First Aid Application on Mobile Device

An accident is an unexpected and unplanned situation that happens and affects human in a negative outcome. The accident can cause an injury to a human biological organism. Thus, the provision of initial care for an illness or injury is very important move to prepare the patients/victims before sending to the doctor. In this paper, a First Aid Application is developed to give some directions for preliminary taking care of patient/victim via Android mobile device. Also, the navigation function using Google Maps API is implemented in this paper for searching a suitable path to the nearest hospital. Therefore, in the emergency case, this function can be activated and navigate patients/victims to the hospital with the shortest path.

Traffic Noise under Stop and Go Conditions in Intersections – A Case Study

Whit the increasing of traffic, noise emanated from motor vehicles increases as well, which subsequently causes adding to the stress of modern city. Thus, it is needed to look for most critical areas in terms of environmental and social impact of noise. There are several critical situations for noise emanated from motor vehicles such as stop and go situation which usually occurs near junctions or at-grade intersections. This study was conducted in two locations, most common types of intersections, crossroads and Tjunctions. The highest average noise levels are recorded during Go phase for T-junction, 64.4 dB, and Drive phase for crossroad, 64 dB. It implies that the existence of intersection caused the noise level to increase. The vehicles starting to move produce more sound than when they travel at a constant speed along the intersection. It is suggested that special considerations and priority of allocating funds should be given to these critical spots.

Fast Wavelet Image Denoising Based on Local Variance and Edge Analysis

The approach based on the wavelet transform has been widely used for image denoising due to its multi-resolution nature, its ability to produce high levels of noise reduction and the low level of distortion introduced. However, by removing noise, high frequency components belonging to edges are also removed, which leads to blurring the signal features. This paper proposes a new method of image noise reduction based on local variance and edge analysis. The analysis is performed by dividing an image into 32 x 32 pixel blocks, and transforming the data into wavelet domain. Fast lifting wavelet spatial-frequency decomposition and reconstruction is developed with the advantages of being computationally efficient and boundary effects minimized. The adaptive thresholding by local variance estimation and edge strength measurement can effectively reduce image noise while preserve the features of the original image corresponding to the boundaries of the objects. Experimental results demonstrate that the method performs well for images contaminated by natural and artificial noise, and is suitable to be adapted for different class of images and type of noises. The proposed algorithm provides a potential solution with parallel computation for real time or embedded system application.

Unsupervised Outlier Detection in Streaming Data Using Weighted Clustering

Outlier detection in streaming data is very challenging because streaming data cannot be scanned multiple times and also new concepts may keep evolving. Irrelevant attributes can be termed as noisy attributes and such attributes further magnify the challenge of working with data streams. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised outlier detection scheme for streaming data. This scheme is based on clustering as clustering is an unsupervised data mining task and it does not require labeled data, both density based and partitioning clustering are combined for outlier detection. In this scheme partitioning clustering is also used to assign weights to attributes depending upon their respective relevance and weights are adaptive. Weighted attributes are helpful to reduce or remove the effect of noisy attributes. Keeping in view the challenges of streaming data, the proposed scheme is incremental and adaptive to concept evolution. Experimental results on synthetic and real world data sets show that our proposed approach outperforms other existing approach (CORM) in terms of outlier detection rate, false alarm rate, and increasing percentages of outliers.

Joint Adaptive Block Matching Search (JABMS) Algorithm

In this paper a new Joint Adaptive Block Matching Search (JABMS) algorithm is proposed to generate motion vector and search a best match macro block by classifying the motion vector movement based on prediction error. Diamond Search (DS) algorithm generates high estimation accuracy when motion vector is small and Adaptive Rood Pattern Search (ARPS) algorithm can handle large motion vector but is not very accurate. The proposed JABMS algorithm which is capable of considering both small and large motions gives improved estimation accuracy and the computational cost is reduced by 15.2 times compared with Exhaustive Search (ES) algorithm and is 1.3 times less compared with Diamond search algorithm.

A Sub Pixel Resolution Method

One of the main limitations for the resolution of optical instruments is the size of the sensor-s pixels. In this paper we introduce a new sub pixel resolution algorithm to enhance the resolution of images. This method is based on the analysis of multiimages which are fast recorded during the fine relative motion of image and pixel arrays of CCDs. It is shown that by applying this method for a sample noise free image one will enhance the resolution with 10-14 order of error.

Optimization of Control Parameters for MRR in Injection Flushing Type of EDM on Stainless Steel 304 Workpiece

The operating control parameters of injection flushing type of electrical discharge machining process on stainless steel 304 workpiece with copper tools are being optimized according to its individual machining characteristic i.e. material removal rate (MRR). Lower MRR during EDM machining process may decrease its- machining productivity. Hence, the quality characteristic for MRR is set to higher-the-better to achieve the optimum machining productivity. Taguchi method has been used for the construction, layout and analysis of the experiment for each of the machining characteristic for the MRR. The use of Taguchi method in the experiment saves a lot of time and cost of preparing and machining the experiment samples. Therefore, an L18 Orthogonal array which was the fundamental component in the statistical design of experiments has been used to plan the experiments and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to determine the optimum machining parameters for this machining characteristic. The control parameters selected for this optimization experiments are polarity, pulse on duration, discharge current, discharge voltage, machining depth, machining diameter and dielectric liquid pressure. The result had shown that the higher the discharge voltage, the higher will be the MRR.

Reduced Dynamic Time Warping for Handwriting Recognition Based on Multidimensional Time Series of a Novel Pen Device

The purpose of this paper is to present a Dynamic Time Warping technique which reduces significantly the data processing time and memory size of multi-dimensional time series sampled by the biometric smart pen device BiSP. The acquisition device is a novel ballpoint pen equipped with a diversity of sensors for monitoring the kinematics and dynamics of handwriting movement. The DTW algorithm has been applied for time series analysis of five different sensor channels providing pressure, acceleration and tilt data of the pen generated during handwriting on a paper pad. But the standard DTW has processing time and memory space problems which limit its practical use for online handwriting recognition. To face with this problem the DTW has been applied to the sum of the five sensor signals after an adequate down-sampling of the data. Preliminary results have shown that processing time and memory size could significantly be reduced without deterioration of performance in single character and word recognition. Further excellent accuracy in recognition was achieved which is mainly due to the reduced dynamic time warping RDTW technique and a novel pen device BiSP.

Two Scenarios for Ultra-Light Overhead Conveyor System in Logistics Applications

Overhead conveyor systems are in use in many installations around the world, meeting the widest range of applications possible. Overhead conveyor systems are particularly preferred in automotive industry but also at post offices. Overhead conveyor systems must always be integrated with a logistical process by finding the best way for a cheaper material flow in order to guarantee precise and fast workflows. With their help, any transport can take place without wasting ground and space, without excessive company capacity, lost or damaged products, erroneous delivery, endless travels and without wasting time. Ultra-light overhead conveyor systems are rope-based conveying systems with individually driven vehicles. The vehicles can move automatically on the rope and this can be realized by energy and signals. Crossings are realized by switches. Ultra-light overhead conveyor systems provide optimal material flow, which produces profit and saves time. This article introduces two new ultra-light overhead conveyor designs in logistics and explains their components. According to the explanation of the components, scenarios are created by means of their technical characteristics. The scenarios are visualized with the help of CAD software. After that, assumptions are made for application area. According to these assumptions scenarios are visualized. These scenarios help logistics companies achieve lower development costs as well as quicker market maturity.

Biosorption of Heavy Metals Contaminating the Wonderfonteinspruit Catchment Area using Desmodesmus sp.

A vast array of biological materials, especially algae have received increasing attention for heavy metal removal. Algae have been proven to be cheaper, more effective for the removal of metallic elements in aqueous solutions. A fresh water algal strain was isolated from Zoo Lake, Johannesburg, South Africa and identified as Desmodesmus sp. This paper investigates the efficacy of Desmodesmus sp.in removing heavy metals contaminating the Wonderfonteinspruit Catchment Area (WCA) water bodies. The biosorption data fitted the pseudo-second order and Langmuir isotherm models. The Langmuir maximum uptakes gave the sequence: Mn2+>Ni2+>Fe2+. The best results for kinetic study was obtained in concentration 120 ppm for Fe3+ and Mn2+, whilst for Ni2+ was at 20 ppm, which is about the same concentrations found in contaminated water in the WCA (Fe3+115 ppm, Mn2+ 121 ppm and Ni2+ 26.5 ppm).

Numerical Simulation of Convective Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow through Porous Media with Different Moving and Heated Walls

The present study is concerned with the free convective two dimensional flow and heat transfer, within the framework of Boussinesq approximation, in anisotropic fluid filled porous rectangular enclosure subjected to end-to-end temperature difference have been investigated using Lattice Boltzmann method fornon-Darcy flow model. Effects of the moving lid direction (top, bottom, left, and right wall moving in the negative and positive x&ydirections), number of moving walls (one or two opposite walls), the sliding wall velocity, and four different constant temperatures opposite walls cases (two surfaces are being insulated and the twoother surfaces areimposed to be at constant hot and cold temperature)have been conducted. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the Nusselt number, vectors, contours, and isotherms.

Matching Pursuit based Removal of Cardiac Pulse-Related Artifacts in EEG/fMRI

Cardiac pulse-related artifacts in the EEG recorded simultaneously with fMRI are complex and highly variable. Their effective removal is an unsolved problem. Our aim is to develop an adaptive removal algorithm based on the matching pursuit (MP) technique and to compare it to established methods using a visual evoked potential (VEP). We recorded the VEP inside the static magnetic field of an MR scanner (with artifacts) as well as in an electrically shielded room (artifact free). The MP-based artifact removal outperformed average artifact subtraction (AAS) and optimal basis set removal (OBS) in terms of restoring the EEG field map topography of the VEP. Subsequently, a dipole model was fitted to the VEP under each condition using a realistic boundary element head model. The source location of the VEP recorded inside the MR scanner was closest to that of the artifact free VEP after cleaning with the MP-based algorithm as well as with AAS. While none of the tested algorithms offered complete removal, MP showed promising results due to its ability to adapt to variations of latency, frequency and amplitude of individual artifact occurrences while still utilizing a common template.

Input Variable Selection for RBFN-based Electric Utility's CO2 Emissions Forecasting

This study investigates the performance of radial basis function networks (RBFN) in forecasting the monthly CO2 emissions of an electric power utility. We also propose a method for input variable selection. This method is based on identifying the general relationships between groups of input candidates and the output. The effect that each input has on the forecasting error is examined by removing all inputs except the variable to be investigated from its group, calculating the networks parameter and performing the forecast. Finally, the new forecasting error is compared with the reference model. Eight input variables were identified as the most relevant, which is significantly less than our reference model with 30 input variables. The simulation results demonstrate that the model with the 8 inputs selected using the method introduced in this study performs as accurate as the reference model, while also being the most parsimonious.

Increase of Peroxidase Activity of Haptoglobin (2-2)-Hemoglobin at Pathologic Temperature and Presence of Antibiotics

Free Hemoglobin promotes the accumulation of hydroxyl radicals by the heme iron, which can react with endogenous hydrogen peroxide to produce free radicals which may cause severe oxidative cell damage. Haptoglobin binds to Hemoglobin strongly and Haptoglobin-Hemoglobin binding is irreversible. Peroxidase activity of Haptoglobin(2-2)-Hemoglobin complex was assayed by following increase of absorption of produced tetraguaiacol as the second substrate of Haptoglobin-Hemoglobin complex at 470 nm and 42°C by UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results have shown that peroxidase activity of Haptoglobin(2-2)-Hemoglobin complex is modulated via homotropic effect of hydrogen peroxide as allostric substrate. On the other hand antioxidant property of Haptoglobin(2- 2)-Hemoglobin was increased via heterotropic effect of the two drugs (especially ampicillin) on peroxidase activity of the complex. Both drugs also have mild effect on quality of homotropic property of peroxidase activity of Haptoglobin(2-2)-Hemoglobin complex. Therefore, in vitro studies show that the two drugs may help Hp-Hb complex to remove hydrogen peroxide from serum at pathologic temperature ature (42 C).

Automated Stereophotogrammetry Data Cleansing

The stereophotogrammetry modality is gaining more widespread use in the clinical setting. Registration and visualization of this data, in conjunction with conventional 3D volumetric image modalities, provides virtual human data with textured soft tissue and internal anatomical and structural information. In this investigation computed tomography (CT) and stereophotogrammetry data is acquired from 4 anatomical phantoms and registered using the trimmed iterative closest point (TrICP) algorithm. This paper fully addresses the issue of imaging artifacts around the stereophotogrammetry surface edge using the registered CT data as a reference. Several iterative algorithms are implemented to automatically identify and remove stereophotogrammetry surface edge outliers, improving the overall visualization of the combined stereophotogrammetry and CT data. This paper shows that outliers at the surface edge of stereophotogrammetry data can be successfully removed automatically.

Motion Planning and Control of Autonomous Robots in a Two-dimensional Plane

This paper proposes a solution to the motion planning and control problem of a point-mass robot which is required to move safely to a designated target in a priori known workspace cluttered with fixed elliptical obstacles of arbitrary position and sizes. A tailored and unique algorithm for target convergence and obstacle avoidance is proposed that will work for any number of fixed obstacles. The control laws proposed in this paper also ensures that the equilibrium point of the given system is asymptotically stable. Computer simulations with the proposed technique and applications to a planar (RP) manipulator will be presented.

The Small Scale Effect on Nonlinear Vibration of Single Layer Graphene Sheets

In the present article, nonlinear vibration analysis of single layer graphene sheets is presented and the effect of small length scale is investigated. Using the Hamilton's principle, the three coupled nonlinear equations of motion are obtained based on the von Karman geometrical model and Eringen theory of nonlocal continuum. The solutions of Free nonlinear vibration, based on a one term mode shape, are found for both simply supported and clamped graphene sheets. A complete analysis of graphene sheets with movable as well as immovable in-plane conditions is also carried out. The results obtained herein are compared with those available in the literature for classical isotropic rectangular plates and excellent agreement is seen. Also, the nonlinear effects are presented as functions of geometric properties and small scale parameter.

Grocery Customer Behavior Analysis using RFID-based Shopping Paths Data

Knowing about the customer behavior in a grocery has been a long-standing issue in the retailing industry. The advent of RFID has made it easier to collect moving data for an individual shopper's behavior. Most of the previous studies used the traditional statistical clustering technique to find the major characteristics of customer behavior, especially shopping path. However, in using the clustering technique, due to various spatial constraints in the store, standard clustering methods are not feasible because moving data such as the shopping path should be adjusted in advance of the analysis, which is time-consuming and causes data distortion. To alleviate this problem, we propose a new approach to spatial pattern clustering based on the longest common subsequence. Experimental results using real data obtained from a grocery confirm the good performance of the proposed method in finding the hot spot, dead spot and major path patterns of customer movements.

Removal of Basic Blue 3 from Aqueous Solution by Adsorption Onto Durio Ziberthinus

Durian husk (DH), a fruit waste, was studied for its ability to remove Basic blue 3 (BB3) from aqueous solutions. Batch kinetic studies were carried out to study the sorption characteristics under various experimental conditions. The optimum pH for the dye removal occurred in the pH range of 3-10. Sorption was found to be concentration and agitation dependent. The kinetics of dye sorption fitted a pseudo-second order rate expression. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models appeared to provide reasonable fittings for the sorption data of BB3 on durian husk. Maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model is 49.50 mg g-1.