Abstract: This article presents a short discussion on
optimum neighborhood size selection in a spherical selforganizing
feature map (SOFM). A majority of the literature
on the SOFMs have addressed the issue of selecting optimal
learning parameters in the case of Cartesian topology SOFMs.
However, the use of a Spherical SOFM suggested that the
learning aspects of Cartesian topology SOFM are not directly
translated. This article presents an approach on how to
estimate the neighborhood size of a spherical SOFM based on
the data. It adopts the L-curve criterion, previously suggested
for choosing the regularization parameter on problems of
linear equations where their right-hand-side is contaminated
with noise. Simulation results are presented on two artificial
4D data sets of the coupled Hénon-Ikeda map.
Abstract: Decision making preferences to certain criteria
usually focus on positive degrees without considering the negative
degrees. However, in real life situation, evaluation becomes more
comprehensive if negative degrees are considered concurrently.
Preference is expected to be more effective when considering both
positive and negative degrees of preference to evaluate the best
selection. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose the
conflicting bifuzzy preference relations in group decision making by
utilization of a novel score function. The conflicting bifuzzy
preference relation is obtained by introducing some modifications on
intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations. Releasing the intuitionistic
condition by taking into account positive and negative degrees
simultaneously and utilizing the novel score function are the main
modifications to establish the proposed preference model. The
proposed model is tested with a numerical example and proved to be
simple and practical. The four-step decision model shows the
efficiency of obtaining preference in group decision making.
Abstract: Students often adopt routine practicing as learning
strategy for mathematics. The reason is they are often bound and
trained to solving conventional-typed questions in Mathematics in
high school. This will be problematic if students further consolidate
this practice in university. Therefore, the Department of Mathematics
emphasized and integrated the Discovery-enriched approach in the
undergraduate curriculum. This paper presents the details of
implementing the Discovery-enriched Curriculum by providing
adequate platform for project-learning, expertise for guidance and
internship opportunities for students majoring in Mathematics. The
Department also provided project-learning opportunities to
mathematics courses targeted for students majoring in other science or
engineering disciplines. The outcome is promising: the research
ability and problem solving skills of students are enhanced.
Abstract: Having a very many number of pipelines all over the
country, Iran is one of the countries consists of various ecosystems
with variable degrees of fragility and robusticity as well as
geographical conditions. This study presents a state-of-the-art method
to estimate environmental risks of pipelines by recommending
rational equations including FES, URAS, SRS, RRS, DRS, LURS
and IRS as well as FRS to calculate the risks. This study was carried
out by a relative semi-quantitative approach based on land uses and
HVAs (High-Value Areas). GIS as a tool was used to create proper
maps regarding the environmental risks, land uses and distances. The
main logic for using the formulas was the distance-based approaches
and ESI as well as intersections. Summarizing the results of the
study, a risk geographical map based on the ESIs and final risk score
(FRS) was created. The study results showed that the most sensitive
and so of high risk area would be an area comprising of mangrove
forests located in the pipeline neighborhood. Also, salty lands were
the most robust land use units in the case of pipeline failure
circumstances. Besides, using a state-of-the-art method, it showed
that mapping the risks of pipelines out with the applied method is of
more reliability and convenience as well as relative
comprehensiveness in comparison to present non-holistic methods for
assessing the environmental risks of pipelines. The focus of the
present study is “assessment" than that of “management". It is
suggested that new policies are to be implemented to reduce the
negative effects of the pipeline that has not yet been constructed
completely
Abstract: The paper presents an on-line recognition machine
(RM) for continuous/isolated, dynamic and static gestures that arise
in Flight Deck Officer (FDO) training. RM is based on generic pattern
recognition framework. Gestures are represented as templates using
summary statistics. The proposed recognition algorithm exploits temporal
and spatial characteristics of gestures via dynamic programming
and Markovian process. The algorithm predicts corresponding index
of incremental input data in the templates in an on-line mode.
Accumulated consistency in the sequence of prediction provides a
similarity measurement (Score) between input data and the templates.
The algorithm provides an intuitive mechanism for automatic detection
of start/end frames of continuous gestures. In the present paper,
we consider isolated gestures. The performance of RM is evaluated
using four datasets - artificial (W TTest), hand motion (Yang) and
FDO (tracker, vision-based ). RM achieves comparable results which
are in agreement with other on-line and off-line algorithms such as
hidden Markov model (HMM) and dynamic time warping (DTW).
The proposed algorithm has the additional advantage of providing
timely feedback for training purposes.
Abstract: The people are differed by their capabilities, skills and mental agilities. The evolution of human from childhood when they are completely dependent up to adultness the time they gradually set the dependency free is too complicated, by considering they have all started from almost one point but some become cleverer and some less. The main control command of a cybernetic hand should be posted by remaining healthy organs of disabled Person. These commands can be from several channels, which their recording and detecting are different and need complicated study. In this research, we suppose that, this stage has been done or in the other words, the command has been already sent and detected. So the main goal is to control a long hand, upper elbow hand missing, by an interest angle define by disabled. It means that, the system input is the position desired by disables and the output is the elbow-joint angle variation. Therefore the goal is a suitable control design based on neural network theory in order to meet the given mapping.
Abstract: The main aim of the presented experiments is to
improve behaviour of sandwich structures under dynamic loading,
such as crash or explosion. Several cellular materials are widely used
as core of the sandwich structures and their properties influence
the response of the entire element under impact load. To optimize
their performance requires the characterisation of the core material
behaviour at high strain rates and identification of the underlying
mechanism. This work presents the study of high strain-rate
characteristics of a specific porous lightweight blast energy absorbing
foam using a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) technique
adapted to perform tests on low strength materials. Two different
velocities, 15 and 30 m.s-1 were used to determine the strain
sensitivity of the material. Foams were designed using two types of
porous lightweight spherical raw materials with diameters of 30-
100 *m, combined with polymer matrix. Cylindrical specimens with
diameter of 15 mm and length of 7 mm were prepared and loaded
using a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar apparatus to assess the relation
between the composition of the material and its shock wave
attenuation capacity.
Abstract: The motorway segment between Tangier and Oued
R’mel has experienced, since the beginning of building works,
significant instability and landslides linked to a number of geological,
hydrogeological and geothermic factors affecting the different
formations.
The landslides observed are not fully understood, despite many
studies conducted on this segment. This study aims at producing new
methods to better explain the phenomena behind the landslides,
taking into account the geotechnical and geothermic contexts. This
analysis builds up on previous studies and geotechnical data collected
in the field.
The final body of data collected shall be processed through the
Plaxis software for a better and customizable view of the landslide
problems in the area, which will help tofind solutions and stabilize
land in the area.
Abstract: In this paper, we were introduces a skin detection
method using a histogram approximation based on the mean shift
algorithm. The proposed method applies the mean shift procedure to a
histogram of a skin map of the input image, generated by comparison
with standard skin colors in the CbCr color space, and divides the
background from the skin region by selecting the maximum value
according to brightness level. The proposed method detects the skin
region using the mean shift procedure to determine a maximum value
that becomes the dividing point, rather than using a manually selected
threshold value, as in existing techniques. Even when skin color is
contaminated by illumination, the procedure can accurately segment
the skin region and the background region. The proposed method may
be useful in detecting facial regions as a pretreatment for face
recognition in various types of illumination.
Abstract: Film, as an art form playing a vital role and is a powerful tool in documenting, influencing and shaping the society. Films are the collective creation of a large number of separate individuals, each contributing with creative input, unique talents, and technical expertise to the project. Recently, the Malaysian Independent (or “Indie") filmmakers have made their presence felt by winning awards at various international film festivals. Working in the digital video (DV) format, a number of independent filmmakers really hit their stride with a range of remarkably strong titles and international recognition has been quick in coming and their works are now regularly in exhibition or in competition, winning many top prizes at prestigious festivals around the world. The interaction factors among crewmembers are emphasized as imperative for group success. An in-depth interview is conducted to analyze the social interactions and exchanges between filmmakers through Social Exchanges Theory (SET). Certainly the new millennium that was marked as the digital technology revolution has changed the face of filmmaking in Malaysia. There is a clear need to study the Malaysian independent cinema especially from the perspective of understanding what causes the independent filmmakers to work so well given all of the difficulties and constraints.
Abstract: In recent years, rehabilitation has been the subject of extensive research due to increased spending on building work and repair of built works. In all cases, it is absolutely essential to carry out methods of strengthening or repair of structural elements, and that following an inspection analysis and methodology of a correct diagnosis. The reinforced concrete columns are important elements in building structures. They support the vertical loads and provide bracing against the horizontal loads. This research about the behavior of reinforced concrete rectangular columns, rehabilitated by concrete liner, confinement FRP fabric, steel liner or cage formed by metal corners. It allows comparing the contributions of different processes used perspective section resistance elements rehabilitated compared to that is not reinforced or repaired. The different results obtained revealed a considerable gain in bearing capacity failure of reinforced sections cladding concrete, metal bracket, steel plates and a slight improvement to the section reinforced with fabric FRP. The use of FRP does not affect the weight of the structures, but the use of different techniques cladding increases the weight of elements rehabilitated and therefore the weight of the building which requires resizing foundations.
Abstract: Solar Cells are destined to supply electric energy beginning from primary resources. It can charge a battery up to 12V dc. For residential use an inverter for 12V dc to 220Vac conversion is desired. For this a static DC-AC converter is necessarily inserted between the solar cells and the distribution network. This paper describes a new P.W.M. strategy for a voltage source inverter. This modulation strategy reduces the energy losses and harmonics in the P.W.M. voltage source inverter. This technique allows the P.W.M. voltage source inverter to become a new feasible solution for solar home application.
Abstract: Accurate assessment of the primary tumor response to
treatment is important in the management of breast cancer. This
paper introduces a new set of treatment evaluation indicators for
breast cancer cases based on the computational process of three
known metrics, the Euclidian, Hamming and Levenshtein distances.
The distance principals are applied to pairs of mammograms and/or
echograms, recorded before and after treatment, determining a
reference point in judging the evolution amount of the studied
carcinoma. The obtained numerical results are indeed very
transparent and indicate not only the evolution or the involution of
the tumor under treatment, but also a quantitative measurement of the
benefit in using the selected method of treatment.
Abstract: This article presents a method for elections between the members of a group that is founded by fuzzy logic. Linguistic variables are objects for decision on election cards and deduction is based on t-norms and s-norms. In this election-s method election cards are questionnaire. The questionnaires are comprised of some questions with some choices. The choices are words from natural language. Presented method is accompanied by center of gravity (COG) defuzzification added up to a computer program by MATLAB. Finally the method is illustrated by solving two examples; choose a head for a research group-s members and a representative for students.
Abstract: In this paper, we present the recently implemented approach allowing dynamics systems to plan its actions, taking into account the environment perception changes, and to control their execution when uncertainty and incomplete knowledge are the major characteristics of the situated environment [1],[2],[3],[4]. The control distributed architecture has three modules and the approach is related to hierarchical planning: the plan produced by the planner is further refined at the control layer that in turn supervises its execution by a functional level. We propose a new intelligent distributed architecture constituted by: Multi-Agent subsystem of the sensor, of the interpretation and representation of environment [9], of the dynamic localization and of the action. We tested this distributed architecture with dynamic system in the known environment. The autonomous for Rotor Mini Rotorcraft task is described by the primitive actions. The distributed controlbased on multi-agent system is in charge of achieving each task in the best possible way taking into account the context and sensory feedback.
Abstract: This paper presents the approximate analytical solution of a Zakharov-Kuznetsov ZK(m, n, k) equation with the help of the differential transform method (DTM). The DTM method is a powerful and efficient technique for finding solutions of nonlinear equations without the need of a linearization process. In this approach the solution is found in the form of a rapidly convergent series with easily computed components. The two special cases, ZK(2,2,2) and ZK(3,3,3), are chosen to illustrate the concrete scheme of the DTM method in ZK(m, n, k) equations. The results demonstrate reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.
Abstract: This paper contributes to the field of Environmental
Awareness Training (EAT) evaluation in terms of military activities.
Environmental management of military activities is a growing concern
for defence forces worldwide and the importance of EAT is becoming
widely recognized. As one of Australia-s largest landowners, the
Australian Defence Force (ADF) is extremely mindful of its duty as a
joint environmental manager. It has an integrated Environmental
Management System (EMS) to assist environmental management and
EAT is an essential part of the ADF EMS model. This paper examines
how EAT was conducted during the exercise Talisman Saber in 2009
(TS09) and evaluates its effectiveness, using Shoalwater Bay Training
Area (SWBTA), one of the most significant military training areas and
a significant protected area in Australia, as a case study. A
questionnaire survey conducted showed, overall, that EAT was
effective from the perspective of a sample of participants.
Recommendations are made for the ADF to refine EAT for future
exercises.
Abstract: In this paper, an extended study is performed on the
effect of different factors on the quality of vector data based on a
previous study. In the noise factor, one kind of noise that appears in
document images namely Gaussian noise is studied while the previous
study involved only salt-and-pepper noise. High and low levels of
noise are studied. For the noise cleaning methods, algorithms that were
not covered in the previous study are used namely Median filters and
its variants. For the vectorization factor, one of the best available
commercial raster to vector software namely VPstudio is used to
convert raster images into vector format. The performance of line
detection will be judged based on objective performance evaluation
method. The output of the performance evaluation is then analyzed
statistically to highlight the factors that affect vector quality.
Abstract: Based on an analysis of the mechanism of degradation of optical characteristics of the ZnO-pigmented white paint by electron irradiation, a model of single molecular color centers is built. An equation that explains the relationship between the changes of variation of the ZnO-pigmented white paint-s spectrum absorptance and electron fluence is derived. The uncertain parameters in the equation can be calculated using the curve fitting by experimental data. The result indicates that the model can be applied to predict the degradation of optical characteristics of ZnO-pigmented white paint by electron radiation.
Abstract: Mass-mail type worms have threatened to become a large problem for the Internet. Although many researchers have analyzed such worms, there are few studies that consider worm propagation via mailing lists. In this paper, we present a mass-mailing type worm propagation model including the mailing list effect on the propagation. We study its propagation by simulation with a real e¬mail social network model. We show that the impact of the mailing list on the mass-mail worm propagation is significant, even if the mailing list is not large.