Abstract: This study examined the effects of neuromuscular
training (NT) on limits of stability (LOS) in female individuals.
Twenty female basketball amateurs were assigned into NT
experimental group or control group by volunteer. All the players were
underwent regular basketball practice, 90 minutes, 3 times per week
for 6 weeks, but the NT experimental group underwent extra NT with
plyometric and core training, 50 minutes, 3 times per week for 6 weeks
during this period. Limits of stability (LOS) were evaluated by the
Biodex Balance System. One factor ANCOVA was used to examine
the differences between groups after training. The significant level for
statistic was set at p
Abstract: This paper deals principally with the socio-economic impact on the local Iban community in Mukah Division, Sarawak; with the commencement of the open-cut coal mining industry since 2003. To-date there are no actual studies being carried out by either the public or private sector to truly analyze how the Iban community is coping with the advent of a large influx of cash into their society. The Iban community has traditionally been practicing shifting cultivation and farming of domesticated animals; with a portion of the younger generation working as laborers and professional. This paper represents the views and observations of the author supported by some statistical facts extracted from published articles and non-published reports. The paper deals primarily in the following areas: • Background of the coal mining industry in Mukah Division, Sarawak; • Benefits of the coal mining industry towards the Iban community; • Issues / Problems arise in the Iban community because of the presence of the coal mining industry; and • Possible actions that need to be taken to overcome these issues/ problems.
Abstract: Sound pathways in the enclosures of small earphones
are very narrow. In such narrow pathways, the speed of sound
propagation and the phase of sound waves change because of the air
viscosity. We have developed a new finite element method that
includes the effects of damping due to air viscosity for modeling the
sound pathway. This method is developed as an extension of the
existing finite element method for porous sound-absorbing materials.
The numerical calculation results using the proposed finite element
method are validated against the existing calculation methods.
Abstract: In this paper developed and realized absolutely new
algorithm for solving three-dimensional Poisson equation. This
equation used in research of turbulent mixing, computational fluid
dynamics, atmospheric front, and ocean flows and so on. Moreover in
the view of rising productivity of difficult calculation there was
applied the most up-to-date and the most effective parallel
programming technology - MPI in combination with OpenMP
direction, that allows to realize problems with very large data
content. Resulted products can be used in solving of important
applications and fundamental problems in mathematics and physics.
Abstract: Ad hoc networks are characterized by multihop wireless connectivity, frequently changing network topology and the need for efficient dynamic routing protocols. We compare the performance of three routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks: Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) , Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV), location-aided routing(LAR1).The performance differentials are analyzed using varying network load, mobility, and network size. We simulate protocols with GLOMOSIM simulator. Based on the observations, we make recommendations about when the performance of either protocol can be best.
Abstract: Detecting protein-protein interactions is a central problem in computational biology and aberrant such interactions may have implicated in a number of neurological disorders. As a result, the prediction of protein-protein interactions has recently received considerable attention from biologist around the globe. Computational tools that are capable of effectively identifying protein-protein interactions are much needed. In this paper, we propose a method to detect protein-protein interaction based on substring similarity measure. Two protein sequences may interact by the mean of the similarities of the substrings they contain. When applied on the currently available protein-protein interaction data for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the proposed method delivered reasonable improvement over the existing ones.
Abstract: The main purpose of this research paper was to study
the requirements for human capital development in order to be ready
for ASEAN Community. Thai education institutions are encountering
a challenging course of change to be effective members of ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. It was vital that everyone and
every organization participate in the process of becoming part of the
ASEAN community, a pluralistic society. Thai universities will be
required to partake in the human capital development in a variety of
fields. In order to assist the whole nation to enhance potential
development, there was a need to collaborate with other ASEAN
leading universities to do researches to ameliorate the qualifications
and capabilities of university management, administers, professors,
and staffs.
Abstract: The increasing interest in plant sterol enriched foods
is due to the fact that they reduce blood cholesterol concentrations
without adverse side effects. In this context, enriched foods with
phytosterols may be helpful in protecting population against
atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present
work was to evaluate in a population of Viseu, Portugal, the
consumption habits low-fat, plant sterol-enriched yoghurt. For this
study, 577 inquiries were made and the sample was randomly
selected for people shopping in various supermarkets. The
preliminary results showed that the biggest consumers of these
products were women aged 45 to 65 years old. Most of the people
who claimed to buy these products consumed them once a day. Also,
most of the consumers under antidyslipidemic therapeutics noticed
positive effects on hypercholesterolemia.
Abstract: The nanosized polymeric micelles release the drug
due to acoustic cavitation, which is enhanced in dual frequency
ultrasonic fields. In this study, adult female Balb/C mice were
transplanted with spontaneous breast adenocarcinoma tumors and
were injected with a dose of 1.3 mg/kg doxorubicin in one of three
forms: free doxorubicin, micellar doxorubicin without sonication and
micellar doxorubicin with sonication. To increase cavitation yield,
the tumor region was sonicated with low level dual frequency of 3
MHz and 28 kHz. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after injection,
and their tumor, heart, spleen, liver, kidneys and plasma were
separated and homogenized. The drug content in their tumor, heart,
spleen, liver, kidneys and plasma was determined using tissue
fluorimetry. The results show that in the group that received micellar
doxorubicin with sonication, the drug concentration in the tumor
tissue was nine and three times higher than in the free doxorubicin
group and the micellar doxorubicin without sonication group,
respectively. In the micellar doxorubicin with sonication group, the
drug concentration in other tissues was lower than other groups
(p
Abstract: The possibility of radionuclides-related contamination
of lands at agricultural holdings defines the necessity to apply special
protective measures in plant growing. The aim of researches is to
elucidate the influence of polymers applying on biological migration
of man-made anthropogenic radionuclides 90Sr and 137Cs in the
system water - soil – plant. The tests are being carried out under field
conditions with and without application of polymers in root-inhabited
media in more radioecological tension zone (with the radius of 7 km
from the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant). The polymers on the base
of K+, Caµ, KµCaµ ions were tested. Productivity of pepper
depending on the presence and type of polymer material, content of
artificial radionuclides in waters, soil and plant material has been
determined. The character of different polymers influence on the
artificial radionuclides migration and accumulation in the system
water-soil-plant and accumulation in the plants has been cleared up.
Abstract: Knowledge modelling, a main activity for the development of Knowledge Based Systems, have no set standards and are mostly done in an ad hoc way. There is a lack of support for the transition from abstract level to implementation. In this paper, a methodology for the development of the knowledge model, which is inspired by both Software and Knowledge Engineering, is proposed. Use of UML which is the de-facto standard for modelling in the software engineering arena is explored for knowledge modelling. The methodology proposed, is used to develop a knowledge model of a knowledge based system for recommending suitable hotels for tourists visiting Mauritius.
Abstract: We present a low frequency watermarking method
adaptive to image content. The image content is analyzed and
properties of HVS are exploited to generate a visual mask of the
same size as the approximation image. Using this mask we embed the
watermark in the approximation image without degrading the image
quality. Watermark detection is performed without using the original
image. Experimental results show that the proposed watermarking
method is robust against most common image processing operations,
which can be easily implemented and usually do not degrade the
image quality.
Abstract: Co-integration models the long-term, equilibrium relationship of two or more related financial variables. Even if cointegration is found, in the short run, there may be deviations from the long run equilibrium relationship. The aim of this work is to forecast these deviations using neural networks and create a trading strategy based on them. A case study is used: co-integration residuals from Australian Bank Bill futures are forecast and traded using various exogenous input variables combined with neural networks. The choice of the optimal exogenous input variables chosen for each neural network, undertaken in previous work [1], is validated by comparing the forecasts and corresponding profitability of each, using a trading strategy.
Abstract: For fire safety purposes, the fire resistance and the
structural behavior of reinforced concrete members are assessed to
satisfy specific fire performance criteria. The available prescribed
provisions are based on standard fire load. Under various fire
scenarios, engineers are in need of both heat transfer analysis and
structural analysis. For heat transfer analysis, the study proposed a
modified finite difference method to evaluate the temperature profile
within a cross section. The research conducted is limited to concrete
sections exposed to a fire on their one side. The method is based on
the energy conservation principle and a pre-determined power
function of the temperature profile. The power value of 2.7 is found
to be a suitable value for concrete sections. The temperature profiles
of the proposed method are only slightly deviate from those of the
experiment, the FEM and the FDM for various fire loads such as
ASTM E 119, ASTM 1529, BS EN 1991-1-2 and 550 oC. The
proposed method is useful to avoid incontinence of the large matrix
system of the typical finite difference method to solve the
temperature profile. Furthermore, design engineers can simply apply
the proposed method in regular spreadsheet software.
Abstract: The volume of XML data exchange is explosively increasing, and the need for efficient mechanisms of XML data management is vital. Many XML storage models have been proposed for storing XML DTD-independent documents in relational database systems. Benchmarking is the best way to highlight pros and cons of different approaches. In this study, we use a common benchmarking scheme, known as XMark to compare the most cited and newly proposed DTD-independent methods in terms of logical reads, physical I/O, CPU time and duration. We show the effect of Label Path, extracting values and storing in another table and type of join needed for each method's query answering.
Abstract: The manufacture of large-scale precision aerospace
components using CNC requires a highly effective maintenance
strategy to ensure that the required accuracy can be achieved over
many hours of production. This paper reviews a strategy for a
maintenance management system based on Failure Mode Avoidance,
which uses advanced techniques and technologies to underpin a
predictive maintenance strategy. It is shown how condition
monitoring (CM) is important to predict potential failures in high
precision machining facilities and achieve intelligent and integrated
maintenance management. There are two distinct ways in which CM
can be applied. One is to monitor key process parameters and
observe trends which may indicate a gradual deterioration of
accuracy in the product. The other is the use of CM techniques to
monitor high status machine parameters enables trends to be
observed which can be corrected before machine failure and
downtime occurs.
It is concluded that the key to developing a flexible and intelligent
maintenance framework in any precision manufacturing operation is
the ability to evaluate reliably and routinely machine tool condition
using condition monitoring techniques within a framework of Failure
Mode Avoidance.
Abstract: The present work analyses different parameters of pressure die casting to minimize the casting defects. Pressure diecasting is usually applied for casting of aluminium alloys. Good surface finish with required tolerances and dimensional accuracy can be achieved by optimization of controllable process parameters such as solidification time, molten temperature, filling time, injection pressure and plunger velocity. Moreover, by selection of optimum process parameters the pressure die casting defects such as porosity, insufficient spread of molten material, flash etc. are also minimized. Therefore, a pressure die casting component, carburetor housing of aluminium alloy (Al2Si2O5) has been considered. The effects of selected process parameters on casting defects and subsequent setting of parameters with the levels have been accomplished by Taguchi-s parameter design approach. The experiments have been performed as per the combination of levels of different process parameters suggested by L18 orthogonal array. Analyses of variance have been performed for mean and signal-to-noise ratio to estimate the percent contribution of different process parameters. Confidence interval has also been estimated for 95% consistency level and three conformational experiments have been performed to validate the optimum level of different parameters. Overall 2.352% reduction in defects has been observed with the help of suggested optimum process parameters.
Abstract: The scale, complexity and worldwide geographical
spread of the LHC computing and data analysis problems are
unprecedented in scientific research. The complexity of processing
and accessing this data is increased substantially by the size and
global span of the major experiments, combined with the limited
wide area network bandwidth available. We present the latest
generation of the MONARC (MOdels of Networked Analysis at
Regional Centers) simulation framework, as a design and modeling
tool for large scale distributed systems applied to HEP experiments.
We present simulation experiments designed to evaluate the
capabilities of the current real-world distributed infrastructure to
support existing physics analysis processes and the means by which
the experiments bands together to meet the technical challenges
posed by the storage, access and computing requirements of LHC
data analysis within the CMS experiment.
Abstract: Not all types of mobile phone are successful in entering the market because some types of the mobile phone have a negative perception of user. Therefore, it is important to understand the influence of mobile phone's characteristics in the local user perception. This research investigates the influence of QWERTY mobile phone's forms in the perception of Indonesian user. First, some alternatives of mobile phone-s form are developed based on a certain number of mobile phone's models. At the second stage, some word pairs as design attributes of the mobile phone are chosen to represent the user perception of mobile phone. At the final stage, a survey is conducted to investigate the influence of the developed form alternatives to the user perception. Based on the research, users perceive mobile phone's form with curved top and straight bottom shapes and mobile phone's form with slider and antenna as the most negative form. Meanwhile, mobile phone's form with curved top and bottom shapes and mobile phone-s form without slider and antenna are perceived by the user as the most positive form.
Abstract: Education supported by mobile computers has been widely done for some time. Teachers have attempted to use mobile computers and to find concrete subjects for student-s fieldwork training in college education. The purpose of this research is to develop software for Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to conduct fieldwork in our campus, and to report a fieldwork class using PDAs in the curriculum of the Department of Regional Environment Studies.