Search results for: Corporate Group Networks
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3441

Search results for: Corporate Group Networks

2631 Dynamic Visualization on Student's Performance, Retention and Transfer of Procedural Learning

Authors: Fauzy M. Wan, Reem S.A. Baragash

Abstract:

This study examined the effects of two dynamic visualizations on 60 Malaysian primary school student-s performance (time on task), retention and transference. The independent variables in this study were the two dynamic visualizations, the video and the animated instructions. The dependent variables were the gain score of performance, retention and transference. The results showed that the students in the animation group significantly outperformed the students in the video group in retention. There were no significant differences in terms of gain scores in the performance and transference among the animation and the video groups, although the scores were slightly higher in the animation group compared to the video group. The conclusion of this study is that the animation visualization is superior compared to the video in the retention for a procedural task.

Keywords: Dynamic visualization, Procedural Task, Retention, Transference

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1429
2630 Handover for Dense Small Cells Heterogeneous Networks: A Power-Efficient Game Theoretical Approach

Authors: Mohanad Alhabo, Li Zhang, Naveed Nawaz

Abstract:

In this paper, a non-cooperative game method is formulated where all players compete to transmit at higher power. Every base station represents a player in the game. The game is solved by obtaining the Nash equilibrium (NE) where the game converges to optimality. The proposed method, named Power Efficient Handover Game Theoretic (PEHO-GT) approach, aims to control the handover in dense small cell networks. Players optimize their payoff by adjusting the transmission power to improve the performance in terms of throughput, handover, power consumption and load balancing. To select the desired transmission power for a player, the payoff function considers the gain of increasing the transmission power. Then, the cell selection takes place by deploying Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A game theoretical method is implemented for heterogeneous networks to validate the improvement obtained. Results reveal that the proposed method gives a throughput improvement while reducing the power consumption and minimizing the frequent handover.

Keywords: Energy efficiency, game theory, handover, HetNets, small cells.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 469
2629 Health Risk Assessment for Sewer Workers using Bayesian Belief Networks

Authors: Kevin Fong-Rey Liu, Ken Yeh, Cheng-Wu Chen, Han-Hsi Liang

Abstract:

The sanitary sewerage connection rate becomes an important indicator of advanced cities. Following the construction of sanitary sewerages, the maintenance and management systems are required for keeping pipelines and facilities functioning well. These maintenance tasks often require sewer workers to enter the manholes and the pipelines, which are confined spaces short of natural ventilation and full of hazardous substances. Working in sewers could be easily exposed to a risk of adverse health effects. This paper proposes the use of Bayesian belief networks (BBN) as a higher level of noncarcinogenic health risk assessment of sewer workers. On the basis of the epidemiological studies, the actual hospital attendance records and expert experiences, the BBN is capable of capturing the probabilistic relationships between the hazardous substances in sewers and their adverse health effects, and accordingly inferring the morbidity and mortality of the adverse health effects. The provision of the morbidity and mortality rates of the related diseases is more informative and can alleviate the drawbacks of conventional methods.

Keywords: Bayesian belief networks, sanitary sewerage, healthrisk assessment, hazard quotient, target organ-specific hazard index.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1707
2628 A Dynamic Time-Lagged Correlation based Method to Learn Multi-Time Delay Gene Networks

Authors: Ankit Agrawal, Ankush Mittal

Abstract:

A gene network gives the knowledge of the regulatory relationships among the genes. Each gene has its activators and inhibitors that regulate its expression positively and negatively respectively. Genes themselves are believed to act as activators and inhibitors of other genes. They can even activate one set of genes and inhibit another set. Identifying gene networks is one of the most crucial and challenging problems in Bioinformatics. Most work done so far either assumes that there is no time delay in gene regulation or there is a constant time delay. We here propose a Dynamic Time- Lagged Correlation Based Method (DTCBM) to learn the gene networks, which uses time-lagged correlation to find the potential gene interactions, and then uses a post-processing stage to remove false gene interactions to common parents, and finally uses dynamic correlation thresholds for each gene to construct the gene network. DTCBM finds correlation between gene expression signals shifted in time, and therefore takes into consideration the multi time delay relationships among the genes. The implementation of our method is done in MATLAB and experimental results on Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression data and comparison with other methods indicate that it has a better performance.

Keywords: Activators, correlation, dynamic time-lagged correlation based method, inhibitors, multi-time delay gene network.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1614
2627 Software Tools for System Identification and Control using Neural Networks in Process Engineering

Authors: J. Fernandez de Canete, S. Gonzalez-Perez, P. del Saz-Orozco

Abstract:

Neural networks offer an alternative approach both for identification and control of nonlinear processes in process engineering. The lack of software tools for the design of controllers based on neural network models is particularly pronounced in this field. SIMULINK is properly a widely used graphical code development environment which allows system-level developers to perform rapid prototyping and testing. Such graphical based programming environment involves block-based code development and offers a more intuitive approach to modeling and control task in a great variety of engineering disciplines. In this paper a SIMULINK based Neural Tool has been developed for analysis and design of multivariable neural based control systems. This tool has been applied to the control of a high purity distillation column including non linear hydrodynamic effects. The proposed control scheme offers an optimal response for both theoretical and practical challenges posed in process control task, in particular when both, the quality improvement of distillation products and the operation efficiency in economical terms are considered.

Keywords: Distillation, neural networks, software tools, identification, control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2707
2626 Evaluation of Energy-Aware QoS Routing Protocol for Ad Hoc Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: M.K.Jeya Kumar

Abstract:

Many advanced Routing protocols for wireless sensor networks have been implemented for the effective routing of data. Energy awareness is an essential design issue and almost all of these routing protocols are considered as energy efficient and its ultimate objective is to maximize the whole network lifetime. However, the introductions of video and imaging sensors have posed additional challenges. Transmission of video and imaging data requires both energy and QoS aware routing in order to ensure efficient usage of the sensors and effective access to the gathered measurements. In this paper, the performance of the energy-aware QoS routing Protocol are analyzed in different performance metrics like average lifetime of a node, average delay per packet and network throughput. The parameters considered in this study are end-to-end delay, real time data generation/capture rates, packet drop probability and buffer size. The network throughput for realtime and non-realtime data was also has been analyzed. The simulation has been done in NS2 simulation environment and the simulation results were analyzed with respect to different metrics.

Keywords: Cluster nodes, end-to-end delay, QoS routing, routing protocols, sensor networks, least-cost-path.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1939
2625 (λ, μ)-Intuitionistic Fuzzy Subgroups of Groups with Operators

Authors: Shaoquan Sun, Chunxiang Liu

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to introduce the concepts of the (λ, μ)-intuitionistic fuzzy subgroups and (λ, μ)-intuitionistic fuzzy normal subgroups of groups with operators, and to investigate their properties and characterizations based on M-group homomorphism.

Keywords: Intuitionistic fuzzy group, , μ)-intuitionistic fuzzy subgroup of groups with operators, , μ)-intuitionistic fuzzy normal subgroup of groups with operators, M-group homomorphism.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1773
2624 Harmony Search-based K-Coverage Enhancement in Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: Shaimaa M. Mohamed, Haitham S. Hamza, Imane A. Saroit

Abstract:

Many wireless sensor network applications require K-coverage of the monitored area. In this paper, we propose a scalable harmony search based algorithm in terms of execution time, K-Coverage Enhancement Algorithm (KCEA), it attempts to enhance initial coverage, and achieve the required K-coverage degree for a specific application efficiently. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm achieves coverage improvement of 5.34% compared to K-Coverage Rate Deployment (K-CRD), which achieves 1.31% when deploying one additional sensor. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is more time efficient.

Keywords: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Harmony Search Algorithms, K-Coverage, Mobile WSN.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2165
2623 Analytic Network Process in Location Selection and Its Application to a Real Life Problem

Authors: Eylem Koç, Hasan Arda Burhan

Abstract:

Location selection presents a crucial decision problem in today’s business world where strategic decision making processes have critical importance. Thus, location selection has strategic importance for companies in boosting their strength regarding competition, increasing corporate performances and efficiency in addition to lowering production and transportation costs. A right choice in location selection has a direct impact on companies’ commercial success. In this study, a store location selection problem of Carglass Turkey which operates in vehicle glass branch is handled. As this problem includes both tangible and intangible criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was accepted as the main methodology. The model consists of control hierarchy and BOCR subnetworks which include clusters of actors, alternatives and criteria. In accordance with the management’s choices, five different locations were selected. In addition to the literature review, a strict cooperation with the actor group was ensured and maintained while determining the criteria and during whole process. Obtained results were presented to the management as a report and its feasibility was confirmed accordingly.

Keywords: Analytic Network Process, BOCR, location selection, multi-actor decision making, multi-criteria decision making, real life problem.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2088
2622 Performance of Total Vector Error of an Estimated Phasor within Local Area Networks

Authors: Ahmed Abdolkhalig, Rastko Zivanovic

Abstract:

This paper evaluates the Total Vector Error of an estimated Phasor as define in IEEE C37.118 standard within different medium access in Local Area Networks (LAN). Three different LAN models (CSMA/CD, CSMA/AMP and Switched Ethernet) are evaluated. The Total Vector Error of the estimated Phasor has been evaluated for the effect of Nodes Number under the standardized network Band-width values defined in IEC 61850-9-2 communication standard (i.e. 0.1, 1 and 10 Gbps).

Keywords: Phasor, Local Area Network, Total Vector Error, IEEE C37.118, IEC 61850.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4147
2621 Generalization of Clustering Coefficient on Lattice Networks Applied to Criminal Networks

Authors: Christian H. Sanabria-Montaña, Rodrigo Huerta-Quintanilla

Abstract:

A lattice network is a special type of network in which all nodes have the same number of links, and its boundary conditions are periodic. The most basic lattice network is the ring, a one-dimensional network with periodic border conditions. In contrast, the Cartesian product of d rings forms a d-dimensional lattice network. An analytical expression currently exists for the clustering coefficient in this type of network, but the theoretical value is valid only up to certain connectivity value; in other words, the analytical expression is incomplete. Here we obtain analytically the clustering coefficient expression in d-dimensional lattice networks for any link density. Our analytical results show that the clustering coefficient for a lattice network with density of links that tend to 1, leads to the value of the clustering coefficient of a fully connected network. We developed a model on criminology in which the generalized clustering coefficient expression is applied. The model states that delinquents learn the know-how of crime business by sharing knowledge, directly or indirectly, with their friends of the gang. This generalization shed light on the network properties, which is important to develop new models in different fields where network structure plays an important role in the system dynamic, such as criminology, evolutionary game theory, econophysics, among others.

Keywords: Clustering coefficient, criminology, generalized, regular network d-dimensional.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1636
2620 PTH Moment Exponential Stability of Stochastic Recurrent Neural Networks with Distributed Delays

Authors: Zixin Liu, Jianjun Jiao Wanping Bai

Abstract:

In this paper, the issue of pth moment exponential stability of stochastic recurrent neural network with distributed time delays is investigated. By using the method of variation parameters, inequality techniques, and stochastic analysis, some sufficient conditions ensuring pth moment exponential stability are obtained. The method used in this paper does not resort to any Lyapunov function, and the results derived in this paper generalize some earlier criteria reported in the literature. One numerical example is given to illustrate the main results.

Keywords: Stochastic recurrent neural networks, pth moment exponential stability, distributed time delays.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1254
2619 Behavioral Response of Dogs to Interior Environment: An Exploratory Study on Design Parameters for Designing Dog Boarding Centers in Indian Context

Authors: M. R. Akshaya, Veena Rao

Abstract:

Pet population in India is increasing phenomenally owing to the changes in urban lifestyle with increasing number of single professionals, single parents, delayed parenthood etc. The animal companionship as a means of reducing stress levels, deriving emotional support, and unconditional love provided by dogs are a few reasons attributed for increasing pet ownership. The consequence is the booming of the pet care products and dog care centers catering to the different requirements of rearing the pets. Dog care centers quite popular in tier 1 metros of India cater to the requirement of the dog owners providing space for the dogs in absence of the owner. However, it is often reported that the absence of the owner leads to destructive and exploratory behavior issues; the main being the anxiety disorders. In the above context, it becomes imperative for a designer to design dog boarding centers that help in reducing the separation anxiety in dogs keeping in mind the different interior design parameters. An exploratory research with focus group discussion is employed involving a group of dog owners, behaviorists, proprietors of day care as well as boarding centers, and veterinarians to understand their perception on the significance of different interior parameters of color, texture, ventilation, aroma therapy and acoustics as a means of reducing the stress levels in dogs sent to the boarding centers. The data collected is organized as thematic networks thus enabling the listing of the interior design parameters that needs to be considered in designing dog boarding centers. 

Keywords: Behavioral response, design parameters, dog boarding centers, interior environment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1061
2618 Using Neural Network for Execution of Programmed Pulse Width Modulation (PPWM) Method

Authors: M. Tarafdar Haque, A. Taheri

Abstract:

Application of neural networks in execution of programmed pulse width modulation (PPWM) of a voltage source inverter (VSI) is studied in this paper. Using the proposed method it is possible to cancel out the desired harmonics in output of VSI in addition to control the magnitude of fundamental harmonic, contineously. By checking the non-trained values and a performance index, the most appropriate neural network is proposed. It is shown that neural networks may solve the custom difficulties of practical utilization of PPWM such as large size of memory, complex digital circuits and controlling the magnitude of output voltage in a discrete manner.

Keywords: Neural Network, Inverter, PPWM.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1692
2617 Allocation of Mobile Units in an Urban Emergency Service System

Authors: Dimitra Alexiou

Abstract:

In an urban area the location allocation of emergency services mobile units, such as ambulances, police patrol cars must be designed so as to achieve a prompt response to demand locations. In this paper the partition of a given urban network into distinct sub-networks is performed such that the vertices in each component are close and simultaneously the sums of the corresponding population in the sub-networks are almost uniform. The objective here is to position appropriately in each sub-network a mobile emergency unit in order to reduce the response time to the demands. A mathematical model in framework of graph theory is developed. In order to clarify the corresponding method a relevant numerical example is presented on a small network.

Keywords: Distances, Emergency Service, Graph Partition, location.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1941
2616 A Virtual Grid Based Energy Efficient Data Gathering Scheme for Heterogeneous Sensor Networks

Authors: Siddhartha Chauhan, Nitin Kumar Kotania

Abstract:

Traditional Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) generally use static sinks to collect data from the sensor nodes via multiple forwarding. Therefore, network suffers with some problems like long message relay time, bottle neck problem which reduces the performance of the network.

Many approaches have been proposed to prevent this problem with the help of mobile sink to collect the data from the sensor nodes, but these approaches still suffer from the buffer overflow problem due to limited memory size of sensor nodes. This paper proposes an energy efficient scheme for data gathering which overcomes the buffer overflow problem. The proposed scheme creates virtual grid structure of heterogeneous nodes. Scheme has been designed for sensor nodes having variable sensing rate. Every node finds out its buffer overflow time and on the basis of this cluster heads are elected. A controlled traversing approach is used by the proposed scheme in order to transmit data to sink. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified by simulation.

Keywords: Buffer overflow problem, Mobile sink, Virtual grid, Wireless sensor networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1826
2615 Neural Network Learning Based on Chaos

Authors: Truong Quang Dang Khoa, Masahiro Nakagawa

Abstract:

Chaos and fractals are novel fields of physics and mathematics showing up a new way of universe viewpoint and creating many ideas to solve several present problems. In this paper, a novel algorithm based on the chaotic sequence generator with the highest ability to adapt and reach the global optima is proposed. The adaptive ability of proposal algorithm is flexible in 2 steps. The first one is a breadth-first search and the second one is a depth-first search. The proposal algorithm is examined by 2 functions, the Camel function and the Schaffer function. Furthermore, the proposal algorithm is applied to optimize training Multilayer Neural Networks.

Keywords: learning and evolutionary computing, Chaos Optimization Algorithm, Artificial Neural Networks, nonlinear optimization, intelligent computational technologies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1780
2614 Pose Normalization Network for Object Classification

Authors: Bingquan Shen

Abstract:

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have demonstrated their effectiveness in synthesizing 3D views of object instances at various viewpoints. Given the problem where one have limited viewpoints of a particular object for classification, we present a pose normalization architecture to transform the object to existing viewpoints in the training dataset before classification to yield better classification performance. We have demonstrated that this Pose Normalization Network (PNN) can capture the style of the target object and is able to re-render it to a desired viewpoint. Moreover, we have shown that the PNN improves the classification result for the 3D chairs dataset and ShapeNet airplanes dataset when given only images at limited viewpoint, as compared to a CNN baseline.

Keywords: Convolutional neural networks, object classification, pose normalization, viewpoint invariant.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1120
2613 Blind Image Deconvolution by Neural Recursive Function Approximation

Authors: Jiann-Ming Wu, Hsiao-Chang Chen, Chun-Chang Wu, Pei-Hsun Hsu

Abstract:

This work explores blind image deconvolution by recursive function approximation based on supervised learning of neural networks, under the assumption that a degraded image is linear convolution of an original source image through a linear shift-invariant (LSI) blurring matrix. Supervised learning of neural networks of radial basis functions (RBF) is employed to construct an embedded recursive function within a blurring image, try to extract non-deterministic component of an original source image, and use them to estimate hyper parameters of a linear image degradation model. Based on the estimated blurring matrix, reconstruction of an original source image from a blurred image is further resolved by an annealed Hopfield neural network. By numerical simulations, the proposed novel method is shown effective for faithful estimation of an unknown blurring matrix and restoration of an original source image.

Keywords: Blind image deconvolution, linear shift-invariant(LSI), linear image degradation model, radial basis functions (rbf), recursive function, annealed Hopfield neural networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2061
2612 Prediction of Slump in Concrete using Artificial Neural Networks

Authors: V. Agrawal, A. Sharma

Abstract:

High Strength Concrete (HSC) is defined as concrete that meets special combination of performance and uniformity requirements that cannot be achieved routinely using conventional constituents and normal mixing, placing, and curing procedures. It is a highly complex material, which makes modeling its behavior a very difficult task. This paper aimed to show possible applicability of Neural Networks (NN) to predict the slump in High Strength Concrete (HSC). Neural Network models is constructed, trained and tested using the available test data of 349 different concrete mix designs of High Strength Concrete (HSC) gathered from a particular Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) batching plant. The most versatile Neural Network model is selected to predict the slump in concrete. The data used in the Neural Network models are arranged in a format of eight input parameters that cover the Cement, Fly Ash, Sand, Coarse Aggregate (10 mm), Coarse Aggregate (20 mm), Water, Super-Plasticizer and Water/Binder ratio. Furthermore, to test the accuracy for predicting slump in concrete, the final selected model is further used to test the data of 40 different concrete mix designs of High Strength Concrete (HSC) taken from the other batching plant. The results are compared on the basis of error function (or performance function).

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks, Concrete, prediction ofslump, slump in concrete

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3597
2611 Trunk and Gluteus-Medius Muscles’ Fatigability during Occupational Standing in Clinical Instructors with Low Back Pain

Authors: Eman A. Embaby, Amira A. A. Abdallah

Abstract:

Background: Occupational standing is associated with low back pain (LBP) development. Yet, trunk and gluteus-medius muscles’ fatigability has not been extensively studied during occupational standing. This study examined and correlated the rectus abdominus (RA), erector-spinae (ES), external oblique (EO), and gluteus-medius (GM) muscles’ fatigability on both sides while standing in a confined area for 30min Methods: Median frequency EMG data were collected from 15 female clinical instructors with chronic LBP (group A) and 15 asymptomatic controls (group B) (mean age 29.53±2.4 vs 29.07±2.4years, weight 63.6±7 vs 60±7.8kg, and height 162.73±4 vs 162.8±6cm respectively) using a spectrum analysis program. Data were collected in the first and last 5min of the standing task. Results: Using Mixed three-way ANOVA, group A showed significantly (p<0.05) lower frequencies for the right and left ES, and right GM in the last 5min and significantly higher frequencies for the left RA in the first and last 5min than group B. In addition, the left ES and right EO, ES and GM in group B showed significantly higher frequencies and the left ES in group A showed significantly lower frequencies in the last 5min compared with the first. Moreover, the right RA showed significantly higher frequencies than the left in the last 5min in group B. Finally, there were significant (p<0.05) correlations among the median frequencies of the tested four muscles on the same side and between both sides in both groups. Discussion/Conclusions: Clinical instructors with LBP are more liable to have higher trunk and gluteus-medius muscle fatigue than asymptomatic individuals. Thus, endurance training for these muscles should be included in the rehabilitation of such patients.

Keywords: EMG, Fatigability, Gluteus-medius, LBP, Standing, Trunk.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2524
2610 When Psychology Meets Ecology: Cognitive Flexibility for Quarry Rehabilitation

Authors: J. Fenianos, C. Khater, D. Brouillet

Abstract:

Ecological projects are often faced with reluctance from local communities hosting the project, especially when this project involves variation from preset ideas or classical practices. This paper aims at appreciating the contribution of environmental psychology through cognitive flexibility exercises to improve the acceptability of local communities in adopting more ecological rehabilitation scenarios. The study is based on a quarry site located in Bekaa- Lebanon. Four groups were considered with different levels of involvement, as follows: Group 1 is Training (T) – 50 hours of on-site training over 8 months, Group 2 is Awareness (A) – 2 hours of awareness raising session, Group 3 is Flexibility (F) – 2 hours of flexibility exercises and Group 4 is the Control (C). The results show that individuals in Group 3 (F) who followed flexibility sessions accept comparably the ecological rehabilitation option over the more classical one. This is also the case for the people in Group 1 (T) who followed a more time-demanding “on-site training”. Another experience was conducted on a second quarry site combining flexibility with awareness-raising. This research confirms that it is possible to reduce resistance to change thanks to a limited in-time intervention using cognitive flexibility. This methodological approach could be transferable to other environmental problems involving local communities and changes in preset perceptions.

Keywords: Acceptability, ecological restoration, environmental psychology, Lebanon, local communities, resistance to change.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1285
2609 Detection of Leaks in Water Mains Using Ground Penetrating Radar

Authors: Alaa Al Hawari, Mohammad Khader, Tarek Zayed, Osama Moselhi

Abstract:

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most effective electromagnetic techniques for non-destructive non-invasive subsurface features investigation. Water leak from pipelines is the most common undesirable reason of potable water losses. Rapid detection of such losses is going to enhance the use of the Water Distribution Networks (WDN) and decrease threatens associated with water mains leaks. In this study, GPR approach was developed to detect leaks by implementing an appropriate imaging analyzing strategy based on image refinement, reflection polarity and reflection amplitude that would ease the process of interpreting the collected raw radargram image.

Keywords: Water Networks, Leakage, Water pipelines, Ground Penetrating Radar.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2317
2608 Modelling Peer Group Dieting Behaviour

Authors: M. J. Cunha

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to understand how peers can influence adolescent girls- dieting behaviour and their body image. Departing from imitation and social learning theories, we study whether adolescent girls tend to model their peer group dieting behaviours, thus influencing their body image construction. Our study was conducted through an enquiry applied to a cluster sample of 466 adolescent high school girls in Lisbon city public schools. Our main findings point to an association between girls- and peers- dieting behaviours, thus reinforcing the modelling hypothesis.

Keywords: Modelling, Diet, Body image, Adolescent girls, Peer group.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1774
2607 Adaptive Routing Protocol for Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: Fayez Mostafa Alhamoui, Adnan Hadi Mahdi Al- Helali

Abstract:

The main issue in designing a wireless sensor network (WSN) is the finding of a proper routing protocol that complies with the several requirements of high reliability, short latency, scalability, low power consumption, and many others. This paper proposes a novel routing algorithm that complies with these design requirements. The new routing protocol divides the WSN into several subnetworks and each sub-network is divided into several clusters. This division is designed to reduce the number of radio transmission and hence decreases the power consumption. The network division may be changed dynamically to adapt with the network changes and allows the realization of the design requirements.

Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, routing protocols, ad hoc topology, cluster, sub-network, WSN design requirements.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1964
2606 New Delay-Dependent Stability Criteria for Neural Networks With Two Additive Time-varying Delay Components

Authors: Xingyuan Qu, Shouming Zhong

Abstract:

In this paper, the problem of stability criteria of neural networks (NNs) with two-additive time-varying delay compenents is investigated. The relationship between the time-varying delay and its lower and upper bounds is taken into account when estimating the upper bound of the derivative of Lyapunov functional. As a result, some improved delay stability criteria for NNs with two-additive time-varying delay components are proposed. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Delay-dependent stability, time-varying delays, Lyapunov functional, linear matrix inequality (LMI).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1610
2605 The Effectiveness of Video Clips to Enhance Students’ Achievement and Motivation on History Learning and Facilitation

Authors: L. Bih Ni, D. Norizah Ag Kiflee, T. Choon Keong, R. Talip, S. Singh Bikar Singh, M. Noor Mad Japuni, R. Talin

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of video clips to enhance students' achievement and motivation towards learning and facilitating of history. We use narrative literature studies to illustrate the current state of the two art and science in focused areas of inquiry. We used experimental method. The experimental method is a systematic scientific research method in which the researchers manipulate one or more variables to control and measure any changes in other variables. For this purpose, two experimental groups have been designed: one experimental and one groups consisting of 30 lower secondary students. The session is given to the first batch using a computer presentation program that uses video clips to be considered as experimental group, while the second group is assigned as the same class using traditional methods using dialogue and discussion techniques that are considered a control group. Both groups are subject to pre and post-trial in matters that are handled by the class. The findings show that the results of the pre-test analysis did not show statistically significant differences, which in turn proved the equality of the two groups. Meanwhile, post-test analysis results show that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental group and the control group at an importance level of 0.05 for the benefit of the experimental group.

Keywords: Video clips, Historical Learning and Facilitation, Achievement, Motivation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 946
2604 Existence and Global Exponential Stability of Periodic Solutions of Cellular Neural Networks with Distributed Delays and Impulses on Time Scales

Authors: Daiming Wang

Abstract:

In this paper, by using Mawhin-s continuation theorem of coincidence degree and a method based on delay differential inequality, some sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence and global exponential stability of periodic solutions of cellular neural networks with distributed delays and impulses on time scales. The results of this paper generalized previously known results.

Keywords: Periodic solutions, global exponential stability, coincidence degree, M-matrix.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1464
2603 Effect of Leaf Essential Oil of Citrus sinensis at Different Harvest Time on Some Liver and Kidney Function Indices of Diabetic Rats

Authors: O. Soji-Omoniwa, N. O. Muhammad, L. A. Usman, B. P. Omoniwa

Abstract:

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the leaf essential oil of C. sinensis harvested at 7.00a.m and 4.00p.m on some Liver and Kidney function indices of diabetic rats as well as investigate the effect of time of harvest on the observed effect. Experimental animals were divided into 4 groups (A, B, C and D). Diabetes mellitus was induced in all animals, except the normal control group (Group A), by injecting 150mg/kg body weight of alloxan monohydrate intraperitoneally. Group A received distilled water while group B (diabetic control group) was not treated. Group C and D were treated with leaf essential oil of C. sinensis harvested at 7.00 a.m and 4.00p.m respectively at a dose of 110 mg/kg body weight every other day for 15 days. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate Transaminase (AST) activity was evaluated in the serum, Liver and Kidney of studied animals. Total and Direct Bilirubin level, Total Protein and Globulin, Creatinine and Urea level were also evaluated. Result showed that creatinine and urea, serum ALP, AST and ALT levels was significantly reduced (p < 0.05), while the levels of total Protein and Globulin increased significantly (p < 0.05) for the treated animals compared to the diabetic control group. In conclusion, the leaf essential oil of Citrus sinensis ameliorated the impaired renal and liver function; however, the time of harvest of the leaf does not significantly affect its ameliorative effect.

Keywords: C. sinensis, Function indices, Harvest time, Leaf essential oil.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2512
2602 Unsupervised Classification of DNA Barcodes Species Using Multi-Library Wavelet Networks

Authors: Abdesselem Dakhli, Wajdi Bellil, Chokri Ben Amar

Abstract:

DNA Barcode provides good sources of needed information to classify living species. The classification problem has to be supported with reliable methods and algorithms. To analyze species regions or entire genomes, it becomes necessary to use the similarity sequence methods. A large set of sequences can be simultaneously compared using Multiple Sequence Alignment which is known to be NP-complete. However, all the used methods are still computationally very expensive and require significant computational infrastructure. Our goal is to build predictive models that are highly accurate and interpretable. In fact, our method permits to avoid the complex problem of form and structure in different classes of organisms. The empirical data and their classification performances are compared with other methods. Evenly, in this study, we present our system which is consisted of three phases. The first one, is called transformation, is composed of three sub steps; Electron-Ion Interaction Pseudopotential (EIIP) for the codification of DNA Barcodes, Fourier Transform and Power Spectrum Signal Processing. Moreover, the second phase step is an approximation; it is empowered by the use of Multi Library Wavelet Neural Networks (MLWNN). Finally, the third one, is called the classification of DNA Barcodes, is realized by applying the algorithm of hierarchical classification.

Keywords: DNA Barcode, Electron-Ion Interaction Pseudopotential, Multi Library Wavelet Neural Networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1967