Adaptation of a routing algorithm in wireless video sensor network for disaster scenarios using JPEG 2000

In this work we will develop an extension of one of existing routing algorithm in wireless sensor network. This new adaptation will permit the sensor node to save more energy and transmit images in wireless mode. This situation will be strategic and helpful especially in disaster scenario, where groups of rescuers must be on site to accomplish emergency tasks; therefore it’s very important and necessary to establish a wireless communication in real time between individuals or groups. The nature of wireless video sensor network makes it suitable to be used in the context of emergencies because introducing a video give more information in precise time and this is very advantageous when the existing infrastructure is down or severely overloaded. In emergencies the network topology may change rapidly and randomly. The increasing mobility of terminals makes them progressively dependent on their autonomy from the power source. This is illustrated by introducing many mobility models and using many scenarios of mobility in emergency situation, where image transmission via sensor node is used. Low complexity algorithm in image processing in order to reduce time transfer of selected data by this way allows saving energy. Efficiency in emergency scenario is the main objective of this work, achieved by the combination of three strategies: low-power mode algorithm, a power-aware routing strategy and compression technique in image processing used in sensor node. A selected set of simulations studies and real test bed on sensor node platform (Telos-B) indicate a reduction in energy consumption and a significant increase in node lifetime whereas network performance is not affected significantly. This is the big interest of our work in emergency situation, by increasing life time of node, individual can communicate longer and give more chance to rescuers to find them.     

Effect of Enzyme Treatments and Drying Temperatures on Methylpyrazine Content in Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao L.) Powder Extract

ABSTRACT:  The effects of combining enzyme treatments and heating protocols on pyrazine formation in cocoa powder extracts have been studied. Five commercial enzyme preparations containing protease and carbohydrase activities were initially assessed for their ability to release amino acids and reducing sugars, both of which are substrates for Maillard reactions. The enzyme preparation Flavourzyme was subsequently selected for further study given its ability to liberate both types of substrate. Cocoa powder solutions were treated with 2 doses of Flavourzyme and processed at 2 drying temperatures. The combination of the higher dose of the enzyme (12% w/w enzyme/substrate) and the higher drying temperature (150 °C) resulted in a synergistic increase in the concentration of methyl- and dimethylpyrazines. A statistically significant increase in the concentration of tetramethylpyrazine occurred in samples treated at 150 °C that was independent of the enzyme dose assayed. No significant changes in trimethylpyrazine content were detected in treated compared to untreated samples.     

Finite-Time Observers: Application to Secure Communication

In this paper, control theory is used to formalize finite-time chaos synchronization as a nonlinear finite-time observer design issue. This paper introduces a finite-time observer for nonlinear systems that can be put into a linear canonical form up to an output injection. The finite-time convergence relies on the homogeneity properties of nonlinear systems. The observer is then applied to the problem of secure data transmission based on the finite-time chaos synchronization and the two-channel transmission method.      

Effects of mild heating and acidification on the molecular structure of milk components as investigated by synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis

This paper reports the potential of synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy in the characterization at the molecular level of milk changes during mild heating from 4 to 50 degrees C and acidification in the pH range of 6.8 to 5.1. Synchronous fluorescence spectra were collected in the 250-550 nm excitation wavelength range using offsets of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, and 240 nm between excitation and emission monochromators. The potential of parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis in the decomposition of the whole synchronous fluorescence data set into the contribution of each of the fluorescent compounds present in milk has been investigated for heating and acidification data sets. Models were fitted from 1 to 7 components. Considering the core consistency values, PARAFAC models with three components have been considered. The first three components explained 94.43% and 94.13% of the total variance for heating and acidification data sets, respectively. The loading profiles of the first and second components derived from PARAFAC analysis performed on heating and acidification data sets corresponded quite well with the characteristics of tryptophan and vitamin A fluorescence spectra, respectively. The third component corresponded to the riboflavin fluorescence spectrum. Considering the heating experiment, the profile of the concentration mode for the second component showed large variations according to the temperature, which were assigned to the melting of triglycerides between 4 and 50 degrees C. For the acidification experiment, drastic changes in the concentration modes of the three components were observed for pH below 5.6, in agreement with structural changes in casein micelles.     

Analytical and Numerical Solution of the Stress Field and the Dynamic Stress Intensity Factors in a Cracked Plate under Sinusoidal Loading

A cracked plate subjected to a sinusoidal loading perpendicular to its plane is considered, and the analytical solution of the dynamic vibration behavior of a plate, which allowed the determination of the stress field near the crack tip, is developed. A mixed mode of loading near the crack tip has been established and described with dynamic stress intensity factors K _I (z,t) and K _II (z,t) associated with modes I and II crack openings, respectively. To validate the analytical results, a finite element analysis (FEA) of a 1 × 1 m square plate with a thickness of 1 cm, having a middle crack of 10 cm in length, is made. The results have shown significant agreement between analytical and FEA findings.     

Automatic fire pixel detection using image processing: a comparative analysis of rule-based and machine learning-based methods

This paper presents a comparative analysis of state-of-the art image processing-based fire color detection rules and methods in the context of geometrical characteristics measurement of wildland fires. Two new rules and two new detection methods using an intelligent combination of the rules are presented, and their performances are compared with their counterparts. The benchmark is performed on approximately two hundred million fire pixels and seven hundred million non-fire pixels extracted from five hundred wildland images under diverse imaging conditions. The fire pixels are categorized according to fire color and existence of smoke; meanwhile, non-fire pixels are categorized according to the average intensity of the corresponding image. This characterization allows to analyze the performance of each rule by category. It is shown that the performances of the existing rules and methods from the literature are category dependent, and none of them is able to perform equally well on all categories. Meanwhile, a new proposed method based on machine learning techniques and using all the rules as features outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques in the literature by performing almost equally well on different categories. Thus, this method, promises very interesting developments for the future of metrologic tools for fire detection in unstructured environments.     

Free convection enhancement in an annulus between horizontal confocal elliptical cylinders using hybrid nanofluids

ABSTRACT

In the present paper, natural convection in an annulus between two confocal elliptic cylinders filled with a Cu-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid is investigated numerically. The inner cylinder is heated at a constant surface temperature while the outer wall is isothermally cooled. The basic equations are formulated in elliptic coordinates and developed in terms of the vorticity-stream function formulation using the dimensionless form for 2D, laminar and incompressible flow under steady-state condition. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method and solved by an in-house FORTRAN code. Numerical simulations are performed for various volume fractions of nanoparticles (0?≤???≤?0.12) and Rayleigh numbers (10³?≤?Ra?≤?3?×?10⁵). The eccentricity of the inner and outer ellipses and the angle of orientation are fixed at e₁?=?0.9, e₂?=?0.6 and γ?=?0° respectively. It is found that employing a Cu-Al₂O₃/water hybrid nanofluid is more efficient in heat transfer rate compared to the similar Al₂O₃/water nanofluid.     

Theoretical and finite element studies of interfacial stresses in reinforced concrete beams strengthened by externally FRP laminates plate

The paper presents the results of an analytical and numerical solution for interfacial stresses in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP)–reinforced concrete (RC) hybrid beams studied by the finite element method. The analytical analysis is based on the deformation compatibility approach where both the shear and normal stresses are assumed to be invariant across the adhesive layer thickness. The adherend shear deformations are taken into account by assuming a parabolic shear stress through the thickness of both the concrete beam and the bonded plate. In numerical analysis, the mesh sensitivity test shows that the finite element results for interfacial stresses are not sensitive to the finite element mesh. The finite element analysis then is used to calculate the interfacial stress distribution and evaluate the effect of the structural parameters on the interfacial behavior. It is shown that both the normal and shear stresses at the interface are influenced by the material and geometry parameters of the composite beam. Numerical results from the present analysis are presented both to demonstrate the advantages of the present solution over existing ones and to illustrate the main characteristics of interfacial stress distributions. We can conclude that this research is helpful for the understanding the mechanical behavior of the interface and design of the FRP–RC hybrid structures.     

Synthesis and Electrochemical Proprieties of Novel Unsymmetrical Bis-Tetrathiafulvalenes and Electrical Conductivity of Their Charge Transfer Complexes with Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ)

The synthesis and properties of a series of bis-tetrathiafulvalenes (bis-TTFs) containing nitrophenyl, aminophenyl or dimethylaminophenyl is reported. The synthesis was carried out by using routes involving Wittig-type, cross-coupling, reduction and alkylation reactions. The electron donor ability of these new compounds has been measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Charge transfer complexes with tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) were prepared by chemical redox reactions. The complexes have been proven to give conducting materials.     

Influence of temperature and applied potential on the permeability of polyphenol films prepared on vitreous carbon in acid and alkaline media

The electrochemical polymerization of phenol is known to rapidly produce a thin insulating film at the anode surface. This film generally blocks further polymerization. The objective of this study is to show that, depending on the operating conditions, polymeric films resulting from phenol oxidation present different properties and that certain films can be so porous that they allow the oxidation of phenol to continue. The deposition of polyphenol films with improved permeability could be attractive in the removal of phenol from polluted solutions. Polyphenol films were prepared in aqueous solution on a vitreous carbon anode either by cyclic voltammetry or by electro-oxidation at constant potential. The apparent permeability P (%) of the films prepared by these techniques was evaluated by monitoring changes in the electrode response towards phenol and potassium ferricyanide at 25 and 85 °C and as a function of the potential applied during electropolymerization performed either in acidic (1 mol L^?1 H₂SO₄) or in alkaline (1 mol L^?1 NaOH) aqueous solution. It was shown that: (1) the polyphenol film electrosynthesized in alkaline medium was more permeable than that prepared in acidic medium, (2) the apparent permeability was higher when the polyphenol film was electrosynthesized with simultaneous oxygen evolution and (3) the use of a high temperature in the polyphenol film preparation, especially in the presence of a concomitant oxygen evolution, significantly enhanced its apparent permeability (P ≥ 100 %). These results are interpreted in terms of a mixed-transport mechanism involving both pore and membrane diffusion. The effect of the permeability of the polymeric film on the removal of phenol from aqueous solution by electropolymerization is discussed.