Search results for: genetic algorithm and observer technique.

Authors: Huong M. T. Nguyen, Hoa A. P. Nguyen, Mai P. T. Nguyen, Ngoc D. Ngo, Van T. Ta, Hai T. Le, Chi V. Phan

Abstract:

Wilson’s disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of the copper metabolism, which is caused by a mutation in the copper-transporting P-type ATPase (ATP7B). The mechanism of this disease is the failure of hepatic excretion of copper to bile, and leads to copper deposits in the liver and other organs. The ATP7B gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 13 (13q14.3). This study aimed to investigate the gene mutation in the Vietnamese patients with WD, and make a presymptomatic diagnosis for their familial members. Forty-three WD patients and their 65 siblings were identified as having ATP7B gene mutations. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples; 21 exons and exon-intron boundaries of the ATP7B gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. We recognized four mutations ([R723=; H724Tfs*34], V1042Cfs*79, D1027H, and IVS6+3A>G) in the sum of 20 detectable mutations, accounting for 87.2% of the total. Mutation S105* was determined to have a high rate (32.6%) in this study. The hotspot regions of ATP7B were found at exons 2, 16, and 8, and intron 14, in 39.6 %, 11.6 %, 9.3%, and 7 % of patients, respectively. Among nine homozygote/compound heterozygote siblings of the patients with WD, three individuals were determined as asymptomatic by screening mutations of the probands. They would begin treatment after diagnosis. In conclusion, 20 different mutations were detected in 43 WD patients. Of this number, four novel mutations were explored, including [R723=; H724Tfs*34], V1042Cfs*79, D1027H, and IVS6+3A>G. The mutation S105* is the most prevalent and has been considered as a biomarker that can be used in a rapid detection assay for diagnosis of WD patients. Exons 2, 8, and 16, and intron 14 should be screened initially for WD patients in Vietnam. Based on risk profile for WD, genetic testing for presymptomatic patients is also useful in diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: ATP7B gene, mutation detection, presymptomatic diagnosis, Vietnamese Wilson’s disease.

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Authors: Yong-jun Zhao, Heng-li Zhang, Zong-yun Hu

Abstract:

Based on the sources- smoothed rank profile (SRP) and modified minimum description length (MMDL) principle, a method for estimation of the source coherency structure (SCS) and the number of wideband sources is proposed in this paper. Instead of focusing, we first use a spatial smoothing technique to pre-process the array covariance matrix of each frequency for de-correlating the sources and then use smoothed rank profile to determine the SCS and the number of wideband sources. We demonstrate the availability of the method by numerical simulations.

Keywords: Wideband sources, source coherency structure (SCS), smoothed rank profile (SRP).

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Authors: Ali Beydoun, Hamzé H. Alaeddine

Abstract:

One of the main challenges in MIMO-OFDM system to achieve the expected performances in terms of data rate and robustness against multi-path fading channels is the channel estimation. Several methods were proposed in the literature based on either least square (LS) or minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimators. These methods present high implementation complexity as they require the inversion of large matrices. In order to overcome this problem and to reduce the complexity, this paper presents a solution that benefits from the use of the STBC encoder and transforms the channel estimation process into a set of simple linear operations. The proposed method is evaluated via simulation in AWGN-Rayleigh fading channel. Simulation results show a maximum reduction of 6.85% of the bit error rate (BER) compared to the one obtained with the ideal case where the receiver has a perfect knowledge of the channel.

Keywords: Channel estimation, MIMO, OFDM, STBC, CAZAC sequence.

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Authors: Surbhi Gupta, Alka Handa, Parvinder S.Sandhu

Abstract:

Stegnography is a new way of secret communication the most widely used mechanism on account of its simplicity is the use of the least significant bit. We have used the least significant bit (2 LSB and 4 LSB) substitution method. Depending upon the characteristics of the individual portions of cover image we decide whether to use 2 LSB or 4 LSB thus it is an adaptive stegnography technique. We used one of the three channels to behave as indicator to indicate the presence of hidden data in other two channels. The module showed impressive results in terms of capacity to hide the data. In proposed method, instead of using RGB color space directly, YCbCr color space is used to make use of human visual system characteristic.

Keywords: Stegoimage, steganography, Pixel indicator, segmentation, YCbCr..

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Authors: Fouad Ayoub, Mohammed Lahmer, Mostafa Belkasmi, El Houssine Bouyakhf

Abstract:

In this paper we present a study of the impact of connection schemes on the performance of iterative decoding of Generalized Parallel Concatenated block (GPCB) constructed from one step majority logic decodable (OSMLD) codes and we propose a new connection scheme for decoding them. All iterative decoding connection schemes use a soft-input soft-output threshold decoding algorithm as a component decoder. Numerical result for GPCB codes transmitted over Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel are provided. It will show that the proposed scheme is better than Hagenauer-s scheme and Lucas-s scheme [1] and slightly better than the Pyndiah-s scheme.

Keywords: Generalized parallel concatenated block codes, OSMLD codes, threshold decoding, iterative decoding scheme, and performance.

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Authors: Jung–Min Yang

Abstract:

Solvability of the model matching problem for input/output switched asynchronous sequential machines is discussed in this paper. The control objective is to determine the existence condition and design algorithm for a corrective controller that can match the stable-state behavior of the closed-loop system to that of a reference model. Switching operations and correction procedures are incorporated using output feedback so that the controlled switched machine can show the desired input/output behavior. A matrix expression is presented to address reachability of switched asynchronous sequential machines with output equivalence with respect to a model. The presented reachability condition for the controller design is validated in a simple example.

Keywords: Asynchronous sequential machines, corrective control, model matching, input/output control.

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Authors: Chimaobi V. Okolo, Afamefuna J. Ani, Ebere U. Okolo

Abstract:

This paper seeks to assess the implications of insurance to foreign direct investment inflow in Nigeria. Multiple linear regression technique and correlation matrix test were employed to measure the extent to which foreign direct investment was influenced. The result showed that insurance premium (IP), asset size of insurance industry (AS), and total investment of the industry (TI) impacted significantly and positively on foreign direct investment inflow in Nigeria. There should be effective risk transfer mechanism and financial intermediation, which gives the investor confidence in the risk management strength of the host country.

Keywords: Foreign direct investment, insurance.

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Authors: Kannanut Chamsri

Abstract:

Darcy’s Law is a well-known constitutive equation describing the flow of a fluid through a porous medium. The equation shows a relationship between the superficial or Darcy velocity and the pressure gradient which was first experimentally observed by Henry Darcy in 1855-1856. In this study, we apply homogenization method to Stokes equation in order to derive Darcy’s Law. The process of deriving the equation is complicated, especially in multidimensional domain. Thus, for the sake of simplicity, we use the indicial notation as well as the homogenization. This combination provides a smooth, simple and easy technique to derive Darcy’s Law.

Keywords: Darcy’s Law, Homogenization method, Indicial notation

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Authors: Reza Hassanpour, Asadollah Shahbahrami, Stephan Wong

Abstract:

Skin color based tracking techniques often assume a static skin color model obtained either from an offline set of library images or the first few frames of a video stream. These models can show a weak performance in presence of changing lighting or imaging conditions. We propose an adaptive skin color model based on the Gaussian mixture model to handle the changing conditions. Initial estimation of the number and weights of skin color clusters are obtained using a modified form of the general Expectation maximization algorithm, The model adapts to changes in imaging conditions and refines the model parameters dynamically using spatial and temporal constraints. Experimental results show that the method can be used in effectively tracking of hand and face regions.

Keywords: Face detection, Segmentation, Tracking, Gaussian Mixture Model, Adaptation.

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Authors: Pegah Farokhzad

Abstract:

Family has a crucial role in maintaining the physical, social and mental health of the children. Most of the mental and anxiety problems of children reflect the complex interpersonal situations among family members, especially parents. In other words, anxiety problems of the children are correlated with deficit relationships of family members and improper childrearing styles. The parental child rearing styles leads to positive and negative consequences which affect the children’s mental health. Therefore, the present research was aimed to compare the parental childrearing styles and anxiety of children with stuttering and normal population. It was also aimed to study the relationship between parental child rearing styles and anxiety of children. The research sample included 54 boys with stuttering and 54 normal boys who were selected from the children (boys) of Tehran, Iran in the age range of 5 to 8 years in 2013. In order to collect data, Baum-rind Childrearing Styles Inventory and Spence Parental Anxiety Inventory were used. Appropriate descriptive statistical methods and multivariate variance analysis and t test for independent groups were used to test the study hypotheses. Statistical data analyses demonstrated that there was a significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in anxiety (t = 7.601, p< 0.01); but there was no significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in parental childrearing styles (F = 0.129). There was also not found significant relationship between parental childrearing styles and children anxiety (F = 0.135, p< 0.05). It can be concluded that the influential factors of children’s society are parents, school, teachers, peers and media. So, parental childrearing styles are not the only influential factors on anxiety of children, and other factors including genetic, environment and child experiences are effective in anxiety as well. Details are discussed.

Keywords: Anxiety, Childrearing Styles, Stuttering.

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Authors: Dmitry A. Mikoyelov

Abstract:

The paper presents a set of guidelines for analysis of industrial embedded distributed systems and introduces a mathematical model derived from these guidelines. In this study, the author examines a set of modern communication technologies that are or possibly can be used to build communication links between the subsystems of a distributed embedded system. An investigation of these guidelines results in a algorithm for analysis of specific use cases of target technologies. A goal of the paper acts as an important base for ongoing research on comparison of communication technologies. The author describes the principles of the model and presents results of the test calculations. Practical implementation of target technologies and empirical experiment data are based on a practical experience during the design and test of specific distributed systems in Latvian market.

Keywords: Distributed embedded system, analytical model, communication technology.

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Authors: S. Swain, P. S. Khuntia

Abstract:

In this paper an optimal convex controller is designed to control the angle of attack of a FOXTROT aircraft. Then the order of the system model is reduced to a low-dimensional state space by using Balanced Truncation Model Reduction Technique and finally the robust stability of the reduced model of the system is tested graphically by using Kharitonov rectangle and Zero Exclusion Principle for a particular range of perturbation value. The same robust stability is tested theoretically by using Frequency Sweeping Function for robust stability.

Keywords: Convex Optimization, Kharitonov Stability Criterion, Model Reduction, Robust Stability.

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Authors: Ronald M. Yannone

Abstract:

For decades, the defense business has been plagued by not having a reliable, deterministic method to know when the Kalman filter solution for passive ranging application is reliable for use by the fighter pilot. This has made it hard to accurately assess when the ranging solution can be used for situation awareness and weapons use. To date, we have used ad hoc rules-of-thumb to assess when we think the estimate of the Kalman filter standard deviation on range is reliable. A reliable algorithm has been developed at BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions that monitors the Kalman gain matrix elements – and a patent is pending. The “settling" of the gain matrix elements relates directly to when we can assess the time when the passive ranging solution is within the 10 percent-of-truth value. The focus of the paper is on surface-based passive ranging – but the method is applicable to airborne targets as well.

Keywords: Electronic warfare, extended Kalman filter (EKF), fighter aircraft, passive ranging, track convergence.

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Authors: A. Papalou, K. Vozikis

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is the analysis and preservation of lime kilns, focusing on the structure, construction, and functionality of vertical shaft lime kilns of the Cap Corse in Corsica. Plans and sections of two lime kilns are presented in detail, providing an overall picture of this specific industrial heritage. The potential damage areas are identified performing structural analysis of a lime kiln using the finite element method. A restoration and strengthening technique that satisfies the directions of the Charter of Venice is presented using post-tensioning tendons. Recommendations are given to preserve and promote these important historical structures integrating them into the custom footpath.

Keywords: industrial heritage, lime kilns, post-tensioning, preservation

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Authors: Steven W. Su , Hung Nguyen, Rob Jarman, Joe Zhu, David Lowe, Peter McLean, Shoudong Huang, Nghia T. Nguyen, Russell Nicholson, Kaili Weng

Abstract:

This paper proposed a nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) method for the control of gantry crane. One of the main motivations to apply MPC to control gantry crane is based on its ability to handle control constraints for multivariable systems. A pre-compensator is constructed to compensate the input nonlinearity (nonsymmetric dead zone with saturation) by using its inverse function. By well tuning the weighting function matrices, the control system can properly compromise the control between crane position and swing angle. The proposed control algorithm was implemented for the control of gantry crane system in System Control Lab of University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), and achieved desired experimental results.

Keywords: Model Predictive Control, Control constraints, Input nonlinearity compensation, Overhead gantry crane.

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Authors: Yaser Mohammad Taheri, Alireza Zolghadr–asli, Mehran Yazdi

Abstract:

Video watermarking is usually considered as watermarking of a set of still images. In frame-by-frame watermarking approach, each video frame is seen as a single watermarked image, so collusion attack is more critical in video watermarking. If the same or redundant watermark is used for embedding in every frame of video, the watermark can be estimated and then removed by watermark estimate remodolulation (WER) attack. Also if uncorrelated watermarks are used for every frame, these watermarks can be washed out with frame temporal filtering (FTF). Switching watermark system or so-called SS-N system has better performance against WER and FTF attacks. In this system, for each frame, the watermark is randomly picked up from a finite pool of watermark patterns. At first SS-N system will be surveyed and then a new collusion attack for SS-N system will be proposed using a new algorithm for separating video frame based on watermark pattern. So N sets will be built in which every set contains frames carrying the same watermark. After that, using WER attack in every set, N different watermark patterns will be estimated and removed later.

Keywords: Watermark estimation remodulation (WER), Frame Temporal Averaging (FTF), switching watermark system.

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Authors: Qurban A Memon, Mohammad S. Laghari

Abstract:

Integration of system process information obtained through an image processing system with an evolving knowledge database to improve the accuracy and predictability of wear debris analysis is the main focus of the paper. The objective is to automate intelligently the analysis process of wear particle using classification via self-organizing maps. This is achieved using relationship measurements among corresponding attributes of various measurements for wear debris. Finally, visualization technique is proposed that helps the viewer in understanding and utilizing these relationships that enable accurate diagnostics.

Keywords: Relationship Network, Relationship Measurement, Self-organizing Clusters, Wear Debris Analysis, Kohonen Network

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Authors: Jyotsna Ogale, Alok Jain

Abstract:

In this paper newly reported Cosh window function is used in the design of prototype filter for M-channel Near Perfect Reconstruction (NPR) Cosine Modulated Filter Bank (CMFB). Local search optimization algorithm is used for minimization of distortion parameters by optimizing the filter coefficients of prototype filter. Design examples are presented and comparison has been made with Kaiser window based filterbank design of recently reported work. The result shows that the proposed design approach provides lower distortion parameters and improved far-end suppression than the Kaiser window based design of recent reported work.

Keywords: Window function, Cosine modulated filterbank, Local search optimization.

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Authors: Muhammad Amjad Sohail, Rizwan Ullah

Abstract:

This research paper presents the CFD analysis of oscillating airfoil during pitch cycle. Unsteady subsonic flow is simulated for pitching airfoil at Mach number 0.283 and Reynolds number 3.45 millions. Turbulent effects are also considered for this study by using K-ω SST turbulent model. Two-dimensional unsteady compressible Navier-Stokes code including two-equation turbulence model and PISO pressure velocity coupling is used. Pressure based implicit solver with first order implicit unsteady formulation is used. The simulated pitch cycle results are compared with the available experimental data. The results have a good agreement with the experimental data. Aerodynamic characteristics during pitch cycles have been studied and validated.

Keywords: Angle of attack, Centre of pressure, subsonic flow, pitching moment coefficient, turbulence mode

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Authors: I. Mahdavi, R. Janamiri, A. Sinkakarimi, M. Safdari, M. H. Sedaghat, A. Zamani, A. Hoseini, M. Karimi

Abstract:

In this work, study the location of interface in a stirred vessel with Rushton impeller by computational fluid dynamic was presented. To modeling rotating the impeller, sliding mesh (SM) technique was used and standard k-ε model was selected for turbulence closure. Mean tangential, radial and axial velocities and also turbulent kinetic energy (k) and turbulent dissipation rate (ε) in various points of tank was investigated. Results show sensitivity of system to location of interface and radius of 7 to 10cm for interface in the vessel with existence characteristics cause to increase the accuracy of simulation.

Keywords: CFD, Interface, Rushton impeller, Turbulence model.

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Authors: Yan Ma, ShunBao Li

Abstract:

A new approach is adopted in this paper based on Turk and Pentland-s eigenface method. It was found that the probability density function of the distance between the projection vector of the input face image and the average projection vector of the subject in the face database, follows Rayleigh distribution. In order to decrease the false acceptance rate and increase the recognition rate, the input face image has been recognized using two thresholds including the acceptance threshold and the rejection threshold. We also find out that the value of two thresholds will be close to each other as number of trials increases. During the training, in order to reduce the number of trials, the projection vectors for each subject has been averaged. The recognition experiments using the proposed algorithm show that the recognition rate achieves to 92.875% whilst the average number of judgment is only 2.56 times.

Keywords: Eigenface, Face Recognition, Threshold, Rayleigh Distribution, Feature Extraction

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Authors: Liton Jude Rozario, Mohammad Reduanul Haque, Md. Ziarul Islam, Mohammad Shorif Uddin

Abstract:

Face recognition is a technique to automatically identify or verify individuals. It receives great attention in identification, authentication, security and many more applications. Diverse methods had been proposed for this purpose and also a lot of comparative studies were performed. However, researchers could not reach unified conclusion. In this paper, we are reporting an extensive quantitative accuracy analysis of four most widely used face recognition algorithms: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) using AT&T, Sheffield and Bangladeshi people face databases under diverse situations such as illumination, alignment and pose variations.

Keywords: PCA, ICA, LDA, SVM, face recognition, noise.

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Authors: Yanan Yang, Zhigang Wang, Xiang Chen

Abstract:

This paper presents the use of Legendre pseudospectral method for the optimization of finite-thrust orbital transfer for spacecrafts. In order to get an accurate solution, the System-s dynamics equations were normalized through a dimensionless method. The Legendre pseudospectral method is based on interpolating functions on Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto (LGL) quadrature nodes. This is used to transform the optimal control problem into a constrained parameter optimization problem. The developed novel optimization algorithm can be used to solve similar optimization problems of spacecraft finite-thrust orbital transfer. The results of a numerical simulation verified the validity of the proposed optimization method. The simulation results reveal that pseudospectral optimization method is a promising method for real-time trajectory optimization and provides good accuracy and fast convergence.

Keywords: Finite-thrust, Orbital transfer, Legendre pseudospectral method

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Authors: El Miloud Ar Reyouchi, Kamal Ghoumid, Koutaiba Ameziane, Otman El Mrabet, Slimane Mekaoui

Abstract:

In this paper we focus on the Round Trip Delay (RTD) time measurement technique which is an easy way to obtain the operating condition information in wireless network (WN). RTD measurement is affected by various parameters of wireless network. We illustrate how these RTD parameters vary (in a telemanagement application) versus distance, baud rates, number of hops, between nodes, using radio modem & router unit as a means of transmission and wireless routing.

Keywords: Wireless Network, Round Trip Delay, Radio modem, Router.

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Authors: M. Hassan, I. Osman, M. Yahia

Abstract:

This Paper proposes a new facial feature extraction approach, Wash-Hadamard Transform (WHT). This approach is based on correlation between local pixels of the face image. Its primary advantage is the simplicity of its computation. The paper compares the proposed approach, WHT, which was traditionally used in data compression with two other known approaches: the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) using the face database of Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL). In spite of its simple computation, the proposed algorithm (WHT) gave very close results to those obtained by the PCA and DCT. This paper initiates the research into WHT and the family of frequency transforms and examines their suitability for feature extraction in face recognition applications.

Keywords: Face Recognition, Facial Feature Extraction, Principal Component Analysis, and Discrete Cosine Transform, Wash-Hadamard Transform.

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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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Authors: Eun-Geun Kim, Won-Pil Park, Dae-Gon Woo, Chang-Yong Ko, Yong-Heum Lee, Dohyung Lim, Tae-Min Shin, Han-Sung Kim, Gyoun-Jung Lee

Abstract:

Functional gastrointestinal disorders affect millions of people spread all age regardless of race and sex. There are, however, rare diagnostic methods for the functional gastrointestinal disorders because functional disorders show no evidence of organic and physical causes. Our research group identified recently that the gastrointestinal tract well in the patients with the functional gastrointestinal disorders becomes more rigid than healthy people when palpating the abdominal regions overlaying the gastrointestinal tract. Aim of this study is, therefore, to develop a diagnostic system for the functional gastrointestinal disorders based on ultrasound technique, which can quantify the characteristic above related to the rigidity of the gastrointestinal tract well. Ultrasound system was designed. The system consisted of transmitter, ultrasonic transducer, receiver, TGC, and CPLD, and verified via a phantom test. For the phantom test, ten soft-tissue specimens were harvested from porcine. Five of them were then treated chemically to mimic a rigid condition of gastrointestinal tract well, which was induced by functional gastrointestinal disorders. Additionally, the specimens were tested mechanically to identify if the mimic was reasonable. The customized ultrasound system was finally verified through application to human subjects with/without functional gastrointestinal disorders (Normal and Patient Groups). It was identified from the mechanical test that the chemically treated specimens were more rigid than normal specimen. This finding was favorably compared with the result obtained from the phantom test. The phantom test also showed that ultrasound system well described the specimen geometric characteristics and detected an alteration in the specimens. The maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic reflective signal in the rigid specimens (0.2±0.1Vp-p) at the interface between the fat and muscle layers was explicitly higher than that in the normal specimens (0.1±0.0Vp-p). Clinical tests using our customized ultrasound system for human subject showed that the maximum amplitudes of the ultrasonic reflective signals near to the gastrointestinal tract well for the patient group (2.6±0.3Vp-p) were generally higher than those in normal group (0.1±0.2Vp-p). Here, maximum reflective signals was appeared at 20mm depth approximately from abdominal skin for all human subjects, corresponding to the location of the boundary layer close to gastrointestinal tract well. These results suggest that newly designed diagnostic system based on ultrasound technique may diagnose enough the functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Keywords: Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, DiagnosticSystem, Phantom Test, Ultrasound System.

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Authors: M. Saeki

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the performance of a triboelectric separator of plastic mixtures used for recycling. The separator consists of four cylindrical electrodes. The principle behind the separation technique is based on the difference in the Coulomb force acting on the plastic particles after triboelectric charging. The separation of mixtures of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polystyrene (PS) using this method was studied. The effects of the triboelectric charging time and applied voltage on the separation efficiency were investigated. The experimental results confirm that it is possible to obtain a high purity and recovery rate for the initial compositions considered in this study.

Keywords: Coulomb force, recycling, triboelectric separator, waste plastics.

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Authors: Y. H. Tsai, Y. W. Chen

Abstract:

Facial features are frequently used to represent local properties of a human face image in computer vision applications. In this paper, we present a fast algorithm that can extract the facial features online such that they can give a satisfying representation of a face image. It includes one step for a coarse detection of each facial feature by AdaBoost and another one to increase the accuracy of the found points by Active Shape Models (ASM) in the regions of interest. The resulted facial features are evaluated by matching with artificial face models in the applications of physiognomy. The distance measure between the features and those in the fate models from the database is carried out by means of the Hausdorff distance. In the experiment, the proposed method shows the efficient performance in facial feature extractions and online system of physiognomy.

Keywords: Facial feature extraction, AdaBoost, Active shapemodel, Hausdorff distance

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Authors: R. Bourziza, A. Hammani, M. Kuper, A. Bouaziz

Abstract:

In oases, the surface water resources are becoming increasingly scarce and groundwater resources, which generally have a poor quality due to the high levels of salinity, are often overexploited. Water saving have therefore become imperative for better oases sustainability. If drip irrigation is currently recommended in Morocco for saving water and valuing, its use in the sub-desert areas does not keep water safe from high evaporation rates. An alternative to this system would be the use of subsurface drip irrigation. This technique is defined as an application of water under the soil surface through drippers, which deliver water at rates generally similar to surface drip irrigation. As subsurface drip irrigation is a recently introduced in Morocco, a better understanding of the infiltration process around a buried source, in local conditions, and its impact on plant growth is necessarily required. This study aims to contribute to improving the water use efficiency by testing the performance of subsurface irrigation system, especially in areas where water is a limited source. The objectives of this research are performance evaluation in arid conditions of the subsurface drip irrigation system for young date palms compared to the surface drip. In this context, an experimental test is installed at a farmer’s field in the area of Erfoud (Errachidia Province, southeastern Morocco), using the subsurface drip irrigation system in comparison with the classic drip system for young date palms. Flow measurement to calculate the uniformity of the application of water was done through two methods: a flow measurement of drippers above the surface and another one underground. The latter method has also helped us to estimate losses through evaporation for both irrigation techniques. In order to compare the effect of two irrigation modes, plants were identified for each type of irrigation to monitor certain agronomic parameters (cumulative numbers of palms and roots development). Experimentation referred to a distribution uniformity of about 88%; considered acceptable for subsurface drip irrigation while it is around 80% for the surface drip irrigation. The results also show an increase in root development and in the number of palm, as well as a substantial water savings due to lower evaporation losses compared to the classic drip irrigation. The results of this study showed that subsurface drip irrigation is an efficient technique, which allows sustainable irrigation in arid areas.

Keywords: Subsurface drip irrigation, Water conservation, Arid areas, Young date palms.

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