Abstract: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a new worldwide public
health problem. A diagnosis of this disease using creatinine is still a
problem in clinical practice. Therefore, a measurement of biomarkers
responsible for AKI has received much attention in the past couple
years. Cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) was reported as one of the
early biomarkers for AKI. The most commonly used method to
detect this biomarker is an immunoassay. This study used a planar
platform to perform an immunoassay using fluorescence for
detection. In this study, anti-IL-18 antibody was immobilized onto a
microscope slide using a covalent binding method. Make-up samples
were diluted at the concentration between 10 to 1000 pg/ml to create
a calibration curve. The precision of the system was determined
using a coefficient of variability (CV), which was found to be less
than 10%. The performance of this immunoassay system was
compared with the measurement from ELISA.
Abstract: Fast depth estimation from binocular vision is often
desired for autonomous vehicles, but, most algorithms could not easily
be put into practice because of the much time cost. We present an
image-processing technique that can fast estimate depth image from
binocular vision images. By finding out the lines which present the
best matched area in the disparity space image, the depth can be
estimated. When detecting these lines, an edge-emphasizing filter is
used. The final depth estimation will be presented after the smooth
filter. Our method is a compromise between local methods and global
optimization.
Abstract: The value of overall oxygen transfer Coefficient
(KLa), which is the best measure of oxygen transfer in water through
aeration, is obtained by a simple approach, which sufficiently
explains the utility of the method to eliminate the discrepancies due
to inaccurate assumption of saturation dissolved oxygen
concentration. The rate of oxygen transfer depends on number of
factors like intensity of turbulence, which in turns depends on the
speed of rotation, size, and number of blades, diameter and
immersion depth of the rotor, and size and shape of aeration tank, as
well as on physical, chemical, and biological characteristic of water.
An attempt is made in this paper to correlate the overall oxygen
transfer Coefficient (KLa), as an independent parameter with other
influencing parameters mentioned above. It has been estimated that
the simulation equation developed predicts the values of KLa and
power with an average standard error of estimation of 0.0164 and
7.66 respectively and with R2 values of 0.979 and 0.989 respectively,
when compared with experimentally determined values. The
comparison of this model is done with the model generated using
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and both the models were
found to be in good agreement with each other.
Abstract: The paper outlines the relevance of computational
geometry within the design and production process of architecture.
Based on two case studies, the digital chain - from the initial formfinding
to the final realization of spatial concepts - is discussed in
relation to geometric principles. The association with the fascinating
complexity that can be found in nature and its underlying geometry
was the starting point for both projects presented in the paper. The
translation of abstract geometric principles into a three-dimensional
digital design model – realized in Rhinoceros – was followed by a
process of transformation and optimization of the initial shape that
integrated aesthetic, spatial and structural qualities as well as aspects
of material properties and conditions of production.
Abstract: Heart-s electric field can be measured anywhere on
the surface of the body (ECG). When individuals touch, one person-s
ECG signal can be registered in other person-s EEG and elsewhere
on his body. Now, the aim of this study was to test the hypothesis
that physical contact (hand-holding) of two persons changes their
heart rate variability. Subjects were sixteen healthy female (age: 20-
26) which divided into eight sets. In each sets, we had two friends
that they passed intimacy test of J.sternberg. ECG of two subjects
(each set) acquired for 5 minutes before hand-holding (as control
group) and 5 minutes during they held their hands (as experimental
group). Then heart rate variability signals were extracted from
subjects' ECG and analyzed in linear feature space (time and
frequency domain) and nonlinear feature space. Considering the
results, we conclude that physical contact (hand-holding of two
friends) increases parasympathetic activity, as indicate by increase
SD1, SD1/SD2, HF and MF power (p
Abstract: The Pulsed Compression Reactor promises to be a
compact, economical and energy efficient alternative to conventional
chemical reactors.
In this article, the production of synthesis gas using the Pulsed
Compression Reactor is investigated. This is done experimentally as
well as with simulations. The experiments are done by means of a
single shot reactor, which replicates a representative, single
reciprocation of the Pulsed Compression Reactor with great control
over the reactant composition, reactor temperature and pressure and
temperature history. Simulations are done with a relatively simple
method, which uses different models for the chemistry and
thermodynamic properties of the species in the reactor. Simulation
results show very good agreement with the experimental data, and
give great insight into the reaction processes that occur within the
cycle.
Abstract: In this paper a technique for increasing the
convergence rate of fractionally spaced channel equalizer is
proposed. Instead of symbol-spaced updating of the equalizer filter, a
mechanism has been devised to update the filter at a higher rate. This
ensures convergence of the equalizer filter at a higher rate and
therefore less time-consuming. The proposed technique has been
simulated and tested for two-ray modeled channels with various
delay spreads. These channels include minimum-phase and nonminimum-
phase channels. Simulation results suggest that that
proposed technique outperforms the conventional technique of
symbol-spaced updating of equalizer filter.
Abstract: The zinc and iron environments in different growth
stages have been studied with EXAFS and XANES with Brookhaven
Synchrotron Light Source. Tissue samples included meat, organ,
vegetable, leaf, and yeast. The project studied the EXAFS and
XANES of tissue samples using Zn and Fe K-edges. Duck embryo
samples show that brain and intestine would contain shorter EXFAS
determined Zn-N/O bond; as with the cases of fresh yeast versus
reconstituted live yeast and green leaf versus yellow leaf. The
XANES Fourier transform characteristic-length would be useful as a
functionality index for selected types of tissue samples in various
physical states. The extension to the development of functional
synchrotron imaging for tissue engineering application based on
spectroscopic technique is discussed.
Abstract: As an adult man and woman love each other and come to have faith in each other as their spouse, they marry each other. Recently people-s economic life has become individualized and women are enjoying a high education level and increased participation in social activities, and these changes are creating environment favorable for single life. Thus, an increasing number of people are choosing celibacy, and many people prefer cohabitation to marriage. Nevertheless, marriage is still regarded as a must-to-do in our thought. Most of people throughout the world admit marriage as one of natural processes of life, and is an important passage rite in life that all people experience as we can see everywhere in the world despite the diversity of lifestyles. With regard to wedding ceremony, however, each country and culture has its own unique tradition and style of festival. It is not just a congratulatory ceremony but contains multiple concepts representing the age, country or culture. Moreover, the form and contents of wedding ceremony changes over time, and such features of wedding ceremony are well represented in films. This study took note of the fact that films reflect and reproduce each country-s historicity, culturality and analyzed four films, which are believed to show differences between Eastern and Western wedding ceremonies. The selected films are: A Perfect Match (2002), Marriage Is a Crazy Thing (2001), Bride Wars (2009) and 27 Dresses (2008). The author attempted to examine wedding ceremonies described in the four films, differences between the East and the West suggested by the films, and changes in their societies.
Abstract: The paper describes a new approach for fingerprint
classification, based on the distribution of local features (minute
details or minutiae) of the fingerprints. The main advantage is that
fingerprint classification provides an indexing scheme to facilitate
efficient matching in a large fingerprint database. A set of rules based
on heuristic approach has been proposed. The area around the core
point is treated as the area of interest for extracting the minutiae
features as there are substantial variations around the core point as
compared to the areas away from the core point. The core point in a
fingerprint has been located at a point where there is maximum
curvature. The experimental results report an overall average
accuracy of 86.57 % in fingerprint classification.
Abstract: The Beshar River is one aquatic ecosystem, which is
located next to the city of Yasuj in southern Iran. The Beshar river
has been contaminated by industrial factories such as effluent of
sugar factory, agricultural and other activities in this region such as,
Imam Sajjad hospital, drainage from agricultural farms, Yasuj urban
surface runoff and effluent of wastewater treatment plants ,specially
Yasuj waste water treatment plant. In order to evaluate the effects of
these pollutants on the quality of the Beshar river, five monitoring
stations were selected along its course. The first station is located
upstream of Yasuj near the Dehnow village; stations 2 to 4 are
located east, south and west of city; and the 5th station is located
downstream of Yasuj. Several water quality parameters were
sampled. These include pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen
demand (BOD), temperature, conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved
solids and discharge or flow measurements. Water samples from the
five stations were collected and analyzed to determine the following
physicochemical parameters: EC, pH, T.D.S, T.H, No2, DO, BOD5,
COD during 2008 to 2010. The study shows that the BOD5 value of
station 1 is at a minimum (1.7 ppm) and increases downstream from
stations 2 to 4 to a maximum (11.6 ppm), and then decreases at
station 5. The DO values of station 1 is a maximum (8.45 ppm),
decreases downstream to stations 2 - 4 which are at a minimum (3.1
ppm), before increasing at station 5. The amount of BOD and TDS
are highest at the 4th station and the amount of DO is lowest at this
station, marking the 4th station as more highly polluted than the
other stations .This study shows average amount of the water quality
parameters in first year of sampling (2008) have had a better quality
relation to third year in 2010 because of recent drought in this region
and pollutant increasing .As the Beshar river path after 5th station
goes through the mountain area with more slope and flow velocity
,so the physicochemical parameters improve at the 5th station due to
pollutant degradation and dilution. Finally the point and nonpoint
pollutant sources of Beshar river were determined and compared to
the monitoring results.
Abstract: The proposed paper examines strategies whose aim is
to counter the all too often sighted process of abandonment that
characterizes contemporary cities. The city of Nicosia in Cyprus is
used as an indicative case study, whereby several recent projects are
presented as capitalizing on traditional cultural assets to revive the
downtown. The reuse of existing building stock as museums,
performing arts centers and theaters but also as in the form of various
housing typologies is geared to strengthen the ranks of local residents
and to spur economic growth. Unlike the examples from the 1960s,
the architecture of more recent adaptive reuse for urban regeneration
seems to be geared in reinforcing a connection to the city where the
buildings often reflect the characteristics of their urban context.
Abstract: Throughput is an important measure of performance of production system. Analyzing and modeling of production throughput is complex in today-s dynamic production systems due to uncertainties of production system. The main reasons are that uncertainties are materialized when the production line faces changes in setup time, machinery break down, lead time of manufacturing, and scraps. Besides, demand changes are fluctuating from time to time for each product type. These uncertainties affect the production performance. This paper proposes Bayesian inference for throughput modeling under five production uncertainties. Bayesian model utilized prior distributions related to previous information about the uncertainties where likelihood distributions are associated to the observed data. Gibbs sampling algorithm as the robust procedure of Monte Carlo Markov chain was employed for sampling unknown parameters and estimating the posterior mean of uncertainties. The Bayesian model was validated with respect to convergence and efficiency of its outputs. The results presented that the proposed Bayesian models were capable to predict the production throughput with accuracy of 98.3%.
Abstract: Small satellites have become increasingly popular recently as a means of providing educational institutes with the chance to design, construct, and test their spacecraft from beginning to the possible launch due to the low launching cost. This approach is remarkably cost saving because of the weight and size reduction of such satellites. Weight reduction could be realised by utilising electromagnetic coils solely, instead of different types of actuators. This paper describes the restrictions of using only “Electromagnetic" actuation for 3D stabilisation and how to make the magnetorquer based attitude control feasible using Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC). The design is developed to stabilize the spacecraft against gravity gradient disturbances with a three-axis stabilizing capability.
Abstract: This paper investigates the application of large scale (LS-PV) two-axis tracking photovoltaic power plant in Al-Jagbob, Libya. A 50MW PV-grid connected (two-axis tracking) power plant design in Al-Jagbob, Libya has been carried out presently. A hetero-junction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) type PV module has been selected and modeled. A Microsoft Excel-VBA program has been constructed to compute slope radiation, dew-point, sky temperature, and then cell temperature, maximum power output and module efficiency for this system, for tracking system. The results for energy production show that the total energy output is 128.5 GWh/year. The average module efficiency is 16.6%. The electricity generation capacity factor (CF) and solar capacity factor (SCF) were found to be 29.3% and 70.4% respectively. A 50MW two axis tracking power plant with a total energy output of 128.5 GWh/year would reduce CO2 pollution by 85,581 tonnes of each year. The payback time for the proposed LS-PV photovoltaic power plant was found to be 4 years.
Abstract: The charge-exchange xenon (CEX) ion generated by ion thruster can backflow to the surface of spacecraft and threaten to the safety of spacecraft operation. In order to evaluate the effects of the induced plasma environment in backflow regions on the spacecraft, we designed a spherical single Langmuir probe of 5.8cm in diameter for measuring low-density plasma parameters in backflow region of ion thruster. In practice, the tests are performed in a two-dimensional array (40cm×60cm) composed of 20 sites. The experiment results illustrate that the electron temperature ranges from 3.71eV to 3.96eV, with the mean value of 3.82eV and the standard deviation of 0.064eV. The electron density ranges from 8.30×1012/m3 to 1.66×1013/m3, with the mean value of 1.30×1013/m3 and the standard deviation of 2.15×1012/m3. All data is analyzed according to the “ideal" plasma conditions of Maxwellian distributions.
Abstract: Some physico-chemical characteristics and mineral
composition of 'Karayemis' (Prunus laurocerasus L.) fruits which
grown naturally in Norteast Turkey was studied. 28 minerals ( Al,
Mg, B, Mn, Co, Na, Ca, Ni, Cd, P, Cr, Pb, Cu, S, Fe, Zn, K, Sr, Li,
As, V, Ag, Ba, Br, Ga, In, Se, Ti) were analyzed and 19 minerals
were present at ascertainable levels. Karayemis fruit was richest in
potassium (7938.711 ppm), magnesium (1242.186 ppm) and calcium
(1158.853 ppm). And some physico-chemical characteristics of
Karayemis fruit was investigated. Fruit length, fruit width, fruit
thickness, fruit weight, total soluble solids, colour, protein, crude ash,
crude fiber, crude oil values were determined as 2.334 cm, 1.884 cm,
2.112 cm, 5.35 g, 20.1 %, S99M99Y99, 0.29 %, 0.22 %, 6.63 % and
0.001 %, respectively. The seed of fruit mean weight, length, width
and thickness were found to be 0.41 g, 1.303 cm, 0.921 cm and
0.803, respectively.
Abstract: A new approach for facial expressions recognition based on face context and adaptively weighted sub-pattern PCA (Aw-SpPCA) has been presented in this paper. The facial region and others part of the body have been segmented from the complex environment based on skin color model. An algorithm has been proposed to accurate detection of face region from the segmented image based on constant ratio of height and width of face (δ= 1.618). The paper also discusses on new concept to detect the eye and mouth position. The desired part of the face has been cropped to analysis the expression of a person. Unlike PCA based on a whole image pattern, Aw-SpPCA operates directly on its sub patterns partitioned from an original whole pattern and separately extracts features from them. Aw-SpPCA can adaptively compute the contributions of each part and a classification task in order to enhance the robustness to both expression and illumination variations. Experiments on single standard face with five types of facial expression database shows that the proposed method is competitive.
Abstract: Intensive changes of environment and strong market
competition have raised management of information and knowledge
to the strategic level of companies. In a knowledge based economy
only those organizations are capable of living which have up-to-date,
special knowledge and they are able to exploit and develop it.
Companies have to know what knowledge they have by taking a
survey of organizational knowledge and they have to fix actual and
additional knowledge in organizational memory. The question is how
to identify, acquire, fix and use knowledge effectively. The paper will
show that over and above the tools of information technology
supporting acquisition, storage and use of information and
organizational learning as well as knowledge coming into being as a
result of it, fixing and storage of knowledge in the memory of a
company play an important role in the intelligence of organizations
and competitiveness of a company.
Abstract: This paper features the mathematical modeling of a single input single output based Timoshenko smart beam. Further, this mathematical model is used to design a multirate output feedback based discrete sliding mode controller using Bartoszewicz law to suppress the flexural vibrations. The first 2 dominant vibratory modes is retained. Here, an application of the discrete sliding mode control in smart systems is presented. The algorithm uses a fast output sampling based sliding mode control strategy that would avoid the use of switching in the control input and hence avoids chattering. This method does not need the measurement of the system states for feedback as it makes use of only the output samples for designing the controller. Thus, this methodology is more practical and easy to implement.