Abstract: User satisfaction is one of the most used success
indicators in the research of information system (IS). Literature
shows user expectations have great influence on user satisfaction.
Both expectation and satisfaction of users are important for Hospital
Information Systems (HIS). Education, IS experience, age, attitude
towards change, business title, sex and working unit of the hospital,
are examined as the potential determinant of the medical users’
expectations. Data about medical user expectations are collected by
the “Expectation Questionnaire” developed for this study.
Expectation data are used for calculating the Expectation Meeting
Ratio (EMR) with the evaluation framework also developed for this
study. The internal consistencies of the answers to the questionnaire
are measured by Cronbach´s Alpha coefficient. The multivariate
analysis of medical user’s EMRs of HIS is performed by forward
stepwise binary logistic regression analysis. Education and business
title is appeared to be the determinants of expectations from HIS.
Abstract: Waste problem is becoming a future problem all over the world. Magnesium wastes which can be used in recycling processes are produced by many industrial activities. Magnesium borates which have useful properties such as; high heat resistance, corrosion resistance, supermechanical strength, superinsulation, light weight, high coefficient of elasticity and so on. Addition, magnesium borates have great potential in the development of ceramic and detergents industry, whisker-reinforced composites, antiwear, and reducing friction additives.
In this study, using the starting materials of waste magnesium and H3BO3 the hydrothermal method was applied at a moderate temperature of 70oC with different reaction times. Several reaction times of waste magnesium to H3BO3 were selected as; 30, 60, 120, 240 minutes. After the synthesis, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques were applied to products. As a result, the forms of Admontite [MgO(B2O3)3.7(H2O)] and Mcallisterite [Mg2(B6O7(OH)6)2.9(H2O)] were synthesized.
Abstract: Variational methods for optical flow estimation are
known for their excellent performance. The method proposed by Brox
et al. [5] exemplifies the strength of that framework. It combines
several concepts into single energy functional that is then minimized
according to clear numerical procedure. In this paper we propose
a modification of that algorithm starting from the spatiotemporal
gradient constancy assumption. The numerical scheme allows to
establish the connection between our model and the CLG(H) method
introduced in [18]. Experimental evaluation carried out on synthetic
sequences shows the significant superiority of the spatial variant of
the proposed method. The comparison between methods for the realworld
sequence is also enclosed.
Abstract: The main goal of this seminal paper is to introduce the
application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) in long distance
infrastructure monitoring (in particular in pipeline infrastructure
monitoring) – one of the on-going research projects by the Wireless
Communication Research Group at the department of Electronic and
Computer Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The
current sensor network architectures for monitoring long distance
pipeline infrastructures are previewed. These are wired sensor
networks, RF wireless sensor networks, integrated wired and wireless
sensor networks. The reliability of these architectures is discussed.
Three reliability factors are used to compare the architectures in
terms of network connectivity, continuity of power supply for the
network, and the maintainability of the network. The constraints and
challenges of wireless sensor networks for monitoring and protecting
long distance pipeline infrastructure are discussed.
Abstract: Earthquakes are natural phenomena that occur with influence of a lot of parameters such as seismic activity, changing in the ground waters' motion, changing in the water-s temperature, etc. On the other hand, the radon gas concentrations in soil vary as nonlinear generally with earthquakes. Continuous measurement of the soil radon gas is very important for determination of characteristic of the seismic activity. The radon gas changes as continuous with strain occurring within the Earth-s surface during an earthquake and effects from the physical and the chemical processes such as soil structure, soil permeability, soil temperature, the barometric pressure, etc. Therefore, at the modeling researches are notsufficient to knowthe concentration ofradon gas. In this research, we determined relationships between radon emissions based on the environmental parameters and earthquakes occurring along the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ), Turkiye and predicted magnitudes of some earthquakes with the artificial neural network (ANN) model.
Abstract: In this paper we investigate the watermarking authentication when applied to medical imagery field. We first give an overview of watermarking technology by paying attention to fragile watermarking since it is the usual scheme for authentication.We then analyze the requirements for image authentication and integrity in medical imagery, and we show finally that invertible schemes are the best suited for this particular field. A well known authentication method is studied. This technique is then adapted here for interleaving patient information and message authentication code with medical images in a reversible manner, that is using lossless compression. The resulting scheme enables on a side the exact recovery of the original image that can be unambiguously authenticated, and on the other side, the patient information to be saved or transmitted in a confidential way. To ensure greater security the patient information is encrypted before being embedded into images.
Abstract: Thermoplastic starch, polylactic acid glycerol and
maleic anhydride (MA) were compounded with natural
montmorillonite (MMT) through a twin screw extruder to investigate
the effects of different loading of MMT on structure, thermal and
absorption behavior of the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction analysis
(XRD) showed that sample with MMT loading 4phr exhibited
exfoliated structure while sample that contained MMT 8 phr
exhibited intercalated structure. FESEM images showed big lump
when MMT loading was at 8 phr. The thermal properties were
characterized by using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The
results showed that MMT increased melting temperature and
crystallization temperature of matrix but reduction in glass transition
temperature was observed Meanwhile the addition of MMT has
improved the water barrier property. The nanosize MMT particle is
also able to block a tortuous pathway for water to enter the starch
chain, thus reducing the water uptake and improved the physical
barrier of nanocomposite.
Abstract: Nowaday-s, many organizations use systems that
support business process as a whole or partially. However, in some
application domains, like software development and health care
processes, a normative Process Aware System (PAS) is not suitable,
because a flexible support is needed to respond rapidly to new
process models. On the other hand, a flexible Process Aware System
may be vulnerable to undesirable and fraudulent executions, which
imposes a tradeoff between flexibility and security. In order to make
this tradeoff available, a genetic-based anomaly detection model for
logs of Process Aware Systems is presented in this paper. The
detection of an anomalous trace is based on discovering an
appropriate process model by using genetic process mining and
detecting traces that do not fit the appropriate model as anomalous
trace; therefore, when used in PAS, this model is an automated
solution that can support coexistence of flexibility and security.
Abstract: This paper introduces a mixed integer programming model to find the optimum development plan for port Anzali. The model minimizes total system costs taking into account both port infrastructure costs and shipping costs. Due to the multipurpose function of the port, the model consists of 1020 decision variables and 2490 constraints. Results of the model determine the optimum number of berths that should be constructed in each period and for each type of cargo. In addition to, the results of sensitivity analysis on port operation quantity provide useful information for managers to choose the best scenario for port planning with the lowest investment risks. Despite all limitations-due to data availability-the model offers a straightforward decision tools to port planners aspiring to achieve optimum port planning steps.
Abstract: A fast adaptive Tomlinson Harashima (T-H) precoder structure is presented for indoor wireless communications, where the channel may vary due to rotation and small movement of the mobile terminal. A frequency-selective slow fading channel which is time-invariant over a frame is assumed. In this adaptive T-H precoder, feedback coefficients are updated at the end of every uplink frame by using system identification technique for channel estimation in contrary with the conventional T-H precoding concept where the channel is estimated during the starting of the uplink frame via Wiener solution. In conventional T-H precoder it is assumed the channel is time-invariant in both uplink and downlink frames. However assuming the channel is time-invariant over only one frame instead of two, the proposed adaptive T-H precoder yields better performance than conventional T-H precoder if the channel is varied in uplink after receiving the training sequence.
Abstract: Ambient Intelligence (AmI) environments bring
significant potential to exploit sophisticated computer technology in
everyday life. In particular, the educational domain could be
significantly enhanced through AmI, as personalized and adapted
learning could be transformed from paper concepts and prototypes to
real-life scenarios. In this paper, an integrated framework is
presented, named ClassMATE, supporting ubiquitous computing and
communication in a school classroom. The main objective of
ClassMATE is to enable pervasive interaction and context aware
education in the technologically augmented classroom of the future.
Abstract: As German companies roll out their standardized
production systems to offshore manufacturing plants, they face the
challenge of implementing them in different cultural environments.
Studies show that the local adaptation is one of the key factors for a
successful implementation. Thus the question arises of where the line
between standardization and adaptation can be drawn. To answer
this question the influence of culture on production systems is
analysed in this paper. The culturally contingent components of
production systems are identified. Also the contingency factors are
classified according to their impact on the necessary adaptation
changes and implementation effort. Culturally specific decision
making, coordination, communication and motivation patterns
require one-time changes in organizational and process design. The
attitude towards rules requires more intense coaching and controlling.
Lastly a framework is developed to depict standardization and
adaption needs when transplanting production systems into different
cultural environments.
Abstract: The concept of the new government should focus on
forming a new relationship between public servants and citizens of
the state, formed on the principles of transparency, accountability,
protection of citizens' rights. These principles are laid down in the
problem of administrative reform in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Also, this wish arises, contributing to the improvement of the system
of political management in our country. For the full realization of the
goals is necessary to develop a special state program designed to
improve the regulatory framework for public service, improving
training, retraining and advanced training of civil servants, forming a
system of incentives in public service and other activities aimed at
achieving the efficiency of the entire system government.
Abstract: Music segmentation is a key issue in music information
retrieval (MIR) as it provides an insight into the
internal structure of a composition. Structural information about
a composition can improve several tasks related to MIR such
as searching and browsing large music collections, visualizing
musical structure, lyric alignment, and music summarization.
The authors of this paper present the MTSSM framework, a twolayer
framework for the multi-track segmentation of symbolic
music. The strength of this framework lies in the combination of
existing methods for local track segmentation and the application
of global structure information spanning via multiple tracks.
The first layer of the MTSSM uses various string matching
techniques to detect the best candidate segmentations for each
track of a multi-track composition independently. The second
layer combines all single track results and determines the best
segmentation for each track in respect to the global structure of
the composition.
Abstract: Thermal conductivity is an important characteristic of
a nanofluid in laminar flow heat transfer. This paper presents an
improved model for the prediction of the effective thermal
conductivity of nanofluids based on dimensionless groups. The
model expresses the thermal conductivity of a nanofluid as a function
of the thermal conductivity of the solid and liquid, their volume
fractions and particle size. The proposed model includes a parameter
which accounts for the interfacial shell, brownian motion, and
aggregation of particle. The validation of the model is verified by
applying the results obtained by the experiments of Tio2-water and
Al2o3-water nanofluids.
Abstract: Cross layer optimization based on utility functions has
been recently studied extensively, meanwhile, numerous types of
utility functions have been examined in the corresponding literature.
However, a major drawback is that most utility functions take a fixed
mathematical form or are based on simple combining, which can
not fully exploit available information. In this paper, we formulate a
framework of cross layer optimization based on Adaptively Weighted
Utility Functions (AWUF) for fairness balancing in OFDMA networks.
Under this framework, a two-step allocation algorithm is
provided as a sub-optimal solution, whose control parameters can be
updated in real-time to accommodate instantaneous QoS constrains.
The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm achieves
high throughput while balancing the fairness among multiple users.
Abstract: Embedding Sustainability in technological curricula has become a crucial factor for educating engineers with competences in sustainability. The Technical University of Catalonia UPC, in 2008, designed the Sustainable Technology Excellence Program STEP 2015 in order to assure a successful Sustainability Embedding. This Program takes advantage of the opportunity that the redesign of all Bachelor and Master Degrees in Spain by 2010 under the European Higher Education Area framework offered. The STEP program goals are: to design compulsory courses in each degree; to develop the conceptual base and identify reference models in sustainability for all specialties at UPC; to create an internal interdisciplinary network of faculty from all the schools; to initiate new transdisciplinary research activities in technology-sustainability-education; to spread the know/how attained; to achieve international scientific excellence in technology-sustainability-education and to graduate the first engineers/architects of the new EHEA bachelors with sustainability as a generic competence. Specifically, in this paper authors explain their experience in leading the STEP program, and two examples are presented: Industrial Robotics subject and the curriculum for the School of Architecture.
Abstract: Prickly pear (Opuntia spp) fruit has received renewed
interest since it contains a betalain pigment that has an attractive
purple colour for the production of juice. Prickly pear juice was
prepared by homogenizing the fruit and treating the pulp with 48 g of
pectinase from Aspergillus niger. Titratable acidity was determined
by diluting 10 ml prickly pear juice with 90 ml deionized water and
titrating to pH 8.2 with 0.1 N NaOH. Brix was measured using a
refractometer and ascorbic acid content assayed
spectrophotometrically. Colour variation was determined
colorimetrically (Hunter L.a.b.). Hunter L.a.b. analysis showed that
the red purple colour of prickly pear juice had been affected by juice
treatments. This was indicated by low light values of colour
difference meter (CDML*), hue, CDMa* and CDMb* values. It was
observed that non-treated prickly pear juice had a high (colour
difference meter of light) CDML* of 3.9 compared to juice
treatments (range 3.29 to 2.14). The CDML* significantly (p
Abstract: Security management has changed from the
management of security equipments and useful interface to manager.
It analyzes the whole security conditions of network and preserves the
network services from attacks. Secure router technology has security
functions, such as intrusion detection, IPsec(IP Security) and access
control, are applied to legacy router for secure networking. It controls
an unauthorized router access and detects an illegal network intrusion.
This paper relates to a security engine management of router based on
a security policy, which is the definition of security function against a
network intrusion. This paper explains the security policy and designs
the structure of security engine management framework.
Abstract: Low power consumption is a major constraint for battery-powered system like computer notebook or PDA. In the past, specialists usually designed both specific optimized equipments and codes to relief this concern. Doing like this could work for quite a long time, however, in this era, there is another significant restraint, the time to market. To be able to serve along the power constraint while can launch products in shorter production period, objectoriented programming (OOP) has stepped in to this field. Though everyone knows that OOP has quite much more overhead than assembly and procedural languages, development trend still heads to this new world, which contradicts with the target of low power consumption. Most of the prior power related software researches reported that OOP consumed much resource, however, as industry had to accept it due to business reasons, up to now, no papers yet had mentioned about how to choose the best OOP practice in this power limited boundary. This article is the pioneer that tries to specify and propose the optimized strategy in writing OOP software under energy concerned environment, based on quantitative real results. The language chosen for studying is C# based on .NET Framework 2.0 which is one of the trendy OOP development environments. The recommendation gotten from this research would be a good roadmap that can help developers in coding that well balances between time to market and time of battery.