Search results for: high temperature water

Authors: Robersy Sánchez, Ricardo Grau

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A plausible architecture of an ancient genetic code is derived from an extended base triplet vector space over the Galois field of the extended base alphabet {D, G, A, U, C}, where the letter D represent one or more hypothetical bases with unspecific pairing. We hypothesized that the high degeneration of a primeval genetic code with five bases and the gradual origin and improvements of a primitive DNA repair system could make possible the transition from the ancient to the modern genetic code. Our results suggest that the Watson-Crick base pairing and the non-specific base pairing of the hypothetical ancestral base D used to define the sum and product operations are enough features to determine the coding constraints of the primeval and the modern genetic code, as well as the transition from the former to the later. Geometrical and algebraic properties of this vector space reveal that the present codon assignment of the standard genetic code could be induced from a primeval codon assignment. Besides, the Fourier spectrum of the extended DNA genome sequences derived from the multiple sequence alignment suggests that the called period-3 property of the present coding DNA sequences could also exist in the ancient coding DNA sequences.

Keywords: Genetic code vector space, primeval genetic code, power spectrum.

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Authors: Dalia Suša Vugec, Ana-Marija Stjepić, Darija Ivandić Vidović

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Digital transformation is one of the latest trends on the global market. In order to maintain the competitive advantage and sustainability, increasing number of organizations are conducting digital transformation processes. Those organizations are changing their business processes and creating new business models with the help of digital technologies. In that sense, one should also observe the role of business process management (BPM) and its maturity in driving digital transformation. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate the role of BPM in digital transformation process within one organization. Since experiences from practice show that organizations from financial sector could be observed as leaders in digital transformation, an insurance company has been selected to participate in the study. That company has been selected due to the high level of its BPM maturity and the fact that it has previously been through a digital transformation process. In order to fulfill the goals of the paper, several interviews, as well as questionnaires, have been conducted within the selected company. The results are presented in a form of a case study. Results indicate that digital transformation process within the observed company has been successful, with special focus on the development of digital strategy, BPM and change management. The role of BPM in the digital transformation of the observed company is further discussed in the paper.

Keywords: Business process management, case study, Croatia, digital transformation, insurance company.

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Authors: Mariyam Arif, Ye Liu, Israr Ul Haq, Ahsan Ashfaq

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High cost of fossil fuels and intensifying installations of alternate energy generation sources are intimidating main challenges in power systems. Making accurate load forecasting an important and challenging task for optimal energy planning and management at both distribution and generation side. There are many techniques to forecast load but each technique comes with its own limitation and requires data to accurately predict the forecast load. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is one such technique to efficiently forecast the load. Comparison between two different ranges of input datasets has been applied to dynamic ANN technique using MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox. It has been observed that selection of input data on training of a network has significant effects on forecasted results. Day-wise input data forecasted the load accurately as compared to year-wise input data. The forecasted load is then distributed among the six generators by using the linear programming to get the optimal point of generation. The algorithm is then verified by comparing the results of each generator with their respective generation limits.

Keywords: Artificial neural networks, demand-side management, economic dispatch, linear programming, power generation dispatch.

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Authors: M. Zarei, A. Roozegar, R. Kazemzadeh, J.M. Kauffmann

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This paper describes an efficient and practical method for economic dispatch problem in one and two area electrical power systems with considering the constraint of the tie transmission line capacity constraint. Direct search method (DSM) is used with some equality and inequality constraints of the production units with any kind of fuel cost function. By this method, it is possible to use several inequality constraints without having difficulty for complex cost functions or in the case of unavailability of the cost function derivative. To minimize the number of total iterations in searching, process multi-level convergence is incorporated in the DSM. Enhanced direct search method (EDSM) for two area power system will be investigated. The initial calculation step size that causes less iterations and then less calculation time is presented. Effect of the transmission tie line capacity, between areas, on economic dispatch problem and on total generation cost will be studied; line compensation and active power with reactive power dispatch are proposed to overcome the high generation costs for this multi-area system.

Keywords: Economic dispatch, Power System Operation, Direct Search Method, Transmission Capacity Constraint.

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Authors: Joseph E. Hummer

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An efficient freeway system will be essential to the development of Africa, and interchanges are a key to that efficiency. Around the world, many interchanges between freeways and surface streets, called service interchanges, are of the diamond configuration, and interchanges using roundabouts or loop ramps are also popular. However, many diamond interchanges have serious operational problems, interchanges with roundabouts fail at high demand levels, and loops use lots of expensive land. Newer service interchange designs provide other options. The most popular new interchange design in the US at the moment is the double crossover diamond (DCD), also known as the diverging diamond. The DCD has enormous potential, but also has several significant limitations. The objectives of this paper are to review new service interchange options and to highlight some of the main features of those alternatives. The paper tests four conventional and seven unconventional designs using seven measures related to efficiency, cost, and safety. The results show that there is no superior design in all measures investigated. The DCD is better than most designs tested on most measures examined. However, the DCD was only superior to all other designs for bridge width. The DCD performed relatively poorly for capacity and for serving pedestrians. Based on the results, African freeway designers are encouraged to investigate the full range of alternatives that could work at the spot of interest. Diamonds and DCDs have their niches, but some of the other designs investigated could be optimum at some spots.

Keywords: Alternative, design, diverging diamond, freeway, interchange.

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Authors: Amer A. Hasan, Mehri Igci, Ersin Borazan, Rozhgar A. Khailany, Emine Bayraktar, Ahmet Arslan

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Gastric Cancer (GC) has high morbidity and fatality rate in various countries. It is still one of the most frequent and deadly diseases. Gastrokine1 (GKN1) and gastrokine2 (GKN2) genes are highly expressed in the normal stomach epithelium and play important roles in maintaining the integrity and homeostasis of stomach mucosal epithelial cells. In this study, 47 paired samples that were grouped according to the types of gastric cancer and the clinical characteristics of the patients, including gender and average of age. They were investigated with gene expression analysis and mutation screening by monitoring RT-PCR, SSCP and nucleotide sequencing techniques. Both GKN1 and GKN2 genes were observed significantly reduced found by (Wilcoxon signed rank test; p<0.05). As a result of gene screening, no mutation (no different genotype) was detected. It is considered that gene mutations are not the cause of gastrokines inactivation. In conclusion, the mRNA expression level of GKN1 and GKN2 genes statistically was decreased regardless the gender, age, or cancer type of patients. Reduced of gastrokine genes seem to occur at the initial steps of gastric cancer development.

Keywords: Diagnostic biomarker, gastric cancer, nucleotide sequencing, semi-quantitative RT-PCR.

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Authors: Anjali Chatterjee, Nirmal Kumar Roy

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Economically transformers constitute one of the largest investments in a Power system. For this reason, transformer condition assessment and management is a high priority task. If a transformer fails, it would have a significant negative impact on revenue and service reliability. Monitoring the state of health of power transformers has traditionally been carried out using laboratory Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) tests performed at periodic intervals on the oil sample, collected from the transformers. DGA of transformer oil is the single best indicator of a transformer-s overall condition and is a universal practice today, which started somewhere in the 1960s. Failure can occur in a transformer due to different reasons. Some failures can be limited or prevented by maintenance. Oil filtration is one of the methods to remove the dissolve gases and prevent the deterioration of the oil. In this paper we analysis the DGA data by regression method and predict the gas concentration in the oil in the future. We bring about a comparative study of different traditional methods of regression and the errors generated out of their predictions. With the help of these data we can deduce the health of the transformer by finding the type of fault if it has occurred or will occur in future. Additional in this paper effect of filtration on the transformer health is highlight by calculating the probability of failure of a transformer with and without oil filtrating.

Keywords: Power Transformers, Dissolve gas Analysis, Regression method, Filtration, oil.

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Authors: O. E. Okafor, L. U. S. Ezeanyika, C. G. Nkwonta, C. J. Okonkwo

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The effect of processing on plasma lipid profile and atherogenic indices of rats fed Artocarpus heterophyllus seed diets at different concentrations were investigated. Fifty five rats were used for this study, they were divided into eleven groups of five rats each (one control group and ten test groups), the test groups were fed raw, boiled, roasted, fermented and soaked diets at 10% and 40% concentrations. The study lasted for thirty five days. The diets led to significant decrease (p<0.05) in plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol of rats fed 10% and 40% concentrations of the diets, and a significant increase (p<0.05) in high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels at 40% concentrations of the test diets. The diets also produced decrease in low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), cardiac risk ratio (CRR), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and atherogenic coefficient (AC) at 40% concentrations except the soaked group that showed slight elevation of LDL, CRR, AC and AIP at 40% concentration. Artocarpus heterophyllus seeds could be beneficial to health because of its ability to increase plasma HDL and reduce plasma LDL, VLDL, cholesterol, triglycerides and atherogenic indices at higher diet concentration.

Keywords: Artocarpus heterophyllus, atherogenic indices, concentrations, lipid profile.

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Authors: Sabina Baraković, Dragan Jevtić, Jasmina Baraković Husić

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Wireless mobile communications have experienced the phenomenal growth through last decades. The advances in wireless mobile technologies have brought about a demand for high quality multimedia applications and services. For such applications and services to work, signaling protocol is required for establishing, maintaining and tearing down multimedia sessions. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application layer signaling protocols, based on request/response transaction model. This paper considers SIP INVITE transaction over an unreliable medium, since it has been recently modified in Request for Comments (RFC) 6026. In order to help in assuring that the functional correctness of this modification is achieved, the SIP INVITE transaction is modeled and analyzed using Colored Petri Nets (CPNs). Based on the model analysis, it is concluded that the SIP INVITE transaction is free of livelocks and dead codes, and in the same time it has both desirable and undesirable deadlocks. Therefore, SIP INVITE transaction should be subjected for additional updates in order to eliminate undesirable deadlocks. In order to reduce the cost of implementation and maintenance of SIP, additional remodeling of the SIP INVITE transaction is recommended.

Keywords: Colored Petri Nets, SIP INVITE, state space, dead marking

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Authors: Abdul Wasy, Balakrishnan G., Yi Qi Wang, Atta Ur Rehman, Jung Il Song

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Vickers indentation is used to measure the hardness of materials. In this study, numerical simulation of Vickers indentation experiment was performed for Diamond like Carbon (DLC) coated materials. DLC coatings were deposited on stainless steel 304 substrates with Chromium buffer layer using RF Magnetron and T-shape Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc Dual system The objective of this research is to understand the elastic plastic properties, stress strain distribution, ring and lateral crack growth and propagation, penetration depth of indenter and delamination of coating from substrate with effect of buffer layer thickness. The effect of Poisson-s ratio of DLC coating was also analyzed. Indenter penetration is more in coated materials with thin buffer layer as compared to thicker one, under same conditions. Similarly, the specimens with thinner buffer layer failed quickly due to high residual stress as compared to the coated materials with reasonable thickness of 200nm buffer layer. The simulation results suggested the optimized thickness of 200 nm among the prepared specimens for durable and long service.

Keywords: Thin film, buffer layer. Diamond like Carbon, Vickers indentation, Poisson's ratio, Finite element.

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Authors: Riam Abu-Much, Muhamad Hugerat

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Nanoscience has become one of the main science fields in the world; its importance is reflected in both society and industry; therefore, it is very important to intensify educational programs among teachers and students that aim to introduce "Nano Concepts" to them. Two different lab activities were developed for demonstrating the importance of nanoscale materials using unique points of view. In the first, electrical conductive films made of silver nanoparticles were fabricated. The silver nanoparticles were protected against aggregation using electrical conductive polypyrrole, which acts also as conductive bridge between them. The experiments show a simpler way for fabricating conductive thin film than the much more complicated and costly conventional method. In the second part, the participants could produce emulsions of liposome structures using Phosphatidylcholine as a surfactant, and following by minimizing the size of it from micro-scale to nanometer scale (400 nm), using simple apparatus called Mini-Extruder, in that way the participants could realize the change in solution transparency, and the effect of Tyndall when the size of the liposomes is reduced. Freshmen students from the Academic Arab College for Education in Haifa, Israel, who are studying to become science teachers, participated in this lab activity as part of the course "Chemistry in the Lab". These experiments are appropriate for teachers, high school and college students.

Keywords: Case study, colloid, emulsion, liposome, surfactant.

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Authors: O. Zimbili, W. Salim, M. Ndambuki

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Construction and Demolition (C&D) wastes contribute the highest percentage of wastes worldwide (75%). Furthermore, ceramic materials contribute the highest percentage of wastes within the C&D wastes (54%). The current option for disposal of ceramic wastes is landfill. This is due to unavailability of standards, avoidance of risk, lack of knowledge and experience in using ceramic wastes in construction. The ability of ceramic wastes to act as a pozzolanic material in the production of cement has been effectively explored. The results proved that temperatures used in the manufacturing of these tiles (about 900⁰C) are sufficient to activate pozzolanic properties of clay. They also showed that, after optimization (11-14% substitution); the cement blend performs better, with no morphological difference between the cement blended with ceramic waste, and that blended with other pozzolanic materials. Sanitary ware and electrical insulator porcelain wastes are some wastes investigated for usage as aggregates in concrete production. When optimized, both produced good results, better than when natural aggregates are used. However, the research on ceramic wastes as partial substitute for fine aggregates or cement has not been overly exploited as the other areas. This review has been concluded with focus on investigating whether ceramic wall tile wastes used as partial substitute for cement and fine aggregates could prove to be beneficial since the two materials are the most high-priced during concrete production.

Keywords: Blended, morphological, pozzolanic properties, waste.

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Authors: Emmy Pratiwi, Ketut B. Artana, A. A. B. Dinariyana

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Madura Strait is considered as one of the busiest shipping channels in Indonesia. High vessel traffic density in Madura Strait gives serious threat due to navigational safety in this area, i.e. ship collision. This study is necessary as an attempt to enhance the safety of marine traffic. Fuzzy inference system (FIS) is proposed to calculate risk collision of ships. Collision risk is evaluated based on ship domain, Distance to Closest Point of Approach (DCPA), and Time to Closest Point of Approach (TCPA). Data were collected by utilizing Automatic Identification System (AIS). This study considers several ships’ domain models to give the characteristic of marine traffic in the waterways. Each encounter in the ship domain is analyzed to obtain the level of collision risk. Risk level of ships, as the result in this study, can be used as guidance to avoid the accident, providing brief description about safety traffic in Madura Strait and improving the navigational safety in the area.

Keywords: Automatic identification system, collision risk, DCPA, fuzzy inference system, TCPA.

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Authors: Fu-Hsuan Huang, Po-Jung Yuan, Kang-Ping Lin, Hen-Hong Chang, Cheng-Lun Tsai

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Photoplethysmography is a simple measurement of the variation in blood volume in tissue. It detects the pulse signal of heart beat as well as the low frequency signal of vasoconstriction and vasodilation. The transmission type measurement is limited to only a few specific positions for example the index finger that have a short path length for light. The reflectance type measurement can be conveniently applied on most parts of the body surface. This study analyzed the factors that determine the quality of reflectance photoplethysmograph signal including the emitter-detector distance, wavelength, light intensity, and optical properties of skin tissue. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) with four different visible wavelengths were used as the light emitters. A phototransistor was used as the light detector. A micro translation stage adjusts the emitter-detector distance from 2 mm to 15 mm. The reflective photoplethysmograph signals were measured on different sites. The optimal emitter-detector distance was chosen to have a large dynamic range for low frequency drifting without signal saturation and a high perfusion index. Among these four wavelengths, a yellowish green (571nm) light with a proper emitter-detection distance of 2mm is the most suitable for obtaining a steady and reliable reflectance photoplethysmograph signal

Keywords: Reflectance photoplethysmograph, Perfusion index, Signal-to-noise ratio

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Authors: Yi Chao Ma, Cheng Siong Chin, Wai Lok Woo

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Since the last decade, there has been a rapid growth in digital multimedia, such as high-resolution media files and threedimentional movies. Hence, there is a need for large digital storage such as Hard Disk Drive (HDD). As such, users expect to have a quieter HDD in their laptop. In this paper, a jury test has been conducted on a group of 34 people where 17 of them are students who are the potential consumer, and the remaining are engineers who know the HDD. A total 13 HDD sound samples have been selected from over hundred HDD noise recordings. These samples are selected based on an agreed subjective feeling. The samples are played to the participants using head acoustic playback system, which enabled them to experience as similar as possible the same environment as have been recorded. Analysis has been conducted and the obtained results have indicated different group has different perception over the noises. Two neural network-based acoustic annoyance models are established based on back propagation neural network. Four psychoacoustic metrics, loudness, sharpness, roughness and fluctuation strength, are used as the input of the model, and the subjective evaluation results are taken as the output. The developed models are reasonably accurate in simulating both training and test samples.

Keywords: Hard disk drive noise, jury test, neural network model, psychoacoustic annoyance.

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Authors: Amir Amiri, Naghmeh Morakabati

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During the recent years the six-fold growth of cancer in Iran has led the production of healthy products to become a challenge in the food industry. Due to the young population in the country, the consumption of fast foods is growing. The chemical cancer-causing preservatives are used to produce these products more than the standard; so using an appropriate alternative seems to be important. On the one hand, the plant essential oils show the high antimicrobial potential against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and on the other hand they are highly volatile and decomposed under the processing conditions. The study aims to produce the loaded chitosan nanoparticles with different concentrations of savory essential oil to improve the anti-microbial property and increase the resistance of essential oil to oxygen and heat. The encapsulation efficiency was obtained in the range of 32.07% to 39.93% and the particle size distribution of the samples was observed in the range of 159 to 210 nm. The range of Zeta potential was obtained between -11.9 to -23.1 mV. The essential oil loaded in chitosan showed stronger antifungal activity against Rhizopus stolonifer. The results showed that the antioxidant property is directly related to the concentration of loaded essential oil so that the antioxidant property increases by increasing the concentration of essential oil. In general, it seems that the savory essential oil loaded in chitosan particles can be used as a food processor.

Keywords: Chitosan, encapsulation, essential oil, nanogel.

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Authors: H. Yilmaz Atay

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Huntite and hydromagnesite minerals have been used as additive materials to achieve incombustible material due to their inflammability property. Those fire retardants materials can help to extinguish in the early stages of fire. Thus dispersion of the flame can be prevented even if the fire started. Huntite and hydromagnesite minerals are known to impart fire-proofing of the polymer composites. However, the additives used in the applications led to deterioration in the mechanical properties due to the usage of high amount of the powders in the composites. In this study, by enriching huntite and hydromagnesite, it was aimed to use purer minerals to reinforce the polymer composites. Thus, predictably, using purer mineral will lead to use lower amount of mineral powders. By this manner, the minerals free from impurities by various processes were added to the polymer matrix with different loading level and grades. Different types of samples were manufactured, and subsequently characterized by XRD, SEM-EDS, XRF and flame-retardant tests. Tensile strength and elongation at break values were determined according to loading levels and grades. Besides, a comparison on the properties of the polymer composites produced by using of minerals with and without impurities was performed. As a result of the work, it was concluded that it is required to use beneficiated minerals to provide better fire-proofing behaviors in the polymer composites.

Keywords: Huntite, hdromagnesite, flame retardant, mechanical property, polymeric composites.

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Authors: Mohd Sukri Hassan, Ahlam Inayatullah Badrul Munir, M. Husaini A. Rahman

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Halal authentication and verification in supplement capsules are highly required as the gelatine available in the market can be from halal or non-halal sources. It is an obligation for Muslim to consume and use the halal consumer goods. At present, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the most common technique being used for the detection of porcine and bovine DNA in gelatine due to high sensitivity of the technique and higher stability of DNA compared to protein. In this study, twenty samples of supplements capsules from different products with different Halal logos were analyzed for porcine and bovine DNA using RT-PCR. Standard bovine and porcine gelatine from eurofins at a range of concentration from 10^-1 to 10^-5 ng/µl were used to determine the linearity range, limit of detection and specificity on RT-PCR (SYBR Green method). RT-PCR detected porcine (two samples), bovine (four samples) and mixture of porcine and bovine (six samples). The samples were also tested using FT-IR technique where normalized peak of IR spectra were pre-processed using Savitsky Golay method before Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed on the database. Scores plot of PCA shows three clusters of samples; bovine, porcine and mixture (bovine and porcine). The RT-PCR and FT-IR with chemometrics technique were found to give same results for porcine gelatine samples which can be used for Halal authentication.

Keywords: Halal, real-time PCR, gelatin, FTIR and chemometrics.

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Authors: Hani Mekdash, Lina Jaber, Yehia Temsah

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Underground space is becoming a necessity nowadays, especially in highly congested urban areas. Retaining underground excavations using shoring systems is essential in order to protect adjoining structures from potential damage or collapse. Reinforced Concrete Piles (RCP) supported by multiple rows of tie-back anchors are commonly used type of shoring systems in deep excavations. However, executing anchors can sometimes be challenging because they might illegally trespass neighboring properties or get obstructed by infrastructure and other underground facilities. A technique is proposed in this paper, and it involves the addition of eccentric high-strength steel strands to the RCP section through ducts without providing the pile with lateral supports. The strands are then vertically stressed externally on the pile cap using a hydraulic jack, creating a compressive strengthening force in the concrete section. An experimental study about the behavior of the shoring wall by pre-stressed piles is presented during the execution of an open excavation in an urban area (Beirut city) followed by numerical analysis using finite element software. Based on the experimental results, this technique is proven to be cost-effective and provides flexible and sustainable construction of shoring works.

Keywords: Excavation, inclinometer, prestressing, shoring system.

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Authors: N. Basanta Singh, Sanjoy Deb, G. P Mishra, Subir Kumar Sarkar

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Carrier mobility has become the most important characteristic of high speed low dimensional devices. Due to development of very fast switching semiconductor devices, speed of computer and communication equipment has been increasing day by day and will continue to do so in future. As the response of any device depends on the carrier motion within the devices, extensive studies of carrier mobility in the devices has been established essential for the growth in the field of low dimensional devices. Small-signal ac transport of degenerate two-dimensional hot electrons in GaAs quantum wells is studied here incorporating deformation potential acoustic, polar optic and ionized impurity scattering in the framework of heated drifted Fermi-Dirac carrier distribution. Delta doping is considered in the calculations to investigate the effects of double delta doping on millimeter and submillimeter wave response of two dimensional hot electrons in GaAs nanostructures. The inclusion of delta doping is found to enhance considerably the two dimensional electron density which in turn improves the carrier mobility (both ac and dc) values in the GaAs quantum wells thereby providing scope of getting higher speed devices in future.

Keywords: Carrier mobility, Delta doping, Hot carriers, Quantum wells.

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Authors: Salinee Thumronglaohapun

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The proper number and appropriate locations of service centers can save cost, raise revenue and gain more satisfaction from customers. Establishing service centers is high-cost and difficult to relocate. In long-term planning periods, several factors may affect the service. One of the most critical factors is uncertain demand of customers. The opened service centers need to be capable of serving customers and making a profit although the demand in each period is changed. In this work, the capacitated location-allocation problem with stochastic demand is considered. A mathematical model is formulated to determine suitable locations of service centers and their allocation to maximize total profit for multiple planning periods. Two heuristic methods, a local search and genetic algorithm, are used to solve this problem. For the local search, five different chances to choose each type of moves are applied. For the genetic algorithm, three different replacement strategies are considered. The results of applying each method to solve numerical examples are compared. Both methods reach to the same best found solution in most examples but the genetic algorithm provides better solutions in some cases.

Keywords: Location-allocation problem, stochastic demand, local search, genetic algorithm.

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Authors: Hanife Genç

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The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is an economically important and endemic pest in olive (Oleae europae) orchards in Turkey. The aim of this study was to determine olive fruit fly infestation in different olive cultivars in the laboratory. Olive fly infested fruits were collected in Çanakkale province to establish wild fly population. After having reproductive olive fly colonies, 14 olive cultivars were tested in the controlled laboratory conditions, at 23±2 °C, 65% RH and 16:8 h (light: dark) photoperiod. The olive samples from 14 different olive cultivars were collected in October 2015, in Campus of Dardanos, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Observations were carried out detecting some biological parameters such as the number of oviposition stings, active infestation, total infestation, the number of pupae and the adult emergence. The results indicated that oviposition stings were not associated with pupal yield. A few pupae were found within olive fruits which were not able to exit. Screening of the varieties suggested that less susceptible cultivar to olive fruit fly attacks was Arbequin while Gemlik-2M 2/3 showed significant susceptibility. Ovipositional preference of olive fly females and the success of larval development in different olive varieties are crucial for establishing new olive orchards to prevent high olive fruit fly infestation.

Keywords: Infestation, olive fruit fly, olive cultivars, oviposition sting.

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Authors: Shahriar Farzam, Maryam Rastgarpour

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Image denoising plays extremely important role in digital image processing. Enhancement of clinical image research based on Curvelet has been developed rapidly in recent years. In this paper, we present a method for image contrast enhancement for cone beam CT (CBCT) images based on fast discrete curvelet transforms (FDCT) that work through Unequally Spaced Fast Fourier Transform (USFFT). These transforms return a table of Curvelet transform coefficients indexed by a scale parameter, an orientation and a spatial location. Accordingly, the coefficients obtained from FDCT-USFFT can be modified in order to enhance contrast in an image. Our proposed method first uses a two-dimensional mathematical transform, namely the FDCT through unequal-space fast Fourier transform on input image and then applies thresholding on coefficients of Curvelet to enhance the CBCT images. Consequently, applying unequal-space fast Fourier Transform leads to an accurate reconstruction of the image with high resolution. The experimental results indicate the performance of the proposed method is superior to the existing ones in terms of Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Effective Measure of Enhancement (EME).

Keywords: Curvelet transform, image enhancement, CBCT, image denoising.

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Authors: Yan Yu, Wang Yu, Chen Xintong, Liu Yi, Zhang Yanzhong, Wang Yanji, Chen Xingyu, Zhang Miaocheng, Tong Yi

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Neuromorphic computing based on spiking neural networks (SNNs) has emerged as a promising avenue for building the next generation of intelligent computing systems. Owing to their high-density integration, low power, and outstanding nonlinearity, memristors have attracted emerging attention on achieving SNNs. However, fabricating a low-power and robust memristor-based spiking neuron without extra electrical components is still a challenge for brain-inspired systems. In this work, we demonstrate a TiO2-based threshold switching (TS) memristor to emulate a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neuron without auxiliary circuits, used to realize single layer fully connected (FC) SNNs. Moreover, our TiO2-based resistive switching (RS) memristors realize spiking-time-dependent-plasticity (STDP), originating from the Ag diffusion-based filamentary mechanism. This work demonstrates that TiO2-based memristors may provide an efficient method to construct hardware neuromorphic computing systems.

Keywords: Leaky integrate-and-fire, memristor, spiking neural networks, spiking-time-dependent-plasticity.

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Authors: A. Khourgami, M. Rafiee, H. Jafari, Z. Bitarafan

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To study the effect of suitable methods for propagation of True Potato Seed (TPS) progenies, transplant and selection of the best progenies, a factorial experiment base on a randomized complete block design was carried out in the research field of Sahneh region, Kermanshah, Iran during 2009-2010. Five selective progenies from CIP (International Potato Center) including CIP.994013, CIP.994002, CIP.994014, CIP.888006, and CIP.994001 and two transplant preparation methods (Paper pot preparation for mechanical cultivation and preparation in transplant trays for manual cultivation) were studied in three replications. Results showed that different progenies had no significant effect on plant height (cm) and tuber yield (t ha-1), whereas had a significant effect on number of tubers per unit area (m2). There was significant difference between transplant preparation methods for plant height and tuber yield. The interaction effect of progenies and transplant preparation method was not significant for these traits. CIP.888006 progeny and paper pot preparation method produced the highest tuber yields. Also CIP.994002 and CIP.994014 progenies considered as the best progenies under paper pot preparation method due to high yields.

Keywords: Potato, Solanum tuberosum, TPS progenies, Transplant preparation method

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Authors: C. Barreto Carvalho, C. da Motta, M. Sousa, J. Cabral, A. L. Carvalho, E. B. Peixoto

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The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a Response to Stressful Situations Scale (RSSS) for the Portuguese population. This scale assesses the degree of stress experienced in scenarios that can constitute positive, negative and more neutral stressors, and also describes the physiological, emotional and behavioral reactions to those events according to their intensity. These scenarios include typical stressor scenarios relevant to patients with schizophrenia, which are currently absent from most scales, assessing specific risks that these stressors may bring on subjects, which may prove useful in non-clinical and clinical populations (i.e. Patients with mood or anxiety disorders, schizophrenia). Results from Principal Components Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of two adult samples from general population allowed to confirm a three-factor model with good fit indices: χ2 (144)= 370.211, p = 0.000; GFI = 0.928; CFI = 0.927; TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.055, P(rmsea ≤0.005) = .096; PCFI = .781. Further data analysis of the scale revealed that RSSS is an adequate assessment tool of stress response in adults to be used in further research and clinical settings, with good psychometric characteristics, adequate divergent and convergent validity, good temporal stability and high internal consistency.

Keywords: Assessment, stress events, stress response, stress vulnerability.

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Authors: Nur Zahirah Zulhaimi, KuZilati KuShaari, Zakaria Man

Abstract:

Controlled release urea has become popular in agricultural industry as it helps to solve environmental issues and increase crop yield. Recently biomass was identified to replace the polymer used as a coating material in the conventional coated urea. In this paper spreading and contact angle of biomass droplet (lignin, cellulose and clay) on urea surface are investigated experimentally. There were two tests were conducted, sessile drop for contact angle measurement and pendant drop for contact angle measurement. A different concentration of biomass droplet was released from 30 mm above a substrate. Glass was used as a controlled substrate. Images were recorded as soon as the droplet impacted onto the urea before completely adsorb into the urea. Digitized droplets were then used to identify the droplet-s surface tension and contact angle. There is large difference observed between the low surface tension and high surface tension liquids, where the wetting and spreading diameter is higher for lower surface tension. From the contact angle results, the data showed that the biomass coating films were possible as wetting liquid (θ < 90º). Contact angle of biomass coating material gives good indication for the wettablity of a liquid on urea surface.

Keywords: Fluid, Dynamics, Droplet, Spreading, Contact Angle, Surface Tension.

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Authors: Hasan Basri Jumin, Abdur Rahman, M. Nur, Ernita, Tati Maharani

Abstract:

The swamp land contains high levels of iron and aluminum, as well as a low pH. Calcium and magnesium present in the rice husk ash can mitigate plant poisoning, thereby enhancing plant growth and fertility. Two main factors were considered in the study: The dosage of rice husk, and the rhizobium inoculant dosage, which was varied at 0.0 g/kg seed, 4.0 g/kg seed, 8.0 g/kg seed, and 12.0 g/kg seed. The plants were cultivated under controlled lighting conditions with a photoperiod of 11.45 to 12.15 hours. The combination of rhizobium inoculant and rice husk ash has demonstrated an interacting effect on the production of fresh weight in long bean pods. The mean relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, and pod fresh weight are increased by a combination of husk rice ash and rhizobium inoculant. Rice husk ash enhances nitrogen availability in the soil, even in cases of poor nutritional conditions. Rhizobium plays an active role in nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere, as it enhances both intercellular and symbiotic nitrogen capabilities in long beans. The combination of rice husk ash and rhizobium can effectively contribute to thriving soil conditions.

Keywords: Aluminum, calcium, fixation, iron, nitrogen.

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Authors: X. Wang, J. S. Kuang

Abstract:

The Fixed-angle Softened Truss Model with Tension-stiffening (FASTMT) has a superior performance in predicting the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) membrane elements, especially for the post-cracking behaviour. Nevertheless, massive computational work is inevitable due to the multiple transcendental equations involved in the stress-strain relationship. In this paper, an iterative root-finding technique is introduced to FASTMT for solving quickly the transcendental equations of the tension-stiffening effect of RC membrane elements. This fast FASTMT, which performs in MATLAB, uses the bisection method to calculate the tensile stress of the membranes. By adopting the simplification, the elapsed time of each loop is reduced significantly and the transcendental equations can be solved accurately. Owing to the high efficiency and good accuracy as compared with FASTMT, the fast FASTMT can be further applied in quick prediction of shear behaviour of complex large-scale RC structures.

Keywords: Bisection method, fixed-angle softened truss model with tension-stiffening, iterative root-finding technique, reinforced concrete membrane.

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Authors: Youngkuen Cho, Seonhong Hwang, Jinyoung Min, Youngho Kim, Dohyung Lim, Hansung Kim

Abstract:

Many studies have emphasized the importance of resistive exercise to maintain a healthy human body, particular in prevention of weakening of physical strength. Recently, some studies advocated that an application of vibration as a supplementary means in a regular training was effective in encouraging physical strength. Aim of the current study was, therefore, to identify if an application of vibration in a resistive exercise was effective in encouraging physical strength as that in a regular training. A 3-dimensional virtual lower extremity model for a healthy male and virtual leg-press model were generated and synchronized. Dynamic leg-press exercises on a slide machine with/without extra load and on a footboard with vibration as well as on a slide machine with extra load were analyzed. The results of the current indicated that the application of the vibration on the dynamic leg-press exercise might be not greatly effective in encouraging physical strength, compared with the dynamic leg press exercise with extra load. It was, however, thought that the application of the vibration might be helpful to elderly individuals because the reduced maximum muscle strength appeared by the effect of the vibration may avoid a muscular spasm, which can be driven from a high muscle strength sometimes produced during the leg-press exercise with extra load.

Keywords: Resistive exercise, leg-press exercise, muscle strength.

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