Search results for: national innovation activity's measurement

Authors: Ahmed M. Hemeida, Wael A. Farag, Osama A. Mahgoub

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This paper focuses on developing an integrated reliable and sophisticated model for ultra large wind turbines And to study the performance and analysis of vector control on large wind turbines. With the advance of power electronics technology, direct driven multi-pole radial flux PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) has proven to be a good choice for wind turbines manufacturers. To study the wind energy conversion systems, it is important to develop a wind turbine simulator that is able to produce realistic and validated conditions that occur in real ultra MW wind turbines. Three different packages are used to simulate this model, namely, Turbsim, FAST and Simulink. Turbsim is a Full field wind simulator developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The wind turbine mechanical parts are modeled by FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures and Turbulence) code which is also developed by NREL. Simulink is used to model the PMSG, full scale back to back IGBT converters, and the grid.

Keywords: FAST, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator(PMSG), TurbSim, Vector Control and Pitch Control

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Authors: Melodi Mbuyi Mata, Blessing Olamide Taiwo, Afolabi Ayodele David

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The purpose of this research is to create empirical models for assessing the profitability of granite aggregate production in Akure, Ondo state aggregate quarries. In addition, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model and multivariate predicting models for granite profitability were developed in the study. A formal survey questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The data extracted from the case study mine for this study include granite marketing operations, royalty, production costs, and mine production information. The following methods were used to achieve the goal of this study: descriptive statistics, MATLAB 2017, and SPSS16.0 software in analyzing and modeling the data collected from granite traders in the study areas. The ANN and Multi Variant Regression models' prediction accuracy was compared using a coefficient of determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and mean square error (MSE). Due to the high prediction error, the model evaluation indices revealed that the ANN model was suitable for predicting generated profit in a typical quarry. More quarries in Nigeria's southwest region and other geopolitical zones should be considered to improve ANN prediction accuracy.

Keywords: National development, granite, profitability assessment, ANN models.

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Authors: J. L. Chukwuneke, C. H. Achebe, S. N. Omenyi

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This research work presents the surface thermodynamics approach to M-TB/HIV-Human sputum interactions. This involved the use of the Hamaker coefficient concept as a surface energetics tool in determining the interaction processes, with the surface interfacial energies explained using van der Waals concept of particle interactions. The Lifshitz derivation for van der Waals forces was applied as an alternative to the contact angle approach which has been widely used in other biological systems. The methodology involved taking sputum samples from twenty infected persons and from twenty uninfected persons for absorbance measurement using a digital Ultraviolet visible Spectrophotometer. The variables required for the computations with the Lifshitz formula were derived from the absorbance data. The Matlab software tools were used in the mathematical analysis of the data produced from the experiments (absorbance values). The Hamaker constants and the combined Hamaker coefficients were obtained using the values of the dielectric constant together with the Lifshitz Equation. The absolute combined Hamaker coefficients A132abs and A131abs on both infected and uninfected sputum samples gave the values of A132abs = 0.21631x10-21Joule for M-TB infected sputum and Ã132abs = 0.18825x10-21Joule for M-TB/HIV infected sputum. The significance of this result is the positive value of the absolute combined Hamaker coefficient which suggests the existence of net positive van der waals forces demonstrating an attraction between the bacteria and the macrophage. This however, implies that infection can occur. It was also shown that in the presence of HIV, the interaction energy is reduced by 13% conforming adverse effects observed in HIV patients suffering from tuberculosis.

Keywords: Absorbance, dielectric constant, Hamaker coefficient, Lifshitz formula, macrophage, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Van der Waals forces.

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Authors: H. Elomari, M. Fallah, A. Elmousadik

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This work was conducted in the Souss region, known by severe water scarcity and a high agricultural activity dominated by the citrus (representing 40% of the area of Morocco's citrus). The objective of this work is to diagnose the current situation of the water efficiency in citrus irrigation and analyze the impact of various production factors on water productivity and its sustainability in the context of climate change. A field survey was conducted on 65 farms with areas varying from 0.5 to 350 ha. The stratification method was adopted as a sampling frame. Initial result indicates that the use of water shows a huge shortfall, since 31% of farms in the region are still using the surface irrigation system and 67% of farms are still using only the experience of the manager to control and adjust irrigation. The assessment of water productivity showed a value of 1.2 kg/m³ for surface irrigation and 3.8 kg/m³ for drip irrigation. The use of tools for control and adjustment of irrigation increases the water productivity of drip irrigation by 25%. The availability of the technical staff (internal or external) allows an increase in productivity of 172.4% compared to farms without technical advice.

Keywords: Citrus, irrigation efficiency, water productivity, drip irrigation.

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Authors: Hossam Shalabi, George Hadjisophocleous

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The Canadian Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) use some portions of NUREG/CR-6850 in carrying out Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA). An assessment for the applicability of NUREG/CR-6850 to CANDU reactors was performed and a CANDU Fire PRA was introduced. There are 19 operating CANDU reactors in Canada at five sites (Bruce A, Bruce B, Darlington, Pickering and Point Lepreau). A fire load density survey was done for all Fire Safe Shutdown Analysis (FSSA) fire zones in all CANDU sites in Canada. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 557 proposes that a fire load survey must be conducted by either the weighing method or the inventory method or a combination of both. The combination method results in the most accurate values for fire loads. An updated CANDU Fire PRA model is demonstrated in this paper that includes the fuel survey in all Canadian CANDU stations. A qualitative screening step for the CANDU fire PRA is illustrated in this paper to include any fire events that can damage any part of the emergency power supply in addition to FSSA cables.

Keywords: Fire safety, CANDU, nuclear, fuel densities, FDS, qualitative analysis, fire probabilistic risk assessment.

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Authors: Jiabei Zhang, Amanda Rapelje, Christopher Farr, Kristin Colwell, Zezhao Chen

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a recreational workout program for adults with disabilities over two semesters. This investigation was an action study conducted in a naturalistic setting. Participants included equal numbers of adults with severe cognitive impairments (n = 35) and adults without disabilities (n = 35). Adults with disabilities severe cognitive impairments were trained 6 self-initiated workout activities over two semesters by adults without disabilities. The numbers of task-analyzed steps of each activity performed correctly by each participant at the first and last weeks of each semester were used for data analysis. Results of the paired t-tests indicate that across two semesters, significant differences between the first and last weeks were found on 4 out of the 6 task-analyzed workout activities at a statistical level of significance p < .05. The recreational workout program developed in this study was effective.

Keywords: Workout program, exercise performance, adults, sever cognitive impairment.

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Authors: H. D. Lim, Jie Wu, T. H. New, Shengxian Shi

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This paper outlines the development of an experimental technique in quantifying supersonic jet flows, in an attempt to avoid seeding particle problems frequently associated with particle-image velocimetry (PIV) techniques at high Mach numbers. Based on optical flow algorithms, the idea behind the technique involves using high speed cameras to capture Schlieren images of the supersonic jet shear layers, before they are subjected to an adapted optical flow algorithm based on the Horn-Schnuck method to determine the associated flow fields. The proposed method is capable of offering full-field unsteady flow information with potentially higher accuracy and resolution than existing point-measurements or PIV techniques. Preliminary study via numerical simulations of a circular de Laval jet nozzle successfully reveals flow and shock structures typically associated with supersonic jet flows, which serve as useful data for subsequent validation of the optical flow based experimental results. For experimental technique, a Z-type Schlieren setup is proposed with supersonic jet operated in cold mode, stagnation pressure of 4 bar and exit Mach of 1.5. High-speed singleframe or double-frame cameras are used to capture successive Schlieren images. As implementation of optical flow technique to supersonic flows remains rare, the current focus revolves around methodology validation through synthetic images. The results of validation test offers valuable insight into how the optical flow algorithm can be further improved to improve robustness and accuracy. Despite these challenges however, this supersonic flow measurement technique may potentially offer a simpler way to identify and quantify the fine spatial structures within the shock shear layer.

Keywords: Schlieren, optical flow, supersonic jets, shock shear layer.

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Authors: Elia Favarelli, Enrico Testi, Andrea Giorgetti

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Autonomous structural health monitoring (SHM) of many structures and bridges became a topic of paramount importance for maintenance purposes and safety reasons. This paper proposes a set of machine learning (ML) tools to perform automatic feature selection and detection of anomalies in a bridge from vibrational data and compare different feature extraction schemes to increase the accuracy and reduce the amount of data collected. As a case study, the Z-24 bridge is considered because of the extensive database of accelerometric data in both standard and damaged conditions. The proposed framework starts from the first four fundamental frequencies extracted through operational modal analysis (OMA) and clustering, followed by time-domain filtering (tracking). The fundamental frequencies extracted are then fed to a dimensionality reduction block implemented through two different approaches: feature selection (intelligent multiplexer) that tries to estimate the most reliable frequencies based on the evaluation of some statistical features (i.e., entropy, variance, kurtosis), and feature extraction (auto-associative neural network (ANN)) that combine the fundamental frequencies to extract new damage sensitive features in a low dimensional feature space. Finally, one-class classification (OCC) algorithms perform anomaly detection, trained with standard condition points, and tested with normal and anomaly ones. In particular, principal component analysis (PCA), kernel principal component analysis (KPCA), and autoassociative neural network (ANN) are presented and their performance are compared. It is also shown that, by evaluating the correct features, the anomaly can be detected with accuracy and an F1 score greater than 95%.

Keywords: Anomaly detection, dimensionality reduction, frequencies selection, modal analysis, neural network, structural health monitoring, vibration measurement.

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Authors: Elzo Alves Aranha, Marcio M. Araki

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Business model (BM) is a term that has been receiving the attention of scholars and practitioners and has been consolidating itself as a field of study and research. Although there is no agreement in the academic literature on the definition of BM, at least there is an explicit agreement: BM defines a logical structure of how an organization creates value, capture value and delivers value for the customers and stakeholders. The lack of understanding about connections and elements among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education opens a gap in the academic literature. Thus, it is interesting to analyze how BM has been approached by the literature and applied in higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education aimed to know the main streams of research. This is because higher education institutions are characterized by innovation, leading to a greater acceptance of new and modern concepts such as BM. Our research has the main motivation to fill the gap in the academic literature, making it possible to increase the power of understanding about connections and aspects among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education. The objective of the research is to analyze the main aspects among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education in academic literature. The research followed the systematic literature review (SLR). The SLR is based on three main factors: clarity, validity, and auditability. 82 academic papers were found in the past 10 years, from 2009-2019. The search was carried out in Science Direct and Periodicos Capes databases. The main findings indicate that there are links between BM and higher education, BM and university, BM, and entrepreneurship education. The main findings are inserted within seven aspects. The findings are innovative and contribute to increase the power of understanding about the connection among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education in academic literature. The research findings addressed to the gap exposed in academic literature. The research findings have several practical implications, and we highlight only two main ones. First, researchers will be able to use the research findings to mitigate a BM research agenda involving connections between BM and higher education, BM and university, and BM and entrepreneurship education. Second, directors, deans, and university leaders will be able to carry out BM awareness programs, BM professors training programs, and makers planning for the inclusion of BM, as one of the components of the curricula of the undergraduate and graduate courses.

Keywords: Business model, entrepreneurship education, higher education, university.

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Authors: Şt. Creangâ, V. Maciuc, A.V. Bâlteanu, S.S. Chelmu

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The paper presents a part of the results obtained in a complex research project on Romanian Grey Steppe breed, owner of some remarkable qualities such as hardiness, longevity, adaptability, special resistance to ban weather and diseases and included in the genetic fund (G.D. no. 822/2008.) from Romania. Following the researches effectuated, we identified alleles of six loci, codifying the six types of major milk proteins: alpha-casein S1 (α S1-cz); beta-casein (β-cz); kappa-casein (K-cz); beta-lactoglobulin (β-lg); alpha-lactalbumin (α-la) and alpha-casein S2 (α S2-cz). In system αS1-cz allele αs1-Cn B has the highest frequency (0.700), in system β-cz allele β-Cn A2 ( 0.550 ), in system K-cz allele k-CnA2 ( 0.583 ) and heterozygote genotype AB ( 0.416 ) and BB (0.375), in system β-lg allele β-lgA1 has the highest frequency (0.542 ) and heterozygote genotype AB ( 0.500 ), in system α-la there is monomorphism for allele α-la B and similarly in system αS2-cz for allele αs2-Cn A. The milk analysis by the isoelectric focalization technique (I.E.F.) allowed the identification of a new allele for locus αS1-casein, for two of the individuals under analysis, namely allele called αS1-casein IRV. When experiments were repeated, we noticed that this is not a proteolysis band and it really was a new allele that has not been registered in the specialized literature so far. We identified two heterozygote individuals, carriers of this allele, namely: BIRV and CIRV. This discovery is extremely important if focus is laid on the national genetic patrimony.

Keywords: allele, breed, genetic preservation, lactoproteins, Romanian Grey Steppe

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Authors: Amer A. Boushaala

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The heuristic decision rules used for project scheduling will vary depending upon the project-s size, complexity, duration, personnel, and owner requirements. The concept of project complexity has received little detailed attention. The need to differentiate between easy and hard problem instances and the interest in isolating the fundamental factors that determine the computing effort required by these procedures inspired a number of researchers to develop various complexity measures. In this study, the most common measures of project complexity are presented. A new measure of project complexity is developed. The main privilege of the proposed measure is that, it considers size, shape and logic characteristics, time characteristics, resource demands and availability characteristics as well as number of critical activities and critical paths. The degree of sensitivity of the proposed measure for complexity of project networks has been tested and evaluated against the other measures of complexity of the considered fifty project networks under consideration in the current study. The developed measure showed more sensitivity to the changes in the network data and gives accurate quantified results when comparing the complexities of networks.

Keywords: Activity networks, Complexity index, Networkcomplexity measure, Network topology, Project Network.

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Authors: Nagore Guerra Bilbao, Clemente Lobato Fraile

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This paper outlines the design and development of the MENDEPRO questionnaire, designed to analyze mentoring performance within a professional development process carried out with professors at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. The study took into account the international research carried out over the past two decades into teachers' professional development, and was also based on a thorough review of the most common instruments used to identify and analyze mentoring styles, many of which fail to provide sufficient psychometric guarantees. The present study aimed to gather empirical data in order to verify the metric quality of the questionnaire developed. To this end, the process followed to validate the theoretical construct was as follows: The formulation of the items and indicators in accordance with the study variables; the analysis of the validity and reliability of the initial questionnaire; the review of the second version of the questionnaire and the definitive measurement instrument. Content was validated through the formal agreement and consensus of 12 university professor training experts. A reduced sample of professors who had participated in a lifelong learning program was then selected for a trial evaluation of the instrument developed. After the trial, 18 items were removed from the initial questionnaire. The final version of the instrument, comprising 33 items, was then administered to a sample group of 99 participants. The results revealed a five-dimensional structure matching theoretical expectations. Also, the reliability data for both the instrument as a whole (.98) and its various dimensions (between .91 and .97) were very high. The questionnaire was thus found to have satisfactory psychometric properties and can therefore be considered apt for studying the performance of mentoring in both induction programs for young professors and lifelong learning programs for senior faculty members.

Keywords: Higher education, mentoring, professional development, university teachers.

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Authors: T. Y. Liu, C. H Lin., Y. M Ferng

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Wind energy is one of the clean renewable energy. However, the low frequency (20-200HZ) noise generated from the wind turbine blades, which bothers the residents, becomes the major problem to be developed. It is useful for predicting the aerodynamic noise by flow field and pressure distribution analysis on the wind turbine blades. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to use different turbulence models to analyze the flow field and pressure distributions of the wing blades.

Three-dimensional Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation of the flow field was used to calculate the flow phenomena for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI horizontal axis wind turbine rotor. Two different flow cases with different wind speeds were investigated: 7m/s with 72rpm and 15m/s with 72rpm.

Four kinds of RANS-based turbulence models, Standard k-ε, Realizable k-ε, SST k-ω, and v2f, were used to predict and analyze the results in the present work. The results show that the predictions on pressure distributions with SST k-ω and v2f turbulence models have good agreements with experimental data.

Keywords: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine, turbulence model, noise.

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Authors: Rajendra Kumar Isaac, Monisha Isaac

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Climate variability and changes are the emerging challenges for Indian agriculture with the growing population to ensure national food security. A study was conducted to assess the Climatic Change effects in medium to low altitude areas of the Himalayan region causing changes in land use and cereal crop productivity with the various climatic parameters. The rainfall and temperature changes from 1951 to 2013 were studied at four locations of varying altitudes, namely Hardwar, Rudra Prayag, Uttar Kashi and Tehri Garwal. It was observed that there is noticeable increment in temperature on all the four locations. It was surprisingly observed that the mean rainfall intensity of 30 minutes duration has increased at the rate of 0.1 mm/hours since 2000. The study shows that the combined effect of increasing temperature, rainfall, runoff and urbanization at the mid-Himalayan region is causing an increase in various climatic disasters and changes in agriculture patterns. A noticeable change in cropping patterns, crop productivity and land use change was observed. Appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies are necessary to ensure that sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture. Appropriate information is necessary for farmers, as well as planners and decision makers for developing, disseminating and adopting climate-smart technologies.

Keywords: Climate variability, agriculture, land use, mitigation strategies.

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Authors: Yasuyuki Takahashi, Hayato Ishimura, Masao Miyagawa, Teruhito Mochizuki

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Quantitative measurement of myocardium perfusion is possible with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using a semiconductor detector. However, accumulation of ^99mTc-tetrofosmin in the liver may make it difficult to assess that accurately in the inferior myocardium. Our idea is to reduce the high accumulation in the liver by using dynamic SPECT imaging and a technique called time subtraction. We evaluated the performance of a new SPECT system with a cadmium-zinc-telluride solid-state semi- conductor detector (Discovery NM 530c; GE Healthcare). Our system acquired list-mode raw data over 10 minutes for a typical patient. From the data, ten SPECT images were reconstructed, one for every minute of acquired data. Reconstruction with the semiconductor detector was based on an implementation of a 3-D iterative Bayesian reconstruction algorithm. We studied 20 patients with coronary artery disease (mean age 75.4 ± 12.1 years; range 42-86; 16 males and 4 females). In each subject, 259 MBq of ^99mTc-tetrofosmin was injected intravenously. We performed both a phantom and a clinical study using dynamic SPECT. An approximation to a liver-only image is obtained by reconstructing an image from the early projections during which time the liver accumulation dominates (0.5~2.5 minutes SPECT image-5~10 minutes SPECT image). The extracted liver-only image is then subtracted from a later SPECT image that shows both the liver and the myocardial uptake (5~10 minutes SPECT image-liver-only image). The time subtraction of liver was possible in both a phantom and the clinical study. The visualization of the inferior myocardium was improved. In past reports, higher accumulation in the myocardium due to the overlap of the liver is un-diagnosable. Using our time subtraction method, the image quality of the ^99mTc-tetorofosmin myocardial SPECT image is considerably improved.

Keywords: 99mTc-tetrofosmin, dynamic SPECT, time subtraction, semiconductor detector.

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Authors: Sundus Ayyaz, Saad Rehman

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In the recent years, a fundamental revolution in the Mobile Phone technology from just being able to provide voice and short message services to becoming the most essential part of our lives by connecting to network and various app stores for downloading software apps of almost every activity related to our life from finding location to banking from getting news updates to downloading HD videos and so on. This progress in Smart Phone industry has modernized and transformed our way of living into a trouble-free world. The smart phone has become our personal computers with the addition of significant features such as multi core processors, multi-tasking, large storage space, bluetooth, WiFi, including large screen and cameras. With this evolution, the rise in the security threats have also been amplified. In Literature, different threats related to smart phones have been highlighted and various precautions and solutions have been proposed to keep the smart phone safe which carries all the private data of a user. In this paper, a survey has been carried out to find out the most secure and the most unsecure smart phone operating system among the most popular smart phones in use today.

Keywords: Smart phone, operating system, security threats, Android, iOS, Balckberry, Windows.

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Authors: Junki Miyamoto, Mariko Kiyomi, Yuuki Nagashio, Takuya Suzuki, Soichi Tanabe

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Anti-allergic effects of royal jelly were evaluated in a human-like mouse model of atopic dermatitis. NC/Nga mice were cutaneously applied with royal jelly for 6 weeks. Royal jelly-treated mice exhibited lower levels of serum total immunoglobulin E in comparison with controls. We found that the treatment decreased (11% to the control) expression of mRNA for aquaporin-3, which is involved in the modulation of epidermal hydration. Microarray analysis revealed more than 10-fold changes in the expression of several genes, such as transglutaminase 2, repetin, and keratins. In normal human epidermal keratinocytes, royal jelly extract suppressed interleukin-8 elevation induced by TNF-α and interferon-γ, suggesting direct anti-inflammatory activity in keratinocytes. Collectively, topical application of royal jelly may be useful for amelioration of lesions and inflammation in atopic dermatitis.

Keywords: Aquaporin 3, immunoglobulin E, NC/Nga, royal jelly.

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Authors: Devasis Ghosh

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The main hindrance to total cure of cancer is a) the failure to control continued production of cancer cells, b) its sustenance and c) its metastasis. This review study has tried to address this issue of total cancer cure in a more innovative way. A 10-pronged “CRAB METHOD”, a novel holistic scientific approach of Cancer treatment has been hypothesized in this paper. Apart from available Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Oncosurgery, (which shall not be discussed here), seven other points of interference and treatment has been suggested, i.e. 1. Efficient stress management. 2. Dampening of ATF3 expression. 3. Selective inhibition of Platelet Activity. 4. Modulation of serotonin production, metabolism and 5HT receptor antagonism. 5. Auxin, its anti-proliferative potential and its modulation. 6. Melatonin supplementation because of its oncostatic properties. 7. HDAC Inhibitors especially valproic acid use due to its apoptotic role in many cancers. If all the above stated seven steps are thoroughly taken care of at the time of initial diagnosis of cancer along with the available treatment modalities of Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Oncosurgery, then perhaps, the morbidity and mortality rate of cancer may be greatly reduced.

Keywords: ATF3 dampening, auxin modulation, cancer, platelet activation, serotonin, stress, valproic acid.

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Authors: Francis Z. Naab, Abraham M. Nunbogu, Romanus D. Dinye, Alfred Dongzagla

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The study assesses the effectiveness of the Bui Dam resettlement scheme in the Tain and the Bole districts in Ghana. The study adopted a mixed approach in its data collection and analyses. Of the eight communities affected by Bui hydropower project, and thus require resettlement, four were purposively selected for primary data collection. Primary data was gathered through questionnaire administration to 157 heads of resettled households, focus group discussions with men and women and in-depth interviews with key informants. The findings indicated that the affected people had been sufficiently contacted at all levels of their resettlement. In particular, the Ghana Dams Dialogue, which served as a liaison entity between the government and the resettlement communities came up for praise for its usefulness. Many tangible policies were put in place to address the socio-cultural differences of traditional authorities. The Bui Dam Authority also rigorously followed national and international laws and protocols in the design and implementation of the resettlement scheme.  In assessing the effectiveness of the resettlement scheme, it was clear that there had been a great appreciation of the compensation regarding infrastructural development, but much more would have to be done to satisfy livelihood empowerment requirements. It was recommended that candid efforts be made to restore the lost identities of the communities resettled, and more dialogue is encouraged among communities living together.

Keywords: Resettlement, livelihood, hydro-power project, Bui Dam, Ghana.

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Authors: E. Kam, G. Karahan, H. Aslıyuksek, A. Bozkurt

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This study aims to determine the natural radioactivity levels in some foodstuffs produced in Turkey. For this purpose, 48 different foods samples were collected from different land parcels throughout the country. All samples were analyzed to designate both gross alpha and gross beta radioactivities and the radionuclides’ concentrations. The gross alpha radioactivities were measured as below 1 Bq kg^-1 in most of the samples, some of them being due to the detection limit of the counting system. The gross beta radioactivity levels ranged from 1.8 Bq kg^-1 to 453 Bq kg^-1, larger levels being observed in leguminous seeds while the highest level being in haricot bean. The concentrations of natural radionuclides in the foodstuffs were investigated by the method of gamma spectroscopy. High levels of ⁴⁰K were measured in all the samples, the highest activities being again in leguminous seeds. Low concentrations of ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra were found in some of the samples, which are comparable to the reported results in the literature. Based on the activity concentrations obtained in this study, average annual effective dose equivalents for the radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸U, and ⁴⁰K were calculated as 77.416 µSv y^-1, 0.978 µSv y^-1, and 140.55 µSv y^-1, respectively.

Keywords: Foods, radioactivity, gross alpha, gross beta, annual equivalent dose, Turkey.

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Authors: Roman Major, Klaudia Trembecka-Wojciga, Juergen Markus Lackner, Boguslaw Major

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The future and the development of science is therefore seen in interdisciplinary areas such as biomedical engineering. Selfassembled structures, similar to stem cell niches would inhibit fast division process and subsequently capture the stem cells from the blood flow. By means of surface topography and the stiffness as well as microstructure progenitor cells should be differentiated towards the formation of endothelial cells monolayer which effectively will inhibit activation of the coagulation cascade. The idea of the material surface development met the interest of the clinical institutions, which support the development of science in this area and are waiting for scientific solutions that could contribute to the development of heart assist systems. This would improve the efficiency of the treatment of patients with myocardial failure, supported with artificial heart assist systems. Innovative materials would enable the redesign, in the post project activity, construction of ventricular heart assist.

Keywords: Bio-inspired materials, electron microscopy, haemocompatibility, niche-like structures, thin coatings.

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Authors: Saeid Haghjoo, Ebrahim Reyhani, Fahimeh Kolahdouz

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The present study aimed to evaluate the understanding of the students in Tehran universities (Iran) about the numerical representation of the average rate of change based on the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO). In the present descriptive-survey research, the statistical population included undergraduate students (basic sciences and engineering) in the universities of Tehran. The samples were 604 students selected by random multi-stage clustering. The measurement tool was a task whose face and content validity was confirmed by math and mathematics education professors. Using Cronbach's Alpha criterion, the reliability coefficient of the task was obtained 0.95, which verified its reliability. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-squared and independent t-tests) under SPSS-24 software. According to the SOLO model in the prestructural, unistructural, and multistructural levels, basic science students had a higher percentage of understanding than that of engineering students, although the outcome was inverse at the relational level. However, there was no significant difference in the average understanding of both groups. The results indicated that students failed to have a proper understanding of the numerical representation of the average rate of change, in addition to missconceptions when using physics formulas in solving the problem. In addition, multiple solutions were derived along with their dominant methods during the qualitative analysis. The current research proposed to focus on the context problems with approximate calculations and numerical representation, using software and connection common relations between math and physics in the teaching process of teachers and professors.

Keywords: Average rate of change, context problems, derivative, numerical representation, SOLO taxonomy.

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Authors: Sang-Ho Baik

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D-erythro-cyclohexylserine (D chiral unnatural β-hydroxy amino acid expected for the synthesis of drug for AIDS treatment. To develop a continuous bioconversion system with whole cell biocatalyst of D-threonine aldolase (D genes for the D-erythro-CHS production, D-threonine aldolase gene was amplified from Ensifer arboris 100383 by direct PCR amplication using two degenerated oligonucleotide primers designed based on genomic sequence of Shinorhizobium meliloti Sequence analysis of the cloned DNA fragment revealed one open-reading frame of 1059 bp and 386 amino acids. This putative D-TA gene was cloned into NdeI and EcoRI (pEnsi His-tag sequence or BamHI (pEnsi-DTA[2]) sequence of the pET21(a) vector. The expression level of the cloned gene was extremely overexpressed by E. coli BL21(DE3) transformed with pEnsi-DTA[1] compared to E. coli BL21(DE3) transformed with pEnsi-DTA[2]. When the cells expressing the wild used for D-TA enzyme activity, 12 mM glycine was successfully detected in HPLC analysis. Moreover, the whole cells harbouring the recombinant D-TA was able to synthesize D-erythro of 0.6 mg/ml in a batch reaction.

Keywords: About four key words or phrases in alphabetical order, separated by commas.

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Authors: R. Haddad, K. Morris, V. Buchanan-Wollaston

Abstract:

Biochemical and molecular analysis of some antioxidant enzyme genes revealed different level of gene expression on oilseed (Brassica napus). For molecular and biochemical analysis, leaf tissues were harvested from plants at eight different developmental stages, from young to senescence. The levels of total protein and chlorophyll were increased during maturity stages of plant, while these were decreased during the last stages of plant growth. Structural analysis (nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence, and phylogenic tree) of a complementary DNA revealed a high level of similarity for a family of Catalase genes. The expression of the gene encoded by different Catalase isoforms was assessed during different plant growth phase. No significant difference between samples was observed, when Catalase activity was statistically analyzed at different developmental stages. EST analysis exhibited different transcripts levels for a number of other relevant antioxidant genes (different isoforms of SOD and glutathione). The high level of transcription of these genes at senescence stages was indicated that these genes are senescenceinduced genes.

Keywords: Biochemical analysis, Oilseed, Expression pattern, Growth phases

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Authors: Abdulfatah A Raji

Abstract:

This paper started with the definitions of literature, Arabic literature, transformation and went further to highlight the components of educational transformation. The general history of Arabic literature was discussed with focus on how it undergoes some transformations from pre-Islamic period through Quranic era, Abbasid literature to renaissance period in which the modernization of Arabic literature started in Egypt. It also traces the spread of Arabic literature in Nigeria from the pre-colonial era during the Kanuri rulers to Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio and the development of literature which manifested to the Teacher’s Colleges and Bayero University in Northern Nigeria. Also, the establishment of primary and post-primary schools by Muslim organizations in many cities and towns of the Western part of Nigeria. Literary criticism was also discussed in line with Arabic literature. Poetry work of eminent poets were cited to show its importance in line with educational transformation in Nigerian literature and lessons from the cited Arabic poetry works were also highlighted to include: motivation to behave well and to tolerate others, better spirits of interaction, love and co-existence among different sexes, religion etc. All these can help in developing a better educational transformation in Nigeria which can in turn help in how to conduct researches for national development. The paper recommended compulsory Arabic literature at all levels of the nations’ educational system as well as publication of Arabic books and journals to encourage peace in this era of conflicts and further transform Nigeria’s educational system for better.

Keywords: Arabic, literature, peace, development, Nigeria

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Authors: Chalermwut Wijit

Abstract:

This research is conducted in order to 1) study the result of applying “Active Learning” in general education subject to develop creativity 2) explore problems and obstacles in applying Active Learning in general education subject to improve the creativity in 1780 undergraduate students who registered this subject in the first semester 2013. The research is implemented by allocating the students into several groups of 10 -15 students and assigning them to design the activities for society under the four main conditions including 1) require no financial resources 2) practical 3) can be attended by every student 4) must be accomplished within 2 weeks. The researcher evaluated the creativity prior and after the study. Ultimately, the problems and obstacles from creating activity are evaluated from the open-ended questions in the questionnaires. The study result states that overall average scores on students’ ability increased significantly in terms of creativity, analytical ability and the synthesis, the complexity of working plan and team working. It can be inferred from the outcome that active learning is one of the most efficient methods in developing creativity in general education.

Keywords: Creative Thinking, Active Learning, General Education.

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Authors: J. Bolzan, C. Marden

Abstract:

The article proposed intends to analyze the possibility (and conditions) of a media regulation law in a democratic rule of law in the twenty-first century. To do so, will be presented initially the idea of the public sphere (by Jürgen Habermas), showing how it is presented as an interface between the citizen and the state (or the private and public) and how important is it in a deliberative democracy. Based on this paradigm, the traditional perception of the role of public information (such as system functional element) and on the possibility of media regulation will be exposed, due to the public nature of their activity. A critical argument will then be displayed from two different perspectives: a) the formal function of the current media information, considering that the digital age has fragmented the information access; b) the concept of a constructive democracy, which reduces the need for representation, changing the strategic importance of the public sphere. The question to be addressed (based on the comparative law) is if the regulation is justified in a polycentric democracy, especially when it operates under the digital age (with immediate and virtual communication). The proposal is to be presented in the sense that even in a twenty-first century the media in a democratic rule of law still has an extremely important role and may be subject to regulation, but this should be on terms very different (and narrower) from those usually defended.

Keywords: Media regulation, public sphere, digital age, constructive democracy.

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Authors: Emmanouel Koumoulas, Aikaterini Rokkou, Marios Moschakis

Abstract:

Theagenio" in Thessaloniki exists and works for three centuries now as a hospital. Since 1975, it has been operating as an Integrated Special Cancer Hospital and since 1985 it has been integrated into the National Health System. "Theagenio" Cancer Hospital is located at the central web of Thessaloniki residential complex and consists of two buildings, the "Symeonidio Research Center", which was completed in 1962 and the Nursing Ward, a project that was later completed in 1975. This paper examines the design of the Hospital Unit according to the requirements of the energy design of buildings. Initially, the energy characteristics of the Hospital are recorded, followed by a detailed presentation of the electromechanical installations. After the existing situation has been captured and with the help of the software TEE-KENAK, different scenarios for the energy upgrading of the buildings have been studied. Proposals for upgrading concern both the shell, e.g. installation of external thermal insulation, replacement of frames, addition of shading systems, etc. as well as electromechanical installations, e.g. use of ceiling fans, improvements in heating and cooling systems, interventions in lighting, etc. The simulation calculates the future energy status of the buildings and presents the economic benefits of the proposed interventions with reference to the environmental profits that arise.

Keywords: Energy consumption in hospitals, energy saving interventions, energy upgrading, hospital facilities.

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Authors: Herath MPC Jayaweera, Samer Hanoun

Abstract:

Path planning for on-time obstacle avoidance is an essential and challenging task that enables drones to achieve safe operation in any application domain. The level of challenge increases significantly on the obstacle avoidance technique when the drone is following a ground mobile entity (GME). This is mainly due to the change in direction and magnitude of the GMEs velocity in dynamic and unstructured environments. Force field techniques are the most widely used obstacle avoidance methods due to their simplicity, ease of use and potential to be adopted for three-dimensional dynamic environments. However, the existing force field obstacle avoidance techniques suffer many drawbacks including their tendency to generate longer routes when the obstacles are sideways of the drones route, poor ability to find the shortest flyable path, propensity to fall into local minima, producing a non-smooth path, and high failure rate in the presence of symmetrical obstacles. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper proposes an on-time three-dimensional obstacle avoidance method for drones to effectively and efficiently avoid dynamic and static obstacles in unknown environments while pursuing a GME. This on-time obstacle avoidance technique generates velocity waypoints for its obstacle-free and efficient path based on the shape of the encountered obstacles. This method can be utilize on most types of drones that have basic distance measurement sensors and autopilot supported flight controllers. The proposed obstacle avoidance technique is validated and evaluated against existing force field methods for different simulation scenarios in Gazebo and ROS supported PX4-SITL. The simulation results show that the proposed obstacle avoidance technique outperforms the existing force field techniques and is better suited for real-world applications.

Keywords: Drones, force field methods, obstacle avoidance, path planning.

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Authors: S. Nurdiana, A. S. Nor Haziqah, M. K. Nur Ezwa Khairunnisa, S. Nurul `Izzati, Y. Siti Amna M. J. Norashirene, I. Nur Hilwani

Abstract:

Azadirachta excelsa or locally known as sentang are frequently used as a traditional medicine by diabetes patients in Malaysia. However, less attention has been given to their toxicity effect. Thus, the study is an attempt to examine the protective effect of A. excelsa on the pancreas and to determine possible toxicity mediated by the extract. Diabetes was induced experimentally in rats by high-fat-diet for 16 weeks followed by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at dosage of 35 mg/kg of body weight. Declination of the fasting blood glucose level was observed after continuous administration of A. excelsa for 14 days twice daily. This is due to the refining structure of the pancreas. However, surprisingly, the plant extract reduced the leukocytes, erythrocytes, hemoglobin, MCHC and lymphocytes. In addition, the rat treated with the plant extract exhibited increment in AST and eosinocytes level. Overall, the finding shows that A. excelsa possesses antidiabetic activity by improving the structure of pancreatic islet of Langerhans but involved in ameliorating of hematology and biochemical parameters.

Keywords: Azadirachta excelsa, diabetes, pancreas, hematobiochemical parameters.

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