Search results for: Critical task method
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 9696

Search results for: Critical task method

9096 The Impact of E-Learning on Medication Administration of Nursing Students: What Recent Studies Say?

Authors: Z. Karakus, Z. Ozer

Abstract:

Nurses are responsible for the care and treatment of individuals, as well as health maintenance and education. Medication administration is an important part of health promotion. The administration of a medicine is a common but important clinical procedure for nurses because of its complex structure. Therefore, medication errors are inevitable for nurses or nursing students. Medication errors can cause ineffective treatment, patient’s prolonged hospital stay, disablement or death. Additionally, medication errors affect the global economy adversely by increasing health costs. Hence, preventing or decreasing of medication errors is a critical and essential issue in nursing. Nurse educators are in pursuit of new teaching methods to teach students significance of medication application. In the light of technological developments of this age, e-learning has started to be accepted as an important teaching method. E-learning is the use of electronic media and information and communication technologies in education. It has advantages such as flexibility of time and place, lower costs, faster delivery and lower environmental impact. Students can make their own schedule and decide the learning method. This study is conducted to determine the impact of e-learning on medication administration of nursing students.

Keywords: E-Learning, Medication Administration, Nursing, Nursing Students.

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9095 Application of Griddization Management to Construction Hazard Management

Authors: Lingzhi Li, Jiankun Zhang, Tiantian Gu

Abstract:

Hazard management that can prevent fatal accidents and property losses is a fundamental process during the buildings’ construction stage. However, due to lack of safety supervision resources and operational pressures, the conduction of hazard management is poor and ineffective in China. In order to improve the quality of construction safety management, it is critical to explore the use of information technologies to ensure that the process of hazard management is efficient and effective. After exploring the existing problems of construction hazard management in China, this paper develops the griddization management model for construction hazard management. First, following the knowledge grid infrastructure, the griddization computing infrastructure for construction hazards management is designed which includes five layers: resource entity layer, information management layer, task management layer, knowledge transformation layer and application layer. This infrastructure will be as the technical support for realizing grid management. Second, this study divides the construction hazards into grids through city level, district level and construction site level according to grid principles. Last, a griddization management process including hazard identification, assessment and control is developed. Meanwhile, all stakeholders of construction safety management, such as owners, contractors, supervision organizations and government departments, should take the corresponding responsibilities in this process. Finally, a case study based on actual construction hazard identification, assessment and control is used to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed griddization management model. The advantage of this designed model is to realize information sharing and cooperative management between various safety management departments.

Keywords: Construction hazard, grid management, griddization computing, process.

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9094 Feature Extraction for Surface Classification – An Approach with Wavelets

Authors: Smriti H. Bhandari, S. M. Deshpande

Abstract:

Surface metrology with image processing is a challenging task having wide applications in industry. Surface roughness can be evaluated using texture classification approach. Important aspect here is appropriate selection of features that characterize the surface. We propose an effective combination of features for multi-scale and multi-directional analysis of engineering surfaces. The features include standard deviation, kurtosis and the Canny edge detector. We apply the method by analyzing the surfaces with Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (DT-CWT). We used Canberra distance metric for similarity comparison between the surface classes. Our database includes the surface textures manufactured by three machining processes namely Milling, Casting and Shaping. The comparative study shows that DT-CWT outperforms DWT giving correct classification performance of 91.27% with Canberra distance metric.

Keywords: Dual-tree complex wavelet transform, surface metrology, surface roughness, texture classification.

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9093 The Acceptance of E-Assessment Considering Security Perspective: Work in Progress

Authors: Kavitha Thamadharan, Nurazean Maarop

Abstract:

The implementation of e-assessment as tool to support the process of teaching and learning in university has become a popular technological means in universities. E-Assessment provides many advantages to the users especially the flexibility in teaching and learning. The e-assessment system has the capability to improve its quality of delivering education. However, there still exists a drawback in terms of security which limits the user acceptance of the online learning system. Even though there are studies providing solutions for identified security threats in e-learning usage, there is no particular model which addresses the factors that influences the acceptance of e-assessment system by lecturers from security perspective. The aim of this study is to explore security aspects of eassessment in regard to the acceptance of the technology. As a result a conceptual model of secure acceptance of e-assessment is proposed. Both human and security factors are considered in formulation of this conceptual model. In order to increase understanding of critical issues related to the subject of this study, interpretive approach involving convergent mixed method research method is proposed to be used to execute the research. This study will be useful in providing more insightful understanding regarding the factors that influence the user acceptance of e-assessment system from security perspective.

Keywords: Secure Technology Acceptance, E-Assessment Security, E-Assessment, Education Technology.

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9092 An Expansion Method for Schrödinger Equation of Quantum Billiards with Arbitrary Shapes

Authors: İnci M. Erhan

Abstract:

A numerical method for solving the time-independent Schrödinger equation of a particle moving freely in a three-dimensional axisymmetric region is developed. The boundary of the region is defined by an arbitrary analytic function. The method uses a coordinate transformation and an expansion in eigenfunctions. The effectiveness is checked and confirmed by applying the method to a particular example, which is a prolate spheroid.

Keywords: Bessel functions, Eigenfunction expansion, Quantum billiard, Schrödinger equation, Spherical harmonics

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9091 An Analytical Method to Analysis of Foam Drainage Problem

Authors: A. Nikkar, M. Mighani

Abstract:

In this study, a new reliable technique use to handle the foam drainage equation. This new method is resulted from VIM by a simple modification that is Reconstruction of Variational Iteration Method (RVIM). The drainage of liquid foams involves the interplay of gravity, surface tension, and viscous forces. Foaming occurs in many distillation and absorption processes. Results are compared with those of Adomian’s decomposition method (ADM).The comparisons show that the Reconstruction of Variational Iteration Method is very effective and overcome the difficulty of traditional methods and quite accurate to systems of non-linear partial differential equations.

Keywords: Reconstruction of Variational Iteration Method (RVIM), Foam drainage, nonlinear partial differential equation.

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9090 Development of an Implicit Physical Influence Upwind Scheme for Cell-Centered Finite Volume Method

Authors: Shidvash Vakilipour, Masoud Mohammadi, Rouzbeh Riazi, Scott Ormiston, Kimia Amiri, Sahar Barati

Abstract:

An essential component of a finite volume method (FVM) is the advection scheme that estimates values on the cell faces based on the calculated values on the nodes or cell centers. The most widely used advection schemes are upwind schemes. These schemes have been developed in FVM on different kinds of structured and unstructured grids. In this research, the physical influence scheme (PIS) is developed for a cell-centered FVM that uses an implicit coupled solver. Results are compared with the exponential differencing scheme (EDS) and the skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS). Accuracy of these schemes is evaluated for a lid-driven cavity flow at Re = 1000, 3200, and 5000 and a backward-facing step flow at Re = 800. Simulations show considerable differences between the results of EDS scheme with benchmarks, especially for the lid-driven cavity flow at high Reynolds numbers. These differences occur due to false diffusion. Comparing SUDS and PIS schemes shows relatively close results for the backward-facing step flow and different results in lid-driven cavity flow. The poor results of SUDS in the lid-driven cavity flow can be related to its lack of sensitivity to the pressure difference between cell face and upwind points, which is critical for the prediction of such vortex dominant flows.

Keywords: Cell-centered finite volume method, physical influence scheme, exponential differencing scheme, skew upwind differencing scheme, false diffusion.

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9089 Preconditioned Mixed-Type Splitting Iterative Method For Z-Matrices

Authors: Li Jiang, Baoguang Tian

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the preconditioned mixed-type splitting iterative method for solving the linear systems, Ax = b, where A is a Z-matrix. And we give some comparison theorems to show that the convergence rate of the preconditioned mixed-type splitting iterative method is faster than that of the mixed-type splitting iterative method. Finally, we give a numerical example to illustrate our results.

Keywords: Z-matrix, mixed-type splitting iterative method, precondition, comparison theorem, linear system.

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9088 Alternating Implicit Block FDTD Method For Scalar Wave Equation

Authors: N. M. Nusi, M. Othman, M. Suleiman, F. Ismail, N. Alias

Abstract:

In this paper, an alternating implicit block method for solving two dimensional scalar wave equation is presented. The new method consist of two stages for each time step implemented in alternating directions which are very simple in computation. To increase the speed of computation, a group of adjacent points is computed simultaneously. It is shown that the presented method increase the maximum time step size and more accurate than the conventional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and other existing method of natural ordering.

Keywords: FDTD, Scalar wave equation, alternating direction implicit (ADI), alternating group explicit (AGE), asymmetric approximation.

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9087 Bifurcation Analysis of a Delayed Predator-prey Fishery Model with Prey Reserve in Frequency Domain

Authors: Changjin Xu

Abstract:

In this paper, applying frequency domain approach, a delayed predator-prey fishery model with prey reserve is investigated. By choosing the delay τ as a bifurcation parameter, It is found that Hopf bifurcation occurs as the bifurcation parameter τ passes a sequence of critical values. That is, a family of periodic solutions bifurcate from the equilibrium when the bifurcation parameter exceeds a critical value. The length of delay which preserves the stability of the positive equilibrium is calculated. Some numerical simulations are included to justify the theoretical analysis results. Finally, main conclusions are given.

Keywords: Predator-prey model, stability, Hopf bifurcation, frequency domain, Nyquist criterion.

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9086 A Calibration Device for Force-Torque Sensors

Authors: Nicolay Zarutskiy, Roman Bulkin

Abstract:

The paper deals with the existing methods of force-torque sensor calibration with a number of components from one to six, analyzed their advantages and disadvantages, the necessity of introduction of a calibration method. Calibration method and its constructive realization are also described here. A calibration method allows performing automated force-torque sensor calibration both with selected components of the main vector of forces and moments and with complex loading. Thus, two main advantages of the proposed calibration method are achieved: the automation of the calibration process and universality.

Keywords: Automation, calibration, calibration device, calibration method, force-torque sensors.

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9085 Computer Software Applicable in Rehabilitation, Cardiology and Molecular Biology

Authors: P. Kowalska, P. Gabka, K. Kamieniarz, M. Kamieniarz, W. Stryla, P. Guzik, T. Krauze

Abstract:

We have developed a computer program consisting of 6 subtests assessing the children hand dexterity applicable in the rehabilitation medicine. We have carried out a normative study on a representative sample of 285 children aged from 7 to 15 (mean age 11.3) and we have proposed clinical standards for three age groups (7-9, 9-11, 12-15 years). We have shown statistical significance of differences among the corresponding mean values of the task time completion. We have also found a strong correlation between the task time completion and the age of the subjects, as well as we have performed the test-retest reliability checks in the sample of 84 children, giving the high values of the Pearson coefficients for the dominant and non-dominant hand in the range 0.740.97 and 0.620.93, respectively. A new MATLAB-based programming tool aiming at analysis of cardiologic RR intervals and blood pressure descriptors, is worked out, too. For each set of data, ten different parameters are extracted: 2 in time domain, 4 in frequency domain and 4 in Poincaré plot analysis. In addition twelve different parameters of baroreflex sensitivity are calculated. All these data sets can be visualized in time domain together with their power spectra and Poincaré plots. If available, the respiratory oscillation curves can be also plotted for comparison. Another application processes biological data obtained from BLAST analysis.

Keywords: Biomedical data base processing, Computer software, Hand dexterity, Heart rate and blood pressure variability.

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9084 Coupled Galerkin-DQ Approach for the Transient Analysis of Dam-Reservoir Interaction

Authors: S. A. Eftekhari

Abstract:

In this paper, a numerical algorithm using a coupled Galerkin-Differential Quadrature (DQ) method is proposed for the solution of dam-reservoir interaction problem. The governing differential equation of motion of the dam structure is discretized by the Galerkin method and the DQM is used to discretize the fluid domain. The resulting systems of ordinary differential equations are then solved by the Newmark time integration scheme. The mixed scheme combines the simplicity of the Galerkin method and high accuracy and efficiency of the DQ method. Its accuracy and efficiency are demonstrated by comparing the calculated results with those of the existing literature. It is shown that highly accurate results can be obtained using a small number of Galerkin terms and DQM sampling points. The technique presented in this investigation is general and can be used to solve various fluid-structure interaction problems.

Keywords: Dam-reservoir system, Differential quadrature method, Fluid-structure interaction, Galerkin method, Integral quadrature method.

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9083 On Stability of Stiffened Cylindrical Shells with Varying Material Properties

Authors: M. Karami Khorramabadi, P. Khazaeinejad

Abstract:

The static stability analysis of stiffened functionally graded cylindrical shells by isotropic rings and stringers subjected to axial compression is presented in this paper. The Young's modulus of the shell is taken to be function of the thickness coordinate. The fundamental relations, the equilibrium and stability equations are derived using the Sander's assumption. Resulting equations are employed to obtain the closed-form solution for the critical axial loads. The effects of material properties, geometric size and different material coefficient on the critical axial loads are examined. The analytical results are compared and validated using the finite element model.

Keywords: Functionally graded material, Stability, Stiffened cylindrical shell, Finite element analysis

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9082 Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Total Variation Minimization on Inpainting Problem

Authors: Xijian Wang

Abstract:

This paper is concerned with the numerical minimization of energy functionals in BV ( ) (the space of bounded variation functions) involving total variation for gray-scale 1-dimensional inpainting problem. Applications are shown by finite element method and discontinuous Galerkin method for total variation minimization. We include the numerical examples which show the different recovery image by these two methods.

Keywords: finite element method, discontinuous Galerkin method, total variation minimization, inpainting

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9081 Numerical Solution of Second-Order Ordinary Differential Equations by Improved Runge-Kutta Nystrom Method

Authors: Faranak Rabiei, Fudziah Ismail, S. Norazak, Saeid Emadi

Abstract:

In this paper we developed the Improved Runge-Kutta Nystrom (IRKN) method for solving second order ordinary differential equations. The methods are two step in nature and require lower number of function evaluations per step compared with the existing Runge-Kutta Nystrom (RKN) methods. Therefore, the methods are computationally more efficient at achieving the higher order of local accuracy. Algebraic order conditions of the method are obtained and the third and fourth order method are derived with two and three stages respectively. The numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method compared to the existing RKN methods.

Keywords: Improved Runge-Kutta Nystrom method, Two step method, Second-order ordinary differential equations, Order conditions

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9080 Nonlinear Stability of Convection in a Thermally Modulated Anisotropic Porous Medium

Authors: M. Meenasaranya, S. Saravanan

Abstract:

Conditions corresponding to the unconditional stability of convection in a mechanically anisotropic fluid saturated porous medium of infinite horizontal extent are determined. The medium is heated from below and its bounding surfaces are subjected to temperature modulation which consists of a steady part and a time periodic oscillating part. The Brinkman model is employed in the momentum equation with the Bousinessq approximation. The stability region is found for arbitrary values of modulational frequency and amplitude using the energy method. Higher order numerical computations are carried out to find critical boundaries and subcritical instability regions more accurately.

Keywords: Convection, porous medium, anisotropy, temperature modulation, nonlinear stability.

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9079 Physical-Mechanical Characteristics of Monocrystalline Si1-xGex (x≤0,02) Solid Solutions

Authors: I. Kurashvili, A. Sichinava, G. Bokuchava, G. Darsavelidze

Abstract:

Si-Ge solid solutions (bulk poly- and mono-crystalline samples, thin films) are characterized by high perspectives for application in semiconductor devices, in particular, optoelectronics and microelectronics. From this point of view, complex studying of structural state of the defects and structural-sensitive physical properties of Si-Ge solid solutions depending on the contents of Si and Ge components is very important. Present work deals with the investigations of microstructure, microhardness, internal friction and shear modulus of Si1-xGex(x≤0,02) bulk monocrystals conducted at room temperature. Si-Ge bulk crystals were obtained by Czochralski method in [111] crystallographic direction. Investigated monocrystalline Si-Ge samples are characterized by p-type conductivity and carriers’ concentration 5.1014-1.1015cm-3. Microhardness was studied on Dynamic Ultra Micro hardness Tester DUH-201S with Berkovich indenter. Investigate samples are characterized with 0,5x0,5x(10-15)mm3 sizes, oriented along [111] direction at torsion oscillations ≈1Hz, multistage changing of internal friction and shear modulus has been revealed in an interval of strain amplitude of 10-5-5.10-3. Critical values of strain amplitude have been determined at which hysteretic changes of inelastic characteristics and microplasticity are observed. The critical strain amplitude and elasticity limit values are also determined. Dynamic mechanical characteristics decreasing trend is shown with increasing Ge content in Si-Ge solid solutions. Observed changes are discussed from the point of view of interaction of various dislocations with point defects and their complexes in a real structure of Si-Ge solid solutions.

Keywords: Internal friction, microhardness, relaxation processes, shear modulus, Si-Ge.

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9078 Introduction of the Fluid-Structure Coupling into the Force Analysis Technique

Authors: Océane Grosset, Charles Pézerat, Jean-Hugh Thomas, Frédéric Ablitzer

Abstract:

This paper presents a method to take into account the fluid-structure coupling into an inverse method, the Force Analysis Technique (FAT). The FAT method, also called RIFF method (Filtered Windowed Inverse Resolution), allows to identify the force distribution from local vibration field. In order to only identify the external force applied on a structure, it is necessary to quantify the fluid-structure coupling, especially in naval application, where the fluid is heavy. This method can be decomposed in two parts, the first one consists in identifying the fluid-structure coupling and the second one to introduced it in the FAT method to reconstruct the external force. Results of simulations on a plate coupled with a cavity filled with water are presented.

Keywords: Fluid-structure coupling, inverse methods, naval, vibrations.

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9077 A Spatial Hypergraph Based Semi-Supervised Band Selection Method for Hyperspectral Imagery Semantic Interpretation

Authors: Akrem Sellami, Imed Riadh Farah

Abstract:

Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) typically provides a wealth of information captured in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum for each pixel in the image. Hence, a pixel in HSI is a high-dimensional vector of intensities with a large spectral range and a high spectral resolution. Therefore, the semantic interpretation is a challenging task of HSI analysis. We focused in this paper on object classification as HSI semantic interpretation. However, HSI classification still faces some issues, among which are the following: The spatial variability of spectral signatures, the high number of spectral bands, and the high cost of true sample labeling. Therefore, the high number of spectral bands and the low number of training samples pose the problem of the curse of dimensionality. In order to resolve this problem, we propose to introduce the process of dimensionality reduction trying to improve the classification of HSI. The presented approach is a semi-supervised band selection method based on spatial hypergraph embedding model to represent higher order relationships with different weights of the spatial neighbors corresponding to the centroid of pixel. This semi-supervised band selection has been developed to select useful bands for object classification. The presented approach is evaluated on AVIRIS and ROSIS HSIs and compared to other dimensionality reduction methods. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our approach compared to many existing dimensionality reduction methods for HSI classification.

Keywords: Hyperspectral image, spatial hypergraph, dimensionality reduction, semantic interpretation, band selection, feature extraction.

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9076 Using Knowledge Management and Critical Thinking to Understand Thai Perceptions and Decisions towards Work-Life Balance in a Multinational Software Development Firm

Authors: N. Mantalay, N. Chakpitak, W. Janchai, P. Sureepong

Abstract:

Work-life balance has been acknowledged and promoted for the sake of employee retention. It is essential for a manager to realize the human resources situation within a company to help employees work happily and perform at their best. This paper suggests knowledge management and critical thinking are useful to motivate employees to think about their work-life balance. A qualitative case study is presented, which aimed to discover the meaning of work-life balance-s meaning from the perspective of Thai knowledge workers and how it affects their decision-making towards work resignation. Results found three types of work-life balance dimensions; a work- life balance including a workplace and a private life setting, an organizational working life balance only, and a worklife balance only in a private life setting. These aspects all influenced the decision-making of the employees. Factors within a theme of an organizational work-life balance were involved with systematic administration, fair treatment, employee recognition, challenging assignments to gain working experience, assignment engagement, teamwork, relationship with superiors, and working environment, while factors concerning private life settings were about personal demands such as an increasing their salary or starting their own business.

Keywords: knowledge management, work-life balance, knowledge workers, decision-making, critical thinking, diverse workforce

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9075 Radiochemical Purity of 68Ga-BCA-Peptides: Separation of All 68Ga Species with a Single iTLC Strip

Authors: Anton A. Larenkov, Alesya Ya Maruk

Abstract:

In the present study, highly effective iTLC single strip method for the determination of radiochemical purity (RCP) of 68Ga-BCA-peptides was developed (with no double-developing, changing of eluents or other additional manipulation). In this method iTLC-SG strips and commonly used eluent TFAaq. (3-5 % (v/v)) are used. The method allows determining each of the key radiochemical forms of 68Ga (colloidal, bound, ionic) separately with the peaks separation being no less than 4 σ. Rf = 0.0-0.1 for 68Ga-colloid; Rf = 0.5-0.6 for 68Ga-BCA-peptides; Rf = 0.9-1.0 for ionic 68Ga. The method is simple and fast: For developing length of 75 mm only 4-6 min is required (versus 18-20 min for pharmacopoeial method). The method has been tested on various compounds (including 68Ga-DOTA-TOC, 68Ga-DOTA-TATE, 68Ga-NODAGA-RGD2 etc.). The cross-validation work for every specific form of 68Ga showed good correlation between method developed and control (pharmacopoeial) methods. The method can become convenient and much more informative replacement for pharmacopoeial methods, including HPLC.

Keywords: DOTA-TATE, 68Ga, quality control, radiochemical purity, radiopharmaceuticals, iTLC.

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9074 Selecting the Best Sub-Region Indexing the Images in the Case of Weak Segmentation Based On Local Color Histograms

Authors: Mawloud Mosbah, Bachir Boucheham

Abstract:

Color Histogram is considered as the oldest method used by CBIR systems for indexing images. In turn, the global histograms do not include the spatial information; this is why the other techniques coming later have attempted to encounter this limitation by involving the segmentation task as a preprocessing step. The weak segmentation is employed by the local histograms while other methods as CCV (Color Coherent Vector) are based on strong segmentation. The indexation based on local histograms consists of splitting the image into N overlapping blocks or sub-regions, and then the histogram of each block is computed. The dissimilarity between two images is reduced, as consequence, to compute the distance between the N local histograms of the both images resulting then in N*N values; generally, the lowest value is taken into account to rank images, that means that the lowest value is that which helps to designate which sub-region utilized to index images of the collection being asked. In this paper, we make under light the local histogram indexation method in the hope to compare the results obtained against those given by the global histogram. We address also another noteworthy issue when Relying on local histograms namely which value, among N*N values, to trust on when comparing images, in other words, which sub-region among the N*N sub-regions on which we base to index images. Based on the results achieved here, it seems that relying on the local histograms, which needs to pose an extra overhead on the system by involving another preprocessing step naming segmentation, does not necessary mean that it produces better results. In addition to that, we have proposed here some ideas to select the local histogram on which we rely on to encode the image rather than relying on the local histogram having lowest distance with the query histograms.

Keywords: CBIR, Color Global Histogram, Color Local Histogram, Weak Segmentation, Euclidean Distance.

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9073 CFD Simulation of Dense Gas Extraction through Polymeric Membranes

Authors: Azam Marjani, Saeed Shirazian

Abstract:

In this study is presented a general methodology to predict the performance of a continuous near-critical fluid extraction process to remove compounds from aqueous solutions using hollow fiber membrane contactors. A comprehensive 2D mathematical model was developed to study Porocritical extraction process. The system studied in this work is a membrane based extractor of ethanol and acetone from aqueous solutions using near-critical CO2. Predictions of extraction percentages obtained by simulations have been compared to the experimental values reported by Bothun et al. [5]. Simulations of extraction percentage of ethanol and acetone show an average difference of 9.3% and 6.5% with the experimental data, respectively. More accurate predictions of the extraction of acetone could be explained by a better estimation of the transport properties in the aqueous phase that controls the extraction of this solute.

Keywords: Solvent extraction, Membrane, Mass transfer, Densegas, Modeling

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9072 University Ranking Systems – From League Table to Homogeneous Groups of Universities

Authors: M. Jarocka

Abstract:

The paper contains a review of the literature in terms of the critical analysis of methodologies of university ranking systems. Furthermore, the initiatives supported by the European Commission (U-Map, U-Multirank) and CHE Ranking are described. Special attention is paid to the tendencies in the development of ranking systems. According to the author, the ranking organizations should abandon the classic form of ranking, namely a hierarchical ordering of universities from “the best" to “the worse". In the empirical part of this paper, using one of the method of cluster analysis called k-means clustering, the author presents university classifications of the top universities from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University-s (SJTU) Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Keywords: Classification, cluster analysis, ranking, university.

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9071 Simplified Stress Gradient Method for Stress-Intensity Factor Determination

Authors: Jeries J. Abou-Hanna

Abstract:

Several techniques exist for determining stress-intensity factors in linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis. These techniques are based on analytical, numerical, and empirical approaches that have been well documented in literature and engineering handbooks. However, not all techniques share the same merit. In addition to overly-conservative results, the numerical methods that require extensive computational effort, and those requiring copious user parameters hinder practicing engineers from efficiently evaluating stress-intensity factors. This paper investigates the prospects of reducing the complexity and required variables to determine stress-intensity factors through the utilization of the stress gradient and a weighting function. The heart of this work resides in the understanding that fracture emanating from stress concentration locations cannot be explained by a single maximum stress value approach, but requires use of a critical volume in which the crack exists. In order to understand the effectiveness of this technique, this study investigated components of different notch geometry and varying levels of stress gradients. Two forms of weighting functions were employed to determine stress-intensity factors and results were compared to analytical exact methods. The results indicated that the “exponential” weighting function was superior to the “absolute” weighting function. An error band +/- 10% was met for cases ranging from a steep stress gradient in a sharp v-notch to the less severe stress transitions of a large circular notch. The incorporation of the proposed method has shown to be a worthwhile consideration.

Keywords: Fracture mechanics, finite element method, stress intensity factor, stress gradient.

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9070 Stiffness Modeling of 3-PRS Mechanism

Authors: Xiaohui Han, Yuhan Wang, Jing Shi

Abstract:

This paper proposed a stiffness analysis method for a 3-PRS mechanism for welding thick aluminum plate using FSW technology. In the molding process, elastic deformation of lead-screws and links are taken into account. This method is based on the virtual work principle. Through a survey of the commonly used stiffness performance indices, the minimum and maximum eigenvalues of the stiffness matrix are used to evaluate the stiffness of the 3-PRS mechanism. Furthermore, A FEA model has been constructed to verify the method. Finally, we redefined the workspace using the stiffness analysis method.

Keywords: 3-PRS, parallel mechanism, stiffness analysis, workspace.

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9069 A New Method for Computing the Inverse Ideal in a Coordinate Ring

Authors: Abdolali Basiri

Abstract:

In this paper we present an efficient method for inverting an ideal in the ideal class group of a Cab curve by extending the method which is presented in [3]. More precisely we introduce a useful generator for the inverse ideal as a K[X]-module.

Keywords: Cab Curves, Ideal Class Group

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9068 A CDA-Driven Study of World English Series Published by Cengage Heinle

Authors: Mohammad Amin Mozaheb, Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi, Khojasteh Hosseinzadehpilehvar

Abstract:

English Language Teaching (ELT) is widely promoted across the world. ELT textbooks play pivotal roles in the mentioned process. Since biases of authors have been an issue of continuing interest to analysts over the past few years, the present study seeks to analyze an ELT textbook using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). To obtain the goal of the study, the listening section of a book called World English 3 (new edition) has been analyzed in terms of the cultures and countries mentioned in the listening section of the book using content-based analysis. The analysis indicates biases towards certain cultures. Moreover, some countries are shown as rich and powerful countries, while some others have been shown as poor ones without considering the history behind them.

Keywords: ELT, textbooks, critical discourse analysis, World English.

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9067 A Hybrid Gene Selection Technique Using Improved Mutual Information and Fisher Score for Cancer Classification Using Microarrays

Authors: M. Anidha, K. Premalatha

Abstract:

Feature Selection is significant in order to perform constructive classification in the area of cancer diagnosis. However, a large number of features compared to the number of samples makes the task of classification computationally very hard and prone to errors in microarray gene expression datasets. In this paper, we present an innovative method for selecting highly informative gene subsets of gene expression data that effectively classifies the cancer data into tumorous and non-tumorous. The hybrid gene selection technique comprises of combined Mutual Information and Fisher score to select informative genes. The gene selection is validated by classification using Support Vector Machine (SVM) which is a supervised learning algorithm capable of solving complex classification problems. The results obtained from improved Mutual Information and F-Score with SVM as a classifier has produced efficient results.

Keywords: Gene selection, mutual information, Fisher score, classification, SVM.

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