Search results for: Sayed Sadegh Marashi

Authors: Arash Khorasani Esmaeili, Rosna Mat Taha, Sadegh Mohajer

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Seeds of Trifolium pratense (Red clover) were exposed in vitro for 6 weeks to six levels of lead (Pb) concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 µM) to analyze the effects on growth, total chlorophyll and total protein contents of grown plants against the lead accumulation. The growth of plants was negatively affected by various levels of lead treatment. The fresh and dry weights, as well as lengths of shoots and roots of grown plants under various lead treatments, were found significantly lower in comparison with the control plants. Total chlorophyll and total soluble protein contents of grown plants under lower concentrations of lead treatment did not show significant differences when compared with the control plants, although they were affected significantly in higher levels of lead accumulation (150-250 µM).

Keywords: trifolium pratense, lead accumulation, chlorophyll content, protein content

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Authors: F. A. Abdel-Mohdy, M. K. El-Bisi, A. Abou-Okeil, A. A. Sleem, S. El-Sabbagh, Kawther El-Shafei, Hoda S. El-Sayed, S. M. ElSawy

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Chitosan/ polyacrylic acid membranes containing different amounts of Al2(SO4) and/or TiO2 were prepared. The prepared membranes were characterized by measuring mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and elongation at break, swelling properties, antimicrobial properties against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and blood clotting. The results obtained indicate that the presence of Al2(SO4) and TiO2 in the membrane formulations have an incremental effect on the antimicrobial properties and blood clotting in albino rate.

Keywords: Chitosan, acrylic acid, antibacterial, blood clotting, membrane

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Authors: Mohammad Sadegh Narges, Zahra Ghadampour

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Due to the specific condition, offshore pipelines are given careful consideration and care in both design and operation. Most of the offshore pipeline flows are multi-phase. Multi-phase flows construct different pattern or flow regimes (in simultaneous gas-liquid flow, flow regimes like slug flow, wave and …) under different circumstances. One of the influencing factors on the flow regime is the pipeline roughness value. So far, roughness value influences and the sensitivity of the present models to this parameter have not been taken into consideration. Therefore, roughness value influences on the flow regimes in offshore pipelines are discussed in this paper. Results showed that geometry, absolute pipeline roughness value (materials that the pipeline is made of) and flow phases prevailing the system are of the influential parameters on the flow regimes prevailing multi-phase pipelines in a way that a change in any of these parameters results in a change in flow regimes in all or part of the pipeline system.

Keywords: absolute roughness, flow regime, multi-phase flow, offshore pipelines

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Authors: Hamed Abshari, M. Reza Emami Azadi, Madjid Sadegh Azar

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For studying the overall instability of members of steel structures, there are several methods in which overall buckling and geometrical imperfection effects are considered in analysis. In first section, these methods are compared and ability of software to apply these methods is studied. Buckling loads determined from theoretical methods and software is compared for 2D one bay, one and two stories steel frames. To consider actual condition, buckling loads of three steel frames that have various dimensions are calculated and compared. Also, uncertainties that exist in loading and modeling of structures such as geometrical imperfection, yield stress, and modulus of elasticity in buckling load of 2D framed steel structures have been studied. By performing these uncertainties to each reliability analysis procedures (first-order, second-order, and simulation methods of reliability), one index of reliability from each procedure is determined. These values are studied and compared.

Keywords: buckling, second-order theory, reliability index, steel columns

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Authors: Sadegh Torfi

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Realization of anticipated energy efficiency from recuperative run-around energy recovery (RER) systems requires identification of the system components influential parameters. Because simulation modeling is considered as an integral part of the design and economic evaluation of RER systems, it is essential to calibrate the developed models and validate the performance predictions by means of comparison with data from experimental measurements. Several theoretical and numerical analyses on RER systems by researchers have been done, but generally the effect of distance between hot and cold flow is ignored. The objective of this study is to develop a thermohydroulic model for a typical RER system that accounts for energy loss from the interconnecting piping and effects of interconnecting pipes length performance of run-around energy recovery systems. Numerical simulation shows that energy loss from the interconnecting piping is change linear with pipes length and if pipes are properly isolated, maximum reduction of effectiveness of RER systems is 2% in typical piping systems.

Keywords: combined heat and power, heat recovery, effectiveness, CGS

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Mohamed El-Sayed Mosaad

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An analytic approach is obtained for the steady heat transfer problem of two fluid systems, in thermal communication via heat conduction across a solid wall separating them. The two free convection layers created on wall sides are assumed to be in parallel flow. Fluid-solid interface temperature on wall sides is not prescribed in analysis in advance; rather, determined from conjugate solution among other unknown parameters. The analysis highlights the main conjugation parameters controlling thermal interaction process of involved heat transfer modes. Heat transfer results of engineering importance are obtained.

Keywords: conjugate heat transfer, boundary layer, convection, thermal systems

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Authors: Sadegh Abedi, Ali Yaghoubi, Hamidreza Mashatzadegan

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This paper proposes an approach to identify key processes required by an organization in the field of knowledge management and aligning them with organizational objectives. For this purpose, first, organization’s most important non-financial objectives which are impacted by knowledge management processes are identified and then, using a quality house, are linked with knowledge management processes which are regarded as technical elements. Using this method, processes that are in need of improvement and more attention are prioritized based on their significance. This means that if a process has more influence on organization’s objectives and is in a dire situation comparing to others, is prioritized for choice and improvement. In this research process dominance is considered to be an influential element in process ranking (in addition to communication matrix). This is the reason for utilizing DEA techniques for prioritizing processes in quality house. Results of implementing the method in Khuzestan steel company represents this method’s capability of identifying key processes that require improvements in organization’s knowledge management system.

Keywords: knowledge management, organizational performance, fuzzy data, envelopment analysis

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Authors: Seyed Sadegh Naseralavi, Mohsen Khatibinia

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In structural optimizations through meta-heuristic algorithms, analyses of structures are performed for many times. For this reason, performing the analyses in a time saving way is precious. The importance of the point is more accentuated in time-history analyses which take much time. To this aim, peak picking methods also known as spectrum analyses are generally utilized. However, such methods do not have the required accuracy either done by square root of sum of squares (SRSS) or complete quadratic combination (CQC) rules. The paper presents an efficient technique for evaluating the dynamic responses during the optimization process with high speed and accuracy. In the method, first by using a static equivalent of the earthquake, an initial design is obtained. Then, the displacements in the modal coordinates are achieved. The displacements are herein called basic modal displacements (MBD). For each new design of the structure, the responses can be derived by well scaling each of the MBD along the time and amplitude and superposing them together using the corresponding modal matrices. To illustrate the efficiency of the method, an optimization problems is studied. The results show that the proposed approach is a suitable replacement for the conventional time history and spectrum analyses in such problems.

Keywords: basic modal displacements, earthquake, optimization, spectrum

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Authors: Sayyed Yaghoub Zolfegharifar, Khairul Anuar Kassim, Hossein Khoramrooz, Khodayar Farhadiasl, Sadegh Jahan

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Iran is one of the world's seismically active countries so that it experiences many small to medium earthquakes annually and a large earthquake every ten years. Due to seism tectonic conditions and special geographical and climatic position, Iran has the potential to create numerous severe earthquakes. Therefore, seismicity studies and seismic zonation of seismic zones of the country are necessary. In this article, the effect of local site conditions on the characteristics of seismic design in Rahmormoz will be examined. After analyzing the seismic hazard for Rahmormoz through deterministic and statistical methods and preparing the necessary geotechnical models based on available data, the ground response will be analyzed for different parts of the city based on four inputs and acceleration level estimated for bedrock through the equivalent linear method and by means of Deep Soil program. Finally, through the analysis of the obtained results, the seismic profiles of the ground surface for different parts of the city will be presented.

Keywords: seismic microzonation, ground response, resonance spectrum, period, site conditions

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Authors: S. Mowafi, A. Abou El-Kheir, M. Abou Taleb, H. El-Sayed

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Two proteinic biopolymers; namely keratin and sericin, were extracted from their respective natural resources by simple appropriate methods. The said proteins were dissolved in the appropriate solvents followed by regeneration in a form of film polyvinyl alcohol. Protein-starch-potassium iodide (PSPI) composite was prepared by anchoring starch and potassium iodide mixture onto the film surface using appropriate polymeric material. The possibility of using PSPI composite for determination of the concentration of chlorine ions in domestic as well as industrial water was examined. The concentration of chlorine in water was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the intensity of blue colour of formed between starch and the released iodine obtained by interaction of potassium iodide chlorine in the tested water sample.

Keywords: chlorine, protein, potassium iodide, water

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Authors: Samad Jafarmadar, Amin Habibzadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Rashidi, Sayed Sina Rezaei, Abbas Aghagoli

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In this paper, the ejector-absorption refrigeration cycle is presented. This article deals with the thermodynamic simulation and the first and second law analysis of an ammonia-water. The effects of parameters such as condenser, absorber, generator, and evaporator temperatures have been investigated. The influence of the various operating parameters on the performance coefficient and exergy efficiency of this cycle has been studied. The results show that when the temperature of different parts increases, the performance coefficient and the exergy efficiency of the cycle decrease, except for evaporator and generator, that causes an increase in coefficient of performance (COP). According to the results, absorber and ejector have the highest exergy losses in the studied conditions.

Keywords: absorption refrigeration, COP, ejector, exergy efficiency

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Authors: Gamal Abd El-Nasser A. Said, El-Sayed M. El-Horbaty

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Container handling problems at container terminals are NP-hard problems. This paper presents an approach using discrete-event simulation modeling to optimize solution for storage space allocation problem, taking into account all various interrelated container terminal handling activities. The proposed approach is applied on a real case study data of container terminal at Alexandria port. The computational results show the effectiveness of the proposed model for optimization of storage space allocation in container terminal where 54% reduction in containers handling time in port is achieved.

Keywords: container terminal, discrete-event simulation, optimization, storage space allocation

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Authors: Nariman Shahhosseini, Sadegh Chinikar

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Introduction: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) causes severe disease with fatality rates of 30%. The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick, direct contact with the products of infected livestock and nosocomially. The disease occurs sporadically throughout many of African, Asian, and European countries. Different species of ticks serve either as vector or reservoir for CCHFV. Materials and Methods: A molecular survey was conducted on hard ticks (Ixodidae) in Golestan province, north of Iran during 2014-2015. Samples were sent to National Reference Laboratory of Arboviruses (Pasteur Institute of Iran) and viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results: Result revealed the presence of CCHFV in 5.3% of the selected ticks. The infected ticks belonged to Hy. dromedarii, Hy. anatolicum, Hy. marginatum, and Rh. sanguineus. Conclusions: These data demonstrates that Hyalomma ticks are the main vectors of CCHFV in Golestan province. Thus, preventive strategies such as using acaricides and repellents in order to avoid contact with Hyalomma ticks are proposed. Also, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be utilized at abattoirs.

Keywords: tick, CCHFV, surveillance, vector diversity

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Authors: Sayed Isahaq Hossain, K. T. Chang, Moustapha Ndour

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Inference of the phreatic line through earth dams is of paramount importance because it could be directly associated with piping phenomena which may lead to the dam failure. Normally in the field, the instrumentations such as ‘diver’ and ‘standpipe’ are to be used to identify the seepage conditions which only provide point data with a fair amount of interpolation or assumption. Here in this paper, we employed high-resolution fiber optic cable sensors (FOCS) based on Raman Scattering in order to obtain a very accurate phreatic line and seepage profile. Unlike the above-mention devices which pinpoint the water level location, this kind of Distributed Fiber Optics Sensing gives us more reliable information due to its inherent characteristics of continuous measurement.

Keywords: standpipe, diver, FOCS, monitoring, Raman scattering

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Authors: Rosna Mat Taha, Sakinah Abdullah, Sadegh Mohajer, Asmah Awal

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Lycium barbarum L. (Goji) belongs to Solanaceae family and native to some areas of China. Ethnobotanical studies have shown that this plant has been consumed by the Chinese since ancient times. It has been used as medicine in providing excellent effects on cardiovascular system and cholesterol level, besides contains high antioxidant and antidiabetic properties. In the present study, some tissue culture work has been carried out to induce callus, in vitro regeneration from various explants of Goji and also some acclimatization protocols were followed to transfer the regenerated plants to soil. The main aims being to establish high efficient regeneration system for mass production and commercialization for future uses, since the growth of this species is very limited in Malaysia. The optimum hormonal regime and the most suitable and responsive explants were identified. It was found that leaves and stems gave good responses. Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L NAA and 0.5 mg/L BAP was the best for callus induction and MS media fortified with 1.0 mg/L NAA and 1.0 mg/L BAP was optimum for in vitro regeneration. The survival rates of plantlets after acclimatization was 63±1.5 % on black soil and 50±1.3 % on mixed soil (combination of black and red soil at a ratio of 2 to 1), respectively.

Keywords: callus, acclimatization, in vitro culture, regeneration

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Authors: Ahmed M. Mansour, Ali M. El-Sawy, Ahmed T. Sayed

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Logarithms reduce products to sums and powers to products; they play an important role in signal processing, communication and information theory. They are primarily used for hardware calculations, handling multiplications, divisions, powers, and roots effectively. There are three commonly used bases for logarithms; the logarithm with base-10 is called the common logarithm, the natural logarithm with base-e and the binary logarithm with base-2. This paper demonstrates different methods of calculation for log2 showing the complexity of each and finds out the most accurate and efficient besides giving in- sights to their hardware design. We present a new method called Floor Shift for fast calculation of log2, and then we combine this algorithm with Taylor series to improve the accuracy of the output, we illustrate that by using two examples. We finally compare the algorithms and conclude with our remarks.

Keywords: logarithms, log2, floor, iterative, CORDIC, Taylor series

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Authors: Hosam El-Sayed, Amira Abou El-Kheir, Salwa Mowafi, Marwa Abou Taleb

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Two proteinic biopolymers; namely keratin and sericin, were extracted from their respective natural resources by simple appropriate methods. The said proteins were dissolved in the appropriate solvents followed by regeneration in a form of film polyvinyl alcohol. Proteinium thiocyanate (PTC) composite was prepared by reaction of a regenerated film with potassium thiocyanate in acid medium. In another experiment, the said acidified proteins were reacted with potassium thiocyante before dissolution and regeneration in a form of PTC composite. The possibility of using PTC composite for determination of the concentration of iron III ions in domestic as well as industrial water was examined. The concentration of iron III cations in water was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the intensity of blood red colour of iron III thiocyanate obtained by interaction of PTC with iron III cation in the tested water sample.

Keywords: iron III cations, protein, sensor, thiocyanate, water

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Authors: Amani A. Saad, Ahmed A. El-Farag, El-Sayed A. Helali

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Cloud computing is an important and promising field in the recent decade. Cloud computing allows sharing resources, services and information among the people of the whole world. Although the advantages of using clouds are great, but there are many risks in a cloud. The data security is the most important and critical problem of cloud computing. In this research a new security model for cloud computing is proposed for ensuring secure communication system, hiding information from other users and saving the user's times. In this proposed model Blowfish encryption algorithm is used for exchanging information or data, and SHA-2 cryptographic hash algorithm is used for data integrity. For user authentication process a user-name and password is used, the password uses SHA-2 for one way encryption. The proposed system shows an improvement of the processing time of uploading and downloading files on the cloud in secure form.

Keywords: cloud Ccomputing, data security, SAAS, PAAS, IAAS, Blowfish

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Authors: Mohamed Z. Sayed-Ahmed, Ahmed M. Ahdy, Emad E. Younis, Sabry A. El-Khodary

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Little research information is available on the prevalence of diseases of donkeys in Egypt. Across sectional study was undertaken between March 2009 and February 2010 to verify the prevalence of skin affection of donkeys. A total of 1134 donkeys in northern Egypt were investigated. A questionnaire was constructed to verify the number of infected contact animals as well as the associated factors. Physical examination was carried out, and the distribution of skin lesions was recorded. Skin scraping and biopsy were obtained to perform bacteriological, mycological, and histopathological examinations. Thirty-five (3.09%) out of 1134 noticed donkeys had skin affections including mange (18/35), dermatophytosis (6/35), bacterial dermatitis (6/35) urticaria (2/35) and allergic dermatitis (3/35). The present results indicate that mange and dermatophytosis are the prevalent skin diseases in donkeys. Contact with other animal species of contaminated environment may contribute to the occurrence of the diseases.

Keywords: donkeys, Egypt, prevalence, skin affection

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Shady Sayed, Samer Wagdy, Ahmed Badawy, Moutaz M. Hegaze

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A symmetrical single mass resonant gyroscope is discussed in this paper. The symmetrical design allows matched resonant frequencies for driving and sensing vibration modes, which leads to amplifying the sensitivity of the gyroscope by the mechanical quality factor of the sense mode. It also achieves decoupled vibration modes for getting a low zero-rate output shift and more stable operation environment. A new suspension beams design is developed to get a symmetrical gyroscope with matched and decoupled modes at the same time. Finite element simulations are performed using ANSYS software package to verify the theoretical calculations. The gyroscope is fabricated from aluminum alloy 2024 substrate, the measured drive and sense resonant frequencies of the fabricated model are matched and equal 81.4 Hz with 5.7% error from the simulation results.

Keywords: decoupled mode shapes, resonant sensor, symmetrical gyroscope, finite element simulation

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Authors: Safwat Mohamed Sayed Ali, Hussein Kamal

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This paper discusses the conservation procedures of the botanical collar of King Tutankhamun. It dates back to the new Kingdom. This collar was kept in a box but found in bad condition. Many parts of the collar were separated. The collar suffered from dryness and dust, so it needed to be cleaned mechanically and recollected together. Japanese paper was used to collect the separated parts of the collar on a linen thread. The linen thread was dyed with organic dye to match the color of the plant material. The guidance in collecting the different parts of the plant collar is the original photograph captured at the discovery of the tomb. Also, the optical microscope was used in collecting fractured parts. The weak parts of the collar were treated with a suitable consolidation material. Klucel G dissolved in Ethyl Alcohol 0.5% was used in the treatment and gave convenient results. Some investigations were executed in order to identify the plant types used in making the botanical collar. Scanning Electron microscope and optical microscope were used in plant identification.

Keywords: sustainable, consolidation, plant, investigation

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Authors: Hossein Arfaeinia, Ahmad Jonidi Jafari, Sina Dobaradaran, Sadegh Niazi, Mojtaba Ehsanifar, Amir Zahedi

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Street dust and surface soil samples were collected from very heavy, heavy, medium and low traffic areas and natural site in Tehran, Iran. These samples were analyzed for some physical–chemical features, total and chemical speciation of selected metals and metalloids (Zn, Al, Sr, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, Co, Ni, and V) to study the effect of traffic on their mobility and accumulation in the environment. The pH, electrical conductivity (EC), carbonates and organic carbon (OC) values were similar in soil and dust samples from similar traffic areas. The traffic increases EC contents in dust/soil matrixes but has no effect on concentrations of metals and metalloids in soil samples. Rises in metal and metalloids levels with traffic were found in dust samples. Moreover, the traffic increases the percentage of acid soluble fraction and Fe and Mn oxides associated fractions of Pb and Zn. The mobilization of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr in dust samples was easier than in soil. The speciation of metals and metalloids except Cd is mainly affected by physicochemical features in soil, although total metals and metalloids affected the speciation in dust samples (except chromium and nickel).

Keywords: street dust, surface soil, traffic, metals, metalloids, chemical speciation

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Authors: Sahar Khedr, Dina Sayed, Ayman Hanafy

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Arabic is one of the most ancient and critical languages in the world. It has over than 250 million Arabic native speakers and more than twenty countries having Arabic as one of its official languages. In the past decade, we have witnessed a rapid evolution in smart devices, social network and technology sector which led to the need to provide tools and libraries that properly tackle the Arabic language in different domains. Stemming is one of the most crucial linguistic fundamentals. It is used in many applications especially in information extraction and text mining fields. The motivation behind this work is to enhance the Arabic light stemmer to serve the data mining industry and leverage it in an open source community. The presented implementation works on enhancing the Arabic light stemmer by utilizing and enhancing an algorithm that provides an extension for a new set of rules and patterns accompanied by adjusted procedure. This study has proven a significant enhancement for better search accuracy with an average 10% improvement in comparison with previous works.

Keywords: Arabic data mining, Arabic Information extraction, Arabic Light stemmer, Arabic stemmer

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Authors: Amani A. Saad, Ahmed A. El-Farag, El-Sayed A. Helali

Abstract:

Cloud computing is an important and promising field in the recent decade. Cloud computing allows sharing resources, services and information among the people of the whole world. Although the advantages of using clouds are great, but there are many risks in a cloud. The data security is the most important and critical problem of cloud computing. In this research a new security model for cloud computing is proposed for ensuring secure communication system, hiding information from other users and saving the user's times. In this proposed model Blowfish encryption algorithm is used for exchanging information or data, and SHA-2 cryptographic hash algorithm is used for data integrity. For user authentication process a simple user-name and password is used, the password uses SHA-2 for one way encryption. The proposed system shows an improvement of the processing time of uploading and downloading files on the cloud in secure form.

Keywords: cloud computing, data security, SAAS, PAAS, IAAS, Blowfish

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Anwar H. Radwan, Jan Mrlina, El-Sayed A. Issawy, Ali Rayan, Salah M. Mahmoud

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Geodynamic investigations in the Aswan Lake region were started after the M=5.5 earthquake in 1981, triggered by the lake water fluctuations. Besides establishing the seismological networks, also the geodetic observations focused on the Kalabsha and Sayal fault zones were started. It was found that the Kalabsha fault is an active dextral strike-slip with normal component indicating uplift on its southern side. However, the annual velocity rates in both components do not exceed 2 mm/y, and do not therefore represent extremely active faulting. We also launched gravity monitoring in 1997, and performed another two campaigns in 2000 and 2002. The observed non- tidal temporal gravity changes indicate rather the flood water infiltration into the porous Nubian sandstone, than tectonic stress effect. The station nearest to the lake exhibited about 60 μGal positive gravity change within the 1997-2002 period.

Keywords: gravity monitoring, surface movements, Lake Aswan, groundwater change

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Authors: M. A. El-Sayed, S. A. Aziz

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Centrifugal casting is a standard casting technique for the manufacture of hollow, intricate and sound castings without the use of cores. The molten metal or alloy poured into the rotating mold forms a hollow casting as the centrifugal forces lift the liquid along the mold inner surface. The rotational speed of the die was suggested to greatly affect the manner in which the molten metal flows within the mould and consequently the probability of the formation of a uniform cylinder. In this work the flow of the liquid metal at various speeds and its effect during casting were studied. The results suggested that there was a critical range for the speed, within which the produced castings exhibited best uniformity and maximum mechanical properties. When a mould was rotated at speeds below or beyond the critical range defects were found in the final castings, which affected the uniformity and significantly lowered the mechanical properties.

Keywords: centrifugal casting, rotational speed, critical speed range, mechanical properties

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Authors: Ali Asghar Saki, Sayed Ali Hosseini Siyar, Abbass Ashoori

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Echinacea purpurea on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-17F (IL-17F) in seven-day-old broiler chickens. Four groups were fed with concentration of 0 g/kg, 5 g/kg, 10 g/kg and 20 g/kg from the root of E. purpurea in the basal diet and two other groups were only fed with the basal diet for 21 days. At the 28^th day, lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 mg/kg diet) was injected in four groups and the basal diet group was injected by saline as control. The chickens’ spleen RNA expression was measured for the COX-2 and IL-17F genes by Real-Time PCR. The results have shown that chickens which were fed E. purpurea had a lower COX-2 and IL-17F mRNA expression. The chickens who have received LPS only, lymphocyte was lower than other treatments. Vital organ weights were not significantly different, but body weight loss was recovered by dietary herbs inclusion. The results of this study have shown the positive effect of an anti-inflammatory herb to prevent the undesirable effect of inflammation.

Keywords: broiler chickens, Echinacea purporea, gene expression, lipopolysaccharide

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Authors: Mesbaholdin Salami, Farzad Movahedi Sobhani, Mohammad Sadegh Ghazizadeh

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Evaluation of organizational performance is among the most important measures that help organizations and entities continuously improve their efficiency. Organizations can use the existing data and results from the comparison of units under investigation to obtain an estimation of their performance. The Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) is an important index in the evaluation of overall productivity, which considers technological developments and technical efficiency at the same time. This article proposed a model based on the multistage MPI, considering limited data (Grey’s theory). This model can evaluate the performance of units using limited and uncertain data in a multistage process. It was applied by the electricity market manager to Iran’s electric power supply chain (EPSC), which contains uncertain data, to evaluate the performance of its actors. Results from solving the model showed an improvement in the accuracy of future performance of the units under investigation, using the Grey’s system theory. This model can be used in all case studies, in which MPI is used and there are limited or uncertain data.

Keywords: Malmquist Index, Grey's Theory, CCR Model, network data envelopment analysis, Iran electricity power chain

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Authors: Noha Mohamed Abdelhafez Dahy, Azza Abd El-Aziz, Eman Ahmed, Marwa El-Sayed

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Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by low bone mass, deterioration of bone tissue, and disruption of bone microarchitecture, which leads to compromised bone strength and an increased risk of fracture, commonly it occurs in women 10-15 years after menopause, the mean age of menopause is 51 years. Menopause is natural physiological changes primary because of decline of ovaries function with age which leads to decrease of estrogen hormone production which is the main hormone for bone continuous remodeling for bone density maintenance. Exercise increase stimulation of bone growth to keep bone mass by the effect of the mechanical stimulation, antigravity loading and stress exerted on musculoskeletal muscles. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effect of aerobic exercise on estrogen hormone and bone mineral density (BMD) in osteoporotic women and the correlation between the estrogen and BMD.

Keywords: Osteoporosis, Postmenopause, Aerobic exercise, DEXA, Serum Estrogen

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Authors: Sayed Abdul Rahman Sadaat, Nsenda Lukumwena

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Traffic congestion is a worldwide issue, especially in developing countries. This is also the case of Afghanistan, especially in Kabul-the capital city, whose rapid population growth makes it the fifth fastest growing city in the world. Traffic congestion affects not only the mobility of people and goods but also the air quality that leads to numerous deaths (3000 people) every year. There are many factors that contribute to traffic congestion. The insufficiency and inefficiency of public transportation system along with the increase of private vehicles can be considered among the most important contributing factors. This paper addresses the traffic congestion and attempts to suggest possible solutions that can help improve the current public transportation system in Kabul. To this end, the methodology used in this paper includes field work conducted in Kabul city and literature review. The outcome suggests that improving the public transportation system is likely to contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion and the improvement of air quality, thereby reducing the number of death related to air quality.

Keywords: air quality, Kabul, Afghanistan, public transportation system, improvements, traffic congestion

Procedia PDF Downloads 346