Abstract: This paper is concerned with the study of mineralogy
and engineering characteristics of soil materials derived from the
eastern part of Nile Delta. The clay minerals of the studied soil by
using X- ray diffraction are mainly illite (average 72.6 %) and
kaolinite (average 2.6 %), expandable portion in illite-smectite mixed
layer (average 7 %). Smectite is more abundant in fluviatile clays,
whereas kaolinite is more abundant in lagoonal clays. On the other
hand, illite and illite-smectite are more abundant in marine clays. The
geotechnical results show that the soil under study consists mainly of
about 0.3 % gravel, 5 % sand, 51.5 % silt and 42.2 % clay in average.
The average shrinkage limit attains 11 % whereas the average value
of the plasticity index is 23.4 %. The free swelling ranges from 40 %
to 75 % and has a value of 55 % giving an indication about the
inadequacy of such soil under foundations.
From a construction point of view, the soil under investigation
poses many problems even under light foundations due to the
swelling and shrinkage. Such swelling and shrinkage is due to the
high content of soil materials in the expandable clay minerals of illite
and smectite. Based on the results of the present and earlier studies,
trial application of soil stabilisation is recommended.
Abstract: An effect of rolling temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of an Al-Mg-Si alloy was studied. The material was rolled up to a true strain of ~0.7 at three different temperatures viz; room temperature, liquid propanol and liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen rolled sample exhibited superior properties with a yield and tensile strength of 332 MPa and 364 MPa, respectively, with a reasonably good ductility of ~9%. The liquid nitrogen rolled sample showed around 54 MPa increase in tensile strength without much reduction in the ductility as compared to the as received T6 condition alloy. The microstructural details revealed equiaxed grains in the annealed and solutionized sample and elongated grains in the rolled samples. In addition, the cryorolled samples exhibited fine grain structure compared to the room temperature rolled samples.
Abstract: In this paper, mathematical modeling of detonation in the ground is studied. Estimation of flow parameters such as velocity, maximum velocity, acceleration, maximum acceleration, shock pressure as a result of an explosion in the ground have been computed in an appropriate dynamic model approach. The variation of these parameters with the diameter of detonation place (L), density of earth or stone (¤ü), time decay of detonation (T), peak pressure (Pm), and time (t) have been analyzed. The model has been developed from the concept of underwater explosions [Refs. [1]-[3]] with appropriate changes to the present model requirements.
Abstract: In this paper, gate leakage current has been mitigated
by the use of novel nanoscale MOSFET with Source/Drain-to-Gate
Non-overlapped and high-k spacer structure for the first time. A
compact analytical model has been developed to study the gate
leakage behaviour of proposed MOSFET structure. The result
obtained has found good agreement with the Sentaurus Simulation.
Fringing gate electric field through the dielectric spacer induces
inversion layer in the non-overlap region to act as extended S/D
region. It is found that optimal Source/Drain-to-Gate Non-overlapped
and high-k spacer structure has reduced the gate leakage current to
great extent as compared to those of an overlapped structure. Further,
the proposed structure had improved off current, subthreshold slope
and DIBL characteristic. It is concluded that this structure solves the
problem of high leakage current without introducing the extra series
resistance.
Abstract: The Expert Witness Testimony in the Battered
Woman Syndrome Expert witness testimony (EWT) is a kind of
information given by an expert specialized in the field (here in BWS)
to the jury in order to help the court better understand the case. EWT
does not always work in favor of the battered women. Two main
decision-making models are discussed in the paper: the Mathematical
model and the Explanation model. In the first model, the jurors
calculate ″the importance and strength of each piece of evidence″
whereas in the second model they try to integrate the EWT with the
evidence and create a coherent story that would describe the crime.
The jury often misunderstands and misjudges battered women for
their action (or in this case inaction). They assume that these women
are masochists and accept being mistreated for if a man abuses a
woman constantly, she should and could divorce him or simply leave
at any time. The research in the domain found that indeed, expert
witness testimony has a powerful influence on juror’s decisions thus
its quality needs to be further explored. One of the important factors
that need further studies is a bias called the dispositionist worldview
(a belief that what happens to people is of their own doing). This
kind of attributional bias represents a tendency to think that a
person’s behavior is due to his or her disposition, even when the
behavior is clearly attributed to the situation. Hypothesis The
hypothesis of this paper is that if a juror has a dispositionist
worldview then he or she will blame the rape victim for triggering the
assault. The juror would therefore commit the fundamental
attribution error and believe that the victim’s disposition caused the
rape and not the situation she was in. Methods The subjects in the
study were 500 randomly sampled undergraduate students from
McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal and UQAM.
Dispositional Worldview was scored on the Dispositionist
Worldview Questionnaire. After reading the Rape Scenarios, each
student was asked to play the role of a juror and answer a
questionnaire consisting of 7 questions about the responsibility,
causality and fault of the victim. Results The results confirm the
hypothesis which states that if a juror has a dispositionist worldview
then he or she will blame the rape victim for triggering the assault.
By doing so, the juror commits the fundamental attribution error
because he will believe that the victim’s disposition, and not the
constraints or opportunities of the situation, caused the rape scenario.
Abstract: The present work presents the extraction of copper(II)
from sulphuric acid solutions with Sodium diethyldithiocarbamate
(SDDT), and six different organic diluents: Dichloromethane,
Chloroform, Carbon tetrachloride, Toluene, xylene and Cyclohexane,
were tested. The pair SDDT/Chloroform showed to be the most
selective in removing the copper cations, and hence was considered
throughout the experimental study.
The effects of operating parameters such as the initial concentration
of the extracting agent, the agitation time, the agitation speed and the
acid concentration were considered.
For an initial concentration of Cu (II) of 63 ppm in a 0.5 M sulphuric
acid solution, both with a mass of the extracting agent of 20 mg, an
extraction percentage of about 97.8 % and a distribution coefficient
of 44.42 were obtained, respectively, confirming the performance
of the SDDT-Chloroform pair.
Abstract: Unlike general-purpose processors, digital signal
processors (DSP processors) are strongly application-dependent. To
meet the needs for diverse applications, a wide variety of DSP
processors based on different architectures ranging from the
traditional to VLIW have been introduced to the market over the
years. The functionality, performance, and cost of these processors
vary over a wide range. In order to select a processor that meets the
design criteria for an application, processor performance is usually
the major concern for digital signal processing (DSP) application
developers. Performance data are also essential for the designers of
DSP processors to improve their design. Consequently, several DSP
performance benchmarks have been proposed over the past decade or
so. However, none of these benchmarks seem to have included recent
new DSP applications.
In this paper, we use a new benchmark that we recently developed
to compare the performance of popular DSP processors from Texas
Instruments and StarCore. The new benchmark is based on the
Selectable Mode Vocoder (SMV), a speech-coding program from the
recent third generation (3G) wireless voice applications. All
benchmark kernels are compiled by the compilers of the respective
DSP processors and run on their simulators. Weighted arithmetic
mean of clock cycles and arithmetic mean of code size are used to
compare the performance of five DSP processors.
In addition, we studied how the performance of a processor is
affected by code structure, features of processor architecture and
optimization of compiler. The extensive experimental data gathered,
analyzed, and presented in this paper should be helpful for DSP
processor and compiler designers to meet their specific design goals.
Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that one of the most
critical failure reasons of enterprise systems is the lack of knowledge
sharing and utilization across organizations. As a consequence, many
information systems researchers have paid attention to examining the
effect of absorptive capacity closely associated with knowledge
sharing and transferring on IS usage performance. A lack of
communications and interactions due to a lack of organizational
citizenship behavior might lead to weak absorptive capacity and thus
negatively influence knowledge sharing across organizations. In this
study, a theoretical model which delves into the relationship between
usage performance of enterprise systems and its determinants was
established.
Abstract: Artemia is one of the most conspicuous invertebrates
associated with aquaculture. It can be considered as a model
organism, offering numerous advantages for comprehensive and
multidisciplinary studies using morphologic or molecular methods.
Since DNA extraction is an important step of any molecular
experiment, a new and a rapid method of DNA extraction from adult
Artemia was described in this study. Besides, the efficiency of this
technique was compared with two widely used alternative techniques,
namely Chelex® 100 resin and SDS-chloroform methods. Data
analysis revealed that the new method is the easiest and the most cost
effective method among the other methods which allows a quick and
efficient extraction of DNA from the adult animal.
Abstract: Dengue, a disease found in most tropical and
subtropical areas of the world. It has become the most common
arboviral disease of humans. This disease is caused by any of four
serotypes of dengue virus (DEN1-DEN4). In many endemic
countries, the average age of getting dengue infection is shifting
upwards, dengue in pregnancy and infancy are likely to be
encountered more frequently. The dynamics of the disease is studied
by a compartmental model involving ordinary differential equations
for the pregnant, infant human and the vector populations. The
stability of each equilibrium point is given. The epidemic dynamic is
discussed. Moreover, the numerical results are shown for difference
values of dengue antibody.
Abstract: Calcium is very important for communication among
the neurons. It is vital in a number of cell processes such as secretion,
cell movement, cell differentiation. To reduce the system of reactiondiffusion
equations of [Ca2+] into a single equation, two theories
have been proposed one is excess buffer approximation (EBA) other
is rapid buffer approximation (RBA). The RBA is more realistic than
the EBA as it considers both the mobile and stationary endogenous
buffers. It is valid near the mouth of the channel. In this work we have
studied the effects of different types of buffers on calcium diffusion
under RBA. The novel thing studied is the effect of sodium ions on
calcium diffusion. The model has been made realistic by considering
factors such as variable [Ca2+], [Na+] sources, sodium-calcium
exchange protein(NCX), Sarcolemmal Calcium ATPase pump. The
proposed mathematical leads to a system of partial differential equations
which has been solved numerically to study the relationships
between different parameters such as buffer concentration, buffer
disassociation rate, calcium permeability. We have used Forward
Time Centred Space (FTCS) approach to solve the system of partial
differential equations.
Abstract: The impact of fixed speed squirrel cage type as well as
variable speed doubly fed induction generators (DFIG) on dynamic
performance of a multimachine power system has been investigated.
Detailed models of the various components have been presented and
the integration of asynchronous and synchronous generators has been
carried out through a rotor angle based transform. Simulation studies
carried out considering the conventional dynamic model of squirrel
cage asynchronous generators show that integration, as such, could
degrade to the AC system performance transiently. This article
proposes a frequency or power controller which can effectively
control the transients and restore normal operation of fixed speed
induction generator quickly. Comparison of simulation results
between classical cage and doubly-fed induction generators indicate
that the doubly fed induction machine is more adaptable to
multimachine AC system. Frequency controller installed in the DFIG
system can also improve its transient profile.
Abstract: A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect
of periodically use of garlic on performance and carcass
characteristics in broiler chickens. 240 1-day-old Ross broiler chicks
randomly allocated into the 10 dietary treatments (A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I and J) for 6 wk. Treatment A or control group, received basal
diet (based on standards of Ross management guidelines) without
supplementation of garlic powder while B, C and D dietary
treatments were basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 1 and 3% garlic
powder, respectively for the whole time of experiment (6 weeks).
Birds in group E, F and G were fed control diet supplemented with
0.5, 1 and 3% garlic powder, respectively just in their starter diet (0-
21d). Birds in three other treatments (H, I and J) received control diet
for the first 21 days and 0.5, 1 and 3% of garlic powder was added to
their finisher diets, respectively. 1 and 3% supplemented groups in
finisher period had better performance as compared with other
groups. Since present study conducted in optimum and antiseptic
conditions, it seems that better or more responses could be expected
in performance if the raising conditions would not be healthy.
Abstract: The objective of this work was to examine the changes
in non destructive properties caused by carbonation of CEM II
mortar. Samples of CEM II mortar were prepared and subjected to
accelerated carbonation at 20°C, 65% relative humidity and 20% CO2
concentration. We examined the evolutions of the gas permeability,
the thermal conductivity, the thermal diffusivity, the volume of the
solid phase by helium pycnometry, the longitudinal and transverse
ultrasonic velocities. The principal contribution of this work is that,
apart of the gas permeability, changes in other non destructive
properties have never been studied during the carbonation of cement
materials. These properties are important in predicting/measuring the
durability of reinforced concrete in CO2 environment. The
carbonation depth and the porosity accessible to water were also
reported in order to explain comprehensively the changes in non
destructive parameters.
Abstract: Attempts to add fibre and polyphenols (PPs) into
popular beverages present challenges related to the properties of
finished products such as smoothies. Consumer acceptability,
viscosity and phenolic composition of smoothies containing high
levels of fruit fibre (2.5-7.5 g per 300 mL serve) and PPs (250-750
mg per 300 mL serve) were examined. The changes in total
extractable PP, vitamin C content, and colour of selected smoothies
over a storage stability trial (4°C, 14 days) were compared. A set of
acidic aqueous model beverages were prepared to further examine
the effect of two different heat treatments on the stability and
extractability of PPs. Results show that overall consumer
acceptability of high fibre and PP smoothies was low, with average
hedonic scores ranging from 3.9 to 6.4 (on a 1-9 scale). Flavour,
texture and overall acceptability decreased as fibre and polyphenol
contents increased, with fibre content exerting a stronger effect.
Higher fibre content resulted in greater viscosity, with an elevated PP
content increasing viscosity only slightly. The presence of fibre also
aided the stability and extractability of PPs after heating. A reduction
of extractable PPs, vitamin C content and colour intensity of
smoothies was observed after a 14-day storage period at 4°C. Two
heat treatments (75°C for 45 min or 85°C for 1 min) that are
normally used for beverage production, did not cause significant
reduction of total extracted PPs. It is clear that high levels of added
fibre and PPs greatly influence the consumer appeal of smoothies,
suggesting the need to develop novel formulation and processing
methods if a satisfactory functional beverage is to be developed
incorporating these ingredients.
Abstract: Identifying and classifying intersections according to
severity is very important for implementation of safety related
counter measures and effective models are needed to compare and
assess the severity. Highway safety organizations have considered
intersection safety among their priorities. In spite of significant
advances in highways safety, the large numbers of crashes with high
severities still occur in the highways. Investigation of influential
factors on crashes enables engineers to carry out calculations in order
to reduce crash severity. Previous studies lacked a model capable of
simultaneous illustration of the influence of human factors, road,
vehicle, weather conditions and traffic features including traffic
volume and flow speed on the crash severity. Thus, this paper is
aimed at developing the models to illustrate the simultaneous
influence of these variables on the crash severity in urban highways.
The models represented in this study have been developed using
binary Logit Models. SPSS software has been used to calibrate the
models. It must be mentioned that backward regression method in
SPSS was used to identify the significant variables in the model.
Consider to obtained results it can be concluded that the main
factor in increasing of crash severity in urban highways are driver
age, movement with reverse gear, technical defect of the vehicle,
vehicle collision with motorcycle and bicycle, bridge, frontal impact
collisions, frontal-lateral collisions and multi-vehicle crashes in
urban highways which always increase the crash severity in urban
highways.
Abstract: The purpose of the current study is to gain insight into the relative role of professional self-image (PSI) for service providers among leader-member exchange (LMX), career success. Lack of studies demonstrated that PSI of service providers affect on their CS. So, it is necessary to, according to service providers- perspective, explore the relationship among LMX and CS in hospitality industry. The result of the current study can suggest strategic directions for hospitality practitioners in terms of constructing LMX relationship, so as to make service providers realize and build their PSI, and to promote their CS. Implications of these findings for hospitality implementations as well as future research directions are subsequently discussed.
Abstract: Educational games (EG) seem to have lots of potential due to digital games popularity and preferences of our younger generations of learners. However, most studies focus on game design and its effectiveness while little has been known about the factors that can affect users to accept or to reject EG for their learning. User acceptance research try to understand the determinants of information systems (IS) adoption among users by investigating both systems factors and users factors. Upon the lack of knowledge on acceptance factors for educational games, we seek to understand the issue. This study proposed a model of acceptance factors based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). We use original model (performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence) together with two new determinants (learning opportunities and enjoyment). We will also investigate the effect of gender and gaming experience that moderate the proposed factors.
Abstract: Analysis for the generalized thermoelastic Lamb
waves, which propagates in anisotropic thin plates in generalized
thermoelasticity, is presented employing normal mode expansion
method. The displacement and temperature fields are expressed by a
summation of the symmetric and antisymmetric thermoelastic modes
in the surface thermal stresses and thermal gradient free orthotropic
plate, therefore the theory is particularly appropriate for waveform
analyses of Lamb waves in thin anisotropic plates. The transient
waveforms excited by the thermoelastic expansion are analyzed for
an orthotropic thin plate. The obtained results show that the theory
provides a quantitative analysis to characterize anisotropic
thermoelastic stiffness properties of plates by wave detection. Finally
numerical calculations have been presented for a NaF crystal, and the
dispersion curves for the lowest modes of the symmetric and
antisymmetric vibrations are represented graphically at different
values of thermal relaxation time. However, the methods can be used
for other materials as well
Abstract: It is estimated that the total cost of abnormal
conditions to US process industries is around $20 billion dollars in
annual losses. The hydrotreatment (HDT) of diesel fuel in petroleum
refineries is a conversion process that leads to high profitable
economical returns. However, this is a difficult process to control
because it is operated continuously, with high hydrogen pressures
and it is also subject to disturbances in feed properties and catalyst
performance. So, the automatic detection of fault and diagnosis plays
an important role in this context. In this work, a hybrid approach
based on neural networks together with a pos-processing
classification algorithm is used to detect faults in a simulated HDT
unit. Nine classes (8 faults and the normal operation) were correctly
classified using the proposed approach in a maximum time of 5
minutes, based on on-line data process measurements.