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: In this paper a new robust and efficient algorithm to automatic text extraction from colored book and journal cover sheets is proposed. First, we perform wavelet transform. Next for edge detecting from detail wavelet coefficient, we use dynamic threshold. By blurring approximate coefficients with alternative heuristic thresholding, achieve effective edge,. Afterward, with ROI technique get binary image. Finally text boxes would be extracted with new projection profile.
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: Green Forestation Plan (GFP) was expected to promote the reforestation of plains totaling 60,000 has within the first 8 years. Annual subsidies were budgeted at $120,000 per ha, and $2.4 million for 20 years. In this research we have surveyed landlords- opinions toward the GFP in an attempt to understand landlords- incentives for participating in the GFP and their levels of concern and agreement toward the policy design. Based our analysis of landlords- opinions on the policy design, we expect to derive appropriate complementary measures, establish effective promotional schemes, and raise the policy effectiveness of the GFP. According to the results of this research, there was still a relatively high proportion of population who were not aware of GFP; more than 50% of landlords were neutral or willing to participate given high reforestation subsidies; approximately 30% of landlords were unwilling to participate. In terms of the designs of GFP, more than 50% of respondents were concerned and agreed with the policy design. In terms of the period of this policy, 52.7% of respondents indicated that it should be shortened to 15 years or lower. In terms of the amount of the subsidy, 41.7% of respondents showed that it should be raised to approximately $250,000/ha. In terms of land area restrictions, 88.0% of respondents believed that the minimum should be lowered to 0.4 ha. More than 70% of respondents owned less than 0.4 has of land, and since they do not own enough land to be eligible for the program, more than 80% of landlords wished to lower the minimum requirements of land area. In addition, 59.3% of respondents were reluctant to participate in reforestation because their lands were too small to be eligible; 15.0% of respondents were reluctant because the duration was too long. Responses to the question about “how the policy can be adjusted to provide incentives for landlords- participation" revealed that almost 40% of respondents desired higher subsidies. Some policy suggestions are provided as follows: (1) many landlords are still unaware of the GFP so the government should enhance the promotion of the policy; (2) many landlords are unwilling to participate in GFP mainly because they do not own enough lands to be eligible, hence the government should consider adjusting its requirements for minimum agricultural land area; (3) for subsequent promotions on GFP, the government may consider targeting on the landlords with high income and high level of education; (4) because the subsidy of this policy alone provides limited help to landlords, the government should help the landlords to explore other revenue possibilities from afforestation in addition to the existing subsidies and raise the participation incentives.
Abstract: Limited competition has been a serious concern in infrastructure procurement. Importantly, however, there are normally a number of potential bidders initially showing interest in proposed projects. This paper focuses on tackling the question why these initially interested bidders fade out. An empirical problem is that no bids of fading-out firms are observable. They could decide not to enter the process at the beginning of the tendering or may be technically disqualified at any point in the selection process. The paper applies the double selection model to procurement data from road development projects in developing countries and shows that competition ends up restricted, because bidders are self-selective and auctioneers also tend to limit participation depending on the size of contracts.Limited competition would likely lead to high infrastructure procurement costs, threatening fiscal sustainability and economic growth.
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: This paper presents the simulation results of electric field and potential distributions along surface of silicone rubber polymer insulators under clean and various contamination conditions with/without water droplets. Straight sheds insulator having leakage distance 290 mm was used in this study. Two type of contaminants, playwood dust and cement dust, have been studied the effect of contamination on the insulator surface. The objective of this work is to comparison the effect of contamination on potential and electric field distributions along the insulator surface when water droplets exist on the insulator surface. Finite element method (FEM) is adopted for this work. The simulation results show that contaminations have no effect on potential distribution along the insulator surface while electric field distributions are obviously depended on contamination conditions.
Abstract: Rapid economic development and population growth
in Malaysia had accelerated the generation of solid waste. This issue
gives pressure for effective management of municipal solid waste
(MSW) to take place in Malaysia due to the increased cost of landfill.
This paper discusses optimal planning of waste-to-energy (WTE)
using a combinatorial simulation and optimization model through
mixed integer linear programming (MILP) approach. The proposed
multi-period model is tested in Iskandar Malaysia (IM) as case study
for a period of 12 years (2011 -2025) to illustrate the economic
potential and tradeoffs involved in this study. In this paper, 3
scenarios have been used to demonstrate the applicability of the
model: (1) Incineration scenario (2) Landfill scenario (3) Optimal
scenario. The model revealed that the minimum cost of electricity
generation from 9,995,855 tonnes of MSW is estimated as USD
387million with a total electricity generation of 50MW /yr in the
optimal scenario.
Abstract: The present study aims to explore the role of parents'
ethnic socialization practices contributes to the ethnic identity
development, self-esteem and psychological adjustment of multi
ethnic children in Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 342 multi ethnic
children (age range = 10 years old to 14 years old; mean age = 12.65
years, SD = 0.88) and their parents participated in the present study.
The modified version of Multi group Ethnic Identity Measure
(MEIM), The Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM). The
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and Behavioral and Emotional
Rating Scale Edition 2 (BERS-2) were used in this study. The results
showed that: i) parents' ethnic socialization practice was a strong
predictor of ethnic identity development of multi ethnic children; ii)
parents' ethnic socialization practice also was a significant predictor
of self-esteem of multi ethnic children; iii) parents' ethnic
socialization practice was not a significant predictor of psychological
adjustment of multi ethnic children. The results of this study showed
the implications parents' ethnic socialization practices and ethnic
identity development in successful multi ethnic families.
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: Although so far, many methods for ranking fuzzy numbers
have been discussed broadly, most of them contained some shortcomings,
such as requirement of complicated calculations, inconsistency
with human intuition and indiscrimination. The motivation of
this study is to develop a model for ranking fuzzy numbers based
on the lexicographical ordering which provides decision-makers with
a simple and efficient algorithm to generate an ordering founded on
a precedence. The main emphasis here is put on the ease of use
and reliability. The effectiveness of the proposed method is finally
demonstrated by including a comprehensive comparing different
ranking methods with the present one.
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: The importance of happiness understanding research is caused by cardinal changes experiences in system of people values in the post-Soviet countries territory. «The time of changes», which characterized with destruction of old values and not creativeness of new, stimulating experiences by the person of existential vacuum. The given research is actual not only in connection with sense formation, but also in connection with necessity creatively to adapt in integrative space. According to numerous works [1,2,3], we define happiness as the peak experience connected with satisfaction correlated system of needs, dependent on style of subject's coping behavior.
Abstract: The development of Web has affected different aspects of our lives, such as communication, sharing knowledge, searching for jobs, social activities, etc. The web portal as a gateway in the World Wide Web is a starting point for people who are connecting to the Internet. The web portal as the type of knowledge management system provides a rich space to share and search information as well as communication services like free email or content provision for the users. This research aims to discover the university needs to the web portal as a necessary tool for students in the universities to help them in getting the required information. A survey was conducted to gather students' requirements which can be incorporated in to portal to be developed.
Abstract: Clinically, chickens showed progressively developed
clinical signs represented by sever cyanosis of the comb and wattles
with hemorrhage at the shanks, depression, and ruffling feathers with
loss of appetite and high daily mortalities. The ducks showed severe
neurological signs as torticollus, seizures and inability to stand with
mild signs of diarrhea and depression. Grossly, chickens showed
hemorrhages and congestion in most of the organs particularly lung,
liver, spleen, trachea and kidney. The examined ducks showed
multiple petechial hemorrhages, multifocal hemorrhagic necrosis in
the pancreas, pulmonary edema, congestion and hemorrhage in
meninges and congestion in the skeletal muscles. Histopathology
revealed severe congestion and hemorrhages in most of the organs
particularly lung, liver and kidney. Microscopic erosive tracheitis,
sever pulmonary congestion and perivascular oedema and lymphogranulocytic
pneumonia were constant. The liver showed hepatocyts
necrosis and lympho-granulocytic infiltration. The kidney showed
renal tubular necrosis and diffuse congestion. Multifocal, neuronal
necrosis, hemorrhages, multifocal glial nodules, lympho- histiocytic
perivascular cuffing, and occasional neuronophagia were observed in
the cerebrum. Other organs showed moderate changes.
Abstract: The present study focuses on the discussion over the
parameter of Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Sensitivity analysis is
applied to assess the effect of the parameters of ANN on the prediction
of turbidity of raw water in the water treatment plant. The result shows
that transfer function of hidden layer is a critical parameter of ANN.
When the transfer function changes, the reliability of prediction of
water turbidity is greatly different. Moreover, the estimated water
turbidity is less sensitive to training times and learning velocity than
the number of neurons in the hidden layer. Therefore, it is important to
select an appropriate transfer function and suitable number of neurons
in the hidden layer in the process of parameter training and validation.
Abstract: With the advent of social web initiatives, some argued
that these new emerging tools might be useful in tacit knowledge
sharing through providing interactive and collaborative technologies.
However, there is still a poverty of literature to understand how and
what might be the contributions of social media in facilitating tacit
knowledge sharing. Therefore, this paper is intended to theoretically
investigate and map social media concepts and characteristics with
tacit knowledge creation and sharing requirements. By conducting a
systematic literature review, five major requirements found that need
to be present in an environment that involves tacit knowledge
sharing. These requirements have been analyzed against social media
concepts and characteristics to see how they map together. The
results showed that social media have abilities to comply some of the
main requirements of tacit knowledge sharing. The relationships have
been illustrated in a conceptual framework, suggesting further
empirical studies to acknowledge findings of this study.