Search results for: Color Filter Array (CFA)

Authors: Pearl K. Atuhaire, Sylvia Kaye

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While the need for equal access to civil, political as well as economic, social and cultural rights is clear under the international law, the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women in 1979 made this even clearer. Despite this positive progress, the abuse of refugee women's rights is one of the basic underlying root causes of their marginalisation and violence in their countries of asylum. This paper presents a critical review on the development of refugee women's rights at the international levels and national levels. It provides an array of scholarly literature on this issue and examines the measures taken by the international community to curb the problem of violence against women in their various provisions through the instruments set. It is cognizant of the fact that even if conflict affects both refugee women and men, the effects on women refugees are deep-reaching, due to the cultural strongholds they face. An important aspect of this paper is that it is conceptualised against the fact that refugee women face the problem of sexual and gender based first as refugees and second as women, yet, their rights are stumbled upon. Often times they have been rendered "worthless victims" who are only in need of humanitarian assistance than active participants committed to change their plight through their participation in political, economic and social participation in their societies. Scholars have taken notice of the fact that women's rights in refugee settings have been marginalized and call for a need to incorporate their perspectives in the planning and management of refugee settings in which they live. Underpinning this discussion is feminism theory which gives a clear understanding of the root cause of refugee women's problems. Finally, this paper suggests that these policies should be translated into action at local, national international and regional levels to ensure sustainable peace.

Keywords: Feminism theory, human rights, refugee women, sexual and gender based violence.

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Authors: Ahmed Badawi, J. Michael Johnson, Mohamed Mahfouz

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This paper proposes new enhancement models to the methods of nonlinear anisotropic diffusion to greatly reduce speckle and preserve image features in medical ultrasound images. By incorporating local physical characteristics of the image, in this case scatterer density, in addition to the gradient, into existing tensorbased image diffusion methods, we were able to greatly improve the performance of the existing filtering methods, namely edge enhancing (EE) and coherence enhancing (CE) diffusion. The new enhancement methods were tested using various ultrasound images, including phantom and some clinical images, to determine the amount of speckle reduction, edge, and coherence enhancements. Scatterer density weighted nonlinear anisotropic diffusion (SDWNAD) for ultrasound images consistently outperformed its traditional tensor-based counterparts that use gradient only to weight the diffusivity function. SDWNAD is shown to greatly reduce speckle noise while preserving image features as edges, orientation coherence, and scatterer density. SDWNAD superior performances over nonlinear coherent diffusion (NCD), speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD), adaptive weighted median filter (AWMF), wavelet shrinkage (WS), and wavelet shrinkage with contrast enhancement (WSCE), make these methods ideal preprocessing steps for automatic segmentation in ultrasound imaging.

Keywords: Nonlinear anisotropic diffusion, ultrasound imaging, speckle reduction, scatterer density estimation, edge based enhancement, coherence enhancement.

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Authors: Ms. Yi Mon Thant

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Animation is simply defined as the sequencing of a series of static images to generate the illusion of movement. Most people believe that actual drawings or creation of the individual images is the animation, when in actuality it is the arrangement of those static images that conveys the motion. To become an animator, it is often assumed that needed the ability to quickly design masterpiece after masterpiece. Although some semblance of artistic skill is a necessity for the job, the real key to becoming a great animator is in the comprehension of timing. This paper will use a combination of sprite animation, frame animation, and some other techniques to cause a group of multi-colored static images to slither around in the bounded area. In addition to slithering, the images will also change the color of different parts of their body, much like the real world creatures that have this amazing ability to change the colors on their bodies do. This paper was implemented by using Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE). It is both time-consuming and expensive to create animations, regardless if they are created by hand or by using motion-capture equipment. If the animators could reuse old animations and even blend different animations together, a lot of work would be saved in the process. The main objective of this paper is to examine a method for blending several animations together in real time. This paper presents and analyses a solution using Weighted Skeleton Animation (WSA) resulting in limited CPU time and memory waste as well as saving time for the animators. The idea presented is described in detail and implemented. In this paper, text animation, vertex animation, sprite part animation and whole sprite animation were tested. In this research paper, the resolution, smoothness and movement of animated images will be carried out from the parameters, which will be obtained from the experimental research of implementing this paper.

Keywords: Weighted Skeleton Animation

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Authors: Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Aswathaman Vijayan

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In conventional seedling production, the seedlings are being grown in the open field under natural conditions. Here they are susceptible to sudden changes in climate were their quality and yield is affected. Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and performance of crops in main field; they serve as a foundation for the economic returns to the farmer. Producing quality seedling demands usage of hybrid seeds as they have the ability to result in better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance, and so forth. Hybrid seed production poses major operational challenge and its seed use efficiency plays an important role. Thus in order to overcome the difficulties currently present in conventional seedling production and to efficiently use hybrid seeds, ITC Limited Agri Business Divisions - Sustainability Cell as conceptualized a novel method of seedling production unit for farmers in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The “Green House based Float Seedling" methodology aims at a protected cultivation technique wherein the micro climate surrounding the plant/seedling body is controlled partially or fully as per the requirement of the species. This paper reports on the techno economic evaluation of green house for cultivation of float based seedling production with experimental results that was attained from the pilot implementation in West Godavari District, Rajahmundry region of India.

Keywords: Economic Assessment, Float Seedling, Green House, ITC Limited, Payback period.

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Authors: S. Sutin, M. Pollar, M. Jaroensutasinee, K. Jaroensutasinee

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This study investigated morphology of the Spanner Barb (Puntius lateristriga Valenciennes, 1842) and water quality at Thepchana waterfall. This study was conducted at Thepchana Waterfall, Khao Nan National Park from March to May 2007. There were 40 Spanner Barb collected with 20 males and 20 females. Males had an average of 5.57 cm in standard length, 6.62 cm in total length and 5.18 g in total body weight. Females had an average of 7.25 cm in standard length, 8.24 cm in total length and 10.96 g in total body weight. The length (L) – weight (W) relationships for combining sexes, males and females were LogW = -2.137 + 3.355logL, log W = -0.068 + 3.297logL, and log W = -2.068 + 3.297logL, respectively. The Spanner Barb were smaller size fish with a compressed form; terminal mouth; villiform teeth; ctenoid scale; concave tail; general body color yellowish olive, with slight reddish tint to fins; vertical band beginning below dorsal and horizontal stripe from base of tail almost to vertical band. They also had a vertical band midway between the eye and first vertical band. There was a black spot above anal fin. The bladder looked like J-shape. Inside of the bladder was found small insects and insect lava. The body length and the bowels length was 1:1 ratio. The water temperature ranged from 25.00 – 27.00 °C which was appropriate for their habitat characteristics. Acid - alkalinity ranged from 6.65 – 6.90 mg/l. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 4.55 – 4.70 mg/l. Water hardness ranged from 31.00 – 48.00 mg/l. The amount of ammonia was about 0.25 mg/l.

Keywords: Spanner barb, morphology, water quality.

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Authors: Othman O. Khalifa, Zakiah Hanim Ahmad, Teddy Surya Gunawan

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This paper presents a rule-based text- to- speech (TTS) Synthesis System for Standard Malay, namely SMaTTS. The proposed system using sinusoidal method and some pre- recorded wave files in generating speech for the system. The use of phone database significantly decreases the amount of computer memory space used, thus making the system very light and embeddable. The overall system was comprised of two phases the Natural Language Processing (NLP) that consisted of the high-level processing of text analysis, phonetic analysis, text normalization and morphophonemic module. The module was designed specially for SM to overcome few problems in defining the rules for SM orthography system before it can be passed to the DSP module. The second phase is the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) which operated on the low-level process of the speech waveform generation. A developed an intelligible and adequately natural sounding formant-based speech synthesis system with a light and user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) is introduced. A Standard Malay Language (SM) phoneme set and an inclusive set of phone database have been constructed carefully for this phone-based speech synthesizer. By applying the generative phonology, a comprehensive letter-to-sound (LTS) rules and a pronunciation lexicon have been invented for SMaTTS. As for the evaluation tests, a set of Diagnostic Rhyme Test (DRT) word list was compiled and several experiments have been performed to evaluate the quality of the synthesized speech by analyzing the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) obtained. The overall performance of the system as well as the room for improvements was thoroughly discussed.

Keywords: Natural Language Processing, Text-To-Speech (TTS), Diphone, source filter, low-/ high- level synthesis.

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Authors: S. J. Higgs, E. Van Eck, K. Heynis, S. H. Broadberry

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Engagement with non-human animals is a rapidly-growing field of study within the animal science and social science sectors, with human-interactions occurring in many forms; interactions, encounters and animal-assisted therapy. To our knowledge, there has been a wide array of research published on domestic and livestock human-animal interactions, however, there appear to be fewer publications relating to zoo animals and the effect these interactions have on the animal, human and establishment. The aim of this study was to identify if there were any perceivable benefits from the human-animal interaction for the cheetah, the human and the establishment. Behaviour data were collected before, during and after the interaction on the behaviour of the cheetah and the human participants to highlight any trends with nine interactions conducted. All 35 participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire prior to the interaction and immediately after to ascertain if their perceptions changed following an interaction with the cheetah. An online questionnaire was also distributed for three months to gain an understanding of the perceptions of human-animal interactions from members of the public, gaining 229 responses. Both questionnaires contained qualitative and quantitative questions to allow for specific definitive answers to be analysed, but also expansion on the participants perceived perception of human-animal interactions. In conclusion, it was found that participants’ perceptions of human-animal interactions saw a positive change, with 64% of participants altering their opinion and viewing the interaction as beneficial for the cheetah (reduction in stress assumed behaviours) following participation in a 15-minute interaction. However, it was noted that many participants felt the interaction lacked educational values and therefore this is an area in which zoological establishments can work to further improve upon. The results highlighted many positive benefits for the human, animal and establishment, however, the study does indicate further areas for research in order to promote positive perceptions of human-animal interactions and to further increase the welfare of the animal during these interactions, with recommendations to create and regulate legislation.

Keywords: Acinonyx jubatus, encounters, human-animal interactions, perceptions, zoological establishments.

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Authors: M. R. Akshaya, Veena Rao

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Pet population in India is increasing phenomenally owing to the changes in urban lifestyle with increasing number of single professionals, single parents, delayed parenthood etc. The animal companionship as a means of reducing stress levels, deriving emotional support, and unconditional love provided by dogs are a few reasons attributed for increasing pet ownership. The consequence is the booming of the pet care products and dog care centers catering to the different requirements of rearing the pets. Dog care centers quite popular in tier 1 metros of India cater to the requirement of the dog owners providing space for the dogs in absence of the owner. However, it is often reported that the absence of the owner leads to destructive and exploratory behavior issues; the main being the anxiety disorders. In the above context, it becomes imperative for a designer to design dog boarding centers that help in reducing the separation anxiety in dogs keeping in mind the different interior design parameters. An exploratory research with focus group discussion is employed involving a group of dog owners, behaviorists, proprietors of day care as well as boarding centers, and veterinarians to understand their perception on the significance of different interior parameters of color, texture, ventilation, aroma therapy and acoustics as a means of reducing the stress levels in dogs sent to the boarding centers. The data collected is organized as thematic networks thus enabling the listing of the interior design parameters that needs to be considered in designing dog boarding centers. 

Keywords: Behavioral response, design parameters, dog boarding centers, interior environment.

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Authors: Aseel Hatif Jassam, Hadeel Hatif Jassam

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The paper discusses the phallocentric discourse that is challenged by women in general and women of color in particular in spite of the simultaneity of oppression due to race, class, and gender in the diaspora. Therefore, the paper gives a brief account of women's experience in the light of postcolonial feminist theory. The paper also casts light on the theories of Luce Irigaray and Helen Cixous, two feminist theorists who support and advise women to have their own discourse to challenge the infectious patriarchal sentence advocated by Sigmund Freud and Harold Bloom's model of literary history. Black women authors like Buchi Emecheta as well as her alter ego Adah, a Nigerian-born girl and the protagonist of her semi-autobiographical novel, Second Class Citizen, suffer from this phallocentric and oppressive sentence and displacement as they migrate from Nigeria, a former British colony where they feel marginalized, to North London with the hope of realizing their dreams. Yet in the British diaspora, they get culturally shocked and continue to suffer from further marginalization due to class and race and are insulted and inferiorized ironically by their patriarchal husbands who try to put an end to their dreams of authorship. With the phallocentric belief that women are not capable of self-representation in the background of their mindsets, the violent Sylvester Onwordi and Francis Obi, the husbands of both Emecheta and Adah respectively have practiced oppression on them by burning their own authoritative voices, represented by the novels they write while they are struggling with their economically atrocious living experiences in the British diaspora.

Keywords: Authorship, British diaspora, discourse, phallocentric, patriarchy.

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Authors: V. H. Mankar, T. S. Das, S. K. Sarkar

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In this paper, we have proposed a novel blind watermarking architecture towards its hardware implementation in VLSI. In order to facilitate this hardware realization, cellular automata (CA) concept is introduced. The CA has been already accepted as an attractive structure for VLSI implementation because of its modularity, parallelism, high performance and reliability. The hardware realizable multiresolution spread spectrum watermarking techniques are very few in numbers in spite of their best ever resiliency against signal impairments. This is because of the computational cost and complexity associated with their different filter banks and lifting techniques. The concept of cellular automata theory in order to form a new transform domain technique i.e. Cellular Automata Transform (CAT) have been incorporated. Since CA provides spreading sequences having very low cross-correlation properties, the CA based pseudorandom sequence generator is considered in the present work. Considering the watermarking technique as a digital communication process, an error control coding (ECC) must be incorporated in the data hiding schemes. Besides the hardware implementation of entire CA based data hiding technique, the individual blocks of the algorithm using CA provide the best result than that of some other methods irrespective of the hardware and software technique. The Cellular Automata Transform, CA based PN sequence generator, and CA ECC are the requisite blocks that are developed not only to meet the reliable hardware requirements but also for the basic spread spectrum watermarking features. The proposed algorithm shows statistical invisibility and resiliency against various common signal-processing operations. This algorithmic design utilizes the existing allocated bandwidth in the data transmission channel in a more efficient manner.

Keywords: Cellular automata, watermarking, error control coding, PN sequence, VLSI.

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Authors: M. Marjaneh, M. Y. Narazah, H. Shahrul

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Array-based gene expression analysis is a powerful tool to profile expression of genes and to generate information on therapeutic effects of new anti-cancer compounds. Anti-apoptotic effect of thymoquinone was studied in MCF7 breast cancer cell line using gene expression profiling with cDNA microarray. The purity and yield of RNA samples were determined using RNeasyPlus Mini kit. The Agilent RNA 6000 NanoLabChip kit evaluated the quantity of the RNA samples. AffinityScript RT oligo-dT promoter primer was used to generate cDNA strands. T7 RNA polymerase was used to convert cDNA to cRNA. The cRNA samples and human universal reference RNA were labelled with Cy-3-CTP and Cy-5-CTP, respectively. Feature Extraction and GeneSpring softwares analysed the data. The single experiment analysis revealed involvement of 64 pathways with up-regulated genes and 78 pathways with downregulated genes. The MAPK and p38-MAPK pathways were inhibited due to the up-regulation of PTPRR gene. The inhibition of p38-MAPK suggested up-regulation of TGF-ß pathway. Inhibition of p38-MAPK caused up-regulation of TP53 and down-regulation of Bcl2 genes indicating involvement of intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Down-regulation of CARD16 gene as an adaptor molecule regulated CASP1 and suggested necrosis-like programmed cell death and involvement of caspase in apoptosis. Furthermore, down-regulation of GPCR, EGF-EGFR signalling pathways suggested reduction of ER. Involvement of AhR pathway which control cytochrome P450 and glucuronidation pathways showed metabolism of Thymoquinone. The findings showed differential expression of several genes in apoptosis pathways with thymoquinone treatment in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells.

Keywords: CARD16, CASP10, cDNA microarray, PTPRR, Thymoquinone.

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Authors: M. Y. Ismail, Arslan Kiyani

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Narrow bandwidth and high loss performance limits the use of reflectarray antennas in some applications. This article reports on the feasibility of employing strategic reflectarray resonant elements to characterize the reflectivity performance of reflectarrays in X-band frequency range. Strategic reflectarray resonant elements incorporating variable substrate thicknesses ranging from 0.016λ to 0.052λ have been analyzed in terms of reflection loss and reflection phase performance. The effect of substrate thickness has been validated by using waveguide scattering parameter technique. It has been demonstrated that as the substrate thickness is increased from 0.508mm to 1.57mm the measured reflection loss of dipole element decreased from 5.66dB to 3.70dB with increment in 10% bandwidth of 39MHz to 64MHz. Similarly the measured reflection loss of triangular loop element is decreased from 20.25dB to 7.02dB with an increment in 10% bandwidth of 12MHz to 23MHz. The results also show a significant decrease in the slope of reflection phase curve as well. A Figure of Merit (FoM) has also been defined for the comparison of static phase range of resonant elements under consideration. Moreover, a novel numerical model based on analytical equations has been established incorporating the material properties of dielectric substrate and electrical properties of different reflectarray resonant elements to obtain the progressive phase distribution for each individual reflectarray resonant element.

Keywords: Numerical model, Reflectarray resonant elements, Scattering parameter measurements, Variable substrate thickness.

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Authors: Amir Khalid, B. Manshoor

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The mixture formation prior to the ignition process plays as a key element in the diesel combustion. Parametric studies of mixture formation and ignition process in various injection parameter has received considerable attention in potential for reducing emissions. Purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of injection pressure on mixture formation and ignition especially during ignition delay period, which have to be significantly influences throughout the combustion process and exhaust emissions. This study investigated the effects of injection pressure on diesel combustion fundamentally using rapid compression machine. The detail behavior of mixture formation during ignition delay period was investigated using the schlieren photography system with a high speed camera. This method can capture spray evaporation, spray interference, mixture formation and flame development clearly with real images. Ignition process and flame development were investigated by direct photography method using a light sensitive high-speed color digital video camera. The injection pressure and air motion are important variable that strongly affect to the fuel evaporation, endothermic and prolysis process during ignition delay. An increased injection pressure makes spray tip penetration longer and promotes a greater amount of fuel-air mixing occurs during ignition delay. A greater quantity of fuel prepared during ignition delay period thus predominantly promotes more rapid heat release.

Keywords: Mixture Formation, Diesel Combustion, Ignition Process, Spray, Rapid Compression Machine.

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Authors: Mohammed Abaoli, Omer Kara

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The current research has investigated the soil quality status under dryland vegetation of Yabello district, Southern Ethiopia in which we should identify the nature and extent of salinity problem of the area for further research bases. About 48 soil samples were taken from 0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 91-120 cm soil depths by opening 12 representative soil profile pits at 1.5 m depth. Soil color, texture, bulk density, Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), Na, K, Mg, Ca, CaCO₃, gypsum (CaSO₄), pH, Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Exchangeable Sodium Percentage (ESP) were analyzed. The dominant soil texture was silty-clay-loam.  Bulk density varied from 1.1 to 1.31 g/cm³. High SOC content was observed in 0-30 cm. The soil pH ranged from 7.1 to 8.6. The electrical conductivity shows indirect relationship with soil depth while CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ concentrations were observed in a direct relationship with depth. About 41% are non-saline, 38.31% saline, 15.23% saline-sodic and 5.46% sodic soils. Na concentration in saline soils was greater than Ca and Mg in all the soil depths. Ca and Mg contents were higher above 60 cm soil depth in non-saline soils. The concentrations of SO₂^-4 and HCO^-3 were observed to be higher at the most lower depth than upper. SAR value tends to be higher at lower depths in saline and saline-sodic soils, but decreases at lower depth of the non-saline soils. The distribution of ESP above 60 cm depth was in an increasing order in saline and saline-sodic soils. The result of the research has shown the direction to which extent of salinity we should consider for the Commiphora plant species we want to grow on the area. 

Keywords: Commiphora species, dryland vegetation, ecological significance, soil quality, salinity problem.

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Authors: Teresa Caswell

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Throughout the United States and within a myriad of demographic contexts, students of color experience the results of systemic inequities as an academic outcome. These disparities continue despite the increased resources provided to students and ongoing instruction-focused professional learning received by teachers. We postulated that lower levels of educator cultural competency are an underlying factor of why resource and instructional interventions are less effective than desired. Before implementing any type of intervention, however, cultural competency needed to be confirmed as a factor in schools demonstrating academic disparities between racial subgroups. A needs assessment was designed to measure levels of individual beliefs, including cultural competency, in both principals and teachers at three neighboring schools verified to have academic disparities. The resulting mixed method study utilized the Optimal Theory Applied to Identity Development (OTAID) model to measure cultural competency quantitatively, through self-identity inventory survey items, with teachers and qualitatively, through one-on-one interviews, with each school’s principal. A joint display was utilized to see combined data within and across school contexts. Each school was confirmed to have misalignments between principal and teacher levels of cultural competency beliefs while also indicating that a number of participants in the self-identity inventory survey may have intentionally skipped items referencing the term oppression. Additional use of the OTAID model and self-identity inventory in future research and across contexts is needed to determine transferability and dependability as cultural competency measures.

Keywords: Cultural competency, identity development, mixed method analysis, needs assessment.

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Authors: Salah Gariani, Taher Dao, Ahmed Lajili

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This paper presents an experimental optimisation of surface roughness (Ra) and tool wear in the precision turning of AISI 304L alloy using a wiper and conventional cutting tools under wet cutting conditions. The machining trials were conducted based on Taguchi methodology employing an L9 orthogonal array design with four process parameters: feed rate, spindle speed, depth of cut, and cutting tool type. The experimental results were utilised to characterise the main factors affecting Ra and tool wear using the analyses of means (AOM) and variance (ANOVA). The results show that the wiper tools outperformed conventional tools in terms of surface quality and tool wear at optimal cutting conditions. The ANOVA results indicate that the main factors contributing to lower Ra are cutting tool type and feed rate, with percentage contribution ratios (PCRs) of 58.69% and 25.18% respectively. This confirms that tool type is the most significant factor affecting surface quality when turning AISI 304L. Additionally, a substantial reduction in tool wear was observed when a wiper insert was used, whereas noticeable increases in tool wear occurred when higher cutting speeds were employed for both tool types. These trends confirm the ANOVA outcomes that cutting speed has a significant effect on tool wear, with a PCR value of 39.22%, followed by tool type with a PCR of 27.40%. All machining trials generated similar continuous spiral or curl-shaped chips. A noticeable difference was found in the radius of the produced curl-shaped chips at different cutting speeds when turning AISI 304L under wet cutting conditions.

Keywords: AISI 304L alloy, conventional and wiper carbide tools, wet turning, average surface roughness, tool wear.

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Authors: Charles Chikwendu Okpala, Christopher Chukwutoo Ihueze

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As a technique that reduces variation in a product by lessening the sensitivity of the design to sources of variation, rather than by controlling their sources, Taguchi Robust Design entails the designing of ideal goods, by developing a product that has minimal variance in its characteristics and also meets the desired exact performance. This paper examined the concept of the manufacturing approach and its application to brake pad product of an automotive parts manufacturing company. Although the firm claimed that only defects, excess inventory, and over-production were the few wastes that grossly affect their productivity and profitability, a careful study and analysis of their manufacturing processes with the application of Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) tool showed that the waste of waiting is the fourth waste that bedevils the firm. The selection of the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array which is based on the four parameters and the three levels of variation for each parameter revealed that with a range of 2.17, that waiting is the major waste that the company must reduce in order to continue to be viable. Also, to enhance the company’s throughput and profitability, the wastes of over-production, excess inventory, and defects with ranges of 2.01, 1.46, and 0.82, ranking second, third, and fourth respectively must also be reduced to the barest minimum. After proposing -33.84 as the highest optimum Signal-to-Noise ratio to be maintained for the waste of waiting, the paper advocated for the adoption of all the tools and techniques of Lean Production System (LPS), and Continuous Improvement (CI), and concluded by recommending SMED in order to drastically reduce set up time which leads to unnecessary waiting.

Keywords: Taguchi Robust Design, signal to noise ratio, Single Minute Exchange of Dies, lean production system, waste.

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Authors: Akram Mahdaviparsa, Tamera McCuen, Vahideh Karimimansoob

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Fire service is responsible for protecting life, assets, and natural resources from fire and other hazardous incidents. Search and rescue in unfamiliar buildings is a vital part of firefighters’ responsibilities. Providing firefighters with precise building information in an easy-to-understand format is a potential solution for mitigating the negative consequences of fire hazards. The negative effect of insufficient knowledge about a building’s indoor environment impedes firefighters’ capabilities and leads to lost property. A data rich building information modeling (BIM) is a potentially useful source in three-dimensional (3D) visualization and data/information storage for fire emergency response. Therefore, this research’s purpose is prioritizing the required information for firefighters from the most important information to the least important. A survey was carried out with firefighters working in the Norman Fire Department to obtain the importance of each building information item. The results show that “the location of exit doors, windows, corridors, elevators, and stairs”, “material of building elements”, and “building data” are the three most important information specified by firefighters. The results also implied that the 2D model of architectural, structural and way finding is more understandable in comparison with the 3D model, while the 3D model of MEP system could convey more information than the 2D model. Furthermore, color in visualization can help firefighters to understand the building information easier and quicker. Sufficient internal consistency of all responses was proven through developing the Pearson Correlation Matrix and obtaining Cronbach’s alpha of 0.916. Therefore, the results of this study are reliable and could be applied to the population.

Keywords: BIM, building fire response, ranking, visualization.

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Authors: B. R. Faleye, M. I. Titocan, M. P. Ibitola

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Investigation was carried out at Opic Estate in Isheri-Osun River Basin environment using Electrical Resistivity method to study saltwater intrusion into a fresh water aquifer system from the proximal estuarine water body. The investigation is aimed at aquifer characterisation using electrical resistivity method in order to provide the depth to which fresh water fit for both domestic and industrial consumption. The 2D Electrical Resistivity and Vertical Electrical Resistivity techniques alongside Laboratory analysis of water samples obtained from the boreholes were adopted. Three traverses were investigated using Wenner and Pole-Dipole array with multi-electrode system consisting of 84 electrodes and a spread of 581 m, 664 m and 830 m were attained on the traverses. The main lithologies represented in the study area are Sand, Clay and Clayey Sand of which Sand constitutes the aquifer in the study area. Vertical Electrical Sounding data obtained at different lateral distance on the traverses have indicated that the water in the aquifer in the subsurface is brackish. Brackish water is represented by lowelectrical resistivity value signature while fresh water is characterized by relatively high electrical resistivity and in some regionfresh water is existent at depth greater than 200 m. Results of laboratory analysis of samples showed that the pH, Salinity, Total Dissolved Solid and Conductivity indicated existence of water with poor quality, indicating that salinity, TDS and Conductivity is higher in the Northern part of the study area. The 2D electrical resistivity and Vertical Electrical Sounding methods indicate that fresh water region is at ≥200m depth. Aquifers not fit for domestic use in the study area occur downwards to about 200 m in depth. In conclusion, it is recommended that wells should be sunkbeyond 220 m for the possible procurement of portable fresh water.

Keywords: 2D electrical resistivity, aquifer, brackish water, lithologies, freshwater, opic estate.

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Authors: Jonathan N. Nayga, Emelita B. Valdez, Mila R. Andres, Beulah B. Estrada, Emelina A. Lopez, Rogelio B. Tamayo, Aubrey Joy M. Balbin

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Goat production is one of the activities included in integrated farming in the Philippines. Goats are raised for its meat and regardless of breed the animal is slaughtered for this purpose. In order to document the carcass yield of different goats slaughtered, five (5) different breeds of goats to include Purebred Boer and Anglo-nubian, Crossbred Boer and Anglo-nubian and Philippine Native goat were used in the study. Data on slaughter parameters, carcass characteristics, and sensory evaluation were gathered and analyzed using Complete Random Design (CRD) at 5% level of significance and the results of carcass conformation were assessed descriptively. Results showed that slaughter data such as slaughter/live weight, hot and chilled carcass weights, dressing percentage and percentage drip loss were significantly different (P>0.05) among breeds. On carcass and meat characteristics, pure breed and upgraded Boer were found to be moderately muscular while Native goat was rated as thin muscular. The color of the carcass also revealed that Purebred and crossbred Boer were described dark red, while Native goat was noted to be slightly pale. On sensory evaluation, the results indicated that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) among breeds evaluated. It is therefore concluded that purebred goat has heavier carcass, while both purebred Boer and upgrade are rated slightly muscular. It is further confirms that regardless of breed, goat will have the same sensory characteristics. Thus, it is recommended to slaughter heavier goats to obtain more carcasses with better conformation and quality.

Keywords: Carcass quality, goat, sensory evaluation, slaughter.

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Authors: Z. Abdollahi Biron, P. Pisu

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Connected vehicles are one of the promising technologies for future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A connected vehicle system is essentially a set of vehicles communicating through a network to exchange their information with each other and the infrastructure. Although this interconnection of the vehicles can be potentially beneficial in creating an efficient, sustainable, and green transportation system, a set of safety and reliability challenges come out with this technology. The first challenge arises from the information loss due to unreliable communication network which affects the control/management system of the individual vehicles and the overall system. Such scenario may lead to degraded or even unsafe operation which could be potentially catastrophic. Secondly, faulty sensors and actuators can affect the individual vehicle’s safe operation and in turn will create a potentially unsafe node in the vehicular network. Further, sending that faulty sensor information to other vehicles and failure in actuators may significantly affect the safe operation of the overall vehicular network. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to take these issues into consideration while designing the control/management algorithms of the individual vehicles as a part of connected vehicle system. In this paper, we consider a connected vehicle system under Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) and propose a fault diagnosis scheme that deals with these aforementioned challenges. Specifically, the conventional CACC algorithm is modified by adding a Kalman filter-based estimation algorithm to suppress the effect of lost information under unreliable network. Further, a sliding mode observer-based algorithm is used to improve the sensor reliability under faults. The effectiveness of the overall diagnostic scheme is verified via simulation studies.

Keywords: Fault diagnostics, communication network, connected vehicles, packet drop out, platoon.

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Authors: Sungwon Jo

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Ceramics comprise the largest proportion of Korea-s cultural heritage currently preserved (Cited from “The Beauty of Old Ceramics of Korea" written by Yoon Yong-iee). Thus, this researcher conducted this investigation in an attempt to gain insight into Korea-s past culture and the lost period of the colonial period and the Korean War by looking into the ceramics. Korea, China and Japan are part of the similar cultural bloc within the East Asian region. Their porcelains manifest distinctive characteristics by each nation along with similarities. Thus, this research seeks to find the distinctive characteristics of the Korean porcelain by conducting comparative analysis of the similarities and distinctive characteristics. These distinctive characteristics are manifested effectively in the colors of the porcelains following the materials that can be obtained in Korea, China and Japan and production method. Likewise, this research seeks to identify the characteristics of the Korean porcelains- colors based on the comparative analysis of the porcelain colors. The reasons that porcelains were selected were because they are the most well preserved cultural remains in Korea and since they have both similarities and distinctive characteristics due to the cultural interchanges among Korea, China and Japan, which facilitates comparative study. The research targets include Korea, China and Japan-s porcelains. By comparing the colors of the porcelains from Korea, China and Japan that have their distinctive characteristics, this research seeks to identify Korea-specific porcelain colors. These colors derive from the materials that can be obtained only in Korea, and they are affected by the ideologies that governed at the time. This research is meaningful in the sense that this identifies the colors that embraces the Korean culture and provides important data by leveraging the study of the characteristics of the Korea-specific porcelains.

Keywords: The colors of Korean pottery, The colors of China pottery, The colors of Japan pottery, The unique identity of Korea, Pottery History.

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Authors: Vineeth G. Kuriakose, Joseph C. Chen, Ye Li

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The research follows a systematic approach to optimize the parameters for parts machined by turning and milling processes. The quality characteristic chosen is surface roughness since the surface finish plays an important role for parts that require surface contact. A tapered cylindrical surface is designed as a test specimen for the research. The material chosen for machining is aluminum alloy 6061 due to its wide variety of industrial and engineering applications. HAAS VF-2 TR computer numerical control (CNC) vertical machining center is used for milling and HAAS ST-20 CNC machine is used for turning in this research. Taguchi analysis is used to optimize the surface roughness of the machined parts. The L₉ Orthogonal Array is designed for four controllable factors with three different levels each, resulting in 18 experimental runs. Signal to Noise (S/N) Ratio is calculated for achieving the specific target value of 75 ± 15 µin. The controllable parameters chosen for turning process are feed rate, depth of cut, coolant flow and finish cut and for milling process are feed rate, spindle speed, step over and coolant flow. The uncontrollable factors are tool geometry for turning process and tool material for milling process. Hypothesis testing is conducted to study the significance of different uncontrollable factors on the surface roughnesses. The optimal parameter settings were identified from the Taguchi analysis and the process capability C_p and the process capability index C_pk were improved from 1.76 and 0.02 to 3.70 and 2.10 respectively for turning process and from 0.87 and 0.19 to 3.85 and 2.70 respectively for the milling process. The surface roughnesses were improved from 60.17 µin to 68.50 µin, reducing the defect rate from 52.39% to 0% for the turning process and from 93.18 µin to 79.49 µin, reducing the defect rate from 71.23% to 0% for the milling process. The purpose of this study is to efficiently utilize the Taguchi design analysis to improve the surface roughness.

Keywords: CNC milling, CNC turning, surface roughness, Taguchi analysis.

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Authors: Naser Valipour Motlagh, Majid Aliabadi, Elnaz Rahmani, Samira Ghorbanpour

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Strawberry is one of the most favored fruits all along the world. But due to its vulnerability to microbial contamination and short life storage, there are lots of problems in industrial production and transportation of this fruit. Therefore, lots of ideas have tried to increase the storage life of strawberries especially through proper packaging. This paper works on efficient packaging as well. The primary material used is produced through simple mixing of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and silver nanoparticles in different weight fractions of 0.5 and 1% in presence of dicumyl peroxide as a cross-linking agent. Final packages were made in a twin-screw extruder. Then, their effect on the quality maintenance of strawberry is evaluated. The SEM images of nano-silver packages show the distribution of silver nanoparticles in the packages. Total bacteria count, mold, yeast and E. coli are measured for microbial evaluation of all samples. Texture, color, appearance, odor, taste and total acceptance of various samples are evaluated by trained panelists and based on 9-point hedonic scale method. The results show a decrease in total bacteria count and mold in nano-silver packages compared to the samples packed in polyethylene packages for the same storage time. The optimum concentration of silver nanoparticles for the lowest bacteria count and mold is predicted to be around 0.5% which has attained the most acceptance from the panelist as well. Moreover, organoleptic properties of strawberry are preserved for a longer period in nano-silver packages. It can be concluded that using nano-silver particles in strawberry packages has improved the storage life and quality maintenance of the fruit.

Keywords: Antimicrobial properties, polyethylene, silver nanoparticles, strawberry.

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Authors: Ahmed M. S. Hussein, Sahar Y. Al-Okbi

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In the present research, whole meal barley flour (WBF) was supplemented with gelatinized corn flour (GCF) in 0 and 30%. Whole meal wheat flour (WWF) was mixed with defatted rice bran (DRB) to produce 0, 20, 25, and 30% replacement levels. Rheological properties of dough were studied. Thermal properties and starch crystallinity of flours were evaluated. Flat bread, balady bread and pie were prepared from the different flour blends. The different bakeries were sensory evaluated. Color of raw materials and crust of bakery products were determined. Nutrients contents of raw flours and food products were assessed. Results showed that addition of GCF to WBF increased the viscosity and falling number of the produced dough. Water absorption, dough development time and dough stability increased with increasing the level of DRB in dough while, weakening and mixing tolerance index decreased. Extensibility and energy decreased, while, resistance to extension increased as DRB level increased. Gelatinized temperature of WWF, WBF, GCF, and DRB were 13.26, 35.09, 28.33, and 39.63, respectively. Starch crystallinity was affected when DRB was added to WWF. The highest protein content was present in balady bread made from 70% WWF and 30% DRB. The highest calcium, phosphorus, and potassium levels were present in products made from 100% WBF. Sensory attributes of the products were slightly affected by adding DRB and GCF. Conclusion: Addition of DRB or GCF to WWF or WBF, respectively affect the physical, chemical, rheological and sensory properties of balady bread, flat bread, and pie while improved their nutritive values.

Keywords: Bakeries, rheological properties, chemical and sensory attributes, flour thermal properties and starch crystallinity.

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Authors: Maja Ruzic-Baf, Vedrana Keteles, Andrea Debeljuh

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Younger and younger children are now using a smartphone, a device which has become ‘a must have’ and the life of children would be almost ‘unthinkable’ without one. Devices are becoming lighter and lighter but offering an array of options and applications as well as the unavoidable access to the Internet, without which it would be almost unusable. Numerous features such as taking of photographs, listening to music, information search on the Internet, access to social networks, usage of some of the chatting and messaging services, are only some of the numerous features offered by ‘smart’ devices. They have replaced the alarm clock, home phone, camera, tablet and other devices. Their use and possession have become a part of the everyday image of young people. Apart from the positive aspects, the use of smartphones has also some downsides. For instance, free time was usually spent in nature, playing, doing sports or other activities enabling children an adequate psychophysiological growth and development. The greater usage of smartphones during classes to check statuses on social networks, message your friends, play online games, are just some of the possible negative aspects of their application. Considering that the age of the population using smartphones is decreasing and that smartphones are no longer ‘foreign’ to children of pre-school age (smartphones are used at home or in coffee shops or shopping centers while waiting for their parents, playing video games often inappropriate to their age), particular attention must be paid to a very sensitive group, the teenagers who almost never separate from their ‘pets’. This paper is divided into two sections, theoretical and empirical ones. The theoretical section gives an overview of the pros and cons of the usage of smartphones, while the empirical section presents the results of a research conducted in three elementary schools regarding the usage of smartphones and, specifically, their usage during classes, during breaks and to search information on the Internet, check status updates and 'likes’ on the Facebook social network.

Keywords: Education, smartphone, social networks, teenagers.

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Authors: Akhtar N, Khan BA, Khan MS, Mahmood T, Khan HMS, Iqbal M, Bashir S

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This study was designed to formulate, pharmaceutically evaluate a topical skin-care cream (w/o emulsion) of Aloe Vera versus its vehicle (Base) as control and determine their effects on Stratum Corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Base containing no extract and a Formulation containing 3% concentrated extract of Aloe Vera was developed by entrapping in the inner aqueous phase of w/o emulsion (cream). Lemon oil was incorporated to improve the odor. Both the Base and Formulation were stored at 8°C ±0.1°C (in refrigerator), 25°C±0.1°C, 40°C±0.1°C and 40°C± 0.1°C with 75% RH (in incubator) for a period of 4 weeks to predict their stability. The evaluation parameters consisted of color, smell, type of emulsion, phase separation, electrical conductivity, centrifugation, liquefaction and pH. Both the Base and Formulation were applied to the cheeks of 21 healthy human volunteers for a period of 8 weeks Stratum corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were monitored every week to measure any effect produced by these topical creams. The expected organoleptic stability of creams was achieved from 4 weeks in-vitro study period. Odor was disappeared with the passage of time due to volatilization of lemon oil. Both the Base and Formulation produced significant (p≤0.05) changes in TEWL with respect to time. SC water content was significantly (p≤0.05) increased by the Formulation while the Base has insignificant (p 0.05) effects on SC water content. The newly formulated cream of Aloe Vera, applied is suitable for improvement and quantitative monitoring of skin hydration level (SC water content/ moisturizing effects) and reducing TEWL in people with dry skin.

Keywords: Aloe Vera; Skin; Stratum corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

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Authors: Randy Gomez, Keisuke Nakamura, Kazuhiro Nakadai

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Distant-talking voice-based HCI system suffers from performance degradation due to mismatch between the acoustic speech (runtime) and the acoustic model (training). Mismatch is caused by the change in the power of the speech signal as observed at the microphones. This change is greatly influenced by the change in distance, affecting speech dynamics inside the room before reaching the microphones. Moreover, as the speech signal is reflected, its acoustical characteristic is also altered by the room properties. In general, power mismatch due to distance is a complex problem. This paper presents a novel approach in dealing with distance-induced mismatch by intelligently sensing instantaneous voice power variation and compensating model parameters. First, the distant-talking speech signal is processed through microphone array processing, and the corresponding distance information is extracted. Distance-sensitive Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs), pre-trained to capture both speech power and room property are used to predict the optimal distance of the speech source. Consequently, pre-computed statistic priors corresponding to the optimal distance is selected to correct the statistics of the generic model which was frozen during training. Thus, model combinatorics are post-conditioned to match the power of instantaneous speech acoustics at runtime. This results to an improved likelihood in predicting the correct speech command at farther distances. We experiment using real data recorded inside two rooms. Experimental evaluation shows voice recognition performance using our method is more robust to the change in distance compared to the conventional approach. In our experiment, under the most acoustically challenging environment (i.e., Room 2: 2.5 meters), our method achieved 24.2% improvement in recognition performance against the best-performing conventional method.

Keywords: Human Machine Interaction, Human Computer Interaction, Voice Recognition, Acoustic Model Compensation, Acoustic Speech Enhancement.

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Authors: Indunil Jayatilake, Warna Karunasena

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Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites enjoy an array of applications ranging from aerospace, marine and military to automobile, recreational and civil industry due to their outstanding properties. A structural glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite sandwich panel made from E-glass fiber skin and a modified phenolic core has been manufactured in Australia for civil engineering applications. One of the major mechanisms of damage in FRP composites is skin-core debonding. The presence of debonding is of great concern not only because it severely affects the strength but also it modifies the dynamic characteristics of the structure, including natural frequency and vibration modes. This paper deals with the investigation of the dynamic characteristics of a GFRP beam with single and multiple debonding by finite element based numerical simulations and analyses using the STRAND7 finite element (FE) software package. Three-dimensional computer models have been developed and numerical simulations were done to assess the dynamic behavior. The FE model developed has been validated with published experimental, analytical and numerical results for fully bonded as well as debonded beams. A comparative analysis is carried out based on a comprehensive parametric investigation. It is observed that the reduction in natural frequency is more affected by single debonding than the equally sized multiple debonding regions located symmetrically to the single debonding position. Thus it is revealed that a large single debonding area leads to more damage in terms of natural frequency reduction than isolated small debonding zones of equivalent area, appearing in the GFRP beam. Furthermore, the extents of natural frequency shifts seem mode-dependent and do not seem to have a monotonous trend of increasing with the mode numbers.

Keywords: Debonding, dynamic response, finite element modelling, FRP beams.

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Authors: M. Jaenen, M. de Bouw, A. Verdonck, M. Leus

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During the interwar period artificial materials were often preferred, but many Antwerp architects relied on the application of wood for most of the interior finishing works and furnishings. Archival, literature and on site research of interwar suburban townhouses and the Belgian wood and furniture industry gave a new insight to the application of wood in the interwar interior. Many interwar designers favored the decorative values in all treatments of wood because of its warmth, comfort, good-wearing, and therefore, economic qualities. For the creation of a successful modern interior the texture and surface of the wood becomes as important as the color itself. This aesthetics valuation was the result of the modernization of the wood industry. The development of veneer and plywood gave the possibility to create strong, flat, long and plain wooden surfaces which are capable of retaining their shape. Also the modernization of cutting machines resulted in high quality and diversity in texture of veneer. The flat and plain plywood surfaces were modern decorated with all kinds of veneer-sliced options. In addition, wood species from the former Belgian Colony Congo were imported. Limba (Terminalia superba), kambala (Chlorophora excelsa), mubala (Pentaclethra macrophylla) and sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum) were used in the interior of many Antwerp interwar suburban town houses. From the thirties onwards Belgian wood firms established modern manufactures in Congo. There the local wood was dried, cut and prepared for exportation to the harbor of Antwerp. The presence of all kinds of strong and decorative Congolese wood products supported its application in the interwar interior design. The Antwerp architects combined them in their designs for doors, floors, stairs, built-in-furniture, wall paneling and movable furniture.

Keywords: Antwerp, Congo, furniture, interwar.

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