Abstract: Employee-s task performance has been recognized as a
core contributor to overall organizational effectiveness. Hence,
verifying the determinants of task performance is one of the most
important research issues. This study tests the influence of perceived
organizational support, abusive supervision, and exchange ideology
on employee-s task performance. We examined our hypotheses by
collecting self-reported data from 413 Korean employees in different
organizations. Our all hypotheses gained support from the results.
Implications for research and directions for future research are
discussed.
Abstract: Economic dispatch problem is an optimization problem where objective function is highly non linear, non-convex, non-differentiable and may have multiple local minima. Therefore, classical optimization methods may not converge or get trapped to any local minima. This paper presents a comparative study of four different evolutionary algorithms i.e. genetic algorithm, bacteria foraging optimization, ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization for solving the economic dispatch problem. All the methods are tested on IEEE 30 bus test system. Simulation results are presented to show the comparative performance of these methods.
Abstract: Three-dimensional reconstruction of small objects has
been one of the most challenging problems over the last decade.
Computer graphics researchers and photography professionals have
been working on improving 3D reconstruction algorithms to fit the
high demands of various real life applications. Medical sciences,
animation industry, virtual reality, pattern recognition, tourism
industry, and reverse engineering are common fields where 3D
reconstruction of objects plays a vital role. Both lack of accuracy and
high computational cost are the major challenges facing successful
3D reconstruction. Fringe projection has emerged as a promising 3D
reconstruction direction that combines low computational cost to both
high precision and high resolution. It employs digital projection,
structured light systems and phase analysis on fringed pictures.
Research studies have shown that the system has acceptable
performance, and moreover it is insensitive to ambient light.
This paper presents an overview of fringe projection approaches. It
also presents an experimental study and implementation of a simple
fringe projection system. We tested our system using two objects
with different materials and levels of details. Experimental results
have shown that, while our system is simple, it produces acceptable
results.
Abstract: Face detection and recognition has many applications
in a variety of fields such as security system, videoconferencing and
identification. Face classification is currently implemented in
software. A hardware implementation allows real-time processing,
but has higher cost and time to-market.
The objective of this work is to implement a classifier based on
neural networks MLP (Multi-layer Perceptron) for face detection.
The MLP is used to classify face and non-face patterns. The systm is
described using C language on a P4 (2.4 Ghz) to extract weight
values. Then a Hardware implementation is achieved using VHDL
based Methodology. We target Xilinx FPGA as the implementation
support.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to develop and compare alternative prediction equations of lean meat proportion (LMP) of lamb carcasses. Forty (40) male lambs, 22 of Churra Galega Bragançana Portuguese local breed and 18 of Suffolk breed were used. Lambs were slaughtered, and carcasses weighed approximately 30 min later in order to obtain hot carcass weight (HCW). After cooling at 4º C for 24-h a set of seventeen carcass measurements was recorded. The left side of carcasses was dissected into muscle, subcutaneous fat, inter-muscular fat, bone, and remainder (major blood vessels, ligaments, tendons, and thick connective tissue sheets associated with muscles), and the LMP was evaluated as the dissected muscle percentage. Prediction equations of LMP were developed, and fitting quality was evaluated through the coefficient of determination of estimation (R2 e) and standard error of estimate (SEE). Models validation was performed by k-fold crossvalidation and the coefficient of determination of prediction (R2 p) and standard error of prediction (SEP) were computed. The BT2 measurement was the best single predictor and accounted for 37.8% of the LMP variation with a SEP of 2.30%. The prediction of LMP of lamb carcasses can be based simple models, using as predictors the HCW and one fat thickness measurement.
Abstract: Real-time object tracking is a problem which involves extraction of critical information from complex and uncertain imagedata. In this paper, we present a comprehensive methodology to design an artificial neural network (ANN) for a real-time object tracking application. The object, which is tracked for the purpose of demonstration, is a specific airplane. However, the proposed ANN can be trained to track any other object of interest. The ANN has been simulated and tested on the training and testing datasets, as well as on a real-time streaming video. The tracking error is analyzed with post-regression analysis tool, which finds the correlation among the calculated coordinates and the correct coordinates of the object in the image. The encouraging results from the computer simulation and analysis show that the proposed ANN architecture is a good candidate solution to a real-time object tracking problem.
Abstract: A good green building design project, designers should consider not only energy consumption, but also healthy and comfortable needs of inhabitants. In recent years, the Taiwan government paid attentions on both carbon reduction and indoor air quality issues, which be presented in the legislation of Building Codes and other regulations. Taiwan located in hot and humid climates, dampness in buildings leads to significant microbial pollution and building damage. This means that the high temperature and humidity present a serious indoor air quality issue. The interactions between vapor transfers and energy fluxes are essential for the whole building Heat Air and Moisture (HAM) response. However, a simulation tool with short calculation time, property accuracy and interface is needed for practical building design processes. In this research, we consider the vapor transfer phenomenon of building materials as well as temperature and humidity and energy consumption in a building space. The simulation bases on the EMPD method, which was performed by EnergyPlus, a simulation tool developed by DOE, to simulate the indoor moisture variation in a one-zone residential unit based on the Effective Moisture Penetration Depth Method, which is more suitable for practical building design processes.
Abstract: This paper aims at overviewing the topics of a research project (CARDIOSENSOR) on the field of health sciences (biomaterials and biomedical engineering). The project has focused on the development of a nanosensor for the assessment of the risk of cardiovascular diseases by the monitoring of C-reactive protein (CRP), which has been currently considered as the best validated inflammatory biomarker associated to cardiovascular diseases. The project involves tasks such as: 1) the development of sensor devices based on field effect transistors (FET): assembly, optimization and validation; 2) application of sensors to the detection of CRP in standard solutions and comparison with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); and 3) application of sensors to real samples such as blood and saliva and evaluation of their ability to predict the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Abstract: Mental health professionals views about mental illness
is an important issue which has not received enough attention. The
negative stigma associated with mental illness can have many
negative consequences. Unfortunately, health professionals working
with the mentally ill can also exhibit stigma. It has been suggested
that causal explanations or beliefs around the causes of mental illness
may influence stigma. This study aims to gain a greater insight into
stigma through examining stigma among potential mental health
professionals. Firstly, results found that potential mental health
professionals had relatively low social distance t(205) = -3.62, p
Abstract: The performance of a sucrose-based H2 production in
a completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) was modeled by neural
network back-propagation (BP) algorithm. The H2 production was
monitored over a period of 450 days at 35±1 ºC. The proposed model
predicts H2 production rates based on hydraulic retention time
(HRT), recycle ratio, sucrose concentration and degradation, biomass
concentrations, pH, alkalinity, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP),
acids and alcohols concentrations. Artificial neural networks (ANNs)
have an ability to capture non-linear information very efficiently. In
this study, a predictive controller was proposed for management and
operation of large scale H2-fermenting systems. The relevant control
strategies can be activated by this method. BP based ANNs modeling
results was very successful and an excellent match was obtained
between the measured and the predicted rates. The efficient H2
production and system control can be provided by predictive control
method combined with the robust BP based ANN modeling tool.
Abstract: Characterization and evaluation of the activity of Vespa basalis DPP-IV, which expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda 21 cells. The expression of rDPP-IV was confirmed by SDS–PAGE, Western blot analyses, LC-MS/MS and measurement of its peptidase specificity. One-step purification by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and the total amount of rDPP-IV recovered was approximately 6.4mg per liter from infected culture medium; an equivalent amount would be produced by 1x109 infected Sf21 insect cells. Through the affinity purification led to highly stable rDPP-IV enzyme was recovered and with significant peptidase activity. The rDPP-IV exhibited classical Michaelis–Menten kinetics, with kcat/Km in the range of 10-500 mM-1×S-1 for the five synthetic substrates and optimum substrate is Ala-Pro-pNA. As expected in inhibition assay, the enzymatic activity of rDPP-IV was significantly reduced by 80 or 60% in the presence of sitagliptin (a DPP-IV inhibitor) or PMSF (a serine protease inhibitor), but was not apparently affected by iodoacetamide (a cysteine protease inhibitor).
Abstract: Different forms of interaction are an integral part of
modern courses. Traditional courses held on-campus might focus on
teacher-student interaction, or student-student interaction, or both.
However when these traditional on-campus courses are to be held as
distance courses there is a risk that these well-designed interactions
will be difficult or impossible to uphold. For example, studentstudent
interaction in traditional project assignments might not work
well if the students are scattered across the world. Thus, even a welldesigned
traditional on-site course cannot without modification be
turned into a distance course. Traditional on-site courses simply have
to be redesigned to become true distance courses. This paper
describes a structured approach which facilitates the redesign of a
traditional course into a distance course. The approach is based on
that the desired forms of course flexibility are identified, and
thereafter that the course activities are redesigned to facilitate
interaction in a distance course. The approach is making use of
known patterns of pedagogic interaction and existing guidelines for
distance education design. The approach is illustrated with an
example course in the field of information systems design.
Abstract: We report the size dependence of 1D superconductivity in ultrathin (10-130 nm) nanowires produced by coating suspended carbon nanotubes with a superconducting NbN thin film. The resistance-temperature characteristic curves for samples with ≧25 nm wire width show the superconducting transition. On the other hand, for the samples with 10-nm width, the superconducting transition is not exhibited owing to the quantum size effect. The differential resistance vs. current density characteristic curves show some peak, indicating that Josephson junctions are formed in nanowires. The presence of the Josephson junctions is well explained by the measurement of the magnetic field dependence of the critical current. These understanding allow for the further expansion of the potential application of NbN, which is utilized for single photon detectors and so on.
Abstract: The scientific community has invested a great deal of effort in the fields of discrete wavelet transform in the last few decades. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) associated with the vector quantization has been proved to be a very useful tool for the compression of image. However, the DWT is very computationally intensive process requiring innovative and computationally efficient method to obtain the image compression. The concurrent transformation of the image can be an important solution to this problem. This paper proposes a model of concurrent DWT for image compression. Additionally, the formal verification of the model has also been performed. Here the Symbolic Model Verifier (SMV) has been used as the formal verification tool. The system has been modeled in SMV and some properties have been verified formally.
Abstract: Minor problems arising from optimizations by
welding of fixed prostheses frameworks can be identified by
macroscopic and microscopic visual inspection. The purpose of this
study was to highlight the visible discontinuities present in the laser
welds of dental Ni-Cr alloys. Ni-Cr base metal alloys designated for
fixed prostheses manufacture were selected for the experiments.
Using cast plates, preliminary tests were conducted by laser welding.
Macroscopic visual inspection was done carefully to assess the
defects of the welding rib. Electron microscopy images allowed
visualization of small discontinuities, which escapes visual
inspection. Making comparison to Ni-Cr alloys taken in the
experiment and laser welded, after visual analysis, the best welds
appear for Heraenium NA alloy.
Abstract: This research attempts to study the feasibility of
augmenting an augmented reality (AR) image card on a Quick
Response (QR) code. The authors have developed a new visual tag,
which contains a QR code and an augmented AR image card. The new
visual tag has features of reading both of the revealed data of the QR
code and the instant data from the AR image card. Furthermore, a
handheld communicating device is used to read and decode the new
visual tag, and then the concealed data of the new visual tag can be
revealed and read through its visual display. In general, the QR code is
designed to store the corresponding data or, as a key, to access the
corresponding data from the server through internet. Those reveled
data from the QR code are represented in text. Normally, the AR
image card is designed to store the corresponding data in
3-Dimensional or animation/video forms. By using QR code's
property of high fault tolerant rate, the new visual tag can access those
two different types of data by using a handheld communicating device.
The new visual tag has an advantage of carrying much more data than
independent QR code or AR image card. The major findings of this
research are: 1) the most efficient area for the designed augmented AR
card augmenting on the QR code is 9% coverage area out of the total
new visual tag-s area, and 2) the best location for the augmented AR
image card augmenting on the QR code is located in the bottom-right
corner of the new visual tag.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel sinusoidal modulation
scheme that features least correlated noise and high linearity. The
modulation circuit, which is composed of a quantizer, a resonator, and
a comparator, is capable of eliminating correlated modulation noise
while doing modulation. The proposed modulation scheme combined
with the linear quadratic optimal control is applied to a single-phase
voltage source inverter and validated with the experiment results. The
experiments show that the inverter supplies stable 60Hz 110V AC
power with a total harmonic distortion of less than 1%, under the DC
input variation from 190 V to 300 V and the output power variation
from 0 to 600 W.
Abstract: In this paper a fast motion estimation method for
H.264/AVC named Triplet Search Motion Estimation (TS-ME) is
proposed. Similar to some of the traditional fast motion estimation
methods and their improved proposals which restrict the search points
only to some selected candidates to decrease the computation
complexity, proposed algorithm separate the motion search process to
several steps but with some new features. First, proposed algorithm try
to search the real motion area using proposed triplet patterns instead of
some selected search points to avoid dropping into the local minimum.
Then, in the localized motion area a novel 3-step motion search
algorithm is performed. Proposed search patterns are categorized into
three rings on the basis of the distance from the search center. These
three rings are adaptively selected by referencing the surrounding
motion vectors to early terminate the motion search process. On the
other hand, computation reduction for sub pixel motion search is also
discussed considering the appearance probability of the sub pixel
motion vector. From the simulation results, motion estimation speed
improved by a factor of up to 38 when using proposed algorithm than
that of the reference software of H.264/AVC with ignorable picture
quality loss.
Abstract: Double-diffusive natural convection in an open top
square cavity and heated from the side is studied numerically.
Constant temperatures and concentration are imposed along the right
and left walls while the heat balance at the surface is assumed to obey
Newton-s law of cooling. The finite difference method is used to
solve the dimensionless governing equations. The numerical results
are reported for the effect of Marangoni number, Biot number and
Prandtl number on the contours of streamlines, temperature and
concentration. The predicted results for the average Nusselt number
and Sherwood number are presented for various parametric
conditions. The parameters involved are as follows; the thermal
Marangoni number, 0 ≤ MaT ≤1000 , the solutal Marangoni number,
0 1000 c ≤ Ma ≤ , the Biot number, 0 ≤ Bi ≤ 6 , Grashof number,
5 Gr = 10 and aspect ratio 1. The study focused on both flows; thermal
dominated, N = 0.8 , and compositional dominated, N = 1.3 .
Abstract: The aerodynamics characteristics of a blended-wing body (BWB) aircraft were obtained in Universiti Teknologi MARA low speed wind tunnel. The scaled-down of BWB model consisted of a canard as its horizontal stabilizer. There were four canards with different aspect ratio used in the experiments. Canard setting angles were varied from -20q to 20q. All tests were conducted at velocity of 35 m/s, with Mach number 0.1. At low angles of attacks, the increment of lift slope for various canards aspect ratio is small and almost constant. Higher canard aspect ratio will cause higher drag. However, canard has a high effect to the moment at zero lift, CM,0.The visualization using mini tuff was performed to observe the airflow at the upper surface of canard. KeywordsAerodynamics,blended-wing body, canard, wind tunnel.