Abstract: This report presents an alternative technique of
application of contrast agent in vivo, i.e. before sampling. By this
new method the electron micrograph of tissue sections have an
acceptable contrast compared to other methods and present no artifact
of precipitation on sections. Another advantage is that a small amount
of contrast is needed to get a good result given that most of them are
expensive and extremely toxic.
Abstract: The influence of physicochemical water quality
parameters on the abundance and diversity of caddisfly larvae was
studied in seven sampling stations in Mae Tao and Mae Ku
watersheds, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, northern Thailand. The
streams: MK2 and MK8 as reference site, and impacted streams
(MT1-MT5) were sampled bi-monthly during July 2011 to May
2012. A total of 4,584 individual of caddisfly larvae belonging to 10
family and 17 genera were found. The larvae of family
Hydropsychidae were the most abundance, followed by
Philopotamidae, Odontoceridae, and Leptoceridae, respectively. The
genus Cheumatopsyche, Hydropsyche, and Chimarra were the most
abundance genera in this study. Results of CCA ordination showed
the total dissolved solids, sulfate, water temperature, dissolved
oxygen and pH were the most important physicochemical factors to
affect distribution of caddisflies communities. Changes in the
caddisfly fauna may indicate changes in physicochemical factors
owing to agricultural pollution, urbanization, or other human
activities. Results revealed that the order Trichoptera, identified to
species or genus, can be potentially used to assess environmental
water quality status in freshwater ecosystems.
Abstract: Synthesis of gold nanoparticles has attracted much
attention since the pioneering discovery of the high catalytic activity
of supported gold nanoparticles in the reaction of CO oxidation at
low temperature. In this research field, we used Na-montmorillonite
for gold nanoparticles stabilization; various gold loading percentage
1, 2 and 5% were used for gold nanoparticles preparation. The gold
nanoparticles were obtained using chemical reduction method using
NaBH4 as reductant agent. The obtained gold nanoparticles stabilized
in Na-montmorillonite were used as catalysts for the reduction of 4-
nitrophenol to aminophenol with sodium borohydride at room
temperature. The UV-Vis results confirmed directly the gold
nanoparticles formation. The XRD and N2 adsorption results showed
the formation of gold nanoparticles in the pores of montmorillonite
with an average size of 5 nm obtained on samples with 2% gold
loading percentage. The gold particles size increased with the
increase of gold loading percentage. The reduction reaction of 4-
nitrophenol into 4-aminophenol with NaBH4 catalyzed by Au-Namontmorillonite
catalyst exhibits remarkably a high activity; the
reaction was completed within 9 min for 1%Au-Na-montmorillonite
and within 3 min for 2%Au-Na-montmorillonite.
Abstract: The microstrip antennas area has seen some inventive
work in recent years and is now one of the most dynamic fields of
antenna theory. A novel and simple wideband monopole antenna is
presented printed on a single dielectric substrate which is fed by a 50
ohm microstrip line having a low-profile antenna structure with two
parallel s-shaped meandered line of same size. This antenna is fed by
a coaxial feeding tube. In this research, S–form microstrip patch antenna is designed from
measuring the prototypes of the proposed antenna one available
bands with 10db return loss bandwidths of about GPS application
(GPS L2 1490 MHz) and covering the 1400 to 1580 MHz frequency
band at 1.5 GHz, the simulated results for main parameters such as
return loss, impedance bandwidth, radiation patterns, and gains are
also discussed herein. The modeling study shows that such antennas,
in simplicity design and supply, can satisfy GPS application. Two
parallel slots are incorporated to disturb the surface flow path,
introducing local inductive effect. This antenna is fed by a coaxial
feeding tube.
Abstract: A flow column has been innovatively used in the
design of a new electrocoagulation reactor (ECR1) that will reduce
the temperature of water being treated; where the flow columns work
as a radiator for the water being treated. In order to investigate the
performance of ECR1 and compare it to that of traditional reactors;
600 mL water samples with an initial temperature of 350C were
pumped continuously through these reactors for 30 min at current
density of 1 mA/cm2. The temperature of water being treated was
measured at 5 minutes intervals over a 30 minutes period using a
thermometer. Additional experiments were commenced to investigate
the effects of initial temperature (15-350C), water conductivity (0.15
– 1.2 S) and current density (0.5 -3 mA/cm2) on the performance of
ECR1.
The results obtained demonstrated that the ECR1, at a current
density of 1 mA/cm2 and continuous flow model, reduced water
temperature from 350C to the vicinity of 280C during the first 15
minutes and kept the same level till the end of the treatment time.
While, the temperature increased from 28.1 to 29.80C and from 29.8
to 31.90C in the batch and the traditional continuous flow models
respectively. In term of initial temperature, ECR1 maintained the
temperature of water being treated within the range of 22 to 280C
without the need for external cooling system even when the initial
temperatures varied over a wide range (15 to 350C). The influent
water conductivity was found to be a significant variable that affect
the temperature. The desirable value of water conductivity is 0.6 S.
However, it was found that the water temperature increased rapidly
with a higher current density.
Abstract: DNA analysis has been widely accepted as providing
valuable evidence concerning the identity of the source of biological
traces. Our work has showed that DNA samples can survive on
cartridges even after firing. The study also raised the possibility of
determining other information such as the age of the donor. Such
information may be invaluable in certain cases where spent cartridges
from automatic weapons are left behind at the scene of a crime. In
spite of the nature of touch evidence and exposure to high chamber
temperatures during shooting, we were still capable to retrieve
enough DNA for profile typing. In order to estimate age of
contributor, DNA methylation levels were analyzed using EpiTect
system for retrieved DNA. However, results were not conclusive, due
to low amount of input DNA.
Abstract: Establishing a secure communication of Internet
conferences for participants is very important. Before starting the
conference, all the participants establish a common conference key to
encrypt/decrypt communicated messages. It enables participants to
exchange the secure messages. Nevertheless, in the conference, if
there are any malicious participants who may try to upset the key
generation process causing other legal participants to obtain a different
conference key. In this article, we propose an improved conference
key agreement with fault-tolerant capability. The proposed scheme
can filter malicious participants at the beginning of the conference to
ensure that all participants obtain the same conference key. Compare
with other schemes, our scheme is more secure and efficient than
others.
Abstract: Geographical routing protocol requires node physical
location information to make forwarding decision. Geographical
routing uses location service or position service to obtain the position
of a node. The geographical information is a geographic coordinates
or can be obtained through reference points on some fixed coordinate
system. Link can be formed between two nodes. Link lifetime plays a
crucial role in MANET. Link lifetime represent how long the link is
stable without any failure between the nodes. Link failure may occur
due to mobility and because of link failure energy of nodes can be
drained. Thus this paper proposes survey about link lifetime
prediction using geographical information.
Abstract: In this paper, analysis of an infinite beam resting on
multilayer tensionless extensible geosynthetic reinforced granular
fill-poor soil system overlying soft soil strata under moving load with
constant velocity is presented. The beam is subjected to a
concentrated load moving with constant velocity. The upper
reinforced granular bed is modeled by a rough membrane embedded
in Pasternak shear layer overlying a series of compressible nonlinear
winkler springs representing the underlying the very poor soil. The
multilayer tensionless extensible geosynthetic layer has been
assumed to deform such that at interface the geosynthetic and the soil
have some deformation. Nonlinear behaviour of granular fill and the
very poor soil has been considered in the analysis by means of
hyperbolic constitutive relationships. Governing differential
equations of the soil foundation system have been obtained and
solved with the help of appropriate boundary conditions. The solution
has been obtained by employing finite difference method by means of
Gauss-Siedal iterative scheme. Detailed parametric study has been
conducted to study the influence of various parameters on the
response of soil–foundation system under consideration by means of
deflection and bending moment in the beam and tension mobilized in
the geosynthetic layer. These parameters include magnitude of
applied load, velocity of load, damping, ultimate resistance of poor
soil and granular fill layer. Range of values of parameters has been
considered as per Indian Railway conditions. This study clearly
observed that the comparisons of multilayer tensionless extensible
geosynthetic reinforcement with poor foundation soil and magnitude
of applied load, relative compressibility of granular fill and ultimate
resistance of poor soil has significant influence on the response of
soil–foundation system.
Abstract: The use of titanium fluoride and iron fluoride
(TiF3/FeF3) catalysts in combination with polutetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) in plain zinc- dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) oil is important
for the study of engine tribocomponents and is increasingly a strategy
to improve the formation of tribofilm and provide low friction and
excellent wear protection in reduced phosphorus plain ZDDP oil. The
influence of surface roughness and the concentration of
TiF3/FeF3/PTFE were investigated using bearing steel samples
dipped in lubricant solution at 100°C for two different heating time
durations. This paper addresses the effects of water drop contact
angle using different surface; finishes after treating them with
different lubricant combination. The calculated water drop contact
angles were analyzed using Design of Experiment software (DOE)
and it was determined that a 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness would
provide an excellent TiF3/FeF3/PTFE coating for antiwear resistance
as reflected in the Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and
the tribological testing under extreme pressure conditions. Both
friction and wear performance depend greatly on the PTFE/and
catalysts in plain ZDDP oil with 0.05 % phosphorous and on the
surface finish of bearing steel. The friction and wear reducing effects,
which was observed in the tribological tests, indicated a better micro
lubrication effect of the 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness treated at
100°C for 24 hours when compared to the 0.1 μm Ra surface
roughness with the same treatment.
Abstract: This study makes an integrated investigation on how
life satisfaction is associated with the Korean game users'
psychological variables (self-esteem, game and life self- efficacy),
social variables (bonding and bridging social capital), and
demographic variables (age, gender). The data used for the empirical
analysis came from a representative sample survey conducted in South
Korea. Results show that self-esteem and game efficacy were an
important antecedent to the degree of users’ life satisfaction. Both
bonding social capital and bridging social capital enhance the level of
the users’ life satisfaction. The importance of perspectives as well as
their implications for the game users and further associated research is
explored.
Abstract: Particle size distribution, the most important
characteristics of aerosols, is obtained through electrical
characterization techniques. The dynamics of charged nanoparticles
under the influence of electric field in Electrical Mobility
Spectrometer (EMS) reveals the size distribution of these particles.
The accuracy of this measurement is influenced by flow conditions,
geometry, electric field and particle charging process, therefore by
the transfer function (transfer matrix) of the instrument. In this work,
a wire-cylinder corona charger was designed and the combined fielddiffusion
charging process of injected poly-disperse aerosol particles
was numerically simulated as a prerequisite for the study of a
multichannel EMS. The result, a cloud of particles with no uniform
charge distribution, was introduced to the EMS. The flow pattern and
electric field in the EMS were simulated using Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) to obtain particle trajectories in the device and
therefore to calculate the reported signal by each electrometer.
According to the output signals (resulted from bombardment of
particles and transferring their charges as currents), we proposed a
modification to the size of detecting rings (which are connected to
electrometers) in order to evaluate particle size distributions more
accurately. Based on the capability of the system to transfer
information contents about size distribution of the injected particles,
we proposed a benchmark for the assessment of optimality of the
design. This method applies the concept of Von Neumann entropy
and borrows the definition of entropy from information theory
(Shannon entropy) to measure optimality. Entropy, according to the
Shannon entropy, is the ''average amount of information contained in
an event, sample or character extracted from a data stream''.
Evaluating the responses (signals) which were obtained via various
configurations of detecting rings, the best configuration which gave
the best predictions about the size distributions of injected particles,
was the modified configuration. It was also the one that had the
maximum amount of entropy. A reasonable consistency was also
observed between the accuracy of the predictions and the entropy
content of each configuration. In this method, entropy is extracted
from the transfer matrix of the instrument for each configuration.
Ultimately, various clouds of particles were introduced to the
simulations and predicted size distributions were compared to the
exact size distributions.
Abstract: Grains, including oats (Avena sativa L.), have been
recognized functional foods, because provide beneficial effect on the
health of the consumer and decrease the risk of various diseases. Oats
are good source of soluble fibre, essential amino acids, unsaturated
fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Oat breeders have developed oat
varieties and improved yielding ability potential of oat varieties.
Therefore, the aim of investigation was to analyze the composition of
perspective oat varieties and breeding lines grains grown in different
conditions and evaluate functional properties. In the studied samples
content of protein, starch, β-glucans, total dietetic fibre, composition
of amino acids and vitamin E were determined. The results of
analysis showed that protein content depending of varieties ranged
9.70% to 17.30% total dietary fibre 13.66 g100g-1 to 30.17 g100g-1,
content of β-glucans 2.7 g100g-1 to 3.5 g100g-1, amount of
vitamin E (α-tocopherol) determined from 4 mgkg-1 to 9.9 mgkg-1.
The sums of essential amino acids in oat grain samples were
determined from 31.63 gkg-1 to 54.90 gkg-1. It is concluded that
amino acids composition of husked and naked oats grown in organic
or conventional conditions is close to optimal for human health.
Abstract: Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the most common primary
mineral used for the commercial production of copper. The low
dissolution efficiency of chalcopyrite in sulfate media has prevented
an efficient industrial leaching of this mineral in sulfate media. Ferric
ions, bacteria, oxygen and other oxidants have been used as oxidizing
agents in the leaching of chalcopyrite in sulfate and chloride media
under atmospheric or pressure leaching conditions. Two leaching
methods were studied to evaluate chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) dissolution
in acid media. First, the conventional oxidative acid leaching method
was carried out using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and potassium
dichromate (K2Cr2O7) as oxidant at atmospheric pressure. Second,
microwave-assisted acid leaching was performed using the
microwave accelerated reaction system (MARS) for same reaction
media. Parameters affecting the copper extraction such as leaching
time, leaching temperature, concentration of H2SO4 and
concentration of K2Cr2O7 were investigated. The results of
conventional acid leaching experiments were compared to the
microwave leaching method. It was found that the copper extraction
obtained under high temperature and high concentrations of oxidant
with microwave leaching is higher than those obtained
conventionally. 81% copper extraction was obtained by the
conventional oxidative acid leaching method in 180 min, with the
concentration of 0.3 mol/L K2Cr2O7 in 0.5M H2SO4 at 50 ºC, while
93.5% copper extraction was obtained in 60 min with microwave
leaching method under same conditions.
Abstract: The purpose of this project is to propose a quick and
environmentally friendly alternative to measure the quality of oils
used in food industry. There is evidence that repeated and
indiscriminate use of oils in food processing cause physicochemical
changes with formation of potentially toxic compounds that can
affect the health of consumers and cause organoleptic changes. In
order to assess the quality of oils, non-destructive optical techniques
such as Interferometry offer a rapid alternative to the use of reagents,
using only the interaction of light on the oil. Through this project, we
used interferograms of samples of oil placed under different heating
conditions to establish the changes in their quality. These
interferograms were obtained by means of a Mach-Zehnder
Interferometer using a beam of light from a HeNe laser of 10mW at
632.8nm. Each interferogram was captured, analyzed and measured
full width at half-maximum (FWHM) using the software from
Amcap and ImageJ. The total of FWHMs was organized in three
groups. It was observed that the average obtained from each of the
FWHMs of group A shows a behavior that is almost linear, therefore
it is probable that the exposure time is not relevant when the oil is
kept under constant temperature. Group B exhibits a slight
exponential model when temperature raises between 373 K and 393
K. Results of the t-Student show a probability of 95% (0.05) of the
existence of variation in the molecular composition of both samples.
Furthermore, we found a correlation between the Iodine Indexes
(Physicochemical Analysis) and the Interferograms (Optical
Analysis) of group C. Based on these results, this project highlights
the importance of the quality of the oils used in food industry and
shows how Interferometry can be a useful tool for this purpose.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the
relationship of anxiety level between male and female undergraduates
at a private university in Malaysia. Convenient sampling method used
in this study in which the students were selected based on the
grouping assigned by the faculty. There were 214 undergraduates
who registered the probability courses had participated in this study.
Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) was the instrument used
in study which used to determine students’ anxiety level towards
probability. Reliability and validity of instrument was done before the
major study was conducted. In the major study, students were given
briefing about the study conducted. Participation of this study was
voluntary. Students were given consent form to determine whether
they agree to participate in the study. Duration of two weeks was
given for students to complete the given online questionnaire. The
data collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine the level of anxiety. There were
three anxiety level, i.e., low, average and high. Students’ anxiety
level was determined based on their scores obtained compared with
the mean and standard deviation. If the scores obtained were below
mean and standard deviation, the anxiety level was low. If the scores
were at below and above the mean and between one standard
deviation, the anxiety level was average. If the scores were above the
mean and greater than one standard deviation, the anxiety level was
high. Results showed that both of genders were having average
anxiety level. Among low, average and high anxiety level, frequency
of males were found to be higher as compared to females. Hence, the
mean values obtained for males (M = 3.62) was higher than females
(M = 3.42). In order to be significant of anxiety level among the
gender, the p-value should be less than .05. The p-value obtained in
this study was .117. However, this value was greater than .05. Thus,
there was no significant difference of anxiety level among the gender.
In other words, there was no relationship of anxiety level with the
gender.
Abstract: HR is a department that enhances the power of
employee performance in regard with their services, and to make the
organization strategic objectives. The main concern of HR
department is to organize people, focus on policies and their system.
The empirical study shows the relationship between HRM (Human
Resource Management practices) and their Job Satisfaction. The
Hypothesis is testing on a sample of overall 320 employees of 5
different Pharmaceutical departments of different organizations in
Pakistan. The important thing as Relationship of Job satisfaction with
HR Practices, Impact on Job Satisfaction with HR Practices,
Participation of Staff of Different Departments, HR Practices effects
the Job satisfaction, Recruitment or Hiring and Selection effects the
Job satisfaction, Training and Development, Performance and
Appraisals, Compensation affects the Job satisfaction , and Industrial
Relationships affects the Job satisfaction. After finishing all data
analysis, the conclusion is that lots of Job related activities raise the
confidence of Job satisfaction of employees with their salary and
other benefits.
Abstract: Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels that promising
for substituting petro diesel as energy source which is advantage on
sustainability and ecofriendly. Due to the raw material that tend to
decompose during storage, biodiesel also have the same characteristic
that tend to decompose and formed higher acid value which is the
result of oxidation to double bond on a chain of ester. Decomposition of biodiesel due to oxidation reaction could
prevent by introduce a small amount of antioxidant. The origin of raw
materials and the process for producing biodiesel will determine the
effectiveness of antioxidant. The quality degradation on biodiesel
could evaluate by measuring iodine value and acid number of
biodiesel. Biodiesel made from high fatty acid Jatropha curcas oil by using
esterification and transesterification process will stand on the quality
by introduce 90 ppm pyrogallol powder on the biodiesel, which could
increase Induction period time from 2 hours to more than 6 hours in
rancimat test evaluation.
Abstract: This paper represents an experimental study of LPG
diffusion flame at elevated preheated air temperatures. The flame is
stabilized in a vertical water-cooled combustor by using air swirler. An
experimental test rig was designed to investigate the different
operating conditions. The burner head is designed so that the LPG fuel
issued centrally and surrounded by the swirling air issues from an air
swirler. There are three air swirlers having the same dimensions but
having different blade angles to give different swirl numbers of 0.5,
0.87 and 1.5. The combustion air was heated electrically before
entering the combustor up to a temperature about 500 K. Five air to
fuel mass ratios of 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 were also studied. The effect
of preheated air temperature, swirl number and air to fuel mass ratios
on the temperature maps, visible flame length, high temperature region
(size) and exhaust species concentrations are studied. Some results
show that as the preheated air temperature increases, the volume of
high temperature region also increased but the flame length decreased.
Increasing the preheated air temperature, EINOx, EICO2 and EIO2
increased, while EICO decreased. Increasing the preheated air
temperature from 300 to 500 K, for all air swirl numbers used, the
highest increase in EINOx, EICO2 and EIO2 are 141, 4 and 65%,
respectively.
Abstract: The synthesis of CuFe2O4 spinel powders by an
optimized combustion-like process followed by calcination is
described herein. The samples were characterized using X-ray
diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), dilatometry and 4-probe DC methods.
Different glycine to nitrate (G/N) ratios of 1 (fuel-deficient), 1.48
(stoichiometric) and 2 (fuel-rich) were employed. Calcining the asprepared
powders at 800 and 1000°C for 5 hours showed that the G/N
ratio of 2 results in the formation of the desired copper spinel single
phase at both calcination temperatures. For G/N=1, formation of
CuFe2O4 takes place in three steps. First, iron and copper nitrates
decompose to iron oxide and pure copper. Then, copper transforms to
copper oxide and finally, copper and iron oxides react with each other
to form a copper ferrite spinel phase. The electrical conductivity and
the coefficient of thermal expansion of the sintered pelletized
samples were 2 S.cm-1 (800°C) and 11×10-6 °C-1 (25-800°C),
respectively.