Abstract: We present analysis of spatial patterns of generic
disease spread simulated by a stochastic long-range correlation SIR
model, where individuals can be infected at long distance in a power
law distribution. We integrated various tools, namely perimeter,
circularity, fractal dimension, and aggregation index to characterize
and investigate spatial pattern formations. Our primary goal was to
understand for a given model of interest which tool has an advantage
over the other and to what extent. We found that perimeter and
circularity give information only for a case of strong correlation–
while the fractal dimension and aggregation index exhibit the growth
rule of pattern formation, depending on the degree of the correlation
exponent (β). The aggregation index method used as an alternative
method to describe the degree of pathogenic ratio (α). This study may
provide a useful approach to characterize and analyze the pattern
formation of epidemic spreading
Abstract: Major social changes in the last century had significant impact on the Kazakh literature. Participants of the World War II, writers and poets imprisoned during the war, formed the Kazakh literature in emigration within the framework of 'Turkistan Legion'. This was a topic which remained closed until Kazakhstan gained its independence, though even after the independence, there were few research works done about the literature in emigration. The article studies the formation of the Kazakh literature in emigration, its prominent figures, its artistic heritage, and notes of emigration in works of poets and writers.
Abstract: In this paper we present a new method for coin
identification. The proposed method adopts a hybrid scheme using
Eigenvalues of covariance matrix, Circular Hough Transform (CHT)
and Bresenham-s circle algorithm. The statistical and geometrical
properties of the small and large Eigenvalues of the covariance
matrix of a set of edge pixels over a connected region of support are
explored for the purpose of circular object detection. Sparse matrix
technique is used to perform CHT. Since sparse matrices squeeze
zero elements and contain only a small number of non-zero elements,
they provide an advantage of matrix storage space and computational
time. Neighborhood suppression scheme is used to find the valid
Hough peaks. The accurate position of the circumference pixels is
identified using Raster scan algorithm which uses geometrical
symmetry property. After finding circular objects, the proposed
method uses the texture on the surface of the coins called texton,
which are unique properties of coins, refers to the fundamental micro
structure in generic natural images. This method has been tested on
several real world images including coin and non-coin images. The
performance is also evaluated based on the noise withstanding
capability.
Abstract: Classification is one of the primary themes in
computational biology. The accuracy of classification strongly
depends on quality of a dataset, and we need some method to
evaluate this quality. In this paper, we propose a new graphical
analysis method using 'Membership-Deviation Graph (MDG)' for
analyzing quality of a dataset. MDG represents degree of
membership and deviations for instances of a class in the dataset. The
result of MDG analysis is used for understanding specific feature and
for selecting best feature for classification.
Abstract: When the profile information of an existing road is
missing or not up-to-date and the parameters of the vertical
alignment are needed for engineering analysis, the engineer has to recreate
the geometric design features of the road alignment using
collected profile data. The profile data may be collected using
traditional surveying methods, global positioning systems, or digital
imagery. This paper develops a method that estimates the parameters
of the geometric features that best characterize the existing vertical
alignments in terms of tangents and the expressions of the curve, that
may be symmetrical, asymmetrical, reverse, and complex vertical
curves. The method is implemented using an Excel-based
optimization method that minimizes the differences between the
observed profile and the profiles estimated from the equations of the
vertical curve. The method uses a 'wireframe' representation of the
profile that makes the proposed method applicable to all types of
vertical curves. A secondary contribution of this paper is to introduce
the properties of the equal-arc asymmetrical curve that has been
recently developed in the highway geometric design field.
Abstract: In this paper, real-coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) optimization technique has been applied for large-scale linear dynamic multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system. The method is based on error minimization technique where the integral square error between the transient responses of original and reduced order models has been minimized by RCGA. The reduction procedure is simple computer oriented and the approach is comparable in quality with the other well-known reduction techniques. Also, the proposed method guarantees stability of the reduced model if the original high-order MIMO system is stable. The proposed approach of MIMO system order reduction is illustrated with the help of an example and the results are compared with the recently published other well-known reduction techniques to show its superiority.
Abstract: In this work a novel approach for color image
segmentation using higher order entropy as a textural feature for
determination of thresholds over a two dimensional image histogram
is discussed. A similar approach is applied to achieve multi-level
thresholding in both grayscale and color images. The paper discusses
two methods of color image segmentation using RGB space as the
standard processing space. The threshold for segmentation is decided
by the maximization of conditional entropy in the two dimensional
histogram of the color image separated into three grayscale images of
R, G and B. The features are first developed independently for the
three ( R, G, B ) spaces, and combined to get different color
component segmentation. By considering local maxima instead of the
maximum of conditional entropy yields multiple thresholds for the
same image which forms the basis for multilevel thresholding.
Abstract: In this paper we will develop further the sequential life test approach presented in a previous article by [1] using an underlying two parameter Inverse Weibull sampling distribution. The location parameter or minimum life will be considered equal to zero. Once again we will provide rules for making one of the three possible decisions as each observation becomes available; that is: accept the null hypothesis H0; reject the null hypothesis H0; or obtain additional information by making another observation. The product being analyzed is a new electronic component. There is little information available about the possible values the parameters of the corresponding Inverse Weibull underlying sampling distribution could have.To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of the underlying Inverse Weibull model we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. A new example will further develop the proposed sequential life testing approach.
Abstract: The primary education system in Indonesia involved the community recognized as the school committee, to take a part in the process of achieving the quality of education via the school facility performance, the low level of school committee involvement in the education system has become the issue in the development of education and reflected to the quality of education. This paper will discuss the conceptual framework and methodology for the performance of school committees within the management of school facilities in Batubara district of Indonesia. The concepts of Community based Facility Management (CbFM) and Logometrix are used as a basis to measure the school committee performance in order to address the needs of quality school management. The data will be taken from questionnaires distributed for those who work and use school facilities spread over seven sub district of Batubara, Indonesia. The result of this study is expected to provide a guide for evaluating the performance of existing school committee in improving the quality of education in Indonesia.
Abstract: This paper proposes a technique to protect against
email bombing. The technique employs a statistical approach, Naïve
Bayes (NB), and Neural Networks to show that it is possible to
differentiate between good and bad traffic to protect against email
bombing attacks. Neural networks and Naïve Bayes can be trained
by utilizing many email messages that include both input and output
data for legitimate and non-legitimate emails. The input to the model
includes the contents of the body of the messages, the subject, and
the headers. This information will be used to determine if the email
is normal or an attack email. Preliminary tests suggest that Naïve
Bayes can be trained to produce an accurate response to confirm
which email represents an attack.
Abstract: In the real application of active control systems to
mitigate the response of structures subjected to sever external
excitations such as earthquake and wind induced vibrations, since the
capacity of actuators is limited then the actuators saturate. Hence, in
designing controllers for linear and nonlinear structures under sever
earthquakes, the actuator saturation should be considered as a
constraint. In this paper optimal design of active controllers for
nonlinear structures by considering the actuator saturation has been
studied. To this end a method has been proposed based on defining
an optimization problem which considers the minimizing of the
maximum displacement of the structure as objective when a limited
capacity for actuator has been used as a constraint in optimization
problem. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a
single degree of freedom (SDF) structure with a bilinear hysteretic
behavior has been simulated under a white noise ground acceleration
of different amplitudes. Active tendon control mechanism, comprised
of pre-stressed tendons and an actuator, and extended nonlinear
Newmark method based instantaneous optimal control algorithm
have been used as active control mechanism and algorithm. To
enhance the efficiency of the controllers, the weights corresponding
to displacement, velocity, acceleration and control force in the
performance index have been found by using the Distributed Genetic
Algorithm (DGA). According to the results it has been concluded
that the proposed method has been effective in considering the
actuator saturation in designing optimal controllers for nonlinear
frames. Also it has been shown that the actuator capacity and the
average value of required control force are two important factors in
designing nonlinear controllers for considering the actuator
saturation.
Abstract: Nowadays over-consumption of fossil energy in
buildings especially in residential buildings and also considering the
increase in populations, the crisis of energy shortage in a near future
is predictable. The recent performance of developed countries in
construction with the aim of decreasing fossil energies shows that
these countries have understood the incoming crisis and has taken
reasonable and basic actions in this regard. However, Iranian
architecture, with several thousands years of history, has acquired
and executed invaluable experiences in designing, adapting and
coordinating with the nature.
Architectural studies during the recent decades show that imitating
modern western architecture results in high energy wastage beside
the fact that it not reasonably adaptable and corresponded with the
habits and customs of people unlike the architecture in the past which
was compatible and adaptable with the climatic conditions and this
necessitates optimal using of renewable energies more than ever. This
paper studies problems of design, execution and living in today's
houses and reviews the characteristics of climatic elements paying
special attention to the performance of trombe wall and solar
greenhouse in traditional houses and offers some suggestions for
combining these two elements and a climatic strategy.
Abstract: In the present research, steam cracking of two types of
feedstocks i.e., naphtha and ethane is simulated for Pyrocrack1-1 and
2/2 coil configurations considering two key parameters of coil outlet
temperature (COT) and coil capacity using a radical based kinetic
model. The computer model is confirmed using the industrial data
obtained from Amirkabir Petrochemical Complex. The results are in
good agreement with performance data for naphtha cracking in a
wide range of severity (0.4-0.7), and for ethane cracking on various
conversions (50-70). It was found that Pyrocrack2-2 coil type is an
appropriate choice for steam cracking of ethane at reasonable
ethylene yield while resulting in much lower tube wall temperature
while Pyrocrack1-1 coil type is a proper selection for liquid
feedstocks i.e. naphtha. It can be used for cracking of liquid
feedstocks at optimal ethylene yield whereas not exceeding the
allowable maximum tube temperature.
Abstract: This paper study about using of nonparametric
models for Gross National Product data in Turkey and Stanford heart
transplant data. It is discussed two nonparametric techniques called
smoothing spline and kernel regression. The main goal is to compare
the techniques used for prediction of the nonparametric regression
models. According to the results of numerical studies, it is concluded
that smoothing spline regression estimators are better than those of
the kernel regression.
Abstract: Histogram plays an important statistical role in digital
image processing. However, the existing quantum image models are
deficient to do this kind of image statistical processing because
different gray scales are not distinguishable. In this paper, a novel
quantum image representation model is proposed firstly in which the
pixels with different gray scales can be distinguished and operated
simultaneously. Based on the new model, a fast quantum algorithm of
constructing histogram for quantum image is designed. Performance
comparison reveals that the new quantum algorithm could achieve an
approximately quadratic speedup than the classical counterpart. The
proposed quantum model and algorithm have significant meanings for
the future researches of quantum image processing.
Abstract: This paper proposes view-point insensitive human
pose recognition system using neural network. Recognition system
consists of silhouette image capturing module, data driven database,
and neural network. The advantages of our system are first, it is
possible to capture multiple view-point silhouette images of 3D human
model automatically. This automatic capture module is helpful to
reduce time consuming task of database construction. Second, we
develop huge feature database to offer view-point insensitivity at pose
recognition. Third, we use neural network to recognize human pose
from multiple-view because every pose from each model have similar
feature patterns, even though each model has different appearance and
view-point. To construct database, we need to create 3D human model
using 3D manipulate tools. Contour shape is used to convert silhouette
image to feature vector of 12 degree. This extraction task is processed
semi-automatically, which benefits in that capturing images and
converting to silhouette images from the real capturing environment is
needless. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach with
experiments on virtual environment.
Abstract: Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of
the oxygen used in bacteria mediated oxidation of organic substances
in water and wastewater. Theoretically an infinite time is required for
complete biochemical oxidation of organic matter, but the
measurement is made over 5-days at 20 0C or 3-days at 27 0C test
period with or without dilution. Researchers have worked to further
reduce the time of measurement.
The objective of this paper is to review advancement made in
BOD measurement primarily to minimize the time and negate the
measurement difficulties. Survey of literature review in four such
techniques namely BOD-BARTTM, Biosensors, Ferricyanidemediated
approach, luminous bacterial immobilized chip method.
Basic principle, method of determination, data validation and their
advantage and disadvantages have been incorporated of each of the
methods.
In the BOD-BARTTM method the time lag is calculated for the
system to change from oxidative to reductive state. BIOSENSORS
are the biological sensing element with a transducer which produces
a signal proportional to the analyte concentration. Microbial species
has its metabolic deficiencies. Co-immobilization of bacteria using
sol-gel biosensor increases the range of substrate. In ferricyanidemediated
approach, ferricyanide has been used as e-acceptor instead
of oxygen. In Luminous bacterial cells-immobilized chip method,
bacterial bioluminescence which is caused by lux genes was
observed. Physiological responses is measured and correlated to
BOD due to reduction or emission.
There is a scope to further probe into the rapid estimation of BOD.
Abstract: We proposes a way of removing noises and reducing the number of colors contained in a JPEG image. Main purpose of this project is to convert color images to monochrome images for the color blinds. We treat the crispy color images like the Tokyo subway map. Each color in the image has an important information. But for the color blinds, similar colors cannot be distinguished. If we can convert those colors to different gray values, they can distinguish them.
Abstract: In this paper, we apply the FM methodology to the
cross-section of Romanian-listed common stocks and investigate the
explanatory power of market beta on the cross-section of commons
stock returns from Bucharest Stock Exchange. Various assumptions
are empirically tested, such us linearity, market efficiency, the “no
systematic effect of non-beta risk" hypothesis or the positive
expected risk-return trade-off hypothesis. We find that the Romanian
stock market shows the same properties as the other emerging
markets in terms of efficiency and significance of the linear riskreturn
models. Our analysis included weekly returns from January
2002 until May 2010 and the portfolio formation, estimation and
testing was performed in a rolling manner using 51 observations (one
year) for each stage of the analysis.
Abstract: This current research focused on development of degradable starch based packaging film with enhanced mechanical properties. A series of low density polyethylene (LDPE)/tapioca starch compounds with various tapioca starch contents were prepared by twin screw extrusion with the addition of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene as compatibilizer. Palm cooking oil was used as processing aid to ease the blown film process, thus, degradable film can be processed via conventional blown film machine. Studies on their characteristics, mechanical properties and biodegradation were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and optical properties, tensile test and exposure to fungi environment respectively. The presence of high starch contents had an adverse effect on the tensile properties of LDPE/tapioca starch blends. However, the addition of compatibilizer to the blends improved the interfacial adhesion between the two materials, hence, improved the tensile properties of the films. High content of starch amount also was found to increase the rate of biodegradability of LDPE/tapioca starch films. It can be proved by exposure of the film to fungi environment. A growth of microbes colony can be seen on the surface of LDPE/tapioca starch film indicates that the granular starch present on the surface of the polymer film is attacked by microorganisms, until most of it is assimilated as a carbon source.