Search results for: optimization strategies

Authors: Charuvan Kasemsap

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This research was studied in Bangnampriao District, Chachernsao Province, Thailand. The primary data relating to flooding, drought, and saline intrusion problem on agriculture were collected by surveying, focus group, and in-depth interview with agricultural officers, technical officers of irrigation department, and local government leader of Bangnampriao District. The likelihood and consequence of risk were determined the risk index by risk assessment matrix. In addition, the risk index and the total coping capacity scores were investigated the vulnerability index by vulnerability matrix. It was found that the high-risk drought and saline intrusion was dramatically along Bang Pakong River owing to the end destination of Chao Phraya Irrigation system of Central Thailand. This leads yearly the damage of rice paddy, mango tree, orchard, and fish pond. Therefore, some agriculture avoids rice growing during January to May, and also pumps fresh water from a canal into individual storage pond. However, Bangnampriao District will be strongly affected by the impacts of climate change. Monthly precipitations are expected to decrease in number; dry seasons are expected to be more in number and longer in duration. Thus, the risk and vulnerability of agriculture are also increasing. Adaptation strategies need to be put in place in order to enhance the resilience of the agriculture.

Keywords: agriculture, bangnampriao, climate change, risk assessment

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Authors: Richard White, Anne Drabble, Maureen O’Neill

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The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) offers secondary school students in the final two years of school (Years 11 and 12, 16 – 18 years of age) an opportunity to participate in a program which provides an accelerated pathway to tertiary studies. Whilst still at secondary school, the students undertake two first year university subjects that are required subjects in USC undergraduate degree programs. The program is called Integrated Learning Pathway (ILP) and offers a range of disciplines, including business, design, drama, education, and engineering. Between 2010 and 2014, 38% of secondary students who participated in an ILP program commenced undergraduate studies at USC following completion of secondary school studies. The research reported here considers “before and after” literacy and numeracy competencies of students to determine what impact participation in the ILP program has had on their academic skills. Qualitative and quantitative data has been gathered via numeracy and literacy testing of the students, and a survey asking the students to self-evaluate their numeracy and literacy skills, and reflect on their views of these academic skills. The research will enable improved targeting of teaching strategies so that students will acquire not only course-specific learning outcomes but also collateral academic skills. This enhancement of academic skills will improve undergraduate experience and improve student retention.

Keywords: academic skills enhancement, accelerated pathways, improved teaching, student retention

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Authors: Adrian Ionita, Ana-Maria Ghimes

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The lack of features, design and the lack of promoting an integrated booking application are some of the reasons why most online travel platforms only offer automation of old booking processes, being limited to the integration of a smaller number of services without addressing the user experience. This paper represents a practical study on how to improve travel applications creating user-profiles through data-mining based on neural networks and genetic algorithms. Choices made by users and their ‘friends’ in the ‘social’ network context can be considered input data for a recommendation engine. The purpose of using these algorithms and this design is to improve user experience and to deliver more features to the users. The paper aims to highlight a broader range of improvements that could be applied to travel applications in terms of design and service integration, while the main scientific approach remains the technical implementation of the neural network solution. The motivation of the technologies used is also related to the initiative of some online booking providers that have made the fact that they use some ‘neural network’ related designs public. These companies use similar Big-Data technologies to provide recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and cinemas with a neural network based recommendation engine for building a user ‘DNA profile’. This implementation of the ‘profile’ a collection of neural networks trained from previous user choices, can improve the usability and design of any type of application.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, DNA profile, genetic algorithms, machine learning, neural networks, optimization, recommendation system, user profiling

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Authors: Amenaghawon Clement Osemwinyen

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The Activity, Student-centred, Experiment, Improvisation - Plan, Do, See, Improve (ASEI-PDSI) method championed by the Strengthening Mathematics And Science Education (SMASE) - Nigeria Project is an attempt to improve the quality of mathematics, which has consistently declined over the years in both public primary and secondary schools across the country. The study thus assessed the ASEI-PDSI method on students’ attitudes and achievement in junior secondary schools (JSS) mathematics in FCT-Abuja. A survey research design was adopted, and 100 mathematics teachers using a stratified random sampling method were used for the study. The data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the ASEI-PDSI method had significantly improved the attitudes of students toward mathematics. The study also revealed that the ASEI-PDSI method significantly influenced junior secondary school (JSS) students’ mathematics achievement. Amongst the recommendations were that teachers should be encouraged to adopt the ASEI-PDSI method in teaching and learning mathematics in order to create a mathematically stimulating classroom environment which could advertently influence junior secondary school (JSS) students’ attitude and academic performance in mathematics. Also, regular in-service training programs should be organized by stakeholders (government and other interest groups) so as to improve the teaching strategies of teachers, mostly as they affect the ASEI-PDSI method.

Keywords: achievement, ASEI-PDSI method, attitude, mathematics, SMASE

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Authors: Graziela D. de Azevedo, Livia M. Pagotto, Mario P. Monzoni, Neto

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This article aims to discuss partnerships between public administration and private social investment aimed at territorial development. There has been some approximation in Brazil from private social investors with initiatives aiming at territorial development policies in highly vulnerable territories or in places where the business sector operates. This represents this paper’s major justification: on the advance of academic debate about how businesses, institutes, and foundations have been working alongside local governments, taking the territory as the reference for joint action. The research was based on the literature on governance and territorial development and adopted a mixed iterative approach (inductive and deductive) through an interpretative lens so as to develop an analysis structure that complements and expands knowledge about the contribution of public policies and private social investments for territorial development in Brazil. The analysis of 15 cases based on three distinct blocks (territorial development plans, articulation for education, and thematic approaches) has made it possible to identify common elements regarding the motivations of partnerships, the specific needs of the actors involved, and the priority drivers for stimulating development. Findings include discussion on the leading role of territories in their development paths, on the institutionalization and strengthening of capacities, and on long-term perspectives in development strategies.

Keywords: private social investment, public administration, territorial governance, territorial development

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Authors: Dwipa Rizki Utama, Hanief Ibrahim

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The development of industry retail in Indonesia is very fast, various strategy was undertaken to boost the customer satisfaction and the productivity purchases to boost the profit, one of which is implementing strategies layout. The purpose of this study is to determine the layout of Qita supermarket, a retail industry in Indonesia, in order to improve customer satisfaction and to maximize the rate of products’ sale as a whole, so as the infrequently purchased products will be purchased. This research uses a literature study method, and one of the data mining methods is association rule which applied in market basket analysis. Data were tested amounted 100 from 160 after pre-processing data, so then the distribution department and 26 departments corresponding to the data previous layout will be obtained. From those data, by the association rule method, customer behavior when purchasing items simultaneously can be studied, so then the layout of the supermarket based on customer behavior can be determined. Using the rapid miner software by the minimal support 25% and minimal confidence 30% showed that the 14th department purchased at the same time with department 10, 21st department purchased at the same time with department 13, 15th department purchased at the same time with department 12, 14th department purchased at the same time with department 12, and 10th department purchased at the same time with department 14. From those results, a better supermarket layout can be arranged than the previous layout.

Keywords: industry retail, strategy, association rule, supermarket

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Authors: Juan Pedro Aznar Alarcon, Josep Maria Sayeras Maspera

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Airbnb and other similar platforms are offering a near substitute to the traditional accommodation service supplied by the hotel sector. In this context, hotels can try to compete by offering higher quality and additional services, which imply the need for new investments or try to compete by reducing prices. The theoretical model presented in this paper analyzes the best response using a sequential game theory model. The main conclusion is that due to the financial constraints that small and medium hotels have these hotels have reduced prices whereas hotels that belong to international groups or have an easy access to financial resources have increased their investment to increase the quality of the service provided. To check the validity of the theoretical model financial data from Barcelona, London and Paris hotels have been used analyzing profitability, quality of the service provided, the investment propensity and the evolution of the gross profit. The model and the empirical data provide the base for some industrial policy in the hospitality industry. To address the extra cost that small hotels in Europe have to face compared by bigger firms would help to improve the level of quality provided and to some extent have positive externalities in terms of job creation and an increasing added value for the industry.

Keywords: Airbnb, profitability, hospitality industry, game theory

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Authors: Srikantan L. Jayasri, James Gan

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The changes in Singapore’s land use, natural preference of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to live in forest edges and their adaptability has led to interface between humans and macaques. Studies have shown that two-third of human-macaque interactions in Singapore were related to human food. We aimed to assess differences among macaques groups in their dependence on human food and interaction with humans as indicators of the level of interface. Field observations using instantaneous scan sampling and all occurrence ad-lib sampling were carried out for 23 macaque groups over 28 days recording 71.5 hours of observations. Data on macaque behaviour, demography, frequency, and nature of human-macaque interactions were collected. None of the groups were found to completely rely on human food source. Of the 23 groups, 40% of them were directly or indirectly provisioned by humans. One-third of the groups observed engaged in some form of interactions with the humans. Three groups that were directly fed by humans contributed to 83% of the total human-macaque interactions observed during the study. Our study indicated that interactions between humans and macaques exist in specific groups and in those fed by humans regularly. Although feeding monkeys is illegal in Singapore, such incidents seem to persist in specific locations. We emphasize the importance of group and location-specific assessment of the existing human-wildlife interactions. Conflict management strategies developed should be location specific to address the cause of interactions.

Keywords: primates, Southeast Asia, wildlife management, Singapore

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Authors: Syed Tahir Shah, Fazal Muhammad, Syed Kashif Shah, Maleeha Gul

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In recent days, natural gas has become a relatively clean and quality source of energy, which is recovered from deep wells by expensive drilling activities. The recovered substance is purified by processing in multiple stages to remove the unwanted/containments like dust, dirt, crude oil and other particles. Mostly, gas utilities are concerned with essential objectives of quantity/quality of natural gas delivery, financial outcome and safe natural gas volumetric inventory in the transmission gas pipeline. Gas quantity and quality are primarily related to standards / advanced metering procedures in processing units/transmission systems, and the financial outcome is defined by purchasing and selling gas also the operational cost of the transmission pipeline. SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited) Pakistan has a wide range of diameters of natural gas transmission pipelines network of over 9125 km. This research results in answer a few of the issues in accuracy/metering procedures via multiple advanced gadgets for gas flow attributes after being utilized in the transmission system and research. The effects of good pressure management in transmission gas pipeline network in contemplation to boost the gas volume deposited in the existing network and finally curbing gas losses UFG (Unaccounted for gas) for financial benefits. Furthermore, depending on the results and their observation, it is directed to enhance the maximum allowable working/operating pressure (MAOP) of the system to 1235 PSIG from the current round about 900 PSIG, such that the capacity of the network could be entirely utilized. In gross, the results depict that the current model is very efficient and provides excellent results in the minimum possible time.

Keywords: natural gas, pipeline network, UFG, transmission pack, AGA

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Authors: Preethi Sudarshanie Dassanayake, R. A. Sudath Weerasiri

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Objective: The objective of this study were to find out highest expectation and perception,highest gap between perception and expectation of service quality, and to find out such gaps between perception and expectation with regard to service quality dimensions were whether statistically significant. Methodology: This study carried out at the Out Patient Department (OPD) of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), University of Peradeniya. Modified version of SERVQUAL with 22-pairs of items regarding expectation and perception of service quality in dimensions of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy were included in Part 1 and the Part 2 of the questionnaire consisted of questions regarding socio-demographic factors. Sample size was 200 and sampling procedure was Systematic Random Sampling. Customers above 18 years of age, able to read, write and understand Sinhala or English language, visits more than twice in last six months and who willing to respond were selected. Findings: The analysis revealed customers expectations of service higher than the perceived for all 22- items of the SERVQUAL. This high expectation suggests that there is sufficient room for further improvement of service quality in all five dimensions. Originality/Value of the Paper: This study gave a new insight for poorly researched area of veterinary health service quality in Sri Lankan context. It provides hospital administrators and policy makers to develop strategies for further improvement of service quality according to customers' view.

Keywords: expectation, perception, service quality, SERVQUAL, veterinary health care

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Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Sae Kyul Kim, Seung Il Ahn, Jae Hee Choi, Heejung Jung, Yejin Choi, Byung Yong Kim, Young Tae Hahm

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Opuntia ficus-indica is a member of the Cactaceae family that is widely grown in all the semiarid countries throughout the world. Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten (OFS), commonly known as prickly pear cactus, is commercially cultivated as a dietary foodstuffs and medicinal stuffs in Jeju Island, Korea. Owing to high viscosity of OFS’ pad, its application to the commercial field has been limited. When the low viscosity of OFS’s pad is obtained, it is useful for the manufacture of healthy food in the related field. This study was performed to obtain the optimal digestion conditions of food-grade enzymes (Pectinex, Viscozyme and Celluclast) with the powder of OFS stem. And also, the contents of water-soluble dietary fiber (WSDF) of the dried powder prepared by the extraction of OFS stem were monitored and optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM), which included 20 experimental points with 3 replicates for two independent variables (fermentation temperature and time). A central composite design was used to monitor the effect of fermentation temperature (30-90 °C, X1) and fermentation time (1-10h, X2) on dependent variables, such as viscosity (Y1), water-soluble dietary fiber (Y2) and dietary fiber yield (Y3). Estimated maximum values at predicted optimum conditions were in agreement with experimental values. Optimum temperature and duration were 50°C and 12 hours, respectively. Viscosity value reached 3.4 poise. Yield of water-soluble dietary fiber is determined in progress.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten, enzymatic fermentation, response surface methodology, water-soluble dietary fiber, viscosity

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Authors: Binu Sahayam

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HIV/AIDS epidemic is in its third decade and has become a virulent disease that threatens the world population. Many countless efforts had been made yet this has become a social and developmental concern. According to UNAIDS 2013 Report, In India around 2.4 million people are currently living with HIV and third in the infection rate. As every country is facing this health issue, this has become a social and developmental concern for India. In country like India, open discussion on sex and sexuality is not possible due to its conventional culture. Educational institution like schools and colleges can create awareness on sex education, life skill education, information on HIV and STD which is lacking. It is very clear that preventive knowledge remains low and this leads to increase in the HIV/AIDS infection rate. HIV/AIDS is a disease which is not curable but preventable, keeping this in mind religious leaders of various have come forward in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS using various social strategies. The study has been focused on three main India religious teachings Hinduism, Christianity and Islam in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS and its possible intervention in dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention. The study is important because it highlights the health issues, stigma discrimination, psychological disturbances and insecurity faced by the infected and affected persons. Therefore, this study privileges the role of religious leadership in the efforts and processes of preventing HIV/AIDS, caring and providing support to People living with HIV/AIDS and argues that intervention of religious leadership is an effective measure to confront many of the barriers associated with HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: HIV and AIDS, STDs, religion and religious organisation

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Authors: Kayijuka Idrissa

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This work investigates a mathematical study for traffic flow and traffic density in Kigali city roads and the data collected from the national police of Rwanda in 2012. While working on this topic, some mathematical models were used in order to analyze and compare traffic variables. This work has been carried out on Kigali roads specifically at roundabouts from Kigali Business Center (KBC) to Prince House as our study sites. In this project, we used some mathematical tools to analyze the data collected and to understand the relationship between traffic variables. We applied the Poisson distribution method to analyze and to know the number of accidents occurred in this section of the road which is from KBC to Prince House. The results show that the accidents that occurred in 2012 were at very high rates due to the fact that this section has a very narrow single lane on each side which leads to high congestion of vehicles, and consequently, accidents occur very frequently. Using the data of speeds and densities collected from this section of road, we found that the increment of the density results in a decrement of the speed of the vehicle. At the point where the density is equal to the jam density the speed becomes zero. The approach is promising in capturing sudden changes on flow patterns and is open to be utilized in a series of intelligent management strategies and especially in noncurrent congestion effect detection and control.

Keywords: statistical methods, traffic flow, Poisson distribution, car moving technics

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Authors: Tris Kee

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As the urban design discipline develops renewed interests in participatory design and collaborative place-making, it becomes critical to review the potential and limitations in current processes to ensure a sustainable method for future development.This paper explores how collaborative design can be a key to future sustainable urban development through two case studies from Asia.The process involves a multi-disciplinary collaboration and an innovative learning process by sharing ideas as well as careful consideration on social, economic and political circumstances among government and district stakeholders.This intrinsic proposition of innovative participatory planning implies interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals and local residents to integrate knowledge into new urban place-making thinking.Design innovation in contemporary society can manifest itself in the discourse sustainable urban development by bottom-up planning and community driven design. This paper examines the emerging design pedagogy which promotes interdisciplinary coalition of professionals and local stakeholders in community development as an innovative design rubric to create a sustainable urban approach.Through two case studies in Hong Kong, this paper reviews and critically evaluates the process of how the notion of sustainable development in contemporary urban planning theory is underpinned by the collaborative design practice.

Keywords: collaborative design, design innovation, sustainable development, urban development

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Authors: Si Chen, Le Zhang, Xian He

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The research explored the influences of public open space system on housing price through hedonic models, in order to support better open space plans and economic policies. We have three initial hypotheses: 1) public open space system has an overall positive influence on surrounding housing prices. 2) Different public open space types have different levels of influence on motivating surrounding housing prices. 3) Walking and driving accessibilities from property to public open spaces have different statistical relation with housing prices. Cook County, Illinois, was chosen to be a study area since data availability, sufficient open space types, and long-term open space preservation strategies. We considered the housing attributes, driving and walking accessibility scores from houses to nearby public open spaces, and driving accessibility scores to hospitals as influential features and used real housing sales price in 2010 as a dependent variable in the built hedonic model. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, General Moran’s I analysis and geographically weighted regression analysis, we observed the statistical relations between public open spaces and housing sale prices in the three built hedonic models and confirmed all three hypotheses.

Keywords: hedonic model, public open space, housing sale price, regression analysis, accessibility score

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Authors: M. Mokrzecka, A. Aly, A. K. Obwona, Piotrowska M., Richardson S.

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Frankfurt am Main, the fifth largest city in Germany, ranked 15th by the Global Financial Centers Index in 2014, and a finalist of European Green Capital 2014, is a crucial player in German Environmental Policy. In 2012 the city authorities agreed a target to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 50%, and fully switch to renewable energy by the year 2050. To achieve this goal, the Municipality of Frankfurt has begun preparing the Master plan, which will be introduced to public by the end of 2015. Transitions theory tells, that to address challenges as complex as Climate Change and the Energiewende, the development of new technologies and systems is not sufficient. Transition by definition is a process, and in such a large scale (city and region transition) can be fulfilled only, when operates within a broad socio – technical system. Thus, the Authors believe that only by close cooperation with citizens, as well as different stakeholders, can the Transition in Frankfurt be successful. The city therefore needs a strategy which will ensure the engagement, sense of ownership and broad support within Frankfurt society for the aims of the Master plan. This paper presents a proposal for how the city can achieve this based therefore, on fostering the citizens’ engagement through a comprehensive, innovative communication strategy. The proposal was originally developed by the authors as a winning submission for the Climate-KIC Transitions PhD Summer School 2014..

Keywords: city development, communication strategies, social transition, sustainability

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Authors: Geetha Baskaran, Andrzej Barjiela, Rong Qu

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Motivation: Nurse scheduling is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. It is also known as NP-hard. It needs an efficient re-scheduling to minimize some trade-off of the measures of violation by reducing selected constraints to soft constraints with measurements of their violations. Problem Statement: In this paper, we extend our novel approach to solve the nurse scheduling problem by transforming it through Information Granulation. Approach: This approach satisfies the rules of a typical hospital environment based on a standard benchmark problem. Generating good work schedules has a great influence on nurses' working conditions which are strongly related to the level of a quality health care. Domain transformation that combines the strengths of operation research and artificial intelligence was proposed for the solution of the problem. Compared to conventional methods, our approach involves judicious grouping (information granulation) of shifts types’ that transforms the original problem into a smaller solution domain. Later these schedules from the smaller problem domain are converted back into the original problem domain by taking into account the constraints that could not be represented in the smaller domain. An Integer Programming (IP) package is used to solve the transformed scheduling problem by expending the branch and bound algorithm. We have used the GNU Octave for Windows to solve this problem. Results: The scheduling problem has been solved in the proposed formalism resulting in a high quality schedule. Conclusion: Domain transformation represents departure from a conventional one-shift-at-a-time scheduling approach. It offers an advantage of efficient and easily understandable solutions as well as offering deterministic reproducibility of the results. We note, however, that it does not guarantee the global optimum.

Keywords: domain transformation, nurse scheduling, information granulation, artificial intelligence, simulation

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Authors: Shidrokh Goudarzi, Wan Haslina Hassan

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Heterogeneous wireless networks are converging towards an all-IP network as part of the so-called next-generation network. In this paradigm, different access technologies need to be interconnected; thus, vertical handovers or vertical handoffs are necessary for seamless mobility. In this paper, we conduct a review of existing vertical handover decision-making mechanisms that aim to provide ubiquitous connectivity to mobile users. To offer a systematic comparison, we categorize these vertical handover measurement and decision structures based on their respective methodology and parameters. Subsequently, we analyze several vertical handover approaches in the literature and compare them according to their advantages and weaknesses. The paper compares the algorithms based on the network selection methods, complexity of the technologies used and efficiency in order to introduce our vertical handover decision framework. We find that vertical handovers on heterogeneous wireless networks suffer from the lack of a standard and efficient method to satisfy both user and network quality of service requirements at different levels including architectural, decision-making and protocols. Also, the consolidation of network terminal, cross-layer information, multi packet casting and intelligent network selection algorithm appears to be an optimum solution for achieving seamless service continuity in order to facilitate seamless connectivity.

Keywords: heterogeneous wireless networks, vertical handovers, vertical handover metric, decision-making algorithms

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Authors: Torsten Schwan, Rene Unger

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Simulation of thermal and electrical building performance more and more becomes part of an integrative planning process. Increasing requirements on energy efficiency, the integration of volatile renewable energy, smart control and storage management often cause tremendous challenges for building engineers and architects. This mainly affects commercial or non-residential buildings. Their energy consumption characteristics significantly distinguish from residential ones. This work focuses on the many-objective optimization problem indoor air quality and comfort, especially in non-residential buildings. Based on a brief description of intermediate dependencies between different requirements on indoor air treatment it extends existing Modelica-based building physics models with additional system states to adequately represent indoor air conditions. Interfaces to corresponding HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system and control models enable closed-loop analyzes of occupants' requirements and energy efficiency as well as profitableness aspects. A complex application scenario of a nearly-zero-energy school building shows advantages of presented evaluation process for engineers and architects. This way, clear identification of air quality requirements in individual rooms together with realistic model-based description of occupants' behavior helps to optimize HVAC system already in early design stages. Building planning processes can be highly improved and accelerated by increasing integration of advanced simulation methods. Those methods mainly provide suitable answers on engineers' and architects' questions regarding more exuberant and complex variety of suitable energy supply solutions.

Keywords: indoor air quality, dynamic simulation, energy efficient control, non-residential buildings

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Authors: Lavanya Dharmendran, Shenuka Singh, Sona Baburathanam

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The aim of the study is to understand the level of awareness in a community of a specific region of Kuwait regarding oral cancer and its screening methods so as to enhance the uptake of oral cancer screening methods. This is a cross-sectional study comprising 100 adult participants residing in the governate of Farwaniya, Kuwait. Participants of above 18 years of both genders will be selected using convenience sampling. Data collection includes the administration of a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises three sections, each section assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the participants’ opinions about oral cancer and screening methods. Data will be analyzed using Humphris Oral Cancer Knowledge Scale. Inferential statistics will be done using Chi-Square or Fisher’s exact test for categorical data. A level of p<.05 will be established as being significant. All ethical considerations, such as respect for personal confidentiality and informed consent, will be applied in this study. This study revealed that although respondents were aware of the term oral cancer, more than half of the study participants were unaware of the symptoms associated with this condition. Smoking and alcohol were identified as risk factors for oral cancer, but the majority of participants did not identify the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) as an added risk factor. This suggests a greater need for dental practitioners to include educational strategies in routine dental visits to ensure greater awareness of oral cancer.

Keywords: oral cancer, oral screening, oral public health, oral health

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Authors: Umme Hani, H. G. Shivakumar, M. D. Younus Pasha

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The purpose of this work was to design and optimize a novel vaginal drug delivery system for more effective treatment against vaginal candidiasis. To achieve a better therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance in the treatment for vaginal candidiasis, herbal antifungal agent Curcumin which is 2.5 fold more potent than fluconazole at inhibiting the adhesion of candida albicans has been formulated in a bio-adhesive vaginal film. Curcumin was formulated in bio-adhesive film formulations that could be retained in the vagina for prolonged intervals. The polymeric films were prepared by solvent evaporation and optimized for various physicodynamic and aesthetic properties. Curcumin HPβCD (Hydroxypropyl β Cyclodextrin) was first developed to increase the solubility of curcumin. The formation of the Curcumin HPβCD complex was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and FT-IR and evaluated for its solubility. Curcumin HPβCD complex was formulated in a bio-adhesive film using hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and Carbopol 934P and characterized. DSC and FT-IR data of Curcumin HPβCD indicate there was complex formation between the drug and HPβCD. The little moisture content (8.02±0.34% w/w) was present in the film, which helps them to remain stable and kept them from being completely dry and brittle. The mechanical properties, tensile strength, and percentage elongation at break reveal that the formulations were found to be soft and tough. The films showed good peelability, relatively good swelling index, and moderate tensile strength and retained vaginal mucosa up to 8 h. The developed Curcumin vaginal film could be a promising safe herbal medication and can ensure longer residence at the vagina and provide an efficient therapy for vaginal candidiasis.

Keywords: curcumin, curcumin-HPβCD complex, bio-adhesive vaginal film, vaginal candidiasis, 23 factorial design

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Authors: Debabrata Bhadra, B. K. Chaudhuri

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The operation of organic thin film transistors (OFETs) with low voltage is currently a prevailing issue. We have fabricated anthracene thin-film transistor (TFT) with an ultrathin layer (~450nm) of Poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/CuO nanocomposites as a gate insulator. We obtained a device with excellent electrical characteristics at low operating voltages (<1V). Different layers of the film were also prepared to achieve the best optimization of ideal gate insulator with various static dielectric constant (εr ). Capacitance density, leakage current at 1V gate voltage and electrical characteristics of OFETs with a single and multi layer films were investigated. This device was found to have highest field effect mobility of 2.27 cm2/Vs, a threshold voltage of 0.34V, an exceptionally low sub threshold slope of 380 mV/decade and an on/off ratio of 106. Such favorable combination of properties means that these OFETs can be utilized successfully as voltages below 1V. A very simple fabrication process has been used along with step wise poling process for enhancing the pyroelectric effects on the device performance. The output characteristic of OFET after poling were changed and exhibited linear current-voltage relationship showing the evidence of large polarization. The temperature dependent response of the device was also investigated. The stable performance of the OFET after poling operation makes it reliable in temperature sensor applications. Such High-ε CuO/PVDF gate dielectric appears to be highly promising candidates for organic non-volatile memory and sensor field-effect transistors (FETs).

Keywords: organic field effect transistors, thin film transistor, gate dielectric, organic semiconductor

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Authors: Wen-Yu Lin, Yi-Ching Chung, Jhao-Ren Lin, Tzyy-Rong Jinn

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It is well known that enterovirus 71(EV71) causes recurring outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease and encephalitis leading to complications or death in young children. And, several enterovirus 71 (EV71) of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) with high mortalities occurred in Asia country, such as Hong Kung (1985), Malaysia (1997), Taiwan (1998) and China (2008) that EV71 results in severe neurological complications and sudden death in infants and young children. However, there are still no effective drugs and vaccines to reduce and inhibit EV71 infection. Therefore, the development of specific and effective antiviral strategies against EV71 has become an urgent issue for the protection of children from the hazards of the HFMD. As reported, amantadine is effective in prophylaxis and treatment of the EV71 infections. Thus, the aim of this study was to further evaluate the synergistic antiviral activity of amantadine coupled with magnesium lithospermate B (MLB) against enterovirus 71 infection. In a preliminary test, it is shown that the infected RD cells were treated with amantadine after virus absorption, at concentrations of 3 and 5µM of amantadine suppressed EV71-induced CPE to 13% and 23%, respectively at MOI of 3. Alternatively, at concentrations of 5µg/ml of MLB combined with 3 and 5 µM of amantadine apparently suppressed EV71-induced CPE to 45% and 63%, respectively at MOI of 3. Thus, amantadine coupled with MLB may have the potential for further study to development as the chemopreventive reagents against EV71 infection.

Keywords: amantadine, Enterovirus 71, magnesium lithospermate B, RD cells, synergistic effects

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Authors: Sukaina Al-Nasrawi, Maysoun Ibrahim

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) have affected recent public administration and governance. Electronic Government (e-government) services were developed to simplify government procedures and improve interaction with citizens on one hand and to create new governance models to empower citizens and involve them in the decision-making process while increasing transparency on another hand. It is worth noting that efficient governance models enable sustainable development at the social and economic levels. Currently, the status of e-government national strategies and implementation programs vary from one country to another. This variance in the development levels of e-government initiatives and applications noted the digital divide between countries of the same region, thereby highlighting the difficulty to reach regional integration. Many Arab countries realized the need for a well-articulated e-government strategy and launched national e-government initiatives. In selected Arab countries, the focus of e-government initiatives and programs shifted from the provision of services to advanced concepts such as open data initiatives. This paper aims at over viewing the e-government achievements of Arab countries and areas for enhancement, and share best practices in the area.of the best e-government programmes from the Arab region the world. It will also shed the light on the impact of the information society in general and e-government, in specific, on the social and economic development in the Arab region.

Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), services, e-government, development, Arab region, digital divide, citizens

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Authors: Muhammad Feteha

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The socio-political Middle East scene has radically changed over the last decade, and one major contributor to this change was the Egyptian revolution of 2011. The massive impact of this revolution that originally started as a small protest in the Tahrir square has attracted more scholars to study the public space in Egypt, where it has become a necessity in order to understand and improve the socio-political conditions. The status of public space in Egypt has been deteriorating due to many reasons, including privatization and neglect. This paper studies one of the major problems of the contemporary public space in Cairo, which is the lack of identity. This takes place through a comparative analysis between selected case studies from both medieval and contemporary Cairo. The theoretical framework upon which the analysis is based views public space as a ‘container of social action’ and a ‘product of spatial practice’. Through the ‘deciphering of space’, differences in the socio-political role, symbolism, and identity of public spaces between both eras are shown. The paper aims to extract some lessons from public space in medieval Cairo, which was truly the ‘centerpiece of the public realm’ and a ‘fundamental expressions’ of the unique trans-dynastic architectural identity of Cairo. In addition, it suggests some strategies to revive the Cairene identity of public space instead of constructing new ones to be only ‘utilitarian spaces used for circulation’ and lack any identity.

Keywords: architectural identity, Cairene public space, Islamic architectural history, production of space

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Authors: Tesfaw Belayneh Abebe

Abstract:

Integrating low-altitude earth orbit (LEO) satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within a non-terrestrial network (NTN) with the assistance of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), we investigate the problem of how to enhance throughput through integrated LEO satellites and UAVs with the assistance of RIS. We propose a method to jointly optimize the associations with the LEO satellite, the 3D trajectory of the UAV, and the phase shifts of the RIS to maximize communication throughput for RIS-assisted integrated LEO satellite and UAV-enabled wireless communications, which is challenging due to the time-varying changes in the position of the LEO satellite, the high mobility of UAVs, an enormous number of possible control actions, and also the large number of RIS elements. Utilizing a multi-agent double deep Q-network (MADDQN), our approach dynamically adjusts LEO satellite association, UAV positioning, and RIS phase shifts. Simulation results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms baseline strategies in maximizing throughput. Lastly, thanks to the integrated network and the RIS, the proposed scheme achieves up to 65.66x higher peak throughput and 25.09x higher worst-case throughput.

Keywords: integrating low-altitude earth orbit (LEO) satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within a non-terrestrial network (NTN), reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), multi-agent double deep Q-network (MADDQN)

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Authors: K. Geetha Ramesh, A. Ramachandraiah

Abstract:

In an internal building space, daylight becomes a powerful source of illumination. The challenge therefore, is to develop means of utilizing both direct and diffuse natural light in buildings while maintaining and improving occupant's visual comfort, particularly at greater distances from the windows throwing daylight. The geometrical features of windows in a building have significant effect in providing daylight. The main goal of this research is to develop an innovative window geometry, which will effectively provide the daylight component adequately together with internal reflected component(IRC) and also the external reflected component(ERC), if any. This involves exploration of a light redirecting system using fractal geometry for windows, in order to penetrate and distribute daylight more uniformly to greater depths, minimizing heat gain and glare, and also to reduce building energy use substantially. Of late the creation of fractal geometrical window and the occurrence of daylight illuminance due to such windows is becoming an interesting study. The amount of daylight can change significantly based on the window geometry and sky conditions. This leads to the (i) exploration of various fractal patterns suitable for window designs, and (ii) quantification of the effect of chosen fractal window based on the relationship between the fractal pattern, size, orientation and glazing properties for optimizing daylighting. There are a lot of natural lighting applications able to predict the behaviour of a light in a room through a traditional opening - a regular window. The conventional prediction methodology involves the evaluation of the daylight factor, the internal reflected component and the external reflected component. Having evaluated the daylight illuminance level for a conventional window, the technical performance of a fractal window for an optimal daylighting is to be studied and compared with that of a regular window. The methodologies involved are highlighted in this paper.

Keywords: daylighting, fractal geometry, fractal window, optimization

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Authors: Hamid Reza Behnood, Esmaeel Ayati, Tom Brijs, Mohammadali Pirayesh Neghab

Abstract:

Investment projects in road safety planning can benefit from an effectiveness evaluation regarding their expected safety outcomes. The objective of this study is to develop a decision support system (DSS) to support policymakers in taking the right choice in road safety planning based on the efficiency of previously implemented safety measures in a set of regions in Iran. The measures considered for each region in the study include performance indicators about (1) police operations, (2) treated black spots, (3) freeway and highway facility supplies, (4) speed control cameras, (5) emergency medical services, and (6) road lighting projects. To this end, inefficiency measure is calculated, defined by the proportion of fatality rates in relation to the combined measure of road safety performance indicators (i.e., road safety measures) which should be minimized. The relative inefficiency for each region is modeled by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. In a next step, a fuzzy decision-making system is constructed to convert the information obtained from the DEA analysis into a rule-based system that can be used by policy makers to evaluate the expected outcomes of certain alternative investment strategies in road safety.

Keywords: performance indicators, road safety, decision support system, data envelopment analysis, fuzzy reasoning

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Authors: Enyia James Diwa, Dodeye Ina Igbong, Archibong Archibong Eso

Abstract:

Gas turbine operators have been faced with the dramatic financial setback resulting from compressor fouling. In a highly deregulated power industry where there is stiffness in the market competition, has made it imperative to improvise means of reducing maintenance cost in other to yield maximum profit. Compressor fouling results from the deposition of contaminants in the presence of oil and moisture on the compressor blade or annulus surfaces, which leads to a loss in flow capacity and compressor efficiency. These combined effects reduce power output, increase heat rate and cause creep life reduction. This paper also contains a model of two gas turbine engines via Cranfield University software known as TURBOMATCH, which is simulation software for detecting engine fouling rate. The model engines are of different configurations and capacities, and are operating in two different modes of constant output power and turbine inlet temperature for a two and three stage filter system. The idea is to investigate the more economically viable filtration systems by gas turbine users based on performance only. It has been demonstrated in the results that the two spool engine is a little more beneficial compared to the single spool. This is as a result of a higher pressure ratio of the two spools as well as the deceleration of the high-pressure compressor and high-pressure turbine speed in a constant TET. Meanwhile, the inlet filtration system was properly designed and balanced with a well-timed and economical compressor washing regime/scheme to control compressor fouling. The different technologies of inlet air filtration and compressor washing are considered and an attempt at optimization with respect to the cost of a combination of both control measures are made.

Keywords: inlet filtration, pressure loss, single spool, two spool

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Authors: Afolabi Joseph Fasoranti

Abstract:

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in Nigeria, being one of the ten leading causes of hospital admissions and a leading cause of death in adults, especially among the economically productive age group. This paper critically examined the importance of health education towards the eradication and prevention of tuberculosis in Nigeria. It was reviewed and discussed under the following subheadings; Global burden of tuberculosis in Nigeria, concept, definition and etiology of tuberculosis, Signs and symptoms of tuberculosis, diagnosis of tuberculosis, causative agent, modes of infection and incubation period, risk factors of pulmonary tuberculosis Dots and stop TB programmes in Nigeria Treatment and prevention of tuberculosis TB treatment strategies, Dealing with treatment problems in Nigeria Stigmatization against Tuberculosis Patients Health education as a tool for achieving free tuberculosis country. Emphasis for Tb control has been placed on the development of improved vaccines, diagnostic and treatment courses but less on health education and awareness. Although the need for these tools is indisputable, the obstacle facing the spread of TB go beyond technological. The findings of this study may stimulate health system policy makers, Government and non- governmental organizations, donor agencies and other stakeholders in planning and designing health education intervention programs on the control and eradication of tuberculosis. It therefore recommended that Government should implement health education as part of the DOTs, this will thus empower the tuberculosis patients on ways to live healthy, lifestyle, in doing this, they will recover fast and prevent them from spreading the disease.

Keywords: tuberculosis, health education, panacea, Nigeria, prevention

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