Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research

241-245

Authors: H. A. Ahmed

The main goal of this paper is to introduce a new platform for the implementation and simulation of communication systems. SCILAB/SCICOS is an open source software for conducting communication system related experiments, aiming to provide an experimentation platform for research on communication theories. Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier (DSB-SC) Modulator is modeled and simulated using this platform.

251-258

Authors: S. Xefteris, K. Tserpes, T. Varvarigou

Dynamic renal scintigraphy is a well-established imaging technique in nuclear medicine, used to detail both the organ's anatomy and function. However, the quality of the produced scintigrams provides an often unreliable diagnostic tool because of a rather bad signal-to-noise ratio and the fact that in certain occasions the regions of interest are too concentrated making it difficult for physician evaluation. The goal of this paper is to achieve a more accurate production of the renal activity graph, by avoiding the inclusion of image artifacts in the detection process. This is achieved by treating pixels as points in a two-dimensional Euclidean space, and exploiting set-theoretic properties and morphological operators. The evaluation of the method in a number of real patient’s scintigrams obtained in a depth of 5 years, showed that, in the majority of the cases, it is feasible to produce a more accurate renogram, for both kidneys and the renal pelvis region, that was helpful for the interpretation of the findings

265-268

Authors: N. A. Musa, F. O. Akinbode

The search for alternative fuels for firing crucible furnace for low temperature melting metals has become mandatory, as a result of the pollution problem associated with the use of fossil fuels, the expense of electricity and also deforestation as a result of the use of charcoal. An agricultural waste, rice husk, in briquette form was used as an alternative fuel to fire crucible furnace to melt lead, zinc and aluminium. Results showed that lead and zinc melted and reached their pouring temperatures of 3840C and 5300C in 70 minutes and 75 minutes respectively. Aluminium was raised to a maximum temperature of 5200C in 75 and 100 minutes.The average concentration of the pollutants (CO, SO2and NOX) were found to be below the tolerance limit and that of TSP (Total Suspended Particulates) was found to be within the tolerance limit stipulated by Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) in Nigeria.

216-220

Authors: M. Seifouri, M. M. Karkhanehchi, S. Rohani

The main goal in this paper is to design single-mode optical fibers for DWDM networks, which are used today in rapid communications. These networks require low dispersion in a wide range of wavelengths. So, in this paper, multi-layer optical fibers with low dispersion value and flat dispersion slope in wavelength range of 1.5-1.6µm) are designed, using optimization algorithms.

226-231

Authors: N. Bagheri

In this paper, the existence of multicollisions in Zipper Hash structure, a new Hash structure which was introduced to strengthen the iterated Hash structures, is presented. This study shows that finding multicollisions, i.e. 2k-way collision, in this Hash structure is not much harder than finding such multicollisions in ordinary Merkle - Damgard (MD) structure. In fact, the complexity of the attacks is approximately n/2 times harder than what has been found for MD structures. Then, these large multicollisions are used as a tool to find D-way preimage for this structure. The complexity of finding 2K-way multicollisions and 2k-way preimages are (eq) and (eq) respectively. Similar to what has been proved by Joux for MD, it is shown in this paper that this structure could not be used to create a Hash function with 2n-bit length by concatenating this structure with any other Hash structure by Hash’s output length of n-bite. It is also shown that time complexity of finding a collision for this concatenated structure is (eq) which is much smaller than what was expected from generic-birthday attack which would be (eq) . In addition, it is shown that increasing the number of rounds of this Hash function can not improve its security against this attack significantly and the attacker can find multicollisions on this Hash function which means that this Hash function has a structural flaw.

237-240

Authors: F. E. Idachaba, E. M. Idachaba

The lack of access to quality healthcare and the lack of sufficient manpower, especially doctors, in rural areas is a major healthcare challenge faced by dwellers in rural communities in most developing countries. The intervention of governments, which range from the introduction of training programs aimed at producing health workers from schools of health technology and nursing to the recalling and deployment of retired nurses to rural areas, has still not been able to generate the desired improvement in healthcare delivery, as outbreaks of epidemics are still being reported in such areas. This work presents an E-Health architecture which utilizes low cost sensors and communication devices to link the doctors in the urban areas with the patients in rural areas enabling doctors-patients interaction. The system enables accurate and timely diagnosis of the patients and facilitates proper treatment plans. It also incorporates an epidemic alert which enables the tracking of diseases and the early detection and control of epidemics.

182-189

Authors: M. L. Chew Hernandez, E. K. Velazquez Hernandez, S. Leon Dominguez

This paper presents the evaluation, from a Decision Analysis point of view, of the feasibility of upgrading machinery at an existing metal-forming workshop. The Integral Decision Analysis (IDA) methodology is applied to clarify the decision and develop a decision model. One of the key advantages of the IDA is its careful selection of the problem frame, allowing a correct problem definition. While following most of the original IDA methodology, an addition to this methodology is proposed in this work, that of using the strategic Means-Ends Objective Network as a backbone for the development of the decision model. The constructed decision model uses influence diagrams to include factual operator and vendor expertise, simulation to evaluate the alternatives and a utility function to take into account the risk attitude of the decision maker. Three alternatives are considered: Base (no modification), CNC (installing an automatic lathe) and CF (installation of an automatic milling machine). The results are presented as a graph showing zones in which a particular alternative should be selected. The results show the potential of IDA to tackle technical decisions that are otherwise approached without the due care.

196-200

Authors: D. Antic, Z. Jovanovic, S. Peric, S. Nikolic, M. Milojkovic, M. Milosevic

It is well known that fuzzy logic can be used in the control of complex systems described by highly nonlinear mathematical models. However, the main difficulty in the design of a fuzzy controller comes with the adjustment of the controller’s parameters that are usually determined by human experts’ knowledge or trial and error methods. In this paper, we describe an implementation of fuzzy logic in order to reduce oscillations during the positioning of a 3D crane system. The fuzzy controller’s structure is quite simple, requiring only two input variables. The proposed fuzzy controller has been applied to an experimental laboratory framework and results show that oscillations are significantly reduced.

209-215

Authors: F. Yu, C. Wang

A novel three dimension autonomous (3D) chaotic system with a quadratic exponential nonlinear term and a quadratic cross-product term is described in this paper. The basic dynamical properties of the new attractor are studied. The forming mechanism of its compound structure, obtained by merging together two simple attractors after performing one mirror operation, has been investigated by detailed numerical as well as theoretical analysis. Finally, the exponential operation circuit and its temperature-compensation circuit, which makes the new system more applicable from a practical engineering perspective, are investigated.

155-161

Authors: Ateekh-Ur-Rehman, Y. S. Usmani

Oil exploration and production operations face a number of challenges. Professional planners have to design solutions for various practical problems or issues. However, the time consumed is often very extensive because of the large number of possible solutions. Further, the matter of choosing the best solution remains. The present paper investigates a problem related to leading companies in the energy and chemical manufacturing sector of the oil and gas industry. Each company’s field engineers are expensive and valuable assets. Therefore, an optimized roster is rather important. In the present paper, the objective is to design a field engineers’ schedule which would be both feasible and satisfying towards the various demands of rigs, with minimum operational cost to the company. An efficient and quick optimization technique is presented to schedule the shifts of field engineers.

167-172

Authors: L. Zjavka

A lot of problems involve unknown data relations, identification of which can serve as a generalization of their qualities. Relative values of variables are applied in this case, and not the absolute values, which can better make use of data properties in a wide range of the validity. This resembles more to the functionality of the brain, which seems to generalize relations of variables too, than a common pattern classification. Differential polynomial neural network is a new type of neural network designed by the author, which constructs and approximates an unknown differential equation of dependent variables using special type of root multi-parametric polynomials. It creates fractional partial differential terms, describing mutual derivative changes of some variables, likewise the differential equation does. Particular polynomials catch relations of given combinations of input variables. This type of identification is not based on a whole-pattern similarity, but only to the learned hidden generalized relations of variables.

177-181

Authors: J. B. V. Subrahmanyam, P. Alluvada, Bandana, K. Bhanupriya, C. Shashidhar

Considering the intermittent natural energy resources and the seasonal un-balance, a phtovoltaic-wind hybrid electrical power supply system was developed to accommodate remote locations where a conventional grid connection is inconvenient or expensive. However, the hybrid system can also be applied with grid connection and owners are allowed to sell excessive power back to the electric utility. The proposed set-up consists of a photo-voltaic solar-cell array, a mast mounted wind generator, lead-acid storage batteries, an inverter unit to convert DC to AC, electrical lighting loads, electrical heating loads, several fuse and junction boxes and associated wiring, and test instruments for measuring voltages, currents, power factors, and harmonic contamination data throughout the system. The proposed hybrid solar-wind power generating system can be extensively used to illustrate electrical concepts in hands-on laboratories and also for demonstrations in the Industrial Technology curriculum. This paper describes an analysis of local PV-wind hybrid systems for supplying electricity to a private house, farmhouse or small company with electrical power depending on the site needs. The major system components, work principle and specific working condition are presented.

133-138

Authors: G. A. Tarnavsky, E. V. Vorozhtsov

Various aspects of cloud computing applications for scientific research, applied design, and remote education are described in this paper. An analysis of the different aspects is performed based on the experience from the “SciShop.ru” Computer Simulation Center. This analysis shows that cloud computing technology has wide prospects in scientific research applications, applied developments and also remote education of specialists, postgraduates, and students.

144-150

Authors: B. O. Odedairo, V. Oladokun

Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) is a Non Polynomial (NP) - Hard optimization problem that considers how to assign activities to available resources in order to meet predefined objectives. The problem is usually characterized by precedence relationship between activities with limited capacity of renewable resources. In an environment where resources are limited, projects still have to be finished on time, within the approved budget and in accordance with the preset specifications. Inherently, these tend to make RCPSP, a multi-objective problem. However, it has been treated as a single objective problem with project makespan often recognized as the most relevant objective. As a result of not understanding the multi-objective dimension of some projects, where these objectives need to be simultaneously considered, distraction and conflict of interest have ultimately lead to abandoned or totally failed projects. The aim of this article is to holistically review the relevance and applicability of multi-objective performance dimension of RCPSP in an environment where optimal use of limited resources is important.