Abstract: It is well known that enhancing interfacial adhesion
between inorganic filler and matrix resin in a composite lead to
favorable properties such as excellent mechanical properties, high
thermal resistance, prominent electric insulation, low expansion
coefficient, and so on. But it should be avoided that much excess of
coupling agent is reacted due to a negative impact of their final
composite-s properties. There is no report to achieve classification of
the bonding state excepting investigation of coating layer thickness.
Therefore, the analysis of the bonding state of the coupling agent
reacted with the filler surface such as BN particles with less functional
group and silica particles having much functional group was
performed by thermal gravimetric analysis and pyrolysis GC/MS. The
reacted number of functional groups on the silane-coupling agent was
classified as a result of the analysis. Thus, we succeeded in classifying
the reacted number of the functional groups as a result of this study.
Abstract: The study attempted to identify the dominant
intelligences of athletes by comparing the developmental differences
of multiple intelligences between athletes and non-athletes. The
weekly specialized training hours and years of specialized training
was examined to see how it can predict the dominant intelligence with
the age factor controlled. There were 355 participants in the research
(202 athletes and 153 non-athletes). Collected data were analyzed with
one-way MANOVA and multiple hierarchical regression. The results
suggested the dominant intelligences of athletes were Interpersonal
Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, and Intrapersonal
Intelligence. The weekly specialized training hours and years of
specialized training could effectively predict the Interpersonal
Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, and Intrapersonal
Intelligence of athletes. The author suggested the future studies could
focus on the theory construction of weekly specialized training and
years of specialized training. Also, the studies on using “Bridge
strategy" by the athletes to guide disadvantage intelligences with
dominant intelligences are highly valued.
Abstract: Research in e-Business has been growing
tremendously covering all related aspects such as adoption issues, e-
Business models, strategies, etc. This research aims to explore the
potential of adopting e-Business for a micro size business operating
from home called home-based businesses (HBBs). In Malaysia, the
HBB industry started many years ago and were mostly monopolized
by women or housewives managed as a part-time job to support their
family economy. Today, things have changed. The availability of the
Internet technology and the emergence of e-Business concept
promote the evolution of HBBs, which have been adopted as another
alternative as a professional career for women without neglecting
their family needs especially the children. Although this study is
confined to a limited sample size and within geographical biasness,
the findings show that it concurs with previous large scale studies. In
this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and
data were gathered using triangulation methods via interview, direct
observation, document analysis and survey questionnaires. This paper
discusses the literature review, research methods and findings
pertaining to e-Business adoption factors that influence the HBBs in
Malaysia.
Abstract: This paper presents the development of an active
vibration control using direct adaptive controller to suppress the
vibration of a flexible beam system. The controller is realized based
on linear parametric form. Differential evolution optimisation
algorithm is used to optimize the controller using single objective
function by minimizing the mean square error of the observed
vibration signal. Furthermore, an alternative approach is developed to
systematically search for the best controller model structure together
with it parameter values. The performance of the control scheme is
presented and analysed in both time and frequency domain.
Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is able to
suppress the unwanted vibration effectively.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce a new unit test technique
called déjà-vu object. Déjà-vu objects replace real objects used by
classes under test, allowing the execution of isolated unit tests. A
déjà-vu object is able to observe and record the behaviour of a real
object during real sessions, and to replace it during unit tests,
returning previously recorded results. Consequently déjà-vu object
technique can be useful when a bottom-up development and testing
strategy is adopted. In this case déjà-vu objects can increase test
portability and test source code readability. At the same time they
can reduce the time spent by programmers to develop test code and
the risk of incompatibility during the switching between déjà-vu and
production code.
Abstract: Liveable city is referred to as the quality of life in an
area that contributes towards a safe, healthy and enjoyable place. This
paper discusses the role of the streets- activities in making Kuala
Lumpur a liveable city and the happiness level of the residents
towards the city-s street activities. The study was conducted using the
residents of Kuala Lumpur. A mixed method technique is used with
the quantitative data as a main data and supported by the qualitative
data. Data were collected using questionnaires, observation and also
an interview session with a sample of residents of Kuala Lumpur.
The sampling technique is based on multistage cluster data sampling.
The findings revealed that, there is still no significant relationship
between the length of stay of the resident in Kuala Lumpur with the
happiness level towards the street activities that occurred in the city.
Abstract: The electric power industry is currently undergoing an unprecedented reform. One of the most exciting and potentially profitable recent developments is increasing usage of artificial intelligence techniques. The intention of this paper is to give an overview of using neural network (NN) techniques in power systems. According to the growth rate of NNs application in some power system subjects, this paper introduce a brief overview in fault diagnosis, security assessment, load forecasting, economic dispatch and harmonic analyzing. Advantages and disadvantages of using NNs in above mentioned subjects and the main challenges in these fields have been explained, too.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present a Dynamic
Time Warping technique which reduces significantly the data
processing time and memory size of multi-dimensional time series
sampled by the biometric smart pen device BiSP. The acquisition
device is a novel ballpoint pen equipped with a diversity of sensors
for monitoring the kinematics and dynamics of handwriting
movement. The DTW algorithm has been applied for time series
analysis of five different sensor channels providing pressure,
acceleration and tilt data of the pen generated during handwriting on
a paper pad. But the standard DTW has processing time and memory
space problems which limit its practical use for online handwriting
recognition. To face with this problem the DTW has been applied to
the sum of the five sensor signals after an adequate down-sampling
of the data. Preliminary results have shown that processing time and
memory size could significantly be reduced without deterioration of
performance in single character and word recognition. Further
excellent accuracy in recognition was achieved which is mainly due
to the reduced dynamic time warping RDTW technique and a novel
pen device BiSP.
Abstract: The emergence of the Internet has brewed the
revolution of information storage and retrieval. As most of the
data in the web is unstructured, and contains a mix of text,
video, audio etc, there is a need to mine information to cater to
the specific needs of the users without loss of important
hidden information. Thus developing user friendly and
automated tools for providing relevant information quickly
becomes a major challenge in web mining research. Most of
the existing web mining algorithms have concentrated on
finding frequent patterns while neglecting the less frequent
ones that are likely to contain outlying data such as noise,
irrelevant and redundant data. This paper mainly focuses on
Signed approach and full word matching on the organized
domain dictionary for mining web content outliers. This
Signed approach gives the relevant web documents as well as
outlying web documents. As the dictionary is organized based
on the number of characters in a word, searching and retrieval
of documents takes less time and less space.
Abstract: Nowadays due to globalization of economy and
competition environment, innovation and technology plays key role
at creation of wealth and economic growth of countries. In fact
prompt growth of practical and technologic knowledge may results in
social benefits for countries when changes into effective innovation.
Considering the importance of innovation for the development of
countries, this study addresses the radical technological innovation
introduced by nanopapers at different stages of producing paper
including stock preparation, using authorized additives, fillers and
pigments, using retention, calender, stages of producing conductive
paper, porous nanopaper and Layer by layer self-assembly. Research
results show that in coming years the jungle related products will lose
considerable portion of their market share, unless embracing radical
innovation. Although incremental innovations can make this industry
still competitive in mid-term, but to have economic growth and
competitive advantage in long term, radical innovations are
necessary. Radical innovations can lead to new products and
materials which their applications in packaging industry can produce
value added. However application of nanotechnology in this industry
can be costly, it can be done in cooperation with other industries to
make the maximum use of nanotechnology possible. Therefore this
technology can be used in all the production process resulting in the
mass production of simple and flexible papers with low cost and
special properties such as facility at shape, form, easy transportation,
light weight, recovery and recycle marketing abilities, and sealing.
Improving the resistance of the packaging materials without reducing
the performance of packaging materials enhances the quality and the
value added of packaging. Improving the cellulose at nano scale can
have considerable electron optical and magnetic effects leading to
improvement in packaging and value added. Comparing to the
specifications of thermoplastic products and ordinary papers,
nanopapers show much better performance in terms of effective
mechanical indexes such as the modulus of elasticity, tensile strength,
and strain-stress. In densities lower than 640 kgm -3, due to the
network structure of nanofibers and the balanced and randomized
distribution of NFC in flat space, these specifications will even
improve more. For nanopapers, strains are 1,4Gpa, 84Mpa and 17%,
13,3 Gpa, 214Mpa and 10% respectively. In layer by layer self
assembly method (LbL) the tensile strength of nanopaper with Tio3
particles and Sio2 and halloysite clay nanotube are 30,4 ±7.6Nm/g
and 13,6 ±0.8Nm/g and 14±0.3,3Nm/g respectively that fall within
acceptable range of similar samples with virgin fiber. The usage of
improved brightness and porosity index in nanopapers can create
more competitive advantages at packaging industry.
Abstract: This paper deals with econometric analysis of real
retail trade turnover. It is a part of an extensive scientific research
about modern trends in Croatian national economy. At the end of the
period of transition economy, Croatia confronts with challenges and
problems of high consumption society. In such environment as
crucial economic variables: real retail trade turnover, average
monthly real wages and household loans are chosen for consequence
analysis. For the purpose of complete procedure of multiple
econometric analysis data base adjustment has been provided.
Namely, it has been necessary to deflate original national statistics
data of retail trade turnover using consumer price indices, as well as
provide process of seasonally adjustment of its contemporary
behavior. In model establishment it has been necessary to involve the
overcoming procedure for the autocorrelation and colinearity
problems. Moreover, for case of time-series shift a specific
appropriate econometric instrument has been applied. It would be
emphasize that the whole methodology procedure is based on the real
Croatian national economy time-series.
Abstract: This paper presents the use of the predictive fuzzy logic controller (PFLC) applied to attitude control system for agile micro-satellite. In order to reduce the effect of unpredictable time delays and large uncertainties, the algorithm employs predictive control to predict the attitude of the satellite. Comparison of the PFLC and conventional fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is presented to evaluate the performance of the control system during attitude maneuver. The two proposed models have been analyzed with the same level of noise and external disturbances. Simulation results demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of the PFLC on the attitude determination and control system (ADCS) of agile satellite.
Abstract: We describe a new filtering approach in the wavelet domain for image denoising and compression, based on the projections of details subbands coefficients (resultants of the splitting procedure, typical in wavelet domain) onto the approximation subband coefficients (much less noisy). The new algorithm is called Projection Onto Approximation Coefficients (POAC). As a result of this approach, only the approximation subband coefficients and three scalars are stored and/or transmitted to the channel. Besides, with the elimination of the details subbands coefficients, we obtain a bigger compression rate. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach compares favorably to more typical methods of denoising and compression in wavelet domain.
Abstract: In electronegative-electropositive gas mixtures plasma, at a total pressure varying in the range of ten to hundred Torr, the appearance of a quasi-mochromatization effect of the emitted radiation was reported. This radiation could be the result of the generating mechanisms at molecular level, which is the case of the excimer radiation but also at atomic level. Thus, in the last case, in (Ne+1%Ar/Xe+H2) gas mixtures plasma in a dielectric barrier discharge, this effect, called M-effect, consists in the reduction of the discharge emission spectrum practice at one single, strong spectral line with λ = 585.3 nm. The present paper is concerned with the characteristics comparative investigation of the principal reaction mechanisms involved in the quasi-monochromatization effect existence in the case of the excimer radiation, respectively of the Meffect. Also, the paper points out the role of the metastable electronegative atoms in the appearance of the monochromatization – effect at atomic level.
Abstract: The forced convection heat transfer in high porosity metal-foam filled tube heat exchangers are studied in this paper. The Brinkman Darcy momentum model and two energy equations for both solid and fluid phases in porous media are employed .The study shows that using metal-foams can significantly improve the heat transfer in heat exchangers.
Abstract: The flexible follower response of a translating cam with
four different profiles for rise-dwell-fall-dwell (RDFD) motion is
investigated. The cycloidal displacement motion, the modified
sinusoidal acceleration motion, the modified trapezoidal acceleration
motion, and the 3-4-5 polynomial motion are employed to describe the
rise and the fall motions of the follower and the associated four kinds of
cam profiles are studied. Since the follower flexibility is considered,
the contact point of the roller and the cam is an unknown. Two
geometric constraints formulated to restrain the unknown position are
substituted into Hamilton-s principle with Lagrange multipliers.
Applying the assumed mode method, one can obtain the governing
equations of motion as non-linear differential-algebraic equations. The
equations are solved using Runge-Kutta method. Then, the responses of
the flexible follower undergoing the four different motions are
investigated in time domain and in frequency domain.
Abstract: Having done in this study, air-conditioning
automation for patisserie shopwindow was designed. In the cooling
sector it is quite important to cooling up the air temperature in the
shopwindow within short time interval. Otherwise the patisseries
inside of the shopwindow will be spoilt in a few days. Additionally
the humidity is other important parameter for the patisseries kept in
shopwindow. It must be raised up to desired level in a quite short
time. Traditional patisserie shopwindows only allow controlling
temperature manually. There is no humidity control and humidity is
supplied by fans that are directed to the water at the bottom of the
shopwindows. In this study, humidity and temperature sensors
(SHT11), PIC, AC motor controller, DC motor controller, ultrasonic
nebulizer and other electronic circuit members were used to simulate
air conditioning automation for patisserie shopwindow in proteus
software package. The simulation results showed that temperature
and humidity values are adjusted in desired time duration by openloop
control technique. Outer and inner temperature and humidity
values were used for control mechanism.
Abstract: The transition to sustainable development requires
considerable investments from stakeholders, both financial and
immaterial. However, accounting for such investments often poses a
challenge, as ventures with intangible or non-financial returns remain
oblivious to conventional accounting techniques and risk assessment.
That such investments may significantly contribute to the welfare of
those affected may act as a driving force behind attempting to bridge
this gap. This gains crucial importance as investments must be also
backed by governments and administrations; entities whose budget
depends on taxpayers- contributions and whose tasks are based on
securing the welfare of their citizens. Besides economic welfare,
citizens also require social and environmental wellbeing too.
However, administrations must also safeguard that welfare is
guaranteed not only to present, but to future generations too. With
already strained budgets and the requirement of sustainable
development, governments on all levels face the double challenge of
making both of these ends meet.
Abstract: Wireless sensor network has recently emerged as enablers
of several areas. Real applications of WSN are being explored
and some of them are yet to come. While the potential of sensor
networks has been only beginning to be realized, several challenges
still remain. One of them is the experimental evaluation of WSN.
Therefore, deploying and operating a testbed to study the real
behavior of WSN become more and more important. The main
contribution of this work is to analysis the RF link budget behavior
of wireless sensor networks in underground mine gallery.
Abstract: In many applications, magnetic suspension systems
are required to operate over large variations in air gap. As a result,
the nonlinearities inherent in most types of suspensions have a
significant impact on performance. Specifically, it may be difficult to
design a linear controller which gives satisfactory performance,
stability, and disturbance rejection over a wide range of operating
points. in this paper an optimal controller based on discontinuous
mathematical model of the system for an electromagnetic suspension
system which is applied in magnetic trains has been designed .
Simulations show that the new controller can adapt well to the
variance of suspension mass and gap, and keep its dynamic
performance, thus it is superior to the classic controller.