Abstract: With a growing number of digital libraries and other
open education repositories being made available throughout the
world, effective search and retrieval tools are necessary to access the
desired materials that surpass the effectiveness of traditional, allinclusive
search engines. This paper discusses the design and use of
Folksemantic, a platform that integrates OpenCourseWare search,
Open Educational Resource recommendations, and social network
functionality into a single open source project. The paper describes
how the system was originally envisioned, its goals for users, and
data that provides insight into how it is actually being used. Data
sources include website click-through data, query logs, web server
log files and user account data. Based on a descriptive analysis of its
current use, modifications to the platform's design are recommended
to better address goals of the system, along with recommendations
for additional phases of research.
Abstract: Post-disaster reconstruction projects offer
opportunities to facilitate physical, social and economic development
and to reduce future hazard vulnerability long after the disasters.
Sustainability of post-disaster reconstruction project conducted in the
villages of Dinar following the 1995 earthquake was investigated in
this paper. Officials of the Government who were involved in the
project were interviewed. Besides, two field surveys were done in 12
villages of Dinar in winter months of 2008. Beneficiaries were
interviewed and physical, socio-cultural and economic impacts of the
reconstruction were examined. The research revealed that the postdisaster
reconstruction project has negative aspects from the point
view of sustainability. The physical, socio-cultural and economic
factors were not considered during decision making process of the
project.
Abstract: the article analyzes the national security as a scientific and practical problem, characterized by the state's political institutions to ensure effective action to maintain optimal conditions for the existence and development of the individual and society. National security, as a category of political science reflects the relationship between the security to the nation, including public relations and social consciousness, social institutions and their activities, ensuring the realization of national interests in a particular historical situation. In national security are three security levels: individual, society and state. Their role and place determined by the nature of social relations, political systems, the presence of internal and external threats. In terms of content in the concept of national security is taken to provide political, economic, military, environmental, information security and safety of the cultural development of the nation.
Abstract: Yogyakarta, as the capital city of Yogyakarta Province, has important roles in various sectors that require good provision of public transportation system. Ideally, a good transportation system should be able to accommodate the amount of travel demand. This research attempts to develop a trip generation model to predict the number of public transport passenger in Yogyakarta city. The model is built by using multiple linear regression analysis, which establishes relationship between trip number and socioeconomic attributes. The data consist of primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected by conducting household surveys which randomly selected. The resulted model is further applied to evaluate the existing TransJogja, a new Bus Rapid Transit system serves Yogyakarta and surrounding cities, shelters.
Abstract: This study aims to assess the potential of solar energy technology for improving access to water and hence the livelihood strategies of rural communities in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It focuses on livestock ranches and photovoltaic water-pumptechnology as well as other water extraction methods. The methodology used are the Sustainable Livelihoods and the Appropriate Technology approaches. A household survey was applied in June of 2006 to 32 ranches in the municipality, of which 22 used PV pumps; and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings indicate that solar pumps have in fact helped people improve their quality of life by allowing them to pursue a different livelihood strategy and that improved access to water -not necessarily as more water but as less effort to extract and collect it- does not automatically imply overexploitation of the resource; consumption is based on basic needs as well as on storage and pumping capacity. Justification for such systems lies in the avoidance of logistical problems associated to fossil fuels, PV pumps proved to be the most beneficial when substituting gasoline or diesel equipment but of dubious advantage if intended to replace wind or gravity systems. Solar water pumping technology-s main obstacle to dissemination are high investment and repairs costs and it is therefore not suitable for all cases even when insolation rates and water availability are adequate. In cases where affordability is not an obstacle it has become an important asset that contributes –by means of reduced expenses, less effort and saved time- to the improvement of livestock, the main livelihood provider for these ranches.
Abstract: This research is aimed at studying the nature of
problems and demands of the training for community leaders in the
upper northeastern region of Thailand. Population and group
samplings are based on 360 community leaders in the region who
have experienced prior training from the Udonthani Rajabhat
University. Stratified random samplings have been drawn upon 186
participants. The research tools is questionnaires. The frequency,
percentage and standard deviation are employed in data analysis. The
findings indicate that most of community leaders are males and
senior adults. The problems in training are associated with the
inconveniences of long-distance travelling to training locations,
inadequacy of learning centers and training sites and high training
costs. The demand of training is basically motivated by a desire for
self-development in modern knowledge in keeping up-to-date with
the changing world and the need for technological application and
facilitation in shortening the distance to training locations and in
limiting expensive training costs.
Abstract: Mammalian genomes contain large number of
retroelements (SINEs, LINEs and LTRs) which could affect
expression of protein coding genes through associated transcription
factor binding sites (TFBS). Activity of the retroelement-associated
TFBS in many genes is confirmed experimentally but their global
functional impact remains unclear. Human SINEs (Alu repeats) and
mouse SINEs (B1 and B2 repeats) are known to be clustered in GCrich
gene rich genome segments consistent with the view that they
can contribute to regulation of gene expression. We have shown
earlier that Alu are involved in formation of cis-regulatory modules
(clusters of TFBS) in human promoters, and other authors reported
that Alu located near promoter CpG islands have an increased
frequency of CpG dinucleotides suggesting that these Alu are
undermethylated. Human Alu and mouse B1/B2 elements have an
internal bipartite promoter for RNA polymerase III containing
conserved sequence motif called B-box which can bind basal
transcription complex TFIIIC. It has been recently shown that TFIIIC
binding to B-box leads to formation of a boundary which limits
spread of repressive chromatin modifications in S. pombe. SINEassociated
B-boxes may have similar function but conservation of
TFIIIC binding sites in SINEs located near mammalian promoters
has not been studied earlier. Here we analysed abundance and
distribution of retroelements (SINEs, LINEs and LTRs) in annotated
sequences of the Database of mammalian transcription start sites
(DBTSS). Fractions of SINEs in human and mouse promoters are
slightly lower than in all genome but >40% of human and mouse
promoters contain Alu or B1/B2 elements within -1000 to +200 bp
interval relative to transcription start site (TSS). Most of these SINEs
is associated with distal segments of promoters (-1000 to -200 bp
relative to TSS) indicating that their insertion at distances >200 bp
upstream of TSS is tolerated during evolution. Distribution of SINEs
in promoters correlates negatively with the distribution of CpG
sequences. Using analysis of abundance of 12-mer motifs from the
B1 and Alu consensus sequences in genome and DBTSS it has been
confirmed that some subsegments of Alu and B1 elements are poorly
conserved which depends in part on the presence of CpG
dinucleotides. One of these CpG-containing subsegments in B1
elements overlaps with SINE-associated B-box and it shows better
conservation in DBTSS compared to genomic sequences. It has been
also studied conservation in DBTSS and genome of the B-box
containing segments of old (AluJ, AluS) and young (AluY) Alu
repeats and found that CpG sequence of the B-box of old Alu is
better conserved in DBTSS than in genome. This indicates that Bbox-
associated CpGs in promoters are better protected from
methylation and mutation than B-box-associated CpGs in genomic
SINEs. These results are consistent with the view that potential
TFIIIC binding motifs in SINEs associated with human and mouse
promoters may be functionally important. These motifs may protect
promoters from repressive histone modifications which spread from
adjacent sequences. This can potentially explain well known
clustering of SINEs in GC-rich gene rich genome compartments and
existence of unmethylated CpG islands.
Abstract: A new and cost effective RP-HPLC method was
developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of non steroidal
anti inflammatory dugs Diclofenac sodium (DFS), Flurbiprofen
(FLP) and an opioid analgesic Tramadol (TMD) in advanced drug
delivery systems (Liposome and Microcapsules), marketed brands
and human plasma. Isocratic system was employed for the flow of
mobile phase consisting of 10 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate
buffer and acetonitrile in molar ratio of 67: 33 with adjusted pH of
3.2. The stationary phase was hypersil ODS column (C18, 250×4.6
mm i.d., 5 μm) with controlled temperature of 30 C°. DFS in
liposomes, microcapsules and marketed drug products was
determined in range of 99.76-99.84%. FLP and TMD in
microcapsules and brands formulation were 99.78 - 99.94 % and
99.80 - 99.82 %, respectively. Single step liquid-liquid extraction
procedure using combination of acetonitrile and trichloroacetic acid
(TCA) as protein precipitating agent was employed. The detection
limits (at S/N ratio 3) of quality control solutions and plasma samples
were 10, 20, and 20 ng/ml for DFS, FLP and TMD, respectively.
The Assay was acceptable in linear dynamic range. All other
validation parameters were found in limits of FDA and ICH method
validation guidelines. The proposed method is sensitive, accurate and
precise and could be applicable for routine analysis in
pharmaceutical industry as well as in human plasma samples for
bioequivalence and pharmacokinetics studies.
Abstract: We present a preliminary x-ray study on human-hair
microstructures for a health-state indicator, in particular a cancer
case. As an uncomplicated and low-cost method of x-ray technique,
the human-hair microstructure was analyzed by wide-angle x-ray
diffractions (XRD) and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The
XRD measurements exhibited the simply reflections at the d-spacing
of 28 Å, 9.4 Å and 4.4 Å representing to the periodic distance of the
protein matrix of the human-hair macrofibrous and the diameter and
the repeated spacing of the polypeptide alpha helixes of the
photofibrils of the human-hair microfibrous, respectively. When
compared to the normal cases, the unhealthy cases including to the
breast- and ovarian-cancer cases obtained higher normalized ratios of
the x-ray diffracting peaks of 9.4 Å and 4.4 Å. This likely resulted
from the varied distributions of microstructures by a molecular
alteration. As an elemental analysis by x-ray fluorescence (XRF), the
normalized quantitative ratios of zinc(Zn)/calcium(Ca) and
iron(Fe)/calcium(Ca) were determined. Analogously, both Zn/Ca and
Fe/Ca ratios of the unhealthy cases were obtained higher than both of
the normal cases were. Combining the structural analysis by XRD
measurements and the elemental analysis by XRF measurements
exhibited that the modified fibrous microstructures of hair samples
were in relation to their altered elemental compositions. Therefore,
these microstructural and elemental analyses of hair samples will be
benefit to associate with a diagnosis of cancer and genetic diseases.
This functional method would lower a risk of such diseases by the
early diagnosis. However, the high-intensity x-ray source, the highresolution
x-ray detector, and more hair samples are necessarily
desired to develop this x-ray technique and the efficiency would be
enhanced by including the skin and fingernail samples with the
human-hair analysis.
Abstract: The presence of a vertical edge-crack within a web
plate subjected to pure bending induces local compressive stresses
about the crack which may cause tension buckling. Approximate
theoretical expressions were derived for the critical far-field tensile
stress and bending moment capacity of an edge-cracked web plate
associated with tension buckling. These expressions were validated
with finite element analyses and used to investigate the possibility of
tension buckling in web-cracked trial girders. It was found that
tension buckling is an unlikely occurrence unless the web is relatively
thin or the crack is very long.
Abstract: The radius-of-curvature (ROC) defines the degree of
curvature along the centerline of a roadway whereby a travelling
vehicle must follow. Roadway designs must encompass ROC in
mitigating the cost of earthwork associated with construction while
also allowing vehicles to travel at maximum allowable design speeds.
Thus, a road will tend to follow natural topography where possible,
but curvature must also be optimized to permit fast, but safe vehicle
speeds. The more severe the curvature of the road, the slower the
permissible vehicle speed. For route planning, whether for urban
settings, emergency operations, or even parcel delivery, ROC is a
necessary attribute of road arcs for computing travel time.
It is extremely rare for a geo-spatial database to contain ROC. This
paper will present a procedure and mathematical algorithm to
calculate and assign ROC to a segment pair and/or polyline.
Abstract: Building condition assessment is a critical activity in Malaysia-s Comprehensive Asset Management Model. It is closely related to building performance that impact user-s life and decision making. This study focuses on public primary school, one of the most valuable assets for the country. The assessment was carried out based on CSP1 Matrix in Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. Based on the matrix used, three main criteria of the buildings has successfully evaluate: the number of defects; schools rating; and total schools rating. The analysis carried out on 24 schools found that the overall 4, 725 defects has been identified. Meanwhile, the overall score obtained was 45, 868 and the overall rating is 9.71, which is at the fair condition. This result has been associated with building age to evaluate its impacts on school buildings condition. The findings proved that building condition is closely related to building age and its support the theory that 'the ageing building has more defect than the new one'.
Abstract: This paper presents an optimal and unsupervised satellite image segmentation approach based on Pearson system and k-Means Clustering Algorithm Initialization. Such method could be considered as original by the fact that it utilised K-Means clustering algorithm for an optimal initialisation of image class number on one hand and it exploited Pearson system for an optimal statistical distributions- affectation of each considered class on the other hand. Satellite image exploitation requires the use of different approaches, especially those founded on the unsupervised statistical segmentation principle. Such approaches necessitate definition of several parameters like image class number, class variables- estimation and generalised mixture distributions. Use of statistical images- attributes assured convincing and promoting results under the condition of having an optimal initialisation step with appropriated statistical distributions- affectation. Pearson system associated with a k-means clustering algorithm and Stochastic Expectation-Maximization 'SEM' algorithm could be adapted to such problem. For each image-s class, Pearson system attributes one distribution type according to different parameters and especially the Skewness 'β1' and the kurtosis 'β2'. The different adapted algorithms, K-Means clustering algorithm, SEM algorithm and Pearson system algorithm, are then applied to satellite image segmentation problem. Efficiency of those combined algorithms was firstly validated with the Mean Quadratic Error 'MQE' evaluation, and secondly with visual inspection along several comparisons of these unsupervised images- segmentation.
Abstract: Motivated by the recent work of Herbert, Hayen, Macaskill and Walter [Interval estimation for the difference of two independent variances. Communications in Statistics, Simulation and Computation, 40: 744-758, 2011.], we investigate, in this paper, new confidence intervals for the difference between two normal population variances based on the generalized confidence interval of Weerahandi [Generalized Confidence Intervals. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 88(423): 899-905, 1993.] and the closed form method of variance estimation of Zou, Huo and Taleban [Simple confidence intervals for lognormal means and their differences with environmental applications. Environmetrics 20: 172-180, 2009]. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate that our proposed confidence intervals give a better coverage probability than that of the existing confidence interval. Also two new confidence intervals perform similarly based on their coverage probabilities and their average length widths.
Abstract: Schools today face ever-increasing demands in their attempts to ensure that students are well equipped to enter the workforce and navigate a complex world. Research indicates that computer technology can help support learning, implementation of various experiments or learning games, and that it is especially useful in developing the higher-order skills of critical thinking, observation, comprehension, implementation, comparison, analysis and active attention to activities such as research, field work, simulations and scientific inquiry. The ICT in education supports the learning procedure by enabling it to be more flexible and effective, create a rich and attractive training environment and equip the students with knowledge and potential useful for the competitive social environment in which they live. This paper presents the design, the development, and the results of the evaluation analysis of an interactive educational game which using real electric vehicles - toys (material) on a toy race track. When the game starts each student selects a specific vehicle toy. Then students are answering questionnaires in the computer. The vehicles' speed is related to the percentage of right answers in a multiple choice questionnaire (software). Every question has its own significant value depending of the different level of questionnaire. Via the developed software, each right or wrong answers in questionnaire increase or decrease the real time speed of their vehicle toys. Moreover the rate of vehicle's speed increase or decrease depends on the difficulty level of each question. The aim of the work is to attract the student’s interest in a learning process and also to improve their scores. The developed real time game was tested using independent populations of students of age groups: 8-10, 11-14, 15-18 years. Standard educational and statistical analysis tools were used for the evaluation analysis of the game. Results reveal that students using the developed real time control game scored much higher (60%) than students using a traditional simulation game on the same questionnaire. Results further indicate that student's interest in repeating the developed real time control gaming was far higher (70%) than the interest of students using a traditional simulation game.
Abstract: In this paper, self-starting block hybrid method of
order (5,5,5,5)T is proposed for the solution of the special second
order ordinary differential equations with associated initial or
boundary conditions. The continuous hybrid formulations enable us
to differentiate and evaluate at some grids and off – grid points to
obtain four discrete schemes, which were used in block form for
parallel or sequential solutions of the problems. The computational
burden and computer time wastage involved in the usual reduction of
second order problem into system of first order equations are avoided
by this approach. Furthermore, a stability analysis and efficiency of
the block method are tested on stiff ordinary differential equations,
and the results obtained compared favorably with the exact solution.
Abstract: In studies on psychological health and children-s personality development and in researches on emotional distresses, children-s behavioral disorders associated with mother deprivation, are known as the major cause of mental disorders. Therefore, for identification of children-s attachment styles in nursery-s children are of significant importance. For this purpose, to compare the attachment styles between children of nursery with those provided care by their families, the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) of Slough and et al was administered on 72 children (36 in nursery and 36 family-cared). The results indicated, almost half of children in both groups have insecure attachment styles. Tendency ratio of both groups of children towards Secure and Ambivalent Insecure styles are almost the same. However the avoidant style of attachment in children of nursery is more than those provided care by their families. The children under family care compared to the children of nursery, in the situations of separation from their mothers in the first day of school and sleeping in their room, have shown more self reliance.
Abstract: Dissolved gas analysis has been accepted as a sensitive, informative and reliable technique for incipient faults detection in power transformers and is widely used. In the last few years this method, which has been recommended by IEEE Power & Energy society, has been applied for fault detection in load tap changers. Regarding the critical role of load tap changers in electrical network and essential of catastrophic failures prevention, it is necessary to choose "condition based preventative maintenance strategy" which leads to reduction in costs, the number of unnecessary visits as well as the probability of interruptions and also increment in equipment reliability. In current work, considering the condition based preventative maintenance strategy, condition assessment of an Elin tap changer was carried out using dissolved gas analysis.
Abstract: At present the process of formation of corporate
values in Kazakh universities is under the influence of a whole range
of socio-economic and cultural changes: on the one hand universities
must maintain and transmit traditional cultural values of education,
on the other, to improve quality of service and to involve young
people to science, providing thus own competitiveness. Thus, this
article presents some results of two cycles of sociological research
conducted in 2012 and aimed at identifying possible ways to
popularize science and readiness to participate of youth in given
activities, expectations of young scientists and the prospects of future
development of the Kazakh science.
Abstract: The technique of k-anonymization has been proposed to obfuscate private data through associating it with at least k identities. This paper investigates the basic tabular structures that
underline the notion of k-anonymization using cell suppression.
These structures are studied under idealized conditions to identify the
essential features of the k-anonymization notion. We optimize data kanonymization
through requiring a minimum number of anonymized
values that are balanced over all columns and rows. We study the
relationship between the sizes of the anonymized tables, the value k, and the number of attributes. This study has a theoretical value through contributing to develop a mathematical foundation of the kanonymization
concept. Its practical significance is still to be
investigated.