Texture Feature Extraction of Infrared River Ice Images using Second-Order Spatial Statistics

Ice cover County has a significant impact on rivers as it affects with the ice melting capacity which results in flooding, restrict navigation, modify the ecosystem and microclimate. River ices are made up of different ice types with varying ice thickness, so surveillance of river ice plays an important role. River ice types are captured using infrared imaging camera which captures the images even during the night times. In this paper the river ice infrared texture images are analysed using first-order statistical methods and secondorder statistical methods. The second order statistical methods considered are spatial gray level dependence method, gray level run length method and gray level difference method. The performance of the feature extraction methods are evaluated by using Probabilistic Neural Network classifier and it is found that the first-order statistical method and second-order statistical method yields low accuracy. So the features extracted from the first-order statistical method and second-order statistical method are combined and it is observed that the result of these combined features (First order statistical method + gray level run length method) provides higher accuracy when compared with the features from the first-order statistical method and second-order statistical method alone.

Simultaneous Term Structure Estimation of Hazard and Loss Given Default with a Statistical Model using Credit Rating and Financial Information

The objective of this study is to propose a statistical modeling method which enables simultaneous term structure estimation of the risk-free interest rate, hazard and loss given default, incorporating the characteristics of the bond issuing company such as credit rating and financial information. A reduced form model is used for this purpose. Statistical techniques such as spline estimation and Bayesian information criterion are employed for parameter estimation and model selection. An empirical analysis is conducted using the information on the Japanese bond market data. Results of the empirical analysis confirm the usefulness of the proposed method.

Implementation of a Reed-Solomon Code as an ECC in Yet Another Flash File System

Flash memory has become an important storage device in many embedded systems because of its high performance, low power consumption and shock resistance. Multi-level cell (MLC) is developed as an effective solution for reducing the cost and increasing the storage density in recent years. However, most of flash file system cannot handle the error correction sufficiently. To correct more errors for MLC, we implement Reed-Solomon (RS) code to YAFFS, what is widely used for flash-based file system. RS code has longer computing time but the correcting ability is much higher than that of Hamming code.

Aerodynamic Stall Control of a Generic Airfoil using Synthetic Jet Actuator

The aerodynamic stall control of a baseline 13-percent thick NASA GA(W)-2 airfoil using a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) is presented in this paper. Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved on a hybrid grid using a commercial software to simulate the effects of a synthetic jet actuator located at 13% of the chord from the leading edge at a Reynolds number Re = 2.1x106 and incidence angles from 16 to 22 degrees. The experimental data for the pressure distribution at Re = 3x106 and aerodynamic coefficients at Re = 2.1x106 (angle of attack varied from -16 to 22 degrees) without SJA is compared with the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation as a baseline validation. A good agreement of the CFD simulations is obtained for aerodynamic coefficients and pressure distribution. A working SJA has been integrated with the baseline airfoil and initial focus is on the aerodynamic stall control at angles of attack from 16 to 22 degrees. The results show a noticeable improvement in the aerodynamic performance with increase in lift and decrease in drag at these post stall regimes.

Somatic Embryogenesis for Agropyron cristatum on Murashige and Skoog Medium

Agropyron cristatum L. Gaertn. is a native grass of semiarid region in Iran which is quit resistant to cool and drought climate and withstand heavy grazing. This species has close phylogenetic relationship with Triticum and Hordeum. In this research, the effect of seven different concentrations of growth regulator 2,4-D on callus production and somatic embryogenesis of A. cristatum was investigated on Murashige and Skoog medium. The results showed that the rate of callus, embryo and neomorph were highest in 1 mg L-1 2,4-D. Callus production was increased in 1 mg L-1 2,4-D but dramatically decreased at 5.5 and 9 mg L-1 2,4-D. The somatic embryos were observed at 1 and 4 mg L-1 2,4-D but matured embryos and plantlet were only occurred at 1 mg L-1 2,4-D. There were significant differences between 1 mg L-1 2,4-D and other treatments for producing globular and torpedo embryos, plantlet, rooted callus and number of roots (p

The Influence of Pad Thermal Diffusivity over Heat Transfer into the PCBs Structure

The Pads have unique values of thermophysical properties (THP) having important contribution over heat transfer into the PCB structure. Materials with high thermal diffusivity (TD) rapidly adjust their temperature to that of their surroundings, because the HT is quick in compare to their volumetric heat capacity (VHC). In the paper is presenting the diffusivity tests (ASTM E1461 flash method) for PCBs with different core materials. In the experiments, the multilayer structure of PCBA was taken into consideration, an equivalent property referring to each of experimental structure be practically measured. Concerning to entire structure, the THP emphasize the major contribution of substrate in establishing of reflow soldering process (RSP) heat transfer necessities. This conclusion offer practical solution for heat transfer time constant calculation as function of thickness and substrate material diffusivity with an acceptable error estimation.

Effect of Clustering on Energy Efficiency and Network Lifetime in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Network is Multi hop Self-configuring Wireless Network consisting of sensor nodes. The deployment of wireless sensor networks in many application areas, e.g., aggregation services, requires self-organization of the network nodes into clusters. Efficient way to enhance the lifetime of the system is to partition the network into distinct clusters with a high energy node as cluster head. The different methods of node clustering techniques have appeared in the literature, and roughly fall into two families; those based on the construction of a dominating set and those which are based solely on energy considerations. Energy optimized cluster formation for a set of randomly scattered wireless sensors is presented. Sensors within a cluster are expected to be communicating with cluster head only. The energy constraint and limited computing resources of the sensor nodes present the major challenges in gathering the data. In this paper we propose a framework to study how partially correlated data affect the performance of clustering algorithms. The total energy consumption and network lifetime can be analyzed by combining random geometry techniques and rate distortion theory. We also present the relation between compression distortion and data correlation.

Inventory and Characterization of Selected Deep Sea Fish Species as an Alternative Food Source from Southern Java Ocean and Western Sumatra Ocean, Indonesia

Sixteen selected deep-sea fish obtained from Southern Java Ocean and Western Sumatra Ocean was analyzed to determine its proximate, fatty acid and mineral composition. The moisture content was ranged from 64.38 to 86.04 %, ash from 0.17 to 0.69 %, the fat content was 1.54 – 13.30 % while the protein content varied from 15.84 to 23.60%. Among the fatty acids, oleic acid and palmitic acid was the dominant MUFA and SFA. Linoleic acid was the highest PUFA found at the selected deep-sea fish. Phospor was the highest macroelement concentration on selected deep-sea fish, followed by K, Ca, Mg and Iod, Fe and Zn among microelement. The trace concentration was found at Se microelement.

Sterilisation of in vitro Culture Medium of Chrysanthemum by Plant Essential Oils without Autoclaving

The alternative technique for sterilization of culture medium to replace autoclaving was carried out. For sterilization of culture medium without autoclaving, some commercial pure essential oils, bergamot oil, betel oil, cinnamon oil, lavender oil and turmeric oil, were tested alone or in combinations with some disinfectants, 10% povidone-iodine and 2% iodine + 2.4% potassium iodide. Each essential oil or combination was added to 25-mL Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium before medium was solidified in a 120-mL container, kept for 2 weeks before evaluating sterile conditions. Treated media, supplemented with essential oils, were compared to control medium, autoclaved at 121 degree Celsius for 15 min. In vitro sterile conditions were found 20 – 100% from these treated media compared to 100% sterile condition from autoclaved medium. Treated media obtained 100% sterile conditions were chosen for culturing chrysanthemum shoots. It was found that 10% povidoneiodine in combination with cinnamon oil (3:1) and 2% iodine + 2.4% potassium iodide in combination with lavender oil (1:3) at the concentration of 36 3L/25 mL medium provided the promising growth of shoot explants.

Genetic Variants and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the condition in which an artery wall thickens as the result of a build-up of fatty materials such as cholesterol. It is a syndrome affecting arterial blood vessels, a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low density (especially small particle) lipoproteins (plasma proteins that carry cholesterol and triglycerides) without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol from the macrophages by functional high density lipoproteins (HDL). It is commonly referred to as a hardening or furring of the arteries. It is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries.

Application of H2 -based Sliding Mode Control for an Active Magnetic Bearing System

In this paper, application of Sliding Mode Control (SMC) technique for an Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) system with varying rotor speed is considered. The gyroscopic effect and mass imbalance inherited in the system is proportional to rotor speed in which this nonlinearity effect causes high system instability as the rotor speed increases. Transformation of the AMB dynamic model into regular system shows that these gyroscopic effect and imbalance lie in the mismatched part of the system. A H2-based sliding surface is designed which bound the mismatched parts. The solution of the surface parameter is obtained using Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI). The performance of the controller applied to the AMB model is demonstrated through simulation works under various system conditions.

Study on Rupture of Tube Type Crash Energy Absorber using Finite Element Method

The aim of this paper is to confirm the effect of key design parameters, the punch radius and punch angle, on rupture of the expansion tube using a finite element analysis with a ductile damage model. The results of the finite element analysis indicated that the expansion ratio of the tube was mainly affected by the radius of the punch. However, the rupture was more affected by the punch angle than the radius of the punch. The existence of a specific punch angle, at which rupture did not occur, even if the radius of the punch was increased, was found.

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch as a New Organic Filler for Electrical Tree Inhibition

The use of synthetic retardants in polymeric insulated cables is not uncommon in the high voltage engineering to study electrical treeing phenomenon. However few studies on organic materials for the same investigation have been carried. .This paper describes the study on the effects of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) microfiller on the tree initiation and propagation in silicone rubber with different weight percentages (wt %) of filler to insulation bulk material. The weight percentages used were 0 wt % and 1 wt % respectively. It was found that the OPEFB retards the propagation of the electrical treeing development. For tree inception study, the addition of 1(wt %) OPEFB has increase the tree inception voltage of silicone rubber. So, OPEFB is a potential retardant to the initiation and growth of electrical treeing occurring in polymeric materials for high voltage application. However more studies on the effects of physical and electrical properties of OPEFB as a tree retardant material are required.

Adaptive Multi-Camera Shooting System Based on Dynamic Workflow in a Compact Studio

We developed a multi-camera control system that a (one) cameraman can operate several cameras at a compact studio. we analyzed a workflow of a cameraman of some program shootings with two cameras and clarified their heavy tasks. The system based on a dynamic workflow which adapts a program progressing and recommends of cameraman. we perform the automation of multicamera controls by modeling of studio environment and perform automatic camera adjustment for suitable angle of view with face detection. Our experiment at a real program shooting showed that one cameraman can carry out the task of shooting sufficiently.

Mathematical Modeling of Gas Turbine Blade Cooling

In contrast to existing methods which do not take into account multiconnectivity in a broad sense of this term, we develop mathematical models and highly effective combination (BIEM and FDM) numerical methods of calculation of stationary and quasistationary temperature field of a profile part of a blade with convective cooling (from the point of view of realization on PC). The theoretical substantiation of these methods is proved by appropriate theorems. For it, converging quadrature processes have been developed and the estimations of errors in the terms of A.Ziqmound continuity modules have been received. For visualization of profiles are used: the method of the least squares with automatic conjecture, device spline, smooth replenishment and neural nets. Boundary conditions of heat exchange are determined from the solution of the corresponding integral equations and empirical relationships. The reliability of designed methods is proved by calculation and experimental investigations heat and hydraulic characteristics of the gas turbine first stage nozzle blade.

A New Approach for Classifying Large Number of Mixed Variables

The issue of classifying objects into one of predefined groups when the measured variables are mixed with different types of variables has been part of interest among statisticians in many years. Some methods for dealing with such situation have been introduced that include parametric, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches. This paper attempts to discuss on a problem in classifying a data when the number of measured mixed variables is larger than the size of the sample. A propose idea that integrates a dimensionality reduction technique via principal component analysis and a discriminant function based on the location model is discussed. The study aims in offering practitioners another potential tool in a classification problem that is possible to be considered when the observed variables are mixed and too large.

New Proxy Signatures Preserving Privacy and as Secure as ElGamal Signatures

Digital signature is a useful primitive to attain the integrity and authenticity in various wire or wireless communications. Proxy signature is one type of the digital signatures. It helps the proxy signer to sign messages on behalf of the original signer. It is very useful when the original signer (e.g. the president of a company) is not available to sign a specific document. If the original signer can not forge valid proxy signatures through impersonating the proxy signer, it will be robust in a virtual environment; thus the original signer can not shift any illegal action initiated by herself to the proxy signer. In this paper, we propose a new proxy signature scheme. The new scheme can prevent the original signer from impersonating the proxy signer to sign messages. The proposed scheme is based on the regular ElGamal signature. In addition, the fair privacy of the proxy signer is maintained. That means, the privacy of the proxy signer is preserved; and the privacy can be revealed when it is necessary.

Forensic Implications of Blowfly Chrysomya rufifacies (Calliphoridae: Diptera) Development Rates Affected by Ketum Extract

This study was conducted to examine the effects of ketum extract on development of Chrysomya rufifacies and to analyze the presence of mitragynine in the larvae samples. 110 newly emerged first instar larvae of C. rufifacies were introduced on ketum extract-mixed cow liver at doses of 0, 20, 40 and 60g. Blowfly development rate was determined with 12 hour intervals and mitragynine in larvae was extracted and quantitated. C. rufifacies in control group took about 192 hours to complete their development from first instar larvae to adult blowfly; meanwhile blowfly form from the highest dose of ketum was 264 hours. Mitragynine was detected in all groups of treatment, except for control. In conclusion, the presence of mitragynine in C. rufifacies is affected in delaying development rates of the blowfly for up to 62 hours or 3 days. Chemical analysis of mitragynine from larvae samples showed that this alkaloid present in all specimens analyzed. 

Nutritional Evaluation of Sorghum Flour (Sorghumbicolor L. Moench) During Processing of Injera

The present study was carried out to evaluate the nutritional value of sorghum flour during processing of injera (unleavened thick bread). The proximate composition of sorghum flour before and after fermentation and that of injera was determined. Compared to the raw flour and fermented one, injera had low protein (11.55%), ash (1.57%) and fat (2.40%) contents but high in fiber content. Moreover, injera was found to have significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher energy (389.08 Kcal/100g) compared to raw and fermented sorghum flour. Injera contained lower levels of anti-nutritional factors (polyphenols, phytate and tannins) compared to raw and fermented sorghum. Also it was found to be rich in Ca (4.75mg/100g), Fe (3.95 mg/100g), and Cu (0.7 mg/100g) compared to that of raw and fermented flour. Moreover, both the extractable minerals and protein digestibility were high for injera due to low amount of anti-nutrients. Injera was found to contain an appreciable amount of amino acids except arginine and tyrosine.

Influence of Type of Burner on NOx Emission Characteristics from Combustion of Palm Methyl Ester

Palm methyl ester (PME) is one of the alternative biomass fuels to liquid fossil fuels. To investigate the combustion characteristics of PME as an alternative fuel for gas turbines, combustion experiments using two types of burners under atmospheric pressure were performed. One of the burners has a configuration making strong non-premixed flame, whereas the other has a configuration promoting prevaporization of fuel droplets. The results show that the NOx emissions can be reduced by employing the latter burner without accumulation of soot when PME is used as a fuel. A burner configuration promoting prevaporzation of fuel droplets is recommended for PME.