Abstract: Attachment theory focuses on the bond that develops between child and caretaker and the consequences that this bond has on the childs future relationships. Adolescents attempt to define their identity by experiencing various risky behaviors. The first aim of the study was whether risk taking behavior differs according to attachment styles. The second was to examine risk taking behavior differences according to gender. The third aim of this study was to examine attachment X gender interaction effect for risk taking behavior. And final was to investigate attachment styles differences according to gender. Data were collected from 218 participants (114 female and 104 male) who are university students. The results of this study showed that attachment styles differentiated by risk taking behavior and males had higher risk taking score than females. It was also found out that there was significant attachment X gender interaction effect for risk taking behavior. And finally, the results showed that attachment styles differentiated according to gender.KeywordsAttachment style, risk taking
Abstract: Throughout the world, the Islamic way of banking and
financing is increasing. The same trend is also visible in Pakistan, where the Islamic banking sector is increasing in size and volume
each year. The question immediately arises as why the Pakistanis patronize the Islamic banking system? This study was carried out to
find whether following the Islamic rules in finance is the main factor for such selection or whether other factors such as customer service,
location, banking hour, physical facilities of the bank etc also have
importance. The study was carried by distributing questionnaire and
200 responses were collected from the clients of Islamic banks. The result showed that the service quality and other factors are as
important as following the Islamic rules for finance to retain old ustomers and catch new customers. The result is important and
Islamic banks can take actions accordingly to look after both the factors
Abstract: Multi-agent communication of Semantic Web
information cannot be realized without the need to reason with
ontology and agent locations. This is because for an agent to be able to
reason with an external semantic web ontology, it must know where
and how to access to that ontology. Similarly, for an agent to be able to
communicate with another agent, it must know where and how to send
a message to that agent. In this paper we propose a framework of an
agent which can reason with ontology and agent locations in order to
perform reasoning with multiple distributed ontologies and perform
communication with other agents on the semantic web. The agent
framework and its communication mechanism are formulated entirely
in meta-logic.
Abstract: Land use change, if not based on proper scientific
investigation affects other physical, chemical, and biological
properties of soil and leading to increased destruction and erosion. It
was imperative to study the effects of changing rangelands to
farmlands on some Soil quality indexes. Undisturbed soil samples
were collected from the depths of 0-10 and 10-30 centimeter in
pasture with good vegetation cover(GP), pasture with medium
vegetation cover(MP), abandoned dry land farming(ADF) and
degraded dry land farming(DDF) land uses in Ghareh Aghaj
watershed of Isfahan province. The results revealed that organic
matter(OM), cation exchange capacity(CEC) and available
potassium(AK) decreasing in the depth of 0-10 centimeter were 66.6,
38.8 and 70 percent and in the depth of 10-30 centimeter were 58,
61.4 and 83.5 percent respectively in DDF comparison with GP.
Concerning to the results, it seems that land use change can decrease
soil quality and increase soil degradation and lead in undesirable
consequences.
Abstract: World has entered in 21st century. The technology of
computer graphics and digital cameras is prevalent. High resolution
display and printer are available. Therefore high resolution images
are needed in order to produce high quality display images and high
quality prints. However, since high resolution images are not usually
provided, there is a need to magnify the original images. One
common difficulty in the previous magnification techniques is that of
preserving details, i.e. edges and at the same time smoothing the data
for not introducing the spurious artefacts. A definitive solution to this
is still an open issue. In this paper an image magnification using
adaptive interpolation by pixel level data-dependent geometrical
shapes is proposed that tries to take into account information about
the edges (sharp luminance variations) and smoothness of the image.
It calculate threshold, classify interpolation region in the form of
geometrical shapes and then assign suitable values inside
interpolation region to the undefined pixels while preserving the
sharp luminance variations and smoothness at the same time.
The results of proposed technique has been compared qualitatively
and quantitatively with five other techniques. In which the qualitative
results show that the proposed method beats completely the Nearest
Neighbouring (NN), bilinear(BL) and bicubic(BC) interpolation. The
quantitative results are competitive and consistent with NN, BL, BC
and others.
Abstract: There are few studies on eggshell of leatherback turtle
which is endangered species in Thailand. This study was focusing on
the ultrastructure and elemental composition of leatherback turtle
eggshells collected from Andaman Sea Shore, Thailand during the
nesting season using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Three
eggshell layers of leatherback turtle; the outer cuticle layer or
calcareous layer, the middle layer or middle multistrata layer and the
inner fibrous layer were recognized. The outer calcareous layer was
thick and porosity which consisted of loose nodular units of various
crystal shapes and sizes. The loose attachment between these units
resulted in numerous spaces and openings. The middle layer was
compact thick with several multistrata and contained numerous
openings connecting to both outer cuticle layer and inner fibrous
layer. The inner fibrous layer was compact and thin, and composed of
numerous reticular fibers. Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis
detector revealed energy spectrum of X-rays character emitted from
all elements on each layer. The percentages of all elements were
found in the following order: carbon (C) > oxygen (O) > calcium
(Ca) > sulfur (S) > potassium (K) > aluminum (Al) > iodine (I) >
silicon (Si) > chlorine (Cl) > sodium (Na) > fluorine (F) >
phosphorus (P) > magnesium (Mg). Each layer consisted of high
percentage of CaCO3 (approximately 98%) implying that it was
essential for turtle embryonic development. A significant difference
was found in the percentages of Ca and Mo in the 3layers. Moreover,
transition metal, metal and toxic non-metal contaminations were
found in leatherback turtle eggshell samples. These were palladium
(Pd), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), lead (Pb), and
bromine (Br). The contamination elements were seen in the outer
layers except for Mo. All elements were readily observed and
mapped using Smiling program. X-ray images which mapped the
location of all elements were showed. Calcium containing in the
eggshell appeared in high contents and was widely distributing in
clusters of the outer cuticle layer to form CaCO3 structure. Moreover,
the accumulation of Na and Cl was observed to form NaCl which was
widely distributing in 3 eggshell layers. The results from this study
would be valuable on assessing the emergent success in this
endangered species.
Abstract: The effect of different tempering temperatures and heat treatment times on the corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steels in oxalic acid was studied in this work using conventional weight loss and electrochemical measurements. Typical 304 and 316 stainless steel samples were tempered at 150oC, 250oC and 350oC after being austenized at 1050oC for 10 minutes. These samples were then immersed in 1.0M oxalic acid and their weight losses were measured at every five days for 30 days. The results show that corrosion of both types of ASS samples increased with an increase in tempering temperature and time and this was due to the precipitation of chromium carbides at the grain boundaries of these metals. Electrochemical results also confirm that the 304 ASS is more susceptible to corrosion than 316 ASS in this medium. This is attributed to the molybdenum in the composition of the latter. The metallographic images of these samples showed non–uniform distribution of precipitated chromium carbides at the grain boundaries of these metals and unevenly distributed carbides and retained austenite phases which cause galvanic effects in the medium.
Abstract: The bioassay-guided isolation and purification of an
ethyl acetate extract of Aspergillus terreus MC751 led to the
characterization of butyrolactone I as an antidiabetic and antioxidant.
The antidiabetic activity of butyrolactone I was evaluated by α-
glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition assays. Butyrolactone I
demonstrated significant concentration-dependent, mixed-type
inhibitory activity against yeast α-glucosidase with an IC50 of 54μM.
However, the compound exhibited less activity against rat intestinal
α-glucosidase and α-amylase. This is the first report on α-glucosidase
inhibitory activity of butyrolactone I. The antioxidative activity of
butyrolactone I was evaluated based on scavenging effects on 1,1-
diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (IC50 =51 μM) and hydrogen
peroxide (IC50= 141 μM) radicals as well as a reducing power assay.
The results suggest that butyrolactone I is a promising antidiabetic as
well as antioxidant and should be considered for clinical trials.
Abstract: Let p be a prime number, Fp be a finite field and t ∈ F*p= Fp- {0}. In this paper we obtain some properties of ellipticcurves Ep,t: y2= y2= x3- t2x over Fp. In the first sectionwe give some notations and preliminaries from elliptic curves. In the second section we consider the rational points (x, y) on Ep,t. Wegive a formula for the number of rational points on Ep,t over Fnp for an integer n ≥ 1. We also give some formulas for the sum of x?andy?coordinates of the points (x, y) on Ep,t. In the third section weconsider the rank of Et: y2= x3- t2x and its 2-isogenous curve Et over Q. We proved that the rank of Etand Etis 2 over Q. In the last section we obtain some formulas for the sums Σt∈F?panp,t for an integer n ≥ 1, where ap,t denote the trace of Frobenius.
Abstract: A straightforward and intuitive combination of single simulations into an aggregated master-simulation is not trivial. There are lots of problems, which trigger-specific difficulties during the modeling and execution of such a simulation. In this paper we identify these problems and aim to solve them by mapping the task to the field of multi agent systems. The solution is a new meta-model named AGENTMAP, which is able to mitigate most of the problems and to support intuitive modeling at the same time. This meta-model will be introduced and explained on basis of an example from the e-commerce domain.
Abstract: Polylactic acid-g-polyvinyl acetate (PLLA-g-PVAc)
was used as a compatibilizer for 50/50 starch/PLLA blend. PLLA-g-
PVAc with different mol% of PVAc contents were prepared by
grafting PVAc onto PLLA backbone via free radical polymerization
in solution process. Various conditions such as type and the amount
of initiator, monomer concentration, polymerization time and
temperature were studied. Results showed that the highest mol% of
PVAc grafting (16 mol%) was achieved by conducting graft
copolymerization in toluene at 110°C for 10 h using DCP as an
initiator. Chemical structure of the PVAc grafted PLLA was
confirmed by 1H NMR. Blending of modified starch and PLLA in the
presence compatibilizer with different amounts and mol% PVAc was
acquired using internal mixer at 160°C for 15 min. Effects of PVAc
content and the amount of compatibilizer on mechanical properties of
polymer blend were studied. Results revealed that tensile strength and
tensile modulus of polymer blend with higher PVAc grafting content
compatibilizer showed better properties than that of lower PVAc
grafting content compatibilizer. The amount of compatibilizer was
found optimized in the range of 0.5-1.0 Wt% depending on the mol%
PVAc.
Abstract: In the competitive environment of aircraft industries it becomes absolutely necessary to improve the efficiency, performance of the aircrafts to reduce the development and operating costs considerably, in order to capitalize the market. An important contribution to improve the efficiency and performance can be
achieved by decreasing the aircraft weight through considerable
usage of composite materials in primary aircraft structures. In this study, a type of composite material called Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Plastic (CFRP) is explored for the usage is aircraft skin panels. Even
though there were plenty of studies and research has been already
carried out, here a practical example of an aircraft skin panel is taken
and substantiated the benefits of composites material usage over the
metallic skin panel. A crown skin panel of a commercial aircraft is
designed using both metal and composite materials. Stress analysis
has been carried out for both and margin of safety is estimated for the
critical load cases. The skin panels are compared for manufacturing,
tooling, assembly and cost parameters. Detail step by step comparison between metal and composite constructions are studied
and results are tabulated for better understanding.
Abstract: White scar oyster (Crassostrea belcheri) is often eaten
raw and being the leading vehicle for foodborne disease, especially
Salmonella Weltevreden which exposed the prominent and most
resistant to radiation. Gamma irradiation at a low dose of 1 kGy was
enough to eliminate S. Weltevreden contaminated in oyster meat at a
level up to 5 log CFU/g while it still retain the raw characteristics and
equivalent sensory quality as the non-irradiated one. Process
development of ready-to-eat chilled oyster meat was conducted by
shucking the meat, individually packed in plastic bags, subjected to 1
kGy gamma radiation at chilled condition and then stored in 4oC
refrigerated temperature. Microbiological determination showed the
absence of S. Weltevreden (5 log CFU/g initial inoculated) along the
whole storage time of 30 days. Sensory evaluation indicated the
decreasing in sensory scores along storage time which determining
the product shelf life to be 18 days compared to 15 days of nonirradiated
one. The most advantage of developed process was to
provide the safe raw oyster to consumers and in addition sensory
quality retained and 3-day extension shelf life also exist.
Abstract: Firstly, this study briefly presents the current situation that there exists a vast gap between current Chinese and Japanese seismic design specification for bridge pile foundation in liquefiable and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading ground; The Chinese and Japanese seismic design method and technical detail for bridge pile foundation in liquefying and lateral spreading ground are described and compared systematically and comprehensively, the methods of determining coefficient of subgrade reaction and its reduction factor as well as the computing mode of the applied force on pile foundation due to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading soil in Japanese design specification are especially introduced. Subsequently, the comparison indicates that the content of Chinese seismic design specification for bridge pile foundation in liquefiable and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading ground, just presenting some qualitative items, is too general and lacks systematicness and maneuverability. Finally, some defects of seismic design specification in China are summarized, so the improvement and revision of specification in the field turns out to be imperative for China, some key problems of current Chinese specifications are generalized and the corresponding improvement suggestions are proposed.
Abstract: A series of Ti based shape memory alloys with
composition of Ti50Ni49Cr1, Ti50Ni47Cr3 and Ti50Ni45Cr5 were
developed by vacuum arc-melting under a purified argon atmosphere.
The histometric and corrosion evaluation of Ti-Ni-Cr shape memory
alloys have been considered in this research work. The alloys were
developed by vacuum arc melting and implanted subcutaneously in
rabbits for 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Metallic implants were embedded in
order to determine the outcome of implantation on histometric and
corrosion evaluation of Ti-Ni-Cr metallic strips. Encapsulating
membrane formation around the alloys was minimal in the case of all
materials. After histomorphometric analyses it was possible to
demonstrate that there were no statistically significant differences
between the materials. Corrosion rate was also determined in this
study which is within acceptable range. The results showed the Ti-
Ni-Cr alloy was neither cytotoxic, nor have any systemic reaction on
living system in any of the test performed. Implantation shows good
compatibility and a potential of being used directly in vivo system.
Abstract: Martensitic stainless steels have been extensively used for their good corrosion resistance and better mechanical properties. Heat treatment was suggested as one of the most excellent ways to this regard; hence, it affects the microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the steel. In the current research work the microstructural changes and corrosion behavior in an AISI 420A stainless steel exposed to temperatures in the 980-1035oC range were investigated. The heat treatment is carried out in vacuum furnace within the said temperature range. The quenching of the samples was carried out in oil, brine and water media. The formation and stability of passive film was studied by Open Circuit Potential, Potentiodynamic polarization and Electrochemical Scratch Tests. The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy results simulated with Equivalent Electrical Circuit suggested bilayer structure of outer porous and inner barrier oxide films. The quantitative data showed thick inner barrier oxide film retarded electrochemical reactions. Micrographs of the quenched samples showed sigma and chromium carbide phases which prove the corrosion resistance of steel alloy.
Abstract: Field mapping activity for an active volcano mainly in
the Torrid Zone is usually hampered by several problems such as steep
terrain and bad atmosphere conditions. In this paper we present a
simple solution for such problem by a combination Synthetic Aperture
Radar (SAR) and geostatistical methods. By this combination, we
could reduce the speckle effect from the SAR data and then estimate
roughness distribution of the pyroclastic flow deposits. The main
purpose of this study is to detect spatial distribution of new pyroclastic
flow deposits termed as P-zone accurately using the β°data from two
RADARSAT-1 SAR level-0 data. Single scene of Hyperion data and
field observation were used for cross-validation of the SAR results.
Mt. Merapi in central Java, Indonesia, was chosen as a study site and
the eruptions in May-June 2006 were examined. The P-zones were
found in the western and southern flanks. The area size and the longest
flow distance were calculated as 2.3 km2 and 6.8 km, respectively. The
grain size variation of the P-zone was mapped in detail from fine to
coarse deposits regarding the C-band wavelength of 5.6 cm.
Abstract: Image data holds a large amount of different context
information. However, as of today, these resources remain largely
untouched. It is thus the aim of this paper to present a basic technical
framework which allows for a quick and easy exploitation of context
information from image data especially by non-expert users.
Furthermore, the proposed framework is discussed in detail
concerning important social and ethical issues which demand special
requirements in system design. Finally, a first sensor prototype is
presented which meets the identified requirements. Additionally,
necessary implications for the software and hardware design of the
system are discussed, rendering a sensor system which could be
regarded as a good, acceptable and justifiable technical and thereby
enabling the extraction of context information from image data.
Abstract: Microwave energy is a superior alternative to several other thermal treatments. Extraction techniques are widely employed for the isolation of bioactive compounds and vegetable oils from oil seeds. Among the different and new available techniques, microwave pretreatment of seeds is a simple and desirable method for production of high quality vegetable oils. Microwave pretreatment for oil extraction has many advantages as follow: improving oil extraction yield and quality, direct extraction capability, lower energy consumption, faster processing time and reduced solvent levels compared with conventional methods. It allows also for better retention and availability of desirable nutraceuticals, such as phytosterols and tocopherols, canolol and phenolic compounds in the extracted oil such as rapeseed oil. This can be a new step to produce nutritional vegetable oils with improved shelf life because of high antioxidant content.
Abstract: The need to evaluate and understand the natural
drainage pattern in a flood prone, and fast developing environment is
of paramount importance. This information will go a long way to
help the town planners to determine the drainage pattern, road
networks and areas where prominent structures are to be located. This
research work was carried out with the aim of studying the Bayelsa
landscape topography using digitized topographic information, and to
model the natural drainage flow pattern that will aid the
understanding and constructions of workable drainages. To achieve
this, digitize information of elevation and coordinate points were
extracted from a global imagery map. The extracted information was
modeled into 3D surfaces. The result revealed that the average
elevation for Bayelsa State is 12 m above sea level. The highest
elevation is 28 m, and the lowest elevation 0 m, along the coastline.
In Yenagoa the capital city of Bayelsa were a detail survey was
carried out showed that average elevation is 15 m, the highest
elevation is 25 m and lowest is 3 m above the mean sea level. The
regional elevation in Bayelsa, showed a gradation decrease from the
North Eastern zone to the South Western Zone. Yenagoa showed an
observed elevation lineament, were low depression is flanked by high
elevation that runs from the North East to the South west. Hence,
future drainages in Yenagoa should be directed from the high
elevation, from South East toward the North West and from the
North West toward South East, to the point of convergence which is
at the center that flows from South East toward the North West.
Bayelsa when considered on a regional Scale, the flow pattern is from
the North East to the South West, and also North South. It is
recommended that in the event of any large drainage construction at
municipal scale, it should be directed from North East to the South
West or from North to South. Secondly, detail survey should be
carried out to ascertain the local topography and the drainage pattern
before the design and construction of any drainage system in any part
of Bayelsa.