Abstract: This paper suggests an improved integer frequency
offset (IFO) estimation scheme using P1 symbol for orthogonal
frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based the second generation
terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T2) system. Proposed
IFO estimator is designed by a low-complexity blind IFO estimation
scheme, which is implemented with complex additions. Also, we
propose active carriers (ACs) selection scheme in order to prevent
performance degradation in blind IFO estimation. The simulation
results show that under the AWGN and TU6 channels, the proposed
method has low complexity than conventional method and almost
similar performance in comparison with the conventional method.
Abstract: A complete spectral representation for the
electromagnetic field of planar multilayered waveguides
inhomogeneously filled with omega media is presented. The problem
of guided electromagnetic propagation is reduced to an eigenvalue
equation related to a 2 ´ 2 matrix differential operator. Using the
concept of adjoint waveguide, general bi-orthogonality relations for
the hybrid modes (either from the discrete or from the continuous
spectrum) are derived. For the special case of homogeneous layers
the linear operator formalism is reduced to a simple 2 ´ 2 coupling
matrix eigenvalue problem. Finally, as an example of application, the
surface and the radiation modes of a grounded omega slab waveguide
are analyzed.
Abstract: PPX(Pretty Printer for XML) is a query language that offers a concise description method of formatting the XML data into HTML. In this paper, we propose a simple specification of formatting method that is a combination description of automatic layout operators and variables in the layout expression of the GENERATE clause of PPX. This method can automatically format irregular XML data included in a part of XML with layout decision rule that is referred to DTD. In the experiment, a quick comparison shows that PPX requires far less description compared to XSLT or XQuery programs doing same tasks.
Abstract: The present models and simulation algorithms of intracellular stochastic kinetics are usually based on the premise that diffusion is so fast that the concentrations of all the involved species are homogeneous in space. However, recents experimental measurements of intracellular diffusion constants indicate that the assumption of a homogeneous well-stirred cytosol is not necessarily valid even for small prokaryotic cells. In this work a mathematical treatment of diffusion that can be incorporated in a stochastic algorithm simulating the dynamics of a reaction-diffusion system is presented. The movement of a molecule A from a region i to a region j of the space is represented as a first order reaction Ai k- ! Aj , where the rate constant k depends on the diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficients are modeled as function of the local concentration of the solutes, their intrinsic viscosities, their frictional coefficients and the temperature of the system. The stochastic time evolution of the system is given by the occurrence of diffusion events and chemical reaction events. At each time step an event (reaction or diffusion) is selected from a probability distribution of waiting times determined by the intrinsic reaction kinetics and diffusion dynamics. To demonstrate the method the simulation results of the reaction-diffusion system of chaperoneassisted protein folding in cytoplasm are shown.
Abstract: Deep and radical social reforms of the last century-s
nineties in many Eastern European countries caused changes in
Information Technology-s (IT) field. Inefficient information
technologies were rapidly replaced with forefront IT solutions, e.g.,
in Eastern European countries there is a high level penetration of
qualitative high-speed Internet. The authors have taken part in the
introduction of those changes in Latvia-s leading IT research
institute. Grounding on their experience authors in this paper offer an
IT services based model for analysis the mentioned changes- and
development processes in the higher education and research fields,
i.e., for research e-infrastructure-s development. Compare to the
international practice such services were developed in Eastern Europe
in an untraditional way, which provided swift and positive
technological changes.
Abstract: This paper proposes a fast code acquisition scheme for
optical code division multiple access (O-CDMA) systems. Unlike the
conventional scheme, the proposed scheme employs multiple thresholds
providing a shorter mean acquisition time (MAT) performance.
The simulation results show that the MAT of the proposed scheme
is shorter than that of the conventional scheme.
Abstract: Sputum smear conversion after one month of antituberculosis
therapy in new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis
patients (PTB+) is a vital indicator towards treatment success. The
objective of this study is to determine the rate of sputum smear
conversion in new PTB+ patients after one month under treatment of
National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH).
Analysis of sputum smear conversion was done by re-clinical
examination with sputum smear microscopic test after one month.
Socio-demographic and hematological parameters were evaluated to
perceive the correlation with the disease status. Among all enrolled
patients only 33.33% were available for follow up diagnosis and of
them only 42.86% patients turned to smear negative. Probably this
consequence is due to non-coherence to the proper disease
management. 66.67% and 78.78% patients reported low haemoglobin
and packed cell volume level respectively whereas 80% and 93.33%
patients accounted accelerated platelet count and erythrocyte
sedimentation rate correspondingly.
Abstract: This article outlines conceptualization and
implementation of an intelligent system capable of extracting
knowledge from databases. Use of hybridized features of both the
Rough and Fuzzy Set theory render the developed system flexibility
in dealing with discreet as well as continuous datasets. A raw data set
provided to the system, is initially transformed in a computer legible
format followed by pruning of the data set. The refined data set is
then processed through various Rough Set operators which enable
discovery of parameter relationships and interdependencies. The
discovered knowledge is automatically transformed into a rule base
expressed in Fuzzy terms. Two exemplary cancer repository datasets
(for Breast and Lung Cancer) have been used to test and implement
the proposed framework.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is i) to investigate the driving factors and barriers of the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Halal logistic and ii) to develop an ICT adoption framework for Halal logistic service provider. The Halal LSPs selected for the study currently used ICT service platforms, such as accounting and management system for Halal logistic business. The study categorizes the factors influencing the adoption decision and process by LSPs into four groups: technology related factors, organizational and environmental factors, Halal assurance related factors, and government related factors. The major contribution in this study is the discovery that technology related factors (ICT compatibility with Halal requirement) and Halal assurance related factors are the most crucial factors among the Halal LSPs applying ICT for Halal control in transportation-s operation. Among the government related factors, ICT requirement for monitoring Halal included in Halal Logistic Standard on Transportation (MS2400:2010) are the most influencing factors in the adoption of ICT with the support of the government. In addition, the government related factors are very important in the reducing the main barriers and the creation of the atmosphere of ICT adoption in Halal LSP sector.
Abstract: Camera calibration is an indispensable step for augmented
reality or image guided applications where quantitative information
should be derived from the images. Usually, a camera
calibration is obtained by taking images of a special calibration object
and extracting the image coordinates of projected calibration marks
enabling the calculation of the projection from the 3d world coordinates
to the 2d image coordinates. Thus such a procedure exhibits
typical steps, including feature point localization in the acquired
images, camera model fitting, correction of distortion introduced by
the optics and finally an optimization of the model-s parameters. In
this paper we propose to extend this list by further step concerning
the identification of the optimal subset of images yielding the smallest
overall calibration error. For this, we present a Monte Carlo based
algorithm along with a deterministic extension that automatically
determines the images yielding an optimal calibration. Finally, we
present results proving that the calibration can be significantly
improved by automated image selection.
Abstract: Evolutionary Algorithms are population-based,
stochastic search techniques, widely used as efficient global
optimizers. However, many real life optimization problems often
require finding optimal solution to complex high dimensional,
multimodal problems involving computationally very expensive
fitness function evaluations. Use of evolutionary algorithms in such
problem domains is thus practically prohibitive. An attractive
alternative is to build meta models or use an approximation of the
actual fitness functions to be evaluated. These meta models are order
of magnitude cheaper to evaluate compared to the actual function
evaluation. Many regression and interpolation tools are available to
build such meta models. This paper briefly discusses the
architectures and use of such meta-modeling tools in an evolutionary
optimization context. We further present two evolutionary algorithm
frameworks which involve use of meta models for fitness function
evaluation. The first framework, namely the Dynamic Approximate
Fitness based Hybrid EA (DAFHEA) model [14] reduces
computation time by controlled use of meta-models (in this case
approximate model generated by Support Vector Machine
regression) to partially replace the actual function evaluation by
approximate function evaluation. However, the underlying
assumption in DAFHEA is that the training samples for the metamodel
are generated from a single uniform model. This does not take
into account uncertain scenarios involving noisy fitness functions.
The second model, DAFHEA-II, an enhanced version of the original
DAFHEA framework, incorporates a multiple-model based learning
approach for the support vector machine approximator to handle
noisy functions [15]. Empirical results obtained by evaluating the
frameworks using several benchmark functions demonstrate their
efficiency
Abstract: In this investigation, types of commercial and special
polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers contain sodium 2-methyl-2-
acrylamidopropane sulfonate (SAMPS) and itaconic acid (IA)
comonomers were studied by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR)
spectroscopy. The study of FT-IR spectra of PAN fibers samples
with different comonomers shows that during stabilization of PAN
fibers, the peaks related to C≡N bonds and CH2 are reduced sharply.
These reductions are related to cyclization of nitrile groups and
stabilization procedure. This reduction in PAN fibers contain IA
comonomer is very intense in comparison with PAN fibers contain
SAMPS comonomer. This fact indicates the cycling and stabilization
for sample contain IA comonomer have been conducted more
completely. Therefore the carbon fibers produced from this material
have higher tensile strength due to suitable stabilization.
Abstract: The conjugate gradient optimization algorithm
usually used for nonlinear least squares is presented and is
combined with the modified back propagation algorithm yielding
a new fast training multilayer perceptron (MLP) algorithm
(CGFR/AG). The approaches presented in the paper consist of
three steps: (1) Modification on standard back propagation
algorithm by introducing gain variation term of the activation
function, (2) Calculating the gradient descent on error with
respect to the weights and gains values and (3) the determination
of the new search direction by exploiting the information
calculated by gradient descent in step (2) as well as the previous
search direction. The proposed method improved the training
efficiency of back propagation algorithm by adaptively modifying
the initial search direction. Performance of the proposed method
is demonstrated by comparing to the conjugate gradient algorithm
from neural network toolbox for the chosen benchmark. The
results show that the number of iterations required by the
proposed method to converge is less than 20% of what is required
by the standard conjugate gradient and neural network toolbox
algorithm.
Abstract: This paper presents the buckling analysis of short and
long functionally graded cylindrical shells under thermal and
mechanical loads. The shell properties are assumed to vary
continuously from the inner surface to the outer surface of the shell.
The equilibrium and stability equations are derived using the total
potential energy equations, Euler equations and first order shear
deformation theory assumptions. The resulting equations are solved
for simply supported boundary conditions. The critical temperature
and pressure loads are calculated for both short and long cylindrical
shells. Comparison studies show the effects of functionally graded
index, loading type and shell geometry on critical buckling loads of
short and long functionally graded cylindrical shells.
Abstract: This article discusses the customs and traditions in
Turkestan in the late XIXth and early XXth centuries. Having a long
history, Turkestan is well-known as the birthplace of many nations
and nationalities. The name of Turkestan is also given to it for a
reason - the land of the Turkic peoples who inhabited Central Asia
and united under together. Currently, nations and nationalities of the
Turkestan region formed their own sovereign states, and every year
they prove their country names in the world community. Political,
economic importance of Turkestan, which became the gold wire
between Asia and Europe was always very high. So systematically
various aggressive actions were made by several great powers. As a
result of expansionary policy of colonization of the Russian Empire -
the Turkestan has appeared.
Abstract: Using mini modules of Tmotes, it is possible to automate a small personal area network. This idea can be extended to large networks too by implementing multi-hop routing. Linking the various Tmotes using Programming languages like Nesc, Java and having transmitter and receiver sections, a network can be monitored. It is foreseen that, depending on the application, a long range at a low data transfer rate or average throughput may be an acceptable trade-off. To reduce the overall costs involved, an optimum number of Tmotes to be used under various conditions (Indoor/Outdoor) is to be deduced. By analyzing the data rates or throughputs at various locations of Tmotes, it is possible to deduce an optimal number of Tmotes for a specific network. This paper deals with the determination of optimum distances to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of the entire sensor network with Wireless Local Loop (WLL) capability.
Abstract: Computations with higher than the IEEE 754 standard double-precision (about 16 significant digits) are required recently. Although there are available software routines in Fortran and C for high-precision computation, users are required to implement such routines in their own computers with detailed knowledges about them. We have constructed an user-friendly online system for octupleprecision computation. In our Web system users with no knowledges about high-precision computation can easily perform octupleprecision computations, by choosing mathematical functions with argument(s) inputted, by writing simple mathematical expression(s) or by uploading C program(s). In this paper we enhance the Web system above by adding the facility of uploading Fortran programs, which have been widely used in scientific computing. To this end we construct converter routines in two stages.
Abstract: In this paper we present a method for gene ranking
from DNA microarray data. More precisely, we calculate the correlation
networks, which are unweighted and undirected graphs, from
microarray data of cervical cancer whereas each network represents
a tissue of a certain tumor stage and each node in the network
represents a gene. From these networks we extract one tree for
each gene by a local decomposition of the correlation network. The
interpretation of a tree is that it represents the n-nearest neighbor
genes on the n-th level of a tree, measured by the Dijkstra distance,
and, hence, gives the local embedding of a gene within the correlation
network. For the obtained trees we measure the pairwise similarity
between trees rooted by the same gene from normal to cancerous
tissues. This evaluates the modification of the tree topology due to
progression of the tumor. Finally, we rank the obtained similarity
values from all tissue comparisons and select the top ranked genes.
For these genes the local neighborhood in the correlation networks
changes most between normal and cancerous tissues. As a result
we find that the top ranked genes are candidates suspected to be
involved in tumor growth and, hence, indicates that our method
captures essential information from the underlying DNA microarray
data of cervical cancer.
Abstract: Environmental factors affect agriculture production
productivity and efficiency resulted in changing of profit efficiency.
This paper attempts to estimate the impacts of environmental factors
to profitability of rice farmers in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. The
dataset was extracted from 349 rice farmers using personal
interviews. Both OLS and MLE trans-log profit functions were used
in this study. Five production inputs and four environmental factors
were included in these functions. The estimation of the stochastic
profit frontier with a two-stage approach was used to measure
profitability. The results showed that the profit efficiency was about
75% on the average and environmental factors change profit
efficiency significantly beside farm specific characteristics. Plant
disease, soil fertility, irrigation apply and water pollution were the
four environmental factors cause profit loss in rice production. The
result indicated that farmers should reduce household size, farm
plots, apply row seeding technique and improve environmental
factors to obtain high profit efficiency with special consideration is
given for irrigation water quality improvement.
Abstract: A mobile agent is a software which performs an
action autonomously and independently as a person or an
organizations assistance. Mobile agents are used for searching
information, retrieval information, filtering, intruder recognition in
networks, and so on. One of the important issues of mobile agent is
their security. It must consider different security issues in effective
and secured usage of mobile agent. One of those issues is the
integrity-s protection of mobile agents.
In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of each method,
after reviewing the existing methods, is examined. Regarding to this
matter that each method has its own advantage or disadvantage, it
seems that by combining these methods, one can reach to a better
method for protecting the integrity of mobile agents. Therefore, this
method is provided in this paper and then is evaluated in terms of
existing method. Finally, this method is simulated and its results are
the sign of improving the possibility of integrity-s protection of
mobile agents.