Abstract: The plant world is the source of many medicines.
Recently, researchers have estimated that there are approximately
400,000 plant species worldwide, of which about a quarter or a third
have been used by societies for medicinal purposes. The human uses
of plants for thousands of years to treat various ailments, in many
developing countries, much of the population trust in traditional
doctors and their collections of medicinal plants to treat them.
Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine,
they are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious
diseases of fungal origin, against dermatophytes, those of bacterial
origin. The aim of our study is to determine the antimicrobial effect
of essential oils of the plant Trigonella focnum greacum on some
pathogenic bacteria, it is a medicinal plant used in traditional
therapy. The test adopted is based on the diffusion method on solid
medium (Antibiogram), this method determines the sensitivity or
resistance of a microorganism vis-à-vis the extract studied. Our study
reveals that the essential oil of the plant Trigonella focnum greacum
has a different effect on the resistance of germs. For staphiloccocus
Pseudomonnas aeroginosa and Krebsilla, are moderately sensitive
strains, also Escherichia coli and Candida albicans represents a high
sensitivity. By against Proteus is a strain that represents a weak
sensitivity.
Abstract: In order to maximize efficiency of an information management platform and to assist in decision making, the collection, storage and analysis of performance-relevant data has become of fundamental importance. This paper addresses the merits and drawbacks provided by the OLAP paradigm for efficiently navigating large volumes of performance measurement data hierarchically. The system managers or database administrators navigate through adequately (re)structured measurement data aiming to detect performance bottlenecks, identify causes for performance problems or assessing the impact of configuration changes on the system and its representative metrics. Of particular importance is finding the root cause of an imminent problem, threatening availability and performance of an information system. Leveraging OLAP techniques, in contrast to traditional static reporting, this is supposed to be accomplished within moderate amount of time and little processing complexity. It is shown how OLAP techniques can help improve understandability and manageability of measurement data and, hence, improve the whole Performance Analysis process.
Abstract: A pilot project was carried out in 2007 by the senior
students of Cyprus International University, aiming to minimize the
total cost of waste collection in Northern Cyprus. Many developed
and developing countries have cut their transportation costs – which
lies between 30-40% – down at a rate of 40% percent, by
implementing network models for their route assignments.
Accordingly, a network model was implemented at Göçmenköy
district, to optimize and standardize waste collection works. The
work environment of the employees were also redesigned to provide
maximum ergonomy and to increase productivity, efficiency and
safety. Following the collection of the required data including waste
densities, lengths of roads and population, a model was constructed
to allocate the optimal route assignment for the waste collection
trucks at Göçmenköy district.
Abstract: This paper deals with the status of solid waste pollution in touristic spots of North coastal Andhra Pradesh. Case studies of Eco tourism, cultural tourism and pilgrim tourism are elaborately discussed and the study is based on both primary and secondary data. Data collection includes field collection of solid waste, semi structured interviews and observation of tourists. Results indicate generation of 72% Non biodegradable material in Eco touristic places like RK beach Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley. Pydithalli Jathra is a famous cultural touristic attraction and more than one lakh people converge here. The solid waste at this spot includes 20% coconut shells, 50% plastic bottles and covers, 20% Banana peelings and remaining are food materials. Radhasapthami is the most important festival celebrated at famous sun temple Arasavalli of Srikakulam. Here solid waste includes 50% water bottles, plastic covers, 10% papers, 10% hair, 30% left out food material and Banana peelings.
Abstract: An induced acyclic graphoidal cover of a graph G is a
collection ψ of open paths in G such that every path in ψ has atleast
two vertices, every vertex of G is an internal vertex of at most one
path in ψ, every edge of G is in exactly one path in ψ and every
member of ψ is an induced path. The minimum cardinality of an
induced acyclic graphoidal cover of G is called the induced acyclic
graphoidal covering number of G and is denoted by ηia(G) or ηia.
Here we find induced acyclic graphoidal cover for some classes of
graphs.
Abstract: Crypto System Identification is one of the challenging tasks in Crypt analysis. The paper discusses the possibility of employing Neural Networks for identification of Cipher Systems from cipher texts. Cascade Correlation Neural Network and Back Propagation Network have been employed for identification of Cipher Systems. Very large collection of cipher texts were generated using a Block Cipher (Enhanced RC6) and a Stream Cipher (SEAL). Promising results were obtained in terms of accuracy using both the Neural Network models but it was observed that the Cascade Correlation Neural Network Model performed better compared to Back Propagation Network.
Abstract: The research is to minimize environmental damage
pertinent to maritime activities about the operation of lighter boat
anchorage and its tugboat. The guidance on upgrading current
harbor service and infrastructure has been provided to Kho Sichang
Municpality. This will involve a study of the maritime logistics of
the water area under jurisdiction of the Sichang island Municipality
and possible recommendations may involve charging taxes,
regulations and fees. With implementing these recommendations will
help in protection of the marine environment and in increasing
operator functionality. Additionally, our recommendation is to
generate a consistent revenue stream to the municipality. The action
items contained in this research are feasible and effective, the success
of these initiatives are heavily dependent upon successful promotion
and enforcement. Promoting new rules and regulations effectively
and peacefully can be done through theories and techniques used in
the psychology of persuasion. In order to assure compliance with the
regulations, the municipality must maintain stringent patrols and
fines for violators. In order to become success, the Municipality
must preserve a consistent, transparent and significant enforcement
system. Considering potential opportunities outside of the current
state of the municipality, the authors recommend that Koh Sichang be
given additional jurisdiction to capture value from the master vessels,
as well as to confront the more significant environmental challenges
these vessels pose. Finally, the authors recommend that the Port of
Koh Sichang Island obtain a free port status in order to increase
economic viability and overall sustainability.
Abstract: Thepurpose of the research is to characterize the levels
of satisfaction of the students in e-learning post-graduate courses,
taking into account specific dimensions of the course which were
considered as benchmarks for the quality of this type of online
learning initiative, as well as the levels of satisfaction towards each
specific indicator identified in each dimension. It was also an aim of
this study to understand how thesedimensions relate to one another.
Using a quantitative research approach in the collection and analysis
of the data, the study involves the participation of the students who
attended on e-learning course in 2010/2011. The conclusions of this
study suggest that online students present relatively high levels of
satisfaction, which points towards a positive experience during the
course. It is possible to note that there is a correlation between the
different dimensions studied, consequently leading to different
improvement strategies. Ultimately, this investigation aims to
contribute to the promotion of quality and the success of e-learning
initiatives in Higher Education.
Abstract: Mixed-traffic (e.g., pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles)
data at an intersection is one of the essential factors for intersection
design and traffic control. However, some data such as pedestrian
volume cannot be directly collected by common detectors (e.g.
inductive loop, sonar and microwave sensors). In this paper, a video
based detection algorithm is proposed for mixed-traffic data collection
at intersections using surveillance cameras. The algorithm is derived
from Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), and uses a mergence time
adjustment scheme to improve the traditional algorithm. Real-world
video data were selected to test the algorithm. The results show that
the proposed algorithm has the faster processing speed and more
accuracy than the traditional algorithm. This indicates that the
improved algorithm can be applied to detect mixed-traffic at
signalized intersection, even when conflicts occur.
Abstract: The purposes of this study are 1) to study the frequent
English writing errors of students registering the course: Reading and
Writing English for Academic Purposes II, and 2) to find out the
results of writing error correction by using coded indirect corrective
feedback and writing error treatments. Samples include 28 2nd year
English Major students, Faculty of Education, Suan Sunandha
Rajabhat University. Tool for experimental study includes the lesson
plan of the course; Reading and Writing English for Academic
Purposes II, and tool for data collection includes 4 writing tests of
short texts. The research findings disclose that frequent English
writing errors found in this course comprise 7 types of grammatical
errors, namely Fragment sentence, Subject-verb agreement, Wrong
form of verb tense, Singular or plural noun endings, Run-ons
sentence, Wrong form of verb pattern and Lack of parallel structure.
Moreover, it is found that the results of writing error correction by
using coded indirect corrective feedback and error treatment reveal
the overall reduction of the frequent English writing errors and the
increase of students’ achievement in the writing of short texts with
the significance at .05.
Abstract: Even though most researchers would agree that in
symbiotic relationships, like the one between parent and child,
influences become reciprocal over time, empirical evidence
supporting this claim is limited. The aim of the current study was to
develop and test a model describing the reciprocal influence between
characteristics of the parent-child relationship, such as closeness and
conflict, and the child-s bullying and victimization experiences at
school. The study used data from the longitudinal Study of Early
Child-Care, conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development. The participants were dyads of early
adolescents (5th and 6th graders during the two data collection waves)
and their mothers (N=1364). Supporting our hypothesis, the findings
suggested a reciprocal association between bullying and positive
parenting, although this association was only significant for boys.
Victimization and positive parenting were not significantly
interrelated.
Abstract: I/O workload is a critical and important factor to
analyze I/O pattern and to maximize file system performance.
However to measure I/O workload on running distributed parallel file
system is non-trivial due to collection overhead and large volume of
data. In this paper, we measured and analyzed file system activities on
two large-scale cluster systems which had TFlops level high
performance computation resources. By comparing file system
activities of 2009 with those of 2006, we analyzed the change of I/O
workloads by the development of system performance and high-speed
network technology.
Abstract: In Data mining, Fuzzy clustering algorithms have
demonstrated advantage over crisp clustering algorithms in dealing
with the challenges posed by large collections of vague and uncertain
natural data. This paper reviews concept of fuzzy logic and fuzzy
clustering. The classical fuzzy c-means algorithm is presented and its
limitations are highlighted. Based on the study of the fuzzy c-means
algorithm and its extensions, we propose a modification to the cmeans
algorithm to overcome the limitations of it in calculating the
new cluster centers and in finding the membership values with
natural data. The efficiency of the new modified method is
demonstrated on real data collected for Bhutan-s Gross National
Happiness (GNH) program.
Abstract: In this study, a high accuracy protein-protein interaction
prediction method is developed. The importance of the proposed
method is that it only uses sequence information of proteins while
predicting interaction. The method extracts phylogenetic profiles of
proteins by using their sequence information. Combining the phylogenetic
profiles of two proteins by checking existence of homologs
in different species and fitting this combined profile into a statistical
model, it is possible to make predictions about the interaction status
of two proteins.
For this purpose, we apply a collection of pattern recognition
techniques on the dataset of combined phylogenetic profiles of protein
pairs. Support Vector Machines, Feature Extraction using ReliefF,
Naive Bayes Classification, K-Nearest Neighborhood Classification,
Decision Trees, and Random Forest Classification are the methods
we applied for finding the classification method that best predicts
the interaction status of protein pairs. Random Forest Classification
outperformed all other methods with a prediction accuracy of 76.93%
Abstract: This paper aims to describe how student satisfaction is
measured for work-based learners as these are non-traditional
learners, conducting academic learning in the workplace, typically
their curricula have a high degree of negotiation, and whose
motivations are directly related to their employers- needs, as well as
their own career ambitions. We argue that while increasing WBL
participation, and use of SSD are both accepted as being of strategic
importance to the HE agenda, the use of WBL SSD is rarely
examined, and lessons can be learned from the comparison of SSD
from a range of WBL programmes, and increased visibility of this
type of data will provide insight into ways to improve and develop
this type of delivery. The key themes that emerged from the analysis
of the interview data were: learners profiles and needs, employers
drivers, academic staff drivers, organizational approach, tools for
collecting data and visibility of findings. The paper concludes with
observations on best practice in the collection, analysis and use of
WBL SSD, thus offering recommendations for both academic
managers and practitioners.
Abstract: Dew harvesting needs only weak investment and
exploits a free, clean and inexhaustible energy. This study aims to
measure the relative contributions of dew and rain water in the
Mediterranean Dalmatian coast and islands of Croatia and determine
whether dew water is potable. Two sites were chosen, an open site on
the coast favourable to dew formation (Zadar) and a less favourable
site in a circus of mountains in Komiža (Vis Island). Between July
1st, 2003 and October 31st, 2006, dew hasbeen daily collected on a 1
m2 tilted (30°) test dew condenser together with ordinary
meteorological data (air temperature and relative humidity, cloud
coverage, windspeed and direction). The mean yearly cumulative
dew yields were found to be 20 mm (Zadar) and 9.3 mm (Komiža ).
During the dry season (May to October), monthly cumulative dew
water yield can represent up to 38% of water collected by rain fall. In
July 2003 and 2006, dew water represented about 120% of the
monthly cumulative rain water. Dew and rain water were analyzed in
Zadar. The corresponding parameters were measured: pH, electrical
conductivity, major anions (HCO3
-, Cl-, SO4
2-
, NO3
-
, ,) and major
cations (NH4
+, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+. Both dew and rain water are in
conformity with the WHO directives for potability except Mg2+.
Using existing roofs and refurbishing the abandoned impluviums to
permit dew collection could then provide a useful supplementary
amount of water, especially during the dry season.
Abstract: In this paper the effects of top management commitment on knowledge management activities has been analyzed. This research has been conducted as a case study in an academic environment. The data collection was carried out in the form of semi-structured interview with an interview guide. This study shows the effects of knowledge management strategic plan developing in academia strategic plan on knowledge management success. This paper shows the importance top management commitment factors including strategic plan, communication, and training on knowledge management success in academia. In particular the most important role of Strategic planning in knowledge management success is clarified. This study explores one of the necessary organizational infrastructures of successful implementation of knowledge management. The idea of this research could be applied in the other context especially in the industrial organizations.
Abstract: Mendelian Disease Genes represent a collection of single points of failure for the various systems they constitute. Such genes have been shown, on average, to encode longer proteins than 'non-disease' proteins. Existing models suggest that this results from the increased likeli-hood of longer genes undergoing mutations. Here, we show that in saturated mutagenesis experiments performed on model organisms, where the likelihood of each gene mutating is one, a similar relationship between length and the probability of a gene being lethal was observed. We thus suggest an extended model demonstrating that the likelihood of a mutated gene to produce a severe phenotype is length-dependent. Using the occurrence of conserved domains, we bring evidence that this dependency results from a correlation between protein length and the number of functions it performs. We propose that protein length thus serves as a proxy for protein cardinality in different networks required for the organism's survival and well-being. We use this example to argue that the collection of Mendelian Disease Genes can, and should, be used to study the rules governing systems vulnerability in living organisms.
Abstract: Ethnicity identification of face images is of interest in
many areas of application, but existing methods are few and limited.
This paper presents a fusion scheme that uses block-based uniform
local binary patterns and Haar wavelet transform to combine local
and global features. In particular, the LL subband coefficients of the
whole face are fused with the histograms of uniform local binary
patterns from block partitions of the face. We applied the principal
component analysis on the fused features and managed to reduce the
dimensionality of the feature space from 536 down to around 15
without sacrificing too much accuracy. We have conducted a number
of preliminary experiments using a collection of 746 subject face
images. The test results show good accuracy and demonstrate the
potential of fusing global and local features. The fusion approach is
robust, making it easy to further improve the identification at both
feature and score levels.
Abstract: The proposed Multimedia Pronunciation Learning
Management System (MPLMS) in this study is a technology with
profound potential for inducing improvement in pronunciation
learning. The MPLMS optimizes the digitised phonetic symbols with
the integration of text, sound and mouth movement video. The
components are designed and developed in an online management
system which turns the web to a dynamic user-centric collection of
consistent and timely information for quality sustainable learning.
The aim of this study is to design and develop the MPLMS which
serves as an innovative tool to improve English pronunciation. This
paper discusses the iterative methodology and the three-phase Alessi
and Trollip model in the development of MPLMS. To align with the
flexibility of the development of educational software, the iterative
approach comprises plan, design, develop, evaluate and implement is
followed. To ensure the instructional appropriateness of MPLMS, the
instructional system design (ISD) model of Alessi and Trollip serves
as a platform to guide the important instructional factors and process.
It is expected that the results of future empirical research will support
the efficacy of MPLMS and its place as the premier pronunciation
learning system.