Search results for: service based environment.

Authors: Emmanuel Selase Asamoah, Miloslava Chovancová

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When choosing marketing strategies for international markets, one of the factors that should be considered is the cultural differences that exist among consumers in different countries. If the branding strategy has to be contextual and in tune with the culture, then the brand positioning variables has to interact, adapt and respond to the cultural variables in which the brand is operating. This study provides an overview of the relevance of culture in the development of an effective branding strategy in the international business environment. Hence, the main objective of this study is to provide a managerial framework for developing strategies for cross cultural brand management. The framework is useful because it incorporates the variables that are important in the competitiveness of fast food enterprises irrespective of their size. It provides practical, proactive and result oriented analysis that will help fast food firms augment their strategies in the international fast food markets. The proposed framework will enable managers understand the intricacies involved in branding in the global fast food industry and decrease the use of 'trial and error' when entering into unfamiliar markets.

Keywords: culture, branding strategy, marketing mix, mass customization, standardization

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Authors: A. Karnis, L. Gautron

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Considering toxicity of heavy metals and their accumulation in domestic wastes, immobilization of lead and cadmium is envisaged inside glass-ceramics. We particularly focused this work on calcium-rich phases embedded in a glassy matrix. Glass-ceramics were synthesized from glasses doped with 12 wt% and 16 wt% of PbO or CdO. They were observed and analyzed by Electron MicroProbe Analysis (EMPA) and Analytical Scanning Electron Microscopy (ASEM). Structural characterization of the samples was performed by powder XRay Diffraction. Diopside crystals of CaMgSi2O6 composition are shown to incorporate significant amounts of cadmium (up to 9 wt% of CdO). Two new crystalline phases are observed with very high Cd or Pb contents: about 40 wt% CdO for the cadmiumrich phase and near 60 wt% PbO for the lead-rich phase. We present complete chemical and structural characterization of these phases. They represent a promising way for the immobilization of toxic elements like Cd or Pb since glass ceramics are known to propose a “double barrier" protection (metal-rich crystals embedded in a glass matrix) against metal release in the environment.

Keywords: Cadmium, Calcium-rich phases, Diopside, Domesticwastes, Fly ashes, Glass-ceramics, Lead, Municipal Solid WasteIncineration.

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Authors: Guo-Ming Sung, Naga Raju Naik R.

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Paper presents a low power, high speed, sense-amplifier based flip-flop (SAFF). The flip-flop’s power con-sumption and delay are greatly reduced by employing a new conditionally precharge sense-amplifier stage and a single-ended latch stage. Glitch-free and contention-free latch operation is achieved by using a conditional cut-off strategy. The design uses fewer transistors, has a lower clock load, and has a simple structure, all of which contribute to a near-zero setup time. When compared to previous flip-flop structures proposed for similar input/output conditions, this design’s performance and overall PDP have improved. The post layout simulation of the circuit uses 2.91µW of power and has a delay of 65.82 ps. Overall, the power-delay product has seen some enhancements. Cadence Virtuoso Designing tool with CMOS 90nm technology are used for all designs.

Keywords: high-speed, low-power, flip-flop, sense-amplifier

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Authors: Andreea Cârâc, Elena Moroşan, Ana Corina Ioniță, Rica Boscencu, Geta Cârâc

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Although, lanthanum carbonate has not been approved by the FDA for treatment of hyperphosphatemia, we prospectively evaluated the efficacy of the combination of Calcium hydroxyapatite (CHAp) and Lanthanum Carbonate (LaC) for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia on mice. CHAp was prepared by co-precipitation method using Ca(OH)2, H3PO4, NH4OH with calcination at 1200ºC. Lanthanum carbonate was prepared by chemical method using NaHCO3 and LaCl3 at low pH environment, below 4.0. The structures were characterized by FTIR spectra and SEM -EDX analysis. The study group included 16 subjects-mice divided into four groups according to the administered substance: lanthanum carbonate (group A), CHAp (group B), lanthanum carbonate + CHAp (group C) and salt water (group D). The results indicate a phosphate decrease when subjects (mice) were treated with CHAp and lanthanum carbonate (0.5% CMC), in a single dose of 1500 mg/kg. Serum phosphate concentration decreased [(from 4.5 ± 0.8 mg/dL) to 4.05 ± 0.2 mg/dL), P < 0.01] in group A and in group C (to 3.6 ± 0.2 mg/dL) at 12 hours from the administration. The combination of CHAp and lanthanum carbonate is a suitable regimen for hyperphosphatemia treatment because it avoids both the hypercalcemia of CaCO3 and the adverse effects of CHAp.

Keywords: Calcium hydroxyapatite, hyperphosphatemia, lanthanum carbonate, phosphatebinder, structures.

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Authors: Muniyasamy Kalanchiam, Baskar Mannai

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Topology Optimization is a defined as the method of determining optimal distribution of material for the assumed design space with functionality, loads and boundary conditions [1]. Topology optimization can be used to optimize shape for the purposes of weight reduction, minimizing material requirements or selecting cost effective materials [2]. Topology optimization has been implemented through the use of finite element methods for the analysis, and optimization techniques based on the method of moving asymptotes, genetic algorithms, optimality criteria method, level sets and topological derivatives. Case study of Typical “Fuselage design" is considered for this paper to explain the benefits of Topology Optimization in the design cycle. A cylindrical shell is assumed as the design space and aerospace standard pay loads were applied on the fuselage with wing attachments as constraints. Then topological optimization is done using Finite Element (FE) based software. This optimization results in the structural concept design which satisfies all the design constraints using minimum material.

Keywords: Fuselage, Topology optimization, payloads, designoptimization, Finite Element Analysis.

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Authors: M. Maimunah, G. A. Froemming, H. Nawawi, M. I. Nafeeza, O. Effat, M. Y. Rosmadi, M. S. Mohamed Saifulaman

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Atherosclerosis was identified as a chronic inflammatory process resulting from interactions between plasma lipoproteins, cellular components (monocyte, macrophages, T lymphocytes, endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells) and the extracellular matrix of the arterial wall. Several types of genes were known to express during formation of atherosclerosis. This study is carried out to identify unknown differentially expressed gene (DEG) in atherogenesis. Rabbit’s aorta tissues were stained by H&E for histomorphology. GeneFishing™ PCR analysis was performed from total RNA extracted from the aorta tissues. The DNA fragment from DEG was cloned, sequenced and validated by Real-time PCR. Histomorphology showed intimal thickening in the aorta. DEG detected from ACP-41 was identified as cathepsin B gene and showed upregulation at week-8 and week-12 of atherogenesis. Therefore, ACP-based GeneFishing™ PCR facilitated identification of cathepsin B gene which was differentially expressed during development of atherosclerosis.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, GeneFishing™ PCR, cathepsin B gene.

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Authors: M.R.Isvandzibaei, E.Bidokh, M.R.Alinaghizadeh, A.Nasirian, A.Moarrefzadeh

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In this paper a study on the vibration of thin cylindrical shells with ring supports and made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) composed of stainless steel and nickel is presented. Material properties vary along the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law. The cylindrical shells have ring supports which are arbitrarily placed along the shell and impose zero lateral deflections. The study is carried out based on third order shear deformation shell theory (T.S.D.T). The analysis is carried out using Hamilton-s principle. The governing equations of motion of FGM cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of ring support position and the influence of boundary conditions. The present analysis is validated by comparing results with those available in the literature.

Keywords: Vibration, FGM, Cylindrical shell, Hamilton'sprinciple, Ring support.

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Authors: C de Almeida, I. M. Dal Fabbro

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The Brazilian Agricultural Products Wholesale Market fits well as example of residues generating system, reaching 750 metric tons per month of total residues, from which 600 metric tons are organic material and 150 metric tons are recyclable materials. Organic material is basically composed of fruit, vegetables and flowers leftovers from the products commercialization. The recyclable compounds are generate from packing material employed in the commercialization process. This research work devoted efforts in carrying quantitative analysis of the residues generated in the agricultural enterprise at its final destination. Data survey followed the directions implemented by the Residues Management Program issued by the agricultural enterprise. It was noticed from that analysis the necessity of changing the logistics applied to the recyclable material collecting process. However, composting process was elected as the organic compounds destination which is considered adequate for a material composed of significant percentage of organic matter far higher than wood, cardboard and plastics contents.

Keywords: Composting, environment, recycling, solid waste.

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Authors: Kyoung-Mi Lee, Youn-Mi Lee

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This paper proposes a way to track persons by making use of multiple non-overlapping cameras. Tracking persons on multiple non-overlapping cameras enables data communication among cameras through the network connection between a camera and a computer, while at the same time transferring human feature data captured by a camera to another camera that is connected via the network. To track persons with a camera and send the tracking data to another camera, the proposed system uses a hierarchical human model that comprises a head, a torso, and legs. The feature data of the person being modeled are transferred to the server, after which the server sends the feature data of the human model to the cameras connected over the network. This enables a camera that captures a person's movement entering its vision to keep tracking the recognized person with the use of the feature data transferred from the server.

Keywords: Person tracking, human model, networked cameras, vision-based surveillance.

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Authors: Kaibalya Prasad Panda, Nirakar Behera, Kamal Lochan Biswal

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The aim of this paper is to combine the concept of wireless power transfer and GSM controlled robot for the application of home automation. The wireless power transfer concept can be well utilized to charge battery of the GSM controlled robot. When the robot has completed its task, it can come to the origin where it can charge itself. Robot can be charged wirelessly, when it is not performing any task. Combination of GSM controlled robot and wireless power transfer provides greater advantage such as; no wastage of charge stored in the battery when the robot is not doing any task. This provides greater reliability that at any instant, robot can do its work once it receives a message through GSM module. GSM module of the robot and user mobile phone must be interfaced properly, so that robot can do task when it receives message from same user mobile phone, not from any other phone. This paper approaches a robotic movement control through the smart phone and control of GSM robot is done by programming in Arduino environment. The commands used in controlling the robot movement are also explained.

Keywords: Arduino, automation, GSM controlled robot, GSM module, wireless power transfer.

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Authors: L. Koštić, P. Karaman

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Society has a lot of diversities according to sex, age, religion, abilities or disabilities, education, etc. According to differences, everybody needs to be tolerated and equally included in society. In order to provide quality inclusion, society needs to tolerate differences. This study relates to the differences in disability. To examine tolerance towards disability and inclusion, this study was conducted with students attending regular elementary and high school. The main goal was to examine their attitudes towards their classmates and elderly people with disabilities. The study begins with the hypothesis that the environment has a highly developed tolerance towards people with disabilities, regardless of age. The sample was divided according to tasks and methodology analysis. Students attending regular elementary school were asked to make drawings of their classmates with disabilities. The drawings were analyzed using quantitative methodology according to the colors children used and the position of character on the paper. Students attending high school and members of general population were asked to complete a questionnaire designed for this study during a workshop held on the International Day for Tolerance. Responses were analyzed using qualitative methodology. The hypothesis was confirmed.

Keywords: Classmates, disability, students, tolerance.

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Authors: M. Michael Gromiha, Kiyonobu Yokota, Kazuhiko Fukui

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We have developed an energy based approach for identifying the binding sites and important residues for binding in protein-protein complexes. We found that the residues and residuepairs with charged and aromatic side chains are important for binding. These residues influence to form cation-¤Ç, electrostatic and aromatic interactions. Our observation has been verified with the experimental binding specificity of protein-protein complexes and found good agreement with experiments. The analysis on surrounding hydrophobicity reveals that the binding residues are less hydrophobic than non-binding sites, which suggests that the hydrophobic core are important for folding and stability whereas the surface seeking residues play a critical role in binding. Further, the propensity of residues in the binding sites of receptors and ligands, number of medium and long-range contacts, and influence of neighboring residues will be discussed.

Keywords: Protein-protein interactions, energy based approach;binding sites, propensity, long-range contacts, hydrophobicity

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Authors: G. Santamato, M. Solazzi, A. Frisoli

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Systems for detection of damages in railway pantographs effectively reduce the cost of maintenance and improve time scheduling. In this paper, we present an approach to design a monitoring tool fitting strong customer requirements such as portability and ease of use. Pantograph has been modeled to estimate its dynamical properties, since no data are available. With the aim to focus on suspensions health, a two Degrees of Freedom (DOF) scheme has been adopted. Parameters have been calculated by means of analytical dynamics. A Finite Element Method (FEM) modal analysis verified the former model with an acceptable error. The detection strategy seeks phase-plots topology alteration, induced by defects. In order to test the suitability of the method, leakage in the dashpot was simulated on the lumped model. Results are interesting because changes in phase plots are more appreciable than frequency-shift. Further calculations as well as experimental tests will support future developments of this smart strategy.

Keywords: Pantograph models, phase-plots, structural health monitoring, vibration-based condition monitoring.

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Authors: Thanh-Duoc Phan, Saden H. Zahiri, S. H. Masood, Mahnaz Jahedi

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In this article, using finite element analysis (FEA) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), cold-sprayed titanium particles on a steel substrate is investigated in term of cooling time and the development of residual strains. Three cooling-down models of sprayed particles after deposition stage are simulated and discussed: the first model (m1) considers conduction effect to the substrate only, the second model (m2) considers both conduction as well as convection effect to the environment, and the third model (m3) which is the same as the second model but with the substrate heated to a near particle temperature before spraying. Thereafter, residual strains developed in the third model is compared with the experimental measurement of residual strains, which involved a Bruker D8 Advance Diffractometer using CuKa radiation (40kV, 40mA) monochromatised with a graphite sample monochromator. For deposition conditions of this study, a good correlation was found to exist between the FEA results and XRD measurements of residual strains.

Keywords: cold gas dynamic spray, X-ray diffraction, explicit finite element analysis, residual strain, titanium, particle impact, deformation behavior.

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Authors: Ghada S. Moussa

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With the increase in population along with economic prosperity, an enormous increase in the number and types of vehicles on the roads occurred. This fact brings a growing need for efficiently yet effectively classifying vehicles into their corresponding categories, which play a crucial role in many areas of infrastructure planning and traffic management.

This paper presents two vehicle-type classification approaches; 1) geometric-based and 2) appearance-based. The two classification approaches are used for two tasks: multi-class and intra-class vehicle classifications. For the evaluation purpose of the proposed classification approaches’ performance and the identification of the most effective yet efficient one, 10-fold cross-validation technique is used with a large dataset. The proposed approaches are distinguishable from previous research on vehicle classification in which: i) they consider both geometric and appearance attributes of vehicles, and ii) they perform remarkably well in both multi-class and intra-class vehicle classification. Experimental results exhibit promising potentials implementations of the proposed vehicle classification approaches into real-world applications.

Keywords: Appearance attributes, Geometric attributes, Support vector machine, Vehicle classification.

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Authors: Bao Jinsong, Hu Xiaofeng, Wang Wei, Yu Dili, Jin Ye

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The paper researched and presented a virtual simulation system based on a full-digital lunar terrain, integrated with kinematics and dynamics module as well as autonomous navigation simulation module. The system simulation models are established. Enabling technologies such as digital lunar surface module, kinematics and dynamics simulation, Autonomous navigation are investigated. A prototype system for lunar rover locomotion simulation is developed based on these technologies. Autonomous navigation is a key echnology in lunar rover system, but rarely involved in virtual simulation system. An autonomous navigation simulation module have been integrated in this prototype system, which was proved by the simulation results that the synthetic simulation and visualizing analysis system are established in the system, and the system can provide efficient support for research on the autonomous navigation of lunar rover.

Keywords: Lunar rover, virtual simulation, autonomous navigation, full-digital lunar terrain

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Authors: C.F. Cheung, Ricky Ma, W.Y. Wong, Y.L. Tse

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Knowledge capabilities are increasingly important for the innovative technology enterprises to enhance the business performance in terms of product competitiveness, innovation and sales. Recognition of the company capability by auditing allows them to further pursue advancement, strategic planning and hence gain competitive advantages. This paper attempts to develop an Organizations- Knowledge Capabilities Assessment (OKCA) method to assess the knowledge capabilities of technology companies. The OKCA is a questionnaire-based assessment tool which has been developed to uncover the impact of various knowledge capabilities on different organizational performance. The collected data is then analyzed to find out the crucial elements for different technological companies. Based on the results, innovative technology enterprises are able to recognize the direction for further improvement on business performance and future development plan. External environmental factors affecting organization performance can be found through the further analysis of some selected reference companies.

Keywords: Audit and Assessment, Innovation, Intellectual Capital, Knowledge and Technology Management, Knowledge Capability

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Authors: Sachin Man Bajimaya, SangChul Park, Gi-Nam Wang

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The objective of this paper is to estimate realistic principal extrusion process parameters by means of artificial neural network. Conventionally, finite element analysis is used to derive process parameters. However, the finite element analysis of the extrusion model does not consider the manufacturing process constraints in its modeling. Therefore, the process parameters obtained through such an analysis remains highly theoretical. Alternatively, process development in industrial extrusion is to a great extent based on trial and error and often involves full-size experiments, which are both expensive and time-consuming. The artificial neural network-based estimation of the extrusion process parameters prior to plant execution helps to make the actual extrusion operation more efficient because more realistic parameters may be obtained. And so, it bridges the gap between simulation and real manufacturing execution system. In this work, a suitable neural network is designed which is trained using an appropriate learning algorithm. The network so trained is used to predict the manufacturing process parameters.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Indirect Extrusion, Finite Element Analysis, MES.

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Authors: Avinoam Borowsky, Tal Oron-Gilad, Yisrael Parmet

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This study examined the role of driving experience in hazard perception and categorization using traffic scene pictures. Specifically, young-inexperienced, moderately experienced and very experienced (taxi) drivers observed traffic scene pictures while connected to an eye tracking system and were asked to rate the level of hazardousness of each picture and to mention the three most prominent hazards in it. Target pictures included nine, nearly identical, pairs of pictures where one picture in each pair included an actual hazard as an additional element. Altogether, 22 areas of interest (AOIs) were predefined and included 13 potential hazards and 9 actual hazards. Data analysis included both verbal reports and eye scanning patterns of these AOIs. Generally, both experienced and taxi drivers noted a relatively larger number of potential hazards than young inexperienced drivers Thus, by relating to less salient potential hazards, experienced drivers have demonstrated a better situation model of the traffic environment.

Keywords: Concept Construction, Hazard Perception, EyeMovements, Driving Experience.

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Authors: J. Lin, T. C. Kuo, C. -Y. Gau, K. C. Liu, Y. J. Huang, J. D. Yu, Y. W. Lin

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A multi-agent type robot for disaster response in calamity scene is proposed in this paper. The proposed grouped rescue robots can perform cooperative reconnaissance and surveillance to achieve a given rescue mission. The multi-agent rescue of dual set robot consists of one master set and three slave units. The research for this rescue robot system is going to detect at harmful environment where human is unreachable, such as the building is infected with virus or the factory has hazardous liquid in effluent. As a dual set robot, with Bluetooth and communication network, the master set can connect with slave units and send information back to computer by wireless and monitor. Therefore, rescuer can be informed the real-time information in a calamity area. Furthermore, each slave robot is able to obstacle avoidance by ultrasonic sensors, and encodes distance and location by compass. The master robot can integrate every devices information to increase the efficiency of prospected and research unknown area.

Keywords: Designing of multi-agent rescue robot, development and basic experiments of master-slave type rescue robots.

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Authors: Balasundaram Prasaant, Ploix Stephane, Delinchant Benoit, Muresan Cristian

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Hardware in Loop (HIL) testing is done to test and validate a particular product especially in building technology. When it comes to building technology, it is more important to test the products for their efficiency. The test rig in the HIL simulator may contribute to some uncertainties on measured efficiency. The uncertainties include physical uncertainties and scenario-based uncertainties. In this paper, a simple uncertainty analysis framework for an HIL setup is shown considering only the physical uncertainties. The entire modeling of the HIL setup is done in Dymola. The uncertain sources are considered based on available knowledge of the components and also on expert knowledge. For the propagation of uncertainty, Monte Carlo Simulation is used since it is the most reliable and easy to use. In this article it is shown how an HIL setup can be modeled and how uncertainty propagation can be performed on it. Such an approach is not common in building energy analysis.

Keywords: Energy in Buildings, Hardware in Loop, Modelica (Dymola), Monte Carlo Simulation, Uncertainty Propagation.

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Authors: Farrukh Shahzad

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The rich Islamic resources related to religious text, Islamic sciences, and history are widely available in print and in electronic format online. However, most of these works are only available in Arabic language. In this research, an attempt is made to utilize these resources to create interactive web applications in Arabic, English and other languages. The system utilizes the Pattern Recognition, Knowledge Management, Data Mining, Information Retrieval and Management, Indexing, storage and data-analysis techniques to parse, store, convert and manage the information from authentic Arabic resources. These interactive web Apps provide smart multi-lingual search, tree based search, on-demand information matching and linking. In this paper, we provide details of application architecture, design, implementation and technologies employed. We also presented the summary of web applications already developed. We have also included some screen shots from the corresponding web sites. These web applications provide an Innovative On-line Learning Systems (eLearning and computer based education).

Keywords: Islamic resources, Muslim scholars, hadith, narrators, history, fiqh.

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Authors: Brahim Brahmi, Mohammed Hamza Laraki, Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Islam M. Rasedul, M. Assad Uz-Zaman

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The humanoid robot, specifically the NAO robot must be able to provide a highly dynamic performance on the soccer field. Maintaining the balance of the humanoid robot during the required motion is considered as one of a challenging problems especially when the robot is subject to external disturbances, as contact with other robots. In this paper, a dynamic controller is proposed in order to ensure a robust walking (stabilization) and to improve the dynamic balance of the robot during its contact with the environment (external disturbances). The generation of the trajectory of the center of mass (CoM) is done by a model predictive controller (MPC) conjoined with zero moment point (ZMP) technique. Taking into account the properties of the rotational dynamics of the whole-body system, a modified previous control mixed with feedback control is employed to manage the angular momentum and the CoM’s acceleration, respectively. This latter is dedicated to provide a robust gait of the robot in the presence of the external disturbances. Simulation results are presented to show the feasibility of the proposed strategy.

Keywords: Preview control, walking, stabilization, humanoid robot.

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Authors: Juliana Amaka Ugwu

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Trapping efficiency of methyl eugenol and three locally made food-based lures were evaluated in three locations for trapping of B. dorsalis on mango homestead trees in Ibadan South west Nigeria. The treatments were methyl eugenol, brewery waste, pineapple juice, orange juice, and control (water). The experiment was laid in a Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) and replicated three times in each location. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and significant means were separated by Turkey’s test. The results showed that B. dorsalis was recorded in all locations of study. Methyl eugenol significantly (P < 0.05) trapped higher population of B. dorsalis in all the study area. The population density of B. dorsalis was highest during the ripening period of mango in all locations. The percentage trapped flies after 7 weeks were 77.85%-82.38% (methyl eugenol), 7.29%-8.64% (pineapple juice), 5.62-7.62% (brewery waste), 4.41%-5.95% (orange juice), and 0.24-0.47% (control). There were no significance differences (p > 0.05) on the population of B. dorsalis trapped in all locations. Similarly, there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) on the population of flies trapped among the food attractants. However, the three food attractants significantly (p < 0.05) trapped higher flies than control. Methyl eugenol trapped only male flies while brewery waste and other food based attractants trapped both male and female flies. The food baits tested were promising attractants for trapping B. dorsalis on mango homestead tress, hence increased dosage could be considered for monitoring and mass trapping as management strategies against fruit fly infestation.

Keywords: Attractants, trapping, mango, Bactrocera dorsalis.

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Authors: Sangram Keshori Mohapatra, Sidhartha Panda, Prasant Kumar Satpathy

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This paper describes the power-system stability improvement by a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) based damping controller with Differential evolution (DE) algorithm is used to find out the optimal controller parameters. The present study considered both local and remote signals with associated time delays. The performances of the proposed controllers have been compared with different disturbances for both single-machine infinite bus power system and multi-machine power system. The performance of the proposed controllers with variations in the signal transmission delays has also been investigated. To show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller the Simulation results are presented under different disturbances and loading conditions.

Keywords: Controller Design, Differential Evolution Algorithm Static Synchronous Compensator, Time Delay, Power System Stability, Single Machine Infinite-bus Power System, Multi-Machine Power System.

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Authors: Amdouni Hamida, Gammoudi Mohamed Mohsen

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In order to help the expert to validate association rules extracted from data, some quality measures are proposed in the literature. We distinguish two categories: objective and subjective measures. The first one depends on a fixed threshold and on data quality from which the rules are extracted. The second one consists on providing to the expert some tools in the objective to explore and visualize rules during the evaluation step. However, the number of extracted rules to validate remains high. Thus, the manually mining rules task is very hard. To solve this problem, we propose, in this paper, a semi-automatic method to assist the expert during the association rule's validation. Our method uses rule-based classification as follow: (i) We transform association rules into classification rules (classifiers), (ii) We use the generated classifiers for data classification. (iii) We visualize association rules with their quality classification to give an idea to the expert and to assist him during validation process.

Keywords: Association rules, Rule-based classification, Classification quality, Validation.

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Authors: J. Menčík

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Actual load, material characteristics and other quantities often differ from the design values. This can cause worse function, shorter life or failure of a civil engineering structure, a machine, vehicle or another appliance. The paper shows main causes of the uncertainties and deviations and presents a systematic approach and efficient tools for their elimination or mitigation of consequences. Emphasis is put on the design stage, which is most important for reliability ensuring. Principles of robust design and important tools are explained, including FMEA, sensitivity analysis and probabilistic simulation methods. The lifetime prediction of long-life objects can be improved by long-term monitoring of the load response and damage accumulation in operation. The condition evaluation of engineering structures, such as bridges, is often based on visual inspection and verbal description. Here, methods based on fuzzy logic can reduce the subjective influences.

Keywords: Design, fuzzy methods, Monte Carlo, reliability, robust design, sensitivity analysis, simulation, uncertainties.

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Authors: The Jaya Suteja, Stephany Tedjohartoko

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Not all types of mobile phone are successful in entering the market because some types of the mobile phone have a negative perception of user. Therefore, it is important to understand the influence of mobile phone's characteristics in the local user perception. This research investigates the influence of QWERTY mobile phone's forms in the perception of Indonesian user. First, some alternatives of mobile phone-s form are developed based on a certain number of mobile phone's models. At the second stage, some word pairs as design attributes of the mobile phone are chosen to represent the user perception of mobile phone. At the final stage, a survey is conducted to investigate the influence of the developed form alternatives to the user perception. Based on the research, users perceive mobile phone's form with curved top and straight bottom shapes and mobile phone's form with slider and antenna as the most negative form. Meanwhile, mobile phone's form with curved top and bottom shapes and mobile phone-s form without slider and antenna are perceived by the user as the most positive form.

Keywords: Influence, mobile phone, form, user perception.

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Authors: Oh Hyeon Jeon, WooYoung Jung

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In this study, seepage analysis was performed by the level difference between upstream and downstream of weir structure for safety evaluation of weir structure against flooding. Monte Carlo Simulation method was employed by considering the probability distribution of the adjacent ground parameter, i.e., permeability coefficient of weir structure. Moreover, by using a commercially available finite element program (ABAQUS), modeling of the weir structure is carried out. Based on this model, the characteristic of water seepage during flooding was determined at each water level with consideration of the uncertainty of their corresponding permeability coefficient. Subsequently, fragility function could be constructed based on this response from numerical analysis; this fragility function results could be used to determine the weakness of weir structure subjected to flooding disaster. They can also be used as a reference data that can comprehensively predict the probability of failur,e and the degree of damage of a weir structure.

Keywords: Weir structure, seepage, flood disaster fragility, probabilistic risk assessment, Monte-Carlo Simulation, permeability coefficient.

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Authors: Afzel Noore

Abstract:

A new digital watermarking technique for images that are sensitive to blocking artifacts is presented. Experimental results show that the proposed MDCT based approach produces highly imperceptible watermarked images and is robust to attacks such as compression, noise, filtering and geometric transformations. The proposed MDCT watermarking technique is applied to fingerprints for ensuring security. The face image and demographic text data of an individual are used as multiple watermarks. An AFIS system was used to quantitatively evaluate the matching performance of the MDCT-based watermarked fingerprint. The high fingerprint matching scores show that the MDCT approach is resilient to blocking artifacts. The quality of the extracted face and extracted text images was computed using two human visual system metrics and the results show that the image quality was high.

Keywords: Digital watermarking, data hiding, modified discretecosine transformation (MDCT).

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