Search results for: Ahmad Martadha Mohamed
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2575

Search results for: Ahmad Martadha Mohamed

1855 Flocking Swarm of Robots Using Artificial Innate Immune System

Authors: Muneeb Ahmad, Ali Raza

Abstract:

A computational method inspired by the immune system (IS) is presented, leveraging its shared characteristics of robustness, fault tolerance, scalability, and adaptability with swarm intelligence. This method aims to showcase flocking behaviors in a swarm of robots (SR). The innate part of the IS offers a variety of reactive and probabilistic cell functions alongside its self-regulation mechanism which have been translated to enable swarming behaviors. Although, the research is specially focused on flocking behaviors in a variety of simulated environments using e-puck robots in a physics-based simulator (CoppeliaSim); the artificial innate immune system (AIIS) can exhibit other swarm behaviors as well. The effectiveness of the immuno-inspired approach has been established with extensive experimentations, for scalability and adaptability, using standard swarm benchmarks as well as the immunological regulatory functions (i.e., Dendritic Cells’ Maturity and Inflammation). The AIIS-based approach has proved to be a scalable and adaptive solution for emulating the flocking behavior of SR.

Keywords: artificial innate immune system, flocking swarm, immune system, swarm intelligence

Procedia PDF Downloads 100
1854 Prevalence Post Partum Depression in NICU

Authors: Ahmad Shahfarhat, Ashraf Mohammadzade, Reza Saeedi, Hadi Hesari

Abstract:

Background: Mothers of infants admitted at NICU are vulnerable to depression (affecting 10 to 20% of mothers during the first year after delivery) As you know, about half of women with prominent postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms are not diagnosed. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is the most widely used screening instrument for PPD. In this study, we checked EPDS score of 12 or more on the second day (D2), discharge, day 28(D28), and day42 (D42) postpartum to determine the risk factors as well as the prevalence of PPD in a sample of mothers of NICU admitted neonates. Methods: A sample of 682 women used the EPDS on admission and at discharge. An assessment for PPD was performed on D28 and D42 by a telephone interview. Results: On admission, the average score on EPDS was 9.72 (SD = 4.4), and 27.4% of women (187) had an EPDS score ≥12. On Discharge, 4weeks and 6weeks postpartum the average score was ordinary 9.34 (SD = 3.8), 9.12 (SD = 3.7), 8.52(SD = 3.36), and (173)25.4 %,( 141)23.3 %,( 88)15.3% of women presented with PPD. a positive correlation was found between scores on EPDS on admission and D42 (P = 0.001). An analysis shows that mothers of twins (P = 0.001) and higher age mothers (P=0.001) are significantly associated with PPD. Conclusion: Women with EPDS score more than 12 and/or older will benefit from a closer follow-up during the rest of the post-partum period, and it is better to be under psychological support.

Keywords: NICU, depression, pregnancy, mothers

Procedia PDF Downloads 103
1853 Antecedents and Consequences of Social Media Adoption in Travel and Tourism: Evidence from Customers and Industry

Authors: Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk, Mahamoud M. Hewedi

Abstract:

This study extends technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate the antecedents and consequences of social media adoption by tourists and travel agents. It compares their perceptions on social media adoption and its consequences. Online survey was addressed to tourists and travel agents for data collection purposes. Structural equation modelling was employed for analysis purposes. The findings revealed that the majority of tourists and travel agents involved in the study believe in the usefulness of social media adoption for travel planning and marketing purposes. They agree that adopting social media could change the attitude of tourists towards specific destination or attraction and influence their purchasing decisions. This study contributes to knowledge by extending TAM and provides some managerial implication to marketers.

Keywords: TAM, social media, travel and tourism, travel agents

Procedia PDF Downloads 409
1852 The Role of Organizational Culture, Organizational Commitment, and Styles of Transformational Leadership towards Employee Performance

Authors: Ahmad Badawi Saluy, Novawiguna Kemalasari

Abstract:

This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of organizational culture, organizational commitment, and transformational leadership style on employee performance. This study used descriptive survey method with quantitative approach, and questionnaires as a tool used for basic data collection. The sampling technique used is proportionate stratified random sampling technique; all respondents in this study were 70 respondents. The analytical method used in this research is multiple linear regressions. The result of determination coefficient of 52.3% indicates that organizational culture, organizational commitment, and transformational leadership style simultaneously have a significant influence on the performance of employees, while the remaining 47.7% is explained by other factors outside the research variables. Partially, organization culture has strong and positive influence on employee performance, organizational commitment has a moderate and positive effect on employee performance, while the transformational leadership style has a strong and positive influence on employee performance and this is also the variable that has the most impact on employee performance.

Keywords: organizational culture, organizational commitment, transformational leadership style, employee performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 218
1851 The Fluid Limit of the Critical Processor Sharing Tandem Queue

Authors: Amal Ezzidani, Abdelghani Ben Tahar, Mohamed Hanini

Abstract:

A sequence of finite tandem queue is considered for this study. Each one has a single server, which operates under the egalitarian processor sharing discipline. External customers arrive at each queue according to a renewal input process and having a general service times distribution. Upon completing service, customers leave the current queue and enter to the next. Under mild assumptions, including critical data, we prove the existence and the uniqueness of the fluid solution. For asymptotic behavior, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the invariant state and the convergence to this invariant state. In the end, we establish the convergence of a correctly normalized state process to a fluid limit characterized by a system of algebraic and integral equations.

Keywords: fluid limit, fluid model, measure valued process, processor sharing, tandem queue

Procedia PDF Downloads 315
1850 Contribution of a Higher Education Institute towards Built Environment Sustainability

Authors: Tayyab Ahmad, Gerard Healey

Abstract:

The potential role of higher education institutes in sustainable development cannot be undermined. In this regard, it is important to investigate the established concept of sustainability in such institutes to explore the room for further improvement. In this paper, a case study of the University of Melbourne is conducted, and the institute’s commitments towards sustainability are examined by a detailed qualitative review of its policy and design standard documents. These documents are reviewed as through these; the institute portrays its vision of building environment facilities, which it aspires to procure and use. From detailed review, it is realized that these documents are updated at different times, creating the potential for mismatch between them. The occurrence of different goals and objectives in different documents is highlighted, and the interrelationships between different goals and operational objectives are explored. The role of the university aspired goals/objectives in terms of built environment sustainability is discussed, and the gaps in the articulation of goals and operational objectives are highlighted. Recommendations are provided for enhancing the built environment sustainability at the University of Melbourne.

Keywords: university, design standards, policy, sustainability, built environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 166
1849 Urban Land Expansion Impact Assessment on Agriculture Land in Kabul City, Afghanistan

Authors: Ahmad Sharif Ahmadi, Yoshitaka Kajita

Abstract:

Kabul city is experiencing urban land expansion in an unprecedented scale, especially since the last decade. With massive population expansion and fast economic development, urban land has increasingly expanded and encroached upon agriculture land during the urbanization history of the city. This paper evaluates the integrated urban land expansion impact on agriculture land in Kabul city since the formation of the basic structure of the city between 1962-1964. The paper studies the temporal and spatial characteristic of agriculture land and agriculture land loss in Kabul city using geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing till 2008. Many temporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imageries were interpreted to detect the temporal and spatial characteristics of agriculture land loss. Different interval study periods, however, had vast difference in the agriculture land loss which is due to the urban land expansion trends in the city. the high number of Agriculture land adjacent to the city center and urban fringe have been converted into urban land during the study period in the city, as the agriculture land is highly correlated with the urban land.

Keywords: agriculture land, agriculture land loss, Kabul city, urban land expansion, urbanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 407
1848 Ethical Finance and Islamic Finance: Particularities, Possible Convergence and Potential Development

Authors: Safa Ougoujil, Sidi Mohamed Rigar

Abstract:

Economics is not an exact science. It cannot be from the moment it is a social science that concerns society organization, a human science that depends on the behavior of the men and women who make a part of this society. Therefore, it cannot ignore morality, the instinctive sense of good and evil, the natural order which place us between certain values, and which religion often sheds light on. In terms of finance, the reference to ethics is becoming more popular than ever. This is naturally due to the growing financial crises. Finance is less and less ethical, but some financial practices have continued to do so. This is the case of ethical finance and Islamic finance. After attempting to define the concepts of ethical finance and Islamic finance, in a period when financial innovation seeks to encourage differentiation in order to create more profit margins, this article attempts to expose the particularities, the convergences and the potentialities of development of these two sensibilities.

Keywords: convergences, ethical finance, Islamic finance, potential development

Procedia PDF Downloads 189
1847 DNA Intercalating Alkaloids Isolated from Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae)

Authors: Mohamed Tamer, Wink Michael

Abstract:

DNA intercalating agents increase the stability of DNA which can be demonstrated by measuring the melting temperature Tm. Tm can be determined in a spectrophotometer in which the cell temperature is increased gradually. The resulting absorption data comes as a sigmoidal curve from which melting temperature can be determined when half of the DNA has denatured. The current study aims to assess DNA intercalating activities of four pure bioactive isoquinoline alkaloids: sanguinarine, berberine, allocryptopine, and chelerythrine which were isolated from Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae) by repeated silica gel column chromatography, recrystallization and preparative TLC. The isolated compounds were identified by comparing their physical properties and mass spectra with those of the published data. The results showed that sanguiarine is the most active intercalating agent with Tm value of 83.55 ± 0.49 followed by berberine, chelerythrine, and allocryptopine with Tm values 62.58 ± 0.47, 51.38 ± 0.37 and 50.94 ± 0.65, respectively, relative to 49.78 ± 1.05 of bacteriophage DNA alone and 86.09 ± 0.5 for ethidium bromide as a positive control.

Keywords: alkaloids, Chelidonium majus, DNA intercalation, Tm

Procedia PDF Downloads 495
1846 Investigating the Effect of Adding the Window Layer and the Back Surface Field Layer of InₓGa₍₁₋ₓ₎P Material to GaAs Single Junction Solar Cell

Authors: Ahmad Taghinia, Negar Gholamishaker

Abstract:

GaAs (gallium arsenide) solar cells have gained significant attention for their use in space applications. These solar cells have the potential for efficient energy conversion and are being explored as potential power sources for electronic devices, satellites, and telecommunication equipment. In this study, the aim is to investigate the effect of adding a window layer and a back surface field (BSF) layer made of InₓGa₍₁₋ₓ₎P material to a GaAs single junction solar cell. In this paper, we first obtain the important electrical parameters of a single-junction GaAs solar cell by utilizing a two-dimensional simulator software for virtual investigation of the solar cell; then, we analyze the impact of adding a window layer and a back surface field layer made of InₓGa₍₁₋ₓ₎P on the solar cell. The results show that the incorporation of these layers led to enhancements in Jsc, Voc, FF, and the overall efficiency of the solar cell.

Keywords: back surface field layer, solar cell, GaAs, InₓGa₍₁₋ₓ₎P, window layer

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1845 The Results of the Archaeological Excavations at the Site of Qurh in Al Ula Region

Authors: Ahmad Al Aboudi

Abstract:

The Department of Archaeology at King Saud University conduct a long Term excavations since 2004 at the archaeological site of (Qurh) in Al-Ula area. The history of the site goes back to the eighth century AD. The main aim of the excavations is the training of the students on the archaeological field work associated with the scientific skills of exploring, surveying, classifying, documentations and other necessary in the field archaeology. During the 12th Season of Excavations, an area of 20 × 40 m2 of the site was excavated. The depth of the excavating the site was reached to 2-3 m. Many of the architectural features of a residential area in the northern part of the site were excavated this season. Circular walls made of mud-brick and a brick column drums and tiles made of clay were revealed this season. Additionally, lots of findings such as Gemstones, jars, ceramic plates, metal, glass, and fabric, as well as some jewelers and coins were discovered. This paper will deal with the main results of this field project including the architectural features and phenomena and their interpretations, the classification of excavated material culture remains and stratigraphy.

Keywords: Islamic architecture, Islamic art, excavations, early Islamic city

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1844 System Survivability in Networks in the Context of Defense/Attack Strategies: The Large Scale

Authors: Asma Ben Yaghlane, Mohamed Naceur Azaiez, Mehdi Mrad

Abstract:

We investigate the large scale of networks in the context of network survivability under attack. We use appropriate techniques to evaluate and the attacker-based- and the defender-based-network survivability. The attacker is unaware of the operated links by the defender. Each attacked link has some pre-specified probability to be disconnected. The defender choice is so that to maximize the chance of successfully sending the flow to the destination node. The attacker however will select the cut-set with the highest chance to be disabled in order to partition the network. Moreover, we extend the problem to the case of selecting the best p paths to operate by the defender and the best k cut-sets to target by the attacker, for arbitrary integers p,k > 1. We investigate some variations of the problem and suggest polynomial-time solutions.

Keywords: defense/attack strategies, large scale, networks, partitioning a network

Procedia PDF Downloads 274
1843 Exploring Students’ Views on Science Education

Authors: Ahmad Alshammari

Abstract:

This study focused on exploring the students’ views about the science education in intermediate stage in State of Kuwait. This study used Social-Culture Theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework to understand the science curriculum reform process through the socio-cultural context and to discuss and explain the study findings. This study used a multi-method design, with both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect the data: students’ questionnaires and interviews. The study sample was selected randomly. First, the questionnaire was conducted with 647 students. Then 30 students (5 in each of 6 focus groups) were chosen to conduct the in-depth interviews. The findings of this study indicated the generally negative views of most of the students about the new science curriculum. The findings showed that most of the students have a negative attitude toward science, they have difficulty understanding most of the lessons, and they do not enjoy studying the science subject. This study recommends reviewing the new science curriculum (now currently in use) and taking into account the perspectives of the students about this curriculum. Developing and adapting the new science curriculum took place without taking into consideration the socio-culture and Islamic religion of Kuwaiti students. The MoE should deal with the relationship between science and culture and between science and religion, integrating more relevant science into the curriculum.

Keywords: science education, students views, science curriculum, curriculum development

Procedia PDF Downloads 315
1842 Protection and Safeguarding of Groundwater in Algeria between Law and Right to Use

Authors: Aziez Ouahiba, Remini Boualem, Habi Mohamed

Abstract:

The growth and the development of a pay are strongly related to the existence or the absence of water in this area, the sedentary lifestyle of the population makes that water demand is increasing and the different brandishing (dams, tablecloths or other) are increasingly solicited. In normal time rain and snow of the winter period reloads the slicks and the wadis that fill dams. Over these two decades, Global warming fact that temperature is increasingly high and rainfall is increasingly low, which induces a charge less and less important tablecloths, add to that the strong demand in irrigation. Our study will focus on the variation of rainfall and irrigation, Their effects on the degree of pollution of the groundwater in this area based on statistical analyses by the Xlstat (ACP, correlation...) software for a better explanation of these results and determine the hydrochemistry of different groups or polluted areas pou be able to offer adequate solutions for each area.

Keywords: water in the basement, legislation, over exploitation, pollution, water prices

Procedia PDF Downloads 378
1841 Indoor Thermal Comfort in Educational Buildings in the State of Kuwait

Authors: Sana El-Azzeh, Farraj Al-Ajmi, Abdulrahman Al-Aqqad, Mohamed Salem

Abstract:

Thermal comfort is defined according to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 as a condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation. Sustaining this standard of thermal comfort for occupants of buildings or other enclosures is one of the important goals of HVAC design engineers. This paper presents a study of thermal comfort and adaptive behaviors of occupants who occupies two locations at the campus of the Australian College of Kuwait. A longitudinal survey and field measurement were conducted to measure thermal comfort, adaptive behaviors, and indoor environment qualities. The study revealed that female occupants in the selected locations felt warmer than males and needed more air velocity and lower temperature.

Keywords: indoor thermal comfort, educational facility, gender analysis, dry desert climate

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
1840 Cable Diameter Effect on the Contact Temperature of Power Automotive Connector

Authors: Amine Beloufa, Mohamed Amirat

Abstract:

In the electric vehicle, high power leads to high current; automotive power connector should resist to this high current in order to avoid a serious damage caused by the increase of contact temperature. The purpose of this paper is to analyze experimentally and numerically the effect of the cable diameter variation on the decrease of contact temperature. For this reason, a finite element model was developed to calculate the numerical contact temperature for several cable diameters and several electrical high currents. Also, experimental tests were established in order to validate this numerical model. Results show that the influence of cable diameter on the contact temperature is never neglected.

Keywords: contact temperature, experimental test, finite element, power automotive connector

Procedia PDF Downloads 257
1839 A Comparative Study of Localized Rainfall and Air Pollution between the Urban Area of Sungai Penchala with Sub-Urban and Green Area in Malaysia

Authors: Mohd N. Ahmad, Lariyah Mohd Sidek

Abstract:

The study had shown that Sungai Penchala (urban) was experiencing localized rainfall and hazardous air pollution due to urbanization. The high rainfall that partly added by localized rain had been seen as a threat of causing the flash floods and water quality deterioration in the area. The air pollution that consisted of mainly particulate matter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) gave an alarming air pollution index (API) to the surrounding area. Comparison among urban area (Sungai Penchala), sub-urban (Gombak), and green areas (Jerantut plus Temerloh) with respect to the rainfall parameters and air pollutants, it was found that the degree of intensities of the parameters was positively related with the urbanization. The air pollutants especially NO2, SO2, and CO were in tandem with the increase of the rainfall. Specifically, if the water catchment area is physically near to the urban area, then the authorities need to look into related urban development program by considering the management of emitted pollutants with respect to the ecological setting of the urban area.

Keywords: urbanization, green area localized rainfall, air pollution, sub-urban area

Procedia PDF Downloads 514
1838 Transient/Steady Natural Convective Flow of Reactive Viscous Fluid in Vertical Porous Pipe

Authors: Ahmad K. Samaila, Basant K. Jha

Abstract:

This paper presents the effects of suction/injection of transient/steady natural convection flow of reactive viscous fluid in a vertical porous pipe. The mathematical model capturing the time dependent flow of viscous reactive fluid is solved using implicit finite difference method while the corresponding steady state model is solved using regular perturbation technique. Results of analytical and numerical solutions are reported for various parametric conditions to illustrate special features of the solutions. The coefficient of skin friction and rate of heat transfer are obtained and illustrated graphically. The numerical solution is shown to be in excellent agreement with the closed form analytical solution. It is interesting to note that time required to reach steady state is higher in case of injection in comparison to suction.

Keywords: porous pipe, reactive viscous fluid, transient natural-convective flow, analytical solution

Procedia PDF Downloads 290
1837 Characterization of Nanoemulsion Incorporating Crude Cocoa Polyphenol

Authors: Suzannah Sharif, Aznie Aida Ahmad, Maznah Ismail

Abstract:

Cocoa bean is the raw material for products such as cocoa powder and chocolate. Cocoa bean contains polyphenol which has been shown in several clinical studies to confer beneficial health effects. However studies showed that cocoa polyphenol absorption in the human intestinal tracts are very low. Therefore nanoemulsion may be one way to increase the bioavailability of cocoa polyphenol. This study aim to characterize nanoemulsion incorporating crude cocoa polyphenol produced using high energy technique. Cocoa polyphenol was extracted from fresh freeze-dried cocoa beans from Malaysia. The particle distribution, particle size, and zeta potential were determined. The emulsion was also analysed using transmission electron microscope to visualize the particles. Solubilization study was conducted by titrating the nanoemulsion into distilled water or 1% surfactant solution. Result showed that the nanoemulsion contains particle which have narrow size distribution. The particles size average at 112nm with zeta potential of -45mV. The nanoemulsions behave differently in distilled water and surfactant solution.

Keywords: cocoa, nanoemulsion, cocoa polyphenol, solubilisation study

Procedia PDF Downloads 462
1836 An Investigation on Organisation Cyber Resilience

Authors: Arniyati Ahmad, Christopher Johnson, Timothy Storer

Abstract:

Cyber exercises used to assess the preparedness of a community against cyber crises, technology failures and critical information infrastructure (CII) incidents. The cyber exercises also called cyber crisis exercise or cyber drill, involved partnerships or collaboration of public and private agencies from several sectors. This study investigates organisation cyber resilience (OCR) of participation sectors in cyber exercise called X Maya in Malaysia. This study used a principal based cyber resilience survey called C-Suite Executive checklist developed by World Economic Forum in 2012. To ensure suitability of the survey to investigate the OCR, the reliability test was conducted on C-Suite Executive checklist items. The research further investigates the differences of OCR in ten Critical National Infrastructure Information (CNII) sectors participated in the cyber exercise. The One Way ANOVA test result showed a statistically significant difference of OCR among ten CNII sectors participated in the cyber exercise.

Keywords: critical information infrastructure, cyber resilience, organisation cyber resilience, reliability test

Procedia PDF Downloads 356
1835 Synthesis of a Model Predictive Controller for Artificial Pancreas

Authors: Mohamed El Hachimi, Abdelhakim Ballouk, Ilyas Khelafa, Abdelaziz Mouhou

Abstract:

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes occurs when beta cells are destroyed by the body's own immune system. Treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus could be greatly improved by applying a closed-loop control strategy to insulin delivery, also known as an Artificial Pancreas (AP). Method: In this paper, we present a new formulation of the cost function for a Model Predictive Control (MPC) utilizing a technic which accelerates the speed of control of the AP and tackles the nonlinearity of the control problem via asymmetric objective functions. Finding: The finding of this work consists in a new Model Predictive Control algorithm that leads to good performances like decreasing the time of hyperglycaemia and avoiding hypoglycaemia. Conclusion: These performances are validated under in silico trials.

Keywords: artificial pancreas, control algorithm, biomedical control, MPC, objective function, nonlinearity

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1834 Determination of Mineral Elements in Some Coarse Grains Used as Staple Food in Kano, Nigeria

Authors: M. I. Mohammed, U. M. Ahmad

Abstract:

Analyses of mineral elements were carried out on some coarse grains used as staple food in Kano. The levels of Magnesium, Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Copper and Zinc were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), and that of Sodium and Potassium were obtained using flame photometer (FES). The result of the study shows that the mean results of the mineral elements ranged from 62.50±0.55 - 84.82±0.74mg/kg sodium, 73.33±0.35 - 317±0.10mg/kg magnesium, 89.22±0.26 - 193.33±0.19mg/kg potassium, 70.00±0.52 - 186.67±0.29mg/kg calcium, 1.00±0.11 - 20.50±1.30mg/kg manganese, 25.00±0.11 - 80.50±0.36mg/kg iron. 4.00±0.08 - 13.00±0.24mg/kg copper and 15.00±0.34 - 50.50±0.24 zinc. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in levels of sodium, potassium and calcium whereas no significant difference (p > 0.05) occurs in levels of magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc. In comparison with Recommended Daily Allowances of essential and trace metals set by international standard organizations, the coarse grains analysed in this work contribute little to the provision of essential and trace elements requirements.

Keywords: mineral elements, coarse grains, staple food, Kano, Nigeria

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1833 Identification and Force Control of a Two Chambers Pneumatic Soft Actuator

Authors: Najib K. Dankadai, Ahmad 'Athif Mohd Faudzi, Khairuddin Osman, Muhammad Rusydi Muhammad Razif, IIi Najaa Aimi Mohd Nordin

Abstract:

Researches in soft actuators are now growing rapidly because of their adequacy to be applied in sectors like medical, agriculture, biological and welfare. This paper presents system identification (SI) and control of the force generated by a two chambers pneumatic soft actuator (PSA). A force mathematical model for the actuator was identified experimentally using data acquisition card and MATLAB SI toolbox. Two control techniques; a predictive functional control (PFC) and conventional proportional integral and derivative (PID) schemes are proposed and compared based on the identified model for the soft actuator flexible mechanism. Results of this study showed that both of the proposed controllers ensure accurate tracking when the closed loop system was tested with the step, sinusoidal and multi step reference input through MATLAB simulation although the PFC provides a better response than the PID.

Keywords: predictive functional control (PFC), proportional integral and derivative (PID), soft actuator, system identification

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1832 Establishing the Optimum Location of a Single Tower Crane Using a Smart Mathematical Model

Authors: Yasser Abo El-Magd, Wael Fawzy Mohamed

Abstract:

Due to the great development in construction and building field, there are many projects and huge works appeared which consume many construction materials. Accordingly, that causes difficulty in handling traditional transportation means (ordinary cranes) due to their limited capacity; there is an urgent need to use high capacity cranes such as tower cranes. However, with regard to their high expense, we have to take into consideration selecting what type of cranes to be utilized which has been discussed by many researchers. In this research, a proposed technique was created to select the suitable type of crane and the best place for crane erection, in addition to minimum radius for requested crane in order to minimize cost. To fulfill that target, a computer program is designed to numerate these problems, demonstrating an example explaining how to apply program and the result donated the best place.

Keywords: tower crane, jib length, operating time, location, feasible area

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1831 A Study of Students’ Perceptions of Technology in Petaling District

Authors: Ahmad Masduki Bin Selamat

Abstract:

Malaysia is becoming a developed country by the year 2020, the problem is that little is known about the perceptions and curricular values of Malaysian high school students who have taken Living Skills as a subject in the regular public school. How these students perceive technology in their daily lives, in the country’s development and in global context, is not known. The study involved form 4 students from four public schools in Petaling District. The study found that the Petaling District students’ knowledge of technology were good, where 76.6 % of them scored 50% marks and above during the achievement test. In addition, it was also found that only excellent and squatter students perceived technology education as important as a school subject, compared to those students from the urban area. It was found that students preferred business and entrepreneurship topics rather than the other Living Skills curriculum. The study suggests that students should be exposed to technology education from the early years of schooling (preschool to secondary). In addition, the acquisition of skills, the evaluation, revision and modification of the instruction as well as the curriculum should be enforced.

Keywords: technology education, living skills, curricular values, public schools

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1830 River's Bed Level Changing Pattern Due to Sedimentation, Case Study: Gash River, Kassala, Sudan

Authors: Faisal Ali, Hasssan Saad Mohammed Hilmi, Mustafa Mohamed, Shamseddin Musa

Abstract:

The Gash rivers an ephemeral river, it usually flows from July to September, it has a braided pattern with high sediment content, of 15200 ppm in suspension, and 360 kg/sec as bed load. The Gash river bed has an average slope of 1.3 m/Km. The objectives of this study were: assessing the Gash River bed level patterns; quantifying the annual variations in Gash bed level; and recommending a suitable method to reduce the sediment accumulation on the Gash River bed. The study covered temporally the period 1905-2013 using datasets included the Gash river flows, and the cross sections. The results showed that there is an increasing trend in the river bed of 5 cm3 per year. This is resulted in changing the behavior of the flood routing and consequently the flood hazard is tremendously increased in Kassala city.

Keywords: bed level, cross section, gash river, sedimentation

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1829 Improvement of Spray Retention on Barley

Authors: Hassina Hafida Boukhalfa, Mohamed Belhamra

Abstract:

Adjuvants contribute to change the types of impact and thus the amount of spray retained by the leaves of the treated plant. We have performed tests of retention on barley plants on BBCH 12 stage and small pieces of barley leaves at the same stage of growth. Spraying was done in three ways: water without adjuvant, water with Break-Thru® S240 and water with Li700®. The three slurries of fluorescein contained in an amount of 0.2 g/l. Fluorescein retained by the leaves in both cases is then measured by a spectrofluoremeter. The retention tests on whole plants show that it is tripled by the first adjuvant and doubled by the second. By cons on small pieces of barley leaves, the amount was increased by the use of surfactants but not to the same scale. This study concluded that the use of adjuvants in spray pesticides may increase the amount of retention as a function of leaf area and the type of adjuvant.

Keywords: Barley, adjuvant, spray retention, fluorometry

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1828 An Ontology for Semantic Enrichment of RFID Systems

Authors: Haitham S. Hamza, Mohamed Maher, Shourok Alaa, Aya Khattab, Hadeal Ismail, Kamilia Hosny

Abstract:

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has become a key technology in the margining concept of Internet of Things (IoT). Naturally, business applications would require the deployment of various RFID systems that are developed by different vendors and use various data formats. This heterogeneity poses a real challenge in developing large-scale IoT systems with RFID as integration is becoming very complex and challenging. Semantic integration is a key approach to deal with this challenge. To do so, ontology for RFID systems need to be developed in order to annotated semantically RFID systems, and hence, facilitate their integration. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose ontology for RFID systems. The proposed ontology can be used to semantically enrich RFID systems, and hence, improve their usage and reasoning. The usage of the proposed ontology is explained through a simple scenario in the health care domain.

Keywords: RFID, semantic technology, ontology, sparql query language, heterogeneity

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1827 Overview of Fiber Optic Gyroscopes as Ring Laser Gyros and Fiber Optic Gyros and the Comparison Between Them

Authors: M. Abdo, Mohamed Shalaby

Abstract:

A key development in the field of inertial sensors, fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) are currently thought to be a competitive alternative to mechanical gyroscopes for inertial navigation and control applications. For the past few years, research and development efforts have been conducted all around the world using the FOG as a crucial sensor for high-accuracy inertial navigation systems. The main fundamentals of optical gyros were covered in this essay, followed by discussions of the main types of optical gyros and fiber optic gyroscopes and ring laser gyroscopes and comparisons between them. We also discussed different types of fiber optic gyros, including interferometric, resonator, and Brillion fiber optic gyroscopes.

Keywords: mechanical gyros, ring laser gyros, interferometric finer optic gyros, Resonator fiber optic gyros

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1826 Performance Assessment of GSO Satellites before and after Enhancing the Pointing Effect

Authors: Amr Emam, Joseph Victor, Mohamed Abd Elghany

Abstract:

The paper presents the effect of the orbit inclination on the pointing error of the satellite antenna and consequently on its footprint on earth for a typical Ku- band payload system. The performance assessment is examined both theoretically and by means of practical measurements, taking also into account all additional sources of pointing errors, such as East-West station keeping, orbit eccentricity and actual attitude control performance. An implementation and computation of the sinusoidal biases in satellite roll and pitch used to compensate the pointing error of the satellite antenna coverage is studied and evaluated before and after the pointing corrections performed. A method for evaluation of the performance of the implemented biases has been introduced through measuring satellite received level from a tracking 11m and fixed 4.8m transmitting antenna before and after the implementation of the pointing corrections.

Keywords: satellite, inclined orbit, pointing errors, coverage optimization

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