Abstract: The paper presents the design of a mini-UAV attitude
controller using the backstepping method. Starting from the nonlinear
dynamic equations of the mini-UAV, by using the backstepping
method, the author of this paper obtained the expressions of the
elevator, rudder and aileron deflections, which stabilize the UAV, at
each moment, to the desired values of the attitude angles. The attitude
controller controls the attitude angles, the angular rates, the angular
accelerations and other variables that describe the UAV longitudinal
and lateral motions. To design the nonlinear controller, by using the
backstepping technique, the nonlinear equations and the Lyapunov
analysis have been directly used. The designed controller has been
implemented in Matlab/Simulink environment and its effectiveness
has been tested with a campaign of numerical simulations using data
from the UAV flight tests. The obtained results are very good and
they are better than the ones found in previous works.
Abstract: It is important for an autonomous mobile robot to know
where it is in any time in an indoor environment. In this paper, we
design a relative self-localization algorithm. The algorithm compare
the interest point in two images and compute the relative displacement
and orientation to determent the posture. Firstly, we use the SURF
algorithm to extract the interest points of the ceiling. Second, in order
to reduce amount of calculation, a replacement SURF is used to extract
orientation and description of the interest points. At last, according to
the transformation of the interest points in two images, the relative
self-localization of the mobile robot will be estimated greatly.
Abstract: We present a novel scheme to recognize isolated speech
signals using certain statistical parameters derived from those signals.
The determination of the statistical estimates is based on extracted
signal information rather than the original signal information in
order to reduce the computational complexity. Subtle details of
these estimates, after extracting the speech signal from ambience
noise, are first exploited to segregate the polysyllabic words from
the monosyllabic ones. Precise recognition of each distinct word is
then carried out by analyzing the histogram, obtained from these
information.
Abstract: In this study, fuzzy rule-based classifier is used for the
diagnosis of congenital heart disease. Congenital heart diseases are
defined as structural or functional heart disease. Medical data sets
were obtained from Pediatric Cardiology Department at Selcuk
University, from years 2000 to 2003. Firstly, fuzzy rules were
generated by using medical data. Then the weights of fuzzy rules
were calculated. Two different reasoning methods as “weighted vote
method" and “singles winner method" were used in this study. The
results of fuzzy classifiers were compared.
Abstract: Text Mining is an important step of Knowledge
Discovery process. It is used to extract hidden information from notstructured
o semi-structured data. This aspect is fundamental because
much of the Web information is semi-structured due to the nested
structure of HTML code, much of the Web information is linked,
much of the Web information is redundant. Web Text Mining helps
whole knowledge mining process to mining, extraction and
integration of useful data, information and knowledge from Web
page contents.
In this paper, we present a Web Text Mining process able to
discover knowledge in a distributed and heterogeneous multiorganization
environment. The Web Text Mining process is based on
flexible architecture and is implemented by four steps able to
examine web content and to extract useful hidden information
through mining techniques. Our Web Text Mining prototype starts
from the recovery of Web job offers in which, through a Text Mining
process, useful information for fast classification of the same are
drawn out, these information are, essentially, job offer place and
skills.
Abstract: In this study the elastic-plastic stress distribution in
weld-bonded joint, fabricated from austenitic stainless steel (AISI
304) sheet of 1.00 mm thickness and Epoxy adhesive Araldite 2011,
subjected to axial loading is investigated. This is needed to improve
design procedures and welding codes, and saving efforts in the
cumbersome experiments and analysis. Therefore, a complete 3-D
finite element modelling and analysis of spot welded, bonded and
weld-bonded joints under axial loading conditions is carried out. A
comprehensive systematic experimental program is conducted to
determine many properties and quantities, of the base metals and the
adhesive, needed for FE modelling, such like the elastic – plastic
properties, modulus of elasticity, fracture limit, the nugget and heat
affected zones (HAZ) properties, etc. Consequently, the finite
element models developed, for each case, are used to evaluate
stresses distributions across the entire joint, in both the elastic and
plastic regions. The stress distribution curves are obtained,
particularly in the elastic regions and found to be consistent and in
excellent agreement with the published data. Furthermore, the
stresses distributions are obtained in the weld-bonded joint and
display the best results with almost uniform smooth distribution
compared to spot and bonded cases. The stress concentration peaks at
the edges of the weld-bonded region, are almost eliminated resulting
in achieving the strongest joint of all processes.
Abstract: In this paper a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM)
fuel cell power system including burner, steam reformer, heat
exchanger and water heater has been considered to meet the
electrical, heating, cooling and domestic hot water loads of
residential building which in Tehran. The system uses natural gas as
fuel and works in CHP mode. Design and operating conditions of a
PEM fuel cell system is considered in this study. The energy
requirements of residential building and the number of fuel cell
stacks to meet them have been estimated. The method involved
exergy analysis and entropy generation thorough the months of the
year. Results show that all the energy needs of the building can be
met with 12 fuel cell stacks at a nominal capacity of 8.5 kW. Exergy
analysis of the CHP system shows that the increase in the ambient air
temperature from 1oC to 40oC, will have an increase of entropy
generation by 5.73%.Maximum entropy generates for 15 hour in 15th
of June and 15th of July is estimated to amount at 12624 (kW/K).
Entropy generation of this system through a year is estimated to
amount to 1004.54 GJ/k.year.
Abstract: Evolvable hardware (EHW) refers to a selfreconfiguration
hardware design, where the configuration is under
the control of an evolutionary algorithm (EA). A lot of research has
been done in this area several different EA have been introduced.
Every time a specific EA is chosen for solving a particular problem,
all its components, such as population size, initialization, selection
mechanism, mutation rate, and genetic operators, should be selected
in order to achieve the best results. In the last three decade a lot of
research has been carried out in order to identify the best parameters
for the EA-s components for different “test-problems". However
different researchers propose different solutions. In this paper the
behaviour of mutation rate on (1+λ) evolution strategy (ES) for
designing logic circuits, which has not been done before, has been
deeply analyzed. The mutation rate for an EHW system modifies
values of the logic cell inputs, the cell type (for example from AND
to NOR) and the circuit output. The behaviour of the mutation has
been analyzed based on the number of generations, genotype
redundancy and number of logic gates used for the evolved circuits.
The experimental results found provide the behaviour of the mutation
rate to be used during evolution for the design and optimization of
logic circuits. The researches on the best mutation rate during the last
40 years are also summarized.
Abstract: Conventional industrial monitoring systems are
tedious, inefficient and the at times integrity of the data is
unreliable. The objective of this system is to monitor industrial
processes specifically the fluid level which will measure the
instantaneous fluid level parameter and respond by text
messaging the exact value of the parameter to the user when
being enquired by a privileged access user. The development of
the embedded program code and the circuit for fluid level
measuring are discussed as well. Suggestions for future
implementations and efficient remote monitoring works are
included.
Abstract: In this paper we present the modeling, design, and
experimental testing of a nerve cuff multi-electrode system for
diameter-selective vagus nerve stimulation.
The multi-electrode system contained ninety-nine platinum
electrodes embedded within a self-curling spiral silicone sheet. The
electrodes were organized in a matrix having nine parallel groups,
each containing eleven electrodes.
Preliminary testing of the nerve cuff was performed in an isolated
segment of a swinish left cervical vagus nerve. For selective vagus
nerve stimulation, precisely defined current quasitrapezoidal,
asymmetric and biphasic stimulating pulses were applied to
preselected locations along the left vagus segment via appointed
group of three electrodes within the cuff. Selective stimulation was
obtained by anodal block. However, these pulses may not be safe for
a long-term application because of a frequently used high imbalance
between the cathodic and anodic part of the stimulating pulse.
Preliminary results show that the cuff was capable of exciting A
and B-fibres, and, that for a certain range of parameters used in
stimulating pulses, the contribution of A-fibres to the CAP was
slightly reduced and the contribution of B-fibres was slightly larger.
Results also showed that measured CAPs are not greatly
influenced by the imbalance between a charge Qc injected in cathodic
and Qa in anodic phase of quasitrapezoidal, asymmetric and biphasic
pulses.
Abstract: In this paper, the implementation of low power,
high throughput convolutional filters for the one dimensional
Discrete Wavelet Transform and its inverse are presented. The
analysis filters have already been used for the implementation of a
high performance DWT encoder [15] with minimum memory
requirements for the JPEG 2000 standard. This paper presents the
design techniques and the implementation of the convolutional filters
included in the JPEG2000 standard for the forward and inverse DWT
for achieving low-power operation, high performance and reduced
memory accesses. Moreover, they have the ability of performing
progressive computations so as to minimize the buffering between
the decomposition and reconstruction phases. The experimental
results illustrate the filters- low power high throughput characteristics
as well as their memory efficient operation.
Abstract: Our results showed that treatment with both
cyclooxygenase (COX1 or COX2) inhibitors impair reproduction
parameters of the medaka. Resveratrol (COX1 inhibitor) caused an
decrease in the number of spawning females at the first week of
feeding fish with experimental diets. In the group treated with NS-
398 (COX2 inhibitor) we found the lowest sperm velocity parameters
and decreased linearity of movement. The ovaries of the medaka fed
feed supplemented with Resveratrol or NS-398 were confirmed to
have a lower share of matured oocytes however during the
experiment (four weeks) the number of eggs spawned by females was
similar. Both inhibitors in fish diet (20 mg/kg body weight/day)
caused a decrease in the embryo survival. Our results revealed that
for the medaka female reproduction, activity of both COX enzymes
might be necessary whereas males reproduction competence, as
expressed by sperm motility parameters, might be related to COX2
activity.
Abstract: The following paper shows an interactive tool which
main purpose is to teach how to play a flute. It consists of three
stages the first one is the instruction and teaching process through a
software application, the second is the practice part when the user
starts to play the flute (hardware specially designed for this
application) this flute is capable of capturing how is being played the
flute and the final stage is the one in which the data captured are sent
to the software and the user is evaluated in order to give him / she a
correction or an acceptance
Abstract: This paper proposes a solution to the motion planning
and control problem of car-like mobile robots which is required to
move safely to a designated target in a priori known workspace
cluttered with swarm of boids exhibiting collective emergent
behaviors. A generalized algorithm for target convergence and
swarm avoidance is proposed that will work for any number of
swarms. The control laws proposed in this paper also ensures
practical stability of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed
control laws are demonstrated via computer simulations of an
emergent behavior.
Abstract: This work is focused on the numerical prediction of the fracture resistance of a flat stiffened panel made of the aluminium alloy 2024 T3 under a monotonic traction condition. The performed numerical simulations have been based on the micromechanical Gurson-Tvergaard (GT) model for ductile damage. The applicability of the GT model to this kind of structural problems has been studied and assessed by comparing numerical results, obtained by using the WARP 3D finite element code, with experimental data available in literature. In the sequel a home-made procedure is presented, which aims to increase the residual strength of a cracked stiffened aluminum panel and which is based on the stochastic design improvement (SDI) technique; a whole application example is then given to illustrate the said technique.
Abstract: One of the most important parts of a cement factory is
the cement rotary kiln which plays a key role in quality and quantity of produced cement. In this part, the physical exertion and bilateral
movement of air and materials, together with chemical reactions take
place. Thus, this system has immensely complex and nonlinear dynamic equations. These equations have not worked out yet. Only
in exceptional case; however, a large number of the involved parameter were crossed out and an approximation model was
presented instead. This issue caused many problems for designing a
cement rotary kiln controller. In this paper, we presented nonlinear predictor and simulator models for a real cement rotary kiln by using
nonlinear identification technique on the Locally Linear Neuro-
Fuzzy (LLNF) model. For the first time, a simulator model as well as
a predictor one with a precise fifteen minute prediction horizon for a
cement rotary kiln is presented. These models are trained by
LOLIMOT algorithm which is an incremental tree-structure
algorithm. At the end, the characteristics of these models are expressed. Furthermore, we presented the pros and cons of these
models. The data collected from White Saveh Cement Company is used for modeling.
Abstract: In this paper, we have applied the homotopy perturbation
method (HPM) for obtaining the analytical solution of unsteady
flow of gas through a porous medium and we have also compared the
findings of this research with some other analytical results. Results
showed a very good agreement between results of HPM and the
numerical solutions of the problem rather than other analytical solutions
which have previously been applied. The results of homotopy
perturbation method are of high accuracy and the method is very
effective and succinct.
Abstract: Recently, the health of retired National Football
League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature ardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar
to National Football league players which suggest that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a
unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based
questionnaire that consisted of medical history and
physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test (50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors
(response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8%
(avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol
was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported
the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension
(18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%),
hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with
regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to
the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a
Climstein Mike, Walsh Joe (corresponding author) and Burke Stephen
School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road,
Strathfield, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia (e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]).
John Best is with Orthosports, 160 Belmore Rd., Randwick, Sydney,NSW
2031, Australia (e-mail: [email protected]).
Heazlewood, Ian Timothy is with School of Environmental and Life
Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University,
Precinct Yellow Building 2, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia
(e-mail: [email protected]).
Kettunen Jyrki Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus
Janssonin aukio 1, FI-00550, Helsinki, Finland (e-mail:
[email protected]).
Adams Kent is with California State University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA., 93955, USA (email: [email protected]).
DeBeliso Mark is with Department of Physical Education and Human
Performance, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd, Cedar
City, Utah, USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p
Abstract: This paper describes a platform that faces the main
research areas for e-learning educational contents. Reusability tackles
the possibility to use contents in different courses reducing costs and
exploiting available data from repositories. In our approach the
production of educational material is based on templates to reuse
learning objects. In terms of interoperability the main challenge lays
on reaching the audience through different platforms. E-learning
solution must track social consumption evolution where nowadays
lots of multimedia contents are accessed through the social networks.
Our work faces it by implementing a platform for generation of
multimedia presentations focused on the new paradigm related to
social media. The system produces videos-courses on top of web
standard SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language)
ready to be published and shared. Regarding interfaces it is
mandatory to satisfy user needs and ease communication. To
overcome it the platform deploys virtual teachers that provide natural
interfaces while multimodal features remove barriers to pupils with
disabilities.
Abstract: Subdivision surfaces were applied to the entire
meshes in order to produce smooth surfaces refinement from coarse
mesh. Several schemes had been introduced in this area to provide a
set of rules to converge smooth surfaces. However, to compute and
render all the vertices are really inconvenient in terms of memory
consumption and runtime during the subdivision process. It will lead
to a heavy computational load especially at a higher level of
subdivision. Adaptive subdivision is a method that subdivides only at
certain areas of the meshes while the rest were maintained less
polygons. Although adaptive subdivision occurs at the selected areas,
the quality of produced surfaces which is their smoothness can be
preserved similar as well as regular subdivision. Nevertheless,
adaptive subdivision process burdened from two causes; calculations
need to be done to define areas that are required to be subdivided and
to remove cracks created from the subdivision depth difference
between the selected and unselected areas. Unfortunately, the result
of adaptive subdivision when it reaches to the higher level of
subdivision, it still brings the problem with memory consumption.
This research brings to iterative process of adaptive subdivision to
improve the previous adaptive method that will reduce memory
consumption applied on triangular mesh. The result of this iterative
process was acceptable better in memory and appearance in order to
produce fewer polygons while it preserves smooth surfaces.