Abstract: Today, incorrect use of lands and land use changes,
excessive grazing, no suitable using of agricultural farms, plowing on
steep slopes, road construct, building construct, mine excavation etc
have been caused increasing of soil erosion and sediment yield. For
erosion and sediment estimation one can use statistical and empirical
methods. This needs to identify land unit map and the map of
effective factors. However, these empirical methods are usually time
consuming and do not give accurate estimation of erosion. In this
study, we applied GIS techniques to estimate erosion and sediment of
Menderjan watershed at upstream Zayandehrud river in center of
Iran. Erosion faces at each land unit were defined on the basis of land
use, geology and land unit map using GIS. The UTM coordinates of
each erosion type that showed more erosion amounts such as rills and
gullies were inserted in GIS using GPS data. The frequency of
erosion indicators at each land unit, land use and their sediment yield
of these indices were calculated. Also using tendency analysis of
sediment yield changes in watershed outlet (Menderjan hydrometric
gauge station), was calculated related parameters and estimation
errors. The results of this study according to implemented watershed
management projects can be used for more rapid and more accurate
estimation of erosion than traditional methods. These results can also
be used for regional erosion assessment and can be used for remote
sensing image processing.
Abstract: GFRG(Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum) wall is a green product which can erect a building fast in prefabricated method, but its application to high-rise residential buildings is limited for its poor lateral stiffness. This paper has proposed a modification to GFRG walls structure to increase its lateral stiffness, which aiming to erect small high-rise residential buildings as load-bearing walls. The elastic finite element analysis to it has shown the lateral deformation feature and the distributions of the axial force and the shear force. The analysis results show that the new GFRG reinforced concrete wall can be used for small high-rise residential buildings.
Abstract: This paper describes the development of a numerical finite element algorithm used for the analysis of reinforced concrete structure equipped with shakes energy absorbing device subjected to earthquake excitation. For this purpose a finite element program code for analysis of reinforced concrete frame buildings is developed. The performance of developed program code is evaluated by analyzing of a reinforced concrete frame buildings model. The results are show that using damper device as seismic energy dissipation system effectively can reduce the structural response of framed structure during earthquake occurrence.
Abstract: The majority of micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia
operate very small-scaled business activities such as food stalls,
burger stalls, night market hawkers, grocery stores, constructions,
rubber and oil palm small holders, and other agro-based services and
activities. Why are they venturing into entrepreneurship - is it for
survival, out of interest or due to encouragement and assistance from
the local government? And why is it that some micro-entrepreneurs
are lagging behind in entrepreneurship, and what do they need to
rectify this situation so that they are able to progress further?
Furthermore, what are the skills that the micro entrepreneurs should
developed to transform them into successful micro-enterprises and
become small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)? This paper
proposes a 7-Step approach that can serve as a basis for identification
of critical entrepreneurial success factors that enable policy makers,
practitioners, consultants, training managers and other agencies in
developing tools to assist micro business owners. This paper also
highlights the experience of one of the successful companies in
Malaysia that has transformed from micro-enterprise to become a
large organization in less than 10 years.
Abstract: The corrugated steel cladding used to cover most of
steel buildings is considered as non-structural element. This research
will reflect the effect of cladding as a shear diaphragm in increasing
the normal elastic capacity of columns. This study is important
because of the lack of information of the behavior of cladding and
secondary members in various codes. Mathematical models for six
different cases are carried by software. The results extracted from the
program have been plotted showing the effects of different variables
on the ultimate load of column. The variables considered in our
research are the spacing between columns and the thickness of the
corrugated sheet representing the sheet stiffness.
Abstract: The seismic feedback experiences in Algeria have
shown higher percentage of damages for non-code conforming
reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. Furthermore, the vulnerability of
these buildings was further aggravated due to presence of many
factors (e.g. weak the seismic capacity of these buildings, shorts
columns, Pounding effect, etc.).
Consequently Seismic risk assessments were carried out on
populations of buildings to identify the buildings most likely to
undergo losses during an earthquake. The results of such studies are
important in the mitigation of losses under future seismic events as
they allow strengthening intervention and disaster management plans
to be drawn up.
Within this paper, the state of the existing structures is assessed using
"the vulnerability index" method. This method allows the
classification of RC constructions taking into account both, structural
and non structural parameters, considered to be ones of the main
parameters governing the vulnerability of the structure. Based on
seismic feedback from past earthquakes DPM (damage probability
matrices) were developed too.
Abstract: Full adders are important components in applications
such as digital signal processors (DSP) architectures and
microprocessors. In addition to its main task, which is adding two
numbers, it participates in many other useful operations such as
subtraction, multiplication, division,, address calculation,..etc. In
most of these systems the adder lies in the critical path that
determines the overall speed of the system. So enhancing the
performance of the 1-bit full adder cell (the building block of the
adder) is a significant goal.Demands for the low power VLSI have
been pushing the development of aggressive design methodologies to
reduce the power consumption drastically. To meet the growing
demand, we propose a new low power adder cell by sacrificing the
MOS Transistor count that reduces the serious threshold loss
problem, considerably increases the speed and decreases the power
when compared to the static energy recovery full (SERF) adder. So a
new improved 14T CMOS l-bit full adder cell is presented in this
paper. Results show 50% improvement in threshold loss problem,
45% improvement in speed and considerable power consumption
over the SERF adder and other different types of adders with
comparable performance.
Abstract: Service identification is one of the main activities in
the modeling of a service-oriented solution, and therefore errors
made during identification can flow down through detailed design
and implementation activities that may necessitate multiple
iterations, especially in building composite applications. Different
strategies exist for how to identify candidate services that each of
them has its own benefits and trade offs. The approach presented in
this paper proposes a selective identification of services approach,
based on in depth business process analysis coupled with use cases
and existing assets analysis and goal service modeling. This article
clearly emphasizes the key activities need for the analysis and
service identification to build a optimized service oriented
architecture. In contrast to other approaches this article mentions
some best practices and steps, wherever appropriate, to point out the
vagueness involved in service identification.
Abstract: Presented herein is an assessment of current nonlinear
static procedures (NSPs) for seismic evaluation of bucklingrestrained
braced frames (BRBFs) which have become a favorable
lateral-force resisting system for earthquake resistant buildings. The
bias and accuracy of modal, improved modal pushover analysis
(MPA, IMPA) and mass proportional pushover (MPP) procedures
are comparatively investigated when they are applied to BRBF
buildings subjected to two sets of strong ground motions. The
assessment is based on a comparison of seismic displacement
demands such as target roof displacements, peak floor/roof
displacements and inter-story drifts. The NSP estimates are compared
to 'exact' results from nonlinear response history analysis (NLRHA).
The response statistics presented show that the MPP
procedure tends to significantly overestimate seismic demands of
lower stories of tall buildings considered in this study while MPA
and IMPA procedures provide reasonably accurate results in
estimating maximum inter-story drift over all stories of studied BRBF
systems.
Abstract: The brain MR imaging-based clinical research and analysis system were specifically built and the development for a large-scale data was targeted. We used the general clinical data available for building large-scale data. Registration period for the selection of the lesion ROI and the region growing algorithm was used and the Mesh-warp algorithm for matching was implemented. The accuracy of the matching errors was modified individually. Also, the large ROI research data can accumulate by our developed compression method. In this way, the correctly decision criteria to the research result was suggested. The experimental groups were age, sex, MR type, patient ID and smoking which can easily be queries. The result data was visualized of the overlapped images by a color table. Its data was calculated by the statistical package. The evaluation for the utilization of this system in the chronic ischemic damage in the area has done from patients with the acute cerebral infarction. This is the cause of neurologic disability index location in the center portion of the lateral ventricle facing. The corona radiate was found in the position. Finally, the system reliability was measured both inter-user and intra-user registering correlation.
Abstract: Nosocomial (i.e., hospital-acquired) infections
(NI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. NI
rate is higher in intensive care units (ICU) than in the general
ward due to patients with severe symptoms, poor immunity,
and accepted many invasive therapies. Contact behaviors
between health caregivers and patients is one of the infect
factors. It is difficult to obtain complete contact records by
traditional method of retrospective analysis of medical records.
This paper establishes a contact history inferential model
(CHIM) intended to extend the use of Proximity Sensing of
rapid frequency identification (RFID) technology to
transferring all proximity events between health caregivers and
patients into clinical events (close-in events, contact events and
invasive events).The results of the study indicated that the
CHIM can infer proximity care activities into close-in events
and contact events.
The infection control team could redesign and build optimal
workflow in the ICU according to the patient-specific contact
history which provided by our automatic tracing system.
Abstract: Regarding previous research studies it was concluded
that thin-walled fiber-cement composites are able to conduct electric
current under specific conditions. This property is ensured by using
of various kinds of carbon materials. Though carbon fibers are less
conductive than metal fibers, composites with carbon fibers were
evaluated as better current conductors than the composites with metal
fibers. The level of electric conductivity is monitored by the means of
impedance measurement of designed samples. These composites
could be used for a range of applications such as heating of
trafficable surfaces or shielding of electro-magnetic fields.
The aim of the present research was to design an element with the
ability to monitor internal processes in building structures and
prevent them from collapsing. As a typical element for laboratory
testing there was chosen a concrete column, which was repeatedly
subjected to load by simple pressure with continual monitoring of
changes in electrical properties.
Abstract: Cities denote instantaneously a challenge and an
opportunity for climate change policy. Cities are the place where
most energy services are needed because urbanization is closely
linked to high population densities and concentration of economic
activities and production (Urban energy demand). Consequently, it is
critical to explain about the role of cities within the world-s energy
systems and its correlation with the climate change issue. With more
than half of the world-s population already living in urban areas, and
that percentage expected to rise to 75 per cent by 2050, it is clear that
the path to sustainable development must pass through cities. Cities
expanding in size and population pose increased challenges to the
environment, of which energy is part as a natural resource, and to the
quality of life. Nowadays, most cities have already understood the
importance of sustainability, both at their local scale as in terms of
their contribution to sustainability at higher geographical scales. It
requires the perception of a city as a complex and dynamic
ecosystem, an open system, or cluster of systems, where the energy
as well as the other natural resources is transformed to satisfy the
needs of the different urban activities. In fact, buildings and
transportation generally represent most of cities direct energy
demand, i.e., between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the overall
consumption. Buildings, both residential and services are usually
influenced by the local physical and social conditions. In terms of
transport, the energy demand is also strongly linked with the specific
characteristics of a city (urban mobility).The concept of a “smart
city" builds on statistics as seven key axes of a city-s success in
moving towards common platform (brain nerve)of sustainable urban
energy systems.
With the aforesaid knowledge, the authors have suggested a frame
work to role of cities, as energy actors for smart city management.
The authors have discusses the potential elements needed for energy
in smart cities and also identified potential energy actions and
relevant barriers. Furthermore, three levels of city smartness in cities
actions to overcome market /institutional failures with a local
approach are distinguished. The authors have made an attempt to
conceive and implement concepts of city smartness by adopting the
city or local government as nerve center through an integrated
planning approach. Finally, concluding with recommendations for
the organization of the Smart Sustainable Cities for positive changes
of urban India.
Abstract: To simulate heating systems in buildings, a research oriented computer code has been developed in Sharif University of Technology in Iran where the climate, existing heating equipment in buildings, consumer behavior and their interactions are considered for simulating energy consumption in conventional systems such as heaters, radiators and fan-coils. In order to validate the computer code, the available data of five buildings was used and the computed consumed energy was compared with the estimated energy extracted from monthly bills. The initial heating system was replaced by the alternative system and the effect of this change was observed on the energy consumption. As a result, the effect of changing heating equipment on energy consumption was investigated in different climates. Changing heater to radiator renders energy conservation up to 50% in all climates and changing radiator to fan-coil decreases energy consumption in climates with cold and dry winter.
Abstract: Transport and logistics are the lifeblood of societies.
There is a strong correlation between overall growth in economic
activity and growth of transport. The movement of people and goods
has the potential for creating wealth and prosperity, therefore the
state of transportation infrastructure and especially the condition of
road networks is often a governmental priority. The design, building
and maintenance of national roads constitute a substantial share of
government budgets. Taking into account the magnitude and
importance of these investments, the expedience, efficiency and
sustainability of these projects are of great public interest. This paper
provides an overview of supply chain management principles applied
to road construction. In addition, road construction performance
measurement systems and ICT solutions are discussed. Road
construction in Estonia is analyzed. The authors propose the
development of a national performance measurement system for road
construction.
Abstract: In this paper, the construction of a detailed spine
model is presented using the LifeMOD Biomechanics Modeler. The
detailed spine model is obtained by refining spine segments in
cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions into individual vertebra
segments, using bushing elements representing the intervertebral
discs, and building various ligamentous soft tissues between
vertebrae. In the sagittal plane of the spine, constant force will be
applied from the posterior to anterior during simulation to determine
dynamic characteristics of the spine. The force magnitude is
gradually increased in subsequent simulations. Based on these
recorded dynamic properties, graphs of displacement-force
relationships will be established in terms of polynomial functions by
using the least-squares method and imported into a haptic integrated
graphic environment. A thoracolumbar spine model with complex
geometry of vertebrae, which is digitized from a resin spine
prototype, will be utilized in this environment. By using the haptic
technique, surgeons can touch as well as apply forces to the spine
model through haptic devices to observe the locomotion of the spine
which is computed from the displacement-force relationship graphs.
This current study provides a preliminary picture of our ongoing
work towards building and simulating bio-fidelity scoliotic spine
models in a haptic integrated graphic environment whose dynamic
properties are obtained from LifeMOD. These models can be helpful
for surgeons to examine kinematic behaviors of scoliotic spines and
to propose possible surgical plans before spine correction operations.
Abstract: The Petri net tool INA is a well known tool by the
Petri net community. However, it lacks a graphical environment to
cerate and analyse INA models. Building a modelling tool for the
design and analysis from scratch (for INA tool for example) is
generally a prohibitive task. Meta-Modelling approach is useful to
deal with such problems since it allows the modelling of the
formalisms themselves. In this paper, we propose an approach based
on the combined use of Meta-modelling and Graph Grammars to
automatically generate a visual modelling tool for INA for analysis
purposes. In our approach, the UML Class diagram formalism is
used to define a meta-model of INA models. The meta-modelling
tool ATOM3 is used to generate a visual modelling tool according to
the proposed INA meta-model. We have also proposed a graph
grammar to automatically generate INA description of the
graphically specified Petri net models. This allows the user to avoid
the errors when this description is done manually. Then the INA tool
is used to perform the simulation and the analysis of the resulted INA
description. Our environment is illustrated through an example.
Abstract: In this work a dual laser triangulation system is presented for fast building of 2.5D textured models of objects within a production line. This scanner is designed to produce data suitable for 3D completeness inspection algorithms. For this purpose two laser projectors have been used in order to considerably reduce the problem of occlusions in the camera movement direction. Results of reconstruction of electronic boards are presented, together with a comparison with a commercial system.
Abstract: The procurement and cost management approach adopted for mechanical and electrical (M&E) services in Malaysian construction industry have been criticized for its inefficiency. The study examined early cost estimating practices adopted for mechanical and electrical services (M&E) in Malaysia so as to understand the level of compliance of the current techniques with best practices. The methodology adopted for the study is a review of bidding documents used on both completed and on – going building projects awarded between 2008 – 2010 under 9th Malaysian Plan. The analysis revealed that, M&E services cost cannot be reliably estimated at pre-contract stage; the bidding techniques adopted for M&E services failed to provide uniform basis for contractors to submit tender; detailed measurement of items were not made which could complicate post contract cost control and financial management. The paper concluded that, there is need to follow a structured approach in determining the pre-contract cost estimate for M&E services which will serve as a virile tool for post contract cost control.
Abstract: In the paper the results of calculations of the dynamic
response of a multi-storey reinforced concrete building to a strong
mining shock originated from the main region of mining activity in
Poland (i.e. the Legnica-Glogow Copper District) are presented. The
representative time histories of accelerations registered in three
directions were used as ground motion data in calculations of the
dynamic response of the structure. Two variants of a numerical model
were applied: the model including only structural elements of the
building and the model including both structural and non-structural
elements (i.e. partition walls and ventilation ducts made of brick). It
turned out that non-structural elements of multi-storey RC buildings
have a small impact of about 10 % on natural frequencies of these
structures. It was also proved that the dynamic response of building
to mining shock obtained in case of inclusion of all non-structural
elements in the numerical model is about 20 % smaller than in case
of consideration of structural elements only. The principal stresses
obtained in calculations of dynamic response of multi-storey building
to strong mining shock are situated on the level of about 30% of
values obtained from static analysis (dead load).