Abstract: Environmental micro-organisms include a large number of taxa and some species that are generally considered nonpathogenic, but can represent a risk in certain conditions, especially for elderly people and immunocompromised individuals. Chemotaxonomic identification techniques are powerful tools for environmental micro-organisms, and cellular fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) content is a powerful fingerprinting identification technique. A system based on an unsupervised artificial neural network (ANN) was set up using the fatty acid profiles of standard bacterial strains, obtained by gas-chromatography, used as learning data. We analysed 45 certified strains belonging to Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Alcaligenes, Aquaspirillum, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Brevundimonas, Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, Serratia, Shewanella and Vibrio genera. A set of 79 bacteria isolated from a drinking water line (AMGA, the major water supply system in Genoa) were used as an example for identification compared to standard MIDI method. The resulting ANN output map was found to be a very powerful tool to identify these fresh isolates.
Abstract: In face recognition, feature extraction techniques
attempts to search for appropriate representation of the data. However,
when the feature dimension is larger than the samples size, it brings
performance degradation. Hence, we propose a method called
Normalization Discriminant Independent Component Analysis
(NDICA). The input data will be regularized to obtain the most
reliable features from the data and processed using Independent
Component Analysis (ICA). The proposed method is evaluated on
three face databases, Olivetti Research Ltd (ORL), Face Recognition
Technology (FERET) and Face Recognition Grand Challenge
(FRGC). NDICA showed it effectiveness compared with other
unsupervised and supervised techniques.
Abstract: A precision CMOS chopping amplifier is adopted in this work to improve a CMOS temperature sensor high sensitive enough for intracranial temperature monitoring. An amplified temperature sensitivity of 18.8 ± 3*0.2 mV/oC is attained over the temperature range from 20 oC to 80 oC from a given 10 samples of the same wafer. The analog frontend design outputs the temperature dependent and the temperature independent signals which can be directly interfaced to a 10 bit ADC to accomplish an accurate temperature instrumentation system.
Abstract: Volume rendering is widely used in medical CT image
visualization. Applying 3D image visualization to diagnosis
application can require accurate volume rendering with high
resolution. Interpolation is important in medical image processing
applications such as image compression or volume resampling.
However, it can distort the original image data because of edge
blurring or blocking effects when image enhancement procedures
were applied. In this paper, we proposed adaptive tension control
method exploiting gradient information to achieve high resolution
medical image enhancement in volume visualization, where restored
images are similar to original images as much as possible. The
experimental results show that the proposed method can improve
image quality associated with the adaptive tension control efficacy.
Abstract: The effects of seawater and slurry ice bleeding methods on the sensory, microbiological and chemical quality changes of cod fillets during chilled storage were examined in this study. The results from sensory evaluation showed that slurry ice bleeding method prolonged the shelf life of cod fillets up to 13-14 days compared to 10-11 days for fish bled in seawater. Slurry ice bleeding method also led to a slower microbial growth and biochemical developments, resulting lower total plate count (TPC), H2S-producing bacteria count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine (TMA), free fatty acid (FFA) content and higher phospholipid content (PL) compared to those of samples bled in seawater. The results of principle component analysis revealed that TPC, H2S-producing bacteria, TVB-N, TMA and FFA were in significant correlation. They were also in negative correlation with sensory evaluation (Torry score), PL and water holding capacity (WHC).
Abstract: This paper proposes a delay-dependent leader-following consensus condition of multi-agent systems with both communication delay and probabilistic self-delay. The proposed methods employ a suitable piecewise Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and the average dwell time approach. New consensus criterion for the systems are established in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) which can be easily solved by various effective optimization algorithms. Numerical example showed that the proposed method is effective.
Abstract: This study evaluates the performance of horizontal
subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSSF-CW) for the removal of
chlorinated resin and fatty acids (RFAs) from pulp and paper mill
wastewater. The dimensions of the treatment system were 3.5 m x 1.5
m x 0.28 m with surface area of 5.25 m2, filled with fine sand and
gravel. The cell was planted with an ornamental plant species Canna
indica. The removal efficiency of chlorinated RFAs was in the range
of 92-96% at the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5.9 days. Plant
biomass and soil (sand and gravel) were analyzed for chlorinated
RFAs content. No chlorinated RFAs were detected in plant biomass
but detected in soil samples. Mass balance studies of chlorinated
RFAs in HSSF-CW were also carried out.
Abstract: Proteomics is one of the largest areas of research for
bioinformatics and medical science. An ambitious goal of proteomics
is to elucidate the structure, interactions and functions of all proteins
within cells and organisms. Predicting Protein-Protein Interaction
(PPI) is one of the crucial and decisive problems in current research.
Genomic data offer a great opportunity and at the same time a lot of
challenges for the identification of these interactions. Many methods
have already been proposed in this regard. In case of in-silico
identification, most of the methods require both positive and negative
examples of protein interaction and the perfection of these examples
are very much crucial for the final prediction accuracy. Positive
examples are relatively easy to obtain from well known databases. But
the generation of negative examples is not a trivial task. Current PPI
identification methods generate negative examples based on some
assumptions, which are likely to affect their prediction accuracy.
Hence, if more reliable negative examples are used, the PPI prediction
methods may achieve even more accuracy. Focusing on this issue, a
graph based negative example generation method is proposed, which
is simple and more accurate than the existing approaches. An
interaction graph of the protein sequences is created. The basic
assumption is that the longer the shortest path between two
protein-sequences in the interaction graph, the less is the possibility of
their interaction. A well established PPI detection algorithm is
employed with our negative examples and in most cases it increases
the accuracy more than 10% in comparison with the negative pair
selection method in that paper.
Abstract: An optimized design of E/O and O/E for access points
of WiMAX RoF was carried out by evaluating RCE. The use of the
DFB-LD, a low input-impedance driving, a low distortion PIN-PD,
and a high gain EPHEMT amplifier is promising the cost-effective
design. For the uplink RoF design, the use of EDFA and EP-HEMT
amplifiers is necessity.
Abstract: In this paper, a periodic predator-prey system with harvesting terms and Holling II type functional response is considered. Sufficient criteria for the existence of at least sixteen periodic solutions are established by using the well known continuation theorem due to Mawhin. An example is given to illustrate the main result.
Abstract: In this paper, the steady-state temperature of a sample 500 KW two rotor one stator Non-slotted axial flux permanent magnet motor is calculated using the finite element simulator software package. Due to the high temperature in various parts of the machine, especially at stator winding, a cooling system is designed for the motor and the temperature is recalculated. The results show that the temperature obtained for the parts is within the permissible range.
Abstract: Trihalogenmethanes are the most significant byproducts of the reaction of disinfection agent with organic precursors naturally present in ground and surface waters.Their incidence negatively affects the quality of drinking water in relation to their nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic and genotoxic effects on human health. Taking into consideration the considerable volatility of monitored contaminants it could be assumed that their incidence in drinking water would depend on the distance of sampling from the area of disinfection. Based on the concentration of trihalogenmethanes determined with the help of gas chromatography with mass detector and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) such dependence has been proved as statistically significant. The acquired outcomes will be used for assessing the non-carcinogenic and genotoxic risks to consumers.
Abstract: Photoplethysmography is a simple measurement of the
variation in blood volume in tissue. It detects the pulse signal of heart
beat as well as the low frequency signal of vasoconstriction and
vasodilation. The transmission type measurement is limited to only a
few specific positions for example the index finger that have a short
path length for light. The reflectance type measurement can be
conveniently applied on most parts of the body surface. This study
analyzed the factors that determine the quality of reflectance
photoplethysmograph signal including the emitter-detector distance,
wavelength, light intensity, and optical properties of skin tissue.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) with four different visible
wavelengths were used as the light emitters. A phototransistor was
used as the light detector. A micro translation stage adjusts the
emitter-detector distance from 2 mm to 15 mm.
The reflective photoplethysmograph signals were measured on
different sites. The optimal emitter-detector distance was chosen to
have a large dynamic range for low frequency drifting without signal
saturation and a high perfusion index. Among these four wavelengths,
a yellowish green (571nm) light with a proper emitter-detection
distance of 2mm is the most suitable for obtaining a steady and reliable
reflectance photoplethysmograph signal
Abstract: As a part of an evaluation system for R&D programs,
the Korean Government has applied the preliminary feasibility study
to new government R&D program plans. Basically, the fundamental purpose of the preliminary feasibility study is to decide that the
government will either do or do not invest in a new R&D Program. Additionally, the preliminary feasibility study can contribute to the
improvement of R&D program plans. For example, 2 cases of new
R&D program plans applied to the study are explained in this paper and there are expectations that these R&D programs would yield better
performance than without the study. It is thought that the important point of the preliminary feasibility study is not only the effective
decision making process of R&D program but also the opportunity to improve R&D program plan actually.
Abstract: A method based on the power series solution is proposed to solve the natural frequency of flapping vibration for the rotating inclined Euler beam with constant angular velocity. The vibration of the rotating beam is measured from the position of the corresponding steady state axial deformation. In this paper the governing equations for linear vibration of a rotating Euler beam are derived by the d'Alembert principle, the virtual work principle and the consistent linearization of the fully geometrically nonlinear beam theory in a rotating coordinate system. The governing equation for flapping vibration of the rotating inclined Euler beam is linear ordinary differential equation with variable coefficients and is solved by a power series with four independent coefficients. Substituting the power series solution into the corresponding boundary conditions at two end nodes of the rotating beam, a set of homogeneous equations can be obtained. The natural frequencies may be determined by solving the homogeneous equations using the bisection method. Numerical examples are studied to investigate the effect of inclination angle on the natural frequency of flapping vibration for rotating inclined Euler beams with different angular velocity and slenderness ratio.
Abstract: A digital system is proposed for low power 100-
channel neural recording system in this paper, which consists of 100
amplifiers, 100 analog-to-digital converters (ADC), digital controller
and baseband, transceiver for data link and RF command link. The
proposed system is designed in a 0.18 μm CMOS process and 65 nm
CMOS process.
Abstract: Among various HLM techniques, the Multivariate Hierarchical Linear Model (MHLM) is desirable to use, particularly when multivariate criterion variables are collected and the covariance structure has information valuable for data analysis. In order to reflect prior information or to obtain stable results when the sample size and the number of groups are not sufficiently large, the Bayes method has often been employed in hierarchical data analysis. In these cases, although the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is a rather powerful tool for parameter estimation, Procedures regarding MCMC have not been formulated for MHLM. For this reason, this research presents concrete procedures for parameter estimation through the use of the Gibbs samplers. Lastly, several future topics for the use of MCMC approach for HLM is discussed.
Abstract: Dried soy protein hydrolysate powder was added to
the burger in order to enhance the oxidative stability as well as
decreases the microbial spoilage. The soybean bioactive compounds
(soy protein hydrolysate) as antioxidant and antimicrobial were added
at level of 1, 2 and 3 %.Chemical analysis and physical properties
were affected by protein hydrolysate addition. The TBA values were
significantly affected (P < 0.05) by the storage period and the level of
soy protein hydrolysate. All the tested soybean protein hydrolysate
additives showed strong antioxidant properties. Samples of soybean
protein hydrolysate showed the lowest (P < 0.05) TBA values at each
time of storage.
The counts of all determined microbiological indicators were
significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the addition of the soybean
protein hydrolysate. Decreasing trends of different extent were also
observed in samples of the treatments for total viable counts,
Coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and molds. Storage period
was being significantly (P < 0.05) affected on microbial counts in all
samples Staphylococcus aureus were the most sensitive microbe
followed by Coliform group of the sample containing protein
hydrolysate, while molds and yeast count showed a decreasing trend
but not significant (P < 0.05) until the end of the storage period
compared with control sample. Sensory attributes were also
performed, added protein hydrolysate exhibits beany flavor which
was clear about samples of 3% protein hydrolysate.
Abstract: This paper presents a low-voltage low-power differential linear transconductor with near rail-to-rail input swing. Based on the current-mirror OTA topology, the proposed transconductor combines the Flipped Voltage Follower (FVF) technique to linearize the transconductor behavior that leads to class- AB linear operation and the virtual transistor technique to lower the effective threshold voltages of the transistors which offers an advantage in terms of low supply requirement. Design of the OTA has been discussed. It operates at supply voltages of about ±0.8V. Simulation results for 0.18μm TSMC CMOS technology show a good input range of 1Vpp with a high DC gain of 81.53dB and a total harmonic distortion of -40dB at 1MHz for an input of 1Vpp. The main aim of this paper is to present and compare new OTA design with high transconductance, which has a potential to be used in low voltage applications.
Abstract: This paper presents a mark-up approach to service creation in Next Generation Networks. The approach allows deriving added value from network functions exposed by Parlay/OSA (Open Service Access) interfaces. With OSA interfaces service logic scripts might be executed both on callrelated and call-unrelated events. To illustrate the approach XMLbased language constructions for data and method definitions, flow control, time measuring and supervision and database access are given and an example of OSA application is considered.