Integrating research and teaching in higher education: Conceptual issues

Integrating new knowledge created through research with teaching has become an important area that needs prompt attention with the growing emphasis on student learning activities, quality assurance procedures and research funding mechanisms within the UK higher education system. The link between research and teaching is not automatic. Thus, it needs to be created in higher education departments in order to achieve a productive relationship and manage research activities of university staff with teaching duties. The research study, on which this paper is based on, aims to develop principles in relation to transferring research knowledge into teaching through a literature review and case studies. The paper reports conceptual issues related to such a transfer process based on the literature findings

Ad Hoc On-demand Distance Vector Inherent Techniques Comparison for Detecting and Eliminating the Black Hole Attack Nodes in Mobile Ad Hoc Network

It is important to connect wirelessly a group of moving mobile nodes together in a static or dynamic form, to transfer digital data between them, this form known as a mobile ad hoc network. This private network can be used in different essential situations where it depends on each connected mobile node to deliver and pass the data between them, without any fixed access point or router. Unfortunately, there are different types of attacks that can affect these nodes, and steal or corrupt the data inside, one of these attacks called the black hole attack. In this paper, a compared study will be done between two major innovative techniques derived from the ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing protocol to avoid the black hole attack; the paper will compare the two techniques in delay, throughput and packet dropping efficacy

Dynamic Power Allocation for Downlink NOMA

Dynamic Power Allocation for Downlink Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) is a critical research area in wireless communication systems. This study focuses on implementing and evaluating dynamic power allocation strategies in the context of downlink NOMA. We compare the performance of dynamic power allocation with fixed power allocation schemes to assess their impact on system throughput, interference management, and overall efficiency. Through extensive simulations and analysis in this paper using MATLAB, we demonstrate a comparison between dynamic power allocation and fixed power allocation, and the advantages of dynamic power allocation in adapting to changing channel conditions and user requirements, leading to improved system performance. Our results show the data rate and outage probability which provides valuable insights into the benefits of dynamic power allocation in downlink NOMA systems and highlight the importance of adaptive power management techniques in enhancing wireless communication networks

Enhancing the Performance and EmissioCharacteristics of Diesel Engine Using Modified Fuel by Addition of Aluminum Oxides to Biodiesel – Diesel Blend.

يدرس هذا البحث تأثير إضافة الجسيمات النانوية إلى وقود الديزل الحيوي على خواصه الفيزيائية وأداء المحرك وانبعاثات غازات العادم.  محرك الاختبار المستخدم في هذه الدراسة هو محرك ديزل نوع فيات، أربع أسطوانات، أربعة أشواط، تبريد بالماء، حقن مباشر، نسبة الانضغاط 17: 1. الاختبارات اجريت عند تطبيق الحمولة الكاملة على المحرك من خلال مقياس القدرة الديناميكي الهيدروليكي. تم أستخدام نوع واحد من الحبيبات النانويه وبجرع مختلفة  25 , 50 و100  جزء من المليون وبقطر 25 نانوميتر وتمت التجارب بسرعات وأحمال مختلفة. أن أضافة الحبيبات النانوية حسن من الخواص الفيزيائية للوقود النانوي مثل تحسن الكثافة واللزوجه والعدد السيتاني والقيمه الحراريه. كما أظـهرت التجارب تحسن واضح في أداء المحرك حيث أنخفضت نسبة أستهلاك الوفود النوعي بنسبة 15.5% للجرعه 25 و 10.4% للجرعه 50 و6.13% للجرعه 100مقارنة مع نسبة الخلط 20%  بدن اضافة الجسيمات النانويه  عند أعلى حمل وزيادة الكفاءة الحرارية المكبحية للجرعة 25 بنسبة 20.8% و17.4 للجرعه 50 و4% للجرعه 100 مقارنة مع نسبة الوقود الحيوي 20% بدون أضافة جسيمات نانوية. أما خصائص الانبعاثات فقد قلت بشكل ملحوظ عند أضافة الجسيمات النانوية، حيث أنخفضت نسبة الهايدروكاربونات غير المحترقة وأحادي أوكسيد الكاربون المنبعثة من محرك الديزل عند أستخدام الوقود النانوي بجرعة 25 جزء من المليون بنسبة 15.6% للهايدروكاربونات غير المحترقة و18.18% لأول أوكسيد الكاريون مقارنة مع الوقود الحيوي 20% بدون أضافات نانوية عند الحمل الكامل. وبنسبة أنخفاض 32.8% للهايدروكاربونات غير المحترقة و 45.4% لاول أوكسيد الكاريون مقارنة مع الديزل العادي عند الحمل الكامل. أما انبعاثات أكاسيد النتروجين فقد زادت بنسبة 2.1% للجرعة 25 مقارنة مع الوقود الحيوي 20% بدون جسيمات نانوية وبنسبة 14.9% مقارنة مع الديزل العادي.This present experimental work investigates the influence of nanoparticles added to biodiesel blend on the engine performance and emission characteristics. The nanofuel is prepared by adding the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticle to biodiesel – diesel blend and compared with pure diesel and biodiesel –diesel blend. The effect of 25 ppm , 50 ppm , and 100 ppm  of aluminum oxide( Al2O3) nanoparticles with size 25 nm , added to biodiesel blend are experimentally investigated in a diesel engine type( FIAT),  four cylinder ,direct injection (DI), water cooled , and compression ratio 17 :1. with variable engine speed and load . The aluminum oxide was mixed with (BIO20%+DIESEL 80%)  B20 fuel blend by the aid of ultrasonicator technique.  The nanoparticles adding to B20 improved and increased the physical  properties of nanofeul  such as cetane number , calorific value , density , flash and  fire point and viscosity. Improvement in engine performance is very clear with nanoparticles additives, the specific fuel consumption decreases by 15.5% for 25 ppm, 10.4% for 50 ppm and 6.13% for 100 ppm as compared with neat B20 at full load and all operation condition. The brake thermal efficiency increased by 20.8% for 25 ppm, 17.4 % for 50 ppm and 4% for 100 ppm as compared with neat B20 at full load and all operation condition. The exhaust temperature is reduced by 18.19 % for 25ppm , 17.15% for 50 ppm and 13.17% for 100 ppm .The emission results at all loads show a reduction of the (UHC)  , (NO X ) and (CO) emission by 15.6% , 16%  and 18.18% respectively for 25 ppm

Endothelial barrier dysfunction in diabetic conduit arteries: a novel method to quantify filtration

The endothelial barrier plays an important role in atherosclerosis, hyperglycemia, and hypercholesterolemia. In the present study, an accurate, reproducible, and user-friendly method was used to further understand endothelial barrier function of conduit arteries. An isovolumic method was used to measure the hydraulic conductivity (Lp) of the intact vessel wall and medial-adventitial layer. Normal arterial segments with diameters from 0.2 to 5.5 mm were used to validate the method, and femoral arteries of diabetic rats were studied as an example of pathological specimens. Various arterial segments confirmed that the volume flux of water per unit surface area was linearly related to intraluminal pressure, as confirmed in microvessels. Lp of the intact wall varied from 3.5 to 22.1 × 10−7 cm·s−1·cmH2O−1 over the pressure range of 7–180 mmHg. Over the same pressure range, Lp of the endothelial barrier changed from 4.4 to 25.1 × 10−7 cm·s−1·cmH2O−1. During perfusion with albumin-free solution, Lp of rat femoral arteries increased from 6.1 to 13.2 × 10−7 cm·s−1·cmH2O−1 over the pressure range of 10–180 mmHg. Hyperglycemia increased Lp of the femoral artery in diabetic rats from 2.9 to 5.5 × 10−7 cm·s−1·cmH2O−1 over the pressure range of 20–135 mmHg. In conclusion, the Lp of a conduit artery can be accurately and reproducibly measured using a novel isovolumic method, which in diabetic rats is hyperpermeable. This is likely due to disruption of the endothelial glycocalyx

A rate-insensitive linear viscoelastic model for soft tissues

It is well known that many biological soft tissues behave as viscoelastic materials with hysteresis curves being nearly independent of strain rate when loading frequency is varied over a large range. In this work, the rate-insensitive feature of biological materials is taken into account by a generalized Maxwell model. To minimize the number of model parameters, it is assumed that the characteristic frequencies of Maxwell elements form a geometric series. As a result, the model is characterized by five material constants: micro(0), tau, m, rho and beta, where micro(0) is the relaxed elastic modulus, tau the characteristic relaxation time, m the number of Maxwell elements, rho the gap between characteristic frequencies, and beta=micro(1)/micro(0) with micro(1) being the elastic modulus of the Maxwell body that has relaxation time tau. The physical basis of the model is motivated by the microstructural architecture of typical soft tissues. The novel model shows excellent fit of relaxation data on the canine aorta and captures the salient features of vascular viscoelasticity with significantly fewer model parameters

Influence of Peri-duodenal Non-constrictive Cuff on the Body Weight of Rats

Background Weight loss has been found to improve or re- solve cardiovascular comorbidities. There is a significant need for reversible device approaches to weight loss. Methods Non-constrictive cuff (NCC) is made of implantable silicone rubber with an internal diameter greater than the duodenum. Ten or 11 NCC were individually mounted along the duodenum from the pyloric sphincter toward the distal duodenum to cover ~22 mm in the length. Twelve Wistar rats were implanted with NCC, and six served as sham, and both groups were observed over 4 months. Six rats with implant had their NCC removed and were observed for additional 4weeks. Results The food intake decreased from 40.1 to 28.1 g/day after 4 months of NCC implant. The body weight gain decreased from 1.76 to 0.46 g/day after 4 months of NCC implant. The fasting glucose decreased from 87.7 to 75.3 mg/ dl at terminal day. The duodenal muscle layer covered by the NCC increased from 0.133 to 0.334 mm. After 4 weeks of NCC removal, the food intake, body weight gain, and fasting glucose recovered to 36.2, 2.51 g/day, and 83.9 mg/dl. The duodenal muscle layer covered by the NCC decreased to 0.217 mm. Conclusion The NCC implant placed on the proximal duode- num is safe in rats for a 4-month period. The efficacy of the NCC implant is significant for decrease in food intake, body weight gain, and fasting glucose in a normal rat model. The removal of NCC implant confirmed a cause-effect relation with food intake and hence body weight