Abstract: Microbial production of antimicrobials as biopreservatives is the major area of focus nowadays due to increased interest of consumers towards natural and safe preservation of ready to eat food products. The agro-industrial byproduct based medium and optimized process conditions can contribute in economical production of bacteriocins. Keeping this in view, the present investigation was carried out on agro-industrial byproducts utilization for the production of bacteriocin using Enterococcus faecium BS13 isolated from local fermented food. Different agro-industrial byproduct based carbon sources (whey, potato starch liquor, kinnow peel, deoiledrice bran and molasses), nitrogen sources (soya okra, pea pod and corn steep liquor), metal ions and surfactants were tested for optimal bacteriocin production. The effect of various process parameters such as pH, temperature, inoculum level, agitation and time were also tested on bacteriocin production. The optimized medium containing whey, supplemented with 4%corn steep liquor and polysorbate-80 displayed maximum bacteriocin activity with 2% inoculum, at pH 6.5, temperature 40oC under shaking conditions (100 rpm).
Abstract: Bacteria flora of Clarias gariepinus collected from two natural habitats namely Owena River (freshwater) and Igbokoda lagoon (brackish water) were examined using standard microbiological procedures. Thirteen bacterial species were identified. The result indicated that from the identified bacteria isolated, Vibrio sp, Proteus sp. Shigella sp. and E. coli were present in both habitats (fresh and brackish waters). Others were habitat-selective such as Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp, Enterococcus sp, Staphylococcus sp. that were found only in freshwater habitat. While Branhamella sp, Streptococcus sp. and Micrococcus sp. were found in brackish water habitat. Bacteria load from Owena river (freshwater) was found to be the highest load recorded at 6.21 x 104cfu. T-test analysis also revealed that there was a marked significant difference between bacterial load in guts of sampled Clarias from fresh water and brackish water habitats.
Abstract: We study the existence of positive solutions to the three
points difference-summation boundary value problem. We show the
existence of at least one positive solution if f is either superlinear or
sublinear by applying the fixed point theorem due to Krasnoselskii
in cones.
Abstract: Economic growth always correlate positively with the
magnitude of the unemployment rate. This is caused by labor which
one of important variable to keep growth in the real sector of the
region. Meanwhile, the economic structure in districts of Jember
showed an increase of economic activity began to shift towards the
industrial sector and some other economic sectors, so they have an
affects to considerations for policy makers to increase economic
growth in Jember as an autonomous region in East Java Province. At
the fact, SMEs is among the factors driving economic growth in the
region. This is shown by the high amount of SMEs. However,
employment in the sector grew slightly slowed. It is caused by a lack
of productivity in SMEs. Through the analysis of the transformation of
economic structure theory, and the theory of Triple Helix using
descriptive analytical method Location Quotient and Shift - Share,
found that the results of the economic structure in Jember slowly
shifting from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector, because it
is dominated by trade sector, hotel and restaurant sector. In addition,
SMEs is the potential sector of economic growth in Jember. While to
maximizing role and functions of the institution's Research and
Development Center of SMEs, there are three points to be known, that
are Business Landscape, Business Architecture and Value Added.
Abstract: Asphalt concrete pavements gradually lose their skid resistance causing safety problems especially under wet conditions and high driving speeds. In order to enact the actual field polishing and wearing process of asphalt pavement surfaces in a laboratory setting, several laboratory-scale accelerated polishing devices were developed by different agencies. To mimic the actual process, friction and texture measuring devices are needed to quantify surface deterioration at different polishing intervals that reflect different stages of the pavement life. The test could still be considered lengthy and to some extent labor-intensive. Therefore, there is a need to come up with another method that can assist in investigating the bituminous pavement surface characteristics in a practical and time-efficient test procedure.
The purpose of this paper is to utilize a well-developed image analysis technique to characterize asphalt pavement surfaces without the need to use conventional friction and texture measuring devices in an attempt to shorten and simplify the polishing procedure in the lab.
Promising findings showed the possibility of using image analysis in lieu of the labor-sensitive-variable-in-nature friction and texture measurements. It was found that the exposed aggregate surface area of asphalt specimens made from limestone and gravel aggregates produced solid evidence of the validity of this method in describing asphalt pavement surfaces. Image analysis results correlated well with the British Pendulum Numbers (BPN), Polish Values (PV) and Mean Texture Depth (MTD) values.
Abstract: Based on the kinematic approach of limit analysis, a full set of upper bound solutions for the stability of homogeneous rock slopes subjected to tension cracks are obtained. The generalized Hoek-Brown failure criterion is employed to describe the non-linear strength envelope of rocks. In this paper, critical failure mechanisms are determined for cracks of known depth but unspecified location, cracks of known location but unknown depth, and cracks of unspecified location and depth. It is shown that there is a nearly up to 50% drop in terms of the stability factors for the rock slopes intersected by a tension crack compared with intact ones. Tables and charts of solutions in dimensionless forms are presented for ease of use by practitioners.
Abstract: The mechanism for extraction bioactive compounds
from plant matrix is essential for optimizing the extraction process. As
a benchmark technique, a soxhlet extraction has been utilized for
discussing the mechanism and compared with an accelerated water
extraction. The trends of both techniques show that the process
involves extraction and degradation. The highest yields of 6-, 8-,
10-gingerols and 6-shogaol in soxhlet extraction were 13.948, 7.12,
10.312 and 2.306 mg/g, respectively. The optimum 6-, 8-,
10-gingerols and 6-shogaol extracted by the accelerated water
extraction at 140oC were 68.97±3.95 mg/g at 3min, 18.98±3.04 mg/g
at 5min, 5.167±2.35 mg/g at 3min and 14.57±6.27 mg/g at 3min,
respectively. The effect of temperature at 3mins shows that the
concentration of 6-shogaol increased rapidly as decreasing the
recovery of 6-gingerol.
Abstract: A study to estimate the size of the cabin and major
aircraft components as well as detect and avoid interference between
internally placed components and the external surface, during the
conceptual design synthesis and optimisation to explore the design
space of a BWB, was conducted. Sizing of components follows the
Bradley cabin sizing and rubber engine scaling procedures to size
the cabin and engine respectively. The interference detection and
avoidance algorithm relies on the ability of the Class Shape Transform
parameterisation technique to generate polynomial functions of the
surfaces of a BWB aircraft configuration from the sizes of the
cabin and internal objects using few variables. Interference detection
is essential in packaging of non-conventional configuration like
the BWB because of the non-uniform airfoil-shaped sections and
resultant varying internal space. The unique configuration increases
the need for a methodology to prevent objects from being placed in
locations that do not sufficiently enclose them within the geometry.
Abstract: In this study, biodiesel from used cooking oil was produced as purified by washing with water (water wash) and amberlite (dry wash). The work presents the results of short term tests on performance characteristics of diesel engine using both biodiesel-fuel samples. In this investigation, the water wash biodiesel and dry wash biodiesel and diesel were compared for performance using a four-cylinder diesel engine. The torque, brake power, specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency were analyzed. The tests showed that in all cases, dry wash biodiesel performed marginally poorer compared to water wash biodiesel. Except for brake thermal efficiency, diesel fuel had better engine performance characteristics compared to the biodiesel-fuel samples. According to these results, dry washing of biodiesel has a marginal effect on engine performance.
Abstract: Aluminum Matrix Composites reinforced with
nanocrystalline Ni3Al carbon-coated intermetallic particles, were
synthesized by powder metallurgy. Powder mixture of aluminum
with 0.5-volume fraction of reinforcement particles was compacted
by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique and the compared with
conventional sintering process. The better results for SPS technique
were obtained in 520ºC-5kN-3min.The hardness (70.5±8 HV) and the
elastic modulus (95 GPa) were evaluated in function of sintering
conditions for SPS technique; it was found that the incorporation of
these kind of reinforcement particles in aluminum matrix improve its
mechanical properties. The densities were about 94% and 97% of the
theoretical density. The carbon coating avoided the interfacial
reaction between matrix-particle at high temperature (520°C) without
show composition change either intermetallic dissolution.
Abstract: Hydrological modelling plays a crucial role in the planning and management of water resources, most especially in water stressed regions where the need to effectively manage the available water resources is of critical importance. However, due to the complex, nonlinear and dynamic behaviour of hydro-climatic interactions, achieving reliable modelling of water resource systems and accurate projection of hydrological parameters are extremely challenging. Although a significant number of modelling techniques (process-based and data-driven) have been developed and adopted in that regard, the field of hydrological modelling is still considered as one that has sluggishly progressed over the past decades. This is majorly as a result of the identification of some degree of uncertainty in the methodologies and results of techniques adopted. In recent times, evolutionary computation (EC) techniques have been developed and introduced in response to the search for efficient and reliable means of providing accurate solutions to hydrological related problems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the underlying principles, methodological needs and applications of a promising evolutionary computation modelling technique – genetic programming (GP). It examines the specific characteristics of the technique which makes it suitable to solving hydrological modelling problems. It discusses the opportunities inherent in the application of GP in water related-studies such as rainfall estimation, rainfall-runoff modelling, streamflow forecasting, sediment transport modelling, water quality modelling and groundwater modelling among others. Furthermore, the means by which such opportunities could be harnessed in the near future are discussed. In all, a case for total embracement of GP and its variants in hydrological modelling studies is made so as to put in place strategies that would translate into achieving meaningful progress as it relates to modelling of water resource systems, and also positively influence decision-making by relevant stakeholders.
Abstract: Concrete-filled-steel-tube (CFST) columns are becoming increasingly popular owing to the superior behavior contributed by the composite action. However, this composite action cannot be fully developed because of different dilation properties between steel tube and concrete. During initial compression, there will be de-bonding between the constitutive materials. As a result, the strength, initial stiffness and ductility of CFST columns reduce significantly. To resolve this problem, external confinement in the form of spirals is proposed to improve the interface bonding. In this paper, a total of 14CFST columns with high-strength as well as ultra-high-strength concrete in-filled were fabricated and tested under uni-axial compression. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the proposed spirals can improve the strength, initial stiffness, ductility and the interface bonding condition of CFST columns by restraining the lateral expansion of steel tube and core concrete. Moreover, the failure modes of confined core concrete change due to the strong confinement provided by spirals.
Abstract: A group of 10 dogs (group A) with Periodontal Disease in the third stage, were subjected to regenerative therapy of periodontal tissues, by use of nano hydroxy apatite (NHA). These animals induced by general anesthesia, where treated by ultrasonic scaling, root planning, and at the end by a mucogingival flap in which it was applied NHA. The flap was closed and sutured with simple steps. Another group of 10 dogs (group B), control group, was treated only by scaling and root planning. No patient was subjected to antibiotic therapy. After three months, a check was made by inspection of the oral cavity, radiography and bone biopsy at the alveolar level. Group A showed a total restitutio ad integrum of the periodontal structures, and in group B still mild gingivitis in 70% of cases and 30% of the state remains unchanged. Numerous experimental studies both in animals and humans have documented that the grafts of porous hydroxyapatite are rapidly invaded by fibrovascular tissue which is subsequently converted into mature lamellar bone tissue by activating osteoblast. Since we acted on the removal of necrotic cementum and rehabilitating the root tissue by polishing without intervention in the ligament but only on anatomical functional interface of cement-blasts, we can connect the positive evolution of the clinical-only component of the cement that could represent this perspective, the only reason that Periodontal Disease become a Cement Disease, while all other clinical elements as nothing more than a clinical pathological accompanying.
Abstract: This paper presents a Gaussian process model-based
short-term electric load forecasting. The Gaussian process model is
a nonparametric model and the output of the model has Gaussian
distribution with mean and variance. The multiple Gaussian process
models as every hour ahead predictors are used to forecast future
electric load demands up to 24 hours ahead in accordance with the
direct forecasting approach. The separable least-squares approach that
combines the linear least-squares method and genetic algorithm is
applied to train these Gaussian process models. Simulation results
are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed electric
load forecasting.
Abstract: This paper presents a nonparametric identification of
continuous-time nonlinear systems by using a Gaussian process
(GP) model. The GP prior model is trained by artificial bee colony
algorithm. The nonlinear function of the objective system is estimated
as the predictive mean function of the GP, and the confidence
measure of the estimated nonlinear function is given by the predictive
covariance of the GP. The proposed identification method is applied
to modeling of a simplified electric power system. Simulation results
are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Abstract: Material damages dynamic analysis is difficult to deal with different material geometry and mechanism. In addition, it is difficult to measure the dynamic behavior of cracks, debond and delamination inside the material. Different simulation methods are developed in recent years for different physical features of mechanical systems like vibration and acoustic. Nonlinear fractures are analyzed and identified for different locations in this paper. The main idea of this work is to perform dynamic analysis on different types of materials (from normal homogeneous material to complex composite laminates). Technical factors like cracks, voids, interfaces and the damages’ locations are evaluated. In this project the modal analysis is performed on different types of materials. The results could be helpful in finding modal frequencies, natural frequencies, Time domain and fast Fourier transform (FFT) in industrial applications.
Abstract: The cellulose was extracted from pomelo peel and an
etherification reaction used for converting cellulose to carboxymethyl
cellulose (CMC). The pomelo peel was refluxed with 0.5 M HCl and 1
M NaOH solution at 90°C for 1 h and 2 h, respectively. The cellulose
was bleached with calcium hypochlorite and used as precursor. The
precursor was soaked in mixed solution between isopropyl alcohol and
40%w/v NaOH for 12 h. After that, chloroacetic acid was added and
reacted at 55°C for 6 h. The optimum condition was 5 g of cellulose:
0.25 mole of NaOH : 0.07 mole of ClCH2COOH with 78.00% of yield.
Moreover, the product had 0.54 of degree of substitution (DS).
Abstract: The work involves develops attended by a numerical
execution of the eXtend Finite Element Method premises a
measurement by the fracture process cracked so many cracked plates
an application will be processed for the calculation of the stress
intensity factor SIF. In the first we give in statically part the
distribution of stress, displacement field and strain of composite plate
in two cases uncrack/edge crack, also in dynamical part the first six
modes shape. Secondly, we calculate Stress Intensity Factor SIF for
different orientation angle θ of central crack with length (2a=0.4mm)
in plan strain condition, KI and KII are obtained for mode I and mode
II respectively using X-FEM method. Finally from crack inclined
involving mixed modes results, the comparison we chose dangerous
inclination and the best crack angle when K is minimal.
Abstract: In Knowledge and Data Engineering field, relational
database is the best repository to store data in a real world. It has
been using around the world more than eight decades. Normalization
is the most important process for the analysis and design of relational
databases. It aims at creating a set of relational tables with minimum
data redundancy that preserve consistency and facilitate correct
insertion, deletion, and modification. Normalization is a major task in
the design of relational databases. Despite its importance, very few
algorithms have been developed to be used in the design of
commercial automatic normalization tools. It is also rare technique to
do it automatically rather manually. Moreover, for a large and
complex database as of now, it make even harder to do it manually.
This paper presents a new complete automated relational database
normalization method. It produces the directed graph and spanning
tree, first. It then proceeds with generating the 2NF, 3NF and also
BCNF normal forms. The benefit of this new algorithm is that it can
cope with a large set of complex function dependencies.
Abstract: This paper presents the experimental results on role of
ionic solutions affect water treeing propagation in cross-linked
polyethylene insulation for high voltage cable. To study the water
treeing expansion due to the ionic solutions, discs of 4mm thickness
and 4cm diameter were taken from 115 kV XLPE insulation cable
and were used as test specimen in this study. Ionic solutions
composed of CuSO4, FeSO4, Na2SO4 and K2SO4 were used. Each
specimen was immersed in 0.1 mole ionic solutions and was tested
for 120 hrs. under a voltage stress at 7 kV AC rms, 1000 Hz. The
results show that Na2SO4 and CuSO4solutions play an important role
in the expansion of water treeing and cause degradation of the crosslinked
polyethylene (XLPE) in the presence of the applied electric
field.