Scholarly

Isolation and Molecular Identification of Two Fungal Strains Capable of Degrading Hydrocarbon Contaminants on Saudi Arabian Environment

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 12 1215 - 1218 Pages

Abstract: In the vicinity of red sea about 15 fungi species were isolated from oil contaminated sites. On the basis of aptitude to degrade the crude oil and DCPIP assay, two fungal isolates were selected amongst 15 oil degrading strains. Analysis of ITS-1, ITS-2 and amplicon pyrosequencing studies of fungal diversity revealed that these strains belong to Penicillium and Aspergillus species. Two strains that proved to be the most efficient in degrading crude oil was Aspergillus niger (54%) and Penicillium commune (48%) Subsequent to two weeks of cultivation in BHS medium the degradation rate were recorded by using spectrophotometer and GC-MS. Hence, it is cleared that these fungal strains has capability of degradation and can be utilize for cleaning the Saudi Arabian environment.

Bit Model Based Key Management Scheme for Secure Group Communication

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 9 2114 - 2118 Pages

Authors:
R. Varalakshmi

Abstract: For the last decade, researchers have started to focus their interest on Multicast Group Key Management Framework. The central research challenge is secure and efficient group key distribution. The present paper is based on the Bit model based Secure Multicast Group key distribution scheme using the most popular absolute encoder output type code named Gray Code. The focus is of two folds. The first fold deals with the reduction of computation complexity which is achieved in our scheme by performing fewer multiplication operations during the key updating process. To optimize the number of multiplication operations, an O(1) time algorithm to multiply two N-bit binary numbers which could be used in an N x N bit-model of reconfigurable mesh is used in this proposed work. The second fold aims at reducing the amount of information stored in the Group Center and group members while performing the update operation in the key content. Comparative analysis to illustrate the performance of various key distribution schemes is shown in this paper and it has been observed that this proposed algorithm reduces the computation and storage complexity significantly. Our proposed algorithm is suitable for high performance computing environment.

Importance of Hardware Systems and Circuits in Secure Software Development Life Cycle

Year: 2016 Volume: 10 Issue: 9 1584 - 1587 Pages

Authors:
Mir Shahriar Emami

Abstract: Although it is fully impossible to ensure that a software system is quite secure, developing an acceptable secure software system in a convenient platform is not unreachable. In this paper, we attempt to analyze software development life cycle (SDLC) models from the hardware systems and circuits point of view. To date, the SDLC models pay merely attention to the software security from the software perspectives. In this paper, we present new features for SDLC stages to emphasize the role of systems and circuits in developing secure software system through the software development stages, the point that has not been considered previously in the SDLC models.

An Integrated Mixed-Integer Programming Model to Address Concurrent Project Scheduling and Material Ordering

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 11 1960 - 1963 Pages

Abstract: Concurrent planning of project scheduling and material ordering can provide more flexibility to the project scheduling problem, as the project execution costs can be enhanced. Hence, the issue has been taken into account in this paper. To do so, a mixed-integer mathematical model is developed which considers the aforementioned flexibility, in addition to the materials quantity discount and space availability restrictions. Moreover, the activities duration has been treated as decision variables. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed model is tested by different instances. Additionally, the influence of the aforementioned parameters is investigated on the model performance.

Phage Capsid for Efficient Delivery of Cytotoxic Drugs

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 7 601 - 604 Pages

Abstract: Various nanomaterials can be used as a drug delivery vehicles in nanomedicine, called nanocarriers. They can either be organic or inorganic, synthetic or natural-based. Although synthetic nanocarriers are easier to produce, they can often be toxic for the organism and thus not suitable for use in treatment. From naturalbased nanocarriers, the most commonly used are protein cages or viral capsids. In this work, virus bacteriophage λ was used for delivery of different cytotoxic drugs (cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin and doxorubicin). Large quantities of phage λ were obtained from phage λ-producing strain of E. coli cultivated in medium with 0.2% maltose. After killing of E. coli with chloroform and its removal by centrifugation, the phage was concentrated by ultracentrifugation at 130 000×g and 4°C for 3 h. The encapsulation of the drugs was performed by infusion method and four different concentrations of the drugs were encapsulated (200; 100; 50; 25 μg·mL-1). Free drug molecules were removed by filtration. The encapsulation was verified using the absorbance for doxorubicin and atomic absorption spectrometry for platinum cytostatics. The amount of encapsulated drug linearly increased with the increasing concentration of applied drug with the determination coefficient R2=0.989 for doxorubicin; R2=0.967 for cisplatin; R2=0.989 for carboplatin and R2=0.996 for oxaliplatin. The overall encapsulation efficiency was calculated as 50% for doxorubicin; 8% for cisplatin; 6% for carboplatin and 10% for oxaliplatin.

Poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)Glyceric Acid] with Potential Therapeutic Effect

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 11 1273 - 1276 Pages

Abstract: According to IR, 13C and 1H NMR, APT, 1D NOE, 2D heteronuclear 1H/13C HSQC and 2D DOSY experiments the main chemical constituent of high-molecular preparations from Symphytum asperum, S. caucasicum, S. officinale and Anchusa italica (Boraginaceae) was found to be caffeic acid-derived polyether, namely poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid] (PDPGA) or poly[oxy-1-carboxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylene]. Most carboxylic groups of this polymer of A. italica are methylated.

Noninvasive Disease Diagnosis through Breath Analysis Using DNA-Functionalized SWNT Sensor Array

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 12 828 - 831 Pages

Abstract: Noninvasive diagnostics of diseases via breath analysis has attracted considerable scientific and clinical interest for many years and become more and more promising with the rapid advancements in nanotechnology and biotechnology. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, which are mainly blood borne, particularly provide highly valuable information about individuals’ physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Additionally, breath analysis is noninvasive, real-time, painless, and agreeable to patients. We have developed a wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for the detection of a number of physiological indicators in breath. Seven DNA sequences were used to functionalize SWNT sensors to detect trace amount of methanol, benzene, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, acetone, and ethanol, which are indicators of heavy smoking, excessive drinking, and diseases such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and diabetes. Our test results indicated that DNA functionalized SWNT sensors exhibit great selectivity, sensitivity, and repeatability; and different molecules can be distinguished through pattern recognition enabled by this sensor array. Furthermore, the experimental sensing results are consistent with the Molecular Dynamics simulated ssDNAmolecular target interaction rankings. Thus, the DNA-SWNT sensor array has great potential to be applied in chemical or biomolecular detection for the noninvasive diagnostics of diseases and personal health monitoring.

The Application of the Security Audit Method on the Selected Objects of Critical Infrastructure

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 12 4123 - 4126 Pages

Authors:
Michaela Vašková

Abstract: The paper is focused on the application of the security audit method on the selected objects of the critical infrastructure. The emphasis is put on security audit method to find gaps in the critical infrastructure security. The theoretical part describes objects of the critical infrastructure. The practical part describes using of the security audit method. The main emphasis was put on the protection of the critical infrastructure in the Czech Republic.

Water Crisis Management in a Tourism Dependent Community

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 12 4113 - 4117 Pages

Authors:
Aishath Shakeela

Abstract: At a global level, water stewardship, water stress and water security are crucial factors in tourism planning and development considerations. Challenges associated with water is of particular concern to the Maldives as there is limited availability of freshwater, high dependency on desalinated water, and high unit cost associated with desalinating water. While the Maldives is promoted as an example of sustainable tourism, a key sustainability challenge facing tourism dependent communities is the efficient use and management of available water resources. A water crisis event in the capital island of Maldives highlighted how precarious water related issues are in this tourism dependent destination. Applying netnography, the focus of this working paper is to present community perceptions of how government policies addressed Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) water crisis event.

Production Structures of Energy Based on Water Force, Its Infrastructure Protection, and Possible Causes of Failure

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 10 3559 - 3563 Pages

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the enhancement of a hydroelectric plant protection by coordinating protection measures / existing security and introducing new measures under a risk management process. In addition, plan identifies key critical elements of a hydroelectric plant, from its level vulnerabilities and threats it is subjected to in order to achieve the necessary protection measures to reduce the level of risk.

Conceptual Design of Unmanned Aerial Targets

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 12 2055 - 2059 Pages

Abstract: The contemporary battlefield creates a demand for more costly and highly advanced munitions. Training personnel responsible for operations as well as immediate execution of combat tasks which engage real asset is unrealistic and economically not feasible. Owing to a wide array of exploited simulators and various types of imitators, it is possible to reduce the costs. One of the effective elements of training, which can be applied in the training of all service branches, is imitator of aerial targets. This research serves as an introduction to the commencement of design analysis over a real aerial target imitator. Within the project, the basic aerodynamic calculations were made, which enabled to determine its geometry, design layout, performance as well as mass balance of individual components. The conducted calculations of the parameters of flight characteristics come closer to the real performance of such Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Using Agility in Building Business Process Management Solutions

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 11 3826 - 3832 Pages

Abstract: In turbulent modern economy, the companies need to properly manage their business processes. Well-defined and stable business processes ensure security of crucial data and applications, and provide a quality product or service to the end customer. On the other side, constant changes on the market, new regulatory provisions, and emerging new technologies require the need of issuing prompt and effective changes of business process. In this article, we explore the use of agile principles in working with business process management (BPM) solutions. We deal with difficulties in BPM development cycle, review the benefits of using agility, and choose the basic agile principles that ensure the success of a BPM project.

Effect of Polymer Molecular Structures on Properties of Dental Cement Restoratives

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 7 585 - 592 Pages

Abstract: The objective of this study was to synthesize and characterize the poly(alkenoic acid)s with different molecular structures, use these polymers to formulate a dental cement restorative, and study the effect of molecular structures on reaction kinetics, viscosity, and mechanical strengths of the formed polymers and cement restoratives. In this study, poly(alkenoic acid)s with different molecular structures were synthesized. The purified polymers were formulated with commercial Fuji II LC glass fillers to form the experimental cement restoratives. The reaction kinetics was studied via 1HNMR spectroscopy. The formed restoratives were evaluated using compressive strength, diametral tensile strength, flexural strength, hardness and wear-resistance tests. Specimens were conditioned in distilled water at 37oC for 24 h prior to testing. Fuji II LC restorative was used as control. The results show that the higher the arm number and initiator concentration, the faster the reaction was. It was also found that the higher the arm number and branching that the polymer had, the lower the viscosity of the polymer in water and the lower the mechanical strengths of the formed restorative. The experimental restoratives were 31-53% in compressive strength, 37- 55% in compressive modulus, 80-126% in diametral tensile strength, 76-94% in flexural strength, 4-21% in fracture toughness and 53-96% in hardness higher than Fuji II LC. For wear test, the experimental restoratives were only 5.4-13% of abrasive and 6.4-12% of attritional wear depths of Fuji II LC in each wear cycle. The aging study also showed that all the experimental restoratives increased their strength continuously during 30 days, unlike Fuji II LC. It is concluded that polymer molecular structures have significant and positive impact on mechanical properties of dental cement restoratives.

A Low-Cost Vision-Based Unmanned Aerial System for Extremely Low-Light GPS-Denied Navigation and Thermal Imaging

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 10 1807 - 1814 Pages

Abstract: This paper presents the design and implementation details of a complete unmanned aerial system (UAS) based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, focusing on safety, security, search and rescue scenarios in GPS-denied environments. In particular, The aerial platform is capable of semi-autonomously navigating through extremely low-light, GPS-denied indoor environments based on onboard sensors only, including a downward-facing optical flow camera. Besides, an additional low-cost payload camera system is developed to stream both infra-red video and visible light video to a ground station in real-time, for the purpose of detecting sign of life and hidden humans. The total cost of the complete system is estimated to be $1150, and the effectiveness of the system has been tested and validated in practical scenarios.

A Simple User Administration View of Computing Clusters

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 10 2224 - 2227 Pages

Abstract: In this paper a very simple and effective user administration view of computing clusters systems is implemented in order of friendly provide the configuration and monitoring of distributed application executions. The user view, the administrator view, and an internal control module create an illusionary management environment for better system usability. The architecture, properties, performance, and the comparison with others software for cluster management are briefly commented.

A Real-Time Image Change Detection System

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 9 2106 - 2109 Pages

Abstract: Detecting changes in multiple images of the same scene has recently seen increased interest due to the many contemporary applications including smart security systems, smart homes, remote sensing, surveillance, medical diagnosis, weather forecasting, speed and distance measurement, post-disaster forensics and much more. These applications differ in the scale, nature, and speed of change. This paper presents an application of image processing techniques to implement a real-time change detection system. Change is identified by comparing the RGB representation of two consecutive frames captured in real-time. The detection threshold can be controlled to account for various luminance levels. The comparison result is passed through a filter before decision making to reduce false positives, especially at lower luminance conditions. The system is implemented with a MATLAB Graphical User interface with several controls to manage its operation and performance.

Molecular Dynamics Study on Mechanical Responses of Circular Graphene Nanoflake under Nanoindentation

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 9 561 - 565 Pages

Authors:
Jeong-Won Kang

Abstract: Graphene, a single-atom sheet, has been considered as the most promising material for making future nanoelectromechanical systems as well as purely electrical switching with graphene transistors. Graphene-based devices have advantages in scaled-up device fabrication due to the recent progress in large area graphene growth and lithographic patterning of graphene nanostructures. Here we investigated its mechanical responses of circular graphene nanoflake under the nanoindentation using classical molecular dynamics simulations. A correlation between the load and the indentation depth was constructed. The nanoindented force in this work was applied to the center point of the circular graphene nanoflake and then, the resonance frequency could be tuned by a nanoindented depth. We found the hardening or the softening of the graphene nanoflake during its nanoindented-deflections, and such properties were recognized by the shift of the resonance frequency. The calculated mechanical parameters in the force-vs-deflection plot were in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical works. This proposed schematics can detect the pressure via the deflection change or/and the resonance frequency shift, and also have great potential for versatile applications in nanoelectromechanical systems.

Ecoliteracy and Pedagogical Praxis in the Multidisciplinary University Greenhouse toward the Food Security Strengthening

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 9 1156 - 1161 Pages

Abstract: One of the challenges that higher education faces is to find how to approach the sustainability in an inclusive way to the student within all the different academic areas, how to move the sustainable development from the abstract field to the operational field. This research comes from the ecoliteracy and the pedagogical praxis as tools for rebuilding the teaching processes inside of universities. The purpose is to determine and describe which are the factors involved in the process of learning particularly in the Greenhouse-School Siembra UV. In the Greenhouse-School Siembra UV, of the University of Veracruz, are cultivated vegetables, medicinal plants and small cornfields under the usage of eco-technologies such as hydroponics, Wickingbed and Hugelkultur, which main purpose is the saving of space, labor and natural resources, as well as function as agricultural production alternatives in the urban and periurban zones. The sample was formed with students from different academic areas and who are actively involved in the greenhouse, as well as institutes from the University of Veracruz and governmental and nongovernmental departments. This project comes from a pedagogic praxis approach, from filling the needs that the different professional profiles of the university students have. All this with the purpose of generate a pragmatic dialogue with the sustainability. It also comes from the necessity to understand the factors that intervene in the students’ praxis. In this manner is how the students are the fundamental unit in the sphere of sustainability. As a result, it is observed that those University of Veracruz students who are involved in the Greenhouse-school, Siembra UV, have enriched in different levels the sense of urban and periurban agriculture because of the diverse academic approaches they have and the interaction between them. It is concluded that the ecotechnologies act as fundamental tools for ecoliteracy in society, where it is strengthen the nutritional and food security from a sustainable development approach.

Logistics Model for Improving Quality in Railway Transport

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 11 3784 - 3787 Pages

Abstract: This contribution is focused on the methodology for identifying levels of quality and improving quality through new logistics model in railway transport. It is oriented on the application of dynamic quality models, which represent an innovative method of evaluation quality services. Through this conception, time factor, expected, and perceived quality in each moment of the transportation process within logistics chain can be taken into account. Various models describe the improvement of the quality which emphases the time factor throughout the whole transportation logistics chain. Quality of services in railway transport can be determined by the existing level of service quality, by detecting the causes of dissatisfaction employees but also customers, to uncover strengths and weaknesses. This new logistics model is able to recognize critical processes in logistic chain. It includes service quality rating that must respect its specific properties, which are unrepeatability, impalpability, their use right at the time they are provided and particularly changeability, which is significant factor in the conditions of rail transport as well. These peculiarities influence the quality of service regarding the constantly increasing requirements and that result in new ways of finding progressive attitudes towards the service quality rating.

Reading against the Grain: Transcodifying Stimulus Meaning

Year: 2015 Volume: 9 Issue: 7 2555 - 2561 Pages

Authors:
Aba-Carina Pârlog

Abstract: The paper shows that on transferring sense from the SL to the TL, the translator’s reading against the grain determines the creation of a faulty pattern of rendering the original meaning in the receiving culture which reflects the use of misleading transformative codes. In this case, the translator is a writer per se who decides what goes in and out of the book, how the style is to be ciphered and what elements of ideology are to be highlighted. The paper also proves that figurative language must not be flattened for the sake of clarity or naturalness. The missing figurative elements make the translated text less interesting, less challenging and less vivid which reflects poorly on the writer. There is a close connection between style and the writer’s person. If the writer’s style is very much altered in a translation, the translation is useless as the original writer and his / her imaginative world can no longer be discovered. The purpose of the paper is to prove that adaptation is a dangerous tool which leads to variants that sometimes reflect the original less than the reader would wish to. It contradicts the very essence of the process of translation which is that of making an original work available in a foreign language. If the adaptive transformative codes are so flexible that they encourage the translator to repeatedly leave out parts of the original work, then a subversive pattern emerges which changes the entire book. In conclusion, as a result of using adaptation, manipulative or subversive effects are created in the translated work. This is generally achieved by adding new words or connotations, creating new figures of speech or using explicitations. The additional meanings of the original work are neglected and the translator creates new meanings, implications, emphases and contexts. Again s/he turns into a new author who enjoys the freedom of expressing his / her own ideas without the constraints of the original text. Reading against the grain is unadvisable during the process of translation and consequently, following personal common sense becomes essential in the field of translation as well as everywhere else, so that translation should not become a source of fantasy.

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