Abstract: It was determined that woody biomass and livestock excreta can be utilized as hydrogen resources and hydrogen produced from such sources can be used to fill fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) at hydrogen stations. It was shown that the biomass transport costs for hydrogen production may be reduced the costs for co-generation. In the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, there are only a few sites capable of producing hydrogen from woody biomass in amounts greater than 200 m3/h-the scale required for a hydrogen station to be operationally practical. However, in the case of livestock excreta, it was shown that 15% of the municipalities in this area are capable of securing sufficient biomass to be operationally practical for hydrogen production. The differences in feasibility of practical operation depend on the type of biomass.
Abstract: A laboratory study on the influence of compactive
effort on expansive black cotton specimens treated with up to 8%
ordinary Portland cement (OPC) admixed with up to 8% bagasse ash
(BA) by dry weight of soil and compacted using the energies of the
standard Proctor (SP), West African Standard (WAS) or
“intermediate” and modified Proctor (MP) were undertaken. The
expansive black cotton soil was classified as A-7-6 (16) or CL using
the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) and Unified Soil Classification System (USCS),
respectively. The 7day unconfined compressive strength (UCS)
values of the natural soil for SP, WAS and MP compactive efforts are
286, 401 and 515kN/m2 respectively, while peak values of 1019,
1328 and 1420kN/m2 recorded at 8% OPC/ 6% BA, 8% OPC/ 2% BA
and 6% OPC/ 4% BA treatments, respectively were less than the
UCS value of 1710kN/m2 conventionally used as criterion for
adequate cement stabilization. The soaked California bearing ratio
(CBR) values of the OPC/BA stabilized soil increased with higher
energy level from 2, 4 and 10% for the natural soil to Peak values of
55, 18 and 8% were recorded at 8% OPC/4% BA 8% OPC/2% BA
and 8% OPC/4% BA, treatments when SP, WAS and MP compactive
effort were used, respectively. The durability of specimens was
determined by immersion in water. Soils treatment at 8% OPC/ 4%
BA blend gave a value of 50% resistance to loss in strength value
which is acceptable because of the harsh test condition of 7 days
soaking period specimens were subjected instead of the 4 days
soaking period that specified a minimum resistance to loss in strength
of 80%. Finally An optimal blend of is 8% OPC/ 4% BA is
recommended for treatment of expansive black cotton soil for use as
a sub-base material.
Abstract: The objective of the paper is to develop the forecast
model for the HW flows. The methodology of the research included
6 modules: historical data, assumptions, choose of indicators, data
processing, and data analysis with STATGRAPHICS, and forecast
models. The proposed methodology was validated for the case study
for Latvia. Hypothesis on the changes in HW for time period of
2010-2020 have been developed and mathematically described with
confidence level of 95.0% and 50.0%. Sensitivity analysis for the
analyzed scenarios was done. The results show that the growth of
GDP affects the total amount of HW in the country. The total amount
of the HW is projected to be within the corridor of – 27.7% in the
optimistic scenario up to +87.8% in the pessimistic scenario with
confidence level of 50.0% for period of 2010-2020. The optimistic
scenario has shown to be the least flexible to the changes in the GDP
growth.
Abstract: The Knowledge Management (KM) Criteria is an
essential foundation to evaluate KM outcomes. Different sets of
criteria were developed and tailored by many researchers to
determine the results of KM initiatives. However, literature review
has emphasized on incomplete set of criteria for evaluating KM
outcomes. Hence, this paper tried to address the problem of
determining the criteria for measuring knowledge management
outcomes among different types of Malaysian organizations.
Successively, this paper was assumed to develop widely accepted
criteria to measure success of knowledge management efforts for
Malaysian organizations. Our analysis approach was based on the
ANOVA procedure to compare a set of criteria among different types
of organizations. This set of criteria was exploited from literature
review. It is hoped that this study provides a better picture for
different types of Malaysian organizations to establish a
comprehensive set of criteria due to measure results of KM programs.
Abstract: Among the numerous economic evaluation techniques currently available, Multi-criteria Spatial Analysis lends itself to solving localization problems of property complexes and, in particular, production plants. The methodology involves the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the mapping overlay technique, which overlaps the different information layers of a territory in order to obtain an overview of the parameters that characterize it. This first phase is used to detect possible settlement surfaces of a new agglomeration, subsequently selected through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), so as to choose the best alternative. The result ensures the synthesis of a multidimensional profile that expresses both the quantitative and qualitative effects. Each criterion can be given a different weight.
Abstract: Education, as the most important resource in any country, has multiplying effects on all facets of development in a society. The new social realities, particularly the interplay between democratization of education; unprecedented developments in IT sector; emergence of knowledge society, liberalization of economy and globalization have greatly influenced the educational process of all nations. This turbulence entails upon education to undergo dramatic changes to keep up with the new expectations. Growth of entrepreneurship among Indian women is highly important for empowering them and this is highly essential for socio-economic development of a society. Unfortunately in India there is poor acceptance of entrepreneurship among women as unfounded myths and fears restrain them to be enterprising. To remove these inhibitions, education system needs to be re-engineered to make entrepreneurship more acceptable. This paper empirically analyses the results of a survey done on around 500 female graduates in North India to measure and evaluate various entrepreneurial traits present in them. A formative model has been devised in this context, which should improve the teaching-learning process in our education system, which can lead to sustainable growth of women entrepreneurship in India.
Abstract: The growing interest in the issue of intangible assets not only in the scientific community but also in some professional bodies internationally can be explained by several points of view. From the business perspective, enterprises are increasingly motivated by external and internal forces to measure and proactively manage their intangibles. With respect to the issue of intangibles, goodwill has been debated in many countries throughout the world. Despite the numerous efforts and the existence of international accounting standards there is not yet a common accepted accounting treatment for goodwill. This study attempts on the one hand to impress the accounting treatment of goodwill internationally, on the other hand analyses the major subjects in relation to the accounting treatment of goodwill in Greece, since 2005, year where the international accounting standards have been in use for the Greek listed companies. The results indicate that the accounting treatment for the goodwill in Greece, despite the effort for accounting harmonization in Europe from 2005, sustains many differences especially for the no listed companies.
Abstract: Motion capturing technology has been used for quite a
while and several research has been done within this area. Nevertheless,
we discovered open issues within current motion capturing
environments. In this paper we provide a state-of-the-art overview of
the addressed research areas and show issues with current motion
capturing environments. Observations, interviews and questionnaires
have been used to reveal the challenges actors are currently facing in
a motion capturing environment. Furthermore, the idea to create a
more immersive motion capturing environment to improve the acting
performances and motion capturing outcomes as a potential solution
is introduced. It is hereby the goal to explain the found open issues
and the developed ideas which shall serve for further research as a
basis. Moreover, a methodology to address the interaction and
systems design issues is proposed. A future outcome could be that
motion capture actors are able to perform more naturally, especially
if using a non-body-worn solution.
Abstract: A low bit rate still image compression scheme by
compressing the indices of Vector Quantization (VQ) and generating
residual codebook is proposed. The indices of VQ are compressed by
exploiting correlation among image blocks, which reduces the bit per
index. A residual codebook similar to VQ codebook is generated that
represents the distortion produced in VQ. Using this residual
codebook the distortion in the reconstructed image is removed,
thereby increasing the image quality. Our scheme combines these two
methods. Experimental results on standard image Lena show that our
scheme can give a reconstructed image with a PSNR value of 31.6 db
at 0.396 bits per pixel. Our scheme is also faster than the existing VQ
variants.
Abstract: In the present communication, the existing measures of
fuzzy entropy are reviewed. A generalized parametric exponential
fuzzy entropy is defined.Our study of the four essential and some
other properties of the proposed measure, clearly establishes the
validity of the measure as an entropy.
Abstract: When the results of the total element concentrations using USEPA method 3051A are compared to the sequential extraction analyses (i.e. the sum of fractions BCR1, BCR2 and BRC3), it can be calculated that the recovery values of elements varied between 56.8-% and 69.4-% in the bottom ash, and between 11.3-% and 70.9-% in the fly ash. This indicates that most of the elements in the ashes do not occur as readily soluble forms.
Abstract: Cloud computing is becoming more and more matured over the last few years and consequently the demands for better cloud services is increasing rapidly. One of the research topics to improve cloud services is the desktop computing in virtualized environment. This paper aims at the development of an adaptive virtual desktop service in cloud computing platform based on our previous research on the virtualization technology. We implement cloud virtual desktop and application software streaming technology that make it possible for providing Virtual Desktop as a Service (VDaaS). Given the development of remote desktop virtualization, it allows shifting the user’s desktop from the traditional PC environment to the cloud-enabled environment, which is stored on a remote virtual machine rather than locally. This proposed effort has the potential to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment for online cloud service. Users no longer need to burden the platform maintenances and drastically reduces the overall cost of hardware and software licenses. Moreover, this flexible remote desktop service represents the next significant step to the mobile workplace, and it lets users access their desktop environments from virtually anywhere.
Abstract: This paper presents the vibrations suppression of a thermoelastic beam subject to sudden heat input by a distributed piezoelectric actuators. An optimization problem is formulated as the minimization of a quadratic functional in terms of displacement and velocity at a given time and with the least control effort. The solution method is based on a combination of modal expansion and variational approaches. The modal expansion approach is used to convert the optimal control of distributed parameter system into the optimal control of lumped parameter system. By utilizing the variational approach, an explicit optimal control law is derived and the determination of the corresponding displacement and velocity is reduced to solving a set of ordinary differential equations.
Abstract: The innovation performance of nations has been
repeatedly measured in the literature. We argue that while the
literature offers many suggestions, their theoretical foundation is
often weak and the underlying assumptions are rarely discussed. In
this paper, we systematize various mechanisms by which spatial units
influence nation and firms' innovation activities. On the basis of this,
common innovation performance measures and analyses are
discussed and evaluated. It is concluded that there is no general best
way of measuring the innovation performance of spatial units. In
fact, the most interesting insights can be obtained using a multitude
of different approaches at the same time.
Abstract: The most planted cover crops in the Czech Republic
are mustard (Sinapis alba) and phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia
Benth.). A field trial was executed to evaluate root system size (RSS)
in eight varieties of mustard and five varieties of phacelia on two
locations, in three BBCH phases and in two years. The relationship
between RSS and aboveground biomass was inquired. The root
system was assessed by measuring its electric capacity. Aboveground
mass and root samples to be evaluated by means of a digital image
analysis were recovered in the BBCH phase 70. The yield of
aboveground biomass of mustard was always statistically
significantly higher than that of phacelia. Mustard showed a
statistically significant negative correlation between root length
density (RLD) within 10 cm and aboveground biomass weight (r = -
0.46*). Phacelia featured a statistically significant correlation
between aboveground biomass production and nitrate nitrogen
content in soil (r=0.782**).
Abstract: We demonstrate a nonfaradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement of biochemically modified gold plated electrodes using a two-electrode system. The absence of any redox indicator in the impedance measurements provide more precise and accurate characterization of the measured bioanalyte at molecular resolution. An equivalent electrical circuit of the electrodeelectrolyte interface was deduced from the observed impedance data of saline solution at low and high concentrations. The detection of biomolecular interactions was fundamentally correlated to electrical double-layer variation at modified interface. The investigations were done using 20mer deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands without any label. Surface modification was performed by creating mixed monolayer of the thiol-modified single-stranded DNA and a spacer thiol (mercaptohexanol) by a two-step self-assembly method. The results clearly distinguish between the noncomplementary and complementary hybridization of DNA, at low frequency region below several hundreds Hertz.
Abstract: The private theme parks are gradually surpassing
public-owned scenic areas after many years of development and have
become a mainstream choice for domestic tourists. Previous studies
show that visitors from different backgrounds differ in consumer
behavior and satisfaction factors. An understanding of visitor
satisfaction is therefore of extreme importance to operators of
privately-owned theme parks. Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA)
is used to measure consumer's potential satisfaction with services and
has become a widely used management tool for strength and weakness
analysis for brands, products, services and point of sales. As IPA has
so far not been used to evaluate the visitor satisfaction with
privately-owned theme parks, in this study the IPA method is used to
analyze visitor satisfaction with Janfusun Fancyworld (one of the most
popular private theme parks in Taiwan) and to rank visitor focus and
satisfaction on/in theme park facilities and services. Results of the
analysis provide private theme park operators with an understanding
of user or consumer demands as well as an assessment of the quality of
services currently offered.
Abstract: The similarity comparison of RNA secondary
structures is important in studying the functions of RNAs. In recent
years, most existing tools represent the secondary structures by
tree-based presentation and calculate the similarity by tree alignment
distance. Different to previous approaches, we propose a new method
based on maximum clique detection algorithm to extract the maximum
common structural elements in compared RNA secondary structures.
A new graph-based similarity measurement and maximum common
subgraph detection procedures for comparing purely RNA secondary
structures is introduced. Given two RNA secondary structures, the
proposed algorithm consists of a process to determine the score of the
structural similarity, followed by comparing vertices labelling, the
labelled edges and the exact degree of each vertex. The proposed
algorithm also consists of a process to extract the common structural
elements between compared secondary structures based on a proposed
maximum clique detection of the problem. This graph-based model
also can work with NC-IUB code to perform the pattern-based
searching. Therefore, it can be used to identify functional RNA motifs
from database or to extract common substructures between complex
RNA secondary structures. We have proved the performance of this
proposed algorithm by experimental results. It provides a new idea of
comparing RNA secondary structures. This tool is helpful to those
who are interested in structural bioinformatics.
Abstract: On-board Error Detection and Correction (EDAC)
devices aim to secure data transmitted between the central
processing unit (CPU) of a satellite onboard computer and its local
memory. This paper presents a comparison of the performance of
four low complexity EDAC techniques for application in Random
Access Memories (RAMs) on-board small satellites. The
performance of a newly proposed EDAC architecture is measured
and compared with three different EDAC strategies, using the same
FPGA technology. A statistical analysis of single-event upset (SEU)
and multiple-bit upset (MBU) activity in commercial memories
onboard Alsat-1 is given for a period of 8 years
Abstract: The paper reports on the results of experimental and
numerical study of nonstationary swirling flow in an isothermal
model of vortex burner. It has been identified that main source of the
instability is related to a precessing vortex core (PVC) phenomenon.
The PVC induced flow pulsation characteristics such as precession
frequency and its variation as a function of flowrate and swirl number
have been explored making use of acoustic probes. Additionally
pressure transducers were used to measure the pressure drops on the
working chamber and across the vortex flow. The experiments have
been included also the mean velocity measurements making use of a
laser-Doppler anemometry. The features of instantaneous flowfield
generated by the PVC were analyzed employing a commercial CFD
code (Star-CCM+) based on Detached Eddy Simulation (DES)
approach. Validity of the numerical code has been checked by
comparison calculated flowfield data with the obtained experimental
results. It has been confirmed particularly that the CFD code applied
correctly reproduces the flow features.