Abstract: This paper presents a linear-elastic finite element method based flattening algorithm for three dimensional triangular surfaces. First, an intrinsic characteristic preserving method is used to obtain the initial developing graph, which preserves the angles and length ratios between two adjacent edges. Then, an iterative equation is established based on linear-elastic finite element method and the flattening result with an equilibrium state of internal force is obtained by solving this iterative equation. The results show that complex surfaces can be dealt with this proposed method, which is an efficient tool for the applications in computer aided design, such as mould design.
Abstract: The computer has become an essential tool in modern
life, and the combined use of a computer with a projector is very
common in teaching and presentations. However, as typical computer
operating devices involve a mouse or keyboard, when making
presentations, users often need to stay near the computer to execute
functions such as changing pages, writing, and drawing, thus, making
the operation time-consuming, and reducing interactions with the
audience. This paper proposes a laser pointer interaction system able
to simulate mouse functions in order that users need not remain near
the computer, but can directly use laser pointer operations from at a
distance. It can effectively reduce the users- time spent by the
computer, allowing for greater interactions with the audience.
Abstract: This work explores blind image deconvolution by recursive function approximation based on supervised learning of neural networks, under the assumption that a degraded image is linear convolution of an original source image through a linear shift-invariant (LSI) blurring matrix. Supervised learning of neural networks of radial basis functions (RBF) is employed to construct an embedded recursive function within a blurring image, try to extract non-deterministic component of an original source image, and use them to estimate hyper parameters of a linear image degradation model. Based on the estimated blurring matrix, reconstruction of an original source image from a blurred image is further resolved by an annealed Hopfield neural network. By numerical simulations, the proposed novel method is shown effective for faithful estimation of an unknown blurring matrix and restoration of an original source image.
Abstract: The lifelong learning is a crucial element in the
modernization of European education and training systems. The most
important actors in the development process of the lifelong learning
are the trainers, whose professional characteristics need new
competences and skills in the current labour market. The main
objective of this paper is to establish an importance ranking of the
new competences, capabilities and skills that the lifelong learning
Spanish trainers must possess nowadays. A wide study of secondary
sources has allowed the design of a questionnaire that organizes the
trainer-s skills and competences. The e-Delphi method is used for
realizing a creative, individual and anonymous evaluation by experts
on the importance ranking that presents the criteria, sub-criteria and
indicators of the e-Delphi questionnaire. Twenty Spanish experts in
the lifelong learning have participated in two rounds of the e-
DELPHI method. In the first round, the analysis of the experts-
evaluation has allowed to establish the ranking of the most
importance criteria, sub-criteria and indicators and to eliminate the
least valued. The minimum level necessary to reach the consensus
among experts has been achieved in the second round.
Abstract: Rarefied gas flows are often occurred in micro electro
mechanical systems and classical CFD could not precisely anticipate
the flow and thermal behavior due to the high Knudsen number.
Therefore, the heat transfer and the fluid dynamics characteristics of
rarefied gas flows in both a two-dimensional simple microchannel
and geometry similar to single Knudsen compressor have been
investigated with a goal of increasing performance of a actual
Knudsen compressor by using a particle simulation method. Thermal
transpiration and thermal creep, which are rarefied gas dynamic
phenomena, that cause movement of the flow from less to higher
temperature is generated by using two different longitude temperature
gradients (Linear, Step) along the walls of the flow microchannel. In
this study the influence of amount of temperature gradient and
governing pressure in various Knudsen numbers and length-to-height
ratios have been examined.
Abstract: The right to housing is a basic need while good
quality and affordable housing is a reflection of a high quality of life.
However, housing remains a major problem for most, especially for
the bottom billions. Satisfaction on housing and neighbourhood
conditions are one of the important indicators that reflect quality of
life. These indicators are also important in the process of evaluating
housing policy with the objective to increase the quality of housing
and neighbourhood. The research method is purely based on a
quantitative method, using a survey. The findings show that housing
purchasing trend in urban Malaysia is determined by demographic
profiles, mainly by education level, age, gender and income. The
period of housing ownership also influenced the socio-cultural
interactions and satisfaction of house owners with their
neighbourhoods. The findings also show that the main concerns for
house buyers in urban areas are price and location of the house.
Respondents feel that houses in urban Malaysia is too expensive and
beyond their affordability. Location of houses and distance from
work place are also regarded as the main concern. However,
respondents are fairly satisfied with religious and socio-cultural
facilities in the housing areas and most importantly not many regard
ethnicity as an issue in their decision-making, when buying a house.
Abstract: This paper proposes a new parameter identification
method based on Linear Fractional Transformation (LFT). It is
assumed that the target linear system includes unknown parameters.
The parameter deviations are separated from a nominal system via
LFT, and identified by organizing I/O signals around the separated
deviations of the real system. The purpose of this paper is to apply LFT
to simultaneously identify the parameter deviations in systems with
fewer outputs than unknown parameters. As a fundamental example,
this method is implemented to one degree of freedom vibratory system.
Via LFT, all physical parameters were simultaneously identified in this
system. Then, numerical simulations were conducted for this system to
verify the results. This study shows that all the physical parameters of a
system with fewer outputs than unknown parameters can be effectively
identified simultaneously using LFT.
Abstract: The transient thermoelastic response of thick hollow cylinder made of functionally graded material under thermal loading is studied. The generalized coupled thermoelasticity based on the Green-Lindsay model is used. The thermal and mechanical properties of the functionally graded material are assumed to be varied in the radial direction according to a power law variation as a function of the volume fractions of the constituents. The thermal and elastic governing equations are solved by using Galerkin finite element method. All the finite element calculations were done by using commercial finite element program FlexPDE. The transient temperature, radial displacement, and thermal stresses distribution through the radial direction of the cylinder are plotted.
Abstract: Fluids are used for heat transfer in many engineering
equipments. Water, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are some
of the common heat transfer fluids. Over the years, in an attempt to
reduce the size of the equipment and/or efficiency of the process,
various techniques have been employed to improve the heat transfer
rate of these fluids. Surface modification, use of inserts and
increased fluid velocity are some examples of heat transfer
enhancement techniques. Addition of milli or micro sized particles
to the heat transfer fluid is another way of improving heat transfer
rate. Though this looks simple, this method has practical problems
such as high pressure loss, clogging and erosion of the material of
construction. These problems can be overcome by using nanofluids,
which is a dispersion of nanosized particles in a base fluid.
Nanoparticles increase the thermal conductivity of the base fluid
manifold which in turn increases the heat transfer rate. In this work,
the heat transfer enhancement using aluminium oxide nanofluid has
been studied by computational fluid dynamic modeling of the
nanofluid flow adopting the single phase approach.
Abstract: Mechanical interaction between endothelial cells (ECs) and the extracellular matrix (or collagen gel) is known to influence the sprouting response of endothelial cells during angiogenesis. This influence is believed to impact on the capability of endothelial cells to sense soluble chemical cues. Quantitative analysis of endothelial-cell-mediated displacement of the collagen gel provides a means to explore this mechanical interaction. Existing analysis in this context is generally limited to 2D settings. In this paper, we investigate the mechanical interaction between endothelial cells and the extracellular matrix in terms of the endothelial-cellmediated displacement of the collagen gel in both 2D and 3D. Digital image correlation and Digital volume correlation are applied on confocal reflectance image stacks to analyze cell-mediated displacement of the gel. The skeleton of the sprout is extracted from phase contrast images and superimposed on the displacement field to further investigate the link between the development of the sprout and the displacement of the gel.
Abstract: A simple and dexterous in situ method was introduced to load CdS nanocrystals into organofunctionalized mesoporous, which used an ion-exchange method. The products were extensively characterized by combined spectroscopic methods. X- ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) demonstrated both the maintenance of pore symmetry (space group p6mm) of SBA-15 and the presence of CdS nanocrystals with uniform sizes of about 6 - 8 nm inside the functionalized SBA-15 channels. These mesoporous silica-supported CdS composites showed room temperature photoluminescence properties with a blue shift, indicating the quantum size effect of nanocrystalline CdS.
Abstract: In this paper, a new K-means clustering based
approach for identification of voltage control areas is developed.
Voltage control areas are important for efficient reactive power
management in power systems operating under deregulated
environment. Although, voltage control areas are formed using
conventional hierarchical clustering based method, but the present
paper investigate the capability of K-means clustering for the
purpose of forming voltage control areas. The proposed method is
tested and compared for IEEE 14 bus and IEEE 30 bus systems. The
results show that this K-means based method is competing with
conventional hierarchical approach
Abstract: Power flow (PF) study, which is performed to
determine the power system static states (voltage magnitudes and
voltage angles) at each bus to find the steady state operating
condition of a system, is very important and is the most frequently
carried out study by power utilities for power system planning,
operation and control. In this paper, a counterpropagation neural
network (CPNN) is proposed to solve power flow problem under
different loading/contingency conditions for computing bus voltage
magnitudes and angles of the power system. The counterpropagation
network uses a different mapping strategy namely
counterpropagation and provides a practical approach for
implementing a pattern mapping task, since learning is fast in this
network. The composition of the input variables for the proposed
neural network has been selected to emulate the solution process of a
conventional power flow program. The effectiveness of the proposed
CPNN based approach for solving power flow is demonstrated by
computation of bus voltage magnitudes and voltage angles for
different loading conditions and single line-outage contingencies in
IEEE 14-bus system.
Abstract: Multi-agent system is composed by several agents
capable of reaching the goal cooperatively. The system needs an agent
platform for efficient and stable interaction between intelligent agents.
In this paper we propose a flexible and scalable agent platform by
composing the containers with multiple hierarchical agent groups. It
also allows efficient implementation of multiple domain presentations
of the agents unlike JADE. The proposed platform provides both
group management and individual management of agents for
efficiency. The platform has been implemented and tested, and it can
be used as a flexible foundation of the dynamic multi-agent system
targeting seamless delivery of ubiquitous services.
Abstract: This work presents a multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) model based on the desirability function approach for solving the aggregate production planning (APP) decision problem upon Masud and Hwang-s model. The proposed model minimises total production costs, carrying or backordering costs and rates of change in labor levels. An industrial case demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed model to the APP problems with three scenarios of inventory levels. The proposed model yields an efficient compromise solution and the overall levels of DM satisfaction with the multiple combined response levels. There has been a trend to solve complex planning problems using various metaheuristics. Therefore, in this paper, the multi-objective APP problem is solved by hybrid metaheuristics of the hunting search (HuSIHSA) and firefly (FAIHSA) mechanisms on the improved harmony search algorithm. Results obtained from the solution of are then compared. It is observed that the FAIHSA can be used as a successful alternative solution mechanism for solving APP problems over three scenarios. Furthermore, the FAIHSA provides a systematic framework for facilitating the decision-making process, enabling a decision maker interactively to modify the desirability function approach and related model parameters until a good optimal solution is obtained with proper selection of control parameters when compared.
Abstract: Hepatitis C is an infectious disease transmitted by
blood and due to hepatitis C virus (HCV), which attacks the liver.
The infection is characterized by liver inflammation (hepatitis) that is
often asymptomatic but can progress to chronic hepatitis and later
cirrhosis and liver cancer. Our problem tends to highlight on the one
hand the prevalence of infectious disease in the population of the
region of Batna and on other hand the biological characteristics of
this disease by a screening and a specific diagnosis based on
serological tests, liver checkup (measurement of haematological and
biochemical parameters).
The results showed:
The serology of hepatitis C establishes the diagnosis of infection
with hepatitis C. In this study and with the serological test, 24 cases
of the disease of hepatitis C were found in 1000 suspected cases (7
cases with normal transaminases and 17 cases with elevated
transaminases). The prevalence of this disease in this study
population was 2.4%.
The presence of hepatitis C disrupts liver function including the
onset of cytolysis, cholestasis, jaundice, thrombocytopenia, and
coagulation disorders.
Abstract: Human activity is a major concern in a wide variety of
applications, such as video surveillance, human computer interface
and face image database management. Detecting and recognizing
faces is a crucial step in these applications. Furthermore, major
advancements and initiatives in security applications in the past years
have propelled face recognition technology into the spotlight. The
performance of existing face recognition systems declines significantly
if the resolution of the face image falls below a certain level.
This is especially critical in surveillance imagery where often, due to
many reasons, only low-resolution video of faces is available. If these
low-resolution images are passed to a face recognition system, the
performance is usually unacceptable. Hence, resolution plays a key
role in face recognition systems. In this paper we introduce a new
low resolution face recognition system based on mixture of expert
neural networks. In order to produce the low resolution input images
we down-sampled the 48 × 48 ORL images to 12 × 12 ones using
the nearest neighbor interpolation method and after that applying
the bicubic interpolation method yields enhanced images which is
given to the Principal Component Analysis feature extractor system.
Comparison with some of the most related methods indicates that
the proposed novel model yields excellent recognition rate in low
resolution face recognition that is the recognition rate of 100% for
the training set and 96.5% for the test set.
Abstract: The development of Internet technology in recent years has led to a more active role of users in creating Web content. This has significant effects both on individual learning and collaborative knowledge building. This paper will present an integrative framework model to describe and explain learning and knowledge building with shared digital artifacts on the basis of Luhmann-s systems theory and Piaget-s model of equilibration. In this model, knowledge progress is based on cognitive conflicts resulting from incongruities between an individual-s prior knowledge and the information which is contained in a digital artifact. Empirical support for the model will be provided by 1) applying it descriptively to texts from Wikipedia, 2) examining knowledge-building processes using a social network analysis, and 3) presenting a survey of a series of experimental laboratory studies.
Abstract: In the urban traffic network, the intersections are the
“bottleneck point" of road network capacity. And the arterials are the
main body in road network and the key factor which guarantees the
normal operation of the city-s social and economic activities. The
rapid increase in vehicles leads to seriously traffic jam and cause the
increment of vehicles- delay. Most cities of our country are
traditional single control system, which cannot meet the need for the
city traffic any longer. In this paper, Synchro6.0 as a platform to
minimize the intersection delay, optimizesingle signal cycle and split
for Zhonghua Street in Handan City. Meanwhile, linear control
system uses to optimize the phase for the t arterial road in this
system. Comparing before and after use the control, capacities and
service levels of this road and the adjacent road have improved
significantly.
Abstract: The mineral having chemical compositional formula MgAl2O4 is called “spinel". The ferrites crystallize in spinel structure are known as spinel-ferrites or ferro-spinels. The spinel structure has a fcc cage of oxygen ions and the metallic cations are distributed among tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) interstitial voids (sites). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) intensity of each Bragg plane is sensitive to the distribution of cations in the interstitial voids of the spinel lattice. This leads to the method of determination of distribution of cations in the spinel oxides through XRD intensity analysis. The computer program for XRD intensity analysis has been developed in C language and also tested for the real experimental situation by synthesizing the spinel ferrite materials Mg0.6Zn0.4AlxFe2- xO4 and characterized them by X-ray diffractometry. The compositions of Mg0.6Zn0.4AlxFe2-xO4(x = 0.0 to 0.6) ferrites have been prepared by ceramic method and powder X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded. Thus, the authenticity of the program is checked by comparing the theoretically calculated data using computer simulation with the experimental ones. Further, the deduced cation distributions were used to fit the magnetization data using Localized canting of spins approach to explain the “recovery" of collinear spin structure due to Al3+ - substitution in Mg-Zn ferrites which is the case if A-site magnetic dilution and non-collinear spin structure. Since the distribution of cations in the spinel ferrites plays a very important role with regard to their electrical and magnetic properties, it is essential to determine the cation distribution in spinel lattice.