Abstract: Modern building automation needs to deal with very
different types of demands, depending on the use of a building and the
persons acting in it. To meet the requirements of situation awareness
in modern building automation, scenario recognition becomes more
and more important in order to detect sequences of events and to react
to them properly. We present two concepts of scenario recognition
and their implementation, one based on predefined templates and the
other applying an unsupervised learning algorithm using statistical
methods. Implemented applications will be described and their advantages
and disadvantages will be outlined.
Abstract: Microwave heating process has been developed about sixty years while measurement system has also progressed. Because of irradiation of high frequency of microwave, researchers have been utilized many costly technical instrument measuring parameters to evaluate the performance of microwave heating system. Therefore, this paper is intended to present an easier and feasible efficiency measurement method. It can help inspecting efficiency of microwave heating system with good accuracy, while the method can also give reference to optimizing procedure for microwave heating system for various load material
Abstract: In the present communication, stochastic comparison
of a series (parallel) system having heterogeneous components with
random lifetimes and series (parallel) system having homogeneous
exponential components with random lifetimes has been studied.
Further, conditions under which such a comparison is possible has
been established.
Abstract: Eight steel reinforced concrete beams (SRC), were
fabricated and tested under earthquake type cyclic loading. The
effectiveness of intermediate stiffeners, such as mid-span stiffener and
plastic hinge zone stiffeners, in enhancing composite action and
ductility of SRC beams was investigated. The effectiveness of
strengthened beam-to-column (SBC) and weakened beam-to-column
(WBC) connections in enhancing beam ductility was also studied. It
was found that: (1) All the specimens possessed fairly high flexural
ductility and were found adequate for structures in high seismic zones.
(2) WBC connections induced stress concentration which caused extra
damage to concrete near the flange tapering zone. This extra damage
inhibited the flexural strength development and the ductility of the
specimens with WBC connections to some extent. (3) Specimens with
SBC connections demonstrated higher flexural strength and ductility
compared to specimens with WBC connections. (4) The intermediate
stiffeners, especially combination of plastic hinge zone stiffener and
mid span stiffeners, have an obvious effect in enhancing the ductility
of the beams with SBC connection.
Abstract: This paper presents an information retrieval model on
XML documents based on tree matching. Queries and documents are
represented by extended trees. An extended tree is built starting from
the original tree, with additional weighted virtual links between each
node and its indirect descendants allowing to directly reach each
descendant. Therefore only one level separates between each node
and its indirect descendants. This allows to compare the user query
and the document with flexibility and with respect to the structural
constraints of the query. The content of each node is very important to
decide weither a document element is relevant or not, thus the content
should be taken into account in the retrieval process. We separate
between the structure-based and the content-based retrieval processes.
The content-based score of each node is commonly based on the
well-known Tf × Idf criteria. In this paper, we compare between
this criteria and another one we call Tf × Ief. The comparison
is based on some experiments into a dataset provided by INEX1 to
show the effectiveness of our approach on one hand and those of
both weighting functions on the other.
Abstract: According to investigating impact of complexity of
stereoscopic frame pairs on stereoscopic video coding and
transmission, a new rate control algorithm is presented. The proposed
rate control algorithm is performed on three levels: stereoscopic group
of pictures (SGOP) level, stereoscopic frame (SFrame) level and
frame level. A temporal-spatial frame complexity model is firstly
established, in the bits allocation stage, the frame complexity, position
significance and reference property between the left and right frames
are taken into account. Meanwhile, the target buffer is set according to
the frame complexity. Experimental results show that the proposed
method can efficiently control the bitrates, and it outperforms the fixed
quantization parameter method from the rate distortion perspective,
and average PSNR gain between rate-distortion curves (BDPSNR) is
0.21dB.
Abstract: In this paper, we consider a risk model involving two independent classes of insurance risks and random premium income. We assume that the premium income process is a Poisson Process, and the claim number processes are independent Poisson and generalized Erlang(n) processes, respectively. Both of the Gerber- Shiu functions with zero initial surplus and the probability generating functions (p.g.f.) of the Gerber-Shiu functions are obtained.
Abstract: The efficacy of the separate mixing of four tropical spicy and medicinal plant products: Dennettia tripetala Baker (pepper fruit), Eugenia aromatica Hook (clove), Piper guineense (Schum and Thonn) (black pepper) and Monodora myristica (Dunal) (African nut-meg) with a household vegetable oil was evaluated under tropical storage conditions for the control and reproductive performance of Dermestes maculatus (De Geer) (hide beetle) and Necroba rufipes (De Geer) (copra beetle) on African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell). Each of the plant materials was pulverized into powder and applied as a mix of 1ml of oil and plant powder at 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0g per 100g of dried fish, and allowed to dry for 6h. Each of the four oil-mixed powder treatments evoked significant (P < 05) mortalities of the two insects compared with the control (oil only) at 1, 3 and 7 days post treatment. The oil-powder mixture dosages did not prevent insect egg hatchability but while the emergent larvae on the treated samples died, the emergent larvae in the control survived into adults. The application of oil-mixed powders effectively suppressed the emergence of the larvae of the beetles. Similarly, each of the oil-powder mixtures significantly reduced weight loss in smoked fish that were exposed to D. maculatus and N. rufipes when compared to the control (P < 05). The results of this study suggest that the plant powders rather than the domestic oil demonstrated protective ability against the fish beetles and confirm the efficacy of the plant products as pest control agents.
Abstract: The Taiwan government has invested approximately
21 billion NT dollars in the construction of bicycle paths since
bicycling has gained huge popularity as a healthy leisure and
recreational activity. This study focuses on the behavior of
recreational bicyclists in Danshuei and Bali, northern Taiwan. Data
were collected from a field investigation carried out along the
Danshuei bicycle path and Bali left-bank bicycle path. A total of 578
questionnaires were gathered for data analysis. Descriptive statistics
and Chi-Square tests were used to assess bicyclists- behaviors. The
frequency shows that, in these areas, Danshuei and Bali, most
bicyclists rented bicycles, rode the bicycle path in the afternoon for
about 2 hours. The used the bicycle path one time per week. For most,
it was the first time to ride these bicycle paths. There were significant
differences in distribution of bicycle ownership, time of day, duration
of ride, ride frequency, and whether riding occurred on weekdays or
weekends. Results indicated that most bicyclists in Danshuei and Bali
were infrequent users.
Abstract: This paper deals with the analysis of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of doubly curved laminated composite shells using active fiber composite (AFC) materials. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment has been considered to be made of the AFC materials. A three dimensional energy based finite element model of the smart doubly curved laminated composite shell integrated with a patch of such ACLD treatment has been developed to demonstrate the performance of the patch on enhancing the damping characteristics of the doubly curved laminated composite shells. Particular emphasis has been placed on studying the effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation angle in the constraining AFC layer on the control authority of the ACLD patch.
Abstract: This paper presents an overview of current municipal
solid waste management in Khoram Abad city.
According to data collected by the local authorities, the waste
generation rate is estimated to be 800 g/cap.d with density of 243
kg/m3. Solid waste is stored in different types of containers at the
source of generation in different areas of the city.
Local Authority is responsible for waste collection, transportation.
Municipality is responsible for waste collection, using private sector
contracts.
At present, both mechanical and manual methods are used to
collect residential waste. Manual methods of collection are the most
commonly used for waste collection in most parts of the city.
Land filling is the main disposal method in this city. But it has
some obvious problem and deficiencies
The current state of solid waste management has been improved
slightly in the last decade. By more actions can reduce the human and
environmental risks.
Abstract: Hyperglycaemia is a key factor that contributes to the
development of diabetes-related microvascular disease and a major
risk factor for endothelial dysfunction. In the current study, we have
explored glucose-induced abnormal intracellular calcium (Ca2+
i)
homeostasis in mouse microvessel endothelial cells (MMECs) in
high glucose (HG) (40mmol/L) versus control (low glucose, LG) (11
mmol/L). We demonstrated that the exposure of MMECs to HG for 3
days did not change basal Ca2+
i, however, there was a significant
increase of acetylcholine-induced Ca2+ entry. Western blots
illustrated that exposure to HG also increased STIM1 (Stromal
Interaction Molecule 1), but not Orai1 (the pore forming subunit),
protein expression levels. Although the link between HG-induced
changes in STIM1 expression, enhanced Ca2+ entry and endothelial
dysfunction requires further study, the current data are suggestive
that targeting these pathways may reduce the impact of HG on
endothelial function.
Abstract: In the last few years, the Semantic Web gained scientific acceptance as a means of relationships identification in knowledge base, widely known by semantic association. Query about complex relationships between entities is a strong requirement for many applications in analytical domains. In bioinformatics for example, it is critical to extract exchanges between proteins. Currently, the widely known result of such queries is to provide paths between connected entities from data graph. However, they do not always give good results while facing the user need by the best association or a set of limited best association, because they only consider all existing paths but ignore the path evaluation. In this paper, we present an approach for supporting association discovery queries. Our proposal includes (i) a query language PmSPRQL which provides a multiparadigm query expressions for association extraction and (ii) some quantification measures making easy the process of association ranking. The originality of our proposal is demonstrated by a performance evaluation of our approach on real world datasets.
Abstract: QoS routing is an important component of Traffic
Engineering in networks that provide QoS guarantees. QoS routing is dependent on the link state information which is typically flooded across the network. This affects both the quality
of the routing and the utilization of the network resources. In
this paper, we examine establishing QoS routes with partial state
updates in wired sensor networks.
Abstract: Various solar energy technologies exist and they have
different application techniques in the generation of electrical power.
The widespread use of photovoltaic (PV) modules in such
technologies has been limited by relatively high costs and low
efficiencies. The efficiency of PV panels decreases as the operating
temperatures increase. This is due to the affect of solar intensity and
ambient temperature. In this work, Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) was used to model the heat transfer from a standard PV panel
and thus determine the rate of dissipation of heat. To accurately
model the specific climatic conditions of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), a case study of a new build green building in Dubai was
used. A finned heat pipe arrangement is proposed and analyzed to
determine the improved heat dissipation and thus improved
performance efficiency of the PV panel. A prototype of the
arrangement is built for experimental testing to validate the CFD
modeling and proof of concept.
Abstract: Arenga pinnata is an abundantly natural fiber that can be used for sound proof material. However, the scientific data of acoustics properties of Arenga pinnata was not available yet. In this study the sound absorption of pure arenga pinnata was measured. The thickness of Arenga pinnata was varied in 10 mm, 20 mm, 30mm, and 40mm. This work was carried out to investigate the potential of using Arenga pinnata fiber as raw material for sound absorbing material. Impedance Tube Method was used to measure sound absorption coefficient (α). The Measurements was done in accordance with ASTM E1050-98, that is the standard test method for impedance and absorption of acoustical materials using a tube, two microphones and a digital frequency analysis system . The results showed that sound absorption coefficients of Arenga pinnata were good from 2000 Hz to 5000 Hz within the range of 0.75 – 0.90. The optimum sound absorption coefficient was obtained from the thickness of 40 mm. These results indicated that Arenga pinnata fiber is promising to be used as raw material of sound absorbing material with low cost, light, and biodegradable.
Abstract: This study aims to investigate how much both son and
daughter trust their father and what are the underlying reasons they
trust their father. The results revealed five main reasons why
Malaysian adolescents trust their father. Those reasons are related to
the role of father, father-child relationship, father-s characteristics,
father-s nurturing nature and father-s attitude and behavior. A total of
1022 students (males = 241, females = 781) from one of public
university in Sabah, Malaysia participated in the study. The
participants completed open-ended questionnaires developed by Kim
(2008), asking how much the adolescents trust their father, and the
reasons why they trust their father. The data was analysed by using
the indigenous psychology method proposed by [1] Findings of this
study revealed the pattern of trust towards father for both Malaysian
male and female adolescents. The results contributed new
information about Malaysian adolescents- trust towards their father
form the indigenous context. The implications of finding will be
discussed.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to determine Frenet-Serret invariants of non-null curves in Lorentzian 5-space. First, we define a vector product of four vectors, by this way, we present a method to calculate Frenet-Serret invariants of the non-null curves. Additionally, an algebraic example of presented method is illustrated.
Abstract: Let G be a Hamiltonian graph. A factor F of G is called
a Hamiltonian factor if F contains a Hamiltonian cycle. In this paper,
two sufficient conditions are given, which are two neighborhood
conditions for a Hamiltonian graph G to have a Hamiltonian factor.
Abstract: The counter flow solar air heaters, with four
transverse fins and wire mesh layers are constructed and investigated
experimentally for thermal efficiency at a geographic location of
Cyprus in the city of Famagusta. The absorber plate is replaced by
sixteen steel wire mesh layers, 0.18 x 0.18cm in cross section
opening and a 0.02cm in diameter. The wire mesh layers arranged in
three groups, first and second include 6 layers, while the third include
4 layers. All layers fixed in the duct parallel to the glazing and each
group separated from the others by wood frame thickness of 0.5cm to
reduce the pressure drop. The transverse fins arranged in a way to
force the air to flow through the bed like eight letter path with flow
depth 3cm. The proposed design has increased the heat transfer rate,
but on other hand causes a high pressure drop. The obtained results
show that, for air mass flow rate range between 0.011-0.036kg/s, the
thermal efficiency increases with increasing the air mass flow. The
maximum efficiency obtained is 65.6% for the mass flow rate of
0.036kg/s. Moreover, the temperature difference between the outlet
flow and the ambient temperature, ΔT, reduces as the air mass flow
rate increase. The maximum difference between the outlet and
ambient temperature obtained was 43°C for double pass for minimum
mass flow rate of 0.011kg/s. Comparison with a conventional solar
air heater collector shows a significantly development in the thermal
efficiency.