Search results for: pinch point analysis.
8648 Comparative Analysis of Concentration in Insurance Markets in New EU Member States
Authors: T. Pavic Kramaric, M. Kitic
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The purpose of this article is to analyze the market structure as well as the degree of concentration in insurance markets in new EU member states. The analysis was conducted using several most commonly used concentration indicators such as concentration ratio, Herfindahl-Hirschman index and entropy index. These indicators were calculated for the 2000-2010 period on the basis of total gross written premium as the most relevant indicator of market power in insurance markets. The results of the analysis showed that in all observed countries the level of concentration decreased, though with significantly different intensity. Yet, in some countries, the level of concentration remains very high.
Keywords: insurance market, concentration, new EU member states
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34308647 Numerical Investigation of the Optimal Spatial Domain Discretization for the 2-D Analysis of a Darrieus Vertical-Axis Water Turbine
Authors: M. Raciti Castelli, S. De Betta, E. Benini
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The optimal grid spacing and turbulence model for the 2D numerical analysis of a vertical-axis water turbine (VAWaterT) operating in a 2 m/s freestream current has been investigated. The results of five different spatial domain discretizations and two turbulence models (k-ω SST and k-ε RNG) have been compared, in order to gain the optimal y+ parameter distribution along the blade walls during a full rotor revolution. The resulting optimal mesh has appeared to be quite similar to that obtained for the numerical analysis of a vertical-axis wind turbine.Keywords: CFD, vertical axis water turbine, NACA 0025, blade y+.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20488646 Radiation Effects and Defects in InAs, InP Compounds and Their Solid Solutions InPxAs1-x
Authors: N. Kekelidze, B. Kvirkvelia, E. Khutsishvili, T. Qamushadze, D. Kekelidze, R. Kobaidze, Z. Chubinishvili, N. Qobulashvili, G. Kekelidze
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On the basis of InAs, InP and their InPxAs1-x solid solutions, the technologies were developed and materials were created where the electron concentration and optical and thermoelectric properties do not change under the irradiation with Ф = 2∙1018 n/cm2 fluences of fast neutrons high-energy electrons (50 MeV, Ф = 6·1017 e/cm2) and 3 MeV electrons with fluence Ф = 3∙1018 e/cm2. The problem of obtaining such material has been solved, in which under hard irradiation the mobility of the electrons does not decrease, but increases. This material is characterized by high thermal stability up to T = 700 °C. The complex process of defects formation has been analyzed and shown that, despite of hard irradiation, the essential properties of investigated materials are mainly determined by point type defects.Keywords: InAs, InP, solid solutions, irradiation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10318645 Controlled Vocabularies and Information Retrieval: 1918 Pandemic’s Scientific Literature as an Example
Authors: M. Garcia-Alsina, J. Cobarsí
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The role of controlled vocabularies in information retrieval is broadly recognized as a relevant feature. Besides, there is a standing demand that editors and databases should consider the effective introduction of controlled vocabularies in their procedures to index scientific literature. That is especially important because information retrieval is pointed out as a significant point to drive systematic literature review. Hence, a first question emerges: Are the controlled vocabularies at this moment considered? On the other hand, subject searching in the catalogs is complex mainly due to the dichotomy between keywords from authors versus keywords based on controlled vocabularies. Finally, there is some demand to unify the terminology related to health to make easier the medical history exploitation and research. Considering these features, this paper focuses on controlled vocabularies related to the health field and their role for storing, classifying, and retrieving relevant literature. The objective is knowing which role plays the controlled vocabularies related to the health field to index and retrieve research literature in data bases such as Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. So, this exploratory research is grounded over two research questions: 1) Which are the terms considered in specific controlled vocabularies of the health field; and 2) How papers are indexed in relevant databases to be easily retrieved, considering keywords vs specific health’ controlled vocabularies? This research takes as fieldwork the controlled vocabularies related to health and the scientific interest for 1918 flu pandemic, also known equivocally as ‘Spanish flu’. This interest has been fostered by the emergence in the early 21st of epidemics of pneumonic diseases caused by virus. Searches about and with controlled vocabularies on WoS and Scopus databases are conducted. First results of this work in progress are surprising. There are different controlled vocabularies for the health field, into which the terms collected and preferred related to ‘1918 pandemic’ are identified. To summarize, ‘Spanish influenza epidemic’ or ‘Spanish flu’ are collected as not preferred terms. The preferred terms are: ‘influenza’ or ‘influenza pandemic, 1918-1919’. Although the controlled vocabularies are clear in their election, most of the literature about ‘1918 pandemic’ is retrievable either by ‘Spanish’ or by ‘1918’ disjunct, and the dominant word to retrieve literature is ‘Spanish’ rather than ‘1918’. This is surprising considering the existence of suitable controlled vocabularies related to health topics, and the modern guidelines of World Health Organization concerning naming of diseases that point out to other preferred terms. A first conclusion is the failure of using controlled vocabularies for a field such as health, and in consequence for WoS and Scopus. This research opens further research questions about which is the role that controlled vocabularies play in the instructions to authors that journals deliver to documents’ authors.
Keywords: Controlled vocabularies, indexing, 1918 influenza, information retrieval, keywords, 1918 pandemic, scientific databases.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4278644 Finite Element Analysis of Connecting Rod
Authors: Mohammed Mohsin Ali H., Mohamed Haneef
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The connecting rod transmits the piston load to the crank causing the latter to turn, thus converting the reciprocating motion of the piston into a rotary motion of the crankshaft. Connecting rods are subjected to forces generated by mass and fuel combustion. This study investigates and compares the fatigue behavior of forged steel, powder forged and ASTM a 514 steel cold quenched connecting rods. The objective is to suggest for a new material with reduced weight and cost with the increased fatigue life. This has entailed performing a detailed load analysis. Therefore, this study has dealt with two subjects: first, dynamic load and stress analysis of the connecting rod, and second, optimization for material, weight and cost. In the first part of the study, the loads acting on the connecting rod as a function of time were obtained. Based on the observations of the dynamic FEA, static FEA, and the load analysis results, the load for the optimization study was selected. It is the conclusion of this study that the connecting rod can be designed and optimized under a load range comprising tensile load and compressive load. Tensile load corresponds to 360o crank angle at the maximum engine speed. The compressive load is corresponding to the peak gas pressure. Furthermore, the existing connecting rod can be replaced with a new connecting rod made of ASTM a 514 steel cold quenched that is 12% lighter and 28% cheaper.
Keywords: Connecting rod, ASTM a514 cold quenched steel, static analysis, fatigue analysis, stress life approach.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27328643 Distinguishing Innocent Murmurs from Murmurs caused by Aortic Stenosis by Recurrence Quantification Analysis
Authors: Christer Ahlstrom, Katja Höglund, Peter Hult, Jens Häggström, Clarence Kvart, Per Ask
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It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between innocent murmurs and pathological murmurs during auscultation. In these difficult cases, an intelligent stethoscope with decision support abilities would be of great value. In this study, using a dog model, phonocardiographic recordings were obtained from 27 boxer dogs with various degrees of aortic stenosis (AS) severity. As a reference for severity assessment, continuous wave Doppler was used. The data were analyzed with recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) with the aim to find features able to distinguish innocent murmurs from murmurs caused by AS. Four out of eight investigated RQA features showed significant differences between innocent murmurs and pathological murmurs. Using a plain linear discriminant analysis classifier, the best pair of features (recurrence rate and entropy) resulted in a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 88%. In conclusion, RQA provide valid features which can be used for differentiation between innocent murmurs and murmurs caused by AS.Keywords: Bioacoustics, murmur, phonocardiographic signal, recurrence quantification analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20058642 Experimental Modal Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Square Slabs
Authors: M. S. Ahmed, F. A. Mohammad
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The aim of this paper is to perform experimental modal analysis (EMA) of reinforced concrete (RC) square slabs. EMA is the process of determining the modal parameters (Natural Frequencies, damping factors, modal vectors) of a structure from a set of frequency response functions FRFs (curve fitting). Although, experimental modal analysis (or modal testing) has grown steadily in popularity since the advent of the digital FFT spectrum analyzer in the early 1970’s, studying all types of members and materials using such method have not yet been well documented. Therefore, in this work, experimental tests were conducted on RC square slab specimens of dimensions 600mm x 600mmx 40mm. Experimental analysis was based on freely supported boundary condition. Moreover, impact testing as a fast and economical means of finding the modes of vibration of a structure was used during the experiments. In addition, Pico Scope 6 device and MATLAB software were used to acquire data, analyze and plot Frequency Response Function (FRF). The experimental natural frequencies which were extracted from measurements exhibit good agreement with analytical predictions. It is showed that EMA method can be usefully employed to investigate the dynamic behavior of RC slabs.
Keywords: Natural frequencies, Mode shapes, Modal analysis, RC slabs.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26178641 Novel and Different Definitions for Fuzzy Union and Intersection Operations
Authors: Aarthi Chandramohan, M. V. C. Rao
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This paper presents three new methodologies for the basic operations, which aim at finding new ways of computing union (maximum) and intersection (minimum) membership values by taking into effect the entire membership values in a fuzzy set. The new methodologies are conceptually simple and easy from the application point of view and are illustrated with a variety of problems such as Cartesian product of two fuzzy sets, max –min composition of two fuzzy sets in different product spaces and an application of an inverted pendulum to determine the impact of the new methodologies. The results clearly indicate a difference based on the nature of the fuzzy sets under consideration and hence will be highly useful in quite a few applications where different values have significant impact on the behavior of the system.Keywords: Centroid, fuzzy set operations, intersection, triangular norms , triangular S-norms, union.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15058640 Rethinking the Analysis of Means-End Chain Data in Marketing Research
Authors: P. Puustinen, A. Kanto
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This paper proposes a new procedure for analyzing means-end chain data in marketing research. Most commonly the collected data is summarized in the Hierarchical Value Map (HVM) illustrating the main attribute-consequence-value linkages. This paper argues that traditionally constructed HVM may give an erroneous impression of the results of a means-end study. To justify the arguments, an alternative procedure to (1) determine the dominant attribute-consequence-value linkages and (2) construct HVM in a precise manner is presented. The current approach makes a contribution to means-end analysis, allowing marketers to address a set of marketing problems, such as advertising strategy.
Keywords: Means-end chain analysis, Laddering, Hierarchical Value Map.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27918639 Description of Kinetics of Propane Fragmentation with a Support of Ab Initio Simulation
Authors: Amer Al Mahmoud Alsheikh, Jan Žídek, František Krčma
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Using ab initio theoretical calculations, we present analysis of fragmentation process. The analysis is performed in two steps. The first step is calculation of fragmentation energies by ab initio calculations. The second step is application of the energies to kinetic description of process. The energies of fragments are presented in this paper. The kinetics of fragmentation process can be described by numerical models. The method for kinetic analysis is described in this paper. The result - composition of fragmentation products - will be calculated in future. The results from model can be compared to the concentrations of fragments from mass spectrum.Keywords: Ab initio, Density functional theory, Fragmentation energy, Geometry optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18948638 Model Predictive Control of Three Phase Inverter for PV Systems
Authors: Irtaza M. Syed, Kaamran Raahemifar
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This paper presents a model predictive control (MPC) of a utility interactive three phase inverter (TPI) for a photovoltaic (PV) system at commercial level. The proposed model uses phase locked loop (PLL) to synchronize the TPI with the power electric grid (PEG) and performs MPC control in a dq reference frame. TPI model consists of a boost converter (BC), maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control, and a three-leg voltage source inverter (VSI). The operational model of VSI is used to synthesize the sinusoidal current and track the reference. The model is validated using a 35.7 kW PV system in Matlab/Simulink. Implementation results show simplicity and accuracy, as well as reliability of the model.Keywords: Model predictive control, three phase voltage source inverter, PV system, Matlab/Simulink.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37668637 Achievements of Healthcare Services Vis-À-Vis the Millennium Development Goals Targets: Evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Saeeda Batool, Ather Maqsood Ahmed
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This study investigates the impact of public healthcare facilities and socio-economic circumstances on the status of child health in Pakistan. The complete analysis is carried out in correspondence with fourth and sixth millennium development goals. Further, the health variables chosen are also inherited from targeted indicators of the mentioned goals (MDGs). Trends in the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) for both health inequalities and coverage are analyzed using the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PLSM) data set for 2001-02 to 2012-13 at the national and provincial level. To reveal the relative importance of each circumstance in achieving the targeted values for child health, Shorrocks decomposition is applied on HOI. The annual point average growth rate of HOI is used to simulate the time period for the achievement of target set by MDGs and universal access also. The results indicate an improvement in HOI for a reduction in child mortality rates from 52.1% in 2001-02 to 67.3% in 2012-13, which confirms the availability of healthcare opportunities to a larger segment of society. Similarly, immunization against measles and other diseases such as Diphtheria, Polio, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and Hepatitis has also registered an improvement from 51.6% to 69.9% during the period of study at the national level. On a positive note, no gender disparity has been found for child health indicators and that health outcome is mostly affected by the parental and geographical features and availability of health infrastructure. However, the study finds that this achievement has been uneven across provinces. Pakistan is not only lagging behind in achieving its health goals, disappointingly with the current rate of health care provision, but it will take many additional years to achieve its targets.Keywords: Socio-economic circumstances, unmet MDGs, public healthcare services, child and infant mortality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11258636 The Anti-Noise System for Rail Brakes on Hump Yards
Authors: Brigita Altenbaher
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The friction between two metal surfaces results in a high frequency noise (squealing) which also occurs during the braking of wagons with rail brakes in the process of shunting at a marshalling yard with a hump. At that point the noise level may exceed 130dB, which is extremely unpleasant for workers and inhabitants. In our research we developed a new composite material which does not change braking properties, is capable of taking extremely high pressure loads, reduces noise and is environmentally friendly. The noise reduction results had been very good and had shown a decrease of the high frequency noise almost completely (by 99%) at its source. With our technology we had also reduced general noise by more than 30dBA.Keywords: Composite heavily fluid compound, hump yard, noise reduction, rail brakes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22578635 Parallel Image Compression and Analysis with Wavelets
Authors: M. Kutila, J. Viitanen
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This paper presents image compression with wavelet based method. The wavelet transformation divides image to low- and high pass filtered parts. The traditional JPEG compression technique requires lower computation power with feasible losses, when only compression is needed. However, there is obvious need for wavelet based methods in certain circumstances. The methods are intended to the applications in which the image analyzing is done parallel with compression. Furthermore, high frequency bands can be used to detect changes or edges. Wavelets enable hierarchical analysis for low pass filtered sub-images. The first analysis can be done for a small image, and only if any interesting is found, the whole image is processed or reconstructed.
Keywords: image compression, jpeg, wavelet, vlc
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17848634 Pythagorean-Platonic Lattice Method for Finding all Co-Prime Right Angle Triangles
Authors: Anthony Overmars, Sitalakshmi Venkatraman
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This paper presents a method for determining all of the co-prime right angle triangles in the Euclidean field by looking at the intersection of the Pythagorean and Platonic right angle triangles and the corresponding lattice that this produces. The co-prime properties of each lattice point representing a unique right angle triangle are then considered. This paper proposes a conjunction between these two ancient disparaging theorists. This work has wide applications in information security where cryptography involves improved ways of finding tuples of prime numbers for secure communication systems. In particular, this paper has direct impact in enhancing the encryption and decryption algorithms in cryptography.
Keywords: Pythagorean triples, platonic triples, right angle triangles, co-prime numbers, cryptography.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12608633 Static Voltage Stability Margin Enhancement Using SVC and TCSC
Authors: Mohammed Amroune, Hadi Sebaa, Tarek Bouktir
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Reactive power limit of power system is one of the major causes of voltage instability. The only way to save the system from voltage instability is to reduce the reactive power load or add additional reactive power to reaching the point of voltage collapse. In recent times, the application of FACTS devices is a very effective solution to prevent voltage instability due to their fast and very flexible control. In this paper, voltage stability assessment with SVC and TCSC devices is investigated and compared in the modified IEEE 30-bus test system. The fast voltage stability indicator (FVSI) is used to identify weakest bus and to assess the voltage stability of power system.
Keywords: SVC, TCSC, Voltage stability, Fast Voltage Stability Index (FVSI), Reactive power.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 40758632 Currency Exchange Rate Forecasts Using Quantile Regression
Authors: Yuzhi Cai
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In this paper, we discuss a Bayesian approach to quantile autoregressive (QAR) time series model estimation and forecasting. Together with a combining forecasts technique, we then predict USD to GBP currency exchange rates. Combined forecasts contain all the information captured by the fitted QAR models at different quantile levels and are therefore better than those obtained from individual models. Our results show that an unequally weighted combining method performs better than other forecasting methodology. We found that a median AR model can perform well in point forecasting when the predictive density functions are symmetric. However, in practice, using the median AR model alone may involve the loss of information about the data captured by other QAR models. We recommend that combined forecasts should be used whenever possible.Keywords: Exchange rate, quantile regression, combining forecasts.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17778631 ANN Models for Microstrip Line Synthesis and Analysis
Authors: Dr.K.Sri Rama Krishna, J.Lakshmi Narayana, Dr.L.Pratap Reddy
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Microstrip lines, widely used for good reason, are broadband in frequency and provide circuits that are compact and light in weight. They are generally economical to produce since they are readily adaptable to hybrid and monolithic integrated circuit (IC) fabrication technologies at RF and microwave frequencies. Although, the existing EM simulation models used for the synthesis and analysis of microstrip lines are reasonably accurate, they are computationally intensive and time consuming. Neural networks recently gained attention as fast and flexible vehicles to microwave modeling, simulation and optimization. After learning and abstracting from microwave data, through a process called training, neural network models are used during microwave design to provide instant answers to the task learned.This paper presents simple and accurate ANN models for the synthesis and analysis of Microstrip lines to more accurately compute the characteristic parameters and the physical dimensions respectively for the required design specifications.Keywords: Neural Models, Algorithms, Microstrip Lines, Analysis, Synthesis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21508630 An Automation of Check Focusing on CRUD for Requirements Analysis Model in UML
Authors: Shinpei Ogata, Yoshitaka Aoki, Hirotaka Okuda, Saeko Matsuura
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A key to success of high quality software development is to define valid and feasible requirements specification. We have proposed a method of model-driven requirements analysis using Unified Modeling Language (UML). The main feature of our method is to automatically generate a Web user interface mock-up from UML requirements analysis model so that we can confirm validity of input/output data for each page and page transition on the system by directly operating the mock-up. This paper proposes a support method to check the validity of a data life cycle by using a model checking tool “UPPAAL" focusing on CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete). Exhaustive checking improves the quality of requirements analysis model which are validated by the customers through automatically generated mock-up. The effectiveness of our method is discussed by a case study of requirements modeling of two small projects which are a library management system and a supportive sales system for text books in a university.Keywords: CRUD, Model Checking, Model Driven Development, Requirements Analysis, Unified Modeling Language, UPPAAL.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16738629 Thermal Analysis of a Sliding Electric Contact System Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Adrian T. Pleșca
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In this paper a three dimensional thermal model of a sliding contact system is proposed for both steady-state or transient conditions. The influence of contact force, electric current and ambient temperature on the temperature distribution, has been investigated. A thermal analysis of the different type of the graphite material of fixed electric contact and its influence on contact system temperature rise, has been performed. To validate the three dimensional thermal model, some experimental tests have been done. There is a good correlation between experimental and simulation results.Keywords: Sliding electric contact, temperature distribution, thermal analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21318628 An Experimental Comparison of Unsupervised Learning Techniques for Face Recognition
Authors: Dinesh Kumar, C.S. Rai, Shakti Kumar
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Face Recognition has always been a fascinating research area. It has drawn the attention of many researchers because of its various potential applications such as security systems, entertainment, criminal identification etc. Many supervised and unsupervised learning techniques have been reported so far. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Self Organizing Maps (SOM) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) are the three techniques among many others as proposed by different researchers for Face Recognition, known as the unsupervised techniques. This paper proposes integration of the two techniques, SOM and PCA, for dimensionality reduction and feature selection. Simulation results show that, though, the individual techniques SOM and PCA itself give excellent performance but the combination of these two can also be utilized for face recognition. Experimental results also indicate that for the given face database and the classifier used, SOM performs better as compared to other unsupervised learning techniques. A comparison of two proposed methodologies of SOM, Local and Global processing, shows the superiority of the later but at the cost of more computational time.
Keywords: Face Recognition, Principal Component Analysis, Self Organizing Maps, Independent Component Analysis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18808627 Exploring Structure of Mobile Ecosystem: Inter-Industry Network Analysis Approach
Authors: Yongyoon Suh, Chulhyun Kim, Moon-soo Kim
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As increasing importance of symbiosis and cooperation among mobile communication industries, the mobile ecosystem has been especially highlighted in academia and practice. The structure of mobile ecosystem is quite complex and the ecological role of actors is important to understand that structure. In this respect, this study aims to explore structure of mobile ecosystem in the case of Korea using inter-industry network analysis. Then, the ecological roles in mobile ecosystem are identified using centrality measures as a result of network analysis: degree of centrality, closeness, and betweenness. The result shows that the manufacturing and service industries are separate. Also, the ecological roles of some actors are identified based on the characteristics of ecological terms: keystone, niche, and dominator. Based on the result of this paper, we expect that the policy makers can formulate the future of mobile industry and healthier mobile ecosystem can be constructed.
Keywords: Mobile ecosystem, structure, ecological roles, network analysis, network index.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20688626 Modelling of a Stress-Strain State of Screws of Transpedicular Spine Fixation System
Authors: Oleksandr Poliakov, Genadiy Olinichenko, Yevgen Pashkov, Vadym Kramar, Mykhaylo Kalinin
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For maintenance of a spine stability during the postoperative period a transpedicular fixing of its elements is often used. Usually the transpedicular systems are formed of rods which as a result form a design of the frame type, fastening by screws to vertebras. Such design should be rigid and perceive loadings operating from the spine without essential deformations. From the perfection point of view of known designs their stress whole, and each of elements, in particular is of interest. In this study the modeling of the transpedicular screw is performed and estimation of its deformations taking into account interaction with a vertebra body having variable structure is made.Keywords: Spine, screw, stress-strain state, transpedicular fixation system, vertebra
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15248625 Identification of the Causes of Construction Delay in Malaysia
Authors: N. Hamzah, M.A. Khoiry, I. Arshad, W.H.W. Badaruzzaman, N. M. Tawil
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Construction delay is unavoidable in developing countries including Malaysia. It is defined as time overrun or extension of time for completion of a project. The purpose of the study is to determine the causes of delay in Malaysian construction industries based on previous worldwide research. The field survey conducted includes the experienced developers, consultants and contractors in Malaysia. 34 causes of the construction delay have been determined and 24 have been selected using the Rasch model analysis. The analysis result will be used as the baseline for the next research to find the causes of delay in the Malaysian construction industry taking place in Malaysian higher learning institutions.Keywords: Causes of construction delay, construction projects, Malaysian construction industry, Rasch model analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 75728624 Comparative Performance Analysis of Nonlinearity Cancellation Techniques for MOS-C Realization in Integrator Circuits
Authors: Hasan Çiçekli, Ahmet Gökçen, Uğur Çam
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In this paper, a comparative performance analysis of mostly used four nonlinearity cancellation techniques used to realize the passive resistor by MOS transistors, is presented. The comparison is done by using an integrator circuit which is employing sequentially Op-amp, OTRA and ICCII as active element. All of the circuits are implemented by MOS-C realization and simulated by PSPICE program using 0.35μm process TSMC MOSIS model parameters. With MOS-C realization, the circuits became electronically tunable and fully integrable which is very important in IC design. The output waveforms, frequency responses, THD analysis results and features of the nonlinearity cancellation techniques are also given.Keywords: Integrator circuits, MOS-C realization, nonlinearity cancellation, tunable resistors.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21168623 Opto-Mechanical Characterization of Aspheric Lenses from the Hybrid Method
Authors: Aliouane Toufik, Hamdi Amine, Bouzid Djamel
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Aspheric optical components are an alternative to the use of conventional lenses in the implementation of imaging systems for the visible range. Spherical lenses are capable of producing aberrations. Therefore, they are not able to focus all the light into a single point. Instead, aspherical lenses correct aberrations and provide better resolution even with compact lenses incorporating a small number of lenses.
Metrology of these components is very difficult especially when the resolution requirements increase and insufficient or complexity of conventional tools requires the development of specific approaches to characterization.
This work is part of the problem existed because the objectives are the study and comparison of different methods used to measure surface rays hybrid aspherical lenses.
Keywords: Aspherical surface, Manufacture of lenses, precision molding, radius of curvature, roughness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20158622 A Framework to Support the Design of Mobile Applications
Authors: E. Platzer
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This paper introduces a framework that aims to support the design and development of mobile services. The traditional innovation process and its supporting instruments in form of creativity tools, acceptance research and user-generated content analysis are screened for potentials for improvement. The result is a reshaped innovation process where acceptance research and usergenerated content analysis are fully integrated within a creativity tool. Advantages of this method are the enhancement of design relevant information for developers and designers and the possibility to forecast market success.Keywords: design support, innovation support, technology acceptance, user-generated content analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14528621 Sensitivity Analysis during the Optimization Process Using Genetic Algorithms
Authors: M. A. Rubio, A. Urquia
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Genetic algorithms (GA) are applied to the solution of high-dimensional optimization problems. Additionally, sensitivity analysis (SA) is usually carried out to determine the effect on optimal solutions of changes in parameter values of the objective function. These two analyses (i.e., optimization and sensitivity analysis) are computationally intensive when applied to high-dimensional functions. The approach presented in this paper consists in performing the SA during the GA execution, by statistically analyzing the data obtained of running the GA. The advantage is that in this case SA does not involve making additional evaluations of the objective function and, consequently, this proposed approach requires less computational effort than conducting optimization and SA in two consecutive steps.Keywords: Optimization, sensitivity, genetic algorithms, model calibration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14748620 Design Modelling Control and Simulation of DC/DC Power Buck Converter
Authors: H. Abaali
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The power buck converter is the most widely used DC/DC converter topology. They have a very large application area such as DC motor drives, photovoltaic power system which require fast transient responses and high efficiency over a wide range of load current. This work proposes, the modelling of DC/DC power buck converter using state-space averaging method and the current-mode control using a proportional-integral controller. The efficiency of the proposed model and control loop are evaluated with operating point changes. The simulation results proved the effectiveness of the linear model of DC/DC power buck converter.Keywords: DC/DC power buck converter, Linear current control, State-space averaging method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34798619 Discriminant Analysis as a Function of Predictive Learning to Select Evolutionary Algorithms in Intelligent Transportation System
Authors: Jorge A. Ruiz-Vanoye, Ocotlán Díaz-Parra, Alejandro Fuentes-Penna, Daniel Vélez-Díaz, Edith Olaco García
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In this paper, we present the use of the discriminant analysis to select evolutionary algorithms that better solve instances of the vehicle routing problem with time windows. We use indicators as independent variables to obtain the classification criteria, and the best algorithm from the generic genetic algorithm (GA), random search (RS), steady-state genetic algorithm (SSGA), and sexual genetic algorithm (SXGA) as the dependent variable for the classification. The discriminant classification was trained with classic instances of the vehicle routing problem with time windows obtained from the Solomon benchmark. We obtained a classification of the discriminant analysis of 66.7%.
Keywords: Intelligent transportation systems, data-mining techniques, evolutionary algorithms, discriminant analysis, machine learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1547