Abstract: This paper presents a predictive model of sensor readings for mobile robot. The model predicts sensor readings for given time horizon based on current sensor readings and velocities of wheels assumed for this horizon. Similar models for such anticipation have been proposed in the literature. The novelty of the model presented in the paper comes from the fact that its structure takes into account physical phenomena and is not just a black box, for example a neural network. From this point of view it may be regarded as a semi-phenomenological model. The model is developed for the Khepera robot, but after certain modifications, it may be applied for any robot with distance sensors such as infrared or ultrasonic sensors.
Abstract: An accurate prediction of the minimum fluidization
velocity is a crucial hydrodynamic aspect of the design of fluidized
bed reactors. Common approaches for the prediction of the minimum
fluidization velocities of binary-solid fluidized beds are first
discussed here. The data of our own careful experimental
investigation involving a binary-solid pair fluidized with water is
presented. The effect of the relative composition of the two solid
species comprising the fluidized bed on the bed void fraction at the
incipient fluidization condition is reported and its influence on the
minimum fluidization velocity is discussed. In this connection, the
capability of packing models to predict the bed void fraction is also
examined.
Abstract: Heterogeneous repolarization causes dispersion of the T-wave and has been linked to arrhythmogenesis. Such heterogeneities appear due to differential expression of ionic currents in different regions of the heart, both in healthy and diseased animals and humans. Mice are important animals for the study of heart diseases because of the ability to create transgenic animals. We used our previously reported model of mouse ventricular myocytes to develop 2D mouse ventricular tissue model consisting of 14,000 cells (apical or septal ventricular myocytes) and to study the stability of action potential propagation and Ca2+ dynamics. The 2D tissue model was implemented as a FORTRAN program code for highperformance multiprocessor computers that runs on 36 processors. Our tissue model is able to simulate heterogeneities not only in action potential repolarization, but also heterogeneities in intracellular Ca2+ transients. The multicellular model reproduced experimentally observed velocities of action potential propagation and demonstrated the importance of incorporation of realistic Ca2+ dynamics for action potential propagation. The simulations show that relatively sharp gradients of repolarization are predicted to exist in 2D mouse tissue models, and they are primarily determined by the cellular properties of ventricular myocytes. Abrupt local gradients of channel expression can cause alternans at longer pacing basic cycle lengths than gradual changes, and development of alternans depends on the site of stimulation.
Abstract: Over the early years of the 21st century, cities
throughout the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf region have
expanded more rapidly than ever before. Given the presence of a
large volume of high-rise buildings allover the region, the local
authority aims to set a new standard for sustainable development;
with an integrated approach to maintain a balance between economy,
quality, environmental protection and safety of life. In the very near
future, as mandatory requirements, sustainability will be the criteria
that should be included in all building projects. It is well known in
the building sustainability topics that structural design engineers do
not have a key role in this matter. In addition, the LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) has looked almost exclusively
on the environmental components and materials specifications. The
objective of this paper is to focus and establish groundwork for
sustainability techniques and applications related to the RC high-rise
buildings design, from the structural point of view. A set of
recommendations related to local conditions, structural modeling and
analysis is given, and some helpful suggestions for structural design
team work are addressed. This paper attempts to help structural
engineers in identifying the building sustainability design, in order to
meet local needs and achieve alternative solutions at an early stage of
project design.
Abstract: Malaysia has successfully applied economic planning
to guide the development of the country from an economy of
agriculture and mining to a largely industrialised one. Now, with its
sights set on attaining the economic level of a fully developed nation
by 2020, the planning system must be made even more efficient and
focused.
It must ensure that every investment made in the country, contribute
towards creating the desirable objective of a strong, modern,
internationally competitive, technologically advanced, post-industrial
economy. Cities in Malaysia must also be fully aware of the enormous
competition it faces in a region with rapidly expanding and
modernising economies, all contending for the same pool of potential
international investments.
Efficiency of urban governance is also fundamental issue in
development characterized by sustainability, subsidiarity, equity,
transparency and accountability, civic engagement and citizenship, and
security. As described above, city competitiveness is harnessed
through 'city marketing and city management'.
High technology and high skilled industries, together with finance,
transportation, tourism, business, information and professional
services shopping and other commercial activities, are the principal
components of the nation-s economy, which must be developed to a
level well beyond where it is now. In this respect, Kuala Lumpur being
the premier city must play the leading role.
Abstract: The national economy development affects the vehicle
ownership which ultimately increases fuel consumption. The rise of
the vehicle ownership is dominated by the increasing number of
motorcycles. This research aims to analyze and identify the
characteristics of fuel consumption, the city transportation system,
and to analyze the relationship and the effect of the city
transportation system on the fuel consumption. A multivariable
analysis is used in this study. The data analysis techniques include: a
Multivariate Multivariable Analysis by using the R software. More
than 84% of fuel on Java is consumed in metropolitan and large
cities. The city transportation system variables that strongly effect the
fuel consumption are population, public vehicles, private vehicles and
private bus. This method can be developed to control the fuel
consumption by considering the urban transport system and city
tipology. The effect can reducing subsidy on the fuel consumption,
increasing state economic.
Abstract: Yogyakarta, as the capital city of Yogyakarta Province, has important roles in various sectors that require good provision of public transportation system. Ideally, a good transportation system should be able to accommodate the amount of travel demand. This research attempts to develop a trip generation model to predict the number of public transport passenger in Yogyakarta city. The model is built by using multiple linear regression analysis, which establishes relationship between trip number and socioeconomic attributes. The data consist of primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected by conducting household surveys which randomly selected. The resulted model is further applied to evaluate the existing TransJogja, a new Bus Rapid Transit system serves Yogyakarta and surrounding cities, shelters.
Abstract: Ants are fascinating creatures that demonstrate the
ability to find food and bring it back to their nest. Their ability as a
colony, to find paths to food sources has inspired the development of
algorithms known as Ant Colony Systems (ACS). The principle of
cooperation forms the backbone of such algorithms, commonly used
to find solutions to problems such as the Traveling Salesman
Problem (TSP). Ants communicate to each other through chemical
substances called pheromones. Modeling individual ants- ability to
manipulate this substance can help an ACS find the best solution.
This paper introduces a Dynamic Ant Colony System with threelevel
updates (DACS3) that enhance an existing ACS. Experiments
were conducted to observe single ant behavior in a colony of
Malaysian House Red Ants. Such behavior was incorporated into the
DACS3 algorithm. We benchmark the performance of DACS3 versus
DACS on TSP instances ranging from 14 to 100 cities. The result
shows that the DACS3 algorithm can achieve shorter distance in
most cases and also performs considerably faster than DACS.
Abstract: Success is a European project that will implement several clean transport offers in three European cities and evaluate the environmental impacts. The goal of these measures is to improve urban mobility or the displacement of residents inside cities. For e.g. park and ride, electric vehicles, hybrid bus and bike sharing etc. A list of 28 criteria and 60 measures has been established for evaluation of these transport projects. The evaluation criteria can be grouped into: Transport, environment, social, economic and fuel consumption. This article proposes a decision support system based that encapsulates a hybrid approach based on fuzzy logic, multicriteria analysis and belief theory for the evaluation of impacts of urban mobility solutions. A web-based tool called DeSSIA (Decision Support System for Impacts Assessment) has been developed that treats complex data. The tool has several functionalities starting from data integration (import of data), evaluation of projects and finishes by graphical display of results. The tool development is based on the concept of MVC (Model, View, and Controller). The MVC is a conception model adapted to the creation of software's which impose separation between data, their treatment and presentation. Effort is laid on the ergonomic aspects of the application. It has codes compatible with the latest norms (XHTML, CSS) and has been validated by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). The main ergonomic aspect focuses on the usability of the application, ease of learning and adoption. By the usage of technologies such as AJAX (XML and Java Script asynchrones), the application is more rapid and convivial. The positive points of our approach are that it treats heterogeneous data (qualitative, quantitative) from various information sources (human experts, survey, sensors, model etc.).
Abstract: Cities expansion, urban travels increase, the
technology development, the automobile price cheapen, and the
families' income ascending cause the considerable increase in
automobile numbers of the city. This fact has led to the traffic
creation and the automobile parking site shortage in the city. Also in
Esfahan metropolis, the parking lots shortage has been the great
problem of this town; in addition, in designing and constructing of
the parking sites the traditional methods are utilized which do not
have a reasonable and optimized usage of the valuable urban lands. In
this article, by introducing the prefabricate mechanized parking
system which is inexpensive, simple and quick, and occupies very
small space, therefore provides the high content of parking site for
the cities, we can eliminate the parking space shortage difficulty of
the cities. The achieved results of this research represent that an
optimized utilization of the existent urban spaces for parking site
construction has not been accomplished. By employing the new
parking site technologies such as mechanization categorized parking
sites and the capacity prefabricate mechanized of each parking space
have become 8 multiples; in this case, the valuable urban lands can
be used in an optimized way.
Abstract: The persistent nature of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) has attracted global concern in recent years. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are the most commonly found PFC compounds, and thus their fate and transport play key roles in PFC distribution in the natural environment. The kinetic behavior of PFOS or PFOA on boehmite consists of a fast adsorption process followed by a slow adsorption process which may be attributed to the slow transport of PFOS or PFOA into the boehmite pore surface. The adsorption isotherms estimated the maximum adsorption capacities of PFOS and PFOA on boehmite as 0.877 μg/m2 and 0.633 μg/m2, with the difference primarily due to their different functional groups. The increase of solution pH led to a moderate decrease of PFOS and PFOA adsorption, owing to the increase of ligand exchange reactions and the decrease of electrostatic interactions. The presence of NaCl in solution demonstrated negative effects for PFOS and PFOA adsorption on boehmite surfaces, with potential mechanisms being electrical double layer compression, competitive adsorption of chloride.
Abstract: A numerical prediction of flow in a tube bank is reported. The flow regimes considered cover a wide range of Reynolds numbers, which range from 380 to 99000 and which are equivalent to a range of inlet velocities from very low (0.072 m/s) to very high (60 m/s). In this study, calculations were made using the standard k-e model with standard wall function. The drag coefficient, skin friction drag, pressure drag, and pressure distribution around a tube were investigated. As the velocity increased, the drag coefficient decreased until the velocity exceeded 45 m/s, after which it increased. Furthermore, the pressure drag and skin friction drag depend on the velocity.
Abstract: Ever increasing capacities of contemporary storage devices
inspire the vision to accumulate (personal) information without
the need of deleting old data over a long time-span. Hence the target
of SemanticLIFE project is to create a Personal Information Management
system for a human lifetime data. One of the most important
characteristics of the system is its dedication to retrieve information
in a very efficient way. By adopting user demands regarding the
reduction of ambiguities, our approach aims at a user-oriented and
yet powerful enough system with a satisfactory query performance.
We introduce the query system of SemanticLIFE, the Virtual Query
System, which uses emerging Semantic Web technologies to fulfill
users- requirements.
Abstract: The article describes problems of city centers with regard to possibilities of their delimitation in a GIS environment. First the definitions and delimitations of a city centre which are in use are mentioned, furthermore a chosen case study (the historical centre of Olomouc city in the Czech Republic) is employed to describe the methods of delimitation in use. In addition to describing the current state, the article also deals with possibilities of delimitation of a city centre in GIS environment by means of several chosen approaches. The authors describe, compare and discuss the chosen methods and assess the achieved results and also applicability of the designed methods for other cities.
Abstract: The paper aims at investigating influence of medium
capacity on linear adsorbed solute dispersion into chemically
heterogeneous fixed beds. A discrete chemical heterogeneity
distribution is considered in the one-dimensional advectivedispersive
equation. The partial differential equation is solved using
finite volumes method based on the Adam-Bashforth algorithm.
Increased dispersion is estimated by comparing breakthrough curves
second order moments and keeping identical hydrodynamic
properties. As a result, dispersion increase due to chemical
heterogeneity depends on the column size and surprisingly on the
solid capacity. The more intense capacity is, the more important
solute dispersion is. Medium length which is known to favour this
effect vanishing according to the linear adsorption in fixed bed seems
to create nonmonotonous variation of dispersion because of the
heterogeneity. This nonmonotonous behaviour is also favoured by
high capacities.
Abstract: Anti-money laundering is commonly recognized as a
set of procedures, laws or regulations designed to reduce the practice
of generating income through illegal actions. In Malaysia, the
government and law enforcement agencies have stepped up their
capacities and efforts to curb money laundering since 2001. One of
these measures was the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering
Act (AMLA) in 2001. The implementation costs on anti-money
laundering requirements (AMLR) can be burdensome to those who
are involved in enforcing them. The objective of this paper is to
explore the perceived effectiveness of AMLR from the enforcement
agencies- perspective. This is a preliminary study whose findings
will help to give direction for further AML research in Malaysia. In
addition, the results of this study provide empirical evidences on the
perceived effectiveness of AMLR prior to further investigations on
barriers and improvements of the implementation of the anti-money
laundering regime in Malaysia.
Abstract: Combined conduction-free convection heat transfer in
vertical eccentric annuli is numerically investigated using a finitedifference
technique. Numerical results, representing the heat transfer
parameters such as annulus walls temperature, heat flux, and heat
absorbed in the developing region of the annulus, are presented for a
Newtonian fluid of Prandtl number 0.7, fluid-annulus radius ratio 0.5,
solid-fluid thermal conductivity ratio 10, inner and outer wall
dimensionless thicknesses 0.1 and 0.2, respectively, and
dimensionless eccentricities 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7. The annulus walls
are subjected to thermal boundary conditions, which are obtained by
heating one wall isothermally whereas keeping the other wall at inlet
fluid temperature. In the present paper, the annulus heights required
to achieve thermal full development for prescribed eccentricities are
obtained. Furthermore, the variation in the height of thermal full
development as function of the geometrical parameter, i.e.,
eccentricity is also investigated.
Abstract: The complex shape of the human pelvic bone was
successfully imaged and modeled using finite element FE processing.
The bone was subjected to quasi-static and dynamic loading
conditions simulating the effect of both weight gain and impact.
Loads varying between 500 – 2500 N (~50 – 250 Kg of weight) was
used to simulate 3D quasi-static weight gain. Two different 3D
dynamic analyses, body free fall at two different heights (1 and 2 m)
and forced side impact at two different velocities (20 and 40 Km/hr)
were also studied. The computed resulted stresses were compared for
the four loading cases, where Von Misses stresses increases linearly
with the weight gain increase under quasi-static loading. For the
dynamic models, the Von Misses stress history behaviors were
studied for the affected area and effected load with respect to time.
The normalization Von Misses stresses with respect to the applied
load were used for comparing the free fall and the forced impact load
results. It was found that under the forced impact loading condition
an over lapping behavior was noticed, where as for the free fall the
normalized Von Misses stresses behavior was found to nonlinearly
different. This phenomenon was explained through the energy
dissipation concept. This study will help designers in different
specialization in defining the weakest spots for designing different
supporting systems.
Abstract: Higher capacities of power plants together with
increased awareness on environmental considerations have led to
taller height of stacks. It is seen that strong wind can result in falling
of stacks. So, aerodynamic consideration of stacks is very important
in order to save the falling of stacks. One stack is not enough in
industries and power sectors and two or three stacks are required for
proper operation of the unit. It is very important to arrange the stacks
in proper way to resist their downfall. The present experimental
study concentrates on the mutual effect of three nearby stacks on
each other at three different arrangements, viz. linear, side-by-side
and triangular. The experiments find out the directions of resultant
forces acting on the stacks in different configurations so that proper
arrangement of supports can be made with respect to the wind
directionality obtained from local meteorological data. One can also
easily ascertain which stack is more vulnerable to wind in
comparison to the others for a particular configuration. Thus, this
study is important in studying the effect of wind force on three stacks
in different arrangements and is very helpful in placing the supports
in proper places in order to avoid failing of stack-like structures due
to wind.
Abstract: Periodicities in the environmetric time series can be
idyllically assessed by utilizing periodic models. In this
communication fugitive emission of gases from open sewer channel
Lyari which follows periodic behaviour are approximated by
employing periodic autoregressive model of order p. The orders of
periodic model for each season are selected through the examination
of periodic partial autocorrelation or information criteria. The
parameters for the selected order of season are estimated individually
for each emitted air toxin. Subsequently, adequacies of fitted models
are established by examining the properties of the residual for each
season. These models are beneficial for schemer and administrative
bodies for the improvement of implemented policies to surmount
future environmental problems.