Abstract: As the Silicon oxide scaled down in MOSFET
technology to few nanometers, gate Direct Tunneling (DT) in
Floating gate (FGMOSFET) devices has become a major concern for
analog designers. FGMOSFET has been used in many low-voltage
and low-power applications, however, there is no accurate model that
account for DT gate leakage in nano-scale. This paper studied and
analyzed different simulation models for FGMOSFET using TSMC
90-nm technology. The simulation results for FGMOSFET cascade
current mirror shows the impact of DT on circuit performance in
terms of current and voltage without the need for fabrication. This
works shows the significance of using an accurate model for
FGMOSFET in nan-scale technologies.
Abstract: Latin America is probably the region with greater
social inequality, contrary to the amount of rights enshrined in their
constitutions. In the last decade of the twentieth century, the area
resulted in significant changes to democratization and constitutional
changes. Through low-key public policy, political leaders activated
participation in the culture of human rights. The struggle for social
rights in Latin America has been a constant regulation. His
consecration at the constitutional level has chained search
application. The constitutionalization and judicial protection of these
rights have been crucial in countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Peru
and Colombia. This paper presents an analytical view on the
constitutionalization of social rights in the Latin American context
and its justiciability.
Abstract: Tannase (tannin acyl hydrolase, E.C.3.1.1.20) is an
important hydrolysable enzyme with innumerable applications and
industrial potential. In the present study, a kinetic model has been
developed for the batch fermentation used for the production of
tannase by A.flavus MTCC 3783. Maximum tannase activity of
143.30 U/ml was obtained at 96 hours under optimum operating
conditions at 35oC, an initial pH of 5.5 and with an inducer tannic
acid concentration of 3% (w/v) for a fermentation period of 120
hours. The biomass concentration reaches a maximum of 6.62 g/l at
96 hours and further there was no increase in biomass concentration
till the end of the fermentation. Various unstructured kinetic models
were analyzed to simulate the experimental values of microbial
growth, tannase activity and substrate concentration. The Logistic
model for microbial growth , Luedeking - Piret model for production
of tannase and Substrate utilization kinetic model for utilization of
substrate were capable of predicting the fermentation profile with
high coefficient of determination (R2) values of 0.980, 0.942 and
0.983 respectively. The results indicated that the unstructured models
were able to describe the fermentation kinetics more effectively.
Abstract: File sharing in networks is generally achieved using
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications. Structured P2P approaches are
widely used in adhoc networks due to its distributed and scalability
features. Efficient mechanisms are required to handle the huge
amount of data distributed to all peers. The intrinsic characteristics of
P2P system makes for easier content distribution when compared to
client-server architecture. All the nodes in a P2P network act as both
client and server, thus, distributing data takes lesser time when
compared to the client-server method. CHORD protocol is a resource
routing based where nodes and data items are structured into a 1-
dimensional ring. The structured lookup algorithm of Chord is
advantageous for distributed P2P networking applications. However,
structured approach improves lookup performance in a high
bandwidth wired network it could contribute to unnecessary overhead
in overlay networks leading to degradation of network performance.
In this paper, the performance of existing CHORD protocol on
Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) when nodes are static and dynamic
is investigated.
Abstract: This paper applied factor conditions from Porter’s
Diamond Model (1990) to understand the various challenges facing
the AMISA. Factor conditions highlighted in Porter’s model are
grouped into two groups namely, basic and advance factors. Two
AMISA associations representing over 10 000 employees were
interviewed. The largest Clothing, Textiles and Leather (CTL)
apparel retail group was also interviewed with a government
department implementing the industrialization policy were
interviewed. The paper points out that AMISA have basic factor conditions
necessary for competitive advantage in the apparel industries.
However advance factor creation has proven to be a challenge for
AMISA, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and government. Poor
infrastructural maintenance has contributed to high manufacturing
costs and poor quick response technologies. The use of Porter’s
Factor Conditions as a tool to analyze the sector’s competitive
advantage challenges and opportunities has increased knowledge
regarding factors that limit the AMISA’s competitiveness. It is
therefore argued that other studies on Porter’s Diamond model
factors like Demand conditions, Firm strategy, structure and rivalry
and Related and supporting industries can be used to analyze the
situation of the AMISA for the purposes of improving competitive
advantage.
Abstract: Background: Muscle Energy Techniques (MET) have
been widely used by manual therapists over the past years, but still
limited research validated its use and there was limited evidence to
substantiate the theories used to explain its effects. Objective: To
investigate the effect of Muscle Energy Technique (MET) on anterior
pelvic tilt in patients with lumbar spondylosis. Design: Randomized
controlled trial. Subjects: Thirty patients with anterior pelvic tilt from
both sexes were involved, aged between 35 to 50 years old and they
were divided into MET and control groups with 15 patients in each.
Methods: All patients received 3sessions/week for 4 weeks where the
study group received MET, Ultrasound and Infrared, and the control
group received U.S and I.R only. Pelvic angle was measured by
palpation meter, pain severity by the visual analogue scale and
functional disabilities by the Oswestry disability index. Results: Both
groups showed significant improvement in all measured variables.
The MET group was significantly better than the control group in
pelvic angle, pain severity, and functional disability as p-value were
(0.001, 0.0001, 0.0001) respectively. Conclusion and implication: the
study group fulfilled greater improvement in all measured variables
than the control group which implies that application of MET in
combination with U.S and I.R were more effective in improving
pelvic tilting angle, pain severity and functional disabilities than
using electrotherapy only.
Abstract: Workflow scheduling is an important part of cloud
computing and based on different criteria it decides cost, execution
time, and performances. A cloud workflow system is a platform
service facilitating automation of distributed applications based on
new cloud infrastructure. An aspect which differentiates cloud
workflow system from others is market-oriented business model, an
innovation which challenges conventional workflow scheduling
strategies. Time and Cost optimization algorithm for scheduling
Hybrid Clouds (TCHC) algorithm decides which resource should be
chartered from public providers is combined with a new De-De
algorithm considering that every instance of single and multiple
workflows work without deadlocks. To offset this, two new concepts
- De-De Dodging Algorithm and Priority Based Decisive Algorithm -
combine with conventional deadlock avoidance issues by proposing
one algorithm that maximizes active (not just allocated) resource use
and reduces Makespan.
Abstract: In this paper, the secure BioSemantic Scheme is
presented to bridge biological/biomedical research problems and
computational solutions via semantic computing. Due to the diversity
of problems in various research fields, the semantic capability
description language (SCDL) plays and important role as a common
language and generic form for problem formalization. SCDL is
expected the essential for future semantic and logical computing in
Biosemantic field. We show several example to Biomedical problems
in this paper. Moreover, in the coming age of cloud computing, the
security problem is considered to be crucial issue and we presented a
practical scheme to cope with this problem.
Abstract: This paper presents thermal annealing de-wetting
technique for the preparation of porous metal membrane for Thin
Film Encapsulation (TFE) application. Thermal annealing de-wetting
experimental results reveal that pore size formation in porous metal
membrane depend upon i.e. 1. The substrate at which metal is
deposited, 2. Melting point of metal used for porous metal cap layer
membrane formation, 3. Thickness of metal used for cap layer, 4.
Temperature used for formation of porous metal membrane. In order
to demonstrate this technique, Silver (Ag) was used as a metal for
preparation of porous metal membrane on amorphous silicon (a-Si)
and silicon oxide. The annealing of the silver thin film of various
thicknesses was performed at different temperature. Pores in porous
silver film were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM). In order to check the usefulness of porous metal film for TFE
application, the porous silver film prepared on amorphous silicon (a-
Si) and silicon oxide was released using XeF2 and VHF, respectively.
Finally, guide line and structures are suggested to use this porous
membrane for robust TFE application.
Abstract: The purpose of this project is to propose a quick and
environmentally friendly alternative to measure the quality of oils
used in food industry. There is evidence that repeated and
indiscriminate use of oils in food processing cause physicochemical
changes with formation of potentially toxic compounds that can
affect the health of consumers and cause organoleptic changes. In
order to assess the quality of oils, non-destructive optical techniques
such as Interferometry offer a rapid alternative to the use of reagents,
using only the interaction of light on the oil. Through this project, we
used interferograms of samples of oil placed under different heating
conditions to establish the changes in their quality. These
interferograms were obtained by means of a Mach-Zehnder
Interferometer using a beam of light from a HeNe laser of 10mW at
632.8nm. Each interferogram was captured, analyzed and measured
full width at half-maximum (FWHM) using the software from
Amcap and ImageJ. The total of FWHMs was organized in three
groups. It was observed that the average obtained from each of the
FWHMs of group A shows a behavior that is almost linear, therefore
it is probable that the exposure time is not relevant when the oil is
kept under constant temperature. Group B exhibits a slight
exponential model when temperature raises between 373 K and 393
K. Results of the t-Student show a probability of 95% (0.05) of the
existence of variation in the molecular composition of both samples.
Furthermore, we found a correlation between the Iodine Indexes
(Physicochemical Analysis) and the Interferograms (Optical
Analysis) of group C. Based on these results, this project highlights
the importance of the quality of the oils used in food industry and
shows how Interferometry can be a useful tool for this purpose.
Abstract: Nowadays, several research studies point up that an
active lifestyle is essential for physical and mental health benefits.
Mobile phones have greatly influenced people’s habits and attitudes
also in the way they exercise. Our research work is mainly focused on
investigating how to exploit mobile technologies to favour people’s
exertion experience. To this end, we developed an exertion framework
users can exploit through a real world mobile application, called
EverywhereSport Run (EWRun), designed to act as a virtual personal
trainer to support runners during their trainings. In this work, inspired
by both previous findings in the field of interaction design for people
with visual impairments, feedback gathered from real users of our
framework, and positive results obtained from two experimentations,
we present some new interaction facilities we designed to enhance
the interaction experience during a training. The positive obtained
results helped us to derive some interaction design recommendations
we believe will be a valid support for designers of future mobile
systems conceived to be used in circumstances where there are limited
possibilities of interaction.
Abstract: The development of electric vehicle batteries have
resulted in very high energy density lithium-ion batteries. However,
this progress is accompanied by the risk of thermal runaway, which
can result in serious accidents. Heat pipes are heat exchangers that
are suitable to be applied in electric vehicle battery thermal
management for their lightweight, compact size and do not require
external power supply. This paper aims to examine experimentally a
Flat Plate Loop Heat Pipe (FPLHP) performance as a heat exchanger
in thermal management system of lithium-ion battery for electric
vehicle application. The heat generation of the battery was simulated
using a cartridge heater. Stainless steel screen mesh was used as the
capillary wick. Distilled water, alcohol and acetone were used as
working fluids with a filling ratio of 60%. It was found that acetone
gives the best performance that produces thermal resistance of 0.22
W/°C with 50°C evaporator temperature at heat flux load of 1.61
W/cm2.
Abstract: Based on application requirements, nodes are static or
mobile in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Mobility poses
challenges in protocol design, especially at the link layer requiring
mobility adaptation algorithms to localize mobile nodes and predict
link quality to be established with them. This study implements
XMAC and Berkeley Media Access Control (BMAC) routing
protocols to evaluate performance under WSN’s static and mobility
conditions. This paper gives a comparative study of mobility-aware
MAC protocols. Routing protocol performance, based on Average
End to End Delay, Average Packet Delivery Ratio, Average Number
of hops, and Jitter is evaluated.
Abstract: To tackle the air pollution issues, Plug-in Hybrid
Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are proposed as an appropriate solution.
Charging a large amount of PHEV batteries, if not controlled, would
have negative impacts on the distribution system. The control process
of charging of these vehicles can be centralized in parking lots that
may provide a chance for better coordination than the individual
charging in houses. In this paper, an optimization-based approach is
proposed to determine the optimum PHEV parking capacities in
candidate nodes of the distribution system. In so doing, a profile for
charging and discharging of PHEVs is developed in order to flatten
the network load profile. Then, this profile is used in solving an
optimization problem to minimize the distribution system losses. The
outputs of the proposed method are the proper place for PHEV
parking lots and optimum capacity for each parking. The application
of the proposed method on the IEEE-34 node test feeder verifies the
effectiveness of the method.
Abstract: Application of biochar to arable soils represents a new
approach to restore soil health and quality. Many studies reported the
positive effect of biochar application on soil fertility and
development of soil microbial community. Moreover biochar may
affect the soil water retention, but this effect has not been sufficiently
described yet. Therefore this study deals with the influence of
biochar application on: microbial activities in soil, availability of
mineral nitrogen in soil for microorganisms, mineral nitrogen
retention and plant production. To demonstrate the effect of biochar
addition on the above parameters, the pot experiment was realized.
As a model crop, Lactuca sativa L. was used and cultivated from
December 10th 2014 till March 22th 2015 in climate chamber in
thoroughly homogenized arable soil with and without addition of
biochar. Five variants of experiment (V1 – V5) with different regime
of irrigation were prepared. Variants V1 – V2 were fertilized by
mineral nitrogen, V3 – V4 by biochar and V5 was a control. The
significant differences were found only in plant production and
mineral nitrogen retention. The highest content of mineral nitrogen
in soil was detected in V1 and V2, about 250 % in comparison with
the other variants. The positive effect of biochar application on soil
fertility, mineral nitrogen availability was not found. On the other
hand results of plant production indicate the possible positive effect
of biochar application on soil water retention.
Abstract: In order to study the effect of different levels of triple
super phosphate chemical fertilizer and biological phosphate fertilizer
(fertile 2) on some morphological traits of corn this research was
carried out in Ahvaz in 2002 as a factorial experiment in randomized
complete block design with 4 replications). The experiment included
two factors: first, biological phosphate fertilizer (fertile 2) at three
levels of 0, 100, 200 g/ha; second, triple super phosphate chemical
fertilizer at three levels of 0, 60, 90 kg/ha of pure phosphorus (P2O5).
The obtained results indicated that fertilizer treatments had a
significant effect on some morphological traits at 1% probability
level. In this regard, P2B2 treatment (100 g/ha biological phosphate
fertilizer (fertile 2) and 60 kg/ha triple super phosphate fertilizer) had
the greatest plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and ear
length. It seems that in Ahvaz weather conditions, decrease of
consumption of triple superphosphate chemical fertilizer to less than
a half along with the consumption of biological phosphate fertilizer
(fertile 2) is highly important in order to achieve optimal results.
Therefore, it can be concluded that biological fertilizers can be used
as a suitable substitute for some of the chemical fertilizers in
sustainable agricultural systems.
Abstract: The current paper presents an extensive bottom-up
framework for assessing building sector-specific vulnerability to
climate change: energy supply and demand. The research focuses on
the application of downscaled seasonal models for estimating energy
performance of buildings in Greece. The ARW-WRF model has
been set-up and suitably parameterized to produce downscaled
climatological fields for Greece, forced by the output of the CFSv2
model. The outer domain, D01/Europe, included 345 x 345 cells of
horizontal resolution 20 x 20 km2 and the inner domain, D02/Greece,
comprised 180 x 180 cells of 5 x 5 km2 horizontal resolution. The
model run has been setup for a period with a forecast horizon of 6
months, storing outputs on a six hourly basis.
Abstract: Most of the existing video streaming protocols
provide video services without considering security aspects in
decentralized mobile ad-hoc networks. The security policies adapted
to the currently existing non-streaming protocols, do not comply with
the live video streaming protocols resulting in considerable
vulnerability, high bandwidth consumption and unreliability which
cause severe security threats, low bandwidth and error prone
transmission respectively in video streaming applications. Therefore
a synergized methodology is required to reduce vulnerability and
bandwidth consumption, and enhance reliability in the video
streaming applications in MANET. To ensure the security measures
with reduced bandwidth consumption and improve reliability of the
video streaming applications, a Secure Low-bandwidth Video
Streaming through Reliable Multipath Propagation (SLVRMP)
protocol architecture has been proposed by incorporating the two
algorithms namely Secure Low-bandwidth Video Streaming
Algorithm and Reliable Secure Multipath Propagation Algorithm
using Layered Video Coding in non-overlapping zone routing
network topology. The performances of the proposed system are
compared to those of the other existing secure multipath protocols
Sec-MR, SPREAD using NS 2.34 and the simulation results show
that the performances of the proposed system get considerably
improved.
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to present the diagnostic
contribution that the screening instrument, Mini-Mental State
Examination-2: Expanded Version (MMSE-2:EV), brings in
detecting the cognitive impairment or in monitoring the progress of
degenerative disorders. The diagnostic signification is underlined by
the interpretation of the MMSE-2:EV scores, resulted from the test
application to patients with mild and major neurocognitive disorders.
The cases were selected from current practice, in order to cover vast
and significant neurocognitive pathology: mild cognitive impairment,
Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, mixed dementia, Parkinson’s
disease, conversion of the mild cognitive impairment into
Alzheimer’s disease. The MMSE-2:EV version was used: it was
applied one month after the initial assessment, three months after the
first reevaluation and then every six months, alternating the blue and
red forms. Correlated with age and educational level, the raw scores
were converted in T scores and then, with the mean and the standard
deviation, the z scores were calculated. The differences of raw scores
between the evaluations were analyzed from the point of view of
statistic signification, in order to establish the progression in time of
the disease. The results indicated that the psycho-diagnostic approach
for the evaluation of the cognitive impairment with MMSE-2:EV is
safe and the application interval is optimal. In clinical settings with a
large flux of patients, the application of the MMSE-2:EV is a safe
and fast psychodiagnostic solution. The clinicians can draw objective
decisions and for the patients: it does not take too much time and
energy, it does not bother them and it doesn’t force them to travel
frequently.
Abstract: The MEMS pressure sensor has been introduced and
presented in this paper. The types of pressure sensor and its theory of
operation are also included. The latest MEMS technology, the
fabrication processes of pressure sensor are explored and discussed.
Besides, various device applications of pressure sensor such as tire
pressure-monitoring system, diesel particulate filter and others are
explained. Due to further miniaturization of the device nowadays, the
pressure sensor with nanotechnology (NEMS) is also reviewed. The
NEMS pressure sensor is expected to have better performance as well
as lower in its cost. It has gained an excellent popularity in many
applications.