Abstract: The hydrogen peroxide treatment was able to
remediate chlorophenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diesel
and transformer oil contaminated soil. Chemical treatment of
contaminants adsorbed in peat resulted in lower contaminants-
removal and required higher addition of chemicals than the treatment
of contaminants in sand. The hydrogen peroxide treatment was found
to be feasible for soil remediation at natural soil pH. Contaminants in
soil could degrade with the addition of hydrogen peroxide only
indicating the ability of transition metals ions and minerals of these
metals presented in soil to catalyse the reaction of hydrogen peroxide
decomposition.
Abstract: Rule Discovery is an important technique for mining knowledge from large databases. Use of objective measures for discovering interesting rules lead to another data mining problem, although of reduced complexity. Data mining researchers have studied subjective measures of interestingness to reduce the volume of discovered rules to ultimately improve the overall efficiency of KDD process. In this paper we study novelty of the discovered rules as a subjective measure of interestingness. We propose a hybrid approach that uses objective and subjective measures to quantify novelty of the discovered rules in terms of their deviations from the known rules. We analyze the types of deviation that can arise between two rules and categorize the discovered rules according to the user specified threshold. We implement the proposed framework and experiment with some public datasets. The experimental results are quite promising.
Abstract: An advanced Monte Carlo simulation method, called Subset Simulation (SS) for the time-dependent reliability prediction for underground pipelines has been presented in this paper. The SS can provide better resolution for low failure probability level with efficient investigating of rare failure events which are commonly encountered in pipeline engineering applications. In SS method, random samples leading to progressive failure are generated efficiently and used for computing probabilistic performance by statistical variables. SS gains its efficiency as small probability event as a product of a sequence of intermediate events with larger conditional probabilities. The efficiency of SS has been demonstrated by numerical studies and attention in this work is devoted to scrutinise the robustness of the SS application in pipe reliability assessment. It is hoped that the development work can promote the use of SS tools for uncertainty propagation in the decision-making process of underground pipelines network reliability prediction.
Abstract: Transesterification of candlenut (aleurites moluccana)
oil with methanol using potassium hydroxide as catalyst was
studied. The objective of the present investigation was to produce
the methyl ester for use as biodiesel. The operation variables
employed were methanol to oil molar ratio (3:1 – 9:1), catalyst
concentration (0.50 – 1.5 %) and temperature (303 – 343K). Oil
volume of 150 mL, reaction time of 75 min were fixed as common
parameters in all the experiments. The concentration of methyl ester
was evaluated by mass balance of free glycerol formed which was
analyzed by using periodic acid. The optimal triglyceride conversion
was attained by using methanol to oil ratio of 6:1, potassium
hydroxide as catalyst was of 1%, at room temperature. Methyl ester
formed was characterized by its density, viscosity, cloud and pour
points. The biodiesel properties had properties similar to those of
diesel oil, except for the viscosity that was higher.
Abstract: In this paper, we apply and compare two generalized estimating equation approaches to the analysis of car breakdowns data in Mauritius. Number of breakdowns experienced by a machinery is a highly under-dispersed count random variable and its value can be attributed to the factors related to the mechanical input and output of that machinery. Analyzing such under-dispersed count observation as a function of the explanatory factors has been a challenging problem. In this paper, we aim at estimating the effects of various factors on the number of breakdowns experienced by a passenger car based on a study performed in Mauritius over a year. We remark that the number of passenger car breakdowns is highly under-dispersed. These data are therefore modelled and analyzed using Com-Poisson regression model. We use the two types of quasi-likelihood estimation approaches to estimate the parameters of the model: marginal and joint generalized quasi-likelihood estimating equation approaches. Under-dispersion parameter is estimated to be around 2.14 justifying the appropriateness of Com-Poisson distribution in modelling underdispersed count responses recorded in this study.
Abstract: The chemical degradation of dieldrin in ferric
sulfide and iron powder aqueous suspension was investigated
in laboratory batch type experiments. To identify the reaction
mechanism, reduced copper was used as reductant. More than
90% of dieldrin was degraded using both reaction systems after
29 days. Initial degradation rate of the pesticide using ferric
sulfide was superior to that using iron powder. The reaction
schemes were completely dissimilar even though the ferric ion
plays an important role in both reaction systems. In the case of
metallic iron powder, dieldrin undergoes partial dechlorination.
This reaction proceeded by reductive hydrodechlorination with
the generation of H+, which arise by oxidation of ferric iron.
This reductive reaction was accelerated by reductant but
mono-dechlorination intermediates were accumulated. On the
other hand, oxidative degradation was observed in the reaction
with ferric sulfide, and the stable chemical structure of dieldrin
was decomposed into water-soluble intermediates. These
reaction intermediates have no chemical structure of drin class.
This dehalogenation reaction assumes to occur via the adsorbed
hydroxyl radial generated on the surface of ferric sulfide.
Abstract: Resins are used in nuclear power plants for water
ultrapurification. Two approaches are considered in this work:
column experiments and simulations. A software called OPTIPUR
was developed, tested and used. The approach simulates the onedimensional
reactive transport in porous medium with convectivedispersive
transport between particles and diffusive transport within
the boundary layer around the particles. The transfer limitation in the
boundary layer is characterized by the mass transfer coefficient
(MTC). The influences on MTC were measured experimentally. The
variation of the inlet concentration does not influence the MTC; on
the contrary of the Darcy velocity which influences. This is consistent
with results obtained using the correlation of Dwivedi&Upadhyay.
With the MTC, knowing the number of exchange site and the relative
affinity, OPTIPUR can simulate the column outlet concentration
versus time. Then, the duration of use of resins can be predicted in
conditions of a binary exchange.
Abstract: In this paper, an estimation accuracy of multiple moving
talker tracking using a microphone array is improved. The tracking
can be achieved by the adaptive method in which two algorithms are integrated, namely, the PAST (Projection Approximation Subspace
Tracking) algorithm and the IPLS (Interior Point Least Square) algorithm. When either talker begins to speak again after a silent
period, an appropriate feasible region for an evaluation function of
the IPLS algorithm might not be set. Then, the tracking fails due to the incorrect updating. Therefore, if an increment of the number of
active talkers is detected, the feasible region must be reset. Then, a low cost realization is required for the high speed tracking and a high
accuracy realization is desired for the precise tracking. In this paper,
the directions roughly estimated using the delayed-sum-array method
are used for the resetting. Several results of experiments performed in
an actual room environment show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Abstract: Traditionally, terror groups have been formed by ideologically aligned actors who perceive a lack of options for achieving political or social change. However, terrorist attacks have been increasingly carried out by small groups of actors or lone individuals who may be only ideologically affiliated with larger, formal terrorist organizations. The formation of these groups represents the inverse of traditional organizational growth, whereby structural de-evolution within issue-based organizations leads to the formation of small, independent terror cells. Ideological franchising – the bypassing of formal affiliation to the “parent" organization – represents the de-evolution of traditional concepts of organizational structure in favor of an organic, independent, and focused unit. Traditional definitions of dark networks that are issue-based include focus on an identified goal, commitment to achieving this goal through unrestrained actions, and selection of symbolic targets. The next step in the de-evolution of small dark networks is the miniorganization, consisting of only a handful of actors working toward a common, violent goal. Information-sharing through social media platforms, coupled with civil liberties of democratic nations, provide the communication systems, access to information, and freedom of movement necessary for small dark networks to flourish without the aid of a parent organization. As attacks such as the 7/7 bombings demonstrate the effectiveness of small dark networks, terrorist actors will feel increasingly comfortable aligning with an ideology only, without formally organizing. The natural result of this de-evolving organization is the single actor event, where an individual seems to subscribe to a larger organization-s violent ideology with little or no formal ties.
Abstract: According to the statistics, the prevalence of congenital hearing loss in Taiwan is approximately six thousandths; furthermore, one thousandths of infants have severe hearing impairment. Hearing ability during infancy has significant impact in the development of children-s oral expressions, language maturity, cognitive performance, education ability and social behaviors in the future. Although most children born with hearing impairment have sensorineural hearing loss, almost every child more or less still retains some residual hearing. If provided with a hearing aid or cochlear implant (a bionic ear) timely in addition to hearing speech training, even severely hearing-impaired children can still learn to talk. On the other hand, those who failed to be diagnosed and thus unable to begin hearing and speech rehabilitations on a timely manner might lose an important opportunity to live a complete and healthy life. Eventually, the lack of hearing and speaking ability will affect the development of both mental and physical functions, intelligence, and social adaptability. Not only will this problem result in an irreparable regret to the hearing-impaired child for the life time, but also create a heavy burden for the family and society. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a set of computer-assisted predictive model that can accurately detect and help diagnose newborn hearing loss so that early interventions can be provided timely to eliminate waste of medical resources. This study uses information from the neonatal database of the case hospital as the subjects, adopting two different analysis methods of using support vector machine (SVM) for model predictions and using logistic regression to conduct factor screening prior to model predictions in SVM to examine the results. The results indicate that prediction accuracy is as high as 96.43% when the factors are screened and selected through logistic regression. Hence, the model constructed in this study will have real help in clinical diagnosis for the physicians and actually beneficial to the early interventions of newborn hearing impairment.
Abstract: This document details the process of developing a
wireless device that captures the basic movements of the foot (plantar
flexion, dorsal flexion, abduction, adduction.), and the knee
movement (flexion). It implements a motion capture system by using
a hardware based on optical fiber sensors, due to the advantages in
terms of scope, noise immunity and speed of data transmission and
reception. The operating principle used by this system is the detection
and transmission of joint movement by mechanical elements and
their respective measurement by optical ones (in this case infrared).
Likewise, Visual Basic software is used for reception, analysis and
signal processing of data acquired by the device, generating a 3D
graphical representation in real time of each movement. The result is
a boot in charge of capturing the movement, a transmission module
(Implementing Xbee Technology) and a receiver module for
receiving information and sending it to the PC for their respective
processing.
The main idea with this device is to help on topics such as
bioengineering and medicine, by helping to improve the quality of
life and movement analysis.
Abstract: Building intelligent traffic guide systems has been an
interesting subject recently. A good system should be able to observe
all important visual information to be able to analyze the context of
the scene. To do so, signs in general, and traffic signs in particular,
are usually taken into account as they contain rich information to
these systems. Therefore, many researchers have put an effort on
sign recognition field. Sign localization or sign detection is the most
important step in the sign recognition process. This step filters out
non informative area in the scene, and locates candidates in later
steps. In this paper, we apply a new approach in detecting sign
locations using a new color invariant model. Experiments are carried
out with different datasets introduced in other works where authors
claimed the difficulty in detecting signs under unfavorable imaging
conditions. Our method is simple, fast and most importantly it gives
a high detection rate in locating signs.
Abstract: Retention in the IT profession is critical for
organizations to stay competitive and operate reliably in the dynamic
business environment. Most organizations rely on compensation and
rewards as primary tools to enhance retention of employees. In this
quantitative survey-based study conducted at a large global bank, we
analyze the perceptions of 575 information technology (IT) software
professionals in India and Malaysia and find that fairness of rewards
has very little impact on retention likelihood. It is far more important
to actively involve employees in organizational activities. In
addition, our findings indicate that involvement is far more important
than information flow: the typical organizational communication to
keep employees informed.
Abstract: In this paper, in order to investigate the effects of
photovoltaic system introduction to detached houses in Japan, two
kinds of works were done. Firstly, the hourly generation amount of a
4.2kW photovoltaic system were simulated in 46 cities to investigate
the potential of the system in different regions in Japan using a
simulation model of photovoltaic system. Secondly, based on the
simulated electricity generation amount, the energy saving, the
environmental and the economic effect of the photovoltaic system
were examined from hourly to annual timescales, based upon
calculations of typical electricity, heating, cooling and hot water
supply load profiles for Japanese dwellings. The above analysis was
carried out using a standard year-s hourly weather data for the
different city provided by the Expanded AMeDAS Weather Data
issued by AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan).
Abstract: Fip-gts, an immunomodulatory protein purified from Ganoderma tsugae, has been reported to possess therapeutic effects in the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. For medicinal application, a recombinant Fip-gts was successfully expressed and purified in Sf21 insect cells by our previously work. It is important to evaluate the immunomodulatory activity of the rFip-gts. To assess the immunomodulatory potential of rFip-gts, the T lymphocytes of murine splenocytes were used in the present study. Results revealed that rFip-gts induced cellular aggregation formation. Additionally, the expression of IL-2 and IFN-r were up-regulated after the treatment of rFip-gts, and a corresponding increased production of IL-2 and IFN-r in a dose-dependent manner. The results showed that rFip-gts has an immunomodulatory activity in inducing Th1 lymphocytes from murine splenocytes released IL-2 and IFN-γ, thus suggest that rFip-gts may have therapeutic potential in vivo as an immune modulator.
Abstract: Machining through turning was carried out in a lathe
to study the chip formation of Multiphase Ferrite
(F-B-M) microalloyed steel. Taguchi orthogonal array was employed
to perform the machining. Continuous and discontinuous chips were
formed for different cutting parameters like speed, feed and depth of
cut. Optical and scanning electron microscope was employed to
identify the chip morphology.
Abstract: Research on damage of gears and gear pairs using
vibration signals remains very attractive, because vibration signals
from a gear pair are complex in nature and not easy to interpret.
Predicting gear pair defects by analyzing changes in vibration signal
of gears pairs in operation is a very reliable method. Therefore, a
suitable vibration signal processing technique is necessary to extract
defect information generally obscured by the noise from dynamic
factors of other gear pairs.This article presents the value of cepstrum
analysis in vehicle gearbox fault diagnosis. Cepstrum represents the
overall power content of a whole family of harmonics and sidebands
when more than one family of sidebands is present at the same time.
The concept for the measurement and analysis involved in using the
technique are briefly outlined. Cepstrum analysis is used for detection
of an artificial pitting defect in a vehicle gearbox loaded with
different speeds and torques. The test stand is equipped with three
dynamometers; the input dynamometer serves asthe internal
combustion engine, the output dynamometers introduce the load on
the flanges of the output joint shafts. The pitting defect is
manufactured on the tooth side of a gear of the fifth speed on the
secondary shaft. Also, a method for fault diagnosis of gear faults is
presented based on order Cepstrum. The procedure is illustrated with
the experimental vibration data of the vehicle gearbox. The results
show the effectiveness of Cepstrum analysis in detection and
diagnosis of the gear condition.
Abstract: Superplastic deformation and high temperature load
relaxation behavior of coarse-grained iron aluminides with the
composition of Fe-28 at.% Al have been investigated. A series of load
relaxation and tensile tests were conducted at temperatures ranging
from 600 to 850oC. The flow curves obtained from load relaxation
tests were found to have a sigmoidal shape and to exhibit stress vs.
strain rate data in a very wide strain rate range from 10-7/s to 10-2/s.
Tensile tests have been conducted at various initial strain rates ranging
from 3×10-5/s to 1×10-2/s. Maximum elongation of ~500 % was
obtained at the initial strain rate of 3×10-5/s and the maximum strain
rate sensitivity was found to be 0.68 at 850oC in binary Fe-28Al alloy.
Microstructure observation through the optical microscopy (OM) and
the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) technique has been
carried out on the deformed specimens and it has revealed the
evidences for grain boundary migration and grain refinement to occur
during superplastic deformation, suggesting the dynamic
recrystallization mechanism. The addition of Cr by the amount of 5
at.% appeared to deteriorate the superplasticity of the binary iron
aluminide. By applying the internal variable theory of structural
superplasticity, the addition of Cr has been revealed to lower the
contribution of the frictional resistance to dislocation glide during high
temperature deformation of the Fe3Al alloy.
Abstract: Self-directed learning (SDL) was developed initially
for adult learning. Guglielmino constructed a scale to measure SDL.
Recent researchers have applied this concept to children. Although
there are sufficient theoretical evidences to present the possibility of
applying this concept to children, empirical evidences were not
provided. This study aimed to examine the quality of SDL and
construct a scale to measure SDL among young children. A modified
scale of Guglielmino-s scale was constructed and piloted with 183
subjects of age 9. Findings suggest that the qualities of SDL in young
ages are apparently congruent with that of adults.
Abstract: The study was designed to develop a measurement of
the positive emotion regulation questionnaire (PERQ) that assesses
positive emotion regulation strategies through self-report. The 14
items developed for the surveying instrument of the study were based
upon literatures regarding elements of positive regulation strategies.
319 elementary students (age ranging from 12 to14) were recruited
among three public elementary schools to survey on their use of
positive emotion regulation strategies. Of 319 subjects, 20 invalid
questionnaire s yielded a response rate of 92%. The data collected
wasanalyzed through methods such as item analysis, factor analysis,
and structural equation models. In reference to the results from item
analysis, the formal survey instrument was reduced to 11 items. A
principal axis factor analysis with varimax was performed on
responses, resulting in a 2-factor equation (savoring strategy and
neutralizing strategy), which accounted for 55.5% of the total
variance. Then, the two-factor structure of scale was also identified by
structural equation models. Finally, the reliability coefficients of the
two factors were Cronbach-s α .92 and .74. Gender difference was
only found in savoring strategy. In conclusion, the positive emotion
regulation strategies questionnaire offers a brief, internally consistent,
and valid self-report measure for understanding the emotional
regulation strategies of children that may be useful to researchers and
applied professionals.