Search results for: space mapping
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1717

Search results for: space mapping

1027 The Significance of Embodied Energy in Certified Passive Houses

Authors: Robert H. Crawford, André Stephan

Abstract:

Certifications such as the Passive House Standard aim to reduce the final space heating energy demand of residential buildings. Space conditioning, notably heating, is responsible for nearly 70% of final residential energy consumption in Europe. There is therefore significant scope for the reduction of energy consumption through improvements to the energy efficiency of residential buildings. However, these certifications totally overlook the energy embodied in the building materials used to achieve this greater operational energy efficiency. The large amount of insulation and the triple-glazed high efficiency windows require a significant amount of energy to manufacture. While some previous studies have assessed the life cycle energy demand of passive houses, including their embodied energy, these rely on incomplete assessment techniques which greatly underestimate embodied energy and can lead to misleading conclusions. This paper analyses the embodied and operational energy demands of a case study passive house using a comprehensive hybrid analysis technique to quantify embodied energy. Results show that the embodied energy is much more significant than previously thought. Also, compared to a standard house with the same geometry, structure, finishes and number of people, a passive house can use more energy over 80 years, mainly due to the additional materials required. Current building energy efficiency certifications should widen their system boundaries to include embodied energy in order to reduce the life cycle energy demand of residential buildings.

Keywords: Embodied energy, Hybrid analysis, Life cycle energy analysis, Passive house.

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1026 Multi-Criteria Spatial Analysis for the Localization of Production Structures. Analytic Hierarchy Process and Geographical Information Systems in the Case of Expanding an Industrial Area

Authors: Gianluigi De Mare, Pierluigi Morano, Antonio Nesticò

Abstract:

Among the numerous economic evaluation techniques currently available, Multi-criteria Spatial Analysis lends itself to solving localization problems of property complexes and, in particular, production plants. The methodology involves the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the mapping overlay technique, which overlaps the different information layers of a territory in order to obtain an overview of the parameters that characterize it. This first phase is used to detect possible settlement surfaces of a new agglomeration, subsequently selected through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), so as to choose the best alternative. The result ensures the synthesis of a multidimensional profile that expresses both the quantitative and qualitative effects. Each criterion can be given a different weight.

Keywords: Multi-criteria Spatial Analysis, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Geographical Information Systems, localization of industrial areas.

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1025 Index t-SNE: Tracking Dynamics of High-Dimensional Datasets with Coherent Embeddings

Authors: G. Candel, D. Naccache

Abstract:

t-SNE is an embedding method that the data science community has widely used. It helps two main tasks: to display results by coloring items according to the item class or feature value; and for forensic, giving a first overview of the dataset distribution. Two interesting characteristics of t-SNE are the structure preservation property and the answer to the crowding problem, where all neighbors in high dimensional space cannot be represented correctly in low dimensional space. t-SNE preserves the local neighborhood, and similar items are nicely spaced by adjusting to the local density. These two characteristics produce a meaningful representation, where the cluster area is proportional to its size in number, and relationships between clusters are materialized by closeness on the embedding. This algorithm is non-parametric. The transformation from a high to low dimensional space is described but not learned. Two initializations of the algorithm would lead to two different embedding. In a forensic approach, analysts would like to compare two or more datasets using their embedding. A naive approach would be to embed all datasets together. However, this process is costly as the complexity of t-SNE is quadratic, and would be infeasible for too many datasets. Another approach would be to learn a parametric model over an embedding built with a subset of data. While this approach is highly scalable, points could be mapped at the same exact position, making them indistinguishable. This type of model would be unable to adapt to new outliers nor concept drift. This paper presents a methodology to reuse an embedding to create a new one, where cluster positions are preserved. The optimization process minimizes two costs, one relative to the embedding shape and the second relative to the support embedding’ match. The embedding with the support process can be repeated more than once, with the newly obtained embedding. The successive embedding can be used to study the impact of one variable over the dataset distribution or monitor changes over time. This method has the same complexity as t-SNE per embedding, and memory requirements are only doubled. For a dataset of n elements sorted and split into k subsets, the total embedding complexity would be reduced from O(n2) to O(n2/k), and the memory requirement from n2 to 2(n/k)2 which enables computation on recent laptops. The method showed promising results on a real-world dataset, allowing to observe the birth, evolution and death of clusters. The proposed approach facilitates identifying significant trends and changes, which empowers the monitoring high dimensional datasets’ dynamics.

Keywords: Concept drift, data visualization, dimension reduction, embedding, monitoring, reusability, t-SNE, unsupervised learning.

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1024 An LMI Approach of Robust H∞ Fuzzy State-Feedback Controller Design for HIV/AIDS Infection System with Dual Drug Dosages

Authors: Wudhichai Assawinchaichote

Abstract:

This paper examines the problem of designing robust H controllers for for HIV/AIDS infection system with dual drug dosages described by a Takagi-Sugeno (S) fuzzy model. Based on a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, we develop an H controller which guarantees the L2-gain of the mapping from the exogenous input noise to the regulated output to be less than some prescribed value for the system. A sufficient condition of the controller for this system is given in term of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The effectiveness of the proposed controller design methodology is finally demonstrated through simulation results. It has been shown that the anti-HIV vaccines are critically important in reducing the infected cells.

Keywords: H∞ Fuzzy control; Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model; Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs); HIV/AIDS infection system

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1023 H∞ Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy State-Derivative Feedback Control Design for Nonlinear Dynamic Systems

Authors: N. Kaewpraek, W. Assawinchaichote

Abstract:

This paper considers an H TS fuzzy state-derivative feedback controller for a class of nonlinear dynamical systems. A Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model is used to approximate a class of nonlinear dynamical systems. Then, based on a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, we design an HTS fuzzy state-derivative feedback control law which guarantees L2-gain of the mapping from the exogenous input noise to the regulated output to be less or equal to a prescribed value. We derive a sufficient condition such that the system with the fuzzy controller is asymptotically stable and H performance is satisfied. Finally, we provide and simulate a numerical example is provided to illustrate the stability and the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Keywords: H∞ fuzzy control, LMI, Takagi-Sugano (TS) fuzzy model, nonlinear dynamic systems, state-derivative feedback.

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1022 Applicability of Overhangs for Energy Saving in Existing High-Rise Housing in Different Climates

Authors: Qiong He, S. Thomas Ng

Abstract:

Upgrading the thermal performance of building envelope of existing residential buildings is an effective way to reduce heat gain or heat loss. Overhang device is a common solution for building envelope improvement as it can cut down solar heat gain and thereby can reduce the energy used for space cooling in summer time. Despite that, overhang can increase the demand for indoor heating in winter due to its function of lowering the solar heat gain. Obviously, overhang has different impacts on energy use in different climatic zones which have different energy demand. To evaluate the impact of overhang device on building energy performance under different climates of China, an energy analysis model is built up in a computer-based simulation program known as DesignBuilder based on the data of a typical high-rise residential building. The energy simulation results show that single overhang is able to cut down around 5% of the energy consumption of the case building in the stand-alone situation or about 2% when the building is surrounded by other buildings in regions which predominantly rely on space cooling though it has no contribution to energy reduction in cold region. In regions with cold summer and cold winter, adding overhang over windows can cut down around 4% and 1.8% energy use with and without adjoining buildings, respectively. The results indicate that overhang might not an effective shading device to reduce the energy consumption in the mixed climate or cold regions.

Keywords: Overhang, energy analysis, computer-based simulation, high-rise residential building, mutual shading, climate.

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1021 Structural Health Monitoring of Offshore Structures Using Wireless Sensor Networking under Operational and Environmental Variability

Authors: Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Thailammai Chithambaram, Shihas A. Khader

Abstract:

The early-stage damage detection in offshore structures requires continuous structural health monitoring and for the large area the position of sensors will also plays an important role in the efficient damage detection. Determining the dynamic behavior of offshore structures requires dense deployment of sensors. The wired Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems are highly expensive and always needs larger installation space to deploy. Wireless sensor networks can enhance the SHM system by deployment of scalable sensor network, which consumes lesser space. This paper presents the results of wireless sensor network based Structural Health Monitoring method applied to a scaled experimental model of offshore structure that underwent wave loading. This method determines the serviceability of the offshore structure which is subjected to various environment loads. Wired and wireless sensors were installed in the model and the response of the scaled BLSRP model under wave loading was recorded. The wireless system discussed in this study is the Raspberry pi board with Arm V6 processor which is programmed to transmit the data acquired by the sensor to the server using Wi-Fi adapter, the data is then hosted in the webpage. The data acquired from the wireless and wired SHM systems were compared and the design of the wireless system is verified.

Keywords: Condition assessment, damage detection, structural health monitoring, structural response, wireless sensor network.

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1020 Various Advanced Statistical Analyses of Index Values Extracted from Outdoor Agricultural Workers Motion Data

Authors: Shinji Kawakura, Ryosuke Shibasaki

Abstract:

We have been grouping and developing various kinds of practical, promising sensing applied systems concerning agricultural advancement and technical tradition (guidance). These include advanced devices to secure real-time data related to worker motion, and we analyze by methods of various advanced statistics and human dynamics (e.g. primary component analysis, Ward system based cluster analysis, and mapping). What is more, we have been considering worker daily health and safety issues. Targeted fields are mainly common farms, meadows, and gardens. After then, we observed and discussed time-line style, changing data. And, we made some suggestions. The entire plan makes it possible to improve both the aforementioned applied systems and farms.

Keywords: Advanced statistical analysis, wearable sensing system, tradition of skill, supporting for workers, detecting crisis.

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1019 A DCT-Based Secure JPEG Image Authentication Scheme

Authors: Mona F. M. Mursi, Ghazy M.R. Assassa, Hatim A. Aboalsamh, Khaled Alghathbar

Abstract:

The challenge in the case of image authentication is that in many cases images need to be subjected to non malicious operations like compression, so the authentication techniques need to be compression tolerant. In this paper we propose an image authentication system that is tolerant to JPEG lossy compression operations. A scheme for JPEG grey scale images is proposed based on a data embedding method that is based on a secret key and a secret mapping vector in the frequency domain. An encrypted feature vector extracted from the image DCT coefficients, is embedded redundantly, and invisibly in the marked image. On the receiver side, the feature vector from the received image is derived again and compared against the extracted watermark to verify the image authenticity. The proposed scheme is robust against JPEG compression up to a maximum compression of approximately 80%,, but sensitive to malicious attacks such as cutting and pasting.

Keywords: Authentication, DCT, JPEG, Watermarking.

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1018 An Advanced Stereo Vision Based Obstacle Detection with a Robust Shadow Removal Technique

Authors: Saeid Fazli, Hajar Mohammadi D., Payman Moallem

Abstract:

This paper presents a robust method to detect obstacles in stereo images using shadow removal technique and color information. Stereo vision based obstacle detection is an algorithm that aims to detect and compute obstacle depth using stereo matching and disparity map. The proposed advanced method is divided into three phases, the first phase is detecting obstacles and removing shadows, the second one is matching and the last phase is depth computing. We propose a robust method for detecting obstacles in stereo images using a shadow removal technique based on color information in HIS space, at the first phase. In this paper we use Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC) function matching with a 5 × 5 window and prepare an empty matching table τ and start growing disparity components by drawing a seed s from S which is computed using canny edge detector, and adding it to τ. In this way we achieve higher performance than the previous works [2,17]. A fast stereo matching algorithm is proposed that visits only a small fraction of disparity space in order to find a semi-dense disparity map. It works by growing from a small set of correspondence seeds. The obstacle identified in phase one which appears in the disparity map of phase two enters to the third phase of depth computing. Finally, experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: obstacle detection, stereo vision, shadowremoval, color, stereo matching

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1017 A Method to Predict Hemorrhage Disease of Grass Carp Tends

Authors: Zhongxu Chen, Jun Yang, Heyue Mao, Xiaoyu Zheng

Abstract:

Hemorrhage Disease of Grass Carp (HDGC) is a kind of commonly occurring illnesses in summer, and the extremely high death rate result in colossal losses to aquaculture. As the complex connections among each factor which influences aquiculture diseases, there-s no quit reasonable mathematical model to solve the problem at present.A BP neural network which with excellent nonlinear mapping coherence was adopted to establish mathematical model; Environmental factor, which can easily detected, such as breeding density, water temperature, pH and light intensity was set as the main analyzing object. 25 groups of experimental data were used for training and test, and the accuracy of using the model to predict the trend of HDGC was above 80%. It is demonstrated that BP neural network for predicating diseases in HDGC has a particularly objectivity and practicality, thus it can be spread to other aquiculture disease.

Keywords: Aquaculture, Hemorrhage Disease of Grass Carp, BP Neural Network

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1016 On the Design of Shape Memory Alloy Locking Mechanism: A Novel Solution for Laparoscopic Ligation Process

Authors: Reza Yousefian, Michael A. Kia, Mehrdad Hosseini Zadeh

Abstract:

The blood ducts must be occluded to avoid loss of blood from vessels in laparoscopic surgeries. This paper presents a locking mechanism to be used in a ligation laparoscopic procedure (LigLAP I), as an alternative solution for a stapling procedure. Currently, stapling devices are being used to occlude vessels. Using these devices may result in some problems, including injury of bile duct, taking up a great deal of space behind the vessel, and bile leak. In this new procedure, a two-layer suture occludes a vessel. A locking mechanism is also required to hold the suture. Since there is a limited space at the device tip, a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator is used in this mechanism. Suitability for cleanroom applications, small size, and silent performance are among the advantages of SMA actuators in biomedical applications. An experimental study is conducted to examine the function of the locking mechanism. To set up the experiment, a prototype of a locking mechanism is built using nitinol, which is a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy. The locking mechanism successfully locks a polymer suture for all runs of the experiment. In addition, the effects of various surface materials on the applied pulling forces are studied. Various materials are mounted at the mechanism tip to compare the maximum pulling forces applied to the suture for each material. The results show that the various surface materials on the device tip provide large differences in the applied pulling forces.

Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery, ligation process, locking mechanism, Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator.

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1015 Neural Network Supervisory Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control of the Pressurized Water Reactor Core Power Load Following Operation

Authors: Derjew Ayele Ejigu, Houde Song, Xiaojing Liu

Abstract:

This work presents the particle swarm optimization trained neural network (PSO-NN) supervisory proportional integral derivative (PID) control method to monitor the pressurized water reactor (PWR) core power for safe operation. The proposed control approach is implemented on the transfer function of the PWR core, which is computed from the state-space model. The PWR core state-space model is designed from the neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and reactivity models using perturbation around the equilibrium value. The proposed control approach computes the control rod speed to maneuver the core power to track the reference in a closed-loop scheme. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to train the neural network (NN) and to tune the PID simultaneously. The controller performance is examined using integral absolute error, integral time absolute error, integral square error, and integral time square error functions, and the stability of the system is analyzed by using the Bode diagram. The simulation results indicated that the controller shows satisfactory performance to control and track the load power effectively and smoothly as compared to the PSO-PID control technique. This study will give benefit to design a supervisory controller for nuclear engineering research fields for control application.

Keywords: machine learning, neural network, pressurized water reactor, supervisory controller

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1014 Unified Fusion Approach with Application to SLAM

Authors: Xinde Li, Xinhan Huang, Min Wang

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose the pre-processor based on the Evidence Supporting Measure of Similarity (ESMS) filter and also propose the unified fusion approach (UFA) based on the general fusion machine coupled with ESMS filter, which improve the correctness and precision of information fusion in any fields of application. Here we mainly apply the new approach to Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) of Pioneer II mobile robots. A simulation experiment was performed, where an autonomous virtual mobile robot with sonar sensors evolves in a virtual world map with obstacles. By comparing the result of building map according to the general fusion machine (here DSmT-based fusing machine and PCR5-based conflict redistributor considereded) coupling with ESMS filter and without ESMS filter, it shows the benefit of the selection of the sources as a prerequisite for improvement of the information fusion, and also testifies the superiority of the UFA in dealing with SLAM.

Keywords: DSmT, ESMS filter, SLAM, UFA

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1013 Lagrangian Geometrical Model of the Rheonomic Mechanical Systems

Authors: Camelia Frigioiu, Katica (Stevanovic) Hedrih, Iulian Gabriel Birsan

Abstract:

In this paper we study the rheonomic mechanical systems from the point of view of Lagrange geometry, by means of its canonical semispray. We present an example of the constraint motion of a material point, in the rheonomic case.

Keywords: Lagrange's equations, mechanical system, non-linear connection, rheonomic Lagrange space.

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1012 Virtual Machines Cooperation for Impatient Jobs under Cloud Paradigm

Authors: Nawfal A. Mehdi, Ali Mamat, Hamidah Ibrahim, Shamala K. Syrmabn

Abstract:

The increase on the demand of IT resources diverts the enterprises to use the cloud as a cheap and scalable solution. Cloud computing promises achieved by using the virtual machine as a basic unite of computation. However, the virtual machine pre-defined settings might be not enough to handle jobs QoS requirements. This paper addresses the problem of mapping jobs have critical start deadlines to virtual machines that have predefined specifications. These virtual machines hosted by physical machines and shared a fixed amount of bandwidth. This paper proposed an algorithm that uses the idle virtual machines bandwidth to increase the quote of other virtual machines nominated as executors to urgent jobs. An algorithm with empirical study have been given to evaluate the impact of the proposed model on impatient jobs. The results show the importance of dynamic bandwidth allocation in virtualized environment and its affect on throughput metric.

Keywords: Insufficient bandwidth, virtual machine, cloudprovider, impatient jobs.

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1011 Localization of Geospatial Events and Hoax Prediction in the UFO Database

Authors: Harish Krishnamurthy, Anna Lafontant, Ren Yi

Abstract:

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been an interesting topic for most enthusiasts and hence people all over the United States report such findings online at the National UFO Report Center (NUFORC). Some of these reports are a hoax and among those that seem legitimate, our task is not to establish that these events confirm that they indeed are events related to flying objects from aliens in outer space. Rather, we intend to identify if the report was a hoax as was identified by the UFO database team with their existing curation criterion. However, the database provides a wealth of information that can be exploited to provide various analyses and insights such as social reporting, identifying real-time spatial events and much more. We perform analysis to localize these time-series geospatial events and correlate with known real-time events. This paper does not confirm any legitimacy of alien activity, but rather attempts to gather information from likely legitimate reports of UFOs by studying the online reports. These events happen in geospatial clusters and also are time-based. We look at cluster density and data visualization to search the space of various cluster realizations to decide best probable clusters that provide us information about the proximity of such activity. A random forest classifier is also presented that is used to identify true events and hoax events, using the best possible features available such as region, week, time-period and duration. Lastly, we show the performance of the scheme on various days and correlate with real-time events where one of the UFO reports strongly correlates to a missile test conducted in the United States.

Keywords: Time-series clustering, feature extraction, hoax prediction, geospatial events.

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1010 Identification of PIP Aquaporin Genes from Wheat

Authors: Sh. A. Yousif, M. Bhave

Abstract:

There is strong evidence that water channel proteins 'aquaporins (AQPs)' are central components in plant-water relations as well as a number of other physiological parameters. We had previously reported the isolation of 24 plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) type AQPs. However, the gene numbers in rice and the polyploid nature of bread wheat indicated a high probability of further genes in the latter. The present work focused on identification of further AQP isoforms in bread wheat. With the use of altered primer design, we identified five genes homologous, designated PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b, TaPIP2;2, TaPIP2;2a, TaPIP2;2b. Sequence alignments indicate PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b are likely to be homeologues of two previously reported genes while the other three are new genes and could be homeologs of each other. The results indicate further AQP diversity in wheat and the sequence data will enable physical mapping of these genes to identify their genomes as well as genetic to determine their association with any quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with plant-water relation such as salinity or drought tolerance.

Keywords: Aquaporins, homeologues, PIP, wheat

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1009 Adaptive Kalman Filter for Noise Estimation and Identification with Bayesian Approach

Authors: Farhad Asadi, S. Hossein Sadati

Abstract:

Bayesian approach can be used for parameter identification and extraction in state space models and its ability for analyzing sequence of data in dynamical system is proved in different literatures. In this paper, adaptive Kalman filter with Bayesian approach for identification of variances in measurement parameter noise is developed. Next, it is applied for estimation of the dynamical state and measurement data in discrete linear dynamical system. This algorithm at each step time estimates noise variance in measurement noise and state of system with Kalman filter. Next, approximation is designed at each step separately and consequently sufficient statistics of the state and noise variances are computed with a fixed-point iteration of an adaptive Kalman filter. Different simulations are applied for showing the influence of noise variance in measurement data on algorithm. Firstly, the effect of noise variance and its distribution on detection and identification performance is simulated in Kalman filter without Bayesian formulation. Then, simulation is applied to adaptive Kalman filter with the ability of noise variance tracking in measurement data. In these simulations, the influence of noise distribution of measurement data in each step is estimated, and true variance of data is obtained by algorithm and is compared in different scenarios. Afterwards, one typical modeling of nonlinear state space model with inducing noise measurement is simulated by this approach. Finally, the performance and the important limitations of this algorithm in these simulations are explained. 

Keywords: adaptive filtering, Bayesian approach Kalman filtering approach, variance tracking

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1008 A Study on Shavadoon Underground Living Space in Dezful and Shooshtar Cities, Southwest of Iran: As a Sample of Sustainable Vernacular Architecture

Authors: Haniyeh Okhovat, Mahmood Hosseini, Omid Kaveh Ahangari, Mona Zaryoun

Abstract:

Shavadoon is a type of underground living space, formerly used in urban residences of Dezful and Shooshtar cities in southwestern Iran. In spite of their high efficiency in creating cool spaces for hot summers of that area, Shavadoons were abandoned, like many other components of vernacular architecture, as a result of the modernism movement. However, Shavadoons were used by the local people as shelters during the 8-year Iran-Iraq war, and although several cases of bombardment happened during those years, no case of damage was reported in those two cities. On this basis, and regarding the high seismicity of Iran, the use of Shavadoons as post-disasters shelters can be considered as a good issue for research. This paper presents the results of a thorough study conducted on these spaces and their seismic behavior. First, the architectural aspects of Shavadoon and their construction technique are presented. Then, the results of seismic evaluation of a sample Shavadoon, conducted by a series of time history analyses, using Plaxis software and a set of selected earthquakes, are briefly explained. These results show that Shavadoons have good stability against seismic excitations. This stability is mainly because of the high strength of conglomerate materials inside which the Shavadoons have been excavated. On this basis, and considering other merits of this components of vernacular architecture in southwest of Iran, it is recommended that the revival of these components is seriously reconsidered by both architects and civil engineers.

Keywords: Shavadoon, Iran high seismicity, Conglomerate, Modeling in Plaxis, vernacular sustainable architecture.

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1007 A Review of Quality Relationship between IT Processes, IT Products and IT Services

Authors: Whee Yen Wong, Chan Wai Lee, Kim Yeow Tshai

Abstract:

Producing IT products/services required carefully designed. IT development process is intangible and labour intensive. Making optimal use of available resources, both soft (knowledge, skill-set etc.) and hard (computer system, ancillary equipment etc.), is vital if IT development is to achieve sensible economical advantages. Apart from the norm of Project Life Cycle and System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), there is an urgent need to establish a general yet widely acceptable guideline on the most effective and efficient way to precede an IT project in the broader view of Product Life Cycle. The current paper proposes such a framework with two major areas of concern: (1) an integration of IT Products and IT Services within an existing IT Process architecture and; (2) how IT Product and IT Services are built into the framework of Product Life Cycle, Project Life Cycle and SDLC.

Keywords: Mapping of Quality Relationship, IT Processes/IT Products/IT Services, Product Life Cycle, System Development Life Cycle.

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1006 Existence of Solution for Boundary Value Problems of Differential Equations with Delay

Authors: Xiguang Li

Abstract:

In this paper , by using fixed point theorem , upper and lower solution-s method and monotone iterative technique , we prove the existence of maximum and minimum solutions of differential equations with delay , which improved and generalize the result of related paper.

Keywords: Banach space, boundary value problem, differential equation, delay.

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1005 Applying p-Balanced Energy Technique to Solve Liouville-Type Problems in Calculus

Authors: Lina Wu, Ye Li, Jia Liu

Abstract:

We are interested in solving Liouville-type problems to explore constancy properties for maps or differential forms on Riemannian manifolds. Geometric structures on manifolds, the existence of constancy properties for maps or differential forms, and energy growth for maps or differential forms are intertwined. In this article, we concentrate on discovery of solutions to Liouville-type problems where manifolds are Euclidean spaces (i.e. flat Riemannian manifolds) and maps become real-valued functions. Liouville-type results of vanishing properties for functions are obtained. The original work in our research findings is to extend the q-energy for a function from finite in Lq space to infinite in non-Lq space by applying p-balanced technique where q = p = 2. Calculation skills such as Hölder's Inequality and Tests for Series have been used to evaluate limits and integrations for function energy. Calculation ideas and computational techniques for solving Liouville-type problems shown in this article, which are utilized in Euclidean spaces, can be universalized as a successful algorithm, which works for both maps and differential forms on Riemannian manifolds. This innovative algorithm has a far-reaching impact on research work of solving Liouville-type problems in the general settings involved with infinite energy. The p-balanced technique in this algorithm provides a clue to success on the road of q-energy extension from finite to infinite.

Keywords: Differential Forms, Hölder Inequality, Liouville-type problems, p-balanced growth, p-harmonic maps, q-energy growth, tests for series.

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1004 Improvement of Ventilation and Thermal Comfort Using the Atrium Design for Traditional Folk Houses-Fujian Earthen Building

Authors: Ying-Ming Su

Abstract:

Fujian earthen building which was known as a classic for ecological buildings was listed on the world heritage in 2008 (UNESCO) in China. Its design strategy can be applied to modern architecture planning and design. This study chose two different cases (Round Atrium: Er-Yi Building, Double Round Atrium: Zhen-Chen Building) of earthen building in Fu-Jian to compare the ventilation effects of different atrium forms. We adopt field measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of temperature, humidity, and wind environment to identify the relationship between external environment and atrium about comfort and to confirm the relationship about atrium H/W (height/width). Results indicate that, through the atrium convection effect, it makes the natural wind guides to each space surrounded and keeps indoor comfort. It illustrates that the smaller the ratio of the H/W which is the relationship between the height and the width of an atrium is, the greater the wind speed generated within the street valley. Moreover, the wind speed is very close to the reference wind speed. This field measurement verifies that the value of H/W has great influence of solar radiation heat and sunshine shadows. The ventilation efficiency is: Er-Yi Building (H/W =0.2778) > Zhen-Chen Building (H/W=0.3670). Comparing the cases with the same shape but with different H/W, through the different size patios, airflow revolves in the atriums and can be brought into each interior space. The atrium settings meet the need of building ventilation, and can adjust the humidity and temperature within the buildings. It also creates good ventilation effect.

Keywords: Traditional folk houses, Atrium, Earthen building, Ventilation, Building microclimate, PET.

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1003 A Probability based Pair Extension Method in Protein 2-DE Gel Image Analysis

Authors: Yanhua Jin, Won Suk Lee

Abstract:

The two-dimensional gel electrophoresis method (2-DE) is widely used in Proteomics to separate thousands of proteins in a sample. By comparing the protein expression levels of proteins in a normal sample with those in a diseased one, it is possible to identify a meaningful set of marker proteins for the targeted disease. The major shortcomings of this approach involve inherent noises and irregular geometric distortions of spots observed in 2-DE images. Various experimental conditions can be the major causes of these problems. In the protein analysis of samples, these problems eventually lead to incorrect conclusions. In order to minimize the influence of these problems, this paper proposes a partition based pair extension method that performs spot-matching on a set of gel images multiple times and segregates more reliable mapping results which can improve the accuracy of gel image analysis. The improved accuracy of the proposed method is analyzed through various experiments on real 2-DE images of human liver tissues.

Keywords: Proteomics, spot-matching, two-dimensionalelectrophoresis.

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1002 Prioritizing Influential Factors on the Promotion of Virtual Training System

Authors: Nader Gharibnavaz, Mostafa Mosadeghi, Naser Gharibnavaz

Abstract:

In today's world where everything is rapidly changing and information technology is high in development, many features of culture, society, politic and economy has changed. The advent of information technology and electronic data transmission lead to easy communication and fields like e-learning and e-commerce, are accessible for everyone easily. One of these technologies is virtual training. The "quality" of such kind of education systems is critical. 131 questionnaires were prepared and distributed among university student in Toba University. So the research has followed factors that affect the quality of learning from the perspective of staff, students, professors and this type of university. It is concluded that the important factors in virtual training are the quality of professors, the quality of staff, and the quality of the university. These mentioned factors were the most prior factors in this education system and necessary for improving virtual training.

Keywords: Training , Virtual Training, Strategic Positioning, Positioning Mapping, Unique Selling Proposition, Strong Brands, Indoors industry

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1001 A Modified Decoupled Semi-Analytical Approach Based On SBFEM for Solving 2D Elastodynamic Problems

Authors: M. Fakharian, M. I. Khodakarami

Abstract:

In this paper, a new trend for improvement in semianalytical method based on scale boundaries in order to solve the 2D elastodynamic problems is provided. In this regard, only the boundaries of the problem domain discretization are by specific subparametric elements. Mapping functions are uses as a class of higherorder Lagrange polynomials, special shape functions, Gauss-Lobatto- Legendre numerical integration, and the integral form of the weighted residual method, the matrix is diagonal coefficients in the equations of elastodynamic issues. Differences between study conducted and prior research in this paper is in geometry production procedure of the interpolation function and integration of the different is selected. Validity and accuracy of the present method are fully demonstrated through two benchmark problems which are successfully modeled using a few numbers of DOFs. The numerical results agree very well with the analytical solutions and the results from other numerical methods.

Keywords: 2D Elastodynamic Problems, Lagrange Polynomials, G-L-Lquadrature, Decoupled SBFEM.

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1000 Numerical and Infrared Mapping of Temperature in Heat Affected Zone during Plasma Arc Cutting of Mild Steel

Authors: Dalvir Singh, Somnath Chattopadhyaya

Abstract:

During welding or flame cutting of metals, the prediction of heat affected zone (HAZ) is critical. There is need to develop a simple mathematical model to calculate the temperature variation in HAZ and derivative analysis can be used for this purpose. This study presents analytical solution for heat transfer through conduction in mild steel plate. The homogeneous and nonhomogeneous boundary conditions are single variables. The full field analytical solutions of temperature measurement, subjected to local heating source, are derived first by method of separation of variables followed with the experimental visualization using infrared imaging. Based on the present work, it is suggested that appropriate heat input characteristics controls the temperature distribution in and around HAZ.

Keywords: Conduction Heat Transfer, Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), Infra-Red Imaging, Numerical Method, Orthogonal Function, Plasma Arc Cutting, Separation of Variables, Temperature Measurement.

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999 Preliminary Roadway Alignment Design: A Spatial-Data Optimization Approach

Authors: Y. Abdelrazig, R. Moses

Abstract:

Roadway planning and design is a very complex process involving five key phases before a project is completed; planning, project development, final design, right-of-way, and construction. The planning phase for a new roadway transportation project is a very critical phase as it greatly affects all latter phases of the project. A location study is usually performed during the preliminary planning phase in a new roadway project. The objective of the location study is to develop alignment alternatives that are cost efficient considering land acquisition and construction costs. This paper describes a methodology to develop optimal preliminary roadway alignments utilizing spatial-data. Four optimization criteria are taken into consideration; roadway length, land cost, land slope, and environmental impacts. The basic concept of the methodology is to convert the proposed project area into a grid, which represents the search space for an optimal alignment. The aforementioned optimization criteria are represented in each of the grid’s cells. A spatial-data optimization technique is utilized to find the optimal alignment in the search space based on the four optimization criteria. Two case studies for new roadway projects in Duval County in the State of Florida are presented to illustrate the methodology. The optimization output alignments are compared to the proposed Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) alignments. The comparison is based on right-of-way costs for the alignments. For both case studies, the right-of-way costs for the developed optimal alignments were found to be significantly lower than the FDOT alignments.

Keywords: Optimization, planning, roadway alignment, FDOT.

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998 A Study of Lean Principles Implementation in the Libyan Healthcare and Industry Sectors

Authors: Nasser M. Amaitik, Ngwan F. Elsagzli

Abstract:

Lean technique is very important in the service and industrial fields. It is defined as an effective tool to eliminate the wastes. In lean the wastes are defined as anything which does not add value to the end product. There are wastes that can be avoided, but some are unavoidable for many reasons.    

The present study aims to apply the principles of lean in two different sectors, healthcare and industry. Two case studies have been selected to apply the experimental work. The first case was Al-Jalaa Hospital, while the second case study was the Technical Company of Aluminum Sections in Benghazi, LIBYA. In both case studies the Value Stream Map (VSM) of the current state has been constructed. The proposed plans have been implemented by merging or eliminating procedures or processes.

The results obtained from both case studies showed improvement in Capacity, Idle time and Utilized time.

Keywords: Healthcare service delivery, Idle time, Lean principles, Utilized time, Value stream mapping, Wastes.

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