Abstract: Twenty - nine Holstein cows were used to evaluate the effects of different dry period (DP) lengths on milk yield and composition, some blood metabolites, and complete blood count (CBC). Cows were assigned to one of 2 treatments: 1) 60-d dry period, 2) 35-d DP. Milk yield, from calving to 60 days, was not different for cows on the treatments (p =0.130). Cows in the 35-d DP produced more milk protein and SNF compare with cows in treatment 1 (p ≤ 0.05). Serum glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), beta hydroxyl butyrate acid (BHBA), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urea, and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) were all similar among the treatments. Body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), complete blood count (CBC) and health problems were similar between the treatments. The results of this study demonstrated we can reduce the dry period length to 35 days with no problems.
Abstract: Brain Computer Interface (BCI) has been recently
increased in research. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscope (fNIRs)
is one the latest technologies which utilize light in the near-infrared
range to determine brain activities. Because near infrared technology
allows design of safe, portable, wearable, non-invasive and wireless
qualities monitoring systems, fNIRs monitoring of brain
hemodynamics can be value in helping to understand brain tasks. In
this paper, we present results of fNIRs signal analysis indicating that
there exist distinct patterns of hemodynamic responses which
recognize brain tasks toward developing a BCI. We applied two
different mathematics tools separately, Wavelets analysis for
preprocessing as signal filters and feature extractions and Neural
networks for cognition brain tasks as a classification module. We
also discuss and compare with other methods while our proposals
perform better with an average accuracy of 99.9% for classification.
Abstract: This paper represents an investigation on how exploiting multiple transmit antennas by OFDM based wireless LAN subscribers can mitigate physical layer error rate. Then by comparing the Wireless LANs that utilize spatial diversity techniques with the conventional ones it will reveal how PHY and TCP throughputs behaviors are ameliorated. In the next step it will assess the same issues based on a cellular context operation which is mainly introduced as an innovated solution that beside a multi cell operation scenario benefits spatio-temporal signaling schemes as well. Presented simulations will shed light on the improved performance of the wide range and high quality wireless LAN services provided by the proposed approach.
Abstract: A fully implicit finite-difference method has been proposed for the numerical solutions of one dimensional coupled nonlinear Burgers’ equations on the uniform mesh points. The method forms a system of nonlinear difference equations which is to be solved at each iteration. Newton’s iterative method has been implemented to solve this nonlinear assembled system of equations. The linear system has been solved by Gauss elimination method with partial pivoting algorithm at each iteration of Newton’s method. Three test examples have been carried out to illustrate the accuracy of the method. Computed solutions obtained by proposed scheme have been compared with analytical solutions and those already available in the literature by finding L2 and L∞ errors.
Abstract: This paper examines the use of mechanical aerator for
oxidation-ditch process. The rotor, which controls the aeration, is the
main component of the aeration process. Therefore, the objective of
this study is to find out the variations in overall oxygen transfer
coefficient (KLa) and aeration efficiency (AE) for different
configurations of aerator by varying the parameters viz. speed of
aerator, depth of immersion, blade tip angles so as to yield higher
values of KLa and AE. Six different configurations of aerator were
developed and fabricated in the laboratory and were tested for abovementioned
parameters. The curved blade rotor (CBR) emerged as a
potential aerator with blade tip angle of 47°.
The mathematical models are developed for predicting the
behaviour of CBR w.r.t kLa and power. In laboratory studies, the
optimum value of KLa and AE were observed to be 10.33 h-1 and
2.269 kg O2/ kWh.
Abstract: Building life cycle will never be excused from the existence of defects and deterioration. They are common problems in building, existed in newly build or in aged building. Buildings constructed from wood are indeed affected by its agent and serious defects and damages can reduce values to a building. In repair works, it is important to identify the causes and repair techniques that best suites with the condition. This paper reviews the conservation of traditional timber mosque in Malaysia comprises the concept, principles and approaches of mosque conservation in general. As in conservation practice, wood in historic building can be conserved by using various restoration and conservation techniques which this can be grouped as Fully and Partial Replacement, Mechanical Reinforcement, Consolidation by Impregnation and Reinforcement, Removing Paint and also Preservation of Wood and Control Insect Invasion, as to prolong and extended the function of a timber in a building. It resulted that the common techniques adopted in timber mosque conservation are from the conventional ways and the understanding of the repair technique requires the use of only preserve wood to prevent the future immature defects.
Abstract: Building maintenance plays an important role among other activities in building operation. Building defect and damages are part of the building maintenance 'bread and butter' as their input indicated in the building inspection is very much justified, particularly as to determine the building performance. There will be no escape route or short cut from building maintenance work. This study attempts to identify a competitive performance that translates the Critical Success Factor achievements and satisfactorily meet the university-s expectation. The quality and efficiency of maintenance management operation of building depends, to some extent, on the building condition information, the expectation from the university sector and the works carried out for each maintenance activity. This paper reviews the critical success factor in building maintenance management practice for university sectors from four (4) perspectives which include (1) customer (2) internal processes (3) financial and (4) learning and growth perspective. The enhancement of these perspectives is capable to reach the maintenance management goal for a better living environment in university campus.
Abstract: Traditional wind tunnel models are meticulously machined from metal in a process that can take several months. While very precise, the manufacturing process is too slow to assess a new design's feasibility quickly. Rapid prototyping technology makes this concurrent study of air vehicle concepts via computer simulation and in the wind tunnel possible. This paper described the Affects layer thickness models product with rapid prototyping on Aerodynamic Coefficients for Constructed wind tunnel testing models. Three models were evaluated. The first model was a 0.05mm layer thickness and Horizontal plane 0.1μm (Ra) second model was a 0.125mm layer thickness and Horizontal plane 0.22μm (Ra) third model was a 0.15mm layer thickness and Horizontal plane 4.6μm (Ra). These models were fabricated from somos 18420 by a stereolithography (SLA). A wing-body-tail configuration was chosen for the actual study. Testing covered the Mach range of Mach 0.3 to Mach 0.9 at an angle-of-attack range of -2° to +12° at zero sideslip. Coefficients of normal force, axial force, pitching moment, and lift over drag are shown at each of these Mach numbers. Results from this study show that layer thickness does have an effect on the aerodynamic characteristics in general; the data differ between the three models by fewer than 5%. The layer thickness does have more effect on the aerodynamic characteristics when Mach number is decreased and had most effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of axial force and its derivative coefficients.
Abstract: With the aim of improving nutritional profile and antioxidant capacity of gluten-free cookies, blueberry pomace, by-product of juice production, was processed into a new food ingredient by drying and grinding and used for a gluten-free cookie formulation. Since the quality of a baked product is highly influenced by the baking conditions, the objective of this work was to optimize the baking time and thickness of dough pieces, by applying Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in order to obtain the best technological quality of the cookies. The experiments were carried out according to a Central Composite Design (CCD) by selecting the dough thickness and baking time as independent variables, while hardness, color parameters (L*, a* and b* values), water activity, diameter and short/long ratio were response variables. According to the results of RSM analysis, the baking time of 13.74min and dough thickness of 4.08mm was found to be the optimal for the baking temperature of 170°C. As similar optimal parameters were obtained by previously conducted experiment based on sensory analysis, response surface methodology (RSM) can be considered as a suitable approach to optimize the baking process.
Abstract: The results from experimental research of deformation
by upsetting and die forging of lead specimens wit controlled impact
are presented. Laboratory setup for conducting the investigations,
which uses cold rocket engine operated with compressed air, is
described. The results show that when using controlled impact is
achieving greater plastic deformation and consumes less impact
energy than at ordinary impact deformation process.
Abstract: This paper studies the optimum design for reducing
optical loss of an 8x8 mechanical type optical switch due to the
temperature change. The 8x8 optical switch is composed of a base, 8
input fibers, 8 output fibers, 3 fixed mirrors and 17 movable mirrors.
First, an innovative switch configuration is proposed with
thermal-compensated design. Most mechanical type optical switches
have a disadvantage that their precision and accuracy are influenced
by the ambient temperature. Therefore, the thermal-compensated
design is to deal with this situation by using materials with different
thermal expansion coefficients (α). Second, a parametric modeling
program is developed to generate solid models for finite element
analysis, and the thermal and structural behaviors of the switch are
analyzed. Finally, an integrated optimum design program, combining
Autodesk Inventor Professional software, finite element analysis
software, and genetic algorithms, is developed for improving the
thermal behaviors that the optical loss of the switch is reduced. By
changing design parameters of the switch in the integrated design
program, the final optimum design that satisfies the design constraints
and specifications can be found.
Abstract: Place is a where dimension formed by people-s
relationship with physical settings, individual and group activities,
and meanings. 'Place Attachment', 'Place Identity'and 'Sense of
Place' are some concepts that could describe the quality of people-s
relationships with a place. The concept of Sense of place is used in
studying human-place bonding, attachment and place meaning. Sense
of Place usually is defined as an overarching impression
encompassing the general ways in which people feel about places,
senses it, and assign concepts and values to it. Sense of place is
highlighted in this article as one of the prevailing concepts among
place-based researches. Considering dimensions of sense of place has
always been beneficial for investigating public place attachment and
pro-environmental attitudes towards these places. The creation or
preservation of Sense of place is important in maintaining the quality
of the environment as well as the integrity of human life within it.
While many scholars argued that sense of place is a vague concept,
this paper will summarize and analyze the existing seminal literature.
Therefore, in this paper first the concept of Sense of place and its
characteristics will be examined afterward the scales of Sense of
place will be reviewed and the factors that contribute to form Sense
of place will be evaluated and finally Place Attachment as an
objective dimension for measuring the sense of place will be
described.
Abstract: The seemingly ambiguous title of this paper – use of the terms maturity and innovation in concord – signifies the imperative of every organisation within the competitive domain. Where organisational maturity and innovativeness were traditionally considered antonymous, the assimilation of these two seemingly contradictory notions is fundamental to the assurance of long-term organisational prosperity. Organisations are required, now more than ever, to grow and mature their innovation capability – rending consistent innovative outputs. This paper describes research conducted to consolidate the principles of innovation and identify the fundamental components that constitute organisational innovation capability. The process of developing an Innovation Capability Maturity Model is presented. A brief description is provided of the basic components of the model, followed by a description of the case studies that were conducted to evaluate the model. The paper concludes with a summary of the findings and potential future research.
Abstract: In this paper we have suggested a new system for egovernment.
In this method a government can design a precise and
perfect system to control people and organizations by using five
major documents. These documents contain the important
information of each member of a society and help all organizations to
do their informatics tasks through them. This information would be
available by only a national code and a secure program would
support it. The suggested system can give a good awareness to the
society and help it be managed correctly.
Abstract: Globalization, supported by information and
communication technologies, changes the rules of competitiveness
and increases the significance of information, knowledge and
network cooperation. In line with this trend, the need for efficient
trust-building tools has emerged. The absence of trust building
mechanisms and strategies was identified within several studies.
Through trust development, participation on e-business network and
usage of network services will increase and provide to SMEs new
economic benefits. This work is focused on effective trust building
strategies development for electronic business network platforms.
Based on trust building mechanism identification, the questionnairebased
analysis of its significance and minimum level of requirements
was conducted. In the paper, we are confirming the trust dependency
on e-Skills which play crucial role in higher level of trust into the
more sophisticated and complex trust building ICT solutions.
Abstract: In this research the Preparation of Land use map of
scanner LISS III satellite data, belonging to the IRS in the Aghche
region in Isfahan province, is studied carefully. For this purpose, the
IRS satellite images of August 2008 and various land preparation
uses in region including rangelands, irrigation farming, dry farming,
gardens and urban areas were separated and identified. Therefore, the
GPS and Erdas Imaging software were used and three methods of
Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobis Distance and Minimum Distance
were analyzed. In each of these methods, matrix error and Kappa
index were calculated and accuracy of each method, based on
percentages: 53.13, 56.64 and 48.44, were obtained respectively.
Considering the low accuracy of these methods in separation of land
preparation use, the visual interpretation of the map was used.
Finally, regional visits of 150 points were noted at random and no
error was observed. It shows that the map prepared by visual
interpretation is in high accuracy. Although the probable errors due
to visual interpretation and geometric correction might happen but
the desired accuracy of the map which is more than 85 percent is
reliable.
Abstract: ECG contains very important clinical information about the cardiac activities of the heart. Often the ECG signal needs to be captured for a long period of time in order to identify abnormalities in certain situations. Such signal apart of a large volume often is characterised by low quality due to the noise and other influences. In order to extract features in the ECG signal with time-varying characteristics at first need to be preprocessed with the best parameters. Also, it is useful to identify specific parts of the long lasting signal which have certain abnormalities and to direct the practitioner to those parts of the signal. In this work we present a method based on wavelet transform, standard deviation and variable threshold which achieves 100% accuracy in identifying the ECG signal peaks and heartbeat as well as identifying the standard deviation, providing a quick reference to abnormalities.
Abstract: Heat Index describes the combined effect of
temperature and humidity on human body. This combined effect is
causing a serious threat to the health of people because of the
changing climate. With climate change, climate variability and thus
the occurrence of heat waves is likely to increase. Evidence is
emerging from the analysis of long-term climate records of an
increase in the frequency and duration of extreme temperature events
in all over Bangladesh particularly during summer. Summer season
has prolonged while winters have become short in Bangladesh.
Summers have become hotter and thus affecting the lives of the
people engaged in outdoor activities during scorching sun hours. In
2003 around 62 people died due to heat wave across the country. In
this paper Bangladesh is divided in four regions and heat index has
been calculated from 1960 to 2010 in these regions of the country.
The aim of this paper is to identify the spots most vulnerable to heat
strokes and heat waves due to high heat index. The results show
upward trend of heat index in almost all the regions of Bangladesh.
The highest increase in heat index value has been observed in areas
of South-west region and North-west Region. The highest change in
average heat index has been found in Jessore by almost 5.50C.
Abstract: In the present work, study of the vibration of thin cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is presented. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law distribution. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the FG cylindrical shell. The study is carried out using third order shear deformation shell theory. The analysis is carried out using Hamilton's principle. The governing equations of motion of FG cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of free-free and clamped-clamped boundary conditions.
Abstract: This paper presents a vertical silicon nanowire n- MOSFET integrated with a CMOS-compatible fully-silicided (FUSI) NiSi2 gate. Devices with nanowire diameter of 50nm show good electrical performance (SS < 70mV/dec, DIBL < 30mV/V, Ion/Ioff > 107). Most significantly, threshold voltage tunability of about 0.2V is shown. Although threshold voltage remains low for the 50nm diameter device, it is expected to become more positive as nanowire diameter reduces.