Search results for: Density Functional Theory (DFT)

Authors: Mohammad Shams Esfand Abadi, John Hakon Husøy

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Employing a recently introduced unified adaptive filter theory, we show how the performance of a large number of important adaptive filter algorithms can be predicted within a general framework in nonstationary environment. This approach is based on energy conservation arguments and does not need to assume a Gaussian or white distribution for the regressors. This general performance analysis can be used to evaluate the mean square performance of the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm, its normalized version (NLMS), the family of Affine Projection Algorithms (APA), the Recursive Least Squares (RLS), the Data-Reusing LMS (DR-LMS), its normalized version (NDR-LMS), the Block Least Mean Squares (BLMS), the Block Normalized LMS (BNLMS), the Transform Domain Adaptive Filters (TDAF) and the Subband Adaptive Filters (SAF) in nonstationary environment. Also, we establish the general expressions for the steady-state excess mean square in this environment for all these adaptive algorithms. Finally, we demonstrate through simulations that these results are useful in predicting the adaptive filter performance.

Keywords: Adaptive filter, general framework, energy conservation, mean-square performance, nonstationary environment.

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Authors: J. Hroudova, M. Sedlmajer, J. Zach

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Problems insulation of building structures is often closely connected with the problem of moisture remediation. In the case of historic buildings or if only part of the redevelopment of envelope of structures, it is not possible to apply the classical external thermal insulation composite systems. This application is mostly effective thermal insulation plasters with high porosity and controlled capillary properties which assures improvement of thermal properties construction, its diffusion openness towards the external environment and suitable treatment capillary properties of preventing the penetration of liquid moisture and salts thereof toward the outer surface of the structure. With respect to the current trend of reducing the energy consumption of building structures and reduce the production of CO2 is necessary to develop capillary-active materials characterized by their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good mechanical properties. The aim of researchers at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology is the development and study of hygrothermal behaviour of optimal materials for thermal insulation and rehabilitation of building structures with the possible use of alternative, less energy demanding binders in comparison with conventional, frequently used binder, which represents cement. The paper describes the evaluation of research activities aimed at the development of thermal insulation and repair materials using lightweight aggregate and alternative binders such as metakaolin and finely ground fly ash.

Keywords: Thermal insulating plasters, rehabilitation materials, thermal conductivity, lightweight aggregate, alternative binders.

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Authors: Siddhant Sahu, P. James Daniel Paul

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Technical analysis comprised by various technical indicators is a holistic way of representing price movement of stocks in the market. Various forms of indicators have evolved from the primitive ones in the past decades. There have been many attempts to introduce volume as a major determinant to determine strong patterns in market forecasting. The law of demand defines the relationship between the volume and price. Most of the traders are familiar with the volume game. Including the time dimension to the law of demand provides a different visualization to the theory. While attempting the same, it was found that there are different thresholds in the market for different companies. These thresholds have a significant influence on the price. This article is an attempt in determining the thresholds for companies using the three dimensional graphs for optimizing the portfolios. It also emphasizes on the magnitude of importance of volumes as a key factor for determining of predicting strong price movements, bullish and bearish markets. It uses a comprehensive data set of major companies which form a major chunk of the Indian automotive sector and are thus used as an illustration.

Keywords: Technical Analysis, Expert System, Law of demand, Stocks, Portfolio Analysis, Indian Automotive Sector.

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Mobinipouya, Zahra Barzegar

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Accurate and comprehensive thermodynamic properties of pure and mixture of refrigerants are in demand by both producers and users of these materials. Information about thermodynamic properties is important initially to qualify potential candidates for working fluids in refrigeration machinery. From practical point of view, Refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures are widely used as working fluids in many industrial applications, such as refrigerators, heat pumps, and power plants The present work is devoted to evaluating seven cubic equations of state (EOS) in predicting gas and liquid phase volumetric properties of nine ozone-safe refrigerants both in super and sub-critical regions. The evaluations, in sub-critical region, show that TWU and PR EOS are capable of predicting PVT properties of refrigerants R32 within 2%, R22, R134a, R152a and R143a within 1% and R123, R124, R125, TWU and PR EOS's, from literature data are 0.5% for R22, R32, R152a, R143a, and R125, 1% for R123, R134a, and R141b, and 2% for R124. Moreover, SRK EOS predicts PVT properties of R22, R125, and R123 to within aforementioned errors. The remaining EOS's predicts volumetric properties of this class of fluids with higher errors than those above mentioned which are at most 8%.In general, the results are in favor of the preference of TWU and PR EOS over other remaining EOS's in predicting densities of all mentioned refrigerants in both super and sub critical regions. Typically, this refrigerant is known to offer advantages such as ozone depleting potential equal to zero, Global warming potential equal to 140, and no toxic.

Keywords: Refrigerant, cooling systems, Sub-CriticalRegions, volumetric properties, efficiency.

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Authors: F.Ebrahimi, A.Rastgo

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Analytical investigation of the free vibration behavior of circular functionally graded (FG) plates integrated with two uniformly distributed actuator layers made of piezoelectric (PZT4) material on the top and bottom surfaces of the circular FG plate based on the classical plate theory (CPT) is presented in this paper. The material properties of the functionally graded substrate plate are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents and the distribution of electric potential field along the thickness direction of piezoelectric layers is simulated by a quadratic function. The differential equations of motion are solved analytically for clamped edge boundary condition of the plate. The detailed mathematical derivations are presented and Numerical investigations are performed for FG plates with two surface-bonded piezoelectric layers. Emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of varying the gradient index of FG plate on the free vibration characteristics of the structure. The results are verified by those obtained from threedimensional finite element analyses.

Keywords: Circular plate, CPT, Functionally graded, Piezoelectric.

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Authors: El Kaak, Rachid, El Bikri, Khalid, Benamar, Rhali

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This paper describes a study of geometrically nonlinear free vibration of thin circular functionally graded (CFGP) plates resting on Winkler elastic foundations. The material properties of the functionally graded composites examined here are assumed to be graded smoothly and continuously through the direction of the plate thickness according to a power law and are estimated using the rule of mixture. The theoretical model is based on the classical Plate theory and the Von-Kármán geometrical nonlinearity assumptions. An homogenization procedure (HP) is developed to reduce the problem considered here to that of isotropic homogeneous circular plates resting on Winkler foundation. Hamilton-s principle is applied and a multimode approach is derived to calculate the fundamental nonlinear frequency parameters which are found to be in a good agreement with the published results. On the other hand, the influence of the foundation parameters on the nonlinear fundamental frequency has also been analysed.

Keywords: Functionally graded materials, nonlinear vibrations, Winkler foundation.

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Authors: Gabriel Jinga, Madalina Dumitru

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The objective of this paper is to present the process of change in management accounting in Romania, a former communist country from Eastern Europe. In order to explain this process, we used the contingency and institutional theories. We focused on the following directions: the presentation of the scientific context and motivation of this research and the case study. We presented the state of the art in the process of change in the management accounting from the international and national perspective. We also described the evolution of management accounting in Romania in the context of economic and political changes. An important moment was the fall of communism in 1989. This represents a starting point for a new economic environment and for new management accounting. Accordingly, we developed a case study which presented this evolution. The conclusion of our research was that the changes in the management accounting system of the company analysed occurred in the same time with the institutionalisation of some elements (e.g. degree of competition, training and competencies in management accounting). The management accounting system was modelled by the contingencies specific to this company (e.g. environment, industry, strategy).

Keywords: Management accounting, change, Romania, contingency and institutional theory.

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Authors: Chioma Ifeoma Agbasimelo, Stephen Afam Kenechukwu

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The study examined consumers’ responses to non-traditional marketing communication strategies in advertising herbal products. The study identified the following non-traditional marketing communication strategies: (a) trado-instrumental marketing strategy, (b) trado-demonstrative marketing strategy, and (c) trado-iconographic marketing strategy. Anchored on the Black Box Theory, it adopted the survey design of three metropolises (Awka, Onitsha, and Nnewi) in Anambra State, Nigeria. Major findings indicated that among the identified strategies, the trado-instrumental marketing strategy is the most dominant strategy. Other strategies: (b) trado-demonstrative marketing strategy and (c) trado-iconographic marketing strategy, are sparingly used in semi-urban cities. It also found that consumers’ preferences and adoption of non-traditional marketing communication were minimal. Based on the findings, there is a need to create a unified system of integration of both traditional and non-traditional marketing communication strategies due to technology interfaces.

Keywords: Advertising, consumers’ responses, herbal products, non-traditional marketing communication strategies.

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Authors: T. Pathinathan, M. Peter

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Fuzzy graphs incorporate concepts from graph theory with fuzzy principles. In this paper, we make a study on the properties of fuzzy graphs which are non-cyclic and are of two-dimensional in structure. In particular, this paper presents 2D structure or the structure of double layer for a non-cyclic fuzzy graph whose underlying crisp graph is non-cyclic. In any graph structure, introducing 2D structure may lead to an inherent cycle. We propose relevant conditions for 2D structured non-cyclic fuzzy graphs. These conditions are extended even to fuzzy graphs of the 3D structure. General theoretical properties that are studied for any fuzzy graph are verified to 2D structured or double layered fuzzy graphs. Concepts like Order, Degree, Strong and Size for a fuzzy graph are studied for 2D structured or double layered non-cyclic fuzzy graphs. Using different types of fuzzy graphs, the proposed concepts relating to 2D structured fuzzy graphs are verified.

Keywords: Double layered fuzzy graph, double layered non-cyclic fuzzy graph, strong, order, degree and size.

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Authors: S. Zeković, M. Vujošević, T. Maričić

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The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the sustainable development in the Belgrade Metropolitan Region - BMA (level NUTS 2) preliminary evaluating the three chosen components: 1) economic growth and developmental changes; 2) competitiveness; and 3) territorial concentration and industrial specialization. First, we identified the main results of development changes and economic growth by applying Shift-share analysis on the metropolitan level. Second, the empirical evaluation of competitiveness in the BMA is based on the analysis of absolute and relative values of eight indicators by Spider method. Paper shows that the consideration of the national share, industrial mix and metropolitan/regional share in total Shift share of the BMA, as well as economic/functional specialization of the BMA indicate very strong process of deindustrialization. Allocative component of the BMA economic growth has positive value, reflecting the above-average sector productivity compared to the national average. Third, the important positive role of metropolitan/regional component in decomposition of the BMA economic growth is highlighted as one of the key results. Finally, comparative analysis of the industrial territorial concentration in the BMA in relation to Serbia is based on location quotient (LQ) or Balassa index as a valid measure. The results indicate absolute and relative differences in decrease of industry territorial concentration as well as inefficiency of utilizing territorial capital in the BMA. Results are important for the increase of regional competitiveness and territorial distribution in this area as well as for improvement of sustainable metropolitan and sector policies, planning and governance on this level.

Keywords: Belgrade Metropolitan Area (BMA), Comprehensive analysis/evaluation, economic growth and competitiveness, sustainable development.

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Authors: Fereidoun Nowshiravan Rahatabad, Mohammad Ali Nekoui, Mohammad Reza Hashemi Golpaygani, AliFallah, Mehdi Kazemzadeh Narbat

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The people are differed by their capabilities, skills and mental agilities. The evolution of human from childhood when they are completely dependent up to adultness the time they gradually set the dependency free is too complicated, by considering they have all started from almost one point but some become cleverer and some less. The main control command of a cybernetic hand should be posted by remaining healthy organs of disabled Person. These commands can be from several channels, which their recording and detecting are different and need complicated study. In this research, we suppose that, this stage has been done or in the other words, the command has been already sent and detected. So the main goal is to control a long hand, upper elbow hand missing, by an interest angle define by disabled. It means that, the system input is the position desired by disables and the output is the elbow-joint angle variation. Therefore the goal is a suitable control design based on neural network theory in order to meet the given mapping.

Keywords: Control - system design, Upper limb prosthesis, neuralnetwork.

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Authors: Maja Sajdak

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The aim of this article is to identify the measures companies undertake in order to adapt to the environment as well as discussing their diversity and effectiveness. The research methods used in the study include an in-depth analysis of the literature and a case study, which helps to illustrate the issue in question. Referring to the concept of agility, which is firmly embedded in the theory of strategic management and has been developed with the aim of adapting to the environment and its changes, the paper first examines different types of adaptation measures for companies. Then the issue under discussion is illustrated with the example of the company Hortimex. This company is an eminent representative of the world’s leading manufacturers of food additives and ingredients. The company was established in 1988 and is a family business, which in practice means that it conducts business in a responsible manner, observing the law and respecting the interests of society and the environment. The company’s mission is to develop a market in Poland for the products and solutions offered by their partners and to share their knowledge of additives in food production and consumption.

Keywords: Adaptation measures, agile company, flexibility, unanticipated changes.

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Authors: Akif Kutlu, Merve Ermis, Nihal Eratlı, Mehmet H. Omurtag

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The objective of this study is to investigate the forced vibration analysis of a planar curved beam lying on elastic foundation by using the mixed finite element method. The finite element formulation is based on the Timoshenko beam theory. In order to solve the problems in frequency domain, the element matrices of two nodded curvilinear elements are transformed into Laplace space. The results are transformed back to the time domain by the well-known numerical Modified Durbin’s transformation algorithm. First, the presented finite element formulation is verified through the forced vibration analysis of a planar curved Timoshenko beam resting on Winkler foundation and the finite element results are compared with the results available in the literature. Then, the forced vibration analysis of a planar curved beam resting on Winkler-Pasternak foundation is conducted.

Keywords: Curved beam, dynamic analysis, elastic foundation, finite element method.

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Authors: S. Mhamdi, O. Brendel, P. Montpied, K. Ben Yahia, N. Saouyah, B. Hasnaoui, E. Dreyer

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Leaf Life Span (LLS) is used to classify trees into two main groups: evergreen and deciduous species. It varies according to the forms of life between taxonomic groups. Co-occurrence of deciduous and evergreen oaks is common in some Mediterranean type climate areas. Nevertheless, in the Tunisian forests, there is no enough information about the functional inter-specific diversity among oak species, especially in the mixed stand marked by the simultaneous presence of Q. suber L., Q. canariensis Willd. and their hybrid (Q. afares), the latter being an endemic oak species threatened with extinction. This study has been conducted to estimate the LLS, the relative growth rate, and the count of different growth flushes of samplings in semi-controlled conditions. Our study took 17 months, with an observation's interval of 4 weeks. The aim is to characterize and compare the hybrid species to the parental ones. Differences were observed among species, both for phenology and growth. Indeed, Q. suber saplings reached higher total height and number of growth flushes then Q. canariensis, while Q. afares showed much less growth flushes than the parental species. The LLS of parental species has exceeded the duration of the experiment, but their hybrid lost all leaves on all cohorts. The short LLSs of hybrid species are in accordance with this phenology in the field, but for Q. canariensis there was a contrast with observations in the field where phenology is strictly annual. This study allowed us to differentiate the hybrid from both parental species.

Keywords: Leaf life span, growth, hybrid, evergreen, deciduous, seedlings, Q. afares Pomel, Q. suber L., Q. canariensis Willd.

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Authors: G.Y. Zhang , M.L. Xu, R.Q. Zhang, W.H. Tang

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MOC (method of cell) is a new method of investigating wave propagating in material with periodic microstructure, and can reflect the effect of microstructure. Wave propagation in periodically laminated medium consisting of linearly elastic layers can be treated as a special application of this method. In this paper, it was used to simulate the dynamic response of carbon-phenolic to impulsive loading under certain boundary conditions. From the comparison between the results obtained from this method and the exact results based on propagator matrix theory, excellent agreement is achieved. Conclusion can be made that the oscillation periodicity is decided by the thickness of sub-cells. In the end, the NHDMOC method, which permits studying stress wave propagation with one dimensional strain, was applied to study the one-dimensional stress wave propagation. In this paper, the ZWT nonlinear visco-elastic constitutive relationship with 7 parameters, NHDMOC, and corresponding equations were deduced. The equations were verified, comparing the elastic stress wave propagation in SHPB with, respectively, the elastic and the visco-elastic bar. Finally the dispersion and attenuation of stress wave in SHPB with visco-elastic bar was studied.

Keywords: MOC, NHDMOC, visco-elastic, wave propagation

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Authors: Sh. Yasini, M. B. Naghibi-Sistani, A. Karimpour

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This paper employs a new approach to regulate the blood glucose level of type I diabetic patient under an intensive insulin treatment. The closed-loop control scheme incorporates expert knowledge about treatment by using reinforcement learning theory to maintain the normoglycemic average of 80 mg/dl and the normal condition for free plasma insulin concentration in severe initial state. The insulin delivery rate is obtained off-line by using Qlearning algorithm, without requiring an explicit model of the environment dynamics. The implementation of the insulin delivery rate, therefore, requires simple function evaluation and minimal online computations. Controller performance is assessed in terms of its ability to reject the effect of meal disturbance and to overcome the variability in the glucose-insulin dynamics from patient to patient. Computer simulations are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed technique and to show its superiority in controlling hyperglycemia over other existing algorithms

Keywords: Insulin Delivery rate, Q-learning algorithm, Reinforcement learning, Type I diabetes.

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Authors: C. Ardil

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This paper presents a software product quality evaluation model based on the ISO/IEC 25010 quality model. The evaluation characteristics and sub characteristics were identified from the ISO/IEC 25010 quality model. The multidimensional structure of the quality model is based on characteristics such as functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability, and associated sub characteristics. Random numbers are generated to establish the decision maker’s importance weights for each sub characteristics. Also, random numbers are generated to establish the decision matrix of the decision maker’s final scores for each software product against each sub characteristics. Thus, objective criteria importance weights and index scores for datasets were obtained from the random numbers. In the proposed model, five different software product quality evaluation datasets under three different weight vectors were applied to multiple criteria decision analysis method, preference analysis for reference ideal solution (PARIS) for comparison, and sensitivity analysis procedure. This study contributes to provide a better understanding of the application of MCDMA methods and ISO/IEC 25010 quality model guidelines in software product quality evaluation process.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 25010 quality model, multiple criteria decisions making, multiple criteria decision making analysis, MCDMA, PARIS, Software Product Quality Evaluation Model, Software Product Quality Evaluation, Software Evaluation, Software Selection, Software

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Authors: O. Hassanein, Sreenatha G. Anavatti, Tapabrata Ray

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The dynamics of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are highly nonlinear and time varying and the hydrodynamic coefficients of vehicles are difficult to estimate accurately because of the variations of these coefficients with different navigation conditions and external disturbances. This study presents the on-line system identification of AUV dynamics to obtain the coupled nonlinear dynamic model of AUV as a black box. This black box has an input-output relationship based upon on-line adaptive fuzzy model and adaptive neural fuzzy network (ANFN) model techniques to overcome the uncertain external disturbance and the difficulties of modelling the hydrodynamic forces of the AUVs instead of using the mathematical model with hydrodynamic parameters estimation. The models- parameters are adapted according to the back propagation algorithm based upon the error between the identified model and the actual output of the plant. The proposed ANFN model adopts a functional link neural network (FLNN) as the consequent part of the fuzzy rules. Thus, the consequent part of the ANFN model is a nonlinear combination of input variables. Fuzzy control system is applied to guide and control the AUV using both adaptive models and mathematical model. Simulation results show the superiority of the proposed adaptive neural fuzzy network (ANFN) model in tracking of the behavior of the AUV accurately even in the presence of noise and disturbance.

Keywords: AUV, AUV dynamic model, fuzzy control, fuzzy modelling, adaptive fuzzy control, back propagation, system identification, neural fuzzy model, FLNN.

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Authors: Tijani Delleji, Mourad Zribi, Ahmed Ben Hamida

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This paper discusses EM algorithm and Bootstrap approach combination applied for the improvement of the satellite image fusion process. This novel satellite image fusion method based on estimation theory EM algorithm and reinforced by Bootstrap approach was successfully implemented and tested. The sensor images are firstly split by a Bayesian segmentation method to determine a joint region map for the fused image. Then, we use the EM algorithm in conjunction with the Bootstrap approach to develop the bootstrap EM fusion algorithm, hence producing the fused targeted image. We proposed in this research to estimate the statistical parameters from some iterative equations of the EM algorithm relying on a reference of representative Bootstrap samples of images. Sizes of those samples are determined from a new criterion called 'hybrid criterion'. Consequently, the obtained results of our work show that using the Bootstrap EM (BEM) in image fusion improve performances of estimated parameters which involve amelioration of the fused image quality; and reduce the computing time during the fusion process.

Keywords: Satellite image fusion, Bayesian segmentation, Bootstrap approach, EM algorithm.

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Authors: F. Rahimi Dehgolan, S. E. Khadem, S. Bab, M. Najafee

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Nowadays, using rotating systems like shafts and disks in industrial machines have been increased constantly. Dynamic stability is one of the most important factors in designing rotating systems. In this study, linear frequencies and stability of a coupled continuous flexible rotor-disk-blades system are studied. The Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is utilized to model the blade and shaft. The equations of motion are extracted using the extended Hamilton principle. The equations of motion have been simplified using the Coleman and complex transformations method. The natural frequencies of the linear part of the system are extracted, and the effects of various system parameters on the natural frequencies and decay rates (stability condition) are clarified. It can be seen that the centrifugal stiffening effect applied to the blades is the most important parameter for stability of the considered rotating system. This result highlights the importance of considering this stiffing effect in blades equation.

Keywords: Rotating shaft, flexible blades, centrifugal stiffening, stability.

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Authors: Amudha Kadirvelu, Sunil Gurtu, Sivalal Sadasivan

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Pharmacology curriculum plays an integral role in medical education. Learning pharmacology to choose and prescribe drugs is a major challenge encountered by students. We developed pharmacology applied learning activities for first year medical students that included realistic clinical situations with escalating complications which required the students to analyze the situation and think critically to choose a safe drug. Tutor feedback was provided at the end of session. Evaluation was done to assess the students- level of interest and usefulness of the sessions in rational selection of drugs. Majority (98 %) of the students agreed that the session was an extremely useful learning exercise and agreed that similar sessions would help in rational selection of drugs. Applied learning sessions in the early years of medical program may promote deep learning and bridge the gap between pharmacology theory and clinical practice. Besides, it may also enhance safe prescribing skills.

Keywords: Medical education, pharmacology curriculum, applied learning, safe prescribing.

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Authors: Tomoaki Hashimoto

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Recent technological advance has prompted significant interest in developing the control theory of quantum systems. Following the increasing interest in the control of quantum dynamics, this paper examines the control problem of Schrödinger equation because quantum dynamics is basically governed by Schrödinger equation. From the practical point of view, stochastic disturbances cannot be avoided in the implementation of control method for quantum systems. Thus, we consider here the robust stabilization problem of Schrödinger equation against stochastic disturbances. In this paper, we adopt model predictive control method in which control performance over a finite future is optimized with a performance index that has a moving initial and terminal time. The objective of this study is to derive the stability criterion for model predictive control of Schrödinger equation under stochastic disturbances.

Keywords: Optimal control, stochastic systems, quantum systems, stabilization.

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Authors: Richard L. Summers

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The advanced computational analysis of biological systems is becoming increasingly dependent upon an understanding of the information-theoretic structure of the materials, energy and interactive processes that comprise those systems. The stability and survival of these living systems is fundamentally contingent upon their ability to acquire and process the meaning of information concerning the physical state of its biological continuum (biocontinuum). The drive for adaptive system reconciliation of a divergence from steady state within this biocontinuum can be described by an information metric-based formulation of the process for actionable knowledge acquisition that incorporates the axiomatic inference of Kullback-Leibler information minimization driven by survival replicator dynamics. If the mathematical expression of this process is the Lagrangian integrand for any change within the biocontinuum then it can also be considered as an action functional for the living system. In the direct method of Lyapunov, such a summarizing mathematical formulation of global system behavior based on the driving forces of energy currents and constraints within the system can serve as a platform for the analysis of stability. As the system evolves in time in response to biocontinuum perturbations, the summarizing function then conveys information about its overall stability. This stability information portends survival and therefore has absolute existential meaning for the living system. The first derivative of the Lyapunov energy information function will have a negative trajectory toward a system steady state if the driving force is dissipating. By contrast, system instability leading to system dissolution will have a positive trajectory. The direction and magnitude of the vector for the trajectory then serves as a quantifiable signature of the meaning associated with the living system’s stability information, homeostasis and survival potential.

Keywords: Semiotic meaning, Shannon information, Lyapunov, living systems.

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Authors: Amar Aliche, Hocine Hammoum, Karima Bouzelha, Arezki Ben Abderrahmane

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Traditionally, the dimensioning of storage tanks is conducted with a deterministic approach based on partial coefficients of safety. These coefficients are applied to take into account the uncertainties related to hazards on properties of materials used and applied loads. However, the use of these safety factors in the design process does not assure an optimal and reliable solution and can sometimes lead to a lack of robustness of the structure. The reliability theory based on a probabilistic formulation of constructions safety can respond in an adapted manner. It allows constructing a modelling in which uncertain data are represented by random variables, and therefore allows a better appreciation of safety margins with confidence indicators. The work presented in this paper consists of a mecano-reliability analysis of a concrete storage tank placed on ground. The classical method of Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the failure probability of concrete tank by considering the seismic acceleration as random variable.

Keywords: Reliability approach, storage tanks, Monte Carlo simulation, seismic acceleration.

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Authors: Roshafima R. Ali, W. A. Wan Abdul Rahman, Rafiziana M. Kasmani, N. Ibrahim

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This current research focused on development of degradable starch based packaging film with enhanced mechanical properties. A series of low density polyethylene (LDPE)/tapioca starch compounds with various tapioca starch contents were prepared by twin screw extrusion with the addition of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene as compatibilizer. Palm cooking oil was used as processing aid to ease the blown film process, thus, degradable film can be processed via conventional blown film machine. Studies on their characteristics, mechanical properties and biodegradation were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and optical properties, tensile test and exposure to fungi environment respectively. The presence of high starch contents had an adverse effect on the tensile properties of LDPE/tapioca starch blends. However, the addition of compatibilizer to the blends improved the interfacial adhesion between the two materials, hence, improved the tensile properties of the films. High content of starch amount also was found to increase the rate of biodegradability of LDPE/tapioca starch films. It can be proved by exposure of the film to fungi environment. A growth of microbes colony can be seen on the surface of LDPE/tapioca starch film indicates that the granular starch present on the surface of the polymer film is attacked by microorganisms, until most of it is assimilated as a carbon source.

Keywords: Degradable polymer, starch based biofilms, blown film extrusion, green food packaging.

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Authors: A. H. M. Faisal Anwar

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In this study, the effect of greywater irrigation on airwater interfacial area is investigated. Several soil column experiments were conducted for different greywater irrigation to develop the pressure-saturation curves. Surface tension was measured for different greywater concentration and fitted for Gibbs adsorption equation. Pressure-saturation curves show that the reduction of capillary rise stops when it reaches its critical micelle concentration (CMC). A simple theory is derived from pressure-saturation curves for calculating air-water interfacial area in porous medium during greywater irrigation by introducing a term 'hydraulic radius' for the pores. This term diminishes any effect of pore shapes on the air-water interfacial area. The air-water interfacial area was calculated using the pressure-saturation curves and found that it decreases with increasing moisture content. But no significant effect was observed on air-water interfacial area for different greywater irrigation. A maximum of 10% variation in interfacial area was observed at the residual saturation zone.

Keywords: Greywater, Irrigation, Interfacial area, Surface tension, Porous medium.

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Authors: M. Staníčková

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The paper deals with an application of quantitative analysis – the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to performance evaluation of the European Union Member States, in the reference years 2000 and 2011. The main aim of the paper is to measure efficiency changes over the reference years and to analyze a level of productivity in individual countries based on DEA method and to classify the EU Member States to homogeneous units (clusters) according to efficiency results. The theoretical part is devoted to the fundamental basis of performance theory and the methodology of DEA. The empirical part is aimed at measuring degree of productivity and level of efficiency changes of evaluated countries by basic DEA model – CCR CRS model, and specialized DEA approach – the Malmquist Index measuring the change of technical efficiency and the movement of production possibility frontier. Here, DEA method becomes a suitable tool for setting a competitive/uncompetitive position of each country because there is not only one factor evaluated, but a set of different factors that determine the degree of economic development.

Keywords: CCR CRS model, cluster analysis, DEA method, efficiency, EU, Malmquist index, performance.

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Authors: Viacheslav Shkuratskyy, Aminu Bello Usman, Michael O’Dea, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Saifur Rahman Sabuj

Abstract:

This paper examines relationships between solar activity and earthquakes, it applied machine learning techniques: K-nearest neighbour, support vector regression, random forest regression, and long short-term memory network. Data from the SILSO World Data Center, the NOAA National Center, the GOES satellite, NASA OMNIWeb, and the United States Geological Survey were used for the experiment. The 23rd and 24th solar cycles, daily sunspot number, solar wind velocity, proton density, and proton temperature were all included in the dataset. The study also examined sunspots, solar wind, and solar flares, which all reflect solar activity, and earthquake frequency distribution by magnitude and depth. The findings showed that the long short-term memory network model predicts earthquakes more correctly than the other models applied in the study, and solar activity is more likely to effect earthquakes of lower magnitude and shallow depth than earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 or larger with intermediate depth and deep depth

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Keywords: K-Nearest Neighbour, Support Vector Regression, Random Forest Regression, Long Short-Term Memory Network, earthquakes, solar activity, sunspot number, solar wind, solar flares.

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Authors: S.Ponmalar, S.Sundaravadivelu

Abstract:

Traditional optical networks are gradually evolving towards intelligent optical networks due to the need for faster bandwidth provisioning, protection and restoration of the network that can be accomplished with devices like optical switch, add drop multiplexer and cross connects. Since dense wavelength multiplexing forms the physical layer for intelligent optical networking, the roll of high speed all optical switch is important. This paper analyzes such an ultra-high speed polymer electro-optic switch. The performances of the 2x2 optical waveguide switch with rectangular, triangular and trapezoidal grating profiles on various device parameters are analyzed. The simulation result shows that trapezoidal grating is the optimized structure which has the coupling length of 81μm and switching voltage of 11V for the operating wavelength of 1550nm. The switching time for this proposed switch is 0.47 picosecond. This makes the proposed switch to be an important element in the intelligent optical network.

Keywords: Intelligent optical network, optical switch, electrooptic effect, coupled mode theory, waveguide grating structures

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Authors: Linnea Stenliden

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to understand emerging learning conditions, when a visual analytics is implemented and used in K 12 (education). To date, little attention has been paid to the role visual analytics (digital media and technology that highlight visual data communication in order to support analytical tasks) can play in education, and to the extent to which these tools can process actionable data for young students. This study was conducted in three public K 12 schools, in four social science classes with students aged 10 to 13 years, over a period of two to four weeks at each school. Empirical data were generated using video observations and analyzed with help of metaphors within Actor-network theory (ANT). The learning conditions are found to be distinguished by broad complexity, characterized by four dimensions. These emerge from the actors’ deeply intertwined relations in the activities. The paper argues in relation to the found dimensions that novel approaches to teaching and learning could benefit students’ knowledge building as they work with visual analytics, analyzing visualized data.

Keywords: Analytical reasoning, complexity, data use, problem space, visual analytics, visual storytelling, translation.

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