Abstract: In this paper the issue of dimensionality reduction is
investigated in finger vein recognition systems using kernel Principal
Component Analysis (KPCA). One aspect of KPCA is to find the
most appropriate kernel function on finger vein recognition as there
are several kernel functions which can be used within PCA-based
algorithms. In this paper, however, another side of PCA-based
algorithms -particularly KPCA- is investigated. The aspect of
dimension of feature vector in PCA-based algorithms is of
importance especially when it comes to the real-world applications
and usage of such algorithms. It means that a fixed dimension of
feature vector has to be set to reduce the dimension of the input and
output data and extract the features from them. Then a classifier is
performed to classify the data and make the final decision. We
analyze KPCA (Polynomial, Gaussian, and Laplacian) in details in
this paper and investigate the optimal feature extraction dimension in
finger vein recognition using KPCA.
Abstract: We used high-precision Global Positioning System
(GPS) to geodetically constrain the motion of stations in the
Darjiling-Sikkim Himalayan (DSH) wedge and examine the
deformation at the Indian-Tibetan plate boundary using IGS
(International GPS Service) fiducial stations. High-precision GPS
based displacement and velocity field was measured in the DSH
between 1997 and 2009. To obtain additional insight north of the
Indo-Tibetan border and in the Darjiling-Sikkim-Tibet (DaSiT)
wedge, published velocities from four stations J037, XIGA, J029 and
YADO were also included in the analysis. India-fixed velocities or
the back-slip was computed relative to the pole of rotation of the
Indian Plate (Latitude 52.97 ± 0.22º, Longitude - 0.30 ± 3.76º, and
Angular Velocity 0.500 ± 0.008º/ Myr) in the DaSiT wedge.
Dislocation modelling was carried out with the back-slip to model the
best possible solution of a finite rectangular dislocation or the
causative fault based on dislocation theory that produced the
observed back-slip using a forward modelling approach. To find the
best possible solution, three different models were attempted. First,
slip along a single thrust fault, then two thrust faults and in finally,
three thrust faults were modelled to simulate the back-slip in the
DaSiT wedge. The three-fault case bests the measured displacements
and is taken as the best possible solution.
Abstract: Osteoporosis is a common multifactorial disease with
a strong genetic component characterized by reduced bone mass and
increased risk of fractures. Genetic factors play an important role in
the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. The aim of our study was to
identify the genotype and allele distribution of T245G polymorphism
in OPG gene in Slovak postmenopausal women. A total of 200
unrelated Slovak postmenopausal women with diagnosed
osteoporosis and 200 normal controls were genotyped for T245G
(rs3134069) polymorphism of OPG gene. Genotyping was performed
using the Custom Taqman®SNP Genotyping assays. Genotypes and
alleles frequencies showed no significant differences (p=0.5551;
p=0.6022). The results of the present study confirm the importance of
T245G polymorphism in OPG gene in the pathogenesis of
osteoporosis.
Abstract: Fibrin degradation is an important part in prevention
or treatment of intravascular thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases.
Plasmin like fibrinolytic enzymes has given new hope to patient with
cardiovascular diseases by treating fibrin aggregation related diseases
with traditional plasminogen activator which have many side effects.
Various researches involving wide range of sources for production of
fibrinolytic proteases, from bacteria, fungi, insects and fermented
foods. But few have looked into endophytic fungi as a potential
source. Sixteen (16) endophytic fungi were isolated from Hibiscus sp.
leaves from six different locations in Shah Alam, Selangor. Only two
endophytic fungi, FH3 and S13 showed positive fibrinolytic protease
activities. FH3 produced 5.78cm and S13 produced 4.48cm on Skim
Milk Agar after 4 days of incubation at 27°C. Fibrinolytic activity
was observed; 3.87cm and 1.82cm diameter clear zone on fibrin plate
of FH3 and S13 respectively. 18srRNA was done for identification of
the isolated fungi with positive fibrinolytic protease. S13 had the
highest similarity (100%) to that of Penicillium citrinum strain TG2
and FH3 had the highest similarity (99%) to that of Fusarium sp.
FW2PhC1, Fusarium sp. 13002, Fusarium sp. 08006, Fusarium
equiseti strain Salicorn 8 and Fungal sp. FCASAn-2. Media
composition variation showed the effects of carbon nitrogen on
protein concentration, where the decrement of 50% of media
composition caused drastic decrease in protease of FH3 from 1.081 to
0.056 and also S13 from 2.946 to 0.198.
Abstract: This paper presents circular polar coordinates
transformation of periodic fuzzy membership function. The purpose
is identification of domain of periodic membership functions in
consequent part of IF-THEN rules. Proposed methods in this paper
remove complicatedness concerning domain of periodic membership
function from defuzzification in fuzzy approximate reasoning.
Defuzzification on circular polar coordinates is also proposed.
Abstract: The need to extract R&D keywords from issues and use
them to retrieve R&D information is increasing rapidly. However, it is
difficult to identify related issues or distinguish them. Although the
similarity between issues cannot be identified, with an R&D lexicon,
issues that always share the same R&D keywords can be determined.
In detail, the R&D keywords that are associated with a particular issue
imply the key technology elements that are needed to solve a particular
issue.
Furthermore, the relationship among issues that share the same
R&D keywords can be shown in a more systematic way by clustering
them according to keywords. Thus, sharing R&D results and reusing
R&D technology can be facilitated. Indirectly, redundant investment
in R&D can be reduced as the relevant R&D information can be shared
among corresponding issues and the reusability of related R&D can be
improved. Therefore, a methodology to cluster issues from the
perspective of common R&D keywords is proposed to satisfy these
demands.
Abstract: In this paper influence of packaging method (vacuum
and modified atmosphere packaging) on lipid oxidative stability and
sensory properties of odor and taste of the traditional sausage
Petrovská klobása were examined. These parameters were examined
during storage period (7 months). In the end of storage period,
vacuum packed sausage showed better oxidative stability. Propanal
content was significantly lower (P
Abstract: This article deals with the perceived quality of regional products in the Moravian-Silesian region in the Czech Republic. Research was focused on finding out what do consumers perceive as a quality product and what characteristics make a quality product. The data were obtained by questionnaire survey andanalysed by IBM SPSS. From the thousands of respondents the representative sample of 719 for MS region was created based on demographic factors of gender, age, education and income. The research analysis disclosed that consumers in MS region are still price oriented and that the preference of quality over price does not depend on regional brand knowledge.
Abstract: This paper presents the findings of an experimental investigation of important machining parameters for the horizontal boring tool modified to mouth with a horizontal lathe machine to bore an overlength workpiece. In order to verify a usability of a modified tool, design of experiment based on Taguchi method is performed. The parameters investigated are spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut and length of workpiece. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is selected for four factors three level parameters in order to minimize surface roughness (Ra and Rz) of S45C steel tubes. Signal to noise ratio analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to study an effect of said parameters and to optimize the machine setting for best surface finish. The controlled factors with most effect are depth of cut, spindle speed, length of workpiece, and feed rate in order. The confirmation test is performed to test the optimal setting obtained from Taguchi method and the result is satisfactory.
Abstract: Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been identified as an
important factor for corporate success. However, there are few
empirical findings on the impact of Strategic EI per se. The ooverall
objective of the study was to empirically examine the relationship
between the Strategic EI and Transformational Leadership style of
managers. Sixty four managers were selected from the banking
industry in Czech Republic. Genos EI Inventory, and the Multifactor
Leadership Questionnaire – Form 5X-Short were employed as the
major research instruments of the study. Descriptive and inferential
analyses of survey data were conducted using SPSS software.
Variations were observed among the components of Strategic EI
between males, and females. Study concludes positive a relationship
between Strategic EI of Czech managers and their transformational
leadership style. Improving awareness and usage of EI, will
contribute to facilitate career success through enhanced levels of
transformational leadership of managers.
Abstract: Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer
which has good mechanical properties, however, its brittleness limits
its usage especially in packaging materials. Therefore, in this work,
PLA based polyurethane films were prepared by synthesizing with
different types of isocyanates; methylene diisocyanate (MDI) and
hexamethylene diisocyanates (HDI). For this purpose, PLA based
polyurethane must have good strength and flexibility. Therefore,
polycaprolactone which has better flexibility were prepared with
PLA. An effective way to endow polylactic acid with toughness is
through chain-extension reaction of the polylactic acid pre-polymer
with polycaprolactone used as chain extender. Polyurethane prepared
from MDI showed brittle behaviour, while, polyurethane prepared
from HDI showed flexibility at same concentrations.
Abstract: Assistive robotics are playing a vital role in advancing the quality of life for disable people. There exist wide range of systems that can control and guide autonomous mobile robots. The objective of the control system is to guide an autonomous mobile robot using the movement of eyes by means of EOG signal. The EOG signal is acquired using Ag/AgCl electrodes and this signal is processed by a microcontroller unit to calculate the eye gaze direction. Then according to the guidance control strategy, the control commands of the wheelchair are sent. The classification of different eye movements allows us to generate simple code for controlling the wheelchair. This work was aimed towards developing a usable and low-cost assistive robotic wheel chair system for disabled people. To live more independent life, the system can be used by the handicapped people especially those with only eye-motor coordination.
Abstract: This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Bitcoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for self-reliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 121 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) A great majority didn't know what Bitcoin was. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Bitcoin within the community. 4) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Bitcoin development.
The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Bitcoin and share the value of Bitcoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Bitcoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Bitcoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. Local communities should focus on developing Bitcoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Bitcoin as another form of payment for services rendered. 4) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Bitcoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage.
Abstract: In this study, too, an attempt was made to reveal the
place and effects of information technologies on the lives and
education of gifted children based on the views of gifted. To this end,
the effects of information technologies on gifted are general skills,
technology use, academic and social skills, and cooperative and
personal skills were investigated. These skills were explored
depending on whether or not gifted had their own computers, had
internet connection at home, or how often they use the internet,
average time period they spent at the computer, how often they
played computer games and their use of social media.
The study was conducted using the screening model with a
quantitative approach. The sample of the study consisted of 129
gifted attending 5-12th classes in 12 provinces in different regions of
Turkey. 64 of the participants were female while 65 were male. The
research data were collected using the using computer of gifted and
information technologies (UCIT) questionnaire which was developed
by the researchers and given its final form after receiving expert
view.
As a result of the study, it was found that UCIT use improved
foreign language speaking skills of gifted, enabled them to get to
know and understand different cultures, and made use of computer
and information technologies while they study. At the end of the
study these result were obtained: Gifted have positive idea using
computer and communication technology. There are differences
whether using the internet about the ideas UCIT. But there are not
differences whether having computer, inhabited city, grade level,
having internet at home, daily and weekly internet usage durations,
playing the computer and internet game, having Facebook and
Twitter account about the UCIT.
UCIT contribute to the development of gifted vocabulary, allows
knowing and understand different cultures, developing foreign
language speaking skills, gifted do not give up computer when they
do their homework, improve their reading, listening, understanding
and writing skills in a foreign language.
Gifted children want to have transition to the use of tablets in
education. They think UCIT facilitates doing their homework,
contributes learning more information in a shorter time. They'd like
to use computer-assisted instruction programs at courses. They think
they will be more successful in the future if their computer skills are
good. But gifted students prefer teacher instead of teaching with
computers and they said that learning can be run from home without
going to school.
Abstract: Data Grid is a geographically distributed environment that deals with data intensive application in scientific and enterprise computing. Data replication is a common method used to achieve efficient and fault-tolerant data access in Grids. In this paper, a dynamic data replication strategy, called Enhanced Latest Access Largest Weight (ELALW) is proposed. This strategy is an enhanced version of Latest Access Largest Weight strategy. However, replication should be used wisely because the storage capacity of each Grid site is limited. Thus, it is important to design an effective strategy for the replication replacement task. ELALW replaces replicas based on the number of requests in future, the size of the replica, and the number of copies of the file. It also improves access latency by selecting the best replica when various sites hold replicas. The proposed replica selection selects the best replica location from among the many replicas based on response time that can be determined by considering the data transfer time, the storage access latency, the replica requests that waiting in the storage queue and the distance between nodes. Simulation results utilizing the OptorSim show our replication strategy achieve better performance overall than other strategies in terms of job execution time, effective network usage and storage resource usage.
Abstract: Surplus electricity can be converted into potential energy via pumped hydroelectric storage for future usage. Similarly, thermo-electric energy storage (TEES) uses heat pumps equipped with thermal storage to convert electrical energy into thermal energy; the stored energy is then converted back into electrical energy when necessary using a heat engine. The greatest advantage of this method is that, unlike pumped hydroelectric storage and compressed air energy storage, TEES is not restricted by geographical constraints. In this study, performance variation of the TEES according to the changes in cold-side storage temperature was investigated by simulation method.
Abstract: In this article the problem of distributional moments estimation is considered. The new approach of moments estimation based on usage of the characteristic function is proposed. By statistical simulation technique author shows that new approach has some robust properties. For calculation of the derivatives of characteristic function there is used numerical differentiation. Obtained results confirmed that author’s idea has a certain working efficiency and it can be recommended for any statistical applications.
Abstract: Many organizations are opting to adopt Open Source Software (OSS) as it is the current trend to rely on each other rather than on companies (Software vendors). It is a clear shift from organizations to individuals, the concept being to rely on collective participation rather than companies/vendors.
The main objectives of this research are 1) to identify the current level of OSS usage in Sultan Qaboos University; 2) to identify the potential benefits of using OSS in educational institutes; 3) to identify the OSS applications that are most likely to be used within an educational institute; 4) to identify the existing and potential barriers to the successful adoption of OSS in education.
To achieve these objectives a two-stage research method was conducted. First a rigorous literature review of previously published material was performed (interpretive/descriptive approach), and then a set of interviews were conducted with the IT professionals at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman in order to explore the extent and nature of their usage of OSS.
Abstract: Banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are
agricultural residues that can be used for conversion to bio-char, biooil,
and gases by using thermochemical process. The aim of this work
is to characterize banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem
through proximate analysis, elemental analysis, chemical analysis,
thermo-gravimetric analysis, and heating calorific value. The ash
contents of the banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are
11.0 mf wt.% and 20.6 mf wt.%; while the carbon content of banana
pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are 37.9 mf wt.% and 35.58 mf
wt.% respectively. The molecular formulas for banana stem and
banana fruit-bunch-stem are C24H33NO26 and C19H29NO33
respectively. The measured higher heating values of banana pseudostem
and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 15.5MJ/kg and 12.7 MJ/kg
respectively. By chemical analysis, the lignin, cellulose, and
hemicellulose contents in the samples will also be presented. The
feasibility of the banana wastes to be a feedstock for thermochemical
process in comparison with other biomass will be discussed in this
paper.
Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are the backbone of central Europe’s economies and have a significant contribution to the gross domestic product. Production planning and scheduling (PPS) is still a crucial element in manufacturing industries of the 21st century even though this area of research is more than a century old. The topic of PPS is well researched especially in the context of large enterprises in the manufacturing industry. However the implementation of PPS methodologies within SME is mostly unobserved. This work analyzes how PPS is implemented in SME with the geographical focus on Switzerland and its vicinity. Based on restricted resources compared to large enterprises, SME have to face different challenges. The real problem areas of selected enterprises in regards of PPS are identified and evaluated. For the identified real-life problem areas of SME clear and detailed recommendations are created, covering concepts and best practices and the efficient usage of PPS. Furthermore the economic and entrepreneurial value for companies is lined out and why the implementation of the introduced recommendations is advised.