Comparison Between Three Types of Cable Stayed Bridges Using Structural Optimization

Cable stayed bridges have good stability, optimum use of structural materials, aesthetic, relatively low design and maintenance costs, and efficient structural characteristics. Therefore, this type of bridges are becoming more and more popular and are usually preferred for long span crossings compared to suspension bridges. A cable-stayed bridge consists of one or more towers with cables supporting the bridge deck. In terms of cable arrangements, the most common type of cable stayed bridges are fan, harp, and semi fan bridges. Because of their large size and nonlinear structural behaviour, the analysis of these types of bridges is more complicated than conventional bridges. In these bridges, the cables are the main source of nonlinearity. Obtaining the optimum distribution of post-tensioning cable forces is an important task and plays a major role in optimizing the design of cable stayed bridges. An optimum design of a cable-stayed bridge with minimum cost while achieving strength and serviceability requirements is a challenging task. In this thesis, an advanced and comprehensive numerical model is used to obtain the post-tensioning forces and the optimum design of the three types of cable-stayed bridge. The numerical method is based on finite element, B-spline curves, and real coded genetic algorithm. The optimization accounts for all the variables that define the geometry and cross-section of the bridge. Comparison between the three types, in terms of post-tensioning forces and cost, is carried out in this thesis

Low Complexity Adaptive Transmission Scheme for Cooperative Networks with Decode-and-Forward Relay

In this paper, we consider adaptive quadratic amplitude modulation (QAM) for a cooperative network consists of a source, one decode-and-forward (DF) relay and a destination which are single antenna systems. For increasing the spectral efficiency of the system, we use adaptive modulation method for data transmission. We propose a new adaptive modulation scheme which has less complexity than available schemes. Then, we analyze average spectral efficiency (ASE), average bit error performance (ABEP) and outage probability of the proposed scheme. Computer simulation results corroborate our theoretical relations; furthermore, it shows that our proposed scheme has the same performance as maximum spectral efficiency scheme (MSES) with much lower complexity and has better performance than some other schemes

Productivity, Capital Mobilization and Moral Hazard in Fisheries Share Contracts: Lake Nasser, Egypt

As part of an international research project on reservoir fisheries productivity in developing countries, this paper examines contractual relations in the Lake Nasser fishery, seeking to understand why so many seemingly redundant contract types coexist and what effect they have on productivity. Based on the results of a socio-economic survey conducted in the fishery and drawing on the literature on agricultural sharecropping and share remuneration systems in fisheries, the paper analyses the roles of the different contracts observed in the Lake Nasser fishery. In particular, it discusses the incentives, limitations, and opportunities that these contracts offer to the different groups of actors (gear owners, license owners, crew members), and shows how these arrangements influence and shape the fishing strategies, capital mobilisation, and ultimately labour productivity of those different groups. While the debate on share contracts generally seeks to assess their efficiency relative to other types of contracts, this paper argues that the relevant question is not how efficient the contracts are, but what functions are served by the various co-existing contracts, and why different actors may choose each type. While the standard explanations of risk management and the impossibility of close supervision seem to provide some insight into this, it is also clear that the actors in the fishery use these contracts to mobilise capital and combine productive resources with other actors. This interlinking is a key function of the contracts, and the diversity of resource endowments and needs of the different actors helps explain the diversity of contract types

Study of microRNAs-21/221 as potential breast cancer biomarkers in Egyptian women

microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in cancer prognosis. They are small molecules, approximately 17–25 nucleotides in length, and their high stability in human serum supports their use as novel diagnostic biomarkers of cancer and other pathological conditions. In this study, we analyzed the expression patterns of miR-21 and miR-221 in the serum from a total of 100 Egyptian female subjects with breast cancer, fibroadenoma, and healthy control subjects. Using microarray-based expression profiling followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction validation, we compared the levels of the two circulating miRNAs in the serum of patients with breast cancer (n = 50), fibroadenoma (n = 25), and healthy controls (n = 25). The miRNA SNORD68 was chosen as the housekeeping endogenous control. We found that the serum levels of miR-21 and miR-221 were significantly overexpressed in breast cancer patients compared to normal controls and fibroadenoma patients. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that miR-21 has greater potential in discriminating between breast cancer patients and the control group, while miR-221 has greater potential in discriminating between breast cancer and fibroadenoma patients. Classification models using k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), and Random Forests (RF) were developed using expression levels of both miR-21 and miR-221. Best classification performance was achieved by NB Classification models, reaching 91% of correct classification. Furthermore, relative miR-221 expression was associated with histological tumor grades. Therefore, it may be concluded that both miR-21 and miR-221 can be used to differentiate between breast cancer patients and healthy controls, but that the diagnostic accuracy of serum miR-21 is superior to miR-221 for breast cancer prediction. miR-221 has more diagnostic power in discriminating between breast cancer and fibroadenoma patients. The overexpression of miR-221 has been associated with the breast cancer grade. We also demonstrated that the combined expression of miR-21 and miR-221can be successfully applied as breast cancer biomarkers

Bioremediation Potential of Chlorella vulgaris and Nostoc paludosum on azo Dyes with Analysis of Metabolite Changes

               استخدمت الطحالب المجهرية على نطاق واسع في عملية المعالجة البيولوجية لتحلل أو تكثيف الأصباغ السامة. شملت الدراسه الحاليه تقييم كفاءة كلا من  طحلب  C. vulgaris و N. paluodosum فى إزالة اللون الخاص باثنين من الأصباغ السامة ; هما صبغه الكريستال البنفسجي (CV) و الملكيت الأخضر (MG) علاوة على ذلك  فقد تم تحديد ملامح التمثيل الغذائي للنوعين. أيضا متابعة تأثيرالأصباغ على النمط الأيضي للطحالب التي تمت دراستها. أظهرت البيانات أن طحلب C. vulgaris كان أكثر فاعلية في إزالة تلوين MG و CV ، وكانت أعلى نسبة إزالة للون هى 93.55 ٪ في حالة MG ، بينما سجلت نسبة 62.98 ٪ لإزالة لونCV . اما فى حالة طحلب N. paluodosum كانت النسبة المئوية لإزالة لون MG هى 77.6 ٪ ، ونسبة إزالة اللون من CV كانت 35.1 ٪. تم عمل النمط الأيضي للطحلبين باستخدام التحليل الطيفي للرنين المغناطيسي النووي (NMR) استنادًا إلى بيانات 1 D و 2D   وتم تحديد 43 مركبًا في مستخلص طحلب C. vulgaris ، بينما تم تحديد 34 مركبا فى حالة طحلب N. paluodosum وشملت المركبات التي تم تحديدها الكربوهيدرات والأحماض الأمينية والأحماض العضوية و البيبتيدات الثنائية والفينولات. تم إجراء تحليلات إحصائية للتعرف على نمط تباين الأيض  بين عينات مجموعه السيطره والطحالب المعالجة بالأصباغ. وقد أوضح تحليل المكون الرئيسى والتحليل العنقودي الهرمي أن العينات التي تمت معاملتها باستخدام  MG منفصلة بوضوح عن عينة السيطره في كلا النوعين من الطحالب. بناءً على بيانات خريطة الحرارة يتأثر مستوى تركيز الكربوهيدرات والأحماض الأمينية بشدة بالمعالجة الحيوية لصبغ MG مقارنة بصبغة CV..               Microalgae have been used widely in bioremediation processes to degrade or adsorb toxic dyes. Here, we evaluated the decolorization efficiency of Chlorella vulgaris and Nostoc paludosum against two toxic dyes, crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG). Furthermore, the effect of CV and MG dyes on the metabolic profiling of the studied algae has been investigated. The data showed that C. vulgaris was most efficient in decolorization of CV and MG: the highest percentage of decolorization was 93.55% in case of MG, while CV decolorization percentage was 62.98%. N. paludosum decolorized MG dye by 77.6%, and the decolorization percentage of CV was 35.1%. Metabolic profiling of C. vulgaris and N. paludosum were performed using NMR spectroscopy. Based on 1D and 2D NMR data, 43 compounds were identified in the polar extract of C. vulgaris, while 34 polar metabolites were successfully determined in N. paludosum. The identified compounds included carbohydrates, amino acids, organic acids, dipeptides, steroids and phenols. Statistical analysis was carried out to recognize the pattern of metabolite variation between control and dye treated samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis showed that samples treated with MG are clearly separated from the control in both types of algae. Based on heat map data, the level of carbohydrates and amino acids concentrations are strongly affected by bioremediation of MG dye compared with CV dye. In conclusion, the present study proved that CV and MG dyes are considered as stress factors and the studied algae species exert their bioremediation activity without the dyes being absorbed into the cells