Search results for: body mass index

Authors: G. Tanapornraweekit, W. Kulsirikasem

Abstract:

This paper presents the simulation of fragmentation warhead using a hydrocode, Autodyn. The goal of this research is to determine the lethal range of such a warhead. This study investigates the lethal range of warheads with and without steel balls as preformed fragments. The results from the FE simulation, i.e. initial velocities and ejected spray angles of fragments, are further processed using an analytical approach so as to determine a fragment hit density and probability of kill of a modelled warhead. In order to simulate a plenty of preformed fragments inside a warhead, the model requires expensive computation resources. Therefore, this study attempts to model the problem in an alternative approach by considering an equivalent mass of preformed fragments to the mass of warhead casing. This approach yields approximately 7% and 20% difference of fragment velocities from the analytical results for one and two layers of preformed fragments, respectively. The lethal ranges of the simulated warheads are 42.6 m and 56.5 m for warheads with one and two layers of preformed fragments, respectively, compared to 13.85 m for a warhead without preformed fragment. These lethal ranges are based on the requirement of fragment hit density. The lethal ranges which are based on the probability of kill are 27.5 m, 61 m and 70 m for warheads with no preformed fragment, one and two layers of preformed fragments, respectively.

Keywords: Lethal Range, Natural Fragment, Preformed Fragment, Warhead.

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Authors: N. Charoenpokaraj, P. Chitman

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This research aims to study species, abundance, status of birds, the similarities and activity characteristics of birds which reap benefits from the research area in boat touring routes in Tha Ka sub-district, Amphawa District, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand. from October 2012 – September 2013. The data was analyzed to find the abundance, and similarity index of the birds. The results from the survey of birds on all three routes found that there are 33 families and 63 species. Route 3 (traditional coconut sugar making kiln – resort) had the most species; 56 species. There were 18 species of commonly found birds with an abundance level of 5, which calculates to 28.57% of all bird species. In August, 46 species are found, being the greatest number of bird species benefiting from this route. As for the status of the birds, there are 51 resident birds, 7 resident and migratory birds, and 5 migratory birds. On Route 2 and Route 3, the similarity index value is equal to 0.881. The birds are classified by their activity characteristics i.e. insectivore, piscivore, granivore, nectrivore and aquatic invertebrate feeder birds. Some birds also use the area for nesting.

Keywords: Bird diversity, boat touring routes, Samut Songkram.

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Authors: Y.K. Kim, Y.S. Jang, H.H. Park, J.H. Ji, I.S. Park, T.S. Bae, M.H. Lee

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Magnesium is used implant material potentially for non-toxicity to the human body. Due to the excellent bio-compatibility, Mg alloys is applied to implants avoiding removal second surgery. However, it is found commercial magnesium alloys including aluminum has low corrosion resistance, resulting subcutaneous gas bubbles and consequently the approach as permanent bio-materials. Generally, Aluminum is known to pollution substance, and it raises toxicity to nervous system. Therefore especially Mg-35Zn-3Ca alloy is prepared for new biodegradable materials in this study. And the pulsed power is used in constant-current mode of DC power kinds of anodization. Based on the aforementioned study, it examines corrosion resistance and biocompatibility by effect of current and frequency variation. The surface properties and thickness were compared using scanning electronic microscopy. Corrosion resistance was assessed via potentiodynamic polarization and the effect of oxide layer on the body was assessed cell viability. Anodized Mg-35Zn-3Ca alloy has good biocompatibility in vitro by current and frequency variation.

Keywords: Biodegradable material, Mg, anodization, osteoblast cell, pulse power.

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Authors: Yasser Elhenawy, M. Abd Elkader, Gamal H. Moustafa

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A theoretical study of a humidification dehumidification solar desalination unit has been carried out to increase understanding the effect of weather conditions on the unit productivity. A humidification-dehumidification (HD) solar desalination unit has been designed to provide fresh water for population in remote arid areas. It consists of solar water collector and air collector; to provide the hot water and air to the desalination chamber. The desalination chamber is divided into humidification and dehumidification towers. The circulation of air between the two towers is maintained by the forced convection. A mathematical model has been formulated, in which the thermodynamic relations were used to study the flow, heat and mass transfer inside the humidifier and dehumidifier. The present technique is performed in order to increase the unit performance. Heat and mass balance has been done and a set of governing equations has been solved using the finite difference technique. The unit productivity has been calculated along the working day during the summer and winter sessions and has compared with the available experimental results. The average accumulative productivity of the system in winter has been ranged between 2.5 to 4 (kg/m2)/day, while the average summer productivity has been found between 8 to 12 (kg/m2)/day.

Keywords: Finite difference, Dehumidification, Humidification, Solar desalination, Solar collector, Simulation, Water productivity.

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Authors: Amruta Khairnar, Joy Sen

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Disparity in India has been persisting since independence causing many socioeconomic problems and its removal has become the most prime objective of the planned development in India. Hence the paper attempts to study the disparity at State and Regional level and gives inclusive planning guidelines to achieve balanced regional development. At State level, the relative socioeconomic backwardness of Vidarbha Region based on Interregional analysis using selected indicators like Foreign Direct Investment, Human Development Index, Per Capita District Domestic Product has been assessed and broad guidelines have been proposed. In the later part at Regional level, the relative backwardness of districts based on Intraregional analysis using socioeconomic indicators has been assessed within Nagpur sub region and factors responsible for backwardness & disparity have been indicated. The policy guidelines for Identified sub region have been proposed based on the most significant factor and their extent of relationship explaining backwardness Nagpur sub region.

Keywords: Balanced Growth, Foreign Direct Investment, Human Development Index, Per Capita District Domestic Product, Regional Disparity, Socioeconomic Inequality, Vidarbha Region.

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Authors: Daewook Kim, Gilwon Yoon

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Intrabody communication (IBC) is a new way of transferring data using human body as a medium. Minute current can travel though human body without any harm. IBC can remove electrical wires for human area network. IBC can be also a secure communication network system unlike wireless networks which can be accessed by anyone with bad intentions. One of the IBC systems is based on frequency shift keying modulation where individual data are transmitted to the external devices for the purpose of secure access such as digital door lock. It was found that the quality of IBC data transmission was heavily dependent on ground configurations of electronic circuits. Reliable IBC transmissions were not possible when both of the transmitter and receiver used batteries as circuit power source. Transmission was reliable when power supplies were used as power source for both transmitting and receiving sites because the common ground was established through the grounds of instruments such as power supply and oscilloscope. This was due to transmission dipole size and the ground effects of floor and AC power line. If one site used battery as power source and the other site used the AC power as circuit power source, transmission was possible.

Keywords: Frequency shift keying, Ground, Intrabody, Communication, door lock.

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Authors: S. Sutha, N. Kamaraj

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In deregulated operating regime power system security is an issue that needs due thoughtfulness from researchers in the horizon of unbundling of generation and transmission. Electric power systems are exposed to various contingencies. Network contingencies often contribute to overloading of branches, violation of voltages and also leading to problems of security/stability. To maintain the security of the systems, it is desirable to estimate the effect of contingencies and pertinent control measurement can be taken on to improve the system security. This paper presents the application of particle swarm optimization algorithm to find the optimal location of multi type FACTS devices in a power system in order to eliminate or alleviate the line over loads. The optimizations are performed on the parameters, namely the location of the devices, their types, their settings and installation cost of FACTS devices for single and multiple contingencies. TCSC, SVC and UPFC are considered and modeled for steady state analysis. The selection of UPFC and TCSC suitable location uses the criteria on the basis of improved system security. The effectiveness of the proposed method is tested for IEEE 6 bus and IEEE 30 bus test systems.

Keywords: Contingency Severity Index, Particle Swarm Optimization, Performance Index, Static Security Assessment.

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Authors: Faiza Mnasri, Kamilia Abahri, Mohammed El Ganaoui, Slimane Gabsi

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Most of the building materials are considered porous, and composed of solid matrix and pores. In the pores, the moisture can be existed in two phases: liquid and vapor. Thus, the mass balance equation is comprised of various moisture driving potentials that translate the movement of the different existing phases occupying pores and the hygroscopic behavior of a porous construction material. This study suggests to resolve a hygrothermal mathematical model of heat and mass transfers in different porous building materials by a numerical investigation. Thereby, the evolution of temperature and moisture content fields has been processed. So, numerous series of hygrothermal calculation on several cases of wall are exposed. Firstly, a case of monolayer wall of massive wood has been treated. In this part, we have compared the numerical solution of the model on one and two dimensions and the effect of dimensional space has been evaluated. In the second case, three building materials (concrete, wood fiberboard and wooden insulation) are tested separately with the same boundary conditions and their hygrothermal behavior are compared. The evaluation of the exchange of heat and air at the interface between the wall and the interior ambiance is carried.

Keywords: Building materials, heat transfer, moisture diffusion, numerical solution.

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Authors: Zarmina Gillani, Nuzhat Huma, Aysha Sameen, Mulazim Hussain Bukhari

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Whey is an excellent food ingredient owing to its high nutritive value and its functional properties. However, composition of whey varies depending on composition of milk, processing conditions, processing method, and its whey protein content. The aim of this study was to prepare a whey powder from raw whey and to determine the influence of different processing temperatures (160 and 180 °C) on the physicochemical, functional properties during storage of 180 days and on whey protein denaturation. Results have shown that temperature significantly (P < 0.05) affects the pH, acidity, non-protein nitrogen (NPN), protein total soluble solids, fat and lactose contents. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher foaming capacity (FC), foam stability (FS), whey protein nitrogen index (WPNI), and a lower turbidity and solubility index (SI) were observed in whey powder processed at 160 °C compared to whey powder processed at 180 °C. During storage of 180 days, slow but progressive changes were noticed on the physicochemical and functional properties of whey powder. Reverse phase-HPLC analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of temperature on whey protein contents. Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin is followed by α-lacalbumin, casein glycomacropeptide (CMP/GMP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Keywords: Whey powder, temperature, denaturation, reverse phase – HPLC.

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Authors: Rabha W. Ibrahim

Abstract:

We study a Dirichlet boundary value problem for Lane-Emden equation involving two fractional orders. Lane-Emden equation has been widely used to describe a variety of phenomena in physics and astrophysics, including aspects of stellar structure, the thermal history of a spherical cloud of gas, isothermal gas spheres,and thermionic currents. However, ordinary Lane-Emden equation does not provide the correct description of the dynamics for systems in complex media. In order to overcome this problem and describe dynamical processes in a fractalmedium, numerous generalizations of Lane-Emden equation have been proposed. One such generalization replaces the ordinary derivative by a fractional derivative in the Lane-Emden equation. This gives rise to the fractional Lane-Emden equation with a single index. Recently, a new type of Lane-Emden equation with two different fractional orders has been introduced which provides a more flexible model for fractal processes as compared with the usual one characterized by a single index. The contraction mapping principle and Krasnoselskiis fixed point theorem are applied to prove the existence of solutions of the problem in a Banach space. Ulam-Hyers stability for iterative Cauchy fractional differential equation is defined and studied.

Keywords: Fractional calculus, fractional differential equation, Lane-Emden equation, Riemann-Liouville fractional operators, Volterra integral equation.

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Authors: I. Derek Kaka’an, P. Smolianov, S. Dion, C. Schoen, J. Norberg, C. G. Iortimah

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This study examines the current state of football in Nigeria to identify the country's practices, which could be useful internationally, and to determine areas for improvement. Over 200 sources of literature on sport delivery systems in successful sports nations were analyzed to construct a globally applicable model of elite football integrated with mass participation, comprising of the following three levels: macro (socio-economic, cultural, legislative, and organizational), meso (infrastructures, personnel, and services enabling sports programs) and micro level (operations, processes, and methodologies for the development of individual athletes). The model has received scholarly validation and has shown to be a framework for program analysis that is not culturally bound. It has recently been utilized for further understanding such sports systems as US rugby, tennis, soccer, swimming, and volleyball, as well as Dutch and Russian swimming. A questionnaire was developed using the above-mentioned model. Survey questions were validated by 12 experts including academicians, executives from sports governing bodies, football coaches, and administrators. To identify best practices and determine areas for improvement of football in Nigeria, 116 coaches completed the questionnaire. Useful exemplars and possible improvements were further identified through semi-structured discussions with 10 Nigerian football administrators and experts. Finally, a content analysis of the Nigeria Football Federation's website and organizational documentation was conducted. This paper focuses on the micro level of Nigerian football delivery, particularly talent search and development as well as advanced athlete preparation and support. Results suggested that Nigeria could share such progressive practices as the provision of football programs in all schools and full-time coaches paid by governments based on the level of coach education. Nigerian football administrators and coaches could provide better football services affordable for all, where success in mass and elite sports is guided by science focused on athletes' needs. Better implemented could be international best practices such as lifelong guidelines for health and excellence of everyone and integration of fitness tests into player development and ranking as done in best Dutch, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and other European clubs; integration of educational and competitive events for elite and developing athletes as well as fans as done at the 2018 World Cup Russia; and academies with multi-stage athlete nurturing as done by Ajax in Africa as well as Barcelona FC and other top clubs expanding across the world. The methodical integration of these practices into the balanced development of mass and elite football will help contribute to international sports success as well as national health, education, crime control, and social harmony in Nigeria.

Keywords: Football, high performance, mass participation, Nigeria, sport development.

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Authors: R.Karami, B.Kamkari, K.Kashefi

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Applying corona wind as a novel technique can lead to a great level of heat and mass transfer augmentation by using very small amount of energy. Enhancement of forced flow evaporation rate by applying electric field (corona wind) has been experimentally evaluated in this study. Corona wind produced by a fine wire electrode which is charged with positive high DC voltage impinges to water surface and leads to evaporation enhancement by disturbing the saturated air layer over water surface. The study was focused on the effect of corona wind velocity, electrode spacing and air flow velocity on the level of evaporation enhancement. Two sets of experiments, i.e. with and without electric field, have been conducted. Data obtained from the first experiment were used as reference for evaluation of evaporation enhancement at the presence of electric field. Applied voltages ranged from corona threshold voltage to spark over voltage at 1 kV increments. The results showed that corona wind has great enhancement effect on water evaporation rate, but its effectiveness gradually diminishes by increasing air flow velocity. Maximum enhancements were 7.3 and 3.6 for air velocities of 0.125 and 1.75 m/s, respectively.

Keywords: Electrohydodynamics (EHD), corona wind, high electric field, Evaporation enhancement

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Authors: Sourabh Agrawal, Ashok K. Jain

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Stick models are widely used in studying the behaviour of straight as well as skew bridges and viaducts subjected to earthquakes while carrying out preliminary studies. The application of such models to highly curved bridges continues to pose challenging problems. A viaduct proposed in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India is chosen for the study. It is having 8 simply supported spans @ 30 m c/c. It is doubly curved in horizontal plane with 20 m radius. It is inclined in vertical plane as well. The superstructure consists of a box section. Three models have been used: a conventional stick model, an improved stick model and a 3D finite element model. The improved stick model is employed by making use of body constraints in order to study its capabilities. The first 8 frequencies are about 9.71% away in the latter two models. Later the difference increases to 80% in 50th mode. The viaduct was subjected to all three components of the El Centro earthquake of May 1940. The numerical integration was carried out using the Hilber- Hughes-Taylor method as implemented in SAP2000. Axial forces and moments in the bridge piers as well as lateral displacements at the bearing levels are compared for the three models. The maximum difference in the axial forces and bending moments and displacements vary by 25% between the improved and finite element model. Whereas, the maximum difference in the axial forces, moments, and displacements in various sections vary by 35% between the improved stick model and equivalent straight stick model. The difference for torsional moment was as high as 75%. It is concluded that the stick model with body constraints to model the bearings and expansion joints is not desirable in very sharp S curved viaducts even for preliminary analysis. This model can be used only to determine first 10 frequency and mode shapes but not for member forces. A 3D finite element analysis must be carried out for meaningful results.

Keywords: Bearing, body constraint, box girder, curved viaduct, expansion joint, finite element, link element, seismic, stick model, time history analysis.

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Authors: Nurdan Yildirim, Arif Hepbasli

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Heating, cooling and lighting appliances in buildings account for more than one third of the world’s primary energy demand. Therefore, main components of the building heating systems play an essential role in terms of energy consumption. In this context, efficient energy and exergy utilization in HVAC-R systems has been very essential, especially in developing energy policies towards increasing efficiencies. The main objective of the present study is to assess the performance of a family house with a volume of 326.7 m3 and a net floor area of 121 m2, located in the city of Izmir, Turkey in terms of energetic, exergetic and sustainability aspects. The indoor and exterior air temperatures are taken as 20°C and 1°C, respectively. In the analysis and assessment, various metrics (indices or indicators) such as exergetic efficiency, exergy flexibility ratio and sustainability index are utilized. Two heating options (Case 1: condensing boiler and Case 2: air heat pump) are considered for comparison purposes. The total heat loss rate of the family house is determined to be 3770.72 W. The overall energy efficiencies of the studied cases are calculated to be 49.4% for Case 1 and 54.7% for Case 2. The overall exergy efficiencies, the flexibility factor and the sustainability index of Cases 1 and 2 are computed to be around 3.3%, 0.17 and 1.034, respectively.

Keywords: Buildings, exergy, low exergy, sustainability, efficiency, heating, renewable energy.

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Authors: F. Hafdhi, T. Khir, A. Ben Yahia, A. Ben Brahim

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An Energetic and exergetic analysis is conducted on a Steam Turbine Power Plant of an existing Phosphoric Acid Factory. The heat recovery systems used in different parts of the plant are also considered in the analysis. Mass, thermal and exergy balances are established on the main compounds of the factory. A numerical code is established using EES software to perform the calculations required for the thermal and exergy plant analysis. The effects of the key operating parameters such as steam pressure and temperature, mass flow rate as well as seawater temperature, on the cycle performances are investigated. A maximum Exergy Loss Rate of about 72% is obtained for the melters, followed by the condensers, heat exchangers and the pumps. The heat exchangers used in the phosphoric acid unit present exergetic efficiencies around 33% while 60% to 72% are obtained for steam turbines and blower. For the explored ranges of HP steam temperature and pressure, the exergy efficiencies of steam turbine generators STGI and STGII increase of about 2.5% and 5.4% respectively. In the same way optimum HP steam flow rate values, leading to the maximum exergy efficiencies are defined.

Keywords: Steam turbine generator, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, phosphoric acid plant.

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Authors: I. Oikonomou, I. Lappa, D. Daferera, C. Kanakis, L. Kiokakis, K. Skordilis, A. Avramouli, E. Kalli, C. Pappas, P. A. Tarantilis, E. Skotti

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Grape seeds are waste products of wineries and often referred to as an important agricultural and industrial waste product with the potential to be used in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic applications. In this study, grape seed oil from traditional Ionian varieties was examined for the determination of the quality and the characteristics of each variety. Initially, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, after transesterification. Furthermore, other quality parameters of the grape seed oils were determined by Spectroscopy techniques, UV-Vis and Raman included. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of the oil was measured by 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays and their antioxidant capacity expressed in Trolox equivalents. K and ΔΚ indices were measured in 232, 268, 270 nm, as an oil quality index. The results indicate that the air-dried grape seed total oil content ranged from 5.26 to 8.77% w/w, which is in accordance with the other grape seed varieties tested in similar studies. The composition of grape seed oil is predominated with linoleic and oleic fatty acids, with the linoleic fatty acid ranging from 53.68 to 69.95% and both the linoleic and oleic fatty acids totaling 78-82% of FAMEs, which is analogous to the fatty acid composition of safflower oil. The antioxidant assays ABTS and DPPH scored high, exhibiting that the oils have potential in the cosmetic and culinary businesses. Above that, our results demonstrate that Ionian grape seed oils have prospects that can go further than cosmetic or culinary use, into the pharmaceuticals industry. Finally, the reclamation of grape seeds from wineries waste stream is in accordance with the bio-economy strategic framework and contributes to environmental protection.

Keywords: Antioxidant capacity, fatty acid methyl esters, grape seed oil, GC-MS.

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Authors: Chia Lin Chan, Yi Ju Yang, Chih Chin Yang

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Rainfall records of rainfall station including the rainfall potential per hour and rainfall mass of five heavy storms are explored, respectively from 2001 to 2010. The rationalization formula is to investigate the capability of flood peak duration of flood detention pond in different rainfall conditions. The stable flood detention model is also proposed by using system dynamic control theory to get the message of flood detention pond in this research. When rainfall frequency of one hour rainfall duration is more than 100-year frequency which exceeds the flood detention standard of 20-year frequency for the flood detention pond, the flood peak duration of flood detention pond is 1.7 hours at most even though the flood detention pond with maximum drainage potential about 15.0 m3/s of pumping system is constructed. If the rainfall peak current is more than maximum drainage potential, the flood peak duration of flood detention pond is about 1.9 hours at most. The flood detention pond is the key factor of stable drainage control and flood prevention. The critical factors of flood disaster is not only rainfall mass, but also rainfall frequency of heavy storm in different rainfall duration and flood detention frequency of flood detention system.

Keywords: Rainfall frequency, Rainfall duration, Rainfallintensity, Flood detention capability

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Authors: A.Gandomkar, F. Khorasanizadeh

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Tourism is a phenomenon respected by the human communities since a long time ago. It has been evoloving continually based on a variety of social and economic needs and with respect to increasingly development of communication and considerable increase of tourist-s number and resulted exchange income has attained much out come such as employment for the communities. or the purpose of tourism development in this zone suitable times and locations need to be specified in the zone for the tourist-s attendance. One of the most important needs of the tourists is the knowledge of climate conditions and suitable times for sightseeing. In this survey, the climate trend condition has been identified for attending the tourists in Isfahan province using the modified tourism climate index (TCI) as well as SPSS, GIS, excel, surfer softwares. This index evoluates systematically the climate conditions for tourism affairs and activities using the monthly maximum mean parameters of daily temperature, daily mean temperature, minimum relative humidity, daily mean relative humidity, precipitation (mm), total sunny hours, wind speed and dust. The results obtaind using kendal-s correlation test show that the months January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December are significant and have an increasing trend that indicates the best condition for attending the tourists. S, P, T mean , T max and dust are estimated from 1976-2005 and do kendal-s correlation test again to see which parameter has been effective. Based on the test, we also observed on the effective parameters that the rate of dust in February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October and November is decreasing and precipitation in September and January is increasing and also the radiation rate in May and August is increasing that indicate a better condition of convenience. Maximum temperature in June is also decreasing. Isfahan province has two spring and fall peaks and the best places for tourism are in the north and western areas.

Keywords: Climate, Tourism, Correlation Test, Tourism Climate Index, Isfahan Province

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Authors: H. M. N. L. Handagiripathira

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The distributions of naturally occurring and anthropogenic radioactive materials were determined in surface sediments taken at 27 different locations along the bank of Negombo Lagoon in Sri Lanka. Hydrographic parameters of lagoon water and the grain size analyses of the sediment samples were also carried out for this study. The conductivity of the adjacent water was varied from 13.6 mS/cm to 55.4 mS/cm near to the southern end and the northern end of the lagoon, respectively, and equally salinity levels varied from 7.2 psu to 32.1 psu. The average pH in the water was 7.6 and average water temperature was 28.7 °C. The grain size analysis emphasized the mass fractions of the samples as sand (60.9%), fine sand (30.6%) and fine silt+clay (1.3%) in the sampling locations. The surface sediment samples of wet weight, 1 kg each from upper 5-10 cm layer, were oven dried at 105 °C for 24 hours to get a constant weight, homogenized and sieved through a 2 mm sieve (IAEA technical series no. 295). The radioactivity concentrations were determined using gamma spectrometry technique. Ultra Low Background Broad Energy High Purity Ge Detector, BEGe (Model BE5030, Canberra) was used for radioactivity measurement with Canberra Industries' Laboratory Source-less Calibration Software (LabSOCS) mathematical efficiency calibration approach and Geometry composer software. The mean activity concentration was found to be 24 ± 4, 67 ± 9, 181 ± 10, 59 ± 8, 3.5 ± 0.4 and 0.47 ± 0.08 Bq/kg for 238U, 232Th, 40K, 210Pb, 235U and 137Cs respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate in air, radium equivalent activity, external hazard index, annual gonadal dose equivalent and annual effective dose equivalent were 60.8 nGy/h, 137.3 Bq/kg, 0.4, 425.3 mSv/year and 74.6 mSv/year, respectively. The results of this study will provide baseline information on the natural and artificial radioactive isotopes and environmental pollution associated with information on radiological risk.

Keywords: Gamma spectrometry, lagoon, radioactivity, sediments.

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Authors: Jahedul Islam Chowdhury, Bao Kha Nguyen, David Thornhill, Roy Douglas, Stephen Glover

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Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is the most commonly used method for recovering energy from small sources of heat. The investigation of the ORC in supercritical condition is a new research area as it has a potential to generate high power and thermal efficiency in a waste heat recovery system. This paper presents a steady state ORC model in supercritical condition and its simulations with a real engine’s exhaust data. The key component of ORC, evaporator, is modelled using finite volume method, modelling of all other components of the waste heat recovery system such as pump, expander and condenser are also presented. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of mass flow rate and evaporator outlet temperature on the efficiency of the waste heat recovery process. Additionally, the necessity of maintaining an optimum evaporator outlet temperature is also investigated. Simulation results show that modification of mass flow rate is the key to changing the operating temperature at the evaporator outlet.

Keywords: Organic Rankine cycle, supercritical condition, steady state model, waste heat recovery.

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Authors: Ceren Ince, Berkay Z. Erdem, Shahram Derogar, Nabi Yuzer

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Fibre cement plates, often used in construction, generally are made using quartz as an inert material, cement as a binder and cellulose as a fibre. This paper, first of all, investigates the mechanical properties and durability of fibre cement plates when quartz is both partly and fully replaced with diatomite. Diatomite does not only have lower density compared to quartz but also has high pozzolanic activity. The main objective of this paper is the investigation of the effects of supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) on the short and long term mechanical properties and durability characteristics of fibre cement plates prepared using diatomite. Supplementary cementing materials such as ground granulated blast furnace slug (GGBS) and fly ash (FA) are used in this study. Volume proportions of 10, 20, 30 and 40% of GGBS and FA are used as partial replacement materials to cement. Short and long term mechanical properties such as compressive and flexural strengths as well as sorptivity characteristics and mass were investigated. Consistency and setting time at each replacement levels of SCMs were also recorded. The effects of using supplementary cementing materials on the carbonation and sulphate resistance of fibre cement plates were then experimented. The results, first of all, show that the use of diatomite as a full or partial replacement to quartz resulted in a systematic decrease in total mass of the fibre cement plates. The reduction of mass was largely due to the lower density and finer particle size of diatomite compared to quartz. The use of diatomite did not only reduce the mass of these plates but also increased the compressive strength significantly as a result of its high pozzolanic activity. The replacement levels of both GGBS and FA resulted in a systematic decrease in short term compressive strength with increasing replacement levels. This was essentially expected as the total rate of hydration is much lower in GGBS and FA than that of cement. Long term results however, indicated that the compressive strength of fibre cement plates prepared using both GGBS and FA increases with time and hence the compressive strength of plates prepared using SCMs is either equivalent or more than the compressive strength of plates prepared using cement alone. Durability characteristics of fibre cement plates prepared using SCMs were enhanced significantly. Measurements of sopritivty characteristics were also indicated that the plates prepared using SCMs has much lower water absorption capacities compared to plates prepared cement alone. Much higher resistance to carbonation and sulphate attach were observed with plates prepared using SCMs. The results presented in this paper show that the use of SCMs does not only support the production of more sustainable construction materials but also enhances the mechanical properties and durability characteristics of fibre cement plates.

Keywords: Diatomite, fibre, strength, supplementary cementing materials.

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Authors: Abir Touati, Syed Jawad Hussain, Farid Touati, Ammar Bouallegue

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Although there has been a growing interest in the hybrid free-space optical link and radio frequency FSO/RF communication system, the current literature is limited to results obtained in moderate or cold environment. In this paper, using a soft switching approach, we investigate the effect of weather inhomogeneities on the strength of turbulence hence the channel refractive index under Qatar harsh environment and their influence on the hybrid FSO/RF availability. In this approach, either FSO/RF or simultaneous or none of them can be active. Based on soft switching approach and a finite state Markov Chain (FSMC) process, we model the channel fading for the two links and derive a mathematical expression for the outage probability of the hybrid system. Then, we evaluate the behavior of the hybrid FSO/RF under hazy and harsh weather. Results show that the FSO/RF soft switching renders the system outage probability less than that of each link individually. A soft switching algorithm is being implemented on FPGAs using Raptor code interfaced to the two terminals of a 1Gbps/100 Mbps FSO/RF hybrid system, the first being implemented in the region. Experimental results are compared to the above simulation results.

Keywords: Atmospheric turbulence, haze, soft switching, Raptor codes, refractive index.

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Authors: Ayman E. Taha, Fawzy A. Abd El-Ghany

Abstract:

A crossbreeding experiment was carried out between two Egyptian strains of chickens namely Mandarah (MM) and El-Salam (SS). The two purebred strains and their reciprocal crosses (MS and SM) were used to estimate the effect of crossing on egg laying and egg quality parameters, direct additive and maternal additive effects as well as heterosis and direct heterosis percentages for studied traits. Results revealed that SM cross recorded the highest significant averages for most of egg production traits including body weight at sexual maturity (BW1), egg numbers at first 90 days, 42 weeks and 65 weeks of age (EN1, EN2 and EN3; respectively), egg weight at 90 days, 42 weeks of age (EW1 and EW2), egg mass at 90 days, 42 weeks and 65 weeks of age (EM1, EM2 and EM3; respectively), feed conversion ratio to egg production at 90 days , 42 weeks and 65 weeks of age (FCR1, FCR2 and FCR3; respectively), fertility and commercial hatchability percentages. Moreover, SM line reached the age sexual maturity (ASM) and period to the first ten eggs (Pf10 egg) at earlier age than other lines. On the other hand, crossing did not well improve egg quality parameters. Estimates and percentages of direct additive effect (GI) were negative for most of the studied traits except for EN1, EN2, EN3, FCR3, fertility, scientific and commercial hatchability percentages that were positive. But Estimates and percentages of maternal heterosis (Gm) were positive for all the studied traits of egg production, except for BW2, BW3, ASM, Pf10, FCR1, FCR2, FCR3 and scientific hatchability that were negative. Also, positive estimates and percentages of heterosis were recorded for most of egg production and egg quality traits. It was concluded that using of SS strain as a sire line and MM strain as a dam line resulting in best new commercial egg line (SM) which is of great concern for poultry breeder in Egypt.

Keywords: Mandarahand El-Salam chickens, Crossing, Egg production, Egg quality, Crossbreeding components.

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Authors: Angelo Nodari, Ignazio Gallo

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The novelty proposed in this study is twofold and consists in the developing of a new color similarity metric based on the human visual system and a new color indexing based on a textual approach. The new color similarity metric proposed is based on the color perception of the human visual system. Consequently the results returned by the indexing system can fulfill as much as possibile the user expectations. We developed a web application to collect the users judgments about the similarities between colors, whose results are used to estimate the metric proposed in this study. In order to index the image's colors, we used a text indexing engine to facilitate the integration of visual features in a database of text documents. The textual signature is build by weighting the image's colors in according to their occurrence in the image. The use of a textual indexing engine, provide us a simple, fast and robust solution to index images. A typical usage of the system proposed in this study, is the development of applications whose data type is both visual and textual. In order to evaluate the proposed method we chose a price comparison engine as a case of study, collecting a series of commercial offers containing the textual description and the image representing a specific commercial offer.

Keywords: Color Extraction, Content-Based Image Retrieval, Indexing

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Authors: Gulam Mohiuddin, Jan-Peter Mund

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This study assessed the correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Phnom Penh City (Cambodia) from 2016 to 2020. Understanding the LST and NDVI can be helpful to understand the Urban Heat Island (UHI) scenario, and it can contribute to planning urban greening and combating the effects of UHI. The study used Landsat-8 images as the data for analysis. They have 100 m spatial resolution (per pixel) in the thermal band. The current study used an approach for the statistical analysis that considers every pixel from the study area instead of taking few sample points or analyzing descriptive statistics. Also, this study is examining the correlation between NDVI and LST with a spatially explicit approach. The study found a strong negative correlation between NDVI and LST (coefficient range -0.56 to -0.59), and this relationship is linear. This study showed a way to avoid the probable error from the sample-based approach in examining two spatial variables. The method is reproducible for a similar type of analysis on the correlation between spatial phenomena. The findings of this study will be used further to understand the causation behind LST change in that area triangulating LST, NDVI and land-use changes.

Keywords: Land Surface Temperature, NDVI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, remote sensing, methodological development.

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Authors: M. S. Razana, Z. W. Shafiuddin

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Internal auditing is one of the most important activities for organizations that implement information security management systems (ISMS). The purpose of internal audits is to ensure the ISMS implementation is in accordance to the ISO/IEC 27001 standard and the organization’s own requirements for its ISMS. Competent internal auditors are the main element that contributes to the effectiveness of internal auditing activities. To realize this need, CyberSecurity Malaysia is now in the process of becoming a certification body that certifies ISMS internal auditors. The certification scheme will assess the competence of internal auditors in generic knowledge and skills in management systems, and also in ISMS-specific knowledge and skills. The certification assessment is based on the ISO/IEC 19011 Guidelines for auditing management systems, ISO/IEC 27007 Guidelines for information security management systems auditing and ISO/IEC 27001 Information security management systems requirements. The certification scheme complies with the ISO/IEC 17024 General requirements for bodies operating certification systems of persons. Candidates who pass the exam will be certified as an ISMS Internal Auditor, whose competency will be evaluated every three years.

Keywords: ISMS internal audit, ISMS internal auditor, ISO/IEC 17024, Competence, Certification.

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Authors: Ali Khourgami, Masoud Rafiee, Korous Rahmati, Ghobad Bour

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In order to study the effect of plant density and competition of wheat with field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) on yield and agronomical properties of wheat(Triticum Sativum) in irrigated conditions, a factorial experiment as the base of complete randomize block design in three replication was conducted at the field of Kamalvand in khoramabad (Lorestan) region of Iran during 2008-2009. Three plant density (Factor A=200, 230 and 260kg/ha) three cultivar (Factor B=Bahar,Pishtaz and Alvand) and weed control (Factor C= control and no control of weeds)were assigned in experiment. Results show that: Plant density had significant effect (statistically) on seed yield, 1000 seed weight, weed density and dry weight of weeds, seed yield and harvest index had been meaningful effect for cultivars. The interaction between plant density and cultivars for weed density, seed yield, thousand seed weight and harvest index were significant. 260 kg/ha (plant density) of wheat had more effect on increasing of seed yield in Bahar cultivar wheat in khoramabad region of Iran.

Keywords: Convolvulus arvensis, plant density, Triticumsativum, weed density, Wheat

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Authors: Allaeddine Athmani, Abdelhacine Gouasmia, Tiago Ferreira, Romeu Vicente

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The seismic risk mitigation from the perspective of the old buildings stock is truly essential in Algerian urban areas, particularly those located in seismic prone regions, such as Annaba city, and which the old buildings present high levels of degradation associated with no seismic strengthening and/or rehabilitation concerns. In this sense, the present paper approaches the issue of the seismic vulnerability assessment of old masonry building stocks through the adaptation of a simplified methodology developed for a European context area similar to that of Annaba city, Algeria. Therefore, this method is used for the first level of seismic vulnerability assessment of the masonry buildings stock of the old city center of Annaba. This methodology is based on a vulnerability index that is suitable for the evaluation of damage and for the creation of large-scale loss scenarios. Over 380 buildings were evaluated in accordance with the referred methodology and the results obtained were then integrated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. Such results can be used by the Annaba city council for supporting management decisions, based on a global view of the site under analysis, which led to more accurate and faster decisions for the risk mitigation strategies and rehabilitation plans.

Keywords: Damage scenarios, masonry buildings, old city center, seismic vulnerability, vulnerability index.

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Authors: Alan S. Hoback

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Most people see human faces in car front and back ends because of the process of pareidolia. 96 people were surveyed to see how many of them saw a face in the vehicle styling. Participants were aged 18 to 72 years. 94% of the participants saw faces in the front-end design of production models. All participants that recognized faces indicated that most styles showed some degree of an angry expression. It was found that women were more likely to see faces in inanimate objects. However, with respect to whether women were more likely to perceive anger in the vehicle design, the results need further clarification. Survey responses were correlated to the design features of vehicles to determine what cues the respondents were likely looking at when responding. Whether the features looked anthropomorphic was key to anger perception. Features such as the headlights which could represent eyes and the air intake that could represent a mouth had high correlations to trends in scores. Results are compared among models, makers, by groupings of body styles classifications for the top 12 brands sold in the US, and by year for the top 20 models sold in the US in 2016. All of the top models sold increased in perception of an angry expression over the last 20 years or since the model was introduced, but the relative change varied by body style grouping.

Keywords: Aggressive driving, face recognition, road rage, vehicle styling.

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Authors: L. P. K. Liyanage, N. R. P. Withana, A. L. Sandika

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The purpose of this study was to determine tourist and community perception-based sustainable tourism indicators as well as Human Pressure Index (HPI) and Tourist Activity Index (TAI). Study was carried out in Sinharaja forest which is considered as one of the major eco-tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire as well as records from Forest department. Convenient sampling technique was applied. For the majority of issues, the responses were obtained on multi-point Likert-type scales. Visual portrayal was used for display analyzed data. The study revealed that the host community of the Kudawa gets many benefits from tourism. Also, tourism has caused negative impacts upon the environment and community. The study further revealed the need of proper waste management and involvement of local cultural events for the tourism business in the Kudawa conservation center. The TAI, which accounted to be 1.27 and monthly evolution of HPI revealed that congestion can be occurred in the Sinharaja rainforest during peak season. The results provide useful information to any party involved with tourism planning anywhere, since such attempts would be more effective once the people’s perceptions on these aspects are taken into account.

Keywords: Kudawa conservation center, Sinharaja world heritage rainforest, sustainability indicators.

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