Abstract: Protective clothing limits heat transfer and hampers
task performance due to the increased weight. Militarism protective
clothing enables humans to operate in adverse environments. In the
selection and evaluation of militarism protective clothing attention
should be given to heat strain, ergonomic and fit issues next to the
actual protection it offers.
Fifty Male healthy subjects participated in the study. The subjects
were dressed in shorts, T-shirts, socks, sneakers and four deferent
kinds of militarism protective clothing such as CS, CSB, CS with
NBC protection and CS with NBC- protection added.
Ergonomically and psychological strains of every four cloths were
investigated on subjects by walking on a treadmill (7km/hour) with a
19.7 kg backpack. As a result of these tests were showed that, the
highest heart rate was found wearing the NBC-protection added
outfit, the highest temperatures were observed wearing NBCprotection
added, followed by respectively CS with NBC protection,
CSB and CS and the highest value for thermal comfort (implying
worst thermal comfort) was observed wearing NBC-protection
added.
Abstract: Full - Scale Accelerated Loading System, one part of
“the Eleventh - Five - Year National Grand Technology Infrastructure
Program" is a facility to evaluate the performance and service life of
different kinds of pavements subjected to traffic loading under full -
controlled environment. While simulating the environments of frigid
zone and permafrost zone, the accurate control of air temperature, road
temperature and roadbed temperature are the key points and also
aporias for the designment. In this paper, numerical simulations are
used to determine the design parameters of the frozen soil simulation
system. At first, a brief introduction of the Full - Scale Accelerate
Loading System was given. Then, the temperature control method of
frozen soil simulation system was proposed. Finally, by using finite
element simulations, the optimal design of frozen soil simulation
system was obtained. This proposed design, which was obtained by
finite element simulations, provided significant referents to the
ultimate design of the environment simulation system.
Abstract: Ciprofloxacin (CIP) and Carbamazepine (CBZ), nonbiodegradable pharmaceutical residues, were become emerging pollutants in several aquatic environments. The objectives of this research were to study the possibility to recover these pharmaceuticals residues from pharmaceutical wastewater by increasing the selective adsorption on synthesized functionalized porous silicate, comparing with powdered activated carbon (PAC). Hexagonal mesoporous silicate (HMS), functionalized HMSs (3- aminopropyltriethoxy, 3- mercaptopropyltrimethoxy and noctyldimethyl) were synthesized and characterized physico-chemical characteristics. Obtained adsorption kinetics and isotherms showed that 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxy functional groups grafted on HMS provided highest CIP and CBZ adsorption capacities; however, it was still lower than that of PAC. The kinetic results were compatible with pseudo-second order. The hydrophobicity and hydrogen bonding might play a key role on the adsorption. Furthermore, the capacities were affected by varying pH values due to the strength of hydrogen bonding between targeted compounds and adsorbents. Electrostatic interaction might not affect the adsorption capacities.
Abstract: There is a growing body of evidence to support the
proposition of product take back for remanufacturing particularly
within the context of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
Remanufacturing however presents challenges unlike that of
traditional manufacturing environments due to its high levels of
uncertainty which may further distract organizations from
considering its potential benefits. This paper presents a novel
modeling approach for evaluating the uncertainty of part failures
within the remanufacturing process and its impact on economic and
environmental performance measures. This paper presents both the
theoretical modeling approach and an example of its use in
application.
Abstract: Existing methods in which the animation data of all frames are stored and reproduced as with vertex animation cannot be used in mobile device environments because these methods use large amounts of the memory. So 3D animation data reduction methods aimed at solving this problem have been extensively studied thus far and we propose a new method as follows. First, we find and remove frames in which motion changes are small out of all animation frames and store only the animation data of remaining frames (involving large motion changes). When playing the animation, the removed frame areas are reconstructed using the interpolation of the remaining frames. Our key contribution is to calculate the accelerations of the joints of individual frames and the standard deviations of the accelerations using the information of joint locations in the relevant 3D model in order to find and delete frames in which motion changes are small. Our methods can reduce data sizes by approximately 50% or more while providing quality which is not much lower compared to original animations. Therefore, our method is expected to be usefully used in mobile device environments or other environments in which memory sizes are limited.
Abstract: In this contribution a newly developed e-learning environment is presented, which incorporates Intelligent Agents and Computational Intelligence Techniques. The new e-learning environment is constituted by three parts, the E-learning platform Front-End, the Student Questioner Reasoning and the Student Model Agent. These parts are distributed geographically in dispersed computer servers, with main focus on the design and development of these subsystems through the use of new and emerging technologies. These parts are interconnected in an interoperable way, using web services for the integration of the subsystems, in order to enhance the user modelling procedure and achieve the goals of the learning process.
Abstract: New generation mobile communication networks have
the ability of supporting triple play. In order that, Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) access techniques have
been chosen to enlarge the system ability for high data rates
networks. Many of cross-layer modeling and optimization schemes
for Quality of Service (QoS) and capacity of downlink multiuser
OFDM system were proposed. In this paper, the Maximum Weighted
Capacity (MWC) based resource allocation at the Physical (PHY)
layer is used. This resource allocation scheme provides a much better
QoS than the previous resource allocation schemes, while
maintaining the highest or nearly highest capacity and costing similar
complexity. In addition, the Delay Satisfaction (DS) scheduling at the
Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, which allows more than one
connection to be served in each slot is used. This scheduling
technique is more efficient than conventional scheduling to
investigate both of the number of users as well as the number of
subcarriers against system capacity. The system will be optimized for
different operational environments: the outdoor deployment scenarios
as well as the indoor deployment scenarios are investigated and also
for different channel models. In addition, effective capacity approach
[1] is used not only for providing QoS for different mobile users, but
also to increase the total wireless network's throughput.
Abstract: This paper introduces a temporal epistemic logic
CBCTL that updates agent-s belief states through communications
in them, based on computational tree logic (CTL). In practical
environments, communication channels between agents may not be
secure, and in bad cases agents might suffer blackouts. In this study,
we provide inform* protocol based on ACL of FIPA, and declare the
presence of secure channels between two agents, dependent on time.
Thus, the belief state of each agent is updated along with the progress
of time. We show a prover, that is a reasoning system for a given
formula in a given a situation of an agent ; if it is directly provable
or if it could be validated through the chains of communications, the
system returns the proof.
Abstract: Abstract–Indoor air (VOCs) samples were collected
simultaneously from variety of indoors (e.g. living rooms, baby-s
rooms) and outdoor environments which were voluntarily selected
from the houses in which pregnant residents live throughout Ankara.
This is the first comprehensive study done in Turkey starting from
prenatal period and continued till the babies had one year old. VOCs
levels were measured over 76 homes. Air samples were collected in
Tenax TA sorbent filled tubes with active sampling method and
analyzed with Thermal Desorber and Gas Chromatography/Mass
spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). At the first sampling period in the baby-s
rooms maximum concentration of toluene was measured about
240.77μg.m-3 and in the living rooms maximum concentration of
naphthalene was 180.24μg.m-3. At the second sampling period in the
baby-s rooms maximum concentration of toluene was measured
about 144.97μg.m-3 and in the living rooms maximum concentration
of naphthalene was 247.89μg.m-3. Concentration of TVOCs in the
first period was generally higher than the second period.
Abstract: One of the essential requirements of a realistic
surgical simulator is to reproduce haptic sensations due to the
interactions in the virtual environment. However, the interaction need
to be performed in real-time, since a delay between the user action
and the system reaction reduces the immersion sensation. In this
paper, a prototype of a coronary stent implant simulator is present;
this system allows real-time interactions with an artery by means of a
specific haptic device. To improve the realism of the simulation, the
building of the virtual environment is based on real patients- images
and a Web Portal is used to search in the geographically remote
medical centres a virtual environment with specific features in terms
of pathology or anatomy. The functional architecture of the system
defines several Medical Centres in which virtual environments built
from the real patients- images and related metadata with specific
features in terms of pathology or anatomy are stored. The searched
data are downloaded from the Medical Centre to the Training Centre
provided with a specific haptic device and with the software
necessary both to manage the interaction in the virtual environment.
After the integration of the virtual environment in the simulation
system it is possible to perform training on the specific surgical
procedure.
Abstract: Dust storms are one of the most costly and destructive
events in many desert regions. They can cause massive damages both
in natural environments and human lives. This paper is aimed at
presenting a preliminary study on dust storms, as a major natural
hazard in arid and semi-arid regions. As a case study, dust storm
events occurred in Zabol city located in Sistan Region of Iran was
analyzed to diagnose and predict dust storms. The identification and
prediction of dust storm events could have significant impacts on
damages reduction. Present models for this purpose are complicated
and not appropriate for many areas with poor-data environments. The
present study explores Gamma test for identifying inputs of ANNs
model, for dust storm prediction. Results indicate that more attempts
must be carried out concerning dust storms identification and
segregate between various dust storm types.
Abstract: The problem on the conservation programme of the Royal Thai Navy Sea Turtle Nursery, Phang-nga Province, Thailand is high mortality rate of juvenile green sea turtle (Cheloniamydas) on nursing period. So, during May to October 2012, postmortem examinations of juvenile green sea turtle were performed to determine the causes of dead. Fresh tissues of postmortem of 15 juvenile green sea turtles (1-3 months old) were investigated using paraffin section technique. The results showed normal ultrastructure of all tissue organs. These instances reviewed the health and stability of the environments in which juvenile green sea turtles live and concern for the survival rate. The present article also provides guidance for a review of the biology, guidelines for appropriate postmortem tissue, normal histology and sampling collection and procedures. The data also provides information for conservation of this endangered species in term of acknowledging and encouraging people to protect the animals and their habitats in nature.
Abstract: Physiological control of a left ventricle assist device (LVAD) is generally a complicated task due to diverse operating environments and patient variability. In this work, a tracking control algorithm based on sliding mode and feed forward control for a class of discrete-time single input single output (SISO) nonlinear uncertain systems is presented. The controller was developed to track the reference trajectory to a set operating point without inducing suction in the ventricle. The controller regulates the estimated mean pulsatile flow Qp and mean pulsatility index of pump rotational speed PIω that was generated from a model of the assist device. We recall the principle of the sliding mode control theory then we combine the feed-forward control design with the sliding mode control technique to follow the reference trajectory. The uncertainty is replaced by its upper and lower boundary. The controller was tested in a computer simulation covering two scenarios (preload and ventricular contractility). The simulation results prove the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed controller
Abstract: This paper proposes a new decision making structure
to determine the appropriate product delivery strategy for different products in a manufacturing system among make-to-stock, make-toorder,
and hybrid strategy. Given product delivery strategies for all products in the manufacturing system, the position of the Order
Penetrating Point (OPP) can be located regarding the delivery strategies among which location of OPP in hybrid strategy is a
cumbersome task. In this regard, we employ analytic network process, because there are varieties of interrelated driving factors
involved in choosing the right location. Moreover, the proposed structure is augmented with fuzzy sets theory in order to cope with
the uncertainty of judgments. Finally, applicability of the proposed structure is proven in practice through a real industrial case company.
The numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed decision making structure in order partitioning and OPP location.
Abstract: The present study aimed to investigate whether
chlorophyll meter readings (SPAD) can be used as criterion of singleplant
selection in maize breeding. Experimentation was performed at
the ultra-low density of 0.74 plants/m2 in order the potential yield per
plant to be fully expressed. R-31 honeycomb experiments were
conducted in three different areas in Greece (Thessaloniki, Giannitsa
and Florina) using 30 inbred lines at well-watered and water-stressed
conditions during the 2012 growing season. The chlorophyll meter
readings had higher rates at dry conditions, except location of
Giannitsa where differences were not significant. Genotypes of
highest chlorophyll meter readings were consistent across areas,
emphasizing on the character’s stability. A positive correlation
between the chlorophyll meter readings and grain yield was
strengthening over time and culminated at the physiological maturity
stage. There was a clear sign that the chlorophyll meter readings has
the potential to be used for the selection of stress-adaptive genotypes
and may permit modern maize to be grown at wider range of
environments addressing the climate change scenarios.
Abstract: This paper deals with the combination of OSGi and
cloud computing. Both technologies are mainly placed in the field of
distributed computing. Therefore, it is discussed how different
approaches from different institutions work. In addition, the
approaches are compared to each other.
Abstract: In many sensor network applications, sensor nodes are deployed in open environments, and hence are vulnerable to physical attacks, potentially compromising the node's cryptographic keys. False sensing report can be injected through compromised nodes, which can lead to not only false alarms but also the depletion of limited energy resource in battery powered networks. Ye et al. proposed a statistical en-route filtering scheme (SEF) to detect such false reports during the forwarding process. In this scheme, the choice of a security threshold value is important since it trades off detection power and overhead. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy logic for determining a security threshold value in the SEF based sensor networks. The fuzzy logic determines a security threshold by considering the number of partitions in a global key pool, the number of compromised partitions, and the energy level of nodes. The fuzzy based threshold value can conserve energy, while it provides sufficient detection power.
Abstract: WLAN Positioning has been presented by many
approaches in literatures using the characteristics of Received Signal
Strength (RSS), Time of Arrival (TOA) or Time Difference of
Arrival (TDOA), Angle of Arrival (AOA) and cell ID. Among these,
RSS approach is the simplest method to implement because there is
no need of modification on both access points and client devices
whereas its accuracy is terrible due to physical environments. For
TOA or TDOA approach, the accuracy is quite acceptable but most
researches have to modify either software or hardware on existing
WLAN infrastructure. The scales of modifications are made on only
access card up to the changes in protocol of WLAN. Hence, it is an
unattractive approach to use TOA or TDOA for positioning system.
In this paper, the new concept of merging both RSS and TOA
positioning techniques is proposed. In addition, the method to
achieve TOA characteristic for positioning WLAN user without any
extra modification necessarily appended in the existing system is
presented. The measurement results confirm that the proposed
technique using both RSS and TOA characteristics provides better
accuracy than using only either RSS or TOA approach.
Abstract: CDMA cellular networks support soft handover,
which guarantees the continuity of wireless services and enhanced
communication quality. Cellular networks support multimedia
services under varied propagation environmental conditions. In this
paper, we have shown the effect of characteristic parameters of the
cellular environments on the soft handover performance. We
consider path loss exponent, standard deviation of shadow fading and
correlation coefficient of shadow fading as the characteristic
parameters of the radio propagation environment. A very useful
statistical measure for characterizing the performance of mobile radio
system is the probability of outage. It is shown through numerical
results that above parameters have decisive effect on the probability
of outage and hence the overall performance of the soft handover
algorithm.
Abstract: Variations in the growth rate constant of the Listeria
monocytogenes bacterial species were determined at 37°C in
irradiated environments and compared to the situation of a nonirradiated
environment. The bacteria cells, contained in a suspension
made of a nutrient solution of Brain Heart Infusion, were made to
grow at different frequency (2.30e2.60 GHz) and power (0e400
mW) values, in a plug flow reactor positioned in the irradiated
environment. Then the reacting suspension was made to pass into a
cylindrical cuvette where its optical density was read every 2.5
minutes at a wavelength of 600 nm. The obtained experimental data
of optical density vs. time allowed the bacterial growth rate constant
to be derived; this was found to be slightly influenced by microwave
power, but not by microwave frequency; in particular, a minimum
value was found for powers in the 50e150 mW field.