Abstract: To make use of the limited amounts of water in arid
region, the Iranians developed man-made underground water
channels called qanats (kanats) .In fact, qanats may be considered as
the first long-distance water transfer system. Qanats are an ancient
water transfer system found in arid regions wherein groundwater
from mountainous areas, aquifers and sometimes from rivers, was
brought to points of re-emergence such as an oasis, through one or
more underground tunnels. The tunnels, many of which were
kilometers in length, had designed for slopes to provide gravitational
flow. The tunnels allowed water to drain out to the surface by gravity
to supply water to lower and flatter agricultural land.
Qanats have been an ancient, sustainable system facilitating the
harvesting of water for centuries in Iran, and more than 35 additional
countries of the world such as India, Arabia, Egypt, North Africa,
Spain and even to New world.
There are about 22000 qanats in Iran with 274000 kilometers of
underground conduits all built by manual labor. The amount of
water of the usable qanats of Iran produce is altogether 750 to
1000 cubic meter per second. The longest chain of qanat is
situated in Gonabad region in Khorasan province. It is 70
kilometers long. Qanats are renewable water supply systems that
have sustained agricultural settlement on the Iranian plateau for
millennia. The great advantages of Qanats are no evaporation
during transit, little seepage , no raising of the water- table and no
pollution in the area surrounding the conduits. Qanat systems
have a profound influence on the lives of the water users in Iran, and
conform to Iran-s climate. Qanat allows those living in a desert
environment adjacent to a mountain watershed to create a large oasis
in an otherwise stark environment.
This paper explains qanats structure designs, their history,
objectives causing their creation, construction materials, locations
and their importance in different times, as well as their present
sustainable role in Iran.
Abstract: The use of statistical data and of the neural networks, capable of elaborate a series of data and territorial info, have allowed the making of a model useful in the subdivision of urban places into homogeneous zone under the profile of a social, real estate, environmental and urbanist background of a city. The development of homogeneous zone has fiscal and urbanist advantages. The tools in the model proposed, able to be adapted to the dynamic changes of the city, allow the application of the zoning fast and dynamic.
Abstract: Heavy rains are one of the features of arid and semi
arid climates which result in flood. This kind of rainfall originates
from environmental and synoptic conditions. Mediterranean cyclones
are the major factor in heavy rainfall in Iran, but these cyclones do
not happen in some parts of Iran such as Southern and Southeastern
areas. In this study, it has been tried to pinpoint the synoptic reasons
of heavy rainfall in Isfahan through the analysis of the relationship
between this rainfall in Isfahan and atmospheric system over Iran and
the areas around it. The findings of this study show that the major
factor have is the arrival of Sudanese low pressure system in this
region from the southwest, of course if the ascent local conditions
such as heat occur, the heaviest rains happen in Isfahan. In fact this
kind of rainfall in Isfahan has a Sudanese origin and if it is
accompanied by Mediterranean system, heavier rain falls.
Abstract: Cooperative visual modeling is more and more
necessary in our complicated world. A collaborative environment
which supports interactive operation and communication is required
to increase work efficiency. We present a collaborative visual
modeling framework which collaborative platform could be built on.
On this platform, cooperation and communication is available for
designers from different regions. This framework, which is different
from other collaborative frameworks, contains a uniform message
format, a message handling mechanism and other functions such as
message pretreatment and Role-Communication-Token Access
Control (RCTAC). We also show our implementation of this
framework called Orchestra Designer, which support BPLE
workflow modeling cooperatively online.
Abstract: Order reduction of linear-time invariant systems employing two methods; one using the advantages of Routh approximation and other by an evolutionary technique is presented in this paper. In Routh approximation method the denominator of the reduced order model is obtained using Routh approximation while the numerator of the reduced order model is determined using the indirect approach of retaining the time moments and/or Markov parameters of original system. By this method the reduced order model guarantees stability if the original high order model is stable. In the second method Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is employed to reduce the higher order model. PSO method is based on the minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) between the transient responses of original higher order model and the reduced order model pertaining to a unit step input. Both the methods are illustrated through numerical examples.
Abstract: Recent communications environment significantly
expands the mobile environment. The popularization of smartphones
with various mobile services has emerged, and smartphone users are
rapidly increasing. Because of these symptoms, existing wired
environment in a variety of mobile traffic entering to mobile network
has threatened the stability of the mobile network. Unlike traditional
wired infrastructure, mobile networks has limited radio resources and
signaling procedures for complex radio resource management. So
these traffic is not a problem in wired networks but mobile networks, it
can be a threat. In this paper, we analyze the security threats in mobile
networks and provide direction to solve it.
Abstract: Displacement measurement was conducted on compact normal and shear specimens made of acrylic homogeneous material subjected to mixed-mode loading by digital image correlation. The intelligent hybrid method proposed by Nishioka et al. was applied to the stress-strain analysis near the crack tip. The accuracy of stress-intensity factor at the free surface was discussed from the viewpoint of both the experiment and 3-D finite element analysis. The surface images before and after deformation were taken by a CMOS camera, and we developed the system which enabled the real time stress analysis based on digital image correlation and inverse problem analysis. The great portion of processing time of this system was spent on displacement analysis. Then, we tried improvement in speed of this portion. In the case of cracked body, it is also possible to evaluate fracture mechanics parameters such as the J integral, the strain energy release rate, and the stress-intensity factor of mixed-mode. The 9-points elliptic paraboloid approximation could not analyze the displacement of submicron order with high accuracy. The analysis accuracy of displacement was improved considerably by introducing the Newton-Raphson method in consideration of deformation of a subset. The stress-intensity factor was evaluated with high accuracy of less than 1% of the error.
Abstract: This paper proposes a new version of the Particle
Swarm Optimization (PSO) namely, Modified PSO (MPSO) for
model order formulation of Single Input Single Output (SISO) linear
time invariant continuous systems. In the General PSO, the
movement of a particle is governed by three behaviors namely
inertia, cognitive and social. The cognitive behavior helps the
particle to remember its previous visited best position. In Modified
PSO technique split the cognitive behavior into two sections like
previous visited best position and also previous visited worst
position. This modification helps the particle to search the target very
effectively. MPSO approach is proposed to formulate the higher
order model. The method based on the minimization of error
between the transient responses of original higher order model and
the reduced order model pertaining to the unit step input. The results
obtained are compared with the earlier techniques utilized, to validate
its ease of computation. The proposed method is illustrated through
numerical example from literature.
Abstract: In recent years, global warming has become a
worldwide problem. The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is a
top priority for many companies in the manufacturing industry. In the
automobile industry as well, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
is one of the most important issues. Technology to reduce the weight
of automotive parts improves the fuel economy of automobiles, and is
an important technology for reducing carbon dioxide. Also, even if
this weight reduction technology is applied to electric automobiles
rather than gasoline automobiles, reducing energy consumption
remains an important issue. Plastic processing of hollow pipes is one
important technology for realizing the weight reduction of automotive
parts. Ohashi et al. [1],[2] present an example of research on pipe
formation in which a process was carried out to enlarge a pipe
diameter using a lost core, achieving the suppression of wall thickness
reduction and greater pipe expansion than hydroforming.
In this study, we investigated a method to increase the wall
thickness of a pipe through pipe compression using planetary rolls.
The establishment of a technology whereby the wall thickness of a
pipe can be controlled without buckling the pipe is an important
technology for the weight reduction of products. Using the finite
element analysis method, we predicted that it would be possible to
increase the compression of an aluminum pipe with a 3mm wall
thickness by approximately 20%, and wall thickness by approximately
20% by pressing the hollow pipe with planetary rolls.
Abstract: The environmental impacts caused by the current production and consumption models, together with the impact that the current economic crisis, bring necessary changes in the European industry toward new business models based on sustainability issues that could allow them to innovate and improve their competitiveness. This paper analyzes the key environmental issues and the current and future market trends in one of the most important industrial sectors in Spain, the furniture sector. It also proposes new decision support tools -diagnostic kit, roadmap and guidelines- to guide companies to implement sustainability criteria into their organizations, including eco-design strategies and other economical and social strategies in accordance with the sustainability definition, and other available tools such as eco-labels, environmental management systems, etc., and to use and combine them to obtain the results the company expects to help improve its competitiveness.
Abstract: A direct connection between ElectroEncephaloGram
(EEG) and the genetic information of individuals has been
investigated by neurophysiologists and psychiatrists since 1960-s;
and it opens a new research area in the science. This paper focuses on
the person identification based on feature extracted from the EEG
which can show a direct connection between EEG and the genetic
information of subjects. In this work the full EO EEG signal of
healthy individuals are estimated by an autoregressive (AR) model
and the AR parameters are extracted as features. Here for feature
vector constitution, two methods have been proposed; in the first
method the extracted parameters of each channel are used as a
feature vector in the classification step which employs a competitive
neural network and in the second method a combination of different
channel parameters are used as a feature vector. Correct classification
scores at the range of 80% to 100% reveal the potential of our
approach for person classification/identification and are in agreement
to the previous researches showing evidence that the EEG signal
carries genetic information. The novelty of this work is in the
combination of AR parameters and the network type (competitive
network) that we have used. A comparison between the first and the
second approach imply preference of the second one.
Abstract: Topological changes in mobile ad hoc networks
frequently render routing paths unusable. Such recurrent path failures
have detrimental effects on quality of service. A suitable technique
for eliminating this problem is to use multiple backup paths between
the source and the destination in the network. This paper proposes an
effective and efficient protocol for backup and disjoint path set in ad
hoc wireless network. This protocol converges to a highly reliable
path set very fast with no message exchange overhead. The paths
selection according to this algorithm is beneficial for mobile ad hoc
networks, since it produce a set of backup paths with more high
reliability. Simulation experiments are conducted to evaluate the
performance of our algorithm in terms of route numbers in the path
set and its reliability. In order to acquire link reliability estimates, we
use link expiration time (LET) between two nodes.
Abstract: Tea has several types of essential elements. Potassium,
magnesium and phosphorus are some examples of these elements.
Tea is widely used drink in Turkey, also some people puts a lemon
wedge to tea for different taste. In this study potassium, magnesium
and phosphorus contents after the hot water brewing of black and
green tea were determined by Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICPOES).
Furthermore, how the lemon addition to teas affects the
concentrations of the potassium, magnesium and phosphorus
amount are investigated.
From the results, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus
concentrations are found as 3003.3, 597.1, 1167.2 ppm in black tea
and 3718.0, 3830.5, 376.4 ppm in green tea, respectively. After
lemon addition potassium, magnesium and phosphorus
concentrations are changed to 14930, 830.4, 1113.5 ppm in black tea
and 15460.0, 909.5, 1152.5 ppm in green tea, respectively.
It is seen that lemon addition affects some essential elements in
black and green Turkish teas.
Abstract: A suitable e-learning system management needs to
carry out a web-information system in order to allow integrated
fruition of data and metadata concerning the activities typical of elearning
environment. The definition of a “web information system"
for e-learning takes advantage of the potentialities of Web
technologies both as for the access to metadata present on the several
platforms, and as for the implementation of courseware which make
up the relative didactic environment. What information systems have
in common is the technological environment on which they are
generally implemented and the use of metadata in order to structure
information at all cognitive and organization levels. In this work we
are going to define a methodology for the implementation of a
specific web information system for an e-learning environment.
Abstract: Does education matter to the quality of our life? The results of extensive studies offer an affirmative answer to this question: high education levels are positively associated with higher income, with more highly qualified professions, with lower risk of unemployment, with better physical health and also, it is said, with more happiness. However, exploring these relationships is far from straightforward. Aside from educational credentials, what properties distinguish functionally literate individuals? How can their personal level of satisfaction be measured? What are the social mechanisms whereby education affects well-being?Using a literacy index and several measures for well-being developed by secondary analysis of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey database, this investigation examined the relationship between literacy skills and subjective wellbeing in several OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Special attention was been addressed to Italy, and in particular to two regions representing territorial differences in this country: Piedmont and Campania.
Abstract: Thyroid dysfunction is one of the most frequently
reported complications of chronic blood transfusion therapy in patients with beta-thalassemia major (BTM). However, the occurrence of thyroid dysfunction and its possible association with
iron overload in BTM patients is still under debate. Therefore, this
study aimed to investigate the status of thyroid functions and iron overload in adolescent and young adult patients with BTM in Jordan population. Thirty six BTM patients aged 12-28 years and matched controls were included in this study. All patients have been receiving frequent blood transfusion to maintain pretransfusion hemoglobin
concentration above 10 g dl-1 and deferoxamine at a dose of 45 mg kg-1 day-1 (8 h, 5-7 days/week) by subcutaneous infusion. Blood
samples were drawn from patients and controls. The status of thyroid functions and iron overload was evaluated by measurements of serum
free thyroxine (FT4), triiodothyronine (FT3), thyrotropin (TSH) and
serum ferritin level. A number of some hematological and
biochemical parameters were also measured. It was found that hematocrit, serum ferritin, hemoglobin, FT3 and zinc, copper mean values were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls (P< 0.05). On other hand, leukocyte, FT4 and TSH mean values were
similar to that of the controls. In addition, our data also indicated that
all of the above examined parameters were not significantly affected
by the patient-s age and gender. Deferoxamine approach for removing excess iron from our BTM patient did not normalize the
values of serum ferritin, copper and zinc, suggesting poor compliance
with deferoxamine chelation therapy. Thus, we recommend the use
of a combination of deferoxamine and deferiprone to reduce the risk
of excess of iron in our patients. Furthermore, thyroid dysfunction
appears to be a rare complication, because our patients showed
normal mean levels for serum TSH and FT4. However, high mean
levels of serum ferritin, zinc, copper might be seen as potential risk
factors for initiation and development of thyroid dysfunctions and
other diseases. Therefore, further studies must be carried out at
yearly intervals with large sample number, to detect subclinical
thyroid dysfunction cases.
Abstract: For the last years, the variants of the Newton-s method with cubic convergence have become popular iterative methods to find approximate solutions to the roots of non-linear equations. These methods both enjoy cubic convergence at simple roots and do not require the evaluation of second order derivatives. In this paper, we present a new Newton-s method based on contra harmonic mean with cubically convergent. Numerical examples show that the new method can compete with the classical Newton's method.
Abstract: Semnan is a city in semnan province, northern Iran
with a population estimated at 119,778 inhabitants. It is the
provincial capital of semnan province. Iran is a developing country
and construction is a basic factor of developing too. Hence, Semnan
city needs to a special programming for construction of buildings,
structures and infrastructures. Semnan municipality tries to begin this
program. In addition to, city has some historical monuments which
can be interesting for tourists. Hence, Semnan inhabitants can benefit
from tourist industry. Optimization of Energy in construction
industry is another activity of this municipality and the inhabitants
who execute these regulations receive some discounts. Many parts of
Iran such as semnan are located in highly seismic zones and
structures must be constructed safe e.g., according to recent seismic
codes. In this paper opportunities of IT in construction industry of
Iran are investigated in three categories. Pre-construction phase,
construction phase and earthquake disaster mitigation are studied.
Studies show that information technology can be used in these items
for reducing the losses and increasing the benefits. Both government
and private sectors must contribute to this strategic project for
obtaining the best result.
Abstract: This paper summarizes the results of some experiments for finding the effective features for disambiguation of Turkish verbs. Word sense disambiguation is a current area of investigation in which verbs have the dominant role. Generally verbs have more senses than the other types of words in the average and detecting these features for verbs may lead to some improvements for other word types. In this paper we have considered only the syntactical features that can be obtained from the corpus and tested by using some famous machine learning algorithms.
Abstract: Nowadays there is a growing environmental concern
and the business communities have slowly started recognising
environmental protection and sustainable utilization of natural
resources into their marketing strategies. This paper discusses the
various Ecolabeling and Certification Systems developed world
over to regulate and introduce Fair Trade in Ornamental Fish
Industry. Ecolabeling and green certification are considered as part
of these strategies implemented partly out of compulsion from the
National and International Regulatory Bodies and Environmental
Movements. All the major markets of ornamental fishes like
European Union, USA and Japan have started putting restrictions on
the trade to impose ecolabeling as a non tariff barrier like the one
imposed on seafood and aqua cultured products. A review was done
on the available Ecolabeling and Green Certification Schemes
available at local, national and international levels for fisheries
including aquaculture and ornamental fish trade and to examine the
success and constraints faced by these schemes during its
implementation. The primary downside of certification is the
multiplicity of ecolabels and cost incurred by applicants for
certification, costs which may in turn be passed on to consumers.
The studies reveal serious inadequacies in a number of ecolabels
and cast doubt on their overall contribution to effective fisheries
management and sustainability. The paper also discusses the
inititive taken in India to develop guidelines for Green Certification
of Fresh water ornamental fishes.