Abstract: The paper deals with the diagnostics of steel roof
structure of the winter sports halls built in 1970 year. The necessity
of the diagnostics has been given by the requirement to the evaluation
design of this structure, which has been caused by the new situation
in the field of the loadings given by the validity of the European
Standards in the Czech Republic from 2010 year. Due to these
changes in the normative rules, in practice existing structures are
gradually subjected to the evaluation design and depending on its
results to the strengthening or reconstruction, respectively. Steel roof
is composed of plane truss main girders, purlins and bracings and the
roof structure is supported by two arch main girders with the span of
L = 84 m. The in situ diagnostics of the roof structure was oriented to
the following parts: (i) determination and evaluation of the actual
material properties of used steel and (ii) verification of the actual
dimensions of the structural members. For the solution the nondestructive
methods have been used for in situ measurement. For the
indicative determination of steel strengths the modified method based
on the determination of Rockwell’s hardness has been used. For the
verification of the member’s dimensions (thickness of hollow
sections) the ultrasound method has been used. This paper presents
the results obtained using these testing methods and their evaluation,
from the viewpoint of the usage for the subsequent static assessment
and design evaluation of the existing structure. For the comparison,
the examples of the similar evaluations realized for steel structures of
the stadiums in Olomouc and Jihlava cities are briefly illustrated, too.
Abstract: In this paper, we have compared and analyzed the
electroabsorption properties between with and without excitonic
effect bulk in high purity GaAs spatial light modulator for optical
fiber communication network. The eletroabsorption properties such
as absorption spectra, change in absorption spectra, change in
refractive index and extinction ration has been calculated. We have
also compared the result of absorption spectra and change in
absorption spectra with the experimental results and found close
agreement with experimental results.
Abstract: The inherent skin patterns created at the joints in the
finger exterior are referred as finger knuckle-print. It is exploited to
identify a person in a unique manner because the finger knuckle print
is greatly affluent in textures. In biometric system, the region of
interest is utilized for the feature extraction algorithm. In this paper,
local and global features are extracted separately. Fast Discrete
Orthonormal Stockwell Transform is exploited to extract the local
features. Global feature is attained by escalating the size of Fast
Discrete Orthonormal Stockwell Transform to infinity. Two features
are fused to increase the recognition accuracy. A matching distance is
calculated for both the features individually. Then two distances are
merged mutually to acquire the final matching distance. The
proposed scheme gives the better performance in terms of equal error
rate and correct recognition rate.
Abstract: As the use of geothermal energy grows internationally
more effort is required to monitor and protect areas with rare and
important geothermal surface features. A number of approaches are
presented for developing and calibrating numerical geothermal
reservoir models that are capable of accurately representing
geothermal surface features. The approaches are discussed in the
context of cases studies of the Rotorua geothermal system and the
Orakei-korako geothermal system, both of which contain important
surface features. The results show that models are able to match the
available field data accurately and hence can be used as valuable
tools for predicting the future response of the systems to changes in
use.
Abstract: Although, arsenic trioxide has been the subject of
toxicological research, in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity studies
using relevant cell models and uniform methodology are not well
elucidated. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the
cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by arsenic trioxide in human
keratinocytes (HaCaT) using the MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-
2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and alkaline single cell gel
electrophoresis (Comet) assays, respectively. Human keratinocytes
were treated with different doses of arsenic trioxide for 4 h prior to
cytogenetic assessment. Data obtained from the MTT assay indicated
that arsenic trioxide significantly reduced the viability of HaCaT cells
in a dose-dependent manner, showing an IC50 value of 34.18 ± 0.6
μM. Data generated from the comet assay also indicated a significant
dose-dependent increase in DNA damage in HaCaT cells associated
with arsenic trioxide exposure. We observed a significant increase in
comet tail length and tail moment, showing an evidence of arsenic
trioxide -induced genotoxic damage in HaCaT cells. This study
confirms that the comet assay is a sensitive and effective method to
detect DNA damage caused by arsenic.
Abstract: For the treatment of acute and chronic lung diseases it is preferred to deliver medicaments by inhalation. The drug is delivered directly to tracheobronchial tree. This way allows the given medicament to get directly into the place of action and it makes rapid onset of action and maximum efficiency. The transport of aerosol particles in the particular part of the lung is influenced by their size, anatomy of the lungs, breathing pattern and airway resistance. This article deals with calculation of airway resistance in the lung model of Horsfield. It solves the problem of determination of the pressure losses in bifurcation and thus defines the pressure drop at a given location in the bronchial tree. The obtained data will be used as boundary conditions for transport of aerosol particles in a central part of bronchial tree realized by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. The results obtained from CFD simulation will allow us to provide information on the required particle size and optimal inhalation technique for particle transport into particular part of the lung.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to determine the effect
of pollination on seed quality of rapeseed in Chitwan, Nepal during
2012-2013. The experiment was designed in Randomized Complete
Block with four replications and five treatments. The rapeseed plots
were caged with mosquito nets at 10% flowering except natural
pollination. Two-framed colonies of Apis mellifera L. and Apis
cerana F. were introduced separately for pollination, and control plot
caged without pollinators. The highest germination percent was
observed on Apis cerana F. pollinated plot seeds (90.50%
germination) followed by Apis mellifera L. pollinated plots (87.25 %)
and lowest on control plots (42.00% germination) seeds. Similarly,
seed test weight of Apis cerana F. pollinated plots (3.22 gm/ 1000
seed) and Apis mellifera L. pollinated plots (2.93 gm/1000 seed) were
and lowest on control plots (2.26 gm/ 1000 seed) recorded. Likewise,
oil content was recorded highest on pollinated by Apis cerana F.
(36.1%) followed by pollinated by Apis mellifera L. (35.4%) and
lowest on control plots (32.8%). This study clearly indicated
pollination increases the seed quality of rapeseed and therefore,
management of honeybee is necessary for producing higher quality of
rapeseed under Chitwan condition.
Abstract: The concentration levels of six heavy metals (Cd, Cr,
Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) and two mineral elements (Ca and Mg) were
determined in soil samples collected from the vicinity of two auto
mechanic workshops in Sabon-Gari, Kaduna state, Nigeria, using
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), in order to compare the
gradation of their concentrations with distance and depth of soil from
the workshop sites. At site 1, concentrations of Lead, Chromium, Iron
and Zinc were generally found to be above the World Health
Organization limits, while those of Nickel and Cadmium fell within
the limits. Iron had the highest concentration with a range of 176.274
ppm to 489.127 ppm at depths of 5 cm to 15 cm and a distance range
of 5 m to 15 m, while the concentration of cadmium was least with a
range of 0.001 ppm to 0.008 ppm at similar depth and distance
ranges. In addition, there was more of calcium (11.521 ppm to
121.709 ppm), in all the samples, than magnesium (11.293 ppm to
21.635 ppm). Similar results were obtained for site II. The
concentrations of all the metals analyzed showed a downward
gradient with increase in depth and distance from both workshop sites
except for iron and zinc at site 2. The immediate and remote
implications of these findings on the biota are discussed.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the
laser and partial vibration stimulation on the mice tibia with
morphological characteristics. Twenty female C57BL/6 mice (12
weeks old) were used for the experiment. The study was carried out on
four groups of animals each consisting of five mice. Four groups of
mice were ovariectomized. Animals were scanned at 0 and 2 weeks
after ovariectomy by using micro computed tomography to estimate
morphological characteristics of tibial trabecular bone. Morphological
analysis showed that structural parameters of multi-stimuli group
appear significantly better phase in BV/TV, BS/BV, Tb.Th, Tb.N,
Tb.Sp, and Tb.pf than single stimulation groups. However, single
stimulation groups didn’t show significant effect on tibia with Sham
group. This study suggests that multi-stimuli may restrain the change
as the degenerate phase on osteoporosis in the mice tibia.
Abstract: The legends about “user-friendly” and “easy-to-use”
birotical tools (computer-related office tools) have been spreading
and misleading end-users. This approach has led us to the extremely
high number of incorrect documents, causing serious financial losses
in the creating, modifying, and retrieving processes. Our research
proved that there are at least two sources of this underachievement:
(1) The lack of the definition of the correctly edited, formatted
documents. Consequently, end-users do not know whether their
methods and results are correct or not. They are not aware of their
ignorance. They are so ignorant that their ignorance does not allow
them to realize their lack of knowledge. (2) The end-users’ problem
solving methods. We have found that in non-traditional programming
environments end-users apply, almost exclusively, surface approach
metacognitive methods to carry out their computer related activities,
which are proved less effective than deep approach methods.
Based on these findings we have developed deep approach
methods which are based on and adapted from traditional
programming languages. In this study, we focus on the most popular
type of birotical documents, the text based documents. We have
provided the definition of the correctly edited text, and based on this
definition, adapted the debugging method known in programming.
According to the method, before the realization of text editing, a
thorough debugging of already existing texts and the categorization
of errors are carried out. With this method in advance to real text
editing users learn the requirements of text based documents and also
of the correctly formatted text.
The method has been proved much more effective than the
previously applied surface approach methods. The advantages of the
method are that the real text handling requires much less human and
computer sources than clicking aimlessly in the GUI (Graphical User
Interface), and the data retrieval is much more effective than from
error-prone documents.
Abstract: PLA emerged as a promising polymer because of its
property as a compostable, biodegradable thermoplastic made from
renewable sources. PLA can be polymerized from monomers
(Lactide or Lactic acid) obtained by fermentation processes from
renewable sources such as corn starch or sugarcane. For PLA
synthesis, ring opening polymerization (ROP) of Lactide monomer is
one of the preferred methods. In the literature, the technique mainly
developed for ROP of PLA is based on metal/bimetallic catalyst (Sn,
Zn and Al) or other organic catalysts in suitable solvent. However,
the PLA synthesized using such catalysts may contain trace elements
of the catalyst which may cause toxicity. This work estimated the
usefulness and drawbacks of using different catalysts as well as effect
of alternative energies and future aspects for PLA production.
Abstract: Thin ZnO films are deposited on glass substrates via
sol–gel method and dip-coating. The films are prepared from zinc
acetate dehydrate as a starting reagent. After that the as-prepared
ZnO sol is aged for different periods (0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 30 days).
Nanocrystalline thin films are deposited from various sols. The
effect ZnO sols aging time on the structural and photocatalytic
properties of the films is studied. The films surface is studied by
Scanning Electron Microscopy. The effect of the aging time of the
starting solution is studied in the photocatalytic degradation of
Reactive Black 5 (RB5) by UV-vis spectroscopy. The experiments
are conducted upon UV-light illumination and in complete darkness.
The variation of the absorption spectra shows the degradation of RB5
dissolved in water, as a result of the reaction, occurring on the surface
of the films and promoted by UV irradiation. The initial
concentrations of dye (5, 10 and 20 ppm) and the effect of the aging
time are varied during the experiments. The results show, that the
increasing aging time of starting solution with respect to ZnO
generally promotes photocatalytic activity. The thin films obtained
from ZnO sol, which is aged 30 days have best photocatalytic
degradation of the dye (97,22%) in comparison with the freshly
prepared ones (65,92%). The samples and photocatalytic
experimental results are reproducible. Nevertheless, all films exhibit
a substantial activity in both UV light and darkness, which is
promising for the development of new ZnO photocatalysts by sol-gel
method.
Abstract: This review emphasizes the effectiveness of men’s
participation in preventing domestic violence, and whether nonviolent
(NV) boys’ and men’s perceptions of intimate partner
violence (IPV) prevention programs affect their involvement. The
main goals of this assessment were to investigate (1) how NV men
engaged in anti-violence prevention programs that empower women,
(2) what were the possible perceptions of NV men involved in
prevention programs (3) how to identify effective approaches and
strategies that encouraged NV men to become involved in prevention
programs. This critical review also included the overview of
prevention programs such as: The Mentors in Violence Prevention
Programs (MVP), The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC), and
Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership through
Alliances (DELTA). The review suggested that (1) the expanding
prevention programs need to reach more macro settings such as work
place, faith-based and other community based organizations, and (2)
territory prevention programs should expand through addressing the
long-term effects of violence.
Abstract: Currently, there is excessively growing information
about places on Facebook, which is the largest social network but
such information is not explicitly organized and ranked. Therefore
users cannot exploit such data to recommend places conveniently and
quickly. This paper proposes a Facebook application and an Android
application that recommend places based on the number of check-ins
of those places, the distance of those places from the current location,
the number of people who like Facebook page of those places, and
the number of talking about of those places. Related Facebook data is
gathered via Facebook API requests. The experimental results of the
developed applications show that the applications can recommend
places and rank interesting places from the most to the least. We have
found that the average satisfied score of the proposed Facebook
application is 4.8 out of 5. The users’ satisfaction can increase by
adding the app features that support personalization in terms of
interests and preferences.
Abstract: Waste silicon carbide (waste SiC) filled high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) with and without surface modifiers were
studied. Two types of surface modifiers namely; high-density
polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride (HDPE-g-MA) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane have been used in this study. The
composites were produced using a two roll mill, extruder and shaped
in a hydraulic compression molding machine. The mechanical
properties of polymer composites such as flexural strength and
modulus, impact strength, tensile strength, stiffness and hardness
were investigated over a range of compositions. It was found that,
flexural strength and modulus, tensile modulus and hardness
increased, whereas impact strength and tensile strength decreased
with the increasing in filler contents, compared to the neat HDPE. At
similar filler content, the effect of both surface modifiers increased
flexural modulus, impact strength, tensile strength and stiffness but
reduced the flexural strength. Morphological investigation using
SEM revealed that the improvement in mechanical properties was
due to enhancement of the interfacial adhesion between waste SiC
and HDPE.
Abstract: This research focused on comparing the critical
thinking of the teacher students before and after using Miller’s Model
learning activities and investigating their opinions. The sampling
groups were (1) fourth year 33 student teachers majoring in Early
Childhood Education and enrolling in semester 1 of academic year
2013 (2) third year 28 student teachers majoring in English and
enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013 and (3) third year 22
student teachers majoring in Thai and enrolling in semester 2 of
academic year 2013. The research instruments were (1) lesson plans
where the learning activities were settled based on Miller’s Model (2)
critical thinking assessment criteria and (3) a questionnaire on
opinions towards Miller’s Model based learning activities. The
statistical treatment was mean, deviation, different scores and T-test.
The result unfolded that (1) the critical thinking of the students after
the assigned activities was better than before and (2) the students’
opinions towards the critical thinking improvement activities based
on Miller’s Model ranged from the level of high to highest.
Abstract: In this paper, two options of anodic alumina barrier
layer thinning have been demonstrated. The approaches varied with
the duration of the voltage step. It was found that too long step of the
barrier layer thinning process leads to chemical etching of the
nanopores on their top. At the bottoms pores are not fully opened
what is disadvantageous for further applications in nanofabrication.
On the other hand, while the duration of the voltage step is controlled
by the current density (value of the current density cannot exceed
75% of the value recorded during previous voltage step) the pores are
fully opened. However, pores at the bottom obtained with this
procedure have smaller diameter, nevertheless this procedure
provides electric contact between the bare aluminum (substrate) and
electrolyte, what is suitable for template assisted electrodeposition,
one of the most cost-efficient synthesis method in nanotechnology.
Abstract: The well been of human beings on construction site is
very important, many man power had been lost through accidents
which kills or make workers physically unfit to carry out construction
activities, these in turn have multiple effects on the whole economy.
Thus it is necessary to put all safety items and regulations in place
before construction activities can commence. This study was carried
out in Ondo state of Nigeria to known and analyse the state of health
and safety of construction workers in the state. The study was done
using first hand observation method, 50 construction project sites
were visited in 10 major towns of Ondo state, questionnaires were
distributed and the results were analysed. The result show that
construction workers are being exposed to a lot of construction site
hazards due to lack of inadequate safety programmes and nonprovision
of appropriate safety materials for workers on site. From the
data gotten for each site visited and the statistical analysis, it can be
concluded that occurrence of accident on construction sites depends
significantly on the available safety facilities on the sites. The result of
the regression statistics show that the level of significant of the
dependence of occurrence of accident on the availability of safety
items on site is 0.0362 which is less than 0.05 maximum significant
level required. Therefore a vital way of sustaining our building
strategy is by given a detail attention to provision of adequate health
and safety items on construction sites which will reduce the
occurrence of accident, loss of man power and death of skilled
workers among others.
Abstract: Modern low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that require multi-mission flexibility are highly likely to be repositioned between different operational orbits. While executing this process the satellite may experience high levels of vibration and environmental hazards, exposing the deployed solar panel to dangerous stress levels, fatigue and space debris, hence it is desirable to retract the solar array before satellite repositioning to avoid damage or failure.
A novel concept of deployable/retractable hybrid solar array systemcomposed of both rigid and flexible solar panels arranged within a petal formation, aimed to provide a greater power to volume ratio while dramatically reducing mass and cost is proposed.
Abstract: Speech enhancement is a long standing problem with
numerous applications like teleconferencing, VoIP, hearing aids and
speech recognition. The motivation behind this research work is to
obtain a clean speech signal of higher quality by applying the optimal
noise cancellation technique. Real-time adaptive filtering algorithms
seem to be the best candidate among all categories of the speech
enhancement methods. In this paper, we propose a speech
enhancement method based on Recursive Least Squares (RLS)
adaptive filter of speech signals. Experiments were performed on
noisy data which was prepared by adding AWGN, Babble and Pink
noise to clean speech samples at -5dB, 0dB, 5dB and 10dB SNR
levels. We then compare the noise cancellation performance of
proposed RLS algorithm with existing NLMS algorithm in terms of
Mean Squared Error (MSE), Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) and SNR
Loss. Based on the performance evaluation, the proposed RLS
algorithm was found to be a better optimal noise cancellation
technique for speech signals.