Abstract: The flow and heat transfer characteristics for natural
convection along an inclined plate in a saturated porous medium with
an applied magnetic field have been studied. The fluid viscosity has
been assumed to be an inverse function of temperature. Assuming
temperature vary as a power function of distance. The transformed
ordinary differential equations have solved by numerical integration
using Runge-Kutta method. The velocity and temperature profile
components on the plate are computed and discussed in detail for
various values of the variable viscosity parameter, inclination angle,
magnetic field parameter, and real constant (λ). The results have also
been interpreted with the aid of tables and graphs. The numerical
values of Nusselt number have been calculated for the mentioned
parameters.
Abstract: The current speech interfaces in many military
applications may be adequate for native speakers. However,
the recognition rate drops quite a lot for non-native speakers
(people with foreign accents). This is mainly because the nonnative
speakers have large temporal and intra-phoneme
variations when they pronounce the same words. This
problem is also complicated by the presence of large
environmental noise such as tank noise, helicopter noise, etc.
In this paper, we proposed a novel continuous acoustic feature
adaptation algorithm for on-line accent and environmental
adaptation. Implemented by incremental singular value
decomposition (SVD), the algorithm captures local acoustic
variation and runs in real-time. This feature-based adaptation
method is then integrated with conventional model-based
maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) algorithm.
Extensive experiments have been performed on the NATO
non-native speech corpus with baseline acoustic model trained
on native American English. The proposed feature-based
adaptation algorithm improved the average recognition
accuracy by 15%, while the MLLR model based adaptation
achieved 11% improvement. The corresponding word error
rate (WER) reduction was 25.8% and 2.73%, as compared to
that without adaptation. The combined adaptation achieved
overall recognition accuracy improvement of 29.5%, and
WER reduction of 31.8%, as compared to that without
adaptation.
Abstract: In recent years, the underground water sources in
southern Taiwan have become salinized because of saltwater
intrusions. This study explores the adsorption characteristics of
activated carbon on salinizing inorganic salts using isothermal
adsorption experiments and provides a model analysis. The
temperature range for the isothermal adsorption experiments ranged
between 5 to 45 ℃, and the amount adsorbed varied between 28.21 to
33.87 mg/g. All experimental data of adsorption can be fitted to both
the Langmuir and the Freundlich models. The thermodynamic
parameters for per chlorate onto granular activated carbon were
calculated as -0.99 to -1.11 kcal/mol for DG°, -0.6 kcal/mol for DH°,
and 1.21 to 1.84 kcal/mol for DS°. This shows that the adsorption
process of granular activated carbon is spontaneously exothermic. The
observation of adsorption behaviors under low ionic strength, low pH
values, and low temperatures is beneficial to the adsorption removal of
perchlorate with granular activated carbon.
Abstract: Modern Society is strongly dependent on a reliable
power supply. The availability of cheap and reliable supply of
electrical energy is an indicator of societal welfare. Uninterrupted
reliable operation of a modern power system depends to a great
extent on reliable and satisfactory performance of insulators under
different environmental conditions. This paper reports result of
natural pollution tests that have been done at sites around city of
Aligarh (India). Flashover voltage per insulation distance (FOVUID)
of porcelain disc insulator for different pH values, ESDD has been
recorded for proper correlation between electrical and chemical
parameters. The pH of the contaminants has been suggested to be an
effective pollution severity indicator and may be used as a diagnostic
parameter for proper maintenance of porcelain insulators.
Abstract: Nigella sativa L. is an aromatic plant belonging to the
family Ranunculaceae. It has been used traditionally, especially in the
middle East and India, for the treatment of asthma, cough, bronchitis,
headache, rheumatism, fever, influenza and eczema. Several
biological activities have been reported in Nigella sativa seeds,
including antioxidant. In this context we tried to estimate the
antioxidant activity of various extracts prepared from Nigella sativa
seeds, methanolic extract (ME), chloroformic extract (CE), hexanic
extract (HE : fixed oil), ethyl acetate extract (EAE) water extract
(WE). The Folin-Ciocalteu assay showed that CE and EAE contained
high level of phenolic compounds 81.31 and 72.43μg GAE/mg of
extract respectively. Similarly, the CE and EAE exhibited the highest
DPPH radical scavenging activity, with IC50 values of 106.56μg/ml
and 121.62μg/ml respectively. In addition, CE and HE showed the
most scavenging activity against superoxide radical generated in the
PMS-NADH-NBT system with respective IC50 values of 361.86
μg/ml and 371.80 μg/ml, which is comparable to the activity of the
standard antioxidant BHT (344.59 μg/ml). Ferrous ion chelating
capacity assay showed that WE, EAE and ME are the most active
with 40.57, 39.70 and 22.02 mg EDTA-E/g of extract. The inhibition
of linoleic acid/ß-carotene coupled oxidation was estimated by ßcarotene
bleaching assay, this showed a highest relative antioxidant
activity with CE and EAE (69.82% of inhibition). The antioxidant
activities of the methanolic extract and the fixed oil are confirmed by
an in vivo assay in mice, the daily oral administration of methanolic
extract (500 and 800 mg/kg/day) and fixed oil (2 and 4 ml/kg/day)
during 21 days, resulted in a significant enhancement of the blood
total antioxidant capacity (measured by KRL test) and the plasmatic
antioxidant capacity towards DPPH radical.
Abstract: In this paper we developed the Improved Runge-Kutta Nystrom (IRKN) method for solving second order ordinary differential equations. The methods are two step in nature and require lower number of function evaluations per step compared with the existing Runge-Kutta Nystrom (RKN) methods. Therefore, the methods are computationally more efficient at achieving the higher order of local accuracy. Algebraic order conditions of the method are obtained and the third and fourth order method are derived with two and three stages respectively. The numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method compared to the existing RKN methods.
Abstract: In this paper we proposed the use of Huffman
coding to reduce the PAR of an OFDM system as a distortionless
scrambling technique, and we utilize the amount saved in the
total bit rate by the Huffman coding to send the encoding table
for accurate decoding at the receiver without reducing the
effective throughput. We found that the use of Huffman coding
reduces the PAR by about 6 dB. Also we have investigated the
effect of PAR reduction due to Huffman coding through testing
the spectral spreading and the inband distortion due to HPA with
different IBO values. We found a complete match of our
expectation from the proposed solution with the obtained
simulation results.
Abstract: The wave function at the origin is an important quantity in studying many physical problems concerning heavy quarkonia. This is because that it is using for calculating spin state hyperfine splitting and also crucial to evaluating the production and decay amplitude of the heavy quarkonium. In this paper, we present the variational method by using the single-parameter wave function to estimate the WFO for the ground state of heavy mesons.
Abstract: In this paper, we study the existence, the boundedness and the asymptotic behavior of the positive solutions of a fuzzy nonlinear difference equations xn+1 = A + k i=0 Bi xn-i , n= 0, 1, · · · . where (xn) is a sequence of positive fuzzy numbers, A,Bi and the initial values x-k, x-k+1, · · · , x0 are positive fuzzy numbers. k ∈ {0, 1, 2, · · ·}.
Abstract: Simulation and modeling computer programs are
concerned with construction of models for analyzing different
perspectives and possibilities in changing conditions environment.
The paper presents theoretical justification and evaluation of
qualitative e-learning development model in perspective of advancing
modern technologies. There have been analyzed principles of
qualitative e-learning in higher education, productivity of studying
process using modern technologies, different kind of methods and
future perspectives of e-learning in formal education. Theoretically
grounded and practically tested model of developing e-learning
methods using different technologies for different type of classroom,
which can be used in professor-s decision making process to choose
the most effective e-learning methods has been worked out.
Abstract: A new nonlinear sum-difference inequality in two variables
which generalize some existing results and can be used as handy
tools in the analysis of certain partial difference equation is discussed.
An example to show boundedness of solutions of a difference value
problem is also given.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the
distribution patterns of Cd, Zn and Hg in groundwater by geospatial
interpolation. The study was performed at Rayong province in the
eastern part of Thailand, with high agricultural and industrial
activities. Groundwater samples were collected twice a year from 31
tubewells around this area. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic
Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES) was used to measure the
concentrations of Cd, Zn, and Hg in groundwater samples. The
results demonstrated that concentrations of Cd, Zn and Hg range
from 0.000-0.297 mg/L (x = 0.021±0.033 mg/L), 0.022-33.236 mg/L
(x = 4.214±4.766 mg/L) and 0.000-0.289 mg/L (x = 0.023±0.034
mg/L), respectively. Most of the heavy metals concentrations were
exceeded groundwater quality standards as specified in the Ministry
of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand. The trend
distribution of heavy metals were high concentrations at the
southeastern part of the area that especially vulnerable to heavy
metals and other contaminants.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying
causes of late payment from the contractors- perspective in the
Malaysian construction industry and to recommend effective solutions
to mitigate late payment problems. The target groups of respondents in
this study were Grades G3, G5, G6 and G7 contractors with
specialization in building works and civil engineering works registered
with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in
Malaysia. Results from this study were analyzed with Statistical
Package for the Social Science (SPSS 15.0). From this study, it was
found that respondents have highest ranked five significant variables
out of a total of forty-one variables which can caused late payment
problems: a) cash flow problems due to deficiencies in client-s
management capacity (mean = 3.96); b) client-s ineffective utilization
of funds (mean = 3.88); c) scarcity of capital to finance the project
(mean = 3.81); d) clients failure to generate income from bank when
sales of houses do not hit the targeted amount (mean=3.72); and e)
poor cash flow because of lack of proper process implementation,
delay in releasing of the retention monies to contractor and delay in the
evaluation and certification of interim and final payment (mean =
3.66).
Abstract: This paper considers a robust recovery of sparse frequencies
from partial phase-only measurements. With the proposed
method, sparse frequencies can be reconstructed, which makes full
use of the sparse distribution in the Fourier representation of the
complex-valued time signal. Simulation experiments illustrate the
proposed method-s advantages over conventional methods in both
noiseless and additive white Gaussian noise cases.
Abstract: The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in schools and higher education is proliferating. Due to its interactive and animated features, it is regarded as a promising technology to increase students- spatial ability. Spatial ability is assumed to have a prominent role in science and engineering domains. However, research concerning individual differences such as spatial ability in the context of VR is still at its infancy. Moreover, empirical studies that focus on the features of VR to improve spatial ability are to date rare. Thus, this paper explores the possible educational values of VR in relation to spatial ability to call for more research concerning spatial ability in the context of VR based on studies in computerbased learning. It is believed that the incorporation of state-of-the-art VR technology for educational purposes should be justified by the enhanced benefits for the target learners.
Abstract: Recently, content delivery services have grown rapidly
over the Internet. For ASPs (Application Service Provider) providing
content delivery services, P2P architecture is beneficial to reduce
outgoing traffic from content servers. On the other hand, ISPs are
suffering from the increase in P2P traffic. The P2P traffic is
unnecessarily redundant because the same content or the same
fractions of content are transferred through an inter-ISP link several
times. Subscriber ISPs have to pay a transit fee to upstream ISPs based
on the volume of inter-ISP traffic. In order to solve such problems,
several works have been done for the purpose of P2P traffic reduction.
However, these existing works cannot control the traffic volume of a
certain link. In order to solve such an ISP-s operational requirement,
we propose a method to control traffic volume for a link within a
preconfigured upper bound value. We evaluated that the proposed
method works well by conducting a simulation on a 1,000-user scale.
We confirm that the traffic volume could be controlled at a lower level
than the upper bound for all evaluated conditions. Moreover, our
method could control the traffic volume at 98.95% link usage against
the target value.
Abstract: This comparison of valuation techniques for bone age
assessment is a work carried out by the Telemedicine Research Group
of the Military University - TIGUM, as a preliminary to the Design
and development a treatment system of hand and wrist radiological
images for children aged 0-6 years to bone age assessment . In this
paper the techniques mentioned for decades have been the most
widely used and the statistically significant.
Althought, initially with the current project, it wants to work with
children who have limit age, this comparison and evaluation
techniques work will help in the future to expand the study subject in
the system to bone age assessment, implementing more techniques,
tools and deeper analysis to accomplish this purpose.
Abstract: In order to derive important parameters concerning
mobile subscriber MS with ongoing calls in Low Earth Orbit Mobile
Satellite Systems LEO MSSs, a positioning system had to be
integrated into MSS in order to localize mobile subscribers MSs and
track them during the connection. Such integration is regarded as a
complex implementation. We propose in this paper a novel method
based on advantages of mobility model of Low Earth Orbit Mobile
Satellite System LEO MSS which allows the evaluation of instant of
subsequent handover of a MS even if its location is unknown. This
method is utilized to propose a Dynamic Channel Reservation DCRlike
scheme based on the DCR scheme previously proposed in
literature. Results presented show that DCR-like technique gives
different QoS performance than DCR. Indeed, an improve in
handover blocking probability and an increase in new call blocking
probability are observed for the DCR-like technique.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the selfefficacy
and life satisfaction levels of students receiving education in
schools of physical education and sports. The population of the study
consisted 263 students, among which 154 were male and 109 were
female ( X age=19,4905 + 2,5605), that received education in the
schools of physical education and sports of Selcuk University, Inonu
University, Gazi University and Karamanoglu Mehmetbey
University. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the selfefficacy
scale, which was developed by Jarrusselam and Shwarzer
(1981) [1] and adapted to Turkish by Yesillay (1993) [2], and the
life satisfaction scale, developed by Diener, Emmos, Larsen and
Griffin (1985) [3] and adapted to Turkish by Kokler (1991) [4], were
utilized.For analyzing and interpreting data Kolmogorov-Smirnov
test, t-test and one way anova test were used, while for determining
the difference between the groups Tukey test and Multiple Linear
Regression test were employed and significance was accepted at
P
Abstract: This study suggests how an order-receiving company
can avoid disclosing schedule information on unit tasks to the
order-placing company when carrying out a collaborative project on
the value chain in an order-oriented industry. Specifically, it suggests
methods for keeping schedule information confidential, and
categorizes potential situations by inter-task dependency. Lastly, an
approach to select the most optimal non-disclosure method is
discussed. With the methods for not disclosing work-related
information suggested in the study, order-receiving companies can
logically deal with political issues relating to the question of whether
or not to disclose information upon the execution of a collaborative
project in cooperation with an order-placing firm. Moreover,
order-placing companies can monitor undistorted information, while
respecting the legitimate rights of an order-receiving company.
Therefore, it is fair to say that the suggestions made in this study will
contribute to the smooth operation of collaborative intercompany
projects.