Search results for: shunt Active Power Filter (sAPF)
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4235

Search results for: shunt Active Power Filter (sAPF)

1475 A Commercial Building Plug Load Management System That Uses Internet of Things Technology to Automatically Identify Plugged-In Devices and Their Locations

Authors: Amy LeBar, Kim L. Trenbath, Bennett Doherty, William Livingood

Abstract:

Plug and process loads (PPLs) account for a large portion of U.S. commercial building energy use. There is a huge potential to reduce whole building consumption by targeting PPLs for energy savings measures or implementing some form of plug load management (PLM). Despite this potential, there has yet to be a widely adopted commercial PLM technology. This paper describes the Automatic Type and Location Identification System (ATLIS), a PLM system framework with automatic and dynamic load detection (ADLD). ADLD gives PLM systems the ability to automatically identify devices as they are plugged into the outlets of a building. The ATLIS framework takes advantage of smart, connected devices to identify device locations in a building, meter and control their power, and communicate this information to a central database. ATLIS includes five primary capabilities: location identification, communication, control, energy metering, and data storage. A laboratory proof of concept (PoC) demonstrated all but the energy metering capability, and these capabilities were validated using a series of system tests. The PoC was able to identify when a device was plugged into an outlet and the location of the device in the building. When a device was moved, the PoC’s dashboard and database were automatically updated with the new location. The PoC implemented controls to devices from the system dashboard so that devices maintained correct schedules regardless of where they were plugged in within the building. ATLIS’s primary technology application is improved PLM, but other applications include asset management, energy audits, and interoperability for grid-interactive efficient buildings. An ATLIS-based system could also be used to direct power to critical devices, such as ventilators, during a brownout or blackout. Such a framework is an opportunity to make PLM more widespread and reduce the amount of energy consumed by PPLs in current and future commercial buildings.

Keywords: commercial buildings, grid-interactive efficient buildings, miscellaneous electric loads, plug loads, plug load management

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1474 Analysis of the Visual Preference of Patterns in Pedestrian Roads

Authors: Kang, Eun Sung, Song, Hyeong Wook, Kim, Hong Kyu

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to analyze the visual preference of patterns in pedestrian roads. In this study, animation was applied for the estimation of dynamic streetscape. Six patterns of pedestrian were selected in order to analyze the visual preference. The shapes are straight, s-curve, and zigzag. The ratio of building's height and road's width are 2:1 and 1:1. Twelve adjective pairs used in the field investigation were selected from adjectives which are used usually in the estimation of streetscape. They are interesting-boring, simple-complex, calm-noisy, open-enclosed, active-inactive, lightly-depressing, regular-irregular, unique-usual, rhythmic-not rhythmic, united-not united, stable-unstable, tidy-untidy. Dynamic streetscape must be considered important in pedestrian shopping mall and park because it will be an attraction. So, s-curve pedestrian road, which is the most beautiful as a result of this study, should be designed in this area. Also, the ratio of building's height and road's width along pedestrian road should be reduced.

Keywords: Visual preference, streetscape, animation, simulation, pedestrian.

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1473 Ozone Assisted Low Temperature Catalytic Benzene Oxidation over Al2O3, SiO2, AlOOH Supported Ni/Pd Catalytic

Authors: V. Georgiev

Abstract:

Catalytic oxidation of benzene assisted by ozone, on alumina, silica, and boehmite-supported Ni/Pd catalysts was investigated at 353 K to assess the influence of the support on the reaction. Three bimetallic Ni/Pd nanosized samples with loading 4.7% of Ni and 0.17% of Pd supported on SiO2, AlOOH and Al2O3 were synthesized by the extractive-pyrolytic method. The phase composition was characterized by means of XRD and the surface area and pore size were estimated using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) methods. At the beginning of the reaction, catalysts were significantly deactivated due to the accumulation of intermediates on the catalyst surface and after 60 minutes it turned stable. Ni/Pd/AlOOH catalyst showed the highest steady-state activity in comparison with the Ni/Pd/SiO2 and Ni/Pd/Al2O3 catalysts. Their activity depends on the ozone decomposition potential of the catalysts because of generating oxidizing active species. The sample with the highest ozone decomposition ability which correlated to the surface area of the support oxidizes benzene to the highest extent.

Keywords: Ozone, catalysts, oxidation, Volatile organic compounds, VOCs.

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1472 The Advantages of Integration for Social Systems – Evidence from the Automobile Industry

Authors: Waldemiro Francisco Sorte Junior

Abstract:

The Japanese integrative approach to social systems can be observed in supply chain management as well as in the relationship between public and private sectors. Both the Lean Production System and the Developmental State Model are characterized by efforts towards the achievement of mutual goals, resulting in initiatives for capacity building which emphasize the system level. In Brazil, although organizations undertake efforts to build capabilities at the individual and organizational levels, the system level is being neglected. Fieldwork data confirmed the findings of other studies in terms of the lack of integration in supply chain management in the Brazilian automobile industry. Moreover, due to the absence of an active role of the Brazilian state in its relationship with the private sector, automakers are not fully exploiting the opportunities in the domestic and regional markets. For promoting a higher level of economic growth as well as to increase the degree of spill-over of technologies and techniques, a more integrative approach is needed.

Keywords: Integration, Lean Production System, DevelopmentalState Model, Brazilian automobile industry.

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1471 Optimal Criteria for Non-Minimal Phase Plants

Authors: Z. Nemec, R. Matousek

Abstract:

The paper describes the evaluation of quality of control for cases of controlled non-minimal phase plants. Control circuits containing non-minimal phase plants have different properties, they manifest reversed reaction at the beginning of unit step response. For these types of plants are developed special criterion of quality of control, which considers the difference and can be helpful for synthesis of optimal controller tuning. All results are clearly presented using Matlab/Simulink models.

Keywords: control design, non-minimal phase system, optimalcriteria, power plant, heating plant, water turbine, Matlab, Simulink.

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1470 Unit Commitment Solution Methods

Authors: Sayeed Salam

Abstract:

An effort to develop a unit commitment approach capable of handling large power systems consisting of both thermal and hydro generating units offers a large profitable return. In order to be feasible, the method to be developed must be flexible, efficient and reliable. In this paper, various proposed methods have been described along with their strengths and weaknesses. As all of these methods have some sort of weaknesses, a comprehensive algorithm that combines the strengths of different methods and overcomes each other-s weaknesses would be a suitable approach for solving industry-grade unit commitment problem.

Keywords: Unit commitment, Solution methods, and Comprehensive algorithm.

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1469 Aerodynamic Stall Control of a Generic Airfoil using Synthetic Jet Actuator

Authors: Basharat Ali Haider, Naveed Durrani, Nadeem Aizud, Salimuddin Zahir

Abstract:

The aerodynamic stall control of a baseline 13-percent thick NASA GA(W)-2 airfoil using a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) is presented in this paper. Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved on a hybrid grid using a commercial software to simulate the effects of a synthetic jet actuator located at 13% of the chord from the leading edge at a Reynolds number Re = 2.1x106 and incidence angles from 16 to 22 degrees. The experimental data for the pressure distribution at Re = 3x106 and aerodynamic coefficients at Re = 2.1x106 (angle of attack varied from -16 to 22 degrees) without SJA is compared with the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation as a baseline validation. A good agreement of the CFD simulations is obtained for aerodynamic coefficients and pressure distribution. A working SJA has been integrated with the baseline airfoil and initial focus is on the aerodynamic stall control at angles of attack from 16 to 22 degrees. The results show a noticeable improvement in the aerodynamic performance with increase in lift and decrease in drag at these post stall regimes.

Keywords: Active flow control, Aerodynamic stall, Airfoilperformance, Synthetic jet actuator.

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1468 Analysis of Possible Causes of Fukushima Disaster

Authors: Abid Hossain Khan, Syam Hasan, M. A. R. Sarkar

Abstract:

Fukushima disaster is one of the most publicly exposed accidents in a nuclear facility which has changed the outlook of people towards nuclear power. Some have used it as an example to establish nuclear energy as an unsafe source, while others have tried to find the real reasons behind this accident. Many papers have tried to shed light on the possible causes, some of which are purely based on assumptions while others rely on rigorous data analysis. To our best knowledge, none of the works can say with absolute certainty that there is a single prominent reason that has paved the way to this unexpected incident. This paper attempts to compile all the apparent reasons behind Fukushima disaster and tries to analyze and identify the most likely one.

Keywords: Fuel meltdown, Fukushima disaster, manmade calamity, nuclear facility, tsunami.

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1467 Wireless Building Monitoring and Control System

Authors: J.-P. Skön, M. Johansson, O. Kauhanen, M. Raatikainen, K. Leiviskä, M. Kolehmainen

Abstract:

The building sector is the largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter in the European Union (EU) and therefore the active reduction of energy consumption and elimination of energy wastage are among the main goals in it. Healthy housing and energy efficiency are affected by many factors which set challenges to monitoring, control and research of indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy consumption, especially in old buildings. These challenges include measurement and equipment costs, for example. Additionally, the measurement results are difficult to interpret and their usage in the ventilation control is also limited when taking into account the energy efficiency of housing at the same time. The main goal of this study is to develop a cost-effective building monitoring and control system especially for old buildings. The starting point or keyword of the development process is a wireless system; otherwise the installation costs become too high. As the main result, this paper describes an idea of a wireless building monitoring and control system. The first prototype of the system has been installed in 10 residential buildings and in 10 school buildings located in the City of Kuopio, Finland.

Keywords: Energy efficiency, Indoor air quality, Monitoring system, Building automation

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1466 Analysis and Categorization of e-Learning Activities Based On Meaningful Learning Characteristics

Authors: Arda Yunianta, Norazah Yusof, Mohd Shahizan Othman, Dewi Octaviani

Abstract:

Learning is the acquisition of new mental schemata, knowledge, abilities and skills which can be used to solve problems potentially more successfully. The learning process is optimum when it is assisted and personalized. Learning is not a single activity, but should involve many possible activities to make learning become meaningful. Many e-learning applications provide facilities to support teaching and learning activities. One way to identify whether the e-learning system is being used by the learners is through the number of hits that can be obtained from the e-learning system's log data. However, we cannot rely solely to the number of hits in order to determine whether learning had occurred meaningfully. This is due to the fact that meaningful learning should engage five characteristics namely active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative. This paper aims to analyze the e-learning activities that is meaningful to learning. By focusing on the meaningful learning characteristics, we match it to the corresponding Moodle e-learning activities. This analysis discovers the activities that have high impact to meaningful learning, as well as activities that are less meaningful. The high impact activities is given high weights since it become important to meaningful learning, while the low impact has less weight and said to be supportive e-learning activities. The result of this analysis helps us categorize which e-learning activities that are meaningful to learning and guide us to measure the effectiveness of e-learning usage.

Keywords: e-learning system, e-learning activity, meaningful learning characteristics, Moodle

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1465 Screening of Minimal Salt Media for Biosurfactant Production by Bacillus spp.

Authors: Y. M. Al-Wahaibi, S. N. Al-Bahry, A. E. Elshafie, A. S. Al-Bemani, S. J. Joshi, A. K. Al-Bahri

Abstract:

Crude oil is a major source of global energy. The major problem is its widespread use and demand resulted is in increasing environmental pollution. One associated pollution problem is ‘oil spills’. Oil spills can be remediated with the use of chemical dispersants, microbial biodegradation and microbial metabolites such as biosurfactants. Four different minimal salt media for biosurfactant production by Bacillus isolated from oil contaminated sites from Oman were screened. These minimal salt media were supplemented with either glucose or sucrose as a carbon source. Among the isolates, W16 and B30 produced the most active biosurfactants. Isolate W16 produced better biosurfactant than the rest, and reduced surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT) to 25.26mN/m and 2.29mN/m respectively within 48h which are characteristics for removal of oil in contaminated sites. Biosurfactant was produced in bulk and extracted using acid precipitation method. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) of acid precipitate biosurfactant revealed two concentrated bands. Further studies of W16 biosurfactant in bioremediation of oil spills are recommended.

Keywords: Oil contamination, remediation, Bacillus spp, biosurfactant, surface tension, interfacial tension.

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1464 A Research on DC Voltage Offsets Generated by PWM-Controlled Inverters

Authors: Marios N. Moschakis

Abstract:

The increasing penetration of Distributed Generation and storage connected to the distribution network via PWM converters increases the possibility of a DC-component (offset) in voltage or current flowing into the grid. This occurs when even harmonics are present in the network voltage. DC-components can affect the operation and safety of several grid components. Therefore, an investigation of the way they are produced is important in order to take appropriate measures for their elimination. Further research on DC-components that appear on output voltage of converters is performed for different parameters of PWM technique and characteristics of even harmonics.

Keywords: Asymmetric even harmonics, DC-offsets, distributed generation, electric machine drive systems, power quality.

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1463 Study on Characterization of Tuncbilek Fly Ash

Authors: A.S. Kipcak, N. Baran Acarali, S. Kolemen, N. Tugrul, E. Moroydor Derun, S. Piskin

Abstract:

Fly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion, and comprises the fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash [1]. In our country, it is expected that will be occurred 50 million tons of waste ash per year until 2020. Released waste from the thermal power plants is caused very significant problems as known. The fly ashes can be evaluated by using as adsorbent material. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of use of Tuncbilek fly ash like low-cost adsorbents for heavy metal adsorption. First of all, Tuncbilek fly ash was characterized. For this purpose; analysis such as sieve analysis, XRD, XRF, SEM and FT-IR were performed.

Keywords: Fly ash, heavy metal, sieve, adsorbent

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1462 Development of a Nano-Alumina-Zirconia Composite Catalyst as an Active Thin Film in Biodiesel Production

Authors: N. Marzban, J. K. Heydarzadeh M. Pourmohammadbagher, M. H. Hatami, A. Samia

Abstract:

A nano-alumina-zirconia composite catalyst was synthesized by a simple aqueous sol-gel method using AlCl3.6H2O and ZrCl4 as precursors. Thermal decomposition of the precursor and subsequent formation of γ-Al2O3 and t-Zr were investigated by thermal analysis. XRD analysis showed that γ-Al2O3 and t-ZrO2 phases were formed at 700 °C. FT-IR analysis also indicated that the phase transition to γ-Al2O3 occurred in corroboration with X-ray studies. TEM analysis of the calcined powder revealed that spherical particles were in the range of 8-12 nm. The nano-alumina-zirconia composite particles were mesoporous and uniformly distributed in their crystalline phase. In order to measure the catalytic activity, esterification reaction was carried out. Biodiesel, as a renewable fuel, was formed in a continuous packed column reactor. Free fatty acid (FFA) was esterified with ethanol in a heterogeneous catalytic reactor. It was found that the synthesized γ-Al2O3/ZrO2 composite had the potential to be used as a heterogeneous base catalyst for biodiesel production processes.

Keywords: Nano-alumina-zirconia, composite catalyst, thin film, biodiesel.

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1461 PSO-Based Planning of Distribution Systems with Distributed Generations

Authors: Amin Hajizadeh, Ehsan Hajizadeh

Abstract:

This paper presents a multi-objective formulation for optimal siting and sizing of distributed generation (DG) resources in distribution systems in order to minimize the cost of power losses and energy not supplied. The implemented technique is based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and weight method that employed to obtain the best compromise between these costs. Simulation results on 33-bus distribution test system are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure.

Keywords: Distributed generation, distribution networks, particle swarm optimization, reliability, weight method

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1460 Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Examine Seniors’ Attitudes toward Facebook

Authors: Chien-Jen Liu, Shu Ching Yang

Abstract:

Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined the external variables of technological complexity (TC) to acquire a better understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance of computer application courses by learners at Active Aging Universities. After the learners in this study had completed a 27-hour Facebook course, 44 learners responded to a modified TAM survey. Data were collected to examine the path relationships among the variables that influence the acceptance of Facebook-mediated community learning. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used to test the measurement and the structural model. The study results demonstrated that attitudes toward Facebook use directly influence behavioral intentions (BI) with respect to Facebook use, evincing a high prediction rate of 58.3%. In addition to the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) measures that are proposed in the TAM, other external variables, such as TC, also indirectly influence BI. These four variables can explain 88% of the variance in BI and demonstrate a high level of predictive ability. Finally, limitations of this investigation and implications for further research are discussed.

Keywords: Technology acceptance model (TAM), technological complexity, partial least squares (PLS), perceived usefulness.

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1459 A Multi-Level WEB Based Parallel Processing System A Hierarchical Volunteer Computing Approach

Authors: Abdelrahman Ahmed Mohamed Osman

Abstract:

Over the past few years, a number of efforts have been exerted to build parallel processing systems that utilize the idle power of LAN-s and PC-s available in many homes and corporations. The main advantage of these approaches is that they provide cheap parallel processing environments for those who cannot afford the expenses of supercomputers and parallel processing hardware. However, most of the solutions provided are not very flexible in the use of available resources and very difficult to install and setup. In this paper, a multi-level web-based parallel processing system (MWPS) is designed (appendix). MWPS is based on the idea of volunteer computing, very flexible, easy to setup and easy to use. MWPS allows three types of subscribers: simple volunteers (single computers), super volunteers (full networks) and end users. All of these entities are coordinated transparently through a secure web site. Volunteer nodes provide the required processing power needed by the system end users. There is no limit on the number of volunteer nodes, and accordingly the system can grow indefinitely. Both volunteer and system users must register and subscribe. Once, they subscribe, each entity is provided with the appropriate MWPS components. These components are very easy to install. Super volunteer nodes are provided with special components that make it possible to delegate some of the load to their inner nodes. These inner nodes may also delegate some of the load to some other lower level inner nodes .... and so on. It is the responsibility of the parent super nodes to coordinate the delegation process and deliver the results back to the user. MWPS uses a simple behavior-based scheduler that takes into consideration the current load and previous behavior of processing nodes. Nodes that fulfill their contracts within the expected time get a high degree of trust. Nodes that fail to satisfy their contract get a lower degree of trust. MWPS is based on the .NET framework and provides the minimal level of security expected in distributed processing environments. Users and processing nodes are fully authenticated. Communications and messages between nodes are very secure. The system has been implemented using C#. MWPS may be used by any group of people or companies to establish a parallel processing or grid environment.

Keywords: Volunteer computing, Parallel Processing, XMLWebServices, .NET Remoting, Tuplespace.

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1458 Design of Salbutamol Sulphate Gastroretentive Nanoparticles via Surface Charge Manipulation

Authors: Diky Mudhakir, M. Fauzi Bostanudin, Fiki Firmawan, Rachmat Mauludin

Abstract:

In the present study, development of salbutamol sulphate nanoparticles that adhere to gastric mucus was investigated. Salbutamol sulphate has low bioavailability due to short transit time in gastric. It also has a positive surface charge that provides hurdles to be encapsulated by the positively strong mucoadhesive polymer of chitosan. To overcome the difficulties, the surface charge of active ingredient was modified using several nonionic and anionic stomach-specific polymers. The nanoparticles were prepared using ionotropic gelation technique. The evaluation involved determination of particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release and in vitro mucoadhesion test. Results exhibited that the use of anionic alginate polymer was more satisfactory than that of nonionic polymer. Characteristics of the particles was nano-size, high encapsulation efficiency, fulfilled the drug release requirements and adhesive towards stomach for around 11 hours. This result shows that the salbutamol sulphate nanoparticles can be utilized for improvement its delivery.

Keywords: Mucoadhesive, salbutamol sulphate, nanosize, anionic polymer.

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1457 Defects in Open Source Software: The Role of Online Forums

Authors: Faheem Ahmed, Piers Campbell, Ahmad Jaffar, Luiz Capretz

Abstract:

Free and open source software is gaining popularity at an unprecedented rate of growth. Organizations despite some concerns about the quality have been using them for various purposes. One of the biggest concerns about free and open source software is post release software defects and their fixing. Many believe that there is no appropriate support available to fix the bugs. On the contrary some believe that due to the active involvement of internet user in online forums, they become a major source of communicating the identification and fixing of defects in open source software. The research model of this empirical investigation establishes and studies the relationship between open source software defects and online public forums. The results of this empirical study provide evidence about the realities of software defects myths of open source software. We used a dataset consist of 616 open source software projects covering a broad range of categories to study the research model of this investigation. The results of this investigation show that online forums play a significant role identifying and fixing the defects in open source software.

Keywords: About Open source software, software engineering, software defect management, empirical software engineering.

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1456 Climate Change Policies in Australia: Gender Equality, Power and Knowledge

Authors: Thomas K. Wanner

Abstract:

This paper examines the link between gender equality and climate change policies in Australia. It critically analyses the extent to which gender mainstreaming and gender dimensions have been taken into account in the national policy processes for climate change in Australia. The paper argues that climate change adaptation and mitigation policies in Australia neglect gender dimensions. This endangers the advances made in gender equality and works against socially equitable and effective climate change strategies.

Keywords: Climate change, gender equality, gendermainstreaming, sustainable development.

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1455 A Review on Impacts of Grid-Connected PV System on Distribution Networks

Authors: Davud Mostafa Tobnaghi

Abstract:

This paper aims to investigate and emphasize the importance of the grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems regarding the intermittent nature of renewable generation, and the characterization of PV generation with regard to grid code compliance. The development of Photovoltaic systems and expansion plans relating to the futuristic in worldwide is elaborated. The most important impacts of grid connected photovoltaic systems on distribution networks as well as the Penetration level of PV system was investigated.

Keywords: Grid-connected photovoltaic system, distribution network, penetration levels, power quality.

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1454 Using Fly Ash as a Reinforcement to Increase Wear Resistance of Pure Magnesium

Authors: E. Karakulak, R. Yamanoğlu, M. Zeren

Abstract:

In the current study, fly ash obtained from a thermal power plant was used as reinforcement in pure magnesium. The composite materials with different fly ash contents were produced with powder metallurgical methods. Powder mixtures were sintered at 540oC under 30 MPa pressure for 15 minutes in a vacuum assisted hot press. Results showed that increasing ash content continuously increases hardness of the composite. On the other hand, minimum wear damage was obtained at 2 wt. % ash content. Addition of higher level of fly ash results with formation of cracks in the matrix and increases wear damage of the material.

Keywords: Mg composite, fly ash, wear, powder metallurgy.

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1453 An Edge-based Text Region Extraction Algorithm for Indoor Mobile Robot Navigation

Authors: Jagath Samarabandu, Xiaoqing Liu

Abstract:

Using bottom-up image processing algorithms to predict human eye fixations and extract the relevant embedded information in images has been widely applied in the design of active machine vision systems. Scene text is an important feature to be extracted, especially in vision-based mobile robot navigation as many potential landmarks such as nameplates and information signs contain text. This paper proposes an edge-based text region extraction algorithm, which is robust with respect to font sizes, styles, color/intensity, orientations, and effects of illumination, reflections, shadows, perspective distortion, and the complexity of image backgrounds. Performance of the proposed algorithm is compared against a number of widely used text localization algorithms and the results show that this method can quickly and effectively localize and extract text regions from real scenes and can be used in mobile robot navigation under an indoor environment to detect text based landmarks.

Keywords: Landmarks, mobile robot navigation, scene text, text localization and extraction.

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1452 A Survey on Opportunistic Routing in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Authors: R. Poonkuzhali, M. Y. Sanavullah, A. Sabari, T. Dhivyaa

Abstract:

Opportunistic Routing (OR) increases the transmission reliability and network throughput. Traditional routing protocols preselects one or more predetermined nodes before transmission starts and uses a predetermined neighbor to forward a packet in each hop. The opportunistic routing overcomes the drawback of unreliable wireless transmission by broadcasting one transmission can be overheard by manifold neighbors. The first cooperation-optimal protocol for Multirate OR (COMO) used to achieve social efficiency and prevent the selfish behavior of the nodes. The novel link-correlation-aware OR improves the performance by exploiting the miscellaneous low correlated forward links. Context aware Adaptive OR (CAOR) uses active suppression mechanism to reduce packet duplication. The Context-aware OR (COR) can provide efficient routing in mobile networks. By using Cooperative Opportunistic Routing in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (CORMAN), the problem of opportunistic data transfer can be tackled. While comparing to all the protocols, COMO is the best as it achieves social efficiency and prevents the selfish behavior of the nodes.

Keywords: CAOR, COMO, COR, CORMAN, MANET, Opportunistic Routing, Reliability, Throughput.

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1451 Evaluating the Evolution of Public Art across the World and Exploring Its Growth in Urban India

Authors: Mitali Kedia, Parul Kapoor

Abstract:

Public Art is a tool with the power to enrich and enlighten any place; it has been accepted and welcomed effortlessly by many cultures around the World. In this paper, we discuss the implications Public Art has had on the society and how it has evolved over the years, and how in India, art in this aspect is still overlooked and treated as an accessory. Urban aesthetics are still substantially limited to the installation of deities, political figures, and so on. The paper also discusses various possibilities and opportunities on how Public Art can boost a society; it also suggests a framework that can be incorporated in the legal system of the country to make it a part of the city development process.

Keywords: Public art, urban fabric, placemaking, community welfare, public art program, imageability.

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1450 In vivo Therapeutic Potential of Biologically Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles

Authors: Kalakotla Shanker, G. Krishna Mohan

Abstract:

Nowadays, nanoparticles are being used in pharmacological studies for their exclusive properties such as small size, more surface area, biocompatibility and enhanced solubility. In view of this, the present study aimed to evaluate the antihyperglycemic potential of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (BSSNPs) and Gymnema sylvestre (GS) extract. The SEM and SEM analysis divulges that the BSSNPs were spherical in shape. EDAX spectrum exhibits peaks for the presence of silver, carbon, and oxygen atoms in the range of 1.0-3.1 keV. FT-IR reveals the binding properties of active bio-constituents responsible for capping and stabilizing BSSNPs. The results showed increased blood glucose, huge loss in body weight and downturn in plasma insulin. The GS extract (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg), BSSNPs (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg) and metformin 50 mg/kg were administered to the diabetic rats. BSSNPs at a dose level of 200 mg/kg (b.wt.p.o.) showed significant inhibition of (p<0.001) blood glucose levels as compared with GS extract treated group. The results obtained from study indicate that the BSSNP shows potent anti-diabetic activity.

Keywords: BSSNP, G.sylvetre, wistar rats, antihyperglycemic activity.

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1449 Improved Feature Extraction Technique for Handling Occlusion in Automatic Facial Expression Recognition

Authors: Khadijat T. Bamigbade, Olufade F. W. Onifade

Abstract:

The field of automatic facial expression analysis has been an active research area in the last two decades. Its vast applicability in various domains has drawn so much attention into developing techniques and dataset that mirror real life scenarios. Many techniques such as Local Binary Patterns and its variants (CLBP, LBP-TOP) and lately, deep learning techniques, have been used for facial expression recognition. However, the problem of occlusion has not been sufficiently handled, making their results not applicable in real life situations. This paper develops a simple, yet highly efficient method tagged Local Binary Pattern-Histogram of Gradient (LBP-HOG) with occlusion detection in face image, using a multi-class SVM for Action Unit and in turn expression recognition. Our method was evaluated on three publicly available datasets which are JAFFE, CK, SFEW. Experimental results showed that our approach performed considerably well when compared with state-of-the-art algorithms and gave insight to occlusion detection as a key step to handling expression in wild.

Keywords: Automatic facial expression analysis, local binary pattern, LBP-HOG, occlusion detection.

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1448 Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism: Proposal for Environmental and Sociocultural Indicators

Authors: Miguel José Oliveira, Fátima Farinha, Elisa M. J. da Silva, Rui Lança, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Cátia Miguel

Abstract:

The Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism (OBSERVE) will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of this region. The OBSERVE tool is designed to provide data and maintain an up-to-date, consistent set of indicators defined to describe the region on the environmental, sociocultural, economic and institutional domains. This ongoing two-year project has the active participation of the Algarve’s stakeholders, since they were consulted and asked to participate in the discussion for the indicators proposal. The environmental and sociocultural indicators chosen must indicate the characteristics of the region and should be in alignment with other global systems used to monitor the sustainability. This paper presents a review of sustainability indicators systems that support the first proposal for the environmental and sociocultural indicators. Others constraints are discussed, namely the existing data and the data available in digital platforms in a format suitable for automatic importation to the platform of OBSERVE. It is intended that OBSERVE will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of the region of Algarve.

Keywords: Sustainability, observatory, environmental indicators, sociocultural indicators, development, tourism, Algarve.

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1447 Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship and Insilco Docking of Substituted 1,3,4-Oxadiazole Derivatives as Potential Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Synthase Inhibitors

Authors: Suman Bala, Sunil Kamboj, Vipin Saini

Abstract:

Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis has been developed to relate antifungal activity of novel substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger using computer assisted multiple regression analysis. The study has shown the better relationship between antifungal activities with respect to various descriptors established by multiple regression analysis. The analysis has shown statistically significant correlation with R2 values 0.932 and 0.782 against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger respectively. These derivatives were further subjected to molecular docking studies to investigate the interactions between the target compounds and amino acid residues present in the active site of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase. All the synthesized compounds have better docking score as compared to standard fluconazole. Our results could be used for the further design as well as development of optimal and potential antifungal agents.

Keywords: 1, 3, 4-Oxadiazole, QSAR, Multiple linear regression, Docking, Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Synthase.

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1446 Peak-to-Average Power Ratio Reduction in OFDM Systems using Huffman Coding

Authors: Ashraf A. Eltholth, Adel R. Mikhail, A. Elshirbini, Moawad I. Moawad, A. I. Abdelfattah

Abstract:

In this paper we proposed the use of Huffman coding to reduce the PAR of an OFDM system as a distortionless scrambling technique, and we utilize the amount saved in the total bit rate by the Huffman coding to send the encoding table for accurate decoding at the receiver without reducing the effective throughput. We found that the use of Huffman coding reduces the PAR by about 6 dB. Also we have investigated the effect of PAR reduction due to Huffman coding through testing the spectral spreading and the inband distortion due to HPA with different IBO values. We found a complete match of our expectation from the proposed solution with the obtained simulation results.

Keywords: HPA, Huffman coding, OFDM, PAR

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