Abstract: One field experiment was conducted on corn (Zea
mays L.Var. SC 704) to study the effect of three different basic levels
of nitrogen (90, 140and 190 Kg/ha as urea) with 0.01% and 0.02%
pyridoxine pre-sowing seed soaking for 8 hours. Water-soaked seeds
were treated as controled. biomass production was recorded on 45,
70 and 95 days after sowing. Total dry material (TDM), leaf area
index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and
net assimilation rate (NAR) was calculated form 45until 95 days after
sowing. Yield and its components such as kernel yield, grain weight,
biologic yield, harvest index and protein percentage was measured at
harvest. In general, 0.02% pyridoxine and 190 Kg pure nitrogen/ha
was shown gave maximum value for growth and yield parameters.
N190 + 0.02 % pyridoxine enhanced seed yield and biologic yield by
57.15% and 62.98% compared to 90kg N and water – soaked
treatment.
Abstract: Robust face recognition under various illumination
environments is very difficult and needs to be accomplished for
successful commercialization. In this paper, we propose an improved
illumination normalization method for face recognition. Illumination
normalization algorithm based on anisotropic smoothing is well known
to be effective among illumination normalization methods but
deteriorates the intensity contrast of the original image, and incurs less
sharp edges. The proposed method in this paper improves the previous
anisotropic smoothing-based illumination normalization method so
that it increases the intensity contrast and enhances the edges while
diminishing the effect of illumination variations. Due to the result of
these improvements, face images preprocessed by the proposed
illumination normalization method becomes to have more distinctive
feature vectors (Gabor feature vectors) for face recognition. Through
experiments of face recognition based on Gabor feature vector
similarity, the effectiveness of the proposed illumination
normalization method is verified.
Abstract: Medical Surgical Nursing is one of the major subjects
in nursing. This study examined the validity and reliability of the
achievement examination utilizing the Classical Test Theory and
Item Response Theory. The study answered the following objectives
specifically : ( a) To establish the validity and reliability of the
achievement examination utilizing Classical Test Theory and Item
Response Theory ; ( b ) To determine the dimensionality measure of
items and ( c ) to compare the item difficulty and item discrimination
of the Medical Surgical Nursing Achievement examination using
Classical Test Theory ( CTT ) and Item Response Theory ( IRT ).
The developed instrument was administered to fourth year nursing
students (N= 136) of a private university in Manila. The findings
yielded the following results: The achievement examination is
reliable both using CTT and IRT. The findings indicate person and
item statistics from two frameworks are quite alike. The achievement
examination formed a unidimensional construct.
Abstract: Natural frequencies and dynamic response of a spur
gear sector are investigated using a two dimensional finite element
model that offers significant advantages for dynamic gear analyses.
The gear teeth are analyzed for different operating speeds. A primary
feature of this modeling is determination of mesh forces using a
detailed contact analysis for each time step as the gears roll through
the mesh. ANSYS software has been used on the proposed model to
find the natural frequencies by Block Lanczos technique and
displacements and dynamic stresses by transient mode super position
method. The effect of rotational speed of the gear on the dynamic
response of gear tooth has been studied and design limits have been
discussed.
Abstract: There are many real world problems in which
parameters like the arrival time of new jobs, failure of resources, and
completion time of jobs change continuously. This paper tackles the
problem of scheduling jobs with random due dates on multiple
identical machines in a stochastic environment. First to assign jobs to
different machine centers LPT scheduling methods have been used,
after that the particular sequence of jobs to be processed on the
machine have been found using simple stochastic techniques. The
performance parameter under consideration has been the maximum
lateness concerning the stochastic due dates which are independent
and exponentially distributed. At the end a relevant problem has been
solved using the techniques in the paper..
Abstract: With the advent of digital cinema and digital
broadcasting, copyright protection of video data has been one of the
most important issues.
We present a novel method of watermarking for video image data
based on the hardware and digital wavelet transform techniques and
name it as “traceable watermarking" because the watermarked data is
constructed before the transmission process and traced after it has been
received by an authorized user.
In our method, we embed the watermark to the lowest part of each
image frame in decoded video by using a hardware LSI.
Digital Cinema is an important application for traceable
watermarking since digital cinema system makes use of watermarking
technology during content encoding, encryption, transmission,
decoding and all the intermediate process to be done in digital cinema
systems. The watermark is embedded into the randomly selected
movie frames using hash functions.
Embedded watermark information can be extracted from the
decoded video data. For that, there is no need to access original movie
data. Our experimental results show that proposed traceable
watermarking method for digital cinema system is much better than the
convenient watermarking techniques in terms of robustness, image
quality, speed, simplicity and robust structure.
Abstract: The new idea of analyze of power system failure with
use of artificial neural network is proposed. An analysis of the
possibility of simulating phenomena accompanying system faults and
restitution is described. It was indicated that the universal model for
the simulation of phenomena in whole analyzed range does not exist.
The main classic method of search of optimal structure and
parameter identification are described shortly. The example with
results of calculation is shown.
Abstract: Shoots, with three leaves, of Paphiopedilum 'Delrosi'
were used as explants for multiple shoot induction. Modified
Hyponex medium was supplemented with thidiazuron (TDZ), N6-
benzyladenine (BA) or kinetin (Kn) alone and in combinations with
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). All explants were cultured
for 15 weeks. It was found that TDZ alone at the concentration of
0.45μM or in combination with 4.52μM 2,4-D and 8.88μM BA in
combination with 13.56μM 2,4-D promoted multiple shoots. The
highest shoot sprouting efficiencies (80.0, 90.0 and 80.0%) and new
shoot numbers (1.5, 1.3 and 1.1) were obtained, respectively. Fresh
weight, height, numbers of leaf and root of new shoots and initial
explants were discussed.
Abstract: In this work, several ASP solutions were flooded into
fractured models initially saturated with heavy oil at a constant flow
rate and different geometrical characteristics of fracture. The ASP
solutions are constituted from 2 polymers i.e. a synthetic polymer,
hydrolyzed polyacrylamide as well as a biopolymer, a surfactant and
2types of alkaline. The results showed that using synthetic
hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer increases ultimate oil recovery;
however, type of alkaline does not play a significant rule on oil
recovery. In addition, position of the injection well respect to the
fracture system has remarkable effects on ASP flooding. For instance
increasing angle of fractures with mean flow direction causes more
oil recovery and delays breakthrough time. This work can be
accounted as a comprehensive survey on ASP flooding which
considers most of effective factors in this chemical EOR method.
Abstract: A novel nanofinishing process using improved ball
end magnetorheological (MR) finishing tool was developed for finishing of flat as well as 3D surfaces of ferromagnetic and non ferromagnetic workpieces. In this process a magnetically controlled
ball end of smart MR polishing fluid is generated at the tip surface of
the tool which is used as a finishing medium and it is guided to
follow the surface to be finished through computer controlled 3-axes
motion controller. The experiments were performed on ferromagnetic
workpiece surface in the developed MR finishing setup to study the effect of finishing time on final surface roughness. The performance
of present finishing process on final finished surface roughness was studied. The surface morphology was observed under scanning
electron microscopy and atomic force microscope. The final surface finish was obtained as low as 19.7 nm from the initial surface
roughness of 142.9 nm. The outcome of newly developed finishing process can be found useful in its applications in aerospace,
automotive, dies and molds manufacturing industries, semiconductor and optics machining etc.
Abstract: Semantic Web Technologies enable machines to
interpret data published in a machine-interpretable form on the web.
At the present time, only human beings are able to understand the
product information published online. The emerging semantic Web
technologies have the potential to deeply influence the further
development of the Internet Economy. In this paper we propose a
scenario based research approach to predict the effects of these new
technologies on electronic markets and business models of traders
and intermediaries and customers. Over 300 million searches are
conducted everyday on the Internet by people trying to find what
they need. A majority of these searches are in the domain of
consumer ecommerce, where a web user is looking for something to
buy. This represents a huge cost in terms of people hours and an
enormous drain of resources. Agent enabled semantic search will
have a dramatic impact on the precision of these searches. It will
reduce and possibly eliminate information asymmetry where a better
informed buyer gets the best value. By impacting this key
determinant of market prices semantic web will foster the evolution
of different business and economic models. We submit that there is a
need for developing these futuristic models based on our current
understanding of e-commerce models and nascent semantic web
technologies. We believe these business models will encourage
mainstream web developers and businesses to join the “semantic web
revolution."
Abstract: In this paper, we explore the applicability of the Sinc-
Collocation method to a three-dimensional (3D) oceanography model.
The model describes a wind-driven current with depth-dependent
eddy viscosity in the complex-velocity system. In general, the
Sinc-based methods excel over other traditional numerical methods
due to their exponentially decaying errors, rapid convergence and
handling problems in the presence of singularities in end-points.
Together with these advantages, the Sinc-Collocation approach that
we utilize exploits first derivative interpolation, whose integration
is much less sensitive to numerical errors. We bring up several
model problems to prove the accuracy, stability, and computational
efficiency of the method. The approximate solutions determined by
the Sinc-Collocation technique are compared to exact solutions and
those obtained by the Sinc-Galerkin approach in earlier studies. Our
findings indicate that the Sinc-Collocation method outperforms other
Sinc-based methods in past studies.
Abstract: The identification and classification of the spine deformity play an important role when considering surgical planning for adolescent patients with idiopathic scoliosis. The subject of this article is the Lenke classification of scoliotic spines using Cobb angle measurements. The purpose is two-fold: (1) design a rulebased diagram to assist clinicians in the classification process and (2) investigate a computer classifier which improves the classification time and accuracy. The rule-based diagram efficiency was evaluated in a series of scoliotic classifications by 10 clinicians. The computer classifier was tested on a radiographic measurement database of 603 patients. Classification accuracy was 93% using the rule-based diagram and 99% for the computer classifier. Both the computer classifier and the rule based diagram can efficiently assist clinicians in their Lenke classification of spine scoliosis.
Abstract: The empirical studies on High Performance Work Systems (HPWSs) and their impacts on firm performance have remarkably little in the developing countries. This paper reviews literatures on the HPWSs practices in different work settings, Western and Asian countries. A review on the empirical research leads to a conclusion that, country differences influence the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices. It is anticipated that there are similarities and differences in the extent of implementation of HPWSs practices by the Malaysian manufacturing firms due to the organizational contextual factors and, the HPWSs have a significant impact on firms- better performance amongst MNCs and local firms.
Abstract: In this paper, subtractive clustering based fuzzy inference system approach is used for early detection of faults in the function oriented software systems. This approach has been tested with real time defect datasets of NASA software projects named as PC1 and CM1. Both the code based model and joined model (combination of the requirement and code based metrics) of the datasets are used for training and testing of the proposed approach. The performance of the models is recorded in terms of Accuracy, MAE and RMSE values. The performance of the proposed approach is better in case of Joined Model. As evidenced from the results obtained it can be concluded that Clustering and fuzzy logic together provide a simple yet powerful means to model the earlier detection of faults in the function oriented software systems.
Abstract: Due to the mobility of users, many information
systems are now developed with the capability of supporting retrieval
of information from both static and mobile users. Hence, the
amount, content and format of the information retrieved will need to
be tailored according to the device and the user who requested for it.
Thus, this paper presents a framework for the design and
implementation of such a system, which is to be developed for
communicating final examination related information to the
academic community at one university in Malaysia. The concept of
personalization will be implemented in the system so that only highly
relevant information will be delivered to the users. The
personalization concept used will be based on user profiling as well
as context. The system in its final state will be accessible through cell
phones as well as intranet connected personal computers.
Abstract: An experimental study of anaerobic treatment was performed by hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (HUASB) reactor to treat produced water (PW) of an onshore crude oil terminal (COD: 1597 mg/L, NH3-N: 14.7 mg/L, phenol: 13.8 mg/L, BOD5: 862 mg/L, sodium: 6240 mg/L and chloride 9530 mg/L). The produced water with high salinity and other toxic substances will inhibit the methanogens performance if there is no adaptation on biomass before anaerobic digestion. COD removal from produced water was investigated at five different dilutions of produced water and tap water (TW) without any nutrient addition and pre-treatment. The dilution ratios were 1PW:4TW, 2PW:3TW, 3PW:2TW, 4PW:1TW and 5PW:0TW. The reactor was evaluated at mesophilic operating condition (35 ± 2 °C) at 5 days of HRT for 250 days continuous feed. The average COD removals for 1PW:4TW, 2PW:3TW, 3PW:2TW, 4PW:1TW and 5PW:0TW were found to be approximately 76.1%, 73.8%, 70.3%, 46.3% and 61.82% respectively, with final average effluent COD of 123.7 mg/L, 240 mg/L, 294 mg/L, 589 mg/L and 738 mg/L, respectively.
Abstract: In this paper a new approach is proposed for the
adaptation of the simulated annealing search in the field of the
Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO). This new approach is called
Multi-Case Multi-Objective Simulated Annealing (MC-MOSA). It
uses some basics of a well-known recent Multi-Objective Simulated
Annealing proposed by Ulungu et al., which is referred in the
literature as U-MOSA. However, some drawbacks of this algorithm
have been found, and are substituted by other ones, especially in
the acceptance decision criterion. The MC-MOSA has shown better
performance than the U-MOSA in the numerical experiments. This
performance is further improved by some other subvariants of the
MC-MOSA, such as Fast-annealing MC-MOSA, Re-annealing MCMOSA
and the Two-Stage annealing MC-MOSA.
Abstract: The amounts of radioactivity in the igneous rocks
have been investigated; samples were collected from the total of eight
basalt rock types in the northeastern of Kurdistan region/Iraq. The
activity concentration of 226Ra (238U) series, 228Ac (232Th) series, 40K
and 137Cs were measured using Planar HPGe and NaI(Tl) detectors.
Along the study area the radium equivalent activities Raeq in Bq/Kg
of samples under investigation were found in the range of 22.16 to
77.31 Bq/Kg with an average value of 44.8 Bq/Kg, this value is much
below the internationally accepted value of 370 Bq/Kg. To estimate
the health effects of this natural radioactive composition, the average
values of absorbed gamma dose rate D (55 nGyh-1), Indoor and
outdoor annual effective dose rates Eied (0.11 mSvy-1) . and Eoed
(0.03 mSvy-1), External hazard index Hex (0.138) and internal hazard
index Hin(0.154), and representative level index Iγr (0.386) have been
calculated and found to be lower than the worldwide average values.
Abstract: Arvia®, a spin-out company of University of Manchester, UK is commercialising a water treatment technology for the removal of low concentrations of organics from water. This technology is based on the adsorption of organics onto graphite based adsorbents coupled with their electrochemical regeneration in a simple electrochemical cell. In this paper, the potential of the process to adsorb microorganisms and electrochemically disinfect them present in water has been demonstrated. Bench scale experiments have indicated that the process of adsorption using graphite adsorbents with electrochemical regeneration can be used for water disinfection effectively. The most likely mechanisms of disinfection of water through this process include direct electrochemical oxidation and electrochemical chlorination.