A New Method For Digital Watermarking Based on Combination of DCT and PCA

In the digital watermarking with DCT method,the watermark is located within a range of DCT coefficients of the cover image. In this paper to use the low-frequency band, a new method is proposed by using a combination of the DCT and PCA transform. The proposed method is compared to other DCT methods, our method is robust and keeps the quality of cover image, also increases capacity of the watermarking.Comment: Telecommunications Forum Telfor (TELFOR), 2014 22n

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Opportunities for Local Governments: A Quantification and Prioritization Framework

Local governments have steadily increased their initiative to address global climate change, and many present their proposed strategies through climate action plans (CAPs). This study conducts a literature review on current local approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies by assessing CAPs in California and presents common strategies in the transportation sector along with useful tools. One identified limitation of many CAPs is the omission of quantitative economic cost and emissions data for decision-making on the basis of cost-effectiveness. Therefore, this study proposes a framework for comparing strategies based on their life cycle emissions mitigation potential and costs. The results data can be presented in a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) to allow for side-by-side comparison of considered strategies. Researchers partnered with Yolo and Unincorporated Los Angeles Counties to analyze 7 strategies in the transportation and energy sectors (five and two, respectively). A MACC was subsequently developed for each county. Applying the life cycle approach revealed strategies that had net cost savings over their life cycle, indicating there are opportunities for reducing emissions and costs. The MACC also revealed that some emissions reduction strategies in fact increased emissions on a life cycle basis. Applying the MACC framework to two case study jurisdictions illustrated both the feasibility and challenges of including quantitative analysis in their decision-making process. An additional barrier to using the MACC framework in the context of CAPs, is the mismatch between a life cycle and annual accounting basis for GHG emissions. Future work could explore more efficient data collection, alternative scopes of emissions for reporting, and environmental justice concerns.View the NCST Project Webpag

Integrated and Data-Driven Transportation Infrastructure Management through Consideration of Life Cycle Costs and Environmental Impacts

ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works. Citation: Saboori, A. (2020). Integrated and Data-Driven Transportation Infrastructure Management through Consideration of Life Cycle Costs and Environmental Impacts. UC Davis: Institute of Transportation Studies. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8hx398vvThe main goal of this dissertation was to develop frameworks, quantitative models, and databases needed to support data-driven, informed, and integrated decision-making in managing the vast transportation infrastructure in California. Such a management system was envisioned to consider both costs and environmental impacts of management decisions, based on full life cycles of the infrastructure, and using reliable, high quality data that well represent local conditions in terms of materials and energy sources, production technologies, design methods, construction practices, and other critical parameters. This PhD research consisted of three parts: (1) development of a comprehensive life cycle inventory (LCI) database for implementation of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in transportation infrastructure management in California; (2) evaluation of current and potential sustainability actions at the state and local government levels through the development of frameworks, models, and datasets needed for objective and accurate quantification of the impacts of management decisions; (3) assessment of recycling practices available for pavements at their end of life to quantify changes in environmental impacts compared to conventional methods, considering the effects of recycling through the use stage

The Role of Life Cycle Assessment in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Construction and Maintenance

DTRT13-G-UTC29This white paper summarizes the state-of-knowledge and state-of-the-art in pavement life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling, with particular emphasis on life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and on interpretation and analysis that lead to GHG reductions from the on-road transportation sector. The paper synthesizes research from a number of previous and current projects, highlighting both broadly agreed upon methods and findings, and those that are emerging or currently debated. It lists a number of recommendations for applying LCA to policy

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Opportunities for Local Governments: A Quantification and Prioritization Framework

Caltrans 65A0686, Task Order 010USDOT Grant 69A3551747114Local governments have steadily increased their initiative to address global climate change, and many present their proposed strategies through climate action plans (CAPs). This study conducts a literature review on current local approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies by assessing CAPs in California and presents common strategies in the transportation sector along with useful tools. One identified limitation of many CAPs is the omission of quantitative economic cost and emissions data for decision-making on the basis of cost-effectiveness. Therefore, this study proposes a framework for comparing strategies based on their life cycle emissions mitigation potential and costs. The results data can be presented in a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) to allow for side-by-side comparison of considered strategies. Researchers partnered with Yolo and Unincorporated Los Angeles Counties to analyze 7 strategies in the transportation and energy sectors (five and two, respectively). A MACC was subsequently developed for each county. Applying the life cycle approach revealed strategies that had net cost savings over their life cycle, indicating there are opportunities for reducing emissions and costs. The MACC also revealed that some emissions reduction strategies in fact increased emissions on a life cycle basis. Applying the MACC framework to two case study jurisdictions illustrated both the feasibility and challenges of including quantitative analysis in their decision-making process. An additional barrier to using the MACC framework in the context of CAPs, is the mismatch between a life cycle and annual accounting basis for GHG emissions. Future work could explore more efficient data collection, alternative scopes of emissions for reporting, and environmental justice concerns

Framework for Life Cycle Assessment of Complete Streets Projects

Caltrans 65A0527 Task Order 034.3A multitude of goals have been stated for complete streets including non-motorized travel safety, reduced costs and environmental burdens, and creation of more livable communities, or in other words, the creation of livable, sustainable and economically vibrant communities. A number of performance measures have been proposed to address these goals. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) quantifies the energy, resource use, and emissions to air, water and land for a product or a system using a systems approach. One gap that has been identified in current LCA impact indicators is lack of socio-economic indicators to complement the existing environmental indicators. To address the gaps in performance metrics, this project developed a framework for LCA of complete streets projects, including the development of socio-economic impact indicators that also consider equity. The environmental impacts of complete streets were evaluated using LCA information for a range of complete street typologies. A parametric sensitivity analysis approach was performed to evaluate the impacts of different levels of mode choice and trip change. Another critical question addressed was what are different social goals (economic, health, safety, etc.) that should be considered and how to consider equity in performance metrics for social goals. This project lays the foundation for the creation of guidelines for social and environmental LCAs for complete streets

Integrated and Data-Driven Transportation Infrastructure Management through Consideration of Life Cycle Costs and Environmental Impacts

The main goal of this dissertation was to develop frameworks, quantitative models, and databases needed to support data-driven, informed, and integrated decision-making in managing the vast transportation infrastructure in California. Such a management system was envisioned to consider both costs and environmental impacts of management decisions, based on full life cycles of the infrastructure, and using reliable, high quality data that well represent local conditions in terms of materials and energy sources, production technologies, design methods, construction practices, and other critical parameters.This PhD research consisted of three parts: 1) development of a comprehensive life cycle inventory (LCI) database for implementation of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in transportation infrastructure management in California. 2) Evaluation of current and potential sustainability actions at the state and local government levels through the development of frameworks, models, and datasets needed for objective and accurate quantification of the impacts of management decisions. 3) Assessment of recycling practices available for pavements at their end of life to quantify changes in environmental impacts compared to conventional methods, considering the effects of recycling through the use stage

Integrated and Data-Driven Transportation Infrastructure Management through Consideration of Life Cycle Costs and Environmental Impacts

The main goal of this dissertation was to develop frameworks, quantitative models, and databases needed to support data-driven, informed, and integrated decision-making in managing the vast transportation infrastructure in California. Such a management system was envisioned to consider both costs and environmental impacts of management decisions, based on full life cycles of the infrastructure, and using reliable, high quality data that well represent local conditions in terms of materials and energy sources, production technologies, design methods, construction practices, and other critical parameters.This PhD research consisted of three parts: 1) development of a comprehensive life cycle inventory (LCI) database for implementation of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in transportation infrastructure management in California. 2) Evaluation of current and potential sustainability actions at the state and local government levels through the development of frameworks, models, and datasets needed for objective and accurate quantification of the impacts of management decisions. 3) Assessment of recycling practices available for pavements at their end of life to quantify changes in environmental impacts compared to conventional methods, considering the effects of recycling through the use stage

Warm Mix Asphalt Processes Applicable to North Dakota

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) represents a group of technologies that allows production of asphalt mixtures at lower temperatures compared to traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA). This results in less fuel consumption and reduction in CO2 ¬and fumes emission. This research was conducted in order to provide North Dakota department of transportation (NDDOT) with a thorough study on state of the practice of WMA in USA and compare WMA performance with HMA. Extensive literature study was conducted, collecting reports and field experiment data from DOTs of states with climate similar to ND. Viewpoints of experts in the field were collected and analyzed using a comprehensive survey. These were added to analysis of collected data on WMA performance. The research results suggest using foaming processes (Double Barrel Green in particular) and chemical additives (Evotherm in particular) at this early stage with guidelines for modifications in WMA specification and testing compared to HMA.North Dakota Department of Transportatio

Utilization of Waste Materials in Construction

Recycling has always been a matter of obtaining an economic benefit or of helping the environment. Until the Industrial Revolution when materials became more available than labor, reuse and recycling was commonplace. Nearly 4,000 years ago, there was a recovery and reuse system of bronze scrap in operation in Europe and there is evidence that composting was carried out in China. Since the industrial revolution, the waste production rate has grown greatly. The idea of landfills came about in the 1940s and 1950s. When these huge depositories became available, they were extremely popular because of the ease of tossing unused products away. No one anticipated that soon these landfills would multiply to the extent that they have. Considering the enormous volume of construction work done annually and the huge amount of waste materials produced each year, the issue of reusing the waste materials in construction is gaining increased attention