Search results for: digital emergency response system

Authors: Mukhtar Sarkin-Kebbi

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Insurgency, religious extremism and other related religious crises become hydra-headed in Nigeria, which caused destruction of human lives and properties worth of billions naira. As result, millions people were displaced and million children were out of school most of whom from Muslims community. The wrong teaching and misinterpretation of Islam by some Muslim community fuel the spread of extremist ideology hatred among Muslim sects, non-Muslims and emergency of extremist groups, like Boko Haram. A multi-religious country like Nigeria to realise its development in all human aspects, there must be unity and religious tolerance. Many agreed that changing the ideologies of insurgents and religious extremism will require intellectual role with vigorous campaign. Muslim scholars can play a vital role in promoting social reform and peaceful coexistence. This paper discusses the importance of unity among Muslim community and religious tolerance in light of the Qur’an and the Hadith. The paper also reviews the relationship between Muslims and non Muslims during the life time the Prophet (S.A.W.) in order to serve as exemplary model. Contemporary issues such as religious extremism, sectarians, intolerance and their consequences were examined. To minify religious intolerance and extremism,the paper identifies the roles to be played by Muslim scholars with references from Qur’an and Sunnah. The paper concludes that to realise overall human development and eternal salvation, Muslim should shun away from any religious crises and embrace unity and religious tolerance. Finally the paper recommends among others that only pious and learned scholars should be allowed to preach in any religious gathering, Muslim should exercise patience, tolerance in dealing with Muslims and non Muslims. Muslims should leave by example from the teaching of Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.W.).

Keywords: Muslim scholars, peace building, religious extremism, religious tolerance

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Authors: Alireza Taghdiri, Sara Ghanbarzade Ghomi

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With the gravity load reduction in the structural and non-structural components, the lightweight construction will be achieved as well as the improvement of efficiency and functional specifications. The advantages of lightweight construction can be examined in two levels. The first is the mass reduction of load bearing structure which results in increasing internal useful space and the other one is the mass reduction of building which decreases the effects of seismic load as a result. In order to achieve this goal, the essential building materials specifications and also optimum load bearing geometry of structural systems and elements have to be considered, so lightweight materials selection particularly with lightweight aggregate for building components will be the first step of lightweight construction. In the next step, in addition to selecting the prominent samples of Iran's traditional architecture, the process of these works improvement is analyzed through the viewpoints of structural efficiency and lightweighting and also the practical methods of lightweight construction have been extracted. The optimum design of load bearing geometry of structural system has to be considered not only in the structural system elements, but also in their composition and the selection of dimensions, proportions, forms and optimum orientations, can lead to get a maximum materials efficiency for loads and stresses bearing.

Keywords: gravity load, light-weighting structural system, load bearing geometry, seismic behavior

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Authors: Stuti Modi, Aditi Kambli

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This paper addresses the need for intelligent water management and distribution system in smart cities to ensure optimal consumption and distribution of water for drinking and sanitation purposes. Water being a limited resource in cities require an effective system for collection, storage and distribution. In this paper, applications of two mostly widely used particular types of data-driven models, namely artificial neural networks (ANN) and fuzzy logic-based models, to modelling in the water resources management field are considered. The objective of this paper is to review the principles of various types and architectures of neural network and fuzzy adaptive systems and their applications to integrated water resources management. Final goal of the review is to expose and formulate progressive direction of their applicability and further research of the AI-related and data-driven techniques application and to demonstrate applicability of the neural networks, fuzzy systems and other machine learning techniques in the practical issues of the regional water management. Apart from this the paper will deal with water storage, using ANN to find optimum reservoir level and predicting peak daily demands.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, fuzzy systems, peak daily demand prediction, water management and distribution

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Authors: Hani M. Alothaid, Louise Robson, Richmond Muimo

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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease that affects respiratory function and in EU it affects about 1 in 2,500 live births with an average 40-year life expectancy. This disease caused by mutations within the gene encoding the CFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator) chloride channel leading to dysregulation of epithelial fluid transport and chronic lung inflammation, suggesting functional alterations of immune cells. In airways, CFTR been found to form a functional complex with S100A10 and AnxA2 in a cAMP/PKA dependent manner. The multiprotein complex of AnxA2-S100A10 and CFTR is also regulated by calcineurin. The aim of this study was i) to investigate whether chloride ion (Cl−) channels are activated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS from PA), ii) if this activation is regulated by cAMP/PKA/calcineurin pathway and iii) to investigate the role of LPS-activated Cl− channels in the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by immune cells. Human peripheral blood monocytes were used in the study. Whole-cell patch records showed that LPS from PA can activate Cl− channels, including CFTR and outwardly-rectifying Cl− channel (ORCC). This activation appears to require an intact PKA/calcineurin signalling pathway. The Gout in the presence of LPS was significantly inhibited by diisothiocyanatostilbene-disulfonic acid (DIDS), an ORCC blocker (p<0.001). The Gout was further suppressed by CFTR(inh)-172, a specific inhibitor for CFTR channels (p<0.001). Monocytes pre-incubated with PKA inhibitor or calcineurin inhibitor before stimulated with LPS from PA that were resulted in DIDS and CFTR(inh)-172 insensitive currents. Activation of both ORCC and CFTR was however, observed in response to monocytes exposure to LPS. Additionally, ELISA showed that the CFTR and ORCC play a role in mediating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β upon exposure of monocytes to LPS. However, this secretion was significantly inhibited due to CFTR and ORCC inhibition. However, Cl− may play a role in IL-1β release independent of cAMP/PKA/calcineurin signalling due to the enhancement of IL-1β secretion even when cAMP/PKA/calcineurin pathway was inhibited. In conclusion, our data confirmed that LPS from PA activates Cl− channels in human peripheral blood monocytes. Our data also confirmed that Cl− channels were involved in IL-1β release in monocytes upon exposure to LPS. However, it has been found that PKA and calcineurin does not seem to influence the Cl− dependent cytokine release.

Keywords: cystic fibrosis, CFTR, Annexin A2, S100A10, PP2B, PKA, outwardly-rectifying Cl− channel, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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Authors: Taiyo Matsumura, Kuninori Takahashi, Takashi Ono

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The purpose of this research is to improve the convenience of waiting for trains at level crossings and stations and to prevent accidents resulting from forcible entry into level crossings, by providing level crossing users and passengers with information that tells them when the next train will pass through or arrive. For this paper, we proposed methods for estimating operation by means of an average value method, variable response smoothing method, and exponential smoothing method, on the basis of open data, which has low accuracy, but for which performance schedules are distributed in real time. We then examined the accuracy of the estimations. The results showed that the application of an exponential smoothing method is valid.

Keywords: exponential smoothing method, open data, operation estimation, train schedule

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Authors: Moumen Abdelhafidh, Stribu Bogdan, Laboureur Delphine, Gallant Johan, Hendrick Patrick

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This study is part of an ongoing effort to improve the understanding of phenomena occurring during the intermediate ballistic phase, such as muzzle flows. A thorough comprehension of muzzle flow fields is essential for optimizing muzzle device and projectile design. This flow characterization has heretofore been almost entirely limited to local and intrusive measurement techniques such as pressure measurements using pencil probes. Consequently, the body of quantitative experimental data is limited, so is the number of numerical codes validated in this field. The objective of the work presented here is to demonstrate the applicability of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique in the challenging environment of the propellant flow of a .300 blackout weapon to provide accurate velocity measurements. The key points of a successful PIV measurement are the selection of the particle tracer, their seeding technique, and their tracking characteristics. We have experimentally investigated the aforementioned points by evaluating the resistance, gas dispersion, laser light reflection as well as the response to a step change across the Mach disk for five different solid tracers using two seeding methods. To this end, an experimental setup has been performed and consisted of a PIV system, the combustion chamber pressure measurement, classical high-speed schlieren visualization, and an aerosol spectrometer. The latter is used to determine the particle size distribution in the muzzle flow. The experimental results demonstrated the ability of PIV to accurately resolve the salient features of the propellant flow, such as the under the expanded jet and vortex rings, as well as the instantaneous velocity field with maximum centreline velocities of more than 1000 m/s. Besides, naturally present unburned particles in the gas and solid ZrO₂ particles with a nominal size of 100 nm, when coated on the propellant powder, are suitable as tracers. However, the TiO₂ particles intended to act as a tracer, surprisingly not only melted but also functioned as a combustion accelerator and decreased the number of particles in the propellant gas.

Keywords: intermediate ballistic, muzzle flow fields, particle image velocimetry, propellant gas, particle size distribution, under expanded jet, solid particle tracers

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Authors: Rebeca Ramirez Acosta, Sebastian Lenhoff

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Decision makers worldwide need to determine if the implementation of a new market mechanism will contribute to the sustainability and resilience of the power system. Due to smart grid technologies, new products in the distribution and transmission system can be traded; however, the impact of changing a market rule will differ between several regions. To test systematically those impacts, a market categorization has been compiled and organized in a smart grid market testing toolbox. This toolbox maps all actual energy products and sets the basis for running a co-simulation test with the new rule to be implemented. It will help to measure the impact of the new rule, based on the sustainable and resilience indicators.

Keywords: co-simulation, electricity market, smart grid market, market testing

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Authors: Saida Dorbani, M'hammed Badaoui, Djilali Benouar

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This paper deals with the effect of the building design and epicentral distance on the storey lateral displacement, for several reinforced concrete buildings (6, 9 and 12 stories), with three floor plans: symmetric, mono symmetric, and unsymmetrical. These structures are subjected to seismic accelerations from the Boumerdes earthquake (Algeria, May 21st, Mw=6.5). The objective of this study is to highlight the impact of the fundamental period and epicentral distance on storey displacements for a given earthquake. The seismic lateral displacement is carried out in both longitudinal and transverse direction by the response spectrum method.

Keywords: natural period, epicenter distance, reinforced concrete buildings, storey displacement

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Authors: Wassim Katerji, Mercedes Farjas, Carmen Morillo

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Terrain-Based Analysis results in derived products from an input DEM and these products are needed to perform various analyses. To efficiently use these products in decision-making, their accuracies must be estimated systematically. This paper proposes a procedure to assess the accuracy of these derived products, by calculating the accuracy of the slope dataset and its significance, taking as an input the accuracy of the DEM. Based on the output of previously published research on modeling the relative accuracy of a DEM, specifically ASTER and SRTM DEMs with Lebanon coverage as the area of study, analysis have showed that ASTER has a low significance in the majority of the area where only 2% of the modeled terrain has 50% or more significance. On the other hand, SRTM showed a better significance, where 37% of the modeled terrain has 50% or more significance. Statistical analysis deduced that the accuracy of the slope dataset, calculated on a cell-by-cell basis, is highly correlated to the accuracy of the input DEM. However, this correlation becomes lower between the slope accuracy and the slope significance, whereas it becomes much higher between the modeled slope and the slope significance.

Keywords: terrain-based analysis, slope, accuracy assessment, Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

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Authors: Daniel Llanes, Alfredo Reyes, Sonia E. Ruiz, Federico Valenzuela Beltran

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Steel frames have been used in building construction for more than one hundred years. Beam-column may be connected to columns using either stiffened or unstiffened angles at the top and bottom beam flanges. Designers often assume that these assemblies acted as “pinned” connections for gravity loads and that the stiffened connections would act as “fixed” connections for lateral loads. Observation of damages sustained by buildings during the 1994 Northridge earthquake indicated that, contrary to the intended behavior, in many cases, brittle fractures initiated within the connections at very low levels of plastic demand, and in some cases, while the structures remained essentially elastic. Due to the damage presented in these buildings other type of alternative connections have been proposed. According to a research funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the screwed connections have better performance when they are subjected to cyclic loads, but at the same time, these connections have some degree of flexibility. Due to this situation, some researchers ventured into the study of semi-rigid connections. In the present study three steel buildings, constituted by regular frames are analyzed. Two types of connections are considered: pinned and semi-rigid connections. With the aim to estimate their structural capacity, a number of incremental dynamic analyzes are performed. 3D structural models are used for the analyses. The seismic ground motions were recorded on sites near Los Angeles, California, where the structures are supposed to be located. The vulnerability curves of the building are obtained in terms of maximum inter-story drifts. The vulnerability curves (which correspond to the models with two different types of connections) are compared, and its implications on its structural design and performance is discussed.

Keywords: steel frame Buildings, vulnerability curves, semi-rigid connections, pinned connections

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Authors: Sana Ansari, Sirus Mohammadi

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In distribution systems, shunt capacitors are used to reduce power losses, to improve voltage profile, and to increase the maximum flow through cables and transformers. This paper presents a new method to determine the optimal locations and economical sizing of fixed and/or switched shunt capacitors with a view to power losses reduction and voltage stability enhancement. General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) has been used to solve the maximization modules using the MINOS optimization software with Linear Programming (LP). The proposed method is tested on 33 node distribution system and the results show that the algorithm suitable for practical implementation on real systems with any size.

Keywords: power losses, voltage stability, radial distribution systems, capacitor

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Authors: Ali Reza Ghaffari, Hassan Saghi

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Given the limitation of fossil resources to supply energy to buildings, recent years have seen a revival of interest in new technologies that produce the energy using new forms of energy in many developed countries. In this research, first the potentials of new energies in Iran are discussed and then based on case studies undertaken in a building in Tehran, the effects of utilizing new solar energy technology for supplying the energy of buildings are investigated. Then, by analyzing the data recorded over a four-year period, the technical performance of this system is investigated. According to the experimental operation plan, this system requires an auxiliary heating circuit for continuous operation over a year. Also, in the economic analysis, real conditions are considered and the results are recorded based on long-term data. Considering the purchase and commissioning building, supplementary energy consumption, etc. a comparison is drawn between the costs of using a solar water heater in a residential unit with the energy costs of a similar unit equipped with a conventional gas water heater. Given the current price of energy, using a solar water heater in the country will not economical, but considering the global energy prices, this system will have a return on investment after 4.5 years. It also produces 81% less pollution and saves about $21.5 on environmental pollution cleanup.

Keywords: energy supply, new energies, new technologies, buildings

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Authors: Yu Cheng-Yu

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‘Heterotopia’, ‘Visual Cultural Art Education’ and ‘New Media’ of these three subjects seemingly are irrelevant. In fact, there are synchronicity and intertextuality inside. In addition to visual culture, art education inspires students the ability to reflect on popular culture image through visual culture teaching strategies in school. We should get involved in the community to construct the learning environment that conveys visual culture art. This thesis attempts to probe the heterogeneity of space and value from Michel Foucault and to research sustainable development strategy in ‘New Media Art Village’ heterogeneity from Jean Baudrillard, Marshall McLuhan's media culture theory and social construction ideology. It is possible to find a new media group that can convey ‘Visual Culture Art Education’ around the National Taipei University of Technology in this commercial district that combines intelligent technology, fashion, media, entertainment, art education, and marketing network. Let the imagination and innovation of ‘New Media Art Village’ become ‘implementable’ and new media Heterotopia of inter-subjectivity with the engagement of big data and digital media. Visual culture art education will also bring aesthetics into the community by New Media Art Village.

Keywords: social construction, heterogeneity, new media, big data, visual culture art education

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Authors: Ruchi B. Semwal, Deepak K. Semwal, Thobile A. N. Nkosi, Alvaro M. Viljoen

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The use of Lawsonia inermis L. (Lythraeae), commonly known as henna, has many medicinal benefits and is used as a remedy for the treatment of diarrhoea, cancer, inflammation, headache, jaundice and skin diseases in folk medicine. Although widely used for hair dyeing and temporary tattooing, henna body art has popularized over the last 15 years and changed from being a traditional bridal and festival adornment to an exotic fashion accessory. The naphthoquinone, lawsone, is one of the main constituents of the plant and responsible for its dyeing property. Henna leaves typically contain 1.8–1.9% lawsone, which is used as a marker compound for the quality control of henna products. Adulteration of henna with various toxic chemicals such as p-phenylenediamine, p-methylaminophenol, p-aminobenzene and p-toluenodiamine to produce a variety of colours, is very common and has resulted in serious health problems, including allergic reactions. This study aims to assess the quality of henna products collected from different parts of the world by determining the lawsone content, as well as the concentrations of any adulterants present. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to determine the lawsone concentrations in 172 henna products. Separation of the chemical constituents was achieved on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column using gradient elution (0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile). The results from UPLC-MS revealed that of 172 henna products, 11 contained 1.0-1.8% lawsone, 110 contained 0.1-0.9% lawsone, whereas 51 samples did not contain detectable levels of lawsone. High performance thin layer chromatography was investigated as a cheaper, more rapid technique for the quality control of henna in relation to the lawsone content. The samples were applied using an automatic TLC Sampler 4 (CAMAG) to pre-coated silica plates, which were subsequently developed with acetic acid, acetone and toluene (0.5: 1.0: 8.5 v/v). A Reprostar 3 digital system allowed the images to be captured. The results obtained corresponded to those from UPLC-MS analysis. Vibrational spectroscopy analysis (MIR or NIR) of the powdered henna, followed by chemometric modelling of the data, indicates that this technique shows promise as an alternative quality control method. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the data by observing clustering and identifying outliers. Partial least squares (PLS) multivariate calibration models were constructed for the quantification of lawsone. In conclusion, only a few of the samples analysed contain lawsone in high concentrations, indicating that they are of poor quality. Currently, the presence of adulterants that may have been added to enhance the dyeing properties of the products, is being investigated.

Keywords: Lawsonia inermis, paraphenylenediamine, temporary tattooing, lawsone

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Authors: Gatot Ciptadi, Mudawamah, R. P. Putra, S. Wahjuningsih, A. M. Munazaroh

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The success rate of Artificial Insemination (AI) application, particularly in the field at the farmer level is highly dependent on the quality of the sperms one post thawing. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of freezing method (-1oC/ minute) using Mr. Frosty system with commercial diluents on the post-thawing quality of Boer goat semen. Method use is experimental design with the completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatments of commercial diluter percentage (v/v). Freezing semen was cryopreserved in 2 main final temperatures of –45 oC (Freezer) and –196 oC (liquid nitrogen). Result showed that different commercial diluter is influenced on viability motility and abnormalities of Boer semen. Pre-freezing qualities of viability, motilities and abnormalities was 88.67+4.16 %, 66.33 +1.53 % and 4.67+ 0.57 % respectively. Meanwhile, post-thawing qualities is considered as good as standard qualities at least more than 40 % (51.0+6.5%). The percentage of commercial diluents were influenced highly significant (P<0.01).The best diluents ration is 1:4 (v/v) for both final sperms stocked. However freezing sperm conserved in -196 oC is better than –45 oC (i.e. motility 39.3.94 % vs. 51.0 + 6.5 %). It was concluded that Mr. frosty system was considered as the feasible method for freezing semen in the reason for practical purposes.

Keywords: sperm quality, goat, viability, diluteR

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Authors: Cristian Patrascioiu, Loredana Negoita

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This paper is focused on modeling and simulation of the tubular heaters. The paper is structured in four parts: the structure of the tubular convection section, the heat transfer model, the adaptation of the mathematical model and the solving model. The main hypothesis of the heat transfer modeling is that the heat exchanger of the convective tubular heater is a lumped system. In the same time, the model uses the heat balance relations, Newton’s law and criteria relations. The numerical program achieved allows for the estimation of the burn gases outlet temperature and the heated flow outlet temperature.

Keywords: heat exchanger, mathematical modelling, nonlinear equation system, Newton-Raphson algorithm

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Authors: Kyoung Hoon Kim

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This work presents an exergetical performance analysis of regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) using turbine bleeding based on the second law of thermodynamics for recovery of finite thermal energy. Effects of system parameters such as turbine bleeding pressure and turbine bleeding fraction are theoretically investigated on the exergy destructions (anergies) at various components of the system as well as the exergy and the second-law efficiencies. Under the conditions of the critical fraction of turbine bleeding, the simulation results show that the exergy efficiency decreases monotonically with respect to the bleeding pressure, however, the second-law efficiency has a peak with respect to the turbine bleeding pressure.

Keywords: organic Rankine cycle, ORC, regeneration, turbine bleeding, exergy, second-law efficiency

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Authors: Pradip Kumar Jha, Manoj Kumar

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We demonstrate in this work the effect of Rashba spin orbit interaction on multiphoton optical transitions of a quantum dot in the presence of THz laser field and external static magnetic field. This combination is solved by accurate non-perturbative Floquet theory. Investigations are made for the optical response of intraband transition between the various states of the conduction band with spin flipping. Enhancement and power broadening observed for excited states probabilities with increase of external fields are directly linked to the emission spectra of QD and will be useful for making future bioimaging devices.

Keywords: bioimaging, multiphoton processes, spin orbit interaction, quantum dot

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Authors: Wasihun Girma Hailemariam

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Energy is one of the key elements required for every agricultural activity, especially for large scale agricultural production such as sugarcane cultivation which mostly is used to produce sugar and bioethanol from sugarcane. In such kinds of resource (energy) intensive activities, energy analysis of the production system and looking for other alternatives which can reduce energy inputs of the sugarcane production process are steps forward for resource management. The purpose of this study was to determine input energy (direct and indirect) per hectare of sugarcane production sector of Metehara sugar factory in Ethiopia. Total energy consumption of the production system was 61,642 MJ/ha-yr. This total input energy is a cumulative value of different inputs (direct and indirect inputs) in the production system. The contribution of these different inputs is discussed and a scenario of substituting the most influential input by other alternative input which can replace the original input in its nutrient content was discussed. In this study the most influential input for increased energy consumption was application of organic fertilizer which accounted for 50 % of the total energy consumption. Filter cake which is a residue from the sugar production in the factory was used to substitute the organic fertilizer and the reduction in the energy consumption of the sugarcane production was discussed

Keywords: energy analysis, organic fertilizer, resource management, sugarcane

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Authors: Brahim Fares Zaidi

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Our work aims to improve our Automatic Recognition System for Dysarthria Speech based on the Hidden Models of Markov and the Hidden Markov Model Toolkit to help people who are sick. With pronunciation problems, we applied two techniques of speech parameterization based on Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients and Perceptual Linear Prediction and concatenated them with JITTER and SHIMMER coefficients in order to increase the recognition rate of a dysarthria speech. For our tests, we used the NEMOURS database that represents speakers with dysarthria and normal speakers.

Keywords: ARSDS, HTK, HMM, MFCC, PLP

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Authors: R. Chakib, A. Essadki, M. Cherkaoui

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This paper proposes the study of a robust control of the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) used in a wind energy production. The proposed control is based on the linear active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) and it is applied to the control currents rotor of the DFIG, the DC bus voltage and active and reactive power exchanged between the DFIG and the network. The system under study and the proposed control are simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

Keywords: doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), vector control, MPPT, extended state observer, back-to-back converter, wind turbine

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Authors: Hesham Osman

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The challenges facing aging urban infrastructure systems require a more holistic and comprehensive approach to their management. The large number of urban infrastructure renewal activities occurring in cities throughout the world leads to social, economic and environmental impacts on the communities in its vicinity. As such, a coordinated effort is required to streamline these activities. This paper presents a framework to enable temporal (time-based) coordination of water, sewer and road intervention activities. Intervention activities include routine maintenance, renewal, and replacement of physical assets. The coordination framework considers 1) Life-cycle costs, 2) Infrastructure level-of-service, and 3) Risk exposure to system operators. The model enables infrastructure asset managers to trade-off options of delaying versus bringing forward intervention activities of one system in order to be executed in conjunction with another co-located system in the right-of-way. The framework relies on a combination of meta-heuristics and goal-based optimization. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the framework, a case study for a major infrastructure corridor in Cairo, Egypt is taken as an example. Results show that the framework can be scaled-up to include other infrastructure systems located in the right-of-way like electricity, gas and telecom, provided that information can be shared among these entities.

Keywords: infrastructure, rehabilitation, construction, optimization

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Authors: Miyeon Yoo, Sewon Kim, Changyeop Lee

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It is important to measure the internal temperature or temperature distribution precisely in combustion system to increase energy efficiency and reduce the pollutants. Especially in case of large combustion systems such as power plant boiler and reheating furnace of steel making process, it is very difficult to measure those physical properties in detail. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy measurement and analysis can be attractive method to overcome the difficulty. In this paper, TDLAS methods are used to measure the oxygen concentration and temperature distribution in various experimental conditions.

Keywords: tunable diode laser absorption Spectroscopy, temperature distribution, gas concentration

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Authors: Nahid Ferdousi

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Juvenile justice is a key component of the child rights to keep the best interest and completely different from criminal justice. After independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Children Act 1974 and the Children Rules 1976 were considered as the basic law for juvenile justice which written before many international instruments on children’s rights came into existence, did not align with the international mandate set by those instruments. These Acts were not really child rights-based and modern concept such as diversion, restorative justice and community-based rehabilitation has not developed accordingly. In this backdrop, government has enacted the new Children Act 2013 and introduced extensive reforms to the juvenile justice system in Bangladesh. The Act has been adopted with the provisions for child-friendly juvenile courts in each district and different kinds of child-oriented practices in a number of settings, such as, child affairs police officer, probation officer, national child welfare board, diversion, alternative preventive measures on the basis of international principles. Prior to the Act, there had been a number of High Court rulings which considered the international standards for juvenile justice. But the recent reforms to juvenile justice system hail a new commitment to the country’s international obligations to its children and a change in the philosophy guiding the treatment of offender children. This is high time to create an effective juvenile justice system for the 21st century in Bangladesh by the proper implementation of the Children Act 2013. Additionally, the new Children Rules should be enacted and juvenile courts along with correctional institutions should be established in each district in Bangladesh. This study assesses the juvenile justice reforms in Bangladesh over the five decades (1974-2014) and focuses on changes that will improve the system as a whole and enable us to better achieve the ends of fair juvenile justice.

Keywords: Juvenile justice reforms, international obligations, child-oriented practices, commitment of the state

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Authors: S. A. Faizi, S. Yoshitomi

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The optimal design procedure of buckling restrained braces (BRBs) in reinforced concrete (RC) building structures can provide the distribution of horizontal stiffness of BRBs at each story, which minimizes story drift response of the structure under the constraint of specified total stiffness of BRBs. In this paper, a simple rule is proposed to convert continuous horizontal stiffness of BRBs into sectional sizes of BRB which are available from standardized section list assuming realistic structural design stage.

Keywords: buckling restrained brace, building engineering, optimal damper placement, structural engineering

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Authors: Amarjit S Tanda

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Integrated Pest Management Technology (IPMT) offers a crop protection model with sustainable agriculture production with minimum damage to the environment and human health. A concept of agro-ecological crop protection seems unsuitable under dynamic environmental systems. To remedy this, we are proposing Genetically Engineered Crop Protection System (GECPS), as an alternate concept in IPMT that suggests how GE cultivars can be optimally put to the service of crop protection. Genetically engineered cultivars which are developed by gene editing biotechnology may provide a preventive defense against the insect pests and plant diseases, a suitable alternative crop system for blending in IPMT program, in the future agro-industry.

Keywords: integrated, pest, management, technology

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Authors: Qasem A. Alyazji

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One of the main techniques for Positron emission tomography (PET), Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is the development of radiation detectors. The NaI(Tl) scintillator crystal coupled to an array of photomultiplier tubes known as the Anger camera, is the most dominant detectors system in PET and SPECT devices. Technological advances in many materials, in addition to the emerging importance of specialized applications such as preclinical imaging and cardiac imaging, have encouraged innovation so that alternatives to the anger camera are now part in alternative imaging systems. In this paper we will discuss the main performance characteristics of detectors devices and scanning developments in both scintillation detectors, semiconductor (solid state) detectors, and Photon Transducers such as photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs), Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) and Silicon photomultiplier (SiPMT). This paper discussed the detectors that showed promising results. This study is a review of recent developments in the detectors used in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging system.

Keywords: SPECT, scintillation, PMTs, SiPMT, PSPMTs, APDs, semiconductor (solid state)

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Authors: Hachmia Faqihi, Maarouf Saad, Khalid Benjelloun, Mohammed Benbrahim, M. Nabil Kabbaj

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This paper investigates and presents a cable-driven robot to lower limb rehabilitation use in sagittal plane. The presented rehabilitation robot is used for a trajectory tracking in joint space. The paper covers kinematic and dynamic analysis, which reveals the tensionability of the used cables as being the actuating source to provide a rehabilitation exercises of the human leg. The desired trajectory is generated to be used in the control system design in joint space. The obtained simulation results is showed to be efficient in this kind of application.

Keywords: cable-driven multi-body system, computed-torque controller, lower limb rehabilitation, tracking trajectory

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Authors: Kevin. S. Badni

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Due to the rapid advances in the use of information technology and students’ familiarity with technology, learning styles in higher education are being reshaped. One of the technology developments that has gained considerable attention in recent years is Augmented Reality (AR), where technology is used to combine overlays of digital data on physical real-world settings. While AR is being heavily promoted for entertainment by mobile phone manufacturers, it has had little adoption in higher education due to the required upfront investment that an instructor needs to undertake in creating relevant AR applications. This paper discusses a case study that uses a low upfront development approach and examines the impact on generation-Z students’ motivation whilst studying design history over a four-semester period. Even though the upfront investment in creating the AR support was minimal, the results showed a noticeable increase in student motivation. The approach used in this paper can be easily transferred to other disciplines and other areas of design education.

Keywords: augmented reality, history, motivation, technology

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Authors: Arditya Nugraha, Herry Gunawan, Agung P. Widodo

Abstract:

The various possible strategies to find hydrocarbon are explored within a wide ranging of efforts. It started to identify petroleum concept in the basin. The main objectives of this paper are to integrate and develop information, knowledge, and evaluation from Indonesia’s sedimentary basins system in terms of their suitability for exploration activity and estimate the hydrocarbon potential available. The system which compiled data information and knowledge and comprised exploration and production data of all basins in Indonesia called as Basin Professor which stands for Basin Professional and Processor. Basin Professor is a website application using Geography Information System which consists of all information about basin montage, basin summary, petroleum system, stratigraphy, development play, risk factor, exploration history, working area, regional cross section, well correlation, prospect & lead inventory and infrastructure spatial. From 82 identified sedimentary basins, North Sumatra, Central Sumatra, South Sumatera, East Java, Kutai, and Tarakan basins are respectively positioned of the Indonesia’ s mature basin and the most productive basin. The Eastern of Indonesia also have many hydrocarbon potential and discovered several fields in Papua and East Abadi. Basin Professor compiled the well data in all of the basin in Indonesia from mature basin to frontier basin. Well known geological data, subsurface mapping, prospect and lead, resources and established infrastructures are the main factors make these basins have higher suitability beside another potential basin. The hydrocarbon potential resulted from this paper based on the degree of geological data, petroleum, and economic evaluation. Basin Professor has provided by a calculator tool in lead and prospect for estimate the hydrocarbon reserves, recoverable in place and geological risk. Furthermore, the calculator also defines the preliminary economic evaluation such as investment, POT IRR and infrastructures in each basin. From this Basin Professor, petroleum companies are able to estimate that Indonesia has a huge potential of hydrocarbon oil and gas reservoirs and still interesting for hydrocarbon exploration and production activity.

Keywords: basin summary, petroleum system, resources, economic evaluation

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