Statistical Model for Predicting Slump and Strength of Concrete Containing Date Seeds

Incorporating agro-based waste in concrete can reduce environmental pollution and lead to preserving the ecosystem. In order to reduce trial and error in achieving desired slump and compressive strength of concrete containing Date Seed (DS), this paper examines the slump and compressive strength of concrete using date seeds as a partial replacement for crushed granite. Preliminary tests were conducted on the aggregates to ascertain their suitability for concrete production. Concrete with DS-crushed granite ratios of 0:100, 5:95, 10:90, 15:85, and 20:80 were prepared using a mix ratio of 1:2:4 and a water-cement ratio of 0.5. Slump loss was used to estimate the workability of the fresh concrete. The freshly prepared concrete was cast in 150 x 150 x 150 mm and the compressive strength was determined after curing by full immersion in water for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Results showed that the slump of concrete increased with an increase in the content of date seed. The compressive strength was inversely proportional to the date seed content with a DScrushed granite ratio of 20:80 recording the lowest compressive strength (20N/mm2 ). Linear regression models for slump and compressive strength were developed and found to be sufficient in explaining the experimental data based on a Mean Square Error (MSE) of 0.37 and 0.029 and R2 of 88% and 99% obtained for slump and compressive strength respectively. The study has concluded that DS can be used as a partial replacement for crushed granite in concrete and a linear model is sufficient in predicting the slump and strength of concrete containing date seed

Study of the Monthly and Annual Behavior of Temperature and its Impact on Climate Change in Iraq for the Period (1982-2012)

Temperature in Iraq is an important meteorological factors because of its great impact on the daily life of human in terms of health, work and others. This research aims at identifying and studying the climate change in the study stations and during the specific period of time and its future impact on the climate of Iraq. This study analyzes the behavior of monthly and annual temperature data obtained from the (ECMWF) for selected stations from Iraq (Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah), which represent (Northern, Middle and Southern) Iraq, respectively, for the period of one and thirty years (1982-2012) and found the relationship between the temperature with period of study from 1982 to 2012 using some statistical methods (SLR and Rsqr), The lowest monthly average of temperature was in DEC and the highest monthly average of temperature was in JUL in all stations of the study, and found that the lowest annual average of temperature was in 1992 and the highest annual average of temperature in 2010 and for all stations, and found that there is a change climate in the month of MAY of Spring and the month of SEP of the autumn with the summer months (JUN, JUL and AUG), and found that there is a clear increase in the annual average temperature during the study period, where the Rsqr for Mosul station was (R2=0.4), Baghdad station was (R2=0.5) and Basrah station was (R2=0.4), with the possibility of dividing study stations (Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah) into three regions climate in terms of total annual average of temperature (low, high, and very high) respectively, and Predictability of future drought in Iraq

Poisson-to-Wigner crossover transition in the nearest-neighbor spacing statistics of random points on fractals

We show that the nearest-neighbor spacing distribution for a model that consists of random points uniformly distributed on a self-similar fractal is the Brody distribution of random matrix theory. In the usual context of Hamiltonian systems, the Brody parameter does not have a definite physical meaning, but in the model considered here, the Brody parameter is actually the fractal dimension. Exploiting this result, we introduce a new model for a crossover transition between Poisson and Wigner statistics: random points on a continuous family of self-similar curves with fractal dimension between 1 and 2. The implications to quantum chaos are discussed, and a connection to conservative classical chaos is introduced.Comment: Low-resolution figure is included here. Full resolution image available (upon request) from the author

Minimally Invasive Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Technologies in Hypothesis-Testing Clinical Trials of Innovative Therapies

Clinical trials of new cancer drugs should ideally include measurements of parameters such as molecular target expression, pharmacokinetic (PK) behavior, and pharmacodynamic (PD) endpoints that can be linked to measures of clinical effect. Appropriate PK/PD biomarkers facilitate proof-of-concept demonstrations for target modulation; enhance the rational selection of an optimal drug dose and schedule; aid decision-making, such as whether to continue or close a drug development project; and may explain or predict clinical outcomes. In addition, measurement of PK/PD biomarkers can minimize uncertainty associated with predicting drug safety and efficacy, reduce the high levels of drug attrition during development, accelerate drug approval, and decrease the overall costs of drug development. However, there are many challenges in the development and implementation of biomarkers that probably explain their disappointingly low implementation in phase I trials. The Pharmacodynamic/Pharmacokinetic Technologies Advisory committee of Cancer Research UK has found that submissions for phase I trials of new cancer drugs in the United Kingdom often lack detailed information about PK and/or PD endpoints, which leads to suboptimal information being obtained in those trials or to delays in starting the trials while PK/PD methods are developed and validated. Minimally invasive PK/PD technologies have logistic and ethical advantages over more invasive technologies. Here we review these technologies, emphasizing magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography, which provide detailed functional and metabolic information. Assays that measure effects of drugs on important biologic pathways and processes are likely to be more cost-effective than those that measure specific molecular targets. Development, validation, and implementation of minimally invasive PK/PD methods are encourage

Kajian Efisiensi Pemanfaatan Kayu Merbau dan Relokasi Industri Pengolahannya Bagian 1: Propinsi Papua sebagai Penghasil Kayu Merbau dan Tujuan Relokasi

Kayu Merbau (Intsia spp.) pernah menjadi isu penting karena Pemerintah Propinsi Papua meminta dispensasi dari Pemerintah Pusat untuk mengekspor log kayu tersebut. Argumentasi yang dikemukakan adalah kekerasan kayu tersebut, sehingga tidak bisa diolah di dalam negeri. Apabila tidak diekspor berarti sumberdaya alam yang dimiliki Propinsi Papua tidak dimanfaatkan secara optimal untuk pembangunan daerah. Sementara itu, Inpres No. 7 tahun 2002 menawarkan paket relokasi industri dari wilayah Jawa Timur ke Papua. Untuk mengevaluasi kondisi obyektif pemanfaatan kayu merbau dan urgensi relokasi industrinya, dilakukan kajian ilmiah komprehensif yang meliputi potensi bahan baku, alokasi penggunaan, tenaga kerja dan peraturan yang terkait dengan pemanfaatan kayu merbau. Tulisan ini dibagi menjadi dua bagian. Bagian pertama, kajian difokuskan terhadap wilayah Papua sebagai sumber bahan baku dan tempat tujuan relokasi industri pengolahan kayu merbau, mencakup pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi dan wawancara dengan instansi terkait di wilayah Jakarta, Banten dan Papua. Bagian kedua akan disajikan pada tulisan terpisah, yang akan mengkaji industri kayu merbau di Jawa Timur dan sekitarnya yang akan direlokasi. Hasil observasi di Papua diketahui bahwa potensi kayu merbau yang dapat dimanfaatkan masih cukup 3besar , yaitu 2,662 juta m/tahun. Untuk menunjang pengelolaan hutan lestari, perlu dilakukan perhitungan ulang atas potensi kayu. Di Papua terdapat 9 industri besar yang mengolah kayu merbau dan 66 unit industri kecil/menengah yang mengalami kekurangan bahan baku kayu merbau. Sebagian besar industri mengolah kayu merbau menjadi kayu gergajian, S2S dan S4S. Banyak kilang penggergajian kecil di areal hutan menggergaji kayu bulat merbau menjadi balok kasar dengan menggunakan gergaji rantai. Evaluasi terhadap data dan informasi yang tersedia dapat disimpulkan bahwa relokasi industri bukan merupakan alternatif yang tepat. Pembinaan yang lebih tepat adalah peningkatan kemampuan teknis industri dan pemasaran kayu merbau di Papua, sehingga mampu memproduksi barang jadi (finished products) dan langsung dapat memasarkannya

The Intrinsic Glue Distribution at Very Small x

We compute the distribution functions for gluons at very small x and not too large values of transverse momenta. We extend the McLerran-Venugopalan model by using renormalization group methods to integrate out effects due to those gluons which generate an effective classical charge density for Weizs\"acker-Williams fields. We argue that this model can be extended from the description of nuclei at small x to the description of hadrons at yet smaller values of x. This generates a Lipatov like enhancement for the intrinsic gluon distribution function and a non-trivial transverse momentum dependence as well. We estimate the transverse momentum dependence for the distribution functions, and show how the issue of unitarity is resolved in lepton-nucleus interactions.Comment: 31 pages, Latex2e, 5 postecript figure included, using epsf, latexsym, amssymb and fancyheading

Understanding Society Innovation Panel Wave 8: results from methodological experiments

This paper presents some preliminary findings from Wave 8 of the Innovation Panel (IP8) of Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study. Understanding Society is a major panel survey in the UK. May 2015, the eighth wave of the Innovation Panel went into the field. IP8 used a mixed-mode design, using on-line interviews and face-to-face interviews. This paper describes the design of IP8, the experiments carried and the preliminary findings from early analysis of the data

Synthesis of Selenium-Quinone Hybrid Compounds with Potential Antitumor Activity via Rh-Catalyzed C-H Bond Activation and Click Reactions

In continuation of our quest for new redox-modulating catalytic antitumor molecules, selenium-containing quinone-based 1,2,3-triazoles were synthesized using rhodium-catalyzed C-H bond activation and click reactions. All compounds were evaluated against five types of cancer cell lines: HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia cells), HCT-116 (human colon carcinoma cells), SF295 (human glioblastoma cells), NCIH-460 (human lung cells) and PC3 (human prostate cancer cells). Some compounds showed good activity with IC50 values below 1 µM. The cytotoxic potential of the naphthoquinoidal derivatives was also evaluated in non-tumor cells, exemplified by L929 cells. Overall, these compounds represent promising new lead derivatives and stand for a new class of chalcogenium-containing derivatives with potential antitumor activity