Abstract: Human genome is not only the evolutionary
summation of all advantageous events, but also houses lesions of
deleterious foot prints. A single gene mutation sometimes may
express multiple consequences in numerous tissues and a linear
relationship of the genotype and the phenotype may often be obscure.
ß Thalassemia minor, a transfusion independent mild anaemia,
coupled with environment among other factors may articulate into
phenotypic pleotropy with Hypocholesterolemia, Vitamin D
deficiency, Tissue hypoxia, Hyper-parathyroidism and Psychological
alterations. Occurrence of Pancreatic insufficiency, resultant
steatorrhoea, Vitamin-D (25-OH) deficiency (13.86 ngm/ml) with
Hypocholesterolemia (85mg/dl) in a 30 years old male ß Thal-minor
patient (Hemoglobin 11mg/dl with Fetal Hemoglobin 2.10%, Hb A2
4.60% and Hb Adult 84.80% and altered Hemogram) with increased
Para thyroid hormone (62 pg/ml) & moderate Serum Ca+2
(9.5mg/ml) indicate towards a cascade of phenotypic pleotropy
where the ß Thalassemia mutation ,be it in the 5’ cap site of the
mRNA , differential splicing etc in heterozygous state is effecting
several metabolic pathways. Compensatory extramedulary
hematopoiesis may not coped up well with the stressful life style of
the young individual and increased erythropoietic stress with high
demand for cholesterol for RBC membrane synthesis may have
resulted in Hypocholesterolemia.Oxidative stress and tissue hypoxia
may have caused the pancreatic insufficiency, leading to Vitamin D
deficiency. This may in turn have caused the secondary
hyperparathyroidism to sustain serum Calcium level. Irritability and
stress intolerance of the patient was a cumulative effect of the vicious
cycle of metabolic compromises. From these findings we propose
that the metabolic deficiencies in the ß Thalassemia mutations may
be considered as the phenotypic display of the pleotropy to explain
the genetic epidemiology.
According to the recommendations from the NIH Workshop on
Gene-Environment Interplay in Common Complex Diseases: Forging
an Integrative Model, study design of observations should be
informed by gene-environment hypotheses and results of a study
(genetic diseases) should be published to inform future hypotheses.
Variety of approaches is needed to capture data on all possible
aspects, each of which is likely to contribute to the etiology of
disease. Speakers also agreed that there is a need for development of
new statistical methods and measurement tools to appraise
information that may be missed out by conventional method where
large sample size is needed to segregate considerable effect.
A meta analytic cohort study in future may bring about significant
insight on to the title comment.
Abstract: In wireless communication system, a Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) to cancel the intersymbol interference (ISI) is required. In this paper, an exact convergence analysis of the (DFE) adapted by the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm during the training phase is derived by taking into account the finite alphabet context of data transmission. This allows us to determine the shortest training sequence that allows to reach a given Mean Square Error (MSE). With the intention of avoiding the problem of ill-convergence, the paper proposes an initialization strategy for the blind decision directed (DD) algorithm. This then yields a semi-blind DFE with high speed and good convergence.
Abstract: This paper presents the prediction of kidney
dysfunction using different neural network (NN) approaches. Self
organization Maps (SOM), Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) and
Multi Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN) trained with Back
Propagation Algorithm (BPA) are used in this study. Six hundred and
sixty three sets of analytical laboratory tests have been collected from
one of the private clinical laboratories in Baghdad. For each subject,
Serum urea and Serum creatinin levels have been analyzed and tested
by using clinical laboratory measurements. The collected urea and
cretinine levels are then used as inputs to the three NN models in
which the training process is done by different neural approaches.
SOM which is a class of unsupervised network whereas PNN and
BPNN are considered as class of supervised networks. These
networks are used as a classifier to predict whether kidney is normal
or it will have a dysfunction. The accuracy of prediction, sensitivity
and specificity were found for each type of the proposed networks
.We conclude that PNN gives faster and more accurate prediction of
kidney dysfunction and it works as promising tool for predicting of
routine kidney dysfunction from the clinical laboratory data.
Abstract: An electric power system includes a generating, a
transmission, a distribution, and consumers subsystems. An electrical
power network in Tanzania keeps growing larger by the day and
become more complex so that, most utilities have long wished for
real-time monitoring and remote control of electrical power system
elements such as substations, intelligent devices, power lines,
capacitor banks, feeder switches, fault analyzers and other physical
facilities. In this paper, the concept of automation of management of
power systems from generation level to end user levels was
determined by using Power System Simulator for Engineering
(PSS/E) version 30.3.2.
Abstract: In this paper, we study the application of Extreme
Learning Machine (ELM) algorithm for single layered feedforward
neural networks to non-linear chaotic time series problems. In this
algorithm the input weights and the hidden layer bias are randomly
chosen. The ELM formulation leads to solving a system of linear
equations in terms of the unknown weights connecting the hidden
layer to the output layer. The solution of this general system of
linear equations will be obtained using Moore-Penrose generalized
pseudo inverse. For the study of the application of the method we
consider the time series generated by the Mackey Glass delay
differential equation with different time delays, Santa Fe A and
UCR heart beat rate ECG time series. For the choice of sigmoid,
sin and hardlim activation functions the optimal values for the
memory order and the number of hidden neurons which give the
best prediction performance in terms of root mean square error are
determined. It is observed that the results obtained are in close
agreement with the exact solution of the problems considered
which clearly shows that ELM is a very promising alternative
method for time series prediction.
Abstract: The fractal-shaped orifices are assumed to have a
significant effect on the pressure drop downstream pipe flow due to
their edge self-similarity shape which enhances the mixing
properties. Here, we investigate the pressure drop after these fractals
using a digital micro-manometer at different stations downstream a
turbulent flow pipe then a direct comparison has been made with the
pressure drop measured from regular orifices with the same flow
area. Our results showed that the fractal-shaped orifices have a
significant effect on the pressure drop downstream the flow. Also
the pressure drop measured across the fractal-shaped orifices is
noticed to be lower that that from ordinary orifices of the same flow
areas. This result could be important in designing piping systems
from point of view of losses consideration with the same flow
control area. This is promising to use the fractal-shaped orifices as
flowmeters as they can sense the pressure drop across them
accurately with minimum losses than the regular ones.
Abstract: In communication networks where communication nodes are connected with finite capacity transmission links, the packet inter-arrival times are strongly correlated with the packet length and the link capacity (or the packet service time). Such correlation affects the system performance significantly, but little attention has been paid to this issue. In this paper, we propose a mathematical framework to study the impact of the correlation between the packet service times and the packet inter-arrival times on system performance. With our mathematical model, we analyze the system performance, e.g., the unfinished work of the system, and show that the correlation affects the system performance significantly. Some numerical examples are also provided.
Abstract: GSM has undoubtedly become the most widespread
cellular technology and has established itself as one of the most
promising technology in wireless communication. The next
generation of mobile telephones had also become more powerful and
innovative in a way that new services related to the user-s location
will arise. Other than the 911 requirements for emergency location
initiated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) of the
United States, GSM positioning can be highly integrated in cellular
communication technology for commercial use. However, GSM
positioning is facing many challenges. Issues like accuracy,
availability, reliability and suitable cost render the development and
implementation of GSM positioning a challenging task. In this paper,
we investigate the optimal mobile position tracking means. We
employ an innovative scheme by integrating the Kalman filter in the
localization process especially that it has great tracking
characteristics. When tracking in two dimensions, Kalman filter is
very powerful due to its reliable performance as it supports
estimation of past, present, and future states, even when performing
in unknown environments. We show that enhanced position tracking
results is achieved when implementing the Kalman filter for GSM
tracking.
Abstract: Among the many promising nanomaterials with antifungal properties, metal nanoparticles (silver nanoparticles) stand out due to their high chemical activity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against Phomopsis sp. AgNPs were synthesized by silver nitrate reduction with sodium citrate and stabilized with ammonia. The synthesized AgNPs have further been characterized by UV/Visible spectroscopy, Biophysical techniques like Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The average diameter of the prepared silver colloidal nanoparticles was about 52 nm. Absolute inhibitions (100%) were observed on treated with a 270 and 540 µg ml-1 concentration of AgNPs. The results from the study of the AgNPs antifungal effect are significant and suggest that the synthesized silver nanoparticles may have an advantage compared with conventional fungicides.
Abstract: This paper presents a new approach for the protection
of Thyristor-Controlled Series Compensator (TCSC) line using
Support Vector Machine (SVM). One SVM is trained for fault
classification and another for section identification. This method use
three phase current measurement that results in better speed and
accuracy than other SVM based methods which used single phase
current measurement. This makes it suitable for real-time protection.
The method was tested on 10,000 data instances with a very wide
variation in system conditions such as compensation level, source
impedance, location of fault, fault inception angle, load angle at
source bus and fault resistance. The proposed method requires only
local current measurement.
Abstract: Ontology-based modelling of multi-formatted
software application content is a challenging area in content
management. When the number of software content unit is huge and
in continuous process of change, content change management is
important. The management of content in this context requires
targeted access and manipulation methods. We present a novel
approach to deal with model-driven content-centric information
systems and access to their content. At the core of our approach is an
ontology-based semantic annotation technique for diversely
formatted content that can improve the accuracy of access and
systems evolution. Domain ontologies represent domain-specific
concepts and conform to metamodels. Different ontologies - from
application domain ontologies to software ontologies - capture and
model the different properties and perspectives on a software content
unit. Interdependencies between domain ontologies, the artifacts and
the content are captured through a trace model. The annotation traces
are formalised and a graph-based system is selected for the
representation of the annotation traces.
Abstract: In this paper optimal capacitor placement problem has
been formulated in a restructured distribution network. In this
scenario the distribution network operator can consider reactive
energy also as a service that can be sold to transmission system. Thus
search for optimal location, size and number of capacitor banks with
the objective of loss reduction, maximum income from selling
reactive energy to transmission system and return on investment for
capacitors, has been performed. Results is influenced with economic
value of reactive energy, therefore problem has been solved for
various amounts of it. The implemented optimization technique is
genetic algorithm. For any value of reactive power economic value,
when reverse of investment index increase and change from zero or
negative values to positive values, the threshold value of selling
reactive power has been obtained. This increasing price of economic
parameter is reasonable until the network losses is less than loss
before compensation.
Abstract: In multi hop wireless systems, such as ad hoc and
sensor networks, mobile ad hoc network applications are deployed,
security emerges as a central requirement. A particularly devastating
attack is known as the wormhole attack, where two or more malicious
colluding nodes create a higher level virtual tunnel in the network,
which is employed to transport packets between the tunnel end points.
These tunnels emulate shorter links in the network. In which
adversary records transmitted packets at one location in the network,
tunnels them to another location, and retransmits them into the
network. The wormhole attack is possible even if the attacker has not
compromised any hosts and even if all communication provides
authenticity and confidentiality. In this paper, we analyze wormhole
attack nature in ad hoc and sensor networks and existing methods of
the defending mechanism to detect wormhole attacks without require
any specialized hardware. This analysis able to provide in
establishing a method to reduce the rate of refresh time and the
response time to become more faster.
Abstract: The effect of a time delay on the transmission on
dengue fever is studied. The time delay is due to the presence of an
incubation period for the dengue virus to develop in the mosquito
before the mosquito becomes infectious. The conditions for the
existence of a Hopf bifurcation to limit cycle behavior are
established. The conditions are different from the usual one and they
are based on whether a particular third degree polynomial has
positive real roots. A theorem for determining whether for a given
set of parameter values, a critical delay time exist is given. It is
found that for a set of realistic values of the parameters in the model,
a Hopf bifurcation can not occur. For a set of unrealistic values of
some of the parameters, it is shown that a Hopf bifurcation can occur.
Numerical solutions using this last set show the trajectory of two of
the variables making a transition from a spiraling orbit to a limit
cycle orbit.
Abstract: In this paper, a thermal model of cast- resin dry type
transformer is proposed. The proposed thermal model is solved by
finite element technique to get the temperature at any location of the
transformer. The basic modes of heat transfer such as conduction;
convection and radiation are used to get the steady state temperature
distribution of the transformer. The predicted temperatures are
compared with experimental results reported in this paper and it is
found a good agreement between them. The effects of various
parameters such as width of air duct, ambient temperature and
emissivity of the outer surface were also studied.
Abstract: Liquid-liquid extraction is a process using two immiscible
liquids to extract compounds from one phase without high
temperature requirement. Mostly, the technical implementation of
this process is carried out in mixer-settlers or extraction columns. In
real chemical processes, chemicals may have high viscosity and
contain impurities. These impurities may change the settling behavior
of the process without measurably changing the physical properties
of the phases. In the current study, the settling behavior and the affected
parameters in a high-viscosity system were observed. Batchsettling
experiments were performed to experimentally quantify the
settling behavior and the mixer-settler model of Henschke [1] was
used to evaluate the behavior of the toluene + water system. The
viscosity of the system was increased by adding polyethylene glycol
4000 to the aqueous phase. NaCl and Na2SO4 were used to study the
influence of electrolytes. The results from this study show that increasing
the viscosity of water has a higher influence on the settling
behavior in comparison to the effects of the electrolytes. It can be
seen from the experiments that at high salt concentrations, there was
no effect on the settling behavior.
Abstract: Spray chilling using air-mist nozzles has received
much attention in the food processing industry because of the
benefits it has shown over forced air convection. These benefits
include an increase in the heat transfer coefficient and a reduction in
the water loss by the product during cooling. However, few studies
have simulated the heat transfer and aerodynamics phenomena of the
air-mist chilling process for optimal operating conditions. The study
provides insight into the optimal conditions for spray impaction, heat
transfer efficiency and control of surface flooding. A computational
fluid dynamics model using a two-phase flow composed of water
droplets injected with air is developed to simulate the air-mist
chilling of food products. The model takes into consideration
droplet-to-surface interaction, water-film accumulation and surface
runoff. The results of this study lead to a better understanding of the
heat transfer enhancement, water conservation, and to a clear
direction for the optimal design of air-mist chilling systems that can
be used in commercial applications in the food and meat processing
industries.
Abstract: New regulations and standards for noise emission increasingly compel the automotive firms to make some improvements about decreasing the engine noise. Nowadays, the perforated reactive mufflers which have an effective damping capability are specifically used for this purpose. New designs should be analyzed with respect to both acoustics and back pressure. In this study, a reactive perforated muffler is investigated numerically and experimentally. For an acoustical analysis, the transmission loss which is independent of sound source of the present cross flow, the perforated muffler was analyzed by COMSOL. To be able to validate the numerical results, transmission loss was measured experimentally. Back pressure was obtained based on the flow field analysis and was also compared with experimental results. Numerical results have an approximate error of 20% compared to experimental results.
Abstract: All climate models agree that the temperature in
Greece will increase in the range of 1° to 2°C by the year 2030 and
mean sea level in Mediterranean is expected to rise at the rate of 5
cm/decade. The aim of the present paper is the estimation of the
coastline displacement driven by the climate change and sea level
rise. In order to achieve that, all known statistical and non-statistical
computational methods are employed on some Greek coastal areas.
Furthermore, Kalman filtering techniques are for the first time
introduced, formulated and tested. Based on all the above, shoreline
change signals and noises are computed and an inter-comparison
between the different methods can be deduced to help evaluating
which method is most promising as far as the retrieve of shoreline
change rate is concerned.
Abstract: The significance of emissions from the road transport
sector (such as air pollution, noise, etc) has grown considerably in
recent years. In Australia, 14.3% of national greenhouse gas
emissions in 2000 were the transport sector-s share which 12.9% of
net national emissions were related to a road transport alone.
Considering the growing attention to the green house gas(GHG)
emissions, this paper attempts to provide air pollution modeling
aspects of environmental consequences of the road transport by using
one of the best computer based tools including the Geographic
Information System (GIS). In other word, in this study, GIS and its
applications is explained, models which are used to model air
pollution and GHG emissions from vehicles are described and GIS is
applied in real case study that attempts to forecast GHG emission
from people who travel to work by car in 2031 in Melbourne for
analysing results as thematic maps.