Search results for: Cash Conversion Cycle.

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

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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: A. Schirru, A. Irimescu, S. Merola, A. d’Adamo, S. Fontanesi

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One of the aspects that are usually neglected during the design phase of an engine is the effect of the spark plug on the flow field inside the combustion chamber. Because of the difficulties in the experimental investigation of the mutual interaction between flow alteration and early flame kernel convection effect inside the engine combustion chamber, CFD-3D simulation is usually exploited in such cases. Experimentally speaking, a particular type of engine has to be used in order to directly observe the flame propagation process. In this study, a double electrode spark plug was fitted into an optically accessible engine and a high-speed camera was used to capture the initial stages of the combustion process. Both the arc and the kernel phases were observed. Then, a morphologic analysis was carried out and the position of the center of mass of the flame, relative to the spark plug position, was calculated. The crossflow orientation was chosen for the spark plug and the kernel growth process was observed for different air-fuel ratios. It was observed that during a normal cycle the flow field between the electrodes tends to transport the arc deforming it. Because of that, the kernel growth phase takes place away from the electrodes and the flame propagates with a preferential direction dictated by the flow field.

Keywords: Combustion, Kernel growth, optically accessible engine, spark-ignition engine, spark plug orientation.

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Authors: P. S. Rajinikanth, Yeoh Suyu, Sanjay Garg

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The present study is aim to prepare and evaluate the selfnanoemulsifying drug delivery (SNEDDS) system of a poorly water soluble drug valsartan in order to achieve a better dissolution rate which would further help in enhancing oral bioavailability. The present research work describes a SNEDDS of valsartan using labrafil M 1944 CS, Tween 80 and Transcutol HP. The pseudoternary phase diagrams with presence and absence of drug were plotted to check for the emulsification range and also to evaluate the effect of valsartan on the emulsification behavior of the phases. The mixtures consisting of oil (labrafil M 1944 CS) with surfactant (tween 80), co-surfactant (Transcutol HP) were found to be optimum formulations. Prepared formulations were evaluated for its particle size distribution, nanoemulsifying properties, robustness to dilution, self emulsication time, turbidity measurement, drug content and invitro dissolution. The optimized formulations are further evaluated for heating cooling cycle, centrifugation studies, freeze thaw cycling, particle size distribution and zeta potential were carried out to confirm the stability of the formed SNEDDS formulations. The prepared formulation revealed t a significant improvement in terms of the drug solubility as compared with marketed tablet and pure drug.

Keywords: Self Emulsifying Drug Delivery System, Valsartan, Bioavailability, poorly soluble drug.

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Authors: Petru Manescu, Joseph Azencot, Michael Beuve, Hamid Ladjal, Jacques Saade, Jean-Michel Morreau, Philippe Giraud, Behzad Shariat

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Organ motion, especially respiratory motion, is a technical challenge to radiation therapy planning and dosimetry. This motion induces displacements and deformation of the organ tissues within the irradiated region which need to be taken into account when simulating dose distribution during treatment. Finite element modeling (FEM) can provide a great insight into the mechanical behavior of the organs, since they are based on the biomechanical material properties, complex geometry of organs, and anatomical boundary conditions. In this paper we present an original approach that offers the possibility to combine image-based biomechanical models with particle transport simulations. We propose a new method to map material density information issued from CT images to deformable tetrahedral meshes. Based on the principle of mass conservation our method can correlate density variation of organ tissues with geometrical deformations during the different phases of the respiratory cycle. The first results are particularly encouraging, as local error quantification of density mapping on organ geometry and density variation with organ motion are performed to evaluate and validate our approach.

Keywords: Biomechanical simulation, dose distribution, image guided radiation therapy, organ motion, tetrahedral mesh, 4D-CT.

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Authors: Worachat Wannawong, Usa W. Humphries, Prungchan Wongwises, Suphat Vongvisessomjai

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The three steps of the standard one-way nested grid for a regional scale of the third generation WAve Model Cycle 4 (WAMC4) is scrutinized. The model application is enabled to solve the energy balance equation on a coarse resolution grid in order to produce boundary conditions for a smaller area by the nested grid technique. In the present study, the model takes a full advantage of the fine resolution of wind fields in space and time produced by the available U.S. Navy Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) model with 1 degree resolution. The nested grid application of the model is developed in order to gradually increase the resolution from the open ocean towards the South China Sea (SCS) and the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) respectively. The model results were compared with buoy observations at Ko Chang, Rayong and Huahin locations which were obtained from the Seawatch project. In addition, the results were also compared with Satun based weather station which was provided from Department of Meteorology, Thailand. The data collected from this station presented the significant wave height (Hs) reached 12.85 m. The results indicated that the tendency of the Hs from the model in the spherical coordinate propagation with deep water condition in the fine grid domain agreed well with the Hs from the observations.

Keywords: energy balance equation, Gulf of Thailand, nested gridapplication, South China Sea, wave model.

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Authors: Dana Aljadaa, Hasim Altan

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Japan’s strategy is based on improving the current resources and productivity by identifying the environmental challenges to progress further in many areas. For example, it will help in understanding the competitive challenges in the industry, emerging innovation, and other progresses. The present study seeks to examine the characteristics of sustainable practices using materials that will last longer and following environmental policies. There has been a major emphasis since 1990s and onwards about recycling and preserving the environment. Furthermore, the present paper analyses and argues how national interest in policy increases resource productivity. It is a universal law, but these actions may be different based on the unique situation of the country. In addition, the present study explains some of the strategies developed by the Environmental Agency of Japan in the last few years. There are a few resources reviewed involving ‘Strategy for an Environmental Nation in the 21st Century’ from 2001, ‘Clean Asia Initiative’ from 2008, and ‘New Growth Strategy’ from 2010. The present paper also highlights the emphasis on increasing efficiency, as it is an important part of sustainability. We finally conclude by providing reasoning on the impact and positivity of reducing production and consumption on the environment, resulting in a productive and progressive Japan for the near and long term future.

Keywords: Green innovation, sustainable development, resource productivity, sound material-cycle society, waste management.

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Authors: Rifah Ediati, Jajang

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The quality of Ribbed Smoked Sheets (RSS) primarily based on color, dryness, and the presence or absence of fungus and bubbles. This quality is strongly influenced by the drying and fumigation process namely smoking process. Smoking that is held in high temperature long time will result scorched dark brown sheets, whereas if the temperature is too low or slow drying rate would resulted in less mature sheets and growth of fungus. Therefore need to find the time and temperature for optimum quality of sheets. Enhance, unmonitored heat and mass transfer during smoking process lead to high losses of energy balance. This research aims to generate simple empirical mathematical model describing the effect of smoking time and temperature to RSS quality of color, water content, fungus and bubbles. The second goal of study was to analyze energy balance during smoking process. Experimental study was conducted by measuring temperature, residence time and quality parameters of 16 sheets sample in smoking rooms. Data for energy consumption balance such as mass of fuel wood, mass of sheets being smoked, construction temperature, ambient temperature and relative humidity were taken directly along the smoking process. It was found that mathematical model correlating smoking temperature and time with color is Color = -169 - 0.184 T4 - 0.193 T3 - 0.160 0.405 T1 + T2 + 0.388 t1 +3.11 t2 + 3.92t3 + 0.215 t4 with R square 50.8% and with moisture is Moisture = -1.40-0.00123 T4 + 0.00032 T3 + 0.00260 T2 - 0.00292 T1 - 0.0105 t1 + 0.0290 t2 + 0.0452 t3 + 0.00061 t4 with R square of 49.9%. Smoking room energy analysis found useful energy was 27.8%. The energy stored in the material construction 7.3%. Lost of energy in conversion of wood combustion, ventilation and others were 16.6%. The energy flowed out through the contact of material construction with the ambient air was found to be the highest contribution to energy losses, it reached 48.3%.

Keywords: RSS quality, temperature, time, smoking room, energy

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Authors: Mouse, cardiac myocytes, computer simulation, action potential.

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Heterogeneous repolarization causes dispersion of the T-wave and has been linked to arrhythmogenesis. Such heterogeneities appear due to differential expression of ionic currents in different regions of the heart, both in healthy and diseased animals and humans. Mice are important animals for the study of heart diseases because of the ability to create transgenic animals. We used our previously reported model of mouse ventricular myocytes to develop 2D mouse ventricular tissue model consisting of 14,000 cells (apical or septal ventricular myocytes) and to study the stability of action potential propagation and Ca2+ dynamics. The 2D tissue model was implemented as a FORTRAN program code for highperformance multiprocessor computers that runs on 36 processors. Our tissue model is able to simulate heterogeneities not only in action potential repolarization, but also heterogeneities in intracellular Ca2+ transients. The multicellular model reproduced experimentally observed velocities of action potential propagation and demonstrated the importance of incorporation of realistic Ca2+ dynamics for action potential propagation. The simulations show that relatively sharp gradients of repolarization are predicted to exist in 2D mouse tissue models, and they are primarily determined by the cellular properties of ventricular myocytes. Abrupt local gradients of channel expression can cause alternans at longer pacing basic cycle lengths than gradual changes, and development of alternans depends on the site of stimulation.

Keywords: Mouse, cardiac myocytes, computer simulation, action potential

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Authors: Ya Lv

Abstract:

This article presents the application of the semi-analytic method (SAM) in the thermal management solution (TMS) of the energy storage system (ESS). The TMS studied in this work is fluid cooling. In fluid cooling, both effective heat conduction and heat convection are indispensable due to the heat transfer from solid to fluid. Correspondingly, an efficient TMS requires a design investigation of the following parameters: fluid inlet temperature, ESS initial temperature, fluid flow rate, working c rate, continuous working time, and materials properties. Their variation induces a change of thermal performance in the battery module, which is usually evaluated by numerical simulation. Compared to complicated computation resources and long computation time in simulation, the SAM is developed in this article to predict the thermal influence within a few seconds. In SAM, a fast prediction model is reckoned by combining numerical simulation with theoretical/empirical equations. The SAM can explore the thermal effect of boundary parameters in both steady-state and transient heat transfer scenarios within a short time. Therefore, the SAM developed in this work can simplify the design cycle of TMS and inspire more possibilities in TMS design.

Keywords: Semi-analytic method, fast prediction model, thermal influence of boundary parameters, energy storage system.

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Authors: P. Pongsumpun, I.M. Tang

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Plasmodium vivax malaria differs from P. falciparum malaria in that a person suffering from P. vivax infection can suffer relapses of the disease. This is due the parasite being able to remain dormant in the liver of the patients where it is able to re-infect the patient after a passage of time. During this stage, the patient is classified as being in the dormant class. The model to describe the transmission of P. vivax malaria consists of a human population divided into four classes, the susceptible, the infected, the dormant and the recovered. The effect of a time delay on the transmission of this disease is studied. The time delay is the period in which the P. vivax parasite develops inside the mosquito (vector) before the vector becomes infectious (i.e., pass on the infection). We analyze our model by using standard dynamic modeling method. Two stable equilibrium states, a disease free state E0 and an endemic state E1, are found to be possible. It is found that the E0 state is stable when a newly defined basic reproduction number G is less than one. If G is greater than one the endemic state E1 is stable. The conditions for the endemic equilibrium state E1 to be a stable spiral node are established. For realistic values of the parameters in the model, it is found that solutions in phase space are trajectories spiraling into the endemic state. It is shown that the limit cycle and chaotic behaviors can only be achieved with unrealistic parameter values.

Keywords: Equilibrium states, Hopf bifurcation, limit cyclebehavior, local stability, Plasmodium Vivax, time delay.

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Authors: Evan Hajani, Ataur Rahman, Khaled Haddad

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Climate change will affect the hydrological cycle in many different ways such as increase in evaporation and rainfalls. There have been growing interests among researchers to identify the nature of trends in historical rainfall data in many different parts of the world. This paper examines the trends in annual maximum rainfall data from 30 stations in New South Wales, Australia by using two non-parametric tests, Mann-Kendall (MK) and Spearman’s Rho (SR). Rainfall data were analyzed for fifteen different durations ranging from 6 min to 3 days. It is found that the sub-hourly durations (6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 48 minutes) show statistically significant positive (upward) trends whereas longer duration (subdaily and daily) events generally show a statistically significant negative (downward) trend. It is also found that the MK test and SR test provide notably different results for some rainfall event durations considered in this study. Since shorter duration sub-hourly rainfall events show positive trends at many stations, the design rainfall data based on stationary frequency analysis for these durations need to be adjusted to account for the impact of climate change. These shorter durations are more relevant to many urban development projects based on smaller catchments having a much shorter response time.

Keywords: Climate change, Mann-Kendall test, Spearman’s Rho test, trends, design rainfall.

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Authors: G. S. Ayyappan, M. Raja Raghavan, R. Poonthalir, Kota Srinivas, B. Ramesh Babu

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Electrical energy demand in the World and particularly in India, is increasing drastically more than its production over a period of time. In order to reduce the demand-supply gap, conserving energy becomes mandatory. Induction motors are the main driving force in the industries and contributes to about half of the total plant energy consumption. By effective monitoring and control of induction motors, huge electricity can be saved. This paper deals about the design and development of such a system, which employs iLON Smart Server and motor performance monitoring nodes. These nodes will monitor the performance of induction motors on-line, on-site and in-situ in the industries. The node monitors the performance of motors by simply measuring the electrical power input and motor shaft speed; coupled to genetic algorithm to estimate motor efficiency. The nodes are connected to the iLON Server through RS485 network. The web server collects the motor performance data from nodes, displays online, logs periodically, analyzes, alerts, and generates reports. The system could be effectively used to operate the motor around its Best Operating Point (BOP) as well as to perform the Life Cycle Assessment of Induction motors used in the industries in continuous operation.

Keywords: Best operating point, iLON smart server, motor asset management, LONWORKS, Modbus RTU, motor performance.

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Authors: Anton Golubkov, Gleb Ermachkov, Aleksandr Smerdin, Oleg Sidorov, Victor Philippov

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Current collection quality is one of the limiting factors when increasing trains movement speed in the rail sector. With the movement speed growth, the impact forces on the current collector from the rolling stock and the aerodynamic influence increase, which leads to the spread in the contact pressure values, separation of the current collector head from the contact wire, contact arcing and excessive wear of the contact elements. The upcoming trend in resolving this issue is the use of the automatic control systems providing stabilization of the contact pressure value. The present paper considers the features of the contemporary automatic control systems of the current collector’s pressure; their major disadvantages have been stated. A scheme of current collector pressure automatic control has been proposed, distinguished by a proactive influence on undesirable effects. A mathematical model of contact strips wearing has been presented, obtained in accordance with the provisions of the central composition rotatable design program. The analysis of the obtained dependencies has been carried out. The procedures for determining the optimal current collector pressure on the contact wire and the pressure control principle in the pneumatic drive have been described.

Keywords: High-speed running, current collector, contact strip, mathematical model, contact pressure, program control, wear, life cycle.

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Authors: Yoshiaki Shikata

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Performance of a limited Round-Robin (RR) rule is studied in order to clarify the characteristics of a realistic sharing model of a processor. Under the limited RR rule, the processor allocates to each request a fixed amount of time, called a quantum, in a fixed order. The sum of the requests being allocated these quanta is kept below a fixed value. Arriving requests that cannot be allocated quanta because of such a restriction are queued or rejected. Practical performance measures, such as the relationship between the mean sojourn time, the mean number of requests, or the loss probability and the quantum size are evaluated via simulation. In the evaluation, the requested service time of an arriving request is converted into a quantum number. One of these quanta is included in an RR cycle, which means a series of quanta allocated to each request in a fixed order. The service time of the arriving request can be evaluated using the number of RR cycles required to complete the service, the number of requests receiving service, and the quantum size. Then an increase or decrease in the number of quanta that are necessary before service is completed is reevaluated at the arrival or departure of other requests. Tracking these events and calculations enables us to analyze the performance of our limited RR rule. In particular, we obtain the most suitable quantum size, which minimizes the mean sojourn time, for the case in which the switching time for each quantum is considered.

Keywords: Limited RR rule, quantum, processor sharing, sojourn time, performance measures, simulation, loss probability.

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Authors: G. Khatisashvili, M. Gordeziani, G. Adamia, E. Kvesitadze, T. Sadunishvili, G. Kvesitadze

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The ability of agricultural and decorative plants to absorb and detoxify TNT and RDX has been studied. All tested 8 plants, grown hydroponically, were able to absorb these explosives from water solutions: Alfalfa > Soybean > Chickpea> Chikling vetch >Ryegrass > Mung bean> China bean > Maize. Differently from TNT, RDX did not exhibit negative influence on seed germination and plant growth. Moreover, some plants, exposed to RDX containing solution were increased in their biomass by 20%. Study of the fate of absorbed [1-14ðí]-TNT revealed the label distribution in low and high-molecular mass compounds, both in roots and above ground parts of plants, prevailing in the later. Content of 14ðí in lowmolecular compounds in plant roots are much higher than in above ground parts. On the contrary, high-molecular compounds are more intensively labeled in aboveground parts of soybean. Most part (up to 70%) of metabolites of TNT, formed either by enzymatic reduction or oxidation, is found in high molecular insoluble conjugates. Activation of enzymes, responsible for reduction, oxidation and conjugation of TNT, such as nitroreductase, peroxidase, phenoloxidase and glutathione S-transferase has been demonstrated. Among these enzymes, only nitroreductase was shown to be induced in alfalfa, exposed to RDX. The increase in malate dehydrogenase activities in plants, exposed to both explosives, indicates intensification of Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, that generates reduced equivalents of NAD(P)H, necessary for functioning of the nitroreductase. The hypothetic scheme of TNT metabolism in plants is proposed.

Keywords: Higher plants, TNT, RDX, transformation.

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Authors: C. Kridtayopas, W. Danvilai, P. Sopannarath, A. Kayan, W. Loongyai

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Both Betong chicken (KU Line) and Thai Native chickens were the high quality of the meat and low carcass fat compared to broiler chickens. The objective of this study was to determine the growth performance, carcass characteristic, meat quality and association of polymorphism in the ApoVLDL-II gene with fat accumulation in the female broiler, Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens at 4-14 weeks. The chickens were used and reared under the same environment and management (100 chicks per breed). The results showed that body weight (BW) of broiler chickens was significantly higher than Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens (P < 0.01) through all the experiment. At 4-8 weeks of age, feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broiler chickens was significantly better than Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens (P < 0.01), then increased at week 8-14. The percentage of breast, abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat of broiler chickens was significantly greater than Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens (P < 0.01). However, Thai Native chickens showed the highest percentage of liver (P < 0.01) when compared to other breeds. In addition, the percentage of wing of Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens were significantly (P < 0.01) higher than broiler chickens. Meat quality was also determined and found that, pH of breast meat left from slaughter 45 minutes (pH45) and 24 hours (pH24) of broiler was significantly higher than Thai Native and Betong (KU line) (P < 0.01) whereas the percentage of drip loss, thawing loss, cooking loss and shear force was not significantly different between breeds. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique was used to genotype the polymorphism in the ApoVLDL-II gene in the broiler, Thai Native and Betong (KU line) chickens. The results found that, the polymorphism in the ApoVLDL-II gene at VLDL6 loci was not associated with fat accumulation in those studied population.

Keywords: ApoVLDL-II Gene, Betong (KU line) chickens, broiler chickens, carcass characteristic, growth performance, meat quality, Thai Native Chickens.

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Authors: Faizal A. Samman, Thomas Hollstein, Manfred Glesner

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This paper presents design trade-off and performance impacts of the amount of pipeline phase of control path signals in a wormhole-switched network-on-chip (NoC). The numbers of the pipeline phase of the control path vary between two- and one-cycle pipeline phase. The control paths consist of the routing request paths for output selection and the arbitration paths for input selection. Data communications between on-chip routers are implemented synchronously and for quality of service, the inter-router data transports are controlled by using a link-level congestion control to avoid lose of data because of an overflow. The trade-off between the area (logic cell area) and the performance (bandwidth gain) of two proposed NoC router microarchitectures are presented in this paper. The performance evaluation is made by using a traffic scenario with different number of workloads under 2D mesh NoC topology using a static routing algorithm. By using a 130-nm CMOS standard-cell technology, our NoC routers can be clocked at 1 GHz, resulting in a high speed network link and high router bandwidth capacity of about 320 Gbit/s. Based on our experiments, the amount of control path pipeline stages gives more significant impact on the NoC performance than the impact on the logic area of the NoC router.

Keywords: Network-on-Chip, Synchronous Parallel Pipeline, Router Architecture, Wormhole Switching

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Authors: Ender Bulgun, Arzu Vuruskan

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Apparel product development is an important stage in the life cycle of a product. Shortening this stage will help to reduce the costs of a garment. The aim of this study is to examine the production parameters in knitwear apparel companies by defining the unit costs, and developing a software to calculate the unit costs of garments and make the cost estimates. In this study, with the help of a questionnaire, different companies- systems of unit cost estimating and cost calculating were tried to be analyzed. Within the scope of the questionnaire, the importance of cost estimating process for apparel companies and the expectations from a new cost estimating program were investigated. According to the results of the questionnaire, it was seen that the majority of companies which participated to the questionnaire use manual cost calculating methods or simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to make cost estimates. Furthermore, it was discovered that many companies meet with difficulties in archiving the cost data for future use and as a solution to that problem, it is thought that prior to making a cost estimate, sub units of garment costs which are fabric, accessory and the labor costs should be analyzed and added to the database of the programme beforehand. Another specification of the cost estimating unit prepared in this study is that the programme was designed to consist of two main units, one of which makes the product specification and the other makes the cost calculation. The programme is prepared as a web-based application in order that the supplier, the manufacturer and the customer can have the opportunity to communicate through the same platform.

Keywords: Apparel, cost estimating, design archive.

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Authors: Alemu Moges Belay

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In the 1980s, companies began to feel the effect of three major influences on their product development: newer and innovative technologies, increasing product complexity and larger organizations. And therefore companies were forced to look for new product development methods. This paper tries to focus on the two of new product development methods (DFM and CE). The aim of this paper is to see and analyze different product development methods specifically on Design for Manufacturability and Concurrent Engineering. Companies can achieve and be benefited by minimizing product life cycle, cost and meeting delivery schedule. This paper also presents simplified models that can be modified and used by different companies based on the companies- objective and requirements. Methodologies that are followed to do this research are case studies. Two companies were taken and analysed on the product development process. Historical data, interview were conducted on these companies in addition to that, Survey of literatures and previous research works on similar topics has been done during this research. This paper also tries to show the implementation cost benefit analysis and tries to calculate the implementation time. From this research, it has been found that the two companies did not achieve the delivery time to the customer. Some of most frequently coming products are analyzed and 50% to 80 % of their products are not delivered on time to the customers. The companies are following the traditional way of product development that is sequentially design and production method, which highly affect time to market. In the case study it is found that by implementing these new methods and by forming multi disciplinary team in designing and quality inspection; the company can reduce the workflow steps from 40 to 30.

Keywords: Design for manufacturability, Concurrent Engineering, Time-to-Market, Product development

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Authors: Hamada A. Ahmed, Kadry M. Sadek, Ayman E. Taha

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The effects of basil and/or chamomile seed supplementation on the growth of Hubbard broiler chicks were evaluated. The antioxidant effects of these supplements were also assessed. 120 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four equal groups. The control group (group 1) was fed a basal diet (BD) without supplementation. Groups 2, 3, and 4 were fed the BD supplemented with 10g basil, 10g chamomile, and 5g basil plus 5g chamomile per kg of food, respectively. Basil supplementation alone or in combination with chamomile non-significantly (P≥0.05) increased final body weight (3.2% and 0.3%, respectively) and weight gain (3.5% and 3.6%, respectively) over the experimental period. Chamomile supplementation alone non-significantly (P≥0.05) reduced final body weight and weight gain over the experimental period by 1.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In comparison to the control group, herbal seed supplementation reduced feed intake and improved the feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios. In general, basil seed supplementation stimulated chicken growth and improved the feed efficiency more effectively than chamomile seed supplementation. The antioxidant activities of basil and/or chamomile supplementation were examined in the thymus, bursa, and spleen. In chickens that received supplements, the level of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased, whereas the activities of glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were significantly increased (P<0.05). Supplementation of basil and/or chamomile did not affect blood protein levels, but had lipid-lowering effects as evidenced by reduced serum levels of total lipids, triglycerides, and cholesterol. In conclusion, supplementation of basil and/or chamomile improved growth parameters in broiler chicks and had antioxidant and blood lipid-lowering effects. These beneficial effects of basil and/or chamomile supplementation resulted in economically viable production of high-quality white meat containing no harmful residues.

Keywords: Herbal additives, basil, chamomile, broiler, growth performance, antioxidant.

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Authors: Rui Sousa, Aurora Futuro, António Fiúza

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The exploitation of gold ore deposits is highly dependent on efficient mineral processing methods, although actual perspectives based on life-cycle assessment introduce difficulties that were unforeseen in a very recent past. Cyanidation is the most applied gold processing method, but the potential environmental problems derived from the usage of cyanide as leaching reagent led to a demand for alternative methods. Ammoniacal thiosulfate leaching is one of the most important alternatives to cyanidation. In this article, some experimental studies carried out in order to assess the feasibility of thiosulfate as a leaching agent for the ore from the unexploited Portuguese gold mine of Castromil. It became clear that the process depends on the concentrations of ammonia, thiosulfate and copper. Based on this fact, a few leaching tests were performed in order to assess the best reagent prescription, and also the effects of different combination of these concentrations. Higher thiosulfate concentrations cause the decrease of gold dissolution. Lower concentrations of ammonia require higher thiosulfate concentrations, and higher ammonia concentrations require lower thiosulfate concentrations. The addition of copper increases the gold dissolution ratio. Subsequently, some alternative operatory conditions were tested such as variations in temperature and in the solid/liquid ratio as well as the application of a pre-treatment before the leaching stage. Finally, thiosulfate leaching was compared to cyanidation. Thiosulfate leaching showed to be an important alternative, although a pre-treatment is required to increase the yield of the gold dissolution.

Keywords: Gold, leaching, pre-treatment, thiosulfate.

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Authors: J. Gu, W.B. Lee, C.F. Cheung, E. Tsui, W.M. Wang

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Knowledge of an organization does not merely reside in structured form of information and data; it is also embedded in unstructured form. The discovery of such knowledge is particularly difficult as the characteristic is dynamic, scattered, massive and multiplying at high speed. Conventional methods of managing unstructured information are considered too resource demanding and time consuming to cope with the rapid information growth. In this paper, a Multi-faceted and Automatic Knowledge Elicitation System (MAKES) is introduced for the purpose of discovery and capture of organizational knowledge. A trial implementation has been conducted in a public organization to achieve the objective of decision capture and navigation from a number of meeting minutes which are autonomously organized, classified and presented in a multi-faceted taxonomy map in both document and content level. Key concepts such as critical decision made, key knowledge workers, knowledge flow and the relationship among them are elicited and displayed in predefined knowledge model and maps. Hence, the structured knowledge can be retained, shared and reused. Conducting Knowledge Management with MAKES reduces work in searching and retrieving the target decision, saves a great deal of time and manpower, and also enables an organization to keep pace with the knowledge life cycle. This is particularly important when the amount of unstructured information and data grows extremely quickly. This system approach of knowledge management can accelerate value extraction and creation cycles of organizations.

Keywords: Knowledge-Based System, Knowledge Elicitation, Knowledge Management, Taxonomy, Unstructured Information Management

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Authors: Akim Borbuev, Francisco de León

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Economic and population growth in densely-populated urban areas introduce major challenges to distribution system operators, planers, and designers. To supply added loads, utilities are frequently forced to invest in new distribution feeders. However, this is becoming increasingly more challenging due to space limitations and rising installation costs in urban settings. This paper proposes the conversion of critical alternating current (ac) distribution feeders into direct current (dc) feeders to increase the power transfer capacity by a factor as high as four. Current trends suggest that the return of dc transmission, distribution, and utilization are inevitable. Since a total system-level transformation to dc operation is not possible in a short period of time due to the needed huge investments and utility unreadiness, this paper recommends that feeders that are expected to exceed their limits in near future are converted to dc. The increase in power transfer capacity is achieved through several key differences between ac and dc power transmission systems. First, it is shown that underground cables can be operated at higher dc voltage than the ac voltage for the same dielectric stress in the insulation. Second, cable sheath losses, due to induced voltages yielding circulation currents, that can be as high as phase conductor losses under ac operation, are not present under dc. Finally, skin and proximity effects in conductors and sheaths do not exist in dc cables. The paper demonstrates that in addition to the increased power transfer capacity utilities substituting ac feeders by dc feeders could benefit from significant lower costs and reduced losses. Installing dc feeders is less expensive than installing new ac feeders even when new trenches are not needed. Case studies using the IEEE 342-Node Low Voltage Networked Test System quantify the technical and economic benefits of dc feeders.

Keywords: Dc power systems, distribution feeders, distribution networks, energy efficiency, power transfer capacity.

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Authors: Clara Inés Pardo Martínez, William H. Alfonso Piña

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In emerging economies, recycling is an opportunity for the cities to increase the lifespan of sanitary landfills, reduce the costs of the solid waste management, decrease the environmental problems of the waste treatment through reincorporate waste in the productive cycle and protect and develop people’s livelihoods of informal waste pickers. However, few studies have analysed the possibilities and strategies to integrate formal and informal sectors in the solid waste management for the benefit of both. This study seek to make a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis in three recycling associations of Bogotá with the aim to understand and determine the situation of recycling from perspective of informal sector in its transition to enter as authorized waste providers. Data used in the analysis are derived from multiple strategies such as literature review, the Bogota’s recycling database, focus group meetings, governmental reports, national laws and regulations and specific interviews with key stakeholders. Results of this study show as the main stakeholders of formal and informal sector of waste management can identify the internal and internal conditions of recycling in Bogotá. Several strategies were designed based on the SWOTs determined, could be useful for Bogotá to advance and promote recycling as a key strategy for integrated sustainable waste management in the city.

Keywords: Bogotá, recycling, solid waste management, SWOT analysis.

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Authors: Sitansu Kumar Verma, Soni Yadav, Jitendra Singh, Shraddha, Ajay Kumar

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of approximately 22 nucleotide long non coding RNAs which play critical role in different biological processes. The mature microRNA is usually 19–27 nucleotides long and is derived from a bigger precursor that folds into a flawed stem-loop structure. Mature micro RNAs are involved in many cellular processes that encompass development, proliferation, stress response, apoptosis, and fat metabolism by gene regulation. Resent finding reveals that certain viruses encode their own miRNA that processed by cellular RNAi machinery. In recent research indicate that cellular microRNA can target the genetic material of invading viruses. Cellular microRNA can be used in the virus life cycle; either to up regulate or down regulate viral gene expression Computational tools use in miRNA target prediction has been changing drastically in recent years. Many of the methods have been made available on the web and can be used by experimental researcher and scientist without expert knowledge of bioinformatics. With the development and ease of use of genomic technologies and computational tools in the field of microRNA biology has superior tremendously over the previous decade. This review attempts to give an overview over the genome wide approaches that have allow for the discovery of new miRNAs and development of new miRNA target prediction tools and databases.

Keywords: MicroRNAs, computational tools, gene regulation, databases, RNAi.

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Authors: Michael Gerges, Ograbe Ahiakwo, Martin Jaeger, Ahmad Asaad

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Recent advances of Building Information Modeling (BIM) especially in the Middle East have increased remarkably. Dubai has been taking a lead on this by making it mandatory for BIM to be adopted for all projects that involve complex architecture designs. This is because BIM is a dynamic process that assists all stakeholders in monitoring the project status throughout different project phases with great transparency. It focuses on utilizing information technology to improve collaboration among project participants during the entire life cycle of the project from the initial design, to the supply chain, resource allocation, construction and all productivity requirements. In view of this trend, the paper examines the extent of applying BIM in the State of Kuwait, by exploring practitioners’ perspectives on BIM, especially their perspectives on main barriers and main advantages. To this end structured interviews were carried out based on questionnaires and with a range of different construction professionals. The results revealed that practitioners perceive improved communication and mitigated project risks by encouraged collaboration between project participants. However, it was also observed that the full implementation of BIM in the State of Kuwait requires concerted efforts to make clients demanding BIM, counteract resistance to change among construction professionals and offer more training for design team members. This paper forms part of an on-going research effort on BIM and its application in the State of Kuwait and it is on this basis that further research on the topic is proposed.

Keywords: Building Information Modeling, BIM, construction industry, Kuwait.

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Authors: A. Sivakumar, S. S. Darun Prakash, P. Navaneethakrishnan

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In and around Erode District, it is estimated that more than 1250 chemical and allied textile processing fabric industries are affected, partially closed and shut off for various reasons such as poor management, poor supplier performance, lack of planning for productivity, fluctuation of output, poor investment, waste analysis, labor problems, capital/labor ratio, accumulation of stocks, poor maintenance of resources, deficiencies in the quality of fabric, low capacity utilization, age of plant and equipment, high investment and input but low throughput, poor research and development, lack of energy, workers’ fear of loss of jobs, work force mix and work ethic. The main objective of this work is to analyze the existing conditions in textile fabric sector, validate the break even of Total Productivity (TP), analyze, design and implement fuzzy sets and mathematical programming for improvement of productivity and quality dimensions in the fabric processing industry. It needs to be compatible with the reality of textile and fabric processing industries. The highly risk events from productivity and quality dimension were found by fuzzy systems and results are wrapped up among the textile fabric processing industry.

Keywords: Break Even Point, Fuzzy Crisp Data, Fuzzy Sets, Productivity, Productivity Cycle, Total Productive Maintenance.

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Authors: K. Chethana, A. S. Guru Prasad, S. N. Omkar, B. Vadiraj, S. Asokan

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This paper describes an ab-initio design, development and calibration results of an Optical Sensor Ground Reaction Force Measurement Platform (OSGRFP) for gait and geriatric studies. The developed system employs an array of FBG sensors to measure the respective ground reaction forces from all three axes (X, Y and Z), which are perpendicular to each other. The novelty of this work is two folded. One is in its uniqueness to resolve the tri axial resultant forces during the stance in to the respective pure axis loads and the other is the applicability of inherently advantageous FBG sensors which are most suitable for biomechanical instrumentation. To validate the response of the FBG sensors installed in OSGRFP and to measure the cross sensitivity of the force applied in other directions, load sensors with indicators are used. Further in this work, relevant mathematical formulations are presented for extracting respective ground reaction forces from wavelength shifts/strain of FBG sensors on the OSGRFP. The result of this device has implications in understanding the foot function, identifying issues in gait cycle and measuring discrepancies between left and right foot. The device also provides a method to quantify and compare relative postural stability of different subjects under test, which has implications in post-surgical rehabilitation, geriatrics and optimizing training protocols for sports personnel.

Keywords: Balance, stability, Gait analysis, FBG applications, optical sensor ground reaction force platform.

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Authors: Nazira Kakulia

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The analysis of transformation of institutional changes outlines two important characteristics. These are: the speed of the changes and their sequence. Successful transformation must be carried out in three different stages; On the first stage, macroeconomic stabilization must be achieved with the help of fiscal and monetary tools. Two-tier banking system should be established and the active functions of central bank should be replaced by the passive ones (reserve requirements and refinancing rate), together with the involvement growth of private sector. Fiscal policy by itself here means the creation of tax system which must replace previously existing direct state revenues; the share of subsidies in the state expenses must be reduced also. The second stage begins after reaching the macroeconomic stabilization at a time of change of formal institutes which must stimulate the private business. Corporate legislation creates a competitive environment at the market and the privatization of state companies takes place. Bankruptcy and contract law is created. he third stage is the most extended one, which means the formation of all state structures that is necessary for the further proper functioning of a market economy. These three stages about the cycle period of political and social transformation and the hierarchy of changes can also be grouped by the different methodology: on the first and the most short-term stage the transfer of power takes place. On the second stage institutions corresponding to new goal are created. The last phase of transformation is extended in time and it includes the infrastructural, socio-cultural and socio-structural changes. The main goal of this research is to explore and identify the features of such kind of models.

Keywords: Competitive, environment, fiscal policy, macro-economic stabilization.

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Authors: Mayada Alqaisi, Nasser Al-Shanti, Quiyu Wang, William S. Gilmore

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In-vitro mouse co-culture of E14 embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and OP9 stromal cells can recapitulate the earliest stages of haematopoietic development, not accessible in human embryos, supporting both haemogenic precursors and their primitive haematopoietic progeny. 1α, 25-Dihydroxy-vitamin D3 (VD3) has been demonstrated to be a powerful differentiation inducer for a wide variety of neoplastic cells, and could enhance early differentiation of ESCs into blood cells in E14/OP9 co-culture. This study aims to ascertain whether VD3 is key in promoting differentiation and suppressing proliferation, by separately investigating the effects of VD3 on the proliferation phase of the E14 cell line and on stromal OP9 cells.The results showed that VD3 inhibited the proliferation of the cells in a dose-dependent manner, quantitatively by decreased cell number, and qualitatively by alkaline-phosphatase staining that revealed significant differences between VD3-treated and untreated cells, characterised by decreased enzyme expression (colourless cells). Propidium-iodide cell-cycle analyses showed no significant percentage change in VD3-treated E14 and OP9 cells within their G and S-phases, compared to the untreated controls, despite the increased percentage of G-phase compared to the S-phase in a dosedependent manner. These results with E14 and OP9 cells indicate that adequate VD3 concentration enhances cellular differentiation and inhibits proliferation. The results also suggest that if E14 and OP9 cells were co-cultured andVD3-treated, there would be furtherenhanced differentiation of ESCs into blood cells.

Keywords: Differentiation, embryonic stem cells, OP9 stromal cells, 1α, 25-dihydroxy-vitamin D3

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