Abstract: In spite of the advent of new materials, clay bricks
remain, arguably, the most popular construction materials today.
Nevertheless the low cost and versatility of clay bricks cannot always
be associated with high environmental and sustainable values,
especially in terms of raw material sources and manufacturing
processes. At the same time, the worldwide agricultural footprint is
fast growing, with vast agricultural land cultivation and active
expansion of the agro-based industry. The resulting large quantities of
agricultural wastes, unfortunately, are not always well managed or
utilised. These wastes can be recycled, such as by retrieving fibres
from disposed leaves and fruit bunches, and then incorporated in
brick-making. This way the clay bricks are made a 'greener' building
material and the discarded natural wastes can be reutilised, avoiding
otherwise wasteful landfill and harmful open incineration. This study
examined the physical and mechanical properties of clay bricks made
by adding two natural fibres to a clay-water mixture, with baked and
non-baked conditions. The fibres were sourced from pineapple leaves
(PF) and oil palm fruit bunch (OF), and added within the range of
0.25-0.75 %. Cement was added as a binder to the mixture at 5-15 %.
Although the two fibres had different effects on the bricks produced,
cement appeared to dominate the compressive strength. The
non-baked bricks disintegrated when submerged in water, while the
baked ones displayed cement-dependent characteristics in
water-absorption and density changes. Interestingly, further increase
in fibre content did not cause significant density decrease in both the
baked and non-baked bricks.
Abstract: The combustion of liquid fuel in the porous burner
(PB) was experimented to investigate evaporation mechanism and
combustion behavior. The diesel oil was used as fuel and the pebbles
carefully chosen in the same size like the solid sphere homogeneously
was adopted as the porous media. Two structures of the liquid porous
burner, i.e. the PB without and with installation of porous emitter
(PE), were performed. PE was installed by lower than PB with
distance of 20 cm. The pebbles having porosity (φ) of 0.45 and 0.52
were, respectively, used in PB and PE. The fuel was supplied dropwise
from the top through the PB and the combustion was occurred between
PB and PE. Axial profiles of temperature along the burner length were
measured to clarify the evaporation and combustion phenomena. The
pollutant emission characteristics were monitored at the burner exit.
From the experiment, it was found that the temperature profiles of both
structures decreased with the three ways swirling air flows (QA)
increasing. On the other hand, the temperature profiles increased with
fuel heat input (QF). Obviously, the profile of the porous burner
installed with PE was higher than that of the porous burner without
PE
Abstract: Sensor network applications are often data centric and
involve collecting data from a set of sensor nodes to be delivered
to various consumers. Typically, nodes in a sensor network are
resource-constrained, and hence the algorithms operating in these
networks must be efficient. There may be several algorithms available
implementing the same service, and efficient considerations may
require a sensor application to choose the best suited algorithm. In
this paper, we present a systematic evaluation of a set of algorithms
implementing the data gathering service. We propose a modular
infrastructure for implementing such algorithms in TOSSIM with
separate configurable modules for various tasks such as interest
propagation, data propagation, aggregation, and path maintenance.
By appropriately configuring these modules, we propose a number
of data gathering algorithms, each of which incorporates a different
set of heuristics for optimizing performance. We have performed
comprehensive experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of these
heuristics, and we present results from our experimentation efforts.
Abstract: In this paper, all variables are supposed to be integer
and positive. In this modern method, objective function is assumed to
be maximized or minimized but constraints are always explained like
less or equal to. In this method, choosing a dual combination of ideal
nonequivalent and omitting one of variables. With continuing this
act, finally, having one nonequivalent with (n-m+1) unknown
quantities in which final nonequivalent, m is counter for constraints,
n is counter for variables of decision.
Abstract: Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) aims at searching image databases for specific images that are similar to a given query image based on matching of features derived from the image content. This paper focuses on a low-dimensional color based indexing technique for achieving efficient and effective retrieval performance. In our approach, the color features are extracted using the mean shift algorithm, a robust clustering technique. Then the cluster (region) mode is used as representative of the image in 3-D color space. The feature descriptor consists of the representative color of a region and is indexed using a spatial indexing method that uses *R -tree thus avoiding the high-dimensional indexing problems associated with the traditional color histogram. Alternatively, the images in the database are clustered based on region feature similarity using Euclidian distance. Only representative (centroids) features of these clusters are indexed using *R -tree thus improving the efficiency. For similarity retrieval, each representative color in the query image or region is used independently to find regions containing that color. The results of these methods are compared. A JAVA based query engine supporting query-by- example is built to retrieve images by color.
Abstract: The use of composite materials in offshore engineering for deep sea oil production riser systems has drawn considerable interest due to the potential weight savings and improvement in durability. The design of composite risers consists of two stages: (1) local design based on critical local load cases, and (2) global analysis of the full length composite riser under global loads and assessment of critical locations. In the first stage, eight different material combinations were selected and their laminate configurations optimised under local load considerations. Stage two includes a final local stress analysis of the critical sections of the riser under the combined loads determined in the global analysis. This paper describes two design methodologies of the composite riser to provide minimum structural weight and shows that the use of off angle fibre orientations in addition to axial and hoop reinforcements offer substantial weight savings and ensure the structural capacity.
Abstract: A series of 1-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-3-(substituted phenyl)-2-propen-1-one were allowed to react with hydrazine hydrate and phenyl hydrazine in submitted reactions to get pyrazoline and phenyl pyrazoline derivatives. All the compounds entered for screening at the Tuberculosis Antimicrobial Acquisition and Coordinating Facility (TAACF) for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain (ATCC 27294) using Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) susceptibility test. The results expressed as MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) in μg/mL. Among the fifteen compounds, eight compounds were found to have MIC values less than 10 μg/mL. These were subjected for cytotoxicity assay in VERO cells to determine CC50 (cytotoxic concentration 50%) values and finally SI (Selectivity Index) were calculated. Compound (XV) 2-[5-(4- fluorophenyl)-1-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-3-pyrazolyl]-1Hbenzimidazole was considered the best candidate of the series that could be a good starting point to develop new lead compounds in the fight against tuberculosis.
Abstract: Design should be viewed concurrently by three ways
as transformation, flow and value generation. An innovative approach
to solve design – related problems is described as the integrated
product - process design. As a foundation for a formal framework
consisting of organizing principles and techniques, Work Structuring
has been developed to guide efforts in the integration that enhances
the development of operation and process design in alignment with
product design.
Vietnam construction projects are facing many delays, and cost
overruns caused mostly by design related problems. A better design
management that integrates product and process design could resolve
these problems. A questionnaire survey and in – depth interviews
were used to investigate the feasibility of applying Work Structuring
to construction projects in Vietnam.
The purpose of this paper is to present the research results and to
illustrate the possible problems and potential solutions when Work
Structuring is implemented to construction projects in Vietnam.
Abstract: We are concerned with a class of quadratic matrix
equations arising from the overdamped mass-spring system. By
exploring the structure of coefficient matrices, we propose a fast
cyclic reduction algorithm to calculate the extreme solutions of the
equation. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm
outperforms the original cyclic reduction and the structure-preserving
doubling algorithm.
Abstract: Integrative teaching methodology is based on
connecting and summarizing knowledge from different subjects in
order to create better understanding of different disciplines and
improvement of competences in general. Integrative teaching
methodology was implemented and realised during one academic
year in 17 Latvian schools according with specially worked out
programme by specialists of different fields for adaptation in social
environment of children and young people with learning, cognitive
functions and motor disorders. Implemented integrative teaching
methodology consisted from three subsections which were
specialised for adaptation in social environment, improvement of
cognitive functions and improvement and harmonization of
personality. The results of investigation showed that the use of
integrative teaching methodology is an effective way for
improvement of learning motivation and negotiation of learning
disorders of different age schoolchildren.
Abstract: The National Bridge Inventory (NBI) includes more
than 600,000 bridges within the United States of America.
Prestressed concrete girder bridges represent one of the most widely
used bridge systems. The majority of these girder bridges were
constructed using 0.5 and 0.6 inch diameter strands. The main
impediments to using larger strand diameters are: 1) lack of prestress
bed capacities, 2) lack of structural knowledge regarding the transfer
and development length of larger strands, and 3) the possibility of
developing wider end zone cracks upon strand release.
This paper presents a study about using 0.7 inch strands in girder
fabrication. Transfer and development length were evaluated, and
girders were fabricated using 0.7 inch strands at different spacings.
Results showed that 0.7 inch strands can be used at 2.0 inch spacing
without violating the AASHTO LRFD Specifications, while attaining
superior performance in shear and flexure.
Abstract: Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a statistical
learning tool developed to a more complex concept of
structural risk minimization (SRM). In this paper, SVM is
applied to signal detection in communication systems in the
presence of channel noise in various environments in the form
of Rayleigh fading, additive white Gaussian background noise
(AWGN), and interference noise generalized as additive color
Gaussian noise (ACGN). The structure and performance of
SVM in terms of the bit error rate (BER) metric is derived and
simulated for these advanced stochastic noise models and the
computational complexity of the implementation, in terms of
average computational time per bit, is also presented. The
performance of SVM is then compared to conventional binary
signaling optimal model-based detector driven by binary
phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. We show that the
SVM performance is superior to that of conventional matched
filter-, innovation filter-, and Wiener filter-driven detectors,
even in the presence of random Doppler carrier deviation,
especially for low SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) ranges. For
large SNR, the performance of the SVM was similar to that of
the classical detectors. However, the convergence between
SVM and maximum likelihood detection occurred at a higher
SNR as the noise environment became more hostile.
Abstract: This paper presents a new approach for automatic
document categorization. Exploiting the logical structure of the
document, our approach assigns a HTML document to one or more
categories (thesis, paper, call for papers, email, ...). Using a set of
training documents, our approach generates a set of rules used to
categorize new documents. The approach flexibility is carried out
with rule weight association representing your importance in the
discrimination between possible categories. This weight is
dynamically modified at each new document categorization. The
experimentation of the proposed approach provides satisfactory
results.
Abstract: Various sounds generated in the chest are included in
auscultation sound. Adaptive Noise Canceller (ANC) is one of the
useful techniques for biomedical signal. But the ANC is not suitable
for auscultation sound. Because the ANC needs two input channels as
a primary signal and a reference signals, but a stethoscope can
provide just one input sound. Therefore, in this paper, it was
proposed the Single Input ANC (SIANC) for suppression of breath
sound in a cardiac auscultation sound. For the SIANC, it was
proposed that the reference generation system which included Heart
Sound Detector, Control and Reference Generator. By experiment
and comparison, it was confirmed that the proposed SIANC was
efficient for heart sound enhancement and it was independent of
variations of a heartbeat.
Abstract: Enzymatic hydrolysis of starch from natural sources
finds potential application in commercial production of alcoholic
beverage and bioethanol. In this study the effect of starch
concentration, temperature, time and enzyme concentration were
studied and optimized for hydrolysis of cassava (Manihot esculenta)
starch powder (of mesh 80/120) into glucose syrup by immobilized
(using Polyacrylamide gel) a-amylase using central composite
design. The experimental result on enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava
starch was subjected to multiple linear regression analysis using
MINITAB 14 software. Positive linear effect of starch concentration,
enzyme concentration and time was observed on hydrolysis of
cassava starch by a-amylase. The statistical significance of the model
was validated by F-test for analysis of variance (p < 0.01). The
optimum value of starch concentration temperature, time and enzyme
concentration were found to be 4.5% (w/v), 45oC, 150 min, and 1%
(w/v) enzyme. The maximum glucose yield at optimum condition
was 5.17 mg/mL.
Abstract: In this paper we consider the problem of change
detection and non stationary signals tracking. Using parametric
estimation of signals based on least square lattice adaptive filters we
consider for change detection statistical parametric methods using
likelihood ratio and hypothesis tests. In order to track signals
dynamics, we introduce a compensation procedure in the adaptive
estimation. This will improve the adaptive estimation performances
and fasten it-s convergence after changes detection.
Abstract: Several valve stiction models have been proposed in the literature to help understand and study the behavior of sticky valves. In this paper, an alternative black-box modeling approach based on Neural Network (NN) is presented. It is shown that with proper network type and optimum model structures, the performance of the developed NN stiction model is comparable to other established method. The resulting NN model is also tested for its robustness against the uncertainty in the stiction parameter values. Predictive mode operation also shows excellent performance of the proposed model for multi-steps ahead prediction.
Abstract: This paper deals with under actuator dynamic systems such as spring-mass-damper system when the number of control variable is less than the number of state variable. In order to apply optimal control, the controllability must be checked. There are many objective functions to be selected as the goal of the optimal control such as minimum energy, maximum energy and minimum jerk. As the objective function is the first priority, if one like to have the second goal to be applied; however, it could not fit in the objective function format and also avoiding the vector cost for the objective, this paper will illustrate the problem of under actuator dynamic systems with the easiest to deal with comparing between minimum energy and minimum jerk.
Abstract: In this paper, we first introduce the concepts of weakly prime and weakly quasi-prime fuzzy left ideals of an ordered semigroup S. Furthermore, we give some characterizations of weakly prime and weakly quasi-prime fuzzy left ideals of an ordered semigroup S by the ordered fuzzy points and fuzzy subsets of S.
Abstract: A universal current-mode biquad is described which
represents an economical variant of well-known KHN (Kerwin,
Huelsman, Newcomb) voltage-mode filter. The circuit consists of
two multiple-output OTAs and of two grounded capacitors. Utilizing
simple splitter of the input current and a pair of jumpers, all the basic
2nd-order transfer functions can be implemented. The principle is
verified by Spice simulation on the level of a CMOS structure of
OTAs.