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Authors: Armando Cartenì, Ilaria Henke

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The perceived public transport quality is an important driver that influences both customer satisfaction and mobility choices. The competition among transport operators needs to improve the quality of the services and identify which attributes are perceived as relevant by passengers. Among the “traditional” public transport quality attributes there are, for example: travel and waiting time, regularity of the services, and ticket price. By contrast, there are some “non-conventional” attributes that could significantly influence customer satisfaction jointly with the “traditional” ones. Among these, the beauty/aesthetics of the transport terminals (e.g. rail station and bus terminal) is probably one of the most impacting on user perception. Starting from these considerations, the point stressed in this paper was if (and how munch) the travel experience of the overall travel (e.g. how long is the travel, how many transport modes must be used) influences the perception of the public transport quality. The aim of this paper was to investigate the weight of the terminal quality (e.g. aesthetic, comfort and service offered) within the overall travel experience. The case study was the extra-urban Italian bus network. The passengers of the major Italian terminal bus were interviewed and the analysis of the results shows that about the 75% of the travelers, are available to pay up to 30% more for the ticket price for having a high quality terminal. A travel experience effect was observed: the average perceived transport quality varies with the characteristic of the overall trip. The passengers that have a “long trip” (travel time greater than 2 hours) perceived as “low” the overall quality of the trip even if they pass through a high quality terminal. The opposite occurs for the “short trip” passengers. This means that if a traveler passes through a high quality station, the overall perception of that terminal could be significantly reduced if he is tired from a long trip. This result is important and if confirmed through other case studies, will allow to conclude that the “travel experience impact" must be considered as an explicit design variable for public transport services and planning.

Keywords: Transportation planning, sustainable mobility, decision support system, discrete choice model, design problem.

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Authors: A. Abdulkadir, A. A. Okhimamhe, Y. M. Bello, H. Ibrahim, D. H. Makun, M. T. Usman

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Household waste form a larger proportion of waste generated across the state, accumulation of organic waste is an apparent problem and the existing dump sites could be overstress. Niger state has abundant arable land and water resources thus should be one of the highest producers of agricultural crops in the country. However, the major challenge to agricultural sector today is loss of soil nutrient coupled with high cost of fertilizer. These have continued to increase the use of fertilizer and decomposed solid waste for enhance agricultural yield, which have varying effects on the soil as well a threat to human livelihood. Consequently, vegetable yield samples from poultry droppings, decomposed household waste manure, NPK treatments and control from each replication were subjected to proximate analysis to determine the nutritional and antinutritional component as well as heavy metal concentration. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS software and Randomized complete Block Design means were compared. The result shows that the treatments do not devoid the concentrations of any nutritional components while the anti-nutritional analysis proved that NPK had higher oxalate content than control and organic treats. The concentration of lead and cadmium are within safe permissible level while the mercury level exceeded the FAO/WHO maximum permissible limit for the entire treatments depicts the need for urgent intervention to minimize mercury levels in soil and manure in order to mitigate its toxic effect. Thus, eco-agriculture should be widely accepted and promoted by the stakeholders for soil amendment, higher yield, strategies for sustainable environmental protection, food security, poverty eradication, attainment of sustainable development and healthy livelihood.

Keywords: Anti-nutritional, healthy livelihood, nutritional waste, organic waste.

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Authors: Zhaojun Wang, Zongdi Sun, Yongjie Chen, Manman Chen, Linghui Wang

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This paper uses the analytic hierarchy process to study the execution effect of the minimum purchase price of grain in different regions and various grain crops. Firstly, for different regions, five indicators including grain yield, grain sown area, gross agricultural production, grain consumption price index, and disposable income of rural residents were selected to construct an evaluation index system. We collect data of six provinces including Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province and Shandong Province from 2006 to 2017. Then, the judgment matrix is constructed, and the hierarchical single ordering and consistency test are carried out to determine the scoring standard for the minimum purchase price of grain. The ranking of the execution effect from high to low is: Heilongjiang Province, Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Guizhou Province, Shaanxi Province, and Guangdong Province. Secondly, taking Shandong Province as an example, we collect the relevant data of sown area and yield of cereals, beans, potatoes and other crops from 2006 to 2017. The weight of area and yield index is determined by expert scoring method. And the average sown area and yield of cereals, beans and potatoes in 2006-2017 were calculated, respectively. On this basis, according to the sum of products of weights and mean values, the execution effects of different grain crops are determined. It turns out that among the cereals, the minimum purchase price had the best execution effect on paddy, followed by wheat and finally maize. Moreover, among major categories of crops, cereals perform best, followed by beans and finally potatoes. Lastly, countermeasures are proposed for different regions, various categories of crops, and different crops of the same category.

Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, grain yield, grain sown area, minimum grain purchase price.

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Authors: Marko Spasojevic, Ying Hei Chui, Yuxiang Chen

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Increasing the level of exterior insulation in residential buildings is a popular way for improving the thermal characteristic of building enclosure and reducing heat loss. However, the layout and properties of materials composing the wall have a great effect on moisture accumulation within the wall cavity, long-term durability of a wall as well as the structural performance. A one-dimensional hygrothermal modeling has been performed to investigate moisture condensation risks and the drying capacity of standard 2×4 and 2×6 light wood-frame wall assemblies including exterior low-permeance extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation. The analysis considered two different wall configurations whereby the rigid insulation board was placed either between Oriented Strand Board (OSB) sheathing and the stud or outboard to the structural sheathing. The thickness of the insulation varied between 0 mm and 50 mm and the analysis has been conducted for eight different locations in Canada, covering climate zone 4 through zone 8. Results show that the wall configuration with low-permeance insulation inserted between the stud and OSB sheathing accumulates more moisture within the stud cavity, compared to the assembly with the same insulation placed exterior to the sheathing. On the other hand, OSB moisture contents of the latter configuration were markedly higher. Consequently, the analysis of hygrothermal performance investigated and compared moisture accumulation in both the OSB and stud cavity. To investigate the structural performance of the wall and the effect of soft insulation layer inserted between the sheathing and framing, forty nail connection specimens were tested. Results have shown that both the connection strength and stiffness experience a significant reduction as the insulation thickness increases. These results will be compared with results from a full-scale shear wall tests in order to investigate if the capacity of shear walls with insulated sheathing would experience a similar reduction in structural capacities.

Keywords: Hygrothermal analysis, insulated sheathing, moisture performance, nail joints, wood shear wall.

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Authors: Jatindra N. Bhakta, Kouhei Ohnishi, Yukihiro Munekage, Kozo Iwasaki

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The growing health hazardous impact of arsenic (As) contamination in environment is the impetus of the present investigation. Application of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for the removal of toxic and heavy metals from water has been reported. This study was performed in order to isolate and characterize the Asresistant LAB from mud and sludge samples for using as efficient As uptaking probiotic. Isolation of As-resistant LAB colonies was performed by spread plate technique using bromocresol purple impregnated-MRS (BP-MRS) agar media provided with As @ 50 μg/ml. Isolated LAB were employed for probiotic characterization process, acid and bile tolerance, lactic acid production, antibacterial activity and antibiotic tolerance assays. After As-resistant and removal characterizations, the LAB were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing. A total of 103 isolates were identified as As-resistant strains of LAB. The survival of 6 strains (As99-1, As100-2, As101-3, As102-4, As105-7, and As112-9) was found after passing through the sequential probiotic characterizations. Resistant pattern pronounced hollow zones at As concentration >2000 μg/ml in As99-1, As100-2, and As101-3 LAB strains, whereas it was found at ~1000 μg/ml in rest 3 strains. Among 6 strains, the As uptake efficiency of As102-4 (0.006 μg/h/mg wet weight of cell) was higher (17 – 209%) compared to remaining LAB. 16S rDNA sequencing data of 3 (As99- 1, As100-2, and As101-3) and 3 (As102-4, As105-7, and As112-9) LAB strains clearly showed 97 to 99% (340 bp) homology to Pediococcus dextrinicus and Pediococcus acidilactici, respectively. Though, there was no correlation between the metal resistant and removal efficiency of LAB examined but identified elevated As removing LAB would probably be a potential As uptaking probiotic agent. Since present experiment concerned with only As removal from pure water, As removal and removal mechanism in natural condition of intestinal milieu should be assessed in future studies.

Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria, As-resistant, characterization, Pediococcus sp., As removal probiotic.

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Authors: H.R. Balouchi

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To evaluate genetic variation of wheat (Triticum aestivum) affected by heat and drought stress on eight Australian wheat genotypes that are parents of Doubled Haploid (HD) mapping populations at the vegetative stage, the water stress experiment was conducted at 65% field capacity in growth room. Heat stress experiment was conducted in the research field under irrigation over summer. Result show that water stress decreased dry shoot weight and RWC but increased osmolarity and means of Fv/Fm values in all varieties except for Krichauff. Krichauff and Kukri had the maximum RWC under drought stress. Trident variety was shown maximum WUE, osmolarity (610 mM/Kg), dry mater, quantum yield and Fv/Fm 0.815 under water stress condition. However, the recovery of quantum yield was apparent between 4 to 7 days after stress in all varieties. Nevertheless, increase in water stress after that lead to strong decrease in quantum yield. There was a genetic variation for leaf pigments content among varieties under heat stress. Heat stress decreased significantly the total chlorophyll content that measured by SPAD. Krichauff had maximum value of Anthocyanin content (2.978 A/g FW), chlorophyll a+b (2.001 mg/g FW) and chlorophyll a (1.502 mg/g FW). Maximum value of chlorophyll b (0.515 mg/g FW) and Carotenoids (0.234 mg/g FW) content belonged to Kukri. The quantum yield of all varieties decreased significantly, when the weather temperature increased from 28 ÔùªC to 36 ÔùªC during the 6 days. However, the recovery of quantum yield was apparent after 8th day in all varieties. The maximum decrease and recovery in quantum yield was observed in Krichauff. Drought and heat tolerant and moderately tolerant wheat genotypes were included Trident, Krichauff, Kukri and RAC875. Molineux, Berkut and Excalibur were clustered into most sensitive and moderately sensitive genotypes. Finally, the results show that there was a significantly genetic variation among the eight varieties that were studied under heat and water stress.

Keywords: Abiotic stress, Genetic variation, Fluorescence, Wheat genotypes.

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Authors: Mahsa Shafaei Bajestani, Mahmoud Yazdani, Aliakbar Golshani

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Artificial lightweight aggregates have a wide range of applications in industry and engineering. Nowadays, the usage of this material in geotechnical activities, especially as backfill in retaining walls has been growing due to the specific characteristics which make it a competent alternative to the conventional geotechnical materials. In practice, a material with lower weight but higher shear strength parameters would be ideal as backfill behind retaining walls because of the important roles that these parameters play in decreasing the overall active lateral earth pressure. In this study, two types of Light Expanded Clay Aggregates (LECA) produced in the Leca factory are investigated. LECA is made in a rotary kiln by heating natural clay at different temperatures up to 1200 °C making quasi-spherical aggregates with different sizes ranged from 0 to 25 mm. The loose bulk density of these aggregates is between 300 and 700 kN/m³. The purpose of this research is to determine the stress-strain behavior, shear strength parameters, and the energy absorption of LECA materials. Direct shear tests were conducted at five normal stresses of 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 kPa. In addition, conventional triaxial compression tests were operated at confining pressures of 50, 100, and 200 kPa to examine stress-strain behavior. The experimental results show a high internal angle of friction and even a considerable amount of nominal cohesion despite the granular structure of LECA. These desirable properties along with the intrinsic low density of these aggregates make LECA as a very proper material in geotechnical applications. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that lightweight aggregates may have high energy absorption that is excellent alternative material in seismic isolations.

Keywords: Expanded clay, direct shear test, triaxial test, shear properties, energy absorption.

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Authors: V. P. Muhamed Shajudheen, K. Viswanathan, K. Anitha Rani, A. Uma Maheswari, S. Saravana Kumar

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In this paper, a simple chemical precipitation route for the preparation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, synthesized by using titanium tetra isopropoxide as a precursor and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as a capping agent, is reported. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) of the samples were recorded and the phase transformation temperature of titanium hydroxide, Ti(OH)₄ to titanium oxide, TiO₂ was investigated. The as-prepared Ti(OH)₄ precipitate was annealed at 800°C to obtain TiO₂ nanoparticles. The thermal, structural, morphological and textural characterizations of the TiO₂ nanoparticle samples were carried out by different techniques such as DSC-TGA, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), Micro Raman spectroscopy, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) techniques. The as-prepared precipitate was characterized using DSC-TGA and confirmed the mass loss of around 30%. XRD results exhibited no diffraction peaks attributable to anatase phase, for the reaction products, after the solvent removal. The results indicate that the product is purely rutile. The vibrational frequencies of two main absorption bands of prepared samples are discussed from the results of the FTIR analysis. The formation of nanosphere of diameter of the order of 10 nm, has been confirmed by FESEM. The optical band gap was found by using UV-Visible spectrum. From photoluminescence spectra, a strong emission was observed. The obtained results suggest that this method provides a simple, efficient and versatile technique for preparing TiO₂ nanoparticles and it has the potential to be applied to other systems for photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: TiO2 nanoparticles, chemical precipitation route, phase transition, Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, micro Raman spectroscopy, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Photoluminescence spectroscopy, Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy.

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Authors: Suttijit Sriwatcharakul

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The bioactivity studies from the weed ethanolic crude extracts from leaf, stem, pod and root of wild spider flower; Cleoma viscosa Linn. were analyzed for the growth inhibition of 6 bacterial species; Salmonella typhimurium TISTR 5562, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR 1466, Streptococcus epidermidis ATCC 1228, Escherichia coli DMST 4212 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 with initial concentration crude extract of 50 mg/ml. The agar well diffusion results found that the extracts inhibit only gram positive bacteria species; S. aureus, S. epidermidis and B. subtilis. The minimum inhibition concentration study with gram positive strains revealed that leaf crude extract give the best result of the lowest concentration compared with other plant parts to inhibit the growth of S. aureus, S. epidermidis and B. subtilis at 0.78, 0.39 and lower than 0.39 mg/ml, respectively. The determination of total phenolic compounds in the crude extracts exhibited the highest phenolic content was 10.41 mg GAE/g dry weight in leaf crude extract. Analyzed the efficacy of free radical scavenging by using DPPH radical scavenging assay with all crude extracts showed value of IC50 of leaf, stem, pod and root crude extracts were 8.32, 12.26, 21.62 and 35.99 mg/ml, respectively. Studied cytotoxicity of crude extracts on human breast adenocarcinoma cell line by MTT assay found that pod extract had the most cytotoxicity CC50 value, 32.41 µg/ml. Antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of crude extracts exhibited that the more increase of extract concentration, the more activities indicated. According to the bioactivities results, the leaf crude extract of Cleoma viscosa Linn. is the most interesting plant part for further work to search the beneficial of this weed.

Keywords: Antimicrobial, antioxidant activity, Cleoma viscosa Linn., cytotoxicity test, total phenolic compound.

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Authors: A. M. Ismaiel, Ali Hafez El-Far, Abou-Ganema I. I

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A thirty Rahmani weaned male lambs of average body weight (27.28±1.40 kg) were randomly allotted to three similar groups, ten lambs in each, to study the benefit of commercial feed additives Tonilisat (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and Roemin W2 (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium and Lactose) as growth promoters on lambs performance, digestibility, rumen activity and some blood constituents. The experiment lasted about 107 days. Three experimental groups were allotted as control group: received the basal ration, T1 group: received the basal ration supplemented with Tonilisat as (0.5kg/ ton concentrate feed mixture) and T2 group: received the basal ration supplemented with Roemin W2 (1kg/ ton concentrate feed mixture). Our study revealed that addition of Tonilisat significantly increased digestion coefficient of crude protein than that of the control group, Furthermore, the supplementation of Tonilisat or Roemin W2 increased (p<0.05) crude fiber digestibility than control group. Total digestible nutrients and crude digestible protein were not significantly changed between treatments. Retained nitrogen was higher in treated lamb groups than untreated but the different was non significant. Rumen activity of different rations showed that volatile fatty acids concentrations for Tonilisat and Roemin W2 groups were higher than control group, but the differences were not significant. There are no significant changes between groups in tested blood parameters but in T1 group ALT and AST were decreased. Conclusion: Supplementation of the lamb's rations with probiotics had a non significant effect (p<0.05) on blood constituents. While, growth performance and economic efficiency revealed that Tonilisat supplemented lambs had the best average daily gain followed by Roemin W2 treated group in comparison with control group. The best economic efficiency was recorded for T1 which fed Tonilisat followed by control group at whole period.

Keywords: Rahmani sheep, Tonilisat, Roemin W2, Growth, Performance.

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Authors: Miroslav Byrtus

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Large rotating systems, especially gear drives and gearboxes, occur as parts of many mechanical devices transmitting the torque with relatively small loss of power. With the increased demand for high speed machinery, mathematical modeling and dynamic analysis of gear drives gained importance. Mathematical description of such mechanical systems is a complex task evolving for several decades. In gear drive dynamic models, which include flexible shafts, bearings and gearing and use the finite elements, nonlinear effects due to gear mesh and bearings are usually ignored, for such models have large number of degrees of freedom (DOF) and it is computationally expensive to analyze nonlinear systems with large number of DOF. Therefore, these models are not suitable for simulation of nonlinear behavior with amplitude jumps in frequency response. The contribution uses a methodology of nonlinear large rotating system modeling which is based on degrees of freedom (DOF) number reduction using modal synthesis method (MSM). The MSM enables significant DOF number reduction while keeping the nonlinear behavior of the system in a specific frequency range. Further, the MSM with DOF number reduction is suitable for including detail models of nonlinear couplings (mainly gear and bearing couplings) into the complete gear drive models. Since each subsystem is modeled separately using different FEM systems, it is advantageous to parameterize models of subsystems and to use the parameterization for optimization of chosen design parameters. Final complex model of gear drive is assembled in MATLAB and MATLAB tools are used for dynamical analysis of the nonlinear system. The contribution is further focused on developing of a methodology for investigation of behavior of the system by Nonlinear Normal Modes with combination of the MSM using numerical continuation method. The proposed methodology will be tested using a two-stage gearbox including its housing.

Keywords: Vibro-impact system, rotating system, gear drive, modal synthesis method, numerical continuation method, periodic solution.

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Authors: Angelo Lerro, Manuela Battipede, Piero Gili, Alberto Brandl

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Redundancy requirements for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are hardly faced due to the generally restricted amount of available space and allowable weight for the aircraft systems, limiting their exploitation. Essential equipment as the Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (ADAHRS) require several external probes to measure significant data as the Angle of Attack or the Sideslip Angle. Previous research focused on the analysis of a patented technology named Smart-ADAHRS (Smart Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference System) as an alternative method to obtain reliable and accurate estimates of the aerodynamic angles. This solution is based on an innovative sensor fusion algorithm implementing soft computing techniques and it allows to obtain a simplified inertial and air data system reducing external devices. In fact, only one external source of dynamic and static pressures is needed. This paper focuses on the benefits which would be gained by the implementation of this system in UAV applications. A simplification of the entire ADAHRS architecture will bring to reduce the overall cost together with improved safety performance. Smart-ADAHRS has currently reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. Real flight tests took place on ultralight aircraft equipped with a suitable Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The output of the algorithm using the flight test measurements demonstrates the capability for this fusion algorithm to embed in a single device multiple physical and virtual sensors. Any source of dynamic and static pressure can be integrated with this system gaining a significant improvement in terms of versatility.

Keywords: Neural network, aerodynamic angles, virtual sensor, unmanned aerial vehicle, air data system, flight test.

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Authors: Bernard J.H. Ng, Apostolos Giannis, Victor Chang, Rainer Stegmann, Jing-Yuan Wang

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Decentralized eco-sanitation system is a promising and sustainable mode comparing to the century-old centralized conventional sanitation system. The decentralized concept relies on an environmentally and economically sound management of water, nutrient and energy fluxes. Source-separation systems for urban waste management collect different solid waste and wastewater streams separately to facilitate the recovery of valuable resources from wastewater (energy, nutrients). A resource recovery centre constituted for 20,000 people will act as the functional unit for the treatment of urban waste of a high-density population community, like Singapore. The decentralized system includes urine treatment, faeces and food waste co-digestion, and horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste treatment in composting plants. A design model is developed to estimate the input and output in terms of materials and energy. The inputs of urine (yellow water, YW) and faeces (brown water, BW) are calculated by considering the daily mean production of urine and faeces by humans and the water consumption of no-mix vacuum toilet (0.2 and 1 L flushing water for urine and faeces, respectively). The food waste (FW) production is estimated to be 150 g wet weight/person/day. The YW is collected and discharged by gravity into tank. It was found that two days are required for urine hydrolysis and struvite precipitation. The maximum nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) recovery are 150-266 kg/day and 20-70 kg/day, respectively. In contrast, BW and FW are mixed for co-digestion in a thermophilic acidification tank and later a decentralized/centralized methanogenic reactor is used for biogas production. It is determined that 6.16-15.67 m3/h methane is produced which is equivalent to 0.07-0.19 kWh/ca/day. The digestion residues are treated with horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal waste in co-composting plants.

Keywords: Decentralization, ecological sanitation, material flow analysis, source-separation

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Authors: Mohamed Moheyeldin Mahmoud

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Egypt suffers from a severe shortage of data and charts concerning the physical dimensions, measurements, qualities and consumer behavior. The shortage of needed information and appropriate methods has forced the Egyptian designer to use any other foreign standard when designing a product for the Egyptian consumer which has led to many problems. The urgently needed database concerning the physical specifications, measurements of the Egyptian consumers, as well as the need to support the Ergonomics given courses in many colleges and institutes with the latest technologies, is stated as the research problem. Descriptive analytical method relying on the compiling, comparing and analyzing of information and facts in order to get acceptable perceptions, ideas and considerations is the used methodology by the researcher. The research concludes that: 1. Good interaction relationship between users and products shows the success of that product. 2. An integration linkage between the most prominent fields of science specially Ergonomics, Interaction Design and Ethnography should be encouraged to provide an ultimately updated database concerning the nature, specifications and environment of the Egyptian consumer, in order to achieve a higher benefit for both user and product. 3. Chinese economic policy based on the study of market requirements long before any market activities should be emulated. 4. Using Ethnography supports the design activities creating new products or updating existent ones through measuring the compatibility of products with their environment and user expectations, While contracting a joint cooperation between military colleges, sports education institutes from one side, and design institutes from the other side to provide an ultimately updated (annually updated) database concerning some specifications about students of both sexes applying in those institutes (height, weight, etc.) to provide the Industrial designer with the needed information when creating a new product or updating an existing one concerning that category is recommended by the researcher.

Keywords: Adapt ergonomics, ethnography, interaction design.

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Authors: Roya Morad, W. Eirik Heintz

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The identity of a neighborhood is inevitably shaped by the architecture and the people of that place. Conventionally the streets within each neighborhood served as a semi-public-private extension of the private living spaces. The street as a design element formed a hybrid condition that was neither totally public nor private, and it encouraged social interactions. Thus through creating a sense of community, one of the most basic human needs of belonging was achieved. Similar to major global cities, Tehran has undergone serious urbanization. Developing into a capital city of high rises has resulted in an increase in urban density. Although allocating more residential units in each neighborhood was a critical response to the population boom and the limited land area of the city, it also created a crisis in terms of social communication and place attachment. District 10 in Tehran is a neighborhood that has undergone the most urban transformation among the other 22 districts in the capital and currently has the highest population density. This paper will explore how the active streets in district 10 have changed into their current condition of high rises with a lack of meaningful social interactions amongst its inhabitants. A residential building can be thought of as a large group of people. One would think that as the number of people increases, the opportunities for social communications would increase as well. However, according to the survey, there is an indirect relationship between the two. As the number of people of a residential building increases, the quality of each acquaintance reduces, and the depth of relationships between people tends to decrease. This comes from the anonymity of being part of a crowd and the lack of social spaces characterized by most high-rise apartment buildings. Without a sense of community, the attachment to a neighborhood is decreased. This paper further explores how the neighborhood participates to fulfill ones need for social interaction and focuses on the qualitative aspects of alternative spaces that can redevelop the sense of place attachment within the community.

Keywords: High density, place attachment, social communication, street life, urban transformation.

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Authors: Wahyu Widowati, Hana Ratnawati, Tjandrawati Mozefis, Dwiyati Pujimulyani, Yelliantty Yelliantty

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Background: Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with complex and multifactorial process including atherogenic lipoprotein, oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL), endothelial dysfunction, plaque stability, vascular inflammation, thrombotic and fibrinolytic disorder, exercises and genetic factor Epidemiological studies have shown tea consumption inversely associated with the development and progression of atherosclerosis. The research objectives: to elucidate hypolipidemic, antioxidant effects, as well as ability to improve coronary artery’s histopathologyof black tea extract (BTE) and quercetin in atherosclerotic rats. Methods: The antioxidant activity was determined by using Superoxide Dismutase activity (SOD) of serum and lipid peroxidation product (Malondialdehyde) of plasma and lipid profile including cholesterol total, LDL, triglyceride (TG), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) of atherosclerotic rats. Inducing atherosclerotic, rats were given cholesterol and cholic acid in feed during ten weeks until rats indicated atherosclerotic symptom with narrowed artery and foamy cells in the artery’s wall. After rats suffered atherosclerotic, the high cholesterol feed and cholic acid were stopped and rats were given BTE 450; 300; 150 mg/kg body weight (BW) daily, quercetin 15; 10; 5 mg/kg BW daily, compared to rats were given vitamin E 60 mg/kg/BW; simvastatin 2.7 mg/kg BW, probucol 30 mg/kg BW daily for 21 days (first treatment) and 42 days (second treatment), negative control (normal feed), positive control (atherosclerotic rats). Results: BTE and quercetin could lower cholesterol total, triglyceride, LDL MDA and increase HDL, SOD were comparable with simvastatin, probucol both for 21 days and 42 days treatment, as well to improve coronary arteries histopathology. Conclusions: BTE andquercetin have hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects, as well as improve coronary arteries histopathology in atherosclerotic rats.

Keywords: Black tea, quercetin, atherosclerosis, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, cardiovascular disease.

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Authors: Mohammad Syed Ali Molla, Mohammed Azim, Mohammad Esharuzzaman

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Centrifugal-casting machine is used in manufacturing special machine components like multi-layer journal bearing used in all internal combustion engine, steam, gas turbine and air craft turboengine where isotropic properties and high precisions are desired. Moreover, this machine can be used in manufacturing thin wall hightech machine components like cylinder liners and piston rings of IC engine and other machine parts like sleeves, and bushes. Heavy-duty machine component like railway wheel can also be prepared by centrifugal casting. A lot of technological developments are required in casting process for production of good casted machine body and machine parts. Usually defects like blowholes, surface roughness, chilled surface etc. are found in sand casted machine parts. But these can be removed by centrifugal casting machine using rotating metallic die. Moreover, die rotation, its temperature control, and good pouring practice can contribute to the quality of casting because of the fact that the soundness of a casting in large part depends upon how the metal enters into the mold or dies and solidifies. Poor pouring practice leads to variety of casting defects such as temperature loss, low quality casting, excessive turbulence, over pouring etc. Besides these, handling of molten metal is very unsecured and dangerous for the workers. In order to get rid of all these problems, the need of an automatic pouring device arises. In this research work, a robot assisted pouring device and a centrifugal casting machine are designed, developed constructed and tested experimentally which are found to work satisfactorily. The robot assisted pouring device is further modified and developed for using it in actual metal casting process. Lot of settings and tests are required to control the system and ultimately it can be used in automation of centrifugal casting machine to produce high-tech machine parts with desired precision.

Keywords: Casting, cylinder liners, journal bearing, robot.

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Authors: Mariam Vardiashvili

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The economic value of the asset impairment process is quite large. Impairment reflects the reduction of future economic benefits or service potentials itemized in the asset. The assets owned by public sector entities bring economic benefits or are used for delivery of the free-of-charge services. Consequently, they are classified as cash-generating and non-cash-generating assets. IPSAS 21 - Impairment of non-cash-generating assets, and IPSAS 26 - Impairment of cash-generating assets, have been designed considering this specificity.  When measuring impairment of assets, it is important to select the relevant methods. For measurement of the impaired Non-Cash-Generating Assets, IPSAS 21 recommends three methods: Depreciated Replacement Cost Approach, Restoration Cost Approach, and  Service Units Approach. Impairment of Value in Use of Cash-Generating Assets (according to IPSAS 26) is measured by discounted value of the money sources to be received in future. Value in use of the cash-generating asserts (as per IPSAS 26) is measured by the discounted value of the money sources to be received in the future. The article provides classification of the assets in the public sector  as non-cash-generating assets and cash-generating assets and, deals also with the factors which should be considered when evaluating  impairment of assets. An essence of impairment of the non-financial assets and the methods of measurement thereof evaluation are formulated according to IPSAS 21 and IPSAS 26. The main emphasis is put on different methods of measurement of the value in use of the impaired Cash-Generating Assets and Non-Cash-Generation Assets and the methods of their selection. The traditional and the expected cash flow approaches for calculation of the discounted value are reviewed. The article also discusses the issues of recognition of impairment loss and its reflection in the financial reporting. The article concludes that despite a functional purpose of the impaired asset, whichever method is used for measuring the asset, presentation of realistic information regarding the value of the assets should be ensured in the financial reporting. In the theoretical development of the issue, the methods of scientific abstraction, analysis and synthesis were used. The research was carried out with a systemic approach. The research process uses international standards of accounting, theoretical researches and publications of Georgian and foreign scientists.

Keywords: Non-cash-generating assets, cash-generating assets, recoverable value, recoverable service amount, value in use.

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Authors: M. Ishak, K. Yamasaki, K. Maekawa

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Magnesium alloys have gained increased attention in recent years in automotive, electronics, and medical industry. This because of magnesium alloys have better properties than aluminum alloys and steels in respects of their low density and high strength to weight ratio. However, the main problems of magnesium alloy welding are the crack formation and the appearance of porosity during the solidification. This paper proposes a unique technique to weld two thin sheets of AZ31B magnesium alloy using a paste containing Ag nanoparticles. The paste containing Ag nanoparticles of 5 nm in average diameter and an organic solvent was used to coat the surface of AZ31B thin sheet. The coated sheet was heated at 100 °C for 60 s to evaporate the solvent. The dried sheet was set as a lower AZ31B sheet on the jig, and then lap fillet welding was carried out by using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser in a closed box filled with argon gas. The characteristics of the microstructure and the corrosion behavior of the joints were analyzed by opticalmicroscopy (OM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and immersion corrosion test. The experimental results show that the wrought AZ31B magnesium alloy can be joined successfully using Ag nanoparticles. Ag nanoparticles insert promote grain refinement, narrower the HAZ width and wider bond width compared to weld without and insert. Corrosion rate of welded AZ31B with Ag nanoparticles reduced up to 44 % compared to base metal. The improvement of corrosion resistance of welded AZ31B with Ag nanoparticles due to finer grains and large grain boundaries area which consist of high Al content. β-phase Mg17Al12 could serve as effective barrier and suppressed further propagation of corrosion. Furthermore, Ag distribution in fusion zone provide much more finer grains and may stabilize the magnesium solid solution making it less soluble or less anodic in aqueous

Keywords: Laser welding, magnesium alloys, nanoparticles, mechanical property

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Authors: Reza Eslami-Farsani, Hamed Khosravi, Saba Fayazzadeh

Abstract:

Lightweight and efficient structures have the aim to enhance the efficiency of the components in various industries. Toward this end, composites are one of the most widely used materials because of durability, high strength and modulus, and low weight. One type of the advanced composites is grid-stiffened composite (GSC) structures, which have been extensively considered in aerospace, automotive, and aircraft industries. They are one of the top candidates for replacing some of the traditional components, which are used here. Although there are a good number of published surveys on the design aspects and fabrication of GSC structures, little systematic work has been reported on their material modification to improve their properties, to our knowledge. Matrix modification using nanoparticles is an effective method to enhance the flexural properties of the fibrous composites. In the present study, a silanecoupling agent (3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane/3-GPTS) was introduced onto the silica (SiO2) nanoparticle surface and its effects on the three-point flexural response of isogrid E-glass/epoxy composites were assessed. Based on the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) spectra, it was inferred that the 3-GPTS coupling agent was successfully grafted onto the surface of SiO2 nanoparticles after modification. Flexural test revealed an improvement of 16%, 14%, and 36% in stiffness, maximum load and energy absorption of the isogrid specimen filled with 3 wt.% 3- GPTS/SiO2 compared to the neat one. It would be worth mentioning that in these structures, considerable energy absorption was observed after the primary failure related to the load peak. In addition, 3- GPTMS functionalization had a positive effect on the flexural behavior of the multiscale isogrid composites. In conclusion, this study suggests that the addition of modified silica nanoparticles is a promising method to improve the flexural properties of the gridstiffened fibrous composite structures.

Keywords: Isogrid-stiffened composite panels, silica nanoparticles, surface modification, flexural properties.

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Authors: Satyendra Nath Mandal, J. Pal Choudhury, Dilip De, S. R. Bhadra Chaudhuri

Abstract:

The selection for plantation of a particular type of mustard plant depending on its productivity (pod yield) at the stage of maturity. The growth of mustard plant dependent on some parameters of that plant, these are shoot length, number of leaves, number of roots and roots length etc. As the plant is growing, some leaves may be fall down and some new leaves may come, so it can not gives the idea to develop the relationship with the seeds weight at mature stage of that plant. It is not possible to find the number of roots and root length of mustard plant at growing stage that will be harmful of this plant as roots goes deeper to deeper inside the land. Only the value of shoot length which increases in course of time can be measured at different time instances. Weather parameters are maximum and minimum humidity, rain fall, maximum and minimum temperature may effect the growth of the plant. The parameters of pollution, water, soil, distance and crop management may be dominant factors of growth of plant and its productivity. Considering all parameters, the growth of the plant is very uncertain, fuzzy environment can be considered for the prediction of shoot length at maturity of the plant. Fuzzification plays a greater role for fuzzification of data, which is based on certain membership functions. Here an effort has been made to fuzzify the original data based on gaussian function, triangular function, s-function, Trapezoidal and L –function. After that all fuzzified data are defuzzified to get normal form. Finally the error analysis (calculation of forecasting error and average error) indicates the membership function appropriate for fuzzification of data and use to predict the shoot length at maturity. The result is also verified using residual (Absolute Residual, Maximum of Absolute Residual, Mean Absolute Residual, Mean of Mean Absolute Residual, Median of Absolute Residual and Standard Deviation) analysis.

Keywords: Fuzzification, defuzzification, gaussian function, triangular function, trapezoidal function, s-function, , membership function, residual analysis.

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Authors: Amira A. A. Abdallah, Amir A. Beltagi

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Background: Core stability training has recently attracted attention for improving muscle balance and optimizing performance in healthy and unhealthy individuals. Purpose: This study investigated the effect of beginner’s core stability exercises on trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio and trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques. Methods: Thirty five healthy individuals participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental “group I, n=20” and control “group II, n=15”. Their mean age, weight and height were 20.7±2.4 vs. 20.3±0.61 years, 66.5±12.1 vs. 68.57±12.2 kg and 166.7±7.8 vs. 164.28 ±7.59 cm. for group I vs. group II. Data were collected using the Biodex Isokinetic system. The participants were tested twice; before and after a 6-week period during which group I performed a core stability training program. Results: The 2x2 Mixed Design ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio between the pre-test and post-test conditions for either group. Moreover, there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexion/extension ratios between both groups at either condition. However, the 2x2 Mixed Design MANOVA revealed significant increases (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the post-test condition compared with the pre-test in group I with no significant differences (p>0.025) in group II. Moreover, there was a significant increase (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ peak torque only in group I compared with group II in the post-test condition with no significant differences in the other conditions. Interpretation/Conclusion: The improvement in muscle performance indicated by the increase in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the experimental group recommends including core stability training in the exercise programs that aim to improve muscle performance.

Keywords: Core Stability, Isokinetic, Trunk Muscles.

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Authors: H.R. Balouchi

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To evaluate genetic variation of wheat (Triticum aestivum) affected by heat and drought stress on eight Australian wheat genotypes that are parents of Doubled Haploid (HD) mapping populations at the vegetative stage, the water stress experiment was conducted at 65% field capacity in growth room. Heat stress experiment was conducted in the research field under irrigation over summer. Result show that water stress decreased dry shoot weight and RWC but increased osmolarity and means of Fv/Fm values in all varieties except for Krichauff. Krichauff and Kukri had the maximum RWC under drought stress. Trident variety was shown maximum WUE, osmolarity (610 mM/Kg), dry mater, quantum yield and Fv/Fm 0.815 under water stress condition. However, the recovery of quantum yield was apparent between 4 to 7 days after stress in all varieties. Nevertheless, increase in water stress after that lead to strong decrease in quantum yield. There was a genetic variation for leaf pigments content among varieties under heat stress. Heat stress decreased significantly the total chlorophyll content that measured by SPAD. Krichauff had maximum value of Anthocyanin content (2.978 A/g FW), chlorophyll a+b (2.001 mg/g FW) and chlorophyll a (1.502 mg/g FW). Maximum value of chlorophyll b (0.515 mg/g FW) and Carotenoids (0.234 mg/g FW) content belonged to Kukri. The quantum yield of all varieties decreased significantly, when the weather temperature increased from 28 ÔùªC to 36 ÔùªC during the 6 days. However, the recovery of quantum yield was apparent after 8th day in all varieties. The maximum decrease and recovery in quantum yield was observed in Krichauff. Drought and heat tolerant and moderately tolerant wheat genotypes were included Trident, Krichauff, Kukri and RAC875. Molineux, Berkut and Excalibur were clustered into most sensitive and moderately sensitive genotypes. Finally, the results show that there was a significantly genetic variation among the eight varieties that were studied under heat and water stress.

Keywords: Abiotic stress, genetic variation, fluorescence, wheat genotypes.

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Authors: Yasmin Nanabhay

Abstract:

The paper scrutinizes the literature on accountability and non-accountability, and then presents an analysis of a South African case which demonstrated consequences of a lack of accountability. Ethical conduct displayed by members of the public sector is integral to creating a sustainable democratic government, which upholds the constitutional tenets of accountability, transparency and professional ethicality. Furthermore, a true constitutional democracy emphasises and advocates the notion of service leadership that nurtures public participation and engages with citizens in a positive manner. Ethical conduct and accountability in the public sector earns public trust; hence these are key principles in good governance. Yet, in the years since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the government has been plagued by rampant corruption and mal-administration by public officials and politicians in leadership positions. The control measures passed by government in an attempt to ensure ethicality and accountability within the public sector include codes of ethics, rules of conduct and the enactment of legislation. These are intended to shape the mindset of members of the public sector, with the ultimate aim of an efficient, effective, ethical, responsive and accountable public service. The purpose of the paper is to analyse control systems and accountability within the public sector and to present reasons for non-accountability by means of a selected case study. The selected case study is the corruption trial of Jackie Selebi, who served as National Commissioner of the South African Police Service but was dismissed from the post. The reasons for non-accountability in the public sector as well as recommendations based on the findings to enhance accountability will be undertaken. The case study demonstrates the experience and impact of corruption and/or mal-administration, as a result of a lack of accountability, which has contributed to the increasing loss of confidence in political leadership in the country as elsewhere in the world. The literature is applied to the erstwhile National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and President of Interpol, as a case study of non-accountability.

Keywords: Public sector, public accountability, internal control, oversight mechanisms, non-compliance, corruption, mal-administration.

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Authors: Matheus Müller, Delma Vidal

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The present paper aims to expose two techniques of dewatering for sludge, analyzing its operations and dewatering processes, aiming at improving the conditions of disposal of residues with high liquid content. It describes the field tests performed on two geotextile systems, a closed geotextile tube and an open geotextile drying bed, both of which are submitted to two filling cycles. The sludge used in the filling cycles for the field trials is from the water treatment plant of the Technological Center of Aeronautics – CTA, in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Data about volume and height abatement due to the dewatering and consolidation were collected per time, until it was observed constancy. With the laboratory analysis of the sludge allied to the data collected in the field, it was possible to perform a critical comparative study between the observed and the scientific literature, in this way, this paper expresses the data obtained and compares them with the bibliography. The tests were carried out on three fronts: field tests, including the filling cycles of the systems with the sludge from CTA, taking measurements of filling time per cycle and maximum filling height per cycle, heights against the abatement by dewatering of the systems over time; tests carried out in the laboratory, including the characterization of the sludge and removal of material samples from the systems to ascertain the solids content within the systems per time and; comparing the data obtained in the field and laboratory tests with the scientific literature. Through the study, it was possible to perceive that the process of densification of the material inside a closed system, such as the geotextile tube, occurs faster than the observed in the drying bed system. This process of accelerated densification can be brought about by the pumping pressure of the sludge in its filling and by the confinement of the residue through the permeable geotextile membrane (allowing water to pass through), accelerating the process of densification and dewatering by its own weight after the filling with sludge.

Keywords: Consolidation, dewatering, geotextile drying bed, geotextile tube.

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Authors: Majid Amidpour, Parisa Karimi, Marzieh Joda

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For the last few years, release of burned undesirable by-products has become a challenging issue in oil industries. Flaring, as one of the main sources of air contamination, involves detrimental and long-lasting effects on human health and is considered a substantial reason for energy losses worldwide. This research involves studying the implications of two main flare gas recovery methods at three oil refineries, all in Iran as the case I, case II, and case III in which the production capacities are increasing respectively. In the proposed methods, flare gases are converted into more valuable products, before combustion by the flare networks. The first approach involves collecting, compressing and converting the flare gas to smokeless fuel which can be used in the fuel gas system of the refineries. The other scenario includes utilizing the flare gas as a feed into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production unit already established in the refineries. The processes of these scenarios are simulated, and the capital investment is calculated for each procedure. The cumulative profits of the scenarios are evaluated using Net Present Value method. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis based on total propane and butane mole fraction is carried out to make a rational comparison for LPG production approach, and the results are illustrated for different mole fractions of propane and butane. As the mole fraction of propane and butane contained in LPG differs in summer and winter seasons, the results corresponding to LPG scenario are demonstrated for each season. The results of the simulations show that cumulative profit in fuel gas production scenario and LPG production rate increase with the capacity of the refineries. Moreover, the investment return time in LPG production method experiences a decline, followed by a rising trend with an increase in C₃ and C₄ content. The minimum value of time return occurs at propane and butane sum concentration values of 0.7, 0.6, and 0.7 in case I, II, and III, respectively. Based on comparison of the time of investment return and cumulative profit, fuel gas production is the superior scenario for three case studies.

Keywords: Flare gas reduction, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel gas, net present value method, sensitivity analysis.

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Authors: A. Raceviciute-Stupeliene, V. Sasyte, V. Viliene, V. Slausgalvis, J. Al-Saifi, R. Gruzauskas

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of special additives such as chelators, zinc sulphate and silicic acid on productivity parameters, carcass characteristics and meat quality of fattening pigs. The test started with 40 days old fattening pigs (mongrel (mother) and Yorkshire (father)) and lasted up to 156 days of age. During the fattening period, 32 pigs were divided into 2 groups (control and experimental) with 4 replicates (total of 8 pens).  The pigs were fed for 16 weeks’ ad libitum with a standard wheat-barley-soybean meal compound (Control group) supplemented with chelators, zinc sulphate and silicic acid (dosage 2 kg/t of feed, Experimental group). Meat traits in live pigs were measured by ultrasonic equipment Piglog 105. The results obtained throughout the experimental period suggest that supplementation of chelators, zinc sulphate and silicic acid tend to positively affect average daily gain and feed conversion ratio of pigs for fattening (p < 0.05). Pigs’ evaluation with Piglog 105 showed that thickness of fat in the first and second point was by 4% and 3% respectively higher in comparison to the control group (p < 0.05). Carcass weight, yield, and length, also thickness of fat showed no significant difference among the groups. The water holding capacity of meat in Experimental group was lower by 5.28%, and tenderness – lower by 12% compared with that of the pigs in the Control group (p < 0.05). Regarding pigs’ meat chemical composition of the experimental group, a statistically significant difference comparing with the data of the control group was not determined. Cholesterol concentration in muscles of pigs fed diets supplemented with chelators, zinc sulphate and silicic acid was lower by 7.93 mg/100 g of muscle in comparison to that of the control group. These results suggest that supplementation of chelators, zinc sulphate and silicic acid in the feed for fattening pigs had significant effect on pigs growing performance and meat quality.

Keywords: Chelators, meat quality, pigs, silicic acid, zinc sulphate.

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Authors: Vinti Davar

Abstract:

Background: Worldwide, at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese, and 35.8 million (2.3%) of global DALYs are caused by overweight or obesity. Obesity is acknowledged as one of the burning public health problems reducing life expectancy and quality of life. The body composition analysis of the university population is essential in assessing the nutritional status, as well as the risk of developing diseases associated with abnormal body fat content so as to make nutritional recommendations. Objectives: The main aim was to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight in University students using Anthropometric analysis and BIA methods. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 283 university students participated. The body composition analysis was undertaken by using mainly: i) Anthropometric Measurement: Height, Weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference and skin fold thickness, ii) Bio-electrical impedance was used for analysis of body fat mass, fat percent and visceral fat which was measured by Tanita SC-330P Professional Body Composition Analyzer. The data so collected were compiled in MS Excel and analyzed for males and females using SPSS 16. Results and Discussion: The mean age of the male (n= 153) studied subjects was 25.37 ±2.39 years and females (n=130) was 22.53 ±2.31. The data of BIA revealed very high mean fat per cent of the female subjects i.e. 30.3±6.5 per cent whereas mean fat per cent of the male subjects was 15.60±6.02 per cent indicating a normal body fat range. The findings showed high visceral fat of both males (12.92±3.02) and females (16.86±4.98). BMI, BF% and WHR were higher among females, and BMI was higher among males. The most evident correlation was verified between BF% and WHR for female students (r=0.902; p<0.001). The correlation of BFM and BF% with thickness of triceps, sub scapular and abdominal skin folds and BMI was significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The studied data made it obvious that there is a need to initiate lifestyle changing strategies especially for adult females and encourage them to improve their dietary intake to prevent incidence of noncommunicable diseases due to obesity and high fat percentage.

Keywords: Anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance, body fat percentage, obesity.

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Authors: Ayman El Sabagh, Sobhy Sorour, Abd Elhamid Omar, Adel Ragab, Mohammad Sohidul Islam, Celaleddin Barutçular, Akihiro Ueda, Hirofumi Saneoka

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Salinity is one of the major factors limiting crop production in an arid environment. Despite its global importance soybean production suffer the problems of salinity stress causing damages at plant development. So it is implacable to either search for salinity enhancement of soybean plants. Therefore, in the current study we try to clarify the mechanism that might be involved in the ameliorating effects of osmo-protectants such as proline and glycine betaine as well as, compost application on soybean plants grown under salinity stress. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions at the Graduate School of Biosphere Science Laboratory of Hiroshima University, Japan in 2011. The experiment was designed as a spilt-split plot based on randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments could be summarized as follows; (i) salinity concentrations (0 and 15 mM), (ii) compost treatments (0 and 24 t ha-1) and (iii) the exogenous, proline and glycine betaine concentrations (0 mM and 25 mM) for each. Results indicated that salinity stress induced reduction in growth and physiological aspects (dry weight per plant, chlorophyll content, N and K+ content) of soybean plant compared with those of the unstressed plants. On the other hand, salinity stress led to increases in the electrolyte leakage ratio, Na and proline contents. Special attention was paid to, the tolerance against salt stress was observed, the improvement of salt tolerance resulted from proline, glycine betaine and compost were accompanied with improved K+, and proline accumulation. While, significantly decreased electrolyte leakage ratio and Na+ content. These results clearly demonstrate that harmful effect of salinity could reduce on growth aspects of soybean. Consequently, exogenous osmoprotectants combine with compost will effectively solve seasonal salinity stress problem and are a good strategy to increase salinity resistance of soybean in the drylands.

Keywords: Compost, glycine betaine, growth, proline, salinity tolerance, soybean.

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Authors: Addin Osman, Anwar Ali Yahya, Mohammed Basit Kamal

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Datasets or collections are becoming important assets by themselves and now they can be accepted as a primary intellectual output of a research. The quality and usage of the datasets depend mainly on the context under which they have been collected, processed, analyzed, validated, and interpreted. This paper aims to present a collection of program educational objectives mapped to student’s outcomes collected from self-study reports prepared by 32 engineering programs accredited by ABET. The manual mapping (classification) of this data is a notoriously tedious, time consuming process. In addition, it requires experts in the area, which are mostly not available. It has been shown the operational settings under which the collection has been produced. The collection has been cleansed, preprocessed, some features have been selected and preliminary exploratory data analysis has been performed so as to illustrate the properties and usefulness of the collection. At the end, the collection has been benchmarked using nine of the most widely used supervised multiclass classification techniques (Binary Relevance, Label Powerset, Classifier Chains, Pruned Sets, Random k-label sets, Ensemble of Classifier Chains, Ensemble of Pruned Sets, Multi-Label k-Nearest Neighbors and Back-Propagation Multi-Label Learning). The techniques have been compared to each other using five well-known measurements (Accuracy, Hamming Loss, Micro-F, Macro-F, and Macro-F). The Ensemble of Classifier Chains and Ensemble of Pruned Sets have achieved encouraging performance compared to other experimented multi-label classification methods. The Classifier Chains method has shown the worst performance. To recap, the benchmark has achieved promising results by utilizing preliminary exploratory data analysis performed on the collection, proposing new trends for research and providing a baseline for future studies.

Keywords: Benchmark collection, program educational objectives, student outcomes, ABET, Accreditation, machine learning, supervised multiclass classification, text mining.

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