Search results for: sliding state space control
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6649

Search results for: sliding state space control

3409 Phosphorus Supplementation of Ammoniated Rice Straw on Rumen Fermentability, Syntesised Microbial Protein and Degradabilityin Vitro

Authors: Mardiati Zain, N. Jamarun, A. S. Tjakradidjaja

Abstract:

The effect of phosphorus supplementation of ammoniated rice straw was studied. The in vitro experiment was carried out following the first stage of Tilley and Terry method. The treatments consisting of four diets were A = 50% ammoniated rice straw + 50% concentrate (control), B = A + 0.2% Phosphor (P) supplement, C = A + 0.4% Phosphor (P) supplement, and D = A + 0.6% Phosphor (P) supplement of dry matter. Completely randomized design was used as the experimental design with differences among treatment means were examined using Duncan multiple range test. Variables measured were total bacterial and cellulolytic bacterial population, cellulolytic enzyme activity, ammonia (NH3) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, as fermentability indicators and synthesized microbial protein, as well as degradability indicators including dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and cellulose. The results indicated that fermentability and degradability of diets consisting ammoniated rice straw with P supplementation were significantly higher than the control diet (P< 0.05). It is concluded that P supplementation is important to improve fermentability and degradability of rations containing ammoniated RS and concentrate. In terms of the most effective level of P supplementation occurred at a supplementation rate of 0.4% of dry matter.

Keywords: Ammoniated rice straw, phosphorus, fermentability, degradability and synthesized microbial protein.

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3408 The Regional Concept, Public Policy and Policy Spaces: The ARC and TVA

Authors: Jay D. Gatrell, Robert Q. Hanham, Jeff Worsham, Maureen McDorman

Abstract:

This paper examines two policy spaces–the ARC and TVA–and their spatialized politics. The research observes that the regional concept informs public policy and can contribute to the formation of stable policy initiatives. Using the subsystem framework to understand the political viability of policy regimes, the authors conclude policy geographies that appeal to traditional definitions of regions are more stable over time. In contrast, geographies that fail to reflect pre-existing representations of space are engaged in more competitive subsystem politics. The paper demonstrates that the spatial practices of policy regions and their directional politics influence the political viability of programs. The paper concludes that policy spaces should institutionalize pre-existing geographies–not manufacture new ones.

Keywords: Agenda setting, politics, region.

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3407 Skin Detection using Histogram depend on the Mean Shift Algorithm

Authors: Soo- Young Ye, Ki-Gon Nam, Ki-Won Byun

Abstract:

In this paper, we were introduces a skin detection method using a histogram approximation based on the mean shift algorithm. The proposed method applies the mean shift procedure to a histogram of a skin map of the input image, generated by comparison with standard skin colors in the CbCr color space, and divides the background from the skin region by selecting the maximum value according to brightness level. The proposed method detects the skin region using the mean shift procedure to determine a maximum value that becomes the dividing point, rather than using a manually selected threshold value, as in existing techniques. Even when skin color is contaminated by illumination, the procedure can accurately segment the skin region and the background region. The proposed method may be useful in detecting facial regions as a pretreatment for face recognition in various types of illumination.

Keywords: Skin region detection, mean shift, histogram approximation.

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3406 A Decade of Creating an Alternative Banking System in Tanzania: The Current State of Affairs of Islamic Banks

Authors: Pradeep Kulshrestha, Maulana Ayoub Ali

Abstract:

The concept of financial inclusion has been tabled in the whole world where practitioners, academicians, policy makers and economists are working hard to look for the best possible opportunities in order to enable the whole society to be in the banking cycle. The Islamic banking system is considered to be one of the said opportunities. Countries like the United Kingdom, United States of America, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the whole of the United Arab Emirates and many African countries have accommodated the aspect of Islamic banking in the conventional banking system as one of the financial inclusion strategies. This paper tries to analyse the current state of affairs of the Islamic Banking system in Tanzania in order to understand the improvement of the provision of Islamic banking products and services in the said country. The paper discusses the historical background of the banking system in Tanzania, the level of penetration of banking products and services and the coming of the Islamic banking system in the country. Furthermore, the paper discusses banking regulatory bodies, legal instruments governing banking operations as well as number of legal challenges facing Islamic banking operations in the country. Following a critical literature review, the paper discovered that there is no legal instrument which talks about the introduction and provision of Islamic banking system in Tanzania. Furthermore, the Islamic banking system was considered as a banking product which is absolutely incorrect because Islamic banking is considered to be as a banking system of its own. In addition to that, it has been discovered that lack of a proper regulatory system and legal instruments to harmonize the conventional and Islamic banking systems has resulted in the closure of one Islamic window in the country, which in the end affects the credibility of the newly introduced banking system. In its conclusive remarks, the paper suggests that Tanzania should work on all legal challenges affecting the smooth operations of the Islamic banking system. This can be in a way of adopting various Islamic banking legal models which are used in countries like Malaysia and others, or a borrowing legal harmonization process which has been adopted by the UK, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya.

Keywords: Islamic banking, Islamic Windows, regulations, banks.

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3405 Review and Experiments on SDMSCue

Authors: Ashraf Anwar

Abstract:

In this work, I present a review on Sparse Distributed Memory for Small Cues (SDMSCue), a variant of Sparse Distributed Memory (SDM) that is capable of handling small cues. I then conduct and show some cognitive experiments on SDMSCue to test its cognitive soundness compared to SDM. Small cues refer to input cues that are presented to memory for reading associations; but have many missing parts or fields from them. The original SDM failed to handle such a problem. SDMSCue handles and overcomes this pitfall. The main idea in SDMSCue; is the repeated projection of the semantic space on smaller subspaces; that are selected based on the input cue length and pattern. This process allows for Read/Write operations using an input cue that is missing a large portion. SDMSCue is augmented with the use of genetic algorithms for memory allocation and initialization. I claim that SDM functionality is a subset of SDMSCue functionality.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, recall, recognition, SDM, SDMSCue.

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3404 Texture Based Weed Detection Using Multi Resolution Combined Statistical and Spatial Frequency (MRCSF)

Authors: R.S.Sabeenian, V.Palanisamy

Abstract:

Texture classification is a trendy and a catchy technology in the field of texture analysis. Textures, the repeated patterns, have different frequency components along different orientations. Our work is based on Texture Classification and its applications. It finds its applications in various fields like Medical Image Classification, Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Agricultural Field, and Textile Industry. Weed control has a major effect on agriculture. A large amount of herbicide has been used for controlling weeds in agriculture fields, lawns, golf courses, sport fields, etc. Random spraying of herbicides does not meet the exact requirement of the field. Certain areas in field have more weed patches than estimated. So, we need a visual system that can discriminate weeds from the field image which will reduce or even eliminate the amount of herbicide used. This would allow farmers to not use any herbicides or only apply them where they are needed. A machine vision precision automated weed control system could reduce the usage of chemicals in crop fields. In this paper, an intelligent system for automatic weeding strategy Multi Resolution Combined Statistical & spatial Frequency is used to discriminate the weeds from the crops and to classify them as narrow, little and broad weeds.

Keywords: crop weed discrimination, MRCSF, MRFM, Weeddetection, Spatial Frequency.

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3403 Heat Transfer Analysis of Rectangular Channel Plate Heat Sink

Authors: Zhang Lei, Liu Min, Liu Botao

Abstract:

In order to improve the simulation effects of space cold black environment, this paper described a rectangular channel plate heat sink. By using fluid mechanics theory and finite element method, the internal fluid flow and heat transfer in heat sink was numerically simulated to analyze the impact of channel structural on fluid flow and heat transfer. The result showed that heat sink temperature uniformity is well, and the impact of channel structural on the heat sink temperature uniformity is not significant. The channel depth and spacing are important factors which affect the fluid flow and heat transfer in the heat sink. The two factors of heat transfer and resistance need to be considered comprehensively to determine the optimal flow structure parameters.

Keywords: heat transfer, heat sink, numerical simulation

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3402 Information Requirements for Vessel Traffic Service Operations

Authors: Fan Li, Chun-Hsien Chen, Li Pheng Khoo

Abstract:

Operators of vessel traffic service (VTS) center provides three different types of services; namely information service, navigational assistance and traffic organization to vessels. To provide these services, operators monitor vessel traffic through computer interface and provide navigational advice based on the information integrated from multiple sources, including automatic identification system (AIS), radar system, and closed circuit television (CCTV) system. Therefore, this information is crucial in VTS operation. However, what information the VTS operator actually need to efficiently and properly offer services is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate into information requirements for VTS operation. To achieve this aim, field observation was carried out to elicit the information requirements for VTS operation. The study revealed that the most frequent and important tasks were handling arrival vessel report, potential conflict control and abeam vessel report. Current location and vessel name were used in all tasks. Hazard cargo information was particularly required when operators handle arrival vessel report. The speed, the course, and the distance of two or several vessels were only used in potential conflict control. The information requirements identified in this study can be utilized in designing a human-computer interface that takes into consideration what and when information should be displayed, and might be further used to build the foundation of a decision support system for VTS.

Keywords: Vessel traffic service, information requirements, hierarchy task analysis, field observation.

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3401 Identifying and Ranking Critical Success Factors for Implementing Leagile Manufacturing Industries Using Modified TOPSIS

Authors: Naveen Virmani, Rajeev Saha, Rajeshwar Sahai

Abstract:

Leagile is combination of both lean and agile system. Lean is concerned with less of everything i.e. less material, less time, less space, less manpower to produce a product, while agile is concerned with quick respond to customer demand and to reconfigure the system as soon as possible to meet the customer expectations well on time. The market is excessively competitive, so there is a dire need for the companies to adopt new and modern technologies with latest equipments. It has been seen that implementation of leagile system become tedious so the purpose of the paper is to find critical success factors (CSF) affecting leagile manufacturing system using literature review and rank them by using modified TOPSIS (Technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution) technique.

Keywords: Agile manufacturing, lean manufacturing, leagile manufacturing, modified TOPSIS.

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3400 The Use of Psychological Tests in Polish Organizations: Empirical Evidence

Authors: Milena Gojny-Zbierowska

Abstract:

In the last decades, psychological tests have been gaining in popularity as a method used for evaluating personnel, and they bring consulting companies solid profits rising by up to 10% each year. The market is offering a growing range of tools for the assessment of personality. Tests are used in organizations mainly in the recruitment and selection of staff. This paper is an attempt to initially diagnose the state of the use of psychological tests in Polish companies on the basis of empirical research.

Keywords: Psychological tests, personality, content analysis, NEO FFI, big five personality model.

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3399 3D Printing Technology in Housing Projects Construction

Authors: Mohammed F. Haddad, Mohammad A. Albenayyan

Abstract:

Realistically, 3-D printing as a technology has not yet reached the required maturity level to handle construction housing projects for citizens on a country scale. However, potentially, it has all of the required elements for addressing this issue. There are two main high-level elements of this technology that need to be capitalized on in order for the technology to reach its full potential: technical and logistical. This paper aims to cover how 3-D printing can be a viable technical solution for housing projects and describes the impact of 3-D printing technical features on the logistical aspects of completing a housing project. Additionally, a perspective about 3-D printing in Saudi Arabia will be presented in order to give the reader an idea of where the Kingdom stands in the deployment of this technology. Finally, a glimpse will be given regarding the potential utilization of this technology for space applications.

Keywords: Large-scale 3-D printing, additive manufacturing, D-shape, contour crafting.

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3398 Complexity of Operation and Maintenance in Irrigation Network Management-A Case of the Dez Scheme in the Greater Dezful, Iran

Authors: Najaf Hedayat

Abstract:

Food and fibre production in arid and semi-arid regions has emerged as one of the major challenges for various socio-economic and political reasons such as the food security and self-sufficiency. Productive use of the renewable water resources has risen on top ofthe decision-making agenda. For this reason, efficient operation and maintenance of modern irrigation and drainage schemes become part and parcel and indispensible reality in agricultural policy making arena. The aim of this paper is to investigate the complexity of operating and maintaining such schemes, mainly focussing on challenges which enhance and opportunities that impedsustainable food and fibre production. The methodology involved using secondary data complemented byroutine observations and stakeholders views on issues that influence the O&M in the Dez command area. The SPSS program was used as an analytical framework for data analysis and interpretation.Results indicate poor application efficiency in most croplands, much of which is attributed to deficient operation of conveyance and distribution canals. These in turn, are reportedly linked to inadequate maintenance of the pumping stations and hydraulic structures like turnouts,flumes and other control systems particularly in the secondary and tertiary canals. Results show that the aforementioned deficiencies have been the major impediment to establishing regular flow toward the farm gates which subsequently undermine application efficiency and tillage operationsat farm level. Results further show that accumulative impact of such deficiencies has been the major causes of poorcrop yield and quality that deem production system in these croplands uneconomic. Results further show that the present state might undermine the sustainability of agricultural system in the command area. The overall conclusion being that present water management is unlikely to be responsive to challenges that the sector faces. And in the absence of coherent measures to shift the status quo situation in favour of more productive resource use, it would be hard to fulfil the objectives of the National Economic and Socio-cultural Development Plans.

Keywords: renewable water resources, Dez scheme, irrigationand drainage, sustainable crop production, O&M

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3397 The Digital Filing Cabinet–A GIS Based Management Solution Tool for the Land Surveyor and Engineer

Authors: A. Giraldo, A. Lapatka, A. Namyslak, S. Pilny, J. B. Miima

Abstract:

This paper explains how the New Jersey Institute of Technology surveying student team members designed and created an interactive GIS map, the purpose of which is to be useful to the land surveyor and engineer for project management. This was achieved by building a research and storage database that can be easily integrated into any land surveyor’s current operations through the use of ArcGIS 10, Arc Catalog, and AutoCAD. This GIS database allows for visual representation and information querying for multiple job sites, and simple access to uploaded data, which is geospatially referenced to each individual job site or project. It can also be utilized by engineers to determine design criteria, or to store important files. This cost-effective approach to a surveying map not only saves time, but saves physical storage space and paper resources.

Keywords: Data Storage, GIS, Land Surveying, Mapping.

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3396 A Study on Improving the Flow Capacity of the Valves

Authors: A. G. Pradeep, Gorantla Giridhar Kumar, Vijay Turaga, Vinod Srinivasa

Abstract:

The major problem in the flow control valve is of lower Flow Capacity (Cv) which will reduce overall efficiency of flow circuit. Designers are continuously working to improve the Cv of the valve, but they need to validate the design ideas they have regarding the improvement of Cv. Traditional method of prototype and testing take a lot of time, that is where CFD comes into picture with very quick and accurate validation along with the visualization which is not possible with traditional testing method. We have developed a method to predict Cv value using CFD analysis by iterating on various Boundary conditions, solver settings and by carrying out grid convergence studies to establish correlation between the CFD model and Test data. The present study investigates 3 different ideas put forward by the designers for improving the flow capacity of the valves like reducing the cage thickness, changing the port position, and using the parabolic plug to guide the flow. Using CFD, we analyzed all design changes using the established methodology that we developed. We were able to evaluate the effect of these design changes on the Valve Cv. We optimized the wetted surface of the valve further by suggesting the design modification to the lower part of the valve to make the flow more streamlined. We could find that changing cage thickness and port position has little impact on the valve Cv. Combination of optimized wetted surface and introduction of parabolic plug improved the Cv of the valve significantly.

Keywords: Flow control valves, flow capacity, CFD simulations, design validation.

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3395 Load Flow Analysis: An Overview

Authors: P. S. Bhowmik, D. V. Rajan, S. P. Bose

Abstract:

The load flow study in a power system constitutes a study of paramount importance. The study reveals the electrical performance and power flows (real and reactive) for specified condition when the system is operating under steady state. This paper gives an overview of different techniques used for load flow study under different specified conditions.

Keywords: Load Flow Studies, Y-matrix and Z-matrix iteration, Newton-Raphson method, Fast Decoupled method, Fuzzy logic, Artificial Neural Network.

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3394 Numerical Studies of Galerkin-type Time-discretizations Applied to Transient Convection-diffusion-reaction Equations

Authors: Naveed Ahmed, Gunar Matthies

Abstract:

We deal with the numerical solution of time-dependent convection-diffusion-reaction equations. We combine the local projection stabilization method for the space discretization with two different time discretization schemes: the continuous Galerkin-Petrov (cGP) method and the discontinuous Galerkin (dG) method of polynomial of degree k. We establish the optimal error estimates and present numerical results which shows that the cGP(k) and dG(k)- methods are accurate of order k +1, respectively, in the whole time interval. Moreover, the cGP(k)-method is superconvergent of order 2k and dG(k)-method is of order 2k +1 at the discrete time points. Furthermore, the dependence of the results on the choice of the stabilization parameter are discussed and compared.

Keywords: Convection-diffusion-reaction equations, stabilized finite elements, discontinuous Galerkin, continuous Galerkin-Petrov.

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3393 Robust Iterative PID Controller Based on Linear Matrix Inequality for a Sample Power System

Authors: Ahmed Bensenouci

Abstract:

This paper provides the design steps of a robust Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) based iterative multivariable PID controller whose duty is to drive a sample power system that comprises a synchronous generator connected to a large network via a step-up transformer and a transmission line. The generator is equipped with two control-loops, namely, the speed/power (governor) and voltage (exciter). Both loops are lumped in one where the error in the terminal voltage and output active power represent the controller inputs and the generator-exciter voltage and governor-valve position represent its outputs. Multivariable PID is considered here because of its wide use in the industry, simple structure and easy implementation. It is also preferred in plants of higher order that cannot be reduced to lower ones. To improve its robustness to variation in the controlled variables, H∞-norm of the system transfer function is used. To show the effectiveness of the controller, divers tests, namely, step/tracking in the controlled variables, and variation in plant parameters, are applied. A comparative study between the proposed controller and a robust H∞ LMI-based output feedback is given by its robustness to disturbance rejection. From the simulation results, the iterative multivariable PID shows superiority.

Keywords: Linear matrix inequality, power system, robust iterative PID, robust output feedback control

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3392 Eurasian Economic Integration: Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Authors: Azhar E. Serikkaliyeva, Nurzhamal A. Aldabek

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to analyze economic and political tendencies of development of integration processes with different developing level and speed on the Eurasian space, by considering two organizations at the region – Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, by considering the interests of participations in organizations of Russia and China as a global powers and Kazakhstan as a leader among the Central Asian countries. This article investigates what certain goals Eurasian countries (especially Russia, Kazakhstan and China) are waiting from integration within the SCO and the EurAsEC, linking the process with the theories of regional integration. After European debt crisis it is more topically to research the integration within the specific region's conditions.

Keywords: Eurasian Economic Community, China, Kazakhstan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Regional integration, Russia.

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3391 Kernel’s Parameter Selection for Support Vector Domain Description

Authors: Mohamed EL Boujnouni, Mohamed Jedra, Noureddine Zahid

Abstract:

Support Vector Domain Description (SVDD) is one of the best-known one-class support vector learning methods, in which one tries the strategy of using balls defined on the feature space in order to distinguish a set of normal data from all other possible abnormal objects. As all kernel-based learning algorithms its performance depends heavily on the proper choice of the kernel parameter. This paper proposes a new approach to select kernel's parameter based on maximizing the distance between both gravity centers of normal and abnormal classes, and at the same time minimizing the variance within each class. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on several benchmarks. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the presented method.

Keywords: Gravity centers, Kernel’s parameter, Support Vector Domain Description, Variance.

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3390 Towards End-To-End Disease Prediction from Raw Metagenomic Data

Authors: Maxence Queyrel, Edi Prifti, Alexandre Templier, Jean-Daniel Zucker

Abstract:

Analysis of the human microbiome using metagenomic sequencing data has demonstrated high ability in discriminating various human diseases. Raw metagenomic sequencing data require multiple complex and computationally heavy bioinformatics steps prior to data analysis. Such data contain millions of short sequences read from the fragmented DNA sequences and stored as fastq files. Conventional processing pipelines consist in multiple steps including quality control, filtering, alignment of sequences against genomic catalogs (genes, species, taxonomic levels, functional pathways, etc.). These pipelines are complex to use, time consuming and rely on a large number of parameters that often provide variability and impact the estimation of the microbiome elements. Training Deep Neural Networks directly from raw sequencing data is a promising approach to bypass some of the challenges associated with mainstream bioinformatics pipelines. Most of these methods use the concept of word and sentence embeddings that create a meaningful and numerical representation of DNA sequences, while extracting features and reducing the dimensionality of the data. In this paper we present an end-to-end approach that classifies patients into disease groups directly from raw metagenomic reads: metagenome2vec. This approach is composed of four steps (i) generating a vocabulary of k-mers and learning their numerical embeddings; (ii) learning DNA sequence (read) embeddings; (iii) identifying the genome from which the sequence is most likely to come and (iv) training a multiple instance learning classifier which predicts the phenotype based on the vector representation of the raw data. An attention mechanism is applied in the network so that the model can be interpreted, assigning a weight to the influence of the prediction for each genome. Using two public real-life data-sets as well a simulated one, we demonstrated that this original approach reaches high performance, comparable with the state-of-the-art methods applied directly on processed data though mainstream bioinformatics workflows. These results are encouraging for this proof of concept work. We believe that with further dedication, the DNN models have the potential to surpass mainstream bioinformatics workflows in disease classification tasks.

Keywords: Metagenomics, phenotype prediction, deep learning, embeddings, multiple instance learning.

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3389 A new Adaptive Approach for Histogram based Mouth Segmentation

Authors: Axel Panning, Robert Niese, Ayoub Al-Hamadi, Bernd Michaelis

Abstract:

The segmentation of mouth and lips is a fundamental problem in facial image analyisis. In this paper we propose a method for lip segmentation based on rg-color histogram. Statistical analysis shows, using the rg-color-space is optimal for this purpose of a pure color based segmentation. Initially a rough adaptive threshold selects a histogram region, that assures that all pixels in that region are skin pixels. Based on that pixels we build a gaussian model which represents the skin pixels distribution and is utilized to obtain a refined, optimal threshold. We are not incorporating shape or edge information. In experiments we show the performance of our lip pixel segmentation method compared to the ground truth of our dataset and a conventional watershed algorithm.

Keywords: Feature extraction, Segmentation, Image processing, Application

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3388 ZBTB17 Gene rs10927875 Polymorphism in Slovak Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Authors: I. Boroňová, J. Bernasovská, J. Kmec, E. Petrejčíková

Abstract:

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a severe cardiovascular disorder characterized by progressive systolic dysfunction due to cardiac chamber dilatation and inefficient myocardial contractility often leading to chronic heart failure. Recently, a genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on DCM indicate that the ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 single nucleotide polymorphism is associated with DCM. The aim of the study was to identify the distribution of ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 polymorphism in 50 Slovak patients with DCM and 80 healthy control subjects using the Custom Taqman®SNP Genotyping assays. Risk factors detected at baseline in each group included age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes and blood pressure. The mean age of patients with DCM was 52.9±6.3 years; the mean age of individuals in control group was 50.3±8.9 years. The distribution of investigated genotypes of rs10927875 polymorphism within ZBTB17 gene in the cohort of Slovak patients with DCM was as follows: CC (38.8%), CT (55.1%), TT (6.1%), in controls: CC (43.8%), CT (51.2%), TT (5.0%). The risk allele T was more common among the patients with dilated cardiomyopathy than in normal controls (33.7% versus 30.6%). The differences in genotype or allele frequencies of ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 polymorphism were not statistically significant (p=0.6908; p=0.6098). The results of this study suggest that ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 polymorphism may be a risk factor for susceptibility to DCM in Slovak patients with DCM. Studies of numerous files and additional functional investigations are needed to fully understand the roles of genetic associations.

Keywords: Dilated cardiomyopathy, SNP polymorphism, ZBTB17 gene.

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3387 Plant Supporting Units (Ekobox) Application Project for Increasing Planting Success in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas

Authors: Gürcan D. Baysal, Ali Tanış

Abstract:

In this study, samples of plant types including rose hip (Rosa canina L.), jujube (Ziziphus jujube), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), elderberry (Sambucus nigra), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) were grown using plant supporting units called Ekobox and drip irrigation systems in the Karapınar, Konya region of Turkey to reveal the efficiency of Ekobox and drip irrigation compared against a control with no irrigation. The plant diameter, height, and survival rates were determined, compared with each other, and statistically analyzed. According to the statistical analysis of the results, Ekobox applications resulted in the highest values for survival rate, diameter, and height measurements whereas the lowest values were determined in the control groups. These results indicate that the cultivation of plants with Ekobox may help protect against the loss of fertile soils as an effective mechanism for combating erosion and desertification. These advantages may also lead to a lasting economic effect on the cultivation of plants by locals of the Karapınar, Konya province who suffer from an ever-decreasing underground water level as a result of agricultural consumption.

Keywords: Drip irrigation, Ekobox, plant diameter, plant height, plant survival rate.

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3386 State of Freelancing in IT and Future Trends

Authors: Mihai Gheorghe

Abstract:

Freelancing in IT has seen an increased popularity during the last years mainly because of the fast Internet adoption in the countries with emerging economies, correlated with the continuous seek for reduced development costs as well with the rise of online platforms which address planning, coordination and various development tasks. This paper conducts an overview of the most relevant Freelance Marketplaces available and studies the market structure, distribution of the workforce and trends in IT freelancing.

Keywords: Freelancing in IT, Freelance Marketplaces, Freelance Market Structure, Globalization, Online Staffing, Trends in Freelancing.

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3385 Javanese Character Recognition Using Hidden Markov Model

Authors: Anastasia Rita Widiarti, Phalita Nari Wastu

Abstract:

Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is a stochastic method which has been used in various signal processing and character recognition. This study proposes to use HMM to recognize Javanese characters from a number of different handwritings, whereby HMM is used to optimize the number of state and feature extraction. An 85.7 % accuracy is obtained as the best result in 16-stated vertical model using pure HMM. This initial result is satisfactory for prompting further research.

Keywords: Character recognition, off-line handwritingrecognition, Hidden Markov Model.

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3384 Research on the Mode and Strategy of Urban Renewal in the Old Urban Area of China: A Case Study of Chongqing City

Authors: Sun Ailu, Zhao Wanmin

Abstract:

In the process of rapid urbanization, old urban renewal is an important task in China's urban construction. This study, using status survey and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, taking Chongqing of China as an example, puts forward the problems faced by the old urban area from the aspects of function, facilities and environment. Further, this study summarizes the types of the old urban area and proposes space renewal strategies for three typical old urban areas, such as old residential area, old factory and old market. These old urban areas are confronted with the problems of functional layout confounding, lack of infrastructure and poor living environment. At last, this paper proposes spatial strategies for urban renewal, which are hoped to be useful for urban renewal management in China.

Keywords: Old urban renewal, renewal mode, renewal strategy, Chongqing, China.

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3383 Computer-aided Sequence Planning of Shearing Operations in Progressive Dies

Authors: Alan C. Lin, Dean K. Sheu

Abstract:

This paper aims to study the methodology of building the knowledge of planning adequate punches in order to complete the task of strip layout for shearing processes, using progressive dies. The proposed methodology uses die design rules and characteristics of different types of punches to classify them into five groups: prior use (the punches must be used first), posterior use (must be used last), compatible use (may be used together), sequential use (certain punches must precede some others) and simultaneous use (must be used together). With these five groups of punches, the searching space of feasible designs will be greatly reduced, and superimposition becomes a more effective method of punch layout. The superimposition scheme will generate many feasible solutions, an evaluation function based on number of stages, moment balancing and strip stability is developed for helping designers to find better solutions.

Keywords: Manufacturing systems, advances in metal forming, computer-aided design, progressive die.

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3382 Markov Game Controller Design Algorithms

Authors: Rajneesh Sharma, M. Gopal

Abstract:

Markov games are a generalization of Markov decision process to a multi-agent setting. Two-player zero-sum Markov game framework offers an effective platform for designing robust controllers. This paper presents two novel controller design algorithms that use ideas from game-theory literature to produce reliable controllers that are able to maintain performance in presence of noise and parameter variations. A more widely used approach for controller design is the H∞ optimal control, which suffers from high computational demand and at times, may be infeasible. Our approach generates an optimal control policy for the agent (controller) via a simple Linear Program enabling the controller to learn about the unknown environment. The controller is facing an unknown environment, and in our formulation this environment corresponds to the behavior rules of the noise modeled as the opponent. Proposed controller architectures attempt to improve controller reliability by a gradual mixing of algorithmic approaches drawn from the game theory literature and the Minimax-Q Markov game solution approach, in a reinforcement-learning framework. We test the proposed algorithms on a simulated Inverted Pendulum Swing-up task and compare its performance against standard Q learning.

Keywords: Reinforcement learning, Markov Decision Process, Matrix Games, Markov Games, Smooth Fictitious play, Controller, Inverted Pendulum.

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3381 About the Structural Stability of the Model of the Nonelectroneutral Current Sheath

Authors: V.V. Lyahov, V.M. Neshchadim

Abstract:

The structural stability of the model of a nonelectroneutral current sheath is investigated. The stationary model of a current sheath represents the system of four connected nonlinear differential first-order equations and thus they should manifest structural instability property, i.e. sensitivity to the infinitesimal changes of parameters and starting conditions. Domains of existence of the solutions of current sheath type are found. Those solutions of the current sheath type are realized only in some regions of sevendimensional space of parameters of the problem. The phase volume of those regions is small in comparison with the whole phase volume of the definition range of those parameters. It is shown that the offered model of a nonelectroneutral current sheath is applicable for theoretical interpretation of the bifurcational current sheaths observed in the magnetosphere.

Keywords: Distribution function, electromagnetic field, magnetoactive plasma, nonelectroneutral current sheath, structural instability, bifurcational current sheath.

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3380 A Logic Based Framework for Planning for Mobile Agents

Authors: Rajdeep Niyogi

Abstract:

The objective of the paper is twofold. First, to develop a formal framework for planning for mobile agents. A logical language based on a temporal logic is proposed that can express a type of tasks which often arise in network management. Second, to design a planning algorithm for such tasks. The aim of this paper is to study the importance of finding plans for mobile agents. Although there has been a lot of research in mobile agents, not much work has been done to incorporate planning ideas for such agents. This paper makes an attempt in this direction. A theoretical study of finding plans for mobile agents is undertaken. A planning algorithm (based on the paradigm of mobile computing) is proposed and its space, time, and communication complexity is analyzed. The algorithm is illustrated by working out an example in detail.

Keywords: Acting, computer network, mobile agent, mobile computing, planning, temporal logic.

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