Abstract\nThis paper focuses on isolation and identification of water molds from running water such as spring Dojlidy Górne, the Supraśl River, and stagnant water such as pond Dojlidy located in Bialystok, Poland. Bait method was used to isolate the fungi. We isolated nineteen Oomycetes fungi species belonging to 8 genera. The most commonly encountered species in water bodies there were Achlya polyandra, Aphanomyces laevis, Pythium debaryanyum, Saprolegnia ferax and S. parasitica. In total, 19 species of fungi were identified on fragments plant and animal placed in water as baits: 15 (78.94% of the total) species from the spring water, 8 species (42.10%) from the river water, and 13 species (68.42%) from the pond water. Results of physical and chemical analyses of water revealed that the water of the spring Dojlidy Górne had the highest concentrations of nutrients (N-NO3, P-PO4) and sulphates. In the natural pond Dojlidy, the highest concentrations of chlorides and higher sulphates were recorded. The Supraśl River had the lower levels of chemical parameters than in spring and pond. The analysed water from all three habitats was quite polluted.
This paper presents the modeling and analysis of brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive which consists of BLDC motor, speed controller and current controller for the prediction of drive performance under the transient and steady state conditions. A sliding mode controller (SMC) is introduced to control the speed of BLDC motor, which is insensitive to the uncertainties of parameter variations and sudden disturbances. A fuzzy sliding mode controller (FSMC) is proposed which adds fuzzy control term with the sliding mode control term to reduce the steady state error thereby providing relaxation to the process of boundary selection. A performance comparison is also carried out between SMC and FSMC as applied to BLDC motor drive in terms of different performance indices at different speeds. The simulation results are confirming that the FSMC is providing better control performance than SMC at most of the operating conditions.
Derivatives are the major icon among risk management practices. Firms usually use derivatives to hedge their foreign exchange and interest rate risk. This study aims to examine the determinants’ of corporate hedging policies and derivative usage in risk management particularly with respect to Pakistan, as the political and economic conditions in Pakistan are highly volatile which intends the corporations to handle and mitigate their risk through channelizing the derivatives. Secondary data of 75 non financial firms listed in Karachi Stock Exchange was collected over the period 2007-2011 – to regress empirically – for achieving the aim of this study. Mann-Whitney U test was used to distinguish the derivative user and non user. Findings of this test characterize users as large size, higher growth opportunities, cash flow volatility, foreign exchange and interest rate exposure. Moreover this study finds that there is a significant relationship between the use of derivatives and foreign purchase, liquidity, firm growth and size. Our findings suggest that derivative users have competitive edge over the non user, as they get economies of scale and proper risk management through using these kinds of derivative instruments.
Abstract: Many authors have reported attempts to develop reliable laboratory and clinical evaluation systems. On reviewing the literature, there is lack of data concerning evaluation and grading of clinical procedures for construction of complete dentures. This study was done to compare intra-and inter-examiner variability in two evaluation methods; glance and grade (global), as well as checklist and criteria (analytical). Three faculty staff members with more than ten years of clinical and teaching experience evaluated recording of jaw relations for completely edentulous patients made by thirty predoctoral students in removable prosthodontics clinical sessions. Inter-maxillary relations records were graded independently by each of three evaluators (A,B, and C) using Wilcoxon signed rank test and Friedman test setting value of significant at 5 percent. This study revealed that among the three examiners, the intra-examiner variability was statistically significant in most situations. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference among the three evaluators for half of the evaluation using the same method of grading. Using the analytical method showed better improvement in variability. in conclusion, Analytical method for evaluating jaw relations record is highly recommended as it is an effective method satisfies practically and time management.
A multicenter longitudinal non-inferiority clinical study in wounds of horses, in a non-hospital environment was conducted to assess the efficacy of a new sustained release long-acting formulation of doxycycline hyclate 20%, as an oral paste (Dox-SR). Cases were distributed according to sex, age breed, body condition score, wound type, course, location and wound classification based on degree of microbial contamination. Wound management, bacteriological culture of infected wounds and days to complete healing were recorded. Horses were randomly divided into 4 groups and treated as follows: procaine penicillin G (22,000 UI/kg IM q 12 h) (Pen G); Pen G as before plus flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg IV q 24 h) (Pen G + FM); Dox-SR (10 mg/kg PO q 24 h); and Dox-SR plus FM. Three independent, trained clinicians assessed the initial clinical status and their progression on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 on a provided modified Composite Pain Scale and ASEPSIS worksheet. Logistic model for repeated measures analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between treatments as far as days to complete wound healing is concerned. It is concluded that treatment with either Dox-SR or Dox-SR + FM, are as effective as treatments with Pen G to either prevent or treat wound infections in horses in a clinical setting.
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare personality characteristics of individuals who abuse Methamphetamine with Cannabis/Heroin abusers and normal people. Method: 44 Methamphetamine (Crystal) abusers, 44 Cannabis/Heroin abusers and 44 normal subjects were selected through judgmental sampling. These groups were matched according to the age, gender and level of education of participants. All participants completed Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Results: Data analysis revealed that novelty seeking, harm-avoidance, self-directedness and cooperation were significantly different between three groups. Novelty seeking was significantly higher in Crystal and Cannabis/Heroin abusers versus normal subjects. However, Harm-avoidance scores in Methamphetamine abusers were higher than normal group and lower than Cannabis/Heroin abusers; But, Cooperation in Cannabis/Heroin abusers were lower than normal subjects. In addition, both Crystal and Cannabis/Heroin abusers were less self-directed than normal individuals. Also, in substance abuse group self-directedness was significantly different between male and female. Only self-directedness and age were significantly correlated. Among all dimensions just self-directedness and self-transcendence were correlated with education. That is, these dimensions were significantly different in subjects with elementary degree and Diploma or higher education. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that substance abusers had higher scores in novelty seeking and harm-avoidance compared to normal people, but their cooperation and self-directedness are lower than normal subjects. These findings show the importance of considering personality characteristics in prevention and treatment of substance abuse and its role in mental health development. Keyword: Personality characteristics, substance abuser, methamphetamine, cannabis, heroin, cannabis
In aeronautical industry, diversity of used materials, dimensions and complexity of the parts require a specific treatment in order to fulfilling the requirements of safety and reliability.\nIn this paper, electromagnetic problem modeling is developed in order to realize a data-processing application able to calculate electromagnetic field distribution in different mediums especially those used in aeronautics.\nThe finite element method is successfully applied since it adapts for any selected section. The numerical results enable to determinate the field values in any point of the chosen geometry and to determine thereafter the system parameters as well as the distribution of energy.\nGeometry dimensions, material properties and used frequency influence on results. And for the special cases these results are compared with FEMLAB code. The results are very similar with a good precision which enables usage of the developed code to carry out simulations for other geometries of materials with different proprieties.
Emergency management is a part of public management and is one of the public services provided by local governments for their local communities. It requires flexibility and adaptation to dynamic and changing circumstances. The urgent requirements and high standards of responsiveness in terms of emergency management depend on continuous improvement with regard to horizontal and vertical communication in that these are one of the main factors associated with the appropriate coordination of many essentially independent organisations. The paper attempts to identify the determinants of effective communication, particularly in regard to close coordination, as well as the role played by these processes in the management of local emergency networks. This work consists of a theory-based empirical study. It is qualitative in nature and the research method is based on both desk research and field research. As a result, the new role of communication as a factor associated with the appropriate coordination in local emergency networks is identified.
Purpose: A traditional hemostatic agent that is a mixture of Urtica dioica, Vitis vinifera, Glycrrhiza glabra, Alpinia officinarum and Thymus vulgaris used as a hemostatic agent locally in traditional Turkish medicine. It is a topical agent, the safety and efficacy of which have been proven in dermal, mucosal, external traumatic, postoperative and dental bleedings. This experimental study is to investigate the role of a haemostatic effect of mixed plant extract applicated directly into pleural space in case of hemothorax. \nMethods: ‘The penetrating thoracic injury model’ was applied to six female, one-year-old suis domesticus pigs for both side of thorax. Then, chest tubes were implemented in each side and irrigation with diluted hemostatic agent solution for one and 0.9% serum saline for other side through the thoracostomy tubes. \nResults: Although there was much more hemorrhage in hemostatic agent group, there was much more dense erythrocyte accumulation and more obvious the deposition of fibrin in the intact adjacent lung areas when compared with serum saline group. \nConclusions: The experimental model of penetrating thoracic injury showed that the hemostatic agent applicated directly into pleural space had beneficial effects in case of hemothorax. Its promising results, however, need to be investigated further in humans.
The present paper proposes an efficient method for grading apple fruits of red delicious variety into four different grades based upon their shape using K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) classifier using Euclidean distance metric. K-NN classifier was preferred for this particular application as it gives promising results even in noisy environment. Experimentation was done under different illumination conditions of fruit surface using an industrial grade camera connected to an image grabber of a computer based machine vision system. Such an attempt has not been reported earlier. Results of this study are quite promising at an ambient exposure of 310 lux while attaining 99 % accuracy at 100 % repeatability.
Scrambling-only ciphers have been widely used for protecting different types of multimedia data. However, they are unfortunately frail under known/chosen-plaintext attack. In addition, they fail in encrypting the images with identical pixel values. The intrinsic features of images such as bulk data capacity, high correlation among pixels and high redundancy, are generally difficult to handle by traditional encryption methods. To remedy these defects, this paper proposes an image encryption scheme based on confusion–diffusion architecture. The proposed cipher mixes and distributes pixels information over a complete image to ensure extremely high security. The encryption scheme consists of scrambling the positions and changing the grey values of image pixels that are combined simultaneously. Firstly, the Baker chaotic map is used to shuffle the positions of the image pixels in the spatial-domain. Then the 2-D logistic chaotic map is used to confuse the relationship between the cipher image and the plain image. To strengthen the cipher, an external secret key of 256-bit is utilized to create the system parameters and initial values, thereby, significantly increasing the resistance to statistical and differential attacks. Visually and computationally, experimental results demonstrate the high security and significantly superior encryption quality of the proposed scheme.
The aim of this research paper is to provide extension of identities due to Preece and Bailey involving product of generalized hypergeometric function 2F2. The results are derived with the help of extension of Kummer\'s second theorem for the function 2F2 very recently obtained by Rakha, et al. . A few special cases also been given.
Abstract\nPurpose. The aim of this cohort study was to perform a comparative, retrospective, single-center analysis of three different inguinal hernia repair techniques - the Lichtenstein method, the Robbins-Rutkow method and the Prolene Hernia System (PHS).\nMethods. A retrospective analysis of patient\'s histories was conducted. To be included in the analysis a patient had to be operated on due to an inguinal hernia in the First Department of General Surgery JUMC in Krakow, between the years 1999-2009. Operative methods included in the analysis were Lichtenstein, Robbins-Rutkow and PHS.\nResults. The study group included a total of 567 patients (546 men and 21 women). Time of surgery and mean hospital stay time was not influenced by the selected surgery method (p=0.694 and p=0.154 respectively). Patients recovery to full physical activity was better after the PHS method, then the Lichtenstein method (p=0.005). Surgical wound inflammation and haematomas occurred more often after hernias repaired using the Lichtenstein method (p=0.003; p=0.018 respectively).\nConclusions. Each of the three compared techniques can be safely used regardless of patients gender and age. The PHS technique seems as the method of choice when repairing large inguinal hernias, with a defect of the posterior wall.
This paper deals with Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) speed control design based on the use of the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to estimate the position and the speed of the machine. For the uncertain PMSM, the designed state feedback control is applied with success and stabilisability property is obtained when Lyapunov method is used.
Problems experienced in energy supply and use make renewable and alternative energy resources in the world attractive, and it is seen that countries rapidly turn to these resources so that they are not dependent on foreign energy. One of the most important examples of the quest for fuels which will replace fossil fuels is initiation of using alternative energy fuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas worldwide at an increasing rate.\nIn the study conducted for this purpose, the reasons for the failure to produce biodiesel although there is biodiesel production potential in Turkey, and the problems encountered during biodiesel production were examined and itemized. As a result of the information obtained, suggestions were made in order to remedy the problems, and those need to be done to promote biodiesel production in Turkey were given.
Objective: the authors evaluated the effectiveness and the safety of Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR) and to compare it with Radiofrequency Volumetric Tissue Reduction (RFVTR) in the treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy.\nMethods: 60 patients randomly assigned into two groups of 30 each. Visual analogue scale, nasal endoscopy, anterior active rhinomanometry, acoustic rhinometry and saccharin tests were used to assess the outcomes of the treatments.\nResults: nasal obstruction and turbinate edema significantly decreased in group A (P<0.05 and P<0.0001) from the second postoperative week and in group B from the first month (P<0.0001). A significant increase (P<0.0001) in nasal volume and decrease in nasal resistance were detected at first month in both groups. For all examined parameters, there was no difference between 3 and 12 months, proving the result stability. \nThe nasal mucociliary transport time was not altered by the treatment in both groups (P>0.05), proving the preservation of the nasal epithelium and mucociliary function.\nConclusions: the authors demonstrated that QMR is as effective as RFVTR in improving nasal obstruction and related nasal symptoms and in the maintenance of nasal function, both in the short- (month 1) and in the long-term (month 12).
ABSTRACT\n Although nursing students are at greater risk for occupational hazards than staff nurses, there is a lack of research on occupational incidents in students, especially in Kars. The aim of this study was to determine the type and number of incidents that nursing students were exposed to during their clinical education. We used a questionnaire-based methodology adapted from other international investigations, which analysed occupational hazards as a percentage of all students and as a proportion of all cases. The questionnaire was completed by 455 nursing students in Kars, Turkey in 2012. Our results determined that 29.4% of students had been exposed to work accidents. Furthermore, the exposure to work accidents increased as students progressed in their studies, and none of the students had reported this. As found in the literature, when students were asked which risks they had been exposed to, they indicated pinprick injuries (86.6%). The causes of work accidents have been listed as related to inadequate information and a lack of teaching staff. It is therefore clear that before commencing their practical work experience, students’ awareness of and compliance with Universal Precautions concerning occupational incidents will require much more emphasis.\nKey words: Occupational incidents, students, nurses
The problem of increasing the sample size of biometric data used in training artificial neural networks is considered. To fill the gaps in the histogram of biometric data are examples of breeding, genetic algorithms are implemented according to GOST Russia 52633.2-2010. It shows that one can opt out of the use of \"mutation\" of data, replacing it with more understandable procedure of morph-extrapolation. There given the conditions under which the application of the genetic algorithm does not shrink or expand diversity duplicating the biometric data.
The present study is designed to evaluate the performances of d-limonene compared to n-hexane in pomace olive oil extraction. The extracted oils are quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed to compare the performance of d-limonene to n-hexane in terms of kinetics, fatty acid composition, and lipid yields. The fatty acids composition in extracted oils is quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).\nThe effect of temperature extraction, particle size and the solid / liquid ratio on the yield of oil was also studied.\nIt appears according to the results, that d-limonene allows for the obtainment of higher yields without changing the most predominant fatty acids composition of different oils compared to n-hexane extraction.\nThe results also show that there is a highly significant difference in the effect of the extraction temperature, the particle size and the solid / liquid ratio used for this study, on the extraction yield using the n-hexane and the d-limonene as solvent.
The open subsets of a topological space form a frame [19]. The aim of this paper is to introduce and study the notions of generalized closed (briefly, -closed) and generalized open (briefly, -open) nuclei of a frame. Also, several characterizations of these notions are investigated. Further, the concept of generalized homomorphism (briefly, -homomorphism), generalized compact (briefly, -compact) and –frames are studied. Many properties of –compact frames are discussed.
The purpose of this work is to present a new geometric approach to\nsome problems in differential subordination theory. In the paper some sufficient conditions for function to be\nstarlike or univalent or to be in the class of Carath\\\'{e}odory functions are obtained. We also discuss\nthe new results closely related to the generalized Briot-Bouquet\ndifferential subordination.
The present paper deals with the investigation of generation capability of an embedded Claw Pole Alternator with Hybrid Excitation (CPAHE) where field winding is transferred to the stator side rather than rotor one in conventional alternator in automotives. A description focusing none-conventional alternator specificities is firstly provided. Then, based on multi-physical models coupling, generation capability of the CPAHE is carried out through a parametrical study. Taking advantage from the discard of slip contacts, it has been found that the CPAHE could be a serious competitor to integrate several transport applications.
Abstract\nPersons who have experienced physical or psychical trauma, or both, in war or peace suffer for a long time the consequences of the harmful experience. Republic of Croatia had gone through the Fatherland War and now some twenty years later has been taking care of its veterans and invalids as well as their families. The paper questions whether their status is solved satisfactorily. The paper reviews the Legislative Act on the percentage of body damage of Croatian war invalids issued in 2005 and the Law on the Rights of Croatian veterans and their families issued in 2004. For comparison the claims of injured civilians for compensation are also reviewed. An attempt is made to consider the problems faced by American and other veterans compared to the practice in our country. Are demands of veterans and civilians sometimes exaggerated or is it that our laws and legislation are too rigid. Could the multidisciplinary approach by jurists and medical experts bring about real improvement in the complicate problems of assessing residual working capacity and percentage of body damage in veterans and civilians.\n\n\nKey words: civilians, Fatherland War, jurists, legislation, medical experts, veterans.
The dates harvesting is one of the most important farming operations. In Algeria, this practice is\nstill carried out manually by climbing up the tree, but this operation is expensive and there is lack\nof skilled workers, also because of the increasing number of palms due to the new plantings that\nhave been going on in the past years. Algerian farmers can’t afford expensive machinery such as\nmotorized elevators so the problem has been addressed by developing a manual aid that allows\ncarrying out this operation easily and safely.\nThis harvesting aid, which includes four components, namely: stabilizing platform, lifting device,\nlowering device and cutting device, can be carried around manually and fixed at the base of any\npalm trunk and used to cut and lower whole clusters without having to climb the palm.\nThe trials that have been carried out show that with the use of this device a cluster at a height of\n6.5 m can be picked and lowered in about 3 minutes after the gear has been set.\nKeywords: Date palm, mechanization, harvesting, dates cluster, portable harvester.
In the article there is analyzed Islamic basis of creative heritage of Khodja Akhmet Yassawi, Akhmet Iugineki, Ussuf Balasaguni and other prominent Turkic thinkers. The authors underline that Sufism is peculiar to the world outlook of those thinkers. Turkic philosophy in the article is considered as vivid phenomenon of the world philosophical thinking.
In the last decade some new generalizations of well known positive linear operators,based on q-integers were introduced and studied by several authors. For instance q-Meyer-K nig and Zeller operators studied by Trif., Do and Gupta etc. Recently Aral and Gupta [ Math. Slovaca 61 (4), 619-634 (2011)] introduced a q-generalization of the classical Baskakov operators. Very recently Honey Sharma [Mathematical Sciences 2012, 6:24] introduced the q-Durrmeyer type operators. In this paper motivated by Honey Sharma we introduced a q-analogue of the Baskakov-type operators and study some approximation results.
ABSTRACT\nBackground: Overactive bladder syndrome treated by Oxybutynin may be complicated by reduced salivation. Carbachol may reverse this effect. \nPurpose: The aim was to assess reversing that side effect of Oxybutynin using Carbachol.\nMaterials and Methods: Forty rats were divided into: group I (control), group II (vehicle), and groups III a (Oxybutynin, 1 week), III b (Oxybutynin, 3 weeks), and \nIII c (Oxybutynin, 1 week and Oxybutynin /Carbachol, 2 weeks). Histological and ultrastructural studies were performed.\nResults: In Group III a, the acinar cells showed moderate atrophic changes. In Group \nIII b, the acini were severely damaged. In Group III c, the acini appeared normal. Ultrastructural studies confirmed these results.\nConclusion: Oxybutynin led to histological changes in the submandibular gland, while concomitant Carbachol administration revealed mild changes with rapid regeneration. Therefore, Carbachol is recommended as an adjunct therapy to prevent dry mouth in Oxybutynin-treated patients with overactive bladder syndrome.
The objective of this chapter is to propose a robust decentralized Integral Sliding Mode Control of interconnected uncertain systems. Uncertainties, disturbances and interconnections are of mismatched type. The approach, which will be considered, benefits from the advantages of the integral sliding mode compared to traditional sliding mode. Moreover, it combines the LMI technique with the sliding mode in order to design a sliding surface guaranteeing the satisfaction of H infinity robustness criterion. In this direction the development which will be carried out presents an extension of that presented by the authors for the case of the uncertain multivariable systems. The elimination of the phenomenon of chattering will be also considered via the proposition of an adaptive fuzzy control scheme. The effectiveness of the obtained results will be discussed through numerical example.
The stem bark and root bark of Olea cuspidata Wall. (Family: Oleaceae) were extracted successively with four different organic solvents. These crude extracts were assessed for antibacterial activities against eight different bacterial human pathogens by using disc diffusion method. The chloroform, ethanol, and methanol crude extracts of selected plant parts had significant antimicrobial activities on all the bacterial strains tested. The standard reference antibiotic discs, Ciprofloxacin (5µg) and Erythrocin (30µg) were used as positive control. The capacity of the extracts and antibiotics were evaluated on the basis of their capacity to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria measured as zone of inhibition. Almost all bacteria showed to be sensible against the antibiotics with the value of zone of inhibition ranging from 25-35mm, while the effectiveness of olive extracts varied from one species to other with zone of inhibition values of 10-30mm. The ethanol and methanol crude extracts of stem bark and root bark of wild olive exhibited prominent activities against all bacteria used in comparison to chloroform extract which had moderate activity against the tested bacteria. Petroleum ether extract of the olive plant parts have no effect on any of the bacteria tested. Extract obtained with methanol appeared to be the most effective against all pathogenic bacteria compared to those obtained with other solvents.
