Current Approaches in Science and Technology Research Vol. 9

This study was carried out to assess the causes(s) of the foundation failure of the Metro Hostel Building opposite Mechanic Village, Camp Area, Abeokuta, Nigeria, using combined geophysical techniques which comprises of Vertical electrical sounding (VES) and Seismic Refraction methods. The major affected structure is a two storey building leaning and having severe foundation based cracks. The PASI – Earth (16 GLN) resistivity meter was used for resistivity data collection and ABEM Terraloc MK -6 Seismograph for velocity data collection. The result of the vertical electrical sounding gives a maximum of three sequences: topsoil, weathered layer (clayey sand/sandy clay) and fractured rock/fresh basement with a maximum value of 10.38 m depth to the basement. The result was complemented and corroborated by seismic refraction method which also gives three main velocity layers with the second layer velocity ranges from 680 and 950 m/s with thickness value ranging from 6.80 – 8.27 m and a total depth -to-bedrock of 10.27 m.  The presence of clayey materials identified in the study area posed a threat to three buildings erected. It is concluded from the study that the building structure failed due to incompetent clay layer and improper foundation design on some part of the building which is pronounced by the observed tilting and cracks. It is suggested that reinforcement, concrete packing and buttress pillars should be done around the buildings especially in areas with more pronounced subsidence to avoid total collapse.

The present study is aimed on to discern the etiquette of landing of butterflies on diverse morphologically different flowers and their wing positions on flowers. 30 butterfly species were observed while landing on flowers on fine weather days. Butterflies when they scavenge on flowers, keep their wings in diverse positions. The observations are conversed under two heads - (a) wing positions during scavenge i.e forage and (b) Model of alighting. Flowers are categorized into 7 types on basis of position of their essential organs in relation to other floral parts.  Based on flower structure and position of butterflies land on the flowers, contact of different body parts of the butterfly with the essential organs of the flowers varies from species to species.

The present study demonstrates that the butterflies are generalists since they visited different flower species and supports the costly information hypothesis.

To propose an efficient heart disease classification algorithm to predict disease in early stage so that rate of death can be reduced. A hybrid intelligent model of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) was developed for the study and Cleveland dataset from UCI machine learning library is used for the prediction. The prediction for coronary ailment was done using SVM and GA by optimizing hyper parameters of SVM: ‘C’ and ‘gamma’. The performance of heart disease classification is efficiently enhanced by implementing meta-heuristics and achieved 91% accuracy compare to SVM without GA. An approach of optimizing SVM parameters using GA outperforms SVM and SVM with k-cross validation for prediction heart diseases in terms of accuracy. It opens a direction to improve efficiency of machine learning algorithms.

The article is devoted to the development of vacuum casting technology with directional crystallization of the casting. The technology of layer-by-layer cooling of a casting is considered, which ensures the formation of a casting with a uniform fine-grained metal structure. This effect is achieved due to the slow filling of the cooled mold cavity with cooling liquid due to the difference in the flow rate of the liquid at the inlet and outlet. At each moment of time, the cooling of the metal is carried out by a thin layer of the casting, which ensures the uniformity and fine-grained structure of the casting material, the absence of shrinkage and internal stresses.

The upcoming of digital technology has been changing our lives. One area in which the use of behavioral intervention and new digital technology revolutionized research is on energy conservation. For example, ICT platforms allow users to control energy consumption, as well as optimizing their energy efficiency.  Thus, the end user profile assessment is an essential tool to provide the foundations of the energy related platforms’ requirements and system. To access the critical factors that facilitate user and community engagement in energy - related platforms as well as the effective incentive schemes for consumers, we run a survey (N = 206) to map and typify the platform’s potential final consumer. The use of a scale measurement system has permitted analyzing users’ behavior regarding environment and energy consumption (habits and change flexibility perceptions). We argue that to typify the technological solution potential final consumer provides the fundamental basis for market intelligence, whether in its technical feature regarding the technological and design creation of the platform, as well as its particular feature regarding the implementation.

The primary objectives of this study is mineralogical characterization of two sludge samples with different initial content of iron derived by hydro-cyclone overflow generated during the processing of iron ore in the Omarska mine. Also, a comparative study of the mineral composition and its connection with some properties important for the sludge flocculation process was done. Studied sludge samples are composed of major goethite and quartz; less clay minerals; and minor magnetite, hematite, clinochlore and todorokite. They have quite similar qualitative, but different semi-quantitative compositions. There are similar particle size distributions between the samples, and highest contents of about 50% belongs to the finest classes of <6 \(\mu\)m. Among size classes within the samples, almost identical iron contents are present; indicating to their similar mineral compositions, which make this system very complex for further separation processes. Sludge II has higher natural settling rate, due to its higher density and mineral composition. With addition of the flocculant, settling rates increases significantly with the increase of the liquid component in both of the samples. The effect of flocculant on the settling rate is different between samples, and depends on their mineral composition. The time of settling does not play a role in selectivity, to the ratio of the mass of floating and sinking parts, and iron content does not change with time. The content of iron partially increases by flocculation; therefore, this method should be considered as an appropriate one. Zeta potential values for sludge are mostly between those for goethite and quartz, indicating their particle mixture and intricately association.

The ‘success’ of a polygraph examination is predicated on the establishment of differential or emotional salience (a ‘psychological set’) with an examinee. This, according to polygraph proponents, guarantees that an examinee will respond appropriately during the administration of the in-test (questioning) phase of the polygraph examination. However, polygraph procedure, as prescribed by its governing body, the American Polygraph Association (APA), is a static clinical Westernised process that does not make any provision for human multiplicity (culture/ethnicity, idiosyncrasies, level of education, language proficiency, ideologies, and so forth). Identical (one size fits all) test procedures are applied across the board – a highly controversial methodology.

 The objectives of this study were to explore the degree to which certain intentional and unintentional human behaviour modification strategies have the potential to counterbalance claimed polygraph probity from an ontological and discursive standpoint and expose disquiet (potential flaws) regarding polygraph theory in the context of the ‘psychological set’. This article, furthermore, seeks to create an awareness of polygraph’s epistemic ambivalence and provide food-for-thought regarding its unadulterated application.

Every particle has a counterpart - an anti-particle. When any amount of anti-particle comes into contact with a particle, it will annihilate itself and produce energy in a flash. The space-time symmetry is what makes a particle's Universe exactly the same as anti – particle’s Universe. On a macroscopic scale, both Universe pairs appear to be same. On a microscopic scale, the charge symmetry is what makes an atom and its anti-atom equal. Only observer dependent realism exists for the Universe and Atom pairs. An observer made of particle will view the exact opposite of an observer built of anti-particle – the observer pair will view the exact opposite reality, rendering reality relative. In this chapter, I'll talk about space-time symmetry on a macroscopic scale and charge symmetry on a microscopic scale.

Above a critical mass  a strong enough gravitational field evens out the surface of the astronomical body, forming an elliptical shape. Because their gravitational fields are insufficient to smooth out their surfaces, small comets and asteroids can take any shape. However, astronomical entities of sufficient size, such as the Moon, Sun, and Earth, have strong enough gravitational fields to smooth out their surfaces and produce elliptical shapes. The optimum shape is a circle, and the elliptical shape is a slight deviation from it. The shapes of astronomical bodies are chosen to be elliptical because gravitational fields are elliptical, similar to electric and magnetic fields, which are also elliptical. Because gravitational forces are elliptical, astronomical entities that are large enough have elliptical forms. Because of the elliptical shape of the gravitational field, other astronomical bodies follow elliptical paths around the massive astronomical bodies. As a result, there is coordination among astronomical bodies' elliptical shapes, elliptical gravitational fields, and elliptical orbits around massive bodies. In this chapter, I'll explain why Higgs fields have elliptical shapes and how they enable wave propagation to be wavy to resemble a sine wave.

Our universe is riddled with mystery. The universe is actually a form of information that has been encoded. The universe speaks to us in a universal language. The tragedy is that the mysteries are difficult to decode in order to understand the laws that govern the universe's functioning. Some parameters in the universe are explicit, and they can decode the entire universe. Space and time, for example, might be seen as necessary conditions of the universe, but mass and energy might be seen as sufficient circumstances. All we have to do now is figure out how to connect all four parameters. This chapter will go through how we can change any of the four conditions into the rest of the conditions. The speed is a parameter that relates space with time.  The mass-energy equivalence condition of Einstein can aid in the transformation. I'll illustrate how a space-time-mass-energy matrix can be used to represent the transformation mathematically.

Everything has a life cycle, as we all know. Everything has a life cycle: living creatures, non-living objects, governments, the world, astronomical bodies, the solar system, galaxies, and the universe. A sine wave, according to Fourier, may explain any physical phenomenon. A dc (constant) portion, a sin wave with fundamental time period, and its harmonics make up any arbitrary signal or physical phenomenon. We are left with merely a sine wave of fundamental period if we remove the harmonics from any arbitrary signal or physical phenomenon. Because the fundamental period sine wave contains over 90% of the signal energy, removing all harmonics does not result in a significant loss of signal energy, but it does result in the basic shape of the signal or physical phenomenon - a sine wave. A sine wave is the fundamental building block of all physical occurrences, including the life cycle of all living things from microbes to the universe. Any life cycle's optimal shape is a sine wave. Nature allows only minor deviations from the basic sine wave to generate different shapes. Although minor, these deviations can be attributed to the effect of imaginary time, which brings unpredictability into the life cycle. The amount of unpredictability in the life cycle is represented by the amount of deviation. The amount of unpredictability in a life cycle represents the amount of fictitious time involved. The amount of deviation (amount of harmonics) determines the structure of the various life cycles. However, if we smooth out the variations by averaging them, we'll end up with a sine wave, which is the basic building block of the Universe.

The term "smart" now encompasses the entire world, such as "smart city," "smart phone," "smart watch," and so on.  The study effort for this project looks at the possibilities of full home/office control, which is the goal of a real-time monitoring and control system in the near future. This project presents the analysis and implementation of home automation technology using a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modem to control home/office appliances such as lights, air conditioners, fans, water tanks, and security systems via the World Wide Web and Short Message Service (SMS) text messages. Switching on/off of air conditioners based on the number of people in the room is an additional element of the system that adds to its attractiveness. The proposed research focuses on GSM protocol functionality, which allows the user to control the target system while away from home. Home appliances, such as lights and fans, may be controlled remotely via a website. Theft detection message can be given by SMS if net signal is not available. The server will be connected to relay hardware circuits that will operate the home/office appliances. The communication with the server enables the user to select the appropriate device. The smart GSM-based real-time system was developed using the concept of serial communication and AT-commands. Homeowners will be able to receive feedback on the status of any household appliances they manage remotely, whether they are turned on or off. PIC 16F887A microcontroller with the integration of GSM plays an important role with the desired baud rate of 9600 bps. The projected prototype of a GSM-based home automation system has been developed and tested with up to four loads and has shown to be functional. The proposed work provides an efficient, secure, and cost effective easily operated solution for real time monitoring and control in smart homes/offices with the touch of a button on a smart phone or a laptop.

This paper presents a study on the contribution of various areas in a sensor such as surface area which  mostly depends on the properties of the sensing material and the metal to sensing film contact area which depends on the type of contact being formed, either ohmic or rectifying depending on the work function of the sensing material. In general, the surface area of a sensor has a direct impact on its sensitivity. Sensitivity increases as surface area increases.However, in the case of some sensors, the contact interface area contributes more to sensitivity than the sensor's surface area. Increased contact interface, increases depletion region around the interface, in turn causing larger change for the same input sample. A large interfacial area is beneficial for charge transport. This research work presents an improvement in sensitivity of PEDOT: PSS films when contact interface area between film and copper electrode is increased while keeping sensing surface area to be same. An improvement in sensitivity by about two times is observed when the contact interface is increased by about four times. Operating the sensing films at various flat band regions of the frequency response indicate lower sensitivity of the films at low frequencies(f<5KHZ) due to electric field effect at the contact interface whereas operation at high frequency(3MHz) also results in low sensitivity due to complete by passing of contact interface capacitance. An operating frequency of 10KHz is found to be optimum for maximum sensitivity. Response of the sensor is found to have linear relation with total absorbance spectra of the aroma components analyzed using UV-photospectrometry. The sensor developed is useful for jasmine growing farmers to assess quality of jasmine aroma accurately and fix fair price for the flowers and better economic returns.