Search results for: alternative oxidase

Authors: Dursun M., Koc F., Ozbay H.

Abstract:

In this study, a double-sided linear switched reluctance motor (LSRM) drive was investigated as an alternative actuator for vertical linear transportation applications such as a linear elevator door, hospital and subway doors which move linearly and where accurate position control and rapid response is requested. A prototype sliding elevator door that is focused on a home elevator with LSRMs is designed. The motor has 6/4 poles, 3 phases, 8A, 24V, 250 W and 250 N pull forces. Air gap between rotor and translator poles of the designed motor and phase coil-s ideal inductance profile are obtained in compliance with the geometric dimensions. Operation and switching sections as motor and generator has been determined from the inductance profile.

Keywords: Linear switched reluctance motor, sliding door, elevator door, linear motor design.

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Authors: Zarita Zainuddin, Ong Pauline

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Wavelet neural networks (WNNs) have emerged as a vital alternative to the vastly studied multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) since its first implementation. In this paper, we applied various clustering algorithms, namely, K-means (KM), Fuzzy C-means (FCM), symmetry-based K-means (SBKM), symmetry-based Fuzzy C-means (SBFCM) and modified point symmetry-based K-means (MPKM) clustering algorithms in choosing the translation parameter of a WNN. These modified WNNs are further applied to the heterogeneous cancer classification using benchmark microarray data and were compared against the conventional WNN with random initialization method. Experimental results showed that a WNN classifier with the MPKM algorithm is more precise than the conventional WNN as well as the WNNs with other clustering algorithms.

Keywords: Clustering, microarray, symmetry, wavelet neural networks.

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Authors: Ákos Dudás, Sándor Juhász

Abstract:

Various mechanisms providing mutual exclusion and thread synchronization can be used to support parallel processing within a single computer. Instead of using locks, semaphores, barriers or other traditional approaches in this paper we focus on alternative ways for making better use of modern multithreaded architectures and preparing hash tables for concurrent accesses. Hash structures will be used to demonstrate and compare two entirely different approaches (rule based cooperation and hardware synchronization support) to an efficient parallel implementation using traditional locks. Comparison includes implementation details, performance ranking and scalability issues. We aim at understanding the effects the parallelization schemes have on the execution environment with special focus on the memory system and memory access characteristics.

Keywords: Lock-free synchronization, mutual exclusion, parallel hash tables, parallel performance

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Authors: Sameerchand Pudaruth, Avinash Mantaye

Abstract:

E-learning refers to the specific kind of learning experienced within the domain of educational technology, which can be used in or out of the classroom. In this paper, we give an overview of an e-learning platform 'An Innovative Interactive and Online English Platform for Upper Primary Students' is an interactive web-based application which will serve as an aid to the primary school students in Mauritius. The objectives of this platform are to offer quality learning resources for the English subject at our primary level of education, encourage self-learning and hence promote e-learning. The platform developed consists of several interesting features, for example, the English Verb Conjugation tool, Negative Form tool, Interrogative Form tool and Close Test Generator. Thus, this learning platform will be useful at a time where our country is looking for an alternative to private tuition and also, looking forward to increase the pass rate.

Keywords: educational technology, e-learning, Mauritius.

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Authors: I. V. Kuzminov

Abstract:

The alternative hypothesis of the physics of gravitation is put forward in this paper. The hypothesis is constructed on the laws of classical physics. The process of expansion of the Universe explains the physics of gravity. The expansion of the Universe induces the resistance of gyroscopic forces of electron’s rotation. The second component of gravity forces is the resistance arising from the second derivative of linear expansion. This hypothesis does not reject the existing foundation of settlement, particularly as it is empirically constructed. The forces of gravitation and inertia share a common nature, which has been recognized before. The presented hypothesis does not criticize existing theories of gravitation; rather, it explores a separate theme. It is important to acknowledge that the expansion of the Universe exhibits isotropic characteristics. The proposed hypothesis provides a fundamental direction for further research. It is worth noting that this article does not aim to encompass all possible aspects of future investigations.

Keywords: Gyroscopic forces, the unity of the micro- and macrocosm, the expansion of the universe, the second derivative of expansion.

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Authors: Alpana Agarwal, Akhil Sharma

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This work presents a fully differential CMOS amplifier consisting of two self-biased gain boosted inverter stages, that provides an alternative to the power hungry operational amplifier. The self-biasing avoids the use of external biasing circuitry, thus reduces the die area, design efforts, and power consumption. In the present work, regulated cascode technique has been employed for gain boosting. The Miller compensation is also applied to enhance the phase margin. The circuit has been designed and simulated in 1.8 V 0.18 µm CMOS technology. The simulation results show a high DC gain of 100.7 dB, Unity-Gain Bandwidth of 107.8 MHz, and Phase Margin of 66.7^o with a power dissipation of 286 μW and makes it suitable candidate for the high resolution pipelined ADCs.

Keywords: CMOS amplifier, gain boosting, inverter-based amplifier, self-biased inverter.

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Authors: T. C. Chu, S.H. Wu

Abstract:

This paper suggests ranking alternatives under fuzzy MCDM (multiple criteria decision making) via an centroid based ranking approach, where criteria are classified to benefit qualitative, benefit quantitative and cost quantitative ones. The ratings of alternatives versus qualitative criteria and the importance weights of all criteria are assessed in linguistic values represented by fuzzy numbers. The membership function for the final fuzzy evaluation value of each alternative can be developed through α-cuts and interval arithmetic of fuzzy numbers. The distance between the original point and the relative centroid is applied to defuzzify the final fuzzy evaluation values in order to rank alternatives. Finally a numerical example demonstrates the computation procedure of the proposed model.

Keywords: Fuzzy MCDM, Criteria, Fuzzy number, Ranking, Relative centroid.

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Authors: Pejman Hosseiniun, Rose Shayeghi, Iman Rahbari, Mohamad Reza Kalhor

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CNFET has emerged as an alternative material to silicon for high performance, high stability and low power SRAM design in recent years. SRAM functions as cache memory in computers and many portable devices. In this paper, a new SRAM cell design based on CNFET technology is proposed. The proposed SRAM cell design for CNFET is compared with SRAM cell designs implemented with the conventional CMOS and FinFET in terms of speed, power consumption, stability, and leakage current. The HSPICE simulation and analysis show that the dynamic power consumption of the proposed 8T CNFET SRAM cell’s is reduced about 48% and the SNM is widened up to 56% compared to the conventional CMOS SRAM structure at the expense of 2% leakage power and 3% write delay increase.

Keywords: SRAM cell, CNFET, low power, HSPICE.

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Authors: Mircea I. Pastrav, Cornelia Baera, Florea Dinu

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A different concept for designing and detailing of reinforced concrete precast frame structures is analyzed in this paper. The new detailing of the joints derives from the special hybrid moment frame joints. The special reinforcements of this alternative detailing, named modified special hybrid joint, are bondless with respect to both column and beams. Full scale tests were performed on a plan model, which represents a part of 5 story structure, cropped in the middle of the beams and columns spans. Theoretical approach was developed, based on testing results on twice repaired model, subjected to lateral seismic type loading. Discussion regarding the modified special hybrid joint behavior and further on widening research needed concludes the presentation.

Keywords: Acceptance criteria, modified hybrid joint, repair, seismic loading type.

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Authors: Mohd Sazli Saad, Hishamuddin Jamaluddin, Intan Zaurah Mat Darus

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This paper presents the development of an active vibration control using direct adaptive controller to suppress the vibration of a flexible beam system. The controller is realized based on linear parametric form. Differential evolution optimisation algorithm is used to optimize the controller using single objective function by minimizing the mean square error of the observed vibration signal. Furthermore, an alternative approach is developed to systematically search for the best controller model structure together with it parameter values. The performance of the control scheme is presented and analysed in both time and frequency domain. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is able to suppress the unwanted vibration effectively.

Keywords: flexible beam, finite difference method, active vibration control, differential evolution, direct adaptive controller

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Authors: Ruskartina Eki, Vincent F. Yu, Santosa Budi, A. A. N. Perwira Redi

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This paper introduces symbiotic organism search (SOS) for solving capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP). SOS is a new approach in metaheuristics fields and never been used to solve discrete problems. A sophisticated decoding method to deal with a discrete problem setting in CVRP is applied using the basic symbiotic organism search (SOS) framework. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated on a set of benchmark instances and compared results with best known solution. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm can produce good solution as a preliminary testing. These results indicated that the proposed SOS can be applied as an alternative to solve the capacitated vehicle routing problem.

Keywords: Symbiotic organism search, vehicle routing problem, metaheuristics, Solution Representation.

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Authors: Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

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This paper presents a state-of-the-art survey of the operations research models developed for internal audit planning. Two alternative approaches have been followed in the literature for audit planning: (1) identifying the optimal audit frequency; and (2) determining the optimal audit resource allocation. The first approach identifies the elapsed time between two successive audits, which can be presented as the optimal number of audits in a given planning horizon, or the optimal number of transactions after which an audit should be performed. It also includes the optimal audit schedule. The second approach determines the optimal allocation of audit frequency among all auditable units in the firm. In our review, we discuss both the deterministic and probabilistic models developed for audit planning. In addition, game theory models are reviewed to find the optimal auditing strategy based on the interactions between the auditors and the clients.

Keywords: Operations research applications, audit frequency, audit planning, audit-staff scheduling.

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Authors: A. H. W. Goh, Y. S. Yong, C. H. Chan, S. J. Then, L. P. Chu, S. W. Chau, H. W. Hon

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This paper proposes an alternative control mechanism for an interactive Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) camera control system. Instead of using a mouse or a joystick, the proposed mechanism utilizes a Nintendo Wii remote and infrared (IR) sensor bar. The Wii remote has buttons that allows the user to control the movement of a PTZ camera through Bluetooth connectivity. In addition, the Wii remote has a built-in motion sensor that allows the user to give control signals to the PTZ camera through pitch and roll movement. A stationary IR sensor bar, placed at some distance away opposite the Wii remote, enables the detection of yaw movement. In addition, the Wii remote-s built-in IR camera has the ability to detect its spatial position, and thus generates a control signal when the user moves the Wii remote. Some experiments are carried out and their performances are compared with an industry-standard PTZ joystick.

Keywords: Bluetooth, Infrared, Pan/Tilt/Zoom, PTZ Camera, Visual Surveillance, Wii Remote

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Authors: H. Zemmouri, H. Lounic, N. Mameri

Abstract:

The present study aims to investigate the performance of Moringa oleifera seed extract as natural coagulant in clarification of secondary wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) located in East of Algiers, Algeria. Coagulation flocculation performance of Moringa oleifera was evaluated through supernatant residual turbidity after jar test trials. Various influence parameters namely Moringa oleifera dosage and pH have been considered. Tests on Reghaia wastewater, having 129 NTU of initial turbidity, showed a removal of 69.45% of residual turbidity with only 1.5 mg/l of Moringa oleifera. This sufficient removal capability encourages the use of this bioflocculant for treatment of turbid waters. Indeed, Moringa oleifera which is a natural resource available locally (South of Algeria) coupled to the non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, may be a very interesting alternative to the conventional coagulants used so far.

Keywords: Coagulation flocculation, colloids, Moringa oleifera, secondary wastewater.

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Authors: Yu-Yu Wang, Shih-Hua Hsieh, Ru-Shian Hsieh

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Wishes and choices being respected, and the right to be supported rather than coerced, have been internationally recognized as the human rights of persons with mental illness. In Taiwan, ‘coerced hospitalization’ has become difficult since the revision of the mental health legislation in 2007. Despite trend towards human rights, the real problem families face when their family members are in mental health crisis is the lack of alternative services. This study aims to explore: 1) When is hospitalization seen as the only solution by family members? 2) What are the barriers for arranging hospitalization, and how are they managed? 3) What have family carers learned, in their experiences of caring for their family members with mental illness? To answer these questions, qualitative approach was adopted, and focus group interviews were taken to collect data. This study includes 24 family carers. The main findings of this research include: First, hospital is the last resort for carers in helplessness. Family carers tend to do everything they could to provide care at home for their family members with mental illness. Carers seek hospitalization only when a patient’s behavior is too violent, weird, and/or abnormal, and beyond their ability to manage. Hospitalization, nevertheless, is never an easy choice. Obstacles emanate from the attitudes of the medical doctors, the restricted areas of ambulance service, and insufficient information from the carers’ part. On the other hand, with some professionals’ proactive assistance, access to medical care while in crisis becomes possible. Some family carers obtained help from the medical doctor, nurse, therapist and social workers. Some experienced good help from policemen, taxi drivers, and security guards at the hospital. The difficulty in accessing medical care prompts carers to work harder on assisting their family members with mental illness to stay in stable states. Carers found different ways of helping the ‘person’ to get along with the ‘illness’ and have better quality of life. Taking back ‘the right to control’ in utilizing medication, from passiveness to negotiating with medical doctors and seeking alternative therapies, are seen in many carers’ efforts. Besides, trying to maintain regular activities in daily life and play normal family roles are also experienced as important. Furthermore, talking with the patient as a person is also important. The authors conclude that in order to protect the human rights of persons with mental illness, it is crucial to make the medical care system more flexible and to make the services more humane: sufficient information should be provided and communicated, and efforts should be made to maintain the person’s social roles and to support the family.

Keywords: Family carers, coercive treatment, independent living, mental health crisis, persons with mental illness.

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Authors: Ryan Brading

Abstract:

The results of Taiwan’s presidential election, which took place on 11 January 2020, were alarming for the Kuomintang (KMT). A party that was once the pillar of Taiwan’s institutional apparatus is now losing its direction. Since 2016, the inability of KMT to construct a winning presidential election campaign strategy has made its Chinese ancestry an obstacle in Taiwan’s vibrant and transparent democracy. The appearance of the little-known legislator Han Kuo-yu as the leadership alternative opened the possibility of reigniting the party. Han’s victory in the Kaohsiung mayoral election in November 2018 provided hope that Han could also win the presidency. Wrongly described as a populist, Han, however, was defeated in the January 2020 presidential race. This article analyses why Han is not a populist, his triumph in Kaohsiung, humiliation in running for the presidency and suffering a complete ‘loss of face’ when Kaohsiungers democratically ousted him from the mayoral post on 6 June 2020.

Keywords: Populism, ‘1992 Consensus’, Taiwan, youth vote, Han’s recall.

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Authors: Şebnem Ertaş

Abstract:

“Architecture” is one component of sustainable cultural tourism. The sustainability of architecture is possible through preservation and restoration activities. In Turkey, which has an important place in the world’s cultural heritage, several studies focused on the sustainability of the cultural heritage were done in terms of the principles of “preserve-use-sustain”. Within the scope of this study, a methodology will be proposed in order to obtain the development of different scenarios supporting sustainable tourism. Sille is an ancient village located on the Spice Road and Silk Road dating back to the Ottoman and Seljuk eras. However, in recent years it is protected as an archeological site. In the “Alternative Project Phase”, the streets and buildings which bring dynamism to trade are determined; among these, 10 major buildings in Hacı Ali Ağa Street are studied.

Keywords: Tourism, cultural tourism, sustainability of architecture, interior design, Sille.

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Authors: C. S. Sastry, Saurabh Jain, Ashish Mishra

Abstract:

Image retrieval is a topic where scientific interest is currently high. The important steps associated with image retrieval system are the extraction of discriminative features and a feasible similarity metric for retrieving the database images that are similar in content with the search image. Gabor filtering is a widely adopted technique for feature extraction from the texture images. The recently proposed sparsity promoting l1-norm minimization technique finds the sparsest solution of an under-determined system of linear equations. In the present paper, the l1-norm minimization technique as a similarity metric is used in image retrieval. It is demonstrated through simulation results that the l1-norm minimization technique provides a promising alternative to existing similarity metrics. In particular, the cases where the l1-norm minimization technique works better than the Euclidean distance metric are singled out.

Keywords: l1-norm minimization, content based retrieval, modified Gabor function.

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Authors: S. Azadmard-Damirchi, K. Alirezalu, B. Fathi Achachlouei

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Microwave energy is a superior alternative to several other thermal treatments. Extraction techniques are widely employed for the isolation of bioactive compounds and vegetable oils from oil seeds. Among the different and new available techniques, microwave pretreatment of seeds is a simple and desirable method for production of high quality vegetable oils. Microwave pretreatment for oil extraction has many advantages as follow: improving oil extraction yield and quality, direct extraction capability, lower energy consumption, faster processing time and reduced solvent levels compared with conventional methods. It allows also for better retention and availability of desirable nutraceuticals, such as phytosterols and tocopherols, canolol and phenolic compounds in the extracted oil such as rapeseed oil. This can be a new step to produce nutritional vegetable oils with improved shelf life because of high antioxidant content.

Keywords: Microwave pretreatment, vegetable oil extraction, nutraceuticals, oil quality

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Authors: M. Z. Norashikin, M. Z. Ibrahim

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The use of plastic materials in agriculture causes serious hazards to the environment. The introduction of biodegradable materials, which can be disposed directly into the soil can be one possible solution to this problem. In the present research results of experimental tests carried out on biodegradable film fabricated from natural waste (corn husk) are presented. The film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscope (AFM) observation. The film is shown to be readily degraded within 7-9 months under controlled soil conditions, indicating a high biodegradability rate. The film fabricated was use to produce biodegradable pot (BioPot) for seedlings plantation. The introduction and the expanding use of biodegradable materials represent a really promising alternative for enhancing sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural activities.

Keywords: Environment, waste, plastic, biodegradable.

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Authors: Sandro Bartolini, Alessandro Mecocci, Alessio Medaglini

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The growing popularity of systems based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is highlighting their vulnerability particularly in relation to the positioning system used. Typically, UAV architectures use the civilian GPS which is exposed to a number of different attacks, such as jamming or spoofing. This is why it is important to develop alternative methodologies to accurately estimate the actual UAV position without relying on GPS measurements only. In this paper we propose a position estimate method for UAVs based on monocular visual odometry. We have developed a flight control system capable of keeping track of the entire trajectory travelled, with a reduced dependency on the availability of GPS signal. Moreover, the simplicity of the developed solution makes it applicable to a wide range of commercial drones. The final goal is to allow for safer flights in all conditions, even under cyber-attacks trying to deceive the drone.

Keywords: Visual odometry, autonomous UAV, position measurement, autonomous outdoor flight.

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Authors: Paulo Gomes, Adelaide Figueiredo

Abstract:

We consider n individuals described by p standardized variables, represented by points of the surface of the unit hypersphere S_n-1. For a previous choice of n individuals we suppose that the set of observables variables comes from a mixture of bipolar Watson distribution defined on the hypersphere. EM and Dynamic Clusters algorithms are used for identification of such mixture. We obtain estimates of parameters for each Watson component and then a partition of the set of variables into homogeneous groups of variables. Additionally we will present a factor analysis model where unobservable factors are just the maximum likelihood estimators of Watson directional parameters, exactly the first principal component of data matrix associated to each group previously identified. Such alternative model it will yield us to directly interpretable solutions (simple structure), avoiding factors rotations.

Keywords: Dynamic Clusters algorithm, EM algorithm, Factor analysis model, Hierarchical Clustering, Watson distribution.

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Authors: Jiming Yang

Abstract:

A kind of singularly perturbed boundary value problems is under consideration. In order to obtain its approximation, simple upwind difference discretization is applied. We use a moving mesh iterative algorithm based on equi-distributing of the arc-length function of the current computed piecewise linear solution. First, a maximum norm a posteriori error estimate on an arbitrary mesh is derived using a different method from the one carried out by Chen [Advances in Computational Mathematics, 24(1-4) (2006), 197-212.]. Then, basing on the properties of discrete Green-s function and the presented posteriori error estimate, we theoretically prove that the discrete solutions computed by the algorithm are first-order uniformly convergent with respect to the perturbation parameter ε.

Keywords: Convergence analysis, green's function, singularly perturbed, equi-distribution, moving mesh.

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Authors: J. K. Choi , D. W. Kim, H. S. Shin, H. J. Yeon, B. K. Kim, Yeon. Fan, D. Chang, S. B. Han, J.M. Hur, B. R. Jung, S. M. Park

Abstract:

The purpose of this research was develop a biological nutrient removal (BNR) system which has low energy consumption, sludge production, and land usage. These indicate that BNR system could be a alternative of future wastewater treatment in ubiquitous city(U-city). Organics and nitrogen compounds could be removed by this system so that secondary or tertiary stages of wastewater treatment satisfy their standards. This system was composed of oxic and anoxic filter filed with PVDC and POM media. Anoxic/oxic filter system operated under empty bed contact time of 4 hours by increasing recirculation ratio from 0 to 100 %. The system removals of total nitrogen and COD were 76.3% and 93%, respectively. To be observed internal behavior in this system SCOD, NH3-N, and NO3-N were conducted and removal shows range of 25~100%, 59~99%, and 70~100%, respectively.

Keywords: BNR, nitrification, denitrification, organics removal, anoxic, oxic, advanced treatment.

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Authors: Fernando Pérez, Humberto Sossa, Rigoberto Martínez, Daniel Lorias, Arturo Minor

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This paper presents a system for tracking the movement of laparoscopic instruments which is based on an orthogonal system of webcams and video image processing. The movements are captured with two webcams placed orthogonally inside of the physical trainer. On the image, the instruments were detected by using color markers placed on the distal tip of each instrument. The 3D position of the tip of the instrument within the work space was obtained by linear triangulation method. Preliminary results showed linearity and repeatability in the motion tracking with a resolution of 0.616 mm in each axis; the accuracy of the system showed a 3D instrument positioning error of 1.009 ± 0.101 mm. This tool is a portable and low-cost alternative to traditional tracking devices and a trustable method for the objective evaluation of the surgeon’s surgical skills.

Keywords: Laparoscopic Surgery, Orthogonal Vision, Tracking Instruments, Triangulation.

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Authors: Pek Chuen-Khee, Jamal Othman

Abstract:

This paper estimates the economic values of household preference for enhanced solid waste disposal services in Malaysia. The contingent valuation (CV) method estimates an average additional monthly willingness-to-pay (WTP) in solid waste management charges of Ôé¼0.77 to 0.80 for improved waste disposal services quality. The finding of a slightly higher WTP from the generic CV question than that of label-specific, further reveals a higher WTP for sanitary landfill, at Ôé¼0.90, than incineration, at Ôé¼0.63. This suggests that sanitary landfill is a more preferred alternative. The logistic regression estimation procedure reveals that household-s concern of where their rubbish is disposed, age, ownership of house, household income and format of CV question are significant factors in influencing WTP.

Keywords: contingent valuation, logistic regression, solid waste disposal, willingness-to-pay.

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Authors: María-Dolores Cubiles-de-la-Vega, Rafael Pino-Mejías, Esther-Lydia Silva-Ramírez

Abstract:

A dissimilarity measure between the empiric characteristic functions of the subsamples associated to the different classes in a multivariate data set is proposed. This measure can be efficiently computed, and it depends on all the cases of each class. It may be used to find groups of similar classes, which could be joined for further analysis, or it could be employed to perform an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis of the set of classes. The final tree can serve to build a family of binary classification models, offering an alternative approach to the multi-class SVM problem. We have tested this dendrogram based SVM approach with the oneagainst- one SVM approach over four publicly available data sets, three of them being microarray data. Both performances have been found equivalent, but the first solution requires a smaller number of binary SVM models.

Keywords: Cluster Analysis, Empiric Characteristic Function, Multi-class SVM, R.

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Authors: Shiyang Zhu, G. Q. Lo, D. L. Kwong

Abstract:

Silicon photonics has generated an increasing interest in recent years mainly for optical communications optical interconnects in microelectronic circuits or bio-sensing applications. The development of elementary passive and active components (including detectors and modulators), which are mainly fabricated on the silicon on insulator platform for CMOS-compatible fabrication, has reached such a performance level that the integration challenge of silicon photonics with microelectronic circuits should be addressed. Since crystalline silicon can only be grown from another silicon crystal, making it impossible to deposit in this state, the optical devices are typically limited to a single layer. An alternative approach is to integrate a photonic layer above the CMOS chip using back-end CMOS fabrication process. In this paper, various materials, including silicon nitride, amorphous silicon, and polycrystalline silicon, for this purpose are addressed.

Keywords: Silicon photonics, CMOS, Integration.

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Authors: Muhammad Marsudi, Dzuraidah Abdul Wahab, Che Hassan Che Haron

Abstract:

Modeling of a manufacturing system enables one to identify the effects of key design parameters on the system performance and as a result to make correct decision. This paper proposes a manufacturing system modeling approach using a spreadsheet model based on queuing network theory, in which a static capacity planning model and stochastic queuing model are integrated. The model was used to improve the existing system utilization in relation to product design. The model incorporates few parameters such as utilization, cycle time, throughput, and batch size. The study also showed that the validity of developed model is good enough to apply and the maximum value of relative error is 10%, far below the limit value 32%. Therefore, the model developed in this study is a valuable alternative model in evaluating a manufacturing system

Keywords: Manufacturing system, product design, spreadsheet model, utilization.

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Authors: Supriyono, Sumardiyono

Abstract:

Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels that promising for substituting petro diesel as energy source which is advantage on sustainability and ecofriendly. Due to the raw material that tend to decompose during storage, biodiesel also have the same characteristic that tend to decompose and formed higher acid value which is the result of oxidation to double bond on a chain of ester. Decomposition of biodiesel due to oxidation reaction could prevent by introduce a small amount of antioxidant. The origin of raw materials and the process for producing biodiesel will determine the effectiveness of antioxidant. The quality degradation on biodiesel could evaluate by measuring iodine value and acid number of biodiesel. Biodiesel made from high fatty acid Jatropha curcas oil by using esterification and transesterification process will stand on the quality by introduce 90 ppm pyrogallol powder on the biodiesel, which could increase Induction period time from 2 hours to more than 6 hours in rancimat test evaluation.

Keywords: Acid value, antioxidant, biodiesel, iodine value.

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