Search results for: water quality indicators.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5346

Search results for: water quality indicators.

1686 A Universal Approach for the Intuitive Control of Mobile Robots using an AR/VR-based Interface

Authors: Juergen Rossmann, Andre Kupetz, Roland Wischnewski

Abstract:

Mobile robots are used in a large field of scenarios, like exploring contaminated areas, repairing oil rigs under water, finding survivors in collapsed buildings, etc. Currently, there is no unified intuitive user interface (UI) to control such complex mobile robots. As a consequence, some scenarios are done without the exploitation of experience and intuition of human teleoperators. A novel framework has been developed to embed a flexible and modular UI into a complete 3-D virtual reality simulation system. This new approach wants to access maximum benefits of human operators. Sensor information received from the robot is prepared for an intuitive visualization. Virtual reality metaphors support the operator in his decisions. These metaphors are integrated into a real time stereo video stream. This approach is not restricted to any specific type of mobile robot and allows for the operation of different robot types with a consistent concept and user interface.

Keywords: 3-D simulation system, augmented reality, teleoperation of mobile robots, user interface.

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1685 A K-Means Based Clustering Approach for Finding Faulty Modules in Open Source Software Systems

Authors: Parvinder S. Sandhu, Jagdeep Singh, Vikas Gupta, Mandeep Kaur, Sonia Manhas, Ramandeep Sidhu

Abstract:

Prediction of fault-prone modules provides one way to support software quality engineering. Clustering is used to determine the intrinsic grouping in a set of unlabeled data. Among various clustering techniques available in literature K-Means clustering approach is most widely being used. This paper introduces K-Means based Clustering approach for software finding the fault proneness of the Object-Oriented systems. The contribution of this paper is that it has used Metric values of JEdit open source software for generation of the rules for the categorization of software modules in the categories of Faulty and non faulty modules and thereafter empirically validation is performed. The results are measured in terms of accuracy of prediction, probability of Detection and Probability of False Alarms.

Keywords: K-Means, Software Fault, Classification, ObjectOriented Metrics.

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1684 Paradigm and Paradox: Knowledge Management and Business Ethics

Authors: A. Evans, M. McKinley

Abstract:

Knowledge management (KM) is generally considered to be a positive process in an organisation, facilitating opportunities to achieve competitive advantage via better quality information handling, compilation of expert know-how and rapid response to fluctuations in the business environment. The KM paradigm as portrayed in the literature informs the processes that can increase intangible assets so that corporate knowledge is preserved. However, in some instances, knowledge management exists in a universe of dynamic tension among the conflicting needs to respect privacy and intellectual property (IP), to guard against data theft, to protect national security and to stay within the laws. While the Knowledge Management literature focuses on the bright side of the paradigm, there is also a different side in which knowledge is distorted, suppressed or misappropriated due to personal or organisational motives (the paradox). This paper describes the ethical paradoxes that occur within the taxonomy and deontology of knowledge management and suggests that recognising both the promises and pitfalls of KM requires wisdom.

Keywords: business ethics, data, knowledge, knowledgemanagement, privacy, protection.

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1683 A Context-Centric Chatbot for Cryptocurrency Using the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers Neural Networks

Authors: Qitao Xie, Qingquan Zhang, Xiaofei Zhang, Di Tian, Ruixuan Wen, Ting Zhu, Ping Yi, Xin Li

Abstract:

Inspired by the recent movement of digital currency, we are building a question answering system concerning the subject of cryptocurrency using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT). The motivation behind this work is to properly assist digital currency investors by directing them to the corresponding knowledge bases that can offer them help and increase the querying speed. BERT, one of newest language models in natural language processing, was investigated to improve the quality of generated responses. We studied different combinations of hyperparameters of the BERT model to obtain the best fit responses. Further, we created an intelligent chatbot for cryptocurrency using BERT. A chatbot using BERT shows great potential for the further advancement of a cryptocurrency market tool. We show that the BERT neural networks generalize well to other tasks by applying it successfully to cryptocurrency.

Keywords: BERT, chatbot, cryptocurrency, deep learning.

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1682 A Linear Relation for Voltage Unbalance Factor Evaluation in Three-Phase Electrical Power System Using Space Vector

Authors: Dana M. Ragab, Jasim A Ghaeb

Abstract:

The Voltage Unbalance Factor (VUF) index is recommended to evaluate system performance under unbalanced operation. However, its calculation requires complex algebra which limits its use in the field. Furthermore, one system cycle is required at least to detect unbalance using the VUF. Ideally unbalance mitigation must be performed within 10 ms for 50 Hz systems. In this work, a linear relation for VUF evaluation in three-phase electrical power system using space vector (SV) is derived. It is proposed to determine the voltage unbalance quickly and accurately and to overcome the constraints associated with the traditional methods of VUF evaluation. Aqaba-Qatrana-South Amman (AQSA) power system is considered to study the system performance under unbalanced conditions. The results show that both the complexity of calculations and the time required to evaluate VUF are reduced significantly.

Keywords: Power quality, space vector, unbalance evaluation.

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1681 Mechanical Properties Enhancement of 66/34Mg-Alloy for Medical Application

Authors: S. O. Adeosun, O. I. Sekunowo, O. P. Gbenebor, W. A. Ayoola, A. O. Odunade, T. A. Idowu

Abstract:

Sand cast samples of the as-received 66/34Mg-Al alloy were first homogenized at 4900C and then divided into three groups on which annealing, normalising and artificial ageing were respectively carried out. Thermal ageing of the samples involved treatment at 5000C, soaked for 4 hours and quenched in water at ambient temperature followed by tempering at 2000C for 2 hours. Test specimens were subjected to microstructure and mechanical analyses and the results compared. Precipitation of significant volume of stable Mg17Al12 crystals in the aged specimen’s matrix conferred superior mechanical characteristics compared with the annealed, normalized and as-cast specimens. The ultimate tensile strength was 93.4MPa with micro-hardness of 64.9HRC and impact energy (toughness) of 4.05J. In particular, its Young modulus was 10.4GPa which compared well with that of cortical (trabecule) bone’s modulus that varies from 12-17GPa.

Keywords: Mg-Al alloy, artificial ageing, medical implant, cortical bone, mechanical properties.

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1680 Contrast Enhancement of Masses in Mammograms Using Multiscale Morphology

Authors: Amit Kamra, V. K. Jain, Pragya

Abstract:

Mammography is widely used technique for breast cancer screening. There are various other techniques for breast cancer screening but mammography is the most reliable and effective technique. The images obtained through mammography are of low contrast which causes problem for the radiologists to interpret. Hence, a high quality image is mandatory for the processing of the image for extracting any kind of information from it. Many contrast enhancement algorithms have been developed over the years. In the present work, an efficient morphology based technique is proposed for contrast enhancement of masses in mammographic images. The proposed method is based on Multiscale Morphology and it takes into consideration the scale of the structuring element. The proposed method is compared with other stateof- the-art techniques. The experimental results show that the proposed method is better both qualitatively and quantitatively than the other standard contrast enhancement techniques.

Keywords: Enhancement, mammography, multi-scale, mathematical morphology.

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1679 Speciation Analysis by Solid-Phase Microextraction and Application to Atrazine

Authors: K. Benhabib, X. Pierens, V-D Nguyen, G. Mimanne

Abstract:

The main hypothesis of the dynamics of solid phase microextraction (SPME) is that steady-state mass transfer is respected throughout the SPME extraction process. It considers steady-state diffusion is established in the two phases and fast exchange of the analyte at the solid phase film/water interface. An improved model is proposed in this paper to handle with the situation when the analyte (atrazine) is in contact with colloid suspensions (carboxylate latex in aqueous solution). A mathematical solution is obtained by substituting the diffusion coefficient by the mean of diffusion coefficient between analyte and carboxylate latex, and also thickness layer by the mean thickness in aqueous solution. This solution provides an equation relating the extracted amount of the analyte to the extraction a little more complicated than previous models. It also gives a better description of experimental observations. Moreover, the rate constant of analyte obtained is in satisfactory agreement with that obtained from the initial curve fitting.

Keywords: Pesticide, SPME methods, polyacrylate, steady state.

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1678 Mobile to Server Face Recognition: A System Overview

Authors: Nurulhuda Ismail, Mas Idayu Md. Sabri

Abstract:

This paper presents a system overview of Mobile to Server Face Recognition, which is a face recognition application developed specifically for mobile phones. Images taken from mobile phone cameras lack of quality due to the low resolution of the cameras. Thus, a prototype is developed to experiment the chosen method. However, this paper shows a result of system backbone without the face recognition functionality. The result demonstrated in this paper indicates that the interaction between mobile phones and server is successfully working. The result shown before the database is completely ready. The system testing is currently going on using real images and a mock-up database to test the functionality of the face recognition algorithm used in this system. An overview of the whole system including screenshots and system flow-chart are presented in this paper. This paper also presents the inspiration or motivation and the justification in developing this system.

Keywords: Mobile to server, face recognition, system overview.

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1677 Time Delay Estimation Using Signal Envelopes for Synchronisation of Recordings

Authors: Sergei Aleinik, Mikhail Stolbov

Abstract:

In this work, a method of time delay estimation for  dual-channel acoustic signals (speech, music, etc.) recorded under  reverberant conditions is investigated. Standard methods based on  cross-correlation of the signals show poor results in cases involving  strong reverberation, large distances between microphones and  asynchronous recordings. Under similar conditions, a method based  on cross-correlation of temporal envelopes of the signals delivers a  delay estimation of acceptable quality. This method and its properties  are described and investigated in detail, including its limits of  applicability. The method’s optimal parameter estimation and a  comparison with other known methods of time delay estimation are  also provided.

 

Keywords: Cross-correlation, delay estimation, signal envelope, signal processing.

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1676 Seismic Response of Reinforced Concrete Buildings: Field Challenges and Simplified Code Formulas

Authors: Michel Soto Chalhoub

Abstract:

Building code-related literature provides recommendations on normalizing approaches to the calculation of the dynamic properties of structures. Most building codes make a distinction among types of structural systems, construction material, and configuration through a numerical coefficient in the expression for the fundamental period. The period is then used in normalized response spectra to compute base shear. The typical parameter used in simplified code formulas for the fundamental period is overall building height raised to a power determined from analytical and experimental results. However, reinforced concrete buildings which constitute the majority of built space in less developed countries pose additional challenges to the ones built with homogeneous material such as steel, or with concrete under stricter quality control. In the present paper, the particularities of reinforced concrete buildings are explored and related to current methods of equivalent static analysis. A comparative study is presented between the Uniform Building Code, commonly used for buildings within and outside the USA, and data from the Middle East used to model 151 reinforced concrete buildings of varying number of bays, number of floors, overall building height, and individual story height. The fundamental period was calculated using eigenvalue matrix computation. The results were also used in a separate regression analysis where the computed period serves as dependent variable, while five building properties serve as independent variables. The statistical analysis shed light on important parameters that simplified code formulas need to account for including individual story height, overall building height, floor plan, number of bays, and concrete properties. Such inclusions are important for reinforced concrete buildings of special conditions due to the level of concrete damage, aging, or materials quality control during construction. Overall results of the present analysis show that simplified code formulas for fundamental period and base shear may be applied but they require revisions to account for multiple parameters. The conclusion above is confirmed by the analytical model where fundamental periods were computed using numerical techniques and eigenvalue solutions. This recommendation is particularly relevant to code upgrades in less developed countries where it is customary to adopt, and mildly adapt international codes. We also note the necessity of further research using empirical data from buildings in Lebanon that were subjected to severe damage due to impulse loading or accelerated aging. However, we excluded this study from the present paper and left it for future research as it has its own peculiarities and requires a different type of analysis.

Keywords: Seismic behavior, reinforced concrete, simplified code formulas, equivalent static analysis, base shear, response spectra.

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1675 Numerical Analysis of Turbulent Natural Convection in a Square Cavity using Large- Eddy Simulation in Lattice Boltzmann Method

Authors: H. Sajjadi, M. Gorji, GH.R. Kefayati, D. D. Ganji, M. Shayan Nia

Abstract:

In this paper Lattice Boltzmann simulation of turbulent natural convection with large-eddy simulations (LES) in a square cavity which is filled by water has been investigated. The present results are validated by finds of other investigations which have been done with different numerical methods. Calculations were performed for high Rayleigh numbers of Ra=108 and 109. The results confirm that this method is in acceptable agreement with other verifications of such a flow. In this investigation is tried to present Large-eddy turbulence flow model by Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) with a clear and simple statement. Effects of increase in Rayleigh number are displayed on streamlines, isotherm counters and average Nusselt number. Result shows that the average Nusselt number enhances with growth of the Rayleigh numbers.

Keywords: Turbulent natural convection, Large Eddy Simulation, Lattice Boltzmann Method

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1674 Application of Sorptive Passive Panels for Reducing Indoor Formaldehyde Level: Effect of Environmental Conditions

Authors: Mitra Bahri, Jean Leopold Kabambi, Jacqueline Yakobi-Hancock, William Render, Stephanie So

Abstract:

Reducing formaldehyde concentration in residential buildings is an important challenge, especially during the summer. In this study, a ceiling tile was used as a sorptive passive panel for formaldehyde removal. The performance of this passive panel was evaluated under different environmental conditions. The results demonstrated that the removal efficiency is comprised between 40% and 71%. Change in the level of relative humidity (30%, 50%, and 75%) had a slight positive effect on the sorption capacity. However, increase in temperature from 21 °C to 26 °C led to approximately 7% decrease in the average formaldehyde removal performance. GC/MS and HPLC analysis revealed the formation of different by-products at low concentrations under extreme environmental conditions. These findings suggest that the passive panel selected for this study holds the potential to be used for formaldehyde removal under various conditions.

Keywords: Formaldehyde, indoor air quality, passive panel, removal efficiency, sorption.

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1673 CFD Simulation and Validation of Flap Type Wave-Maker

Authors: Anant Lal, M. Elangovan

Abstract:

A general purpose viscous flow solver Ansys CFX was used to solve the unsteady three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Equation (RANSE) for simulating a 3D numerical viscous wave tank. A flap-type wave generator was incorporated in the computational domain to generate the desired incident waves. Authors have made effort to study the physical behaviors of Flap type wave maker with governing parameters. Dependency of the water fill depth, Time period of oscillations and amplitude of oscillations of flap were studied. Effort has been made to establish relations between parameters. A validation study was also carried out against CFD methodology with wave maker theory. It has been observed that CFD results are in good agreement with theoretical results. Beaches of different slopes were introduced to damp the wave, so that it should not cause any reflection from boundary. As a conclusion this methodology can simulate the experimental wave-maker for regular wave generation for different wave length and amplitudes.

Keywords: CFD, RANSE, Flap type, wave-maker, VOF, seakeeping, numerical method.

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1672 Features for Measuring Credibility on Facebook Information

Authors: Kanda Runapongsa Saikaew, Chaluemwut Noyunsan

Abstract:

Nowadays social media information, such as news, links, images, or VDOs, is shared extensively. However, the effectiveness of disseminating information through social media lacks in quality: less fact checking, more biases, and several rumors. Many researchers have investigated about credibility on Twitter, but there is no the research report about credibility information on Facebook. This paper proposes features for measuring credibility on Facebook information. We developed the system for credibility on Facebook. First, we have developed FB credibility evaluator for measuring credibility of each post by manual human’s labelling. We then collected the training data for creating a model using Support Vector Machine (SVM). Secondly, we developed a chrome extension of FB credibility for Facebook users to evaluate the credibility of each post. Based on the usage analysis of our FB credibility chrome extension, about 81% of users’ responses agree with suggested credibility automatically computed by the proposed system.

Keywords: Facebook, social media, credibility measurement.

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1671 Application of Lattice Boltzmann Methods in Heat and Moisture Transfer in Frozen Soil

Authors: Wenyu Song, Bingxi Li, Zhongbin Fu, Bo Zhang

Abstract:

Although water only takes a little percentage in the total mass of soil, it indeed plays an important role to the strength of structure. Moisture transfer can be carried out by many different mechanisms which may involve heat and mass transfer, thermodynamic phase change, and the interplay of various forces such as viscous, buoyancy, and capillary forces. The continuum models are not well suited for describing those phenomena in which the connectivity of the pore space or the fracture network, or that of a fluid phase, plays a major role. However, Lattice Boltzmann methods (LBMs) are especially well suited to simulate flows around complex geometries. Lattice Boltzmann methods were initially invented for solving fluid flows. Recently, fluid with multicomponent and phase change is also included in the equations. By comparing the numerical result with experimental result, the Lattice Boltzmann methods with phase change will be optimized.

Keywords: Frozen soil, Lattice Boltzmann method, Phase change, Test rig.

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1670 Optimal Performance of Plastic Extrusion Process Using Fuzzy Goal Programming

Authors: Abbas Al-Refaie

Abstract:

This study optimized the performance of plastic extrusion process of drip irrigation pipes using fuzzy goal programming. Two main responses were of main interest; roll thickness and hardness. Four main process factors were studied. The L18 array was then used for experimental design. The individual-moving range control charts were used to assess the stability of the process, while the process capability index was used to assess process performance. Confirmation experiments were conducted at the obtained combination of optimal factor setting by fuzzy goal programming. The results revealed that process capability was improved significantly from -1.129 to 0.8148 for roll thickness and from 0.0965 to 0.714 and hardness. Such improvement results in considerable savings in production and quality costs.

Keywords: Fuzzy goal programming, extrusion process, process capability, irrigation plastic pipes.

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1669 Implementing a Prototype System for Power Facility Management using RFID/WSN

Authors: Young-Il Kim, Bong-Jae Yi, Jae-Ju Song, Jin-Ho Shin, Jung-Il Lee

Abstract:

Firstly, research and development on RFID focuses on manufacturing and retail sectors, because it can improve supply chain efficiency. But, now a variety of field is considered the next research area for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Although RFID is infancy, RFID technology has great potential in power industry to significantly reduce cost, and improve quality of power supply. To complement the limitation of RFID, we adopt the WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) technology. However, relevant experience is limited, the challenge will be to derive requirement from business practice and to determine whether it is possible or not. To explore this issue, we conduct a case study on implementing power facility management system using RFID/WSN in Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). In this paper we describe requirement from power industry. And we introduce design and implementation of the test bed.

Keywords: Power Facility Management, RFID/WSN, Transmission Tower, Underground Tunnel, ZigBee.

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1668 Numerical Predictionon the Influence of Mixer on the Performance of Urea-SCR System

Authors: Kyoungwoo Park, Chol-Ho Hong, Sedoo Oh, Seongjoon Moon

Abstract:

Diesel vehicle should be equipped with emission after-treatment devices as NOx reduction catalyst and particulate filtersin order to meet more stringer diesel emission standard. Urea-SCR is being developed as the most efficient method of reducing NOx emissions in the after-treatment devices of diesel engines, and recent studies have begun to mount the Urea-SCR device for diesel passenger cars and light duty vehicles. In the present study, the effects of the mixer on the efficiency of urea-SCR System (i.e., NH3uni- formityindex (NH3 UI) is investigated by predicting the transport phenomena in the urea-SCR system. The three dimensional Eulerian-Lagrangian CFD simulationfor internal flow and spray characteristics in front of SCR is carried out by using STAR-CCM+ 7.06 code. In addition, the paper proposes a method to minimize the wall-wetting around the urea injector in order to prevent injector blocks caused by solid urea loading.

Keywords: Computational fluid dynamics, Multi-phase flow, NH3 uniformity index, Urea-SCR system, Urea-water-solution.

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1667 Effects of Photovoltaic System Introduction in Detached Houses with All-Electrified Residential Equipment in Japan

Authors: Qingrong Liu, Tetsuo Hayashi, Yuji Ryu

Abstract:

In this paper, in order to investigate the effects of photovoltaic system introduction to detached houses in Japan, two kinds of works were done. Firstly, the hourly generation amount of a 4.2kW photovoltaic system were simulated in 46 cities to investigate the potential of the system in different regions in Japan using a simulation model of photovoltaic system. Secondly, based on the simulated electricity generation amount, the energy saving, the environmental and the economic effect of the photovoltaic system were examined from hourly to annual timescales, based upon calculations of typical electricity, heating, cooling and hot water supply load profiles for Japanese dwellings. The above analysis was carried out using a standard year-s hourly weather data for the different city provided by the Expanded AMeDAS Weather Data issued by AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan).

Keywords: Photovoltaic system, Energy saving, Environmental effect, Japanese dwelling, Detached house.

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1666 Enhancing Customer Loyalty towards Corporate Social Responsibility of Thai Mobile Service Providers

Authors: Wichai Onlaor, Siriluck Rotchanakitumnuai

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to develop the understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from consumers- perspective toward Thai mobile service providers. Based on the survey from 400 mobile customers, the result shows that four dimensions of CSR of Thai mobile service providers consist of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibility. These four CSR factors have positive impacts on enhancing customer satisfaction except one item of economic responsibility - profitability to shareholders. Ethical dimension has the strongest impact on customer satisfaction. Economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic responsibility and customer satisfaction have major impact on loyalty, whilst philanthropic component mostly affects loyalty.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, PriceFairness, Service Quality, Privacy Concern, CustomerSatisfaction, Customer Loyalty

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1665 Electronic Government Services Adoption from Multi-Nationalities Perspectives

Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah, Jianing Mi, Cheng Feng

Abstract:

Electronic government is the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by the government to improve public service delivery to citizens and businesses. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing the adoption and use of e-government services from different nationalities perspectives. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) will be used as the theoretical framework for the study. A questionnaire would be developed and administered to 500 potential respondents who are students from different nationalities in China. Predictors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, computer self-efficacy, trust in both the internet and government, social influence and perceived service quality would be examined with regard to their impact on the intention to use e-government services. This research is currently at the design and implementation stage. The completion of this study will provide useful insights into understanding factors impacting the decision to use e-government services from a cross and multi nationalities perspectives.

Keywords: Different nationalities, e-government, e-government services, technology acceptance model.

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1664 System Concept for Low Analog Complexity and High-IF Superposition Heterodyne Receivers

Authors: Marko Mailand, Hans-Joachim Jentschel

Abstract:

For today-s and future wireless communications applications, more and more data traffic has to be transmitted with growing speed and quality demands. The analog front-end of any mobile device has to cope with very hard specifications regardless which transmission standard has to be supported. State-of-the-art analog front-end implementations are reaching the limit of technical feasibility. For that reason, alternative front-end architectures could support a continuing development of mobile communications e.g., six-port-based front-ends [1], [2]. In this article we propose an analog front-end with high intermediate frequency and which utilizes additive mixing instead of multiplicative mixing. The system architecture is presented and several spurious effects as well as their influence on the system dimensioning are discussed. Furthermore, several issues concerning the technical feasibility are provided and some simulation results are discussed which show the principle functionality of the proposed superposition heterodyne receiver.

Keywords: receivers, analog front-end, heterodyning, self-mixing.

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1663 Inflating the Public: A Series of Urban Interventions

Authors: Veronika Antoniou, Rene Carraz, Yiorgos Hadjichristou

Abstract:

The Green Urban Lab took the form of public installations that were placed at various locations in four cities in Cyprus. These installations - through which a series of events, activities, workshops and research took place - were the main tools in regenerating a series of urban public spaces in Cyprus. The purpose of this project was to identify issues and opportunities related to public space and to offer guidelines on how design and participatory democracy improvements could strengthen civil society, while raising the quality of the urban public scene. Giant inflatable structures were injected in important urban fragments in order to accommodate series of events. The design and playful installation generated a wide community engagement. The fluid presence of the installations acted as a catalyst for social interaction. They were accessed and viewed effortlessly and surprisingly, creating opportunities to rediscover public spaces.

Keywords: Bottom-up initiatives, creativity, public space, social innovation, urban environments.

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1662 Ultrasound Mechanical Index as a Parameter Affecting of the Ability of Proliferation of Cells

Authors: Z. Hormozi Moghaddam, M. Mokhtari-Dizaji, M. Movahedin, M. E. Ravari

Abstract:

Mechanical index (MI) is used for quantifying acoustic cavitation and the relationship between acoustic pressure and the frequency. In this study, modeling of the MI was applied to provide treatment protocol and to understand the effective physical processes on reproducibility of stem cells. The acoustic pressure and MI equations are modeled and solved to estimate optimal MI for 28, 40, 150 kHz and 1 MHz frequencies. Radial and axial acoustic pressure distribution was extracted. To validate the results of the modeling, the acoustic pressure in the water and near field depth was measured by a piston hydrophone. Results of modeling and experiments show that the model is consistent well to experimental results with 0.91 and 0.90 correlation of coefficient (p<0.05) for 1 MHz and 40 kHz. Low intensity ultrasound with 0.40 MI is more effective on the proliferation rate of the spermatogonial stem cells during the seven days of culture, in contrast, high MI has a harmful effect on the spermatogonial stem cells. This model provides proper treatment planning in vitro and in vivo by estimating the cavitation phenomenon.

Keywords: Ultrasound, mechanical index, modeling, stem cell.

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1661 Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Roadside Soil Samples: A Review

Authors: R. Kaur, J. K. Katnoria

Abstract:

Diverse contaminants released into the environment through progress of urbanization and industrialization adversely affect human health. Among various sources of contaminants, especially, in big cities, automobiles play a significant role in aggravating the pollution. Various pollutants viz., heavy metals (Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, As, Hg, Cd) and Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (Benzo-a-pyrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo-b-anthracene, benzo-b-fluoranthene, acenaphthylene, fluorine, phenantherene, anthracene, chrysene, benzo-k-fluoranthene, benzo-e-pyrene, indenol-1,2,3-cd-pyrene, dibenzo-a,h-anthracene, benzo-ghi-perylene) are released by vehicles. Further, these pollutants are expected to cause severe mutagenic, genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. Considering this, many authors monitored the levels of pollution in roadside soil, water and plants. The present review focuses upon the analysis and effects of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the roadside samples.

Keywords: Automobiles, Carcinogenicity, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectroscopy, Soil pollution.

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1660 Establish a Methodology for Testing and Optimizing GPRS Performance Case Study: Libya GSM

Authors: Mohamed Aburkhiss, Ibrahim Aref

Abstract:

The main goal of this paper is to establish a methodology for testing and optimizing GPRS performance over Libya GSM network as well as to propose a suitable optimization technique to improve performance. Some measurements of download, upload, throughput, round-trip time, reliability, handover, security enhancement and packet loss over a GPRS access network were carried out. Measured values are compared to the theoretical values that could be calculated beforehand. This data should be processed and delivered by the server across the wireless network to the client. The client on the fly takes those pieces of the data and process immediately. Also, we illustrate the results by describing the main parameters that affect the quality of service. Finally, Libya-s two mobile operators, Libyana Mobile Phone and Al-Madar al- Jadeed Company are selected as a case study to validate our methodology.

Keywords: GPRS, performance, optimization, GSM

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1659 Bridging the Gap Between CBR and VBR for H264 Standard

Authors: Othon Kamariotis

Abstract:

This paper provides a flexible way of controlling Variable-Bit-Rate (VBR) of compressed digital video, applicable to the new H264 video compression standard. The entire video sequence is assessed in advance and the quantisation level is then set such that bit rate (and thus the frame rate) remains within predetermined limits compatible with the bandwidth of the transmission system and the capabilities of the remote end, while at the same time providing constant quality similar to VBR encoding. A process for avoiding buffer starvation by selectively eliminating frames from the encoded output at times when the frame rate is slow (large number of bits per frame) will be also described. Finally, the problem of buffer overflow will be solved by selectively eliminating frames from the received input to the decoder. The decoder detects the omission of the frames and resynchronizes the transmission by monitoring time stamps and repeating frames if necessary.

Keywords: H264, CBR, VBR, Video Streaming, Digital Video, Multimedia, Buffering, Encoding, Decoding, Compression, Video-On-Demand

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1658 Characterization of Fabricated A 384.1-MgO Based Metal Matrix Composite and Optimization of Tensile Strength using Taguchi Techniques

Authors: Nripjit, Anand K Tyagi, Nirmal Singh

Abstract:

The present work consecutively on synthesis and characterization of composites, Al/Al alloy A 384.1 as matrix in which the main ingredient as Al/Al-5% MgO alloy based metal matrix composite. As practical implications the low cost processing route for the fabrication of Al alloy A 384.1 and operational difficulties of presently available manufacturing processes based in liquid manipulation methods. As all new developments, complete understanding of the influence of processing variables upon the final quality of the product. And the composite is applied comprehensively to the acquaintance for achieving superiority of information concerning the specific heat measurement of a material through the aid of thermographs. Products are evaluated concerning relative particle size and mechanical behavior under tensile strength. Furthermore, Taguchi technique was employed to examine the experimental optimum results are achieved, owing to effectiveness of this approach.

Keywords: MMC, Thermographs, Tensile strength, Taguchi technique, Optimal parameters

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1657 A Strategy Based View of Supply Chain Competitiveness

Authors: Ajay Verma, Nitin Seth

Abstract:

In this era of competitiveness, there is a growing need for supply chains also to become competitive enough to handle pressures like varying customer’s expectations, low cost high quality products to be delivered at the minimum time and the most important is throat cutting competition at world wide scale. In the recent years, supply chain competitiveness has been, therefore, accepted as one of the most important philosophies in the supply chain literature. Various researchers and practitioners have tried to identify and implement strategies in supply chains which can bring competitiveness in the supply chains i.e. supply chain competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to suggest select strategies for supply chain competitiveness in the Indian manufacturing sector using an integrated approach of literature review and exploratory interviews with eminent professionals from the supply chain area in various industries, academia and research. The aim of the paper is to highlight the important area of competitiveness in the supply chain and to suggest recommendations to the industry and managers of manufacturing sector.

Keywords: Competitiveness, Supply Chain Competitiveness, Collaboration, Coordination, Cooperation.

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