A method for automatic classification of gender based on text- independent handwriting

Handwriting recognition is used for the prediction of various demographic traits such as age, gender, nationality, etc. Out of all the applications gender prediction is mainly admired topic among researchers. The relation between gender and handwriting can be seen from the physical appearance of the handwriting. This research work predicts gender from handwriting using the landmarks of differences between the two genders. We use the shape or visual appearance of the handwriting for extracting features of the handwriting such as slanteness (direction), area (no of pixels occupied by text), perimeter (length of edges), etc. Classification is carried out using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a classifier which transforms the nonlinear problem into linear using its kernel trick, logistic regression, KNN and at the end to enhance the classification rates we use Majority Voting. The experimental results obtained on a dataset of 282 writers with 2 samples per writer shows that the proposed method attains appealing performance on writer detection and text-independent environment.

     

Melting treatment of waste asbestos using mixture of hydrogen and oxygen produced from water electrolysis

In this study, we melted four types of waste asbestos containing material such as spread asbestos, plasterboard asbestos, slate asbestos and asbestos 99 wt%, in a melting furnace at 1,450–1,550 that uses a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen (Brown’s gas) as a fuel. More volatile components (CaO, K₂O) are enriched in spread asbestos, plasterboard asbestos, and slate asbestos, while less volatile compounds (SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, MgO) remain in asbestos 99%. Through basicity of raw materials, spread asbestos, plasterboard asbestos, and slate asbestos were found to have more alkalinity, and asbestos 99% was found more acidic. SEM and EDX results revealed that all raw materials had various kinds of asbestos fiber. Spread asbestos, plasterboard asbestos, and slate asbestos were considered as tremolite asbestos, whereas asbestos 99% was considered as chrysotile asbestos. It was further confirmed by SEM and XRD studies that all waste materials contained some crystalline structures which transformed into amorphous glassy structure on melting. Also, in case of added glass cullet during the melting of spread asbestos, it transformed the raw material into a perfect vitrified product having more glassy surface and amorphous in nature     

A study on the carbon dioxide recovery from 2 ton-CO2/day pilot plant at LNG based power plant

A pilot plant of 2 ton-CO₂/day for CO₂ recovery from flue gas emitted from 250 MW LNG based power plant was tested with aqueous absorbents. The absorbent tested were of different nature such as primary amine (MEA), blend of primary, secondary, tertiary and sterically hindered amine such as MDEA + HMDA, AEPD + DPTA, and TIPA + DPTA. We have studied the CO₂ recovery as function of temperature, concentration, and flow rate of absorbent, pressure and temperature of stripper, and flow rate and temperature of flue gas. It was observed that while CO₂ recovery increases with increase in flow rate and concentration of absorbent, it decreases with increase in temperature and flow rate of flue gas. The CO₂ recovery ratio increases with increase in stripper temperature and decrease in stripper pressure. CO₂ loading (mol CO₂/mol amine) also decreases with increase in stripper temperature.For the absorbent flow rate greater than 2.4 N m³/h, the carbon dioxide recovery ratio follows the sequence: MEA > MDEA + HMDA > AEPD + DPTA > TIPA + DPTA.     

Synthesis and characterization of new hyperbranched poly(ether ketones) with various number of phenylene units

A new series of AB₂ type monomers with aromatic thio and various number of phenylene units were prepared. Three series of AB₂ type monomers, 4-thio-3′,5′-bis(4-fluorobenzal)biphenyl 1, 4-thio-3′′,5′′-bis(4-fluorobenzal)-p-terphenyl 2 and 4-thio-3′′′,5′′′-bis(4-fluorobenzal)-p-quarterphenyl 3 were synthesized in a stepwise manner starting from 3,5-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)phenol 4 by repeating a series of conversions of the hydroxy group to the triflate, cross-coupling reaction of the triflate with (p-methoxythiophenyl)boronic acid, reduction of carbonyl groups followed by conversion of methylthio to thio group. Three kinds of hyperbranched poly(ether ketones) were prepared by the polymerization of the these three AB₂ type monomers. All compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, thermal analysis, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectrometry.     

Development of physicochemical nitrogen removal process for high strength industrial wastewater

The biological nitrogen removal (BNR) process is the most common method for removing low quantities of ammonium from wastewater, but this method is not used for wastewater rich with ammonium. In this study, we have developed the physicochemical nitrogen removal process to remove the nitrogen content for a real industrial wastewater. The denitrification was accomplished by the physicochemical denitrification process using zinc powder and sulfamic acid in pH 2-4. The experimental parameters were examined by varying various reaction conditions such as pH, zinc feeding time, amount of sulfamic acid, and amount of nitrate concentration. For each experimental condition, the physicochemical denitrification process was determined by pH, amount of zinc powder and sulfamic acid, zinc feeding time and nitrate concentration.     

Environmental and economic assessment of the chemical absorption process in Korea using the LEAP model

CO₂ emission from fossil fuels is a major cause for the global warming effect, but it is hard to remove completely in actuality. Moreover, energy consumption is bound to increase for the continuous economic development of a country that has an industrial formation requiring high-energy demand. Therefore, we need to consider not only a device for CO₂ mitigation but also its impact when a CO₂ mitigation device is applied. The device for CO₂ emission mitigation can be classified into three fields: energy consumption reduction, development of CO₂ removal and recovery technology, and development of alternative energy technology. Among these options, CO₂ removal and recovery technology has a merit that can be applied to a process in the near future. Therefore, research for CO₂ removal and recovery is actively progressing in Korea. In this study, environmental and economic assessment according to the energy policy change for climate change agreement and increase of CO₂ mitigation technology is accomplished, on the bases of operating data for the CO₂ chemical absorption pilot plant that is installed in the Seoul coal steam power plant. The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system (LEAP) was used to analyze the alternative scenario, and results were shown quantitatively.     

Rehousing periadolescent male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) apart from their mothers for 24 hours increases maternally directed sexual behavior and plasma testosterone.

Periadolescent male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) housed continuously with their mother displayed little or no sexual behavior when they were tested with her in a novel environment. However, if males were rehoused without their mother for 24 hr before testing, they frequently directed courtship and sexual behavior toward her. This effect occurred whether the mother was isolated or not during the rehousing period. In addition, rehousing without the mother produced a significant rise in the plasma testosterone levels of the males. It appears that continuous housing with the mother inhibits sexual and courtship behavior directed toward her, as well as gonadal activity, in periadolescent male guinea pigs. These effects may serve to prevent inbreeding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of the effects of maternal separation and novelty on central mechanisms mediating pituitary-adrenal activity in infant guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

In mammalian species in which the young exhibit a strong filial attachment (e.g., monkeys, guinea pigs), numerous studies have shown that even brief separation from the attachment figure potently elevates circulating concentrations of glucocorticoids and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). However, effects of separation on central regulation of this stress response are not known. Therefore, we investigated central mechanisms mediating pituitary-adrenal activation during maternal separation and novelty exposure in guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) pups. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and plasma cortisol and ACTH levels, were elevated only during separation in a novel environment. C-Fos activity was elevated in the medial amygdala (MeA) and reduced in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) during novelty exposure, regardless of separation. On the other hand, c-Fos activity was elevated in the PVN during separation, regardless of novelty exposure. These results demonstrate independent and combined effects of separation and novelty in regions of the guinea pig CNS that regulate pituitary-adrenal activity. Moreover, they suggest that a pathway from MeA to BNST to PVN mediates responses to novelty in the guinea pig pup, as in the adult rat, though inputs from other cell populations appear required to fully account for the HPA activity observed here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)