Abstract: In this paper we propose a novel methodology for
extracting a road network and its nodes from satellite images of
Algeria country.
This developed technique is a progress of our previous research
works. It is founded on the information theory and the mathematical
morphology; the information theory and the mathematical
morphology are combined together to extract and link the road
segments to form a road network and its nodes.
We therefore have to define objects as sets of pixels and to study
the shape of these objects and the relations that exist between them.
In this approach, geometric and radiometric features of roads are
integrated by a cost function and a set of selected points of a crossing
road. Its performances were tested on satellite images of Algeria
country.
Abstract: Hypersonic flows around spatial vehicles during their reentry phase in planetary atmospheres are characterized by intense aerothermodynamics phenomena. The aim of this work is to analyze high temperature flows around an axisymmetric blunt body taking into account chemical and vibrational non-equilibrium for air mixture species and the no slip condition at the wall. For this purpose, the Navier-Stokes equations system is resolved by the finite volume methodology to determine the flow parameters around the axisymmetric blunt body especially at the stagnation point and in the boundary layer along the wall of the blunt body. The code allows the capture of shock wave before a blunt body placed in hypersonic free stream. The numerical technique uses the Flux Vector Splitting method of Van Leer. CFL coefficient and mesh size level are selected to ensure the numerical convergence.
Abstract: This paper presents the development of a robot car
that can track the motion of an object by detecting its color through
an Android device. The employed computer vision algorithm uses the
OpenCV library, which is embedded into an Android application of a
smartphone, for manipulating the captured image of the object. The
captured image of the object is subjected to color conversion and is
transformed to a binary image for further processing after color
filtering. The desired object is clearly determined after removing
pixel noise by applying image morphology operations and contour
definition. Finally, the area and the center of the object are
determined so that object’s motion to be tracked. The smartphone
application has been placed on a robot car and transmits by Bluetooth
to an Arduino assembly the motion directives so that to follow
objects of a specified color. The experimental evaluation of the
proposed algorithm shows reliable color detection and smooth
tracking characteristics.
Abstract: The development of adaptive user interfaces (UI)
presents for a long time an important research area in which
researcher attempt to call upon the full resources and skills of several
disciplines, The adaptive UI community holds a thorough knowledge
regarding the adaptation of UIs with users and with contexts of use.
Several solutions, models, formalisms, techniques and mechanisms
were proposed to develop adaptive UI. In this paper, we propose an
approach based on the fuzzy set theory for modeling the concept of
the appropriateness of different solutions of UI adaptation with
different situations for which interactive systems have to adapt their
UIs.
Abstract: This paper adopts a two-stage data envelopment
analysis to explore the impacts of financial development and bank
operating scale on bank efficiencies. The sample comprises
unbalanced panel data of 32 Taiwanese listed domestic commercial
banks over the period 1998 to 2013. Empirical results show that pure
technical efficiency is positively related to financial development,
whereas the effect of financial development on scale efficiency is
insignificant. Enlargement of bank operating scale improves bank
efficiencies, but the efficiency gains are decreased gradually when the
scale increases. Increases in capital adequacy ratio and market power
of loans lead into a growth of bank efficiencies.
Abstract: Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS)
accelerometers and gyroscopes are suitable for the inertial navigation
system (INS) of many applications due to low price, small
dimensions and light weight. The main disadvantage in a comparison
with classic sensors is a worse long term stability. The estimation
accuracy is mostly affected by the time-dependent growth of inertial
sensor errors, especially the stochastic errors. In order to eliminate
negative effects of these random errors, they must be accurately
modeled. In this paper, the Allan variance technique will be used in
modeling the stochastic errors of the inertial sensors. By performing
a simple operation on the entire length of data, a characteristic curve
is obtained whose inspection provides a systematic characterization
of various random errors contained in the inertial-sensor output data.
Abstract: Heat transfer of leaves is a crucial factor in optimal
operation of metabolic functions in plants. In order to quantify this
phenomenon in different leaves and investigate the influence of leaf
shape on heat transfer, natural convection for pine, orange and olive
leaves was simulated as representatives of different groups of leaf
shapes. CFD techniques were used in this simulation with the
purpose to calculate heat transfer of leaves in similar environmental
conditions. The problem was simulated for steady state and threedimensional
conditions. From obtained results, it was concluded that
heat fluxes of all three different leaves are almost identical, however,
total rate of heat transfer have highest and lowest values for orange
leaves, and pine leaves, respectively.
Abstract: Ibeno, Nigeria hosts the operational base of Mobil
Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil
and the current highest oil & condensate producer in Nigeria. Besides
MPNU, other oil companies operate onshore, on the continental shelf
and deep offshore of the Atlantic Ocean in Ibeno, Nigeria. This study
was designed to delineate oil polluted sites in Ibeno, Nigeria using
geophysical methods of electrical resistivity (ER) and ground
penetrating radar (GPR). Results obtained revealed that there have
been hydrocarbon contaminations of this environment by past crude
oil spills as observed from high resistivity values and GPR profiles
which clearly show the distribution, thickness and lateral extent of
hydrocarbon contamination as represented on the radargram reflector
tones. Contaminations were of varying degrees, ranging from slight
to high, indicating levels of substantial attenuation of crude oil
contamination over time. Moreover, the display of relatively lower
resistivities of locations outside the impacted areas compared to
resistivity values within the impacted areas and the 3-D Cartesian
images of oil contaminant plume depicted by red, light brown and
magenta for high, low and very low oil impacted areas, respectively
confirmed significant recent pollution of the study area with crude
oil.
Abstract: One of the key aspects of power quality improvement
in power system is the mitigation of voltage sags/swells and flicker.
Custom power devices have been known as the best tools for voltage
disturbances mitigation as well as reactive power compensation.
Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) which is the most efficient and
effective modern custom power device can provide the most
commercial solution to solve several problems of power quality in
distribution networks. This paper deals with analysis and simulation
technique of DVR based on instantaneous power theory which is a
quick control to detect signals. The main purpose of this work is to
remove three important disturbances including voltage sags/swells
and flicker. Simulation of the proposed method was carried out on
two sample systems by using Matlab software environment and the
results of simulation show that the proposed method is able to
provide desirable power quality in the presence of wide range of
disturbances.
Abstract: An unconventional composite inorganic ceramic
membrane capable of enhancing carbon dioxide emission decline was
fabricated and tested at laboratory scale in conformism to various
environmental guidelines and also to mitigate the effect of global
warming. A review of the existing membrane technologies for carbon
capture including the relevant gas transport mechanisms is presented.
Single gas permeation experiments using silica modified ceramic
membrane with internal diameter 20mm, outside diameter 25mm and
length of 368mm deposited on a macro porous support was carried
out to investigate individual gas permeation behaviours at different
pressures at room temperature. Membrane fabrication was achieved
using after a dip coating method. Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, Argon,
Oxygen and Methane pure gases were used to investigate their
individual permeation rates at various pressures. Results show that
the gas flow rate increases with pressure drop. However above a
pressure of 3bar, CO2 permeability ratio to that of the other gases
indicated control of a more selective surface adsorptive transport
mechanism.
Abstract: Rehabilitation of dam components such as foundations, buttresses, spillways and overtopping protection require a wide range of construction and design methodologies. Geotechnical Engineering considerations play an important role in the design and construction of foundations of new dams. Much investigation is required to assess and evaluate the existing dams. The application of roller compacting concrete (RCC) has been accepted as a new method for constructing new dams or rehabilitating old ones. In the past 40 years there have been so many changes in the usage of RCC and now it is one of most satisfactory solutions of water and hydropower resource throughout the world. The considerations of rehabilitation and construction of dams might differ due to upstream reservoir and its influence on penetrating and dewatering of downstream, operations requirements and plant layout. One of the advantages of RCC is its rapid placement which allows the dam to be operated quickly. Unlike ordinary concrete it is a drier mix, and stiffs enough for compacting by vibratory rollers. This paper evaluates some different aspects of RCC and focuses on its preparation progress.
Abstract: Cloud computing is the innovative and leading
information technology model for enabling convenient, on-demand
network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources
that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal
management effort. In this paper, we aim at the development of
workflow management system for cloud computing platforms based
on our previous research on the dynamic allocation of the cloud
computing resources and its workflow process. We took advantage of
the HTML5 technology and developed web-based workflow interface.
In order to enable the combination of many tasks running on the cloud
platform in sequence, we designed a mechanism and developed an
execution engine for workflow management on clouds. We also
established a prediction model which was integrated with job queuing
system to estimate the waiting time and cost of the individual tasks on
different computing nodes, therefore helping users achieve maximum
performance at lowest payment. This proposed effort has the potential
to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment
for cloud computing platform. This development also helps boost user
productivity by promoting a flexible workflow interface that lets users
design and control their tasks' flow from anywhere.
Abstract: The present paper presents the discussion of scholars
concerning speech impact, peculiarities of its realization, speech
strategies and techniques in particular. Departing from the viewpoints
of many prominent linguists, the paper suggests that manipulative
argumentation be viewed as a most pervasive speech strategy with a
certain set of techniques which are to be found in modern American
political discourse. The precedence of their occurrence allows us to
regard them as pragmatic patterns of speech impact realization in
effective public speaking.
Abstract: Agro-industry is one of major industries that have
strong impacts on national economic incomes, growth, stability, and
sustainable development. Moreover, this industry also has strong
influences on social, cultural and political issues. Furthermore, this
industry, as producing primary and secondary products, is facing
challenges from such diverse factors such as demand inconsistency,
intense international competition, technological advancements and
new competitors. In order to maintain and to improve industry’s
competitiveness in both domestics and international markets, science
and technology are key factors. Besides hard sciences and
technologies, modern industrial engineering concepts such as Just in
Time (JIT) Total Quality Management (TQM), Quick Response
(QR), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Lean can be very
effective to support to increase efficiency and effectiveness of these
agricultural products on world stage. Onion is one of Thailand’s
major export products which bring back national incomes. But, it is
also facing challenges in many ways. This paper focused its interests
in onion packing process and its related activities such as storage and
shipment from one of major packing plant and storage in Mae Wang
District, Chiang Mai, Thailand, by applying Toyota Production
System (TPS) or Lean concepts, to improve process capability
throughout the entire packing and distribution process which will be
profitable for the whole onion supply chain. And it will be beneficial
to other related agricultural products in Thailand and other ASEAN
countries.
Abstract: Roadway planning and design is a very complex
process involving five key phases before a project is completed;
planning, project development, final design, right-of-way, and
construction. The planning phase for a new roadway transportation
project is a very critical phase as it greatly affects all latter phases of
the project. A location study is usually performed during the
preliminary planning phase in a new roadway project. The objective
of the location study is to develop alignment alternatives that are cost
efficient considering land acquisition and construction costs. This
paper describes a methodology to develop optimal preliminary
roadway alignments utilizing spatial-data. Four optimization criteria
are taken into consideration; roadway length, land cost, land slope,
and environmental impacts. The basic concept of the methodology is
to convert the proposed project area into a grid, which represents the
search space for an optimal alignment. The aforementioned
optimization criteria are represented in each of the grid’s cells. A
spatial-data optimization technique is utilized to find the optimal
alignment in the search space based on the four optimization criteria.
Two case studies for new roadway projects in Duval County in the
State of Florida are presented to illustrate the methodology. The
optimization output alignments are compared to the proposed Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) alignments. The comparison is
based on right-of-way costs for the alignments. For both case studies,
the right-of-way costs for the developed optimal alignments were
found to be significantly lower than the FDOT alignments.
Abstract: The structures obtained with the use of sandwich
technologies combine low weight with high energy absorbing
capacity and load carrying capacity. Hence, there is a growing and
markedly interest in the use of sandwiches with aluminum foam core
because of very good properties such as flexural rigidity and energy
absorption capability. In the current investigation, the static threepoint
bending tests were carried out on the sandwiches with
aluminum foam core and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)
skins at different values of support span distances aiming the analyses
of their flexural performance. The influence of the core thickness and
the GFRP skin type was reported in terms of peak load and energy
absorption capacity. For this purpose, the skins with two different
types of fabrics which have same thickness value and the aluminum
foam core with two different thicknesses were bonded with a
commercial polyurethane based flexible adhesive in order to combine
the composite sandwich panels. The main results of the bending tests
are: force-displacement curves, peak force values, absorbed energy,
collapse mechanisms and the effect of the support span length and
core thickness. The results of the experimental study showed that the
sandwich with the skins made of S-Glass Woven fabrics and with the
thicker foam core presented higher mechanical values such as load
carrying and energy absorption capacities. The increment of the
support span distance generated the decrease of the mechanical
values for each type of panels, as expected, because of the inverse
proportion between the force and span length. The most common
failure types of the sandwiches are debonding of the lower skin and
the core shear. The obtained results have particular importance for
applications that require lightweight structures with a high capacity
of energy dissipation, such as the transport industry (automotive,
aerospace, shipbuilding and marine industry), where the problems of
collision and crash have increased in the last years.
Abstract: A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy
of lavender for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. The
experiment was performed on an agricultural fields contaminated by
the Non-Ferrous-Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The
concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in lavender (roots, stems, leaves and
inflorescences) and in the essential oils of lavender were determined.
Lavender is a plant which is tolerant to heavy metals and can be
grown on contaminated soils, and which can be referred to the
hyperaccumulators of lead and the accumulators of cadmium and
zinc, and can be successfully used in the phytoremediation of heavy
metal contaminated soils. Favorable is also the fact that heavy metals
do not influence the development of the lavender, as well as on the
quality and quantity of the essential oil. The possibility of further
industrial processing will make lavender economically interesting
crops for farmers of phytoextraction technology.
Abstract: The present study was carried out to investigate the
effect of alloying elements and thermo-mechanical treatment (TMT)
i.e. hot rolling and forging with different reduction ratios on the
hardness (HV) and impact toughness (J) of heat-treated low alloy
steels. An understanding of the combined effect of TMT and alloying
elements and by measuring hardness, impact toughness, resulting
from different heat treatment following TMT of the low alloy steels,
it is possible to determine which conditions yielded optimum
mechanical properties and high strength to weight ratio.
Experimental Correlations between hot work reduction ratio,
hardness and impact toughness for thermo-mechanically heat treated
low alloy steels are analyzed quantitatively, and both regression and
mathematical hardness and impact toughness models are developed.
Abstract: The coaxial transformer-coupled push-pull circuitry
has been used widely in HF and VHF amplifiers for many decades
without significant changes in the topology of the transformers. Basic
changes over the years concerned the construction and turns ratio of
the transformers as has been imposed upon the newer technologies
active devices demands. The balun transmission line transformers
applied in push-pull amplifiers enable input/output impedance
transformation, but are mainly used to convert the balanced output
into unbalanced and the input unbalanced into balanced. A simple
and affordable alternative solution over the traditional coaxial
transformer is the coreless planar balun. A key advantage over the
traditional approach lies in the high specifications repeatability;
simplifying the amplifier construction requirements as the planar
balun constitutes an integrated part of the PCB copper layout. This
paper presents the performance analysis of a planar LDMOS
MRFE6VP5600 Push-Pull amplifier that enables robust operation in
Band III, DVB-T, DVB-T2 standards but functions equally well in
Band II, for DRM+ new generation transmitters.
Abstract: During the post-Civil War era, the city of Nashville,
Tennessee, had the highest mortality rate in the United States. The
elevated death and disease rates among former slaves were
attributable to lack of quality healthcare. To address the paucity of
healthcare services, Meharry Medical College, an institution with the
mission of educating minority professionals and serving the
underserved population, was established in 1876.
Purpose: The social ecological framework and partial least squares
(PLS) path modeling were used to quantify the impact of
socioeconomic status and adverse health outcome on primary care
professionals serving the disadvantaged community. Thus, the study
results could demonstrate the accomplishment of the College’s
mission of training primary care professionals to serve in underserved
areas.
Methods: Various statistical methods were used to analyze alumni
data from 1975 – 2013. K-means cluster analysis was utilized to
identify individual medical and dental graduates in the cluster groups
of the practice communities (Disadvantaged or Non-disadvantaged
Communities). Discriminant analysis was implemented to verify the
classification accuracy of cluster analysis. The independent t-test was
performed to detect the significant mean differences of respective
clustering and criterion variables. Chi-square test was used to test if
the proportions of primary care and non-primary care specialists are
consistent with those of medical and dental graduates practicing in
the designated community clusters. Finally, the PLS path model was
constructed to explore the construct validity of analytic model by
providing the magnitude effects of socioeconomic status and adverse
health outcome on primary care professionals serving the
disadvantaged community.
Results: Approximately 83% (3,192/3,864) of Meharry Medical
College’s medical and dental graduates from 1975 to 2013 were
practicing in disadvantaged communities. Independent t-test confirmed the content validity of the cluster analysis model. Also, the
PLS path modeling demonstrated that alumni served as primary care
professionals in communities with significantly lower socioeconomic
status and higher adverse health outcome (p < .001). The PLS path
modeling exhibited the meaningful interrelation between primary
care professionals practicing communities and surrounding
environments (socioeconomic statues and adverse health outcome),
which yielded model reliability, validity, and applicability.
Conclusion: This study applied social ecological theory and
analytic modeling approaches to assess the attainment of Meharry
Medical College’s mission of training primary care professionals to
serve in underserved areas, particularly in communities with low
socioeconomic status and high rates of adverse health outcomes. In
summary, the majority of medical and dental graduates from Meharry
Medical College provided primary care services to disadvantaged
communities with low socioeconomic status and high adverse health
outcome, which demonstrated that Meharry Medical College has
fulfilled its mission. The high reliability, validity, and applicability of
this model imply that it could be replicated for comparable
universities and colleges elsewhere.