Search results for: Mohammad Jahangir Alam
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1489

Search results for: Mohammad Jahangir Alam

1219 Performance Analysis of Ferrocement Retrofitted Masonry Wall Units under Cyclic Loading

Authors: Raquib Ahsan, Md. Mahir Asif, Md. Zahidul Alam

Abstract:

A huge portion of old masonry buildings in Bangladesh are vulnerable to earthquake. In most of the cases these buildings contain unreinforced masonry wall which are most likely to be subjected to earthquake damages. Due to deterioration of mortar joint and aging, shear resistance of these unreinforced masonry walls dwindle. So, retrofitting of these old buildings has become an important issue. Among many researched and experimented techniques, ferrocement retrofitting can be a low cost technique in context of the economic condition of Bangladesh. This study aims at investigating the behavior of ferrocement retrofitted unconfined URM walls under different types of cyclic loading. Four 725 mm × 725 mm masonry wall units were prepared with bricks jointed by stretcher bond with 12.5 mm mortar between two adjacent layers of bricks. To compare the effectiveness of ferrocement retrofitting a particular type wire mesh was used in this experiment which is 20 gauge woven wire mesh with 12.5 mm × 12.5 mm square opening. After retrofitting with ferrocement these wall units were tested by applying cyclic deformation along the diagonals of the specimens. Then a comparative study was performed between the retrofitted specimens and control specimens for both partially reversed cyclic load condition and cyclic compression load condition. The experiment results show that ultimate load carrying capacities of ferrocement retrofitted specimens are 35% and 27% greater than the control specimen under partially reversed cyclic loading and cyclic compression respectively. And before failure the deformations of ferrocement retrofitted specimens are 43% and 33% greater than the control specimen under reversed cyclic loading and cyclic compression respectively. Therefore, the test results show that the ultimate load carrying capacity and ductility of ferrocement retrofitted specimens have improved.

Keywords: cyclic compression, cyclic loading, ferrocement, masonry wall, partially reversed cyclic load, retrofitting

Procedia PDF Downloads 213
1218 Role of Pulsed-Dye Laser in the Treatment of Inflammatory Acne Vulgaris

Authors: Shirajul Islam Khan, Muhammad Ashraful Alam Bhuiyan, Syeda Tania Begum

Abstract:

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic conditions and affects the vast majority of people at some point during their lifetime, so effective treatment is of major importance. The failure of usual treatment modalities, teratogenic effects with some severe side effects, and resistance to P.Acne by Retinoides have been focusing on new therapeutic options for the treatment of acne. More recently, pulsed dye laser therapy has been reported to reduce acne lesion counts. The negligible morbidity of these treatment modalities and some other benefits of subsequent acne scar management lead this therapy more attractive. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of pulsed dye laser therapy in the treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris. Materials and Methods: A prospective clinical trial was done in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka, to find out the role of pulse dye laser in the treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris. The study was carried out with 60 patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris, and those were treated with pulsed dye laser therapy at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Results: Among 60 patients with inflammatory acne, 42(70%) were in the age group of less than 20 years, and 36(60%) were female. Regarding the number of inflammatory lesions, the baseline mean number (± SD) was 12.77 ± 4.01; after 4 weeks of treatment of inflammatory acne by pulsed dye laser was 7.80 ± 4.11; after 8 weeks of treatment, 6.10 ± 4.03 and after 12 weeks of treatment was 4.17 ± 4.02. After 4 weeks of treatment by pulse dye laser, the level of improvement was excellent at 3.3%, good at 10%, fair at 60%, and poor at 26.7%; after 8 weeks of treatment, excellent was 13.3%, good was 46.7%, the fair was 30% and poor 10% and after 12 weeks of treatment, excellent was 56.7%, good 13.3%, fair 23.3% and poor 6.7%. Regarding safety level, out of 60 patients of inflammatory acne vulgaris treated by pulsed dye laser, about 52(86.7%) patients did not observe any side effects. Conclusions: On the basis of the study results, it can be concluded that pulsed-dye laser is highly effective and well tolerated by patients in the treatment of inflammatory acne.

Keywords: pulsed-dye laser, inflammatory acne, acne vulgaris, retinoids

Procedia PDF Downloads 52
1217 Cloud Computing in Jordanian Libraries: An Overview

Authors: Mohammad A. Al-Madi, Nagham A. Al-Madi, Fanan A. Al-Madi

Abstract:

The current concept of the technology of cloud computing libraries has been increasing where users can store their data in a virtual space and can be retrieved from anywhere whilst using the network. By using cloud computing technology, industries and individuals save money, time, and space. Moreover, data and information about libraries can be placed in the cloud. This paper discusses the meaning of cloud computing along with its types. Further, the focus has been given to the application of cloud computing in modern libraries. Additionally, the advantages of cloud computing and the areas in which cloud computing be applied with current usage are discussed. Finally, the present situation of the Jordanian libraries is considered and discussed in further detail.

Keywords: cloud computing, community cloud, hybrid cloud, private cloud, public cloud

Procedia PDF Downloads 190
1216 A Review on Geomembrane Characteristics and Application in Geotechnical Engineering

Authors: Sandra Ghavam Shirazi, Komeil Valipourian, Mohammad Reza Golhashem

Abstract:

This paper represents the basic idea and mechanisms associated with the durability of geomembranes and discusses the factors influencing the service life and temperature of geomembrane liners. Geomembrane durability is stated as field performance and laboratory test outcomes under various conditions. Due to the high demand of geomembranes as landfill barriers and their crucial role in sensitive projects, sufficient service life of geomembranes is very important, therefore in this paper, the durability, the effect of temperature on geomembrane and the role of this type of reinforcement in different types of soil will be discussed. Also, the role of geomembrane in the earthquake will be considered in the last part of the paper.

Keywords: geomembrane, durability temperature soil mechanic, soil

Procedia PDF Downloads 278
1215 The Role of Speed Reduction Model in Urban Highways Tunnels Accidents

Authors: Khashayar Kazemzadeh, Mohammad Hanif Dasoomi

Abstract:

According to the increasing travel demand in cities, bridges and tunnels are viewed as one of the fundamental components of cities transportation systems. Normally, due to geometric constraints forms in the tunnels, the considered speed in the tunnels is lower than the speed in connected highways. Therefore, drivers tend to reduce the speed near the entrance of the tunnels. In this paper, the effect of speed reduction on accident happened in the entrance of the tunnels has been discussed. The relation between accidents frequency and the parameters of speed, traffic volume and time of the accident in the mentioned tunnel has been analyzed and the mathematical model has been proposed.

Keywords: urban highway, accident, tunnel, mathematical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 443
1214 Monitoring and Prediction of Intra-Crosstalk in All-Optical Network

Authors: Ahmed Jedidi, Mesfer Mohammed Alshamrani, Alwi Mohammad A. Bamhdi

Abstract:

Optical performance monitoring and optical network management are essential in building a reliable, high-capacity, and service-differentiation enabled all-optical network. One of the serious problems in this network is the fact that optical crosstalk is additive, and thus the aggregate effect of crosstalk over a whole AON may be more nefarious than a single point of crosstalk. As results, we note a huge degradation of the Quality of Service (QoS) in our network. For that, it is necessary to identify and monitor the impairments in whole network. In this way, this paper presents new system to identify and monitor crosstalk in AONs in real-time fashion. particular, it proposes a new technique to manage intra-crosstalk in objective to relax QoS of the network.

Keywords: all-optical networks, optical crosstalk, optical cross-connect, crosstalk, monitoring crosstalk

Procedia PDF Downloads 430
1213 Tribological Characterization of ZrN Coatings on Titanium Modified Austenitic Stainless Steel

Authors: Mohammad Farooq Wani

Abstract:

Tribological characterization of ZrN coatings deposited on titanium modified austenitic stainless steel (alloy D-9) substrates has been investigated. The coatings were deposited in the deposition temperature range 300–873 K, using the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique. Scratch adhesion tests were carried out using Rc indenter under various conditions of load. Detailed tribological studies were conducted to understand the friction and wear behaviour of these coatings. For all tribological studies steel and ceramic balls were used as counter face material. 3D-Surface profiles of all wear tracks was carried out using 3D universal profiler.

Keywords: ZrN, Surafce coating, thin film, tribology, friction and wear

Procedia PDF Downloads 399
1212 Numerical Study on the Hazards of Gravitational Forces on Cerebral Aneurysms

Authors: Hashem M. Alargha, Mohammad O. Hamdan, Waseem H. Aziz

Abstract:

Aerobatic and military pilots are subjected to high gravitational forces that could cause blackout, physical injuries or death. A CFD simulation using fluid-solid interactions scheme has been conducted to investigate the gravitational effects and hazards inside cerebral aneurysms. Medical data have been used to derive the size and geometry of a simple aneurysm on a T-shaped bifurcation. The results show that gravitational force has no effect on maximum Wall Shear Stress (WSS); hence, it will not cause aneurysm initiation/formation. However, gravitational force cause causes hypertension which could contribute to aneurysm rupture.

Keywords: aneurysm, cfd, wall shear stress, gravity, fluid dynamics, bifurcation artery

Procedia PDF Downloads 348
1211 Densities and Viscosities of Binary Mixture Containing Diethylamine and 2-Alkanol

Authors: Elham jassemi Zargani, Mohammad almasi

Abstract:

Densities and viscosities for binary mixtures of diethylamine + 2 Alkanol (2 propanol up to 2 pentanol) were measured over the entire composition range and temperature interval of 293.15 to 323.15 K. Excess molar volumes V_m^E and viscosity deviations Δη were calculated and correlated by the Redlich−Kister type function to derive the coefficients and estimate the standard error. For mixtures of diethylamine with used 2-alkanols, V_m^E and Δη are negative over the entire range of mole fraction. The observed variations of these parameters, with alkanols chain length and temperature, are discussed in terms of the inter-molecular interactions between the unlike molecules of the binary mixtures.

Keywords: densities, viscosities, diethylamine, 2-alkanol, Redlich-Kister

Procedia PDF Downloads 363
1210 Wheat Production and Market in Afghanistan

Authors: Fayiz Saifurahman, Noori Fida Mohammad

Abstract:

Afghanistan produces the highest rate of wheat, it is the first source of food, and food security in Afghanistan is dependent on the availability of wheat. Although Afghanistan is the main producer of wheat, on the other hand, Afghanistan is the largest importers of flour. The objective of this study is to assess the structure and dynamics of the wheat market in Afghanistan, can compute with foreign markets, and increase the level of production. To complete this, a broad series of secondary data was complied with, group discussions and interviews with farmers, agricultural and market experts. The research findings propose that; the government should adopt different policies to support the local market. The government should distribute the seed, support financially and technically to increase wheat production.

Keywords: Afghanistan, wheat, production , import

Procedia PDF Downloads 136
1209 A Low-Power Comparator Structure with Arbitrary Pre-Amplification Delay

Authors: Ata Khorami, Mohammad Sharifkhani

Abstract:

In the dynamic comparators, the pre-amplifier amplifies the input differential voltage and when the output Vcm of the pre-amplifier becomes larger than Vth of the latch input transistors, the latch is activated and finalizes the comparison. As a result, the pre-amplification delay is fixed to a value and cannot be set at the minimum required delay, thus, significant power and delay are imposed. In this paper, a novel structure is proposed through which the pre-amplification delay can be set at any low value saving power and time. Simulations show that using the proposed structure, by setting the pre-amplification delay at the minimum required value the power and comparison delay can be reduced by 55% and 100ps respectively.

Keywords: dynamic comparator, low power comparator, analog to digital converter, pre-amplification delay

Procedia PDF Downloads 185
1208 A Modified Shannon Entropy Measure for Improved Image Segmentation

Authors: Mohammad A. U. Khan, Omar A. Kittaneh, M. Akbar, Tariq M. Khan, Husam A. Bayoud

Abstract:

The Shannon Entropy measure has been widely used for measuring uncertainty. However, in partial settings, the histogram is used to estimate the underlying distribution. The histogram is dependent on the number of bins used. In this paper, a modification is proposed that makes the Shannon entropy based on histogram consistent. For providing the benefits, two application are picked in medical image processing applications. The simulations are carried out to show the superiority of this modified measure for image segmentation problem. The improvement may be contributed to robustness shown to uneven background in images.

Keywords: Shannon entropy, medical image processing, image segmentation, modification

Procedia PDF Downloads 467
1207 Screening of Factors Affecting the Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunches in Aqueous Ionic Liquid and Locally Produced Cellulase System

Authors: Md. Z. Alam, Amal A. Elgharbawy, Muhammad Moniruzzaman, Nassereldeen A. Kabbashi, Parveen Jamal

Abstract:

The enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is one of the obstacles in the process of sugar production, due to the presence of lignin that protects the cellulose molecules against cellulases. Although the pretreatment of lignocellulose in ionic liquid (IL) system has been receiving a lot of interest; however, it requires IL removal with an anti-solvent in order to proceed with the enzymatic hydrolysis. At this point, introducing a compatible cellulase enzyme seems more efficient in this process. A cellulase enzyme that was produced by Trichoderma reesei on palm kernel cake (PKC) exhibited a promising stability in several ILs. The enzyme called PKC-Cel was tested for its optimum pH and temperature as well as its molecular weight. One among evaluated ILs, 1,3-diethylimidazolium dimethyl phosphate [DEMIM] DMP was applied in this study. Evaluation of six factors was executed in Stat-Ease Design Expert V.9, definitive screening design, which are IL/ buffer ratio, temperature, hydrolysis retention time, biomass loading, cellulase loading and empty fruit bunches (EFB) particle size. According to the obtained data, IL-enzyme system shows the highest sugar concentration at 70 °C, 27 hours, 10% IL-buffer, 35% biomass loading, 60 Units/g cellulase and 200 μm particle size. As concluded from the obtained data, not only the PKC-Cel was stable in the presence of the IL, also it was actually stable at a higher temperature than its optimum one. The reducing sugar obtained was 53.468±4.58 g/L which was equivalent to 0.3055 g reducing sugar/g EFB. This approach opens an insight for more studies in order to understand the actual effect of ILs on cellulases and their interactions in the aqueous system. It could also benefit in an efficient production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass.

Keywords: cellulase, hydrolysis, lignocellulose, pretreatment

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1206 Synthesis and Characterization of Zeolite/Fe3O4 Nanocomposite Material and Investigation of Its Catalytic Reaction

Authors: Mojgan Zendehdel, Safura Molla Mohammad Zamani

Abstract:

In this paper, Fe3O4/NaY zeolite nanocomposite with different molar ratio were successfully synthesized and characterized using FT-IR, XRD, TGA, SEM and VSM techniques. The SEM graphs showed that much of Fe3O4 was successfully coated by the NaY zeolite layer. Also, the results show that the magnetism of the products is stable with added zeolite. The catalytic effect of nanocomposite investigated for esterification reaction under solvent-free conditions. Hence, the effect of the catalyst amount, reaction time, reaction temperature and reusability of catalyst were considered and nanocomposite that created from zeolite and 16.6 percent of Fe3O4 showed the highest yield. The catalyst can be easily separated from reaction with the magnet and it can also be used for several times.

Keywords: zeolite, magnetic, nanocompsite, esterification

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1205 E-learning: An Effective Approach for Enhancing Social and Behavior Change Communication Capacity in Bangladesh

Authors: Mohammad K. Abedin, Mohammad Shahjahan, Zeenat Sultana, Tawfique Jahan, Jesmin Akter

Abstract:

To strengthen social and behavior change communication (SBCC) capacity of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) of the Government of Bangladesh, BCCP/BKMI developed two eLearning courses providing opportunities for professional development of SBCC Program Managers who have no access to training or refreshers training. The two eLearning courses – Message and Material Development (MMD) and Monitoring and Evaluation (MandE) of SBCC programs – went online in September 2015, where all users could register their participation so results could be monitored. Methodology: To assess the uses of these courses a randomly selected sample was collected to run a pre and post-test analyses and a phone survey were conducted. Systematic random sampling was used to select a sample of 75 MandE and 25 MMD course participants from a sampling frame of 179 and 51 respectively. Results: As of September 2016, more than 179 learners have completed the MandE course, and 49 learners have completed the MMD course. The users of these courses are program managers, university faculty members, and students. Encouraging results were revealed from the analysis of pre and post-test scores and a phone survey three months after course completion. Test scores suggested a substantial increase in knowledge. The pre-test scores findings suggested that about 19% learners scored high on the MandE. The post-test scores finding indicated a high score (92%) of the sample across 4 modules of MandE. For MMD course in pre-test scoring, 30% of the learners scored high, and 100% scored high at the post-test. It was found that all the learners in the phone survey have discussed the courses. Most of the sharing occurred with colleagues and friends, usually through face to face (70%) interaction. The learners reported that they did recommend the two courses to concerned people. About 67% MandE and 76% MMD learners stated that the concepts that they had to learn during the course were put into practice in their work settings. The respondents for both MandE and MMD courses have provided a valuable set of suggestions that would further strengthen the courses. Conclusions: The study showed that the initiative offered ample opportunities to build capacity in various ways in which the eLearning courses were used. It also highlighted the importance of scaling up these efforts to further strengthen the outcomes.

Keywords: e-learning course, message & material development, monitoring & evaluation, social and behavior change communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 270
1204 Levels of Digital Health Literacy in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Females in Regional Australia and its Association with Demographics

Authors: Usma Iftikhar, Khorshed Alam

Abstract:

Background: Digital health platforms and digital health interventions are gaining increasing importance with the shift to online health-seeking behaviour, especially post-Covid. Subsequently, the importance of digital health literacy is increasingly being recognized. With the surge in culturally and linguistically diverse populations in First World countries, especially females, the predictors of digital health access in this population remain elusive. Keeping in view the inadequate digital infrastructure in rural and remote Australia, with lack of specialist services, the determinants of digital access gain even more importance. Objectives: The objective of this research are to measure the digital health literacy levels in this population, including the predictors of digital health literacy like sociodemographics and the correlation between the predictors and digital health literacy levels. Methods: A population-based quantitative survey was carried out in Regional Queensland from Jan 2022- Dec 2023 on culturally and linguistically diverse adult females. Sociodemographics like age, literacy levels, socioeconomic status, access to digital devices were recorded after informed consent. Digital health literacy levels were measured by specially designed questionnaires. The relationship between sociodemographics and digital health literacy levels was estimated by Pearson correlation. Results: Mean DHL was 2.66 + 0.35. There was a negative significant relationship (p<0.005) between demographics like age and access to a digital device with digital health literacy levels. Also observed was a positive significant relationship between literacy levels and proficiency in English. Conclusion: Age, literacy levels and English proficiency are some of the highest predictors of digital health access. This is important because remote areas rely on digital health access due to less developed health infrastructure, including specialist services. Guide for Policy makers to focus on the populations most in need.

Keywords: digital health literacy, eHealth literacy, culturally and linguistically diverse, ethnic minorities, regional areas, rural and remote areas

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1203 Joining of Aluminum and Steel in Car Body Manufacturing

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Mohammadi

Abstract:

Zinc-coated steel sheets have been joined with aluminum samples in an overlapping as well as in a butt-joint configuration. A bi-metal-wire composed from aluminum and steel was used for additional welding experiments. An advantage of the laser-assisted bi-metal-wire welding is that the welding process is simplified since the primary joint between aluminium and steel exists already and laser welding occurs only between similar materials. FEM-simulations of the process were chosen to determine the ideal dimensions with respect to the formability of the bi-metal-wire. A prototype demonstrated the feasibility of the process.

Keywords: car body, steel sheets, formability of bi-metal-wire, laser-assisted bi-metal-wire

Procedia PDF Downloads 482
1202 Utilization of Pozzolonic Material for the Enhancement of the Concrete Strength: A Comprehensive Review Paper

Authors: M. Parvez Alam, M. Bilal Khan

Abstract:

Concrete is the material of choice where strength, performance, durability, impermeability, fire resistance, and abrasion resistance are required. The hunger for the higher strength leads to other materials to achieve the desired results and thus, emerged the contribution of cementitious material for the strength of concrete In present day constructions, concrete is chosen as one of the best choices by civil engineers in construction materials. The concept of sustainability is touching new heights and many pozzolonic materials are tried and tested as partial replacement for the cement. In this paper, comprehensive review of available literatures are studied to evaluate the performance of pozzolonic materials such as ceramic waste powder, copper slag, silica fume on the strength of concrete by the partial replacement of ordinary materials such as cement, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate at different percentage of composition. From the study, we conclude that ceramic wastes are suitable to be used in the construction industry, and more significantly on the making of concrete. Ceramic wastes are found to be suitable for usage as substitution for fine and coarse aggregates and partial substitution in cement production. They were found to be performing better than normal concrete, in properties such as density, durability, permeability, and compressive strength. Copper slag is the waste material of matte smelting and refining of copper such that each ton of copper generates approximately 2.5 tons of copper slag. Copper slag is one of the materials that is considered as a waste which could have a promising future in construction Industry as partial or full substitute of aggregates. Silica fume, also known as micro silica or condensed silica fume, is a relatively new material compared to fly ash, It is another material that is used as an artificial pozzolonic admixture. High strength concrete made with silica fume provides high abrasion/corrosion resistance.

Keywords: concrete, pozzolonic materials, ceramic waste powder, copper slag

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1201 The Impact of Different Social Networks on the Development of Digital Entrepreneurship

Authors: Mohammad Mehdizadeh, Sara Miri

Abstract:

In today's world, competition is one of the essential components of different markets. Therefore, in addition to economic factors, social factors can also affect the development and prosperity of businesses. In this regard, social networks are of particular importance and play a critical role in the flourishing and development of Internet businesses. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of different social networks in promoting digital entrepreneurship. The research method is the descriptive survey. The results show that social networks have a positive and significant impact on digital entrepreneurship development. Among the social networks studied, Instagram and Facebook have the most positive effect on digital entrepreneurship.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, Facebook, Instagram, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 318
1200 Optimization of Acid Treatments by Assessing Diversion Strategies in Carbonate and Sandstone Formations

Authors: Ragi Poyyara, Vijaya Patnana, Mohammed Alam

Abstract:

When acid is pumped into damaged reservoirs for damage removal/stimulation, distorted inflow of acid into the formation occurs caused by acid preferentially traveling into highly permeable regions over low permeable regions, or (in general) into the path of least resistance. This can lead to poor zonal coverage and hence warrants diversion to carry out an effective placement of acid. Diversion is desirably a reversible technique of temporarily reducing the permeability of high perm zones, thereby forcing the acid into lower perm zones. The uniqueness of each reservoir can pose several challenges to engineers attempting to devise optimum and effective diversion strategies. Diversion techniques include mechanical placement and/or chemical diversion of treatment fluids, further sub-classified into ball sealers, bridge plugs, packers, particulate diverters, viscous gels, crosslinked gels, relative permeability modifiers (RPMs), foams, and/or the use of placement techniques, such as coiled tubing (CT) and the maximum pressure difference and injection rate (MAPDIR) methodology. It is not always realized that the effectiveness of diverters greatly depends on reservoir properties, such as formation type, temperature, reservoir permeability, heterogeneity, and physical well characteristics (e.g., completion type, well deviation, length of treatment interval, multiple intervals, etc.). This paper reviews the mechanisms by which each variety of diverter functions and discusses the effect of various reservoir properties on the efficiency of diversion techniques. Guidelines are recommended to help enhance productivity from zones of interest by choosing the best methods of diversion while pumping an optimized amount of treatment fluid. The success of an overall acid treatment often depends on the effectiveness of the diverting agents.

Keywords: diversion, reservoir, zonal coverage, carbonate, sandstone

Procedia PDF Downloads 396
1199 Access and Outcome of Khas Land in Bangladesh: An Insight into Its Distribution Process and Influence on Landless Farmers

Authors: M. Foysul Alam

Abstract:

Land diluvion is a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. According to Bangladesh land administration manual, land gained by diluvion and alluvion are considered as Khas (state) lands. Distributing khas lands to the poorest landless people was suggested as a way of improving the livelihood by mobilizing their economic activity and improving their social status in Bangladesh. The impact of this initiative, which started in 1980 as a state policy, is perhaps one of the least experimentally documented ones in the country. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the economic and social status of some landless farmers focusing on determining whether the distribution of khas lands provide part of the explanation for possible improvement of their livelihood during this period of almost four decades. If not, the secondary objective of this study was to identify the issues and challenges of this policy, whether in strategic planning or implementation efforts. Both subjectively observable and objectively measurable data were collected from 150 households from 30 villages of 6 districts worse suffering from landlessness. A well-organized questionnaire, including 10 open ended question, were used to collect specific data and experiences of the landless farmers. Special attention was given to those who left peasantry becoming involved in other economic activities. The study found that Khas lands have very nominal or even zero influence on landless farmers due to 1. Lack of Khas land inventory 2. Lack of availability of information to the farmers 3. Complexity in application procedure for demanding Khas land and 4. Political nexus of local influential farmers makes it nearly impossible for those farmers who actually deserve it. It also found that most of the lucky farmers who eventually got a piece of Khas land had links with the local elites of their community. The research concludes that it is too early to decide how good the Khas land is for the marginalized landless farmers in Bangladesh, with actually a few numbers of them given the possession of one. This document provides crucial recommendations for overcoming the prevailing challenges.

Keywords: Khas land, land distribution, marginalized farmers, rural livelihood

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1198 Designing Program for Developing Self-Esteem of Gifted Children

Authors: Mohammad Jamalallail

Abstract:

Self-esteem implies a person’s overall self-worth, self-respect, and self-value. It helps a person to maintain good mental health, personality, and achievement. Gifted students face some emotional problems, sometimes, which cause decreases in their self-esteem. Such emotional problems include loneliness, anxiety, and depression as examples. For this reason, designing a counseling program is necessary for gifted students who need a high level of self-esteem. The available counseling programs focused on developmental aspect only to the best of the writer’s knowledge. While the proposed program focuses on both clinical and developmental counseling by applying psychoanalytic play therapy. The proposed program consists of; Theoretical background such as; Behavior, and RET. It also consists of counseling procedures and therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: self-esteem, gifted, program, design

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1197 Neural Adaptive Controller for a Class of Nonlinear Pendulum Dynamical System

Authors: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Khoygani, Reza Ghasemi

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In this paper, designing direct adaptive neural controller is applied for a class of a nonlinear pendulum dynamic system. The radial basis function (RBF) is used for the Neural network (NN). The adaptive neural controller is robust in presence of external and internal uncertainties. Both the effectiveness of the controller and robustness against disturbances are the merits of this paper. The promising performance of the proposed controllers investigates in simulation results.

Keywords: adaptive control, pendulum dynamical system, nonlinear control, adaptive neural controller, nonlinear dynamical, neural network, RBF, driven pendulum, position control

Procedia PDF Downloads 641
1196 Developing the Morphological Field of Problem Context to Assist Multi-Methodology in Operations Research

Authors: Mahnaz Hosseinzadeh, Mohammad Reza Mehregan

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In this paper, we have developed a morphological field to assist multi- methodology (combining methodologies together in whole or part) in Operations Research (OR) for the problem contexts in Iranian organizations. So, we have attempted to identify some dimensions for problem context according to Iranian organizational problems. Then, a general morphological program is designed which helps the OR practitioner to determine the suitable OR methodology as output for any configuration of conditions in a problem context as input and to reveal the fields necessary to be improved in OR. Applying such a program would have interesting results for OR practitioners.

Keywords: hard, soft and emancipatory operations research, General Morphological Analysis (GMA), multi-methodology, problem context

Procedia PDF Downloads 277
1195 The Prediction of Effective Equation on Drivers' Behavioral Characteristics of Lane Changing

Authors: Khashayar Kazemzadeh, Mohammad Hanif Dasoomi

Abstract:

According to the increasing volume of traffic, lane changing plays a crucial role in traffic flow. Lane changing in traffic depends on several factors including road geometrical design, speed, drivers’ behavioral characteristics, etc. A great deal of research has been carried out regarding these fields. Despite of the other significant factors, the drivers’ behavioral characteristics of lane changing has been emphasized in this paper. This paper has predicted the effective equation based on personal characteristics of lane changing by regression models.

Keywords: effective equation, lane changing, drivers’ behavioral characteristics, regression models

Procedia PDF Downloads 423
1194 The Use of a Miniature Bioreactor as Research Tool for Biotechnology Process Development

Authors: Muhammad Zainuddin Arriafdi, Hamudah Hakimah Abdullah, Mohd Helmi Sani, Wan Azlina Ahmad, Muhd Nazrul Hisham Zainal Alam

Abstract:

The biotechnology process development demands numerous experimental works. In laboratory environment, this is typically carried out using a shake flask platform. This paper presents the design and fabrication of a miniature bioreactor system as an alternative research tool for bioprocessing. The working volume of the reactor is 100 ml, and it is made of plastic. The main features of the reactor included stirring control, temperature control via the electrical heater, aeration strategy through a miniature air compressor, and online optical cell density (OD) sensing. All sensors and actuators integrated into the reactor was controlled using an Arduino microcontroller platform. In order to demonstrate the functionality of such miniature bioreactor concept, series of batch Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation experiments were performed under various glucose concentrations. Results attained from the fermentation experiments were utilized to solve the Monod equation constants, namely the saturation constant, Ks, and cells maximum growth rate, μmax as to further highlight the usefulness of the device. The mixing capacity of the reactor was also evaluated. It was found that the results attained from the miniature bioreactor prototype were comparable to results achieved using a shake flask. The unique features of the device as compared to shake flask platform is that the reactor mixing condition is much more comparable to a lab-scale bioreactor setup. The prototype is also integrated with an online OD sensor, and as such, no sampling was needed to monitor the progress of the reaction performed. Operating cost and medium consumption are also low and thus, making it much more economical to be utilized for biotechnology process development compared to lab-scale bioreactors.

Keywords: biotechnology, miniature bioreactor, research tools, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Procedia PDF Downloads 88
1193 Settlement of Group of Stone Columns

Authors: Adel Hanna, Tahar Ayadat, Mohammad Etezad, Cyrille Cros

Abstract:

A number of theoretical methods have been developed over the years to calculate the amount settlement of the soil reinforced with group of stone columns. The results deduced from these methods sometimes show large disagreement with the experimental observations. The reason of this divergence might be due to the fact that many of the previous methods assumed the deform shape of the columns which is different with the actual case. A new method to calculate settlement of the ground reinforced with group of stone columns is presented in this paper which overcomes the restrictions made by previous theories. This method is based on results deduced from numerical modeling. Results obtained from the model are validated.

Keywords: stone columns, group, soft soil, settlement, prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 480
1192 Production Cement Mortar and Concrete by Using Nano Clay

Authors: Mohammad Ashraf, Kawther Mohamed

Abstract:

This research tackles a new kind of additions (Nano Clay) and its effect on the features of concrete and both fresh and hardened cement mortar, as well as setting an optimal percentage of adding it to achieve the desired results and obtain on a strong concrete and mortar can be used for skyscrapers. The cementations additions are mineral materials in the form of a fine powder, added to concrete or cement mortar as partly cement substitutes, which means to be added instead of an equivalent amount of cement in order to improve and enhance some features of concrete or both the newly made and hardened cementations materials.

Keywords: nano clay in structure engineering, nanotechnology in construction industry, advanced additions in concrete, special concrete for skyscrapers

Procedia PDF Downloads 299
1191 Development of Femoral Head Osteonecrosis Due to Corticosteroids Consumption; Probable Role of OCP: A Case Report

Authors: S. Alireza Mirghasemi, Shervin Rashidinia, Mohammad Saleh Sadeghi, Mohsen Talebizadeh, Narges Rahimi Gabaran, Seyed Shahin Eftekhari, Sara Shahmoradi

Abstract:

Avascular necrosis of femoral head is a pathologic condition that the main cause is decreased blood supply of femoral head. Among predisposing risk factors, chronic use of corticosteroids, alcoholism, smocking and hip traumas have more important role. Also we can mention OCP consumption as a risk factor among less common predisposing factors that lead to AVNF, in this study we introduce another cause of AVNF with a period of treatment with moderate dose of corticosteroids accompanied by OCP as a probable facilitating factor that leads to AVNF.

Keywords: AVN, corticosteroids consumption, femoral head osteonecrosis, OCP

Procedia PDF Downloads 432
1190 Activity-Based Costing in the Hospitality Industry: A Case Study in a Hotel

Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Mohammad Ara

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to provide some empirical evidence about implementing Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in the hospitality industry in Iran. For this purpose, we consider the Tabriz International Hotel as our sample hotel and then gather the relevant data from its cost accounting system in 2012. Then, we use ABC as our costing method and compare the cost of each service unit with that cost which had been extracted for the traditional costing method. The results show a different cost per unit for two methods. Also, because of its more precise and detailed provided information, an ABC system facilitates the decision-making process for managers on decisions related to profitability analysis, budgeting, pricing, and so on.

Keywords: Activity-Based Costing (ABC), activity, cost driver, hospitality industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 277