Abstract: Floods are common phenomenon in the state of Dungun, specifically in Terengganu-Malaysia. Every year, floods affecting biodiversity on this region and also causing property loss of this residential area. The residents in Dungun always suffered from floods since the water overflows to the areas adjoining to the rivers, lakes or dams. The rainfall and evaporation of the area have a large influence on the water level of Dungun River. Therefore, a suitable prediction model is needed to forecast the water level in Dungun River by adopting the ordinary linear regression (OLR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) based on hydrological data. However, we need to perform cleansing data of the hydrological data since the original data contain inconsistent data. Based on the experiment, it shows that PLSR is more suitable model rather than OLR and the use of the cleansing data gives higher accuracy than the original data.

Abstract: In order to fully utilize pig bones and increase their added value, according to the design principles of Box-Behnken central composite test, with 3 factors and 3 levels of response surface method (RSM), a quadratic polynomial regression methematics model of Protamax protease hydrolyzing bone powder to produce polypeptides solution was established, its optimal process conditions were at 15% substrate concentration, pH 7.5, 0.25 enzyme subtrate ratio (E/S), 55℃, 13 h enzymatic hydrolysis time. The polypeptides production rate (PPR) was 121.45 mg/g. Polypeptides powder were obtained by freeze-drying, which contained crude protein 98.91%, amino acid 12.18%, and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) soluble protein more than 95% of total protein. Besides, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), scavenging action to hydroxyl radial (. OH) and inhibition superoxide anion radicals capacity of polypeptides were also observed. Compared with glutathione (GSH), when the solution concentration range was from 100 mg/mL to 150 mg/mL, the TAC of bone collagen polypeptides was 71.92% of GSH; from 2.5 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL, its scavenging action to hydroxyl radical was 1.36 times as GSH; from 10 mg/mL to 150 mg/mL, its inhibition superoxide anion radical capacity was lower than GSH.

Abstract: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) ordinarily cause  anatomically and functionally.organ damage. Herbal therapy using Curcuma heyneana ethanolic extract is one of DM treatment. The object of the research in order to reveal effect of  C. heyneana  ethanolic extract on Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity and pancreatic beta cells repearing of DM rats. DM type 1 rats induced by 20 mg/kgBW streptozotocin (Multiple Low Dose) for 5 consecutive days use as animals model. C. heyneana ethanolic extract  given administrated to DM rats in varying doses of 36, 72, and 108 mg/kgBW for 7 consecutive days.  The result showed that C. heyneana ethanolic extract was able to increase SOD activity and repair the pancreatic beta cells damage on DM rats induced by MLD-STZ.  72 mg/kgBW ethanolic extract of C. heyneana is the optimal dose for therapy DM rats.

Abstract: In this paper, the concept of the competitiveness is tried to be disclosed by defining national competitiveness and measurement methods of competitiveness. However, there are large number of methods measuring competitiveness, the most leading and attractive ones are WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report, IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook, and IFC’s Business Competitiveness - Ease of Doing Business Report. The purpose of this paper is to describe the national competitiveness and to examine the variables and the indicators used for measuring the competition power. In addition, the paper aims at comparing Turkey with the countries which are regarded as the rivals or the potential rivals of Turkey according to the experts of World Bank, IMF, OECD and so on. In this regard, in this paper, a comparison will be made among BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) +KM (South Korea, Malaysia) and CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa) countries. Moreover, a general evaluation and discussion will be made based on the mentioned indices as the conclusion.

Abstract: This paper discusses the estimation of the aerodynamic parameter in the mathematical model of the micro coaxial helicopter from the flight data. The mathematical model of the micro coaxial helicopter will be derived in which total aerodynamic and propulsion forces and moments are expressed in term of several state and control variables. The states and parameters in the model will be estimated using parameter estimation techniques. Since flight data are commonly corrupted with noise, the Kalman filter followied by the Total Least Squares will be applied for estimating the state and the parameter in the mathematical model of the micro coaxial helicopter. Examples on the estimation of the aerodynamic parameter in the mathematical model of the micro coaxial helicopter based on the simulated flight data will be presented and evaluated in this paper. It will be shown in this paper that the TLS method gives consistent results compared to the ordinary LS method.

Abstract: This research aimed to analyze the influence of the opening or open space to daily changes and spatial variation of air temperature in mangrove forests. The research was conducted on two transect; one of them is in an area where there was an open space that is inundated when sea tide is low. The ambient temperatures at both locations were compared based on quantitative parameters: maximum value, the difference of the maximum air temperature of the periphery with the interior of the forest, the edge gradient and the depth of the edge effects. The results showed that the widely open gap caused the decrease in the difference of the forest interior-edge temperature, the reduction of the depth of the edge effects, and decreasing of gradient edge.

Abstract: The aim of the present work to investigate the effect of UV-irradiation on the optical properties of PMMA within period of time (24,72,and120hr.). The samples are caste as thin films. These samples were irradiated UV-source for a period of time by (24,72,and120hr.). These samples were evaluated spectrophotometrically before and after UV-irradiation. The absorption spectra of irradiated samples showed radiation induced absorption changes. There was an increment in absorption proportional with irradiation time up to (72hr.). This increment was attributed to interfaces traps formation by photodegradation ,which are caused by UV-irradiation. At (120hr.) UV-irradiation, there was decreasing in absorption, which was attributed to the degassing process induced by photo degradation. It was found there is decrease in energy gap for irradiated samples for an irradiation time up to (72hr.),then there is increase in energy gap for irradiated samples to (120hr.),which was attributed to the absorption changes induced by photo degradation. The optical constant (α,k,n, εr,and εi)for the samples before and after irradiation were investigated.

Abstract: Surface sediments from coastal areas of Bonny, Imo, Qua Iboe and Warri rivers in the Niger Delta region of Southeastern Nigeria were characterized for n-alkene composition using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents for the sediments ranged from 0.44 to 4.26% with an average value of 2.36 ± 1.03. The concentrations of n-alkenes C18:1 – C24:1 for the sediments in the upper, middle and lower zones of the study area ranged from 0.13-1.33mg/kg, 0.26-2.52mg/kg and 0.17-31.86mg/kg, respectively with a Carbon Preference Index (CPI) of 0.31 – 13.32. The dominant carbon maximum (Cmax) of n-alkenes were C18:1, C22:1 for Warri, C22:1 for Qua Iboe and C20:1, C24:1 for Bonny coastal sediments. Factor analyses confirmed biogenic, anthropogenic (petroleum activities) and microbial sources of sedimentary n-alkenes C18:1 – C24:1 in the study area.  An unresolved complex mixture (UCM) occurring in the range n-C18 – n-C35 is an indicator of petroleum contamination.

Abstract: The antioxidant activity of the seed extract and diethylether fraction (DF) of Monodora tenuifolia Benth (Annonaceae) was evaluated. The Monodora tenuifolia seed was extracted with petroleum ether 40-600 C to produce the crude extract. Fractionation of the extract by column chromatography using diethylether produced the DF. Phytochemical analysis of Monodora tenuifolia seed extract showed the presence of some plant secondary metabolites, viz: alkaloids, flavonoids, proteins, carbohydrates, saponins, glycosides, cyanogenic glycosides, cardiac glycosides, tannins, steroidal aglycone, while O and C glycosides, anthracene glycosides and reducing sugars were absent. The crude extract and diethylether fraction showed the presence of vitamin A and vitamin E. The crude extract and DF reduced CCl4 – induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate. They also exhibited significant antioxidant activity in nitric oxide induced lipid peroxidation. The crude extract and DF produced a dose-dependent protective effect against lipid peroxidation and free radical generation in liver homogenate. The toxicity study with the crude extract showed no signs of obvious toxicity up to a dose level of 5000mg/kg body weight. The result suggests that Monodora tenuifolia seed possessed significant antioxidant properties and could be used for the treatment of diseases associated with free radical generation.

Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of development of the mathematical model of a micro coaxial helicopter using hybrid method of analytical and experimental approach. An analytical mathematical model of micro coaxial helicopter has been derived with the consideration of dynamics of rotating parts to the rigid body dynamics. Pre-flight simulation was carried out based on the derived mathematical model to simulate the flight test scenarios. A sensory system was developed and installed onboard to capture the helicopter state during the flight test for the purpose of identifying parameters. Two steps system identification based on flight test data was used to estimate the parameters in the mathematical model. The Extended Kalman Filter was applied to estimate the states of the helicopter. Subsequently, based on measured flight test data, Total Least Square method was used to estimate the aerodynamic parameters in the linearized model of force and moment coefficients in the longitudinal mode. As a result, a mathematical model of micro coaxial helicopter with adequate parameters has successful been obtained. The verifications show that the estimated model of force and moment coefficients fit well the corresponding measured quantities in both phase and amplitude.

Abstract: In this paper a new configuration of optical telescope is proposed .It has attractive features not possessed by any of the earlier systems, for example, the Cassegrain and Gregorian .The elegance of this new arrangement is due to its geometry which is very compact and extremely well-baffled .Two versions of this configuration are proposed. The first is a catadioptric version and the second is an all-reflecting version .Different types of this latter version may be proposed .One of these types is most attractive as it can be aplanatic   .The proposed system may be considered as a useful optical system for many applications such as ground-based telescope, space-borne telescope and fast camera objective.

Abstract: Iron (Fe) doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films have been successfully prepared by using spin coating method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) characterization were conducted to know the microstructure and crystallite morphology of the films. It was indicated that the ankerite crystal orientation appears due to introduction of doping Fe on the thin films. Furthermore, increasing the dopant concentration of the TiO2 thin films yielded an increasing of porosity value which is related to the application on gas sensor films.

Abstract: The main object of this work is to estimate the thermal conductivity of consolidated specimens of diorite rocks. The sample of these rocks have been obtained from Shaewa Shahbaz Ghari Volconic Complex near Mardan in Pakistan. The thermo-physical properties like thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the specimens have been simultaneously measured by transient plane source technique at normal temperature and pressure. The porosity and density are helpful in the modeling of thermal conductivity. Therefore American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards are applied for the measurement of porosity and other density-related parameters. The chemical composition of the samples is made with the help of X-ray fluorescence technique. The effective thermal conductivity of thirteen samples of diorite have been obtained by using different pre-existing empirical models with air as saturent. A model is also proposed for the estimation of thermal conductivity at normal temperature and pressure. The values of effective thermal conductivity from all models are in agreement with the experimental values within twenty percent.

Abstract: Negative influences of the vehicles sources on the environment recently have been classified. Development of the calculation method of a single vehicle evaluation specific discharge and car fleet discharge per unit length in the roads net and pollution of the near road by the hazardous substances may be considered methodically completed.

Abstract: New Trends in language teaching attribute a great attention to language learners and their characteristics. Within this features, language learning strategies have largely been investigated by many researchers. It is fair to say that language educators is many different contexts have been seeking ways to help students become more successful and independent in their efforts to learn to communicate in foreign language. The application of foreign language learning and use strategies is viewed as one vehicle for promoting greater success. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of metacognitive strategy training through use of explicit strategy instruction on the development of lexical knowledge of EFL learners. To reach the goal of the study, two homogeneous groups of English language learners at pre-university level were selected, based on the result of a vocabulary pre-test. Each group consisted of 30 members, one acting as the experimental group and as other control group. Both group received instruction vocabulary learning strategies through a 10- week period of instructions and did some extensive reading during the course. However, only the experimental group received metacognitive strategy training during the course of the semester. After the treatment, the same vocabulary test was administered to both groups simultaneously as post-test. Though the analysis of the obtained data, it was found that there were significant differences between control and experimental groups of the dependent variable, lexical performance. Therefore, there is an empirical piece of evidence to support the language teachers who use metacognitive strategy training.

Abstract: Enlargement is one of the European Union’s (EU) most powerful policy tools ensuring lasting peace, freedom, security and political stability. The EU has enlarged from 15 to 27 members. Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Iceland are now official candidate countries and some of the Western Balkans are potential candidate countries. This paper uses a conditional logistic regression approach to study key factors affecting EU membership. The probability of being an EU member within eight years is predicted for each candidate and potential candidate country. The findings indicate that general government debt and current account balance are important factors in determining which of the candidate countries will join the EU and when they will do so. It is also found that Iceland and Croatia will be EU member countries within eight years and the accession processes of other candidate and potential candidate countries will before than eight years.

Abstract: Teaching English especially as a foreign Language has become the concern of many lecturers, practitioners, and specialists. How to help the EFL Iranian learners improve their listening skill in English is of high importance. The aim of this study was to see whether formal education is sufficient to equip the EFL learners with this skill or not. The findings showed that Iranian English major students without test preparation got lower scores in listening than non major English students who were prepared for TOEFL.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of the Turkish banking sector for the period 2002–2008 by utilizing data envelopment analysis (DEA). It is a non-parametric linear programming-based technique for measuring relative performance of decision-making units (DMUs). To measure productivity changes over time, Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) indices are calculated from DEA scores. Moreover, this study examines the relative efficiency of banks of different sizes (large, medium, small) categorized by the share of total assets. Then, super-efficiency scores of Turkish banks are calculated to rank the performance of the efficient banks. Based on the sample of 45 banks, our findings reveal that the efficiency of the Turkish banking system via the production approach is very high and stable while the efficiency via the intermediation approach is moderately high and somewhat volatile.