Abstract: This study was to search for the desirable direction of
the sidewalk planning in Korea by establishing the concepts of
walking and pedestrian space, and analyzing the advanced precedents
in and out of country. Also, based on the precedent studies and
relevant laws, regulations, and systems, it aimed for the following
sequential process: firstly, to derive design elements from the
functions and characteristics of sidewalk and cluster the similar
elements by each characteristics, sampling representative
characteristics and making them hierarchical; then, to analyze their
significances via the first questionnaire survey, and the relative
weights and priorities of each elements via the Analytic Hierarchy
Process(AHP); finally, based on the analysis result, to establish the
frame of suggesting the direction of policy to improve the pedestrian
environment of sidewalk in urban commercial district for the future
planning and design of pedestrian space.
Abstract: New graph similarity methods have been proposed in this work with the aim to refining the chemical information extracted from molecules matching. For this purpose, data fusion of the isomorphic and nonisomorphic subgraphs into a new similarity measure, the Approximate Similarity, was carried out by several approaches. The application of the proposed method to the development of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) has provided reliable tools for predicting several pharmacological parameters: binding of steroids to the globulin-corticosteroid receptor, the activity of benzodiazepine receptor compounds, and the blood brain barrier permeability. Acceptable results were obtained for the models presented here.
Abstract: A novel robust audio watermarking scheme is
proposed in this paper. In the proposed scheme, the host audio signals
are segmented into frames. Two consecutive frames are assessed if
they are suitable to represent a watermark bit. If so, frequency
transform is performed on these two frames. The compressionexpansion
technique is adopted to generate distortion over the two
frames. The distortion is used to represent one watermark bit.
Psychoacoustic model is applied to calculate local auditory mask to
ensure that the distortion is not audible. The watermarking schemes
using mono and stereo audio signals are designed differently. The
correlation-based detection method is used to detect the distortion
and extract embedded watermark bits. The experimental results show
that the quality degradation caused by the embedded watermarks is
perceptually transparent and the proposed schemes are very robust
against different types of attacks.
Abstract: Due to the excess of a vehicle operation through its life, some elements may face failure and deteriorate with time. This leads us to carry out maintenance, repair, tune up or full overhaul. After a certain period, the vehicle elements deteriorations increase with time which causes a very high increase of doing the maintenance operations and their costs. However, the logic decision at this point is to replace the current vehicle by a new one with minimum failure and maximum income. The importance of studying vehicle replacement problems come from the increase of stopping days due to many deteriorations in the vehicle parts. These deteriorations increase year after year causing an increase of operating costs and decrease the vehicle income. Vehicle replacement aims to determine the optimum time to keep, maintain, overhaul, renew and replace vehicles. This leads to an improvement in vehicle income, total operating costs, maintenance cost, fuel and oil costs, ton-kilometers, vehicle and engine performance, vehicle noise, vibration, and pollution. The aim of this paper is to find the optimum replacement policies of Kuwait Passenger Transport Company (KPTCP) fleet of busses. The objective of these policies is to maximize the busses pure profits. The dynamic programming (D.P.) technique is used to generate the busses optimal replacement policies
Abstract: Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to calculate aluminum-27, boron-11, and nitrogen-14 quadrupole coupling constant (CQ) in the representative considered model of (6, 0) boron nitride-aluminum nitride nanotube junction (BN-AlNNT) for the first time. To this aim, 1.3 nm length of BNAlN consisting of 18 Al, 18 B, and 36 N atoms was selected where the end atoms capped by hydrogen atoms. The calculated CQ values for optimized BN-AlNNT system reveal different electrostatic environment in the mentioned system. The calculations were performed using the Gaussian 98 package of program.
Abstract: Fiber optic sensor technology offers the possibility of
sensing different parameters like strain, temperature, pressure in
harsh environment and remote locations. these kinds of sensors
modulates some features of the light wave in an optical fiber such an
intensity and phase or use optical fiber as a medium for transmitting
the measurement information.
The advantages of fiber optic sensors in contrast to conventional
electrical ones make them popular in different applications and now a
day they consider as a key component in improving industrial
processes, quality control systems, medical diagnostics, and
preventing and controlling general process abnormalities.
This paper is an introduction to fiber optic sensor technology and
some of the applications that make this branch of optic technology,
which is still in its early infancy, an interesting field.
Abstract: Non-profit organizations, especially religious-based
institutions, have long played a very important role in society.
Nevertheless, scandals such as inefficient management and the use of
unlawful fundraising activities have raised questions regarding the
governance and accountability of these organizations. As such, the
issues have attracted considerable research interest. However, there is
still limited research on accountability in religious based
organizations, especially in the context of Islamic religious
organizations. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the
issues of accounting and accountability in religious organizations,
specifically in Islamic religious establishments. The paper starts by
looking at the conventional meaning and concept of accountability.
This is followed by a discussion of the principles of accountability
within the Islamic framework. In so doing, the history of the role of
accounting within Muslim society and also the differences between
the Islamic and conventional view of accountability are reviewed.
Insights gained from previous research on accountability in faith
based organizations are also discussed
Abstract: Development of knowledge based society carries multiple challenges to the higher education system. Some of the challenges laid before the higher education sector of countries which aspire to become knowledge based societies are: the entrepreneurial leadership of the higher education institutions, finding new sources of financing in order to minimize dependence on public resources, creating connections with the labor market, commercial utilization of R&D results, promotion of innovations as well as the overall promotion of science excellence relevant to the economic sector. Within a framework of this paper and its main subject of research, the challenge which is being put before the higher education institutions is an effort of establishing regional mission of higher education through the open collaboration with regional key factors, both private and public. Development of the mentioned collaboration and its contribution to the overall regional development in Croatia is the main subject of empirical research in this paper.
Abstract: This paper is devoted to present and discuss a model that allows a local segmentation by using statistical information of a given image. It is based on Chan-Vese model, curve evolution, partial differential equations and binary level sets method. The proposed model uses the piecewise constant approximation of Chan-Vese model to compute Signed Pressure Force (SPF) function, this one attracts the curve to the true object(s)-s boundaries. The implemented model is used to extract weld defects from weld radiographic images in the aim to calculate the perimeter and surfaces of those weld defects; encouraged resultants are obtained on synthetic and real radiographic images.
Abstract: Dew harvesting needs only weak investment and
exploits a free, clean and inexhaustible energy. This study aims to
measure the relative contributions of dew and rain water in the
Mediterranean Dalmatian coast and islands of Croatia and determine
whether dew water is potable. Two sites were chosen, an open site on
the coast favourable to dew formation (Zadar) and a less favourable
site in a circus of mountains in Komiža (Vis Island). Between July
1st, 2003 and October 31st, 2006, dew hasbeen daily collected on a 1
m2 tilted (30°) test dew condenser together with ordinary
meteorological data (air temperature and relative humidity, cloud
coverage, windspeed and direction). The mean yearly cumulative
dew yields were found to be 20 mm (Zadar) and 9.3 mm (Komiža ).
During the dry season (May to October), monthly cumulative dew
water yield can represent up to 38% of water collected by rain fall. In
July 2003 and 2006, dew water represented about 120% of the
monthly cumulative rain water. Dew and rain water were analyzed in
Zadar. The corresponding parameters were measured: pH, electrical
conductivity, major anions (HCO3
-, Cl-, SO4
2-
, NO3
-
, ,) and major
cations (NH4
+, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+. Both dew and rain water are in
conformity with the WHO directives for potability except Mg2+.
Using existing roofs and refurbishing the abandoned impluviums to
permit dew collection could then provide a useful supplementary
amount of water, especially during the dry season.
Abstract: Number of documents being created increases at an
increasing pace while most of them being in already known topics
and little of them introducing new concepts. This fact has started a
new era in information retrieval discipline where the requirements
have their own specialties. That is digging into topics and concepts
and finding out subtopics or relations between topics. Up to now IR
researches were interested in retrieving documents about a general
topic or clustering documents under generic subjects. However these
conventional approaches can-t go deep into content of documents
which makes it difficult for people to reach to right documents they
were searching. So we need new ways of mining document sets
where the critic point is to know much about the contents of the
documents. As a solution we are proposing to enhance LSI, one of
the proven IR techniques by supporting its vector space with n-gram
forms of words. Positive results we have obtained are shown in two
different application area of IR domain; querying a document
database, clustering documents in the document database.
Abstract: The aim of current research was to investigate ASLT method suitability for accelerated beer shelf-life determination. The research was accomplished on popular Latvian beer: light filtrated and unfiltered pasteurized beer with alcohol content 5.2%; dark filtrated pasteurized beer with alcohol content 4.2% with shelf-life five months. Bottled in dark glass bottles beer samples were storage during 20 weeks at several temperature regimes: +10±1 °C, +20±1 °C, +30±1 °C, +40±1 °C. Samples quality parameters as physically-chemical and microbiological was tested every two weeks using standard methods. It is possible to determine beer shelf-life rapidly during storage at +30±1 °C for filtered pasteurized light beer by 2.5 times, unfiltered pasteurized light beer by 1.4 times and for filtered pasteurized dark beer by 1.7 times. During preset experiments it was proved, that it is possible to determine beer shelf-life rapidly using ASLT method if beer storage temperature could be increased by +10±1 °C.
Abstract: In this work, biohydrogen production via dark
fermentation from alcohol wastewater using upflow anaerobic sludge
blanket reactors (UASB) with a working volume of 4 L was
investigated to find the optimum conditions for a maximum hydrogen
yield. The system was operated at different COD loading rates (23,
31, 46 and 62 kg/m3d) at mesophilic temperature (37 ºC) and pH 5.5.
The seed sludge was pretreated before being fed to the UASB system
by boiling at 95 ºC for 15 min. When the system was operated under
the optimum COD loading rate of 46 kg/m3d, it provided the
hydrogen content of 27%, hydrogen yield of 125.1 ml H2/g COD
removed and 95.1 ml H2/g COD applied, hydrogen production rate of
18 l/d, specific hydrogen production rate of 1080 ml H2/g MLVSS d
and 1430 ml H2/ L d, and COD removal of 24%.
Abstract: This Paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) method for determining the optimal proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller parameters, for speed control of a linear brushless DC motor. The proposed approach has superior features, including easy implementation, stable convergence characteristic and good computational efficiency. The brushless DC motor is modelled in Simulink and the PSO algorithm is implemented in MATLAB. Comparing with Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Linear quadratic regulator (LQR) method, the proposed method was more efficient in improving the step response characteristics such as, reducing the steady-states error; rise time, settling time and maximum overshoot in speed control of a linear brushless DC motor.
Abstract: Amphawa is the most popular weekend destination for
both domestic and international tourists in Thailand. More than 112
homestays and resorts have been developed along the water
resources. This research aims to initiate appropriate environmental
management system for riverside tourist accommodations in
Amphawa by investigating current environmental characteristics.
Eighty-eight riverside tourist accommodations were survey from
specific questionnaire, GPS data were also gathered for spatial
analysis. The results revealed that the accommodations are welled
manage in regards to some environmental aspects. In order to reduce
economic costs, energy efficiency equipment is utilized. A substantial
number of tourist accommodations encouraged waste separation,
followed by transfer to local administration organization. Grease
traps also utilized in order to decrease chemical discharged, grease
and oil from canteen and restaurants on natural environment. The
most notable mitigation is to initiate environmental friendly cleansers
for tourist accommodation along the riverside in tourism destinations.
Abstract: A new data fusion method called joint probability density matrix (JPDM) is proposed, which can associate and fuse measurements from spatially distributed heterogeneous sensors to identify the real target in a surveillance region. Using the probabilistic grids representation, we numerically combine the uncertainty regions of all the measurements in a general framework. The NP-hard multisensor data fusion problem has been converted to a peak picking problem in the grids map. Unlike most of the existing data fusion method, the JPDM method dose not need association processing, and will not lead to combinatorial explosion. Its convergence to the CRLB with a diminishing grid size has been proved. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Abstract: Quality control is the crucial step for ISO 9001
Quality System Management Standard for companies. While
measuring the quality level of both raw material and semi
product/product, the calibration of the measuring device is an
essential requirement. Calibration suppliers are in the service sector
and therefore the calibration supplier selection is becoming a worthy
topic for improving service quality.
This study presents the results of a questionnaire about the
selection criteria of a calibration supplier. The questionnaire was
applied to 103 companies and the results are discussed in this paper.
The analysis was made with MINITAB 14.0 statistical programs.
“Competence of documentations" and “technical capability" are
defined as the prerequisites because of the ISO/IEC17025:2005
standard. Also “warranties and complaint policy", “communication",
“service features", “quality" and “performance history" are defined as
very important criteria for calibration supplier selection.
Abstract: We intend to point out the differences which exist
between the classical Gini concentration coefficient and a proposed
bipolarization index defined for an arbitrary random variable which
have a finite support.
In fact Gini's index measures only the "poverty degree" for the
individuals from a given population taking into consideration their
wages. The Gini coefficient is not so sensitive to the significant
income variations in the "rich people class" .
In practice there are multiple interdependent relations between the
pauperization and the socio-economical polarization phenomena. The
presence of a strong pauperization aspect inside the population
induces often a polarization effect in this society. But the
pauperization and the polarization phenomena are not identical. For
this reason it isn't always adequate to use a Gini type coefficient,
based on the Lorenz order, to estimate the bipolarization level of the
individuals from the studied population.
The present paper emphasizes these ideas by considering two
families of random variables which have a linear or a triangular type
distributions. In addition, the continuous variation, depending on the
parameter "time" of the chosen distributions, could simulate a real
dynamical evolution of the population.
Abstract: In this investigation, the antibacterial effects of
ethanolic and 7:3 isopropyl –hexane mixture extracts of Zingiber
officinale were evaluated against three Gram positive bacteria, B.
cereus, S.epidermidis, S. aureus and three Gram negative bacteria, E.
coli, K.pneumonia and P.areuginosa. Utilizing paper disk diffusion
and well methods in-vitro, MIC and MBC were determined by
macrodilution. The results showed that ethanolic rhizome extract of
ginger had significantly active than Isopropyl –hexan extract. Further
work needs to be done in these extracts including fractionation to
isolate active constituents and subsequent pharmacological
evaluation.
Abstract: An effective method for the early detection of breast
cancer is the mammographic screening. One of the most important
signs of early breast cancer is the presence of microcalcifications. For
the detection of microcalcification in a mammography image, we
propose to conceive a multiagent system based on a dual irregular
pyramid.
An initial segmentation is obtained by an incremental approach;
the result represents level zero of the pyramid. The edge information
obtained by application of the Canny filter is taken into account to
affine the segmentation. The edge-agents and region-agents cooper
level by level of the pyramid by exploiting its various characteristics
to provide the segmentation process convergence.