Search results for: topological degree.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 971

Search results for: topological degree.

551 Flow Characteristics of Pulp Liquid in Straight Ducts

Authors: M. Sumida

Abstract:

An experimental investigation was performed on pulp liquid flow in straight ducts with a square cross section. Fully developed steady flow was visualized and the fiber concentration was obtained using a light-section method developed by the author et al. The obtained results reveal quantitatively, in a definite form, the distribution of the fiber concentration. From the results and measurements of pressure loss, it is found that the flow characteristics of pulp liquid in ducts can be classified into five patterns. The relationships among the distributions of mean and fluctuation of fiber concentration, the pressure loss and the flow velocity are discussed, and then the features for each pattern are extracted. The degree of nonuniformity of the fiber concentration, which is indicated by the standard deviation of its distribution, is decreased from 0.3 to 0.05 with an increase in the velocity of the tested pulp liquid from 0.4 to 0.8%.

Keywords: Fiber Concentration, Flow Characteristic, Pulp Liquid, Straight Duct.

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550 High Performance Electrocardiogram Steganography Based on Fast Discrete Cosine Transform

Authors: Liang-Ta Cheng, Ching-Yu Yang

Abstract:

Based on fast discrete cosine transform (FDCT), the authors present a high capacity and high perceived quality method for electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. By using a simple adjusting policy to the 1-dimentional (1-D) DCT coefficients, a large volume of secret message can be effectively embedded in an ECG host signal and be successfully extracted at the intended receiver. Simulations confirmed that the resulting perceived quality is good, while the hiding capability of the proposed method significantly outperforms that of existing techniques. In addition, our proposed method has a certain degree of robustness. Since the computational complexity is low, it is feasible for our method being employed in real-time applications.

Keywords: Data hiding, ECG steganography, fast discrete cosine transform, 1-D DCT bundle, real-time applications.

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549 French Managers and Their Subordinates’ Well-Being

Authors: B. Gangloff, N. Malleh

Abstract:

Well-being at work has many positive aspects. Our general hypothesis is that employees who feel well-being at work will be positively valued by their superiors, and that this positive value, which evokes the concept of social norms, allows us to assign to well-being at work a normative status. Three populations (line managers, students destined to become human resource managers, and employees) responded to a well-being questionnaire. Managers had to indicate, for each item, if they appreciated (or not) an employee feeling the well-being presented in the item; students had to indicate which items an employee should check if s/he wants to be positively (versus negatively) appreciated by his/her superior; and employees had to indicate to what degree each item corresponded to the well-being they used to feel. Three hypotheses are developed and confirmed: Managers positively value employees feeling some sense of well-being; students are aware of this positivity; spontaneously employees show a state of well-being, which means, knowing that spontaneous self-presentation is often produced by social desirability, that employees are aware of the well-being positivity. These data are discussed under a conceptual and applied angle.

Keywords: Normativity, well-being at work, organization, evaluation.

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548 Modification and Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose Biopolymer as Proton Conducting Membrane

Authors: C. W. Lin, S.W. Chen

Abstract:

This study describes the preparation of a novel proton conducting membranes based on bacterial cellulose (BC) modified by grafting of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1 -propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) through UV-induced graft polymerization. These AMPS-g-BC membranes have been characterized by various techniques including FTIR, SEM and TGA, to find their successful grafting of AMPS on BC, surface morphology and thermal stability, respectively. Physical properties of AMPS-g-BC membranes have been assessed in terms of Lamda value( λ ), ion exchange capacity(IEC) and proton conductivity. The relationship between degree of grafting and AMPS concentration used for grafting has been determined by weight gain method. An optimum proton conductivity equal to 2.89x10-2 S cm-1 and IEC value equal to 1.79 mmol g-1 have been obtained when 20 wt% AMPS concentration is used for grafting (i.e. the corresponding membrane is notated as AMPS20-g-BC).

Keywords: Bacterial cellulose, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid, Proton conducting membrane, Self diffusioncoefficient, Fuel cell

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547 Common Carotid Artery Intima Media Thickness Segmentation Survey

Authors: L. Ashok Kumar, C. Nagarajan

Abstract:

The ultrasound imaging is very popular to diagnosis the disease because of its non-invasive nature. The ultrasound imaging slowly produces low quality images due to the presence of spackle noise and wave interferences. There are several algorithms to be proposed for the segmentation of ultrasound carotid artery images but it requires a certain limit of user interaction. The pixel in an image is highly correlated so the spatial information of surrounding pixels may be considered in the process of image segmentation which improves the results further. When data is highly correlated, one pixel may belong to more than one cluster with different degree of membership. There is an important step to computerize the evaluation of arterial disease severity using segmentation of carotid artery lumen in 2D and 3D ultrasonography and in finding vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques susceptible to rupture which can cause stroke.

Keywords: IMT measurement, Image Segmentation, common carotid artery, internal and external carotid arteries, ultrasound imaging.

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546 Performance Analysis of MT Evaluation Measures and Test Suites

Authors: Yao Jian-Min, Lv Qiang, Zhang Jing

Abstract:

Many measures have been proposed for machine translation evaluation (MTE) while little research has been done on the performance of MTE methods. This paper is an effort for MTE performance analysis. A general frame is proposed for the description of the MTE measure and the test suite, including whether the automatic measure is consistent with human evaluation, whether different results from various measures or test suites are consistent, whether the content of the test suite is suitable for performance evaluation, the degree of difficulty of the test suite and its influence on the MTE, the relationship of MTE result significance and the size of the test suite, etc. For a better clarification of the frame, several experiment results are analyzed relating human evaluation, BLEU evaluation, and typological MTE. A visualization method is introduced for better presentation of the results. The study aims for aid in construction of test suite and method selection in MTE practice.

Keywords: Machine translation, natural language processing, visualization.

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545 Researching on the Grey Incidence among the Macroscopic Agents in the Logistics Industry System

Authors: Yanfeng Chu, Ruizhen Zhang

Abstract:

Quantitative researching on the degree of incidence between the logistics industry and relevant macroscopic system elements is the basis of reasonable and scientific policy on industrial development. In the light of the macro-level, the logistics industry system is consisted of multiple macroscopic agents such as macro-economic, infrastructure, social environment, market demanding, the traditional industry, industry life cycle, policy , system and so on. This paper studies the grey incidence among the macroscopic agents in the logistics industry system. It is demonstrated that the releasing of the logistics services from the logistics outsourcing enterprises determines the growth of the logistics size. Although the information and communication technology is able to promote the formation of the modern logistics industry to some extent, the development of the modern logistics industry depends more on the development of national economy and the investment in the capital assets of the logistics industry.

Keywords: Logistics industry, industrial system, industry incidence.

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544 Comparison between Optimized Passive Vehicle Suspension System and Semi Active Fuzzy Logic Controlled Suspension System Regarding Ride and Handling

Authors: Mehrdad N. Khajavi, Vahid Abdollahi

Abstract:

The purpose of suspension system in automobiles is to improve the ride comfort and road handling. In this research the ride and handling performance of a specific automobile with passive suspension system is compared to a proposed fuzzy logic semi active suspension system designed for that automobile. The bodysuspension- wheel system is modeled as a two degree of freedom quarter car model. MATLAB/SIMULINK [1] was used for simulation and controller design. The fuzzy logic controller is based on two inputs namely suspension velocity and body velocity. The output of the fuzzy controller is the damping coefficient of the variable damper. The result shows improvement over passive suspension method.

Keywords: Suspension System, Ride Comfort, Fuzzy Logic Controller, Passive and Semi Active System.

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543 Hydrodynamic Characterisation of a Hydraulic Flume with Sheared Flow

Authors: Daniel Rowe, Christopher R. Vogel, Richard H. J. Willden

Abstract:

This study documents the hydrodynamic characteristics of a recirculating water flume in preparation for experimental testing of horizontal axis tidal stream turbine models. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the flow at high temporal resolution at various locations throughout the flume, enabling the spatial uniformity and turbulence flow parameters to be investigated. The mean velocity profiles exhibited high levels of spatial uniformity at the design speed of the flume, 0.6 ms−1, with variations in the three-dimensional velocity components on the order of ±1% at the 95% confidence level, along with a modest streamwise acceleration through the measurement domain, a target 5m working section of the flume. A high degree of uniformity was also apparent for the turbulence intensity, with values ranging between 1-2% across the intended swept area of the turbine rotor. The integral scales of turbulence exhibited a far higher degree of variation throughout the water column, particularly in the streamwise and vertical scales. This behaviour is believed to be due to the high signal noise content leading to decorrelation in the sampling records. To achieve more realistic levels of vertical velocity shear in the flume, a simple procedure to practically generate target vertical shear profiles in open-channel flows is described. Here, we arranged a series of non-uniformly spaced parallel bars placed across the width of the flume and normal to the onset flow. By adjusting the resistance grading across the height of the working section, the downstream profiles could be modified accordingly, characterised by changes in the velocity profile power-law exponent, 1/n. Considering the significant temporal variation in a tidal channel, the choice of the exponent denominator, n = 6 and n = 9, effectively provides an achievable range around the much-cited value of n = 7 observed at many tidal sites. The resulting flow profiles, which we intend to use in future turbine tests, have been characterised in detail. The results indicate non-uniform vertical shear across the survey area and reveal substantial corner flows, arising from the differential shear between the target vertical and cross-stream shear profiles throughout the measurement domain. In vertically sheared flow, the rotor-equivalent turbulence intensity ranges between 3.0-3.8% throughout the measurement domain for both bar arrangements, while the streamwise integral length scale grows from a characteristic dimension on the order of the bar width, similar to the flow downstream of a turbulence-generating grid. The experimental tests are well-defined and repeatable and serve as a reference for other researchers who wish to undertake similar investigations.

Keywords: Acoustic Doppler velocimetry, experimental hydrodynamics, open-channel flow, shear profiles, tidal stream turbines.

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542 Development and Assessment of the Competence Creativity Applied to Technical Drawing

Authors: Maria J. Garcia-Garcia, Concepcion Gonzalez-Garcia, Gabriel A. Dorado, Luis J. Fernandez

Abstract:

The results obtained after incorporating the competence “creativity" to the subject Technical Drawing of the first course of the Degree in Forestry, Technical University of Madrid, are presented in this study.At first, learning activities which could serve two functions at the same time -developing students- creativity and developing other specific competences of the subject- were considered. Besides, changes in the assessment procedure were made and a method which analyzes two aspects of the assessment of the competence creativity was established. On the one hand, the products are evaluated by analyzing the outcomes obtained by students in the essays suggested and by establishing a parameter to assess the creativity expressed in those essays. On the other, an assessment of the student is directly carried out through a psychometric test which has been previously chosen by the team.Moreover, these results can be applied to similar or could be of general application.

Keywords: assessment competence, assessment creativity, creativity, generic competences

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541 Interbank Networks and the Benefits of Using Multilayer Structures

Authors: Danielle Sandler dos Passos, Helder Coelho, Flávia Mori Sarti

Abstract:

Complexity science seeks the understanding of systems adopting diverse theories from various areas. Network analysis has been gaining space and credibility, namely with the biological, social and economic systems. Significant part of the literature focuses only monolayer representations of connections among agents considering one level of their relationships, and excludes other levels of interactions, leading to simplistic results in network analysis. Therefore, this work aims to demonstrate the advantages of the use of multilayer networks for the representation and analysis of networks. For this, we analyzed an interbank network, composed of 42 banks, comparing the centrality measures of the agents (degree and PageRank) resulting from each method (monolayer x multilayer). This proved to be the most reliable and efficient the multilayer analysis for the study of the current networks and highlighted JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank as the most important banks of the analyzed network.

Keywords: Complexity, interbank networks, multilayer networks, network analysis.

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540 The Application of an Ensemble of Boosted Elman Networks to Time Series Prediction: A Benchmark Study

Authors: Chee Peng Lim, Wei Yee Goh

Abstract:

In this paper, the application of multiple Elman neural networks to time series data regression problems is studied. An ensemble of Elman networks is formed by boosting to enhance the performance of the individual networks. A modified version of the AdaBoost algorithm is employed to integrate the predictions from multiple networks. Two benchmark time series data sets, i.e., the Sunspot and Box-Jenkins gas furnace problems, are used to assess the effectiveness of the proposed system. The simulation results reveal that an ensemble of boosted Elman networks can achieve a higher degree of generalization as well as performance than that of the individual networks. The results are compared with those from other learning systems, and implications of the performance are discussed.

Keywords: AdaBoost, Elman network, neural network ensemble, time series regression.

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539 Investigation of Interference Conditions in BFWA System Applying Adaptive TDD

Authors: Gábor Szládek, Balázs Héder, János Bitó

Abstract:

In a BFWA (Broadband Fixed Wireless Access Network) the evolved SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) is relevant influenced by the applied duplex method. The TDD (Time Division Duplex), especially adaptive TDD method has some advantage contrary to FDD (Frequency Division Duplex), for example the spectrum efficiency and flexibility. However these methods are suffering several new interference situations that can-t occur in a FDD system. This leads to reduced SINR in the covered area what could cause some connection outages. Therefore, countermeasure techniques against interference are necessary to apply in TDD systems. Synchronization is one way to handling the interference. In this paper the TDD systems – applying different system synchronization degree - will be compared by the evolved SINR at different locations of the BFWA service area and the percentage of the covered area by the system.

Keywords: Adaptive TDD, BFWA networks, duplex methods, intra system interferences.

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538 Design and Analysis of a Novel 8-DOF Hybrid Manipulator

Authors: H. Mohammadipanah, H. Zohoor

Abstract:

This paper presents kinematic and dynamic analysis of a novel 8-DOF hybrid robot manipulator. The hybrid robot manipulator under consideration consists of a parallel robot which is followed by a serial mechanism. The parallel mechanism has three translational DOF, and the serial mechanism has five DOF so that the overall degree of freedom is eight. The introduced manipulator has a wide workspace and a high capability to reduce the actuating energy. The inverse and forward kinematic solutions are described in closed form. The theoretical results are verified by a numerical example. Inverse dynamic analysis of the robot is presented by utilizing the Iterative Newton-Euler and Lagrange dynamic formulation methods. Finally, for performing a multi-step arc welding process, results have indicated that the introduced manipulator is highly capable of reducing the actuating energy.

Keywords: hybrid robot, closed form, inverse dynamic, actuating energy, arc welding

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537 Plants and Microorganisms for Phytoremediation of Soils Polluted with Organochlorine Pesticides

Authors: Maritsa Kurashvili, George Adamia, Tamar Ananiashvili, Lia Amiranasvili, Tamar Varazi, Marina Pruidze, Marlen Gordeziani, Gia Khatisashvili

Abstract:

The goal of presented work is the development phytoremediation method targeted to cleaning environment polluted with organochlorine pesticides, based on joint application of plants and microorganisms. For this aim the selection of plants and microorganisms with corresponding capabilities towards three organochlorine pesticides (Lindane, DDT and PCP) has been carried out.

The tolerance of plants to tested pesticides and induction degree of plant detoxification enzymes by these compounds have been used as main criteria for estimating the applicability of plants in proposed technology. Obtained results show that alfalfa, maize and soybean among tested six plant species have highest tolerance to pesticides.

As a result of screening, more than 30 strains from genera Pseudomonas have been selected. As a result of GC analysis of incubation area, 11 active cultures for investigated pesticides are carefully chosen.

Keywords: DDT, Lindane, organochlorine pesticides, PCP, phytoremediation.

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536 Coupling Compensation of 6-DOF Parallel Robot Based on Screw Theory

Authors: Ming Cong, Yinghua Wu, Dong Liu, Haiying Wen, Junfa Yu

Abstract:

In order to improve control performance and eliminate steady, a coupling compensation for 6-DOF parallel robot is presented. Taking dynamic load Tank Simulator as the research object, this paper analyzes the coupling of 6-DOC parallel robot considering the degree of freedom of the 6-DOF parallel manipulator. The coupling angle and coupling velocity are derived based on inverse kinematics model. It uses the mechanism-model combined method which takes practical moving track that considering the performance of motion controller and motor as its input to make the study. Experimental results show that the coupling compensation improves motion stability as well as accuracy. Besides, it decreases the dither amplitude of dynamic load Tank Simulator.

Keywords: coupling compensation, screw theory, parallel robot, mechanism-model combined motion

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535 Packing Theory for Natural and Crushed Aggregate to Obtain the Best Mix of Aggregate: Research and Development

Authors: Mohammed H. Mohammed, Mats Emborg, Roland Pusch, Sven Knutsson

Abstract:

Concrete performance is strongly affected by the particle packing degree since it determines the distribution of the cementitious component and the interaction of mineral particles. By using packing theory designers will be able to select optimal aggregate materials for preparing concrete with low cement content, which is beneficial from the point of cost. Optimum particle packing implies minimizing porosity and thereby reducing the amount of cement paste needed to fill the voids between the aggregate particles, taking also the rheology of the concrete into consideration. For reaching good fluidity superplasticizers are required. The results from pilot tests at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) show various forms of the proposed theoretical models, and the empirical approach taken in the study seems to provide a safer basis for developing new, improved packing models.

Keywords: Aggregate mix, Computer program, Concrete mix design, Models of packing.

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534 On a Way for Constructing Numerical Methods on the Joint of Multistep and Hybrid Methods

Authors: G.Mehdiyeva, M.Imanova, V.Ibrahimov

Abstract:

Taking into account that many problems of natural sciences and engineering are reduced to solving initial-value problem for ordinary differential equations, beginning from Newton, the scientists investigate approximate solution of ordinary differential equations. There are papers of different authors devoted to the solution of initial value problem for ODE. The Euler-s known method that was developed under the guidance of the famous scientists Adams, Runge and Kutta is the most popular one among these methods. Recently the scientists began to construct the methods preserving some properties of Adams and Runge-Kutta methods and called them hybrid methods. The constructions of such methods are investigated from the middle of the XX century. Here we investigate one generalization of multistep and hybrid methods and on their base we construct specific methods of accuracy order p = 5 and p = 6 for k = 1 ( k is the order of the difference method).

Keywords: Multistep and hybrid methods, initial value problem, degree and stability of hybrid methods

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533 EEG Signal Processing Methods to Differentiate Mental States

Authors: Sun H. Hwang, Young E. Lee, Yunhan Ga, Gilwon Yoon

Abstract:

EEG is a very complex signal with noises and other bio-potential interferences. EOG is the most distinct interfering signal when EEG signals are measured and analyzed. It is very important how to process raw EEG signals in order to obtain useful information. In this study, the EEG signal processing techniques such as EOG filtering and outlier removal were examined to minimize unwanted EOG signals and other noises. The two different mental states of resting and focusing were examined through EEG analysis. A focused state was induced by letting subjects to watch a red dot on the white screen. EEG data for 32 healthy subjects were measured. EEG data after 60-Hz notch filtering were processed by a commercially available EOG filtering and our presented algorithm based on the removal of outliers. The ratio of beta wave to theta wave was used as a parameter for determining the degree of focusing. The results show that our algorithm was more appropriate than the existing EOG filtering.

Keywords: EEG, focus, mental state, outlier, signal processing.

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532 Effect of Time Delay on the Transmission of Dengue Fever

Authors: K. Patanarapelert, I.M. Tang

Abstract:

The effect of a time delay on the transmission on dengue fever is studied. The time delay is due to the presence of an incubation period for the dengue virus to develop in the mosquito before the mosquito becomes infectious. The conditions for the existence of a Hopf bifurcation to limit cycle behavior are established. The conditions are different from the usual one and they are based on whether a particular third degree polynomial has positive real roots. A theorem for determining whether for a given set of parameter values, a critical delay time exist is given. It is found that for a set of realistic values of the parameters in the model, a Hopf bifurcation can not occur. For a set of unrealistic values of some of the parameters, it is shown that a Hopf bifurcation can occur. Numerical solutions using this last set show the trajectory of two of the variables making a transition from a spiraling orbit to a limit cycle orbit.

Keywords: Dengue fever transmission, time delay, Hopfbifurcation, limit cycle behavior

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531 Hybrid Recommender Systems using Social Network Analysis

Authors: Kyoung-Jae Kim, Hyunchul Ahn

Abstract:

This study proposes novel hybrid social network analysis and collaborative filtering approach to enhance the performance of recommender systems. The proposed model selects subgroups of users in Internet community through social network analysis (SNA), and then performs clustering analysis using the information about subgroups. Finally, it makes recommendations using cluster-indexing CF based on the clustering results. This study tries to use the cores in subgroups as an initial seed for a conventional clustering algorithm. This model chooses five cores which have the highest value of degree centrality from SNA, and then performs clustering analysis by using the cores as initial centroids (cluster centers). Then, the model amplifies the impact of friends in social network in the process of cluster-indexing CF.

Keywords: Social network analysis, Recommender systems, Collaborative filtering, Customer relationship management

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530 Batch-Oriented Setting Time Optimisation in an Aerodynamic Feeding System

Authors: Jan Busch, Maurice Schmidt, Peter Nyhuis

Abstract:

The change of conditions for production companies in high-wage countries is characterized by the globalization of competition and the transition of a supplier´s to a buyer´s market. The companies need to face the challenges of reacting flexibly to these changes. Due to the significant and increasing degree of automation, assembly has become the most expensive production process. Regarding the reduction of production cost, assembly consequently offers a considerable rationalizing potential. Therefore, an aerodynamic feeding system has been developed at the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA), Leibniz Universitaet Hannover. This system has been enabled to adjust itself by using a genetic algorithm. The longer this genetic algorithm is executed the better is the feeding quality. In this paper, the relation between the system´s setting time and the feeding quality is observed and a function which enables the user to achieve the minimum of the total feeding time is presented.

Keywords: Aerodynamic feeding system, batch size, optimisation, setting time.

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529 Zno Nanocomposites: Control of Enviromental Effects for Preservation of old Manuscripts

Authors: Maryam Afsharpour, Saleh Imani, Shahrzad Abdolmohammadi

Abstract:

We investigate the ZnO role in the inherent protection of old manuscripts to protect them against environmental damaging effect of ultraviolet radiation, pollutant gasses, mold and bacteria. In this study a cellulosic nanocomposite of ZnO were used as protective coating on the surface of paper fibers. This layered nanocomposite can act as a consolidate materials too. Furthermore, to determine how well paper works screen objects from the damaging effects, two accelerated aging mechanisms due to light and heat are discussed. Results show good stability of papers with nanocomposite coating. Also, a good light stability was shown in the colored paper that treated with this nanocomposite. Furthermore, to demonstrate the degree of antifungal and antibacterial properties of coated papers, papers was treated with four common molds and bacteria and the good preventive effects of coated paper against molds and bacteria are described.

Keywords: Enviromental effects, Manuscript, Nanocomposite, Zinc oxide.

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528 Alternative Approach in Ground Vehicle Wake Analysis

Authors: L. Sterken, S. Sebben, L. Löfdahl

Abstract:

In this paper an alternative visualisation approach of the wake behind different vehicle body shapes with simplified and fully-detailed underbody has been proposed and analysed. This allows for a more clear distinction among the different wake regions. This visualisation is based on a transformation of the cartesian coordinates of a chosen wake plane to polar coordinates, using as filter velocities lower than the freestream. This transformation produces a polar wake plot that enables the division and quantification of the wake in a number of sections. In this paper, local drag has been used to visualise the drag contribution of the flow by the different sections. Visually, a balanced wake can be observed by the concentric behaviour of the polar plots. Alternatively, integration of the local drag of each degree section as a ratio of the total local drag yields a quantifiable approach of the wake uniformity, where different sections contribute equally to the local drag, with the exception of the wheels.

Keywords: Coordinate transformation, ground vehicle, local drag, wake.

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527 Numerical and Experimental Study of Flow from a Leaking Buried Pipe in an Unsaturated Porous Media

Authors: S.M.Hosseinalipour, H.Aghakhani

Abstract:

Considering the numerous applications of the study of the flow due to leakage in a buried pipe in unsaturated porous media, finding a proper model to explain the influence of the effective factors is of great importance.There are various important factors involved in this type of flow such as: pipe leakage size and location, burial depth, the degree of the saturation of the surrounding porous medium, characteristics of the porous medium, fluid type and pressure of the upstream.In this study, the flow through unsaturated porous media due to leakage of a buried pipe for up and down leakage location is studied experimentally and numerically and their results are compared. Study results show that Darcy equation together with BCM method (for calculating the relative permeability) have suitable ability for predicting the flow due to leakage of buried pipes in unsaturated porous media.

Keywords: Buried, Leaking pipe, Porous media, Unsaturated

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526 Comparison between Different Classifications of Periodontal Diseases and Their Advantages

Authors: Ilma Robo, Saimir Heta, Merilda Tarja, Sonila Kapaj, Eduart Kapaj, Geriona Lasku

Abstract:

The classification of periodontal diseases has changed significantly in favor of simplifying the protocol of diagnosis and periodontal treatment. This review study aims to highlight the latest publications in the new periodontal disease classification, talking about the most significant differences versus the old classification with the tendency to express the advantages or disadvantages of clinical application. The aim of the study also includes the growing tendency to link the way of classification of periodontal diseases with predetermined protocols of periodontal treatment of the diagnoses included in the classification. The new classification of periodontal diseases is rather comprehensive in its subdivisions, as the disease is viewed in its entirety, with the biological dimensions of the disease, the degree of aggravation and progression of the disease, in relation to risk factors, predisposition to patient susceptibility and impact of periodontal disease to the general health status of the patient.

Keywords: Periodontal diseases, clinical application, periodontal treatment, oral diagnosis.

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525 Importance of Macromineral Ratios and Products in Association with Vitamin D in Pediatric Obesity Including Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Metabolisms of macrominerals, those of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, are closely associated with the metabolism of vitamin D. Particularly magnesium, the second most abundant intracellular cation, is related to biochemical and metabolic processes in the body, such as those of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. The status of each mineral was investigated in obesity to some extent. Their products and ratios may possibly give much more detailed information about the matter. The aim of this study is to investigate possible relations between each macromineral and some obesity-related parameters. This study was performed on 235 children, whose ages were between 06-18 years. Aside from anthropometric measurements, hematological analyses were performed. TANITA body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology was used to establish some obesity-related parameters including basal metabolic rate (BMR), total fat, mineral and muscle masses. World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) percentiles for age and sex were used to constitute the groups. The values above 99th percentile were defined as morbid obesity. Those between 95th and 99th percentiles were included into the obese group. The overweight group comprised of children whose percentiles were between 95 and 85. Children between the 85th and 15th percentiles were defined as normal. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) components (waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, triacylglycerol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure) were determined. High performance liquid chromatography was used to determine Vitamin D status by measuring 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol (25-hydroxy vitamin D3, 25(OH)D). Vitamin D values above 30.0 ng/ml were accepted as sufficient. SPSS statistical package program was used for the evaluation of data. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p < 0.05. The important points were the correlations found between vitamin D and magnesium as well as phosphorus (p < 0.05) that existed in the group with normal BMI values. These correlations were lost in the other groups. The ratio of phosphorus to magnesium was even much more highly correlated with vitamin D (p < 0.001). The negative correlation between magnesium and total fat mass (p < 0.01) was confined to the MetS group showing the inverse relationship between magnesium levels and obesity degree. In this group, calcium*magnesium product exhibited the highest correlation with total fat mass (p < 0.001) among all groups. Only in the MetS group was a negative correlation found between BMR and calcium*magnesium product (p < 0.05). In conclusion, magnesium is located at the center of attraction concerning its relationships with vitamin D, fat mass and MetS. The ratios and products derived from macrominerals including magnesium have pointed out stronger associations other than each element alone. Final considerations have shown that unique correlations of magnesium as well as calcium*magnesium product with total fat mass have drawn attention particularly in the MetS group, possibly due to the derangements in some basic elements of carbohydrate as well as lipid metabolism.

Keywords: Macrominerals, metabolic syndrome, pediatric obesity, vitamin D.

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524 Electrical Resistivity of Subsurface: Field and Laboratory Assessment

Authors: Zulfadhli Hasan Adli, Mohd Hafiz Musa, M. N. Khairul Arifin

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to study the electrical resistivity complexity between field and laboratory measurement, in order to improve the effectiveness of data interpretation for geophysical ground resistivity survey. The geological outcrop in Penang, Malaysia with an obvious layering contact was chosen as the study site. Two dimensional geoelectrical resistivity imaging were used in this study to maps the resistivity distribution of subsurface, whereas few subsurface sample were obtained for laboratory advance. In this study, resistivity of samples in original conditions is measured in laboratory by using time domain low-voltage technique, particularly for granite core sample and soil resistivity measuring set for soil sample. The experimentation results from both schemes are studied, analyzed, calibrated and verified, including basis and correlation, degree of tolerance and characteristics of substance. Consequently, the significant different between both schemes is explained comprehensively within this paper.

Keywords: Electrical Resistivity, Granite, Soil.

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523 A Descriptive Study of Self-Compassion in Polytechnic Students in Indonesia

Authors: Emma Dwi Ariyani, Dini Hadiani

Abstract:

This article reports the descriptive analysis of self-compassion in polytechnic students. It has been long believed that self-compassion can improve students’ motivation in completing their studies. This research was conducted with the aim to see the degree of self-compassion in polytechnic students in Indonesia by using Neff's Self-Compassion Scale (short form) measurement tool consisting of 12 items. The research method used was descriptive study with survey technique on 255 students. The results showed that 78% of students had low self-compassion and 22% had high self-compassion. This revealed that polytechnic students still criticize themselves harshly, make a poor judgment and bad self-appraisal, and they also cannot accept their imperfection and consider it as a self-judgment. The students also tend to think that they are the only ones that experience failure and suffering. This can lead to a sense of isolation (self-isolation). Furthermore, the students are often too concerned with aspects that are not liked both in themselves and in life (over-identification). Improving the students’ level of self-compassion can be done by building an educational climate that not only criticizes the students but provides feedback as well. This should focus on the students’ real behavior rather than the students’ general character.

Keywords: Descriptive study, polytechnic students, Indonesia, self-compassion.

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522 Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Controller for a 3-DOF Stabilized Platform with Adaptive Decoupling Scheme

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

Abstract:

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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