Abstract: Digital signature is a useful primitive to attain the integrity and authenticity in various wire or wireless communications. Proxy signature is one type of the digital signatures. It helps the proxy signer to sign messages on behalf of the original signer. It is very useful when the original signer (e.g. the president of a company) is not available to sign a specific document. If the original signer can not forge valid proxy signatures through impersonating the proxy signer, it will be robust in a virtual environment; thus the original signer can not shift any illegal action initiated by herself to the proxy signer. In this paper, we propose a new proxy signature scheme. The new scheme can prevent the original signer from impersonating the proxy signer to sign messages. The proposed scheme is based on the regular ElGamal signature. In addition, the fair privacy of the proxy signer is maintained. That means, the privacy of the proxy signer is preserved; and the privacy can be revealed when it is necessary.
Abstract: We discuss the convergence property of the minimum residual (MINRES) method for the solution of complex shifted Hermitian system (αI + H)x = f. Our convergence analysis shows that the method has a faster convergence than that for real shifted Hermitian system (Re(α)I + H)x = f under the condition Re(α) + λmin(H) > 0, and a larger imaginary part of the shift α has a better convergence property. Numerical experiments show such convergence properties.
Abstract: Our goal is to effectively increase the number of boats in the river during a six month period. The main factors of determining the number of boats are duration and “select the priority trip". In the microcosmic simulation model, the best result is 4 to 24 nights with DSCF, and the number of boats is 812 with an increasing ratio of 9.0% related to the second best result. However, the number of boats is related to 31.6% less than the best one in 6 to 18 nights with FCFS. In the discrete duration model, we get from 6 to 18 nights, the numbers of boats have increased to 848 with an increase ratio of 29.7% than the best result in model I for the same time range. Moreover, from 4 to 24 nights, the numbers of boats have increase to 1194 with an increase ratio of 47.0% than the best result in model I for the same time range.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate a new
approach based on the idea of pictograms for food portion size. This
approach adopts the model of the United States Pharmacopeia- Drug
Information (USP-DI). The representation of each food portion size
composed of three parts: frame, the connotation of dietary portion
sizes and layout. To investigate users- comprehension based on this
approach, two experiments were conducted, included 122 Taiwanese
people, 60 male and 62 female with ages between 16 and 64 (divided
into age groups of 16-30, 31-45 and 46-64). In Experiment 1, the mean
correcting rate of the understanding level of food items is 48.54%
(S.D.= 95.08) and the mean response time 2.89sec (S.D.=2.14). The
difference on the correct rates for different age groups is significant
(P*=0.00
Abstract: This paper To get the angle value with a MEMS rate
gyroscope in some specific field, the usual method is to make an
integral operation to the rate output, which will lead the error
cumulating effect. So the rate gyro is not suitable. MEMS rate
integrating gyroscope (MRIG) will solve this problem. A DSP system
has been developed to implement the control arithmetic. The system
can measure the angle of rotation directly by the control loops that
make the sensor work in whole-angle mode. Modeling the system with
MATLAB, desirable results of angle outputs are got, which prove the
feasibility of the control arithmetic.
Abstract: The objective this study was to characterize and
develop anthropomorphic liver phantoms in tomography hepatic
procedures for quality control and improvement professionals in
nuclear medicine. For the conformation of the anthropomorphic
phantom was used in plaster and acrylic. We constructed three
phantoms representing processes with liver cirrhosis. The phantoms
were filled with 99mTc diluted with water to obtain the scintigraphic
images. Tomography images were analyzed anterior and posterior
phantom representing a body with a greater degree cirrhotic. It was
noted that the phantoms allow the acquisition of images similar to
real liver with cirrhosis. Simulations of hemangiomas may contribute
to continued professional education of nuclear medicine, on the
question of image acquisition, allowing of the study parameters such
of the matrix, energy window and count statistics.
Abstract: Masonry cavity walls are loaded by wind pressure and vertical load from upper floors. These loads results in bending moments and compression forces in the ties connecting the outer and the inner wall in a cavity wall. Large cavity walls are furthermore loaded by differential movements from the temperature gradient between the outer and the inner wall, which results in critical increase of the bending moments in the ties. Since the ties are loaded by combined compression and moment forces, the loadbearing capacity is derived from instability equilibrium equations. Most of them are iterative, since exact instability solutions are complex to derive, not to mention the extra complexity introducing dimensional instability from the temperature gradients. Using an inverse variable substitution and comparing an exact theory with an analytical instability solution a method to design tie-connectors in cavity walls was developed. The method takes into account constraint conditions limiting the free length of the wall tie, and the instability in case of pure compression which gives an optimal load bearing capacity. The model is illustrated with examples from praxis.
Abstract: The effects of irrigation with dairy factory wastewater on soil properties were investigated at two sites that had received irrigation for > 60 years. Two adjoining paired sites that had never received DFE were also sampled as well as another seven fields from a wider area around the factory. In comparison with paired sites that had not received effluent, long-term wastewater irrigation resulted in an increase in pH, EC, extractable P, exchangeable Na and K and ESP. These changes were related to the use of phosphoric acid, NaOH and KOH as cleaning agents in the factory. Soil organic C content was unaffected by DFE irrigation but the size (microbial biomass C and N) and activity (basal respiration) of the soil microbial community were increased. These increases were attributed to regular inputs of soluble C (e.g. lactose) present as milk residues in the wastewater. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the soils data from all 11sites confirmed that the main effects of DFE irrigation were an increase in exchangeable Na, extractable P and microbial biomass C, an accumulation of soluble salts and a liming effect. PCA analysis of soil bacterial community structure, using PCR-DGGE of 16S rDNA fragments, generally separated individual sites from one another but did not group them according to irrigation history. Thus, whilst the size and activity of the soil microbial community were increased, the structure and diversity of the bacterial community remained unaffected.
Abstract: This paper has examined the energy consumption characteristics in six different buildings including apartments, offices, commercial buildings, hospitals, hotels and educational facilities. Then 5-hectare (50000m2) development site for respective building-s type has been assumed as case study to evaluate the introduction effect of Combined Heat and Power (CHP). All kinds of CHP systems with different distributed generation technologies including Gas Turbine (GT), Gas Engine (GE), Diesel Engine (DE), Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC), have been simulated by using HEATMAP, CHP system analysis software. And their primary energy utilization efficiency, energy saving ratio and CO2 reduction ratio have evaluated and compared respectively. The results can be summarized as follows: Various buildings have their special heat to power ratio characteristics. Matching the heat to power ratio demanded from an individual building with that supplied from a CHP system is very important. It is necessary to select a reasonable distributed generation technologies according to the load characteristics of various buildings. Distributed generation technologies with high energy generating efficiency and low heat to power ratio, like SOFC and PEFC is more reasonable selection for Building Combined Heat and Power (BCHP). CHP system is an attractive option for hotels, hospitals and apartments in Japan. The users can achieve high energy saving and environmental benefit by introducing a CHP systems. In others buildings, especially like commercial buildings and offices, the introduction of CHP system is unreasonable.
Abstract: The electrical interaction between two axisymmetric
spheroidal particles in an electrolyte solution is examined numerically.
A Galerkin finite element method combined with a Newton-Raphson
iteration scheme is proposed to evaluate the spatial variation in the
electrical potential, and the result obtained used to estimate the
interaction energy between two particles. We show that if the surface
charge density is fixed, the potential gradient is larger at a point, which
has a larger curvature, and if surface potential is fixed, surface charge
density is proportional to the curvature. Also, if the total interaction
energy against closest surface-to-surface curve exhibits a primary
maximum, the maximum follows the order (oblate-oblate) >
(sphere-sphere)>(oblate-prolate)>(prolate-prolate), and if the curve
has a secondary minimum, the absolute value of the minimum follows
the same order.
Abstract: When the crisscross baffles and logarithmic spiral
baffles are placed on the bottom of the stirred tank with elliptic
bottom, using CFD software FLUENT simulates the velocity field of
the stirred tank with elliptic bottom and bottom baffles. Compare the
velocity field of stirred tank with bottom crisscross baffle to the
velocity field of stirred tank without bottom baffle and analysis the
flow pattern on the same axis-section and different cross-sections. The
sizes of the axial and radial velocity are compared respectively when
the stirred tank with bottom crisscross baffles, bottom logarithmic
spiral baffles and without bottom baffle. At the same time, the
numerical calculations of mixing power are compared when the stirred
tank with bottom crisscross baffles and bottom logarithmic spiral
baffles. Research shows that bottom crisscross baffles and logarithmic
spiral baffles have a great impact on flow pattern within the reactor
and improve the mixing effect better than without baffle. It also has
shown that bottom logarithmic spiral baffles has lower power
consumption than bottom crisscross baffles.
Abstract: A numerical study on the influence of forward-facing
cavity length upon forward-facing cavity and opposing jet combined
thermal protection system (TPS) cooling efficiency under hypersonic
flow is conducted, by means of which the flow field parameters, heat
flux distribution along the outer body surface are obtained. The
numerical simulation results are validated by experiments and the
cooling effect of the combined TPS with different cavity length is
analyzed. The numerical results show that the combined configuration
dose well in cooling the nose of the hypersonic vehicle. The deeper the
cavity is, the weaker the heat flux is. The recirculation region plays a
key role for the reduction of the aerodynamic heating.
Abstract: Medical image registration is the key technology in image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) systems. On the basis of the previous work on our IGRT prototype with a biorthogonal x-ray imaging system, we described a method focused on the 2D/2D rigid-body registration using multiresolution pyramid based mutual information in this paper. Three key steps were involved in the method ： firstly, four 2D images were obtained including two x-ray projection images and two digital reconstructed radiographies（DRRs ） as the input for the registration ； Secondly, each pair of the corresponding x-ray image and DRR image were matched using multiresolution pyramid based mutual information under the ITK registration framework ； Thirdly, we got the final couch offset through a coordinate transformation by calculating the translations acquired from the two pairs of the images. A simulation example of a parotid gland tumor case and a clinical example of an anthropomorphic head phantom were employed in the verification tests. In addition, the influence of different CT slice thickness were tested. The simulation results showed that the positioning errors were 0.068±0.070, 0.072±0.098, 0.154±0.176mm along three axes which were lateral, longitudinal and vertical. The clinical test indicated that the positioning errors of the planned isocenter were 0.066, 0.07, 2.06mm on average with a CT slice thickness of 2.5mm. It can be concluded that our method with its verified accuracy and robustness can be effectively used in IGRT systems for patient setup.
Abstract: Hyperglycemia-mediated accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) play a pivotal role in the development of diabetic complications by inducing inflammation. In the present study, we evaluated the possible effects of water/ethanol (1/1, v/v) extracts (WEE) and its fractions from Canarium album Raeusch. (Chinese olive) which is a fruit used on AGEs-stimulated oxidative stress and inflammation in monocytes and vascular endothelial cells. Co-incubation of EA.hy926 endothelial cells with WEE and its fractions for 24h resulted in a significant decrease of monocyte–endothelial cell adhesion, the expression of ICAM-1, generation of intracellular ROS and depletion of GSH induced by AGEs. Chinese olive fruit extracts also reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory mediates, such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in THP-1 cells. These findings suggested that Chinese olive fruit was able to protect vascular endothelium from dysfunction induced by AGEs.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the solution of a two dimensional parabolic free boundary problem. The free boundary of this problem is modelled as a nonlinear integral equation (IE). For this integral equation, we propose an asymptotic solution as time is near to maturity and develop an integral iterative method. The computational results reveal that our asymptotic solution is very close to the numerical solution as time is near to maturity.
Abstract: This paper presents a new heuristic algorithm for the classical symmetric traveling salesman problem (TSP). The idea of the algorithm is to cut a TSP tour into overlapped blocks and then each block is improved separately. It is conjectured that the chance of improving a good solution by moving a node to a position far away from its original one is small. By doing intensive search in each block, it is possible to further improve a TSP tour that cannot be improved by other local search methods. To test the performance of the proposed algorithm, computational experiments are carried out based on benchmark problem instances. The computational results show that algorithm proposed in this paper is efficient for solving the TSPs.
Abstract: In this paper, the American exchange option (AEO) valuation problem is modelled as a free boundary problem. The critical stock price for an AEO is satisfied an integral equation implicitly. When the remaining time is large enough, an asymptotic formula is provided for pricing an AEO. The numerical results reveal that our asymptotic pricing formula is robust and accurate for the long-term AEO.
Abstract: Embedding Sustainability in technological curricula has become a crucial factor for educating engineers with competences in sustainability. The Technical University of Catalonia UPC, in 2008, designed the Sustainable Technology Excellence Program STEP 2015 in order to assure a successful Sustainability Embedding. This Program takes advantage of the opportunity that the redesign of all Bachelor and Master Degrees in Spain by 2010 under the European Higher Education Area framework offered. The STEP program goals are: to design compulsory courses in each degree; to develop the conceptual base and identify reference models in sustainability for all specialties at UPC; to create an internal interdisciplinary network of faculty from all the schools; to initiate new transdisciplinary research activities in technology-sustainability-education; to spread the know/how attained; to achieve international scientific excellence in technology-sustainability-education and to graduate the first engineers/architects of the new EHEA bachelors with sustainability as a generic competence. Specifically, in this paper authors explain their experience in leading the STEP program, and two examples are presented: Industrial Robotics subject and the curriculum for the School of Architecture.
Abstract: This paper treats a discrete-time batch arrival queue with single working vacation. The main purpose of this paper is to present a performance analysis of this system by using the supplementary variable technique. For this purpose, we first analyze the Markov chain underlying the queueing system and obtain its ergodicity condition. Next, we present the stationary distributions of the system length as well as some performance measures at random epochs by using the supplementary variable method. Thirdly, still based on the supplementary variable method we give the probability generating function (PGF) of the number of customers at the beginning of a busy period and give a stochastic decomposition formulae for the PGF of the stationary system length at the departure epochs. Additionally, we investigate the relation between our discretetime system and its continuous counterpart. Finally, some numerical examples show the influence of the parameters on some crucial performance characteristics of the system.
Abstract: In this paper, the robust exponential stability problem of uncertain discrete-time recurrent neural networks with timevarying delay is investigated. By constructing a new augmented Lyapunov-Krasovskii function, some new improved stability criteria are obtained in forms of linear matrix inequality (LMI). Compared with some recent results in literature, the conservatism of the new criteria is reduced notably. Two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the less conservatism and effectiveness of the proposed results.