Search results for: strain rate effect

Authors: Ron Cottam, Nils Langloh, Willy Ranson, Roger Vounckx

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We start by formally describing the requirements for environmental-reaction survival computation in a natural temporally-demanding medium, and develop this into a more general model of the evolutionary context as a computational machine. The effect of this development is to replace deterministic logic by a modified form which exhibits a continuous range of dimensional fractal diffuseness between the isolation of perfectly ordered localization and the extended communication associated with nonlocality as represented by pure causal chaos. We investigate the appearance of life and consciousness in the derived general model, and propose a representation of Nature within which all localizations have the character of quasi-quantal entities. We compare our conclusions with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and nonlocal teleportation, and maintain that computability is the principal influence on evolution in the model we propose.

Keywords: computability, evolution, life, localization, modeling, nonlocality

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Authors: Sanjeeb Sutradhar, Archita Patnaik

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Histidine is one of the twenty-two naturally occurring essential amino acids exhibiting two conformations, L-histidine and D-histidine. D-Histidine is biologically inert, while L-histidine is bioactive because of its conversion to neurotransmitter or neuromodulator histamine in both brain as well as central nervous system. The deficiency of L-histidine causes serious diseases like Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and the failure of normal erythropoiesis development. Gold nanocomposites are attractive materials due to their excellent biocompatibility and are easy to adsorb on the electrode surface. In the present investigation, hydrophobic fullerene-C60 was functionalized with homocysteine via nucleophilic addition reaction to make it hydrophilic and to successively make the nanocomposite with in-situ prepared gold nanoparticles with ascorbic acid as reducing agent. The electronic structure calculations of the AuNPs@Hcys-C60 nanocomposite showed a drastic reduction of HOMO-LUMO gap compared to the corresponding molecules of interest, indicating enhanced electron transportability to the electrode surface. In addition, the electrostatic potential map of the nanocomposite showed the charge was distributed over either end of the nanocomposite, evidencing faster direct electron transfer from nanocomposite to the electrode surface. This nanocomposite showed catalytic activity; the nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode showed a tenfold higher kₑt, the electron transfer rate constant than the bare glassy carbon electrode. Significant improvement in its sensing behavior by square wave voltammetry was noted.

Keywords: fullerene-C60, gold nanocomposites, L-Histidine, square wave voltammetry

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Authors: M. Mellas, S. Baaziz, A. Mabrouki, D. Benmeddour

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The reinforcement of massifs of backfill with horizontal layers of geosynthetics is an interesting economic solution, which ensures the stability of retaining walls. The mechanical behavior of reinforced soil by geosynthetic is complex, and requires studies and research to understand the mechanisms of rupture. The behavior of reinforcements in the soil and the behavior of the main elements of the system: reinforcement-wall-soil. The present study is interested in numerical modeling of a retaining wall in soil reinforced by horizontal layers of geogrids. This modeling makes use of the software FLAC3D. This work aims to analyze the effect of the length of the geogrid "L" where the soil massif is supporting a uniformly distributed surcharge "Q", taking into account the fixing elements rather than the layers of geogrids to the wall.

Keywords: retaining wall, geogrid, reinforced soil, numerical modeling, FLAC3D

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Authors: S. M. Golgoun, S. M. Taheri

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Investigation of radioactive contamination of personnel working in radiation centers to identify radioactive materials and then measure the potential contamination and eliminate it has always been considered. For this purpose, various ways have been proposed so far and different devices have been designed and built. Gas sealed proportional counter has special working conditions. In this research, a gas sealed detector of proportional counter type was made and then its various parameters were investigated. Some parameters are influential on their working conditions and one of these most important parameters is the internal pressure of the proportional gas-filled detector. In this experimental research, we produced software for examination and altering high voltage, registering data, and calculating efficiency. By this, we investigated different gas pressure effects on detector efficiency and proposed optimizing working conditions of this detector. After reviewing the results, we suggested a range between 20-30 mbar pressure for this gas sealed detector.

Keywords: gas sealed, proportional detector, pressure, counter

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Authors: Yoshinori Kitsutaka, Kusumi Shingo, Matsuzawa Koichi, Kunieda Yoichiro, Yagisawa Yasuei

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In this study, the pull-out properties of various mechanical anchor bolts embedded in concrete were investigated. Five kinds of mechanical anchor bolts were selected which were ordinarily used for concrete anchoring. Tensile tests for mechanical anchor bolts embedded in φ300mm x 100mm size concrete were conducted to measure the load - load displacement curves. The loading conditions were a monotonous loading and a repeating loading. The fracture energy for each mechanical anchor bolts was estimated by the analysis of consumed energy calculated by the load - load displacement curve. The effect of the types of mechanical anchor bolts on the pull-out properties of concrete subjected in monotonous loading and a repeating loading was cleared.

Keywords: concrete, cyclic loading, mechanical anchor bolt, pull-out strength

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Authors: Mzamani Aaron Mabasa

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The research study examines the reality that the Language Services Directorate can be considered a language repository hub. The study postulates that multilingual education guided by language policy implementation can improve student performance and pass rate. Various documents in the form of style guides, glossaries and tutorial letters may be used to enable students to understand complex words, sentences, phrases and paragraphs when technical vocabularies are used. This paper addresses the way in which quality assurance can transform South African official languages, including Sign Language, as mandated by the Language Policy for Higher Education. The paper further emphasizes that Language Services is unique in the sense that it involves all South African officials as tools for student support and facilitation of learning. This is in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the Unisa Language Policy of 2023, which declares the status, parity and esteem of these official languages regarding usage in formal function domains, namely education, economy, social and politics. The aim of this paper is to ensure that quality assurance is ultimately accomplished in terms of teaching and learning standards. Eventually, all South African languages can be used for official domains to achieve functional multilingualism. This paper furthermore points out that content analysis as a research instrument as far as a qualitative approach is concerned may be used as a data collection technique.

Keywords: repository, multilingualism, policy, education

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Authors: Saratu Yusuf Ilu, Mumtaz B. Mustafa, Siti Salwah Salim, Mehdi Malekzadeh

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Children today use computer based application in various activities especially for learning and education. Many of these tools and application such as the Computer Aided Pronunciation Training (CAPT) system enable children to explore and experience them with little supervision from the adults. In order for these tools and application to have maximum effect on the children’s learning and education, it must be attractive to the children to use them. This could be achieved with the proper user interface (UI) design. As children grow, so do their ability, taste and preferences. They interact differently with these applications as they grow older. This study reviews several articles on how age factor influences the UI design. The review focuses on age related abilities such as cognitive, literacy, concentration and feedback requirement. We have also evaluated few of existing CAPT systems and determine the influence of age-based factors on the interface design.

Keywords: children, age-based interaction, learning application, age-based capability

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Authors: Tarek Litim, Ouahiba Taamallah

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The present paper is an investigation of the effect of burnishing on the surface integrity of a component made of 15NiCr6 steel. This work shows a statistical study based on regression, and Taguchi's design has allowed the development of mathematical models to predict the output responses as a function of the technological parameters studied. The response surface methodology (RSM) showed a simultaneous influence of the burnishing parameters and observe the optimal processing parameters. ANOVA analysis of the results resulted in the validation of the prediction model with a determination coefficient R=90.60% and 92.41% for roughness and hardness, respectively. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization allowed to identify a regime characterized by P=10kgf, i=3passes, and f=0.074mm/rev, which favours minimum roughness and maximum hardness. The result was validated by the desirability of D= (0.99 and 0.95) for roughness and hardness, respectively.

Keywords: 15NiCr6 steel, burnishing, surface integrity, Taguchi, RSM, ANOVA

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Authors: Adisak Guntida

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Propylene self-metathesis to ethylene and butene was studied over WOx/SiO2 catalysts at 450 °C and atmospheric pressure. The WOx/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of ammonium metatungstate aqueous solution. It was found that, adding nano-sized extra supports (SiO2 and TiO2) by physical mixing with the WOx/SiO2 enhanced propylene conversion. The UV-Vis and FT-Raman results revealed that WOx could migrate from the original silica support to the extra support, leading to a better dispersion of WOx. The ICP-OES results also indicate that WOx existed on the extra support. Coke formation was investigated on the catalysts after 10 h time-on-stream by TPO. However, adding nano-sized extra supports led to higher coke formation which may be related to acidity as characterized by NH3-TPD.

Keywords: extra support, nanomaterial, propylene self-metathesis, tungsten oxide

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Authors: Antoni Wibowo, Harry Pujianto, Dewi Retno Sari Saputro

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The stock market can provide huge profits in a relatively short time in financial sector; however, it also has a high risk for investors and traders if they are not careful to look the factors that affect the stock market. Therefore, they should give attention to the dynamic fluctuations and movements of the stock market to optimize profits from their investment. In this paper, we present a nonlinear autoregressive exogenous model (NARX) to predict the movements of stock market; especially, the movements of the closing price index. As case study, we consider to predict the movement of the closing price in Indonesia composite index (IHSG) and choose the best structures of NARX for IHSG’s prediction.

Keywords: NARX (Nonlinear Autoregressive Exogenous Model), prediction, stock market, time series

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Authors: Usamah Al-Ali

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We explore the effect of expanding space on the exoticity of the matter supporting a traversable Lorentzian wormhole of zero radial tide whose line element is given by ds2 = dt^2 − a^2(t)[ dr^2/(1 − kr2 −b(r)/r)+ r2dΩ^2 in the context of General Relativity. This task is achieved by deriving the Einstein field equations for anisotropic matter field corresponding to the considered cosmological wormhole metric and performing a classification of their solutions on the basis of a variable equations of state (EoS) of the form p = ω(r)ρ. Explicit forms of the shape function b(r) and the scale factor a(t) arising in the classification are utilized to construct the corresponding energy-momentum tensor where the energy conditions for each case is investigated. While the violation of energy conditions is inevitable in case of static wormholes, the classification we performed leads to interesting solutions in which this violation is either reduced or eliminated.

Keywords: general relativity, Einstein field equations, energy conditions, cosmological wormhole

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Authors: Akarsh Verma, Avinash Parashar

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The aim of this article is to study the effects of hydroxyl functional group on the mechanical strength and fracture toughness of graphene. This functional group forms the backbone of intrinsic atomic structure of graphene oxide (GO). Molecular dynamics-based simulations were performed in conjunction with reactive force field (ReaxFF) parameters to capture the mode-I fracture toughness of hydroxyl functionalised graphene. Moreover, these simulations helped in concluding that spatial distribution and concentration of hydroxyl functional group significantly affects the fracture morphology of graphene nanosheet. In contrast to literature investigations, atomistic simulations predicted a transition in the failure morphology of hydroxyl functionalised graphene from brittle to ductile as a function of its spatial distribution on graphene sheet.

Keywords: graphene, graphene oxide, ReaxFF, molecular dynamics

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Authors: Anne Elain, Magali Le Fellic

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Halogenated Aromatic Compounds (HAC) are major organic pollutants that are detected in several environmental compartments as a result of their widespread use as solvents, pesticides and other industrial chemicals. The degradation of HAC simultaneously at low temperature and under saline conditions would be useful for remediation of polluted sites. Hence, microbial processes based on the metabolic activities of anaerobic bacteria are especially attractive from an economic and environmental point of view. Metabolites are generally less toxic, less likely to bioaccumulate and more susceptible for further degradation. Studies on biological reductive dehalogenation have largely been restricted to chlorinated compounds while relatively few have focussed on other HAC i.e., fluorinated, brominated or iodinated compounds. The objectives of the present work were to investigate the biodegradation of a mixture of triiodoaromatic molecules in industrial wastewater by an enriched bacterial consortium. Biodegradation of the mixture was studied during batch experiments in an anaerobic reactor. The degree of mineralization and recovery of halogen were monitored by HPLC-UV, TOC analysis and potentiometric titration. Providing ethanol as an electron donor was found to stimulate anaerobic reductive dehalogenation of HAC with a deiodination rate up to 12.4 mg.L-1 per day. Sodium chloride even at high concentration (10 mM) was found to have no influence on the degradation rates nor on the microbial viability. An analysis of the 16S rDNA (MicroSeq®) revealed that at least 6 bacteria were predominant in the enrichment, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas monteilii, Kocuria rhizophila, Ochrobacterium anthropi, Ralstonia pickettii and Rhizobium rhizogenes.

Keywords: halogenated aromatics, anaerobic biodegradation, deiodination, bacterial consortium

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Authors: H. Namazi, H. T. N. Kuan

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Fick's first law relates the diffusive flux to the concentration field, by postulating that the flux goes from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration, with a magnitude that is proportional to the concentration gradient (spatial derivative). It is clear that the diffusion of flux cannot be instantaneous and should be some time delay in this propagation. But Fick’s first law doesn’t consider this delay which results in some errors especially when there is a considerable time delay in the process. In this paper, we introduce a time delay to Fick’s first law. By this modification, we consider that the diffusion of flux cannot be instantaneous. In order to verify this claim an application sample in fluid diffusion is discussed and the results of modified Fick’s first law, Fick’s first law and the experimental results are compared. The results of this comparison stand for the accuracy of the modified model. The modified model can be used in any application where the time delay has considerable value and neglecting its effect reflects in undesirable results.

Keywords: Fick's first law, flux, diffusion, time delay, modified Fick’s first law

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Authors: K. Khanafer

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The aim of this investigation was to validate the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model of type B aortic dissection with our experimental results from a bench-top-model. Another objective was to study the relationship between the size of a septectomy that increases the outflow of the false lumen and its effect on the values of the differential of pressure between true lumen and false lumen. FSI analysis based on Galerkin’s formulation was used in this investigation to study flow pattern and hemodynamics within a flexible type B aortic dissection model using boundary conditions from our experimental data. The numerical results of our model were verified against the experimental data for various tear size and location. Thus, CFD tools have a potential role in evaluating different scenarios and aortic dissection configurations.

Keywords: aortic dissection, fluid-structure interaction, in vitro model, numerical

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Authors: Derradji Chebli, Abdallah Bouguettoucha, Zoubir Manaa, Amrane Abdeltif

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Pharmaceutical products, such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX) are rejected in the environment at trace level by human and animals (ng/L to mg/L), in their original form or as byproducts. Antibiotics are toxic contaminants for the aquatic environment, owing to their adverse effects on the aquatic life and humans. Even at low concentrations, they can negatively impact biological water treatment leading to the proliferation of antibiotics-resistant pathogens. It is therefore of major importance to develop efficient methods to limit their presence in the aquatic environment. In this aim, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) appear relevant compared to other methods, since they are based on the production of highly reactive free radicals, and especially ●OH. The objective of this work was to evaluate the degradation of SMX by microwave-assisted Fenton reaction (MW/Fe/H2O2). Hydrogen peroxide and ferrous ions concentrations, as well as the microwave power were optimized. The results showed that the SMX degradation by MW/Fe/H2O2 followed a pseudo-first order kinetic. The treatment of 20 mg/L initial SMX by the Fenton reaction in the presence of microwave showed the positive impact of this latter owing to the higher degradation yields observed in a reduced reaction time if compared to the conventional Fenton reaction, less than 5 min for a total degradation. In addition, increasing microwave power increased the degradation kinetics. Irrespective of the application of microwave, the optimal pH for the Fenton reaction remained 3. Examination of the impact of the ionic strength showed that carbonate and sulfate anions increased the rate of SMX degradation.

Keywords: antibiotic, degradation, elimination, fenton, microwave, polluant

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Authors: Diego F. Camacho, Cristian J. Mejia, Carlos Duque-Daza

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The recent widespread use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has fueled a renewed interest in efficiency and performance of airfoils, particularly for applications at low and moderate Reynolds numbers, typical of this kind of vehicles. Most of previous efforts in the aeronautical industry, regarding aerodynamic efficiency, had been focused on high Reynolds numbers applications, typical of commercial airliners and large size aircrafts. However, in order to increase the levels of efficiency and to boost the performance of these UAV, it is necessary to explore new alternatives in terms of airfoil design and application of drag reduction techniques. The objective of the present work is to carry out the analysis and comparison of performance levels between a standard NACA0012 profile against another one featuring a wall protuberance or surface perturbation. A computational model, based on the finite volume method, is employed to evaluate the effect of the presence of geometrical distortions on the wall. The performance evaluation is achieved in terms of variations of drag and lift coefficients for the given profile. In particular, the aerodynamic performance of the new design, i.e. the airfoil with a surface perturbation, is examined under conditions of incompressible and subsonic flow in transient state. The perturbation considered is a shaped protrusion prescribed as a small surface deformation on the top wall of the aerodynamic profile. The ultimate goal by including such a controlled smooth artificial roughness was to alter the turbulent boundary layer. It is shown in the present work that such a modification has a dramatic impact on the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil, and if properly adjusted, in a positive way. The computational model was implemented using the unstructured, FVM-based open source C++ platform OpenFOAM. A number of numerical experiments were carried out at Reynolds number 5x104, based on the length of the chord and the free-stream velocity, and angles of attack 6° and 12°. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach was used, together with the dynamic Smagorinsky approach as subgrid scale (SGS) model, in order to account for the effect of the small turbulent scales. The impact of the surface perturbation on the performance of the airfoil is judged in terms of changes in the drag and lift coefficients, as well as in terms of alterations of the main characteristics of the turbulent boundary layer on the upper wall. A dramatic change in the whole performance can be appreciated, including an arguably large level of lift-to-drag coefficient ratio increase for all angles and a size reduction of laminar separation bubble (LSB) for a twelve-angle-of-attack.

Keywords: CFD, LES, Lift-to-drag ratio, LSB, NACA 0012 airfoil

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Authors: Tiancheng Lan

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E10A is a kind of replication-defective adenovirus which carries the human endostatin gene to inhibit the growth of tumors. Kringle 5(K5) has almost the same function as angiostatin to also inhibit the growth of tumors since they are all the byproduct of the proteolytic cleavage of plasminogen. Tumor size increasing can be suppressed because both of the endostatin and K5 can restrain the angiogenesis process. Therefore, in order to improve the treatment effect on tumor, 2A peptide is used to construct a fusion gene carrying both E10A and K5. Using 2A peptide is an ideal strategy when a fusion gene is expressed because it can avoid many problems during the expression of more than one kind of protein. The overlap extension PCR is also used to connect 2A peptide with E10A and K5. The final construction of fusion gene E10A-2A-K5 can provide a possible new method of the anti-angiogenesis treatment with a better expression performance.

Keywords: E10A, Kringle 5, 2A peptide, overlap extension PCR

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Authors: A. H. El-Shazly, A. El-Tayeb, M. F. Elkady, Mona G. E. Ibrahim, Abdelazim M. Negm

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In this paper, corona discharge plasma reactor was used for degradation of organic pollution in aqueous solutions in batch reactor. This work examines the possibility of increasing the organic pollution removal efficiency from wastewater using non-thermal plasma. Three types of organic pollution phenol, acid blue 25 and methylene blue are presented to investigate experimentally the amount of organic pollution removal efficiency from wastewater. Measurement results for phenol degradation percentage are 71% in 35 min and 96% when its residence time is 60 min. In addition, the degradation behavior of acid blue 25 utilizing dual pin-to-plate corona discharge plasma system displays a removal efficiency of 82% in 11 min. The complete decolorization was accomplished in 35 min for concentration of acid blue 25 up to 100 ppm. Furthermore, the methylene blue degradation touched up to 85% during 35 min treatment in corona discharge plasma a batch reactor system. The decolorization ratio, conductivity, corona current and discharge energy are considered at various concentration molarity for AlCl3, CaCl2, KCl and NaCl under different molar concentration. It was observed that the attendance of salts at the same concentration level considerably diminished the rate and the extent of decolorization. The research presented that the corona system could be positively utilized in a diversity of organically contaminated at diverse concentrations. Energy consumption requirements for decolorization was considered. The consequences will be valuable for designing the plasma treatment systems appropriate for industrial wastewaters.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, corona discharge, non-thermal plasma, organic pollution

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Authors: Patrick Nüß

Abstract:

I estimate management opposition against unions in terms of hiring discrimination by a large scale field experiment in the German labor market. The results show that callback rates for union members decrease significantly in the presence of high sectoral union density and large firm size. I further explore how this effect varies with regional and sectoral labor dispute intensity and find that management opposition is stronger when a sector is exposed to an intense labor dispute. There is evidence that the observed management opposition can be explained by sectoral union threat effects. Sectors with lower hiring discrimination have lower coverage of collective agreements, and in the absence of a collective agreement, they are less likely to follow the collective agreement wage setting.

Keywords: trade unions, Industrial relations, management opposition, union threat, labor disputes, field experiments

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Authors: S. A. Naeini, M. Ghorbani Tochaee

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The aim of this study is to assess the influence of plastic fines content on sand-clay mixtures on maximum shear modulus and liquefaction resistance using a series of resonant column tests. A high plasticity clay called bentonite was added to 161 Firoozkooh sand at the percentages of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 by dry weight. The resonant column tests were performed on the remolded specimens at constant confining pressure of 100 KPa and then the values of G_max and liquefaction resistance were investigated. The maximum shear modulus and cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) are examined in terms of fines content. Based on the results, the maximum shear modulus and liquefaction resistance tend to decrease within the increment of fine contents.

Keywords: Gmax, liquefaction, plastic fines, resonant column, sand-clay mixtures, bentonite

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Authors: Shahed, Tala, Ahlam, Marah, Sara, Shaden

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Research on fear of crime has shown that there are many influences on it, including gender, age, and geographic location. For example, women are more afraid of crime than men. The campus has a high crime rate and fear of crime due to many hiding places and blind spots; women are more likely than men to be victims of certain types of crime, such as rape and verbal and sexual harassment. And it became clear that older female students have a different perception of the place over time and other knowledge and fear of it, another study at Hashemite University. This study aims to understand better how the environment affects the negative experiences of female students and how their age and familiarity environment affects their sense of safety. This study also examines whether CPTED can be used to help prevent crime. The Broken Windows Theory also states that crime occurs in areas with overt indications of criminal activity, antisocial behavior, and civil unrest. This is related to the principle of CPTED maintenance and monitoring, activity support, regional development, and access control. Given their increased vulnerability to harassment, “sexual harassment” can refer to different behaviors. On campuses, harassment was happening everywhere, but it was most prevalent in "blind spots" that were out of sight and deserted. This study uses a methodology based on quantitative data that depends on putting a number on the amount of a particular phenomenon that exists in the world. The main finding shows how CPTED works in an academic context and what adjustments need to be made.

Keywords: Hashmite University, CPTED, crime prevention, university campus, fear of crime, female faer, broken window theory

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Authors: Vinita Choudhary

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The solidly mounted resonator (SMR) is a bulk acoustic wave-based device consisting of a piezoelectric layer sandwiched between two electrodes upon Bragg reflectors, which then are attached to a substrate. To transform the effective acoustic impedance of the substrate to a near zero value, the Bragg reflectors are composed of alternating high and low acoustic impedance layers of quarter-wavelength thickness. In this work presents the design and investigation of acoustic Bragg reflectors (ABRs) for solidly mounted bulk acoustic wave resonators through analysis and simulation. This performance of the resonator is analyzed using 1D Mason modeling. The performance parameters are the effect of Bragg pairs number on transmissivity, reflectivity, insertion loss, the electromechanical and quality factor of the 5GHz operating resonator.

Keywords: bragg reflectors, SMR, insertion loss, quality factor

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Authors: Peter E. Egielewa

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Communication through the smartphone connects people globally. However, since the last 10 years, there has been an increasing shift from the social engagement in the family to the digital mediated communication aided by the smartphone. The traditional family communication had largely been oral and relational, which the smartphone is now digitally mediating. The study employs mixed research method of quantitative and qualitative research design and deploys questionnaire to elicit responses from both parents and children of 50 purposively selected families from five villages in Southern Nigeria that are very active with smartphone use. Based on the Theory of Family Systems, preliminary findings show that the smartphone is becoming an addiction among Nigerian family members and has shifted the dynamics of family communication from relational to digital culture. The research concludes that smartphone use affects family communication negatively and recommends the moderation of smartphone use in the family and the search for alternative platforms for family communication that minimises smartphone addiction.

Keywords: digital, distorted communication, family, Nigeria, smartphone

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Authors: Viktória Sugár, Attila Talamon, András Horkai, Michihiro Kita

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The dense urban fabric of the Budapest 7th district is known as the former Jewish Quarter. The majority of the historical building stock contains multi-story tenement houses with courtyards, built around the end of the 19^th century. Various rehabilitation and urban planning attempt occurred until today, mostly left unfinished. Present paper collects the past rehabilitation plans, actions and their effect which took place in the former Jewish District of Budapest. The authors aim to assess the boundaries of a complex building stock rehabilitation, by taking into account the monument protection guidelines. As a main focus of the research, structural as well as energetic rehabilitation possibilities are analyzed in case of each building by using Geographic Information System (GIS) methods.

Keywords: geographic information system, Hungary, Jewish Quarter, monument, protection, rehabilitation

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Hamidreza Rahmani

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Laboratory consolidated undrained triaxial (CU) tests were carried out to study the strength behavior of silty soil reinforced with randomly plastic waste bottle chips. Specimens mixed with plastic waste chips in triaxial compression tests with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25% by dry weight of soil and tree different length including 4, 8, and 12 mm. In all of the samples, the width and thickness of plastic chips were kept constant. According to the results, the amount and size of plastic waste bottle chips played an important role in the increasing of the strength parameters of reinforced silt compared to the pure soil. Because of good results, the suggested method of soil improvement can be used in many engineering problems such as increasing the bearing capacity and settlement reduction in foundations.

Keywords: reinforcement, silt, soil improvement, triaxial test, waste bottle chips

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Authors: Hesam Khajehsaeid, Naeimeh Alagheband

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Magnetorheological fluids (MRF) are a category of smart materials. They exhibit a reversible change from a Newtonian-like fluid to a semi-solid state upon application of an external magnetic field. In contrast to ordinary fluids, MRFs can tolerate shear stresses up to a threshold value called yield stress which strongly depends on the strength of the magnetic field, magnetic particles volume fraction and temperature. Even beyond the yield, a magnetic field can increase MR fluid viscosity up to several orders. As yield stress is an important parameter in the design of MR devices, in this work, the effects of magnetic field intensity and magnetic particle concentration on the yield stress of MRFs are investigated. Four MRF samples with different particle concentrations are developed and tested through flow-ramp analysis to obtain the flow curves at a range of magnetic field intensity as well as shear rate. The viscosity of the fluids is determined by means of the flow curves. The results are then used to determine the yield stresses by means of the steady stress sweep method. The yield stresses are then determined by means of a modified form of the dipole model as well as empirical models. The exponential distribution function is used to describe the orientation of particle chains in the dipole model under the action of the external magnetic field. Moreover, the modified dipole model results in a reasonable distribution of chains compared to previous similar models.

Keywords: magnetorheological fluids, yield stress, particles concentration, dipole model

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Authors: Loubna Safar, Lama Youssef, Majd Aljamali

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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Complement factor H polymorphism (Y402H) is thought to play a potential role in the predisposition to AMD and response of patients with exudative AMD to treatment with anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (anti-VEGF). This study aimed to investigate the frequency of Y402H among Syrians, its impact on their susceptibility to AMD, and the hypothesized role of Y402H in patients' response to intravitreal anti-VEGF (i.e.,, bevacizumab). Our case-control study encompassed unrelated 54 AMD cases and 44 controls. Genotyping was determined by standard sequencing of PCR products. Frequency was compared between patients and controls, and correlation between genotype and response to treatment was assessed in 20 patients with wet AMD who received a therapeutic course of three intravitreal bevacizumab injections (once monthly). Our results revealed a significantly higher prevalence of the risk allele C among AMD cases (51.9%) in comparison with controls (37.5%) (P= 0.04, OR= 1.386, CI= 0.999- 1.923). Patients with the TT genotype (no risk allele) exhibited a significantly better primary response rate, reached 87.5% compared to only 41.7% in patients carrying the risk allele C (TC + CC), (P= 0.04, OR= 9.8, CI=0.899- 106.84). The findings of this study prove the importance of investigating Y402H polymorphism as a prognostic marker for predicting response to bevacizumab in AMD patients.

Keywords: age-related macular degeneration, bevacizumab, complement factor H gene, polymorphism, Y402H

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Authors: M. Habibi

Abstract:

The angular distribution of ion beam emission from the APF plasma focus device (15kV, 40μf, 115nH) filled with nitrogen gas has been examined through investigating the effect of ion beams on aluminum thin foils in different angular positions. The samples are studied in different distances from the anode end with different shots. The optimum pressure that would be obtained at the applied voltages of 12kV was 0.7 torr. The ions flux declined as the pressure inclined and the maximum ion density at 0.7 torr was about 10.26 × 1022 ions/steradian. The irradiated foils were analyzed with SEM method in order to study their surface and morphological changes. The results of the analysis showed melting and surface evaporation effects and generation of some cracks in the specimens. The result of ion patterns on the samples obtained in this study can be useful in determining ion spatial distributions on the top of anode.

Keywords: plasma focus, spatial distribution, high energy ions, ion angular distribution

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Authors: Enikő Bene

Abstract:

Our sowing date experiment took place in the Demonstration Garden of Institution of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Center of University of Debrecen, in 2012-2014. The thesis contains data of test year 2014. Our purpose, besides several other examinations, was to observe how sowing date influences leaf area index and activity of photosynthesis of maize hybrids, and how those factors affect fruiting. In the experiment we monitored the change of the leaf area index and the photosynthesis of hybrids with four different growing seasons. The results obtained confirm that not only the environmental and agricultural factors in the growing season have effect on the yield, but also other factors like the leaf area index and the photosynthesis are determinative parameters, and all those factors together, modifying effects of each other, develop average yields

Keywords: sowing date, hybrid, leaf area index, photosynthetic capacity

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