Tangible interaction as an aid for object navigation in 3D modeling

This study introduced an interaction technique that used tangible interaction for 3D modeling. A hybrid interaction technique using a Kinect camera and a smartphone with a gyroscope was developed for the navigating objects in a 3D modeling software. It was then tested on 20 participants categorized as amateurs who had basic 3D/ CAD modeling experience and 20 participants categorized as the experts who had extensive experience working with the modeling software. This research study presents the need for existence of such interaction technique, gaps from the related previous studies, statistical findings from the current study and possible reasons for the results. The results concluded that the even though the hybrid interaction technique was efficient for both the participant categories and though there existed a statistical significance in efficiency for the amateur category, it did not provide a better user experience for the expert category and user experience for the amateur category was inconclusive. The study suggests that future studies and fine tuning of the current study could have a positive effect on the beginners in 3D modeling without causing a major impact for the experts

IDENTIFYING TARGET PROPERTIES FOR THE DESIGN OF META-MATERIAL TANK TRACK PADS

On track vehicle systems, track pads are designed to provide traction and support the weight of the vehicle, they have limited service life due to common failure by blowout. According to the literature, blowout is a failure mode caused by overheating due to hysteresis in elastomeric materials during high speed operations. Elastomers are used primarily for their high compliance, which is essential to protect the suspension components and maintain structural integrity of the track pad. The objective of the work is to explore the use of linear elastic meta-materials with optimized topology to replace elastomers and reduce or eliminate the effect of hysteretic loss. This work presents a methodology to design an alternate meta-material that can provide some of the desired elastic properties of the track pads. To determine the requirements for linear elastic meta-materials, dynamic analyses of a rollover event were conducted. From these analyses the complex dependence of the strain history on different strain components is understood. Due to the non-linearity of elastomers, tangent stiffness matrices are required to update the stress states at different strain increments. The elasticity tensors (tangent operators) determined at a set of strain levels, are used as prescribed constitutive parameters to tailor the meta-material unit-cell topology. The optimal material properties according to which the elastomeric track pad is designed with linear elastic material are identified in this work

Development of a dynamic spatial data analysis system for transportation

Transportation systems are complex entities that are owned and operated by a diverse group of organizations. The management of such systems requires substantial amounts of data to be monitored, acquired, managed, analyzed, maintained and modeled. Due to the spatial and temporal nature of such data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technologies offer significant promise to help with such activities. The focus of this dissertation is to develop a GIS based decision support system to help manage transportation systems. The purpose of the study is to develop a system, which compiles, pre-processes, and manages various transportation system related data including near real time transfer of data. This involves the development of a system architecture, and identification and integration of software and hardware elements. The system utilizes commercial off-the-shelf software and hardware, along with customized interfaces. The system is then evaluated using a pilot study. The pilot study includes components to facilitate data collection and analyses, as well as mechanism to disseminate the results of the analyses. The outcome of the dissertation is a system that utilizes GIS and GPS technologies to manage transportation related databases in real-time, and a demonstration of its use

Denoising techniques - a comparison

Visual information transmitted in the form of digital images is becoming a major method of communication in the modern age, but the image obtained after transmission is often corrupted with noise. The received image needs processing before it can be used in applications. Image denoising involves the manipulation of the image data to produce a visually high quality image. This thesis reviews the existing denoising algorithms, such as filtering approach, wavelet based approach, and multifractal approach, and performs their comparative study. Different noise models including additive and multiplicative types are used. They include Gaussian noise, salt and pepper noise, speckle noise and Brownian noise. Selection of the denoising algorithm is application dependent. Hence, it is necessary to have knowledge about the noise present in the image so as to select the appropriate denoising algorithm. The filtering approach has been proved to be the best when the image is corrupted with salt and pepper noise. The wavelet based approach finds applications in denoising images corrupted with Gaussian noise. In the case where the noise characteristics are complex, the multifractal approach can be used. A quantitative measure of comparison is provided by the signal to noise ratio of the image

BIOFILTRATION TREATMENT FOR IRON- AND MANGANESE-RICH GROUNDWATER AT LOW ON-SITE TEMPERATURES

Manganese (Mn) is frequently detected in its reduced form, aqueous Mn(II), in groundwaters used as drinking water in Canada. Excess Mn(II) poses the potential risks of water discolouration, infrastructure corrosion, and health problems, as uncontrolled Mn(II) oxidation occurs and produces solid Mn(III/IV)-oxide precipitates in water supplies. As a solution for Mn(II) in groundwater, biofiltration technology has been considered globally to promote microbially mediated Mn(II) oxidation and produce solid Mn(III/IV) oxides that can be filtered out. However, previous studies have consistently reported that the biofiltration of cold groundwater with high Mn(II) and coexisting metal concentrations (typically Fe(II)) is challenging at low temperatures below 15 °C. Diverse cold-adapted manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) are ubiquitous in cold groundwater. The biofiltration of cold Mn(II)-rich groundwater, which relies on the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal associated with the enrichment of cold-adapted MnOB and biofilter media ripening in the field, has not been extensively understood. The objectives of this research were therefore (1) to elucidate the onset, acclimation, and acceleration of Mn(II) oxidation (removal) from cold, natural Fe(II)- and Mn(II)-rich groundwater (4 to 8 °C) continuously fed into a two-stage pilot-scale biofiltration unit operated in the field at varying low on-site temperatures (8–14.8 °C) at the Langham Water Treatment Plant, Saskatchewan (Canada), (2) to characterize the microbial communities in the Mn and Fe biofilters and incoming groundwater, as well as in the surface coatings on field-ripened filter media, and (3) to explore the potential enhancement of biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation in the field biofiltration unit. Over the course of the 183-day pilot-scale biofiltration experiment in the field, the onset of Mn(II) removal from the cold groundwater commenced at 8 °C in the Mn filter after 29 days elapsed and after complete Fe(II) removal through the Fe filter. The Mn filter (1.55 m high and 0.3 m in diameter) reached steady-state functioning after 97 days, consistently exhibiting a high Mn(II)-removal efficiency of 97±0.9%. A gradual shift in redox-pH conditions in the Mn filter, to oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) values over 300 mV, favoured biological Mn(II) oxidation, the growth of viable MnOB populations, and an increase in microbial metabolic activity estimated by the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. These changes reflected enhanced biological Mn(II) oxidation at the low on-site temperatures. However, the empty bed contact time (EBCT) first-order rate constants (k) for Mn(II) removal were very low, in the range of 10-6 and 10-5 min-1, with a long half-life of 40 days, even though the Mn(II) removal efficiency was consistently at 97%. The Mn(II) removal rate constant accelerated to 0.21 min-1 with a very short half-life of 3.31 minutes at 11±0.6 °C, immediately after three consecutive backwashes and injections of backwash sludge slurry back into the filter. The substantial increase in k was correlated to the vertical progress of biofilter ripening from the bottom to the top of the Mn filter, which was not limited by the low on-site temperatures. Intermediate and end-product Mn(III/IV) oxides (birnessite and pyrolusite) were detected by synchrotron-based powder X-ray diffraction, confirming the occurrence of Mn(II) oxidation based on the known Mn(II)-oxidation pathway. High-throughput sequencing (16S rRNA genes, V4 region) of the microbial communities in the untreated incoming groundwater and filter media from the Fe and Mn filters revealed genus-level shifts in the bacterial community across the biofiltration unit. Previously known Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) were minor members of the Mn-filter community. Betaproteobacteria including iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) appeared in both the Fe and Mn filters. Hydrogenophaga sp., known FeOB, likely acted as a MnOB. Specifically, Hydrogenophaga strain CDMN isolated in this study can oxidize Mn(II) at the Mn-filter start-up temperature of 8 °C. Three new potential MnOB—Azospirillum sp. CDMB, Solimonas soli CDMK, and Paenibacillus sp. CDME—were also isolated from the Fe or Mn filters. A microbial consortium (51 genera including Pseudomonas, Leptothrix, Flavobacterium, and Zoogloea) was cultured from the field-aged biofilter and rapidly produced biogenic Mn oxides at 8 °C. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) suggested that biogenic birnessite was the dominant Mn oxide in the Mn-filter media surface coatings. The co-existence of amorphous and crystallized Mn-oxide surface morphologies on the Mn-filter media, observed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), suggested concomitant biological and autocatalytic (physicochemical) Mn(II) oxidation in the Mn filter. This study suggested that enhancing both biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation is critical for the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal during the biofiltration of cold groundwater. This study provides crucial insights for improving biofiltration performance in cold climates, representing a potential breakthrough for rapid biofiltration start-up, the biological acclimation of cold-adapted MnOB, and accelerated Mn(II) removal kinetics associated with the microbially mediated autocatalysis of Mn(II) oxidation at low temperatures

BIOFILTRATION TREATMENT FOR IRON- AND MANGANESE-RICH GROUNDWATER AT LOW ON-SITE TEMPERATURES

Manganese (Mn) is frequently detected in its reduced form, aqueous Mn(II), in groundwaters used as drinking water in Canada. Excess Mn(II) poses the potential risks of water discolouration, infrastructure corrosion, and health problems, as uncontrolled Mn(II) oxidation occurs and produces solid Mn(III/IV)-oxide precipitates in water supplies. As a solution for Mn(II) in groundwater, biofiltration technology has been considered globally to promote microbially mediated Mn(II) oxidation and produce solid Mn(III/IV) oxides that can be filtered out. However, previous studies have consistently reported that the biofiltration of cold groundwater with high Mn(II) and coexisting metal concentrations (typically Fe(II)) is challenging at low temperatures below 15 °C. Diverse cold-adapted manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) are ubiquitous in cold groundwater. The biofiltration of cold Mn(II)-rich groundwater, which relies on the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal associated with the enrichment of cold-adapted MnOB and biofilter media ripening in the field, has not been extensively understood. The objectives of this research were therefore (1) to elucidate the onset, acclimation, and acceleration of Mn(II) oxidation (removal) from cold, natural Fe(II)- and Mn(II)-rich groundwater (4 to 8 °C) continuously fed into a two-stage pilot-scale biofiltration unit operated in the field at varying low on-site temperatures (8–14.8 °C) at the Langham Water Treatment Plant, Saskatchewan (Canada), (2) to characterize the microbial communities in the Mn and Fe biofilters and incoming groundwater, as well as in the surface coatings on field-ripened filter media, and (3) to explore the potential enhancement of biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation in the field biofiltration unit. Over the course of the 183-day pilot-scale biofiltration experiment in the field, the onset of Mn(II) removal from the cold groundwater commenced at 8 °C in the Mn filter after 29 days elapsed and after complete Fe(II) removal through the Fe filter. The Mn filter (1.55 m high and 0.3 m in diameter) reached steady-state functioning after 97 days, consistently exhibiting a high Mn(II)-removal efficiency of 97±0.9%. A gradual shift in redox-pH conditions in the Mn filter, to oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) values over 300 mV, favoured biological Mn(II) oxidation, the growth of viable MnOB populations, and an increase in microbial metabolic activity estimated by the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. These changes reflected enhanced biological Mn(II) oxidation at the low on-site temperatures. However, the empty bed contact time (EBCT) first-order rate constants (k) for Mn(II) removal were very low, in the range of 10-6 and 10-5 min-1, with a long half-life of 40 days, even though the Mn(II) removal efficiency was consistently at 97%. The Mn(II) removal rate constant accelerated to 0.21 min-1 with a very short half-life of 3.31 minutes at 11±0.6 °C, immediately after three consecutive backwashes and injections of backwash sludge slurry back into the filter. The substantial increase in k was correlated to the vertical progress of biofilter ripening from the bottom to the top of the Mn filter, which was not limited by the low on-site temperatures. Intermediate and end-product Mn(III/IV) oxides (birnessite and pyrolusite) were detected by synchrotron-based powder X-ray diffraction, confirming the occurrence of Mn(II) oxidation based on the known Mn(II)-oxidation pathway. High-throughput sequencing (16S rRNA genes, V4 region) of the microbial communities in the untreated incoming groundwater and filter media from the Fe and Mn filters revealed genus-level shifts in the bacterial community across the biofiltration unit. Previously known Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) were minor members of the Mn-filter community. Betaproteobacteria including iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) appeared in both the Fe and Mn filters. Hydrogenophaga sp., known FeOB, likely acted as a MnOB. Specifically, Hydrogenophaga strain CDMN isolated in this study can oxidize Mn(II) at the Mn-filter start-up temperature of 8 °C. Three new potential MnOB—Azospirillum sp. CDMB, Solimonas soli CDMK, and Paenibacillus sp. CDME—were also isolated from the Fe or Mn filters. A microbial consortium (51 genera including Pseudomonas, Leptothrix, Flavobacterium, and Zoogloea) was cultured from the field-aged biofilter and rapidly produced biogenic Mn oxides at 8 °C. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) suggested that biogenic birnessite was the dominant Mn oxide in the Mn-filter media surface coatings. The co-existence of amorphous and crystallized Mn-oxide surface morphologies on the Mn-filter media, observed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), suggested concomitant biological and autocatalytic (physicochemical) Mn(II) oxidation in the Mn filter. This study suggested that enhancing both biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation is critical for the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal during the biofiltration of cold groundwater. This study provides crucial insights for improving biofiltration performance in cold climates, representing a potential breakthrough for rapid biofiltration start-up, the biological acclimation of cold-adapted MnOB, and accelerated Mn(II) removal kinetics associated with the microbially mediated autocatalysis of Mn(II) oxidation at low temperatures

BIOFILTRATION TREATMENT FOR IRON- AND MANGANESE-RICH GROUNDWATER AT LOW ON-SITE TEMPERATURES

Manganese (Mn) is frequently detected in its reduced form, aqueous Mn(II), in groundwaters used as drinking water in Canada. Excess Mn(II) poses the potential risks of water discolouration, infrastructure corrosion, and health problems, as uncontrolled Mn(II) oxidation occurs and produces solid Mn(III/IV)-oxide precipitates in water supplies. As a solution for Mn(II) in groundwater, biofiltration technology has been considered globally to promote microbially mediated Mn(II) oxidation and produce solid Mn(III/IV) oxides that can be filtered out. However, previous studies have consistently reported that the biofiltration of cold groundwater with high Mn(II) and coexisting metal concentrations (typically Fe(II)) is challenging at low temperatures below 15 °C. Diverse cold-adapted manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) are ubiquitous in cold groundwater. The biofiltration of cold Mn(II)-rich groundwater, which relies on the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal associated with the enrichment of cold-adapted MnOB and biofilter media ripening in the field, has not been extensively understood. The objectives of this research were therefore (1) to elucidate the onset, acclimation, and acceleration of Mn(II) oxidation (removal) from cold, natural Fe(II)- and Mn(II)-rich groundwater (4 to 8 °C) continuously fed into a two-stage pilot-scale biofiltration unit operated in the field at varying low on-site temperatures (8–14.8 °C) at the Langham Water Treatment Plant, Saskatchewan (Canada), (2) to characterize the microbial communities in the Mn and Fe biofilters and incoming groundwater, as well as in the surface coatings on field-ripened filter media, and (3) to explore the potential enhancement of biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation in the field biofiltration unit. Over the course of the 183-day pilot-scale biofiltration experiment in the field, the onset of Mn(II) removal from the cold groundwater commenced at 8 °C in the Mn filter after 29 days elapsed and after complete Fe(II) removal through the Fe filter. The Mn filter (1.55 m high and 0.3 m in diameter) reached steady-state functioning after 97 days, consistently exhibiting a high Mn(II)-removal efficiency of 97±0.9%. A gradual shift in redox-pH conditions in the Mn filter, to oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) values over 300 mV, favoured biological Mn(II) oxidation, the growth of viable MnOB populations, and an increase in microbial metabolic activity estimated by the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. These changes reflected enhanced biological Mn(II) oxidation at the low on-site temperatures. However, the empty bed contact time (EBCT) first-order rate constants (k) for Mn(II) removal were very low, in the range of 10-6 and 10-5 min-1, with a long half-life of 40 days, even though the Mn(II) removal efficiency was consistently at 97%. The Mn(II) removal rate constant accelerated to 0.21 min-1 with a very short half-life of 3.31 minutes at 11±0.6 °C, immediately after three consecutive backwashes and injections of backwash sludge slurry back into the filter. The substantial increase in k was correlated to the vertical progress of biofilter ripening from the bottom to the top of the Mn filter, which was not limited by the low on-site temperatures. Intermediate and end-product Mn(III/IV) oxides (birnessite and pyrolusite) were detected by synchrotron-based powder X-ray diffraction, confirming the occurrence of Mn(II) oxidation based on the known Mn(II)-oxidation pathway. High-throughput sequencing (16S rRNA genes, V4 region) of the microbial communities in the untreated incoming groundwater and filter media from the Fe and Mn filters revealed genus-level shifts in the bacterial community across the biofiltration unit. Previously known Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) were minor members of the Mn-filter community. Betaproteobacteria including iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) appeared in both the Fe and Mn filters. Hydrogenophaga sp., known FeOB, likely acted as a MnOB. Specifically, Hydrogenophaga strain CDMN isolated in this study can oxidize Mn(II) at the Mn-filter start-up temperature of 8 °C. Three new potential MnOB—Azospirillum sp. CDMB, Solimonas soli CDMK, and Paenibacillus sp. CDME—were also isolated from the Fe or Mn filters. A microbial consortium (51 genera including Pseudomonas, Leptothrix, Flavobacterium, and Zoogloea) was cultured from the field-aged biofilter and rapidly produced biogenic Mn oxides at 8 °C. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) suggested that biogenic birnessite was the dominant Mn oxide in the Mn-filter media surface coatings. The co-existence of amorphous and crystallized Mn-oxide surface morphologies on the Mn-filter media, observed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), suggested concomitant biological and autocatalytic (physicochemical) Mn(II) oxidation in the Mn filter. This study suggested that enhancing both biological and physicochemical Mn(II) oxidation is critical for the onset, acclimation and acceleration of Mn(II) removal during the biofiltration of cold groundwater. This study provides crucial insights for improving biofiltration performance in cold climates, representing a potential breakthrough for rapid biofiltration start-up, the biological acclimation of cold-adapted MnOB, and accelerated Mn(II) removal kinetics associated with the microbially mediated autocatalysis of Mn(II) oxidation at low temperatures

Vectorization, Obfuscation and P4 LLVM Tool-chain

This thesis broadly focuses on three different areas: Loop Vectorization, Code Obfuscation, and P4LLVM compiler. The work in Loop vectorization starts with a comparison of Auto-vectorization of GCC, ICC and LLVM compilers and show their strengths and weakness. As an attempt to improve LLVM’s Auto-vectorization, we propose to improve Loop Distribution using exact dependences from Polly. Our work on Loop Distribution shows promising results. We developed an LLVM based Code Obfuscation engine with various obfuscation techniques as transformation passes, our techniques are novel and are different from existing works [1]. In hardware circuit obfuscation several methods were proposed at the hardware level to secure the IP. Our approach is to obfuscate the circuits at the software level, using code obfuscation techniques

PROTECTED OPTIMIZATION AND CALCULATION OUT SOURCE IN CLOUD SUBTRACT: A CASE STUDY OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING

We recommend that the cloud computing outsourcing process be clearly dismantled in companies working on LP solutions that work on cloud and LP parameters for the customer. Straight line programming is certainly an algorithm and computational tool that embodies the results of the first order of the various system parameters that must be improved and are necessary to improve geometry. It has been widely used in various engineering disciplines that evaluate and improve real systems / models, for example, packet routing, flow control, power control in data centers, etc. However, how to protect the client's private data that has been processed and generated during the calculation has become the primary security source. By focusing on optimization tasks and engineering computing, this paper examines the secure outsourcing of relevant linear programming (LP) accounts. To validate the result of the calculation, we further explore the basic binomial theory of LP and derive the required and sufficient problems that the correct results must achieve. In the current curriculum, heavy encrypted accounts are shared by clouds, multi-protocol implementation processes or significant communication complexity. Our cloud customers provide significant savings in computing thanks to secure outsourcing to LP, as they generate only public costs for the customer, while solving the normal PL problem usually takes extra time

Stenosis in single coronary artery originating from right sinus of valsalva: asymptomatic upto sixth decade of life

Among all coronary anomalies, the prevalence of single coronary artery (SCA) originating from right sinus of Valsalva is 1.3%. Here, we report a rare case of a 60-years-old male serendipitously diagnosed with SCA originating from right aortic sinus with pre-pulmonic course of anomalous left coronary artery (LCA). His angiogram revealed 90% stenosis in distal right coronary artery with normal anomalous LCA. Thus, the patient was treated with percutaneous coronary intervention using a stent and was found stable post-procedure