Search results for: fiber volume fraction

Authors: Mosaad Khadr, Gerd Morgenschweis, Andreas Schlenkhoff

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Drought is one of the most damaging climate-related hazards, it is generally considered as a prolonged absence of precipitation. This normal and recurring climate phenomenon had plagued civilization throughout history because of the negative impacts on economical, environmental and social sectors. Drought characteristics are thus recognized as important factors in water resources planning and management. The purpose of this study is to detect the changes in drought frequency, persistence and severity in the Ruhr river basin. The frequency of drought events was calculated using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Used data are daily precipitation records from seven meteorological stations covering the period 1961-2007. The main benefit of the application of this index is its versatility, only rainfall data is required to deliver five major dimensions of a drought : duration, intensity, severity, magnitude, and frequency. Furthermore, drought can be calculated in different time steps. In this study SPI was calculated for 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. Several drought events were detected in the covered period, these events contain mild, moderate and severe droughts. Also positive and negative trends in the SPI values were observed.

Keywords: Drought, Germany, Precipitation, Ruhr River, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Trend Test.

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Authors: O. Boe, S-T. Kristiansen, R. Wold

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In this article we explore how computer assisted exercises may allow for bridging the traditional gap between theory and practice in professional education. To educate officers able to master the complexity of the battlefield the Norwegian Military Academy needs to develop a learning environment that allows for creating viable connections between the educational environment and the field of practice. In response to this challenge we explore the conditions necessary to make computer assisted training systems (CATS) a useful tool to create structural similarities between an educational context and the field of military practice. Although, CATS may facilitate work procedures close to real life situations, this case do demonstrate how professional competence also must build on viable learning theories and environments. This paper explores the conditions that allow for using simulators to facilitate professional competence from within an educational setting. We develop a generic didactic model that ascribes learning to participation in iterative cycles of action and reflection. The development of this model is motivated by the need to develop an interdisciplinary professional education rooted in the pattern of military practice.

Keywords: Development in higher education, experiential learning, professional education, simulation.

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Authors: A. Reyes-Salazar, M. D. Llanes-Tizoc, E. Bojorquez, F. Valenzuela-Beltran, J. Bojorquez, J. R. Gaxiola-Camacho, A. Haldar

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Seismic analysis of steel buildings is usually based on the use of the concentrated mass (ML) matrix and the Rayleigh damping matrix (C). Similarly, the initial stiffness matrix (KO) and the first two modes associated to lateral vibrations are commonly used to develop the matrix C. The evaluation of the accuracy of these practices for the particular case of steel buildings with moment-resisting steel frames constitutes the main objective of this research. For this, the nonlinear seismic responses of three models of steel frames, representing low-, medium- and high-rise steel buildings, are considered. Results indicate that if the ML matrix is used, shears and bending moments in columns are underestimated by up to 30% and 65%, respectively, when compared to the corresponding results obtained with the consistent mass matrix (MC). It is also shown that if KO is used in C instead the tangent stiffness matrix (Kt), axial loads in columns are underestimated by up to 80%. It is concluded that the consistent mass matrix should be used in the structural modelling of moment resisting steel frames and the tangent stiffness matrix should be used to develop the Rayleigh damping matrix.

Keywords: Moment-resisting steel frames, consistent and concentrated mass matrices, nonlinear seismic response, Rayleigh damping.

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Authors: Elif Derya UBEYLI, Inan GULER

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A new approach based on the consideration that electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are chaotic signals was presented for automated diagnosis of electroencephalographic changes. This consideration was tested successfully using the nonlinear dynamics tools, like the computation of Lyapunov exponents. This paper presented the usage of statistics over the set of the Lyapunov exponents in order to reduce the dimensionality of the extracted feature vectors. Since classification is more accurate when the pattern is simplified through representation by important features, feature extraction and selection play an important role in classifying systems such as neural networks. Multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) architectures were formulated and used as basis for detection of electroencephalographic changes. Three types of EEG signals (EEG signals recorded from healthy volunteers with eyes open, epilepsy patients in the epileptogenic zone during a seizure-free interval, and epilepsy patients during epileptic seizures) were classified. The selected Lyapunov exponents of the EEG signals were used as inputs of the MLPNN trained with Levenberg- Marquardt algorithm. The classification results confirmed that the proposed MLPNN has potential in detecting the electroencephalographic changes.

Keywords: Chaotic signal, Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, Feature extraction/selection, Lyapunov exponents

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Authors: Wen-Chi Liu

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This paper aims to examine whether a bubble is present in the housing market of China. Thus, we use the housing  price-to-income ratios and housing price-to-rent ratios of 35 cities from 1998 to 2010. The methods of the panel KSS unit root test with a  Fourier function and the SPSM process are likewise used. The panel  KSS unit root test with a Fourier function considers the problem of  non-linearity and structural changes, and the SPSM process can avoid  the stationary time series from dominating the result-generated bias.  Through a rigorous empirical study, we determine that the housing  price-to-income ratios are stationary in 34 of the 35 cities in China.  Only Xining is non-stationary. The housing price-to-rent ratios are  stationary in 32 of the 35 cities in China. Chengdu, Fuzhou, and  Zhengzhou are non-stationary. Overall, the housing bubbles are not a  serious problem in China at the time.

 

Keywords: Housing Price-to-Income Ratio, Housing Price-to-Rent Ratio, Housing Bubbles, Panel Unit-Root Test.

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Authors: M. Siosemarde, M. Byzedi

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Saturated hydraulic conductivity of Soil is an important property in processes involving water and solute flow in soils. Saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil is difficult to measure and can be highly variable, requiring a large number of replicate samples. In this study, 60 sets of soil samples were collected at Saqhez region of Kurdistan province-IRAN. The statistics such as Correlation Coefficient (R), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Bias Error (MBE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) were used to evaluation the multiple linear regression models varied with number of dataset. In this study the multiple linear regression models were evaluated when only percentage of sand, silt, and clay content (SSC) were used as inputs, and when SSC and bulk density, Bd, (SSC+Bd) were used as inputs. The R, RMSE, MBE and MAE values of the 50 dataset for method (SSC), were calculated 0.925, 15.29, -1.03 and 12.51 and for method (SSC+Bd), were calculated 0.927, 15.28,-1.11 and 12.92, respectively, for relationship obtained from multiple linear regressions on data. Also the R, RMSE, MBE and MAE values of the 10 dataset for method (SSC), were calculated 0.725, 19.62, - 9.87 and 18.91 and for method (SSC+Bd), were calculated 0.618, 24.69, -17.37 and 22.16, respectively, which shows when number of dataset increase, precision of estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity, increases.

Keywords: dataset, precision, saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil and statistics.

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Authors: Gianluigi De Mare, Tony Leopoldo Luigi Lenza, Rino Conte

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The evolution of technology and construction techniques has enabled the upgrading of transport networks. In particular, the high-speed rail networks allow convoys to peak at above 300 km/h. These structures, however, often significantly impact the surrounding environment. Among the effects of greater importance are the ones provoked by the soundwave connected to train transit. The wave propagation affects the quality of life in areas surrounding the tracks, often for several hundred metres. There are substantial damages to properties (buildings and land), in terms of market depreciation. The present study, integrating expertise in acoustics, computering and evaluation fields, outlines a useful model to select project paths so as to minimize the noise impact and reduce the causes of possible litigation. It also facilitates the rational selection of initiatives to contain the environmental damage to the already existing railway tracks. The research is developed with reference to the Italian regulatory framework (usually more stringent than European and international standards) and refers to a case study concerning the high speed network in Italy.

Keywords: Impact, compensation for financial loss, depreciation of property, railway network design, genetic algorithms.

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Authors: Ainon Syazana Ab. Hamid, Seripah Awang Kechil, Ahmad Sukri Abd. Aziz

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The Marangoni convective instability in a horizontal fluid layer with the insoluble surfactant and nondeformable free surface is investigated. The surface tension at the free surface is linearly dependent on the temperature and concentration gradients. At the bottom surface, the temperature conditions of uniform temperature and uniform heat flux are considered. By linear stability theory, the exact analytical solutions for the steady Marangoni convection are derived and the marginal curves are plotted. The effects of surfactant or elasticity number, Lewis number and Biot number on the marginal Marangoni instability are assessed. The surfactant concentration gradients and the heat transfer mechanism at the free surface have stabilizing effects while the Lewis number destabilizes fluid system. The fluid system with uniform temperature condition at the bottom boundary is more stable than the fluid layer that is subjected to uniform heat flux at the bottom boundary.

Keywords: Analytical solutions, Marangoni Instability, Nondeformable free surface, Surfactant.

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Authors: F. Al-Mufadi, F. Djavanroodi

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Ultrafine grained (UFG) and nanostructured (NS) materials have experienced a rapid development during the last decade and made profound impact on every field of materials science and engineering. The present work has been undertaken to develop ultrafine grained pure copper by severe plastic deformation method and to examine the impact property by different characterizing tools.

For this aim, equal channel angular pressing die with the channel angle, outer corner angle and channel diameter of 90^°, 17^° and 20mm had been designed and manufactured. Commercial pure copper billets were ECAPed up to four passes by route B_C at the ambient temperature. The results indicated that there is a great improvement at the hardness measurement, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength after ECAP process. It is found that the magnitudes of HV reach 136HV from 52HV after the final pass. Also, about 285% and 125% enhancement at the YS and UTS values have been obtained after the fourth pass as compared to the as-received conditions, respectively. On the other hand, the elongation to failure and impact energy have been reduced by imposing ECAP process and pass numbers. It is needed to say that about 56% reduction in the impact energy have been attained for the samples as contrasted to annealed specimens. 

Keywords: SPD, ECAP, Pure Cu, Impact property.

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Authors: Dang Hanh Nguyen, Nassim Sebaibi, Mohamed Boutouil, Lydia Leleyter, Fabienne Baraud

Abstract:

Pervious concrete is a green alternative to conventional pavements with minimal fine aggregate and a high void content. Pervious concrete allows water to infiltrate through the pavement, thereby reducing the runoff and the requirement for stormwater management systems.

Seashell By-Products (SBP) are produced in an important quantity in France and are considered as waste. This work investigated to use SBP in pervious concrete and produce an even more environmentally friendly product, Pervious Concrete Pavers.

The research methodology involved substituting the coarse aggregate in the previous concrete mix design with 20%, 40% and 60% SBP. The testing showed that pervious concrete containing less than 40% SBP had strengths, permeability and void content which are comparable to the pervious concrete containing with only natural aggregate. The samples that contained 40% SBP or higher had a significant loss in strength and an increase in permeability and a void content from the control mix pervious concrete. On the basis of the results in this research, it was found that the natural aggregate can be substituted by SBP without affecting the delicate balance of a pervious concrete mix. Additional, it is recommended that the optimum replacement percentage for SBP in pervious concrete is 40 % direct replacement of natural coarse aggregate while maintaining the structural performance and drainage capabilities of the pervious concrete.

Keywords: Seashell by-products, pervious concrete pavers, permeability and mechanical strength.

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Authors: Toby Gibbs, Suwaree Yordchim

Abstract:

This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Bitcoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for self-reliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 121 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) A great majority didn't know what Bitcoin was. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Bitcoin within the community. 4) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Bitcoin development.

The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Bitcoin and share the value of Bitcoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Bitcoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Bitcoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. Local communities should focus on developing Bitcoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Bitcoin as another form of payment for services rendered. 4) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Bitcoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage.

Keywords: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized.

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Authors: Yessengeldy Kuanyshpayev

Abstract:

Now in some countries of the world the cellular market is on the point of saturation, in others - positive dynamics of development kept on. The reasons for it are also different, but there are united by their general susceptibility to innovation changes, if they are really innovative. If to take as an example the cellular market of Kazakhstan it is defined by the low percent of smart phones at consumers, the low population density, undercapacity of the 3G channel, and absence of universal access to the LTE technology that limits dynamical growth of this branch. These moments are aggravated by failures of starting commercial projects by private companies which prevent to be implemented and widely adopted to a new product among consumers. The object of the research is possible integration of wireless and program technologies at which introduction the idea can regenerate in an innovation. The analysis of existing projects in the market and the possible union of the technologies through a prism of theoretical bases of innovative activity shows that efficiency of the company by development and introduction of innovations is possible only thanks to strict observance of all terms and conditions of the innovative process which main term is profit. Despite that fact that on a global scale the innovativeness issue of companies is very popular, there are no researches about possibility of innovative breaks in the field of wireless access to the Internet in the cellular market of Kazakhstan.

Keywords: Cellular market, commercialization, innovation, the effectiveness of company.

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Authors: I. U. Wickramasinghe, D. J. Hargreaves, D. V. De Pellegrin

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This paper presents a strategy to predict the lifetime of rails subjected to large rolling contact loads that induce ratchetting strains in the rail head. A critical element concept is used to calculate the number of loading cycles needed for crack initiation to occur in the rail head surface. In this technique the finite element method (FEM) is used to determine the maximum equivalent ratchetting strain per load cycle, which is calculated by combining longitudinal and shear stains in the critical element. This technique builds on a previously developed critical plane concept that has been used to calculate the number of cycles to crack initiation in rolling contact fatigue under ratchetting failure conditions. The critical element concept simplifies the analytical difficulties of critical plane analysis. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to identify the critical element in the mesh, and then the strain values of the critical element are used to calculate the ratchetting rate analytically. Finally, a ratchetting criterion is used to calculate the number of cycles to crack initiation from the ratchetting rate calculated.

Keywords: Critical element analysis, finite element modeling (FEM), wheel/rail contact.

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Authors: Ki-Tae Park, Young-Joon Yu, Chin-Hyung Lee, Woosang Lee

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Recently, as the scale of construction projects has increases, more ground excavation for foundations is carried out than ever before. Consequently, damage to underground ducts (gas, water/sewage or oil pipelines, communication cables or power cable ducts) or superannuated pipelines frequently cause serious accidents resulting in damage to life and property. (In Korea, the total length of city water pipelines was approximately 2,000 km as of the end of 2009.) In addition, large amounts of damage caused by fractures, water and gas leakage caused by superannuation or damage to underground ducts in construction has been reported. Therefore, a system is required to precisely detect defects and deterioration in underground pipelines and the locations of such defects, for timely and accurate maintenance or replacement of the ducts. In this study, a system was developed which can locate underground structures (gas and water pipelines, power cable ducts, etc.) in 3D-coordinates and monitor the degree and position of defects using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensing technique. The system can prevent damage to underground ducts and superannuated pipelines during construction, and provide reliable data for maintenance. The utility of the IMU sensing technique used in aircraft and ships in civil applications was verified.

Keywords: IMU, Pipelines, 3D-Coordinate, monitor.

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Authors: V. V. Singh, Yusuf Ibrahim Gwanda, Rajesh Prasad

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In this paper, we focus on the reliability and performance analysis of Computer Centre (CC) at Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. The CC consists of three servers: one database mail server, one redundant and one for sharing with the client computers in the CC (called as a local server). Observing the different possibilities of the functioning of the CC, the analysis has been done to evaluate the various popular measures of reliability such as availability, reliability, mean time to failure (MTTF), profit analysis due to the operation of the system. The system can ultimately fail due to the failure of router, redundant server before repairing the mail server and switch failure. The system can also partially fail when a local server fails. The failed devices have restored according to Least Recently Used (LRU) techniques. The system can also fail entirely due to a cooling failure of the server, electricity failure or some natural calamity like earthquake, fire tsunami, etc. All the failure rates are assumed to be constant and follow exponential time distribution, while the repair follows two types of distributions: i.e. general and Gumbel-Hougaard family copula distribution.

Keywords: Reliability, availability Gumbel-Hougaard family copula, MTTF, internet data center.

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Authors: Jong Han Joo, Jeong Hun Lee, Young Sun Kim, Jae Young Kang, Seung Ho Choi

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In this study, we propose a novel technique for acoustic echo suppression (AES) during speech recognition under barge-in conditions. Conventional AES methods based on spectral subtraction apply fixed weights to the estimated echo path transfer function (EPTF) at the current signal segment and to the EPTF estimated until the previous time interval. However, the effects of echo path changes should be considered for eliminating the undesired echoes. We describe a new approach that adaptively updates weight parameters in response to abrupt changes in the acoustic environment due to background noises or double-talk. Furthermore, we devised a voice activity detector and an initial time-delay estimator for barge-in speech recognition in communication networks. The initial time delay is estimated using log-spectral distance measure, as well as cross-correlation coefficients. The experimental results show that the developed techniques can be successfully applied in barge-in speech recognition systems.

Keywords: Acoustic echo suppression, barge-in, speech recognition, echo path transfer function, initial delay estimator, voice activity detector.

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Authors: Nouby Ghazaly, Gamal Fouad, Ali Abd-El-Tawwab, K. A. Abd El-Gwwad

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the piston stress distribution using several thicknesses of the coating materials to achieve higher gasoline engine performance. First of all, finite element structure analysis is used to uncoated petrol piston made of aluminum alloy. Then, steel and cast-iron piston materials are conducted and compared with the aluminum piston. After that, investigation of four coating materials namely, yttria-stabilized zirconia, magnesia-stabilized zirconia, alumina, and mullite are studied for each piston materials. Next, influence of various thickness coating layers on the structure stresses of the top surfaces is examined. Comparison between simulated results for aluminum, steel, and cast-iron materials is reported. Moreover, the influences of different coating thickness on the Von Mises stresses of four coating materials are investigated. From the simulation results, it can report that the maximum Von Mises stresses and deformations for the piston materials are decreasing with increasing the coating thickness for magnesia-stabilized zirconia, yttria-stabilized zirconia, mullite and alumina coated materials.

Keywords: Structure analysis, aluminum piston, MgZrO3, YTZ, mullite and alumina.

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Authors: Murat Sengoz, Mustafa Kemal Topcu

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This study aims to contribute to efforts of Turkey to increase research and development to overcome mid-income level trap by discussing regulations on patenting and licensing. Knowledge and technology transfer from universities to business world is attached great significance to increase innovation. Through literature survey, it is observed that the States accomplished to boost the economy and increase welfare by the Bayh-Dole Act enacted in 1980. Thus, this good practice is imitated by other nations to make technological developments. The Act allows universities to acquire patent right in research programs funded by government to increase technology transfer from universities whilst motivating real sector to use research pools in the universities. An act similar with Bayh-Dole could be beneficial to Turkey since efforts in Turkey are to promote research, development and innovation. Towards this end, the impact of Bayh-Dole Act on the patent system for universities in the Sates is deliberately examined, applicability in Turkey is discussed. However, it is conceded that success rate of applying Bayh-Dole Act in Turkey would be low once Turkey mainly differs from the States regarding social, economic and cultural traits.

Keywords: Bayh-Dole act, knowledge transfer, license, patent, spin-off.

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Authors: Farzana Sharmin, Mohammad Tipu Sultan, Benqian Li

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Advancement of new media technology and consumption of social media have altered the way of communication in the tourism industry, mostly for consumers’ travel planning, online purchase, and experience sharing activity. There is an accelerating trend among young consumers’ to utilize this new media technology. This paper aims to analyze the attitude of young consumers’ about social media use for travel purposes. The convenience random sample method used to collect data from an urban area of Shanghai (China), consists of 225 young consumers’. This survey identified behavioral determinants of social media consumption by the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). The instrument developed support on previous research to test hypotheses. The results of structural analyses indicate that attitude towards the use of social media is affected by external factors such as availability and accessibility of technology. In addition, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have partially influenced the attitude of respondents’. The results of this study could help to improve social media travel marketing and promotional strategies for respective groups.

Keywords: Social media, theory of planned behavior, travel behavior, young consumer.

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Authors: Rishi Ruttun

Abstract:

One of the major features of hypermedia learning is its non-linear structure, allowing learners, the opportunity of flexible navigation to accommodate their own needs. Nevertheless, such flexibility can also cause problems such as insufficient navigation and disorientation for some learners, especially those with Field Dependent cognitive styles. As a result students learning performance can be deteriorated and in turn, they can have negative attitudes with hypermedia learning systems. It was suggested that visual elements can be used to compensate dilemmas. However, it is unclear whether these visual elements improve their learning or whether problems still exist. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of students cognitive styles and visual elements on students learning performance and attitudes in hypermedia learning environment. Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA), Learning outcome in terms of pre and post-test, practical task, and Attitude Questionnaire (AQ) were administered to a sample of 60 university students. The findings revealed that FD students preformed equally to those of FI. Also, FD students experienced more disorientation in the hypermedia learning system where they depend a lot on the visual elements for navigation and orientation purposes. Furthermore, they had more positive attitudes towards the visual elements which escape them from experiencing navigation and disorientation dilemmas. In contrast, FI students were more comfortable, did not get disturbed or did not need some of the visual elements in the hypermedia learning system.

Keywords: Hypermedia learning, cognitive styles, visual elements, support, learning performance, attitudes and perceptions

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Authors: Saswata Chakraborty, R.P.Chatterjee, S. Majumder, Anup Kr. Bhattacharjee

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The scattering effect of light in fog improves the difficulty in visibility thus introducing disturbances in transport facilities in urban or industrial areas causing fatal accidents or public harassments, therefore, developing an enhanced fog vision system with radio wave to improvise the way outs of these severe problems is really a big challenge for researchers. Series of experimental studies already been done and more are in progress to know the weather effect on radio frequencies for different ranges. According to Rayleigh scattering Law, the propagating wavelength should be greater than the diameter of the particle present in the penetrating medium. Direct wave RF signal thus have high chance of failure to work in such weather for detection of any object. Therefore an extensive study was required to find suitable region in the RF band that can help us in detecting objects with proper shape. This paper produces some results on object detection using 912 MHz band with successful detection of the persistence of any object coming under the trajectory of a vehicle navigating in indoor and outdoor environment. The developed images are finally transformed to video signal to enable continuous monitoring.

Keywords: RADAR Imaging, Fog vision system, Objectdetection, Jpeg to Mpeg conversion

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Authors: Tushar Vasant Salunkhe, Sariput M. Nawghare, Maheboobsab B. Nadaf, Sushovan Dutta, J. N. Mandal

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The model tests were conducted in the laboratory without and with Plastic recycled polymer in fly ash steep slopes overlaying soft foundation soils like fly ash and powai soil in order to check the stability of steep slope. In this experiment, fly ash is used as a filling material and Plastic Recycled Polymers of diameter = 3mm and length = 4mm were made from waste plastic product (lower grade plastic product). The properties of fly ash and Plastic recycled polymers are determined. From the experiments, load and settlement have measured. From these data, load –settlement curves have reported. It has been observed from test results that load carrying capacity of mixture fly ash with Plastic Recycled Polymers slope is more than that of fly ash slope. The deformation of Plastic Recycled Polymers slope is slightly more than that of fly ash slope. A Finite Element Method (F.E.M.) was also evaluated using PLAXIS 3D version. The failure pattern, deformations and factor of safety are reported based on analytical programme. The results from experimental data and analytical programme are compared and reported.

Keywords: Fly ash, Plastic recycled polymer, Factor of safety, Finite element method (FEM), Bishop’s simplified method.

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Authors: Philomena Ibuh Adzongo, Margaret U. Oluwole, Justina Nguveren Jor.

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This paper investigated the need for the development of entrepreneurial skills for Benue State University students. The population consisted of all 1,500 final year students in Benue State University. A sample of 100 students was selected using simple random sampling. A 12-item self-constructed and content validated questionnaire by research experts titled, the Need for the Development of Entrepreneurial Skills in Benue State University Students (NDECBSUS) was used to collect the data. The questionnaire items were rated using a 4-point modified rating scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree, assigned the following scores of 4,3,2 and 1, respectively. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher with the help of two research assistants through the primary source. Simple percentages and chi-square were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses, respectively. The findings revealed that in business management, business management skills, personal skills, and technical skills need to be developed in students for them to become effective and efficient entrepreneurs and concluded that the acquisition of these skills will reduce the challenge of unemployment. The study recommended that funds should be made available by all education stakeholders for such programmes to remain functional.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial skill, entrepreneurship, need for development, university students.

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Authors: Seyed Ziya Tabatabaei, Azimi Bin Hj Hamzah, Fatemeh Ebrahimi

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The increase in proportion of older people in Malaysia has led to a significant growth of health care demands. The aim of this study is to explore how perceived health care needs influence on quality of life among elderly Malay residents who reside in a Malaysian residential home. This study employed a method known as ethnographic research from May 2011 to January 2012. Four data collection strategies were selected as the main data-collecting tools including participant observation, field notes, in-depth interviews, and review of related documents. The nine knowledgeable participants for the present study were selected using the purposive sampling method. Two themes were identified: (1) Medical concerns: Feeling secure, lack of information, inadequate medical staff; and (2) Health promotion: Body condition, health education, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. These results could evoke the attention of policy-makers and care providers to better meet elderly residents’ health care needs.

Keywords: Ethnographic study, health care needs, elderly Malay people, Malaysia, quality of life, residential home.

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Authors: Zeliha Küçükyumuk, Cenk Küçükyumuk, İbrahim Erdal, Figen Eraslan

Abstract:

This study was aimed to determine seasonal variations of leaf nutrient concentrations to define nutrient needs related to growing period and to compare irrigation programs in terms of nutrient uptake. In this study,'Starkrimson Delicious' variety grafted onto seedling rootstock was used during 2009-2010 growing seasons. The study was conducted at E─ƒirdir Fruit Growing Research Station. Leaf samples were taken in five different sample seasons (May, June, July, August and September). Four different pan coefficients (0.50, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25) were applied during drip irrigation treatments in 7 days irrigation interval. Leaf K, Mg, Ca, P, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu concentrations were determined. The results showed that among the seasonal changes, the highest concentrations of K, Mg, P and Mn in leaves were recorded in May, followed by a decrease in the other months, while in contrast Ca and Fe showed the lowest concentration in May. Results of the study demonstrate that among irrigation programs K and Cu concentration in plants was significantly influenced. Cu concentrations decreased with seasonal variations and different irrigation programs. Thus, nutrient needs of 'Starkrimson Delicious'apple trees at different growth stages should be taken into consideration before making effective fertilization program.

Keywords: Apple orchard, irrigation programs, seasonal variations, nutrient concentrations.

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Authors: Adrienn Novák

Abstract:

The field research was carried out at the Látókép AGTC KIT research area of the University of Debrecen in Eastern-Hungary, on the area of the aeolain loess of the Hajdúság. We examined the effects of the sowing time on the phytopathogenic characteristics and yield production by applying various fertilizer treatments on two different sunflower genotypes (NK Ferti, PR64H42) in 2012 and 2013. We applied three different sowing times (early, optimal, late) and two different treatment levels of fungicides (control = no fungicides applied, double fungicide protection).

During our investigations, the studied cropyears were of different sowing time optimum in terms of yield amount (2012: early, 2013: average). By Pearson’s correlation analysis, we have found that delaying the sowing time pronouncedly decreased the extent of infection in both crop years (Diaporthe: r=0.663**, r=0.681**, Sclerotinia: r=0.465**, r=0.622**). The fungicide treatment not only decreased the extent of infection, but had yield increasing effect too (2012: r=0.498**, 2013: r=0.603**). In 2012, delaying of the sowing time increased (r=0.600**), but in 2013, it decreased (r= 0.356*) the yield amount.

Keywords: Fungicide treatment, genotypes, sowing time, yield, sunflower.

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Authors: V. Sivakumar, R. Neelakantan

Abstract:

Mineral mapping on the Moon surface provides the clue to understand the origin, evolution, stratigraphy and geological history of the Moon. Recently, reflectance imaging spectroscopy plays a significant role in identifying minerals on the planetary surface in the Visible to NIR region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) onboard Chandrayaan-1 provides unprecedented spectral data of lunar surface to study about the Moon surface. Here we used the M³ sensor data (hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy) for analysing mineralogy of Orientale basin region on the Moon surface. Reflectance spectrums were sampled from different locations of the basin and continuum was removed using ENvironment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) software. Reflectance spectra of unknown mineral composition were compared with known Reflectance Experiment Laboratory (RELAB) spectra for discriminating mineralogy. Minerals like olivine, Low-Ca Pyroxene (LCP), High-Ca Pyroxene (HCP) and plagioclase were identified. In addition to these minerals, an unusual type of spectral signature was identified, which indicates the probable Fe-Mg-spinel lithology in the basin region.

Keywords: Chandrayaan-1, moon mineralogy mapper, orientale basin, moon, spectroscopy, hyperspectral.

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Authors: M. R. Mustafa, M. H. Isa, R. B. Rezaur

Abstract:

The use of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling for prediction and forecasting variables in water resources engineering are being increasing rapidly. Infrastructural applications of ANN in terms of selection of inputs, architecture of networks, training algorithms, and selection of training parameters in different types of neural networks used in water resources engineering have been reported. ANN modeling conducted for water resources engineering variables (river sediment and discharge) published in high impact journals since 2002 to 2011 have been examined and presented in this review. ANN is a vigorous technique to develop immense relationship between the input and output variables, and able to extract complex behavior between the water resources variables such as river sediment and discharge. It can produce robust prediction results for many of the water resources engineering problems by appropriate learning from a set of examples. It is important to have a good understanding of the input and output variables from a statistical analysis of the data before network modeling, which can facilitate to design an efficient network. An appropriate training based ANN model is able to adopt the physical understanding between the variables and may generate more effective results than conventional prediction techniques.

Keywords: ANN, discharge, modeling, prediction, sediment,

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Authors: Muhammad Ijaz Khan, Samina Jalali, Beenish Shahid, S. A. Shami, Muhammad Ikramullah

Abstract:

In the present study, the response of Nili Ravi buffalo oocytes to recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone (rhFSH) (Organon) on meiotic maturation in vitro was examined. Oocytes were matured in vitro in medium containing either 0 or 0.05 IU/ ml rhFSH and the stage of nuclear maturation recorded after 24 hours. The percentage of oocytes in the control group undergoing germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) observed after 24 hours of culture was 29 % whereas as in rhFSH group the percentage was 10 % were at this stage (P< 0.001).Thus in the presence of rhFSH, a significantly greater number of oocytes had progressed to the more advanced stages of nuclear maturation. Indeed, the maturation of GV (Germinal Vesicle) stage oocytes to the metaphase II (M II) stage after 24 hours was significantly (P< 0.0001) increased by the addition of rhFSH (82 % VS 47 %). The percentage of degenerated oocytes after 24 hours of culture was 24 % in control group, whereas in rhFSH group the percentage was 8 % after 24 hours. Degeneration of the oocytes after 24 hours was not significantly (P = 0. 9361) decreased.

Keywords: Buffalo, in vitro, oocytes, recombinant FSH.

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Authors: B. S. Jatau, Nandom Abu

Abstract:

Structural interpretation of aeromagnetic data and Landsat imagery over the Middle Benue Trough was carried out to determine the depth to basement, delineate the basement morphology and relief, and the structural features within the basin. The aeromagnetic and Landsat data were subjected to various image and data enhancement and transformation routines. Results of the study revealed lineaments with trend directions in the N-S, NE-SW, NWSE and E-W directions, with the NE-SW trends been dominant. The depths to basement within the trough were established to be at 1.8, 0.3 and 0.8km, as shown from the spectral analysis plot. The Source Parameter Imaging (SPI) plot generated showed the centralsouth/ eastern portion of the study area as being deeper in contrast to the western-south-west portion. The basement morphology of the trough was interpreted as having parallel sets of micro-basins which could be considered as grabens and horsts in agreement with the general features interpreted by early workers.

Keywords: Morphology, Middle Benue Trough, Spectral Analysis, Source Parameter Imaging.

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