Abstract: The present study focuses on methods allowing a convenient and quick calculation of the SIFs in order to predict the static adhesive strength of bonded joints. A new SIF calculation method is proposed, based on the stresses obtained from a FE model at a reference point located in the adhesive layer at equal distance of the free-edge and of the two interfaces. It is shown that, even limiting ourselves to the two main modes, i.e. the opening and the shearing modes, and using the values of the stresses resulting from a low detailed FE model, an efficient calculation of the peeling stress at adhesive-substrate corners can be obtained by this way. The proposed method is interesting in that it can be the basis of a prediction tool that will allow the designer to quickly evaluate the SIFs characterizing a particular application without developing a detailed analysis.
Abstract: A self-compacting concrete (SCC) is the one that can
be placed in the form and can go through obstructions by its own
weight and without the need of vibration. Since its first development
in Japan in 1988, SCC has gained wider acceptance in Japan, Europe
and USA due to its inherent distinct advantages. Although there are
visible signs of its gradual acceptance in the North Africa through its
limited use in construction, Libya has yet to explore the feasibility
and applicability of SCC in new construction. The contributing
factors to this reluctance appear to be lack of any supportive
evidence of its suitability with local aggregates and the harsh
environmental conditions. The primary aim of this study is to explore
the feasibility of using SCC made with local aggregates of Eastern
Province of Libya by examining its basic properties characteristics.
This research consists of: (i) Development of a suitable mix for SCC
such as the effect of water to cement ratio, limestone and silica fume
that would satisfy the requirements of the plastic state; (ii) Casting of
concrete samples and testing them for compressive strength and unit
weight. Local aggregates, cement, admixtures and industrial waste
materials were used in this research.
The significance of this research lies in its attempt to provide
some performance data of SCC made in the Eastern Province of
Libya so as to draw attention to the possible use of SCC.
Abstract: Existing proceeding-models for the development of mechatronic systems provide a largely parallel action in the detailed development. This parallel approach is to take place also largely independent of one another in the various disciplines involved. An approach for a new proceeding-model provides a further development of existing models to use for the development of Adaptronic Systems. This approach is based on an intermediate integration and an abstract modeling of the adaptronic system. Based on this system-model a simulation of the global system behavior, due to external and internal factors or Forces is developed. For the intermediate integration a special data management system is used. According to the presented approach this data management system has a number of functions that are not part of the "normal" PDM functionality. Therefore a concept for a new data management system for the development of Adaptive system is presented in this paper. This concept divides the functions into six layers. In the first layer a system model is created, which divides the adaptronic system based on its components and the various technical disciplines. Moreover, the parameters and properties of the system are modeled and linked together with the requirements and the system model. The modeled parameters and properties result in a network which is analyzed in the second layer. From this analysis necessary adjustments to individual components for specific manipulation of the system behavior can be determined. The third layer contains an automatic abstract simulation of the system behavior. This simulation is a precursor for network analysis and serves as a filter. By the network analysis and simulation changes to system components are examined and necessary adjustments to other components are calculated. The other layers of the concept treat the automatic calculation of system reliability, the "normal" PDM-functionality and the integration of discipline-specific data into the system model. A prototypical implementation of an appropriate data management with the addition of an automatic system development is being implemented using the data management system ENOVIA SmarTeam V5 and the simulation system MATLAB.
Abstract: Grazing and pastoral overloading through human factors result in significant land desertification. Failure to take into account the phenomenon of desertification as a serious problem can lead to an environmental disaster because of the damages caused by land encroachment. Therefore, soil on residential and urban areas is affected because of the deterioration of vegetation. Overgrazing or grazing in open and irregular lands is practiced in these areas almost throughout the year, especially during the growth cycle of edible plants, thereby leading to their disappearance. In addition, the large number of livestock in these areas exceeds the capacity of these pastures because of pastoral land overloading, which results in deterioration and desertification in the region. In addition, rare plants, the extinction of some edible plants in the region, and the emergence of plants unsuitable for grazing, must be taken into consideration, as along with the emergence of dust and sand storms during the dry seasons (summer to autumn) due to the degradation of vegetation. These results show that strategic plans and regulations that protect the environment from desertification must be developed. Therefore, increased pastoral load is a key human factor in the deterioration of vegetation cover, leading to land desertification in this region.
Abstract: In this paper, a new secure watermarking scheme for
color image is proposed. It splits the watermark into two shares using
(2, 2)- threshold Visual Cryptography Scheme (V CS) with Adaptive
Order Dithering technique and embeds one share into high textured
subband of Luminance channel of the color image. The other share
is used as the key and is available only with the super-user or the
author of the image. In this scheme only the super-user can reveal
the original watermark. The proposed scheme is dynamic in the sense
that to maintain the perceptual similarity between the original and the
watermarked image the selected subband coefficients are modified
by varying the watermark scaling factor. The experimental results
demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Further, the
proposed scheme is able to resist all common attacks even with strong
amplitude.
Abstract: Indices summarizing community structure are used to
evaluate fundamental community ecology, species interaction,
biogeographical factors, and environmental stress. Some of these
indices are insensitive to gross community changes induced by
contaminants of pollution. Diversity indices and similarity indices are
reviewed considering their ecological application, both theoretical
and practical. For some useful indices, empirical equations are given
to calculate the expected maximum value of the indices to which the
observed values can be related at any combination of sample sizes at
the experimental sites. This paper examines the effects of sample size
and diversity on the expected values of diversity indices and
similarity indices, using various formulae. It has been shown that all
indices are strongly affected by sample size and diversity. In some
indices, this influence is greater than the others and an attempt has
been made to deal with these influences.
Abstract: Capital structure is one of the most important financial
decisions in corporate financing strategy. It involves the choice of
debt and equity level in financing a company-s operations. This study
aims to investigate whether the capital structure choice of Malaysian
electrical and electronic manufacturing companies that are listed in
the Bursa Malaysia can be explained by factors that have been found
by most studies as dominant determinants of capital structure
(company size, profitability, asset tangibility, liquidity and growth).
Using debt ratio as the proxy for capital structure and applying
pooled ordinary least square multiple regression estimation, the
results showed that on average, Malaysian electrical and electronic
manufacturing companies used less debt in funding their business
operations. The findings also showed that size and asset tangibility
has a significant positive relationship with debt level, while liquidity
has a negative significant relationship with leverage.
Abstract: A novel calibration approach that aims to reduce
ASM2d parameter subsets and decrease the model complexity is
presented. This approach does not require high computational
demand and reduces the number of modeling parameters required to
achieve the ASMs calibration by employing a sensitivity and iteration
methodology. Parameter sensitivity is a crucial factor and the
iteration methodology enables refinement of the simulation parameter
values. When completing the iteration process, parameters values are
determined in descending order of their sensitivities. The number of
iterations required is equal to the number of model parameters of the
parameter significance ranking. This approach was used for the
ASM2d model to the evaluated EBPR phosphorus removal and it was
successful. Results of the simulation provide calibration parameters.
These included YPAO, YPO4, YPHA, qPHA, qPP, μPAO, bPAO, bPP, bPHA,
KPS, YA, μAUT, bAUT, KO2 AUT, and KNH4 AUT. Those parameters were
corresponding to the experimental data available.
Abstract: Meshing is the process of discretizing problem
domain into many sub domains before the numerical calculation can
be performed. One of the most popular meshes among many types of meshes is tetrahedral mesh, due to their flexibility to fit into almost
any domain shape. In both 2D and 3D domains, triangular and tetrahedral meshes can be generated by using Delaunay triangulation.
The quality of mesh is an important factor in performing any Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations as the results is
highly affected by the mesh quality. Many efforts had been done in
order to improve the quality of the mesh. The paper describes a mesh
generation routine which has been developed capable of generating
high quality tetrahedral cells in arbitrary complex geometry. A few
test cases in CFD problems are used for testing the mesh generator.
The result of the mesh is compared with the one generated by a
commercial software. The results show that no sliver exists for the
meshes generated, and the overall quality is acceptable since the percentage of the bad tetrahedral is relatively small. The boundary
recovery was also successfully done where all the missing faces are
rebuilt.
Abstract: In this paper, Neuro-Fuzzy based Fuzzy Subtractive
Clustering Method (FSCM) and Self Tuning Fuzzy PD-like
Controller (STFPDC) were used to solve non-linearity and trajectory
problems of pitch AND yaw angles of Twin Rotor MIMO system
(TRMS). The control objective is to make the beams of TRMS reach
a desired position quickly and accurately. The proposed method
could achieve control objectives with simpler controller. To simplify
the complexity of STFPDC, ANFIS based FSCM was used to
simplify the controller and improve the response. The proposed
controllers could achieve satisfactory objectives under different input
signals. Simulation results under MATLAB/Simulink® proved the
improvement of response and superiority of simplified STFPDC on
Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC).
Abstract: Introduction: Visual performance is an important factor in sport excellence. Visual involvement in a sport varies according to environmental demands associated with that sport. These environmental demands are matched by a task specific motor response. The purpose of this study was to determine if sport specific exercises will improve the visual performance of male rugby players, in order to achieve maximal results on the sports field. Materials & Methods: Twenty six adult male rugby players, aged 16-22, were chosen as subjects. In order to evaluate the effect of sport specific exercises on visual skills, a pre-test - post-test experimental group design was adopted for the study. Results: Significant differences (p≤0.05) were seen in the focussing, tracking, vergence, sequencing, eye-hand coordination and visualisation components Discussion & Conclusions: Sport specific exercises improved visual skills in rugby players which may provide them with an advantage over their opponents. This study suggests that these training programs and participation in regular on-line EyeDrills sports vision exercises (www.eyedrills.co.za) aimed at improving the athlete-s visual coordination, concentration, focus, hand-eye co-ordination, anticipation and motor response should be incorpotated in the rugby players exercise regime.
Abstract: This study investigated the climatic factors associated
with Influenza incidence in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern
Thailand. Climatic factors comprised of the amount of rainfall,
percent of rainy days, relative humidity, wind speed, maximum,
minimum temperatures and temperature difference. A multiple
stepwise regression technique was used to fit the statistical model.
The result showed that the temperature difference and percent of
rainy days were positively associated with Influenza incidence in
Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Abstract: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in the
world among women. Many therapies have been designed to treat
this disease. Mamectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are still
the main therapies of breast cancer. However, the results were
unsatisfactory and still far from the ideal treatment.
PM 701is a natural product, has anticancer activity. The bioactive
fraction PMF and subfraction PMFK had been isolated from PM701.
PM 701 and its fractions were proved to have a cytotoxic properties
against different cancer cell lines. This article is directed for the
further examination of lyophilized PM701 and its active fractions on
the growth of breast cancer cells (MCF-7). PM 701, PMF or PMFK
were adding to the cultural medium, where MCF-7 is incubated.
PM 701, PMF or PMFK were able to inhibit significantly the
proliferation of MCF-7 cells, Moreover these new agents were
proved to induce apoptosis of the breast cancer cells; through its
direct effect on the nuclei.
Abstract: In line with changes of consumers modern lifestyle has call for the advertising strategy to change. This research is to find out how game with telepresence and product experience embedded in the computer game to affect users- intention to purchase. Game content developers are urging to consider of placing product message as part of game design strategy that can influence the game player-s intention to purchase. Experiment was carried out on two hundred and fifty undergraduate students who volunteered to participate in the Internet game playing activities. A factor analysis and correlation analysis was performed on items designed to measure telepresence, attitudes toward telepresence, and game player intention to purchase the product advertise in the game that respondents experienced. The results indicated that telepresence consist of interactive experience and product experience. The study also found that product experience is positively related to the game players- intention to purchase. The significance of product experience implies the usefulness of an interactive advertising in the game playing to attract players- intention to purchase the advertised product placed in the creative game design.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine a broader range of sport constraints perceived by young Koreans in Australia who may need to adjust to changing behavioral expectations due to the socio-cultural transitions. Regardless of gender, in terms of quantitative findings, the most important participation constraints within the seven categories were resources, access, interpersonal, affective, religious, socio-cultural, and physical in that order. The most important constraining items were a lack of time, access, information, adaptive skills, and parental and family support in that order. Qualitative research found young Korean’s participation constraints among three categories (time, parental control and interpersonal constraints). It is possible that different ethnic groups would be constrained by different factors; however, this is outside the scope of this study.
Abstract: The increasing number of senior population gradually
causes to demand the use of information and communication
technology for their satisfactory lives. This paper presents the
development of an integrated TV based system which offers an
opportunity to provide value added services to a large number of
elderly citizens, and thus helps improve their quality of life. The
design philosophy underlying this paper is to fulfill both technological
and human aspects. The balance between these two dimensions has
been currently stressed as a crucial element for the design of usable
systems in real use, particularly to the elderly who have physical and
mental decline. As the first step to achieve it, we have identified
human and social factors that affect the elder-s quality of life by a
literature review, and based on them, build four fundamental services:
information, healthcare, learning and social network services.
Secondly, the system architecture, employed technologies and the
elderly-friendly system design considerations are presented. This
reflects technological and human perspectives in terms of the system
design. Finally, we describe some scenarios that illustrate the
potentiality of the proposed system to improve elderly people-s quality
of life.
Abstract: This paper deals with a periodic-review substitutable
inventory system for a finite and an infinite number of periods. Here
an upward substitution structure, a substitution of a more costly item
by a less costly one, is assumed, with two products. At the beginning
of each period, a stochastic demand comes for the first item only,
which is quality-wise better and hence costlier. Whenever an arriving
demand finds zero inventory of this product, a fraction of unsatisfied
customers goes for its substitutable second item. An optimal ordering
policy has been derived for each period. The results are illustrated
with numerical examples. A sensitivity analysis has been done to
examine how sensitive the optimal solution and the maximum profit
are to the values of the discount factor, when there is a large number
of periods.
Abstract: In the last decades to supply the various and different
demands of clients, a lot of manufacturers trend to use the mixedmodel
assembly line (MMAL) in their production lines, since this
policy make possible to assemble various and different models of the
equivalent goods on the same line with the MTO approach.
In this article, we determine the sequence of (MMAL) line, with
applying the kitting approach and planning of rest time for general
workers to reduce the wastages, increase the workers effectiveness
and apply the sector of lean production approach.
This Multi-objective sequencing problem solved in small size with
GAMS22.2 and PSO meta heuristic in 10 test problems and compare
their results together and conclude that their results are very similar
together, next we determine the important factors in computing the
cost, which improving them cost reduced. Since this problem, is NPhard
in large size, we use the particle swarm optimization (PSO)
meta-heuristic for solving it. In large size we define some test
problems to survey it-s performance and determine the important
factors in calculating the cost, that by change or improved them
production in minimum cost will be possible.
Abstract: This study examined a habitat-suitability assessment method namely the Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA). A virtual species was created and then dispatched in a geographic information system model of a real landscape in three historic scenarios: (1) spreading, (2) equilibrium, and (3) overabundance. In each scenario, the virtual species was sampled and these simulated data sets were used as inputs for the ENFA to reconstruct the habitat suitability model. The 'equilibrium' scenario gives the highest quantity and quality among three scenarios. ENFA was sensitive to the distribution scenarios but not sensitive to sample sizes. The use of a virtual species proved to be a very efficient method, allowing one to fully control the quality of the input data as well as to accurately evaluate the predictive power of the analyses.
Abstract: Religion revival including Islam in Kazakhstan represents reaction, first of all on internal social and political change, events after disintegration of the USSR. Process of revival of Kazakhstan Islam was accompanied as positive, so by negative tendencies. Old mosques were restored, were under construction new, Islamic schools and high schools were created, was widely studied religious the dogmatic person, the corresponding literature was published, expanded contacts with foreign Muslim brothers in the faith, the centers of the Arab-Muslim culture extended. At the same time in Kazakhstan, there are religious-political parties and movements, pursuing radical goals down to change the spiritual and cultural identity of Muslims of Kazakhstan by the forcible introduction of non-traditional religious and political, ethnic and cultural values.