Abstract: Water hyacinth has been used in aquatic systems for
wastewater purification in many years worldwide. The role of water
hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) species in polishing nitrate and
phosphorus concentration from municipal wastewater treatment plant
effluent by phytoremediation method was evaluated. The objective
of this project is to determine the removal efficiency of water
hyacinth in polishing nitrate and phosphorus, as well as chemical
oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia. Water hyacinth is considered
as the most efficient aquatic plant used in removing vast range of
pollutants such as organic matters, nutrients and heavy metals. Water
hyacinth, also referred as macrophytes, were cultivated in the
treatment house in a reactor tank of approximately 90(L) x 40(W) x
25(H) in dimension and built with three compartments. Three water
hyacinths were placed in each compartments and water sample in
each compartment were collected in every two days. The plant
observation was conducted by weight measurement, plant uptake and
new young shoot development. Water hyacinth effectively removed
approximately 49% of COD, 81% of ammonia, 67% of phosphorus
and 92% of nitrate. It also showed significant growth rate at starting
from day 6 with 0.33 shoot/day and they kept developing up to 0.38
shoot/day at the end of day 24. From the studies conducted, it was
proved that water hyacinth is capable of polishing the effluent of
municipal wastewater which contains undesirable amount of nitrate
and phosphorus concentration.
Abstract: Collaborative working environments for distance
education can be considered as a more generic form of contemporary
remote labs. At present, the majority of existing real laboratories are
not constructed to allow the involved participants to collaborate in
real time. To make this revolutionary learning environment possible
we must allow the different users to carry out an experiment
simultaneously. In recent times, multi-user environments are
successfully applied in many applications such as air traffic control
systems, team-oriented military systems, chat-text tools, multi-player
games etc. Thus, understanding the ideas and techniques behind these
systems could be of great importance in the contribution of ideas to
our e-learning environment for collaborative working. In this
investigation, collaborative working environments from theoretical
and practical perspectives are considered in order to build an
effective collaborative real laboratory, which allows two students or
more to conduct remote experiments at the same time as a team. In
order to achieve this goal, we have implemented distributed system
architecture, enabling students to obtain an automated help by either
a human tutor or a rule-based e-tutor.
Abstract: In digital signal processing it is important to
approximate multi-dimensional data by the method called rank
reduction, in which we reduce the rank of multi-dimensional data from
higher to lower. For 2-dimennsional data, singular value
decomposition (SVD) is one of the most known rank reduction
techniques. Additional, outer product expansion expanded from SVD
was proposed and implemented for multi-dimensional data, which has
been widely applied to image processing and pattern recognition.
However, the multi-dimensional outer product expansion has behavior
of great computation complex and has not orthogonally between the
expansion terms. Therefore we have proposed an alterative method,
Third-order Orthogonal Tensor Product Expansion short for 3-OTPE.
3-OTPE uses the power method instead of nonlinear optimization
method for decreasing at computing time. At the same time the group
of B. D. Lathauwer proposed Higher-Order SVD (HOSVD) that is
also developed with SVD extensions for multi-dimensional data.
3-OTPE and HOSVD are similarly on the rank reduction of
multi-dimensional data. Using these two methods we can obtain
computation results respectively, some ones are the same while some
ones are slight different. In this paper, we compare 3-OTPE to
HOSVD in accuracy of calculation and computing time of resolution,
and clarify the difference between these two methods.
Abstract: As the enormous amount of on-line text grows on the
World-Wide Web, the development of methods for automatically
summarizing this text becomes more important. The primary goal of
this research is to create an efficient tool that is able to summarize
large documents automatically. We propose an Evolving
connectionist System that is adaptive, incremental learning and
knowledge representation system that evolves its structure and
functionality. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for Part of
Speech disambiguation using a recurrent neural network, a paradigm
capable of dealing with sequential data. We observed that
connectionist approach to text summarization has a natural way of
learning grammatical structures through experience. Experimental
results show that our approach achieves acceptable performance.
Abstract: The development of shape and size of a crack in a
pressure vessel under uniaxial and biaxial loadings is important in
fitness-for-service evaluations such as leak-before-break. In this
work finite element modelling was used to evaluate the mean stress
and the J-integral around a front of a surface-breaking crack. A
procedure on the basis of ductile tearing resistance curves of high and
low constrained fracture mechanics geometries was developed to
estimate the amount of ductile crack extension for surface-breaking
cracks and to show the evolution of the initial crack shape. The
results showed non-uniform constraint levels and crack driving forces
around the crack front at large deformation levels. It was also shown
that initially semi-elliptical surface cracks under biaxial load
developed higher constraint levels around the crack front than in
uniaxial tension. However similar crack shapes were observed with
more extensions associated with cracks under biaxial loading.
Abstract: The third phase of web means semantic web requires many web pages which are annotated with metadata. Thus, a crucial question is where to acquire these metadata. In this paper we propose our approach, a semi-automatic method to annotate the texts of documents and web pages and employs with a quite comprehensive knowledge base to categorize instances with regard to ontology. The approach is evaluated against the manual annotations and one of the most popular annotation tools which works the same as our tool. The approach is implemented in .net framework and uses the WordNet for knowledge base, an annotation tool for the Semantic Web.
Abstract: We present a simplified equalization technique for a
π/4 differential quadrature phase shift keying ( π/4 -DQPSK) modulated
signal in a multipath fading environment. The proposed equalizer is
realized as a fractionally spaced adaptive decision feedback equalizer
(FS-ADFE), employing exponential step-size least mean square
(LMS) algorithm as the adaptation technique. The main advantage of
the scheme stems from the usage of exponential step-size LMS algorithm
in the equalizer, which achieves similar convergence behavior
as that of a recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm with significantly
reduced computational complexity. To investigate the finite-precision
performance of the proposed equalizer along with the π/4 -DQPSK
modem, the entire system is evaluated on a 16-bit fixed point digital
signal processor (DSP) environment. The proposed scheme is found
to be attractive even for those cases where equalization is to be
performed within a restricted number of training samples.
Abstract: Soccer simulation is an effort to motivate researchers and practitioners to do artificial and robotic intelligence research; and at the same time put into practice and test the results. Many researchers and practitioners throughout the world are continuously working to polish their ideas and improve their implemented systems. At the same time, new groups are forming and they bring bright new thoughts to the field. The research includes designing and executing robotic soccer simulation algorithms. In our research, a soccer simulation player is considered to be an intelligent agent that is capable of receiving information from the environment, analyze it and to choose the best action from a set of possible ones, for its next move. We concentrate on developing a two-phase method for the soccer player agent to choose its best next move. The method is then implemented into our software system called Nexus simulation team of Ferdowsi University. This system is based on TsinghuAeolus[1] team that was the champion of the world RoboCup soccer simulation contest in 2001 and 2002.
Abstract: Toughening of polyamide 6 (PA6)/ Nanoclay (NC) nanocomposites with styrene-ethylene/butadiene-styrene copolymer (SEBS) using maleated styrene-ethylene/butadiene-styrene copolymer (mSEBS)/ as a compatibilizer were investigated by blending them in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Response surface method of experimental design was used for optimizing the material and processing parameters. Effect of four factors, including SEBS, mSEBS and NC contents as material variables and order of mixing as a processing factor, on toughness of hybrid nanocomposites were studied. All the prepared samples showed ductile behavior and low temperature Izod impact toughness of some of the hybrid nanocomposites demonstrated 900% improvement compared to the PA6 matrix while the modulus showed maximum enhancement of 20% compared to the pristine PA6 resin.
Abstract: Subjective loneliness describes people who feel a
disagreeable or unacceptable lack of meaningful social relationships,
both at the quantitative and qualitative level. The studies to be
presented tested an Italian 18-items self-report loneliness measure,
that included items adapted from scales previously developed,
namely a short version of the UCLA (Russell, Peplau and Cutrona,
1980), and the 11-items Loneliness scale by De Jong-Gierveld &
Kamphuis (JGLS; 1985). The studies aimed at testing the developed
scale and at verifying whether loneliness is better conceptualized as a
unidimensional (so-called 'general loneliness') or a bidimensional
construct, namely comprising the distinct facets of social and
emotional loneliness. The loneliness questionnaire included 2 singleitem
criterion measures of sad mood, and social contact, and asked
participants to supply information on a number of socio-demographic
variables. Factorial analyses of responses obtained in two
preliminary studies, with 59 and 143 Italian participants respectively,
showed good factor loadings and subscale reliability and confirmed
that perceived loneliness has clearly two components, a social and an
emotional one, the latter measured by two subscales, a 7-item
'general' loneliness subscale derived from UCLA, and a 6–item
'emotional' scale included in the JGLS. Results further showed that
type and amount of loneliness are related, negatively, to frequency of
social contacts, and, positively, to sad mood. In a third study data
were obtained from a nation-wide sample of 9.097 Italian subjects,
12 to about 70 year-olds, who filled the test on-line, on the Italian
web site of a large-audience magazine, Focus. The results again
confirmed the reliability of the component subscales, namely social,
emotional, and 'general' loneliness, and showed that they were
highly correlated with each other, especially the latter two.
Loneliness scores were significantly predicted by sex, age, education
level, sad mood and social contact, and, less so, by other variables –
e.g., geographical area and profession. The scale validity was
confirmed by the results of a fourth study, with elderly men and
women (N 105) living at home or in residential care units. The three
subscales were significantly related, among others, to depression, and
to various measures of the extension of, and satisfaction with, social
contacts with relatives and friends. Finally, a fifth study with 315
career-starters showed that social and emotional loneliness correlate
with life satisfaction, and with measures of emotional intelligence.
Altogether the results showed a good validity and reliability in the
tested samples of the entire scale, and of its components.
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: This paper examines the implementation of RC5 block cipher for digital images along with its detailed security analysis. A complete specification for the method of application of the RC5 block cipher to digital images is given. The security analysis of RC5 block cipher for digital images against entropy attack, bruteforce, statistical, and differential attacks is explored from strict cryptographic viewpoint. Experiments and results verify and prove that RC5 block cipher is highly secure for real-time image encryption from cryptographic viewpoint. Thorough experimental tests are carried out with detailed analysis, demonstrating the high security of RC5 block cipher algorithm.
Abstract: In unsupervised segmentation context, we propose a bi-dimensional hidden Markov chain model (X,Y) that we adapt to the image segmentation problem. The bi-dimensional observed process Y = (Y 1, Y 2) is such that Y 1 represents the noisy image and Y 2 represents a noisy supplementary information on the image, for example a noisy proportion of pixels of the same type in a neighborhood of the current pixel. The proposed model can be seen as a competitive alternative to the Hilbert-Peano scan. We propose a bayesian algorithm to estimate parameters of the considered model. The performance of this algorithm is globally favorable, compared to the bi-dimensional EM algorithm through numerical and visual data.
Abstract: Aerial and satellite images are information rich. They are also complex to analyze. For GIS systems, many features require fast and reliable extraction of roads and intersections. In this paper, we study efficient and reliable automatic extraction algorithms to address some difficult issues that are commonly seen in high resolution aerial and satellite images, nonetheless not well addressed in existing solutions, such as blurring, broken or missing road boundaries, lack of road profiles, heavy shadows, and interfering surrounding objects. The new scheme is based on a new method, namely reference circle, to properly identify the pixels that belong to the same road and use this information to recover the whole road network. This feature is invariable to the shape and direction of roads and tolerates heavy noise and disturbances. Road extraction based on reference circles is much more noise tolerant and flexible than the previous edge-detection based algorithms. The scheme is able to extract roads reliably from images with complex contents and heavy obstructions, such as the high resolution aerial/satellite images available from Google maps.
Abstract: The proper assessment of interaxial distance and
convergence control are important factors in stereoscopic imaging
technology to make an efficient 3D image. To control interaxial
distance and convergence for efficient 3D shooting, horizontal 3D
camera rig is designed using some hardware components like 'LM
Guide', 'Goniometer' and 'Rotation Stage'. The horizontal 3D camera
rig system can be properly aligned by moving the two cameras
horizontally in same or opposite directions, by adjusting the camera
angle and finally considering horizontal swing as well as vertical
swing. In this paper, the relationship between interaxial distance and
convergence angle control are discussed and intensive experiments are
performed in order to demonstrate an easy and effective 3D shooting.
Abstract: Thermochemcial characteristics of powder fabricated
using oxidation treatment of spent PWR fuel and SIMFUEL were
evaluated for recycling of spent fuel such as DUPIC process.
Especially, the influence of spent fuel burn-ups on the powder
fabrication characteristics was experimentally evaluated, ranging from
27,300 to 65,000 MWd/tU. Densities of powder manufactured from an
oxidation, OREOX and the milling processes at the same process
conditions were compared as a function of the fuel burn-ups
respectively. Also, based on chemical analysis results, homogeneity of
fissile elements in oxidized powder was confirmed.
Abstract: Users of computer systems may often require the
private transfer of messages/communications between parties across
a network. Information warfare and the protection and dominance of
information in the military context is a prime example of an
application area in which the confidentiality of data needs to be
maintained. The safe transportation of critical data is therefore often
a vital requirement for many private communications. However,
unwanted interception/sniffing of communications is also a
possibility. An elementary stealthy transfer scheme is therefore
proposed by the authors. This scheme makes use of encoding,
splitting of a message and the use of a hashing algorithm to verify the
correctness of the reconstructed message. For this proof-of-concept
purpose, the authors have experimented with the random sending of
encoded parts of a message and the construction thereof to
demonstrate how data can stealthily be transferred across a network
so as to prevent the obvious retrieval of data.
Abstract: In this study an extensive experimental research is
carried out to develop a better understanding of the effects of Piano Key (PK) weir geometry on weir flow threshold submergence.
Experiments were conducted in a 12 m long, 0.4 m wide and 0.7 m deep rectangular glass wall flume. The main objectives were to
investigate the effect of the PK weir geometries including the weir
length, weir height, inlet-outlet key widths, upstream and
downstream apex overhangs, and slopped floors on threshold submergence and study the hydraulic flow characteristics. From the
experimental results, a practical formula is proposed to evaluate the flow threshold submergence over PK weirs.
Abstract: For the characterization of the weld defect region in the radiographic image, looking for features which are invariant regarding the geometrical transformations (rotation, translation and scaling) proves to be necessary because the same defect can be seen from several angles according to the orientation and the distance from the welded framework to the radiation source. Thus, panoply of geometrical attributes satisfying the above conditions is proposed and which result from the calculation of the geometrical parameters (surface, perimeter, etc.) on the one hand and the calculation of the different order moments, on the other hand. Because the large range in values of the raw features and taking into account other considerations imposed by some classifiers, the scaling of these values to lie between 0 and 1 is indispensable. The principal component analysis technique is used in order to reduce the number of the attribute variables in the aim to give better performance to the further defect classification.