Abstract: In this study, artificial limestone brick samples are produced by using wood sawdust wastes (WSW) having different grades of sizes and limestone powder waste (LPW). The thermo-elastic properties of produced brick samples in various WSW amounts are investigated. At 30% WSW replacement with LPW in the brick sample the thermal conductivity value is effectively reduced and the reduction in the thermal conductivity value of brick sample at 30% WSW replacement with LPW is about 38.9% as compared with control sample. The energy conservation in buildings by using LPW and WSW in masonry brick material production having low thermal conductivity reduces energy requirements. A strong relationship is also found among the thermal conductivity, unit weight and ultrasonic pulse velocity values of brick samples produced. It shows a potential to be used for walls, wooden board substitute, alternative to the concrete blocks, ceiling panels, sound barrier panels, absorption materials etc.
Abstract: In biomedical implant field, a new formula is given
for the study of Radio Frequency power attenuation by simultaneous
effects of side and angular misalignment of the supply/data transfer
coils. A confrontation with the practical measurements done into a
Faraday cage, allowed a checking of the obtained theoretical results.
The DC supply systems without material connection and the data
transmitters used in the case of biomedical implants, can be well
dimensioned by taking into account the possibility of power
attenuation by misalignment of transfer coils
Abstract: Development of microprocessor controlled sensor for measurement of wind speed and direction is the aim of this study. Electrical circuits and software were developed to the existing electromechanical part of the sensor TM-W2 becoming the properties of so-called smart sensor. The measured data about wind speed (sensitivity 0.01 m/s) and direction (0-360° by step 10°) are transmitted as 16-bit information. The connection between sensor and control unit is realized by radio communication (FM 433 MHz). Transition range is 220 m if used Quad type antenna. This concept provides substitution of actual cable systems by wireless ones.
Abstract: This paper presents the study of strengthening R/C
beams with large circular and square opening located at flexure zone
by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates. A total of
five beams were tested to failure under four point loading to
investigate the structural behavior including crack patterns, failure
mode, ultimate load and load deflection behaviour. Test results show
that large opening at flexure reduces the beam capacity and stiffness;
and increases cracking and deflection. A strengthening configuration
was designed for each un-strengthened beams based on their
respective crack patterns. CFRP laminates remarkably restore the
beam capacity of beam with large circular opening at flexure location
while 10% re-gain of beam capacity with square opening. The use of
CFRP laminates with the designed strengthening configuration could
significantly reduce excessive cracking and deflection and increase
the ultimate capacity and stiffness of beam.
Abstract: This study presents a new method for detecting the
cutting tool wear based on the measured cutting force signals using
the regression model and I-kaz method. The detection of tool wear
was done automatically using the in-house developed regression
model and 3D graphic presentation of I-kaz 3D coefficient during
machining process. The machining tests were carried out on a CNC
turning machine Colchester Master Tornado T4 in dry cutting
condition, and Kistler 9255B dynamometer was used to measure the
cutting force signals, which then stored and displayed in the DasyLab
software. The progression of the cutting tool flank wear land (VB)
was indicated by the amount of the cutting force generated. Later, the
I-kaz was used to analyze all the cutting force signals from beginning
of the cut until the rejection stage of the cutting tool. Results of the IKaz
analysis were represented by various characteristic of I-kaz 3D
coefficient and 3D graphic presentation. The I-kaz 3D coefficient
number decreases when the tool wear increases. This method can be
used for real time tool wear monitoring.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a comparative study of the
genetic algorithms and Hessian-s methods for optimal research of the
active powers in an electric network of power. The objective function
which is the performance index of production of electrical energy is
minimized by satisfying the constraints of the equality type and
inequality type initially by the Hessian-s methods and in the second
time by the genetic Algorithms. The results found by the application
of AG for the minimization of the electric production costs of power
are very encouraging. The algorithms seem to be an effective
technique to solve a great number of problems and which are in
constant evolution. Nevertheless it should be specified that the
traditional binary representation used for the genetic algorithms
creates problems of optimization of management of the large-sized
networks with high numerical precision.
Abstract: Taiwan was the first country in Asia to announce
“Nuclear-Free Homeland" in 2002. In 2008, the new government
released the Sustainable Energy Policy Guidelines to lower the
nationwide CO2 emissions some time between 2016 and 2020 back to
the level of year 2008, further abatement of CO2 emissions is planed in
year 2025 when CO2 emissions will decrease to the level of year 2000.
Besides, under consideration of the issues of energy, environment and
economics (3E), the new government declared that the nuclear power
is a carbon-less energy option. This study analyses the effects of
nuclear power generation for CO2 abatement scenarios in Taiwan. The
MARKAL-MACRO energy model was adopted to evaluate economic
impacts and energy deployment due to life extension of existing
nuclear power plants and build new nuclear power units in CO2
abatement scenarios. The results show that CO2 abatement effort is
expensive. On the other hand, nuclear power is a cost-effective choice.
The GDP loss rate in the case of building new nuclear power plants is
around two thirds of the Nuclear-Free Homeland case. Nuclear power
generation has the capacity to provide large-scale CO2 free electricity.
Therefore, the results show that nuclear power is not only an option for
Taiwan, but also a requisite for Taiwan-s CO2 reduction strategy.
Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the anti-diabetic
properties of ethanolic extract of two plants commonly used in folk
medicine, Mormodica charantia (bitter melon) and Trigonella
foenum-graecum (fenugreek). The study was performed on STZinduced
diabetic rats (DM type-I). Plant extracts of these two plants
were given to STZ diabetic rats at the concentration of 500 mg/kg
body weight ,50 mg/kg body weight respectively. Cidophage®
(metformin HCl) were administered to another group to support the
results at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight, the ethanolic extracts and
Cidophage administered orally once a day for four weeks using a
stomach tube and; serum samples were obtained for biochemical
analysis. The extracts caused significant decreases in glucose levels
compared with diabetic control rats. Insulin secretions were increased
after 4 weeks of treatment with Cidophage® compared with the
control non-diabetic rats. Levels of AST and ALT liver enzymes were
normalized by all treatments. Decreases in liver cholesterol,
triglycerides, and LDL in diabetic rats were observed with all
treatments. HDL levels were increased by the treatments in the
following order: bitter melon, Cidophage®, and fenugreek. Creatinine
levels were reduced by all treatments. Serum nitric oxide and
malonaldehyde levels were reduced by all extracts. GSH levels were
increased by all extracts. Extravasation as measured by the Evans
Blue test increased significantly in STZ-induced diabetic animals.
This effect was reversed by ethanolic extracts of bitter melon or
fenugreek.
Abstract: Building a service-centric business model requires
new knowledge and capabilities in companies. This paper enlightens
the challenges small and medium sized firms (SMEs) face when
developing their service-centric business models. This paper
examines the premise for knowledge transfer and capability
development required. The objective of this paper is to increase
knowledge about SME-s transformation to service-centric business
models.This paper reports an action research based case study. The
paper provides empirical evidence from three case companies. The
empirical data was collected through multiple methods. The findings
of the paper are: First, the developed model to analyze the current
state in companies. Second, the process of building the service –
centric business models. Third, the selection of suitable service
development methods. The lack of a holistic understanding on
service logic suggests that SMEs need practical and easy to use
methods to improve their business
Abstract: Papaya and banana bars were developed incorporating
inulin (IN) and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) (Liquid and Powder
form) in various proportions. The control bars were standardized
using 70% fruit pulp, 30% sugar, 0.3% citric acid while the treated
bars were standardized with 70% fruit pulp, 15% sugar, 15% of IN
and FOS and 0.3% citric acid. Among the various proportions tested,
papaya bars with 90% FOS (Powder) + 10% IN and banana bars with
90% FOS (liquid) + 10% IN were sensorially best accepted. The
study revealed that addition of IN and FOS improved the sensory
scores. The Physico-chemical and proximatecomposition analysis
revealed slight changes in brix°, total sugars, reducing sugars, nonreducing
sugars, moisture, protein, fat, vitamin C, ash, iron,
zinc, calcium and crude fibre between control and treated fruit bars.
Further the glycemic index of papaya bar was reduced from 65 to 54
when treated with FOS and IN.
Abstract: A reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is an
advanced system designed at the outset for rapid changes in its hardware
and software components in order to quickly adjust its production
capacity and functionally. Among various operational decisions, this
study considers the scheduling problem that determines the input
sequence and schedule at the same time for a given set of parts. In
particular, we consider the practical constraints that the numbers of
pallets/fixtures are limited and hence a part can be released into the
system only when the fixture required for the part is available. To
solve the integrated input sequencing and scheduling problems, we
suggest a priority rule based approach in which the two sub-problems
are solved using a combination of priority rules. To show the effectiveness
of various rule combinations, a simulation experiment was
done on the data for a real RMS, and the test results are reported.
Abstract: In this study, the static behavior of super elliptical Winkler plate is analyzed by applying the double side approach method. The lack of information about super elliptical Winkler plates is the motivation of this study and we use the double side approach method to solve this problem because of its superior ability on efficiently treating problems with complex boundary shape. The double side approach method has the advantages of high accuracy, easy calculation procedure and less calculation load required. Most important of all, it can give the error bound of the approximate solution. The numerical results not only show that the double side approach method works well on this problem but also provide us the knowledge of static behavior of super elliptical Winkler plate in practical use.
Abstract: Absorption spectra of infra-red (IR) radiation of the
disperse water medium absorbing the most important greenhouse
gases: CO2 , N2O , CH4 , C2H2 , C2H6 have been calculated by
the molecular dynamics method. Loss of the absorbing ability at the
formation of clusters due to a reduction of the number of centers
interacting with IR radiation, results in an anti-greenhouse effect.
Absorption of O3 molecules by the (H2O)50 cluster is investigated
at its interaction with Cl- ions. The splitting of ozone molecule on
atoms near to cluster surface was observed. Interaction of water
cluster with Cl- ions causes the increase of integrated intensity of
emission spectra of IR radiation, and also essential reduction of the
similar characteristic of Raman spectrum. Relative integrated
intensity of absorption of IR radiation for small water clusters was
designed. Dependences of the quantity of weight on altitude for
vapor of monomers, clusters, droplets, crystals and mass of all
moisture were determined. The anti-greenhouse effect of clusters was
defined as the difference of increases of average global temperature
of the Earth, caused by absorption of IR radiation by free water
molecules forming clusters, and absorption of clusters themselves.
The greenhouse effect caused by clusters makes 0.53 K, and the antigreenhouse
one is equal to 1.14 K. The increase of concentration of
CO2 in the atmosphere does not always correlate with the
amplification of greenhouse effect.
Abstract: For the improvement of the ability in detecting
small calcifications using Ultrasonography (US) we propose a
novel indicator of calcifications in an ultrasound B-mode image
without decrease in frame rate. Since the waveform of an
ultrasound pulse changes at a calcification position, the
decorrelation of adjacent scan lines occurs behind a
calcification. Therefore, we employ the decorrelation of
adjacent scan lines as an indicator of a calcification. The
proposed indicator depicted wires 0.05 mm in diameter at 2 cm
depth with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 100%,
which were hardly detected in ultrasound B-mode images. This
study shows the potential of the proposed indicator to
approximate the detectable calcification size using an US
device to that of an X-ray imager, implying the possibility that
an US device will become a convenient, safe, and principal
clinical tool for the screening of breast cancer.
Abstract: the research was accomplished on fresh in Latvia wild
growing cranberries and cranberry cultivars. The aim of the study
was to evaluate effect of pretreatment method and drying conditions
on the volatile compounds composition in cranberries. Berries
pre-treatment methods were: perforation, halving and
steam-blanching. The berries before drying in a cabinet drier were
pre-treated using all three methods, in microwave vacuum
drier – using a steam-blanching and halving. Volatile compounds in
cranberries were analysed using GC-MS of extracts obtained by
SPME. During present research 21 various volatile compounds were
detected in fresh cranberries: the cultivar 'Steven' - 15, 'Bergman'
and 'Early black' – 13, 'Ben Lear' and 'Pilgrim' – 11 and wild
cranberries – 14 volatile compounds. In dried cranberries 20 volatile
compounds were detected. Mathematical data processing allows
drawing a conclusion that there exists the significant influence of
cranberry cultivar, pre-treatment method and drying condition on
volatile compounds in berries and new volatile compound formation.
Abstract: Digital libraries become more and more necessary in
order to support users with powerful and easy-to-use tools for
searching, browsing and retrieving media information. The starting
point for these tasks is the segmentation of video content into shots.
To segment MPEG video streams into shots, a fully automatic
procedure to detect both abrupt and gradual transitions (dissolve and
fade-groups) with minimal decoding in real time is developed in this
study. Each was explored through two phases: macro-block type's
analysis in B-frames, and on-demand intensity information analysis.
The experimental results show remarkable performance in
detecting gradual transitions of some kinds of input data and
comparable results of the rest of the examined video streams. Almost
all abrupt transitions could be detected with very few false positive
alarms.
Abstract: Provision of optical devices without proper instruction
and training may cause frustration resulting in rejection or incorrect
use of the magnifiers. However training in the use of magnifiers
increases the cost of providing these devices. This study compared
the efficacy of providing instruction alone and instruction plus
training in the use of magnifiers. 24 participants randomly assigned
to two groups. 15 received instruction and training and 9 received
instruction only. Repeated measures of print size and reading speed
were performed at pre, post training and follow up. Print size
decreased in both groups between pre and post training maintained at
follow up. Reading speed increased in both groups over time with the
training group demonstrating more rapid improvement. Whilst
overall outcomes were similar, training decreased the time required
to increase reading speed supporting the use of training for increased
efficiency. A cost effective form of training is suggested.
Abstract: A case study of the generation scheduling optimization
of the multi-hydroplants on the Yuan River Basin in China is reported
in this paper. Concerning the uncertainty of the inflows, the
long/mid-term generation scheduling (LMTGS) problem is solved by
a stochastic model in which the inflows are considered as stochastic
variables. For the short-term generation scheduling (STGS) problem, a
constraint violation priority is defined in case not all constraints are
satisfied. Provided the stage-wise separable condition and low
dimensions, the hydroplant-based operational region schedules
(HBORS) problem is solved by dynamic programming (DP). The
coordination of LMTGS and STGS is presented as well. The
feasibility and the effectiveness of the models and solution methods
are verified by the numerical results.
Abstract: In order to Study the efficacy application of green
manure as chickpea pre plant, field experiments were carried out in
2007 and 2008 growing seasons. In this research the effects of
different strategies for soil fertilization were investigated on grain
yield and yield component, minerals, organic compounds and
cooking time of chickpea. Experimental units were arranged in splitsplit
plots based on randomized complete blocks with three
replications. Main plots consisted of (G1): establishing a mixed
vegetation of Vicia panunica and Hordeum vulgare and (G2):
control, as green manure levels. Also, five strategies for obtaining the
base fertilizer requirement including (N1): 20 t.ha-1 farmyard manure;
(N2): 10 t.ha-1 compost; (N3): 75 kg.ha-1 triple super phosphate;
(N4): 10 t.ha-1 farmyard manure + 5 t.ha-1 compost and (N5): 10 t.ha-1
farmyard manure + 5 t.ha-1 compost + 50 kg.ha-1 triple super
phosphate were considered in sub plots. Furthermoree four levels of
biofertilizers consisted of (B1): Bacillus lentus + Pseudomonas
putida; (B2): Trichoderma harzianum; (B3): Bacillus lentus +
Pseudomonas putida + Trichoderma harzianum; and (B4): control
(without biofertilizers) were arranged in sub-sub plots. Results
showed that integrating biofertilizers (B3) and green manure (G1)
produced the highest grain yield. The highest amounts of yield were
obtained in G1×N5 interaction. Comparison of all 2-way and 3-way
interactions showed that G1N5B3 was determined as the superior
treatment. Significant increasing of N, P2O5, K2O, Fe and Mg content
in leaves and grains emphasized on superiority of mentioned
treatment because each one of these nutrients has an approved role in
chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis abilities of the crops. The
combined application of compost, farmyard manure and chemical
phosphorus (N5) in addition to having the highest yield, had the best
grain quality due to high protein, starch and total sugar contents, low
crude fiber and reduced cooking time.
Abstract: Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are among the most
significant hepatic infections all around the world that may lead to
hepatocellular carcinoma. This study is first time performed at the
blood transfussion centre of Omar hospital, Lahore. It aims to
determine the sero-prevalence of these diseases by screening the
apparently healthy blood donors who might be the carriers of HBV or
HCV and pose a high risk in the transmission. It also aims the
comparison between the sensitivity of two diagnostic tests;
chromatographic immunoassay – one step test device and Enzyme
Linked Immuno Sorbant Assay (ELISA). Blood serum of 855
apparently healthy blood donors was screened for Hepatitis B surface
antigen (HBsAg) and for anti HCV antibodies. SPSS version 12.0
and X2 (Chi-square) test were used for statistical analysis. The seroprevalence
of HCV was 8.07% by the device method and by ELISA
9.12% and that of HBV was 5.6% by the device and 6.43% by
ELISA. The unavailability of vaccination against HCV makes it more
prevalent. Comparing the two diagnostic methods, ELISA proved to
be more sensitive.