Abstract: The introduction of mass-customization has enabled
new ways to treat patients within medicine. However, the
introduction of industrialized treatments has also meant new
obstacles. The purpose of this study was to introduce and
theoretically test a method for improving dental crown fit. The
optimization method allocates support points in order to check the
final variation for dental crowns. Three different types of geometries
were tested and compared. The three geometries were also divided
into three sub-geometries: Current method, Optimized method and
Feasible method. The Optimized method, using the whole surface for
support points, provided the best results. The results support the
objective of the study. It also seems that the support optimization
method can dramatically improve the robustness of dental crown
treatments.
Abstract: This paper deals with the status of solid waste pollution in touristic spots of North coastal Andhra Pradesh. Case studies of Eco tourism, cultural tourism and pilgrim tourism are elaborately discussed and the study is based on both primary and secondary data. Data collection includes field collection of solid waste, semi structured interviews and observation of tourists. Results indicate generation of 72% Non biodegradable material in Eco touristic places like RK beach Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley. Pydithalli Jathra is a famous cultural touristic attraction and more than one lakh people converge here. The solid waste at this spot includes 20% coconut shells, 50% plastic bottles and covers, 20% Banana peelings and remaining are food materials. Radhasapthami is the most important festival celebrated at famous sun temple Arasavalli of Srikakulam. Here solid waste includes 50% water bottles, plastic covers, 10% papers, 10% hair, 30% left out food material and Banana peelings.
Abstract: The charnockitic and associated granitic rocks of Akure area were studied for their field and petrographic relationship's. The outcrops locations were plotted in Surfer 8. The granitic rock exhibits a porphyritic texture and outcrops in the north-eastern side of the study area while the charnockitics outcrop in the central/western part. An essentially dark coloured and fine grained intrusive exhibiting xenoliths and xenocrysts (plagioclase phenocrysts) of the granite outcrops between the granitic and charnockitic rocks. Mineralogically, the central rock combines the content of the other two indicating that it is most likely a product of their hybridization. The charnockitic magma is believed to have intruded and assimilated the granite substantially thereby contaminating itself and consequently emplacing the hybrid. The presented model of emplacement elucidates the hybridization proposal. Conclusively, the charnockitics are believed to be (a) younger than the granite, (b) of Pan-African age and (c) of igneous origin.
Abstract: A study of the H-beam's nanosize structure phase
states after thermomechanical strengthening was carried out by TEM.
The following processes were analyzed. 1. The dispersing of the
cementite plates by cutting them by moving dislocations. 2. The
dissolution of cementite plates and repeated precipitation of the
cementite particles on the dislocations, the boundaries, subgrains and
grains. 3. The decay of solid solution of carbon in the α-iron after
"self-tempering" of martensite. 4. The final transformation of the
retained austenite in beinite with α-iron particles and cementite
formation. 5. The implementation of the diffusion mechanism of γ ⇒
α transformation.
Abstract: This research focuses on micro-enterprise of
Malaysian Malays that are involved in very small-scaled business
activities. Among them include food stall and burger stall operators,
night market hawkers, grocery store operators as well as construction
and small service activities works. The study seeks to explore why
some micro-entrepreneurs still lag in entrepreneurship and what
needs to be rectified. This quantitative study is conducted on 173
Malay micro-enterprise owners (MEOs) and 58 Malay failed microenterprise
owners (FMEOs) involved in all range of businesses
throughout the state of Perak, Malaysia. The main aims are to
identify the gaps between the failed micro-enterprise owners
(FMEOs) and existing micro-enterprise owners (MEOs) and the
problems faced among FMEOs. The results reveal that the MEOs had
strong motivations and better marketing approaches as compared to
FMEOs. Furthermore, the FMEOs failed in the business ventures
mainly due to lack of management, sales and marketing skills and
poor competitive abilities to keep up with rivals.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the
relationship between corporate governance and pricing for initial
public offerings (IPOs). Empirical result finds that the prediction of
pricing of IPOs with corporate governance added can have a rather
higher degree of predicting accuracy than that of non governance
added during the training and testing samples. Therefore, it can be
observed that corporate governance mechanism can affect the pricing
of IPOs
Abstract: Staphylococcus aureus, one of the microflora in a
human external auditory canal (EAC) is frequently exposed to highfrequency
electromagnetic field (HF-EMF) generated by mobile
phones. It is normally non-pathogenic but in certain circumstances, it
can cause infections. This study investigates the changes in the
physiology of S. aureus when exposed to HF-EMF of a mobile
phone. Exponentially grown S. aureus were exposed to two
conditions of EMF irradiation (standby-mode and on-call mode) at
four durations; 15, 30, 45 and 60 min. Changes in the viability and
biofilm production of the S. aureus were compared between the two
conditions of exposure. EMF from the standby-mode has enhanced
the growth of S. aureus but during on-call, the growth was
suppressed. No significant difference in the amount of biofilm
produced in both modes of exposure was observed. Thus, HF-EMF
of mobile phone affects the viability of S. aureus but not its ability to
produce biofilm.
Abstract: This paper is concerned with an investigation into the
localized non-stability of a thin elastic orthotropic semi-infinite plate.
In this study, a semi-infinite plate, simply supported on two edges
and different boundary conditions, clamped, hinged, sliding contact
and free on the other edge, are considered. The mathematical model
is used and a general solution is presented the conditions under which
localized solutions exist are investigated.
Abstract: The important issue considered in the widespread deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is an efficiency of the energy consumption. In this paper, we present a study of the optimal relay station planning problems using Binary Integer Linear Programming (BILP) model to minimize the energy consumption in WSNs. Our key contribution is that the proposed model not only ensures the required network lifetime but also guarantees the radio connectivity at high level of communication quality. Specially, we take into account effects of noise, signal quality limitation and bit error rate characteristics. Numerical experiments were conducted in various network scenarios. We analyzed the effects of different sensor node densities and distribution on the energy consumption.
Abstract: Liquid-liquid extraction is a process using two immiscible
liquids to extract compounds from one phase without high
temperature requirement. Mostly, the technical implementation of
this process is carried out in mixer-settlers or extraction columns. In
real chemical processes, chemicals may have high viscosity and
contain impurities. These impurities may change the settling behavior
of the process without measurably changing the physical properties
of the phases. In the current study, the settling behavior and the affected
parameters in a high-viscosity system were observed. Batchsettling
experiments were performed to experimentally quantify the
settling behavior and the mixer-settler model of Henschke [1] was
used to evaluate the behavior of the toluene + water system. The
viscosity of the system was increased by adding polyethylene glycol
4000 to the aqueous phase. NaCl and Na2SO4 were used to study the
influence of electrolytes. The results from this study show that increasing
the viscosity of water has a higher influence on the settling
behavior in comparison to the effects of the electrolytes. It can be
seen from the experiments that at high salt concentrations, there was
no effect on the settling behavior.
Abstract: This experiment was conducted to investigate the
effect of different levels of dietary chromium yeast (Cr-yeast) on
thigh meat quality of broiler chicks reared under heat stress
condition. Two hundred and forty Ross male chickens in heat stress
condition (33±3°C) were allocated to five treatments in a completely
randomized design. Treatments were supplemented with 0 (control),
200, 400, 800 and 1200 μg kg-1 Cr in the form of Cr yeast. Twelve
chicks from each treatment were slaughtered at 42 d, to evaluate
moisture, protein, lipid, pH and lipid oxidation of thigh meat.
Protein, moisture, lipid and pH of thigh meat were not affected by
supplemental Cr. Thigh meat lipid tended to decrease in broilers
received 1200 μg kg-1. Storage time increased lipid oxidation of
meat (P
Abstract: Over recent years, the number of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installations for home systems have been increasing in Malaysia. The paper concerns an analysis - as part of current Research and Development (R&D) efforts - to integrate photovoltaics as an architectural feature of a detached house in the new satellite township of Putrajaya, Malaysia. The analysis was undertaken using calculation and simulation tools to optimize performance of BIPV home system. In this study, a the simulation analysis was undertaken for selected bungalow units based on a long term recorded weather data for city of Kuala Lumpur. The simulation and calculation was done with consideration of a PV panels' tilt and direction, shading effect and economical considerations. A simulation of the performance of a grid connected BIPV house in Kuala Lumpur was undertaken. This case study uses a 60 PV modules with power output of 2.7 kW giving an average of PV electricity output is 255 kWh/month..
Abstract: Transdermal delivery of ondansetron hydrochloride (OdHCl) can prevent the problems encountered with oral ondansetron. In previously conducted studies, effect of amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, permeation enhancer and casting solvent on the physicochemical properties on OdHCl were investigated. It is feasible to develop ondansetron transdermal patch by using ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone with dibutyl pthalate as plasticizer, however, the desired flux is not achieved. The primary aim of this study is to use dimethyl succinate (DMS) and propylene glycol that are not incorporated in previous studies to determine their effect on the physicochemical properties of an OdHCl transdermal patch using ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone. This study also investigates the effect of permeation enhancer (eugenol and phosphatidylcholine) on the release of OdHCl. The results showed that propylene glycol is a more suitable plasticizer compared to DMS in the fabrication of OdHCl transdermal patch using ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as polymers. Propylene glycol containing patch has optimum drug content, thickness, moisture content and water absorption, tensile strength, and a better release profile than DMS. Eugenol and phosphatidylcholine can increase release of OdHCl from the patches. From the physicochemical result and permeation profile, a combination of 350mg of ethyl cellulose, 150mg polyvinyl pyrrolidone, 3% of total polymer weight of eugenol, and 40% of total polymer weight of propylene glycol is the most suitable formulation to develop an OdHCl patch. OdHCl release did not increase with increasing the percentage of plasticiser. DMS 4, PG 4, DMS 9, PG 9, DMS 14, and PG 14 gave better release profiles where using 300mg: 0mg, 300mg: 100mg, and 350mg: 150mg of EC: PVP. Thus, 40% of PG or DMS appeared to be the optimum amount of plasticiser when the above combination where EC: PVP was used. It was concluded from the study that a patch formulation containing 350mg EC, 150mg PVP, 40% PG and 3% eugenol is the best transdermal matrix patch compositions for the uniform and continuous release/permeation of OdHCl over an extended period. This patch design can be used for further pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies in suitable animal models.
Abstract: This paper aims to argue that religion and Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) contribute to building democratic process through the provision of education in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone experienced a civil war from 1991 to 2002 and about 70 percent of the population lives in poverty. While the government has been in the process of rebuilding the nation, many forms of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), including FBOs, have played a significant role in promoting social development. Education plays an important role in supporting people-s democratic movements through knowledge acquisition, spiritual enlightenment and empowerment. This paper discusses religious tolerance in Sierra Leone and how FBOs have contributed to the provision of primary education in Sierra Leone. This study is based on the author-s field research, which involved interviews with teachers and development stakeholders, notably government officials, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and FBOs, as well as questionnaires completed by pupils, parents and teachers.
Abstract: Spray chilling using air-mist nozzles has received
much attention in the food processing industry because of the
benefits it has shown over forced air convection. These benefits
include an increase in the heat transfer coefficient and a reduction in
the water loss by the product during cooling. However, few studies
have simulated the heat transfer and aerodynamics phenomena of the
air-mist chilling process for optimal operating conditions. The study
provides insight into the optimal conditions for spray impaction, heat
transfer efficiency and control of surface flooding. A computational
fluid dynamics model using a two-phase flow composed of water
droplets injected with air is developed to simulate the air-mist
chilling of food products. The model takes into consideration
droplet-to-surface interaction, water-film accumulation and surface
runoff. The results of this study lead to a better understanding of the
heat transfer enhancement, water conservation, and to a clear
direction for the optimal design of air-mist chilling systems that can
be used in commercial applications in the food and meat processing
industries.
Abstract: Four phenylurea herbicides (isoproturon, chlortoluron, diuron and linuron) were dissolved in different water matrices in order to study their chemical degradation by using UV radiation, ozone and some advanced oxidation processes (UV/H2O2, O3/H2O2, Fenton reagent and the photo- Fenton system). The waters used were: ultra-pure water, a commercial mineral water, a groundwater and a surface water taken from a reservoir. Elimination levels were established for each herbicide and for several global quality parameters, and a kinetic study was performed in order to determine basic kinetic parameters of each reaction between the target phenylureas and these oxidizing systems.
Abstract: New regulations and standards for noise emission increasingly compel the automotive firms to make some improvements about decreasing the engine noise. Nowadays, the perforated reactive mufflers which have an effective damping capability are specifically used for this purpose. New designs should be analyzed with respect to both acoustics and back pressure. In this study, a reactive perforated muffler is investigated numerically and experimentally. For an acoustical analysis, the transmission loss which is independent of sound source of the present cross flow, the perforated muffler was analyzed by COMSOL. To be able to validate the numerical results, transmission loss was measured experimentally. Back pressure was obtained based on the flow field analysis and was also compared with experimental results. Numerical results have an approximate error of 20% compared to experimental results.
Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the
chemical and biological properties of local cowpea seed protein
cultivated in Gizan region. The results showed that the cowpea and
its products contain high level of protein (22.9-77.6%), high
carbohydrates (9.4-64.3%) and low fats (0.1-0.3%). The trypsin and
chymotrypsin activities were found to be 32.2 and 15.2 units,
respectively. These activities were not affected in both defatted and
protein concentrate whereas they were significantly reduced in
isolated protein and cooked samples. The phytate content of cooked
and concentrated cowpea samples varied from 0.25% -0.32%,
respectively. Tannin content was found to be 0.4% and 0.23% for
cooked and raw samples, respectively. The in vitro protein
digestibility was very high in cowpea seeds (75.04-78.76%). The
biological evaluation using rats showed that the group fed with
animal feed containing casein gain more weight than those fed with
that containing cowpea. However, the group fed with cooked cowpea
gain more weight than those fed with uncooked cowpea. On the
other hand, in vivo digestion showed high value (98.33%) among the
group consumed casein compared to other groups those consumed
cowpea contains feed. This could be attributed to low antinutritional
factors in casein contains feed compared to those of cowpea contains
feed because cooking significantly increased the digestion rate
(80.8% to 83.5%) of cowpea contains feed. Furthermore, the
biological evaluation was high (91.67%) of casein containing feed
compared to that of cowpea containing feed (80.83%-87.5%). The
net protein utilization (NPU) was higher (89.67%) in the group fed
with casein containing feed than that of cowpea containing feed
(56.33%-69.67%).
Abstract: Enzymatic hydrolysis of starch from natural sources
finds potential application in commercial production of alcoholic
beverage and bioethanol. In this study the effect of starch
concentration, temperature, time and enzyme concentration were
studied and optimized for hydrolysis of Potato starch powder (of
mesh 80/120) into glucose syrup by immobilized (using Sodium
arginate) α-amylase using central composite design. The
experimental result on enzymatic hydrolysis of Potato starch was
subjected to multiple linear regression analysis using MINITAB 14
software. Positive linear effect of starch concentration, enzyme
concentration and time was observed on hydrolysis of Potato starch
by α-amylase. The statistical significance of the model was validated
by F-test for analysis of variance (p ≤ 0.01). The optimum value of
starch concentration, enzyme concentration, temperature, time and
were found to be 6% (w/v), 2% (w/v), 40°C and 80min respectively.
The maximum glucose yield at optimum condition was 2.34 mg/mL.
Abstract: The significance of emissions from the road transport
sector (such as air pollution, noise, etc) has grown considerably in
recent years. In Australia, 14.3% of national greenhouse gas
emissions in 2000 were the transport sector-s share which 12.9% of
net national emissions were related to a road transport alone.
Considering the growing attention to the green house gas(GHG)
emissions, this paper attempts to provide air pollution modeling
aspects of environmental consequences of the road transport by using
one of the best computer based tools including the Geographic
Information System (GIS). In other word, in this study, GIS and its
applications is explained, models which are used to model air
pollution and GHG emissions from vehicles are described and GIS is
applied in real case study that attempts to forecast GHG emission
from people who travel to work by car in 2031 in Melbourne for
analysing results as thematic maps.