Abstract: No matter how much perfect we become in our
practical skills regarding the implementation of learned ideas, the
need of technical writing capability cannot be neglected being a
professional. Technical writing is a way of communicating the ideas
in written which otherwise need to be presented orally. Technical
writing skills have always been the need of the time, as they are
required for internal as well as external official communication in
both formal and informal manner. Moreover, they are the best way to
capture the attention of your customers by presenting information in
effective manner. This paper aims to analyze the importance of
technical writing skills in professional industries of Pakistan by
conducting a survey. Survey results presented in this paper clearly
depicts the importance of formal and informal written communication
media used in different professional industries in Pakistan. Analysis
and discussion of the extent to which the alternative ways of
communication besides technical writing have got importance in
Pakistan is also an important aspect of this survey.
Abstract: Historical and ancestral bonds of the countries in the
Middle East have led to similarities in culture and context of their
societies. In addition, economical resources, such as the oil industry,
have generally been an integrative point in the region. Higher
education of a country is influenced by different national and
international factors and, regarding the mentioned bonds, it is inviting
to study the development of the countries of the Middle East in
higher education and draw some practical implications which can be
used in the educational policymaking of the region. This review
includes a data analysis on the population of international students in
the countries of the Middle East. As its second objective, a review
study on the successful countries, that is, those which host the highest
number of international students, and the strategies they have
developed to reach this state among the countries of the region, has
been conducted. Suggestions are made as to the strategies in higher
education systems of these countries which could prove useful and
practical in the development of internationalization of higher
education in the region, specifically with regard to the recruitment of
international students.
Abstract: Ficus deltoidea from the Moraceae family is a popular
medicinal herb in Malaysia. It possesses strong antioxidant and antiinflammatory
properties. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory
effects of F. deltoidea extract on UVB-irradiated HaCaT
Keratinocytes were investigated. HaCaT Keratinocytes were UVBirradiated
(12.5 mJ/cm3) and were treated with 0.05, 0.08 or 0.1% of
F. deltoidea extract. Cell viability following UVB irradiation was
significantly higher in the groups treated with the F. deltoidea extract
at doses of 0.05, 0.08 or 0.1% than in control group with UVB
irradiation only. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1α
(IL-1α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) play
primary roles in the inflammation process upon UV irradiation and
are known to be stimulated by UVB irradiation. Treatment with the
F. deltoidea extract dramatically inhibited the UV-induced TNF-α,
IL-1α, IL-6, and COX-2 expression. These results suggest that the F.
deltoidea extract inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory
cytokines and may be an effective protective agent for the treatment
of skin diseases.
Abstract: This entry concerned with dense silica bricks
microstructure was produced as a part of a project within the
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic which is being
implemented in cooperation of the biggest producer of refractories
the P-D Refractories CZ company with the research organisation
Brno University of Technology. The paper is focused on the
influence of mixture homogenisation and the influence of grain size
of the mineraliser on the resulting utility properties of the material as
well as its microstructure. It has a decisive influence on the durability
of the material in a building structure. This paper is a continuation of
a previously published study dealing with the suitability of various
types of mineralising agents in terms of density, strength and mineral
composition of silica brick.
The entry describes the influence of the method of mixture
homogenisation and the influence of granulometry of the applied Femineralising
agent on the resulting silica microstructure. Porosity,
density, phase composition and microstructure of the experimentally
prepared silica bricks samples were examined and the results were
discussed in context with the technology of homogenisation and
firing temperature used. The properties of silica bricks samples were
compared to the sample without any Fe-mineraliser.
Abstract: The assessment of the risk posed by a borrower to a
lender is one of the common problems that financial institutions have
to deal with. Consumers vying for a mortgage are generally
compared to each other by the use of a number called the Credit
Score, which is generated by applying a mathematical algorithm to
information in the applicant’s credit report. The higher the credit
score, the lower the risk posed by the candidate, and the better he is
to be taken on by the lender. The objective of the present work is to
use fuzzy logic and linguistic rules to create a model that generates
Credit Scores.
Abstract: A circularly polarized fractal boundary microstrip
antenna is presented. The sides of a square patch along x- axis, yaxis
are replaced with Minkowski and Koch curves correspondingly.
By using the fractal curves as edges, asymmetry in the structure is
created to excite two orthogonal modes for circular polarization (CP)
operation. The indentation factors of the fractal curves are optimized
for pure CP. The simulated results of the novel polyfractal antenna
are demonstrated.
Abstract: Nanotechnology is the new cyber, according to several major leaders in this field. Just as cyber is entrenched across global society now, nano is poised to be major capabilities enabler of the next decades. Expert members from the National Nanotechnology Initiative (in U.S.) representing government and science disciplines say nano has great significance for the military and the general public. It is predicted that after next 15 years nanotechnology will replace information technology as the most economic technology platform. Nanotechnology has even wider applications than information technology.
Abstract: Load carrying capacity of an oil lubricated two-axial
groove journal bearing is simulated by taking into account the
viscosity variations in lubricant due to the addition of TiO2
nanoparticles as lubricant additive. Shear viscosities of TiO2
nanoparticle dispersions in oil are measured for various nanoparticle
additive concentrations. The viscosity model derived from the
experimental viscosities is employed in a modified Reynolds
equation to obtain the pressure profiles and load carrying capacity of
two-axial groove journal bearing. Results reveal an increase in load
carrying capacity of bearings operating on nanoparticle dispersions as
compared to plain oil.
Abstract: Cognitive Radio is a turning out technology that
empowers viable usage of the spectrum. Energy Detector-based
Sensing is the most broadly utilized spectrum sensing strategy.
Besides, it's a lot of generic as receivers doesn't would like any
information on the primary user's signals, channel data, of even the
sort of modulation. This paper puts forth the execution of energy
detection sensing for AM (Amplitude Modulated) signal at 710 KHz,
FM (Frequency Modulated) signal at 103.45 MHz (local station
frequency), Wi-Fi signal at 2.4 GHz and WiMAX signals at 6 GHz.
The OFDM/OFDMA based WiMAX physical layer with
convolutional channel coding is actualized utilizing USRP N210
(Universal Software Radio Peripheral) and GNU Radio based
Software Defined Radio (SDR). Test outcomes demonstrated the
BER (Bit Error Rate) augmentation with channel noise and BER
execution is dissected for different Eb/N0 (the energy per bit to noise
power spectral density ratio) values.
Abstract: This paper addresses the reduction of peak to average
power ratio (PAPR) for the OFDM in Mobile-WiMAX physical layer
(PHY) standard. In the process, the best achievable PAPR of 0 dB is
found for the OFDM spectrum using phase modulation technique
which avoids the nonlinear distortion. The performance of the
WiMAX PHY standard is handled by the software defined radio
(SDR) prototype in which GNU Radio and USRP N210 employed as
software and hardware platforms respectively. It is also found that
BER performance is shown for different coding and different
modulation schemes. To empathize wireless propagation in specific
environments, a sliding correlator wireless channel sounding system
is designed by using SDR testbed.
Abstract: Pollution of the Klip River has caused
microorganisms inhabiting it to develop protective survival
mechanisms. This study isolated and characterized the heavy metal
resistant bacteria in the Klip River. Water and sediment samples were
collected from six sites along the course of the river. The pH,
turbidity, salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen were measured
in-situ. The concentrations of six heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb
and Zn) of the water samples were determined by atomic absorption
spectroscopy. Biochemical and antibiotic profiles of the isolates were
assessed using the API 20E® and Kirby Bauer Method. Growth
studies were carried out using spectrophotometric methods. The
isolates were identified using 16SrDNA sequencing. The uppermost
part of the Klip River with the lowest pH had the highest levels of
heavy metals. Turbidity, salinity and specific conductivity increased
measurably at Site 4 (Henley on Klip Weir). MIC tests showed that
16 isolates exhibited high iron and lead resistance. Antibiotic
susceptibility tests revealed that the isolates exhibited multitolerances
to drugs such as Tetracycline, Ampicillin, and
Amoxicillin.
Abstract: In order to efficiently solve the problems created by the deepening energy crisis affecting Europe and the world,
governments cannot neglect the opportunities of using the energy
produced by sun collectors. In many of the EU countries there are sun
collectors producing heat energy, e.g. in 2011 in the area of EU27
(countries which belong to European Union) + Switzerland altogether
37519126 m2 were operated, which are capable of producing 26.3
GWh heat energy. The energy produced by these sun collectors is
utilized at the place of production. In the near future governments
will have to focus more on spreading and using sun collectors.
Among the complex problems of operating sun collectors, this article
deals with determining the optimal tilt angle, directions of sun
collectors. We evaluate the contamination of glass surface of sun
collector to the produced energy. Our theoretically results are confirmed by laboratory measurements. The purpose of our work is to help users and engineers in determination of optimal operation
parameters of sun collectors.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the ability to
identify and acquire knowledge from external sources at the regional
level in the Czech Republic. The results show that the most important
sources of knowledge for innovative activities are sources within the
businesses themselves, followed by customers and suppliers.
Furthermore, the analysis of relationships between the objective of
the innovative activity and the ability to identify and acquire
knowledge implies that knowledge obtained from (1) customers aims
at replacing outdated products and increasing product quality; (2)
suppliers aims at increasing capacity and flexibility of production;
and (3) competing businesses aims at growing market share and
increasing the flexibility of production and services. Regions should
therefore direct their support especially into development and
strengthening of networks within the value chain.
Abstract: This paper presents general results on the Java source
code snippet detection problem. We propose the tool which uses
graph and subgraph isomorphism detection. A number of solutions
for all of these tasks have been proposed in the literature. However,
although that all these solutions are really fast, they compare just the
constant static trees. Our solution offers to enter an input sample
dynamically with the Scripthon language while preserving an
acceptable speed. We used several optimizations to achieve very low
number of comparisons during the matching algorithm.
Abstract: Access control is one of the most challenging issues
facing information security. Access control is defined as, the ability to
permit or deny access to a particular computational resource or digital
information by an unauthorized user or subject. The concept of usage
control (UCON) has been introduced as a unified approach to capture a
number of extensions for access control models and systems. In
UCON, an access decision is determined by three factors:
authorizations, obligations and conditions. Attribute mutability and
decision continuity are two distinct characteristics introduced by
UCON for the first time. An observation of UCON components
indicates that, the components are predefined and static. In this paper,
we propose a new and flexible model of usage control for the creation
and elimination of some of these components; for example new
objects, subjects, attributes and integrate these with the original
UCON model. We also propose a model for concurrent usage
scenarios in UCON.
Abstract: This paper deals with the issue of biomass and sorted
municipal waste gasification and cogeneration using hot-air turbo-set.
It brings description of designed pilot plant with electrical output 80
kWe. The generated gas is burned in secondary combustion chamber
located beyond the gas generator. Flue gas flows through the heat
exchanger where the compressed air is heated and consequently
brought to a micro turbine. Except description, this paper brings our
basic experiences from operating of pilot plant (operating parameters,
contributions, problems during operating, etc.). The principal
advantage of the given cycle is the fact that there is no contact
between the generated gas and the turbine. So there is no need for
costly and complicated gas cleaning which is the main source of
operating problems in direct use in combustion engines because the
content of impurities in the gas causes operation problems to the units
due to clogging and tarring of working surfaces of engines and
turbines, which may lead as far as serious damage to the equipment
under operation. Another merit is the compact container package
making installation of the facility easier or making it relatively more
mobile. We imagine, this solution of cogeneration from biomass or
waste can be suitable for small industrial or communal applications,
for low output cogeneration.
Abstract: The article demonstrates on a case study how it is
possible to identify MSD risk. It is based on a dissertation Risk
identification model of occupational diseases formation in relation to
the work activity that determines what risk can endanger workers who
are exposed to the specific risk factors. It is evaluated based on
statistical calculations. These risk factors are main cause of upperextremities
musculoskeletal disorders.
Abstract: The Sigma-Delta A/D converters have been proposed
as a practical application for A/D conversion at high rates because of
its simplicity and robustness to imperfections in the circuit, also
because the traditional converters are more difficult to implement in
VLSI technology. These difficulties with conventional conversion
methods need precise analog components in their filters and
conversion circuits, and are more vulnerable to noise and
interference. This paper aims to analyze the architecture, function and
application of Analog-Digital converters (A/D) Sigma-Delta to
overcome these difficulties, showing some simulations using the
Simulink software and Multisim.
Abstract: A simple, accurate and precise direct spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of cefixime in tablets and capsules. The method is based on the reaction of cefixime with a mixture of potassium iodide and potassium iodate to form yellow coloured product in ethanol-distilled water medium at room temperature which absorbed maximally at 352 nm. The factors affecting the reaction product were carefully studied and optimized. The validation parameters based on International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH, USA) guidelines were followed. The effect of common excipients used as additives has been tested and the tolerance limit was calculated for the determination of cefixime. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 4 – 24 ug mL-1 with apparent molar absorptivity of 1.52 × 104 L mol-1cm-1 and Sandell’s sensitivity of 0.033 ug/cm2/ 0.001 absorbance unit. The limits of detection and quantitation for the proposed method are 0.32 and 1.06 ug mL-1, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared with the reference method using t- and F- values and found no significant difference between the two methods. The proposed method can be used as an alternate method for routine quality control analysis of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations.
Abstract: This paper explores competencies that managers of
small firms in Ghana use to enhance operational flexibility towards
the attainment of higher productivity. This is because the requisite
competence required of such managers to be effective performers
continues to be a challenge. Data was collected from managers of
three hundred small firms using a standardized self-completion
questionnaire and analyzed using the Amos-based structural equation
model approach. Findings from factor and confirmatory factor
analyses showed that the only competence exhibited by managers
toward effective performance is realistic practices evident at the
workplace. It is concluded that a manager’s self-confidence and
involvement in areas that he/she is good at, and his/her possession of
skills that enables performance at high capacity are indications of the
manger’s effectiveness. The study outcome provides a knowledge
base helpful to policy-makers, especially in Ghana, in determining
the requisite managerial competences required by small firm
managers for effective performance.