Search results for: reproductive number

Authors: Fábio A. S. Mota, Mauro A. S. S. Ravagnani, E. P. Carvalho

Abstract:

In the present paper the design of plate heat exchangers is formulated as an optimization problem considering two mathematical modelling. The number of plates is the objective function to be minimized, considering implicitly some parameters configuration. Screening is the optimization method used to solve the problem. Thermal and hydraulic constraints are verified, not viable solutions are discarded and the method searches for the convergence to the optimum, case it exists. A case study is presented to test the applicability of the developed algorithm. Results show coherency with the literature.

Keywords: Plate heat exchanger, optimization, modeling, simulation.

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Authors: Azhar Abdul Rahman

Abstract:

This paper examines the readability of the chairman’s narratives, as determined by the Flesch score, of a Malaysian public listed company’s corporate reports from 1962 to 2009. It partially supports earlier studies which demonstrated that corporate reports were difficult to read, and had shown very negligible decrease in difficulty over time. Net profit to sales and readability was significantly positively correlated but number of financial statements was significantly negatively correlated with readability.

Keywords: Chairman’s narratives, corporate communications, readability, longitudinal.

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Authors: Mei Chen

Abstract:

More and more home videos are being generated with the ever growing popularity of digital cameras and camcorders. For many home videos, a photo rendering, whether capturing a moment or a scene within the video, provides a complementary representation to the video. In this paper, a video motion mining framework for creative rendering is presented. The user-s capture intent is derived by analyzing video motions, and respective metadata is generated for each capture type. The metadata can be used in a number of applications, such as creating video thumbnail, generating panorama posters, and producing slideshows of video.

Keywords: Motion mining, semantic abstraction, video mining, video representation.

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Authors: Mehmet Savsar

Abstract:

This paper presents a model for an unreliable production line, which is operated according to demand with constant work-in-process (CONWIP). A simulation model is developed based on the discrete model and several case problems are analyzed using the model. The model is utilized to optimize storage space capacities at intermediate stages and the number of kanbans at the last stage, which is used to trigger the production at the first stage. Furthermore, effects of several line parameters on production rate are analyzed using design of experiments.

Keywords: Production line simulator, Push-pull system, JIT system, Constant WIP, Machine failures.

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Authors: Katsuhiro Narikiyo, Naoto Kobayakawa

Abstract:

We proposes a way of removing noises and reducing the number of colors contained in a JPEG image. Main purpose of this project is to convert color images to monochrome images for the color blinds. We treat the crispy color images like the Tokyo subway map. Each color in the image has an important information. But for the color blinds, similar colors cannot be distinguished. If we can convert those colors to different gray values, they can distinguish them.

Keywords: Image processing, Color blind, JPEG

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Authors: Sahil, Rajeev Saha, Sanjeev Kumar

Abstract:

Material selection is one of the key issues for the production of reliable and quality products in industries. A number of materials are available for a single product due to which material selection become a difficult task. The aim of this paper is to select appropriate material for gear used in fuel pump by using Graph Theory and Matrix Approach (GTMA). GTMA is a logical and systematic approach that can be used to model and analyze various engineering systems. In present work, four alternative material and their seven attributes are used to identify the best material for given product.

Keywords: Material, GTMA, MADM, digraph, decision making.

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Authors: Essam Al Daoud

Abstract:

Gradient boosting methods have been proven to be a very important strategy. Many successful machine learning solutions were developed using the XGBoost and its derivatives. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the efficiency of three gradient methods. Home credit dataset is used in this work which contains 219 features and 356251 records. However, new features are generated and several techniques are used to rank and select the best features. The implementation indicates that the LightGBM is faster and more accurate than CatBoost and XGBoost using variant number of features and records.

Keywords: Gradient boosting, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, home credit.

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Authors: Behrouz Afshar Nadjafi

Abstract:

Extensive research has been devoted to economic production quantity (EPQ) problem. However, no attention has been paid to problems where production period length is constrained. In this paper, we address the problem of deciding the optimal production quantity and the number of minor setups within each cycle, in which, production period length is constrained but a minor setup is possible for pass the constraint. A mathematical model is developed and Iterated Local Search (ILS) is proposed to solve this problem. Finally, solution procedure illustrated with a numerical example and results are analyzed.

Keywords: EPQ, Inventory control, minor setup, ILS.

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Authors: H. Šimović, M. Mihelja Žaja

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This paper provides an analysis of corporate income tax (CIT) incentives in the Western Balkan countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. Western Balkan countries, as other transition and developing countries, use large number of the corporate income tax incentives (CIT) to attract foreign investments and to stimulate economic activity. The main goal of this paper is to investigate how often these countries use CIT incentives and provide review of existing tax incentives in Western Balkan countries. Paper will focus on reduced CIT rates, tax holidays, and other investment incentives which imply incentives like accelerated depreciation, tax allowances and tax credits.

Keywords: tax incentives, tax rate, tax holidays, WesternBalkan countries

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Authors: Sheel Chakraborty

Abstract:

Modern society in developed countries has distanced itself from the earlier norm of joint family living, and with the increase of economic pressure, parents' availability for their children during their infant years has been consistently decreasing over the past three decades. This has been promoted in the US through the legislature and funding. Early care and education may have a positive impact on young minds, but a growing number of kids facing social challenges in making friendships in their teenage years raises serious concerns about its effectiveness. The survey-based primary research presented here shows that a statistically significant number of millennials between the ages of 10 and 25 years prefer to build friendships virtually than face-to-face interactions. Moreover, many teenagers depend more on their virtual friends whom they never met. Contrary to the belief that early social interactions in a non-home setup make the kids confident and more prepared for the real world, many shy-natured kids seem to develop a sense of shakiness in forming social relationships, resulting in loneliness by the time they are young adults. Reflecting on George Mead’s theory of self that is made up of “I” and “Me”, most functioning homes provide the required freedom and forgivable, congenial environment for building the "I" of a toddler; however, daycare or preschools can barely match that. It seems social images created from the “Me” perspective in preschoolers in a daycare environment has interfered and greatly overpowered the formation of a confident "I" thus created a crisis around the inability to form friendships face to face when they grow older. Though the pervasive nature of social media cannot be ignored, the non-parental early care and education practices adopted largely by the urban population have created a favorable platform of teen psychology on which social media popularity thrived, especially providing refuge to shy Gen-Z teenagers. This can explain why young adults today perceive social media as their preferred outlet of expression and a place to form dependable friendships, despite the risk of being cyberbullied.

Keywords: Digital socialization, shyness, developmental psychology, friendship, early education.

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Authors: M. Reni Sagayaraj, S. Anand Gnana Selvam, R. Reynald Susainathan

Abstract:

We analyze stochastic integrals associated with a mutation process. To be specific, we describe the cell population process and derive the differential equations for the joint generating functions for the number of mutants and their integrals in generating functions and their applications. We obtain first-order moments of the processes of the two-way mutation process in first-order moment structure of X (t) and Y (t) and the second-order moments of a one-way mutation process. In this paper, we obtain the limiting behaviour of the integrals in limiting distributions of X (t) and Y (t).

Keywords: Stochastic integrals, single–server queue model, catastrophes, busy period.

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Authors: Zia R. Tahir, P. Mandal

Abstract:

This paper presents the details of a numerical study of buckling and post buckling behaviour of laminated carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) thin-walled cylindrical shell under axial compression using asymmetric meshing technique (AMT) by ABAQUS. AMT is considered to be a new perturbation method to introduce disturbance without changing geometry, boundary conditions or loading conditions. Asymmetric meshing affects both predicted buckling load and buckling mode shapes. Cylindrical shell having lay-up orientation [0^o/+45^o/-45^o/0^o] with radius to thickness ratio (R/t) equal to 265 and length to radius ratio (L/R) equal to 1.5 is analysed numerically. A series of numerical simulations (experiments) are carried out with symmetric and asymmetric meshing to study the effect of asymmetric meshing on predicted buckling behaviour. Asymmetric meshing technique is employed in both axial direction and circumferential direction separately using two different methods, first by changing the shell element size and varying the total number elements, and second by varying the shell element size and keeping total number of elements constant. The results of linear analysis (Eigenvalue analysis) and non-linear analysis (Riks analysis) using symmetric meshing agree well with analytical results. The results of numerical analysis are presented in form of non-dimensional load factor, which is the ratio of buckling load using asymmetric meshing technique to buckling load using symmetric meshing technique. Using AMT, load factor has about 2% variation for linear eigenvalue analysis and about 2% variation for non-linear Riks analysis. The behaviour of load end-shortening curve for pre-buckling is same for both symmetric and asymmetric meshing but for asymmetric meshing curve behaviour in post-buckling becomes extraordinarily complex. The major conclusions are: different methods of AMT have small influence on predicted buckling load and significant influence on load displacement curve behaviour in post buckling; AMT in axial direction and AMT in circumferential direction have different influence on buckling load and load displacement curve in post-buckling.

Keywords: CFRP Composite Cylindrical Shell, Asymmetric Meshing Technique, Primary Buckling, Secondary Buckling, Linear Eigenvalue Analysis, Non-linear Riks Analysis.

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Authors: B. Chetti

Abstract:

Dynamic characteristics of a four-lobe journal bearing of micropolar fluids are presented. Lubricating oil containing additives and contaminants is modelled as micropolar fluid. The modified Reynolds equation is obtained using the micropolar lubrication theory and solving it by using finite difference technique. The dynamic characteristics in terms of stiffness, damping coefficients, the critical mass and whirl ratio are determined for various values of size of material characteristic length and the coupling number. The results show compared with Newtonian fluids, that micropolar fluid exhibits better stability.

Keywords: Four-lobe bearings, dynamic characteristics, stabilityanalysis, micropolar fluid

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Authors: Cheng-Chung Yang, Jr-Ming Miao, Fuh-Lin Lih, Tsung-Lung Liu, Ming-Hui Ho

Abstract:

The operation performance of a valveless micro-pump is strongly dependent on the shape of connected nozzle/diffuser and Reynolds number. The aims of present work are to compare the performance curves of micropump with the original straight nozzle/diffuser and contoured nozzle/diffuser under different back pressure conditions. The tested valveless micropumps are assembled of five pieces of patterned PMMA plates with hot-embracing technique. The structures of central chamber, the inlet/outlet reservoirs and the connected nozzle/diffuser are fabricated with laser cutting machine. The micropump is actuated with circular-type PZT film embraced on the bottom of central chamber. The deformation of PZT membrane with various input voltages is measured with a displacement laser probe. A simple testing facility is also constructed to evaluate the performance curves for comparison. In order to observe the evaluation of low Reynolds number multiple vortex flow patterns within the micropump during suction and pumping modes, the unsteady, incompressible laminar three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved. The working fluid is DI water with constant thermo-physical properties. The oscillating behavior of PZT film is modeled with the moving boundary wall in way of UDF program. With the dynamic mesh method, the instants pressure and velocity fields are obtained and discussed.Results indicated that the volume flow rate is not monotony increased with the oscillating frequency of PZT film, regardless of the shapes of nozzle/diffuser. The present micropump can generate the maximum volume flow rate of 13.53 ml/min when the operation frequency is 64Hz and the input voltage is 140 volts. The micropump with contoured nozzle/diffuser can provide 7ml/min flow rate even when the back pressure is up to 400 mm-H2O. CFD results revealed that the flow central chamber was occupied with multiple pairs of counter-rotating vortices during suction and pumping modes. The net volume flow rate over a complete oscillating periodic of PZT

Keywords: valveless micropump、PZT diagraph、contoured nozzle/diffuser、vortex flow.

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Authors: Nabeel A. Qazi, Absaar ul Jabbar, Khalid Parvez

Abstract:

A code has been developed in Mathematica using Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique. The code was tested for 2-D air flow around a circular cylinder. Same geometry and flow properties were used in FLUENT 6.2 for comparison. The results obtained from Mathematica simulation indicated significant agreement with FLUENT calculations, hence providing insight into particle nature of fluid flows.

Keywords: DSMC algorithm, non continuum gas flows, Monte Carlo methods

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Authors: George Charkoftakis, Panagiotis Liosatos, Nicolas-Alexander Tatlas, Dimitrios Goustouridis, Stelios M. Potirakis

Abstract:

E-maintenance is a relatively recent concept, generally referring to maintenance management by monitoring assets over the Internet. One of the key links in the chain of an e-maintenance system is data acquisition and transmission. Specifically for the case of a fleet of heavy-duty vehicles, where the main challenge is the diversity of the vehicles and vehicle-embedded self-diagnostic/reporting technologies, the design of the data acquisition and transmission unit is a demanding task. This is clear if one takes into account that a heavy-vehicles fleet assortment may range from vehicles with only a limited number of analog sensors monitored by dashboard light indicators and gauges to vehicles with plethora of sensors monitored by a vehicle computer producing digital reporting. The present work proposes an adaptable internet of things (IoT) sensor node that is capable of addressing this challenge. The proposed sensor node architecture is based on the increasingly popular single-board computer – expansion boards approach. In the proposed solution, the expansion boards undertake the tasks of position identification, cellular connectivity, connectivity to the vehicle computer, and connectivity to analog and digital sensors by means of a specially targeted design of expansion board. Specifically, the latter offers a number of adaptability features to cope with the diverse sensor types employed in different vehicles. In standard mode, the IoT sensor node communicates to the data center through cellular network, transmitting all digital/digitized sensor data, IoT device identity and position. Moreover, the proposed IoT sensor node offers connectivity, through WiFi and an appropriate application, to smart phones or tablets allowing the registration of additional vehicle- and driver-specific information and these data are also forwarded to the data center. All control and communication tasks of the IoT sensor node are performed by dedicated firmware.

Keywords: IoT sensor nodes, e-maintenance, single-board computers, sensor expansion boards, on-board diagnostics

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Authors: Sie-Tiong Ha, Teck-Leong Lee, Yip-Foo Win, Siew-Ling Lee, Guan-Yeow Yeap

Abstract:

A homologous series of aromatic esters, 4-nalkanoyloxybenzylidene- 4--bromoanilines, nABBA, consisting of two 1,4-disubstituted phenyl cores and a Schiff base central linkage was synthesized. All the members can be differed by the number of carbon atoms at terminal alkanoyloxy chain (CnH2n-1COO-, n = 2, 6, 18). The molecular structure of nABBA was confirmed with infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and electron-ionization mass (EI-MS) spectrometry. Mesomorphic properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy.

Keywords: Liquid Crystals, Schiff base, Smectic, Mesomorphic

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Authors: Sanpachai Huvanandana

Abstract:

A human verification system is presented in this paper. The system consists of several steps: background subtraction, thresholding, line connection, region growing, morphlogy, star skelatonization, feature extraction, feature matching, and decision making. The proposed system combines an advantage of star skeletonization and simple statistic features. A correlation matching and probability voting have been used for verification, followed by a logical operation in a decision making stage. The proposed system uses small number of features and the system reliability is convincing.

Keywords: Human verification, object recognition, videounderstanding, segmentation.

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Authors: Schehrazad Selmane

Abstract:

We present a deterministic model which describes the dynamics of tuberculosis in Algerian population where the vaccination program with BCG is in place since 1969 and where the WHO recommendations regarding the DOTS (directly-observed treatment, short course) strategy are in application. The impact of an intervention program, targeting recently infected people among all close contacts of active cases and their treatment to prevent endogenous reactivation, on the incidence of tuberculosis, is investigated. We showed that a widespread treatment of latently infected individuals for some years is recommended to shift from higher to lower equilibrium state and thereafter relaxation is recommended.

Keywords: Deterministic model, reproduction number, stability, tuberculosis.

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Authors: Amer Ibrahim Falah Al-Omari

Abstract:

In this paper, we suggest new product-type estimators for the population mean of the variable of interest exploiting the first or the third quartile of the auxiliary variable. We obtain mean square error equations and the bias for the estimators. We study the properties of these estimators using simple random sampling (SRS) and ranked set sampling (RSS) methods. It is found that, SRS and RSS produce approximately unbiased estimators of the population mean. However, the RSS estimators are more efficient than those obtained using SRS based on the same number of measured units for all values of the correlation coefficient.

Keywords: Product estimator, auxiliary variable, simple random sampling, extreme ranked set sampling

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Authors: Sandeep Kumar, R. B. Mishra

Abstract:

A large number of semantic web service composition approaches are developed by the research community and one is more efficient than the other one depending on the particular situation of use. So a close look at the requirements of ones particular situation is necessary to find a suitable approach to use. In this paper, we present a Technique Recommendation System (TRS) which using a classification of state-of-art semantic web service composition approaches, can provide the user of the system with the recommendations regarding the use of service composition approach based on some parameters regarding situation of use. TRS has modular architecture and uses the production-rules for knowledge representation.

Keywords: Classification, composition techniques, recommendation system, rule-based, semantic web service.

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Authors: Helyane Bronoski Borges, Júlio Cesar Nievola

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The most important subtype of non-Hodgkin-s lymphoma is the Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Approximately 40% of the patients suffering from it respond well to therapy, whereas the remainder needs a more aggressive treatment, in order to better their chances of survival. Data Mining techniques have helped to identify the class of the lymphoma in an efficient manner. Despite that, thousands of genes should be processed to obtain the results. This paper presents a comparison of the use of various attribute selection methods aiming to reduce the number of genes to be searched, looking for a more effective procedure as a whole.

Keywords: Attribute selection, data mining.

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Authors: Arash Mir Abdolah Lavasani, Hamidreza Bayat

Abstract:

Heat transfer from two cam shape cylinder in side-byside arrangement had been studied numerically. The transverse gap between the centers of cylinders (T) is allowed to vary to change the pitch ratio (T/Deq). The equivalent diameter of the cylinder (Deq) is 27.6 mm and pitch ratio varies in range of 1≤T/Deq≤3. The Reynolds numbers based on equivalent circular cylinder are within 50≤ Reeq≤150. Results show that Nusselt number of cylinders increases about 1 to 36 percent when pitch ratio increases from 1 to 3.

Keywords: Cam shaped, side-by-side cylinders, numerical, heat Transfer.

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Authors: Y. Cifuentes, L. Beltrán, L. Ramírez

Abstract:

The availability to deploy mobile applications for health care is increasing daily thru different mobile app stores. But within these capabilities the number of hacking attacks has also increased, in particular into medical mobile applications. The security vulnerabilities in medical mobile apps can be triggered by errors in code, incorrect logic, poor design, among other parameters. This is usually used by malicious attackers to steal or modify the users’ information. The aim of this research is to analyze the vulnerabilities detected in mobile medical apps according to risk factor standards defined by OWASP in 2014.

Keywords: mHealth apps, OWASP, protocols, security vulnerabilities, risk factors.

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Authors: Kriddikorn Kaewwongsri, Nikom Suvonvorn

Abstract:

In the deep south of Thailand, checkpoints for people verification are necessary for the security management of risk zones, such as official buildings in the conflict area. In this paper, we propose an automatic checkpoint system that verifies persons using information from ID cards and facial features. The methods for a person’s information abstraction and verification are introduced based on useful information such as ID number and name, extracted from official cards, and facial images from videos. The proposed system shows promising results and has a real impact on the local society.

Keywords: Face comparison, card recognition, OCR, checkpoint system, authentication.

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Authors: E. Pop, M. Barbos

Abstract:

Using mobile Internet access technologies and eservices, various economic agents can efficiently offer their products or services to a large number of clients. With the support of mobile communications networks, the clients can have access to e-services, anywhere and anytime. This is a base to establish a convergence of technological and financial interests of mobile operators, software developers, mobile terminals producers and e-content providers. In this paper, a client server system is presented, using 3G, EDGE, mobile terminals, for Stock Exchange e-services access.

Keywords: Mobile communications, e-services access, stockexchange.

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Authors: Thomas I. Kounitis

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of a number of variables on the conditional mean and conditional variance of credit spread changes. The empirical analysis in this paper is conducted within the context of bivariate GARCH-in- Mean models, using the so-called BEKK parameterization. We show that credit spread changes are determined by interest-rate and equityreturn variables, which is in line with theory as provided by the structural models of default. We also identify the credit spread change volatility as an important determinant of credit spread changes, and provide evidence on the transmission of volatility between the variables under study.

Keywords: Credit spread changes, GARCH-in-Mean models, structural framework, volatility transmission.

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Authors: Zofija Tupikovskaja-Omovie, David Tyler, Sam Dhanapala, Steve Hayes

Abstract:

The UK is leading in online retail and mobile adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer browsing and purchase behaviour in m-retail channel would provide apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined shopping behaviour on fashion mobile apps and websites. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion consumers prefer websites on smartphones, when diverse mobile apps are also available. The following research methods were employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel. The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore, participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in further studies.

Keywords: Consumer behaviour, eye-tracking technology, fashion retail, mobile app, m-retail, smart phones, Topshop, user experience, website.

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Authors: Athanasios T. Alexiou, Maria M. Psiha, John A. Rekkas, Panayiotis M. Vlamos

Abstract:

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles, capable to interact with each other. While the number of mitochondria in a cell varies, their quality and functionality depends on the operation of fusion, fission, motility and mitophagy. Nowadays, several researches declare as an important factor in neurogenerative diseases the disruptions in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. In this paper a stochastic model in BioAmbients calculus is presented, concerning mitochondrial fusion and its distribution in the renewal of mitochondrial population in a cell. This model describes the successive and dependent stages of protein synthesis, protein-s activation and merging of two independent mitochondria.

Keywords: Mitochondrial Dynamics, P-Calculus, StochasticModeling.

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Authors: I. Norhuda, A. K. Mohd Omar

Abstract:

Studies on gas solid mass transfer using Supercritical fluid CO2 (SC-CO2) in a packed bed of palm kernels was investigated at operating conditions of temperature 50 °C and 70 °C and pressures ranges from 27.6 MPa, 34.5 MPa, 41.4 MPa and 48.3 MPa. The development of mass transfer models requires knowledge of three properties: the diffusion coefficient of the solute, the viscosity and density of the Supercritical fluids (SCF). Matematical model with respect to the dimensionless number of Sherwood (Sh), Schmidt (Sc) and Reynolds (Re) was developed. It was found that the model developed was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data within the system studied.

Keywords: Mass Transfer, Palm Kernel, Supercritical fluid.

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