bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal impact of sleep on overweight and obesity in children and adolescents: a systematic review and bias‐adjusted meta‐analysis
Authors: Fatima Y. , Doi S. A. R. , Mamun A. A.
Published: January 2015

Short sleep duration is considered a potential risk for overweight/obesity in childhood and adolescence. However, most of the evidence on this topic is obtained from cross‐sectional studies; therefore, the nature and extent of the longitudinal associations are unclear. This study explores the prospective association between short sleep and overweight/obesity in young subjects. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Pubmed, and CINAHL databases were searched for English‐language articles, published until May 2014, reporting longitudinal association between sleep and body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents. Recommendations of the Sleep Health Foundation were used to standardize reference sleep duration. Sleep category, with sleep duration less than the reference sleep, was considered as the short sleep category. Meta‐analysis was conducted to explore the association between short sleep and overweight/obesity. A review of 22 longitudinal studies, with subjects from diverse backgrounds, suggested an inverse association between sleep duration and BMI. Meta‐analysis of 11 longitudinal studies, comprising 24,821 participants, revealed that subjects sleeping for short duration had twice the risk of being overweight/obese, compared with subjects sleeping for long duration (odds ratio 2.15; 95% confidence interval: 1.64–2.81). This study provides evidence that short sleep duration in young subjects is significantly associated with future overweight/obesity.
Metabolic vs. hedonic obesity: a conceptual distinction and its clinical implications
Authors: Yu Y‐H. , Vasselli J. R. , Zhang Y. , Mechanick J. I. , Korner J. , Peterli R.
Published: January 2015

Body weight is determined via both metabolic and hedonic mechanisms. Metabolic regulation of body weight centres around the ‘body weight set point’, which is programmed by energy balance circuitry in the hypothalamus and other specific brain regions. The metabolic body weight set point has a genetic basis, but exposure to an obesogenic environment may elicit allostatic responses and upward drift of the set point, leading to a higher maintained body weight. However, an elevated steady‐state body weight may also be achieved without an alteration of the metabolic set point, via sustained hedonic over‐eating, which is governed by the reward system of the brain and can override homeostatic metabolic signals. While hedonic signals are potent influences in determining food intake, metabolic regulation involves the active control of both food intake and energy expenditure. When overweight is due to elevation of the metabolic set point (‘metabolic obesity’), energy expenditure theoretically falls onto the standard energy–mass regression line. In contrast, when a steady‐state weight is above the metabolic set point due to hedonic over‐eating (‘hedonic obesity’), a persistent compensatory increase in energy expenditure per unit metabolic mass may be demonstrable. Recognition of the two types of obesity may lead to more effective treatment and prevention of obesity.
Molecular tagging of Asiatic soybean rust resistance in exotic genotype EC 241780 reveals complementation of two genes
Authors: Bhor Tukaram J. , Chimote Vivek P. , Deshmukh Milind P.
Published: January 2015

Asian soybean rust (ASR) caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi severely reduces seed yield in soybean. Molecular tagging of ASR resistance can help in the process of resistance breeding. In this study, an F2 population of cross (susceptible cultivar ‘NRC 7’ × resistant exotic genotype EC 241780) was used for bulked segregant analysis (BSA) with 25 SSR (simple sequence repeat) primers linked with six Rpp genes. Among them, five polymorphic SSR markers, viz., Sct 187, SSR 1859, Satt 191 (Rpp1b like loci) and Satt 215, Sat_361 (Rpp2 loci) distinguished the ASR resistant and susceptible bulks and individuals. In combined marker analysis, the markers Satt 191 (Rpp1b like loci) and Satt 215 (Rpp2 loci) were linked with ASR severity score and were also confirmed in individual 110 F2 segregants. Hence, these markers could be utilized in the marker assisted rust resistance breeding of Rpp1b like and Rpp2 genes. In silico candidate gene analysis for hypersensitive response revealed that Satt 191 linked region was rich in genes encoding apoptotic ATPase having leucine‐rich repeat (LRR) domain.
Implications of early selection for grain colour on iron and zinc content and productivity of common bean
Authors: Teixeira Rita de Kássia Siqueira , Lima Dayane Cristina , Abreu Ângela de Fátima Barbosa , Ramalho Magno Antonio Patto
Published: January 2015

Brazilian consumers prefer beans of the beige grain colour. Common beans help supply dietary requirements for iron and zinc. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine whether early selection for grain colour affects the iron and zinc content and the grain yield in common beans and (ii) if an association between these characteristics was found, to obtain lines of carioca‐type grains with a high iron and zinc content and good grain yield. We evaluated 96 F3:4, F3:5 and F3:6 progeny at two locations for iron and zinc content and grain yield. We selected 48 progeny for grain colour and chose 48 others at random. We found that early selection for grain colour does not affect the zinc content and grain yield. A positive and high association was found between iron and zinc content, and both iron and zinc content were slightly negatively correlated with grain yield. It is possible to obtain common bean lines combining a high iron and zinc content with good grain yield as long as a selection index is used.
Dworkin's Theoretical Disagreement Argument
Authors: Levenbook Barbara Baum
Published: January 2015

Dworkin's theoretical disagreement argument, developed in Law's Empire, is presented in that work as the motivator for his interpretive account of law. Like Dworkin's earlier arguments critical of legal positivism, the argument from theoretical disagreement has generated a lively exchange with legal positivists. It has motivated three of them to develop innovative positivist positions.

In its original guise, the argument from theoretical disagreement is presented as ‘the semantic sting argument’. However, the argument from theoretical disagreement has more than one version. This article briefly discusses two versions and the leading replies to them, then focuses on the most influential (recast) version, directed at Hartian positivism. The article surveys the leading positivist rejoinders to the recast version, indicating key Dworkinian replies or assessing the strength of these rejoinders, and concludes with a rejoinder of its own, making a new case that the argument from theoretical disagreement isn't fatal for Hartian legal positivism.
The antioxidant system in diapausing and active red mason bee Osmia bicornis
Authors: Dmochowska‐Ślęzak Kamila , Fliszkiewicz Monika , Giejdasz Karol , Żółtowska Krystyna
Published: January 2015

The red mason bee Osmia bicornis L. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) belongs to a group of insects that undergo an obligatory diapause in the imago stage. Red mason bees (O. bicornis) consume oxygen during overwintering diapause, and reactive oxygen species can be produced despite substantial inhibition of metabolism. These are first studies to investigate the antioxidant system in diapausing red mason bees and to compare the antioxidant systems of overwintering and active imagines. The present study analyzes total antioxidant status, glutathione and ascorbic acid levels, and the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase in overwintering (October to March) and active (April) female and male O. bicornis. Diapause phases (prediapause, diapause and post‐diapause) cannot be distinguished based on the parameters of the antioxidant system of the bees. During overwintering, a significant decrease is noted only in ascorbic acid content. The remaining antioxidants remain fairly stable, which indicates the absence of oxidative stress in diapausing specimens. The analyzed parameters distinguish diapausing bees from active insects. Excluding total antioxidant status, the evaluated parameters are significantly higher in active individuals than in overwintering specimens. Sex‐related differences are found only for catalase, the level of which is consistently higher in males than in females.
A reversible decrease in ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase carboxylation activity caused by the aggregation of the enzyme's large subunit is triggered in response to the exposure of moderate irradiance‐grown plants to low irradiance
Authors: Grabsztunowicz Magda , Górski Zbigniew , Luciński Robert , Jackowski Grzegorz
Published: January 2015

Ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) is highly regulated in response to fluctuations in the environment, including changes in irradiance. However, no complex data are available on Rubisco regulatory mechanisms triggered in plants which are submitted to moderate–low irradiance shift. Therefore, we investigated in a comprehensive way the changes at the level of amount of Rubisco protein, its structural organization and carboxylase activity of the holoenzyme as triggered by exposure of moderate irradiance‐grownArabidopsis thalianaplants to low irradiance conditions. An exposure of moderate irradiance‐grown plants to low irradiance for a single photoperiod caused the exclusion of a certain pool of Rubisco under altered conditions owing to oxidative modifications resulting in the formation of protein aggregates involving Rubisco large subunit (LS). As a result, both initial and total Rubisco carboxylase activities were reduced, whereas Rubisco activation state remained largely unchanged. The results of the determination of reactive oxygen species indicated that a moderate/low irradiance transition had stimulated1O2accumulation and we strongly suggest that Rubisco oxidative modifications leading to formation of aggregates encompassing Rubisco‐LSwere triggered by1O2. When moderate irradiance regime was resumed, the majority of Rubisco‐LScontaining aggregates tended to be resolubilized, and this allowed Rubisco carboxylation activities to be largely recovered, without changes in the activation state of the enzyme. In the longer term, these results allow us to better understand a complexity of Rubisco regulatory mechanisms activated in response to abiotic stresses and during recovery from the stresses.
Combined use of genetic and genomics resources to understand virus resistance and fruit quality traits in melon
Authors: Argyris Jason M. , Pujol Marta , Martín‐Hernández Ana Montserrat , Garcia‐Mas Jordi
Published: January 2015

The availability of the genome sequence of many crop species during the past few years has opened a new era in plant biology, allowing for the performance of massive genomic studies in plant species other than the classical models Arabidopsis and rice. One of these crop species is melon (Cucumis melo), a cucurbit of high economic value that has become an interesting model for the study of biological processes such as fruit ripening, sex determination and phloem transport. The recent availability of the melon genome sequence, together with a number of genetic and genomic resources, provides powerful tools that can be used to assist in the main melon breeding targets, namely disease resistance and fruit quality. In this review, we will describe recent data obtained combining the use of a melon near isogenic line (NIL) population and genomic resources to gain insight into agronomically important traits as fruit ripening, resistance to Cucumber Mosaic virus (CMV) and the accumulation of sugars in fruits.
Pre‐ to postsleep change in psychophysiological reactivity to emotional films: Late‐night REM sleep is associated with attenuated emotional processing
Authors: Werner Gabriela G. , Schabus Manuel , Blechert Jens , Kolodyazhniy Vitaliy , Wilhelm Frank H.
Published: January 2015

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been postulated to facilitate emotional processing of negative stimuli. However, empirical evidence is mixed and primarily based on self‐report data and picture‐viewing studies. This study used a full‐length aversive film to elicit intense emotion on one evening, and an emotionally neutral control film on another evening while psychophysiological and experiential responses were measured. Subsequent sleep was monitored polysomnographically, and specific film scenes were presented again on the next morning. Correlation analyses revealed that participants with longer late‐night REM sleep after the aversive film showed higher increase of electrodermal reactivity and less reduction of facial corrugator muscle reactivity to negative film scenes on the next morning. This indicates that REM sleep may be associated with attenuated emotional processing of prolonged and intense emotional stimuli from pre‐ to postsleep.
Knowledge management practices and absorptive capacity in small and medium‐sized enterprises: is there really a linkage?
Authors: Valentim Luís , Lisboa João Veríssimo , Franco Mário
Published: January 2015

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are more vulnerable to globalization and rapid technological change due to their scarcity of resources. SMEs' absorptive capacity allows them to access knowledge and plays a key role in their ability to explore and exploit opportunities in their environment. Therefore, this study aims to identify and categorize knowledge management practices which SMEs can adopt to develop absorptive capacity. From a population of 4,534 Portuguese SMEs, 260 usable completed questionnaires were returned. We concluded that Portuguese SMEs are engaged in knowledge management practices, through collaboration with business partners, favoring learning processes based on experience, knowledge transfer to employees and knowledge absorption by employees, reflecting the importance given by SMEs to the tacit nature of knowledge which helps them in efficiency improvements, strategic adaptation, and the launch of new products and services. Our study contributes to advancing theory in the fields of knowledge management and absorptive capacity. We combine and extend previous research which allows us to reconcile the sometimes contradictory findings concerning knowledge management practices which SMEs can adopt to reinforce absorptive capacity. Some theoretical and practical implications are also presented.
Effects of integrated dental care on oral treatment needs in residents of nursing homes older than 70 years
Authors: Gerritsen Paul , Cune Marco , van der Bilt Andries , Abbink Jan , de Putter Cornelis
Published: January 2015

Aim: To determine effects of integrated dental care in older nursing home residents. Methods: In three nursing homes offering integrated dental care, we studied the oral treatment need of 355 residents older than 70 years. To determine effects of integrated care, we discriminated between short‐stay residents (≤6 months) and long‐term residents (>6 months). Results: Treatment need, determined intraorally by two dentists, remains high among short‐stay residents (78%) and long‐term residents (67%). The association between treatment need and length of stay was not significantly affected by indication for stay (somatic vs. psychogeriatric). All dentate residents needed oral treatment, except one long‐term resident. However, among edentulous residents, particularly with a psychogeriatric indication for stay, treatment need appeared to reduce significantly in time, from 74% to 57%. Conclusion: Despite integrated dental care, oral treatment need remains in virtually all dentate residents and more than half of edentulous residents.
The Arabidopsis leucine‐rich repeat receptor‐like kinase MUSTACHES enforces stomatal bilateral symmetry in Arabidopsis
Authors: Keerthisinghe Sandra , Nadeau Jeannette A. , Lucas Jessica R. , Nakagawa Tsuyoshi , Sack Fred D.
Published: January 2015

Stomata display a mirror‐like symmetry that is adaptive for shoot/atmosphere gas exchange. This symmetry includes the facing guard cells around a lens‐shaped and bilaterally symmetric pore, as well as radially arranged microtubule arrays that primarily originate at the pore and then grow outwards. Mutations in MUSTACHES (MUS), which encodes a leucine‐rich repeat receptor‐like kinase, disrupt this symmetry, resulting in defects ranging from skewed pores and abnormally focused and depolarized radial microtubule arrays, to paired guard cells that face away from each other, or a severe loss of stomatal shape. Translational MUSproMUS:tripleGFP fusions are expressed in cell plates in most cells types in roots and shoots, and cytokinesis and cell plates are mostly normal in mus mutants. However, in guard mother cells, which divide and then form stomata, MUS expression is notably absent from new cell plates, and instead is peripherally located. These results are consistent with a role for MUS in enforcing wall building and cytoskeletal polarity at the centre of the developing stoma via signalling from the vicinity of the guard cell membrane.
Developing the eCPP: Adapting an Evidence‐Based Parent Training Program for Digital Delivery in Primary Care Settings
Authors: Breitenstein Susan M. , Shane James , Julion Wrenetha , Gross Deborah
Published: January 2015

Background

Developing innovative delivery methods is needed to overcome time and logistic barriers to in‐person participation in evidence‐based parent training (PT) programs.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to (a) describe the systematic process for adapting an evidence‐based group PT program (the Chicago Parent Program) to a tablet‐based delivery format, (b) present the adapted program, and (c) discuss opportunities and challenges of adapting evidence‐based programs for alternative delivery methods.

Methods

To ensure consistency with the original program and relevance to the intended program recipients, three groups—parents (n = 10), CPP developers (n = 3), and digital delivery experts— were engaged throughout the systematic steps of the delivery adaptation of the Chicago Parent Program (eCPP). Group meetings were used to identify the program's core components, develop the adaptation program model, assess potential mismatches for the new delivery context, and adapt the original program model and materials.

Results

The final eCPP is a six‐module Internet‐based intervention that includes: interactive activities, video examples and explanations of parenting strategies, reflection questions, assessment of parent knowledge with feedback, and module practice assignments.

Linking Evidence to Action

Developing innovative delivery approaches for evidenced‐based interventions are promising to increase intervention sustainability and participant access and engagement. It is critical that these adaptations are systematic and developed with expert consultation and community input.
Review of Electrochemical Performance of LiNiO2 and their Derivatives as Cathode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries
Authors: Shaari Hafizah Rajaa , Sethuprakhash V.
Published: January 2015

Lithium-ion battery which widely used as portable power sources with high energy density is greatly being increased due to the development and popularity of portable electronic device and vehicle. Lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2) and their derivatives are promising positive cathode materials for next generation of lithium-ion batteries. LiNiO2 potentially offers a higher capacity at about 200 mAh/g. However it is more difficult to synthesized stoichiometric LiNiO2 because of the loss of lithium from host structure during high temperature calcination due the high vapor pressure of lithium and capacity fade when charging up to a high voltage (> 4.0V vs Li+/Li) during deintercalation of lithium ion that affected cycling. The review is focused the electrochemical performance by substitution or effect doping of LiNiO2 and their derivative by other metals as a cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.
The Sustainability Challenges in the Adoption of Cleaner Production System: A Review
Authors: Yusup Muhamad Zaki , Wan Mahmood Wan Hasrulnizzam , Salleh Mohd Rizal , Muhamad Mohd Razali
Published: January 2015

The adoption of cleaner production systems potentially reduces the risk of hazard in work environments, improves the environmental management performance as well as streamlining the sustainability in manufacturing operations. However, failure to identify and understand the challenges in implementing this practice may cause the implementation process becomes less efficient. The literatures showed that the requirement to balance four key challenges, namely economic performance, legislation compliance, psychological concern and social responsiveness can enhance the adaptation process of cleaner production system. The ability to detect and understanding every challenge identified is very crucial, primarily to set better focus and strategic planning on getting the optimum benefits, as well as improve the environmental performance in revolutionising sustainable manufacturing practice.
Development of Adsorbents-based Cellulose Acetate Mixed Matrix Membranes for Removal of Pollutants from Textile Industry Effluent
Authors: Saranya R. , Lukka Thuyavan Y. , Arthanareeswaran G.
Published: January 2015

The influence of adsorbents like activated carbon (AC) and iron oxide nanoparticles (IO) on the filtration efficiency of polymeric ultrafiltration (UF) membranes is proposed to investigate by incorporating them in wt % of 0.25, 1.5 and 2.5 with cellulose acetate (CA). The completely homogenous CA/AC and CA/IO casting solutions were obtained by sonicating AC and IO, respectively in N, N’-dimethyl formamide (DMF) followed by mechanical stirring with CA. By dry/wet phase inversion technique, novel CA mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were synthesized which were later evaluated for their characteristics using atomic force microscope (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). In comparison to the neat CA membrane, pure water flux of CA MMMs containing 2.5 wt % AC and 0.5 wt % IP were increased from 5.61 Lm-2h-1 to 11.22 and 7.17 Lm-2h-1, respectively. These results suggest that the higher addition of AC influenced the membrane permeability whereas the amount of IP is found not to be surpassed beyond 0.5 wt% for improved flux. The wettability found by contact angle analysis suggests the higher productivity of CA MMMs and are evident by the adsorption nature of the chosen fillers. The polymer enhanced UF studies for rejecting COD, BOD and dissolved salts from the textile industry effluent has also been performed. The significance of CA MMMs lies on higher rejection efficiency with no compromise in membrane permeability.
Analysis of Oil Content in Ultrafiltered Water Based on Oil Emulsion using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
Authors: Ahmad A. L. , Hussain K. N. , Ooi B. S.
Published: January 2015

The quantitative analysis is a simple and fast method that has been developed to analyse the oil content in the permeate of ultrafiltration process. Measurements of concentration were done on standard palm oil solution within 0.05–7.00 wt. %, followed by verification of permeate content to validate the calibration model. The measurement was based on simple Beer’s Laws method to determine the concentration of oil in the permeated water. The standard oil solution was analysed using Attenuated Total Reflectance– Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) to obtain the spectrum of triglycerides group, which are the principal component that exists in fats and oils. The absorption wavelength was found to be within 1789.62 cm-1 and 1697.53 cm-1. The selected region will be used to quantify the standard oil concentration. Regression coefficient (R2) for the calibration model and validation was 0.99267 and 0.9913, respectively indicating excellent oil concentration determination. These results showed that all the measurements were in the range of calibration curve which shows a facile method is suitable for the oil determination in the permeate water samples. The ATR-FTIR method was compared with turbidity method, thus ATR-FTIR method was preferred and reliable to be used in determining of oil concentration.
Preparation of High Performance SPEEK/Cloisite 15A Nanocomposite Membrane via Advanced Membrane Formulation Method
Authors: Jaafar Juhana , Ismail A. F. , Matsuura T. , Othman M. H. D. , A. Rahman Mukhlis , Yusof N. , Lau W. J.
Published: January 2015

Sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK)/Cloisite 15A® nanocomposite membranes were prepared via solution intercalation method. For better dispersion of nanoclay in the polymer matrix, the solution intercalation method was modified and a compatibilizer was introduced. The state of nanoclay dispersion was determined by FESEM. The effect of the solution formulation preparation method and compatibilizer on the performance properties such as proton conductivity and methanol permeability of all membranes was studied. FESEM analysis confirmed that SPEEK/Cloisite 15A® nanocomposite membrane prepared via modified solution intercalation method and in the presence of compatibilizer was the best membrane in terms of its morphological structure. Due to its well nanoclay distribution in polymer matrix, this kind of membrane exhibited the highest selectivity owing to its high proton conductivity and low methanol permeability. SPEEK/Cloisite 15A® with compatibilizer prepared via modified solution intercalation method was found to be the best membrane.
Exploring the Open Problems and Future Trends Concerning Handovers in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks: A Review
Authors: Naeem Bushra , Chude-Okonkwo Uche A. K. , Ngah Razali , Mohd Hashim Siti Z. , Maqbool Wajahat , Hashim Sadiqa
Published: January 2015

The advancements in the telecoms industry have led to the emergence of many new technologies to meet communication requirements worldwide. Consumers have largely been using GSM, CDMA and WiFi. New developments have given birth to more robust communication systems including WiMax and LTE. Lay users are not aware of the technicalities, advantages and disadvantages of these technologies. Therefore, there is a state of great confusion among the users of this generation as to which technology is the best for them to use. Each of these technologies has pros and cons over one another. For example, LTE covers a large area and offers the highest speed, but the user has to pay for it; however, WiFi covers only hotspots but the use is free. Future heterogeneous networks (HetNets) will enable users to achieve seamless connectivity through vertical handovers while providing them the beneficial features of each technology. For HetNets many issues still need to be addressed. This paper explores some of the open problems and future trends related to the handovers in heterogeneous wireless networks. The dynamics with respect to handovers and the network load of cellular architecture in the coming era in the field of wireless communications are also presented. In addition, first a foundation is laid on the IEEE media independent handover and its importance and then the problem of load balancing and its impact on the realization of future HetNets is explained. Finally, an important problem during vertical handovers, known as the ping-pong effect is explained. The open problems for researchers have been identified for the aforementioned issues.
Development of a New Method of Sensitivity Matrix for Image Reconstruction in Electric Charge Tomography System Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Thuku Iliya Tizhe , Rahmat Mohd Fua’ad
Published: January 2015

In this paper, a new method of sensitivity matrix generation is presented for application in electric charge tomography system. The sensitivity matrix is the most important parameter in solid particles concentration profile computation in electric charge tomography system. The analytical method of developing the sensitivity matrix that have been developed and used in electric charge tomography is characterised by some uncertainties that give poor tomography images of flowing solid particles. The new proposed method involved subdivision of the pipeline cross-section into many subdivisions called the computational mesh. The subdivision is made by the application of the Finite Element Method (FEM). On each of the electrodynamic sensor installed to detect the electric charges carried by the moving solid particles; the effect of the particles’ electric charges enclosed in each of the computational mesh is modelled into a system equation. The system equation is used to compute the effect of the charges in the form of a matrix system of size [M×N] called the sensitivity matrix. The sensitivity matrix is applied for the reconstruction of the tomography image, using the Linear Back Projection (LBP) method. The reconstructed images represented the solid particles distribution through the pipeline. This assertion is due the consistencies between the simulation and real images with respect to the simulated images and the captured real data.
Drivers' Perceptions of Unsafe Driving Behaviors and Their Countermeasures: A Study in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Hasan Tanweer , Ahmed Ishtiaque , Al-Bar Hamid O.
Published: January 2015

There is an increased public concern about the role of aggressive driving and "road rage" in crashes and traffic fatalities. There is no general agreement as to what constitutes aggressive driving. Consequently, the objective of the study was to survey of the perceptions on the specific unsafe driving acts. Perceptions and beliefs of drivers about unsafe and aggressive driving actions and their countermeasures are presented in this paper. The study primarily looked at the wide range of driver attitudes about speeding and other forms of unsafe driving behavior. The study was conducted in Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia by interviewing a sample of 300 drivers. The results indicated that the drivers, in general, prefer to drive at higher speeds and could be considered as more aggressive compared to the drivers in the United States. The most dangerous reported driving act was "drive thru red light", followed by "racing another driver". Only 23% of the drivers thought that it was dangerous to drive over 30 km of the legal speed limits. The most often seen unsafe driving action was "speeding (70%), followed by "driving too closely (57%), "failing to use turn signals (53%), "drive inattentively (50%)", and "running red lights (43%)". The main causes of unsafe driving behaviors were "being in a hurry/time pressure (66%)", "aggressive behavior of others (52%)", and "refusing traffic rules (51%)". The countermeasure that was viewed to be the most effective in reducing unsafe driving behaviors was assigning more traffic police officers (66%). The study revealed that, more than half the drivers believed that more frequent ticketing (60%), doubling or tripling fines (54%), and doubling the length of imprisonment (53%) would be effective in reducing unsafe driving behaviors.
Time Series Forecasting using Least Square Support Vector Machine for Canadian Lynx Data
Authors: Ismail Shuhaida , Shabri Ani
Published: January 2015

Time series analysis and forecasting is an active research area over the last few decades. There are various kinds of forecasting models have been developed and researchers have relied on statistical techniques to predict the future. This paper discusses the application of Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) models for Canadian Lynx forecasting. The objective of this paper is to examine the flexibility of LSSVM in time series forecasting by comparing it with other models in previous research such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Feed-Forward Neural Networks (FNN), Self-Exciting Threshold Auto-Regression (SETAR), Zhang’s model, Aladang’s hybrid model and Support Vector Regression (SVR) model. The experiment results show that the LSSVM model outperforms the other models based on the criteria of Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Square Error (MSE). It also indicates that LSSVM provides a promising alternative technique in time series forecasting.
Mikroorganisma Antagonis Sebagai Kawalan Biologi Penyakit Utama Padi
Authors: Jack Allicia , Ramachandran Kogeethavani
Published: January 2015

In present study, 26 microbes consisted of 11 fungal isolates and 16 bacterial isolates were screened against blast disease pathogen (Pyricularia oryzae). All isolates were screened in vitro via dual culture bioassay. All fungal isolates collected were isolated from aerobic rice soils and the endophyic bacteria were isolated from the stem of healthy rice plants. Five isolates have been identified to be potential biocontrol agents as they recorded high PIRG (percentage inhibition of radial growth) values of more than 80%. Two isolates were identified as Trichoderma (F15 and F16) while the rest of them were bacteria isolates (I5, I6 and I16). 16S rDNA sequence analysis results showed that all three bacterial isolates were 100% similar to Paenibacillus polymyxa (Gene Bank assession number:  GU332610.1).
Penentuan Keserataan Tanah Sawah Melalui Alat Pengukur Kedalaman Air
Authors: Omar Mohamad Fakhrul Zaman , Abdul Hamid Ayob , Mhd Yusoff Mohd Akmal , Hashim Mohamad Hafiz
Published: January 2015

Land levelling is important to obtain a high yield because it can affect the germinantion and growth of rice plants. In addition, the water requirement with certain level at each stage should be treated with care to maximize the rice production. Currently the farmers use their naked eye to measure the land leveling and the result is not accurate. Therefore, a tool to measure the level of water depth and determine the status of land levelling in the fields is required. Status of land levelling is determined using water depth data obtained. The tool consists of several components such as base plate, mainframe, microcontrollers, sensors, GPS, screen display and data logger. By using 10m x 10m grid point method, the data obtained is to be generated into a levelness mapping. Therefore, the levelness map generated from this hand tool can be used to detect uneven land and aids the levelling work.
Penilaian Ciri Fisiokimia, Mutu Memasak dan Komposisi Zat Pemakanan Beras MR 283 dan MR 284
Authors: Ahmad Rosniyana , Mokhtar Amiruddin , Sunian Elixon
Published: January 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine the physicochemical properties, cooking characteristics and nutritional content of MR 283 and MR 284 rice varieties. These samples were evaluated in form of milled rice. The physicochemical properties determined were gelatinization temperature and gel consistency. The samples analysed had high gelatinization temperature. Intermediate gel was detected in the rice samples. Variations in cooking time, elongation ratio, volume of expansion, water uptake ratio and solid loss were observed. The rice had elongation ratio of less than 2 which indicated that rice samples did not elongate during cooking. MR 283 milled rice contained 7.43% protein and 0.77% fat contents while MR 284 had 8.6 and 0.74% of protein and fat contents respectively. Analysis of mineral and vitamin contents indicates that the rice samples had different values for nutritional contents.
Kesan Percambahan dan Rawatan Haba terhadap Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) dan Asid Amino dalam Beras Perang Cambah Varieti MR 219
Authors: Ishak Zuwariah , Hassan Hasri , Mohd Zaidun Siti Adira
Published: January 2015

The aim of this study was to evaluate the gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and amino acid content in products obtained from MR 219 germinated brown rice. The investigation included MR 219 white rice, MR 219 brown rice, MR 219 germinated brown rice (GBR) with different germination time and heat treatment and commercial germinated brown rice. In this study GABA content in germinated brown rice variety MR 219 (35.59 mg/100 g) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than commercial germinated brown rice (12.60 mg/100 g), MR 219 brown rice (1.43 mg/100 g) and MR 219 white rice (0.82 mg/100 g). Results indicated that heat treatment significantly alter the amount of GABA, serine, glutamic, histidine, threonine, alanine, proline, valine, lysine, isoleusine and leucine. It was found that the essential amino acids; histidine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, lysine, isoleucine, leucine and phenylalanine showed significant increase (P<0.05) in MR 219 germinated brown rice compared to other germinated brown rice samples.
Energy Efficiency Factors for Existing Toll Plazas
Authors: Balubaid S. , Abdul Majid M. Z. , Zakaria R.
Published: January 2015

Energy efficiency is one of the most important issues for green buildings and their sustainability. This is not only due to the environmental impacts, but also because it incurs significantly high energy cost. The aim of this study is to identify the potential actions required for toll plaza that lead to energy reduction. The data were obtained through set of questionnaire and interviewing targeted respondents, including the employees at toll plaza, and architects and engineers who are directly involved in the design of highway projects. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis method. The findings of this study are the critical elements that influence the energy usage and factors that lead to energy wastage. Finally, potential actions  were recommended to reduce energy consumption in toll plazas.
Development of a Risk Assessment Model for Oman Construction Industry
Authors: Yafai K. N. , Hassan J. S. , Balubaid S. , Zin R. M. , Hainin M. R.
Published: January 2015

Oman as one of the Arabian Gulf countries which have invested billions of dollars in the construction industries, infrastructural services and real estate, but it is clearly identified that risk assessment was not applied for once on these awarded contracts. Lack of knowledge and awareness of risk management or assessment procedures in the construction industry in Oman caused additional cost and time delay in most of the awarded construction projects. This paper aimed at developing a model for risk assessment in the Oman construction industry to save huge amounts of millions of money wasted due to this problem. A field survey of semi-structured questionnaire with face-to-face interviews was carried out in the Oman construction industry including public, contractors and consultants. The research approach relies on data collected from primary and secondary sources. Combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis was used in analysing the data for the Model development. The risk factors in the Oman construction industry varies from one category to another, the risk factors in government category are more than the consultant category and contractor’s category. Overall, the Oman construction industry has no very high risk factors, which means it has good opportunities for investment. It is expected that the output of this research will have a good and beneficial contribution to save time and money for both public and private sectors in Oman due to expected awareness and improvements in the risk assessment procedures.
Robust Stabilizing Controller Design for Inverted Pendulum System
Authors: Ali Hazem I.
Published: January 2015

In this paper the design of robust stabilizing state feedback controller for inverted pendulum system is presented. The Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) method is used to tune the state feedback gains subject to different proposed cost functions comprise of H-infinity constraints and time domain specifications. The steady state and dynamic characteristics of the proposed controller are investigated by simulations and experiments. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller which offers a satisfactory robustness and a desirable time response specifications. Finally, the robustness of the controller is tested in the presence of system uncertainties and disturbance.
Integral Equation Approach for Computing Green’s Function on Doubly Connected Regions via the Generalized Neumann Kernel
Authors: Aspon Siti Zulaiha , Mohamed Murid Ali Hassan , M. S. Nasser Mohamed , Rahmat Hamisan
Published: January 2015

This research is about computing the Green’s function on doubly connected regions by using the method of boundary integral equation. The method depends on solving a Dirichlet problem. The Dirichlet problem is then solved using a uniquely solvable Fredholm integral equation on the boundary of the region. The kernel of this integral equation is the generalized Neumann kernel. The method for solving this integral equation is by using the Nystrӧm method with trapezoidal rule to discretize it to a linear system. The linear system is then solved by the Gauss elimination method. Mathematica plots of Green’s functions for several test regions are also presented.
Flame and Emission Characteristics of a Premixed Swirl-stabilised Burner
Authors: Wei Kew Chen , Tung Chong Cheng , Jo-Han Ng , Tuan Tee Boon , Mohd Jaafar Mohamad Nazri
Published: January 2015

The flame and emission characteristics of a premixed gaseous flame swirl burner are investigated under various equivalence ratio. The swirl flame is established using propane/air mixture at atmospheric condition. Flame imaging was performed to compare the global flame shape and intensity over a range of equivalence ratios and flow rates. Fuel-rich flame shows increased intensity due to the presence of soot formation. The lean blowout test was performed to determine the operating limit of the burner. Emissions of the propane swirl flame were measured at the exit of the burner outlet. Results show that NOx emissions peak at stoichiometric condition, f =1 as compared to the lean- and rich-burning regions. Carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) emissions were found to be low (< 10 ppm) under premixed, continuous swirl burning conditions for the equivalence ratio range of f = 0.7-1.1.
A Review on Integrated Active Steering and Braking Control for Vehicle Yaw Stability System
Authors: Aripin M.K. , M. Sam Y. , Kumeresan A. D. , Ismail M.F. , Kemao Peng
Published: January 2015

A review study on integrated active steering and braking control for vehicle yaw stability system is conducted and its finding is discussed in this paper. For road-vehicle dynamic, lateral dynamic control is important in order to determine the vehicle stability. The aw stability control system is the prominent approach for vehicle lateral dynamics where the actual yaw rate and sideslip should be tracked by the controller close to the desired response. To improve the performance of yaw stability control during steady state and critical driving conditions, a current approach using active control of integrated steering and braking could be implemented. This review study discusses the vehicle models, control objectives, control problems and propose control strategies for vehicle yaw stability control system. In the view of control system engineering, the transient performances of tracking control are essential. Based on the review, this paper discusses a basic concept of control strategy based on the composite nonlinear feedback (CNF) and sliding mode control (SMC) whichcan be proposed for integrated active steering and braking control in order to improve the transient performances of the yaw rate and sideslip tracking control in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances.
Study of Alternative Lubricants for Cold Extrusion Process of A1100 Pure Aluminum
Authors: M. A. Nurul , S. Syahrullail
Published: January 2015

Lubrication in metal forming process is very important to control wear and friction at the interface between interacting surfaces. Non-renewable resources, such as mineral oil are widely used since a beginning due to its ability to act as a supplier to the wearing contact which functions as a film material or sustains chemical transformation to become a film material. Since it is will not last for a few more decades, renewable resources had been studied in order to find an alternative lubricant with presents similar results in terms of extrusion load and product quality. Two renewable lubricants were analyzed (Palm Kernel and Palm Stearin) together with additive free paraffinic mineral oil VG460 will act as a comparison lubricant. The experiment used a cold work plane strain extrusion apparatus consisting of a pair of taper die and a symmetrical work piece (billet). The billet material was annealed pure aluminum A1100 with radius of 5mm at the deformation area. It was found that palm Palm Kernel and Palm Stearin performed slightly high extrusion load, however they show no severe wear on product surface. Based on the results, it is proven that renewable based lubricants can be considered as a substitute to common mineral based lubricants used in the industry.
Compilation of Pavement Interface Bond Strength Devices for Bond Strength Quantification
Authors: Fung-Lung Chang , Yaacob Haryati , Hainin Mohd. Rosli , A. Rashid Ahmad Safuan
Published: January 2015

Flexible pavement is a multilayered structure constructed in layers. In order to ensure proper bonding such that a pavement behaved monolithically, tack coat is often applied. The developed pavement interface bond strength is therefore paramount in governing the overall performance of pavement serviceability. The present work reviews the current state of pavement interface bond strength quantification mechanisms, and the devices developed based on the mechanism. Related accessible literatures are collected and analyzed to compile the characteristics of each bond testing devices and evaluated for the capabilities and test performance. The investigation reveals 3 testing mechanisms incorporating shearing (pushing), tensile (pulling) and torsioning (twisting). However, shearing test seems to be the most popular device adopted to investigate the bond strength between two interfaces in contact, utterly due to the simplicity of the test setup. For tensile mechanism, the developed devices are generally portable and are mostly used to examine the tack coat quality. Finally, the device with torsional mechanism is not so popular as compared to the aforementioned mechanism. Nonetheless, it is developing steadily with the continuous research.
Investigating the Impact of Rainfall on Travel Speed
Authors: Mashros Nordiana , Ben-Edigbe Johnnie , Alhassan Hashim Mohammed , Hassan Sitti Asmah
Published: January 2015

The road network is particularly susceptible to adverse weather with a range of impacts when different weather conditions are experienced. Adverse weather often leads to decreases in traffic speed and subsequently affects the service levels. The paper is aimed at investigating the impact of rainfall on travel speed and quantifying the extent to which travel speed reduction occurs. Empirical studies were conducted on principle road in Terengganu and Johor, respectively for three months. Traffic data were collected by way of automatic traffic counter and rainfall data from the nearest raingauge station were supplied by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage supplemented by local survey data. These data were filtered to obtain traffic flow information for both dry and wet operating conditions and then were analyzed to see the effect of rainfall on percentile speeds. The results indicated that travel speed at 15th, 50th and 85th percentiles decrease with increasing rainfall intensities. It was observed that allpercentile speeds decreased from a minimum of 1% during light rain to a maximum of 14% during heavy rain. Based on the hypothesis that travel speed differ significantly between dry and rainfall condition; the study found substantial changes in percentile speeds and concluded that rainfalls irrespective of their intensities have significant impact on the travel speed.