Abstract: Alongside with antioxidant, pro-oxidant activity is also observed in phytochemical compounds. In the study, Ficus odorata, an endemic medicinal plant in the Philippines, was screened for the potential medical application of its pro-oxidant activity.
Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of terpenes, glycosides and phenolic acids. The crude extract was found to contain low gallic acid and quercetin equivalence. The TLC chromatogram of the crude extract showed that none of the 11 spots obtained has antioxidant activity nor correspond to gallic acid and quercetin standards. Experiments showed that the crude extract has stimulatory activity towards DPPH radicals, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions and nitric oxide. Moreover, the extract exhibited a low ferric reducing power.
The prooxidant activity was evident in the crude ethanolic leaf extract of F. odorata, which may provide a better understanding of the plant’s pharmacological importance in the prevention of diseases.
Abstract: Wind farms usually produce power irregularly, due to unpredictable change of wind speed. Accordingly, we should determine the penetration limit of wind power to consider stability of power system and build a facility to control the wind power. The operational limit of wind power is determined as the minimum between the technical limit and the dynamic limit of wind power. The technical limit is calculated by the number of generators and the dynamic limit is calculated by the constraint of frequency variation when a wind farm is disconnected suddenly. According to the determined operational limit of wind power, pitch angles of wind generators are controlled. PSS/E simulation results show that the pitch angles were correctly controlled when wind speeds are changed in addition to loads.
Abstract: The 21st century has been characterized by rapid urbanization with its associated environmental sanitation challenges especially in developing countries. However, studies have focused largely on institutional capacity and the resources needed to manage environmental sanitation challenges, with few insights on the attitudes of city residents. This paper analyzes the environmental sanitation situation in a rapidly urbanizing Tamale metropolis, examines how city residents’ attitudes have contributed to poor environmental sanitation and further reviews approaches that have been employed to manage environmental sanitation. Using secondary and empirical data sources, the paper reveals that only 7.5 tons of 150 tons of total daily solid wastes generated is effectively managed. The findings suggest that the poor sanitation in the city is influenced by two factors; poor attitudes of city residents and weak institutions. While poor attitudes towards environmental sanitation has resulted in indiscriminate disposal of waste, weak institutions have resulted in lack of capacity and pragmatic interventions to manage the environmental sanitation challenges in the city. The paper recommends public education on environmental sanitation, public private partnership, increased stakeholder engagement and preparation and implementation of environmental sanitation plan as mechanisms to ensure effective environmental sanitation management in the Tamale metropolis.
Abstract: A failure of the non-structural component can cause significant damages in critical facilities such as nuclear power plants and hospitals. Historically, it was reported that the damage from the leakage of sprinkler systems, resulted in the shutdown of hospitals for several weeks by the 1971 San Fernando and 1994 North Ridge earthquakes. In most cases, water leakages were observed at the cross joints, sprinkler heads, and T-joint connections in piping systems during and after the seismic events. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to understand the seismic performance of T-joint connections and to develop an analytical Finite Element (FE) model for the T-joint systems of 2-inch fire protection piping system in hospitals subjected to seismic ground motions. In order to evaluate the FE models of the piping systems using OpenSees, two types of materials were used: 1) Steel02 materials and 2) Pinching4 materials. Results of the current study revealed that the nonlinear moment-rotation FE models for the threaded T-joint reconciled well with the experimental results in both FE material models. However, the system-level fragility determined from multiple nonlinear time history analyses at the threaded T-joint was slightly different. The system-level fragility at the T-joint, determined by Pinching4 material was more conservative than that of using Steel02 material in the piping system.
Abstract: Pyrazinamide (PZA) is among the first-line pro-drugs in the tuberculosis (TB) combination chemotherapy used to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Numerous reports have suggested that hepatotoxicity due to pyrazinamide in patients is due to inappropriate dosing. It is, therefore necessary to develop sensitive and reliable techniques for determining the PZA metabolic profile of diagnosed patients promptly and at point-of-care. This study reports the determination of PZA based on nanobiosensor systems developed from disuccinimidyl octanedioate modified Cytochrome P450-2E1 (CYP2E1) electrodeposited on gold substrates derivatised with (poly(8-anilino-1-napthalene sulphonic acid) PANSA/PVP-AgNPs nanocomposites. The rapid and sensitive amperometric PZA detection gave a dynamic linear range of 2µM to 16µM revealing a
limit of detection of 0.044µM and a sensitivity of 1.38µA/µM. The Michaelis-Menten parameters; KM, KM app and IMAX were calculated to be 6.0µM, 1.41µM and 1.51x10-6 A, respectively, indicating a nanobiosensor suitable for use in serum.
Abstract: Germination and seedling responses of seven safflower seed genotypes (Dinçer, Remzibey, Black Sun2 cultivars and A19, F4, I1, J19 lines) to different salinity concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 20g l-1) and temperatures (10 and 20oC) evaluated in Completely Randomized Factorial Designs in Department of Field Crops of Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. Seeds in the control (distilled water) had at 10 and 20oC the highest germination percentage (93.88 and 94.32%), shoot length (4.60 and 8.72cm) and root length (4.27 and 6.54cm) shoot dry weight (22.37mg and 25.99mg) and root dry weight (2.22 and 2.47mg). As the salt concentration increased, values of all characters were decreased. In this experiment, in 20g l-1 salt concentration found germination percentage (21.28 and 26.66%), shoot (1.32 and 1.35cm) and root length (1.04 and 1.10cm) shoot (8.05mg and 7.49mg) and root dry weight (0.83 and 0.98mg) at 10 and 20oC.
Abstract: This paper examines challenges to the implementation and internalization of benchmarked management practices by research organizations in developing economies as transformative tools towards commercialization. The purpose is to understand the contributing influence of internal organizational factors from both situational and historical perspectives towards the practice implementation constraints, and also to provide theoretical understanding on how systemic formations and transformations in the organizations’ activities influenced the level to which their desired needs are attained. The results showed that the variability in the outcomes of the organizations’ transformation processes was indicative of their (in)ability to deal with the impacts of cumulated tensions in the systemic interfaces of their organizational activity systems. It is concluded that the functionalities of the systemic interfaces influence the functionality of the organizational activity system.
Abstract: In this paper the application of a hierarchical fuzzy system (HFS) based on MPSS and SVC in multi-machine environment is studied. Also the effect of communication lines active power variance signal between two ΔPTie-line regions, as one of the inputs of hierarchical fuzzy multi-input PSS and SVC (HFMPSS & SVC), on the increase of low frequency oscillation damping is examined. In the MPSS, to have better efficiency an auxiliary signal of reactive power deviation (ΔQ) is added with ΔP+ Δω input type PSS. The number of rules grows exponentially with the number of variables in a classic fuzzy system. To reduce the number of rules the HFS consists of a number of low-dimensional fuzzy systems in a hierarchical structure. Phasor model of SVC is described and used in this paper. The performances of MPSS and ΔPTie-line based HFMPSS and also the proposed method in damping inter-area mode of oscillation are examined in response to disturbances. The efficiency of the proposed model is examined by simulating a four-machine power system. Results show that the proposed method is performing satisfactorily within the whole range of disturbances and reduces the cost of system.
Abstract: We present in this paper a useful strategy to solve stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) involving stochastic coefficients. Using the Wick-product of higher order and the Wiener-Itˆo chaos expansion, the SPDEs is reformulated as a large system of deterministic partial differential equations. To reduce the computational complexity of this system, we shall use a decomposition-coordination method. To obtain the chaos coefficients in the corresponding deterministic equations, we use a least square formulation. Once this approximation is performed, the statistics of the numerical solution can be easily evaluated.
Abstract: Honey bees are the most important insects because of their ecologic and economic impacts. They pollinate more than 200 flowering crop plants resulting in an increased yield. Also, honey bees provide multiple products such as honey, royal jelly, wax, venom, pollen and propolis. Beekeeping has been practiced by Africans in all parts of the continent for many thousands of years. However, there is a little scientific information published worldwide about beekeeping in Libya. This review article aims to shed light on the history and current status of honey bee keeping in Libya.
Abstract: Settlement and bearing capacity of a piled raft are the two important issues for the foundations of structures built on coastal areas from the geotechnical engineering point of view. Strip piled raft as a load carrying system can reduce the possible extensive consolidation settlements and improve bearing capacity of structures in soft ground. The aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of strip piled raft embedded in soft clay. The efficiency of bearing capacity of strip piled raft foundation has been evaluated numerically in two cases; in the first case, the cap is placed directly on the ground surface and in the second, the cap is placed above the ground. Regarding to the fact that the geotechnical parameters of the soft clay are considered at low level, low bearing capacity is expected. The length, diameter and axe-to-axe distance of piles were the parameters which varied in this study to find out how they affected the bearing capacity. Results indicate that increasing the length and the diameter of the piles increase the bearing capacity.
Abstract: Dynamic behavior of soil are evaluated relative to a number of factors including: strain level, density, number of cycles, material type, fine content, geosynthetic inclusion, saturation, and effective stress .This paper investigate the dynamic behavior of saturated reinforced sand under cyclic stress condition. The cyclic triaxial tests are conducted on remolded specimens under various CSR which reinforced by different arrangement of non-woven geotextile. Aforementioned tests simulate field reinforced saturated deposits during earthquake or other cyclic loadings. This analysis revealed that the geotextile arrangement played dominant role on dynamic soil behavior and as geotextile close to top of specimen, the liquefaction resistance increased.
Abstract: The reduction or removal of noise in a color image is an essential part of image processing, whether the final information is used for human perception or for an automatic inspection and analysis. This paper describes the modeling system based on the rough neural network model to adaptive cellular automata for various image processing tasks and noise remover. In this paper, we consider the problem of object processing in colored image using rough neural networks to help deriving the rules which will be used in cellular automata for noise image. The proposed method is compared with some classical and recent methods. The results demonstrate that the new model is capable of being trained to perform many different tasks, and that the quality of these results is comparable or better than established specialized algorithms.
Abstract: The present study analyses the potential of acid treated chitosan for simultaneous co-adsorptive removal of phenol and cyanide from a binary waste water solution. The effects of parameters like pH, temperature, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and adsorbent size were studied. At an optimum pH of 8, temperature of 30⁰C, initial phenol and cyanide concentration of 200 mg/L and 20 mg/L respectively, adsorbent dose of 30 g/L and size between 0.4-0.6 mm the maximum percentage removal of phenol and cyanide was found to be 60.97% and 90.86% respectively. Amongst the adsorption isotherms applied extended Freundlich best depicted the adsorption of both phenol and cyanide based on lowest MPSD value. The kinetics depicted that chemisorption was the adsorption mechanism and intraparticle diffusion is not the only rate controlling step of the reaction. Thermodynamic studies revealed that phenol adsorption was exothermic and spontaneous whereas that of cyanide was an endothermic process.
Abstract: The speed profiles, gas holdup (eG) and global oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa) from a stirred airlift bioreactor using water as the fluid model, was investigated by computational fluid dynamics modeling. The parameters predicted by the computer model were validated with the experimental dates. The CFD results were very close to those obtained experimentally. During the simulation it was verified a prevalent impeller effect at low speeds, propelling a large volume of fluid against the walls of the vessel, which without recirculation, results in low values of eG and kLa; however, by increasing air velocity, the impeller effect is smaller with the air flow being greater, in the region of the riser, causing fluid recirculation, which explains the increase in eG and kLa.
Abstract: The objective of this work was to study potential of rice straw for power plant in the Central region of Thailand. Provincial power plant capacity was studied. The results showed that provinces central region had potential for small power plants with a capacity of over 10 MW in 13 provinces, 1-10 MW in 6 provinces and less than 1 MW in 3 provinces.
Abstract: Gastrointestinal parasitic infections are common health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. A cross- sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites among workers in major abattoirs in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. These abattoirs are located in Trans-Amadi, Rumuodumaya, Mile III and Easter-by-Pass. Formol-ether concentration technique was used to isolate the ova and cysts from faecal samples. Out of 201 workers (herdsmen, butchers, and cleaners) investigated for the presence of these parasites, 89 (44.2%) were infected with one or more parasites. The prevalence of the parasites among herdsmen and cleaners was significantly (P0.05) difference in the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in relation to age. Parasites identified included Ascaris lumbricoide (33.3%), tapeworm (4.97%), Entamoeba histolytica (5.47%), hookworms (13.9%), Trichuris trichiura (9.95%), Gardia lamblia (3.48%), and Schistosoma mansoni (1.9%). The frequency of A. lumbricoide was significantly (P
Abstract: Digital systems are said to be constructed using basic logic gates. These gates are the NOR, NAND, AND, OR, EXOR & EXNOR gates. This paper presents a robust three transistors (3T) based NAND and NOR gates with precise output logic levels, yet maintaining equivalent performance than the existing logic structures. This new set of 3T logic gates are based on CMOS inverter and Pass Transistor Logic (PTL). The new universal logic gates are characterized by better speed and lower power dissipation which can be straightforwardly fabricated as memory ICs for high performance computer networks. The simulation tests were performed using standard BPTM 22nm process technology using SYNOPSYS HSPICE. The 3T NAND gate is evaluated using C17 benchmark circuit and 3T NOR is gate evaluated using a D-Latch. According to HSPICE simulation in 22 nm CMOS BPTM process technology under given conditions and at room temperature, the proposed 3T gates shows an improvement of 88% less power consumption on an average over conventional CMOS logic gates. The devices designed with 3T gates will make longer battery life by ensuring extremely low power consumption.
Abstract: Determination of optimal conditions of machining parameters is important to reduce the production cost and achieve the desired surface quality. This paper investigates the influence of cutting parameters on surface roughness and natural frequency in turning of aluminum alloy AA2024. The experiments were performed at the lathe machine using two different cutting tools made of AISI 5140 and carbide cutting insert coated with TiC. Turning experiments were planned by Taguchi method L9 orthogonal array.Three levels for spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut and tool overhang were chosen as cutting variables. The obtained experimental data has been analyzed using signal to noise ratio and analysis of variance. The main effects have been discussed and percentage contributions of various parameters affecting surface roughness and natural frequency, and optimal cutting conditions have been determined. Finally, optimization of the cutting parameters using Taguchi method was verified by confirmation experiments.
Abstract: Over the past epoch a rampant amount of work has been done in the data clustering research under the unsupervised learning technique in Data mining. Furthermore several algorithms and methods have been proposed focusing on clustering different data types, representation of cluster models, and accuracy rates of the clusters. However no single clustering algorithm proves to be the most efficient in providing best results. Accordingly in order to find the solution to this issue a new technique, called Cluster ensemble method was bloomed. This cluster ensemble is a good alternative approach for facing the cluster analysis problem. The main hope of the cluster ensemble is to merge different clustering solutions in such a way to achieve accuracy and to improve the quality of individual data clustering. Due to the substantial and unremitting development of new methods in the sphere of data mining and also the incessant interest in inventing new algorithms, makes obligatory to scrutinize a critical analysis of the existing techniques and the future novelty. This paper exposes the comparative study of different cluster ensemble methods along with their features, systematic working process and the average accuracy and error rates of each ensemble methods. Consequently this speculative and comprehensive analysis will be very useful for the community of clustering practitioners and also helps in deciding the most suitable one to rectify the problem in hand.