Scientific Research and Essays

  • Abbreviation: Sci. Res. Essays
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1992-2248
  • DOI: 10.5897/SRE
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 2767

Table of Content: 19 September 2011; 6(20)

September 2011

Corrosion inhibitors for steel reinforcement in concrete: A review

Inhibitors are added to concrete to improve its quality and integrity. In recent years the use of these inhibitors in producing high performance concrete has increased significantly as a result of aggressive environment. This report is based on the corrosion inhibitors used in concrete and also on the published literatures. Most authors agreed that reinforcement corrosion is the most important causes of premature...

Author(s): Abdulrahman A. S., Mohammad Ismail and Mohammad Sakhawat Hussain      

September 2011

Reliability of balance tests in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

The first aim of the study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of functional balance tests in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the second aim was to examine the relation between balance tests and motor functions in children with DMD. Timed up and go test (TUG) and functional reach test (FRT) were used for the evaluation of balance. Hammersmith motor ability scale (HMAS) was used to...

Author(s): Bahar Aras, Ozgen Aras and Ayse Karaduman

September 2011

Optimization of distributed generation location and capacity for improving voltage profile and reducing loss using genetic algorithm (SPEA) with proposing a new index

With new changes in power systems, opportunity for new technologies has been made. Among such new technologies is Distributed Generator (DG). DGs have lots of advantages such as: reducing electricity cost, managing congestion in transmission lines, reducing loss, improving voltage profile etc. So it is forecasted that DGs will have increasing contribution in supplying the electricity demanded by customers in future....

Author(s): Hasan Jalili, Abdolreza Karamizadeh, Mohammad Javad Foroughi, Mehdi Pazhoohesh and Mahdi Jalili

September 2011

Horizontal derivatives of the ground magnetic interpretation in part of Ilesa area, Southwestern Nigeria

A horizontal component of ground magnetic intensity was recorded for part of Ilesa town in Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria using a high resolution proton precision geometric magnetometer. Fifteen traverses were established in E-W direction within the study area. The study focused on delineation of geological structures such as rock contacts; rock boundaries, fractures and faulted zones. The field data was qualitatively...

Author(s): J. S. Kayode, A. O. Adelusi and P. K. Nyabeze

September 2011

3D electromagnetic study of transformers' flux line distribution and losses determination under harmonic distortion caused by electronic equipments

Voltage and current distortions caused by nonlinear characteristic of electronic and power electronic devices may cause a large number of problems for electrical equipments such as, mal-operation, additional losses, heat and excessive insulating stresses. Transformers are the most important equipments in power and distribution networks. So, their reliable operation is very critical for utility companies. In this paper,...

Author(s): Mohammad Mirzaie, Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami and Amir Abbas Shayegani Akmal  

September 2011

Statistical thermal fatigue-creep modeling of 316 stainless steel materials

The main goal of this study is to investigate the creep fatigue behavior of 316 stainless steel materials. In the low cycle thermal fatigue life model, Manson’s universal slopes equation was used as an empirical correlation which relates fatigue endurance to tensile properties. Fatigue test data were used in conjunction with different modes to establish the relationship between temperature and other parameters....

Author(s): Xiaocong He, Gongyu Li and Yanfang Ding

September 2011

Onset epidemiology of new H1N1 influenza in Central Japan - Social morphologic approach

The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus had spread rapidly throughout the world in 2009. Japan’s Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare collected detailed data for each patient at the beginning of the outbreak in Japan. We described the characteristics of H1N1 infections in three big cities in Japan and examined the correlation between factors using multiple correspondence analysis method. We obtained patients data from...

Author(s): Takeshi Yoda, Roni Factor, Sumiko Mekaru and John S. Brownstein,

September 2011

Quantified risk assessment modelling of aircraft landing operations

This paper developed a risk-based modelling approach to enhance safety in the region around the airport that could be affected by an aircraft accident during the landing phase. Special attention was given to the following aspects: A strategic approach to improve airport safety, which includes the use of failure and hazard analysis techniques and fast time simulation modelling, and safety of land side operations. This...

Author(s): Olja ÄŒokorilo    

September 2011

Modelling the effect of screening on the spread of HIV infection in a population with variable inflow of infective immigrants

This paper examines the combined effects of screening and variable inflow of infective immigrants on the spread of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome) in a population of varying size. A nonlinear deterministic mathematical model for the problem is proposed and analysed qualitatively using the stability theory of differential equations. The results show that the reproductive number...

Author(s): Issa Shabani, Estomih S. Massawe and Oluwole Daniel Makinde    

September 2011

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria ameliorate deleterious effect of salt stress on lettuce

The effect of selected plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on growth,chlorophyll content, nutrient uptake and yield of lettuce under salt stress was investigated. The study was conducted in pot experiments. Seeds were coated with suspensions of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus atrophaeus, Bacillus spharicus,Staphylococcus kloosii and Kocuria erythromyxa, which were isolated from highly salty...

Author(s): Ertan YILDIRIM, Metin TURAN, Melek EKINCI, Atilla DURSUN and Ramazan CAKMAKCI    

September 2011

Effect of waxing on the properties of Al-1Mg P/M alloy

In the current work, 1 wt% Acrawax was premixed with the aluminium and magnesium powder as a lubricant for the first group samples. However, no wax was used for the second group specimens. As a sintering aid, 1 wt% Mg was added for both group materials. Compaction of the specimens was performed using a manual Carver hydraulic press and a floating rectangular die. First group specimens were pressed to green densities of...

Author(s): Azim Gökçe and Fehim Findik,

September 2011

The effects of urban expansion on cultural landscapes – Case study of Bursa

The expansion in population and in parallel in the urban sphere has caused radical changes in the structure of landscapes. This study investigates the effects of expansion in the urban sphere and diversity in area use on cultural landscapes in Bursa. Analyses of urban landscape change are maintained by the comparison of two plans of Central Metropolitan Planning Zone made 19-years apart and the chronological assessment...

Author(s): Gül ATANUR    

September 2011

An analysis of preferences in smartphone interface design

This study focuses on young people between 16 to 25 years of age with experience using smartphone technology. The study conducted face-to-face interviews to investigate the perceptions of smartphone interfaces. Results have revealed that 16 to 25 year olds can be divided into four groups according to the preferences regarding the characteristics of smartphone interface design. An analysis of these four user groups can...

Author(s): Chih-Yung Tsai and Chun Shih    

September 2011

The effects of locational factors on vandalism in the seaside parks

Urban open spaces are places located and designed within the context of urban and landscape design that gives people opportunities in the urban environment. The existence of open public spaces contributes to symbolic dimensions as well as urban physical and functional dimensions that city dweller use and benefit. However, that makes it necessary to pay special attention to the organisation of these open spaces. All the...

Author(s): Aysel Yavuz and Nilgün KuloÄŸlu      

September 2011

Analysis of knee osteoarthritis by using fuzzy c-means clustering and SVM classification

In this study, a technique to extract crossectional fat (CSFA), muscle (CSMA), femur (CSFEMA) and bone (CSBA) areas of the thigh in the knee offering osteoarthritis (OA) disease signs is established. These morphometric measures are obtained by using segmentation, based on Fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering and used as features. 103 subjects which are presenting normal and four levels of severity OA are used. Subjects...

Author(s): Ahmet Alkan

September 2011

Discovered motifs with using parallel Mprefixspan method

The parallelization of a prefixspan method to discover motifs is proposed in this paper. The prefixspan method is used to extract the frequent pattern from a sequence database. This system requires the use of multiple computers connected in local area network. This algorithm includes multi-threads to achieve communication between a master process and multiple slave processes. This algorithm applies dynamic scheduling to...

Author(s): Hamid Alinejad Rokny, Mir Mohsen Pedram and Hossein Shirgahi

September 2011

Compared application of the new OPLS-DA statistical model versus partial least squares regression to manage large numbers of variables in an injury case-control study

The use of modern statistical methodology to overcome the known pitfalls of classical regression models in the analysis of large numbers of highly correlated data, has increased considerably in recent years. Statisticians in the field of chemometrics and OMICS research have developed a new method called Orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS). In comparison with the regular partial least squares (PLS)...

Author(s): Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani, Shrikant I. Bangdiwala, Kazem Mohammad, Hemmat Maghsoudi and Reza Mohammadi  

September 2011

An educational tool for DC motor PID speed controller

In this study, an educational tool was prepared for a direct current (DC) motor, proportional (P), integrated (I) and derivative (D) speed controller with a shorter term and more economic education of the control systems. Parallel with the improvements of industrial technology, the development of computer and control technology has magnified the importance of either the theoretical or practical education of the motor...

Author(s): Mahir Dursun and Ahmet Fenercioglu  

September 2011

ISO 9164 heat loss in roof-wall sections

In the simple ISO 9164 calculation procedure for transmission heat loss coefficient, HT, it is unclear, and undefined for floor or roof-wall sections, how the parameters in the equations will be calculated. In this paper, a method is proposed for the calculation of ISO 9164 parameters for roof-wall sections. The results obtained by the proposed method for typical roof sections are compared with those obtained...

Author(s): Abdurrahman GÜNER, Åžükran DÄ°LMAÇ and M. Timur CÄ°HAN    

September 2011

Hepatoprotective potentials of water extract of Bauhinia purpurea bark against alcohol induced toxicity

Bark of Bauhinia purpurea tree was collected and both the water and methanol extracts were prepared. Both extracts were tested for free radical scavenging activities and phenol content. Water extract was then tested for its protective potentials against alcohol induced toxicity. For this experiment, twenty rats were randomly divided into four groups, alcohol control group, normal control and two experimental...

Author(s): P Chaturvedi, M Pipedi-Tshekiso, B Moseki and T E Kwape

September 2011

Synthesis, experimental and theoretical characterization of Cu(II) complex of 2-chloropyrimidine

Author(s): S. Ali Beyramabadi, Hossein Eshtiagh-Hosseini, Mohammad R. Housaindokht and Ali Morsali  

September 2011

Prolonged treatment with high-dose phenobarbital in patients suffering from acute encephalitis with refractory, repetitive partial seizures

To investigate the safety and side effects of prolonged treatment with high-dose phenobarbital in patients suffering from acute encephalitis with refractory, repetitive partial seizures (AERRPS), 5 AERRPS patients meeting the Sakuma’s criteria were recruited from July 2003 to September 2008. During the treatment with high-dose phenobarbital, the blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac rhythm, respiratory rate, blood...

Author(s): Lin Wang, Xiaolian Qi and Ran Gao

September 2011

3D model retrieval approach by using fuzzy shape distributions

With the development of graphic accelerated hardware and 3D modeling tools, 3D models will be as prevalent as other multimedia data in the future. Thus, effective content-based 3D model retrieval systems are required for emerging needs. Many 3D model retrieval methods have been proposed in recent years. Shape distributions showed superiority over others due to rotation invariance and ease of computation, but the...

Author(s): Kuan-Sheng Zou, Wai-Hung Ip, Chun-Ho Wu, Ching-Yuen Chan, Kai-Leung Yung and Zeng-Qiang Chen

September 2011

Analysis of the OWL ontologies: A survey

Web ontology language (OWL) is one of the last recommendations from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to develop ontologies. The use of OWL ontologies must involve the possibility of the evaluation of quality and correctness. A wide diversity of tools and metrics has been proposed to reach this goal. ONTOMETRIC, OntoQA and Protégé represent the most important tools to evaluate ontologies that...

Author(s): Francisco José García-Peñalvo, Juan García and Roberto Therón

September 2011

Effect of some process variables on zinc coated low carbon steel substrates

This work investigates the effect of some essential plating variable of zinc electro-deposition on low carbon steel substrates. The variation of plating parameter, the depth of immersion, distance between the anode and the cathode on voltage, plating time and coating thickness was considered. The steel substrates were immersed into solution of zinc electroplating bath for varying voltage between 0.5 and 1.0 V. It was...

Author(s): Popoola A. P. I. and Fayomi O. S. I.      

September 2011

CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of lung: A preliminary study

To assess the feasibility and safety of percutaneous microwave ablation of the lung in rabbits, percutaneous puncture and lung microwave ablation were performed in seven New Zealand white rabbits under computed tomography (CT) guidance. Technical feasibility and complications were evaluated. Two rabbits were sacrificed immediately and gross and microscopic pathology was analyzed. The remaining rabbits received CT scans...

Author(s): Xin Li, Baowei Dong, Lin Sheng, Xiaoling Yu, Zhiyu Han, He Ren, Qiujie Shao and Ping Liang

September 2011

Ancient wheat species can extend biodiversity of cultivated crops

Wheat genetic resources may be grown in organic farming systems or in less favourable areas for bread wheat species. Characteristics of hulled wheat species (23 varieties of einkorn, emmer wheat, spelt wheat) were studied and evaluated within a two-year trial period (which was executed on certified organic fields) and they were compared to characteristics of landraces and modern bread wheat varieties. The main aim of...

Author(s): Jan Moudrý, Petr Konvalina, ZdenÄ›k Stehno, Ivana Capouchová and Jan Moudrý Jr    

September 2011

Unit selection for Malay text-to-speech system using segmental context and simulated annealing

Unit selection method has become the main approach in speech synthesis. The increasing size of recorded speech has resulted in better synthesis speech quality but at the same time also resulted in more expensive computational effort. Therefore, this paper proposes a combination of segmental context matching procedure and Simulated Annealing (SA) in unit selection to improve the quality of synthetic speech and reduce the...

Author(s): Tian-Swee Tan, Lim Yee Chea, Zaitul Marlizawati Zainuddin, Sheikh Hussain Shaikh Salleh and Hum Yan Chai

September 2011

The relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and basic trauma life support in pre-hospital emergency services

The main purpose of this present study was to investigate if Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) plays a significant role on quality and excellence of pre-hospital emergency services. “NeteMeyer” questionnaire was used to measure organizational citizenship behavior and for measuring basic trauma life support(BTLS), a researcher constructed questionnaire was developed. The population consisted of 140...

Author(s): Amir Ashkan Nasiripour

September 2011

Underground water exploration of Oleh, Nigeria using the electrical resistivity method

A geophysical investigation was carried out in Oleh, Nigeria to determine the groundwater potential and the geological structure of the area. The method employed in this study was the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger configuration. The data obtained were interpreted by computer iteration process and results when compared with lithologic log from existing borehole indicate a four layered...

Author(s): Ochuko ANOMOHANRAN

September 2011

A new algorithm for knowledge discovery from data sets using cross-entropy measurement

This study suggests a new method for selecting attributes in algorithms used for generating rules for data mining. The most common measure resorted for selection of attribute is entropy. Entropy is defined as a measure of uncertainty. According to this, the entropy of a system is higher as the uncertainty in the system. Usually the entropy is used to measure uncertainty of C4.5, CN2, CART etc. Attributes in data mining...

Author(s): Ömer AKGÖBEK

September 2011

CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of lung: A preliminary study

To assess the feasibility and safety of percutaneous microwave ablation of the lung in rabbits, percutaneous puncture and lung microwave ablation were performed in seven New Zealand white rabbits under computed tomography (CT) guidance. Technical feasibility and complications were evaluated. Two rabbits were sacrificed immediately and gross and microscopic pathology was analyzed. The remaining rabbits received CT scans...

Author(s): Xin Li, Baowei Dong, Lin Sheng, Xiaoling Yu, Zhiyu Han, He Ren, Qiujie Shao and Ping Liang

September 2011

3D model retrieval approach by using fuzzy shape distributions

With the development of graphic accelerated hardware and 3D modeling tools, 3D models will be as prevalent as other multimedia data in the future. Thus, effective content-based 3D model retrieval systems are required for emerging needs. Many 3D model retrieval methods have been proposed in recent years. Shape distributions showed superiority over others due to rotation invariance and ease of computation, but the...

Author(s): Kuan-Sheng Zou, Wai-Hung Ip, Chun-Ho Wu, Ching-Yuen Chan, Kai-Leung Yung and Zeng-Qiang Chen