Abstract: Adsorption of Toluidine blue dye from aqueous solutions onto Neem Leaf Powder (NLP) has been investigated. The surface characterization of this natural material was examined by Particle size analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The effects of process parameters such as initial concentration, pH, temperature and contact duration on the adsorption capacities have been evaluated, in which pH has been found to be most effective parameter among all. The data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich for explaining the equilibrium characteristics of adsorption. And kinetic models like pseudo first- order, second-order model and Elovich equation were utilized to describe the kinetic data. The experimental data were well fitted with Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and pseudo second order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters, such as Free energy of adsorption (AG"), enthalpy change (AH') and entropy change (AS°) were also determined and evaluated.
Abstract: Intelligent systems based on machine learning
techniques, such as classification, clustering, are gaining wide spread
popularity in real world applications. This paper presents work on
developing a software system for predicting crop yield, for example
oil-palm yield, from climate and plantation data. At the core of our
system is a method for unsupervised partitioning of data for finding
spatio-temporal patterns in climate data using kernel methods which
offer strength to deal with complex data. This work gets inspiration
from the notion that a non-linear data transformation into some high
dimensional feature space increases the possibility of linear
separability of the patterns in the transformed space. Therefore, it
simplifies exploration of the associated structure in the data. Kernel
methods implicitly perform a non-linear mapping of the input data
into a high dimensional feature space by replacing the inner products
with an appropriate positive definite function. In this paper we
present a robust weighted kernel k-means algorithm incorporating
spatial constraints for clustering the data. The proposed algorithm
can effectively handle noise, outliers and auto-correlation in the
spatial data, for effective and efficient data analysis by exploring
patterns and structures in the data, and thus can be used for
predicting oil-palm yield by analyzing various factors affecting the
yield.
Abstract: This article discusses the concept of student ownership of knowledge and seeks to determine how to move students from knowledge acquisition to knowledge application and ultimately to knowledge generation in a virtual setting. Instructional strategies for fostering student engagement in a virtual environment are critical to the learner-s strategic ownership of the knowledge. A number of relevant theories that focus on learning, affect, needs and adult concerns are presented to provide a basis for exploring the transfer of knowledge from teacher to learner. A model under development is presented that combines the dimensions of knowledge approach, the teacher-student relationship with regards to knowledge authority and teaching approach to demonstrate the recursive and scaffolded design for creation of virtual learning environments.
Abstract: With the growth of electricity generation from gas
energy gas pipeline reliability can substantially impact the electric
generation. A physical disruption to pipeline or to a compressor
station can interrupt the flow of gas or reduce the pressure and lead
to loss of multiple gas-fired electric generators, which could
dramatically reduce the supplied power and threaten the power
system security. Gas pressure drops during peak loading time on
pipeline system, is a common problem in network with no enough
transportation capacity which limits gas transportation and causes
many problem for thermal domain power systems in supplying their
demand. For a feasible generation scheduling planning in networks
with no sufficient gas transportation capacity, it is required to
consider gas pipeline constraints in solving the optimization problem
and evaluate the impacts of gas consumption in power plants on gas
pipelines operating condition. This paper studies about operating of
gas fired power plants in critical conditions when the demand of gas
and electricity peak together. An integrated model of gas and electric
model is used to consider the gas pipeline constraints in the economic
dispatch problem of gas-fueled thermal generator units.
Abstract: This paper presents the development of adaptive
distance relay for protection of parallel transmission line with mutual
coupling. The proposed adaptive relay, automatically adjusts its
operation based on the acquisition of the data from distance relay of
adjacent line and status of adjacent line from line circuit breaker IED
(Intelligent Electronic Device). The zero sequence current of the
adjacent parallel transmission line is used to compute zero sequence
current ratio and the mutual coupling effect is fully compensated.
The relay adapts to changing circumstances, like failure in
communication from other relays and non - availability of adjacent
transmission line. The performance of the proposed adaptive relay is
tested using steady state and dynamic test procedures. The fault
transients are obtained by simulating a realistic parallel transmission
line system with mutual coupling effect in PSCAD. The evaluation
test results show the efficacy of adaptive distance relay over the
conventional distance relay.
Abstract: A frictionless contact problem for a two-layer orthotropic elastic medium loaded through a rigid flat stamp is considered. It is assumed that tensile tractions are not allowed and only compressive tractions can be transmitted across the interface. In the solution, effect of gravity is taken into consideration. If the external load on the rigid stamp is less than or equal to a critical value, continuous contact between the layers is maintained. The problem is expressed in terms of a singular integral equation by using the theory of elasticity and the Fourier transforms. Numerical results for initial separation point, critical separation load and contact stress distribution are presented.
Abstract: It is known that an analog Hopfield neural network
with time delay can generate the outputs which are similar to the
human electroencephalogram. To gain deeper insights into the
mechanisms of rhythm generation by the Hopfield neural networks
and to study the effects of noise on their activities, we investigated
the behaviors of the networks with symmetric and asymmetric
interneuron connections. The neural network under the study consists
of 10 identical neurons. For symmetric (fully connected) networks all
interneuron connections aij = +1; the interneuron connections for
asymmetric networks form an upper triangular matrix with non-zero
entries aij = +1. The behavior of the network is described by 10
differential equations, which are solved numerically. The results of
simulations demonstrate some remarkable properties of a Hopfield
neural network, such as linear growth of outputs, dependence of
synchronization properties on the connection type, huge
amplification of oscillation by the external uniform noise, and the
capability of the neural network to transform one type of noise to
another.
Abstract: Perishable goods constitute a large portion of retailer inventory and lose value with time due to deterioration and/or obsolescence. Retailers dealing with such goods required considering the factors of short shelf life and the dependency of sales on inventory displayed in determining optimal procurement policy. Many retailers follow the practice of using two bins - primary bin sales fresh items at a list price and secondary bin sales unsold items at a discount price transferred from primary bin on attaining certain age. In this paper, mathematical models are developed for primary bin and for secondary bin that maximizes profit with decision variables of order quantities, optimal review period and optimal selling price at secondary bin. The demand rates in two bins are assumed to be deterministic and dependent on displayed inventory level, price and age but independent of each other. The validity of the model is shown by solving an example and the sensitivity analysis of the model is also reported.
Abstract: A numerical study on the influence of electroosmotic flow on analyte preconcentration by isotachophoresis ( ITP) is made. We consider that the double layer induced electroosmotic flow ( EOF) counterbalance the electrophoretic velocity and a stationary ITP stacked zones results. We solve the Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the Nernst-Planck equations to determine the local convective velocity and the preconcentration dynamics of ions. Our numerical algorithm is based on a finite volume method along with a secondorder upwind scheme. The present numerical algorithm can capture the the sharp boundaries of step-changes ( plateau mode) or zones of steep gradients ( peak mode) accurately. The convection of ions due to EOF reduces the resolution of the ITP transition zones and produces a dispersion in analyte zones. The role of the electrokinetic parameters which induces dispersion is analyzed. A one-dimensional model for the area-averaged concentrations based on the Taylor-Aristype effective diffusivity is found to be in good agreement with the computed solutions.
Abstract: Facial expression analysis is rapidly becoming an
area of intense interest in computer science and human-computer
interaction design communities. The most expressive way humans
display emotions is through facial expressions. In this paper we
present a method to analyze facial expression from images by
applying Gabor wavelet transform (GWT) and Discrete Cosine
Transform (DCT) on face images. Radial Basis Function (RBF)
Network is used to classify the facial expressions. As a second stage,
the images are preprocessed to enhance the edge details and non
uniform down sampling is done to reduce the computational
complexity and processing time. Our method reliably works even
with faces, which carry heavy expressions.
Abstract: The effects of different parameters on the
hydrodynamics of trickle bed reactors were discussed for Newtonian
and non-Newtonian foaming systems. The varying parameters are
varying liquid velocities, gas flow velocities and surface tension. The
range for gas velocity is particularly large, thanks to the use of dense
gas to simulate very high pressure conditions. This data bank has
been used to compare the prediction accuracy of the different
trendlines and transition points from the literature. More than 240
experimental points for the trickle flow (GCF) and foaming pulsing
flow (PF/FPF) regime were obtained for present study.
Hydrodynamic characteristics involving dynamic liquid saturation
significantly influenced by gas and liquid flow rates. For 15 and 30
ppm air-aqueous surfactant solutions, dynamic liquid saturation
decreases with higher liquid and gas flow rates considerably in high
interaction regime. With decrease in surface tension i.e. for 45 and 60
ppm air-aqueous surfactant systems, effect was more pronounced
with decreases dynamic liquid saturation very sharply during regime
transition significantly at both low liquid and gas flow rates.
Abstract: In Southeast Asia, during the dry season (August to
October) forest fires in Indonesia emit pollutants into the atmosphere.
For two years during this period, a total of 67 samples of 2.5 μm
particulate matters were collected and analyzed for total mass and
elemental composition with ICP - MS after microwave digestion. A
study of 60 elements measured during these periods suggest that the
concentration of most of elements, even those usually related to
crustal source, are extremely high and unpredictable during the haze
period. In By contrast, trace element concentration in non - haze
months is more stable and covers a lower range. Other unexpected
events and their effects on the findings are discussed.
Abstract: Sputter deposition processes, especially for sputtering
from metal targets, are well investigated. For practical reasons, i.e.
for industrial processes, energetic considerations for sputter
deposition are useful in order to optimize the sputtering process. In
particular, for substrates at floating conditions it is required to obtain
energetic conditions during film growth that enables sufficient dense
metal films of good quality. The influence of ion energies, energy
density and momentum transfer is thus examined both for sputtering
at the target as well as during film growth. Different regimes
dominated by ion energy, energy density and momentum transfer
were identified by using different plasma sources and by varying
power input, pressure and bias voltage.
Abstract: Finite element method was applied to model damage
development in the femoral neck during a sideways fall. The femoral
failure was simulated using the maximum principal strain criterion.
The evolution of damage was consistent with previous studies. It was
initiated by compressive failure at the junction of the superior aspect
of the femoral neck and the greater trochanter. It was followed by
tensile failure that occurred at the inferior aspect of the femoral neck
before a complete transcervical fracture was observed. The estimated
failure line was less than 50° from the horizontal plane (Pauwels type
II).
Abstract: The PAX6, a transcription factor, is essential for the morphogenesis of the eyes, brain, pituitary and pancreatic islets. In rodents, the loss of Pax6 function leads to central nervous system defects, anophthalmia, and nasal hypoplasia. The haplo-insufficiency of Pax6 causes microphthalmia, aggression and other behavioral abnormalities. It is also required in brain patterning and neuronal plasticity. In human, heterozygous mutation of Pax6 causes loss of iris [aniridia], mental retardation and glucose intolerance. The 3- deletion in Pax6 leads to autism and aniridia. The phenotypes are variable in peneterance and expressivity. However, mechanism of function and interaction of PAX6 with other proteins during development and associated disease are not clear. It is intended to explore interactors of PAX6 to elucidated biology of PAX6 function in the tissues where it is expressed and also in the central regulatory pathway. This report describes In-silico approaches to explore interacting proteins of PAX6. The models show several possible proteins interacting with PAX6 like MITF, SIX3, SOX2, SOX3, IPO13, TRIM, and OGT. Since the Pax6 is a critical transcriptional regulator and master control gene of eye and brain development it might be interacting with other protein involved in morphogenesis [TGIF, TGF, Ras etc]. It is also presumed that matricelluar proteins [SPARC, thrombospondin-1 and osteonectin etc] are likely to interact during transport and processing of PAX6 and are somewhere its cascade. The proteins involved in cell survival and cell proliferation can also not be ignored.
Abstract: Natural disasters, including earthquake, kill many people around the world every year. Society rescue actions, which start after the earthquake and are called LAST in abbreviation, include locating, access, stabilization and transportation. In the present article, we have studied the process of local accessibility to the injured and transporting them to health care centers. With regard the heavy traffic load due to earthquake, the destruction of connecting roads and bridges and the heavy debris in alleys and street, which put the lives of the injured and the people buried under the debris in danger, accelerating the rescue actions and facilitating the accessibilities are of great importance, obviously. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is among the crowded cities in the world and is the center of extensive economic, political, cultural and social activities. Tehran has a population of about 9.5 millions and because of the immigration of people from the surrounding cities. Furthermore, considering the fact that Tehran is located on two important and large faults, a 6 Richter magnitude earthquake in this city could lead to the greatest catastrophe during the entire human history. The present study is a kind of review and a major part of the required information for it, has been obtained from libraries all of the rescue vehicles around the world, including rescue helicopters, ambulances, fire fighting vehicles and rescue boats, and their applied technology, and also the robots specifically designed for the rescue system and the advantages and disadvantages of them, have been investigated. The studies show that there is a significant relationship between the rescue team-s arrival time at the incident zone and the number of saved people; so that, if the duration of burial under debris 30 minutes, the probability of survival is %99.3, after a day is %81, after 2days is %19 and after 5days is %7.4. The exiting transport systems all have some defects. If these defects are removed, more people could be saved each hour and the preparedness against natural disasters is increased. In this study, transport system has been designed for the rescue team and the injured; which could carry the rescue team to the incident zone and the injured to the health care centers. In addition, this system is able to fly in the air and move on the earth as well; so that the destruction of roads and the heavy traffic load could not prevent the rescue team from arriving early at the incident zone. The system also has the equipment required firebird for debris removing, optimum transport of the injured and first aid.
Abstract: We theoretically demonstrate modulation of light
polarization by a crossed rectangular hole array with asymmetric arm
lengths. There are two waveguide modes that can modulate the x- and
y- polarized incident waves independently. A specific structure is
proposed to convert a left-hand incident wave to a right-hand outgoing
wave by transmission.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel algorithm of stereo
correspondence with rank transform. In this algorithm we used the
genetic algorithm to achieve the accurate disparity map. Genetic
algorithms are efficient search methods based on principles of
population genetic, i.e. mating, chromosome crossover, gene
mutation, and natural selection. Finally morphology is employed to
remove the errors and discontinuities.
Abstract: We study in this paper the effect of the scene
changing on image sequences coding system using Embedded
Zerotree Wavelet (EZW). The scene changing considered here is the
full motion which may occurs. A special image sequence is generated
where the scene changing occurs randomly. Two scenarios are
considered: In the first scenario, the system must provide the
reconstruction quality as best as possible by the management of the
bit rate (BR) while the scene changing occurs. In the second scenario,
the system must keep the bit rate as constant as possible by the
management of the reconstruction quality. The first scenario may be
motivated by the availability of a large band pass transmission
channel where an increase of the bit rate may be possible to keep the
reconstruction quality up to a given threshold. The second scenario
may be concerned by the narrow band pass transmission channel
where an increase of the bit rate is not possible. In this last case,
applications for which the reconstruction quality is not a constraint
may be considered. The simulations are performed with five scales
wavelet decomposition using the 9/7-tap filter bank biorthogonal
wavelet. The entropy coding is performed using a specific defined
binary code book and EZW algorithm. Experimental results are
presented and compared to LEAD H263 EVAL. It is shown that if
the reconstruction quality is the constraint, the system increases the
bit rate to obtain the required quality. In the case where the bit rate
must be constant, the system is unable to provide the required quality
if the scene change occurs; however, the system is able to improve
the quality while the scene changing disappears.
Abstract: The major part of light weight timber constructions
consists of insulation. Mineral wool is the most commonly used
insulation due to its cost efficiency and easy handling. The fiber
orientation and porosity of this insulation material enables flowthrough.
The air flow resistance is low. If leakage occurs in the
insulated bay section, the convective flow may cause energy losses
and infiltration of the exterior wall with moisture and particles. In
particular the infiltrated moisture may lead to thermal bridges and
growth of health endangering mould and mildew. In order to prevent
this problem, different numerical calculation models have been
developed. All models developed so far have a potential for
completion. The implementation of the flow-through properties of
mineral wool insulation may help to improve the existing models.
Assuming that the real pressure difference between interior and
exterior surface is larger than the prescribed pressure difference in the
standard test procedure for mineral wool ISO 9053 / EN 29053,
measurements were performed using the measurement setup for
research on convective moisture transfer “MSRCMT".
These measurements show, that structural inhomogeneities of
mineral wool effect the permeability only at higher pressure
differences, as applied in MSRCMT. Additional microscopic
investigations show, that the location of a leak within the
construction has a crucial influence on the air flow-through and the
infiltration rate. The results clearly indicate that the empirical values
for the acoustic resistance of mineral wool should not be used for the
calculation of convective transfer mechanisms.