted switching of clock signals. Several clock gating
techniques to reduce the dynamic power have been developed, of
which LACG is predominant. LACG computes the clock enabling
signals of each flip-flop (FF) one cycle ahead of time, based on the
present cycle data of the flip-flops on which it depends. It overcomes
the timing problems in the existing clock gating methods like datadriven
clock gating and Auto-Gated flip-flops (AGFF) by allotting a
full clock cycle for the determination of the clock enabling signals.
Further to reduce the power consumption in LACG technique, FFs
can be grouped so that they share a common clock enabling signal.
Simulation results show that the novel grouped LFSR with LACG
achieves 15.03% power savings than conventional LFSR with LACG
and 44.87% than data-driven clock gating.
Abstract: In this paper, a novel fuzzy approach is developed
while solving the Dynamic Routing and Wavelength Assignment
(DRWA) problem in optical networks with Wavelength Division
Multiplexing (WDM). In this work, the effect of nonlinear and linear
impairments such as Four Wave Mixing (FWM) and amplifier
spontaneous emission (ASE) noise are incorporated respectively. The
novel algorithm incorporates fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to reduce
the effect of FWM noise and ASE noise on a requested lightpath
referred in this work as FWM aware fuzzy dynamic routing and
wavelength assignment algorithm. The FWM crosstalk products and
the static FWM noise power per link are pre computed in order to
reduce the set up time of a requested lightpath, and stored in an
offline database. These are retrieved during the setting up of a
lightpath and evaluated online taking the dynamic parameters like
cost of the links into consideration.
Abstract: Background: To improve the delivery of paediatric
healthcare in low resource settings, Community Health Workers
(CHW) have been provided with a paper-based set of protocols
known as Community Case Management (CCM). Yet research has
shown that CHW adherence to CCM guidelines is poor, ultimately
impacting health service delivery. Digitising the CCM guidelines via
mobile technology is argued in extant literature to improve CHW
adherence. However, little research exist which outlines how (a) this
process can be digitised and (b) adherence could be improved as a
result. Aim: To explore how an electronic mobile version of CCM
(eCCM) can overcome issues associated with the paper-based CCM
protocol (inadequate adherence to guidelines) vis-à-vis service
blueprinting. This service blueprint will outline how (a) the CCM
process can be digitised using mobile Clinical Decision Support
Systems software to support clinical decision-making and (b)
adherence can be improved as a result. Method: Development of a
single service blueprint for a standalone application which visually
depicts the service processes (eCCM) when supporting the CHWs,
using an application known as Supporting LIFE (SL eCCM app) as
an exemplar. Results: A service blueprint is developed which
illustrates how the SL eCCM app can be utilised by CHWs to assist
with the delivery of healthcare services to children. Leveraging
smartphone technologies can (a) provide CHWs with just-in-time
data to assist with their decision making at the point-of-care and (b)
improve CHW adherence to CCM guidelines. Conclusions: The
development of the eCCM opens up opportunities for the CHWs to
leverage the inherent benefit of mobile devices to assist them with
health service delivery in rural settings. To ensure that benefits are
achieved, it is imperative to comprehend the functionality and form
of the eCCM service process. By creating such a service blueprint for
an eCCM approach, CHWs are provided with a clear picture
regarding the role of the eCCM solution, often resulting in buy-in
from the end-users.
Abstract: Cancer is still one of the serious diseases threatening
the lives of human beings. How to have an early diagnosis and
effective treatment for tumors is a very important issue. The animal
carcinoma model can provide a simulation tool for the studies of
pathogenesis, biological characteristics, and therapeutic effects.
Recently, drug delivery systems have been rapidly developed to
effectively improve the therapeutic effects. Liposome plays an
increasingly important role in clinical diagnosis and therapy for
delivering a pharmaceutic or contrast agent to the targeted sites.
Liposome can be absorbed and excreted by the human body, and is
well known that no harm to the human body. This study aimed to
compare the therapeutic effects between encapsulated (doxorubicin
liposomal, Lipodox) and un-encapsulated (doxorubicin, Dox)
anti-tumor drugs using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Twenty-four New Zealand rabbits implanted with VX2 carcinoma at
left thighs were classified into three groups: control group (untreated),
Dox-treated group, and LipoDox-treated group, 8 rabbits for each
group. MRI scans were performed three days after tumor implantation.
A 1.5T GE Signa HDxt whole body MRI scanner with a high
resolution knee coil was used in this study. After a 3-plane localizer
scan was performed, three-dimensional (3D) fast spin echo (FSE)
T2-weighted Images (T2WI) was used for tumor volumetric
quantification. Afterwards, two-dimensional (2D) spoiled gradient
recalled echo (SPGR) dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI was
used for tumor perfusion evaluation. DCE-MRI was designed to
acquire four baseline images, followed by contrast agent Gd-DOTA
injection through the ear vein of rabbit. A series of 32 images were
acquired to observe the signals change over time in the tumor and
muscle. The MRI scanning was scheduled on a weekly basis for a
period of four weeks to observe the tumor progression longitudinally.
The Dox and LipoDox treatments were prescribed 3 times in the first
week immediately after the first MRI scan; i.e. 3 days after VX2 tumor
implantation. ImageJ was used to quantitate tumor volume and time
course signal enhancement on DCE images. The changes of tumor size
showed that the growth of VX2 tumors was effectively inhibited for
both LipoDox-treated and Dox-treated groups. Furthermore, the tumor
volume of LipoDox-treated group was significantly lower than that of
Dox-treated group, which implies that LipoDox has better therapeutic effect than Dox. The signal intensity of LipoDox-treated group is
significantly lower than that of the other two groups, which implies
that targeted therapeutic drug remained in the tumor tissue. This study
provides a radiation-free and non-invasive MRI method for
therapeutic monitoring of targeted liposome on an animal tumor
model.
Abstract: Underwater acoustic networks have attracted great
attention in the last few years because of its numerous applications.
High data rate can be achieved by efficiently modeling the physical
layer in the network protocol stack. In Acoustic medium,
propagation speed of the acoustic waves is dependent on many
parameters such as temperature, salinity, density, and depth.
Acoustic propagation speed cannot be modeled using standard
empirical formulas such as Urick and Thorp descriptions. In this
paper, we have modeled the acoustic channel using real time data of
temperature, salinity, and speed of Bay of Bengal (Indian Coastal
Region). We have modeled the acoustic channel by using Mackenzie
speed equation and real time data obtained from National Institute of
Oceanography and Technology. It is found that acoustic propagation
speed varies between 1503 m/s to 1544 m/s as temperature and
depth differs. The simulation results show that temperature, salinity,
depth plays major role in acoustic propagation and data rate
increases with appropriate data sets substituted in the simulated
model.
Abstract: This paper presents the design and implementation
details of a complete unmanned aerial system (UAS) based
on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, focusing on
safety, security, search and rescue scenarios in GPS-denied
environments. In particular, The aerial platform is capable
of semi-autonomously navigating through extremely low-light,
GPS-denied indoor environments based on onboard sensors only,
including a downward-facing optical flow camera. Besides, an
additional low-cost payload camera system is developed to stream
both infra-red video and visible light video to a ground station in
real-time, for the purpose of detecting sign of life and hidden humans.
The total cost of the complete system is estimated to be $1150,
and the effectiveness of the system has been tested and validated
in practical scenarios.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the
mediating impact of export performance (EP) between technological
advancement capabilities and business performance (BP) of
Malaysian manufacturing micro, small and medium sized enterprises
(MSME’s). Firm’s technological advancement resources are
hypothesized as a platform to enhance both exports and BP of
manufacturing MSMEs in Malaysia. This study is twofold, primary it
has investigated that technological advancement capabilities helps to
appreciates main performance measures noted in terms of EP and
Secondly, it investigates that how efficiently and effectively
technological advancement capabilities can contribute in overall
Malaysian MSME’s BP. Smart PLS-3 statistical software is used to
know the association between technological advancement
capabilities, MSME’s EP and BP. In this study, the data was
composed from Malaysian manufacturing MSME’s in east coast
industrial zones known as the manufacturing hub of MSMEs. Seven
hundred and fifty (750) questionnaires were distributed, but only 148
usable questionnaires are returned. The finding of this study indicated
that technological advancement capabilities helps to strengthen the
export in term of time and cost efficient and it plays a significant role
in appreciating their BP. This study is helpful for small and medium
enterprise owners who intend to expand their business overseas and
though smart technological advancement resources they can achieve
their business competitiveness and excellence both at local and
international markets.
Abstract: Mixed-use development is one of the most important
trends in new island house transformation along southeast coastal area
in China. Unique island geographical environment and profound
fishing village culture coexist for a long time in this. With artistic
creation for the purpose of the "live-work" houses are in a large
number of emergence, however, still lack of systematic strategy.
Based on space effect from marine resources to regional human
settlements, this article teases out the evolution regularity of island
settlement context and architectural form, then, puts forward the
formation mechanism and construction model of art island houses.
Thereby, to further explore space design method and site creation
strategy of mixed-use development.
Abstract: Detecting changes in multiple images of the same
scene has recently seen increased interest due to the many
contemporary applications including smart security systems, smart
homes, remote sensing, surveillance, medical diagnosis, weather
forecasting, speed and distance measurement, post-disaster forensics
and much more. These applications differ in the scale, nature, and
speed of change. This paper presents an application of image
processing techniques to implement a real-time change detection
system. Change is identified by comparing the RGB representation of
two consecutive frames captured in real-time. The detection threshold
can be controlled to account for various luminance levels. The
comparison result is passed through a filter before decision making to
reduce false positives, especially at lower luminance conditions. The
system is implemented with a MATLAB Graphical User interface
with several controls to manage its operation and performance.
Abstract: An early diagnosis of bone metastasis is very
important for making a right decision on a subsequent therapy. One
of the most important steps to be taken initially, for developing a new
radiopharmaceutical is the measurement of organ radiation exposure
dose. In this study, the dosimetric studies of a novel agent for
SPECT-imaging of the bone metastasis, 111In-(4-
{[(bis(phosphonomethyl))carbamoyl]methyl}7,10bis(carboxymethyl)
-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododec-1-yl) acetic acid (111In-BPAMD)
complex, have been carried out to estimate the dose in human organs
based on the data derived from mice. The radiolabeled complex was
prepared with high radiochemical purity in the optimal conditions.
Biodistribution studies of the complex was investigated in the male
Syrian mice at the selected times after injection (2, 4, 24 and 48 h).
The human absorbed dose estimation of the complex was made based
on data derived from the mice by the radiation absorbed dose
assessment resource (RADAR) method. 111In-BPAMD complex was prepared with high radiochemical
purity >95% (ITLC) and specific activities of 2.85 TBq/mmol. Total
body effective absorbed dose for 111In-BPAMD was 0.205
mSv/MBq. This value is comparable to the other 111In clinically used
complexes. The results show that the dose with respect to the critical
organs is satisfactory within the acceptable range for diagnostic
nuclear medicine procedures. Generally, 111In-BPAMD has
interesting characteristics and it can be considered as a viable agent
for SPECT-imaging of the bone metastasis in the near future.
Abstract: In this article, we used the residual correction method
to deal with transient thermoelastic problems with a hollow spherical
region when the continuum medium possesses spherically isotropic
thermoelastic properties. Based on linear thermoelastic theory, the
equations of hyperbolic heat conduction and thermoelastic motion
were combined to establish the thermoelastic dynamic model with
consideration of the deformation acceleration effect and non-Fourier
effect under the condition of transient thermal shock. The approximate
solutions of temperature and displacement distributions are obtained
using the residual correction method based on the maximum principle
in combination with the finite difference method, making it easier and
faster to obtain upper and lower approximations of exact solutions.
The proposed method is found to be an effective numerical method
with satisfactory accuracy. Moreover, the result shows that the effect
of transient thermal shock induced by deformation acceleration is
enhanced by non-Fourier heat conduction with increased peak stress.
The influence on the stress increases with the thermal relaxation time.
Abstract: Countryside has been generally recognized and
regarded as a characteristic symbol which presents in human memory
for a long time. As a result of the change of times, because of it is
failure to meet the growing needs of the growing life and mental
decline, the vast rural area began to decline. But their history feature
image which accumulated by the ancient tradition provides people
with the origins of existence on the spiritual level, such as "identity"
and "belonging", makes people closer to the others in the spiritual and
psychological aspects of a common experience about the past, thus the
sense of a lack of culture caused by the losing of memory symbols is
weakened. So, in the modernization process, how to repair its vitality
and transform and planning it in a sustainable way has become a hot
topics in architectural and urban planning. This paper aims to break
the constraints of disciplines, from the perspective of interdiscipline,
using the research methods of systems science to analyze and discuss
the theories and methods of rural form factors, which based on the
viewpoint of memory in psychology. So we can find a right way to
transform the Rural to give full play to the role of the countryside in
the actual use and the shape of history spirits.