Search results for: 3D Morphable Face Shape Model

Authors: Cătălin Mărculescu, Andrei Avram, Cătălin Pârvulescu, Marioara Avram, Cătălin Mihai Bălan

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The present microfluidic study is emphasizing the flow behavior within a Y shape micro-bifurcation in two similar flow configurations. We report here a numerical and experimental investigation on the velocity profiles evolution and secondary flows, manifested at different Reynolds numbers (Re) and for two different boundary conditions. The experiments are performed using special designed setup based on optical microscopic devices. With this setup, direct visualizations and quantitative measurements of the path-lines are obtained. A Micro-PIV measurement system is used to obtain velocity profiles distributions in a spatial evolution in the main flows domains. The experimental data is compared with numerical simulations performed with commercial computational code FLUENT in a 3D geometry with the same dimensions as the experimental one. The numerical flow patterns are found to be in good agreement with the experimental manifestations.

Keywords: Micro-PIV, numerical investigations, secondary flows, velocity profiles.

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Authors: Shamima Akhter, Siegfried Bauer

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The aim of this study is to analyze the migration  process of the rural population of Bangladesh. Heckman Probit model  with sample selection was applied in this paper to explore the  determinants of migration and intensity of migration at farm  household level. The farm survey was conducted in the central part of  Bangladesh on 160 farm households with migrant and on 154 farm  households without migrant including a total of 316 farm households.  The results from the applied model revealed that main determinants  of migration at farm household level are household age, economically  active males and females, number of young and old dependent  members in the household and agricultural land holding. On the other  hand the main determinants of intensity of migration are availability  of economically adult male in the household, number of young  dependents and agricultural land holding.

 

Keywords: Determinants, Heckman Probit Model, Migration, Rural- Urban.

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Authors: Elie H. Karam, Antoine B. Abche

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It is known that the heart interacts with and adapts to its venous and arterial loading conditions. Various experimental studies and modeling approaches have been developed to investigate the underlying mechanisms. This paper presents a model of the left ventricle derived based on nonlinear stress-length myocardial characteristics integrated over truncated ellipsoidal geometry, and second-order dynamic mechanism for the excitation-contraction coupling system. The results of the model presented here describe the effects of the viscoelastic damping element of the electromechanical coupling system on the hemodynamic response. Different heart rates are considered to study the pacing effects on the performance of the left-ventricle against constant preload and afterload conditions under various damping conditions. The results indicate that the pacing process of the left ventricle has to take into account, among other things, the viscoelastic damping conditions of the myofilament excitation-contraction process. The effects of left ventricular dimensions on the hemdynamic response have been examined. These effects are found to be different at different viscoelastic and pacing conditions.

Keywords: Myocardial sarcomere, cardiac pump, excitationcontractioncoupling, viscoelasicity

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Authors: Yau-Ting, Sung, Hsueh-Chih, Chen, Hui-Peng, Hsiung, Hsun-Tsum, Huang

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In accordance with environmental impacts contended in Kyoto Protocol, the study aims to explore the different administrative and non-administrative measurements that industrial countries, such as America, German, Japan, Korea, Holland and British take to face with the increasing Global Warming phenomena. By large, these measurements consist of versatile dimensions, including of education and advocating, economical instruments, research developments and instances, restricted instruments, voluntary contacts, exchangeable permit for carbon-release and public investments. The results of discussion for the study are as follows: both economical impacts as well as reformations for nations that are affected via Kyoto Protocol, and human testifying for variables of global surroundings in the age of Kyoto Protocol.

Keywords: Global warming, Kyoto protocol.

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Authors: E.Sasikumar, T.Viruthagiri

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Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) of sugarcane bagasse by cellulase and Pachysolen tannophilus MTCC *1077 were investigated in the present study. Important process variables for ethanol production form pretreated bagasse were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) experiments. A 23 five level CCD experiments with central and axial points was used to develop a statistical model for the optimization of process variables such as incubation temperature (25–45°) X1, pH (5.0–7.0) X2 and fermentation time (24–120 h) X3. Data obtained from RSM on ethanol production were subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analyzed using a second order polynomial equation and contour plots were used to study the interactions among three relevant variables of the fermentation process. The fermentation experiments were carried out using an online monitored modular fermenter 2L capacity. The processing parameters setup for reaching a maximum response for ethanol production was obtained when applying the optimum values for temperature (32°C), pH (5.6) and fermentation time (110 h). Maximum ethanol concentration (3.36 g/l) was obtained from 50 g/l pretreated sugarcane bagasse at the optimized process conditions in aerobic batch fermentation. Kinetic models such as Monod, Modified Logistic model, Modified Logistic incorporated Leudeking – Piret model and Modified Logistic incorporated Modified Leudeking – Piret model have been evaluated and the constants were predicted.

Keywords: Sugarcane bagasse, ethanol, optimization, Pachysolen tannophilus.

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Authors: Etienne Provencal, David L. St-Pierre

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A facility exploiting only electronic gambling machines (EGMs) opened in 2007 in Quebec City, Canada under the name of Salons de Jeux du Québec (SdjQ). This facility is one of the first worldwide to rely on that business model. This paper models the performance of such EGMs. The interest from a managerial point of view is to identify the variables that can be controlled or influenced so that a comprehensive model can help improve the overall performance of the business. The EGM individual performance model contains eight different variables under study (Game Title, Progressive jackpot, Bonus Round, Minimum Coin-in, Maximum Coin-in, Denomination, Slant Top and Position). Using data from Quebec City’s SdjQ, a linear regression analysis explains 90.80% of the EGM performance. Moreover, results show a behavior slightly different than that of a casino. The addition of GameTitle as a factor to predict the EGM performance is one of the main contributions of this paper. The choice of the game (GameTitle) is very important. Games having better position do not have significantly better performance than games located elsewhere on the gaming floor. Progressive jackpots have a positive and significant effect on the individual performance of EGMs. The impact of BonusRound on the dependent variable is significant but negative. The effect of Denomination is significant but weakly negative. As expected, the Language of an EGMS does not impact its individual performance. This paper highlights some possible improvements by indicating which features are performing well. Recommendations are given to increase the performance of the EGMs performance.

Keywords: EGM, linear regression, model prediction, slot operations.

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Authors: Daniel C. S. Lim

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There are numerous nutritional supplements, such as multivitamins and nutrition drinks, in the market today. Many of these supplements are expensive and tend to be driven commercially by business decisions and big marketing budgets. Many of the costs are ultimately borne by the end user in the quest for keeping to a healthy lifestyle. This paper proposes a system with a list of ten determinants to gauge how to decide the value of various supplements. It suggests variables such as composition, safety, efficacy and bioavailability, as well as several other considerations. These guidelines can help to tackle many of the issues that people of all ages face in the way that they receive essential nutrients. The system also aims to promote and improve the safety and choice of foods and supplements. In so doing, the system aims to promote the individual’s or population’s control over their own health and reduce the growing health care burden on the society.

Keywords: Nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals, bioavailability, supplementation determinants, nutrition guidelines.

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Authors: A. Molee, N. Duanghaklang, P. Mernkrathoke

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The objective was to determine the single gene and interaction effect of composite genotype of beta-kappa casein and DGAT1 gene on milk yield (MY) and milk composition, content of milk fat (%FAT), milk protein (%PRO), solid not fat (%SNF), and total solid (%TS) in crossbred Holstein cows. Two hundred and thirty- one cows were genotyped with PCR-RFLP for DGAT1 and composite genotype data of beta-kappa casein from previous work were used. Two model, (1), and (2), was used to estimate single gene effect, and interaction effect on the traits, respectively. The significance of interaction effects on all traits were detected. Most traits have consistent pattern of significant when model (1), and (2) were compared, except the effect of composite genotype of betakappa casein on %FAT, and the effect of DGAT1 on MY, which the significant difference was detected in only model (1).The results suggested that when the optimum of all traits was necessary, interaction effect should be concerned.

Keywords: composite genotype of beta-kappa casein, DGAT1gene, Milk composition, Milk yield

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Authors: Quanru Pan

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How to maintain the service speeds for the business to make the biggest profit is a problem worthy of study, which is discussed in this paper with the use of queuing theory. An M/M/1/N queuing model with variable input rates, variable service rates and impatient customers is established, and the following conclusions are drawn: the stationary distribution of the model, the relationship between the stationary distribution and the probability that there are n customers left in the system when a customer leaves (not including the customer who leaves himself), the busy period of the system, the average operating cycle, the loss probability for the customers not entering the system while they arriving at the system, the mean of the customers who leaves the system being for impatient, the loss probability for the customers not joining the queue due to the limited capacity of the system and many other indicators. This paper also indicates that the following conclusion is not correct: the more customers the business serve, the more profit they will get. At last, this paper points out the appropriate service speeds the business should keep to make the biggest profit.

Keywords: variable input rates, impatient customer, variable servicerates, profit maximization.

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Authors: Zuzana Komrsková

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This paper shows the connection between emoticons and politeness in written computer-mediated communication. It studies if there are some differences in the use of emoticon between Czech and English written tweets. The assumptions about the use of emoticons were based on the use of greetings and thanks in real, faceto-face situations. The first assumption, that welcome greeting phrase would be accompanied by positive emoticon, was correct. But for the farewell greeting are both positive and negative emoticons possible. The results show lower frequency of negative emoticons in this context. There were also quite often found both positive and negative emoticon in the same tweet. The expression of gratitude is associated with positive emotions. The results show that emoticons accompany polite phrases of greeting and thanks very often both in Czech and English. The use of emoticons with studied polite phrases shows that emoticons have become an integral part of these phrases. 

Keywords: Computer-mediated communication, emoticons, politeness, Twitter.

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Authors: D. Mirauda, M. Greco, A. Volpe Plantamura

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The necessity of updating the numerical models inputs, because of geometrical and resistive variations in rivers subject to solid transport phenomena, requires detailed control and monitoring activities. The human employment and financial resources of these activities moves the research towards the development of expeditive methodologies, able to evaluate the outflows through the measurement of more easily acquirable sizes. Recent studies highlighted the dependence of the entropic parameter on the kinematical and geometrical flow conditions. They showed a meaningful variability according to the section shape, dimension and slope. Such dependences, even if not yet well defined, could reduce the difficulties during the field activities, and also the data elaboration time. On the basis of such evidences, the relationships between the entropic parameter and the geometrical and resistive sizes, obtained through a large and detailed laboratory experience on steady free surface flows in conditions of macro and intermediate homogeneous roughness, are analyzed and discussed.

Keywords: Froude number, entropic parameter, roughness, water discharge.

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Authors: S.K. Satpathy, S.K. Nayak, K. K. Nagwanshi, S. Panda, C. Ardil

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Image restoration involves elimination of noise. Filtering techniques were adopted so far to restore images since last five decades. In this paper, we consider the problem of image restoration degraded by a blur function and corrupted by random noise. A method for reducing additive noise in images by explicit analysis of local image statistics is introduced and compared to other noise reduction methods. The proposed method, which makes use of an a priori noise model, has been evaluated on various types of images. Bayesian based algorithms and technique of image processing have been described and substantiated with experimentation using MATLAB.

Keywords: Image Restoration, Probability DensityFunction (PDF), Neural Networks, Bayesian Classifier.

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Authors: A. Arjomand Kermani, N. Charbgoo, M. Alalhesabi

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In the situation of great acceleration of changes and the need for new developments in the cities on one hand and conservation and regeneration approaches on the other hand, place identity and its relation with heritage context have taken on new importance. This relation is generally mutual and complex one. The significant point in this relation is that the process of identifying something as heritage rather than just historical  phenomena, brings that which may be inherited into the realm of identity. In planning and urban design as well as environmental psychology and phenomenology domain, place identity and its attributes and components were studied and discussed. However, the relation between physical environment (especially heritage) and identity has been neglected in the planning literature. This article aims to review the knowledge on this field and develop a model on the influence and relation of these two major concepts (heritage and identity). To build this conceptual model, we draw on available literature in environmental psychology as well as planning on place identity and heritage environment using a descriptive-analytical methodology to understand how they can inform the planning strategies and governance policies. A cross-disciplinary analysis is essential to understand the nature of place identity and heritage context and develop a more holistic model of their relationship in order to be employed in planning process and decision making. Moreover, this broader and more holistic perspective would enable both social scientists and planners to learn from one another’s expertise for a fuller understanding of community dynamics. The result indicates that a combination of these perspectives can provide a richer understanding—not only of how planning impacts our experience of place, but also how place identity can impact community planning and development.

Keywords: heritage, Inter-disciplinary study, Place identity, planning

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Authors: M. Mousavi-Daramoroudi, H. Yousefnia, F. Abbasi-Davani, S. Zolghadri

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In this study, ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATOC was prepared under optimized conditions (radiochemical purity: > 99%, radionuclidic purity: > 99%). The percentage of injected dose per gram (%ID/g) was calculated for organs up to 168 h post injection. Compartmental model was applied to mathematical description of the drug behaviour in tissue at different times. The biodistribution data showed the significant excretion of the radioactivity from the kidneys. The adrenal and pancreas, as major expression sites for somatostatin receptor (SSTR), had significant uptake. A pharmacokinetic model of ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATOC was presented by compartmental analysis which demonstrates the behavior of the complex.

Keywords: Biodistribution, compartmental modeling, 177Lu, octreotide.

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Authors: Yishu Gong, Liangliang Yang, Jianyu Zhang, Zhengyu Chen, Sihong He, Xusheng Zhang, Wei Zhang

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and is characterized by cognitive decline and behavioral changes. People living with Alzheimer’s disease often find it hard to complete routine tasks. However, there are limited objective assessments that aim to quantify the difficulty of certain tasks for AD patients compared to non-AD people. In this study, we propose to use speech emotion recognition (SER), especially the frustration level as a potential biomarker for quantifying the difficulty patients experience when describing a picture. We build an SER model using data from the IEMOCAP dataset and apply the model to the DementiaBank data to detect the AD/non-AD group difference and perform longitudinal analysis to track the AD disease progression. Our results show that the frustration level detected from the SER model can possibly be used as a cost-effective tool for objective tracking of AD progression in addition to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Speech Emotion Recognition, longitudinal biomarker, machine learning.

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Authors: K. Uma Maheswari, S. Sathiyamoorthy, G. Lakshmi

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Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) is a non-invasive imaging modality used in clinical diagnosis for earlier detection of carcinoma cells in brain tissue. It is a form of optical tomography which produces gives the reconstructed image of a human soft tissue with by using near-infra-red light. It comprises of two steps called forward model and inverse model. The forward model provides the light propagation in a biological medium. The inverse model uses the scattered light to collect the optical parameters of human tissue. DOT suffers from severe ill-posedness due to its incomplete measurement data. So the accurate analysis of this modality is very complicated. To overcome this problem, optical properties of the soft tissue such as absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, optical flux are processed by the standard regularization technique called Levenberg - Marquardt regularization. The reconstruction algorithms such as Split Bregman and Gradient projection for sparse reconstruction (GPSR) methods are used to reconstruct the image of a human soft tissue for tumour detection. Among these algorithms, Split Bregman method provides better performance than GPSR algorithm. The parameters such as signal to noise ratio (SNR), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), relative error (RE) and CPU time for reconstructing images are analyzed to get a better performance.

Keywords: Diffuse optical tomography, ill-posedness, Levenberg Marquardt method, Split Bregman, the Gradient projection for sparse reconstruction.

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Authors: Chiung-Ju Huang

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This study examines whether the Taiwan’s public debt is sustainable utilizing an unrestricted two-regime threshold autoregressive (TAR) model with an autoregressive unit root. The empirical results show that Taiwan’s public debt appears as a nonlinear series and is stationary in regime 1 but not in regime 2. This result implies that while Taiwan’s public debt was mostly sustainable over the 1996 to 2013 period examined in the study, it may no longer be sustainable in the most recent two years as the public debt ratio has increased cumulatively to 3.618%.

Keywords: Nonlinearity, public debt, sustainability, threshold autoregressive model.

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Authors: M. K. Pradhan, C. K. Biswas

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In this research, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is used to investigate the effect of four controllable input variables namely: discharge current, pulse duration, pulse off time and applied voltage Surface Roughness (SR) of on Electrical Discharge Machined surface. To study the proposed second-order polynomial model for SR, a Central Composite Design (CCD) is used to estimation the model coefficients of the four input factors, which are alleged to influence the SR in Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process. Experiments were conducted on AISI D2 tool steel with copper electrode. The response is modeled using RSM on experimental data. The significant coefficients are obtained by performing Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance. It is found that discharge current, pulse duration, and pulse off time and few of their interactions have significant effect on the SR. The model sufficiency is very satisfactory as the Coefficient of Determination (R2) is found to be 91.7% and adjusted R2-statistic (R2 adj ) 89.6%.

Keywords: Electrical discharge machining, surface roughness, response surface methodology, ANOVA, central composite design.

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Authors: Hiroki Yoshikai, Shin’ichi Arakawa, Tetsuya Takine, Masayuki Murata

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API (Application Programming Interface) economy is expected to create new value by converting corporate services such as information processing and data provision into APIs and using these APIs to connect services. Understanding dynamics of a market of API economy under strategies of participants is crucial to fully maximize the values of API economy. To capture the behavior of a market in which the number of participants changes over time, we present a time-evolving market model for a platform in which API providers who provide APIs to service providers participate in addition to service providers and consumers. Then, we use the market model to clarify the role API providers play in expanding market participants and forming ecosystems. The results show that the platform with API providers increased the number of market participants by 67% and decreased the cost to develop services by 25% compared to the platform without API providers. Furthermore, during the expansion phase of the market, it is found that the profits of participants are mostly the same when 70% of the revenue from consumers is distributed to service providers and API providers. It is also found that, when the market is mature, the profits of the service provider and API provider will decrease significantly due to their competitions and the profit of the platform increases.

Keywords: API Economy, ecosystem, platform, API providers.

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Authors: Mohamed Sanad, Noha Hassan

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A broadband resonant terminal antenna has been developed. It can be used in different MIMO arrangements such as 2x2, 4x4, 8x8, or even 12x12 MIMO configurations. The antenna covers the whole LTE and WiFi bands besides the existing 2G/3G bands (700-5800 MHz), without using any matching/tuning circuits. Matching circuits significantly reduce the efficiency of any antenna and reduce the battery life. They also reduce the bandwidth because they are frequency dependent. The antenna can be implemented in smartphone handsets, tablets, laptops, notebooks or any other terminal. It is also suitable for different IoT and vehicle applications. The antenna is manufactured from a flexible material and can be bent or folded and shaped in any form to fit any available space in any terminal. It is self-contained and does not need to use the ground plane, the chassis or any other component of the terminal. Hence, it can be mounted on any terminal at different positions and configurations. Its performance does not get affected by the terminal, regardless of its type, shape or size. Moreover, its performance does not get affected by the human body of the terminal’s users. Because of all these unique features of the antenna, multiples of them can be simultaneously used for MIMO diversity coverage in any terminal device with a high isolation and a low correlation factor between them.

Keywords: IOT, LTE, MIMO, terminal antenna, WiFi.

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Authors: Ching-I Chen

Abstract:

The continued rise of e-commerce is the main driver of the rapid growth of global online purchase. Consumers can nearly buy everything they want at one occasion through online shopping. The purchase behavior models which focus on single product category are insufficient to describe online shopping behavior. Therefore, analysis of multi-category purchase gets more and more popular. For example, market basket analysis explores customers’ buying tendency of the association between product categories. The information derived from market basket analysis facilitates to make cross-selling strategies and product recommendation system.

To detect the association between different product categories, we use the market basket analysis with the multidimensional scaling technique to build an associated map which describes how likely multiple product categories are bought at the same time. Besides, we also build an inter-purchase time model for associated products to describe how likely a product will be bought after its associated product is bought. We classify inter-purchase time behaviors of multi-category products into nine types, and use a mixture regression model to integrate those behaviors under our assumptions of purchase sequences. Our sample data is from comScore which provides a panelist-label database that captures detailed browsing and buying behavior of internet users across the United States. Finding the inter-purchase time from books to movie is shorter than the inter-purchase time from movies to books. According to the model analysis and empirical results, this research finally proposes the applications and recommendations in the management.

Keywords: Multiple-category purchase behavior, inter-purchase time, market basket analysis.

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Authors: R. K. Apalowo, D. Chronopoulos

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A Finite Element (FE) based scheme is presented for quantifying guided wave interaction with Localised Nonlinear Structural Damage (LNSD) within structures of arbitrary layering and geometric complexity. The through-thickness mode-shape of the structure is obtained through a wave and finite element method. This is applied in a time domain FE simulation in order to generate time harmonic excitation for a specific wave mode. Interaction of the wave with LNSD within the system is computed through an element activation and deactivation iteration. The scheme is validated against experimental measurements and a WFE-FE methodology for calculating wave interaction with damage. Case studies for guided wave interaction with crack and delamination are presented to verify the robustness of the proposed method in classifying and identifying damage.

Keywords: Layered Structures, nonlinear ultrasound, wave interaction with nonlinear damage, wave finite element, finite element.

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Authors: Azmi Ibrahim, Nor Azan Mat Zin, Noraidah Sahari Ashaari

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Dengue fever is prevalent in Malaysia with numerous cases including mortality recorded over the years. Public education on the prevention of the desease through various means has been carried out besides the enforcement of legal means to eradicate Aedes mosquitoes, the dengue vector breeding ground. Hence, other means need to be explored, such as predicting the seasonal peak period of the dengue outbreak and identifying related climate factors contributing to the increase in the number of mosquitoes. Simulation model can be employed for this purpose. In this study, we created a simulation of system dynamic to predict the spread of dengue outbreak in Hulu Langat, Selangor Malaysia. The prototype was developed using STELLA 9.1.2 software. The main data input are rainfall, temperature and denggue cases. Data analysis from the graph showed that denggue cases can be predicted accurately using these two main variables- rainfall and temperature. However, the model will be further tested over a longer time period to ensure its accuracy, reliability and efficiency as a prediction tool for dengue outbreak.

Keywords: dengue fever, prediction, system dynamic, simulation

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Authors: K. T. Huynh, I. Gibson, W. F. Lu, B. N. Jagdish

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In this paper, the construction of a detailed spine model is presented using the LifeMOD Biomechanics Modeler. The detailed spine model is obtained by refining spine segments in cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions into individual vertebra segments, using bushing elements representing the intervertebral discs, and building various ligamentous soft tissues between vertebrae. In the sagittal plane of the spine, constant force will be applied from the posterior to anterior during simulation to determine dynamic characteristics of the spine. The force magnitude is gradually increased in subsequent simulations. Based on these recorded dynamic properties, graphs of displacement-force relationships will be established in terms of polynomial functions by using the least-squares method and imported into a haptic integrated graphic environment. A thoracolumbar spine model with complex geometry of vertebrae, which is digitized from a resin spine prototype, will be utilized in this environment. By using the haptic technique, surgeons can touch as well as apply forces to the spine model through haptic devices to observe the locomotion of the spine which is computed from the displacement-force relationship graphs. This current study provides a preliminary picture of our ongoing work towards building and simulating bio-fidelity scoliotic spine models in a haptic integrated graphic environment whose dynamic properties are obtained from LifeMOD. These models can be helpful for surgeons to examine kinematic behaviors of scoliotic spines and to propose possible surgical plans before spine correction operations.

Keywords: Haptic interface, LifeMOD, spine modeling.

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Authors: M. Fakharian, M. I. Khodakarami

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In this paper, a new trend for improvement in semianalytical method based on scale boundaries in order to solve the 2D elastodynamic problems is provided. In this regard, only the boundaries of the problem domain discretization are by specific subparametric elements. Mapping functions are uses as a class of higherorder Lagrange polynomials, special shape functions, Gauss-Lobatto- Legendre numerical integration, and the integral form of the weighted residual method, the matrix is diagonal coefficients in the equations of elastodynamic issues. Differences between study conducted and prior research in this paper is in geometry production procedure of the interpolation function and integration of the different is selected. Validity and accuracy of the present method are fully demonstrated through two benchmark problems which are successfully modeled using a few numbers of DOFs. The numerical results agree very well with the analytical solutions and the results from other numerical methods.

Keywords: 2D Elastodynamic Problems, Lagrange Polynomials, G-L-Lquadrature, Decoupled SBFEM.

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Authors: Roozbeh Molavi, Davood A. Khaburi

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The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is very useful in many applications. Vector control of PMSM is popular kind of its control. In this paper, at first an optimal vector control for PMSM is designed and then results are compared with conventional vector control. Then, it is assumed that the measurements are noisy and linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) methodology is used to filter the noises. The results of noisy optimal vector control and filtered optimal vector control are compared to each other. Nonlinearity of PMSM and existence of inverter in its control circuit caused that the system is nonlinear and time-variant. With deriving average model, the system is changed to nonlinear time-invariant and then the nonlinear system is converted to linear system by linearization of model around average values. This model is used to optimize vector control then two optimal vector controls are compared to each other. Simulation results show that the performance and robustness to noise of the control system has been highly improved.

Keywords: Kalman filter, Linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), Linear quadratic regulator (LQR), Permanent-Magnet synchronousmotor (PMSM).

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Authors: Guolong Zhong, Venkatesh Chennam Vijay, Ilias Oraifige

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In the last 20 years, Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) has shown its advantages in product development in different engineering areas such as automation, mechanical, civil and aerospace engineering in terms of digital design automation and cost reduction by automating repetitive design tasks through capturing, integrating, utilising and reusing the existing knowledge required in various aspects of the product design. However, in primary design stages, the descriptive information of a product is discrete and unorganized while knowledge is in various forms instead of pure data. Thus, it is crucial to have an integrated product model which can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge at the beginning of the product design. One of the shortcomings of the existing product models is a lack of required knowledge representation in various aspects of product design and its mapping to an interoperable schema. To overcome the limitation of the existing product model and methodologies, two key factors are considered. First, the product model must have well-defined classes that can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge. Second, the product model needs to be represented in an interoperable schema to ensure a steady data exchange between different product modelling platforms and CAD software. This paper introduced a method to provide a general product model as a generative representation of a product, which consists of the geometry information and non-geometry information, through a product modelling framework. The proposed method for capturing the knowledge from the designers through a knowledge file provides a simple and efficient way of collecting and transferring knowledge. Further, the knowledge schema provides a clear view and format on the data that needed to be gathered in order to achieve a unified knowledge exchange between different platforms. This study used a game-based platform to make product modelling environment accessible for non-engineers. Further the paper goes on to test use case based on the proposed game-based product modelling environment to validate the effectiveness among non-engineers.

Keywords: Game-based learning, knowledge based engineering, product modelling, design automation.

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Authors: R. Abdulrahman, A. Eardley, A. Soliman

Abstract:

The proliferation in the development of mobile learning (m-learning) has played a vital role in the rapidly growing electronic learning market. This relatively new technology can help to encourage the development of in learning and to aid knowledge transfer a number of areas, by familiarizing students with innovative information and communications technologies (ICT). M-learning plays a substantial role in the deployment of learning methods for nursing students by using the Internet and portable devices to access learning resources ‘anytime and anywhere’. However, acceptance of m-learning by students is critical to the successful use of m-learning systems. Thus, there is a need to study the factors that influence student’s intention to use m-learning. This paper addresses this issue. It outlines the outcomes of a study that evaluates the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model as applied to the subject of user acceptance in relation to m-learning activity in nurse education. The model integrates the significant components across eight prominent user acceptance models. Therefore, a standard measure is introduced with core determinants of user behavioural intention. The research model extends the UTAUT in the context of m-learning acceptance by modifying and adding individual innovativeness (II) and quality of service (QoS) to the original structure of UTAUT. The paper goes on to add the factors of previous experience (of using mobile devices in similar applications) and the nursing students’ readiness (to use the technology) to influence their behavioural intentions to use m-learning. This study uses a technique called ‘convenience sampling’ which involves student volunteers as participants in order to collect numerical data. A quantitative method of data collection was selected and involves an online survey using a questionnaire form. This form contains 33 questions to measure the six constructs, using a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 42 respondents participated, all from the Nursing Institute at the Armed Forces Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The gathered data were then tested using a research model that employs the structural equation modelling (SEM), including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the CFA show that the UTAUT model has the ability to predict student behavioural intention and to adapt m-learning activity to the specific learning activities. It also demonstrates satisfactory, dependable and valid scales of the model constructs. This suggests further analysis to confirm the model as a valuable instrument in order to evaluate the user acceptance of m-learning activity.

Keywords: Mobile learning, nursing institute, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

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Authors: Ninlawat Phuangchoke, Waraporn Viyanon, Setta Sasananan

Abstract:

The most important process of the water treatment plant process is coagulation, which uses alum and poly aluminum chloride (PACL). Therefore, determining the dosage of alum and PACL is the most important factor to be prescribed. This research applies an artificial neural network (ANN), which uses the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm to create a mathematical model (Soft Jar Test) for chemical dose prediction, as used for coagulation, such as alum and PACL, with input data consisting of turbidity, pH, alkalinity, conductivity, and, oxygen consumption (OC) of the Bangkhen Water Treatment Plant (BKWTP), under the authority of the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority of Thailand. The data were collected from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 in order to cover the changing seasons of Thailand. The input data of ANN are divided into three groups: training set, test set, and validation set. The coefficient of determination and the mean absolute errors of the alum model are 0.73, 3.18 and the PACL model are 0.59, 3.21, respectively.

Keywords: Soft jar test, jar test, water treatment plant process, artificial neural network.

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Authors: Ng Yee Luon, Mohd Zamri Yusoff, Norshah Hafeez Shuaib

Abstract:

Meshing is the process of discretizing problem domain into many sub domains before the numerical calculation can be performed. One of the most popular meshes among many types of meshes is tetrahedral mesh, due to their flexibility to fit into almost any domain shape. In both 2D and 3D domains, triangular and tetrahedral meshes can be generated by using Delaunay triangulation. The quality of mesh is an important factor in performing any Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations as the results is highly affected by the mesh quality. Many efforts had been done in order to improve the quality of the mesh. The paper describes a mesh generation routine which has been developed capable of generating high quality tetrahedral cells in arbitrary complex geometry. A few test cases in CFD problems are used for testing the mesh generator. The result of the mesh is compared with the one generated by a commercial software. The results show that no sliver exists for the meshes generated, and the overall quality is acceptable since the percentage of the bad tetrahedral is relatively small. The boundary recovery was also successfully done where all the missing faces are rebuilt.

Keywords: Mesh generation, tetrahedral, CFD, Delaunay.

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