Abstract: Lawsone is a pigment that occurs naturally in plants.
It has been used as a skin and hair dye for a long time. Moreover, its
different biological activities have been reported. The present study
focused on the effect of lawsone on a plant cell model represented by
tobacco BY-2 cell suspension culture, which is used as a model
comparable with the HeLa cells. It has been shown that lawsone
inhibits the cell growth in the concentration-dependent manner. In
addition, changes in DNA methylation level have been determined.
We observed decreasing level of DNA methylation in the presence of
increasing concentrations of lawsone. These results were
accompanied with overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Since epigenetic modifications can be caused by different stress
factors, there could be a connection between the changes in the level
of DNA methylation and ROS production caused by lawsone.
Abstract: Regular exercise promotes reduction in blood pressure, reduction in body weight and it also helps to increase in insulin sensitivity. Participation in physical activity should always be linked to medical screening which can reveal serious medical problems. One of them is high blood pressure. Hypertension is risk factor for one billion people worldwide and the highest prevalence is found in Africa. Another component of hypertension is that people who suffer from hypertension have no symptoms. It is estimated that reduction of 3mm Hg in Systolic Blood Pressure decreases cardiac morbidity at least 5%. The most of the guidelines suggest aerobic exercise in a prevention of cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, it is important to emphasize the impact of resistance training. Even, it was found higher effect for reduction on the level of systolic blood pressure than aerobic exercise.
Abstract: As widely accepted, didactic multiple-choice tests are referred as a tool providing feedback easily and quickly. Despite the final test scores are corrected by a special formula and number of high plausibility distractors is taken into consideration, the results may be influenced by the random choice. The survey was held in three academic years at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, where the multiple-choice test scores were compared to the open-answer ones. The research sample included 567 respondents. The collected data were processed by the NCSS2007 statistic software by the method of frequency and multiple regression analysis and presented in the form of figures and tables. The results proved statistically significant differences in test scores in academic years 2 and 3, and were discussed from the point of the credit system and conditions for teaching/learning English in the Czech education system.
Abstract: Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) is a special case of Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) used to establish communications and exchange information among nearby vehicles and between vehicles and nearby fixed infrastructure. VANET is seen as a promising technology used to provide safety, efficiency, assistance and comfort to the road users. Routing is an important issue in Vehicular Ad Hoc Network to find and maintain communication between vehicles due to the highly dynamic topology, frequently disconnected network and mobility constraints.
This paper evaluates the performance of two most popular proactive routing protocols OLSR and DSDV in real city traffic scenario on the basis of three metrics namely Packet delivery ratio, throughput and average end to end delay by varying vehicles density and transmission range.
Abstract: The advent of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) is giving rise to a new family of power electronic equipment emerging for controlling and optimizing the performance of power system, e.g. STATCOM. Static synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) is a commonly used FACTS device and has been successfully applied in power systems. In this sense, superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) in integration with a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is capable of supplying power systems with both active and reactive powers simultaneously and very rapidly, and thus is able to enhance the security dramatically. In this paper the structure and characteristics of the STATCOM/SMES is proposed. In addition, using a proper control scheme, STATCOM/ SMES is tested on an IEEE 3-bus system and more effective performance of the presented STATCOM/SMES compensator is evaluated with alone STATCOM through the dynamic simulation by using PSCAD/EMTDC software.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to examine views of
secondary school science teachers about purposes to use practical
works in school science. The instrument to survey consisted eighteen
items, which were categorized into four components as follows:
‘Scientific inquiry’, ‘Scientific knowledge’, ‘Science-related attitude’,
and ‘STS (science-technology-society)’. Subjects were 152 secondary
school science teachers (male 70 and female 82; middle school 50 and
high school 102), who are teaching in 42 schools of 8 provinces. On
the survey, science teachers were asked to answer on 5-point Lickert
scale (from 1 to 5) how they thought of using practical works on
purposes with domains of science objectives in school. They had
positive views about using practical works for improving scientific
inquiry process skills, science-related attitudes, and perceptions about
STS literacy, and acquiring scientific knowledge. They would have the
most willingness of using practical works for ‘Scientific Inquiry’
among domains of science objectives in school.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to address and comparison of the attitudes towards the statistics course for undergraduate students. Data were collected from 120 students in Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University who enrolled in the statistics course. The quantitative approach was used to investigate the assessment and comparison of attitudes towards statistics course. It was revealed that the overall attitudes somewhat agree both in pre-test and post-test. In addition, the comparison of students’ attitudes towards the statistic course (Form A) has no difference in the overall attitudes. However, there is statistical significance in all dimensions and overall attitudes towards the statistics course (Form B).
Abstract: In this paper, a 2DOF (two degrees of freedom) PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controller based on MPC (Model predictive control) algorithm fo slip suppression of EV (Electric Vehicle) under braking is proposed. The proposed method aims to improve the safety and the stability of EVs under braking by controlling the wheel slip ration. There also include numerical simulation results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.
Abstract: Recent growth in digital multimedia technologies has presented a lot of facilities in information transmission, reproduction and manipulation. Therefore, the concept of information security is one of the superior articles in the present day situation. The biometric information security is one of the information security mechanisms. It has the advantages as well as disadvantages. The biometric system is at risk to a range of attacks. These attacks are anticipated to bypass the security system or to suspend the normal functioning. Various hazards have been discovered while using biometric system. Proper use of steganography greatly reduces the risks in biometric systems from the hackers. Steganography is one of the fashionable information hiding technique. The goal of steganography is to hide information inside a cover medium like text, image, audio, video etc. through which it is not possible to detect the existence of the secret information. Here in this paper a new security concept has been established by making the system more secure with the help of steganography along with biometric security. Here the biometric information has been embedded to a skin tone portion of an image with the help of proposed steganographic technique.
Abstract: Generally, the traditional Shewhart p chart has been developed by for charting the binomial data. This chart has been developed using the normal approximation with condition as low defect level and the small to moderate sample size. In real applications, however, are away from these assumptions due to skewness in the exact distribution. In this paper, a modified Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) control chat for detecting a change in binomial data by improving square root transformations, namely ISRT p EWMA control chart. The numerical results show that ISRT p EWMA chart is superior to ISRT p chart for small to moderate shifts, otherwise, the latter is better for large shifts.
Abstract: Microalgae due to the ability to accumulate high levels of practically valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids attract attention as a promising raw material for commercial products. The features of the growth processes of cells green protococcal microalgae Oocystis rhomboideus, Scenedesmus obliquus, Dictyochlorella globosa at cultivation in different nutritional mediums were determined. For the rapid accumulation of biomass, combined with high productivity of total lipids fraction yield recommended to use the Fitzgerald medium (Scenodesmus obliquus, Oocystis rhomboideus) and/or Bold medium (Dictyochlorella globosa). Productivity of lipids decreased in sequence Dictyochlorella globosa > Scenodesmus obliquus > Oocystis rhomboideus. The bulk of fatty acids fraction of the total lipids is unsaturated fatty acids, which accounts for 70 to 83% of the total number of fatty acids. The share of monoenic acids accounts from 18 to 34%, while the share of unsaturated fatty acids - from 44 to 62% of the total number of unsaturated fatty acids fraction. Among the unsaturated acids dominate α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3), hexadecatetraenic acid (C16:4) and linoleic acid (C18:2).
Abstract: This paper describes the development of a Weight-
Balancing Control System based on the Android Operating System
and it provides recommendations on ways of balancing of user’s
weight based on daily metabolism process and need so that user can
make informed decisions on his or her weight controls. The system
also depicts more information on nutrition details. Furthermore, it
was designed to suggest to users what kinds of foods they should eat
and how to exercise in the right ways. We describe the design
methods and functional components of this prototype. To evaluate the
system performance, questionnaires for system usability and Black
Box Testing were used to measure expert and user satisfaction. The
results were satisfactory as followed: Means for experts and users
were 3.94 and 4.07 respectively.
Abstract: This research describes a voltammetric approach to determine amounts of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) in orange juice sample, using three screen printed electrode. The anodic currents of vitamin C were proportional to vitamin C concentration in the range of 0 – 10.0 mM with the limit of detection of 1.36 mM. The method was successfully employed with 2 µL of the working solution dropped on the electrode surface. The proposed method was applied for the analysis of vitamin C in packed orange juice without sample purification or complexion of sample preparation step.
Abstract: Catalytic cracking of butene to propylene was carried out in a continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor over HZSM-5 catalysts modified by nickel and phosphorus. The structure and acidity of catalysts were measured by N2 adsorption, NH3-TPD and XPS. The results revealed that surface area and strong acid sites both decreased with increasing phosphorus loadings. The increment of phosphorus loadings reduced the butene conversion but enhanced the propylene selectivity and catalyst stability.
Abstract: Ni-based catalysts with different amounts of Na as
promoter from 2 to 6 wt % were prepared by solution combustion
method. The catalytic activity was investigated in syngas methanation
reaction. Carbon oxides conversion and methane selectivity are greatly
influenced by sodium loading. Adding 2 wt% Na remarkably improves
catalytic activity and long-term stability, attributed to its smaller mean
NiO particle size, better distribution, and milder metal-support
interaction. However, excess addition of Na results in deactivation
distinctly due to the blockage of active sites.
Abstract: In this increasingly visual world, how can we best decipher and understand the many ways that our everyday lives are organized around looking practices and the many images we encounter each day? Indeed, how we interact with and interpret visual images is a basic component of human life. Today, however, we are living in one of the most artificial visual and image-saturated cultures in human history, which makes understanding the complex construction and multiple social functions of visual imagery more important than ever before. Themes regarding our experience of a visually pervasive mediated culture, here, termed visual spectacle.
Abstract: Although urbanization in Africa has been characterized by fragile socio-economic successes, the sustainability of city infrastructure is now central to planning processes as a pathway to closing the deficit in terms of coverage and access. This paper builds on survey and interview data from Kampala city, to demonstrate how the principle gender responsiveness can inform improvements in urban infrastructure and service delivery. We discovered that women prefer infrastructure that combines living and working spaces for reduced labour and travel burdens between homes, markets, schools, and other urban spaces. Men’s conception of infrastructure needs on the other hand, mirrored public security and connectivity concerns along city streets and work places. However, the urban planning approach at city-level is guided by mainstream engineering and architectural designs that do not necessarily reflect the social context within which urban infrastructure influences gender roles and the attendant mobility needs. To address the challenge across cities of similar context, the paper concludes with a set of analytic steps on how the gendered influences on infrastructure-use can be considered in urban planning cycles.
Abstract: This work investigates the wear of a steam turbine blade coated with titanium nitride (TiN), and compares to the wear of uncoated blades. The coating is deposited on by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The working conditions of the blade were simulated and surface temperature and pressure values as well as flow velocity and flow direction were obtained. This data was used in the finite element wear model developed here in order to predict the wear of the blade. The wear mechanisms considered are erosive wear due to particle impingement and fluid jet, and fatigue wear due to repeated impingement of particles and fluid jet. Results show that the life of the TiN-coated blade is approximately 1.76 times longer than the life of the uncoated one.
Abstract: The objective of this research was to study the
influence of Integrated Marketing Communication on Buying
Decision of Consumers in Bangkok. A total of 397 respondents were
collected from customers who drive in Bangkok. A questionnaire was
utilized as a tool to collect data. Statistics utilized in this research
included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and
multiple regression analysis. Data were analyzed by using Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences.
The findings revealed that the majority of respondents were male
with the age between 25-34 years old, hold undergraduate degree,
married and stay together. The average income of respondents was
between 10,001-20,000 baht. In terms of occupation, the majority
worked for private companies. The effect to the Buying Decision of
Consumers in Bangkok to including sale promotion with the low
interest and discount for an installment, selling by introducing and
gave product information through sales persons, public relation by
website, direct marketing by annual motor show and advertisement
by television media.
Abstract: This research aims to study the Zinc (Zn) concentration in fine particulate matter on Rajchawithee roadside in rush hour. 30 Samples were collected in Jun to August 2013 by 8 stage non-avaible cascade impactor. Each samples (filter paper) were digest with nitric acid and analyed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer for Zinc determination. The highest value for the mean fraction (18.00 ± 9.28%) is the size 9.0 – 110.0 micron follow by the range 3.3 – 4.7 micron (14.77 ± 14.66 %) and 1.1 – 2.1 micron (14.01 ± 11.77 %). The concentration of Zn in the particulate matter of range 0.43 – 0.7mm, 0.7 – 1.1 mm, 1.1 – 2.1 mm, 2.1 – 3.3 mm, 3.3 – 4.7 mm, 4.7 – 5.8 mm, 5.8 – 9.0 mm, 9.0 – 10.0 mm, were 41.56 – 217.62 mg/m3 (175.86 ±32.25 mg/m3), 152.60 – 217.24 mg/m3 (187.71 ± 17.42 mg/m3), 142.90 – 214.67 mg/m3(180.95 ± 18.71 mg/m3), 155.48 – 218.19 mg/m3(183.22 ± 19.94 mg/m3), 151.72 – 217.39 mg/m3(181.85 ± 17.57 mg/m3), 133.86 – 220.17 mg/m3 (178.78 ± 23.45 mg/m3), 160.00 – 220.35 mg/m3 (182.58 ± 18.08 mg/m3), 153.30 – 226.70 mg/m3 (181.52 ± 20.05 mg/m3), respectively. The Zn concentration in each size of particulate matter was not statistically significant different (p > .005)