Abstract: A mathematical model of the respiratory system is
introduced in this study. Geometrical dimensions of the respiratory
system were used to compute the acoustic properties of the
respiratory system using the electro-acoustic analogy. The effect of
the geometrical proportions of the respiratory system is observed in
the paper.
Abstract: Macrobenthos distribution along the coastal waters of
Penang National Park was studid to estimate the effect of different
environmental parameters at three stations, during six sampling
months, from June 2010 to April 2011. The aim of this survey was to
investigate different environment stress over soft bottom polychaete
community along Teluk Ketapang and Pantai Acheh (Penang
National Park) over a year period. Variations in the polychaete
community were evaluated using univariate and multivariate
methods. A total of 604 individuals were examined which was
grouped into 23 families. Family Nereidae was the most abundant
(22.68%), followed by Spionidae (22.02%), Hesionidae (12.58%),
Nephtylidae (9.27%) and Orbiniidae (8.61%). It is noticeable that
good results can only be obtained on the basis of good taxonomic
resolution. The maximum Shannon-Wiener diversity (H'=2.16) was
recorded at distance 200m and 1200m (August 2010) in Teluk
Ketapang and lowest value of diversity was found at distance 1200m
(December 2010) in Teluk Ketapang.
Abstract: This paper presents the design of a ring-shaped tri-axial fore sensor that can be incorporated into the tip of a guidewire for use in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The designed sensor comprises a ring-shaped structure located at the center of four cantilever beams. The ringdesign allows surgical tools to be easily passed through which largely simplified the integration process. Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are used aspiezoresistive sensing elementsembeddedon the four cantilevers of the sensor to detect the resistance change caused by the applied load.An integration scheme with new designed guidewire tip structure having two coils at the distal end is presented. Finite element modeling has been employed in the sensor design to find the maximum stress location in order to put the SiNWs at the high stress regions to obtain maximum output. A maximum applicable force of 5 mN is found from modeling. The interaction mechanism between the designed sensor and a steel wire has been modeled by FEM. A linear relationship between the applied load on the steel wire and the induced stress on the SiNWs were observed.
Abstract: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
(OFDM) is an efficient method of data transmission for high speed
communication systems. However, the main drawback of OFDM
systems is that, it suffers from the problem of high Peak-to-Average
Power Ratio (PAPR) which causes inefficient use of the High Power
Amplifier and could limit transmission efficiency. OFDM consist of
large number of independent subcarriers, as a result of which the
amplitude of such a signal can have high peak values. In this paper,
we propose an effective reduction scheme that combines DCT and
SLM techniques. The scheme is composed of the DCT followed by
the SLM using the Riemann matrix to obtain phase sequences for the
SLM technique. The simulation results show PAPR can be greatly
reduced by applying the proposed scheme. In comparison with
OFDM, while OFDM had high values of PAPR –about 10.4dB our
proposed method achieved about 4.7dB reduction of the PAPR with
low complexities computation. This approach also avoids
randomness in phase sequence selection, which makes it simpler to
decode at the receiver. As an added benefit, the matrices can be
generated at the receiver end to obtain the data signal and hence it is
not required to transmit side information (SI).
Abstract: Determination of nano particle size is substantial since
the nano particle size exerts a significant effect on various properties
of nano materials. Accordingly, proposing non-destructive, accurate
and rapid techniques for this aim is of high interest. There are some
conventional techniques to investigate the morphology and grain size
of nano particles such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD).
Vibrational spectroscopy is utilized to characterize different
compounds and applied for evaluation of the average particle size
based on relationship between particle size and near infrared spectra
[1,4] , but it has never been applied in quantitative morphological
analysis of nano materials. So far, the potential application of nearinfrared
(NIR) spectroscopy with its ability in rapid analysis of
powdered materials with minimal sample preparation, has been
suggested for particle size determination of powdered
pharmaceuticals. The relationship between particle size and diffuse
reflectance (DR) spectra in near infrared region has been applied to
introduce a method for estimation of particle size. Back propagation
artificial neural network (BP-ANN) as a nonlinear model was applied
to estimate average particle size based on near infrared diffuse
reflectance spectra. Thirty five different nano TiO2 samples with
different particle size were analyzed by DR-FTNIR spectrometry and
the obtained data were processed by BP- ANN.
Abstract: The Japanese integrative approach to social systems
can be observed in supply chain management as well as in the
relationship between public and private sectors. Both the Lean
Production System and the Developmental State Model are
characterized by efforts towards the achievement of mutual goals,
resulting in initiatives for capacity building which emphasize the
system level. In Brazil, although organizations undertake efforts to
build capabilities at the individual and organizational levels, the
system level is being neglected. Fieldwork data confirmed the findings
of other studies in terms of the lack of integration in supply chain
management in the Brazilian automobile industry. Moreover, due to
the absence of an active role of the Brazilian state in its relationship
with the private sector, automakers are not fully exploiting the
opportunities in the domestic and regional markets. For promoting a
higher level of economic growth as well as to increase the degree of
spill-over of technologies and techniques, a more integrative approach
is needed.
Abstract: The Major Depressive Disorder has been a burden of
medical expense in Taiwan as well as the situation around the world.
Major Depressive Disorder can be defined into different categories by
previous human activities. According to machine learning, we can
classify emotion in correct textual language in advance. It can help
medical diagnosis to recognize the variance in Major Depressive
Disorder automatically. Association language incremental is the
characteristic and relationship that can discovery words in sentence.
There is an overlapping-category problem for classification. In this
paper, we would like to improve the performance in classification in
principle of no overlapping-category problems. We present an
approach that to discovery words in sentence and it can find in high
frequency in the same time and can-t overlap in each category, called
Association Language Features by its Category (ALFC).
Experimental results show that ALFC distinguish well in Major
Depressive Disorder and have better performance. We also compare
the approach with baseline and mutual information that use single
words alone or correlation measure.
Abstract: A virtual collaborative classroom was created at East Carolina University, using videoconference technology via regular internet to bring students from 18 different countries, 2 at a time, to the ECU classroom in real time to learn about each other-s culture. Students from two countries are partnered one on one, they meet for 4-5 weeks, and submit a joint paper. Then the same process is repeated for two other countries. Lectures and student discussions are managed with pre-determined topics and questions. Classes are conducted in English and reading assignments are placed on the website. Administratively all partners are independent, students pay fees and get credits at their home institution. Familiarity with technology, knowledge in cultural understanding and attitude change were assessed, only attitude changes are reported in this paper. After taking this course, all students stated their comfort level in working with, and their desire to interact with, culturally different others grew stronger and their xenophobia and isolationist attitudes decreased.
Abstract: Data from 1731 Gentile di Puglia lambs, sired by 65 rams over a 5-year period were analyzed by a mixed model to estimate the variance components for heritability. The considered growth traits were: birth weight (BW), weight at 30 days of age (W30) and average daily gain from birth to 30 days of age (DG). Year of birth, sex of lamb, type of birth (single or twin), dam age at lambing and farm were significant sources of variation for all the considered growth traits. The average lamb weights were 3.85±0.16 kg at birth, 9.57±0.91 kg at 30 days of age and the average daily gain was 191±14 g. Estimates of heritability were 0.33±0.05, 0.41±0.06 and 0.16±0.05 respectively for the same traits. These values suggest there is a good opportunity to improve Gentile di Puglia lambs by selecting animals for growth traits.
Abstract: We developed a non-contact method for the in-situ
monitoring of the thermal forming of glass and Si foils to optimize
the manufacture of mirrors for high-resolution space x-ray
telescopes. Their construction requires precise and light-weight
segmented optics with angular resolution better than 5 arcsec. We
used 75x25 mm Desag D263 glass foils 0.75 mm thick and 0.6 mm
thick Si foils. The glass foils were shaped by free slumping on a
frame at viscosities in the range of 109.3-1012 dPa·s, the Si foils by
forced slumping above 1000°C. Using a Nikon D80 digital camera,
we took snapshots of a foil-s shape every 5 min during its isothermal
heat treatment. The obtained results we can use for computer
simulations. By comparing the measured and simulated data, we can
more precisely define material properties of the foils and optimize
the forming technology.
Abstract: We have investigated the effect of piezoelectric (PZ)
polarization property in binary as well as in ternary wurtzite nitrides.
It is found that with the presence of PZ polarization property, the
phonon group velocity is modified. The change in phonon group
velocity due to PZ polarization effect directly depends on
piezoelectric tensor value. Using different piezoelectric tensor values
recommended by different workers in the literature, percent change in
group velocities of phonons has been estimated. The Debye
temperatures and frequencies of binary nitrides GaN, AlN and InN
are also calculated using the modified group velocities. For ternary
nitrides AlxGa(1-x)N, InxGa(1-x)N and InxAl(1-x)N, the phonon group
velocities have been calculated as a functions of composition. A
small positive bowing is observed in phonon group velocities of
ternary alloys. Percent variations in phonon group velocities are also
calculated for a straightforward comparison among ternary nitrides.
The results are expected to show a change in phonon relaxation rates
and thermal conductivity of III-nitrides when piezoelectric
polarization property is taken into consideration.
Abstract: The effect of the rotational speed and axial torque on
the diagnostics of tapered rolling element bearing defects was
investigated. The accelerometer was mounted on the bearing housing
and connected to Sound and Vibration Analyzer (SVAN 958) and
was used to measure the accelerations from the bearing housing. The
data obtained from the bearing was processed to detect damage of the
bearing using statistical tools and the results were subsequently
analyzed to see if bearing damage had been captured. From this study
it can be seen that damage is more evident when the bearing is
loaded. Also, at the incipient stage of damage the crest factor and
kurtosis values are high but as time progresses the crest factors and
kurtosis values decrease whereas the peak and RMS values are low at
the incipient stage but increase with damage.
Abstract: This research investigates the effects of the opening
shape and location on the structural behavior of reinforced concrete
deep beam with openings, while keeping the opening size unchanged.
The software ANSYS 12.1 is used to handle the nonlinear finite
element analysis. The ultimate strength of reinforced concrete deep
beam with opening obtained by ANSYS 12.1 shows fair agreement
with the experimental results, with a difference of no more than 20%. The present work concludes that the opening location has much more effect on the structural strength than the opening shape. It was
concluded that placing the openings near the upper corners of the
deep beam may double the strength, and the use of a rectangular
narrow opening, with the long sides in the horizontal direction, can save up to 40% of structural strength of the deep beam.
Abstract: Air quality studies were carried out in the towns of
Putrajaya, Petaling Jaya and Nilai in the Malaysian Peninsular. In this
study, the variations of Ozone (O3) concentrations over a four year
period (2008-2011) were investigated using data obtained from the
Malaysian Department of the Environment (DOE). This study aims to
identify and describe the daily and monthly variations of O3
concentrations at the monitoring sites mentioned. The SPPS program
(Statistical Package for the Social Science) was used to analyze this
data in order to obtain the variations of O3 and also to clarify the
relationship between the stations. The findings of the study revealed
that the highest concentration of O3 occurred during the midday and
afternoon (between 13:00-15:00 hrs). The comparison between
stations also showed that highest O3 concentrations were recorded in
Putrajaya. The comparisons of average and maximum concentrations
of O3 for the three stations showed that the strongest significant
correlation was recorded in the Petaling Jaya station with the value
R2= 0.667. Results from this study indicate that in the urban areas of
Peninsular Malaysia, the concentration of O3 depends on the
concentration of NOx. Furthermore, HYSPLIT back trajectories
(-72h) indicated that air-mass transport patterns can also influence the
O3 concentration in the areas studied.
Abstract: A wireless sensor network with a large number of tiny sensor nodes can be used as an effective tool for gathering data in various situations. One of the major issues in wireless sensor networks is developing an energy-efficient routing protocol which has a significant impact on the overall lifetime of the sensor network. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical with static clustering routing protocol called Energy-Efficient Protocol with Static Clustering (EEPSC). EEPSC, partitions the network into static clusters, eliminates the overhead of dynamic clustering and utilizes temporary-cluster-heads to distribute the energy load among high-power sensor nodes; thus extends network lifetime. We have conducted simulation-based evaluations to compare the performance of EEPSC against Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH). Our experiment results show that EEPSC outperforms LEACH in terms of network lifetime and power consumption minimization.
Abstract: Coarse and fine particulate matter were collected at a
residential area at Vashi, Navi Mumbai and the filter samples were
analysed for trace elements using PIXE technique. The trend of
particulate matter showed higher concentrations during winter than
the summer and monsoon concentration levels. High concentrations
of elements related to soil and sea salt were found in PM10 and
PM2.5. Also high levels of zinc and sulphur found in the particulates
of both the size fractions. EF analysis showed enrichment of Cu, Cr
and Mn only in the fine fraction suggesting their origin from
anthropogenic sources. The EF value was observed to be maximum
for As, Pb and Zn in the fine particulates. However, crustal derived
elements showed very low EF values indicating their origin from
soil. The PCA based multivariate studies identified soil, sea salt,
combustion and Se sources as common sources for coarse and
additionally an industrial source has also been identified for fine
particles.
Abstract: Tungsten trioxide has been prepared by using P-PTA
as a precursor on alumina substrates by spin coating method.
Palladium introduced on WO3 film via electrolysis deposition by
using palladium chloride as catalytic precursor. The catalytic
precursor was introduced on the series of films with different
morphologies. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and XPS were applied to analyze structure and
morphology of the fabricated thin films. Then we measured variation
of samples- electrical conductivity of pure and Pd added films in air
and diluted hydrogen. Addition of Pd resulted in a remarkable
improvement of the hydrogen sensing properties of WO3 by detection
of Hydrogen below 1% at room temperature. Also variation of the
electrical conductivity in the presence of diluted hydrogen revealed
that response of samples depends rather strongly on the palladium
configuration on the surface.
Abstract: Whereas in the third generation nuclear reactors,
dimensions of core and also the kind of coolant and enrichment
percent of fuel have significantly changed than the second
generation, therefore in this article the aim is based on a
comparative investigation between two same power reactors of
second and third generations, that the neutronic parameters of both
reactors such as: K∞, Keff and its details and thermal hydraulic
parameters such as: power density, specific power, volumetric heat
rate, released power per fuel volume unit, volume and mass of clad
and fuel (consisting fissile and fertile fuels), be calculated and
compared together. By this comparing the efficiency and
modification of third generation nuclear reactors than second
generation which have same power can be distinguished.
In order to calculate the cited parameters, some information
such as: core dimensions, the pitch of lattice, the fuel matter, the
percent of enrichment and the kind of coolant are used. For
calculating the neutronic parameters, a neutronic program entitled:
SIXFAC and also related formulas have been used. Meantime for
calculating the thermal hydraulic and other parameters, analytical
method and related formulas have been applied.
Abstract: Most electrical distribution systems are incurring large
losses as the loads are wide spread, inadequate reactive power
compensation facilities and their improper control. A typical static
VAR compensator consists of capacitor bank in binary sequential
steps operated in conjunction with a thyristor controlled reactor of the
smallest step size. This SVC facilitates stepless control of reactive
power closely matching with load requirements so as to maintain
power factor nearer to unity. This type of SVC-s requiring a
appropriately controlled TCR. This paper deals with an air cored
reactor suitable for distribution transformer of 3phase, 50Hz, Dy11,
11KV/433V, 125 KVA capacity. Air cored reactors are designed,
built, tested and operated in conjunction with capacitor bank in five
binary sequential steps. It is established how the delta connected TCR
minimizes the harmonic components and the operating range for
various electrical quantities as a function of firing angle is
investigated. In particular firing angle v/s line & phase currents, D.C.
components, THD-s, active and reactive powers, odd and even triplen
harmonics, dominant characteristic harmonics are all investigated and
range of firing angle is fixed for satisfactory operation. The harmonic
spectra for phase and line quantities at specified firing angles are
given. In case the TCR is operated within the bound specified in this
paper established through simulation studies are yielding the best
possible operating condition particularly free from all dominant
harmonics.
Abstract: As global industry developed rapidly, the energy
demand also rises simultaneously. In the production process, there’s a
lot of energy consumed in the process. Formally, the energy used in
generating the heat in the production process. In the total energy
consumption, 40% of the heat was used in process heat, mechanical
work, chemical energy and electricity. The remaining 50% were
released into the environment. It will cause energy waste and
environment pollution. There are many ways for recovering the waste
heat in factory. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system can produce
electricity and reduce energy costs by recovering the waste of low
temperature heat in the factory. In addition, ORC is the technology
with the highest power generating efficiency in low-temperature heat
recycling. However, most of factories executives are still hesitated
because of the high implementation cost of the ORC system, even a lot
of heat are wasted. Therefore, this study constructs a nonlinear
mathematical model of waste heat recovery equipment configuration
to maximize profits. A particle swarm optimization algorithm is
developed to generate the optimal facility installation plan for the ORC
system.