Probing Trees Annual Rings For The Effects of Volcanic Eruptions Using PIXE

Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) was originally introduced as an ion-beam analytical technique in Lund in the 1970s and has since then been part of the available techniques in many laboratories around the world. The external beam PIXE set-up is used in probing the annual tree rings. The goal is to see the effects of volcanic eruption activities from the perspectives of tree plants here in Finland. In the theory part, I tried to include the description of how volcanoes are formed and created with a bit of volcanic activity history, the growth metabolism mechanism in tree plants and characteristics x-ray productions. The two tree sample used for this experiment were gotten from two different regions of Finland. The first tree is a Pine tree from Parikkala(a small place near Savolinna) in the south-eastern part of Finland and the second tree is a Spruce tree from Pielavesi (place near Kuopio) in the central part of Finland. These samples were carefully prepared for ionisation. The collected spectra data were analysed in a software called PyMCA. PyMCA has been developed by the Software Group of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). PyMCA is a ready to use and in many aspects state-of-the-art, set of applications implementing most of the needs of X-ray fluorescence data analysis. PyMCA is use to interpret X-ray fluorescence spectra from a diverse array of sample

PENGARUH RESIKO KREDIT, RESIKO PASAR, DAN RESIKO LIQUIDITAS TERHADAP PEMBIAYAAN MURABAHAH DI PERBANKAN SYARIAH (Penelitian di Bank BNI Syariah Cabang Cirebon)

Adio Timur Saputra : Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui gambaran pengaruh resiko kredit terhadap pembiayaan murabahah di perbankan syariah, untuk mengetahui pengaruh resiko pasar terhadap pembiayaan murabahah di perbankan syariah, untuk mengetahui pengaruh resiko liquiditas terhadap pembiayaan murabahah di perbankan syariah, dan untuk mengetahui pengaruh resiko kredit, resiko pasar dan resiko liquiditas secara bersama-sama terhadap pembiayaan murabahah di perbankan syariah Metode penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif, dengan metode penelitian deskriptif. Sampel dan populasi berjumlah 30 orang (karyawan). Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian adalah wawancara, dokumentasi, kuesioner dan observasi. analisis statistik yang digunakan adalah analisis regresi ganda, dengan menggunakan SPSS 17.0. Hasil menunjukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan resiko kredit tehadap pembiayaan murabahah sebesar 0,546 dengan value sebesar 0,00, sementara variabel resiko pasar dan resiko liquiditas tidak berpengaruh terhadap pembiayaan murabahah. Kata Kunci: Resiko Kredit, Resiko Pasar, Resiko Liquiditas, dan Pembiayaan Murabahah

Assessing the Accuracy of Task Time Prediction of an Emerging Human Performance Modeling Software - CogTool

There is a need for a human performance modeling tool which not only has the ability to accurately estimate skilled user task time for any interface design, but can be used by modelers with little or no programming knowledge and at a minimal cost. To fulfill this need, this research investigated the accuracy of task time prediction of a modeling tool – CogTool - on two versions of an interface design used extensively in the petrochemical industry – DeltaV. CogTool uses the KeyStroke Level Model (KLM) to calculate and generate time predictions based on specified operators. The data collected from a previous study (Koffskey, Ikuma, & Harvey, 2013) that investigated how human participants (24 students and 4 operators) performed on these interfaces (in terms of mean speed in seconds) were compared to CogTool’s numeric time estimate. Three tasks (pump I, pump II and cascade system failures) on each interface for both participant groups were tested on both interfaces (improved and poor), on the general hypothesis that CogTool will make task time predictions for each of the modeled tasks, within a certain range of what actual human participants had demonstrated. The 95% confidence interval (CI) tests of the means were used to determine if the predictions fall within the intervals. The estimated task time from CogTool did not fall within the 95% CI in 9 of 12 cases. Of the 3 that were contained in the acceptable interval, two belonged to the experienced operator group for tasks performed on the improved interface, implying that CogTool was better in predicting the operators’ performance than the students’. A control room monitoring task, by its nature, places great demand on an operator’s mental capacity. This also includes the fact that operators work on multiple screens and/or consoles, sometimes requiring them to commit information to memory that they have to revisit a screen to check on some vital information. In this regard, it is suggested that the one user mental operator for “think time” (estimated as 1.2sec), should be revised in CogTool to accommodate the demand on the operator. For this reason, the present CogTool prediction did not meet expectations in estimating control room operator task time, but it however succeeded in showing where the poor interface could be improved by comparing the detailed steps to the improved interface

Reactive extraction of microalgae for biodiesel production

PhD ThesisFatty acid methyl ester (FAME “biodiesel”) is a renewable transport fuel that can be produced from waste/refined oil, pre-extracted oil from oilseeds or microalgae. The most common method converts extracted oil from biomass to FAME through transesterification using acidified or alkalised methanol. Alternatively, FAME can be made by contacting the oil-bearing biomass directly with an alcohol containing a catalyst. This approach is potentially a cost-effective alternative way of making algal FAME due to its elimination of the solvent extraction step and its higher water tolerance. This study reports reactive extraction of Nannochloropsis occulata and Chlorella vulgaris for FAME production using NaOH, H2SO4, zirconium dodecyl sulphate (“ZDS”) or H2SO4/SDS (a surfactant) as catalysts. It is possible to produce FAME using all of them. A relationship was found between FAME yield, catalyst concentration, methanol to oil molar ratio, moisture content or algal cell wall chemistry. NaOH is the most effective catalyst, producing high FAME yields (96 %) in relatively short reaction times (10 min), at 925:1 methanol to oil molar ratio and 0.5N NaOH. This was achieved despite high levels of free fatty acid (6 % lipid) in Chlorella vulgaris. A numerical model derived by Eze et al. (2014) fitted with experimental data from this study shows that other side reactions including FAME and triglyceride saponification, free fatty acid neutralisation occur alongside the desired FAME synthesis in a NaOH-catalysed reactive extraction. Regardless of the catalysts used, methanol to oil molar ratios in the range 600:1-1277:1 caused 5-30 wt %/(wt dry algae) moisture tolerance: significantly greater than the 0.5 wt % oil moisture required in conventional transesterifications. Both the phosphorus mass balance and conversion of the isolated algal phospholipids into FAME revealed that pre-soaking pre-treatment solubilises the phospholipid bilayer to some degree, and iii [Abstract continued] contributes to an increased FAME yield in Nannochloropsis occulata (98.4 %) and Chlorella vulgaris (93.4 %). Residual protein loss in Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis occulata were respectively 6.5 and 10 %. The carbohydrate content was significantly reduced by 71 % in Chlorella vulgaris and 65 % in Nannochloropsis occulata.Petroleum Technology and Development Fund (PTDF) of Nigerian Government

Efficient Similarity Measures for Texts Matching

Calculation of similarity measures of exact matching texts is a critical task in the area of pattern matching that needs a great attention. There are many existing similarity measures in literature but the best methods do not exist for closeness measurement of two strings. The objective of this paper is to explore the grammatical properties and features of generalized n-gram matching technique of similarity measures to find exact text in electronic computer applications. Three new similarity measures have been proposed to improve the performance of generalized n-gram method. The new methods assigned high values of similarity measures and performance to price with low values of running time. The experiment with the new methods demonstrated that they are universal and very useful in words that could be derived from the word list as a group and retrieve relevant medical terms from database . One of the methods achieved best correlation of values for the evaluation of subjective examination

Effective similarity measures in electronic testing at programming languages

The purpose of this study is to explore the grammatical proper ties and features of generalized n-gram matching technique in electronic test at programming languages. N-gram matching technique has been success fully employed in information handling and decision support system dealing with texts but its side effect is size n which tends to be rather large. Two new methods of odd gram and sumsquare gram have been proposed for the improvement of generalized n-gram matching together with the modification of existing methods. While generalized n-grams matching is easy to generate and manage, they do require quadratic time and space complexity and are therefore ill-suited to the proposed and modified methods which work in quadratic in nature. Experiments have been conducted with the two new methods and modified ones using real life programming code assignments as pattern and text matches and the derived results were compared with the existing methods which are among the best in practice. The results obtained experimentally are very positive and suggested that the proposed methods can be successfully applied in electronic test at programming languages

Study of effects of Heat treatment on the Hardness and Microstructure of Welded Low Carbon Steel Pipes

This paper reports investigations made on the effects of annealing heat treatment on the micro-structural and mechanical property behavior of 0.078wt % C steel weld. Welding operation was carried out on the low carbon steel of 0.078wt % carbon content in pair; followed by heat treating (annealing), the specimen was heat treated at the weld zone to a temperature of 850°C using digital heat treatment furnace. For effective study of the effect of annealing on the welded joint, mechanical test (hardness) was carried out and micrographs were obtained to reveal the microstructures of the heat treated (annealed) and un-heat treated samples. From the micro-structural analysis, the micrographs shows that the heat treated sample had a more predominant pearlite structure which is the reason larger areas of the structure is darker and less ferrite structure due to recrystallization and carbon diffusion; hence a significant improvement in ductility, toughness and grain refinement accompanied with decrease in hardness and brittleness. Keywords: Annealing, Ductility, Hardness, Heat treatment, Microstructure, Welding

Vision 2020 the Right to Sight: Where exactly are we in Nigeria?

No Abstract

How ophthalmologists and ophthalmologists-in-training in Nigeria use the social media

Background: The social media has revolutionized the practice of medicine in the area of communication and information dissemination.Aim: This study aims at examining the ways ophthalmologists who practice in Nigeria use the social media and how they impact on their practice.Materials and Methods: This was cross-sectional study of eighty-seven (87) consenting ophthalmologists and ophthalmology residents at the 40th Annual Scientific and General Meeting of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria held from 24th to 28th August, 2015 in Jos, Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaires and data obtained were recorded in the data sheets and analysed using the SPSS version 20 (2014). Simple statistics and comparisons of associated variables were made using Chi-square.Results: Of the 87 respondents, 82 (94.2%) used the social media while only 5 (5.8%) were not on any social media platform. WhatsApp was the preferred social media platform with 50 (50.5%) of the respondents using it, followed by Facebook (38; 38.4%), LinkedIn (8;8.1%), Instagram (2;2.0%) and Twitter (1; 1.0%).Majority of the respondents (66; 46.5%) used the social media for social interaction; 43 (30.3%) of them used them to interact and collaborate with colleagues; 21 (14.8%) utilized them for patients' education. Only 6 (4.2%) of the respondents used the social media for marketing of their practice.Fifty-two (59.9%) of the respondents believed that the use of social media had enhanced their practice.Conclusions: The study has shown that majority of the ophthalmologists and residents interviewed were on the social media platform. However, social interaction with friends was the major reason they use the social media.Keywords: Social media, use, ophthalmologists and ophthalmologist-in-trainin