Search results for: Facility Location Selection
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1914

Search results for: Facility Location Selection

1314 Distributed Relay Selection and Channel Choice in Cognitive Radio Network

Authors: Hao He, Shaoqian Li

Abstract:

In this paper, we study the cooperative communications where multiple cognitive radio (CR) transmit-receive pairs competitive maximize their own throughputs. In CR networks, the influences of primary users and the spectrum availability are usually different among CR users. Due to the existence of multiple relay nodes and the different spectrum availability, each CR transmit-receive pair should not only select the relay node but also choose the appropriate channel. For this distributed problem, we propose a game theoretic framework to formulate this problem and we apply a regret-matching learning algorithm which is leading to correlated equilibrium. We further formulate a modified regret-matching learning algorithm which is fully distributed and only use the local information of each CR transmit-receive pair. This modified algorithm is more practical and suitable for the cooperative communications in CR network. Simulation results show the algorithm convergence and the modified learning algorithm can achieve comparable performance to the original regretmatching learning algorithm.

Keywords: cognitive radio, cooperative communication, relay selection, channel choice, regret-matching learning, correlated equilibrium.

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1313 Statistics over Lyapunov Exponents for Feature Extraction: Electroencephalographic Changes Detection Case

Authors: Elif Derya UBEYLI, Inan GULER

Abstract:

A new approach based on the consideration that electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are chaotic signals was presented for automated diagnosis of electroencephalographic changes. This consideration was tested successfully using the nonlinear dynamics tools, like the computation of Lyapunov exponents. This paper presented the usage of statistics over the set of the Lyapunov exponents in order to reduce the dimensionality of the extracted feature vectors. Since classification is more accurate when the pattern is simplified through representation by important features, feature extraction and selection play an important role in classifying systems such as neural networks. Multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) architectures were formulated and used as basis for detection of electroencephalographic changes. Three types of EEG signals (EEG signals recorded from healthy volunteers with eyes open, epilepsy patients in the epileptogenic zone during a seizure-free interval, and epilepsy patients during epileptic seizures) were classified. The selected Lyapunov exponents of the EEG signals were used as inputs of the MLPNN trained with Levenberg- Marquardt algorithm. The classification results confirmed that the proposed MLPNN has potential in detecting the electroencephalographic changes.

Keywords: Chaotic signal, Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, Feature extraction/selection, Lyapunov exponents

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1312 Artificial Neural Networks Modeling in Water Resources Engineering: Infrastructure and Applications

Authors: M. R. Mustafa, M. H. Isa, R. B. Rezaur

Abstract:

The use of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling for prediction and forecasting variables in water resources engineering are being increasing rapidly. Infrastructural applications of ANN in terms of selection of inputs, architecture of networks, training algorithms, and selection of training parameters in different types of neural networks used in water resources engineering have been reported. ANN modeling conducted for water resources engineering variables (river sediment and discharge) published in high impact journals since 2002 to 2011 have been examined and presented in this review. ANN is a vigorous technique to develop immense relationship between the input and output variables, and able to extract complex behavior between the water resources variables such as river sediment and discharge. It can produce robust prediction results for many of the water resources engineering problems by appropriate learning from a set of examples. It is important to have a good understanding of the input and output variables from a statistical analysis of the data before network modeling, which can facilitate to design an efficient network. An appropriate training based ANN model is able to adopt the physical understanding between the variables and may generate more effective results than conventional prediction techniques.

Keywords: ANN, discharge, modeling, prediction, sediment,

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1311 Map UI Design of IoT Application Based on Passenger Evacuation Behaviors in Underground Station

Authors: Meng-Cong Zheng

Abstract:

When the public space is in an emergency, how to quickly establish spatial cognition and emergency shelter in the closed underground space is the urgent task. This study takes Taipei Station as the research base and aims to apply the use of Internet of things (IoT) application for underground evacuation mobility design. The first experiment identified passengers' evacuation behaviors and spatial cognition in underground spaces by wayfinding tasks and thinking aloud, then defined the design conditions of User Interface (UI) and proposed the UI design.  The second experiment evaluated the UI design based on passengers' evacuation behaviors by wayfinding tasks and think aloud again as same as the first experiment. The first experiment found that the design conditions that the subjects were most concerned about were "map" and hoping to learn the relative position of themselves with other landmarks by the map and watch the overall route. "Position" needs to be accurately labeled to determine the location in underground space. Each step of the escape instructions should be presented clearly in "navigation bar." The "message bar" should be informed of the next or final target exit. In the second experiment with the UI design, we found that the "spatial map" distinguishing between walking and non-walking areas with shades of color is useful. The addition of 2.5D maps of the UI design increased the user's perception of space. Amending the color of the corner diagram in the "escape route" also reduces the confusion between the symbol and other diagrams. The larger volume of toilets and elevators can be a judgment of users' relative location in "Hardware facilities." Fire extinguisher icon should be highlighted. "Fire point tips" of the UI design indicated fire with a graphical fireball can convey precise information to the escaped person. "Fire point tips" of the UI design indicated fire with a graphical fireball can convey precise information to the escaped person. However, "Compass and return to present location" are less used in underground space.

Keywords: Evacuation behaviors, IoT application, map UI design, underground station.

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1310 Examining Corporate Tax Evaders: Evidence from the Finalized Audit Cases

Authors: Ming Ling Lai, Zalilawati Yaacob, Normah Omar, Norashikin Abdul Aziz, Bee Wah Yap

Abstract:

This paper aims to (1) analyze the profiles of transgressors (detected evaders); (2) examine reason(s) that triggered a tax audit, causes of tax evasion, audit timeframe and tax penalty charged; and (3) to assess if tax auditors followed the guidelines as stated in the 'Tax Audit Framework' when conducting tax audits. In 2011, the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM) had audited and finalized 557 company cases. With official permission, data of all the 557 cases were obtained from the IRBM. Of these, a total of 421 cases with complete information were analyzed. About 58.1% was small and medium corporations and from the construction industry (32.8%). The selection for tax audit was based on risk analysis (66.8%), information from third party (11.1%), and firm with low profitability or fluctuating profit pattern (7.8%). The three persistent causes of tax evasion by firms were over claimed expenses (46.8%), fraudulent reporting of income (38.5%) and overstating purchases (10.5%). These findings are consistent with past literature. Results showed that tax auditors took six to 18 months to close audit cases. More than half of tax evaders were fined 45% on additional tax raised during audit for the first offence. The study found tax auditors did follow the guidelines in the 'Tax Audit Framework' in audit selection, settlement and penalty imposition.

Keywords: Corporate tax fraud, tax non-compliance, tax evasion, tax audit, fraudulent reporting.

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1309 Performance of On-site Earthquake Early Warning Systems for Different Sensor Locations

Authors: Ting-Yu Hsu, Shyu-Yu Wu, Shieh-Kung Huang, Hung-Wei Chiang, Kung-Chun Lu, Pei-Yang Lin, Kuo-Liang Wen

Abstract:

Regional earthquake early warning (EEW) systems are not suitable for Taiwan, as most destructive seismic hazards arise due to in-land earthquakes. These likely cause the lead-time provided by regional EEW systems before a destructive earthquake wave arrives to become null. On the other hand, an on-site EEW system can provide more lead-time at a region closer to an epicenter, since only seismic information of the target site is required. Instead of leveraging the information of several stations, the on-site system extracts some P-wave features from the first few seconds of vertical ground acceleration of a single station and performs a prediction of the oncoming earthquake intensity at the same station according to these features. Since seismometers could be triggered by non-earthquake events such as a passing of a truck or other human activities, to reduce the likelihood of false alarms, a seismometer was installed at three different locations on the same site and the performance of the EEW system for these three sensor locations were discussed. The results show that the location on the ground of the first floor of a school building maybe a good choice, since the false alarms could be reduced and the cost for installation and maintenance is the lowest.

Keywords: Earthquake early warning, Single station approach, Seismometer location.

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1308 Advantages of a New Manufacturing Facility for the Production of Nanofiber

Authors: R. Knizek, D. Karhankova

Abstract:

The production of nanofibers and the machinery for their production is a current issue. The pioneer, in the industrial production of nanofibers, is the machinery with the sales descriptions NanospiderTM from the company Elmarco, which came into being in 2008. Most of the production facilities, like NanospiderTM, use electrospinning. There are also other methods of industrial production of nanofibers, such as the centrifugal spinning process, which is used by FibeRio Technology Corporation. However, each method and machine has its advantages, but also disadvantages and that is the reason why a new machine called as Nanomachine, which eliminates the disadvantages of other production facilities producing nanofibers, has been developed.

Keywords: Nanomachine, nanospider, spinning slat, electrospinning.

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1307 Investigating the Effective Parameters in Determining the Type of Traffic Congestion Pricing Schemes in Urban Streets

Authors: Saeed Sayyad Hagh Shomar

Abstract:

Traffic congestion pricing – as a strategy in travel demand management in urban areas to reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and noise pollution – has drawn many attentions towards itself. Unlike the satisfying findings in this method, there are still problems in determining the best functional congestion pricing scheme with regard to the situation. The so-called problems in this process will result in further complications and even the scheme failure. That is why having proper knowledge of the significance of congestion pricing schemes and the effective factors in choosing them can lead to the success of this strategy. In this study, first, a variety of traffic congestion pricing schemes and their components are introduced; then, their functional usage is discussed. Next, by analyzing and comparing the barriers, limitations and advantages, the selection criteria of pricing schemes are described. The results, accordingly, show that the selection of the best scheme depends on various parameters. Finally, based on examining the effective parameters, it is concluded that the implementation of area-based schemes (cordon and zonal) has been more successful in non-diversion of traffic. That is considering the topology of the cities and the fact that traffic congestion is often created in the city centers, area-based schemes would be notably functional and appropriate.

Keywords: Congestion pricing, demand management, flat toll, variable toll.

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1306 Aerodynamic Prediction and Performance Analysis for Mars Science Laboratory Entry Vehicle

Authors: Tang Wei, Yang Xiaofeng, Gui Yewei, Du Yanxia

Abstract:

Complex lifting entry was selected for precise landing performance during the Mars Science Laboratory entry. This study aims to develop the three-dimensional numerical method for precise computation and the surface panel method for rapid engineering prediction. Detailed flow field analysis for Mars exploration mission was performed by carrying on a series of fully three-dimensional Navier-Stokes computations. The static aerodynamic performance was then discussed, including the surface pressure, lift and drag coefficient, lift-to-drag ratio with the numerical and engineering method. Computation results shown that the shock layer is thin because of lower effective specific heat ratio, and that calculated results from both methods agree well with each other, and is consistent with the reference data. Aerodynamic performance analysis shows that CG location determines trim characteristics and pitch stability, and certain radially and axially shift of the CG location can alter the capsule lifting entry performance, which is of vital significance for the aerodynamic configuration design and inner instrument layout of the Mars entry capsule.

Keywords: Mars entry capsule, static aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, hypersonic.

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1305 Certain Data Dimension Reduction Techniques for application with ANN based MCS for Study of High Energy Shower

Authors: Gitanjali Devi, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma, Pranayee Datta, Anjana Kakoti Mahanta

Abstract:

Cosmic showers, from their places of origin in space, after entering earth generate secondary particles called Extensive Air Shower (EAS). Detection and analysis of EAS and similar High Energy Particle Showers involve a plethora of experimental setups with certain constraints for which soft-computational tools like Artificial Neural Network (ANN)s can be adopted. The optimality of ANN classifiers can be enhanced further by the use of Multiple Classifier System (MCS) and certain data - dimension reduction techniques. This work describes the performance of certain data dimension reduction techniques like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Self Organizing Map (SOM) approximators for application with an MCS formed using Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN). The data inputs are obtained from an array of detectors placed in a circular arrangement resembling a practical detector grid which have a higher dimension and greater correlation among themselves. The PCA, ICA and SOM blocks reduce the correlation and generate a form suitable for real time practical applications for prediction of primary energy and location of EAS from density values captured using detectors in a circular grid.

Keywords: EAS, Shower, Core, ANN, Location.

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1304 Study of Environmental Effects on Sunflower Oil Percent based on Graphical Method

Authors: Khodadad Mostafavi, Alireza Nabipour, Mohammad Norouzi

Abstract:

Biplot can be used to evaluate cultivars for their oil percent potential and stability and to evaluate trial sites for their discriminating ability and representativeness. Multi-environmental trial (MET) data for oil percent of 10 open pollinating sunflower cultivars were analyzed to investigate the genotype-environment interactions. The genotypes were evaluated in four locations with different climatic conditions in Iran in 2010. In each location, a Randomized Complete Block design with four replications was used. According to both mean and stability, Zaria, Master and R453, had highest performances among all cultivars. The graphical analysis identified best cultivar for each environment. Cultivars Berezans and Record performed best in Khoy and Islamabad. Zaria and R453 were the best genotypes in Sari and Karaj followed by Master and Favorit. The GGE bi-plot indicated two mega-environments, group one contained Karaj, Khoy and Islamabad and the second group contained Sari. The best discriminating location was Karaj followed with Khoy, Islamabad and Sari. The best representative genotypes were Zaria, R453, Master and Favorit. Ranking of ten cultivars based their oil percent was as Zaria > R453 ≈ Master ≈ Favorit > Record ≈ Berezans > Sor > Lakumka > Bulg3 > Bulg5.

Keywords: Stability, Bi-plot, Genotype- environment interaction, Sunflower

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1303 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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1302 Design of Liquids Mixing Control System using Fuzzy Time Control Discrete Event Model for Industrial Applications

Authors: M.Saleem Khan, Khaled Benkrid

Abstract:

This paper presents a time control liquids mixing system in the tanks as an application of fuzzy time control discrete model. The system is designed for a wide range of industrial applications. The simulation design of control system has three inputs: volume, viscosity, and selection of product, along with the three external control adjustments for the system calibration or to take over the control of the system autonomously in local or distributed environment. There are four controlling elements: rotatory motor, grinding motor, heating and cooling units, and valves selection, each with time frame limit. The system consists of three controlled variables measurement through its sensing mechanism for feed back control. This design also facilitates the liquids mixing system to grind certain materials in tanks and mix with fluids under required temperature controlled environment to achieve certain viscous level. Design of: fuzzifier, inference engine, rule base, deffuzifiers, and discrete event control system, is discussed. Time control fuzzy rules are formulated, applied and tested using MATLAB simulation for the system.

Keywords: Fuzzy time control, industrial application and timecontrol systems, adjustment of Fuzzy system, liquids mixing system, design of fuzzy time control DEV system.

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1301 Attribute Based Comparison and Selection of Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robot Using Multiple Attribute Decision Making Approach

Authors: Manpreet Singh, V. P. Agrawal, Gurmanjot Singh Bhatti

Abstract:

From the last decades, there is a significant technological advancement in the field of robotics, and a number of modular self-reconfigurable robots were introduced that can help in space exploration, bucket to stuff, search, and rescue operation during earthquake, etc. As there are numbers of self-reconfigurable robots, choosing the optimum one is always a concern for robot user since there is an increase in available features, facilities, complexity, etc. The objective of this research work is to present a multiple attribute decision making based methodology for coding, evaluation, comparison ranking and selection of modular self-reconfigurable robots using a technique for order preferences by similarity to ideal solution approach. However, 86 attributes that affect the structure and performance are identified. A database for modular self-reconfigurable robot on the basis of different pertinent attribute is generated. This database is very useful for the user, for selecting a robot that suits their operational needs. Two visual methods namely linear graph and spider chart are proposed for ranking of modular self-reconfigurable robots. Using five robots (Atron, Smores, Polybot, M-Tran 3, Superbot), an example is illustrated, and raking of the robots is successfully done, which shows that Smores is the best robot for the operational need illustrated, and this methodology is found to be very effective and simple to use.

Keywords: Self-reconfigurable robots, MADM, TOPSIS, morphogenesis, scalability.

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1300 Modeling the Country Selection Decision in Retail Internationalization

Authors: A. Hortacsu, A. Tektas

Abstract:

This paper aims to develop a model that assists the international retailer in selecting the country that maximizes the degree of fit between the retailer-s goals and the country characteristics in his initial internationalization move. A two-stage multi criteria decision model is designed integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Goal Programming. Ethical, cultural, geographic and economic proximity are identified as the relevant constructs of the internationalization decision. The constructs are further structured into sub-factors within analytic hierarchy. The model helps the retailer to integrate, rank and weigh a number of hard and soft factors and prioritize the countries accordingly. The model has been implemented on a Turkish luxury goods retailer who was planning to internationalize. Actual entry of the specific retailer in the selected country is a support for the model. Implementation on a single retailer limits the generalizability of the results; however, the emphasis of the paper is on construct identification and model development. The paper enriches the existing literature by proposing a hybrid multi objective decision model which introduces new soft dimensions i.e. perceived distance, ethical proximity, humane orientation to the decision process and facilitates effective decision making.

Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, culture, ethics, goal programming, retail foreign market selection.

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1299 Evaluation of Internal Ballistics of Multi-Perforated Grain in a Closed Vessel

Authors: B. A. Parate, C. P. Shetty

Abstract:

This research article describes the evaluation methodology of an internal ballistics of multi-perforated grain in a closed vessel (CV). The propellant testing in a CV is conducted to characterize the propellants and to ascertain the various internal ballistic parameters. The assessment of an internal ballistics plays a very crucial role for suitability of its use in the selection for a given particular application. The propellant used in defense sectors has to satisfy the user requirements as per laid down specifications. The outputs from CV evaluation of multi-propellant grain are maximum pressure of 226.75 MPa, differentiation of pressure with respect to time of 36.99 MPa/ms, average vivacity of 9.990×10-4/MPa ms, force constant of 933.9 J/g, rise time of 9.85 ms, pressure index of 0.878 including burning coefficient of 0.2919. This paper addresses an internal ballistic of multi-perforated grain, propellant selection, its calculation, and evaluation of various parameters in a CV testing. For the current analysis, the propellant is evaluated in 100 cc CV with propellant mass 20 g. The loading density of propellant is 0.2 g/cc. The method for determination of internal ballistic properties consists of burning of propellant mass under constant volume.

Keywords: Burning rate, closed vessel, force constant, internal ballistic, loading density, maximum pressure, multi-propellant grain, propellant, rise time, vivacity.

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1298 Fuzzy Uncertainty Theory for Stealth Fighter Aircraft Selection in Entropic Fuzzy TOPSIS Decision Analysis Process

Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to present fuzzy TOPSIS in an entropic fuzzy environment. Due to the ambiguous concepts often represented in decision data, exact values are insufficient to model real-life situations. In this paper, the rating of each alternative is defined in fuzzy linguistic terms, which can be expressed with triangular fuzzy numbers. The weight of each criterion is then derived from the decision matrix using the entropy weighting method. Next, a vertex method is proposed to calculate the distance between two triangular fuzzy numbers. According to the TOPSIS concept, a closeness coefficient is defined to determine the ranking order of all alternatives by simultaneously calculating the distances to both the fuzzy positive-ideal solution (FPIS) and the fuzzy negative-ideal solution (FNIS). Finally, an illustrative example of selecting stealth fighter aircraft is shown at the end of this article to highlight the procedure of the proposed method. Correlation analysis and validation analysis using TOPSIS, WSM, and WPM methods were performed to compare the ranking order of the alternatives.

Keywords: stealth fighter aircraft selection, fuzzy uncertainty theory (FUT), fuzzy entropic decision (FED), fuzzy linguistic variables, triangular fuzzy numbers, multiple criteria decision making analysis, MCDMA, TOPSIS, WSM, WPM

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1297 Optimum Locations for Intercity Bus Terminals with the AHP Approach – Case Study of the City of Esfahan

Authors: Mehrdad Arabi, Ehsan Beheshtitabar, Bahador Ghadirifaraz, Behrooz Forjanizadeh

Abstract:

Interaction between human, location and activity defines space. In the framework of these relations, space is a container for current specifications in relations of the 3 mentioned elements. The change of land utility considered with average performance range, urban regulations, society requirements etc. will provide welfare and comfort for citizens. From an engineering view it is fundamental that choosing a proper location for a specific civil activity requires evaluation of locations from different perspectives. The debate of desirable establishment of municipal service elements in urban regions is one of the most important issues related to urban planning. In this paper, the research type is applicable based on goal, and is descriptive and analytical based on nature. Initially existing terminals in Esfahan are surveyed and then new locations are presented based on evaluated criteria. In order to evaluate terminals based on the considered factors, an AHP model is used at first to estimate weight of different factors and then existing and suggested locations are evaluated using Arc GIS software and AHP model results. The results show that existing bus terminals are located in fairly proper locations. Further results of this study suggest new locations to establish terminals based on urban criteria.

Keywords: Arc GIS, Esfahan city, Optimum locations, Terminals.

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1296 Optimal Portfolio Selection in a DC Pension with Multiple Contributors and the Impact of Stochastic Additional Voluntary Contribution on the Optimal Investment Strategy

Authors: Edikan E. Akpanibah, Okwigbedi Oghen’Oro

Abstract:

In this paper, we studied the optimal portfolio selection in a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme with multiple contributors under constant elasticity of variance (CEV) model and the impact of stochastic additional voluntary contribution on the investment strategies. We assume that the voluntary contributions are stochastic and also consider investments in a risk free asset and a risky asset to increase the expected returns of the contributing members. We derived a stochastic differential equation which consists of the members’ monthly contributions and the invested fund and obtained an optimized problem with the help of Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation. Furthermore, we find an explicit solution for the optimal investment strategy with stochastic voluntary contribution using power transformation and change of variables method and the corresponding optimal fund size was obtained. We discussed the impact of the voluntary contribution on the optimal investment strategy with numerical simulations and observed that the voluntary contribution reduces the optimal investment strategy of the risky asset.

Keywords: DC pension fund, Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman, optimal investment strategies, power transformation method, stochastic, voluntary contribution.

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1295 Optimization of Energy Harvesting Systems for RFID Applications

Authors: P. Chambe, B. Canova, A. Balabanian, M. Pele, N. Coeur

Abstract:

To avoid battery assisted tags with limited lifetime batteries, it is proposed here to replace them by energy harvesting systems, able to feed from local environment. This would allow total independence to RFID systems, very interesting for applications where tag removal from its location is not possible. Example is here described for luggage safety in airports, and is easily  extendable to similar situation in terms of operation constraints. The idea is to fix RFID tag with energy harvesting system not only to identify luggage but also to supply an embedded microcontroller with a sensor delivering luggage weight making it impossible to add or to remove anything from the luggage during transit phases. The aim is to optimize the harvested energy for such RFID applications, and to study in which limits these applications are theoretically possible. Proposed energy harvester is based on two energy sources: piezoelectricity and electromagnetic waves, so that when the luggage is moving on ground transportation to airline counters, the piezo module supplies the tag and its microcontroller, while the RF module operates during luggage transit thanks to readers located along the way. Tag location on the luggage is analyzed to get best vibrations, as well as harvester better choice for optimizing the energy supply depending on applications and the amount of energy harvested during a period of time. Effects of system parameters (RFID UHF frequencies, limit distance between the tag and the antenna necessary to harvest energy, produced voltage and voltage threshold) are discussed and working conditions for such system are delimited.

Keywords: EM waves, Energy Harvesting, Piezoelectric, RFID Tag.

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1294 Practical Evaluation of High-Efficiency Si-Based Tandem Solar Cells

Authors: Sue-Yi Chen, Wei-Chun Hsu, Jon-Yiew Gan

Abstract:

Si-based double-junction tandem solar cells have become a popular research topic because of the advantages of low manufacturing cost and high energy conversion efficiency. However, there is no set of calculations to select the appropriate top cell materials. Therefore, this paper will propose a simple but practical selection method. First of all, we calculate the S-Q limit and explain the reasons for developing tandem solar cells. Secondly, we calculate the theoretical energy conversion efficiency of the double-junction tandem solar cells while combining the commercial monocrystalline Si and materials' practical efficiency to consider the actual situation. Finally, we conservatively conclude that if considering 75% performance of the theoretical energy conversion efficiency of the top cell, the suitable bandgap energy range will fall between 1.38 eV to 2.5 eV. Besides, we also briefly describe some improvements of several proper materials, CZTS, CdSe, Cu2O, ZnTe, and CdS, hoping that future research can select and manufacture high-efficiency Si-based tandem solar cells based on this paper successfully. Most importantly, our calculation method is not limited to silicon solely. If other materials’ performances match or surpass silicon's ability in the future, researchers can also apply this set of deduction processes.

Keywords: High-efficiency solar cells, material selection, Si-based double-junction solar cells, tandem solar cells, photovoltaics.

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1293 Expression of Leucaena Leucocephala de Wit Chitinase in Transgenic Koshihikari Rice

Authors: M. Kaomek, J. R. Ketudat-Cairns

Abstract:

The cDNA encoding the 326 amino acids of a Class I basic chitinase gene from Leucaena leucocephala de Wit (KB3, Genbank accession: AAM49597) was cloned under the control of CaMV35S promoter in pCAMBIA 1300 and transferred to Koshihikari. Calli of Koshihikari rice was transformed with agrobacterium with this construct expressing the chitinase and β- glucouronidase (GUS). The frequencies of calli 90 % has been obtained from rice seedlings cultured on NB medium. The high regeneration frequencies, 74% was obtained from calli cultured on regeneration medium containing 4 mg/l BAP, and 7 g/l phytagel at 25°C. Various factors were studied in order to establish a procedure for the transformation of Koshihikari Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Supplementation of 50 mM acetosyringone to the medium during coculivation was important to enhance the frequency to transient transformation. The 4 week-old scutellum-derived calli were excellent starting materials. Selection medium based on NB medium supplement with 40 mg/l hygromycin and 400 mg/l cefotaxime were an optimized medium for selection of transformed rice calli. The percentage of transformation 70 was obtained. Recombinant calli and regenerated rice plants were checked the expression of chitinase and gus by PCR, northern blot gel, southern blot gel, and gus assay. Chitinase and gus were expressed in all parts of recombinant rice. The rice line expressing the KB3 chiitnase was more resistant to the blast fungus Fusarium monoliforme than control line.

Keywords: chitinase, Leucaena leucocephala de Wit, Koshihikari, transgenic rice.

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1292 Transform-Domain Rate-Distortion Optimization Accelerator for H.264/AVC Video Encoding

Authors: Mohammed Golam Sarwer, Lai Man Po, Kai Guo, Q.M. Jonathan Wu

Abstract:

In H.264/AVC video encoding, rate-distortion optimization for mode selection plays a significant role to achieve outstanding performance in compression efficiency and video quality. However, this mode selection process also makes the encoding process extremely complex, especially in the computation of the ratedistortion cost function, which includes the computations of the sum of squared difference (SSD) between the original and reconstructed image blocks and context-based entropy coding of the block. In this paper, a transform-domain rate-distortion optimization accelerator based on fast SSD (FSSD) and VLC-based rate estimation algorithm is proposed. This algorithm could significantly simplify the hardware architecture for the rate-distortion cost computation with only ignorable performance degradation. An efficient hardware structure for implementing the proposed transform-domain rate-distortion optimization accelerator is also proposed. Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm reduces about 47% of total encoding time with negligible degradation of coding performance. The proposed method can be easily applied to many mobile video application areas such as a digital camera and a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) phone.

Keywords: Context-adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC), H.264/AVC, rate-distortion optimization (RDO), sum of squareddifference (SSD).

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1291 Different in Factors of the Distributor Selection for Food and Non-Food OTOP Entrepreneur in Thailand

Authors: Phutthiwat Waiyawuththanapoom

Abstract:

This study has only one objective which is to identify the different in factors of choosing the distributor for food and non-food OTOP entrepreneur in Thailand. In this research, the types of OTOP product will be divided into two groups which are food and non-food. The sample for the food type OTOP product was the processed fruit and vegetable from Nakorn Pathom province and the sample for the non-food type OTOP product was the court doll from Ang Thong province. The research was divided into 3 parts which were a study of the distribution pattern and how to choose the distributor of the food type OTOP product, a study of the distribution pattern and how to choose the distributor of the non-food type OTOP product and a comparison between 2 types of products to find the differentiation in the factor of choosing distributor. The data and information was collected by using the interview. The populations in the research were 5 producers of the processed fruit and vegetable from Nakorn Pathom province and 5 producers of the court doll from Ang Thong province. The significant factor in choosing the distributor of the food type OTOP product is the material handling efficiency and on-time delivery but for the non-food type OTOP product is focused on the channel of distribution and cost of the distributor.

Keywords: Distributor, OTOP, Food and Non-Food, Selection.

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1290 Timescape-Based Panoramic View for Historic Landmarks

Authors: H. Ali, A. Whitehead

Abstract:

Providing a panoramic view of famous landmarks around the world offers artistic and historic value for historians, tourists, and researchers. Exploring the history of famous landmarks by presenting a comprehensive view of a temporal panorama merged with geographical and historical information presents a unique challenge of dealing with images that span a long period, from the 1800’s up to the present. This work presents the concept of temporal panorama through a timeline display of aligned historic and modern images for many famous landmarks. Utilization of this panorama requires a collection of hundreds of thousands of landmark images from the Internet comprised of historic images and modern images of the digital age. These images have to be classified for subset selection to keep the more suitable images that chronologically document a landmark’s history. Processing of historic images captured using older analog technology under various different capturing conditions represents a big challenge when they have to be used with modern digital images. Successful processing of historic images to prepare them for next steps of temporal panorama creation represents an active contribution in cultural heritage preservation through the fulfillment of one of UNESCO goals in preservation and displaying famous worldwide landmarks.

Keywords: Cultural heritage, image registration, image subset selection, registered image similarity, temporal panorama, timescapes.

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1289 A Real Time Development Study for Automated Centralized Remote Monitoring System at Royal Belum Forest

Authors: Amri Yusoff, Shahrizuan Shafiril, Ashardi Abas, Norma Che Yusoff

Abstract:

Nowadays, illegal logging has been causing many effects including flash flood, avalanche, global warming, and etc. The purpose of this study was to maintain the earth ecosystem by keeping and regulate Malaysia’s treasurable rainforest by utilizing a new technology that will assist in real-time alert and give faster response to the authority to act on these illegal activities. The methodology of this research consisted of design stages that have been conducted as well as the system model and system architecture of the prototype in addition to the proposed hardware and software that have been mainly used such as microcontroller, sensor with the implementation of GSM, and GPS integrated system. This prototype was deployed at Royal Belum forest in December 2014 for phase 1 and April 2015 for phase 2 at 21 pinpoint locations. The findings of this research were the capture of data in real-time such as temperature, humidity, gaseous, fire, and rain detection which indicate the current natural state and habitat in the forest. Besides, this device location can be detected via GPS of its current location and then transmitted by SMS via GSM system. All of its readings were sent in real-time for further analysis. The data that were compared to meteorological department showed that the precision of this device was about 95% and these findings proved that the system is acceptable and suitable to be used in the field.

Keywords: Remote monitoring system, forest data, GSM, GPS, wireless sensor.

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1288 Study of Current Sheath Velocities in Tridimensional with Sahand Plasma Focus

Authors: M.A. Mohammadi, H.Alinejad, A.Piri

Abstract:

The current sheath dynamics in plasma focus facilities is the most important factors. In this paper the current sheath velocity at three dimensional with Sahand plasma focus facility is investigated. For this purpose the discharge is produced in argon gas with deposited energy lying in the range of 20-37kJ. The current sheath is monitored using two tridimensional magnetic probes. These probes installed near the surface of the interior electrode (anode) at 125mm from the anode axis (pinch place). The effect of gas pressure on the current sheath velocity also is investigated.

Keywords: Plasma focus, Current sheath, magnetic probe

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1287 Shear Behaviour of RC Deep Beams with Openings Strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer

Authors: Mannal Tariq

Abstract:

Construction industry is making progress at a high pace. The trend of the world is getting more biased towards the high rise buildings. Deep beams are one of the most common elements in modern construction having small span to depth ratio. Deep beams are mostly used as transfer girders. This experimental study consists of 16 reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams. These beams were divided into two groups; A and B. Groups A and B consist of eight beams each, having 381 mm (15 in) and 457 mm (18 in) depth respectively. Each group was further subdivided into four sub groups each consisting of two identical beams. Each subgroup was comprised of solid/control beam (without opening), opening above neutral axis (NA), at NA and below NA. Except for control beams, all beams with openings were strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) vertical strips. These eight groups differ from each other based on depth and location of openings. For testing sake, all beams have been loaded with two symmetrical point loads. All beams have been designed based on strut and tie model concept. The outcome of experimental investigation elaborates the difference in the shear behaviour of deep beams based on depth and location of circular openings variation. 457 mm (18 in) deep beam with openings above NA show the highest strength and 381 mm (15 in) deep beam with openings below NA show the least strength. CFRP sheets played a vital role in increasing the shear capacity of beams.

Keywords: CFRP, deep beams, openings in deep beams, strut and tie model, shear behaviour.

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1286 The Enhancement of Target Localization Using Ship-Borne Electro-Optical Stabilized Platform

Authors: Jaehoon Ha, Byungmo Kang, Kilho Hong, Jungsoo Park

Abstract:

Electro-optical (EO) stabilized platforms have been widely used for surveillance and reconnaissance on various types of vehicles, from surface ships to unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). EO stabilized platforms usually consist of an assembly of structure, bearings, and motors called gimbals in which a gyroscope is installed. EO elements such as a CCD camera and IR camera, are mounted to a gimbal, which has a range of motion in elevation and azimuth and can designate and track a target. In addition, a laser range finder (LRF) can be added to the gimbal in order to acquire the precise slant range from the platform to the target. Recently, a versatile functionality of target localization is needed in order to cooperate with the weapon systems that are mounted on the same platform. The target information, such as its location or velocity, needed to be more accurate. The accuracy of the target information depends on diverse component errors and alignment errors of each component. Specially, the type of moving platform can affect the accuracy of the target information. In the case of flying platforms, or UAVs, the target location error can be increased with altitude so it is important to measure altitude as precisely as possible. In the case of surface ships, target location error can be increased with obliqueness of the elevation angle of the gimbal since the altitude of the EO stabilized platform is supposed to be relatively low. The farther the slant ranges from the surface ship to the target, the more extreme the obliqueness of the elevation angle. This can hamper the precise acquisition of the target information. So far, there have been many studies on EO stabilized platforms of flying vehicles. However, few researchers have focused on ship-borne EO stabilized platforms of the surface ship. In this paper, we deal with a target localization method when an EO stabilized platform is located on the mast of a surface ship. Especially, we need to overcome the limitation caused by the obliqueness of the elevation angle of the gimbal. We introduce a well-known approach for target localization using Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) and present the problem definition showing the above-mentioned limitation. Finally, we want to show the effectiveness of the approach that will be demonstrated through computer simulations.

Keywords: Target localization, ship-borne electro-optical stabilized platform, unscented Kalman filter.

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1285 Bayesian Belief Networks for Test Driven Development

Authors: Vijayalakshmy Periaswamy S., Kevin McDaid

Abstract:

Testing accounts for the major percentage of technical contribution in the software development process. Typically, it consumes more than 50 percent of the total cost of developing a piece of software. The selection of software tests is a very important activity within this process to ensure the software reliability requirements are met. Generally tests are run to achieve maximum coverage of the software code and very little attention is given to the achieved reliability of the software. Using an existing methodology, this paper describes how to use Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to select unit tests based on their contribution to the reliability of the module under consideration. In particular the work examines how the approach can enhance test-first development by assessing the quality of test suites resulting from this development methodology and providing insight into additional tests that can significantly reduce the achieved reliability. In this way the method can produce an optimal selection of inputs and the order in which the tests are executed to maximize the software reliability. To illustrate this approach, a belief network is constructed for a modern software system incorporating the expert opinion, expressed through probabilities of the relative quality of the elements of the software, and the potential effectiveness of the software tests. The steps involved in constructing the Bayesian Network are explained as is a method to allow for the test suite resulting from test-driven development.

Keywords: Software testing, Test Driven Development, Bayesian Belief Networks.

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