A new expert system for learning management systems evaluation based on neutrosophic sets

There has been a sudden increase in the usage of Learning Management Systems applications to support learner's learning process in higher education. Many studies in learning management system evaluation are implemented under complete information, while the real environment has uncertainty aspects. As these systems were described by development organizations with uncertainty terms such as vague, imprecise, ambiguity and inconsistent, that is why traditional evaluation methods may not be effective. This paper suggests neutrosophic logic as a better option to simulate human thinking than fuzzy logic because unlike fuzzy logic, it is able to handle indeterminacy of information which expresses the percentage of unknown parameters. As previous studies suggested neutrosophic decision maker and neutrosophic expert systems as future work in ecommerce and e‐learning applications, this paper presents neutrosphic expert system for learning management systems evaluation. Information for building and validating the neutrosophic expert system is collected from five experts using surveys, and then analysis is done by using Fuzzytech 5.54d software. Finally, the comparison between fuzzy expert system and neutrosophic expert system results show that the neutrosophic logic is capable of representing uncertainty in human thinking for evaluating Learning Management Systems.     

Solubilities of Carbon Dioxide in Polyethylene Glycol Ethers

New extensive data are reported for the solubility of carbon dioxide in fourteen physical solvents, and compared to two other solvents widely used in industry (selexol® and sulfolane). The solubility data are expressed by Henry's law constants and have been measured at 25 °C, 40 °C and 60 °C, using an Autoclave cell. The study concludes that polyethylene glycol dimethyl ethers, and mixtures of these solvents are the best solvents for CO₂ removal.     

Economical evaluation of electricity generation considering externalities

The economics of renewable energy are the largest barrier to renewable penetration. Nevertheless, the strong desire to reduce environmental emissions is considered a great support for renewable energy sources. In this paper, a full analysis for the cost of the kWh of electricity generated from different systems actually used in Egypt is presented. Also renewable energy systems are proposed and their costs are analyzed. The analysis considers the external cost of emissions from different generating systems. A proposed large scale PV plant of 3.3 MW, and a wind farm 11.25 MW grid connected at different sites are investigated. A life cycle cost analysis for each system was performed using the present value criterion. The comparison results showed that wind energy generation has the lowest cost, followed by a combined cycle–natural gas fired system. A photovoltaic system still uses comparatively expensive technology for electricity generation; even when external costs are considered the capital cost of photovoltaic needs to be reduced by about 60% in order to be economically competitive.     

VAE/MPM/GA Technique for DoA Estimation Using Optimized Antenna Arrays

Many algorithms have been proposed to estimate the direction of arrival for the targets, but through using a large number of snapshots. In real time applications such as automotive radar, this is unacceptable as it causes delay and heavy processing. Instead, if only a small number of snapshots or, optimally, a single snapshot is available for DoA estimation, it will be fast and efficient. Single snapshot algorithms have a drawback as they require a large number of antenna elements, which considered a limiting factor. In this paper, a single snapshot DoA estimation technique is introduced by using optimized antenna arrays. The proposed algorithm is based on utilization of virtual array extension, matrix pencil method, and the genetic algorithm. The use of virtual array extension greatly improves the MPM performance. Furthermore, it exhibits a high DoA estimation accuracy by using a reduced number of antenna elements. The genetic algorithm is employed to determine the minimum number of antenna elements, which are required to estimate the DoAs with minimal root mean square error.

     

A Low Temperature Route toward Hierarchically Structured Titania Films for Thin Hybrid Solar Cells

The requirement of high‐temperature calcination for titanium dioxide in (solid‐state) dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) implies challenges with respect to reduced energy consumption and the potential for flexible photovoltaic devices. Moreover, the use of dye molecules increases production costs and leads to problems related with dye bleaching. Therefore, fabrication of dye‐free hybrid solar cells at low temperature is a promising alternative for current DSSC technology. In this work the authors fabricate hierarchically structured titania thin films by combining a polystyrene‐block‐polyethylene oxide template assisted sol–gel synthesis with nano‐imprint lithography at low temperatures. The achieved films are filled with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) to form the active layer of hybrid solar cells. The surface morphology is probed via scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the bulk film morphology is examined with grazing incidence X‐ray scattering. Good light absorption by the active layer is proven by UV–vis spectroscopy. An enhancement in light absorption is observed and ascribed to light scattering in mesoporous titania films with imprinted superstructures. Accordingly a better photovoltaic performance is found for nano‐imprinted solar cells at various angles of light incidence.     

Use of irradiation to control foodborne pathogens and extend the refrigerated market life of rabbit meat

This study set out to evaluate the microbiological status of rabbit meat and the possibility of using irradiation to control foodborne pathogenic bacteria and extend the refrigerated storage life of meat. Rabbit meat samples were γ irradiated at doses of 0, 1.5 and 3 kGy. The samples were stored at refrigeration temperature, then the effects of irradiation and storage on their microbiological, chemical and sensory properties were studied. Irradiation at 1.5 kGy significantly reduced the counts of Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and enterobacteriaceae but was not enough for complete elimination of Salmonella. However, 3 kGy dose reduced the counts of S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, E. faecalis and enterobacteriaceae by more than 3, 3, 1.4 and 4 log units, respectively, while Salmonella was not detected. On the other hand, irradiation at 1.5 and 3 kGy significantly reduced the counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, psychrophilic bacteria and molds and yeasts and prolonged the refrigerated shelf-life of samples to 12 and 21 days, respectively, compared to 6 days for non-irradiated controls. Irradiation of samples significantly increased their amounts of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) but had no significant effects on their total volatile nitrogen (TVN) contents, while storage significantly increased the TBARS and TVN for irradiated and non-irradiated samples. γ irradiation showed no significant effects on the sensory properties of raw meat. Moreover, fried burgers prepared from irradiated rabbit meat showed high sensory acceptability similar to those prepared from non-irradiated meat.     

Comparative sequence analysis of spa gene of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis: characterization of an unusual spa gene variant

The protein A encoding gene spa of four Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine clinical mastitis was amplified by PCR and sequenced. The four strains were selected after an initial screening of spa gene of 41 strains isolated from mastitic cows and were subjected to detailed investigations. According to the sequencing results the spa gene of three strains (M1, M2, M3) appeared with gene segments encoding five (E, D, A, B and C) and four (E, A, B and C) IgG binding domains for two (M1, M3) and one (M2) strain, respectively and with gene segments encoding four, two and two repeats of the octapeptide Xr-repeats for the strains M1, M2 and M3, respectively. For the remaining Staph. aureus strain (M4) gene segments encoding IgG binding domains E, D and A and a new domain BC with a size of 219 bp could be observed. The BC domain appears, with a deletion of a 123 bp segment from the border region between both domains, as fused domain of both previously characterized domains. The Xr-region of this strain had 11 octapeptide repeats.     

Investigation of the volatile aroma components of garlic leaves essential oil. Possibility of utilization to enrich garlic bulb oil

The volatile aroma components of Egyptian green garlic leaves essential oil was investigated for the first time. After the utilization of garlic bulbs to prepare garlic oil or after drying the bulbs to produce garlic powder, garlic leaves are considered to be waste material, which is disposed of without any benefit. In this investigation, green garlic leaves were distilled and the essential oil was subjected to GC and GC-MS identification. The yield of the oil was 0.06% (based on wet weight of the leaves). The most prominent compounds of the essential oil were diallyl trisulfide (32.32%), followed by diallyl disulfide (31.35%) and methyl allyl trisulfide (11.40%); these compounds are the same as those found in garlic bulb oil. This means that garlic leaf oil is a rich, renewable and priceless source of garlic aroma compounds which could be utilized in fortification and enriching of garlic bulb essential oil to increase its quantity without changing the quality. Utilization of green garlic leaves for production of essential oil will also save, to some extent, the costs of disposing of large amounts of leaves in garlic possessing factories, transforming them into profits.     

Effectiveness of synthetic and potential natural antioxidants in improving the stability of sheep's anhydrous butter fat during long-term storage

Sheep's anhydrous butter fat as prepared by including separately heat grits, turmeric, rosemary, sage, rue and fennel at a level of 75 g dry matter kg^?1 butter. The product as stored at room temperature in clear glass jars for a period of one year. The storage stabilities of the anhydrous butter fat samples ere compared ith a control and ith a sample treated ith a 1:1 mixture of BHA and BHT at a level of 0.25 g kg^?1. Both storage time and type of treatment had highly significant effects (P?0.01) on the peroxide value and free fatty acid content of the product. None of the treatments succeeded in keeping the peroxide value belo 5 mEq O₂ kg^?1 beyond the fourth month of storage. The BHA-BHT mixture and rosemary helped extend the peroxide induction period to 10 and 6 months respectively. Turmeric and heat grits ere as effective as BHA-BHT in controlling the oxidative rancidity during the first four months of storage. The rest of the herbs exhibited a pro-oxidant effect throughout the study hen they ere used separately. In a second experiment, some cases of positive synergistic interactions ere observed beteen turmeric and heat grits on one hand and the herbs used in the study on the other. This pattern as not regular as negative interactions ere also observed in some other cases. Free fatty acid content of all the samples remained belo 10 g kg^?1 as oleic acid; hoever, fennel had a significant (P?0.05) effect on controlling the evolution of free fatty acids.     

Extending P2PMesh: topology‐aware schemes for efficient peer‐to‐peer data sharing in wireless mesh networks

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have emerged as a promising technology that provides low‐cost broadband access to the Internet for fixed and mobile wireless end users. An orthogonal evolution in computer networking has been the rise of peer‐to‐peer (P2P) applications such as P2P data sharing. It is of interest to enable effective P2P data sharing in this type of networks. Conventional P2P data sharing systems are not cognizant of the underlying network topology and therefore suffer from inefficiency. We argue for dual‐layer mesh network architecture with support from wireless mesh routers for P2P applications. The main contribution of this paper is P2PMesh: a topology‐aware system that provides combined architecture and efficient schemes for enabling efficient P2P data sharing in WMNs. The P2PMesh architecture utilizes three schemes: (i) an efficient content lookup that mitigates traffic load imbalance at mesh routers; (ii) an efficient establishment of download paths; and (iii) a data transfer protocol for multi‐hop wireless networks with limited capacity. We note here that the path establishment and data transfer schemes are specific to P2P traffic and that other traffic would use routes determined by the default routing protocol in the WMN. Simulation results suggest that P2PMesh has the potential to improve the performance of P2P applications in a wireless multi‐hop setting; specifically, we focused on data sharing, but other P2P applications can also be supported by this approach. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.