Using Automated Database Reverse Engineering for Database Integration

One important problem in today organizations is the existence of non-integrated information systems, inconsistency and lack of suitable correlations between legacy and modern systems. One main solution is to transfer the local databases into a global one. In this regards we need to extract the data structures from the legacy systems and integrate them with the new technology systems. In legacy systems, huge amounts of a data are stored in legacy databases. They require particular attention since they need more efforts to be normalized, reformatted and moved to the modern database environments. Designing the new integrated (global) database architecture and applying the reverse engineering requires data normalization. This paper proposes the use of database reverse engineering in order to integrate legacy and modern databases in organizations. The suggested approach consists of methods and techniques for generating data transformation rules needed for the data structure normalization.

Design of a DCT-based Image Compression with Efficient Enhancement Filter

The algorithm represents the DCT coefficients to concentrate signal energy and proposes combination and dictator to eliminate the correlation in the same level subband for encoding the DCT-based images. This work adopts DCT and modifies the SPIHT algorithm to encode DCT coefficients. The proposed algorithm also provides the enhancement function in low bit rate in order to improve the perceptual quality. Experimental results indicate that the proposed technique improves the quality of the reconstructed image in terms of both PSNR and the perceptual results close to JPEG2000 at the same bit rate.

Learning Style and Learner Satisfaction in a Course Delivery Context

This paper describes the results and implications of a correlational study of learning styles and learner satisfaction. The relationship of these empirical concepts was examined in the context of traditional versus e-blended modes of course delivery in an introductory graduate research course. Significant results indicated that the visual side of the visual-verbal dimension of students- learning style(s) was positively correlated to satisfaction with themselves as learners in an e-blended course delivery mode and negatively correlated to satisfaction with the classroom environment in the context of a traditional classroom course delivery mode.

Study of Effect of Removal of Shiftrows and Mixcolumns Stages of AES and AES-KDS on their Encryption Quality and Hence Security

This paper demonstrates the results when either Shiftrows stage or Mixcolumns stage and when both the stages are omitted in the well known block cipher Advanced Encryption Standard(AES) and its modified version AES with Key Dependent S-box(AES-KDS), using avalanche criterion and other tests namely encryption quality, correlation coefficient, histogram analysis and key sensitivity tests.

A New Implementation of PCA for Fast Face Detection

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has many different important applications especially in pattern detection such as face detection / recognition. Therefore, for real time applications, the response time is required to be as small as possible. In this paper, new implementation of PCA for fast face detection is presented. Such new implementation is designed based on cross correlation in the frequency domain between the input image and eigenvectors (weights). Simulation results show that the proposed implementation of PCA is faster than conventional one.

A Technical Perspective on Roadway Safety in Eastern Province: Data Evaluation and Spatial Analysis

Saudi Arabia in recent years has seen drastic increase in traffic related crashes. With population of over 29 million, Saudi Arabia is considered as a fast growing and emerging economy. The rapid population increase and economic growth has resulted in rapid expansion of transportation infrastructure, which has led to increase in road crashes. Saudi Ministry of Interior reported more than 7,000 people killed and 68,000 injured in 2011 ranking Saudi Arabia to be one of the worst worldwide in traffic safety. The traffic safety issues in the country also result in distress to road users and cause and economic loss exceeding 3.7 billion Euros annually. Keeping this in view, the researchers in Saudi Arabia are investigating ways to improve traffic safety conditions in the country. This paper presents a multilevel approach to collect traffic safety related data required to do traffic safety studies in the region. Two highway corridors including King Fahd Highway 39 kilometre and Gulf Cooperation Council Highway 42 kilometre long connecting the cities of Dammam and Khobar were selected as a study area. Traffic data collected included traffic counts, crash data, travel time data, and speed data. The collected data was analysed using geographic information system to evaluate any correlation. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of traffic safety related data when collected in a concerted effort.

Correlations between Cleaning Frequency of Reservoir and Water Tower and Parameters of Water Quality

This study was investigated on sampling and analyzing water quality in water reservoir & water tower installed in two kind of residential buildings and school facilities. Data of water quality was collected for correlation analysis with frequency of sanitization of water reservoir through questioning managers of building about the inspection charts recorded on equipment for water reservoir. Statistical software packages (SPSS) were applied to the data of two groups (cleaning frequency and water quality) for regression analysis to determine the optimal cleaning frequency of sanitization. The correlation coefficient (R) in this paper represented the degree of correlation, with values of R ranging from +1 to -1.After investigating three categories of drinking water users; this study found that the frequency of sanitization of water reservoir significantly influenced the water quality of drinking water. A higher frequency of sanitization (more than four times per 1 year) implied a higher quality of drinking water. Results indicated that sanitizing water reservoir & water tower should at least twice annually for achieving the aim of safety of drinking water.

Video Data Mining based on Information Fusion for Tamper Detection

In this paper, we propose novel algorithmic models based on information fusion and feature transformation in crossmodal subspace for different types of residue features extracted from several intra-frame and inter-frame pixel sub-blocks in video sequences for detecting digital video tampering or forgery. An evaluation of proposed residue features – the noise residue features and the quantization features, their transformation in cross-modal subspace, and their multimodal fusion, for emulated copy-move tamper scenario shows a significant improvement in tamper detection accuracy as compared to single mode features without transformation in cross-modal subspace.

Image Compression with Back-Propagation Neural Network using Cumulative Distribution Function

Image Compression using Artificial Neural Networks is a topic where research is being carried out in various directions towards achieving a generalized and economical network. Feedforward Networks using Back propagation Algorithm adopting the method of steepest descent for error minimization is popular and widely adopted and is directly applied to image compression. Various research works are directed towards achieving quick convergence of the network without loss of quality of the restored image. In general the images used for compression are of different types like dark image, high intensity image etc. When these images are compressed using Back-propagation Network, it takes longer time to converge. The reason for this is, the given image may contain a number of distinct gray levels with narrow difference with their neighborhood pixels. If the gray levels of the pixels in an image and their neighbors are mapped in such a way that the difference in the gray levels of the neighbors with the pixel is minimum, then compression ratio as well as the convergence of the network can be improved. To achieve this, a Cumulative distribution function is estimated for the image and it is used to map the image pixels. When the mapped image pixels are used, the Back-propagation Neural Network yields high compression ratio as well as it converges quickly.

Analysis of the Structural Fluctuation of the Permitted Building Areas and Housing Distribution Ratios - Focused on 5 Cities Including Bucheon

The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between permitted building areas and housing distribution ratios and their fluctuation, and test a distribution model during 3 successive governments in 5 cities including Bucheon in reference to the time series administrative data, and thereby, interpret the results of the analysis in association with the policies pursued by the successive governments to examine the structural fluctuation of permitted building areas and housing distribution ratios. In order to analyze the fluctuation of permitted building areas and housing distribution ratios during 3 successive governments and examine the cycles of the time series data, the spectral analysis was performed, and in order to analyze the correlation between permitted building areas and housing distribution ratios, the tabulation was performed to describe the correlations statistically, and in order to explain about differences of fluctuation distribution of permitted building areas and housing distribution ratios among 3 governments, the goodness of fit test was conducted.

Contourlet versus Wavelet Transform for a Robust Digital Image Watermarking Technique

In this paper, a watermarking algorithm that uses the wavelet transform with Multiple Description Coding (MDC) and Quantization Index Modulation (QIM) concepts is introduced. Also, the paper investigates the role of Contourlet Transform (CT) versus Wavelet Transform (WT) in providing robust image watermarking. Two measures are utilized in the comparison between the waveletbased and the contourlet-based methods; Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Normalized Cross-Correlation (NCC). Experimental results reveal that the introduced algorithm is robust against different attacks and has good results compared to the contourlet-based algorithm.

Colorectal Cancer Screening by a CEACAM-6 Immunosensor

The biomarker for colorectal cancer (CRC) is CEACAM-6 antigen (C6AG). Therefore, this study aims to develop a novel, simple and low-cost CEACAM-6 antigen immumosensor (C6AG-IMS), based on electrical impedance measurement, for precise determination of C6AG. A low-cost screen-printed graphite electrode was constructed and used as the sensor, with CEACAM-6 antibody (C6AB) immobilized on it. The procedures of sensor fabrication and antibody immobilization are simple and low-cost. Measurement of the electrical impedance at a definite frequency ranges (0.43 – 1.26 MHz) showed that the C6AG-IMS has an excellent linear (r2>0.9) response range (8.125 – 65 pg/mL), covering the normal physiological and pathological ranges of blood C6AG levels. Also, the C6AG-IMS has excellent reliability and validity, with the intraclass correlation coefficient being 0.97. In conclusion, a novel, simple, low-cost and reliable C6AG-IMS was designed and developed, being able to accurately determine blood C6AG levels in the range of pathological and normal physiological regions. The C6AG-IMS can provide a point-of-care and immediate screening results to the user at home.

Experiments and Modeling of Ion Exchange Resins for Nuclear Power Plants

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.

Reconstitute Information about Discontinued Water Quality Variables in the Nile Delta Monitoring Network Using Two Record Extension Techniques

The world economic crises and budget constraints have caused authorities, especially those in developing countries, to rationalize water quality monitoring activities. Rationalization consists of reducing the number of monitoring sites, the number of samples, and/or the number of water quality variables measured. The reduction in water quality variables is usually based on correlation. If two variables exhibit high correlation, it is an indication that some of the information produced may be redundant. Consequently, one variable can be discontinued, and the other continues to be measured. Later, the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression technique is employed to reconstitute information about discontinued variable by using the continuously measured one as an explanatory variable. In this paper, two record extension techniques are employed to reconstitute information about discontinued water quality variables, the OLS and the Line of Organic Correlation (LOC). An empirical experiment is conducted using water quality records from the Nile Delta water quality monitoring network in Egypt. The record extension techniques are compared for their ability to predict different statistical parameters of the discontinued variables. Results show that the OLS is better at estimating individual water quality records. However, results indicate an underestimation of the variance in the extended records. The LOC technique is superior in preserving characteristics of the entire distribution and avoids underestimation of the variance. It is concluded from this study that the OLS can be used for the substitution of missing values, while LOC is preferable for inferring statements about the probability distribution.

The Correlation between Peer Aggression and Peer Victimization: Are Aggressors Victims Too?

To investigate the possible correlation between peer aggression and peer victimization, 148 sixth-graders were asked to respond to the Reduced Aggression and Victimization Scales (RAVS). RAVS measures the frequency of reporting aggressive behaviors or of being victimized during the previous week prior to the survey. The scales are composed of six items each. Each point represents one instance of aggression or victimization. Specifically, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PMCC) was used to determine the correlations between the scores of the sixthgraders in the two scales, both in individual items and total scores. Positive correlations were established and correlations were significant at the 0.01 levels.

Diffusion of Mobile Entertainment in Malaysia: Drivers and Barriers

This research aims to examine the key success factors for the diffusion of mobile entertainment services in Malaysia. The drivers and barriers observed in this research include perceived benefit; concerns pertaining to pricing, product and technological standardization, privacy and security; as well as influences from peers and community. An analysis of a Malaysian survey of 384 respondents between 18 to 25 years shows that subscribers placed greater importance on perceived benefit of mobile entertainment services compared to other factors. Results of the survey also show that there are strong positive correlations between all the factors, with pricing issue–perceived benefit showing the strongest relationship. This paper aims to provide an extensive study on the drivers and barriers that could be used to derive architecture for entertainment service provision to serve as a guide for telcos to outline suitable approaches in order to encourage mass market adoption of mobile entertainment services in Malaysia.

Motion Prediction and Motion Vector Cost Reduction during Fast Block Motion Estimation in MCTF

In 3D-wavelet video coding framework temporal filtering is done along the trajectory of motion using Motion Compensated Temporal Filtering (MCTF). Hence computationally efficient motion estimation technique is the need of MCTF. In this paper a predictive technique is proposed in order to reduce the computational complexity of the MCTF framework, by exploiting the high correlation among the frames in a Group Of Picture (GOP). The proposed technique applies coarse and fine searches of any fast block based motion estimation, only to the first pair of frames in a GOP. The generated motion vectors are supplied to the next consecutive frames, even to subsequent temporal levels and only fine search is carried out around those predicted motion vectors. Hence coarse search is skipped for all the motion estimation in a GOP except for the first pair of frames. The technique has been tested for different fast block based motion estimation algorithms over different standard test sequences using MC-EZBC, a state-of-the-art scalable video coder. The simulation result reveals substantial reduction (i.e. 20.75% to 38.24%) in the number of search points during motion estimation, without compromising the quality of the reconstructed video compared to non-predictive techniques. Since the motion vectors of all the pair of frames in a GOP except the first pair will have value ±1 around the motion vectors of the previous pair of frames, the number of bits required for motion vectors is also reduced by 50%.

Kinematic Gait Analysis of Upper and Lower Limbs Joints in Hemiplegic Children

Children with hemiplgic cerebral palsy often walk with diminished reciprocal arm swing so the purpose of this study was to describe kinematic characteristics in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) during the gait suphases, and find if there is a correlation between upper(shoulder and elbow) and lower(hip, knee, and ankle) limb joints either in involved or uninvolved.48 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (18boys, 30girls) with an average age of (5.1±0.87) years were selected randomly to evaluate joint angles during gait by 3D motion analysis system with 6 pro reflex cameras in a sagittal plane for both sides of the body. The results showed increased shoulder and elbow flexion, increased hip angular displacement, decreased knee and ankle arcs during gait cycle, also there is correlation between shoulder and elbow to hip, knee, and ankle joints during various subphases of gait.

Thermal Analysis of a Sliding Electric Contact System Using Finite Element Method

In this paper a three dimensional thermal model of a sliding contact system is proposed for both steady-state or transient conditions. The influence of contact force, electric current and ambient temperature on the temperature distribution, has been investigated. A thermal analysis of the different type of the graphite material of fixed electric contact and its influence on contact system temperature rise, has been performed. To validate the three dimensional thermal model, some experimental tests have been done. There is a good correlation between experimental and simulation results.

Family Communication Patterns between Muslim and Santal Communities in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

This study compares family communication patterns in association with family socio-cultural status, especially marriage and family pattern, and couples- socio-economic status between Muslim and Santal communities in rural Bangladesh. A total of 288 couples, 145 couples from the Muslim and 143 couples from the Santal were randomly selected through cluster sampling procedure from Kalna village situated in Tanore Upazila of Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, where both the communities dwell as neighbors. In order to collect data from the selected samples, interview method with semistructural questionnaire schedule was applied. The responses given by the respondents were analyzed by Pearson-s chi-squire test and bivariate correlation techniques. The results of Pearson-s chi-squire test revealed that family communication patterns (X2= 25. 90, df= 2, p0.05) were significantly different between the Muslim and Santal communities. In addition, Spearman-s bivariate correlation coefficients suggested that among the exogenous factors, family type (rs=.135, p