Abstract: Adequate analgesia following caesarean section
decreases morbidity, hastens ambulation, improves patient outcome
and facilitates care of the newborn. Intrathecal magnesium, an
NMDA antagonist, has been shown to prolong analgesia without
significant side effects in healthy parturients. The aim of this study
was to evaluate the onset and duration of sensory and motor block,
hemodynamic effect, postoperative analgesia, and adverse effects of
magnesium or fentanyl given intrathecally with hyperbaric 0.5%
bupivacaine in patients with mild preeclampsia undergoing caesarean
section. Sixty women with mild preeclampsia undergoing elective
caesarean section were included in a prospective, double blind,
controlled trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive spinal
anesthesia with 2 mL 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine with 12.5 μg
fentanyl (group F) or 0.1 ml of 50% magnesium sulphate (50 mg)
(group M) with 0.15ml preservative free distilled water. Onset,
duration and recovery of sensory and motor block, time to maximum
sensory block, duration of spinal anaesthesia and postoperative
analgesic requirements were studied. Statistical comparison was
carried out using the Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests and
Independent Student’s t-test where appropriate. The onset of both
sensory and motor block was slower in the magnesium group. The
duration of spinal anaesthesia (246 vs. 284) and motor block (186.3
vs. 210) were significantly longer in the magnesium group. Total
analgesic top up requirement was less in group M. Hemodynamic
parameters were similar in both the groups. Intrathecal magnesium
caused minimal side effects. Since Fentanyl and other opioid
congeners are not available throughout the country easily,
magnesium with its easy availability and less side effect profile can
be a cost effective alternative to fentanyl in managing pregnancy
induced hypertension (PIH) patients given along with Bupivacaine
intrathecally in caesarean section.
Abstract: In this paper numerical studies have been carried out
to examine the pre-ignition flow features of high-performance solid
propellant rocket motors with two different port geometries but with
same propellant loading density. Numerical computations have been
carried out using a validated 3D, unsteady, 2nd-order implicit, SST k-
ω turbulence model. In the numerical study, a fully implicit finite
volume scheme of the compressible, Reynolds-Averaged, Navier-
Stokes equations is employed. We have observed from the numerical
results that in solid rocket motors with highly loaded propellants
having divergent port geometry the hot igniter gases can create preignition
pressure oscillations leading to thrust oscillations due to the
flow unsteadiness and recirculation. We have also observed that the
igniter temperature fluctuations are diminished rapidly thereby
reaching the steady state value faster in the case of solid propellant
rocket motors with convergent port than the divergent port
irrespective of the igniter total pressure. We have concluded that the
prudent selection of the port geometry, without altering the propellant
loading density, for damping the total temperature fluctuations within
the motor is a meaningful objective for the suppression and control of
instability and/or thrust oscillations often observed in solid propellant
rocket motors with non-uniform port geometry.
Abstract: The increasing volume of solid waste generated,
collected and disposed daily complicate adequate management of
solid waste by relevant agency like Niger State Environmental
Protection Agency (NISEPA). In addition, the impacts of solid waste
on the natural environment and human livelihood require
identification of cost-effective ways for sustainable municipal waste
management in Nigeria. These signal the need for identifying
environment-friendly initiative and local solution to address the
problem of municipal solid waste. A research field was secured at
Pago, Minna, Niger State which is located in the guinea savanna belt
of Nigeria, within longitude 60 361 4311 - 4511 and latitude 90 291
37.6111 - .6211 N. Poultry droppings, decomposed household waste
manure and NPK treatments were used. The experimental field was
divided into three replications and four (4) treatments on each
replication making a total of twelve (12) plots. The treatments were
allotted using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and
Data collected was analyzed using SPSS software and RCBD. The
result depicts variation in plant height and number of leaves at 50%
flowering; Poultry dropping records the highest height while the
number of leaves for waste manure competes fairly well with NPK
treatment. Similarly, the varying treatments significantly increase
vegetable yield, as the control (non-treatment) records the least yield
for the three vegetable samples. Adoption of this organic manure for
cultivation does not only enhance environment quality and attainment
of food security but will contribute to local economic development,
poverty alleviation as well as social inclusion.
Abstract: This survey paper shows the recent state of model
comparison as it’s applies to Model Driven engineering. In Model
Driven Engineering to calculate the difference between the models is
a very important and challenging task. There are number of tasks
involved in model differencing that firstly starts with identifying and
matching the elements of the model. In this paper, we discuss how
model matching is accomplished, the strategies, techniques and the
types of the model. We also discuss the future direction. We found
out that many of the latest model comparison strategies are geared
near enabling Meta model and similarity based matching. Therefore
model versioning is the most dominant application of the model
comparison. Recently to work on comparison for versioning has
begun to deteriorate, giving way to different applications. Ultimately
there is wide change among the tools in the measure of client exertion
needed to perform model comparisons, as some require more push to
encourage more sweeping statement and expressive force.
Abstract: A new design of aerostatic thrust bearing is proposed
for high static stiffness. The bearing body, which is mead of polymer
covered with metallic membrane, is held by a circular ring. Such a
support helps form a concave air gap to grasp the air pressure. The
polymer body, which can be made rapidly by either injection or
molding is able to provide extra damping under dynamic loading. The
smooth membrane not only serves as the bearing surface but also
protects the polymer body. The restrictor is a capillary inside a silicone
tube. It can passively compensate the variation of load by expanding
the capillary diameter for more air flux. In the present example, the
stiffness soars from 15.85 N/μm of typical bearing to 349.85 N/μm at
bearing elevation 9.5 μm; meanwhile the load capacity also enhances
from 346.86 N to 704.18 N.
Abstract: Electrohydraulic servo system have been used in
industry in a wide number of applications. Its dynamics are highly
nonlinear and also have large extent of model uncertainties and
external disturbances. In this paper, a robust back-stepping control
(RBSC) scheme is proposed to overcome the problem of disturbances
and system uncertainties effectively and to improve the tracking
performance of EHS systems. In order to implement the proposed
control scheme, the system uncertainties in EHS systems are
considered as total leakage coefficient and effective oil volume. In
addition, in order to obtain the virtual controls for stabilizing system,
the update rule for the system uncertainty term is induced by
the Lyapunov control function (LCF). To verify the performance and
robustness of the proposed control system, computer simulation of
the proposed control system using Matlab/Simulink Software
is executed. From the computer simulation, it was found that the
RBSC system produces the desired tracking performance and has
robustness to the disturbances and system uncertainties of EHS
systems.
Abstract: Expansive soils are often encountered in many parts
of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid fields. Such kind of
soils, generally including active clay minerals in low water content,
enlarge in volume by absorbing the water through the surface and
cause a great harm to the light structures such as channel coating,
roads and airports. The expansive soils were encountered on the path
of Apa-Hotamış conveyance channel belonging to the State
Hydraulic Works in the region of Konya. In the research done in this
area, it is predicted that the soil has a swollen nature and the soil
should be filled with proper granular equipments by digging the
ground to 50-60 cm. In this study, for purpose of helping the other
research to be done in the same area, it is thought that instead of
replacing swollen soil with the granular soil, by stabilizing it with
polypropylene fiber and using it its original place decreases effect of
swelling percent, in this way the cost will be decreased. Therefore,
laboratory tests were conducted to study the effects of polypropylene
fiber on swelling characteristics of expansive soil. Test results
indicated that inclusion of fiber reduced swell percent of expansive
soil. As the fiber content increased, the unconfined compressive
strength was increased. Finally, it can be said that stabilization of
expansive soils with polypropylene fiber is an effective method.
Abstract: Facility location is a complex real-world problem
which needs a strategic management decision. This paper provides a
general review on studies, efforts and developments in Facility
Location Problems which are classical optimization problems having
a wide-spread applications in various areas such as transportation,
distribution, production, supply chain decisions and
telecommunication. Our goal is not to review all variants of different
studies in FLPs or to describe very detailed computational techniques
and solution approaches, but rather to provide a broad overview of
major location problems that have been studied, indicating how they
are formulated and what are proposed by researchers to tackle the
problem. A brief, elucidative table based on a grouping according to
“General Problem Type” and “Methods Proposed” used in the studies
is also presented at the end of the work.
Abstract: By enhancing the applicatıon of grounds for
establishment and due to the lack of appropriate sites, engineers
attempt to seek out a new method to reduce the weakness of soils. İn
aspect of economic situation, various ways have been used to
decrease the weak grounds. Because of the rapid development of
infrastructural facilities, spreading the construction operation is an
obligation. Furthermore, in various sites with the really bad soil
situation, engineers have considered obvious problems. One of the
most essential ways for developing the weak soils is stone column.
Obviously, the method was introduced in France in 1830 to improve
a native soil initially. Stone columns have an expanding range of
usage in different rough foundation sites all over the world to
increase the bearing capacity, to reduce the whole and differential
settlements, to enhance the rate of consolidation, to stabilize slopes
stability of embankments and to increase the liquefaction resistance
as well. A recent procedure called installing vertical nails along the
round stone columns in order to make better the performance of
considered columns is offered. Moreover, thanks to the enhancing the
nail diameter, number and embedment nail depth, the positive points
of vertical circumferential nails increases. Based on the result of this
study, load caring capacity will be develop with enhancing the length
and the power of reinforcements in vertical encasement stone column
(CESC). In this study, the main purpose is comparing two methods of
stone columns (installed a nail surrounding the stone columns and
using geogrid on clay) for enhancing the bearing capacity, decreasing
the whole and various settlements.
Abstract: Computer aided diagnosis systems provide vital
opinion to radiologists in the detection of early signs of breast cancer
from mammogram images. Architectural distortions, masses and
microcalcifications are the major abnormalities. In this paper, a
computer aided diagnosis system has been proposed for
distinguishing abnormal mammograms with architectural distortion
from normal mammogram. Four types of texture features GLCM
texture, GLRLM texture, fractal texture and spectral texture features
for the regions of suspicion are extracted. Support vector machine
has been used as classifier in this study. The proposed system yielded
an overall sensitivity of 96.47% and an accuracy of 96% for
mammogram images collected from digital database for screening
mammography database.
Abstract: This study integrates a larger research empirical
project that examines second language (SL) learners’ profiles and
valid procedures to perform complete and diagnostic assessment in
schools. 102 learners of Portuguese as a SL aged 7 and 17 years
speakers of distinct home languages were assessed in several
linguistic tasks. In this article, we focused on writing performance in
the specific task of narrative essay composition. The written outputs
were measured using the score in six components adapted from an
English SL assessment context (Alberta Education): linguistic
vocabulary, grammar, syntax, strategy, socio-linguistic, and
discourse. The writing processes and strategies in Portuguese
language used by different immigrant students were analysed to
determine features and diversity of deficits on authentic texts
performed by SL writers. Differentiated performance was based on
the diversity of the following variables: grades, previous schooling,
home language, instruction in first language, and exposure to
Portuguese as Second Language. Indo-Aryan languages speakers
showed low writing scores compared to their peers and the type of
language and respective cognitive mapping (such as Mandarin and
Arabic) was the predictor, not linguistic distance. Home language
instruction should also be prominently considered in further research
to understand specificities of cognitive academic profile in a
Romance languages learning context. Additionally, this study also
examined the teachers’ representations that will be here addressed to
understand educational implications of second language teaching in
psychological distress of different minorities in schools of specific
host countries.
Abstract: This paper deals with nonlinear vibration analysis
using finite element method for frame structures consisting of elastic
and viscoelastic damping layers supported by multiple nonlinear
concentrated springs with hysteresis damping. The frame is supported
by four nonlinear concentrated springs near the four corners. The
restoring forces of the springs have cubic non-linearity and linear
component of the nonlinear springs has complex quantity to represent
linear hysteresis damping. The damping layer of the frame structures
has complex modulus of elasticity. Further, the discretized equations in
physical coordinate are transformed into the nonlinear ordinary
coupled differential equations using normal coordinate corresponding
to linear natural modes. Comparing shares of strain energy of the
elastic frame, the damping layer and the springs, we evaluate the
influences of the damping couplings on the linear and nonlinear impact
responses. We also investigate influences of damping changed by
stiffness of the elastic frame on the nonlinear coupling in the damped
impact responses.
Abstract: A large amount of software products offer a wide
range and number of features. This is called featuritis or creeping
featurism and tends to rise with each release of the product. Feautiris
often adds unnecessary complexity to software, leading to longer
learning curves and overall confusing the users and degrading their
experience. We take a look to a new design approach tendency that
has been coming up, the so-called “What You Get is What You
Need” concept that argues that products should be very focused,
simple and with minimalistic interfaces in order to help users conduct
their tasks in distraction-free ambiences. This isn’t as simple to
implement as it might sound and the developers need to cut down
features. Our contribution illustrates and evaluates this design method
through a novel distraction-free diagramming tool named Delineato
Pro for Mac OS X in which the user is confronted with an empty
canvas when launching the software and where tools only show up
when really needed.
Abstract: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), vetch (Vicia villosa),
and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) monocultures as well as mixtures
of barley with each of the above legumes, in three seeding ratios (i.e.,
barley: legume 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75, based on seed numbers) were
used to investigated forage yield and competition indices. The results
showed that intercropping reduced the dry matter yield of the three
component plants, compared with their respective monocrops. The
greatest value of total dry matter yield was obtained from barley25-
grasspea75 (5.44 t ha-1) mixture, followed by grass pea sole crop (4.99
t ha-1). The total actual yield loss (AYL) values were positive and
greater than 0 in all mixtures, indicating an advantage from
intercropping over sole crops. Intercropped barley had a higher
relative crowding coefficient (K=1.64) than intercropped legumes
(K=1.20), indicating that barley was more competitive than legumes
in mixtures. Furthermore, grass pea was more competitive than vetch
in mixtures with barley. The highest land equivalent ratio (LER),
system productivity index (SPI) and monetary advantage index
(MAI) were obtained when barley was mixed at a rate of 25% with
75% seed rate of grass pea. It is concluded that intercropping of
barley with grass pea has a good potential to improve the
performance of forage with high land-use efficiency.
Abstract: This research paper presents guiding on how to design
social media into higher education courses. The research
methodology used a survey approach. The research instrument was a
questionnaire about guiding on how to design social media into
higher education courses. Thirty-one lecturers completed the
questionnaire. The data were scored by frequency and percentage.
The research results were the lecturers’ opinions concerning the
designing social media into higher education courses as follows: 1)
Lecturers deem that the most suitable learning theory is Collaborative
Learning. 2) Lecturers consider that the most important learning and
innovation Skill in the 21st century is communication and
collaboration skills. 3) Lecturers think that the most suitable
evaluation technique is authentic assessment. 4) Lecturers consider
that the most appropriate portion used as blended learning should be
70% in the classroom setting and 30% online.
Abstract: This paper discusses the propagation of sound waves in
air, specifically in narrow rectangular pathways of an occluded-ear
simulator for acoustic measurements. In narrow pathways, both the
speed of sound and the phase of the sound waves are affected by the
damping of the air viscosity. Herein, we propose a new finite-element
method (FEM) that considers the effects of the air viscosity. The
method was developed as an extension of existing FEMs for porous,
sound-absorbing materials. The results of a numerical calculation for a
three-dimensional ear-simulator model using the proposed FEM were
validated by comparing with theoretical lumped-parameter modeling
analysis and standard values.
Abstract: Low Temperature Matrix Isolation - Electron
Paramagnetic Resonance (LTMI-EPR) Spectroscopy was utilized to
identify the species of iron oxide nanoparticles generated during the
oxidative pyrolysis of 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MN). The otherwise
gas-phase reactions of 1--MN were impacted by a polypropylenimine
tetra-hexacontaamine dendrimer complexed with iron (III) nitrate
nonahydrate diluted in air under atmospheric conditions. The EPR
fine structure of Fe (III)2O3 nanoparticles clusters, characterized by gfactors
of 2.00, 2.28, 3.76 and 4.37 were detected on a cold finger
maintained at 77 K after accumulation over a multitude of
experiments. Additionally, a high valence Fe (IV) paramagnetic
intermediate and superoxide anion-radicals, O2•- adsorbed on
nanoparticle surfaces in the form of Fe (IV) --- O2•- were detected
from the quenching area of Zone 1 in the gas-phase.
Abstract: This research presents the main ideas to implement an
intelligent system composed by communicating wireless sensors
measuring environmental data linked to drought indicators (such as
air temperature, soil moisture , etc...). On the other hand, the setting
up of a spatio temporal database communicating with a Web mapping
application for a monitoring in real time in activity 24:00 /day, 7
days/week is proposed to allow the screening of the drought
parameters time evolution and their extraction. Thus this system
helps detecting surfaces touched by the phenomenon of drought.
Spatio-temporal conceptual models seek to answer the users who
need to manage soil water content for irrigating or fertilizing or other
activities pursuing crop yield augmentation. Effectively, spatiotemporal
conceptual models enable users to obtain a diagram of
readable and easy data to apprehend. Based on socio-economic
information, it helps identifying people impacted by the phenomena
with the corresponding severity especially that this information is
accessible by farmers and stakeholders themselves. The study will be
applied in Siliana watershed Northern Tunisia.
Abstract: Effects of nicotine on pre-partum body weight and
preimplantation embryonic development has been reported
previously. Present study was conducted to determine the effects of
annatto (Bixa orellana)-derived delta-tocotrienol (TCT) (with
presence of 10% gamma-TCT isomer) on the nicotine-induced
reduction in body weight and 8-cell embryonic growth in mice.
Twenty-four 6-8 weeks old (23-25g) female balb/c mice were
randomly divided into four groups (G1-G4; n=6). Those groups were
subjected to the following treatments for 7 consecutive days: G1
(control) were gavaged with 0.1 ml tocopherol stripped corn oil. G2
was subcutaneously (s.c.) injected with 3 mg/kg/day of nicotine. G3
received concurrent treatment of nicotine (3 mg/kg/day) and 60
mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture (contains 90% delta & 10% gamma
isomers) and G4 was given 60 mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture alone.
Body weights were recorded daily during the treatment. On Day 8,
females were superovulated with 5 IU Pregnant Mare’s Serum
Gonadotropin (PMSG) for 48 hours followed with 5 IU human
Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) before mated with males at the ratio
of 1:1. Females were sacrificed by cervical dislocation for embryo
collection 48 hours post-coitum. Collected embryos were cultured in
vitro. Results showed that throughout Day 1 to Day 7, the body
weight of nicotine treated group (G2) was significantly lower
(p
Abstract: Structure-borne noise is an important aspect of
offshore platform sound field. It can be generated either directly by
vibrating machineries induced mechanical force, indirectly by the
excitation of structure or excitation by incident airborne noise.
Therefore, limiting of the transmission of vibration energy
throughout the offshore platform is the key to control the structureborne
noise. This is usually done by introducing damping treatment
to the steel structures. Two types of damping treatment using onboard
are presented. By conducting a Statistical Energy Analysis
(SEA) simulation on a jack-up rig, the noise level in the source room,
the neighboring rooms, and remote living quarter cabins are
compared before and after the damping treatments been applied. The
results demonstrated that, in the source neighboring room and living
quarter area, there is a significant noise reduction with the damping
treatment applied, whereas in the source room where air-borne sound
predominates that of structure-borne sound, the impact is not
obvious. The conclusion on effective damping treatment in the
offshore platform is made which enable acoustic professionals to
implement noise control during the design stage for offshore crews’
hearing protection and habitant comfortability.