Search results for: Chris D. Price

Authors: R. G. Ariyawansa, M. A. N. R. M. Perera

Abstract:

“House” is a powerful symbol of socio-economic background of individuals and families. In fact, housing provides all types of needs/wants from basic needs to self-actualization needs. This phenomenon can be realized only having analyzed hidden motives of buyers and sellers of the housing market. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the socio-economic insight of the secondary housing market in Colombo suburbs. This broader aim was achieved via analyzing the general pattern of the secondary housing market, identifying socio-economic motives of sellers of the secondary housing market, and reviewing sellers’ experience of buyer behavior. A purposive sample of 50 sellers from popular residential areas in Colombo such as Maharagama, Kottawa, Piliyandala, Punnipitiya, and Nugegoda was used to collect primary data instead of relevant secondary data from published and unpublished reports. The sample was limited to selling price ranging from Rs15 million to Rs25 million, which apparently falls into middle and upper-middle income houses in the context. Participatory observation and semi-structured interviews were adopted as key data collection tools. Data were descriptively analyzed. This study found that the market is mainly handled by informal agents who are unqualified and unorganized. People such as taxi/tree-wheel drivers, boutique venders, security personals etc. are engaged in housing brokerage as a part time career. Few fulltime and formally organized agents were found but they were also not professionally qualified. As far as housing quality is concerned, it was observed that 90% of houses was poorly maintained and illegally modified. They are situated in poorly maintained neighborhoods as well. Among the observed houses, 2% was moderately maintained and 8% was well maintained and modified. Major socio-economic motives of sellers were “migrating foreign countries for education and employment” (80% and 10% respectively), “family problems” (4%), and “social status” (3%). Other motives were “health” and “environmental/neighborhood problems” (3%). This study further noted that the secondary middle income housing market in the area directly related with the migrants who motivated for education in foreign countries, mainly Australia, UK and USA. As per the literature, families motivated for education tend to migrate Colombo suburbs from remote areas of the country. They are seeking temporary accommodation in lower middle income housing. However, the secondary middle income housing market relates with the migration from Colombo to major global cities. Therefore, final transaction price of this market may depend on migration related dates such as university deadlines, visa and other agreements. Hence, it creates a buyers’ market lowering the selling price. Also it was revealed that the buyers tend to trust more on this market as far as the quality of construction of houses is concerned than brand new houses which are built for selling purpose.

Keywords: Informal housing market, hidden motives of buyers and sellers, secondary housing market, socio-economic insight.

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Authors: Hsuan-Ku Liu

Abstract:

In this paper, the American exchange option (AEO) valuation problem is modelled as a free boundary problem. The critical stock price for an AEO is satisfied an integral equation implicitly. When the remaining time is large enough, an asymptotic formula is provided for pricing an AEO. The numerical results reveal that our asymptotic pricing formula is robust and accurate for the long-term AEO.

Keywords: Integral equation, asymptotic solution, free boundary problem, American exchange option.

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Authors: Mirjana Ruppel, Rajendra Persad, Amit Bahl, Sanja Dogramadzi, Chris Melhuish, Lyndon Smith

Abstract:

Multimodal image registration is a profoundly complex task which is why deep learning has been used widely to address it in recent years. However, two main challenges remain: Firstly, the lack of ground truth data calls for an unsupervised learning approach, which leads to the second challenge of defining a feasible loss function that can compare two images of different modalities to judge their level of alignment. To avoid this issue altogether we implement a generative adversarial network consisting of two registration networks GAB, GBA and two discrimination networks DA, DB connected by spatial transformation layers. GAB learns to generate a deformation field which registers an image of the modality B to an image of the modality A. To do that, it uses the feedback of the discriminator DB which is learning to judge the quality of alignment of the registered image B. GBA and DA learn a mapping from modality A to modality B. Additionally, a cycle-consistency loss is implemented. For this, both registration networks are employed twice, therefore resulting in images ˆA, ˆB which were registered to ˜B, ˜A which were registered to the initial image pair A, B. Thus the resulting and initial images of the same modality can be easily compared. A dataset of liver CT and MRI was used to evaluate the quality of our approach and to compare it against learning and non-learning based registration algorithms. Our approach leads to dice scores of up to 0.80 ± 0.01 and is therefore comparable to and slightly more successful than algorithms like SimpleElastix and VoxelMorph.

Keywords: Multimodal image registration, GAN, cycle consistency, deep learning.

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Authors: Daniela Elena Marinescu, Ioana Manafi, Dumitru Marin

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We consider a Principal-Agent model with the Principal being a seller who does not know perfectly how much the buyer (the Agent) is willing to pay for the good. The buyer-s preferences are hence his private information. The model corresponds to the nonlinear pricing problem of Maskin and Riley. We assume there are three types of Agents. The model is solved using “informational rents" as variables. In the last section we present the main characteristics of the optimal contracts in asymmetric information and some possible extensions of the model.

Keywords: Adverse selection, asymmetric information, informational rent, nonlinear pricing, optimal contract

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Authors: Kazuhide Sugiyama, Hiroshi Osada

Abstract:

Lately management strategy that put Industrial Design (ID) in its core is recognized more important, as technology and price alone cannot differentiate a product. The needs to shorten the time to develop a product also shorten the development period of ID, and it necessitates the ID process management. This research analyzes the status of integration process of ID and Engineering Design (ED) of office equipment that requires the collaboration of ID and ED to clarify the issues for the efficiency of the development and to propose solutions.

Keywords: Industrial Design (ID), Engineering Design (ED), Integration process, Office equipment

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Authors: Muhammed Ordu, Eren Demir, Chris Tofallis

Abstract:

Over the past decade, the non-elective admissions in the UK have increased significantly. Taking into account limited resources (i.e. beds), the related service managers are obliged to manage their resources effectively due to the non-elective admissions which are mostly admitted to inpatient specialities via A&E departments. Geriatric medicine is one of specialities that have long length of stay for the non-elective admissions. This study aims to develop a discrete event simulation model to understand how possible increases on non-elective demand over the next 12 months affect the bed occupancy rate and to determine required number of beds in a geriatric medicine speciality in a UK hospital. In our validated simulation model, we take into account observed frequency distributions which are derived from a big data covering the period April, 2009 to January, 2013, for the non-elective admission and the length of stay. An experimental analysis, which consists of 16 experiments, is carried out to better understand possible effects of case studies and scenarios related to increase on demand and number of bed. As a result, the speciality does not achieve the target level in the base model although the bed occupancy rate decreases from 125.94% to 96.41% by increasing the number of beds by 30%. In addition, the number of required beds is more than the number of beds considered in the scenario analysis in order to meet the bed requirement. This paper sheds light on bed management for service managers in geriatric medicine specialities.

Keywords: Bed management, bed occupancy rate, discrete event simulation, geriatric medicine, non-elective admission.

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Authors: Qiuling Xie, Shanliang Zhu, Zongdi Sun

Abstract:

In this paper, we analyzed the correlation relationship among PM2.5 from other five Air Quality Indices (AQIs) based on the grey relational degree, and built a multivariate nonlinear regression equation model of PM2.5 and the five monitoring indexes. For the optimal control problem of PM2.5, we took the partial large Cauchy distribution of membership equation as satisfaction function. We established a nonlinear programming model with the goal of maximum performance to price ratio. And the optimal control scheme is given.

Keywords: Grey relational degree, multiple linear regression, membership function, nonlinear programming.

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Authors: Liang-Chien Lee, Chih-Hsiang Chang, Ying-Shu Tseng

Abstract:

Comparing with prior studies mainly focused on the effect of a certain event (it may be the initial announcement of bad news or the repeated announcements of identical bad news) on stock price, the aim of this study is to explore how investors react to subsequent bad news with identical content. Empirical results show that as a result of behavioral pitfalls, investors underreact to the initial announcement of the bad news (i.e., unknown bad news) and overreact to the repeated announcements of the identical bad news (i.e., known bad news).

Keywords: Subsequent bad news, Behavioral finance, Investors’ misreaction, Behavioral pitfalls.

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Authors: R. Inkum, A. Teerawutgulrag, P. Puangsombat, N. Rakariyatham

Abstract:

Propranolol is worldwide hypertension drug that is active in S-isomer. Patients must use this drug throughout their lives, and this action employsa significant level of expenditure. A simpler synthesis and lower cost can reduce the price for the patient. A sis pathway of S-propranolol starting from protection of (R,S)-propranolol with di-t-butyldicarbonate and then the product is oxidized with pyridiniumchlorochromate. The selective reduction of ketone occurrs with sodiumborohydride in the presence of metal chloride provided S-propranolol.

Keywords: S-propranolol, selective reduction, sodium borohydride, metal chloride

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Authors: Rafayel K. Kostanyan

Abstract:

The opportunities of use of metallic magnesium as a generator of hydrogen gas, as well as thermal and electric energy is presented in the paper. Various schemes of magnesium application are discussed and power characteristics of corresponding devices are presented. Economic estimation of hydrogen price obtained by different methods is made, including the use of magnesium as a source of hydrogen for transportation in comparison with gasoline. Details and prospects of our new inexpensive technology of magnesium production from magnesium hydroxide and magnesium bearing rocks (which are available worldwide and in Armenia) are analyzed. It is estimated the threshold cost of Mg production at which application of this metal in power engineering is economically justified.

Keywords: Magnesium, power generation, production, renewable energy.

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Authors: Subir Kundu, Sukhendra Singh, Sumedha Ojha, Kanika Kundu

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The continuous decline of petroleum and natural gas reserves and non linear rise of oil price has brought about a realisation of the need for a change in our perpetual dependence on the fossil fuel. A day to day increased consumption of crude and petroleum products has made a considerable impact on our foreign exchange reserves. Hence, an alternate resource for the conversion of energy (both liquid and gas) is essential for the substitution of conventional fuels. Biomass is the alternate solution for the present scenario. Biomass can be converted into both liquid as well as gaseous fuels and other feedstocks for the industries.

Keywords: Bioenergy, Biomass conversion, Biorefining, Efficient utilisation of night soil.

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Authors: Azadeh Rouhandeh, Chris Joslin, Zhen Qu, Yuu Ono

Abstract:

The centre of rotation of the hip joint is needed for an accurate simulation of the joint performance in many applications such as pre-operative planning simulation, human gait analysis, and hip joint disorders. In human movement analysis, the hip joint center can be estimated using a functional method based on the relative motion of the femur to pelvis measured using reflective markers attached to the skin surface. The principal source of errors in estimation of hip joint centre location using functional methods is soft tissue artefacts due to the relative motion between the markers and bone. One of the main objectives in human movement analysis is the assessment of soft tissue artefact as the accuracy of functional methods depends upon it. Various studies have described the movement of soft tissue artefact invasively, such as intra-cortical pins, external fixators, percutaneous skeletal trackers, and Roentgen photogrammetry. The goal of this study is to present a non-invasive method to assess the displacements of the markers relative to the underlying bone using optical motion capture data and tissue thickness from ultrasound measurements during flexion, extension, and abduction (all with knee extended) of the hip joint. Results show that the artefact skin marker displacements are non-linear and larger in areas closer to the hip joint. Also marker displacements are dependent on the movement type and relatively larger in abduction movement. The quantification of soft tissue artefacts can be used as a basis for a correction procedure for hip joint kinematics.

Keywords: Hip joint centre, motion capture, soft tissue artefact, ultrasound depth measurement.

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Authors: Subir Kundu, Sukhendra Singh, Sumedha Ojha, Kanika Kundu

Abstract:

The continuous decline of petroleum and natural gas reserves and non linear rise of oil price has brought about a realisation of the need for a change in our perpetual dependence on the fossil fuel. A day to day increased consumption of crude and petroleum products has made a considerable impact on our foreign exchange reserves. Hence, an alternate resource for the conversion of energy (both liquid and gas) is essential for the substitution of conventional fuels. Biomass is the alternate solution for the present scenario. Biomass can be converted into both liquid as well as gaseous fuels and other feedstocks for the industries.

Keywords: Bioenergy, Biomass conversion, Biorefining, Efficient utilisation of night soil.

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Authors: Tim D. Sass, Pe, Leed

Abstract:

The rising price of fossil fuels, government incentives and growing public aware-ness for the need to implement sustainable energy supplies has resulted in a large in-crease in solar panel installations across the country. For many sites the most eco-nomical solar panel installation uses existing, southerly facing rooftops. Adding solar panels to an existing roof typically means increased loads that must be borne by the building-s structural elements. The structural design professional is responsible for ensuring a new solar panel installation is properly supported by an existing structure and configured to maximize energy generation.

Keywords: Solar Panel, Structures, Structural Design.

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Authors: Smajo Bisanovic, Mensur Hajro, Muris Dlakic

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This paper presents one comprehensive modelling approach for maintenance scheduling problem of thermal power units in competitive market. This problem is formulated as a 0/1 mixedinteger linear programming model. Model incorporates long-term bilateral contracts with defined profiles of power and price, and weekly forecasted market prices for market auction. The effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated through case study with detailed discussion.

Keywords: Maintenance scheduling, bilateral contracts, market prices, profit.

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Authors: Oana Pop, Constantin Barbulescu, Mircea Nemes, Stefan Kilyeni

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The tracing methods determine the contribution the power system sources have in their supplying. The methods can be used to assess the transmission prices, but also to recover the transmission fixed cost. In this paper is presented the influence of the modification of commons structure has on the specific price of transfer. The operator must make use of a few basic principles about allocation. Most tracing methods are based on the proportional sharing principle. In this paper Kirschen method is used. In order to illustrate this method, the 25- bus test system is used, elaborated within the Electrical Power Engineering Department, from Timisoara, Romania.

Keywords: Power systems, P-U bus, P-Q bus, tracing methods.

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Authors: Tero Halme, Juho Kanniainen, Markus Nordberg

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According to the existing literature, companies manage analysts’ expectations of their future earnings by issuing pessimistic earnings guidance to meet the expectations. Consequently, one could expect that markets price this pessimistic bias in advance and penalize companies more for lowering the guidance than reward for beating the guidance. In this paper we confirm this empirically. In addition we show that although guidance revisions have a statistically significant relation to stock returns, that is not the case with the actual earnings surprise. Reason for this could be that, after the annual earnings report also information on future earnings power is given at the same time.

Keywords: Management guidance, earnings guidance, pessimistic bias

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Authors: Dawei Lin

Abstract:

This research proposes an Interactive 3D Experience to enhance customer value in the fantasy era. As products reach maturity, they become more similar in the range of functions that they provide. This leads to competition via reduced retail price and ultimately reduced profitability. A competitive design method is therefore needed that can produce higher value products. An Enhanced Value Experience has been identified that can assist designers to provide quality products and to give them a unique positioning. On the basis of this value opportunity, the method of Interactive 3D Experience has been formulated and applied to the domain of retail furniture. Through this, customers can create their own personalized styling via the interactive 3D platform.

Keywords: Interactive 3D experience, enhanced valueexperience, value opportunity, personalized styling.

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Authors: Steve Fish, Chris Lambert

Abstract:

Cumbria is a geo-political county in Northwest England within which the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site is located. Whilst the area has a formidable reputation for natural beauty and historic assets, the innovation ecosystem is described as ‘patchy’ for a number of reasons. The county is one of the largest in England by area and is sparsely populated. This paper describes the needs, development and delivery of an SME business-support programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Lancaster University and the University of Cumbria. The Cumbria Innovations Platform (CUSP) Project has been designed to respond to the nuanced needs of SMEs in this locale, whilst promoting the adoption of research and innovation. CUSP utilizes a funnel method to support rural businesses with access to university innovation intervention. CUSP has been built on a three-tier model: Communicate, Collaborate and Create. The paper describes this project in detail and presents results in terms of output indicators achieved, a beneficiary telephone survey and wider economic forecasts. From a pragmatic point-of-view, the paper provides experiences and reflections of those people who are delivering and evaluating knowledge exchange. The authors discuss some of the benefits, challenges and implications for both policy makers and practitioners. Finally, the paper aims to serve as an invitation to others who may consider adopting a similar method of university-industry collaboration in their own region.

Keywords: Regional business support, rural business support, university-industry collaboration, collaborative R&D, SMEs, knowledge exchange.

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Authors: N. J. Imu, N. Rabbani, Md E. Hossain

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Achieving national climate goals requires transforming the energy system and increasing the use of renewable energy in Bangladesh as renewable energy offers an environmentally friendly energy supply. In view of this, Bangladesh has set a goal of 100% renewable power generation by 2050. Among all the renewable energy, solar is the most effective and popular source of renewable energy in Bangladesh. In order to build up on-grid and off-grid solar systems to increase energy transformation, monocrystalline type (highly efficient) solar module, and the polycrystalline type (low-efficient) solar module are commonly used. Due to their low price and availability, polycrystalline-type solar modules dominated the local market in the past years. However, in recent times the use of monocrystalline types modules has increased considerably owing to the significant decrease in price difference that existed between these two modules. Despite the deployment of both mono- and poly-crystalline modules in the market, the proliferation of low-quality solar panels are dominating the market resulting in reduced generation of solar electricity than expected. This situation is further aggravated by insufficient information regarding the effect of solar irradiation on solar module performance in relation to the quality of the materials used for the production of the module. This research aims to evaluate the efficiency of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar modules that are available in Bangladesh by considering seasonal variations. Both types of solar modules have been tested for three different capacities 45W, 60W, and 100W in Dhaka regions to evaluate their power generation capability under Standard Test Conditions (STC). Module testing data were recorded twelve months in a full year from January to December. Data for solar irradiation were collected using HT304N while HT I-V400 multifunction instrument was used for testing voltage and current of photovoltaic (PV) systems and complete power quality analyzer. Results obtained in this study indicated differences between the efficiencies of polycrystalline and monocrystalline solar modules under the country’s solar irradiation. The average efficiencies of 45W, 60W, and 100W monocrystalline solar panels were recorded as 11.73%, 13.41%, and 15.37% respectively while for polycrystalline panels were 8.66%, 9.37%, and 12.34%. Monocrystalline solar panels, which offer greater working output than polycrystalline ones, are also represented by the Pearson Correlation value. The output of polycrystalline solar panels fluctuated highly with the changes in irradiation and temperature whereas monocrystalline panels were much stable.

Keywords: Solar energy, solar irradiation, efficiency, polycrystalline solar module, monocrystalline solar module, SPSS analysis.

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Authors: Alexandros Lioulemes, Michail Theofanidis, Varun Kanal, Konstantinos Tsiakas, Maher Abujelala, Chris Collander, William B. Townsend, Angie Boisselle, Fillia Makedon

Abstract:

This paper presents a home-based robot-rehabilitation instrument, called ”MAGNI Dynamics”, that utilized a vision-based kinematic/dynamic module and an adaptive haptic feedback controller. The system is expected to provide personalized rehabilitation by adjusting its resistive and supportive behavior according to a fuzzy intelligence controller that acts as an inference system, which correlates the user’s performance to different stiffness factors. The vision module uses the Kinect’s skeletal tracking to monitor the user’s effort in an unobtrusive and safe way, by estimating the torque that affects the user’s arm. The system’s torque estimations are justified by capturing electromyographic data from primitive hand motions (Shoulder Abduction and Shoulder Forward Flexion). Moreover, we present and analyze how the Barrett WAM generates a force-field with a haptic controller to support or challenge the users. Experiments show that by shifting the proportional value, that corresponds to different stiffness factors of the haptic path, can potentially help the user to improve his/her motor skills. Finally, potential areas for future research are discussed, that address how a rehabilitation robotic framework may include multisensing data, to improve the user’s recovery process.

Keywords: Human-robot interaction, kinect, kinematics, dynamics, haptic control, rehabilitation robotics, artificial intelligence.

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Authors: Aparna Viswanath

Abstract:

Electricity spot prices are highly volatile under optimal generation capacity scenarios due to factors such as nonstorability of electricity, peak demand at certain periods, generator outages, fuel uncertainty for renewable energy generators, huge investments and time needed for generation capacity expansion etc. As a result market participants are exposed to price and volume risk, which has led to the development of risk management practices. This paper provides an overview of risk management practices by market participants in electricity markets using financial derivatives.

Keywords: Financial Derivatives, Forward, Futures, Options, Risk Management.

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Authors: Cheng-Chi Lee, Min-Shiang Hwang, Shu-Yin Hsiao

Abstract:

Network exchange is now widely used. However, it still cannot avoid the problems evolving from network exchange. For example. A buyer may not receive the order even if he/she makes the payment. For another example, the seller possibly get nothing even when the merchandise is sent. Some studies about the fair exchange have proposed protocols for the design of efficiency and exploited the signature property to specify that two parties agree on the exchange. The information about purchased item and price are disclosed in this way. This paper proposes a new fair network payment protocol with off-line trusted third party. The proposed protocol can protect the buyers- purchase message from being traced. In addition, the proposed protocol can meet the proposed requirements. The most significant feature is Non-transfer property we achieved.

Keywords: E-commerce, digital signature, fair exchange, security.

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Authors: Helene Le Cadre

Abstract:

Three service providers in competition, try to optimize their quality of service / content level and their service access price. But, they have to deal with uncertainty on the consumers- preferences. To reduce their uncertainty, they have the opportunity to buy information and to build alliances. We determine the Shapley value which is a fair way to allocate the grand coalition-s revenue between the service providers. Then, we identify the values of β (consumers- sensitivity coefficient to the quality of service / contents) for which allocating the grand coalition-s revenue using the Shapley value guarantees the system stability. For other values of β, we prove that it is possible for the regulator to impose a per-period interest rate maximizing the market coverage under equal allocation rules.

Keywords: Alliance, Shapley value, Stability, Repeated game, Interest rate.

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Authors: Tim Dunne, Weicheng Li, Chris Cheng, Qi Peng

Abstract:

Deeper petroleum reservoirs are more challenging to exploit due to the high hardness and abrasive characteristics of the formations. A cutting structure that consists of particulate diamond impregnated in a supporting matrix is found to be effective. Diamond impregnated bits are favored in these applications due to the higher thermal stability of the matrix material. The diamond particles scour or abrade away concentric grooves while the rock formation adjacent to the grooves is fractured and removed. The matrix material supporting the diamond will wear away, leaving the superficial dull diamonds to fall out. The matrix material wear will expose other embedded intact sharp diamonds to continue the operation. Minimizing the erosion effect on the matrix is an important design consideration, as the life of the bit can be extended by preventing early diamond pull-out. A careful balancing of the key parameters, such as diamond concentration, tungsten carbide and metal binder must be considered during development. Described herein is the design of experiment for developing and lab testing 8 unique samples. ASTM B611 wear testing was performed to benchmark the material performance against baseline products, with further scanning electron microscopy and microhardness evaluations. The recipe S5 with diamond 25/35 mesh size, narrow size distribution, high concentration blended with fine tungsten carbide and Co-Cu-Fe-P metal binder has the best performance, which shows 19% improvement in the ASTM B611 wear test compared with the reference material. In the field trial, the rate of penetration (ROP) is measured as 15 m/h, compared to 9.5, 7.8, and 6.8 m/h of other commercial impregnated bits in the same formation. A second round of optimizing recipe S5 for a higher wear resistance is further reported.

Keywords: Diamond containing material, grit hot press insert, impregnated diamond, insert, rate of penetration, ultrahard formation.

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Authors: Saleh Dabil

Abstract:

the research was conducted using the self report of shoplifters who apprehended in the supermarket while stealing. 943 shoplifters in three years were interviewed right after the stealing act and before calling the police. The aim of the study is to know the shoplifting characteristics in Saudi Arabia, including the trait of shoplifters and the situation of the supermarkets where the stealing takes place. The analysis based on the written information about each thief as the documentary research method. Descriptive statistics as well as some inferential statistics were employed. The result shows that there are differences between genders, age groups, occupations, time of the day, days of the week, months, way of stealing, individual or group of thieves and other supermarket situations in the type of items stolen, total price and the count of items. The result and the recommendation will serve as a guide for retailers where, when and who to look at to prevent shoplifting.

Keywords: Shoplifting, stealing, theft, supermarket.

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Authors: Myo Min Aung, Yoon Seok Chang, Woo Ram Kim

Abstract:

This paper presents a cold chain monitoring system which focuses on assessment of quality and dynamic pricing information about food in cold chain. Cold chain is composed of many actors and stages; however it can be seen as a single entity since a breakdown in temperature control at any stage can impact the final quality of the product. In a cold chain, the shelf life, quality, and safety of perishable food throughout the supply chain is greatly impacted by environmental factors especially temperature. In this paper, a prototype application is implemented to retrieve timetemperature history, the current quality and the dynamic price setting according to changing quality impacted by temperature fluctuations in real-time.

Keywords: Cold chain, monitoring, quality, temperature, traceability.

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Authors: Roberto Sabatini, Terry Moore, Chris Hill

Abstract:

This paper presents a novel Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Avionics Based Integrity Augmentation (ABIA) system architecture suitable for civil and military air platforms, including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Taking the move from previous research on high-accuracy Differential GNSS (DGNSS) systems design, integration and experimental flight test activities conducted at the Italian Air Force Flight Test Centre (CSV-RSV), our research focused on the development of a novel approach to the problem of GNSS ABIA for mission- and safety-critical air vehicle applications and for multi-sensor avionics architectures based on GNSS. Detailed mathematical models were developed to describe the main causes of GNSS signal outages and degradation in flight, namely: antenna obscuration, multipath, fading due to adverse geometry and Doppler shift. Adopting these models in association with suitable integrity thresholds and guidance algorithms, the ABIA system is able to generate integrity cautions (predictive flags) and warnings (reactive flags), as well as providing steering information to the pilot and electronic commands to the aircraft/UAS flight control systems. These features allow real-time avoidance of safety-critical flight conditions and fast recovery of the required navigation performance in case of GNSS data losses. In other words, this novel ABIA system addresses all three cornerstones of GNSS integrity augmentation in mission- and safety-critical applications: prediction (caution flags), reaction (warning flags) and correction (alternate flight path computation).

Keywords: Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Integrity Augmentation, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Aircraft Based Augmentation, Avionics Based Integrity Augmentation, Safety-Critical Applications.

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Authors: T. Saarelainen, O. Piha, J. Orkas, P. E. Makkonen

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The aim of this paper is to present current and future procedures in castings procurement. Differences in procurement are highlighted. The supplier selection criteria used in practice is compared to literature findings. Different trends related to supply chains are presented and it is described how they are reflected in reality to castings procurement. To fulfil the aim, interviews were conducted in nine companies using castings. It was found that largest casting users have the most subcontractor foundries and it is more typical that they have multiple suppliers for the same parts. Currently only two companies out of nine purchase castings outside Europe, but the others are also progressing in the same direction. The main reason is the need to lower purchasing costs. Another trend is that all companies want to buy cast components or sub-assemblies instead of raw castings from foundries. It was found that price is a main supplier selection criterion. All companies use competitive bidding in supplier selection.

Keywords: Casting, interview study, procurement, supplytrends.

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Authors: K. Fraňa, M. Müller

Abstract:

A presentation of the design of the Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with heat regeneration and superheating processes is a subject of this paper. The maximum temperature level in the ORC is considered to be 110°C and the maximum pressure varies up to 2.5MPa. The selection process of the appropriate working fluids, thermal design and calculation of the cycle and its components are described. With respect to the safety, toxicity, flammability, price and thermal cycle efficiency, the working fluid selected is R134a. As a particular example, the thermal design of the condenser used for the ORC engine with a theoretical thermal power of 179 kW was introduced. The minimal heat transfer area for a completed condensation was determined to be approximately 520m². 

Keywords: Organic Rankine Cycle, thermal efficiency, working fluids.

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