Abstract: This study was aimed to determine seasonal variations
of leaf nutrient concentrations to define nutrient needs related to
growing period and to compare irrigation programs in terms of
nutrient uptake. In this study,'Starkrimson Delicious' variety grafted
onto seedling rootstock was used during 2009-2010 growing seasons.
The study was conducted at E─ƒirdir Fruit Growing Research Station.
Leaf samples were taken in five different sample seasons (May, June,
July, August and September). Four different pan coefficients (0.50,
0.75, 1.0, 1.25) were applied during drip irrigation treatments in 7
days irrigation interval. Leaf K, Mg, Ca, P, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu
concentrations were determined.
The results showed that among the seasonal changes, the highest
concentrations of K, Mg, P and Mn in leaves were recorded in May,
followed by a decrease in the other months, while in contrast Ca and
Fe showed the lowest concentration in May.
Results of the study demonstrate that among irrigation programs K
and Cu concentration in plants was significantly influenced. Cu
concentrations decreased with seasonal variations and different
irrigation programs. Thus, nutrient needs of 'Starkrimson Delicious'apple trees at different growth stages should be taken into
consideration before making effective fertilization program.
Abstract: Fractal analyses of successive event of explosion
earthquake and harmonic tremor recorded at Semeru volcano were
carried out to investigate the dynamical system regarding to their
generating mechanism. The explosive eruptions accompanied by
explosion earthquakes and following volcanic tremor which are
generated by continuous emission of volcanic ash. The fractal
dimension of successive event of explosion and harmonic tremor was
estimated by Critical Exponent Method (CEM). It was found that the
method yield a higher fractal dimension of explosion earthquakes and
gradually decrease during the occurrence of harmonic tremor, and can
be considerably as correlated complexity of the source mechanism
from the variance of fractal dimension.
Abstract: The next generation wireless systems, especially the
cognitive radio networks aim at utilizing network resources more
efficiently. They share a wide range of available spectrum in an
opportunistic manner. In this paper, we propose a quality
management model for short-term sub-lease of unutilized spectrum
bands to different service providers. We built our model on
competitive secondary market architecture. To establish the
necessary conditions for convergent behavior, we utilize techniques
from game theory. Our proposed model is based on potential game
approach that is suitable for systems with dynamic decision making.
The Nash equilibrium point tells the spectrum holders the ideal price
values where profit is maximized at the highest level of customer
satisfaction. Our numerical results show that the price decisions of
the network providers depend on the price and QoS of their own
bands as well as the prices and QoS levels of their opponents- bands.
Abstract: Owning to the high-speed feed rate and ultra spindle
speed have been used in modern machine tools, the tool-path
generation plays a key role in the successful application of a
High-Speed Machining (HSM) system. Because of its importance in
both high-speed machining and tool-path generation, approximating a
contour by NURBS format is a potential function in CAD/CAM/CNC
systems. It is much more convenient to represent an ellipse by
parametric form than to connect points laboriously determined in a
CNC system. A new approximating method based on optimum
processes and NURBS curves of any degree to the ellipses is presented
in this study. Such operations can be the foundation of tool-radius
compensation interpolator of NURBS curves in CNC system. All
operating processes for a CAD tool is presented and demonstrated by
practical models.
Abstract: Investigation of soil properties like Cation Exchange
Capacity (CEC) plays important roles in study of environmental
reaserches as the spatial and temporal variability of this property
have been led to development of indirect methods in estimation of
this soil characteristic. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) provide an
alternative by estimating soil parameters from more readily available
soil data. 70 soil samples were collected from different horizons of
15 soil profiles located in the Ziaran region, Qazvin province, Iran.
Then, multivariate regression and neural network model (feedforward
back propagation network) were employed to develop a
pedotransfer function for predicting soil parameter using easily
measurable characteristics of clay and organic carbon. The
performance of the multivariate regression and neural network model
was evaluated using a test data set. In order to evaluate the models,
root mean square error (RMSE) was used. The value of RMSE and
R2 derived by ANN model for CEC were 0.47 and 0.94 respectively,
while these parameters for multivariate regression model were 0.65
and 0.88 respectively. Results showed that artificial neural network
with seven neurons in hidden layer had better performance in
predicting soil cation exchange capacity than multivariate regression.
Abstract: Determining reasonable fees is the main objective of designing the cost estimation and payment systems for consultant contracts. However, project clients utilize different cost estimation and payment systems because of their varying views on the reasonableness of consultant fees. This study reviews the cost estimation and payment systems of consultant contracts for five countries, including the US (Washington State Department of Transportation), Japan (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), China (Engineering Design Charging Standard) and UK (Her Majesty's Treasure). Specifically, this work investigates the budgeting process, contractor selection method, contractual price negotiation process, cost review, and cost-control concept of the systems used in these countries. The main finding indicates that that project client-s view on whether the fee is high will affect the way he controls it. In the US, the fee is commonly considered to be high. As a result, stringent auditing system (low flexibility given to the consultant) is then applied. In the UK, the fee is viewed to be low by comparing it to the total life-cycle project cost. Thus, a system that has high flexibility in budgeting and cost reviewing is given to the consultant. In terms of the flexibility allowed for the consultant, the systems applied in Japan and China fall between those of the US and UK. Both the US and UK systems are helpful in determining a reasonable fee. However, in the US system, rigid auditing standards must be established and additional cost-audit manpower is required. In the UK system, sufficient historical cost data should be needed to evaluate the reasonableness of the consultant-s proposed fee
Abstract: The abnormal increase in the number of applications available for download in Android markets is a good indication that they are being reused. However, little is known about their real reusability potential. A considerable amount of these applications is reported as having a poor quality or being malicious. Hence, in this paper, an approach to measure the reusability potential of classes in Android applications is proposed. The approach is not meant specifically for this particular type of applications. Rather, it is intended for Object-Oriented (OO) software systems in general and aims also to provide means to discard the classes of low quality and defect prone applications from being reused directly through inheritance and instantiation. An empirical investigation is conducted to measure and rank the reusability potential of the classes of randomly selected Android applications. The results obtained are thoroughly analyzed in order to understand the extent of this potential and the factors influencing it.
Abstract: By utilizing the system of the recurrence equations, containing two parameters, the dynamics of two antagonistically interconnected populations is studied. The following areas of the system behavior are detected: the area of the stable solutions, the area of cyclic solutions occurrence, the area of the accidental change of trajectories of solutions, and the area of chaos and fractal phenomena. The new two-dimensional diagram of the dynamics of the solutions change (the fractal cabbage) has been obtained. In the cross-section of this diagram for one of the equations the well-known Feigenbaum tree of doubling has been noted.Keywordsbifurcation, chaos, dynamics of populations, fractals
Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to investigate the
enhancement of power system stability via coordinated tuning of
Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) in a multi-machine power system.
The design problem of the proposed controllers is formulated as an
optimization problem. Chaotic catfish particle swarm optimization
(C-Catfish PSO) algorithm is used to minimize the ITAE objective
function. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on a two-area, 4-
machines system. The robustness of the proposed algorithm is
verified on this system under different operating conditions and
applying a three-phase fault. The nonlinear time-domain simulation
results and some performance indices show the effectiveness of the
proposed controller in damping power system oscillations and this
novel optimization algorithm is compared with particle swarm
optimization (PSO).
Abstract: This paper investigates the problem of automated defect
detection for textile fabrics and proposes a new optimal filter design
method to solve this problem. Gabor Wavelet Network (GWN) is
chosen as the major technique to extract the texture features from
textile fabrics. Based on the features extracted, an optimal Gabor filter
can be designed. In view of this optimal filter, a new semi-supervised
defect detection scheme is proposed, which consists of one real-valued
Gabor filter and one smoothing filter. The performance of the scheme
is evaluated by using an offline test database with 78 homogeneous
textile images. The test results exhibit accurate defect detection with
low false alarm, thus showing the effectiveness and robustness of the
proposed scheme. To evaluate the detection scheme comprehensively,
a prototyped detection system is developed to conduct a real time test.
The experiment results obtained confirm the efficiency and
effectiveness of the proposed detection scheme.
Abstract: There is limited evidence from various countries
about the possible impact of various criteria to be used to determine
the scope of the IFRS for SMEs issued in 2009 and, research is
needed in this area. We provide evidence from Romania, an
emerging economy member of the European Union. The aim of this
paper is to analyze in a local setting if size is a relevant factor for
deciding between local and global standards for SMEs. Our results
indicate that size is a moderate indicator of the existence of possible
users interested in financial statements and that there is a difference
between the scopes of the standard determined on various criteria..
Also, we suggest that the international exposure is quite reduced in
the case of SMEs, but is sufficient to suggest that at least some SMEs
would benefit from international comparability of financial
statements
Abstract: Network reconfiguration is an operation to modify the
network topology. The implementation of network reconfiguration
has many advantages such as loss minimization, increasing system
security and others. In this paper, two topics about the network
reconfiguration in distribution system are briefly described. The first
topic summarizes its impacts while the second explains some
heuristic optimization techniques for solving the network
reconfiguration problem.
Abstract: This research was conducted in the Lower Ping River
Basin downstream of the Bhumibol Dam and the Lower Wang River
Basin in Tak Province, Thailand. Most of the tributary streams of the
Ping can be considered as ungauged catchments. There are 10-
pumping station installation at both river banks of the Ping in Tak
Province. Recently, most of them could not fully operate due to the
water amount in the river below the level that would be pumping,
even though included water from the natural river and released flow
from the Bhumibol Dam. The aim of this research was to increase the
performance of those pumping stations using weir projects in the
Ping. Therefore, the river analysis system model (HEC-RAS) was
applied to study the hydraulic behavior of water surface profiles in
the Ping River with both cases of existing conditions and proposed
weirs during the violent flood in 2011 and severe drought in 2013.
Moreover, the hydrologic modeling system (HMS) was applied to
simulate lateral streamflow hydrograph from ungauged catchments of
the Ping. The results of HEC-RAS model calibration with existing
conditions in 2011 showed best trial roughness coefficient for the
main channel of 0.026. The simulated water surface levels fitted to
observation data with R2 of 0.8175. The model was applied to 3
proposed cascade weirs with 2.35 m in height and found surcharge
water level only 0.27 m higher than the existing condition in 2011.
Moreover, those weirs could maintain river water levels and increase
of those pumping performances during less river flow in 2013.
Abstract: In recent years, real estate prediction or valuation has
been a topic of discussion in many developed countries. Improper
hype created by investors leads to fluctuating prices of real estate,
affecting many consumers to purchase their own homes. Therefore,
scholars from various countries have conducted research in real estate
valuation and prediction. With the back-propagation neural network
that has been popular in recent years and the orthogonal array in the
Taguchi method, this study aimed to find the optimal parameter
combination at different levels of orthogonal array after the system
presented different parameter combinations, so that the artificial
neural network obtained the most accurate results. The experimental
results also demonstrated that the method presented in the study had a
better result than traditional machine learning. Finally, it also showed
that the model proposed in this study had the optimal predictive effect,
and could significantly reduce the cost of time in simulation operation.
The best predictive results could be found with a fewer number of
experiments more efficiently. Thus users could predict a real estate
transaction price that is not far from the current actual prices.
Abstract: This paper explores the importance of privacy in a
contemporary online world. Crucial to the discussion is the idea of
the Lacanian postmodern fragmented self and the problem of how to
ensure that we have room to fully explore various aspects of our
personalities in an environment which is–or at least feels--safe and
free from observation by others. The paper begins with an
exploration of the idea of the self with particular regard to the ways
in which contemporary life and technology seems to have multiplied
the various faces or masks which we present in different contexts. A
brief history of privacy and surveillance follows. Finally, the paper
ends with an affirmation of the importance of private space as an
essential component of our spiritual and emotional well-being in
today-s wired world.
Abstract: An analysis of a synchronous generator in a bond
graph approach is proposed. This bond graph allows to determine the
simplified models of the system by using singular perturbations.
Firstly, the nonlinear bond graph of the generator is linearized. Then,
the slow and fast state equations by applying singular perturbations
are obtained. Also, a bond graph to get the quasi-steady state of the
slow dynamic is proposed. In order to verify the effectiveness of the
singularly perturbed models, simulation results of the complete
system and reduced models are shown.
Abstract: This work presents the hydrogen production from
steam gasification of palm kernel shell (PKS) at 700 oC in the
presence of 5% Ni/BEA and 5% Fe/BEA as catalysts. The steam
gasification was performed in two-staged reactors to evaluate the
effect of calcinations temperature and the steam to biomass ratio on
the product gas composition. The catalytic activity of Ni/BEA
catalyst decreases with increasing calcinations temperatures from 500
to 700 oC. The highest H2 concentration is produced by Fe/BEA
(600) with more than 71 vol%. The catalytic activity of the catalysts
tested is found to correspond to its physicochemical properties. The
optimum range for steam to biomass ratio if found to be between 2 to
4. Excess steam content results in temperature drop in the gasifier
which is undesirable for the gasification reactions.
Abstract: In many applications there is a broad variety of
information relevant to a focal “object" of interest, and the fusion of such heterogeneous data types is desirable for classification and
categorization. While these various data types can sometimes be treated as orthogonal (such as the hull number, superstructure color,
and speed of an oil tanker), there are instances where the inference and the correlation between quantities can provide improved fusion
capabilities (such as the height, weight, and gender of a person). A
service-oriented architecture has been designed and prototyped to
support the fusion of information for such “object-centric" situations.
It is modular, scalable, and flexible, and designed to support new data sources, fusion algorithms, and computational resources without affecting existing services. The architecture is designed to simplify
the incorporation of legacy systems, support exact and probabilistic entity disambiguation, recognize and utilize multiple types of
uncertainties, and minimize network bandwidth requirements.
Abstract: Unintentional falls are rife throughout the ages and
have been the common factor of serious or critical injuries especially
for the elderly society. Fortunately, owing to the recent rapid
advancement in technology, fall detection system is made possible,
enabling detection of falling events for the elderly, monitoring the
patient and consequently provides emergency support in the event of
falling. This paper presents a review of 3 main categories of fall
detection techniques, ranging from year 2005 to year 2010. This
paper will be focusing on discussing the techniques alongside with
summary and conclusion for them.
Abstract: This work shows a basic philosophical difficulty in the constructivist foundations of the cognitive posracionalist psychology of Vittorio Guidano. This is a difficulty caused by the problem of the existential crisis. It will be analyzed how Guidano-s suggestions about this problem depend on felt experience. Then it will appear how Guidano-s philosophy and psychotherapy must turn towards a phenomenological approach. Finally, some references are given about Eugen Gendlin-s philosophy which could be considered as a radical way to confront these questions.