Abstract: A new digital watermarking technique for images that
are sensitive to blocking artifacts is presented. Experimental results
show that the proposed MDCT based approach produces highly
imperceptible watermarked images and is robust to attacks such as
compression, noise, filtering and geometric transformations. The
proposed MDCT watermarking technique is applied to fingerprints
for ensuring security. The face image and demographic text data of
an individual are used as multiple watermarks. An AFIS system was
used to quantitatively evaluate the matching performance of the
MDCT-based watermarked fingerprint. The high fingerprint
matching scores show that the MDCT approach is resilient to
blocking artifacts. The quality of the extracted face and extracted text
images was computed using two human visual system metrics and
the results show that the image quality was high.
Abstract: Quality of Service (QoS) Routing aims to find path between source and destination satisfying the QoS requirements which efficiently using the network resources and underlying routing algorithm and to fmd low-cost paths that satisfy given QoS constraints. One of the key issues in providing end-to-end QoS guarantees in packet networks is determining feasible path that satisfies a number of QoS constraints. We present a Optimized Multi- Constrained Routing (OMCR) algorithm for the computation of constrained paths for QoS routing in computer networks. OMCR applies distance vector to construct a shortest path for each destination with reference to a given optimization metric, from which a set of feasible paths are derived at each node. OMCR is able to fmd feasible paths as well as optimize the utilization of network resources. OMCR operates with the hop-by-hop, connectionless routing model in IP Internet and does not create any loops while fmding the feasible paths. Nodes running OMCR not necessarily maintaining global view of network state such as topology, resource information and routing updates are sent only to neighboring nodes whereas its counterpart link-state routing method depend on complete network state for constrained path computation and that incurs excessive communication overhead.
Abstract: We demonstrate single-photon interference over 10 km using a plug and play system for quantum key distribution. The quality of the interferometer is measured by using the interferometer
visibility. The coding of the signal is based on the phase coding and the value of visibility is based on the interference effect, which result a number of count. The setup gives full control of polarization inside
the interferometer. The quality measurement of the interferometer is based on number of count per second and the system produces 94 % visibility in one of the detectors.
Abstract: Personal computers draw non-sinusoidal current
with odd harmonics more significantly. Power Quality of
distribution networks is severely affected due to the flow of these
generated harmonics during the operation of electronic loads. In
this paper, mathematical modeling of odd harmonics in current like
3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th influencing the power quality has been presented.
Live signals have been captured with the help of power quality
analyzer for analysis purpose. The interesting feature is that Total
Harmonic Distortion (THD) in current decreases with the increase
of nonlinear loads has been verified theoretically. The results
obtained using mathematical expressions have been compared with
the practical results and exciting results have been found.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose a reversible watermarking
scheme based on histogram shifting (HS) to embed watermark bits
into the H.264/AVC standard videos by modifying the last nonzero
level in the context adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC) domain.
The proposed method collects all of the last nonzero coefficients (or
called last level coefficient) of 4×4 sub-macro blocks in a macro
block and utilizes predictions for the current last level from the
neighbor block-s last levels to embed watermark bits. The feature of
the proposed method is low computational and has the ability of
reversible recovery. The experimental results have demonstrated that
our proposed scheme has acceptable degradation on video quality and
output bit-rate for most test videos.
Abstract: Tofurther advance research on immune-related genes
from T. molitor, we constructed acDNA library and analyzed
expressed sequence taq (EST) sequences from 1,056 clones. After
removing vector sequence and quality checkingthrough thePhred
program (trim_alt 0.05 (P-score>20), 1039 sequences were generated.
The average length of insert was 792 bp. In addition, we identified 162
clusters, 167 contigs and 391 contigs after clustering and assembling
process using a TGICL package. EST sequences were searchedagainst
NCBI nr database by local BLAST (blastx, E
Abstract: Knowing consumers' preferences and perceptions of
the sensory evaluation of drink products are very significant to
manufacturers and retailers alike. With no appropriate sensory
analysis, there is a high risk of market disappointment. This paper
aims to rank the selected coffee products and also to determine the
best of quality attribute through sensory evaluation using fuzzy
decision making model. Three products of coffee drinks were used
for sensory evaluation. Data were collected from thirty judges at a
hypermarket in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The judges were asked
to specify their sensory evaluation in linguistic terms of the quality
attributes of colour, smell, taste and mouth feel for each product and
also the weight of each quality attribute. Five fuzzy linguistic terms
represent the quality attributes were introduced prior analysing. The
judgment membership function and the weights were compared to
rank the products and also to determine the best quality attribute. The
product of Indoc was judged as the first in ranking and 'taste' as the
best quality attribute. These implicate the importance of sensory
evaluation in identifying consumers- preferences and also the
competency of fuzzy approach in decision making.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to disentangle and
validate the underlying factorial-structure of Ecotourism Experiential
Value (EEV) measurement scale and subsequently investigate its
psychometric properties. The analysis was based on a sample of 225
eco-tourists, collected at the vicinity of Taman Negara National Park
(TNNP) via interviewer-administered questionnaire. Exploratory
factor analysis (EFA) was performed to determine the factorial
structure of EEV. Subsequently, to confirm and validate the factorial
structure and assess the psychometric properties of EEV,
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was executed. In addition, to
establish the nomological validity of EEV a structural model was
developed to examine the effect of EEV on Total Eco-tourist
Experience Quality (TEEQ). It is unveiled that EEV is a secondorder
six-factorial structure construct and it scale has adequately met
the psychometric criteria, thus could permit interpretation of results
confidently. The findings have important implications for future
research directions and management of ecotourism destination.
Abstract: In this paper, some brief sufficient conditions for the stability of FO-LTI systems dαx(t) dtα = Ax(t) with the fractional order are investigated when the matrix A and the fractional order α are uncertain or both α and A are uncertain, respectively. In addition, we also relate the stability of a fractional-order system with order 0 < α ≤ 1 to the stability of its equivalent fractional-order system with order 1 ≤ β < 2, the relationship between α and β is presented. Finally, a numeric experiment is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our results.
Abstract: In Iran, due to abundance of energy resources, energy consumption is extraordinarily higher than international standards and transportation sector is considered to be one of the major consumers of energy. Moreover, air pollution in urban areas as a result of high dependence on private vehicle and lower standards of vehicles, high subsidies spent on fuel and time waste due to traffic congestion in urban areas all have led to speculations on new strategies and policies in order to control energy consumption in transportation sector. These strategies and policies will be introduced in this paper and their consequences will be analyzed with consideration to socio-economic factors affecting the urban society of Iran. Besides, the intention is to suggest and analyze new approaches such as broader application of public transportation system, demand management in transport sector, replacement of deteriorated vehicles, quality improvement in car manufacture and introduction of substitute fuels.
Abstract: the article analyzes the development prospects of
education system in Kazakhstan. Education is among key sources of
culture and social mobility. Modern education must become civic
which means availability of high quality education to all people
irrespective of their racial, ethnic, religious, social, gender and any
other differences. Socially focused nature of modernization of
Kazakhstan-s society is predicated upon formation of a civic
education model in the future. Kazakhstan-s education system
undergoes intensive reforms first of all intended to achieve
international education standards and integration into the global
educational and information space.
Abstract: School physical education, through its objectives and
contents, efficiently valorizes the pupils- abilities, developing them,
especially the coordinative skill component, which is the basis of
movement learning, of the development of the daily motility and also
of the special, refined motility required by the practice of certain
sports. Medium school age offers the nervous and motor substratum
needed for the acquisition of complex motor habits, a substratum that
is essential for the coordinative skill. Individuals differ as to the level
at which this function is performed, the extent to which this function
turns an individual into a person that is adapted and adaptable to
complex and various situations. Spatio-temporal orientation, together
with movement combination and coupling, and with kinesthetic,
balance, motor reaction, movement transformation and rhythm
differentiation form the coordinative skills. From our viewpoint,
these are characteristic features with high levels of manifestation in a
complex psychomotor act - valorizing the quality of one-s talent - as
well as indices pertaining to one-s psychomotor intelligence and
creativity.
Abstract: This paper presents the determination of the proper
quality costs parameters which provide the optimum return. The
system dynamics simulation was applied. The simulation model was
constructed by the real data from a case of the electronic devices
manufacturer in Thailand. The Steepest Descent algorithm was
employed to optimise. The experimental results show that the
company should spend on prevention and appraisal activities for 850
and 10 Baht/day respectively. It provides minimum cumulative total
quality cost, which is 258,000 Baht in twelve months. The effect of
the step size in the stage of improving the variables to the optimum
was also investigated. It can be stated that the smaller step size
provided a better result with more experimental runs. However, the
different yield in this case is not significant in practice. Therefore, the
greater step size is recommended because the region of optima could
be reached more easily and rapidly.
Abstract: During the past decade, pond aeration systems have
been developed which will sustain large quantities of fish and
invertebrate biomass. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is considered to be
among the most important water quality parameters in fish culture.
Fishponds in aquaculture farms are usually located in remote areas
where grid lines are at far distance. Aeration of ponds is required to
prevent mortality and to intensify production, especially when
feeding is practical, and in warm regions. To increase pond
production it is necessary to control dissolved oxygen. Artificial
intelligence (AI) techniques are becoming useful as alternate
approaches to conventional techniques or as components of
integrated systems. They have been used to solve complicated
practical problems in various areas and are becoming more and more
popular nowadays. This paper presents a new design of diffused
aeration system using fuel cell as a power source. Also fuzzy logic
control Technique (FLC) is used for controlling the speed of air flow
rate from the blower to air piping connected to the pond by adjusting
blower speed. MATLAB SIMULINK results show high performance
of fuzzy logic control (FLC).
Abstract: In this paper, by employing a new Lyapunov functional
and an elementary inequality analysis technique, some sufficient
conditions are derived to ensure the existence and uniqueness of
periodic oscillatory solution for fuzzy bi-directional memory (BAM)
neural networks with time-varying delays, and all other solutions of
the fuzzy BAM neural networks converge the uniqueness periodic
solution. These criteria are presented in terms of system parameters
and have important leading significance in the design and applications
of neural networks. Moreover an example is given to illustrate the
effectiveness and feasible of results obtained.
Abstract: Custom power is a technology driven product and
service solution which embraces a family devices such as Dynamic
Voltage Restorer (DVR), Distributed Shunt Compensator
(DSTATCOM), Solid State Breaker (SSB) etc which will provide
power quality functions at distribution voltages. The rapid response
of these devices enables them to operate in real time, providing
continuous and dynamic control of the supply including voltage and
reactive power regulation, harmonic reduction and elimination of
voltage dips. This paper presents the benefits of multilevel inverters
when they are used for DPC based custom power devices. Power
flow control mechanism, salient features, advantages and
disadvantages of direct power control (DPC) using lookup table,
SVM, predictive voltage vector and hybrid DPC strategies are
discussed in this paper. Simulation results of three level inverter
based STATCOM, harmonic analysis of multi level inverters are
presented at the end.
Abstract: Self-sensing estimates the air gap within an electro
magnetic path by analyzing the bearing coil current and/or voltage
waveform. The self-sensing concept presented in this paper has been
developed within the research project “Active Magnetic Bearings
with Supreme Reliability" and is used for position sensor fault
detection.
Within this new concept gap calculation is carried out by an alldigital
analysis of the digitized coil current and voltage waveform.
For analysis those time periods within the PWM period are used,
which give the best results. Additionally, the concept allows the
digital compensation of nonlinearities, for example magnetic
saturation, without degrading signal quality. This increases the
accuracy and robustness of the air gap estimation and additionally
reduces phase delays.
Beneath an overview about the developed concept first
measurement results are presented which show the potential of this
all-digital self-sensing concept.
Abstract: The link between urban planning and design principles and the built environment of an urban renewal area is of interest to the field of urban studies. During the past decade, there has also been increasing interest in urban planning and design; this interest is motivated by the possibility that design policies associated with the built environment can be used to control, manage, and shape individual activity and behavior. However, direct assessments and design techniques of the links between how urban planning design policies influence individuals are still rare in the field. Recent research efforts in urban design have focused on the idea that land use and design policies can be used to increase the quality of design projects for an urban renewal area-s built environment. The development of appropriate design techniques for the built environment is an essential element of this research. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a powerful tool for improving alternative urban design and quality for urban renewal areas, and for procuring a citizen-driven quality system. In this research, we propose an integrated framework based on QFD and an Analytic Network Process (ANP) approach to determine the Alternative Technical Requirements (ATRs) to be considered in designing an urban renewal planning and design alternative. We also identify the research designs and methodologies that can be used to evaluate the performance of urban built environment projects. An application in an urban renewal built environment planning and design project evaluation is presented to illustrate the proposed framework.
Abstract: Mixed Model Production is the practice of assembling
several distinct and different models of a product on the same
assembly line without changeovers and then sequencing those models
in a way that smoothes the demand for upstream components. In this
paper, we consider an objective function which minimizes total
stoppage time and total idle time and it is presented sequence
dependent set up time. Many studies have been done on the mixed
model assembly lines. But in this paper we specifically focused on
reducing the idle times. This is possible through various help policies.
For improving the solutions, some cases developed and about 40 tests
problem was considered. We use scatter search for optimization and
for showing the efficiency of our algorithm, experimental results
shows behavior of method. Scatter search and help policies can
produce high quality answers, so it has been used in this paper.
Abstract: The adoption of building information modeling (BIM)
is increasing in the construction industry. However, quantity
surveyors are slow in adoption compared to other professions due to
lack of awareness of the BIM’s potential in their profession. It is still
unclear on how BIM application can enhance quantity surveyors’
work performance and project performance. The aim of this research
is to identify the capabilities of BIM in quantity surveying practices
and examine the relationship between BIM capabilities and project
performance. Questionnaire survey and interviews were adopted for
data collection. Literature reviews identified there are eleven BIM
capabilities in quantity surveying practice. Questionnaire results
showed that there are several BIM capabilities significantly
correlated with project performance in time, cost and quality aspects
and the results were validated through interviews. These findings
show that BIM has the capabilities to enhance quantity surveyors’
performances and subsequently improved project performance.