Search results for: Intrinsic mode function.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3041

Search results for: Intrinsic mode function.

1901 Cissampelos capensis Rhizome Extract Induces Intracellular ROS Production, Capacitation and DNA Fragmentation in Human Spermatozoa

Authors: S. Shalaweh, P. Bouic, F. Weitz, R. Henkel

Abstract:

More than 3000 plants of notable phyto-therapeutic value grow in South Africa; these include Cissampelos capensis, commonly known in Afrikaans as dawidjie or dawidjiewortel. C. capensis is the most significant and popular medicinal plant used by the Khoisan as well as other rural groups in the Western region of South Africa. Its rhizomes are traditionally used to treat male fertility problems. Yet, no studies have investigated the effects of this plant or its extracts on human spermatozoa. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effects of C. capensis rhizome extract (CRE) fractions on ejaculated human spermatozoa in vitro. Spermatozoa from a total of 77 semen samples were washed with human tubular fluid medium supplemented with bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA) and incubated for 2 hours with 20 μg/ml progesterone (P4) followed by incubation with different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.5, 5, 50, 200 μg/ml) of fractionated CRE (F1=0% MeOH, F2=30% MeOH, F3=60% MeOH and F4=100% MeOH) for 1.5 hours at 37°C. A sample without addition of CRE fractions served as control. Samples were analyzed for sperm motility, reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA-fragmentation, acrosome reaction and capacitation. Results showed that F1 resulted in significantly higher values for ROS, capacitation and hyper-activation compared to F2, F3, and F4 with P4-stimulated samples generally having higher values. No significant effect was found for the other parameters. In conclusion, alkaloids present in F1 of CRE appear to have triggered sperm intrinsic ROS production leading to sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction induced by P4.

Keywords: Capacitation, acrosome reaction, Cissampelos capensis, DNA fragmentation, ROS.

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1900 Transonic Flutter Analysis Using Euler Equation and Reduced Order Modeling Technique

Authors: D. H. Kim, Y. H. Kim, T. Kim

Abstract:

A new method identifies coupled fluid-structure system with a reduced set of state variables is presented. Assuming that the structural model is known a priori either from an analysis or a test and using linear transformations between structural and aeroelastic states, it is possible to deduce aerodynamic information from sampled time histories of the aeroelastic system. More specifically given a finite set of structural modes the method extracts generalized aerodynamic force matrix corresponding to these mode shapes. Once the aerodynamic forces are known, an aeroelastic reduced-order model can be constructed in discrete-time, state-space format by coupling the structural model and the aerodynamic system. The resulting reduced-order model is suitable for constant Mach, varying density analysis.

Keywords: ROM (Reduced-Order Model), aero elasticity, AGARD 445.6 wing.

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1899 Analysis of FWM Penalties in DWDM Systems Based on G.652, G.653, and G.655 Optical Fibers

Authors: Paula B. Harboe, Edilson da Silva, José R. Souza

Abstract:

This paper presents an investigation of the power penalties imposed by four-wave mixing (FWM) on G.652 (Single- Mode Fiber - SMF), G.653 (Dispersion-Shifted Fiber - DSF), and G.655 (Non-Zero Dispersion-Shifted Fiber - NZDSF) compliant fibers, considering the DWDM grids suggested by the ITU-T Recommendations G.692, and G.694.1, with uniform channel spacing of 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 GHz. The mathematical/numerical model assumes undepleted pumping, and shows very clearly the deleterious effect of FWM on the performance of DWDM systems, measured by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The results make it evident that non-uniform channel spacing is practically mandatory for WDM systems based on DSF fibers.

Keywords: DWDM systems, Four-Wave Mixing (FWM), G.652, G.653, G.655 compliant fibers, Signal-to-noise ratio.

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1898 A Statistical Identification Approach by the Boundary Field Changes

Authors: Rumena D. Stancheva, Ilona I. Iatcheva

Abstract:

In working mode some unexpected changes could be arise in inner structure of electromagnetic device. They influence modification in electromagnetic field propagation map. The field values at an observed boundary are also changed. The development of the process has to be watched because the arising structural changes would provoke the device to be gone out later. The probabilistic assessment of the state is possible to be made. The numerical assessment points if the resulting changes have only accidental character or they are due to the essential inner structural disturbances. The presented application example is referring to the 200MW turbine-generator. A part of the stator core end teeth zone is simulated broken. Quasi three-dimensional electromagnetic and temperature field are solved applying FEM. The stator core state diagnosis is proposed to be solved as an identification problem on the basis of a statistical criterion.

Keywords: Identification, structural disturbance, statistical criterion.

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1897 Implementation and Simulation of Half-Bridge Series Resonant Inverter in Zero Voltage Switching

Authors: Buket Turan Azizoğlu

Abstract:

In switch mode power inverters, small sized inverters can be obtained by increasing the switching frequency. Switching frequency increment causes high driver losses. Also, high dt di and dt dv produced by the switching action creates high Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). In this paper, a series half bridge series resonant inverter circuit is simulated and evaluated practically to demonstrate the turn-on and turn-off conditions during zero or close to zero voltage switching. Also, the reverse recovery current effects of the body diode of the MOSFETs were investigated by operating above and below resonant frequency.

Keywords: Driver losses, Half Bridge series resonant inverter, Zero Voltage Switching

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1896 An Exploration of the Dimensions of Place-Making: A South African Case Study

Authors: W. J. Strydom, K. Puren

Abstract:

Place-making is viewed here as an empowering process in which people represent, improve and maintain their spatial (natural or built) environment. With the above-mentioned in mind, place-making is multi-dimensional and include a spatial dimension (including visual properties or the end product/plan), a procedural dimension during which (negotiation/discussion of ideas with all relevant stakeholders in terms of end product/plan) and a psychological dimension (inclusion of intrinsic values and meanings related to a place in the end product/plan). These three represent dimensions of place-making. The purpose of this paper is to explore these dimensions of place-making in a case study of a local community in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, North-West Province, South Africa. This case study represents an inclusive process that strives to empower a local community (forcefully relocated due to Apartheid legislation in South Africa). This case study focussed on the inclusion of participants in the decision-making process regarding their daily environment. By means of focus group discussions and a collaborative design workshop, data is generated and ultimately creates a linkage with the theoretical dimensions of place-making. This paper contributes to the field of spatial planning due to the exploration of the dimensions of place-making and the relevancy of this process on spatial planning (especially in a South African setting).

Keywords: Case study, place-making, spatial planning, spatial dimension, procedural dimension, psychological dimension.

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1895 Impact of Faults in Different Software Systems: A Survey

Authors: Neeraj Mohan, Parvinder S. Sandhu, Hardeep Singh

Abstract:

Software maintenance is extremely important activity in software development life cycle. It involves a lot of human efforts, cost and time. Software maintenance may be further subdivided into different activities such as fault prediction, fault detection, fault prevention, fault correction etc. This topic has gained substantial attention due to sophisticated and complex applications, commercial hardware, clustered architecture and artificial intelligence. In this paper we surveyed the work done in the field of software maintenance. Software fault prediction has been studied in context of fault prone modules, self healing systems, developer information, maintenance models etc. Still a lot of things like modeling and weightage of impact of different kind of faults in the various types of software systems need to be explored in the field of fault severity.

Keywords: Fault prediction, Software Maintenance, Automated Fault Prediction, and Failure Mode Analysis

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1894 The Design of PFM Mode DC-DC Converter with DT-CMOS Switch

Authors: Jae-Chang Kwak, Yong-Seo Koo

Abstract:

The high efficiency power management IC (PMIC) with switching device is presented in this paper. PMIC is controlled with PFM control method in order to have high power efficiency at high current level. Dynamic Threshold voltage CMOS (DT-CMOS) with low on-resistance is designed to decrease conduction loss. The threshold voltage of DT-CMOS drops as the gate voltage increase, resulting in a much higher current handling capability than standard MOSFET. PFM control circuits consist of a generator, AND gate and comparator. The generator is made to have 1.2MHz oscillation voltage. The DC-DC converter based on PFM control circuit and low on-resistance switching device is presented in this paper.

Keywords: DT-CMOS, PMIC, PFM, DC-DC converter.

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1893 A New Technique for Progressive ECG Transmission using Discrete Radon Transform

Authors: Amine Naït-Ali

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to present a new method which can be used for progressive transmission of electrocardiogram (ECG). The idea consists in transforming any ECG signal to an image, containing one beat in each row. In the first step, the beats are synchronized in order to reduce the high frequencies due to inter-beat transitions. The obtained image is then transformed using a discrete version of Radon Transform (DRT). Hence, transmitting the ECG, leads to transmit the most significant energy of the transformed image in Radon domain. For decoding purpose, the receptor needs to use the inverse Radon Transform as well as the two synchronization frames. The presented protocol can be adapted for lossy to lossless compression systems. In lossy mode we show that the compression ratio can be multiplied by an average factor of 2 for an acceptable quality of reconstructed signal. These results have been obtained on real signals from MIT database.

Keywords: Discrete Radon Transform, ECG compression, synchronization.

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1892 Vision Based Robot Experiment: Measurement of Path Related Characteristics

Authors: M. H. Korayem, K. Khoshhal, H. Aliakbarpour

Abstract:

In this paper, a vision based system has been used for controlling an industrial 3P Cartesian robot. The vision system will recognize the target and control the robot by obtaining images from environment and processing them. At the first stage, images from environment are changed to a grayscale mode then it can diverse and identify objects and noises by using a threshold objects which are stored in different frames and then the main object will be recognized. This will control the robot to achieve the target. A vision system can be an appropriate tool for measuring errors of a robot in a situation where the experimental test is conducted for a 3P robot. Finally, the international standard ANSI/RIA R15.05-2 is used for evaluating the path-related characteristics of the robot. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method experimental test is carried out.

Keywords: Robot, Vision, Experiment, Standard.

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1891 Performance of Power System Stabilizer (UNITROL D) in Benghazi North Power Plant

Authors: T. Hussein

Abstract:

The use of power system stabilizers (PSSs) to damp power system swing mode of oscillations is practical important. Our purpose is to retune the power system stabilizer (PSS1A) parameters in Unitrol D produced by ABB– was installed in 1995in Benghazi North Power Plants (BNPPs) at General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). The optimal values of the power system stabilizer (PSS1A) parameters are determined off-line by a particle swarm optimization technique (PSO). The objective is to damp the local and inter-area modes of oscillations that occur following power system disturbances. The retuned power system stabilizer (PSS1A) can cope with large disturbance at different operating points and has enhanced power system stability.

Keywords: Static excitation system, particle swarm optimization (PSO), power system stabilizer (PSS).

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1890 Improvement of Bit-Error-Rate in Optical Fiber Receivers

Authors: Hadj Bourdoucen, Amer Alhabsi

Abstract:

In this paper, a post processing scheme is suggested for improvement of Bit Error-Rate (BER) in optical fiber transmission receivers. The developed scheme has been tested on optical fiber systems operating with a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) format at transmission rates of up to 10Gbps. The transmission system considered is based on well known transmitters and receivers blocks operating at wavelengths in the region of 1550 nm using a standard single mode fiber. Performance of improved detected signals has been evaluated via the analysis of quality factor and computed bit error rates. Numerical simulations have shown a noticeable improvement of the system BER after implementation of the suggested post processing operation on the detected electrical signals.

Keywords: BER improvement, Optical fiber, transmissionperformance, NRZ.

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1889 A Mixing Matrix Estimation Algorithm for Speech Signals under the Under-Determined Blind Source Separation Model

Authors: Jing Wu, Wei Lv, Yibing Li, Yuanfan You

Abstract:

The separation of speech signals has become a research hotspot in the field of signal processing in recent years. It has many applications and influences in teleconferencing, hearing aids, speech recognition of machines and so on. The sounds received are usually noisy. The issue of identifying the sounds of interest and obtaining clear sounds in such an environment becomes a problem worth exploring, that is, the problem of blind source separation. This paper focuses on the under-determined blind source separation (UBSS). Sparse component analysis is generally used for the problem of under-determined blind source separation. The method is mainly divided into two parts. Firstly, the clustering algorithm is used to estimate the mixing matrix according to the observed signals. Then the signal is separated based on the known mixing matrix. In this paper, the problem of mixing matrix estimation is studied. This paper proposes an improved algorithm to estimate the mixing matrix for speech signals in the UBSS model. The traditional potential algorithm is not accurate for the mixing matrix estimation, especially for low signal-to noise ratio (SNR).In response to this problem, this paper considers the idea of an improved potential function method to estimate the mixing matrix. The algorithm not only avoids the inuence of insufficient prior information in traditional clustering algorithm, but also improves the estimation accuracy of mixing matrix. This paper takes the mixing of four speech signals into two channels as an example. The results of simulations show that the approach in this paper not only improves the accuracy of estimation, but also applies to any mixing matrix.

Keywords: Clustering algorithm, potential function, speech signal, the UBSS model.

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1888 Interfacing C and TMS320C6713 Assembly Language (Part-I)

Authors: Abdullah A. Wardak

Abstract:

This paper describes an interfacing of C and the TMS320C6713 assembly language which is crucially important for many real-time applications. Similarly, interfacing of C with the assembly language of a conventional microprocessor such as MC68000 is presented for comparison. However, it should be noted that the way the C compiler passes arguments among various functions in the TMS320C6713-based environment is totally different from the way the C compiler passes arguments in a conventional microprocessor such as MC68000. Therefore, it is very important for a user of the TMS320C6713-based system to properly understand and follow the register conventions when interfacing C with the TMS320C6713 assembly language subroutine. It should be also noted that in some cases (examples 6-9) the endian-mode of the board needs to be taken into consideration. In this paper, one method is presented in great detail. Other methods will be presented in the future.

Keywords: Assembly language, high level language, interfacing, stack, arguments.

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1887 Power MOSFET Models Including Quasi-Saturation Effect

Authors: Abdelghafour Galadi

Abstract:

In this paper, accurate power MOSFET models including quasi-saturation effect are presented. These models have no internal node voltages determined by the circuit simulator and use one JFET or one depletion mode MOSFET transistors controlled by an “effective” gate voltage taking into account the quasi-saturation effect. The proposed models achieve accurate simulation results with an average error percentage less than 9%, which is an improvement of 21 percentage points compared to the commonly used standard power MOSFET model. In addition, the models can be integrated in any available commercial circuit simulators by using their analytical equations. A description of the models will be provided along with the parameter extraction procedure.

Keywords: Power MOSFET, drift layer, quasi-saturation effect, SPICE model, circuit simulation.

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1886 Community Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding Wildlife Crime in South Africa

Authors: Louiza C. Duncker, Duarte Gonçalves

Abstract:

Wildlife crime is a complex problem with many interconnected facets, which are generally responded to in parts or fragments in efforts to “break down” the complexity into manageable components. However, fragmentation increases complexity as coherence and cooperation become diluted. A whole-of-society approach has been developed towards finding a common goal and integrated approach to preventing wildlife crime. As part of this development, research was conducted in rural communities adjacent to conservation areas in South Africa to define and comprehend the challenges faced by them, and to understand their perceptions of wildlife crime. The results of the research showed that the perceptions of community members varied - most were in favor of conservation and of protecting rhinos, only if they derive adequate benefit from it. Regardless of gender, income level, education level, or access to services, conservation was perceived to be good and bad by the same people. Even though people in the communities are poor, a willingness to stop rhino poaching does exist amongst them, but their perception of parks not caring about people triggered an attitude of not being willing to stop, prevent or report poaching. Understanding the nuances, the history, the interests and values of community members, and the drivers behind poaching mind-sets (intrinsic or driven by transnational organized crime) is imperative to create sustainable and resilient communities on multiple levels that make a substantial positive impact on people’s lives, but also conserve wildlife for posterity.

Keywords: Conservation, community perceptions, wildlife crime, rhino poaching, interest and value creation, whole-of-society approach.

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1885 The Investigation of Crack's Parameters on the V-Notch using Photoelasticity Method

Authors: M. Saravani, M. Azizi,

Abstract:

The V-notches are most possible case for initiation of cracks in parts. The specifications of cracks on the tip of the notch will be influenced via opening angle, tip radius and depth of V-notch. In this study, the effects of V-notch-s opening angle on stress intensity factor and T-stress of crack on the notch has been investigated. The experiment has been done in different opening angles and various crack length in mode (I) loading using Photoelasticity method. The results illustrate that while angle increases in constant crack-s length, SIF and T-stress will decrease. Beside, the effect of V-notch angle in short crack is more than long crack. These V-notch affects are negligible by increasing the length of crack, and the crack-s behavior can be considered as a single-edge crack specimen. Finally, the results have been evaluated with numerical finite element analysis and good agreement was obvious.

Keywords: Photoelasticity, Stress intensity factor, T-stress, V-notch.

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1884 Applying p-Balanced Energy Technique to Solve Liouville-Type Problems in Calculus

Authors: Lina Wu, Ye Li, Jia Liu

Abstract:

We are interested in solving Liouville-type problems to explore constancy properties for maps or differential forms on Riemannian manifolds. Geometric structures on manifolds, the existence of constancy properties for maps or differential forms, and energy growth for maps or differential forms are intertwined. In this article, we concentrate on discovery of solutions to Liouville-type problems where manifolds are Euclidean spaces (i.e. flat Riemannian manifolds) and maps become real-valued functions. Liouville-type results of vanishing properties for functions are obtained. The original work in our research findings is to extend the q-energy for a function from finite in Lq space to infinite in non-Lq space by applying p-balanced technique where q = p = 2. Calculation skills such as Hölder's Inequality and Tests for Series have been used to evaluate limits and integrations for function energy. Calculation ideas and computational techniques for solving Liouville-type problems shown in this article, which are utilized in Euclidean spaces, can be universalized as a successful algorithm, which works for both maps and differential forms on Riemannian manifolds. This innovative algorithm has a far-reaching impact on research work of solving Liouville-type problems in the general settings involved with infinite energy. The p-balanced technique in this algorithm provides a clue to success on the road of q-energy extension from finite to infinite.

Keywords: Differential Forms, Hölder Inequality, Liouville-type problems, p-balanced growth, p-harmonic maps, q-energy growth, tests for series.

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1883 The Effects of Signal Level of the Microwave Generator on the Brillouin Gain Spectrum in BOTDA and BOTDR

Authors: M. Yucel, M. Yucel, N. F. Ozturk, H. H. Goktas, C. Gemci, F. V. Celebi

Abstract:

In this study, Brillouin Gain Spectrum (BGS) is experimentally analyzed in the Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) and Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analyzer (BOTDA). For this purpose, the signal level of the microwave generator is varied and the effects of BGS are investigated. In the setups, 20 km conventional single mode fiber is used to both setups and laser wavelengths are selected around 1550 nm. To achieve best results, it can be used between 5 dBm to 15 dBm signal level of microwave generator for BOTDA and BOTDR setups.

Keywords: Microwave signal level, Brillouin gain spectrum, BOTDA, BOTDR.

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1882 Analysis of Advanced Modulation Format Using Gain and Loss Spectrum for Long Range Radio over Fiber System

Authors: Shaina Nagpal, Amit Gupta

Abstract:

In this work, all optical Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) generated single sideband with suppressed carrier is presented to provide better efficiency. The generation of single sideband and enhanced carrier power signal using the SBS technique is further used to strengthen the low shifted sideband and to suppress the upshifted sideband. These generated single sideband signals are able to work at high frequency ranges. Also, generated single sideband is validated over 90 km transmission using single mode fiber with acceptable bit error rate. The results for an equivalent are then compared so that the acceptable technique is chosen and also the required quality for the optimum performance of the system is reported.

Keywords: Stimulated Brillouin scattering, radio over fiber, upper side band, quality factor.

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1881 Fast and Efficient On-Chip Interconnection Modeling for High Speed VLSI Systems

Authors: A.R. Aswatha, T. Basavaraju, S. Sandeep Kumar

Abstract:

Timing driven physical design, synthesis, and optimization tools need efficient closed-form delay models for estimating the delay associated with each net in an integrated circuit (IC) design. The total number of nets in a modern IC design has increased dramatically and exceeded millions. Therefore efficient modeling of interconnection is needed for high speed IC-s. This paper presents closed–form expressions for RC and RLC interconnection trees in current mode signaling, which can be implemented in VLSI design tool. These analytical model expressions can be used for accurate calculation of delay after the design clock tree has been laid out and the design is fully routed. Evaluation of these analytical models is several orders of magnitude faster than simulation using SPICE.

Keywords: IC design, RC/RLC Interconnection, VLSI Systems.

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1880 A Stable Pose Estimation Method for the Biped Robot using Image Information

Authors: Sangbum Park, Youngjoon Han

Abstract:

This paper proposes a balance control scheme for a biped robot to trace an arbitrary path using image information. While moving, it estimates the zero moment point(ZMP) of the biped robot in the next step using a Kalman filter and renders an appropriate balanced pose of the robot. The ZMP can be calculated from the robot's pose, which is measured from the reference object image acquired by a CCD camera on the robot's head. For simplifying the kinematical model, the coordinates systems of individual joints of each leg are aligned and the robot motion is approximated as an inverted pendulum so that a simple linear dynamics, 3D-LIPM(3D-Linear Inverted Pendulum Mode) can be applied. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been proven by the experiments performed on unknown trajectory.

Keywords: Biped robot, Zero moment point, Balance control, Kalman filter.

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1879 Marangoni Convection in a Fluid Saturated Porous Layer with a Deformable Free Surface

Authors: Nor Fadzillah Mohd Mokhtar, Norihan Md Arifin, Roslinda Nazar, Fudziah Ismail, MohamedSuleiman

Abstract:

The stability analysis of Marangoni convection in porous media with a deformable upper free surface is investigated. The linear stability theory and the normal mode analysis are applied and the resulting eigenvalue problem is solved exactly. The Darcy law and the Brinkman model are used to describe the flow in the porous medium heated from below. The effect of the Crispation number, Bond number and the Biot number are analyzed for the stability of the system. It is found that a decrease in the Crispation number and an increase in the Bond number delay the onset of convection in porous media. In addition, the system becomes more stable when the Biot number is increases and the Daeff number is decreases.

Keywords: Deformable, Marangoni, Porous, Stability.

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1878 Size-Reduction Strategies for Iris Codes

Authors: Jutta Hämmerle-Uhl, Georg Penn, Gerhard Pötzelsberger, Andreas Uhl

Abstract:

Iris codes contain bits with different entropy. This work investigates different strategies to reduce the size of iris code templates with the aim of reducing storage requirements and computational demand in the matching process. Besides simple subsampling schemes, also a binary multi-resolution representation as used in the JBIG hierarchical coding mode is assessed. We find that iris code template size can be reduced significantly while maintaining recognition accuracy. Besides, we propose a two-stage identification approach, using small-sized iris code templates in a pre-selection stage, and full resolution templates for final identification, which shows promising recognition behaviour.

Keywords: Iris recognition, compact iris code, fast matching, best bits, pre-selection identification, two-stage identification.

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1877 On Climbing Winding Stairs for a Robotic Wheelchair

Authors: Chun-Ta Chen, Te-Tan Liao, Hoang-Vuong Pham

Abstract:

In this paper motion analysis on a winding stair-climbing is investigated using our proposed rotational arm type of robotic wheelchair. For now, the robotic wheelchair is operated in an open mode to climb winding stairs by a dynamic turning, therefore, the dynamics model is required to ensure a passenger-s safety. Equations of motion based on the skid-steering analysis are developed for the trajectory planning and motion analysis on climbing winding stairs. Since the robotic wheelchair must climb a winding staircase stably, the winding trajectory becomes a constraint equation to be followed, and the Baumgarte-s method is used to solve for the constrained dynamics equations. Experimental results validate the behavior of the prototype as it climbs a winding stair.

Keywords: Climb, robotic wheelchair, skid-steering, windingstair .

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1876 Real-Time Measurement Approach for Tracking the ΔV10 Estimate Value of DC EAF

Authors: Jin-Lung Guan, Jyh-Cherng Gu, Chun-Wei Huang, Hsin-Hung Chang

Abstract:

This investigation develops a revisable method for estimating the estimate value of equivalent 10 Hz voltage flicker (DV10) of a DC Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). This study also discusses three 161kV DC EAFs by field measurement, with those results indicating that the estimated DV10 value is significantly smaller than the survey value. The key point is that the conventional means of estimating DV10 is inappropriate. There is a main cause as the assumed Qmax is too small.

Although DC EAF is regularly operated in a constant MVA mode, the reactive power variation in the Main Transformer (MT) is more significant than that in the Furnace Transformer (FT). A substantial difference exists between estimated maximum reactive power fluctuation (DQmax) and the survey value from actual DC EAF operations. However, this study proposes a revisable method that can obtain a more accurate DV10 estimate than the conventional method.

Keywords: Voltage Flicker, dc EAF, Estimate Value, DV10.

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1875 Impact of the Operation and Infrastructure Parameters to the Railway Track Capacity

Authors: Martin Kendra, Jaroslav Mašek, Juraj Čamaj, Matej Babin

Abstract:

The railway transport is considered as a one of the most environmentally friendly mode of transport. With future prediction of increasing of freight transport there are lines facing problems with demanded capacity. Increase of the track capacity could be achieved by infrastructure constructive adjustments. The contribution shows how the travel time can be minimized and the track capacity increased by changing some of the basic infrastructure and operation parameters, for example, the minimal curve radius of the track, the number of tracks, or the usable track length at stations. Calculation of the necessary parameter changes is based on the fundamental physical laws applied to the train movement, and calculation of the occupation time is dependent on the changes of controlling the traffic between the stations.

Keywords: Curve radius, maximum curve speed, track mass capacity, reconstruction.

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1874 Adaptive Rfid Positioning System Using Signal Level Matrix

Authors: Ching-Sheng Wang, Xin-Mao Huang, Ming-Yu Hung

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a method named Signal Level Matrix (SLM) which can improve the accuracy and stability of active RFID indoor positioning system. Considering the accuracy and cost, we use uniform distribution mode to set up and separate the overlapped signal covering areas, in order to achieve preliminary location setting. Then, based on the proposed SLM concept and the characteristic of the signal strength value that attenuates as the distance increases, this system cross-examines the distribution of adjacent signals to locate the users more accurately. The experimental results indicate that the adaptive positioning method proposed in this paper could improve the accuracy and stability of the positioning system effectively and satisfyingly.

Keywords: RFID positioning, localization, indoor, location-aware.

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1873 Process-based Business Transformation through Services Computing

Authors: Sinnakkrishnan Perumal, Nitish Pandey

Abstract:

Business transformation initiatives are required by any organization to jump from its normal mode of operation to the one that is suitable for the change in the environment such as competitive pressures, regulatory requirements, changes in labor market, etc., or internal such as changes in strategy/vision, changes in the capability, change in the management, etc. Recent advances in information technology in automating the business processes have the potential to transform an organization to provide it with a sustained competitive advantage. Process constitutes the skeleton of a business. Thus, for a business to exist and compete well, it is essential for the skeleton to be robust and agile. This paper details “transformation" from a business perspective, methodologies to bring about an effective transformation, process-based transformation, and the role of services computing in this. Further, it details the benefits that could be achieved through services computing.

Keywords: Business Transformation, Services Oriented Architecture, Business Processes, Process-based Transformation.

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1872 Seismic Analysis of URM Buildings in S. Africa

Authors: Trevor N. Haas, Thomas van der Kolf

Abstract:

South Africa has some regions which are susceptible to moderate seismic activity. A peak ground acceleration of between 0.1g and 0.15g can be expected in the southern parts of the Western Cape. Unreinforced Masonry (URM) is commonly used as a construction material for 2 to 5 storey buildings in underprivileged areas in and around Cape Town. URM is typically regarded as the material most vulnerable to damage when subjected to earthquake excitation. In this study, a three-storey URM building was analysed by applying seven earthquake time-histories, which can be expected to occur in South Africa using a finite element approach. Experimental data was used to calibrate the in- and out-of-plane stiffness of the URM. The results indicated that tensile cracking of the in-plane piers was the dominant failure mode. It is concluded that URM buildings of this type are at risk of failure especially if sufficient ductility is not provided. The results also showed that connection failure must be investigated further.

Keywords: URM, Seismic Analysis, FEM.

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