Search results for: minimum inhibitory concentration
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2229

Search results for: minimum inhibitory concentration

2169 Improved FP-growth Algorithm with Multiple Minimum Supports Using Maximum Constraints

Authors: Elsayeda M. Elgaml, Dina M. Ibrahim, Elsayed A. Sallam

Abstract:

Association rule mining is one of the most important fields of data mining and knowledge discovery. In this paper, we propose an efficient multiple support frequent pattern growth algorithm which we called “MSFP-growth” that enhancing the FPgrowth algorithm by making infrequent child node pruning step with multiple minimum support using maximum constrains. The algorithm is implemented, and it is compared with other common algorithms: Apriori-multiple minimum supports using maximum constraints and FP-growth. The experimental results show that the rule mining from the proposed algorithm are interesting and our algorithm achieved better performance than other algorithms without scarifying the accuracy. 

Keywords: Association Rules, FP-growth, Multiple minimum supports, Weka Tool

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2168 Effect of Wood Vinegar for Controlling on Housefly (Musca domestica L.)

Authors: U. Pangnakorn, S. Kanlaya, C. Kuntha

Abstract:

Raw wood vinegar was purified by both standing and filtering methods. Toxicity tests were conducted under laboratory conditions by the topical application method (contact poison) and feeding method (stomach poison). Larvicidal activities of wood vinegar at four different concentrations (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 %) were studied against second instar larvae of housefly (Musca domestica L.). Four replicates were maintained for all treatments and controls. Larval mortality was recorded up to 96 hours and compared with the larval survivability by two methods of larvicidal bioassay. Percent pupation and percent adult emergence were observed in treated M. domestica. The study revealed that the feeding method gave higher efficiency compared with the topical application method. Larval mortality increased with increasing concentration of wood vinegar and the duration of exposure. No mortality was found in treated M. domestica larvae at minimum 10% concentration of wood vinegar through the experiments. The treated larvae were maintained up to pupa and adult emergence. At 30% maximum concentration larval duration was extended to 11 days in M. domestica for topical application method and 9 days for feeding method. Similarly the pupal durations were also increased with increased concentrations (16 and 24 days for topical application method and feeding method respectively at 30% concentration) of the treatments.

Keywords: Housefly (Musca domestica L.), wood vinegar, mortality, topical application, feeding

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2167 Mixed Micellization Study of Adiphenine Hydrochloride with 1-Decyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride

Authors: Abbul B. Khan, Neeraj Dohare, Rajan Patel

Abstract:

The mixed micellization of adiphenine hydrochloride (ADP) with 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C10mim.Cl), was investigated at different mole fractions and temperatures by surface tension measurements. The synergistic behavior (i.e., non-ideal behavior) for binary mixtures was explained by the deviation of critical micelle concentration (cmc) from ideal critical micelle concentration (cmc*), micellar mole fraction (Xim) from ideal micellar mole fraction (Xiideal), the values of interaction parameter (β) and activity coefficients (fi) (for both mixed micelles and mixed monolayer). The excess free energy (ΔGex) for the ADP- C10mim.Cl binary mixtures explain the stability of mixed micelles in comparison to micelles of pure ADP and C10mim.Cl. Interfacial parameters, i.e., Gibbs surface excess (Гmax), minimum head group area at air/ water interface (Amin), and free energy of micellization (ΔG0m) were also evaluated for the systems.

Keywords: Adiphenine hydrochloride, Critical micelle concentration, Interaction parameter, Activity coefficient.

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2166 In vitro and in vivo Assessment of Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activity of the Bark Extracts of Pterocarpus santalinus L. for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Authors: K. Biswas, U. H. Armin, S. M. J. Prodhan, J. A. Prithul, S. Sarker, F. Afrin

Abstract:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (a progressive neurodegenerative disorder) is mostly predominant cause of dementia in the elderly. Prolonging the function of acetylcholine by inhibiting both acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase is most effective treatment therapy of AD. Traditionally Pterocarpus santalinus L. is widely known for its medicinal use. In this study, in vitro acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity was investigated and methanolic extract of the plant showed significant activity. To confirm this activity (in vivo), learning and memory enhancing effects were tested in mice. For the test, memory impairment was induced by scopolamine (cholinergic muscarinic receptor antagonist). Anti-amnesic effect of the extract was investigated by the passive avoidance task in mice. The study also includes brain acetylcholinesterase activity. Results proved that scopolamine induced cognitive dysfunction was significantly decreased by administration of the extract solution, in the passive avoidance task and inhibited brain acetylcholinesterase activity. These results suggest that bark extract of Pterocarpus santalinus can be better option for further studies on AD via their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory actions.

Keywords: Pterocarpus santalinus, cholinesterase inhibitor, passive avoidance, Alzheimer’s disease.

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2165 Analysis and Remediation of Fecal Coliform Bacteria Pollution in Selected Surface Water Bodies of Enugu State of Nigeria

Authors: Chime Charles C., Ikechukwu Alexander Okorie, Ekanem E.J., Kagbu J. A.

Abstract:

The assessment of surface waters in Enugu metropolis for fecal coliform bacteria was undertaken. Enugu urban was divided into three areas (A1, A2 and A3), and fecal coliform bacteria analysed in the surface waters found in these areas for four years (2005-2008). The plate count method was used for the analyses. Data generated were subjected to statistical tests involving; Normality test, Homogeneity of variance test, correlation test, and tolerance limit test. The influence of seasonality and pollution trends were investigated using time series plots. Results from the tolerance limit test at 95% coverage with 95% confidence, and with respect to EU maximum permissible concentration show that the three areas suffer from fecal coliform pollution. To this end, remediation procedure involving the use of saw-dust extracts from three woods namely; Chlorophora-Excelsa (C-Excelsa),Khayan-Senegalensis,(CSenegalensis) and Erythrophylum-Ivorensis (E-Ivorensis) in controlling the coliforms was studied. Results show that mixture of the acetone extracts of the woods show the most effective antibacterial inhibitory activities (26.00mm zone of inhibition) against E-coli. Methanol extract mixture of the three woods gave best inhibitory activity (26.00mm zone of inhibition) against S-areus, and 25.00mm zones of inhibition against E-Aerogenes. The aqueous extracts mixture gave acceptable zones of inhibitions against the three bacteria organisms.

Keywords: Coliform bacteria, Pollution, Remediation, Saw-dust

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2164 New Feed-Forward/Feedback Generalized Minimum Variance Self-tuning Pole-placement Controller

Authors: S. A. Mohamed, A. S. Zayed, O. A. Abolaeha

Abstract:

A new Feed-Forward/Feedback Generalized Minimum Variance Pole-placement Controller to incorporate the robustness of classical pole-placement into the flexibility of generalized minimum variance self-tuning controller for Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) has been proposed in this paper. The design, which provides the user with an adaptive mechanism, which ensures that the closed loop poles are, located at their pre-specified positions. In addition, the controller design which has a feed-forward/feedback structure overcomes the certain limitations existing in similar poleplacement control designs whilst retaining the simplicity of adaptation mechanisms used in other designs. It tracks set-point changes with the desired speed of response, penalizes excessive control action, and can be applied to non-minimum phase systems. Besides, at steady state, the controller has the ability to regulate the constant load disturbance to zero. Example simulation results using both simulated and real plant models demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Keywords: Pole-placement, Minimum variance control, self-tuning control and feedforward control.

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2163 Performance Evaluation and Economic Analysis of Minimum Quantity Lubrication with Pressurized/Non-Pressurized Air and Nanofluid Mixture

Authors: M. Amrita, R. R. Srikant, A. V. Sita Rama Raju

Abstract:

Water miscible cutting fluids are conventionally used to lubricate and cool the machining zone. But issues related to health hazards, maintenance and disposal costs have limited their usage, leading to application of Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL). To increase the effectiveness of MQL, nanocutting fluids are proposed. In the present work, water miscible nanographite cutting fluids of varying concentration are applied at cutting zone by two systems A and B. System A utilizes high pressure air and supplies cutting fluid at a flow rate of 1ml/min. System B uses low pressure air and supplies cutting fluid at a flow rate of 5ml/min. Their performance in machining is evaluated by measuring cutting temperatures, tool wear, cutting forces and surface roughness and compared with dry machining and flood machining. Application of nanocutting fluid using both systems showed better performance than dry machining. Cutting temperatures and cutting forces obtained by both techniques are more than flood machining. But tool wear and surface roughness showed improvement compared to flood machining. Economic analysis has been carried out in all the cases to decide the applicability of the techniques.

Keywords: Economic analysis, Machining, Minimum Quantity lubrication, nanofluid.

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2162 Kinetic and Optimization Studies on Ethanol Production from Corn Flour

Authors: K. Manikandan, T. Viruthagiri

Abstract:

Studies on Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) of corn flour, a major agricultural product as the substrate using starch digesting glucoamylase enzyme derived from Aspergillus niger and non starch digesting and sugar fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a batch fermentation. Experiments based on Central Composite Design (CCD) were conducted to study the effect of substrate concentration, pH, temperature, enzyme concentration on Ethanol Concentration and the above parameters were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimum values of substrate concentration, pH, temperature and enzyme concentration were found to be 160 g/l, 5.5, 30°C and 50 IU respectively. The effect of inoculums age on ethanol concentration was also investigated. The corn flour solution equivalent to 16% initial starch concentration gave the highest ethanol concentration of 63.04 g/l after 48 h of fermentation at optimum conditions of pH and temperature. Monod model and Logistic model were used for growth kinetics and Leudeking – Piret model was used for product formation kinetics.

Keywords: Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation(SSF), Corn Starch, Ethanol, Logisitic Model.

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2161 Determination of the Concentrated State Using Multiple EEG Channels

Authors: Tae Jin Choi, Jong Ok Kim, Sang Min Jin, Gilwon Yoon

Abstract:

Analysis of EEG brainwave provides information on mental or emotional states. One of the particular states that can have various applications in human machine interface (HMI) is concentration. 8-channel EEG signals were measured and analyzed. The concentration index was compared during resting and concentrating periods. Among eight channels, locations the frontal lobe (Fp1 and Fp2) showed a clear increase of the concentration index during concentration regardless of subjects. The rest six channels produced conflicting observations depending on subjects. At this time, it is not clear whether individual difference or how to concentrate made these results for the rest six channels. Nevertheless, it is expected that Fp1 and Fp2 are promising locations for extracting control signal for HMI applications.

Keywords: Concentration, EEG, human machine interface.

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2160 Bioactivity Evaluation of Cucurbitin Derived Enzymatic Hydrolysates

Authors: Ž. Vaštag, Lj. Popović, S. Popović

Abstract:

After cold pressing of pumpkin oil, the defatted oil cake (PUOC) was utilised as raw material for processing of bio-functional hydrolysates. In this study, the in vitro bioactivity of an alcalase (AH) and a pepsin hydrolysate (PH) prepared from the major pumpkin 12S globulin (cucurbitin) are compared. The hydrolysates were produced at optimum reaction conditions (temperature, pH) for the enzymes, during 60min. The bioactivity testing included antioxidant and angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory activity assays. The hydrolysates showed high potential as natural antioxidants and possibly antihypertensive agents in functional food or nutraceuticals. Additionally, preliminary studies have shown that both hydrolysates could exhibit modest α-amylase inhibitory activity, which indicates on their hypoglycemic potential.

Keywords: Cucurbitin, alcalase, pepsin, protein hydrolysates, in vitro bioactivity.

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2159 Heavy Metals (Pb, Cu, Fe, and Zn) Level in Shellfish (Etheria elliptica), Water and Sediments of River Ogbese, Ondo State, Nigeria

Authors: O. O. Olawusi-Peters, O. E. Aguda, F. O. Okoye

Abstract:

Investigations on the accumulation of heavy metals in water and sediments of river Ogbese were carried out between December 2010 and February 2011 using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Etheria elliptica a sessile organism was also used to determine the concentration of heavy metal in the aquatic environmental. In water, Cu had the highest concentration (0.55 – 0.13 mg/l ±0.1) while in sediments, the highest value obtained was in Fe (1.46-3.89mg/l±0.27). The minimum concentrations recorded were in Pb; which was below detectable level. The result also revealed that the shell accumulate more heavy metals than the flesh of the mussel with Cu in the shell exhibiting a negative correlation with all the metals in the flesh. However, the condition factor (K) value is 6.44, an indication of good health. The length-weight relationship is expressed as W = -0.48 x L 1.94 (r2 = 0.29) showing the growth pattern to be negatively allometric.

Keywords: Condition factor, Etheria elliptica, heavy metals, River Ogbese.

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2158 Minimum Energy of a Prismatic Joint with out: Actuator: Application on RRP Robot

Authors: Tawiwat V., Tosapolporn P., Kedit J.

Abstract:

This research proposes the state of art on how to control or find the trajectory paths of the RRP robot when the prismatic joint is malfunction. According to this situation, the minimum energy of the dynamic optimization is applied. The RRP robot or similar systems have been used in many areas such as fire fighter truck, laboratory equipment and military truck for example a rocket launcher. In order to keep on task that assigned, the trajectory paths must be computed. Here, the open loop control is applied and the result of an example show the reasonable solution which can be applied to the controllable system.

Keywords: RRP robot, Optimal Control, Minimum Energy and Under Actuator.

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2157 Stress Concentration around Countersunk Hole in Isotropic Plate under Transverse Loading

Authors: Parveen K. Saini, Tarun Agarwal

Abstract:

An investigation into the effect of countersunk depth, plate thickness, countersunk angle and plate width on the stress concentration around countersunk hole is carried out with the help of finite element analysis. The variation of stress concentration with respect to these parameters is studied for three types of loading viz. uniformly distributed load, uniformly varying load and functionally distributed load. The results of the finite element analysis are interpreted and some conclusions are drawn. The distribution of stress concentration around countersunk hole in isotropic plates simply supported at all the edges is found similar and is independent of loading. The maximum stress concentration also occurs at a particular point irrespective of the loading conditions.

Keywords: Stress Concentration Factor, Countersunk hole, Finite element, ANSYS.

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2156 An Iterative Method for the Least-squares Symmetric Solution of AXB+CYD=F and its Application

Authors: Minghui Wang

Abstract:

Based on the classical algorithm LSQR for solving (unconstrained) LS problem, an iterative method is proposed for the least-squares like-minimum-norm symmetric solution of AXB+CYD=E. As the application of this algorithm, an iterative method for the least-squares like-minimum-norm biymmetric solution of AXB=E is also obtained. Numerical results are reported that show the efficiency of the proposed methods.

Keywords: Matrix equation, bisymmetric matrix, least squares problem, like-minimum norm, iterative algorithm.

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2155 Elastic Strain-Concentration Factor of Cylindrical Bars with Circumferential Flat-Bottom Groove under Static Tension

Authors: Hitham M. Tlilan

Abstract:

Using finite element method (FEM), the elastic new strain-concentration factor (SNCF) of cylindrical bars with circumferential flat-bottom groove is studied. This new SNCF has been defined under triaxial stress state. The employed specimens have constant groove depth with net section and gross diameters of 10.0 and 16.7 mm, respectively. The length of flatness ao has been varied form 0.0 ~12.5 mm to study the elastic SNCF of this type of geometrical irregularities. The results that the elastic new SNCF rapidly drops from its elastic value of the groove with ao = 0.0, i.e. circumferential U-notch, and reaches minimum value at ao = 2 mm. After that the elastic new SNCF becomes nearly constant with increasing flatness length (ao). The value of tensile load at yielding at the groove root increases with increasing ao. The current results show that severity of the notch decreases with increasing flatness length ao.

Keywords: Bar, groove, strain, tension

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2154 Performance Evaluation of Music and Minimum Norm Eigenvector Algorithms in Resolving Noisy Multiexponential Signals

Authors: Abdussamad U. Jibia, Momoh-Jimoh E. Salami

Abstract:

Eigenvector methods are gaining increasing acceptance in the area of spectrum estimation. This paper presents a successful attempt at testing and evaluating the performance of two of the most popular types of subspace techniques in determining the parameters of multiexponential signals with real decay constants buried in noise. In particular, MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) and minimum-norm techniques are examined. It is shown that these methods perform almost equally well on multiexponential signals with MUSIC displaying better defined peaks.

Keywords: Eigenvector, minimum norm, multiexponential, subspace.

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2153 Optimization of Unweighted Minimum Vertex Cover

Authors: S. Balaji, V. Swaminathan, K. Kannan

Abstract:

The Minimum Vertex Cover (MVC) problem is a classic graph optimization NP - complete problem. In this paper a competent algorithm, called Vertex Support Algorithm (VSA), is designed to find the smallest vertex cover of a graph. The VSA is tested on a large number of random graphs and DIMACS benchmark graphs. Comparative study of this algorithm with the other existing methods has been carried out. Extensive simulation results show that the VSA can yield better solutions than other existing algorithms found in the literature for solving the minimum vertex cover problem.

Keywords: vertex cover, vertex support, approximation algorithms, NP - complete problem.

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2152 A Comparative Study of Indoor Radon Concentrations between Dwellings and Workplaces in the Ko Samui District, Surat Thani Province, Southern Thailand

Authors: Kanokkan Titipornpun, Tripob Bhongsuwan, Jan Gimsa

Abstract:

The Ko Samui district of Surat Thani province is located in the high amounts of equivalent uranium in the ground surface that is the source of radon. Our research in the Ko Samui district aimed at comparing the indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces. Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were carried out in 46 dwellings and 127 workplaces, using CR-39 alpha-track detectors in closed-cup. A total of 173 detectors were distributed in 7 sub-districts. The detectors were placed in bedrooms of dwellings and workrooms of workplaces. All detectors were exposed to airborne radon for 90 days. After exposure, the alpha tracks were made visible by chemical etching before they were manually counted under an optical microscope. The track densities were assumed to be correlated with the radon concentration levels. We found that the radon concentrations could be well described by a log-normal distribution. Most concentrations (37%) were found in the range between 16 and 30 Bq.m-3. The radon concentrations in dwellings and workplaces varied from a minimum of 11 Bq.m-3 to a maximum of 305 Bq.m-3. The minimum (11 Bq.m-3) and maximum (305 Bq.m-3) values of indoor radon concentrations were found in a workplace and a dwelling, respectively. Only for four samples (3%), the indoor radon concentrations were found to be higher than the reference level recommended by the WHO (100 Bq.m-3). The overall geometric mean in the surveyed area was 32.6±1.65 Bq.m-3, which was lower than the worldwide average (39 Bq.m-3). The statistic comparison of the geometric mean indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces showed that the geometric mean in dwellings (46.0±1.55 Bq.m-3) was significantly higher than in workplaces (28.8±1.58 Bq.m-3) at the 0.05 level. Moreover, our study found that the majority of the bedrooms in dwellings had a closed atmosphere, resulting in poorer ventilation than in most of the workplaces that had access to air flow through open doors and windows at daytime. We consider this to be the main reason for the higher geometric mean indoor radon concentration in dwellings compared to workplaces.

Keywords: CR-39 detector, indoor radon, radon in dwelling, radon in workplace.

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2151 Determination of Stress Concentration Factors of a Steam Turbine Rotor by FEA

Authors: R. Nagendra Babu, K. V. Ramana, K. Mallikarjuna Rao

Abstract:

Stress Concentration Factors are significant in machine design as it gives rise to localized stress when any change in the design of surface or abrupt change in the cross section occurs. Almost all machine components and structural members contain some form of geometrical or microstructural discontinuities. These discontinuities are very dangerous and lead to failure. So, it is very much essential to analyze the stress concentration factors for critical applications like Turbine Rotors. In this paper Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with extremely fine mesh in the vicinity of the blades of Steam Turbine Rotor is applied to determine stress concentration factors. A model of Steam Turbine Rotor is shown in Fig. 1.

Keywords: Stress Concentration Factors, Finite Element Analysis, and ANSYS.

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2150 Evaluation of Fluoride Contents of Kirkuk City's Drinking Water and Its Source: Lesser Zab River and Its Effect on Human Health

Authors: Abbas R. Ali, Safa H. Abdulrahman

Abstract:

In this study, forty samples had been collected from water of Lesser Zab River and drinking water to determine fluoride concentration and show the impact of fluoride on general health of society of Kirkuk city. Estimation of fluoride concentration and determination of its proportion in water samples were performed attentively using a fluoride ion selective electrode. The fluoride concentrations in the Lesser Zab River samples were between 0.0265 ppm and 0.0863 ppm with an average of 0.0451 ppm, whereas the average fluoride concentration in drinking water samples was 0.102 ppm and ranged from 0.010 to 0.289 ppm. A comparison between results obtained with World Health Organization (WHO) show a low concentration of fluoride in the samples of the study. Thus, for health concerns we should increase the concentration of this ion in water of Kirkuk city at least to about (1.0 ppm) and this will take place after fluorination process.

Keywords: Fluoride concentration, Lesser Zab River, drinking water, health society, Kirkuk city.

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2149 Efficacy of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Filtration with Low-Cost Organic Fiber Filter

Authors: Gautham Das, Edward Morrone, Erik Treble, Clinton Binder

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a low-cost filter regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS is a commonly used man-made chemical that can be found in a variety of household and industrial products with deleterious effects on humans. The filter consists of a combination of low-cost materials which could be locally procured. Water testing results for 4 different PFAS contaminants indicated that for Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) regulation is 7 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), the ATSDR regulation is 10.5 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the ATSDR regulation is 11 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), the ATSDR regulation is 70 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. The results indicated a 74% reduction in PFAS concentration in filtered samples. Statistical data through regression analysis showed 0.9 validity of the sample data. Initial tests show the efficiency of the proposed filter described could be far greater if tested at a greater scale. It is highly recommended further testing to be conducted to validate the data for an innovative solution to a ubiquitous problem.

Keywords: PFAS, PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, low-cost filter.

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2148 Effect of Entomopathogenic Fungi on the Food Consumption of Acrididae Species

Authors: S. Kumar, R. Sultana

Abstract:

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Aspergillus species on acridid populations which are major agricultural pests of rice, sugarcane, wheat, maize and fodder crops in Pakistan. Three and replicates i.e. Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus and A. niger, excluding the control, were held under laboratory conditions. It was observed that consumption faecal production of acridids was significantly reduced after the pathogenic application of Aspergillus. In the control replicate, the mortality ratio for stage (N4-N6) was maximum on day 2nd i.e. [F10.7 = 18.33, P < 0.05] followed by [F4.20 = 07.85, P < 0.05] and [F3.77 = 06.11, P < 0.05] on 4th and 3rd day, respectively. Similarly, it was a minimum i.e. [F0.48 = 84.65, P < 0.05] on the 1st day. It was also noted that faecal production of Acridid nymphs was not significantly affected when treated with conidial concentration in H2O formulation; however, it was significantly reduced after the contamination with conidial concentration in oil. The high morality of acridids after contamination of Aspergillus supports their use as bio-control agent for reducing pest population. The present study recommends that exploration and screening must be conducted to provide additional pathogens for evaluation as potential biological control against grasshoppers and locusts.

Keywords: Acridid, agriculture, Aspergillus, formulation, Grasshoppers.

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2147 Synergistic Impacts and Optimization of Gas Flow Rate, Concentration of CO2, and Light Intensity on CO2 Biofixation in Wastewater Medium by Chlorella vulgaris

Authors: Ahmed Arkoazi, Hussein Znad, Ranjeet Utikar

Abstract:

The synergistic impact and optimization of gas flow rate, concentration of CO2, and light intensity on CO2 biofixation rate were investigated using wastewater as a medium to cultivate Chlorella vulgaris under different conditions (gas flow rate 1-8 L/min), CO2 concentration (0.03-7%), and light intensity (150-400 µmol/m2.s)). Response Surface Methodology and Box-Behnken experimental Design were applied to find optimum values for gas flow rate, CO2 concentration, and light intensity. The optimum values of the three independent variables (gas flow rate, concentration of CO2, and light intensity) and desirability were 7.5 L/min, 3.5%, and 400 µmol/m2.s, and 0.904, respectively. The highest amount of biomass produced and CO2 biofixation rate at optimum conditions were 5.7 g/L, 1.23 gL-1d-1, respectively. The synergistic effect between gas flow rate and concentration of CO2, and between gas flow rate and light intensity was significant on the three responses, while the effect between CO2 concentration and light intensity was less significant on CO2 biofixation rate. The results of this study could be highly helpful when using microalgae for CO2 biofixation in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: Synergistic impact, optimization, CO2 biofixation, airlift reactor.

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2146 Determining the Minimum Threshold for the Functional Relatedness of Inner-Outer Class

Authors: Sim Hui Tee, Rodziah Atan, Abdul Azim Abd Ghani

Abstract:

Inner class is a specialized class that defined within a regular outer class. It is used in some programming languages such as Java to carry out the task which is related to its outer class. The functional relatedness between inner class and outer class is always the main concern of defining an inner class. However, excessive use of inner class could sabotage the class cohesiveness. In addition, excessive inner class leads to the difficulty of software maintenance and comprehension. Our research aims at determining the minimum threshold for the functional relatedness of inner-outer class. Such minimum threshold is a guideline for removing or relocating the excessive inner class. Our research provides a feasible way for software developers to define inner classes which are functionally related to the outer class.

Keywords: Cohesion, functional relatedness of inner-outer class, inner class.

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2145 Blind Non-Minimum Phase Channel Identification Using 3rd and 4th Order Cumulants

Authors: S. Safi, A. Zeroual

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a family of algorithms based on 3rd and 4th order cumulants for blind single-input single-output (SISO) Non-Minimum Phase (NMP) Finite Impulse Response (FIR) channel estimation driven by non-Gaussian signal. The input signal represents the signal used in 10GBASE-T (or IEEE 802.3an-2006) as a Tomlinson-Harashima Precoded (THP) version of random Pulse-Amplitude Modulation with 16 discrete levels (PAM-16). The proposed algorithms are tested using three non-minimum phase channel for different Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR) and for different data input length. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithms.

Keywords: Higher Order Cumulants, Channel identification, Ethernet communication.

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2144 Comparative Studies on the Concentration of Some Heavy Metal in Urban Particulate Matter, Bangkok, Thailand

Authors: Sivapan Choo-In

Abstract:

The main objective of this study was to investigate particulate matter concentration on main and secondary roadsides in urban area and study the concentration of some heavy metals including lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) in particulate matter in the Bangkok area.     

  The averaged particle concentration for main roadsides is higher than secondary roadsides. The particulate matter less than 10 micron concentration contribute the majority of the Total Suspended Particulate matter for main roads and zinc concentrations were higher than copper and lead for both sites.

Keywords: Air Pollution, Air Quality, Pollution and monitoring.

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2143 Probiotics’ Antibacterial Activity on Beef and Camel Minced Meat at Altered Ranges of Temperature

Authors: Rania Samir Zaki

Abstract:

Because of their inhibitory effects, selected probiotic Lactobacilli may be used as antimicrobial against some hazardous microorganisms responsible for spoilage of fresh minced beef (cattle) minced meat and camel minced meat. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from camel meat. These included 10 isolates; 1 Lactobacillus fermenti, 4 Lactobacillus plantarum, 4 Lactobacillus pulgaricus, 3 Lactobacillus acidophilus and 1 Lactobacillus brevis. The most efficient inhibitory organism was Lactobacillus plantarum which can be used as a propiotic with antibacterial activity. All microbiological analyses were made at the time 0, first day and the second day at altered ranges of temperature [4±2 ⁰C (chilling temperature), 25±2 ⁰C, and 38±2 ⁰C]. Results showed a significant decrease of pH 6.2 to 5.1 within variant types of meat, in addition to reduction of Total Bacterial Count, Enterococci, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli together with the stability of Coliforms and absence of Staphylococcus aureus.

Keywords: Antibacterial, camel meat, inhibition, probiotics.

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2142 Computational Model for Prediction of Soil-Gas Radon-222 Concentration in Soil-Depths and Soil Grain Size Particles

Authors: I. M. Yusuff, O. M. Oni, A. A. Aremu

Abstract:

Percentage of soil-gas radon-222 concentration (222Rn) from soil-depths contributing to outdoor radon atmospheric level depends largely on some physical parameters of the soil. To determine its dependency in soil-depths, survey tests were carried out on soil depths and grain size particles using in-situ measurement method of soil-gas radon-222 concentration at different soil depths. The measurements were carried out with an electronic active radon detector (RAD-7) manufactured by Durridge Company USA. Radon-222 concentrations (222Rn) in soil-gas were measured at four different soil depths of 20, 40, 60 and 100 cm in five feasible locations. At each soil depth, soil samples were collected for grain size particle analysis using soil grasp sampler. The result showed that highest value of radon-222 concentration (24,680 ± 1960 Bqm-3) was measured at 100 cm depth with utmost grain size particle of 17.64% while the lowest concentration (7370 ± 1139 Bqm-3) was measured at 100 cm depth with least grain size particle of 10.75% respectively. A computational model was derived using SPSS regression package. This model could be a yardstick for prediction on soil gas radon concentration reference to soil grain size particle at different soil-depths.

Keywords: Concentration, radon, porosity, diffusion, colorectal, emanation, yardstick.

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2141 Effects of pH, Temperature, Enzyme and Substrate Concentration on Xylooligosaccharides Production

Authors: M. D. S. Siti-Normah, S. Sabiha-Hanim, A. Noraishah

Abstract:

Agricultural residue such as oil palm fronds (OPF) is cheap, widespread and available throughout the year. Hemicelluloses extracted from OPF can be hydrolyzed to their monomers and used in production of xylooligosaccharides (XOs). The objective of the present study was to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis process of OPF hemicellulose by varying pH, temperature, enzyme and substrate concentration for production of XOs. Hemicelluloses was extracted from OPF by using 3 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) at temperature of 40°C for 4 hrs and stirred at 400 rpm. The hemicellulose was then hydrolyzed using Trichoderma longibrachiatum xylanase at different pH, temperature, enzyme and substrate concentration. XOs were characterized based on reducing sugar determination. The optimum conditions to produced XOs from OPF hemicellulose was obtained at pH 4.6, temperature of 40°C , enzyme concentration of 2 U/mL and 2% substrate concentration. The results established the suitability of oil palm fronds as raw material for production of XOs.

Keywords: Hemicellulose, oil palm fronds, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, xylooligosaccharides.

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2140 Predicting the Minimum Free Energy RNA Secondary Structures using Harmony Search Algorithm

Authors: Abdulqader M. Mohsen, Ahamad Tajudin Khader, Dhanesh Ramachandram, Abdullatif Ghallab

Abstract:

The physical methods for RNA secondary structure prediction are time consuming and expensive, thus methods for computational prediction will be a proper alternative. Various algorithms have been used for RNA structure prediction including dynamic programming and metaheuristic algorithms. Musician's behaviorinspired harmony search is a recently developed metaheuristic algorithm which has been successful in a wide variety of complex optimization problems. This paper proposes a harmony search algorithm (HSRNAFold) to find RNA secondary structure with minimum free energy and similar to the native structure. HSRNAFold is compared with dynamic programming benchmark mfold and metaheuristic algorithms (RnaPredict, SetPSO and HelixPSO). The results showed that HSRNAFold is comparable to mfold and better than metaheuristics in finding the minimum free energies and the number of correct base pairs.

Keywords: Metaheuristic algorithms, dynamic programming algorithms, harmony search optimization, RNA folding, Minimum free energy.

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