Search results for: tourist movement patterns.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1321

Search results for: tourist movement patterns.

421 Design and Implementation a Fully Autonomous Soccer Player Robot

Authors: S. H. Mohades Kasaei, S. M. Mohades Kasaei, S. A. Mohades Kasaei, M. Taheri, M. Rahimi, H. Vahiddastgerdi, M. Saeidinezhad

Abstract:

Omni directional mobile robots have been popularly employed in several applications especially in soccer player robots considered in Robocup competitions. However, Omni directional navigation system, Omni-vision system and solenoid kicking mechanism in such mobile robots have not ever been combined. This situation brings the idea of a robot with no head direction into existence, a comprehensive Omni directional mobile robot. Such a robot can respond more quickly and it would be capable for more sophisticated behaviors with multi-sensor data fusion algorithm for global localization base on the data fusion. This paper has tried to focus on the research improvements in the mechanical, electrical and software design of the robots of team ADRO Iran. The main improvements are the world model, the new strategy framework, mechanical structure, Omni-vision sensor for object detection, robot path planning, active ball handling mechanism and the new kicker design, , and other subjects related to mobile robot

Keywords: Mobile robot, Machine vision, Omni directional movement, Autonomous Systems, Robot path planning, Object Localization.

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420 An Assessment of the Hip Muscular Imbalance for Patients with Rheumatism

Authors: Anthony Bawa, Konstantinos Banitsas

Abstract:

Rheumatism is a muscular disorder that affects the muscles of the upper and lower limbs. This condition could potentially progress to impair the movement of patients. This study aims to investigate the hip muscular imbalance in patients with chronic rheumatism. A clinical trial involving a total of 15 participants, made up of 10 patients and five control subjects, took place in KATH Hospital between August and September. Participants recruited for the study were of age 54 ± 8 years, weight 65 ± 8 kg, and height 176 ± 8 cm. Muscle signals were recorded from the rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis on the right and left hip of participants. The parameters used in determining the hip muscular imbalances were the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC%), the mean difference, and hip muscle fatigue levels. The mean signals were compared using a t-test, and the metrics for muscle fatigue assessment were based on the root mean square (RMS), mean absolute value (MAV) and mean frequency (MEF), which were computed between the hip muscles of participants. The results indicated that there were significant imbalances in the muscle coactivity between the right and left hip muscles of patients. The patients’ MVC values were observed to be above 10% when compared with control subjects. Furthermore, the mean difference was seen to be higher with p > 0.002 among patients, which indicated clear differences in the hip muscle contraction activities. The findings indicate significant hip muscular imbalances for patients with rheumatism compared with control subjects. Information about the imbalances among patients will be useful for clinicians in designing therapeutic muscle-strengthening exercises.

Keywords: Muscular, imbalances, rheumatism, hip.

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419 Research on Urban Point of Interest Generalization Method Based on Mapping Presentation

Authors: Chengming Li, Yong Yin, Peipei Guo, Xiaoli Liu

Abstract:

Without taking account of the attribute richness of POI (point of interest) data and spatial distribution limited by roads, a POI generalization method considering both attribute information and spatial distribution has been proposed against the existing point generalization algorithm merely focusing on overall information of point groups. Hierarchical characteristic of urban POI information expression has been firstly analyzed to point out the measurement feature of the corresponding hierarchy. On this basis, an urban POI generalizing strategy has been put forward: POIs urban road network have been divided into three distribution pattern; corresponding generalization methods have been proposed according to the characteristic of POI data in different distribution patterns. Experimental results showed that the method taking into account both attribute information and spatial distribution characteristics of POI can better implement urban POI generalization in the mapping presentation.

Keywords: POI, Road network, spatial information expression, selection method, distribution pattern.

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418 Genetic Programming Approach for Multi-Category Pattern Classification Appliedto Network Intrusions Detection

Authors: K.M. Faraoun, A. Boukelif

Abstract:

This paper describes a new approach of classification using genetic programming. The proposed technique consists of genetically coevolving a population of non-linear transformations on the input data to be classified, and map them to a new space with a reduced dimension, in order to get a maximum inter-classes discrimination. The classification of new samples is then performed on the transformed data, and so become much easier. Contrary to the existing GP-classification techniques, the proposed one use a dynamic repartition of the transformed data in separated intervals, the efficacy of a given intervals repartition is handled by the fitness criterion, with a maximum classes discrimination. Experiments were first performed using the Fisher-s Iris dataset, and then, the KDD-99 Cup dataset was used to study the intrusion detection and classification problem. Obtained results demonstrate that the proposed genetic approach outperform the existing GP-classification methods [1],[2] and [3], and give a very accepted results compared to other existing techniques proposed in [4],[5],[6],[7] and [8].

Keywords: Genetic programming, patterns classification, intrusion detection

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417 Irrigation Water Quality Evaluation in Jiaokou Irrigation District, Guanzhong Basin

Authors: Qiying Zhang, Panpan Xu, Hui Qian

Abstract:

Groundwater is an important water resource in the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In the present study, 141 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for various physicochemical parameters to assess the irrigation water quality using six indicators (sodium percentage (Na%), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), magnesium hazard (MH), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (PI), and potential salinity (PS)). The results show that the patterns for the average cation and anion concentrations were in decreasing orders of Na > Mg2 > Ca2 > Kand SO42 > HCO3 > Cl > NO3 > CO32 > F, respectively. The values of Na%, MH, and PS show that most of the groundwater samples are not suitable for irrigation. The same conclusion is drawn from the USSL and Wilcox diagrams. PS values indicate that Cland SO42have a great influence on irrigation water in Jiaokou Irrigation District. RSC and PI values indicate that more than half of groundwater samples are suitable for irrigation. The finding is beneficial for the policymakers for future water management schemes to achieve a sustainable development goal.

Keywords: Irrigation water quality evaluation, groundwater chemistry, Jiaokou Irrigation District, Guanzhong Basin.

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416 An Improved Face Recognition Algorithm Using Histogram-Based Features in Spatial and Frequency Domains

Authors: Qiu Chen, Koji Kotani, Feifei Lee, Tadahiro Ohmi

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose an improved face recognition algorithm using histogram-based features in spatial and frequency domains. For adding spatial information of the face to improve recognition performance, a region-division (RD) method is utilized. The facial area is firstly divided into several regions, then feature vectors of each facial part are generated by Binary Vector Quantization (BVQ) histogram using DCT coefficients in low frequency domains, as well as Local Binary Pattern (LBP) histogram in spatial domain. Recognition results with different regions are first obtained separately and then fused by weighted averaging. Publicly available ORL database is used for the evaluation of our proposed algorithm, which is consisted of 40 subjects with 10 images per subject containing variations in lighting, posing, and expressions. It is demonstrated that face recognition using RD method can achieve much higher recognition rate.

Keywords: Face recognition, Binary vector quantization (BVQ), Local Binary Patterns (LBP), DCT coefficients.

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415 Strategies and Compromises: Towards an Integrated Energy and Climate Policy for Egypt

Authors: S.T. El Sheltawy, A. A. Refaat

Abstract:

Until recently, energy security and climate change were considered separate issues to be dealt with by policymakers. The two issues are now converging, challenging the security and climate communities to develop a better understanding of how to deal with both issues simultaneously. Although Egypt is not a major contributor to the world's total GHG emissions, it is particularly vulnerable to the potential effects of global climate change such as rising sea levels and changed patterns of rainfall in the Nile Basin. Climate change is a major threat to sustainable growth and development in Egypt, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Egypt-s capacity to respond to the challenges of climate instability will be expanded by improving overall resilience, integrating climate change goals into sustainable development strategies, increasing the use of modern energy systems with reduced carbon intensity, and strengthening international initiatives. This study seeks to establish a framework for considering the complex and evolving links between energy security and climate change, applicable to Egypt.

Keywords: climate change, climate policy, cnergy policy, energy security, sustainable development

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414 Residence Time Distribution in a Two Impinging Streams Cyclone Reactor: CFD Prediction and Experimental Validation

Authors: Nahid Ghasemi, Morteza Sohrabi, Yasan Soleymani

Abstract:

The quantified residence time distribution (RTD) provides a numerical characterization of mixing in a reactor, thus allowing the process engineer to better understand mixing performance of the reactor.This paper discusses computational studies to investigate flow patterns in a two impinging streams cyclone reactor(TISCR) . Flow in the reactor was modeled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Utilizing the Eulerian- Lagrangian approach, implemented in FLUENT (V6.3.22), particle trajectories were obtained by solving the particle force balance equations. From simulation results obtained at different Δts, the mean residence time (tm) and the mean square deviation (σ2) were calculated. a good agreement can be observed between predicted and experimental data. Simulation results indicate that the behavior of complex reactor systems can be predicted using the CFD technique with minimum data requirement for validation.

Keywords: Impinging streams reactor, Residence timedistribution, CFD, Eulerian-Lagrangian approach

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413 Development of a Small-Group Teaching Method for Enhancing the Learning of Basic Acupuncture Manipulation Optimized with the Theory of Motor Learning

Authors: Wen-Chao Tang, Tang-Yi Liu, Ming Gao, Gang Xu, Hua-Yuan Yang

Abstract:

This study developed a method for teaching acupuncture manipulation in small groups optimized with the theory of motor learning. Sixty acupuncture students and their teacher participated in our research. Motion videos were recorded of their manipulations using the lifting-thrusting method. These videos were analyzed using Simi Motion software to acquire the movement parameters of the thumb tip. The parameter velocity curves along Y axis was used to generate small teaching groups clustered by a self-organized map (SOM) and K-means. Ten groups were generated. All the targeted instruction based on the comparative results groups as well as the videos of teacher and student was provided to the members of each group respectively. According to the theory and research of motor learning, the factors or technologies such as video instruction, observational learning, external focus and summary feedback were integrated into this teaching method. Such efforts were desired to improve and enhance the effectiveness of current acupuncture teaching methods in limited classroom teaching time and extracurricular training.

Keywords: Acupuncture, group teaching, video instruction, observational learning, external focus, summary feedback.

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412 Antimicrobial Properties of Copper in Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Bacteria

Authors: Travis J. Meyer, Jasodra Ramlall, Phyo Thu, Nidhi Gadura

Abstract:

For centuries humans have used the antimicrobial properties of copper to their advantage. Yet, after all these years the underlying mechanisms of copper mediated cell death in various microbes remain unclear. We had explored the hypothesis that copper mediated increased levels of lipid peroxidation in the membrane fatty acids is responsible for increased killing in Escherichia coli. In this study we show that in both gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria there is a strong correlation between copper mediated cell death and increased levels of lipid peroxidation. Interestingly, the non-spore forming gram positive bacteria as well as gram negative bacteria show similar patterns of cell death, increased levels of lipid peroxidation, as well as genomic DNA degradation, however there is some difference in loss in membrane integrity upon exposure to copper alloy surface.

Keywords: Antimicrobial, copper, gram positive, gram negative.

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411 Consolidating Service Engineering Ontologies Building Service Ontology from SOA Modeling Language (SoaML)

Authors: Purnomo Yustianto, Robin Doss, Suhardi, Novianto Budi Kurniawan

Abstract:

As a term for characterizing a process of devising a service system, the term ‘service engineering’ is still regarded as an ‘open’ research challenge due to unspecified details and conflicting perspectives. This paper presents consolidated service engineering ontologies in collecting, specifying and defining relationship between components pertinent within the context of service engineering. The ontologies are built by way of literature surveys from the collected conceptual works by collating various concepts into an integrated ontology. Two ontologies are produced: general service ontology and software service ontology. The software-service ontology is drawn from the informatics domain, while the generalized ontology of a service system is built from both a business management and the information system perspective. The produced ontologies are verified by exercising conceptual operationalizations of the ontologies in adopting several service orientation features and service system patterns. The proposed ontologies are demonstrated to be sufficient to serve as a basis for a service engineering framework.

Keywords: Engineering, ontology, service, SoaML.

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410 Overcoming the Obstacles to Green Campus Implementation in Indonesia

Authors: Mia Wimala, Emma Akmalah, Ira Irawati, M. Rangga Sururi

Abstract:

One way that has been aggressively implemented in creating a sustainable environment nowadays is through the implementation of green building concept. In order to ensure the success of its implementation, the support and initiation from educational institutions, especially higher education institutions are indispensable. This research was conducted to figure out the obstacles restraining the success of green campus implementation in Indonesia, as well as to propose strategies to overcome those obstacles. The data presented in this paper are mainly derived from interview and questionnaire distributed randomly to the staffs and students in 10 (ten) major institutions around Jakarta and West Java area. The data were further analyzed using ANOVA and SWOT analysis. According to 182 respondents, it is found that resistance to change, inadequate knowledge, information and understanding, no penalty for any environmental violation, lack of reward for green campus practices, lack of stringent regulations/laws, lack of management commitment, insufficient funds are the obstacles to the green campus movement in Indonesia. In addition, out of 6 criteria considered in UI GreenMetric World Ranking, education was the only criteria that had no significant difference between public and private universities in generating the green campus performance. The work concludes with recommendation of strategies to improve the implementation of green campus in the future.

Keywords: Green campus, obstacles, sustainable, higher education institutions.

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409 Energy-Level Structure of a Confined Electron-Positron Pair in Nanostructure

Authors: Tokuei Sako, Paul-Antoine Hervieux

Abstract:

The energy-level structure of a pair of electron and positron confined in a quasi-one-dimensional nano-scale potential well has been investigated focusing on its trend in the small limit of confinement strength ω, namely, the Wigner molecular regime. An anisotropic Gaussian-type basis functions supplemented by high angular momentum functions as large as l = 19 has been used to obtain reliable full configuration interaction (FCI) wave functions. The resultant energy spectrum shows a band structure characterized by ω for the large ω regime whereas for the small ω regime it shows an energy-level pattern dominated by excitation into the in-phase motion of the two particles. The observed trend has been rationalized on the basis of the nodal patterns of the FCI wave functions. 

Keywords: Confined systems, positron, wave function, Wigner molecule, quantum dots.

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408 Pricing European Options under Jump Diffusion Models with Fast L-stable Padé Scheme

Authors: Salah Alrabeei, Mohammad Yousuf

Abstract:

The goal of option pricing theory is to help the investors to manage their money, enhance returns and control their financial future by theoretically valuing their options. Modeling option pricing by Black-School models with jumps guarantees to consider the market movement. However, only numerical methods can solve this model. Furthermore, not all the numerical methods are efficient to solve these models because they have nonsmoothing payoffs or discontinuous derivatives at the exercise price. In this paper, the exponential time differencing (ETD) method is applied for solving partial integrodifferential equations arising in pricing European options under Merton’s and Kou’s jump-diffusion models. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm is used as a matrix-vector multiplication solver, which reduces the complexity from O(M2) into O(M logM). A partial fraction form of Pad`e schemes is used to overcome the complexity of inverting polynomial of matrices. These two tools guarantee to get efficient and accurate numerical solutions. We construct a parallel and easy to implement a version of the numerical scheme. Numerical experiments are given to show how fast and accurate is our scheme.

Keywords: Integral differential equations, L-stable methods, pricing European options, Jump–diffusion model.

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407 Supplier Selection in a Scenario Based Stochastic Model with Uncertain Defectiveness and Delivery Lateness Rates

Authors: Abeer Amayri, Akif A. Bulgak

Abstract:

Due to today’s globalization as well as outsourcing practices of the companies, the Supply Chain (SC) performances have become more dependent on the efficient movement of material among places that are geographically dispersed, where there is more chance for disruptions. One such disruption is the quality and delivery uncertainties of outsourcing. These uncertainties could lead the products to be unsafe and, as is the case in a number of recent examples, companies may have to end up in recalling their products. As a result of these problems, there is a need to develop a methodology for selecting suppliers globally in view of risks associated with low quality and late delivery. Accordingly, we developed a two-stage stochastic model that captures the risks associated with uncertainty in quality and delivery as well as a solution procedure for the model. The stochastic model developed simultaneously optimizes supplier selection and purchase quantities under price discounts over a time horizon. In particular, our target is the study of global organizations with multiple sites and multiple overseas suppliers, where the pricing is offered in suppliers’ local currencies. Our proposed methodology is applied to a case study for a US automotive company having two assembly plants and four potential global suppliers to illustrate how the proposed model works in practice.

Keywords: Global supply chains, quality, stochastic programming, supplier selection.

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406 Channel Estimation for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Systems over Doubly Selective Channels Based on the DCS-DCSOMP Algorithm

Authors: Linyu Wang, Furui Huo, Jianhong Xiang

Abstract:

The Doppler shift generated by high-speed movement and multipath effects in the channel are the main reasons for the generation of a time-frequency doubly-selective (DS) channel. There is severe inter-carrier interference (ICI) in the DS channel. Channel estimation for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system over a DS channel is very difficult. The simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit (SOMP) algorithm under distributed compressive sensing theory (DCS-SOMP) has been used in channel estimation for OFDM systems over DS channels. However, the reconstruction accuracy of the DCS-SOMP algorithm is not high enough in the low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) stage. To solve this problem, in this paper, we propose an improved DCS-SOMP algorithm based on the inner product difference comparison operation (DCS-DCSOMP). The reconstruction accuracy is improved by increasing the number of candidate indexes and designing the comparison conditions of inner product difference. We combine the DCS-DCSOMP algorithm with the basis expansion model (BEM) to reduce the complexity of channel estimation. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and its advantages over other algorithms.

Keywords: OFDM, doubly selective, channel estimation, compressed sensing

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405 Methods for Distinction of Cattle Using Supervised Learning

Authors: Radoslav Židek, Veronika Šidlová, Radovan Kasarda, Birgit Fuerst-Waltl

Abstract:

Machine learning represents a set of topics dealing with the creation and evaluation of algorithms that facilitate pattern recognition, classification, and prediction, based on models derived from existing data. The data can present identification patterns which are used to classify into groups. The result of the analysis is the pattern which can be used for identification of data set without the need to obtain input data used for creation of this pattern. An important requirement in this process is careful data preparation validation of model used and its suitable interpretation. For breeders, it is important to know the origin of animals from the point of the genetic diversity. In case of missing pedigree information, other methods can be used for traceability of animal´s origin. Genetic diversity written in genetic data is holding relatively useful information to identify animals originated from individual countries. We can conclude that the application of data mining for molecular genetic data using supervised learning is an appropriate tool for hypothesis testing and identifying an individual.

Keywords: Genetic data, Pinzgau cattle, supervised learning.

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404 Factory Virtual Environment Development for Augmented and Virtual Reality

Authors: M. Gregor, J. Polcar, P. Horejsi, M. Simon

Abstract:

Machine visualization is an area of interest with fast and progressive development. We present a method of machine visualization which will be applicable in real industrial conditions according to current needs and demands. Real factory data were obtained in a newly built research plant. Methods described in this paper were validated on a case study. Input data were processed and the virtual environment was created. The environment contains information about dimensions, structure, disposition, and function. Hardware was enhanced by modular machines, prototypes, and accessories. We added functionalities and machines into the virtual environment. The user is able to interact with objects such as testing and cutting machines, he/she can operate and move them. Proposed design consists of an environment with two degrees of freedom of movement. Users are in touch with items in the virtual world which are embedded into the real surroundings. This paper describes development of the virtual environment. We compared and tested various options of factory layout virtualization and visualization. We analyzed possibilities of using a 3D scanner in the layout obtaining process and we also analyzed various virtual reality hardware visualization methods such as: Stereoscopic (CAVE) projection, Head Mounted Display (HMD) and augmented reality (AR) projection provided by see-through glasses.

Keywords: Augmented reality, spatial scanner, virtual environment, virtual reality.

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403 A Model to Study the Effect of Na+ ions on Ca2+diffusion under Rapid Buffering Approximation

Authors: Vikas Tewari, K.R. Pardasani

Abstract:

Calcium is very important for communication among the neurons. It is vital in a number of cell processes such as secretion, cell movement, cell differentiation. To reduce the system of reactiondiffusion equations of [Ca2+] into a single equation, two theories have been proposed one is excess buffer approximation (EBA) other is rapid buffer approximation (RBA). The RBA is more realistic than the EBA as it considers both the mobile and stationary endogenous buffers. It is valid near the mouth of the channel. In this work we have studied the effects of different types of buffers on calcium diffusion under RBA. The novel thing studied is the effect of sodium ions on calcium diffusion. The model has been made realistic by considering factors such as variable [Ca2+], [Na+] sources, sodium-calcium exchange protein(NCX), Sarcolemmal Calcium ATPase pump. The proposed mathematical leads to a system of partial differential equations which has been solved numerically to study the relationships between different parameters such as buffer concentration, buffer disassociation rate, calcium permeability. We have used Forward Time Centred Space (FTCS) approach to solve the system of partial differential equations.

Keywords: rapid buffer approximation, sodium-calcium exchangeprotein, Sarcolemmal Calcium ATPase pump, buffer disassociationrate, forward time centred space.

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402 Effects of Formic Acid on the Chemical State and Morphology of As-synthesized and Annealed ZnO Films

Authors: Chueh-Jung Huang, Chia-Hung Li, Hsueh-Lung Wang, Tsun-Nan Lin

Abstract:

Zinc oxide thin films with various microstructures were grown on substrates by using HCOOH-sols. The reaction mechanism of the sol system was investigated by performing an XPS analysis of as-synthesized films, due to the products of hydrolysis and condensation in the sol system contributing to the chemical state of the as-synthesized films. The chemical structures of the assynthesized films related to the microstructures of the final annealed films were also studied. The results of the Zn 2p3/2, C 1s and O1s XPS patterns indicate that the hydrolysis reaction in the sol system is strongly influenced by the HCOOH agent. The results of XRD and FE-SEM demonstrated the microstructures of the annealed films are related to the content of hydrolyzed zinc hydrate (Zn-OH) species present, and that content of the Zn-OH species in the sol system increases the HCOOH adding, and these Zn-OH species existing in the sol phase are responsible for large ZnO crystallites in the final annealed films.

Keywords: zinc oxide, hydrolysis catalyst, zinc acetate source, formic acid.

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401 CFD Analysis of Two Phase Flow in a Horizontal Pipe – Prediction of Pressure Drop

Authors: P. Bhramara, V. D. Rao, K. V. Sharma , T. K. K. Reddy

Abstract:

In designing of condensers, the prediction of pressure drop is as important as the prediction of heat transfer coefficient. Modeling of two phase flow, particularly liquid – vapor flow under diabatic conditions inside a horizontal tube using CFD analysis is difficult with the available two phase models in FLUENT due to continuously changing flow patterns. In the present analysis, CFD analysis of two phase flow of refrigerants inside a horizontal tube of inner diameter, 0.0085 m and 1.2 m length is carried out using homogeneous model under adiabatic conditions. The refrigerants considered are R22, R134a and R407C. The analysis is performed at different saturation temperatures and at different flow rates to evaluate the local frictional pressure drop. Using Homogeneous model, average properties are obtained for each of the refrigerants that is considered as single phase pseudo fluid. The so obtained pressure drop data is compared with the separated flow models available in literature.

Keywords: Adiabatic conditions, CFD analysis, Homogeneousmodel and Liquid – Vapor flow.

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400 Optical Fish Tracking in Fishways using Neural Networks

Authors: Alvaro Rodriguez, Maria Bermudez, Juan R. Rabuñal, Jeronimo Puertas

Abstract:

One of the main issues in Computer Vision is to extract the movement of one or several points or objects of interest in an image or video sequence to conduct any kind of study or control process. Different techniques to solve this problem have been applied in numerous areas such as surveillance systems, analysis of traffic, motion capture, image compression, navigation systems and others, where the specific characteristics of each scenario determine the approximation to the problem. This paper puts forward a Computer Vision based algorithm to analyze fish trajectories in high turbulence conditions in artificial structures called vertical slot fishways, designed to allow the upstream migration of fish through obstructions in rivers. The suggested algorithm calculates the position of the fish at every instant starting from images recorded with a camera and using neural networks to execute fish detection on images. Different laboratory tests have been carried out in a full scale fishway model and with living fishes, allowing the reconstruction of the fish trajectory and the measurement of velocities and accelerations of the fish. These data can provide useful information to design more effective vertical slot fishways.

Keywords: Computer Vision, Neural Network, Fishway, Fish Trajectory, Tracking

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

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

Abstract:

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

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

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398 Effects of Incident Angle and Distance on Visible Light Communication

Authors: Taegyoo Woo, Jong Kang Park, Jong Tae Kim

Abstract:

Visible Light Communication (VLC) provides wireless communication features in illumination systems. One of the key applications is to recognize the user location by indoor illuminators such as light emitting diodes. For localization of individual receivers in these systems, we usually assume that receivers and transmitters are placed in parallel. However, it is difficult to satisfy this assumption because the receivers move randomly in real case. It is necessary to analyze the case when transmitter is not placed perfectly parallel to receiver. It is also important to identify changes on optical gain by the tilted angles and distances of them against the illuminators. In this paper, we simulate optical gain for various cases where the tilt of the receiver and the distance change. Then, we identified changing patterns of optical gains according to tilted angles of a receiver and distance. These results can help many VLC applications understand the extent of the location errors with regard to optical gains of the receivers and identify the root cause.

Keywords: Visible light communication, optical channel, indoor positioning, Lambertian radiation.

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397 The Linkage of Urban and Energy Planning for Sustainable Cities: The Case of Denmark and Germany

Authors: Jens-Phillip Petersen

Abstract:

The reduction of GHG emissions in buildings is a focus area of national energy policies in Europe, because buildings are responsible for a major share of the final energy consumption. It is at local scale where policies to increase the share of renewable energies and energy efficiency measures get implemented. Municipalities, as local authorities and responsible entity for land-use planning, have a direct influence on urban patterns and energy use, which makes them key actors in the transition towards sustainable cities. Hence, synchronizing urban planning with energy planning offers great potential to increase society’s energy-efficiency; this has a high significance to reach GHG-reduction targets. In this paper, the actual linkage of urban planning and energy planning in Denmark and Germany was assessed; substantive barriers preventing their integration and driving factors that lead to successful transitions towards a holistic urban energy planning procedures were identified.

Keywords: Energy planning, urban planning, renewable energies, sustainable cities.

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396 Free Convection in an Infinite Porous Dusty Medium Induced by Pulsating Point Heat Source

Authors: K. Kannan, V. Venkataraman

Abstract:

Free convection effects and heat transfer due to a pulsating point heat source embedded in an infinite, fluid saturated, porous dusty medium are studied analytically. Both velocity and temperature fields are discussed in the form of series expansions in the Rayleigh number, for both the fluid and particle phases based on the mean heat generation rate from source and on the permeability of the porous dusty medium. This study is carried out by assuming the Rayleigh number small and the validity of Darcy-s law. Analytical expressions for both phases are obtained for second order mean in both velocity and temperature fields and evolution of different wave patterns are observed in the fluctuating part. It has been observed that, at the vicinity of the origin, the second order mean flow is influenced only by relaxation time of dust particles and not by dust concentration.

Keywords: Pulsating point heat source, azimuthal velocity, porous dusty medium, Darcy's law.

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395 Dominant Flow Features of Two Inclined Impinging Jets Confined in Large Enclosure

Authors: T. Chammem, H. Mhiri, O. Vauquelin

Abstract:

The present study was provided to examine the vortical structures generated by two inclined impinging jets with experimental and numerical investigations. The jets are issuing with a pitch angle α=40° into a confined quiescent fluid. The experimental investigation on flow patterns was visualized by using olive particles injected into the jets illuminated by Nd:Yag laser light to reveal the finer details of the confined jets interaction. It was observed that two counter-rotating vortex pairs (CVPs) were generated in the near region. A numerical investigation was also performed. First, the numerical results were validates against the experimental results and then the numerical model was used to study the effect of section ratio on the evolution of the CVPs. Our results show promising agreement with experimental data, and indicate that our model has the potential to produce useful and accurate data regarding the evolution of CVPs.

Keywords: Inclined impinging jets, counter-rotating vortex pair, CFD, experimental investigation, section ratio.

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394 Importance of E-Participation by U-Society in the Development of the U-City

Authors: Jalaluddin Abdul Malek, Mohd Asruladlyi Ibrahim, Zurinah Tahir

Abstract:

This paper is to reveal developments in the areas of urban technology in Malaysia. Developments occur intend to add value intelligent city development to the ubiquitous city (U-city) or smart city. The phenomenon of change is called the development of post intelligent cities. U-City development discourse is seen from the perspective of the philosophy of the virtuous city organized by al-Farabi. The prosperity and perfection of a city is mainly caused by human personality factors, as well as its relationship with material and technological aspects of the city. The question is, to what extent to which human factors are taken into account in the concept of U-City as an added value to the intelligent city concept to realize the prosperity and perfection of the city? Previously, the intelligent city concept was developed based on global change and ICT movement, while the U-city added value to the development of intelligent cities and focused more on the development of information and communications technology (ICT). Value added is defined as the use of fiber optic technology that is wired to the use of wireless technology, such as wireless broadband. In this discourse, the debate on the concept of U-City is to the symbiosis between the U-City and the importance of local human e-participation (U-Society) for prosperity. In the context of virtuous city philosophy, it supports the thought of symbiosis so the concept of U-City can achieve sustainability, prosperity and perfection of the city.

Keywords: Smart city, ubiquitous city, U-Society, e-participation, prosperity.

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393 Preliminary Tests on the Buffer Tank for the Vented Liquid Nitrogen Flow of an SRF Module

Authors: Ming-Hsun Tsai, Ming-Chyuan Lin, Fu-Tsai Chung, Ling-Jhen Chen, Yu-Hang Lin, Meng-Shu Yeh, Lee-Long Han

Abstract:

Since 2005, an SRF module of CESR type serves as the accelerating cavity at the Taiwan Light Source in the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center. A 500-MHz niobium cavity is immersed in liquid helium inside this SRF module. To reduce heat load, the liquid helium vessel is thermally shielded by liquid-nitrogen-cooled copper layer, and the beam chambers are also anchored with pipes of the liquid nitrogen flow in middle of the liquid helium vessel and the vacuum vessel. A strong correlation of the movement of the cavity-s frequency tuner with the temperature variation of parts cooled with liquid nitrogen was observed. A previous study on a spare SRF module with the niobium cavity cooled by liquid nitrogen instead of liquid helium, satisfactory suppression of the thermal oscillation was achieved by attaching a temporary buffer tank for the vented shielding nitrogen flow from the SRF module. In this study, a home-made buffer tank is designed and integrated to the spare SRF module with cavity cooled by liquid helium. Design, construction, integration, and preliminary test results of this buffer tank are presented.

Keywords: Cryogenics, flow control, oscillation.

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392 A Cohesive Lagrangian Swarm and Its Application to Multiple Unicycle-like Vehicles

Authors: Jito Vanualailai, Bibhya Sharma

Abstract:

Swarm principles are increasingly being used to design controllers for the coordination of multi-robot systems or, in general, multi-agent systems. This paper proposes a two-dimensional Lagrangian swarm model that enables the planar agents, modeled as point masses, to swarm whilst effectively avoiding each other and obstacles in the environment. A novel method, based on an extended Lyapunov approach, is used to construct the model. Importantly, the Lyapunov method ensures a form of practical stability that guarantees an emergent behavior, namely, a cohesive and wellspaced swarm with a constant arrangement of individuals about the swarm centroid. Computer simulations illustrate this basic feature of collective behavior. As an application, we show how multiple planar mobile unicycle-like robots swarm to eventually form patterns in which their velocities and orientations stabilize.

Keywords: Attractive-repulsive swarm model, individual-based swarm model, Lagrangian swarm model, Lyapunov stability, Lyapunov-like function, practical stability, unicycle.

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