Abstract: In recent years, global warming has become a
worldwide problem. The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is a
top priority for many companies in the manufacturing industry. In the
automobile industry as well, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
is one of the most important issues. Technology to reduce the weight
of automotive parts improves the fuel economy of automobiles, and is
an important technology for reducing carbon dioxide. Also, even if
this weight reduction technology is applied to electric automobiles
rather than gasoline automobiles, reducing energy consumption
remains an important issue. Plastic processing of hollow pipes is one
important technology for realizing the weight reduction of automotive
parts. Ohashi et al. [1],[2] present an example of research on pipe
formation in which a process was carried out to enlarge a pipe
diameter using a lost core, achieving the suppression of wall thickness
reduction and greater pipe expansion than hydroforming.
In this study, we investigated a method to increase the wall
thickness of a pipe through pipe compression using planetary rolls.
The establishment of a technology whereby the wall thickness of a
pipe can be controlled without buckling the pipe is an important
technology for the weight reduction of products. Using the finite
element analysis method, we predicted that it would be possible to
increase the compression of an aluminum pipe with a 3mm wall
thickness by approximately 20%, and wall thickness by approximately
20% by pressing the hollow pipe with planetary rolls.
Abstract: A direct connection between ElectroEncephaloGram
(EEG) and the genetic information of individuals has been
investigated by neurophysiologists and psychiatrists since 1960-s;
and it opens a new research area in the science. This paper focuses on
the person identification based on feature extracted from the EEG
which can show a direct connection between EEG and the genetic
information of subjects. In this work the full EO EEG signal of
healthy individuals are estimated by an autoregressive (AR) model
and the AR parameters are extracted as features. Here for feature
vector constitution, two methods have been proposed; in the first
method the extracted parameters of each channel are used as a
feature vector in the classification step which employs a competitive
neural network and in the second method a combination of different
channel parameters are used as a feature vector. Correct classification
scores at the range of 80% to 100% reveal the potential of our
approach for person classification/identification and are in agreement
to the previous researches showing evidence that the EEG signal
carries genetic information. The novelty of this work is in the
combination of AR parameters and the network type (competitive
network) that we have used. A comparison between the first and the
second approach imply preference of the second one.
Abstract: The electronically available Urdu data is in image form
which is very difficult to process. Printed Urdu data is the root cause
of problem. So for the rapid progress of Urdu language we need an
OCR systems, which can help us to make Urdu data available for the
common person. Research has been carried out for years to automata
Arabic and Urdu script. But the biggest hurdle in the development of
Urdu OCR is the challenge to recognize Nastalique Script which is
taken as standard for writing Urdu language. Nastalique script is
written diagonally with no fixed baseline which makes the script
somewhat complex. Overlap is present not only in characters but in
the ligatures as well. This paper proposes a method which allows
successful recognition of Nastalique Script.
Abstract: Topological changes in mobile ad hoc networks
frequently render routing paths unusable. Such recurrent path failures
have detrimental effects on quality of service. A suitable technique
for eliminating this problem is to use multiple backup paths between
the source and the destination in the network. This paper proposes an
effective and efficient protocol for backup and disjoint path set in ad
hoc wireless network. This protocol converges to a highly reliable
path set very fast with no message exchange overhead. The paths
selection according to this algorithm is beneficial for mobile ad hoc
networks, since it produce a set of backup paths with more high
reliability. Simulation experiments are conducted to evaluate the
performance of our algorithm in terms of route numbers in the path
set and its reliability. In order to acquire link reliability estimates, we
use link expiration time (LET) between two nodes.
Abstract: Estimation of stature is an important step in developing a biological profile for human identification. It may provide a valuable indicator for unknown individual in a population. The aim of this study was to analyses the relationship between stature and lower limb dimensions in the Malaysian population. The sample comprised 100 corpses, which included 69 males and 31 females between age ranges of 20 to 90 years old. The parameters measured were stature, thigh length, lower leg length, leg length, foot length, foot height and foot breadth. Results showed that mean values in males were significantly higher than those in females (P < 0.05). There were significant correlations between lower limb dimensions and stature. Cross-validation of the equation on 100 individuals showed close approximation between known stature and estimated stature. It was concluded that lower limb dimensions were useful for estimation of stature, which should be validated in future studies.
Abstract: The authors of this work indicate by means of a concrete example that it is possible to apply efficaciously the method of multiple criteria programming in dealing with the problem of determining the optimal production plan for a certain period of time. The work presents: (1) the selection of optimization criteria, (2) the setting of the problem of determining an optimal production plan, (3) the setting of the model of multiple criteria programming in finding a solution to a given problem, (4) the revised surrogate trade-off method, (5) generalized multicriteria model for solving production planning problem and problem of choosing technological variants in the metal manufacturing industry. In the final part of this work the authors reflect on the application of the method of multiple criteria programming while determining the optimal production plan in manufacturing enterprises.
Abstract: Global approximation using metamodel for complex
mathematical function or computer model over a large variable
domain is often needed in sensibility analysis, computer simulation,
optimal control, and global design optimization of complex, multiphysics
systems. To overcome the limitations of the existing
response surface (RS), surrogate or metamodel modeling methods for
complex models over large variable domain, a new adaptive and
regressive RS modeling method using quadratic functions and local
area model improvement schemes is introduced. The method applies
an iterative and Latin hypercube sampling based RS update process,
divides the entire domain of design variables into multiple cells,
identifies rougher cells with large modeling error, and further divides
these cells along the roughest dimension direction. A small number
of additional sampling points from the original, expensive model are
added over the small and isolated rough cells to improve the RS
model locally until the model accuracy criteria are satisfied. The
method then combines local RS cells to regenerate the global RS
model with satisfactory accuracy. An effective RS cells sorting
algorithm is also introduced to improve the efficiency of model
evaluation. Benchmark tests are presented and use of the new
metamodeling method to replace complex hybrid electrical vehicle
powertrain performance model in vehicle design optimization and
optimal control are discussed.
Abstract: For the last years, the variants of the Newton-s method with cubic convergence have become popular iterative methods to find approximate solutions to the roots of non-linear equations. These methods both enjoy cubic convergence at simple roots and do not require the evaluation of second order derivatives. In this paper, we present a new Newton-s method based on contra harmonic mean with cubically convergent. Numerical examples show that the new method can compete with the classical Newton's method.
Abstract: Semnan is a city in semnan province, northern Iran
with a population estimated at 119,778 inhabitants. It is the
provincial capital of semnan province. Iran is a developing country
and construction is a basic factor of developing too. Hence, Semnan
city needs to a special programming for construction of buildings,
structures and infrastructures. Semnan municipality tries to begin this
program. In addition to, city has some historical monuments which
can be interesting for tourists. Hence, Semnan inhabitants can benefit
from tourist industry. Optimization of Energy in construction
industry is another activity of this municipality and the inhabitants
who execute these regulations receive some discounts. Many parts of
Iran such as semnan are located in highly seismic zones and
structures must be constructed safe e.g., according to recent seismic
codes. In this paper opportunities of IT in construction industry of
Iran are investigated in three categories. Pre-construction phase,
construction phase and earthquake disaster mitigation are studied.
Studies show that information technology can be used in these items
for reducing the losses and increasing the benefits. Both government
and private sectors must contribute to this strategic project for
obtaining the best result.
Abstract: We examined whether children ( < 18 years old) had risk of intra-thoracic trauma during 'one-handed' chest compressions through MDCT images. We measured the length of the lower half of the sternum (Stotal/2~X). We also measured the distance from the diaphragm to the midpoint of the sternum (Stotal/2~D) and half the width of an adult hand (Wtotal/2). All the 1 year-old children had Stotal/2~X and Stotal/2~D less than Wtotal/2. Among the children aged 2 years, 6 (60.0%) had Stotal/2~X and Stotal/2~D less than Wtotal/2. Among those aged 3 years, 4 (26.7%) had Stotal/2~X and Stotal/2~D less than Wtotal/2, and among those aged 4 years, 2 (13.3%) had Stotal/2~X and Stotal/2~D less than Wtotal/2. However, Stotal/2~X and Stotal/2~D were greater than Wtotal/2 in children aged 5 years or more. We knew that small children may be at an increased risk of intra-thoracic trauma during 'one-handed' chest compressions.
Abstract: We are proposing a simple watermarking method
based on visual cryptography. The method is based on selection of
specific pixels from the original image instead of random selection of
pixels as per Hwang [1] paper. Verification information is generated
which will be used to verify the ownership of the image without the
need to embed the watermark pattern into the original digital data.
Experimental results show the proposed method can recover the
watermark pattern from the marked data even if some changes are
made to the original digital data.
Abstract: Nowadays there is a growing environmental concern
and the business communities have slowly started recognising
environmental protection and sustainable utilization of natural
resources into their marketing strategies. This paper discusses the
various Ecolabeling and Certification Systems developed world
over to regulate and introduce Fair Trade in Ornamental Fish
Industry. Ecolabeling and green certification are considered as part
of these strategies implemented partly out of compulsion from the
National and International Regulatory Bodies and Environmental
Movements. All the major markets of ornamental fishes like
European Union, USA and Japan have started putting restrictions on
the trade to impose ecolabeling as a non tariff barrier like the one
imposed on seafood and aqua cultured products. A review was done
on the available Ecolabeling and Green Certification Schemes
available at local, national and international levels for fisheries
including aquaculture and ornamental fish trade and to examine the
success and constraints faced by these schemes during its
implementation. The primary downside of certification is the
multiplicity of ecolabels and cost incurred by applicants for
certification, costs which may in turn be passed on to consumers.
The studies reveal serious inadequacies in a number of ecolabels
and cast doubt on their overall contribution to effective fisheries
management and sustainability. The paper also discusses the
inititive taken in India to develop guidelines for Green Certification
of Fresh water ornamental fishes.
Abstract: The distribution of macrobenthic polychaetes along
the coastal waters of Penang National Park was surveyed to estimate
the effect of various environmental parameters at three stations
(200m, 600m and 1200m) from the shoreline, during six sampling
months, from June 2010 to April 2011.The use of polychaetes in
descriptive ecology is surveyed in the light of a recent investigation
particularly concerning the soft bottom biota environments.
Polychaetes, often connected in the former to the notion of
opportunistic species able to proliferate after an enhancement in
organic matter, had performed a momentous role particularly with
regard to effected soft-bottom habitats. The objective of this survey
was to investigate different environment stress over soft bottom
polychaete community along Teluk Ketapang and Pantai Acheh
(Penang National Park) over a year period. Variations in the
polychaete community were evaluated using univariate and
multivariate methods. The results of PCA analysis displayed a
positive relation between macrobenthic community structures and
environmental parameters such as sediment particle size and organic
matter in the coastal water. A total of 604 individuals were examined
which was grouped into 23 families. Family Nereidae was the most
abundant (22.68%), followed by Spionidae (22.02%), Hesionidae
(12.58%), Nephtylidae (9.27%) and Orbiniidae (8.61%). It is
noticeable that good results can only be obtained on the basis of good
taxonomic resolution. We proposed that, in monitoring surveys,
operative time could be optimized not only by working at a highertaxonomic
level on the entire macrobenthic data set, but by also
choosing an especially indicative group and working at lower
taxonomic and good level.
Abstract: Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) has demonstrated
far superior to previous Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and
standard JPEG in natural as well as medical image compression. Due
to its localization properties both in special and transform domain,
the quantization error introduced in DWT does not propagate
globally as in DCT. Moreover, DWT is a global approach that avoids
block artifacts as in the JPEG. However, recent reports on natural
image compression have shown the superior performance of
contourlet transform, a new extension to the wavelet transform in two
dimensions using nonseparable and directional filter banks,
compared to DWT. It is mostly due to the optimality of contourlet in
representing the edges when they are smooth curves. In this work, we
investigate this fact for medical images, especially for CT images,
which has not been reported yet. To do that, we propose a
compression scheme in transform domain and compare the
performance of both DWT and contourlet transform in PSNR for
different compression ratios (CR) using this scheme. The results
obtained using different type of computed tomography images show
that the DWT has still good performance at lower CR but contourlet
transform performs better at higher CR.
Abstract: This paper proposes a new optimal feedback controller
for voltage source converters VSC's, for current regulated voltage
source converters, which allows compensate the harmonics of current
produced by nonlinear loads and load reactive power. The aim of the
present paper is to describe a novel switching signal generation
technique called optimal controller which guarantees that the injected
currents follow the reference currents determined by the
compensation strategy, with the smallest possible tracking error and
fixed switching frequency. It is compared with well-known
hysteresis current controller HCC. The validity of presented method
and its comparison with HCC is studied through simulation results.
Abstract: A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence, species characterization and associated risk factors with Eimeria (E.) in sheep of district Toba Tek Singh from April, 2009 to March, 2010. Of the total 486 faecal samples examined for Eimeria, 209 (43%) were found infected with five species of Eimeria. Amongst the identified species of Eimeria, E. ovinoidalis was the commonest one (48.32%), followed in order by E. ahsata, E. intricata, E. parva and E. faurei with prevalence of 45.45, 28.71, 24.40 and 19.14 percent respectively. Peak prevalence was observed in August. Wet season (rainy and post-rainy) was found to be favourable for Eimeria infection. Lambs had significantly higher prevalence (P < 0.05) of Eimeria than adults. Similarly higher prevalence of Eimeria was observed in female as compared to male. Among management and husbandry practices; watering system, housing system, floor type and herd size strongly influenced the prevalence of Eimeria. Coccidiosis was more prevalent in closed housing system, non-cemented floor type, pond watered animals and larger herds (P < 0.05) as compared to open housing system, partially cemented floor type, tap watered animals and smaller herds respectively. Feeding system, breed and body condition of animals were not found as risk factors (P>0.05) influencing prevalence of Eimeria.
Abstract: This study analyses the perceptions of secondary
school students about the accounting profession in Malaysia. Fifty
five form three and form four students who are taking
accounting/commerce subjects were met. Individual-s perception
data were collected through questionnaires. The results at the
secondary school level suggest that the stereotypical negative image
of the accountant ends, with students expressing the positive view of
the work of an accountant. There were also gender differences in
perceiving the accounting profession. Overall, the results of the study
suggest that we are now in line in projecting positive and accurate
perceptions of the accounting profession to secondary school
students.
Abstract: In this paper, a data mining model to SMEs for detecting financial and operational risk indicators by data mining is presenting. The identification of the risk factors by clarifying the relationship between the variables defines the discovery of knowledge from the financial and operational variables. Automatic and estimation oriented information discovery process coincides the definition of data mining. During the formation of model; an easy to understand, easy to interpret and easy to apply utilitarian model that is far from the requirement of theoretical background is targeted by the discovery of the implicit relationships between the data and the identification of effect level of every factor. In addition, this paper is based on a project which was funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to analyse the
application of the Half-Sweep Gauss-Seidel (HSGS) method by using
the Half-sweep approximation equation based on central difference
(CD) and repeated trapezoidal (RT) formulas to solve linear fredholm
integro-differential equations of first order. The formulation and
implementation of the Full-Sweep Gauss-Seidel (FSGS) and Half-
Sweep Gauss-Seidel (HSGS) methods are also presented. The HSGS
method has been shown to rapid compared to the FSGS methods.
Some numerical tests were illustrated to show that the HSGS method
is superior to the FSGS method.
Abstract: In this work we will present a new approach for shot transition auto-detection. Our approach is based on the analysis of Spatio-Temporal Video Slice (STVS) edges extracted from videos. The proposed approach is capable to efficiently detect both abrupt shot transitions 'cuts' and gradual ones such as fade-in, fade-out and dissolve. Compared to other techniques, our method is distinguished by its high level of precision and speed. Those performances are obtained due to minimizing the problem of the boundary shot detection to a simple 2D image partitioning problem.