Abstract: In this study, the pedestrian simulation VISWALK
integration and application platform ant algorithms written program
made to construct a renovation engineering schedule planning mode.
The use of simulation analysis platform construction site when the user
running the simulation, after calculating the user walks in the case of
construction delays, the ant algorithm to find out the minimum delay
time schedule plan, and add volume and unit area deactivated loss of
business computing, and finally to the owners and users of two
different positions cut considerations pick out the best schedule
planning. To assess and validate its effectiveness, this study
constructed the model imported floor of a shopping mall floor
renovation engineering cases. Verify that the case can be found from
the mode of the proposed project schedule planning program can
effectively reduce the delay time and the user's walking mall loss of
business, the impact of the operation on the renovation engineering
facilities in the building to a minimum.
Abstract: This paper introduces a video sharing platform based
on WiFi, which consists of camera, mobile phone and PC server. This
platform can receive wireless signal from the camera and show the live
video on the mobile phone captured by camera. In addition, it is able to
send commands to camera and control the camera’s holder to rotate.
The platform can be applied to interactive teaching and dangerous
area’s monitoring and so on. Testing results show that the platform can
share the live video of mobile phone. Furthermore, if the system’s PC
server and the camera and many mobile phones are connected
together, it can transfer photos concurrently.
Abstract: Nowadays, the rapid development of CAD systems’
programming environments results in the creation of multiple
downstream applications, which are developed and becoming
increasingly available. CAD based manufacturing simulations is
gradually following the same trend. Drilling is the most popular holemaking
process used in a variety of industries. A specially built piece
of software that deals with the drilling kinematics is presented. The
cutting forces are calculated based on the tool geometry, the cutting
conditions and the tool/work-piece materials. The results are verified
by experimental work. Finally, the response surface methodology
(RSM) is applied and mathematical models of the total thrust force
and the thrust force developed because of the main cutting edges are
proposed.
Abstract: Metal thin-walled members have been widely used in
building industry. Usually they are utilized as purlins, girts or ceiling
beams. Due to slenderness of thin-walled cross-sections these
structural members are prone to stability problems (e.g. flexural
buckling, lateral torsional buckling). If buckling is not
constructionally prevented their resistance is limited by buckling
strength. In practice planar members of roof or wall cladding can be
attached to thin-walled members. These elements reduce
displacement of thin-walled members and therefore increase their
buckling strength. If this effect is taken into static assessment more
economical sections of thin-walled members might be utilized and
certain savings of material might be achieved. This paper focuses on
problem of determination of critical load of steel thin-walled beams
with lateral continuous restraint which is crucial for lateral torsional
buckling assessment.
Abstract: Aluminium matrix composites with alumina
reinforcements give superior mechanical & physical properties. Their
applications in several fields like automobile, aerospace, defense,
sports, electronics, bio-medical and other industrial purposes are
becoming essential for the last several decades. In the present work,
fabrication of hybrid composite was done by Stir casting technique
using Al 6061 as a matrix with alumina and silicon carbide (SiC) as
reinforcement materials. The weight percentage of alumina is varied
from 2 to 4% and the silicon carbide weight percentage is maintained
constant at 2%. Hardness and wear tests are performed in the as cast
and heat treated conditions. Age hardening treatment was performed
on the specimen with solutionizing at 550°C, aging at two
temperatures (150 and 200°C) for different time durations. Hardness
distribution curves are drawn and peak hardness values are recorded.
Hardness increase was very sensitive with respect to the decrease in
aging temperature. There was an improvement in wear resistance of
the peak aged material when aged at lower temperature. Also
increase in weight percent of alumina, increases wear resistance at
lower temperature but opposite behavior was seen when aged at
higher temperature.
Abstract: This paper addresses a cutting edge method of
business demand forecasting, based on an empirical probability
function when the historical behavior of the data is random.
Additionally, it presents error determination based on the numerical
method technique ‘propagation of errors.’ The methodology was
conducted characterization and process diagnostics demand planning
as part of the production management, then new ways to predict its
value through techniques of probability and to calculate their mistake
investigated, it was tools used numerical methods. All this based on
the behavior of the data. This analysis was determined considering
the specific business circumstances of a company in the sector of
communications, located in the city of Bogota, Colombia. In
conclusion, using this application it was possible to obtain the
adequate stock of the products required by the company to provide its
services, helping the company reduce its service time, increase the
client satisfaction rate, reduce stock which has not been in rotation
for a long time, code its inventory, and plan reorder points for the
replenishment of stock.
Abstract: The present study was aimed to examine the structure
of children’s adaptation during school transition and to identify a
commonality and dissimilarity at the elementary and junior high
school. 1,983 students in the 6th grade and 2,051 students in the 7th
grade were extracted by stratified two-stage random sampling and
completed the ASSESS that evaluated the school adaptation from the
view point of ‘general satisfaction’, ‘teachers’ support’, ‘friends’
support’, ‘anti-bullying relationship’, ‘prosocial skills’, and ‘academic
adaptation’. The 7th graders tend to be worse adaptation than the 6th
graders. A structural equation modeling showed the goodness of fit for
each grades. Both models were very similar but the 7th graders’ model
showed a lower coefficient at the pass from ‘teachers’ support’ to
‘friends’ support’. The role of ‘teachers’ support’ was decreased to
keep a good relation in junior high school. We also discussed how we
provide a continuous assistance for prevention of the 7th graders’ gap.
Abstract: In order to address construction project requirements
and specifications, scholars and practitioners need to establish
taxonomy according to a scheme that best fits their need. While
existing characterization methods are continuously being improved,
new ones are devised to cover project properties which have not been
previously addressed. One such method, the Project Definition Rating
Index (PDRI), has received limited consideration strictly as a
classification scheme. Developed by the Construction Industry
Institute (CII) in 1996, the PDRI has been refined over the last two
decades as a method for evaluating a project's scope definition
completeness during front-end planning (FEP). The main
contribution of this study is a review of practical project classification
methods, and a discussion of how PDRI can be used to classify
projects based on their readiness in the FEP phase. The proposed
model has been applied to 59 construction projects in Ontario, and
the results are discussed.
Abstract: This paper participates in giving new vision and
explains the learning and acquisition processes of English language
by analyzing a certain context. Five important factors in English
language acquisition and learning are discussed and suitable solutions
are provided. The factors are compared with the learners' linguistic
background at Bisha College of Technology BCT attempting to link
the issues faced by students and the research done on similar
situations. These factors are phonology, age of acquisition,
motivation, psychology and courses of English. These factors are
very important; because they interfere and affect specific learning
processes at BCT context and general English learning situations.
Abstract: Methicillin/multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) are infectious bacteria that are resistant to common
antibiotics. A previous in silico study in our group has identified a
hypothetical protein SAV1226 as one of the potential drug targets. In
this study, we reported the bioinformatics characterization, as well as
cloning, expression, purification and kinetic assays of hypothetical
protein SAV1226 from methicillin/vancomycin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus Mu50 strain. MALDI-TOF/MS analysis
revealed a low degree of structural similarity with known proteins.
Kinetic assays demonstrated that hypothetical protein SAV1226 is
neither a domain of an ATP dependent dihydroxyacetone kinase nor
of a phosphotransferase system (PTS) dihydroxyacetone kinase,
suggesting that the function of hypothetical protein SAV1226 might
be misannotated on public databases such as UniProt and
InterProScan 5.
Abstract: This study examines the feasibility of indirect solar
desalination in oil producing countries in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region. It relies on value engineering (VE) and costbenefit
with sensitivity analyses to identify optimal coupling
configurations of desalination and solar energy technologies. A
comparative return on investment was assessed as a function of water
costs for varied plant capacities (25,000 to 75,000 m3/day), project
lifetimes (15 to 25 years), and discount rates (5 to 15%) taking into
consideration water and energy subsidies, land cost as well as
environmental externalities in the form of carbon credit related to
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The results showed
reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic technologies (PVs)
as the most promising configuration, robust across different prices for
Brent oil, discount rates, as well as different project lifetimes.
Environmental externalities and subsidies analysis revealed that a
16% reduction in existing subsidy on water tariffs would ensure
economic viability. Additionally, while land costs affect investment
attractiveness, the viability of RO coupled with PV remains possible
for a land purchase cost
Abstract: When neck pain is associated with pain, numbness, or
weakness in the arm, shoulder, or hand, further investigation is
needed as these are symptoms indicating pressure on one or more
nerve roots. Evaluation necessitates a neurologic examination and
imaging using an MRI/CT scan. A degenerating disc loses some
thickness and is less flexible, causing inter-vertebrae space to narrow.
A radiologist diagnoses an Intervertebral Disc Degeneration (IDD) by
localizing every inter-vertebral disc and identifying the pathology in
a disc based on its geometry and appearance. Accurate localizing is
necessary to diagnose IDD pathology. But, the underlying image
signal is ambiguous: a disc’s intensity overlaps the spinal nerve
fibres. Even the structure changes from case to case, with possible
spinal column bending (scoliosis). The inter-vertebral disc
pathology’s quantitative assessment needs accurate localization of the
cervical region discs. In this work, the efficacy of multilevel set
segmentation model, to segment cervical discs is investigated. The
segmented images are annotated using a simple distance matrix.
Abstract: Nowadays, the main goal for modern horticultural
production is an increase the quality. In recent years, the use of
organic fertilizers or biostimulants that can be applied in agriculture
to improve quali-quantitative crop yields has encountered increasing
interest. Biostimulants are gaining importance also for their possible
use in organic and sustainable agriculture, to avoid excessive
fertilizer applications. Consecutive experimental trials were carried
out in the Apulia region (southern Italy) on three herbaceous crops
(cauliflower, pepper, fennel) grown in pots under conventional and
organic fertilization systems without and with biostimulants. The aim
was to determine the effects of three biostimulants (Siapton®10L,
Micotech L, Lysodin Alga-Fert) on quali-quantitative yield
characteristics. At harvest, the quali-quantitative yield characteristics
of each crop were determined. All of the experimental data were
subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and when significant
effects were detected, the means were compared using Tukey’s tests.
These data show large differences in these yield characteristics
between conventional and organic crops, particularly highlighting
higher yields for the conventional crops, while variable results were
generally observed when the biostimulants were applied. In this
context, there were no effects of the biostimulants on the quantitative
yield, whereas there were low positive effects on the qualitative
characteristics, as related to higher dry matter content of cauliflower,
and higher soluble solids content of pepper. Moreover, there were
evident positive effects of the biostimulants with fennel, due to the
lower nitrate content. These latter data are in line with most of the
published literature obtained for other herbaceous crops.
Abstract: Fast speed drives for Permanent Magnet Synchronous
Motor (PMSM) is a crucial performance for the electric traction
systems. In this paper, PMSM is derived with a Model-based
Predictive Control (MPC) technique. Fast speed tracking is achieved
through optimization of the DC source utilization using MPC. The
technique is based on predicting the optimum voltage vector applied
to the driver. Control technique is investigated by comparing to the
cascaded PI control based on Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation
(SVPWM). MPC and SVPWM-based FOC are implemented with the
TMS320F2812 DSP and its power driver circuits. The designed MPC
for a PMSM drive is experimentally validated on a laboratory test
bench. The performances are compared with those obtained by a
conventional PI-based system in order to highlight the improvements,
especially regarding speed tracking response.
Abstract: To ensure targeting of apoferritin nanocarrier with
encapsulated doxorubicin drug, we used a peptide linker based on a
protein G with N-terminus affinity towards Fc region of antibodies.
To connect the peptide to the surface of apoferritin, the C-terminus of
peptide was made of cysteine with affinity to gold. The surface of
apoferritin with encapsulated doxorubicin (APODOX) was coated
either with gold nanoparticles (APODOX-Nano) or gold(III) chloride
hydrate reduced with sodium borohydride (APODOX-HAu). The
reduction with sodium borohydride caused a loss of doxorubicin
fluorescent properties and probably accompanied with the loss of its
biological activity. Fluorescent properties of APODOX-Nano were
similar to the unmodified APODOX; therefore it was more suited for
the intended use. To evaluate the specificity of apoferritin modified
with antibodies, ELISA-like method was used with the surface of
microtitration plate wells coated by the antigen (goat anti-human IgG
antibodies). To these wells, the nanocarrier was applied. APODOX
without the modification showed 5× lower affinity to the antigen than
APODOX-Nano modified gold and targeting antibodies (human IgG
antibodies).
Abstract: Current research is targeting new molecular
mechanisms that underlie non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
and associated metabolic disorders like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
(NASH). Forty New Zealand White rabbits have been used and fed a
high protein (HP) and energy diet based on grains and containing
11.76 MJ/kg. Boron added to 3 experimental groups’ drinking waters
(30 mg boron/L) as boron compounds. Biochemical analysis
including boron levels, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based
metabolomics evaluation, and mRNA expression of peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) family was performed. LDLcholesterol
concentrations alone were decreased in all the
experimental groups. Boron levels in serum and feces were increased.
Content of acetate was in about 2x higher for anhydrous borax group,
at least 3x higher for boric acid group. PPARα mRNA expression
was significantly decreased in boric acid group. Anhydrous borax
attenuated mRNA levels of PPARγ, which was further suppressed by
boric acid. Boron supplementation decreased the degenerative
alterations in hepatocytes. Except borax group other boron groups did
not have a pronounced change in tubular epithels of kidney. In
conclusion, high protein and energy diet leads hepatocytes’
degenerative changes which can be prevented by boron
supplementation. Boric acid seems to be more effective in this
situation.
Abstract: Total Quality Management (TQM) is a managerial
approach that improves the competitiveness of the industry,
meanwhile Information technology (IT) was introduced with TQM
for handling the technical issues which is supported by quality
experts for fulfilling the customers’ requirement. Present paper aims
to utilise AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) methodology to
priorities and rank the hierarchy levels of TQM enablers and IT
resource together for its successful implementation in the Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. A total of 17 TQM
enablers (nine) and IT resources (eight) were identified and
partitioned into 3 categories and were prioritised by AHP approach.
The finding indicates that the 17 sub-criteria can be grouped into
three main categories namely organizing, tools and techniques, and
culture and people. Further, out of 17 sub-criteria, three sub-criteria:
top management commitment and support, total employee
involvement, and continuous improvement got highest priority
whereas three sub-criteria such as structural equation modelling,
culture change, and customer satisfaction got lowest priority. The
result suggests a hierarchy model for ICT industry to prioritise the
enablers and resources as well as to improve the TQM and IT
performance in the ICT industry. This paper has some managerial
implication which suggests the managers of ICT industry to
implement TQM and IT together in their organizations to get
maximum benefits and how to utilize available resources. At the end,
conclusions, limitation, future scope of the study are presented.
Abstract: The system for analyzing and eliciting public
grievances serves its main purpose to receive and process all sorts of
complaints from the public and respond to users. Due to the more
number of complaint data becomes big data which is difficult to store
and process. The proposed system uses HDFS to store the big data
and uses MapReduce to process the big data. The concept of cache
was applied in the system to provide immediate response and timely
action using big data analytics. Cache enabled big data increases the
response time of the system. The unstructured data provided by the
users are efficiently handled through map reduce algorithm. The
processing of complaints takes place in the order of the hierarchy of
the authority. The drawbacks of the traditional database system used
in the existing system are set forth by our system by using Cache
enabled Hadoop Distributed File System. MapReduce framework
codes have the possible to leak the sensitive data through
computation process. We propose a system that add noise to the
output of the reduce phase to avoid signaling the presence of
sensitive data. If the complaints are not processed in the ample time,
then automatically it is forwarded to the higher authority. Hence it
ensures assurance in processing. A copy of the filed complaint is sent
as a digitally signed PDF document to the user mail id which serves
as a proof. The system report serves to be an essential data while
making important decisions based on legislation.
Abstract: In the past decade, the use of digital image correlation
(DIC) techniques has increased significantly in the area of
experimental mechanics, especially for materials behavior
characterization. This non-contact tool enables full field displacement
and strain measurements over a complete region of interest. The DIC
algorithm requires a random contrast pattern on the surface of the
specimen in order to perform properly. To create this pattern, the
specimen is usually first coated using a white matt paint. Next, a
black random speckle pattern is applied using any suitable method. If
the applied paint coating is too thick, its top surface may not be able
to exactly follow the deformation of the specimen, and consequently,
the strain measurement might be underestimated. In the present
article, a study of the influence of the paint thickness on the strain
underestimation is performed for different strain levels. The results
are then compared to typical paint coating thicknesses applied by
experienced DIC users. A slight strain underestimation was observed
for paint coatings thicker than about 30μm. On the other hand, this
value was found to be uncommonly high compared to coating
thicknesses applied by DIC users.
Abstract: The popularity of quality management system models
continues to grow despite the transitional crisis in 2008. Their
development is associated with demands of the new requirements for
entrepreneurs, such as risk analysis projects and more emphasis on
supervision of outsourced processes. In parallel, it is appropriate to
focus attention on the selection of companies aspiring to a quality
management system. This is particularly important in the automotive
supplier industry, where requirements transferred to the levels in the
supply chain should be clear, transparent and fairly satisfied. The
author has carried out a series of researches aimed at finding the
factors that allow for the effective implementation of the quality
management system in automotive companies. The research was
focused on four groups of companies: 1) manufacturing (parts and
assemblies for the purpose of sale or for vehicle manufacturers), 2)
service (repair and maintenance of the car) 3) services for the
transport of goods or people, 4) commercial (auto parts and vehicles).
The identified determinants were divided into two types of criteria:
internal and external, as well as hard and soft. The article presents the
hard – technical factors that an automotive company must meet in
order to achieve the goal of the quality management system
implementation.