Search results for: thin blood smears.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 721

Search results for: thin blood smears.

301 Engineered Cement Composite Materials Characterization for Tunneling Applications

Authors: S. Boughanem, D. A. Jesson, M. J. Mulheron, P.A. Smith C. Eddie, S. Psomas, M. Rimes

Abstract:

Cements, which are intrinsically brittle materials, can exhibit a degree of pseudo-ductility when reinforced with a sufficient volume fraction of a fibrous phase. This class of materials, called Engineered Cement Composites (ECC) has the potential to be used in future tunneling applications where a level of pseudo-ductility is required to avoid brittle failures. However uncertainties remain regarding mechanical performance. Previous work has focused on comparatively thin specimens; however for future civil engineering applications, it is imperative that the behavior in tension of thicker specimens is understood. In the present work, specimens containing cement powder and admixtures have been manufactured following two different processes and tested in tension. Multiple matrix cracking has been observed during tensile testing, leading to a “strain-hardening" behavior, confirming the possible suitability of ECC material when used as thick sections (greater than 50mm) in tunneling applications.

Keywords: Cement composite, polymeric fibers, pseudoductility, test-geometry.

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300 Structural Characteristics of Batch Processed Agro-Waste Fibres

Authors: E. I. Akpan, S. O. Adeosun, G. I. Lawal, S. A. Balogun, X. D. Chen

Abstract:

The characterisation of agro-wastes fibres for composite applications from Nigeria using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has been done. Fibres extracted from groundnut shell, coconut husk, rice husk, palm fruit bunch and palm fruit stalk are processed using two novel cellulose fibre production methods developed by the authors. Cellulose apparent crystallinity calculated using the deconvolution of the diffractometer trace shows that the amorphous portion of cellulose was permeable to hydrolysis yielding high crystallinity after treatment. All diffratograms show typical cellulose structure with well-defined 110, 200 and 040 peaks. Palm fruit fibres had the highest 200 crystalline cellulose peaks compared to others and it is an indication of rich cellulose content. Surface examination of the resulting fibres using SEM indicates the presence of regular cellulose network structure with some agglomerated laminated layer of thin leaves of cellulose microfibrils. The surfaces were relatively smooth indicating the removal of hemicellulose, lignin and pectin.

Keywords: X-ray diffraction, SEM, cellulose, deconvolution, crystallinity.

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299 Fabrication of Wearable Antennas through Thermal Deposition

Authors: Jeff Letcher, Dennis Tierney, Haider Raad

Abstract:

Antennas are devices for transmitting and/or receiving signals which make them a necessary component of any wireless system. In this paper, a thermal deposition technique is utilized as a method to fabricate antenna structures on substrates. Thin-film deposition is achieved by evaporating a source material (metals in our case) in a vacuum which allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target substrate which is encased with a mask that outlines the desired structure. The material then condenses back to solid state. This method is used in comparison to screen printing, chemical etching, and ink jet printing to indicate advantages and disadvantages to the method. The antenna created undergoes various testing of frequency ranges, conductivity, and a series of flexing to indicate the effectiveness of the thermal deposition technique. A single band antenna that is operated at 2.45 GHz intended for wearable and flexible applications was successfully fabricated through this method and tested. It is concluded that thermal deposition presents a feasible technique of producing such antennas.

Keywords: Thermal deposition, wearable antennas, Bluetooth technology, flexible electronics.

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298 Microalbuminuria in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Authors: Sharan Badiger, Prema T. Akkasaligar, Patil LS, Manish Patel, Biradar MS

Abstract:

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a global pandemic with cases reporting from virtually every country and continues to be a common infection in developing country like India. Microalbuminuria is a manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy. Therefore, microalbuminuria may be an early marker of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, and screening for its presence may be beneficial. A strikingly high prevalence of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected patients has been described in various studies. Risk factors for clinically significant proteinuria include African - American race, higher human immunodeficiency virus ribonucleic acid level and lower CD4 lymphocyte count. The cardiovascular risk factors of increased systolic blood pressure and increase fasting blood sugar level are strongly associated with microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. These results suggest that microalbuminuria may be a sign of current endothelial dysfunction and micro-vascular disease and there is substantial risk of future cardiovascular disease events. Positive contributing factors include early kidney disease such as human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, a marker of end organ damage related to co morbidities of diabetes or hypertension, or more diffuse endothelial cells dysfunction. Nevertheless after adjustment for non human immunodeficiency virus factors, human immunodeficiency virus itself is a major risk factor. The presence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is independent risk to develop microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. Cardiovascular risk factors appeared to be stronger predictors of microalbuminuria than markers of human immunodeficiency virus severity person with human immunodeficiency virus infection and microalbuminuria therefore appear to potentially bear the burden of two separate damage related to known vascular end organ damage related to know vascular risk factors, and human immunodeficiency virus specific processes such as the direct viral infection of kidney cells.The higher prevalence of microalbuminuria among the human immunodeficiency virus infected could be harbinger of future increased risks of both kidney and cardiovascular disease. Further study defining the prognostic significance of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected persons will be essential. Microalbuminuria seems to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease in diabetic and non diabetic subjects, hence it can also be used for early detection of micro vascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, thus can help to diagnose the disease at the earliest.

Keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus, Microalbuminuria.

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297 Modes of Collapse of Compress–Expand Member under Axial Loading

Authors: Shigeyuki Haruyama, Aidil Khaidir Bin Muhamad, Ken Kaminishi, Dai-Heng Chen

Abstract:

In this paper, a study on the modes of collapse of compress- expand members are presented. Compress- expand member is a compact, multiple-combined cylinders, to be proposed as energy absorbers. Previous studies on the compress- expand member have clarified its energy absorption efficiency, proposed an approximate equation to describe its deformation characteristics and also highlighted the improvement that it has brought. However, for the member to be practical, the actual range of geometrical dimension that it can maintain its applicability must be investigated. In this study, using a virtualized materials that comply the bilinear hardening law, Finite element Method (FEM) analysis on the collapse modes of compress- expand member have been conducted. Deformation maps that plotted the member's collapse modes with regards to the member's geometric and material parameters were then presented in order to determine the dimensional range of each collapse modes.

Keywords: Axial collapse, compress-expand member, tubular member, finite element method, modes of collapse, thin-walled cylindrical tube.

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296 Dynamic Analysis of Viscoelastic Plates with Variable Thickness

Authors: Gülçin Tekin, Fethi Kadıoğlu

Abstract:

In this study, the dynamic analysis of viscoelastic plates with variable thickness is examined. The solutions of dynamic response of viscoelastic thin plates with variable thickness have been obtained by using the functional analysis method in the conjunction with the Gâteaux differential. The four-node serendipity element with four degrees of freedom such as deflection, bending, and twisting moments at each node is used. Additionally, boundary condition terms are included in the functional by using a systematic way. In viscoelastic modeling, Three-parameter Kelvin solid model is employed. The solutions obtained in the Laplace-Carson domain are transformed to the real time domain by using MDOP, Dubner & Abate, and Durbin inverse transform techniques. To test the performance of the proposed mixed finite element formulation, numerical examples are treated.

Keywords: Dynamic analysis, inverse Laplace transform techniques, mixed finite element formulation, viscoelastic plate with variable thickness.

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295 Effects of Formic Acid on the Chemical State and Morphology of As-synthesized and Annealed ZnO Films

Authors: Chueh-Jung Huang, Chia-Hung Li, Hsueh-Lung Wang, Tsun-Nan Lin

Abstract:

Zinc oxide thin films with various microstructures were grown on substrates by using HCOOH-sols. The reaction mechanism of the sol system was investigated by performing an XPS analysis of as-synthesized films, due to the products of hydrolysis and condensation in the sol system contributing to the chemical state of the as-synthesized films. The chemical structures of the assynthesized films related to the microstructures of the final annealed films were also studied. The results of the Zn 2p3/2, C 1s and O1s XPS patterns indicate that the hydrolysis reaction in the sol system is strongly influenced by the HCOOH agent. The results of XRD and FE-SEM demonstrated the microstructures of the annealed films are related to the content of hydrolyzed zinc hydrate (Zn-OH) species present, and that content of the Zn-OH species in the sol system increases the HCOOH adding, and these Zn-OH species existing in the sol phase are responsible for large ZnO crystallites in the final annealed films.

Keywords: zinc oxide, hydrolysis catalyst, zinc acetate source, formic acid.

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294 Estimation of Skew Angle in Binary Document Images Using Hough Transform

Authors: Nandini N., Srikanta Murthy K., G. Hemantha Kumar

Abstract:

This paper includes two novel techniques for skew estimation of binary document images. These algorithms are based on connected component analysis and Hough transform. Both these methods focus on reducing the amount of input data provided to Hough transform. In the first method, referred as word centroid approach, the centroids of selected words are used for skew detection. In the second method, referred as dilate & thin approach, the selected characters are blocked and dilated to get word blocks and later thinning is applied. The final image fed to Hough transform has the thinned coordinates of word blocks in the image. The methods have been successful in reducing the computational complexity of Hough transform based skew estimation algorithms. Promising experimental results are also provided to prove the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Keywords: Dilation, Document processing, Hough transform, Optical Character Recognition, Skew estimation, and Thinning.

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293 The Effect of Cracking on Stiffness of Shear Walls under Lateral Loads

Authors: Anas M. Fares

Abstract:

The lateral stiffness of buildings is one of the most important properties which define resistance to displacements under lateral loads. Moreover, it has a great impact on the natural period of the structures. Different stiffness’s values can ultimately affect the behavior of the structure under the seismic load and the lateral forces that will be applied to it. In this study the effect of cracking is studied on 2D shell thin cantilever shear wall by using ETABS. Multi linear elastic analysis is conducted with the ACI stiffness modifiers for each analysis step. The results showed that the cracks affect the value of the drift especially at the top of the high rise buildings and this will change the lateral stiffness and so change the fundamental period of the structures which lead to change in the applied shear force that comes from the earthquake. Finally, this study emphasizes that the finite element method can be considered as a good tool to predict the tensile stresses in the elements.

Keywords: Lateral loads, lateral displacement, reinforced concrete, shear wall, Cracks, ETABS, ACI code, stiffness.

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292 Fully Printed Strain Gauges: A Comparison of Aerosoljet-Printing and Micropipette-Dispensing

Authors: Benjamin Panreck, Manfred Hild

Abstract:

Strain sensors based on a change in resistance are well established for the measurement of forces, stresses, or material fatigue. Within the scope of this paper, fully additive manufactured strain sensors were produced using an ink of silver nanoparticles. Their behavior was evaluated by periodic tensile tests. Printed strain sensors exhibit two advantages: Their measuring grid is adaptable to the use case and they do not need a carrier-foil, as the measuring structure can be printed directly onto a thin sprayed varnish layer on the aluminum specimen. In order to compare quality characteristics, the sensors have been manufactured using two different technologies, namely aerosoljet-printing and micropipette-dispensing. Both processes produce structures which exhibit continuous features (in contrast to what can be achieved with droplets during inkjet printing). Briefly summarized the results show that aerosoljet-printing is the preferable technology for specimen with non-planar surfaces whereas both technologies are suitable for flat specimen.

Keywords: Aerosoljet-printing, micropipette-dispensing, printed electronics, printed sensors, strain gauge.

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291 Three Dimensional Analysis of Sequential Quasi Isotropic Composite Disc for Rotating Machine Application

Authors: Amin Almasi

Abstract:

Composite laminates are relatively weak in out of plane loading, inter-laminar stress, stress concentration near the edge and stress singularities. This paper develops a new analytical formulation for laminated composite rotating disc fabricated from symmetric sequential quasi isotropic layers to predict three dimensional stress and deformation. This analysis is necessary to evaluate mechanical integrity of fiber reinforced multi-layer laminates used for high speed rotating applications such as high speed impellers. Three dimensional governing equations are written for rotating composite disc. Explicit solution is obtained with "Frobenius" expansion series. Based on analytical results, there are two separate zones of three dimensional stress fields in centre and edge of rotating disc. For thin discs, out of plane deformations and stresses are small in comparison with plane ones. For relatively thick discs deformation and stress fields are three dimensional.

Keywords: Composite Disc, Rotating Machine.

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290 Determining Full Stage Creep Properties from Miniature Specimen Creep Test

Authors: W. Sun, W. Wen, J. Lu, A. A. Becker

Abstract:

In this work, methods for determining creep properties which can be used to represent the full life until failure from miniature specimen creep tests based on analytical solutions are presented. Examples used to demonstrate the application of the methods include a miniature rectangular thin beam specimen creep test under three-point bending and a miniature two-material tensile specimen creep test subjected to a steady load. Mathematical expressions for deflection and creep strain rate of the two specimens were presented for the Kachanov-Rabotnov creep damage model. On this basis, an inverse procedure was developed which has potential applications for deriving the full life creep damage constitutive properties from a very small volume of material, in particular, for various microstructure constitutive  regions, e.g. within heat-affected zones of power plant pipe weldments. Further work on validation and improvement of the method is addressed.

Keywords: Creep damage property, analytical solutions, inverse approach, miniature specimen test.

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289 Electrochemical Performance of Carbon Nanotube Based Supercapacitor

Authors: Jafar Khan Kasi, Ajab Khan Kasi, Muzamil Bokhari

Abstract:

Carbon nanotube is one of the most attractive materials for the potential applications of nanotechnology due to its excellent mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties. In this paper we report a supercapacitor made of nickel foil electrodes, coated with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) thin film using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. Chemical vapor deposition method was used for the growth of MWCNTs and ethanol was used as a hydrocarbon source. High graphitic multiwall carbon nanotube was found at 750oC analyzing by Raman spectroscopy. We observed the electrochemical performance of supercapacitor by cyclic voltammetry. The electrodes of supercapacitor fabricated from MWCNTs exhibit considerably small equivalent series resistance (ESR), and a high specific power density. Electrophoretic deposition is an easy method in fabricating MWCNT electrodes for high performance supercapacitor.

Keywords: Carbon nanotube, chemical vapor deposition, catalyst, charge, cyclic voltammetry.

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288 Simulation of Thin Film Relaxation by Buried Misfit Networks

Authors: A. Derardja

Abstract:

The present work is motivated by the idea that the layer deformation in anisotropic elasticity can be estimated from the theory of interfacial dislocations. In effect, this work which is an extension of a previous approach given by one of the authors determines the anisotropic displacement fields and the critical thickness due to a complex biperiodic network of MDs lying just below the free surface in view of the arrangement of dislocations. The elastic fields of such arrangements observed along interfaces play a crucial part in the improvement of the physical properties of epitaxial systems. New results are proposed in anisotropic elasticity for hexagonal networks of MDs which contain intrinsic and extrinsic stacking faults. We developed, using a previous approach based on the relative interfacial displacement and a Fourier series formulation of the displacement fields, the expressions of elastic fields when there is a possible dissociation of MDs. The numerical investigations in the case of the observed system Si/(111)Si with low twist angles show clearly the effect of the anisotropy and thickness when the misfit networks are dissociated.

Keywords: Angular misfit, dislocation networks, plane interfaces, stacking faults.

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287 Multipurpose Three Dimensional Finite Element Procedure for Thermal Analysis in Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of AZ 31B Magnesium Alloy Sheets

Authors: N.Karunakaran, V.Balasubramanian

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at establishing the temperature distribution during the welding of magnesium alloy sheets by Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (PCGTAW) and Constant Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (CCGTAW) processes. Pulsing of the GTAW welding current influences the dimensions and solidification rate of the fused zone, it also reduces the weld pool volume hence a narrower bead. In this investigation, the base material considered was 2mm thin AZ 31 B magnesium alloy, which is finding use in aircraft, automobile and high-speed train components. A finite element analysis was carried out using ANSYS, and the results of the FEA were compared with the experimental results. It is evident from this study that the finite element analysis using ANSYS can be effectively used to model PCGTAW process for finding temperature distribution.

Keywords: gas tungsten arc welding, pulsed current, finiteelement analysis, thermal analysis, magnesium alloy.

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286 Characterization of the Energy Band Diagram of Fabricated SnO2/CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells

Authors: Rasha A. Abdullah, Mohammed. A. Razooqi, Adwan N. H. Al-Ajili

Abstract:

A SnO2/CdS/CdTe heterojunction was fabricated by thermal evaporation technique. The fabricated cells were annealed at 573K for periods of 60, 120 and 180 minutes. The structural properties of the solar cells have been studied by using X-ray diffraction. Capacitance- voltage measurements were studied for the as-prepared and annealed cells at a frequency of 102 Hz. The capacitance- voltage measurements indicated that these cells are abrupt. The capacitance decreases with increasing annealing time. The zero bias depletion region width and the carrier concentration increased with increasing annealing time. The carrier transport mechanism for the CdS/CdTe heterojunction in dark is tunneling recombination. The ideality factor is 1.56 and the reverse bias saturation current is 9.6×10-10A. The energy band lineup for the n- CdS/p-CdTe heterojunction was investigated using current - voltage and capacitance - voltage characteristics.

Keywords: SnO2/CdS/CdTe heterojunction, XRD, C-V measurement, I-V measurement, energy band diagram.

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285 Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Epoxy-Rubber Dust Composites

Authors: Antaryami Mishra

Abstract:

Composite pins of rubber dust collected from tyre retreading centres of trucks, cars and buses etc.and epoxy with weight percentages of 10. 15, and 20 % of rubber (weight fractions of 9, 13 and 17 % respectively) have been prepared in house with the help of a split wooden mould. The pins were tested in a pin-on-disc wear monitor to determine the co-efficient of friction and weight losses with varying speeds, loads and time. The wear volume and wear rates have also been found out for all these three specimens.. It is observed that all the specimens have exhibited very low coefficient of friction and low wear rates under dry sliding condition. Out of the above three samples tested, the specimen with 10 % rubber dust by weight has shown lowest wear rates. However a peculiar result i.e decreasing trend has been obtained with 20% reinforcement of rubber in epoxy while rubbed against steel at varying speeds. This might have occurred due to high surface finish of the disc and formation of a thin transfer layer from the composite

Keywords: epoxy, rubber dust, composites, weight fractions, pin-on-disc wear tests, wear volume and wear rate calculations.

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284 Vibration of FGM Cylindrical Shells under Effect Clamped-simply Support Boundary Conditions using Hamilton's Principle

Authors: M.R.Isvandzibaei, E.Bidokh, M.R.Alinaghizadeh, A.Nasirian, A.Moarrefzadeh

Abstract:

In this paper a study on the vibration of thin cylindrical shells with ring supports and made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) composed of stainless steel and nickel is presented. Material properties vary along the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law. The cylindrical shells have ring supports which are arbitrarily placed along the shell and impose zero lateral deflections. The study is carried out based on third order shear deformation shell theory (T.S.D.T). The analysis is carried out using Hamilton-s principle. The governing equations of motion of FGM cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of ring support position and the influence of boundary conditions. The present analysis is validated by comparing results with those available in the literature.

Keywords: Vibration, FGM, Cylindrical shell, Hamilton'sprinciple, Ring support.

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283 Evaluation for Punching Shear Strength of Slab-Column Connections with Ultra High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Overlay

Authors: H. S. Youm, S. G. Hong

Abstract:

This paper presents the test results on 5 slab-column connection specimens with Ultra High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) overlay including 1 control specimen to investigate retrofitting effect of UHPFRC overlay on the punching shear capacity. The test parameters were the thickness of the UHPFRC overlay and the amount of steel re-bars in it. All specimens failed in punching shear mode with abrupt failure aspect. The test results showed that by adding a thin layer of UHPFRC over the Reinforced Concrete (RC) substrates, considerable increases in global punching shear resistance up to 82% and structural rigidity were achieved. Furthermore, based on the cracking patterns the composite systems appeared to be governed by two failure modes: 1) diagonal shear failure in RC section and 2) debonding failure at the interface.

Keywords: Punching shear strength, retrofit, slab-column connection, UHPFRC, UHPFRC overlay.

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282 Lateral Crushing of Square and Rectangular Metallic Tubes under Different Quasi-Static Conditions

Authors: Sajjad Dehghanpour, Ali Yousefi

Abstract:

Impact is one of very important subjects which always have been considered in mechanical science. Nature of impact is such that which makes its control a hard task. Therefore it is required to present the transfer of impact to other vulnerable part of a structure, when it is necessary, one of the best method of absorbing energy of impact, is by using Thin-walled tubes these tubes collapses under impact and with absorption of energy, it prevents the damage to other parts.Purpose of recent study is to survey the deformation and energy absorption of tubes with different type of cross section (rectangular or square) and with similar volumes, height, mean cross section thickness, and material under loading with different speeds. Lateral loading of tubes are quasi-static type and beside as numerical analysis, also experimental experiences has been performed to evaluate the accuracy of the results. Results from the surveys is indicates that in a same conditions which mentioned above, samples with square cross section ,absorb more energy compare to rectangular cross section, and also by increscent in speed of loading, energy absorption would be more.

Keywords: absorbed energy, lateral loading, quasi-static.

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281 Hematologic Inflammatory Markers and Inflammation-Related Hepatokines in Pediatric Obesity

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Obesity in children particularly draws attention, because it may threaten the individual’s future life due to many chronic diseases it may lead to. Most of these diseases including obesity itself altogether are related to inflammation. For this reason, inflammation-related parameters gain importance. Within this context, complete blood cell counts, ratios or indices derived from these counts have recently found some platform to be used as inflammatory markers. So far, mostly adipokines were investigated within the field of obesity. Metabolic inflammation is closely associated with cellular dysfunction. In this study, hematologic inflammatory markers and cytokines produced predominantly by the liver (fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) and fetuin A) were investigated in pediatric obesity. Two groups were constituted from 76 obese children based on World Health Organization criteria. Group 1 was composed of children, whose age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentiles were between 95 and 99. Group 2 consists of children, who are above 99th percentile. The first and the latter groups were defined as obese (OB) and morbid obese (MO). Anthropometric measurements of the children were performed. Informed consent forms and the approval of the institutional ethics committee were obtained. Blood cell counts and ratios were determined by automated hematology analyzer. The related ratios and indexes were calculated. Statistical evaluation of the data was performed by SPSS program. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-to-high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio between the groups. Mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width values were decreased (p < 0.05), total platelet count, red cell distribution width (RDW) and systemic immune inflammation index values were increased (p < 0.01) in MO group. Both hepatokines were increased in the same group, however increases were not statistically significant. In this group, also a strong correlation was calculated between FGF-21 and RDW when controlled by age, hematocrit, iron and ferritin (r = 0.425; p < 0.01). In conclusion, the association between RDW, a hematologic inflammatory marker, and FGF-21, an inflammation-related hepatokine, found in MO group is an important finding discriminating between OB and MO children. This association is even more powerful when controlled by age and iron-related parameters.

Keywords: Childhood obesity, fetuin A, fibroblast growth factor-21, hematologic markers, red cell distribution width.

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280 An Evaluation of the Oxide Layers in Machining Swarfs to Improve Recycling

Authors: J. Uka, B. McKay, T. Minton, O. Adole, R. Lewis, S. J. Glanvill, L. Anguilano

Abstract:

Effective heat treatment conditions to obtain maximum aluminium swarf recycling are investigated in this work. Aluminium swarf briquettes underwent treatments at different temperatures and cooling times to investigate the improvements obtained in the recovery of aluminium metal. The main issue for the recovery of the metal from swarfs is to overcome the constraints due to the oxide layers present in high concentration in the swarfs since they have a high surface area. Briquettes supplied by Renishaw were heat treated at 650, 700, 750, 800 and 850 ℃ for 1-hour and then cooled at 2.3, 3.5 and 5 ℃/min. The resulting material was analysed using SEM EDX to observe the oxygen diffusion and aluminium coalescence at the boundary between adjacent swarfs. Preliminary results show that, swarf needs to be heat treated at a temperature of 850 ℃ and cooled down slowly at 2.3 ℃/min to have thin and discontinuous alumina layers between the adjacent swarf and consequently allowing aluminium coalescence. This has the potential to save energy and provide maximum financial profit in preparation of swarf briquettes for recycling.

Keywords: Aluminium, swarf, oxide layers, recycle, reuse.

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279 Some Immunological Characteristics of Tick- Borne Encephalitis in Perm Region

Authors: Some Immunological Characteristics of Tick- Borne Encephalitis in Perm Region

Abstract:

It is shown that the relationship of tick-borne encephalitis virus with the human body comes in two ways, the development of acute infection with the outcome in convalescence and long stay by the virus in the body, its persistence in the nervous tissue with periodic reactivation and prolonged circulating immunoglobulin M. In spite of the fact that tick-borne encephalitis virus has a tropism for nerve tissue, involvement in the process of blood cells is an integral component of the infection. Comprehensive study of the relation of factors of innate and adaptive immunity in the tick-borne encephalitis providing insight into the features of chronic disease.

Keywords: Tick-borne encephalitis, phagocytic activity, a progressive.

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278 The Method of Evaluation Artery Diameter from Ultrasound Video

Authors: U. Rubins, Z. Marcinkevics, K.Volceka

Abstract:

The cardiovascular system has become the most important subject of clinical research, particularly measurement of arterial blood flow. Therefore correct determination of arterial diameter is crucial. We propose a novel, semi-automatic method for artery lumen detection. The method is based on Gaussian probability function. Usability of our proposed method was assessed by analyzing ultrasound B-mode CFA video sequences acquired from eleven healthy volunteers. The correlation coefficient between the manual and semi-automatic measurement of arterial diameter was 0.996. Our proposed method for detecting artery boundary is novel and accurate enough for the measurement of artery diameter.

Keywords: Ultrasound, boundary detection, artery diameter, curve fitting.

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277 New Drug Delivery System for Cancer Therapy

Authors: Emma R. Arakelova, Stepan G. Grigoryan, Ashot M. Khachatryan, Karapet E. Avjyan, Lilia M. Savchenko, Flora G. Arsenyan

Abstract:

The paper presents a new drugs delivery system, based on the thin film technology. As a model antitumor drug, highly toxic doxorubicin is chosen. The system is based on the technology of obtaining zinc oxide composite of doxorubicin by deposition of nanosize ZnO films on the surface of doxorubicin coating on glass substrate using DC magnetron sputtering of zinc targets in Ar:O2 medium at room temperature. For doxorubicin zinc oxide compositions in the form of coatings and gels with 180-200nm thick ZnO films, higher (by a factor 2) in vivo (ascitic Ehrlich's carcinoma) antitumor activity is observed at low doses of doxorubicin in comparison with that of the initial preparation at therapeutic doses. The vector character of the doxorubicin zinc oxide composite transport to tumor tissues ensures the increase in antitumor activity as well as decrease of toxicity in comparison with the initial drug.

Keywords: Antitumor activity, doxorubicin, DC magnetron sputtering, zinc oxide.

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276 Simulating Laboratory Short Term Aging to Suit Malaysian Field Conditions

Authors: Meor O. Hamzah, Seyed R. Omranian, Ali Jamshidi, Mohd R M. Hasan

Abstract:

This paper characterizes the effects of artificial short term aging in the laboratory on the rheological properties of virgin 80/100 penetration grade asphalt binder. After several years in service, asphalt mixture started to deteriorate due to aging. Aging is a complex physico-chemical phenomenon that influences asphalt binder rheological properties causing a deterioration in asphalt mixture performance. To ascertain asphalt binder aging effects, the virgin, artificially aged and extracted asphalt binder were tested via the Rolling Thin film Oven (RTFO), Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) and Rotational Viscometer (RV). A comparative study between laboratory and field aging conditions were also carried out. The results showed that the specimens conditioned for 85 minutes inside the RTFO was insufficient to simulate the actual short term aging caused that took place in the field under Malaysian field conditions

Keywords: Asphalt binder, Short term aging, Rheological properties, Viscosity, Temperature susceptibility.

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275 Cellular Components of the Hemal Node of Egyptian Cattle

Authors: Amira E. Derbalah, Doaa M. Zaghloul

Abstract:

10 clinically healthy hemal nodes were collected from male bulls aged 2-3 years. Light microscopy revealed a capsule of connective tissue consisted mainly of collagen fiber surrounding hemal node, numerous erythrocytes were found in wide subcapsular sinus under the capsule. The parenchyma of the hemal node was divided into cortex and medulla. Diffused lymphocytes, and lymphoid follicles, having germinal centers were the main components of the cortex, while in the medulla there was wide medullary sinus, diffused lymphocytes and few lymphoid nodules. The area occupied with lymph nodules was larger than that occupied with non-nodular structure of lymphoid cords and blood sinusoids. Electron microscopy revealed the cellular components of hemal node including elements of circulating erythrocytes intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells, mast cells, reticular cells, macrophages, megakaryocytes and endothelial cells lining the blood sinuses. The lymphocytes were somewhat triangular in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent erythrocytes. Nuclei were triangular to oval in shape, lightly stained with clear nuclear membrane indentation and clear nucleoli. The reticular cells were elongated in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent lymphocytes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and few lysosomes were seen in their cytoplasm. Nucleus was elongated in shape with less condensed chromatin. Plasma cells were oval to irregular in shape with numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum containing electron lucent material occupying the whole cytoplasm and few mitochondria were found. Nuclei were centrally located and oval in shape with heterochromatin emarginated and often clumped near the nuclear membrane. Occasionally megakaryocytes and mast cells were seen among lymphocytes. Megakaryocytes had multilobulated nucleus and free ribosomes often appearing as small aggregates in their cytoplasm, while mast cell had their characteristic electron dense granule in the cytoplasm, few electron lucent granules were found also, we conclude that, the main function of the hemal node of cattle is proliferation of lymphocytes. No role for plasma cell in erythrophagocytosis could be suggested.

Keywords: Cattle, Electron microscopy, Hemal node, Histology, Immune system.

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274 Capsule-substrate Adhesion in the Presence of Osmosis by the Immersed Interface Method

Authors: P.G. Jayathilake, B.C. Khoo, Zhijun Tan

Abstract:

A two-dimensional thin-walled capsule of a flexible semi-permeable membrane is adhered onto a rigid planar substrate under adhesive forces (derived from a potential function) in the presence of osmosis across the membrane. The capsule is immersed in a hypotonic and diluted binary solution of a non-electrolyte solute. The Stokes flow problem is solved by the immersed interface method (IIM) with equal viscosities for the enclosed and surrounding fluid of the capsule. The numerical results obtained are verified against two simplified theoretical solutions and the agreements are good. The osmotic inflation of the adhered capsule is studied as a function of the solute concentration field, hydraulic conductivity, and the initial capsule shape. Our findings indicate that the contact length shrinks in dimension as capsule inflates in the hypotonic medium, and the equilibrium contact length does not depend on the hydraulic conductivity of the membrane and the initial shape of the capsule.

Keywords: Capsule-substrate adhesion, Fluid mechanics, Immersed interface method, Osmosis, Mass transfer.

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273 Flexible Laser Reduced Graphene Oxide/ MnO2 Electrode for Supercapacitor Applications

Authors: Ingy N. Bkrey, Ahmed A. Moniem

Abstract:

We succeeded to produce a high performance and flexible graphene/Manganese dioxide (G/MnO2) electrode coated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The graphene film is initially synthesized by drop-casting the graphene oxide (GO) solution on the PET substrate, followed by simultaneous reduction and patterning of the dried film using carbon dioxide (CO2) laser beam with power of 1.8 W. Potentiostatic Anodic Deposition method was used to deposit thin film of MnO2 with different loading mass 10 – 50 and 100 μg.cm-2 on the pre-prepared graphene film. The electrodes were fully characterized in terms of structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance. A maximum specific capacitance of 973 F.g-1 was attributed when depositing 50μg.cm-2 MnO2 on the laser reduced graphene oxide rGO (or G/50MnO2) and over 92% of its initial capacitance was retained after 1000 cycles. The good electrochemical performance and long-term cycling stability make our proposed approach a promising candidate in the supercapacitor applications.

Keywords: Electrode Deposition, Flexible, Graphene oxide, Graphene, High Power CO2 Laser, MnO2.

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272 Research of the Behavior of Solar Module Frame Installed by Solar Clamping System by Finite Element Method

Authors: Li-Chung Su, Chia-Yu Chen, Tzu-Yuan Lai, Sheng-Jye Hwang

Abstract:

Mechanical design of the thin-film solar framed module and mounting system is important to enhance module reliability and to increase areas of applications. The stress induced by different mounting positions played a main role controlling the stability of the whole mechanical structure. From the finite element method, under the pressure from the back of module, the stress at Lc (center point of the Long frame) increased and the stresses at Center, Corner and Sc (center point of the Short frame) decreased while the mounting position was away from the center of the module. In addition, not only the stress of the glass but also the stress of the frame decreased. Accordingly it was safer to mount in the position away from the center of the module. The emphasis of designing frame system of the module was on the upper support of the Short frame. Strength of the overall structure and design of the corner were also important due to the complexity of the stress in the Long frame.

Keywords: Finite element method, Framed module, Mountingposition

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