Abstract: An experimental investigation was performed on pulp
liquid flow in straight ducts with a square cross section. Fully
developed steady flow was visualized and the fiber concentration was
obtained using a light-section method developed by the author et al.
The obtained results reveal quantitatively, in a definite form, the
distribution of the fiber concentration. From the results and
measurements of pressure loss, it is found that the flow characteristics
of pulp liquid in ducts can be classified into five patterns. The
relationships among the distributions of mean and fluctuation of fiber
concentration, the pressure loss and the flow velocity are discussed,
and then the features for each pattern are extracted. The degree of
nonuniformity of the fiber concentration, which is indicated by the
standard deviation of its distribution, is decreased from 0.3 to 0.05
with an increase in the velocity of the tested pulp liquid from 0.4 to
0.8%.
Abstract: In this paper, we have applied the homotopy perturbation
method (HPM) for obtaining the analytical solution of unsteady
flow of gas through a porous medium and we have also compared the
findings of this research with some other analytical results. Results
showed a very good agreement between results of HPM and the
numerical solutions of the problem rather than other analytical solutions
which have previously been applied. The results of homotopy
perturbation method are of high accuracy and the method is very
effective and succinct.
Abstract: Recently, the health of retired National Football
League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature ardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar
to National Football league players which suggest that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a
unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based
questionnaire that consisted of medical history and
physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test (50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors
(response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8%
(avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol
was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported
the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension
(18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%),
hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with
regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to
the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a
Climstein Mike, Walsh Joe (corresponding author) and Burke Stephen
School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road,
Strathfield, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia (e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]).
John Best is with Orthosports, 160 Belmore Rd., Randwick, Sydney,NSW
2031, Australia (e-mail: [email protected]).
Heazlewood, Ian Timothy is with School of Environmental and Life
Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University,
Precinct Yellow Building 2, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia
(e-mail: [email protected]).
Kettunen Jyrki Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus
Janssonin aukio 1, FI-00550, Helsinki, Finland (e-mail:
[email protected]).
Adams Kent is with California State University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA., 93955, USA (email: [email protected]).
DeBeliso Mark is with Department of Physical Education and Human
Performance, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd, Cedar
City, Utah, USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p
Abstract: Subdivision surfaces were applied to the entire
meshes in order to produce smooth surfaces refinement from coarse
mesh. Several schemes had been introduced in this area to provide a
set of rules to converge smooth surfaces. However, to compute and
render all the vertices are really inconvenient in terms of memory
consumption and runtime during the subdivision process. It will lead
to a heavy computational load especially at a higher level of
subdivision. Adaptive subdivision is a method that subdivides only at
certain areas of the meshes while the rest were maintained less
polygons. Although adaptive subdivision occurs at the selected areas,
the quality of produced surfaces which is their smoothness can be
preserved similar as well as regular subdivision. Nevertheless,
adaptive subdivision process burdened from two causes; calculations
need to be done to define areas that are required to be subdivided and
to remove cracks created from the subdivision depth difference
between the selected and unselected areas. Unfortunately, the result
of adaptive subdivision when it reaches to the higher level of
subdivision, it still brings the problem with memory consumption.
This research brings to iterative process of adaptive subdivision to
improve the previous adaptive method that will reduce memory
consumption applied on triangular mesh. The result of this iterative
process was acceptable better in memory and appearance in order to
produce fewer polygons while it preserves smooth surfaces.
Abstract: In this paper, a TSK-type Neuro-fuzzy Inference
System that combines the features of fuzzy sets and neural networks
has been applied for the identification of MIMO systems. The procedure of adapting parameters in TSK model employs a Shuffled
Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA) which is inspired from the memetic evolution of a group of frogs when seeking for food. To demonstrate
the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed controller, two nonlinear systems have been considered as the MIMO plant, and results have been compared with other learning methods based on
Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO) and Genetic
Algorithm (GA).
Abstract: Cavitation, usually known as a destructive
phenomenon, involves turbulent unsteady two-phase flow. Having
such features, cavitating flows have been turned to a challenging
topic in numerical studies and many researches are being done for
better understanding of bubbly flows and proposing solutions to
reduce its consequent destructive effects. Aeration may be regarded
as an effective protection against cavitation erosion in many
hydraulic structures, like gated tunnels. The paper concerns
numerical simulation of flow in discharge gated tunnel of a dam
using ing RNG k -ε model coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF)
method and the zone which is susceptible of cavitation inception in
the tunnel is predicted. In the second step, a vent is considered in the
mentioned zone for aeration and the numerical simulation is done
again to study the effects of aeration. The results show that aeration
is an impressively useful method to exclude cavitation in mentioned
tunnels.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of replacing
crankshaft with cam on the indicated torque during compression and
power strokes in internal combustion engines. A Cycloidal cam
profile was used in Revetec engine to calculate and compare the
torque to a conventional engine, using a computational method.
Firstly, the cylinder pressure was calculated using Ferguson equation,
and then the torque calculated depending on cylinder pressure values
in every crank angle. the results showed that by using Cycloidal cam
profile in Revetec engine the torque can increased by 14% compared
with conventional engines, which means an increase in engine
efficiency.
Abstract: Antibacterial activity of Plumeria alba (Frangipani)
petals methanolic extracts were evaluated against Escherichia coli,
Proteus vulgaris,Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus saprophyticus,
Enterococcus faecalis and Serratia marcescens by using disk
diffusion method. Concentration extracts (80 %) showed the highest
inhibition zone towards Escherichia coli (14.3 mm). Frangipani
extract also showed high antibacterial activity against
Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Proteus vulgaris and Serratia
marcescens, but not more than the zones of the positive control used.
Comparison between two broad specrum antibiotics to frangipani
extracts showed that the 80 % concentration extracts produce the
same zone of inhibition as Streptomycin. Frangipani extracts showed
no bacterial activity towards Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. There are differences in the
sensitivity of different bacteria to frangipani extracts, suggesting that
frangipani-s potency varies between these bacteria. The present
results indicate that frangipani showed significant antibacterial
activity especially to Escherichia coli.
Abstract: This paper is an extension of a previous work where a diagonally implicit harmonic balance method was developed and applied to simulate oscillatory motions of pitching airfoil and wing. A more detailed study on the accuracy, convergence, and the efficiency of the method is carried out in the current paperby varying the number of harmonics in the solution approximation. As the main advantage of the method is itsusage for the design optimization of the unsteady problems, its application to more practical case of rotor flow analysis during forward flight is carried out and compared with flight test data and time-accurate computation results.
Abstract: This work discusses an innovative methodology for
deployment of service quality characteristics. Four groups of organizational features that may influence the quality of services are identified: human resource, technology, planning, and organizational
relationships. A House of Service Quality (HOSQ) matrix is built to
extract the desired improvement in the service quality characteristics
and to translate them into a hierarchy of important organizational
features. The Mean Square Error (MSE) criterion enables the
pinpointing of the few essential service quality characteristics to be
improved as well as selection of the vital organizational features. The
method was implemented in an engineering supply enterprise and
provides useful information on its vital service dimensions.
Abstract: Narratives are invaluable assets of human lives. Due to
the distinct features of narratives, they are useful for supporting human
reasoning processes. However, many useful narratives become
residuals in organizations or human minds nowadays. Researchers
have contributed effort to investigate and improve narrative generation
processes. This paper attempts to contemplate essential components in
narratives and explore a computational approach to acquire and extract
knowledge to generate narratives. The methodology and significant
benefit for decision support are presented.
Abstract: At present, the tendency to implement the conditionbased
maintenance (CBM), which allows the optimization of the
expenses for equipment monitoring, is more and more evident; also,
the transformer substations with remote monitoring are increasingly
used. This paper reviews all the advantages of the on-line monitoring
and presents an equipment for on-line monitoring of bushings, which
is the own contribution of specialists who are the authors of this
paper. The paper presents a study of the temperature field, using the
finite element method. For carrying out this study, the 3D modelling
of the above mentioned bushing was performed. The analysis study is
done taking into account the extreme thermal stresses, focusing at the
level of the first cooling wing section of the ceramic insulator. This
fact enables to justify the tanδ variation in time, depending on the
transformer loading and the environmental conditions. With a view
to reducing the variation of dielectric losses in bushing insulation, the
use of ferrofuids instead of mineral oils is proposed.
Abstract: A transient heat transfer mathematical model for the
prediction of temperature distribution in the car body during primer
baking has been developed by considering the thermal radiation and
convection in the furnace chamber and transient heat conduction
governing equations in the car framework. The car cockpit is
considered like a structure with six flat plates, four vertical plates
representing the car doors and the rear and front panels. The other
two flat plates are the car roof and floor. The transient heat
conduction in each flat plate is modeled by the lumped capacitance
method. Comparison with the experimental data shows that the heat
transfer model works well for the prediction of thermal behavior of
the car body in the curing furnace, with deviations below 5%.
Abstract: A method is presented for the construction of arbitrary
even-input sorting networks exhibiting better properties than the
networks created using a conventional technique of the same type.
The method was discovered by means of a genetic algorithm combined
with an application-specific development. Similarly to human
inventions in the area of theoretical computer science, the evolved
invention was analyzed: its generality was proven and area and time
complexities were determined.
Abstract: A study of electromagnetic flow meter is presented in the paper. Comparison has been made between the analytical and the numerical results by the use of FEM numerical analysis (Quick Field 5.6) for determining polarization voltage through the circle cross section of the polarization transducer. Exciting and geometrical parameters increasing its effectiveness has been examined. The aim is to obtain maximal output signal. The investigations include different variants of the magnetic flux density distribution around the tube: homogeneous field of magnitude Bm, linear distribution with maximal value Bm and trapezium distribution conserving the same exciting magnetic energy as the homogeneous field.
Abstract: Fick's second law equations for unsteady state
diffusion of salt into the potato tissues were solved numerically. The
set of equations resulted from implicit modeling were solved using
Thomas method to find the salt concentration profiles in solid phase.
The needed effective diffusivity and equilibrium distribution
coefficient were determined experimentally. Cylindrical samples of
potato were infused with aqueous NaCl solutions of 1-3%
concentrations, and variations in salt concentrations of brine were
determined over time. Solute concentrations profiles of samples were
determined by measuring salt uptake of potato slices. For the studied
conditions, equilibrium distribution coefficients were found to be
dependent on salt concentrations, whereas the effective diffusivity
was slightly affected by brine concentration.
Abstract: Unsteady magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) boundary
layer flow and heat transfer over a continuously stretching surface in
the presence of radiation is examined. By similarity transformation,
the governing partial differential equations are transformed to a set of
ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions are obtained by
employing the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method scheme with shooting
technique in Maple software environment. The effects of
unsteadiness parameter, radiation parameter, magnetic parameter and
Prandtl number on the heat transfer characteristics are obtained and
discussed. It is found that the heat transfer rate at the surface
increases as the Prandtl number and unsteadiness parameter increase
but decreases with magnetic and radiation parameter.
Abstract: In this paper, some problem formulations of dynamic object parameters recovery described by non-autonomous system of ordinary differential equations with multipoint unshared edge conditions are investigated. Depending on the number of additional conditions the problem is reduced to an algebraic equations system or to a problem of quadratic programming. With this purpose the paper offers a new scheme of the edge conditions transfer method called by conditions shift. The method permits to get rid from differential links and multipoint unshared initially-edge conditions. The advantage of the proposed approach is concluded by capabilities of reduction of a parametric identification problem to essential simple problems of the solution of an algebraic system or quadratic programming.
Abstract: Extracellular ubiquitin in vivo effect on regenerative liver cells and liver histoarchitectonics has been studied. Experiments were performed on mature female white rats. Partial hepatectomy was made using the modified method of Higgins and Anderson. Standard histopathological assessment of liver tissue was used. Proliferative activity of hepatocytes was analyzed by colchicine mitotic index and immunohistochemical staining on ki67. We have found that regardless of number of injections and dose of extracellular ubiquitin liver histology has not been changed, so at tissue level no effect was observed. In vivo double injection of ubiquitin significantly decreases the mitotic activity at 32 hour point after partial hepatectomy. Thus, we can conclude that in vivo injected extracellular ubiquitin inhibits proliferative activity of hepatocytes in partially hepatectomyzed rats.
Abstract: In this paper we propose an enhanced equalization technique for multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA). This method is based on the control of Equal Gain Combining (EGC) technique. Indeed, we introduce a new level changer to the EGC equalizer in order to adapt the equalization parameters to the channel coefficients. The optimal equalization level is, first, determined by channel training. The new approach reduces drastically the mutliuser interferences caused by interferes, without increasing the noise power. To compare the performances of the proposed equalizer, the theoretical analysis and numerical performances are given.