Abstract: In this paper we designed and implemented a new
ensemble of classifiers based on a sequence of classifiers which were
specialized in regions of the training dataset where errors of its
trained homologous are concentrated. In order to separate this
regions, and to determine the aptitude of each classifier to properly
respond to a new case, it was used another set of classifiers built
hierarchically. We explored a selection based variant to combine the
base classifiers. We validated this model with different base
classifiers using 37 training datasets. It was carried out a statistical
comparison of these models with the well known Bagging and
Boosting, obtaining significantly superior results with the
hierarchical ensemble using Multilayer Perceptron as base classifier.
Therefore, we demonstrated the efficacy of the proposed ensemble,
as well as its applicability to general problems.
Abstract: The inherent iterative nature of product design and development poses significant challenge to reduce the product design and development time (PD). In order to shorten the time to market, organizations have adopted concurrent development where multiple specialized tasks and design activities are carried out in parallel. Iterative nature of work coupled with the overlap of activities can result in unpredictable time to completion and significant rework. Many of the products have missed the time to market window due to unanticipated or rather unplanned iteration and rework. The iterative and often overlapped processes introduce greater amounts of ambiguity in design and development, where the traditional methods and tools of project management provide less value. In this context, identifying critical metrics to understand the iteration probability is an open research area where significant contribution can be made given that iteration has been the key driver of cost and schedule risk in PD projects. Two important questions that the proposed study attempts to address are: Can we predict and identify the number of iterations in a product development flow? Can we provide managerial insights for a better control over iteration? The proposal introduces the concept of decision points and using this concept intends to develop metrics that can provide managerial insights into iteration predictability. By characterizing the product development flow as a network of decision points, the proposed research intends to delve further into iteration probability and attempts to provide more clarity.
Abstract: Abstract–Indoor air (VOCs) samples were collected
simultaneously from variety of indoors (e.g. living rooms, baby-s
rooms) and outdoor environments which were voluntarily selected
from the houses in which pregnant residents live throughout Ankara.
This is the first comprehensive study done in Turkey starting from
prenatal period and continued till the babies had one year old. VOCs
levels were measured over 76 homes. Air samples were collected in
Tenax TA sorbent filled tubes with active sampling method and
analyzed with Thermal Desorber and Gas Chromatography/Mass
spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). At the first sampling period in the baby-s
rooms maximum concentration of toluene was measured about
240.77μg.m-3 and in the living rooms maximum concentration of
naphthalene was 180.24μg.m-3. At the second sampling period in the
baby-s rooms maximum concentration of toluene was measured
about 144.97μg.m-3 and in the living rooms maximum concentration
of naphthalene was 247.89μg.m-3. Concentration of TVOCs in the
first period was generally higher than the second period.
Abstract: Under-representation of women in leadership positions" is still a general phenomenon in Germany despite the high number of implemented measures. The under-representation of female executives in the aviation sector is even worse. In this context our research hypothesis is that the representation and acceptance of women in management positions is determined by corporate culture.
Abstract: This study attempted to compare the sexual perceptions and behaviors of male and female married Ilocanos. Data were gathered from 1,374 married Ilocanos (687 husbands and 687 wives) from nine municipalities and one city of the First District of Ilocos Sur. Findings showed that the male and female married Ilocanos differ in their psychological and physical sexual perceptions, but they had common social and spiritual sexual perceptions. Moreover, they were consistent in their behaviors towards sex, except for their behaviour after sex without reaching orgasm, wherein the males feel bad after having sex without reaching orgasm, while the females simply sleep it off.
Abstract: Over half of the total electricity consumption is used in buildings. Air-conditioning and electric lighting are the two main resources of electricity consumption in high rise buildings. One way to reduce electricity consumption would be to limit heat gain into buildings, therefore reduce the demand for air-conditioning during hot summer months especially in hot regions. On the other hand natural daylight can be used to reduce the use of electricity for artificial lighting. In this paper effective factors on minimizing heat gain and achieving required day light were reviewed .As daylight always accompanied by solar heat gain. Also interactions between heat gain and daylight were discussed through previous studies and equations which are related to heat gain and day lighting especially in high rise buildings. As a result importance of building-s form and its component on energy consumption in buildings were clarified.
Abstract: research goal was to determine the expression levels cDNA of brain embrio at gestation days 10 (GD-10). The Electroforesis DNA results showed that GAPDH, Fibronectin1, Ncam1, Tenascin, Vimentin, Neurofilament heavy, Neurofilament medium and Neurofilament low were 447 bp, 462 bp, 293 bp. 416 bp, 327 bp, 301 bp, 398 bp and 289 bp. Result of real-time RT-PCR on brain Embryo at gestation days 10 showed that the expression of copy gen Fibronectin 36 copies, Ncam 21,708 copies; Tenascin 24,505 copies; Vimentin 538,554 copies; Neurofilament heavy 2,419 copies; Neurofilament medium 92,928 copies; Neurofilament low 125,809 copies. Vimentin expressed gene copies is very high compared with other gene copies. This condition are caused by Vimentin, that contribute to proliferate of brain development. The vimentin role to cell proliferation of brain.
Abstract: In cancer progress, the optical properties of tissues
like absorption and scattering coefficient change, so by these
changes, we can trace the progress of cancer, even it can be applied
for pre-detection of cancer. In this paper, we investigate the effects of
changes of optical properties on light penetrated into tissues. The
diffusion equation is widely used to simulate light propagation into
biological tissues. In this study, the boundary integral method (BIM)
is used to solve the diffusion equation. We illustrate that the changes
of optical properties can modified the reflectance or penetrating light.
Abstract: Environmental pollution problems have been globally
main concern in all fields including economy, society and culture into
the 21st century. Beginning with the Kyoto Protocol, the reduction on
the emissions of greenhouse gas such as CO2 and SOX has been a
principal challenge of our day. As most buildings unlike durable goods
in other industries have a characteristic and long life cycle, they
consume energy in quantity and emit much CO2. Thus, for green
building construction, more research is needed to reduce the CO2
emissions at each stage in the life cycle. However, recent studies are
focused on the use and maintenance phase. Also, there is a lack of
research on the initial design stage, especially the structure design.
Therefore, in this study, we propose an optimal design plan
considering CO2 emissions and cost in composite buildings
simultaneously by applying to the structural design of actual building.
Abstract: In order to assess optical fiber reliability in different environmental and stress conditions series of testing are performed simulating overlapping of chemical and mechanical controlled varying factors. Each series of testing may be compared using statistical processing: i.e. Weibull plots. Due to the numerous data to treat, a software application has appeared useful to interpret selected series of experiments in function of envisaged factors. The current paper presents a software application used in the storage, modelling and interpretation of experimental data gathered from optical fibre testing. The present paper strictly deals with the software part of the project (regarding the modelling, storage and processing of user supplied data).
Abstract: This paper describes the process used in the
automation of the Maritime UAV commands using the Kinect sensor.
The AR Drone is a Quadrocopter manufactured by Parrot [1] to be
controlled using the Apple operating systems such as iPhones and
Ipads. However, this project uses the Microsoft Kinect SDK and
Microsoft Visual Studio C# (C sharp) software, which are compatible
with Windows Operating System for the automation of the navigation
and control of the AR drone.
The navigation and control software for the Quadrocopter runs on
a windows 7 computer. The project is divided into two sections; the
Quadrocopter control system and the Kinect sensor control system.
The Kinect sensor is connected to the computer using a USB cable
from which commands can be sent to and from the Kinect sensors.
The AR drone has Wi-Fi capabilities from which it can be connected
to the computer to enable transfer of commands to and from the
Quadrocopter.
The project was implemented in C#, a programming language that
is commonly used in the automation systems. The language was
chosen because there are more libraries already established in C# for
both the AR drone and the Kinect sensor.
The study will contribute toward research in automation of
systems using the Quadrocopter and the Kinect sensor for navigation
involving a human operator in the loop. The prototype created has
numerous applications among which include the inspection of vessels
such as ship, airplanes and areas that are not accessible by human
operators.
Abstract: Nanocrystals (NC) alloyed composite CdSxSe1-x(x=0
to 1) have been prepared using the chemical solution deposition
technique. The energy band gap of these alloyed nanocrystals of
approximately the same size, have been determined by scanning
tunneling spectroscopy (STS) technique at room temperature. The
values of the energy band gap obtained directly using STS are
compared to those measured by optical spectroscopy. Increasing the
molar fraction ratio x from 0 to 1 causes clearly observed increase in
the band gap of the alloyed composite nanocrystal. Vegard-s law was
applied to calculate the parameters of the effective mass
approximation (EMA) model and the dimension obtained were
compared to the values measured by STM. The good agreement of
the calculated and measured values is a direct result of applying
Vegard's law in the nanocomposites.
Abstract: Contamination of heavy metals in tin tailings has
caused an interest in the scientific approach of their remediation. One
of the approaches is through phytoremediation, which is using tree
species to extract the heavy metals from the contaminated soils. Tin
tailings comprise of slime and sand tailings. This paper reports only
on the finding of the four timber species namely Acacia mangium,
Hopea odorata, Intsia palembanica and Swietenia macrophylla on
the removal of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) from the slime tailings.
The methods employed for sampling and soil analysis are established
methods. Six trees of each species were randomly selected from a
0.25 ha plot for extraction and determination of their heavy metals.
The soil samples were systematically collected according to 5 x 5 m
grid from each plot. Results showed that the concentration of heavy
metals in soils and trees varied according to species. Higher
concentration of heavy metals was found in the stem than the
primary roots of all the species. A. Mangium accumulated the highest
total amount of Pb per hectare basis.
Abstract: Information is a critical asset and an important source for gaining competitive advantage in firms. The effective maintenance of IT becomes an important task. In order to better understand the determinants of IT effectiveness, this study employs the Industrial Organization (I/O) and Resource Based View (RBV) theories and investigates the industry effect and several major firmspecific factors in relation to their impact on firms- IT effectiveness. The data consist of a panel data of ten-year observations of firms whose IT excellence had been recognized by the CIO Magazine. The non-profit organizations were deliberately excluded, as explained later. The results showed that the effectiveness of IT management varied significantly across industries. Industry also moderated the effects of firm demographic factors such as size and age on IT effectiveness. Surprisingly, R & D investment intensity had negative correlation to IT effectiveness. For managers and practitioners, this study offers some insights for evaluation criteria and expectation for IT project success. Finally, the empirical results indicate that the sustainability of IT effectiveness appears to be short in duration.
Abstract: The research on the effectiveness of environmental
assessment (EA) is a milestone effort to evaluate the state of the field,
including many contributors related with a lot of countries since more
than two decades. In the 1960s, there was a surge of interest between
modern industrialized countries over unexpected opposite effects of
technical invention. The interest led to choice of approaches for
assessing and prediction the impressions of technology and
advancement for social and economic, state health and safety, solidity
and the circumstances. These are consisting of risk assessment,
technology assessment, environmental impact assessment and costbenefit
analysis. In this research contribution, the authors have
described the research status for environmental assessment in
cumulative environmental system. This article discusses the methods
for cumulative effect assessment (CEA).
Abstract: The waverider is proved to be a remarkably useful
configuration for hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) in terms of the high
lift-to-drag ratio. Due to the severe aerodynamic heating and the
processing technical restriction, the sharp leading edge of waverider
should be blunted, and then the flow characteristics and the
aerodynamic performance along the trajectory will change. In this
paper, the flow characteristics of a HGV, including the rarefied gas
effect and transition phenomenon, were studied based on a reference
trajectory. A numerical simulation was carried out to study the
performance of the HGV under a typical condition.
Abstract: The rangelands, as one of the largest dynamic biomes
in the world, have very capabilities. Regulation of greenhouse gases
in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide as the main
these gases, is one of these cases. The attention to rangeland, as
cheep and reachable resources to sequestrate the carbon dioxide,
increases after the Industrial Revolution. Rangelands comprise the
large parts of Iran as a steppic area. Rudshur (Saveh), as area index of
steppic area, was selected under three sites include long-term
exclosure, medium-term exclosure, and grazable area in order to the
capable of carbon dioxide’s sequestration of dominated species.
Canopy cover’s percentage of two dominated species (Artemisia
sieberi Besser & Stipa barbata Desf) was determined via establishing
of random 1 square meter plot. The sampling of above and below
ground biomass style was obtained by complete random. After
determination of ash percentage in the laboratory; conversion ratio of
plant biomass to organic carbon was calculated by ignition method.
Results of the paired t-test showed that the amount of carbon
sequestration in above ground and underground biomass of Artemisia
sieberi Besser & Stipa barbata Desf is different in three regions. It,
of course, hasn’t any difference between under and surface ground’s
biomass of Artemisia sieberi Besser in long-term exclosure. The
independent t-test results indicate differences between underground
biomass corresponding each other in the studied sites. Carbon
sequestration in the Stipa barbata Desf was totally more than
Artemisia sieberi Besser. Altogether, the average sequestration of the
long-term exclosure was 5.842gr/m², the medium-term exclosure was
4.115gr/m², and grazable area was 5.975gr/m² so that there isn’t
valuable statistical difference in term of total amount of carbon
sequestration to three sites.
Abstract: This paper presents a computer simulation model based on system dynamics methodology for analyzing the dynamic characteristics of input energy structure in agriculture and Bangladesh is used here as a case study for model validation. The model provides an input energy structure linking the major energy flows with human energy and draft energy from cattle as well as tractors and/or power tillers, irrigation, chemical fertilizer and pesticide. The evaluation is made in terms of different energy dependent indicators. During the simulation period, the energy input to agriculture increased from 6.1 to 19.15 GJ/ha i.e. 2.14 fold corresponding to energy output in terms of food, fodder and fuel increase from 71.55 to 163.58 GJ/ha i.e. 1.28 fold from the base year. This result indicates that the energy input in Bangladeshi agricultural production is increasing faster than the energy output. Problems such as global warming, nutrient loading and pesticide pollution can associate with this increasing input. For an assessment, a comparative statement of input energy use in agriculture of developed countries (DCs) and least developed countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh has been made. The performance of the model is found satisfactory to analyze the agricultural energy system for LDCs
Abstract: Recycling of aluminum alloys often decrease fluidity,
consequently influence the castability of the alloy. In this study, the
fluidity of Al-Zn alloys, such as the standard A713 alloy with and
without scrap addition has been investigated. The scrap added was
comprised of contaminated alloy turning chips. Fluidity
measurements were performed with double spiral fluidity test
consisting of gravity casting of double spirals in green sand moulds
with good reproducibility. The influence of recycled alloy on fluidity
has been compared with that of the virgin alloy and the results
showed that the fluidity decreased with the increase in recycled alloy
at minimum pouring temperatures. Interestingly, an appreciable
improvement in the fluidity was observed at maximum pouring
temperature, especially for coated spirals.
Abstract: Acid rain occurs when sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (Nox) gases react in the atmosphere with water,
oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The
result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Soil has a
greater buffering capacity than aquatic systems. However excessive
amount of acids introduced by acid rains may disturb the entire soil
chemistry. Acidity and harmful action of toxic elements damage
vegetation while susceptible microbial species are eliminated. In
present study, the effects of simulated sulphuric acid and nitric acid
rains were investigated on crop Glycine max. The effect of acid rain
on change in soil fertility was detected in which pH of control sample
was 6.5 and pH of 1%H2SO4 and 1%HNO3 were 3.5. Nitrogen nitrate
in soil was high in 1% HNO3 treated soil & Control sample.
Ammonium nitrogen in soil was low in 1% HNO3 & H2SO4 treated
soil. Ammonium nitrogen was medium in control and other samples.
The effect of acid rain on seed germination on 3rd day of germination
control sample growth was 7 cm, 0.1% HNO3 was 8cm, and 0.001%
HNO3 & 0.001% H2SO4 was 6cm each. On 10th day fungal growth
was observed in 1% and 0.1%H2SO4 concentrations, when all plants
were dead. The effect of acid rain on crop productivity was
investigated on 3rd day roots were developed in plants. On12th day
Glycine max showed more growth in 0.1% HNO3, 0.001% HNO3 and
0.001% H2SO4 treated plants growth were same as compare to control
plants. On 20th day development of discoloration of plant pigments
were observed on acid treated plants leaves. On 38th day, 0.1, 0.001%
HNO3 and 0.1, 0.001% H2SO4 treated plants and control plants were
showing flower growth. On 42th day, acid treated Glycine max variety
and control plants were showed seeds on plants. In Glycine max
variety 0.1, 0.001% H2SO4, 0.1, 0.001% HNO3 treated plants were
dead on 46th day and fungal growth was observed. The toxicological
study was carried out on Glycine max plants exposed to 1% HNO3
cells were damaged more than 1% H2SO4. Leaf sections exposed to
0.001% HNO3 & H2SO4 showed less damaged of cells and
pigmentation observed in entire slide when compare with control
plant. The soil analysis was done to find microorganisms in HNO3 &
H2SO4 treated Glycine max and control plants. No microorganism
growth was observed in 1% HNO3 & H2SO4 but control plant showed
microbial growth.