Abstract: Four phenylurea herbicides (isoproturon, chlortoluron, diuron and linuron) were dissolved in different water matrices in order to study their chemical degradation by using UV radiation, ozone and some advanced oxidation processes (UV/H2O2, O3/H2O2, Fenton reagent and the photo- Fenton system). The waters used were: ultra-pure water, a commercial mineral water, a groundwater and a surface water taken from a reservoir. Elimination levels were established for each herbicide and for several global quality parameters, and a kinetic study was performed in order to determine basic kinetic parameters of each reaction between the target phenylureas and these oxidizing systems.
Abstract: A major goal of any enterprise is to create a ratings
system of customer satisfaction, goods and services. It is obvious that
the company cannot change what is not measured. In order to get a
clearer picture of the preferences of the major consumer groups, this
stage should be based on extensive research, including a variety of
interviews and surveys. It is necessary to know the key benefits,
which determine customer satisfaction in the market segment, of the
properties of certain goods and services. It is important to estimate
the terms of these preferences from the viewpoint of the client. This
article discusses the importance of customer satisfaction, and ways of
assessing it.
Abstract: The paper shows how the CASMAS modeling language,
and its associated pervasive computing architecture, can be
used to facilitate continuity of care by providing members of patientcentered
communities of care with a support to cooperation and
knowledge sharing through the usage of electronic documents and
digital devices. We consider a scenario of clearly fragmented care to
show how proper mechanisms can be defined to facilitate a better
integration of practices and information across heterogeneous care
networks. The scenario is declined in terms of architectural components
and cooperation-oriented mechanisms that make the support
reactive to the evolution of the context where these communities
operate.
Abstract: Heat pipes are two-phase heat transfer devices with
high effective thermal conductivity. Due to the high heat transport
capacity, heat exchanger with heat pipes has become much smaller
than traditional heat exchangers in handling high heat fluxes. With
the working fluid in a heat pipe, heat can be absorbed on the
evaporator region and transported to the condenser region where the
vapour condenses releasing the heat to the cooling media. Heat pipe
technology has found increasing applications in enhancing the
thermal performance of heat exchangers in microelectranics, energy
saving in HVAC systems for operating rooms,surgery centers, hotels,
cleanrooms etc, temperature regulation systems for the human body
and other industrial sectors. Development activity in heat pipe and
thermosyphon technology in asia in recent years is surveyed. Some
new results obtained in Australia and other countries are also
included.
Abstract: The State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will hold two important events in the nearby future. In 2014 it will have the final game of the Football World Cup, and in 2016 it will be holding the Olympic Games. Therefore, the public transportation system (mainly buses) is of a major concern to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities-. The main objective of this work is to compare the quality of service of the bus companies operating in the cities of ItaperunaandCampos, both cities situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The outcome of thiscomparison, based on the opinion of the bus users, has shownthemdispleased with the quality of the service provided by the bus companies operating in both cities. It is urgent the need to find possible practical alternatives to minimize the consequences of the main problems detected in this work. With these practical alternatives available, we will be able to offer to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities- suggestions about possible solutions to the main problems identified in this survey, as well as the time of implantation and costs of these solutions.
Abstract: This paper discusses the investigation of a wearable
textile monopole antenna on specific absorption rate (SAR) for bodycentric
wireless communication applications at 2.45 GHz. The
antenna is characterized on a realistic 8 x 8 x 8 mm3 resolution
truncated Hugo body model in CST Microwave Studio software. The
result exhibited that the simulated SAR values were reduced
significantly by 83.5% as the position of textile monopole was
varying between 0 mm and 15 mm away from the human upper arm.
A power absorption reduction of 52.2% was also noticed as the
distance of textile monopole increased.
Abstract: Organizational communication is an administrative
function crucial especially for executives in the implementation of
organizational and administrative functions. Executives spend a
significant part of their time on communicative activities. Doing his or her daily routine, arranging meeting schedules, speaking on the telephone, reading or replying to business correspondence, or
fulfilling the control functions within the organization, an executive typically engages in communication processes.
Efficient communication is the principal device for the adequate implementation of administrative and organizational activities. For
this purpose, management needs to specify the kind of
communication system to be set up and the kind of communication
devices to be used. Communication is vital for any organization.
In conventional offices, communication takes place within the hierarchical pyramid called the organizational structure, and is known as formal or informal communication. Formal communication
is the type that works in specified structures within the organizational rules and towards the organizational goals. Informal communication, on the other hand, is the unofficial type taking place among staff as
face-to-face or telephone interaction.
Communication in virtual as well as conventional offices is
essential for obtaining the right information in administrative
activities and decision-making. Virtual communication technologies
increase the efficiency of communication especially in virtual teams.
Group communication is strengthened through an inter-group central
channel. Further, ease of information transmission makes it possible
to reach the information at the source, allowing efficient and correct decisions. Virtual offices can present as a whole the elements of information which conventional offices produce in different
environments.
At present, virtual work has become a reality with its pros and
cons, and will probably spread very rapidly in coming years, in line
with the growth in information technologies.
Abstract: Lattice Monte Carlo methods are an excellent
choice for the simulation of non-linear thermal diffusion
problems. In this paper, and for the first time, Lattice Monte
Carlo analysis is performed on thermal diffusion combined
with convective heat transfer. Laminar flow of water modeled
as an incompressible fluid inside a copper pipe with a constant
surface temperature is considered. For the simulation of
thermal conduction, the temperature dependence of the
thermal conductivity of the water is accounted for. Using the
novel Lattice Monte Carlo approach, temperature distributions
and energy fluxes are obtained.
Abstract: Small-scale RC models of both piles and tunnel ducts
were produced as mockups of reality and loaded under soil
confinement conditionsto investigate the damage evolution of
structural RC interacting with soil. Experimental verifications usinga
3D nonlinear FE analysis program called COM3D, which was
developed at the University of Tokyo, are introduced. This analysis
has been used in practice for seismic performance assessment of
underground ducts and in-ground LNG storage tanks in consideration
of soil-structure interactionunder static and dynamic loading. Varying
modes of failure of RCpilessubjected to different magnitudes of soil
confinement were successfully reproduced in the proposed small-scale
experiments and numerically simulated as well. Analytical simulation
was applied to RC tunnel mockups under a wide variety of depth and
soil confinement conditions, and reasonable matching was confirmed.
Abstract: The adverse effects of Clindamycin (Clind.) /
Ibuprofen (Ibu.) combination on liver, kidney, blood elements and the
significances of antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine and Zinc) against
these effects were evaluated. The study includes: Group I; control
n=30, Group II; patients on Clind.300mg/Ibu.400mg twice daily for a
week n=30, Group III; patients on Clind.300mg/Ibu.400mg+Nacetylcysteine
200mg twice daily for a week n=15 and Group IV;
patients on Clind.300mg/Ibu.400mg+Zinc50mg twice daily for a
week n=15. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA), alanine transferase
(ALT), aspartate transferase (AST), γ glutamyl transferase (GGT),
creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured. Applying one
way ANOVA followed by Tuckey Kramer post test, Group II showed
significant increase in ALT, AST, GGT, BUN and decrease in Hb,
RBCs, platelets than Group I. Group III showed significant decrease
in ALT, AST, GGT, BUN than Group II. Moreover, Group IV
showed significant decrease in ALT, AST, GGT and increase in Hb,
RBCs, and platelets than Group II. Conclusively, Adding Zinc or Nacetylcysteine
buffer the oxidative stress and improve the therapeutic
outcome of Clindamycin/Ibuprofen combination.
Abstract: Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is one of the most
famous biopolymers that has various applications in production of
biodegradable carriers. The most important strategy for enhancing
efficiency in production process and reducing the price of PHB, is the
accurate expression of kinetic model of products formation and
parameters that are effective on it, such as Dry Cell Weight (DCW)
and substrate consumption. Considering the high capabilities of
artificial neural networks in modeling and simulation of non-linear
systems such as biological and chemical industries that mainly are
multivariable systems, kinetic modeling of microbial production of
PHB that is a complex and non-linear biological process, the three
layers perceptron neural network model was used in this study.
Artificial neural network educates itself and finds the hidden laws
behind the data with mapping based on experimental data, of dry cell
weight, substrate concentration as input and PHB concentration as
output. For training the network, a series of experimental data for
PHB production from Hydrogenophaga Pseudoflava by glucose
carbon source was used. After training the network, two other
experimental data sets that have not intervened in the network
education, including dry cell concentration and substrate
concentration were applied as inputs to the network, and PHB
concentration was predicted by the network. Comparison of predicted
data by network and experimental data, indicated a high precision
predicted for both fructose and whey carbon sources. Also in present
study for better understanding of the ability of neural network in
modeling of biological processes, microbial production kinetic of
PHB by Leudeking-Piret experimental equation was modeled. The
Observed result indicated an accurate prediction of PHB
concentration by artificial neural network higher than Leudeking-
Piret model.
Abstract: Activity-Based Costing (ABC) which has become an important aspect of manufacturing/service organizations can be defined as a methodology that measures the cost and performance of activities, resources and cost objects. It can be considered as an alternative paradigm to traditional cost-based accounting systems. The objective of this paper is to illustrate an application of ABC method and to compare the results of ABC with traditional costing methods. The results of the application highlight the weak points of traditional costing methods and an S-Curve obtained is used to identify the undercosted and overcosted products of the firm.
Abstract: Non-stationary trend in R-R interval series is
considered as a main factor that could highly influence the evaluation
of spectral analysis. It is suggested to remove trends in order to obtain
reliable results. In this study, three detrending methods, the
smoothness prior approach, the wavelet and the empirical mode
decomposition, were compared on artificial R-R interval series with
four types of simulated trends. The Lomb-Scargle periodogram was
used for spectral analysis of R-R interval series. Results indicated that
the wavelet method showed a better overall performance than the other
two methods, and more time-saving, too. Therefore it was selected for
spectral analysis of real R-R interval series of thirty-seven healthy
subjects. Significant decreases (19.94±5.87% in the low frequency
band and 18.97±5.78% in the ratio (p
Abstract: This paper represents the results of long term strength of mortar incorporating Rice Husk Ash (RHA). For these work mortar samples were made according to ASTM standard C 109/C. OPC cement was partially replaced by RHA at 0, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 percent replacement level. After casting all samples were kept in controlled environment and curing was done up to 90 days. Test of mortar was performed on 3, 7, 28, 90, 365 and 700 days. It is noticed that OPC mortar shows better strength at early age than mortar having RHA but at 90 days and onward the picture is different. At 700 days it is observed that mortar containing 20% RHA shows better result than any other samples.
Abstract: Genetically modified (GM) technology in food
production continued to generate controversies. Consumers were
concerned with the GM foods about the healthy and environmental
risks. While consumers- acceptance was a critical factor affecting how
widely this technology be used. According to the research review,
consumers- lack of information was one of the reasons to explain
consumers- low acceptance toward GM foods. The objective for this
study wanted to find out would informative product package affect
consumers- behavior toward GM foods. An experiment was designed
to investigate consumer behavior toward different product package
information. The results indicated that the product package
information influenced consumer product trust toward GM foods.
Compared with the traceability production system information, the
information about the GM rice was approved by authorized
organizations could increase consumers product trust in GM foods.
Consumers in Taiwan saw the information provided by authorized
organizations more credible than other information.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to identify the conditions of
implementation for reconfigurability in summarizing past flexible
manufacturing systems (FMS) research by drawing overall
conclusions from many separate High Performance Manufacturing
(HPM) studies. Meta-analysis will be applied to links between HPM
programs and their practices related to FMS and manufacturing
performance with particular reference to responsiveness performance.
More specifically, an application of meta-analysis will be made with
reference to two of the main steps towards the development of an
empirically-tested theory: testing the adequacy of the measurement of
variables and testing the linkages between the variables.
Abstract: An inverse problem of doubly center matrices is discussed. By translating the constrained problem into unconstrained problem, two iterative methods are proposed. A numerical example illustrate our algorithms.
Abstract: Road authorities have confronted problems to
maintaining the serviceability of road infrastructure systems by using
various traditional methods of contracting. As a solution to these
problems, many road authorities have started contracting out road
maintenance works to the private sector based on performance
measures. This contracting method is named Performance-Based
Maintenance Contracting (PBMC). It is considered more costeffective
than other traditional methods of contracting. It has a
substantial success records in many developed and developing
countries over the last two decades. This paper discusses and
analyses the potential issues to be considered before the introduction
of PBMC in a country.
Abstract: Rice husk is a lignocellulosic source that can be
converted to ethanol. Three hundreds grams of rice husk was mixed
with 1 L of 0.18 N sulfuric acid solutions then was heated in an
autoclave. The reaction was expected to be at constant temperature
(isothermal), but before that temperature was achieved, reaction has
occurred. The first liquid sample was taken at temperature of 140 0C
and repeated every 5 minute interval. So the data obtained are in the
regions of non-isothermal and isothermal. It was observed that the
degradation has significant effects on the ethanol production. The
kinetic constants can be expressed by Arrhenius equation with the
frequency factors for hydrolysis and sugar degradation of 1.58 x 105
1/min and 2.29 x 108 L/mole/min, respectively, while the activation
energies are 64,350 J/mole and 76,571 J/mole. The highest ethanol
concentration from fermentation is 1.13% v/v, attained at 220 0C.
Abstract: Since 2004, we have been developing an in-situ storage image sensor (ISIS) that captures more than 100 consecutive images at a frame rate of 10 Mfps with ultra-high sensitivity as well as the video camera for use with this ISIS. Currently, basic research is continuing in an attempt to increase the frame rate up to 100 Mfps and above. In order to suppress electro-magnetic noise at such high frequency, a digital-noiseless imaging transfer scheme has been developed utilizing solely sinusoidal driving voltages. This paper presents highly efficient-yet-accurate expressions to estimate attenuation as well as phase delay of driving voltages through RC networks of an ultra-high-speed image sensor. Elmore metric for a fundamental RC chain is employed as the first-order approximation. By application of dimensional analysis to SPICE data, we found a simple expression that significantly improves the accuracy of the approximation. Similarly, another simple closed-form model to estimate phase delay through fundamental RC networks is also obtained. Estimation error of both expressions is much less than previous works, only less 2% for most of the cases . The framework of this analysis can be extended to address similar issues of other VLSI structures.