Search results for: multi technology

Authors: Abdullah Alsaeed

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Virtualized computing and cloud computing infrastructures are no longer fuzz or marketing term. They are a core reality in today’s corporate Information Technology (IT) organizations. Hence, developing an effective and efficient methodologies for data backup and data recovery is required more than any time. The purpose of data backup and recovery techniques are to assist the organizations to strategize the business continuity and disaster recovery approaches. In order to accomplish this strategic objective, a variety of mechanism were proposed in the recent years. This research paper will explore and examine the latest techniques and solutions to provide data backup and restoration for the cloud computing platforms.

Keywords: data backup, data recovery, cloud computing, business continuity, disaster recovery, cost-effective, data encryption.

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Authors: F. Q. Shao, W. Q. Wang, Y. Yin, T. P. Yu, D. B. Zou, J. M. Ouyang

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The Radiation Pressure Acceleration (RPA) mechanism is very promising in laser-driven ion acceleration because of high laser-ion energy conversion efficiency. Although some experiments have shown the characteristics of RPA, the energy of ions is quite limited. The ion energy obtained in experiments is only several MeV/u, which is much lower than theoretical prediction. One possible limiting factor is the transverse instability incited in the RPA process. The transverse instability is basically considered as the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability, which is a kind of interfacial instability and occurs when a light fluid pushes against a heavy fluid. Multi-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations show that the onset of transverse instability will destroy the acceleration process and broaden the energy spectrum of fast ions during the RPA dominant ion acceleration processes. The evidence of the RT instability driven by radiation pressure has been observed in a laser-foil interaction experiment in a typical RPA regime, and the dominant scale of RT instability is close to the laser wavelength. The development of transverse instability in the radiation-pressure-acceleration dominant laser-foil interaction is numerically examined by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. When a laser interacts with a foil with modulated surface, the internal instability is quickly incited and it develops. The linear growth and saturation of the transverse instability are observed, and the growth rate is numerically diagnosed. In order to optimize interaction parameters, a method of information entropy is put forward to describe the chaotic degree of the transverse instability. With moderate modulation, the transverse instability shows a low chaotic degree and a quasi-monoenergetic proton beam is produced.

Keywords: information entropy, radiation pressure acceleration, Rayleigh-Taylor instability, transverse instability

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Authors: Brock Liden, Eric Janowitz

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Introduction: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects 70% of individuals with diabetes1. DPN causes a loss of protective sensation, which can lead to tissue damage and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) formation2. These ulcers can result in infections and lower-extremity amputations of toes, the entire foot, and the lower leg. Even after a DFU is healed, recurrence is common, with 49% of DFU patients developing another ulcer within a year and 68% within 5 years3. This case series examines the use of sensory insoles and newly available plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, adherence) and remote patient monitoring in patients at risk of DFU. Methods: Participants were provided with custom-made sensory insoles to monitor plantar pressure, temperature, step count, and daily use and were provided with real-time cues for pressure offloading as they went about their daily activities. The sensory insoles were used to track subject compliance, ulceration, and response to feedback from real-time alerts. Patients were remotely monitored by a qualified healthcare professional and were contacted when areas of concern were seen and provided coaching on reducing risk factors and overall support to improve foot health. Results: Of the 40 participants provided with the sensory insole system, 4 presented with a DFU. Based on flags generated from the available plantar data, patients were contacted by the remote monitor to address potential concerns. A standard clinical escalation protocol detailed when and how concerns should be escalated to the provider by the remote monitor. Upon escalation to the provider, patients were brought into the clinic as needed, allowing for any issues to be addressed before more serious complications might arise. Conclusion: This case series explores the use of innovative sensory technology to collect plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, and adherence) for DFU detection and early intervention. The results from this case series suggest the importance of sensory technology and remote patient monitoring in providing proactive, preventative care for patients at risk of DFU. This robust plantar data, with the addition of remote patient monitoring, allow for patients to be seen in the clinic when concerns arise, giving providers the opportunity to intervene early and prevent more serious complications, such as wounds, from occurring.

Keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, DFU prevention, digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring

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Authors: T. Aboumahboub, R. Brecha, H. B. Shrestha, U. F. Hutfilter, A. Geiges, W. Hare, M. Schaeffer, L. Welder, M. Gidden

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The proposed stringent mitigation targets require an immediate start for a drastic transformation of the whole energy system. The current Australian energy system is mainly centralized and fossil fuel-based in most states with coal and gas-fired plants dominating the total produced electricity over the recent past. On the other hand, the country is characterized by a huge, untapped renewable potential, where wind and solar energy could play a key role in the decarbonization of the Australia’s future energy system. However, integrating high shares of such variable renewable energy sources (VRES) challenges the power system considerably due to their temporal fluctuations and geographical dispersion. This raises the concerns about flexibility gap in the system to ensure the security of supply with increasing shares of such intermittent sources. One main flexibility dimension to facilitate system integration of high shares of VRES is to increase the cross-sectoral integration through coupling of electricity to other energy sectors alongside the decarbonization of the power sector and reinforcement of the transmission grid. This paper applies a multi-sectoral energy system optimization model for Australia. We investigate the cost-optimal configuration of a renewable-based Australian energy system and its transformation pathway in line with the ambitious range of proposed climate change mitigation targets. We particularly analyse the implications of linking the electricity and transport sectors in a prospective, highly renewable Australian energy system.

Keywords: decarbonization, energy system modelling, renewable energy, sector coupling

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Authors: Piyanee Klainin-Yobas, Debbie Ramirez, Zenaida Fernandez, Jenneth Sarmiento, Wareerat Thanoi, Jeanette Ignacio, Ying Lau

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In many countries, university students experience various stressors that may negatively affect their psychological well-being (PWB). Hence, they are at risk for physical and mental problems. This research aimed to examine the predicting effects of mindfulness, self-efficacy, and social support on psychological well-being among undergraduate students. A non-experimental research was conducted at a university in the Philippines. All students enrolled in undergraduate programs were eligible for this study unless they had chronic medical or mental health problems. Power analysis was used to calculate an adequate sample size and a convenience sampling of 630 was recruited. Data were collected through online self-reported questionnaires from year 2013 to 2015. All self-reported scales used in this study had sound psychometric properties. Descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and structural equation modeling were performed to analyze the research data. Results showed that the participants were mostly Filipino, female, Christian, and in Schools of Nursing. Mindfulness, self-efficacy, support from family, support from friends, and support from significant others were significant predictors of psychological well-being. Mindfulness was the strongest predictor of positive psychological well-being whereas self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of negative psychological well-being. In conclusion, findings from this study add knowledge to the existing literature regarding the predictors of psychological well-being. Psychosocial interventions, with the focus on strengthening mindfulness and self-efficacy, could be delivered to undergraduate students to help them enhance psychological well-being. More studies can be undertaken to test the interventions and multi-centered research can be conducted to enhance generalizability of research findings.

Keywords: mindfulness, self-efficacy, social support, psychological wellbeing

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Authors: Geoffrey A. Wright

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In an attempt to address shortcomings revealed in international assessments and lamented in legislation, many schools are reducing or eliminating elective courses, applying the rationale that replacing "non-essential" subjects with core subjects, such as mathematics and language arts, will better position students in the global market. However, there is evidence that systematically pairing a core subject with another complementary subject may lead to greater overall learning in both subjects. In this paper, we outline the methods and preliminary findings from a study we conducted analyzing the influence learning programming has on student mathematical comprehension and ability. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate in what ways two subjects might complement each other, and to better understand the principles and conditions that encourage what we call lateral transfer, the synergistic effect that occurs when a learner studies two complementary subjects.

Keywords: programming, engineering, technology, complementary subjects

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Authors: Wing Mui Winnie So, Tian Luo, Zeyu Han

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To fully explore and develop the potentials of gifted students systematically and strategically by providing them with opportunities to receive education at appropriate levels, schools in Hong Kong are encouraged to adopt the "Three-Tier Implementation Model" to plan and implement the school-based gifted education, with Level Three refers to the provision of learning opportunities for the exceptionally gifted students in the form of specialist training outside the school setting by post-secondary institutions, non-government organisations, professional bodies and technology enterprises. Due to the growing concern worldwide about low interest among students in pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers, cultivating and boosting STEM career interest has been an emerging research focus worldwide. Although numerous studies have explored its critical contributors, little research has examined the effectiveness of comprehensive interventions such as “Studying with STEM professional”. This study aims to examine the effect on gifted students’ career interest during their participation in an off-school support programme designed and supervised by a team of STEM educators and STEM professionals from a university. Gifted students were provided opportunities and tasks to experience STEM career topics that are not included in the school syllabus, and to experience how to think and work like a STEM professional in their learning. Participants involved 40 primary school students joining the intervention programme outside the normal school setting. Research methods included adopting the STEM career interest survey and drawing tasks supplemented with writing before and after the programme, as well as interviews before the end of the programme. The semi-structured interviews focused on students’ views regarding STEM professionals; what’s it like to learn with a STEM professional; what’s it like to work and think like a STEM professional; and students’ STEM identity and career interest. The changes in gifted students’ STEM career interest and its well-recognised significant contributors, for example, STEM stereotypes, self-efficacy for STEM activities, and STEM outcome expectation, were collectively examined from the pre- and post-survey using T-test. Thematic analysis was conducted for the interview records to explore how studying with STEM professional intervention can help students understand STEM careers; build STEM identity; as well as how to think and work like a STEM professional. Results indicated a significant difference in STEM career interest before and after the intervention. The influencing mechanism was also identified from the measurement of the related contributors and the analysis of drawings and interviews. The potential of off-school support programme supervised by STEM educators and professionals to develop gifted students’ STEM career interest is argued to be further unleashed in future research and practice.

Keywords: gifted students, STEM career, STEM education, STEM professionals

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Authors: Shankar Dhakal, Andrew Jones, Geoffrey W. Lummis

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The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a linguistically, culturally, and ethnically diverse country with approximately 123 different spoken languages that represent several ethnic, cultural, and religious groups of people. With a population of about 30 million, long-standing disparities and inequalities in access and achievement in education have constantly been challenging to provide equitable educational opportunities for all students. While the new constitution of federal Nepal (2015) stipulates that all schools serve the interests of diverse communities, leadership practices have failed to adopt local contextual sensitivities, leading to traditional, authoritarian approaches and entrenched inequalities. However, little is known about how Nepali secondary school principals can adapt and implement context-responsive and equitable strategies to ensure equity and inclusiveness in its enormously diverse socio-cultural contexts. To fill this gap, this study explores how educational leadership approaches and philosophies are transformed using a multi-case automated/ethnographic research methodology underpinned by the paradigm of critical constructivism. This paper reconstructs to see if school leadership in Nepal can produce more equitable and contextual outcomes. The results of this study highlight the need for a paradigm shift and the adoption of innovative leadership approaches that foster humility, empathy, and compassion in school leaders to achieve better school outcomes. This research provides valuable insights into existing literary gaps and provides guidance for future school leadership policies and practices at the personal, cultural, and political levels.

Keywords: school leadership, auto/ethnography, equitable and context-responsive leadership, Nepal

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Authors: Zina Saheb, Ezz El-Masry

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As CMOS technology scaling down, Silicon oxide thickness (SiO2) become very thin (few Nano meters). When SiO2 is less than 3nm, gate direct tunneling (DT) leakage current becomes a dormant problem that impacts the transistor performance. Floating gate MOSFET (FGMOSFET) has been used in many low-voltage and low-power applications. Most of the available simulation models of FGMOSFET for analog circuit design does not account for gate DT current and there is no accurate analysis for the gate DT. It is a crucial to use an accurate mode in order to get a realistic simulation result that account for that DT impact on FGMOSFET performance effectively.

Keywords: CMOS transistor, direct-tunneling current, floating-gate, gate-leakage current, simulation model

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Authors: Zainab Magaji Musa, Nordin M. A. Rahman, Julaily Aida Jusoh

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The web services applications for digital reference service (WSDRS) of LIS model is an informal model that claims to reduce the problems of digital reference services in libraries. It uses web services technology to provide efficient way of satisfying users’ needs in the reference section of libraries. The formal WSDRS model consists of the Z specifications of all the informal specifications of the model. This paper discusses the formal validation of the Z specifications of WSDRS model. The authors formally verify and thus validate the properties of the model using Z/EVES theorem prover.

Keywords: validation, verification, formal, theorem prover

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Authors: Hassan Bohra, Mingfeng Wang

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Conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) are amorphous, insoluble and highly robust organic semiconductors that have been largely synthesized by traditional transition-metal catalyzed reactions. The distinguishing feature of CPP materials is that they combine microporosity and high surface areas with extended conjugation, making them ideal for versatile applications such as separation, catalysis and energy storage. By applying a modular approach to synthesis, chemical and electronic properties of CPPs can be tailored for specific applications making these materials economical alternatives to inorganic semiconductors. Direct arylation - an environmentally benign alternative to traditional polymerization reactions – is one such reaction that extensively over the last decade for the synthesis of linear p-conjugated polymers. In this report, we present the synthesis and characterization of a new series of robust conjugated porous polymers synthesized by facile direct arylation polymerization of thiophene-flanked acceptor building blocks with multi-brominated aryls with different geometries. We observed that the porosities and morphologies of the polymers are determined by the chemical structure of the aryl bromide used. Moreover, good control of the optical bandgap in the range 2.53 - 1.3 eV could be obtained by using different building blocks. Structure-property relationships demonstrated in this study suggest that direct arylation polymerization is an attractive synthetic tool for the rational design of porous organic materials with tunable photo-physical properties for applications in photocatalysis, energy storage and conversion.

Keywords: direct arylation, conjugated porous polymers, triazine, photocatalysis

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Authors: Derya Duran, Christine Jacknick

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Despite a growing body of research on classroom, especially language classroom interactions, much more is yet to be discovered on how interaction is organized in higher education settings. This study investigates how the discourse marker 'I mean' in teacher questioning turns functions as a resource to promote student participation as well as to enhance collective understanding in whole-class discussions. This paper takes a conversation analytic perspective, drawing on 30-hour video recordings of classroom interaction in an English as a medium of instruction university in Turkey. Two content classrooms (i.e., Guidance) were observed during an academic term. The course was offered to 4th year students (n=78) in the Faculty of Education; students were majoring in different subjects (i.e., Early Childhood Education, Foreign Language Education, Mathematics Education). Results of the study demonstrate the multi-functionality of discourse marker 'I mean' in teacher questioning turns. In the context of English as a medium of instruction classrooms where possible sources of confusion may occur, we found that 'I mean' is primarily used to indicate upcoming adjustments. More specifically, it is employed for a variety of interactional purposes such as elaboration, clarification, specification, reformulation, and reference to the instructional activity. The study sheds light on the multiplicity of functions of the discourse marker in academic interactions and it uncovers how certain linguistic resources serve functions to the organization of repair such as the maintenance of understanding in classroom interaction. In doing so, it also shows the ways in which participation is routinely enacted in shared interactional events through linguistic resources.

Keywords: conversation analysis, discourse marker, English as a medium of instruction, repair

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Authors: Jonathan Turner, Julie Doyle, Laura O’Philbin, Dympna O’Sullivan

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People living with dementia should be at the centre of decision-making regarding goals for daily living. These goals include basic activities (dressing, hygiene, and mobility), advanced activities (finances, transportation, and shopping), and meaningful activities that promote well-being (pastimes and intellectual pursuits). However, there is limited involvement of people living with dementia in the design of technology to support their goals. A project is described that is co-designing intelligent computer-based support for, and with, people affected by dementia and their carers. The technology will support self-management, empower participation in shared decision-making with carers and help people living with dementia remain healthy and independent in their homes for longer. It includes information from the patient’s care plan, which documents medications, contacts, and the patient's wishes on end-of-life care. Importantly for this work, the plan can outline activities that should be maintained or worked towards, such as exercise or social contact. The authors discuss how to integrate care goal information from such a care plan with data collected from passive sensors in the patient’s home in order to deliver individualized planning and interventions for persons with dementia. A number of scientific challenges are addressed: First, to co-design with dementia patients and their carers computerized support for shared decision-making about their care while allowing the patient to share the care plan. Second, to develop a new and open monitoring framework with which to configure sensor technologies to collect data about whether goals and actions specified for a person in their care plan are being achieved. This is developed top-down by associating care quality types and metrics elicited from the co-design activities with types of data that can be collected within the home, from passive and active sensors, and from the patient’s feedback collected through a simple co-designed interface. These activities and data will be mapped to appropriate sensors and technological infrastructure with which to collect the data. Third, the application of machine learning models to analyze data collected via the sensing devices in order to investigate whether and to what extent activities outlined via the care plan are being achieved. The models will capture longitudinal data to track disease progression over time; as the disease progresses and captured data show that activities outlined in the care plan are not being achieved, the care plan may recommend alternative activities. Disease progression may also require care changes, and a data-driven approach can capture changes in a condition more quickly and allow care plans to evolve and be updated.

Keywords: care goals, decision-making, dementia, self-care, sensors

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Authors: James Newman

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Process mining is an emerging technology that looks to serialize enterprise data in time series data. It has been used by many companies and has been the subject of a variety of research papers. However, the majority of current efforts have looked at how to best create process mining from standard relational databases. This paper is the first pass at outlining a database custom-built for the minimal viable product of process mining. We present Block Miner, a blockchain protocol to store process mining data across a distributed network. We demonstrate the feasibility of storing process mining data on the blockchain. We present a proof of concept and show how the intersection of these two technologies helps to solve a variety of issues, including but not limited to ransomware attacks, tax documentation, and conflict resolution.

Keywords: blockchain, process mining, memory optimization, protocol

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Authors: Khomsan Laosillapacharoen

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This research paper was aimed to analyze the current situation of the furniture industry and embark a plan to enhance the export volume of Thai furniture. This is a qualitative research which utilized meta-analysis and focus group. A total of 24 experts in both government and private sectors were interviewed. The findings revealed that Thai furniture had some advantages of access to raw material, high quality of labors, and have a unique skill. However, the threat included a tendency to have more foreign competitors in domestic market. In addition, the strategies to enhance the level of export included increase the standard quality of Thai furniture, offer new and modern designs, use marketing on the internet, use modern technology, and gain tax incentive from the government.

Keywords: export, furniture, strategies, marketing

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Authors: Soulayma Smirani, Mourad Aidi, Taoufik Aguili

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Energy harvesting has arisen as a prominent research area for low power delivery to RF devices. Rectennas have become a key element in this technology. In this paper, electromagnetic modeling of a rectenna system is presented. In our approach, a hybrid technique was demonstrated to associate both the method of auxiliary sources (MAS) and MoM-GEC (the method of moments combined with the generalized equivalent circuit technique). Auxiliary sources were used in order to substitute specific electronic devices. Therefore, a simple and controllable model is obtained. Also, it can easily be interconnected to form different topologies of rectenna arrays for more energy harvesting. At last, simulation results show the feasibility and simplicity of the proposed rectenna model with high precision and computation efficiency.

Keywords: computational electromagnetics, MoM-GEC method, rectennas, RF energy harvesting

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Authors: Yasser F. Hassan

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Social networking involves use of an online platform or website that enables people to communicate, usually for a social purpose, through a variety of services, most of which are web-based and offer opportunities for people to interact over the internet, e.g. via e-mail and ‘instant messaging’, by analyzing the voting behavior and ratings of judges in a popular comments in social networks. While most of the party literature omits the electorate, this paper presents a model where elites and parties are emergent consequences of the behavior and preferences of voters. The research in artificial intelligence and psychology has provided powerful illustrations of the way in which the emergence of intelligent behavior depends on the development of representational structure. As opposed to the classical voting system (one person – one decision – one vote) a new voting system is designed where agents with opposed preferences are endowed with a given number of votes to freely distribute them among some issues. The paper uses ideas from machine learning, artificial intelligence and soft computing to provide a model of the development of voting system response in a simulated agent. The modeled development process involves (simulated) processes of evolution, learning and representation development. The main value of the model is that it provides an illustration of how simple learning processes may lead to the formation of structure. We employ agent-based computer simulation to demonstrate the formation and interaction of coalitions that arise from individual voter preferences. We are interested in coordinating the local behavior of individual agents to provide an appropriate system-level behavior.

Keywords: voting system, rough sets, multi-agent, social networks, emergence, power indices

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Authors: Lorena Polovina, Maddy Kennedy-Parrott, Mohammad Fakoor

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The construction industry accounts for approximately 40% of total GHG emissions worldwide. In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, ambitious reductions in the carbon intensity of our buildings are crucial. Passive House presents an opportunity to reduce operational carbon by as much as 90% compared to a traditional building through improving thermal insulation, limiting thermal bridging, increasing airtightness and heat recovery. Up until recently, Passive House design was mainly concerned with meeting the energy demands without considering embodied carbon. As buildings become more energy-efficient, embodied carbon becomes more significant. The main objective of this research is to calculate the embodied carbon impact of a Passive House and compare it with the BC Energy Step Code (ESC). British Columbia is committed to increasing the energy efficiency of buildings through the ESC, which is targeting net-zero energy-ready buildings by 2032. However, there is a knowledge gap in the embodied carbon impacts of more energy-efficient buildings, in particular Part 3 construction. In this case study, life cycle assessments (LCA) are performed on Part 3, a multi-unit residential building in Victoria, BC. The actual building is not constructed to the Passive House standard; however, the building envelope and mechanical systems are designed to comply with the Passive house criteria, as well as Steps 1 and 4 of the BC Energy Step Code (ESC) for comparison. OneClick LCA is used to perform the LCA of the case studies. Several strategies are also proposed to minimize the total carbon emissions of the building. The assumption is that there will not be significant differences in embodied carbon between a Passive House and a Step 4 building due to the building envelope.

Keywords: embodied carbon, energy modeling, energy step code, life cycle assessment

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Authors: Lin Tang, Xiaoxia Guo, Lingling Zhang

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Recent vaccine scandals overshadowed China’s accomplishment of public health, triggering discussions on the causes of vaccine incidents. Through legal interpretation of selected vaccine incidents and analysis of systemic vulnerabilities in vaccine circulation and lot release, a panoramic review of legislative progresses in the vaccine administration sheds the light on this debate. In essence, it is the combination of the lagging legal system and the absence of information technology infrastructure in the process of vaccine administration reform that has led to the recurrence of vaccine incidents. These findings have significant implications for further improvement of vaccine administration and China’s participation in global healthcare.

Keywords: legislation, lot release, public health, reform, vaccine administration, vaccine circulation

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Authors: Razieh Shamsi, Mehdi Faezipour, Ali Abdolkhani

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In this research, the characteristics of composites prepared from waste silk fibers and recycled polycarbonate polymer (used compacted boards) at four levels of 0, 10, 20, and 30% (silk fibers) and using 2% N- 2-Aminoethyl-3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was investigated as a coupling agent and melt process method. Silk fibers (carpet weaving waste) with dimensions of 8-18 mm were prepared, and recycled polymer with 9 mesh grading was ground. Production boards in 3 thicknesses, 3 mm (tensile test samples), 5 mm (bending test samples, water absorption, and thickness shrinkage), 7 mm (impact resistance test samples) ) with a specific weight of 1 gram per cubic centimeter, hot pressing time and temperature of 12 minutes and 190 degrees Celsius with a pressure of 130 bar, cold pressing time of 6 minutes with a pressure of 50 bar and using the coupling agent N- (2- Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was prepared in a constant amount of 2% of the dry weight of the filler. The results showed that, in general, by adding silk fibers to the base polymer, compared to the control samples (pure recycled polycarbonate polymer) and also by increasing the amount of silk fibers, almost all the resistances increased. The amount of water absorption of the constructed composite increased with the increase in the amount of silk fibers, and the thickness absorption was equal to 0% even after 72 hours of immersion in water. The thermal resistance of the pure recycled polymer was higher than the prepared composites, and by adding silk fibers to the base polymer and also by increasing the amount of silk fibers from 10 to 30%, the thermal resistance of the composites decreased.

Keywords: wood composite, recycled polycarbonate, silk fibers, polymer

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Authors: Chien-Ju Chen, Chia-Jui Yu, Jyun-Hao Liao, Chia-Ching Wu, Meng-Chyi Wu

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A 64 × 64 GaN-based micro-light-emitting diode array (μLEDA) with 20 μm in pixel size and 40 μm in pitch by flip-chip bonding (FCB) is demonstrated in this study. Besides, an underfilling (UF) technology is applied to the process for improving the uniformity of device. With those configurations, good characteristics are presented, operation voltage and series resistance of a pixel in the 450 nm flip chip μLEDA are 2.89 V and 1077Ω (4.3 mΩ-cm²) at 25 A/cm², respectively. The μLEDA can sustain higher current density compared to conventional LED, and the power of the device is 9.5 μW at 100 μA and 0.42 mW at 20 mA.

Keywords: GaN, micro-light-emitting diode array(μLEDA), flip-chip bonding, underfilling

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Authors: Guoqian Ren, Haijiang Li, Jisong Zhang

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Over the past 40 years, urban development has undergone large-scale, high-speed expansion, beyond what was previously considered normal and in a manner not proportionally related to population growth or physical considerations. With more scientific and refined decision-making in the urban construction process, new urbanization approaches, aligned with public-private partnerships (PPPs) which evolved in the early 1990s, have become acceptable and, in some situations, even better solutions to outstanding urban municipal construction projects, especially in developing countries. However, as the main driving force to deal with urban public services, PPPs are still problematic regarding value for money (VFM) process in most large-scale construction projects. This paper therefore reviews recent PPP articles in popular project management journals and relevant toolkits, published in the last 10 years, to identify the indicators that influence VFM within PPPs across regions. With increasing concerns about profitability and environmental and social impacts, the current PPP structure requires a more integrated platform to manage multi-performance project life cycles. Building information modelling (BIM), a popular approach to the procurement process in AEC sectors, provides the potential to ensure VFM while also working in tandem with the semantic approach to holistically measure life cycle costs (LCC) and achieve better sustainability. This paper suggests that BIM applied to the entire PPP life cycle could support holistic decision-making regarding VFM processes and thus meet service targets.

Keywords: public-private partnership, value for money, building information modelling, semantic approach

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Authors: Dinko Vuleta, Dejan Madić, Goran Sporiš, Nebojša Trajković

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The aim of this study was to determine the effects of gymnastics program in school on skill-related fitness in early adolescent students. The study involved 58 adolescent students (12.82±0.54 years; Height 156.81±8.16 cm; 53.46±12.31 kg) from primary school divided into two groups, following the randomization. The gymnastic group was involved in a 12 week of gymnastics classes, while the control group only participated in usual PE classes which consisted of multi-sport activities. The variables were selected within the several fitness batteries, measuring coordination (polygon backwards), upper and lower body strength standing long jump and medicine ball throw), speed (20 m sprint) and agility (4x10 test). Pre-test to post-test values showed significant improvements in all tested variables (p<0.05), except for the 4x10m test, where there were no significant improvements in neither of the groups (p>0.05). Significant interactions of time by group were observed for coordination, sprint speed, standing long jump and medicine ball throw (p<0.05). The results showed significant increase in skill-related fitness of the participants in the gymnastic group compared to the control group. Therefore, participation in gymnastics must be recommended as a positive foundational activity for school-aged children, from early childhood to adulthood. Additionally, the results can provide useful information in optimizing the training loads of pupils involved in gymnastic training throughout PE classes.

Keywords: effects, PE classes, physical fitness, training

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Authors: Yao Jiajia, Wu Guanlin, LIU Fang, Xue Junshuai, Zhang Jincheng, Hao Yue

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Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) based on GaN have been extensively studied. However, no results of multiple logic states achieved by RTDs were reported by the methods of epitaxy in the GaN materials. In this paper, the multiple negative-differential resistance regions by combining two discrete double-barrier RTDs in series have been first demonstrated. Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) was used to grow structures consisting of two vertical RTDs. The substrate was a GaN-on-sapphire template. Each resonant tunneling structure was composed of a double barrier of AlN and a single well of GaN with undoped 4-nm space layers of GaN on each side. The AlN barriers were 1.5 nm thick, and the GaN well was 2 nm thick. The resonant tunneling structures were separated from each other by 30-nm thick n+ GaN layers. The bottom and top layers of the structures, grown neighboring to the spacer layers that consist of 200-nm-thick n+ GaN. These devices with two tunneling structures exhibited uniform peaks and valleys current and also had two negative differential resistance NDR regions equally spaced in bias voltage. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of resonant tunneling structures with diameters of 1 and 2 μm were analyzed in this study. These structures exhibit three stable operating points, which are investigated in detail. This research demonstrates that using molecular beam epitaxy MBE to vertically grow multiple resonant tunneling structures is a promising method for achieving multiple negative differential resistance regions and stable logic states. These findings have significant implications for the development of digital circuits capable of multi-value logic, which can be achieved with a small number of devices.

Keywords: GaN, AlN, RTDs, MBE, logic state

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Authors: Kanika Taneja, V. K. Soni, Kafeel Ahmad, Shamshad Ahmad

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A severe dust storm generated from a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Afghanistan affected the north-west region of India between May 28 and 31, 2014, resulting in significant reductions in air quality and visibility. The air quality of the affected region degraded drastically. PM10 concentration peaked at a very high value of around 1018 μgm-3 during dust storm hours of May 30, 2014 at New Delhi. The present study depicts aerosol optical properties monitored during the dust days using ground based multi-wavelength Sky radiometer over the National Capital Region of India. High Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 500 nm was observed as 1.356 ± 0.19 at New Delhi while Angstrom exponent (Alpha) dropped to 0.287 on May 30, 2014. The variation in the Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and real n(λ) and imaginary k(λ) parts of the refractive index indicated that the dust event influences the optical state to be more absorbing. The single scattering albedo, refractive index, volume size distribution and asymmetry parameter (ASY) values suggested that dust aerosols were predominant over the anthropogenic aerosols in the urban environment of New Delhi. The large reduction in the radiative flux at the surface level caused significant cooling at the surface. Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing (DARF) was calculated using a radiative transfer model during the dust period. A consistent increase in surface cooling was evident, ranging from -31 Wm-2 to -82 Wm-2 and an increase in heating of the atmosphere from 15 Wm-2 to 92 Wm-2 and -2 Wm-2 to 10 Wm-2 at top of the atmosphere.

Keywords: aerosol optical properties, dust storm, radiative transfer model, sky radiometer

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Authors: Alexandros Pournaras, Anastasia Papadopoulou, Serafim Kontos, Anastasios Karakostas

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The air quality of modern cities is an important concern, as poor air quality contributes to human health and environmental issues. Reliable air quality forecasting has, thus, gained scientific and governmental attention as an essential tool that enables authorities to take proactive measures for public safety. In this study, the potential of Machine Learning (ML) models to forecast PM2.5 at local scale is investigated in the city of Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, which has been struggling with the persistent issue of air pollution. ML models, with proven ability to address timeseries forecasting, are employed to predict the PM2.5 concentrations and the respective Air Quality Index 5-days ahead by learning from daily historical air quality and meteorological data from 2014 to 2016 and gathered from two stations with different land use characteristics in the urban fabric of Thessaloniki. The performance of the ML models on PM2.5 concentrations is evaluated with common statistical methods, such as R squared (r²) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), utilizing a portion of the stations’ measurements as test set. A multi-categorical evaluation is utilized for the assessment of their performance on respective AQIs. Several conclusions were made from the experiments conducted. Experimenting on MLs’ configuration revealed a moderate effect of various parameters and training schemas on the model’s predictions. Their performance of all these models were found to produce satisfactory results on PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, their application on untrained stations showed that these models can perform well, indicating a generalized behavior. Moreover, their performance on AQI was even better, showing that the MLs can be used as predictors for AQI, which is the direct information provided to the general public.

Keywords: Air Quality, AQ Forecasting, AQI, Machine Learning, PM2.5

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Authors: I. D. Laryushin, V. A. Kostin, A. A. Silaev, N. V. Vvedenskii

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Generation of broadband intense terahertz (THz) radiation attracts reasonable interest due to various applications, such as the THz time-domain spectroscopy, the probing and control of various ultrafast processes, the THz imaging with subwavelength resolution, and many others. One of the most promising methods for generating powerful and broadband terahertz pulses is based on focusing two-color femtosecond ionizing laser pulses in gases, including ambient air. For this method, the amplitudes of terahertz pulses are determined by the free-electron current density remaining in a formed plasma after the passage of the laser pulse. The excitation of this residual current density can be treated as multi-wave mixing: Аn effective generation of terahertz radiation is possible only when the frequency ratio of one-color components in the two-color pulse is close to irreducible rational fraction a/b with small odd sum a + b. This work focuses on the optimal parameters (polarizations and intensities) of laser components for the strongest THz generation. The optimal values of parameters are found numerically and analytically with the use of semiclassical approach for calculating the residual current density. For frequency ratios close to a/(a ± 1) with natural a, the strongest THz generation is shown to take place when the both laser components have circular polarizations and equal intensities. For this optimal case, an analytical formula for the residual current density was derived. For the frequency ratios such as 2/5, the two-color ionizing pulses with circularly polarized components practically do not excite the residual current density. However, the optimal parameters correspond generally to specific elliptical (not linear) polarizations of the components and intensity ratios close to unity.

Keywords: broadband terahertz radiation, ionization, laser plasma, ultrashort two-color pulses

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Authors: Amir Hossein Allahdadi

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The mystical and intuitive look of Islamic artists inspired by the Koranic and mystical principles and also based on the geometry and mathematics has left unique works whose range extends across the borders of Islam. The relationship between Islamic art and music in the traditional art is of one of the concepts that can be traced back to the other arts by detection of its components. One of the links is the art of painting whose subtleties that can be applicable to both architecture and music. So, architecture and music links can be traced in other arts with a traditional foundation in order to evaluate the equivalents of traditional arts. What is the relationship between physical space of architecture and nonphysical space of music? What is musical architecture? What is the music that tends to architecture? These questions are very small samples of the questions that arise in this category, and these questions and concerns remain as long as the music is played and the architecture is made. Efforts have been made in this area, references compiled and plans drawn. As an example, we can refer to views of ‘Mansour Falamaki’ in the book of architecture and music, as well as the book transition from mud to heart by ‘Hesamodin Seraj’. The method is such that a certain melody is given to an architect and it is tried to design a specified architecture using a certain theme. This study is not to follow the architecture of a particular type of music and the formation of a volume based on a sound. In this opportunity, it is tried to briefly review the relationship between music and architecture in the Iranian original and traditional arts, using the basic definitions of arts. The musician plays, the architect designs, the actor forms his desired space and painter displays his multi-dimensional world in the form of two-dimensions. The expression language is different, but all of them can be gathered in a form, a form which has no clear boundaries. In fact, in any original art, the artist applies his art as a tool to express his insights which are nothing but achieving the world beyond this place and time.

Keywords: architecture, music, geometric proportions, mathematical proportions

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Authors: Mohammad Khalid, Mariya Munir, Jacelyn Rice Boyaue

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Highways are considered a major source of pollution to storm-water, and its runoff can introduce various contaminants, including nutrients, Indicator bacteria, heavy metals, chloride, and phosphorus compounds, which can have negative impacts on receiving waters. This study assessed the ability of biochar for contaminants removal and to improve the water holding capacity of soil biochar mixture. For this, ten commercially available biochar has been strategically selected. Lab scale batch testing was done at 3% and 6% by the weight of the soil to find the preliminary estimate of contaminants removal along with hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity. Furthermore, from the above-conducted studies, six best performing candidate and an application rate of 6% has been selected for the column studies. Soil biochar mixture was filled in 7.62 cm assembled columns up to a fixed height of 76.2 cm based on hydraulic conductivity. A total of eight column experiments have been conducted for nutrient, heavy metal, and indicator bacteria analysis over a period of one year, which includes a drying as well as a deicing period. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was greatly improved, which is attributed to the high porosity of the biochar soil mixture. Initial data from the column testing shows that biochar may have the ability to significantly remove nutrients, indicator bacteria, and heavy metals. The overall study demonstrates that biochar could be efficiently applied with clay soil to improve the soil's hydraulic characteristics as well as remove the pollutants from the stormwater runoff.

Keywords: biochar, nutrients, indicator bacteria, storm-water treatment, sustainability

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Authors: Yuli Widiana

Abstract:

The study of implicature which is one of the discussions of pragmatics is an interesting and challenging topic to discuss. Implicature is a meaning which is implied in an utterance which is not the same as its literal meaning. The rapid development of information technology results in social networks as media to broadcast messages. The broadcast messages may be in the form of jokes which contain implicature. The research applies the pragmatic equivalent method to analyze the topics of jokes based on the implicatures contained in them. Furthermore, the method is also applied to reveal the purpose of creating implicature in jokes. The findings include the kinds of implicature found in jokes which are classified into conventional implicature and conversational implicature. Then, in detailed analysis, implicature in jokes is divided into implicature related to gender, culture, and social phenomena. Furthermore, implicature in jokes may not only be used to give entertainment but also to soften criticisms or satire so that it does not sound rude and harsh.

Keywords: implicature, broadcast messages, conventional implicature, conversational implicature

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