Abstract: In this paper we investigate the influence of external
noise on the inference of network structures. The purpose of our
simulations is to gain insights in the experimental design of microarray
experiments to infer, e.g., transcription regulatory networks
from microarray experiments. Here external noise means, that the
dynamics of the system under investigation, e.g., temporal changes of
mRNA concentration, is affected by measurement errors. Additionally
to external noise another problem occurs in the context of microarray
experiments. Practically, it is not possible to monitor the mRNA
concentration over an arbitrary long time period as demanded by the
statistical methods used to learn the underlying network structure. For
this reason, we use only short time series to make our simulations
more biologically plausible.
Abstract: Abrasive Jet Machining is an Unconventional
machining process in which the metal is removed from brittle and
hard material in the form of micro-chips. With increase in need of
materials like ceramics, composites, in manufacturing of various
Mechanical & Electronic components, AJM has become a useful
technique for micro machining. The present study highlights the
influence of different parameters like Pressure, SOD, Time, Abrasive
grain size, nozzle diameter on the Metal removal of FRP (Fiber
Reinforced Polymer) composite by Abrasive jet machining. The
results of the Experiments conducted were analyzed and optimized
with TAGUCHI method of Optimization and ANOVA for Optimal
Value.
Abstract: Children with hemiplgic cerebral palsy often walk
with diminished reciprocal arm swing so the purpose of this study
was to describe kinematic characteristics in children with hemiplegic
cerebral palsy (CP) during the gait suphases, and find if there is a
correlation between upper(shoulder and elbow) and lower(hip, knee,
and ankle) limb joints either in involved or uninvolved.48 children
with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (18boys, 30girls) with an average age
of (5.1±0.87) years were selected randomly to evaluate joint angles
during gait by 3D motion analysis system with 6 pro reflex cameras
in a sagittal plane for both sides of the body. The results showed
increased shoulder and elbow flexion, increased hip angular
displacement, decreased knee and ankle arcs during gait cycle, also
there is correlation between shoulder and elbow to hip, knee, and
ankle joints during various subphases of gait.
Abstract: Islamic banking is one the most blossoming doctrine in
economic system of the world. The Fast growing awareness about
Islamic financial system has brought strong feeling to Muslims to
confront the western interest-based economic cycle. The Islamic
economic system is emerging as a reliable alternative to the interest
based system. This study is proposed to ascertain the motivational
factors encouraging people to go for Islamic banking in Pakistan.
These pulsing factors are determined by generation of hypothesis that
there are certain factors which are urging people to opt Islamic
banking system and to see the differences in their ranking by applying
Friedman test. These factors include: Economically derived factors
such as stability of Islamic banks in crisis, profit and loss sharing
doctrine and equity sharing etc. This study also highlights the
religiously derived factors such as interest free banking, Shariah
tenets and supervisory of Islamic Shariah board and sociopsychological
factors.
Abstract: Nowadays, the performance required for concrete
structures is more complicated and diversified. Self-compacting
concrete is a fluid mixture suitable for placing in structures with
congested reinforcement without vibration. Self-compacting concrete
development must ensure a good balance between deformability and
stability. Also, compatibility is affected by the characteristics of
materials and the mix proportions; it becomes necessary to evolve a
procedure for mix design of SCC.
This paper presents an experimental procedure for the design of
self-compacting concrete mixes with different water-cement ratios
(w/c) and other constant ratios by local materials. The test results for
acceptance characteristics of self-compacting concrete such as slump
flow, V-funnel and L-Box are presented. Further, compressive
strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of specimens were
also determined and results are included here
Abstract: The coverage probability and range of IEEE 802.16
systems depend on different wireless scenarios. Evaluating the
performance of IEEE 802.16 systems over Stanford University
Interim (SUI) channels is suggested by IEEE 802.16 specifications.
In order to derive an effective method for forecasting the coverage
probability and range, this study uses the SUI channel model to
analyze the coverage probability with Rayleigh fading for an IEEE
802.16 system. The BER of the IEEE 802.16 system is shown in the
simulation results. Then, the maximum allowed path loss can be
calculated and substituted into the coverage analysis. Therefore,
simulation results show the coverage range with and without
Rayleigh fading.
Abstract: Virtually all existing networked system management
tools use a Manager/Agent paradigm. That is, distributed agents are
deployed on managed devices to collect local information and report
it back to some management unit. Even those that use standard
protocols such as SNMP fall into this model. Using standard protocol
has the advantage of interoperability among devices from different
vendors. However, it may not be able to provide customized
information that is of interest to satisfy specific management needs.
In this dissertation work, different approaches are used to
collect information regarding the devices attached to a Local Area
Network. An SNMP aware application is being developed that will
manage the discovery procedure and will be used as data collector.
Abstract: Currently, there is no database or local norms for the
physical performance of Malaysian rugby players. This database or
norms are vital for Malaysian-s sports development as programs can
be setup to improve the current status. This pilot study was
conducted to evaluate the status of our semi professional rugby
players. The rugby players were randomly selected from the
Malaysian National team and several clubs in the Klang valley, Kuala
Lumpur Malaysia. 54 male rugby players (Age: 24.41 ± 4.06 years)
were selected for this pilot study. Height, bodyweight, percentage
body fat and body mass index (BMI) and several other physical tests
were performed. Results from the BLEEP test revealed an average of
level 9, shuttle 2 for the players. Interestingly, forwards were taller,
heavier, and had lower maximal aerobic power than backs in the
same team. In conclusion, the physical characteristics of the rugby
players were much lower when compared to international players
from other countries. From this pilot study, the physical performance
of the Malaysian team must be improved in order to further develop
the sports.
Abstract: Free and open source software is gaining popularity at
an unprecedented rate of growth. Organizations despite some
concerns about the quality have been using them for various
purposes. One of the biggest concerns about free and open source
software is post release software defects and their fixing. Many
believe that there is no appropriate support available to fix the bugs.
On the contrary some believe that due to the active involvement of
internet user in online forums, they become a major source of
communicating the identification and fixing of defects in open source
software. The research model of this empirical investigation
establishes and studies the relationship between open source software
defects and online public forums. The results of this empirical study
provide evidence about the realities of software defects myths of
open source software. We used a dataset consist of 616 open source
software projects covering a broad range of categories to study the
research model of this investigation. The results of this investigation
show that online forums play a significant role identifying and fixing
the defects in open source software.
Abstract: Hydrogenated biodiesel is one of the most promising
renewable fuels. It has many advantages over conventional biodiesel,
including higher cetane number, higher heating value, lower
viscosity, and lower corrosiveness due to its absence of oxygen.
From previous work, Pd/TiO2 gave high conversion and selectivity in
hydrogenated biodiesel. In this work, the effect of biomass feedstocks
(i.e. beef fat, chicken fat, pork fat, and jatropha oil) on the production
of hydrogenated biodiesel over Pd/TiO2 has been studied. Biomass
feedstocks were analyzed by ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma
optical emission spectrometry) to identify the content of impurities
(i.e. P, K, Ca, Na, and Mg). The deoxygenation catalyst, Pd/TiO2,
was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) and tested in a
continuous flow packed-bed reactor at 500 psig, 325°C, H2/feed
molar ratio of 30, and LHSV of 4 h-1 for its catalytic activity and
selectivity in hydrodeoxygenation. All feedstocks gave high
selectivity in diesel specification range hydrocarbons and the main
hydrocarbons were n-pentadecane (n-C15) and n-heptadecane (n-
C17), resulting from the decarbonylation/decarboxylation reaction.
Intermediates such as oleic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, and esters
were also detected in minor amount. The conversion of triglycerides
in jatropha oil is higher than those of chicken fat, pork fat, and beef
fat, respectively. The higher concentration of metal impurities in
feedstock, the lower conversion of feedstock.
Abstract: Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame system(BRBFs)
are a new type of steel seismic-load-resisting system that has found
use in several countries because of its efficiency and its promise of
seismic performance far superior to that of conventional braced
frames. The system is addressed in the 2005 edition of the AISC
Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings, also a set of design
provisions has been developed by NEHRP. This report illustrates the
seismic design of buckling restrained braced frames and compares
the result of design in the application of earthquake load for ordinary
bracing systems and buckling restrained bracing systems to see the
advantage and disadvantages of this new type of seismic resisting
system in comparison with the old Ordinary Concentric Braced
Frame systems (OCBFs); they are defined by the provisions
governing their design.
Abstract: Microarray experiments are information rich; however, extensive data mining is required to identify the patterns that characterize the underlying mechanisms of action. For biologists, a key aim when analyzing microarray data is to group genes based on the temporal patterns of their expression levels. In this paper, we used an iterative clustering method to find temporal patterns of gene expression. We evaluated the performance of this method by applying it to real sporulation data and simulated data. The patterns obtained using the iterative clustering were found to be superior to those obtained using existing clustering algorithms.
Abstract: This study compares family communication patterns in association with family socio-cultural status, especially marriage and family pattern, and couples- socio-economic status between Muslim and Santal communities in rural Bangladesh. A total of 288 couples, 145 couples from the Muslim and 143 couples from the Santal were randomly selected through cluster sampling procedure from Kalna village situated in Tanore Upazila of Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, where both the communities dwell as neighbors. In order to collect data from the selected samples, interview method with semistructural questionnaire schedule was applied. The responses given by the respondents were analyzed by Pearson-s chi-squire test and bivariate correlation techniques. The results of Pearson-s chi-squire test revealed that family communication patterns (X2= 25. 90, df= 2, p0.05) were significantly different between the Muslim and Santal communities. In addition, Spearman-s bivariate correlation coefficients suggested that among the exogenous factors, family type (rs=.135, p
Abstract: Heterogeneous catalysis is vital for a number of
chemical, refinery and pollution control processes. The use of
catalyst pellets of hollow cylindrical shape provide several distinct
advantages over other common shapes, and can therefore help to
enhance conversion levels in reactors. A better utilization of the
catalytic material is probably most notable of these features due to
the absence of the pellet core, which helps to significantly lower the
effect of the internal transport resistance. This is reflected in the
enhancement of the effectiveness factor. For the case of the first order
irreversible kinetics, a substantial increase in the effectiveness factor
can be obtained by varying shape parameters. Important shape
parameters of a finite hollow cylinder are the ratio of the inside to the
outside radii (κ) and the height to the diameter ratio (γ). A high value
of κ the generally helps to enhance the effectiveness factor. On the
other hand, lower values of the effectiveness factors are obtained
when the dimension of the height and the diameter are comparable.
Thus, the departure of parameter γ from the unity favors higher
effectiveness factor. Since a higher effectiveness factor is a measure
of a greater utilization of the catalytic material, higher conversion
levels can be achieved using the hollow cylindrical pellets possessing
optimized shape parameters.
Abstract: This paper present some preliminary work on the
preparation and physicochemical caracterization of nanocomposite
MFI-alumina structures based on alumina hollow fibres. The fibers
are manufactured by a wet spinning process. α-alumina particles were
dispersed in a solution of polysulfone in NMP. The resulting slurry is
pressed through the annular gap of a spinneret into a precipitation
bath. The resulting green fibres are sintered. The mechanical strength
of the alumina hollow fibres is determined by a three-point-bending
test while the pore size is characterized by bubble-point testing. The
bending strength is in the range of 110 MPa while the average pore
size is 450 nm for an internal diameter of 1 mm and external diameter
of 1.7 mm. To characterize the MFI membranes various techniques
were used for physicochemical characterization of MFI–ceramic
hollow fibres membranes: The nitrogen adsorption, X-ray
diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy combined with X
emission microanalysis. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and
Energy Dispersive Microanalysis by the X-ray were used to observe
the morphology of the hollow fibre membranes (thickness,
infiltration into the carrier, defects, homogeneity). No surface film,
has been obtained, as observed by SEM and EDX analysis and
confirmed by high temperature variation of N2 and CO2 gas
permeances before cation exchange. Local analysis and characterise
(SEM and EDX) and overall (by ICP elemental analysis) were
conducted on two samples exchanged to determine the quantity and
distribution of the cation of cesium on the cross section fibre of the
zeolite between the cavities.
Abstract: The growing problem of youth unemployment in
Egypt after the 25th January Revolution has directed the attention of
some human resource experts towards considering remote
employment as a partial remedy for the unemployed youth instead of
the unavailable traditional jobs, a trend which will also help with the
congested offices and unsolved traffic problem in Cairo and spread
a flexible work culture, but despite of that, the main issue remains
unresolved for these organizations to deal with the system challenges.
In the past few years, in developed countries, there has been a
growing trend for many companies to shift to remote employment
instead of the traditional office employment for many reasons: due to
the growing technological advances that helped some employees do
their work from home on a part time basis, the need for achieving an
employee-s work balance in the middle of unbalanced complicated
life, top management focus on employee-s productivity rather their
time spent at work. The objective of this paper is to study and analyze
the advantages and challenges that Egypt-s labor force will be facing
in their implementation of remote or virtual employment in both
government and private organizations after the 25th January
revolution. Therefore, the research question will be: What are the
advantages and different challenges that Egyptian organizations
might face in their implementation for remote employment system
and how can they manage these challenges for the system to work
effectively? The study is divided into six main parts: the introduction,
objective and importance of the study, research problem,
methodology, experience of some countries that implemented remote
employment, advantages and challenges of implementing remote
employment in Egypt and then the conclusion which discuses the
results and recommendations of the study.
Abstract: Computer animation is a widely adopted technique used to specify the movement of various objects on screen. The key issue of this technique is the specification of motion. Motion Control Methods are such methods which are used to specify the actions of objects. This paper discusses the various types of motion control methods with special focus on behavioral animation. A behavioral model is also proposed which takes into account the emotions and perceptions of an actor which in turn generate its behavior. This model makes use of an expert system to generate tasks for the actors which specify the actions to be performed in the virtual environment.
Abstract: Renewable natural fibres such as oil palm, flax, and
pineapple leaf can be utilized to obtain new high performance
polymer materials. The reuse of waste natural fibres as reinforcement
for polymer is a sustainable option to the environment. However, due
to its high hydroxyl content of cellulose, natural fibres are
susceptible to absorb water that affects the composite mechanical
properties adversely. Research found that Nano materials such as
Nano Silica Carbide (n-SiC) and Nano Clay can be added into the
polymer composite to overcome this problem by enhancing its
mechanical properties in wet condition. The addition of Nano
material improves the tensile and wear properties, flexural stressstrain
behaviour, fracture toughness, and fracture strength of polymer
natural composites in wet and dry conditions.
Abstract: The use of wind energy for electricity generation is
growing rapidly across the world and in Portugal. However, the
geographical characteristics of the country along with the average
wind regime and with the environmental restrictions imposed to these
projects create limitations to the exploit of the onshore wind
resource. The best onshore wind spots are already committed and the
possibility of offshore wind farms in the Portuguese cost is now
being considered. This paper aims to make a contribution to the
evaluation of offshore wind power projects in Portugal. The technical
restrictions are addressed and the strategic, environmental and
financial interest of the project is analysed from the private company
and public points of view. The results suggest that additional support
schemes are required to ensure private investors interest for these
projects. Assuming an approach of direct substitution of energy
sources for electricity generation, the avoided CO2 equivalent
emissions for an offshore wind power project were quantified. Based
on the conclusions, future research is proposed to address the
environmental and social impacts of these projects.