Search results for: mixed code

Authors: D. O. Omondi, M. K. Walingo, G. M. Mbagaya, L. O. A. Othuon

Abstract:

Understanding patient factors related to physical activity behavior is important in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior model to understand physical activity behavior among sampled Type 2 diabetics in Kenya. The study was conducted within the diabetic clinic at Kisii Level 5 Hospital and adopted sequential mixed methods design beginning with qualitative phase and ending with quantitative phase. Qualitative data was analyzed using grounded theory analysis method. Structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood was used to analyze quantitative data. The common fit indices revealed that the theory of planned behavior fitted the data acceptably well among the Type 2 diabetes and within physical activity behavior {¤ç2 = 213, df = 84, n=230, p = .061, ¤ç2/df = 2.53; TLI = .97; CFI =.96; RMSEA (90CI) = .073(.029, .08)}. This theory proved to be useful in understanding physical activity behavior among Type 2 diabetics.

Keywords: Physical activity, Theory of Planned Behavior, Type2 diabetes, Kenya.

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Authors: Y. Kurosawa, T. Yamaguchi

Abstract:

A numerical method is proposed to calculate damping properties for sound-proof structures involving elastic body, viscoelastic body, and porous media. For elastic and viscoelastic body displacement is modeled using conventional finite elements including complex modulus of elasticity. Both effective density and bulk modulus have complex quantities to represent damped sound fields in the porous media. Particle displacement in the porous media is discretised using finite element method. Displacement vectors as common unknown variables are solved under coupled condition between elastic body, viscoelastic body and porous media. Further, explicit expressions of modal loss factor for the mixed structures are derived using asymptotic method. Eigenvalue analysis and frequency responded were calculated for automotive test panel laminated viscoelastic and porous structures using this technique, the results almost agreed with the experimental results.

Keywords: Damping, Porous Media, Finite Element Method, Computer Aided Engineering.

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Authors: Su-Hyun Cho, Chang-U Chae

Abstract:

Environmental impact assessment techniques have been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in particular in the construction field. In this research, intended for concrete products for the construction materials, by using the LCA method, we compared the results of environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to existing products. As a results, by introducing a raw material of industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of the carbon emission reduction effect of low carbon technologies, it is intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse gases in the construction sector and the development of low carbon technologies of the future.

Keywords: CO2 Emissions, CO2 Reduction, Ready-mixed Concrete, Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

Abstract:

Cortisol is important to our immune system, regulates our stress response, and is a factor in maintaining brain temperature. Saliva cortisol is a practical and useful non-invasive measurement that signifies the presence of the important hormone. Electrical activity in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved during yawning and the electrical level is found to be correlated with the cortisol level. In two studies using identical paradigms, a total of 108 healthy subjects were exposed to yawning-provoking stimuli so that their cortisol levels and electrical nerve impulses from their jaw muscles was recorded. Electrical activity is highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, health details were collected and exclusion criteria applied for voluntary recruitment: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli. Significant evidence supports the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis that suggests rises in cortisol levels are associated with yawning. Ethics approval granted and professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues are approved therein.

Keywords: Cortisol, Diagnosis, Neurological Disease, Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis, Yawning.

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Authors: M. Sajjadnejad, H. Omidvar, M. Javanbakht, A. Mozafari

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Pure nickel coatings have been successfully electrodeposited on copper substrates by the pulse plating technique. The influence of current density, duty cycle and pulse frequency on the surface morphology, crystal orientation, and microhardness was determined. It was found that the crystallite size of the deposit increases with increasing current density and duty cycle. The crystal orientation progressively changed from a random texture at 1 A/dm2 to (200) texture at 10 A/dm2. Increasing pulse frequency resulted in increased texture coefficient and peak intensity of (111) reflection. An increase in duty cycle resulted in considerable increase in texture coefficient and peak intensity of (311) reflection. Coatings obtained at high current densities and duty cycle present a mixed morphology of small and large grains. Maximum microhardness of 193 Hv was achieved at 4 A/dm2, 10 Hz and duty cycle of 50%. Nickel coatings with (200) texture are ductile while (111) texture improves the microhardness of the coatings.

Keywords: Current density, Duty cycle, Microstructure, Nickel, Pulse frequency.

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Authors: Mohamed Ali

Abstract:

The boundary layer flow and heat transfer on a stretched surface moving with prescribed skin friction is studied for permeable surface. The surface temperature is assumed to vary inversely with the vertical direction x for n = -1. The skin friction at the surface scales as (x-1/2) at m = 0. The constants m and n are the indices of the power law velocity and temperature exponent respectively. Similarity solutions are obtained for the boundary layer equations subject to power law temperature and velocity variation. The effect of various governing parameters, such as the buoyancy parameter λ and the suction/injection parameter fw for air (Pr = 0.72) are studied. The choice of n and m ensures that the used similarity solutions are x independent. The results show that, assisting flow (λ > 0) enhancing the heat transfer coefficient along the surface for any constant value of fw. Furthermore, injection increases the heat transfer coefficient but suction reduces it at constant λ.

Keywords: Stretching surface, Boundary layers, Prescribed skin friction, Suction or injection, similarity solutions, buoyancy effects.

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Authors: Prateep Wajeetongratana

Abstract:

This study investigates the management accountant’s roles that link with the creation of corporate shared value to enable more effective decision-making and improve the information needs of stakeholders. Mixed method is employed to collect using triangulation for credibility. A quantitative approach is employed to conduct a survey of 200 Thai companies providing annual reports in the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The results of the study reveal that environmental and social data incorporated in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure are based on the indicators of the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) at a statistically significant level of 0.01. Environmental and social indicators in CSR are associated with environmental and social data disclosed in the annual report to support stakeholders’ and the public’s interests that are addressed and show that a significant relationship between environmental and social in CSR disclosures and the information in annual reports is statistically significant at the 0.01 level.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, management accountant’s roles, stock exchange of Thailand.

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Authors: Joana M. Dias, Conceição A. Ferraz, Manuel F. Almeida

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Studying alternative raw materials for biodiesel production is of major importance. The use of mixtures with incorporation of wastes is an environmental friendly alternative and might reduce biodiesel production costs. The objective of the present work was: (i) to study biodiesel production using waste frying oil mixed with pork lard and (ii) to understand how mixture composition influences biodiesel quality. Biodiesel was produced by transesterification and quality was evaluated through determination of several parameters according to EN 14214. The weight fraction of lard in the mixture varied from 0 to 1 in 0.2 intervals. Biodiesel production yields varied from 81.7 to 88.0 (wt%), the lowest yields being the ones obtained using waste frying oil and lard alone as raw materials. The obtained products fulfilled most of the determined quality specifications according to European biodiesel quality standard EN 14214. Minimum purity (96.5 wt%) was closely obtained when waste frying oil was used alone and when 0.2% of lard was incorporated in the raw material (96.3 wt%); however, it ranged from 93.9 to 96.3 (wt%) being always close to the limit. From the evaluation of the influence of mixture composition in biodiesel quality, it was possible to establish a model to be used for predicting some parameters of biodiesel resulting from mixtures of waste frying oil with lard when different lard contents are used.

Keywords: Biodiesel, mixtures, transesterification, waste.

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Authors: Saif Ul Haq

Abstract:

The current study intends to examine the safety and quality considerations of clients of housing projects and their impact on the adoption of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) by the construction firm. Mixed method research technique has been used to collect and analyze the data wherein a survey was conducted to collect the data from 220 clients of housing projects in Saudi Arabia. Then, the telephonic and Skype interviews were conducted to collect data of 15 professionals working in the top ten real estate companies of Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed by using partial least square (PLS) and thematic analysis techniques. Findings reveal that today’s customer prioritizes the safety and quality requirements of their houses and as a result, construction firms adopt QFD to address the needs of customers. The findings are of great importance for the clients of housing projects as well as for the construction firms as they could apply QFD in housing projects to address the safety and quality concerns of their clients.

Keywords: Construction industry, quality considerations, quality function deployment, safety considerations.

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Authors: Pil Woo Heo, In Sub Park

Abstract:

Flows in a microchannel are laminar, which means that mixing depends on only inter-diffusion. A micromixer plays an important role in obtaining fast diagnosis results in the fields of m-TAS (total analysis system), Bio-MEMS and LOC (lab-on-a-chip).

In this paper, we propose a new active mixer with vertical flow placement via a series of inlets for micromixing. This has two inlets on the same axis, one of which is located before the other. The sample input by the first inlet flows into the down-position, while the other sample by the second inlet flows into the up-position. In the experiment, the samples were located vertically in up-down positions in a micro chamber. PZT was attached below a chamber, and ultrasonic waves were radiated in the down to up direction towards the samples in the micro chamber in order to accelerate the mixing. The mixing process was measured by the change of color in a micro chamber using phenolphthalein and NaOH. The results of the experiment showed that the samples in the microchamber were efficiently mixed and that our new active mixer was superior to the horizontal type of active mixers in view of the grey levels and the standard deviation.

Keywords: Active mixer, vertical flow placement, microchannel, bio-MEMS, LOC.

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Authors: K. P. Oyeduntan, K. Oshinubi

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Nigeria is referred as the ‘Giant of Africa’ due to high population, land mass and large economy. However, it still trails far behind many smaller economies in the continent in terms of maritime operations. As we have seen that the maritime industry is the sparkplug for national growth, because it houses the most crucial infrastructure that generates wealth for a nation, it is worrisome that a nation with six seaports lag in maritime activities. In this research, we have studied how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the maritime transport influences the Nigerian economy. To do this, we applied Simple Linear Regression (SLR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Polynomial Regression Model (PRM), Generalized Additive Model (GAM) and Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) to model the relationship between the nation’s Total GDP (TGDP) and the Maritime Transport GDP (MGDP) using a time series data of 20 years. The result showed that the MGDP is statistically significant to the Nigerian economy. Amongst the statistical tool applied, the PRM of order 4 describes the relationship better when compared to other methods. The recommendations presented in this study will guide policy makers and help improve the economy of Nigeria.

Keywords: Economy, GDP, maritime transport, port, regression.

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Authors: Mazliham Mohd Su'ud, Pierre Loonis, Idris Abu Seman

Abstract:

This paper deals with the extraction of information from the experts to automatically identify and recognize Ganoderma infection in oil palm stem using tomography images. Expert-s knowledge are used as rules in a Fuzzy Inference Systems to classify each individual patterns observed in he tomography image. The classification is done by defining membership functions which assigned a set of three possible hypotheses : Ganoderma infection (G), non Ganoderma infection (N) or intact stem tissue (I) to every abnormalities pattern found in the tomography image. A complete comparison between Mamdani and Sugeno style,triangular, trapezoids and mixed triangular-trapezoids membership functions and different methods of aggregation and defuzzification is also presented and analyzed to select suitable Fuzzy Inference System methods to perform the above mentioned task. The results showed that seven out of 30 initial possible combination of available Fuzzy Inference methods in MATLAB Fuzzy Toolbox were observed giving result close to the experts estimation.

Keywords: Fuzzy Inference Systems, Tomography analysis, Modelizationof expert's information, Ganoderma Infection pattern recognition

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Authors: Ojin Kwon, Yong-Jin Yoon, Liu Xin, Zhang Hongbao

Abstract:

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a short-range wireless communication around human body for various applications such as wearable devices, entertainment, military, and especially medical devices. WBAN attracts the attention of continuous health monitoring system including diagnostic procedure, early detection of abnormal conditions, and prevention of emergency situations. Compared to cellular network, WBAN system is more difficult to control inter- and inner-cell interference due to the limited power, limited calculation capability, mobility of patient, and non-cooperation among WBANs. In this paper, we compare the performance of resource allocation scheme based on several Pseudo Orthogonal Codewords (POCs) to mitigate inter-WBAN interference. Previously, the POCs are widely exploited for a protocol sequence and optical orthogonal code. Each POCs have different properties of auto- and cross-correlation and spectral efficiency according to its construction of POCs. To identify different WBANs, several different pseudo orthogonal patterns based on POCs exploits for resource allocation of WBANs. By simulating these pseudo orthogonal resource allocations of WBANs on MATLAB, we obtain the performance of WBANs according to different POCs and can analyze and evaluate the suitability of POCs for the resource allocation in the WBANs system.

Keywords: Wireless body area network, body sensor network, resource allocation without feedback, interference mitigation, pseudo orthogonal pattern.

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Authors: Ion Smeureanu, Marian Dardala, Adriana Reveiu

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The new programming technologies allow for the creation of components which can be automatically or manually assembled to reach a new experience in knowledge understanding and mastering or in getting skills for a specific knowledge area. The project proposes an interactive framework that permits the creation, combination and utilization of components that are specific to mathematical training in high schools. The main framework-s objectives are: • authoring lessons by the teacher or the students; all they need are simple operating skills for Equation Editor (or something similar, or Latex); the rest are just drag & drop operations, inserting data into a grid, or navigating through menus • allowing sonorous presentations of mathematical texts and solving hints (easier understood by the students) • offering graphical representations of a mathematical function edited in Equation • storing of learning objects in a database • storing of predefined lessons (efficient for expressions and commands, the rest being calculations; allows a high compression) • viewing and/or modifying predefined lessons, according to the curricula The whole thing is focused on a mathematical expressions minicompiler, storing the code that will be later used for different purposes (tables, graphics, and optimisations). Programming technologies used. A Visual C# .NET implementation is proposed. New and innovative digital learning objects for mathematics will be developed; they are capable to interpret, contextualize and react depending on the architecture where they are assembled.

Keywords: Adaptor, automatic assembly learning component and user control.

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Authors: Marco Raciti Castelli, Alberto Castelli, Ernesto Benini

Abstract:

The construction of a civil structure inside a urban area inevitably modifies the outdoor microclimate at the building site. Wind speed, wind direction, air pollution, driving rain, radiation and daylight are some of the main physical aspects that are subjected to the major changes. The quantitative amount of these modifications depends on the shape, size and orientation of the building and on its interaction with the surrounding environment.The flow field over a flat roof model building has been numerically investigated in order to determine two-dimensional CFD guidelines for the calculation of the turbulent flow over a structure immersed in an atmospheric boundary layer. To this purpose, a complete validation campaign has been performed through a systematic comparison of numerical simulations with wind tunnel experimental data.Several turbulence models and spatial node distributions have been tested for five different vertical positions, respectively from the upstream leading edge to the downstream bottom edge of the analyzed model. Flow field characteristics in the neighborhood of the building model have been numerically investigated, allowing a quantification of the capabilities of the CFD code to predict the flow separation and the extension of the recirculation regions.The proposed calculations have allowed the development of a preliminary procedure to be used as a guidance in selecting the appropriate grid configuration and corresponding turbulence model for the prediction of the flow field over a twodimensional roof architecture dominated by flow separation.

Keywords: CFD, roof, building, wind.

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Authors: M. Esmaeeli Shahrakht, A. Kazemi

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Due to uncertainty of wind velocity, wind power generators don’t have deterministic output power. Utilizing wind power generation and thermal power plants together create new concerns for operation engineers of power systems. In this paper, a model is presented to implement the uncertainty of load and generated wind power which can be utilized in power system operation planning. Stochastic behavior of parameters is simulated by generating scenarios that can be solved by deterministic method. A mixed-integer linear programming method is used for solving deterministic generation scheduling problem. The proposed approach is applied to a 12-unit test system including 10 thermal units and 2 wind farms. The results show affectivity of piecewise linear model in unit commitment problems. Also using linear programming causes a considerable reduction in calculation times and guarantees convergence to the global optimum. Neglecting the uncertainty of wind velocity causes higher cost assessment of generation scheduling.

Keywords: Load uncertainty, linear programming, scenario generation, unit commitment, wind farm.

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Authors: L. Koštić, P. Karaman

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Society has a lot of diversities according to sex, age, religion, abilities or disabilities, education, etc. According to differences, everybody needs to be tolerated and equally included in society. In order to provide quality inclusion, society needs to tolerate differences. This study relates to the differences in disability. To examine tolerance towards disability and inclusion, this study was conducted with students attending regular elementary and high school. The main goal was to examine their attitudes towards their classmates and elderly people with disabilities. The study begins with the hypothesis that the environment has a highly developed tolerance towards people with disabilities, regardless of age. The sample was divided according to tasks and methodology analysis. Students attending regular elementary school were asked to make drawings of their classmates with disabilities. The drawings were analyzed using quantitative methodology according to the colors children used and the position of character on the paper. Students attending high school and members of general population were asked to complete a questionnaire designed for this study during a workshop held on the International Day for Tolerance. Responses were analyzed using qualitative methodology. The hypothesis was confirmed.

Keywords: Classmates, disability, students, tolerance.

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Authors: Brahim Brahmi, Mohammed Hamza Laraki, Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Islam M. Rasedul, M. Assad Uz-Zaman

Abstract:

The humanoid robot, specifically the NAO robot must be able to provide a highly dynamic performance on the soccer field. Maintaining the balance of the humanoid robot during the required motion is considered as one of a challenging problems especially when the robot is subject to external disturbances, as contact with other robots. In this paper, a dynamic controller is proposed in order to ensure a robust walking (stabilization) and to improve the dynamic balance of the robot during its contact with the environment (external disturbances). The generation of the trajectory of the center of mass (CoM) is done by a model predictive controller (MPC) conjoined with zero moment point (ZMP) technique. Taking into account the properties of the rotational dynamics of the whole-body system, a modified previous control mixed with feedback control is employed to manage the angular momentum and the CoM’s acceleration, respectively. This latter is dedicated to provide a robust gait of the robot in the presence of the external disturbances. Simulation results are presented to show the feasibility of the proposed strategy.

Keywords: Preview control, walking, stabilization, humanoid robot.

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Authors: Muhammad Naseem Baig, Abdul Qudoos Khan, Jamal Ali

Abstract:

Ground deformations in deep excavations are affected by wall stiffness and pile embedment ratio. This paper presents the findings of a parametric study of a 64-ft deep excavation in mixed stiff soil conditions supported by cantilever pile wall. A series of finite element analysis has been carried out in Plaxis 2D by varying the pile embedment ratio and wall stiffness. It has been observed that maximum wall deflections decrease by increasing the embedment ratio up to 1.50; however, any further increase in pile length does not improve the performance of the wall. Similarly, increasing wall stiffness reduces the wall deformations and affects the deflection patterns of the wall. The finite element analysis results are compared with the field data of 25 case studies of cantilever walls. Analysis results fall within the range of normalized wall deflections of the 25 case studies. It has been concluded that deep excavations can be supported by cantilever walls provided the system stiffness is increased significantly.

Keywords: Excavations, support systems, wall stiffness, cantilever walls.

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Authors: Maria Lubomira Kubica

Abstract:

The paper reveals the birth and evolution of the British precedent Rylands v. Fletcher that, once adopted on the other side of the Ocean (in United States), gave rise to a general clause of liability for abnormally dangerous activities recognized by the §20 of the American Restatements of the Law Third, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm. The main goal of the paper was to analyze the development of the legal doctrine and of the case law posterior to the precedent together with the intent of the British judicature to leapfrog from the traditional rule contained in Rylands v. Fletcher to a general clause similar to that introduced in the United States and recently also on the European level. As it is well known, within the scope of tort law two different initiatives compete with the aim of harmonizing the European laws: European Group on Tort Law with its Principles of European Tort Law (hereinafter PETL) in which article 5:101 sets forth a general clause for strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities and Study Group on European Civil Code with its Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which promotes rather ad hoc model of listing out determined cases of strict liability. Very narrow application scope of the art. 5:101 PETL, restricted only to abnormally dangerous activities, stays in opposition to very broad spectrum of strict liability cases governed by the CFR. The former is a perfect example of a general clause that offers a minimum and basic standard, possibly acceptable also in those countries in which, like in the United Kingdom, this regime of liability is completely marginalized.

Keywords: Dangerous activities, general clause, risk, strict liability.

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Authors: N. Sanmanee, K. Panishkan, K. Obsuwan, S. Dharmvanij

Abstract:

The increments of aromatic structures are widely used to monitor the degree of humification. Compost derived from mix manures mixed with agricultural wastes was studied. The compost collected at day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 49, 77, 91, 105, and 119 was divided into 3 stages, initial stage at day 0, thermophilic stage during day 1-48, and mature stage during day 49-119. The change of highest absorptions at wavelength range between 210-235 nm during day 0- 49 implied that small molecules such as nitrates and carboxylic occurred faster than the aromatic molecules that were found at wavelength around 280 nm. The ratio of electron-transfer band at wavelength 253 nm by the benzonoid band at wavelength 230 nm (E253/E230) also gradually increased during the fermenting period indicating the presence of O-containing functional groups. This was in agreement with the shift change from aliphatic to aromatic structures as shown by the relationship with C/N and H/C ratios (r = - 0.631 and -0.717, p< 0.05) since both were decreasing. Although the amounts of humic acid (HA) were not different much during the humification process, the UV spectral deconvolution showed better qualitative characteristics to help in determining the compost quality. From this study, the compost should be used at day 49 and should not be kept longer than 3 months otherwise the quality of HA would decline regardless of the amounts of HA that might be rising. This implied that other processes, such as mineralization had an influence on the humification process changing HA-s structure and its qualities.

Keywords: Compost maturity, UV spectroscopy, humification, humic acid

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Authors: Ibrahim H. Kilic, A. B. Tugrul

Abstract:

Energy is a fundamental component in economic development and energy consumption is an index of prosperity and the standard of living. The consumption of energy per capita has increased significantly over the last decades, as the standard of living has improved. Turkey’s geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of wind power. Among the renewable sources, Turkey has very high wind energy potential. Information such as installation capacity of wind power plants in installation, under construction and license stages in the country are reported in detail. Some suggestions are presented in order to increase the wind power installation capacity of Turkey. Turkey’s economic and social development has led to a massive increase in demand for electricity over the last decades. Since the Turkey has no major oil or gas reserves, it is highly dependent on energy imports and is exposed to energy insecurity in the future. But Turkey does have huge potential for renewable energy utilization. There has been a huge growth in the construction of wind power plants and small hydropower plants in recent years. To meet the growing energy demand, the Turkish Government has adopted incentives for investments in renewable energy production. Wind energy investments evaluated the impact of feed-in tariffs (FIT) based on three scenarios that are optimistic, realistic and pessimistic with APLUS software that is developed for rational evaluation for energy market. Results of the three scenarios are evaluated in the view of electricity market for Turkey.

Keywords: APLUS, energy policy, renewable energy, wind power, Turkey.

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Authors: Jehad A. H. Hammad, Nur'Aini binti Abdul Rashid

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With the rapid development in the field of life sciences and the flooding of genomic information, the need for faster and scalable searching methods has become urgent. One of the approaches that were investigated is indexing. The indexing methods have been categorized into three categories which are the lengthbased index algorithms, transformation-based algorithms and mixed techniques-based algorithms. In this research, we focused on the transformation based methods. We embedded the N-gram method into the transformation-based method to build an inverted index table. We then applied the parallel methods to speed up the index building time and to reduce the overall retrieval time when querying the genomic database. Our experiments show that the use of N-Gram transformation algorithm is an economical solution; it saves time and space too. The result shows that the size of the index is smaller than the size of the dataset when the size of N-Gram is 5 and 6. The parallel N-Gram transformation algorithm-s results indicate that the uses of parallel programming with large dataset are promising which can be improved further.

Keywords: Biological sequence, Database index, N-gram indexing, Parallel computing, Sequence retrieval.

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Authors: Pisit Potjanajaruwit

Abstract:

The objectives of the study were to determine the marketing mix factors that influencing tourist’s destination decision making for cultural tourism in the Chonburi province. Both quantitative and qualitative data were applied in this study. The samples of 400 cases for quantitative analysis were tourists (both Thai and foreign) who were interested in cultural tourism in the Chonburi province, and traveled to cultural sites in Chonburi and 14 representatives from provincial tourism committee of Chonburi and local tourism experts. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The study found that Thai and foreign tourists are influenced by different important marketing mix factors. The important factors for Thai respondents were physical evidence, price, people, and place at high importance level. For foreign respondents, physical evidence, price, people, and process were high importance level, whereas, product, place and promotion were moderate importance level.

Keywords: Chonburi Province, Decision Making for cultural tourism, Marketing Mixed.

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Authors: S. Jungsuttiwong, R. Tarsang, S. Pansay, T. Yakhantip, V. Promarak, T. Sudyoadsuk, T. Kaewin, S. Saengsuwan, S. Namuangrak

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In this paper, four carbazole-based D-D-π-A organic dyes code as CCT2A, CCT3A, CCT1PA and CCT2PA were reported. A series of these organic dyes containing identical donor and acceptor group but different π-system. The effect of replacing of thiophene by phenyl thiophene as π-system on the physical properties has been focused. The structural, energetic properties and absorption spectra were theoretically investigated by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT). The results show that nonplanar conformation due to steric hindrance in donor part (cabazolecarbazole unit) of dye molecule can prevent unfavorable dye aggregation. By means of the TD-DFT method, the absorption spectra were calculated by B3LYP and BHandHLYP to study the affect of hybrid functional on the excitation energy (Eg). The results revealed the increasing of thiophene units not only resulted in decreasing of Eg, but also found the shifting of absorption spectra to higher wavelength. TD-DFT/BHandHLYP calculated results are more strongly agreed with the experimental data than B3LYP functions. Furthermore, the adsorptions of CCT2A and CCT3A on the TiO2 anatase (101) surface were carried out by mean of the chemical periodic calculation. The result exhibit the strong adsorption energy. The calculated results provide our new organic dyes can be effectively used as dye for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC).

Keywords: Dye-Sensitized Solar cell, Carbarzole, TD-DFT, D-D-π-A organic dye

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Authors: Gil Hwan Na , Woo Young Jung , Tae Kwon Ha

Abstract:

Most buildings have been using anchor bolts commonly for installing outdoor advertising structures. Anchor bolts of common carbon steel are widely used and often installed indiscriminately by inadequate installation standards. In the area where strong winds frequently blow, falling accidents of outdoor advertising structures can occur and cause a serious disaster, which is very dangerous and to be prevented. In this regard, the development of high-performance anchor bolts is urgently required. In the present study, 25Cr-8Ni-1.5Si-1Mn-0.4C alloy was produced by traditional vacuum induction melting (VIM) for the application of anchor bolt. The alloy composition is revealed as a duplex microstructure from thermodynamic phase analysis by FactSage® and confirmed by metallographic experiment. Addition of Nitrogen to the alloy was found to reduce the ferritic phase domain and significantly increase the hardness and the tensile strength. Microstructure observation revealed mixed structure of austenite and ferrite with fine carbide distributed along the grain and phase boundaries.

Keywords: Anchor bolt, Duplex stainless steel, FactSage®, Hardness, Thermodynamic phase analysis.

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Authors: M. Othman, N. Bhuiyan, G. J. Gouw

Abstract:

In today-s competitive market, most companies develop manufacturing systems that can help in cost reduction and maximum quality. Human issues are an important part of manufacturing systems, yet most companies ignore their effects on production performance. This paper aims to developing an integrated workforce planning system that incorporates the human being. Therefore, a multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming model is developed to determine the amount of hiring, firing, training, overtime for each worker type. This paper considers a workforce planning model including human aspects such as skills, training, workers- personalities, capacity, motivation, and learning rates. This model helps to minimize the hiring, firing, training and overtime costs, and maximize the workers- performance. The results indicate that the workers- differences should be considered in workforce scheduling to generate realistic plans with minimum costs. This paper also investigates the effects of human learning rates on the performance of the production systems.

Keywords: Human Factors, Learning Curves, Workers' Differences, Workforce Scheduling

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Authors: Mao-An Chen, Chien-Chen Diao, Chia-Cheng Huang, Chin-Guo Kuo, Cheng-Fu Yang, Yen-Lin Chen

Abstract:

In this study, the Mo-electrode thin films were deposited using two-stepped process and the high purity copper indium selenide-based powder (CuInSe₂, CIS) was fabricated by using hydrothermal process by Nanowin Technology Co. Ltd. Because the CIS powder was aggregated into microscale particles, the CIS power was ground into nano-scale particles. 6 wt% CIS particles were mixed and dispersed into isopropyl alcohol (IPA). A new non-vacuum thin-film deposition process, spray coating method (SPM), was investigated to deposit the high-densified CIS absorber layers. 0.1 ml CIS solution was sprayed on the 20 mm×10 mm Mo/glass substrates and then the CuInSe₂ thin films were annealed in a selenization furnace using N₂ as atmosphere. The annealing temperature and time were set at 550^oC and 5 min, and 0.0g~0.6g extra Se content was added in the furnace. The influences of extra Se content on the densification, crystallization, resistivity (ρ), hall mobility (μ), and carrier concentration of the CIS absorber layers were well investigated in this study.

Keywords: CuInSe2, isopropyl alcohol, spray coating method, annealing, selenization process.

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Authors: Maria Lubomira Kubica

Abstract:

The paper reveals the birth and evolution of the British precedent Rylands v. Fletcher that, once adopted on the other side of the Ocean (in United States), gave rise to a general clause of liability for abnormally dangerous activities recognized by the §20 of the American Restatements of the Law Third, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm. The main goal of the paper was to analyze the development of the legal doctrine and of the case law posterior to the precedent together with the intent of the British judicature to leapfrog from the traditional rule contained in Rylands v. Fletcher to a general clause similar to that introduced in the United States and recently also on the European level. As it is well known, within the scope of tort law two different initiatives compete with the aim of harmonizing the European laws: European Group on Tort Law with its Principles of European Tort Law (hereinafter PETL) in which article 5:101 sets forth a general clause for strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities and Study Group on European Civil Code with its Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which promotes rather ad hoc model of listing out determined cases of strict liability. Very narrow application scope of the art. 5:101 PETL, restricted only to abnormally dangerous activities, stays in opposition to very broad spectrum of strict liability cases governed by the CFR. The former is a perfect example of a general clause that offers a minimum and basic standard, possibly acceptable also in those countries in which, like in the United Kingdom, this regime of liability is completely marginalized.

Keywords: Abnormally dangerous activities, general clause, Rylands v. Fletcher, strict liability.

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Authors: Mbainaibeye Jérôme, Noureddine Ellouze

Abstract:

We study in this paper the effect of the scene changing on image sequences coding system using Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZW). The scene changing considered here is the full motion which may occurs. A special image sequence is generated where the scene changing occurs randomly. Two scenarios are considered: In the first scenario, the system must provide the reconstruction quality as best as possible by the management of the bit rate (BR) while the scene changing occurs. In the second scenario, the system must keep the bit rate as constant as possible by the management of the reconstruction quality. The first scenario may be motivated by the availability of a large band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate may be possible to keep the reconstruction quality up to a given threshold. The second scenario may be concerned by the narrow band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate is not possible. In this last case, applications for which the reconstruction quality is not a constraint may be considered. The simulations are performed with five scales wavelet decomposition using the 9/7-tap filter bank biorthogonal wavelet. The entropy coding is performed using a specific defined binary code book and EZW algorithm. Experimental results are presented and compared to LEAD H263 EVAL. It is shown that if the reconstruction quality is the constraint, the system increases the bit rate to obtain the required quality. In the case where the bit rate must be constant, the system is unable to provide the required quality if the scene change occurs; however, the system is able to improve the quality while the scene changing disappears.

Keywords: Image Sequence Compression, Wavelet Transform, Scene Changing, Zero Tree, Bit Rate, Quality.

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