Abstract: The advances in multimedia and networking technologies
have created opportunities for Internet pirates, who can easily
copy multimedia contents and illegally distribute them on the Internet,
thus violating the legal rights of content owners. This paper describes
how a simple and well-known watermarking procedure based on a
spread spectrum method and a watermark recovery by correlation can
be improved to effectively and adaptively protect MPEG-2 videos
distributed on the Internet. In fact, the procedure, in its simplest
form, is vulnerable to a variety of attacks. However, its security
and robustness have been increased, and its behavior has been
made adaptive with respect to the video terminals used to open
the videos and the network transactions carried out to deliver them
to buyers. In fact, such an adaptive behavior enables the proposed
procedure to efficiently embed watermarks, and this characteristic
makes the procedure well suited to be exploited in web contexts,
where watermarks usually generated from fingerprinting codes have
to be inserted into the distributed videos “on the fly", i.e. during the
purchase web transactions.
Abstract: Annotation of a protein sequence is pivotal for the understanding of its function. Accuracy of manual annotation provided by curators is still questionable by having lesser evidence strength and yet a hard task and time consuming. A number of computational methods including tools have been developed to tackle this challenging task. However, they require high-cost hardware, are difficult to be setup by the bioscientists, or depend on time intensive and blind sequence similarity search like Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. This paper introduces a new method of assigning highly correlated Gene Ontology terms of annotated protein sequences to partially annotated or newly discovered protein sequences. This method is fully based on Gene Ontology data and annotations. Two problems had been identified to achieve this method. The first problem relates to splitting the single monolithic Gene Ontology RDF/XML file into a set of smaller files that can be easy to assess and process. Thus, these files can be enriched with protein sequences and Inferred from Electronic Annotation evidence associations. The second problem involves searching for a set of semantically similar Gene Ontology terms to a given query. The details of macro and micro problems involved and their solutions including objective of this study are described. This paper also describes the protein sequence annotation and the Gene Ontology. The methodology of this study and Gene Ontology based protein sequence annotation tool namely extended UTMGO is presented. Furthermore, its basic version which is a Gene Ontology browser that is based on semantic similarity search is also introduced.
Abstract: Text data mining is a process of exploratory data
analysis. Classification maps data into predefined groups or classes.
It is often referred to as supervised learning because the classes are
determined before examining the data. This paper describes proposed
radial basis function Classifier that performs comparative crossvalidation
for existing radial basis function Classifier. The feasibility
and the benefits of the proposed approach are demonstrated by means
of data mining problem: direct Marketing. Direct marketing has
become an important application field of data mining. Comparative
Cross-validation involves estimation of accuracy by either stratified
k-fold cross-validation or equivalent repeated random subsampling.
While the proposed method may have high bias; its performance
(accuracy estimation in our case) may be poor due to high variance.
Thus the accuracy with proposed radial basis function Classifier was
less than with the existing radial basis function Classifier. However
there is smaller the improvement in runtime and larger improvement
in precision and recall. In the proposed method Classification
accuracy and prediction accuracy are determined where the
prediction accuracy is comparatively high.
Abstract: The objective of the present work is to conduct
investigations leading to a more complete explanation of single phase
natural convective heat transfer in an enclosure with fin utilizing
nano fluids. The nano fluid used, which is composed of Aluminum
oxide nano particles in suspension of Ethylene glycol, is provided at
various volume fractions. The study is carried out numerically for a
range of Rayleigh numbers, fin heights and aspect ratio. The flow and
temperature distributions are taken to be two-dimensional. Regions
with the same velocity and temperature distributions are identified as
symmetry of sections. One half of such a rectangular region is chosen
as the computational domain taking into account the symmetry about
the fin. Transport equations are modeled by a stream functionvorticity
formulation and are solved numerically by finite-difference
schemes. Comparisons with previously published works on the basis
of special cases are done. Results are presented in the form of
streamline, vector and isotherm plots as well as the variation of local
Nusselt number along the fin under different conditions.
Abstract: The abundance and availability of rice husk, an agricultural waste, make them as a good source for precursor of activated carbon. In this work, rice husk-based activated carbons were prepared via base treated chemical activation process prior the carbonization process. The effect of carbonization temperatures (400, 600 and 800oC) on their pore structure was evaluated through morphology analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Sample carbonized at 800oC showed better evolution and development of pores as compared to those carbonized at 400 and 600oC. The potential of rice husk-based activated carbon as an alternative adsorbent was investigated for the removal of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) from single metal aqueous solution. The adsorption studies using rice husk-based activated carbon as an adsorbent were carried out as a function of contact time at room temperature and the metal ions were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The ability to remove metal ion from single metal aqueous solution was found to be improved with the increasing of carbonization temperature. Among the three metal ions tested, Pb(II) ion gave the highest adsorption on rice husk-based activated carbon. The results obtained indicate the potential to utilize rice husk as a promising precursor for the preparation of activated carbon for removal of heavy metals.
Abstract: This paper presents an improvement method of
the multiple pitch estimation algorithm using comb filters.
Conventionally the pitch was estimated by using parallel
-connected comb filters method (PCF). However, PCF has
problems which often fail in the pitch estimation when there is
the fundamental frequency of higher tone near harmonics of
lower tone. Therefore the estimation is assigned to a wrong
note when shared frequencies happen. This issue often occurs
in estimating octave 3 or more. Proposed method, for solving
the problem, estimates the pitch with every harmonic instead of
every octave. As a result, our method reaches the accuracy of
more than 80%.
Abstract: The vibrations produced by a single point defect on
various parts of the bearing under constant radial load are predicted
by using a theoretical model. The model includes variation in the
response due to the effect of bearing dimensions, rotating frequency
distribution of load. The excitation forces are generated when the
defects on the races strike to rolling elements. In case of the outer
ring defect, the pulses generated are with periodicity of outer ring
defect frequency where as for inner ring defect, the pulses are with
periodicity of inner ring defect frequency. The effort has been carried
out in preparing the physical model of the system. Different defect
frequencies are obtained and are used to find out the amplitudes of
the vibration due to excitation of the bearing parts. Increase in the
radial load or severity of the defect produces a significant change in
bearing signature characteristics.
Abstract: 16-Mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA) and tripeptide glutathione conjugated with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) are characterized by Fourier Transform InfaRared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technique based on FTIR spectroscopy has become an important tool in biophysics, which is perspective for the study of organic compounds. FTIR-spectra of MHDA shows the line at 2500 cm-1 attributed to thiol group which is modified by presence of Au-NPs, suggesting the formation of bond between thiol group and gold. We also can observe the peaks originate from characteristic chemical group. A Raman spectrum of the same sample is also promising. Our preliminary experiments confirm that SERS-effect takes place for MHDA connected with Au-NPs and enable us to detected small number (less than 106 cm-2) of MHDA molecules. Combination of spectroscopy methods: FTIR and SERS – enable to study optical properties of Au- NPs and immobilized bio-molecules in context of a bio-nano-sensors.
Abstract: Due to the fast development of technology, the
competition of technological products is turbulent; therefore, it is
important to understand the market trend, consumers- demand and
preferences. As the smartphones are prevalent, the main purpose of
this paper is to utilize Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze
consumer-s purchase evaluation factors of smartphones. Through the
AHP expert questionnaire, the smartphones- main functions are
classified as “user interface", “mobile commerce functions",
“hardware and software specifications", “entertainment functions" and
“appearance and design", five aspects to analyze the weights. Then
four evaluation criteria are evaluated under each aspect to rank the
weights. Based on an analysis of data shows that consumers consider
when purchase factors are “hardware and software specifications",
“user interface", “appearance and design", “mobile commerce
functions" and “entertainment functions" in sequence. The “hardware
and software specifications" aspect obtains the weight of 33.18%; it is
the most important factor that consumers are taken into account. In
addition, the most important evaluation criteria are central processing
unit, operating system, touch screen, and battery function in sequence.
The results of the study can be adopted as reference data for mobile
phone manufacturers in the future on the design and marketing
strategy to satisfy the voice of customer.
Abstract: Recent evidences on liquidity and valuation of securities in the capital markets clearly show the importance of stock market liquidity and valuation of firms. In this paper, relationship between transparency, liquidity, and valuation is studied by using data obtained from 70 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during2003-2012. In this study, discriminatory earnings management, as a sign of lack of transparency and Tobin's Q, was used as the criteria of valuation. The results indicate that there is a significant and reversed relationship between earnings management and liquidity. On the other hand, there is a relationship between liquidity and transparency.The results also indicate a significant relationship between transparency and valuation. Transparency has an indirect effect on firm valuation alone or through the liquidity channel. Although the effect of transparency on the value of a firm was reduced by adding the variable of liquidity, the cumulative effect of transparency and liquidity increased.
Abstract: Feature selection is an important step in many pattern
classification problems. It is applied to select a subset of features,
from a much larger set, such that the selected subset is sufficient to
perform the classification task. Due to its importance, the problem of
feature selection has been investigated by many researchers. In this
paper, a novel feature subset search procedure that utilizes the Ant
Colony Optimization (ACO) is presented. The ACO is a
metaheuristic inspired by the behavior of real ants in their search for
the shortest paths to food sources. It looks for optimal solutions by
considering both local heuristics and previous knowledge. When
applied to two different classification problems, the proposed
algorithm achieved very promising results.
Abstract: This paper describes the design of a voltage based maximum power point tracker (MPPT) for photovoltaic (PV) applications. Of the various MPPT methods, the voltage based method is considered to be the simplest and cost effective. The major disadvantage of this method is that the PV array is disconnected from the load for the sampling of its open circuit voltage, which inevitably results in power loss. Another disadvantage, in case of rapid irradiance variation, is that if the duration between two successive samplings, called the sampling period, is too long there is a considerable loss. This is because the output voltage of the PV array follows the unchanged reference during one sampling period. Once a maximum power point (MPP) is tracked and a change in irradiation occurs between two successive samplings, then the new MPP is not tracked until the next sampling of the PV array voltage. This paper proposes an MPPT circuit in which the sampling interval of the PV array voltage, and the sampling period have been shortened. The sample and hold circuit has also been simplified. The proposed circuit does not utilize a microcontroller or a digital signal processor and is thus suitable for low cost and low power applications.
Abstract: This paper presents part of a research into the small
scale modelling of masonry. Small scale testing of masonry has been
carried out by many authors, but few have attempted a systematic
determination of the parameters that affect masonry at a small scale.
The effect of increasing mortar strength and different sand gradings
under compression were investigated. The results show masonry
strength at small scale is influenced by increasing mortar strength and
different sand gradings.
Abstract: A study has been carried out to determine the effect of
coating two commercial glass-ionomer cements in either petroleum
jelly or wax. After coating, specimens were stored in water for 24 or
168 hours, then the coating removed and the surface examined.
Coating in wax was found to increase the surface hardness
significantly compared with the uncoated control, whereas coating
the specimens in petroleum jelly led to only a slight increase in
surface hardness. Coating in wax led to no detectable ion release
after either 24 or 168 hours, though there was some ion release after
the coating had been removed and the specimens exposed to water
for a further 24 hours. This shows that soluble species remained in
these specimens. Overall, this study confirms the idea that immature
glass-ionomers should be protected from early exposure to moisture,
and that the protection offered by petroleum jelly is only modest.
Abstract: Small signal stability causes small perturbations in the
generator that can cause instability in the power network. It is
generally known that small signal stability are directly related to the
generator and load properties. This paper examines the effects of
generator input variations on power system oscillations for a small
signal stability study. Eigenvaules and eigenvectors are used to
examine the stability of the power system. The dynamic power
system's mathematical model is constructed and thus calculated using
load flow and small signal stability toolbox on MATLAB. The power
system model is based on a 3-machine 9-bus system that was
modified to suit this study. In this paper, Participation Factors are a
means to gauge the effects of variation in generation with other
parameters on the network are also incorporated.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce a new class of mg-continuous mapping and studied some of its basic properties.We obtain some characterizations of such functions. Moreover we define sub minimal structure and further study certain properties of mg-closed sets.
Abstract: Ground-level tropospheric ozone is one of the air
pollutants of most concern. It is mainly produced by photochemical
processes involving nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds
in the lower parts of the atmosphere. Ozone levels become
particularly high in regions close to high ozone precursor emissions
and during summer, when stagnant meteorological conditions with
high insolation and high temperatures are common.
In this work, some results of a study about urban ozone
distribution patterns in the city of Badajoz, which is the largest and
most industrialized city in Extremadura region (southwest Spain) are
shown. Fourteen sampling campaigns, at least one per month, were
carried out to measure ambient air ozone concentrations, during
periods that were selected according to favourable conditions to
ozone production, using an automatic portable analyzer.
Later, to evaluate the ozone distribution at the city, the measured
ozone data were analyzed using geostatistical techniques. Thus, first,
during the exploratory analysis of data, it was revealed that they were
distributed normally, which is a desirable property for the subsequent
stages of the geostatistical study. Secondly, during the structural
analysis of data, theoretical spherical models provided the best fit for
all monthly experimental variograms. The parameters of these
variograms (sill, range and nugget) revealed that the maximum
distance of spatial dependence is between 302-790 m and the
variable, air ozone concentration, is not evenly distributed in reduced
distances. Finally, predictive ozone maps were derived for all points
of the experimental study area, by use of geostatistical algorithms
(kriging). High prediction accuracy was obtained in all cases as
cross-validation showed. Useful information for hazard assessment
was also provided when probability maps, based on kriging
interpolation and kriging standard deviation, were produced.
Abstract: Software testability is proposed to address the problem of increasing cost of test and the quality of software. Testability measure provides a quantified way to denote the testability of software. Since 1990s, many testability measure models are proposed to address the problem. By discussing the contradiction between domain testability and domain range ratio (DRR), a new testability measure, semantic fault distance, is proposed. Its validity is discussed.
Abstract: Simulation of occlusal function during laboratory
material-s testing becomes essential in predicting long-term
performance before clinical usage. The aim of the study was to assess
the influence of chamfer preparation depth on failure risk of heat
pressed ceramic crowns with and without zirconia framework by
means of finite element analysis. 3D models of maxillary central
incisor, prepared for full ceramic crowns with different depths of the
chamfer margin (between 0.8 and 1.2 mm) and 6-degree tapered
walls together with the overlying crowns were generated using
literature data (Fig. 1, 2). The crowns were designed with and
without a zirconia framework with a thickness of 0.4 mm. For all
preparations and crowns, stresses in the pressed ceramic crown,
zirconia framework, pressed ceramic veneer, and dentin were
evaluated separately. The highest stresses were registered in the
dentin. The depth of the preparations had no significant influence on
the stress values of the teeth and pressed ceramics for the studied
cases, only for the zirconia framework. The zirconia framework
decreases the stress values in the veneer.
Abstract: In this paper we present a novel approach for wavelet compression of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals based on the set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) coding algorithm. SPIHT algorithm has achieved prominent success in image compression. Here we use a modified version of SPIHT for one dimensional signals. We applied wavelet transform with SPIHT coding algorithm on different records of MIT-BIH database. The results show the high efficiency of this method in ECG compression.