Measurement and Estimation of Evaporation from Water Surfaces: Application to Dams in Arid and Semi Arid Areas in Algeria

Many methods exist for either measuring or estimating evaporation from free water surfaces. Evaporation pans provide one of the simplest, inexpensive, and most widely used methods of estimating evaporative losses. In this study, the rate of evaporation starting from a water surface was calculated by modeling with application to dams in wet, arid and semi arid areas in Algeria. We calculate the evaporation rate from the pan using the energy budget equation, which offers the advantage of an ease of use, but our results do not agree completely with the measurements taken by the National Agency of areas carried out using dams located in areas of different climates. For that, we develop a mathematical model to simulate evaporation. This simulation uses an energy budget on the level of a vat of measurement and a Computational Fluid Dynamics (Fluent). Our calculation of evaporation rate is compared then by the two methods and with the measures of areas in situ.

Extraction in Two-Phase Systems and Some Properties of Laccase from Lentinus polychrous

Extraction of laccase produced by L. polychrous in an aqueous two-phase system, composed of polyethylene glycol and phosphate salt at pH 7.0 and 250C was investigated. The effect of PEG molecular weight, PEG concentration and phosphate concentration was determined. Laccase preferentially partitioned to the top phase. Good extraction of laccase to the top phase was observed with PEG 4000. The optimum system was found in the system containing 12% w/w PEG 4000 and 16% w/w phosphate salt with KE of 88.3, purification factor of 3.0-fold and 99.1% yield. Some properties of the enzyme such as thermal stability, effect of heavy metal ions and kinetic constants were also presented in this work. The thermal stability decreased sharply with high temperature above 60 0C. The enzyme was inhibited by Cd2+, Pb2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+. The Vmax and Km values of the enzyme were 74.70 μmol/min/ml and 9.066 mM respectively.

Inhibition Effect of Brazilin to Human Bladder Cancer Cell Line T24

The inhibition effect of brazilin to human bladder tumor cell line T24 in vitro and in vivo was studied. The results of the in vitro experiments showed that brazilin has strong inhibition activity on the target cells. The inhibition ratio of 100 μg/mL brazilin and 100 μg/mL mitomycin to the target cells was 90.90 % and 63.24 % respectively, which showed that brazilin has higher inhibition activity than mitomycin under the same concentration. Brazilin could induce cell apoptosis in T24 cells. Significant antitumor activity of brazilin was also showed in the animals experiments. The life extention rate of 200 mg/mL, 300 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg brazilin intraperitoneally injected into Balb/c-nu-nu nude mice that with human bladder cancer were 51.50 %, 56.90 %, and 58.42 %(P

Effect of Drought Stress on Nitrogen Components in Corn

An attempt was made to study of nitrogen components response of corn (Zea mays L.) to drought stress. A farm research was done in RCBD as split-plot with four replications in Khorramabad, west Iran. Drought stress levels as irrigation regimes after 75 (control), 100, and 120 (stress) mm cumulative evaporation were in main plots, and four seed corn varieties include 500 (medium maturity), 647, 700, and 704 (long maturity) were as subplots. Soluble protein, nitrate and proline amino acid were measured in shoot and root at flowering stage, and grain yield was measured in harvesting stage. As the drought progressed, the amount of nitrate and proline followed an increasing trend, but soluble protein decreased in shoot and root. The highest amount of nitrate and proline was observed in longer maturity varieties than shorter ones, but decrease yield of long maturity varieties was higher than medium maturity varieties in drought condition, because of long duration of stress.

Underlying Cognitive Complexity Measure Computation with Combinatorial Rules

Measuring the complexity of software has been an insoluble problem in software engineering. Complexity measures can be used to predict critical information about testability, reliability, and maintainability of software systems from automatic analysis of the source code. During the past few years, many complexity measures have been invented based on the emerging Cognitive Informatics discipline. These software complexity measures, including cognitive functional size, lend themselves to the approach of the total cognitive weights of basic control structures such as loops and branches. This paper shows that the current existing calculation method can generate different results that are algebraically equivalence. However, analysis of the combinatorial meanings of this calculation method shows significant flaw of the measure, which also explains why it does not satisfy Weyuker's properties. Based on the findings, improvement directions, such as measures fusion, and cumulative variable counting scheme are suggested to enhance the effectiveness of cognitive complexity measures.

Grid-based Supervised Clustering - GBSC

This paper presents a supervised clustering algorithm, namely Grid-Based Supervised Clustering (GBSC), which is able to identify clusters of any shapes and sizes without presuming any canonical form for data distribution. The GBSC needs no prespecified number of clusters, is insensitive to the order of the input data objects, and is capable of handling outliers. Built on the combination of grid-based clustering and density-based clustering, under the assistance of the downward closure property of density used in bottom-up subspace clustering, the GBSC can notably reduce its search space to avoid the memory confinement situation during its execution. On two-dimension synthetic datasets, the GBSC can identify clusters with different shapes and sizes correctly. The GBSC also outperforms other five supervised clustering algorithms when the experiments are performed on some UCI datasets.

Assesing Extension of Meeting System Performance in Information Technology in Defense and Aerospace Project

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) spends hundreds of millions of dollars on software to support its infrastructure, operate its weapons and provide command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) functions. These and other all new advanced systems have a common critical component is information technology. Defense and Aerospace environment is continuously striving to keep up with increasingly sophisticated Information Technology (IT) in order to remain effective in today-s dynamic and unpredictable threat environment. This makes it one of the largest and fastest growing expenses of Defense. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent a year on IT projects. But, too many of those millions are wasted on costly mistakes. Systems that do not work properly, new components that are not compatible with old once, trendily new applications that do not really satisfy defense needs or lost though poorly managed contracts. This paper investigates and compiles the effective strategies that aim to end exasperation with low returns and high cost of Information Technology Acquisition for defense; it tries to show how to maximize value while reducing time and expenditure.

Investigation of Dimethyl Ether Solubility in Liquid Hexadecane by UNIFAC Method

It is shown that a modified UNIFAC model can be applied to predict solubility of hydrocarbon gases and vapors in hydrocarbon solvents. Very good agreement with experimental data has been achieved. In this work we try to find best way for predicting dimethyl ether solubility in liquid paraffin by using group contribution theory.

Performance of a Transcritical CO2 Heat Pump for Simultaneous Water Cooling and Heating

This paper presents the experimental as well as the simulated performance studies on the transcritical CO2 heat pumps for simultaneous water cooling and heating; effects of water mass flow rates and water inlet temperatures of both evaporator and gas cooler on the cooling and heating capacities, system COP and water outlets temperatures are investigated. Study shows that both the water mass flow rate and inlet temperature have significant effect on system performances. Test results show that the effect of evaporator water mass flow rate on the system performances and water outlet temperatures is more pronounced (COP increases 0.6 for 1 kg/min) compared to the gas cooler water mass flow rate (COP increases 0.4 for 1 kg/min) and the effect of gas cooler water inlet temperature is more significant (COP decreases 0.48 for given ranges) compared to the evaporator water inlet temperature (COP increases 0.43 for given ranges). Comparisons of experimental values with simulated results show the maximum deviation of 5% for cooling capacity, 10% for heating capacity, 16% for system COP. This study offers useful guidelines for selecting appropriate water mass flow rate to obtain required system performance.

Daily Global Solar Radiation Modeling Using Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) Neural Networks

Predict daily global solar radiation (GSR) based on meteorological variables, using Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural networks is the main objective of this study. Daily mean air temperature, relative humidity, sunshine hours, evaporation, wind speed, and soil temperature values between 2002 and 2006 for Dezful city in Iran (32° 16' N, 48° 25' E), are used in this study. The measured data between 2002 and 2005 are used to train the neural networks while the data for 214 days from 2006 are used as testing data.

Ethics, Identity and Organizational Learning –Challenges for South African Managers

As a result of the ever-changing environment and the demands of rganisations- customers, it is important to recognise the importance of some important managerial challenges. It is the sincere belief that failure to meet these challenges, will ultimately contribute to inevitable problems for organisations. This recognition requires from managers and by implication organisations to be engaged in ethical behaviour, identity awareness and learning organisational behaviour. All these aspects actually reflect on the importance of intellectual capital as the competitive weapons for organisations in the future.

Efficient Scheduling Algorithm for QoS Support in High Speed Downlink Packet Access Networks

In this paper, we propose APO, a new packet scheduling scheme with Quality of Service (QoS) support for hybrid of real and non-real time services in HSDPA networks. The APO scheduling algorithm is based on the effective channel anticipation model. In contrast to the traditional schemes, the proposed method is implemented based on a cyclic non-work-conserving discipline. Simulation results indicated that proposed scheme has good capability to maximize the channel usage efficiency in compared to another exist scheduling methods. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Spray Combustion Dynamics under Thermoacoustic Oscillations

Thermoacoustic instabilities in combustors have remained a topic of investigation for over a few decades due to the challenges it posses to the operation of low emission gas turbines. For combustors burning liquid fuel, understanding the cause-andeffect relationship between spray combustion dynamics and thermoacoustic oscillations is imperative for the successful development of any control methodology for its mitigation. The paper presents some very unique operating characteristics of a kerosene-fueled diffusion type combustor undergoing limit-cycle oscillations. Combustor stability limits were mapped using three different-sized injectors. The results show that combustor instability depends on the characteristics of the fuel spray. A simple analytic analysis is also reported in support of a plausible explanation for the unique combustor behavior. The study indicates that high amplitude acoustic pressure in the combustor may cause secondary breakdown of fuel droplets resulting in premixed pre-vaporized type burning of the diffusion type combustor.

Can We Secure Security?

Until recently it would have been unusual to consider classifying population movements and refugees as security problem. However, efforts at shaping our world to make ourselves secure have paradoxically led to ever greater insecurity. The feeling of uncertainty, pertinent throughout all discourses of security, has led to the creation of security production into seemingly benign routines of everyday life. Yet, the paper argues, neither of security discourses accounted for, disclosed and challenged the fundamental aporias embedded in Western security narratives. In turn, the paper aims to unpick the conventional security wisdom, which is haunted with strong ontologies, embedded in the politics of Orientalism, and (in)security nexus. The paper concludes that current security affair conceals the integral impossibility of fulfilling its very own promise of assured security. The paper also provides suggestions about alternative security discourse based on mutual dialogue.

Modeling of Statistically Multiplexed Non Uniform Activity VBR Video

This paper reports the feasibility of the ARMA model to describe a bursty video source transmitting over a AAL5 ATM link (VBR traffic). The traffic represents the activity of the action movie "Lethal Weapon 3" transmitted over the ATM network using the Fore System AVA-200 ATM video codec with a peak rate of 100 Mbps and a frame rate of 25. The model parameters were estimated for a single video source and independently multiplexed video sources. It was found that the model ARMA (2, 4) is well-suited for the real data in terms of average rate traffic profile, probability density function, autocorrelation function, burstiness measure, and the pole-zero distribution of the filter model.

Heating of High-Density Hydrogen by High- Current Arc Radiation

The investigation results of high-density hydrogen heating by high-current electric arc are presented at initial pressure from 5 MPa to 160 MPa with current amplitude up to 1.6 MA and current rate of rise 109-1011 A/s. When changing the initial pressure and current rate of rise, channel temperature varies from several electronvolts to hundreds electronvolts. Arc channel radius is several millimeters. But the radius of the discharge chamber greater than the radius of the arc channel on approximately order of magnitude. High efficiency of gas heating is caused by radiation absorption of hydrogen surrounding the arc. Current channel consist from vapor of the initiating wire. At current rate of rise of 109 A/s and relatively small current amplitude gas heating occurs due to radiation absorption in the band transparency of hydrogen by the wire vapours with photon energies less than 13.6 eV. At current rate of rise of 1011 A/s gas heating is due to hydrogen absorption of soft X-rays from discharge channel.

Multiband CPW-Fed Slot Antenna with L-slot Bowtie Tuning Stub

This paper presents a multiband CPW-fed slot antenna with L-slot bowtie tuning stub. The proposed antenna has been designed for PCS 1900, UMTS, WLAN 802.11 a/b/g and bluetooth applications, with a cost-effective FR4 substrate. The proposed antenna still radiate as omni-directional in azimuth plane and sufficient bandwidth for all above mentions. The proposed antenna works as dual-wideband, bandwidth at low frequency band and high frequency are about 45.49 % and 22.39 % respectively. The experimental results of the constructed prototype are presented and also compared with simulation results using a commercial software tool.

Cubic Splines and Fourier Series Approach to Study Temperature Variation in Dermal Layers of Elliptical Shaped Human Limbs

An attempt has been made to develop a seminumerical model to study temperature variations in dermal layers of human limbs. The model has been developed for two dimensional steady state case. The human limb has been assumed to have elliptical cross section. The dermal region has been divided into three natural layers namely epidermis, dermis and subdermal tissues. The model incorporates the effect of important physiological parameters like blood mass flow rate, metabolic heat generation, and thermal conductivity of the tissues. The outer surface of the limb is exposed to the environment and it is assumed that heat loss takes place at the outer surface by conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation. The temperature of inner core of the limb also varies at the lower atmospheric temperature. Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed based on the physical conditions of the problem. Cubic splines approach has been employed along radial direction and Fourier series along angular direction to obtain the solution. The numerical results have been computed for different values of eccentricity resembling with the elliptic cross section of the human limbs. The numerical results have been used to obtain the temperature profile and to study the relationships among the various physiological parameters.

Influence of Ambient Condition on Performance of Wet Compression Process

Gas turbine systems with wet compression have a potential for future power generation, since they can offer a high efficiency and a high specific power with a relatively low cost. In this study influence of ambient condition on the performance of the wet compression process is investigated with a non-equilibrium analytical modeling based on droplet evaporation. Transient behaviors of droplet diameter and temperature of mixed air are investigated for various ambient temperatures. Special attention is paid for the effects of ambient temperature, pressure ratio, and water injection ratios on the important wet compression variables including compressor outlet temperature and compression work. Parametric studies show that downing of the ambient temperature leads to lower compressor outlet temperature and consequently lower consumption of compression work even in wet compression processes.

Sensing Characteristics to Acid Vapors of a TPPS Coated Fiber Optic: A Preliminary Analysis

In this work we report on preliminary analysis of a novel optoelectronic gas sensor based on an optical fiber integrated with a tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) thin film. The sensitive materials are selectively deposited on the core region of a fiber tip by UV light induced deposition technique. A simple and cheap process which can be easily extended to different porphyrin derivatives. When the TPPS film on the fiber tip is exposed to acid and/or base vapors, dramatic changes occur in the aggregation structure of the dye molecules in the film, from J- to H-type, resulting in a profound modification of their corresponding reflectance spectra. From the achieved experimental results it is evident that the presence of intense and narrow band peaks in the reflected spectra could be monitored to detect hazardous vapors.