Search results for: Inter- Cell Interference
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1314

Search results for: Inter- Cell Interference

714 Adaptive Distributed Genetic Algorithms and Its VLSI Design

Authors: Kazutaka Kobayashi, Norihiko Yoshida, Shuji Narazaki

Abstract:

This paper presents a dynamic adaptation scheme for the frequency of inter-deme migration in distributed genetic algorithms (GA), and its VLSI hardware design. Distributed GA, or multi-deme-based GA, uses multiple populations which evolve concurrently. The purpose of dynamic adaptation is to improve convergence performance so as to obtain better solutions. Through simulation experiments, we proved that our scheme achieves better performance than fixed frequency migration schemes.

Keywords: Genetic algorithms, dynamic adaptation, VLSI hardware.

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713 On the Analysis and a Few Optimization Issues of a New iCIM 3000 System at an Academic-Research Oriented Institution

Authors: D. R. Delgado Sobrino, R. Holubek, R. Ružarovský

Abstract:

In the past years, the world has witnessed significant work in the field of Manufacturing. Special efforts have been made in the implementation of new technologies, management and control systems, among many others which have all evolved the field. Closely following all this, due to the scope of new projects and the need of turning the existing flexible ideas into more autonomous and intelligent ones, i.e.: moving toward a more intelligent manufacturing, the present paper emerges with the main aim of contributing to the analysis and a few customization issues of a new iCIM 3000 system at the IPSAM. In this process, special emphasis in made on the material flow problem. For this, besides offering a description and analysis of the system and its main parts, also some tips on how to define other possible alternative material flow scenarios and a partial analysis of the combinatorial nature of the problem are offered as well. All this is done with the intentions of relating it with the use of simulation tools, for which these have been briefly addressed with a special focus on the Witness simulation package. For a better comprehension, the previous elements are supported by a few figures and expressions which would help obtaining necessary data. Such data and others will be used in the future, when simulating the scenarios in the search of the best material flow configurations.

Keywords: Flexible/Intelligent assembly/disassembly cell (F/IA/DC), Flexible/Intelligent Manufacturing Systems/Cell (F/IMS/C), Material Flow Optimization/Combinations/Design (MFO/C/D).

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712 In vitro Effects of Berberine on the Vitality and Oxidative Profile of Bovine Spermatozoa

Authors: Eva Tvrdá, Hana Greifová, Peter Ivanič, Norbert Lukáč

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose- and time-dependent in vitro effects of berberine (BER), a natural alkaloid with numerous biological properties on bovine spermatozoa during three time periods (0 h, 2 h, 24 h). Bovine semen samples were diluted and cultivated in physiological saline solution containing 0.5% DMSO together with 200, 100, 50, 10, 5, and 1 μmol/L BER. Spermatozoa motility was assessed using the computer assisted semen analyzer. The viability of spermatozoa was assessed by the metabolic (MTT) assay, production of superoxide radicals was quantified using the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test, and chemiluminescence was used to evaluate the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cell lysates were prepared and the extent of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was evaluated using the TBARS assay. The results of the movement activity showed a significant increase in the motility during long term cultivation in case of concentrations ranging between 1 and 10 μmol/L BER (P < 0.01; P < 0.001; 24 h). At the same time, supplementation of 1, 5 and 10 μmol/L BER led to a significant preservation of the cell viability (P < 0.001; 24 h). BER addition at a range of 1-50 μmol/L also provided a significantly higher protection against superoxide (P < 0.05) and ROS (P < 0.001; P < 0.01) overgeneration as well as LPO (P < 0.01; P<0.05) after a 24 h cultivation. We may suggest that supplementation of BER to bovine spermatozoa, particularly at concentrations ranging between 1 and 50 μmol/L, may offer protection to the motility, viability and oxidative status of the spermatozoa, particularly notable at 24 h.

Keywords: Berberine, bulls, motility, oxidative profile, spermatozoa, viability.

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711 Early-Warning Lights Classification Management System for Industrial Parks in Taiwan

Authors: Yu-Min Chang, Kuo-Sheng Tsai, Hung-Te Tsai, Chia-Hsin Li

Abstract:

This paper presents the early-warning lights classification management system for industrial parks promoted by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) since 2011, including the definition of each early-warning light, objectives, action program and accomplishments. All of the 151 industrial parks in Taiwan were classified into four early-warning lights, including red, orange, yellow and green, for carrying out respective pollution management according to the monitoring data of soil and groundwater quality, regulatory compliance, and regulatory listing of control site or remediation site. The Taiwan EPA set up a priority list for high potential polluted industrial parks and investigated their soil and groundwater qualities based on the results of the light classification and pollution potential assessment. In 2011-2013, there were 44 industrial parks selected and carried out different investigation, such as the early warning groundwater well networks establishment and pollution investigation/verification for the red and orange-light industrial parks and the environmental background survey for the yellow-light industrial parks. Among them, 22 industrial parks were newly or continuously confirmed that the concentrations of pollutants exceeded those in soil or groundwater pollution control standards. Thus, the further investigation, groundwater use restriction, listing of pollution control site or remediation site, and pollutant isolation measures were implemented by the local environmental protection and industry competent authorities; the early warning lights of those industrial parks were proposed to adjust up to orange or red-light. Up to the present, the preliminary positive effect of the soil and groundwater quality management system for industrial parks has been noticed in several aspects, such as environmental background information collection, early warning of pollution risk, pollution investigation and control, information integration and application, and inter-agency collaboration. Finally, the work and goal of self-initiated quality management of industrial parks will be carried out on the basis of the inter-agency collaboration by the classified lights system of early warning and management as well as the regular announcement of the status of each industrial park.

Keywords: Industrial park, soil and groundwater quality management, early-warning lights classification, SOP for reporting and treatment of monitored abnormal events.

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710 Laboratory Evaluation of Bacillus subtilis Bioactivity on Musca domestica (Linn) (Diptera: Muscidae) Larvae from Poultry Farms in South Western Nigeria

Authors: Funmilola O. Omoya

Abstract:

Muscid flies are known to be vectors of disease agents and species that annoy humans and domesticated animals. An example of these flies is Musca domestica (house fly) whose adult and immature stages occur in a variety of filthy organic substances including household garbage and animal manures. They contribute to microbial contamination of foods. It is therefore imperative to control these flies as a result of their role in Public health. The second and third instars of Musca domestica (Linn) were infected with varying cell loads of Bacillus subtilis in vitro for a period of 48 hours to evaluate its larvicidal activities. Mortality of the larvae increased with incubation period after treatment with the varying cell loads. Investigation revealed that the second instars larvae were more susceptible to treatment than the third instars treatments. Values obtained from the third instar group were significantly different (P<0.05) from those obtained from the second instars group in all the treatments. Lethal concentration (LC50) at 24 hours for 2nd instars was 2.35 while LC50 at 48 hours was 4.31.This study revealed that Bacillus subtilis possess good larvicidal potential for use in the control of Musca domestica in poultry farms.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, larvicidal activities, Musca domestica, poultry farms.

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709 Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Biosurfactants on Residual-Oil Recovery

Authors: S. V. Ukwungwu, A. J. Abbas, G. G. Nasr

Abstract:

The increasing high price of natural gas and oil with attendant increase in energy demand on world markets in recent years has stimulated interest in recovering residual oil saturation across the globe. In order to meet the energy security, efforts have been made in developing new technologies of enhancing the recovery of oil and gas, utilizing techniques like CO2 flooding, water injection, hydraulic fracturing, surfactant flooding etc. Surfactant flooding however optimizes production but poses risk to the environment due to their toxic nature. Amongst proven records that have utilized other type of bacterial in producing biosurfactants for enhancing oil recovery, this research uses a technique to combine biosurfactants that will achieve a scale of EOR through lowering interfacial tension/contact angle. In this study, three biosurfactants were produced from three Bacillus species from freeze dried cultures using sucrose 3 % (w/v) as their carbon source. Two of these produced biosurfactants were screened with the TEMCO Pendant Drop Image Analysis for reduction in IFT and contact angle. Interfacial tension was greatly reduced from 56.95 mN.m-1 to 1.41 mN.m-1 when biosurfactants in cell-free culture (Bacillus licheniformis) were used compared to 4. 83mN.m-1 cell-free culture of Bacillus subtilis. As a result, cell-free culture of (Bacillus licheniformis) changes the wettability of the biosurfactant treatment for contact angle measurement to more water-wet as the angle decreased from 130.75o to 65.17o. The influence of microbial treatment on crushed rock samples was also observed by qualitative wettability experiments. Treated samples with biosurfactants remained in the aqueous phase, indicating a water-wet system. These results could prove that biosurfactants can effectively change the chemistry of the wetting conditions against diverse surfaces, providing a desirable condition for efficient oil transport in this way serving as a mechanism for EOR. The environmental friendly effect of biosurfactants applications for industrial purposes play important advantages over chemically synthesized surfactants, with various possible structures, low toxicity, eco-friendly and biodegradability.

Keywords: Bacillus, biosurfactant, enhanced oil recovery, residual oil, wettability.

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708 Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization of Biomimetic Scaffold of Gelatin/Zn-Incorporated 58S Bioactive Glass

Authors: Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Amirhossein Moghanian

Abstract:

The main purpose of this research was to design a biomimetic system by freeze-drying method for evaluating the effect of adding 5 and 10 mol. % of zinc (Zn) in 58S bioactive glass and gelatin (5ZnBG/G and 10ZnBG/G) in terms of structural and biological changes. The structural analyses of samples were performed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Also, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity tests were carried out for investigation of MC3T3-E1 cell behaviors. The SEM results demonstrated the spherical shape of the formed hydroxyapatite (HA) phases and also HA characteristic peaks were detected by XRD spectroscopy after 3 days of immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. Meanwhile, FTIR spectra proved that the intensity of P–O peaks for 5ZnBG/G was more than 10ZnBG/G and control samples. Moreover, the results of ALP activity test illustrated that the optimal amount of Zn (5ZnBG/G) caused a considerable enhancement in bone cell growth. Taken together, the scaffold with 5 mol.% Zn was introduced as an optimal sample because of its higher biocompatibility, in vitro bioactivity and growth of MC3T3-E1 cells in comparison with other samples in bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: Scaffold, gelatin, modified bioactive glass, ALP, bone tissue engineering.

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707 Effects of a Nectandra Membranacea Extract on Labeling of Blood Constituents with Technetium-99m and on the Morphology of Red Blood Cells

Authors: Silvana R.F. Moreno, Jorge J. Carvalho, Ana L. Nascimento, Mario Pereira, Luiz Q. A. Caldas, Mário Bernardo-Filho

Abstract:

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the possible interference of a Nectandra membranacea extract (i) on the labeling of blood cells (BC), (ii) on the labeling process of BC and plasma (P) proteins with technetium-99m (Tc-99m) and (iii) on the morphology of red blood cells (RBC). Blood samples were incubated with a Nectandra membranacea crude extract, stannous chloride, Tc- 99m (sodium pertechnetate) was added, and soluble (SF) and insoluble (IF) fractions were isolated. Morphometry studies were performed with blood samples incubated with Nectandra membranacea extract. The results show that the Nectandra membranacea extract does not promote significant alteration of the labeling of BC, IF-P and IF-BC. The Nectandra membranacea extract was able to alter the erythrocyte membrane morphology, but these morphological changes were not capable to interfere on the labeling of blood constituents with Tc-99m.

Keywords: in vitro study, Nectandra membranacea, red bloodcell, technetium-99m

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706 MMSE Based Beamforming for Chip Interleaved CDMA in Aeronautical Mobile Radio Channel

Authors: Sherif K. El Dyasti, Esam A. Hagras, Adel E. El-Hennawy

Abstract:

This paper addresses the performance of antenna array beamforming on Chip-Interleaved Code Division Multiple Access (CI_CDMA) system based on Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) detector in aeronautical mobile radio channel. Multipath fading, Doppler shifts caused by the speed of the aircraft, and Multiple Access Interference (MAI) are the most important reasons that affect and reduce the performance of aeronautical system. In this paper we suggested the CI-CDMA with antenna array to combat this fading and improve the bit error rate (BER) performance. We further evaluate the performance of the proposed system in the four standard scenarios in aeronautical mobile radio channel.

Keywords: Aeronautical Channel, CI-CDMA, Beamforming.

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705 Detection and Analysis of Deficiencies in Groundnut Plant using Geometric Moments

Authors: Sumeet S. Nisale, Chandan J. Bharambe, Vidya N.More

Abstract:

We propose our genuine research of geometric moments which detects the mineral inadequacy in the frail groundnut plant. This plant is prone to many deficiencies as a result of the variance in the soil nutrients. By analyzing the leaves of the plant, we detect the visual symptoms that are not recognizable to the naked eyes. We have collected about 160 samples of leaves from the nearby fields. The images have been taken by keeping every leaf into a black box to avoid the external interference. For the first time, it has been possible to provide the farmer with the stages of deficiencies. This paper has applied the algorithms successfully to many other plants like Lady-s finger, Green Bean, Lablab Bean, Chilli and Tomato. But we submit the results of the groundnut predominantly. The accuracy of our algorithm and method is almost 93%. This will again pioneer a kind of green revolution in the field of agriculture and will be a boon to that field.

Keywords: Component image, geometric moments, average intensity, average affected area, black box

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704 Analysis of Fertilizer Effect in the Tilapia Growth of Mozambique (Oreochromis mossambicus)

Authors: Sérgio Afonso Mulema, Andrés Carrión García, Vicente Ernesto

Abstract:

This paper analyses the effect of fertilizer (organic and inorganic) in the growth of tilapia. An experiment was implemented in the Aquapesca Company of Mozambique; there were considered four different treatments. Each type of fertilizer was applied in two of these treatments; a feed was supplied to the third treatment, and the fourth was taken as control. The weight and length of the tilapia were used as the growth parameters, and to measure the water quality, the physical-chemical parameters were registered. The results show that the weight and length were different for tilapias cultivated in different treatments. These differences were evidenced mainly by organic and feed treatments, where there was the largest and smallest value of these parameters, respectively. In order to prove that these differences were caused only by applied treatment without interference for the aquatic environment, a Fisher discriminant analysis was applied, which confirmed that the treatments were exposed to the same environment condition.

Keywords: Fertilizer, tilapia, growth, statistical methods.

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703 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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702 Wireless Body Area Network’s Mitigation Method Using Equalization

Authors: Savita Sindhu, Shruti Vashist

Abstract:

A wireless body area sensor network (WBASN) is composed of a central node and heterogeneous sensors to supervise the physiological signals and functions of the human body. This overwhelmimg area has stimulated new research and calibration processes, especially in the area of WBASN’s attainment and fidelity. In the era of mobility or imbricated WBASN’s, system performance incomparably degrades because of unstable signal integrity. Hence, it is mandatory to define mitigation techniques in the design to avoid interference. There are various mitigation methods available e.g. diversity techniques, equalization, viterbi decoder etc. This paper presents equalization mitigation scheme in WBASNs to improve the signal integrity. Eye diagrams are also given to represent accuracy of the signal. Maximum no. of symbols is taken to authenticate the signal which in turn results in accuracy and increases the overall performance of the system.

Keywords: Wireless body area network, equalizer, RLS, LMS.

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701 Topology Influence on TCP Congestion Control Performance in Multi-hop Ad Hoc Wireless

Authors: Haniza N., Md Khambari, M. N, Shahrin S., Adib M.Monzer Habbal, Suhaidi Hassan

Abstract:

Wireless ad hoc nodes are freely and dynamically self-organize in communicating with others. Each node can act as host or router. However it actually depends on the capability of nodes in terms of its current power level, signal strength, number of hops, routing protocol, interference and others. In this research, a study was conducted to observe the effect of hops count over different network topologies that contribute to TCP Congestion Control performance degradation. To achieve this objective, a simulation using NS-2 with different topologies have been evaluated. The comparative analysis has been discussed based on standard observation metrics: throughput, delay and packet loss ratio. As a result, there is a relationship between types of topology and hops counts towards the performance of ad hoc network. In future, the extension study will be carried out to investigate the effect of different error rate and background traffic over same topologies.

Keywords: NS-2, network topology, network performance, multi-hops

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700 A Green Method for Selective Spectrophotometric Determination of Hafnium(IV) with Aqueous Extract of Ficus carica Tree Leaves

Authors: A. Boveiri Monji, H. Yousefnia, M. Haji Hosseini, S. Zolghadri

Abstract:

A clean spectrophotometric method for the determination of hafnium by using a green reagent, acidic extract of Ficus carica tree leaves is developed. In 6-M hydrochloric acid, hafnium reacts with this reagent to form a yellow product. The formed product shows maximum absorbance at 421 nm with a molar absorptivity value of 0.28 × 104 l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹, and the method was linear in the 2-11 µg ml⁻¹ concentration range. The detection limit value was found to be 0.312 µg ml⁻¹. Except zirconium and iron, the selectivity was good, and most of the ions did not show any significant spectral interference at concentrations up to several hundred times. The proposed method was green, simple, low cost, and selective.

Keywords: Spectrophotometric determination, Ficus carica tree leaves, synthetic reagents, hafnium.

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699 Segmentation of Breast Lesions in Ultrasound Images Using Spatial Fuzzy Clustering and Structure Tensors

Authors: Yan Xu, Toshihiro Nishimura

Abstract:

Segmentation in ultrasound images is challenging due to the interference from speckle noise and fuzziness of boundaries. In this paper, a segmentation scheme using fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering incorporating both intensity and texture information of images is proposed to extract breast lesions in ultrasound images. Firstly, the nonlinear structure tensor, which can facilitate to refine the edges detected by intensity, is used to extract speckle texture. And then, a spatial FCM clustering is applied on the image feature space for segmentation. In the experiments with simulated and clinical ultrasound images, the spatial FCM clustering with both intensity and texture information gets more accurate results than the conventional FCM or spatial FCM without texture information.

Keywords: fuzzy c-means, spatial information, structure tensor, ultrasound image segmentation

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698 Dynamic Clustering using Particle Swarm Optimization with Application in Unsupervised Image Classification

Authors: Mahamed G.H. Omran, Andries P Engelbrecht, Ayed Salman

Abstract:

A new dynamic clustering approach (DCPSO), based on Particle Swarm Optimization, is proposed. This approach is applied to unsupervised image classification. The proposed approach automatically determines the "optimum" number of clusters and simultaneously clusters the data set with minimal user interference. The algorithm starts by partitioning the data set into a relatively large number of clusters to reduce the effects of initial conditions. Using binary particle swarm optimization the "best" number of clusters is selected. The centers of the chosen clusters is then refined via the Kmeans clustering algorithm. The experiments conducted show that the proposed approach generally found the "optimum" number of clusters on the tested images.

Keywords: Clustering Validation, Particle Swarm Optimization, Unsupervised Clustering, Unsupervised Image Classification.

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697 Preparation and Conductivity Measurements of LSM/YSZ Composite Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell Anode Materials

Authors: Christian C. Vaso, Rinlee Butch M. Cervera

Abstract:

One of the most promising anode materials for solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) application is the Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) which is known to have a high electronic conductivity but low ionic conductivity. To increase the ionic conductivity or diffusion of ions through the anode, Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), which has good ionic conductivity, is proposed to be combined with LSM to create a composite electrode and to obtain a high mixed ionic and electronic conducting anode. In this study, composite of lanthanum strontium manganite and YSZ oxide, La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/Zr0.92Y0.08O2 (LSM/YSZ), with different wt.% compositions of LSM and YSZ were synthesized using solid-state reaction. The obtained prepared composite samples of 60, 50, and 40 wt.% LSM with remaining wt.% of 40, 50, and 60, respectively for YSZ were fully characterized for its microstructure by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscope/Energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analyses. Surface morphology of the samples via SEM analysis revealed a well-sintered and densified pure LSM, while a more porous composite sample of LSM/YSZ was obtained. Electrochemical impedance measurements at intermediate temperature range (500-700 °C) of the synthesized samples were also performed which revealed that the 50 wt.% LSM with 50 wt.% YSZ (L50Y50) sample showed the highest total conductivity of 8.27x10-1 S/cm at 600 oC with 0.22 eV activation energy.

Keywords: Ceramics, microstructure, fuel cells, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

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696 Socioculture and Cognitivist Perspectives on Language and Communication Barriers in Learning

Authors: David Hallberg

Abstract:

It is believed that major account on language diversity must be taken in learning, and especially in learning using ICT. This paper-s objective is to exhibit language and communication barriers in learning, to approach the topic from socioculture and cognitivist perspectives, and to give exploratory solutions of handling such barriers. The review is mainly conducted by approaching the journal Computers & Education, but also an initially broad search was conducted. The results show that not much attention is paid on language and communication barriers in an immediate relation to learning using ICT. The results shows, inter alia, that language and communication barriers are caused because of not enough account is taken on both the individual-s background and the technology.

Keywords: communication barriers, cognitive, ICT, language barriers, learning, socioculture

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695 Formosa3: A Cloud-Enabled HPC Cluster in NCHC

Authors: Chin-Hung Li, Te-Ming Chen, Ying-Chuan Chen, Shuen-Tai Wang

Abstract:

This paper proposes a new approach to offer a private cloud service in HPC clusters. In particular, our approach relies on automatically scheduling users- customized environment request as a normal job in batch system. After finishing virtualization request jobs, those guest operating systems will dismiss so that compute nodes will be released again for computing. We present initial work on the innovative integration of HPC batch system and virtualization tools that aims at coexistence such that they suffice for meeting the minimizing interference required by a traditional HPC cluster. Given the design of initial infrastructure, the proposed effort has the potential to positively impact on synergy model. The results from the experiment concluded that goal for provisioning customized cluster environment indeed can be fulfilled by using virtual machines, and efficiency can be improved with proper setup and arrangements.

Keywords: Cloud Computing, HPC Cluster, Private Cloud, Virtualization

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694 The Evaluation of Complete Blood Cell Count-Based Inflammatory Markers in Pediatric Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Obesity is defined as a severe chronic disease characterized by a low-grade inflammatory state. Therefore, inflammatory markers gained utmost importance during the evaluation of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS), a disease characterized by central obesity, elevated blood pressure, increased fasting blood glucose and elevated triglycerides or reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) values. Some inflammatory markers based upon complete blood cell count (CBC) are available. In this study, it was questioned which inflammatory marker was the best to evaluate the differences between various obesity groups. 514 pediatric individuals were recruited. 132 children with MetS, 155 morbid obese (MO), 90 obese (OB), 38 overweight (OW) and 99 children with normal BMI (N-BMI) were included into the scope of this study. Obesity groups were constituted using age- and sex-dependent body mass index (BMI) percentiles tabulated by World Health Organization. MetS components were determined to be able to specify children with MetS. CBC were determined using automated hematology analyzer. HDL-C analysis was performed. Using CBC parameters and HDL-C values, ratio markers of inflammation, which cover neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), monocyte-to-HDL-C ratio (MHR) were calculated. Statistical analyses were performed. The statistical significance degree was considered as p < 0.05. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of platelet count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, monocyte count, and NLR. PLR differed significantly between OW and N-BMI as well as MetS. Monocyte-to HDL-C value exhibited statistical significance between MetS and N-BMI, OB, and MO groups. HDL-C value differed between MetS and N-BMI, OW, OB, MO groups. MHR was the ratio, which exhibits the best performance among the other CBC-based inflammatory markers. On the other hand, when MHR was compared to HDL-C only, it was suggested that HDL-C has given much more valuable information. Therefore, this parameter still keeps its value from the diagnostic point of view. Our results suggest that MHR can be an inflammatory marker during the evaluation of pediatric MetS, but the predictive value of this parameter was not superior to HDL-C during the evaluation of obesity.

Keywords: Children, complete blood cell count, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, obesity.

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693 Real-Time Implementation of STANAG 4539 High-Speed HF Modem

Authors: S. Saraç, F. Kara, C.Vural

Abstract:

High-frequency (HF) communications have been used by military organizations for more than 90 years. The opportunity of very long range communications without the need for advanced equipment makes HF a convenient and inexpensive alternative of satellite communications. Besides the advantages, voice and data transmission over HF is a challenging task, because the HF channel generally suffers from Doppler shift and spread, multi-path, cochannel interference, and many other sources of noise. In constructing an HF data modem, all these effects must be taken into account. STANAG 4539 is a NATO standard for high-speed data transmission over HF. It allows data rates up to 12800 bps over an HF channel of 3 kHz. In this work, an efficient implementation of STANAG 4539 on a single Texas Instruments- TMS320C6747 DSP chip is described. The state-of-the-art algorithms used in the receiver and the efficiency of the implementation enables real-time high-speed data / digitized voice transmission over poor HF channels.

Keywords: High frequency, modem, STANAG 4539.

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692 Performance of Chaotic Lu System in CDMA Satellites Communications Systems

Authors: K. Kemih, M. Benslama

Abstract:

This paper investigates the problem of spreading sequence and receiver code synchronization techniques for satellite based CDMA communications systems. The performance of CDMA system depends on the autocorrelation and cross-correlation properties of the used spreading sequences. In this paper we propose the uses of chaotic Lu system to generate binary sequences for spreading codes in a direct sequence spread CDMA system. To minimize multiple access interference (MAI) we propose the use of genetic algorithm for optimum selection of chaotic spreading sequences. To solve the problem of transmitter-receiver synchronization, we use the passivity controls. The concept of semipassivity is defined to find simple conditions which ensure boundedness of the solutions of coupled Lu systems. Numerical results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Keywords: About Chaotic Lu system, synchronization, Spreading sequence, Genetic Algorithm. Passive System

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691 Impact of Weather Conditions on Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing over Gamma Gamma Channel

Authors: Muhammad Sameer Ahmed, Piotr Remlein, Tansal Gucluoglu

Abstract:

The technique called as Generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) used in the free space optical channel can be a good option for implementation free space optical communication systems. This technique has several strengths e.g. good spectral efficiency, low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), adaptability and low co-channel interference. In this paper, the impact of weather conditions such as haze, rain and fog on GFDM over the gamma-gamma channel model is discussed. A Trade off between link distance and system performance under intense weather conditions is also analysed. The symbol error probability (SEP) of GFDM over the gamma-gamma turbulence channel is derived and verified with the computer simulations.

Keywords: Free space optics, generalized frequency division multiplexing, weather conditions, gamma gamma distribution.

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690 Influence of Hydrocarbons on Plant Cell Ultrastructure and Main Metabolic Enzymes

Authors: T. Sadunishvili, E. Kvesitadze, M. Betsiashvili, N. Kuprava, G. Zaalishvili, G. Kvesitadze

Abstract:

Influence of octane and benzene on plant cell ultrastructure and enzymes of basic metabolism, such as nitrogen assimilation and energy generation have been studied. Different plants: perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa); crops- maize (Zea mays L.) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris); shrubs – privet (Ligustrum sempervirens) and trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliate); trees - poplar (Populus deltoides) and white mulberry (Morus alba L.) were exposed to hydrocarbons of different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 mM). Destructive changes in bean and maize leaves cells ultrastructure under the influence of benzene vapour were revealed at the level of photosynthetic and energy generation subcellular organells. Different deviations at the level of subcellular organelles structure and distribution were observed in alfalfa and ryegrass root cells under the influence of benzene and octane, absorbed through roots. The level of destructive changes is concentration dependent. Benzene at low 1 and 10 mM concentration caused the increase in glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity in maize roots and leaves and in poplar and mulberry shoots, though to higher extent in case of lower, 1mM concentration. The induction was more intensive in plant roots. The highest tested 100mM concentration of benzene was inhibitory to the enzyme in all plants. Octane caused induction of GDH in all grassy plants at all tested concentrations; however the rate of induction decreased parallel to increase of the hydrocarbon concentration. Octane at concentration 1 mM caused induction of GDH in privet, trifoliate and white mulberry shoots. The highest, 100mM octane was characterized by inhibitory effect to GDH activity in all plants. Octane had inductive effect on malate dehydrogenase in almost all plants and tested concentrations, indicating the intensification of Trycarboxylic Acid Cycle. The data could be suggested for elaboration of criteria for plant selection for phytoremediation of oil hydrocarbons contaminated soils.

Keywords: Higher plants, hydrocarbons, cell ultrastructure, glutamate and malate dehydrogenases.

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689 Exploring the Factors of Inter-Organizational Knowledge Sharing

Authors: Ying-Hueih Chen, Jyh-Jeng Wu, Shu-Hua Chien, Yui-Chuin Shiah

Abstract:

Interorganizational knowledge sharing is the major driving force to maximize the operational benefits across supply chain. Trust is considered as the key to facilitate knowledge sharing. This research proposes shared values and relational embeddedness as antecedents of interorganizational trust. Survey based on managers in major industrial parks in Taiwan confirm that trust is enforced when organizations develop shared values and formed social relational embeddedness. Trust leads to interorganizational knowledge sharing. This research has theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: Shared Goal, Relational Embeddedness, Trust, Knowledge Sharing.

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688 Exergetic Comparison between Three Configurations of Two Stage Vapor Compression Refrigeration Systems

Authors: Wafa Halfaoui Mbarek, Khir Tahar, Ben Brahim Ammar

Abstract:

This study reports a comparison from an exergetic point of view between three configurations of vapor compression industrial refrigeration systems operating with R134a as working fluid. The performances of the different cycles are analyzed as function of several operating parameters such as condensing temperature and inter stage pressure. In addition, the contributions of component exergy destruction to the total exergy destruction are obtained for each system. The results are estimated to be used in the selection of the most advantageous configuration from an exergetic view point.

Keywords: Vapor compression, exergy, destruction, efficiency, R134a.

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687 On-line Speech Enhancement by Time-Frequency Masking under Prior Knowledge of Source Location

Authors: Min Ah Kang, Sangbae Jeong, Minsoo Hahn

Abstract:

This paper presents the source extraction system which can extract only target signals with constraints on source localization in on-line systems. The proposed system is a kind of methods for enhancing a target signal and suppressing other interference signals. But, the performance of proposed system is superior to any other methods and the extraction of target source is comparatively complete. The method has a beamforming concept and uses an improved time-frequency (TF) mask-based BSS algorithm to separate a target signal from multiple noise sources. The target sources are assumed to be in front and test data was recorded in a reverberant room. The experimental results of the proposed method was evaluated by the PESQ score of real-recording sentences and showed a noticeable speech enhancement.

Keywords: Beam forming, Non-stationary noise reduction, Source separation, TF mask.

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686 UAV Position Estimation Using Remote Radio Head With Adaptive Power Control

Authors: Hyeon-Cheol Lee

Abstract:

The adaptive power control of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications using Remote Radio Head (RRH) between multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with a link-budget based Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) estimate is applied to four inner loop power control algorithms. It is concluded that Base Station (BS) can calculate not only UAV distance using linearity between speed and Consecutive Transmit-Power-Control Ratio (CTR) of Adaptive Step-size Closed Loop Power Control (ASCLPC), Consecutive TPC Ratio Step-size Closed Loop Power Control (CS-CLPC), Fixed Step-size Power Control (FSPC), but also UAV position with Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) ratio of RRHs.

Keywords: speed estimation, adaptive power control, link-budget, SIR, multi-bit quantizer, RRH

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685 A Piscan Ulcerative Aeromonas Infection

Authors: Ibrahim M. S. Shnawa, Bashar A. H. E. Alsadi, Kalida K. Alniaem

Abstract:

In the immunologic sense, clinical infection is a state of failure of the immune system to combat the pathogenic weapon of the bacteria invading the host. A motile gram negative vibroid organism associated with marked mono and poly nuclear cell responses was traced during the examination of a clinical material from an infected common carp Cyprinus carpio. On primary plate culture, growth was shown to be pure, dense population of an Aeromonas-like colony morphotype. The pure isolate was found to be; Aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, non-halophilic, grew at 0C, and 37C, oxidase positive utilizes glucose through fermentative pathway, resist 0/129 and novobiocin, produces alanine and lysine decarboxylases but non-producing ornithine dehydrolases. Tests for the in vitro determinants of pathogenicity has shown to be; Betahaemolytic onto blood agar, gelatinase, casienase and amylase producer. Three in vivo determinants of pathogenicity were tested as, the lethal dose fifty, the pathogenesis and pathogenicity. It was evident that 0.1 milliliter of the causal bacterial cell suspension of a density 1 x 107 CFU/ml injected intramuscularly into an average of 100gms fish toke five days incubation period, then at the day six morbidity and mortality were initiated. LD50 was recorded at the day 12 post-infection. Use of an LD50 doses to study the pathogenicity, reveals mononuclear and polynuclear cell responses, on examining the stained direct films of the clinical materials from the experimentally infected fish. Re-isolation tests confirm that the reisolant is same. The course of the infection in natural case was shown manifestation of; skin ulceration, haemorrhage and descaling. On evisceration, the internal organs were shown; congestion in the intestines, spleen and, air sacs. The induced infection showed a milder form of these manifestations. The grading of the virulence of this organism was virulent causing chronic course of infections as indicated from the pathogenesis and pathogenicity studies. Thus the infectious bacteria were consistent with Aeromonas hydrophila, and the infection was chronic.

Keywords: Piscan, inflammatory respnonse, pure culture, pathogen, chronic, infection.

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