Search results for: intelligent decision support system.

Authors: Muzaffer Borekci, Murat S. Kirçil

Abstract:

Predicting the collapse potential of a structure during earthquakes is an important issue in earthquake engineering. Many researchers proposed different methods to assess the collapse potential of structures under the effect of strong ground motions. However most of them did not consider degradation and softening effect in hysteretic behavior. In this study, collapse potential of SDOF systems caused by dynamic instability with stiffness and strength degradation has been investigated. An equation was proposed for the estimation of collapse period of SDOF system which is a limit value of period for dynamic instability. If period of the considered SDOF system is shorter than the collapse period then the relevant system exhibits dynamic instability and collapse occurs.

Keywords: Collapse, degradation, dynamic instability, seismic response.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2106

Authors: V. Karamzadeh, J. Adhvaryu, A. Chandrasekaran, M. Packirisamy

Abstract:

In Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) microfluidics, the throughput of particle sorting is dependent on the complex interplay between the geometric configuration of the channel, the size of the particles, and the properties of the fluid medium, which therefore calls for a detailed modeling and understanding of the fluid-particle interaction dynamics under an acoustic field, prior to designing the system. In this work, we propose a simplified Bulk acoustophoretic system that can be used for size dependent particle sorting. A Finite Element Method (FEM) based analytical model has been developed to study the dependence of particle sizes on channel parameters, and the sorting efficiency in a given fluid medium. Based on the results, the microfluidic system has been designed to take into account all the variables involved with the underlying physics, and has been fabricated using an additive manufacturing technique employing a commercial 3D printer, to generate a simple, cost-effective system that can be used for size sensitive particle sorting.

Keywords: 3D printing, 3D microfluidic chip, acoustophoresis, cell separation, MEMS, microfluidics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1075

Authors: Arvind Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Dattatraya H. Nagaraj, Amanpreet Singh, Jayanthi Prattapati

Abstract:

In recent years, the use of renewable energy resources instead of pollutant fossil fuels and other forms has increased. Photovoltaic generation is becoming increasingly important as a renewable resource since it does not cause in fuel costs, pollution, maintenance, and emitting noise compared with other alternatives used in power applications. In this paper, Perturb and Observe and Incremental Conductance methods are used to improve energy conversion efficiency under different environmental conditions. PI controllers are used to control easily DC-link voltage, active and reactive currents. The whole system is simulated under standard climatic conditions (1000 W/m2, 250C) in MATLAB and the irradiance is varied from 1000 W/m2 to 300 W/m2. The use of PI controller makes it easy to directly control the power of the grid connected PV system. Finally the validity of the system will be verified through the simulations in MATLAB/Simulink environment.

Keywords: Incremental conductance algorithm, modeling of PV panel, perturb and observe algorithm, photovoltaic system and simulation results.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1872

Authors: Cyrille Lambert, Tatiana Kalganova, Emanuele Stomeo

Abstract:

Since 1992, year where Hugo de Garis has published the first paper on Evolvable Hardware (EHW), a period of intense creativity has followed. It has been actively researched, developed and applied to various problems. Different approaches have been proposed that created three main classifications: extrinsic, mixtrinsic and intrinsic EHW. Each of these solutions has a real interest. Nevertheless, although the extrinsic evolution generates some excellent results, the intrinsic systems are not so advanced. This paper suggests 3 possible solutions to implement the run-time configuration intrinsic EHW system: FPGA-based Run-Time Configuration system, JBits-based Run-Time Configuration system and Multi-board functional-level Run-Time Configuration system. The main characteristic of the proposed architectures is that they are implemented on Field Programmable Gate Array. A comparison of proposed solutions demonstrates that multi-board functional-level run-time configuration is superior in terms of scalability, flexibility and the implementation easiness.

Keywords: Evolvable hardware, evolutionary computation, FPGA systems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2458

Authors: Hossein Lotfizadeh, André McDonald, Amit Kumar

Abstract:

Renewable energy resources, which can supplement space and water heating for residential buildings, can have a noticeable impact on natural gas consumption and air pollution. This study considers a technical analysis of a combined solar water heating system with evacuated tube solar collectors for different solar coverage, ranging from 20% to 100% of the total roof area of a typical residential building located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The alternative heating systems were conventional (non-condensing) and condensing tankless water heaters and condensing boilers that were coupled to solar water heating systems. The performance of the alternative heating systems was compared to a traditional heating system, consisting of a conventional boiler, applied to houses of various gross floor areas. A comparison among the annual natural gas consumption, carbon dioxide (CO₂) mitigation, and emissions for the various house sizes indicated that the combined solar heating system can reduce the natural gas consumption and CO₂ emissions, and increase CO₂ mitigation for all the systems that were studied. The results suggest that solar water heating systems are potentially beneficial for residential heating system applications in terms of energy savings and CO₂ mitigation.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, CO2 mitigation, natural gas consumption, solar water heating system, tankless water heater.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1496

Authors: Toyomi Fujita

Abstract:

This paper presents a sensing system for 3D sensing and mapping by a tracked mobile robot with an arm-type sensor movable unit and a laser range finder (LRF). The arm-type sensor movable unit is mounted on the robot and the LRF is installed at the end of the unit. This system enables the sensor to change position and orientation so that it avoids occlusions according to terrain by this mechanism. This sensing system is also able to change the height of the LRF by keeping its orientation flat for efficient sensing. In this kind of mapping, it may be difficult for moving robot to apply mapping algorithms such as the iterative closest point (ICP) because sets of the 2D data at each sensor height may be distant in a common surface. In order for this kind of mapping, the authors therefore applied interpolation to generate plausible model data for ICP. The results of several experiments provided validity of these kinds of sensing and mapping in this sensing system.

Keywords: Laser Range Finder, Arm-Type Sensor Movable Unit, Tracked Mobile Robot, 3D Mapping.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1826

Authors: Mustafa A. Al-Refai

Abstract:

This paper presents the optimal design and simulation of a grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) system to supply electric power to meet the energy demand by Electrical Department in University of Tripoli Libya. Solar radiation is the key factor determining electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper is designed to develop a novel method to calculate the solar photovoltaic generation capacity on the basis of Mean Global Solar Radiation data available for Tripoli Libya and finally develop a system design of possible plant capacity for the available roof area. MatLab/Simulink Programming tools and monthly average solar radiation data are used for this design and simulation. The specifications of equipments are provided based on the availability of the components in the market. Simulation results and analyses are presented to validate the proposed system configuration.

Keywords: Photovoltaic (PV), solar energy, solar irradiation, Simulink.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3471

Authors: Jeong-Min Jo, Young-Jae Han, Chang-Young Lee

Abstract:

Attracting ferromagnetic forces between magnet and reaction rail provide the supporting force in Electromagnetic Suspension. Miniature maglev using permanent magnets and electromagnets is based on the idea to generate the nominal magnetic force by permanent magnets and superimpose the variable magnetic field required for stabilization by currents flowing through control windings in electromagnets. Permanent magnets with a high energy density have lower power losses with regard to supporting force and magnet weight. So the advantage of the maglev using electromagnets and permanent magnets is partially reduced by the power required to feed the remaining onboard supply system so that the overall onboard power is diminished as compared to that of the electromagnet. In this paper we proposed the how to design and control the miniature maglev and confirmed the feasibility of the levitation system using electromagnets and permanent magnets through the manufacturing the miniature maglev

Keywords: Magnetic Levitation system, Maglev, Permanent Magnets, Hybrid Magnet.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2523

Authors: Sun Lim, Sewoong Jun, Il-Kyun Jung

Abstract:

This paper presents a wrap-around view system with 4 smart cameras module and remote motion mobile robot control equipped with smart camera module system. The two-level scheme for remote motion control with smart-pad(IPAD) is introduced on this paper. In the low-level, the wrap-around view system is controlled or operated to keep the reference points lying around top view image plane. On the higher level, a robot image based motion controller is utilized to drive the mobile platform to reach the desired position or track the desired motion planning through image feature feedback. The design wrap-around view system equipped on presents such advantages as follows: 1) a satisfactory solution for the FOV and affine problem; 2) free of any complex and constraint with robot pose. The performance of the wrap-around view equipped on mobile robot remote control is proven by experimental results.

Keywords: four smart camera, wrap-around view, remote mobile robot control

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1825

Authors: Fatimah Alsaleh, Glenda Anthony

Abstract:

The practicum experience is a critical component of any initial teacher education (ITE) course. As well as providing a near authentic setting for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to practice in, it also plays a key role in shaping their perceptions and sense of preparedness. Nevertheless, merely including a practicum period as a compulsory part of ITE may not in itself be enough to induce feelings of preparedness and efficacy; the quality of the classroom experience must also be considered. Drawing on findings of a larger study of secondary and intermediate level mathematics PSTs’ sense of preparedness to teach, this paper examines the influence of the practicum experience in particular. The study sample comprised female mathematics PSTs who had almost completed their teaching methods course in their fourth year of ITE across 16 teacher education programs in Saudi Arabia. The impact of the practicum experience on PSTs’ sense of preparedness was investigated via a mixed-methods approach combining a survey (N = 105) and in-depth interviews with survey volunteers (N = 16). Statistical analysis in SPSS was used to explore the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative interviews data. The results revealed that the PSTs perceived the practicum experience to have played a dominant role in shaping their feelings of preparedness and efficacy. However, despite the generally positive influence of practicum, the PSTs also reported numerous challenges that lessened their feelings of preparedness. These challenges were often related to the classroom environment and the school culture. For example, about half of the PSTs indicated that the practicum schools did not have the resources available or the support necessary to help them learn the work of teaching. In particular, the PSTs expressed concerns about translating the theoretical knowledge learned at the university into practice in authentic classrooms. These challenges engendered PSTs feeling less prepared and suggest that more support from both the university and the school is needed to help PSTs develop a stronger sense of preparedness. The area in which PSTs felt least prepared was that of classroom and behavior management, although the results also indicated that PSTs only felt a moderate level of general teaching efficacy and were less confident about how to support students as learners. Again, feelings of lower efficacy were related to the dissonance between the theory presented at university and real-world classroom practice. In order to close this gap between theory and practice, PSTs expressed the wish to have more time in the practicum, and more accountability for support from school-based mentors. In highlighting the challenges of the practicum in shaping PSTs’ sense of preparedness and efficacy, the study argues that better communication between the ITE providers and the practicum schools is necessary in order to maximize the benefit of the practicum experience.

Keywords: Mathematics, practicum experience, pre-service teachers, sense of preparedness.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1140

Authors: Nadir A. Carreón, Christa Sonderer, Aakarsh Rao, Roman Lysecky

Abstract:

With the advent of complex software and increased connectivity, security of life-critical medical devices is becoming an increasing concern, particularly with their direct impact to human safety. Security is essential, but it is impossible to develop completely secure and impenetrable systems at design time. Therefore, it is important to assess the potential impact on security and safety of exploiting a vulnerability in such critical medical systems. The common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) calculates the severity of exploitable vulnerabilities. However, for medical devices, it does not consider the unique challenges of impacts to human health and privacy. Thus, the scoring of a medical device on which a human life depends (e.g., pacemakers, insulin pumps) can score very low, while a system on which a human life does not depend (e.g., hospital archiving systems) might score very high. In this paper, we present a Medical Vulnerability Scoring System (MVSS) that extends CVSS to address the health and privacy concerns of medical devices. We propose incorporating two new parameters, namely health impact and sensitivity impact. Sensitivity refers to the type of information that can be stolen from the device, and health represents the impact to the safety of the patient if the vulnerability is exploited (e.g., potential harm, life threatening). We evaluate 15 different known vulnerabilities in medical devices and compare MVSS against two state-of-the-art medical device-oriented vulnerability scoring system and the foundational CVSS.

Keywords: Common vulnerability system, medical devices, medical device security, vulnerabilities.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 762

Authors: R. Oonsivilai, M. Oonsivilai, J. Sanguemrum, N. Thumsirirat, A. Oonsivilai

Abstract:

Chaiyaphum Starch Co. Ltd. is one of many starch manufacturers that has introduced machinery to aid in manufacturing. Even though machinery has replaced many elements and is now a significant part in manufacturing processes, problems that must be solved with respect to current process flow to increase efficiency still exist. The paper-s aim is to increase productivity while maintaining desired quality of starch, by redesigning the flipping machine-s mechanical control system which has grossly low functional lifetime. Such problems stem from the mechanical control system-s bearings, as fluids and humidity can access into said bearing directly, in tandem with vibrations from the machine-s function itself. The wheel which is used to sense starch thickness occasionally falls from its shaft, due to high speed rotation during operation, while the shaft may bend from impact when processing dried bread. Redesigning its mechanical control system has increased its efficiency, allowing quality thickness measurement while increasing functional lifetime an additional 62 days.

Keywords: Control system, Machinery, Measurement, Potato starch

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2103

Authors: Hyuck Ki Hong, Young Chang Jo, Yeon Shik Choi, Beom Joon Kim, Hyo Derk Park

Abstract:

To measure the thickness of the subcutaneous adipose tissue layer, a non-invasive optical measurement system (λ=1300 nm) is introduced. Animal and human subjects are used for the experiments. The results of human subjects are compared with the data of ultrasound device measurements, and a high correlation (r=0.94 for n=11) is observed. There are two modes in the corresponding signals measured by the optical system, which can be explained by two-layered and three-layered tissue models. If the target tissue is thinner than the critical thickness, detected data using diffuse reflectance method follow the three-layered tissue model, so the data increase as the thickness increases. On the other hand, if the target tissue is thicker than the critical thickness, the data follow the two-layered tissue model, so they decrease as the thickness increases.

Keywords: Subcutaneous adipose tissue layer, non-invasive measurement system, two-layered and three-layered tissue models.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1855

Authors: Pattrarat Teamkao, Paitip Thiravetyan

Abstract:

The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of soil microorganisms and the burhead plant, as well as the combination of soil microorganisms and plants to remediate monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and triethylene glycol (TEG) in synthetic wastewater. The result showed that a system containing both burhead plant and soil microorganisms had the highest efficiency in EGs removal. Around 100% of MEG and DEG and 85% of TEG were removed within 15 days of the experiments. However, the burhead plant had higher removal efficiency than soil microorganisms for MEG and DEG but the same for TEG in the study systems. The removal rate of EGs in the study system related to the molecular weight of the compounds and MEG, the smallest glycol, was removed faster than DEG and TEG by both the burhead plant and soil microorganisms in the study system.

Keywords: Ethylene glycol, burhead plant, soil microorganisms, phytoremediation

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3729

Authors: Ali Dehghani, Mojtaba Hakimzadeh, Amir Habibi, Navid Mehdizadeh Afroozi

Abstract:

In this paper an isolated wind-diesel hybrid power system has been considered for reactive power control study having an induction generator for wind power conversion and synchronous alternator with automatic voltage regulator (AVR) for diesel unit is presented. The dynamic voltage stability evaluation is dependent on small signal analysis considering a Static VAR Compensator (SVC) and IEEE type -I excitation system. It's shown that the variable reactive power source like SVC is crucial to meet the varying demand of reactive power by induction generator and load and to acquire an excellent voltage regulation of the system with minimum fluctuations. Integral square error (ISE) criterion can be used to evaluate the optimum setting of gain parameters. Finally the dynamic responses of the power systems considered with optimum gain setting will also be presented.

Keywords: SVC, Small Signal Stability, Reactive Power, Control, Hybrid System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2467

Authors: Tahir Iqbal, Mumtaz Ali, Syed Wajahat Kareem, Muhammad Harris

Abstract:

Digital information is expanding in exponential order in our life. Information that is residing online and offline are stored in huge repositories relating to every aspect of our lives. Getting the required information is a task of retrieval systems. Content based image retrieval (CBIR) is a retrieval system that retrieves the required information from repositories on the basis of the contents of the image. Time is a critical factor in retrieval system and using indexed views with CBIR system improves the time efficiency of retrieved results.

Keywords: Content based image retrieval (CBIR), Indexed view, Color, Image retrieval, Cross correlation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1864

Authors: S. Mahmoodzadeh, J. Shahrabi, M. A. Torkamani, J. Sabaghzadeh Ghomi

Abstract:

Recognizing behavioral patterns of financial markets is essential for traders. Japanese candlestick chart is a common tool to visualize and analyze such patterns in an economic time series. Since the world was introduced to Japanese candlestick charting, traders saw how combining this tool with intelligent technical approaches creates a powerful formula for the savvy investors. This paper propose a generalization to box counting method of Grassberger-Procaccia, which is based on computing the correlation dimension of Japanese candlesticks instead commonly used 'close' points. The results of this method applied on several foreign exchange rates vs. IRR (Iranian Rial). Satisfactorily show lower chaotic dimension of Japanese candlesticks series than regular Grassberger-Procaccia method applied merely on close points of these same candles. This means there is some valuable information inside candlesticks.

Keywords: Chaos, Japanese candlestick, generalized box counting, strange attractor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2446

Authors: Shaharin A. Sulaiman, Mizuan Minhat

Abstract:

This paper presents development of an ignition system using spark electrodes for application in a research explosion vessel. A single spark is aimed to be discharged with quantifiable ignition energy. The spark electrode system would enable study of flame propagation, ignitability of fuel-air mixtures and other fundamental characteristics of flames. The principle of the capacitive spark circuit of ASTM is studied to charge an appropriate capacitance connected across the spark gap through a large resistor by a high voltage from the source of power supply until the initiation of spark. Different spark energies could be obtained mainly by varying the value of the capacitance and the supply current. The spark sizes produced are found to be affected by the spark gap, electrode size, input voltage and capacitance value.

Keywords: Ignition, Spark Electrode, Flame

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2105

Authors: Z. Asadi-Shekari, M. Moeinaddini, M. Zaly Shah, A. Hamzah

Abstract:

Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) is a measure for evaluating street conditions for cyclists. Currently, various methods are proposed for BLOS. These analytical methods however have some drawbacks: they usually assume cyclists as users that can share street facilities with motorized vehicles, it is not easy to link them to design process and they are not easy to follow. In addition, they only support a narrow range of cycling facilities and may not be applicable for all situations. Along this, the current paper introduces various effective design factors for bicycle-friendly streets. This study considers cyclists as users of streets who have special needs and facilities. Therefore, the key factors that influence BLOS based on different cycling facilities that are proposed by developed guidelines and literature are identified. The combination of these factors presents a complete set of effective design factors for bicycle-friendly streets. In addition, the weight of each factor in existing BLOS models is estimated and these effective factors are ranked based on these weights. These factors and their weights can be used in further studies to propose special bicycle-friendly street design model.

Keywords: Bicycle level of service, bicycle-friendly streets, cycling facilities, rating system, urban streets.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2288

Authors: Joon-Young Park, Beom-Joo Kim, Jae-Kyung Lee

Abstract:

As an effort to promote wind power industry in Korea, Korea South-East Power Corporation has been developing 22MW YeungHeung wind farm consisting of nine 2 to 3MW wind turbines supplied by three manufacturers. To maximize its availability and reliability and to solve the difficulty of operating three kinds of SCADA systems, Korea Electric Power Corporation has been developing a condition monitoring system integrated with control functions. This paper presents the developed condition monitoring system and its application to YeungHeung wind test bed, and the design of its control functions.

Keywords: condition monitoring, control function, reliability, wind turbine

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2437

Authors: Amir Alani, Mojtaba Mahmoodian, Anna Romanova, Asaad Faramarzi

Abstract:

Pipelines are extensively used engineering structures which convey fluid from one place to another. Most of the time, pipelines are placed underground and are encumbered by soil weight and traffic loads. Corrosion of pipe material is the most common form of pipeline deterioration and should be considered in both the strength and serviceability analysis of pipes. The study in this research focuses on concrete pipes in sewage systems (concrete sewers). This research firstly investigates how to involve the effect of corrosion as a time dependent process of deterioration in the structural and failure analysis of this type of pipe. Then three probabilistic time dependent reliability analysis methods including the first passage probability theory, the gamma distributed degradation model and the Monte Carlo simulation technique are discussed and developed. Sensitivity analysis indexes which can be used to identify the most important parameters that affect pipe failure are also discussed. The reliability analysis methods developed in this paper contribute as rational tools for decision makers with regard to the strengthening and rehabilitation of existing pipelines. The results can be used to obtain a cost-effective strategy for the management of the sewer system.

Keywords: Reliability analysis, service life prediction, Monte Carlo simulation method, first passage probability theory, gamma distributed degradation model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1276

Authors: Zachariah Sinkala

Abstract:

A systems approach model for prostate cancer in prostate duct, as a sub-system of the organism is developed. It is accomplished in two steps. First this research work starts with a nonlinear system of coupled Fokker-Plank equations which models continuous process of the system like motion of cells. Then extended to PDEs that include discontinuous processes like cell mutations, proliferation and deaths. The discontinuous processes is modeled by using intensity poisson processes. The model incorporates the features of the prostate duct. The system of PDEs spatial coordinate is along the proximal distal axis. Its parameters depend on features of the prostate duct. The movement of cells is biased towards distal region and mutations of prostate cancer cells is localized in the proximal region. Numerical solutions of the full system of equations are provided, and are exhibit traveling wave fronts phenomena. This motivates the use of the standard transformation to derive a canonically related system of ODEs for traveling wave solutions. The results obtained show persistence of prostate cancer by showing that the non-negative cone for the traveling wave system is time invariant. The traveling waves have a unique global attractor is proved also. Biologically, the global attractor verifies that evolution of prostate cancer stem cells exhibit the avascular tumor growth. These numerical solutions show that altering prostate stem cell movement or mutation of prostate cancer cells lead to avascular tumor. Conclusion with comments on clinical implications of the model is discussed.

Keywords: Fokker-Plank equations, global attractor, stem cell.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1908

Authors: T. Theodosiou, P. Polychronidou, A. G. Karasavvoglou

Abstract:

The latest years the number of immigrants at Greece has increased dramatically. Their impact on the National Health System (NHS) has not been yet thoroughly investigated. This paper analyses the cost of immigrants to the NHS hospitals of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The data are collected from 2005 to 2011 from five different hospitals and are analysed using linear mixed effects models in order to investigate the effects of nationality and year on the cost of hospitalization and treatment. The results show that generally the Greek nationality patients have a higher mean cost of hospitalization compared to the immigrants and that there is an increasing trend for the cost except for the year 2010.

Keywords: Cost, Eastern Macedonia, Thrace, immigrants, national health system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1538

Authors: Mbainaibeye Jérôme, Noureddine Ellouze

Abstract:

We study in this paper the effect of the scene changing on image sequences coding system using Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZW). The scene changing considered here is the full motion which may occurs. A special image sequence is generated where the scene changing occurs randomly. Two scenarios are considered: In the first scenario, the system must provide the reconstruction quality as best as possible by the management of the bit rate (BR) while the scene changing occurs. In the second scenario, the system must keep the bit rate as constant as possible by the management of the reconstruction quality. The first scenario may be motivated by the availability of a large band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate may be possible to keep the reconstruction quality up to a given threshold. The second scenario may be concerned by the narrow band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate is not possible. In this last case, applications for which the reconstruction quality is not a constraint may be considered. The simulations are performed with five scales wavelet decomposition using the 9/7-tap filter bank biorthogonal wavelet. The entropy coding is performed using a specific defined binary code book and EZW algorithm. Experimental results are presented and compared to LEAD H263 EVAL. It is shown that if the reconstruction quality is the constraint, the system increases the bit rate to obtain the required quality. In the case where the bit rate must be constant, the system is unable to provide the required quality if the scene change occurs; however, the system is able to improve the quality while the scene changing disappears.

Keywords: Image Sequence Compression, Wavelet Transform, Scene Changing, Zero Tree, Bit Rate, Quality.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1361

Authors: Souvik Bhattacharyya, Indradip Banerjee, Anumoy Chakraborty, Gautam Sanyal

Abstract:

Recent growth in digital multimedia technologies has presented a lot of facilities in information transmission, reproduction and manipulation. Therefore, the concept of information security is one of the superior articles in the present day situation. The biometric information security is one of the information security mechanisms. It has the advantages as well as disadvantages. The biometric system is at risk to a range of attacks. These attacks are anticipated to bypass the security system or to suspend the normal functioning. Various hazards have been discovered while using biometric system. Proper use of steganography greatly reduces the risks in biometric systems from the hackers. Steganography is one of the fashionable information hiding technique. The goal of steganography is to hide information inside a cover medium like text, image, audio, video etc. through which it is not possible to detect the existence of the secret information. Here in this paper a new security concept has been established by making the system more secure with the help of steganography along with biometric security. Here the biometric information has been embedded to a skin tone portion of an image with the help of proposed steganographic technique.

Keywords: Biometrics, Skin tone detection, Series, Polynomial, Cover Image, Stego Image.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2678

Authors: Ramón Cruzat, Sergio F. Ochoa, Ignacio Casas, Luis A. Guerrero, José Bravo

Abstract:

Patients under health treatments that involve long  stays at a hospital or health center (e.g. cancer, organ transplants and  severe burns), tend to get bored or depressed because of the lack of  social interaction with family and friends. Such a situation also  affects the evolution and effectiveness of their treatments. In many  cases, the solution to this problem involves extra challenges, since  many patients need to rest quietly (or remain in bed) to their being  contagious. Considering the weak health condition in which usually  are these kinds, keeping them motivated and quiet represents an  important challenge for nurses and caregivers. This article presents a  mobile ubiquitous game called MagicRace, which allows hospitalized  kinds to interact socially with one another without putting to risk  their sensitive health conditions. The game does not require a  communication infrastructure at the hospital, but instead, it uses a  mobile ad hoc network composed of the handheld devices used by  the kids to play. The usability and performance of this application  was tested in two different sessions. The preliminary results show  that users experienced positive feelings from this experience.

 

Keywords: Ubiquitous game, children's emotional support, social isolation, mobile collaborative interactions.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1675

Authors: K. Kusakana

Abstract:

A hybrid energy system is a combination of renewable energy sources with back up, as well as a storage system used to respond to given load energy requirements. Given that the electrical output of each renewable source is fluctuating with changes in weather conditions, and since the load demand also varies with time; one of the main attributes of hybrid systems is to be able to respond to the load demand at any time by optimally controlling each energy source, storage and back-up system. The induced optimization problem is to compute the optimal operation control of the system with the aim of minimizing operation costs while efficiently and reliably responding to the load energy requirement. Current optimization research and development on hybrid systems are mainly focusing on the sizing aspect. Thus, the aim of this paper is to report on the state-of-the-art of optimal operation control of hybrid renewable energy systems. This paper also discusses different challenges encountered, as well as future developments that can help in improving the optimal operation control of hybrid renewable energy systems.

Keywords: Renewable energies, hybrid systems, optimization, operation control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2115

Authors: J. B. V. Subrahmanyam, C. Radhakrishna

Abstract:

To minimize power losses, it is important to determine the location and size of local generators to be placed in unbalanced power distribution systems. On account of some inherent features of unbalanced distribution systems, such as radial structure, large number of nodes, a wide range of X/R ratios, the conventional techniques developed for the transmission systems generally fail on the determination of optimum size and location of distributed generators (DGs). This paper presents a simple method for investigating the problem of contemporaneously choosing best location and size of DG in three-phase unbalanced radial distribution system (URDS) for power loss minimization and to improve the voltage profile of the system. Best location of the DG is determined by using voltage index analysis and size of DG is computed by variational technique algorithm according to available standard size of DGs. This paper presents the results of simulations for 25-bus and IEEE 37- bus Unbalanced Radial Distribution system.

Keywords: Distributed generator, unbalanced radial distributionsystem, voltage index analysis, variational algorithm.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3748

Authors: Fathi Abubrig, Mohamed Delfag, Suad M. Abuzariba

Abstract:

The influence of the crystal field interactions on the mixed spin-3/2 and spin-5/2 ferrimagnetic Ising system is considered by using the mean field theory based on Bogoliubov inequality for the Gibbs free energy. The ground-state phase diagram is constructed, the phase diagrams of the second-order critical temperatures are obtained, and the thermal variation of the sublattice magnetizations is investigated in detail. We find some interesting phenomena for the sublattice magnetizations at particular values of the crystal field interactions.

Keywords: Crystal field, Ising system, Ferrimagnetic, magnetization, phase diagrams.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2147

Authors: Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani, Masoud Mosayebi, Mohammad Pourshams, Ahmad Keshavarzi

Abstract:

Simulation accuracy by recent dynamic vehicle simulation multidimensional expression significantly has progressed and acceptable results not only for passive vehicles but also for active vehicles normally equipped with advanced electronic components is also provided. Recently, one of the subjects that has it been considered, is increasing the safety car in design. Therefore, many efforts have been done to increase vehicle stability especially in the turn. One of the most important efforts is adjusting the camber angle in the car suspension system. Optimum control camber angle in addition to the vehicle stability is effective in the wheel adhesion on road, reducing rubber abrasion and acceleration and braking. Since the increase or decrease in the camber angle impacts on the stability of vehicles, in this paper, a car suspension system mechanism is introduced that could be adjust camber angle and the mechanism is application and also inexpensive. In order to reach this purpose, in this paper, a passive double wishbone suspension system with variable camber angle is introduced and then variable camber mechanism designed and analyzed for study the designed system performance, this mechanism is modeled in Visual Nastran software and kinematic analysis is revealed.

Keywords: Suspension molding, double wishbone, variablecamber, hydraulic mechanism

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7735