Search results for: product quality improvement

Authors: Say Wei Foo, Qi Dong

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A novel robust audio watermarking scheme is proposed in this paper. In the proposed scheme, the host audio signals are segmented into frames. Two consecutive frames are assessed if they are suitable to represent a watermark bit. If so, frequency transform is performed on these two frames. The compressionexpansion technique is adopted to generate distortion over the two frames. The distortion is used to represent one watermark bit. Psychoacoustic model is applied to calculate local auditory mask to ensure that the distortion is not audible. The watermarking schemes using mono and stereo audio signals are designed differently. The correlation-based detection method is used to detect the distortion and extract embedded watermark bits. The experimental results show that the quality degradation caused by the embedded watermarks is perceptually transparent and the proposed schemes are very robust against different types of attacks.

Keywords: Audio watermarking, Compression-expansion, Stereo signals, Robustness.

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Authors: C. M. M. Paschoal, M. L. Sobrinho, D. do N. Souza, J. Antônio Filho, L. A. P. Santos

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Computed tomography (CT) dosimetry normally uses an ionization chamber 100 mm long to estimate the computed tomography dose index (CTDI), however some reports have already indicated that small devices could replace the long ion chamber to improve quality assurance procedures in CT dosimetry. This paper presents a novel dosimetry system based in a commercial phototransistor evaluated for CT dosimetry. Three detector configurations were developed for this system: with a single, two and four devices. Dose profile measurements were obtained with them and their angular response were evaluated. The results showed that the novel dosimetry system with the phototransistor could be an alternative for CT dosimetry. It allows to obtain the CT dose profile in details and also to estimate the CTDI in longer length than the 100 mm pencil chamber. The angular response showed that the one device detector configuration is the most adequate among the three configurations analyzed in this study.

Keywords: Computed tomography, dosimetry, photo-transistor

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Authors: Maryam Azizkhani, Parvin Zandi

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Application of synthetic antioxidants such as tertbutylhydroquinon (TBHQ), in spite of their efficiency, is questioned because of their possible carcinogenic effect. The purpose of this study was application of mixtures of natural antioxidants that provide the best oxidative stability for margarine. Antioxidant treatments included 10 various mixtures (F1- F10) containing 100-500ppm tocopherol mixture (Toc), 100-200ppm ascorbyl palmitate (AP), 100- 200ppm rosemary extract (Ros) and 1000ppm lecithin(Lec) along with a control or F0 (with no antioxidant) and F11 with 120ppm TBHQ. The effect of antioxidant mixtures on the stability of margarine samples during oven test (60°C), rancimat test at 110°C and storage at 4°C was evaluated. Final ranking of natural antioxidant mixtures was as follows: F2,F10>F5,F9>F8>F1,F3,F4>F6, F7. Considering the results of this research and ranking criteria, F2(200ppmAp + 200ppmRos) and F10(200ppmRos + 200ppmToc +1000ppmLec) were recommended as substitutes for TBHQ to maintain the quality and increase the shelf-life of margarine.

Keywords: Margarine, Natural antioxidant, Oxidative stability, Shelf-life.

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Authors: Y. Z. Wu, Z. Dong, S. K. You

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Global approximation using metamodel for complex mathematical function or computer model over a large variable domain is often needed in sensibility analysis, computer simulation, optimal control, and global design optimization of complex, multiphysics systems. To overcome the limitations of the existing response surface (RS), surrogate or metamodel modeling methods for complex models over large variable domain, a new adaptive and regressive RS modeling method using quadratic functions and local area model improvement schemes is introduced. The method applies an iterative and Latin hypercube sampling based RS update process, divides the entire domain of design variables into multiple cells, identifies rougher cells with large modeling error, and further divides these cells along the roughest dimension direction. A small number of additional sampling points from the original, expensive model are added over the small and isolated rough cells to improve the RS model locally until the model accuracy criteria are satisfied. The method then combines local RS cells to regenerate the global RS model with satisfactory accuracy. An effective RS cells sorting algorithm is also introduced to improve the efficiency of model evaluation. Benchmark tests are presented and use of the new metamodeling method to replace complex hybrid electrical vehicle powertrain performance model in vehicle design optimization and optimal control are discussed.

Keywords: Global approximation, polynomial response surface, domain decomposition, domain combination, multiphysics modeling, hybrid powertrain optimization

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Authors: Sheam-Chyun Lin, Wei-Kai Chen, Hung-Cheng Yen, Yung-Jen Cheng, Yu-Cheng Chen

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Result from the constant dwindle in natural resources, the alternative way to reduce the costs in our daily life would be urgent to be found in the near future. As the ancient technique based on the theory of solar chimney since roman times, the double-skin façade are simply composed of two large glass panels in purpose of daylighting and also natural ventilation in the daytime. Double-skin façade is generally installed on the exterior side of buildings as function as the window, so there is always a huge amount of passive solar energy the façade would receive to induce the airflow every sunny day. Therefore, this article imposes a domestic double-skin window for residential usage and attempts to improve the volume flow rate inside the cavity between the panels by the frame geometry design, the installation of outlet guide plate and the solar energy collection system. Note that the numerical analyses are applied to investigate the characteristics of flow field, and the boundary conditions in the simulation are totally based on the practical experiment of the original prototype. Then we redesign the prototype from the knowledge of the numerical results and fluid dynamic theory, and later the experiments of modified prototype will be conducted to verify the simulation results. The velocities at the inlet of each case are increase by 5%, 45% and 15% from the experimental data, and also the numerical simulation results reported 20% improvement in volume flow rate both for the frame geometry design and installation of outlet guide plate.

Keywords: Solar energy, Double-skin façades, Thermal buoyancy, Fluid machinery.

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

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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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Authors: A. Evans, M. McKinley

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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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Authors: Krasimira Georgieva, Yordan Denev

Abstract:

Many of thermosetting resins have application only in filled state, reinforced with different mineral fillers. The co-filling of polymers with mineral filler and gases creates a possibility for production of polymer composites materials with low density. This processing leads to forming of new materials – gas-filled plastics (polymer foams). The properties of these materials are determined mainly by the shape and size of internal structural elements (pores). The interactions on the phase boundaries have influence on the materials properties too. In the present work, the gas-filled urea-formaldehyde resins were reinforced by waste phosphogypsum. The waste phosphogypsum (CaSO₄.2H₂O) is a solid by-product in wet phosphoric acid production processes. The values of the interactions polymer-filler were increased by using two modifying agents: polyvinyl acetate for polymer matrix and sodium metasilicate for filler. Technological methods for gas-filling and recipes of urea-formaldehyde based materials with apparent density 20-120 kg/m³ were developed. The heat conductivity of the samples is between 0.024 and 0.029 W/m^oK. Tensile analyses were carried out at 10 and 50% deformation and show values 0.01-0.14 MPa and 0.01-0.09 MPa, respectively. The apparent density of obtained materials is between 20 and 92 kg/m³. The changes in the tensile properties and density of these materials according to sodium metasilicate content were studied too. The mechanism of phosphogypsum adsorption modification was studied using methods of FT-IR spectroscopy. The structure of the gas-filled urea-formaldehyde resins was described by results of electron scanning microscopy at three different magnification ratios – x50, x150 and x 500. The aim of present work is to study the possibility of the usage of phosphogypsum as mineral filler for urea-formaldehyde resins and development of a technology for the production of gas-filled reinforced polymer composite materials. The structure and the properties of obtained composite materials are suitable for thermal and sound insulation applications.

Keywords: Gas-filled thermosets, mechanical properties, phosphogypsum, urea-formaldehyde resins.

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

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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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Authors: Dana M. Ragab, Jasim A Ghaeb

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

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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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Authors: Nurulhuda Ismail, Mas Idayu Md. Sabri

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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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Authors: Sergei Aleinik, Mikhail Stolbov

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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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Authors: Michel Soto Chalhoub

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

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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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Authors: Kanda Runapongsa Saikaew, Chaluemwut Noyunsan

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

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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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Authors: Z. Gholamzadeh, A. Zali, S. A. H. Feghhi, C. Tenreiro, Y. Kadi, M. Rezazadeh, M. Aref

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Most HWRs currently use natural uranium fuel. Using enriched uranium fuel results in a significant improvement in fuel cycle costs and uranium utilization. On the other hand, reactivity changes of HWRs over the full range of operating conditions from cold shutdown to full power are small. This reduces the required reactivity worth of control devices and minimizes local flux distribution perturbations, minimizing potential problems due to transient local overheating of fuel. Analyzing heavy water effectiveness on neutronic parameters such as enrichment requirements, peaking factor and reactivity is important and should pay attention as primary concepts of a HWR core designing. Two nuclear nuclear reactors of CANDU-type and hexagonal-type reactor cores of 33 fuel assemblies and 19 assemblies in 1.04 P/D have been respectively simulated using MCNP-4C code. Using heavy water and light water as moderator have been compared for achieving less reactivity insertion and enrichment requirements. Two fuel matrixes of (232Th/235U)O2 and (238/235U)O2 have been compared to achieve more economical and safe design. Heavy water not only decreased enrichment needs, but it concluded in negative reactivity insertions during moderator density variations. Thorium oxide fuel assemblies of 2.3% enrichment loaded into the core of heavy water moderator resulted in 0.751 fission to absorption ratio and peaking factor of 1.7 using. Heavy water not only provides negative reactivity insertion during temperature raises which changes moderator density but concluded in 2 to 10 kg reduction of enrichment requirements, depend on geometry type.

Keywords: MCNP-4C, Reactor core, Multiplication factor, Reactivity, Peaking factor.

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Authors: Wichai Onlaor, Siriluck Rotchanakitumnuai

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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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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah, Jianing Mi, Cheng Feng

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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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Authors: Marko Mailand, Hans-Joachim Jentschel

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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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Authors: Veronika Antoniou, Rene Carraz, Yiorgos Hadjichristou

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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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Authors: Mohamed Aburkhiss, Ibrahim Aref

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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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Authors: Othon Kamariotis

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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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Authors: Ajay Verma, Nitin Seth

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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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Authors: N. A. Salim, M. M. Othman, I. Musirin, M. S. Serwan

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Over the past few decades, power system industry in many developing and developed countries has gone through a restructuring process of the industry where they are moving towards deregulated power industry. This situation will lead to competition among the generation and distribution companies to provide quality and efficient production of electric energy, which will reduce the price of electricity. Therefore it is important to obtain an accurate value of the available transfer capability (ATC) and transmission reliability margin (TRM) in order to ensure the effective power transfer between areas during the occurrence of uncertainties in the system. In this paper, the TRM and ATC is determined by taking into consideration the uncertainties of the system operating condition and system cascading collapse by applying the bootstrap technique. A case study of the IEEE RTS-79 is employed to verify the robustness of the technique proposed in the determination of TRM and ATC.

Keywords: Available transfer capability, bootstrap technique, cascading collapse, transmission reliability margin.

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Authors: H. Nejadriahi

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Traditional architecture is a valuable source of inspiration, which needs to be studied and integrated in the contemporary designs for achieving an identifiable contemporary architecture. Traditional architecture of Iran is among the distinguished examples of being contextually responsive, not only by considering the environmental conditions of a region, but also in terms of respecting the socio-cultural values of its context. In order to apply these valuable features to the current designs, they need to be adapted to today's condition, needs and desires. In this paper, the main features of the traditional architecture of Iran are explained to interrogate them in the formation of a contemporary house in Tehran, Iran. Also a table is provided to compare the utilization of the traditional design concepts in the traditional houses and the contemporary example of it. It is believed that such study would increase the awareness of contemporary designers by providing them some clues on maintaining the traditional values in the current design layouts particularly in the residential sector that would ultimately improve the quality of space in the contemporary architecture.

Keywords: Contemporary housing design, Iran, Tehran, traditional architecture.

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Authors: Saowapa Phaithayawat

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The purposes of this study are 1) to study the over 20-year attempt of Mahakan fort community to negotiate with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to remain in their residential area belonging to the state, and 2) to apply the new social and cultural dimension between the state and the community as an alternative for local participation in keeping their residential area. This is a qualitative research, and the findings reveal that the community claimed their ancestors’ right as owners of this piece of land for over 200 years. The community, therefore, requested to take part in the preservation of land, culture and local intellect and the area management in terms of being a learning resource on the cultural road in Rattanakosin Island. However, BMA imposed the law concerning the community area relocation in Rattanakosin Island. The result of law enforcement led to the failure of the area relocation, and the hard hit on physical structure of the area including the overall deterioration of the cultural road renovated in the year 1982, the 200 years’ celebration of Bangkok. The enforcement of law by the state required the move of the community, and the landscape improvement based on the capital city plan. However, this enforcement resulted in the unending conflicts between the community and the state, and the solution of this problem was unclear. At the same time the community has spent a long time opposing the state’s action, and preparing themselves by administrating the community behind Mahakan fortress with community administrative committee under the suggestion of external organization by registering all community members, providing funds for community administration. At the meantime the state lacked the continuation of the enforcement due to political problem and BMA’s administration problem. It is, therefore, suggested that an alternative solution to this problem lie at the negotiation between the state and the community with the purpose of the collaboration between the two to develop the area under the protective law of each side.

Keywords: Pom-Mahakan Community, The Reduction of Conflicts, The Social Area Disclosure.

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Authors: Daniela I. Borissova, Ivan C. Mustakerov

Abstract:

The paper describes an approach for defining of k-best night vision devices based on multi-criteria mixed-integer optimization modeling. The parameters of night vision devices are considered as criteria that have to be optimized. Using different user preferences for the relative importance between parameters different choice of k-best devices can be defined. An ideal device with all of its parameters at their optimum is used to determine how far the particular device from the ideal one is. A procedure for evaluation of deviation between ideal solution and k-best solutions is presented. The applicability of the proposed approach is numerically illustrated using real night vision devices data. The proposed approach contributes to quality of decisions about choice of night vision devices by making the decision making process more certain, rational and efficient. 

Keywords: K-best devices, mixed-integer model, multi-criteria problem, night vision devices.

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Authors: E. Kharaishvili, G. Erkomaishvili, M. Chavleishvili

Abstract:

The importance of agribusiness development is proved in accordance with the trends in the agricultural sector of Georgia. Agribusiness environment and the consequences of the agricultural reforms are evaluated. The factors hindering the development of agribusiness are revealed and the ways for overcoming these problems are suggested. SWOT analysis is done in order to identify the needs of agribusiness. The needs of agribusiness development in Georgia are evaluated by priorities: prevention of diseases and reduction of the harm caused by these diseases, accessibility of long-term agricultural loans with low interest rates, improving qualification of farmers, the level of education and usage of modern technologies, changes in legislation, accessibility to high quality agricultural machinery, and the development of infrastructure. Based on the outcomes of the research, agribusiness development strategies in Georgia are suggested and appropriate priorities of economic policy are determined. Conclusions are made and based on these conclusions, some recommendations are suggested.

Keywords: Agricultural sector, agribusiness development, agribusiness strategy, agribusiness in Georgia.

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