August 2010
Performance assessment of a semantic information retrieval system using stagnant and active images
Videos, images, graphics and text are the main multimedia data types. Generally, one document includes two or more data types because each data type enriches the meaning of document. For this reason, the documents become more complex for querying when compared with only text querying. To overcome this difficulty, some new information retrieval systems have been developed. In this study, an object action...
August 2010
Predicting the relationships between brittleness and mechanical properties (UCS, TS and SH) of rocks
This paper presents the evaluation of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) predicted from Shore hardness (SH) tests and to correlate brittleness concepts, which are derived from UCS, tensile strength (TS) and Shore hardness values of rock samples. Suggested empirical equations obtained from previous studies are summarised in order to predict UCS value of rocks from SH value. The data of UCS, TS and SH used in...
August 2010
Residual effects of prolonged UV-B exposure on photosynthetic gene expression
Residual long-term effects of increased UV-B radiation were investigated in an indigenous plant species, Dimorphotheca sinuata, by analysing photosynthetic gene expression. Reductions were observed in the amount of the rbcL and psbA mRNA expressed in progeny of plants that were previously subjected to enhanced UV-B levels. However, observed reductions did not attain statistical...
August 2010
Spiritual manifestation of light in architectural scenes of films: A case study of Bergman’s winter light
Natural light is the one which originates from the sun and the stars. Philosophers and intellectuals believe that spiritual and mystical light, apart from having a materialistic aspect due to its nonphysical characteristics, is considered a kind of bond between God and man in a spiritual dimension. With descriptive-analytical and comparative methodology, the present paper reviews the implication of natural...
August 2010
Inhibitory effect of Arctium minus on mitochondrial bioenergetics in diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats
Despite an increasing use of medicinal plants in diabetes mellitus therapy, their use is usually based on empirical knowledge. This work aims to evaluate the effects of decoctions prepared from Arctium minus Bernh. on glycaemic control of goto-kakizaki (GK) rats, a type 2 diabetes mellitus animal model, and access the potential toxicity of A. minus decoctions, using liver...
August 2010
The ablation threshold of Er:YAG laser and Er,Cr:YSGG laser in dental dentin
This study aims to investigate the threshold dose for the ablation of dentin of human permanent tooth using erbium: yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Er:YAG, wavelength 2.94 μm, pulse duration 100 μs-50 ms) and erbium, chromium: yattrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG, wavelength 2.79 μm; pulse duration 140 μs) lasers. A total of 70 dentin samples were subject to the experiment with varying laser...
August 2010
Heavy metal concentrations in soils and leachetes of Mtoni dumpsite bordering the Indian Ocean in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Concentrations of heavy metals in soils and leachetes in the closed coastal dumpsite of Mtoni, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Mean concentrations of leachetes in mg/L were in the following order: Cr > Ni> Pb> As> Cd whereas, concentrations of As and Cr in the soil samples were above the established contaminant limits of Tanzania Standard Soil...
August 2010
Adaptive network based on fuzzy inference system estimates of geoid heights interpolation
Soft computing methods such as fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks (ANN) have gained popularity in solving engineering problems. Particularly, fuzzy logic and especially developments in uncertainty assessment, enable us to construct and validate precise geoid models. We investigate three different point densities, five variations in the numbers of subsets and five different membership functions when...
August 2010
Shear strengthening of steel I-beams by using CFRP strips
Normally, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips have been used for flexural strengthening of steel beams, but in this research, application of CFRP strips as shear reinforcements was innovated. In this novel method, investigation on the requirement of applying CFRP on one or both sides of the web, and using different values of CFRP area on the web were the two main objectives. In this research, five...
August 2010
Research of UV permeability properties of basic weft knitted structures
Sunlight is an indispensable life source for all organisms in the Earth. These rays arrive to the earth between 280 - 3000 nm wavelengths. Although, small doses of UV rays are useful for life, they cause effects such as sunburn, allergies, early aging in the skin, skin cancer, bruise formations and cataract on human body as far as this dose increases. These harmful effects are more seen in light skinned...
August 2010
Enhancing integrated approaches in agricultural learning systems using experiences from agroforestry
Small-scale farmers integrate biophysical factors with social, economic, cultural and environmental considerations in their day-to-day decisions to manage complex farming systems. This approach contrasts with the traditional organization of knowledge and institutional structures at universities, where reductionist approaches prevail, leading to production of graduates with insufficient competence in the...
August 2010
An investigation on multipath errors in real time kinematic GPS method
Today real time kinematic GPS (RTK GPS) is the newest and the most common method utilized in tasks requiring real time positions with especially, centimeter accuracies. However, as with all good things in life, this contemporary method of positioning is not flawless, that is, not free from errors. As in static GPS, RTK GPS is also susceptible to multipath errors. This study aims to investigate this source of...
August 2010
Phytochemical and antioxidant nutrient constituents of Carica papaya and Parquetina nigrescens extracts
Medicinal plants (a.k.a. Phytomedicines) are parts of a plant or the whole plant that possess healing properties. Folk medicine reportedly uses Carica papaya L. (Caricaceae) and Parquetina nigrescens L. (Asclepiadaceae) as a herbal remedy for the management of sickle cell anemia. This study was carried out to screen the leaf extracts of P....
August 2010
Effects of probiotic yoghurt consumption on the serum cholesterol levels in hypercholestromic cases in Shiraz, Southern Iran
This study was conducted to see the effects of probiotic yoghurt on serum cholesterol levels. About 4% of the deaths in Iran are due to cardiovascular diseases and hypercholesterolemia is among the aggravating factors. Diet therapy and cholesterol lowering agents are the treatments recommended. Probiotics are being investigated as cholesterol lowering agents. The study was carried out with 46...
August 2010
Chaotic oscillator design and realizations of the Rucklidge attractor and its synchronization and masking simulations
In this paper, Rucklidge attractor’s chaotic oscillator, synchronization and masking communication circuits were designed and simulated. The electronic circuit oscilloscope outputs of the realized Rucklidge system is also presented. Simulation and oscilloscope outputs are used to illustrate the accuracy of the designed and realized Rucklidge chaotic oscillator circuits. The Rucklidge system is addressed...
August 2010
HRCT findings in rats with long-term exposure to smokes of cigarette and biomass fuels
The harmful effects of tobacco’s smoke have been well-known for years and several studies revealed that exposure to biomass smoke can markedly increase the prevalence of respiratory disorders. In this study, separate and combined effects of tobacco smoke and biomass exposure on pulmonary radiologic findings were examined in rats. The subjects were divided into four groups; control group, exposure group...
August 2010
Moisture-dependent physical properties of black grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seed
The physical properties of black grape seed were evaluated as a function of moisture content. The average length, width and thickness were 5.66, 3.46 and 2.61 mm, respectively, at 8.26% d.b. moisture content. In the moisture range from 8.26 - 26.14% dry basis (d.b.), studies on rewetted black grape seed showed that the thousand seed mass increased from 23.39 - 24.82 g, the projected area was 13.58...
August 2010
Alternative water sources for residential irrigation systems: A case study from Istanbul
Water is the primary life-giving resource and hence requires careful preservation. Choosing an irrigation system, which uses an alternative water source such as graywater or harvested rainwater will help this preservation. The intent of this study is to compare residential irrigation system designs that draw their water source from graywater, harvested rainwater or municipal water. For realizing this...
August 2010
Different types of learning algorithms of artificial neural network (ANN) models for prediction of gross calorific value (GCV) of coals
Correlations are very significant from earliest days, in some cases, it is essential as it is difficult to measure the amount directly, and in other cases, it is desirable to ascertain the results with other tests through correlations. Soft computing techniques are now being used as alternative statistical tools, and new techniques such as; artificial neural networks, fuzzy inference systems, genetic...
August 2010
Species determination of ancient bone DNA from fossil skeletal remains of Turkey using molecular techniques
The use of genetic technology in forensic science and archaeometry is applied primarily to distinguish between individials who may be the source of biological material associated with archeological remains. DNA sequences from ancient fossils have great potential for studies of phylogeny, biogeography and molecular evolution. DNA from fossils also facilitates the rigorous testing and calibration of mutation...
August 2010
Nonlinear site response evaluation procedure under the strong motion: A case study of Miyaneh, Azarbayjan Sharghi Province, Iran
The objective of a site response analysis is to estimate the ground shaking intensity during an earthquake. The Miyaneh city and its suburban areas are located in the northwest of Iran in Azarbayjan-Sharghi province. This area is prone to high seismic risk due to the presence of several active faults. In this paper, a case study on ground response analysis of a geotechnical site in Miyaneh region during...
August 2010
The effect of window views’ openness and naturalness on the perception of rooms’ spaciousness and brightness: A visual preference study
This study examines the effects of window view on perception of spaciousness, brightness and ultimately, on room satisfaction in a campus building. Eighteen identically sized offices in the three-story Department of Landscape Architecture at Ankara University were chosen for this case study. Within a case study research design, the openness and naturalness characteristics of the window views were assessed by...
August 2010
A digital robust image watermarking against desynchronization attacks
In this paper, a robust image watermarking technique using support vector regression (SVR) and particle swarm optimization is introduced to protect intellectual property rights of the gray images in discrete cosine transform domain against a variety of desynchronization attacks. After the division of the original image to 8 × 8 non-overlapping blocks, frequency coefficients of each block are found using...
August 2010
Prudent avoidance in exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) fields
The extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation from various laptops and monitors model was investigated using a cell sensor manufactured by Action Electronic, USA that is optimized to measure radiofrequency and extremely low frequency radiation. The ELF measured vary between 0.05 and 2.5 mG for all the laptops/monitors studied however, Hp Pavilion dv6000 laptop was considered to emit highest ELF in all the...
August 2010
Influence of late-season nitrogen application on chlorophyll content and leaf area index in wheat
The research was conducted in Isparta ecological conditions during the 2006 - 2007 and 2007 - 2008 crop growing seasons. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of late-season N application (LSN) on chlorophyll content and leaf area index (LAI) of wheat. The experiment was laid out in as Randomized Complete Block split-plot design with three replications. Gün-91, Gerek-79 and Altay-2000...
August 2010
Responses of wheat genotypes to phosphorus fertilization under rainfed conditions in the Mediterranean region of Turkey
Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a common crop growth-limiting factor in Mediterranean climatic and soil conditions because of low availability of native and added P, with consequent low use efficiency. Adaptation to such conditions is a function of the type of crop and also varies with genotypes within crops. The study evaluated responses of some of wheat genotypes to P application rates under typical...
August 2010
Microcontroller-controlled reactive power measurement and saving circuit design for residences and small-scale enterprises
In the present day, the requirement for electric energy is increasing rapidly with the advancement of the technology. One of the most effective methods of achieving savings in electrically-operated systems and increasing its efficiency is the reactive power compensation. According to the presently enforced regulation, compensation is mandatory in the industry and it is made at certain intervals, however,...
August 2010
Compare various combinations of similarity coefficients and clustering methods for Olea europaea sativa
The aim of the study was to compared the genetic similarity coefficients (Jaccard, Dice, Simple Matching) and different clustering methods (UPGMA, WPGMA, Single Linkage and Complete Linkage) combinations for cultivated olives. A total of 12 samples, Gemlik, Manzanilla, Edremit, Domat, Uslu and Memecik cultivars were screened with RAPD-PCR analysis by Operon random primers OP-Q kit. The closest samples based...
August 2010
Effects of spatial differences on visitor perceptions at zoo exhibits
Zoos are the most important way of learning about animals for people. They are also effective educational environments for natural habitats of animals. Zoo design must be a successful exhibit of animals identical to their natural habitats. Therefore, the image of people about animals in natural settings can appropriately be formed. This study investigated whether the areas in which the animals are exhibited...
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