Abstract: Atrazine, a herbicide widely used in sugarcane and corn production, is a frequently detected groundwater contaminant. An atrazine-degrading bacterium, strain KB02, was obtained from long-term atrazine-treated sugarcane field soils in Kanchanaburi province of Thailand. Strain KB02 had a rod-to-coccus morphological cycle during growth. Sequence analysis of the PCR product indicated that the 16S rRNA gene in strain KB02 was ranging from 97-98% identical to the same region in Klebsiella sp. Based on biochemical, physiological analysis and 16S rDNA sequence analysis of one representative isolate, strain KB02, the isolates belong to the genus Klebsiella in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Interestingly that the various primers for atzA, B and C failed to amplify genomic DNA of strain KB02. Whereas the expected PCR product of atzA, B and C were obtained from the reference strain, Arthrobacter sp. strain KU001.
Abstract: Research and development R&D work involves
enormous amount of work that has to do with data measurement and
collection. This process evolves as new information is fed, new
technologies are utilized, and eventually new knowledge is created
by the stakeholders i.e., researchers, clients, and end-users. When
new knowledge is created, procedures of R&D work should evolve
and produce better results within improved research skills and
improved methods of data measurements and collection. This
measurement improvement should then be benchmarked against a
metric that should be developed at the organization. In this paper, we
are suggesting a conceptual metric for R&D work performance
improvement (PI) at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
(KISR). This PI is to be measured against a set of variables in the
suggested metric, which are more closely correlated to organizational
output, as opposed to organizational norms. The paper also mentions
and discusses knowledge creation and management as an addedvalue
to R&D work and measurement improvement. The research
methodology followed in this work is qualitative in nature, based on
a survey that was distributed to researchers and interviews held with
senior researchers at KISR. Research and analyses in this paper also
include looking at and analyzing KISR-s literature.
Abstract: Gluconic acid is one of interesting chemical products
in industries such as detergents, leather, photographic, textile, and
especially in food and pharmaceutical industries. Fermentation is an
advantageous process to produce gluconic acid. Mathematical
modeling is important in the design and operation of fermentation
process. In fact, kinetic data must be available for modeling. The
kinetic parameters of gluconic acid production by Aspergillus niger
in batch culture was studied in this research at initial substrate
concentration of 150, 200 and 250 g/l. The kinetic models used were
logistic equation for growth, Luedeking-Piret equation for gluconic
acid formation, and Luedeking-Piret-like equation for glucose
consumption. The Kinetic parameters in the model were obtained by
minimizing non linear least squares curve fitting.
Abstract: Nowadays, organizations and business has several motivating factors to protect an individual-s privacy. Confidentiality refers to type of sharing information to third parties. This is always referring to private information, especially for personal information that usually needs to keep as a private. Because of the important of privacy concerns today, we need to design a database system that suits with privacy. Agrawal et. al. has introduced Hippocratic Database also we refer here as a privacy-aware database. This paper will explain how HD can be a future trend for web-based application to enhance their privacy level of trustworthiness among internet users.
Abstract: The electrical substation components are often subject to degradation due to over-voltage or over-current, caused by a short circuit or a lightning. A particular interest is given to the circuit breaker, regarding the importance of its function and its dangerous failure. This component degrades gradually due to the use, and it is also subject to the shock process resulted from the stress of isolating the fault when a short circuit occurs in the system. In this paper, based on failure mechanisms developments, the wear out of the circuit breaker contacts is modeled. The aim of this work is to evaluate its reliability and consequently its residual lifetime. The shock process is based on two random variables such as: the arrival of shocks and their magnitudes. The arrival of shocks was modeled using homogeneous Poisson process (HPP). By simulation, the dates of short-circuit arrivals were generated accompanied with their magnitudes. The same principle of simulation is applied to the amount of cumulative wear out contacts. The objective reached is to find the formulation of the wear function depending on the number of solicitations of the circuit breaker.
Abstract: This paper presents a methodical approach for designing and optimizing process parameters in oil blending industries. Twenty seven replicated experiments were conducted for production of A-Z crown super oil (SAE20W/50) employing L9 orthogonal array to establish process response parameters. Power law model was fitted to experimental data and the obtained model was optimized applying the central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Quadratic model was found to be significant for production of A-Z crown supper oil. The study recognized and specified four new lubricant formulations that conform to ISO oil standard in the course of analyzing the batch productions of A-Z crown supper oil as: L1: KV = 21.8293Cst, BS200 = 9430.00Litres, Ad102=11024.00Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres, L2: KV = 22.513Cst, BS200 = 12430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 11024.00 Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres, L3: KV = 22.1671Cst, BS200 = 9430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 10481.00 Litres, PVI= 2520 Litres, L4: KV = 22.8605Cst, BS200 = 12430.00 Litres, Ad102 = 10481.00 Litres, PVI = 2520 Litres. The analysis of variance showed that quadratic model is significant for kinematic viscosity production while the R-sq value statistic of 0.99936 showed that the variation of kinematic viscosity is due to its relationship with the control factors. This study therefore resulted to appropriate blending proportions of lubricants base oil and additives and recommends the optimal kinematic viscosity of A-Z crown super oil (SAE20W/50) to be 22.86Cst.
Abstract: Grobner basis calculation forms a key part of computational
commutative algebra and many other areas. One important
ramification of the theory of Grobner basis provides a means to solve
a system of non-linear equations. This is why it has become very
important in the areas where the solution of non-linear equations is
needed, for instance in algebraic cryptanalysis and coding theory. This
paper explores on a parallel-distributed implementation for Grobner
basis calculation over GF(2). For doing so Buchberger algorithm is
used. OpenMP and MPI-C language constructs have been used to
implement the scheme. Some relevant results have been furnished
to compare the performances between the standalone and hybrid
(parallel-distributed) implementation.
Abstract: Banana is one of the most consumed fruits in the tropics and subtropics. Brazil accounts for about 9% of the world banana production. However, the production losses are as high as 30 to 40% and even much higher in some developing countries. The green banana flour is a complex carbohydrate source, including a high total starch (73.4%), resistant starch (17.5%) with functional properties. Gamma irradiation is considered to be an alternative method for food preservation. It has been performed due to the need of extending the shelf - life of foods, whilst maintaining their safety and avoiding one of the main concerns: the nutrient loss. In this work data about on the effects of ionizing radiation on the physicochemical analysis (carbohydrate, proteins, lipids, alimentary fiber, moistures and ashes) of Brazilian functional products (biscuits and bread) of the green banana pulp are presented. The caloric value was calculated. No significant difference was observed between the samples of irradiated and non – irradiated green banana biscuits with the following determinations: carbohydrates, proteins, alimentary fiber and ashes. Only a small significant difference was found in lipids (macronutrients). The results of physical chemical analysis of the irradiated and non- irradiated green banana bread non- irradiated showed no significant difference with the following determinations: carbohydrates, lipids (macronutrients), moisture, ashes and caloric value. A small difference was found in proteins (macronutrients). Irradiation of functional products (biscuits and bread) with doses of 1 and 3kGy maintained their original macronutrients content, showing good radioresistance.
Abstract: Producing IT products/services required carefully
designed. IT development process is intangible and labour intensive.
Making optimal use of available resources, both soft (knowledge,
skill-set etc.) and hard (computer system, ancillary equipment etc.),
is vital if IT development is to achieve sensible economical
advantages. Apart from the norm of Project Life Cycle and System
Development Life Cycle (SDLC), there is an urgent need to establish
a general yet widely acceptable guideline on the most effective and
efficient way to precede an IT project in the broader view of Product
Life Cycle. The current paper proposes such a framework with two
major areas of concern: (1) an integration of IT Products and IT
Services within an existing IT Process architecture and; (2) how IT
Product and IT Services are built into the framework of Product Life
Cycle, Project Life Cycle and SDLC.
Abstract: The main objective of this work is to provide a fault detection and isolation based on Markov parameters for residual generation and a neural network for fault classification. The diagnostic approach is accomplished in two steps: In step 1, the system is identified using a series of input / output variables through an identification algorithm. In step 2, the fault is diagnosed comparing the Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The Artificial Neural Network is trained using predetermined faulty conditions serves to classify the unknown fault. In step 1, the identification is done by first formulating a Hankel matrix out of Input/ output variables and then decomposing the matrix via singular value decomposition technique. For identifying the system online sliding window approach is adopted wherein an open slit slides over a subset of 'n' input/output variables. The faults are introduced at arbitrary instances and the identification is carried out in online. Fault residues are extracted making a comparison of the first five Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The proposed diagnostic approach is illustrated on benchmark problems with encouraging results.
Abstract: Investigation of sandy clay behavior is important since
urban development demands mean that sandy clay areas are
increasingly encountered, especially for transportation
infrastructures. This paper presents the results of the finite element
analysis of the direct shear test (under three vertical loading 44, 96
and 192 kPa) and discusses the effects of different parameters such as
cohesion, friction angle and Young's modulus on the shear strength of
sandy clay. The numerical model was calibrated against the
experimental results of large-scale direct shear tests. The results have
shown that the shear strength was increased with increase in friction
angle and cohesion. However, the shear strength was not influenced
by raising the friction angle at normal stress of 44 kPa. Also, the
effect of different young's modulus factors on stress-strain curve was
investigated.
Abstract: Numerical investigation of flow around a square cylinder are presented using the multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann methods at different Reynolds numbers. A detail analysis are given in terms of time-trace analysis of drag and lift coefficients, power spectra analysis of lift coefficient, vorticity contours visualizations, streamlines and phase diagrams. A number of physical quantities mean drag coefficient, drag coefficient, Strouhal number and root-mean-square values of drag and lift coefficients are calculated and compared with the well resolved experimental data and numerical results available in open literature. The Reynolds numbers affected the physical quantities.
Abstract: A sophisticated simulator provides a cost-effective measure to carry out preliminary mission testing and diagnostic while reducing potential failures for real life at sea trials. The presented simulation framework covers three key areas: AUV modeling, sensor modeling, and environment modeling. AUV modeling mainly covers the area of AUV dynamics. Sensor modeling deals with physics and mathematical models that govern each sensor installed onto the AUV. Environment model incorporates the hydrostatic, hydrodynamics, and ocean currents that will affect the AUV in a real-time mission. Based on this designed simulation framework, custom scenarios provided by the user can be modeled and its corresponding behaviors can be observed. This paper focuses on the accuracy of the simulated data from AUV model and environmental model derived from a developed AUV test-bed which was jointly upgraded by DSTO and the University of Adelaide. The main contribution of this paper is to experimentally verify the accuracy of the proposed simulation framework.
Abstract: This paper presents findings from the evaluation study carried out to review the UAE national ID card software. The paper consults the relevant literature to explain many of the concepts and frameworks explained herein. The findings of the evaluation work that was primarily based on the ISO 9126 standard for system quality measurement highlighted many practical areas that if taken into account is argued to more likely increase the success chances of similar system implementation projects.
Abstract: In recent years, the development of e-learning is very
rapid. E-learning is an attractive and efficient way for computer
education. Student interaction and collaboration also plays an
important role in e-learning. In this paper, a collaborative web-based
e-learning environment is presented. A wide range of interactive and
collaborative methods are integrated into a web-based environment.
This e-learning environment is designed for information security
curriculum.
Abstract: This paper presents an new vision technique for
robotic manipulation of randomly oriented objects in industrial
applications. The proposed approach uses 2D and 3D vision for
efficiently extracting the 3D pose of an object in the presence of
multiple randomly positioned objects. 2D vision permits to quickly
select the objects of interest for 3D processing with a new modified
ICP algorithm (FaR-ICP), thus reducing significantly the processing
time. The extracted 3D pose is then sent to the robot manipulator for
picking. The tests show that the proposed system achieves high
performances
Abstract: Deciding the numerous parameters involved in
designing a competent artificial neural network is a complicated task.
The existence of several options for selecting an appropriate
architecture for neural network adds to this complexity, especially
when different applications of heterogeneous natures are concerned.
Two completely different applications in engineering and medical
science were selected in the present study including prediction of
workpiece's surface roughness in ultrasonic-vibration assisted turning
and papilloma viruses oncogenicity. Several neural network
architectures with different parameters were developed for each
application and the results were compared. It was illustrated in this
paper that some applications such as the first one mentioned above
are apt to be modeled by a single network with sufficient accuracy,
whereas others such as the second application can be best modeled
by different expert networks for different ranges of output.
Development of knowledge about the essentials of neural networks
for different applications is regarded as the cornerstone of
multidisciplinary network design programs to be developed as a
means of reducing inconsistencies and the burden of the user
intervention.
Abstract: Steady state experiments have been conducted for
natural and mixed convection heat transfer, from five different sized
protruding discrete heat sources, placed at the bottom position on a
PCB and mounted on a vertical channel. The characteristic length (
Lh ) of heat sources vary from 0.005 to 0.011 m. The study has been
done for different range of Reynolds number and modified Grashof
number. From the experiment, the surface temperature distribution
and the Nusselt number of discrete heat sources have been obtained
and the effects of Reynold number and Richardson number on them
have been discussed. The objective is to find the rate of heat
dissipation from heat sources, by placing them at the bottom position
on a PCB and to compare both modes of cooling of heat sources.
Abstract: Microstructure, wetting behavior and interfacial
reactions between Sn–0.7Cu and Sn–0.3Ag–0.7Cu (SAC0307)
solders solidified on Ni coated Al substrates were compared and
investigated. Microstructure of Sn–0.7Cu alloy exhibited a eutectic
matrix composed of primary β-Sn dendrites with a fine dispersion of
Cu6Sn5 intermetallics whereas microstructure of SAC0307 alloy
exhibited coarser Cu6Sn5 and finer Ag3Sn precipitates of IMCs with
decreased tin dendrites. Contact angles ranging from 22° to 26° were
obtained for Sn–0.7Cu solder solidified on substrate surface whereas
for SAC0307 solder alloy contact angles were found to be in the
range of 20° to 22°. Sn–0.7Cu solder/substrate interfacial region
exhibited faceted (Cu, Ni)6Sn5 IMCs protruding into the solder matrix
and a small amount of (Cu, Ni)3Sn4 intermetallics at the interface.
SAC0307 solder/substrate interfacial region showed mainly (Cu,
Ni)3Sn4 intermetallics adjacent to the coating layer and (Cu,
Ni)6Sn5 IMCs in the solder matrix. The improvement in the
wettability of SAC0307 solder alloy on substrate surface is attributed
to the formation of cylindrical shape (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 and a layer of
(Cu, Ni)3Sn4 IMCs at the interface.
Abstract: Portuguese diet has been gradually diverging from the basic principles of healthy eating, leading to an unbalanced dietary pattern which, associated with increasing sedentary lifestyle, has a negative impact on public health. The main objective of this work was to characterize the dietary habits of university students in Viseu, Portugal. The study consisted of a sample of 80 university students, aged between 18 and 28 years. Anthropometric data (weight (kg) and height (m)) were collected and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. The dietary habits were assessed through a three-day food record and the software Medpoint was used to convert food into energy and nutrients. The results showed that students present a normal body mass index. Female university students made a higher number of daily meals than male students, and these last skipped breakfast more frequently. The values of average daily intake of energy, macronutrients and calcium were higher in males. The food pattern was characterized by a predominant consumption of meat, cereal, fats and sugar. Dietary intake of dairy products, fruits, vegetables and legumes does not meet the recommendations, revealing inadequate food habits such as hypoglycemic, hyperprotein and hyperlipidemic diet. Our findings suggest that preventive interventions should be focus in promoting healthy eating habits and physical activity in adulthood.