Abstract: The need to use high volumes of data and the high
competition are only two reasons which make necessary the use of
information technologies. The objective of our research is to establish
the impact of information technologies on the accounting department
of the Romanian companies. In order to achieve it, starting from the
literature review we made an empirical research based on a
questionnaire. We investigated the types of technologies used, the
reasons which led to the implementation of certain technologies, the
benefits brought by the use of the information technologies, the
difficulties brought by the implementation and the future effects of
the applications. The conclusions show that there is an evolution in
the degree of implementation of the information technologies in the
Romanian companies, compared with the results of other studies
conducted a few years before.
Abstract: Quantitative radiobiological models can be used to
assess the optimum clinical outcome from sophisticated therapeutic
modalities by calculating tumor control probability (TCP) and normal
tissue complication probability (NTCP). In this study two 3D-CRT
and an IMRT treatment plans were developed with an initial
prescription dose of 60 Gy in 2 Gy/fraction to prostate. Sensitivity of
TCP and Complication free tumor control probability (P+) to the
different values of α/β ratio was investigated for various prescription
doses planned to be delivered in either a fixed number of fractions (I)
or in a fixed dose per fraction (II) in each of the three different
treatment plans. High dose/fraction and high α/β value result in
comparatively smaller P+ and IMRT plans resulted in the highest P+,
mainly due to the decrease in NTCP. If α/β is lower than expected,
better tumor control can be achieved by increasing dose/fraction but
decreasing the number of fractions.
Abstract: In this research article of modeling Underwater
Wireless Sensor Network Simulators, we provide a comprehensive
overview of the various currently available simulators used in UWSN
modeling. In this work, we compare their working environment,
software platform, simulation language, key features, limitations and
corresponding applications. Based on extensive experimentation and
performance analysis, we provide their efficiency for specific
applications. We have also provided guidelines for developing
protocols in different layers of the protocol stack, and finally these
parameters are also compared and tabulated. This analysis is
significant for researchers and designers to find the right simulator
for their research activities.
Abstract: This paper reports a novel actuating design that uses
the shear deformation of a piezoelectric actuator to deflect a
bulge-diaphragm for driving an array microdroplet ejector. In essence,
we employed a circular-shaped actuator poled radial direction with
remnant polarization normal to the actuating electric field for inducing
the piezoelectric shear effect. The array microdroplet ejector consists
of a shear type piezoelectric actuator, a vibration plate, two chamber
plates, two channel plates and a nozzle plate. The vibration, chamber
and nozzle plate components are fabricated using nickel
electroforming technology, whereas the channel plate is fabricated by
etching of stainless steel. The diaphragm displacement was measured
by the laser two-dimensional scanning vibrometer. The ejected
droplets of the microejector were also observed via an optic
visualization system.
Abstract: The article presents a plasma chemical technology for
processing solid fuels, using examples of bituminous and brown
coals. Thermodynamic and experimental investigation of the
technology was made. The technology allows producing synthesis
gas from the coal organic mass and valuable components (technical
silicon, ferrosilicon, aluminum, and carbon silicon, as well as
microelements of rare metals, such as uranium, molybdenum,
vanadium, etc.) from the mineral mass. The thusly produced highcalorific
synthesis gas can be used for synthesis of methanol, as a
high-calorific reducing gas instead of blast-furnace coke as well as
power gas for thermal power plants.
Abstract: The posterior reference for the ala tragal line is a
cause of confusion, with different authors suggesting different
locations as to the superior, middle or inferior part of the tragus. This
study was conducted on 200 subjects to evaluate if any correlation
exists between the variation of angulation of palatal throat form and
the relative parallelism of occlusal plane to ala-tragal line at different
tragal levels. A custom made Occlusal Plane Analyzer was used to
check the parallelism between the ala-tragal line and occlusal plane.
A lateral cephalogram was shot for each subject to measure the
angulation of the palatal throat form. Fisher’s exact test was used to
evaluate the correlation between the angulation of the palatal throat
form and the relative parallelism of occlusal plane to the ala tragal
line. Also, a classification was formulated for the palatal throat form,
based on confidence interval. From the results of the study, the
inferior part, middle part and superior part of the tragus were seen as
the reference points in 49.5%, 32% and 18.5% of the subjects
respectively. Class I palatal throat form (41degree-50 degree), Class
II palatal throat form (below 41 degree) and Class III palatal throat
form (above 50 degree) were seen in 42%, 43% and 15% of the
subjects respectively. It was also concluded that there is no
significant correlation between the variation in the angulations of the
palatal throat form and the relative parallelism of occlusal plane to
the ala-tragal line.
Abstract: Diagram and drawing are important ways to
communicate and the reproduce of architectural design, Due to the
development of information and communication technology, the
professional thinking of architecture and interior design are also
change rapidly. In development process of design, diagram always
play very important role. This study is based on diagram theories,
observe and record interaction between man and objects, objects and
space, and space and time in a modern nuclear family. Construct a
method for diagram to systematically and visualized describe the
space plan of a modern nuclear family toward an intelligent design, to
assist designer to retrieve information and review event pattern of past
and present.
Abstract: As the trend in automotive technology is fast moving
towards hybridization and electrification to curb emissions as well as
to improve the fuel efficiency, air-conditioning systems in passenger
cars have not caught up with this trend and still remain as the major
energy consumers amongst others. Adsorption based air-conditioning
systems, e.g. with silica-gel water pair, which are already in use for
residential and commercial applications, are now being considered as
a technology leap once proven feasible for the passenger cars. In this
paper we discuss a methodology, challenges and feasibility of
implementing an adsorption based air-conditioning system in a
passenger car utilizing the exhaust waste heat. We also propose an
optimized control strategy with interfaces to the engine control unit
of the vehicle for operating this system with reasonable efficiency
supported by our simulation and validation results in a prototype
vehicle, additionally comparing to existing implementations,
simulation based as well as experimental. Finally we discuss the
influence of start-stop and hybrid systems on the operation strategy of
the adsorption air-conditioning system.
Abstract: We propose new multiple-channel piezoelectric (PZT)
actuated tunable optical filter based on racetrack multi-ring
resonators for wavelength de-multiplexing network applications. We
design tunable eight-channel wavelength de-multiplexer consisting of
eight cascaded PZT actuated tunable multi-ring resonator filter with a
channel spacing of 1.6nm. The filter for each channel is basically
structured on a suspended beam, sandwiched with piezoelectric
material and built in integrated ring resonators which are placed on
the middle of the beam to gain uniform stress and linearly varying
longitudinal strain. A reference single mode serially coupled multi
stage racetrack ring resonator with the same radii and coupling length
is designed with a line width of 0.8974nm with a flat top pass band at
1dB of 0.5205nm and free spectral range of about 14.9nm. In each
channel, a small change in the perimeter of the rings is introduced to
establish the shift in resonance wavelength as per the defined channel
spacing. As a result, when a DC voltage is applied, the beams will
elongate, which involves mechanical deformation of the ring
resonators that induces a stress and a strain, which brings a change in
refractive index and perimeter of the rings leading to change in the
output spectrum shift providing the tunability of central wavelength
in each channel. Simultaneous wave length shift as high as
45.54pm/
Abstract: In wastewater treatment processes, aeration introduces
air into a liquid. In these systems, air is introduced by different
devices submerged in the wastewater. Smaller bubbles result in more
bubble surface area per unit of volume and higher oxygen transfer
efficiency. Jet pumps are devices that use air bubbles and are widely
used in wastewater treatment processes. The principle of jet pumps is
their ability to transfer energy of one fluid, called primary or motive,
into a secondary fluid or gas. These pumps have no moving parts and
are able to work in remote areas under extreme conditions. The
objective of this work is to study experimentally the characteristics of
the jet pump and the size of air bubbles in the laboratory water tank.
The effect of flow rate ratio on pump performance is investigated in
order to have a better understanding about pump behavior under
various conditions, in order to determine the efficiency of receiving
air bubbles different sizes. The experiments show that we should take
care when increasing the flow rate ratio while seeking to decrease
bubble size in the outlet flow. This study will help improve and
extend the use of the jet pump in many practical applications.
Abstract: Due to the continuous increment of the load demand,
identification of weaker buses, improvement of voltage profile and
power losses in the context of the voltage stability problems has
become one of the major concerns for the larger, complex,
interconnected power systems. The objective of this paper is to
review the impact of Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS)
controller in Wind generators connected electrical network for
maintaining voltage stability. Wind energy could be the growing
renewable energy due to several advantages. The influence of wind
generators on power quality is a significant issue; non uniform power
production causes variations in system voltage and frequency.
Therefore, wind farm requires high reactive power compensation; the
advances in high power semiconducting devices have led to the
development of FACTS. The FACTS devices such as for example
SVC inject reactive power into the system which helps in maintaining
a better voltage profile. The performance is evaluated on an IEEE 14
bus system, two wind generators are connected at low voltage buses
to meet the increased load demand and SVC devices are integrated at
the buses with wind generators to keep voltage stability. Power
flows, nodal voltage magnitudes and angles of the power network are
obtained by iterative solutions using MIPOWER.
Abstract: This paper contains the description of argumentation
approach for the problem of inductive concept formation. It is
proposed to use argumentation, based on defeasible reasoning with
justification degrees, to improve the quality of classification models,
obtained by generalization algorithms. The experiment’s results on
both clear and noisy data are also presented.
Abstract: Durian is the flagship fruit of Mindanao and there is
an abundance of several cultivars with many confusing identities/
names.
The project was conducted to develop procedure for reliable and
rapid detection and sorting of durian planting materials. Moreover, it
is also aimed to establish specific genetic or DNA markers for routine
testing and authentication of durian cultivars in question.
The project developed molecular procedures for routine testing.
SSR primers were also screened and identified for their utility in
discriminating durian cultivars collected.
Results of the study showed the following accomplishments:
1. Twenty (29) SSR primers were selected and identified based on
their ability to discriminate durian cultivars,
2. Optimized and established standard procedure for identification
and authentication of Durian cultivars
3. Genetic profile of durian is now available at Biotech Unit
Our results demonstrate the relevance of using molecular
techniques in evaluating and identifying durian clones. The most
polymorphic primers tested in this study could be useful tools for
detecting variation even at the early stage of the plant especially for
commercial purposes. The process developed combines the efficiency
of the microsatellites development process with the optimization of
non-radioactive detection process resulting in a user-friendly protocol
that can be performed in two (2) weeks and easily incorporated into
laboratories about to start microsatellite development projects. This
can be of great importance to extend microsatellite analyses to other
crop species where minimal genetic information is currently
available. With this, the University can now be a service laboratory
for routine testing and authentication of durian clones.
Abstract: The secondary alloy A226 is used for many
automotive casting produced by mould casting and high pressure die
casting. This alloy has excellent castability, good mechanical
properties and cost-effectiveness. Production of primary aluminium
alloys belong to heavy source fouling of life environs. The European
Union calls for the emission reduction and reduction in energy
consumption therefore increase production of recycled (secondary)
aluminium cast alloys. The contribution is deal with influence of
recycling on the quality of the casting made from A226 in automotive
industry. The properties of the casting made from secondary
aluminium alloys were compared with the required properties of
primary aluminium alloys. The effect of recycling on microstructure
was observed using combination different analytical techniques (light
microscopy upon black-white etching, scanning electron microscopy
- SEM upon deep etching and energy dispersive X-ray analysis -
EDX). These techniques were used for the identification of the
various structure parameters, which was used to compare secondary
alloy microstructure with primary alloy microstructure.
Abstract: Many factors influence the educational outcome of
students. Some of these have been studied by researchers with many
emphasizing the role of students, schools, governments, peer groups
and so on. More often than not, some of these factors influencing the
academic achievement of the students have been traced back to
parents and family; being the primary platform on which learning not
only begins but is nurtured, encouraged and developed which later
transforms to the performance of the students. This study not only
explores parental and related factors that predict academic
achievement through the review of relevant literatures but also,
investigates the influence of parental background on the academic
achievement of senior secondary school students in Ibadan North
Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. As one of the criteria
of the quality of education, students’ academic achievement was
investigated because it is most often cited as an indicator of school
effectiveness by school authorities and educationists. The data
collection was done through interviews and use of well-structured
questionnaires administered to one hundred students (100) within the
target local government. This was statistically analysed and the result
showed that parents’ attitudes towards their children’s education had
significant effect(s) on students’ self-reporting of academic
achievement. However, such factors as parental education and socioeconomic
background had no significant relationship with the
students’ self-reporting of academic achievement.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the concept of an
agile enterprise model and to initiate discussion on the research
assumptions of the model presented. The implementation of the
research project "The agility of enterprises in the process of adapting
to the environment and its changes" began in August 2014 and is
planned to last three years. The article has the form of a work-inprogress
paper which aims to verify and initiate a debate over the
proposed research model. In the literature there are very few
publications relating to research into agility; it can be concluded that
the most controversial issue in this regard is the method of measuring
agility. In previous studies the operationalization of agility was often
fragmentary, focusing only on selected areas of agility, for example
manufacturing, or analysing only selected sectors. As a result the
measures created to date can only be treated as contributory to the
development of precise measurement tools. This research project
aims to fill a cognitive gap in the literature with regard to the
conceptualization and operationalization of an agile company. Thus,
the original contribution of the author of this project is the
construction of a theoretical model that integrates manufacturing
agility (consisting mainly in adaptation to the environment) and
strategic agility (based on proactive measures). The author of this
research project is primarily interested in the attributes of an agile
enterprise which indicate that the company is able to rapidly adapt to
changing circumstances and behave pro-actively.
Abstract: With the flourishing development of online shopping,
an increasing number of customers see online shopping as an
entertaining experience. Because the online consumer has a double
identity as a shopper and an Internet user, online shopping should offer
hedonic values of shopping and Internet usage. The purpose of this
study is to investigate hedonic online shopping motivations from the
perspectives of traditional hedonic value and flow theory.
The study adopted a focus group interview method, including two
online and two offline interviews. Four focus groups of shoppers
consisted of online professionals, online college students, offline
professionals and offline college students. The results of the study
indicate that traditional hedonic values and dimensions of flow theory
exist in the online shopping environment. The study indicated that
online shoppers seem to appreciate being able to learn things and grow
to become competitive achievers online. Comparisons of online
hedonic motivations between groups are conducted. This study serves
as a basis for the future growth of Internet marketing.
Abstract: Edge is variation of brightness in an image. Edge
detection is useful in many application areas such as finding forests,
rivers from a satellite image, detecting broken bone in a medical
image etc. The paper discusses about finding edge of multiple aerial
images in parallel. The proposed work tested on 38 images 37
colored and one monochrome image. The time taken to process N
images in parallel is equivalent to time taken to process 1 image in
sequential. Message Passing Interface (MPI) and Open Computing
Language (OpenCL) is used to achieve task and pixel level
parallelism respectively.
Abstract: This paper is aimed at proposing a rhombus shaped
wearable fractal antenna for wireless communication systems. The
geometrical descriptors of the antenna have been obtained using
bacterial foraging optimization (BFO) for wide band operation. The
method of moment based IE3D software has been used to simulate
the antenna and observed that miniaturization of 13.08% has been
achieved without degrading the resonating properties of the proposed
antenna. An analysis with different substrates has also been done in
order to evaluate the effectiveness of electrical permittivity on the
presented structure. The proposed antenna has low profile, light
weight and has successfully demonstrated wideband and multiband
characteristics for wearable electronic applications.
Abstract: The grain quality of chickpea in Iran is low and
instable, which may be attributed to the evolution of cultivars with a
narrow genetic base making them vulnerable to biotic stresses. Four
chickpea varieties from diverse geographic origins were chosen and
arranged in a randomized complete block design. Mesorhizobium sp.
cicer strain SW7 was added to all the chickpea seeds. Chickpea seeds
were planted on October 9, 2013. Each genotype was sown 5 m in
length, with 35 cm inter-row spacing, in 3 rows. Weeds were
removed manually in all plots. Results showed that Analysis of
variance on the studied traits showed significant differences among
genotypes for N, P, K and Fe contents of chickpea, but there is not a
significant difference among Ca, Zn and Mg continents of chickpea.
The experimental coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 7.3 to
15.8. In general, the CV value lower than 20% is considered to be
good, indicating the accuracy of conducted experiments. The highest
grain N was observed in Hashem and Jam cultivars. The highest grain
P was observed in Jam cultivar. Phosphorus content (mg/100g)
ranged from 142.3 to 302.3 with a mean value of 221.3. The negative
correlation (-0.126) was observed between the N and P of chickpea
cultivars. The highest K and Fe contents were observed in Jam
cultivar.