##### A Green Multifunctional Polymer from Discarded Material: Chitin Nanofibrils

P. Morganti, F. Carezzi, P. Del Ciotto, G. Tishchenko, A. Chianese, V. E. Yudin

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4175-4190
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/11181

Chitin Nanofibril (CN) is the purest crystal form of chitin obtained industrially from fishery and crustacean waste. Characterized by positive charges covering its surface, this natural polymer has the ability to form block copolymeric nanoparticles with electronegative natural or man-made compounds, entrapping active ingredients also.
Due to its own biological properties, CN complexed with hyaluronic acid and entrapped with different active ingredients has been included into cosmetic emulsions, electrospun fibers and transparent films obtained by the casting technology.
The antiaging activity of the obtained emulsions has been reported as well as the first technical characteristics of the non-woven tissues and the transparent films made by two EU research projects:
BIOMIMETIC (www.biomimetic-eu-project.eu) and n-CHITOPACK (www.n-chitopack.eu).

##### Characteristics of Non-spinning Black Holes

Dipo Mahto, Brajesh Kumar Jha, Murlidhar Prasad Singh, Promod Jha

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4136-4147
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/11514

Aims: To derive an expression for the wavelength/frequency of Hawking radiation emitted by non-spinning black holes in terms of the radius of event horizon (λ=8πRs & vc/8πRs) using quantum theory of radiation (Ehv) energy of Hawking radiation and the radius of event horizon of non-spinning black holes (Rs =2GM/c2), which may be regarded as the characteristics of non-spinning black holes.
Study Design: Data for the frequencies and wavelengths of Hawking radiation emitted from black holes have been calculated with the help of rest masses for stellar – mass black holes (M ~ 5 ­ 20 MÊ˜) in X-ray binaries and for the super massive black holes (M ~ 106 – 109.5 MÊ˜) in active galactic nuclei using λ=8πRs & v= c/8πRs which corresponds to the research work entitled: Frequency of Hawking radiation from black holes by Mahto et al. in International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science (Dec. 2013).
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Physics, Marwari College under University Department of Physics, T.M.B.U. Bhagalpur between January 2014 and June 2014.
Methodology: It is completely theoretical based work using Laptop done at Marwari College Bhagalpur and the residential research chamber of the first author.
Results: The astrophysical objects emitting the radiations of frequencies (8.092x102Hz to 2.023x102Hz) or wavelengths (3.707x105m to 14.828x105m) in X-ray binaries and frequencies (4.046×10-3Hz to 0.809×10-6Hz) or wavelengths (7.414×1010m to 37.070×1013m) in active galactic nuclei may be classified as non-spinning black holes.
Conclusion: The frequencies or wavelengths of Hawking radiation emitted from non-spinning black holes may be regarded as the characteristics of black holes in addition to the mass, spin and charge.

##### A Genetic Algorithm for Optimizing Background Subtraction Parameters in Computer Vision

Ramesh Rajagopalan

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4148-4155
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/12093

Tracking moving objects in a video sequence is a critical task in several computer vision applications. A common approach is to perform background subtraction which identifies moving objects in a video frame. The mixture of Gaussians model is one of the most popular techniques for performing background subtraction. The performance of the mixture of Gaussian model strongly depends on parameters such as learning rate, background ratio, and number of Gaussians. Fine tuning these parameters is a huge challenge for efficient performance of the background subtraction algorithm. In this work, we propose a genetic algorithm to determine the optimal values of the learning rate and background ratio. Experiments based on the Wallflower test images demonstrate the superior performance of the genetic algorithm when compared to a recently proposed particle swarm optimization approach.

##### A Catalyst Method for an Innovative Eco-Design Strategy Using TRIZ Approach

Ahmed Cherifi, Mario Dubois, Mickaël Gardoni, Abdelaziz Tairi

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4156-4174
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/10546

Today, in the context of product innovation, the environmental dimension takes a new dimension and cannot be separated from other product requirements which make it competitive. Tools are available but unfortunately proficiency levels required for their use are at the expert’s level. Those tools must also be able to clearly identify their benefits, strengths and weaknesses for a given multi-criteria environmental evaluation. In the present work we have adopted an approach using a qualitative evaluation matrix including parameters related to the ease of use of the product related to the organizational preparation for the appropriation of an eco-design approach, in addition to the standard factors of eco-efficiency. In order to help the designer to make a decision, an adapted TRIZ method is proposed (Téoria Rechénia Izobrétatelskikh Zadatch or theory of inventive problem solving). The applicability of this method is justified by the many contradictions in the choices in a study of the life cycle and can help designers and companies to choose an approach to attain a satisfying level of eco-design for the resources invested in it. An application, based on inventive principles, will be adapted and completed. This matrix can help the designer to reduce the scope of his creative investigations. The results of our methodological approach have been tested on cases of creative projects and a certain number of recently patented projects.

##### Investigating the Imperfection of the B – S Model: A Case Study of an Emerging Stock Market

E. A. Owoloko, M. C. Okeke

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4191-4200
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/5246

The Black – Scholes (B-S) model is one of the widely used models in the pricing of financial option. The B-S model like most other models hinges on assumptions; one of which is the normality condition. A lot of researches have shown that using the log-return of developed market index that this assumption does not hold. We have shown in this paper using the log return from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2012 in an emerging (Nigerian Stock Exchange) market All Share Index (ASI) to further support the reports of the non - normality condition of the B-S model.

##### Anti-Inflammatory Effects of New Flavonoids from Streptomyces sp. BT01 in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Murine Macrophages via Inhibition of NF-KappaB Activation

Thongchai Taechowisan, Srisakul Chanaphat, Wanwikar Ruensamran, Waya S. Phutdhawong

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4201-4222
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/12049

Most flavonoids are known to have anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and analgesic properties. In this study, the new flavonoids, 7-methoxy-3,3’,4’,6-tetrahydroxyflavone (1) and 2’,7-dihydroxy-4’5’-dimethoxyisoflavone (2) isolated from Streptomyces sp. BT01 inhibited the pro-inflammatory mediators including cytokines by blocking nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signalling in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. These flavonoids suppressed mRNA and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The molecular mechanism was associated with the inhibition of NF-κB activation. These results suggest that these flavonoids have anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing expression of iNOS, COX-2 and cytokines by blocking the NF-κB signalling in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.

##### Synthesis and Characterization of New Polyamides Containing Thianthrene Moiety and Based on Dibenzylidene Derivatives

Nayef S. Al-Muaikel

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4223-4238
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/11067

A new series of polyamides based on diarylidene derivatives were synthesized from 2,5-bis(m-aminobenzylidene)cyclopentanone VIII, 2,6-bis(m-aminobenzylidene)cyclohexanone IX, 2,7-bis(m-aminobenzylidene) cyclheptanone X and bis(m-aminobenzylidene) acetone XI by reaction with diacid chlorides of thianthrene (2,7- Dichloroformylthianthrene -5,5,10,10-tetraoxide IV. using solution polycondensation technique. These polymers ranged from yellow to orange color and had inherent viscosity up to 1.08-0.65 dL/g. All the polyamides were insoluble in common organic solvents but dissolved completely in concentrated H2SO4. The thermal stabilities of the prepared polyamides were evaluated by TGA and DSC analyses. The morphological properties of some selected polyamides were detected by SEM.

##### GPS Cycle Slip Detection and Correction at Measurement Level

Malek Karaim, Tashfeen B. Karamat, Aboelmagd Noureldin, Ahmed El-Shafie

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, Page 4239-4251
DOI: 10.9734/BJAST/2014/11850

Carrier phase measurements are much more precise than pseudorange measurements and can be used to achieve very accurate positioning solutions. However, carrier phase measurements require resolution of integer ambiguities before precise positioning can be achieved. The GPS receiver can keep track of the integer number of cycles as long as the receiver maintains lock to the satellite signal. However, in reality, the GPS signal could be interrupted momentary by some disturbing factors leading to a discontinuity of an integer number of cycles in the measured carrier phase. This interruption in the counting of cycles in the carrier phase measurements is known as a cycle slip. When a cycle slip occurs, the Doppler counter would restart causing a jump in the instantaneous accumulated phase by an integer number of cycles. Thus, the integer counter is reinitialized meaning that ambiguities are unknown again. In this event, either the ambiguities need to be resolved again or cycle slips need to be corrected to resume the precise positioning/navigation process. These cycle slips can, to some extent, be detected and fixed to avoid delay and computation complexity attributed to integer ambiguity resolution. Researchers have been addressing the problem of cycle slip detection and correction for the last two decades. This paper provides a detailed survey for available techniques to tackle the problem showing their pros and cons.