Abstract: The gap between the selection of risk-reduction options in the railway industry and the task of their effective implementation results in compromised safety and substantial losses. An effective risk management must necessarily integrate the evaluation phases with the implementation phase. This paper proposes an essential categorisation of risk reduction measures that best addresses a standard railway industry portfolio. By categorising the risk reduction options into design, operational, procedural and technical options, it is guaranteed that the efforts of the implementation facilitators (people, processes and supporting systems) are systematically harmonised. The classification is based on an integration of fundamental principles of risk reduction in the railway industry with the systems engineering approach.
This paper argues that the use of a similar classification approach is an attribute of organisations possessing a superior level of risk-reduction readiness. The integration of the proposed rational classification structure provides a solid ground for effective risk reduction.
Abstract: There has been studied the distribution character of potato stem nematode (Ditylenchus destructor Thorne, 1945) on the potato fields in four municipalities (Tsalka, Bolnisi, Marneuli, Gardabani) of Kvemo Kartli (Eastern Georgia).
As a result of scientific research there is stated the extensiveness of pathogens invasion, accompanying composition of fauna species, environmental groups of populations and quantity.
During the research process in the studied ecosystems there were registered 160 forms of free-living and Phyto-parasitic nematodes, from which 118 forms are determined as species and 42 as genus.
It was found that in almost the entire studied ecosystem there is dominated pathogenic nematodes Ditylenchus destructor. The large number of exemplars (almost uncountable) was found in tubers material of Bolnisi and Gardabani.
Abstract:
This research studied the influence of delta wing and delta winglet vortex generators on air flow characteristic. Normally, the vortex generator has been used for enhancing the heat transfer performance by promote the helical flow of air stream. The vortex generator was setup in the wind tunnel and the flow pattern of air stream passing the vortex generator was observed by using smoke generator. The Reynolds number of air stream was between 30,000 and 80,000. It is found that the delta winglet having 20mm fin height and 30 degree of air stream contact angle generates the maximum helical flow of air stream.
Abstract: Estimation of the magnitude and causes of poisoning
was the objective of the current study. A retrospective study of
medical records of all poisoning children admitted to Benghazi
Children Hospital in Libya from January 2008 up to December 2010.
Number of children admitted was 244; the age ranged from less than
one to 13 years old. Most of cases were admitted with mild symptom
and the majority of them were boys. Only few cases admitted to
intensive care unit and there was no mortality recorded through the
period of study. Age group 1 to 3 years (50.8%) had the highest
frequency of admission and the peak of admission was during
summer. The most common cause of admission was due to ingestion
of medication (53.69%), House hold product exposure (26.64%) was
the second causes of admission while, 19.67% of admissions were
due to Food poisoning. Almost all admitted cases were accidental and
medicines were the most consumed substances in addition, improper
storage of toxic agents were the first risk factor of poisoning. Present
results indicated that, children poisoning seems to be a common
pediatric care problem which need to control and prevent.
Abstract: Localization and Recognition of License registration characters from the moving vehicle is a computationally complex task in the field of machine vision and is of substantial interest because of its diverse applications such as cross border security, law enforcement and various other intelligent transportation applications. Previous research used the plate specific details such as aspect ratio, character style, color or dimensions of the plate in the complex task of plate localization. In this paper, license registration character is localized by Enhanced Weight based density map (EWBDM) method, which is independent of such constraints. In connection with our previous method, this paper proposes a method that relaxes constraints in lighting conditions, different fonts of character occurred in the plate and plates with hand-drawn characters in various aspect quotients. The robustness of this method is well suited for applications where the appearance of plates seems to be varied widely. Experimental results show that this approach is suited for recognizing license plates in different external environments.
Abstract: In this paper, we present some formulas of symbolic operator summation, which involving Generalization well-know number sequences or polynomial sequences, and mean while we obtain some identities about the sequences by employing M-R‘s substitution rule.
Abstract: The POD makes possible to reduce the complete high-dimensional acoustic field to a low-dimensional subspace where different modes are identified and let reconstruct in a simple way a high percentage of the variance of the field.
Rotating modes are instabilities which are commonly observed in swirling flows. Such modes can appear under both cold and reacting conditions but that they have different sources: while the cold flow rotating mode is essentially hydrodynamic and corresponds to the wellknown PVC (precessing vortex core) observed in many swirled unconfined flows, the rotating structure observed for the reacting case inside the combustion chamber might be not hydrodynamically but acoustically controlled. The two transverse acoustic modes of the combustion chamber couple and create a rotating motion of the flame which leads to a self-sustained turning mode which has the features of a classical PVC but a very different source (acoustics and not hydrodynamics).
Abstract: The tribological outcomes of micro dent are found to be outstanding in many engineering and natural surfaces. Ceramic (Al2O3) is considered one of the most potential material to bearing surfaces particularly, artificial hip or knee implant. A well-defined micro dent on alumina oxide interface could further decrease friction and wear rate, thus increase their stability and durability. In this study we fabricated circular micro dent surface profiles (Dia: 400µm, Depth 20µm, P: 1.5mm; Dia: 400µm, Depth 20µm, P: 2mm) on pure Al2O3 (99.6%) substrate by using a micro tool machines. A preliminary tribological experiment was carried out to compare friction coefficient of these fabricated dent surfaces with that of non-textured surfaces. The experiment was carried on well know pin-on-disk specimens while other experimental parameters such as hertz pressure, speed, lubrication, and temperature were maintained to standard of simulated hip joints condition. The experiment results revealed that micro dent surface texture reduced 15%, 8% and 4% friction coefficient under 0.132,0.162, 0.187 GPa contact pressure respectively. Since this is a preliminary tribological study, we will pursue further experiments considering higher ranges of dent profiles and longer run experiments. However, the preliminary results confirmed the suitability of fabricating dent profile to ceramic surfaces by using micro tooling, and also their improved tribological performance in simulated hip joints.
Abstract: The transfer rate of messages in distributed sensor network applications is a critical factor in a system's performance. The Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) is one such system. SAL is a middleware integration platform for abstracting sensor specific technology in order to integrate heterogeneous types of sensors in a network. SAL uses Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) as its connection method, which has unsatisfying transfer rates, especially for streaming data. This paper analyses different connection methods to optimize data transmission in SAL by replacing RMI. Our results show that the most promising Java-based connections were frameworks for Java New Input/Output (NIO) including Apache MINA, JBoss Netty, and xSocket. A test environment was implemented to evaluate each respective framework based on transfer rate, resource usage, and scalability. Test results showed the most suitable connection method to improve data transmission in SAL JBoss Netty as it provides a performance enhancement of 68%.
Abstract: The present invention relates to multiple-unit tablet dosage forms, which is composed of several subunits (multiparticulates/pellets). Each small multiparticulate further composed of many layers. Some layer contains drug substance; others are rate controlling polymer. The resulting multiple-unit tablet dosage forms of pantoprazole were satisfactory fabricated. Pelletization technique has some advantages over coated tablet formulation. In coated tablet the coating may be damaged and a pinhole possibly formed that would result in increased release of drug in stomach and may be deactivated in stomach juices. If the coat of some pellets may be damaged that would not affect the release properties of the multiple-unit tablet. Hence they are beneficial in this aspect. The results confirmed the successful preparation of stable and bioequivalent once daily controlled release multiple-unit tablets of pantoprazole.
Abstract: In this paper, an energy efficient digital baseband circuit for piezoelectric (PE) harvester powered batteryless remote control system is presented. Pulse mode PE harvester, which provides short duration of energy, is adopted to replace conventional chemical battery in wireless remote controller. The transmitter digital baseband repeats the control command transmission once the digital circuit is initiated by the power-on-reset. A power efficient data frame format is proposed to maximize the transmission repetition time. By using the proposed frame format and receiver clock and data recovery method, the receiver baseband is able to decode the command even when the received data has 20% error. The proposed transmitter and receiver baseband are implemented using FPGA and simulation results are presented.
Abstract: The use of a conventional air plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating (TBC) and a porous, functionally graded TBC as a thermal insulator for Al7075 alloy was explored. A quench test at 1200°C employing fast heating and cooling rates was setup to represent a dynamic thermal condition of an aerospace component. During the test, coated samples were subjected the ambient temperature of 1200°C for a very short time. This was followed by a rapid drop in temperature resulting in cracking of the coatings. For the conventional TBC, it was found that the temperature of the Al7075 substrate decreases with the increase in the ZrO2 topcoat thickness. However, at the topcoat thickness of 1100 µm, large horizontal cracks can be observed in the topcoat and at the topcoat thickness of 1600 µm, the topcoat delaminate during cooling after the quench test. The porous, functionally graded TBC with 600 µm thick topcoat, on the other hand, was found to be as effective at reducing the substrate temperature as the conventional TBC with 1100 µm thick topcoat. The maximum substrate temperature is about 213°C for the former and 208°C for the latter when a heating rate of 38°C/s was used. When the quench tests were conducted with a faster heating rate of 128°C/s, the Al7075 substrate heat up faster with a reduction in the maximum substrate temperatures. The substrate temperatures dropped from 297 to 212°C for the conventional TBC and from 213 to 155°C for the porous TBC, both with 600 µm thick topcoat. Segmentation cracks were observed in both coating after the quench test.
Abstract: The purpose of the research is to investigate the energetic feature of the backpack load on soldier’s gait with variation of the trunk flexion angle. It is believed that the trunk flexion variation of the loaded gait may cause a significant difference in the energy cost which is often in practice in daily life. To this end, seven healthy Korea military personnel participated in the experiment and are tested under three different walking postures comprised of the small, natural and large trunk flexion. There are around 5 degree differences of waist angle between each trunk flexion. The ground reaction forces were collected from the force plates and motion kinematic data are measured by the motion capture system. Based on these data, the impulses, momentums and mechanical works done on the center of body mass (COM) during the double support phase were computed. The result shows that the push-off and heel strike impulse are not relevant to the trunk flexion change, however the mechanical work by the push-off and heel strike were changed by the trunk flexion variation. It is because the vertical velocity of the COM during the double support phase is increased significantly with an increase in the trunk flexion. Therefore, we can know that the gait efficiency of the loaded gait depends on the trunk flexion angle. Also, even though the gravitational impulse and pre-collision momentum are changed by the trunk flexion variation, the after-collision momentum is almost constant regardless of the trunk flexion variation.
Abstract: Microorganisms can be removed, inhibited or killed by physical agents, physical processes or chemical agents but they have their inherent disadvantages such as increased resistance against antibiotics etc. Since, plants have endless ability to synthesize aromatic substances which act as the master agents for plant defense mechanisms against microorganisms, insects and herbivores. Thus, secondary metabolites or phytochemicals obtained from plants can be used as agents of disease control nowadays. In the present study effect of different concentrations of acetone fraction of leaves and alcohol fraction of inflorescence of Euphorbia pulcherrima on various cytomorphological parameters i.e. cell number, mycelium width, conidial size, conidiophore size etc. of Aspergillus fumigatus has been studied. Change in mycelium/ hyphal cell width, conidium size, conidiophore size etc. was measured with the help of a previously calibrated oculometer. To study effect on morphology, fungal mycelium along with conidiophore and conidia were stained with cotton blue and mounted in lactophenol and observed microscopically. Inhibitory action of the acetone extract of Euphorbia pulcherrima leaf on growth of Aspergillus fumigatus was investigated. Control containing extract free medium supported profuse growth of the fungus. Although decrease in growth was observed even at 3.95μg/ml but significant inhibition of growth was started at7.81μg/ml concentration of the extract. Complete inhibition was observed at 15.62μg/ml and above. Microscopic examination revealed that at 3.95, 7.81 and 15.62μg/ml extract concentration hyphal cell width was found to be increased from 1.44μm in control to 3.86, 5.24 and 8.98 μm respectively giving a beaded appearance to the mycelium. Vesicle size was reduced from 24.78x20.08μm (control) to 11.34x10.06μm at 3.95μg/ml concentration. At 7.81 and 15.62μg/ml concentration no phialides and sterigmata were observed. Inhibitory action of the alcohol extract of inflorescence on the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus was also studied. Control containing extract free medium supported profuse growth of the fungus. Although decrease in growth was observed even at 3.95μg/ml but complete inhibition was observed at 62.5μg/ml and above. Microscopic examination revealed that hyphal cell width of Aspergillus fumigatus was found to be increased from 1.67μm in control to 5.84μm at MIC i.e. at 62.5μg/ml. Vesicle size was reduced from 44.76x 24.22μm (control) to 11.36x 6.80μm at 15.62μg/ml concentrations. At 31.25 μg/ml and 62.5μg/ml concentration no phialides and sterigmata was found. Spore germination was completely found to be inhibited at 3.95μg/ml concentration. Similarly 92.87% reduction in vesicle size was observed at 15.62μg/ml concentration. It is evident from the results that plant extracts inhibit fungal growth and this inhibition is concentration dependent.
Abstract: The exponential increase in the volume of medical image database has imposed new challenges to clinical routine in maintaining patient history, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. With the advent of data mining and machine learning techniques it is possible to automate and/or assist physicians in clinical diagnosis. In this research a medical image classification framework using data mining techniques is proposed. It involves feature extraction, feature selection, feature discretization and classification. In the classification phase, the performance of the traditional kNN k nearest neighbor classifier is improved using a feature weighting scheme and a distance weighted voting instead of simple majority voting. Feature weights are calculated using the interestingness measures used in association rule mining. Experiments on the retinal fundus images show that the proposed framework improves the classification accuracy of traditional kNN from 78.57 % to 92.85 %.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship among CO2 per capita emissions, energy consumption, economic growth and bilateral trade between Singapore and Malaysia for the 1970-2011 period. ARDL model and Granger causality tests are employed for the analysis. Results of bound F-statistics suggest that long-run relationship exists between CO2 per capita (PCO2) and its determinants. The EKC hypothesis is not supported in Malaysia. Carbon emissions are mainly determined by energy consumption in the short and long run. While, exports to Singapore is a significant variable in explaining PCO2 emissions in Malaysia in long-run. Furthermore, we find a unidirectional causal relationship running from economic growth to PCO2 emissions.
Abstract: The industrial automation is dependent upon pneumatic control systems. The industrial units are now controlled with digital control systems to tackle the process variables like Temperature, Pressure, Flow rates and Composition.
This research work produces an evaluation of the response time fluctuations for proportional mode, proportional integral and proportional integral derivative modes of automated chemical process control. The controller output is measured for different values of gain with respect to time in three modes (P, PI and PID). In case of P-mode for different values of gain the controller output has negligible change. When the controller output of PI-mode is checked for constant gain, it can be seen that by decreasing the integral time the controller output has showed more fluctuations. The PID mode results have found to be more interesting in a way that when rate minute has changed, the controller output has also showed fluctuations with respect to time. The controller output for integral mode and derivative mode are observed with lesser steady state error, minimum offset and larger response time to control the process variable. The tuning parameters in case of P-mode are only steady state gain with greater errors with respect to controller output. The integral mode showed controller outputs with intermediate responses during integral gain (ki). By increasing the rate minute the derivative gain (kd) also increased which showed the controlled oscillations in case of PID mode and lesser overshoot.
Abstract: In this study, artificial limestone brick samples are produced by using wood sawdust wastes (WSW) having different grades of sizes and limestone powder waste (LPW). The thermo-elastic properties of produced brick samples in various WSW amounts are investigated. At 30% WSW replacement with LPW in the brick sample the thermal conductivity value is effectively reduced and the reduction in the thermal conductivity value of brick sample at 30% WSW replacement with LPW is about 38.9% as compared with control sample. The energy conservation in buildings by using LPW and WSW in masonry brick material production having low thermal conductivity reduces energy requirements. A strong relationship is also found among the thermal conductivity, unit weight and ultrasonic pulse velocity values of brick samples produced. It shows a potential to be used for walls, wooden board substitute, alternative to the concrete blocks, ceiling panels, sound barrier panels, absorption materials etc.
Abstract: Development of microprocessor controlled sensor for measurement of wind speed and direction is the aim of this study. Electrical circuits and software were developed to the existing electromechanical part of the sensor TM-W2 becoming the properties of so-called smart sensor. The measured data about wind speed (sensitivity 0.01 m/s) and direction (0-360° by step 10°) are transmitted as 16-bit information. The connection between sensor and control unit is realized by radio communication (FM 433 MHz). Transition range is 220 m if used Quad type antenna. This concept provides substitution of actual cable systems by wireless ones.
Abstract: An efficient reintegration of the disabled people in the
family and society should be fulfilled; hence it is strongly needful to assist their diminished functions or to replace the totally lost
functions. Assistive technology helps in neutralizing the impairment.
Recent advancements in embedded systems have opened up a vast
area of research and development for affordable and portable assistive devices for the visually impaired. Granted there are many assistive devices on the market that are able to detect obstacles, and numerous research and development currently in process to
alleviate the cause, unfortunately the cost of devices, size of
devices, intrusiveness and higher learning curve prevents the visually impaired from taking advantage of available devices. This
project aims at the design and implementation of a detachable unit
which is robust, low cost and user friendly, thus, trying to
aggrandize the functionality of the existing white cane, to concede above-knee obstacle detection. The designed obstruction detector
uses ultrasound sensors for detecting the obstructions before direct contact. It bestows haptic feedback to the user in accordance with the position of the obstacle.