Abstract: We present design, fabrication, and characterization of
a small (12 mm × 12 mm × 8 mm) movable railway vehicle for sensor
carrying. The miniature railway vehicle (MRV) was mainly composed
of a vibrational structure and three legs. A railway was designed and
fabricated to power and guide the MRV. It also transmits the sensed
data from the MRV to the signal processing unit. The MRV with legs
on the railway was moving due to its high-frequency vibration. A
model was derived to describe the motion. Besides, FEM simulations
were performed to design the legs. Then, the MRV and the railway
were fabricated by precision machining. Finally, an infrared sensor
was carried and tested. The result shows that the MRV without loading
was moving along the railway and its maximum speed was 12.2 mm/s.
Moreover, the testing signal was sensed by the MRV.
Abstract: This paper presents an equivalent circuit model based on piecewise linear parallel branches (PLPB) to study solar cell modules which are partially shaded. The PLPB model can easily be used in circuit simulation software such as the ElectroMagnetic Transients Program (EMTP). This PLPB model allows the user to simulate several different configurations of solar cells, the influence of partial shadowing on a single or multiple cells, the influence of the number of solar cells protected by a bypass diode and the effect of the cell connection configuration on partial shadowing.
Abstract: Encrypted messages sending frequently draws the attention
of third parties, perhaps causing attempts to break and
reveal the original messages. Steganography is introduced to hide
the existence of the communication by concealing a secret message
in an appropriate carrier like text, image, audio or video. Quantum
steganography where the sender (Alice) embeds her steganographic
information into the cover and sends it to the receiver (Bob) over a
communication channel. Alice and Bob share an algorithm and hide
quantum information in the cover. An eavesdropper (Eve) without
access to the algorithm can-t find out the existence of the quantum
message. In this paper, a text quantum steganography technique based
on the use of indefinite articles (a) or (an) in conjunction with the nonspecific
or non-particular nouns in English language and quantum
gate truth table have been proposed. The authors also introduced a
new code representation technique (SSCE - Secret Steganography
Code for Embedding) at both ends in order to achieve high level of
security. Before the embedding operation each character of the secret
message has been converted to SSCE Value and then embeds to cover
text. Finally stego text is formed and transmits to the receiver side.
At the receiver side different reverse operation has been carried out
to get back the original information.
Abstract: Medical image modalities such as computed
tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound
(US), X-ray are adapted to diagnose disease. These modalities
provide flexible means of reviewing anatomical cross-sections and
physiological state in different parts of the human body. The raw
medical images have a huge file size and need large storage
requirements. So it should be such a way to reduce the size of those
image files to be valid for telemedicine applications. Thus the image
compression is a key factor to reduce the bit rate for transmission or
storage while maintaining an acceptable reproduction quality, but it is
natural to rise the question of how much an image can be compressed
and still preserve sufficient information for a given clinical
application. Many techniques for achieving data compression have
been introduced. In this study, three different MRI modalities which
are Brain, Spine and Knee have been compressed and reconstructed
using wavelet transform. Subjective and objective evaluation has
been done to investigate the clinical information quality of the
compressed images. For the objective evaluation, the results show
that the PSNR which indicates the quality of the reconstructed image
is ranging from (21.95 dB to 30.80 dB, 27.25 dB to 35.75 dB, and
26.93 dB to 34.93 dB) for Brain, Spine, and Knee respectively. For
the subjective evaluation test, the results show that the compression
ratio of 40:1 was acceptable for brain image, whereas for spine and
knee images 50:1 was acceptable.
Abstract: Cryptography provides the secure manner of
information transmission over the insecure channel. It authenticates
messages based on the key but not on the user. It requires a lengthy
key to encrypt and decrypt the sending and receiving the messages,
respectively. But these keys can be guessed or cracked. Moreover,
Maintaining and sharing lengthy, random keys in enciphering and
deciphering process is the critical problem in the cryptography
system. A new approach is described for generating a crypto key,
which is acquired from a person-s iris pattern. In the biometric field,
template created by the biometric algorithm can only be
authenticated with the same person. Among the biometric templates,
iris features can efficiently be distinguished with individuals and
produces less false positives in the larger population. This type of iris
code distribution provides merely less intra-class variability that aids
the cryptosystem to confidently decrypt messages with an exact
matching of iris pattern. In this proposed approach, the iris features
are extracted using multi resolution wavelets. It produces 135-bit iris
codes from each subject and is used for encrypting/decrypting the
messages. The autocorrelators are used to recall original messages
from the partially corrupted data produced by the decryption process.
It intends to resolve the repudiation and key management problems.
Results were analyzed in both conventional iris cryptography system
(CIC) and non-repudiation iris cryptography system (NRIC). It
shows that this new approach provides considerably high
authentication in enciphering and deciphering processes.
Abstract: The choice of studying economics instead of another subject should be motivated by the fact that economics training equips students with skills and knowledge that other disciplines do not provide. Which are these skills and knowledge, however, is not always very clear. This article clarifies such issue by first exploring the philosophical foundations and the defining features of the discipline, and then by investigating in which ways these are transferred to the students. In other words, we study what is meant by the 'economic way of thinking' that is passed on to the students.
Abstract: This study describes a micro device integrated with
multi-chamber for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with different
annealing temperatures. The device consists of the reaction
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip, a cover glass chip, and is
equipped with cartridge heaters, fans, and thermocouples for
temperature control. In this prototype, commercial software is utilized
to determine the geometric and operational parameters those are
responsible for creating the denaturation, annealing, and extension
temperatures within the chip. Two cartridge heaters are placed at two
sides of the chip and maintained at two different temperatures to
achieve a thermal gradient on the chip during the annealing step. The
temperatures on the chip surface are measured via an infrared imager.
Some thermocouples inserted into the reaction chambers are used to
obtain the transient temperature profiles of the reaction chambers
during several thermal cycles. The experimental temperatures
compared to the simulated results show a similar trend. This work
should be interesting to persons involved in the high-temperature
based reactions and genomics or cell analysis.
Abstract: Biochemical and molecular analysis of some
antioxidant enzyme genes revealed different level of gene expression
on oilseed (Brassica napus). For molecular and biochemical
analysis, leaf tissues were harvested from plants at eight different
developmental stages, from young to senescence. The levels of total
protein and chlorophyll were increased during maturity stages of
plant, while these were decreased during the last stages of plant
growth. Structural analysis (nucleotide and deduced amino acid
sequence, and phylogenic tree) of a complementary DNA revealed a
high level of similarity for a family of Catalase genes. The
expression of the gene encoded by different Catalase isoforms was
assessed during different plant growth phase. No significant
difference between samples was observed, when Catalase activity
was statistically analyzed at different developmental stages. EST
analysis exhibited different transcripts levels for a number of other
relevant antioxidant genes (different isoforms of SOD and
glutathione). The high level of transcription of these genes at
senescence stages was indicated that these genes are senescenceinduced
genes.
Abstract: Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS)
become frequently used systems in warehouses. There has been a
transition from human based forklift applications to fast and safe
AS/RS applications in firm-s warehouse systems. In this study, basic
components and automation systems of the AS/RS are examined.
Proposed system's automation components and their tasks in the
system control algorithm were stated. According to this control
algorithm the control system structure was obtained.
Abstract: Pipeline infrastructures normally represent high cost of investment and the pipeline must be free from risks that could cause environmental hazard and potential threats to personnel safety. Pipeline integrity such monitoring and management become very crucial to provide unimpeded transportation and avoiding unnecessary production deferment. Thus proper cleaning and inspection is the key to safe and reliable pipeline operation and plays an important role in pipeline integrity management program and has become a standard industry procedure. In view of this, understanding the motion (dynamic behavior), prediction and control of the PIG speed is important in executing pigging operation as it offers significant benefits, such as estimating PIG arrival time at receiving station, planning for suitable pigging operation, and improves efficiency of pigging tasks. The objective of this paper is to review recent developments in speed control system of pipeline PIGs. The review carried out would serve as an industrial application in a form of quick reference of recent developments in pipeline PIG speed control system, and further initiate others to add-in/update the list in the future leading to knowledge based data, and would attract active interest of others to share their view points.
Abstract: Porcelain specimens were fired at 6C/min to 1250C (dwell time 0.5-3h) and cooled at 6C/min to room temperature. Additionally, three different slower firing/cooling cycles were tried. Sintering profile and effects on MOR, crystalline phase content and morphology were investigated using dilatometry, 4-point bending strength, XRD and FEG-SEM respectively. Industrial-sized specimens prepared using the promising cycle were tested basing on the ANSI standards. Increasing dwell time from 1h to 3h at peak temperature of 1250C resulted in neither a significant effect on the quartz and mullite content nor MOR. Reducing the firing/cooling rate to below 6C/min, for peak temperature of 1250C (dwell time of 1h) does not result in improvement of strength of porcelain. The industrial sized specimen exhibited flashover voltages of 20.3kV (dry) and 9.3kV (wet) respectively, transverse strength of 12.5kN and bulk density of 2.27g/cm3, which are satisfactory. There was however dye penetration during porosity test. KeywordsDwell time, Microstructure, Porcelain, Strength.
Abstract: Within the realm of e-government, the development has moved towards testing new means for democratic decisionmaking, like e-panels, electronic discussion forums, and polls. Although such new developments seem promising, they are not problem-free, and the outcomes are seldom used in the subsequent formal political procedures. Nevertheless, process models offer promising potential when it comes to structuring and supporting transparency of decision processes in order to facilitate the integration of the public into decision-making procedures in a reasonable and manageable way. Based on real-life cases of urban planning processes in Sweden, we present an outline for an integrated framework for public decision making to: a) provide tools for citizens to organize discussion and create opinions; b) enable governments, authorities, and institutions to better analyse these opinions; and c) enable governments to account for this information in planning and societal decision making by employing a process model for structured public decision making.
Abstract: Glutathione S-transferase was purified from human
erythrocytes and effects of some polyphenols were investigated on
the enzyme activity. The purification procedure was performed on
Glutathione-Agarose affinity chromatography after preparation of
erythrocytes hemolysate with a yield of 81%. The purified enzyme
showed a single band on the SDS-PAGE. The effects of some
poliphenolic compounds such as catechin, dopa, dopamine, progallol
and catechol were examined on the in vitro GST activity. Catechin
was determined to be inhibitor for the enzyme, but others were not
effective on the enzyme as inhibitors or activators. IC50 value -the
concentration of inhibitor which reduces enzyme activity by 50%-
was estimated to be 10 mM. Ki constants were also calculated as 6.38
± 0,70 mM with GSH substrate, and 3.86 ± 0,78 mM with CDNB
substrate using the equations of graphs for the inhibitor, and its
inhibition type was determined as non-competitive.
Abstract: We fabricated the inverted-staggered etch stopper
structure oxide-based TFT and investigated the characteristics of oxide
TFT under the 400 nm wavelength light illumination. When 400 nm
light was illuminated, the threshold voltage (Vth) decreased and
subthreshold slope (SS) increased at forward sweep, while Vth and SS
were not altered when larger wavelength lights, such as 650 nm, 550
nm and 450 nm, were illuminated. At reverse sweep, the transfer curve
barely changed even under 400 nm light. Our experimental results
support that photo-induced hole carriers are captured by donor-like
interface trap and it caused the decrease of Vth and increase of SS. We
investigated the interface trap density increases proportionally to the
photo-induced hole concentration at active layer.
Abstract: In this work, the condensation fraction and transition
temperature of neutral many bosonic system are studied within the
static fluctuation approximation (SFA). The effect of the potential
parameters such as the strength and range on the condensate fraction
was investigated. A model potential consisting of a repulsive step
potential and an attractive potential well was used. As the potential
strength or the core radius of the repulsive part increases, the
condensation fraction is found to be decreased at the same
temperature. Also, as the potential depth or the range of the attractive
part increases, the condensation fraction is found to be increased. The
transition temperature is decreased as the potential strength or the
core radius of the repulsive part increases, and it increases as the
potential depth or the range of the attractive part increases.
Abstract: In the last years, the computers have increased their capacity of calculus and networks, for the interconnection of these machines. The networks have been improved until obtaining the actual high rates of data transferring. The programs that nowadays try to take advantage of these new technologies cannot be written using the traditional techniques of programming, since most of the algorithms were designed for being executed in an only processor,in a nonconcurrent form instead of being executed concurrently ina set of processors working and communicating through a network.This paper aims to present the ongoing development of a new system for the reconfiguration of grouping of computers, taking into account these new technologies.
Abstract: In this study the mixed convection heat transfer in a
coil-in-shell heat exchanger for various Reynolds numbers and
various dimensionless coil pitch was experimentally investigated.
The experiments were conducted for both laminar and turbulent flow
inside coil and the effects of coil pitch on shell-side heat transfer
coefficient of the heat exchanger were studied. The particular
difference in this study in comparison with the other similar studies
was the boundary conditions for the helical coils. The results indicate
that with the increase of coil pitch, shell-side heat transfer coefficient
is increased.
Abstract: The asymmetric trafc between uplink and downlink
over recent mobile communication systems has been conspicuous because
of providing new communication services. This paper proposes
an asymmetric trafc accommodation scheme adopting a multihop
cooperative transmission technique for CDMA/FDD cellular networks.
The proposed scheme employs the cooperative transmission
technique in the already proposed downlink multihop transmissions
for the accommodation of the asymmetric trafc, which utilizes
the vacant uplink band for the downlink relay transmissions. The
proposed scheme reduces the transmission power at the downlink
relay transmissions and then suppresses the interference to the uplink
communications, and thus, improves the uplink performance. The
proposed scheme is evaluated by computer simulation and the results
show that it can achieve better throughput performance.
Abstract: We present a non standard Euclidean vehicle
routing problem adding a level of clustering, and we revisit the use
of self-organizing maps as a tool which naturally handles such
problems. We present how they can be used as a main operator
into an evolutionary algorithm to address two conflicting
objectives of route length and distance from customers to bus stops
minimization and to deal with capacity constraints. We apply the
approach to a real-life case of combined clustering and vehicle
routing for the transportation of the 780 employees of an
enterprise. Basing upon a geographic information system we
discuss the influence of road infrastructures on the solutions
generated.
Abstract: Urbanization and regionalization are two different
approaches when it comes to economical structures and development,
infrastructure and mobility, quality of life and living, education,
social cohesion and many other topics. At first glance, the structures
associated with urbanization and regionalization seems to be
contradicting. This paper discusses possibilities of transfer and
cooperation between rural and urban structures. An empirical
investigation contributed to reveal scenarios of supposable forms of
exchange and cooperation of remote rural areas and big cities.