Abstract: Zeolite A and MCM-41 have extensive applications in basic science, petrochemical science, energy conservation/storage, medicine, chemical sensor, air purification, environmentally benign composite structure and waste remediation. However, the use of zeolite A and MCM-41 in these areas, especially environmental remediation, are restricted due to prohibitive production cost. Efficient recycling of and resource recovery from coal fly ash has been a major topic of current international research interest, aimed at achieving sustainable development of human society from the viewpoints of energy, economy, and environmental strategy. This project reported an original, novel, green and fast methods to produce nano-porous zeolite A and MCM-41 materials from coal fly ash. For zeolite A, this novel production method allows a reduction by half of the total production time while maintaining a high degree of crystallinity of zeolite A which exists in a narrower particle size distribution. For MCM-41, this remarkably green approach, being an environmentally friendly process and reducing generation of toxic waste, can produce pure and long-range ordered MCM-41 materials from coal fly ash. This approach took 24 h at 25 oC to produce 9 g of MCM-41 materials from 30 g of the coal fly ash, which is the shortest time and lowest reaction temperature required to produce pure and ordered MCM-41 materials (having the largest internal surface area) compared to the values reported in the literature. Performance evaluation of the produced zeolite A and MCM-41 materials in wastewater treatment and air pollution control were reported. The residual fly ash was also converted to zeolite Na-P1 which showed good performance in removal of multi-metal ions in wastewater. In wastewater treatment, compared to commercial-grade zeolite A, adsorbents produced from coal fly ash were effective in removing multi heavy metal ions in water and could be an alternative material for treatment of wastewater. In methane emission abatement, the zeolite A (produced from coal fly ash) achieved similar methane removal efficiency compared to the zeolite A prepared from pure chemicals. This report provides the guidance for production of zeolite A and MCM-41 from coal fly ash by a cost-effective approach which opens potential applications of these materials in environmental industry. Finally, environmental and economic aspects of production of zeolite A and MCM-41 from coal fly ash were discussed.
Abstract: The role of knowledge is a determinative factor in the
life of economy and society. To determine knowledge is not an easy
task yet the real task is to determine the right knowledge. From this
view knowledge is a sum of experience, ideas and cognitions which
can help companies to remain in markets and to realize a maximum
profit. At the same time changes of circumstances project in advance
that contents and demands of the right knowledge are changing. In
this paper we will analyse a special segment on the basis of an
empirical survey. We investigated the behaviour and strategies of
small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of
knowledge-handling. This survey was realized by questionnaires and
wide range statistical methods were used during processing. As a
result we will show how these companies are prepared to operate in a
knowledge-based economy and in which areas they have prominent
deficiencies.
Abstract: One of the difficulties of the vibration-based damage identification methods is the nonuniqueness of the results of damage identification. The different damage locations and severity may cause the identical response signal, which is even more severe for detection of the multiple damage. This paper proposes a new strategy for damage detection to avoid this nonuniqueness. This strategy firstly determines the approximates damage area based on the statistical pattern recognition method using the dynamic strain signal measured by the distributed fiber Bragg grating, and then accurately evaluates the damage information based on the Bayesian model updating method using the experimental modal data. The stochastic simulation method is then used to compute the high-dimensional integral in the Bayesian problem. Finally, an experiment of the plate structure, simulating one part of mechanical structure, is used to verify the effectiveness of this approach.
Abstract: Water is the key of national development. Wherever a spring has been dried out or a river has changed its course, the area-s people have migrated and have been scattered and the area-s civilization has lost its brilliance. Today, air pollution, global warming and ozone layer damage are as the problems of countries, but certainly in the next decade the shortage and pollution of waters will be important issues of the world. The polluted waters are more dangerous in when they are used in agriculture. Because they infect plants and these plants are used in human and livestock consumption in food chain. With the increasing population growth and after that, the increase need to facilities and raw materials, human beings has started to do haste actions and wanted or unwanted destroyed his life basin. They try to overuse and capture his environment extremely, instead of having futurism approach in sustainable use of nature. This process includes Zayanderood recession, and caused its pollution after the transition from industrial and urban areas. Zayandehrood River in Isfahan is a vital artery of a living ecosystem. Now is the location of disposal waste water of many cities, villages and existing industries. The central area of the province is an important industrial place, and its environmental situation has reached a critical stage. Not only a large number of pollution-generating industries are active in the city limits, but outside of the city and adjacent districts Zayandehrood River, heavy industries like steel, Mobarakeh Steel and other tens great units pollute wild life. This article tries to study contaminant sources of Zayanderood and their severity, and determine and discuss the share of each of these resources by major industrial centers located in areas. At the end, we represent suitable strategy.
Abstract: The lack of inclusive housing in Australia contributes
to the marginalization and exclusion of people with disability and
older people from family and community life. The Australian
government has handed over the responsibility of increasing the
supply of inclusive housing to the housing industry through an agreed
national access standard and a voluntary strategy. Voluntary
strategies have not been successful in other constituencies and little is
known about what would work in Australia today. Findings from a
research project into the voluntariness of the housing industry
indicate that a reliable and consistent supply is unlikely without an
equivalent increase in demand. The strategy has, however, an
important role to play in the task of changing housing industry
practices towards building more inclusive communities.
Abstract: The major goal in defining and examining game
scenarios is to find good strategies as solutions to the game. A
plausible solution is a recommendation to the players on how to play
the game, which is represented as strategies guided by the various
choices available to the players. These choices invariably compel the
players (decision makers) to execute an action following some
conscious tactics. In this paper, we proposed a refinement-based
heuristic as a machine learning technique for human-like decision
making in playing Ayo game. The result showed that our machine
learning technique is more adaptable and more responsive in making
decision than human intelligence. The technique has the advantage
that a search is astutely conducted in a shallow horizon game tree.
Our simulation was tested against Awale shareware and an appealing
result was obtained.
Abstract: Interactive push VOD system is a new kind of system
that incorporates push technology and interactive technique. It can
push movies to users at high speeds at off-peak hours for optimal
network usage so as to save bandwidth. This paper presents effective
software-based solution for processing mass downstream data at
terminals of interactive push VOD system, where the service can
download movie according to a viewer-s selection. The downstream
data is divided into two catalogs: (1) the carousel data delivered
according to DSM-CC protocol; (2) IP data delivered according to
Euro-DOCSIS protocol. In order to accelerate download speed and
reduce data loss rate at terminals, this software strategy introduces
caching, multi-thread and resuming mechanisms. The experiments
demonstrate advantages of the software-based solution.
Abstract: Unified Modeling Language (UML) extensions for real time embedded systems (RTES) co-design, are taking a growing interest by a great number of industrial and research communities. The extension mechanism is provided by UML profiles for RTES. It aims at improving an easily-understood method of system design for non-experts. On the other hand, one of the key items of the co- design methods is the Hardware/Software partitioning and scheduling tasks. Indeed, it is mandatory to define where and when tasks are implemented and run. Unfortunately the main goals of co-design are not included in the usual practice of UML profiles. So, there exists a need for mapping used models to an execution platform for both schedulability test and HW/SW partitioning. In the present work, test schedulability and design space exploration are performed at an early stage. The proposed approach adopts Model Driven Engineering MDE. It starts from UML specification annotated with the recent profile for the Modeling and Analysis of Real Time Embedded systems MARTE. Following refinement strategy, transformation rules allow to find a feasible schedule that satisfies timing constraints and to define where tasks will be implemented. The overall approach is experimented for the design of a football player robot application.
Abstract: A novel design of two-wheeled robotic vehicle with moving payload is presented in this paper. A mathematical model describing the vehicle dynamics is derived and simulated in Matlab Simulink environment. Two control strategies were developed to stabilise the vehicle in the upright position. A robust Proportional- Integral-Derivative (PID) control strategy has been implemented and initially tested to measure the system performance, while the second control strategy is to use a hybrid fuzzy logic controller (FLC). The results are given on a comparative basis for the system performance in terms of disturbance rejection, control algorithms robustness as well as the control effort in terms of input torque.
Abstract: A New features are extracted and compared to
improve the prediction of protein-protein interactions. The basic idea
is to select and use the best set of features from the Tensor matrices
that are produced by the frequency vectors of the protein sequences.
Three set of features are compared, the first set is based on the
indices that are the most common in the interacting proteins, the
second set is based on the indices that tend to be common in the
interacting and non-interacting proteins, and the third set is
constructed by using random indices. Moreover, three encoding
strategies are compared; that are based on the amino asides polarity,
structure, and chemical properties. The experimental results indicate
that the highest accuracy can be obtained by using random indices
with chemical properties encoding strategy and support vector
machine.
Abstract: The experimental study of position control of a light
weight and small size robotic finger during non-contact motion is
presented in this paper. The finger possesses fingertip pinching and
self adaptive grasping capabilities, and is made of a seven bar linkage
mechanism with a slider in the middle phalanx. The control system is
tested under the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control
algorithm and Recursive Least Square (RLS) based Feedback Error
Learning (FEL) control scheme to overcome the uncertainties present
in the plant. The experiments conducted in Matlab Simulink and xPC
Target environments show that the overall control strategy is efficient
in controlling the finger movement.
Abstract: The modern Kazakh society is characterized by strengthen cross-cultural communication, the emergence of new powerful subcultures, accelerated change in social systems and values. The socio-political reforms in all fields have changed the quality of social relationships and spiritual life.Cross-cultural approach involves the analysis of different types of behavior and communication, including the manifestation of the conflict, and the formation of marginal destructive stereotypes.
Abstract: The development of sustainable utilization water resources is crucial. The ecological environment and water resources systems form the foundation of the existence and development of the social economy. The urban ecological support system depends on these resources as well. This research studies the vulnerability, criticality, and risk of climate change on water supply and demand in the main administrative district of the Taijiang Area (Tainan City). Based on the two situations set in this paper and various factors (indexes), this research adopts two kinds of weights (equal and AHP) to conduct the calculation and establish the water supply and demand risk map for the target year 2039. According to the risk analysis result, which is based on equal weight, only one district belongs to a high-grade district (Grade 4). Based on the AHP weight, 16 districts belong to a high-grade or higher-grade district (Grades 4 and 5), and from among them, two districts belong to the highest grade (Grade 5). These results show that the risk level of water supply and demand in cities is higher than that in towns. The government generally gives more attention to the adjustment strategy in the “cities." However, it should also provide proper adjustment strategies for the “towns" to be able to cope with the risks of water supply and demand.
Abstract: As current business environment is demanding a
constant adaptation of companies, the planning and strategic
management should be an ongoing and natural process in all kind of
organizations. The use of management and monitoring strategic
performance tools such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) have been
popular; even to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. This paper
aims to investigate whether the BSC is being used in monitoring the
performance of small businesses, particularly in small fuel retailers
companies, which are competing in co-branding; and if not, it aims to
identify its strategic orientation in order to recommend a possible
strategy map for those managers that are willing to adopt this model
as an alternative to traditional ones for organizational performance
evaluation, which often focus only on evaluation of the
organizational financial performance.
Abstract: Corporate credit rating prediction using statistical and
artificial intelligence (AI) techniques has been one of the attractive
research topics in the literature. In recent years, multiclass
classification models such as artificial neural network (ANN) or
multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) have become a very
appealing machine learning approaches due to their good
performance. However, most of them have only focused on classifying
samples into nominal categories, thus the unique characteristic of the
credit rating - ordinality - has been seldom considered in their
approaches. This study proposes new types of ANN and MSVM
classifiers, which are named OMANN and OMSVM respectively.
OMANN and OMSVM are designed to extend binary ANN or SVM
classifiers by applying ordinal pairwise partitioning (OPP) strategy.
These models can handle ordinal multiple classes efficiently and
effectively. To validate the usefulness of these two models, we applied
them to the real-world bond rating case. We compared the results of
our models to those of conventional approaches. The experimental
results showed that our proposed models improve classification
accuracy in comparison to typical multiclass classification techniques
with the reduced computation resource.
Abstract: This paper presents an effective framework for Chinesesyntactic parsing, which includes two parts. The first one is a parsing framework, which is based on an improved bottom-up chart parsingalgorithm, and integrates the idea of the beam search strategy of N bestalgorithm and heuristic function of A* algorithm for pruning, then get multiple parsing trees. The second is a novel evaluation model, which integrates contextual and partial lexical information into traditional PCFG model and defines a new score function. Using this model, the tree with the highest score is found out as the best parsing tree. Finally,the contrasting experiment results are given. Keywords?syntactic parsing, PCFG, pruning, evaluation model.
Abstract: In this paper a new control strategy based on Brain
Emotional Learning (BEL) model has been introduced. A modified
BEL model has been proposed to increase the degree of freedom,
controlling capability, reliability and robustness, which can be
implemented in real engineering systems.
The performance of the proposed BEL controller has been
illustrated by applying it on different nonlinear uncertain systems,
showing very good adaptability and robustness, while maintaining
stability.
Abstract: A heuristic conceptual model for to develop the
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), especially in preventive
strategy, has been explored during this paper. In most real cases
which complicity of system obligates high degree of reliability, this
model proposes a more appropriate reliability function between life
time distribution based and another which is based on relevant
Extreme Value (EV) distribution. A statistical and mathematical
approach is used to estimate and verify these two distribution
functions. Then best one is chosen just among them, whichever is
more reliable. A numeric Industrial case study will be reviewed to
represent the concepts of this paper, more clearly.
Abstract: This paper presents the study of a variable speed wind
energy conversion system based on a Doubly Fed Induction Generator
(DFIG) based on a sliding mode control applied to achieve control of
active and reactive powers exchanged between the stator of the DFIG
and the grid to ensure a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of
a wind energy conversion system. The proposed control algorithm is
applied to a DFIG whose stator is directly connected to the grid and
the rotor is connected to the PWM converter. To extract a maximum
of power, the rotor side converter is controlled by using a stator
flux-oriented strategy. The created decoupling control between active
and reactive stator power allows keeping the power factor close to
unity. Simulation results show that the wind turbine can operate at
its optimum energy for a wide range of wind speed.
Abstract: The dynamic or complex modulus test is considered
to be a mechanistically based laboratory test to reliably characterize
the strength and load-resistance of Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) mixes
used in the construction of roads. The most common observation is
that the data collected from these tests are often noisy and somewhat
non-sinusoidal. This hampers accurate analysis of the data to obtain
engineering insight. The goal of the work presented in this paper is to
develop and compare automated evolutionary computational
techniques to filter test noise in the collection of data for the HMA
complex modulus test. The results showed that the Covariance
Matrix Adaptation-Evolutionary Strategy (CMA-ES) approach is
computationally efficient for filtering data obtained from the HMA
complex modulus test.