Search results for: community based facility management
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 13401

Search results for: community based facility management

9261 Formex Algebra Adaptation into Parametric Design Tools: Dome Structures

Authors: Réka Sárközi, Péter Iványi, Attila B. Széll

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to present the adaptation of the dome construction tool for formex algebra to the parametric design software Grasshopper. Formex algebra is a mathematical system, primarily used for planning structural systems such like truss-grid domes and vaults, together with the programming language Formian. The goal of the research is to allow architects to plan truss-grid structures easily with parametric design tools based on the versatile formex algebra mathematical system. To produce regular structures, coordinate system transformations are used and the dome structures are defined in spherical coordinate system. Owing to the abilities of the parametric design software, it is possible to apply further modifications on the structures and gain special forms. The paper covers the basic dome types, and also additional dome-based structures using special coordinate-system solutions based on spherical coordinate systems. It also contains additional structural possibilities like making double layer grids in all geometry forms. The adaptation of formex algebra and the parametric workflow of Grasshopper together give the possibility of quick and easy design and optimization of special truss-grid domes.

Keywords: Parametric design, structural morphology, space structures, spherical coordinate system.

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9260 A Silicon Controlled Rectifier-Based ESD Protection Circuit with High Holding Voltage and High Robustness Characteristics

Authors: Kyoung-il Do, Byung-seok Lee, Hee-guk Chae, Jeong-yun Seo Yong-seo Koo

Abstract:

In this paper, a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)-based Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection circuit with high holding voltage and high robustness characteristics is proposed. Unlike conventional SCR, the proposed circuit has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage and provides effective ESD protection with latch-up immunity. In addition, the TCAD simulation results show that the proposed circuit has better electrical characteristics than the conventional SCR. A stack technology was used for voltage-specific applications. Consequentially, the proposed circuit has a trigger voltage of 17.60 V and a holding voltage of 3.64 V.

Keywords: ESD, SCR, latch-up, power clamp, holding voltage.

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9259 Rail-To-Rail Output Op-Amp Design with Negative Miller Capacitance Compensation

Authors: Muhaned Zaidi, Ian Grout, Abu Khari bin A’ain

Abstract:

In this paper, a two-stage op-amp design is considered using both Miller and negative Miller compensation techniques. The first op-amp design uses Miller compensation around the second amplification stage, whilst the second op-amp design uses negative Miller compensation around the first stage and Miller compensation around the second amplification stage. The aims of this work were to compare the gain and phase margins obtained using the different compensation techniques and identify the ability to choose either compensation technique based on a particular set of design requirements. The two op-amp designs created are based on the same two-stage rail-to-rail output CMOS op-amp architecture where the first stage of the op-amp consists of differential input and cascode circuits, and the second stage is a class AB amplifier. The op-amps have been designed using a 0.35mm CMOS fabrication process.

Keywords: Op-amp, rail-to-rail output, Miller compensation, negative Miller capacitance.

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9258 Sensorless Commutation Control of Switched Reluctance Motor

Authors: N.H. Mvungi

Abstract:

This paper addresses control of commutation of switched reluctance (SR) motor without the use of a physical position detector. Rotor position detection schemes for SR motor based on magnetisation characteristics of the motor use normal excitation or applied current /voltage pulses. The resulting schemes are referred to as passive or active methods respectively. The research effort is in realizing an economical sensorless SR rotor position detector that is accurate, reliable and robust to suit a particular application. An effective and reliable means of generating commutation signals of an SR motor based on inductance profile of its stator windings determined using active probing technique is presented. The scheme has been validated online using a 4-phase 8/6 SR motor and an 8-bit processor.

Keywords: Position detection, rotor position, sensorless, switched reluctance, SR.

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9257 Direct Democracy and Social Contract in Ancient Athens

Authors: Nicholas Kyriazis, Emmanouil Marios L. Economou, Jr, Loukas Zachilas

Abstract:

In the present essay, a model of choice by actors is analysedby utilizing the theory of chaos to explain how change comes about. Then, by using ancient and modern sources of literature, the theory of the social contract is analysed as a historical phenomenon that first appeared during the period of Classical Greece. Then, based on the findings of this analysis, the practice of direct democracy and public choice in ancient Athens is analysed, through two historical cases: Eubulus and Lycurgus political program in the second half of the 4th century. The main finding of this research is that these policies can be interpreted as an implementation of a social contract, through which citizens were taking decisions based on rational choice according to economic considerations.

Keywords: Chaos theory, public choice, social contract, 4th century BC. Athens.

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9256 TheAnalyzer: Clustering-Based System for Improving Business Productivity by Analyzing User Profiles to Enhance Human-Computer Interaction

Authors: D. S. A. Nanayakkara, K. J. P. G. Perera

Abstract:

E-commerce platforms have revolutionized the shopping experience, offering convenient ways for consumers to make purchases. To improve interactions with customers and optimize marketing strategies, it is essential for businesses to understand user behavior, preferences, and needs on these platforms. This paper focuses on recommending businesses to customize interactions with users based on their behavioral patterns, leveraging data-driven analysis and machine learning techniques. Businesses can improve engagement and boost the adoption of e-commerce platforms by aligning behavioral patterns with user goals of usability and satisfaction. We propose TheAnalyzer, a clustering-based system designed to enhance business productivity by analyzing user-profiles and improving human-computer interaction. TheAnalyzer seamlessly integrates with business applications, collecting relevant data points based on users' natural interactions without additional burdens such as questionnaires or surveys. It defines five key user analytics as features for its dataset, which are easily captured through users' interactions with e-commerce platforms. This research presents a study demonstrating the successful distinction of users into specific groups based on the five key analytics considered by TheAnalyzer. With the assistance of domain experts, customized business rules can be attached to each group, enabling TheAnalyzer to influence business applications and provide an enhanced personalized user experience. The outcomes are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively, demonstrating that utilizing TheAnalyzer’s capabilities can optimize business outcomes, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive sustainable growth. The findings of this research contribute to the advancement of personalized interactions in e-commerce platforms. By leveraging user behavioral patterns and analyzing both new and existing users, businesses can effectively tailor their interactions to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty and ultimately drive sales.

Keywords: Data clustering, data standardization, dimensionality reduction, human-computer interaction, user profiling.

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9255 MPPT Operation for PV Grid-connected System using RBFNN and Fuzzy Classification

Authors: A. Chaouachi, R. M. Kamel, K. Nagasaka

Abstract:

This paper presents a novel methodology for Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of a grid-connected 20 kW Photovoltaic (PV) system using neuro-fuzzy network. The proposed method predicts the reference PV voltage guarantying optimal power transfer between the PV generator and the main utility grid. The neuro-fuzzy network is composed of a fuzzy rule-based classifier and three Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNN). Inputs of the network (irradiance and temperature) are classified before they are fed into the appropriated RBFNN for either training or estimation process while the output is the reference voltage. The main advantage of the proposed methodology, comparing to a conventional single neural network-based approach, is the distinct generalization ability regarding to the nonlinear and dynamic behavior of a PV generator. In fact, the neuro-fuzzy network is a neural network based multi-model machine learning that defines a set of local models emulating the complex and non-linear behavior of a PV generator under a wide range of operating conditions. Simulation results under several rapid irradiance variations proved that the proposed MPPT method fulfilled the highest efficiency comparing to a conventional single neural network.

Keywords: MPPT, neuro-fuzzy, RBFN, grid-connected, photovoltaic.

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9254 Environmental Consequences of Metal Concentrations in Stream Sediments of Atoyac River Basin, Central Mexico: Natural and Industrial Influences

Authors: V. C. Shruti, P. F. Rodríguez-Espinosa, D. C. Escobedo-Urías, Estefanía Martinez Tavera, M. P. Jonathan

Abstract:

Atoyac River, a major south-central river flowing through the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala in Mexico is significantly impacted by the natural volcanic inputs in addition with wastewater discharges from urban, agriculture and industrial zones. In the present study, core samples were collected from R. Atoyac and analyzed for sediment granularity, major (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K, P and S) and trace elemental concentrations (Ba, Cr, Cd, Mn, Pb, Sr, V, Zn, Zr). The textural studies reveal that the sediments are mostly sand sized particles exceeding 99% and with very few to no presence of mud fractions. It is observed that most of the metals like (avg: all values in μg g-1) Ca (35,528), Mg (10,789), K (7453), S (1394), Ba (203), Cr (30), Cd (4), Pb (11), Sr (435), Zn (76) and Zr (88) are enriched throughout the sediments mainly sourced from volcanic inputs, source rock composition of Atoyac River basin and industrial influences from the Puebla city region. Contamination indices, such as anthropogenic factor (AF), enrichment factor (EF) and geoaccumulation index (Igeo), were used to investigate the level of contamination and toxicity as well as quantitatively assess the influences of human activities on metal concentrations. The AF values (>1) for Ba, Ca, Mg, Na, K, P and S suggested volcanic inputs from the study region, where as Cd and Zn are attributed to the impacts of industrial inputs in this zone. The EF and Igeo values revealed an extreme enrichment of S and Cd. The ecological risks were evaluated using potential ecological risk index (RI) and the results indicate that the metals Cd and V pose a major hazard for the biological community.

Keywords: Atoyac River, contamination indices, metal concentrations, Mexico, textural studies.

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9253 Vision Based Robot Experiment: Measurement of Path Related Characteristics

Authors: M. H. Korayem, K. Khoshhal, H. Aliakbarpour

Abstract:

In this paper, a vision based system has been used for controlling an industrial 3P Cartesian robot. The vision system will recognize the target and control the robot by obtaining images from environment and processing them. At the first stage, images from environment are changed to a grayscale mode then it can diverse and identify objects and noises by using a threshold objects which are stored in different frames and then the main object will be recognized. This will control the robot to achieve the target. A vision system can be an appropriate tool for measuring errors of a robot in a situation where the experimental test is conducted for a 3P robot. Finally, the international standard ANSI/RIA R15.05-2 is used for evaluating the path-related characteristics of the robot. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method experimental test is carried out.

Keywords: Robot, Vision, Experiment, Standard.

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9252 Comparative Study of Ant Colony and Genetic Algorithms for VLSI Circuit Partitioning

Authors: Sandeep Singh Gill, Rajeevan Chandel, Ashwani Chandel

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparative study of Ant Colony and Genetic Algorithms for VLSI circuit bi-partitioning. Ant colony optimization is an optimization method based on behaviour of social insects [27] whereas Genetic algorithm is an evolutionary optimization technique based on Darwinian Theory of natural evolution and its concept of survival of the fittest [19]. Both the methods are stochastic in nature and have been successfully applied to solve many Non Polynomial hard problems. Results obtained show that Genetic algorithms out perform Ant Colony optimization technique when tested on the VLSI circuit bi-partitioning problem.

Keywords: Partitioning, genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization, non-polynomial hard, netlist, mutation.

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9251 The Presence of Enterobacters (E.Coli and Salmonella spp.) in Industrial Growing Poultry in Albania

Authors: Boci J., Çabeli P., Shtylla T., Kumbe I.

Abstract:

The development of the poultry industry in Albania is mainly based on the existence of intensive modern farms with huge capacities, which often are mixed with other forms. Colibacillosis is commonly displayed regardless of the type of breeding, delivering high mortality in poultry industry. The mechanisms with which pathogen enterobacters are able to cause the infection in poultry are not yet clear. The routine diagnose in the field, followed by isolation of E. coli and species of Salmonella genres in reference laboratories cannot lead in classification or full recognition of circulative strains in a territory, if it is not performed a differentiation among the present microorganisms in intensive farms and those in rural areas. In this study were isolated 1.496 strains of E. coli and 378 Salmonella spp. This study, presents distribution of poultry pathogenosity of E.coli and Salmonella spp., based on the usage of innovative diagnostic methods.

Keywords: poultry, E.coli, Salmonella spp., Enterobacter

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9250 Impact of Interventions by Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA) on Food and Nutrition Security of Farmer Households

Authors: Ekesa B. Nakhauka, De Lange M., Macharia I., Garming H., Ouma E., Birachi E., Van Asten P., Van-Lauwe B., Blomme G.

Abstract:

Impact of adopting products promoted by the Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA) on food and nutrition security was tested. Multi-stage sampling was used to select 7 project mandate areas, 5 villages/mandate area (stratified into action, satellite and control sites) and 913 households. Structured questionnaires were administered; analysis of impact based on comparison between stratums, differences in means tested by ANOVA and significance of difference obtained by Tukey's HSD multiple rank tests. Perception of adequate food sufficiency received a higher rating in action and satellite sites compared to control sites reason being improved agricultural technologies. For >60% of households, worsened food security was due to climatic conditions. Although a higher proportion of households in action and satellite was meeting calorie RDIs in DRC and Burundi the difference was insignificant from control sites. 53% of respondents in control sites indicated a decrease in intake of protein rich foods, this was significantly higher than the proportion in the action (46%) and satellite (41%) sites.

Keywords: Food security, Farmer-households, Nutrition security

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9249 Influence of Atmospheric Physical Effects on Static Behavior of Building Plate Components Made of Fiber-Cement-Based Materials

Authors: Jindrich J. Melcher, Marcela Karmazínová

Abstract:

The paper presents the brief information on particular results of experimental study focused to the problems of behavior of structural plated components made of fiber-cement-based materials and used in building constructions, exposed to atmospheric physical effects given by the weather changes in the summer period. Weather changes represented namely by temperature and rain cause also the changes of the temperature and moisture of the investigated structural components. This can affect their static behavior that means stresses and deformations, which have been monitored as the main outputs of tests performed. Experimental verification is based on the simulation of the influence of temperature and rain using the defined procedure of warming and water sprinkling with respect to the corresponding weather conditions during summer period in the South Moravian region at the Czech Republic, for which the application of these structural components is mainly planned. Two types of components have been tested: (i) glass-fiber-concrete panels used for building façades and (ii) fiber-cement slabs used mainly for claddings, but also as a part of floor structures or lost shuttering, and so on.

Keywords: Atmospheric physical effect, building component, experiment, fiber-cement, glass-fiber-concrete, simulation, static behavior, test, warming, water sprinkling, weather.

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9248 Autonomous Control of Multiple Mobile Manipulators

Authors: Shonal Singh, Bibhya Sharma, Jito Vanualailai, Avinesh Prasad

Abstract:

This paper considers the autonomous navigation problem of multiple n-link nonholonomic mobile manipulators within an obstacle-ridden environment. We present a set of nonlinear acceleration controllers, derived from the Lyapunov-based control scheme, which generates collision-free trajectories of the mobile manipulators from initial configurations to final configurations in a constrained environment cluttered with stationary solid objects of different shapes and sizes. We demonstrate the efficiency of the control scheme and the resulting acceleration controllers of the mobile manipulators with results through computer simulations of an interesting scenario.

Keywords: Artificial potential fields, kinodynamic constraints, Lyapunov-based control scheme, Lyapunov stability, minimum distance technique, nonholonomic manipulator.

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9247 HIV Modelling - Parallel Implementation Strategies

Authors: Dimitri Perrin, Heather J. Ruskin, Martin Crane

Abstract:

We report on the development of a model to understand why the range of experience with respect to HIV infection is so diverse, especially with respect to the latency period. To investigate this, an agent-based approach is used to extract highlevel behaviour which cannot be described analytically from the set of interaction rules at the cellular level. A network of independent matrices mimics the chain of lymph nodes. Dealing with massively multi-agent systems requires major computational effort. However, parallelisation methods are a natural consequence and advantage of the multi-agent approach and, using the MPI library, are here implemented, tested and optimized. Our current focus is on the various implementations of the data transfer across the network. Three communications strategies are proposed and tested, showing that the most efficient approach is communication based on the natural lymph-network connectivity.

Keywords: HIV, Immune modelling, MPI, Parallelisation.

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9246 Parallel Block Backward Differentiation Formulas for Solving Ordinary Differential Equations

Authors: Khairil Iskandar Othman, Zarina Bibi Ibrahim, Mohamed Suleiman

Abstract:

A parallel block method based on Backward Differentiation Formulas (BDF) is developed for the parallel solution of stiff Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). Most common methods for solving stiff systems of ODEs are based on implicit formulae and solved using Newton iteration which requires repeated solution of systems of linear equations with coefficient matrix, I - hβJ . Here, J is the Jacobian matrix of the problem. In this paper, the matrix operations is paralleled in order to reduce the cost of the iterations. Numerical results are given to compare the speedup and efficiency of parallel algorithm and that of sequential algorithm.

Keywords: Backward Differentiation Formula, block, ordinarydifferential equations.

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9245 Nearfield UWB Pulse Array Beamformer based on Multirate Filter Bank

Authors: Min Wang , Shuyuan Yang

Abstract:

The paper presents a method of designing ultrawide band (UWB) pulse array beamformer in the case of nearfield. Firstly the principle of space-time processing of UWB pulse array is discussed. The radical beampattern transform based on spherical coordinates is employed to solve the nearfield beamforming of UWB pulse array. The frequency invariant technology is considered for the frequency dependent beampattern of UWB pulse array. We use a multirate bank scheme of to implement the FI beamformer of UWB pulse array. By using multirate filters in each element channel, it can make the response of the UWB array to avoid distortion in the whole band. The simulation resultes are given to prove the efficiency and feasibility of this method.

Keywords: UWB pulse array, frequency invariant, multiratebank, nearfield beamformer, radical transform

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9244 Analysis of the Current and Ideal Situation of Iran’s Football Talent Management Process from the Perspective of the Elites

Authors: Mehran Nasiri, Ardeshir Poornemat

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the current and ideal situations of the process of talent identification in Iranian football from the point of view of Iranian instructors of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This research was a descriptive-analytical study; in data collection phase a questionnaire was used, whose face validity was confirmed by experts of Physical Education and Sports Science. The reliability of questionnaire was estimated through the use of Cronbach's alpha method (0.91). This study involved 122 participants of Iranian instructors of the AFC who were selected based on stratified random sampling method. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables and inferential statistics (Chi-square) were used to test the hypotheses of the study at significant level (p ≤ 0.05). The results of Chi-square test related to the point of view of Iranian instructors of the AFC showed that the grass-roots scientific method was the best way to identify football players (0.001), less than 10 years old were the best ages for talent identification (0.001), the Football Federation was revealed to be the most important organization in talent identification (0.002), clubs were shown to be the most important institution in developing talents (0.001), trained scouts of Football Federation were demonstrated to be the best and most appropriate group for talent identification (0.001), and being referred by the football academy coaches was shown to be the best way to attract talented football players in Iran (0.001). It was also found that there was a huge difference between the current and ideal situation of the process of talent identification in Iranian football from the point of view of Iranian instructors of the AFC. Hence, it is recommended that the policy makers of talent identification for Iranian football provide a comprehensive, clear and systematic model of talent identification and development processes for the clubs and football teams, so that the talent identification process helps to nurture football talents more efficiently.

Keywords: Current situation, talent finding, ideal situation, instructors.

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9243 Relationship between Gully Development and Characteristics of Drainage Area in Semi-Arid Region, NW Iran

Authors: Ali Reza Vaezi, Ouldouz Bakhshi Rad

Abstract:

Gully erosion is a widespread and often dramatic form of soil erosion caused by water during and immediately after heavy rainfall. It occurs when flowing surface water is channelled across unprotected land and washes away the soil along the drainage lines. The formation of gully is influenced by various factors, including climate, drainage surface area, slope gradient, vegetation cover, land use, and soil properties. It is a very important problem in semi-arid regions, where soils have lower organic matter and are weakly aggregated. Intensive agriculture and tillage along the slope can accelerate soil erosion by water in the region. There is little information on the development of gully erosion in agricultural rainfed areas. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the relationship between gully erosion and morphometric characteristics of the drainage area and the effects of soil properties and soil management factors (land use and tillage method) on gully development. A field study was done in a 900 km2 agricultural area in Hshtroud township located in the south of East Azerbaijan province, NW Iran. Toward this, 222 gullies created in rainfed lands were found in the area. Some properties of gullies, consisting of length, width, depth, height difference, cross section area, and volume, were determined. Drainage areas for each or some gullies were determined, and their boundaries were drawn. Additionally, the surface area of each drainage, land use, tillage direction, and soil properties that may affect gully formation were determined. The soil erodibility factor (K) defined in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was estimated based on five soil properties (silt and very fine sand, coarse sand, organic matter, soil structure code, and soil permeability). Gully development in each drainage area was quantified using its volume and soil loss. The dependency of gully development on drainage area characteristics (surface area, land use, tillage direction, and soil properties) was determined using correlation matrix analysis. Based on the results, gully length was the most important morphometric characteristic indicating the development of gully erosion in the lands. Gully development in the area was related to slope gradient (r = -0.26), surface area (r = 0.71), the area of rainfed lands (r = 0.23), and the area of rainfed tilled along the slope (r = 0.24). Nevertheless, its correlation with the area of pasture and soil erodibility factor (K) was not significant. Among the characteristics of drainage area, surface area is the major factor controlling gully volume in the agricultural land. No significant correlation was found between gully erosion and soil erodibility factor (K) estimated by the USLE. It seems the estimated soil erodibility cannot describe the susceptibility of the study soils to the gully erosion process. In these soils, aggregate stability and soil permeability are the two soil physical properties that affect the actual soil erodibility and in consequence, these soil properties can control gully erosion in the rainfed lands. 

Keywords: Agricultural area, gully properties, soil structure, USLE, Universal Soil Loss Equation.

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9242 A Similarity Metric for Assessment of Image Fusion Algorithms

Authors: Nedeljko Cvejic, Artur Łoza, David Bull, Nishan Canagarajah

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a novel objective nonreference performance assessment algorithm for image fusion. It takes into account local measurements to estimate how well the important information in the source images is represented by the fused image. The metric is based on the Universal Image Quality Index and uses the similarity between blocks of pixels in the input images and the fused image as the weighting factors for the metrics. Experimental results confirm that the values of the proposed metrics correlate well with the subjective quality of the fused images, giving a significant improvement over standard measures based on mean squared error and mutual information.

Keywords: Fusion performance measures, image fusion, nonreferencequality measures, objective quality measures.

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9241 FSM-based Recognition of Dynamic Hand Gestures via Gesture Summarization Using Key Video Object Planes

Authors: M. K. Bhuyan

Abstract:

The use of human hand as a natural interface for humancomputer interaction (HCI) serves as the motivation for research in hand gesture recognition. Vision-based hand gesture recognition involves visual analysis of hand shape, position and/or movement. In this paper, we use the concept of object-based video abstraction for segmenting the frames into video object planes (VOPs), as used in MPEG-4, with each VOP corresponding to one semantically meaningful hand position. Next, the key VOPs are selected on the basis of the amount of change in hand shape – for a given key frame in the sequence the next key frame is the one in which the hand changes its shape significantly. Thus, an entire video clip is transformed into a small number of representative frames that are sufficient to represent a gesture sequence. Subsequently, we model a particular gesture as a sequence of key frames each bearing information about its duration. These constitute a finite state machine. For recognition, the states of the incoming gesture sequence are matched with the states of all different FSMs contained in the database of gesture vocabulary. The core idea of our proposed representation is that redundant frames of the gesture video sequence bear only the temporal information of a gesture and hence discarded for computational efficiency. Experimental results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme for key frame extraction, subsequent gesture summarization and finally gesture recognition.

Keywords: Hand gesture, MPEG-4, Hausdorff distance, finite state machine.

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9240 Separate Collection System of Recyclables and Biowaste Treatment and Utilization in Metropolitan Area Finland

Authors: Petri Kouvo, Aino Kainulainen, Kimmo Koivunen

Abstract:

Separate collection system for recyclable wastes in the Helsinki region was ranked second best of European capitals. The collection system includes paper, cardboard, glass, metals and biowaste. Residual waste is collected and used in energy production. The collection system excluding paper is managed by the Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY, a public organization owned by four municipalities (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa). Paper collection is handled by the producer responsibility scheme. The efficiency of the collection system in the Helsinki region relies on a good coverage of door-to-door-collection. All properties with 10 or more dwelling units are required to source separate biowaste and cardboard. This covers about 75% of the population of the area. The obligation is extended to glass and metal in properties with 20 or more dwelling units. Other success factors include public awareness campaigns and a fee system that encourages recycling. As a result of waste management regulations for source separation of recyclables and biowaste, nearly 50 percent of recycling rate of household waste has been reached. For households and small and medium size enterprises, there is a sorting station fleet of five stations available. More than 50 percent of wastes received at sorting stations is utilized as material. The separate collection of plastic packaging in Finland will begin in 2016 within the producer responsibility scheme. HSY started supplementing the national bring point system with door-to-door-collection and pilot operations will begin in spring 2016. The result of plastic packages pilot project has been encouraging. Until the end of 2016, over 3500 apartment buildings have been joined the piloting, and more than 1800 tons of plastic packages have been collected separately. In the summer 2015 a novel partial flow digestion process combining digestion and tunnel composting was adopted for source separated household and commercial biowaste management. The product gas form digestion process is converted in to heat and electricity in piston engine and organic Rankine cycle process with very high overall efficiency. This paper describes the efficient collection system and discusses key success factors as well as main obstacles and lessons learned as well as the partial flow process for biowaste management.

Keywords: Biowaste, HSY, MSW, plastic packages, recycling, separate collection.

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9239 Low Power Bus Binding Based on Dynamic Bit Reordering

Authors: Jihyung Kim, Taejin Kim, Sungho Park, Jun-Dong Cho

Abstract:

In this paper, the problem of reducing switching activity in on-chip buses at the stage of high-level synthesis is considered, and a high-level low power bus binding based on dynamic bit reordering is proposed. Whereas conventional methods use a fixed bit ordering between variables within a bus, the proposed method switches a bit ordering dynamically to obtain a switching activity reduction. As a result, the proposed method finds a binding solution with a smaller value of total switching activity (TSA). Experimental result shows that the proposed method obtains a binding solution having 12.0-34.9% smaller TSA compared with the conventional methods.

Keywords: bit reordering, bus binding, low power, switching activity matrix

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9238 Analyzing Convergence of IT and Energy Industry Based on Social System Framework

Authors: Giseob Byun, Ji Yeon Cho, Bong Gyou Lee

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to analyze Green IT industry in major developed countries and to suggest overall directions for IT-Energy convergence industry. Recently, IT industry is pointed out as a problem such as environmental pollution, energy exhaustion, and high energy consumption. Therefore, Green IT gets focused which concerns as solution of these problems. However, since it is a beginning stage of this convergence area, there are only a few studies of IT-Energy convergence industry. According to this, this study examined the major developed countries in terms of institution arrangements, resources, markets and companies based on Van de Ven(1999)'s social system framework that shows relationship among key components of industrial infrastructure. Subsequently, the direction of the future study of convergence on IT and Energy industry is proposed.

Keywords: Green IT, Energy industry, Convergence, Social System Framework.

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9237 A New Block-based NLMS Algorithm and Its Realization in Block Floating Point Format

Authors: Abhijit Mitra

Abstract:

we propose a new normalized LMS (NLMS) algorithm, which gives satisfactory performance in certain applications in comaprison with con-ventional NLMS recursion. This new algorithm can be treated as a block based simplification of NLMS algorithm with significantly reduced number of multi¬ply and accumulate as well as division operations. It is also shown that such a recursion can be easily implemented in block floating point (BFP) arithmetic, treating the implementational issues much efficiently. In particular, the core challenges of a BFP realization to such adaptive filters are mainly considered in this regard. A global upper bound on the step size control parameter of the new algorithm due to BFP implementation is also proposed to prevent overflow in filtering as well as weight updating operations jointly.

Keywords: Adaptive algorithm, Block floating point arithmetic, Implementation issues, Normalized least mean square methods

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9236 Interfacing C and TMS320C6713 Assembly Language (Part-I)

Authors: Abdullah A. Wardak

Abstract:

This paper describes an interfacing of C and the TMS320C6713 assembly language which is crucially important for many real-time applications. Similarly, interfacing of C with the assembly language of a conventional microprocessor such as MC68000 is presented for comparison. However, it should be noted that the way the C compiler passes arguments among various functions in the TMS320C6713-based environment is totally different from the way the C compiler passes arguments in a conventional microprocessor such as MC68000. Therefore, it is very important for a user of the TMS320C6713-based system to properly understand and follow the register conventions when interfacing C with the TMS320C6713 assembly language subroutine. It should be also noted that in some cases (examples 6-9) the endian-mode of the board needs to be taken into consideration. In this paper, one method is presented in great detail. Other methods will be presented in the future.

Keywords: Assembly language, high level language, interfacing, stack, arguments.

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9235 Devising and Assessing the Efficacy of Mobile-Assisted Instructional Modes in Mobile Learning

Authors: Majlinda Fetaji, Alajdin Abazi, Zamir Dika, Bekim Fetaji

Abstract:

The assessment of the efficacy of devised Mobile- Assisted Instructional Modes in Mobile Learning was the focus of this research. The study adopted pre-test, post-test, control group quasi-experimental design. Research instruments were developed, validated and used for collecting data. Findings revealed that the students exposed to Mobile Task Based Learning Mode (MTBLM) in using Mobile-Assisted Instruction (MAI) performed significantly better. The implication of these findings is that, the Audio tutorial and Practice Mode (ATPM) (Stimulus instruments) of MAI had been found better over the other modes used in the study.

Keywords: Mobile-Assisted instructions, Mobile learning, learning instructions, task based learning.

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9234 Sickle Cell Disease: Review of Managements in Pregnancy and the Outcome in Ampang Hospital, Selangor

Authors: Z. Nurzaireena, K. Azalea, T. Azirawaty, S. Jameela, G. Muralitharan

Abstract:

The aim of this study is the review of the management practices of sickle cell disease patients during pregnancy, as well as the maternal and neonatal outcome at Ampang Hospital, Selangor. The study consisted of a review of pregnant patients with sickle cell disease under follow up at the Hematology Clinic, Ampang Hospital over the last seven years to assess their management and maternal-fetal outcome. The results of the review show that Ampang Hospital is considered the public hematology centre for sickle cell disease and had successfully managed three pregnancies throughout the last seven years. Patients’ presentations, managements and maternal-fetal outcome were compared and reviewed for academic improvements. All three patients were seen very early in their pregnancy and had been given a regime of folic acid, antibiotics and thrombo-prophylactic drugs. Close monitoring of maternal and fetal well being was done by the hematologists and obstetricians. Among the patients, there were multiple admissions during the pregnancy for either a painful sickle cell bone crisis, haemolysis following an infection and anemia requiring phenotype- matched blood and exchange transfusions. Broad spectrum antibiotics coverage during and infection, hydration, pain management and venous-thrombolism prophylaxis were mandatory. The pregnancies managed to reach near term in the third trimester but all required emergency caesarean section for obstetric indications. All pregnancies resulted in live births with good fetal outcome. During post partum all were nursed closely in the high dependency units for further complications and were discharged well. Post partum follow up and contraception counseling was comprehensively given for future pregnancies. Sickle cell disease is uncommonly seen in the East, especially in the South East Asian region, yet more cases are seen in the current decade due to improved medical expertise and advance medical laboratory technologies. Pregnancy itself is a risk factor for sickle cell patients as increased thrombosis event and risk of infections can lead to multiple crisis, haemolysis, anemia and vaso-occlusive complications including eclampsia, cerebrovasular accidents and acute bone pain. Patients mostly require multiple blood product transfusions thus phenotype-matched blood is required to reduce the risk of alloimmunozation. Emphasizing the risks and complications in preconception counseling and establishing an ultimate pregnancy plan would probably reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality to the mother and unborn child. Early management for risk of infection, thromboembolic events and adequate hydration is mandatory. A holistic approach involving multidisciplinary team care between the hematologist, obstetricians, anesthetist, neonatologist and close nursing care for both mother and baby would ensure the best outcome. In conclusion, sickle cell disease by itself is a high risk medical condition and pregnancy would further amplify the risk. Thus, close monitoring with combine multidisciplinary care, counseling and educating the patients are crucial in achieving the safe outcome.

Keywords: Anemia, haemoglobinopathies, pregnancy, sickle cell disease.

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9233 CSTR Control by Using Model Reference Adaptive Control and PSO

Authors: Neha Khanduja

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparative analysis of continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) control based on adaptive control and optimal tuning of PID control based on particle swarm optimization. In the design of adaptive control, Model reference adaptive control (MRAC) scheme is used, in which the adaptation law have been developed by MIT rule & Lyapunov’s rule. In PSO control parameters of PID controller is tuned by using the concept of particle swarm optimization to get optimized operating point for minimum integral square error (ISE) condition. The results show the adjustment of PID parameters converting into the optimal operating point and the good control response can be obtained by the PSO technique.

Keywords: Model reference adaptive control (MRAC), optimal control, particle swarm optimization (PSO).

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9232 Resonant-Based Capacitive Pressure Sensor Read-Out Oscillating at 1.67 GHz in 0.18

Authors: Yong Wang, Wang Ling Goh, Jung Hyup Lee, Kevin T. C. Chai, Minkyu Je

Abstract:

This paper presents a resonant-based read-out circuit for capacitive pressure sensors. The proposed read-out circuit consists of an LC oscillator and a counter. The circuit detects the capacitance changes of a capacitive pressure sensor by means of frequency shifts from its nominal operation frequency. The proposed circuit is designed in 0.18m CMOS with an estimated power consumption of 43.1mW. Simulation results show that the circuit has a capacitive resolution of 8.06kHz/fF, which enables it for high resolution pressure detection.

Keywords: Capacitance-to-frequency converter, Capacitive pressure sensor, Digital counter, LC oscillator.

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