Abstract: This paper presents the development of a software
application for Off-line robot task programming and simulation. Such
application is designed to assist in robot task planning and to direct
manipulator motion on sensor based programmed motion. The
concept of the designed programming application is to use the power
of the knowledge base for task accumulation. In support of the
programming means, an interactive graphical simulation for
manipulator kinematics was also developed and integrated into the
application as the complimentary factor to the robot programming
media. The simulation provides the designer with useful,
inexpensive, off-line tools for retain and testing robotics work cells
and automated assembly lines for various industrial applications.
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: This paper presents an efficient emission constrained
hydrothermal scheduling algorithm that deals with nonlinear
functions such as the water discharge characteristics, thermal cost,
and transmission loss. It is then incorporated into the hydrothermal
coordination program. The program has been tested on a practical
utility system having 32 thermal and 12 hydro generating units. Test
results show that a slight increase in production cost causes a
substantial reduction in emission.
Abstract: Performance of a dual maximal ratio combining
receiver has been analyzed for M-ary coherent and non-coherent
modulations over correlated Nakagami-m fading channels with nonidentical
and arbitrary fading parameter. The classical probability
density function (PDF) based approach is used for analysis.
Expressions for outage probability and average symbol error
performance for M-ary coherent and non-coherent modulations have
been obtained. The obtained results are verified against the special
case published results and found to be matching. The effect of the
unequal fading parameters, branch correlation and unequal input
average SNR on the receiver performance has been studied.
Abstract: Recent widespread use of information and
communication technology has greatly changed information security
risks that businesses and institutions encounter. Along with this
situation, in order to ensure security and have confidence in electronic
trading, it has become important for organizations to take competent
information security measures to provide international confidence that
sensitive information is secure. Against this backdrop, the approach to
information security checking has come to an important issue, which
is believed to be common to all countries. The purpose of this paper is
to introduce the new system of information security checking program
in Korea and to propose synthetic information security
countermeasures under domestic circumstances in order to protect
physical equipment, security management and technology, and the
operation of security check for securing services on ISP(Internet
Service Provider), IDC(Internet Data Center), and
e-commerce(shopping malls, etc.)
Abstract: Model mapping and transformation are important processes in high level system abstractions, and form the cornerstone of model-driven architecture (MDA) techniques. Considerable research in this field has devoted attention to static system abstraction, despite the fact that most systems are dynamic with high frequency changes in behavior. In this paper we provide an overview of work that has been done with regard to behavior model mapping and transformation, based on: (1) the completeness of the platform independent model (PIM); (2) semantics of behavioral models; (3) languages supporting behavior model transformation processes; and (4) an evaluation of model composition to effect the best approach to describing large systems with high complexity.
Abstract: Particulate matter (PM) in ambient air is responsible
for adverse health effects in adults and children. Relatively little is
known about the concentrations, sources and health effects of PM in
indoor air. A monitoring study was conducted in Ankara by three
campaigns in order to measure PM levels in indoor and outdoor
environments to identify and quantify associations between sources
and concentrations. Approximately 82 homes (1st campaign for 42,
2nd campaign for 12, and 3rd campaign for 28), three rooms (living
room, baby-s room and living room used as a baby-s room) and
outdoor ambient at each home were sampled with Grimm
Environmental Dust Monitoring (EDM) 107, during different
seasonal periods of 2011 and 2012. In this study, the relationship
between indoor and outdoor PM levels for particulate matter less than
10 micrometer (.m) (PM10), particulate matter less than 2.5.m
(PM2.5) and particulate matter less than 1.0.m (PM1) were
investigated. The mean concentration of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1.0 at
living room used as baby-s room is higher than living and baby-s
room (or bedroom) for three sampling campaigns. It is concluded that
the household activities and environmental conditions are very
important for PM concentrations in the indoor environments during
the sampling periods. The amount of smokers, being near a main
street and/or construction activities increased the PM concentration.
This study is based on the assessment the relationship between indoor
and outdoor PM levels and the household activities and
environmental conditions
Abstract: In construction of any structure, the aesthetic and utility values should be considered in such a way as to make the structure cost-effective. Most structures are composed of elements and joints which are very critical in any skeletal space structure because they majorly determine the performance of the structure. In early times, most space structures were constructed using rigid joints which had the advantage of better performing structures as compared to pin-jointed structures but with the disadvantage of requiring all the construction work to be done on site. The discovery of semi-rigid joints now enables connections to be prefabricated and quickly assembled on site while maintaining good performance. In this paper, cost-effective is discussed basing on strength of connectors at the joints, buckling of joints and overall structure, and the effect of initial geometrical imperfections. Several existing joints are reviewed by classifying them into categories and discussing where they are most suited and how they perform structurally. Also, finite element modeling using ABAQUS is done to determine the buckling behavior. It is observed that some joints are more economical than others. The rise to span ratio and imperfections are also found to affect the buckling of the structures. Based on these, general principles that guide the design of cost-effective joints and structures are discussed.
Abstract: Pattern recognition is the research area of Artificial
Intelligence that studies the operation and design of systems that
recognize patterns in the data. Important application areas are image
analysis, character recognition, fingerprint classification, speech
analysis, DNA sequence identification, man and machine
diagnostics, person identification and industrial inspection. The
interest in improving the classification systems of data analysis is
independent from the context of applications. In fact, in many
studies it is often the case to have to recognize and to distinguish
groups of various objects, which requires the need for valid
instruments capable to perform this task. The objective of this article
is to show several methodologies of Artificial Intelligence for data
classification applied to biomedical patterns. In particular, this work
deals with the realization of a Computer-Aided Detection system
(CADe) that is able to assist the radiologist in identifying types of
mammary tumor lesions. As an additional biomedical application of
the classification systems, we present a study conducted on blood
samples which shows how these methods may help to distinguish
between carriers of Thalassemia (or Mediterranean Anaemia) and
healthy subjects.
Abstract: Most of ignition delay correlations studies have been
developed in a constant volume bombs which cannot capture the
dynamic variation in pressure and temperature during the ignition
delay as in real engines. Watson, Assanis et. al. and Hardenberg
and Hase correlations have been developed based on experimental
data of diesel engines. However, they showed limited predictive
ability of ignition delay when compared to experimental results. The
objective of the study was to investigate the dependency of ignition
delay time on engine brake power. An experimental investigation of
the effect of automotive diesel and water diesel emulsion fuels on
ignition delay under steady state conditions of a direct injection diesel
engine was conducted. A four cylinder, direct injection naturally
aspirated diesel engine was used in this experiment over a wide range
of engine speeds and two engine loads. The ignition delay
experimental data were compared with predictions of Assanis et. al.
and Watson ignition delay correlations. The results of the
experimental investigation were then used to develop a new ignition
delay correlation. The newly developed ignition delay correlation has
shown a better agreement with the experimental data than Assanis et.
al. and Watson when using automotive diesel and water diesel
emulsion fuels especially at low to medium engine speeds at both
loads. In addition, the second derivative of cylinder pressure which is
the most widely used method in determining the start of combustion
was investigated.
Abstract: Due to memory leaks, often-valuable system memory
gets wasted and denied for other processes thereby affecting the
computational performance. If an application-s memory usage
exceeds virtual memory size, it can leads to system crash. Current
memory leak detection techniques for clusters are reactive and
display the memory leak information after the execution of the
process (they detect memory leak only after it occur).
This paper presents a Dynamic Memory Monitoring Agent
(DMMA) technique. DMMA framework is a dynamic memory leak
detection, that detects the memory leak while application is in
execution phase, when memory leak in any process in the cluster is
identified by DMMA it gives information to the end users to enable
them to take corrective actions and also DMMA submit the affected
process to healthy node in the system. Thus provides reliable service
to the user. DMMA maintains information about memory
consumption of executing processes and based on this information
and critical states, DMMA can improve reliability and
efficaciousness of cluster computing.
Abstract: The Taiwan Health Literacy Scale (THLS) was developed to cope with the need of measuring heath literacy of Chinese-speaking adults in Taiwan. Although the scale was proven having good reliability and validity, it was not popularly adopted by the practitioners due to the length, and the time required completing. Based on the THLS, this research further invited healthcare professionals to review the original scale for a possible shorten work. Under the logic of THLS, the research adopted an analytic hierarchy process technique to consolidate the healthcare experts- assessments to shorten the original scale. There are fifteen items out of the original 66 items were identified having higher loadings. Confirmed by the experts and passed a pilot test with 40 undergraduate students, a short form of THLS is then introduced. This research then used 839 samples from the major cities of the Hua-lien county in the eastern part of Taiwan to test the reliability and validity of this new scale. The reliability of the scale is high and acceptable. The current scale is also highly correlated with the original, of which provide evidence for the validity of the scale.
Abstract: Powerline Communications –PLC– as an alternative
method for broadband networking, has the advantage of transmitting
over channels already used for electrical distribution or even
transmission. But these channels have been not designed with usual
wired channels requirements for broadband applications such as
stable impedance or known attenuation, and the network have to
reject noises caused by electrical appliances that share the same
channel. Noise control standards are difficult to complain or simply
do not exist on Latin-American environments. This paper analyzes
PLC throughput for home connectivity by probing noisy channel
scenarios in a PLC network and the statistical results are shown.
Abstract: This paper describes the application of a model predictive controller to the problem of batch reactor temperature control. Although a great deal of work has been done to improve reactor throughput using batch sequence control, the control of the actual reactor temperature remains a difficult problem for many operators of these processes. Temperature control is important as many chemical reactions are sensitive to temperature for formation of desired products. This controller consist of two part (1) a nonlinear control method GLC (Global Linearizing Control) to create a linear model of system and (2) a Model predictive controller used to obtain optimal input control sequence. The temperature of reactor is tuned to track a predetermined temperature trajectory that applied to the batch reactor. To do so two input signals, electrical powers and the flow of coolant in the coil are used. Simulation results show that the proposed controller has a remarkable performance for tracking reference trajectory while at the same time it is robust against noise imposed to system output.
Abstract: This paper presents design and characterization of a
microaccelerometer designated for integration into cataract surgical
probe to detect hardness of different eye tissues during cataract
surgery. Soft posterior lens capsule of eye can be easily damaged in
comparison with hard opaque lens since the surgeon can not see
directly behind cutting needle during the surgery. Presence of
microsensor helps the surgeon to avoid rupturing posterior lens
capsule which if occurs leads to severe complications such as
glaucoma, infection, or even blindness. The microsensor having
overall dimensions of 480 μm x 395 μm is able to deliver significant
capacitance variations during encountered vibration situations which
makes it capable to distinguish between different types of tissue.
Integration of electronic components on chip ensures high level of
reliability and noise immunity while minimizes space and power
requirements. Physical characteristics and results on performance
testing, proves integration of microsensor as an effective tool to aid
the surgeon during this procedure.
Abstract: The number of people using SNS with their mobile devices is soaring. This research focuses on the Twitter service that has the most third-party applications and delved into the fact that there were not sufficient studies on the UX design aspects of Twitter applications. Among social network services which have emerged as a major social topic lately, this research try to analyze the UX design of the Twitter application which is also called micro-blogging service. Therefore this research sets its goal to draw components of the UX design aspect of the Tweeter application on which there are not enough analysis yet. Moreover, this research suggests improvement of mobile application which will assure better users- experience. In order to analyze the UX design aspect of the mobile twitter application, with relevant document and user research, evaluating factors of the UX Design which would affect users- experience were organized. The subjects for cases were selected among six paid and free social networking applications that had been consistently ranked from 1st to 100th in the Korean application store during May, 2012 after closely monitoring the rank. From May 15th to May 11th in 2012, in accordance with the evaluating standard, surveys were conducted in a form of interviews with 20 subjects who have used the Twitter application to find out problems and solutions for the UX design of the mobile Twitter application.
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 purpose of the study was to determine the amount of Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) extracted from a packed bed of palm kernels in a supercritical fluid extractor using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) as an environmental friendly solvent. Further, the study sought to ascertain the values of the overall mass transfer coefficient (K) of PKO evaluation through a mass transfer model, at constant temperature of 50 °C, 60 °C, and 70 °C and pressures range from 27.6 MPa, 34.5 MPa, 41.4 MPa and 48.3 MPa respectively. Finally, the study also seeks to demonstrate the application of the overall mass transfer coefficient values in relation to temperature and pressure. The overall mass transfer coefficient was found to be dependent pressure at each constant temperature of 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C. The overall mass transfer coefficient for PKO in a packed bed of palm kernels was found to be in the range of 1.21X 10-4 m min-1 to 1.72 X 10-4 m min-1 for a constant temperature of 50 °C and in the range of 2.02 X 10-4 m min-1 to 2.43 X 10-4 m min-1 for a constant temperature of 60 °C. Similar increasing trend of the overall mass transfer coefficient from 1.77 X 10-4 m min-1 to 3.64 X 10-4 m min-1 was also observed at constant temperature of 70 °C within the same pressure range from 27.6 MPa to 48.3 MPa.
Abstract: The proposed Multimedia Pronunciation Learning
Management System (MPLMS) in this study is a technology with
profound potential for inducing improvement in pronunciation
learning. The MPLMS optimizes the digitised phonetic symbols with
the integration of text, sound and mouth movement video. The
components are designed and developed in an online management
system which turns the web to a dynamic user-centric collection of
consistent and timely information for quality sustainable learning.
The aim of this study is to design and develop the MPLMS which
serves as an innovative tool to improve English pronunciation. This
paper discusses the iterative methodology and the three-phase Alessi
and Trollip model in the development of MPLMS. To align with the
flexibility of the development of educational software, the iterative
approach comprises plan, design, develop, evaluate and implement is
followed. To ensure the instructional appropriateness of MPLMS, the
instructional system design (ISD) model of Alessi and Trollip serves
as a platform to guide the important instructional factors and process.
It is expected that the results of future empirical research will support
the efficacy of MPLMS and its place as the premier pronunciation
learning system.
Abstract: This paper examines the forced convection flow of
incompressible, electrically conducting viscous fluid past a sharp
wedge in the presence of heat generation or absorption with an
applied magnetic field. The system of partial differential equations
governing Falkner - Skan wedge flow and heat transfer is first
transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using
similarity transformations which is later solved using an implicit
finite - difference scheme, along with quasilinearization technique.
Numerical computations are performed for air (Pr = 0.7) and
displayed graphically to illustrate the influence of pertinent physical
parameters on local skin friction and heat transfer coefficients and,
also on, velocity and temperature fields. It is observed that the
magnetic field increases both the coefficients of skin friction and heat
transfer. The effect of heat generation or absorption is found to be
very significant on heat transfer, but its effect on the skin friction is
negligible. Indeed, the occurrence of overshoot is noticed in the
temperature profiles during heat generation process, causing the
reversal in the direction of heat transfer.