Abstract: Run-offs are considered as important hydrological factors in feasibility studies of river engineering and irrigation-related projects under arid and semi-arid condition. Flood control is one of the crucial factor, the management of which while mitigates its destructive consequences, abstracts considerable volume of renewable water resources. The methodology applied here was based on Mizumura, which applied a mathematical model for simple tank to simulate the rainfall-run-off process in a particular water basin using the data from the observational hydrograph. The model was applied in the Dez River water basin adjacent to Greater Dezful region, Iran in order to simulate and estimate the floods. Results indicated that the calculated hydrographs using the simple tank method, SCS-CN model and the observation hydrographs had a close proximity. It was also found that on average the flood time and discharge peaks in the simple tank were closer to the observational data than the CN method. On the other hand, the calculated flood volume in the CN model was significantly closer to the observational data than the simple tank model.
Abstract: This article illustrates that how non similar culture become a cause of constant anxiety among international students in China. For that, a survey was carried out among international students of Wuhan University, China. The association among non similar culture, non familiarity of Chinese culture, self finance students and food problem is looked at through a regression line, and in the light of empirical results, a model is anticipated which elucidates these results. Some suggestions were directed at the end which will help to mitigate the anxiety among prospective students in Chinese universities.
Abstract: Clustering techniques have received attention in many areas including engineering, medicine, biology and data mining. The purpose of clustering is to group together data points, which are close to one another. The K-means algorithm is one of the most widely used techniques for clustering. However, K-means has two shortcomings: dependency on the initial state and convergence to local optima and global solutions of large problems cannot found with reasonable amount of computation effort. In order to overcome local optima problem lots of studies done in clustering. This paper is presented an efficient hybrid evolutionary optimization algorithm based on combining Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), called PSO-ACO, for optimally clustering N object into K clusters. The new PSO-ACO algorithm is tested on several data sets, and its performance is compared with those of ACO, PSO and K-means clustering. The simulation results show that the proposed evolutionary optimization algorithm is robust and suitable for handing data clustering.
Abstract: New advancement of technology and never satisfying demands of the civilization are putting huge pressure on the natural fuel resources and these resources are at a constant threat to its sustainability. To get the best out of the automobile, the optimum balance between performance and fuel economy is important. In the present state of art, either of the above two aspects are taken into mind while designing and development process which puts the other in the loss as increase in fuel economy leads to decrement in performance and vice-versa. In-depth observation of the vehicle dynamics apparently shows that large amount of energy is lost during braking and likewise large amount of fuel is consumed to reclaim the initial state, this leads to lower fuel efficiency to gain the same performance. Current use of Kinetic Energy Recovery System is only limited to sports vehicles only because of the higher cost of this system. They are also temporary in nature as power can be squeezed only during a small time duration and use of superior parts leads to high cost, which results on concentration on performance only and neglecting the fuel economy. In this paper Kinetic Energy Recovery System for storing the power and then using the same while accelerating has been discussed. The major storing element in this system is a Flat Spiral Spring that will store energy by compression and torsion.
The use of spring ensure the permanent storage of energy until used by the driver unlike present mechanical regeneration system in which the energy stored decreases with time and is eventually lost. A combination of internal gears and spur gears will be used in order to make the energy release uniform which will lead to safe usage. The system can be used to improve the fuel efficiency by assisting in overcoming the vehicle’s inertia after braking or to provide instant acceleration whenever required by the driver. The performance characteristics of the system including response time, mechanical efficiency and overall increase in efficiency are demonstrated. This technology makes the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) more flexible and economical allowing specific application while at the same time increasing the time frame and ease of usage.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a recreational workout program for adults with disabilities over two semesters. This investigation was an action study conducted in a naturalistic setting. Participants included equal numbers of adults with severe cognitive impairments (n = 35) and adults without disabilities (n = 35). Adults with disabilities severe cognitive impairments were trained 6 self-initiated workout activities over two semesters by adults without disabilities. The numbers of task-analyzed steps of each activity performed correctly by each participant at the first and last weeks of each semester were used for data analysis. Results of the paired t-tests indicate that across two semesters, significant differences between the first and last weeks were found on 4 out of the 6 task-analyzed workout activities at a statistical level of significance p < .05. The recreational workout program developed in this study was effective.
Abstract: SVM ( Support Vector Machine ) is a new method in the artificial neural network ( ANN ). In the steel making, how to use computer to predict the end point of BOF accuracy is a great problem. A lot of method and theory have been claimed, but most of the results is not satisfied. Now the hot topic in the BOF end point predicting is to use optical way the predict the end point in the BOF. And we found that there exist some regular in the characteristic curve of the flame from the mouse of pudding. And we can use SVM to predict end point of the BOF, just single spectrum intensity should be required as the input parameter. Moreover, its compatibility for the input space is better than the BP network.
Abstract: This research seeks to investigate the frequency and
profitability of index arbitrage opportunities involving the SET50
futures, SET50 component stocks, and the ThaiDEX SET50 ETF
(ticker symbol: TDEX). In particular, the frequency and profit of
arbitrage are measured in the following three arbitrage tests: (1)
SET50 futures vs. ThaiDEX SET50 ETF, (2) SET50 futures vs.
SET50 component stocks, and (3) ThaiDEX SET50 ETF vs. SET50
component stocks are investigated. For tests (2) and (3), the problems
involve conic optimization and quadratic programming as subproblems.
This research is first to apply conic optimization and
quadratic programming techniques in the context of index arbitrage
and is first to investigate such index arbitrage in the Thai equity and
derivatives markets. Thus, the contribution of this study is twofold.
First, its results would help understand the contribution of the
derivatives securities to the efficiency of the Thai markets. Second,
the methodology employed in this study can be applied to other
geographical markets, with minor adjustments.
Abstract: A numerical solution of the initial boundary value
problem of the suspended string vibrating equation with the
particular nonlinear damping term based on the finite difference
scheme is presented in this paper. The investigation of how the
second and third power terms of the nonlinear term affect the
vibration characteristic. We compare the vibration amplitude as a
result of the third power nonlinear damping with the second power
obtained from previous report provided that the same initial shape
and initial velocities are assumed. The comparison results show that
the vibration amplitude is inversely proportional to the coefficient of
the damping term for the third power nonlinear damping case, while
the vibration amplitude is proportional to the coefficient of the
damping term in the second power nonlinear damping case.
Abstract: This paper investigates the influence of various
parameters on the behaviour of water droplets on polymeric surfaces
under high electric fields. An inclined plane test was carried out to
understand the droplet behaviour in strong electric field. Parameters
such as water droplet conductivity, droplet volume, polymeric
surface roughness and droplet positioning with respect to the
electrodes were studied. The flashover voltage is affected by all
aforementioned parameters. The droplet positioning is in some cases
more vital than the droplet volume. Surface damages were analysed
using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) studies and by Energy
dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX). It is observes that magnitude of
discharge have direct influence on amount of surface da
Abstract: In the last years numerous applications of Human-
Computer Interaction have exploited the capabilities of Time-of-
Flight cameras for achieving more and more comfortable and precise
interactions. In particular, gesture recognition is one of the most active
fields. This work presents a new method for interacting with a virtual
object in a 3D space. Our approach is based on the fusion of depth
data, supplied by a ToF camera, with color information, supplied
by a HD webcam. The hand detection procedure does not require
any learning phase and is able to concurrently manage gestures of
two hands. The system is robust to the presence in the scene of
other objects or people, thanks to the use of the Kalman filter for
maintaining the tracking of the hands.
Abstract: The results of an experimental study of the process of
convective and boiling heat transfer in the vessel with stirrer for
smooth and rough ring-shaped pipes are presented. It is established
that creation of two-dimensional artificial roughness on the heated
surface causes the essential (~100%) intensification of convective
heat transfer. In case of boiling the influence of roughness appears on
the initial stage of boiling and in case of fully developed nucleate
boiling there was no intensification of heat transfer. The similitude
equation for calculating convective heat transfer coefficient, which
generalizes well experimental data both for the smooth and the rough
surfaces is proposed.
Abstract: Inspired by the recent experiments [1]-[3] indicating
unusual doubly magic nucleus 24O which lies just at the neutron
drip-line and encouraged by the success of our relativistic mean-field
(RMF) plus state dependent BCS approach for the description of
the ground state properties of the drip-line nuclei [23]-[27], we have
further employed this approach, across the entire periodic table, to
explore the unusual shell closures in exotic nuclei. In our RMF+BCS
approach the single particle continuum corresponding to the RMF is
replaced by a set of discrete positive energy states for the calculations
of pairing energy. Detailed analysis of the single particle spectrum,
pairing energies and densities of the nuclei predict the unusual proton
shell closures at Z = 6, 14, 16, 34, and unusual neutron shell closures
at N = 6, 14, 16, 34, 40, 70, 112.
Abstract: An HPLC-UV analytical method was developed to
determine ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in dairy
wastewater and surface water. The optimizing separation was achieved
by reversed–phase ion-pair liquid chromatography on a C18 column
using methanol as mobile phase solvent, tetrabutylammonium bromide
as the ion-pair reagent in pH 3.3 formate buffer solution at a flow rate
of 0.9 mL min-1 with a UV detector at 265 nm. No interference of Ca,
Mg or NO3
- was detected. Method performance was evaluated in terms
of linearity, repeatability and reproducibility. The method detection
limit was 5 μg L-1. The contents of EDTA in dairy effluents were 72 ~
261 μg L-1 at a large dairy site. A change of EDTA concentration was
observed downstream of the dairy effluent discharge, but this was well
under the predicted no effect concentration for aquatic ecosystem.
Abstract: The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in
roadway lighting to show the state of street-lighting and nighttime
accident is demonstrated. Geographical maps were generated
showing colored streets based on how much of the street's length is
illuminated. The night to daytime accidents ratio at intersections
were found along with the state of lighting at those intersections.
The result is a method to show the state of street-lighting at roads and
intersections and a quick guide for decision makers to implement
strategies for better street-lighting to reduce night time traffic
accidents in a particular district.
Abstract: The 9/11 suicide attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, triggered a number of security responses both in the United States of America and other Countries in the World. Kenya, which is an ally and a close partner to North America and Europe, was not left behind. While many states had been parties to numerous terrorism conventions, their response in implementing them had been slow and needed this catalyst. This special case offered a window of opportunity for many “security conscious" regimes in cementing their legal-criminological and political security apparatus. At the international level, the 9/11 case led to the hasty adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 in 2001, which called upon states to adopt wide-ranging and comprehensive steps and strategies to combat international terrorism and to become parties to the relevant international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism. Since then, Kenya has responded with speed in devising social-legal-criminological-political actions.
Abstract: A new automatic system for the recognition and re¬construction of resealed and/or rotated partially occluded objects is presented. The objects to be recognized are described by 2D views and each view is occluded by several half-planes. The whole object views and their visible parts (linear cuts) are then stored in a database. To establish if a region R of an input image represents an object possibly occluded, the system generates a set of linear cuts of R and compare them with the elements in the database. Each linear cut of R is associated to the most similar database linear cut. R is recognized as an instance of the object 0 if the majority of the linear cuts of R are associated to a linear cut of views of 0. In the case of recognition, the system reconstructs the occluded part of R and determines the scale factor and the orientation in the image plane of the recognized object view. The system has been tested on two different datasets of objects, showing good performance both in terms of recognition and reconstruction accuracy.
Abstract: The effect of flooding can be a serious problem for
wheat farmers, even at dry land condition. Amount of flooding
damage depends on duration flooding, developmental stage, wheat
type and variety. Therefore as a factorial experiment in randomized
complete design based on winter bread wheat cultivars (Pishtaz,
Marvdasht, Shiraz, Zarin, Shahriar, C-81-4, Sardari, Agosta seed,
FGS and Azar2) at stages (Non- flooding stress, flooding at tillering
and stem elongation stages for 15 days) carried out in Faculty of
Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. During flooding,
soil environment of plant roots were water saturated. Analysis of
variance showed that flooding had a significant effect on the number
of grains per spike, grain weight per spike and a grain weight. Hence
flooding reduces the number of grain per spike between 27.1 to 42.5
percent, grain weight per spike between 34.7 to 54.4 percent and
single grain weight between 12.1 to 15.1 percent. Effects of flooding
at the tillering stage reduced higher than stem elongation stage on
studied traits. The result also showed that flooding at tillering stage
delayed spikelet primordial and floret. Between wheat cultivars was
significant for traits, but were different reactions. "Shiraz", "Zarin"
and "Shahriar" had the most no. grain per spike, but "Zarin" and
"Sardari" had the most grain weight per spike and single grain
weight, respectively. Also, interaction between start of flooding and
cultivar was significant.
Abstract: When a small H/W IP is designed, we can develop an
appropriate verification environment by observing the simulated
signal waves, or using the serial test vectors for the fixed output. In the
case of design and verification of a massive parallel processor with
multiple IPs, it-s difficult to make a verification system with existing
common verification environment, and to verify each partial IP. A
TestDrive verification environment can build easy and reliable
verification system that can produce highly intuitive results by
applying Modelsim and SystemVerilog-s DPI. It shows many
advantages, for example a high-level design of a GPGPU processor
design can be migrate to FPGA board immediately.
Abstract: Image mosaicing techniques are usually employed to offer researchers a wider field of view of microscopic image of biological samples. a mosaic is commonly achieved using automated microscopes and often with one “color" channel, whether it refers to natural or fluorescent analysis. In this work we present a method to achieve three subsequent mosaics of the same part of a stem cell culture analyzed in phase contrast and in fluorescence, with a common non-automated inverted microscope. The mosaics obtained are then merged together to mark, in the original contrast phase images, nuclei and cytoplasm of the cells referring to a mosaic of the culture, rather than to single images. The experiments carried out prove the effectiveness of our approach with cultures of cells stained with calcein (green/cytoplasm and nuclei) and hoechst (blue/nuclei) probes.
Abstract: Resource discovery is one of the chief services of a grid. A new approach to discover the provenances in grid through learning automata has been propounded in this article. The objective of the aforementioned resource-discovery service is to select the resource based upon the user-s applications and the mercantile yardsticks that is to say opting for an originator which can accomplish the user-s tasks in the most economic manner. This novel service is submitted in two phases. We proffered an applicationbased categorization by means of an intelligent nerve-prone plexus. The user in question sets his or her application as the input vector of the nerve-prone nexus. The output vector of the aforesaid network limns the appropriateness of any one of the resource for the presented executive procedure. The most scrimping option out of those put forward in the previous stage which can be coped with to fulfill the task in question is picked out. Te resource choice is carried out by means of the presented algorithm based upon the learning automata.