Abstract: Arbitrarily shaped video objects are an important
concept in modern video coding methods. The techniques presently
used are not based on image elements but rather video objects having
an arbitrary shape. In this paper, spatial shape error concealment
techniques to be used for object-based image in error-prone
environments are proposed. We consider a geometric shape
representation consisting of the object boundary, which can be
extracted from the α-plane. Three different approaches are used to
replace a missing boundary segment: Bézier interpolation, Bézier
approximation and NURBS approximation. Experimental results on
object shape with different concealment difficulty demonstrate the
performance of the proposed methods. Comparisons with proposed
methods are also presented.
Abstract: The multi-agent system for processing Bio-signals
will help the medical practitioners to have a standard examination
procedure stored in web server. Web Servers supporting any standard
Search Engine follow all possible combinations of the search
keywords as an input by the user to a Search Engine. As a result, a
huge number of Web-pages are shown in the Web browser. It also
helps the medical practitioner to interact with the expert in the field
his need in order to make a proper judgment in the diagnosis phase
[3].A web server uses a web server plug in to establish and
maintained the medical practitioner to make a fast analysis. If the
user uses the web server client can get a related data requesting their
search. DB agent, EEG / ECG / EMG agents- user placed with
difficult aspects for updating medical information-s in web server.
Abstract: Interventional cardiologists are at greater risk from
radiation exposure as a result of the procedures they undertake than
most other medical specialists. A study was performed to evaluate
operator dose during interventional cardiology procedures and to
establish methods of operator dose reduction with a radiation
protective device. Different procedure technique and use of
protective tools can explain big difference in the annual equivalent
dose received by the professionals. Strategies to prevent and
monitor radiation exposure, advanced protective shielding and
effective radiation monitoring methods should be applied.
Abstract: There are different kinds of online systems on the Internet for people who need support and develop new knowledge. Online communities and Ask the Expert systems are two such systems. In the health care area, the number of users of these systems has increased at a rapid pace. Interactions with medical trained experts take place online, and people with concerns about similar health problems come together to share experiences and advice. The systems are also used as storages and browsed for health information. Over the years, studies have been conducted of the usage of the different systems. However, in what ways the systems can be used together to enhance learning has not been explored. This paper presents results from a study of online health-communities and an Ask the Expert system for people who suffer from overweight. Differences and similarities in regards to posted issues and replies are discussed, and suggestions for a new holistic design of the two systems are presented.
Abstract: This paper deals with new concept of using compressed atmospheric air as a zero pollution power source for running motorbikes. The motorbike is equipped with an air turbine in place of an internal combustion engine, and transforms the energy of the compressed air into shaft work. The mathematical modeling and performance evaluation of a small capacity compressed air driven vaned type novel air turbine is presented in this paper. The effect of isobaric admission and adiabatic expansion of high pressure air for different rotor to casing diameter ratios with respect to different vane angles (number of vanes) have been considered and analyzed. It is found that the shaft work output is optimum for some typical values of rotor / casing diameter ratios at a particular value of vane angle (no. of vanes). In this study, the maximum power is obtained as 4.5kW - 5.3kW (5.5-6.25 HP) when casing diameter is taken 100 mm, and rotor to casing diameter ratios are kept from 0.65 to 0.55. This value of output is sufficient to run motorbike.
Abstract: The role of neighborhood center as semi public (the
balance space) is disappeared in bonding between private and public
in new urbanism. In this way, a hierarchical principle in the
traditional neighborhood center appears to create or develop the
conditions for residents` relationships and belonging. This paper
evaluates significant of hierarchical principles of the neighborhood
center in residents` territoriality and its factors. In this way Miandeh
neighborhood center from Boshrooyeh city was determined as a case
study area. Results indicated that a hierarchical principle is the best
instrument to improve the territoriality as the subcomponent of place
belonging in residents. The findings help the urban designer to
revitalization the neighborhoods and proceedings in organization of
physical space.
Abstract: Self-compacting concrete (SCC), a new kind of high
performance concrete (HPC) have been first developed in Japan in
1986. The development of SCC has made casting of dense
reinforcement and mass concrete convenient, has minimized noise.
Fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) flows into formwork and
around obstructions under its own weight to fill it completely and
self-compact (without any need for vibration), without any
segregation and blocking. The elimination of the need for
compaction leads to better quality concrete and substantial
improvement of working conditions. SCC mixes generally have a
much higher content of fine fillers, including cement, and produce
excessively high compressive strength concrete, which restricts its
field of application to special concrete only. To use SCC mixes in
general concrete construction practice, requires low cost materials to
make inexpensive concrete.
Rice husk ash (RHA) has been used as a highly reactive
pozzolanic material to improve the microstructure of the interfacial
transition zone (ITZ) between the cement paste and the aggregate in
self compacting concrete. Mechanical experiments of RHA blended
Portland cement concretes revealed that in addition to the pozzolanic
reactivity of RHA (chemical aspect), the particle grading (physical
aspect) of cement and RHA mixtures also exerted significant
influences on the blending efficiency.
The scope of this research was to determine the usefulness of Rice
husk ash (RHA) in the development of economical self compacting
concrete (SCC). The cost of materials will be decreased by reducing
the cement content by using waste material like rice husk ash instead
of.
This paper presents a study on the development of Mechanical
properties up to 180 days of self compacting and ordinary concretes
with rice-husk ash (RHA), from a rice paddy milling industry in
Rasht (Iran). Two different replacement percentages of cement by
RHA, 10%, and 20%, and two different water/cementicious material
ratios (0.40 and 0.35), were used for both of self compacting and
normal concrete specimens. The results are compared with those of
the self compacting concrete without RHA, with compressive,
flexural strength and modulus of elasticity. It is concluded that RHA
provides a positive effect on the Mechanical properties at age after
60 days.
Base of the result self compacting concrete specimens have higher
value than normal concrete specimens in all test except modulus of
elasticity. Also specimens with 20% replacement of cement by RHA
have the best performance.
Abstract: Chronic hepatitis B can evolve to cirrhosis and liver
cancer. Interferon is the only effective treatment, for carefully selected
patients, but it is very expensive. Some of the selection criteria are
based on liver biopsy, an invasive, costly and painful medical procedure.
Therefore, developing efficient non-invasive selection systems,
could be in the patients benefit and also save money. We investigated
the possibility to create intelligent systems to assist the Interferon
therapeutical decision, mainly by predicting with acceptable accuracy
the results of the biopsy. We used a knowledge discovery in integrated
medical data - imaging, clinical, and laboratory data. The resulted
intelligent systems, tested on 500 patients with chronic hepatitis
B, based on C5.0 decision trees and boosting, predict with 100%
accuracy the results of the liver biopsy. Also, by integrating the other
patients selection criteria, they offer a non-invasive support for the
correct Interferon therapeutic decision. To our best knowledge, these
decision systems outperformed all similar systems published in the
literature, and offer a realistic opportunity to replace liver biopsy in
this medical context.
Abstract: Amarindra-vinitchai-mahaisuraya Bhiman throne hall
is one of the most significant throne halls in the grand palace in the
Ratthanakosin city situated in Bangkok, Thailand. This is the first
group of throne halls built in order to serve as a place for meetings,
performing state affairs and royal duties until the present time. The
structure and pattern of architectural design including the decoration
and interior design of the throne hall obviously exhibits and convey
the status of the king under the context of Thai society in the early
period of Ratthanakosin era. According to the tradition of ruling the
kingdom in absolute monarchy which had been in place since
Ayutthaya era (A.D.1350-1767), the king was deemed as Deva Raja,
the highest power and authority over the kingdom and as the greatest
emperor of the universe (Chakkravatin). The architectural design
adopted the concept of “Prasada" or Viman which served as the
dwelling place of the gods and was presented in the form of “Thai
traditional architecture" For the interior design of the throne hall, it
had been adopted to be the heaven and the centre of the Universe in
line with the cosmological beliefs of ancient people described in
scripture Tribhumikatha (Tri Bhumi) written by Phra Maha Thamma
Raja (Phraya Lithai) of the Sukhothai era (A.D.1347-1368).
According to this belief, the throne hall had been designed to represent
mount Meru, the central of the universe. On the top end of Mount
Meru is situated the Viman and dwelling place of Indra who is the king
of gods according to the idea of Deva Raja (the king god Avatar). At
the same time, Indra also existed as the king of the universe
simultaneously.
Abstract: The article deals with pneumatic and hot wire
anemometry measurement on subsonic axi-symmetric air ejector.
Performances of the ejector with and without pulsations of primary
flow are compared, measuring of characteristic pressures and mass
flow rates are performed and ejector efficiency is evaluated. The
pulsations of primary flow are produced by a synthetic jet generator,
which is placed in the supply line of the primary flow just in front of
the primary nozzle. The aim of the pulsation is to intensify the
mixing process. In the article we present: Pressure measuring of
pulsation on the mixing chamber wall, behind the mixing chamber
and behind the diffuser measured by fast pressure transducers and
results of hot wire anemometry measurement. It was found out that
using of primary flow pulsations yields higher back pressure behind
the ejector and higher efficiency. The processes in this ejector and
influences of primary flow pulsations on the mixing processes are
described.
Abstract: The interline power flow controller (IPFC) is one of
the latest generation flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS)
controller used to control power flows of multiple transmission lines.
This paper presents a mathematical model of IPFC, termed as power
injection model (PIM). This model is incorporated in Newton-
Raphson (NR) power flow algorithm to study the power flow control
in transmission lines in which IPFC is placed. A program in
MATLAB has been written in order to extend conventional NR
algorithm based on this model. Numerical results are carried out on a
standard 2 machine 5 bus system. The results without and with IPFC
are compared in terms of voltages, active and reactive power flows to
demonstrate the performance of the IPFC model.
Abstract: This paper deals with the thermo-mechanical deformation behavior of shear deformable functionally graded ceramicmetal (FGM) plates. Theoretical formulations are based on higher order shear deformation theory with a considerable amendment in the transverse displacement using finite element method (FEM). The mechanical properties of the plate are assumed to be temperaturedependent and graded in the thickness direction according to a powerlaw distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The temperature field is supposed to be a uniform distribution over the plate surface (XY plane) and varied in the thickness direction only. The fundamental equations for the FGM plates are obtained using variational approach by considering traction free boundary conditions on the top and bottom faces of the plate. A C0 continuous isoparametric Lagrangian finite element with thirteen degrees of freedom per node have been employed to accomplish the results. Convergence and comparison studies have been performed to demonstrate the efficiency of the present model. The numerical results are obtained for different thickness ratios, aspect ratios, volume fraction index and temperature rise with different loading and boundary conditions. Numerical results for the FGM plates are provided in dimensionless tabular and graphical forms. The results proclaim that the temperature field and the gradient in the material properties have significant role on the thermo-mechanical deformation behavior of the FGM plates.
Abstract: This study aims to explore the differences and
similarities in perceptions of affective climate antecedents at the
workplace (intimacy, flexibility, employment stability, and team)
among Japanese and Thai Generations X and Y. The samples in this
study were Thai and Japanese workers who completed a work
environment questionnaire and provided demographic information.
Generational differences in perceptions (beliefs) of what factors
contribute to affective climate were investigated using t-test analysis.
Mean scores for each antecedent were ranked to determine how each
generation in each group prioritized the importance of all affective
climate antecedents. Japanese Generation Y perceived the importance
of employment stability for affective climate of their workplaces to be
significantly higher than did Japanese Generation X. Thai Generation
Y considered flexibility with a higher priority than did Thai
Generation X. Intimacy was perceived as highly important across
generations and countries in regard to affective climate. Results
suggest that managers should design workplaces for a mixture of
diverse generations, resulting in a better affective climate. Differences
in the importance of antecedents for affective climate among
Generations X and Y in two countries were clarified. In addition,
different preferences regarding work environment across Japanese
Generations X and Y and Thai Generations X and Y were discussed.
Abstract: As the Textile Industry is the second largest industry
in Egypt and as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up
a great portion of this industry therein it is essential to apply the
concept of Cleaner Production for the purpose of reducing pollution.
In order to achieve this goal, a case study concerned with ecofriendly
stone-washing of jeans-garments was investigated. A raw
material-substitution option was adopted whereby the toxic
potassium permanganate and sodium sulfide were replaced by the
environmentally compatible hydrogen peroxide and glucose
respectively where the concentrations of both replaced chemicals
together with the operating time were optimized. In addition, a
process-rationalization option involving four additional processes
was investigated. By means of criteria such as product quality,
effluent analysis, mass and heat balance; and cost analysis with the
aid of a statistical model, a process optimization treatment revealed
that the superior process optima were 50%, 0.15% and 50min for
H2O2 concentration, glucose concentration and time, respectively.
With these values the superior process ought to reduce the annual
cost by about EGP 105 relative to the currently used conventional
method.
Abstract: Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) consist of number
of tiny, low cost and low power sensor nodes to monitor some physical phenomenon. The major limitation in these networks is the use of non-rechargeable battery having limited power supply. The
main cause of energy consumption in such networks is
communication subsystem. This paper presents an energy efficient
Cluster Cooperative Caching at Sensor (C3S) based upon grid type clustering. Sensor nodes belonging to the same cluster/grid form a
cooperative cache system for the node since the cost for
communication with them is low both in terms of energy
consumption and message exchanges. The proposed scheme uses
cache admission control and utility based data replacement policy to
ensure that more useful data is retained in the local cache of a node.
Simulation results demonstrate that C3S scheme performs better in
various performance metrics than NICoCa which is existing
cooperative caching protocol for WSNs.
Abstract: Recently, as the scale of construction projects has
increases, more ground excavation for foundations is carried out than ever before. Consequently, damage to underground ducts (gas, water/sewage or oil pipelines, communication cables or power cable ducts) or superannuated pipelines frequently cause serious accidents
resulting in damage to life and property. (In Korea, the total length of city water pipelines was approximately 2,000 km as of the end of 2009.) In addition, large amounts of damage caused by fractures, water
and gas leakage caused by superannuation or damage to underground
ducts in construction has been reported. Therefore, a system is required to precisely detect defects and deterioration in underground
pipelines and the locations of such defects, for timely and accurate
maintenance or replacement of the ducts. In this study, a system was
developed which can locate underground structures (gas and water
pipelines, power cable ducts, etc.) in 3D-coordinates and monitor the
degree and position of defects using an Inertial Measurement Unit
(IMU) sensing technique. The system can prevent damage to underground ducts and superannuated pipelines during construction,
and provide reliable data for maintenance. The utility of the IMU sensing technique used in aircraft and ships in civil applications was
verified.
Abstract: Navigation is the processes of monitoring and
controlling the movement of an object from one place to another.
Currently, Global Positioning System (GPS) is the main navigation
system used all over the world for navigation applications. GPS
receiver receives signals from at least three satellites to locate and
display itself. Displayed positioning information is updated
continuously. Update rate is the number of times per second that a
display is illuminated. The speed of update is governed by receiver
update rate. A higher update rate decreases display lag time and
improves distance measurements and tracking especially when
moving on a curvy route. The majority of GPS receivers used
nowadays are updated every second continuously. This period is
considered reasonable for some applications while it is long relatively
for high speed applications. In this paper, the suitability and
feasibility of GPS receiver with different update rates will be
evaluated for various applications according to the level of speed and
update rate needed for particular applications.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the
efficiency of a double-layer roof in collecting solar energy as an
application to the areas such as raising high-end temperature of
organic Rankine cycle (ORC). The by-product of the solar roof is to
reduce building air-conditioning loads. The experimental apparatus
are arranged to evaluate the effects of the solar roof in absorbing solar
energy. The flow channel is basically formed by an aluminum plate on
top of a plywood plate. The geometric configurations in which the
effects of absorbing energy is analyzed include: a bare uncovered
aluminum plate, a glass-covered aluminum plate, a
glass-covered/black-painted aluminum plate, a plate with variable
lengths, a flow channel with stuffed material (in an attempt on
enhancement of heat conduction), and a flow channel with variable
slanted angles. The experimental results show that the efficiency of
energy collection varies from 0.6 % to 11 % for the geometric
configurations mentioned above. An additional study is carried out
using CFD simulation to investigate the effects of fins on the
aluminum plate. It shows that due to vastly enhanced heat conduction,
the efficiency can reach ~23 % if 50 fins are installed on the aluminum
plate. The study shows that a double-layer roof can efficiently absorb
solar energy and substantially reduce building air-conditioning
loads. On the high end of an organic Rankine cycle, a solar pond is
used to replace the warm surface water of the sea as OTEC (ocean
thermal energy conversion) is the driving energy for the ORC. The
energy collected from the double-layered solar roof can be pumped
into the pond and raise the pond temperature as the pond surface area is
equivalently increased by nearly one-fourth of the total area of the
double-layer solar roof. The effect of raising solar pond temperature is
especially prominent if the double-layer solar roofs are installed in a
community area.
Abstract: Analytical investigation of the free vibration behavior
of circular functionally graded (FG) plates integrated with two
uniformly distributed actuator layers made of piezoelectric (PZT4)
material on the top and bottom surfaces of the circular FG plate
based on the classical plate theory (CPT) is presented in this paper.
The material properties of the functionally graded substrate plate are
assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to the
power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the
constituents and the distribution of electric potential field along the
thickness direction of piezoelectric layers is simulated by a quadratic
function. The differential equations of motion are solved analytically
for clamped edge boundary condition of the plate. The detailed
mathematical derivations are presented and Numerical investigations
are performed for FG plates with two surface-bonded piezoelectric
layers. Emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of varying the
gradient index of FG plate on the free vibration characteristics of the
structure. The results are verified by those obtained from threedimensional
finite element analyses.
Abstract: Both the minimum energy consumption and
smoothness, which is quantified as a function of jerk, are generally
needed in many dynamic systems such as the automobile and the
pick-and-place robot manipulator that handles fragile equipments.
Nevertheless, many researchers come up with either solely
concerning on the minimum energy consumption or minimum jerk
trajectory. This research paper proposes a simple yet very interesting
when combining the minimum energy and jerk of indirect jerks
approaches in designing the time-dependent system yielding an
alternative optimal solution. Extremal solutions for the cost functions
of the minimum energy, the minimum jerk and combining them
together are found using the dynamic optimization methods together
with the numerical approximation. This is to allow us to simulate
and compare visually and statistically the time history of state inputs
employed by combining minimum energy and jerk designs. The
numerical solution of minimum direct jerk and energy problem are
exactly the same solution; however, the solutions from problem of
minimum energy yield the similar solution especially in term of
tendency.