Abstract: The main objective of this study was to determine the
effects of Nitrogen fixing bacteria and manure application on the seed
yield and yield components in black cumin (Nigella sativa L.). The
experiment was carried out at the RAN Research Station in
Firouzkouh in 2012. A 4×4 factorial experiment, arranged in a
randomized complete blocks designed with three replications.
Nitrogen fixing bacteria at 4 levels (control, Azotobacter,
Azospirillum and Azotobacter + Azospirillum) and manure
application at 4 levels (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 ton ha-1) were used at this
investigation. The present results have shown that the highest height,
1000 seeds weight, seed number per follicle, follicle yield, seed yield
and harvest index were obtained after using Azotobacter and
Azospirillum, simultaneously. Manure application only effects on
follicle yield and by 5ton manure ha-1 the highest follicle yield
obtained. Results of this investigation showed that the maximum seed
yield obtained when Aotobacter+Azospirillum inoculated with black
cumin seeds and 5 ton manure ha-1 applied. According to the results
of this investigation the integrated management of Azotobacter and
Azospirillum with manure application is the best treatment for
achieving the maximum quantitative charactersitics of Black cumin.
Abstract: Waste Load Allocation (WLA) strategies usually
intend to find economic policies for water resource management.
Water quality trading (WQT) is an approach that uses discharge
permit market to reduce total environmental protection costs. This
primarily requires assigning discharge limits known as total
maximum daily loads (TMDLs). These are determined by monitoring
organizations with respect to the receiving water quality and
remediation capabilities. The purpose of this study is to compare two
approaches of TMDL assignment for WQT policy in small catchment
area of Haraz River, in north of Iran. At first, TMDLs are assigned
uniformly for the whole point sources to keep the concentrations of
BOD and dissolved oxygen (DO) at the standard level at checkpoint
(terminus point). This was simply simulated and controlled by
Qual2kw software. In the second scenario, TMDLs are assigned
using multi objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) method
in which the environmental violation at river basin and total treatment
costs are minimized simultaneously. In both scenarios, the equity
index and the WLA based on trading discharge permits (TDP) are
calculated. The comparative results showed that using economically
optimized TMDLs (2nd scenario) has slightly more cost savings rather
than uniform TMDL approach (1st scenario). The former annually
costs about 1 M$ while the latter is 1.15 M$. WQT can decrease
these annual costs to 0.9 and 1.1 M$, respectively. In other word,
these approaches may save 35 and 45% economically in comparison
with command and control policy. It means that using multi objective
decision support systems (DSS) may find more economical WLA,
however its outcome is not necessarily significant in comparison with
uniform TMDLs. This may be due to the similar impact factors of
dischargers in small catchments. Conversely, using uniform TMDLs
for WQT brings more equity that makes stakeholders not feel that
much envious of difference between TMDL and WQT allocation. In
addition, for this case, determination of TMDLs uniformly would be
much easier for monitoring. Consequently, uniform TMDL for TDP
market is recommended as a sustainable approach. However,
economical TMDLs can be used for larger watersheds.
Abstract: One of the functions of the commercial heavy vehicle
is to safely and efficiently transport goods and people. Due to its size
and carrying capacity, it is important to study the vehicle dynamic
stability during cornering. Study has shown that there are a number of
overloaded heavy vehicles or permissible Gross Vehicle Weight
(GVW) violations recorded at selected areas in Malaysia assigned by
its type and category. Thus, the objective of this study is to
investigate the correlation and effect of the GVW on heavy vehicle
stability during cornering event using simulation. Various selected
heavy vehicle types and category are simulated using IPG/Truck
Maker® with different GVW and road condition (coefficient of
friction of road surface), while the speed, driver characteristic, center
of gravity of load and road geometry are constant. Based on the
analysis, the relationship between GVW and lateral acceleration were
established. As expected, on the same value of coefficient of friction,
the maximum lateral acceleration would be increased as the GVW
increases.
Abstract: This paper presents an application of Artificial Neural
Network (ANN) algorithm for improving power system voltage
stability. The training data is obtained by solving several normal and
abnormal conditions using the Linear Programming technique. The
selected objective function gives minimum deviation of the reactive
power control variables, which leads to the maximization of
minimum Eigen value of load flow Jacobian. The considered reactive
power control variables are switchable VAR compensators, OLTC
transformers and excitation of generators. The method has been
implemented on a modified IEEE 30-bus test system. The results
obtain from the test clearly show that the trained neural network is
capable of improving the voltage stability in power system with a
high level of precision and speed.
Abstract: In recent years, multi-antenna techniques are being considered as a potential solution to increase the flow of future wireless communication systems. The objective of this article is to study the emission and reception system MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), and present the different reception decoding techniques. First we will present the least complex technical, linear receivers such as the zero forcing equalizer (ZF) and minimum mean squared error (MMSE). Then a nonlinear technique called ordered successive cancellation of interferences (OSIC) and the optimal detector based on the maximum likelihood criterion (ML), finally, we simulate the associated decoding algorithms for MIMO system such as ZF, MMSE, OSIC and ML, thus a comparison of performance of these algorithms in MIMO context.
Abstract: The paper is focused on monitoring of dependencies
of different composition concretes on elastic modulus values.
To obtain a summary of elastic modulus development in dependence
of concrete composition design variability was the objective
of the experiment. Essential part of this work was initiated
as a reaction to building practice when questions of elastic moduli
arose at the same time and which mostly did not obtain the required
and expected values from concrete constructions.
Abstract: The new era of digital communication has brought up
many challenges that network operators need to overcome. The high
demand of mobile data rates require improved networks, which is a
challenge for the operators in terms of maintaining the quality of
experience (QoE) for their consumers. In live video transmission,
there is a sheer need for live surveillance of the videos in order to
maintain the quality of the network. For this purpose objective
algorithms are employed to monitor the quality of the videos that are
transmitted over a network. In order to test these objective algorithms,
subjective quality assessment of the streamed videos is required, as the
human eye is the best source of perceptual assessment. In this paper we
have conducted subjective evaluation of videos with varying spatial
and temporal impairments. These videos were impaired with frame
freezing distortions so that the impact of frame freezing on the quality
of experience could be studied. We present subjective Mean Opinion
Score (MOS) for these videos that can be used for fine tuning the
objective algorithms for video quality assessment.
Abstract: Fibre cement plates, often used in construction,
generally are made using quartz as an inert material, cement as a
binder and cellulose as a fibre. This paper, first of all, investigates the
mechanical properties and durability of fibre cement plates when
quartz is both partly and fully replaced with diatomite. Diatomite
does not only have lower density compared to quartz but also has
high pozzolanic activity. The main objective of this paper is the
investigation of the effects of supplementary cementing materials
(SCMs) on the short and long term mechanical properties and
durability characteristics of fibre cement plates prepared using
diatomite. Supplementary cementing materials such as ground
granulated blast furnace slug (GGBS) and fly ash (FA) are used in
this study. Volume proportions of 10, 20, 30 and 40% of GGBS and
FA are used as partial replacement materials to cement. Short and
long term mechanical properties such as compressive and flexural
strengths as well as sorptivity characteristics and mass were
investigated. Consistency and setting time at each replacement levels
of SCMs were also recorded. The effects of using supplementary
cementing materials on the carbonation and sulphate resistance of
fibre cement plates were then experimented. The results, first of all,
show that the use of diatomite as a full or partial replacement to
quartz resulted in a systematic decrease in total mass of the fibre
cement plates. The reduction of mass was largely due to the lower
density and finer particle size of diatomite compared to quartz. The
use of diatomite did not only reduce the mass of these plates but also
increased the compressive strength significantly as a result of its high
pozzolanic activity. The replacement levels of both GGBS and FA
resulted in a systematic decrease in short term compressive strength
with increasing replacement levels. This was essentially expected as
the total rate of hydration is much lower in GGBS and FA than that
of cement. Long term results however, indicated that the compressive
strength of fibre cement plates prepared using both GGBS and FA
increases with time and hence the compressive strength of plates
prepared using SCMs is either equivalent or more than the
compressive strength of plates prepared using cement alone.
Durability characteristics of fibre cement plates prepared using SCMs
were enhanced significantly. Measurements of sopritivty
characteristics were also indicated that the plates prepared using
SCMs has much lower water absorption capacities compared to
plates prepared cement alone. Much higher resistance to carbonation
and sulphate attach were observed with plates prepared using SCMs.
The results presented in this paper show that the use of SCMs does
not only support the production of more sustainable construction
materials but also enhances the mechanical properties and durability
characteristics of fibre cement plates.
Abstract: Model predictive control is a kind of optimal feedback
control in which control performance over a finite future is optimized
with a performance index that has a moving initial time and a moving
terminal time. This paper examines the stability of model predictive
control for linear discrete-time systems with additive stochastic
disturbances. A sufficient condition for the stability of the closed-loop
system with model predictive control is derived by means of a linear
matrix inequality. The objective of this paper is to show the results
of computational simulations in order to verify the effectiveness of
the obtained stability condition.
Abstract: In the field of fashion design, 3D Mannequin is a kind
of assisting tool which could rapidly realize the design concepts.
While the concept of 3D Mannequin is applied to the computer added
fashion design, it will connect with the development and the
application of design platform and system. Thus, the situation
mentioned above revealed a truth that it is very critical to develop a
module of 3D Mannequin which would correspond with the necessity
of fashion design. This research proposes a concrete plan that
developing and constructing a system of 3D Mannequin with Kinect.
In the content, ergonomic measurements of objective human features
could be attained real-time through the implement with depth camera
of Kinect, and then the mesh morphing can be implemented through
transformed the locations of the control-points on the model by
inputting those ergonomic data to get an exclusive 3D mannequin
model. In the proposed methodology, after the scanned points from the
Kinect are revised for accuracy and smoothening, a complete human
feature would be reconstructed by the ICP algorithm with the method
of image processing. Also, the objective human feature could be
recognized to analyze and get real measurements. Furthermore, the
data of ergonomic measurements could be applied to shape morphing
for the division of 3D Mannequin reconstructed by feature curves. Due
to a standardized and customer-oriented 3D Mannequin would be
generated by the implement of subdivision, the research could be
applied to the fashion design or the presentation and display of 3D
virtual clothes. In order to examine the practicality of research
structure, a system of 3D Mannequin would be constructed with JAVA
program in this study. Through the revision of experiments the
practicability-contained research result would come out.
Abstract: UAV’s are small remote operated or automated aerial
surveillance systems without a human pilot aboard. UAV’s generally
finds its use in military and special operation application, a recent
growing trend in UAV’s finds its application in several civil and nonmilitary
works such as inspection of power or pipelines. The
objective of this paper is the augmentation of a UAV in order to
replace the existing expensive sonar (Sound Navigation And
Ranging) based equipment amongst small scale fisherman, for whom
access to sonar equipment are restricted due to limited economic
resources. The surveillance equipment’s present in the UAV will
relay data and GPS (Global Positioning System) location onto a
receiver on the fishing boat using RF signals, using which the
location of the schools of fishes can be found. In addition to this, an
emergency beacon system is present for rescue operations and drone
recovery.
Abstract: In this paper a new methodology for vendor selection
and supply quotas determination (VSSQD) is proposed. The problem
of VSSQD is solved by the model that combines revised weighting
method for determining the objective function coefficients, and a
multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) method based on the
cooperative game theory for VSSQD. The criteria used for VSSQD
are: (1) purchase costs and (2) product quality supplied by individual
vendors. The proposed methodology has been tested on the example
of flour purchase for a bakery with two decision makers.
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of
infectious mortality. It is primarily transmitted by the respiratory
route, individuals with active disease may infect others through
airborne particles which releases when they cough, talk, or sing and
subsequently inhale by others. In order to study the effect of the
Bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine after vaccination of TB
patient, a Vaccinated Susceptible Infected and Recovered (VSIR)
mathematical model is being developed to achieve the desired
objectives. The mathematical model, so developed, shall be used to
quantify the effect of BCG Vaccine to protect the immigrant young
adult person. Moreover, equations are to be established for the
disease endemic and free equilibrium states and subsequently utilized
in disease stability analysis. The stability analysis will give a
complete picture of disease annihilation from the total population if
the total removal rate from the infectious group should be greater
than total number of dormant infections produced throughout
infectious period.
Abstract: It is a well-established fact that terrorism is one of the foremost threats to present-day international security. The creation of tools or mechanisms for confronting it in an effective and efficient manner will only be possible by way of an objective assessment of the phenomenon. In order to achieve this, this paper has the following three main objectives: Firstly, setting out to find the reasons that have prevented the establishment of a universally accepted definition of terrorism, and consequently trying to outline the main features defining the face of the terrorist threat in order to discover the fundamental goals of what is now a serious blight on world society. Secondly, trying to explain the differences between a terrorist movement and a terrorist organisation, and the reasons for which a terrorist movement can be led to transform itself into an organisation. After analysing these motivations and the characteristics of a terrorist organisation, an example of the latter will be succinctly analysed to help the reader understand the ideas expressed. Lastly, discovering and exposing the factors that can lead to the appearance of terrorist tendencies, and discussing the most efficient and effective responses that can be given to this global security threat.
Abstract: Nowadays, cloud environments are becoming a need for companies, this new technology gives the opportunities to access to the data anywhere and anytime. It also provides an optimized and secured access to the resources and gives more security for the data which is stored in the platform. However, some companies do not trust Cloud providers, they think that providers can access and modify some confidential data such as bank accounts. Many works have been done in this context, they conclude that encryption methods realized by providers ensure the confidentiality, but, they forgot that Cloud providers can decrypt the confidential resources. The best solution here is to apply some operations on the data before sending them to the provider Cloud in the objective to make them unreadable. The principal idea is to allow user how it can protect his data with his own methods. In this paper, we are going to demonstrate our approach and prove that is more efficient in term of execution time than some existing methods. This work aims at enhancing the quality of service of providers and ensuring the trust of the customers.
Abstract: This paper reviews the model-based qualitative and
quantitative Operations Management research in the context of
Construction Supply Chain Management (CSCM). Construction
industry has been traditionally blamed for low productivity, cost and
time overruns, waste, high fragmentation and adversarial
relationships. The construction industry has been slower than other
industries to employ the Supply Chain Management (SCM) concept
and develop models that support the decision-making and planning.
However the last decade there is a distinct shift from a project-based
to a supply-based approach of construction management. CSCM
comes up as a new promising management tool of construction
operations and improves the performance of construction projects in
terms of cost, time and quality. Modeling the Construction Supply
Chain (CSC) offers the means to reap the benefits of SCM, make
informed decisions and gain competitive advantage. Different
modeling approaches and methodologies have been applied in the
multi-disciplinary and heterogeneous research field of CSCM. The
literature review reveals that a considerable percentage of the CSC
modeling research accommodates conceptual or process models
which present general management frameworks and do not relate to
acknowledged soft Operations Research methods. We particularly
focus on the model-based quantitative research and categorize the
CSCM models depending on their scope, objectives, modeling
approach, solution methods and software used. Although over the last
few years there has been clearly an increase of research papers on
quantitative CSC models, we identify that the relevant literature is
very fragmented with limited applications of simulation,
mathematical programming and simulation-based optimization. Most
applications are project-specific or study only parts of the supply
system. Thus, some complex interdependencies within construction
are neglected and the implementation of the integrated supply chain
management is hindered. We conclude this paper by giving future
research directions and emphasizing the need to develop optimization
models for integrated CSCM. We stress that CSC modeling needs a
multi-dimensional, system-wide and long-term perspective. Finally,
prior applications of SCM to other industries have to be taken into
account in order to model CSCs, but not without translating the
generic concepts to the context of construction industry.
Abstract: The main objective of this study was to assess the
annual concentration and seasonal variation of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)
associated with PM10 in an urban site of Győr and in a rural site of
Sarród in the sampling period of 2008–2012. A total of 280 PM10
aerosol samples were collected in each sampling site and analyzed for
BaP by gas chromatography method. The BaP concentrations ranged
from undetected to 8 ng/m3 with the mean value of 1.01 ng/m3 in the
sampling site of Győr, and from undetected to 4.07 ng/m3 with the
mean value of 0.52 ng/m3 in the sampling site of Sarród, respectively.
Relatively higher concentrations of BaP were detected in samples
collected in both sampling sites in the heating seasons compared with
non-heating periods. The annual mean BaP concentrations were
comparable with the published data of different other Hungarian
sites.
Abstract: The main objective of this article is to examine the
impact of interest rates on investments in Poland in the context of
financial crisis. The paper also investigates the dependence of bank
loans to enterprises on interbank market rates. The article studies the
impact of interbank market rate on the level of investments in Poland.
Besides, this article focuses on the research of the correlation
between the level of corporate loans and the amount of investments
in Poland in order to determine the indirect impact of central bank
interest rates through the transmission mechanism of monetary policy
on the real economy. To achieve the objective we have used
econometric and statistical research methods like: econometric model
and Pearson correlation coefficient.
This analysis suggests that the central bank reference rate
inversely proportionally affects the level of investments in Poland
and this dependence is moderate. This is also important issue because
it is related to preparing of Poland to accession to euro area. The
research is important from both theoretical and empirical points of
view. The formulated conclusions and recommendations determine
the practical significance of the paper which may be used in the
decision making process of monetary and economic authorities of the
country.
Abstract: A pilot field study was conducted at the Jagjeetpur
Municipal Sewage treatment plant situated in the Haridwar town in
Uttarakhand state, India. The objectives of the present study were to
study the effect of treated wastewater on the production of various
paddy varieties (Sharbati, PR-114, PB-1, Menaka, PB1121 and PB
1509) and the emission of GHG gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) as
compared to the same varieties grown in the control plots irrigated
with fresh water. Of late, the concept of water footprint assessment
has emerged, which explains enumeration of various types of water
footprints of an agricultural entity from its production to processing
stages. Paddy, the most water demanding staple crop of Uttarakhand
state, displayed a high green water footprint value of 2474.12 m3/
Ton. Most of the wastewater irrigated varieties displayed up to 6%
increase in production, except Menaka and PB-1121, which showed a
reduction in production (6% and 3% respectively), due to pest and
insect infestation. The treated wastewater was observed to be rich in
Nitrogen (55.94 mg/ml Nitrate), Phosphorus (54.24 mg/ml) and
Potassium (9.78 mg/ml), thus rejuvenating the soil quality and not
requiring any external nutritional supplements. A Percentage increase
of GHG gases of irrigation with treated municipal wastewater as
compared to control plots was observed as 0.4% - 8.6% (CH4), 1.1%
- 9.2% (CO2), and 0.07% - 5.8% (N2O). The variety, Sharbati,
displayed maximum production (5.5 ton/ha) and emerged as the most
resistant variety against pests and insects. The emission values of
CH4, CO2 and N2O were 729.31 mg/m2/d, 322.10 mg/m2/d and
400.21 mg/m2/d in water stagnant condition.
This study highlighted a successful possibility of reuse of
wastewater for non-potable purposes offering the potential for
exploiting this resource that can replace or reduce the existing use of
fresh water sources in agriculture sector.
Abstract: In this paper, the goal programming methodology for
solving multiple objective problem of the technological variants and
production plan optimization has been applied. The optimization
criteria are determined and the multiple objective linear programming
model for solving a problem of the technological variants and
production plan optimization is formed and solved. Then the obtained
results are analysed. The obtained results point out to the possibility
of efficient application of the goal programming methodology in
solving the problem of the technological variants and production plan
optimization. The paper points out on the advantages of the
application of the goal programming methodology compare to the
Surrogat Worth Trade-off method in solving this problem.