Search results for: Higher education in robotics
2375 Evidence Based Practice for Oral Care in Children
Authors: T. Turan, Ç. Erdoğan
Abstract:
As far as is known, general nursing care practices do not include specific evidence-based practices related to oral care in children. This study aimed to evaluate the evidence based nursing practice for oral care in children. This article is planned as a review article by searching the literature in this field. According to all age groups and the oral care in various specific situations located evidence in the literature were examined. It has been determined that the methods and frequency used in oral care practices performed by nurses in clinics differ from one hospital to another. In addition, it is seen that different solutions are used in basic oral care, oral care practices to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia and evidence-based practice in mucositis management in children. As a result, a standard should be established in oral care practices for children and education for children is recommended.
Keywords: Children, evidence based practice, nursing, oral care.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13342374 Increased Capacity of Information Hiding in LSB-s Method for Text and Image
Authors: H.B.Kekre, Archana Athawale, Pallavi N.Halarnkar
Abstract:
Steganography, derived from Greek, literally means “covered writing". It includes a vast array of secret communications methods that conceal the message-s very existence. These methods include invisible inks, microdots, character arrangement, digital signatures, covert channels, and spread spectrum communications. This paper proposes a new improved version of Least Significant Bit (LSB) method. The approach proposed is simple for implementation when compared to Pixel value Differencing (PVD) method and yet achieves a High embedding capacity and imperceptibility. The proposed method can also be applied to 24 bit color images and achieve embedding capacity much higher than PVD.Keywords: Information Hiding, LSB Matching, PVD Steganography.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31662373 Microalbuminuria in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Authors: Sharan Badiger, Prema T. Akkasaligar, Patil LS, Manish Patel, Biradar MS
Abstract:
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a global pandemic with cases reporting from virtually every country and continues to be a common infection in developing country like India. Microalbuminuria is a manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy. Therefore, microalbuminuria may be an early marker of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, and screening for its presence may be beneficial. A strikingly high prevalence of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected patients has been described in various studies. Risk factors for clinically significant proteinuria include African - American race, higher human immunodeficiency virus ribonucleic acid level and lower CD4 lymphocyte count. The cardiovascular risk factors of increased systolic blood pressure and increase fasting blood sugar level are strongly associated with microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. These results suggest that microalbuminuria may be a sign of current endothelial dysfunction and micro-vascular disease and there is substantial risk of future cardiovascular disease events. Positive contributing factors include early kidney disease such as human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, a marker of end organ damage related to co morbidities of diabetes or hypertension, or more diffuse endothelial cells dysfunction. Nevertheless after adjustment for non human immunodeficiency virus factors, human immunodeficiency virus itself is a major risk factor. The presence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is independent risk to develop microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. Cardiovascular risk factors appeared to be stronger predictors of microalbuminuria than markers of human immunodeficiency virus severity person with human immunodeficiency virus infection and microalbuminuria therefore appear to potentially bear the burden of two separate damage related to known vascular end organ damage related to know vascular risk factors, and human immunodeficiency virus specific processes such as the direct viral infection of kidney cells.The higher prevalence of microalbuminuria among the human immunodeficiency virus infected could be harbinger of future increased risks of both kidney and cardiovascular disease. Further study defining the prognostic significance of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected persons will be essential. Microalbuminuria seems to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease in diabetic and non diabetic subjects, hence it can also be used for early detection of micro vascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, thus can help to diagnose the disease at the earliest.Keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus, Microalbuminuria.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19202372 Performance of Laboratory Experiments over the Internet: Towards an Intelligent Tutoring System on Automatic Control
Authors: Kleanthis Prekas, Maria Rangoussi, Savvas Vassiliadis, George Prekas
Abstract:
Intelligent tutoring systems constitute an evolution of computer-aided educational software. We present here the modules of an intelligent tutoring system for Automatic Control, developed in our department. Through the software application developed,students can perform complete automatic control laboratory experiments, either over the departmental local area network or over the Internet. Monitoring of access to the system (local as well as international), along with student performance statistics, has yielded strongly encouraging results (as of fall 2004), despite the advanced technical content of the presented paradigm, thus showing the potential of the system developed for education and for training.
Keywords: Automatic control, tutoring system, Internet access, laboratory experiments.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16562371 The Use of Webquests in Developing Inquiry Based Learning: Views of Teachers and Students in Qatar
Authors: Abdullah Abu-Tineh, Carol Murphy, Nigel Calder, Nasser Mansour
Abstract:
This paper reports on an aspect of e-learning in developing inquiry-based learning (IBL). We present data on the views of teachers and students in Qatar following a professional development programme intended to help teachers implement IBL in their science and mathematics classrooms. Key to this programme was the use of WebQuests. Views of the teachers and students suggested that WebQuests helped students to develop technical skills, work collaboratively and become independent in their learning. The use of WebQuests also enabled a combination of digital and non-digital tools that helped students connect ideas and enhance their understanding of topics.
Keywords: Digital technology, inquiry-based learning, mathematics and science education, professional development.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7532370 Searching for Similar Informational Articles in the Internet Channel
Authors: Sung Ho Ha, Seong Hyeon Joo, Hyun U. Pae
Abstract:
In terms of total online audience, newspapers are the most successful form of online content to date. The online audience for newspapers continues to demand higher-quality services, including personalized news services. News providers should be able to offer suitable users appropriate content. In this paper, a news article recommender system is suggested based on a user-s preference when he or she visits an Internet news site and reads the published articles. This system helps raise the user-s satisfaction, increase customer loyalty toward the content provider.
Keywords: Content classification, content recommendation, customer profiling, documents clustering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16072369 Initialization Method of Reference Vectors for Improvement of Recognition Accuracy in LVQ
Authors: Yuji Mizuno, Hiroshi Mabuchi
Abstract:
Initial values of reference vectors have significant influence on recognition accuracy in LVQ. There are several existing techniques, such as SOM and k-means, for setting initial values of reference vectors, each of which has provided some positive results. However, those results are not sufficient for the improvement of recognition accuracy. This study proposes an ACO-used method for initializing reference vectors with an aim to achieve recognition accuracy higher than those obtained through conventional methods. Moreover, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by applying it to the wine data and English vowel data and comparing its results with those of conventional methods.
Keywords: Clustering, LVQ, ACO, SOM, k-means.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12562368 Undecimated Wavelet Transform Based Contrast Enhancement
Authors: Numan Unaldi, Samil Temel, Süleyman Demirci
Abstract:
A novel undecimated wavelet transform based contrast enhancement algorithmis proposed to for both gray scale andcolor images. Contrast enhancement is realized by tuning the magnitude of approximation coefficients at each level with respect to the approximation coefficients of one higher level during the inverse transform phase in a center/surround enhancement sense.The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using a statistical visual contrast measure (VCM). Experimental results on the proposed algorithm show improvement in terms of the VCM.
Keywords: Image enhancement, local contrast enhancement, visual contrast measure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27462367 Bone Mineral Density and Trabecular Bone Score in Ukrainian Women with Obesity
Authors: Vladyslav Povoroznyuk, Nataliia Dzerovych, Larysa Martynyuk, Tetiana Kovtun
Abstract:
Obesity and osteoporosis are the two diseases whose increasing prevalence and high impact on the global morbidity and mortality, during the two recent decades, have gained a status of major health threats worldwide. Obesity purports to affect the bone metabolism through complex mechanisms. Debated data on the connection between the bone mineral density and fracture prevalence in the obese patients are widely presented in literature. There is evidence that the correlation of weight and fracture risk is sitespecific. This study is aimed at determining the connection between the bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) parameters in Ukrainian women suffering from obesity. We examined 1025 40-89-year-old women, divided them into the groups according to their body mass index: Group A included 360 women with obesity whose BMI was ≥30 kg/m2, and Group B – 665 women with no obesity and BMI of <30 kg/m2. The BMD of total body, lumbar spine at the site L1-L4, femur and forearm were measured by DXA (Prodigy, GEHC Lunar, Madison, WI, USA). The TBS of L1- L4 was assessed by means of TBS iNsight® software installed on our DXA machine (product of Med-Imaps, Pessac, France). In general, obese women had a significantly higher BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck, proximal femur, total body and ultradistal forearm (p<0.001) in comparison with women without obesity. The TBS of L1-L4 was significantly lower in obese women compared to nonobese women (p<0.001). The BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck and total body differed to a significant extent in women of 40-49, 50- 59, 60-69 and 70-79 years (p<0.05). At same time, in women aged 80-89 years the BMD of lumbar spine (p=0.09), femoral neck (p=0.22) and total body (p=0.06) barely differed. The BMD of ultradistal forearm was significantly higher in women of all age groups (p<0.05). The TBS of L1-L4 in all the age groups tended to reveal the lower parameters in obese women compared with the nonobese; however, those data were not statistically significant. By contrast, a significant positive correlation was observed between the fat mass and the BMD at different sites. The correlation between the fat mass and TBS of L1-L4 was also significant, although negative. Women with vertebral fractures had a significantly lower body weight, body mass index and total body fat mass in comparison with women without vertebral fractures in their anamnesis. In obese women the frequency of vertebral fractures was 27%, while in women without obesity – 57%.Keywords: Bone mineral density, trabecular bone score, obesity, women.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16902366 A Computer Proven Application of the Discrete Logarithm Problem
Authors: Sebastian Kusch, Markus Kaiser
Abstract:
In this paper we analyze the application of a formal proof system to the discrete logarithm problem used in publickey cryptography. That means, we explore a computer verification of the ElGamal encryption scheme with the formal proof system Isabelle/HOL. More precisely, the functional correctness of this algorithm is formally verified with computer support. Besides, we present a formalization of the DSA signature scheme in the Isabelle/HOL system. We show that this scheme is correct what is a necessary condition for the usefulness of any cryptographic signature scheme.
Keywords: Formal proof system, higher-order logic, formal verification, cryptographic signature scheme.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15602365 Application of 1-MCP on ‘Centro’ Melon at Different Days after Harvest
Authors: L. P. L. Nguyen, G. Hitka, T. Zsom, Z. Kókai
Abstract:
This study is aimed to investigate the influence of postharvest delays of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment on prolonging the storage potential of melon. Melons were treated with 625-650 ppb 1-MCP at 10 °C for 24 hours on the 1st, 3rd and 5th day after harvest. Decreased ethylene production and retarded softening of melon fruits after 7 days of storage at 10 °C plus 3 days of shelflife were obtained by 1-MCP applications. 1-MCP strongly affected the chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics and hue angle values of melon. After shelf-life, the peel color of treated melon was slow in turning to yellow compared to the control. Additionally, firmness of melons treated on the first day after harvest was 38% higher than that of the control fruit. Results showed that fruits treated on the 1st and the 3rd day after harvest could maintain the quality of melon.Keywords: 1-MCP, delay, muskmelon, storage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14182364 Wet Strength Improvement of Pineapple Leaf Paper for Evaporative Cooling Pad
Authors: T. Khampan, N. Thavarungkul, J. Tiansuwan, S. Kamthai
Abstract:
This research aimed to modify pineapple leaf paper (PALP) for using as wet media in the evaporation cooling system by improving wet mechanical property (tensile strength) without compromising water absorption property. Polyamideamineepichorohydrin resin (PAE) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were used to strengthen the paper, and the PAE and CMC ratio of 80:20 showed the optimum wet and dry tensile index values, which were higher than those of the commercial cooling pad (CCP). Compared with CCP, PALP itself and all the PAE/CMC modified PALP possessed better water absorption. The PAE/CMC modified PALP had potential to become a new type of wet media.Keywords: wet strength, evaporative cooling, pineapple leaves, polyamideamine-epichorohydrin, carboxymethylcellulose.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21602363 Study on Radio Link Availability in Millimeter Wave Range
Authors: Boncho G. Bonev, Kliment N. Angelov, Emil S. Altimirski
Abstract:
In this paper, the link quality in SHF and EHF ranges are studied. In order to achieve high data rate higher frequencies must be used – centimeter waves (SHF), millimeter waves (EHF) or optical range. However, there are significant problem when a radio link work in that diapason – rain attenuation and attenuation in earth-s atmosphere. Based on statistical rain rates data for Bulgaria, the link availability can be determined, depending on the working frequency, the path length and the Power Budget of the link. For the calculations of rain attenuation and atmosphere-s attenuation the ITU recommendations are used.Keywords: rain attenuation, atmospheric gaseous attenuation, link availability, link breaking probability
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20242362 Enhancement of Methane Productivity of Anaerobic Reactors of Wastewater Treatment Plants
Authors: Aare Kuusik, E. Loigu, O. Sokk, Argo Kuusik
Abstract:
This paper describes technological possibilities to enhance methane productionin the anaerobic stabilization of wastewater treatment plant excess sludge. This objective can be achieved by the addition of waste residues: crude glycerol from biodiesel production and residues from fishery. The addition ofglycerol in an amount by weight of 2 – 5% causes enhancement of methane production of about 250 – 400%. At the same time the percentage increase of total solids concentration in the outgoing sludge is ten or more times less. The containment of methane in biogas is higher in case of admixed substrate.Keywords: Enhancement of methane production, fishery residues, waste glycerol
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17152361 Identification of the Causes of Construction Delay in Malaysia
Authors: N. Hamzah, M.A. Khoiry, I. Arshad, W.H.W. Badaruzzaman, N. M. Tawil
Abstract:
Construction delay is unavoidable in developing countries including Malaysia. It is defined as time overrun or extension of time for completion of a project. The purpose of the study is to determine the causes of delay in Malaysian construction industries based on previous worldwide research. The field survey conducted includes the experienced developers, consultants and contractors in Malaysia. 34 causes of the construction delay have been determined and 24 have been selected using the Rasch model analysis. The analysis result will be used as the baseline for the next research to find the causes of delay in the Malaysian construction industry taking place in Malaysian higher learning institutions.Keywords: Causes of construction delay, construction projects, Malaysian construction industry, Rasch model analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 75732360 Counter-Policies by Industrial Countries to Tackle Global Warming, from Perspective of the Kyoto Protocol
Authors: Yau-Ting, Sung, Hsueh-Chih, Chen, Hui-Peng, Hsiung, Hsun-Tsum, Huang
Abstract:
In accordance with environmental impacts contended in Kyoto Protocol, the study aims to explore the different administrative and non-administrative measurements that industrial countries, such as America, German, Japan, Korea, Holland and British take to face with the increasing Global Warming phenomena. By large, these measurements consist of versatile dimensions, including of education and advocating, economical instruments, research developments and instances, restricted instruments, voluntary contacts, exchangeable permit for carbon-release and public investments. The results of discussion for the study are as follows: both economical impacts as well as reformations for nations that are affected via Kyoto Protocol, and human testifying for variables of global surroundings in the age of Kyoto Protocol.
Keywords: Global warming, Kyoto protocol.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17612359 Protocol Modifications for Improved Co-Channel Wireless LAN Goodput in Partitioned Spaces
Authors: Raymond J. Jayabal, Chiew Tong Lau
Abstract:
Partitions can play a significant role in minimising cochannel interference of Wireless LANs by attenuating signals across room boundaries. This could pave the way towards higher density deployments in home and office environments through spatial channel reuse. Yet, due to protocol limitations, the latest incantation of IEEE 802.11 standard is still unable to take advantage of this fact: Despite having clearly adequate Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) over co-channel neighbouring networks in other rooms, its goodput falls significantly lower than its maximum in the absence of cochannel interferers. In this paper, we describe how this situation can be remedied via modest modifications to the standard.Keywords: IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN, spatial channel re-use, physical layer capture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13802358 Nonlinear Stability of Convection in a Thermally Modulated Anisotropic Porous Medium
Authors: M. Meenasaranya, S. Saravanan
Abstract:
Conditions corresponding to the unconditional stability of convection in a mechanically anisotropic fluid saturated porous medium of infinite horizontal extent are determined. The medium is heated from below and its bounding surfaces are subjected to temperature modulation which consists of a steady part and a time periodic oscillating part. The Brinkman model is employed in the momentum equation with the Bousinessq approximation. The stability region is found for arbitrary values of modulational frequency and amplitude using the energy method. Higher order numerical computations are carried out to find critical boundaries and subcritical instability regions more accurately.Keywords: Convection, porous medium, anisotropy, temperature modulation, nonlinear stability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8732357 Bit-Error-Rate Performance Analysis of an Overlap-based CSS System
Authors: Taeung Yoon, Dahae Chong, Sangho Ahn, Seokho Yoon
Abstract:
In a chirp spread spectrum (CSS) system, the overlap technique is used for increasing bit rate. More overlaps can offer higher data throughput; however, they may cause more intersymbol interference (ISI) at the same time, resulting in serious bit error rate (BER) performance degradation. In this paper, we perform the BER analysis and derive a closed form BER expression for the overlap-based CSS system. The derived BER expression includes the number of overlaps as a parameter, and thus, would be very useful in determining the number of overlaps for a specified BER. The numerical results demonstrate that the BER derived in a closed form closely agrees with the simulated BER.Keywords: CSS, DM, chirp, overlap.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21002356 A Validity and Reliability Study of Grasha- Riechmann Student Learning Style Scale
Authors: Yaşar Baykul, Musa Gürsel, Hacı Sulak, Erhan Ertekin, Ersen Yazıcı, Osman Dülger, Yasin Aslan, Kağan Büyükkarcı
Abstract:
The reliability of the tools developed to learn the learning styles is essential to find out students- learning styles trustworthily. For this purpose, the psychometric features of Grasha- Riechman Student Learning Style Inventory developed by Grasha was studied to contribute to this field. The study was carried out on 6th, 7th, and 8th graders of 10 primary education schools in Konya. The inventory was applied twice with an interval of one month, and according to the data of this application, the reliability coefficient numbers of the 6 sub-dimensions pointed in the theory of the inventory was found to be medium. Besides, it was found that the inventory does not have a structure with 6 factors for both Mathematics and English courses as represented in the theory.Keywords: Learning styles, Grasha-Riechmann, reliability, validity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 65572355 Does Practice Reflect Theory? An Exploratory Study of a Successful Knowledge Management System
Authors: Janet L. Kourik, Peter E. Maher
Abstract:
To investigate the correspondence of theory and practice, a successfully implemented Knowledge Management System (KMS) is explored through the lens of Alavi and Leidner-s proposed KMS framework for the analysis of an information system in knowledge management (Framework-AISKM). The applied KMS system was designed to manage curricular knowledge in a distributed university environment. The motivation for the KMS is discussed along with the types of knowledge necessary in an academic setting. Elements of the KMS involved in all phases of capturing and disseminating knowledge are described. As the KMS matures the resulting data stores form the precursor to and the potential for knowledge mining. The findings from this exploratory study indicate substantial correspondence between the successful KMS and the theory-based framework providing provisional confirmation for the framework while suggesting factors that contributed to the system-s success. Avenues for future work are described.Keywords: Applied KMS, education, knowledge management (KM), KM framework, knowledge management system (KMS).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10372354 A Quantitative Assessment of the Social Marginalization in Romania
Authors: Andra Costache, Rădiţa Alexe
Abstract:
The analysis of the spatial disparities of social marginalization is a requirement in the present-day socio-economic and political context of Romania, an East-European state, member of the European Union since 2007, at present faced with the imperatives of the growth of its territorial cohesion. The main objective of this article is to develop a methodology for the assessment of social marginalization, in order to understand the intensity of the marginalization phenomenon at different spatial scales. The article proposes a social marginalization index (SMI), calculated through the integration of ten indicators relevant for the two components of social marginalization: the material component and the symbolical component. The results highlighted a strong connection between the total degree of social marginalization and the dependence on social benefits, unemployment rate, non-inclusion in the compulsory education, criminality rate, and the type of pension insurance.
Keywords: Romania, social marginalization index, territorial disparities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19612353 Geochemical Assessment of Heavy Metals Concentration in Surface Sediment of West Port, Malaysia
Authors: B.Tavakoly Sany, A. Salleh, A.H .Sulaiman, A. Mehdinia, GH. Monazami
Abstract:
One year (November 2009-October 2010) sediment monitoring was used to evaluate pollution status, concentration and distribution of heavy metals (As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) in West Port of Malaysia. Sediment sample were collected from nine stations every four months. Geo-accumulation factor and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were estimated to better understand the pollution level in study area. The heavy metal concentration (Mg/g dry weight) were ranged from 20.2 to 162 for As, 7.4 to 27.6 for Cu, 0.244 to 3.53 for Cd, 11.5 to 61.5 for Cr, 0.11 to 0.409 for Hg, 7.2 to 22.2 for Ni, 22.3 to 80 for Pb and 23 to 98.3 for Zn. In general, concentration some metals (As,Cd, Hg and Pb) was higher than background values that are considered as serious concern for aquatic life and the human health.
Keywords: Heavy metals, Sediment Quality, geo-accumulationindex, Pollution Load Index
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25292352 Effect of Ionic Strength on Mercury Adsorption on Contaminated Soil
Authors: G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, I. Rosellini, E. Tassi, F. Gorini, B. Pezzarossa, M. Barbafieri
Abstract:
Mercury adsorption on soil was investigated at different ionic strengths using Ca(NO3)2 as a background electrolyte. Results fitted the Langmuir equation and the adsorption isotherms reached a plateau at higher equilibrium concentrations. Increasing ionic strength decreased the sorption of mercury, due to the competition of Ca ions for the sorption sites in the soils. The influence of ionic strength was related to the mechanisms of heavy metal sorption by the soil. These results can be of practical importance both in the agriculture and contaminated soils since the solubility of mercury in soils are strictly dependent on the adsorption and release process.Keywords: Heavy metals, bioavailability, remediation, competitive sorption.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24492351 Changes in Amino Acids Content in Muscle of European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) in Relation to Body Size
Authors: L. Gómez-Limia, I. Franco, T. Blanco, S. Martínez
Abstract:
European eels (Anguilla anguilla) belong to Anguilliformes order and Anguillidae family. They are generally classified as warm-water fish. Eels have a great commercial value in Europe and Asian countries. Eels can reach high weights, although their commercial size is relatively low in some countries. The capture of larger eels would facilitate the recovery of the species, as well as having a greater number of either glass eels or elvers for aquaculture. In the last years, the demand and the price of eels have increased significantly. However, European eel is considered critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The biochemical composition of fishes is an important aspect of quality and affects the nutritional value and consumption quality of fish. In addition, knowing this composition can help predict an individual’s condition for their recovery. Fish is known to be important source of protein rich in essential amino acids. However, there is very little information about changes in amino acids composition of European eels with increase in size. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different weight categories on the amino acids content in muscle tissue of wild European eels. European eels were caught in River Ulla (Galicia, NW Spain), during winter. The eels were slaughtered in ice water immersion. Then, they were purchased and transferred to the laboratory. The eels were subdivided into two groups, according to the weight. The samples were kept frozen (-20 °C) until their analysis. Frozen eels were defrosted and the white muscle between the head and the anal hole. was extracted, in order to obtain amino acids composition. Thirty eels for each group were used. Liquid chromatography was used for separation and quantification of amino a cids. The results conclude that the eels are rich in glutamic acid, leucine, lysine, threonine, valine, isoleucine and phenylalanine. The analysis showed that there are significant differences (p < 0.05) among the eels with different sizes. Histidine, threonine, lysine, hydroxyproline, serine, glycine, arginine, alanine and proline were higher in small eels. European eels muscle presents between 45 and 46% of essential amino acids in the total amino acids. European eels have a well-balanced and high quality protein source in the respect of E/NE ratio. However, eels with higher weight showed a better ratio of essential and non-essential amino acid.
Keywords: European eels, amino acids, HPLC, body size.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8362350 Elastic-Plastic Transition in a Thin Rotating Disc with Inclusion
Authors: Pankaj, Sonia R. Bansal
Abstract:
Stresses for the elastic-plastic transition and fully plastic state have been derived for a thin rotating disc with inclusion and results have been discussed numerically and depicted graphically. It has been observed that the rotating disc with inclusion and made of compressible material requires lesser angular speed to yield at the internal surface whereas it requires higher percentage increase in angular speed to become fully plastic as compare to disc made of incompressible material.Keywords: Angular speed, Elastic-Plastic, Inclusion, Rotatingdisc, Stress, Transition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17192349 A Feasible Path Selection QoS Routing Algorithm with two Constraints in Packet Switched Networks
Authors: P.S.Prakash, S.Selvan
Abstract:
Over the past several years, there has been a considerable amount of research within the field of Quality of Service (QoS) support for distributed multimedia systems. One of the key issues in providing end-to-end QoS guarantees in packet networks is determining a feasible path that satisfies a number of QoS constraints. The problem of finding a feasible path is NPComplete if number of constraints is more than two and cannot be exactly solved in polynomial time. We proposed Feasible Path Selection Algorithm (FPSA) that addresses issues with pertain to finding a feasible path subject to delay and cost constraints and it offers higher success rate in finding feasible paths.Keywords: feasible path, multiple constraints, path selection, QoS routing
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17512348 Moving Vehicles Detection Using Automatic Background Extraction
Authors: Saad M. Al-Garni, Adel A. Abdennour
Abstract:
Vehicle detection is the critical step for highway monitoring. In this paper we propose background subtraction and edge detection technique for vehicle detection. This technique uses the advantages of both approaches. The practical applications approved the effectiveness of this method. This method consists of two procedures: First, automatic background extraction procedure, in which the background is extracted automatically from the successive frames; Second vehicles detection procedure, which depend on edge detection and background subtraction. Experimental results show the effective application of this algorithm. Vehicles detection rate was higher than 91%.
Keywords: Image processing, Automatic background extraction, Moving vehicle detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24252347 Managing, Sustaining, and Future Proofing the Business of Educational Provision Following Large-Scale Disaster and Disruption
Authors: Judy Yarwood, Lesley Seaton, Philippa Seaton
Abstract:
A catastrophic earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the Christchurch, New Zealand Central Business District on February 22, 2012, abruptly disrupting the business of teaching and learning at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology. This paper presents the findings from a study undertaken about the complexity of delivering an educational programme in the face of this traumatic natural event. Nine interconnected themes emerged from this multiple method study: communication, decision making, leader- and follower-ship, balancing personal and professional responsibilities, taking action, preparedness and thinking ahead, all within a disruptive and uncertain context. Sustainable responses that maximise business continuity, and provide solutions to practical challenges, are among the study-s recommendations.Keywords: Business continuity, earthquake, education, sustainability
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19032346 Identification of 332G>A Polymorphism in Exon 3 of the Leptin Gene and Partially Effects on Body Size and Tail Dimension in Sanjabi Sheep
Authors: Roya Bakhtiar, Alireza Abdolmohammadi, Hadi Hajarian, Zahra Nikousefat, Davood, Kalantar-Neyestanaki
Abstract:
The objective of the present study was to determine the polymorphism in the leptin (332G>A) and its association with biometric traits in Sanjabi sheep. For this purpose, blood samples from 96 rams were taken, and tail length, width tail, circumference tail, body length, body width, and height were simultaneously recorded. PCR was performed using specific primer to amplify 463 bp fragment including exon 3 of leptin gene, and PCR products were digested by Cail restriction enzymes. The 332G>A (at 332th nucleotide of exon 3 leptin gene) that caused an amino acid change from Arg to Gln was detected by Cail (CAGNNNCTG) endonuclease, as the endonuclease cannot cut this region if G nucleotide is located in this position. Three genotypes including GG (463), GA (463, 360and 103 bp) and GG (360 bp and 103 bp) were identified after digestion by enzyme. The estimated frequencies of three genotypes including GG, GA, and AA for 332G>A locus were 0.68, 0.29 and 0.03 and those were 0.18 and 0.82 for A and G alleles, respectively. In the current study, chi-square test indicated that 332G>A positions did not deviate from the Hardy–Weinberg (HW) equilibrium. The most important reason to show HW equation was that samples used in this study belong to three large local herds with a traditional breeding system having random mating and without selection. Shannon index amount was calculated which represent an average genetic variation in Sanjabi rams. Also, heterozygosity estimated by Nei index indicated that genetic diversity of mutation in the leptin gene is moderate. Leptin gene polymorphism in the 332G>A had significant effect on body length (P<0.05) trait, and individuals with GA genotype had significantly the higher body length compared to other individuals. Although animals with GA genotype had higher body width, this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). This non-synonymous SNP resulted in different amino acid changes at codon positions111(R/Q). As leptin activity is localized, at least in part, in domains between amino acid residues 106-1406, it is speculated that the detected SNP at position 332 may affect the activity of leptin and may lead to different biological functions. Based to our results, due to significant effect of leptin gene polymorphism on body size traits, this gene may be used a candidate gene for improving these traits.
Keywords: Body size, Leptin gene, PCR-RFLP, Sanjabi sheep.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1188