Developing a fuzzy logic model for predicting soil inltration rate based on soil texture properties

The prediction of the soil infiltration rate is advantageous in hydrological design, watershed management, irrigation, and other agricultural studies. Various techniques have been widely used for this with the aim of developing more accurate models; however, the improvement of the prediction accuracy is still an acute problem faced by decision makers in many areas. In this paper, an intelligent model based on a fuzzy logic system (FLS) was developed to obtain a more accurate predictive model for the soil infiltration rate than that generated by conventional methods. The input variables that were considered in the fuzzy model included the silt and clay contents. The developed fuzzy model was tested against both the observed data and multiple linear regression (MLR). The comparison of the developed fuzzy model and MLR model indicated that the fuzzy model can simulate the infiltration process quite well. The coefficient of determination, root mean square error, mean absolute error, model efficiency, and overall index of the fuzzy model were 0.953, 1.53, 1.28, 0.953, and 0.954, respectively. The corresponding MLR model values were 0.913, 2.37, 1.92, 0.913, and 0.914, respectively. The sensitivity results indicated that the clay content is the most influential factor when the FLS-based modelling approach is used for predicting the soil infiltration rate.Keywords: FLS, infiltration rate, MLR, modelling, sensitivity analysi

Extraction and characterization of chitin and chitosan from crustacean by-products: Biological and physicochemical properties

Chitin has been extracted from two Tunisian crustacean species. The obtained chitin was transformed into the more useful soluble chitosan. These products were characterized by their biological activity as antimicrobial and antifungal properties. The tested bacterial strains were Escherichia coli American Type Cell Culture (ATCC) 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27950 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. Four fungi strains were also tested Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, Candidaparapsilensis and Candida kreusei. Squilla chitosan showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against the different fungi exceptionally for C. kreusei. Their antioxidant activity was investigated with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation. Parapenaeus longirostris Chitosan showed the highest radical scavenging properties. Chitin and chitosan produced were also characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).Key words: Antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, chitin, chitosan, crustacean

Prediction of strain localization during sheet metal forming using bifurcation analysis and Gurson- type damage - Complas XI

The strain localization phenomenon that may occur during sheet metal forming represents a major cause of defective parts produced in the industry. Several instability criteria have been developed in the literature to predict the occurrence of these instabilities. The proposed work aims to couple a Gurson-type model to the Rice’s localization criterion. The implementation of the modeling is achieved via a user subroutine (Umat) in Abaqus/std using a Runge-Kutta explicit integration scheme. Finally, we show the effectiveness of the proposed coupling for the prediction of the formability of stretched metal sheets

Large scale experimental investigation of the relative drying capacity of building envelope panels of various configurations

Building envelope performance can be predicted through field investigation, laboratory investigation, modeling, or a combination of these. Large scale testing in the laboratory has been limited because of cost, but it is important in validating mathematical or empirical models since the impact of different variables on the envelope performance can be studied as other variables can be readily and reliably kept constant. In the context of a research project in collaboration with nine companies, three universities and the government, a two-story test hut, with overall dimensions of 16 ft 8 inches in length, 12 ft 5 inches in width, and 19 ft 11�$1

Generalized β\beta-conformal change and special Finsler spaces

In this paper, we investigate the change of Finslr metrics $$L(x,y) \to\bar{L}(x,y) = f(e^{\sigma(x)}L(x,y),\beta(x,y)),$$ which we refer to as a generalized $\beta$-conformal change. Under this change, we study some special Finsler spaces, namely, quasi C-reducible, semi C-reducible, C-reducible, $C_2$-like, $S_3$-like and $S_4$-like Finsler spaces. We also obtain the transformation of the T-tensor under this change and study some interesting special cases. We then impose a certain condition on the generalized $\beta$-conformal change, which we call the b-condition, and investigate the geometric consequences of such condition. Finally, we give the conditions under which a generalized $\beta$-conformal change is projective and generalize some known results in the literature.Comment: References added, some modifications are performed, LateX file, 24 page

Molecular and serological study by using ELISA and rRT-PCR techniques to detect avian infectious bronchitis virus in chickens in Middle Euphrates

The study was conducted to detect Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) in commercial chicken farms of Middle Euphrates, the technique have been used throughout the study protocol, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and histopathological study. (172) serum samples were collected from clinically infected vaccinated broiler farm and (29) serum samples were collected from clinically infected non-vaccinated broiler farm and screened for the presence of IBV antibodies by ELISA.75serum samples from 172 samples were positive, (43.6%) distributed as followed 43 (61.4%) from Hella, 23 (36.5%) from Najaf and 9 (23.07%) from Diwaniyah ,29 serum samples collected from clinically infected non-vaccinated broiler flocks, were 5 (17.2%) serum positive samples for IBV. (75) tissue samples from clinically infected vaccinated broilers distributed were submitted for rRT-PCR technique, the results were as followed42 (56%) have been detected IBV, while 30 (71.4%) was positive in ELISA, and (15) samples from clinically infected non-vaccinated broilers showed 8 (53.3%) IBV were detectable while 5 (62.5%) was positive in ELISA. Also, the research includes studying the histopathological changes of trachea, lung, and kidney of infected birds which were positive for rRT-PCR