Abstract: The paper describes a Chinese shadow play animation
system based on Kinect. Users, without any professional training, can
personally manipulate the shadow characters to finish a shadow play
performance by their body actions and get a shadow play video
through giving the record command to our system if they want. In our
system, Kinect is responsible for capturing human movement and
voice commands data. Gesture recognition module is used to control
the change of the shadow play scenes. After packaging the data from
Kinect and the recognition result from gesture recognition module,
VRPN transmits them to the server-side. At last, the server-side uses
the information to control the motion of shadow characters and video
recording. This system not only achieves human-computer interaction,
but also realizes the interaction between people. It brings an
entertaining experience to users and easy to operate for all ages. Even
more important is that the application background of Chinese shadow
play embodies the protection of the art of shadow play animation.
Abstract: Braille alphabet is an important tool that enables
visually impaired individuals to have a comfortable life like those
who have normal vision. For this reason, new applications related to
the Braille alphabet are being developed. In this study, a new
Refreshable Braille Display was developed to help visually impaired
individuals learn the Braille alphabet easier. By means of this system,
any text downloaded on a computer can be read by the visually
impaired individual at that moment by feeling it by his/her hands.
Through this electronic device, it was aimed to make learning the
Braille alphabet easier for visually impaired individuals with whom
the necessary tests were conducted.
Abstract: The paper involves a chain of activities from
synthesis, establishment of the methodology for characterization and
testing of novel protective materials through the pilot production and
application on model supports.
It summarizes the results regarding the development of the pilot
production protocol for newly developed self-cleaning materials. The
optimization of the production parameters was completed in order to
improve the most important functional properties (mineralogy
characteristics, particle size, self-cleaning properties and
photocatalytic activity) of the newly designed nanocomposite
material.
Abstract: Supply chain (SC) is an operational research (OR)
approach and technique which acts as catalyst within central nervous
system of business today. Without SC, any type of business is at
doldrums, hence entropy. SC is the lifeblood of business today
because it is the pivotal hub which provides imperative competitive
advantage. The paper present a conceptual framework dubbed as
Homomorphic Conceptual Framework for Effective Supply Chain
Strategy (HCEFSC).The term Homomorphic is derived from abstract
algebraic mathematical term homomorphism (same shape) which
also embeds the following mathematical application sets:
monomorphisms, isomorphism, automorphisms, and endomorphism.
The HCFESC is intertwined and integrated with wide and broad sets
of elements.
Abstract: Laplace transformations have wide applications in
engineering and sciences. All previous studies of modified Laplace
transformations depend on differential equation with initial
conditions. The purpose of our paper is to solve the linear differential
equations (not initial value problem) and then find the general
solution (not particular) via the Laplace transformations without
needed any initial condition. The study involves both types of
differential equations, ordinary and partial.
Abstract: Self-compacting concrete (SCC) developed in Japan
in the late 80s has enabled the construction industry to reduce
demand on the resources, improve the work condition and also
reduce the impact of environment by elimination of the need for
compaction. Fuzzy logic (FL) approaches has recently been used to
model some of the human activities in many areas of civil
engineering applications. Especially from these systems in the model
experimental studies, very good results have been obtained. In the
present study, a model for predicting compressive strength of SCC
containing various proportions of fly ash, as partial replacement of
cement has been developed by using Fuzzy Inference System (FIS).
For the purpose of building this model, a database of experimental
data were gathered from the literature and used for training and
testing the model. The used data as the inputs of fuzzy logic models
are arranged in a format of five parameters that cover the total binder
content, fly ash replacement percentage, water content,
superplasticizer and age of specimens. The training and testing results
in the fuzzy logic model have shown a strong potential for predicting
the compressive strength of SCC containing fly ash in the considered
range.
Abstract: Bamboo is extensively used in construction industry.
Low durability of bamboo due to fungus infestation and termites
attack under storage puts certain constrains for it usage as modern
structural material. Looking at many chemical formulations for
bamboo treatment leading to severe harmful environment effects,
research on eco-friendly preservatives for bamboo treatment has been
initiated world-over. In the present studies, eco-friendly preservative
for bamboo treatment has been developed. To validate its application
for structural purposes, investigation of effect of treatment on
compressive strength has been investigated. Neemoil (25%)
integrated with copper naphthenate (0.3%) on dilution with kerosene
oil impregnated into bamboo culm at 2 bar pressure, has shown
weight loss of only 3.15% in soil block analysis method. The results
from compressive strength analysis using HEICO Automatic
Compression Testing Machine reveal that preservative treatment has
not altered the structural properties of bamboo culms. Compressive
strength of control (11.72 N/mm2) and above treated samples (11.71
N/mm2) was found to be comparable.
Abstract: Red blood cells (RBC) are the most common types of
blood cells and are the most intensively studied in cell biology. The
lack of RBCs is a condition in which the amount of hemoglobin level
is lower than normal and is referred to as “anemia”. Abnormalities in
RBCs will affect the exchange of oxygen. This paper presents a
comparative study for various techniques for classifying the RBCs as
normal or abnormal (anemic) using WEKA. WEKA is an open
source consists of different machine learning algorithms for data
mining applications. The algorithms tested are Radial Basis Function
neural network, Support vector machine, and K-Nearest Neighbors
algorithm. Two sets of combined features were utilized for
classification of blood cells images. The first set, exclusively consist
of geometrical features, was used to identify whether the tested blood
cell has a spherical shape or non-spherical cells. While the second
set, consist mainly of textural features was used to recognize the
types of the spherical cells. We have provided an evaluation based on
applying these classification methods to our RBCs image dataset
which were obtained from Serdang Hospital - Malaysia, and
measuring the accuracy of test results. The best achieved
classification rates are 97%, 98%, and 79% for Support vector
machines, Radial Basis Function neural network, and K-Nearest
Neighbors algorithm respectively.
Abstract: Now-a-days autonomous mobile robots have found
applications in diverse fields. An autonomous robot system must be
able to behave in an intelligent manner to deal with complex and
changing environment. This work proposes the performance of path
planning and navigation of autonomous mobile robot using
Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Simulated Annealing (SA)
and Particle Swarm optimization (PSO) based intelligent controllers
in an unstructured environment. The approach not only finds a valid
collision free path but also optimal one. The main aim of the work is
to minimize the length of the path and duration of travel from a
starting point to a target while moving in an unknown environment
with obstacles without collision. Finally, a comparison is made
between the three controllers, it is found that the path length and time
duration made by the robot using GSA is better than SA and PSO
based controllers for the same work.
Abstract: This study presents an attempt to evaluate the
antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of methanolic extract,
and essential oils prepared from the leaves of sage (Salvia officinalis
L.). The content of polyphenol in the methanolic extracts from the
leaves of Salvia officinalis was determined spectrophotometrically,
calculated as gallic acid and catechin equivalent. The essential oils
and methanol extract were also subjected to screenings for the
evaluation of their antioxidant activities using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-
picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test. While the plant essential oils showed
only weak antioxidant activities, its methanol extract was
considerably active in DPPH (IC50 = 37.29 μg/ml) test. Appreciable
total polyphenol content (31.25 mg/g) was also detected for the plant
methanol extract as gallic acid equivalent in the Folin–Ciocalteu test.
The plant was also screened for its antimicrobial activity and good to
moderate inhibitions were recorded for its essential oils, and
methanol extracts against most of the tested microorganisms.
The present investigation revealed that this plant had rich source
of antioxidant properties. It is for this reason that sage has found
increasing application in food formulations.
Abstract: The paper presents a plastic analysis procedure based
on the energy balance concept for performance based seismic retrofit
of multi-story multi-bay masonry infilled reinforced concrete (R/C)
frames with a ‘soft’ ground story using passive energy dissipation
(PED) devices with the objective of achieving a target performance
level of the retrofitted R/C frame for a given seismic hazard level at
the building site. The proposed energy based plastic analysis
procedure was employed for developing performance based design
(PBD) formulations for PED devices for a simulated application in
seismic retrofit of existing frame structures designed in compliance
with the prevalent standard codes of practice. The PBD formulations
developed for PED devices were implemented for simulated seismic
retrofit of a representative code-compliant masonry infilled R/C
frame with a ‘soft’ ground story using friction dampers as the PED
device. Non-linear dynamic analyses of the retrofitted masonry
infilled R/C frames is performed to investigate the efficacy and
accuracy of the proposed energy based plastic analysis procedure in
achieving the target performance level under design level
earthquakes. Results of non-linear dynamic analyses demonstrate that
the maximum inter-story drifts in the masonry infilled R/C frames
with a ‘soft’ ground story that is retrofitted with the friction dampers
designed using the proposed PBD formulations are controlled within
the target drifts under near-field as well far-field earthquakes.
Abstract: Carbon nanotube is one of the most attractive materials
for the potential applications of nanotechnology due to its excellent
mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties. In this paper we
report a supercapacitor made of nickel foil electrodes, coated with
multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) thin film using
electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. Chemical vapor deposition
method was used for the growth of MWCNTs and ethanol was used as
a hydrocarbon source. High graphitic multiwall carbon nanotube was
found at 750oC analyzing by Raman spectroscopy. We observed the
electrochemical performance of supercapacitor by cyclic
voltammetry. The electrodes of supercapacitor fabricated from
MWCNTs exhibit considerably small equivalent series resistance
(ESR), and a high specific power density. Electrophoretic deposition
is an easy method in fabricating MWCNT electrodes for high
performance supercapacitor.
Abstract: In this paper a comprehensive review on various
factory layouts has been carried out for designing a lucrative process
layout for medium scale industries. Industry data base reveals that the
end product rejection rate is on the order of 10% amounting large
profit loss. In order to avoid these rejection rates and to increase the
quality product production an intermediate non-destructive testing
facility (INDTF) has been recommended for increasing the overall
profit. We observed through detailed case studies that while
introducing INDTF to medium scale industries the expensive
production process can be avoided to the defective products well
before its final shape. Additionally, the defective products identified
during the intermediate stage can be effectively utilized for other
applications or recycling; thereby the overall wastage of the raw
materials can be reduced and profit can be increased. We concluded
that the prudent design of a factory layout through critical path
method facilitating with INDTF will warrant profitable outcome.
Abstract: In this paper, Fuzzy C-Means clustering with
Expectation Maximization-Gaussian Mixture Model based hybrid
modeling algorithm is proposed for Continuous Tamil Speech
Recognition. The speech sentences from various speakers are used
for training and testing phase and objective measures are between the
proposed and existing Continuous Speech Recognition algorithms.
From the simulated results, it is observed that the proposed algorithm
improves the recognition accuracy and F-measure up to 3% as
compared to that of the existing algorithms for the speech signal from
various speakers. In addition, it reduces the Word Error Rate, Error
Rate and Error up to 4% as compared to that of the existing
algorithms. In all aspects, the proposed hybrid modeling for Tamil
speech recognition provides the significant improvements for speechto-
text conversion in various applications.
Abstract: This paper reports a structured literature review of the
application of Health Information Technology in developing
countries, defined as the World Bank categories Low-income
countries, Lower-middle-income, and Upper-middle-income
countries. The aim was to identify and classify the various
applications of health information technology to assess its current
state in developing countries and explore potential areas of research.
We offer specific analysis and application of HIT in Libya as one of
the developing countries. A structured literature review was
conducted using the following online databases: IEEE, Science
Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Publication dates were set for
2000-2013. For the PubMed search, publications in English, French,
and Arabic were specified. Using a content analysis approach, 159
papers were analyzed and a total number of 26 factors were identified
that affect the adoption of health information technology. Of the 2681
retrieved articles, 159 met the inclusion criteria which were carefully
analyzed and classified. The implementation of health information
technology across developing countries is varied. Whilst it was
initially expected financial constraints would have severely limited
health information technology implementation, some developing
countries like India have nevertheless dominated the literature and
taken the lead in conducting scientific research. Comparing the
number of studies to the number of countries in each category, we
found that Low-income countries and Lower-middle-income had
more studies carried out than Upper-middle-income countries.
However, whilst IT has been used in various sectors of the economy,
the healthcare sector in developing countries is still failing to benefit
fully from the potential advantages that IT can offer.
Abstract: Brown seaweeds are abundant in Portuguese coastline
and represent an almost unexploited marine economic resource. One
of the most common species, easily available for harvesting in the
northwest coast, is Saccorhiza polyschides grows in the lowest shore
and costal rocky reefs. It is almost exclusively used by local farmers
as natural fertilizer, but contains a substantial amount of valuable
compounds, particularly alginates, natural biopolymers of high
interest for many industrial applications.
Alginates are natural polysaccharides present in cell walls of
brown seaweed, highly biocompatible, with particular properties that
make them of high interest for the food, biotechnology, cosmetics
and pharmaceutical industries. Conventional extraction processes are
based on thermal treatment. They are lengthy and consume high
amounts of energy and solvents. In recent years, microwave-assisted
extraction (MAE) has shown enormous potential to overcome major
drawbacks that outcome from conventional plant material extraction
(thermal and/or solvent based) techniques, being also successfully
applied to the extraction of agar, fucoidans and alginates. In the
present study, acid pretreatment of brown seaweed Saccorhiza
polyschides for subsequent microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of
alginate was optimized. Seaweeds were collected in Northwest
Portuguese coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean between May and
August, 2014. Experimental design was used to assess the effect of
temperature and acid pretreatment time in alginate extraction.
Response surface methodology allowed the determination of the
optimum MAE conditions: 40 mL of HCl 0.1 M per g of dried
seaweed with constant stirring at 20ºC during 14h. Optimal acid
pretreatment conditions have enhanced significantly MAE of
alginates from Saccorhiza polyschides, thus contributing for the
development of a viable, more environmental friendly alternative to
conventional processes.
Abstract: The objective of meta-analysis is to combine results
from several independent studies in order to create generalization
and provide evidence base for decision making. But recent studies
show that the magnitude of effect size estimates reported in many
areas of research significantly changed over time and this can
impair the results and conclusions of meta-analysis. A number of
sequential methods have been proposed for monitoring the effect
size estimates in meta-analysis. However they are based on statistical
theory applicable only to fixed effect model (FEM) of meta-analysis.
For random-effects model (REM), the analysis incorporates the
heterogeneity variance, τ 2 and its estimation create complications.
In this paper we study the use of a truncated CUSUM-type test with
asymptotically valid critical values for sequential monitoring in REM.
Simulation results show that the test does not control the Type I error
well, and is not recommended. Further work required to derive an
appropriate test in this important area of applications.
Abstract: The Smart Help for persons with disability (PWD) is a
part of the project SMARTDISABLE which aims to develop relevant
solution for PWD that target to provide an adequate workplace
environment for them. It would support PWD needs smartly through
smart help to allow them access to relevant information and
communicate with other effectively and flexibly, and smart editor
that assist them in their daily work. It will assist PWD in knowledge
processing and creation as well as being able to be productive at the
work place. The technical work of the project involves design of a
technological scenario for the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) - based
assistive technologies at the workplace consisting of an integrated
universal smart solution that suits many different impairment
conditions and will be designed to empower the Physically disabled
persons (PDP) with the capability to access and effectively utilize the
ICTs in order to execute knowledge rich working tasks with
minimum efforts and with sufficient comfort level. The proposed
technology solution for PWD will support voice recognition along
with normal keyboard and mouse to control the smart help and smart
editor with dynamic auto display interface that satisfies the
requirements for different PWD group. In addition, a smart help will
provide intelligent intervention based on the behavior of PWD to
guide them and warn them about possible misbehavior. PWD can
communicate with others using Voice over IP controlled by voice
recognition. Moreover, Auto Emergency Help Response would be
supported to assist PWD in case of emergency. This proposed
technology solution intended to make PWD very effective at the
work environment and flexible using voice to conduct their tasks at
the work environment. The proposed solution aims to provide
favorable outcomes that assist PWD at the work place, with the
opportunity to participate in PWD assistive technology innovation
market which is still small and rapidly growing as well as upgrading
their quality of life to become similar to the normal people at the
workplace. Finally, the proposed smart help solution is applicable in
all workplace setting, including offices, manufacturing, hospital, etc.
Abstract: This paper presents the application of the Discrete
Component Model for heating and evaporation to multi-component
biodiesel fuel droplets in direct injection internal combustion engines.
This model takes into account the effects of temperature gradient,
recirculation and species diffusion inside droplets. A distinctive
feature of the model used in the analysis is that it is based on the
analytical solutions to the temperature and species diffusion
equations inside the droplets. Nineteen types of biodiesel fuels are
considered. It is shown that a simplistic model, based on the
approximation of biodiesel fuel by a single component or ignoring
the diffusion of components of biodiesel fuel, leads to noticeable
errors in predicted droplet evaporation time and time evolution of
droplet surface temperature and radius.
Abstract: Recommendation systems are widely used in
e-commerce applications. The engine of a current recommendation
system recommends items to a particular user based on user
preferences and previous high ratings. Various recommendation
schemes such as collaborative filtering and content-based approaches
are used to build a recommendation system. Most of current
recommendation systems were developed to fit a certain domain such
as books, articles, and movies. We propose1 a hybrid framework
recommendation system to be applied on two dimensional spaces
(User × Item) with a large number of Users and a small number
of Items. Moreover, our proposed framework makes use of both
favorite and non-favorite items of a particular user. The proposed
framework is built upon the integration of association rules mining
and the content-based approach. The results of experiments show
that our proposed framework can provide accurate recommendations
to users.