Abstract: The groundwater is one of the main sources for
sustainability in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Intensive
developments in Al-Ain area lead to increase water demand, which
consequently reduced the overall groundwater quantity in major
aquifers. However, in certain residential areas within Al-Ain, it has
been noticed that the groundwater level is rising, for example in
Sha-ab Al Askher area. The reasons for the groundwater rising
phenomenon are yet to be investigated. In this work, twenty four
seismic refraction profiles have been carried out along the study
pilot area; as well as field measurement of the groundwater level in
a number of available water wells in the area. The processed
seismic data indicated the deepest and shallowest groundwater
levels are 15m and 2.3 meters respectively. This result is greatly
consistent with the proper field measurement of the groundwater
level. The minimum detected value may be referred to perched
subsurface water which may be associated to the infiltration from
the surrounding water bodies such as lakes, and elevated farms. The
maximum values indicate the accurate groundwater level within the
study area. The findings of this work may be considered as a
preliminary help to the decision makers.
Abstract: Least Development Countries (LDC) like
Bangladesh, whose 25% revenue earning is achieved from Textile
export, requires producing less defective textile for minimizing
production cost and time. Inspection processes done on these
industries are mostly manual and time consuming. To reduce error
on identifying fabric defects requires more automotive and
accurate inspection process. Considering this lacking, this research
implements a Textile Defect Recognizer which uses computer
vision methodology with the combination of multi-layer neural
networks to identify four classifications of textile defects. The
recognizer, suitable for LDC countries, identifies the fabric defects
within economical cost and produces less error prone inspection
system in real time. In order to generate input set for the neural
network, primarily the recognizer captures digital fabric images by
image acquisition device and converts the RGB images into binary
images by restoration process and local threshold techniques.
Later, the output of the processed image, the area of the faulty
portion, the number of objects of the image and the sharp factor of
the image, are feed backed as an input layer to the neural network
which uses back propagation algorithm to compute the weighted
factors and generates the desired classifications of defects as an
output.
Abstract: Studying alternative raw materials for biodiesel production is of major importance. The use of mixtures with incorporation of wastes is an environmental friendly alternative and might reduce biodiesel production costs. The objective of the present work was: (i) to study biodiesel production using waste frying oil mixed with pork lard and (ii) to understand how mixture composition influences biodiesel quality. Biodiesel was produced by transesterification and quality was evaluated through determination of several parameters according to EN 14214. The weight fraction of lard in the mixture varied from 0 to 1 in 0.2 intervals. Biodiesel production yields varied from 81.7 to 88.0 (wt%), the lowest yields being the ones obtained using waste frying oil and lard alone as raw materials. The obtained products fulfilled most of the determined quality specifications according to European biodiesel quality standard EN 14214. Minimum purity (96.5 wt%) was closely obtained when waste frying oil was used alone and when 0.2% of lard was incorporated in the raw material (96.3 wt%); however, it ranged from 93.9 to 96.3 (wt%) being always close to the limit. From the evaluation of the influence of mixture composition in biodiesel quality, it was possible to establish a model to be used for predicting some parameters of biodiesel resulting from mixtures of waste frying oil with lard when different lard contents are used.
Abstract: A numerical method for solving nonlinear Fredholm integral equations of second kind is proposed. The Fredholm type equations which have many applications in mathematical physics are then considered. The method is based on hybrid function approximations. The properties of hybrid of block-pulse functions and Chebyshev polynomials are presented and are utilized to reduce the computation of nonlinear Fredholm integral equations to a system of nonlinear. Some numerical examples are selected to illustrate the effectiveness and simplicity of the method.
Abstract: XML data consists of a very flexible tree-structure
which makes it difficult to support the storing and retrieving of XML
data. The node numbering scheme is one of the most popular
approaches to store XML in relational databases. Together with the
node numbering storage scheme, structural joins can be used to
efficiently process the hierarchical relationships in XML. However, in
order to process a tree-structured XPath query containing several
hierarchical relationships and conditional sentences on XML data,
many structural joins need to be carried out, which results in a high
query execution cost. This paper introduces mechanisms to reduce the
XPath queries including branch nodes into a much more efficient form
with less numbers of structural joins. A two step approach is proposed.
The first step merges duplicate nodes in the tree-structured query and
the second step divides the query into sub-queries, shortens the paths
and then merges the sub-queries back together. The proposed
approach can highly contribute to the efficient execution of XML
queries. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can
reduce the query execution cost by up to an order of magnitude of the
original execution cost.
Abstract: The concept of order reduction by least-squares moment matching and generalised least-squares methods has been extended about a general point ?a?, to obtain the reduced order models for linear, time-invariant dynamic systems. Some heuristic criteria have been employed for selecting the linear shift point ?a?, based upon the means (arithmetic, harmonic and geometric) of real parts of the poles of high order system. It is shown that the resultant model depends critically on the choice of linear shift point ?a?. The validity of the criteria is illustrated by solving a numerical example and the results are compared with the other existing techniques.
Abstract: The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used by
computers to map logical addresses (IP) to physical addresses
(MAC). However ARP is an all trusting protocol and is stateless
which makes it vulnerable to many ARP cache poisoning attacks
such as Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) and Denial of service (DoS)
attacks. These flaws result in security breaches thus weakening the
appeal of the computer for exchange of sensitive data. In this paper
we describe ARP, outline several possible ARP cache poisoning
attacks and give the detailed of some attack scenarios in network
having both wired and wireless hosts. We have analyzed each of
proposed solutions, identify their strengths and limitations. Finally
get that no solution offers a feasible solution. Hence, this paper
presents an efficient and secure version of ARP that is able to cope
up with all these types of attacks and is also a feasible solution. It is a
stateful protocol, by storing the information of the Request frame in
the ARP cache, to reduce the chances of various types of attacks in
ARP. It is more efficient and secure by broadcasting ARP Reply
frame in the network and storing related entries in the ARP cache
each time when communication take place.
Abstract: This study aims to initiate sustainable water management for tourist accommodations in Amphawa, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand. Wastewater generated by tourist accommodation was conducted in 10 homestays and resorts in Amphawa during August – October, 2011. The prominent parameters which are of pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Fat Oil and Grease (FOG), Nitrate (No3-), and Phosphate (PO43-) were conducted monthly. The results revealed that some parameters were over national water quality standard (Class II). Especially, 90% of tourist accommodations have been recorded that FOG was over the standard of wastewater quality from accommodation (group I: total room of accommodation less than 200 rooms). Therefore, grease trap and natural treatment should be utilized in tourist accommodations in order to reduce the discharged of fat, oil, and grease from tourism activities. In addition, number of tourists also relate statistically with BOD and Nitrate at 0.05 level of significance.
Abstract: In order to study the effect of phosphate solubilization
microorganisms (PSM) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
(PGPR) on yield and yield components of corn Zea mays (L. cv.
SC604) an experiment was conducted at research farm of Sari
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Iran during
2007. Experiment laid out as split plot based on randomized
complete block design with three replications. Three levels of
manures (consisted of 20 Mg.ha-1 farmyard manure, 15 Mg.ha-1 green
manure and check or without any manures) as main plots and eight
levels of biofertilizers (consisted of 1-NPK or conventional fertilizer
application; 2-NPK+PSM+PGPR; 3 NP50%K+PSM+PGPR; 4-
N50%PK+PSM +PGPR; 5-N50%P50%K+PSM+ PGPR; 6-PK+PGPR; 7-
NK+PSM and 8-PSM+PGPR) as sub plots were treatments. Results
showed that farmyard manure application increased row number, ear
weight, grain number per ear, grain yield, biological yield and
harvest index compared to check. Furthermore, using of PSM and
PGPR in addition to conventional fertilizer applications (NPK) could
improve ear weight, row number and grain number per row and
ultimately increased grain yield in green manure and check plots.
According to results in all fertilizer treatments application of PSM
and PGPR together could reduce P application by 50% without any
significant reduction of grain yield. However, this treatment could
not compensate 50% reduction of N application.
Abstract: Evaluation of crop plants resistance to environmental
stresses specially in germination stage is a critical factor in their
selection in different conditions of cultivation. Therefore use of a
procedure in controllable situation can help to evaluate plants
reaction to stress quickly and precisely. In order to study germination
characteristics of flax in water and salinity stress conditions were
conducted two laboratories experimental. The two experimental were
conducted in 4-replicant completing random design for salinity and
water stress. The treatment, for salinity and water stress was three
potential (zero, 40, 80 mM) of NaCl and three potential (zero, -2, -4
bar) of PEG respectively. Germination percentage and rate, in
addition to Radical and plumule length and dry-weight and
plumule/Radical ration were measured. All of characteristics reduce
under water stress conditions. salinity stress significant reduce
germination rate and Radical and plumule length of flax seeds.
Hydropriming and osmopriming significant increased germination
rate, plumule length and plumule/Radical ration ration of flax seeds.
But germination percentage and Radical and plumule dry weight
significant increased only in hydropriming treat. Hydropriming and
osmopriming could not be used to improved germination under saline
and drought stress. But has more tolerance in salinity and drought
stress in flax by less reduce in Radical and plumule length under
saline and drought stress.
Abstract: Face recognition in the infrared spectrum has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. Many of the techniques used in infrared are based on their visible counterpart, especially linear techniques like PCA and LDA. In this work, we introduce a probabilistic Bayesian framework for face recognition in the infrared spectrum. In the infrared spectrum, variations can occur between face images of the same individual due to pose, metabolic, time changes, etc. Bayesian approaches permit to reduce intrapersonal variation, thus making them very interesting for infrared face recognition. This framework is compared with classical linear techniques. Non linear techniques we developed recently for infrared face recognition are also presented and compared to the Bayesian face recognition framework. A new approach for infrared face extraction based on SVM is introduced. Experimental results show that the Bayesian technique is promising and lead to interesting results in the infrared spectrum when a sufficient number of face images is used in an intrapersonal learning process.
Abstract: There is limited evidence from various countries
about the possible impact of various criteria to be used to determine
the scope of the IFRS for SMEs issued in 2009 and, research is
needed in this area. We provide evidence from Romania, an
emerging economy member of the European Union. The aim of this
paper is to analyze in a local setting if size is a relevant factor for
deciding between local and global standards for SMEs. Our results
indicate that size is a moderate indicator of the existence of possible
users interested in financial statements and that there is a difference
between the scopes of the standard determined on various criteria..
Also, we suggest that the international exposure is quite reduced in
the case of SMEs, but is sufficient to suggest that at least some SMEs
would benefit from international comparability of financial
statements
Abstract: In recent years, real estate prediction or valuation has
been a topic of discussion in many developed countries. Improper
hype created by investors leads to fluctuating prices of real estate,
affecting many consumers to purchase their own homes. Therefore,
scholars from various countries have conducted research in real estate
valuation and prediction. With the back-propagation neural network
that has been popular in recent years and the orthogonal array in the
Taguchi method, this study aimed to find the optimal parameter
combination at different levels of orthogonal array after the system
presented different parameter combinations, so that the artificial
neural network obtained the most accurate results. The experimental
results also demonstrated that the method presented in the study had a
better result than traditional machine learning. Finally, it also showed
that the model proposed in this study had the optimal predictive effect,
and could significantly reduce the cost of time in simulation operation.
The best predictive results could be found with a fewer number of
experiments more efficiently. Thus users could predict a real estate
transaction price that is not far from the current actual prices.
Abstract: An analysis of a synchronous generator in a bond
graph approach is proposed. This bond graph allows to determine the
simplified models of the system by using singular perturbations.
Firstly, the nonlinear bond graph of the generator is linearized. Then,
the slow and fast state equations by applying singular perturbations
are obtained. Also, a bond graph to get the quasi-steady state of the
slow dynamic is proposed. In order to verify the effectiveness of the
singularly perturbed models, simulation results of the complete
system and reduced models are shown.
Abstract: There have been numerous implementations of
security system using biometric, especially for identification and
verification cases. An example of pattern used in biometric is the iris
pattern in human eye. The iris pattern is considered unique for each
person. The use of iris pattern poses problems in encoding the human
iris.
In this research, an efficient iris recognition method is proposed.
In the proposed method the iris segmentation is based on the
observation that the pupil has lower intensity than the iris, and the
iris has lower intensity than the sclera. By detecting the boundary
between the pupil and the iris and the boundary between the iris and
the sclera, the iris area can be separated from pupil and sclera. A step
is taken to reduce the effect of eyelashes and specular reflection of
pupil. Then the four levels Coiflet wavelet transform is applied to the
extracted iris image. The modified Hamming distance is employed to
measure the similarity between two irises.
This research yields the identification success rate of 84.25% for
the CASIA version 1.0 database. The method gives an accuracy of
77.78% for the left eyes of MMU 1 database and 86.67% for the
right eyes. The time required for the encoding process, from the
segmentation until the iris code is generated, is 0.7096 seconds.
These results show that the accuracy and speed of the method is
better than many other methods.
Abstract: The potential of entomopathogenic nematodes in suppressing T. squalida population on cauliflower from transplanting to harvest was evaluated. Significant reductions in plant infestation percentage and population density (/m2) were recorded throughout the plantation seasons, 2011 and 2012 before and after spraying the plants. The percent reduction in numbers/m2 was the highest in March for the treatments with Heterorhabditis indica Behera and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Giza during the plantation season 2011, while at the plantation season 2012, the reduction in population density was the highest in January for Heterorhabditis Indica Behera and in February for H . bacteriophora Giza treatments. In a comparison test with conventional insecticides Hostathion and Lannate, there were no significant differences in control measures resulting from treatments with H. indica Behera, H. bacteriophora Giza and Lannate. At the plantation season is 2012. Also, the treatments reduced the economic threshold of T. squalida on cauliflower in this experiment as compared with before and after spraying with both the two entomopathogenic nematodes at both seasons 2011 and 2012. This means an increase in the marketability of heads harvested as a consequence of monthly treatments.
Abstract: Horizontal platform system (HPS) is popularly applied
in offshore and earthquake technology, but it is difficult and
time-consuming for regulation. In order to understand the nonlinear
dynamic behavior of HPS and reduce the cost when using it, this paper
employs differential transformation method to study the bifurcation
behavior of HPS. The numerical results reveal a complex dynamic
behavior comprising periodic, sub-harmonic, and chaotic responses.
Furthermore, the results reveal the changes which take place in the
dynamic behavior of the HPS as the external torque is increased.
Therefore, the proposed method provides an effective means of
gaining insights into the nonlinear dynamics of horizontal platform
system.
Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of
gibberellic acid and 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid on flower
number, fruit growth and fruit quality of wax apple. GA3 and 2,4-D
were applied at small bud and petal fall stage. Number of flower,
fruit set, fruit drop, fruit crack, fruit growth and fruit quality were
recorded. Results indicated that spraying with 10 ppm GA3 had the
best results in number of flower. GA3 spray at 30 ppm gave the
faster rate of fruit growth than the other treatments. Fruit set, fruit
size as well as fruit weight markedly improved by spraying 30 ppm
GA3, followed by 10 ppm GA3 compared to untreated control.
Moreover, spray GA3 at 30 ppm was the most effective and
increased total soluble solids, reduced titratable acidity and fruit
drop. On the other hand, it was noticed that with 10 ppm 2,4-D
application also enhanced the fruit growth rate, improved
physiological and biochemical characters of fruit compared to
untreated control. It was concluded that both GA3 and 2,4-D spray
have positive effects on fruit development, reduced fruit drop, fruit
crack and improved fruit quality of wax apple under field conditions.
Abstract: In this paper, zigbee communication based wireless energy surveillance system is presented. The proposed system consists of multiple energy surveillance devices and an energy surveillance monitor. Each different standby power-off value of electric device is set automatically by using learning function of energy surveillance device. Thus adaptive standby power-off function provides user convenience and it maximizes the energy savings. Also, power consumption monitoring function is helpful to reduce inefficient energy consumption in home. The zigbee throughput simulator is designed to evaluate minimum transmission power and maximum allowable information quantity in the proposed system. The test result of prototype has been satisfied all the requirements. The proposed system has confirmed that can be used as an intelligent energy surveillance system for energy savings in home or office.
Abstract: This paper presents the generation of bipolar square
wave pulses with characteristics that are suitable for liquid food
sterilization using a Cascaded H-bridge Multilevel Inverter (CHMI).
Bipolar square waves pulses have been reported as stable for a
longer time during the sterilization process with minimum heat
emission and increased efficiency. The CHMI allows the system to
produce bipolar square wave pulses and yielding high output voltage
without using a transformer while fulfilling the pulse requirements
for effective liquid food sterilization. This in turn can reduce power
consumption and cost of the overall liquid food sterilization system.
The simulation results have shown that pulses with peak output
voltage of 2.4 kV, pulse width of between 1 2s and 1 ms at
frequencies of 50 Hz and 100 Hz can be generated by a 7-level
CHMI. Results from the experimental set-up based on a 5-level
CHMI has indicated the potential of the proposed circuit in
producing bipolar square wave output pulses with peak values that
depends on the DC source level supplied to the CHMI modules,
pulse width of between 12.5 2s and 1 ms at frequencies of 50 Hz
and 100 Hz.