Detection of optimum maturity of maize using image processing and artificial neural networks

Maize is one of the most widely cultivated crops in Nigeria having good contents of protein, carbohydrate and fat. The leaves of maize are also very good source of food for grazing livestock like cows, goats, sheep, etc. However, in Nigeria the leaves are left in farm lands to dry up completely (brownish) or even rot with little or no nutritional value to livestock. At the maturity of maize the leaves are still maintaining green coloration and the stalk are still fresh. Changes in the maize leaf coloration during maturity were studied. A CCD camera for image acquisition of the different green colorations of the maize leaves at maturity was used. Different color features were extracted from the image processing system (MATLAB) and used as inputs to the artificial neural network that classify different levels of maturity.Keywords: Maize, Maturity, CCD Camera, Image Processing, Artificial Neural Networ

Influence of palm oil fuel ash on physico-mechanical properties of prepacked aggregate concrete

Prepacked aggregate concrete (PAC) is a special type of concrete which is made by placing coarse aggregate in a formwork and injecting a grout either by pump or under gravity force to fill the voids. Utilization of pozzolanic materials in traditional concrete has become increasingly extensive, and this trend is expected to continue in prepacked concrete as well. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is one of the pozzolanic ashes, which has been recognized as a good pozzolanic material. This paper presents the results of some experimental tests on the performance behavior of POFA in developing physical and mechanical properties of prepacked aggregate concrete. Four concrete mixes namely prepacked concrete with 100% OPC as control, and PAC with 10%, 20% and 30% POFA were cast, and the temperature growth due to heat of hydration in all the mixtures was recorded. It has been found that POFA significantly reduced the temperature rise in prepacked concrete. The compressive and tensile strength, however, increased with replacement of POFA. The results obtained and the observation made in this study suggest that the replacement of OPC by POFA is beneficial, particularly for prepacked mass concrete where thermal cracking due to extreme heat rise is of great concern

Effect of zinc supplementation on respiratory tract infections in children with cystic fibrosis

Zinc (Zn) has significant anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Zn deficiency can occur in subsets of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) especially those with malabsorption and impaired growth. Although supplemental Zn has significantly reduced infections in various disorders, its efficacy has not been thoroughly investigated in CF. We performed a double blind placebo controlled pilot study to investigate the effect of daily 30 mg elemental Zn for 1 year on the rate of respiratory tract infections (RTIs), use of antibiotics and plasma cytokines in 26 children with CF (ages 7–18 years). Plasma Zn, Cu, inflammatory cytokines and ex vivo generation of IL-2 were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. The number of days of oral antibiotics was lower in Zn treated patients compared to placebo ( P  = 0.05). However, compared to placebo, the effect of Zn was greater in patients who exhibited low plasma Zn at baseline ( P  = 0.02) than those who had plasma Zn levels identical to normal subjects ( P  = 0.55). Zn supplementation was marginally effective in reducing percentage increase in plasma IL-6 and IL-8 while increasing the percentage change in ex vivo generation of IL-2 in isolated mononuclear cell. In conclusion, oral intake of 30 mg/day of Zn reduced the number of days of oral antibiotics used to treat RTIs in children with CF. A higher daily Zn dose may be needed to decrease RTIs and modify immune responses. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:281–287. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57931/1/20771_ftp.pd

Performance comparison of heuristic algorithms for task scheduling in IaaS cloud computing environment

Cloud computing infrastructure is suitable for meeting computational needs of large task sizes. Optimal scheduling of tasks in cloud computing environment has been proved to be an NP-complete problem, hence the need for the application of heuristic methods. Several heuristic algorithms have been developed and used in addressing this problem, but choosing the appropriate algorithm for solving task assignment problem of a particular nature is difficult since the methods are developed under different assumptions. Therefore, six rule based heuristic algorithms are implemented and used to schedule autonomous tasks in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments with the aim of comparing their performance in terms of cost, degree of imbalance, makespan and throughput. First Come First Serve (FCFS), Minimum Completion Time (MCT), Minimum Execution Time (MET), Maxmin, Min-min and Sufferage are the heuristic algorithms considered for the performance comparison and analysis of task scheduling in cloud computing

Urbanization and climate change: the role of road transport in carbon dioxide emission in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

No AbstractKeywords: CO2 abatement, automobile density, climate change, global warming, greenhouse gase

Solid State Fermentation of Orange Pomace for Bioethanol Production

This study is aimed at studying the effect of process variables on solid state fermentation of orange pomace for bioethanol production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The effect of substrate concentrations (100 - 350 g), fermentation period (24 - 72 hours) and inoculum amount (2.0 - 4.5 g) on solid state fermentation of orange pomace for bioethanol production was investigated. Characterization of the resulting bioethanol was carried out to determine its fuel properties (viscosity, flash point, density, refractive index, specific gravity, pH and boiling point). Experimental results revealed increase in the process variables (substrate concentration, fermentation period and inoculum amount) led to a corresponding increase in bioethanol yield until an optimum condition was reached (substrate loading of 200 g, pH of 4.5, fermentation temperature of 35°C, inoculum amount of 3 g and fermentation period of 72 hours) after which a decline in yield was observed. The maximum ethanol yield of 32.32 % v/v was obtained at these condition. Characterization of the bioethanol sample showed that the ethanol has satisfactory fuel properties that establishes its suitability as an alternative renewable fuel that can be blended with gasoline

Klippel-Feil syndrome presenting as recurrent abdominal pain in a teenager: importance of computed tomography scan in diagnostic workup

Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) is a segmentation and cleavage malformation of the cervical spine in the early weeks of foetal development. This is considered as a sporadic genetic abnormality, and is accompanied by multisystem disorders such as a short neck, cardiac disease, renal ectopia and other associated genitourinary syndromes. In this case report, we present the clinical and radiological findings of a 14-year old school boy who was referred to us from a private hospital for abdominopelvic ultrasound to ascertain his cause of recurrent abdominal pains since childhood. We also present the role of computed tomography in detecting multisystemabnormalities during a single hospital visit.Keywords: Recurrent abdominal pains, renal ectopia, multiple cervicothoracic vertebral fusions, Sprengel's scapula

Methodology for reliability assessment of steel wire ropes under fretting fatigue conditions

This paper describes a newly-developed damage-based fatigue life model for the long-Term reliability assessment of drawn steel wires and wire ropes. The methodology is based on the computed local stress field in the critical trellis contact zone of a stranded wire rope by FE simulations and the estimated fretting damage of the drawn wire material. A case study using a single strand (1x7) steel wire rope with 5.43 mm-dia. drawn wires is employed to demonstrate the damage-based fatigue life prediction procedures. Under applied tensile loading with peak stress corresponding to 50%MBL (ΔP = 145 kN, R = 0.1), the von Mises stress cycles in-phase and with an identical stress ratio to the applied axial load. The damage initiation life at the trellis contact along the core wire is No = 673 cycles with an additional 589 load cycles to reach the first separation of the material point. The threshold load cycle for the fretting fatigue damage is predicted to be 12.3%MBL. An improved data set of the damage model parameters of the drawn steel wires is indispensable in achieving an accurate and validated life prediction model

Adhesion characteristics of solution treated environmental dust

Environmental dust is modified towards self-cleaning applications under the gravitational influence. Dust particles are collected in the local area of Dammam in Saudi Arabia and they are treated with a dilute hydrofluoric acid solution. The changes in chemical and adhesion characteristics of the dust particles prior and after the solution treatment are analyzed. Force of adhesion and work required to remove dust from hydrophobic and hydrophilic glass surfaces are assessed, separately, for solution treated and collected dust. We show that aqueous hydrofluoric acid solution treatment modifies some dust components while causing the formation of submicron cracks and nano/submicron porous/pillars like textures on the dust particles. The texture generated on dust surfaces after the solution treatment has a great influence on dust adhesion characteristics. Hence, the solution treated dust particles result in lower adhesion on hydrophobic and hydrophilic glass surfaces as compared to that of untreated dust. The gravitational force enables to remove solution treated dust from inclined glass surfaces, which becomes more apparent for hydrophobic surfaces.The study was supported by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) through Projects# IN171001 and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) to accomplish this work