Abstract: In the present work, the effect of load and sliding
distance on the performance tribology of commercially used
aluminium-silicon engine block and piston was evaluated at ambient
conditions with humidity of 80% under dry sliding conditions using a
pin-on-disc with two different loads of 5N and 20N yielding applied
pressure of 0.30MPa and 1.4MPa, respectively, at sliding velocity of
0.29ms-1 and with varying sliding distance ranging from 260m-
4200m. Factors and conditions that had significant effect were
identified. The results showed that the load and the sliding distance
affect the wear rate of the alloys and the wear rate increased with
increasing load for both the alloys. Wear rate also increases almost
linearly at low loads and increase to a maximum then attain a plateau
with increasing sliding distance. For both applied loads the piston
alloy showed the better performance due to higher Ni and Mg
content. The worn surface and wear debris was characterized by
optical microscope, SEM and EDX analyzer. The worn surface was
characterized by surface with shallow grooves at loads while the
groove width and depth increased as the loads increases. Oxidative
wear was found to be the predominant mechanisms in the dry sliding
of Al-Si alloys at low loads.
Abstract: Heavy metals are one of the major groups of
contaminants in the environment and many of them are toxic even at
very low concentration in plants and animals. However, some metals
play important roles in the biological function of many enzymes in
living organisms. Metals such as zinc, iron, and cooper are important
for survival and activity of enzymes in plants, however heavy metals
can inhibit enzyme which is responsible for defense system of plants.
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is a copper-containing metalloenzyme
which is responsible for enzymatic browning reaction of plants.
Enzymatic browning is a major problem for the handling of
vegetables and fruits in food industry. It can be increased and
effected with many different futures such as metals in the nature and
ground. In the present work, PPO was isolated and characterized
from green leaves of red poppy plant (Papaverr hoeas). Then, the
effect of some known antibrowning agents which can form
complexes with metals and metals were investigated on the red poppy
PPO activity. The results showed that glutathione was the most
potent inhibitory effect on PPO activity. Cu(II) and Fe(II) metals
increased the enzyme activities however, Sn(II) had the maximum
inhibitory effect and Zn(II) and Pb(II) had no significant effect on the
enzyme activity. In order to reduce the effect of heavy metals, the
effects of metal-antibrowning agent complexes on the PPO activity
were determined. EDTA and metal complexes had no significant
effect on the enzyme. L-ascorbic acid and metal complexes decreased
but L-ascorbic acid-Cu(II)-complex had no effect. Glutathione–metal
complexes had the best inhibitory effect on Red poppy leaf PPO
activity.
Abstract: To mimic the natural circumstances of cell growth in an organism, we present three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds fabricated by microfluidics for cultivation. This work investigates the cellular behaviors of rat cardiomyocytes in gelatin 3D scaffolds compared to those on 2D control, such as proliferation, viability and morphology. We found that the scaffolds may induce skeletal differentiation of H9c2 cells.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to study of consumer
perception and understanding consumer buying behavior that related
between satisfied and factors affecting the purchasing. Methodology
can be classified between qualitative and quantitative approaches for
the qualitative research were interviews from middlemen who bought
organic vegetables, and middlemen related to production and
marketing system. A questionnaire was utilized as a tool to collect
data. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency,
percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression
analysis. The result show the reason to decision buying motives is
Fresh products of organic vegetables is the most significant factor on
individuals’ income, with a b of –.143, t = –2.470, the price of
organic vegetables is the most significant factor on individuals’
income, with a b of .176, t = 2.561, p value = .011. The results show
that most people with higher income think about the organic products
are expensive and have negative attitudes towards organic vegetable
as individuals with low and medium income level. Therefore,
household income had a significant influence on the purchasing
decision.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to identify factors
that influenced the success of e-commerce implementation within
SMEs businesses. In order to achieve the objectives of this research,
the researcher collected data from random firms in Thailand, both the
users and those who are not using the e-commerce. The data was
comprised of the results of 310 questionnaires, as well as 10
interviews with owner/managers of businesses who are currently
using e-commerce successfully. The data were analyzed by using
descriptive statistics, which included frequency, percentages, mean,
and the standard deviation of pertinent factors. Independent t-test and
one-way ANOVA test were also used. The findings of this research
revealed that 50% of all the firms surveyed had e-commerce website,
whereas, over 20% of all firms surveyed had developing an ecommerce
strategy. The result findings also indicate that
organizational factors, technological factors and environment factors
as significant factors effecting success of e-commerce
implementation in SMEs. From the hypotheses testing, the findings
revealed that the different level of support use ecommerce by
owner/manager had different success in e-commerce implementation.
Moreover, the difference in e-commerce management approach
affected the success in terms of higher total sales for the business or
higher number of retained or returning customers.
Abstract: Copper being one of the major intrinsic residual
impurities in steel possesses the tendency to induce severe
microstructural distortions if not controlled within certain limits.
Hence, this paper investigates the effect of this element on the
mechanical properties of construction steel with a view to ascertain
its safe limits for effective control. The experiment entails collection
of statistically scheduled samples of hot rolled profiles with varied
copper concentrations in the range of 0.12-0.39 wt. %. From these
samples were prepared standard test specimens subjected to tensile,
impact, hardness and microstructural analyses. Results show a rather
huge compromise in mechanical properties as the specimens
demonstrated 54.3%, 74.2% and 64.9% reduction in tensile strength,
impact energy and hardness respectively as copper content increases
from 0.12 wt. % to 0.39 wt. %. The steel’s abysmal performance is
due to the severe distortion of the microstructure occasioned by the
development of incoherent complex compounds which weaken the
pearlite reinforcing phase. It is concluded that the presence of copper
above 0.22 wt. % is deleterious to construction steel performance.
Abstract: Mass flow measurement is the basis of most technoeconomic
formulations in the chemical industry. This calls for
reliable and accurate detection of mass flow. Flow measurement
laboratory experiments were conducted using various instruments.
These consisted of orifice plates, various sized rotameters, wet gas
meter and soap bubble meter. This work was aimed at evaluating
appropriate operating conditions and accuracy of the aforementioned
devices. The experimental data collected were compared to
theoretical predictions from Bernoulli’s equation and calibration
curves supplied by the instrument’s manufacturers. The results
obtained showed that rotameters were more reliable for measuring
high and low flow rates; while soap-bubble meters and wet-gas
meters were found to be suitable for measuring low flow rates. The
laboratory procedures and findings of the actual work can assist
engineering students and professionals in conducting their flow
measurement laboratory test work.
Abstract: In this work, we propose the application of Japanese
“Origami” art for a floating function of a small aerial vehicle such as a
hexarotor. A preliminary experiment was conducted using Origami
magic balls mounted under a hexarotor. This magic ball can expand
and shrink using an air pump during free flying. Using this interesting
and functional concept, it promises to reduce the resistance of wind as
well as reduce the energy consumption when the Origami balls are
deflated. This approach can be particularly useful in rescue emergency
situations. Furthermore, there are many unexpected reasons that may
cause the multi-rotor has to land on the surface of water due to
problems with the communication between the aircraft and the ground
station. In addition, a complementary experiment was designed to
prove that the hexarotor can fly maintaining the stability and also,
takes off and lands on the surface of water using air balloons.
Abstract: No matter how much perfect we become in our
practical skills regarding the implementation of learned ideas, the
need of technical writing capability cannot be neglected being a
professional. Technical writing is a way of communicating the ideas
in written which otherwise need to be presented orally. Technical
writing skills have always been the need of the time, as they are
required for internal as well as external official communication in
both formal and informal manner. Moreover, they are the best way to
capture the attention of your customers by presenting information in
effective manner. This paper aims to analyze the importance of
technical writing skills in professional industries of Pakistan by
conducting a survey. Survey results presented in this paper clearly
depicts the importance of formal and informal written communication
media used in different professional industries in Pakistan. Analysis
and discussion of the extent to which the alternative ways of
communication besides technical writing have got importance in
Pakistan is also an important aspect of this survey.
Abstract: Nanotechnology is the new cyber, according to several major leaders in this field. Just as cyber is entrenched across global society now, nano is poised to be major capabilities enabler of the next decades. Expert members from the National Nanotechnology Initiative (in U.S.) representing government and science disciplines say nano has great significance for the military and the general public. It is predicted that after next 15 years nanotechnology will replace information technology as the most economic technology platform. Nanotechnology has even wider applications than information technology.
Abstract: The study deals with the challenges in developing a
test rig to test the performance of water lubricated journal bearing.
The test rig is designed to simulate the working conditions of the
bearing in order to understand their performance before they are put
in operation. The bearing that is studied is the commercially available
water lubricated bearing which has a rubber liner bonded with a rigid
metal shell. The lubricant enters the bearing axially through a
pressurized inlet tank and exits to an outlet tank which is at
sufficiently low pressure. The load on the bearing is applied through
the dead weight system which acts both in upward and downward
direction so that net load acts on the bearing. The issues in feeding
the lubricant into the bearing from the inlet side and preventing the
leakage of the lubricant is discussed. The application of the load on
the test bearing while maintaining the bearing afloat is also discussed.
Abstract: In order to efficiently solve the problems created by the deepening energy crisis affecting Europe and the world,
governments cannot neglect the opportunities of using the energy
produced by sun collectors. In many of the EU countries there are sun
collectors producing heat energy, e.g. in 2011 in the area of EU27
(countries which belong to European Union) + Switzerland altogether
37519126 m2 were operated, which are capable of producing 26.3
GWh heat energy. The energy produced by these sun collectors is
utilized at the place of production. In the near future governments
will have to focus more on spreading and using sun collectors.
Among the complex problems of operating sun collectors, this article
deals with determining the optimal tilt angle, directions of sun
collectors. We evaluate the contamination of glass surface of sun
collector to the produced energy. Our theoretically results are confirmed by laboratory measurements. The purpose of our work is to help users and engineers in determination of optimal operation
parameters of sun collectors.
Abstract: A simple, accurate and precise direct spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of cefixime in tablets and capsules. The method is based on the reaction of cefixime with a mixture of potassium iodide and potassium iodate to form yellow coloured product in ethanol-distilled water medium at room temperature which absorbed maximally at 352 nm. The factors affecting the reaction product were carefully studied and optimized. The validation parameters based on International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH, USA) guidelines were followed. The effect of common excipients used as additives has been tested and the tolerance limit was calculated for the determination of cefixime. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 4 – 24 ug mL-1 with apparent molar absorptivity of 1.52 × 104 L mol-1cm-1 and Sandell’s sensitivity of 0.033 ug/cm2/ 0.001 absorbance unit. The limits of detection and quantitation for the proposed method are 0.32 and 1.06 ug mL-1, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared with the reference method using t- and F- values and found no significant difference between the two methods. The proposed method can be used as an alternate method for routine quality control analysis of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations.
Abstract: Nowadays, the amounts of companies which tend to
have an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application are
increasing. Although ERP projects are expensive, time consuming,
and complex, there are some successful experiences. These days,
developing countries are striving to implement ERP projects
successfully; however, there are many obstacles. Therefore, these
projects would be failed or partially failed. This paper concerns the
implementation of a successful ERP implementation, IFS, in Iran at
Dana Geophysics Company (DGC). After a short review of ERP and
ERP market in Iran, we propose a three phases deployment
methodology (phase 1: Preparation and Business Process
Management (BPM) phase 2: implementation and phase 3: testing,
golive-1 (pilot) and golive-2 (final)). Then, we present five guidelines
(Project Management, Change Management, Business Process
Management (BPM), Training& Knowledge Management, and
Technical Management), which were chose as work streams. In this
case study we present lessons learned in Project management and
Business process Management.
Abstract: The main objective of this study was to identify
factors and conditions that motivated and encouraged students
towards the math class and the factors that made this class an
attractive and lovely one. To do this end, questionnaires consisting of
15 questions were distributed among 85 math teachers working in
schools of Zahedan. Having collected and reviewed these
questionnaires, it was shown that doing activity in math class
(activity of students while teaching) and previous math teachers'
behaviors have had much impact on encouraging the students
towards mathematics. Separation of educational classroom of
mathematics from the main classroom (which is decorated with crafts
created by students themselves with regard to math book including
article, wall newspaper, figures and formulas), peers, size and
appearance of math book, first grade teachers in each educational
level, among whom the Elementary first grade teachers had more
importance and impact, were among the most influential and
important factors in this regard. Then, school environment, family,
conducting research related to mathematics, its application in daily
life and other courses and studying the history of mathematics were
categorized as important factors that would increase the students’
interest in mathematics.
Abstract: This paper deals with a simulation programs and
technologies using in the educational process for members of the crisis
management. Risk analysis, simulation, preparation and planning are
among the main activities of workers of crisis management. Made
correctly simulation of emergency defines the extent of the danger. On
this basis, it is possible to effectively prepare and plan measures to
minimize damage. The paper is focused on simulation programs that
are trained at the University of Defence. Implementation of the outputs
from simulation programs in decision-making processes of crisis staffs
is one of the main tasks of the research project.
Abstract: A method which allows a diabetic quadriplegic patient
that has had four limb amputations (above the knee and elbow) to
self-administer injections of insulin has been designed. The aim of
this research project is to improve a quadriplegic patient’s selfmanagement,
affected by diabetes, by designing a suitable device for
self-administering insulin.
The quadriplegic patient affected by diabetes has to be able to selfadminister
insulin safely and independently to guarantee stable
healthy conditions. The device also should be designed to adapt to a
number of different varying personal characteristics such as height
and body weight.
Abstract: In this research work, neural networks were applied to
classify two types of hip joint implants based on the relative hip joint
implant side speed and three components of each ground reaction
force. The condition of walking gait at normal velocity was used and
carried out with each of the two hip joint implants assessed. Ground
reaction forces’ kinetic temporal changes were considered in the first
approach followed but discarded in the second one. Ground reaction
force components were obtained from eighteen patients under such
gait condition, half of which had a hip implant type I-II, whilst the
other half had the hip implant, defined as type III by Orthoload®.
After pre-processing raw gait kinetic data and selecting the time
frames needed for the analysis, the ground reaction force components
were used to train a MLP neural network, which learnt to distinguish
the two hip joint implants in the abovementioned condition. Further
to training, unknown hip implant side and ground reaction force
components were presented to the neural networks, which assigned
those features into the right class with a reasonably high accuracy for
the hip implant type I-II and the type III. The results suggest that
neural networks could be successfully applied in the performance
assessment of hip joint implants.
Abstract: In this study, a three dimensional numerical heat
transfer model has been used to simulate the laser structuring of
polymer substrate material in the Three-Dimensional Molded
Interconnect Device (3D MID) which is used in the advanced multifunctional
applications. A finite element method (FEM) transient
thermal analysis is performed using APDL (ANSYS Parametric
Design Language) provided by ANSYS. In this model, the effect of
surface heat source was modeled with Gaussian distribution, also the
effect of the mixed boundary conditions which consist of convection
and radiation heat transfers have been considered in this analysis. The
model provides a full description of the temperature distribution, as
well as calculates the depth and the width of the groove upon material
removal at different set of laser parameters such as laser power and
laser speed. This study also includes the experimental procedure to
study the effect of laser parameters on the depth and width of the
removal groove metal as verification to the modeled results. Good
agreement between the experimental and the model results is
achieved for a wide range of laser powers. It is found that the quality
of the laser structure process is affected by the laser scan speed and
laser power. For a high laser structured quality, it is suggested to use
laser with high speed and moderate to high laser power.
Abstract: With demand for primary energy continuously
growing, search for renewable and efficient energy sources has been
high on agenda of our society. One of the most promising energy
sources is biogas technology. Residues coming from dairy industry
and milk processing could be used in biogas production; however,
low efficiency and high cost impede wide application of such
technology. One of the main problems is management and conversion
of organic residues through the anaerobic digestion process which is
characterized by acidic environment due to the low whey pH (