Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of
the antioxidant activity of germinated African Yam Bean (AYB) on
oxidative stress markers in alloxan induced diabetic rat. Rats were
randomized into three groups; control, diabetic and germinated AYB
– treated diabetic rats. The Total phenol and flavonoid content and
DPPH radical scavenging activity before and after germination were
investigated. The glucose level, lipid peroxidation and reduced
glutathione of the animals were also determined using standard
technique for four weeks. Germination increased the total phenol,
flavonoid and antioxidant activity of AYB extract by 19.14%,
32.28% and 57.25% respectively. The diabetic rats placed on
germinated AYB diet had a significant decrease in the blood glucose
and lipid peroxidation with a corresponding increase in glutathione
(p
Abstract: Thin ZnO films are deposited on glass substrates via
sol–gel method and dip-coating. The films are prepared from zinc
acetate dehydrate as a starting reagent. After that the as-prepared
ZnO sol is aged for different periods (0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 30 days).
Nanocrystalline thin films are deposited from various sols. The
effect ZnO sols aging time on the structural and photocatalytic
properties of the films is studied. The films surface is studied by
Scanning Electron Microscopy. The effect of the aging time of the
starting solution is studied in the photocatalytic degradation of
Reactive Black 5 (RB5) by UV-vis spectroscopy. The experiments
are conducted upon UV-light illumination and in complete darkness.
The variation of the absorption spectra shows the degradation of RB5
dissolved in water, as a result of the reaction, occurring on the surface
of the films and promoted by UV irradiation. The initial
concentrations of dye (5, 10 and 20 ppm) and the effect of the aging
time are varied during the experiments. The results show, that the
increasing aging time of starting solution with respect to ZnO
generally promotes photocatalytic activity. The thin films obtained
from ZnO sol, which is aged 30 days have best photocatalytic
degradation of the dye (97,22%) in comparison with the freshly
prepared ones (65,92%). The samples and photocatalytic
experimental results are reproducible. Nevertheless, all films exhibit
a substantial activity in both UV light and darkness, which is
promising for the development of new ZnO photocatalysts by sol-gel
method.
Abstract: Urban areas have been expanded throughout the
globe. Monitoring and modelling urban growth have become a
necessity for a sustainable urban planning and decision making.
Urban prediction models are important tools for analyzing the causes
and consequences of urban land use dynamics. The objective of this
research paper is to analyze and model the urban change, which has
been occurred from 1990 to 2000 using CORINE land cover maps.
The model was developed using drivers of urban changes (such as
road distance, slope, etc.) under an Artificial Neural Network
modelling approach. Validation was achieved using a prediction map
for 2006 which was compared with a real map of Urban Atlas of
2006. The accuracy produced a Kappa index of agreement of 0,639
and a value of Cramer's V of 0,648. These encouraging results
indicate the importance of the developed urban growth prediction
model which using a set of available common biophysical drivers
could serve as a management tool for the assessment of urban
change.
Abstract: The temperature dependence of wettability (wetting
angle, Θ (T)) for Ag-based melts on graphite and Al2O3 substrates is
compared. Typical alloying effects are found, as the Ag host metal is
gradually replaced by various metallic elements. The essence of
alloying lies in the change of the electron/atom (e/a) ratio. This ratio
is also manifested in the shift of wetting angles on the same substrate.
Nevertheless, the effects are partially smeared by other
(metallurgical) factors, like the interaction between the oxygenalloying
elements and by the graphite substrate-oxygen interaction. In
contrast, such effects are not pronounced in the case of Al2O3
substrates. As a consequence, Θ(T) exhibits an opposite trend in the
case of two substrates. Crossovers of the Θ(T) curves were often
found. The positions of crossovers depend on the chemical character
and concentration of solute atoms. Segregation and epitaxial texture
formation after solidification were also observed in certain alloy
drops, especially in high concentration range. This phenomenon is
not yet explained in every detail.
Abstract: Analyzing DNA microarray data sets is a great
challenge, which faces the bioinformaticians due to the complication
of using statistical and machine learning techniques. The challenge
will be doubled if the microarray data sets contain missing data,
which happens regularly because these techniques cannot deal with
missing data. One of the most important data analysis process on
the microarray data set is feature selection. This process finds the
most important genes that affect certain disease. In this paper, we
introduce a technique for imputing the missing data in microarray
data sets while performing feature selection.
Abstract: Currently, there is excessively growing information
about places on Facebook, which is the largest social network but
such information is not explicitly organized and ranked. Therefore
users cannot exploit such data to recommend places conveniently and
quickly. This paper proposes a Facebook application and an Android
application that recommend places based on the number of check-ins
of those places, the distance of those places from the current location,
the number of people who like Facebook page of those places, and
the number of talking about of those places. Related Facebook data is
gathered via Facebook API requests. The experimental results of the
developed applications show that the applications can recommend
places and rank interesting places from the most to the least. We have
found that the average satisfied score of the proposed Facebook
application is 4.8 out of 5. The users’ satisfaction can increase by
adding the app features that support personalization in terms of
interests and preferences.
Abstract: Since columns are the most important elements of the
structures, failure of one column in a critical location can cause a
progressive collapse. In this respect, the repair and strengthening of
columns is a very important subject to reduce the building failure and
to keep the columns capacity. Twenty columns with different
parameters is tested and analysis. Eleven typical confined reinforced
concrete (RC) columns with different types of techniques are
assessment. And also, four confined concrete columns with plastic
tube (PVC) are tested with and with four paralleling tested of
unconfined plain concrete. The techniques of confined RC columns
are mortar strengthening, Steel rings strengthening, FRP
strengthening. Moreover, the technique of confined plain concrete
(PC) column is used PVC tubes. The columns are tested under
uniaxial compressive loads studied the effect of confinement on the
structural behavior of circular RC columns. Test results for each
column are presented in the form of crack patterns, stress-strain
curves. Test results show that confining of the RC columns using
different techniques of strengthening results significant improvement
of the general behavior of the columns and can used in construction.
And also, tested confined PC columns with PVC tubes results shown
that the confined PC with PVC tubes can be used in economical
building. The theoretical model for predicted column capacity is
founded with experimental factor depends on the confined techniques
used and the strain reduction.
Abstract: Stator elements «Vane diffuser + crossover + return
channel» of stages with different specific speed were investigated by
CFD calculations. The regime parameter was introduced to present
efficiency and loss coefficient performance of all elements together.
Flow structure demonstrated advantages and disadvantages of design.
Flow separation in crossovers was eliminated by its shape
modification. Efficiency increased visibly. Calculated CFD
performances are in acceptable correlation with predicted ones by
engineering design method. The information obtained is useful for
design method better calibration.
Abstract: A compact UWB planar antenna fed with a
microstrip-line is proposed. The new design consist of a rectangular
patch with symmetric l-shaped slots and fed by 50 Ω microstrip
transmission line and a reduced ground-plane which have a periodic
slots with an overall size of 47 mm x 20 mm. It is intended to be used
in wireless applications that cover the ultra-wideband (UWB)
frequency band. A wider impedance bandwidth of around 116.5%
(1.875 – 7.115 GHz) with stable radiation pattern is achieved. The
proposed antenna has excellent characteristics, low profile and costeffective
compared to existing UWB antennas. The UWB antenna is
designed and analyzed using CST Microwave Studio in transient
mode to verify antenna parameters improvements.
Abstract: This study carried out comparative seismic
performance of reinforced concrete frames infilled by masonry walls
with different heights. Partial and fully infilled reinforced concrete
frames were modeled for the research objectives and the analysis
model for a bare reinforced concrete frame was also established for
comparison. Non–linear static analyses for the studied frames were
performed to investigate their structural behavior under extreme
seismic loads and to find out their collapse mechanism. It was
observed from analysis results that the strengths of the partial infilled
reinforced concrete frames are increased and their ductilities are
reduced, as infilled masonry walls are higher. Especially, reinforced
concrete frames with higher partial infilled masonry walls would
experience shear failures. Non–linear dynamic analyses using 10
earthquake records show that the bare and fully infilled reinforced
concrete frame present stable collapse mechanism while the reinforced
concrete frames with partially infilled masonry walls collapse in more
brittle manner due to short-column effects.
Abstract: Waste silicon carbide (waste SiC) filled high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) with and without surface modifiers were
studied. Two types of surface modifiers namely; high-density
polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride (HDPE-g-MA) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane have been used in this study. The
composites were produced using a two roll mill, extruder and shaped
in a hydraulic compression molding machine. The mechanical
properties of polymer composites such as flexural strength and
modulus, impact strength, tensile strength, stiffness and hardness
were investigated over a range of compositions. It was found that,
flexural strength and modulus, tensile modulus and hardness
increased, whereas impact strength and tensile strength decreased
with the increasing in filler contents, compared to the neat HDPE. At
similar filler content, the effect of both surface modifiers increased
flexural modulus, impact strength, tensile strength and stiffness but
reduced the flexural strength. Morphological investigation using
SEM revealed that the improvement in mechanical properties was
due to enhancement of the interfacial adhesion between waste SiC
and HDPE.
Abstract: A knowledge-based expert system with the acronym
RASPE is developed as an application tool to help decision makers in
construction companies make informed decisions about managing
risks in pipeline construction projects. Choosing to use expert
systems from all available artificial intelligence techniques is due to
the fact that an expert system is more suited to representing a
domain’s knowledge and the reasoning behind domain-specific
decisions. The knowledge-based expert system can capture the
knowledge in the form of conditional rules which represent various
project scenarios and potential risk mitigation/response actions. The
built knowledge in RASPE is utilized through the underlying
inference engine that allows the firing of rules relevant to a project
scenario into consideration. Paper provides an overview of the
knowledge acquisition process and goes about describing the
knowledge structure which is divided up into four major modules.
The paper shows one module in full detail for illustration purposes
and concludes with insightful remarks.
Abstract: Modelling of the earth's surface and evaluation of
urban environment, with 3D models, is an important research topic.
New stereo capabilities of high resolution optical satellites images,
such as the tri-stereo mode of Pleiades, combined with new image
matching algorithms, are now available and can be applied in urban
area analysis. In addition, photogrammetry software packages gained
new, more efficient matching algorithms, such as SGM, as well as
improved filters to deal with shadow areas, can achieve more dense
and more precise results.
This paper describes a comparison between 3D data extracted
from tri-stereo and dual stereo satellite images, combined with pixel
based matching and Wallis filter. The aim was to improve the
accuracy of 3D models especially in urban areas, in order to assess if
satellite images are appropriate for a rapid evaluation of urban
environments.
The results showed that 3D models achieved by Pleiades tri-stereo
outperformed, both in terms of accuracy and detail, the result
obtained from a Geo-eye pair. The assessment was made with
reference digital surface models derived from high resolution aerial
photography. This could mean that tri-stereo images can be
successfully used for the proposed urban change analyses.
Abstract: In this paper, the effect of grades 32.4 and 42.5
Portland-limestone cements generally used for concrete production in
Nigeria on concrete compressive strength is investigated.
Investigation revealed that the compressive strength of concrete
produced with Portland-limestone cement grade 42.5 is generally
higher than that produced with cement grade 32.5. The percentage
difference between the compressive strengths of the concrete cubes
produced with Portland-limestone cement grades 42.5 and 32.5 is
inversely proportional to the richness of the concrete with the highest
and the least percentage difference associated with the 1:2:4 and
1:1:2 mix ratios respectively. It is recommended that cement grade
42.5 be preferred for construction in Nigeria as this will lead to the
construction of stronger concrete structures, which will reduce the
incidence of failure of building and other concrete structures at no
additional cost since the cost of both cement grades are the same.
Abstract: This research focused on comparing the critical
thinking of the teacher students before and after using Miller’s Model
learning activities and investigating their opinions. The sampling
groups were (1) fourth year 33 student teachers majoring in Early
Childhood Education and enrolling in semester 1 of academic year
2013 (2) third year 28 student teachers majoring in English and
enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013 and (3) third year 22
student teachers majoring in Thai and enrolling in semester 2 of
academic year 2013. The research instruments were (1) lesson plans
where the learning activities were settled based on Miller’s Model (2)
critical thinking assessment criteria and (3) a questionnaire on
opinions towards Miller’s Model based learning activities. The
statistical treatment was mean, deviation, different scores and T-test.
The result unfolded that (1) the critical thinking of the students after
the assigned activities was better than before and (2) the students’
opinions towards the critical thinking improvement activities based
on Miller’s Model ranged from the level of high to highest.
Abstract: The use OF adhesive anchors for wooden constructions is an efficient technology to connect and design timber members in new timber structures and to rehabilitate the damaged structural members of historical buildings. Due to the lack of standard regulation in this specific area of structural design, designers’ choices are still supported by test analysis that enables knowledge, and the prediction, of the structural behaviour of glued in rod joints. The paper outlines an experimental research activity aimed at identifying the tensile resistance capacity of several new adhesive joint prototypes made of epoxy resin, steel bar and timber, Oak and Douglas Fir species. The development of new adhesive connectors has been carried out by using epoxy to glue stainless steel bars into pre-drilled holes, characterised by smooth and rough internal surfaces, in timber samples. The realization of a threaded contact surface using a specific drill bit has led to an improved bond between wood and epoxy. The applied changes have also reduced the cost of the joints’ production. The paper presents the results of this parametric analysis and a Finite Element analysis that enables identification and study of the internal stress distribution in the proposed adhesive anchors.
Abstract: The dielectric properties and ionic conductivity of
novel "ceramic state" polymer electrolytes for high capacity lithium
battery are characterized by Radio frequency and Microwave
methods in two broad frequency ranges from 50 Hz to 20 KHz and 4
GHz to 40 GHz. This innovative solid polymer electrolyte which is
highly ionic conductive (10-3 S/cm at room temperature) from -40oC
to +150oC can be used in any battery application. Such polymer
exhibits properties more like a ceramic rather than polymer. The
various applied measurement methods produced accurate dielectric
results for comprehensive analysis of electrochemical properties and
ion transportation mechanism of this newly invented polymer
electrolyte. Two techniques and instruments employing air gap
measurement by Capacitance Bridge and in-waveguide measurement
by vector network analyzer are applied to measure the complex
dielectric spectra. The complex dielectric spectra are used to
determine the complex alternating current electrical conductivity and
thus the ionic conductivity.
Abstract: Teachers can play a huge role in encouraging students
to use computers and can affect students’ attitudes towards
computers. So understanding teachers’ beliefs and their use of
computers is an important way to create effective motivational
systems for teachers to use computers in the classroom in an effective
way. A qualitative study (6 focus group) was carried out among
Saudi High school teachers, both male and female, to examine their
attitudes towards computers and to find out their computer skills and
usage. The study showed a gender differences in that females were
less likely to attend computer workshops, females also had less
computer skills, and they have more negative attitudes towards
computers than males. Also the study found that low computer skills
in the classroom made students unlikely to have the lessons presented
using computers. Furthermore, the study found some factors that
effected teachers’ attitudes towards computers. These factors were
computer experience and confidence as much having skills and good
experience in computer use, the role and importance of computers
had become in their life and in teaching as well.
Abstract: The study of the electrical signals produced by neural
activities of human brain is called Electroencephalography. In this
paper, we propose an automatic and efficient EEG signal
classification approach. The proposed approach is used to classify the
EEG signal into two classes: epileptic seizure or not. In the proposed
approach, we start with extracting the features by applying Discrete
Wavelet Transform (DWT) in order to decompose the EEG signals
into sub-bands. These features, extracted from details and
approximation coefficients of DWT sub-bands, are used as input to
Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The classification is based on
reducing the feature dimension using PCA and deriving the supportvectors
using Support Vector Machine (SVM). The experimental are
performed on real and standard dataset. A very high level of
classification accuracy is obtained in the result of classification.
Abstract: Background: The effectiveness of mirror therapy
(MT) has been investigated in acute hemiplegia. The present study
examines whether MT, given during chronic stroke, was more
effective in promoting motor recovery of the lower extremity and
walking speed than standard rehabilitation alone. Methods: The study
enrolled 30 patients with chronic stroke. Fifteen patients each were
assigned to the treatment group and the control group. All patients
received a conventional rehabilitation program for a 4-week period.
In addition to this rehabilitation program, patients in the treatment
group received mirror therapy for 4 weeks, 5 days a week. Main
measures: Passive ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion, gait
speed, Brunnstrom stages of motor recovery, plantar flexor muscle
tone by Modified Ashworth Scale. Results: No significant difference
was found in the outcome measures among groups before treatment.
When compared with standard rehabilitation, mirror therapy
improved Ankle ROM, Brunnstrom stages and waking speed
(p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences between
two groups on MAS (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Mirror therapy combined
with a conventional stroke rehabilitation program enhances lowerextremity
motor recovery and walking speed in chronic stroke
patients.