Abstract: Building inspection is one of the key components of building maintenance. The primary purpose of performing a building inspection is to evaluate the building-s condition. Without inspection, it is difficult to determine a built asset-s current condition, so failure to inspect can contribute to the asset-s future failure. Traditionally, a longhand survey description has been widely used for property condition reports. Surveys that employ ratings instead of descriptions are gaining wide acceptance in the industry because they cater to the need for numerical analysis output. These kinds of surveys are also in keeping with the new RICS HomeBuyer Report 2009. In this paper, we propose a new assessment method, derived from the current rating systems, for assessing the specifically smart school building-s condition and rating the seriousness of each defect identified. These two assessment criteria are then multiplied to find the building-s score, which we called the Condition Survey Protocol (CSP) 1 Matrix. Instead of a longhand description of a building-s defects, this matrix requires concise explanations about the defects identified, thus saving on-site time during a smart school building inspection. The full score is used to give the building an overall rating: Good, Fair or Dilapidated.
Abstract: Combining energy efficiency with renewable energy
sources constitutes a key strategy for a sustainable future. The wind
power sector stands out as a fundamental element for the
achievement of the European renewable objectives and Portugal is no
exception to the increase of the wind energy for the electricity
generation. This work proposes an optimization model for the long
range electricity power planning in a system similar to the
Portuguese one, where the expected impacts of the increasing
installed wind power on the operating performance of thermal power
plants are taken into account. The main results indicate that the
increasing penetration of wind power in the electricity system will
have significant effects on the combined cycle gas power plants
operation and on the theoretically expected cost reduction and
environmental gains. This research demonstrated the need to address
the impact that energy sources with variable output may have, not
only on the short-term operational planning, but especially on the
medium to long range planning activities, in order to meet the
strategic objectives for the energy sector.
Abstract: This paper proposes a novel approach that combines statistical models and support vector machines. A hybrid scheme which appropriately incorporates the advantages of both the generative and discriminant model paradigms is described and evaluated. Support vector machines (SVMs) are trained to divide the whole speakers' space into small subsets of speakers within a hierarchical tree structure. During testing a speech token is assigned to its corresponding group and evaluation using gaussian mixture models (GMMs) is then processed. Experimental results show that the proposed method can significantly improve the performance of text independent speaker identification task. We report improvements of up to 50% reduction in identification error rate compared to the baseline statistical model.
Abstract: In this paper, an approach to reduce the computation steps required by fast neural networksfor the searching process is presented. The principle ofdivide and conquer strategy is applied through imagedecomposition. Each image is divided into small in sizesub-images and then each one is tested separately usinga fast neural network. The operation of fast neuralnetworks based on applying cross correlation in thefrequency domain between the input image and theweights of the hidden neurons. Compared toconventional and fast neural networks, experimentalresults show that a speed up ratio is achieved whenapplying this technique to locate human facesautomatically in cluttered scenes. Furthermore, fasterface detection is obtained by using parallel processingtechniques to test the resulting sub-images at the sametime using the same number of fast neural networks. Incontrast to using only fast neural networks, the speed upratio is increased with the size of the input image whenusing fast neural networks and image decomposition.
Abstract: Cast metal inlays can be used on molars requiring a
class II restoration instead amalgam and offer a durable alternative.
Because it is known that class II inlays may increase the
susceptibility to fracture, it is important to ensure optimal
performance in selection of the adequate preparation design to reduce
stresses in teeth structures and also in the restorations. The aim of the
study was to investigate the influence of preparation design on stress
distribution in molars with different class II preparations and in cast
metal inlays. The first step of the study was to achieve 3D models in
order to analyze teeth and cast metal class II inlays. The geometry of
the intact tooth was obtained by 3D scanning using a manufactured
device. With a NURBS modeling program the preparations and the
appropriately inlays were designed. 3D models of first upper molars
of the same shape and size were created. Inlay cavities designs were
created using literature data. The geometrical model was exported
and the mesh structure of the solid 3D model was created for
structural simulations. Stresses were located around the occlusal
contact areas. For the studied cases, the stress values were not
significant influenced by the taper of the preparation. it was
demonstrated stresses are higher in the cast metal restorations and
therefore the strength of the teeth is not affected.
Abstract: Wheat germ has a balanced amino acid composition of the protein, which is well digested by enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract of humans, a high content of vitamins, minerals and unsaturated acids. Introduction components grain food products will enrich their biologically important substances, giving these products a number of valuable properties and reducing their caloric.
A complex natural system of substances in foods will help replenish the body's need of essential nutrients, increasing its resistance to the harmful effects of the environment, prolong life. In this regard, there was a need for the development of production technology of protein complexes from wheat germ and then applying them in food, particularly in the dairy industry. Experimental studies were conducted to determine the number of herbal supplements on the sensory characteristics of the product. Studies have been conducted to determine the optimal process parameters of water activity and moisture content of the investigational product.
Abstract: The recommendation of the committee on corporate
governance for public companies in Nigeria, that the position of the
CEO be separated from board chair has generated serious debate
among scholars and practitioners. They have questioned the
appropriateness of implementing corporate governance model that is
based on Anglo-Saxon agency problem characterized by dispersed
ownership structure; where markets for corporate control, legal
regulation, and contractual incentives are the key governance
mechanisms. This paper strives to resolve the argument by adopting
an institutional perspective in testing the agency theory on board
duality. The study developed a theoretical and empirical model to
better understand how ownership structure influences agency conflict
and how such affects firm performance. Hence, the study examines
the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance using
two institutional ownership structures – dispersed ownership and
concentrated ownership structures. The empirical results show that
CEO duality is negatively correlated with firm performance in
Nigeria irrespective of the firm-s ownership structure. The findings
give credence to the recommendation of the Peterside Commission
on the need to separate the position of CEO from board chair.
Abstract: Plasma plume will be produced and arrive at spacecraft when the electric thruster operates on orbit. It-s important to characterize the thruster plasma parameters because the plume has significant effects or hazards on spacecraft sub-systems and parts. Through the ground test data of the desired parameters, the major characteristics of the thruster plume will be achieved. Also it is very important for optimizing design of Ion thruster. Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) is an effective instrument for plasma ion energy per unit charge distribution measurement. Special RPA should be designed according to certain plume plasma parameters range and feature. In this paper, major principles usable for good RPA design are discussed carefully. Conform to these principles, a four-grid planar electrostatic energy analyzer RPA was designed to avoid false data, and details were discussed including construction, materials, aperture diameter and so on. At the same time, it was designed more suitable for credible and long-duration measurements in the laboratory. In the end, RPA measurement results in the laboratory were given and discussed.
Abstract: This paper proposes a dual tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT) based directional interpolation scheme for noisy images. The problems of denoising and interpolation are modelled as to estimate the noiseless and missing samples under the same framework of optimal estimation. Initially, DT-CWT is used to decompose an input low-resolution noisy image into low and high frequency subbands. The high-frequency subband images are interpolated by linear minimum mean square estimation (LMMSE) based interpolation, which preserves the edges of the interpolated images. For each noisy LR image sample, we compute multiple estimates of it along different directions and then fuse those directional estimates for a more accurate denoised LR image. The estimation parameters calculated in the denoising processing can be readily used to interpolate the missing samples. The inverse DT-CWT is applied on the denoised input and interpolated high frequency subband images to obtain the high resolution image. Compared with the conventional schemes that perform denoising and interpolation in tandem, the proposed DT-CWT based noisy image interpolation method can reduce many noise-caused interpolation artifacts and preserve well the image edge structures. The visual and quantitative results show that the proposed technique outperforms many of the existing denoising and interpolation methods.
Abstract: Pleurotus ostreatus is a common edible mushroom with a number of properties that can help to solve the nutritional and economical problems of people in Chiapas, Mexico. The objective of this project was to produce the mushroom under a sustainable management in which only regional products were allowed as a way to promote the cultivation and consumption of Pleurotus ostreatus; 5 different substrates were tested as well as 2 sanitation methods. The obtained results showed that the highest yields were obtained using corn husk and a thermal sanitation method. Pests and diseases were not a problem during the project but they appeared more in the substrates sanitized with calcium hydroxide.
Abstract: Decision support systems are usually based on
multidimensional structures which use the concept of hypercube.
Dimensions are the axes on which facts are analyzed and form a
space where a fact is located by a set of coordinates at the
intersections of members of dimensions. Conventional
multidimensional structures deal with discrete facts linked to discrete
dimensions. However, when dealing with natural continuous
phenomena the discrete representation is not adequate. There is a
need to integrate spatiotemporal continuity within multidimensional
structures to enable analysis and exploration of continuous field data.
Research issues that lead to the integration of spatiotemporal
continuity in multidimensional structures are numerous. In this paper,
we discuss research issues related to the integration of continuity in
multidimensional structures, present briefly a multidimensional
model for continuous field data. We also define new aggregation
operations. The model and the associated operations and measures
are validated by a prototype.
Abstract: This study, focusing on the importance of encouraging
outdoor activities for children, aims to propose and implement a
Web-GIS based outdoor education program for elementary schools,
which will then be evaluated by users. Specifically, for the purpose of
improved outdoor activities in the elementary school education, the
outdoor education program, with chiefly using the Web-GIS that
provides a good information provision and sharing tool, is proposed
and implemented before being evaluated by users. Conclusions of the
study boil down to:
(1) An eight-staged outdoor education program based on the Web-GIS
was proposed for a “second school" of an elementary school that
was then implemented before being evaluated by users (teachers,
instructors, students, and their parents).
(2) The program generally received a good evaluation, while a lot of
students and their parents evaluated negatively for the degree of
discovery and for the degree of interest, respectively, in the
questionnaire survey of students and their parents conducted after
the “second school". The surveys clearly show that an issue to be
solved, from the viewpoint of teachers in particular, is the
establishment of the GIS that will easily represent teaching materials
developed by teachers and of Web-GIS, and improved significance
of the use of GIS and Web-GIS for their widespread.
Abstract: Feature-based registration is an effective technique for clinical use, because it can greatly reduce computational costs. However, this technique, which estimates the transformation by using feature points extracted from two images, may cause misalignments. To handle with this limitation, we propose to extract the salient edges and extracted control points (CP) of medical images by using efficiency of multiresolution representation of data nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) that finds the best feature points. The MR images were first decomposed using the NSCT, and then Edge and CP were extracted from bandpass directional subband of NSCT coefficients and some proposed rules. After edge and CP extraction, mutual information was adopted for the registration of feature points and translation parameters are calculated by using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The experimental results showed that the proposed method produces totally accurate performance for registration medical CT-MR images.
Abstract: Addis Ababa is a seat of African Union (AU), United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and hundreds of
embassies and consular representatives. Addis Ababa is one of the
highest capitals in the world with an average 2400 meters above sea
level. It is dichotomous city with a blend of modern high-rise and
deteriorating slum quarters. Water supply and sanitation, waste
management and housing are continuing to be serious problems.
Forest wood based domestic energy use as well as uncontrolled
emissions from mobile and fixed sources has endangered the state of
the urban environment. Analysis based on satellite imagery has
revealed the deteriorating urban environment within the last three
decades. The recently restructured city administration has brought
improvements in the condition of the urban environment. However,
the overwhelming size of the challenges faced by the city dwarfed
their fairly good results.
Abstract: Image registration plays an important role in the
diagnosis of dental pathologies such as dental caries, alveolar bone
loss and periapical lesions etc. This paper presents a new wavelet
based algorithm for registering noisy and poor contrast dental x-rays.
Proposed algorithm has two stages. First stage is a preprocessing
stage, removes the noise from the x-ray images. Gaussian filter has
been used. Second stage is a geometric transformation stage.
Proposed work uses two levels of affine transformation. Wavelet
coefficients are correlated instead of gray values. Algorithm has been
applied on number of pre and post RCT (Root canal treatment)
periapical radiographs. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and
Correlation coefficients (CC) are used for quantitative evaluation.
Proposed technique outperforms conventional Multiresolution
strategy based image registration technique and manual registration
technique.
Abstract: This paper presents a possibilistic (fuzzy) model in optimal siting and sizing of Distributed Generation (DG) for loss reduction and improve voltage profile in power distribution system. Multi-objective problem is developed in two phases. In the first one, the set of non-dominated planning solutions is obtained (with respect to the objective functions of fuzzy economic cost, and exposure) using genetic algorithm. In the second phase, one solution of the set of non-dominated solutions is selected as optimal solution, using a suitable max-min approach. This method can be determined operation-mode (PV or PQ) of DG. Because of considering load uncertainty in this paper, it can be obtained realistic results. The whole process of this method has been implemented in the MATLAB7 environment with technical and economic consideration for loss reduction and voltage profile improvement. Through numerical example the validity of the proposed method is verified.
Abstract: ebXML (Electronic Business using eXtensible
Markup Language) is an e-business standard, sponsored by
UN/CEFACT and OASIS, which enables enterprises to exchange
business messages, conduct trading relationships, communicate
data in common terms and define and register business
processes. While there is tremendous e-business value in the
ebXML, security remains an unsolved problem and one of the
largest barriers to adoption. XML security technologies emerging
recently have extensibility and flexibility suitable for security
implementation such as encryption, digital signature, access
control and authentication.
In this paper, we propose ebXML business transaction models
that allow trading partners to securely exchange XML based
business transactions by employing XML security technologies.
We show how each XML security technology meets the ebXML
standard by constructing the test software and validating messages
between the trading partners.
Abstract: Taking the provincial capital, labor and energy as
inputs, regional GDP as output from 1995 to 2007, the paper
quantifies the vertical and lateral energy saving potential by
introducing the radial adjustment and slack adjustment of DEA. The
results show that by the vertical, the achievement of energy saving in
2007 is better than their respective historical performances. By
horizontal, in 2007 it can be found that Tianjin, Liaoning, Shanghai
and Yunnan do better in energy saving than other provinces. In
national wide, the higher of energy efficiency, the larger of per capita
GDP and the proportion of the tertiary industry in the national
economy, the more open to the outside, the lower the energy saving
potential demonstrates, while the energy endowment has negative
effect on energy saving potential.
Abstract: With the tremendous growth of World Wide Web
(WWW) data, there is an emerging need for effective information
retrieval at the document level. Several query languages such as
XML-QL, XPath, XQL, Quilt and XQuery are proposed in recent
years to provide faster way of querying XML data, but they still lack of
generality and efficiency. Our approach towards evolving a framework
for querying semistructured documents is based on formal query
algebra. Two elements are introduced in the proposed framework:
first, a generic and flexible data model for logical representation of
semistructured data and second, a set of operators for the manipulation
of objects defined in the data model. In additional to accommodating
several peculiarities of semistructured data, our model offers novel
features such as bidirectional paths for navigational querying and
partitions for data transformation that are not available in other
proposals.
Abstract: Transportation authorities need to provide the services
and facilities that are critical to every country-s well-being and
development. Management of the road network is becoming
increasingly challenging as demands increase and resources are
limited. Public sector institutions are integrating performance
information into budgeting, managing and reporting via
implementing performance measurement systems. In the face of
growing challenges, performance measurement of road networks is
attracting growing interest in many countries. The large scale of
public investments makes the maintenance and development of road
networks an area where such systems are an important assessment
tool. Transportation agencies have been using performance
measurement and modeling as part of pavement and bridge
management systems. Recently the focus has been on extending the
process to applications in road construction and maintenance
systems, operations and safety programs, and administrative
structures and procedures. To eliminate failure and dysfunctional
consequences the importance of obtaining objective data and
implementing evaluation instrument where necessary is presented in
this paper