Abstract: The standard investigational method for obstructive
sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) diagnosis is polysomnography (PSG),
which consists of a simultaneous, usually overnight recording of
multiple electro-physiological signals related to sleep and
wakefulness. This is an expensive, encumbering and not a readily
repeated protocol, and therefore there is need for simpler and easily
implemented screening and detection techniques. Identification of
apnea/hypopnea events in the screening recordings is the key factor
for the diagnosis of OSAS. The analysis of a solely single-lead
electrocardiographic (ECG) signal for OSAS diagnosis, which may
be done with portable devices, at patient-s home, is the challenge of
the last years. A novel artificial neural network (ANN) based
approach for feature extraction and automatic identification of
respiratory events in ECG signals is presented in this paper. A
nonlinear principal component analysis (NLPCA) method was
considered for feature extraction and support vector machine for
classification/recognition. An alternative representation of the
respiratory events by means of Kohonen type neural network is
discussed. Our prospective study was based on OSAS patients of the
Clinical Hospital of Pneumology from Iaşi, Romania, males and
females, as well as on non-OSAS investigated human subjects. Our
computed analysis includes a learning phase based on cross signal
PSG annotation.
Abstract: Uncertainties of a serial production line affect on the
production throughput. The uncertainties cannot be prevented in a
real production line. However the uncertain conditions can be
controlled by a robust prediction model. Thus, a hybrid model
including autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and
multiple polynomial regression, is proposed to model the nonlinear
relationship of production uncertainties with throughput. The
uncertainties under consideration of this study are demand, breaktime,
scrap, and lead-time. The nonlinear relationship of production
uncertainties with throughput are examined in the form of quadratic
and cubic regression models, where the adjusted R-squared for
quadratic and cubic regressions was 98.3% and 98.2%. We optimized
the multiple quadratic regression (MQR) by considering the time
series trend of the uncertainties using ARIMA model. Finally the
hybrid model of ARIMA and MQR is formulated by better adjusted
R-squared, which is 98.9%.
Abstract: This paper deals with new concept of using compressed atmospheric air as a zero pollution power source for running motorbikes. The motorbike is equipped with an air turbine in place of an internal combustion engine, and transforms the energy of the compressed air into shaft work. The mathematical modeling and performance evaluation of a small capacity compressed air driven vaned type novel air turbine is presented in this paper. The effect of isobaric admission and adiabatic expansion of high pressure air for different rotor to casing diameter ratios with respect to different vane angles (number of vanes) have been considered and analyzed. It is found that the shaft work output is optimum for some typical values of rotor / casing diameter ratios at a particular value of vane angle (no. of vanes). In this study, the maximum power is obtained as 4.5kW - 5.3kW (5.5-6.25 HP) when casing diameter is taken 100 mm, and rotor to casing diameter ratios are kept from 0.65 to 0.55. This value of output is sufficient to run motorbike.
Abstract: As more people from non-technical backgrounds
are becoming directly involved with large-scale ontology
development, the focal point of ontology research has shifted
from the more theoretical ontology issues to problems
associated with the actual use of ontologies in real-world,
large-scale collaborative applications. Recently the National
Science Foundation funded a large collaborative ontology
development project for which a new formal ontology model,
the Ontology Abstract Machine (OAM), was developed to
satisfy some unique functional and data representation
requirements. This paper introduces the OAM model and the
related algorithms that enable maintenance of an ontology that
supports node-based user access. The successful software
implementation of the OAM model and its subsequent
acceptance by a large research community proves its validity
and its real-world application value.
Abstract: In this study, aeroelastic response and performance
analyses have been conducted for a 5MW-Class composite wind
turbine blade model. Advanced coupled numerical method based on
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational flexible
multi-body dynamics (CFMBD) has been developed in order to
investigate aeroelastic responses and performance characteristics of
the rotating composite blade. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes
(RANS) equations with k-ω SST turbulence model were solved for
unsteady flow problems on the rotating turbine blade model. Also,
structural analyses considering rotating effect have been conducted
using the general nonlinear finite element method. A fully implicit
time marching scheme based on the Newmark direct integration
method is applied to solve the coupled aeroelastic governing equations
of the 3D turbine blade for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems.
Detailed dynamic responses and instantaneous velocity contour on the
blade surfaces which considering flow-separation effects were
presented to show the multi-physical phenomenon of the huge rotating
wind- turbine blade model.
Abstract: Maize and Indian mustard are significant crops in
semi-arid climate zones of India. Improved water management
requires precise scheduling of irrigation, which in turn requires an
accurate computation of daily crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Daily
crop evapotranspiration comes as a product of reference
evapotranspiration (ET0) and the growth stage specific crop
coefficients modified for daily variation. The first objective of
present study is to develop crop coefficients Kc for Maize and Indian
mustard. The estimated values of Kc for maize at the four crop
growth stages (initial, development, mid-season, and late season) are
0.55, 1.08, 1.25, and 0.75, respectively, and for Indian mustard the Kc
values at the four growth stages are 0.3, 0.6, 1.12, and 0.35,
respectively. The second objective of the study is to compute daily
crop evapotranspiration from ET0 and crop coefficients. Average
daily ETc of maize varied from about 2.5 mm/d in the early growing
period to > 6.5 mm/d at mid season. The peak ETc of maize is 8.3
mm/d and it occurred 64 days after sowing at the reproductive growth
stage when leaf area index was 4.54. In the case of Indian mustard,
average ETc is 1 mm/d at the initial stage, >1.8 mm/d at mid season
and achieves a peak value of 2.12 mm/d on 56 days after sowing.
Improved schedules of irrigation have been simulated based on daily
crop evapo-transpiration and field measured data. Simulation shows a
close match between modeled and field moisture status prevalent
during crop season.
Abstract: This is a cross-cultural study that determines South
African multinational enterprises (MNEs) entry strategies as they
invest in Africa. An integrated theoretical framework comprising the
transaction cost theory, Uppsala model, eclectic paradigm and the
distance framework was adopted. A sample of 40 South African
MNEs with 415 existing FDI entries in Africa was drawn. Using an
ordered logistic regression model, the impact of culture on the choice
of degree of control by South African MNEs in Africa was
determined. Cultural distance was one of significant factors that
influenced South African MNEs- choice of degree of control.
Furthermore, South African MNEs are risk averse in all countries in
Africa but minimize the risks differently across sectors. Service
sectors chooses to own their subsidiaries 100% and avoid dealing
with the locals while manufacturing, resources and construction
choose to have a local partner to share the risk.
Abstract: The approach proposed here is oriented in the direction of fuzzy system for the analysis and the synthesis of intelligent climate controllers, the simulation of the internal climate of the greenhouse is achieved by a linear model whose coefficients are obtained by identification. The use of fuzzy logic controllers for the regulation of climate variables represents a powerful way to minimize the energy cost. Strategies of reduction and optimization are adopted to facilitate the tuning and to reduce the complexity of the controller.
Abstract: Renewed interest in propeller propulsion on aircraft
configurations combined with higher propeller loads lead to the question how the effects of the propulsion on model support disturbances
should be accounted for. In this paper, the determination of engine power effects on support interference of sting-mounted models is
demonstrated by a measurement on a four-engine turboprop aircraft.
CFD results on a more generic model are presented in order to clarify
the possible mechanism behind engine power effects on support
interference. The engine slipstream induces a local change in angle
of sideslip at the model sting thereby influencing the sting near-field and far-field effects. Whether or not the net result of these changes
in the disturbance pattern leads to a significant engine power effect depends on the configuration of the wind tunnel model and the test
setup.
Abstract: This paper presents a multi-objective order allocation
planning problem with the consideration of various real-world
production features. A novel hybrid intelligent optimization model,
integrating a multi-objective memetic optimization process, a Monte
Carlo simulation technique and a heuristic pruning technique, is
proposed to handle this problem. Experiments based on industrial data
are conducted to validate the proposed model. Results show that (1)
the proposed model can effectively solve the investigated problem by
providing effective production decision-making solutions, which
outperformsan NSGA-II-based optimization process and an industrial
method.
Abstract: This paper presented two new efficient algorithms
for contour approximation. The proposed algorithm is compared
with Ramer (good quality), Triangle (faster) and Trapezoid (fastest)
in this work; which are briefly described. Cartesian co-ordinates of
an input contour are processed in such a manner that finally
contours is presented by a set of selected vertices of the edge of the
contour. In the paper the main idea of the analyzed procedures for
contour compression is performed. For comparison, the mean
square error and signal-to-noise ratio criterions are used.
Computational time of analyzed methods is estimated depending on
a number of numerical operations. Experimental results are
obtained both in terms of image quality, compression ratios, and
speed. The main advantages of the analyzed algorithm is small
numbers of the arithmetic operations compared to the existing
algorithms.
Abstract: This paper proposes the method combining artificial
neural network (ANN) with particle swarm optimization (PSO) to
implement the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) by controlling
the rotor speed of the wind generator. First, the measurements of wind
speed, rotor speed of wind power generator and output power of wind
power generator are applied to train artificial neural network and to
estimate the wind speed. Second, the method mentioned above is
applied to estimate and control the optimal rotor speed of the wind
turbine so as to output the maximum power. Finally, the result reveals
that the control system discussed in this paper extracts the maximum
output power of wind generator within the short duration even in the
conditions of wind speed and load impedance variation.
Abstract: In this paper an approaches for increasing the
effectiveness of error detection in computer network channels with
Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) has been proposed. Proposed
approaches are based on consideration of special feature of errors,
which are appearances in line with PAM. The first approach consists
of CRC modification specifically for line with PAM. The second
approach is base of weighted checksums using. The way for
checksum components coding has been developed. It has been shown
that proposed checksum modification ensure superior digital data
control transformation reliability for channels with PAM in compare
to CRC.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to remove the two principal
noises which disturb the surface electromyography signal
(Diaphragm). These signals are the electrocardiogram ECG artefact
and the power line interference artefact. The algorithm proposed
focuses on a new Lean Mean Square (LMS) Widrow adaptive
structure. These structures require a reference signal that is correlated
with the noise contaminating the signal. The noise references are
then extracted : first with a noise reference mathematically
constructed using two different cosine functions; 50Hz (the
fundamental) function and 150Hz (the first harmonic) function for
the power line interference and second with a matching pursuit
technique combined to an LMS structure for the ECG artefact
estimation. The two removal procedures are attained without the use
of supplementary electrodes. These techniques of filtering are
validated on real records of surface diaphragm electromyography
signal. The performance of the proposed methods was compared with
already conducted research results.
Abstract: The experiment was then conducted to investigate the
effect of cassava peel addition in the concentrate on the performance
of lactating dairy cows. Twenty four Holstein Friesian crossbred
(>87.5% Holstein Friesian) lactating dairy cows in mid lactation;
averaging 12.2+2.1 kg of milk, 119+45 days in milk, 44.1+6.2
months old and 449+33 kg live weight, were stratified for milk yield,
days in milk, age, stage of lactation and body weight, and then
randomly allocated to three treatment groups. The first, second and
third groups were fed concentrates containing the respective cassava
peel, 0, 20 and 40%. All cows were fed ad libitum corn silage and
freely access to clean water. Dry matter intake, 4%FCM, milk
composition and body weight change were affected (P
Abstract: Information Technology (IT) projects are always
accompanied by various risks and because of high rate of failure in
such projects, managing risks in order to neutralize or at least
decrease their effects on the success of the project is strongly
essential. In this paper, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) is
exploited as a means of risk evaluation methodology to prioritize and
organize risk factors faced in IT projects. A real case of IT projects, a
project of design and implementation of an integrated information
system in a vehicle producing company in Iran is studied. Related
risk factors are identified and then expert qualitative judgments about
these factors are acquired. Translating these judgments to fuzzy
numbers and using them as an input to FAHP, risk factors are then
ranked and prioritized by FAHP in order to make project managers
aware of more important risks and enable them to adopt suitable
measures to deal with these highly devastative risks.
Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the
effect of abdominal exercises versus abdominal supporting
belt on abdominal efficiency and inter-recti separation
following vaginal delivery.30 primiparous post-natal women
participated in this study. Their age ranged from (25 - 35)
years and their BMI < 30 Kg/m2. Participants were assigned
randomly into 2groups, participants of group (A) used
abdominal belt from the 2nd day following delivery, till the end
of puerperium (6 weeks), while participants of group (B)
engaged into abdominal exercises program from the 2nd day
following delivery for 6 weeks. The results of the present
study revealed that although there was no statistical difference
in waist circumference between both groups, participation in
abdominal exercise program produced a pronounced reduction
in waist/hip ratio, and inter-recti separation and also caused
significant increase in abdominal muscles strength (peak
torque, maximum repetition total work and average power)
higher than the use of abdominal belt.
Abstract: The role of neighborhood center as semi public (the
balance space) is disappeared in bonding between private and public
in new urbanism. In this way, a hierarchical principle in the
traditional neighborhood center appears to create or develop the
conditions for residents` relationships and belonging. This paper
evaluates significant of hierarchical principles of the neighborhood
center in residents` territoriality and its factors. In this way Miandeh
neighborhood center from Boshrooyeh city was determined as a case
study area. Results indicated that a hierarchical principle is the best
instrument to improve the territoriality as the subcomponent of place
belonging in residents. The findings help the urban designer to
revitalization the neighborhoods and proceedings in organization of
physical space.
Abstract: Self-compacting concrete (SCC), a new kind of high
performance concrete (HPC) have been first developed in Japan in
1986. The development of SCC has made casting of dense
reinforcement and mass concrete convenient, has minimized noise.
Fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) flows into formwork and
around obstructions under its own weight to fill it completely and
self-compact (without any need for vibration), without any
segregation and blocking. The elimination of the need for
compaction leads to better quality concrete and substantial
improvement of working conditions. SCC mixes generally have a
much higher content of fine fillers, including cement, and produce
excessively high compressive strength concrete, which restricts its
field of application to special concrete only. To use SCC mixes in
general concrete construction practice, requires low cost materials to
make inexpensive concrete.
Rice husk ash (RHA) has been used as a highly reactive
pozzolanic material to improve the microstructure of the interfacial
transition zone (ITZ) between the cement paste and the aggregate in
self compacting concrete. Mechanical experiments of RHA blended
Portland cement concretes revealed that in addition to the pozzolanic
reactivity of RHA (chemical aspect), the particle grading (physical
aspect) of cement and RHA mixtures also exerted significant
influences on the blending efficiency.
The scope of this research was to determine the usefulness of Rice
husk ash (RHA) in the development of economical self compacting
concrete (SCC). The cost of materials will be decreased by reducing
the cement content by using waste material like rice husk ash instead
of.
This paper presents a study on the development of Mechanical
properties up to 180 days of self compacting and ordinary concretes
with rice-husk ash (RHA), from a rice paddy milling industry in
Rasht (Iran). Two different replacement percentages of cement by
RHA, 10%, and 20%, and two different water/cementicious material
ratios (0.40 and 0.35), were used for both of self compacting and
normal concrete specimens. The results are compared with those of
the self compacting concrete without RHA, with compressive,
flexural strength and modulus of elasticity. It is concluded that RHA
provides a positive effect on the Mechanical properties at age after
60 days.
Base of the result self compacting concrete specimens have higher
value than normal concrete specimens in all test except modulus of
elasticity. Also specimens with 20% replacement of cement by RHA
have the best performance.
Abstract: This paper focuses on robust design and optimization
of industrial production wastes. Past literatures were reviewed to case
study Clamason Industries Limited (CIL) - a leading ladder-tops
manufacturer. A painstaking study of the firm-s practices at the shop
floor revealed that Over-production, Waiting time, Excess inventory,
and Defects are the major wastes that are impeding their progress and
profitability. Design expert8 software was used to apply Taguchi
robust design and response surface methodology in order to model,
analyse and optimise the wastes cost in CIL. Waiting time and overproduction
rank first and second in contributing to the costs of wastes
in CIL. For minimal wastes cost the control factors of overproduction,
waiting-time, defects and excess-inventory must be set at
0.30, 390.70, 4 and 55.70 respectively for CIL. The optimal value of
cost of wastes for the months studied was 22.3679. Finally, a
recommendation was made that for the company to enhance their
profitability and customer satisfaction, they must adopt the Shingeo
Shingo-s Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), which will
immediately tackle the waste of waiting by drastically reducing their
setup time.