Scholarly

A SAW-less Dual-Band CDMA Diversity and Simultaneous-GPS Zero-IF Receiver

Year: 2009 Volume: 3 Issue: 6 1378 - 1381 Pages

Abstract: We present a dual-band (Cellular & PCS) dual-path zero-IF receiver for CDMA2000 diversity, monitoring and simultaneous-GPS. The secondary path is a SAW-less diversity CDMA receiver which can be also used for advanced features like monitoring when supported with an additional external VCO. A GPS receiver is integrated with its dedicated VCO allowing simultaneous positioning during a cellular call. The circuit is implemented in a 0.25μm 40GHz-fT BiCMOS process and uses a HVQFN 56-pin package. It consumes a maximum 300mW from a 2.8V supply in dual-modes. The chip area is 12.8mm2.

Scheduling a Flexible Flow Shops Problem using DEA

Year: 2012 Volume: 6 Issue: 1 94 - 98 Pages

Abstract: This paper considers a scheduling problem in flexible flow shops environment with the aim of minimizing two important criteria including makespan and cumulative tardiness of jobs. Since the proposed problem is known as an Np-hard problem in literature, we have to develop a meta-heuristic to solve it. We considered general structure of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and developed a new version of that based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Two objective functions assumed as two different inputs for each Decision Making Unit (DMU). In this paper we focused on efficiency score of DMUs and efficient frontier concept in DEA technique. After introducing the method we defined two different scenarios with considering two types of mutation operator. Also we provided an experimental design with some computational results to show the performance of algorithm. The results show that the algorithm implements in a reasonable time.

Building an e-Learning System Model with Implications for Research and Instructional Use

Year: 2008 Volume: 2 Issue: 4 382 - 384 Pages

Abstract: This paper demonstrates a model of an e-Learning system based on nowadays learning theory and distant education practice. The relationships in the model are designed to be simple and functional and do not necessarily represent any particular e- Learning environments. It is meant to be a generic e-Learning system model with implications for any distant education course instructional design. It allows online instructors to move away from the discrepancy between the courses and body of knowledge. The interrelationships of four primary sectors that are at the e-Learning system are presented in this paper. This integrated model includes [1] pedagogy, [2] technology, [3] teaching, and [4] learning. There are interactions within each of these sectors depicted by system loop map.

Integrate Communication Modeling into the Design Modeling at Early Stages of the Design Flow Case Study: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 6 759 - 769 Pages

Abstract: This paper shows how we can integrate communication modeling into the design modeling at early stages of the design flow. We consider effect of incorporating noise such as impulsive noise on system stability. We show that with change of the system model and investigate the system performance under the different communication effects. We modeled a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a demonstration using SystemC methodology. Moreover the system is modeled by joining the capabilities of UML and SystemC to operate at system level.

Denitrification of Wastewater Containing High Nitrate Using a Bioreactor System Packed by Microbial Cellulose

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 2 106 - 110 Pages

Abstract: A Laboratory-scale packed bed reactor with microbial cellulose as the biofilm carrier was used to investigate the denitrification of high-strength nitrate wastewater with specific emphasis on the effect the nitrogen loading rate and hydraulic retention time. Ethanol was added as a carbon source for denitrification. As a result of this investigation, it was found that up to 500 mg/l feed nitrate concentration the present system is able to produce an effluent with nitrate content below 10 ppm at 3 h hydraulic retention time. The highest observed denitrification rate was 4.57 kg NO3-N/ (m3 .d) at a nitrate load of 5.64 kg NO3- N/(m3 .d), and removal efficiencies higher than 90% were obtained for loads up to 4.2 kg NO3-N/(m3 .d). A mass relation between COD consumed and NO3-N removed around 2.82 was observed. This continuous-flow bioreactor proved an efficient denitrification system with a relatively low retention time.

The Determination of Rating Points of Objects with Qualitative Characteristics and their Usagein Decision Making Problems

Year: 2009 Volume: 3 Issue: 4 1165 - 1169 Pages

Abstract: The paper presents the method developed to assess rating points of objects with qualitative indexes. The novelty of the method lies in the fact that the authors use linguistic scales that allow to formalize the values of the indexes with the help of fuzzy sets. As a result it is possible to operate correctly with dissimilar indexes on the unified basis and to get stable final results. The obtained rating points are used in decision making based on fuzzy expert opinions.

Three Computational Mathematics Techniques: Comparative Determination of Area under Curve

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 5 626 - 630 Pages

Abstract: The objective of this manuscript is to find area under the plasma concentration- time curve (AUC) for multiple doses of salbutamol sulphate sustained release tablets (Ventolin® oral tablets SR 8 mg, GSK, Pakistan) in the group of 18 healthy adults by using computational mathematics techniques. Following the administration of 4 doses of Ventolin® tablets 12 hourly to 24 healthy human subjects and bioanalysis of obtained plasma samples, plasma drug concentration-time profile was constructed. AUC, an important pharmacokinetic parameter, was measured using integrated equation of multiple oral dose regimens. The approximated AUC was also calculated by using computational mathematics techniques such as repeated rectangular, repeated trapezium and repeated Simpson's rule and compared with exact value of AUC calculated by using integrated equation of multiple oral dose regimens to find best computational mathematics method that gives AUC values closest to exact. The exact values of AUC for four consecutive doses of Ventolin® oral tablets were 150.5819473, 157.8131756, 164.4178231 and 162.78 ng.h/ml while the closest values approximated AUC values were 149.245962, 157.336171, 164.2585768 and 162.289224 ng.h/ml, respectively as found by repeated rectangular rule. The errors in the approximated values of AUC were negligible. It is concluded that all computational tools approximated values of AUC accurately but the repeated rectangular rule gives slightly better approximated values of AUC as compared to repeated trapezium and repeated Simpson's rules.

Noise Factors of RFID-Aided Positioning

Year: 2012 Volume: 6 Issue: 7 688 - 693 Pages

Abstract: In recent years, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is followed with interest by many researches, especially for the purpose of indoor positioning as the innate properties of RFID are profitable for achieving it. A lot of algorithms or schemes are proposed to be used in the RFID-based positioning system, but most of them are lack of environmental consideration and it induces inaccuracy of application. In this research, a lot of algorithms and schemes of RFID indoor positioning are discussed to see whether effective or not on application, and some rules are summarized for achieving accurate positioning. On the other hand, a new term “Noise Factor" is involved to describe the signal loss between the target and the obstacle. As a result, experimental data can be obtained but not only simulation; and the performance of the positioning system can be expressed substantially.

Design, Modeling and Fabrication of a Tactile Sensor and Display System for Application in Laparoscopic Surgery

Year: 2009 Volume: 3 Issue: 6 729 - 733 Pages

Abstract: One of the major disadvantages of the minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is the lack of tactile feedback to the surgeon. In order to identify and avoid any damage to the grasped complex tissue by endoscopic graspers, it is important to measure the local softness of tissue during MIS. One way to display the measured softness to the surgeon is a graphical method. In this paper, a new tactile sensor has been reported. The tactile sensor consists of an array of four softness sensors, which are integrated into the jaws of a modified commercial endoscopic grasper. Each individual softness sensor consists of two piezoelectric polymer Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) films, which are positioned below a rigid and a compliant cylinder. The compliant cylinder is fabricated using a micro molding technique. The combination of output voltages from PVDF films is used to determine the softness of the grasped object. The theoretical analysis of the sensor is also presented. A method has been developed with the aim of reproducing the tactile softness to the surgeon by using a graphical method. In this approach, the proposed system, including the interfacing and the data acquisition card, receives signals from the array of softness sensors. After the signals are processed, the tactile information is displayed by means of a color coding method. It is shown that the degrees of softness of the grasped objects/tissues can be visually differentiated and displayed on a monitor.

Effects of Winter and Spring Sowing on Yield Components of Safflower Genotypes

Year: 2012 Volume: 6 Issue: 6 374 - 378 Pages

Authors:
Rahim Ada

Abstract: The research was conducted with three replications as “Randomized Block Design” in Konya-Turkey ecological conditions. In the study, 16 of promising safflower lines (A8, E1, F4, F6, G16, H14, I1), and 1 cultivar (Dinçer) were evaluated in 2008-09 growing season. Some of the yield components such as plant height (cm), first branch height (cm), number of branches per plant, 1000 seed weight (g), seed yield (kg ha-1), oil content (%), oil yield (kg ha-1) were determined. Winter sowing showed higher values than spring sowing. The highest values were taken from Dinçer for plant height (86.7 cm), E1 (37.5 cm) for first branch height, F6 for number of branch (11.6 per plant), I1 for number of head (24.9 per plant), A8 for 1000 seed weight (51.75 g), Dinçer for seed yield (2927.1 kg ha-1), oil content (28.79 %) and also for oil yield (87.44 kg ha-1) respectively.

Eye Gesture Analysis with Head Movement for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

Year: 2012 Volume: 6 Issue: 6 1562 - 1568 Pages

Abstract: Road traffic accidents are a major cause of death worldwide. In an attempt to reduce accidents, some research efforts have focused on creating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) able to detect vehicle, driver and environmental conditions and to use this information to identify cues for potential accidents. This paper presents continued work on a novel Non-intrusive Intelligent Driver Assistance and Safety System (Ni-DASS) for assessing driver point of regard within vehicles. It uses an on-board CCD camera to observe the driver-s face. A template matching approach is used to compare the driver-s eye-gaze pattern with a set of eye-gesture templates of the driver looking at different focal points within the vehicle. The windscreen is divided into cells and comparison of the driver-s eye-gaze pattern with templates of a driver-s eyes looking at each cell is used to determine the driver-s point of regard on the windscreen. Results indicate that the proposed technique could be useful in situations where low resolution estimates of driver point of regard are adequate. For instance, To allow ADAS systems to alert the driver if he/she has positively failed to observe a hazard.

LAYMOD; A Layered and Modular Platform for CAx Collaboration Management and Supporting Product data Integration based on STEP Standard

Year: 2011 Volume: 5 Issue: 6 672 - 680 Pages

Abstract: Nowadays companies strive to survive in a competitive global environment. To speed up product development/modifications, it is suggested to adopt a collaborative product development approach. However, despite the advantages of new IT improvements still many CAx systems work separately and locally. Collaborative design and manufacture requires a product information model that supports related CAx product data models. To solve this problem many solutions are proposed, which the most successful one is adopting the STEP standard as a product data model to develop a collaborative CAx platform. However, the improvement of the STEP-s Application Protocols (APs) over the time, huge number of STEP AP-s and cc-s, the high costs of implementation, costly process for conversion of older CAx software files to the STEP neutral file format; and lack of STEP knowledge, that usually slows down the implementation of the STEP standard in collaborative data exchange, management and integration should be considered. In this paper the requirements for a successful collaborative CAx system is discussed. The STEP standard capability for product data integration and its shortcomings as well as the dominant platforms for supporting CAx collaboration management and product data integration are reviewed. Finally a platform named LAYMOD to fulfil the requirements of CAx collaborative environment and integrating the product data is proposed. The platform is a layered platform to enable global collaboration among different CAx software packages/developers. It also adopts the STEP modular architecture and the XML data structures to enable collaboration between CAx software packages as well as overcoming the STEP standard limitations. The architecture and procedures of LAYMOD platform to manage collaboration and avoid contradicts in product data integration are introduced.

Langmuir–Blodgett Films of Polyaniline for Efficient Detection of Uric Acid

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 6 1039 - 1042 Pages

Abstract: Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films of polyaniline (PANI) grown onto ITO coated glass substrates were utilized for the fabrication of Uric acid biosensor for efficient detection of uric acid by immobilizing Uricase via EDC–NHS coupling. The modified electrodes were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The response characteristics after immobilization of uricase were studied using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The uricase/PANI/ITO/glass bioelectrode studied by CV and EIS techniques revealed detection of uric acid in a wide range of 0.05 mM to 1.0 mM, covering the physiological range in blood. A low Michaelis–Menten constant (Km) of 0.21 mM indicates the higher affinity of immobilized Uricase towards its analyte (uric acid). The fabricated uric acid biosensor based on PANI LB films exhibits excellent sensitivity of 0.21 mA/mM with a response time of 4 s, good reproducibility, long shelf life (8 weeks) and high selectivity.

Sensory Evaluation of Meatballs with Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.)

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 3 788 - 790 Pages

Abstract: Meat and meat products for human consumption are one of main sources of protein, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Popular variety of meat product is meatballs, which can be enriched with valuable product – Jerusalem artichoke powder, made from dried and grinded Jerusalem artichoke tubers, it is raw material with low-calorie, low fat, rich in dietary fibres, minerals, and vitamins. The results of this study indicate that that people could accept the new product - meatballs with Jerusalem artichoke powder and Jerusalem artichoke powder is suitable for meatballs preparation, in result them is possible to improve meatballs sensory and physical properties.

Role and Effect of Temperature on LPG Sweetening Process

Year: 2011 Volume: 5 Issue: 7 637 - 639 Pages

Abstract: In the gas refineries of Iran-s South Pars Gas Complex, Sulfrex demercaptanization process is used to remove volatile and corrosive mercaptans from liquefied petroleum gases by caustic solution. This process consists of two steps. Removing low molecular weight mercaptans and regeneration exhaust caustic. Some parameters such as LPG feed temperature, caustic concentration and feed-s mercaptan in extraction step and sodium mercaptide content in caustic, catalyst concentration, caustic temperature, air injection rate in regeneration step are effective factors. In this paper was focused on temperature factor that play key role in mercaptans extraction and caustic regeneration. The experimental results demonstrated by optimization of temperature, sodium mercaptide content in caustic because of good oxidation minimized and sulfur impurities in product reduced.

Communication and Quality in Distributed Agile Development: An Empirical Case Study

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 1 149 - 155 Pages

Abstract: Through inward perceptions, we intuitively expect distributed software development to increase the risks associated with achieving cost, schedule, and quality goals. To compound this problem, agile software development (ASD) insists one of the main ingredients of its success is cohesive communication attributed to collocation of the development team. The following study identified the degree of communication richness needed to achieve comparable software quality (reduce pre-release defects) between distributed and collocated teams. This paper explores the relevancy of communication richness in various development phases and its impact on quality. Through examination of a large distributed agile development project, this investigation seeks to understand the levels of communication required within each ASD phase to produce comparable quality results achieved by collocated teams. Obviously, a multitude of factors affects the outcome of software projects. However, within distributed agile software development teams, the mode of communication is one of the critical components required to achieve team cohesiveness and effectiveness. As such, this study constructs a distributed agile communication model (DAC-M) for potential application to similar distributed agile development efforts using the measurement of the suitable level of communication. The results of the study show that less rich communication methods, in the appropriate phase, might be satisfactory to achieve equivalent quality in distributed ASD efforts.

On the Influence of Certain Natural Factors on the Sperm Quality and Sexual Behaviour of Rams

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 5 359 - 362 Pages

Abstract: In the Northern hemisphere, sheep reproduction is seasonal (September-November). Among several natural factors influencing the reproduction status of rams, we studied the daylight length and temperature. Rams from different breeds were studied: Merinos de Palas (half-precocious), Karakul de Botosani (halfbelated) and Turcana (belated breed, low reproductive plasticity). In Merinos de Palas, ejaculate volume during sexual repose is 51.3% from normal quantity. When autumn climate was experimentally induced, ejaculate volume reached 98.45% (Merinos), 94.97% (Karakul) and 97.59% (Turcana). Semen density increased from 1.031-1.033 till 1.035 after exposition to artificial light and temperature conditions. Spermatozoids mobility and sperm pH improved, passing over 82% and 6.75, values identical to those in the natural reproduction season. Behaviour analysis after photoperiodicity indicated that over 83.3% Merinos and Karakul males and all Turcana rams exteriorised normal and intense sexual reflexes. Certain effort and reduced expenses brought rams in good condition, producing higher quantity and quality sperm.

Group Invariant Solutions for Radial Jet Having Finite Fluid Velocity at Orifice

Year: 2008 Volume: 2 Issue: 7 937 - 943 Pages

Authors:
I. Naeem
R. Naz

Abstract: The group invariant solution for Prandtl-s boundary layer equations for an incompressible fluid governing the flow in radial free, wall and liquid jets having finite fluid velocity at the orifice are investigated. For each jet a symmetry is associated with the conserved vector that was used to derive the conserved quantity for the jet elsewhere. This symmetry is then used to construct the group invariant solution for the third-order partial differential equation for the stream function. The general form of the group invariant solution for radial jet flows is derived. The general form of group invariant solution and the general form of the similarity solution which was obtained elsewhere are the same.

Some Separations in Covering Approximation Spaces

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 7 1024 - 1028 Pages

Abstract: Adopting Zakowski-s upper approximation operator C and lower approximation operator C, this paper investigates granularity-wise separations in covering approximation spaces. Some characterizations of granularity-wise separations are obtained by means of Pawlak rough sets and some relations among granularitywise separations are established, which makes it possible to research covering approximation spaces by logical methods and mathematical methods in computer science. Results of this paper give further applications of Pawlak rough set theory in pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.

A Universal Approach for the Intuitive Control of Mobile Robots using an AR/VR-based Interface

Year: 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 8 1263 - 1270 Pages

Abstract: Mobile robots are used in a large field of scenarios, like exploring contaminated areas, repairing oil rigs under water, finding survivors in collapsed buildings, etc. Currently, there is no unified intuitive user interface (UI) to control such complex mobile robots. As a consequence, some scenarios are done without the exploitation of experience and intuition of human teleoperators. A novel framework has been developed to embed a flexible and modular UI into a complete 3-D virtual reality simulation system. This new approach wants to access maximum benefits of human operators. Sensor information received from the robot is prepared for an intuitive visualization. Virtual reality metaphors support the operator in his decisions. These metaphors are integrated into a real time stereo video stream. This approach is not restricted to any specific type of mobile robot and allows for the operation of different robot types with a consistent concept and user interface.

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