Abstract: Comparing other methods of waste water treatment,
constructed wetlands are one of the most fascinating practices
because being a natural process they are eco-friendly have low
construction and maintenance cost and have considerable capability
of wastewater treatment. The current research was focused mainly on
comparison of Ranunculus muricatus and Typha latifolia as wetland
plants for domestic wastewater treatment by designing and
constructing efficient pilot scale horizontal subsurface flow
mesocosms. Parameters like chemical oxygen demand, biological
oxygen demand, phosphates, sulphates, nitrites, nitrates, and
pathogenic indicator microbes were studied continuously with
successive treatments. Treatment efficiency of the system increases
with passage of time and with increase in temperature. Efficiency of
T. latifolia planted setups in open environment was fairly good for
parameters like COD and BOD5 which was showing reduction up to
82.5% for COD and 82.6% for BOD5 while DO was increased up to
125%. Efficiency of R. muricatus vegetated setup was also good but
lowers than that of T. latifolia planted showing 80.95% removal of
COD and BOD5. Ranunculus muricatus was found effective in
reducing bacterial count in wastewater. Both macrophytes were
found promising in wastewater treatment.
Abstract: Knowledge is considered as an important asset which
can help organizations to create competitive advantage. The necessity
of taking care of these assets is more important in these days – in
days of turbulent changes in business environment. Knowledge could
facilitate adaption to constant changes. The aim of this paper is to
describe how the knowledge sharing can be supported in the
manufacturing companies. The methods of case studies and grounded
theory were used to present information gained by carrying out semistructured
interviews. Results show that knowledge sharing is
supported in very similar ways in respondent companies.
Abstract: Thin-walled elements with a matrix set on a base of
high-valuable Portland cement with dispersed reinforcement from
alkali-resistant glass fibres are used in a range of applications as
claddings of buildings and infrastructure constructions as well as
various architectural elements of residential buildings.
Even though their elementary thickness and therefore total weight
is quite low, architects and building companies demand on even
further decreasing of the bulk density of these fibre-cement elements
for the reason of loading elimination of connected superstructures
and easier assembling in demand conditions.
By the means of various kinds of light-weight aggregates it is
possible to achieve light-weighing of these composite elements.
From the range of possible fillers with different material properties
granulated expanded glass worked the best.
By the means of laboratory testing an effect of two fillers based on
expanded glass on the fibre reinforced cement composite was
verified.
Practical applicability was tested in the production of commonly
manufactured glass fibre reinforced concrete elements, such as
channels for electrical cable deposition, products for urban equipment
and especially various cladding elements.
Even though these are not structural elements, it is necessary to
evaluate also strength characteristics and resistance to environment
for their durability in certain applications.
Abstract: Bir El Djir is an important coastal township in Oran
department, located at 450 Km far away from Algiers on northwest of
Algeria. In this coastal area, the urban sprawl is one of the main
problems that reduce the limited highly fertile land. So, using the
remote sensing and GIS technologies have shown their great
capabilities to solve many earth resources issues.
The aim of this study is to produce land use and cover map for the
studied area at varied periods to monitor possible changes that may
occurred, particularly in the urban areas and subsequently predict
likely changes. For this, two spatial images SPOT and Landsat
satellites from 1987 and 2014 respectively were used to assess the
changes of urban expansion and encroachment during this period
with photo-interpretation and GIS approach.
The results revealed that the town of Bir El Djir has shown a
highest growth rate in the period 1987-2014 which is 1201.5 hectares
in terms of area. These expansions largely concern the new real estate
constructions falling within the social and promotional housing
programs launched by the government.
The most urban expansion is characterized by the new
construction in the form of spontaneous or peripheral precarious
habitat, but also unstructured slums settled especially in the
southeastern part of town.
Abstract: Offering a Product-Service System (PSS) is a
well-accepted strategy that companies may adopt to provide a set of
systemic solutions to customers. PSSs were initially provided in a
simple form but now take diversified and complex forms involving
multiple services, products and technologies. With the growing
interest in the PSS, frameworks for the PSS development have been
introduced by many researchers. However, most of the existing
frameworks fail to examine various relations existing in a complex
PSS. Since designing a complex PSS involves full integration of
multiple products and services, it is essential to identify not only
product-service relations but also product-product/ service-service
relations. It is also equally important to specify how they are related
for better understanding of the system. Moreover, as customers tend to
view their purchase from a more holistic perspective, a PSS should be
developed based on the whole system’s requirements, rather than
focusing only on the product requirements or service requirements.
Thus, we propose a framework to develop a complex PSS that is
coordinated fully with the requirements of both worlds. Specifically,
our approach adopts a multi-domain matrix (MDM). A MDM
identifies not only inter-domain relations but also intra-domain
relations so that it helps to design a PSS that includes highly desired
and closely related core functions/ features. Also, various dependency
types and rating schemes proposed in our approach would help the
integration process.
Abstract: Despite the highly touted benefits, emerging
technologies have unleashed pervasive concerns regarding unintended
and unforeseen social impacts. Thus, those wishing to create safe and
socially acceptable products need to identify such side effects and
mitigate them prior to the market proliferation. Various methodologies
in the field of technology assessment (TA), namely Delphi, impact
assessment, and scenario planning, have been widely incorporated in
such a circumstance. However, literatures face a major limitation in
terms of sole reliance on participatory workshop activities. They
unfortunately missed out the availability of a massive untapped data
source of futuristic information flooding through the Internet. This
research thus seeks to gain insights into utilization of futuristic data,
future-oriented documents from the Internet, as a supplementary
method to generate social impact scenarios whilst capturing
perspectives of experts from a wide variety of disciplines. To this end,
network analysis is conducted based on the social keywords extracted
from the futuristic documents by text mining, which is then used as a
guide to produce a comprehensive set of detailed scenarios. Our
proposed approach facilitates harmonized depictions of possible
hazardous consequences of emerging technologies and thereby makes
decision makers more aware of, and responsive to, broad qualitative
uncertainties.
Abstract: Pulmonary Function Tests are important non-invasive
diagnostic tests to assess respiratory impairments and provides
quantifiable measures of lung function. Spirometry is the most
frequently used measure of lung function and plays an essential role
in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary diseases. However,
the test requires considerable patient effort and cooperation,
markedly related to the age of patients resulting in incomplete data
sets. This paper presents, a nonlinear model built using Multivariate
adaptive regression splines and Random forest regression model to
predict the missing spirometric features. Random forest based feature
selection is used to enhance both the generalization capability and the
model interpretability. In the present study, flow-volume data are
recorded for N= 198 subjects. The ranked order of feature importance
index calculated by the random forests model shows that the
spirometric features FVC, FEF25, PEF, FEF25-75, FEF50 and the
demographic parameter height are the important descriptors. A
comparison of performance assessment of both models prove that, the
prediction ability of MARS with the `top two ranked features namely
the FVC and FEF25 is higher, yielding a model fit of R2= 0.96 and
R2= 0.99 for normal and abnormal subjects. The Root Mean Square
Error analysis of the RF model and the MARS model also shows that
the latter is capable of predicting the missing values of FEV1 with a
notably lower error value of 0.0191 (normal subjects) and 0.0106
(abnormal subjects) with the aforementioned input features. It is
concluded that combining feature selection with a prediction model
provides a minimum subset of predominant features to train the
model, as well as yielding better prediction performance. This
analysis can assist clinicians with a intelligence support system in the
medical diagnosis and improvement of clinical care.
Abstract: Over the past four decades, the fatigue behavior of
nickel-based alloys has been widely studied. However, in recent
years, significant advances in the fabrication process leading to grain
size reduction have been made in order to improve fatigue properties
of aircraft turbine discs. Indeed, a change in particle size affects the
initiation mode of fatigue cracks as well as the fatigue life of the
material. The present study aims to investigate the fatigue behavior of
a newly developed nickel-based superalloy under biaxial-planar
loading. Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) tests are performed at different
stress ratios so as to study the influence of the multiaxial stress state
on the fatigue life of the material. Full-field displacement and strain
measurements as well as crack initiation detection are obtained using
Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques. The aim of this
presentation is first to provide an in-depth description of both the
experimental set-up and protocol: the multiaxial testing machine, the
specific design of the cruciform specimen and performances of the
DIC code are introduced. Second, results for sixteen specimens
related to different load ratios are presented. Crack detection, strain
amplitude and number of cycles to crack initiation vs. triaxial stress
ratio for each loading case are given. Third, from fractographic
investigations by scanning electron microscopy it is found that the
mechanism of fatigue crack initiation does not depend on the triaxial
stress ratio and that most fatigue cracks initiate from subsurface
carbides.
Abstract: The development of allometric models is crucial to
accurate forest biomass/carbon stock assessment. The aim of this
study was to develop a set of biomass prediction models that will
enable the determination of total tree aboveground biomass for
savannah woodland area in Niger State, Nigeria. Based on the data
collected through biometric measurements of 1816 trees and
destructive sampling of 36 trees, five species specific and one site
specific models were developed. The sample size was distributed
equally between the five most dominant species in the study site
(Vitellaria paradoxa, Irvingia gabonensis, Parkia biglobosa,
Anogeissus leiocarpus, Pterocarpus erinaceous). Firstly, the
equations were developed for five individual species. Secondly these
five species were mixed and were used to develop an allometric
equation of mixed species. Overall, there was a strong positive
relationship between total tree biomass and the stem diameter. The
coefficient of determination (R2 values) ranging from 0.93 to 0.99 P
< 0.001 were realised for the models; with considerable low standard
error of the estimates (SEE) which confirms that the total tree above
ground biomass has a significant relationship with the dbh. F-test
values for the biomass prediction models were also significant at p
Abstract: Robotic surgery is used to enhance minimally invasive
surgical procedure. It provides greater degree of freedom for surgical
tools but lacks of haptic feedback system to provide sense of touch to
the surgeon. Surgical robots work on master-slave operation, where
user is a master and robotic arms are the slaves. Current, surgical
robots provide precise control of the surgical tools, but heavily rely
on visual feedback, which sometimes cause damage to the inner
organs. The goal of this research was to design and develop a realtime
Simulink based robotic system to study force feedback
mechanism during instrument-object interaction. Setup includes three
VelmexXSlide assembly (XYZ Stage) for three dimensional
movement, an end effector assembly for forceps, electronic circuit for
four strain gages, two Novint Falcon 3D gaming controllers,
microcontroller board with linear actuators, MATLAB and Simulink
toolboxes. Strain gages were calibrated using Imada Digital Force
Gauge device and tested with a hard-core wire to measure
instrument-object interaction in the range of 0-35N. Designed
Simulink model successfully acquires 3D coordinates from two
Novint Falcon controllers and transfer coordinates to the XYZ stage
and forceps. Simulink model also reads strain gages signal through
10-bit analog to digital converter resolution of a microcontroller
assembly in real time, converts voltage into force and feedback the
output signals to the Novint Falcon controller for force feedback
mechanism. Experimental setup allows user to change forward
kinematics algorithms to achieve the best-desired movement of the
XYZ stage and forceps. This project combines haptic technology
with surgical robot to provide sense of touch to the user controlling
forceps through machine-computer interface.
Abstract: The detection of moving objects from a video image
sequences is very important for object tracking, activity recognition,
and behavior understanding in video surveillance.
The most used approach for moving objects detection / tracking is
background subtraction algorithms. Many approaches have been
suggested for background subtraction. But, these are illumination
change sensitive and the solutions proposed to bypass this problem
are time consuming.
In this paper, we propose a robust yet computationally efficient
background subtraction approach and, mainly, focus on the ability to
detect moving objects on dynamic scenes, for possible applications in
complex and restricted access areas monitoring, where moving and
motionless persons must be reliably detected. It consists of three
main phases, establishing illumination changes invariance,
background/foreground modeling and morphological analysis for
noise removing.
We handle illumination changes using Contrast Limited Histogram
Equalization (CLAHE), which limits the intensity of each pixel to
user determined maximum. Thus, it mitigates the degradation due to
scene illumination changes and improves the visibility of the video
signal. Initially, the background and foreground images are extracted
from the video sequence. Then, the background and foreground
images are separately enhanced by applying CLAHE.
In order to form multi-modal backgrounds we model each channel
of a pixel as a mixture of K Gaussians (K=5) using Gaussian Mixture
Model (GMM). Finally, we post process the resulting binary
foreground mask using morphological erosion and dilation
transformations to remove possible noise.
For experimental test, we used a standard dataset to challenge the
efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method on a diverse set of
dynamic scenes.
Abstract: A well designed and executed Production Planning
and Control (PPC) system is one of the key levers for superior
performance in the current manufacturing set-up. Hence, measuring
the PPC system performance has become a necessity for long term
success. The present study examined PPC related issues which
impact the production capacity and productivity of leather companies
with special focus on Kombolcha Tannery Share Company (KTSC),
Ethiopia. Physical observation, interview, and questionnaire were
used to generate necessary information from the respondents and
reach valid conclusions. Company annual reports were referred and
analyzed to triangulate primary data. Consequently, the study
revealed that KTSC runs below its capacity due to its inefficient PPC
system being in use for which the root causes were identified. The
study thereby conceptualizes a PPC system improvement framework
comprising three pillars viz., management culture, internal capability
and performance measurement together with key considerations in
each case. The study findings enable the company to recognize the
importance of efficient PPC system as a source of competitive
advantage. It also aid managers in evaluating various PPC execution
schemes to enhance productivity.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the kinematic
characteristics and differences of the snatch barbell trajectory of 53 kg
class female weight lifters. We take the 2014 Taiwan College Cup
players as examples, and tend to make kinematic applications through
the proven weightlifting barbell track system. The competition videos
are taken by consumer camcorder with a tripod which set up at the side
of the lifter. The results will be discussed in three parts, the first part is
various lifting phase, the second part is the compare lifting between
success and unsuccessful, and the third part is to compare the
outstanding player with the general. Conclusion through the barbell
can be used to observe the trajectories of our players lifting the usual
process cannot be observed in the presence of malfunction or habits, so
that the coach can find the problem and guide the players more
accurately. Our system can be applied in practice and competition to
increase the resilience of the lifter on the field.
Abstract: Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a noninvasive
technique that registers signals originating from the firing of neurons
in the brain. The Emotiv EEG Neuroheadset is a consumer product
comprised of 14 EEG channels and was used to record the reactions
of the neurons within the brain to two forms of stimuli in 10
participants. These stimuli consisted of auditory and visual formats
that provided directions of ‘right’ or ‘left.’ Participants were
instructed to raise their right or left arm in accordance with the
instruction given. A scenario in OpenViBE was generated to both
stimulate the participants while recording their data. In OpenViBE,
the Graz Motor BCI Stimulator algorithm was configured to govern
the duration and number of visual stimuli. Utilizing EEGLAB under
the cross platform MATLAB®, the electrodes most stimulated during
the study were defined. Data outputs from EEGLAB were analyzed
using IBM SPSS Statistics® Version 20. This aided in determining
the electrodes to use in the development of a brain-machine interface
(BMI) using real-time EEG signals from the Emotiv EEG
Neuroheadset. Signal processing and feature extraction were
accomplished via the Simulink® signal processing toolbox. An
Arduino™ Duemilanove microcontroller was used to link the Emotiv
EEG Neuroheadset and the right and left Mecha TE™ Hands.
Abstract: In this paper, reliable consensus of multi-agent systems
with sampled-data is investigated. By using a suitable
Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and some techniques such as
Wirtinger Inequality, Schur Complement and Kronecker Product, the
results of such system are obtained by solving a set of Linear Matrix
Inequalities (LMIs). One numerical example is included to show the
effectiveness of the proposed criteria.
Abstract: This paper presents two techniques, local feature
extraction using image spectrum and low frequency spectrum
modelling using GMM to capture the underlying statistical
information to improve the performance of face recognition
system. Local spectrum features are extracted using overlap sub
block window that are mapped on the face image. For each of this
block, spatial domain is transformed to frequency domain using
DFT. A low frequency coefficient is preserved by discarding high
frequency coefficients by applying rectangular mask on the
spectrum of the facial image. Low frequency information is non-
Gaussian in the feature space and by using combination of several
Gaussian functions that has different statistical properties, the best
feature representation can be modelled using probability density
function. The recognition process is performed using maximum
likelihood value computed using pre-calculated GMM components.
The method is tested using FERET datasets and is able to achieved
92% recognition rates.
Abstract: The present work analyses different parameters of end
milling to minimize the surface roughness for AISI D2 steel. D2 Steel
is generally used for stamping or forming dies, punches, forming
rolls, knives, slitters, shear blades, tools, scrap choppers, tyre
shredders etc. Surface roughness is one of the main indices that
determines the quality of machined products and is influenced by
various cutting parameters. In machining operations, achieving
desired surface quality by optimization of machining parameters, is a
challenging job. In case of mating components the surface roughness
become more essential and is influenced by the cutting parameters,
because, these quality structures are highly correlated and are
expected to be influenced directly or indirectly by the direct effect of
process parameters or their interactive effects (i.e. on process
environment). In this work, the effects of selected process parameters
on surface roughness and subsequent setting of parameters with the
levels have been accomplished by Taguchi’s parameter design
approach. The experiments have been performed as per the
combination of levels of different process parameters suggested by
L9 orthogonal array. Experimental investigation of the end milling of
AISI D2 steel with carbide tool by varying feed, speed and depth of
cut and the surface roughness has been measured using surface
roughness tester. Analyses of variance have been performed for mean
and signal-to-noise ratio to estimate the contribution of the different
process parameters on the process.
Abstract: This study estimates the seismic demands of tall
buildings with central symmetric setbacks by using nonlinear time
history analysis. Three setback structures, all 60-story high with
setback in three levels, are used for evaluation. The effects of
irregularities occurred by setback are evaluated by determination of
global-drift, story-displacement and story drift. Story-displacement is
modified by roof displacement and first story displacement and story
drift is modified by global drift. All results are calculated at the
center of mass and in x and y direction. Also the absolute values of
these quantities are determined. The results show that increasing of
vertical irregularities increases the global drift of the structure and
enlarges the deformations in the height of the structure. It is also
observed that the effects of geometry irregularity in the seismic
deformations of setback structures are higher than those of mass
irregularity.
Abstract: In this study, the root of the name Lykaonia and the geographical area defined as Lykaonia Region are mentioned. In this context, information concerning the settlements of Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age are given place. Particularly the settlements belonging to Classical Age are localized and brief information about the history of these settlements is provided. In the light of this information, roads of Antique period in the region are evaluated.
Abstract: This work introduces a simple device designed to
perform in-situ direct shear and sinkage tests on granular materials
as sand, clays, or regolith. It consists of a box nested within a larger
box. Both have open bottoms, allowing them to be lowered into the
material. Afterwards, two rotating plates on opposite sides of the
outer box will rotate outwards in order to clear regolith on either
side, providing room for the inner box to move relative to the plates
and perform a shear test without the resistance of the surrounding
soil. From this test, Coulomb parameters, including cohesion and
internal friction angle, as well as, Bekker parameters can be inferred.
This device has been designed for a laboratory setting, but with few
modifications, could be put on the underside of a rover for use in
a remote location. The goal behind this work is to ultimately create
a compact, but accurate measuring tool to put onto a rover or any
kind of exploratory vehicle to test for regolith properties of celestial
bodies.