Search results for: total net present cost

Authors: Kurotimi M. Fems, Francis D. W. Poazi, Helen Opigo

Abstract:

The concepts of entrepreneurship education together with graduate entrepreneurship have taken centre stage in many countries as a 21^st century strategy for economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship education has been viewed as a pre-requisite tool for a more effective and successful business operation. This paper seeks to verify if entrepreneurship education is pre-requisite to graduate entrepreneurship, and to ascertain if such other factors as the need for achievement, competence and experience etc. also play a foundational role in the choice of a graduate becoming an entrepreneur. The scope of the research study is entrepreneurs within Yenagoa metropolis in Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The sample target is graduates engaged in entrepreneurship activities (graduates who own and run businesses). Stratified sampling technique was used and 101 responses were obtained from a total of 300 questionnaires issued. Bar chart, tables and percentages were used to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed that personality traits, situational circumstance, need for achievement and experience/competence were the foundational factors stimulating graduate entrepreneurs to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits. Of all, personality trait showed the highest score with 73 (73%) out of 101 entrepreneurs agreeing. Experience/Competence and situational circumstances followed behind with 66 (65%) and 63 (62.4%), respectively. Entrepreneurship education revealed the least score with 33 (32.3%) out of 101 participating entrepreneurs. All hope, however, is not lost, as this shows that something can be done to increase the impact of entrepreneurship education on graduate entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Creative destruction, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship education, graduate entrepreneurship, pre-requisite.

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Authors: Abada Ahmed, Hiadsi Said, Ouahrani Tarik, Amrani Bouhalouane, Amara Kadda

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Using the first-principles full-potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital (FP-LAPW+lo) method based on density functional theory (DFT), we have investigated the electronic structure and magnetism of full Heusler alloys Co2ZrGe and Co2NbB. These compounds are predicted to be half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) with a total magnetic moment of 2.000
B per formula unit, well consistent with the Slater-Pauling rule. Calculations show that both the alloys have an indirect band gaps, in the minority-spin channel of density of states (DOS), with values of 0.58 eV and 0.47 eV for Co2ZrGe and Co2NbB, respectively. Analysis of the DOS and magnetic moments indicates that their magnetism is mainly related to the d-d hybridization between the Co and Zr (or Nb) atoms. The half-metallicity is found to be relatively robust against volume changes. In addition, an atom inside molecule AIM formalism and an electron localization function ELF were also adopted to study the bonding properties of these compounds, building a bridge between their electronic and bonding behavior. As they have a good crystallographic compatibility with the lattice of semiconductors used industrially and negative calculated cohesive energies with considerable absolute values these two alloys could be promising magnetic materials in the spintronic field.

Keywords: Electronic properties, full Heusler alloys, halfmetallic ferromagnets, magnetic properties.

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Authors: Hsin-Hung Chang, Jin-Lung Guan, Ming-Ta Yang

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This paper presents a compact thermoelectric power generator system based on temperature difference across the element. The system can transfer the burning heat energy to electric energy directly. The proposed system has a thermoelectric generator and a power control box. In the generator, there are 4 thermoelectric modules (TEMs), each of which uses 2 thermoelectric chips (TEs) and 2 cold sinks, 1 thermal absorber, and 1 thermal conduction flat board. In the power control box, there are 1 storing energy device, 1 converter, and 1 inverter. The total net generating power is about 11W. This system uses commercial portable gas stoves or burns timber or the coal as the heat source, which is easily obtained. It adopts solid-state thermoelectric chips as heat inverter parts. The system has the advantages of being light-weight, quite, and mobile, requiring no maintenance, and havng easily-supplied heat source. The system can be used a as long as burning is allowed. This system works well for highly-mobilized outdoors situations by providing a power for illumination, entertainment equipment or the wireless equipment at refuge. Under heavy storms such as typhoon, when the solar panels become ineffective and the wind-powered machines malfunction, the thermoelectric power generator can continue providing the vital power.

Keywords: Thermoelectric chip, seekback effect, thermo electric power generator.

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Authors: Dahlila Kamat, Ismail Mohd Saaid, Iskandar Dzulkarnain

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This paper presents a review on published literature and experimental works on local sands for possible use as proppant, specifically those from Terengganu coastal area. This includes examination on characteristics of sand samples and selection of experiments for proppant testing. Sand samples from identified areas were tested according to particle size distribution, density, roundness and sphericity, turbidity and mineralogy. Results from sand samples were compared against proppant specifications set by API RP 56 and selected commercial proppants. The present study found that the size distribution, sphericity, turbidity and bulk density of Terengganu sands are at par with some of commercial proppants. Nevertheless, Terengganu sand samples do not completely surpass the required roundness for use as proppant.

Keywords: Hydraulic fracturing, Malaysia sand, proppant, wellstimulation.

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Authors: M. Ayazi, R. Karami, B. Kamkari

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Solid oxide fuel cells have been considered in the last years as one of the most promising technologies for very highefficiency electric energy generation from hydrogen or other hydrocarbons, both with simple fuel cell plants and with integrated gas turbine-fuel cell systems. In the present study, a detailed thermodynamic analysis has been carried out. Mass and exergy balances are performed not only for the whole plant but also for each component in order to evaluate the thermal efficiency of combined cycle. Moreover, different sources of irreversibilities within the SOFC stack have been discussed and a parametric study conducted to evaluate the effect of temperature as well as pressure on SOFC irreversibilities and its performance. In this investigation methane and hydrogen have been used for fueling the SOFC stack and combustion chamber.

Keywords: SOFC, Energy, Power turbine, Irreversibility.

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Authors: A. U. Haque, W. Asrar, A. A. Omar, E. Sulaeman, J. S Mohamed Ali

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Open jet testing is a valuable testing technique which provides the desired results with reasonable accuracy. It has been used in past for the airships and now has recently been applied for the hybrid ones, having more non-buoyant force coming from the wings, empennage and the fuselage. In the present review work, an effort has been done to review the challenges involved in open jet testing. In order to shed light on the application of this technique, the experimental results of two different configurations are presented. Although, the aerodynamic results of such vehicles are unique to its own design; however, it will provide a starting point for planning any future testing. Few important testing areas which need more attention are also highlighted. Most of the hybrid buoyant aerial vehicles are unconventional in shape and there experimental data is generated, which is unique to its own design.

Keywords: Open jet testing, aerodynamics, hybrid buoyant aerial vehicles, airships.

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Authors: Raj Kumar Rajak, Bharat Mishra

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Bio-batteries represent an entirely new long-term, reasonable, reachable, and eco-friendly approach to generation of sustainable energy. In the present experimental work, we have studied the effect of the generation of power by bio-battery using different electrode pairs. The tests show that it is possible to generate electricity using cow’s urine as an electrolyte. C-Mg electrode pair shows maximum Voltage and Short Circuit Current (SCC), while C-Zn electrode pair shows less Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) and SCC. By the studies of cow urine and different electrodes, it is found that C-Zn electrode battery is more economical. The cow urine battery with C-Zn electrode provides maximum power (707.4 mW) and durability (up to 145 h). This result shows that the bio-batteries have the potency to full fill the need of electricity demand for lower energy equipment.

Keywords: Bio-batteries, cow’s urine, electrodes, non-conventional.

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Authors: Mehran Pourgholi , Amin Lotfi Eghlim

Abstract:

These Nowadays the explosion of bombs or explosive materials such as gas and oil near or inside the buildings cause some losses in installations and building components. This has made the engineers to make the buildings and their components resistance against the effects of explosion. These activities lead to provide regulations and different methods. The above regulations are mostly focused on the explosion effects resulting from the vehicles around the buildings. Therefore, the explosion resulting from the vehicles outside the buildings will be studied in this research. In the present study, the main goals are to investigate the explosion load effects on the structures located on the piles with the specific quantity of plasticity and observing the permissible response of these structures. The concentrated mass system and the spring with two degree of freedom will be used to study the structural system.

Keywords: Concrete-Framework Building, Explosion Load, piles.

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Authors: Mohammad Amin Mozaheb, Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi, Khojasteh Hosseinzadehpilehvar

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English Language Teaching (ELT) is widely promoted across the world. ELT textbooks play pivotal roles in the mentioned process. Since biases of authors have been an issue of continuing interest to analysts over the past few years, the present study seeks to analyze an ELT textbook using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). To obtain the goal of the study, the listening section of a book called World English 3 (new edition) has been analyzed in terms of the cultures and countries mentioned in the listening section of the book using content-based analysis. The analysis indicates biases towards certain cultures. Moreover, some countries are shown as rich and powerful countries, while some others have been shown as poor ones without considering the history behind them.

Keywords: ELT, textbooks, critical discourse analysis, World English.

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Authors: Alireza Rezaei, Fatemeh Baharifard, Kourosh Parand

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In this paper we improve the quasilinearization method by barycentric Lagrange interpolation because of its numerical stability and computation speed to achieve a stable semi analytical solution. Then we applied the improved method for solving the Fin problem which is a nonlinear equation that occurs in the heat transferring. In the quasilinearization approach the nonlinear differential equation is treated by approximating the nonlinear terms by a sequence of linear expressions. The modified QLM is iterative but not perturbative and gives stable semi analytical solutions to nonlinear problems without depending on the existence of a smallness parameter. Comparison with some numerical solutions shows that the present solution is applicable.

Keywords: Quasilinearization method, Barycentric lagrange interpolation, nonlinear ODE, fin problem, heat transfer.

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Authors: Konstantinos Sotiriadis, Olesia Mikhailova

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In the present work, fly ash geopolymer based composites including polyester (PES) waste were studied. Specimens of three compositions were prepared: (a) fly ash geopolymer with 5% PES waste; (b) fly ash geopolymer mortar with 5% PES waste; (c) fly ash geopolymer mortar with 6.25% PES waste. Compressive and bending strength measurements, water absorption test and determination of thermal conductivity coefficient were performed. The results showed that the addition of sand in a mixture of geopolymer with 5% PES content led to higher compressive strength, while it increased water absorption and reduced thermal conductivity coefficient. The increase of PES addition in geopolymer mortars resulted in a more dense structure, indicated by the increase of strength and thermal conductivity and the decrease of water absorption.

Keywords: Fly ash, geopolymers, polyester waste, composites.

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Authors: Delowar Hossain, Genci Capi

Abstract:

This paper concerns with the problem of deep learning parameters tuning using a genetic algorithm (GA) in order to improve the performance of deep learning (DL) method. We present a GA based DL method for robot object recognition and grasping. GA is used to optimize the DL parameters in learning procedure in term of the fitness function that is good enough. After finishing the evolution process, we receive the optimal number of DL parameters. To evaluate the performance of our method, we consider the object recognition and robot grasping tasks. Experimental results show that our method is efficient for robot object recognition and grasping.

Keywords: Deep learning, genetic algorithm, object recognition, robot grasping.

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Authors: Norhashidah Hj. Mohd Ali, Teng Wai Ping

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a high order group explicit method in solving the two dimensional Helmholtz equation. The presented method is derived from a nine-point fourth order finite difference approximation formula obtained from a 45-degree rotation of the standard grid which makes it possible for the construction of iterative procedure with reduced complexity. The developed method will be compared with the existing group iterative schemes available in literature in terms of computational time, iteration counts, and computational complexity. The comparative performances of the methods will be discussed and reported.

Keywords: Explicit group method, finite difference, Helmholtz equation, rotated grid, standard grid.

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Authors: Sadegh Papari, Mohammad Kazemeini, Moslem Fattahi

Abstract:

In the present study, a heterogeneous and homogeneous gas flow dispersion model for simulation and optimisation of a large-scale catalytic slurry reactor for the direct synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from syngas and CO2, using a churn-turbulent regime was developed. In the heterogeneous gas flow model the gas phase was distributed into two bubble phases: small and large, however in the homogeneous one, the gas phase was distributed into only one large bubble phase. The results indicated that the heterogeneous gas flow model was in more agreement with experimental pilot plant data than the homogeneous one.

Keywords: Modelling, Slurry bubble column, Dimethyl ether synthesis, Homogeneous gas flow, Heterogeneous gas flow

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Authors: Awatef Chniguir, Tarek Farah, Zouhair Ben Jemaa, Safya Belguith

Abstract:

Optimal routing allows minimizing energy consumption in wireless sensor networks (WSN). Clustering has proven its effectiveness in organizing WSN by reducing channel contention and packet collision and enhancing network throughput under heavy load. Therefore, nowadays, with the emergence of the Internet of Things, heterogeneity is essential. Stable election protocol (SEP) that has increased the network stability period and lifetime is the first clustering protocol for heterogeneous WSN. SEP and its descendants, namely SEP, Threshold Sensitive SEP (TSEP), Enhanced TSEP (ETSSEP) and Current Energy Allotted TSEP (CEATSEP), were studied. These algorithms’ performance was evaluated based on different metrics, especially first node death (FND), to compare their stability. Simulations were conducted on the MATLAB tool considering two scenarios: The first one demonstrates the fraction variation of advanced nodes by setting the number of total nodes. The second considers the interpretation of the number of nodes while keeping the number of advanced nodes permanent. CEATSEP outperforms its antecedents by increasing stability and, at the same time, keeping a low throughput. It also operates very well in a large-scale network. Consequently, CEATSEP has a useful lifespan and energy efficiency compared to the other routing protocol for heterogeneous WSN.

Keywords: Clustering, heterogeneous, stability, scalability, throughput, IoT, WSN.

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Authors: Omid Gervei, Ahmad Ayatollahi, Navid Gervei

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In this paper we present an approach for 3D face recognition based on extracting principal components of range images by utilizing modified PCA methods namely 2DPCA and bidirectional 2DPCA also known as (2D) 2 PCA.A preprocessing stage was implemented on the images to smooth them using median and Gaussian filtering. In the normalization stage we locate the nose tip to lay it at the center of images then crop each image to a standard size of 100*100. In the face recognition stage we extract the principal component of each image using both 2DPCA and (2D) 2 PCA. Finally, we use Euclidean distance to measure the minimum distance between a given test image to the training images in the database. We also compare the result of using both methods. The best result achieved by experiments on a public face database shows that 83.3 percent is the rate of face recognition for a random facial expression.

Keywords: 3D face recognition, 2DPCA, (2D) 2 PCA, Rangeimage

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Authors: Vedansh Gupta, Allyson Lutz, Ameen Razavi, Fatemeh Shirazi

Abstract:

The agriculture industry is especially vulnerable to forecasted water shortages. In the fresh and fresh-cut produce sector, conventional flume-based washing with recirculation exhibits high water demand. This leads to a large water footprint and possible cross-contamination of pathogens. These can be alleviated through advanced water reuse processes, such as membrane technologies including reverse osmosis (RO). Water reuse technologies effectively remove dissolved constituents but can easily foul without pre-treatment. Biological treatment is effective for the removal of organic compounds responsible for fouling, but not at the low temperatures encountered at most produce processing facilities. This study showed that the Microvi MicroNiche Engineering (MNE) technology effectively removes organic compounds (> 80%) at low temperatures (6-8 °C) from wash water. The MNE technology uses synthetic microorganism-material composites with negligible solids production, making it advantageously situated as an effective bio-pretreatment for RO. A preliminary technoeconomic analysis showed 60-80% savings in operation and maintenance costs (OPEX) when using the Microvi MNE technology for organics removal. This study and the accompanying economic analysis indicated that the proposed technology process will substantially reduce the cost barrier for adopting water reuse practices, thereby contributing to increased food safety and furthering sustainable water reuse processes across the agricultural industry.

Keywords: Biological pre-treatment, innovative technology, vegetable processing, water reuse, agriculture, reverse osmosis, MNE biocatalysts.

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Authors: Blessing Ojeme, Frederick Quinn, Russell Karls, Shannon Quinn

Abstract:

The detection and segmentation of mitochondria from fluorescence microscopy is crucial for understanding the complex structure of the nervous system. However, the constant fission and fusion of mitochondria and image distortion in the background make the task of detection and segmentation challenging. Although there exists a number of open-source software tools and artificial intelligence (AI) methods designed for analyzing mitochondrial images, the availability of only a few combined expertise in the medical field and AI required to utilize these tools poses a challenge to its full adoption and use in clinical settings. Motivated by the advantages of automated methods in terms of good performance, minimum detection time, ease of implementation, and cross-platform compactibility, this study proposes a fully automated framework for the detection and segmentation of mitochondria using both image shape information and descriptive statistics. Using the low-cost, open-source Python and OpenCV library, the algorithms are implemented in three stages: pre-processing; image binarization; and coarse-to-fine segmentation. The proposed model is validated using the fluorescence mitochondrial dataset. Ground truth labels generated using Labkit were also used to evaluate the performance of our detection and segmentation model using precision, recall and rand index. The study produces good detection and segmentation results and reports the challenges encountered during the image analysis of mitochondrial morphology from the fluorescence mitochondrial dataset. A discussion on the methods and future perspectives of fully automated frameworks concludes the paper.

Keywords: 2D, Binarization, CLAHE, detection, fluorescence microscopy, mitochondria, segmentation.

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Authors: M.Z. Norashikin, M.Z. Ibrahim

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This report shows the performance of composite biodegradable film from chitosan, starch and sawdust fiber. The main objectives of this research are to fabricate and characterize composite biodegradable film in terms of morphology and physical properties. The film was prepared by casting method. Sawdust fiber was used as reinforcing agent and starch as polymer matrix in the casting solution. The morphology of the film was characterized using atomic force microscope (AFM). The result showed that the film has smooth structure. Chemical composition of the film was investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) where the result revealed present of starch in the film. The thermal properties were characterized using thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) where the results showed that the film has small difference in melting and degradation temperature.

Keywords: Sawdust, composite, film, biodegradable.

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Authors: Abdulkarim Mohammed Iliyasu, Mahmud Abba Tahir

Abstract:

Freezing and thawing are considered to be one of the major causes of concrete deterioration in the cold regions. This study aimed at assessing the freezing and thawing of concrete within the cover zone by monitoring the formation of ice and melting at different temperatures using electrical measurement technique. A multi-electrode array system was used to obtain the resistivity of ice formation and melting at discrete depths within the cover zone of the concrete. A total number of four concrete specimens (250 mm x 250 mm x 150 mm) made of ordinary Portland cement concrete and ordinary Portland cement replaced by 65% ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is investigated. Water/binder ratios of 0.35 and 0.65 were produced and ponded with water to ensure full saturation and then subjected to freezing and thawing process in a refrigerator within a temperature range of -30 ⁰C and 20 ⁰C over a period of time 24 hours. The data were collected and analysed. The obtained results show that the addition of GGBS changed the pore structure of the concrete which resulted in the decrease in conductance. It was recommended among others that, the surface of the concrete structure should be protected as this will help to prevent the instantaneous propagation of ice trough the rebar and to avoid corrosion and subsequent damage.

Keywords: Concrete, conductance, deterioration, freezing and thawing, ordinary Portland cement.

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Authors: Mahdi Sharifian, Mohammad Ali Fanaei

Abstract:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker-s yeast) can exhibit sustained oscillations during the operation in a continuous bioreactor that adversely affects its stability and productivity. Because of heterogeneous nature of cell populations, the cell population balance models can be used to capture the dynamic behavior of such cultures. In this paper an unstructured, segregated model is used which is based on population balance equation(PBE) and then in order to simulation, the 4th order Rung-Kutta is used for time dimension and three methods, finite difference, orthogonal collocation on finite elements and Galerkin finite element are used for discretization of the cell mass domain. The results indicate that the orthogonal collocation on finite element not only is able to predict the oscillating behavior of the cell culture but also needs much little time for calculations. Therefore this method is preferred in comparison with other methods. In the next step two controllers, a globally linearizing control (GLC) and a conventional proportional-integral (PI) controller are designed for controlling the total cell mass per unit volume, and performances of these controllers are compared through simulation. The results show that although the PI controller has simpler structure, the GLC has better performance.

Keywords: Bioreactor, cell population balance, finite difference, orthogonal collocation on finite elements, Galerkin finite element, feedback linearization, PI controller.

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Authors: Kevin Wongleedee

Abstract:

Culinary culture differences can cause health problems for international tourists in Thailand. This paper drew upon data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during summer of 2012. Summer is the period that a variety food safety issues and incidents are often publicized in Thailand. The survey targeted European Union tourists- concerns toward a variety of food safety issues that they encountered during their trip in Thailand. A total of 400 respondents were elicited as data input for t-test, and one way ANOVA test. The findings revealed an astonishing result that up to 46.5 percent of respondents were sick at least one time or more in Thailand. However, the majority of respondents trusted that the Thai hotel and Thai restaurants would ensure food safety, but they did not trust street vendors to ensure food safety. The level of food safety concern can be ranked from most concern to least concern by using the value of mean scores as follows: 1) artificial coloring, 2) use of preservatives, 3) antibiotics, 4) growth hormones, 5) chemical residues, and 6) bacterial contamination. The overall mean score for level of concerns was 3.493 with standard deviation of 1.677 which did not indicate a very high level of concern. In addition, the result for t-test and one way ANOVA test revealed that there was not much effect from the demographic differences to level of food safety concerns.

Keywords: Concerns, European Union Tourists, Food Safety Management.

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Authors: Marcos Devaner, Marcela Alves, Cledson Braga, Fabiano Alves, Wilton Bezerra

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This article discusses the inclusion of people with disabilities in the process of testing an accessible system solution for distance education. The accessible system, team profile, methodologies and techniques covered in the testing process are presented. The testing process shown in this paper was designed from the experience with user. The testing process emerged from lessons learned from past experiences and the end user is present at all stages of the tests. Also, lessons learned are reported and how it was possible the maturing of the team and the methods resulting in a simple, productive and effective process.

Keywords: Experience report, accessible systems, software testing, testing process, systems, e-learning.

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Authors: Saeid Khajehmandali, Fattah Mollakarimi, Zohreh Seyf

Abstract:

There was a high rate of corrosion in Pyrolysis Gasoline Hydrogenation (PGH) unit of Arak Petrochemical Company (ARPC), and it caused some operational problem in this plant. A commercial chemical had been used as anti-corrosion in the depentanizer column overhead in order to control the corrosion rate. Injection of commercial corrosion inhibitor caused some operational problems such as fouling in some heat exchangers. It was proposed to replace this commercial material with another more effective trouble free, and well-known additive by R&D and operation specialists. At first, the system was simulated by commercial simulation software in electrolytic system to specify low pH points inside the plant. After a very comprehensive study of the situation and technical investigations ,ammonia / monoethanol amine solution was proposed as neutralizer or corrosion inhibitor to be injected in a suitable point of the plant. For this purpose, the depentanizer column and its accessories system was simulated again in case of this solution injection. According to the simulation results, injection of new anticorrosion substance has no any side effect on C5 cut product and operating conditions of the column. The corrosion rate will be cotrolled, if the pH remains at the range of 6.5 to 8 . Aactual plant test run was also carried out by injection of ammonia / monoethanol amine solution at the rate of 0.6 Kg/hr and the results of iron content of water samples and corrosion test coupons confirmed the simulation results. Now, ammonia / monoethanol amine solution is injected to a suitable pint inside the plant and corrosion rate has decreased significantly.

Keywords: Corrosion, Pyrolysis Gasoline, Simulation, Corrosion test copoun.

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Authors: F. A. M. Elfaki, Amar Abobakar, M. Azram, M. Usman

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This paper discusses regression analysis of partly interval-censored failure time data, which is occur in many fields including demographical, epidemiological, financial, medical and sociological studies. For the problem, we focus on the situation where the survival time of interest can be described by the additive hazards model in the present of partly interval-censored. A major advantage of the approach is its simplicity and it can be easily implemented by using R software. Simulation studies are conducted which indicate that the approach performs well for practical situations and comparable to the existing methods. The methodology is applied to a set of partly interval-censored failure time data arising from anti D in Rhesus D negative studies.

Keywords: Anti D in Rhesus D negative, Cox’s model, EM algorithm.

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Authors: Marinela Mircea

Abstract:

The development of information and communication technology, the increased use of the internet, as well as the effects of the recession within the last years, have lead to the increased use of cloud computing based solutions, also called on-demand solutions. These solutions offer a large number of benefits to organizations as well as challenges and risks, mainly determined by data visualization in different geographic locations on the internet. As far as the specific risks of cloud environment are concerned, data security is still considered a peak barrier in adopting cloud computing. The present study offers an approach upon ensuring the security of cloud data, oriented towards the whole data life cycle. The final part of the study focuses on the assessment of data security in the cloud, this representing the bases in determining the potential losses and the premise for subsequent improvements and continuous learning.

Keywords: cloud computing, data life cycle, data security, security assessment.

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Authors: Robert Cep, Marek Sadilek, Lenka Ocenasova, Josef Brychta, Michal Hatala, Branimir Barisic

Abstract:

This paper presents a solution for ceramic cutting tools availability in interrupted machining. Experiments were performed on a special fixture – the interrupted cut simulator. This fixture was constructed at our Department of Machining and Assembly within the scope of a project by the Czech Science Foundation. The goals of the tests were to contribute to the wider usage of these cutting materials in machining, especially in interrupted machining. Through the centuries, producers of ceramic cutting tools have taken big steps forward. Namely, increasing durability in maintaining high levels of strength and hardness lends an advantage. Some producers of these materials advise cutting inserts for interrupted machining at the present time [1, 2].

Keywords: Ceramic cutting tool, cutting tool tests, interrupted cutting, machining.

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Authors: R. A. Harun, N. M. Ishak, N. Yusoff, S. Amat

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This quantitative research is aimed to identify the level of leadership quality and emotional intelligence for members of Students' Representatives Council (SRC) of Malaysian Public Universities (MPU). The variables include the leadership quality and emotional quotient (EQ). 238 SRC members in MPU were selected as subjects of the study. Data were collected using two instruments i.e. Malaysian Emotional Quotient Inventory (MEQI) and Ayu-Noriah Leadership Audit Trail Inventory (Ayu-Noriah, LATI). Data were analyzed using descriptive (mean and percentage). Research findings showed that the subjects scored highly in four out of five EQ domains (Self-Regulations, Self-Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills). However, the subjects scored medium to low in Self-Awareness. Analysis on the sub domains (a total of 28 sub domains) showed that the subjects scored high in 17 sub domains for EQ, whilst another 11 were at medium level. The overall analysis indicates that the subjects have high level of EQ. Findings on their leadership qualities showed that they obtained high scores in all seven factors that were measured i.e. Strategy and Leadership Model, Recruit, Review Performance and Honor, Deploy Strategically, Developing, Engage and Retain and Built HR Capabilities/Line Ownership. The overall score for leadership qualities was found to be high.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence, leadership, students.

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Authors: Nuralam Sam, Irawan Yusuf, Irfan Idris, Endi Adnan

Abstract:

Frozen shoulder (FS) is an insidious, painful condition caused by an inflammatory condition that causes fibrosis of the glenohumeral joint capsule, which causes progressive stiffness and restriction of the active and passive range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder. The studies of FS are still limited. This single-blinded randomized controlled trial involved participants with FS. The study participants were divided into two groups. The Prolotherapy group was the study group, and the Normal Saline (NS) group was the control group. Both groups were given injections at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6. Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and Tissue Inhibitor Metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were measured at week six and week 12 after the last injection. The Disabilities of The Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Score and ROM were measured at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 before and after injection and week 12. Comparative analysis was performed using repeated measures Paired T-Test, and data processing to assess correlation was using ANOVA. The result showed a significant decrease in The Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score in prolotherapy injection patients in each measurement week (p < 0.05). While the measurement of ROM, each direction of shoulder motion showed a significant difference in average each week, from week 0 to week 6 (p < 0.05). Dextrose prolotherapy injection results significantly improved the functional outcome of the shoulder joint and ROM. They did not show significant results in assessing the specific biomarker, MMP-1, and TIMP-1, in tissue repair. This study suggests an alternative to injection prolotherapy in FS patients; it has minimal adverse effects and is efficient in time and cost.

Keywords: Frozen Shoulder, ROM, DASH Score, prolotherapy, MMP-1, TIMP-1.

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Authors: Hans H. Diel

Abstract:

In this paper a functional interpretation of quantum theory (QT) with emphasis on quantum field theory (QFT) is proposed. Besides the usual statements on relations between a functions initial state and final state, a functional interpretation also contains a description of the dynamic evolution of the function. That is, it describes how things function. The proposed functional interpretation of QT/QFT has been developed in the context of the author-s work towards a computer model of QT with the goal of supporting the largest possible scope of QT concepts. In the course of this work, the author encountered a number of problems inherent in the translation of quantum physics into a computer program. He came to the conclusion that the goal of supporting the major QT concepts can only be satisfied, if the present model of QT is supplemented by a "functional interpretation" of QT/QFT. The paper describes a proposal for that

Keywords: Computability, Foundation of Quantum Mechanics, Measurement Problem, Models of Physics.

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