Search results for: process consultation.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5461

Search results for: process consultation.

1171 Auto Tuning PID Controller based on Improved Genetic Algorithm for Reverse Osmosis Plant

Authors: Jin-Sung Kim, Jin-Hwan Kim, Ji-Mo Park, Sung-Man Park, Won-Yong Choe, Hoon Heo

Abstract:

An optimal control of Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant is studied in this paper utilizing the auto tuning concept in conjunction with PID controller. A control scheme composing an auto tuning stochastic technique based on an improved Genetic Algorithm (GA) is proposed. For better evaluation of the process in GA, objective function defined newly in sense of root mean square error has been used. Also in order to achieve better performance of GA, more pureness and longer period of random number generation in operation are sought. The main improvement is made by replacing the uniform distribution random number generator in conventional GA technique to newly designed hybrid random generator composed of Cauchy distribution and linear congruential generator, which provides independent and different random numbers at each individual steps in Genetic operation. The performance of newly proposed GA tuned controller is compared with those of conventional ones via simulation.

Keywords: Genetic Algorithm, Auto tuning, Hybrid random number generator, Reverse Osmosis, PID controller

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1170 Untargeted Small Metabolite Identification from Thermally Treated Tualang Honey

Authors: Lee Suan Chua

Abstract:

This study investigated the effects of thermal treatment on Tualang honey sample in terms of honey colour and heat-induced small metabolites. The heating process was carried out in a temperature controlled water batch at 90oC for 4 hours. The honey samples were put in cylinder tubes with the dimension of 1 cm diameter and 10 cm length for homogenous heat transfer. The results found that the thermal treatment produced not only hydroxylmethylfurfural, but also other harmful substances such as phthalic anhydride and radiolytic byproducts. The degradation of honey protein was due to the detection of free amino acids such as cysteine and phenylalanine in heat-treated honey samples. Sugar dehydration was also occurred because fragmented di-galactose was identified based on the presence of characteristic ions in the mass fragmentation pattern. The honey colour was found getting darker as the heating duration was increased up to 4 hours. Approximately, 60 mm PFund of increment was noticed for the honey colour with the colour change rate of 14.8 mm PFund per hour. Based on the principal component analysis, the score plot clearly shows that the chemical profile of Tualang honey was significantly altered after 2 hours of heating at 90oC.

Keywords: Honey colour, hydroxylmethylfurfural, thermal treatment, Tualang honey.

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1169 System and Method for Providing Web-Based Remote Application Service

Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Yu-Ching Lin, Hsi-Ya Chang

Abstract:

With the development of virtualization technologies, a new type of service named cloud computing service is produced. Cloud users usually encounter the problem of how to use the virtualized platform easily over the web without requiring the plug-in or installation of special software. The object of this paper is to develop a system and a method enabling process interfacing within an automation scenario for accessing remote application by using the web browser. To meet this challenge, we have devised a web-based interface that system has allowed to shift the GUI application from the traditional local environment to the cloud platform, which is stored on the remote virtual machine. We designed the sketch of web interface following the cloud virtualization concept that sought to enable communication and collaboration among users. We describe the design requirements of remote application technology and present implementation details of the web application and its associated components. We conclude that this effort has the potential to provide an elastic and resilience environment for several application services. Users no longer have to burden the system maintenances and reduce the overall cost of software licenses and hardware. Moreover, this remote application service represents the next step to the mobile workplace, and it lets user to use the remote application virtually from anywhere.

Keywords: Virtualization technology, virtualized platform, web interface, remote application.

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1168 GenCos- Optimal Bidding Strategy Considering Market Power and Transmission Constraints: A Cournot-based Model

Authors: A. Badri

Abstract:

Restructured electricity markets may provide opportunities for producers to exercise market power maintaining prices in excess of competitive levels. In this paper an oligopolistic market is presented that all Generation Companies (GenCos) bid in a Cournot model. Genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to obtain generation scheduling of each GenCo as well as hourly market clearing prices (MCP). In order to consider network constraints a multiperiod framework is presented to simulate market clearing mechanism in which the behaviors of market participants are modelled through piecewise block curves. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) is employed to solve the problem. Impacts of market clearing process on participants- characteristic and final market prices are presented. Consequently, a novel multi-objective model is addressed for security constrained optimal bidding strategy of GenCos. The capability of price-maker GenCos to alter MCP is evaluated through introducing an effective-supply curve. In addition, the impact of exercising market power on the variation of market characteristics as well as GenCos scheduling is studied.

Keywords: Optimal bidding strategy, Cournot equilibrium, market power, network constraints, market auction mechanism

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1167 Air Classification of Dust from Steel Converter Secondary De-dusting for Zinc Enrichment

Authors: C. Lanzerstorfer

Abstract:

The off-gas from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF), where pig iron is converted into steel, is treated in the primary ventilation system. This system is in full operation only during oxygen-blowing when the BOF converter vessel is in a vertical position. When pig iron and scrap are charged into the BOF and when slag or steel are tapped, the vessel is tilted. The generated emissions during charging and tapping cannot be captured by the primary off-gas system. To capture these emissions, a secondary ventilation system is usually installed. The emissions are captured by a canopy hood installed just above the converter mouth in tilted position. The aim of this study was to investigate the dependence of Zn and other components on the particle size of BOF secondary ventilation dust. Because of the high temperature of the BOF process it can be expected that Zn will be enriched in the fine dust fractions. If Zn is enriched in the fine fractions, classification could be applied to split the dust into two size fractions with a different content of Zn. For this air classification experiments with dust from the secondary ventilation system of a BOF were performed. The results show that Zn and Pb are highly enriched in the finest dust fraction. For Cd, Cu and Sb the enrichment is less. In contrast, the non-volatile metals Al, Fe, Mn and Ti were depleted in the fine fractions. Thus, air classification could be considered for the treatment of dust from secondary BOF off-gas cleaning.

Keywords: Air classification, converter dust, recycling, zinc.

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1166 Performance Verification of Seismic Design Codes for RC Frames

Authors: Payam Asadi, Ali Bakhshi

Abstract:

In this study, a frame work for verification of famous seismic codes is utilized. To verify the seismic codes performance, damage quantity of RC frames is compared with the target performance. Due to the randomness property of seismic design and earthquake loads excitation, in this paper, fragility curves are developed. These diagrams are utilized to evaluate performance level of structures which are designed by the seismic codes. These diagrams further illustrate the effect of load combination and reduction factors of codes on probability of damage exceedance. Two types of structures; very high important structures with high ductility and medium important structures with intermediate ductility are designed by different seismic codes. The Results reveal that usually lower damage ratio generate lower probability of exceedance. In addition, the findings indicate that there are buildings with higher quantity of bars which they have higher probability of damage exceedance. Life-cycle cost analysis utilized for comparison and final decision making process.

Keywords: RC frame, fragility curve, performance-base design, life-cycle cost analyses, seismic design codes.

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1165 Fundamentals of Performance Management in the World of Public Service Organisations

Authors: Daniella Kucsma

Abstract:

The examination of the Public Service Organization’s performance evaluation includes several steps that help public organizations to develop a more efficient system. Public sector organizations have different characteristics than the competitive sector, so it can be stated that other/new elements become more important in their performance processes. The literature in this area is diverse, so highlighting an indicator system can be useful for introducing a system, but it is also worthwhile to measure the specific elements of the organization. In the case of a public service organization, due to the service obligation, it is usually possible to talk about a high number of users, so compliance is more difficult. For the organization, it is an important target to place great emphasis on the increase of service standards and the development of related processes. In this research, the health sector is given a prominent role, as it is a sensitive area where both organizational and individual performance is important for all participants. As a primary step, the content of the strategy is decisive, as this is important for the efficient structure of the process. When designing any system, it is important to review the expectations of the stakeholders, as this is primary when considering the design. The goal of this paper is to build the foundations of a performance management and indexing framework that can help a hospital to provide effective feedback and a direction that is important in assessing and developing a service and can become a management philosophy.

Keywords: health sector, public sector, performance management, strategy

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1164 Automatic Map Simplification for Visualization on Mobile Devices

Authors: Hang Yu

Abstract:

The visualization of geographic information on mobile devices has become popular as the widespread use of mobile Internet. The mobility of these devices brings about much convenience to people-s life. By the add-on location-based services of the devices, people can have an access to timely information relevant to their tasks. However, visual analysis of geographic data on mobile devices presents several challenges due to the small display and restricted computing resources. These limitations on the screen size and resources may impair the usability aspects of the visualization applications. In this paper, a variable-scale visualization method is proposed to handle the challenge of small mobile display. By merging multiple scales of information into a single image, the viewer is able to focus on the interesting region, while having a good grasp of the surrounding context. This is essentially visualizing the map through a fisheye lens. However, the fisheye lens induces undesirable geometric distortion in the peripheral, which renders the information meaningless. The proposed solution is to apply map generalization that removes excessive information around the peripheral and an automatic smoothing process to correct the distortion while keeping the local topology consistent. The proposed method is applied on both artificial and real geographical data for evaluation.

Keywords: Map simplification, visualization, mobile devices.

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1163 Computational Analysis of the Scaling Effects on the Performance of an Axial Compressor

Authors: Junting Xiang, Jörg Uwe Schlüter, Fei Duan

Abstract:

The miniaturization of gas turbines promises many advantages. Miniature gas turbines can be used for local power generation or the propulsion of small aircraft, such as UAV and MAV. However, experience shows that the miniaturization of conventional gas turbines, which are optimized at their current large size, leads to a substantial loss of efficiency and performance at smaller scales. This may be due to a number of factors, such as the Reynolds-number effect, the increased heat transfer, and manufacturing tolerances. In the present work, we focus on computational investigations of the Reynolds number effect and the wall heat transfer on the performance of axial compressor during its size change. The NASA stage 35 compressor is selected as the configuration in this study and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to carry out the miniaturization process and simulations. We perform parameter studies on the effect of Reynolds number and wall thermal conditions. Our results indicate a decrease of efficiency, if the compressor is miniaturized based on its original geometry due to the increase of viscous effects. The increased heat transfer through wall has only a small effect and will actually benefit compressor performance based on our study.

Keywords: Axial compressor, CFD, heat transfer, miniature gas turbines, Reynolds number.

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1162 The Development of Monk’s Food Bowl Production on Occupational Health Safety and Environment at Work for the Strength of Rattanakosin Local Wisdom

Authors: Thammarak Srimarut, Witthaya Mekhum

Abstract:

This study analyzed and developed a model for monk’s food bowl production on occupational health safety and environment at work for the encouragement of Rattanakosin local wisdom at Banbart Community. The process of blowpipe welding was necessary to produce the bowl which was very dangerous or 93.59% risk. After the employment of new sitting posture, the work risk was lower 48.41% or moderate risk. When considering in details, it was found that: 1) the traditional sitting posture could create work risk at 88.89% while the new sitting posture could create the work risk at 58.86%. 2) About the environmental pollution, with the traditional sitting posture, workers exposed to the polluted fume from welding at 61.11% while with the new sitting posture workers exposed to the polluted fume from welding at 40.47%. 3) On accidental risk, with the traditional sitting posture, workers exposed to the accident from welding at 94.44% while with the new sitting posture workers exposed to the accident from welding at 62.54%.

Keywords: Occupational health safety, environment at work, Monk’s food bowl.

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1161 Preparation of Polylactic Acid Graft Polyvinyl Acetate Compatibilizers for 50/50 Starch/PLLA Blending

Authors: S. Buchatip, A. Petchsuk

Abstract:

Polylactic acid-g-polyvinyl acetate (PLLA-g-PVAc) was used as a compatibilizer for 50/50 starch/PLLA blend. PLLA-g- PVAc with different mol% of PVAc contents were prepared by grafting PVAc onto PLLA backbone via free radical polymerization in solution process. Various conditions such as type and the amount of initiator, monomer concentration, polymerization time and temperature were studied. Results showed that the highest mol% of PVAc grafting (16 mol%) was achieved by conducting graft copolymerization in toluene at 110°C for 10 h using DCP as an initiator. Chemical structure of the PVAc grafted PLLA was confirmed by 1H NMR. Blending of modified starch and PLLA in the presence compatibilizer with different amounts and mol% PVAc was acquired using internal mixer at 160°C for 15 min. Effects of PVAc content and the amount of compatibilizer on mechanical properties of polymer blend were studied. Results revealed that tensile strength and tensile modulus of polymer blend with higher PVAc grafting content compatibilizer showed better properties than that of lower PVAc grafting content compatibilizer. The amount of compatibilizer was found optimized in the range of 0.5-1.0 Wt% depending on the mol% PVAc.

Keywords: starch, PLLA, compatibilizer, free radical polymerization, blending

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1160 Implementation of Building Information Modeling in Turkish Government Sector Projects

Authors: Mohammad Lemar Zalmai, Mustafa Nabi Kocakaya, Cemil Akcay, Ekrem Manisali

Abstract:

In recent years, the Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach has been developed expeditiously. As people see the benefits of this approach, it has begun to be used widely in construction projects and some countries made it mandatory to get more benefits from it. To promote the implementation of BIM in construction projects, it will be helpful to get some relevant information from surveys and interviews. The purpose of this study is to research the current adoption and implementation of BIM in public projects in Turkey. This study specified the challenges of BIM implementation in Turkey and proposed some solutions to overcome them. In this context, the challenges for BIM implementation and the factors that affect the BIM usage are determined based on previous academic researches and expert opinions by conducting interviews and questionnaire surveys. Several methods are used to process information in order to obtain weights of different factors to make BIM widespread in Turkey. This study concluded interviews' and questionnaire surveys' outcomes and proposed some suggestions to promote the implementation of BIM in Turkey. We believe research findings will be a good reference for boosting BIM implementation in Turkey.

Keywords: Building Information Modeling, BIM, BIM implementations, Turkish construction industry, Turkish government sector projects.

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1159 Empirical Analysis of the Reusability of Object-Oriented Program Code in Open-Source Software

Authors: Fathi Taibi

Abstract:

Measuring the reusability of Object-Oriented (OO) program code is important to ensure a successful and timely adaptation and integration of the reused code in new software projects. It has become even more relevant with the availability of huge amounts of open-source projects. Reuse saves cost, increases the speed of development and improves software reliability. Measuring this reusability is not s straight forward process due to the variety of metrics and qualities linked to software reuse and the lack of comprehensive empirical studies to support the proposed metrics or models. In this paper, a conceptual model is proposed to measure the reusability of OO program code. A comprehensive set of metrics is used to compute the most significant factors of reusability and an empirical investigation is conducted to measure the reusability of the classes of randomly selected open-source Java projects. Additionally, the impact of using inner and anonymous classes on the reusability of their enclosing classes is assessed. The results obtained are thoroughly analyzed to identify the factors behind lack of reusability in open-source OO program code and the impact of nesting on it.

Keywords: Code reuse, Low Complexity, Empirical Analysis, Modularity, Software Metrics, Understandability.

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1158 Organizational Involvement and Employees’ Consumption of New Work Practices in State-owned Enterprises: The Ghanaian Case

Authors: M. Aminu Sanda, K. Ewontumah

Abstract:

This paper explored the challenges faced by the management of a Ghanaian state enterprise in managing conflicts and disturbances associated with its attempt to implement new work practices to enhance its capability to operate as a commercial entity. The purpose was to understand the extent to which organizational involvement, consistency and adaptability influence employees’ consumption of new work practices in transforming the organization’s organizational activity system. Using selfadministered questionnaires, data were collected from one hundred and eighty (180) employees and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that constraints in organizational involvement and adaptability prevented the positive consumption of new work practices by employees in the organization. It is also found that the organization’s employees failed to consume the new practices being implemented, because they perceived the process as non-involving, and as such, did not encourage the development of employee capability, empowerment, and teamwork. The study concluded that the failure of the organization’s management to create opportunities for organizational learning constrained its ability to get employees consume the new work practices, which situation could have facilitated the organization’s capabilities of operating as a commercial entity.

Keywords: Organizational transformation, new work practices, work practice consumption, organizational involvement, state-owned enterprise, Ghana.

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1157 Effective Design Factors for Bicycle-Friendly Streets

Authors: Z. Asadi-Shekari, M. Moeinaddini, M. Zaly Shah, A. Hamzah

Abstract:

Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) is a measure for evaluating street conditions for cyclists. Currently, various methods are proposed for BLOS. These analytical methods however have some drawbacks: they usually assume cyclists as users that can share street facilities with motorized vehicles, it is not easy to link them to design process and they are not easy to follow. In addition, they only support a narrow range of cycling facilities and may not be applicable for all situations. Along this, the current paper introduces various effective design factors for bicycle-friendly streets. This study considers cyclists as users of streets who have special needs and facilities. Therefore, the key factors that influence BLOS based on different cycling facilities that are proposed by developed guidelines and literature are identified. The combination of these factors presents a complete set of effective design factors for bicycle-friendly streets. In addition, the weight of each factor in existing BLOS models is estimated and these effective factors are ranked based on these weights. These factors and their weights can be used in further studies to propose special bicycle-friendly street design model.

Keywords: Bicycle level of service, bicycle-friendly streets, cycling facilities, rating system, urban streets.

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1156 Trends, Problems and Needs of Urban Housing in Malaysia

Authors: Salfarina A.G., Nor Malina M., Azrina H.

Abstract:

The right to housing is a basic need while good quality and affordable housing is a reflection of a high quality of life. However, housing remains a major problem for most, especially for the bottom billions. Satisfaction on housing and neighbourhood conditions are one of the important indicators that reflect quality of life. These indicators are also important in the process of evaluating housing policy with the objective to increase the quality of housing and neighbourhood. The research method is purely based on a quantitative method, using a survey. The findings show that housing purchasing trend in urban Malaysia is determined by demographic profiles, mainly by education level, age, gender and income. The period of housing ownership also influenced the socio-cultural interactions and satisfaction of house owners with their neighbourhoods. The findings also show that the main concerns for house buyers in urban areas are price and location of the house. Respondents feel that houses in urban Malaysia is too expensive and beyond their affordability. Location of houses and distance from work place are also regarded as the main concern. However, respondents are fairly satisfied with religious and socio-cultural facilities in the housing areas and most importantly not many regard ethnicity as an issue in their decision-making, when buying a house.

Keywords: Housing, Urban Housing, Malaysia

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1155 Investigating the Fiber Content, Fiber Length, and Curing Characteristics of 3D Printed Recycled Carbon Fiber

Authors: Peng Hao Wang, Ronald Sterkenburg, Garam Kim, Yuwei He

Abstract:

As composite materials continue to gain popularity in the aerospace industry; large airframe sections made out of composite materials are becoming the standard for aerospace manufacturers. However, the heavy utilization of these composite materials also increases the importance of the recycling of these composite materials. A team of Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology (SATT) faculty and students have partnered to investigate the characteristics of 3D printed recycled carbon fiber. A prototype of a 3D printed recycled carbon fiber part was provided by an industry partner and different sections of the prototype were used to create specimens. A furnace was utilized in order to remove the polymer from the specimens and the specimen’s fiber content and fiber length was calculated from the remaining fibers. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test was also conducted on the 3D printed recycled carbon fiber prototype in order to determine the prototype’s degree of cure at different locations. The data collected from this study provided valuable information in the process improvement and understanding of 3D printed recycled carbon fiber.

Keywords: 3D printed, carbon fiber, fiber content, recycling.

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1154 Assessing and Evaluating the Course Outcomes of Control Systems Course Mapping Complex Engineering Problem Solving Issues and Associated Knowledge Profiles with the Program Outcomes

Authors: Muhibul Haque Bhuyan

Abstract:

In the current context, the engineering program educators need to think about how to develop the concepts and complex engineering problem-solving skills through various complex engineering activities by the undergraduate engineering students in various engineering courses. But most of them are facing challenges to assess and evaluate these skills of their students. In this study, detailed assessment and evaluation methods for the undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) program are stated using the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) approach. For this purpose, a final year course titled control systems has been selected. The assessment and evaluation approach, course contents, course objectives, course outcomes (COs), and their mapping to the program outcomes (POs) with complex engineering problems and activities via the knowledge profiles, performance indicators, rubrics of assessment, CO and PO attainment data, and other statistics, are reported for a student-cohort of control systems course registered by the students of BSc in EEE program in Spring 2021 Semester at the EEE Department of Southeast University (SEU). It is found that the target benchmark was achieved by the students of that course. Several recommendations for the continuous quality improvement (CQI) process are also provided.

Keywords: Complex engineering problem, knowledge profiles, OBE, control systems course, COs, PIs, POs, assessment rubrics.

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1153 The Behavior and Satisfaction of Tourists Affecting the Sustainable Tourism at the Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram Province

Authors: Chanpen Meenakorn

Abstract:

This research aims to study; (1) behavior of the tourists affecting the satisfaction level of tourism at the Amphawa floating market in Samut Songkhram province, (2) to study the satisfaction level of tourism at the Amphawa floating market. The research method will use quantitative research; data was collected by questionnaires distributed to the tourist who visits the Amphawa floating market for 480 samples. Data was analyzed by SPSS software to process descriptive statistic including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic is t-test, F-test, and chi-square. The results showed that the behavior of tourists had known tourist attractions in the province comes from the mouth of relatives and friends suggested that he come here before and the reasons to visit is to want to pay homage to the various temples for the frequency to visit travel an average of 2-4 times and  the satisfaction of the tourists in the province found that the satisfaction level of tourists in the province at the significant level of the place, convenient  and services have a high level of satisfaction.

Keywords: Amphawa floating market behavior of the tourists, satisfaction level, sustainable tourism, Samut Songkhram province.

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1152 Digital Forensics Compute Cluster: A High Speed Distributed Computing Capability for Digital Forensics

Authors: Daniel Gonzales, Zev Winkelman, Trung Tran, Ricardo Sanchez, Dulani Woods, John Hollywood

Abstract:

We have developed a distributed computing capability, Digital Forensics Compute Cluster (DFORC2) to speed up the ingestion and processing of digital evidence that is resident on computer hard drives. DFORC2 parallelizes evidence ingestion and file processing steps. It can be run on a standalone computer cluster or in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. When running in a virtualized computing environment, its cluster resources can be dynamically scaled up or down using Kubernetes. DFORC2 is an open source project that uses Autopsy, Apache Spark and Kafka, and other open source software packages. It extends the proven open source digital forensics capabilities of Autopsy to compute clusters and cloud architectures, so digital forensics tasks can be accomplished efficiently by a scalable array of cluster compute nodes. In this paper, we describe DFORC2 and compare it with a standalone version of Autopsy when both are used to process evidence from hard drives of different sizes.

Keywords: Cloud computing, cybersecurity, digital forensics, Kafka, Kubernetes, Spark.

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1151 A New Strategy for Minimizing Precipitations during ASP Flooding in Carbonate Reservoirs

Authors: Khaled Abdalla Elraies, Shuaib Ahmed

Abstract:

A large quantity of world-s oil reserves exists in carbonate reservoirs. Carbonate reservoirs are very sensitive to chemical enhanced oil recovery process because of containing large amount of calcite, dolomite and calcium sulfate minerals. These minerals cause major obstacles during alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. Alkali reacts with these minerals and form undesired precipitations which plug effective porous openings, reduce permeability and cause scale occurrence at the wellbore. In this paper, a new chemical combination consists of acrylic acid and alkali was used to minimize precipitation problem during ASP flooding. A series of fluid-fluid compatibility tests were performed using acrylic acid and different concentrations of alkaline. Two types of alkalis namely; sodium carbonate and sodium metaborate were screened. As a result, the combination of acrylic acid and sodium carbonate was not effective in preventing calcium and magnesium precipitations. However, acrylic acid and sodium metaborate showed promising results for keeping all solutions without any precipitations. The ratio of acrylic acid to sodium metaborate of 0.7:1.0 was found to be optimum for achieving a compatible solution for 30 days at 80oC.

Keywords: Fluid-fluid compatibility test, Carbonate reservoirs, Precipitations and ASP flooding.

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1150 Recognition of Gene Names from Gene Pathway Figures Using Siamese Network

Authors: Muhammad Azam, Micheal Olaolu Arowolo, Fei He, Mihail Popescu, Dong Xu

Abstract:

The number of biological papers is growing quickly, which means that the number of biological pathway figures in those papers is also increasing quickly. Each pathway figure shows extensive biological information, like the names of genes and how the genes are related. However, manually annotating pathway figures takes a lot of time and work. Even though using advanced image understanding models could speed up the process of curation, these models still need to be made more accurate. To improve gene name recognition from pathway figures, we applied a Siamese network to map image segments to a library of pictures containing known genes in a similar way to person recognition from photos in many photo applications. We used a triple loss function and a triplet spatial pyramid pooling network by combining the triplet convolution neural network and the spatial pyramid pooling (TSPP-Net). We compared VGG19 and VGG16 as the Siamese network model. VGG16 achieved better performance with an accuracy of 93%, which is much higher than Optical Character Recognition (OCR) results.

Keywords: Biological pathway, image understanding, gene name recognition, object detection, Siamese network, Visual Geometry Group.

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1149 An Investigation on Thermo Chemical Conversions of Solid Waste for Energy Recovery

Authors: Sharmina Begum, M. G. Rasul, Delwar Akbar

Abstract:

Solid waste can be considered as an urban burden or as a valuable resource depending on how it is managed. To meet the rising demand for energy and to address environmental concerns, a conversion from conventional energy systems to renewable resources is essential. For the sustainability of human civilization, an environmentally sound and techno-economically feasible waste treatment method is very important to treat recyclable waste. Several technologies are available for realizing the potential of solid waste as an energy source, ranging from very simple systems for disposing of dry waste to more complex technologies capable of dealing with large amounts of industrial waste. There are three main pathways for conversion of waste material to energy: thermo chemical, biochemical and physicochemical. This paper investigates the thermo chemical conversion of solid waste for energy recovery. The processes, advantages and dis-advantages of various thermo chemical conversion processes are discussed and compared. Special attention is given to Gasification process as it provides better solutions regarding public acceptance, feedstock flexibility, near-zero emissions, efficiency and security. Finally this paper presents comparative statements of thermo chemical processes and introduces an integrated waste management system.

Keywords: Gasification, Incineration, Pyrolysis, Thermo chemical conversion.

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1148 CyberSecurity Malaysia: Towards Becoming a National Certification Body for Information Security Management Systems Internal Auditors

Authors: M. S. Razana, Z. W. Shafiuddin

Abstract:

Internal auditing is one of the most important activities for organizations that implement information security management systems (ISMS). The purpose of internal audits is to ensure the ISMS implementation is in accordance to the ISO/IEC 27001 standard and the organization’s own requirements for its ISMS. Competent internal auditors are the main element that contributes to the effectiveness of internal auditing activities. To realize this need, CyberSecurity Malaysia is now in the process of becoming a certification body that certifies ISMS internal auditors. The certification scheme will assess the competence of internal auditors in generic knowledge and skills in management systems, and also in ISMS-specific knowledge and skills. The certification assessment is based on the ISO/IEC 19011 Guidelines for auditing management systems, ISO/IEC 27007 Guidelines for information security management systems auditing and ISO/IEC 27001 Information security management systems requirements. The certification scheme complies with the ISO/IEC 17024 General requirements for bodies operating certification systems of persons. Candidates who pass the exam will be certified as an ISMS Internal Auditor, whose competency will be evaluated every three years.

Keywords: ISMS internal audit, ISMS internal auditor, ISO/IEC 17024, Competence, Certification.

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1147 Financial Sources and Instruments for Public Grants and Financial Facilities of Smes in EU

Authors: Simeon Karafolas, Maciej Woźniak

Abstract:

Mostly of public financing programs at national and regional level are funded from European Union sources. EU can participate directly to a national and regional program (example LEADER initiative, URBAN…) or indirectly by funding regional or national funds.Funds from European Union are provided from EU multiannual financial framework form which the annual budget is programmed. The adjusted program 2007-2013 of the EU considered commitments of almost 1 trillion Euros for the EU-28 countries. Provisions of the new program 2014-2020 consider commitments of more than 1 trillion Euros. Sustainable growth, divided to Cohesion and Competitiveness for Growth an Employment, is one of the two principal categories; the other is the preservation and management of natural resources.Through this financing process SMEs benefited of EU and public sources by receiving grants for their investments. Most of the financial instruments are available indirectly through the national financial intermediaries. Part of them is managed by the European Investment Fund.The paper focuses on the public financing to SMEs by examining case studies on divers forms of public help. It tries to distinguish the efficiency of the examined good practices and therefore try to have some conclusions on the possibility of application to other regions.

Keywords: DIFASS, financing, grants, SMEs.

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1146 Pressure Losses on Realistic Geometry of Tracheobronchial Tree

Authors: Michaela Chovancova, Jakub Elcner

Abstract:

Real bronchial tree is very complicated piping system. Analysis of flow and pressure losses in this system is very difficult. Due to the complex geometry and the very small size in the lower generations is examination by CFD possible only in the central part of bronchial tree. For specify the pressure losses of lower generations is necessary to provide a mathematical equation. Determination of mathematical formulas for calculation of pressure losses in the real lungs is time consuming and inefficient process due to its complexity and diversity. For these calculations is necessary to slightly simplify the geometry of lungs (same cross-section over the length of individual generation) or use one of the idealized models of lungs (Horsfield, Weibel). The article compares the values of pressure losses obtained from CFD simulation of air flow in the central part of the real bronchial tree with the values calculated in a slightly simplified real lungs by using a mathematical relationship derived from the Bernoulli and continuity equations. The aim of the article is to analyse the accuracy of the analytical method and its possibility of use for the calculation of pressure losses in lower generations, which is difficult to solve by numerical method due to the small geometry.

Keywords: Pressure gradient, airways resistance, real geometry of bronchial tree, breathing.

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1145 Changing Human Resources Policies in Companies after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors: C. Murat, T. Elifnaz

Abstract:

Today, with globalization, human mobility has increased the interaction between countries significantly, and this contact has also increased the possibility of epidemics, although this contact has moved societies forward in terms of civilization. The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, which caused the most loss of life from these epidemics, quickly swept the whole world with the effect of globalization. The coronavirus epidemic has affected the world economically as well as health problems. While some businesses around the world experienced an extraordinary increase in demand, some businesses temporarily stopped their activities or were forced to do so. Businesses affected by the crisis had to adapt to new legal regulations but had to make changes in matters such as working styles, human resources practices, and policies. One of the measures considered is the reduction of the workforce. The current COVID-19 crisis has created serious challenges for many organizations and has led to an unprecedented wave of termination notices. In this study, examples of companies that were affected by the pandemic process and changed their working policies after the pandemic were examined. This study aims to reveal the impact of the global COVID-19 epidemic on human resources policies and employees and how these situations will affect businesses in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19, human resource management, crisis management, business function.

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1144 Technological Deep Assessment of Automotive Parts Manufacturers Case of Iranian Manufacturers

Authors: Manouchehre Ansari, Mahmoud Dehghan Nayeri, Reza Yousefi Zenouz

Abstract:

In order to develop any strategy, it is essential to first identify opportunities, threats, weak and strong points. Assessment of technology level provides the possibility of concentrating on weak and strong points. The results of technology assessment have a direct effect on decision making process in the field of technology transfer or expansion of internal research capabilities so it has a critical role in technology management. This paper presents a conceptual model to analyze the technology capability of a company as a whole and in four main aspects of technology. This model was tested on 10 automotive parts manufacturers in IRAN. Using this model, capability level of manufacturers was investigated in four fields of managing aspects, hard aspects, human aspects, and information and knowledge aspects. Results show that these firms concentrate on hard aspect of technology while others aspects are poor and need to be supported more. So this industry should develop other aspects of technology as well as hard aspect to have effective and efficient use of its technology. These paper findings are useful for the technology planning and management in automotive part manufactures in IRAN and other Industries which are technology followers and transport their needed technologies.

Keywords: Technology, Technological evaluation, TechnologyMaturity

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1143 A Hybrid Feature Selection by Resampling, Chi squared and Consistency Evaluation Techniques

Authors: Amir-Massoud Bidgoli, Mehdi Naseri Parsa

Abstract:

In this paper a combined feature selection method is proposed which takes advantages of sample domain filtering, resampling and feature subset evaluation methods to reduce dimensions of huge datasets and select reliable features. This method utilizes both feature space and sample domain to improve the process of feature selection and uses a combination of Chi squared with Consistency attribute evaluation methods to seek reliable features. This method consists of two phases. The first phase filters and resamples the sample domain and the second phase adopts a hybrid procedure to find the optimal feature space by applying Chi squared, Consistency subset evaluation methods and genetic search. Experiments on various sized datasets from UCI Repository of Machine Learning databases show that the performance of five classifiers (Naïve Bayes, Logistic, Multilayer Perceptron, Best First Decision Tree and JRIP) improves simultaneously and the classification error for these classifiers decreases considerably. The experiments also show that this method outperforms other feature selection methods.

Keywords: feature selection, resampling, reliable features, Consistency Subset Evaluation.

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1142 Evolutionary Algorithms for Learning Primitive Fuzzy Behaviors and Behavior Coordination in Multi-Objective Optimization Problems

Authors: Li Shoutao, Gordon Lee

Abstract:

Evolutionary robotics is concerned with the design of intelligent systems with life-like properties by means of simulated evolution. Approaches in evolutionary robotics can be categorized according to the control structures that represent the behavior and the parameters of the controller that undergo adaptation. The basic idea is to automatically synthesize behaviors that enable the robot to perform useful tasks in complex environments. The evolutionary algorithm searches through the space of parameterized controllers that map sensory perceptions to control actions, thus realizing a specific robotic behavior. Further, the evolutionary algorithm maintains and improves a population of candidate behaviors by means of selection, recombination and mutation. A fitness function evaluates the performance of the resulting behavior according to the robot-s task or mission. In this paper, the focus is in the use of genetic algorithms to solve a multi-objective optimization problem representing robot behaviors; in particular, the A-Compander Law is employed in selecting the weight of each objective during the optimization process. Results using an adaptive fitness function show that this approach can efficiently react to complex tasks under variable environments.

Keywords: adaptive fuzzy neural inference, evolutionary tuning

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