Abstract: The measurements of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K using
gamma spectrometry and radon concentration and exhalation rates
measurements using solid state nuclear track (LR-115, Type-II
plastic) detectors are used to asses a first order exposure risk for the
persons residing in Fatehbad and Hissar districts of Western Haryana,
India. The concentration of Radium, Thorium and Potassium in the
soil samples varies from 13.37 Bq m-3 to 24.67 Bq m-3, 34.67 Bq m-3
to 67.34 Bq m-3 and 298.78 Bq m-3 to 405.67 Bq m-3 respectively
with average values of 18.78, 47.35 and 361.57 Bq m-3 respectively.
The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) calculated for the same soil
samples varies from 92.72 Bq m-3 to 140.6 Bq m-3 with an average
value of 111.80 Bq m-3. The values of absorbed dose and annual
effective dose (indoors and outdoors) are found to vary from 44.18
nGy h-1 to 65.23 nGy h-1, 0.22 mSv y-1 to 0.32 mSv y-1 and 0.05 mSv
y-1 to 0.08 mSv y-1 respectively. The radon concentration and
exhalation rates have also been reported. The radium equivalent
activities in all the soil samples were found to be lower than the limit
(370 Bq kg-1) set in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) report and the value of Hex in all the samples
is less than unity.
Abstract: Ontologies and tagging systems are two different ways to organize the knowledge present in the current Web. In this paper we propose a simple method to model folksonomies, as tagging systems, with ontologies. We show the scalability of the method using real data sets. The modeling method is composed of a generic ontology that represents any folksonomy and an algorithm to transform the information contained in folksonomies to the generic ontology. The method allows representing folksonomies at any instant of time.
Abstract: Our aim in this piece of work is to demonstrate the
power of the Laplace Adomian decomposition method (LADM) in
approximating the solutions of nonlinear differential equations
governing the two-dimensional viscous flow induced by a shrinking
sheet.
Abstract: The aim of the article is to describe modern
contemporary systems of employees' remuneration used in
organizations, to give a general overview of these questions based on
the questionnaire survey made by the authors, as well as to assess
possible effects of economic crisis in this area. It is necessary to be
aware of the fact that firm's success in the contemporary business
environment depends not only on the technical equipment, financial
resources, availability of raw materials and information and effective
management, but one of the crucial factors of firm's success is its
human potential. The article emphasizes that the well working
remuneration system has a very important position in the
organization in the broadest sense. The paper also aims to the current
situation in the area of employees' remuneration in one of Czech
Republic regions, in the Moravian-Silesian Region.
Abstract: The research is to minimize environmental damage
pertinent to maritime activities about the operation of lighter boat
anchorage and its tugboat. The guidance on upgrading current
harbor service and infrastructure has been provided to Kho Sichang
Municpality. This will involve a study of the maritime logistics of
the water area under jurisdiction of the Sichang island Municipality
and possible recommendations may involve charging taxes,
regulations and fees. With implementing these recommendations will
help in protection of the marine environment and in increasing
operator functionality. Additionally, our recommendation is to
generate a consistent revenue stream to the municipality. The action
items contained in this research are feasible and effective, the success
of these initiatives are heavily dependent upon successful promotion
and enforcement. Promoting new rules and regulations effectively
and peacefully can be done through theories and techniques used in
the psychology of persuasion. In order to assure compliance with the
regulations, the municipality must maintain stringent patrols and
fines for violators. In order to become success, the Municipality
must preserve a consistent, transparent and significant enforcement
system. Considering potential opportunities outside of the current
state of the municipality, the authors recommend that Koh Sichang be
given additional jurisdiction to capture value from the master vessels,
as well as to confront the more significant environmental challenges
these vessels pose. Finally, the authors recommend that the Port of
Koh Sichang Island obtain a free port status in order to increase
economic viability and overall sustainability.
Abstract: Semiconductor nanomaterials like TiO2 nanoparticles
(TiO2-NPs) approximately less than 100 nm in diameter have become
a new generation of advanced materials due to their novel and
interesting optical, dielectric, and photo-catalytic properties. With the
increasing use of NPs in commerce, to date few studies have
investigated the toxicological and environmental effects of NPs.
Motivated by the importance of TiO2-NPs that may contribute to the
cancer research field especially from the treatment prospective
together with the fractal analysis technique, we have investigated the
effect of TiO2-NPs on colony morphology in the dark condition
using fractal dimension as a key morphological characterization
parameter. The aim of this work is mainly to investigate the cytotoxic
effects of TiO2-NPs in the dark on the growth of human cervical
carcinoma (HeLa) cell colonies from morphological aspect. The in
vitro studies were carried out together with the image processing
technique and fractal analysis. It was found that, these colonies were
abnormal in shape and size. Moreover, the size of the control
colonies appeared to be larger than those of the treated group. The
mean Df +/- SEM of the colonies in untreated cultures was
1.085±0.019, N= 25, while that of the cultures treated with TiO2-NPs
was 1.287±0.045. It was found that the circularity of the control
group (0.401±0.071) is higher than that of the treated group
(0.103±0.042). The same tendency was found in the diameter
parameters which are 1161.30±219.56 μm and 852.28±206.50 μm
for the control and treated group respectively. Possible explanation of
the results was discussed, though more works need to be done in
terms of the for mechanism aspects. Finally, our results indicate that
fractal dimension can serve as a useful feature, by itself or in
conjunction with other shape features, in the classification of cancer
colonies.
Abstract: Quantitative researching on the degree of incidence between the logistics industry and relevant macroscopic system elements is the basis of reasonable and scientific policy on industrial development. In the light of the macro-level, the logistics industry system is consisted of multiple macroscopic agents such as macro-economic, infrastructure, social environment, market demanding, the traditional industry, industry life cycle, policy , system and so on. This paper studies the grey incidence among the macroscopic agents in the logistics industry system. It is demonstrated that the releasing of the logistics services from the logistics outsourcing enterprises determines the growth of the logistics size. Although the information and communication technology is able to promote the formation of the modern logistics industry to some extent, the development of the modern logistics industry depends more on the development of national economy and the investment in the capital assets of the logistics industry.
Abstract: In this paper, a Dynamic Economic Dispatch (DED) model is developed for the system consisting of both thermal generators and wind turbines. The inclusion of a significant amount of wind energy into power systems has resulted in additional constraints on DED to accommodate the intermittent nature of the output. The probability of stochastic wind power based on the Weibull probability density function is included in the model as a constraint; A Here-and-Now Approach. The Environmental Protection Agency-s hourly emission target, which gives the maximum emission during the day, is used as a constraint to reduce the atmospheric pollution. A 69-bus test system with non-smooth cost function is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed model compared with static economic dispatch model with including the wind power.
Abstract: In this paper, the energy performance of a selected
UHDE Ammonia plant is optimized by conducting heat integration through waste heat recovery and the synthesis of a heat exchange
network (HEN). Minimum hot and cold utility requirements were estimated through IChemE spreadsheet. Supporting simulation was
carried out using HYSYS software. The results showed that there is
no need for heating utility while the required cold utility was found to
be around 268,714 kW. Hence a threshold pinch case was faced. Then, the hot and cold streams were matched appropriately. Also,
waste heat recovered resulted with savings in HP and LP steams of
approximately 51.0% and 99.6%, respectively. An economic analysis
on proposed HEN showed very attractive overall payback period not
exceeding 3 years. In general, a net saving approaching 35% was
achieved in implementing heat optimization of current studied UHDE Ammonia process.
Abstract: Group key management is an important functional
building block for any secure multicast architecture.
Thereby, it has been extensively studied in the literature.
In this paper we present relevant group key management
protocols. Then, we compare them against some pertinent
performance criteria.
Abstract: The demand of hydrocarbons has increased the
construction of pipelines and the protection of the physical and
mechanical integrity of the already existing infrastructure. Corrosion
is the main reason of failures in the pipeline and it is mostly produced
by acid (HCOOCH3). In this basis, a CFD code was used, in order to
study the corrosion of internal wall of hydrocarbons pipeline. In this
situation, the corrosion phenomenon shows a growing deposit, which
causes defect damages (welding or fabrication) at diverse positions
along the pipeline. The solution of the pipeline corrosion is based on
the diminution of the Naphthenic acid.
Abstract: Today, Hydroforming technology provides an
attractive alternative to conventional matched die forming, especially
for cost-sensitive, lower volume production, and for parts with
irregular contours. In this study the critical fluid pressures which lead
to rupture in the workpiece has been investigated by theoretical and
finite element methods. The axisymmetric analysis was developed to
investigate the tearing phenomenon in cylindrical Hydroforming
Deep Drawing (HDD). By use of obtained equations the effect of
anisotropy, drawing ratio, sheet thickness and strain hardening
exponent on tearing diagram were investigated.
Abstract: The research objective was to study the toxicity of silver nanoparticles in aquatic organisms. Three forms of free silver ion nanoparticles (Ag+), silver nano particles (nano-Ag0) and silver oxide nanoparticles (nano Ag2O) were examined for toxic effects with Chlorella sp. and Moina macrocopa. The results showed that the toxicity of three silver ion forms to both organisms was examined
Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks can be used to monitor the
physical phenomenon in such areas where human approach is nearly
impossible. Hence the limited power supply is the major constraint of
the WSNs due to the use of non-rechargeable batteries in sensor
nodes. A lot of researches are going on to reduce the energy
consumption of sensor nodes. Energy map can be used with
clustering, data dissemination and routing techniques to reduce the
power consumption of WSNs. Energy map can also be used to know
which part of the network is going to fail in near future. In this paper,
Energy map is constructed using the prediction based approach.
Adaptive alpha GM(1,1) model is used as the prediction model.
GM(1,1) is being used worldwide in many applications for predicting
future values of time series using some past values due to its high
computational efficiency and accuracy.
Abstract: User-Centered Design (UCD), Usability Engineering (UE) and Participatory Design (PD) are the common Human- Computer Interaction (HCI) approaches that are practiced in the software development process, focusing towards issues and matters concerning user involvement. It overlooks the organizational perspective of HCI integration within the software development organization. The Management Information Systems (MIS) perspective of HCI takes a managerial and organizational context to view the effectiveness of integrating HCI in the software development process. The Human-Centered Design (HCD) which encompasses all of the human aspects including aesthetic and ergonomic, is claimed as to provide a better approach in strengthening the HCI approaches to strengthen the software development process. In determining the effectiveness of HCD in the software development process, this paper presents the findings of a content analysis of HCI approaches by viewing those approaches as a technology which integrates user requirements, ranging from the top management to other stake holder in the software development process. The findings obtained show that HCD approach is a technology that emphasizes on human, tools and knowledge in strengthening the HCI approaches to strengthen the software development process in the quest to produce a sustainable, usable and useful software product.
Abstract: In this paper, algorithm estimating the blood pressure
was proposed using the pulse transit time (PTT) as a more convenient
method of measuring the blood pressure. After measuring ECG and
pressure pulse, and photoplethysmography, the PTT was calculated
from the acquired signals. Thereafter, the system to indirectly measure
the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure was composed using
the statistic method. In comparison between the blood pressure
indirectly measured by proposed algorithm estimating the blood
pressure and real blood pressure measured by conventional
sphygmomanometer, the systolic pressure indicates the mean error of
±3.24mmHg and the standard deviation of 2.53mmHg, while the
diastolic pressure indicates the satisfactory result, that is, the mean
error of ±1.80mmHg and the standard deviation of 1.39mmHg. These
results are satisfied with the regulation of ANSI/AAMI for
certification of sphygmomanometer that real measurement error value
should be within the mean error of ±5mmHg and the standard
deviation of 8mmHg. These results are suggest the possibility of
applying to portable and long time blood pressure monitoring system
hereafter.
Abstract: In many applications, it is a priori known that the
target function should satisfy certain constraints imposed by, for
example, economic theory or a human-decision maker. Here we
consider partially monotone problems, where the target variable
depends monotonically on some of the predictor variables but not all.
We propose an approach to build partially monotone models based
on the convolution of monotone neural networks and kernel
functions. The results from simulations and a real case study on
house pricing show that our approach has significantly better
performance than partially monotone linear models. Furthermore, the
incorporation of partial monotonicity constraints not only leads to
models that are in accordance with the decision maker's expertise,
but also reduces considerably the model variance in comparison to
standard neural networks with weight decay.
Abstract: Ten simply supported grossly underreinforced
tapered concrete beams of full size were tested upto complete
collapse under flexural effect .Out of 10 beams, 5 beams were
nonfibrous and the remaining beams contained fibres. The beams
had a variation in the tapered angle as 2°, 4°, 6°, 8° and 10°. The
concrete mix, conventional steel and the type of fibre used were
held constant. Flat corrugated steel fibres were utilized as
secondary reinforcement. The strength and stability parameters
were measured. It is established that the fibrous tapered beams can
be used economically in earthquake prone areas.
Abstract: This paper presents a solution for the behavioural animation of autonomous virtual agent navigation in virtual environments. We focus on using Dempster-Shafer-s Theory of Evidence in developing visual sensor for virtual agent. The role of the visual sensor is to capture the information about the virtual environment or identifie which part of an obstacle can be seen from the position of the virtual agent. This information is require for vitual agent to coordinate navigation in virtual environment. The virual agent uses fuzzy controller as a navigation system and Fuzzy α - level for the action selection method. The result clearly demonstrates the path produced is reasonably smooth even though there is some sharp turn and also still not diverted too far from the potential shortest path. This had indicated the benefit of our method, where more reliable and accurate paths produced during navigation task.
Abstract: A comprehensive discussion of feasible strategies for sustainable energy supply is urgently needed to achieve a turnaround of the current energy situation. The necessary fundamentals required for the development of a long term energy vision are lacking to a great extent due to the absence of reasonable long term scenarios that fulfill the requirements of climate protection and sustainable energy use. The contribution of the study is based on a search for sustainable energy paths in the long run for Austria. The analysis makes use of secondary data predominantly. The measures developed to avoid CO2 emissions and other ecological risk factors vary to a great extent among all economic sectors. This is shown by the calculation of CO2 cost of abatement curves. In this study it is demonstrated that the most effective technical measures with the lowest CO2 abatement costs yield solutions to the current energy problems. Various scenarios are presented concerning the question how the technological and environmental options for a sustainable energy system for Austria could look like in the long run. It is shown how sustainable energy can be supplied even with today-s technological knowledge and options available. The scenarios developed include an evaluation of the economic costs and ecological impacts. The results are not only applicable to Austria but demonstrate feasible and cost efficient ways towards a sustainable future.