Abstract: The assessment of surface waters in Enugu metropolis
for fecal coliform bacteria was undertaken. Enugu urban was divided
into three areas (A1, A2 and A3), and fecal coliform bacteria
analysed in the surface waters found in these areas for four years
(2005-2008). The plate count method was used for the analyses. Data
generated were subjected to statistical tests involving; Normality test,
Homogeneity of variance test, correlation test, and tolerance limit
test. The influence of seasonality and pollution trends were
investigated using time series plots. Results from the tolerance limit
test at 95% coverage with 95% confidence, and with respect to EU
maximum permissible concentration show that the three areas suffer
from fecal coliform pollution. To this end, remediation procedure
involving the use of saw-dust extracts from three woods namely;
Chlorophora-Excelsa (C-Excelsa),Khayan-Senegalensis,(CSenegalensis)
and Erythrophylum-Ivorensis (E-Ivorensis) in
controlling the coliforms was studied. Results show that mixture of
the acetone extracts of the woods show the most effective
antibacterial inhibitory activities (26.00mm zone of inhibition)
against E-coli. Methanol extract mixture of the three woods gave best
inhibitory activity (26.00mm zone of inhibition) against S-areus, and
25.00mm zones of inhibition against E-Aerogenes. The aqueous
extracts mixture gave acceptable zones of inhibitions against the
three bacteria organisms.
Abstract: It is well known that Logistic Regression is the gold
standard method for predicting clinical outcome, especially
predicting risk of mortality. In this paper, the Decision Tree method
has been proposed to solve specific problems that commonly use
Logistic Regression as a solution. The Biochemistry and
Haematology Outcome Model (BHOM) dataset obtained from
Portsmouth NHS Hospital from 1 January to 31 December 2001 was
divided into four subsets. One subset of training data was used to
generate a model, and the model obtained was then applied to three
testing datasets. The performance of each model from both methods
was then compared using calibration (the χ2 test or chi-test) and
discrimination (area under ROC curve or c-index). The experiment
presented that both methods have reasonable results in the case of the
c-index. However, in some cases the calibration value (χ2) obtained
quite a high result. After conducting experiments and investigating
the advantages and disadvantages of each method, we can conclude
that Decision Trees can be seen as a worthy alternative to Logistic
Regression in the area of Data Mining.
Abstract: Over 90% of the world trade is carried by the
international shipping industry. As most of the countries are
developing, seaborne trade continues to expand to bring benefits for
consumers across the world. Studies show that world trade will
increase 70-80% through shipping in the next 15-20 years. Present
global fleet of 70000 commercial ships consumes approximately 200
million tonnes of diesel fuel a year and it is expected that it will be
around 350 million tonnes a year by 2020. It will increase the
demand for fuel and also increase the concentration of CO2 in the
atmosphere. So, it-s essential to control this massive fuel
consumption and CO2 emission. The idea is to utilize a diesel-wind
hybrid system for ship propulsion. Use of wind energy by installing
modern wing-sails in ships can drastically reduce the consumption of
diesel fuel. A huge amount of wind energy is available in oceans.
Whenever wind is available the wing-sails would be deployed and
the diesel engine would be throttled down and still the same forward
speed would be maintained. Wind direction in a particular shipping
route is not same throughout; it changes depending upon the global
wind pattern which depends on the latitude. So, the wing-sail
orientation should be such that it optimizes the use of wind energy.
We have made a computer programme in which by feeding the data
regarding wind velocity, wind direction, ship-motion direction; we
can find out the best wing-sail position and fuel saving for
commercial ships. We have calculated net fuel saving in certain
international shipping routes, for instance, from Mumbai in India to
Durban in South Africa. Our estimates show that about 8.3% diesel
fuel can be saved by utilizing the wind. We are also developing an
experimental model of the ship employing airfoils (small scale wingsail)
and going to test it in National Wind Tunnel Facility in IIT
Kanpur in order to develop a control mechanism for a system of
airfoils.
Abstract: Managing knowledge of research is one way to ensure
just in time information and knowledge to support research strategist
and activities. Unfortunately researcher found the vital research
knowledge in IHL (Institutions of Higher Learning) are scattered,
unstructured and unorganized. Aiming on lay aside conceptual
foundations for understanding and developing OMS (Organizational
Memory System) to facilitate research in IHL, this research revealed
ten factors contributed to the needs of research in the IHL and seven
internal challenges of IHL in promoting research to their academic
members. This study then suggested a comprehensive support of
managing research knowledge using Organizational Memory System
(OMS). Eight OMS characteristics to support research were
identified. Finally the initial work in designing OMS was projected
using knowledge taxonomy. All analysis is derived from pertinent
research paper related to research in IHL and OMS. Further study can
be conducted to validate and verify results presented.
Abstract: Researches show that probability-statistical methods application, especially at the early stage of the aviation Gas Turbine Engine (GTE) technical condition diagnosing, when the flight information has property of the fuzzy, limitation and uncertainty is unfounded. Hence the efficiency of application of new technology Soft Computing at these diagnosing stages with the using of the Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks methods is considered. According to the purpose of this problem training with high accuracy of fuzzy multiple linear and non-linear models (fuzzy regression equations) which received on the statistical fuzzy data basis is made. For GTE technical condition more adequate model making dynamics of skewness and kurtosis coefficients- changes are analysed. Researches of skewness and kurtosis coefficients values- changes show that, distributions of GTE workand output parameters of the multiple linear and non-linear generalised models at presence of noise measured (the new recursive Least Squares Method (LSM)). The developed GTE condition monitoring system provides stage-by-stage estimation of engine technical conditions. As application of the given technique the estimation of the new operating aviation engine technical condition was made.
Abstract: Software projects are very dynamic and require
recurring adjustments of their project plans. These settings can be
understood as reconfigurations in the schedule, in the resources
allocation and other design elements. Yet, during the planning and
execution of a software project, the integration of specific activities
in the projects with the activities that take part in the organization-s
common activity flow should be considered. This article presents the
results from a systematic review of aspects related to software
projects- dynamic reconfiguration emphasizing the integration of
project management with the organizational flows. A series of studies
was analyzed from the year 2000 to the present. The results of this
work show that there is a diversity of techniques and strategies for
dynamic reconfiguration of software projects-. However, few
approaches consider the integration of software project activities with
the activities that take part in the organization-s common workflow.
Abstract: This paper proposes a low-cost reconfigurable
architecture for AES algorithm. The proposed architecture separates
SubBytes and MixColumns into two parallel data path, and supports
different bit-width operation for this two data path. As a result, different number of S-box can be supported in this architecture. The
throughput and power consumption can be adjusted by changing the
number of S-box running in this design. Using the TSMC 0.18μm CMOS standard cell library, a very low-cost implementation of 7K
Gates is obtained under 182MHz frequency. The maximum throughput is 360Mbps while using 4 S-Box simultaneously, and the
minimum throughput is 114Mbps while only using 1 S-Box
Abstract: The article deals with technical support of intracranial single unit activity measurement. The parameters of the whole measuring set were tested in order to assure the optimal conditions of extracellular single-unit recording. Metal microelectrodes for measuring the single-unit were tested during animal experiments. From signals recorded during these experiments, requirements for the measuring set parameters were defined. The impedance parameters of the metal microelectrodes were measured. The frequency-gain and autonomous noise properties of preamplifier and amplifier were verified. The measurement and the description of the extracellular single unit activity could help in prognoses of brain tissue damage recovery.
Abstract: An attractor neural network on the small-world topology
is studied. A learning pattern is presented to the network, then
a stimulus carrying local information is applied to the neurons and
the retrieval of block-like structure is investigated. A synaptic noise
decreases the memory capability. The change of stability from local
to global attractors is shown to depend on the long-range character
of the network connectivity.
Abstract: A research program is conducted to evaluate the
mechanical properties of Ultra High Performance Concrete, target
compressive strength at the age of 28 days being more than 150 MPa.
The methodology to develop such mix has been explained. The
material properties, mix design and curing regime are determined.
The material attributes are understood by studying the stress strain
behaviour of UHPC cylinders under uniaxial compressive loading.
The load –crack mouth opening displacement (cmod) of UHPC
beams, flexural strength and fracture energy was evaluated using
third point loading test. Compressive strength and Split tensile
strength results are determined to find out the compressive and tensile
behaviour. Residual strength parameters are presented vividly
explaining the flexural performance, toughness of concrete.Durability
studies were also done to compare the effect of fibre to that of a
control mix For all the studies the Mechanical properties were
evaluated by varying the percentage and aspect ratio of steel fibres
The results reflected that higher aspect ratio and fibre volume
produced drastic changes in the cube strength, cylinder strength, post
peak response, load-cmod, fracture energy flexural strength, split
tensile strength, residual strength and durability. In regards to null
application of UHPC in India, an initiative is undertaken to
comprehend the mechanical behaviour of UHPC, which will be vital
for longer run in commercialization for structural applications.
Abstract: Online auctions are not very popular in Croatia. The
main reason for this is a very limited number of services which can
be used by Croatian users. Until recent times, even selling through
the most popular online auction site eBay wasn't possible because
PayPal services could not make payment to bank or debit card
accounts in Croatia. Furthermore, many foreign sellers do not offer
delivery of their products to Croatia which means that large
quantities of goods initially offered on such sites are not available.
With that in mind, it is necessary to analyze the buying and selling
habits of Croatian users and existing online auction sites, both
Croatian and foreign, and create a model for new domestic site. This
site will have to exploit every positive aspect of existing models and
neutralize every negative perception indicated by users in the survey
so that, hopefully, it would attract new users.
Abstract: Fracture process in mechanically loaded steel fiber
reinforced high-strength (SFRHSC) concrete is characterized by
fibers bridging the crack providing resistance to its opening.
Structural SFRHSC fracture model was created; material fracture
process was modeled, based on single fiber pull-out laws, which were
determined experimentally (for straight fibers, fibers with end hooks
(Dramix), and corrugated fibers (Tabix)) as well as obtained
numerically ( using FEM simulations). For this purpose experimental
program was realized and pull-out force versus pull-out fiber length
was obtained (for fibers embedded into concrete at different depth
and under different angle). Model predictions were validated by
15x15x60cm prisms 4 point bending tests. Fracture surfaces analysis
was realized for broken prisms with the goal to improve elaborated
model assumptions. Optimal SFRHSC structures were recognized.
Abstract: In the national and professional music of oral tradition
of many people in the East there is the metric formula called “ussuli",
that is to say rhythmic constructions of different character and a
composition. Ussuli in translation from Arabic means the law. The
cultural contacts of the ancient and medieval inhabitants of the
Central Asia, India, China, East Turkestan, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Turkey, and Iran have played a certain role in formation of both
musical and dancing heritage of each of these people. During
theatrical shows many dances were performed under the
accompaniment of percussion instruments as nagra, dayulpaz, doll.
The abovementioned tools are used as the obligatory accompanying
tool in an orchestra and at support of dancing acts as the solo tool.
Dynamics of development of a dancing composition, at times
execution of technique of movement depends on various
combinations of ussuli and their receptions of execution.
Abstract: Liposomal magnetofection is the most powerful nonviral method for the nucleic acid delivery into the cultured cancer cells and widely used for in vitro applications. Use of the static magnetic field condition may result in non-uniform distribution of aggregate complexes on the surface of cultured cells. To prevent this, we developed the new device which allows to concentrate aggregate complexes under dynamic magnetic field, assisting more contact of these complexes with cellular membrane and, possibly, stimulating endocytosis. Newly developed device for magnetofection under dynamic gradient magnetic field, “DynaFECTOR", was used to compare transfection efficiency of human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2 with that obtained by lipofection and magnetofection. The effect of two parameters on transfection efficiency, incubation time under dynamic magnetic field and rotation frequency of magnet, was estimated. Liposomal magnetofection under dynamic gradient magnetic field showed the highest transfection efficiency for HepG2 cells.
Abstract: Availability of high dimensional biological datasets such as from gene expression, proteomic, and metabolic experiments can be leveraged for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. Many classification methods in this area have been studied to predict disease states and separate between predefined classes such as patients with a special disease versus healthy controls. However, most of the existing research only focuses on a specific dataset. There is a lack of generic comparison between classifiers, which might provide a guideline for biologists or bioinformaticians to select the proper algorithm for new datasets. In this study, we compare the performance of popular classifiers, which are Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression, k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and Random Forest based on mock datasets. We mimic common biological scenarios simulating various proportions of real discriminating biomarkers and different effect sizes thereof. The result shows that SVM performs quite stable and reaches a higher AUC compared to other methods. This may be explained due to the ability of SVM to minimize the probability of error. Moreover, Decision Tree with its good applicability for diagnosis and prognosis shows good performance in our experimental setup. Logistic Regression and Random Forest, however, strongly depend on the ratio of discriminators and perform better when having a higher number of discriminators.
Abstract: Internet security attack could endanger the privacy of
World Wide Web users and the integrity of their data. The attack can
be carried out on today's most secure systems- browsers, including
Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. There are too
many types, methods and mechanisms of attack where new attack
techniques and exploits are constantly being developed and
discovered. In this paper, various types of internet security attack
mechanisms are explored and it is pointed out that when different
types of attacks are combined together, network security can suffer
disastrous consequences.
Abstract: One of the essential requirements in order to have a
realistic surgical simulator is real-time interaction by means of a
haptic interface is. In fact, reproducing haptic sensations increases
the realism of the simulation. However, the interaction need to be
performed in real-time, since a delay between the user action and the
system reaction reduces the user immersion. In this paper, we present
a prototype of the coronary stent implant simulator developed in the
HERMES Project; this system allows real-time interactions with a
artery by means of a specific haptic device; thus the user can
interactively navigate in a reconstructed artery and force feedback is
produced when contact occurs between the artery walls and the
medical instruments
Abstract: Fourty one strains of ESBL producing P.aeruginosa
which were previously isolated from burn patients in Kerman
University general hospital, Iran were subjected to PCR, RFLP and
sequencing in order to determine the type of extended spectrum β-
lactamases (ESBL), the restriction digestion pattern and possibility of
mutation among detected genes. DNA extraction was carried out by
phenol chloroform method. PCR for detection of bla genes was
performed using specific primer for each gene. Restriction Fragment
Length Polymorphism (RFLP) for ESBL genes was carried out using
EcoRI, NheI, PVUII, EcoRV, DdeI, and PstI restriction enzymes. The
PCR products were subjected to direct sequencing of both the strands
for identification of the ESBL genes.The blaCTX-M, blaVEB-1, blaPER-1,
blaGES-1, blaOXA-1, blaOXA-4 and blaOXA-10 genes were detected in the
(n=1) 2.43%, (n=41)100%, (n=28) 68.3%, (n=10) 24.4%, (n=29)
70.7%, (n=7)17.1% and (n=38) 92.7% of the ESBL producing isolates
respectively. The RFLP analysis showed that each ESBL gene has
identical pattern of digestion among the isolated strains. Sequencing
of the ESBL genes confirmed the genuinety of PCR products and
revealed no mutation in the restriction sites of the above genes. From
results of the present investigation it can be concluded that blaVEB-1
and blaCTX-M were the most and the least frequently isolated ESBL
genes among the P.aeruginosa strains isolated from burn patients. The
RFLP and sequencing analysis revealed that same clone of the bla
genes were indeed existed among the antibiotic resistant strains.
Abstract: A simple impedance matching technique for inset feed
grooved microstrip patch antenna based on the concept of coplanar
waveguide feed line has been developed and investigated for a
printed antenna at X-Band frequency of 10GHz. The proposed
technique has been used in the design of Linear Grooved Microstrip
patch antenna array. The characteristics of the antenna are
determined in terms of Return loss, VSWR, gain, radiation pattern
etc. The measured and simulated results presented are found to be in
good agreement.
Abstract: Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that has peaked to an alarming rate in recent decades. It can be found in tropical and sub-tropical climate. In Malaysia, dengue has been declared as one of the national health threat to the public. This study aimed to map the spatial distributions of dengue cases in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor via a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistic tools. Data related to dengue was gathered from the various government health agencies. The location of dengue cases was geocoded using a handheld GPS Juno SB Trimble. A total of 197 dengue cases occurring in 2003 were used in this study. Those data then was aggregated into sub-district level and then converted into GIS format. The study also used population or demographic data as well as the boundary of Hulu Langat. To assess the spatial distribution of dengue cases three spatial statistics method (Moran-s I, average nearest neighborhood (ANN) and kernel density estimation) were applied together with spatial analysis in the GIS environment. Those three indices were used to analyze the spatial distribution and average distance of dengue incidence and to locate the hot spot of dengue cases. The results indicated that the dengue cases was clustered (p < 0.01) when analyze using Moran-s I with z scores 5.03. The results from ANN analysis showed that the average nearest neighbor ratio is less than 1 which is 0.518755 (p < 0.0001). From this result, we can expect the dengue cases pattern in Hulu Langat district is exhibiting a cluster pattern. The z-score for dengue incidence within the district is -13.0525 (p < 0.0001). It was also found that the significant spatial autocorrelation of dengue incidences occurs at an average distance of 380.81 meters (p < 0.0001). Several locations especially residential area also had been identified as the hot spots of dengue cases in the district.