Search results for: Arab region

Authors: Seongho Han, Dongkwan Kim

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The focus of regional innovation policies is shifting from a central government to local governments. The central government demands that regions enforce autonomous and responsible regional innovation policies and that regional governments seek for innovation policies fit for regional characteristics. However, the central government and local governments have not arrived yet at a conclusion on what innovation policies are appropriate for regional circumstances. In particular, even if each local government is trying to find regional innovation strategies that are based on the needs of a region, its innovation strategies turn out to be similar with those of other regions. This leads to a consequence that is inefficient not only at a national level, but also at a regional level. Existing researches on regional innovation types point out that there are remarkable differences in the types or characteristics of innovation among the regions of a nation. In addition they imply that there would be no expected innovation output in cases in which policies are enforced with ignoring such differences. This means that it is undesirable to enforce regional innovation policies under a single standard. This research, given this problem, aims to find out the characteristics and differences in innovation types among the regions in Korea and suggests appropriate policy implications by classifying such characteristics and differences. This research, given these objectives, classified regions in consideration of the various indicators that comprise the innovation suggested by existing related researches and illustrated policies based on such characteristics and differences. This research used recent data, mainly from 2012, and as a methodology, clustering analysis based on multiple factor analysis was applied. Supplementary researches on dynamically analyzing stability in regional innovation types, establishing systematic indicators based on the regional innovation theory, and developing additional indicators are necessary in the future.

Keywords: regional innovation policy, regional innovation type, region-based innovation, multiple factor analysis, clustering analysis

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Authors: Morteza Habibi, Reza Amrollahi

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The Aluminum made targets were placed at the central part of a Fillipov type (90KJ) plasma focus cathode. These targets were exposed to perpendicular dense plasma stream incidence. Melt layer erosion by melt motion, surface smoothing, and bubble formation were some of different effects caused by diverse working conditions. Micro hardness of surface layer tends to decrease particularly in the central region of the sample where destruction is more intense. The most pronouced melt motion is registered in the region of the maximum gradient of pressure and the etching of aluminium surface is noticeable in the central part of target. The crater with a maximum depth of 200µm, and the diameter of about 8.5mm is observed close to the mountains. Adding Krypton admixture to the Deuterium gas lead to collapsing bubbles and greater surface damage.

Keywords: fillipov type plasma focus, al target interaction, bubbling effect, melt layer motion, surface smoothing

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Authors: Chastiti Mediafira Wulolo

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Our Eyes is a cooperation pact in the field of intelligence information exchanges initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, which has been signed by Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, and Singapore. This cooperation mostly engages the military acts as a central role, but this pact still requires the involvement of various parties such as police and other linear institution. This paper will use a qualitative content analysis method by doing some deep analyzing the pattern of cooperation itself. As the implementation of translantic counter-terrorism cooperation, this research will address how the role of Our Eyes can be optimized as a form of government’s response towards the contemporary threat in the Dynamics of Strategic Environmental Security in the Asia Pacific Region. Optimizing the role of this cooperation will also acquire from the previous counter-terrorism cooperation in ASEAN region, so it expects that Our Eyes collaboration can be the most effective cooperation in overcoming terrorism issues in ASEAN, eventually in Asia Pacific.

Keywords: our eyes, Defense Ministry of Indonesia, ASEAN, counter-terrorism

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Authors: Temesgen Yaekob Ergano, Sure Pulla Rao

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The study on financial development and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa utilizes System GMM analysis to investigate the relationship between financial development indicators and economic performance in the region. The research findings reveal significant impacts of various financial indicators on economic growth, such as the positive influence of bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (R/A), trade openness, and the broad money to total reserves ratio (M/R) on the economic growth of Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the study highlights the negative impact of domestic credit provided to the private sector by banks (D_bank) on economic growth, emphasizing the importance of prudent credit allocation to avoid over-indebtedness and financial crises. These results provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to foster sustainable economic growth in the region by leveraging financial development effectively.

Keywords: financial development, economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa, system GMM analysis, financial indicators.

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Authors: Ulil Afidah, Muhamad Fathan Mubin, Firdha Aulia

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Code riverbanks Yogyakarta is a settlement area with middle to lower social classes. Socio-economic situation is affecting the behavior of society. This research aimed to find and explain the implementation and the assessment of character education which were done in elementary schools in Code riverside, Yogyakarta region of Indonesia. This research is a qualitative research which the subjects were the kids of Code riverbanks, Yogyakarta. The data were collected through interviews and document studies and analyzed qualitatively using the technique of interactive analysis model of Miles and Huberman. The results show that: (1) The learning process of character education was done by integrating all aspects such as democratic and interactive learning session also introducing role model to the students. 2) The assessment of character education was done by teacher based on teaching and learning process and an activity in outside the classroom that was the criterion on three aspects: Cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

Keywords: character, Code riverbanks, education, Yogyakarta

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Authors: Akshay Rege, Lara Gomaa, Maneesh Kumar Verma, Sem Carree

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The aim of this paper is to articulate design strategies and recommendations for introducing robots into the city life of people based on experiments conducted with robots and semi-autonomous systems in three cities in the Netherlands. This research was carried out by the Spot robotics team of Impact Lab housed within YES!Delft, a start-up accelerator located in Delft, The Netherlands. The premise of this research is to inform the development of the ‘region of the future’ by the Municipality of Rotterdam-Den Haag (MRDH). The paper starts by reporting the desktop research carried out to find and develop multiple use cases for robots to support humans in various activities. Further, the paper reports the user research carried out by crowdsourcing responses collected in public spaces of Rotterdam-Den Haag region and on the internet. Furthermore, based on the knowledge gathered in the initial research, practical experiments were carried out using robots and semi-autonomous systems in order to test and validate our initial research. These experiments were conducted in three cities in the Netherlands which were Rotterdam, The Hague, and Delft. Custom sensor box, Drone, and Boston Dynamics' Spot robot were used to conduct these experiments. Out of thirty use cases, five were tested with experiments which were skyscraper emergency evacuation, human transportation and security, bike lane delivery, mobility tracking, and robot drama. The learnings from these experiments provided us with insights into human-robot interaction and symbiosis in cities which can be used to introduce robots in cities to support human activities, ultimately enabling the transitioning from a human only city life towards a blended one where robots can play a role. Based on these understandings, we formulated design guidelines and strategy recommendations for incorporating robots in the Rotterdam-Den Haag’s region of the future. Lastly, we discuss how our insights in the Rotterdam-Den Haag region can inspire and inform the incorporation of robots in different cities of the world.

Keywords: city life, design guidelines, human-robot Interaction, robot use cases, robotic experiments, strategy recommendations, user research

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Authors: Radwa Saad

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The Sahara is normatively treated as a barrier separating “two Africas"; one to the North with closer affinity to the Arab world, and one to the South that encompasses a diverse range of racial, ethnic and religious groups, commonly referred to as "Sub-Saharan Africa". This dichotomy however was challenged by many anticolonial leaders and intellectuals seeking to advance counter-hegemonic narratives that treat the Sahara as a bridge facilitating a long history of exchange, collaboration, and fusion between different civilizations on the continent. This paper reexamines the discourses governing the geographic distinction between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that demarcating the African continent along the lines of the Sahara is part-and-parcel of a Euro-centric spatial imaginary that has served to enshrine a racialized global hierarchy of power. By drawing on Edward Said’s concept of ‘imagined geography’ and Charles Mill’s notion of “the racial contract”, it demonstrates how spatial boundaries often coincide with racial epistemologies to reinforce certain geopolitical imaginaries, whilst silencing others. It further draws on the works of two notable post-colonial figures - Gamal Abdel Nasser and Leopold Senghor - to explore alternative spatial imaginaries while highlighting some of the tensions embedded in advancing a trans-Saharan political project. Firstly, it deconstructs some of the normative claims used to justify the distinction between North and “sub-Saharan” Africa across political, literary and disciplinary boundaries. Secondly, it draws parallels between Said’s and Mills’ work to demonstrate how geographical boundaries and demarcations have been constructed to create racialized subjects and reinforce a hierarchy of color that favors European standpoints and epistemologies. Third, it draw on Leopard Senghor’s The Foundations of Africanité and Gamal Abdel Nasser’s The Philosophy of the Egyptian Revolution to examine some of the competing strands of unity that emerged out of the Saharan discourse. In these texts, one can identify a number of convergences and divergences in how post-colonial African elites attempts to reclaim and rearticulate the function of the Sahara along different epistemic, political and cultural premises. It concludes with reflections on some of the policy challenges that emerge from reinforcing the Saharan divide, particularly in the realm of peace and security.

Keywords: regional integration, politics of knowledge production, arab-african relations, african solutions to african problems

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Authors: Faroojan Khajeek Sisak Siakian, Aayda Dikran Abdulahad

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The Peris Mountain is one of the main mountains in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, it forms one of the long anticlines trending almost East – West. The exposed formations on the top of the mountain are Bekhme, and Shiranish, with carbonate rocks of different types and thicknesses. We selected the site for sampling to be relevant for a quarry taking into consideration the thickness of the exposed rocks, no overburden, favorable quarrying faces, hardness of the rocks, bedding nature, good extension of the outcrops, and a favorable place for construction of a cement plant. We sampled the exposed rocks on the top of the mountain where a road crosses the mountain, and a total of 15 samples were collected. The distance between sampling intervals was 5 m, and each sample was collected to represent the sampling interval. The samples were subjected to X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) to indicate the main oxides percentages in each sample. The acquired results showed the studied rocks can be used in the cement industry.

Keywords: limestone, quarry, CaO, MgO, overburden

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Authors: Laila Seada, Ashraf Ibrahim, Amjad Al Shammari

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Background and Objectives: Breast carcinoma is the most common cancer of females in Hail region, accounting for 31% of all diagnosed cancer cases followed by thyroid carcinoma (25%) and colorectal carcinoma (13%). Methods: In the present retrospective study, all cases of breast lesions received at the histopathology department in King Khalid Hospital, Hail, during the period from May 2011 to April 2016 have been retrieved from department files. For all cases, a trucut biopsy, lumpectomy, or modified radical mastectomy was available for histopathologic diagnosis, while 105/140 (75%) had, as well, preoperative fine needle aspirates (FNA). Results: 49 cases out of 140 (35%) breast lesions were carcinomas: 44/49 (89.75%) was invasive ductal, 2/49(4.1%) invasive lobular carcinomas, 1/49(2.05%) intracystic low grade papillary carcinoma and 2/49 (4.1%) ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Mean age for malignant cases was 45.06 (+/-10.58): 32.6% were below the age of 40 and 30.6 below 50 years, 18.3% below 60 and 16.3% below 70 years. For the benign group, mean age was 32.52 (+/10.5) years. Benign lesions were in order of frequency: 34 fibroadenomas, 14 fibrocystic disease, 12 chronic mastitis, five granulomatous mastitis, three intraductal papillomas, and three benign phyllodes tumor. Tubular adenoma, lipoma, skin nevus, pilomatrixoma, and breast reduction specimens constituted the remaining specimens. Conclusion: Breast lesions are common in our series and invasive carcinoma accounts for more than 1/3^rd of the lumps, with 63.2% incidence in pre-menopausal ladies, below the age of 50 years. FNA as a non-invasive procedure, proved to be an effective tool in diagnosing both benign and malignant/suspicious breast lumps and should continue to be used as a first assessment line of palpable breast masses.

Keywords: age incidence, breast carcinoma, fine needle aspiration, hail region

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Authors: Monica Plechero

Abstract:

Many firms belonging to Italian industrial districts faced a crisis starting from 2000 and upsurging during 2008-2014. To remain competitive in the global market, these firms and their local systems need to renovate their traditional competitive advantages, strengthen their link with global flows of knowledge. This may be particularly relevant in sectors such as the mechatronics, that combine traditional knowledge domain with new knowledge domains (e.g. mechanics, electronics, and informatics). This sector is nowadays one of the key sectors within the so-called ‘smart specialization strategy’ that can lead part of the Italian traditional industry towards new economic developmental opportunities. This paper, by investigating the mechatronics district of the Veneto region, wants to shed new light on how firms of a local system can gain from the globalization of innovation and innovation networks. Methodologically, the paper relies on primary data collected through a survey targeting firms of the local system, as well as on a number of qualitative case studies. The relevant role of medium size companies in the district emerges as evident, as they have wider opportunities to be involved in different processes of globalization of innovation. Indeed, with respect to small companies, the size of medium firms allows them to exploit strategically international markets and globally distributed knowledge. Supporting medium firms’ global innovation strategies, and incentivizing their role as district gatekeepers, may strengthen the competitive capability of the local system and provide new opportunities to positively face global competition.

Keywords: global innovation network, industrial district, internationalization, innovation, mechatronics, Veneto region

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Authors: D. Benatiallah, A. Benatiallah, K. Bouchouicha, A. Harouz

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The development and operation of renewable energy known an important development in the world with significant growth potential. Estimate the solar radiation on terrestrial geographic locality is of extreme importance, firstly to choose the appropriate site where to place solar systems (solar power plants for electricity generation, for example) and also for the design and performance analysis of any system using solar energy. In addition, solar radiation measurements are limited to a few areas only in Algeria. Thus, we use theoretical approaches to assess the solar radiation on a given location. The Adrar region is one of the most favorable sites for solar energy use with a medium flow that exceeds 7 kWh / m2 / d and saddle of over 3500 hours per year. Our goal in this work focuses on the creation of a data bank for the given data in the energy field of the Adrar region for the period of the year and the month then the integration of these data into a geographic Information System (GIS) to estimate the solar flux on a location on the map.

Keywords: Adrar, flow, GIS, deposit potential

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Authors: Taha Almarayhe

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This study addresses the gap in understanding the effect of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on firm performance within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Using a sample of 340 publicly traded firms across ten MENA countries (2007–2017) and employing ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, the study evaluates how ESG ratings impact both accounting-based performance measures—such as return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS)—and market-based measures like Tobin’s Q and dividend yield. Results reveal that ESG ratings positively and significantly influence financial performance, particularly in countries with strong regulatory environments. This research contributes empirical insights to the literature on ESG’s financial impact, particularly by comparing cross-country data within the MENA region. It provides valuable guidance for investors and managers aiming to enhance financial outcomes through sustainable business practices.

Keywords: ESG ratings, financial performance, MENA countries, environmental disclosures

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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: Ivelise M. Strozberg, Juliana Sales Frota, Lucas de Oliveira Vale

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The state of Ceara, located in the northeast region of Brazil, is abundant in lateritic soil which has been usually discarded due to its lack of agricultural potential while materials of similar nature have been used as constituents of housing constructive elements in many parts of the world, such as India and Portugal, for decades. Since many of the semi-arid housing conditions in the state of Ceara fail to meet the minimum criteria regarding comfort and safety requirements, this research proposed to study the Ceara lateritic soil and the possibility of its use as a sustainable building block constituent for social housings, collaborating to the improvement of the region living conditions. In order to achieve this objective, soil samples were collected from five different locations within the specific region, three of which presented lateritic nature, being characterized according to the Unified Soil Classification System and the MCT methodology, which is a Brazilian methodology developed during the 80’s that aimed to better describe and approach tropical soils, its characterization and behavior. Two of these samples were used to build two different miniature block prototypes, which were manually molded, heated at low temperatures -( < 300 ºC) in order to save energy and lessen the CO₂ high emission rate common in traditional burning methods- and then submitted to load tests. Among the soils tested, the one with the highest degree of laterization and greater presence of fines constituted the block with the best performance in terms of flexural strength tensions, presenting resistance gains when heated at increasing temperatures, which can indicate that this type of soil has potential towards being used as constructing material.

Keywords: constructive blocks, lateritic soil, MCT methodology, sustainability

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Authors: Cheng Wen, Zhang Jianhua

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This paper aims to probe into the general rules of industry specialization or diversification in a region during its process of economic growth and the specific reasons for the difference of industry specialization development in the eastern, central and western regions of China. It is found in this paper that the changes of regional industry specialization in China, like most of countries in the world, also present the U-shaped curve. Regional industrial structure is diversified in the first place. And when the per capita income exceeds a certain level, distribution of economic resources in this region will be concentrated again. From the perspective of rising total factor productivity and falling of transaction cost in the process of economic development, this paper comes up with a theoretical model to explain the U-shaped curve. Through the empirical test of China's provincial panel data, this paper explains the factors that cause the inequality of the industry specialization development in the eastern, central and western regions of China.

Keywords: u-shaped curve, regional industrial specialization, technological progress, transaction costs

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Authors: Vijay S. Katta, Vinod Kushwah, Rudraksh Tiwari, Mulayam Singh Gaur, Priti Dimri, Ashok Kumar Sharma

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The formation process of seismic activities because of abrupt slip on faults, tectonic plate moments due to accumulated stress in the Earth’s crust. The prediction of seismic activity is a very challenging task. We have studied the changes in surface latent heat temperatures which are observed prior to significant earthquakes have been investigated and could be considered for short term earthquake prediction. We analyzed the surface latent heat temperature (SLHT) variation for inland earthquakes occurred in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh (32.5 N, 76.1E, M-4.5, depth-5km) nearby the main boundary fault region, the data of SLHT have been taken from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). In this analysis, we have calculated daily variations with surface latent heat temperature (0C) in the range area 1⁰x1⁰ (~120/KM²) with the pixel covering epicenter of earthquake at the center for a three months period prior to and after the seismic activities. The mean value during that period has been considered in order to take account of the seasonal effect. The monthly mean has been subtracted from daily value to study anomalous behavior (∆SLHT) of SLHT during the earthquakes. The results found that the SLHTs adjacent the epicenters all are anomalous high value 3-5 days before the seismic activities. The abundant surface water and groundwater in the epicenter and its adjacent region can provide the necessary condition for the change of SLHT. To further confirm the reliability of SLHT anomaly, it is necessary to explore its physical mechanism in depth by more earthquakes cases.

Keywords: surface latent heat temperature, satellite data, earthquake, magnetic storm

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Authors: Faranak Felfeliyan, Parvaneh Shokrani, Maryam Atarod

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Introduction Using electron beam is widespread in radiotherapy. The main criteria in radiation therapy is to irradiate the tumor volume with maximum prescribed dose and minimum dose to vital organs around it. Using abutting fields is common in radiotherapy. The main problem in using abutting fields is dose inhomogeneity in the junction region. Electron beam divergence and lateral scattering may lead to hot and cold spots in the junction region. One solution for this problem is using of a spoiler to broaden the penumbra and uniform dose in the junction region. The goal of this research was to compare titanium and aluminum effects as a spoiler for dose uniformity achievement in the junction region of oblique electron fields with Monte Carlo simulation. Dose uniformity in the junction region depends on density, scattering power, thickness of the spoiler and the angle between two fields. Materials and Methods In this study, Monte Carlo model of Siemens Primus linear accelerator was simulated for a 5 MeV nominal energy electron beam using manufacture provided specifications. BEAMnrc and EGSnrc user code were used to simulate the treatment head in electron mode (simulation of beam model). The resulting phase space file was used as a source for dose calculations for 10×10 cm2 field size at SSD=100 cm in a 30×30×45 cm3 water phantom using DOSXYZnrc user code (dose calculations). An automatic MP3-M water phantom tank, MEPHYSTO mc2 software platform and a Semi-Flex Chamber-31010 with sensitive vol­ume of 0.125 cm3 (PTW, Freiburg, Germany) were used for dose distribution measurements. Moreover, the electron field size was 10×10 cm2 and SSD=100 cm. Validation of devel­oped beam model was done by comparing the measured and calculated depth and lateral dose distributions (verification of electron beam model). Simulation of spoilers (using SLAB compo­nent module) placed at the end of the electron applicator, was done using previously vali­dated phase space file for a 5 MeV nominal energy and 10×10 cm2 field size (simulation of spoiler). An in-house routine was developed in order to calculate the combined isodose curves re­sulting from the two simulated abutting fields (calculation of dose distribution in abutting electron fields). Results Verification of the developed 5.9 MeV elec­tron beam model was done by comparing the calculated and measured dose distributions. The maximum percentage difference between calculated and measured PDD was 1%, except for the build-up region in which the difference was 2%. The difference between calculated and measured profile was 2% at the edges of the field and less than 1% in other regions. The effect of PMMA, aluminum, titanium and chromium in dose uniformity achievement in abutting normal electron fields with equivalent thicknesses to 5mm PMMA was evaluated. Comparing R90 and uniformity index of different materials, aluminum was chosen as the optimum spoiler. Titanium has the maximum surface dose. Thus, aluminum and titanium had been chosen to use for dose uniformity achievement in oblique electron fields. Using the optimum beam spoiler, junction dose decreased from 160% to 110% for 15 degrees, from 180% to 120% for 30 degrees, from 160% to 120% for 45 degrees and from 180% to 100% for 60 degrees oblique abutting fields. Using Titanium spoiler, junction dose decreased from 160% to 120% for 15 degrees, 180% to 120% for 30 degrees, 160% to 120% for 45 degrees and 180% to 110% for 60 degrees. In addition, penumbra width for 15 degrees, without spoiler in the surface was 10 mm and was increased to 15.5 mm with titanium spoiler. For 30 degrees, from 9 mm to 15 mm, for 45 degrees from 4 mm to 6 mm and for 60 degrees, from 5 mm to 8 mm. Conclusion Using spoilers, penumbra width at the surface increased, size and depth of hot spots was decreased and dose homogeneity improved at the junc­tion of abutting electron fields. Dose at the junction region of abutting oblique fields was improved significantly by using spoiler. Maximum dose at the junction region for 15⁰, 30⁰, 45⁰ and 60⁰ was decreased about 40%, 60%, 40% and 70% respectively for Titanium and about 50%, 60%, 40% and 80% for Aluminum. Considering significantly decrease in maximum dose using titanium spoiler, unfortunately, dose distribution in the junction region was not decreased less than 110%.

Keywords: abutting fields, electron beam, radiation therapy, spoilers

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Authors: Raj Mukta Sundaram

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The location of Ayodhya is distinctly described along river Sarayu in the epic Ramayan. On the contrary, even elaborate descriptions of Lanka and its environs are still proving elusive to human ingenuity to find a direct correlation on the ground. His-torically, there were hardly any attempts to locate Lanka, but some speculations have been made very recently, of which Sri Lanka has gained widespread public ac-ceptance for obvious reasons, such as Sri and Lanka. This belief is almost secured by the impression of Ram Setu on the satellite images, which has led the government to initiate a scientific mission to determine its age. In fact, other viewpoints believe Lanka to be somewhere far-flung along the equator, and another has long proclaimed it to be in central regions of India, but both are diminished by contemporary belief. This study emanates from the fact that Sri Lanka has no correlation to epic, and more importantly, satellite images are deceptive. So the objectives are twofold - firstly, to interpret the text from a holistic approach by analyzing the ecosystem, settlements, geological as-pects, and most importantly, the timeline of key events. Secondly, it explains the pit-falls in the rationale behind contemporary belief. At the outset, it categorically rejects the notion of Ram Setu, which, in geological terms, is merely a part of the continental shelf developed millions of years ago. It also refutes the misconception created by the word “Sri,” which is, in fact, an official name adopted by the country in the seventies with no correlation whatsoever with the events of Ramayana. Likewise, the study ar-gues for the establishment of a prosperous kingdom on a remote island with adverse climatic conditions for any civilization at that time. Eventually, the study demonstrates that travel time for the distances covered by Lord Rama does not corroborate with the description in the epic. It all leads to one conclusion that Lanka cannot be in Sri Lanka. Rather, it needs to be somewhere in the central-eastern parts of India. That region jus-tifies the environs and timelines for the journeys undertaken by Lord Rama, besides the fact that the tribes of the region show strong allegiance to Ravana. The study strongly recommends looking into the central-east region of India for the golden abode of a demon king and rejuvenating tourism of a scenic and culturally rich region hitherto marred by disturbances.

Keywords: spatial analysis, Ramayan, heritage, tourism

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Authors: Birhanu Abera Kibret

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The abstract highlights findings from a seismicity study conducted in the Ethiopian Rift Valley and adjacent cities, including Semera, Adama, and Hawasa, located in Afar and the Main Ethiopian Rift system. The region experiences high seismicity, characterized by small to moderate earthquakes situated in the mid-to-upper crust. Additionally, the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, situated in the rift margin, experiences seismic activity, with small to relatively moderate earthquakes observed to the east and southeast of the city, alongside the rift valley. These findings underscore the seismic vulnerability of the region, emphasizing the need for comprehensive seismic risk assessment and mitigation strategies to enhance resilience and preparedness.

Keywords: seismic hazard, seismicity, crustal structure, magmatic intrusion, partial meltung

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Authors: P. Sathyathas, H. M. I. S. W. Herath, T. Amalraj, U. J. M. A. L. Jayasinghe

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Over two thirds of medical radiation can now be attributed to Computed Tomography (CT). There is little information on amount of radiation received from multiphase CT scan of abdomen- pelvic region in clinical practice. We sought to estimate the radiation dose and associated exposure parameters in the multiphase abdomen - pelvic scan of Multideteror Computed Tomography (MDCT) studies in clinical practice. This was a retrospective cross sectional studies describing radiation dose associated with main exposure parameters in diagnostic multiphase abdomen - pelvic scans performed on 152 consecutive patients by two different sixteen slice CT scanners. Patient information, exposure parameters of CTDI (volume), DLP, kVp, mAs and pitch were recorded for every phases of abdomen- a pelvic study from dose report of MDCT scanners (MDCTs). Age of patients range from 14 years to 87 years in both MDCT scanners. Overall CTDI (volume) median was 63.8 (±10.4) mGy for a multiphase abdominal-pelvic scan with scanner A while it was 35.4 (±15.6) mGy for scanner B. Patients' effective dose for multiphase abdomen - pelvic CT scan range from 8.2 mSv to 58 mSv. Median effective dose for patients, who underwent multiphase abdomen- pelvis scan with scanner A and B were 38.5 (± 8.2) mSv and 21.3 (± 8.6) mSv respectively. Median value of exposure parameters of mAs, kVp and pitch, were 150 (±29.7), 130 (±15.3) and 1.3 (±0.1) respectively in scanner A. In scanner B; they were 60 (±14.5), 120 and 1. The median effective dose for patients between multiphase abdomen-pelvic scan of both MDCT, a significant different (P<0.05) was observed. Multiphase abdomen – pelvic scan of clinical study shows significant different of effective dose with reference level of phantom studies (8-14mSv) and it depends on the type of vendors.

Keywords: abdomen-pelvic region, computed tomography, exposure parameters, radiation dose

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Authors: Renato Morbidelli, Carla Saltalippi, Alessia Flammini, Marco Cifrodelli, Corrado Corradini

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The trend of magnitude and frequency of extreme rainfalls seems to be different depending on the investigated area of the world. In this work, the impact of climate change on extreme rainfalls in Umbria, an inland region of central Italy, is examined using data recorded during the period 1921-2015 by 10 representative rain gauge stations. The study area is characterized by a complex orography, with altitude ranging from 200 to more than 2000 m asl. The climate is very different from zone to zone, with mean annual rainfall ranging from 650 to 1450 mm and mean annual air temperature from 3.3 to 14.2°C. Over the past 15 years, this region has been affected by four significant droughts as well as by six dangerous flood events, all with very large impact in economic terms. A least-squares linear trend analysis of annual maximums over 60 time series selected considering 6 different durations (1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h) showed about 50% of positive and 50% of negative cases. For the same time series the non-parametrical Mann-Kendall test with a significance level 0.05 evidenced only 3% of cases characterized by a negative trend and no positive case. Further investigations have also demonstrated that the variance and covariance of each time series can be considered almost stationary. Therefore, the analysis on the magnitude of extreme rainfalls supplies the indication that an evident trend in the change of values in the Umbria region does not exist. However, also the frequency of rainfall events, with particularly high rainfall depths values, occurred during a fixed period has also to be considered. For all selected stations the 2-day rainfall events that exceed 50 mm were counted for each year, starting from the first monitored year to the end of 2015. Also, this analysis did not show predominant trends. Specifically, for all selected rain gauge stations the annual number of 2-day rainfall events that exceed the threshold value (50 mm) was slowly decreasing in time, while the annual cumulated rainfall depths corresponding to the same events evidenced trends that were not statistically significant. Overall, by using a wide available dataset and adopting simple methods, the influence of climate change on the heavy rainfalls in the Umbria region is not detected.

Keywords: climate changes, rainfall extremes, rainfall magnitude and frequency, central Italy

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Authors: Sawsan Saridar masri, Hisham Arnaouty

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Architecture both defines and is defined by social, cultural, political and financial constraints: this is where the discipline and the profession of architecture meet. This mutual sway evolves wherever interferences in the built environment are thought-out and can be strengthened or weakened by the many ways in which the practice of architecture can be undertaken. The more familiar we are about the concerns and factors that control what can be made, the greater the opportunities to propose and make appropriate architectures. Apparently, the criteria in any qualification policy should permit flexibility of approach and will – for reasons including cultural choice, political issues, and son on – vary significantly from country to country. However the weighting of the various criteria have to ensure adequate standards both in educational system as in the professional training. This paper develops, deepens and questions about the regulatory entry routes to the professional practice of architecture in the Arab world. It is also intended to provide an informed basis about strategies for conventional and unconventional models of practice in preparation for the next stages of architect’s work experience and professional experience. With the objective of promoting the implementation of adequate built environment in the practice of architecture, a comprehensive analysis of various pathways of access to the profession are selected as case studies, encompassing examples from across the world. The review of such case studies allows the creation of a comprehensive picture in relation to the conditions for qualification of practitioners of the built environment at the level of the Middle Eastern countries and the Arab World. Such investigation considers the following aspects: professional title and domain of practice, accreditation of courses, internship and professional training, professional examination and continuing professional development.

Keywords: architecture, internship, mobility, professional practice

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Authors: Shahzad Bhatti, M. Aslamkhan, Sana Abbas, Marcella Attimonelli, Hikmet Hakan Aydin, Erica Martinha Silva de Souza,

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Despite being situated at the crossroad of Asia, Pakistan has gained crucial importance because of its pivotal role in subsequent migratory events. To highlight the genetic footprints and to contribute an enigmatic picture of the relative population expansion pattern among four major Pashtun tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa viz., Bangash, Khattak, Mahsuds and Orakzai, the complete mitochondrial control region of 100 Pashtun were analyzed. All Pashtun tribes studied here revealed high genetic diversity; that was comparable to the other Central Asian, Southeast Asian and European populations. The configuration of genetic variation and heterogeneity further unveiled through Multidimensional Scaling, Principal Component Analysis, and phylogenetic analysis. The results revealed that the Pashtun is a composite mosaic of West Eurasian ancestry of numerous geographic origin. They received substantial gene flow during different invasions and have a high element of the Western provenance. The most common haplogroups reported in this study are: South Asian haplogroup M (28%) and R (8%); whereas, West Asians haplogroups are present, albeit in high frequencies (67%) and widespread over all; HV (15%), U (17%), H (9%), J (8%), K (8%), W (4%), N (3%) and T (3%). Herein we linked the unexplored genetic connection between Ashkenazi Jews and Pashtun. The presence of specific haplotypes J1b (4%) and K1a1b1a (5%) point to a genetic connection of Jewish conglomeration with Khattak tribe. This was a result of an ancient genetic influx in the early Neolithic period that led to the formation of a diverse genetic substratum in present day Pashtun.

Keywords: mtDNA haplogroups, control region, Pakistan, KPK, ethnicity

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Authors: Chih Jou Hsiao, Chung Ming Lo, Li Chun Hsieh

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Brain tumor is not the cancer having high incidence rate, but its high mortality rate and poor prognosis still make it as a big concern. On clinical examination, the grading of brain tumors depends on pathological features. However, there are some weak points of histopathological analysis which can cause misgrading. For example, the interpretations can be various without a well-known definition. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of malignant tumors is a challenge to extract meaningful tissues under surgical biopsy. With the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), tumor grading can be accomplished by a noninvasive procedure. To improve the diagnostic accuracy further, this study proposed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on MRI features to provide suggestions of tumor grading. Gliomas are the most common type of malignant brain tumors (about 70%). This study collected 34 glioblastomas (GBMs) and 73 lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) from The Cancer Imaging Archive. After defining the region-of-interests in MRI images, multiple quantitative morphological features such as region perimeter, region area, compactness, the mean and standard deviation of the normalized radial length, and moment features were extracted from the tumors for classification. As results, two of five morphological features and three of four image moment features achieved p values of <0.001, and the remaining moment feature had p value <0.05. Performance of the CAD system using the combination of all features achieved the accuracy of 83.18% in classifying the gliomas into LGG and GBM. The sensitivity is 70.59% and the specificity is 89.04%. The proposed system can become a second viewer on clinical examinations for radiologists.

Keywords: brain tumor, computer-aided diagnosis, gliomas, magnetic resonance imaging

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Authors: Almahd Alshereef, Ahmed Alkilany, Hammad Said, Azuraliza Abu Bakar

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From time to time, electrical power grid is directed by the National Electricity Operator to conduct load shedding, which involves hours' power outages on the area of this study, Southern Electrical Grid of Libya (SEGL). Load shedding is conducted in order to alleviate pressure on the National Electricity Grid at times of peak demand. This approach has chosen a set of categories to study load-shedding problem considering the effect of the demand priorities on the operation of the power system during emergencies. Classification of category region for load shedding problem is solved by a new algorithm (the harmony algorithm) based on the "random generation list of category region", which is a possible solution with a proximity degree to the optimum. The obtained results prove additional enhancements compared to other heuristic approaches. The case studies are carried out on SEGL.

Keywords: optimization, harmony algorithm, load shedding, classification

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Authors: Andrzej Wałęga, Marta Cebulska, Agnieszka Ziernicka-Wojtaszek, Wojciech Młocek, Agnieszka Wałęga, Tommaso Caloiero

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Drought is one of the natural phenomena influencing many aspects of human activities like food production, agriculture, industry, and the ecological conditions of the environment. In the area of the Polish Carpathians, there are periods with a deficit of rainwater and an increasing frequency in dry months, especially in the cold half of the year. The aim of this work is a spatial and temporal analysis of drought, expressed as SPI in a heterogenous area of the Polish Carpathian and of the highland Region in the Central part of Europe based on long-term precipitation data. Also, to our best knowledge, for the first time in this work, drought characteristics analyzed via the SPI were discussed based on the atmospheric circulation calendar. The study region is the Upper Vistula Basin, located in the southern and south-eastern part of Poland. In this work, monthly precipitation from 56 rainfall stations was analysed from 1961 to 2022. The 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) were used as indicators of meteorological drought. For the 3-month SPI, the main climatic mechanisms determining extreme droughts were defined based on the calendar of synoptic circulations. The Mann-Kendall test was used to detect the trend of extreme droughts. Statistically significant trends of SPI were observed on 52.7% of all analyzed stations, and in most cases, a positive trend was observed. Statistically significant trends were more frequently observed in stations located in the western part of the analyzed region. Long-term droughts, represented by the 12-month SPI, occurred in all stations but not in all years. Short-term droughts (3-month SPI) were most frequent in the winter season, 6 and 9-month SPI in winter and spring, and 12-month SPI in winter and autumn, respectively. The spatial distribution of drought was highly diverse. The most intensive drought occurred in 1984, with the 6-month SPI covering 98% of the analyzed region and the 9 and 12-month SPI covering 90% of the entire region. Droughts exhibit a seasonal pattern, with a dominant 10-year periodicity for all analyzed variants of SPI. Additionally, Fourier analysis revealed a 2-year periodicity for the 3-, 6-, and 9-month SPI and a 31-year periodicity for the 12-month SPI. The results provide insights into the typical climatic conditions in Poland, with strong seasonality in precipitation. The study highlighted that short-term extreme droughts, represented by the 3-month SPI, are often caused by anticyclonic situations with high-pressure wedges Ka and Wa, and anticyclonic West as observed in 52.3% of cases. These findings are crucial for understanding the spatial and temporal variability of short and long-term extreme droughts in Central Europe, particularly for the agriculture sector dominant in the northern part of the analyzed region, where drought frequency is highest.

Keywords: atmospheric circulation, drought, precipitation, SPI, the Upper Vistula Basin

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Authors: Collins Nkapnwo Formella

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The democratic wave of the 1980s and 1990s brought a lot of hopes to the politics of African states as many nation-states adopted ‘democracy.’ The end of the Cold War ushered in, with a lot of rush, pro-democracy movements, which led to multi-party politics, following constitutional reviews. For the very first time since independence, Africans revolted against personalized dictatorship and adopted the idea of limited office terms for the presidents. This paper dives deep into the history of Africa post-independence with the aim of allowing the readers to understand the nature of the differences in the political setups that currently govern the continent and the central region in particular. Time has proven the euphoria that characterized post-Cold War African politics at least for many countries short-lived, as their leaders were unable to re-design the institutions of governance from the compromise and interest-oriented structures handed down after independence. The result has been that politics in many of the countries have been tailored down along the lines of winner takes all approach, with the accumulation of state power being the sole objective of the leaders. The paper contends that 21ˢᵗ Century African politics is exactly the politics of inclusion/exclusion based on ethnic and interest groups, leading to the flourishing of patrimonial authoritarian regimes. It also puts to the test, whether authoritarian responses to delivering growth (economic, political, social) and peace as has been the model adopted by many leaders is superior compared to democracy. This paper then concludes by adding that the practice of democracy in the Central African region in its current form is inherently flawed from its foundations, thus incapable of rooting out the crises faced in the region.

Keywords: authoritarianism, democracy, development, power, institutions

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Authors: Sreeja Shaw, Prosenjit Samanta, Asish Kumar Mukhopadhyay

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Cholera is still a global public health burden and is caused by Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 serogroups. Evidence from recent outbreaks in Haiti and Yemen suggested that circulating V. cholerae O1 El Tor variant strains are continuously changing to cause more ruinous outbreaks worldwide, and most of them have emerged from the Indian subcontinents. Therefore, we studied the changing virulence characteristics along with the antibiotic resistance profile of V. cholerae O1strains isolated from seasonal outbreaks in three cholera endemic regions during 2018, Gujarat and Maharashtra in Western India (87 strains), and to compare those features with the isolates of West Bengal in Eastern India (48 strains) collected during the same period. All the strains from Western India were of Ogawa serotype, polymyxin B-sensitive, hemolytic, and contained a large fragment deletion in VSP-II genomic region similar with Yemen outbreak strains and carried more virulent Haitian genetic alleles of major virulence associated genes ctxB, tcpA, and rtxA. Conversely, 14.6% (7/48) of the strains from Eastern India were belong to the Inaba serotype, polymyxin B-resistant, non-hemolytic, harbored intact VSP-II region, classical ctxB, Haitian tcpA, and El Tor rtxA alleles. Interestingly, resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol was seen in isolates from both regions, which are not very common among V. cholerae O1 isolates in India. Therefore, this study indicated West Bengal as a diverse region where two different types of El Tor variant hypervirulent strains are co-existed, probably competing for their better environmental survival, which may result in severe irrepressible disease outcome in the future.

Keywords: cholera, vibrio cholerae, polymyxin B, Non-hemolytic, ctxB, tcpA, rtxA, VSP-II

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Authors: Noori Shafiqullah

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Millions of people reside downstream of river basins that heavily rely on snowmelt originating from the Hindu Kush (HK) region. Snowmelt plays a critical role as a primary water source in these areas. This study aimed to evaluate snowfall and snowmelt characteristics in the HK region across altitudes ranging from 2019m to 4533m. To achieve this, the study employed a combination of remote sensing techniques and the Snow Model (SM) to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). By integrating the simulated Snow-cover Area (SCA) with data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the study optimized the Precipitation Gradient (PG), snowfall assessment, and the degree-day factor (DDF) for snowmelt distribution. Ground observed data from various elevations were used to calculate a temperature lapse rate of -7.0 (°C km-1). Consequently, the DDF value was determined as 3 (mm °C-1 d-1) for altitudes below 3000m and 3 to 4 (mm °C-1 d-1) for higher altitudes above 3000m. Moreover, the distribution of precipitation varies with elevation, with the PG being 0.001 (m-1) at lower elevations below 4000m and 0 (m-1) at higher elevations above 4000m. This study successfully utilized the SM to assess SCA and SWE by incorporating the two optimized parameters. The analysis of simulated SCA and MODIS data yielded coefficient determinations of R2, resulting in values of 0.95 and 0.97 for the years 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017, respectively. These results demonstrate that the SM is a valuable tool for managing water resources in mountainous watersheds such as the HK, where data scarcity poses a challenge."

Keywords: improved MODIS, experiment, snow water equivalent, snowmelt

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Authors: Solomon Sisay, Belete Mengistu, Woldargay Erku, Desalegne Woldeyohannes

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Background: Tuberculosis is still the leading cause of illness in the world which accounted for 2.5% of the global burden of disease, and 25% of all avoidable deaths in developing countries. Objectives: The aim of study was to assess impact of DOTS strategy on tuberculosis case finding and treatment outcome in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia from 2003 up to 2012 and from 2002 up to 2011, respectively. Methods: Health facility-based retrospective study was conducted. Data were collected and reported in quarterly basis using WHO reporting format for TB case finding and treatment outcome from all DOTS implementing health facilities in all zones of the region to Federal Ministry of Health. Results: A total of 10024 all form of TB cases had been registered between the periods from 2003 up to 2012. Of them, 4100 (40.9%) were smear-positive pulmonary TB, 3164 (31.6%) were smear-negative pulmonary TB and 2760 (27.5%) had extra-pulmonary TB. Case detection rate of smear-positive pulmonary TB had increased from 31.7% to 46.5% from the total TB cases and treatment success rate increased from 13% to 92% with average mean value of being 40.9% (SD= 0.1) and 55.7% (SD=0.28), respectively for the specified year periods. Moreover, the average values of treatment defaulter and treatment failure rates were 4.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Conclusion: It is possible to achieve the recommended WHO target which is 70% of CDR for smear-positive pulmonary TB, and 85% of TSR as it was already been fulfilled the targets for treatments more than 85% from 2009 up to 2011 in the region. However, it requires strong efforts to enhance case detection rate of 40.9% for smear-positive pulmonary TB through implementing alternative case finding strategies.

Keywords: Gambella Region, case detection rate, directly observed treatment short-course, treatment success rate, tuberculosis

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