Search results for: information security management system

Authors: Syukri Himran, Rustan Taraka, Anto Duma

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The aim of the study is to improve the understanding of latent and sensible thermal energy storage within a paraffin wax media by an array of cylindrical tubes arranged both in in-line and staggered layouts. An analytical and experimental study was carried out in a horizontal shell-and-tube type system during the melting process. Pertamina paraffin-wax was used as a phase change material (PCM), where as the tubes are embedded in the PCM. From analytical study we can obtain the useful information in designing a thermal energy storage such as : the motion of interface, amount of material melted at any time in the process, and the heat storage characteristic during melting. The use of staggered tubes is proposed as superior to in-line layout for thermal storage. The experimental study was used to verify the validity of the analytical predictions. From the comparisons, the analytical and experimental data are in a good agreement.

Keywords: latent, sensible, paraffin-wax, thermal energy storage, conduction, natural convection

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Authors: Oualid Walid Ben Ali

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Big Data has become one of the buzzwords today. The recent explosion of digital data has led the organization, either private or public, to a new era towards a more efficient decision making. At some point, business decided to use that concept in order to learn what make their clients tick with phrases like ‘sales funnel’ analysis, ‘actionable insights’, and ‘positive business impact’. So, it stands to reason that Big Data was viewed through green (read: money) colored lenses. Somewhere along the line, however someone realized that collecting and processing data doesn’t have to be for business purpose only, but also could be used for other purposes to assist law enforcement or to improve policing or in road safety. This paper presents briefly, how Big Data have been used in the fields of policing order to improve the decision making process in the daily operation of the police. As example, we present a big-data driven system which is sued to accurately dispatch the patrol cars in a geographic environment. The system is also used to allocate, in real-time, the nearest patrol car to the location of an incident. This system has been implemented and applied in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

Keywords: big data, big data analytics, patrol car allocation, dispatching, GIS, intelligent, Abu Dhabi, police, UAE

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Authors: Chukwuka E. V., Rowling J. K., Rushdie Salman

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The field of electronic engineering encompasses the study and application of electrical systems, circuits, and devices. Engineers in this discipline design, analyze and optimize electronic components to develop innovative solutions for various industries. This abstract provides a brief overview of the diverse areas within electronic engineering, including analog and digital electronics, signal processing, communication systems, and embedded systems. It highlights the importance of staying abreast of advancements in technology and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address contemporary challenges in this rapidly evolving field.

Keywords: smart home engineering, energy efficiency, user-centric design, security frameworks

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Authors: Roya Ahmadi Ahangar, Hamid Madadyari

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The seeker optimization algorithm (SOA) is increasingly gaining popularity among the researchers society due to its effectiveness in solving some real-world optimization problems. This paper provides the load-frequency control method based on the SOA for removing oscillations in the power system. A three-zone power system includes a thermal zone, a hydraulic zone and a wind zone equipped with robust proportional-integral-differential (PID) controllers. The result of simulation indicates that load-frequency changes in the wind zone for the multi-zone system are damped in a short period of time. Meanwhile, in the oscillation period, the oscillations amplitude is not significant. The result of simulation emphasizes that the PID controller designed using the seeker optimization algorithm has a robust function and a better performance for oscillations damping compared to the traditional PID controller. The proposed controller’s performance has been compared to the performance of PID controller regulated with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithms in order to show the superior capability of the proposed SOA in regulating the PID controller. The simulation results emphasize the better performance of the optimized PID controller based on SOA compared to the PID controller optimized with PSO, GA and ABC algorithms.

Keywords: load-frequency control, multi zone, robust PID controller, wind generation

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Authors: Danny Manuel Calvo Velasco, Robert Sanchez Cano

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By using the transference matrix formalism, in this work, it is presented the study of the optical properties of the 1D graded structure, constructed by multiple bi-layers of dielectric and air, considering a redistribution of the material lengths following an arithmetic progression as a function of two parameters. It is presented a factorization for the transference matrices for the graded structure, which allows the interpretation of their optical properties in terms of the properties of simpler structures. It is shown that the graded structure presents new transmission peaks, which can be controlled by the parameter values located in frequencies for which a periodic system has a photonic bandgap. This result is extended to the case of a photonic crystal for which the unitary cell is the proposed graded structure, showing new transmission bands which are due to the multiple new sub-structures present in the system. Also, for the TE polarization, it is observed transmission bands' low frequencies which present low variation of its width and position with the incidence angle. It is expected that these results could guide a route in the design of new photonic devices.

Keywords: graded, material redistribution, photonic system, transference matrix

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Authors: Chowdhury Dilruba Shoma

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Gender is about equal rights that both males and females having access to responsibilities and opportunities in decision making is a fundamental human right. It is also a precondition for, and a mark of, sustainable people-oriented development. In Bangladesh, women have fewer opportunities than men do to access credit from banks and financial institutions. Entrenched patriarchal attitudes, unequal inheritance rights, and male-dominated hierarchies in the financial system, plus high interest rates and a lack of security/collateral, make it harder for women to obtain bank loans. Limited access to institutional credit is a serious restraint on the productivity and income of women entrepreneurs, (and the wider economy). These gender-biased and structural barriers inhibit women’s access to fundamental economic rights. Using a liberal feminist theoretical lens, this study provides some useful insights into the relationship between gender inequality and entrepreneurship, leading to a better understanding of women’s entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Recently, the Bangladesh Government, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and Bangladesh Bank opened up the Women Entrepreneur Support Fund (WESF) ‒ Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) pilot project to cover collateral shortfalls for women entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprise sector. The aim is to improve gender equality and advance women’s rights in relation to receiving credit. This article examines the challenges and prospects of the WESF-CGS, and suggests that implementation of measures in WESF-CGS policymaking, coupled with a combination of legislatory and regulatory reforms that implement the fundamental tenets of liberal feminism, can lead to a comprehensive and effective credit policy to boost women’s agency and economic empowerment. This may ultimately lead to more sustainable development in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh, credit guarantee scheme, liberal feminist theory, women entrepreneur support fund

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Authors: Seada Hussen, Frie Ayalew

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Integrating different energy resources, like solar PV and hydro, is used to ensure reliable power to rural communities like Hara village in Ethiopia. Hybrid power system offers power supply for rural villages by providing an alternative supply for the intermittent nature of renewable energy resources. The intermittent nature of renewable energy resources is a challenge to electrifying rural communities in a sustainable manner with solar resources. Major rural villages in Ethiopia are suffering from a lack of electrification, that cause our people to suffer deforestation, travel for long distance to fetch water, and lack good services like clinic and school sufficiently. The main objective of this project is to provide a balanced, stable, reliable supply for Hara village, Ethiopia using solar power with a pumped hydro energy storage system. The design of this project starts by collecting data from villages and taking solar irradiance data from NASA. In addition to this, geographical arrangement and location are also taken into consideration. After collecting this, all data analysis and cost estimation or optimal sizing of the system and comparison of solar with pumped hydro and solar with battery storage system is done using Homer Software. And since solar power only works in the daytime and pumped hydro works at night time and also at night and morning, both load will share to cover the load demand; this need controller designed to control multiple switch and scheduling in this project fuzzy logic controller is used to control this scenario. The result of the simulation shows that solar with pumped hydro energy storage system achieves good results than with a battery storage system since the comparison is done considering storage reliability, cost, storage capacity, life span, and efficiency.

Keywords: pumped hydro storage, solar energy, solar PV, battery energy storage, fuzzy logic controller

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Authors: Qian Zhang, Dongkai Shen, Yan Shi

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A new mechanical ventilator with automatic secretion clearance function can improve the secretion clearance safely and efficiently. However, in recent modeling studies on various mechanical ventilators, it was considered that human had one lung, and the coupling effect of double lungs was never illustrated. In this paper, to expound the coupling effect of double lungs, a mathematical model of a ventilation system of a bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) controlled ventilator with secretion clearance was set up. Moreover, an experimental study about the mechanical ventilation system of double lungs on BiPAP ventilator was conducted to verify the mathematical model. Finally, the coupling effect of double lungs of the mathematical ventilation was studied by simulation and orthogonal experimental design. This paper adds to previous studies and can be referred to optimization methods in medical researches.

Keywords: double lungs, coupling effect, secretion clearance, orthogonal experimental design

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Authors: Aung Kyaw Moe, Lukin Evgeny Stepanovich, Popova Nelya Alexandrovna

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In this paper, the effect of the additive content in the Al₂O₃-TiO₂-MnO system on the sintering of composite ceramics based on corundum was studied. The samples were pressed by uniaxial semi-dry pressing under 100 MPa and sintered at 1500 °С and 1550 °С. The properties of composite ceramics for porosity and flexural strength were studied. When the amount of additives increases, the properties of composite ceramic samples are better than samples without additives.

Keywords: ceramic, composite material, sintering, corundum

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Authors: Zakeia Benmoussa

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Pressure on freshwater systems comes from removing too much water to grow crops; contamination from economic activities, land use practices, and human waste. The paper will be focusing on how water management can influence the design, implementation, and impacts of the ecological principles of biomimicry as sustainable methods in recycling wastewater. At Texas State, United States of America, in particular the lower area of the Trinity River refuge, there is a true example of the diversity to be found in that area, whether when exploring the lands or the waterways. However, as the Trinity River supplies water to the state’s residents, the lower part of the river at Liberty County presents several problem of wastewater discharge in the river. Therefore, conservation efforts are particularly important in the Trinity River basin. Clearly, alternative ways must be considered in order to conserve water to meet future demands. As a result, there should be another system provided rather than the conventional water treatment. Mimicking ecosystem's technologies out of context is not enough, but if we incorporate plants into building architecture, in addition to their beauty, they can filter waste, absorb excess water, and purify air. By providing an architectural proposal center, a living system can be explored through several methods that influence natural resources on the micro-scale in order to impact sustainability on the macro-scale. The center consists of an ecological program of Plant and Water Biomimicry study which becomes a living organism that purifies the river water in a natural way through architecture. Consequently, a rich beautiful nature could be used as an educational destination, observation and adventure, as well as providing unpolluted fresh water to the major cities of Texas. As a result, these facts raise a couple of questions: Why is conservation so rarely practiced by those who must extract a living from the land? Are we sufficiently enlightened to realize that we must now challenge that dogma? Do architects respond to the environment and reflect on it in the correct way through their public projects? The method adopted in this paper consists of general research into careful study of the system of the living machine, in how to integrate it at architectural level, and finally, the consolidation of the all the conclusions formed into design proposal. To summarise, this paper attempts to provide a sustainable alternative perspective in bridging physical and mental interaction with biodiversity to enhance nature by using architecture.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Design with Nature, Sustainable architecture, Waste water treatment.

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Authors: Andreas Schweiger, Matthias Gnigler, Elisabeth Wieder, Michael Grobbauer

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Especially in the alpine region, available areas for new residential development are limited. One possible solution is to exploit the potential of existing settlements. Urban redensification, especially the addition of floors to existing buildings, requires efficient, lightweight constructions with short construction times. This topic is being addressed in the five-year Alpine Building Centre. The focus of this cooperation between Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and RSA GH Studio iSPACE is on transdisciplinary research in the fields of building and energy technology, building envelopes and geoinformation, as well as the transfer of research results to industry. One development objective is a system of wood panel system construction with a high degree of prefabrication to optimize the construction quality, the construction time and the applicability for small and medium-sized enterprises. The system serves as a reliable working basis for mastering the complex building task of redensification. The technical solution is the development of an open system in timber frame and solid wood construction, which is suitable for a maximum two-story addition of residential buildings. The applicability of the system is mainly influenced by the existing building stock. Therefore, timber frame and solid timber construction are combined where necessary to bridge large spans of the existing structure while keeping the dead weight as low as possible. Escape routes are usually constructed in reinforced concrete and are located outside the system boundary. Thus, within the framework of the legal and normative requirements of timber construction, a hybrid construction method for redensification created. Component structure, load-bearing structure and detail constructions are developed in accordance with the relevant requirements. The results are directly applicable in individual cases, with the exception of the required verifications. In order to verify the practical suitability of the developed system, stakeholder workshops are held on the one hand, and the system is applied in the planning of a two-storey extension on the other hand. A company-independent construction standard offers the possibility of cooperation and bundling of capacities in order to be able to handle larger construction volumes in collaboration with several companies. Numerous further developments can take place on the basis of the system, which is under open license. The construction system will support planners and contractors from design to execution. In this context, open means publicly published and freely usable and modifiable for own use as long as the authorship and deviations are mentioned. The companies are provided with a system manual, which contains the system description and an application manual. This manual will facilitate the selection of the correct component cross-sections for the specific construction projects by means of all component and detail specifications. This presentation highlights the initial situation, the motivation, the approach, but especially the technical solution as well as the possibilities for the application. After an explanation of the objectives and working methods, the component and detail specifications are presented as work results and their application.

Keywords: redensification, SME, urban development, wood building system

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Authors: Louis Okon Akpan

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National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is an open and distance learning institution whose aim is to provide education for all and also promote lifelong learning in Nigeria. Before now, student-centred learning was adopted. In recent times, online facilitation has been introduced. Therefore, the study explores ways in which students are satisfied with online facilitation provided by NOUN lecturers. A qualitative approach was adopted. The interpretive paradigm was employed as a lens to interpret narratives from the participants. In order to gather information for the study, a semi-structured interview was developed for sixteen participants who were purposively selected from eight facilities of the university. After data gathering from the field, it was subjected to transcription and coding. The emergence of themes from the coded data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that students found online learning, recently introduced by the university management, extremely fulfilling and rewarding.

Keywords: online facilitation, lecturer, students’ satisfaction, National Open University of Nigeria

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Authors: Nwamaka Patricia Ibeme, Musa Zakari

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E-learning is made more effective because; it is enable student to students to easily interact, share, and collaborate across time and space with the help of e-governance platform. Zoom and the Microsoft classroom team can invite students from all around the world to join a conversation on a certain subject simultaneously. E-governance may be able to work on problem solving skills, as well as brainstorming and developing ideas. As a result of the shared experiences and knowledge, students are able to express themselves and reflect on their own learning." For students, e-governance facilities provide greater opportunity for students to build critical (higher order) thinking abilities through constructive learning methods. Students' critical thinking abilities may improve with more time spent in an online classroom. Students' inventiveness can be enhanced through the use of computer-based instruction. Discover multimedia tools and produce products in the styles that are easily available through games, Compact Disks, and television. The use of e-learning has increased both teaching and learning quality by combining student autonomy, capacity, and creativity over time in developed countries." Teachers are catalysts for the integration of technology through Information and Communication Technology, and e-learning supports teaching by simplifying access to course content." Creating an Information and Communication Technology class will be much easier if educational institutions provide teachers with the assistance, equipment, and resources they need. The study adopted survey research design. The populations of the study are Students and staff. The study adopted a simple random sampling technique to select a representative population. Both primary and secondary method of data collection was used to obtain the data. A chi-square statistical technique was used to analyze. Finding from the study revealed that e-learning has increase accesses to universities educational by public servants in Nigeria. Public servants in Nigeria have utilized e-learning and Online Distance Learning (ODL) programme to into various degree programmes. Finding also shows that E-learning plays an important role in teaching because it is oriented toward the use of information and communication technologies that have become a part of the everyday life and day-to-day business. E-learning contributes to traditional teaching methods and provides many advantages to society and citizens. The study recommends that the e-learning tools and internet facilities should be upgrade to foster any network challenges in the online facilitation and lecture delivery system.

Keywords: E-governance, E-learning, online distance learning, university education public servants, Nigeria

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Authors: Ionel Zagan, Vasile Gheorghita Gaitan

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Minimizing the response time to asynchronous events in a real-time system is an important factor in increasing the speed of response and an interesting concept in designing equipment fast enough for the most demanding applications. The present article will present the results regarding the validation of the nMPRA (Multi Pipeline Register Architecture) architecture using the FPGA Virtex-7 circuit. The nMPRA concept is a hardware processor with the scheduler implemented at the processor level; this is done without affecting a possible bus communication, as is the case with the other CPU solutions. The implementation of static or dynamic scheduling operations in hardware and the improvement of handling interrupts and events by the real-time executive described in the present article represent a key solution for eliminating the overhead of the operating system functions. The nMPRA processor is capable of executing a preemptive scheduling, using various algorithms without a software scheduler. Therefore, we have also presented various scheduling methods and algorithms used in scheduling the real-time tasks.

Keywords: nMPRA architecture, pipeline processor, preemptive scheduling, real-time system

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Authors: Bruno Vilić Belina, Ivan Župan

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Smart industry concepts and digital transformation are very popular in many industries. They develop their own digital platforms, which have an important role in innovations and transactions. The main idea of smart industry digital platforms is central data collection, industrial data integration, and data usage for smart applications and services. This paper presents the development of a digital platform for building critical infrastructure protection systems in smart industries. Different service contraction modalities in service level agreements (SLAs), customer relationship management (CRM) relations, trends, and changes in business architectures (especially process business architecture) for the purpose of developing infrastructural production and distribution networks, information infrastructure meta-models and generic processes by critical infrastructure owner demanded by critical infrastructure law, satisfying cybersecurity requirements and taking into account hybrid threats are researched.

Keywords: cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, smart industries, digital platform

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Authors: Zhongzhen Luo, Saeid Habibi, Martin v. Mohrenschildt

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Self-driving vehicle require a high level of situational awareness in order to maneuver safely when driving in real world condition. This paper presents a LiDAR based real time perception system that is able to process sensor raw data for multiple target detection and tracking in dynamic environment. The proposed algorithm is nonparametric and deterministic that is no assumptions and priori knowledge are needed from the input data and no initializations are required. Additionally, the proposed method is working on the three-dimensional data directly generated by LiDAR while not scarifying the rich information contained in the domain of 3D. Moreover, a fast and efficient for real time clustering algorithm is applied based on a radially bounded nearest neighbor (RBNN). Hungarian algorithm procedure and adaptive Kalman filtering are used for data association and tracking algorithm. The proposed algorithm is able to run in real time with average run time of 70ms per frame.

Keywords: lidar, segmentation, clustering, tracking

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Authors: Hamidreza Miri, Farahnaz Momtazi

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Wheat is one of the most important crops in Fars province, and because of water shortage, there is a great emphasis on its water use efficiency in the production field. A field experiment was conducted in 2021 and 2022 in order to evaluate wheat yield and its components in raised planting system in Arsanjan, Fars province. The experiment was conducted as a split plot with three irrigation treatments (irrigation equal to evapotranspiration, 80% of evapotranspiration irrigation (moderate drought stress), and 60% of evapotranspiration irrigation (severe drought stress)) as the main plot and three planting methods (conventional flat planting, 60 cm raised bed planting and 120 cm raised bed planting) as a subplot. The results indicated that drought stress significantly decreased traits such as plant height, grain yield, ear number, seed number, and biological yield while increasing seed protein. Raised bed planting significantly increased the traits in comparison with conventional flat planting. So that plating with a 120 cm raised bed increased grain yield by 22.1% and 25.9% in the first and second years, respectively. This increase was 17% for biological, 75 for ear number, and 21% for seed number. Planting in raised bed system reduced the adverse effect of drought stress on wheat traits. In conclusion, based on the observed results planting in raised bed system can be adopted as an appropriate planting pattern for improving yield and water productivity in experimental regions and similar climates.

Keywords: wheat, raised bed planting, drought stress, yield, water use

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Authors: Jaechun No

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As the technology of NAND flash memory rapidly grows, SSD is becoming an excellent alternative for storage solutions, because of its high random I/O throughput and low power consumption. These SSD potentials have drawn great attention from IT enterprises that seek for better I/O performance. However, high SSD cost per capacity makes it less desirable to construct a large-scale storage subsystem solely composed of SSD devices. An alternative is to build a hybrid storage subsystem where both HDD and SSD devices are incorporated in an economic manner, while employing the strengths of both devices. This paper presents a hybrid file system, called hybridFS, that attempts to utilize the advantages of HDD and SSD devices, to provide a single, virtual address space by integrating both devices. HybridFS not only proposes an efficient implementation for the file management in the hybrid storage subsystem but also suggests an experimental framework for making use of the excellent features of existing file systems. Several performance evaluations were conducted to verify the effectiveness and suitability of hybridFS.

Keywords: hybrid file mapping, data layout, hybrid device integration, extent allocation

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Authors: JungYeon Park, Jooyong Park

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Brainstorming and discussion are widely used around the world as formal techniques of collaborative creative problem solving. This study investigated whether a web-based peer review system would improve collaborative creative problem solving. In order to assess the efficiency of using web-based peer review system before brainstorming and discussion, we conducted a between-group design study for two conditions (a web-based peer review system vs. face-to-face brainstorming only) using two different scenarios. One hundred and twenty participants were divided into teams of four and randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. The participants were given problems for them to solve. The participants in the experimental group first generated ideas independently for 20 minutes and wrote down their ideas. Afterwards, they reviewed the list of ideas of their peers and gave and received feedback for 10 minutes. These activities were performed on-line. The last activity was face-to-face brain-storming and discussion for 30 minutes. In contrast, the control group participated in brainstorming and discussion for 60 minutes. The quantity and the quality of ideas were measured as dependent variables of creative problem solving. Two evaluators rated the quantity and quality of the proposed ideas. Inter-rater agreement rate was good or strong. The results showed that both the average number of unique ideas and the average quality of ideas generated for the experimental condition were significantly higher than those for the control condition in both scenarios. The results of this study support the hypothesis that collaborative creative problem solving is enhanced when individuals write their thoughts individually and review ideas written by peers before face-to-face brainstorming and discussion. The present study provides preliminary evidence that a web-based peer review system can be instrumental in improving creative problem solving for teams. This system also offers an effective means to quantify the contribution of each member in collaborative team activity. We are planning to replicate these results in real-life situations.

Keywords: brainstorming, creative problem solving, peer-review, team efficiency

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Authors: Xiang Jia, Zhijun Cheng

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The residual lifetime of a product is the operation time between the current time and the time point when the failure happens. The residual lifetime estimation is rather important in reliability analysis. To predict the residual lifetime, it is necessary to assume or verify a particular distribution that the lifetime of the product follows. And the two-parameter Weibull distribution is frequently adopted to describe the lifetime in reliability engineering. Due to the time constraint and cost reduction, a life testing experiment is usually terminated before all the units have failed. Then the censored data is usually collected. In addition, other information could also be obtained for reliability analysis. The expert judgements are considered as it is common that the experts could present some useful information concerning the reliability. Therefore, the residual lifetime is estimated for Weibull distribution by fusing the censored data and expert judgements in this paper. First, the closed-forms concerning the point estimate and confidence interval for the residual lifetime under the Weibull distribution are both presented. Next, the expert judgements are regarded as the prior information and how to determine the prior distribution of Weibull parameters is developed. For completeness, the cases that there is only one, and there are more than two expert judgements are both focused on. Further, the posterior distribution of Weibull parameters is derived. Considering that it is difficult to derive the posterior distribution of residual lifetime, a sample-based method is proposed to generate the posterior samples of Weibull parameters based on the Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) method. And these samples are used to obtain the Bayes estimation and credible interval for the residual lifetime. Finally, an illustrative example is discussed to show the application. It demonstrates that the proposed method is rather simple, satisfactory, and robust.

Keywords: expert judgements, information fusion, residual lifetime, Weibull distribution

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Authors: Daniel Martin, Roberto Rodriguez, Derek Woller, Chris Reuter, Lonnie Black, Mohamed Latheef

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The grasshoppers comprised of heterogeneous assemblages of Acrididae (Family: Orthoptera) species periodically reach outbreak levels by their gregarious behavior and voracious feeding habits, devouring stems and leaves of food crops and rangeland pasture. Cattle consume about 1.5-2.5% of their body weight in forage per day, so pound for pound, a grasshopper will eat 12-20 times as much plant material as a steer and cause serious economic damage to the cattle industry, especially during a drought when forage is already scarce. Grasshoppers annually consume more than 20% of rangeland forages in the western United States at an estimated loss of $1.25 billion per year in forage. A remotely piloted aerial application system with both a spreader and spray application system was used to apply granular insect bait and a liquid formulation of Carbaryl for control of grasshopper infestations on rangeland in New Mexico, United States. Pattern testing and calibration of both the granular and liquid application systems were conducted to determine proper application rate set up and distribution pattern. From these tests, an effective swath was calculated. Results showed that 14 days after application, granular baits were only effective on those grasshopper species that accepted the baits. The liquid formulation at 16 ounces per acre was highly successful at controlling all grasshopper species. Results of this study indicated that a remotely piloted aerial application system can be used to effectively deliver grasshopper control products in both granular and liquid form. However, the spray application treatment proved to be most effective and efficient for all grasshopper species present.

Keywords: Carbaryl, Grasshopper, Insecticidal Efficacy, Remotely Piloted Aerial Application System

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Authors: Sinuhé Perea Puente

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In several physics systems the whole can be obtained as an exact copy of each of its parts, which facilitates the study of a complex system by looking carefully at its elements, separately. Reducionism offers simplified models which makes the problems easier, but “there’s plenty of room...at the mesoscopic scale”. Here we present a tour for two of its representants: Berry phase and skyrmions, studying some of its basic definitions and properties, and two cases in which both arise together, to finish constraining the scale for our mesoscopic system in the quest of quantum skyrmions, discovering which properties are conserved and which others may be destroyed.

Keywords: condensed mattter, quantum physics, skyrmions, topological defects

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Authors: Laura Cochrane

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The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established three categories of biological agents based on their ease of spread and the severity of the disease they cause. Category A biological agents are the highest priority because of their high degree of morbidity and mortality, ease of dissemination, the potential to cause social disruption and panic, special requirements for public health preparedness, and past use as a biological weapon. Despite the threat of Category A biological agents, opportunities for medical intervention exist. This work summarizes public information, consolidated and reviewed across the situational usefulness and disease awareness to offer discussion to three specific Category A agents: anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin), and smallpox (variola major), and provides an overview on the management of medical countermeasures available to treat these three (3) different types of pathogens. The medical countermeasures are discussed in the setting of pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, and therapeutic treatments to provide a framework for requirements in public health preparedness.

Keywords: anthrax, botulism, smallpox, medical countermeasures

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Authors: Mojtaba Mahmoodian, Joshua Phelan, Mehdi Shahparvari

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With a large percentage of countries’ total infrastructure expenditure attributed to water network maintenance, it is essential to optimise maintenance strategies to rehabilitate or replace underground pipes before failure occurs. The aim of this paper is to provide water utility managers with a maintenance management approach for underground water pipes, subject to external loading and material corrosion, to give the lowest life cycle cost over a predetermined time period. This reliability-based maintenance management methodology details the optimal years for intervention, the ideal number of maintenance activities to perform before replacement and specifies feasible renewal options and intervention prioritisation to minimise the life cycle cost. The study was then extended to include feasible renewal methods by determining the structural condition index and potential for soil loss, then obtaining the failure impact rating to assist in prioritising pipe replacement. A case study on optimisation of maintenance plans for the Melbourne water pipe network is considered in this paper to evaluate the practicality of the proposed methodology. The results confirm that the suggested methodology can provide water utility managers with a reliable systematic approach to determining optimum maintenance plans for pipe networks.

Keywords: water pipe networks, maintenance management, reliability analysis, optimum maintenance plan

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Authors: Rebecca Hafner, David Elmes, Daniel Read

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The current research applies decision-making theory to the problem of increasing uptake of energy efficient technologies in the market place, where uptake is currently slower than one might predict following rational choice models. We apply the alignable/non-alignable features effect and explore the impact of varying information structure on the consumers’ preference for standard versus energy efficient technologies. In two studies we present participants with a choice between similar (boiler vs. boiler) vs. dissimilar (boiler vs. heat pump) technologies, described by a list of alignable and non-alignable attributes. In study One there is a preference for alignability when options are similar; an effect mediated by an increased tendency to infer missing information is the same. No effects of alignability on preference are found when options differ. One explanation for this split-shift in attentional focus is a change in construal levels potentially induced by the added consideration of environmental concern. Study two was designed to explore the interplay between alignability and construal level in greater detail. We manipulated construal level via a thought prime task prior to taking part in the same heating systems choice task, and find that there is a general preference for non-alignability, regardless of option type. We draw theoretical and applied implications for the type of information structure best suited for the promotion of energy efficient technologies.

Keywords: alignability effects, decision making, energy-efficient technologies, sustainable behaviour change

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Authors: Mehdi Bakhtiarzadeh, Reza Efatnejad, Kambiz Rezapour Rezapour

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Due to the limited resources of fossil fuels and their harmful effects on the environment and human health, research on renewable energy applications in industrial and scientific communities has become particularly important. Only one percent of freshwater resources are available for use in the domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors. On the other hand, the rapid growth of industry and the increase of population in most countries of the world, including Iran, have led to an increase in demand for freshwater. Among renewable energies, there is the potential of solar energy in Iran. As a result, solar distillation systems can be used as a solution to supply fresh water in remote rural areas. Therefore, in the present study, a solar water desalination device was designed and manufactured using two heat exchangers and a photovoltaic system. Its evaluation was done during September and October of 2020. During the evaluation of the device, environmental variables such as total solar radiation, ambient temperature and cooling tower temperature were recorded at intervals of one hour from 9 am to 5 pm. The effect of these variables on solar concentrator performance, heat exchanger, and daily freshwater production was evaluated. The results showed that using two heat exchangers and a photovoltaic system has led to the daily production of 5 liters of fresh water and 46% economic efficiency.

Keywords: solar water desalination, heat exchanger, photovoltaic system, technical and economic evaluation

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Authors: Fuad M. Alkoot

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Different experimental technologies such as microarray sequencing have been proposed to generate high-resolution genetic data, in order to understand the complex dynamic interactions between complex diseases and the biological system components of genes and gene products. However, the generated samples have a very large dimension reaching thousands. Therefore, hindering all attempts to design a classifier system that can identify diseases based on such data. Additionally, the high overlap in the class distributions makes the task more difficult. The data we experiment with is generated for the identification of autism. It includes 142 samples, which is small compared to the large dimension of the data. The classifier systems trained on this data yield very low classification rates that are almost equivalent to a guess. We aim at reducing the data dimension and improve it for classification. Here, we experiment with applying a multistage PCA on the genetic data to reduce its dimensionality. Results show a significant improvement in the classification rates which increases the possibility of building an automated system for autism detection.

Keywords: PCA, gene expression, dimensionality reduction, classification, autism

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Authors: A. Chandra, M. Arthur, L. Mize, A. Pomeroy-Stevens

Abstract:

Background: Lower and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia face rapid urbanization resulting in both economic opportunities (the urban advantage) and emerging health challenges. Urban health risks are magnified in informal settlements and include infectious disease outbreaks, inadequate access to health services, and poor air quality. Over the coming years, urban spaces in Asia will face accelerating public health risks related to migration, climate change, and environmental health. These challenges are complex and require multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder solutions. The Building Health Cities (BHC) program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to work with smart city initiatives in the Asia region. BHC approaches urban health challenges by addressing policies, planning, and services through a health equity lens, with a particular focus on informal settlements and migrant communities. The program works to develop data-driven decision-making, build inclusivity through stakeholder engagement, and facilitate the uptake of appropriate technology. Methodology: The BHC program has partnered with the smart city initiatives of Indore in India, Makassar in Indonesia, and Da Nang in Vietnam. Implementing partners support municipalities to improve health delivery and equity using two key approaches: political economy analysis and participatory systems mapping. Political economy analyses evaluate barriers to collective action, including corruption, security, accountability, and incentives. Systems mapping evaluates community health challenges using a cross-sectoral approach, analyzing the impact of economic, environmental, transport, security, health system, and built environment factors. The mapping exercise draws on the experience and expertise of a diverse cohort of stakeholders, including government officials, municipal service providers, and civil society organizations. Results: Systems mapping and political economy analyses identified significant barriers for health care in migrant populations. In Makassar, migrants are unable to obtain the necessary card that entitles them to subsidized health services. This finding is being used to engage with municipal governments to mitigate the barriers that limit migrant enrollment in the public social health insurance scheme. In Indore, the project identified poor drainage of storm and wastewater in migrant settlements as a cause of poor health. Unsafe and inadequate infrastructure placed residents of these settlements at risk for both waterborne diseases and injuries. The program also evaluated the capacity of urban primary health centers serving migrant communities, identifying challenges related to their hours of service and shortages of health workers. In Da Nang, the systems mapping process has only recently begun, with the formal partnership launched in December 2019. Conclusion: This paper explores lessons learned from BHC’s systems mapping, political economy analyses, and stakeholder engagement approaches. The paper shares progress related to the health of migrants in informal settlements. Case studies feature barriers identified and mitigating steps, including governance actions, taken by local stakeholders in partner cities. The paper includes an update on ongoing progress from Indore and Makassar and experience from the first six months of program implementation from Da Nang.

Keywords: informal settlements, migration, stakeholder engagement mapping, urban health

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Authors: Maureen Royce, Joshi Jariwala, Sally Kah

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Change is inevitable, but the change process is progressive. Organisational change is the process in which an organisation changes strategies, operational methods, systems, culture, and structure to affect something different in the organisation. This process can be continuous or developed over a period and driven by internal and external factors. Organisational change is essential if organisations are to survive in dynamic and uncertain environments. However, evidence from research shows that many change initiatives fail, leading to severe consequences for organisations and their resources. The complex models of third sector organisations, i.e., social enterprise, compounds the levels of change in these organisations. Interestingly, innovation is associated with a change in social enterprises due to the hybridity of product and service development. Furthermore, the creation of social intervention has offered a new process and outcomes to the lifecycle of change. Therefore, different forms of organisational innovation are developed, i.e., total, evolutionary, expansionary, and developmental, which affect the interventions of social enterprises. This raises both theoretical and business concerns on how the competing hybrid nature of social enterprises change, how change is managed, and the impact on these organisations. These perspectives present critical questions for further investigation. In this study, we investigate the impact of organisational change on employees and organisational development at DaDaFest –a disability arts organisation with a social focus based in Liverpool. The three main objectives are to explore the drivers of change and the implementation process; to examine the impact of organisational change on employees and; to identify barriers to organisation change and development. To address the preceding research objectives, qualitative research design is adopted using semi-structured interviews. Data is analysed using a six-step thematic analysis framework, which enables the study to develop themes depicting the impact of change on employees and organisational development. This study presents theoretical and practical contributions for academics and practitioners. The knowledge contributions encapsulate the evolution of change and the change cycle in a social enterprise. However, practical implications provide critical insights into the change management process and the impact of change on employees and organisational development.

Keywords: organisational change, change management, organisational change system, social enterprise

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Authors: Nicolas Bae, Theodore L. Karavasilis

Abstract:

Increasingly, a large number of new and existing tall buildings are required to improve their resilient performance against strong winds and earthquakes to minimize direct, as well as indirect damages to society. Those advent stationary functions of tall building structures in metropolitan regions can be severely hazardous, in socio-economic terms, which also increase the requirement of advanced seismic performance. To achieve these progressive requirements, the seismic reinforcement for some old, conventional buildings have become enormously costly. The methods of increasing the buildings’ resilience against wind or earthquake loads have also become more advanced. Up to now, vibration control devices, such as the passive damper system, is still regarded as an effective and an easy-to-install option, in improving the seismic resilience of buildings at affordable prices. The main purpose of this paper is to examine 1) the optimization of the shape of visco plastic brace damper (VPBD) system which is one of hybrid damper system so that it can maximize its energy dissipation capacity in tall buildings against wind and earthquake. 2) the verification of the seismic performance of the visco plastic brace damper system in tall buildings; up to forty-storey high steel frame buildings, by comparing the results of Non-Linear Response History Analysis (NLRHA), with and without a damper system. The most significant contribution of this research is to introduce the optimized hybrid damper system that is adequate for high rise buildings. The efficiency of this visco plastic brace damper system and the advantages of its use in tall buildings can be verified since tall buildings tend to be affected by wind load at its normal state and also by earthquake load after yielding of steel plates. The modeling of the prototype tall building will be conducted using the Opensees software. Three types of modeling were used to verify the performance of the damper (MRF, MRF with visco-elastic, MRF with visco-plastic model) 22-set seismic records used and the scaling procedure was followed according to the FEMA code. It is shown that MRF with viscous, visco-elastic damper, it is superior effective to reduce inelastic deformation such as roof displacement, maximum story drift, roof velocity compared to the MRF only.

Keywords: tall steel building, seismic retrofit, viscous, viscoelastic damper, performance based design, resilience based design

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