Search results for: insulin resistance indices
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1048

Search results for: insulin resistance indices

538 Development and Validation of the Response to Stressful Situations Scale in the General Population

Authors: C. Barreto Carvalho, C. da Motta, M. Sousa, J. Cabral, A. L. Carvalho, E. B. Peixoto

Abstract:

The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a Response to Stressful Situations Scale (RSSS) for the Portuguese population. This scale assesses the degree of stress experienced in scenarios that can constitute positive, negative and more neutral stressors, and also describes the physiological, emotional and behavioral reactions to those events according to their intensity. These scenarios include typical stressor scenarios relevant to patients with schizophrenia, which are currently absent from most scales, assessing specific risks that these stressors may bring on subjects, which may prove useful in non-clinical and clinical populations (i.e. Patients with mood or anxiety disorders, schizophrenia). Results from Principal Components Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of two adult samples from general population allowed to confirm a three-factor model with good fit indices: χ2 (144)= 370.211, p = 0.000; GFI = 0.928; CFI = 0.927; TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.055, P(rmsea ≤0.005) = .096; PCFI = .781. Further data analysis of the scale revealed that RSSS is an adequate assessment tool of stress response in adults to be used in further research and clinical settings, with good psychometric characteristics, adequate divergent and convergent validity, good temporal stability and high internal consistency.

Keywords: Assessment, stress events, stress response, stress vulnerability.

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537 Structural Analysis of Warehouse Rack Construction for Heavy Loads

Authors: C. Kozkurt, A. Fenercioglu, M. Soyaslan

Abstract:

In this study rack systems that are structural storage units of warehouses have been analyzed as structural with Finite Element Method (FEA). Each cell of discussed rack system storages pallets which have from 800 kg to 1000 kg weights and 0.80x1.15x1.50 m dimensions. Under this load, total deformations and equivalent stresses of structural elements and principal stresses, tensile stresses and shear stresses of connection elements have been analyzed. The results of analyses have been evaluated according to resistance limits of structural and connection elements. Obtained results have been presented as visual and magnitude.

Keywords: warehouse, structural analysis, AS/RS, FEM, FEA

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536 Physical Parameters for Reliability Evaluation

Authors: Tazibt W., Mialhe P.

Abstract:

This paper presents ageing experiments controlled by the evolution of junction parameters. The deterioration of the device is related to high injection effects which modified the transport mechanisms in the space charge region of the junction. Physical phenomena linked to the degradation of junction parameters that affect the devices reliability are reported and discussed. We have used the method based on numerical analysis of experimental current-voltage characteristic of the junction, in order to extract the electrical parameters. The simultaneous follow-up of the evolutions of the series resistance and of the transition voltage allow us to introduce a new parameter for reliability evaluation.

Keywords: High injection, junction, parameters, reliability

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535 Using Fly Ash as a Reinforcement to Increase Wear Resistance of Pure Magnesium

Authors: E. Karakulak, R. Yamanoğlu, M. Zeren

Abstract:

In the current study, fly ash obtained from a thermal power plant was used as reinforcement in pure magnesium. The composite materials with different fly ash contents were produced with powder metallurgical methods. Powder mixtures were sintered at 540oC under 30 MPa pressure for 15 minutes in a vacuum assisted hot press. Results showed that increasing ash content continuously increases hardness of the composite. On the other hand, minimum wear damage was obtained at 2 wt. % ash content. Addition of higher level of fly ash results with formation of cracks in the matrix and increases wear damage of the material.

Keywords: Mg composite, fly ash, wear, powder metallurgy.

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534 Exergetic and Sustainability Evaluation of a Building Heating System in Izmir, Turkey

Authors: Nurdan Yildirim, Arif Hepbasli

Abstract:

Heating, cooling and lighting appliances in buildings account for more than one third of the world’s primary energy demand. Therefore, main components of the building heating systems play an essential role in terms of energy consumption. In this context, efficient energy and exergy utilization in HVAC-R systems has been very essential, especially in developing energy policies towards increasing efficiencies. The main objective of the present study is to assess the performance of a family house with a volume of 326.7 m3 and a net floor area of 121 m2, located in the city of Izmir, Turkey in terms of energetic, exergetic and sustainability aspects. The indoor and exterior air temperatures are taken as 20°C and 1°C, respectively. In the analysis and assessment, various metrics (indices or indicators) such as exergetic efficiency, exergy flexibility ratio and sustainability index are utilized. Two heating options (Case 1: condensing boiler and Case 2: air heat pump) are considered for comparison purposes. The total heat loss rate of the family house is determined to be 3770.72 W. The overall energy efficiencies of the studied cases are calculated to be 49.4% for Case 1 and 54.7% for Case 2. The overall exergy efficiencies, the flexibility factor and the sustainability index of Cases 1 and 2 are computed to be around 3.3%, 0.17 and 1.034, respectively.

Keywords: Buildings, exergy, low exergy, sustainability, efficiency, heating, renewable energy.

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533 Effects of Test Environment on the Sliding Wear Behaviour of Cast Iron, Zinc-Aluminium Alloy and Its Composite

Authors: Mohammad M. Khan, Gajendra Dixit

Abstract:

Partially lubricated sliding wear behaviour of a zinc-based alloy reinforced with 10wt% SiC particles has been studied as a function of applied load and solid lubricant particle size and has been compared with that of matrix alloy and conventionally used grey cast iron. The wear tests were conducted at the sliding velocities of 2.1m/sec in various partial lubricated conditions using pin on disc machine as per ASTM G-99-05. Base oil (SAE 20W-40) or mixture of the base oil with 5wt% graphite of particle sizes (7-10 µm) and (100 µm) were used for creating lubricated conditions. The matrix alloy revealed primary dendrites of a and eutectoid a + h and Î phases in the Inter dendritic regions. Similar microstructure has been depicted by the composite with an additional presence of the dispersoid SiC particles. In the case of cast iron, flakes of graphite were observed in the matrix; the latter comprised of (majority of) pearlite and (limited quantity of) ferrite. Results show a large improvement in wear resistance of the zinc-based alloy after reinforcement with SiC particles. The cast iron shows intermediate response between the matrix alloy and composite. The solid lubrication improved the wear resistance and friction behaviour of both the reinforced and base alloy. Moreover, minimum wear rate is obtained in oil+ 5wt % graphite (7-10 µm) lubricated environment for the matrix alloy and composite while for cast iron addition of solid lubricant increases the wear rate and minimum wear rate is obtained in case of oil lubricated environment. The cast iron experienced higher frictional heating than the matrix alloy and composite in all the cases especially at higher load condition. As far as friction coefficient is concerned, a mixed trend of behaviour was noted. The wear rate and frictional heating increased with load while friction coefficient was affected in an opposite manner. Test duration influenced the frictional heating and friction coefficient of the samples in a mixed manner.

Keywords: Solid lubricant, sliding wear grey cast iron, zinc based metal matrix composites.

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532 Forecast of Polyethylene Properties in the Gas Phase Polymerization Aided by Neural Network

Authors: Nasrin Bakhshizadeh, Ashkan Forootan

Abstract:

A major problem that affects the quality control of polymer in the industrial polymerization is the lack of suitable on-line measurement tools to evaluate the properties of the polymer such as melt and density indices. Controlling the polymerization in ordinary method is performed manually by taking samples, measuring the quality of polymer in the lab and registry of results. This method is highly time consuming and leads to producing large number of incompatible products. An online application for estimating melt index and density proposed in this study is a neural network based on the input-output data of the polyethylene production plant. Temperature, the level of reactors' bed, the intensity of ethylene mass flow, hydrogen and butene-1, the molar concentration of ethylene, hydrogen and butene-1 are used for the process to establish the neural model. The neural network is taught based on the actual operational data and back-propagation and Levenberg-Marquart techniques. The simulated results indicate that the neural network process model established with three layers (one hidden layer) for forecasting the density and the four layers for the melt index is able to successfully predict those quality properties.

Keywords: Polyethylene, polymerization, density, melt index, neural network.

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531 Population Trend of Canola Aphid, Lipaphis Erysimi (Kalt.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) and its Associated Natural Enemies in Different Brassica Lines along with the Effect of Gamma Radiation on Their Population

Authors: Ahmad-Ur-Rahman Saljoqi, Rahib Zada, Imtiaz Ali Khan, Iqbal Munir, Sadur-Rehman, Hazrat Jabir Alam Khan

Abstract:

Studies regarding the determination of population trend of Lipaphis erysimi (kalt.) and its associated natural enemies in different Brassica lines along with the effect of gamma radiation on their population were conducted at Agricultural Research Farm, Malakandher, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University Peshawar during spring 2006. Three different Brassica lines F6B3, F6B6 and F6B7 were used, which were replicated four times in Randomized Complete Block Design. The data revealed that aphid infestation invariably stated in all three varieties during last week of February 2006 (1st observation). The peak population of 4.39 aphids leaf-1 was s recorded during 2nd week of March and lowest population of 1.02 aphids leaf-1 was recorded during 5th week of March. The species of lady bird beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) and Syrphid fly (Syrphus balteatus) first appeared on 24th February with a mean number of 0.40 lady bird beetle leaf-1 and 0.87 Syrphid fly leaf-1, respectively. At the time when aphid population started to increase the peak population of C. septempunctata (0.70 lady bird beetle leaf- 1) and S. balteatus (1.04 syrphid fly leaf-1) was recorded on the 2nd week of March. Chrysoperla carnea appeared in the 1st week of March and their peak population was recorded during the 3rd week of March with mean population of 1.46 C. carnea leaf-1. Among all the Brassica lines, F6B7 showed comparatively more resistance as compared to F6B3 F6B6. F6B3 showed least resistance against L. erysimi, which was found to be the most susceptible cultivar. F6B7 was also found superior in terms of natural enemies. Maximum number of all natural enemies was recorded on this variety followed by F6B6. Lowest number of natural enemies was recorded in F6B3. No significant effect was recorded for the effect of gamma radiation on the population of aphids, natural enemies and on the varieties.

Keywords: Canola aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, natural enemies, brassica lines, gamma radiation.

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530 Profitability Assessment of Granite Aggregate Production and the Development of a Profit Assessment Model

Authors: Melodi Mbuyi Mata, Blessing Olamide Taiwo, Afolabi Ayodele David

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to create empirical models for assessing the profitability of granite aggregate production in Akure, Ondo state aggregate quarries. In addition, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model and multivariate predicting models for granite profitability were developed in the study. A formal survey questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The data extracted from the case study mine for this study include granite marketing operations, royalty, production costs, and mine production information. The following methods were used to achieve the goal of this study: descriptive statistics, MATLAB 2017, and SPSS16.0 software in analyzing and modeling the data collected from granite traders in the study areas. The ANN and Multi Variant Regression models' prediction accuracy was compared using a coefficient of determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and mean square error (MSE). Due to the high prediction error, the model evaluation indices revealed that the ANN model was suitable for predicting generated profit in a typical quarry. More quarries in Nigeria's southwest region and other geopolitical zones should be considered to improve ANN prediction accuracy.

Keywords: National development, granite, profitability assessment, ANN models.

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529 A Hybrid Expert System for Generating Stock Trading Signals

Authors: Hosein Hamisheh Bahar, Mohammad Hossein Fazel Zarandi, Akbar Esfahanipour

Abstract:

In this paper, a hybrid expert system is developed by using fuzzy genetic network programming with reinforcement learning (GNP-RL). In this system, the frame-based structure of the system uses the trading rules extracted by GNP. These rules are extracted by using technical indices of the stock prices in the training time period. For developing this system, we applied fuzzy node transition and decision making in both processing and judgment nodes of GNP-RL. Consequently, using these method not only did increase the accuracy of node transition and decision making in GNP's nodes, but also extended the GNP's binary signals to ternary trading signals. In the other words, in our proposed Fuzzy GNP-RL model, a No Trade signal is added to conventional Buy or Sell signals. Finally, the obtained rules are used in a frame-based system implemented in Kappa-PC software. This developed trading system has been used to generate trading signals for ten companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The simulation results in the testing time period shows that the developed system has more favorable performance in comparison with the Buy and Hold strategy.

Keywords: Fuzzy genetic network programming, hybrid expert system, technical trading signal, Tehran stock exchange.

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528 The Use of Secondary Crystallization in Cement-Based Composites

Authors: Nikol Žižková, Šárka Keprdová, Rostislav Drochytka

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the study of the properties of cement-based composites produced using secondary crystallization (crystalline additive). In this study, cement mortar made with secondary crystallization was exposed to an aggressive environment and the influence of secondary crystallization on the degradation of the cementitious composite was investigated. The results indicate that the crystalline additive contributed to increasing the resistance of the cement-based composite to the attack of the selected environments (sodium sulphate solution and ammonium chloride solution).

Keywords: Secondary crystallization, cement-based composites, durability.

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527 Distributed Generator Placement for Loss Reduction and Improvement in Reliability

Authors: Priyanka Paliwal, N.P. Patidar

Abstract:

Distributed Power generation has gained a lot of attention in recent times due to constraints associated with conventional power generation and new advancements in DG technologies .The need to operate the power system economically and with optimum levels of reliability has further led to an increase in interest in Distributed Generation. However it is important to place Distributed Generator on an optimum location so that the purpose of loss minimization and voltage regulation is dully served on the feeder. This paper investigates the impact of DG units installation on electric losses, reliability and voltage profile of distribution networks. In this paper, our aim would be to find optimal distributed generation allocation for loss reduction subjected to constraint of voltage regulation in distribution network. The system is further analyzed for increased levels of Reliability. Distributed Generator offers the additional advantage of increase in reliability levels as suggested by the improvements in various reliability indices such as SAIDI, CAIDI and AENS. Comparative studies are performed and related results are addressed. An analytical technique is used in order to find the optimal location of Distributed Generator. The suggested technique is programmed under MATLAB software. The results clearly indicate that DG can reduce the electrical line loss while simultaneously improving the reliability of the system.

Keywords: AENS, CAIDI, Distributed Generation, lossreduction, Reliability, SAIDI

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526 Influence of Sodium Acetate on Electroless Ni-P Deposits and Effect of Heat Treatment on Corrosion Behavior

Authors: Y. El Kaissi, M. Allam, A. Koulou, M. Galai, M. Ebn Touhami

Abstract:

The aim of our work is to develop an industrial bath of nickel alloy deposit on mild steel. The optimization of the operating parameters made it possible to obtain a stable Ni-P alloy deposition formulation. To understand the reaction mechanism of the deposition process, a kinetic study was performed by cyclic voltammetry and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The coatings obtained have a very high corrosion resistance in a very aggressive acid medium which increases with the heat treatment.

Keywords: Ni–P coating, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, heat treatment, cyclic voltammetry, potentiodynamic polarization.

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525 Connected Objects with Optical Rectenna for Wireless Information Systems

Authors: Chayma Bahar, Chokri Baccouch, Hedi Sakli, Nizar Sakli

Abstract:

Harvesting and transport of optical and radiofrequency signals are a topical subject with multiple challenges. In this paper, we present a Optical RECTENNA system. We propose here a hybrid system solar cell antenna for 5G mobile communications networks. Thus, we propose rectifying circuit. A parametric study is done to follow the influence of load resistance and input power on Optical RECTENNA system performance. Thus, we propose a solar cell antenna structure in the frequency band of future 5G standard in 2.45 GHz bands.

Keywords: Antenna, Rectenna, solar cell, 5G, optical RECTENNA.

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524 Economical and Technical Analysis of Urban Transit System Selection Using TOPSIS Method According to Constructional and Operational Aspects

Authors: Ali Abdi Kordani, Meysam Rooyintan, Sid Mohammad Boroomandrad

Abstract:

Nowadays, one the most important problems in megacities is public transportation and satisfying citizens from this system in order to decrease the traffic congestions and air pollution. Accordingly, to improve the transit passengers and increase the travel safety, new transportation systems such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), tram, and monorail have expanded that each one has different merits and demerits. That is why comparing different systems for a systematic selection of public transportation systems in a big city like Tehran, which has numerous problems in terms of traffic and pollution, is essential. In this paper, it is tried to investigate the advantages and feasibility of using monorail, tram and BRT systems, which are widely used in most of megacities in all over the world. In Tehran, by using SPSS statistical analysis software and TOPSIS method, these three modes are compared to each other and their results will be assessed. Experts, who are experienced in the transportation field, answer the prepared matrix questionnaire to select each public transportation mode (tram, monorail, and BRT). The results according to experts’ judgments represent that monorail has the first priority, Tram has the second one, and BRT has the third one according to the considered indices like execution costs, wasting time, depreciation, pollution, operation costs, travel time, passenger satisfaction, benefit to cost ratio and traffic congestion.

Keywords: Bus Rapid Transit, Costs, Monorail, Pollution, Tram.

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523 Investigation of the Effect of Phosphorous on the Flame Retardant Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber

Authors: Mustafa Yılmaz, Ahmet Akar, Nesrin Köken, Nilgün Kızılcan

Abstract:

Commercially available poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinyl acetate) P(AN-VA) or poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate) P(AN-MA) are not satisfactory to meet the demand in flame and fire-resistance. In this work, vinylphosphonic acid is used during polymerization of acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, methacrylic acid to produce fire-retardant polymers. These phosphorus containing polymers are successfully spun in the form of nanofibers. Properties such as water absorption of polymers are also determined and compared with commercial polymers.

Keywords: Flame retardant, nanofiber, polyacrylonitrile, phosphorous compound, membrane.

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522 Georgia Case: Tourism Expenses of International Visitors on the Basis of Growing Attractiveness

Authors: Nino Abesadze, Marine Mindorashvili, Nino Paresashvili

Abstract:

At present actual tourism indicators cannot be calculated in Georgia, making it impossible to perform their quantitative analysis. Therefore, the study conducted by us is highly important from a theoretical as well as practical standpoint. The main purpose of the article is to make complex statistical analysis of tourist expenses of foreign visitors and to calculate statistical attractiveness indices of the tourism potential of Georgia. During the research, the method involving random and proportional selection has been applied. Computer software SPSS was used to compute statistical data for corresponding analysis. Corresponding methodology of tourism statistics was implemented according to international standards. Important information was collected and grouped from major Georgian airports, and a representative population of foreign visitors and a rule of selection of respondents were determined. The results show a trend of growth in tourist numbers and the share of tourists from post-soviet countries are constantly increasing. The level of satisfaction with tourist facilities and quality of service has improved, but still we have a problem of disparity between the service quality and the prices. The design of tourist expenses of foreign visitors is diverse; competitiveness of tourist products of Georgian tourist companies is higher. Attractiveness of popular cities of Georgia has increased by 43%.

Keywords: Tourist, expenses, indexes, statistics, analysis.

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521 Microstructure and Mechanical Characterization of Heat Treated Stir Cast Silica (Sea Sand) Reinforced 7XXX Al Alloy MMCs

Authors: S. S. Sharma, Jagannath K, P. R. Prabhu

Abstract:

Metal matrix composites consists of a metallic matrix combined with dispersed particulate phase as reinforcement. Aluminum alloys have been the primary material of choice for structural components of aircraft since about 1930. Well known performance characteristics, known fabrication costs, design experience, and established manufacturing methods and facilities, are just a few of the reasons for the continued confidence in 7XXX Al alloys that will ensure their use in significant quantities for the time to come. Particulate MMCs are of special interest owing to the low cost of their raw materials (primarily natural river sand here) and their ease of fabrication, making them suitable for applications requiring relatively high volume production. 7XXX Al alloys are precipitation hardenable and therefore amenable for thermomechanical treatment. Al–Zn alloys reinforced with particulate materials are used in aerospace industries in spite of the drawbacks of susceptibility to stress corrosion, poor wettability, poor weldability and poor fatigue resistance. The resistance offered by these particulates for the moving dislocations impart secondary hardening in turn contributes strain hardening. Cold deformation increases lattice defects, which in turn improves the properties of solution treated alloy. In view of this, six different Al–Zn–Mg alloy composites reinforced with silica (3 wt. % and 5 wt. %) are prepared by conventional semisolid synthesizing process. The cast alloys are solution treated and aged. The solution treated alloys are further severely cold rolled to enhance the properties. The hardness and strength values are analyzed and compared with silica free Al – Zn-Mg alloys. Precipitation hardening phenomena is accelerated due to the increased number of potential sites for precipitation. Higher peak hardness and lesser aging time are the characteristics of thermo mechanically treated samples. For obtaining maximum hardness, optimum number and volume of precipitate particles are required. The Al-5Zn-1Mg with 5% SiO2 alloy composite shows better result.

Keywords: Dislocation, hardness, matrix, thermomechanical, precipitation hardening, reinforcement.

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520 Influence of Deficient Materials on the Reliability of Reinforced Concrete Members

Authors: Sami W. Tabsh

Abstract:

The strength of reinforced concrete depends on the member dimensions and material properties. The properties of concrete and steel materials are not constant but random variables. The variability of concrete strength is due to batching errors, variations in mixing, cement quality uncertainties, differences in the degree of compaction and disparity in curing. Similarly, the variability of steel strength is attributed to the manufacturing process, rolling conditions, characteristics of base material, uncertainties in chemical composition, and the microstructure-property relationships. To account for such uncertainties, codes of practice for reinforced concrete design impose resistance factors to ensure structural reliability over the useful life of the structure. In this investigation, the effects of reductions in concrete and reinforcing steel strengths from the nominal values, beyond those accounted for in the structural design codes, on the structural reliability are assessed. The considered limit states are flexure, shear and axial compression based on the ACI 318-11 structural concrete building code. Structural safety is measured in terms of a reliability index. Probabilistic resistance and load models are compiled from the available literature. The study showed that there is a wide variation in the reliability index for reinforced concrete members designed for flexure, shear or axial compression, especially when the live-to-dead load ratio is low. Furthermore, variations in concrete strength have minor effect on the reliability of beams in flexure, moderate effect on the reliability of beams in shear, and sever effect on the reliability of columns in axial compression. On the other hand, changes in steel yield strength have great effect on the reliability of beams in flexure, moderate effect on the reliability of beams in shear, and mild effect on the reliability of columns in axial compression. Based on the outcome, it can be concluded that the reliability of beams is sensitive to changes in the yield strength of the steel reinforcement, whereas the reliability of columns is sensitive to variations in the concrete strength. Since the embedded target reliability in structural design codes results in lower structural safety in beams than in columns, large reductions in material strengths compromise the structural safety of beams much more than they affect columns.

Keywords: Code, flexure, limit states, random variables, reinforced concrete, reliability, reliability index, shear, structural safety.

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519 Ecosystems of Lake Sevan Basin-s Rivers in Armenia

Authors: Eugenie A. Kachvoryan, Astghik Z. Pepoyan, Maria V. Harutyunova, Anahit M. Manvelyan

Abstract:

Taking into account the importance of Lake Sevan and Lake Sevan basin-s rivers for Armenian economy, the main goals of our investigations were the documentation of water quality and the biodiversity of invertebrates developed in Lake Sevan basin-s rivers and selected tributaries. Moderately satisfied ecological condition for the biodiversity of Lake Sevan basin-s rivers has been established, and the changes in species- composition of zoobenthos in Lake Sevan were detected. A growing tendency of antibiotic resistance among E. coli isolates in water resources has been shown.

Keywords: Biodiversity, ecosystem, Lake Sevan, water-quality, zoobenthos.

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518 Tool Wear of Metal Matrix Composite 10wt% AlN Reinforcement Using TiB2 Cutting Tool

Authors: M. S. Said, J. A. Ghani, Che Hassan C. H., N. N. Wan, M. A. Selamat, R. Othman

Abstract:

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) attract considerable attention as a result from its ability in providing a high strength, high modulus, high toughness, high impact properties, improving wear resistance and providing good corrosion resistance compared to unreinforced alloy. Aluminium Silicon (Al/Si) alloy MMC has been widely used in various industrial sectors such as in transportation, domestic equipment, aerospace, military, construction, etc. Aluminium silicon alloy is an MMC that had been reinforced with aluminium nitrate (AlN) particle and become a new generation material use in automotive and aerospace sector. The AlN is one of the advance material that have a bright prospect in future since it has features such as lightweight, high strength, high hardness and stiffness quality. However, the high degree of ceramic particle reinforcement and the irregular nature of the particles along the matrix material that contribute to its low density is the main problem which leads to difficulties in machining process. This paper examined the tool wear when milling AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite using a TiB2 (Titanium diboride) coated carbide cutting tool. The volume of the AlN reinforced particle was 10% and milling process was carried out under dry cutting condition. The TiB2 coated carbide insert parameters used were at the cutting speed of (230, 300 and 370m/min, feed rate of 0.8, Depth of Cut (DoC) at 0.4m). The Sometech SV-35 video microscope system used to quantify of the tool wear. The result shown that tool life span increasing with the cutting speeds at (370m/min, feed rate of 0.8mm/tooth and DoC at 0.4mm) which constituted an optimum condition for longer tool life lasted until 123.2 mins. Meanwhile, at medium cutting speed which at 300m/m, feed rate of 0.8mm/tooth and depth of cut at 0.4mm we found that tool life span lasted until 119.86 mins while at low cutting speed it lasted in 119.66 mins. High cutting speed will give the best parameter in cutting AlSi/AlN MMCs material. The result will help manufacturers in machining process of AlSi/AlN MMCs materials.

Keywords: AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite milling process, tool wear, TiB2 coated cemented carbide tool.

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517 Uniform Overlapped Multi-Carrier PWM for a Six-Level Diode Clamped Inverter

Authors: S.Srinivas

Abstract:

Multi-level voltage source inverters offer several advantages such as; derivation of a refined output voltage with reduced total harmonic distortion (THD), reduction of voltage ratings of the power semiconductor switching devices and also the reduced electro-magnetic-interference problems etc. In this paper, new carrier-overlapped phase-disposition or sub-harmonic sinusoidal pulse width modulation (CO-PD-SPWM) and also the carrieroverlapped phase-disposition space vector modulation (CO-PDSVPWM) schemes for a six-level diode-clamped inverter topology are proposed. The principle of the proposed PWM schemes is similar to the conventional PD-PWM with a little deviation from it in the sense that the triangular carriers are all overlapped. The overlapping of the triangular carriers on one hand results in an increased number of switchings, on the other hand this facilitates an improved spectral performance of the output voltage. It is demonstrated through simulation studies that the six-level diode-clamped inverter with the use of CO-PD-SPWM and CO-PD-SVPWM proposed in this paper is capable of generating multiple levels in its output voltage. The advantages of the proposed PWM schemes can be derived to benefit, especially at lower modulation indices of the inverter and hence this aspect of the proposed PWM schemes can be well exploited in high power applications requiring low speeds of operation of the drive.

Keywords: Diode clamped inverter, Pulse width modulation, Six level inverter, carrier based PWM.

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516 The Application of Homotopy Method In Solving Electrical Circuit Design Problem

Authors: Talib Hashim Hasan

Abstract:

This paper describes simple implementation of homotopy (also called continuation) algorithm for determining the proper resistance of the resistor to dissipate energy at a specified rate of an electric circuit. Homotopy algorithm can be considered as a developing of the classical methods in numerical computing such as Newton-Raphson and fixed point methods. In homoptopy methods, an embedding parameter is used to control the convergence. The method purposed in this work utilizes a special homotopy called Newton homotopy. Numerical example solved in MATLAB is given to show the effectiveness of the purposed method

Keywords: electrical circuit homotopy, methods, MATLAB, Newton homotopy

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515 Resistive RAM Based on Hfox and its Temperature Instability Study

Authors: Z. Fang, H.Y. Yu, W.J. Liu, N. Singh, G.Q. Lo

Abstract:

High performance Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) based on HfOx has been prepared and its temperature instability has been investigated in this work. With increasing temperature, it is found that: leakage current at high resistance state increases, which can be explained by the higher density of traps inside dielectrics (related to trap-assistant tunneling), leading to a smaller On/Off ratio; set and reset voltages decrease, which may be attributed to the higher oxygen ion mobility, in addition to the reduced potential barrier to create / recover oxygen ions (or oxygen vacancies); temperature impact on the RRAM retention degradation is more serious than electrical bias.

Keywords: RRAM, resistive switching, temperature instability.

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514 Wear and Mechanical Properties of Nodular Iron Modified with Copper

Authors: J. Ramos, V. Gil, A. F. Torres

Abstract:

In this research (using induction furnace process) nodular iron with three different percentages of copper (residual, 0.5% and 1,2%) was obtained. Chemical analysis was performed by mass spectrometry and microstructures were characterized by Optical Microscopy (ASTM E3) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The study of mechanical behavior was carried out in a mechanical test machine (ASTM E8) and a Pin on disk tribometer (ASTM G99) was used to assess wear resistance. It is observed that the dissolution of copper in crystal lattice increases the pearlite structure improving the wear and hardness behavior, but producing a contrary effect on the energy absorption.

Keywords: Ferritic and perlite structure, mechanical properties, nodular iron, wear.

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513 Optimized Facial Features-based Age Classification

Authors: Md. Zahangir Alom, Mei-Lan Piao, Md. Shariful Islam, Nam Kim, Jae-Hyeung Park

Abstract:

The evaluation and measurement of human body dimensions are achieved by physical anthropometry. This research was conducted in view of the importance of anthropometric indices of the face in forensic medicine, surgery, and medical imaging. The main goal of this research is to optimization of facial feature point by establishing a mathematical relationship among facial features and used optimize feature points for age classification. Since selected facial feature points are located to the area of mouth, nose, eyes and eyebrow on facial images, all desire facial feature points are extracted accurately. According this proposes method; sixteen Euclidean distances are calculated from the eighteen selected facial feature points vertically as well as horizontally. The mathematical relationships among horizontal and vertical distances are established. Moreover, it is also discovered that distances of the facial feature follows a constant ratio due to age progression. The distances between the specified features points increase with respect the age progression of a human from his or her childhood but the ratio of the distances does not change (d = 1 .618 ) . Finally, according to the proposed mathematical relationship four independent feature distances related to eight feature points are selected from sixteen distances and eighteen feature point-s respectively. These four feature distances are used for classification of age using Support Vector Machine (SVM)-Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO) algorithm and shown around 96 % accuracy. Experiment result shows the proposed system is effective and accurate for age classification.

Keywords: 3D Face Model, Face Anthropometrics, Facial Features Extraction, Feature distances, SVM-SMO

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512 Response Surface Methodology for Optimum Hardness of TiN on Steel Substrate

Authors: R. Joseph Raviselvan, K. Ramanathan, P. Perumal, M. R. Thansekhar

Abstract:

Hard coatings are widely used in cutting and forming tool industries. Titanium Nitride (TiN) possesses good hardness, strength, and corrosion resistance. The coating properties are influenced by many process parameters. The coatings were deposited on steel substrate by changing the process parameters such as substrate temperature, nitrogen flow rate and target power in a D.C planer magnetron sputtering. The structure of coatings were analysed using XRD. The hardness of coatings was found using Micro hardness tester. From the experimental data, a regression model was developed and the optimum response was determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

Keywords: Hardness, RSM, sputtering, TiN XRD.

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511 Analysis of a Novel Strained Silicon RF LDMOS

Authors: V.Fathipour, M. A. Malakootian, S. Fathipour, M. Fathipour

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a novel RF LDMOS structure which employs a thin strained silicon layer at the top of the channel and the N-Drift region. The strain is induced by a relaxed Si0.8 Ge0.2 layer which is on top of a compositionally graded SiGe buffer. We explain the underlying physics of the device and compare the proposed device with a conventional LDMOS in terms of energy band diagram and carrier concentration. Numerical simulations of the proposed strained silicon laterally diffused MOS using a 2 dimensional device simulator indicate improvements in saturation and linear transconductance, current drivability, cut off frequency and on resistance. These improvements are however accompanied with a suppression in the break down voltage.

Keywords: High Frequency MOSFET, Design of RF LDMOS, Strained-Silicon, LDMOS.

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510 Air Quality Forecast Based on Principal Component Analysis-Genetic Algorithm and Back Propagation Model

Authors: Bin Mu, Site Li, Shijin Yuan

Abstract:

Under the circumstance of environment deterioration, people are increasingly concerned about the quality of the environment, especially air quality. As a result, it is of great value to give accurate and timely forecast of AQI (air quality index). In order to simplify influencing factors of air quality in a city, and forecast the city’s AQI tomorrow, this study used MATLAB software and adopted the method of constructing a mathematic model of PCA-GABP to provide a solution. To be specific, this study firstly made principal component analysis (PCA) of influencing factors of AQI tomorrow including aspects of weather, industry waste gas and IAQI data today. Then, we used the back propagation neural network model (BP), which is optimized by genetic algorithm (GA), to give forecast of AQI tomorrow. In order to verify validity and accuracy of PCA-GABP model’s forecast capability. The study uses two statistical indices to evaluate AQI forecast results (normalized mean square error and fractional bias). Eventually, this study reduces mean square error by optimizing individual gene structure in genetic algorithm and adjusting the parameters of back propagation model. To conclude, the performance of the model to forecast AQI is comparatively convincing and the model is expected to take positive effect in AQI forecast in the future.

Keywords: AQI forecast, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network model.

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509 Novel Ridge Orientation Based Approach for Fingerprint Identification Using Co-Occurrence Matrix

Authors: Mehran Yazdi, Zahra Adelpour, Batoul Bahraini, Yasaman Keshtkar Jahromi

Abstract:

In this paper we use the property of co-occurrence matrix in finding parallel lines in binary pictures for fingerprint identification. In our proposed algorithm, we reduce the noise by filtering the fingerprint images and then transfer the fingerprint images to binary images using a proper threshold. Next, we divide the binary images into some regions having parallel lines in the same direction. The lines in each region have a specific angle that can be used for comparison. This method is simple, performs the comparison step quickly and has a good resistance in the presence of the noise.

Keywords: Parallel lines detection, co-occurrence matrix, fingerprint identification.

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