Abstract: Application of nanoparticles as additives in membrane
synthesis for improving the resistance of membranes against fouling
has triggered recent interest in new membrane types. However, most
nanoparticle-enhanced membranes suffer from the tradeoff between
permeability and selectivity. In this study, nano-WS2 was explored as
the additive in membrane synthesis by non-solvent induced phase
separation. Blended PES-WS2 flat-sheet membranes with the
incorporation of ultra-low concentrations of nanoparticles (from 0.025
to 0.25%, WS2/PES ratio) were manufactured and investigated in
terms of permeability, fouling resistance and solute rejection.
Remarkably, a significant enhancement in the permeability was
observed as a result of the incorporation of ultra-low fractions of
nano-WS2 to the membrane structure. Optimal permeability values
were obtained for modified membranes with 0.10%
nanoparticle/polymer concentration ratios. Furthermore, fouling
resistance and solute rejection were significantly improved by the
incorporation of nanoparticles into the membrane matrix. Specifically,
fouling resistance of modified membrane can increase by around 50%.
Abstract: This paper proposes the numerical simulation of the
investment casting of gold jewelry. It aims to study the behavior of
fluid flow during mould filling and solidification and to optimize the
process parameters, which lead to predict and control casting defects
such as gas porosity and shrinkage porosity. A finite difference
method, computer simulation software FLOW-3D was used to
simulate the jewelry casting process. The simplified model was
designed for both numerical simulation and real casting production.
A set of sensor acquisitions were allocated on the different positions
of the wax tree of the model to detect filling times, while a set of
thermocouples were allocated to detect the temperature during
casting and cooling. Those detected data were applied to validate the
results of the numerical simulation to the results of the real casting.
The resulting comparisons signify that the numerical simulation can
be used as an effective tool in investment-casting-process
optimization and casting-defect prediction.
Abstract: The paper proposes a way of parallel processing of
SURF and Optical Flow for moving object recognition and tracking.
The object recognition and tracking is one of the most important task
in computer vision, however disadvantage are many operations cause
processing speed slower so that it can-t do real-time object recognition
and tracking. The proposed method uses a typical way of feature
extraction SURF and moving object Optical Flow for reduce
disadvantage and real-time moving object recognition and tracking,
and parallel processing techniques for speed improvement. First
analyse that an image from DB and acquired through the camera using
SURF for compared to the same object recognition then set ROI
(Region of Interest) for tracking movement of feature points using
Optical Flow. Secondly, using Multi-Thread is for improved
processing speed and recognition by parallel processing. Finally,
performance is evaluated and verified efficiency of algorithm
throughout the experiment.
Abstract: Droughts are complex, natural hazards that, to a
varying degree, affect some parts of the world every year. The range
of drought impacts is related to drought occurring in different stages
of the hydrological cycle and usually different types of droughts,
such as meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomical
are distinguished. Streamflow drought was analyzed by
the method of truncation level (at 70% level) on daily discharges
measured in 54 hydrometric stations in southwestern Iran. Frequency
analysis was carried out for annual maximum series (AMS) of
drought deficit volume and duration series. Some factors including
physiographic, climatic, geologic, and vegetation cover were studied
as influential factors in the regional analysis. According to the results
of factor analysis, six most effective factors were identified as area,
rainfall from December to February, the percent of area with
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Abstract: This work evaluated the effect of temperature on headspace solid-phase microextraction of volatile and furanic compounds in coated fish sticks. The major goal was the analysis of the samples as consumed, to reproduce volatile compounds people feel when consuming those products. Extraction at 37 ºC (the human body temperature) throughout the HS-SPME analysis of volatile and furanic compounds in coated fish was compared with higher extraction temperatures, which are frequently used for this kind of determinations. The profile of volatile compounds found in deepfried (F) and non-fried (NF) coated fish at 37 and 50 ºC was different from that obtained at 80 ºC. Concerning furan and its derivatives, an extra formation of these compounds was observed at higher extraction temperatures. The analysis of volatile and furanic compounds in fish coated sticks simulating the cooking and eating conditions can be reliably carried out setting the headspace absorption temperature at 37 ºC.
Abstract: Knowledge management is a process taking any steps
that needed to get the most out of available knowledge resources.
KM involved several steps; capturing the knowledge discovering
new knowledge, sharing the knowledge and applied the knowledge in
the decision making process. In applying the knowledge, it is not
necessary for the individual that use the knowledge to comprehend it
as long as the available knowledge is used in guiding the decision
making and actions. When an expert is called and he provides stepby-
step procedure on how to solve the problems to the caller, the
expert is transferring the knowledge or giving direction to the caller.
And the caller is 'applying' the knowledge by following the
instructions given by the expert. An appropriate mechanism is
needed to ensure effective knowledge transfer which in this case is
by telephone or email. The problem with email and telephone is that
the knowledge is not fully circulated and disseminated to all users. In
this paper, with related experience of local university Help Desk, it is
proposed the usage of Information Technology (IT)to effectively
support the knowledge transfer in the organization. The issues
covered include the existing knowledge, the related works, the
methodology used in defining the knowledge management
requirements as well the overview of the prototype.
Abstract: In this article, the phenomenon of nonlinear
consolidation in saturated and homogeneous clay layer is studied.
Considering time-varied drainage model, the excess pore water
pressure in the layer depth is calculated. The Generalized Differential
Quadrature (GDQ) method is used for the modeling and numerical
analysis. For the purpose of analysis, first the domain of independent
variables (i.e., time and clay layer depth) is discretized by the
Chebyshev-Gauss-Lobatto series and then the nonlinear system of
equations obtained from the GDQ method is solved by means of the
Newton-Raphson approach. The obtained results indicate that the
Generalized Differential Quadrature method, in addition to being
simple to apply, enjoys a very high accuracy in the calculation of
excess pore water pressure.
Abstract: The assessment of surface waters in Enugu metropolis
for fecal coliform bacteria was undertaken. Enugu urban was divided
into three areas (A1, A2 and A3), and fecal coliform bacteria
analysed in the surface waters found in these areas for four years
(2005-2008). The plate count method was used for the analyses. Data
generated were subjected to statistical tests involving; Normality test,
Homogeneity of variance test, correlation test, and tolerance limit
test. The influence of seasonality and pollution trends were
investigated using time series plots. Results from the tolerance limit
test at 95% coverage with 95% confidence, and with respect to EU
maximum permissible concentration show that the three areas suffer
from fecal coliform pollution. To this end, remediation procedure
involving the use of saw-dust extracts from three woods namely;
Chlorophora-Excelsa (C-Excelsa),Khayan-Senegalensis,(CSenegalensis)
and Erythrophylum-Ivorensis (E-Ivorensis) in
controlling the coliforms was studied. Results show that mixture of
the acetone extracts of the woods show the most effective
antibacterial inhibitory activities (26.00mm zone of inhibition)
against E-coli. Methanol extract mixture of the three woods gave best
inhibitory activity (26.00mm zone of inhibition) against S-areus, and
25.00mm zones of inhibition against E-Aerogenes. The aqueous
extracts mixture gave acceptable zones of inhibitions against the
three bacteria organisms.
Abstract: The distributions of stresses and deflection in
rectangular isotropic and orthotropic plates with central
circular hole under transverse static loading have been studied
using finite element method. The aim of author is to analyze
the effect of D/A ratio (where D is hole diameter and A is plate
width) upon stress concentration factor (SCF) and deflection
in isotropic and orthotropic plates under transverse static
loading. The D/A ratio is varied from 0.01 to 0.9. The analysis
is done for plates of isotropic and two different orthotropic
materials. The results are obtained for three different boundary
conditions. The variations of SCF and deflection with respect
to D/A ratio are presented in graphical form and discussed.
The finite element formulation is carried out in the analysis
section of the ANSYS package.
Abstract: It is well known that Logistic Regression is the gold
standard method for predicting clinical outcome, especially
predicting risk of mortality. In this paper, the Decision Tree method
has been proposed to solve specific problems that commonly use
Logistic Regression as a solution. The Biochemistry and
Haematology Outcome Model (BHOM) dataset obtained from
Portsmouth NHS Hospital from 1 January to 31 December 2001 was
divided into four subsets. One subset of training data was used to
generate a model, and the model obtained was then applied to three
testing datasets. The performance of each model from both methods
was then compared using calibration (the χ2 test or chi-test) and
discrimination (area under ROC curve or c-index). The experiment
presented that both methods have reasonable results in the case of the
c-index. However, in some cases the calibration value (χ2) obtained
quite a high result. After conducting experiments and investigating
the advantages and disadvantages of each method, we can conclude
that Decision Trees can be seen as a worthy alternative to Logistic
Regression in the area of Data Mining.
Abstract: Over 90% of the world trade is carried by the
international shipping industry. As most of the countries are
developing, seaborne trade continues to expand to bring benefits for
consumers across the world. Studies show that world trade will
increase 70-80% through shipping in the next 15-20 years. Present
global fleet of 70000 commercial ships consumes approximately 200
million tonnes of diesel fuel a year and it is expected that it will be
around 350 million tonnes a year by 2020. It will increase the
demand for fuel and also increase the concentration of CO2 in the
atmosphere. So, it-s essential to control this massive fuel
consumption and CO2 emission. The idea is to utilize a diesel-wind
hybrid system for ship propulsion. Use of wind energy by installing
modern wing-sails in ships can drastically reduce the consumption of
diesel fuel. A huge amount of wind energy is available in oceans.
Whenever wind is available the wing-sails would be deployed and
the diesel engine would be throttled down and still the same forward
speed would be maintained. Wind direction in a particular shipping
route is not same throughout; it changes depending upon the global
wind pattern which depends on the latitude. So, the wing-sail
orientation should be such that it optimizes the use of wind energy.
We have made a computer programme in which by feeding the data
regarding wind velocity, wind direction, ship-motion direction; we
can find out the best wing-sail position and fuel saving for
commercial ships. We have calculated net fuel saving in certain
international shipping routes, for instance, from Mumbai in India to
Durban in South Africa. Our estimates show that about 8.3% diesel
fuel can be saved by utilizing the wind. We are also developing an
experimental model of the ship employing airfoils (small scale wingsail)
and going to test it in National Wind Tunnel Facility in IIT
Kanpur in order to develop a control mechanism for a system of
airfoils.
Abstract: Dynamic characteristics of a four-lobe journal bearing
of micropolar fluids are presented. Lubricating oil containing
additives and contaminants is modelled as micropolar fluid. The
modified Reynolds equation is obtained using the micropolar
lubrication theory and solving it by using finite difference technique.
The dynamic characteristics in terms of stiffness, damping
coefficients, the critical mass and whirl ratio are determined for
various values of size of material characteristic length and the
coupling number. The results show compared with Newtonian fluids,
that micropolar fluid exhibits better stability.
Abstract: Managing knowledge of research is one way to ensure
just in time information and knowledge to support research strategist
and activities. Unfortunately researcher found the vital research
knowledge in IHL (Institutions of Higher Learning) are scattered,
unstructured and unorganized. Aiming on lay aside conceptual
foundations for understanding and developing OMS (Organizational
Memory System) to facilitate research in IHL, this research revealed
ten factors contributed to the needs of research in the IHL and seven
internal challenges of IHL in promoting research to their academic
members. This study then suggested a comprehensive support of
managing research knowledge using Organizational Memory System
(OMS). Eight OMS characteristics to support research were
identified. Finally the initial work in designing OMS was projected
using knowledge taxonomy. All analysis is derived from pertinent
research paper related to research in IHL and OMS. Further study can
be conducted to validate and verify results presented.
Abstract: This paper critiques several exiting strategic
international human resource management (SIHRM) frameworks and
discusses their limitations to apply directly to emerging multinational
enterprises (EMNEs), especially those generated from China and
other BRICS nations. To complement the existing SIHRM
frameworks, key variables relevant to emerging economies are
identified and the extended model with particular reference to
EMNEs is developed with several research propositions. It is
believed that the extended model would better capture the recent
development of MNEs in transition, and alert emerging international
managers to address several human resource management challenges
in the global context
Abstract: This research involved fingerprints on ballistics after shooting. Two objectives of research were as follow; (1) to study the duration of the existence of latent fingerprints on .38, .45, 9 mm and .223 cartridge case after shooting, and (2) to compare the effectiveness of the detection of latent fingerprints by Black Powder, Super Glue, Perma Blue and Gun Bluing. The latent fingerprint appearance were studied on .38, .45, 9 mm. and .223 cartridge cases before and after shooting with Black Powder, Super Glue, Perma Blue and Gun Bluing. The detection times were 3 minute, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, 78 and 84 hours respectively. As a result of the study, it can be conclude that
Before shooting, the detection of latent fingerprints on 38, .45, and 9 mm. and .223 cartridge cases with Black Powder, Super Glue, Perma Blue and Gun Bluing can detect the fingerprints at all detection times.
After shooting, the detection of latent fingerprints on .38, .45, 9 mm. and .223 cartridge cases with Black Powder, Super Glue did not appear. The detection of latent fingerprints on .38, .45, 9 mm. cartridge cases with Perma Blue and Gun Bluing were found 100% of the time and the detection of latent fingerprints on .223 cartridge cases with Perma Blue and Gun Bluing were found 40% and 46.67% of the time, respectively.
Abstract: The Korean government has applied preliminary feasibility study for new and huge R&D programs since 2008.The study is carried out from the viewpoints of technology, policy, and Economics. Then integrate the separate analysis and finally arrive at a definite result; whether a program is feasible or unfeasible, This paper describes the concept and method of the feasibility analysis focused on technological viability assessment for technical analysis. It consists of technology trend assessment and technology level assessment. Through the analysis, we can determine the chance of schedule delay or cost overrun occurring in the proposed plan.
Abstract: The article deals with technical support of intracranial single unit activity measurement. The parameters of the whole measuring set were tested in order to assure the optimal conditions of extracellular single-unit recording. Metal microelectrodes for measuring the single-unit were tested during animal experiments. From signals recorded during these experiments, requirements for the measuring set parameters were defined. The impedance parameters of the metal microelectrodes were measured. The frequency-gain and autonomous noise properties of preamplifier and amplifier were verified. The measurement and the description of the extracellular single unit activity could help in prognoses of brain tissue damage recovery.
Abstract: An attractor neural network on the small-world topology
is studied. A learning pattern is presented to the network, then
a stimulus carrying local information is applied to the neurons and
the retrieval of block-like structure is investigated. A synaptic noise
decreases the memory capability. The change of stability from local
to global attractors is shown to depend on the long-range character
of the network connectivity.
Abstract: Availability of high dimensional biological datasets such as from gene expression, proteomic, and metabolic experiments can be leveraged for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. Many classification methods in this area have been studied to predict disease states and separate between predefined classes such as patients with a special disease versus healthy controls. However, most of the existing research only focuses on a specific dataset. There is a lack of generic comparison between classifiers, which might provide a guideline for biologists or bioinformaticians to select the proper algorithm for new datasets. In this study, we compare the performance of popular classifiers, which are Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression, k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and Random Forest based on mock datasets. We mimic common biological scenarios simulating various proportions of real discriminating biomarkers and different effect sizes thereof. The result shows that SVM performs quite stable and reaches a higher AUC compared to other methods. This may be explained due to the ability of SVM to minimize the probability of error. Moreover, Decision Tree with its good applicability for diagnosis and prognosis shows good performance in our experimental setup. Logistic Regression and Random Forest, however, strongly depend on the ratio of discriminators and perform better when having a higher number of discriminators.
Abstract: Continuation of an active call is one of the most important quality measurements in the cellular systems. Handoff process enables a cellular system to provide such a facility by transferring an active call from one cell to another. Different approaches are proposed and applied in order to achieve better handoff service. The principal parameters used to evaluate handoff techniques are: forced termination probability and call blocking probability. The mechanisms such as guard channels and queuing handoff calls decrease the forced termination probability while increasing the call blocking probability. In this paper we present an overview about the issues related to handoff initiation and decision and discuss about different types of handoff techniques available in the literature.