Search results for: Effective Electric Field and Effective Mobility Model.
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 11545

Search results for: Effective Electric Field and Effective Mobility Model.

7645 Fuzzy C-Means Clustering for Biomedical Documents Using Ontology Based Indexing and Semantic Annotation

Authors: S. Logeswari, K. Premalatha

Abstract:

Search is the most obvious application of information retrieval. The variety of widely obtainable biomedical data is enormous and is expanding fast. This expansion makes the existing techniques are not enough to extract the most interesting patterns from the collection as per the user requirement. Recent researches are concentrating more on semantic based searching than the traditional term based searches. Algorithms for semantic searches are implemented based on the relations exist between the words of the documents. Ontologies are used as domain knowledge for identifying the semantic relations as well as to structure the data for effective information retrieval. Annotation of data with concepts of ontology is one of the wide-ranging practices for clustering the documents. In this paper, indexing based on concept and annotation are proposed for clustering the biomedical documents. Fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm is used to cluster the documents. The performances of the proposed methods are analyzed with traditional term based clustering for PubMed articles in five different diseases communities. The experimental results show that the proposed methods outperform the term based fuzzy clustering.

Keywords: MeSH Ontology, Concept Indexing, Annotation, semantic relations, Fuzzy c-means.

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7644 Modelling Extreme Temperature in Malaysia Using Generalized Extreme Value Distribution

Authors: Husna Hasan, Norfatin Salam, Mohd Bakri Adam

Abstract:

Extreme temperature of several stations in Malaysia is modelled by fitting the monthly maximum to the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The Mann-Kendall (MK) test suggests a non-stationary model. Two models are considered for stations with trend and the Likelihood Ratio test is used to determine the best-fitting model. Results show that half of the stations favour a model which is linear for the location parameters. The return level is the level of events (maximum temperature) which is expected to be exceeded once, on average, in a given number of years, is obtained.

Keywords: Extreme temperature, extreme value, return level.

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7643 Reliable Face Alignment Using Two-Stage AAM

Authors: Sunho Ki, Daehwan Kim, Seongwon Cho, Sun-Tae Chung, Jaemin Kim, Yun-Kwang Hong, Chang Joon Park, Dongmin Kwon, Minhee Kang, Yusung Kim, Younghan Yoon

Abstract:

AAM (active appearance model) has been successfully applied to face and facial feature localization. However, its performance is sensitive to initial parameter values. In this paper, we propose a two-stage AAM for robust face alignment, which first fits an inner face-AAM model to the inner facial feature points of the face and then localizes the whole face and facial features by optimizing the whole face-AAM model parameters. Experiments show that the proposed face alignment method using two-stage AAM is more reliable to the background and the head pose than the standard AAM-based face alignment method.

Keywords: AAM, Face Alignment, Feature Extraction, PCA

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7642 Hospital Administration for Humanized Healthcare in Thailand

Authors: Niwatchai Namwichisirikul

Abstract:

Due to the emergence of “Humanized Healthcare" introduced by Professor Dr. Prawase Wasi in 2003[1], the development of this paradigm tends to be widely implemented. The organizations included Healthcare Accreditation Institute (public organization), National Health Foundation, Mahidol University in cooperation with Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and National Health Security Office (Thailand) have selected the hospitals or infirmaries that are qualified for humanized healthcare since 2008- 2010 and 35 of them are chosen to be the outstandingly navigating organizations for the development of humanized healthcare, humanized healthcare award [2]. The research aims to study the current issue, characteristics and patterns of hospital administration contributing to humanized healthcare system in Thailand. The selected case studies are from four hospitals including Dansai Crown Prince Hospital, Leoi; Ubolrattana Hospital, Khon Kaen; Kapho Hospital, Pattani; and Prathai Hospital, Nakhonrachasima. The methodology is in-depth interviewing with 10 staffs working as hospital executive directors, and representatives from leader groups including directors, multidisciplinary hospital committees, personnel development committees, physicians and nurses in each hospital. (Total=40) In addition, focus group discussions between hospital staffs and general people (including patients and their relatives, the community leader, and other people) are held by means of setting 4 groups including 8 people within each group. (Total=128) The observation on the working in each hospital is also implemented. The findings of the study reveal that there are five important aspects found in each hospital including (1) the quality improvement under the mental and spiritual development policy from the chief executives and lead teams, leaders as Role model and they have visionary leadership; (2) the participation hospital administration system focusing on learning process and stakeholder- needs, spiritual human resource management and development; (3) the relationship among people especially staffs, team work skills, mutual understanding, effective communication and personal inner-development; (4) organization culture relevant to the awareness of patients- rights as well as the participation policy including spiritual growth achieving to the same goals, sharing vision, developing public mind, and caring; and (5) healing structures or environment providing warmth and convenience for hospital staffs, patients and their relatives and visitors.

Keywords: Hospital administration, Humanized healthcare.

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7641 No one Set of Parameter Values Can Simulate the Epidemics Due to SARS Occurring at Different Localities

Authors: Weerachi Sarakorn, I-Ming Tang

Abstract:

A mathematical model for the transmission of SARS is developed. In addition to dividing the population into susceptible (high and low risk), exposed, infected, quarantined, diagnosed and recovered classes, we have included a class called untraced. The model simulates the Gompertz curves which are the best representation of the cumulative numbers of probable SARS cases in Hong Kong and Singapore. The values of the parameters in the model which produces the best fit of the observed data for each city are obtained by using a differential evolution algorithm. It is seen that the values for the parameters needed to simulate the observed daily behaviors of the two epidemics are different.

Keywords: SARS, mathematical modelling, differential evolution algorithm.

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7640 A Scatter Search and Help Policies Approaches for a New Mixed Model Assembly Lines Sequencing Problem

Authors: N. Manavizadeh , M. Rabbani , H. Sotudian , F. Jolai

Abstract:

Mixed Model Production is the practice of assembling several distinct and different models of a product on the same assembly line without changeovers and then sequencing those models in a way that smoothes the demand for upstream components. In this paper, we consider an objective function which minimizes total stoppage time and total idle time and it is presented sequence dependent set up time. Many studies have been done on the mixed model assembly lines. But in this paper we specifically focused on reducing the idle times. This is possible through various help policies. For improving the solutions, some cases developed and about 40 tests problem was considered. We use scatter search for optimization and for showing the efficiency of our algorithm, experimental results shows behavior of method. Scatter search and help policies can produce high quality answers, so it has been used in this paper.

Keywords: mixed model assembly lines, Scatter search, help policies, idle time, Stoppage time

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7639 Laboratory Experimentation for Supporting Collaborative Working in Engineering Education over the Internet

Authors: S. Odeh, E. Abdelghani

Abstract:

Collaborative working environments for distance education can be considered as a more generic form of contemporary remote labs. At present, the majority of existing real laboratories are not constructed to allow the involved participants to collaborate in real time. To make this revolutionary learning environment possible we must allow the different users to carry out an experiment simultaneously. In recent times, multi-user environments are successfully applied in many applications such as air traffic control systems, team-oriented military systems, chat-text tools, multi-player games etc. Thus, understanding the ideas and techniques behind these systems could be of great importance in the contribution of ideas to our e-learning environment for collaborative working. In this investigation, collaborative working environments from theoretical and practical perspectives are considered in order to build an effective collaborative real laboratory, which allows two students or more to conduct remote experiments at the same time as a team. In order to achieve this goal, we have implemented distributed system architecture, enabling students to obtain an automated help by either a human tutor or a rule-based e-tutor.

Keywords: Collaboration environment, e-tutor, multi-user environments, socio-technical system.

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7638 Evaluation of Soil Stiffness and Strength for Quality Control of Compacted Earthwork

Authors: A. Sawangsuriya, T. B. Edil

Abstract:

Microstructure and fabric of soils play an important role on structural properties e.g. stiffness and strength of compacted earthwork. Traditional quality control monitoring based on moisturedensity tests neither reflects the variability of soil microstructure nor provides a direct assessment of structural property, which is the ultimate objective of the earthwork quality control. Since stiffness and strength are sensitive to soil microstructure and fabric, any independent test methods that provide simple, rapid, and direct measurement of stiffness and strength are anticipated to provide an effective assessment of compacted earthen materials’ uniformity. In this study, the soil stiffness gauge (SSG) and the dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) were respectively utilized to measure and monitor the stiffness and strength in companion with traditional moisture-density measurements of various earthen materials used in Thailand road construction projects. The practical earthwork quality control criteria are presented herein in order to assure proper earthwork quality control and uniform structural property of compacted earthworks.

Keywords: Dynamic cone penetrometer, moisture content, relative compaction, soil stiffness gauge, structural property.

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7637 MIMCA: A Modelling and Simulation Approach in Support of the Design and Construction of Manufacturing Control Systems Using Modular Petri net

Authors: S. Ariffin, K. Hasnan, R.H. Weston

Abstract:

A new generation of manufacturing machines so-called MIMCA (modular and integrated machine control architecture) capable of handling much increased complexity in manufacturing control-systems is presented. Requirement for more flexible and effective control systems for manufacturing machine systems is investigated and dimensioned-which highlights a need for improved means of coordinating and monitoring production machinery and equipment used to- transport material. The MIMCA supports simulation based on machine modeling, was conceived by the authors to address the issues. Essentially MIMCA comprises an organized unification of selected architectural frameworks and modeling methods, which include: NISTRCS, UMC and Colored Timed Petri nets (CTPN). The unification has been achieved; to support the design and construction of hierarchical and distributed machine control which realized the concurrent operation of reusable and distributed machine control components; ability to handle growing complexity; and support requirements for real- time control systems. Thus MIMCA enables mapping between 'what a machine should do' and 'how the machine does it' in a well-defined but flexible way designed to facilitate reconfiguration of machine systems.

Keywords: Machine control, architectures, Petri nets, modularity, modeling, simulation.

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7636 An Investigation of Community Radio Broadcasting in Phutthamonthon District, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

Authors: Anchana Sooksomchitra

Abstract:

This study aims to explore and compare the current condition of community radio stations in Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand, as well as the challenges they are facing. Qualitative research tools including in-depth interviews; documentary analysis; focus group interviews; and observation, are used to examine the content, programming, and management structure of three community radio stations currently in operation within the district. Research findings indicate that the management and operational approaches adopted by the two non-profit stations included in the study, Salaya Pattana and Voice of Dhamma, are more structured and effective than that of the for-profit Tune Radio. Salaya Pattana – backed by the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, and the charity-funded Voice of Dhamma, are comparatively free from political and commercial influence, and able to provide more relevant and consistent community-oriented content to meet the real demand of the audience. Tune Radio, on the other hand, has to rely solely on financial support from political factions and business groups, which heavily influence its content.

Keywords: Radio broadcasting, programming, management, community radio, Thailand.

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7635 Large Amplitude Free Vibration of a Very Sag Marine Cable

Authors: O. Punjarat, S. Chucheepsakul, T. Phanyasahachart

Abstract:

This paper focuses on a variational formulation of large amplitude free vibration behavior of a very sag marine cable. In the static equilibrium state, the marine cable has a very large sag configuration. In the motion state, the marine cable is assumed to vibrate in in-plane motion with large amplitude from the static equilibrium position. The total virtual work-energy of the marine cable at the dynamic state is formulated which involves the virtual strain energy due to axial deformation, the virtual work done by effective weight, and the inertia forces. The equations of motion for the large amplitude free vibration of marine cable are obtained by taking into account the difference between the Euler’s equation in the static state and the displaced state. Based on the Galerkin finite element procedure, the linear and nonlinear stiffness matrices, and mass matrices of the marine cable are obtained and the eigenvalue problem is solved. The natural frequency spectrum and the large amplitude free vibration behavior of marine cable are presented.

Keywords: Axial deformation, free vibration, Galerkin Finite Element Method, large amplitude, variational method.

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7634 Determining of Stage-Discharge Relationship for Meandering Compound Channels Using M5 Decision Tree Model

Authors: Mehdi Kheradmand, Mehdi Azhdary Moghaddam, Abdolreza Zahiri, Khalil Ghorbani

Abstract:

In modeling phenomena, the presence of local conditions may cause the use of a general relation not to produce good results and thus fail to demonstrate local changes. If possible, identifying homogenous limits and providing simple linear relations for each of these limits will increase the accuracy of models. Accordingly, the models are divided into simpler and smaller problems to solve complicated problems, and the obtained answers will be combined. This simple idea can be applied to decision tree models. For this aim, the input data values are divided into several sub-intervals or sub-regions, and an appropriate model is extracted for an appropriate model or equation. This research proposes the M5 decision tree method as a solution to accurately compute the flow discharge in meandering compound channels.

Keywords: Stage-discharge relationship, decision tree, M5 decision tree model, meandering compound channels.

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7633 Analyzing the Fiscal Health of Local Governments in Taiwan: Evidence from Quantile Analysis

Authors: Chiung-Ju Huang, Yuan-Hong Ho

Abstract:

This paper develops the fiscal health index of 21 local governments in Taiwan over the 1984 to 2010 period. A quantile regression analysis was used to explore the extent that economic variables, political budget cycles, and legislative checks and balances, impact different quantiles of fiscal health index for a country over a sample period of time. Our findings suggest that local governments at the lower quantile are significantly benefited from political budget cycles and the increase in central government revenues, while legislative effective checks and balances and the increase in central government expenditures have a significantly negative effect on local fiscal health. When local governments are in the upper tail of the distribution, legislative checks and balances and growth in macroeconomics have significant and adverse effects on the fiscal health of local governments. However, increases in central government revenues have significant and positive effects on the health status of local government in Taiwan.

Keywords: Fiscal health, political budget cycles, legislative checks and balances, quantile regression.

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7632 An Implementation of MacMahon's Partition Analysis in Ordering the Lower Bound of Processing Elements for the Algorithm of LU Decomposition

Authors: Halil Snopce, Ilir Spahiu, Lavdrim Elmazi

Abstract:

A lot of Scientific and Engineering problems require the solution of large systems of linear equations of the form bAx in an effective manner. LU-Decomposition offers good choices for solving this problem. Our approach is to find the lower bound of processing elements needed for this purpose. Here is used the so called Omega calculus, as a computational method for solving problems via their corresponding Diophantine relation. From the corresponding algorithm is formed a system of linear diophantine equalities using the domain of computation which is given by the set of lattice points inside the polyhedron. Then is run the Mathematica program DiophantineGF.m. This program calculates the generating function from which is possible to find the number of solutions to the system of Diophantine equalities, which in fact gives the lower bound for the number of processors needed for the corresponding algorithm. There is given a mathematical explanation of the problem as well. Keywordsgenerating function, lattice points in polyhedron, lower bound of processor elements, system of Diophantine equationsand : calculus.

Keywords: generating function, lattice points in polyhedron, lower bound of processor elements, system of Diophantine equations and calculus.

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7631 Reproduction Performance of Etawah Cross Bred Goats in Estrus Synchronization by Controlled Internal Drug Release Implant and Pgf2α Continued by Artificial Insemination

Authors: Diah Tri Widayati, Aris Junaidi, Kresno Suharto, Amelia Oktaviani, Wahyuningsih

Abstract:

The estrus female Etawah cross bred goats were synchronized estrus by controlled internal drug release (CIDR) implants for 10 days combined with PGF2α injection, and continued by artificial insemination (AI) within the hours of 24 period. Vaginal epithelium was taken to determine estrus cycle of the goats without estrus synchronization. The estrus responds (the puffy of vulva and vaginal pH) and percentage of pregnancy were investigated. The data were analyzed descriptively and Independent Sample T-Test. The results showed that the puffy of vulva and vaginal pH were significantly different in synchronized estrus goats and control goats (2.18 ± 0.33 cm vs. 1.20 ± 0.16 cm and 8.55 ± 0.63 vs. 8.22 ± 0.22). Percentage of pregnancy was higher in synchronized estrus goats (73.33%) than in control (53.3%). Estrus synchronization by using CIDR implants and PGF2, continued by AI was effective to improve reproduction performance of Etawah cross bred goats.

Keywords: Artificial insemination, Estrus synchronization, Etawah cross bred goat, Reproduction performance.

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7630 Throughput Analysis over Power Line Communication Channel in an Electric Noisy Scenario

Authors: Edward P. Guillen, Julián J. López, Cesar Y. Barahona

Abstract:

Powerline Communications –PLC– as an alternative method for broadband networking, has the advantage of transmitting over channels already used for electrical distribution or even transmission. But these channels have been not designed with usual wired channels requirements for broadband applications such as stable impedance or known attenuation, and the network have to reject noises caused by electrical appliances that share the same channel. Noise control standards are difficult to complain or simply do not exist on Latin-American environments. This paper analyzes PLC throughput for home connectivity by probing noisy channel scenarios in a PLC network and the statistical results are shown.

Keywords: Power Line Communications, OFDM, Noise Analysis, Throughput Analysis, PLC, Home Network.

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7629 Discovery of Human HMG-Coa Reductase Inhibitors Using Structure-Based Pharmacophore Modeling Combined with Molecular Dynamics Simulation Methodologies

Authors: Minky Son, Chanin Park, Ayoung Baek, Shalini John, Keun Woo Lee

Abstract:

3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate using NADPH and the enzyme is involved in rate-controlling step of mevalonate. Inhibition of HMGR is considered as effective way to lower cholesterol levels so it is drug target to treat hypercholesterolemia, major risk factor of cardiovascular disease. To discover novel HMGR inhibitor, we performed structure-based pharmacophore modeling combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Four HMGR inhibitors were used for MD simulation and representative structure of each simulation were selected by clustering analysis. Four structure-based pharmacophore models were generated using the representative structure. The generated models were validated used in virtual screening to find novel scaffolds for inhibiting HMGR. The screened compounds were filtered by applying drug-like properties and used in molecular docking. Finally, four hit compounds were obtained and these complexes were refined using energy minimization. These compounds might be potential leads to design novel HMGR inhibitor.

Keywords: Anti-hypercholesterolemia drug, HMGR inhibitor, Molecular dynamics simulation, Structure-based pharmacophore modeling.

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7628 I2Navi: An Indoor Interactive NFC Navigation System for Android Smartphones

Authors: Jing Hang Choo, Soon Nyean Cheong, Yee Lien Lee, Sze Hou Teh

Abstract:

The advancement of smartphones, wireless networking and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology have opened up a new approach to indoor navigation. Although NFC technology has been used to support electronic commerce, access control, and ticketing, there is a lack of research work on building NFC-based indoor navigation system for smartphone users. This paper presents an indoor interactive navigation system (named I2Navi) based on NFC technology for users to navigate within a building with ease using their smartphones. The I2Navi system has been implemented at the Faculty of Engineering (FOE), Multimedia University (MMU) to enable students, parents, visitors who own NFC-enabled Android smartphones to navigate themselves within the faculty. An evaluation is carried out and the results show positive response to the proposed indoor navigation system using NFC and smartphone technologies.

Keywords: Near Field Communication, indoor navigation system, smartphones.

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7627 Simulation Study for Performance Comparison of Routing Protocols in Mobile Adhoc Network

Authors: Ahmad Anzaar, Husain Shahnawaz, Chand Mukesh, S. C. Gupta, R. Gowri, H. L. Mandoria

Abstract:

Due to insufficient frequency band and tremendous growth of the mobile users, complex computation is needed for the use of resources. Long distance communication began with the introduction of telegraphs and simple coded pulses, which were used to transmit short messages. Since then numerous advances have rendered reliable transfer of information both easier and quicker. Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless, and is commonly associated with a telecommunications network whose interconnections between nodes is implemented without the use of wires. Wireless network can be broadly categorized in infrastructure network and infrastructure less network. Infrastructure network is one in which we have a base station to serve the mobile users and in the infrastructure less network is one in which no infrastructure is available to serve the mobile users this kind of networks are also known as mobile Adhoc networks. In this paper we have simulated the result for different scenarios with protocols like AODV and DSR; we simulated the result for throughput, delay and receiving traffic in the given scenario.

Keywords: Adhoc network, AODV, DSR. mobility.

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7626 Assessing Overall Thermal Conductance Value of Low-Rise Residential Home Exterior Above-Grade Walls Using Infrared Thermography Methods

Authors: Matthew D. Baffa

Abstract:

Infrared thermography is a non-destructive test method used to estimate surface temperatures based on the amount of electromagnetic energy radiated by building envelope components. These surface temperatures are indicators of various qualitative building envelope deficiencies such as locations and extent of heat loss, thermal bridging, damaged or missing thermal insulation, air leakage, and moisture presence in roof, floor, and wall assemblies. Although infrared thermography is commonly used for qualitative deficiency detection in buildings, this study assesses its use as a quantitative method to estimate the overall thermal conductance value (U-value) of the exterior above-grade walls of a study home. The overall U-value of exterior above-grade walls in a home provides useful insight into the energy consumption and thermal comfort of a home. Three methodologies from the literature were employed to estimate the overall U-value by equating conductive heat loss through the exterior above-grade walls to the sum of convective and radiant heat losses of the walls. Outdoor infrared thermography field measurements of the exterior above-grade wall surface and reflective temperatures and emissivity values for various components of the exterior above-grade wall assemblies were carried out during winter months at the study home using a basic thermal imager device. The overall U-values estimated from each methodology from the literature using the recorded field measurements were compared to the nominal exterior above-grade wall overall U-value calculated from materials and dimensions detailed in architectural drawings of the study home. The nominal overall U-value was validated through calendarization and weather normalization of utility bills for the study home as well as various estimated heat loss quantities from a HOT2000 computer model of the study home and other methods. Under ideal environmental conditions, the estimated overall U-values deviated from the nominal overall U-value between ±2% to ±33%. This study suggests infrared thermography can estimate the overall U-value of exterior above-grade walls in low-rise residential homes with a fair amount of accuracy.

Keywords: Emissivity, heat loss, infrared thermography, thermal conductance.

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7625 In vitro Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Effects of Arsenic Trioxide on Human Keratinocytes

Authors: H. Bouaziz, M. Sefi, J. de Lapuente, M. Borras, N. Zeghal

Abstract:

Although, arsenic trioxide has been the subject of toxicological research, in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity studies using relevant cell models and uniform methodology are not well elucidated. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by arsenic trioxide in human keratinocytes (HaCaT) using the MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assays, respectively. Human keratinocytes were treated with different doses of arsenic trioxide for 4 h prior to cytogenetic assessment. Data obtained from the MTT assay indicated that arsenic trioxide significantly reduced the viability of HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner, showing an IC50 value of 34.18 ± 0.6 μM. Data generated from the comet assay also indicated a significant dose-dependent increase in DNA damage in HaCaT cells associated with arsenic trioxide exposure. We observed a significant increase in comet tail length and tail moment, showing an evidence of arsenic trioxide -induced genotoxic damage in HaCaT cells. This study confirms that the comet assay is a sensitive and effective method to detect DNA damage caused by arsenic.

Keywords: Arsenic trioxide, cytotoxixity, genotoxicity, HaCaT.

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7624 Experimental Investigation and Constitutive Modeling of Volume Strain under Uniaxial Strain Rate Jump Test in HDPE

Authors: Rida B. Arieby, Hameed N. Hameed

Abstract:

In this work, tensile tests on high density polyethylene have been carried out under various constant strain rate and strain rate jump tests. The dependency of the true stress and specially the variation of volume strain have been investigated, the volume strain due to the phenomena of damage was determined in real time during the tests by an optical extensometer called Videotraction. A modified constitutive equations, including strain rate and damage effects, are proposed, such a model is based on a non-equilibrium thermodynamic approach called (DNLR). The ability of the model to predict the complex nonlinear response of this polymer is examined by comparing the model simulation with the available experimental data, which demonstrate that this model can represent the deformation behavior of the polymer reasonably well.

Keywords: Strain rate jump tests, Volume Strain, High Density Polyethylene, Large strain, Thermodynamics approach.

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7623 Effects of Level Densities and Those of a-Parameter in the Framework of Preequilibrium Model for 63,65Cu(n,xp) Reactions in Neutrons at 9 to 15 MeV

Authors: L. Yettou

Abstract:

In this study, the calculations of proton emission spectra produced by 63Cu(n,xp) and 65Cu(n,xp) reactions are used in the framework of preequilibrium models using the EMPIRE code and TALYS code. Exciton Model predidtions combined with the Kalbach angular distribution systematics and the Hybrid Monte Carlo Simulation (HMS) were used. The effects of levels densities and those of a-parameter have been investigated for our calculations. The comparison with experimental data shows clear improvement over the Exciton Model and HMS calculations.

Keywords: Preequilibrium models, level density, level density a-parameter, 63Cu(n, xp) and 65Cu(n, xp) reactions.

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7622 Employing QR Code as an Effective Educational Tool for Quick Access to Sources of Kindergarten Concepts

Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, M. Abd El-Salam

Abstract:

This study discusses a simple solution for the problem of shortage in learning resources for kindergarten teachers. Occasionally, kindergarten teachers cannot access proper resources by usual search methods as libraries or search engines. Furthermore, these methods require a long time and efforts for preparing. The study is expected to facilitate accessing learning resources. Moreover, it suggests a potential direction for using QR code inside the classroom. The present work proposes that QR code can be used for digitizing kindergarten curriculums and accessing various learning resources. It investigates using QR code for saving information related to the concepts which kindergarten teachers use in the current educational situation. The researchers have established a guide for kindergarten teachers based on the Egyptian official curriculum. The guide provides different learning resources for each scientific and mathematical concept in the curriculum, and each learning resource is represented as a QR code image that contains its URL. Therefore, kindergarten teachers can use smartphone applications for reading QR codes and displaying the related learning resources for students immediately. The guide has been provided to a group of 108 teachers for using inside their classrooms. The results showed that the teachers approved the guide, and gave a good response.

Keywords: Kindergarten, child, learning resources, QR code, smart phone, mobile.

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7621 A Data Mining Model for Detecting Financial and Operational Risk Indicators of SMEs

Authors: Ali Serhan Koyuncugil, Nermin Ozgulbas

Abstract:

In this paper, a data mining model to SMEs for detecting financial and operational risk indicators by data mining is presenting. The identification of the risk factors by clarifying the relationship between the variables defines the discovery of knowledge from the financial and operational variables. Automatic and estimation oriented information discovery process coincides the definition of data mining. During the formation of model; an easy to understand, easy to interpret and easy to apply utilitarian model that is far from the requirement of theoretical background is targeted by the discovery of the implicit relationships between the data and the identification of effect level of every factor. In addition, this paper is based on a project which was funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).

Keywords: Risk Management, Financial Risk, Operational Risk, Financial Early Warning System, Data Mining, CHAID Decision Tree Algorithm, SMEs.

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7620 CFD Study of Subcooled Boiling Flow at Elevated Pressure Using a Mechanistic Wall Heat Partitioning Model

Authors: Machimontorn Promtong, Sherman C. P. Cheung, Guan H. Yeoh, Sara Vahaji, Jiyuan Tu

Abstract:

The wide range of industrial applications involved with boiling flows promotes the necessity of establishing fundamental knowledge in boiling flow phenomena. For this purpose, a number of experimental and numerical researches have been performed to elucidate the underlying physics of this flow. In this paper, the improved wall boiling models, implemented on ANSYS CFX 14.5, were introduced to study subcooled boiling flow at elevated pressure. At the heated wall boundary, the Fractal model, Force balance approach and Mechanistic frequency model are given for predicting the nucleation site density, bubble departure diameter, and bubble departure frequency. The presented wall heat flux partitioning closures were modified to consider the influence of bubble sliding along the wall before the lift-off, which usually happens in the flow boiling. The simulation was performed based on the Two-fluid model, where the standard k-ω SST model was selected for turbulence modelling. Existing experimental data at around 5 bars were chosen to evaluate the accuracy of the presented mechanistic approach. The void fraction and Interfacial Area Concentration (IAC) are in good agreement with the experimental data. However, the predicted bubble velocity and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) are over-predicted. This over-prediction may be caused by consideration of only dispersed and spherical bubbles in the simulations. In the future work, the important physical mechanisms of bubbles, such as merging and shrinking during sliding on the heated wall will be incorporated into this mechanistic model to enhance its capability for a wider range of flow prediction.

Keywords: CFD, mechanistic model, subcooled boiling flow, two-fluid model.

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7619 On Determining the Most Effective Technique Available in Software Testing

Authors: Qasim Zafar, Matthew Anderson, Esteban Garcia, Steven Drager

Abstract:

Software failures can present an enormous detriment to people's lives and cost millions of dollars to repair when they are unexpectedly encountered in the wild. Despite a significant portion of the software development lifecycle and resources are dedicated to testing, software failures are a relatively frequent occurrence. Nevertheless, the evaluation of testing effectiveness remains at the forefront of ensuring high-quality software and software metrics play a critical role in providing valuable insights into quantifiable objectives to assess the level of assurance and confidence in the system. As the selection of appropriate metrics can be an arduous process, the goal of this paper is to shed light on the significance of software metrics by examining a range of testing techniques and metrics as well as identifying key areas for improvement. In doing so, this paper presents a method to compare the effectiveness of testing techniques with heterogeneous output metrics. Additionally, through this investigation, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how metrics can help to drive informed decision-making on delivering high-quality software and facilitate continuous improvement in testing practices.

Keywords: Software testing, software metrics, testing effectiveness, black box testing, random testing, adaptive random testing, combinatorial testing, fuzz testing, equivalence partition, boundary value analysis, white box testings.

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7618 Criticality Assessment of Failures in Multipoint Communication Networks

Authors: Myriam Noureddine, Rachid Noureddine

Abstract:

Following the current economic challenges and competition, all systems, whatever their field, must be efficient and operational during their activity. In this context, it is imperative to anticipate, identify, eliminate and estimate the failures of systems, which may lead to an interruption of their function. This need requires the management of possible risks, through an assessment of the failures criticality following a dependability approach. On the other hand, at the time of new information technologies and considering the networks field evolution, the data transmission has evolved towards a multipoint communication, which can simultaneously transmit information from a sender to multiple receivers. This article proposes the failures criticality assessment of a multipoint communication network, integrates a database of network failures and their quantifications. The proposed approach is validated on a case study and the final result allows having the criticality matrix associated with failures on the considered network, giving the identification of acceptable risks.

Keywords: Dependability, failure, multipoint network, criticality matrix.

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7617 The Influencing Factors and the Approach to Enhance the Standard of E-Commerce for Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangkok

Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

Abstract:

The objectives of this research paper were to study the influencing factors that contributed to the success of electronic commerce (e-commerce) and to study the approach to enhance the standard of e-commerce for small and medium enterprises (SME). The research paper focused the study on only sole proprietorship SMEs in Bangkok, Thailand. The factors contributed to the success of SME included business management, learning in the organization, business collaboration, and the quality of website. A quantitative and qualitative mixed research methodology was used. In terms of quantitative method, a questionnaire was used to collect data from 251 sole proprietorships. The System Equation Model (SEM) was utilized as the tool for data analysis. In terms of qualitative method, an in-depth interview, a dialogue with experts in the field of ecommerce for SMEs, and content analysis were used. By using the adjusted causal relationship structure model, it was revealed that the factors affecting the success of e-commerce for SMEs were found to be congruent with the empirical data. The hypothesis testing indicated that business management influenced the learning in the organization, the learning in the organization influenced business collaboration and the quality of the website, and these factors, in turn, influenced the success of SMEs. Moreover, the approach to enhance the standard of SMEs revealed that the majority of respondents wanted to enhance the standard of SMEs to a high level in the category of safety of e-commerce system, basic structure of e-commerce, development of staff potentials, assistance of budget and tax reduction, and law improvement regarding the e-commerce respectively.

Keywords: Electronic Commerce, Influencing Factors, Small and Medium Enterprises.

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7616 A New Method Presentation for Fault Location in Power Transformers

Authors: Hossein Mohammadpour, Rahman Dashti

Abstract:

Power transformers are among the most important and expensive equipments in the electric power systems. Consequently the transformer protection is an essential part of the system protection. This paper presents a new method for locating transformer winding faults such as turn-to-turn, turn-to-core, turn-totransformer body, turn-to-earth, and high voltage winding to low voltage winding. In this study the current and voltage signals of input and output terminals of the transformer are measured, which the Fourier transform of measured signals and harmonic analysis determine the fault's location.

Keywords: turn-to-turn faults, short circuit, Fourier transform, harmonic analysis.

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