Abstract: Microarrays are made it possible to simultaneously monitor the expression profiles of thousands of genes under various experimental conditions. It is used to identify the co-expressed genes in specific cells or tissues that are actively used to make proteins. This method is used to analysis the gene expression, an important task in bioinformatics research. Cluster analysis of gene expression data has proved to be a useful tool for identifying co-expressed genes, biologically relevant groupings of genes and samples. In this work K-Means algorithms has been applied for clustering of Gene Expression Data. Further, rough set based Quick reduct algorithm has been applied for each cluster in order to select the most similar genes having high correlation. Then the ACV measure is used to evaluate the refined clusters and classification is used to evaluate the proposed method. They could identify compact clusters with feature selection method used to genes are selected.
Abstract: The generation of an idea that goes through several
phases is affected by individual factors, interests, preferences and
motivation. The purpose of this research was to analyze the
difference in difficulties of generating ideas according to individual
learning styles. A total of 375 technical students from four technical
universities in Malaysia were randomly selected as samples. The
Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and a set of developed questionnaires
were used in this research. The results showed that the most dominant
learning style among technical students is Doer. A total of 319
(85.1%) technical students faced difficulties in solving individual
assignments. Most of the problem faced by technical students is the
difficulty of generating ideas for solving individual assignments.
There was no significant difference in difficulties of generating ideas
according to students’ learning styles. Therefore, students need to
learn higher order thinking skills enabling students to generate ideas
and consequently complete assignments.
Abstract: Buzan mind mapping is an efficient system of note-taking that makes revision a fun thing to do for students. Tony Buzan has been teaching children all over the world for the past thirty years and has proved that mind maps are the magic formula in the classroom for everyone. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of Buzan mind mapping as a note-taking technique for the secondary school students. This paper also examines the mind mapping technique, advantages and disadvantages of hand-drawn mind maps. Samples of students’ mind maps were presented and discussed.
Abstract: An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of hooked-end steel fibers on the flexural behavior of normal and high strength concrete matrices. The fibers content appropriate for the concrete matrices investigated was also determined based on flexural tests on standard prisms. Parameters investigated include: matrix compressive strength ranging from 45 MPa to 70 MPa, corresponding to normal and high strength concrete matrices respectively; fibers volume fraction including 0, 0.5%, 0.76% and 1%, equivalent to 0, 40, 60, and 80 kg/m3 of hooked-end steel fibers respectively. Test results indicated that flexural strength and toughness of normal and high strength concrete matrices were significantly improved with the increase in the fibers content added; whereas a slight improvement in compressive strength was observed for the same matrices. Furthermore, the test results indicated that the effect of increasing the fibers content was more pronounced on increasing the flexural strength of high strength concrete than that of normal concrete.
Abstract: The efficiency of heavy metals removal from sewage
sludge in bioleaching processes with heterotrophic, chemoautotrophic
(sulphur-oxidizing) sludge cenoses and chemical leaching (in
distilled water, weakly acidic or alkaline medium) was compared.
The efficacy of heavy metals removal from sewage sludge varies
from 83 % (Zn) up to 14 % (Cr) and follows the order: Zn > Mn > Cu
> Ni > Co > Pb > Cr. The advantages of metals bioleaching process
at heterotrophic metabolism were shown. A new process for
bioconversation of sewage sludge into fertilizer at middle
temperatures after partial heavy metals removal was developed. This
process is based on enhancing vital ability of heterotrophic
microorganisms by adding easily metabolized nutrients and synthesis
of metabolites by growing sludge cenoses. These metabolites possess
the properties of heavy metals extractants and flocculants which
provide the enhancement of sludge flocks sedimentation. The process
results in biomineral fertilizer of prolonged action with immobilized
sludge bioelements. The fertilizer satisfies the EU limits for the
sewage sludge of agricultural utilization. High efficiency of the
biomineral fertilizer obtained has been demonstrated in vegetation
experiments.
Abstract: This study aims to determine change in optimal locations of dual trailing-edge flaps for various thrust coefficient to solidity (Ct /σ) ratios of helicopter to achieve minimum hub vibration levels, with low penalty in terms of required trailing-edge flap control power. Polynomial response functions are used to approximate hub vibration and flap power objective functions. Single objective and multiobjective optimization is carried with the objective of minimizing hub vibration and flap power. The optimization result shows that the inboard flap location at low Ct /σ ratio move farther from the baseline value and at high Ct /σ ratio move towards the root of the blade for minimizing hub vibration.
Abstract: Railway vehicle wheels are designed to operate in harsh environments and to withstand high hydrostatic contact pressures. This situation may result in critical circumstances, in particular wheel breakage. This paper presents a time history of a series of broken wheels during a time interval [2007-2008] belongs to locomotive fleet on Iranian Railways. Such fractures in locomotive wheels never reported before. Due to the importance of this issue, a research study has been launched to find the potential reasons of this problem. The authors introduce a FEM model to indicate how and where the wheels could have been affected during their operation. Then, the modeling results are presented and discussed in detail.
Abstract: Objective: This study explored the possibility of integrating Health Belief Concepts as additional predictors of intention to adopt a recommended diet-category within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Methods: The study adopted a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods approach. Qualitative data were generated on attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and perceptions on predetermined diet-categories including perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived severity and cues to action. Synthesis of qualitative data was done using constant comparative approach during phase 1. A survey tool developed from qualitative results was used to collect information on the same concepts across 237 legible Type 2 diabetics. Data analysis included use of Structural Equation Modeling in Analysis of Moment Structures to explore the possibility of including perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived severity and cues to action as additional intention predictors in a single nested model. Results: Two models-one nested based on the traditional TPB model {χ2=223.3, df = 77, p = .02, χ2/df = 2.9; TLI = .93; CFI =.91; RMSEA (90CI) = .090(.039, .146)} and the newly proposed Planned Behavior Health Belief Model (PBHB) {χ2 = 743.47, df = 301, p = .019; TLI = .90; CFI=.91; RMSEA (90CI) = .079(.031, .14)} passed the goodness of fit tests based on common fit indicators used. Conclusion: The newly developed PBHB Model ranked higher than the traditional TPB model with reference made to chi-square ratios (PBHB: χ2/df = 2.47; p=0.19 against TPB: χ2/df = 2.9, p=0.02). The integrated model can be used to motivate Type 2 diabetics towards healthy eating.
Abstract: In this paper, the feasibility of using machine vision to assess task completion in a surgical intervention is investigated, with the aim of incorporating vision based inspection in robotic surgery systems. The visually rich operative field presents a good environment for the development of automated visual inspection techniques in these systems, for a more comprehensive approach when performing a surgical task. As a proof of concept, machine vision techniques were used to distinguish the two possible outcomes i.e. satisfactory or unsatisfactory, of three primary surgical tasks involved in creating a burr hole in the skull, namely incision, retraction, and drilling. Encouraging results were obtained for the three tasks under consideration, which has been demonstrated by experiments on cadaveric pig heads. These findings are suggestive for the potential use of machine vision to validate successful task completion in robotic surgery systems. Finally, the potential of using machine vision in the operating theatre, and the challenges that must be addressed, are identified and discussed.
Abstract: Two types of crushing were applied to grains of red sorghum: manual crushing using a mortar and pestle of kitchen and mechanical crushing using a hammer mill. The flours obtained at the end of these various crushing were filtered and subdivided in different fractions according to the diameters of the mesh of the sieves (0.16mm; 0.25mm; 0.315mm; 0.4mm, and 0.63mm…). Some physical, chemical and nutritional traits of these flours were evaluated using Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). In vitro digestibility of these flours was also studied with freezing of flour 1% like substrate and α-amylase from B. licheniformis (E.C.3.2.1.1; Megazyme, Wicklow, Ireland). The results revealed that the batches of flours which have the finest diameters as 0.16mm; 0.25mm are the richest one in nutrients and are also the most digestible. Also mechanical crushing is the best mean to obtain significant amount of flours. In conclusion, the type of crushing and the size of the particles have an impact on the final concentration of some nutrients of the flours obtained. Indeed, the finest particles (0.16mm – 0.25mm 0.315mm) obtained after sifting of the flours are more nutritive and have a better digestibility than others size. So the finest particles could be advised for management of cereals namely the sorghum for the production of the infantile foods.
Abstract: When using modern Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) in mobile communications, the user must be able to vary the transmission rate of users to allocate bandwidth efficiently. In this work, Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor (OVSF) codes are used with the same principles applied in a low-rate superorthogonal turbo code due to their variable-length properties. The introduced system is the Variable Rate Superorthogonal Turbo Code (VRSTC) where puncturing is not performed on the encoder’s final output but rather before selecting the output to achieve higher rates. Due to bandwidth expansion, the codes outperform an ordinary turbo code in the AWGN channel. Simulations results show decreased performance compared to those obtained with the employment of Walsh-Hadamard codes. However, with OVSF codes, the VRSTC system keeps the orthogonality of codewords whilst producing variable rate codes contrary to Walsh-Hadamard codes where puncturing is usually performed on the final output.
Abstract: One of the Best Management Practices (BMPs) promoted in Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MSMA) published by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) in 2001 is through the construction of wet ponds in new development projects for water quantity and quality control. Therefore, this paper aims to demonstrate a case study on evaluation of a constructed mini wet pond located at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Seksyen 2, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia in both stormwater quantity and quality aspect particularly to reduce the peak discharge by temporary storing and gradual release of stormwater runoff from an outlet structure or other release mechanism. The evaluation technique will be using InfoWorks Collection System (CS) as the numerical modeling approach for water quantity aspect. Statistical test by comparing the correlation coefficient (R2), mean error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the model in simulating the peak discharge changes. Results demonstrated that there will be a reduction in peak flow at 11 % to 15% and time to peak flow is slower by 5 minutes through a wet pond. For water quality aspect, a survey on biological indicator of water quality carried out depicts that the pond is within the range of rather clean to clean water with the score of 5.3. This study indicates that a constructed wet pond with wetland facilities is able to help in managing water quantity and stormwater generated pollution at source, towards achieving ecologically sustainable development in urban areas.
Abstract: The paper aims at evaluating the effects of heavy groundwater withdrawal and artificial groundwater recharge of an ex-mining pond to the aquifer system of the Langat Basin through the three-dimensional (3D) numerical modeling. Many mining sites have been left behind from the massive mining exploitations in Malaysia during the England colonization era and from the last few decades. These sites are able to accommodate more than a million cubic meters of water from precipitation, runoff, groundwater, and river. Most of the time, the mining sites are turned into ponds for recreational activities. In the current study, an artificial groundwater recharge from an ex-mining pond in the Langat Basin was proposed due to its capacity to store >50 million m3 of water. The location of the pond is near the Langat River and opposite a steel company where >4 million gallons of groundwater is withdrawn on a daily basis. The 3D numerical simulation was developed using the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS). The calibrated model (error about 0.7 m) was utilized to simulate two scenarios (1) Case 1: artificial recharge pond with no pumping and (2) Case 2: artificial pond with pumping. The results showed that in Case 1, the pond played a very important role in supplying additional water to the aquifer and river. About 90,916 m3/d of water from the pond, 1,173 m3/d from the Langat River, and 67,424 m3/d from the direct recharge of precipitation infiltrated into the aquifer system. In Case 2, due to the abstraction of groundwater from a company, it caused a steep depression around the wells, river, and pond. The result of the water budget showed an increase rate of inflow in the pond and river with 92,493m3/d and 3,881m3/d respectively. The outcome of the current study provides useful information of the aquifer behavior of the Langat Basin.
Abstract: The fracture performance of steel wires for civil engineering applications remains a major concern in civil engineering construction and maintenance of wire reinforced structures. The need to employ approaches that simulate micromechanical material processes which characterizes fracture in civil structures has been emphasized recently in the literature. However, choosing from the numerous micromechanics-based fracture models, and identifying their applicability and reliability remains an issue that still needs to be addressed in a greater depth. Laboratory tensile testing and finite element tensile testing simulations with the shear, ductile and Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman’s micromechanics-based models conducted in this work reveal that the shear fracture model is an appropriate fracture model to predict the fracture performance of steel wires used for civil engineering applications. The need to consider the capability of the micromechanics-based fracture model to predict the “cup and cone” fracture exhibited by the wire in choosing the appropriate fracture model is demonstrated.
Abstract: This part of study deals with description of unsteady isothermal melt flow in the container with cuboid shape. This melt flow is driven by rotating magnetic field. Input data (instantaneous velocities, grid coordinates and Lorentz forces) were obtained from in-house CFD code (called NS-FEM3D) which uses DDES method of computing. Description of the flow was performed by contours of Lorentz forces and caused velocity field. Taylor magnetic numbers of the flow were used 1.10^6, 5.10^6 and 1.10^7, flow was in 3D turbulent flow regime.
Abstract: Breast region segmentation is an essential prerequisite in computerized analysis of mammograms. It aims at separating the breast tissue from the background of the mammogram and it includes two independent segmentations. The first segments the background region which usually contains annotations, labels and frames from the whole breast region, while the second removes the pectoral muscle portion (present in Medio Lateral Oblique (MLO) views) from the rest of the breast tissue. In this paper we propose hybridization of Connected Component Labeling (CCL), Fuzzy, and Straight line methods. Our proposed methods worked good for separating pectoral region. After removal pectoral muscle from the mammogram, further processing is confined to the breast region alone. To demonstrate the validity of our segmentation algorithm, it is extensively tested using over 322 mammographic images from the Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS) database. The segmentation results were evaluated using a Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Hausdroff Distance (HD), Probabilistic Rand Index (PRI), Local Consistency Error (LCE) and Tanimoto Coefficient (TC). The hybridization of fuzzy with straight line method is given more than 96% of the curve segmentations to be adequate or better. In addition a comparison with similar approaches from the state of the art has been given, obtaining slightly improved results. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Abstract: Biopolymers have gained much attention as ecofriendly alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics because they are biodegradable and can be produced from renewable feedstocks. One class of biopolyester with many potential environmentally
friendly applications is polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL). The PLA/PCL biodegradable copolyesters were synthesized by bulk ring-opening copolymerization of successively added Llactide (LL) and ε-caprolactone (CL) in the presence of toluene, using 1-hexanol as initiator and stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)2) as catalyst. Reaction temperature, reaction time and amount of catalyst were evaluated to obtain optimum reaction conditions. The results showed that the %conversion increased with increases in reaction temperature and reaction time, but after a critical amount of catalyst was reached the %conversion decreased. The yield of PLA/PCL biopolymer achieved 98.02% at the reaction temperature 160 °C, amount of catalyst 0.3 mol% and reaction time of 48 h. In addition, the thermal properties of the product were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
Abstract: Feature selection is a process to select features which are more informative. It is one of the important steps in knowledge discovery. The problem is that all genes are not important in gene expression data. Some of the genes may be redundant, and others may be irrelevant and noisy. Here a novel approach is proposed Hybrid K-Mean-Quick Reduct (KMQR) algorithm for gene selection from gene expression data. In this study, the entire dataset is divided into clusters by applying K-Means algorithm. Each cluster contains similar genes. The high class discriminated genes has been selected based on their degree of dependence by applying Quick Reduct algorithm to all the clusters. Average Correlation Value (ACV) is calculated for the high class discriminated genes. The clusters which have the ACV value as 1 is determined as significant clusters, whose classification accuracy will be equal or high when comparing to the accuracy of the entire dataset. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using WEKA classifiers and compared. The proposed work shows that the high classification accuracy.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to prepare time and pH dependent release tablets of Ayurvedic Churna formulation and evaluate their advantages as colon targeted drug delivery system. The Vidangadi Churna was selected for this study which contains Embelin and Gallic acid. Embelin is used in Helminthiasis as therapeutic agent. Embelin is insoluble in water and unstable in gastric environment so it was formulated in time and pH dependent tablets coated with combination of two polymers Eudragit L100 and ethyl cellulose. The 150mg of core tablet of dried extract and lactose were prepared by wet granulation method. The compression coating was used in the polymer concentration of 150mg for both the layer as upper and lower coating tablet was investigated. The results showed that no release was found in 0.1 N HCl and pH 6.8 phosphate buffers for initial 5 hours and about 98.97% of the drug was released in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer in total 17 Hours. The in vitro release profiles of drug from the formulation could be best expressed first order kinetics as highest linearity (r2= 0.9943). The results of the present study have demonstrated that the time and pH dependent tablets system is a promising vehicle for preventing rapid hydrolysis in gastric environment and improving oral bioavailability of Embelin and Gallic acid for treatment of Helminthiasis.
Abstract: Floating tablets of Marichyadi Vati were developed with an aim to prolong its gastric residence time and increase the bioavailability of drug. Rapid gastrointestinal transit could result in incomplete drug release from the drug delivery system above the absorption zone leading to diminished efficacy of the administered dose. The tablets were prepared by wet granulation technique, using HPMC E50 LV act as Matrixing agent, Carbopol as floating enhancer, microcrystalline cellulose as binder, Sodium bi carbonate as effervescent agent with other excipients. The simplex lattice design was used for selection of variables for tablets formulation. Formulation was optimized on the basis of floating time and in vitro drug release. The results showed that the floating lag time for optimized formulation was found to be 61 second with about 97.32 % of total drug release within 3 hours. The vitro release profiles of drug from the formulation could be best expressed zero order with highest linearity r2 = 0.9943. It was concluded that the gastroretentive drug delivery system can be developed for Marichyadi Vati containing Piperine to increase the residence time of the drug in the stomach and thereby increasing bioavailability.