Abstract: The synthesis of CuFe2O4 spinel powders by an
optimized combustion-like process followed by calcination is
described herein. The samples were characterized using X-ray
diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), dilatometry and 4-probe DC methods.
Different glycine to nitrate (G/N) ratios of 1 (fuel-deficient), 1.48
(stoichiometric) and 2 (fuel-rich) were employed. Calcining the asprepared
powders at 800 and 1000°C for 5 hours showed that the G/N
ratio of 2 results in the formation of the desired copper spinel single
phase at both calcination temperatures. For G/N=1, formation of
CuFe2O4 takes place in three steps. First, iron and copper nitrates
decompose to iron oxide and pure copper. Then, copper transforms to
copper oxide and finally, copper and iron oxides react with each other
to form a copper ferrite spinel phase. The electrical conductivity and
the coefficient of thermal expansion of the sintered pelletized
samples were 2 S.cm-1 (800°C) and 11×10-6 °C-1 (25-800°C),
respectively.
Abstract: Sustainability is a very important and heavily
discussed subject, expanding through tourism as well. The study
proposition was to collect data and present it to the competent bodies
so they can mold their public policies to improve the conditions of
the site. It was hypothesized that the lack of data is currently
affecting the quality of life and the sustainable development of the
site and the tourism. The research was held in Mateiros, a city in the
state of Tocantins (TO)/Brasil near Palmas, its capital city. Because
of the concentration of tourists during the high season and several
tourist attractions being around, the research took place in Mateiros.
The methodological procedure had a script of theoretical construction
and investigation of the deductive scientific method parameters
through a case study in the Jalapão/TO/Brazil region, using it as a
tool for a questionnaire given to the competent bodies in an interview
system with the UN sustainability indexes as a base. In the three
sustainable development scope: environmental, social and economic,
the results indicated that the data presented by the interviewed were
scarce or nonexistent. It shows that more research is necessary,
providing the tools for the ones responsible to propose action plans to
improve the site, strengthening the tourism and making it even more
sustainable.
Abstract: Most of the existing video streaming protocols
provide video services without considering security aspects in
decentralized mobile ad-hoc networks. The security policies adapted
to the currently existing non-streaming protocols, do not comply with
the live video streaming protocols resulting in considerable
vulnerability, high bandwidth consumption and unreliability which
cause severe security threats, low bandwidth and error prone
transmission respectively in video streaming applications. Therefore
a synergized methodology is required to reduce vulnerability and
bandwidth consumption, and enhance reliability in the video
streaming applications in MANET. To ensure the security measures
with reduced bandwidth consumption and improve reliability of the
video streaming applications, a Secure Low-bandwidth Video
Streaming through Reliable Multipath Propagation (SLVRMP)
protocol architecture has been proposed by incorporating the two
algorithms namely Secure Low-bandwidth Video Streaming
Algorithm and Reliable Secure Multipath Propagation Algorithm
using Layered Video Coding in non-overlapping zone routing
network topology. The performances of the proposed system are
compared to those of the other existing secure multipath protocols
Sec-MR, SPREAD using NS 2.34 and the simulation results show
that the performances of the proposed system get considerably
improved.
Abstract: Several embryonic cellular mechanism including cell
cycle, growth and apoptosis are regulated by phosphatidylinositol-3-
kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. The goal of present study is to
determine the effects of annatto (Bixa orellana)-derived δ-tocotrienol
(δ-TCT) on the regulations of PI3K/Akt genes in murine morula.
Twenty four 6-8 week 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) received tocopherol stripped corn oil, G2 was given 60
mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture (contains 90% delta & 10% gamma
isomers), G3 was given 60 mg/kg/day of pure δ-TCT (>98% purity)
and G4 received 60 mg/kg/day α-TOC. 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. About fifty morulas from each group were
used in the gene expression analyses using Affymetrix QuantiGene
Plex 2.0 Assay. Present data showed a significant increase (p
Abstract: A Rice Sheller is used for obtaining polished white
rice from paddy. There are about 3000 Rice Shellers in Punjab and
50000 in India. During the process of shelling lot of dust is emitted
from different unit operations like paddy silo, paddy shaker, bucket
elevators, huskers, paddy separator etc. These dust emissions have
adverse effect on the health of the workers and the wear and tear of
the shelling machinery is fast. All the dust emissions spewing out of
these unit operations of a rice Sheller were contained by providing
suitable hoods and enclosures while ensuring their workability. These
were sucked by providing an induced draft fan followed by a high
efficiency cyclone separator that has got an overall dust collection
efficiency of more than 90%. This cyclone separator replaced two
cyclone separators and a filter bag house, which the Rice Sheller was
already having. The dust concentration in the stack after the
installation of cyclone separator is well within the stipulated
standards. Besides controlling pollution, there is improvement in the
quality of products like bran and the life of shelling machinery has
enhanced. The payback period of this technology is less than four
shelling months.
Abstract: This research aims to identify traditional Mon cuisines
as well as gather and classify traditional cuisines of Mon
communities in Bangkok. The studying of this research is used by
methodology of the quantitative research. Using the questionnaire as
the method in collecting information from sampling totally amount of
450 persons analyzed via frequency, percentage and mean value. The
results showed that a variety of traditional Mon cuisines of Bangkok
could split into 6 categories of meat diet with 54 items and 6
categories of desserts with 19 items.
Abstract: Human beings have the ability to make logical
decisions. Although human decision - making is often optimal, it is
insufficient when huge amount of data is to be classified. Medical
dataset is a vital ingredient used in predicting patient’s health
condition. In other to have the best prediction, there calls for most
suitable machine learning algorithms. This work compared the
performance of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Decision Tree
Algorithms (DTA) as regards to some performance metrics using
diabetes data. WEKA software was used for the implementation of
the algorithms. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis
Function (RBF) were the two algorithms used for ANN, while
RegTree and LADTree algorithms were the DTA models used. From
the results obtained, DTA performed better than ANN. The Root
Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of MLP is 0.3913 that of RBF is
0.3625, that of RepTree is 0.3174 and that of LADTree is 0.3206
respectively.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the English
version and a Malay translation of the 21-item Learner Awareness
Questionnaire for its application to assess student learning in higher
education. The Learner Awareness Questionnaire, originally written
in English, is a quantitative measure of how and why students learn.
The questionnaire gives an indication of the process and motives to
learn using four scales: survival, establishing stability, approval and
loving to learn. Data in the present study came from 680 university
students enrolled in various programmes in Malaysia. The Malay
version of the questionnaire supported a similar four factor structure
and internal consistency to the English version. The four factors of
the Malay version also showed moderate to strong correlations with
those of the English versions. The results suggest that the Malay
version of the questionnaire is similar to the English version.
However, further refinement to the questions is needed to strengthen
the correlations between the two questionnaires.
Abstract: The lifetime of a wireless sensor network can be
effectively increased by using scheduling operations. Once the
sensors are randomly deployed, the task at hand is to find the largest
number of disjoint sets of sensors such that every sensor set provides
complete coverage of the target area. At any instant, only one of these
disjoint sets is switched on, while all other are switched off. This
paper proposes a heuristic search method to find the maximum
number of disjoint sets that completely cover the region. A
population of randomly initialized members is made to explore the
solution space. A set of heuristics has been applied to guide the
members to a possible solution in their neighborhood. The heuristics
escalate the convergence of the algorithm. The best solution explored
by the population is recorded and is continuously updated. The
proposed algorithm has been tested for applications which require
sensing of multiple target points, referred to as point coverage
applications. Results show that the proposed algorithm outclasses the
existing algorithms. It always finds the optimum solution, and that
too by making fewer number of fitness function evaluations than the
existing approaches.
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to address the strategic
risk issues surrounding Hindi film distribution in Mumbai for a film
distributor, who acts as an entrepreneur when launching a product
(movie) in the market (film territory).The paper undertakes a
fundamental review of films and risk in the Hindi film industry and
applies Grounded Theory technique to understand the complex
phenomena of risk taking behavior of the film distributors (both
independent and studios) in Mumbai. Rich in-depth interviews with
distributors are coded to develop core categories through constant
comparison leading to conceptualization of the phenomena of
interest. This paper is a first-of-its-kind-attempt to understand risk
behavior of a distributor, which is akin to entrepreneurial risk
behavior under conditions of uncertainty.
Abstract: EEG correlates of mathematical and trait anxiety level
were studied in 52 healthy Russian-speakers during execution of
error-recognition tasks with lexical, arithmetic and algebraic
conditions. Event-related spectral perturbations were used as a
measure of brain activity. The ERSP plots revealed alpha/beta
desynchronizations within a 500-3000 ms interval after task onset
and slow-wave synchronization within an interval of 150-350 ms.
Amplitudes of these intervals reflected the accuracy of error
recognition, and were differently associated with the three conditions.
The correlates of anxiety were found in theta (4-8 Hz) and beta2 (16-
20 Hz) frequency bands. In theta band the effects of mathematical
anxiety were stronger expressed in lexical, than in arithmetic and
algebraic condition. The mathematical anxiety effects in theta band
were associated with differences between anterior and posterior
cortical areas, whereas the effects of trait anxiety were associated
with inter-hemispherical differences. In beta1 and beta2 bands effects
of trait and mathematical anxiety were directed oppositely. The trait
anxiety was associated with increase of amplitude of
desynchronization, whereas the mathematical anxiety was associated
with decrease of this amplitude. The effect of mathematical anxiety
in beta2 band was insignificant for lexical condition but was the
strongest in algebraic condition. EEG correlates of anxiety in theta
band could be interpreted as indexes of task emotionality, whereas
the reaction in beta2 band is related to tension of intellectual
resources.
Abstract: This paper investigates the parametric stability of an
axially moving web subjected to non-uniform in-plane edge
excitations on two opposite, simply-supported edges. The web is
modeled as a viscoelastic plate whose constitutive relation obeys the
Kelvin-Voigt model, and the in-plane edge excitations are expressed
as the sum of a static tension and a periodical perturbation. Due to the
in-plane edge excitations, the moving plate may bring about
parametric instability under certain situations. First, the in-plane
stresses of the plate due to the non-uniform edge excitations are
determined by solving the in-plane forced vibration problem. Then,
the dependence on the spatial coordinates in the equation of transverse
motion is eliminated by the generalized Galerkin method, which
results in a set of discretized system equations in time. Finally, the
method of multiple scales is utilized to solve the set of system
equations analytically if the periodical perturbation of the in-plane
edge excitations is much smaller as compared with the static tension of
the plate, from which the stability boundaries of the moving plate are
obtained. Numerical results reveal that only combination resonances
of the summed-type appear under the in-plane edge excitations
considered in this work.
Abstract: Numerical investigations were conducted to study the
influence of flexural reinforcement ratio on the diagonal cracking
strength and ultimate shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC)
beams without stirrups. Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element
analyses (FEAs) of the beams with flexural reinforcement ratios
ranging from 0.58% to 2.20% subjected to a mid-span concentrated
load were carried out. It is observed that the load-deflection and loadstrain
curves obtained from the numerical analyses agree with those
obtained from the experiments. It is concluded that flexural
reinforcement ratio has a significant effect on the shear strength and
deflection capacity of RC beams without stirrups. The predictions of
diagonal cracking strength and ultimate shear strength of beams
obtained by using the equations defined by a number of codes and
researchers are compared with each other and with the experimental
values.
Abstract: Accurate forecasting of fresh produce demand is one
the challenges faced by Small Medium Enterprise (SME)
wholesalers. This paper is an attempt to understand the cause for the
high level of variability such as weather, holidays etc., in demand of
SME wholesalers. Therefore, understanding the significance of
unidentified factors may improve the forecasting accuracy. This
paper presents the current literature on the factors used to predict
demand and the existing forecasting techniques of short shelf life
products. It then investigates a variety of internal and external
possible factors, some of which is not used by other researchers in the
demand prediction process. The results presented in this paper are
further analysed using a number of techniques to minimize noise in
the data. For the analysis past sales data (January 2009 to May 2014)
from a UK based SME wholesaler is used and the results presented
are limited to product ‘Milk’ focused on café’s in derby. The
correlation analysis is done to check the dependencies of variability
factor on the actual demand. Further PCA analysis is done to
understand the significance of factors identified using correlation.
The PCA results suggest that the cloud cover, weather summary and
temperature are the most significant factors that can be used in
forecasting the demand. The correlation of the above three factors
increased relative to monthly and becomes more stable compared to
the weekly and daily demand.
Abstract: This paper describes a novel sensor device, a pressure
pulse wave meter, which uses a bidirectional condenser microphone.
The microphone work as a microphone as well as a sensor with high
gain over a wide frequency range; they are also highly reliable and
economic. Currently aging is becoming a serious social issue in Japan causing
increased medical expenses in the country. Hence, it is important for
elderly citizens to check health condition at home, and to care the
health conditions through daily monitoring. Given this circumstances,
we developed a novel pressure pulse wave meter based on a
bidirectional condenser microphone: this device is used as a measuring
instrument of health conditions.
Abstract: In present global scenario, aluminum alloys are
coining the attention of many innovators as competing structural
materials for automotive and space applications. Comparing to other
challenging alloys, especially, 7xxx series aluminum alloys have
been studied seriously because of benefits such as moderate strength;
better deforming characteristics and affordable cost. It is expected
that substitution of aluminum alloys for steels will result in great
improvements in energy economy, durability and recyclability.
However, it is necessary to improve the strength and the formability
levels at low temperatures in aluminum alloys for still better
applications. Aluminum–Zinc–Magnesium with or without other
wetting agent denoted as 7XXX series alloys are medium strength
heat treatable alloys. In addition to Zn, Mg as major alloying
additions, Cu, Mn and Si are the other solute elements which
contribute for the improvement in mechanical properties by suitable
heat treatment process. Subjecting to suitable treatments like age
hardening or cold deformation assisted heat treatments; known as low
temperature thermomechanical treatments (LTMT) the challenging
properties might be incorporated. T6 is the age hardening or
precipitation hardening process with artificial aging cycle whereas T8
comprises of LTMT treatment aged artificially with X% cold
deformation. When the cold deformation is provided after solution
treatment, there is increase in hardness related properties such as
wear resistance, yield and ultimate strength, toughness with the
expense of ductility. During precipitation hardening both hardness
and strength of the samples are increasing. The hardness value may
further improve when room temperature deformation is positively
supported with age hardening known as thermomechanical treatment.
It is intended to perform heat treatment and evaluate hardness, tensile
strength, wear resistance and distribution pattern of reinforcement in
the matrix. 2 to 2.5 and 3 to 3.5 times increase in hardness is reported
in age hardening and LTMT treatments respectively as compared to
as-cast composite. There was better distribution of reinforcements in
the matrix, nearly two fold increase in strength levels and up to 5
times increase in wear resistance are also observed in the present
study.
Abstract: The goal of this experiment is to evaluate the
effectiveness of different leachate pre-treatment options in terms of
COD and ammonia removal. This research focused on the evaluation
of physical-chemical methods for pre-treatment of leachate that
would be effective and rapid in order to satisfy the requirements of
the sewer discharge by-laws. The four pre-treatment options
evaluated were: air stripping, chemical coagulation, electrocoagulation
and advanced oxidation with sodium ferrate. Chemical
coagulation reported the best COD removal rate at 43%, compared to
18% for both air stripping and electro-coagulation, and 20% for
oxidation with sodium ferrate. On the other hand, air stripping was
far superior to the other treatment options in terms of ammonia
removal with 86%. Oxidation with sodium ferrate reached only 16%,
while chemical coagulation and electro-coagulation removed less
than 10%. When combined, air stripping and chemical coagulation
removed up to 50% COD and 85% ammonia.
Abstract: Despite the advances made in various new
technologies, application of these technologies for agriculture still
remains a formidable task, as it involves integration of diverse
domains for monitoring the different process involved in agricultural
management. Advances in ambient intelligence technology represents
one of the most powerful technology for increasing the yield of
agricultural crops and to mitigate the impact of water scarcity,
climatic change and methods for managing pests, weeds and diseases.
This paper proposes a GPS-assisted, machine to machine solutions
that combine information collected by multiple sensors for the
automated management of paddy crops. To maintain the economic
viability of paddy cultivation, the various techniques used in
agriculture are discussed and a novel system which uses ambient
intelligence technique is proposed in this paper. The ambient
intelligence based agricultural system gives a great scope.
Abstract: Acoustic properties of polymeric liquids are high
sensitive to free gas traces in the form of fine bubbles. Their presence
is typical for such liquids because of chemical reactions, small
wettability of solid boundaries, trapping of air in technological
operations, etc. Liquid temperature influences essentially its
rheological properties, which may have an impact on the bubble
pulsations and sound propagation in the system. The target of the
paper is modeling of the liquid temperature effect on single bubble
dynamics and sound dispersion and attenuation in polymeric solution
with spherical gas bubbles. The basic sources of attenuation (heat
exchange between gas in microbubbles and surrounding liquid,
rheological and acoustic losses) are taken into account. It is supposed
that in the studied temperature range the interface mass transfer has a
minor effect on bubble dynamics. The results of the study indicate
that temperature raise yields enhancement of bubble pulsations and
increase in sound attenuation in the near-resonance range and may
have a strong impact on sound dispersion in the liquid-bubble
mixture at frequencies close to the resonance frequency of bubbles.
Abstract: Numerical studies have been carried out using a
validated two-dimensional standard k-omega turbulence model for
the design optimization of a thrust vector control system using shock
induced self-impinging supersonic secondary double jet. Parametric
analytical studies have been carried out at different secondary
injection locations to identifying the highest unsymmetrical
distribution of the main gas flow due to shock waves, which produces
a desirable side force more lucratively for vectoring. The results from
the parametric studies of the case on hand reveal that the shock
induced self-impinging supersonic secondary double jet is more
efficient in certain locations at the divergent region of a CD nozzle
than a case with supersonic single jet with same mass flow rate. We
observed that the best axial location of the self-impinging supersonic
secondary double jet nozzle with a given jet interaction angle, built-in
to a CD nozzle having area ratio 1.797, is 0.991 times the primary
nozzle throat diameter from the throat location. We also observed
that the flexible steering is possible after invoking ON/OFF facility to
the secondary nozzles for meeting the onboard mission requirements.
Through our case studies we concluded that the supersonic self-impinging
secondary double jet at predesigned jet interaction angle
and location can provide more flexible steering options facilitating
with 8.81% higher thrust vectoring efficiency than the conventional
supersonic single secondary jet without compromising the payload
capability of any supersonic aerospace vehicle.