Search results for: evolutionary rate
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2998

Search results for: evolutionary rate

1258 Cold Model Experimental Research on Particle Velocity Distribution in Gas-Solid Circulating Fluidized Bed for Methanol-to-Olefins Process

Authors: Yongzheng Li, Hongfang Ma, Qiwen Sun, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying

Abstract:

Radial profiles of particle velocities were investigated in a 6.1m high methanol-to-olefins cold model experimental device using a TSI laser Doppler velocimeter. The effect of axial height on flow development was not obvious in fully developed region under the same operating condition. Superficial gas velocity and solid circulating rate had significant influence on particle velocity in the center region of the riser. Besides, comparisons among rising, descending and average particle velocity were conducted. The particle average velocity was similar to the rising particle velocity and higher than the descending particle velocity in radial locations except the wall region of riser.

Keywords: Circulating fluidized bed, laser doppler velocimeter, particle velocity, radial profile.

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1257 Some Aspects of Study the Leaching and Acid Corrosion of Concrete

Authors: Alena Sicakova, Adriana Estokova

Abstract:

Although properly made concrete is inherently a durable material, there are many physical and chemical forces in the environment which can contribute to its deterioration. This paper deals with two aspects of concrete durability in chemical aggressive environment: degradation effect of particular aggressive exposure and role of particular mineral additives. Results of the study of leaching and acid corrosion processes in samples prepared with specific dosage of microsilica and zeolite are given in the paper.

Corrosion progress after 60-day exposition is manifested by increasing rate of both Ca and Si release, what is identified by XRF method. Kind and dosage of additions used in experiment was found to be helpful for stabilization of concrete microstructure.The lowest concentration of mean elements in leachates was observed for mixture V1 (microsilica only) unlike the V2 (microsilica + zeolite). It is surprising in the terms of recommendations of zeolite application for acid exposure. Using microsilica only seems to be more effective.

Keywords: Sustainability, durability, concrete, acid corrosion, leaching.

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1256 The Impact of Crop Rotation and N Fertilization on the Leaf Area Index, Leaf Disease and Yield of Winter Wheat

Authors: E. Vári, K. Máriás

Abstract:

The research focused on the effects of previous cropping and fertilizers on the LAI, rhythm of the dry matter, leaf disease intensity and amount of yield. Long term field experiments’ results proved that the previous crop fundamentally determines size, rate and dynamics of the dry matter formation in the spring time vegetation period. The LAI index and crop results of winter wheat can be influenced mainly by raising the fertilizer amount. N fertilization has an outstanding role in the changes in leaf area index (LAI), weight of dry matter and yield of winter wheat. According to our results, the interaction effect of leaf area index, weight of dry matter and fertilization resulted in the maximum yield in biculture and triculture.

Keywords: Crop rotation, Leaf Area Index, leaf disease of winter wheat.

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1255 Chaos Theory and Application in Foreign Exchange Rates vs. IRR (Iranian Rial)

Authors: M. A. Torkamani, S. Mahmoodzadeh, S. Pourroostaei, C. Lucas

Abstract:

Daily production of information and importance of the sequence of produced data in forecasting future performance of market causes analysis of data behavior to become a problem of analyzing time series. But time series that are very complicated, usually are random and as a result their changes considered being unpredictable. While these series might be products of a deterministic dynamical and nonlinear process (chaotic) and as a result be predictable. Point of Chaotic theory view, complicated systems have only chaotically face and as a result they seem to be unregulated and random, but it is possible that they abide by a specified math formula. In this article, with regard to test of strange attractor and biggest Lyapunov exponent probability of chaos on several foreign exchange rates vs. IRR (Iranian Rial) has been investigated. Results show that data in this market have complex chaotic behavior with big degree of freedom.

Keywords: Chaos, Exchange Rate, Nonlinear Models.

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1254 ML Detection with Symbol Estimation for Nonlinear Distortion of OFDM Signal

Authors: Somkiat Lerkvaranyu, Yoshikazu Miyanaga

Abstract:

In this paper, a new technique of signal detection has been proposed for detecting the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal in the presence of nonlinear distortion.There are several advantages of OFDM communications system.However, one of the existing problems is remain considered as the nonlinear distortion generated by high-power-amplifier at the transmitter end due to the large dynamic range of an OFDM signal. The proposed method is the maximum likelihood detection with the symbol estimation. When the training data are available, the neural network has been used to learn the characteristic of received signal and to estimate the new positions of the transmitted symbol which are provided to the maximum likelihood detector. Resulting in the system performance, the nonlinear distortions of a traveling wave tube amplifier with OFDM signal are considered in this paper.Simulation results of the bit-error-rate performance are obtained with 16-QAM OFDM systems.

Keywords: OFDM, TWTA, nonlinear distortion, detection.

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1253 Performance Evaluation of One and Two Dimensional Prime Codes for Optical Code Division Multiple Access Systems

Authors: Gurjit Kaur, Neena Gupta

Abstract:

In this paper, we have analyzed and compared the performance of various coding schemes. The basic ID prime sequence codes are unique in only dimension, i.e. time slots, whereas 2D coding techniques are not unique by their time slots but with their wavelengths also. In this research, we have evaluated and compared the performance of 1D and 2D coding techniques constructed using prime sequence coding pattern for Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) system on a single platform. Analysis shows that 2D prime code supports lesser number of active users than 1D codes, but they are having large code family and are the most secure codes compared to other codes. The performance of all these codes is analyzed on basis of number of active users supported at a Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10-9.

Keywords: CDMA, OCDMA, BER, OOC, PC, EPC, MPC, 2-D PC/PC, λc, λa.

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1252 Implied Adjusted Volatility by Leland Option Pricing Models: Evidence from Australian Index Options

Authors: Mimi Hafizah Abdullah, Hanani Farhah Harun, Nik Ruzni Nik Idris

Abstract:

With the implied volatility as an important factor in financial decision-making, in particular in option pricing valuation, and also the given fact that the pricing biases of Leland option pricing models and the implied volatility structure for the options are related, this study considers examining the implied adjusted volatility smile patterns and term structures in the S&P/ASX 200 index options using the different Leland option pricing models. The examination of the implied adjusted volatility smiles and term structures in the Australian index options market covers the global financial crisis in the mid-2007. The implied adjusted volatility was found to escalate approximately triple the rate prior the crisis.

Keywords: Implied adjusted volatility, Financial crisis, Leland option pricing models.

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1251 Decision Making during the Project Management Life Cycle of Infrastructure Projects

Authors: Karrar Raoof Kareem Kamoona, Enas Fathi Taher AlHares, Zeynep Isik

Abstract:

The various disciplines in the construction industry and the co-existence of the people in the various disciplines are what builds well-developed, closely-knit interpersonal skills at various hierarchical levels thus leading to a varied way of leadership. The varied decision making aspects during the lifecycle of a project include: autocratic, participatory and last but not least, free-rein. We can classify some of the decision makers in the construction industry in a hierarchical manner as follows: project executive, project manager, superintendent, office engineer and finally the field engineer. This survey looked at how decisions are made during the construction period by the key stakeholders in the project. From the paper it is evident that the three decision making aspects can be used at different times or at times together in order to bring out the best leadership decision. A blend of different leadership styles should be used to enhance the success rate during the project lifecycle.

Keywords: Leadership style, construction, decision-making, built environment.

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1250 Analysis of Detecting Wormhole Attack in Wireless Networks

Authors: Khin Sandar Win

Abstract:

In multi hop wireless systems, such as ad hoc and sensor networks, mobile ad hoc network applications are deployed, security emerges as a central requirement. A particularly devastating attack is known as the wormhole attack, where two or more malicious colluding nodes create a higher level virtual tunnel in the network, which is employed to transport packets between the tunnel end points. These tunnels emulate shorter links in the network. In which adversary records transmitted packets at one location in the network, tunnels them to another location, and retransmits them into the network. The wormhole attack is possible even if the attacker has not compromised any hosts and even if all communication provides authenticity and confidentiality. In this paper, we analyze wormhole attack nature in ad hoc and sensor networks and existing methods of the defending mechanism to detect wormhole attacks without require any specialized hardware. This analysis able to provide in establishing a method to reduce the rate of refresh time and the response time to become more faster.

Keywords: Ad hoc network, Sensor network, Wormhole attack, defending mechanism.

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1249 Saturated Gain of Doped Multilayer Quantum Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Authors: Omar Qasaimeh

Abstract:

The effect of the number of quantum dot (QD) layers on the saturated gain of doped QD semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) has been studied using multi-population coupled rate equations. The developed model takes into account the effect of carrier coupling between adjacent layers. It has been found that increasing the number of QD layers (K) increases the unsaturated optical gain for K<8 and approximately has no effect on the unsaturated gain for K ≥ 8. Our analysis shows that the optimum ptype concentration that maximizes the unsaturated optical gain of the ground state is NA Ôëê 0.75 ×1018cm-3 . On the other hand, it has been found that the saturated optical gain for both the ground state and the excited state are strong function of both the doping concentration and K where we find that it is required to dope the dots with n-type concentration for very large K at high photon energy.

Keywords: doping, multilayer, quantum dot optical amplifier, saturated gain.

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1248 Determinants for Success in Expatriation of Malaysian International Corporations

Authors: Senian Malie, Oriah Akir

Abstract:

Malaysian corporations going global increased many folds. The shift from domestic to international operations requires increased expatriation to achieve global business goals. Therefore, this study aims to identify the determinants for success in expatriation of Malaysian international corporations. There are certain attributes necessary for a global employee to succeed in international assignment. Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 327 respondents with a response rate of 35.2 percent. The results indicated that most Malaysian manufacturers are involved in expatriation. For a global employee to succeed in an international assignment, the ability to work in international teams was identified and ranked as the most important factor in determining the effectiveness of expatriation followed by language proficiency, adaptability to the international assignment and expatriate sensitivity to cultural elements. The results support previous research with regard to the importance of an effective expatriation selection process in order for a company-s international expansion strategy to succeed.

Keywords: Key Competencies, Expatriate, Expatriation, Globalization, and International Assignment

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1247 Impact of Metallic Furniture on UWB Channel Statistical Characteristics by BER

Authors: Yu-Shuai Chen , Chien-Ching Chiu , Chung-Hsin Huang, Chien-Hung Chen

Abstract:

The bit error rate (BER) performance for ultra-wide band (UWB) indoor communication with impact of metallic furniture is investigated. The impulse responses of different indoor environments for any transmitter and receiver location are computed by shooting and bouncing ray/image and inverse Fourier transform techniques. By using the impulse responses of these multipath channels, the BER performance for binary pulse amplitude modulation (BPAM) impulse radio UWB communication system are calculated. Numerical results have shown that the multi-path effect by the metallic cabinets is an important factor for BER performance. Also the outage probability for the UWB multipath environment with metallic cabinets is more serious (about 18%) than with wooden cabinets. Finally, it is worth noting that in these cases the present work provides not only comparative information but also quantitative information on the performance reduction.

Keywords: UWB, multipath, outage probability.

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1246 Effect of Mode Loading on FCRG Plate with Double Through Crack at Hole

Authors: M. Benachour, N. Benachour, M. Benguediab, A. Hadjoui

Abstract:

The knowledge of the nature of loading is very important in order to hold account on the total behavior such as vibration, shock, fatigue, etc. Fatigue present 90% of failure when loadings fatigues are very complex. In this paper a study of double through crack at hole for plate subjected to fatigue loading is presented. Various modes loading are studied where the applied load is the same one. The fatigue life is given where the effect of stress ratio is highlighted. This work is conducted on aluminum alloy 2024 T351 used for much aerospace and aeronautics applications. The fatigue crack growth behavior with constant amplitude is studied using the AFGROW code when Forman model is applied. The fatigue crack growth rate and fatigue life for different loading modes are compared with variation of others geometrical parameter such as thickness and dimensions of notch hole.

Keywords: Fatigue crack, mode loading, aluminum alloy

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1245 Trabecular Bone Radiograph Characterization Using Fractal, Multifractal Analysis and SVM Classifier

Authors: I. Slim, H. Akkari, A. Ben Abdallah, I. Bhouri, M. Hedi Bedoui

Abstract:

Osteoporosis is a common disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of micro-architectural bone tissue, which provokes an increased risk of fracture. This work treats the texture characterization of trabecular bone radiographs. The aim was to analyze according to clinical research a group of 174 subjects: 87 osteoporotic patients (OP) with various bone fracture types and 87 control cases (CC). To characterize osteoporosis, Fractal and MultiFractal (MF) methods were applied to images for features (attributes) extraction. In order to improve the results, a new method of MF spectrum based on the q-stucture function calculation was proposed and a combination of Fractal and MF attributes was used. The Support Vector Machines (SVM) was applied as a classifier to distinguish between OP patients and CC subjects. The features fusion (fractal and MF) allowed a good discrimination between the two groups with an accuracy rate of 96.22%.

Keywords: Fractal, micro-architecture analysis, multifractal, SVM, osteoporosis.

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1244 Zamzam Water as Corrosion Inhibitor for Steel Rebar in Rainwater and Simulated Acid Rain

Authors: Ahmed A. Elshami, Stéphanie Bonnet, Abdelhafid Khelidj

Abstract:

Corrosion inhibitors are widely used in concrete industry to reduce the corrosion rate of steel rebar which is present in contact with aggressive environments. The present work aims to using Zamzam water from well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia 20 m (66 ft) east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam as corrosion inhibitor for steel in rain water and simulated acid rain. The effect of Zamzam water was investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Potentiodynamic polarization techniques in Department of Civil Engineering - IUT Saint-Nazaire, Nantes University, France. Zamzam water is considered to be one of the most important steel corrosion inhibitor which is frequently used in different industrial applications. Results showed that zamzam water gave a very good inhibition for steel corrosion in rain water and simulated acid rain.

Keywords: Zamzam water, corrosion inhibitor, rain water and simulated acid rain.

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1243 Global Exponential Stability of Impulsive BAM Fuzzy Cellular Neural Networks with Time Delays in the Leakage Terms

Authors: Liping Zhang, Kelin Li

Abstract:

In this paper, a class of impulsive BAM fuzzy cellular neural networks with time delays in the leakage terms is formulated and investigated. By establishing a delay differential inequality and M-matrix theory, some sufficient conditions ensuring the existence, uniqueness and global exponential stability of equilibrium point for impulsive BAM fuzzy cellular neural networks with time delays in the leakage terms are obtained. In particular, a precise estimate of the exponential convergence rate is also provided, which depends on system parameters and impulsive perturbation intention. It is believed that these results are significant and useful for the design and applications of BAM fuzzy cellular neural networks. An example is given to show the effectiveness of the results obtained here.

Keywords: Global exponential stability, bidirectional associative memory, fuzzy cellular neural networks, leakage delays, impulses.

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1242 Dissolution Leaching Kinetics of Ulexite in Sodium Dihydrogen Phosphate Solutions

Authors: Emine Teke, Soner Kuşlu, Sabri Çolak, Turan Çalban

Abstract:

The aim of the present study was to investigate the dissolution kinetics of ulexite in sodium dihydrogen phosphate in a mechanical agitation system and also to declare an alternative reactant to produce the boric acid. Reaction temperature, concentration of sodium dihydrogen phosphate, stirring speed, solid-liquid ratio, and ulexite particle size were selected as parameters. The experimental results were successfully correlated by using linear regression and a statistical program. Dissolution curves were evaluated in order to test the shrinking core models for solid-fluid systems. It was observed that increase in the reaction temperature and decrease in the solid/liquid ratio causes an increase in the dissolution rate of ulexite. The activation energy was found to be 36.4 kJ/mol. The leaching of ulexite was controlled by diffusion through the ash (or product) layer.

Keywords: Sodium dihydrogen phosphate, leaching kinetics, ulexite.

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1241 A Lifetime-Guaranteed Routing Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: Jae Keun Park, Sung Je Hong, Kyong Hoon Kim, Tae Heum Kang, Wan Yeon Lee

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a routing scheme that guarantees the residual lifetime of wireless sensor networks where each sensor node operates with a limited budget of battery energy. The scheme maximizes the communications QoS while sustaining the residual battery lifetime of the network for a specified duration. Communication paths of wireless nodes are translated into a directed acyclic graph(DAG) and the maximum-flow algorithm is applied to the graph. The found maximum flow are assigned to sender nodes, so as to maximize their communication QoS. Based on assigned flows, the scheme determines the routing path and the transmission rate of data packet so that any sensor node on the path would not exhaust its battery energy before a specified duration.

Keywords: Sensor network, battery, residual lifetime, routingscheme, QoS

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1240 Study of Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship Development among Iranian Women (Case Entrepreneur Women)

Authors: F. Niazkar, N. Arab-Moghaddam

Abstract:

In this research, effort was made to identify and evaluate barriers to the development of entrepreneurship among Iranian entrepreneur women who were graduated from universities. In this study, perspectives of thirty-seven available entrepreneur women were examined. In order to prepare questionnaires and receive knowledge about barriers among these women, seven cases of entrepreneur women took part in in-depth interviews. Then, to evaluate the importance of barriers, the researchers made a questionnaire with closed questions in which the barriers were classified into the following categories: personal-familial barriers; socio-cultural barriers; economic-financial-commercial barriers; and structural barriers. Entrepreneur women were requested to rate the importance of each item. The results indicated that there were different obstacles among entrepreneur women. The order of the important barriers was as fallow: economic-financial-commercial, structural, socio-cultural, and personal-familial.

Keywords: Barriers to Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur Women

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1239 Experimental Study on the Vibration Isolation Performance of Metal-Net Rubber Vibration Absorber

Authors: Su Yi Ming, Hou Ying, Zou Guang Ping

Abstract:

Metal-net rubber is a new dry friction damping material, compared with the traditional metal rubber, which has high mechanization degree, and the mechanical performance of metal-net rubber is more stable. Through the sine sweep experiment and random vibration experiment of metal-net rubber vibration isolator, the influence of several important factors such as the lines slope, relative density and wire diameter on the transfer rate, natural frequency and root-mean-square response acceleration of metal-net rubber vibration isolation system, were studied through the method of control variables. Also, several relevant change curves under different vibration levels were derived, and the effects of vibration level on the natural frequency and root-mean-square response acceleration were analyzed through the curves.

Keywords: Metal-net rubber vibration isolator, relative density, vibration level, wire diameter.

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1238 Closed Form Solution to problem of Calcium Diffusion in Cylindrical Shaped Neuron Cell

Authors: Amrita Tripathi, Neeru Adlakha

Abstract:

Calcium [Ca2+] dynamics is studied as a potential form of neuron excitability that can control many irregular processes like metabolism, secretion etc. Ca2+ ion enters presynaptic terminal and increases the synaptic strength and thus triggers the neurotransmitter release. The modeling and analysis of calcium dynamics in neuron cell becomes necessary for deeper understanding of the processes involved. A mathematical model has been developed for cylindrical shaped neuron cell by incorporating physiological parameters like buffer, diffusion coefficient, and association rate. Appropriate initial and boundary conditions have been framed. The closed form solution has been developed in terms of modified Bessel function. A computer program has been developed in MATLAB 7.11 for the whole approach.

Keywords: Laplace Transform, Modified Bessel function, reaction diffusion equation, diffusion coefficient, excess buffer, calcium influx

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1237 A Pilot Study for the Optimization of Routes for Waste Collection Vehicles for the Göçmenköy District of Lefkoşa

Authors: Nergiz Fırıncı, Aysun Çelik, Ertan Akün, Md. Atif Khan

Abstract:

A pilot project was carried out in 2007 by the senior students of Cyprus International University, aiming to minimize the total cost of waste collection in Northern Cyprus. Many developed and developing countries have cut their transportation costs – which lies between 30-40% – down at a rate of 40% percent, by implementing network models for their route assignments. Accordingly, a network model was implemented at Göçmenköy district, to optimize and standardize waste collection works. The work environment of the employees were also redesigned to provide maximum ergonomy and to increase productivity, efficiency and safety. Following the collection of the required data including waste densities, lengths of roads and population, a model was constructed to allocate the optimal route assignment for the waste collection trucks at Göçmenköy district.

Keywords: Minimization, waste collection, operations cost, transportation, ergonomy, productivity.

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1236 Poverty, Inequality and Growth: A Survey of the Literature and Some Facts from Turkey

Authors: Fatma Didin Sonmez

Abstract:

This survey of recent literature examines the link between growth and poverty. It is widely accepted that economic growth is a necessary condition for sustainable poverty reduction. But it is the fact that the economic growth of some countries has been pro-poor while others not. Some factors such as labor market, policies and demographic factors may lead to a weak relationship between economic performance and poverty rate. In this sense pro-growth policies should be pro-poor to increase the poverty alleviation effects of the growth. The purpose of this study is to review the recent studies on the effects of macroeconomic policies on poverty and inequality and to review the poverty analyses which examine the relationship between growth, poverty and inequality. Also this study provides some facts about the relationship between economic growth, inequality and poverty from Turkey. Keywordseconomic growth, inequality, macroeconomic policy, poverty

Keywords: economic growth, inequality, macroeconomic policy, poverty

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1235 Laboratory Investigations on Mechanical Properties of High Volume Fly Ash Concrete and Composite Sections

Authors: Aravindkumar B. Harwalkar, S. S. Awanti

Abstract:

Use of fly ash as a supplementary cementing material in large volumes can bring both technological and economic benefits for concrete industry. In this investigation mix proportions for high volume fly ash concrete were determined at cement replacement levels of 50%, 55%, 60% and 65% with low calcium fly ash. Flexural and compressive strengths of different mixes were measured at ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. Flexural strength of composite section prepared from pavement quality and lean high volume fly ash concrete was determined at the age of 28 days. High volume fly ash concrete mixes exhibited higher rate of strength gain and age factors than corresponding reference concrete mixes. The optimum cement replacement level for pavement quality concrete was found to be 60%. The consideration of bond between pavement quality and lean of high volume fly ash concrete will be beneficial in design of rigid pavements.

Keywords: Keywords—Composite section, Compressive strength, Flexural strength, Fly ash.

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1234 The Risk Assessment of Cancer Risk during Normal Operation of Tehran Research Reactor Due to Radioactive Gas Emission

Authors: B. Salmasian, A. Rabiee, T. Yousefzadeh

Abstract:

In this research, the risk assessment of radiation hazard for the Research Nuclear Reactor has been studied. In the current study, the MCNPx computational code has been used and coupled with a developed program using MATLAB software to evaluate Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) and cancer risk according to the BEIR equations for various human organs. In this study, the risk assessment of cancer has been calculated for ten years after exposure, in each of body organs of different ages and sexes. Also, the risk assessment of cancer has been calculated in each of body organs of different ages and sexes due to exposure after the retirement of the reactor staff. According to obtained results, a conservative whole-body dose rate, during a year, is 0.261 Sv and the probability the cancer risk for women is more than men and for children is more than adults. It has been shown that thyroid cancer was more possible than others.

Keywords: MCNPx code, BEIR equation, equivalent dose, risk analysis.

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1233 Limitation Imposed by Polarization-Dependent Loss on a Fiber Optic Communication System

Authors: Farhan Hussain, M.S.Islam

Abstract:

Analytically the effect of polarization dependent loss on a high speed fiber optic communication link has been investigated. PDL and the signal's incoming state of polarization (SOP) have a significant co-relation between them and their various combinations produces different effects on the system behavior which has been inspected. Pauli's spin operator and PDL parameters are combined together to observe the attenuation effect induced by PDL in a link containing multiple PDL elements. It is found that in the presence of PDL the Q-factor and BER at the receiver undergoes fluctuation causing the system to be unstable and results show that it is mainly due to optical-signal-to-parallel-noise ratio (OSNItpar) that these parameters fluctuate. Generally the Q-factor, BER deteriorates as the value of average PDL in the link increases except for depolarized light for which the system parameters improves when PDL increases.

Keywords: Bit Error Rate (BER), Optical-signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), Polarization-dependent loss (PDL), State of polarization (SOP).

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1232 Viscosity of Vegetable Oils and Biodiesel and Energy Generation

Authors: Thiago de O. Macedo, Roberto G. Pereira, Juan M. Pardal, Alexandre S. Soares, Valdir deJ. Lameira

Abstract:

The present work describes an experimental investigation concerning the determination of viscosity behavior with shear rate and temperature of edible oils: canola; sunflower; corn; soybean and the no edible oil: Jatropha curcas. Besides these, it was tested a blend of canola, corn and sunflower oils as well as sunflower and soybean biodiesel. Based on experiments, it was obtained shear stress and viscosity at different shear rates of each sample at 40ºC, as well as viscosity of each sample at various temperatures in the range of 24 to 85ºC. Furthermore, it was compared the curves obtained for the viscosity versus temperature with the curves obtained by modeling the viscosity dependency on temperature using the Vogel equation. Also a test in a stationary engine was performed in order to study the energy generation using blends of soybean oil and soybean biodiesel with diesel.

Keywords: Biofuel, energy generation, vegetable oil, viscosity.

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1231 A Fast Sign Localization System Using Discriminative Color Invariant Segmentation

Authors: G.P. Nguyen, H.J. Andersen

Abstract:

Building intelligent traffic guide systems has been an interesting subject recently. A good system should be able to observe all important visual information to be able to analyze the context of the scene. To do so, signs in general, and traffic signs in particular, are usually taken into account as they contain rich information to these systems. Therefore, many researchers have put an effort on sign recognition field. Sign localization or sign detection is the most important step in the sign recognition process. This step filters out non informative area in the scene, and locates candidates in later steps. In this paper, we apply a new approach in detecting sign locations using a new color invariant model. Experiments are carried out with different datasets introduced in other works where authors claimed the difficulty in detecting signs under unfavorable imaging conditions. Our method is simple, fast and most importantly it gives a high detection rate in locating signs.

Keywords: Sign localization, color-based segmentation.

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1230 Adaptive Group of Pictures Structure Based On the Positions of Video Cuts

Authors: Lenka Krulikovská, Jaroslav Polec, Michal Martinovič

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a method which improves the efficiency of video coding. Our method combines an adaptive GOP (group of pictures) structure and the shot cut detection. We have analyzed different approaches for shot cut detection with aim to choose the most appropriate one. The next step is to situate N frames to the positions of detected cuts during the process of video encoding. Finally the efficiency of the proposed method is confirmed by simulations and the obtained results are compared with fixed GOP structures of sizes 4, 8, 12, 16, 32, 64, 128 and GOP structure with length of entire video. Proposed method achieved the gain in bit rate from 0.37% to 50.59%, while providing PSNR (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio) gain from 1.33% to 0.26% in comparison to simulated fixed GOP structures.

Keywords: Adaptive GOP structure, video coding, video content, shot cut detection.

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1229 Influence of Chirp of High-Speed Laser Diodes and Fiber Dispersion on Performance of Non-Amplified 40-Gbps Optical Fiber Links

Authors: Moustafa Ahmed, Ahmed Bakry, Safwat W. Z. Mahmoud

Abstract:

We model and simulate the combined effect of fiber dispersion and frequency chirp of a directly modulated high-speed laser diode on the figures of merit of a non-amplified 40-Gbps optical fiber link. We consider both the return to zero (RZ) and non-return to zero (NRZ) patterns of the pseudorandom modulation bits. The performance of the fiber communication system is assessed by the fiber-length limitation due to the fiber dispersion. We study the influence of replacing standard single-mode fibers by non-zero dispersion-shifted fibers on the maximum fiber length and evaluate the associated power penalty. We introduce new dispersion tolerances for 1-dB power penalty of the RZ and NRZ 40-Gbps optical fiber links.

Keywords: Bit error rate, dispersion, frequency chirp, fiber communications, semiconductor laser.

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