Search results for: Learning control systems

Authors: Nieto Bernal Wilson, Carmona Suarez Edgar

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The organizations have structured and unstructured information in different formats, sources, and systems. Part of these come from ERP under OLTP processing that support the information system, however these organizations in OLAP processing level, presented some deficiencies, part of this problematic lies in that does not exist interesting into extract knowledge from their data sources, as also the absence of operational capabilities to tackle with these kind of projects.  Data Warehouse and its applications are considered as non-proprietary tools, which are of great interest to business intelligence, since they are repositories basis for creating models or patterns (behavior of customers, suppliers, products, social networks and genomics) and facilitate corporate decision making and research. The following paper present a structured methodology, simple, inspired from the agile development models as Scrum, XP and AUP. Also the models object relational, spatial data models, and the base line of data modeling under UML and Big data, from this way sought to deliver an agile methodology for the developing of data warehouses, simple and of easy application. The methodology naturally take into account the application of process for the respectively information analysis, visualization and data mining, particularly for patterns generation and derived models from the objects facts structured.

Keywords: Data warehouse, model data, big data, object fact, object relational fact, process developed data warehouse.

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Authors: Fernando Alonso, Rafael Fernandez, Sonia Frutos, Javier Soriano

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CIM is the standard formalism for modeling management information developed by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) in the context of its WBEM proposal, designed to provide a conceptual view of the managed environment. In this paper, we propose the inclusion of formal knowledge representation techniques, based on Description Logics (DLs) and the Web Ontology Language (OWL), in CIM-based conceptual modeling, and then we examine the benefits of such a decision. The proposal is specified as a CIM metamodel level mapping to a highly expressive subset of DLs capable of capturing all the semantics of the models. The paper shows how the proposed mapping provides CIM diagrams with precise semantics and can be used for automatic reasoning about the management information models, as a design aid, by means of newgeneration CASE tools, thanks to the use of state-of-the-art automatic reasoning systems that support the proposed logic and use algorithms that are sound and complete with respect to the semantics. Such a CASE tool framework has been developed by the authors and its architecture is also introduced. The proposed formalization is not only useful at design time, but also at run time through the use of rational autonomous agents, in response to a need recently recognized by the DMTF.

Keywords: CIM, Knowledge-based Information Models, OntologyLanguages, OWL, Description Logics, Integrated Network Management, Intelligent Agents, Automatic Reasoning Techniques.

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Authors: Wenhao Wang, Xinzhi Xu, Limin Feng, Wei Cong

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This paper comprehensively investigates current development status of global power grids and fossil energy pipelines (oil and natural gas), proposes a standard visual platform of global power and fossil energy based on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. In this visual platform, a series of systematic visual models is proposed with global spatial data, systematic energy and power parameters. Under this visual platform, the current Global Power Grids Map and Global Fossil Energy Pipelines Map are plotted within more than 140 countries and regions across the world. Using the multi-scale fusion data processing and modeling methods, the world’s global fossil energy pipelines and power grids information system basic database is established, which provides important data supporting global fossil energy and electricity research. Finally, through the systematic and comparative study of global fossil energy pipelines and global power grids, the general status of global fossil energy and electricity development are reviewed, and energy transition in key areas are evaluated and analyzed. Through the comparison analysis of fossil energy and clean energy, the direction of relevant research is pointed out for clean development and energy transition.

Keywords: Energy Transition, geographic information system, fossil energy, power systems.

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Authors: Raoudha Chaabane, Faouzi Askri, Sassi Ben Nasrallah

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Simultaneous transient conduction and radiation heat transfer with heat generation is investigated. Analysis is carried out for both steady and unsteady situations. two-dimensional gray cylindrical enclosure with an absorbing, emitting, and isotropically scattering medium is considered. Enclosure boundaries are assumed at specified temperatures. The heat generation rate is considered uniform and constant throughout the medium. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) was used to solve the energy equation of a transient conduction-radiation heat transfer problem. The control volume finite element method (CVFEM) was used to compute the radiative information. To study the compatibility of the LBM for the energy equation and the CVFEM for the radiative transfer equation, transient conduction and radiation heat transfer problems in 2-D cylindrical geometries were considered. In order to establish the suitability of the LBM, the energy equation of the present problem was also solved using the the finite difference method (FDM) of the computational fluid dynamics. The CVFEM used in the radiative heat transfer was employed to compute the radiative information required for the solution of the energy equation using the LBM or the FDM (of the CFD). To study the compatibility and suitability of the LBM for the solution of energy equation and the CVFEM for the radiative information, results were analyzed for the effects of various parameters such as the boundary emissivity. The results of the LBMCVFEM combination were found to be in excellent agreement with the FDM-CVFEM combination. The number of iterations and the steady state temperature in both of the combinations were found comparable. Results are found for situations with and without heat generation. Heat generation is found to have significant bearing on temperature distribution.

Keywords: heat generation, cylindrical coordinates; RTE;transient; coupled conduction radiation; heat transfer; CVFEM; LBM

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Authors: Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Petya Cv. Petrova, Georgi V. Avdeev, Diana D. Nihtianova, Krasimir I. Ivanov, Tatyana T. Tabakova

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Recently, copper and manganese-containing systems are recognized as active and selective catalysts in many oxidation reactions. The main idea of this study is to obtain more information about γ-Al₂O₃ supported Cu-La catalysts and to evaluate their activity to simultaneous oxidation of CO, CH₃OH and dimethyl ether (DME). The catalysts were synthesized by impregnation of support with a mixed aqueous solution of nitrates of copper, manganese and lanthanum under different conditions. XRD, HRTEM/EDS, TPR and thermal analysis were performed to investigate catalysts’ bulk and surface properties. The texture characteristics were determined by Quantachrome Instruments NOVA 1200e specific surface area and pore analyzer. The catalytic measurements of single compounds oxidation were carried out on continuous flow equipment with a four-channel isothermal stainless steel reactor in a wide temperature range. On the basis of XRD analysis and HRTEM/EDS, it was concluded that the active component of the mixed Cu-Mn-La/γ–alumina catalysts strongly depends on the Cu/Mn molar ratio and consisted of at least four compounds – CuO, La₂O₃, MnO₂ and Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄. A homogeneous distribution of the active component on the carrier surface was found. The chemical composition strongly influenced catalytic properties. This influence was quite variable with regards to the different processes.

Keywords: Supported copper-manganese-lanthanum catalysts.

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Authors: Sumathi Poobal, G. Ravindran

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Image compression is one of the most important applications Digital Image Processing. Advanced medical imaging requires storage of large quantities of digitized clinical data. Due to the constrained bandwidth and storage capacity, however, a medical image must be compressed before transmission and storage. There are two types of compression methods, lossless and lossy. In Lossless compression method the original image is retrieved without any distortion. In lossy compression method, the reconstructed images contain some distortion. Direct Cosine Transform (DCT) and Fractal Image Compression (FIC) are types of lossy compression methods. This work shows that lossy compression methods can be chosen for medical image compression without significant degradation of the image quality. In this work DCT and Fractal Compression using Partitioned Iterated Function Systems (PIFS) are applied on different modalities of images like CT Scan, Ultrasound, Angiogram, X-ray and mammogram. Approximately 20 images are considered in each modality and the average values of compression ratio and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) are computed and studied. The quality of the reconstructed image is arrived by the PSNR values. Based on the results it can be concluded that the DCT has higher PSNR values and FIC has higher compression ratio. Hence in medical image compression, DCT can be used wherever picture quality is preferred and FIC is used wherever compression of images for storage and transmission is the priority, without loosing picture quality diagnostically.

Keywords: DCT, FIC, PIFS, PSNR.

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Authors: Phichak Phutrakhul

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The purposes of this research were to study concepts and strategies of human resource development in the automotive manufacturers and to articulate the proposals against the government about the human resource development for automotive industry. In the present study, qualitative study was an in-depth interview in which the qualitative data were collected from the executive or the executive of human resource division from five automotive companies - Toyota Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Qualitative data analysis was performed by using inter-coder agreement technique. The research findings were as follows: The external factors included the current conditions of the automotive industry, government’s policy related to the automotive industry, technology, labor market and human resource development systems of the country. The internal factors included management, productive management, organizational strategies, leadership, organizational culture and philosophy of human resource development. These factors were affected to the different concept of human resources development -the traditional human resource development and the strategies of human resource development. The organization focuses on human resources as intellectual capital and uses the strategies of human resource development in all development processes. The strategies of human resource development will enhance the ability of human resources in the organization and the country.

Keywords: Human Resource Development Strategy, Automotive industry, Eco-Cars, ASEAN.

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Authors: Babak Dizangian, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi, Akram Ghalandari

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Moment frames have considerable ductility against cyclic lateral loads and displacements; however, if this feature causes the relative displacement to exceed the permissible limit, it can impose unfavorable hysteretic behavior on the frame. Therefore, adding a bracing system with the capability of preserving the capacity of high energy absorption and controlling displacements without a considerable increase in the stiffness is quite important. This paper investigates the retrofitting of a single storey steel moment frame through a delayed wire-rope bracing system using a middle steel plate. In this model, the steel plate lies where the wire ropes meet, and the model geometry is such that the cables are continuously under tension so that they can take the most advantage of the inherent potential they have in tolerating tensile stress. Using the steel plate also reduces the system stiffness considerably compared to cross bracing systems and preserves the ductile frame’s energy absorption capacity. In this research, the software models of delayed wire-rope bracing system have been studied, validated, and compared with other researchers’ laboratory test results.

Keywords: Ductile moment frame, delayed wire rope bracing, cyclic loading, hysteresis curve, energy absorption.

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Authors: Merve Ermis, Murat Yılmaz, Nihal Eratlı, Mehmet H. Omurtag

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The static and dynamic analyses of hyperboloidal helix having the closed and the open square box sections are investigated via the mixed finite element formulation based on Timoshenko beam theory. Frenet triad is considered as local coordinate systems for helix geometry. Helix domain is discretized with a two-noded curved element and linear shape functions are used. Each node of the curved element has 12 degrees of freedom, namely, three translations, three rotations, two shear forces, one axial force, two bending moments and one torque. Finite element matrices are derived by using exact nodal values of curvatures and arc length and it is interpolated linearly throughout the element axial length. The torsional moments of inertia for close and open square box sections are obtained by finite element solution of St. Venant torsion formulation. With the proposed method, the torsional rigidity of simply and multiply connected cross-sections can be also calculated in same manner. The influence of the close and the open square box cross-sections on the static and dynamic analyses of hyperboloidal helix is investigated. The benchmark problems are represented for the literature.

Keywords: Hyperboloidal helix, squared cross section, thin walled cross section, torsional rigidity.

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Authors: R. Razavizadeh, F. Adabavazeh, M. Rezaee Chermahini

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Salinity is one of the most widespread agricultural problems in arid and semi-arid areas that limits the plant growth and crop productivity. In this study, the salt stress effects on protein, reducing sugar, proline contents and antioxidant enzymes activities of Carum copticum L. under in vitro conditions were studied. Seeds of C. copticum were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl and calli were cultured in MS medium containing 1 μM 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 4 μM benzyl amino purine and different levels of NaCl (0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 mM). After NaCl treatment for 28 days, the proline and reducing sugar contents of shoots, roots and calli increased significantly in relation to the severity of the salt stress. The highest amount of proline and carbohydrate were observed at 150 and 100 mM NaCl, respectively. The reducing sugar accumulation in shoots was the highest as compared to roots, whereas, proline contents did not show any significant difference in roots and shoots under salt stress. The results showed significant reduction of protein contents in seedlings and calli. Based on these results, proteins extracted from the shoots, roots and calli of C. copticum treated with 150 mM NaCl showed the lowest contents. The positive relationships were observed between activity of antioxidant enzymes and the increase in stress levels. Catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity increased significantly under salt concentrations in comparison to the control. These results suggest that the accumulation of proline and sugars, and activation of antioxidant enzymes play adaptive roles in the adaptation of seedlings and callus of C. copticum to saline conditions.

Keywords: Antioxidant enzymes, Carum copticum, organic solutes, salt stress.

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Authors: Man Young Kim

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Catalytic combustion is generally accepted as an environmentally preferred alternative for the generation of heat and power from fossil fuels mainly due to its advantages related to the stable combustion under very lean conditions with low emissions of NOx, CO, and UHC at temperatures lower than those occurred in conventional flame combustion. Despite these advantages, the commercial application of catalytic combustion has been delayed because of complicated reaction processes and the difficulty in developing appropriate catalysts with the required stability and durability. To develop the catalytic combustors, detailed studies on the combustion characteristics of catalytic combustion should be conducted. To the end, in current research, quantitative studies on the combustion characteristics of the catalytic combustors, with a Pd-based catalyst for MCFC power generation systems, relying on numerical simulations have been conducted. In addition, data from experimental studies of variations in outlet temperatures and fuel conversion, taken after operating conditions have been used to validate the present numerical approach. After introducing the governing equations for mass, momentum, and energy equations as well as a description of catalytic combustion kinetics, the effects of the excess air ratio, space velocity, and inlet gas temperature on the catalytic combustion characteristics are extensively investigated. Quantitative comparisons are also conducted with previous experimental data. Finally, some concluding remarks are presented.

Keywords: Catalytic combustion, Methane, BOP, MCFC power generation system, Inlet temperature, Excess air ratio, Space velocity.

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Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, Hong Wan Ping, M. Sayuti

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In this current era of competitive machinery productions, the industries are designed to place more emphasis on the product quality and reduction of cost whilst abiding by the pollution-preventing policy. In attempting to delve into the concerns, the industries are aware that the effectiveness of existing lubrication systems must be improved to achieve power-efficient and pollution-preventing machining processes. As such, this research is targeted to study on a plausible solution to the issue in grinding titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) by using nanolubrication, as an alternative to flood grinding. The aim of this research is to evaluate the optimum condition of grinding force and surface roughness using MQL lubricating system to deliver nano-oil at different level of weight concentration of Silicon Dioxide (SiO₂) mixed normal mineral oil. Taguchi Design of Experiment (DoE) method is carried out using a standard Taguchi orthogonal array of L16(43) to find the optimized combination of weight concentration mixture of SiO₂, nozzle orientation and pressure of MQL. Surface roughness and grinding force are also analyzed using signal-to-noise(S/N) ratio to determine the best level of each factor that are tested. Consequently, the best combination of parameters is tested for a period of time and the results are compared with conventional grinding method of dry and flood condition. The results show a positive performance of MQL nanolubrication.  

Keywords: Grinding, MQL, precision grinding, Taguchi optimization, titanium alloy.

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Authors: Rishabh Garg

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Traditionally, business parties build trust with a centralized operating mechanism, such as payment by letter of credit. However, the increase in cyber-attacks and malicious hacking has jeopardized business operations and finance practices. Emerging markets, due to their high banking risks and the large presence of digital financing, are looking for technology that enables transparency and traceability of any transaction in trade, finance or supply chain management. Blockchain systems, in the absence of any central authority, enable transactions across the globe with the help of decentralized applications. DApps consist of a front-end, a blockchain back-end, and middleware, that is, the code that connects the two. The front-end can be a sophisticated web app or mobile app, which is used to implement the functions/methods on the smart contract. Web apps can employ technologies such as HTML, CSS, React and Express. In this wake, fintech and blockchain products are popping up in brokerages, digital wallets, exchanges, post-trade clearance, settlement, middleware, infrastructure and base protocols. The present paper provides a technology driven solution, financial inclusion and innovative working paradigm for business and finance.

Keywords: Authentication, blockchain, channel, cryptography, DApps, data portability, Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure, Ethereum, hash function, Hashgraph, Privilege creep, Proof of Work algorithm, revocation, storage variables, Zero Knowledge Proof.

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Authors: El-Said. I. Shabana, Mohammad S. Tayeb, Maher M. T. Qutub, Abdulraheem A. Kinsara

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Usually, phosphate deposits contain ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in addition to their decay products. Due to their different pathways in the environment, the ²³⁸U/²³²Th activity concentration ratio usually found to be greater than unity in phosphate sediments. The presence of these radionuclides creates a potential need to control exposure of workers in the mining and processing activities of the phosphate minerals in accordance with IAEA safety standards. The greatest dose to workers comes from exposure to radon, especially ²²²Rn from the uranium series, and has to be controlled. In this regard, radon (²²²Rn) was measured in the atmosphere (indoor and outdoor) of Al-Jalamid phosphate-mines working area using a portable radon-measurement instrument RAD7, in a purpose of radiation protection. Radon was measured in 61 sites inside the open phosphate mines, the phosphate upgrading facility (offices and rooms of the workers, and in some open-air sites) and in the dwellings of the workers residence-village that lies at about 3 km from the mines working area. The obtained results indicated that the average indoor radon concentration was about 48.4 Bq/m³. Inside the upgrading facility, the average outdoor concentrations were 10.8 and 9.7 Bq/m³ in the concentrate piles and crushing areas, respectively. It was 12.3 Bq/m³ in the atmosphere of the open mines. These values are comparable with the global average values. Based on the average values, the annual effective dose due to radon inhalation was calculated and risk estimates have been done. The average annual effective dose to workers due to the radon inhalation was estimated by 1.32 mSv. The potential excess risk of lung cancer mortality that could be attributed to radon, when considering the lifetime exposure, was estimated by 53.0x10^-4. The results have been discussed in detail.

Keywords: Dosimetry, environmental monitoring, phosphate deposits, radiation protection, radon-22.

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Authors: Zehai Yu, Hui Zhu, Linglong Lin, Huawei Liang, Biao Yu, Weixin Huang

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With the development of intelligent vehicle systems, a high-precision road map is increasingly needed in many aspects. The automatic lane lines extraction and modeling are the most essential steps for the generation of a precise lane-level road map. In this paper, an automatic lane-level road map generation system is proposed. To extract the road markings on the ground, the multi-region Otsu thresholding method is applied, which calculates the intensity value of laser data that maximizes the variance between background and road markings. The extracted road marking points are then projected to the raster image and clustered using a two-stage clustering algorithm. Lane lines are subsequently recognized from these clusters by the shape features of their minimum bounding rectangle. To ensure the storage efficiency of the map, the lane lines are approximated to cubic polynomial curves using a Bayesian estimation approach. The proposed lane-level road map generation system has been tested on urban and expressway conditions in Hefei, China. The experimental results on the datasets show that our method can achieve excellent extraction and clustering effect, and the fitted lines can reach a high position accuracy with an error of less than 10 cm.

Keywords: Curve fitting, lane-level road map, line recognition, multi-thresholding, two-stage clustering.

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Authors: F. O Anugom

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The general functions of the university amongst other things include teaching, research and community service. Universities are recognized as the apex of learning, accumulating and imparting knowledge and skills of all kinds to students to enable them to be productive, earn their living and to make optimum contributions to national development. This is equivalent to the production of human capital in the form of high level manpower needed to administer the educational society, be useful to the society and manage the economy. Quality has become a matter of major importance for university education in Nigeria. Accreditation is the systematic review of educational programs to ensure that acceptable standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure are being maintained. Accreditation ensures that institution maintain quality. The process is designed to determine whether or not an institution has met or exceeded the published standards for accreditation, and whether it is achieving its mission and stated purposes. Ensuring quality assurance in accreditation process falls in the hands of university management which justified the need for this study. This study examined accreditation and quality assurance: the management imperative. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The design was a correlation survey with a population of 2,893 university administrators out of which 578 Heads of department and Dean of faculties were sampled. The instrument for data collection was titled Programme Accreditation Exercise scale with high levels of reliability. The research questions were answered with Pearson ‘r’ statistics. T-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. It was found among others that the quality of accredited programme depends on the level of funding of universities in Nigeria. It was also indicated that quality of programme accreditation and physical facilities of universities in Nigeria have high relationship. But it was also revealed that programme accreditation is positively related to staffing in Nigerian universities. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommend that academic administrators should be included in the team of those who ensure quality programs in the universities. Private sector partnership should be encouraged to fund programs to ensure quality of programme in the universities. Independent agencies should be engaged to monitor the activities of accreditation teams to avoid bias.

Keywords: Accreditation, quality assurance, NUC, physical facilities, staffing.

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Authors: Shin-Jer Yang, Kai-Tai Yang

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In response to a changing world and the fast growth of the Internet, more and more enterprises are replacing web-based services with cloud-based ones. Multi-tenancy technology is becoming more important especially with Software as a Service (SaaS). This in turn leads to a greater focus on the application of Identity and Access Management (IAM). Conventional Near-Field Communication (NFC) based verification relies on a computer browser and a card reader to access an NFC tag. This type of verification does not support mobile device login and user-based access management functions. This study designs an NFC-based third-party cloud identity and access management scheme (NFC-IAM) addressing this shortcoming. Data from simulation tests analyzed with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) suggest that the NFC-IAM not only takes less time in identity identification but also cuts time by 80% in terms of two-factor authentication and improves verification accuracy to 99.9% or better. In functional performance analyses, NFC-IAM performed better in salability and portability. The NFC-IAM App (Application Software) and back-end system to be developed and deployed in mobile device are to support IAM features and also offers users a more user-friendly experience and stronger security protection. In the future, our NFC-IAM can be employed to different environments including identification for mobile payment systems, permission management for remote equipment monitoring, among other applications.

Keywords: Cloud service, multi-tenancy, NFC, IAM, mobile device.

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Authors: Hajji Lobna, Chattaoui Mayssa, Regaieg Hajer, M'Hamdi-Boughalleb Naima, Rhouma Ali, Horrigue-Raouani Najet

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In this study, three local isolates of Trichoderma (Tr1: T. viride, Tr2: T. harzianum and Tr3: T. asperellum) were isolated and evaluated for their biocontrol effectiveness under in vitro conditions and in greenhouse. In vitro bioassay revealed a biopotential control against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici and Meloidogyne javanica (RKN) separately. All species of Trichoderma exhibited biocontrol performance and (Tr1) Trichoderma viride was the most efficient. In fact, growth rate inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (FORL) was reached 75.5% with Tr1. Parasitism rate of root-knot nematode was 60% for juveniles and 75% for eggs with the same one. Pots experiment results showed that Tr1 and Tr2, compared to chemical treatment, enhanced the plant growth and exhibited better antagonism against root-knot nematode and root-rot fungi separated or combined. All Trichoderma isolates revealed a bioprotection potential against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici. When pathogen fungi inoculated alone, Fusarium wilt index and browning vascular rate were reduced significantly with Tr1 (0.91, 2.38%) and Tr2 (1.5, 5.5%), respectively. In the case of combined infection with Fusarium and nematode, the same isolate of Trichoderma Tr1 and Tr2 decreased Fusarium wilt index at 1.1 and 0.83 and reduced the browning vascular rate at 6.5% and 6%, respectively. Similarly, the isolate Tr1 and Tr2 caused maximum inhibition of nematode multiplication. Multiplication rate was declined at 4% with both isolates either tomato infected by nematode separately or concomitantly with Fusarium. The chemical treatment was moderate in activity against Meloidogyne javanica and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici alone and combined.

Keywords: Trichoderma spp., Meloidogyne javanica, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis lycopersici, biocontrol.

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

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

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

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Authors: Shubat S. Ahmeda, Ashraf M. Ali Edwila

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Short Message Service (SMS) has grown in popularity over the years and it has become a common way of communication, it is a service provided through General System for Mobile Communications (GSM) that allows users to send text messages to others. SMS is usually used to transport unclassified information, but with the rise of mobile commerce it has become a popular tool for transmitting sensitive information between the business and its clients. By default SMS does not guarantee confidentiality and integrity to the message content. In the mobile communication systems, security (encryption) offered by the network operator only applies on the wireless link. Data delivered through the mobile core network may not be protected. Existing end-to-end security mechanisms are provided at application level and typically based on public key cryptosystem. The main concern in a public-key setting is the authenticity of the public key; this issue can be resolved by identity-based (IDbased) cryptography where the public key of a user can be derived from public information that uniquely identifies the user. This paper presents an encryption mechanism based on the IDbased scheme using Elliptic curves to provide end-to-end security for SMS. This mechanism has been implemented over the standard SMS network architecture and the encryption overhead has been estimated and compared with RSA scheme. This study indicates that the ID-based mechanism has advantages over the RSA mechanism in key distribution and scalability of increasing security level for mobile service.

Keywords: Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), End-to-end Security, Identity-based Cryptography, Public Key, RSA, SMS Protocol.

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Authors: Amina Abubakar

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English like any other language is rich by means of arbitrary, conventional, symbols which lend it to lot of inconsistencies in spelling, phonology, syntax, and morphology. The research examines the irregularities prevalent in the structure and meaning of some ‘er’ lexical items in English and its implication to vocabulary acquisition. It centers its investigation on the derivational suffix ‘er’, which changes the grammatical category of word. English language poses many challenges to Second Language Learners because of its irregularities, exceptions, and rules. One of the meaning of –er derivational suffix is someone or somebody who does something. This rule often confuses the learners when they meet with the exceptions in normal discourse. The need to investigate instances of such inconsistencies in the formation of –er words and the meanings given to such words by the students motivated this study. For this purpose, some senior secondary two (SS2) students in six randomly selected schools in the metropolis were provided a large number of alphabetically selected ‘er’ suffix ending words, The researcher opts for a test technique, which requires them to provide the meaning of the selected words with- er. The marking of the test was scored on the scale of 1-0, where correct formation of –er word and meaning is scored one while wrong formation and meaning is scored zero. The number of wrong and correct formations of –er words meaning were calculated using percentage. The result of this research shows that a large number of students made wrong generalization of the meaning of the selected -er ending words. This shows how enormous the inconsistencies are in English language and how are affect the learning of English. Findings from the study revealed that though students mastered the basic morphological rules but the errors are generally committed on those vocabulary items that are not frequently in use. The study arrives at this conclusion from the survey of their textbook and their spoken activities. Therefore, the researcher recommends that there should be effective reappraisal of language teaching through implementation of the designed curriculum to reflect on modern strategies of teaching language, identification, and incorporation of the exceptions in rigorous communicative activities in language teaching, language course books and tutorials, training and retraining of teachers on the strategies that conform to the new pedagogy.

Keywords: ESL, derivational morpheme, inflectional morpheme, suffixes.

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Authors: V. Maciuc, Şt. Creangă, I. Gîlcă, V. Ujică

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The paper makes part from a complex research project on Romanian Grey Steppe, a unique breed in terms of biological and cultural-historical importance, on the verge of extinction and which has been included in a preservation programme of genetic resources from Romania. The study of genetic polymorphism of protean fractions, especially kappa-casein, and the genotype relations of these lactoproteins with some quantitative and qualitative features of milk yield represents a current theme and a novelty for this breed. In the estimation of the genetic parameters we used R.E.M.L. (Restricted Maximum Likelihood) method. The main lactoprotein from milk, kappa - casein (K-cz), characterized in the specialized literature as a feature having a high degree of hereditary transmission, behaves as such in the nucleus under study, a value also confirmed by the heritability coefficient (h2 = 0.57 %). We must mention the medium values for milk and fat quantity (h2=0.26, 0.29 %) and the fat and protein percentage from milk having a high hereditary influence h2 = 0.71 - 0.63 %. Correlations between kappa-casein and the milk quantity are negative and strong. Between kappa-casein and other qualitative features of milk (fat content 0.58-0.67 % and protein content 0.77- 0.87%), there are positive and very strong correlations. At the same time, between kappa-casein and β casein (β-cz), β lactoglobulin (β- lg) respectively, correlations are positive having high values (0.37 – 0.45 %), indicating the same causes and determining factors for the two groups of features.

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

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Authors: Natalia Koltovaya, Nadezhda Zhuchkina, Ksenia Lyubimova

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We study the biological effects induced by ionizing radiation in view of therapeutic exposure and the idea of space flights beyond Earth's magnetosphere. In particular, we examine the differences between base pair substitution induction by ionizing radiation in model haploid and diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Such mutations are difficult to study in higher eukaryotic systems. In our research, we have used a collection of six isogenic trp5-strains and 14 isogenic haploid and diploid cyc1-strains that are specific markers of all possible base-pair substitutions. These strains differ from each other only in single base substitutions within codon-50 of the trp5 gene or codon-22 of the cyc1 gene. Different mutation spectra for two different haploid genetic trp5- and cyc1-assays and different mutation spectra for the same genetic cyc1-system in cells with different ploidy — haploid and diploid — have been obtained. It was linear function for dose-dependence in haploid and exponential in diploid cells. We suggest that the differences between haploid yeast strains reflect the dependence on the sequence context, while the differences between haploid and diploid strains reflect the different molecular mechanisms of mutations.

Keywords: Base pair substitutions, γ-rays, haploid and diploid cells, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

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Authors: A. Tellaeche, X. P. Burgos-Artizzu, G. Pajares, A. Ribeiro

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One important objective in Precision Agriculture is to minimize the volume of herbicides that are applied to the fields through the use of site-specific weed management systems. In order to reach this goal, two major factors need to be considered: 1) the similar spectral signature, shape and texture between weeds and crops; 2) the irregular distribution of the weeds within the crop's field. This paper outlines an automatic computer vision system for the detection and differential spraying of Avena sterilis, a noxious weed growing in cereal crops. The proposed system involves two processes: image segmentation and decision making. Image segmentation combines basic suitable image processing techniques in order to extract cells from the image as the low level units. Each cell is described by two area-based attributes measuring the relations among the crops and the weeds. From these attributes, a hybrid decision making approach determines if a cell must be or not sprayed. The hybrid approach uses the Support Vector Machines and the Fuzzy k-Means methods, combined through the fuzzy aggregation theory. This makes the main finding of this paper. The method performance is compared against other available strategies.

Keywords: Fuzzy k-Means, Precision agriculture, SupportVectors Machines, Weed detection.

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Authors: Jehad Al Dallal

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An application framework provides a reusable design and implementation for a family of software systems. Frameworks are introduced to reduce the cost of a product line (i.e., a family of products that shares the common features). Software testing is a timeconsuming and costly ongoing activity during the application software development process. Generating reusable test cases for the framework applications during the framework development stage, and providing and using the test cases to test part of the framework application whenever the framework is used reduces the application development time and cost considerably. This paper introduces the Framework Interface State Transition Tester (FIST2), a tool for automated unit testing of Java framework applications. During the framework development stage, given the formal descriptions of the framework hooks, the specifications of the methods of the framework-s extensible classes, and the illegal behavior description of the Framework Interface Classes (FICs), FIST2 generates unitlevel test cases for the classes. At the framework application development stage, given the customized method specifications of the implemented FICs, FIST2 automates the use, execution, and evaluation of the already generated test cases to test the implemented FICs. The paper illustrates the use of the FIST2 tool for testing several applications that use the SalesPoint framework.

Keywords: Automated testing, class testing, FICs, FIST2, object-oriented framework, object-oriented testing.

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Authors: Abou-Baker Salim, A. A. K. Abou-Arab, Sherif R. Mohamed, T. A. Eldesouky

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Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an ancient fruit of great medical interest and rich source of antioxidants. Pesticides as dimethoate play a crucial role in the occurrence many diseases in plants, animal and human. Therefore the ability of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) to alleviate hepatotoxicity induced by organophosphate pesticide dimethoate was investigated. Albino male rats were divided randomly into 4 groups and kept at 7 animals per group in an environmentally controlled condition for 6 weeks. The first group was served as a control group (basal diet), the second group fed on basal diet supplemented with 5% freeze dried pomegranate seeds, the third group fed on 20 ppm dimethoate contaminated diet and the last group fed on dimethoate contaminated diet supplemented with 5% freeze dried pomegranate seeds. The results revealed that administration of dimethoate caused high significant increased in liver functions: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities as well as lipid peroxide (malonaldhyde, MDA); on the other hand high significant decreased on glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), albumin and total protein were observed. However addition of 5% freeze dried pomegranate seeds significantly improved all previously mentioned parameters. These results indicate the dimethoate induced hepatotoxicity and highlight the protective effect of pomegranate seeds as a potential protective agent against dimethoate induced hepatotoxicity. This may be attributed to the powerful antioxidants (polyphenols, total phenols, and total flavonoids) which present in high levels in pomegranate as well as improving the immunity by activation of antioxidant enzymes GSH and GPx.

Keywords: Pomegranate, organophosphate pesticides, dimethoate, liver toxicity, free radicals, antioxidants.

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Authors: Akhtar N, Khan BA, Khan MS, Mahmood T, Khan HMS, Iqbal M, Bashir S

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This study was designed to formulate, pharmaceutically evaluate a topical skin-care cream (w/o emulsion) of Aloe Vera versus its vehicle (Base) as control and determine their effects on Stratum Corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Base containing no extract and a Formulation containing 3% concentrated extract of Aloe Vera was developed by entrapping in the inner aqueous phase of w/o emulsion (cream). Lemon oil was incorporated to improve the odor. Both the Base and Formulation were stored at 8°C ±0.1°C (in refrigerator), 25°C±0.1°C, 40°C±0.1°C and 40°C± 0.1°C with 75% RH (in incubator) for a period of 4 weeks to predict their stability. The evaluation parameters consisted of color, smell, type of emulsion, phase separation, electrical conductivity, centrifugation, liquefaction and pH. Both the Base and Formulation were applied to the cheeks of 21 healthy human volunteers for a period of 8 weeks Stratum corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were monitored every week to measure any effect produced by these topical creams. The expected organoleptic stability of creams was achieved from 4 weeks in-vitro study period. Odor was disappeared with the passage of time due to volatilization of lemon oil. Both the Base and Formulation produced significant (p≤0.05) changes in TEWL with respect to time. SC water content was significantly (p≤0.05) increased by the Formulation while the Base has insignificant (p 0.05) effects on SC water content. The newly formulated cream of Aloe Vera, applied is suitable for improvement and quantitative monitoring of skin hydration level (SC water content/ moisturizing effects) and reducing TEWL in people with dry skin.

Keywords: Aloe Vera; Skin; Stratum corneum (SC) water content and Transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

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Authors: J. S. Yadav, N. P. Patidar, J. Singhai, S. Panda, C. Ardil

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In this paper a mixed method by combining an evolutionary and a conventional technique is proposed for reduction of Single Input Single Output (SISO) continuous systems into Reduced Order Model (ROM). In the conventional technique, the mixed advantages of Mihailov stability criterion and continued Fraction Expansions (CFE) technique is employed where the reduced denominator polynomial is derived using Mihailov stability criterion and the numerator is obtained by matching the quotients of the Cauer second form of Continued fraction expansions. Then, retaining the numerator polynomial, the denominator polynomial is recalculated by an evolutionary technique. In the evolutionary method, the recently proposed Differential Evolution (DE) optimization technique is employed. DE method is based on the minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) between the transient responses of original higher order model and the reduced order model pertaining to a unit step input. The proposed method is illustrated through a numerical example and compared with ROM where both numerator and denominator polynomials are obtained by conventional method to show its superiority.

Keywords: Reduced Order Modeling, Stability, Mihailov Stability Criterion, Continued Fraction Expansions, Differential Evolution, Integral Squared Error.

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Authors: A. S. Telang, P. P. Bedekar

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Flexible AC transmission system controllers play an important role in controlling the line power flow and in improving voltage profiles of the power system network. They can be used to increase the reliability and efficiency of transmission and distribution system. The modeling of these FACTS controllers in power flow calculations have become a challenging research problem. This paper presents a simple and systematic approach for a steady state power flow calculations of power system with STATCOM (Static Synchronous Compensator). It shows how systematically STATCOM can be implemented in conventional power flow calculations. The main contribution of this paper is to investigate this approach for two special conditions i.e. consideration of load increase pattern incorporating load change (active, reactive and both active and reactive) at all load buses simultaneously and the line contingencies under such load change. Such investigation proves to be relevant for determination of strategy for the optimal placement of STATCOM to enhance the voltage stability. The performance has been evaluated on many standard IEEE test systems. The results for standard IEEE-30 bus test system are presented here.

Keywords: Load flow analysis, Newton-Raphson (N-R) power flow, Flexible AC transmission system, FACTS, Static synchronous compensator, STATCOM, voltage profile.

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Authors: Bua Srikos, Phusit Phukamchanoad, Suwaree Yordchim

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The purpose is to study the model and characteristic of participation of the suitable community to lead to develop permanent water marketing in Bang Noi Floating Market, Bangkonti District, Samutsongkhram Province. A total of 342 survey questionnaire was administered to potential respondents. The researchers interviewed the leader of the community. Appreciation Influence Control (AIC) was used to talk with 20 villagers on arena. The findings revealed that overall, most people had the middle level of the participation in developing the durable Bang Noi Floating Market, Bangkonti, Samutsongkhram Province and in aspects of gaining benefits from developing it with atmosphere and a beautiful view for tourism. For example, the landscape is beautiful with public utilities. The participation in preserving and developing Bang Noi Floating Market remains in the former way of life. The basic factor of person affects to the participation of people such as age, level of education, career, and income per month. Most participants are the original hosts that have houses and shops located in the marketing and neighbor. These people involve with the benefits and have the power to make a water marketing strategy, the major role to set the information database. It also found that the leader and the villagers play the important role in setting a five-physical database. Data include level of information such as position of village, territory of village, road, river, and premises. Information of culture consists of a two-level of information, interesting point, and Itinerary. The information occurs from presenting and practicing by the leader and villagers in the community.All of phases are presented for listening and investigating database together in both the leader and villagers in the process of participation.

Keywords: Community Participation, Sustainable Development, Encouragement Tourism.

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