Abstract: The current speech interfaces in many military
applications may be adequate for native speakers. However,
the recognition rate drops quite a lot for non-native speakers
(people with foreign accents). This is mainly because the nonnative
speakers have large temporal and intra-phoneme
variations when they pronounce the same words. This
problem is also complicated by the presence of large
environmental noise such as tank noise, helicopter noise, etc.
In this paper, we proposed a novel continuous acoustic feature
adaptation algorithm for on-line accent and environmental
adaptation. Implemented by incremental singular value
decomposition (SVD), the algorithm captures local acoustic
variation and runs in real-time. This feature-based adaptation
method is then integrated with conventional model-based
maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) algorithm.
Extensive experiments have been performed on the NATO
non-native speech corpus with baseline acoustic model trained
on native American English. The proposed feature-based
adaptation algorithm improved the average recognition
accuracy by 15%, while the MLLR model based adaptation
achieved 11% improvement. The corresponding word error
rate (WER) reduction was 25.8% and 2.73%, as compared to
that without adaptation. The combined adaptation achieved
overall recognition accuracy improvement of 29.5%, and
WER reduction of 31.8%, as compared to that without
adaptation.
Abstract: This paper explores the use of project work in a
content-based instruction in a Rajabhat University, a teacher college,
where student teachers are instructed to perform teaching roles
mainly in basic education level. Its aim is to link theory to practice,
and to help language teachers maximize the full potential of project
work for genuine communication and give real meaning to writing
activity. Two research questions are formulated to guide this study:
a) What is the academic achievement of the students- writing skill
against the 70% attainment target after the use of project to enhance
the skill? and b) To what degree is the development of the students-
writing skills during the course of project to enhance the skill? The
sample of the study comprised of 38 fourth-year English major
students. The data was collected by means of achievement test,
student writing works, and project diary. The scores in the summative
achievement test were analyzed by mean score, standard deviation,
and t-test. Project diary serves as students- record of the language
acquired during the project. List of structures and vocabulary noted in
the diary has shown students- ability to attend to, recognize, and
focus on meaningful patterns of language forms.
Abstract: The product development process (PDP) in the
Technology group plays a very important role in the launch of any
product. While a manufacturing process encourages the use of certain
measures to reduce health, safety and environmental (HSE) risks on
the shop floor, the PDP concentrates on the use of Geometric
Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) to develop a flawless design.
Furthermore, PDP distributes and coordinates activities between
different departments such as marketing, purchasing, and
manufacturing. However, it is seldom realized that PDP makes a
significant contribution to developing a product that reduces HSE
risks by encouraging the Technology group to use effective GD&T.
The GD&T is a precise communication tool that uses a set of
symbols, rules, and definitions to mathematically define parts to be
manufactured. It is a quality assurance method widely used in the oil
and gas sector. Traditionally it is used to ensure the
interchangeability of a part without affecting its form, fit, and
function. Parts that do not meet these requirements are rejected
during quality audits.
This paper discusses how the Technology group integrates this
quality assurance tool into the PDP and how the tool plays a major
role in helping the HSE department in its goal towards eliminating
HSE incidents. The PDP involves a thorough risk assessment and
establishes a method to address those risks during the design stage.
An illustration shows how GD&T helped reduce safety risks by
ergonomically improving assembling operations. A brief discussion
explains how tolerances provided on a part help prevent finger injury.
This tool has equipped Technology to produce fixtures, which are
used daily in operations as well as manufacturing. By applying
GD&T to create good fits, HSE risks are mitigated for operating
personnel. Both customers and service providers benefit from
reduced safety risks.
Abstract: Modern Society is strongly dependent on a reliable
power supply. The availability of cheap and reliable supply of
electrical energy is an indicator of societal welfare. Uninterrupted
reliable operation of a modern power system depends to a great
extent on reliable and satisfactory performance of insulators under
different environmental conditions. This paper reports result of
natural pollution tests that have been done at sites around city of
Aligarh (India). Flashover voltage per insulation distance (FOVUID)
of porcelain disc insulator for different pH values, ESDD has been
recorded for proper correlation between electrical and chemical
parameters. The pH of the contaminants has been suggested to be an
effective pollution severity indicator and may be used as a diagnostic
parameter for proper maintenance of porcelain insulators.
Abstract: In this study, we present an advanced detection
technique for mass type breast cancer based on texture information
of organs. The proposed method detects the cancer areas in three
stages. In the first stage, the midpoints of mass area are determined
based on AHE (Adaptive Histogram Equalization). In the second
stage, we set the threshold coefficient of homogeneity by using
MLE (Maximum Likelihood Estimation) to compute the uniformity
of texture. Finally, mass type cancer tissues are extracted from the
original image. As a result, it was observed that the proposed
method shows an improved detection performance on dense breast
tissues of Korean women compared with the existing methods. It is
expected that the proposed method may provide additional
diagnostic information for detection of mass-type breast cancer.
Abstract: Recent research result has shown that two multidelay
feedback systems can synchronize each other under different
schemes, i.e. lag, projective-lag, anticipating, or projectiveanticipating
synchronization. There, the driving signal is significantly
complex due that it is constituted by multiple nonlinear transformations
of delayed state variable. In this paper, a secure communication
model is proposed based on synchronization of coupled multidelay
feedback systems, in which the plain signal is mixed with a complex
signal at the transmitter side and it is precisely retrieved at the receiver
side. The effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated and
verified in the specific example, where the message signal is masked
directly by the complex signal and security is examined under the
breaking method of power spectrum analysis.
Abstract: In this paper we developed the Improved Runge-Kutta Nystrom (IRKN) method for solving second order ordinary differential equations. The methods are two step in nature and require lower number of function evaluations per step compared with the existing Runge-Kutta Nystrom (RKN) methods. Therefore, the methods are computationally more efficient at achieving the higher order of local accuracy. Algebraic order conditions of the method are obtained and the third and fourth order method are derived with two and three stages respectively. The numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method compared to the existing RKN methods.
Abstract: In this paper we proposed the use of Huffman
coding to reduce the PAR of an OFDM system as a distortionless
scrambling technique, and we utilize the amount saved in the
total bit rate by the Huffman coding to send the encoding table
for accurate decoding at the receiver without reducing the
effective throughput. We found that the use of Huffman coding
reduces the PAR by about 6 dB. Also we have investigated the
effect of PAR reduction due to Huffman coding through testing
the spectral spreading and the inband distortion due to HPA with
different IBO values. We found a complete match of our
expectation from the proposed solution with the obtained
simulation results.
Abstract: Databases have become ubiquitous. Almost all IT applications are storing into and retrieving information from databases. Retrieving information from the database requires knowledge of technical languages such as Structured Query Language (SQL). However majority of the users who interact with the databases do not have a technical background and are intimidated by the idea of using languages such as SQL. This has led to the development of a few Natural Language Database Interfaces (NLDBIs). A NLDBI allows the user to query the database in a natural language. This paper highlights on architecture of new NLDBI system, its implementation and discusses on results obtained. In most of the typical NLDBI systems the natural language statement is converted into an internal representation based on the syntactic and semantic knowledge of the natural language. This representation is then converted into queries using a representation converter. A natural language query is translated to an equivalent SQL query after processing through various stages. The work has been experimented on primitive database queries with certain constraints.
Abstract: The interdependences among stock market indices
were studied for a long while by academics in the entire world. The
current financial crisis opened the door to a wide range of opinions
concerning the understanding and measurement of the connections
considered to provide the controversial phenomenon of market
integration. Using data on the log-returns of 17 stock market indices
that include most of the CEE markets, from 2005 until 2009, our
paper studies the problem of these dependences using a new
methodological tool that takes into account both the volatility
clustering effect and the stochastic properties of these linkages
through a Dynamic Conditional System of Simultaneous Equations.
We find that the crisis is well captured by our model as it provides
evidence for the high volatility – high dependence effect.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to introduce an advanced
system for the support of processing of medical image information,
and the terminology related to this system, which can be an important
element to a faster transition to a fully digitalized hospital.
The core of the system is a set of DICOM compliant applications
running over a dedicated computer network. The whole integrated
system creates a collaborative platform supporting daily routines in
the radiology community, developing communication channels,
supporting the exchange of information and special consultations
among various medical institutions as well as supporting medical
training for practicing radiologists and medical students. It gives the
users outside of hospitals the tools to work in almost the same
conditions as in the radiology departments.
Abstract: Recently, with the appearance of smart cards, many
user authentication protocols using smart card have been proposed to
mitigate the vulnerabilities in user authentication process. In 2004,
Das et al. proposed a ID-based user authentication protocol that is
secure against ID-theft and replay attack using smart card. In 2009,
Wang et al. showed that Das et al.-s protocol is not secure to randomly
chosen password attack and impersonation attack, and proposed an
improved protocol. Their protocol provided mutual authentication and
efficient password management. In this paper, we analyze the security
weaknesses and point out the vulnerabilities of Wang et al.-s protocol.
Abstract: Equilibrium and rate based models have been applied
in the simulation of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) synthesis
through reactive distillation. Temperature and composition profiles
were compared for both the models and found that both the profiles
trends, though qualitatively similar are significantly different
quantitatively. In the rate based method (RBM), multicomponent
mass transfer coefficients have been incorporated to describe
interphase mass transfer. MTBE mole fraction in the bottom stream is
found to be 0.9914 in the Equilibrium Model (EQM) and only 0.9904
for RBM when the same column configuration was preserved. The
individual tray efficiencies were incorporated in the EQM and
simulations were carried out. Dynamic simulation have been also
carried out for the two column configurations and compared.
Abstract: MMR vaccine failure had been reported globally and
here we report that it occurs now in India. Samples were collected from clinically suspected mumps cases were subjected for anti
mumps antibodies, virus isolation, RT-PCR, sequencing and
phylogenetic tree analysis. 56 samples collected from men and women belonging to various age groups. 30 had been vaccinated and
the status of 26 patients was unknown. 28 out of 30 samples were
found to be symptomatic and positive for Mumps IgM, indicating
active mumps infection in 93.4% of the vaccinated population. A
phylogenetic tree comparison of the clinical isolate is shown to be genotype C which is distinct from vaccine strain. Our study clearly sending warning signs that MMR vaccine is a failure and it needs to be revamped for the human use by increasing its efficacy and efficiency.
Abstract: Today-s business has inevitably been set in the global supply chain management environment. International transportation has never played such an important role in the global supply chain network, because movement of shipments from one country to another tends to be more frequent than ever before. This paper studies international transportation problems experienced by an international transportation company. Because of the limited fleet capacity, the transportation company has to hire additional trucks from two countries in advance. However, customer-s shipment information is uncertain, and decisions have to be made before accurate information can be obtained. This paper proposes a stochastic mixed 0-1 programming model to solve the international transportation problems under uncertain demand. A series of experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic model.
Abstract: This paper makes a contribution to the on-going
debate on conceptualization and lexicalization of cutting and
breaking (C&B) verbs by discussing data from Telugu, a language of
India belonging to the Dravidian family. Five Telugu native speakers-
verbalizations of agentive actions depicted in 43 short video-clips
were analyzed. It was noted that verbalization of C&B events in
Telugu requires formal units such as simple lexical verbs, explicator
compound verbs, and other complex verb forms. The properties of
the objects involved, the kind of instruments used, and the manner of
action had differential influence on the lexicalization patterns.
Further, it was noted that all the complex verb forms encode 'result'
and 'cause' sub-events in that order. Due to the polysemy associated
with some of the verb forms, our data does not support the
straightforward bipartition of this semantic domain.
Abstract: Gas condensate Reservoirs show complicated thermodynamic behavior when their pressure reduces to under dew point pressure. Condensate blockage around the producing well cause significant reduction of production rate as well bottom-hole pressure drops below saturation pressure. The main objective of this work was to examine the well test analysis of naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir and investigate the effect of condensate formed around the well-bore on behavior of single phase pseudo pressure and its derivative curves. In this work a naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir is simulated with compositional simulator. Different sensitivity analysis done on Corry parameters and result of simulator is feed to analytical well testing software. For consideration of these phenomena eighteen compositional models with Capillary number effect are constructed. Matrix relative permeability obeys Corry relative permeability and relative permeability in fracture is linear. Well testing behavior of these models are studied and interpreted. Results show different sensitivity analysis on relative permeability of matrix does not have strong effect on well testing behavior even most part of the matrix around the well is occupied with condensate.
Abstract: With the rapid growth in business size, today-s businesses orient Throughout thirty years local, national and international experience in medicine as a medical student, junior doctor and eventually Consultant and Professor in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Management, I note significant generalised dissatisfaction among medical students and doctors regarding their medical education and practice. We repeatedly hear complaints from patients about the dysfunctional health care system they are dealing with and subsequently the poor medical service that they are receiving. Medical students are bombarded with lectures, tutorials, clinical rounds and various exams. Clinicians are weighed down with a never-ending array of competing duties. Patients are extremely unhappy about the long waiting lists, loss of their records and the continuous deterioration of the health care service. This problem has been reported in different countries by several authors [1,2,3]. In a trial to solve this dilemma, a genuine idea has been suggested implementing computer technology in medicine [2,3]. Computers in medicine are a medium of international communication of the revolutionary advances being made in the application of the computer to the fields of bioscience and medicine [4,5]. The awareness about using computers in medicine has recently increased all over the world. In Misr University for Science & Technology (MUST), Egypt, medical students are now given hand-held computers (Laptop) with Internet facility making their medical education accessible, convenient and up to date. However, this trial still needs to be validated. Helping the readers to catch up with the on going fast development in this interesting field, the author has decided to continue reviewing the literature, exploring the state-of-art in computer based medicine and up dating the medical professionals especially the local trainee Doctors in Egypt. In part I of this review article we will give a general background discussing the potential use of computer technology in the various aspects of the medical field including education, research, clinical practice and the health care service given to patients. Hope this will help starting changing the culture, promoting the awareness about the importance of implementing information technology (IT) in medicine, which is a field in which such help is needed. An international collaboration is recommended supporting the emerging countries achieving this target.
Abstract: Simulation and modeling computer programs are
concerned with construction of models for analyzing different
perspectives and possibilities in changing conditions environment.
The paper presents theoretical justification and evaluation of
qualitative e-learning development model in perspective of advancing
modern technologies. There have been analyzed principles of
qualitative e-learning in higher education, productivity of studying
process using modern technologies, different kind of methods and
future perspectives of e-learning in formal education. Theoretically
grounded and practically tested model of developing e-learning
methods using different technologies for different type of classroom,
which can be used in professor-s decision making process to choose
the most effective e-learning methods has been worked out.
Abstract: In conducting a case study to analyze the status-quo of
the extremists’ dominance in Egypt, the author of this paper uses
qualitative research method to analyze the evolution of extreme
Islamist groups in Egypt. In conducting this qualitative research, the
author of this paper intends to use several lenses to understand the
rise and the evolution of the hegemony of extremist groups, such as
the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups in Egypt. Therefore, unless
he intends to show an important nexus between the Egyptian groups
and their sister-groups in other countries, he will intentionally
exclude analyzing extreme Islamism of non-Egyptian origins. This
case study relies on the moral disengagement theory to shed light on
the ideological evolution of extremism in Egypt. The goal of this case
study is to help in understanding extreme-Islamism adverse to the
mainstream Islam; therefore, understanding the concept here should
help in preventing similar groups from threatening the international
community.