Search results for: Basic reproduction number
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4513

Search results for: Basic reproduction number

1093 3D Spatial Interaction with the Wii Remote for Head-Mounted Display Virtual Reality

Authors: Yang-Wai Chow

Abstract:

This research investigates the design of a low-cost 3D spatial interaction approach using the Wii Remote for immersive Head-Mounted Display (HMD) virtual reality. Current virtual reality applications that incorporate the Wii Remote are either desktop virtual reality applications or systems that use large screen displays. However, the requirements for an HMD virtual reality system differ from such systems. This is mainly because in HMD virtual reality, the display screen does not remain at a fixed location. The user views the virtual environment through display screens that are in front of the user-s eyes and when the user moves his/her head, these screens move as well. This means that the display has to be updated in realtime based on where the user is currently looking. Normal usage of the Wii Remote requires the controller to be pointed in a certain direction, typically towards the display. This is too restrictive for HMD virtual reality systems that ideally require the user to be able to turn around in the virtual environment. Previous work proposed a design to achieve this, however it suffered from a number of drawbacks. The aim of this study is to look into a suitable method of using the Wii Remote for 3D interaction in a space around the user for HMD virtual reality. This paper presents an overview of issues that had to be considered, the system design as well as experimental results.

Keywords: 3D interaction, head-mounted display, virtual reality, Wii remote

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1092 Sweet Corn Water Productivity under Several Deficit Irrigation Regimes Applied during Vegetative Growth Stage using Treated Wastewater as Water Irrigation Source

Authors: Hirich A., Rami A., Laajaj K., Choukr-Allah R., Jacobsen S-E., El youssfi L., El Omari H.

Abstract:

Yield and Crop Water Productivity are crucial issues in sustainable agriculture, especially in high-demand resource crops such as sweet corn. This study was conducted to investigate agronomic responses such as plant growth, yield and soil parameters (EC and Nitrate accumulation) to several deficit irrigation treatments (100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% of ETm) applied during vegetative growth stage, rainfed treatment was also tested. The finding of this research indicates that under deficit irrigation during vegetative growth stage applying 75% of ETm lead to increasing of 19.4% in terms of fresh ear yield, 9.4% in terms of dry grain yield, 10.5% in terms of number of ears per plant, 11.5% for the 1000 grains weight and 19% in terms of crop water productivity compared with fully irrigated treatment. While those parameters in addition to root, shoot and plant height has been affected by deficit irrigation during vegetative growth stage when increasing water stress degree more than 50% of ETm.

Keywords: Leaf area, yield, crop water productivity, water saving

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1091 A Model for Test Case Selection in the Software-Development Life Cycle

Authors: Adtha Lawanna

Abstract:

Software maintenance is one of the essential processes of Software-Development Life Cycle. The main philosophies of retaining software concern the improvement of errors, the revision of codes, the inhibition of future errors, and the development in piece and capacity. While the adjustment has been employing, the software structure has to be retested to an upsurge a level of assurance that it will be prepared due to the requirements. According to this state, the test cases must be considered for challenging the revised modules and the whole software. A concept of resolving this problem is ongoing by regression test selection such as the retest-all selections, random/ad-hoc selection and the safe regression test selection. Particularly, the traditional techniques concern a mapping between the test cases in a test suite and the lines of code it executes. However, there are not only the lines of code as one of the requirements that can affect the size of test suite but including the number of functions and faulty versions. Therefore, a model for test case selection is developed to cover those three requirements by the integral technique which can produce the smaller size of the test cases when compared with the traditional regression selection techniques.

Keywords: Software maintenance, regression test selection, test case.

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1090 A Model for Test Case Selection in the Software-Development Life Cycle

Authors: Adtha Lawanna

Abstract:

Software maintenance is one of the essential processes of Software-Development Life Cycle. The main philosophies of retaining software concern the improvement of errors, the revision of codes, the inhibition of future errors, and the development in piece and capacity. While the adjustment has been employing, the software structure has to be retested to an upsurge a level of assurance that it will be prepared due to the requirements. According to this state, the test cases must be considered for challenging the revised modules and the whole software. A concept of resolving this problem is ongoing by regression test selection such as the retest-all selections, random/ad-hoc selection and the safe regression test selection. Particularly, the traditional techniques concern a mapping between the test cases in a test suite and the lines of code it executes. However, there are not only the lines of code as one of the requirements that can affect the size of test suite but including the number of functions and faulty versions. Therefore, a model for test case selection is developed to cover those three requirements by the integral technique which can produce the smaller size of the test cases when compared with the traditional regression selection techniques.

Keywords: Software maintenance, regression test selection, test case.

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1089 Convergence Analysis of Training Two-Hidden-Layer Partially Over-Parameterized ReLU Networks via Gradient Descent

Authors: Zhifeng Kong

Abstract:

Over-parameterized neural networks have attracted a great deal of attention in recent deep learning theory research, as they challenge the classic perspective of over-fitting when the model has excessive parameters and have gained empirical success in various settings. While a number of theoretical works have been presented to demystify properties of such models, the convergence properties of such models are still far from being thoroughly understood. In this work, we study the convergence properties of training two-hidden-layer partially over-parameterized fully connected networks with the Rectified Linear Unit activation via gradient descent. To our knowledge, this is the first theoretical work to understand convergence properties of deep over-parameterized networks without the equally-wide-hidden-layer assumption and other unrealistic assumptions. We provide a probabilistic lower bound of the widths of hidden layers and proved linear convergence rate of gradient descent. We also conducted experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets to validate our theory.

Keywords: Over-parameterization, Rectified Linear Units (ReLU), convergence, gradient descent, neural networks.

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1088 Technique for Grounding System Design in Distribution Substation

Authors: N. Rugthaicharoencheep, A. Charlangsut, B. Ainsuk, A. Phayomhom

Abstract:

This paper presents the significant factor and give some suggestion that should know before design. The main objective of this paper is guide the first step for someone who attends to design of grounding system before study in details later. The overview of grounding system can protect damage from fault such as can save a human life and power system equipment. The unsafe conditions have three cases. Case 1) maximum touch voltage exceeds the safety criteria. In this case, the conductor compression ratio of the ground gird should be first adjusted to have optimal spacing of ground grid conductors. If it still over limit, earth resistivity should be consider afterward. Case 2) maximum step voltage exceeds the safety criteria. In this case, increasing the number of ground grid conductors around the boundary can solve this problem. Case 3) both of maximum touch and step voltage exceed the safety criteria. In this case, follow the solutions explained in case 1 and case 2. Another suggestion, vary depth of ground grid until maximum step and touch voltage do not exceed the safety criteria.

Keywords: Grounding System, Touch Voltage, Step Voltage, Safety Criteria.

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1087 Biodiversity of Micromycetes Isolated from Soils of Different Agricultures in Kazakhstan and Their Plant Growth Promoting Potential

Authors: L. V. Ignatova, Y. V. Brazhnikova, T. D. Mukasheva, A. A. Omirbekova, R. Zh. Berzhanova, R. K. Sydykbekova, T. A. Karpenyuk, A. V. Goncharova

Abstract:

The comparative analysis of different taxonomic groups of microorganisms isolated from dark chernozem soils under different agricultures (alfalfa, melilot, sainfoin, soybean, rapeseed) at Almaty region of Kazakhstan was conducted. It was shown that the greatest number of micromycetes was typical to the soil planted with alfalfa and canola. Species diversity of micromycetes markedly decreases as it approaches the surface of the root, so that the species composition in the rhizosphere is much more uniform than in the virgin soil. Promising strains of microscopic fungi and yeast with plant growth-promoting activity to agricultures were selected. Among the selected fungi there are representatives of Penicillium bilaiae, Trichoderma koningii, Fusarium equiseti, Aspergillus ustus. The highest rates of growth and development of seedlings of plants observed under the influence of yeasts Aureobasidium pullulans, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Metschnikovia pulcherrima. Using molecular - genetic techniques confirmation of the identification results of selected micromycetes was conducted.

Keywords: Agricultures, biodiversity, micromycetes, plant growth-promoting microorganisms.

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1086 The Impact of Copper and Zinc Deficiency on Milk Production Performances of Intensively Grazed Dairy Cows on the North-East of Romania

Authors: Alina Anton, Gheorghe Solcan, Carmen Solcan

Abstract:

The influence of copper and zinc supplements on milk production performances and health indicators was tested in a 20- week feeding trial, with 40 Holstein-Friesian lactating cows, devided in four groups (copper, zinc, copper-zinc and control). Correlations of the Cu and Zn plasma values with some animal performance criteria of health (body condition score and somatic cell counts) and production (milk yield, peak milk yield, fat and crude protein content) were done. During the 140 days of the experiment, the two added minerals caused a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) of their plasma values after the peak of the cows’ lactations. It was also observed that subjects that have received copper and zinc supplements had the lowest number of somatic cell counts in milk. The Pearson correlation test showed a positive corellation (p = 0.007, r = + 0.851) between the plasma Zn and the milk production. The improvement of the nutritional status improved the milk production performances of the cows as well as their health performances.

Keywords: Copper, dairy cows, health, milk production, zinc

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1085 An Energy-Efficient Distributed Unequal Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: Sungju Lee, Jangsoo Lee , Hongjoong Sin, Seunghwan Yoo, Sanghyuck Lee, Jaesik Lee, Yongjun Lee, Sungchun Kim

Abstract:

The wireless sensor networks have been extensively deployed and researched. One of the major issues in wireless sensor networks is a developing energy-efficient clustering protocol. Clustering algorithm provides an effective way to prolong the lifetime of a wireless sensor networks. In the paper, we compare several clustering protocols which significantly affect a balancing of energy consumption. And we propose an Energy-Efficient Distributed Unequal Clustering (EEDUC) algorithm which provides a new way of creating distributed clusters. In EEDUC, each sensor node sets the waiting time. This waiting time is considered as a function of residual energy, number of neighborhood nodes. EEDUC uses waiting time to distribute cluster heads. We also propose an unequal clustering mechanism to solve the hot-spot problem. Simulation results show that EEDUC distributes the cluster heads, balances the energy consumption well among the cluster heads and increases the network lifetime.

Keywords: Wireless Sensor Network, Distributed UnequalClustering, Multi-hop, Lifetime.

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1084 Performance Analysis of a Discrete-time GeoX/G/1 Queue with Single Working Vacation

Authors: Shan Gao, Zaiming Liu

Abstract:

This paper treats a discrete-time batch arrival queue with single working vacation. The main purpose of this paper is to present a performance analysis of this system by using the supplementary variable technique. For this purpose, we first analyze the Markov chain underlying the queueing system and obtain its ergodicity condition. Next, we present the stationary distributions of the system length as well as some performance measures at random epochs by using the supplementary variable method. Thirdly, still based on the supplementary variable method we give the probability generating function (PGF) of the number of customers at the beginning of a busy period and give a stochastic decomposition formulae for the PGF of the stationary system length at the departure epochs. Additionally, we investigate the relation between our discretetime system and its continuous counterpart. Finally, some numerical examples show the influence of the parameters on some crucial performance characteristics of the system.

Keywords: Discrete-time queue, batch arrival, working vacation, supplementary variable technique, stochastic decomposition.

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1083 Service Business Model Canvas: A Boundary Object Operating as a Business Development Tool

Authors: Taru Hakanen, Mervi Murtonen

Abstract:

This study aims to increase understanding of the transition of business models in servitization. The significance of service in all business has increased dramatically during the past decades. Service-dominant logic (SDL) describes this change in the economy and questions the goods-dominant logic on which business has primarily been based in the past. A business model canvas is one of the most cited and used tools in defining end developing business models. The starting point of this paper lies in the notion that the traditional business model canvas is inherently goods-oriented and best suits for product-based business. However, the basic differences between goods and services necessitate changes in business model representations when proceeding in servitization. Therefore, new knowledge is needed on how the conception of business model and the business model canvas as its representation should be altered in servitized firms in order to better serve business developers and interfirm co-creation. That is to say, compared to products, services are intangible and they are co-produced between the supplier and the customer. Value is always co-created in interaction between a supplier and a customer, and customer experience primarily depends on how well the interaction succeeds between the actors. The role of service experience is even stronger in service business compared to product business, as services are co-produced with the customer. This paper provides business model developers with a service business model canvas, which takes into account the intangible, interactive, and relational nature of service. The study employs a design science approach that contributes to theory development via design artifacts. This study utilizes qualitative data gathered in workshops with ten companies from various industries. In particular, key differences between Goods-dominant logic (GDL) and SDLbased business models are identified when an industrial firm proceeds in servitization. As the result of the study, an updated version of the business model canvas is provided based on service-dominant logic. The service business model canvas ensures a stronger customer focus and includes aspects salient for services, such as interaction between companies, service co-production, and customer experience. It can be used for the analysis and development of a current service business model of a company or for designing a new business model. It facilitates customer-focused new service design and service development. It aids in the identification of development needs, and facilitates the creation of a common view of the business model. Therefore, the service business model canvas can be regarded as a boundary object, which facilitates the creation of a common understanding of the business model between several actors involved. The study contributes to the business model and service business development disciplines by providing a managerial tool for practitioners in service development. It also provides research insight into how servitization challenges companies’ business models.

Keywords: Boundary object, business model canvas, managerial tool, service-dominant logic.

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1082 An Efficient Algorithm for Motion Detection Based Facial Expression Recognition using Optical Flow

Authors: Ahmad R. Naghsh-Nilchi, Mohammad Roshanzamir

Abstract:

One of the popular methods for recognition of facial expressions such as happiness, sadness and surprise is based on deformation of facial features. Motion vectors which show these deformations can be specified by the optical flow. In this method, for detecting emotions, the resulted set of motion vectors are compared with standard deformation template that caused by facial expressions. In this paper, a new method is introduced to compute the quantity of likeness in order to make decision based on the importance of obtained vectors from an optical flow approach. For finding the vectors, one of the efficient optical flow method developed by Gautama and VanHulle[17] is used. The suggested method has been examined over Cohn-Kanade AU-Coded Facial Expression Database, one of the most comprehensive collections of test images available. The experimental results show that our method could correctly recognize the facial expressions in 94% of case studies. The results also show that only a few number of image frames (three frames) are sufficient to detect facial expressions with rate of success of about 83.3%. This is a significant improvement over the available methods.

Keywords: Facial expression, Facial features, Optical flow, Motion vectors.

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1081 State Estimation Solution with Optimal Allocation of Phasor Measurement Units Considering Zero Injection Bus Modeling

Authors: M. Ravindra, R. Srinivasa Rao, V. Shanmukha Naga Raju

Abstract:

This paper presents state estimation with Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) allocation to obtain complete observability of network. A matrix is designed with modeling of zero injection constraints to minimize PMU allocations. State estimation algorithm is developed with optimal allocation of PMUs to find accurate states of network. The incorporation of PMU into traditional state estimation process improves accuracy and computational performance for large power systems. The nonlinearity integrated with zero injection (ZI) constraints is remodeled to linear frame to optimize number of PMUs. The problem of optimal PMU allocation is regarded with modeling of ZI constraints, PMU loss or line outage, cost factor and redundant measurements. The proposed state estimation with optimal PMU allocation has been compared with traditional state estimation process to show its importance. MATLAB programming on IEEE 14, 30, 57, and 118 bus networks is implemented out by Binary Integer Programming (BIP) method and compared with other methods to show its effectiveness.

Keywords: Observability, phasor measurement units, synchrophasors, SCADA measurements, zero injection bus.

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1080 Turbulence Modeling of Source and Sink Flows

Authors: Israt Jahan Eshita

Abstract:

Flows developed between two parallel disks have many engineering applications. Two types of non-swirling flows can be generated in such a domain. One is purely source flow in disc type domain (outward flow). Other is purely sink flow in disc type domain (inward flow). This situation often appears in some turbo machinery components such as air bearings, heat exchanger, radial diffuser, vortex gyroscope, disc valves, and viscosity meters. The main goal of this paper is to show the mesh convergence, because mesh convergence saves time, and economical to run and increase the efficiency of modeling for both sink and source flow. Then flow field is resolved using a very fine mesh near-wall, using enhanced wall treatment. After that we are going to compare this flow using standard k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon turbulence models. Lastly compare some experimental data with numerical solution for sink flow. The good agreement of numerical solution with the experimental works validates the current modeling.

Keywords: Hydraulic diameter, k-epsilon model, meshes convergence, Reynolds number, RNG model, sink flow, source flow and wall y+.

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1079 Exemplary Practice: A Case Study of One of New Zealand’s Most Successful Enterprise Education Teachers

Authors: K. Lee

Abstract:

Many teachers are experienced; however, experience does not necessarily equate to excellence. Excellence in teaching is the single most powerful influence on student achievement. This qualitative, interpretivist case study investigates the practices of one of the nation’s most acknowledged teachers in enterprise education. In a number of semi-structured interviews, and observational visits, this remote regional teacher talked freely about what skills and strategies she used to achieve this success. Findings from this study were compared to key ideas developed by Professor John Hattie with regards to differences between expert, excellent and experienced teachers. Key findings showed the ‘expert teacher’ central to this study; ensured learning was engaging, challenging yet achievable for all (for both teacher and student of all abilities), authentic and driven by local needs, involved community supports; and ensured the process and learning was constantly monitored and teaching adjusted accordingly. It is anticipated that the data collected via observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis will help others to support students to gain greater success (in whatever form that may take).

Keywords: Expert teacher, enterprise education, excellence, skills and strategies.

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1078 Analysis of Formyl Peptide Receptor 1 Protein Value as an Indicator of Neutrophil Chemotaxis Dysfunction in Aggressive Periodontitis

Authors: Prajna Metta, Yanti Rusyanti, Nunung Rusminah, Bremmy Laksono

Abstract:

The decrease of neutrophil chemotaxis function may cause increased susceptibility to aggressive periodontitis (AP). Neutrophil chemotaxis is affected by formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1), which when activated will respond to bacterial chemotactic peptide formyl methionyl leusyl phenylalanine (FMLP). FPR1 protein value is decreased in response to a wide number of inflammatory stimuli in AP patients. This study was aimed to assess the alteration of FPR1 protein value in AP patients and if FPR1 protein value could be used as an indicator of neutrophil chemotaxis dysfunction in AP. This is a case control study with 20 AP patients and 20 control subjects. Three milliliters of peripheral blood were drawn and analyzed for FPR1 protein value with ELISA. The data were statistically analyzed with Mann-Whitney test (p>0,05). Results showed that the mean value of FPR1 protein value in AP group is 0,353 pg/mL (0,11 to 1,18 pg/mL) and the mean value of FPR1 protein value in control group is 0,296 pg/mL (0,05 to 0,88 pg/mL). P value 0,787 > 0,05 suggested that there is no significant difference of FPR1 protein value in both groups. The present study suggests that FPR1 protein value has no significance alteration in AP patients and could not be used as an indicator of neutrophil chemotaxis dysfunction.

Keywords: Aggressive periodontitis, chemotaxis dysfunction, FPR1 protein value, neutrophil.

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1077 Adaptive Kaman Filter for Fault Diagnosis of Linear Parameter-Varying Systems

Authors: Rajamani Doraiswami, Lahouari Cheded

Abstract:

Fault diagnosis of Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) system using an adaptive Kalman filter is proposed. The LPV model is comprised of scheduling parameters, and the emulator parameters. The scheduling parameters are chosen such that they are capable of tracking variations in the system model as a result of changes in the operating regimes. The emulator parameters, on the other hand, simulate variations in the subsystems during the identification phase and have negligible effect during the operational phase. The nominal model and the influence vectors, which are the gradient of the feature vector respect to the emulator parameters, are identified off-line from a number of emulator parameter perturbed experiments. A Kalman filter is designed using the identified nominal model. As the system varies, the Kalman filter model is adapted using the scheduling variables. The residual is employed for fault diagnosis. The proposed scheme is successfully evaluated on simulated system as well as on a physical process control system.

Keywords: Keywords—Identification, linear parameter-varying systems, least-squares estimation, fault diagnosis, Kalman filter, emulators

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1076 Analysis of the Root Causes of Transformer Bushing Failures

Authors: E. A. Feilat, I. A. Metwally, S. Al-Matri, A. S. Al-Abri

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of five blackouts that occurred on 28 August to 8 September 2011 due to bushing failures of the 132/33 kV, 125 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station. The investigation aims to explore the root causes of the bushing failures and come up with recommendations that help in rectifying the problem and avoiding the reoccurrence of similar type of incidents. The incident reports about the failed bushings and the SCADA reports at this grid station were examined and analyzed. Moreover, comprehensive power quality field measurements at ten 33/11 kV substations (S/Ss) in JBB Ali area were conducted, and frequency scans were performed to verify any harmonic resonance frequencies due to power factor correction capacitors. Furthermore, the daily operations of the on-load tap changers (OLTCs) of both the 125 MVA and 20 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station have been analyzed. The investigation showed that the five bushing failures were due to a local problem, i.e. internal degradation of the bushing insulation. This has been confirmed by analyzing the time interval between successive OLTC operations of the faulty grid transformers. It was also found that monitoring the number of OLTC operations can help in predicting bushing failure.

Keywords: Modeling and simulation, power system, transformer, bushing, OLTC, power quality, partial discharge.

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1075 Corporate Governance Practices and Audit Quality: An Empirical Study of the Listed Companies in Egypt

Authors: Mohamed Moustafa Soliman, Mohamed Abd Elsalam

Abstract:

Recent financial international scandals around the world have led to a number of investigations into the effectiveness of corporate governance practices and audit quality. Although evidence of corporate governance practices and audit quality exists from developed economies, very scanty studies have been conducted in Egypt where corporate governance is just evolving. Therefore, this study provides evidence on the effectiveness of corporate governance practices and audit quality from a developing country. The data for analysis are gathered from the top 50 most active companies in the Egyptian Stock Exchange, covering the three year period 2007-2009. Logistic regression was used in investigating the questions that were raised in the study. Findings from the study show that board independence; CEO duality and audit committees significantly have relationship with audit quality. The results also, indicate that institutional investor and managerial ownership have no significantly relationship with audit quality. Evidence also exist that size of the company; complexity and business leverage are important factors in audit quality for companies quoted on the Egypt Stock Exchange.

Keywords: Corporate governance, Boards of directors, corporate ownership, Audit Committees, Audit quality, and Egypt.

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1074 The Role of Driving Experience in Hazard Perception and Categorization: A Traffic-Scene Paradigm

Authors: Avinoam Borowsky, Tal Oron-Gilad, Yisrael Parmet

Abstract:

This study examined the role of driving experience in hazard perception and categorization using traffic scene pictures. Specifically, young-inexperienced, moderately experienced and very experienced (taxi) drivers observed traffic scene pictures while connected to an eye tracking system and were asked to rate the level of hazardousness of each picture and to mention the three most prominent hazards in it. Target pictures included nine, nearly identical, pairs of pictures where one picture in each pair included an actual hazard as an additional element. Altogether, 22 areas of interest (AOIs) were predefined and included 13 potential hazards and 9 actual hazards. Data analysis included both verbal reports and eye scanning patterns of these AOIs. Generally, both experienced and taxi drivers noted a relatively larger number of potential hazards than young inexperienced drivers Thus, by relating to less salient potential hazards, experienced drivers have demonstrated a better situation model of the traffic environment.

Keywords: Concept Construction, Hazard Perception, EyeMovements, Driving Experience.

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1073 Automatic Building an Extensive Arabic FA Terms Dictionary

Authors: El-Sayed Atlam, Masao Fuketa, Kazuhiro Morita, Jun-ichi Aoe

Abstract:

Field Association (FA) terms are a limited set of discriminating terms that give us the knowledge to identify document fields which are effective in document classification, similar file retrieval and passage retrieval. But the problem lies in the lack of an effective method to extract automatically relevant Arabic FA Terms to build a comprehensive dictionary. Moreover, all previous studies are based on FA terms in English and Japanese, and the extension of FA terms to other language such Arabic could be definitely strengthen further researches. This paper presents a new method to extract, Arabic FA Terms from domain-specific corpora using part-of-speech (POS) pattern rules and corpora comparison. Experimental evaluation is carried out for 14 different fields using 251 MB of domain-specific corpora obtained from Arabic Wikipedia dumps and Alhyah news selected average of 2,825 FA Terms (single and compound) per field. From the experimental results, recall and precision are 84% and 79% respectively. Therefore, this method selects higher number of relevant Arabic FA Terms at high precision and recall.

Keywords: Arabic Field Association Terms, information extraction, document classification, information retrieval.

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1072 An In-Depth Analysis of Open Data Portals as an Emerging Public E-Service

Authors: Martin Lnenicka

Abstract:

Governments collect and produce large amounts of data. Increasingly, governments worldwide have started to implement open data initiatives and also launch open data portals to enable the release of these data in open and reusable formats. Therefore, a large number of open data repositories, catalogues and portals have been emerging in the world. The greater availability of interoperable and linkable open government data catalyzes secondary use of such data, so they can be used for building useful applications which leverage their value, allow insight, provide access to government services, and support transparency. The efficient development of successful open data portals makes it necessary to evaluate them systematic, in order to understand them better and assess the various types of value they generate, and identify the required improvements for increasing this value. Thus, the attention of this paper is directed particularly to the field of open data portals. The main aim of this paper is to compare the selected open data portals on the national level using content analysis and propose a new evaluation framework, which further improves the quality of these portals. It also establishes a set of considerations for involving businesses and citizens to create eservices and applications that leverage on the datasets available from these portals.

Keywords: Big data, content analysis, criteria comparison, data quality, open data, open data portals, public sector.

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1071 Water Demand Prediction for Touristic Mecca City in Saudi Arabia using Neural Networks

Authors: Abdel Hamid Ajbar, Emad Ali

Abstract:

Saudi Arabia is an arid country which depends on costly desalination plants to satisfy the growing residential water demand. Prediction of water demand is usually a challenging task because the forecast model should consider variations in economic progress, climate conditions and population growth. The task is further complicated knowing that Mecca city is visited regularly by large numbers during specific months in the year due to religious occasions. In this paper, a neural networks model is proposed to handle the prediction of the monthly and yearly water demand for Mecca city, Saudi Arabia. The proposed model will be developed based on historic records of water production and estimated visitors- distribution. The driving variables for the model include annuallyvarying variables such as household income, household density, and city population, and monthly-varying variables such as expected number of visitors each month and maximum monthly temperature.

Keywords: Water demand forecast; Neural Networks model; water resources management; Saudi Arabia.

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1070 Developing Safety Behavior Practice Suitable for Thai Industrial Operators

Authors: Lertchai Ratana-Arporn, Aphisith Angkhanit

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to develop safety practices which is suitable for Thai industrial operators from Incident and Injury Free, IIF to create safety behavior and reduce the un-safe records in the petroleum industry. A number of 310 technicians i.e., 295 males and 15 females, in service maintenance section participated in this program. The safety attitude level and safety behavior level for pre-attended and post-attended the developed safety practices of the technicians were evaluated using questionnaire procedure and on-site observation. After applied the developed practice program, both of the safety attitudes and safety behavior were increased to be at very good level and good level, respectively. Evaluating the follow-up unsafe records, it was found that the injury was reduced from 0.11 to 0 case/month, the medical treatment case was reduced from 0.22 to 0 case/month and the first aid case was reduced from 1 to 0.33 case/month. The developed safety working practice was successfully implemented to Thai industrial operators.

Keywords: Incident and Injury Free, safety practices, Thai industrial operators, "WeCare".

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1069 Vision Based Hand Gesture Recognition Using Generative and Discriminative Stochastic Models

Authors: Mahmoud Elmezain, Samar El-shinawy

Abstract:

Many approaches to pattern recognition are founded on probability theory, and can be broadly characterized as either generative or discriminative according to whether or not the distribution of the image features. Generative and discriminative models have very different characteristics, as well as complementary strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we study these models to recognize the patterns of alphabet characters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9). To handle isolated pattern, generative model as Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and discriminative models like Conditional Random Field (CRF), Hidden Conditional Random Field (HCRF) and Latent-Dynamic Conditional Random Field (LDCRF) with different number of window size are applied on extracted pattern features. The gesture recognition rate is improved initially as the window size increase, but degrades as window size increase further. Experimental results show that the LDCRF is the best in terms of results than CRF, HCRF and HMM at window size equal 4. Additionally, our results show that; an overall recognition rates are 91.52%, 95.28%, 96.94% and 98.05% for CRF, HCRF, HMM and LDCRF respectively.

Keywords: Statistical Pattern Recognition, Generative Model, Discriminative Model, Human Computer Interaction.

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1068 Optimal Allocation of DG Units for Power Loss Reduction and Voltage Profile Improvement of Distribution Networks using PSO Algorithm

Authors: K. Varesi

Abstract:

This paper proposes a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based technique for the optimal allocation of Distributed Generation (DG) units in the power systems. In this paper our aim is to decide optimal number, type, size and location of DG units for voltage profile improvement and power loss reduction in distribution network. Two types of DGs are considered and the distribution load flow is used to calculate exact loss. Load flow algorithm is combined appropriately with PSO till access to acceptable results of this operation. The suggested method is programmed under MATLAB software. Test results indicate that PSO method can obtain better results than the simple heuristic search method on the 30-bus and 33- bus radial distribution systems. It can obtain maximum loss reduction for each of two types of optimally placed multi-DGs. Moreover, voltage profile improvement is achieved.

Keywords: Distributed Generation (DG), Optimal Allocation, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Power Loss Minimization, Voltage Profile Improvement.

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1067 Comparison of Power Consumption of WiFi Inbuilt Internet of Things Device with Bluetooth Low Energy

Authors: Darshana Thomas, Edward Wilkie, James Irvine

Abstract:

The Internet of things (IoT) is currently a highly researched topic, especially within the context of the smart home. These are small sensors that are capable of gathering data and transmitting it to a server. The majority of smart home products use protocols such as ZigBee or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). As these small sensors are increasing in number, the need to implement these with much more capable and ubiquitous transmission technology is necessary. The high power consumption is the reason that holds these small sensors back from using other protocols such as the most ubiquitous form of communication, WiFi. Comparing the power consumption of existing transmission technologies to one with WiFi inbuilt, would provide a better understanding for choosing between these technologies. We have developed a small IoT device with WiFi capability and proven that it is much more efficient than the first protocol, 433 MHz. We extend our work in this paper and compare WiFi power consumption with the other most widely used protocol BLE. The experimental results in this paper would conclude whether the developed prototype is capable in terms of power consumption to replace the existing protocol BLE with WiFi.

Keywords: Bluetooth, internet of things, power consumption, WiFi.

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1066 Preliminary Study of Fermented Pickle of Tabah Bamboo Shoot (Gigantochloa nigrociliata (Buese) Kurz)

Authors: Luh Putu T. Darmayanti, A. A. Duwipayana, I Nengah K. Putra, Nyoman S. Antara

Abstract:

Processing tabah bamboo shoot as fermented pickle is one of the way to increase the shelf life of this bamboo shoot. The advantage of this shoot is low concentration of hydro cyanic acid (HCN) make it potential for functional food product. This study aimed to determine the characteristic of tabah bamboo shoot pickle such as total of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), pH, total acidity, and hydro cyanic acid (HCN) content, and also find the LAB’s type involved during fermentation, and organic acids’ profiles. The pickle was made by natural fermentation with 6% salt concentration and fermentation conducted for 13 days. The result showed during the fermentation time, in the 4th day LAB’s number was highest as much as 72 x 107 CFU/ml and the lowest pH was 3.09. We also found decreasing in HCN from 37.8 ppm at the beginning to 20.52 ppm at the end of fermentation process. The organic acids detected during the fermentation were lactic acid with the highest concentration was 0.0546 g/100 g and small amount of acetic acid. By using PCR method, the 18 of LABs which had rod shape were detected as member of Lactobacillus spp., in which 17 strains detected as L. plantarum.

Keywords: Fermentation, LAB, pickle, tabah bamboo shoot.

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1065 Cementing Efficiency of Low Calcium Fly Ash in Fly Ash Concretes

Authors: T. D. Gunneswara Rao, Mudimby Andal

Abstract:

Research on the utilization of fly ash will no longer refer the fly ash as a waste material of thermal power plants. Use of fly ash in concrete making, makes the concrete economical as well as durable. The fly ash is being added to the concrete in three ways namely, as partial replacement to cement, as partial replacement to fine aggregates and as admixture. Addition of fly ash to the concrete in any one of the form mentioned above, makes the concrete more workable and durable than the conventional concrete. Studies on fly ash as partial replacement to cement gained momentum as such replacement makes the concrete economical. In the present study, an attempt has been made to understand the effects of fly ash on the workability characteristics and strength aspects of fly ash concretes. In India major number of thermal power plants is producing low calcium fly ash. Hence in the present investigation low calcium fly ash has been used. Fly ash in concrete was considered for the partial replacement of cement. The percentage replacement of cement by fly ash varied from 0% to 40% at regular intervals of 10%. More over the fine aggregate to coarse aggregate ratio also has been varied as 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3. The workability tests revealed that up to 30% replacement of cement by fly ash in concrete mixes water demand for reduces, beyond 30% replacement of cement by fly ash demanded more water content for constant workability.

Keywords: Cementing Efficiency, Compressive Strength, Low Calcium Fly Ash, Workability.

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1064 Intelligent Caching in on-demand Routing Protocol for Mobile Adhoc Networks

Authors: Shobha.K.R., K. Rajanikanth

Abstract:

An on-demand routing protocol for wireless ad hoc networks is one that searches for and attempts to discover a route to some destination node only when a sending node originates a data packet addressed to that node. In order to avoid the need for such a route discovery to be performed before each data packet is sent, such routing protocols must cache routes previously discovered. This paper presents an analysis of the effect of intelligent caching in a non clustered network, using on-demand routing protocols in wireless ad hoc networks. The analysis carried out is based on the Dynamic Source Routing protocol (DSR), which operates entirely on-demand. DSR uses the cache in every node to save the paths that are learnt during route discovery procedure. In this implementation, caching these paths only at intermediate nodes and using the paths from these caches when required is tried. This technique helps in storing more number of routes that are learnt without erasing the entries in the cache, to store a new route that is learnt. The simulation results on DSR have shown that this technique drastically increases the available memory for caching the routes discovered without affecting the performance of the DSR routing protocol in any way, except for a small increase in end to end delay.

Keywords: Caching, DSR, on demand routing, MANET.

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