Search results for: water level detection
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6760

Search results for: water level detection

2290 Effects of Aggressive Ammonium Nitrate on Durability Properties of Concrete Using Sandstone and Granite Aggregates

Authors: L. Wong, H. Asrah, M.E. Rahman, M.A. Mannan

Abstract:

The storage of chemical fertilizers in concrete building often leads to durability problems due to chemical attack. The damage of concrete is mostly caused by certain ammonium salts. The main purpose of the research is to investigate the durability properties of concrete being exposed to ammonium nitrate solution. In this investigation, experiments are conducted on concrete type G50 and G60. The leaching process is achieved by the use of 20% concentration solution of ammonium nitrate. The durability properties investigated are water absorption, volume of permeable voids, and sorptivity. Compressive strength, pH value, and degradation depth are measured after a certain period of leaching. A decrease in compressive strength and an increase in porosity are found through the conducted experiments. Apart from that, the experimental data shows that pH value decreases with increased leaching time while the degradation depth of concrete increases with leaching time. By comparing concrete type G50 and G60, concrete type G60 is more resistant to ammonium nitrate attack.

Keywords: Normal weight concrete durability, Aggressive Ammonium Nitrate Solution, G50 & G60 concretes, Chemical attack.

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2289 Reducing the Short Circuit Levels in Kuwait Transmission Network (A Case Study)

Authors: Mahmoud Gilany, Wael Al-Hasawi

Abstract:

Preliminary studies on Kuwait high voltage transmission system show significant increase in the short circuit level at some of the grid substations and some generating stations. This increase results from the growth in the power transmission systems in size and complexity. New generating stations are expected to be added to the system within the next few years. This paper describes the study analysis performed to evaluate the available and potential solutions to control SC levels in Kuwait power system. It also presents a modified planning of the transmission network in order to fulfill this task.

Keywords: Short circuit current, network splitting, fault current limiter, power transmission planning.

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2288 Single Phase Fluid Flow in Series of Microchannel Connected via Converging-Diverging Section with or without Throat

Authors: Abhishek Kumar Chandra, Kaushal Kishor, Wasim Khan, Dhananjay Singh, M. S. Alam

Abstract:

Single phase fluid flow through series of uniform microchannels connected via transition section (converging-diverging section with or without throat) was analytically and numerically studied to characterize the flow within the channel and in the transition sections. Three sets of microchannels of diameters 100, 184, and 249 μm were considered for investigation. Each set contains 10 numbers of microchannels of length 20 mm, connected to each other in series via transition sections. Transition section consists of either converging-diverging section with throat or without throat. The effect of non-uniformity in microchannels on pressure drop was determined by passing water/air through the set of channels for Reynolds number 50 to 1000. Compressibility and rarefaction effects in transition sections were also tested analytically and numerically for air flow. The analytical and numerical results show that these configurations can be used in enhancement of transport processes. However, converging-diverging section without throat shows superior performance over with throat configuration.

Keywords: Contraction-expansion flow, integrated microchannel, microchannel network, single phase flow.

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2287 Compression of Semistructured Documents

Authors: Leo Galambos, Jan Lansky, Katsiaryna Chernik

Abstract:

EGOTHOR is a search engine that indexes the Web and allows us to search the Web documents. Its hit list contains URL and title of the hits, and also some snippet which tries to shortly show a match. The snippet can be almost always assembled by an algorithm that has a full knowledge of the original document (mostly HTML page). It implies that the search engine is required to store the full text of the documents as a part of the index. Such a requirement leads us to pick up an appropriate compression algorithm which would reduce the space demand. One of the solutions could be to use common compression methods, for instance gzip or bzip2, but it might be preferable if we develop a new method which would take advantage of the document structure, or rather, the textual character of the documents. There already exist a special compression text algorithms and methods for a compression of XML documents. The aim of this paper is an integration of the two approaches to achieve an optimal level of the compression ratio

Keywords: Compression, search engine, HTML, XML.

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2286 Simulation Games in Business Process Management Education

Authors: Vesna Bosilj Vuksic, Mirjana Pejic Bach

Abstract:

Business process management (BPM) has become widely accepted within business community as a means for improving business performance. However, it is of the highest importance to incorporate BPM as part of the curriculum at the university level education in order to achieve the appropriate acceptance of the method. Goal of the paper is to determine the current state of education in business process management (BPM) at the Croatian universities and abroad. It investigates the applied forms of instruction and teaching methods and gives several proposals for BPM courses improvement. Since majority of undergraduate and postgraduate students have limited understanding of business processes and lack of any practical experience, there is a need for introducing new teaching approaches. Therefore, we offer some suggestions for further improvement, among which the introduction of simulation games environment in BPM education is strongly recommended.

Keywords: business process management, simulation games, education

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2285 Sediment Fixation of Arsenic in the Ash Lagoon of a Coal-Fired Power Plant, Philippines

Authors: Joselito P. Duyanen, Aries Milay

Abstract:

Arsenic in the sediments of the ash lagoons of the coal-fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon Province in the Philippines was sequentially extracted to determine its potential for leaching to the groundwater and the adjacent marine environment. Results show that 89% of the As is bound to the quasi-crystalline Fe/Mn oxides and hydroxide matrix in the sediments, whereas, the adsorbed and exchangeable As hosted by the clay minerals, representing those that are easiest to release from the sediment matrix, is below 10% of the acid leachable As. These As in these sediment matrices represent the possible maximum amount of As that can be released and supplied to the groundwater and the adjacent marine environment. Of the 89% reducible As, up to 4% is associated with the easily reducible variety, whereas, the rest is more strongly bonded by the moderately reducible variety. Based on the long-term As content of the lagoon water, the average desorption rate of As is calculated to be very low -- 0.3-0.5% on the average and 0.6% on the maximum. This indicates that As is well-fixed by its sediment matrices in the ash lagoon, attenuating the influx of As into the adjacent groundwater and marine environments.

Keywords: Arsenic, natural attenuation, coal-fired power plant, Philippines.

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2284 A New Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Systems

Authors: Mohamed Azab

Abstract:

In this paper a new maximum power point tracking algorithm for photovoltaic arrays is proposed. The algorithm detects the maximum power point of the PV. The computed maximum power is used as a reference value (set point) of the control system. ON/OFF power controller with hysteresis band is used to control the operation of a Buck chopper such that the PV module always operates at its maximum power computed from the MPPT algorithm. The major difference between the proposed algorithm and other techniques is that the proposed algorithm is used to control directly the power drawn from the PV. The proposed MPPT has several advantages: simplicity, high convergence speed, and independent on PV array characteristics. The algorithm is tested under various operating conditions. The obtained results have proven that the MPP is tracked even under sudden change of irradiation level.

Keywords: Photovoltaic, maximum power point tracking, MPPT.

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2283 Fast Segmentation for the Piecewise Smooth Mumford-Shah Functional

Authors: Yingjie Zhang

Abstract:

This paper is concerned with an improved algorithm based on the piecewise-smooth Mumford and Shah (MS) functional for an efficient and reliable segmentation. In order to speed up convergence, an additional force, at each time step, is introduced further to drive the evolution of the curves instead of only driven by the extensions of the complementary functions u + and u - . In our scheme, furthermore, the piecewise-constant MS functional is integrated to generate the extra force based on a temporary image that is dynamically created by computing the union of u + and u - during segmenting. Therefore, some drawbacks of the original algorithm, such as smaller objects generated by noise and local minimal problem also are eliminated or improved. The resulting algorithm has been implemented in Matlab and Visual Cµ, and demonstrated efficiently by several cases.

Keywords: Active contours, energy minimization, image segmentation, level sets.

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2282 Laboratory Testing Regime for Quantifying Soil Collapsibility

Authors: Anne C. Okwedadi, Samson Ng’ambi, Ian Jefferson

Abstract:

Collapsible soils go through radical rearrangement of their particles when triggered by water, stress or/and vibration, causing loss of volume. This loss of volume in soil as seen in foundation failures has caused millions of dollars’ worth of damages to public facilities and infrastructure and so has an adverse effect on the society and people. Despite these consequences and the several studies that are available, more research is still required in the study of soil collapsibility. Discerning the pedogenesis (formation) of soils and investigating the combined effects of the different geological soil properties is key to elucidating and quantifying soils collapsibility. This study presents a novel laboratory testing regime that would be undertaken on soil samples where the effects of soil type, compactive variables (moisture content, density, void ratio, degree of saturation) and loading are analyzed. It is anticipated that results obtained would be useful in mapping the trend of the combined effect thus the basis for evaluating soil collapsibility or collapse potentials encountered in construction with volume loss problems attributed to collapse.

Keywords: Collapsible soil, Geomorphological process, Soil Collapsibility properties, Soil test.

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2281 Amberlite XAD-4 Functionalized with 1-amino-2-naphthole for Determination and Preconcentration of Copper (II) in Aqueous Solution by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Authors: Elham Moniri, Homayon Ahmad Panahi, Mahshid Nikpour Nezhati, Faranak Mahmoudi, Meghdad Karimi

Abstract:

A new chelating resin is prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-4 with 1-amino-2-naphthole through an azo spacer. The resulting sorbent has been characterized by FT-IR, elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and studied for preconcentrating of Cu (II) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for metal monitoring. The optimum pH value for sorption of the copper ions was 6.5. The resin was subjected to evaluation through batch binding of mentioned metal ion. Quantitative desorption occurs instantaneously with 0.5 M HNO3. The sorption capacity was found 4.8 mmol.g-1 of resin for Cu (II) in the aqueous solution. The chelating resin can be reused for 10 cycles of sorption-desorption without any significant change in sorption capacity. A recovery of 99% was obtained the metal ions with 0.5 M HNO3 as eluting agent. The method was applied for metal ions determination from industrial waste water sample.

Keywords: Amberlite XAD-4; Copper (II); Flame atomicabsorption; Chelator; 1-amino-2- naphthole

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2280 Gas Flow into Rotary Valve Intake and Exhaust Mechanism in Internal Combustion Engine

Authors: R. Usubamatov, Z. A. Rashid

Abstract:

Simple design of a rotary valve system is capable of controlling intake and exhaust gases, which will eliminate the need of known complex mechanisms. The cost of material and production, maintenance, and noise level of the system can be further reduced. The new mechanism enables the elimination of the overlapping of valves work that reduces gas leakage. This paper examines theoretically the gas flow through the holes of a rotary valve design in a small engine. Preliminary results show that the new gas flow has many positive differences than a conventional poppet-valve system. New dependencies on the gas speed enable the finding of better solutions for the geometry of a rotary valve system that will result in a higher efficiency of an internal-combustion engine of the automotive industry.

Keywords: Gas arrangement, internal combustion engine.

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2279 Effect of Polarization and Coherence of Optical Radiation on Sturgeon Sperm Motility

Authors: Nikolai V. Barulin, Vitaly Yu. Plavskii

Abstract:

This work contains information about the influence low-level optical irradiation on sperm motility of sturgeon fish. On the basis of given and earlier received data the following conclusion has been made. Among the photophysical processes of a resonant and not resonant nature (oriented action of light; action of gradient forces; dipole-dipole interaction; termooptical processes), which are capable to cause the photobiological effects depended on such laserspecific characteristics as polarization and coherency, determining influence belongs to oriented action of light and dipole-dipole interactions among the processes studied in the present work.

Keywords: sturgeon, aquaculture, fish sperm, laser, optical irradiation, sperm motility

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2278 Dynamic Behaviors of a Floating Bridge with Mooring Lines under Wind and Wave Excitations

Authors: Chungkuk Jin, Moohyun Kim, Woo Chul Chung

Abstract:

This paper presents global performance and dynamic behaviors of a discrete-pontoon-type floating bridge with mooring lines in time domain under wind and wave excitations. The structure is designed for long-distance and deep-water crossing and consists of the girder, columns, pontoons, and mooring lines. Their functionality and behaviors are investigated by using elastic-floater/mooring fully-coupled dynamic simulation computer program. Dynamic wind, first- and second-order wave forces, and current loads are considered as environmental loads. Girder’s dynamic responses and mooring tensions are analyzed under different analysis methods and environmental conditions. Girder’s lateral responses are highly influenced by the second-order wave and wind loads while the first-order wave load mainly influences its vertical responses.

Keywords: Floating bridge, elastic dynamic response, coupled dynamics, mooring line, pontoon, wave/wind excitation, resonance, second-order effect.

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2277 Study on the Effect of Volume Fraction of Dual Phase Steel to Corrosion Behaviour and Hardness

Authors: R. Nadlene, H. Esah, S. Norliana, M.A. Mohd Irwan

Abstract:

The objective of this project is to study the corrosion behaviour and hardness based on the presence of martensite in dual phase steel. This study was conducted on six samples of dual phase steel which have different percentage of martensite. A total of 9 specimens were prepared by intercritical annealing process to study the effect of temperature to the formation of martensite. The low carbon steels specimens were heated for 25 minutes in a specified temperature ranging from 7250C to 8250C followed by rapid cooling in water. The measurement of corrosion rate was done by using extrapolation tafel method, while potentiostat was used to control and measured the current produced. This measurement is performed through a system named CMS105. The result shows that a specimen with higher percentage of martensite is likely to corrode faster. Hardness test for each specimen was conducted to compare its hardness with low carbon steel. The results obtained indicate that the specimen hardness is proportional to the amount of martensite in dual phase steel.

Keywords: dual phase steel, corrosion behaviour, hardness, intercritical annealing, martensite

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2276 Impact Analysis Based on Change Requirement Traceability in Object Oriented Software Systems

Authors: Sunil Tumkur Dakshinamurthy, Mamootil Zachariah Kurian

Abstract:

Change requirement traceability in object oriented software systems is one of the challenging areas in research. We know that the traces between links of different artifacts are to be automated or semi-automated in the software development life cycle (SDLC). The aim of this paper is discussing and implementing aspects of dynamically linking the artifacts such as requirements, high level design, code and test cases through the Extensible Markup Language (XML) or by dynamically generating Object Oriented (OO) metrics. Also, non-functional requirements (NFR) aspects such as stability, completeness, clarity, validity, feasibility and precision are discussed. We discuss this as a Fifth Taxonomy, which is a system vulnerability concern.

Keywords: Artifacts, NFRs, OO metrics, SDLC, XML.

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2275 Numerical Optimization of Trapezoidal Microchannel Heat Sinks

Authors: Yue-Tzu Yang, Shu-Ching Liao

Abstract:

This study presents the numerical simulation of three-dimensional incompressible steady and laminar fluid flow and conjugate heat transfer of a trapezoidal microchannel heat sink using water as a cooling fluid in a silicon substrate. Navier-Stokes equations with conjugate energy equation are discretized by finite-volume method. We perform numerical computations for a range of 50 ≦ Re ≦ 600, 0.05W ≦ P ≦ 0.8W, 20W/cm2 q"≦ 40W/cm2. The present study demonstrates the numerical optimization of a trapezoidal microchannel heat sink design using the response surface methodology (RSM) and the genetic algorithm method (GA). The results show that the average Nusselt number increases with an increase in the Reynolds number or pumping power, and the thermal resistance decreases as the pumping power increases. The thermal resistance of a trapezoidal microchannel is minimized for a constant heat flux and constant pumping power.

Keywords: Microchannel heat sinks, Conjugate heat transfer, Optimization, Genetic algorithm method.

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2274 E-Procurement, the Golden Key to Optimizing the Supply Chains System

Authors: Somayeh Farzin, Hossein Teimoori Nezhad

Abstract:

Procurement is an important component in the field of operating resource management and e-procurement is the golden key to optimizing the supply chains system. Global firms are optimistic on the level of savings that can be achieved through full implementation of e-procurement strategies. E-procurement is an Internet-based business process for obtaining materials and services and managing their inflow into the organization. In this paper, the subjects of supply chains and e-procurement and its benefits to organizations have been studied. Also, e-procurement in construction and its drivers and barriers have been discussed and a framework of supplier selection in an e-procurement environment has been demonstrated. This paper also has addressed critical success factors in adopting e-procurement in supply chains.

Keywords: E-Procurement, Supply Chain, Benefits, Construction, Drivers, Barriers, Supplier Selection, CFSs.

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2273 Physico-Mechanical Properties of Chemically Modified Sisal Fibre Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Composites

Authors: A. A. Salisu, M. Y. Yakasai, K. M. Aujara

Abstract:

Sisal leaves were subjected to enzymatic retting method to extract the sisal fibre. A portion of the fibre was pretreated with alkali (NaOH), and further treated with benzoyl chloride and silane treatment reagents. Both the treated and untreated Sisal fibre composites were used to fabricate the composite by hand lay-up technique using unsaturated polyester resin. Tensile, flexural, water absorption, density, thickness swelling and chemical resistant tests were conducted and evaluated on the composites. Results obtained for all the parameters showed an increase in the treated fibre compared to untreated fibre. FT-IR spectra results ascertained the inclusion of benzoyl and silane groups on the fibre surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) result obtained showed variation in the morphology of the treated and untreated fibre. Chemical modification was found to improve adhesion of the fibre to the matrix, as well as physico-mechanical properties of the composites.

Keywords: Chemical resistance, density test, Sisal fibre, polymer matrix, thickness swelling.

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2272 The Effect of Carboxymethyl Cellulose on the Stability of Emulsions Stabilized by Whey Proteins under Digestion in vitro and in vivo

Authors: D. Leskauskaite, I. Jasutiene, M. Kersiene, E. Malinauskyte, P. Matusevicius

Abstract:

In vitro gastro-duodenal digestion model was used to investigate the changes of emulsions under digestion conditions. Oil in water emulsions stabilized by whey proteins (2%) and stabilized by whey proteins (2%) with addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (0.75%) as gelling agent of continuous phase were prepared at pH7. Both emulsions were destabilized under gastric conditions; however the protective role of carboxymethyl cellulose was indicated by recording delay of fat digestibility of this emulsion. In the presence of carboxymethyl cellulose whey proteins on the interfacial surface of droplets were more resistant to gastric degradation causing limited hydrolysis of fat due to the poor acceptability of lipids for the enzymes. Studies of emulsions using in vivo model supported results from in vitro studies. Lower content of triglycerides in blood serum and higher amount of fecal fat of rats were determined when rats were fed by diet containing emulsion made with whey proteins and carboxymethyl cellulose. 

Keywords: Digestibility, emulsions, lipids, rats.

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2271 Study of the Effect of Rotation on the Deformation of a Flexible Blade Rotor

Authors: Aref Maalej, Marwa Fakhfakh, Wael Ben Amira

Abstract:

We present in this work a numerical investigation of fluid-structure interaction to study the elastic behavior of flexible rotors. The principal aim is to provide the effect of the aero/hydrodynamic parameters on the bending deformation of flexible rotors. This study is accomplished using the strong two-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) developed by the ANSYS Workbench software. This method is used for coupling the fluid solver to the transient structural solver to study the elastic behavior of flexible rotors in water. In this study, we use a moderately flexible rotor modeled by a single blade with simplified rectangular geometry. In this work, we focus on the effect of the rotational frequency on the flapwise bending deformation. It is demonstrated that the blade deforms in the downstream direction and the amplitude of these deformations increases with the rotational frequencies. Also, from a critical frequency, the blade begins to deform in the upstream direction.

Keywords: Numerical simulation, flexible blade, fluid-structure interaction, ANSYS Workbench, flapwise deformation.

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2270 Surface Modification of Cotton Using Slaughterhouse Wastes

Authors: Granch Berhe Tseghai, Lodrick Wangatia Makokha

Abstract:

Cotton dyeing using reactive dyes is one of the major water polluter; this is due to large amount of dye and salt remaining in effluent. Recent adverse climate change and its associated effect to human life have lead to search for more sustainable industrial production. Cationization of cotton to improve its affinity for reactive dye has been earmarked as a major solution for dyeing of cotton with no or less salt. Synthetic cationizing agents of ammonium salt have already been commercialized. However, in nature there are proteinous products which are rich in amino and ammonium salts which can be carefully harnessed to be used as cationizing agent for cotton. The hoofs and horns have successfully been used to cationize cotton so as to improve cotton affinity to the dye. The cationization action of the hoof and horn extract on cotton was confirmed by dyeing the pretreated fabric without salt and comparing it with conventionally dyed and untreated salt free dyed fabric. UV-VIS absorption results showed better dye absorption (62.5% and 50% dye bath exhaustion percentage for cationized and untreated respectively) while K/S values of treated samples were similar to conventional sample.

Keywords: Cationization, cotton, proteinous products, reactive dyes.

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2269 Vapor Bubble Dynamics in Upward Subcooled Flow Boiling During Void Evolution

Authors: Rouhollah Ahmadi, Tatsuya Ueno, Tomio Okawa

Abstract:

Bubble generation was observed using a high-speed camera in subcooled flow boiling at low void fraction. Constant heat flux was applied on one side of an upward rectangular channel to make heated test channel. Water as a working fluid from high subcooling to near saturation temperature was injected step by step to investigate bubble behavior during void development. Experiments were performed in two different pressures condition close to 2bar and 4bar. It was observed that in high subcooling when boiling was commenced, bubble after nucleation departed its origin and slid beside heated surface. In an observation window mean release frequency of bubble fb,mean, nucleation site Ns and mean bubble volume Vb,mean in each step of experiments were measured to investigate wall vaporization rate. It was found that in proximity of PNVG vaporization rate was increased significantly in compare with condensation rate which remained in low value.

Keywords: Subcooled flow boiling, Bubble dynamics, Void fraction, Sliding bubble.

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2268 Changes to Oxidative Stress Levels Following Exposure to Formaldehyde in Lymphocytes

Authors: Malinee Pongsavee

Abstract:

Formaldehyde is the illegal chemical substance used for food preservation in fish and vegetable. It can promote carcinogenesis. Superoxide dismutases are the important antioxidative enzymes that catalyze the dismutation of superoxide anion into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The resultant level of oxidative stress in formaldehyde-treated lymphocytes was investigated. The formaldehyde concentrations of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 120μmol/L were treated in human lymphocytes for 12 hours. After 12 treated hours, the superoxide dismutase activity change was measured in formaldehyde-treated lymphocytes. The results showed that the formaldehyde concentrations of 60, 80 and 120μmol/L significantly decreased superoxide dismutase activities in lymphocytes (P < 0.05). The change of superoxide dismutase activity in formaldehyde-treated lymphocytes may be the biomarker for detect cellular injury, such as damage to DNA, due to formaldehyde exposure.

Keywords: Formaldehyde, lymphocytes, superoxide dismutase activity.

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2267 Determining the Direction of Causality between Creating Innovation and Technology Market

Authors: Liubov Evstigneeva

Abstract:

In this paper an attempt is made to establish causal nexuses between innovation and international trade in Russia. The topicality of this issue is determined by the necessity of choosing policy instruments for economic modernization and transition to innovative development. The vector auto regression (VAR) model and Granger test are applied for the Russian monthly data from 2005 until the second quartile of 2015. Both lagged import and export at the national level cause innovation, the latter starts to stimulate foreign trade since it is a remote lag. In comparison to aggregate data, the results by patent’s categories are more diverse. Importing technologies from foreign countries stimulates patent activity, while innovations created in Russia are only Granger causality for import to Commonwealth of Independent States.

Keywords: Export, import, innovation, patents.

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2266 A Pairing-based Blind Signature Scheme with Message Recovery

Authors: Song Han, Elizabeth Chang

Abstract:

Blind signatures enable users to obtain valid signatures for a message without revealing its content to the signer. This paper presents a new blind signature scheme, i.e. identity-based blind signature scheme with message recovery. Due to the message recovery property, the new scheme requires less bandwidth than the identitybased blind signatures with similar constructions. The scheme is based on modified Weil/Tate pairings over elliptic curves, and thus requires smaller key sizes for the same level of security compared to previous approaches not utilizing bilinear pairings. Security and efficiency analysis for the scheme is provided in this paper.

Keywords: Blind Signature, Message Recovery, Pairings, Elliptic Curves, Blindness

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2265 Availability Analysis of a Power Plant by Computer Simulation

Authors: Mehmet Savsar

Abstract:

Reliability and availability of power stations are extremely important in order to achieve a required level of power generation. In particular, in the hot desert climate of Kuwait, reliable power generation is extremely important because of cooling requirements at temperatures exceeding 50-centigrade degrees. In this paper, a particular power plant, named Sabiya Power Plant, which has 8 steam turbines and 13 gas turbine stations, has been studied in detail; extensive data are collected; and availability of station units are determined. Furthermore, a simulation model is developed and used to analyze the effects of different maintenance policies on availability of these stations. The results show that significant improvements can be achieved in power plant availabilities if appropriate maintenance policies are implemented.

Keywords: Power plants, steam turbines, gas turbines, maintenance, availability, simulation.

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2264 Retrofitting of Bridge Piers against the Scour Damages: Case Study of the Marand-Soofian Route Bridge

Authors: Shatirah Akib, Hossein Basser, Hojat Karami, Afshin Jahangirzadeh

Abstract:

Bridge piers which are constructed in the track of high water rivers cause some variations in the flow patterns. This variation mostly is a result of the changes in river sections. Decreasing the river section, bridge piers significantly impress the flow patterns. Once the flow approaches the piers, the stream lines change their order, causing the appearance of different flow patterns around the bridge piers. New flow patterns are created following the geometry and the other technical characteristics of the piers. One of the most significant consequences of this event is the scour generated around the bridge piers which threatens the safety of the structure. In order to determine the properties of scour holes, to find maximum depth of the scour is an important factor. In this manuscript a numerical simulation of the scour around Marand-Soofian route bridge piers has been carried out via SSIIM 2.0 Software and the amount of maximum scour has been achieved subsequently. Eventually the methods for retrofitting of bridge piers against scours and also the methods for decreasing the amount of scour have been offered.

Keywords: Scour, Bridge pier, numerical simulation, SSIIM 2.0.

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2263 Thermal Hydraulic Analysis of the IAEA 10MW Benchmark Reactor under Normal Operating Condition

Authors: Hamed Djalal

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to perform a thermal-hydraulic analysis of the IAEA 10 MW benchmark reactor solving analytically and numerically, by mean of the finite volume method, respectively the steady state and transient forced convection in rectangular narrow channel between two parallel MTR-type fuel plates, imposed under a cosine shape heat flux. A comparison between both solutions is presented to determine the minimal coolant velocity which can ensure a safe reactor core cooling, where the cladding temperature should not reach a specific safety limit 90 °C. For this purpose, a computer program is developed to determine the principal parameter related to the nuclear core safety, such as the temperature distribution in the fuel plate and in the coolant (light water) as a function of the inlet coolant velocity. Finally, a good agreement is noticed between the both analytical and numerical solutions, where the obtained results are displayed graphically.

Keywords: Forced convection, friction factor pressure drop thermal hydraulic analysis, vertical heated rectangular channel.

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2262 Dynamic Adaptability Using Reflexivity for Mobile Agent Protection

Authors: Salima Hacini, Haoua Cheribi, Zizette Boufaïda

Abstract:

The paradigm of mobile agent provides a promising technology for the development of distributed and open applications. However, one of the main obstacles to widespread adoption of the mobile agent paradigm seems to be security. This paper treats the security of the mobile agent against malicious host attacks. It describes generic mobile agent protection architecture. The proposed approach is based on the dynamic adaptability and adopts the reflexivity as a model of conception and implantation. In order to protect it against behaviour analysis attempts, the suggested approach supplies the mobile agent with a flexibility faculty allowing it to present an unexpected behaviour. Furthermore, some classical protective mechanisms are used to reinforce the level of security.

Keywords: Dynamic adaptability, malicious host, mobile agent security, reflexivity.

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2261 Italians- Social and Emotional Loneliness: The Results of Five Studies

Authors: Vanda Lucia Zammuner

Abstract:

Subjective loneliness describes people who feel a disagreeable or unacceptable lack of meaningful social relationships, both at the quantitative and qualitative level. The studies to be presented tested an Italian 18-items self-report loneliness measure, that included items adapted from scales previously developed, namely a short version of the UCLA (Russell, Peplau and Cutrona, 1980), and the 11-items Loneliness scale by De Jong-Gierveld & Kamphuis (JGLS; 1985). The studies aimed at testing the developed scale and at verifying whether loneliness is better conceptualized as a unidimensional (so-called 'general loneliness') or a bidimensional construct, namely comprising the distinct facets of social and emotional loneliness. The loneliness questionnaire included 2 singleitem criterion measures of sad mood, and social contact, and asked participants to supply information on a number of socio-demographic variables. Factorial analyses of responses obtained in two preliminary studies, with 59 and 143 Italian participants respectively, showed good factor loadings and subscale reliability and confirmed that perceived loneliness has clearly two components, a social and an emotional one, the latter measured by two subscales, a 7-item 'general' loneliness subscale derived from UCLA, and a 6–item 'emotional' scale included in the JGLS. Results further showed that type and amount of loneliness are related, negatively, to frequency of social contacts, and, positively, to sad mood. In a third study data were obtained from a nation-wide sample of 9.097 Italian subjects, 12 to about 70 year-olds, who filled the test on-line, on the Italian web site of a large-audience magazine, Focus. The results again confirmed the reliability of the component subscales, namely social, emotional, and 'general' loneliness, and showed that they were highly correlated with each other, especially the latter two. Loneliness scores were significantly predicted by sex, age, education level, sad mood and social contact, and, less so, by other variables – e.g., geographical area and profession. The scale validity was confirmed by the results of a fourth study, with elderly men and women (N 105) living at home or in residential care units. The three subscales were significantly related, among others, to depression, and to various measures of the extension of, and satisfaction with, social contacts with relatives and friends. Finally, a fifth study with 315 career-starters showed that social and emotional loneliness correlate with life satisfaction, and with measures of emotional intelligence. Altogether the results showed a good validity and reliability in the tested samples of the entire scale, and of its components.

Keywords: Emotional loneliness, social loneliness, scale development and testing, life span and cultural differences.

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