Search results for: Preliminary feasibility study

Authors: Che-Wei Lee, Bay-Erl Lai

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A new steganographic method via the use of numeric data on public websites with a self-authentication capability is proposed. The proposed technique transforms a secret message into partial shares by Shamir’s (k, n)-threshold secret sharing scheme with n = k + 1. The generated k+1 partial shares then are embedded into the numeric items to be disguised as part of the website’s numeric content, yielding the stego numeric content. Afterward, a receiver links to the website and extracts every k shares among the k+1 ones from the stego numeric content to compute k+1 copies of the secret, and the phenomenon of value consistency of the computed k+1 copies is taken as an evidence to determine whether the extracted message is authentic or not, attaining the goal of self-authentication of the extracted secret message. Experimental results and discussions are provided to show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Steganography, data hiding, secret authentication, secret sharing.

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Authors: M. J. Reis Lima, J. Oliveira, M. Brito, C. Lemos, A. Mascarenhas, E. Teixeira Lemos

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Hypertension is a common condition causing cardio and cerebrovascular complications. Portugal has one of the highest mortality rates from stroke and a high prevalence of hypertension. Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction and stroke) and premature mortality, particularly in the elderly population. The present study aims to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in a Portuguese population living in a coastal city and to identify some of its determinants (namely gender, age, the body mass index and physical activity frequency). A total of 91 adults who attended three pharmacies of a coastal city in the center of Portugal, between May and August of 2013 were evaluated. Attendants who reported to have diabetes or taking antihypertensive drugs in the 2 previous weeks were excluded from the study. Sociodemographic factors, BMI, habits of exercise and BP were assessed. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg. The majority of the studied population was constituted by women (75.8%), with a mean age of 54.2±1.6 years old, married or living in civil union and that had completed secondary school or had higher education (40%). They presented a mean BMI of 26.2±4.76 Kg/m2., and were sedentary. The mean BP was 127.0±17.77mmHg- 74.69 ± 9.53. In this population we found 4.3% of people with hypertension and 16.1% with normal high blood pressure. Men exhibit a tendency to present higher systolic blood pressure values than women. Of all the factors considered, SBP values also tended to be higher with age and higher BMI values. Despite the fact that the mean values of SBP did not present values higher than 140 mmHg we must be concerned because the studied population is undiagnosed for hypertension. Although this is a preliminary study, it might be a prelude to the upcoming research about the underlying factors responsible for the occurrence of SBP.

Keywords: Hypertension, age, exercise, obesity, gender.

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Authors: Thanawat Chuleekiat

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Socketing of bored piles in rock is always seen as a matter of debate on construction sites between consultants and contractors. The socketing depth normally depends on the type of rock, depth at which the rock is available below the pile cap and load carrying capacity of the pile. In this paper, the review of field load test data of drilled shaft socketed in weathered limestone conducted using conventional static pile load test and dynamic pile load test was made to evaluate a unit shaft friction for the bored piles socketed in weathered limestone (weak rock). The borehole drilling data were also reviewed in conjunction with the pile test result. In addition, the back-calculated unit shaft friction was reviewed against various empirical methods for bored piles socketed in weak rock. The paper concludes with an estimated ultimate unit shaft friction from the case study in Qatar for preliminary design.

Keywords: Piled foundation, weathered limestone, shaft friction, rock socket, pile load test.

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Authors: H. H. Goh, Q. S. Chua, S. W. Lee, B. C. Kok, K. C. Goh, K. T. K. Teo

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At present, the evaluation of voltage stability assessment experiences sizeable anxiety in the safe operation of power systems. This is due to the complications of a strain power system. With the snowballing of power demand by the consumers and also the restricted amount of power sources, therefore, the system has to perform at its maximum proficiency. Consequently, the noteworthy to discover the maximum ability boundary prior to voltage collapse should be undertaken. A preliminary warning can be perceived to evade the interruption of power system’s capacity. The effectiveness of line voltage stability indices (LVSI) is differentiated in this paper. The main purpose of the indices used is to predict the proximity of voltage instability of the electric power system. On the other hand, the indices are also able to decide the weakest load buses which are close to voltage collapse in the power system. The line stability indices are assessed using the IEEE 14 bus test system to validate its practicability. Results demonstrated that the implemented indices are practically relevant in predicting the manifestation of voltage collapse in the system. Therefore, essential actions can be taken to dodge the incident from arising.

Keywords: Critical line, line outage, line voltage stability indices (LVSI), maximum loadability, voltage collapse, voltage instability, voltage stability analysis.

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Authors: Christian Castro Samaniego, Daniel Icaza Alvarez, Juan Portoviejo Brito

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For this research work, hybrid wind-photovoltaic (SHEF) systems were considered as renewable energy sources that take advantage of wind energy and solar radiation to transform into electrical energy. In the present research work, the feasibility of a wind-photovoltaic hybrid generation system was analyzed for the La Tranca tourist viewpoint of the Chordeleg canton in Ecuador. The research process consisted of the collection of data on solar radiation, temperature, wind speed among others by means of a meteorological station. Simulations were carried out in MATLAB/Simulink based on a mathematical model. In the end, we compared the theoretical radiation-power curves and the measurements made at the site.

Keywords: Hybrid system, wind turbine, modeling, simulation, validation, experimental data, panel, Ecuador.

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Authors: Victor H. Benitez, Ramon V. Armas-Flores, Jesus H. Pacheco-Ramirez

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Systems transforming solar energy into electrical power have emerged as a viable source of clean, renewable energy. Solar power tower technology is a good example of this type of system, which consists of several mobile mirrors, called heliostats, which reflect the sun's radiation to the same point, located on top of a tower at the center of heliostat field, for collection or transformation into another type of energy. The so-called Hermosillo’s Solar Platform (Plataforma Solar de Hermosillo, PSH, in Spanish) is a facility constituted with several heliostats, its aim and scope is for research purposes. In this paper, the implementation of a wireless communication system based on intelligent nodes is proposed in order to allow the communication and control of the heliostats in PSH. Intelligent nodes transmit information from one point to another, and can perform other actions that allow them to adapt to the conditions and limitations of a field of heliostats, thus achieving effective communication system. After deployment of the nodes in the heliostats, tests were conducted to measure the effectiveness of the communication, and determine the feasibility of using the proposed technologies. The test results were always positive, exceeding expectations held for its operation in the field of heliostats. Therefore, it was possible to validate the efficiency of the wireless communication system to be implemented in PSH, allowing communication and control of the heliostats.

Keywords: Solar energy, heliostat, wireless communication, intelligent node.

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Authors: Adam L. Yanagihara, Yong Seok Park

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The goal of this paper is to converge upon a design of a brake system that could be used for a roller coaster found at an amusement park. It was necessary to find what could be deemed as a “comfortable” deceleration so that passengers do not feel as if they are suddenly jerked and pressed against the restraining harnesses. A human factors engineering approach was taken in order to determine this deceleration. Using a previous study that tested the deceleration of transit vehicles, it was found that a -0.45 G deceleration would be used as a design requirement to build this system around. An adjustable linear eddy current brake using permanent magnets would be the ideal system to use in order to meet this design requirement. Anthropometric data were then used to determine a realistic weight and length of the roller coaster that the brake was being designed for. The weight and length data were then factored into magnetic brake force equations. These equations were used to determine how the brake system and the brake run layout would be designed. A final design for the brake was determined and it was found that a total of 12 brakes would be needed with a maximum braking distance of 53.6 m in order to stop a roller coaster travelling at its top speed and loaded to maximum capacity. This design is derived from theoretical calculations, but is within the realm of feasibility.

Keywords: Eddy current brake, engineering design, human factors engineering.

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Authors: S. Leghmizi, S. Liu, F. Naeim

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This paper presents a fuzzy control system for a three degree of freedom (3-DOF) stabilized platform with explicit decoupling scheme. The system under consideration is a system with strong interactions between three channels. By using the concept of decentralized control, a control structure is developed that is composed of three control loops, each of which is associated with a single-variable fuzzy controller and a decoupling unit. Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy control algorithm is used to implement the fuzzy controller. The decoupling units design is based on the adaptive theory reasoning. Simulation tests were established using Simulink of Matlab. The obtained results have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Simulation results are represented in this paper.

Keywords: 3-DOF platform of a ship carried antenna, the concept of decentralized control, Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy control algorithm, Simulink.

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Authors: Mark Watson, J.-F. Bousquet, Adam Forget

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A magnetic induction based underwater communication link is evaluated using an analytical model and a custom Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation tool. The analytical model is based on the Sommerfeld integral, and a full-wave simulation tool evaluates Maxwell’s equations using the FDTD method in cylindrical coordinates. The analytical model and FDTD simulation tool are then compared and used to predict the system performance for various transmitter depths and optimum frequencies of operation. To this end, the system bandwidth, signal to noise ratio, and the magnitude of the induced voltage are used to estimate the expected channel capacity. The models show that in seawater, a relatively low-power and small coils may be capable of obtaining a throughput of 40 to 300 kbps, for the case where a transmitter is at depths of 1 to 3 m and a receiver is at a height of 1 m.

Keywords: Magnetic Induction, FDTD, Underwater Communication, Sommerfeld.

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Authors: Gnanaprakash K, Madhusudhana Chetty C, Ramkanth S, Alagusundaram M, Tiruvengadarajan VS, Angala Parameswari S, Mohamed Saleem TS

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Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a well-known hepatotoxin and exposure to this chemical is known to induce oxidative stress and causes liver injury by the formation of free radicals. Flacourtia indica commonly known as 'Baichi' has been reported as an effective remedy for the treatment of a variety of diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective activity of aqueous extract of leaves of Flacourtia indica against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity. Animals were pretreated with the aqueous extract of Flacourtia indica (250 & 500 mg/kg body weight) for one week and then challenged with CCl4 (1.5 ml/kg bw) in olive oil (1:1, v/v) on 7th day. Serum marker enzymes (ALP, AST, ALT, Total Protein & Total Bilirubin) and TBARS level (Marker for oxidative stress) were estimated in all the study groups. Alteration in the levels of biochemical markers of hepatic damage like AST, ALT, ALP, Total Protein, Total Bilirubin and lipid peroxides (TBARS) were tested in both CCl4 treated and extract treated groups. CCl4 has enhanced the AST, ALT, ALP and the Lipid peroxides (TBARS) in liver. Treatment of aqueous extract of Flacourtia indica leaves (250 & 500 mg/kg) exhibited a significant protective effect by altering the serum levels of AST, ALT, ALP, Total Protein, Total Bilirubin and liver TBARS. These biochemical observations were supported by histopathological study of liver sections. From this preliminary study it has been concluded that the aqueous extract of the leaves of Flacourtia indica protects liver against oxidative damages and could be used as an effective protector against CCl4 induced hepatic damage. Our findings suggested that Flacourtia indica possessed good hepatoprotective activity

Keywords: Carbon Tetrachloride, Flacourtia indica, Hepatoprotective activity, Oxidative stress

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Authors: Jovana Dj. Jovanovic, Svetlana M. Stevovic

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The highest priority of so called, projected passive houses is to meet the appropriate energy demand. Every single material and layer which is injected into a dwelling has a certain energy quantity stored. The passive houses include optimized insulation levels with minimal thermal bridges, minimum of air leakage through the building, utilization of passive solar and internal gains, and good circulation of air which leans on mechanical ventilation system. The focus of this paper is on passive house features, benefits and targets, their feasibility and energy demands which are set up during each project. Numerous passive house-standards outline the very significant role of zero-energy dwellings towards the modern label of sustainable development. It is clear that the performance of both built and existing housing stock must be addressed if the population across the world sets out the energy objectives. This scientific article examines passive house features since the many passive house cases are launched.

Keywords: Benefits, energy demands, passive houses, sustainable development.

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Authors: Emad Amar, Tawfik Khattab, Fatma Zada

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Predicting earthquakes is an important issue in the study of geography. Accurate prediction of earthquakes can help people to take effective measures to minimize the loss of personal and economic damage, such as large casualties, destruction of buildings and broken of traffic, occurred within a few seconds. United States Geological Survey (USGS) science organization provides reliable scientific information about Earthquake Existed throughout history & the Preliminary database from the National Center Earthquake Information (NEIC) show some useful factors to predict an earthquake in a seismic area like Aleutian Arc in the U.S. state of Alaska. The main advantage of this prediction method that it does not require any assumption, it makes prediction according to the future evolution of the object's time series. The article compares between simulation data result from trained BP and RBF neural network versus actual output result from the system calculations. Therefore, this article focuses on analysis of data relating to real earthquakes. Evaluation results show better accuracy and higher speed by using radial basis functions (RBF) neural network.

Keywords: BP neural network, Prediction, RBF neural network.

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Authors: Jac W. Andrews, J. B. Hale

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Effective practicing psychologists require ongoing skill development that is constructivist and recursive in nature, with mentor, colleague, co-worker, and patient feedback critical to successful acquisition and maintenance of professional competencies. This paper will provide an overview of the nature and scope of psychologist skill development through multisource feedback (MSF) or 360 degree evaluation, present a rationale for its use for assessing practicing psychologist performance, and advocate its use in psychology given the demonstrated model utility in other health professions. The paper will conclude that an international research design is needed to assess the feasibility, reliability, and validity of MSF system ratings intended to solicit feedback from mentors, colleagues, coworkers, and patients about psychologist competencies. If adopted, the MSF model could lead to enhanced skill development that fosters patient satisfaction within and across countries.

 

Keywords: Psychologist, multisource feedback, psychologist competency, professionalism.

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Authors: Xia Chen, Hua-Quan Yang, Shi-Hua Zhou

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Alkali-active sandstone aggregate was ground by vertical and ball mill into particles with residue over 45 μm less than 12%, and investigations have been launched on particles distribution and characterization of ground sandstone powder, fluidity, heat of hydration, strength as well as hydration products morphology of pastes with incorporation of ground sandstone powder. Results indicated that ground alkali-active sandstone powder with residue over 45 μm less than 8% was easily obtainable, and specific surface area was more sensitive to characterize its fineness with extension of grinding length. Incorporation of sandstone powder resulted in higher water demand and lower strength, advanced hydration of C₃A and C₂S within 3days and refined pore structure. Based on its manufacturing, characteristics and influence on properties of pastes, it was concluded that sandstone powder was a good selection for use in concrete as mineral admixture.

Keywords: Concrete, mineral admixture, hydration, structure.

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Authors: Ackmez Mudhoo, Pravish Rye Moorateeah, Romeela Mohee

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This paper presents the results of the preliminary investigation of microwave (MW) irradiation pretreatments on the anaerobic digestion of food residues using biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays. Low solids systems with a total solids (TS) content ranging from 5.0-10.0% were analyzed. The inoculum to bulk mass of substrates to water ratio was 1:2:2 (mass basis). The experimental conditions for pretreatments were as follows: a control (no MW irradiation), two runs with MW irradiation for 15 and 30 minutes at 320 W, and another two runs with MW irradiation at 528 W for 30 and 60 minutes. The cumulative biogas production were 6.3 L and 8.7 L for 15min/320 W and 30min/320 W MW irradiation conditions, respectively, and 10.5 L and 11.4 L biogas for 30min/528 W and 60min/528 W, respectively, as compared to the control giving 5.8 L biogas. Both an increase in exposure time of irradiation and power of MW had increased the rate and yield of biogas. Singlefactor ANOVA tests (p<0.05) indicated that the variations in VS, TS, COD and cumulative biogas generation were significantly different for the pretreatment conditions. Results from this study indicated that MW irradiation had enhanced the biogas production and degradation of total solids with a significant improvement in VS and COD solubilization.

Keywords: microwave irradiation, pretreatment, anaerobic digestion, food residues.

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Authors: Ming-Hui Lee, Tsung-Chien Chen, Tsu-Ping Yu, Horng-Yuan Jang

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The innovative intelligent fuzzy weighted input estimation method (FWIEM) can be applied to the inverse heat transfer conduction problem (IHCP) to estimate the unknown time-varying heat flux of the multilayer materials as presented in this paper. The feasibility of this method can be verified by adopting the temperature measurement experiment. The experiment modular may be designed by using the copper sample which is stacked up 4 aluminum samples with different thicknesses. Furthermore, the bottoms of copper samples are heated by applying the standard heat source, and the temperatures on the tops of aluminum are measured by using the thermocouples. The temperature measurements are then regarded as the inputs into the presented method to estimate the heat flux in the bottoms of copper samples. The influence on the estimation caused by the temperature measurement of the sample with different thickness, the processing noise covariance Q, the weighting factor γ , the sampling time interval Δt , and the space discrete interval Δx , will be investigated by utilizing the experiment verification. The results show that this method is efficient and robust to estimate the unknown time-varying heat input of the multilayer materials.

Keywords: Multilayer Materials, Input Estimation Method, IHCP, Heat Flux.

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Authors: Yi Zhang, Quan Zhou, Jun Li, Yanlang Hu

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Scheduling algorithm is a key technology in satellite switching system with input-buffer. In this paper, a new scheduling algorithm and its realization are proposed. Based on Crossbar switching fabric, the algorithm adopts serial scheduling strategy and adjusts the output port arbitrating strategy for the better equity of every port. Consequently, it increases the matching probability. The algorithm can greatly reduce the scheduling delay and cell loss rate. The analysis and simulation results by OPNET show that the proposed algorithm has the better performance than others in average delay and cell loss rate, and has the equivalent complexity. On the basis of these results, the hardware realization and simulation based on FPGA are completed, which validate the feasibility of the new scheduling algorithm.

Keywords: Scheduling algorithm, input-buffer, serial scheduling, hardware design.

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Authors: P. Jomsri

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Currently, the sources of cultures and tourist attractions are presented in online documentary form only. In order to make them more virtual, the researcher then collected and presented them in the form of Virtual Temple. The prototype, which is a replica of the actual location, was developed to the website and allows people who are interested in Rattanakosin Island can see in form of Panorama Pan View. By this way, anyone can access the data and appreciate the beauty of Rattanakosin Island in the virtual model like the real place.

The result from the experiment showed that the levels of the knowledge on Thai temples in Rattanakosin Island increased; moreover, the users were highly satisfied with the systems. It can be concluded that virtual temples can support to publicize Thai arts, cultures and travels, as well as it can be utilized effectively.

Keywords: Virtual sightseeing, rattanakosin island, Thai temples.

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Authors: Venny, S. Gan, H. K. Ng

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This work focuses on the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-contaminated soil via Fenton treatment coupled with novel chelating agent (CA). The feasibility of chelated modified Fenton (MF) treatment to promote PAH oxidation in artificially contaminated soils was investigated in laboratory scale batch experiments at natural pH. The effects of adding inorganic and organic CA are discussed. Experiments using different iron catalyst to CA ratios were conducted, resulting in hydrogen peroxide: soil: iron: CA weight ratios that varied from 0.049: 1: 0.072: 0.008 to 0.049: 1: 0.072: 0.067. The results revealed that (1) inorganic CA could provide much higher PAH removal efficiency and (2) most of the proposed CAs were more efficient than commonly utilised CAs even at mild ratio. This work highlights the potential of novel chelating agents in maintaining a suitable environment throughout the Fenton treatment, particularly in soils with high buffer capacity.

Keywords: Chelating agent, Fenton, hydroxyl radicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

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Authors: Adrian Samuel Limanto, Yunli Lee

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Interactive public displays give access as an innovative media to promote enhanced communication between people and information. However, digital public displays are subject to a few constraints, such as content presentation. Content presentation needs to be developed to be more interesting to attract people’s attention and motivate people to interact with the display. In this paper, we proposed idea to implement contents with interaction elements for vision-based digital public display. Vision-based techniques are applied as a sensor to detect passers-by and theme contents are suggested to attract their attention for encouraging them to interact with the announcement content. Virtual object, gesture detection and projection installation are applied for attracting attention from passers-by. Preliminary study showed positive feedback of interactive content designing towards the public display. This new trend would be a valuable innovation as delivery of announcement content and information communication through this media is proven to be more engaging.

Keywords: Digital announcement, digital public display, human-information interaction, interactive media.

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Authors: Yang Zhou, Kangfeng Zheng, Wei Ni, Ren Ping Liu

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Software-defined networking (SDN) provides a solution for scalable network framework with decoupled control and data plane. However, this architecture also induces a particular distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that can affect or even overwhelm the SDN network. DDoS attack detection problem has to date been mostly researched as entropy comparison problem. However, this problem lacks the utilization of SDN, and the results are not accurate. In this paper, we propose a DDoS attack detection method, which interprets DDoS detection as a signature matching problem and is formulated as Earth Mover’s Distance (EMD) model. Considering the feasibility and accuracy, we further propose to define the cost function of EMD to be a generalized Kullback-Leibler divergence. Simulation results show that our proposed method can detect DDoS attacks by comparing EMD values with the ones computed in the case without attacks. Moreover, our method can significantly increase the true positive rate of detection.

Keywords: DDoS detection, EMD, relative entropy, SDN.

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Authors: Tak-Hyun Kim, Youn-Ku Nam, Myunjoo Lee

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The ionizing radiation of livestock wastewater for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus was studied in the presence of a natural zeolite. The feasibility of a combined process of zeolite ion exchange and electron beam irradiation of livestock wastewater was also investigated. The removal efficiencies of NH4 +-N, T-N and T-P were significantly enhanced by electron beam irradiation after zeolite ion exchange as a pre-treatment. The presence of silica zeolite accelerated the decomposition rate of livestock wastewater in the electron beam irradiation process. These results indicate that the combined process of zeolite ion exchange and electron beam irradiation has the potential for the treatment of livestock wastewater

Keywords: Zeolite, electron beam, livestock wastewater, ammonia nitrogen, phosphorus.

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Authors: P. Satish Kumar, K. Ramakrishna, Ch. Lokeshwar Reddy, G. Sridhar

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This paper presents two different sequential switching hybrid-modulation strategies and implemented for cascaded multilevel inverters. Hybrid modulation strategies represent the combinations of Fundamental-frequency pulse width modulation (FFPWM) and Multilevel sinusoidal-modulation (MSPWM) strategies, and are designed for performance of the well-known Alternative Phase opposition disposition (APOD), Phase shifted carrier (PSC). The main characteristics of these modulations are the reduction of switching losses with good harmonic performance, balanced power loss dissipation among the devices with in a cell, and among the series-connected cells. The feasibility of these modulations is verified through spectral analysis, power loss analysis and simulation.

Keywords: Cascaded multilevel inverters, hybrid modulation, power loss analysis, pulse width modulation.

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Authors: El-Said Badr, Mahmoud Moussa, Konstantinos Paparrizos, Nikolaos Samaras, Angelo Sifaleras

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There are two major variants of the Simplex Algorithm: the revised method and the standard, or tableau method. Today, all serious implementations are based on the revised method because it is more efficient for sparse linear programming problems. Moreover, there are a number of applications that lead to dense linear problems so our aim in this paper is to present some computational results on parallel implementation of dense Simplex Method. Our implementation is implemented on a SMP cluster using C programming language and the Message Passing Interface MPI. Preliminary computational results on randomly generated dense linear programs support our results.

Keywords: Linear Programming, MPI, Parallel Implementation, Simplex Algorithm.

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Authors: Shih-Wen Hsiao, Rong-Qi Chen, Chien-Yu Lin

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The topic of surface flattening plays a vital role in the field of computer aided design and manufacture. Surface flattening enables the production of 2D patterns and it can be used in design and manufacturing for developing a 3D surface to a 2D platform, especially in fashion design. This study describes surface flattening based on minimum energy methods according to the property of different fabrics. Firstly, through the geometric feature of a 3D surface, the less transformed area can be flattened on a 2D platform by geodesic. Then, strain energy that has accumulated in mesh can be stably released by an approximate implicit method and revised error function. In some cases, cutting mesh to further release the energy is a common way to fix the situation and enhance the accuracy of the surface flattening, and this makes the obtained 2D pattern naturally generate significant cracks. When this methodology is applied to a 3D mannequin constructed with feature lines, it enhances the level of computer-aided fashion design. Besides, when different fabrics are applied to fashion design, it is necessary to revise the shape of a 2D pattern according to the properties of the fabric. With this model, the outline of 2D patterns can be revised by distributing the strain energy with different results according to different fabric properties. Finally, this research uses some common design cases to illustrate and verify the feasibility of this methodology.

Keywords: Surface flattening, Strain energy, Minimum energy, approximate implicit method, Fashion design.

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Authors: Raouf Fareh, Maarouf Saad, Sofiane Khadraoui, Tamer Rabie

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This paper presents a tracking control strategy based on Lyapunov approach for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot. This control strategy consists of two levels. First, a kinematic controller is developed to adjust the right and left wheel velocities. Using this velocity control law, the stability of the tracking error is guaranteed using Lyapunov approach. This kinematic controller cannot be generated directly by the motors. To overcome this problem, the second level of the controllers, dynamic control, is designed. This dynamic control law is developed based on Lyapunov theory in order to track the desired trajectories of the mobile robot. The stability of the tracking error is proved using Lupunov and Barbalat approaches. Simulation results on a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the presented approach.

Keywords: Mobile robot, trajectory tracking, Lyapunov, stability.

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Authors: Grace Rachid, Mutasem El-Fadel, Mahmoud Al-Hindi, Ibrahim Jamali, Daniel Abdel Nour

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This study examines the feasibility of indirect solar desalination in oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It relies on value engineering (VE) and costbenefit with sensitivity analyses to identify optimal coupling configurations of desalination and solar energy technologies. A comparative return on investment was assessed as a function of water costs for varied plant capacities (25,000 to 75,000 m3/day), project lifetimes (15 to 25 years), and discount rates (5 to 15%) taking into consideration water and energy subsidies, land cost as well as environmental externalities in the form of carbon credit related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The results showed reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic technologies (PVs) as the most promising configuration, robust across different prices for Brent oil, discount rates, as well as different project lifetimes. Environmental externalities and subsidies analysis revealed that a 16% reduction in existing subsidy on water tariffs would ensure economic viability. Additionally, while land costs affect investment attractiveness, the viability of RO coupled with PV remains possible for a land purchase cost <$ 80/m2 or a lease rate <$1/m2/yr. Beyond those rates, further subsidy lifting is required.

Keywords: Solar energy, desalination, value engineering, CBA, carbon credit, subsidies.

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Authors: Slavka Zeković

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A preliminary evaluation of the urban land system is presented in the article together with the instruments of land policy in Serbia. The main reason for the analysis is demand for definition of reform framework for urban land management in Serbia in the period of transition towards market-led system. It is concluded that due to the limitations of the current regulation it will be impossible in the future to apply market principles in the urban land policy (supply and demand of land, land capitalization, investment efficiency, et al.). Based on the estimation that the urban land system and land policy are key factors of competitiveness between regions and towns in Serbia, it is necessary to initiate changes in this field. There are indicated on an option of privatization of urban public land and possible establishment of leasehold land. A comparative analysis of the possibilities of the reform urban land system in Serbia has been carried out in relation to two approaches of market systems: (a) with dominant private ownership of urban land (neo/liberal approach) and (b) with dominant public ownership of urban land (system of leasehold)whose findings can be a basis for further study of the new system in Serbia.. The attanied results are part of studies matter for the making of Strategy of territorial development of Serbia.

Keywords: Urban Land System, Urban Land Management, Instruments of Land Policy, Evaluation, Market.

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Authors: Fazeera Ujin, Kamran Shavarebi Ali, Zarina Yasmin Hanur Harith

Abstract:

This research paper reports on the feasibility and viability of eggshells ash and its effects on the water content and setting time of cement. An experiment was carried out to determine the quantity of water required in order to follow standard cement paste of normal consistency in accordance with MS EN 196-3:2007. The eggshells ash passing the 90µm sieve was used in the investigation. Eggshells ash with percentage of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% were constituted to replace the cement. Chemical properties of both eggshells ash and cement are compared. From the results obtained, both eggshells ash and cement have the same chemical composition and primary composition which is the calcium compounds. Results from the setting time show that by adding the eggshells ash to the cement, the setting time of the cement decreases. In short, the higher amount of eggshells ash, the faster the rate of setting and apply to all percentage of eggshells ash that were used in this investigation. Both initial and final setting times fulfill the setting time requirements by Malaysian Standard. Hence, it is suggested that eggshells ash can be used as an admixture in concrete mix.

Keywords: Construction Materials, Eggshells Ash, Solid Waste, Setting Time.

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Authors: Maher J. Tadros, Naji K. Al-Mefleh

Abstract:

The evaluation of non-conventional water resources on seed germination and seedling growth performance at early growth stages is still in progress especially in forage crops. This study was designed to test the effect of four types of water qualities (treated wastewater (TWW), industrial water (IW), grey water (GW), and Distilled water (DW)) on germination and early seedling vigor of Leucaena leucocephala. The results showed that the germination was not significantly affected by the different water qualities. Seed germination reached maximum after 17, 14, 14, and 21 days under GW, IW, TWW, and DW treatments, respectively. The highest mean of shoot length was scored under the GW treatment. And, the highest mean of root length was scored under DW which was not significant from GW treatment. The means of shoot fresh was the highest under the TWW. The means of root fresh weight was not significantly different from each other's under different treatments. The growth performance was in progress with no mortality during 21 days of growth. Thus, the best non-conventional water qualities alternatives based on the cleanness, nutrients, and toxicity are the GW, TWW and IW, respectively.

Keywords: Seed germination, Growth performance, Leucaena, Multipurpose forest trees, Waste water, Grey water

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