Abstract: A novel hybrid model of the lumbar spine, allowing
fast static and dynamic simulations of the disc pressure
and the spine mobility, is introduced in this work. Our
contribution is to combine rigid bodies, deformable finite
elements, articular constraints, and springs into a unique model
of the spine. Each vertebra is represented by a rigid body
controlling a surface mesh to model contacts on the facet
joints and the spinous process. The discs are modeled using
a heterogeneous tetrahedral finite element model. The facet
joints are represented as elastic joints with six degrees of
freedom, while the ligaments are modeled using non-linear
one-dimensional elastic elements. The challenge we tackle
is to make these different models efficiently interact while
respecting the principles of Anatomy and Mechanics.
The mobility, the intradiscal pressure, the facet joint force and
the instantaneous center of rotation of the lumbar spine are
validated against the experimental and theoretical results of
the literature on flexion, extension, lateral bending as well as
axial rotation.
Our hybrid model greatly simplifies the modeling task and
dramatically accelerates the simulation of pressure within the
discs, as well as the evaluation of the range of motion and the
instantaneous centers of rotation, without penalizing precision.
These results suggest that for some types of biomechanical
simulations, simplified models allow far easier modeling and
faster simulations compared to usual full-FEM approaches
without any loss of accuracy.
Abstract: A collection of thirty cultivars/clones of a red pitaya
was used to investigate flowering response to lighting
supplementation in the winter season of 2013-2014 in southern
Taiwan. The night-breaking treatment was conducted during the
period of 10 Oct. 2013 to 5 Mar. 2014 with 4-continuous hours
(22.00 – 02.00 hrs) of additional lighting daily using incandescent
bulbs (100W). Among cultivars and clones tested, twenty-three
genotypes, most belonging to the red-magenta flesh type, were found
to have positively flowering response to the lighting treatment. The
duration of night-breaking treatment for successful flowering
initiation varied from 33- 48 days. The lighting-sensitive genotypes
bore 1-2 flowering flushes. Floral and fruiting stages took 21-26 and
46-59 days, respectively. Among sixteen fruiting genotypes, the
highest fruit set rates were found in Damao 9, D4, D13, Chaozou
large, Chaozhou 5, Small Nick and F22. Five cultivars and clones
(Orejona, D4, Chaozhou large, Chaozhou 5 and Small Nick) produced
fruits with an average weight of more than 300 g per fruit which were
higher than those of the fruits formed in the summer of 2013. Fruits
produced during off-season containing total soluble solids (TSS)
from 17.5 to 20.7oBrix, which were higher than those produced inseason.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to forecast the influences
of information and communication technology (ICT) on the structural
changes of Japanese economies. In this study, input-output (IO) and
statistical approaches are used as analysis instruments. More
specifically, this study employs Leontief IO coefficients and
constrained multivariate regression (CMR) model in order to achieve
the purpose. The periods of initial and forecast in this study are 2005
and 2015, respectively. In this study, ICT is represented by ICT capital
stocks. This study conducts two levels of analysis, namely macro and
micro. The results of macro level analysis show that the dynamics of
Japanese economies on the forecast period, relative to the initial period,
are not so high. We focus on (1) commerce, (2) business services and
office supplies, and (3) personal services sectors when conducting the
analysis of the micro level. Further, we analyze its specific IO
coefficients when doing this analysis. The results of the analysis
explain that ICT gives a strong influence on the changes of these
coefficients from initial to forecast periods.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to give an assessment of
environmental effects of IPPC permit conditions of installations that
are in specific territory with high concentration of industrial
activities.
The IPPC permit is the permit that each operator should hold to
operate the installation as stated by the directive 2010/75/UE on
industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control),
known as IED (Industrial Emissions Directive).
The IPPC permit includes all the measures necessary to achieve a
high level of protection of the environment as a whole, also defining
the monitoring requirements as measurement methodology,
frequency and evaluation procedure. The emissions monitoring of a
specific plant may also give indications of the contribution of these
emissions on the air quality of a definite area.
So, it is clear that the IPPC permits are important tools both to
improve the environmental framework and to achieve the air quality
standards, assisting to assess the possible industrial sources
contributions to air pollution.
Abstract: The present paper summarizes the analysis of the
request for consultation of information and data on industrial
emissions made publicly available on the web site of the Ministry of
Environment, Land and Sea on integrated pollution prevention and
control from large industrial installations, the so called “AIA Portal”.
As a matter of fact, a huge amount of information on national
industrial plants is already available on internet, although it is usually
proposed as textual documentation or images.
Thus, it is not possible to access all the relevant information
through interoperability systems and also to retrieval relevant
information for decision making purposes as well as rising of
awareness on environmental issue.
Moreover, since in Italy the number of institutional and private
subjects involved in the management of the public information on
industrial emissions is substantial, the access to the information is
provided on internet web sites according to different criteria; thus, at
present it is not structurally homogeneous and comparable.
To overcome the mentioned difficulties in the case of the
Coordinating Committee for the implementation of the Agreement
for the industrial area in Taranto and Statte, operating before the
IPPC permit granting procedures of the relevant installation located
in the area, a big effort was devoted to elaborate and to validate data
and information on characterization of soil, ground water aquifer and
coastal sea at disposal of different subjects to derive a global
perspective for decision making purposes. Thus, the present paper
also focuses on main outcomes matured during such experience.
Abstract: In this paper we describe one critical research
program within a complex, ongoing multi-year project (2010 to 2014
inclusive) with the overall goal to improve the learning outcomes for
first year undergraduate commerce/business students within an
Information Systems (IS) subject with very large enrolment. The
single research program described in this paper is the analysis of
student attitudes and decision making in relation to the availability of
formative assessment feedback via Web-based real time conferencing
and document exchange software (Adobe Connect). The formative
assessment feedback between teaching staff and students is in respect
of an authentic problem-based, team-completed assignment. The
analysis of student attitudes and decision making is investigated via
both qualitative (firstly) and quantitative (secondly) application of the
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with a two statistically-significant
and separate trial samples of the enrolled students. The initial
qualitative TPB investigation revealed that perceived self-efficacy,
improved time-management, and lecturer-student relationship
building were the major factors in shaping an overall favorable
student attitude to online feedback, whilst some students expressed
valid concerns with perceived control limitations identified within the
online feedback protocols. The subsequent quantitative TPB
investigation then confirmed that attitude towards usage, subjective
norms surrounding usage, and perceived behavioral control of usage
were all significant in shaping student intention to use the online
feedback protocol, with these three variables explaining 63 percent of
the variance in the behavioral intention to use the online feedback
protocol. The identification in this research of perceived behavioral
control as a significant determinant in student usage of a specific
technology component within a virtual learning environment (VLE)
suggests that VLEs could now be viewed not as a single, atomic
entity, but as a spectrum of technology offerings ranging from the
mature and simple (e.g., email, Web downloads) to the cutting-edge
and challenging (e.g., Web conferencing and real-time document
exchange). That is, that all VLEs should not be considered the same.
The results of this research suggest that tertiary students have the
technological sophistication to assess a VLE in this more selective
manner.
Abstract: Collaborative technologies or software known as
groupware are key enabling tools for communication, collaboration
and co-ordination among individuals, work groups and businesses.
Available reviews of the groupware literature are very few,
and mostly neither systematic nor recent.
This paper is an effort to fill this gap, and to provide researchers,
with a more up-to-date and wide systematic literature review. For this
purpose, 1087 scholarly articles, published from 1990 to 2013, on the
topic of groupware, were collected by the literature search. The study
here adopted the systematic approach of lexical analysis for the
analysis of those articles.
Abstract: Verification and Validation of Simulated Process
Model is the most important phase of the simulator life cycle.
Evaluation of simulated process models based on Verification and
Validation techniques checks the closeness of each component model
(in a simulated network) with the real system/process with respect to
dynamic behaviour under steady state and transient conditions. The
process of Verification and Validation helps in qualifying the process
simulator for the intended purpose whether it is for providing
comprehensive training or design verification. In general, model
verification is carried out by comparison of simulated component
characteristics with the original requirement to ensure that each step
in the model development process completely incorporates all the
design requirements. Validation testing is performed by comparing
the simulated process parameters to the actual plant process
parameters either in standalone mode or integrated mode.
A Full Scope Replica Operator Training Simulator for PFBR -
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor has been developed at IGCAR,
Kalpakkam, INDIA named KALBR-SIM (Kalpakkam Breeder
Reactor Simulator) where in the main participants are
engineers/experts belonging to Modeling Team, Process Design and
Instrumentation & Control design team. This paper discusses about
the Verification and Validation process in general, the evaluation
procedure adopted for PFBR operator training Simulator, the
methodology followed for verifying the models, the reference
documents and standards used etc. It details out the importance of
internal validation by design experts, subsequent validation by
external agency consisting of experts from various fields, model
improvement by tuning based on expert’s comments, final
qualification of the simulator for the intended purpose and the
difficulties faced while co-coordinating various activities.
Abstract: This study is concerned with the optimization of
fermentation parameters for the hyper production of mannanase from
Fusarium oxysporum SS-25 employing two step statistical strategy
and kinetic characterization of crude enzyme preparation. The
Plackett-Burman design used to screen out the important factors in
the culture medium revealed 20% (w/w) wheat bran, 2% (w/w) each
of potato peels, soyabean meal and malt extract, 1% tryptone, 0.14%
NH4SO4, 0.2% KH2PO4, 0.0002% ZnSO4, 0.0005% FeSO4, 0.01%
MnSO4, 0.012% SDS, 0.03% NH4Cl, 0.1% NaNO3 in brewer’s spent
grain based medium with 50% moisture content, inoculated with
2.8×107 spores and incubated at 30oC for 6 days to be the main
parameters influencing the enzyme production. Of these factors, four
variables including soyabean meal, FeSO4, MnSO4 and NaNO3 were
chosen to study the interactive effects and their optimum levels in
central composite design of response surface methodology with the
final mannanase yield of 193 IU/gds. The kinetic characterization
revealed the crude enzyme to be active over broader temperature and
pH range. This could result in 26.6% reduction in kappa number with
4.93% higher tear index and 1% increase in brightness when used to
treat the wheat straw based kraft pulp. The hydrolytic potential of
enzyme was also demonstrated on both locust bean gum and guar
gum.
Abstract: The progress of industry integrated circuits in recent
years has been pushed by continuous miniaturization of transistors.
With the reduction of dimensions of components at 0.1 micron and
below, new physical effects come into play as the standard simulators
of two dimensions (2D) do not consider. In fact the third dimension
comes into play because the transverse and longitudinal dimensions
of the components are of the same order of magnitude. To describe
the operation of such components with greater fidelity, we must
refine simulation tools and adapted to take into account these
phenomena. After an analytical study of the static characteristics of
the component, according to the different operating modes, a
numerical simulation is performed of field-effect transistor with
submicron gate MESFET GaInP. The influence of the dimensions of
the gate length is studied. The results are used to determine the
optimal geometric and physical parameters of the component for their
specific applications and uses.
Abstract: Advanced head and neck cancers are aggressive
tumours, which require aggressive treatment. Treatment efficiency is
often hindered by cancer cell repopulation during radiotherapy,
which is due to various mechanisms triggered by the loss of tumour
cells and involves both stem and differentiated cells. The aim of the
current paper is to present in silico simulations of radiotherapy
schedules on a virtual head and neck tumour grown with biologically
realistic kinetic parameters. Using the linear quadratic formalism of
cell survival after radiotherapy, altered fractionation schedules
employing various treatment breaks for normal tissue recovery are
simulated and repopulation mechanism implemented in order to
evaluate the impact of various cancer cell contribution on tumour
behaviour during irradiation. The model has shown that the timing of
treatment breaks is an important factor influencing tumour control in
rapidly proliferating tissues such as squamous cell carcinomas of the
head and neck. Furthermore, not only stem cells but also
differentiated cells, via the mechanism of abortive division, can
contribute to malignant cell repopulation during treatment.
Abstract: Polysulfone (PSU) is a specialty engineering polymer
having various industrial applications. PSU is especially used in
waste water treatment membranes due to its good mechanical
properties, structural and chemical stability. But it is a hydrophobic
material and therefore its surface aim to pollute easily. In order to
resolve this problem and extend the properties of membrane, PSU
surface is rendered hydrophilic by addition of the sepiolite
nanofibers. Sepiolite is one of the natural clays, which is a hydrate
magnesium silicate fiber, also one of the well known layered clays of
the montmorillonites where has several unique channels and pores
within. It has also moisture durability, strength and low price.
Sepiolite channels give great capacity of absorption and good surface
properties. In this study, nanocomposites of commercial PSU and
Sepiolite were prepared by solvent mixing method. Different organic
solvents and their mixtures were used. Rheological characteristics of
PSU-Sepiolite solvent mixtures were analyzed, the solubility of
nanocomposite content in those mixtures were studied.
Abstract: Malaysia is rich with historic buildings, particularly in
Penang and Malacca states. Restoration activities are increasingly
important as these states are recognized under UNESCO World
Heritage Sites. Restoration activities help to maintain the uniqueness
and value of a heritage building. However, increasing in restoration
activities has resulted in large quantities of waste. To cope with this
problem, the 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle) is introduced.
The 3R concept is one of the waste management hierarchies. This
concept is still yet to apply in the building restoration industry
compared to the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to
promote the 3R concept in the heritage building restoration industry.
This study aims to examine the importance of 3R concept and to
identify challenges in applying the 3R concept in the heritage
building restoration industry. This study focused on contractors and
consultants who are involved in heritage restoration projects in
Penang. Literature review and interviews helps to reach the research
objective. Data that obtained is analyzed by using content analysis.
For the research, application of 3R concept is important to conserve
natural resources and reduce pollution problems. However, limited
space to organise waste is the obstruction during the implementation
of this concept. In conclusion, the 3R concept plays an important role
in promoting environmental conservation and helping in reducing the
construction waste.
Abstract: This work presents synthesis of α,ω-dithienyl
terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEGTh) capable for further chain
extension by either chemical or electrochemical polymeriztion.
PEGTh was characterized by FTIR and 1H-NMR. Further
copolymerization of PEGTh and pyrrole (Py) was performed by
chemical oxidative polymerization using ceric (IV) salt as an oxidant
(PPy-PEGTh). PEG without end group modification was used
directly to prepare copolymers with Py by Ce (IV) salt (PPy-PEG).
Block copolymers with mole ratio of pyrrole to PEGTh (PEG) 50:1
and 10:1 were synthesized. The electrical conductivities of
copolymers PPy-PEGTh and PPy-PEG were determined by four
point probe technique. Influence of the synthetic route and content of
the insulating segment on conductivity and yield of the copolymers
were investigated.
Abstract: Different tools and technologies were implemented
for Crisis Response and Management (CRM) which is generally
using available network infrastructure for information exchange.
Depending on type of disaster or crisis, network infrastructure could
be affected and it could not be able to provide reliable connectivity.
Thus any tool or technology that depends on the connectivity could
not be able to fulfill its functionalities. As a solution, a new message
exchange framework has been developed. Framework provides
offline/online information exchange platform for CRM Information
Systems (CRMIS) and it uses XML compression and packet
prioritization algorithms and is based on open source web
technologies. By introducing offline capabilities to the web
technologies, framework will be able to perform message exchange
on unreliable networks. The experiments done on the simulation
environment provide promising results on low bandwidth networks
(56kbps and 28.8 kbps) with up to 50% packet loss and the solution is
to successfully transfer all the information on these low quality
networks where the traditional 2 and 3 tier applications failed.
Abstract: Bio-composites derived from plant fiber and/or bioderived
polymer, are likely more ecofriendly and demonstrate
competitive performance with petroleum based composites. In this
research, the bio phenol-formaldehyde (bio-PF) was used as a matrix
and oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB) as reinforcement. The
matrix was synthesized via liquefaction and condensation to enhance
the combination of phenol and formaldehyde, during the process.
Then, the bio-PF was mixed with different percentage of EFB (5%,
10%, 15% and 20%) and molded at 180oC. The samples that viewed
under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed an excellent
wettability and interaction between EFB and matrix. Samples of 10%
EFB gave the optimum properties of impact and hardness meanwhile
sample 15% of EFB gave the highest reading of flexural modulus
(MOE) and flexural strength (MOR). For thermal stability analysis, it
was found that the weight loss and the activation energy (Ea) of the
bio-composites samples were decreased as the filler content
increased.
Abstract: Eucalyptus species are well reputed for their
traditional use in Asia as well as in other parts of the world; therefore,
the present study was designed to investigate the antimicrobial and
antioxidant activities associated with essential oils from different
Eucalyptus species. Essential oils from the leaves of six Eucalyptus
species, including: Eucalyptus woodwardi, Eucalyptus stricklandii,
Eucalyptus salubris, Eucalyptus sargentii, Eucalyptus torquata and
Eucalyptus wandoo were separated by hydrodistillation and dried
over anhydrous sodium sulphate. DPPH, ferric reducing antioxidant
power, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity assays were carried
out to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the oils. The results
indicate that examined oils exhibit substantial antioxidant activities
relative to ascorbic acid. Previously, these oils were evaluated for
their antimicrobial activities, against wide range of bacterial and
fungal strains, and they were shown to possess significant
antimicrobial activities. In this study, further investigation into the
growth kinetics of oil-treated microbial cultures was conducted. The
results clearly demonstrate that the microbial growth was markedly
inhibited when treated with sub-MIC concentrations of the oils.
Taken together, the results obtained indicate a high potential of the
examined essential oils as bioactive oils, for nutraceutical and
medical applications, possessing significant antioxidant and anti
microbial activities.
Abstract: Fast changing knowledge systems on the Internet can
be accessed more efficiently with the help of automatic document
summarization and updating techniques. The aim of multi-document
update summary generation is to construct a summary unfolding the
mainstream of data from a collection of documents based on the
hypothesis that the user has already read a set of previous documents.
In order to provide a lot of semantic information from the documents,
deeper linguistic or semantic analysis of the source documents were
used instead of relying only on document word frequencies to select
important concepts. In order to produce a responsive summary,
meaning oriented structural analysis is needed. To address this issue,
the proposed system presents a document summarization approach
based on sentence annotation with aspects, prepositions and named
entities. Semantic element extraction strategy is used to select
important concepts from documents which are used to generate
enhanced semantic summary.
Abstract: Exact solution of an unsteady flow of elastico-viscous
fluid through a porous media in a tube of spherical cross section
under the influence of constant pressure gradient has been obtained in
this paper. Initially, the flow is generated by a constant pressure
gradient. After attaining the steady state, the pressure gradient is
suddenly withdrawn and the resulting fluid motion in a tube of
spherical cross section by taking into account of the porosity factor of
the bounding surface is investigated. The problem is solved in twostages
the first stage is a steady motion in tube under the influence of
a constant pressure gradient, the second stage concern with an
unsteady motion. The problem is solved employing separation of
variables technique. The results are expressed in terms of a nondimensional
porosity parameter (K) and elastico-viscosity parameter
(β), which depends on the Non-Newtonian coefficient. The flow
parameters are found to be identical with that of Newtonian case as
elastic-viscosity parameter tends to zero and porosity tends to
infinity. It is seen that the effect of elastico-viscosity parameter,
porosity parameter of the bounding surface has significant effect on
the velocity parameter.
Abstract: The research presented in this paper has been focused
on analysing the impact of traffic on the sustainable development of
tourism in Croatia's Dubrovacko-Neretvanska County by the year
2020, based on the figures and trends reported in 2014 and using the
relevant variables that characterise the synergy of traffic and tourism
in, speaking from the geographic viewpoint, the most problematic
county in the Republic of Croatia. The basic hypothesis has been
confirmed through scientifically obtained research results, through
the quantification of the model's variables and the direct growth rates
of the designed model. On the basis of scientific insights into the
sustainable development of traffic and tourism in Dubrovacko-
Neretvanska County, it is possible to propose a new information
model for traffic at the service of the sustainable development of
tourism in the County for the period 2014-2020.