Abstract: Interaction of Schiff base complexes of Iron and
Manganese: Iron [N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl)
salicylidene) -1, 2 ethanediamine) chloride, [Fe Salen]Cl; Manganese
[N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl) salicylidene) -1, 2
ethanediamine) acetate, were investigated by spectroscopic and
isothermal titration calorimetry techniques (ITC).
The absorbance spectra of complexes have shown hyper and
hypochromism in the presence of DNA that is indication of
interaction of complexes with DNA. The linear dichroism (LD)
measurements confirmed the bending of DNA in the presence of
complexes.
Furthermore, Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments
approved that complexes bound to DNA on the base of both
electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. More, ITC profile exhibits
the existence of two binding phases for the complexes. Antibacterial
activity of ligand and complexes were tested in vitro to evaluate their
activity against the gram positive and negative bacteria.
Abstract: To determine the potential of a low cost Irish
engineered timber product to replace high cost solid timber for use in
bending active structures such as gridshells a single Irish engineered
timber product in the form of orientated strand board (OSB) was
selected. A comparative study of OSB and solid timber was carried
out to determine the optimum properties that make a material suitable
for use in gridshells. Three parameters were identified to be relevant
in the selection of a material for gridshells. These three parameters
are the strength to stiffness ratio, the flexural stiffness of
commercially available sections, and the variability of material and
section properties. It is shown that when comparing OSB against
solid timber, OSB is a more suitable material for use in gridshells that
are at the smaller end of the scale and that have tight radii of
curvature. Typically, for solid timber materials, stiffness is used as an
indicator for strength and engineered timber is no different. Thus, low
flexural stiffness would mean low flexural strength. However, when
it comes to bending active gridshells, OSB offers a significant
advantage. By the addition of multiple layers, an increased section
size is created, thus endowing the structure with higher stiffness and
higher strength from initial low stiffness and low strength materials
while still maintaining tight radii of curvature. This allows OSB to
compete with solid timber on large scale gridshells. Additionally, a
preliminary sustainability study using a set of sustainability indicators
was carried out to determine the relative sustainability of building a
large-scale gridshell in Ireland with a primary focus on economic
viability but a mention is also given to social and environmental
aspects. For this, the Savill garden gridshell in the UK was used as
the functional unit with the sustainability of the structural roof
skeleton constructed from UK larch solid timber being compared
with the same structure using Irish OSB. Albeit that the advantages of
using commercially available OSB in a bending active gridshell are
marginal and limited to specific gridshell applications, further study
into an optimised engineered timber product is merited.
Abstract: We assessed the ecology of the organic and mineral soil
layers of laurel-leaved (BB-1) and Cryptomeria japonica (BB-2 and Pw)
forests in the Kasugayama Hill Primeval Forest (Nara, Japan). The soil
respiration rate was higher in the deeper horizons (F and H) of organic
layers than in those of mineral soil layers, suggesting organic layers
may be where active microbial metabolism occurs. Respiration rates in
the soil of BB-1, BB-2 and Pw forests were closely similar at 5 and 10°C.
However, the soil respiration rate increased in proportion to
temperatures of 15°C or above. We therefore consider the activity of
soil microorganisms to markedly decrease at temperatures below 10°C.
At a temperature of 15°C or above, the soil respiration rate in the BB-1
organic layers was higher than in those of the BB-2 and Pw organic
layers, due to differences in forest vegetation that appeared to
influence several salient soil properties, particularly pH and the carbon
(C) and nitrogen (N) content of the F and H horizons.
Abstract: The capability of CNC gantry milling machines in
manufacturing long components has caused the expanded use of such
machines. On the other hand, the machines’ gantry rigidity can
reduce under severe loads or vibration during operation. Indeed, the
quality of machining is dependent on the machine’s dynamic
behavior throughout the operating process. For this reason, these
types of machines have always been used widely and are not
efficient. Therefore, they can usually be employed for rough
machining and may not produce adequate surface finishing. In this
paper, a CNC gantry milling machine with the potential to produce
good surface finish has been designed and analyzed. The lowest
natural frequency of this machine is 202 Hz corresponding to 12000
rpm at all motion amplitudes with a full range of suitable frequency
responses. Meanwhile, the maximum deformation under dead loads
for the gantry machine is 0.565*m, indicating that this machine tool
is capable of producing higher product quality.
Abstract: The purpose of the present work was to develop an
innovative food product with nutritional properties as well as
appealing organoleptic qualities. The product, a jam, was prepared
with the beans’ cooking water combined with fresh apple or carrot,
without the addition of any conservatives. Three different jams were
produced: bean and carrot, bean and apple and bean, apple and
cinnamon. The developed products underwent a sensorial analysis
that revealed that the bean, apple and cinnamon jam was globally
better accepted. However, with this study, the consumers determined
that the bean and carrot jam had the most attractive color and the
bean and apple jam the better consistency. Additionally, it was
possible to analyze the jams for their chemical components, namely
fat, fiber, protein, sugars and antioxidant activity. The obtained
results showed that the bean and carrot jam had the highest lipid
content, while the bean, apple and cinnamon jam had the highest
fiber content, when compared to the other two jams. Regarding the
sugar content, both jams with apple revealed similar sugar values,
which were higher than the sugar content of the bean and carrot jam.
The antioxidant activity was on average 10 mg TE/g.
Abstract: Customer churn prediction is one of the most useful
areas of study in customer analytics. Due to the enormous amount
of data available for such predictions, machine learning and data
mining have been heavily used in this domain. There exist many
machine learning algorithms directly applicable for the problem of
customer churn prediction, and here, we attempt to experiment on
a novel approach by using a cognitive learning based technique in
an attempt to improve the results obtained by using a combination
of supervised learning methods, with cognitive unsupervised learning
methods.
Abstract: Knowledge is considered as an important asset which
can help organizations to create competitive advantage. The necessity
of taking care of these assets is more important in these days – in
days of turbulent changes in business environment. Knowledge could
facilitate adaption to constant changes. The aim of this paper is to
describe how the knowledge sharing can be supported in the
manufacturing companies. The methods of case studies and grounded
theory were used to present information gained by carrying out semistructured
interviews. Results show that knowledge sharing is
supported in very similar ways in respondent companies.
Abstract: One of the best examples, in evolution of the public
procurement, from post-soviet countries are reforms carried out in
Georgia, which brought them close to international standards of
procurement. In Georgia, public procurement legislation started
functioning short after gaining independence. The reform has passed
several stages and came in the form as it is today. It should also be
noted, that countries with economy in transition, including Georgia,
implemented all the reforms in public procurement based on
recommendations and support of World Bank, the United Nations
and other international organizations.
The aim of first adopted law was regulation of the procurement
process of budget-organizations, transparency and creation of
competitive environment for private companies to access state funds
legally. The priorities were identified quite clearly in the wording of
the law, but operation/function of this law could not be reached on its
level, because of some objective and subjective reasons. The high
level of corruption in all levels of governance can be considered as a
main obstacle reason and of course, it is natural, that it had direct
impact on the procurement process, as well as on transparency and
rational use of state funds. These circumstances were the reasons that
reforms in this sphere continued, to improve procurement process, in
particular, the first wave of reforms began after several years. Public
procurement agency carried out reform with World Bank with main
purpose of smartening the procurement legislation and its
harmonization with international treaties and agreements. Also with
the support of World Bank various activities were carried out to raise
awareness of participants involved in procurement system.
Further major changes in the legislation were filed bit later, which
was also directed towards the improvement and smarten of the
procurement process. The third wave of the reform more or less
guaranteed the transparency of the procurement process, which later
became the basis for the rational spending of state funds. The reform
of the procurement system completely changed the procedures.
Carried out reform in Georgia resulted in introducing new
electronic tendering system, which benefit the transparency of the
process, after this became the basis for the further development of a
competitive environment, which become a prerequisite for the state
rational spending. Increased number of supplier organizations
participating in the procurement process resulted in reduction of the
estimated cost and the actual cost.
Assessment of the reforms in Georgia in the field of public
procurement can be concluded, that proper regulation of the sector
and relevant policy may proceed to rational and transparent spending
of the budget from country’s state institutions. Also, the business
sector has the opportunity to work in competitive market conditions
and to make a preliminary analysis, which is a prerequisite for future
strategy and development.
Abstract: In the framework of the modernization of the city of
Constantine and in order to restore its status as a regional metropolis
introducing it into the network of cities international metropolises,
has major urban project was launched: project of modernization and
of metropolitanization of the city of Constantine.
Our research project focuses on the management of the project for
the modernization of the city of Constantine (PMMC) focusing on
the management of some aspects of the urban project whose
participation, with the objective assessment of the managerial
approach business.
In this contribution, we focus on two cases revealing taken into
account in our research work on the question of participation of
actors and their organizations. It is "the urban project of
modernization of Constantine" and the operation relating to "the
urban improvement in the city of the Brothers FERRAD in the
district of Zouaghi". This project and this operation with the objective
of improving the living conditions of citizens have faced several
challenges and obstacles that have been in major part the factors of its
failures.
Through this study, we examined the management process and the
mode of organization of the actors of the project as well as the level
of participation of the citizen to finally proposed managerial solutions
toconflict situations observed.
Abstract: Robotic surgery is used to enhance minimally invasive
surgical procedure. It provides greater degree of freedom for surgical
tools but lacks of haptic feedback system to provide sense of touch to
the surgeon. Surgical robots work on master-slave operation, where
user is a master and robotic arms are the slaves. Current, surgical
robots provide precise control of the surgical tools, but heavily rely
on visual feedback, which sometimes cause damage to the inner
organs. The goal of this research was to design and develop a realtime
Simulink based robotic system to study force feedback
mechanism during instrument-object interaction. Setup includes three
VelmexXSlide assembly (XYZ Stage) for three dimensional
movement, an end effector assembly for forceps, electronic circuit for
four strain gages, two Novint Falcon 3D gaming controllers,
microcontroller board with linear actuators, MATLAB and Simulink
toolboxes. Strain gages were calibrated using Imada Digital Force
Gauge device and tested with a hard-core wire to measure
instrument-object interaction in the range of 0-35N. Designed
Simulink model successfully acquires 3D coordinates from two
Novint Falcon controllers and transfer coordinates to the XYZ stage
and forceps. Simulink model also reads strain gages signal through
10-bit analog to digital converter resolution of a microcontroller
assembly in real time, converts voltage into force and feedback the
output signals to the Novint Falcon controller for force feedback
mechanism. Experimental setup allows user to change forward
kinematics algorithms to achieve the best-desired movement of the
XYZ stage and forceps. This project combines haptic technology
with surgical robot to provide sense of touch to the user controlling
forceps through machine-computer interface.
Abstract: MSMEs are regarded as the sunrise sector of the
Indian economy in view of its large potential for growth and likely
socio economic impact specifically on employment and income
generation. In today’s competitive business environment, global
competition forces companies to continuously seek ways of
improving their products and services. The pressure on organizations
to adapt to new technologies and external threats requires
resourcefulness, creativity and innovation. Market has become more
open, competitive and customers more demanding. Without
continuous technology innovation, no organization can ever remain
competitive. Innovations reflect a critical way in which organizations
respond to either technological or market challenges. The need of the
market is to deliver high quality products through continuous
changing in features in product, improve existing products, reduce
their cost, and improve employee skills, training, technology
infrastructure and financial policies. Therefore, the key factor of
organization’s ability to change is innovation. The study presents a
detailed review of literature on the role of technology innovation in
improving manufacturing performance of industries.
Abstract: Previous studies on financial distress prediction choose
the conventional failing and non-failing dichotomy; however, the
distressed extent differs substantially among different financial
distress events. To solve the problem, “non-distressed”, “slightlydistressed”
and “reorganization and bankruptcy” are used in our article
to approximate the continuum of corporate financial health. This paper
explains different financial distress events using the two-stage method.
First, this investigation adopts firm-specific financial ratios, corporate
governance and market factors to measure the probability of various
financial distress events based on multinomial logit models.
Specifically, the bootstrapping simulation is performed to examine the
difference of estimated misclassifying cost (EMC). Second, this work
further applies macroeconomic factors to establish the credit cycle
index and determines the distressed cut-off indicator of the two-stage
models using such index. Two different models, one-stage and
two-stage prediction models are developed to forecast financial
distress, and the results acquired from different models are compared
with each other, and with the collected data. The findings show that the
one-stage model has the lower misclassification error rate than the
two-stage model. The one-stage model is more accurate than the
two-stage model.
Abstract: Humans are social mammals, of the primate order.
Our biology, our behaviour and our pathologies are unique to us. In
our desire to understand, reduce solitary confinement one source of
information is the many reports of social isolation of other social
mammals, especially primates. A behavioural study was conducted in
the department of pharmacology at Indira Gandhi Medical College,
Shimla in Himachalpradesh province in India using white albino
mice. Different behavioural parameters were observed by using open
field, tail suspension, tests for aggressive behaviour and social
interactions and the effect of isolation was studied. The results were
evaluated and the standard statistics were applied. The said study was
done to establish facts that isolation itself impairs social behaviour
and can lead to alcohol dependence as well as related drug
dependence.
Abstract: Everyday life is and will be influenced depending on
the developments that society undergoes throughout the history.
Particularly, countries undergoing transition from one system to
another sustain the greatest impact in trying to embrace the modern
system. Kosovo society had the fortune to experience a change,
which began in late 1999 to continue up to date. One of the
'developments' of the time with the evolution in Kosovo society was
the transition from the traditional education system into the modern
one. This transformation began immediately after the war, to
continue even today. It was started by internationals, which governed
and administered Kosovo society, including education. There was a
great 'evolution', because almost the entire system was 'changed'.
Among other things, for the first time it was enabled the opening of
private schools from the lowest level up to the colleges and
universities. This paper will address: how much was ready the society
to embrace such a 'cultural' change in education, respectively, how
much were prepared teachers for such changes; as it was actually
thought to be a modern education system, how much was it according
to international standards; what are the results and current situation in
Kosovo education.
Abstract: Paints are the most widely used methods of protection
against atmospheric corrosion of metals. The aim of this work was to
determine the protective performance of epoxy coating against sea
water before and after damage.
Investigations are conducted using stationary and non-stationary
electrochemical tools such as electrochemical impedance
spectroscopy has allowed us to characterize the protective qualities of
these films. The application of the EIS on our damaged in-situ
painting shows the existence of several capacitive loops which is an
indicator of the failure of our tested paint. Microscopic analysis
(micrograph) helped bring essential elements in understanding the
degradation of our paint condition and immersion training corrosion
products.
Abstract: Surface modification and functionalization has been
an important tool for scientists in order to open new frontiers in
nanoscience and nanotechnology. Desired surface characteristics for
the intended applications can be achieved with surface
functionalization.
In this work, the effect of water soluble ligands on the adsorption
capabilities of silver nanoparticles onto AC which was synthesized
from German beech wood was investigated. Sodium borohydride
(NaBH4) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were used as the ligands.
Silver nanoparticles with different surface coatings have average
sizes range from 10 to 13 nm. They were synthesized in aqueous
media by reducing Ag (I) ion in the presence of ligands. These
particles displayed adsorption tendencies towards AC when they
were mixed together and shaken in distilled water.
Silver nanoparticles (NaBH4-AgNPs) reduced and stabilized by
NaBH4 adsorbed onto AC with a homogenous dispersion of
aggregates with sizes in the range of 100-400 nm. Beside, silver
nanoparticles, which were prepared in the presence of both NaBH4
and PVA (NaBH4/PVA-Ag NPs), demonstrated that NaBH4/PVA-Ag
NPs adsorbed and dispersed homogenously but, they aggregated with
larger sizes on the AC surface (range from 300 to 600 nm). In
addition, desorption resistance of Ag nanoparticles were investigated
in distilled water. According to the results AgNPs were not desorbed
on the AC surface in distilled water.
Abstract: Over the past few years, the online multimedia
collection has grown at a fast pace. Several companies showed
interest to study the different ways to organise the amount of audio
information without the need of human intervention to generate
metadata. In the past few years, many applications have emerged on
the market which are capable of identifying a piece of music in a
short time. Different audio effects and degradation make it much
harder to identify the unknown piece. In this paper, an audio
fingerprinting system which makes use of a non-parametric based
algorithm is presented. Parametric analysis is also performed using
Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs). The feature extraction methods
employed are the Mel Spectrum Coefficients and the MPEG-7 basic
descriptors. Bin numbers replaced the extracted feature coefficients
during the non-parametric modelling. The results show that nonparametric
analysis offer potential results as the ones mentioned in
the literature.
Abstract: Natural hydrocarbon seepage has helped petroleum
exploration as a direct indicator of gas and/or oil subsurface
accumulations. Surface macro-seeps are generally an indication of a
fault in an active Petroleum Seepage System belonging to a Total
Petroleum System. This paper describes a case study in which
multiple analytical techniques were used to identify and characterize
trace petroleum-related hydrocarbons and other volatile organic
compounds in groundwater samples collected from Sousse aquifer
(Central Tunisia). The analytical techniques used for analyses of
water samples included gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS),
capillary GC with flame-ionization detection, Compound
Specific Isotope Analysis, Rock Eval Pyrolysis. The objective of the
study was to confirm the presence of gasoline and other petroleum
products or other volatile organic pollutants in those samples in order
to assess the respective implication of each of the potentially
responsible parties to the contamination of the aquifer. In addition,
the degree of contamination at different depths in the aquifer was also
of interest. The oil and gas seeps have been investigated using
biomarker and stable carbon isotope analyses to perform oil-oil and
oil-source rock correlations. The seepage gases are characterized by
high CH4 content, very low δ13CCH4 values (-71,9 ‰) and high
C1/C1–5 ratios (0.95–1.0), light deuterium–hydrogen isotope ratios (-
198 ‰) and light δ13CC2 and δ13CCO2 values (-23,8‰ and-23,8‰
respectively) indicating a thermogenic origin with the contribution of
the biogenic gas. An organic geochemistry study was carried out on
the more ten oil seep samples. This study includes light hydrocarbon
and biomarkers analyses (hopanes, steranes, n-alkanes, acyclic
isoprenoids, and aromatic steroids) using GC and GC-MS. The
studied samples show at least two distinct families, suggesting two
different types of crude oil origins: the first oil seeps appears to be
highly mature, showing evidence of chemical and/or biological
degradation and was derived from a clay-rich source rock deposited
in suboxic conditions. It has been sourced mainly by the lower
Fahdene (Albian) source rocks. The second oil seeps was derived
from a carbonate-rich source rock deposited in anoxic conditions,
well correlated with the Bahloul (Cenomanian-Turonian) source rock.
Abstract: Chitosan has been an attractive biopolymer for
decades, but its processability is lowered by its poor solubility,
especially in physiological pH values. Freeze concentrated reactions
of chitosan with several organic acids including acrylic, citraconic,
itaconic, and maleic acid revealed improved solubility and
morphological properties. Solubility traits were assessed with a
modified ninhydrin test. Chitosan derivatives were characterized by
ATR-FTIR and morphological characteristics were determined by
SEM. This study is a unique approach to chemically modify chitosan
to enhance water solubility.
Abstract: This research aimed to study the characteristics of a
community in the social, economic and cultural context. This
research used interviews and surveys of the members in the Patthana
Soi Ranongklang community, Dusit District, Bangkok. The results
are as follows: In terms of overall conditions and characteristics, the
Patthana Soi Ranongklang community is located on the property of
the Treasury Department. 50 years ago, the location of this
community consisted of paddy fields with limited convenience in
terms of transportation. Rama V Road was only a small narrow road
accessed only by three-wheelers there were no buses. The majority of
community members moved in from Mak Khawan Rangsan Bridge.
Thus, most community members were either workers or government
officials as they were routers not the owners of the land. Therefore,
there were no primary occupations within the 7 acres of this
community. The development of the community started in 1981. At
present, the community is continuously being developed and
modernization is rapidly flowing in. One of the reasons was because
the main roads were widened, especially Rama V Road that allows
more convenient transportation, leading to heightened citizens’
convenience. In terms of the economy and society, Rama V Road
causes the research to find out the development and expansion of
change in the conditions of the area and buildings. Some buildings
were improved and changed along the time, as well as the
development of new facilities that caused the community members to
continually become more materialistic. In the community, it has well
organized and managed jobs to each part of community members,
and areas were improved to allow the new buildings and apartments.
The trend of jobs became more varied, in terms of both jobs at home,
such as workers, merchandizing and small own businesses, and the
community jobs outside, which became much more convenient to car
drivers as they got used to the narrow roads inside the community.
The location of the community next to Rama V Road also allows
assistance from government agencies to reach the community with
ease. Moreover, the welfare of the community was well taken care of
by the community committee. In terms of education, the research
found that there are two schools: Wat Pracharabuedham School and
Wat Noi Noppakun School that are providing education within the
community. The majority in the community have received Bachelor
degrees. In areas of culture, the research found that the culture,
traditions and beliefs of people in the community were mainly
transferred from the old community: the majorities are Buddhists, so
especially beliefs in Buddhism; the main reason for this is because
the old community was situated near Wat Makut Kasattriyaram.
Therefore, the community members have always had Buddhist
temples as the centre of the community. Later years, more citizens
moved along culture in and bring traditions and beliefs with them.
The community members also took part in building a Dharma hall
named Wat Duang Jai which is 72 year old.