Search results for: Process capability analysis

Authors: Md. Nasir Uddin, M. A. Alim, M. M. K. Chowdhury

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This analysis is performed to study the momentum, heat and mass transfer characteristics of MHD mixed convective flow past inclined porous plate in porous medium, including the effect of fluid suction. The fluid is assumed to be steady, incompressible and dense. Similarity solution is used to transform the problem under consideration into coupled nonlinear boundary layer equations which are then solved numerically by using the Runge-Kutta sixth-order integration scheme together with Nachtsheim-Swigert shooting iteration technique. Numerical results for the various types of parameters entering into the problem for velocity, temperature and concentration distributions are presented graphically and analyzed thereafter. Moreover, expressions for the skin-friction, heat transfer co-efficient and mass transfer co-efficient are discussed with graphs against streamwise distance for various governing parameters.

Keywords: Fluid suction, heat and mass transfer, inclined porous plate, MHD, mixed convection, porous medium.

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Authors: Dong-Chul Lee, Byung-Kwan Oh, Se-Woon Choi, Hyo-Sun Park

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The unanticipated brittle fracture of connection of the steel moment resisting frame (SMRF) occurred in 1994 the Northridge earthquake. Since then, the researches for the vulnerability of connection of the existing SMRF and for rehabilitation of those buildings were conducted. This paper suggests performance-based optimal seismic retrofit technique using connection upgrade. For optimal design, a multi-objective genetic algorithm(NSGA-II) is used. One of the two objective functions is to minimize initial cost and another objective function is to minimize lifetime seismic damages cost. The optimal algorithm proposed in this paper is performed satisfying specified performance objective based on FEMA 356. The nonlinear static analysis is performed for structural seismic performance evaluation. A numerical example of SAC benchmark SMRF is provided using the performance-based optimal seismic retrofit technique proposed in this paper

Keywords: connection upgrade, performace-based seismicdesign, seismic retrofit, multi-objective optimization

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Authors: Aqsa Akbar, Waheed Akhter

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Job stress is one of the most important concepts for the today-s corporate as well as institutional world. The current study is conducted to identify the causes of faculty stress at Higher Education in Pakistan. For the purpose, Public & Private Business Schools of Punjab is selected as representative of Pakistan. A sample of 300 faculty members (214 males, 86 females) responded to the survey. Regression analysis shows that the Workload, Student Related issues and Role Conflicts are the major sources contributing significantly towards producing stress. The study also revealed that Private sector faculty members experienced more stress as compared to faculty in Public sector Business Schools. Moreover, females, younger ages, lower designation & low qualification faculty members experience more stress as compared to males, older ages, higher designation and high qualification. The study yield many significant results for the policy makers of Business Institutions.

Keywords: Faculty Stress, Higher Education, Stress Coping Strategies, Work Load

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Authors: Z. Rihova, K. Saksl, C. Siemers, D. Ostroushko

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Titanium alloys like the modern alloy Ti 6Al 2Sn 4Zr 6Mo (Ti-6246) combine excellent specific mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. On the other hand,due to their material characteristics, machining of these alloys is difficult to perform. The aim of the current study is the analyses of wear mechanisms of coated cemented carbide tools applied in orthogonal cutting experiments of Ti-6246 alloy. Round bars were machined with standard coated tools in dry conditions on a CNC latheusing a wide range of cutting speeds and cutting depths. Tool wear mechanisms were afterwards investigated by means of stereo microscopy, optical microscopy, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Wear mechanisms included fracture of the tool tip (total failure) and abrasion. Specific wear features like crater wear, micro cracks and built-up edgeformation appeared depending of the mechanical and thermal conditions generated in the workpiece surface by the cutting action.

Keywords: Alloy 6246, machining, tool wear, optical microscopy, SEM, EDX analysis

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Authors: Sherif. S. Nafee, Ameer. K. Al-Ramady, Salem. A. Shaheen

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The analytical prediction of the decay heat results from the fast neutron fission of actinides was initiated under a project, 10-MAT1134-3, funded by king Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KASCT), Long-Term Comprehensive National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovations, managed by a team from King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Saudi Arabia, and supervised by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has collaborated with KAU's team to assist in the computational analysis. In this paper, the numerical solution of coupled linear differential equations that describe the decays and buildups of minor fission product MFA, has been used to predict the total decay heat and its components from the fast neutron fission of 235U and 239Pu. The reliability of the present approach is illustrated via systematic comparisons with the measurements reported by the University of Tokyo, in YAYOI reactor.

Keywords: Decay heat, fast neutron fission, and Numerical Solution of Linear Differential Equations.

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Authors: Marie Mikušová, Viktorie Janečková

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Measurement and the following evaluation of performance represent important part of management. The paper focuses on indicators as the basic elements of performance measurement system. It emphasizes a necessity of searching requirements for quality indicators so that they can become part of the useful system. It introduces standpoints for a systematic dividing of indicators so that they have as high as possible informative value of background sources for searching, analysis, designing and using of indicators. It draws attention to requirements for indicators' quality and at the same it deals with some dangers decreasing indicator's informative value. It submits a draft of questions that should be answered at the construction of indicator. It is obvious that particular indicators need to be defined exactly to stimulate the desired behavior in order to attain expected results. In the enclosure a concrete example of the defined indicator in the concrete conditions of a small firm is given. The authors of the paper pay attention to the fact that a quality indicator makes it possible to get to the basic causes of the problem and include the established facts into the company information system. At the same time they emphasize that developing of a quality indicator is a prerequisite for the utilization of the system of measurement in management.

Keywords: performance, measurement, firm, indicator

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Authors: K. Assis, K. P. Chong, A. S. Idris, C. M. Ho

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Oil palm or Elaeis guineensis is considered as the golden crop in Malaysia. But oil palm industry in this country is now facing with the most devastating disease called as Ganoderma Basal Stem Rot disease. The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic loss due to this disease. There were three commercial oil palm sites selected for collecting the required data for economic analysis. Yield parameter used to measure the loss was the total weight of fresh fruit bunch in six months. The predictors include disease severity, change in disease severity, number of infected neighbor palms, age of palm, planting generation, topography, and first order interaction variables. The estimation model of yield loss was identified by using backward elimination based regression method. Diagnostic checking was conducted on the residual of the best yield loss model. The value of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used to measure the forecast performance of the model. The best yield loss model was then used to estimate the economic loss by using the current monthly price of fresh fruit bunch at mill gate.

Keywords: Ganoderma, oil palm, regression model, yield loss, economic loss.

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Authors: Feyza Eda Akyurek, Bayram Sahin, Kadir Gelis, Eyuphan Manay, Murat Ceylan

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Turbulent forced convection heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of Al₂O₃–water nanofluid flowing through a concentric tube heat exchanger with and without coiled wire turbulators were studied experimentally. The experiments were conducted in the Reynolds number ranging from 4000 to 20000, particle volume concentrations of 0.8 vol.% and 1.6 vol.%. Two turbulators with the pitches of 25 mm and 39 mm were used. The results of nanofluids indicated that average Nusselt number increased much more with increasing Reynolds number compared to that of pure water. Thermal conductivity enhancement by the nanofluids resulted in heat transfer enhancement. Once the pressure drop of the alumina/water nanofluid was analyzed, it was nearly equal to that of pure water at the same Reynolds number range. It was concluded that nanofluids with the volume fractions of 0.8 and 1.6 did not have a significant effect on pressure drop change. However, the use of wire coils in heat exchanger enhanced heat transfer as well as the pressure drop.

Keywords: Turbulators, heat exchanger, nanofluids, heat transfer enhancement.

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Authors: Seyed Mohammad Nasir Mousavi, Pasha Hejazi, Maryam Ebrahimian Dehkordi

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In order to study the Mutual effect of genotype × environment for the percent of oil index in sunflower items, an experiment was accomplished form complete random block designs in four iteration and was four diverse researching station comprising Esfahan, Birjand, Sari, and Karaj. Complex variance analysis showed that there is an important diversity between the items under investigation. The results relevant the coefficient variation of items Azargol and Vidoc has respectively allocated the minimum coefficient of variations. According to the results extrapolated from Shokla stability variance, the Items Brocar, Allison and Fabiola, are among the stable genotypes for oil percent respectively. In the biplot GGE, the location under investigations divided in two superenvironments, first one comprised of locations naming Esfahan, Karaj, and Birjand, and second one were such a location as Sari. By this point of view, in the first super-environment, the Item Fabiola and in the second Almanzor item was among the best items and crops.

Keywords: Sunflower, Stability, GGE biplot, Super- Environment.

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Authors: Jun Sung Go, Jong Kang Park, Jong Tae Kim

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As semi-conductor manufacturing technology evolves; the single event transient problem becomes more significant issue. Single event transient has a critical impact on both combinational and sequential logic circuits, so it is important to evaluate the soft error tolerance of the circuits at the design stage. In this paper, we present a soft error detecting simulation using scan chain. The simulation model generates a single event transient randomly in the circuit, and detects the soft error during the execution of the test patterns. We verified this model by inserting a scan chain in an 8051 microprocessor using 65 nm CMOS technology. While the test patterns generated by ATPG program are passing through the scan chain, we insert a single event transient and detect the number of soft errors per sub-module. The experiments show that the soft error rates per cell area of the SFR module is 277% larger than other modules.

Keywords: Scan chain, single event transient, soft error, 8051 processor.

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Authors: Jia-Ru Li, Chih-Hung Wang, Ching-Wen Lin

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The association between emotional inhibition strategies linked to depression has been showed inconsistent among studies. Mild emotional inhibition maybe benefit for social interaction, especially for female among East Asian cultures. The present study aimed to examine whether the inhibition–depression relationship is dependent on level of emotion inhibition and gender context, given differing value of suppressing emotional displays. We hypothesized that the negative associations between inhibition and adolescent depression would not directly, in which affected by interaction between emotion inhibition and gender. To test this hypothesis, we asked 309 junior high school students which age range from 12 to14 years old to report on their use of emotion inhibition and depression syndrome. A multiple regressions analysis revealed that significant interaction that gender as a moderator to the relationships between emotion inhibition and adolescent depression. The group with the highest level of depression was girls with high levels of emotion inhibition, whose depression score was higher than that of boys with high levels of emotion inhibition. The result highlights that the importance of context in understanding the inhibition-depression relationship.

Keywords: Emotional inhibition strategies, gender, adolescent depression.

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Authors: Johannes Buchmann, Markus Kaiser

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We decribe a formal specification and verification of the Rabin public-key scheme in the formal proof system Is-abelle/HOL. The idea is to use the two views of cryptographic verification: the computational approach relying on the vocabulary of probability theory and complexity theory and the formal approach based on ideas and techniques from logic and programming languages. The analysis presented uses a given database to prove formal properties of our implemented functions with computer support. Thema in task in designing a practical formalization of correctness as well as security properties is to cope with the complexity of cryptographic proving. We reduce this complexity by exploring a light-weight formalization that enables both appropriate formal definitions as well as eficient formal proofs. This yields the first computer-proved implementation of the Rabin public-key scheme in Isabelle/HOL. Consequently, we get reliable proofs with a minimal error rate augmenting the used database. This provides a formal basis for more computer proof constructions in this area.

Keywords: public-key encryption, Rabin public-key scheme, formalproof system, higher-order logic, formal verification.

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Authors: C.K. Hindumathy

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Alcohol and water extracts of Cymbopogon citratus was investigated for anti-bacterial properties and phytochemical constituents. The extract was screened against four gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris) and two grampositive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus at four different concentrations (1:1, 1:5, 1:10 and 1:20) using disc diffusion method. The antibacterial examination was by disc diffusion techniques, while the photochemical constituents were investigated using standard chemical methods. Results showed that the extracts inhibited the growth of standard and local strains of the organisms used. The treatments were significantly different (P = 0.05). The minimum inhibitory concentration of the extracts against the tested microorganisms ranged between 150mg/ml and 50mg/ml. The alcohol extracts were found to be generally more effective than the water extract. The photochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids and phenol but absence of cardiac and cyanogenic glycosides. The presence of alkaloid and phenols were inferred as being responsible for the anti-bacterial properties of the extracts.

Keywords: Cymbopogon citratus; gram negative and grampositive

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Authors: Naima Nur, Safa Islam, Saeema Islam, Md. Faridul Alam

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The study addresses the increasing challenge of pediatric presumptive tuberculosis, emphasizing the need to understand the factors associated with it. The research aims to determine the proportion of presumptive TB and factors associated with it among suspected pediatric tuberculosis patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted at ICDDR-Bangladesh, collecting specimens from suspected pediatric patients and using logistic regression for data analysis. The study found a high proportion of presumptive TB (85.7%) but no statistically significant differences between presumptive and non-presumptive TB. Theoretical importance of the study highlights the importance of identifying factors associated with presumptive TB for better control and management strategies. Specimens were collected from 84 suspected pediatric patients diagnosed with TB based on clinical symptoms/radiological findings. Microbiological tests like smear-microscopy, culture, and GeneXpert were used to isolate presumptive TB and confirmed TB. The proportion of presumptive TB was 85.7% among suspected pediatric TB patients. Among various factors that were not found to be associated with the presumptive TB. The study concludes that despite a high proportion of presumptive TB, no significant differences were found between presumptive and non-presumptive TB cases.

Keywords: Presumptive tuberculosis, confirmed tuberculosis, patient's characteristics, diagnosis.

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Authors: Asif Ali, Daud Salim Faruquie

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With the advancement of knowledge about the utility and impact of sustainability, its feasibility has been explored into different walks of life. Scientists, however; have established their knowledge in four areas viz environmental, economic, social and cultural, popularly termed as four pillars of sustainability. Aspects of environmental and economic sustainability have been rigorously researched and practiced and huge volume of strong evidence of effectiveness has been founded for these two sub-areas. For the social and cultural aspects of sustainability, dependable evidence of effectiveness is still to be instituted as the researchers and practitioners are developing and experimenting methods across the globe. Therefore, the present research aimed to identify globally used practices of social and cultural sustainability and through evidence synthesis assess their outcomes to determine the effectiveness of those practices. A PICO format steered the methodology which included all populations, popular sustainability practices including walkability/cycle tracks, social/recreational spaces, privacy, health & human services and barrier free built environment, comparators included ‘Before’ and ‘After’, ‘With’ and ‘Without’, ‘More’ and ‘Less’ and outcomes included Social well-being, cultural coexistence, quality of life, ethics and morality, social capital, sense of place, education, health, recreation and leisure, and holistic development. Search of literature included major electronic databases, search websites, organizational resources, directory of open access journals and subscribed journals. Grey literature, however, was not included. Inclusion criteria filtered studies on the basis of research designs such as total randomization, quasirandomization, cluster randomization, observational or single studies and certain types of analysis. Studies with combined outcomes were considered but studies focusing only on environmental and/or economic outcomes were rejected. Data extraction, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis was carried out using customized tabulation, reference manager and CASP tool. Partial meta-analysis was carried out and calculation of pooled effects and forest plotting were done. As many as 13 studies finally included for final synthesis explained the impact of targeted practices on health, behavioural and social dimensions. Objectivity in the measurement of health outcomes facilitated quantitative synthesis of studies which highlighted the impact of sustainability methods on physical activity, Body Mass Index, perinatal outcomes and child health. Studies synthesized qualitatively (and also quantitatively) showed outcomes such as routines, family relations, citizenship, trust in relationships, social inclusion, neighbourhood social capital, wellbeing, habitability and family’s social processes. The synthesized evidence indicates slight effectiveness and efficacy of social and cultural sustainability on the targeted outcomes. Further synthesis revealed that such results of this study are due weak research designs and disintegrated implementations. If architects and other practitioners deliver their interventions in collaboration with research bodies and policy makers, a stronger evidence-base in this area could be generated.

Keywords: Built environment, cultural sustainability, social sustainability, sustainable architecture.

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Authors: Hoa Pham

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The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others - as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered.

Keywords: Code switching, L1 use, L2 teaching, Learners’ perception.

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Authors: A.M. Fahim, A. M. Salem, F. A. Torkey, M. A. Ramadan

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Clustering algorithms are attractive for the task of class identification in spatial databases. However, the application to large spatial databases rises the following requirements for clustering algorithms: minimal requirements of domain knowledge to determine the input parameters, discovery of clusters with arbitrary shape and good efficiency on large databases. The well-known clustering algorithms offer no solution to the combination of these requirements. In this paper, a density based clustering algorithm (DCBRD) is presented, relying on a knowledge acquired from the data by dividing the data space into overlapped regions. The proposed algorithm discovers arbitrary shaped clusters, requires no input parameters and uses the same definitions of DBSCAN algorithm. We performed an experimental evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of it, and compared this results with that of DBSCAN. The results of our experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is significantly efficient in discovering clusters of arbitrary shape and size.

Keywords: Clustering Algorithms, Arbitrary Shape of clusters, cluster Analysis.

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Authors: D. Karthikeyan, G. Balakrishnan

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Human faces, as important visual signals, express a significant amount of nonverbal info for usage in human-to-human communication. Age, specifically, is more significant among these properties. Human age estimation using facial image analysis as an automated method which has numerous potential real‐world applications. In this paper, an automated age estimation framework is presented. Support Vector Regression (SVR) strategy is utilized to investigate age prediction. This paper depicts a feature extraction taking into account Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), which can be utilized for robust face recognition framework. It applies GLCM operation to remove the face's features images and Active Appearance Models (AAMs) to assess the human age based on image. A fused feature technique and SVR with GA optimization are proposed to lessen the error in age estimation.

Keywords: Support vector regression, feature extraction, gray level co-occurrence matrix, active appearance models.

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Authors: Gwanghee Heo, Geonhyeok Bang, Chunggil Kim, Chinok Lee

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This paper attempts to develop a wireless feedback control system as a primary step eventually toward a bio-inspired structure system where inanimate structure behaves like a life form autonomously. It is a standalone wireless control system which is supposed to measure externally caused structural responses, analyze structural state from acquired data, and take its own action on the basis of the analysis with an embedded logic. For an experimental examination of its effectiveness, we applied it on a model of two-span bridge and performed a wireless control test. Experimental tests have been conducted for comparison on both the wireless and the wired system under the conditions of Un-control, Passive-off, Passive-on, and Lyapunov control algorithm. By proving the congruence of the test result of the wireless feedback control system with the wired control system, its control performance was proven to be effective. Besides, it was found to be economical in energy consumption and also autonomous by means of a command algorithm embedded into it, which proves its basic capacity as a bio-inspired system.

Keywords: Structural vibration control, wireless system, MR damper, feedback control, embedded system.

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Authors: Siddegowda, Y. A. Sathish, G. Krishnegowda, T. M. Mohan Kumar

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Road accidents are a human tragedy. They involve high human suffering and monetary costs in terms of untimely death, injuries and social problems. India had earned the dubious distinction of having more number of fatalities due to road accidents in the world. Road safety is emerging as a major social concern around the world especially in India because of infrastructure project works. A case study was taken on NH – 07 which connects to various major cities and industries. The study shows that major cases of fatalities are due to bus, trucks and high speed vehicles. The main causes of accidents are due to high density, non-restriction of speed, use of mobile phones, lack of board signs on road parking, visibility restriction, improper geometric design, road use characteristics, environmental aspects, social aspects etc. Data analysis and preventive measures are enlightened in this paper.

Keywords: Accidents, environmental aspects, fatalities, geometric design, road user characteristics.

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Authors: Mokhtar Awang, Wei-Vern Hor, Ehsan Mohammadpour, M Zaki Abdullah, Faiz Ahmad

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Chemical and physical functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) has been commonly practiced to achieve better dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymer matrix. This work describes various functionalization methods (acidtreatment, non-ionic surfactant treatment with TritonX-100), fabrication of MWCNT/PP nanocomposites via melt blending and characterization of mechanical properties. Microscopy analysis (FESEM, TEM, XPS) showed effective purification of MWCNTs under acid treatment, and better dispersion under both chemical and physical functionalization techniques combined, in their respective order. Tensile tests showed increase in tensile strength for the nanocomposites that contain MWCNTs up to 2 wt%. A decrease in tensile strength was seen in samples that contain 4 wt% of MWCNTs for both raw and Triton X-100 functionalized, signifying MWCNT degradation/rebundling at composition with higher content of MWCNTs. For the acid-treated MWCNTs, however, the tensile results showed slight improvement even at 4wt%, indicating effective dispersion of MWCNTs.

Keywords: Multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), functionalization, dispersion, nanocomposite

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Authors: Adam Świtoński, Agnieszka Michalczuk, Henryk Josiński, Andrzej Polański, KonradWojciechowski

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The method of gait identification based on the nearest neighbor classification technique with motion similarity assessment by the dynamic time warping is proposed. The model based kinematic motion data, represented by the joints rotations coded by Euler angles and unit quaternions is used. The different pose distance functions in Euler angles and quaternion spaces are considered. To evaluate individual features of the subsequent joints movements during gait cycle, joint selection is carried out. To examine proposed approach database containing 353 gaits of 25 humans collected in motion capture laboratory is used. The obtained results are promising. The classifications, which takes into consideration all joints has accuracy over 91%. Only analysis of movements of hip joints allows to correctly identify gaits with almost 80% precision.

Keywords: Biometrics, dynamic time warping, gait identification, motion capture, time series classification, quaternion distance functions, attribute ranking.

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Authors: Y. Egercioglu, S. Yalciner

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With the development of technology, the growing trend of fast and safe passenger transport, air pollution, traffic congestion, increase in problems such as the increasing population and the high cost of private vehicle usage made many cities around the world with a population of more or less, start to build rail systems as a means of urban transport in order to ensure the economic and environmental sustainability and more efficient use of land in the city. The implementation phase of rail systems costs much more than other public transport systems. However, social and economic returns in the long term made these systems the most popular investment tool for planned and developing cities. In our country, the purpose, goals and policies of transportation plans are away from integrity, and the problems are not clearly detected. Also, not defined and incomplete assessment of transportation systems and insufficient financial analysis are the most important cause of failure. Rail systems and other transportation systems to be addressed as a whole is seen as the main factor in increasing efficiency in applications that are not integrated yet in our country to come to this point has led to the problem.

Keywords: Urban Transportation Projects, Urban Light Rail Systems, Urbanization, Izmir.

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Authors: Drago Jakovcevic, Mihovil Andelinovic, Igor Husak

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The aim of this paper is to explore the economic circumstances in which the selective credit policy, the least used instrument of four types of instruments on disposal to central banks, should be used. The most significant example includes the use of selective credit policies in response to the emergence of the global financial crisis by the FED. Specifics of the potential use of selective credit policies as the instigator of economic growth in Croatia, a small open economy, are determined by high euroization of financial system, fixed exchange rate and long-term trend growth of external debt that is related to the need to maintain high levels of foreign reserves. In such conditions, the classic forms of selective credit policies are unsuitable for the introduction. Several alternative approaches to implement selective credit policies are examined in this paper. Also, thorough analysis of distribution of selective monetary policy loans among economic sectors in Croatia is conducted in order to minimize the risk of investing funds and maximize the return, in order to influence the GDP growth.

Keywords: Global crisis, Selective credit policy, Small open economy.

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Authors: Vijay Pal Singh, Yogesh Chandra Kotiyal

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Structures are a combination of various load carrying members which transfer the loads to the foundation from the superstructure safely. At the design stage, the loading of the structure is defined and appropriate material choices are made based upon their properties, mainly related to strength. The strength of materials kept on reducing with time because of many factors like environmental exposure and deformation caused by unpredictable external loads. Hence, to predict the strength of materials used in structures, various techniques are used. Among these techniques, Non-destructive techniques (NDT) are the one that can be used to predict the strength without damaging the structure. In the present study, the compressive strength of concrete has been predicted using Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The predicted strength was compared with the experimentally obtained actual compressive strength of concrete and equations were developed for different models. A good co-relation has been obtained between the predicted strength by these models and experimental values. Further, the co-relation has been developed using two NDT techniques for prediction of strength by regression analysis. It was found that the percentage error has been reduced between the predicted strength by using combined techniques in place of single techniques.

Keywords: Rebound, ultra-sonic pulse, penetration, ANN, NDT, regression.

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Authors: Horia Păunescu

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Purpose: The study aimed to assess the depressant or antidepressant effects of several Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in mice: the selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor meloxicam, and the non-selective COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors lornoxicam, sodium metamizole, and ketorolac. The current literature data regarding such effects of these agents are scarce. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on NMRI mice weighing 20-35 g, kept in a standard laboratory environment. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy „Carol Davila”, Bucharest. The study agents were injected intraperitoneally, 10 mL/kg body weight (bw) 1 hour before the assessment of the locomotor activity by cage testing (n=10 mice/ group) and 2 hours before the forced swimming tests (n=15). The study agents were dissolved in normal saline (meloxicam, sodium metamizole), ethanol 11.8% v/v in normal saline (ketorolac), or water (lornoxicam), respectively. Negative and positive control agents were also given (amitryptilline in the forced swimming test). The cage floor used in the locomotor activity assessment was divided into 20 equal 10 cm squares. The forced swimming test involved partial immersion of the mice in cylinders (15/9cm height/diameter) filled with water (10 cm depth at 28C), where they were left for 6 minutes. The cage endpoint used in the locomotor activity assessment was the number of treaded squares. Four endpoints were used in the forced swimming test (immobility latency for the entire 6 minutes, and immobility, swimming, and climbing scores for the final 4 minutes of the swimming session), recorded by an observer that was „blinded” to the experimental design. The statistical analysis used the Levene test for variance homogeneity, ANOVA and post-hoc analysis as appropriate, Tukey or Tamhane tests. Results: No statistically significant increase or decrease in the number of treaded squares was seen in the locomotor activity assessment of any mice group. In the forced swimming test, amitryptilline showed an antidepressant effect in each experiment, at the 10 mg/kg bw dosage. Sodium metamizole was depressant at 100 mg/kg bw (increased the immobility score, p=0.049, Tamhane test), but not in lower dosages as well (25 and 50 mg/kg bw). Ketorolac showed an antidepressant effect at the intermediate dosage of 5 mg/kg bw, but not so in the dosages of 2.5 and 10 mg/kg bw, respectively (increased the swimming score, p=0.012, Tamhane test). Meloxicam and lornoxicam did not alter the forced swimming endpoints at any dosage level. Discussion: 1) Certain NSAIDs caused changes in the forced swimming patterns without interfering with locomotion. 2) Sodium metamizole showed a depressant effect, whereas ketorolac proved antidepressant. Conclusion: NSAID-induced mood changes are not class effects of these agents and apparently are independent of the type of inhibited cyclooxygenase (COX-1 or COX-2). Disclosure: This paper was co-financed from the European Social Fund, through the Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, project number POSDRU /159 /1.5 /S /138907 "Excellence in scientific interdisciplinary research, doctoral and postdoctoral, in the economic, social and medical fields -EXCELIS", coordinator The Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

Keywords: Antidepressant, depressant, forced swim, NSAIDs.

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Authors: Devdutt

Abstract:

In this paper, vibration control response of passenger seat in quarter car model having three degrees of freedom is studied. Three different control strategies are taken into account using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) controller. In first case, ANFIS controller is applied in main suspension of active quarter car model. In second case, passenger seat suspension is assembled with ANFIS controller. Finally, both main and passenger seat suspensions are integrated with ANFIS controller. Simulation work under random road excitations is performed using passive and controlled quarter car models for performance comparison of passenger ride comfort. Ride comfort analysis is also compared as per ISO 2631-1 criterion. The obtained simulation responses are compared taking passenger seat acceleration and displacement response in time and frequency domain for the selection of best control strategy in designed quarter car model.

Keywords: Active suspension system, ANFIS controller, passenger ride comfort, quarter car model.

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Authors: R. Govender, D. Naidoo, E. M. Buys

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The importance of ensuring safe meat handling and processing practices has been demonstrated in global reports on food safety scares and related illness and deaths. This necessitated stricter meat safety control strategies. Today, many countries have regulated towards preventative and systematic control over safe meat processing at abattoirs utilizing the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. HACCP systems have been reported as effective in managing food safety risks, if correctly implemented. South Africa has regulated the Hygiene Management System (HMS) based on HACCP principles applicable to abattoirs. Regulators utilise the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) to audit compliance at abattoirs. These systems were benchmarked from the United Kingdom (UK). Little research has been done them since inception as of 2004. This paper presents a review of the two systems, its implementation and comparison with HACCP. Recommendations are made for future research to demonstrate the utility of the HMS and HAS in assuring safe meat to consumers.

Keywords: Abattoir, co-regulation, food safety, HACCP, meat hygiene.

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Authors: Guang Sun, Yong Li, Yuanyuan Zhang, Shijun Lin, Li Su, Depeng Jin, Lieguang zeng

Abstract:

Network on Chip (NoC) has emerged as a promising on chip communication infrastructure. Three Dimensional Integrate Circuit (3D IC) provides small interconnection length between layers and the interconnect scalability in the third dimension, which can further improve the performance of NoC. Therefore, in this paper, a hierarchical cluster-based interconnect architecture is merged with the 3D IC. This interconnect architecture significantly reduces the number of long wires. Since this architecture only has approximately a quarter of routers in 3D mesh-based architecture, the average number of hops is smaller, which leads to lower latency and higher throughput. Moreover, smaller number of routers decreases the area overhead. Meanwhile, some dual links are inserted into the bottlenecks of communication to improve the performance of NoC. Simulation results demonstrate our theoretical analysis and show the advantages of our proposed architecture in latency, throughput and area, when compared with 3D mesh-based architecture.

Keywords: Network on Chip (NoC), interconnect architecture, performance, area, Three Dimensional Integrate Circuit (3D IC).

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Authors: Simões, Evelyne Rolim Braun, Marques, Lana Grasiela Alves, Soares, Bruno Marques Pinheiro, Daniel Pascoalino, Santos, Maria Rita Morais Chaves, Pessoa, Claudia

Abstract:

The prospective analysis is presented as an important tool to identify the most relevant opportunities and needs in research and development from planned interventions in innovation systems. This study chose Phyllanthus niruri, known as "stone break" to describe the knowledge about the specie, by using biotechnological forecasting through the software Vantage Point. It can be seen a considerable increase in studies on Phyllanthus niruri in recent years and that there are patents about this plant since twenty-five years ago. India was the country that most carried out research on the specie, showing interest, mainly in studies of hepatoprotection, antioxidant and anti-cancer activities. Brazil is in the second place, with special interest for anti-tumor studies. Given the identification of the Brazilian groups that exploit the species it is possible to mediate partnerships and cooperation aiming to help on the implementing of the Program of Herbal medicines (phytotherapics) in Brazil.

Keywords: Phyllanthus niruri, phytotherapics, technological forecasting.

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