Pakistan has a great variety of natural and manmade wetlands, and 19 Ramsar Sites are designated as internationally important wetlands, with a unique variety of aquatic and bird biodiversity. In the present study, a baseline study was conducted for the evaluation of estrogenic activities in the waters of three Ramsar Sites and one Creek areas. Among the selected study points of Indus Dolphin Wetland (study point1), Indus Dolphin (study point 2), Kinjhar Wetland (study point1), Kinjhar Wetland (study point 2), Haleji Wetland (study point 1), Haleji Wetland (study point 2), Creek areas (study point1) and Creek area (study point 2). During the study, selected points were surveyed two times i.e. in summer and winter, and water samples were collected in the 2nd week of November 2006 and 3rd week of May 2007. In-Vitro Yeast Estrogenic Screen (YES) assays techniques were used to evaluate the estrogenic activities in the water samples. Estrogenic activity recorded in the November 2006 samples of the Indus Dolphin Wetland (study point 1) was 9.31 ng/L estradiol equivalents and of the Kinjhar (study Point1) was 2.77 ng/L estradiol equivalents. In the samples collected in May 2007, the estrogenic activity found in the Indus Dolphin Wetland (study point1) was 3.14 ng/L estradiol equivalents, in the Indus Dolphin (study point 2) was 4.54 ng/L estradiol equivalents, in the Haleji Wetland (study pont1) was 1.4 ng/L estradiol equivalents, while in the Creek areas (study point1) was 7.89 ng/L estradiol equivalents and in the Creek areas (study point 2) was 2.93 ng/L estradiol equivalents. Results of this baseline study have indicated that the wetlands under study are more polluted in summer than in winter.

Globally Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the relationship between the socio-demographic factors and clinicopathological characteristics, with the known predictors of aggressive biological behaviour of breast cancer women in Pahang, Malaysia.The biomarkers included in this study were estrogen receptor (ER), cyclin E, p27 and nm23. Routine formalin-fixed, paraffin sections of tumor samples were used and immunohistochemically stained with antibodies against ER, cyclin E, p27 and nm23 in 93 cases of breast carcinoma in women attending at Breast clinic in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Pahang, Malaysia during January, 1996-December, 2000. All markers studied were more common in the older age group >45 years and were roughly equally distributed among the Malays and Chinese with the exception of cyclin E which is more commonly expressed among the Malays (54.5% versus 43.9%). Breast carcinoma was found to be more common in patients over age 45 years. Most patients were diagnosed at a relatively early stage and were ER positive. ER positivity was more common in the older age, in tumors < 2cm in diameter, in early stages and in tumors with low histological grade. ER positivity was found more in patients who were alive for more than 25 months after their initial diagnosis. The cancer patients survival was significantly associated with ER (p=0.034) and nm23 (p=0.011), ER and tumor stage (p=0.031). Cyclin E expression appeared to influence the recurrence rate of primary tumor which may be a reflection of the secondary effect of treatment modality. Both markers p27 and nm23 were significantly associated with ER (p<0.001). The prognostic value of individual biological factors could be more effective in combination as opposed to single factors.

The dried rhizomes of Astilbe rivularis Buch-Ham ex D.Don have been traditionally used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, headache and infertility from the ancient period in India. The physiological mechanisms of action, especially anti-inflammatory effect of this plant extract are not yet well understood. In this study, we examined the free radical scavenging effect and anti-lipid peroxidation in successively extracted, purified solvent fractions. The fractions execute significant free radical scavenging potentiality on DPPH (95.23%) at dose of 100 ?g/ml, superoxide scavenging activity (80.40%) and anti-lipid peroxidation (45.83%) at the same doses, which are comparable with reference standard. We also investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of this plant extract on rat. The oral application at the dose of 100 mg and 200 mg/kg body weight of this plant extract promoted healing action (56.20 % inhibition at the dose of 200 mg/kg after 24 hrs) on carrageenan induced rat paw inflammation; which is also comparable with standard of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (Ibuprofen) 20 mg/kg body weight (48.18% inhibition after 24 hours). The observations from these studies suggest the ethno medicinal use of Astilbe rivularis which could be commercially exploited by the pharmaceutical industry.

Cytokinin content in roots of peach trees (Prunus persica Batsch cv. Hikawahakuho) as affected by phloemic stress (bark ring) was studied. The treatments were applied to the trunk as control (no ringing), partial ringing [(represented by phloemic stress) PR] and complete ringing (CR). Phloem ring was made by peeling out 2 cm length of bark (phloem) from the trunk leaving a connecting 2 mm thickness of phloem strip (a bridge) while complete ringing (CR) left no phloem strip. Trunk diameter was higher in PR and CR treated trees than in un-ringed trees. Trunk diameter was higher above the ring than in below the ring both in PR and CR treated trees. However, it was higher in above the ring in case of PR and CR treated trees than in lower the ring both in PR and CR treated trees. The cytokinin content represented by callus weight was higher in control trees than in PR and CR treated trees. The results showed that cytokinin content decreased in roots of PR and CR treated trees. The results also indicated that growth promoting hormone (cytokinin) in peach roots affected overall plant nutrition and growth inhibiting hormon that led small sized peach trees.

Hydrodistillation of the flowers of Tipuana tipu yielded 0.5% v/w of oil. Eighteen components were identified by GC/MS analysis and Perhydro-farnesyl (32.17%) was the major constituent. Qualitative a and quantitative analysis of fatty acids and unsaponifiable matter using GC/MS revealed the presence of fifteen fatty acids in leaves and fourteen in pods. Decosane was the major identified hydrocarbon representing (17.6%) in leaves and (12.72%) in pods. .The leaf extract and volatile oil of flowers showed a broad spectrum antimicrobial effect, while pods extract showed obvious activity on Escherichia coli (gram –ve bacterium) and yeast. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the methanolic and chloroformic extracts of leaves and pods were ranged from 0.2-0.6 mg/ml while volatile oil of flowers was 0.05. Leaf extract was found to be stable at 37ºC for 25 h and the remaining activity was 72% to 86%. The activity against all tested microorganisms was completely lost after incubation at 50ºC for 15 h. Storage at room temperature (25ºC) for three months in air tight glass bottle retains the activity. The exposure of the isolated fractions to different pH (2 to 12) for 15 min incubation period showed that fractions retain about 52% to 74% of the activity at pH 2 and 45% to 65% at pH 8 and a complete loss in activity was observed at pH 12. The methanolic extract showed an obvious cytotoxic activity against breast and colon carcinoma cell lines, while the chloroformic extract showed cytotoxic activity against breast and cervix carcinoma cell lines. The volatile oil showed significant cytotoxic activity against the three examined cell lines.

Growth and percent survival in the cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum severely inhibited, when challenged with salinity (NaCl) and osmotic (sucrose) stresses. The spontaneously occurring NaCl-R and sucrose-R (Su-R) mutant clones were examined with regards to their cross-resistant relationships. The NaCl-R mutant when challenged with salinity and osmotic stresses simultaneously showing cross-resistance with the sucrose stress. In contrast, the Su-R mutant showing resistant only to osmotic stress and was salinity sensitive. The physiological response towards osmotic stress in both the mutant clones was the over-production of proline. The ionic component of the salinity stress in the NaCl-R mutant was overcome by the Na+-efflux. The Su-R mutant clones missing Na+ efflux mechanism, consequently, they became salt sensitive. These findings highlight that the organic osmolyte strategy in N. muscorum assured osmotic resistance.

In this paper, calculations of the phase velocity Vph of the dispersive nine-partial Rayleigh type waves (RTW9) were introduced in dependence on the kh (k is the wavenumber, and h is the layer thickness). The layered systems, consisting of a layer of Bi12SiO20 on a substrate of Bi12GeO20, and the reverse configurations were investigated. The calculated dispersion curves of the RTW9 lowest-order modes with both metallized and free surfaces have shown the existence of the non-dispersive nine-partial Zakharenko type waves (ZTW9) polarized like the Rayleigh waves. The non-dispersive ZTW9-waves split the RTW9 lowest-order modes into sub-modes with different dispersions, Vph > Vg and Vph < Vg, where Vg is the group velocity. The RTW9 phase velocity Vph is confined within a narrow Vph-range that can be convenient for some technical devices. Also, cubic crystals with strong piezoelectric effect can be used for different cubic-structure magnetoelectric devices. It was found that the coefficient of electromechanical coupling (CEMC) K2 for the RTW9 first type has its maximum value at kh ~ 5 for the structure Bi12SiO20/Bi12GeO20. The second type of RTW9- waves was also studied, which can propagate only in the structure Bi12SiO20/Bi12GeO20, because there is the condition Vt(Bi12GeO20) > Vt(Bi12SiO20) for the speed Vt of the bulk transverse wave, Vt = [(C55/?)(1 + K0 2)]1/2 with 55 11 2 15 2 0 K = e /C ? . It was also discussed the existence possibility of new supersonic surface waves with the in-plane polarization and Vph ~ Vl, where Vl represents the speed of the bulk longitudinal wave. Also, a calculation method with short computer program is described introducing the transverse and longitudinal dynamic CEMCs KDt and KDl. For comparison with [110] direction, the 200-x2-rotated direction was also studied concerning propagation of the first and second types of pure RTW9-waves. Here, the existence of RTW9 second type depends on the velocity equivalents of the layer and substrate, but not on the corresponding velocities Vt, and solutions for the Vph > Vt were also found.

In this study, a TCP server load balancer (SLB) programmed in Java is proposed as an affordable alternative to commercial or open source server load balancers for small companies by having all basic server load balancer features in order to maximize the usage of small companies financial, human and hardware resources. The features include load balancing algorithms namely Round Robin, Random, Least Connection and Hash IP Address. The Java TCP Server Load Balancer employs Rules which consist of the service, Virtual IP Address model, load balancing algorithm, and keep-alive. The Java TCP Server Load Balancer features are real server Health Checking and Graphical User Interface (GUI) for ease of configuration and administration. Subsequently the algorithms included in the balancer are studied and analyzed to compare their performance in the Linux Operating System environment with network traffic on different applications in order to find the most optimal use of the load balancing algorithms in the Java TCP Server Load Balancer. Analysis and comparison of the load balancing algorithms are conducted in experiments involving a number of test cases with clients, the Java Server Load Balancer, and real servers hosting HTTP and FTP applications. The most important conclusion from the experiments is that the performance of the two services tested namely HTTP and FTP is not actually directly influenced by the load balancing algorithm.

In this paper, the main paradoxes are interpreted in such a way that they lead to the equivalence of a sentence and its negative s ????sc. In classical logic, paradoxes define sentences that contradict themselves. These sentences support strategies for proving theorems. In fuzzy logic, paradoxes lie at the center of hyper-cubes. It can then be established that changing the framework eliminates paradoxes. Paradoxes therefore show us how to change the “teaching process” framework so as to transcend the obstacles they bring about to teaching and learning. • The meaning of “nearby”1 is examined in two research frameworks. • A criterion for evaluating the “teaching process” is developed through a classification of mental activity by means of the measurement of the “fuzzy entropy” determining the internalization of concepts in every context. Finally, the contextual approach to mathematical certainties is accepted.

A key concept in the restructuring of the electric power industry is the ability to accurately and rapidly quantify the capabilities of the transmission system. Available transfer capability (ATC) calculation is a complicated task, which involves the determination of Total transfer capability (TTC) and its two margins -- Capacity Benefit Margin (CBM) and Transmission Reliability Margin (TRM). Transmission transfer capability is limited by a number of different mechanisms including thermal, voltage and stability constraints. ATC is a limit to the amount of power that can be exchanged between two buses or areas. The calculation of ATC has traditionally been a deterministic calculation. However, loads and line status are stochastic phenomena that possess uncertainties. Load flow is an essential tool in the assessment of ATC. Once the TTC is computed under one set of operating conditions or assumptions, it is useful to determine the effect of the uncertainties in the input parameters, namely load and line parameters. This paper presents the impact of these uncertainties on the transfer capability and its expected price. This would be particularly helpful in determining the appropriate reliability margin and the respective ATC. The proposed method has been tested on IEEE 14 bus test system and the results are presented. Further the results are compared with their respective deterministic values.

An integrated optimal policy for the vendor and the buyer is studied when units in inventory are subject to deterioration at different rates and demand is quadratic. It is shown numerically that the integrated approach reduces the total joint cost significantly when compared with the independent decision of both the players. To encourage the buyer to place order of larger size, a permissible trade credit is offered by the vendor to the buyer to settle the account. A negotiation factor is incorporated to share the benefits of cost savings.

The aim of this paper is to study some special sequences of positive even integers that can be expressed as a sum of two primes; one of the primes being common. These special sequences of positive integers are generated by an algorithm. The algorithm, when supplied with a ‘suitable’ even integer n, and a prime p such thatp Full text  PDF

The release of substances in living tissues for therapeutic purposes is becoming quite important in medicine. Therefore the development of appropriate pharmacokinetic models for the numerical simulation of these release processes is important to increase the understanding. One of the main problems of the release processes from stents arises due to the different geometric changes caused by stenting in carotid arteries. To describe the drug release of stents to the wall of artery, a model is presented in this paper using appropriate transient flux boundary condition at the interface of arterial wall and fluid dynamical approach for the blood flow and arterial wall. This numerical simulation can provide a convenient way to study the effects of geometrical changes on the drug release of stents. The results are explained with appropriate plots presented at the end of the paper in order to illustrate the applicability of the present model under study.

In this study, the effects of engine speed on the injection timing and engine performance of 4-cylinder direct injection (DI) hydrogen fueled engine were investigated. The 4-cylinder direct injection hydrogen engine model was developed utilizing the GT-Power commercial software. This model was employed one dimensional gas dynamics to represent the flow and heat transfer in the components of engine model. Sequential pulse injectors was adopted to the inject hydrogen gas fuel within the compression stroke. Injection timing was varied from 1100 before top dead center (BTDC) until 00 top dead center (TDC) timing. Engine speed was varied from 2000 rpm to 6000 rpm. The validation was performed with the existing previous experimental results. The negative effects of the interaction between ignition timing and injection duration was highlighted and clarified. The acquired results show that the engine speeds are strongly influence on the injection timing and engine performance. It can be seen that the indicated efficiency increases with decreases of engine speed; power increases with the decreases of engine speed; indicated specific fuel consumption (ISFC) increases with increases of engine speed. The injection timing of 600 BTDC was the overall optimum injection timing with a compromise.

A dimensionless analysis of isobaric diffusion process has been conducted on both membrane sides to see the influence of volumetric flow rate and temperature on mass transfer. This analysis is based on the reduced form of dusty gas model appropriate for the evaluation of isobaric diffusion process in membrane reactors. The component mass balances in the two gas compartments are calculated by ignoring axial dispersion in terms of Bodenstein’s number. Influence of volumetric flow rate and temperature on mass transfer in membrane reactors is evaluated in this work. Results are presented in form of dimensionless quantities solved by subsequent transformations.

At Agartala (Lat 23° N, Long 91° 24´ E), North-Eastern part of India, continuous monitoring of VLF/LF sferics and subionospheric transmitted signals are being continued since 1975. From the recording of one such subionospheric signal at 40 kHz from Japan (Lat 36° 11´ N, Long 139° 51´ E), some observed typical variations in the transmitted signal amplitude during solar flares and meteor showers will be presented in this paper.

In the present study, Fumed silica powders were presented as a new effective Drag Reducing Agent. The effects of using various concentrations of fiber and flow rate on increasing the flow in pipelines were investigated in a fully developed turbulent flow. The effects of pipe length to pipe diameter (L/D) on drag reduction were also investigated. A built experimental rig with different diameters of PVC pipes was used in order to investigate the performance of fumed silica fiber as drag reducing agent. The experimental results showed that the fume silica have a great ability to act as a good drag reducing agent in aqueous media. The addition of 600 ppm of the fumed silica to the main flow was enough to reach a maximum reading of the percentage drag reduction up to 40 % this maximum percentage was achieved in 59 L/D at Re equal to 22470. The drag reduction decreases as the Re exceeds 22470. These experimental results show that the fumed silica powder performed as a good DRA.

The work presented in this paper describes hybrid approaches that employ principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) methods for microarray classification. The paper first describes a hybrid approach that incorporates PCA and Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FDA) for microarray classification. This hybrid approach effectively solves the singular scatter matrix problem caused by small training samples. To increase the effective dimension of the projected subspace the use of MDA instead of FDA is explored. The performance of the system is evaluated by projecting data to several subspaces incrementally. The resulting incremental hybrid system improves the accuracy of classification. The paper discusses a comprehensive evaluation of the hybrid systems. The hybrid systems were tested on a dataset of 62 samples (40 colon tumor and 22 normal colon tissues). The results show that the use of incremental hybrid system increased the accuracy of classification of microarray data which will lead to better diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.