Search results for: specific leaf area.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4177

Search results for: specific leaf area.

1807 Enhancing Rural Agricultural Value Chains through Electric Mobility Services in Ethiopia

Authors: Clemens Pizzinini, Philipp Rosner, David Ziegler, Markus Lienkamp

Abstract:

Transportation is a constitutional part of most supply and value chains in modern economies. Smallholder farmers in rural Ethiopia face severe challenges along their supply and value chains. In particular, suitable, affordable, and available transport services are in high demand. To develop context-specific technical solutions, a problem-to-solution methodology based on the interaction with technology is developed. With this approach, we fill the gap between proven transportation assessment frameworks and general user-centered techniques. Central to our approach is an electric test vehicle that is implemented in rural supply and value chains for research, development, and testing. Based on our objective and the derived methodological requirements, a set of existing methods is  selected. Local partners are integrated in an organizational framework that executes major parts of this research endeavour in Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia.

Keywords: Agricultural value chain, participatory methods, agile methods, sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, electric vehicle, transport service.

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1806 Main Cause of Children's Deaths in Indigenous Wayuu Community from Department of La Guajira: A Research Developed through Data Mining Use

Authors: Isaura Esther Solano Núñez, David Suarez

Abstract:

The main purpose of this research is to discover what causes death in children of the Wayuu community, and deeply analyze those results in order to take corrective measures to properly control infant mortality. We consider important to determine the reasons that are producing early death in this specific type of population, since they are the most vulnerable to high risk environmental conditions. In this way, the government, through competent authorities, may develop prevention policies and the right measures to avoid an increase of this tragic fact. The methodology used to develop this investigation is data mining, which consists in gaining and examining large amounts of data to produce new and valuable information. Through this technique it has been possible to determine that the child population is dying mostly from malnutrition. In short, this technique has been very useful to develop this study; it has allowed us to transform large amounts of information into a conclusive and important statement, which has made it easier to take appropriate steps to resolve a particular situation.

Keywords: Malnutrition, datamining, analytical, descriptive, population, wayuu, indigenous.

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1805 Function of Fractals: Application of Non-linear Geometry in Continental Architecture

Authors: Mohammadsadegh Zanganehfar

Abstract:

Since the introduction of fractal geometry in 1970, numerous efforts have been made by architects and researchers to transfer this area of mathematical knowledge in the discipline of architecture and postmodernist discourse. The discourse of complexity and architecture is one of the most significant ongoing discourses in the discipline of architecture from the 70's until today and has generated significant styles such as deconstructivism and parametricism in architecture. During these years, several projects were designed and presented by designers and architects using fractal geometry, but due to the lack of sufficient knowledge and appropriate comprehension of the features and characteristics of this nonlinear geometry, none of the fractal-based designs have been successful and satisfying. Fractal geometry as a geometric technology has a long presence in the history of architecture. The current research attempts to identify and discover the characteristics, features, potentials and functionality of fractals despite their aesthetic aspect by examining case studies of pre-modern architecture in Asia and investigating the function of fractals. 

Keywords: Asian architecture, fractal geometry, fractal technique, geometric properties

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1804 Natural Disaster Impact on Annual Visitors of Recreation Area: The Taiwan Case

Authors: Ya-Fen Lee, Yun-Yao Chi

Abstract:

This paper aims to quantify the impact of natural disaster on tourism by the change of annual visitors to scenic spots. The data of visitors to Alishan, Sun Moon Lake, Sitou and Palace Museum in Taiwan during 1986 to 2012 year is collected, and the trend analysis is used to predict the annual visitors to these scenic spots. The findings show that 1999 Taiwan earthquake had significant effect on the visitors to Alishan, Sun Moon Lake and Sitou with an average impact of 55.75% during 1999 to 2000 year except for Palace Museum. The impact was greater as closer epicenter of 1999 earthquake. And the discovery period of visitors is about 2 to 9 years. Further, the impact of heavy rainfall on Alishan, Taiwan is estimated. As the accumulative rainfall reaches to 500 mm, the impact on visitors can be predicted. 

Keywords: Impact, Natural disaster, tourism, visitors.

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1803 Activation Parameters of the Low Temperature Creep Controlling Mechanism in Martensitic Steels

Authors: M. Münch, R. Brandt

Abstract:

Martensitic steels with an ultimate tensile strength beyond 2000 MPa are applied in the powertrain of vehicles due to their excellent fatigue strength and high creep resistance. However, the creep controlling mechanism in martensitic steels at ambient temperatures up to 423 K is not evident. The purpose of this study is to review the low temperature creep (LTC) behavior of martensitic steels at temperatures from 363 K to 523 K. Thus, the validity of a logarithmic creep law is reviewed and the stress and temperature dependence of the creep parameters α and β are revealed. Furthermore, creep tests are carried out, which include stepped changes in temperature or stress, respectively. On one hand, the change of the creep rate due to a temperature step provides information on the magnitude of the activation energy of the LTC controlling mechanism and on the other hand, the stress step approach provides information on the magnitude of the activation volume. The magnitude, the temperature dependency, and the stress dependency of both material specific activation parameters may deliver a significant contribution to the disclosure of the nature of the LTC rate controlling mechanism.

Keywords: Activation parameters, creep mechanisms, high strength steels, low temperature creep.

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1802 Policy Management Framework for Managing Enterprise Policies

Authors: Dahir A. Ga'al, Wardah Zainal Abidin

Abstract:

Policy management in organizations became rising issue in the last decade. It’s because of today’s regulatory requirements in the organizations. To manage policies in large organizations is an imperative work. However, major challenges facing organizations in the last decade is managing all the policies in the organization and making them an active documents rather than simple (inactive) documents stored in computer hard drive or on a shelf. Because of this challenge, organizations need policy management program. This policy management program can be either manual or automated. This paper presents suggestions towards managing policies in organizations. As well as possible policy management solution or program to be utilized, manual or automated. The research first examines the models and frameworks used for managing policies from various perspectives in the literature of the research area/domain. At the end of this paper, a policy management framework is proposed for managing enterprise policies effectively and in a simplified manner.

Keywords: Policy, policy management, policy management program, policy repository.

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1801 Detection of Oxidative Stress Induced by Mobile Phone Radiation in Tissues of Mice using 8-Oxo-7, 8-Dihydro-2'-Deoxyguanosine as a Biomarker

Authors: Ahmad M. Khalil, Ahmad M. Alshamali, Marwan H. Gagaa

Abstract:

We investigated oxidative DNA damage caused by radio frequency radiation using 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2'- deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) generated in mice tissues after exposure to 900 MHz mobile phone radio frequency in three independent experiments. The RF was generated by a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) signal generator. The radio frequency field was adjusted to 25 V/m. The whole body specific absorption rate (SAR) was 1.0 W/kg. Animals were exposed to this field for 30 min daily for 30 days. 24 h post-exposure, blood serum, brain and spleen were removed and DNA was isolated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure 8-oxodG concentration. All animals survived the whole experimental period. The body weight of animals did not change significantly at the end of the experiment. No statistically significant differences observed in the levels of oxidative stress. Our results are not in favor of the hypothesis that 900 MHz RF induces oxidative damage.

Keywords: Mice, Mobile phone radiation, oxidative stress, 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine

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1800 Population Structure of European Pond Turtles, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Narta Lagoon (Vlora Bay, Albania)

Authors: Enerit Saçdanaku, Idriz Haxhiu

Abstract:

In this study was monitored the population of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) in the area of Narta Lagoon, Vlora Bay (Albania), from August to October 2014. A total of 54 individuals of E. orbicularis were studied using different methodologies. Curved Carapace Length (CCL), Plastron Length (PL) and Curved Carapace Width (CCW) were measured for each individual of E. orbicularis and were statistically analyzed. All captured turtles were separated in seven different size – classes based on their carapace length (CCL). Each individual of E. orbicularis was marked by notching the carapace (marginal scutes). Form all individuals captured resulted that 37 were females (68.5%), 14 males (25.9%), 3 juveniles (5.5%), while 18 individuals of E. orbicularis were recaptured for the first and some for the second time.

Keywords: Emys orbicularis, female, juvenile, male, population, size – classes.

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1799 Drivers of Digital Product Innovation in Firms: An Empirical Study of Technological, Organizational, and Environmental Factors

Authors: Anne Theresa Eidhoff, Sarah E. Stief, Markus Voeth, Sarah Gundlach

Abstract:

With digitalization increasingly changing the rules of competition, firms face the need to adapt and assimilate digital technologies in order to remain competitive. Firms can choose from various possibilities to integrate digital technologies including the option to embed digital technologies aiming to innovate products or to develop digital products. However, the question of which specific factors influence a firm’s decision to pursue digital product innovation remains unanswered in research. By adopting the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE)-framework we have designed a qualitative exploratory study including eleven German practitioners to investigate relevant contingency factors. Our results indicate that the most critical factors for a company’s decision to pursue digital product innovation can be found in the technological and environmental dimensions, namely customers, competitive pressure, technological change, as well as digitalization fit. 

Keywords: Digital innovation, digitalization, product innovation, TOE-framework.

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1798 Centre Of Mass Selection Operator Based Meta-Heuristic For Unbounded Knapsack Problem

Authors: D.Venkatesan, K.Kannan, S. Raja Balachandar

Abstract:

In this paper a new Genetic Algorithm based on a heuristic operator and Centre of Mass selection operator (CMGA) is designed for the unbounded knapsack problem(UKP), which is NP-Hard combinatorial optimization problem. The proposed genetic algorithm is based on a heuristic operator, which utilizes problem specific knowledge. This center of mass operator when combined with other Genetic Operators forms a competitive algorithm to the existing ones. Computational results show that the proposed algorithm is capable of obtaining high quality solutions for problems of standard randomly generated knapsack instances. Comparative study of CMGA with simple GA in terms of results for unbounded knapsack instances of size up to 200 show the superiority of CMGA. Thus CMGA is an efficient tool of solving UKP and this algorithm is competitive with other Genetic Algorithms also.

Keywords: Genetic Algorithm, Unbounded Knapsack Problem, Combinatorial Optimization, Meta-Heuristic, Center of Mass

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1797 Improving the Performance of Deep Learning in Facial Emotion Recognition with Image Sharpening

Authors: Ksheeraj Sai Vepuri, Nada Attar

Abstract:

We as humans use words with accompanying visual and facial cues to communicate effectively. Classifying facial emotion using computer vision methodologies has been an active research area in the computer vision field. In this paper, we propose a simple method for facial expression recognition that enhances accuracy. We tested our method on the FER-2013 dataset that contains static images. Instead of using Histogram equalization to preprocess the dataset, we used Unsharp Mask to emphasize texture and details and sharpened the edges. We also used ImageDataGenerator from Keras library for data augmentation. Then we used Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) model to classify the images into 7 different facial expressions, yielding an accuracy of 69.46% on the test set. Our results show that using image preprocessing such as the sharpening technique for a CNN model can improve the performance, even when the CNN model is relatively simple.

Keywords: Facial expression recognition, image pre-processing, deep learning, CNN.

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1796 Wind Farm Power Performance Verification Using Non-Parametric Statistical Inference

Authors: M. Celeska, K. Najdenkoski, V. Dimchev, V. Stoilkov

Abstract:

Accurate determination of wind turbine performance is necessary for economic operation of a wind farm. At present, the procedure to carry out the power performance verification of wind turbines is based on a standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). In this paper, nonparametric statistical inference is applied to designing a simple, inexpensive method of verifying the power performance of a wind turbine. A statistical test is explained, examined, and the adequacy is tested over real data. The methods use the information that is collected by the SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) from the sensors embedded in the wind turbines in order to carry out the power performance verification of a wind farm. The study has used data on the monthly output of wind farm in the Republic of Macedonia, and the time measuring interval was from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2016. At the end, it is concluded whether the power performance of a wind turbine differed significantly from what would be expected. The results of the implementation of the proposed methods showed that the power performance of the specific wind farm under assessment was acceptable.

Keywords: Canonical correlation analysis, power curve, power performance, wind energy.

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1795 On the Design of Electronic Control Unitsfor the Safety-Critical Vehicle Applications

Authors: Kyung-Jung Lee, Hyun-Sik Ahn

Abstract:

This paper suggests a design methodology for the hardware and software of the electronic control unit (ECU) of safety-critical vehicle applications such as braking and steering. The architecture of the hardware is a high integrity system such thatit incorporates a high performance 32-bit CPU and a separate peripheral controlprocessor (PCP) together with an external watchdog CPU. Communication between the main CPU and the PCP is executed via a common area of RAM and events on either processor which are invoked by interrupts. Safety-related software is also implemented to provide a reliable, self-testing computing environment for safety critical and high integrity applications. The validity of the design approach is shown by using the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS)for electric power steering(EPS) systemswhich consists of the EPS mechanism, the designed ECU, and monitoring tools.

Keywords: Electronic control unit, electric power steering, functional safety, hardware-in-the-loop simulation.

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1794 Innovation Strategies and Challenges in Emerging Economies: The Case of Research and Technology Organizations in Turkey

Authors: F. Demir

Abstract:

Innovation is highly critical for every company, especially for technology-based organizations looking to sustain their competitive advantage. However, this is not an easy task. Regardless of the size of the enterprise, market and location, all organizations face numerous challenges. Even though huge barriers to innovation exist in different countries, firm- and industry-specific challenges can be distinguished. This paper examines innovation strategies and obstacles to innovation in research and technology organizations (RTO) of Turkey. From the most important to the least, nine different challenges are ranked according the results of this survey. The findings reveal that to take the lead in innovation, financial constraint is the biggest challenge, which is consistent with the related literature. It ranked number one in this study. Beyond that, based on a sample of 40 RTOs, regional challenges such as underdeveloped regional innovation ecosystem plays a significant role in hampering innovation. Most of the organizations (55%) embrace an incremental approach to innovation, while only few pursue radical shifts. About 40% of the RTOs focus on product innovation, and 27.5% of them concentrate on technological innovation, while a very limited number aim for operational excellence and customer engagement as the focus of their strategic innovation efforts.

Keywords: Innovation strategies, innovation challenges, emerging economies, research and technology organizations.

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1793 Property Aggregation and Uncertainty with Links to the Management and Determination of Critical Design Features

Authors: Steven Whittle, Ingrida Valiusaityte

Abstract:

Within the domain of Systems Engineering the need to perform property aggregation to understand, analyze and manage complex systems is unequivocal. This can be seen in numerous domains such as capability analysis, Mission Essential Competencies (MEC) and Critical Design Features (CDF). Furthermore, the need to consider uncertainty propagation as well as the sensitivity of related properties within such analysis is equally as important when determining a set of critical properties within such a system. This paper describes this property breakdown in a number of domains within Systems Engineering and, within the area of CDFs, emphasizes the importance of uncertainty analysis. As part of this, a section of the paper describes possible techniques which may be used within uncertainty propagation and in conclusion an example is described utilizing one of the techniques for property and uncertainty aggregation within an aircraft system to aid the determination of Critical Design Features.

Keywords: Complex Systems, Critical Design Features, Property Aggregation, Uncertainty.

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1792 Analysis of the Interference from Risk-Determining Factors of Cooperative and Conventional Construction Contracts

Authors: E. Harrer, M. Mauerhofer, T. Werginz

Abstract:

As a result of intensive competition, the building sector is suffering from a high degree of rivalry. Furthermore, there can be observed an unbalanced distribution of project risks. Clients are aimed to shift their own risks into the sphere of the constructors or planners. The consequence of this is that the number of conflicts between the involved parties is inordinately high or even increasing; an alternative approach to counter on that developments are cooperative project forms in the construction sector. This research compares conventional contract models and models with partnering agreements to examine the influence on project risks by an early integration of the involved parties. The goal is to show up deviations in different project stages from the design phase to the project transfer phase. These deviations are evaluated by a survey of experts from the three spheres: clients, contractors and planners. By rating the influence of the participants on specific risk factors it is possible to identify factors which are relevant for a smooth project execution.

Keywords: Collaborative work, construction industry, contract-models, influence, partnering, project management, risk.

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1791 Influence of Transportation Mode to the Deterioration Rate: Case Study of Food Transport by Ship

Authors: Danijela Tuljak-Suban, Valter Suban

Abstract:

Food as perishable goods represents a specific and sensitive part in the supply chain theory, since changing physical or chemical characteristics considerably influence the approach to stock management. The most delicate phase of this process is transportation, where it becomes difficult to ensure the stable conditions which limit deterioration, since the value of the deterioration rate could be easily influenced by the mode of transportation. The fuzzy definition of variables allows one to take these variations into account. Furthermore, an appropriate choice of the defuzzification method permits one to adapt results to real conditions as far as possible. In this article those methods which take into account the relationship between the deterioration rate of perishable goods and transportation by ship will be applied with the aim of (a) minimizing the total cost function, defined as the sum of the ordering cost, holding cost, disposing cost and transportation costs, and (b) improving the supply chain sustainability by reducing environmental impact and waste disposal costs.

Keywords: Perishable goods, fuzzy reasoning, transport by ship, supply chain sustainability.

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1790 Robust On-Body Communications using Creeping Wave: Methodology and Analysis

Authors: M. Ali, K. Masood

Abstract:

In this paper methodology to exploit creeping wave for body area network BAN communication reliability are described. Creeping wave propagation effects are visualized & analyzed. During this work Dipole, IA antennas various antennas were redesigned using existing designs and their propagation characteristics were verified for optimum performance when used on BANs. These antennas were then applied on body shapes-including rectangular, spherical and cylindrical so that all the effects of actual human body can be taken nearly into account. Parametric simulation scheme was devised so that on Body channel characterization can be visualized at front, curved and back region. In the next phase multiple inputs multiple output MIMO scheme was introduced where virtual antennas were used in order to diminish the effects of antennas on the propagation of waves. Results were, extracted and analyzed at different heights. Finally based on comparative measurement and analysis it was concluded that on body propagation can be exploited to gain spatial diversity.

Keywords: BAN, Creeping Wave, MIMO, WIAs.

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1789 Abstraction Hierarchies for Engineering Design

Authors: Esra E. Aleisa, Li Lin

Abstract:

Complex engineering design problems consist of numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.

Keywords: Hierarchies, Abstraction, Loop-free, Engineering Design

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1788 Experimental Results about the Dynamics of the Generalized Belief Propagation Used on LDPC Codes

Authors: Jean-Christophe Sibel, Sylvain Reynal, David Declercq

Abstract:

In the context of channel coding, the Generalized Belief Propagation (GBP) is an iterative algorithm used to recover the transmission bits sent through a noisy channel. To ensure a reliable transmission, we apply a map on the bits, that is called a code. This code induces artificial correlations between the bits to send, and it can be modeled by a graph whose nodes are the bits and the edges are the correlations. This graph, called Tanner graph, is used for most of the decoding algorithms like Belief Propagation or Gallager-B. The GBP is based on a non unic transformation of the Tanner graph into a so called region-graph. A clear advantage of the GBP over the other algorithms is the freedom in the construction of this graph. In this article, we explain a particular construction for specific graph topologies that involves relevant performance of the GBP. Moreover, we investigate the behavior of the GBP considered as a dynamic system in order to understand the way it evolves in terms of the time and in terms of the noise power of the channel. To this end we make use of classical measures and we introduce a new measure called the hyperspheres method that enables to know the size of the attractors.

Keywords: iterative decoder, LDPC, region-graph, chaos.

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1787 Production Optimization through Ejector Installation at ESA Platform Offshore North West Java Field

Authors: Arii Bowo Yudhaprasetya, Ario Guritno, Agus Setiawan, Recky Tehupuring, Cosmas Supriatna

Abstract:

The offshore facilities condition of Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) varies greatly from place to place, depending on the characteristics of the presently installed facilities. In some locations, such as ESA platform, gas trap is mainly caused by the occurrence of flash gas phenomenon which is known as mechanical-physical separation process of multiphase flow. Consequently, the presence of gas trap at main oil line would accumulate on certain areas result in a reduced oil stream throughout the pipeline. Any presence of discrete gaseous along continuous oil flow represents a unique flow condition under certain specific volume fraction and velocity field. From gas lift source, a benefit line is used as a motive flow for ejector which is designed to generate a syphon effect to minimize the gas trap phenomenon. Therefore, the ejector’s exhaust stream will flow to the designated point without interfering other systems.

Keywords: Ejector, diffuser, multiphase flow, syphon effects.

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1786 Short-Path Near-Infrared Laser Detection of Environmental Gases by Wavelength-Modulation Spectroscopy

Authors: Isao Tomita

Abstract:

The detection of environmental gases, 12CO2, 13CO2, and CH4, using near-infrared semiconductor lasers with a short laser path length is studied by means of wavelength-modulation spectroscopy. The developed system is compact and has high sensitivity enough to detect the absorption peaks of isotopic 13CO2 of a 3-% CO2 gas at 2 μm with a path length of 2.4 m, where its peak size is two orders of magnitude smaller than that of the ordinary 12CO2 peaks. In addition, the detection of 12CO2 peaks of a 385-ppm (0.0385-%) CO2 gas in the air is made at 2 μm with a path length of 1.4 m. Furthermore, in pursuing the detection of an ancient environmental CH4 gas confined to a bubble in ice at the polar regions, measurements of the absorption spectrum for a trace gas of CH4 in a small area are attempted. For a 100-% CH4 gas trapped in a ∼ 1 mm3 glass container, the absorption peaks of CH4 are obtained at 1.65 μm with a path length of 3 mm, and also the gas pressure is extrapolated from the measured data.

Keywords: Environmental Gases, Near-Infrared Laser Detection, Wavelength-Modulation Spectroscopy.

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1785 Interaction between Environmental Performance and Logistic System: A Case Study of International Company

Authors: T. Tambovceva, A. Tambovcevs

Abstract:

The activities which are mostly related to the environmental performance need to be pointed, especially how logistics systems influence on environmental performance. This paper analyses how company could lead the initiative in this area by incorporating environmental management principles into their daily activities. The analysis is based on literature review about logistics and environment, the information from company R website as well as face-to-face interviews. A case study is given to show how they can turn practices into green while simultaneously meet the efficiency objectives. The research results show that the adoption of EMS and ISO 14001 certification is an effective tool for the logistics management. Such practices simultaneously reduce the negative contribute to better company performance. The results also show that the emissions to air and water, and energy consumption are the main logistics impacts to the environment.

Keywords: environmental management system, green logistics, information technology, information systems.

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1784 A Framework for Review Spam Detection Research

Authors: Mohammadali Tavakoli, Atefeh Heydari, Zuriati Ismail, Naomie Salim

Abstract:

With the increasing number of people reviewing products online in recent years, opinion sharing websites has become the most important source of customers’ opinions. Unfortunately, spammers generate and post fake reviews in order to promote or demote brands and mislead potential customers. These are notably destructive not only for potential customers, but also for business holders and manufacturers. However, research in this area is not adequate, and many critical problems related to spam detection have not been solved to date. To provide green researchers in the domain with a great aid, in this paper, we have attempted to create a highquality framework to make a clear vision on review spam-detection methods. In addition, this report contains a comprehensive collection of detection metrics used in proposed spam-detection approaches. These metrics are extremely applicable for developing novel detection methods.

Keywords: Fake reviews, Feature collection, Opinion spam, Spam detection.

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1783 Molecular Dynamics of Fatty Acid Interacting with Carbon Nanotube as Selective Device

Authors: David L. Azevedo, Jordan Del Nero

Abstract:

In this paper we study a system composed by carbon nanotube (CNT) and bundle of carbon nanotube (BuCNT) interacting with a specific fatty acid as molecular probe. Full system is represented by open nanotube (or nanotubes) and the linoleic acid (LA) relaxing due the interaction with CNT and BuCNT. The LA has in his form an asymmetric shape with COOH termination provoking a close BuCNT interaction mainly by van der Waals force field. The simulations were performed by classical molecular dynamics with standard parameterizations. Our results show that these BuCNT and CNT are dynamically stable and it shows a preferential interaction position with LA resulting in three features: (i) when the LA is interacting with CNT and BuCNT (including both termination, CH2 or COOH), the LA is repelled; (ii) when the LA terminated with CH2 is closer to open extremity of BuCNT, the LA is also repelled by the interaction between them; and (iii) when the LA terminated with COOH is closer to open extremity of BuCNT, the LA is encapsulated by the BuCNT. These simulations are part of a more extensive work on searching efficient selective molecular devices and could be useful to reach this goal.

Keywords: Carbon Nanotube, Linoleic Acid, MolecularDynamics.

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1782 Development of Thermal Insulation Materials Based On Silicate Using Non-Traditional Binders and Fillers

Authors: J. Hroudova, J. Zach, L. Vodova

Abstract:

When insulation and rehabilitation of structures is important to use quality building materials with high utility value. One potentially interesting and promising groups of construction materials in this area are advanced, thermally insulating plaster silicate based. With the present trend reduction of energy consumption of building structures and reducing CO2 emissions to be developed capillary-active materials that are characterized by their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good mechanical properties.

The paper describes the results of research activities aimed at the development of thermal insulating and rehabilitation material ongoing at the Technical University in Brno, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The achieved results of this development will be the basis for subsequent experimental analysis of the influence of thermal and moisture loads developed on these materials.

Keywords: Insulation materials, rehabilitation materials, lightweight aggregate, fly ash, slag, hemp fibers, glass fibers, metakaolin.

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1781 To Study the Parametric Effects on Optimality of Various Feeding Sequences of a Multieffect Evaporators in Paper Industry using Mathematical Modeling and Simulation with MATLAB

Authors: Deepak Kumar, Vivek Kumar, V. P. Singh

Abstract:

This paper describes a steady state model of a multiple effect evaporator system for simulation and control purposes. The model includes overall as well as component mass balance equations, energy balance equations and heat transfer rate equations for area calculations for all the effects. Each effect in the process is represented by a number of variables which are related by the energy and material balance equations for the feed, product and vapor flow for backward, mixed and split feed. For simulation 'fsolve' solver in MATLAB source code is used. The optimality of three sequences i.e. backward, mixed and splitting feed is studied by varying the various input parameters.

Keywords: MATLAB "fsolve" solver, multiple effectevaporators, black liquor, feeding sequences.

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1780 Performance Analysis of High Speed Adder for DSP Applications

Authors: N. Mahendran, S. Vishwaja

Abstract:

The Carry Select Adder (CSLA) is a fast adder which improves the speed of addition. From the structure of the CSLA, it is clear that there is opportunity for reducing the area. The logic operations involved in conventional CSLA and binary to excess-1 converter (BEC) based CSLA are analyzed to make a study on the data dependence and to identify redundant logic operations. In the existing adder design, the carry select (CS) operation is scheduled before the final-sum, which is different from the conventional CSLA design. In the presented scheme, Kogge stone parallel adder approach is used instead of existing adder design it will generate fast carry for intermediate stages and also improves the speed of addition. When compared to existing adder design the delay is less in the proposed adder design.

Keywords: Binary to excess-1 converter, delay, carry select adder, Kogge stone adder, speed.

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1779 Factors of Successful Wooden Furniture Design Process

Authors: S. Choodoung, U. Smutkupt

Abstract:

This study systemizes processes and methods in wooden furniture design that contains uniqueness in function and aesthetics. The study was done by research and analysis for designer-s consideration factors that affect function and production. Therefore, the study result indicates that such factors are design process (planning for design, product specifications, concept design, product architecture, industrial design, production), design evaluation as well as wooden furniture design dependent factors i.e. art (art style; furniture history, form), functionality (the strength and durability, area place, using), material (appropriate to function, wood mechanical properties), joints, cost, safety, and social responsibility. Specifically, all aforementioned factors affect good design. Resulting from direct experience gained through user-s usage, the designer must design the wooden furniture systemically and effectively. As a result, this study selected dinning armchair as a case study with all involving factors and all design process stated in this study.

Keywords: Furniture Design, Function Design, Aesthetic, Wooden Furniture.

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1778 A Methodology for Quality Problems Diagnosis in SMEs

Authors: Humberto N. Teixeira, Isabel S. Lopes, Sérgio D. Sousa

Abstract:

This article proposes a new methodology to be used by SMEs (Small and Medium enterprises) to characterize their performance in quality, highlighting weaknesses and area for improvement. The methodology aims to identify the principal causes of quality problems and help to prioritize improvement initiatives. This is a self-assessment methodology that intends to be easy to implement by companies with low maturity level in quality. The methodology is organized in six different steps which includes gathering information about predetermined processes and subprocesses of quality management, defined based on the well-known Juran-s trilogy for quality management (Quality planning, quality control and quality improvement) and, predetermined results categories, defined based on quality concept. A set of tools for data collecting and analysis, such as interviews, flowcharts, process analysis diagrams and Failure Mode and effects Analysis (FMEA) are used. The article also presents the conclusions obtained in the application of the methodology in two cases studies.

Keywords: Continuous improvement, Diagnosis, Quality Management, Self-assessment, SMEs

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