Abstract: The concept of housing affordability is a contested
issue, but a pressing and widespread problem for many countries.
Simple ratio measures based on housing expenditure and income are
habitually used to defined and assess housing affordability. However,
conceptualising and measuring affordability in this manner focuses
only on financial attributes and fails to deal with wider issues such as
housing quality, location and access to services and facilities.
The research is based on the notion that the housing affordability
problem encompasses more than the financial costs of housing and a
households ability to meet such costs and must address larger issues
such as social and environmental sustainability and the welfare of
households. Therefore, the need arises for a broad and more
encompassing set of attributes by which housing affordability can be
assessed. This paper presents a system of criteria by which the
affordability of different housing locations could be assessed in a
comprehensive and sustainable manner. Moreover, the paper explores
the way in which such criteria could be measured.
Abstract: This paper presents the design, fabrication and
evaluation of magneto-rheological damper. Semi-active control
devices have received significant attention in recent years because
they offer the adaptability of active control devices without requiring
the associated large power sources. Magneto-Rheological (MR)
dampers are semi- active control devices that use MR fluids to
produce controllable dampers. They potentially offer highly reliable
operation and can be viewed as fail-safe in that they become passive
dampers if the control hardware malfunction. The advantage of MR
dampers over conventional dampers are that they are simple in
construction, compromise between high frequency isolation and
natural frequency isolation, they offer semi-active control, use very
little power, have very quick response, has few moving parts, have a
relax tolerances and direct interfacing with electronics. Magneto-
Rheological (MR) fluids are Controllable fluids belonging to the
class of active materials that have the unique ability to change
dynamic yield stress when acted upon by an electric or magnetic
field, while maintaining viscosity relatively constant. This property
can be utilized in MR damper where the damping force is changed by
changing the rheological properties of the fluid magnetically. MR
fluids have a dynamic yield stress over Electro-Rheological fluids
(ER) and a broader operational temperature range. The objective of
this papert was to study the application of an MR damper to vibration
control, design the vibration damper using MR fluids, test and
evaluate its performance. In this paper the Rheology and the theory
behind MR fluids and their use on vibration control were studied.
Then a MR vibration damper suitable for vehicle suspension was
designed and fabricated using the MR fluid. The MR damper was
tested using a dynamic test rig and the results were obtained in the
form of force vs velocity and the force vs displacement plots. The
results were encouraging and greatly inspire further research on the
topic.
Abstract: UK breweries generate extensive by products in the
form of spent grain, slurry and yeast. Much of the spent grain is
produced by large breweries and processed in bulk for animal feed.
Spent brewery grains contain up to 20% protein dry weight and up to
60% fiber and are useful additions to animal feed. Bulk processing is
economic and allows spent grain to be sold so providing an income
to the brewery. A proportion of spent grain, however, is produced by
small local breweries and is more variably distributed to farms or
other users using intermittent collection methods. Such use is much
less economic and may incur losses if not carefully assessed for
transport costs. This study reports an economic returns of using wet
brewery spent grain (WBSG) in animal feed using the Co-product
Optimizer Decision Evaluator model (Cattle CODE) developed by
the University of Nebraska to predict performance and economic
returns when byproducts are fed to finishing cattle. The results
indicated that distance from brewery to farm had a significantly
greater effect on the economics of use of small brewery spent grain
and that alternative uses than cattle feed may be important to
develop.
Abstract: The Yasuj city stream named the Beshar supply
water for different usages such as aquaculture farms , drinking,
agricultural and industrial usages. Fish processing plants
,Agricultural farms, waste water of industrial zones and hospitals
waste water which they are generate by human activity produce a
considerable volume of effluent and when they are released in to the
stream they can effect on the water quality and down stream aquatic
systems. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of outflow
effluent from different human activity and point and non point
pollution sources on the water quality and health of the Beshar
river next to Yasuj. Yasuj is the biggest and most important city in
the Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province . The Beshar River is one
of the most important aquatic ecosystems in the upstream of the
Karun watershed in south of Iran which is affected by point and non
point pollutant sources . This study was done in order to evaluate the
effects of human activities on the water quality and health of the
Beshar river. This river is approximately 190 km in length and
situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20' to 51° 48' E and 30°
18' to 30° 52' N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of
Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province in south-west Iran. In this
research project, five study stations were selected to examine water
pollution in the Beshar River systems. Human activity is now one of
the most important factors affecting on hydrology and water quality
of the Beshar river. Humans use large amounts of resources to sustain
various standards of living, although measures of sustainability are
highly variable depending on how sustainability is defined. The
Beshar river ecosystems are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to
human activities. The water samples were analyzed, then some
important water quality parameters such as pH, dissolve oxygen
(DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen
Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TDS),Turbidity,
Temperature, Nitrates (NO3) and Phosphates (PO4) were estimated
at the two stations. The results show a downward trend in the water
quality at the down stream of the city. The amounts of
BOD5,COD,TSS,T,Turbidity, NO3 and PO4 in the down stream
stations were considerably more than the station 1. By contrast the
amounts of DO in the down stream stations were less than to the
station 1. However when effluent discharge consequence of human
activities are released into the Beshar river near the city, the quality
of river are decreases and the environmental problems of the river
during the next years are predicted to rise.
Abstract: Plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds. In this study the photochemical screening of hexane, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of roots and latex of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) plant revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids, steroids and glycosides. Ethanolic extract was found to be richer in these metabolites than hexane, aqueous extracts and latex. The extracts and latex displayed effective antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus. The increase in volume of the extracts and latex caused more activity, as shown by zones of inhibition. Candida albicans growth was inhibited only by hexane extract. Jojoba latex was not effective against Candida albicans at 0.1 and 0.5 ml extracts concentration but showed 5mm zone of inhibition at (1.0 ml). Lower volume (0.1ml) of latex encouraged Aspergillus flavus growth, while at (1.00 ml) reduced its mycelial growth. Thus, jojoba root extracts and latex can be of potential natural antimicrobial agents.
Abstract: This paper presents a part of research on the
rheological properties of bitumen modified by thermoplastic namely
linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), high density polyethylene
(HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) and its interaction with 80 pen base
bitumen. As it is known that the modification of bitumen by the use
of polymers enhances its performance characteristics but at the same
time significantly alters its rheological properties. The rheological
study of polymer modified bitumen (PMB) was made through
penetration, ring & ball softening point and viscosity test. The results
were then related to the changes in the rheological properties of
polymer modified bitumen. It was observed that thermoplastic
copolymer shows profound effect on penetration rather than
softening point. The viscoelastic behavior of polymer modified
bitumen depend on the concentration of polymer, mixing
temperature, mixing technique, solvating power of base bitumen and
molecular structure of polymer used. PP offer better blend in
comparison to HDPE and LLDPE. The viscosity of base bitumen was
also enhanced with the addition of polymer. The pseudoplastic
behavior was more prominent for HDPE and LLDPE than PP. Best
results were obtained when polymer concentration was kept below
3%
Abstract: Optical properties of sputter-deposited ZnS thin films
were investigated as potential replacements for CBD(chemical bath
deposition) CdS buffer layers in the application of CIGS solar cells.
ZnS thin films were fabricated on glass substrates at RT, 150oC, 200oC,
and 250oC with 50 sccm Ar gas using an RF magnetron sputtering
system. The crystal structure of the thin film is found to be zinc blende
(cubic) structure. Lattice parameter of ZnS is slightly larger than CdS
on the plane and thus better matched with that of CIGS. Within a
400-800 nm wavelength region, the average transmittance was larger
than 75%. When the deposition temperature of the thin film was
increased, the blue shift phenomenon was enhanced. Band gap energy
of the ZnS thin film tended to increase as the deposition temperature
increased. ZnS thin film is a promising material system for the CIGS
buffer layer, in terms of ease of processing, low cost, environmental
friendliness, higher transparency, and electrical properties
Abstract: The substrate heater designed for this investigation is a front side substrate heating system. It consists of 10 conventional tungsten halogen lamps and an aluminum reflector, total input electrical power of 5 kW. The substrate is heated by means of a radiation from conventional tungsten halogen lamps directed to the substrate through a glass window. This design allows easy replacement of the lamps and maintenance of the system. Within 2 to 6 minutes the substrate temperature reaches 500 to 830 C by varying the vertical distance between the glass window and the substrate holder. Moreover, the substrate temperature can be easily controlled by controlling the input power to the system. This design gives excellent opportunity to deposit many deferent films at deferent temperatures in the same deposition time. This substrate heater was successfully used for Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) of many thin films, such as Silicon, iron, etc.
Abstract: Mycotoxin (aflatoxins) contamination of peanuts is a
great concern for human health. A total of 72 samples of unripe,
roasted, and salty peanuts were collected randomly from Pothohar
plateau of Pakistan for the assessment of aflatoxin. Samples were
dried, ground and extracted by acetonitrile (84%). The filtered
extracts were cleaned up by MycoSep-226 and analyzed by high
performance liquid chromatography with flourescence detector.
Quantification limit of Aflatoxin was 1 μg/kg and 70% Recovery was
observed in spiked samples in the range 1–10 μg/kg. The screening
of mycotoxins indicated that aflatoxins were present in most of the
samples being detected in 82%, in concentrations from 14.25 μg/kg
to 98.80 μg/kg. Optimal conditions for mycotoxin production and
fungal growth are frequently found in the crop fields as well as in
store houses. Human exposure of such toxin can be controlled by
pointed out such awareness and implemented the regulations.
Abstract: The procurement and cost management approach adopted for mechanical and electrical (M&E) services in Malaysian construction industry have been criticized for its inefficiency. The study examined early cost estimating practices adopted for mechanical and electrical services (M&E) in Malaysia so as to understand the level of compliance of the current techniques with best practices. The methodology adopted for the study is a review of bidding documents used on both completed and on – going building projects awarded between 2008 – 2010 under 9th Malaysian Plan. The analysis revealed that, M&E services cost cannot be reliably estimated at pre-contract stage; the bidding techniques adopted for M&E services failed to provide uniform basis for contractors to submit tender; detailed measurement of items were not made which could complicate post contract cost control and financial management. The paper concluded that, there is need to follow a structured approach in determining the pre-contract cost estimate for M&E services which will serve as a virile tool for post contract cost control.
Abstract: Oxidative stress is considered to be the cause for onset
and the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and
complications including neuropathy. It is a deleterious process that
can be an important mediator of damage to cell structures: protein,
lipids and DNA. Data suggest that in patients with diabetes and
diabetic neuropathy DNA repair is impaired, which prevents effective
removal of lesions. Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate
the association of the hOGG1 (326 Ser/Cys) and XRCC1 (194
Arg/Trp, 399 Arg/Gln) gene polymorphisms whose protein is
involved in the BER pathway with DNA repair efficiency in patients
with diabetes type 2 and diabetic neuropathy compared to the healthy
subjects. Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP analysis in 385
subjects, including 117 with type 2 diabetes, 56 with diabetic
neuropathy and 212 with normal glucose metabolism. The
polymorphisms studied include codon 326 of hOGG1 and 194, 399
of XRCC1 in the base excision repair (BER) genes. Comet assay was
carried out using peripheral blood lymphocytes from the patients and
controls. This test enabled the evaluation of DNA damage in cells
exposed to hydrogen peroxide alone and in the combination with the
endonuclease III (Nth). The results of the analysis of polymorphism
were statistically examination by calculating the odds ratio (OR) and
their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using the ¤ç2-tests. Our data
indicate that patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (including those
with neuropathy) had higher frequencies of the XRCC1 399Arg/Gln
polymorphism in homozygote (GG) (OR: 1.85 [95% CI: 1.07-3.22],
P=0.3) and also increased frequency of 399Gln (G) allele (OR: 1.38
[95% CI: 1.03-1.83], P=0.3). No relation to other polymorphisms
with increased risk of diabetes or diabetic neuropathy. In T2DM
patients complicated by neuropathy, there was less efficient repair of
oxidative DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide in both the
presence and absence of the Nth enzyme. The results of our study
suggest that the XRCC1 399 Arg/Gln polymorphism is a significant
risk factor of T2DM in Polish population. Obtained data suggest a
decreased efficiency of DNA repair in cells from patients with
diabetes and neuropathy may be associated with oxidative stress.
Additionally, patients with neuropathy are characterized by even
greater sensitivity to oxidative damage than patients with diabetes,
which suggests participation of free radicals in the pathogenesis of
neuropathy.
Abstract: Cement, the most widely used construction material
is very brittle and characterized by low tensile strength and strain
capacity. Macro to nano fibers are added to cement to provide
tensile strength and ductility to it. Carbon Nanotube (CNT), one of
the nanofibers, has proven to be a promising reinforcing material in
the cement composites because of its outstanding mechanical
properties and its ability to close cracks at the nano level. The
experimental investigations for CNT reinforced cement is costly,
time consuming and involves huge number of trials. Mathematical
modeling of CNT reinforced cement can be done effectively and
efficiently to arrive at the mechanical properties and to reduce the
number of trials in the experiments. Hence, an attempt is made to
numerically study the effective mechanical properties of CNT
reinforced cement numerically using Representative Volume
Element (RVE) method. The enhancement in its mechanical
properties for different percentage of CNTs is studied in detail.
Abstract: Video-on-demand (VOD) is designed by using content delivery networks (CDN) to minimize the overall operational cost and to maximize scalability. Estimation of the viewing pattern (i.e., the relationship between the number of viewings and the ranking of VOD contents) plays an important role in minimizing the total operational cost and maximizing the performance of the VOD systems. In this paper, we have analyzed a large body of commercial VOD viewing data and found that the viewing rank distribution fits well with the parabolic fractal distribution. The weighted linear model fitting function is used to estimate the parameters (coefficients) of the parabolic fractal distribution. This paper presents an analytical basis for designing an optimal hierarchical VOD contents distribution system in terms of its cost and performance.
Abstract: Starting from a biologically inspired framework, Gabor filters were built up from retinal filters via LMSE algorithms. Asubset of retinal filter kernels was chosen to form a particular Gabor filter by using a weighted sum. One-dimensional optimization approaches were shown to be inappropriate for the problem. All model parameters were fixed with biological or image processing constraints. Detailed analysis of the optimization procedure led to the introduction of a minimization constraint. Finally, quantization of weighting factors was investigated. This resulted in an optimized cascaded structure of a Gabor filter bank implementation with lower computational cost.
Abstract: In this paper, we present the information life cycle, and analyze the importance of managing the corporate application portfolio across this life cycle. The approach presented here does not correspond just to the extension of the traditional information system development life cycle. This approach is based in the generic life cycle employed in other contexts like manufacturing or marketing. In this paper it is proposed a model of an information system life cycle, supported in the assumption that a system has a limited life. But, this limited life may be extended. This model is also applied in several cases; being reported here two examples of the framework application in a construction enterprise, and in a manufacturing enterprise.
Abstract: CTMA-bentonite and BTEA-Bentonite prepared by Na-bentonite cation exchanged with cetyltrimethylammonium(CTMA) and benzyltriethylammonium (BTEA). Products were characterized by XRD and IR techniques.The d001 spacing value of CTMA-bentonite and BTEA-bentonite are 7.54Å and 3.50Å larger than that of Na-bentonite at 100% cation exchange capacity, respectively. The IR spectrum showed that the intensities of OH stretching and bending vibrations of the two organoclays decreased greatly comparing to untreated Na-bentonite. Batch experiments were carried out at 303 K, 318 K and 333 K to obtain the sorption isotherms of Crystal violet onto the two organoclays. The results show that the sorption isothermal data could be well described by Freundlich model. The dynamical data for the two organoclays fit well with pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption capacity of CTMA-bentonite was found higher than that of BTEA-Bentonite. Thermodynamic parameters such as changes in the free energy (ΔG°), the enthalpy (ΔH°) and the entropy (ΔS°) were also evaluated. The overall adsorption process of Crystal violet onto the two organoclays were spontaneous, endothermic physisorption. The CTMA-bentonite and BTEA-Bentonite could be employed as low-cost alternatives to activated carbon in wastewater treatment for the removal of color which comes from textile dyes.
Abstract: This paper presents a study of the Taguchi design
application to optimize surface quality in damper inserted end milling
operation. Maintaining good surface quality usually involves
additional manufacturing cost or loss of productivity. The Taguchi
design is an efficient and effective experimental method in which a
response variable can be optimized, given various factors, using
fewer resources than a factorial design. This Study included spindle
speed, feed rate, and depth of cut as control factors, usage of different
tools in the same specification, which introduced tool condition and
dimensional variability. An orthogonal array of L9(3^4)was used;
ANOVA analyses were carried out to identify the significant factors
affecting surface roughness, and the optimal cutting combination was
determined by seeking the best surface roughness (response) and
signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, confirmation tests verified that the
Taguchi design was successful in optimizing milling parameters for
surface roughness.
Abstract: Lately, an interest has grown greatly in the usages of
RFID in an un-presidential applications. It is shown in the adaptation
of major software companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle
the RFID capabilities in their major software products. For example
Microsoft SharePoints 2010 workflow is now fully compatible with
RFID platform. In addition, Microsoft BizTalk server is also capable
of all RFID sensors data acquisition. This will lead to applications
that required high bit rate, long range and a multimedia content in
nature. Higher frequencies of operation have been designated for
RFID tags, among them are the 2.45 and 5.8 GHz. The higher the
frequency means higher range, and higher bit rate, but the drawback
is the greater cost. In this paper we present a single layer, low
profile patch antenna operates at 5.8 GHz with pure resistive input
impedance of 50 and close to directive radiation. Also, we propose
a modification to the design in order to improve the operation band
width from 8.7 to 13.8
Abstract: Fine-grained data replication over the Internet allows duplication of frequently accessed data objects, as opposed to entire sites, to certain locations so as to improve the performance of largescale content distribution systems. In a distributed system, agents representing their sites try to maximize their own benefit since they are driven by different goals such as to minimize their communication costs, latency, etc. In this paper, we will use game theoretical techniques and in particular auctions to identify a bidding mechanism that encapsulates the selfishness of the agents, while having a controlling hand over them. In essence, the proposed game theory based mechanism is the study of what happens when independent agents act selfishly and how to control them to maximize the overall performance. A bidding mechanism asks how one can design systems so that agents- selfish behavior results in the desired system-wide goals. Experimental results reveal that this mechanism provides excellent solution quality, while maintaining fast execution time. The comparisons are recorded against some well known techniques such as greedy, branch and bound, game theoretical auctions and genetic algorithms.
Abstract: Due to the three- dimensional flow pattern interacting with bed material, the process of local scour around bridge piers is complex. Modeling 3D flow field and scour hole evolution around a bridge pier is more feasible nowadays because the computational cost and computational time have significantly decreased. In order to evaluate local flow and scouring around a bridge pier, a completely three-dimensional numerical model, SSIIM program, was used. The model solves 3-D Navier-Stokes equations and a bed load conservation equation. The model was applied to simulate local flow and scouring around a bridge pier in a large natural river with four piers. Computation for 1 day of flood condition was carried out to predict the maximum local scour depth. The results show that the SSIIM program can be used efficiently for simulating the scouring in natural rivers. The results also showed that among the various turbulence models, the k-ω model gives more reasonable results.