Search results for: Medium Access Control
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5173

Search results for: Medium Access Control

493 Determination of Some Agricultural Characters of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes

Authors: Ercan Ceyhan, Ali Kahraman, Hasan Dalgıç

Abstract:

This research was made during the 2011 and 2012 growing periods in the trial filed of "Research Station for Management of Soil Water and Desertification" according to “Randomized Blocks Design” with 3 replications. Research material was the following chickpea genotype; CA119, CA128, CA149, CA150, CA222, CA250, CA254 and other 2 commercial varieties named as Gökçe and Yaşa. Some agronomical characteristics such as plant height (cm), number of pod per plant, number of seed per pod, number of seed per plant, 1000 seed weight (g) and seed yield (kg ha-1) were determined. Statistically significant variations were found amongst the genotypes for all variables except seeds per pod. Means of the two years showed the range for plant height was from 52.83cm (Gökçe) to 73.00cm (CA150), number of pod per plant was from 14.00 (CA149) to 26.83 (CA261), number of seed per pod was from 1.10 (Gökçe) to 1.19 (CA149 and CA250), number of seed per plant was from 16.28 (CA149) to 31.65 (CA261), 1000 seed weight was from 295.85g (CA149) to 437.80g (CA261) and seed yield was from 1342.73 kg ha-1 (CA261) to 2161.50 kg ha-1 (CA128). Results of the research implicated that the new developed lines were superior compared with the control (commercial) varieties by means of most of the characteristics.

Keywords: Agricultural characters, chickpea, seed yield.

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492 Benchmarking Cleaner Production Performance of Coal-fired Power Plants Using Two-stage Super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis

Authors: Shao-lun Zeng, Yu-long Ren

Abstract:

Benchmarking cleaner production performance is an effective way of pollution control and emission reduction in coal-fired power industry. A benchmarking method using two-stage super-efficiency data envelopment analysis for coal-fired power plants is proposed – firstly, to improve the cleaner production performance of DEA-inefficient or weakly DEA-efficient plants, then to select the benchmark from performance-improved power plants. An empirical study is carried out with the survey data of 24 coal-fired power plants. The result shows that in the first stage the performance of 16 plants is DEA-efficient and that of 8 plants is relatively inefficient. The target values for improving DEA-inefficient plants are acquired by projection analysis. The efficient performance of 24 power plants and the benchmarking plant is achieved in the second stage. The two-stage benchmarking method is practical to select the optimal benchmark in the cleaner production of coal-fired power industry and will continuously improve plants- cleaner production performance.

Keywords: benchmarking, cleaner production performance, coal-fired power plant, super-efficiency data envelopment analysis

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491 A New Intelligent, Dynamic and Real Time Management System of Sewerage

Authors: R. Tlili Yaakoubi, H. Nakouri, O. Blanpain, S. Lallahem

Abstract:

The current tools for real time management of sewer systems are based on two software tools: the software of weather forecast and the software of hydraulic simulation. The use of the first ones is an important cause of imprecision and uncertainty, the use of the second requires temporal important steps of decision because of their need in times of calculation. This way of proceeding fact that the obtained results are generally different from those waited. The major idea of this project is to change the basic paradigm by approaching the problem by the "automatic" face rather than by that "hydrology". The objective is to make possible the realization of a large number of simulations at very short times (a few seconds) allowing to take place weather forecasts by using directly the real time meditative pluviometric data. The aim is to reach a system where the decision-making is realized from reliable data and where the correction of the error is permanent. A first model of control laws was realized and tested with different return-period rainfalls. The gains obtained in rejecting volume vary from 19 to 100 %. The development of a new algorithm was then used to optimize calculation time and thus to overcome the subsequent combinatorial problem in our first approach. Finally, this new algorithm was tested with 16- year-rainfall series. The obtained gains are 40 % of total volume rejected to the natural environment and of 65 % in the number of discharges.

Keywords: Automation, optimization, paradigm, RTC.

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490 Promoting University Community's Creative Citizenry

Authors: Kamaruzaman Jusoff, Siti Akmar Abu Samah, Posiah Mohd Isa

Abstract:

Being creative in an educational environment, such as in the university, has many times been downplayed by bureaucracy, human inadequacy and physical hindrance. These factors control, stifle and subsequently condemn this natural phenomenon which is normally exuded by the tertiary community. If taken in a positive light, creativity has always led to many new discoveries and inventions. These creations are then gradually developed for the university reputation and achievements, in all fields of studies from the sciences to the humanities. This paper attempts to explore, through more than twenty years of observation, issues that stifle the university citizenry – academicians and students- – creativity. It also scrutinizes how enhancement of such creativity can be further supported by bureaucracy simplicity, encouraging and developing human potential and constructing uncompromising physical infrastructure and administrative support. These ideals – all of which can help to promote creativity, increases the productivity of the university community in aspects of teaching, research, publication, innovation and commercialization; be it at national as well as at international arena for the good of human and societal growth and development. This discursive presentation hopes to address another issue on promoting university community creativity through several deliverables which require cooperation from every quarter of the institution so that being creative continues to be promoted for sustainable human capital growth and development of the country, if not, the global community.

Keywords: Bureaucracy, creative, productivity, sustainable human capital.

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489 A Comparative Analysis of Modulation Control Strategies for Cascade H-Bridge 11-Level Inverter

Authors: Joshi Manohar. V., Sujatha. P., Anjaneyulu K. S. R

Abstract:

The range of the output power is a very important and evident limitation of two-level inverters. In order to overcome this disadvantage, multilevel inverters are introduced. Recently, Cascade H-Bridge inverters have emerged as one of the popular converter topologies used in numerous industrial applications. The modulation switching strategies such as phase shifted carrier based Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technique and Stair case modulation with Selective Harmonic Elimination (SHE) PWM technique are generally used. NR method is used to solve highly non linear transcendental equations which are formed by SHEPWM method. Generally NR method has a drawback of requiring good initial guess but in this paper a new approach is implemented for NR method with any random initial guess. A three phase CHB 11-level inverter is chosen for analysis. MATLAB/SIMULINK programming environment and harmonic profiles are compared. Finally this paper presents a method at fundamental switching frequency with least % THDV.

Keywords: Cascade H-bridge 11- level Inverter, NR method, Phase shifted carrier based pulse width modulation (PSCPWM), Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation (SHEPWM), Total Harmonic Distortion (%THDv).

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488 Clinical Utility of Salivary Cytokines for Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Authors: Masaki Yamaguchi, Daimei Sasayama, Shinsuke Washizuka

Abstract:

The goal of this study was to examine the possibility of salivary cytokines for the screening of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. We carried out a case-control study, including 19 children with ADHD and 17 healthy children (controls). A multiplex bead array immunoassay was used to conduct a multi-analysis of 27 different salivary cytokines. Six salivary cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, IL12p70, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) were significantly associated with the presence of ADHD (p < 0.05). An informative salivary cytokine panel was developed using VEGF by logistic regression analysis (odds ratio: 0.251). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that assessment of a panel using VEGF showed “good” capability for discriminating between ADHD patients and controls (area under the curve: 0.778). ADHD has been hypothesized to be associated with reduced cerebral blood flow in the frontal cortex, due to reduced VEGF levels. Our study highlights the possibility of utilizing differential salivary cytokine levels for point-of-care testing (POCT) of biomarkers in children with ADHD.

Keywords: Cytokine, saliva, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, child, biomarker.

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487 Electric Field Impact on the Biomass Gasification and Combustion Dynamics

Authors: M. Zake, I. Barmina, A. Kolmickovs, R. Valdmanis

Abstract:

Experimental investigations of the DC electric field effect on thermal decomposition of biomass, formation of the axial flow of volatiles (CO, H2, CxHy), mixing of volatiles with swirling airflow at low swirl intensity (S ≈ 0.2-0.35), their ignition and on formation of combustion dynamics are carried out with the aim to understand the mechanism of electric field influence on biomass gasification, combustion of volatiles and heat energy production. The DC electric field effect on combustion dynamics was studied by varying the positive bias voltage of the central electrode from 0.6 kV to 3 kV, whereas the ion current was limited to 2 mA. The results of experimental investigations confirm the field-enhanced biomass gasification with enhanced release of volatiles and the development of endothermic processes at the primary stage of thermochemical conversion of biomass determining the field-enhanced heat energy consumption with the correlating decrease of the flame temperature and heat energy production at this stage of flame formation. Further, the field-enhanced radial expansion of the flame reaction zone correlates with a more complete combustion of volatiles increasing the combustion efficiency by 3% and decreasing the mass fraction of CO, H2 and CxHy in the products, whereas by 10% increases the average volume fraction of CO2 and the heat energy production downstream the combustor increases by 5-10% 

Keywords: Biomass, combustion, electrodynamic control, gasification.

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486 Robot Navigation and Localization Based on the Rat’s Brain Signals

Authors: Endri Rama, Genci Capi, Shigenori Kawahara

Abstract:

The mobile robot ability to navigate autonomously in its environment is very important. Even though the advances in technology, robot self-localization and goal directed navigation in complex environments are still challenging tasks. In this article, we propose a novel method for robot navigation based on rat’s brain signals (Local Field Potentials). It has been well known that rats accurately and rapidly navigate in a complex space by localizing themselves in reference to the surrounding environmental cues. As the first step to incorporate the rat’s navigation strategy into the robot control, we analyzed the rats’ strategies while it navigates in a multiple Y-maze, and recorded Local Field Potentials (LFPs) simultaneously from three brain regions. Next, we processed the LFPs, and the extracted features were used as an input in the artificial neural network to predict the rat’s next location, especially in the decision-making moment, in Y-junctions. We developed an algorithm by which the robot learned to imitate the rat’s decision-making by mapping the rat’s brain signals into its own actions. Finally, the robot learned to integrate the internal states as well as external sensors in order to localize and navigate in the complex environment.

Keywords: Brain machine interface, decision-making, local field potentials, mobile robot, navigation, neural network, rat, signal processing.

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485 The Effect of Substitution of CaO/MgO and CaO/SrO on in vitro Bioactivity of Sol-Gel Derived Bioactive Glass

Authors: Zeinab Hajifathali, Moghan Amirhosseinian

Abstract:

This study had two main aims: firstly, to determine how the individual substitution of CaO/MgO and CaO/SrO can affect the in vitro bioactivity of sol-gel derived substituted 58S bioactive glass (BG) and secondly to introduce a composition in the 60SiO2–(36-x)CaO–4P2O5–(x)MgO and 60SiO2–(36-x)CaO–4P2O5–(x)SrO quaternary systems (where x= 0, 5, 10 mol.%) with enhanced biocompatibility, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and more efficient antibacterial activity against MRSA bacteria. Results showed that both magnesium-substituted bioactive glasses (M-BGs) and strontium- substituted bioactive glasses (S-BGs) retarded the Hydroxyapatite (HA) formation. Meanwhile, magnesium had more pronounced effect. The 3-(4, 5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and ALP assays revealed that the presence of moderate amount (5 mol%) of Mg and Sr had a stimulating effect on increasing of both proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Live dead and Dapi/actin staining revealed both substitution of CaO/MgO and CaO/SrO resulted in more biocompatibility and stimulation potential of the MC3T3 cells compared with control. Taken together, among all of the synthesized magnesium substituted (MBGs) and strontium substituted (SBGs), the sample 58- BG with 5 mol% CaO/MgO substitution (BG-5M) was considered as a multifunctional biomaterial in bone tissue regeneration field with enhanced biocompatibility, ALP activity as well as the highest antibacterial efficiency against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.

Keywords: Apatite, alkaline earth, bioactivity, biomedical applications, sol-gel.

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484 Design of Controllers to Control Frequency for Distributed Generation

Authors: R. Satish, G. Raja Rao

Abstract:

In this paper a hybrid distributed generation (DG) system connected to isolated load is studied. The DG system consisting of photo voltaic (PV) system, fuel cells, aqua electrolyzer, diesel engine generator and a battery energy storage system. The ambient temperature value of PV is taken as constant to make the output power of PV is directly proportional to the radiation and output power of other DG sources and frequency of the system is controlled by simple integral (I), proportional plus integral (PI), and proportional plus integral and derivative(PID) controllers. A maiden attempt is made to apply a more recent and powerful optimization technique named as bacterial foraging technique for optimization of controllers gains of the proposed hybrid DG system. The system responses with bacterial foraging based controllers are compared with that of classical method. Investigations reveal that bacterial foraging based controllers gives better responses than the classical method and also PID controller is best. Sensitivity analysis is carried out which demonstrates the robustness of the optimized gain values for system loading condition.

Keywords: Aqua electrolyzer, bacterial foraging, battery energy storage system, diesel engine generator, distributed generation, fuel cells, photo voltaic system.

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483 Optimization Based Tuning of Autopilot Gains for a Fixed Wing UAV

Authors: Mansoor Ahsan, Khalid Rafique, Farrukh Mazhar

Abstract:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained tremendous importance, in both Military and Civil, during first decade of this century. In a UAV, onboard computer (autopilot) autonomously controls the flight and navigation of the aircraft. Based on the aircraft role and flight envelope, basic to complex and sophisticated controllers are used to stabilize the aircraft flight parameters. These controllers constitute the autopilot system for UAVs. The autopilot systems, most commonly, provide lateral and longitudinal control through Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers or Phase-lead or Lag Compensators. Various techniques are commonly used to ‘tune’ gains of these controllers. Some techniques used are, in-flight step-by-step tuning, software-in-loop or hardware-in-loop tuning methods. Subsequently, numerous in-flight tests are required to actually ‘fine-tune’ these gains. However, an optimization-based tuning of these PID controllers or compensators, as presented in this paper, can greatly minimize the requirement of in-flight ‘tuning’ and substantially reduce the risks and cost involved in flight-testing.

Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), autopilot, autonomous controls, PID controler gains tuning, optimization.

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482 Incorporating Semantic Similarity Measure in Genetic Algorithm : An Approach for Searching the Gene Ontology Terms

Authors: Razib M. Othman, Safaai Deris, Rosli M. Illias, Hany T. Alashwal, Rohayanti Hassan, FarhanMohamed

Abstract:

The most important property of the Gene Ontology is the terms. These control vocabularies are defined to provide consistent descriptions of gene products that are shareable and computationally accessible by humans, software agent, or other machine-readable meta-data. Each term is associated with information such as definition, synonyms, database references, amino acid sequences, and relationships to other terms. This information has made the Gene Ontology broadly applied in microarray and proteomic analysis. However, the process of searching the terms is still carried out using traditional approach which is based on keyword matching. The weaknesses of this approach are: ignoring semantic relationships between terms, and highly depending on a specialist to find similar terms. Therefore, this study combines semantic similarity measure and genetic algorithm to perform a better retrieval process for searching semantically similar terms. The semantic similarity measure is used to compute similitude strength between two terms. Then, the genetic algorithm is employed to perform batch retrievals and to handle the situation of the large search space of the Gene Ontology graph. The computational results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: Gene Ontology, Semantic similarity measure, Genetic algorithm, Ontology search

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481 Analytic Network Process in Location Selection and Its Application to a Real Life Problem

Authors: Eylem Koç, Hasan Arda Burhan

Abstract:

Location selection presents a crucial decision problem in today’s business world where strategic decision making processes have critical importance. Thus, location selection has strategic importance for companies in boosting their strength regarding competition, increasing corporate performances and efficiency in addition to lowering production and transportation costs. A right choice in location selection has a direct impact on companies’ commercial success. In this study, a store location selection problem of Carglass Turkey which operates in vehicle glass branch is handled. As this problem includes both tangible and intangible criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was accepted as the main methodology. The model consists of control hierarchy and BOCR subnetworks which include clusters of actors, alternatives and criteria. In accordance with the management’s choices, five different locations were selected. In addition to the literature review, a strict cooperation with the actor group was ensured and maintained while determining the criteria and during whole process. Obtained results were presented to the management as a report and its feasibility was confirmed accordingly.

Keywords: Analytic Network Process, BOCR, location selection, multi-actor decision making, multi-criteria decision making, real life problem.

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480 Optimization and Feasibility Analysis of PV/Wind/ Battery Hybrid Energy Conversion

Authors: Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. Ahmed, Hassen T. Dorrah

Abstract:

In this paper, the optimum design for renewable energy system powered an aquaculture pond was determined. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software program, which is developed by U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is used for analyzing the feasibility of the stand alone and hybrid system in this study. HOMER program determines whether renewable energy resources satisfy hourly electric demand or not. The program calculates energy balance for every 8760 hours in a year to simulate operation of the system. This optimization compares the demand for the electrical energy for each hour of the year with the energy supplied by the system for that hour and calculates the relevant energy flow for each component in the model. The essential principle is to minimize the total system cost while HOMER ensures control of the system. Moreover the feasibility analysis of the energy system is also studied. Wind speed, solar irradiance, interest rate and capacity shortage are the parameters which are taken into consideration. The simulation results indicate that the hybrid system is the best choice in this study, yielding lower net present cost. Thus, it provides higher system performance than PV or wind stand alone systems.

Keywords: Wind stand-alone system, Photovoltaic stand-alone system, Hybrid system, Optimum system sizing, feasibility, Cost analysis.

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479 Application of Seismic Isolators in Kutahya City Hospital Project Utilizing Double Friction Pendulum Type Devices

Authors: Kaan Yamanturk, Cihan Dogruoz

Abstract:

Seismic isolators have been utilized around the world to protect the structures, nonstructural components and contents from the damaging effects of earthquakes. In Structural Engineering, seismic isolation is used for protecting buildings and its vibration-sensitive contents from earthquakes. Seismic isolation is a passive control system that lowers effective earthquake forces by utilizing flexible bearings. One of the most significant isolation systems is seismic isolators. In this paper, double pendulum type Teflon coated seismic isolators utilized in a city hospital project by Guris Construction and Engineering Co. Inc, located in Kutahya, Turkey, have been investigated. Totally, 498 seismic isolators were applied in the project. These isolators are double friction pendulum type seismic isolation devices. The review of current practices is also examined in this study. The focus of this study is related to the application of passive seismic isolation systems for buildings as practiced in Kutahya City Hospital Project. Based on the study, the acceleration at the top floor will be 0.18 g and it will decrease 0.01 g in every floor. Therefore, seismic isolators are very important for buildings located in earthquake zones.

Keywords: Maximum considered earthquake, moment resisting frame, seismic isolator, seismic design.

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478 Extending BDI Multiagent Systems with Agent Norms

Authors: Francisco José Plácido da Cunha, Tassio Ferenzini Martins Sirqueira, Marx Leles Viana, Carlos José Pereira de Lucena

Abstract:

Open Multiagent Systems (MASs) are societies in which heterogeneous and independently designed entities (agents) work towards similar, or different ends. Software agents are autonomous and the diversity of interests among different members living in the same society is a fact. In order to deal with this autonomy, these open systems use mechanisms of social control (norms) to ensure a desirable social order. This paper considers the following types of norms: (i) obligation — agents must accomplish a specific outcome; (ii) permission — agents may act in a particular way, and (iii) prohibition — agents must not act in a specific way. All of these characteristics mean to encourage the fulfillment of norms through rewards and to discourage norm violation by pointing out the punishments. Once the software agent decides that its priority is the satisfaction of its own desires and goals, each agent must evaluate the effects associated to the fulfillment of one or more norms before choosing which one should be fulfilled. The same applies when agents decide to violate a norm. This paper also introduces a framework for the development of MASs that provide support mechanisms to the agent’s decision-making, using norm-based reasoning. The applicability and validation of this approach is demonstrated applying a traffic intersection scenario.

Keywords: BDI aAgent, BDI4JADE framework, multiagent system, normative agents.

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477 Necessity of Risk Management of Various Industry-Associated Pollutants(Case Study of Gavkhoni Wetland Ecosystem)

Authors: Hekmatpanah, M.

Abstract:

Since the beginning of human history, human activities have caused many changes in the environment. Today, a particular attention should be paid to gaining knowledge about water quality of wetlands which are pristine natural environments rich in genetic reserves. If qualitative conditions of industrial areas (in terms of both physicochemical and biological conditions) are not addressed properly, they could cause disruption in natural ecosystems, especially in rivers. With regards to the quality of water resources, determination of pollutant sources plays a pivotal role in engineering projects as well as designing water quality control systems. Thus, using different methods such as flow duration curves, dischargepollution load model and frequency analysis by HYFA software package, risk of various industrial pollutants in international and ecologically important Gavkhoni wetland is analyzed. In this study, a station located at Varzaneh City is used as the last station on Zayanderud River, from where the river water is discharged into the wetland. Results showed that elements- concentrations often exceeded the allowed level and river water can endanger regional ecosystem. In addition, if the river discharge is managed on Q25 basis, this basis can lower concentrations of elements, keeping them within the normal level.

Keywords: Pollutants Risk, Industry, Flow Discharge, Management, Gavkhoni Wetland

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476 Effect of Chemical Pretreatments and Dehydration Methods on Quality Characteristics of Tomato Powder and Its Storage Stability

Authors: Reihaneh Ahmadzadeh Ghavidel, Mehdi Ghiafeh Davoodi

Abstract:

Dehydration process was carried out for tomato slices of var. Avinash after giving different pre-treatments such as calcium chloride (CaCl2), potassium metabisulphite (KMS), calcium chloride and potassium metabisulphite (CaCl2 +KMS), and sodium chloride (NaCl). Untreated samples served as control. Solar drier and continuous conveyor (tunnel) drier were used for dehydration. Quality characteristics of tomato slices viz. moisture content, sugar, titratable acidity, lycopene content, dehydration ratio, rehydration ratio and non-enzymatic browning as affected by dehydration process were studied. Storage study was also carried out for a period of six months for tomato powder packed into different types of packaging materials viz. metalized polyester (MP) film and low density poly ethylene (LDPE). Changes in lycopene content and non-enzymatic browning (NEB) were estimated during storage at room temperature. Pretreatment of 5 mm thickness of tomato slices with calcium chloride in combination with potassium metabisulphite and drying using a tunnel drier with subsequent storage of product in metalized polyester bags was selected as the best process.

Keywords: Drying pretreatments, Solar drying, Tomato powder, Tunnel drying

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475 Design and Optimization for a Compliant Gripper with Force Regulation Mechanism

Authors: Nhat Linh Ho, Thanh-Phong Dao, Shyh-Chour Huang, Hieu Giang Le

Abstract:

This paper presents a design and optimization for a compliant gripper. The gripper is constructed based on the concept of compliant mechanism with flexure hinge. A passive force regulation mechanism is presented to control the grasping force a micro-sized object instead of using a sensor force. The force regulation mechanism is designed using the planar springs. The gripper is expected to obtain a large range of displacement to handle various sized objects. First of all, the statics and dynamics of the gripper are investigated by using the finite element analysis in ANSYS software. And then, the design parameters of the gripper are optimized via Taguchi method. An orthogonal array L9 is used to establish an experimental matrix. Subsequently, the signal to noise ratio is analyzed to find the optimal solution. Finally, the response surface methodology is employed to model the relationship between the design parameters and the output displacement of the gripper. The design of experiment method is then used to analyze the sensitivity so as to determine the effect of each parameter on the displacement. The results showed that the compliant gripper can move with a large displacement of 213.51 mm and the force regulation mechanism is expected to be used for high precision positioning systems.

Keywords: Flexure hinge, compliant mechanism, compliant gripper, force regulation mechanism, Taguchi method, response surface methodology, design of experiment.

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474 Use of Time-Depend Effects for Mixing and Separation of the Two-Phase Flows

Authors: N. B. Fedosenko, A.A Iatcenko, S.A. Levanov

Abstract:

The paper shows some ability to manage two-phase flows arising from the use of unsteady effects. In one case, we consider the condition of fragmentation of the interface between the two components leads to the intensification of mixing. The problem is solved when the temporal and linear scale are small for the appearance of the developed mixing layer. Showing that exist such conditions for unsteady flow velocity at the surface of the channel, which will lead to the creation and fragmentation of vortices at Re numbers of order unity. Also showing that the Re is not a criterion of similarity for this type of flows, but we can introduce a criterion that depends on both the Re, and the frequency splitting of the vortices. It turned out that feature of this situation is that streamlines behave stable, and if we analyze the behavior of the interface between the components it satisfies all the properties of unstable flows. The other problem we consider the behavior of solid impurities in the extensive system of channels. Simulated unsteady periodic flow modeled breaths. Consider the behavior of the particles along the trajectories. It is shown that, depending on the mass and diameter of the particles, they can be collected in a caustic on the channel walls, stop in a certain place or fly back. Of interest is the distribution of particle velocity in frequency. It turned out that by choosing a behavior of the velocity field of the carrier gas can affect the trajectory of individual particles including force them to fly back.

Keywords: Two-phase, mixing, separating, flow control

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473 Implementation of a Motion Detection System

Authors: Asif Ansari, T.C.Manjunath, C. Ardil

Abstract:

In today-s competitive environment, the security concerns have grown tremendously. In the modern world, possession is known to be 9/10-ths of the law. Hence, it is imperative for one to be able to safeguard one-s property from worldly harms such as thefts, destruction of property, people with malicious intent etc. Due to the advent of technology in the modern world, the methodologies used by thieves and robbers for stealing have been improving exponentially. Therefore, it is necessary for the surveillance techniques to also improve with the changing world. With the improvement in mass media and various forms of communication, it is now possible to monitor and control the environment to the advantage of the owners of the property. The latest technologies used in the fight against thefts and destruction are the video surveillance and monitoring. By using the technologies, it is possible to monitor and capture every inch and second of the area in interest. However, so far the technologies used are passive in nature, i.e., the monitoring systems only help in detecting the crime but do not actively participate in stopping or curbing the crime while it takes place. Therefore, we have developed a methodology to detect the motion in a video stream environment and this is an idea to ensure that the monitoring systems not only actively participate in stopping the crime, but do so while the crime is taking place. Hence, a system is used to detect any motion in a live streaming video and once motion has been detected in the live stream, the software will activate a warning system and capture the live streaming video.

Keywords: Motion, Detection, System, Video, Crime, Matlab, Surveillance.

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472 Development of Total Maximum Daily Load Using Water Quality Modelling as an Approach for Watershed Management in Malaysia

Authors: S. A. Che Osmi, W. M. F. Wan Ishak, H. Kim, M. A. Azman, M. A. Ramli

Abstract:

River is one of important water sources for many activities including industrial and domestic usage such as daily usage, transportation, power supply and recreational activities. However, increasing activities in a river has grown the sources of pollutant enters the water bodies, and degraded the water quality of the river. It becomes a challenge to develop an effective river management to ensure the water sources of the river are well managed and regulated. In Malaysia, several approaches for river management have been implemented such as Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) program for coordinating the management of resources in a natural environment based on river basin to ensure their sustainability lead by Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID), Malaysia. Nowadays, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is one of the best approaches for river management in Malaysia. TMDL implementation is regulated and implemented in the United States. A study on the development of TMDL in Malacca River has been carried out by doing water quality monitoring, the development of water quality model by using Environmental Fluid Dynamic Codes (EFDC), and TMDL implementation plan. The implementation of TMDL will help the stakeholders and regulators to control and improve the water quality of the river. It is one of the good approaches for river management in Malaysia.

Keywords: EFDC, river management, TMDL, water quality modelling.

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471 Simple Agents Benefit Only from Simple Brains

Authors: Valeri A. Makarov, Nazareth P. Castellanos, Manuel G. Velarde

Abstract:

In order to answer the general question: “What does a simple agent with a limited life-time require for constructing a useful representation of the environment?" we propose a robot platform including the simplest probabilistic sensory and motor layers. Then we use the platform as a test-bed for evaluation of the navigational capabilities of the robot with different “brains". We claim that a protocognitive behavior is not a consequence of highly sophisticated sensory–motor organs but instead emerges through an increment of the internal complexity and reutilization of the minimal sensory information. We show that the most fundamental robot element, the short-time memory, is essential in obstacle avoidance. However, in the simplest conditions of no obstacles the straightforward memoryless robot is usually superior. We also demonstrate how a low level action planning, involving essentially nonlinear dynamics, provides a considerable gain to the robot performance dynamically changing the robot strategy. Still, however, for very short life time the brainless robot is superior. Accordingly we suggest that small organisms (or agents) with short life-time does not require complex brains and even can benefit from simple brain-like (reflex) structures. To some extend this may mean that controlling blocks of modern robots are too complicated comparative to their life-time and mechanical abilities.

Keywords: Neural network, probabilistic control, robot navigation.

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470 Implementation of an Improved Secure System Detection for E-passport by using EPC RFID Tags

Authors: A. Baith Mohamed, Ayman Abdel-Hamid, Kareem Youssri Mohamed

Abstract:

Current proposals for E-passport or ID-Card is similar to a regular passport with the addition of tiny contactless integrated circuit (computer chip) inserted in the back cover, which will act as a secure storage device of the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport. In addition, it will include a digital photograph that will enable biometric comparison, through the use of facial recognition technology at international borders. Moreover, the e-passport will have a new interface, incorporating additional antifraud and security features. However, its problems are reliability, security and privacy. Privacy is a serious issue since there is no encryption between the readers and the E-passport. However, security issues such as authentication, data protection and control techniques cannot be embedded in one process. In this paper, design and prototype implementation of an improved E-passport reader is presented. The passport holder is authenticated online by using GSM network. The GSM network is the main interface between identification center and the e-passport reader. The communication data is protected between server and e-passport reader by using AES to encrypt data for protection will transferring through GSM network. Performance measurements indicate a 19% improvement in encryption cycles versus previously reported results.

Keywords: RFID "Radio Frequency Identification", EPC"Electronic Product Code", ICAO "International Civil Aviation Organization", IFF "Identify Friend or Foe"

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469 Cytotoxic Effect of Crude Extract of Sea Pen Virgularia gustaviana on HeLa and MDA-MB-231 Cancer Cell Lines

Authors: Sharareh Sharifi, Pargol Ghavam Mostafavi, Ali Mashinchian Moradi, Mohammad Hadi Givianrad, Hassan Niknejad

Abstract:

Marine organisms such as soft coral, sponge, ascidians, and tunicate containing rich source of natural compound have been studied in last decades because of their special chemical compounds with anticancer properties. The aim of this study was to investigate anti-cancer property of ethyl acetate extracted from marine sea pen Virgularia gustaviana found from Persian Gulf coastal (Bandar Abbas). The extraction processes were carried out with ethyl acetate for five days. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used for qualitative identification of crude extract. The viability of HeLa and MDA-Mb-231 cancer cells was investigated using MTT assay at the concentration of 25, 50, and a 100 µl/ml of ethyl acetate is extracted. The crude extract of Virgularia gustaviana demonstrated ten fractions with different Retention factor (Rf) by TLC and Retention time (Rt) evaluated by HPLC. The crude extract dose-dependently decreased cancer cell viability compared to control group. According to the results, the ethyl acetate extracted from Virgularia gustaviana inhibits the growth of cancer cells, an effect which needs to be further investigated in the future studies.

Keywords: Virgularia gustaviana, Cembrane Diterpene, anti-cancer, HeLa cancer Cell, MDA-Md-231 Cancer cell.

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468 Conversion in Chemical Reactors using Hollow Cylindrical Catalyst Pellet

Authors: Mohammad Asif

Abstract:

Heterogeneous catalysis is vital for a number of chemical, refinery and pollution control processes. The use of catalyst pellets of hollow cylindrical shape provide several distinct advantages over other common shapes, and can therefore help to enhance conversion levels in reactors. A better utilization of the catalytic material is probably most notable of these features due to the absence of the pellet core, which helps to significantly lower the effect of the internal transport resistance. This is reflected in the enhancement of the effectiveness factor. For the case of the first order irreversible kinetics, a substantial increase in the effectiveness factor can be obtained by varying shape parameters. Important shape parameters of a finite hollow cylinder are the ratio of the inside to the outside radii (κ) and the height to the diameter ratio (γ). A high value of κ the generally helps to enhance the effectiveness factor. On the other hand, lower values of the effectiveness factors are obtained when the dimension of the height and the diameter are comparable. Thus, the departure of parameter γ from the unity favors higher effectiveness factor. Since a higher effectiveness factor is a measure of a greater utilization of the catalytic material, higher conversion levels can be achieved using the hollow cylindrical pellets possessing optimized shape parameters.

Keywords: Finite hollow cylinder, Catalyst pellet, Effectiveness factor, Thiele Modulus, Conversion

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467 Analysis of Precipitation Time Series of Urban Centers of Northeastern Brazil using Wavelet Transform

Authors: Celso A. G. Santos, Paula K. M. M. Freire

Abstract:

The urban centers within northeastern Brazil are mainly influenced by the intense rainfalls, which can occur after long periods of drought, when flood events can be observed during such events. Thus, this paper aims to study the rainfall frequencies in such region through the wavelet transform. An application of wavelet analysis is done with long time series of the total monthly rainfall amount at the capital cities of northeastern Brazil. The main frequency components in the time series are studied by the global wavelet spectrum and the modulation in separated periodicity bands were done in order to extract additional information, e.g., the 8 and 16 months band was examined by an average of all scales, giving a measure of the average annual variance versus time, where the periods with low or high variance could be identified. The important increases were identified in the average variance for some periods, e.g. 1947 to 1952 at Teresina city, which can be considered as high wet periods. Although, the precipitation in those sites showed similar global wavelet spectra, the wavelet spectra revealed particular features. This study can be considered an important tool for time series analysis, which can help the studies concerning flood control, mainly when they are applied together with rainfall-runoff simulations.

Keywords: rainfall data, urban center, wavelet transform.

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466 On the Fixed Rainfall Intensity: Effects on Overland Flow Resistance, Shear Velocity and on Soil Erosion

Authors: L. Mouzai, M. Bouhadef

Abstract:

Raindrops and overland flow both are erosive parameters but they do not act by the same way. The overland flow alone tends to shear the soil horizontally and concentrates into rills. In the presence of rain, the soil particles are removed from the soil surface in the form of a uniform sheet layer. In addition to this, raindrops falling on the flow roughen the water and soil surface depending on the flow depth, and retard the velocity, therefore influence shear velocity and Manning’s factor. To investigate this part, agricultural sandy soil, rainfall simulator and a laboratory soil tray of 0.2x1x3 m were the base of this work. Five overland flow depths of 0; 3.28; 4.28; 5.16; 5.60; 5.80 mm were generated under a rainfall intensity of 217.2 mm/h. Sediment concentration control is based on the proportionality of depth/microtopography. The soil loose is directly related to the presence of rain splash on thin sheet flow. The effect of shear velocity on sediment concentration is limited by the value of 5.28 cm/s. In addition to this, the rain splash reduces the soil roughness by breaking the soil crests. The rainfall intensity is the major factor influencing depth and soil erosion. In the presence of rainfall, the shear velocity of the flow is due to two simultaneous effects. The first, which is horizontal, comes from the flow and the second, vertical, is due to the raindrops.

Keywords: Flow resistance, laboratory experiments, rainfall simulator, sediment concentration, shear velocity, soil erosion.

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465 Efficiency Enhancement of PWM Controlled Water Electrolysis Cells

Authors: S.K. Mazloomi, Nasri b. Sulaiman

Abstract:

By analyzing the sources of energy and power loss in PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controlled drivers of water electrolysis cells, it is possible to reduce the power dissipation and enhance the efficiency of such hydrogen production units. A PWM controlled power driver is based on a semiconductor switching element where its power dissipation might be a remarkable fraction of the total power demand of an electrolysis system. Power dissipation in a semiconductor switching element is related to many different parameters which could be fitted into two main categories: switching losses and conduction losses. Conduction losses are directly related to the built, structure and capabilities of a switching device itself and indeed the conditions in which the element is handling the switching application such as voltage, current, temperature and of course the fabrication technology. On the other hand, switching losses have some other influencing variables other than the mentioned such as control system, switching method and power electronics circuitry of the PWM power driver. By analyzings the characteristics of recently developed power switching transistors from different families of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT), Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET) and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), some recommendations are made in this paper which are able to lead to achieve higher hydrogen production efficiency by utilizing PWM controlled water electrolysis cells.

Keywords: Power switch, PWM, Semiconductor switch, Waterelectrolysis

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464 Antimicrobial and Aroma Finishing of Organic Cotton Knits Using Vetiver Oil Microcapsules for Health Care Textiles

Authors: K. J. Sannapapamma, H. Malligawad Lokanath, Sakeena Naikwadi

Abstract:

Eco-friendly textiles are gaining importance among the consumers and textile manufacturers in the healthcare sector due to increased environmental pollution which leads to several health and environmental hazards. Hence, the research was designed to cultivate and develop the organic cotton knit, to prepare and characterize the Vetiver oil microcapsules for textile finishing and to access the wash durability of finished knits. The cotton SAHANA variety grown under organic production systems was processed and spun into 30 single yarn dyed with four natural colorants (Arecanut slurry, Eucalyptus leaves, Pomegranate rind and Indigo) and eco dyed yarn was further used for development of single jersy knitted fabric. Vetiveria zizanioides is an aromatic grass which is being traditionally used in medicine and perfumery. Vetiver essential oil was used for preparation of microcapsules by interfacial polymerization technique subjected to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for characterization of microcapsules. The knitted fabric was finished with vetiver oil microcapsules by exhaust and pad dry cure methods. The finished organic knit was assessed for laundering on antimicrobial efficiency and aroma intensity. GCMS spectral analysis showed that, diethyl phthalate (28%) was the major compound found in vetiver oil followed by isoaromadendrene epoxide (7.72%), beta-vetivenene (6.92%), solavetivone (5.58%), aromadenderene, azulene and khusimol. Bioassay explained that, the vetiver oil and diluted vetiver oil possessed greater zone of inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli than the coconut oil. FTRI spectra of vetiver oil and microcapsules possessed similar peaks viz., C-H, C=C & C꞊O stretching and additionally oil microcapsules possessed the peak of 3331.24 cm-1 at 91.14 transmittance was attributed to N-H stretches. TGA of oil microcapsules revealed that, there was a minimum weight loss (5.835%) recorded at 467.09°C compared to vetiver oil i.e., -3.026% at the temperature of 396.24°C. The shape of the microcapsules was regular and round, some were spherical in shape and few were rounded by small aggregates. Irrespective of methods of application, organic cotton knits finished with microcapsules by pad dry cure method showed maximum zone of inhibition compared to knits finished by exhaust method against S. aureus and E. coli. The antimicrobial activity of the finished samples was subjected to multiple washing which indicated that knits finished with pad dry cure method showed a zone of inhibition even after 20th wash and better aroma retention compared to knits finished with the exhaust method of application. Further, the group of respondents rated that the 5th washed samples had the greater aroma intensity in both the methods than the other samples. Thus, the vetiver microencapsulated organic cotton knits are free from hazardous chemicals and have multi-functional properties that can be suitable for medical and healthcare textiles.

Keywords: Exhaust and pad dry cure finishing, interfacial polymerization, organic cotton knits, vetiver oil microcapsules.

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