Search results for: Paraxial group transformation
1198 Knowledge Management in a Combined/Joint Environment
Authors: Cory Cannon
Abstract:
In the current era of shrinking budgets, increasing amounts of worldwide natural disasters, state and non-state initiated conflicts within the world. The response has involved multinational coalitions to conduct effective military operations. The need for a Knowledge Management strategy when developing these coalitions have been overlooked in the past and the need for developing these accords early on will save time and help shape the way information and knowledge are transferred from the staff and action officers of the coalition to the decision-makers in order to make timely decisions within an ever changing environment. The aim of this paper is to show how Knowledge Management has developed within the United States military and how the transformation of working within a Combined/ Joint environment in both the Middle East and the Far East has improved relations between members of the coalitions as well as being more effective as a military force. These same principles could be applied to multinational corporations when dealing with cultures and decision-making processes.
Keywords: Civil-military, culture, joint environment, knowledge management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18241197 Modeling Peer-to-Peer Networks with Interest-Based Clusters
Authors: Bertalan Forstner, Dr. Hassan Charaf
Abstract:
In the world of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking different protocols have been developed to make the resource sharing or information retrieval more efficient. The SemPeer protocol is a new layer on Gnutella that transforms the connections of the nodes based on semantic information to make information retrieval more efficient. However, this transformation causes high clustering in the network that decreases the number of nodes reached, therefore the probability of finding a document is also decreased. In this paper we describe a mathematical model for the Gnutella and SemPeer protocols that captures clustering-related issues, followed by a proposition to modify the SemPeer protocol to achieve moderate clustering. This modification is a sort of link management for the individual nodes that allows the SemPeer protocol to be more efficient, because the probability of a successful query in the P2P network is reasonably increased. For the validation of the models, we evaluated a series of simulations that supported our results.Keywords: Peer-to-Peer, model, performance, networkmanagement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13061196 Modelling a Hospital as a Queueing Network: Analysis for Improving Performance
Authors: Emad Alenany, M. Adel El-Baz
Abstract:
In this paper, the flow of different classes of patients into a hospital is modelled and analyzed by using the queueing network analyzer (QNA) algorithm and discrete event simulation. Input data for QNA are the rate and variability parameters of the arrival and service times in addition to the number of servers in each facility. Patient flows mostly match real flow for a hospital in Egypt. Based on the analysis of the waiting times, two approaches are suggested for improving performance: Separating patients into service groups, and adopting different service policies for sequencing patients through hospital units. The separation of a specific group of patients, with higher performance target, to be served separately from the rest of patients requiring lower performance target, requires the same capacity while improves performance for the selected group of patients with higher target. Besides, it is shown that adopting the shortest processing time and shortest remaining processing time service policies among other tested policies would results in, respectively, 11.47% and 13.75% reduction in average waiting time relative to first come first served policy.Keywords: Queueing network, discrete-event simulation, health applications, SPT.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15291195 Traffic Density Measurement by Automatic Detection of Vehicles Using Gradient Vectors from Aerial Images
Authors: Saman Ghaffarian, Ilgın Gökasar
Abstract:
This paper presents a new automatic vehicle detection method from very high resolution aerial images to measure traffic density. The proposed method starts by extracting road regions from image using road vector data. Then, the road image is divided into equal sections considering resolution of the images. Gradient vectors of the road image are computed from edge map of the corresponding image. Gradient vectors on the each boundary of the sections are divided where the gradient vectors significantly change their directions. Finally, number of vehicles in each section is carried out by calculating the standard deviation of the gradient vectors in each group and accepting the group as vehicle that has standard deviation above predefined threshold value. The proposed method was tested in four very high resolution aerial images acquired from Istanbul, Turkey which illustrate roads and vehicles with diverse characteristics. The results show the reliability of the proposed method in detecting vehicles by producing 86% overall F1 accuracy value.Keywords: Aerial images, intelligent transportation systems, traffic density measurement, vehicle detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29351194 Four Phase Methodology for Developing Secure Software
Authors: Carlos Gonzalez-Flores, Ernesto Liñan-García
Abstract:
A simple and robust approach for developing secure software. A Four Phase methodology consists in developing the non-secure software in phase one, and for the next three phases, one phase for each of the secure developing types (i.e. self-protected software, secure code transformation, and the secure shield). Our methodology requires first the determination and understanding of the type of security level needed for the software. The methodology proposes the use of several teams to accomplish this task. One Software Engineering Developing Team, a Compiler Team, a Specification and Requirements Testing Team, and for each of the secure software developing types: three teams of Secure Software Developing, three teams of Code Breakers, and three teams of Intrusion Analysis. These teams will interact among each other and make decisions to provide a secure software code protected against a required level of intruder.
Keywords: Secure Software, Four Phase Methodology, Software Engineering, Code Breakers, Intrusion Analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18341193 Spexin and Fetuin A in Morbid Obese Children
Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma
Abstract:
Spexin, expressed in the central nervous system, has attracted much interest in feeding behavior, obesity, diabetes, energy metabolism and cardiovascular functions. Fetuin A is known as the negative acute phase reactant synthesized in the liver. Eosinophils are early indicators of cardiometabolic complications. Patients with elevated platelet count, associated with hypercoagulable state in the body, are also more liable to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this study, the aim is to examine the profiles of spexin and fetuin A concomitant with the course of variations detected in eosinophil as well as platelet counts in morbid obese children. 34 children with normal-body mass index (N-BMI) and 51 morbid obese (MO) children participated in the study. Written-informed consent forms were obtained prior to the study. Institutional ethics committee approved the study protocol. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentile tables prepared by World Health Organization were used to classify healthy and obese children. Mean age ± SEM of the children were 9.3 ± 0.6 years and 10.7 ± 0.5 years in N-BMI and MO groups, respectively. Anthropometric measurements of the children were taken. BMI values were calculated from weight and height values. Blood samples were obtained after an overnight fasting. Routine hematologic and biochemical tests were performed. Within this context, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations were measured. Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were calculated. Spexin and fetuin A levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were evaluated from the statistical point of view. Statistically significant differences were found between groups in terms of BMI, fat mass index, INS, HOMA-IR and HDL-C. In MO group, all parameters increased as HDL-C decreased. Elevated concentrations in MO group were detected in eosinophils (p < 0.05) and platelets (p > 0.05). Fetuin A levels decreased in MO group (p > 0.05). However, decrease was statistically significant in spexin levels for this group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these results have suggested that increases in eosinophils and platelets exhibit behavior as cardiovascular risk factors. Decreased fetuin A behaved as a risk factor suitable to increased risk for cardiovascular problems associated with the severity of obesity. Along with increased eosinophils, increased platelets and decreased fetuin A, decreased spexin was the parameter, which reflects best its possible participation in the early development of CVD risk in MO children.
Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, eosinophils, fetuin A, pediatric morbid obesity, platelets, spexin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6821192 Action Recognition in Video Sequences using a Mealy Machine
Authors: L. Rodriguez-Benitez, J. Moreno-Garcia, J.J. Castro-Schez, C. Solana, L. Jimenez
Abstract:
In this paper the use of sequential machines for recognizing actions taken by the objects detected by a general tracking algorithm is proposed. The system may deal with the uncertainty inherent in medium-level vision data. For this purpose, fuzzification of input data is performed. Besides, this transformation allows to manage data independently of the tracking application selected and enables adding characteristics of the analyzed scenario. The representation of actions by means of an automaton and the generation of the input symbols for finite automaton depending on the object and action compared are described. The output of the comparison process between an object and an action is a numerical value that represents the membership of the object to the action. This value is computed depending on how similar the object and the action are. The work concludes with the application of the proposed technique to identify the behavior of vehicles in road traffic scenes.
Keywords: Approximate reasoning, finite state machines, video analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16861191 Recognition of Grocery Products in Images Captured by Cellular Phones
Authors: Farshideh Einsele, Hassan Foroosh
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a robust algorithm to recognize extracted text from grocery product images captured by mobile phone cameras. Recognition of such text is challenging since text in grocery product images varies in its size, orientation, style, illumination, and can suffer from perspective distortion. Pre-processing is performed to make the characters scale and rotation invariant. Since text degradations can not be appropriately defined using well-known geometric transformations such as translation, rotation, affine transformation and shearing, we use the whole character black pixels as our feature vector. Classification is performed with minimum distance classifier using the maximum likelihood criterion, which delivers very promising Character Recognition Rate (CRR) of 89%. We achieve considerably higher Word Recognition Rate (WRR) of 99% when using lower level linguistic knowledge about product words during the recognition process.
Keywords: Camera-based OCR, Feature extraction, Document and image processing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24701190 An Approach for Transient Response Calculation of large Nonproportionally Damped Structures using Component Mode Synthesis
Authors: Alexander A. Muravyov
Abstract:
A minimal complexity version of component mode synthesis is presented that requires simplified computer programming, but still provides adequate accuracy for modeling lower eigenproperties of large structures and their transient responses. The novelty is that a structural separation into components is done along a plane/surface that exhibits rigid-like behavior, thus only normal modes of each component is sufficient to use, without computing any constraint, attachment, or residual-attachment modes. The approach requires only such input information as a few (lower) natural frequencies and corresponding undamped normal modes of each component. A novel technique is shown for formulation of equations of motion, where a double transformation to generalized coordinates is employed and formulation of nonproportional damping matrix in generalized coordinates is shown.Keywords: component mode synthesis, finite element models, transient response, nonproportional damping
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18051189 Wavelet Entropy Based Algorithm for Fault Detection and Classification in FACTS Compensated Transmission Line
Authors: Amany M. El-Zonkoly, Hussein Desouki
Abstract:
Distance protection of transmission lines including advanced flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices has been a very challenging task. FACTS devices of interest in this paper are static synchronous series compensators (SSSC) and unified power flow controller (UPFC). In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed to detect and classify the fault and identify the fault position in a transmission line with respect to a FACTS device placed in the midpoint of the transmission line. Discrete wavelet transformation and wavelet entropy calculations are used to analyze during fault current and voltage signals of the compensated transmission line. The proposed algorithm is very simple and accurate in fault detection and classification. A variety of fault cases and simulation results are introduced to show the effectiveness of such algorithm.
Keywords: Entropy calculation, FACTS, SSSC, UPFC, wavelet transform.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20741188 Development and Usability Assessment of a Connected Resistance Exercise Band Application for Strength-Monitoring
Authors: J. A. Batsis, G. G. Boateng, L. M. Seo, C. L. Petersen, K. L. Fortuna, E. V. Wechsler, R. J. Peterson, S. B. Cook, D. Pidgeon, R. S. Dokko, R. J. Halter, D. F. Kotz
Abstract:
Resistance exercise bands are a core component of any physical activity strengthening program. Strength training can mitigate the development of sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass or strength and function with aging. Yet, the adherence of such behavioral exercise strategies in a home-based setting are fraught with issues of monitoring and compliance. Our group developed a Bluetooth-enabled resistance exercise band capable of transmitting data to an open-source platform. In this work, we developed an application to capture this information in real-time, and conducted three usability studies in two mixed-aged groups of participants (n=6 each) and a group of older adults with obesity participating in a weight-loss intervention (n=20). The system was favorable, acceptable and provided iterative information that could assist in future deployment on ubiquitous platforms. Our formative work provides the foundation to deliver home-based monitoring interventions in a high-risk, older adult population.
Keywords: Application, mHealth, older adult, resistance exercise band, sarcopenia.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7591187 Coding based Synchronization Algorithm for Secondary Synchronization Channel in WCDMA
Authors: Deng Liao, Dongyu Qiu, Ahmed K. Elhakeem
Abstract:
A new code synchronization algorithm is proposed in this paper for the secondary cell-search stage in wideband CDMA systems. Rather than using the Cyclically Permutable (CP) code in the Secondary Synchronization Channel (S-SCH) to simultaneously determine the frame boundary and scrambling code group, the new synchronization algorithm implements the same function with less system complexity and less Mean Acquisition Time (MAT). The Secondary Synchronization Code (SSC) is redesigned by splitting into two sub-sequences. We treat the information of scrambling code group as data bits and use simple time diversity BCH coding for further reliability. It avoids involved and time-costly Reed-Solomon (RS) code computations and comparisons. Analysis and simulation results show that the Synchronization Error Rate (SER) yielded by the new algorithm in Rayleigh fading channels is close to that of the conventional algorithm in the standard. This new synchronization algorithm reduces system complexities, shortens the average cell-search time and can be implemented in the slot-based cell-search pipeline. By taking antenna diversity and pipelining correlation processes, the new algorithm also shows its flexible application in multiple antenna systems.Keywords: WCDMA cell-search, synchronization algorithm, secondary synchronization channel, antenna diversity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23911186 Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning Relationship in Children
Authors: Comfort Mokgothu
Abstract:
This study investigated the relation between processing information and fitness level of active (fit) and sedentary (unfit) children drawn from rural and urban areas in Botswana. It was hypothesized that fit children would display faster simple reaction time (SRT), choice reaction times (CRT) and movement times (SMT). 60, third grade children (7.0 – 9.0 years) were initially selected and based upon fitness testing, 45 participated in the study (15 each of fit urban, unfit urban, fit rural). All children completed anthropometric measures, skinfold testing and submaximal cycle ergometer testing. The cognitive testing included SRT, CRT, SMT and Choice Movement Time (CMT) and memory sequence length. Results indicated that the rural fit group exhibited faster SMT than the urban fit and unfit groups. For CRT, both fit groups were faster than the unfit group. Collectively, the study shows that the relationship that exists between physical fitness and cognitive function amongst the elderly can tentatively be extended to the pediatric population. Physical fitness could be a factor in the speed at which we process information, including decision making, even in children.
Keywords: Decision making, fitness, information processing, reaction time, cognition movement time.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7941185 Feature Preserving Nonlinear Diffusion for Ultrasonic Image Denoising and Edge Enhancement
Authors: Shujun Fu, Qiuqi Ruan, Wenqia Wang, Yu Li
Abstract:
Utilizing echoic intension and distribution from different organs and local details of human body, ultrasonic image can catch important medical pathological changes, which unfortunately may be affected by ultrasonic speckle noise. A feature preserving ultrasonic image denoising and edge enhancement scheme is put forth, which includes two terms: anisotropic diffusion and edge enhancement, controlled by the optimum smoothing time. In this scheme, the anisotropic diffusion is governed by the local coordinate transformation and the first and the second order normal derivatives of the image, while the edge enhancement is done by the hyperbolic tangent function. Experiments on real ultrasonic images indicate effective preservation of edges, local details and ultrasonic echoic bright strips on denoising by our scheme.
Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, coordinate transformationdirectional derivatives, edge enhancement, hyperbolic tangentfunction, image denoising.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18131184 Decomposition of Homeomorphism on Topological Spaces
Authors: Ahmet Z. Ozcelik, Serkan Narli
Abstract:
In this study, two new classes of generalized homeomorphisms are introduced and shown that one of these classes has a group structure. Moreover, some properties of these two homeomorphisms are obtained.Keywords: Generalized closed set, homeomorphism, gsghomeomorphism, sgs-homeomorphism.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18891183 DWT Based Image Steganalysis
Authors: Indradip Banerjee, Souvik Bhattacharyya, Gautam Sanyal
Abstract:
‘Steganalysis’ is one of the challenging and attractive interests for the researchers with the development of information hiding techniques. It is the procedure to detect the hidden information from the stego created by known steganographic algorithm. In this paper, a novel feature based image steganalysis technique is proposed. Various statistical moments have been used along with some similarity metric. The proposed steganalysis technique has been designed based on transformation in four wavelet domains, which include Haar, Daubechies, Symlets and Biorthogonal. Each domain is being subjected to various classifiers, namely K-nearest-neighbor, K* Classifier, Locally weighted learning, Naive Bayes classifier, Neural networks, Decision trees and Support vector machines. The experiments are performed on a large set of pictures which are available freely in image database. The system also predicts the different message length definitions.
Keywords: Steganalysis, Moments, Wavelet Domain, KNN, K*, LWL, Naive Bayes Classifier, Neural networks, Decision trees, SVM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25711182 Person-Environment Fit (PE Fit): Evidence from Brazil
Authors: Jucelia Appio, Danielle Deimling De Carli, Bruno Henrique Rocha Fernandes, Nelson Natalino Frizon
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there are positive and significant correlations between the dimensions of Person-Environment Fit (Person-Job, Person-Organization, Person-Group and Person-Supervisor) at the “Best Companies to Work for” in Brazil in 2017. For that, a quantitative approach was used with a descriptive method being defined as a research sample the "150 Best Companies to Work for", according to data base collected in 2017 and provided by Fundação Instituto of Administração (FIA) of the University of São Paulo (USP). About the data analysis procedures, asymmetry and kurtosis, factorial analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) tests, Bartlett sphericity and Cronbach's alpha were used for the 69 research variables, and as a statistical technique for the purpose of analyzing the hypothesis, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed. As a main result, we highlight that there was a positive and significant correlation between the dimensions of Person-Environment Fit, corroborating the H1 hypothesis that there is a positive and significant correlation between Person-Job Fit, Person-Organization Fit, Person-Group Fit and Person-Supervisor Fit.
Keywords: Human resource management, person-environment fit, strategic people management, best companies to work for.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9981181 A Development of English Pronunciation Using Principles of Phonetics for English Major Students at Loei Rajabhat University
Authors: Pongthep Bunrueng
Abstract:
This action research accentuates the outcome of a development in English pronunciation, using principles of phonetics for English major students at Loei Rajabhat University. The research is split into 5 separate modules: 1) Organs of Speech and How to Produce Sounds, 2) Monopthongs, 3) Diphthongs, 4) Consonant sounds, and 5) Suprasegmental Features. Each module followed a 4 step action research process, 1) Planning, 2) Acting, 3) Observing, and 4) Reflecting. The research targeted 2nd year students who were majoring in English Education at Loei Rajabhat University during the academic year of 2011. A mixed methodology employing both quantitative and qualitative research was used, which put theory into action, taking segmental features up to suprasegmental features. Multiple tools were employed which included the following documents: pre-test and post-test papers, evaluation and assessment papers, group work assessment forms, a presentation grading form, an observation of participants form and a participant self-reflection form.
All 5 modules for the target group showed that results from the post-tests were higher than those of the pre-tests, with 0.01 statistical significance. All target groups attained results ranging from low to moderate and from moderate to high performance. The participants who attained low to moderate results had to re-sit the second round. During the first development stage, participants attended classes with group participation, in which they addressed planning through mutual co-operation and sharing of responsibility. Analytic induction of strong points for this operation illustrated that learner cognition, comprehension, application, and group practices were all present whereas the participants with weak results could be attributed to biological differences, differences in life and learning, or individual differences in responsiveness and self-discipline.
Participants who were required to be re-treated in Spiral 2 received the same treatment again. Results of tests from the 5 modules after the 2nd treatment were that the participants attained higher scores than those attained in the pre-test. Their assessment and development stages also showed improved results. They showed greater confidence at participating in activities, produced higher quality work, and correctly followed instructions for each activity. Analytic induction of strong and weak points for this operation remains the same as for Spiral 1, though there were improvements to problems which existed prior to undertaking the second treatment.
Keywords: Action research, English pronunciation, phonetics, segmental features, suprasegmental features.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28531180 Active Imagination: The Effective Factor in the Practice of Psychotherapy
Authors: Sonia Regina Lyra
Abstract:
The desire for unequivocal clarity is understandable, but this can make one forget that things of the soul are experiential processes, or transformations, which should never be designated unilaterally if it is not wanted to transform something that moves, a living thing, into something static. Among the so-called ‘things of the soul’ there are especially spontaneous fantasies, that emerge during the processes, as a result from the use of the active imagination technique, for when fantasy is not forced, violated, or subjugated by an illegitimate, intellectually preconceived idea, then it is a legitimate and authentic product of the unconscious mind. This is how one can gain access to unadulterated information about everything that transcends the conscious mind. However, it is vital to discern between ego and non-ego, because this principle will result in a release of energy and a renewal of life, which will come to have meaning. This study will deal with the active imagination as a knowledge that depends on the individual experience of the therapist because the patient will be taken just to reach where the unconscious of the therapist was assimilated to his own conscience. In this way, the therapist becomes the method itself, being his personality, a fundamental part of an effective factor.
Keywords: Active imagination, effective factor, symptom, transformation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6451179 A Training Course Development to Promote Learning Activities of 2nd Year, Faculty of Education Students using Multiple Intelligences Theory
Authors: Chaiwat Waree, Kalanyoo Petcharaporn
Abstract:
This research aims to develop and evaluate a training course to promote learning activities of 2nd year, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, faculty of education students using multiple intelligences theory. The process is divided into two phases: Phase 1 development of training course to promote learning activities consisting of principles, objectives of the course, structure, training duration, content, training materials, training activities, media training, monitoring, measurement and evaluation quality of the course. Phase 2 evaluation efficiency of training course was to use the improved curriculum with experimental group which is 2nd year, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, faculty of education students was drawn randomly 152 students. The experimental pattern was randomized Control Group Pre-Test Post-Test Design, Analysis Data by t-Test with the software SPFSS for Windows. Research has shown that: 1). the ability of teaching and learning according to the theory of multiple intelligences after training is higher than before training significantly in statistic at .01 level, 2). The satisfaction of students to the training courses was overall at the highest level.Keywords: A training course, learning activities, multiple intelligences.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14021178 Using Interval Constrained Petri Nets and Fuzzy Method for Regulation of Quality: The Case of Weight in Tobacco Factory
Authors: Nabli L., Dhouibi H., Collart Dutilleul S., Craye E.
Abstract:
The existence of maximal durations drastically modifies the performance evaluation in Discrete Event Systems (DES). The same particularity may be found on systems where the associated constraints do not concern the time. For example weight measures, in chemical industry, are used in order to control the quantity of consumed raw materials. This parameter also takes a fundamental part in the product quality as the correct transformation process is based upon a given percentage of each essence. Weight regulation therefore increases the global productivity of the system by decreasing the quantity of rejected products. In this paper we present an approach based on mixing different characteristics theories, the fuzzy system and Petri net system to describe the behaviour. An industriel application on a tobacco manufacturing plant, where the critical parameter is the weight is presented as an illustration.
Keywords: Petri Net, Manufacturing systems, Performance evaluation, Fuzzy logic, Tolerant system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19261177 Effect of Combined Carbimazole and Curcuma longa Powder in Human Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone and Thyroperoxidase Antibody in Hyperthyroidism
Authors: Ahmed Abdi Hassan, Mustapha Muhammad Aliyu
Abstract:
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) belongs to the ginger family and is used for food coloring mostly in Asian countries. It has long traditional medicinal value for the treatment of inflammations with excellent antioxidant properties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of turmeric powder in the treatment of hyperthyroidism when combined with carbimazole antithyroid drug. The trial was conducted on 20 hyperthyroid patients but only 16 of them were successfully enrolled for the study. The 16 patients were divided into two equal groups where one group was treated with the only carbimazole while the other group was treated with a combined approach of carbimazole plus turmeric for 6 months consecutively. The result obtained is promising showing an average improvement of 99% in Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and 88%Thyroid Autoantibodies (TPOAb) in patients treated with the combined approach compared to those treated with the only carbimazole with an average of 3% and 18% of TSH and TPOAb improvement respectively. However, no major difference has been observed in both T4 and T3. Therefore, turmeric powder is a promising treatment if carefully and consistently combined with carbimazole antithyroid drug at very low amounts of 1.5 to 2 grams for at least 2 to 3 times a week.Keywords: Thyroid, curcuminoids, turmeric, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, thyroid stimulating hormone, TPOAb.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4211176 An iTunes U App for Development of Metacognition Skills Delivered in the Enrichment Program Offered to Gifted Students at the Secondary Level
Authors: Maha Awad M. Almuttairi
Abstract:
This research aimed to measure the impact of the use of a mobile learning (iTunes U) app for the development of metacognition skills delivered in the enrichment program offered to gifted students at the secondary level in Jeddah. The author targeted a group of students on an experimental scale to evaluate the achievement. The research sample consisted of a group of 38 gifted female students. The scale of evaluation of the metacognition skills used to measure the performance of students in the enrichment program was as follows: Satisfaction scale for the assessment of the technique used and the final product form after completion of the program. Appropriate statistical treatment used includes Paired Samples T-Test Cronbach’s alpha formula and eta squared formula. It was concluded in the results the difference of α≤ 0.05, which means the performance of students in the skills of metacognition in favor of using iTunes U. In light of the conclusion of the experiment, a number of recommendations and suggestions were present; the most important benefit of mobile learning applications is to provide enrichment programs for gifted students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as conducting further research on mobile learning and gifted student teaching.
Keywords: Enrichment program, gifted students, metacognition skills.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7171175 Magnetic Properties Govern the Processes of DNA Replication and the Shortening of the Telomere
Authors: Adnan Y. Rojeab
Abstract:
This hypothesis shows that the induction and the remanent of magnetic properties govern the mechanism processes of DNA replication and the shortening of the telomere. The solenoid–like formation of each parental DNA strand, which exists at the initial stage of the replication process, enables an electric charge transformation through the strand to produce a magnetic field. The magnetic field, in turn, induces the surrounding medium to form a new (replicated) strand by a remanent magnetisation. Through the remanent [residual] magnetisation process, the replicated strand possesses a similar information pattern to that of the parental strand. In the same process, the remanent amount of magnetisation forms the medium in which it has less of both repetitive and pattern magnetisation than that of the parental strand, therefore the replicated strand shows a shortening in the length of its telomeres.
Keywords: DNA replication, magnetic properties, residual magnetisation, shortening of the telomere.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27051174 Critical Psychosocial Risk Treatment for Engineers and Technicians
Authors: R. Berglund, T. Backström, M. Bellgran
Abstract:
This study explores how management addresses psychosocial risks in seven teams of engineers and technicians in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. The sample is from an ongoing quasi-experiment about psychosocial risk management in a manufacturing company in Sweden. Each of the seven teams belongs to one of two clusters: a positive cluster or a negative cluster. The positive cluster reports a significantly positive change in psychosocial risk levels between two time-points and the negative cluster reports a significantly negative change. The data are collected using semi-structured interviews. The results of the computer aided thematic analysis show that there are more differences than similarities when comparing the risk treatment actions taken between the two clusters. Findings show that the managers in the positive cluster use more enabling actions that foster and support formal and informal relationship building. In contrast, managers that use less enabling actions hinder the development of positive group processes and contribute negative changes in psychosocial risk levels. This exploratory study sheds some light on how management can influence significant positive and negative changes in psychosocial risk levels during a risk management process.
Keywords: Group process model, risk treatment, risk management, psychosocial.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10251173 Biography of the Earth in the Light of the Laws of Classical Physics
Authors: I. V. Kuzminov
Abstract:
The proposed article is an analytical review of previously published articles in the series "Physics of Gravity", "The Picture of the World by Second Law of Thermodynamics" and others. The article shows the key role of the forces of gravity and the action of the second law of thermodynamics in shaping the picture of the world. In other words, the second law of thermodynamics can be called the law of matter cooling. The action in the compartment of the inverse temperature dependence of the forces of gravity and the second law of thermodynamics is carried out by the processes of separation, condensation, phase transitions, and transformation of matter. On the basis of the proposed concept, along the way, completely new versions of the development of events in the biography of the Earth are put forward. For example, new versions of the origin of planets, the origin of continents and others are being put forward. This article contains a list of articles and videos that are somehow related to the proposed topic. Articles and videos are presented in English and Russian.
Keywords: Gravity, the second law of thermodynamics, electron rotation, inverse temperature dependence, inertia forces, centrifugal forces.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1301172 Restrictedly-Regular Map Representation of n-Dimensional Abstract Polytopes
Authors: Antonio Breda d’Azevedo
Abstract:
Regularity has often been present in the form of regular polyhedra or tessellations; classical examples are the nine regular polyhedra consisting of the five Platonic solids (regular convex polyhedra) and the four Kleper-Poinsot polyhedra. These polytopes can be seen as regular maps. Maps are cellular embeddings of graphs (with possibly multiple edges, loops or dangling edges) on compact connected (closed) surfaces with or without boundary. The n-dimensional abstract polytopes, particularly the regular ones, have gained popularity over recent years. The main focus of research has been their symmetries and regularity. Planification of polyhedra helps its spatial construction, yet it destroys its symmetries. To our knowledge there is no “planification” for n-dimensional polytopes. However we show that it is possible to make a “surfacification” of the n-dimensional polytope, that is, it is possible to construct a restrictedly-marked map representation of the abstract polytope on some surface that describes its combinatorial structures as well as all of its symmetries. We also show that there are infinitely many ways to do this; yet there is one that is more natural that describes reflections on the sides ((n−1)-faces) of n-simplices with reflections on the sides of n-polygons. We illustrate this construction with the 4-tetrahedron (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 120) and the 4-cube (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 384).Keywords: Maps, representation, polytopes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6661171 Chitosan Nanoparticle as a Novel Delivery System for A/H1n1 Influenza Vaccine: Safe Property and Immunogenicity in Mice
Authors: Nguyen Anh Dzung, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hà, Dang Thi Hong Van, Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh, Dinh Minh Hiep, Le Van Hiep
Abstract:
The aims of this paper are to study the efficacy of chitosan nanoparticles in stimulating specific antibody against A/H1N1 influenza antigen in mice. Chitosan nanoparticles (CSN) were characterized by TEM. The results showed that the average size of CSN was from 80nm to 106nm. The efficacy of A/H1N1 influenza vaccine loaded on the surface of CSN showed that loading efficiency of A/H1N1 influenza antigen on CSN was from 93.75 to 100%. Safe property of the vaccine were tested. In 10 days post vaccination, group of CSN 30 kDa and 300 kDa loaded A/H1N1 influenza antigen were the rate of immune response on mice to be 100% (9/9) higher than Al(OH)3 and other adjuvant. 100% mice in the experiment of all groups had immune response in 20 days post vaccination. The results also showed that HI titer of the group using CSN 300 kDa as an adjuvant increased significantly up to 3971 HIU, over three-fold higher than the Al(OH)3 adjuvant, chitosan (CS), and one hundredfold than the A/H1N1 antigen only. Stability of the vaccine formulation was investigated.Keywords: Chitosan nanoparticles, A/H1N1 influenza antigen, vaccine, immunogenicity, adjuvant, antibody titer
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24881170 Enhancing the Performance of H.264/AVC in Adaptive Group of Pictures Mode Using Octagon and Square Search Pattern
Authors: S. Sowmyayani, P. Arockia Jansi Rani
Abstract:
This paper integrates Octagon and Square Search pattern (OCTSS) motion estimation algorithm into H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) video codec in Adaptive Group of Pictures (AGOP) mode. AGOP structure is computed based on scene change in the video sequence. Octagon and square search pattern block-based motion estimation method is implemented in inter-prediction process of H.264/AVC. Both these methods reduce bit rate and computational complexity while maintaining the quality of the video sequence respectively. Experiments are conducted for different types of video sequence. The results substantially proved that the bit rate, computation time and PSNR gain achieved by the proposed method is better than the existing H.264/AVC with fixed GOP and AGOP. With a marginal gain in quality of 0.28dB and average gain in bitrate of 132.87kbps, the proposed method reduces the average computation time by 27.31 minutes when compared to the existing state-of-art H.264/AVC video codec.Keywords: Block Distortion Measure, Block Matching Algorithms, H.264/AVC, Motion estimation, Search patterns, Shot cut detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17311169 The Different Roles between Sodium and Potassium Ions in Ion Exchange of WO3/SiO2 Catalysts
Authors: K. Pipitthapan, S. Maksasithorn, P. Praserthdam, J. Panpranot, K. Suriye, S. Kunjara Na Ayudhya
Abstract:
WO3/SiO2 catalysts were modified by an ion exchange method with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide solution. The performance of the modified catalysts was tested in the metathesis of ethylene and trans-2-butene to propylene. During ion exchange, sodium and potassium ions played different roles. Sodium modified catalysts revealed constant trans-2-butene conversion and propylene selectivity when the concentrations of sodium in the solution were varied. In contrast, potassium modified catalysts showed reduction of the conversion and increase of the selectivity. From these results, potassium hydroxide may affect the transformation of tungsten oxide active species, resulting in the decrease in conversion whereas sodium hydroxide did not. Moreover, the modification of catalysts by this method improved the catalyst stability by lowering the amount of coke deposited on the catalyst surface.Keywords: Acid sites, alkali metals, isomerization, metathesis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1713