Abstract: Probabilistic characteristics of seismic responses of the
Partially Restrained connection rotation (PRCR) and panel zone
deformation (PZD) installed in older steel moment frames were
investigated in accordance with statistical inference in
decision-making process. The 4, 6 and 8 story older steel moment
frames with clip angle and T-stub connections were designed and
analyzed using 2%/50yrs ground motions in four cities of the
Mid-America earthquake region. The probability density function and
cumulative distribution function of PRCR and PZD were determined
by the goodness-of-fit tests based on probabilistic parameters
measured from the results of the nonlinear time-history analyses. The
obtained probabilistic parameters and distributions can be used to find
out what performance level mainly PR connections and panel zones
satisfy and how many PR connections and panel zones experience a
serious damage under the Mid-America ground motions.
Abstract: The research objective aims to search information about storytelling and fable associated with fireflies in Amphawa community, in order to design and create a story book which is appropriate for the interests of children in early childhood. This book should help building the development of learning about the natural environment, imagination, and creativity among children, which then, brings about the promotion of the development, conservation and dissemination of cultural values and uniqueness of the Amphawa community. The population used in this study were 30 students in early childhood aged between 6-8 years-old, grade 1-3 from the Demonstration School of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The method used for this study was purposive sampling and the research conducted by the query and analysis of data from both the document and the narrative field tales and fable associated with the fireflies of Amphawa community. Then, using the results to synthesize and create a conceptual design in a form of 8 visual images which were later applied to 1 illustrated children’s book and presented to the experts to evaluate and test this media.
Abstract: In order to implement flexibility as well as survivable
capacities over passive optical network (PON), a new automatic
random fault-recovery mechanism with array-waveguide-grating
based (AWG-based) optical switch (OSW) is presented. Firstly,
wavelength-division-multiplexing and optical code-division
multiple-access (WDM/OCDMA) scheme are configured to meet the
various geographical locations requirement between optical network
unit (ONU) and optical line terminal (OLT). The AWG-base optical
switch is designed and viewed as central star-mesh topology to
prohibit/decrease the duplicated redundant elements such as fiber and
transceiver as well. Hence, by simple monitoring and routing switch
algorithm, random fault-recovery capacity is achieved over
bi-directional (up/downstream) WDM/OCDMA scheme. When error
of distribution fiber (DF) takes place or bit-error-rate (BER) is higher
than 10-9 requirement, the primary/slave AWG-based OSW are
adjusted and controlled dynamically to restore the affected ONU
groups via the other working DFs immediately.
Abstract: This paper gives a novel method for improving
classification performance for cancer classification with very few
microarray Gene expression data. The method employs classification
with individual gene ranking and gene subset ranking. For selection
and classification, the proposed method uses the same classifier. The
method is applied to three publicly available cancer gene expression
datasets from Lymphoma, Liver and Leukaemia datasets. Three
different classifiers namely Support vector machines-one against all
(SVM-OAA), K nearest neighbour (KNN) and Linear Discriminant
analysis (LDA) were tested and the results indicate the improvement
in performance of SVM-OAA classifier with satisfactory results on
all the three datasets when compared with the other two classifiers.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel approach to finding a
priori interesting regions in mammograms. In order to delineate those
regions of interest (ROI-s) in mammograms, which appear to be
prominent, a topographic representation called the iso-level contour
map consisting of iso-level contours at multiple intensity levels and
region segmentation based-thresholding have been proposed. The
simulation results indicate that the computed boundary gives the
detection rate of 99.5% accuracy.
Abstract: Forty-five dairy cows were used to compare the
enzyme activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate
dehydrogenase (LDH), α -amylase in the cervical mucus of cows
during spontaneous and induced estrus using progestagen or PGF2 α
and to determine whether these enzymes affect the fertility in cows
with induced estrus, at the time of Al. The animals were assigned to 3
groups (no treatment, a Crestar® for 12 days, a double im injection of
PGF2 α). The cows were artificially inseminated (AI). Cervical
mucus samples were collected from all cows 3 to 5 min before the
AI. The results are summarized as follows: ALP and α -amylase
activity for spontaneous estrus were similar to those for induced
estrus (P>0.05) . LDH activity levels during spontaneous and PGF2 α
induced estrus was significantly lower (P < 0.001) than that in
progestagene induced estrus groups. While no difference was found
between the first and the third groups. Our result showed a significant
difference in LDH activity levels between cows conceived with 2 or
more AI and those conceived with 1 AI. The result of this study
showed that the enzyme activity in cervical mucus is helpful for
detection of ovulation and time of AI.
Abstract: In the meantime, there were lots of hardware solutions like products or urban facilities for crime prevention in the public design area. Meanwhile, people have growing interest in public design so by making a village; community design in public design is getting active by the society. The system for crime prevention is actively done by the citizens who created the community. Regarding the social situation, in this project, we saw it as a kind of community design practices and researched about 'how does community design influence Crime prevention?' The purpose of this study is to propose the community design as a way of preventing the crime in the city. First, we found out about the definition, elements and methods of community design by reviewing the theory. And then, this study analyzed the case that was enforced in Seoul and organize the elements and methods of community design. This study can be refer to Public Design based on civil participation and make the community design area contribute to expand the way of solving social problems.
Abstract: Since the actuator capacity is limited, in the real
application of active control systems under sever earthquakes it is
conceivable that the actuators saturate, hence the actuator saturation
should be considered as a constraint in design of optimal controllers.
In this paper optimal design of active controllers for nonlinear
structures by considering actuator saturation, has been studied. The
proposed method for designing optimal controllers is based on
defining an optimization problem which the objective has been to
minimize the maximum displacement of structure when a limited
capacity for actuator has been used. To this end a single degree of
freedom (SDF) structure with a bilinear hysteretic behavior has been
simulated under a white noise ground acceleration of different
amplitudes. Active tendon control mechanism, comprised of prestressed
tendons and an actuator, and extended nonlinear Newmark
method based instantaneous optimal control algorithm have been
used. To achieve the best results, the weights corresponding to
displacement, velocity, acceleration and control force in the
performance index have been optimized by the Distributed Genetic
Algorithm (DGA). Results show the effectiveness of the proposed
method in considering actuator saturation. Also based on the
numerical simulations it can be concluded that the actuator capacity
and the average value of required control force are two important
factors in designing nonlinear controllers which consider the actuator
saturation.
Abstract: Access control is a critical security service in Wire- less
Sensor Networks (WSNs). To prevent malicious nodes from joining
the sensor network, access control is required. On one hand, WSN
must be able to authorize and grant users the right to access to the
network. On the other hand, WSN must organize data collected by
sensors in such a way that an unauthorized entity (the adversary)
cannot make arbitrary queries. This restricts the network access only
to eligible users and sensor nodes, while queries from outsiders will
not be answered or forwarded by nodes. In this paper we presentee
different access control schemes so as to ?nd out their objectives,
provision, communication complexity, limits, etc. Using the node
density parameter, we also provide a comparison of these proposed
access control algorithms based on the network topology which can
be flat or hierarchical.
Abstract: The scope of this research was to study the relation between the facial expressions of three lecturers in a real academic lecture theatre and the reactions of the students to those expressions. The first experiment aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a virtual lecturer-s expressions on the students- learning outcome in a virtual pedagogical environment. The second experiment studied the effectiveness of a single facial expression, i.e. the smile, on the students- performance. Both experiments involved virtual lectures, with virtual lecturers teaching real students. The results suggest that the students performed better by 86%, in the lectures where the lecturer performed facial expressions compared to the results of the lectures that did not use facial expressions. However, when simple or basic information was used, the facial expressions of the virtual lecturer had no substantial effect on the students- learning outcome. Finally, the appropriate use of smiles increased the interest of the students and consequently their performance.
Abstract: Segmentation techniques based on Active Contour
Models have been strongly benefited from the use of prior information
during their evolution. Shape prior information is captured from
a training set and is introduced in the optimization procedure to
restrict the evolution into allowable shapes. In this way, the evolution
converges onto regions even with weak boundaries. Although
significant effort has been devoted on different ways of capturing
and analyzing prior information, very little thought has been devoted
on the way of combining image information with prior information.
This paper focuses on a more natural way of incorporating the
prior information in the level set framework. For proof of concept
the method is applied on hippocampus segmentation in T1-MR
images. Hippocampus segmentation is a very challenging task, due
to the multivariate surrounding region and the missing boundary
with the neighboring amygdala, whose intensities are identical. The
proposed method, mimics the human segmentation way and thus
shows enhancements in the segmentation accuracy.
Abstract: In this paper bi-annual time series data on unemployment rates (from the Labour Force Survey) are expanded to quarterly rates and linked to quarterly unemployment rates (from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey). The resultant linked series and the consumer price index (CPI) series are examined using Johansen’s cointegration approach and vector error correction modeling. The study finds that both the series are integrated of order one and are cointegrated. A statistically significant co-integrating relationship is found to exist between the time series of unemployment rates and the CPI. Given this significant relationship, the study models this relationship using Vector Error Correction Models (VECM), one with a restriction on the deterministic term and the other with no restriction.
A formal statistical confirmation of the existence of a unique linear and lagged relationship between inflation and unemployment for the period between September 2000 and June 2011 is presented. For the given period, the CPI was found to be an unbiased predictor of the unemployment rate. This relationship can be explored further for the development of appropriate forecasting models incorporating other study variables.
Abstract: To strengthen the capital market, there is a need to
integrate the capital markets within the region by removing legal or informal restriction, specifically, stock market liberalization. Thus the paper is to investigate the effects of the subsequent stock market liberalization on stock market integration in 4 ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore) and Korea from 1997 to 2007. The correlation between stock market liberalization and stock
market integration are to be examined by analyzing the stock prices
and returns within the region and in comparison with the world
MSCI index. Event study method is to be used with windows of ±12
months and T-7 + T. The results show that the subsequent stock
market liberalization generally, gives minor positive effects to stock
returns, except for one or two countries. The subsequent
liberalization also integrates the markets short-run and long-run.
Abstract: Recently there has been a growing interest in the field
of bio-mimetic robots that resemble the behaviors of an insect or an
aquatic animal, among many others. One of various bio-mimetic robot
applications is to explore pipelines, spotting any troubled areas or
malfunctions and reporting its data. Moreover, the robot is able to
prepare for and react to any abnormal routes in the pipeline. Special
types of mobile robots are necessary for the pipeline monitoring tasks.
In order to move effectively along a pipeline, the robot-s movement
will resemble that of insects or crawling animals. When situated in
massive pipelines with complex routes, the robot places fixed sensors
in several important spots in order to complete its monitoring. This
monitoring task is to prevent a major system failure by preemptively
recognizing any minor or partial malfunctions. Areas uncovered by
fixed sensors are usually impossible to provide real-time observation
and examination, and thus are dependent on periodical offline
monitoring. This paper proposes a monitoring system that is able to
monitor the entire area of pipelines–with and without fixed
sensors–by using the bio-mimetic robot.
Abstract: Proper management of residues originated from
industrial activities is considered as one of the serious challenges
faced by industrial societies due to their potential hazards to the
environment. Common disposal methods for industrial solid wastes
(ISWs) encompass various combinations of solely management
options, i.e. recycling, incineration, composting, and sanitary
landfilling. Indeed, the procedure used to evaluate and nominate the
best practical methods should be based on environmental, technical,
economical, and social assessments. In this paper an environmentaltechnical
assessment model is developed using analytical network
process (ANP) to facilitate the decision making practice for ISWs
generated at Gilan province, Iran. Using the results of performed
surveys on industrial units located at Gilan, the various groups of
solid wastes in the research area were characterized, and four
different ISW management scenarios were studied. The evaluation
process was conducted using the above-mentioned model in the
Super Decisions software (version 2.0.8) environment. The results
indicates that the best ISW management scenario for Gilan province
is consist of recycling the metal industries residues, composting the
putrescible portion of ISWs, combustion of paper, wood, fabric and
polymeric wastes as well as energy extraction in the incineration
plant, and finally landfilling the rest of the waste stream in addition
with rejected materials from recycling and compost production plants
and ashes from the incineration unit.
Abstract: This paper presents a computational methodology
based on matrix operations for a computer based solution to the
problem of performance analysis of software reliability models
(SRMs). A set of seven comparison criteria have been formulated to
rank various non-homogenous Poisson process software reliability
models proposed during the past 30 years to estimate software
reliability measures such as the number of remaining faults, software
failure rate, and software reliability. Selection of optimal SRM for
use in a particular case has been an area of interest for researchers in
the field of software reliability. Tools and techniques for software
reliability model selection found in the literature cannot be used with
high level of confidence as they use a limited number of model
selection criteria. A real data set of middle size software project from
published papers has been used for demonstration of matrix method.
The result of this study will be a ranking of SRMs based on the
Permanent value of the criteria matrix formed for each model based
on the comparison criteria. The software reliability model with
highest value of the Permanent is ranked at number – 1 and so on.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to present a non invasive
method for the marginal adaptation evaluation in class V composite
restorations. Standardized class V cavities, prepared in human
extracted teeth, were filled with Premise (Kerr) composite. The
specimens were thermo cycled. The interfaces were examined by
Optical Coherence Tomography method (OCT) combined with the
confocal microscopy and fluorescence. The optical configuration
uses two single mode directional couplers with a superluminiscent
diode as the source at 1300 nm. The scanning procedure is similar to
that used in any confocal microscope, where the fast scanning is enface
(line rate) and the depth scanning is much slower (at the frame
rate). Gaps at the interfaces as well as inside the composite resin
materials were identified. OCT has numerous advantages which
justify its use in vivo as well as in vitro in comparison with
conventional techniques.
Abstract: Optimization of filter banks based on the knowledge of input statistics has been of interest for a long time. Finite impulse response (FIR) Compaction filters are used in the design of optimal signal adapted orthonormal FIR filter banks. In this paper we discuss three different approaches for the design of interpolated finite impulse response (IFIR) compaction filters. In the first method, the magnitude squared response satisfies Nyquist constraint approximately. In the second and third methods Nyquist constraint is exactly satisfied. These methods yield FIR compaction filters whose response is comparable with that of the existing methods. At the same time, IFIR filters enjoy significant saving in the number of multipliers and can be implemented efficiently. Since eigenfilter approach is used here, the method is less complex. Design of IFIR filters in the least square sense is presented.
Abstract: Due to growing environmental concerns of the cement
industry, alternative cement technologies have become an area of
increasing interest. It is now believed that new binders are
indispensable for enhanced environmental and durability
performance. Self-compacting Geopolymer concrete is an innovative
method and improved way of concreting operation that does not
require vibration for placing it and is produced by complete
elimination of ordinary Portland cement.
This paper documents the assessment of the compressive strength
and workability characteristics of low-calcium fly ash based selfcompacting
geopolymer concrete. The essential workability
properties of the freshly prepared Self-compacting Geopolymer
concrete such as filling ability, passing ability and segregation
resistance were evaluated by using Slump flow, V-funnel, L-box and
J-ring test methods. The fundamental requirements of high
flowability and segregation resistance as specified by guidelines on
Self Compacting Concrete by EFNARC were satisfied. In addition,
compressive strength was determined and the test results are included
here. This paper also reports the effect of extra water, curing time and
curing temperature on the compressive strength of self-compacting
geopolymer concrete. The test results show that extra water in the
concrete mix plays a significant role. Also, longer curing time and
curing the concrete specimens at higher temperatures will result in
higher compressive strength.
Abstract: This paper discusses the theory behind the existence of an idealistic model for business network governance and uses a clarifying case-study, containing governance structures and processes within a business network framework. The case study from a German pharmaceutical industry company complements existing literature by providing a comprehensive explanation of the relations between supply chains and business networks, and also between supply chain management and business network governance. Supply chains and supply chain management are only one side of the interorganizational relationships and ensure short-term performance, while real-world governance structures are needed for ensuring the long-term existence of a supply chain. Within this context, a comprehensive model for business governance is presented. An interesting finding from the case study is that multiple business network governance systems co-exist within the evaluated supply chain.