Search results for: Fatima Faiza Ahmed

Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, Mum Wai Yip, M. Sayuti, Lim Siew Fen

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Ti6Al4V alloy is highly used in the automotive and aerospace industry due to its good machining characteristics. Micro EDM drilling is commonly used to drill micro hole on extremely hard material with very high depth to diameter ratio. In this study, the parameters of micro-electrical discharge machining (EDM) in drilling of Ti6Al4V alloy is optimized for higher machining accuracy with less hole-dilation and hole taper ratio. The micro-EDM machining parameters includes, peak current and pulse on time. Fuzzy analysis was developed to evaluate the machining accuracy. The analysis shows that hole-dilation and hole-taper ratio are increased with the increasing of peak current and pulse on time. However, the surface quality deteriorates as the peak current and pulse on time increase. The combination that gives the optimum result for hole dilation is medium peak current and short pulse on time. Meanwhile, the optimum result for hole taper ratio is low peak current and short pulse on time.

Keywords: Micro EDM, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, fuzzy logic based analysis, optimization, machining accuracy

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Authors: Heba M. Gobara, Ahmed A. M. El-Naggar, Rasha S. El-Sayed, Amal A. AlKahlawy

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In this study, metal organic framework (Cr-MIL-101) and TiO₂ nanoparticles were utilized as two semiconductors for water splitting process. The coupling of both semiconductors in order to improve the photocatalytic reactivity for the hydrogen production in presence of methanol as a hole scavenger under visible light (sunlight) has been performed. The forementioned semiconductors and the collected samples after water splitting application are characterized by several techniques viz., XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, TEM, ED, EDX, Raman spectroscopy and the total content of carbon. The results revealed an efficient yield of H₂ production with maximum purity 99.3% with the in-situ formation of graphene oxide nanosheets and multiwalled carbon nanotubes coated over the surface of the physically mixed Cr-MIL-101–TiO₂ system. The amount of H₂ gas produced was stored when using Cr-MIL-101 catalyst individually. The obtained data in this work provides promising candidate materials for pure hydrogen production as a clean fuel acquired from the water splitting process. In addition, the in-situ production of graphene nanosheets and carbon nanotubes is counted as promising advances for the presented process.

Keywords: hydrogen production, water splitting, photocatalysts, Graphene

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Authors: Tauha Hussain Ali, Shabir Hussain Khahro, Nafees Ahmed Memon

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Accurate prediction of project time for planning and bid preparation stage should contain realistic dates. Constructors use their experience to estimate the project duration for the new projects, which is based on intuitions. It has been a constant concern to both researchers and constructors to analyze the accurate prediction of project duration for bid preparation stage. In Pakistan, such study for time cost relationship has been lacked to predict duration performance for the construction projects. This study is an attempt to explore the time cost relationship that would conclude with a mathematical model to predict the time for the drainage rehabilitation projects in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The data has been collected from National Engineering Services (NESPAK), Pakistan and regression analysis has been carried out for the analysis of results. Significant relationship has been found between time and cost of the construction projects in Sindh and the generated mathematical model can be used by the constructors to predict the project duration for the upcoming projects of same nature. This study also provides the professionals with a requisite knowledge to make decisions regarding project duration, which is significantly important to win the projects at the bid stage.

Keywords: BTC Model, project time, relationship of time cost, regression

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Authors: Fernando Araujo, Sandra Cardoso, Fátima Fonseca, Sandra Cavaca

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A debureaucratization strategy for the Portuguese Health Service was assumed by the Executive Board of the SNS, in deep articulation with the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health. Two of the main dimensions were focused on sick leaves (SL), that transform primary health care (PHC) in administrative institutions, limiting access to patients. The self-declaration of illness (SDI) project, through the National Health Service Contact Centre (SNS24), began on May 1, 2023, and has already resulted in the issuance of more than 300,000 SDI without the need to allocate resources from the National Health Service (NHS). This political decision allows each citizen, in a maximum 2 times/year, and 3 days each time, if ill, through their own responsibility, report their health condition in a dematerialized way, and by this way justified the absence to work, although by Portuguese law in these first three days, there is no payment of salary. Using a digital approach, it is now feasible without the need to go to the PHC and occupy the time of the PHC only to obtain an SL. Through this measure, bureaucracy has been reduced, and the system has been focused on users, improving the lives of citizens and reducing the administrative burden on PHC, which now has more consultation times for users who need it. The second initiative, which began on March 1, 2024, allows the SL to be issued in emergency departments (ED) of public hospitals and in the health institutions of the social and private sectors. This project is intended to allow the user who has suffered a situation of acute urgent illness and who has been observed in an ED of a public hospital or in a private or social entity no longer need to go to PHC only to apply for the respective SL. Since March 1, 54,453 SLs have been issued, 242 in private or social sector institutions and 6,918 in public hospitals, of which 134 were in ED and 47,292 in PHC. This approach has proven to be technically robust, allows immediate resolution of problems and differentiates the performance of doctors. However, it is important to continue to qualify the proper functioning of the ED, preventing non-urgent users from going there only to obtain SL. Thus, in order to make better use of existing resources, it was operationalizing this extension of its issuance in a balanced way, allowing SL to be issued in the ED of hospitals only to critically ill patients or patients referred by INEM, SNS24, or PHC. In both cases, an intense public campaign was implemented to explain the way it works and the benefits for patients. In satisfaction surveys, more than 95% of patients and doctors were satisfied with the solutions, asking for extensions to other areas. The administrative simplification agenda of the NHS continues its effective development. For the success of this debureaucratization agenda, the key factors are effective communication and the ability to reach patients and health professionals in order to increase health literacy and the correct use of NHS.

Keywords: debureaucratization strategy, self-declaration of illness, sick leaves, SNS24

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Authors: Waseim Ragab Azzam Ahmed Mohamed Nasr, Aalaa Ibrahim Khater

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Torsional loads from offshore wind turbines, waves, wind, earthquakes, ship collisions in the maritime environment, and electrical transmission towers might affect the pile foundations. Torsional loads can also be caused by the axial load from the sustaining structures. The paper introduces the finned pile, an alternative method of pile modification. The effects of torsional loads were investigated through a series of experimental tests aimed at improving the torsional capacity of a single pile in the sand (where sand was utilized in a state of medium density (Dr = 50%), with or without fins. In these tests, the fins' length, width, form, and number were varied to see how these attributes affected the maximum torsional capacity of the piles. We have noticed the torsion-rotation reaction. The findings demonstrated that the fins improve the maximum torsional capacity of the piles. It was demonstrated that a length of 0.6 times the embedded pile's length and a width equivalent to the pile's diameter constitute the optimal fin geometry. For the conventional pile and the finned pile, the maximum torsional capacities were determined to be 4.12 N.m. and 7.36 N.m., respectively. When subjected to torsional loads, the fins' presence enhanced the piles' maximum torsional capacity by almost 79%.

Keywords: clean sand, finned piles, model tests, torsional load

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Authors: Alaaeldin Hamdy Ahmed Mohammed

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Introduction: This study examines sports’ fans and non-interested public perception and recognition of the problems that have negative impacts upon the Egyptian sports, particularly football, through caricatures. Eight caricature paintings were designed to express eight problems affecting the Egyptian sports and its development. These paintings were distributed on two groups of the fans and the non-interested public. Methods: The study was limited to eight caricatures representing the eight issues which are: the impact of stopping the sports activity on athletes, the effect of clubs’ disagreement, fanaticism between the members of the ultras of different clubs, the negative impact of the mingling of politics into sports, the negative role of the clubs affects the professionalism of the promising players, the conflict between the national organization responsible for sports, the breaking in of the fans to the playgrounds, the impact of the lack of planning on the national team. The Results: The results showed that both sports fans and those who are not interested in sports recognized the problems that the caricatures refer to and criticizes exaggeration although the rate was higher for the fans. These caricatures contributed also in their recognition of the danger of the negative impact of these problems on the Egyptian sports, particularly football which is the most common at the Egyptian sports fans. Discussion: This finding echoes the conclusion that caricatures are distinctive in the adults’ facial stimuli that are either systematically exaggerated recognition of them.

Keywords: caricature, fans, football, sports

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Authors: M. Said Ahmed, M. Lebrini, J. Pellé, S. Rioual, B. Lescop, C. Roos

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The corrosion behavior of copper exposed in a marine atmosphere polluted and unpolluted by gases, mainly hydrogen sulphide (H2S), from the decomposition of Sargassum algae was studied using the mass loss method and electrochemical measurements. MEB/EDX and XRD were also used for the observation of morphology and surface analysis. To study the impact of this on copper corrosion, four sites more or less impacted by Sargassum algae strandings were selected. The samples were exposed for up to six months. The mass loss results showed that the average corrosion rate of copper was 528 µm/year for the site most affected by Sargassum algae and 9.4 µm/year for the least impacted site after three months of exposure, implying that the presence of Sargassum algae caused an important copper degradation. The morphological structures and properties of the corrosion products obtained at the impacted and non-impacted sites differed significantly. In the absence of Sargassum algae, we obtained mainly Cu2O and Cu2Cl(OH)3. Whereas in the atmosphere with Sargassum algae, CuS product is the main corrosion product obtained. Electrochemical analyses showed that the protection offered by the corrosion product layer was more important and improved with time for the non-impacted sites, whereas on the impacted sites, this protection deteriorated.

Keywords: atmospheric-corrosion, sargassum algae, copper, electrochemical techniques, SEM/EDX and XRD

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Authors: Faraj Ahmed E. Alhegagi, Anagia M. Khamkam Mohamed, Bassam F. Alhajaji

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Duplex stainless steels (DSS) are widely employed in industry for apparatus working with sea water in petroleum, refineries and in chemical plants. Fracture of DSS takes place by cleavage of the ferrite phase and the austenite phase ductile tear off. Pop-in is an important feature takes place during fracture of DSS. The procedure of Pop-ins assessment plays an important role in fracture toughness studies. In present work, Zeron100 DSS specimens were heat treated at different temperatures, cooled and pulled to failure to assess the pop-ins criterion in crack initiation prediction. The outcome results were compared to the British Standard (BS 7448) and the ASTEM standard (E1290) for Crack-Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) fracture toughness measurement. Pop-in took place during specimens loading specially for those specimens heat treated at higher temperatures. The standard BS7448 was followed to check specimen validity for fractured toughness assessment by direct determination of KIC. In most cases, specimens were invalid for KIC measurement. The two procedures were equivalent only when single pop-ins were assessed. A considerable contrast in fracture toughness value between was observed where multiple pop-ins were assessed.

Keywords: fracture toughness, stainless steels, pop ins, crack assessment

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Authors: A. A. Abaker Omer, H. B. Mohamed Balh, W. Liu, A. Abas, J. Yu, S. Li, W. Ma, W. El Kolaly, Y. Y. Ahmed Abuker

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We have discovered an important technical solution that could make new approaches in the processing of wet silicon etching, especially in the production of photovoltaic cells. During its inferior light-trapping and structural properties, the inverted pyramid structure outperforms the conventional pyramid textures and black silicone. The traditional pyramid textures and black silicon can only be accomplished with more advanced lithography, laser processing, etc. Importantly, our data demonstrate the feasibility of an inverted pyramidal structure of silicon via one-step Cu-catalyzed chemical etching (CCCE) in Cu (NO₃)₂/HF/H₂O₂/H₂O solutions. The effects of etching time and reaction temperature on surface geometry and light trapping were systematically investigated. The conclusion shows that the inverted pyramid structure has ultra-low reflectivity of ~4.2% in the wavelength of 300~1000 nm; introduce of Cu particles can significantly accelerate the dissolution of the silicon wafer. The etching and the inverted pyramid structure formation mechanism are discussed. Inverted pyramid structure with outstanding anti-reflectivity includes useful applications throughout the manufacture of semi-conductive industry-compatible solar cells, and can have significant impacts on industry colleagues and populations.

Keywords: Cu-catalyzed chemical etching, inverted pyramid nanostructured, reflection, solar cells

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Authors: Youcef Faci, Djillali Allou, Ahmed Mebtouche, Badredine Maalem

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The inclination of the bolt in a fastened joint of composite material during a tensile test can be influenced by several parameters, including material properties, bolt diameter and length, the type of composite material being used, the size and dimensions of the bolt, bolt preload, surface preparation, the design and configuration of the joint, and finally testing conditions. These parameters should be carefully considered and controlled to ensure accurate and reliable results during tensile testing of composite materials with fastened joints. Our work focuses on the effect of the stacking sequence and the geometry of specimens. An experimental test is carried out to obtain the inclination of a bolt during a tensile test of a composite material using acoustic emission and digital image correlation. Several types of damage were obtained during load. Digital image correlation techniques permit to obtain the inclination of bolt angle value during tensile test. We concluded that the inclination of the bolt during a tensile test of a composite material can be related to the damage that occurs in the material. It can cause stress concentrations and localized deformation in the material, leading to damage such as delamination, fiber breakage, matrix cracking, and other forms of failure.

Keywords: damage, digital image correlation, bolt inclination angle, joint

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Authors: Nabil A. Ahmed, Nasser A. N. Mhaisen

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The paper presents a solution to enhance the power quality and to reduce the peak load demand in Kuwait electric grid as a solution to the shortage of electricity production. Technical, environmental and economic feasibility study of utilizing integrated grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system in residential buildings for supplying 7.1% of electrical power consumption in Kuwait is carried out using RETScreen software. A 10 KWp on-grid PV power generation system spread on the rooftop of the residential buildings is adopted and investigated and the complete system performance is simulated using PSIM software. Taking into account the international prices of electricity and natural gas, the proposed solution is investigated and tested for four different types of installation systems in terms of power generation and costs which includes horizontal installation, 25º tilted angle, single axis tracking and dual axis tracking. Results shows that the 25º tilted angle fixed mounted system is the most efficient type. The payback period as a tool of benefit analysis of the proposed system is calculated and it found to be 2.55 years.

Keywords: photovoltaics, residential buildings, electrical grid, production capacity, on-grid, power generation

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Authors: Raja Chinnappan, Huda Alanazi, Shanmugam Easwaramoorthi, Tanveer Mir, Balamurugan Kanagasabai, Ahmed Yaqinuddin, Sandhanasamy Devanesan, Mohamad S. AlSalhi

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Serum albumin (SA) is a highly rich water-soluble protein in plasma. It is known to maintain the living organisms' health and help to maintain the proper liver function, kidney function, and plasma osmolality in the body. Low levels of serum albumin are an indication of liver failure and chronic hepatitis. Therefore, it is important to have a low-cost, accurate and rapid method. In this study, we designed a fluorescent probe, triphenylamine rhodanine-3-acetic acid (mRA), which triggers the fluorescence signal upon binding with serum albumin (SA). mRA is a bifunctional molecule with twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT)-induced emission characteristics. An aqueous solution of mRA has an insignificant fluorescence signal; however, when mRA binds to SA, it undergoes TICT and turns on the fluorescence emission. A SA dose-dependent fluorescence signal was performed, and the limit of detection was found to be less than ng/mL. The specific binding of SA was tested from the cross-reactivity study using similar structural or functional proteins.

Keywords: serum albumin, fluorescent sensing probe, liver diseases, twisted intramolecular charge transfer

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Authors: Ahmed Mohamed Nasr, Waseim Ragab Azzam, Nada Osama Ramadan

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Contaminated soil can weaken the stability of buildings and infrastructure, posing serious risks to their structural integrity. Therefore, this study aims to understand how oil contamination affects the torsion behavior of model steel piles at different soil densities. This research is crucial for evaluating the structural integrity and stability of piles in oil-contaminated environments. Clean sand samples and heavy motor oil were mixed in amounts ranging from 0 to 6% of the soil's dry weight. The mixture was thoroughly mixed to ensure uniform distribution of the oil throughout the sandy soil for simulating the field conditions. In these investigations, the relative densities (Dr), pile slenderness ratio (Lp/Dp), oil content (O.C%), and contaminated sand layer thickness (LC) were all different. Also, the paper presents an analysis of piles that are loaded both vertically and torsionally. The findings demonstrated that the pre-applied torsion load led to a decrease in the vertical bearing ability of the pile. Also, at Dr = 80%, the ultimate vertical load under combined load at constant torsional load T = (1/3Tu, 2/3Tu, and Tu) in the cases of (Lc/Lp) = 0.5 and (Lp/Dp) =13.3 was found to be reduced by (1.48, 2.78, and 4.15%) less than piles under independent vertical load, respectively so it is crucial to consider the torsion load during pile design.

Keywords: torsion-vertical load, oil-contaminated sand, twist angle, steel pile

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Authors: Aparecida De Fatima Dutra, Freddie Avant, Wilma Cordova

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People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have benefited from advances in treatment. Medical costs are a challenge for some, but the real challenge is the stigma and discrimination PLWHA continue to face, even though the disease has festered for the last four decades. Few studies regarding stigma and discrimination give voice to those affected by these practices. This study provides a voice to PLWHA in Brazil and in the US as to how they perceive stigma and discrimination, as well as services they access. The methodology of this study was designed based on phenomenological research, which is a research that aims to identify what individuals facing the same situation have to share about their experiences. Qualitative research using in- depth interviews was used in order to gather participants’ perceptions about services they access, and stigma and discrimination they experience as PLWHA (hypothesis). The target population was a minority group of 13 Afro-descendant men, mean age of 48.3, residents in East Texas, United States and Salvador, Brazil. Our findings indicate that in both countries, overall, participants have reasonable access to medication and qualified services, except for some specialties, such as dentistry. With regard to stigma and discrimination the majority of participants have not disclosed their diagnosis. They state they prefer not to disclose for fear of being ostracized and rejected. Participants who did reveal their status indicate that stigma and discrimination is a daily occurrence. These experiences tend to occur within their own families, neighborhoods, and in public health agencies where HIV/AIDS is not the focus. Participants who did offer suggestions for social change indicated they would have to reveal their status even if it means being stigmatized and discriminated against. Other factors contributing to this discrimination include skin color and poverty. This study concludes that even after decades since the spread of this epidemic, nothing has changed regarding stigma and discrimination towards PLWHA. Lack of awareness, empathy and education continue to be a major challenge, not only at a local level but across the globe. In conclusion, as documented in previous studies while stigma and discrimination towards this population prevail, negative attitudes will continue to jeopardize all individuals from receiving equal access to prevention, treatment and care. It is crucial to face stigma and discrimination not only as individual experiences, but as social practices that violate and restrict human rights and that as a result, reinforce inequality and social exclusion. Policies should be at the forefront to eliminate the stigma and discrimination PLWHA experience. Health professionals and societies must take a stand in order to promote mindfulness about the negative effect of oppression towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS and the potential global impact of these practices.

Keywords: discrimination, HIV/AIDS, human rights, stigma

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Authors: Md. Nakib Ul Hasan, Md. Ariful Islam, Md. Sumon Miah, Misbah Ul Hoque, Bulbul Ahmed

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The variability of cotton fiber characteristics has always been influenced by origin, weather conditions, method of culturing, and harvesting. Spinners work tirelessly to ensure consistent yarn quality by using the different origins of fibers to maximizes the profit margin. Spinners often fail to select desired raw materials of various origins to achieve an appropriate mixing plan due to the lack of knowledge on the interrelationship among fiber properties. The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlations among dominating fiber properties such as micronaire, strength, breaking elongation, upper half mean length, length uniformity index, short fiber index, maturity, reflectance, and yellowness. For this purpose, fiber samples from 500 Indian cotton bales and 350 Greek cotton bales were collected and tested using the high volume instrument (HVI). The fiber properties dataset was then compiled and analyzed using python 3.7 to determine the correlations matrix. Results show that Indian cotton fiber have highest correlation between strength-mat = 0.84, followed by SFI-Unf =-0.83, and Neps-Unf = -0.72. Greek cotton fiber, in contrast, have highest correlation between SFI-Unf =-0.98, followed by SFI-Mat = 0.89, +b-Len = 0.84, and Str-Mat = 0.74. Overall, the Greek cotton fiber showed a higher correlational matrix than compared to that of Indian cotton fiber.

Keywords: cotton fiber, fiber properties correlation, Greek cotton, HVI, Indian cotton, spinning

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Authors: Ahmed A. Mohamed Aly

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Ground movements induced from excavations is a major cause of deformation and damage to the adjacent buildings and utilities. With the increasing rate of construction work in urban area, this problem is growing more significant and has become the cause of numerous legal disputes. This problem is investigated numerically in the present study using finite element method. Five-story reinforced concrete building rests on raft foundation is idealized as two dimensional model. The building is considered to be constructed adjacent to excavation affected by an adjacent excavation in medium sand. Excavation is supported using sheet pile wall. Two dimensional plane strain program PLAXIS is used in this study. 15 nodes triangular element is used to idealize soil with Mohr-Coulomb model. Five nodes isoperimetric beam element is used to idealize sheet pile and building. Interface element is used to represent the contact between beam element and soil. Two parameters were studied, the first is the foundation depth and the second is the building distance from the excavation. Nodal displacements and elements straining actions were obtained and studied from the analyzed finite element model results.

Keywords: excavation, relative distance, effective stresses, lateral deformation, relative depth

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Authors: Jamil Ahmed

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Left to Right-Right Most (LR) parsing algorithm is a widely used algorithm of syntax analysis. It is contingent on a parsing table, whereas the parsing tables are extracted from the grammar. The parsing table specifies the actions to be taken during parsing. It requires that the parsing table should have no action conflicts for the same input symbol. This requirement imposes a condition on the class of grammars over which the LR algorithms work. However, there are grammars for which the parsing tables hold action conflicts. In such cases, the algorithm needs a capability of scanning (looking-ahead) next input symbols ahead of the current input symbol. In this paper, a ‘Left to Right’-‘Right Most’ parsing algorithm with lookahead capability is introduced. The 'look-ahead' capability in the LR parsing algorithm is the major contribution of this paper. The practicality of the proposed algorithm is substantiated by the parser implementation of the Context Free Grammar (CFG) of an already proposed programming language 'State Controlled Object Oriented Programming' (SCOOP). SCOOP’s Context Free Grammar has 125 productions and 192 item sets. This algorithm parses SCOOP while the grammar requires to ‘look ahead’ the input symbols due to action conflicts in its parsing table. Proposed LR parsing algorithm with lookahead capability can be viewed as an optimization of ‘Simple Left to Right’-‘Right Most’ (SLR) parsing algorithm.

Keywords: left to right-right most parsing, syntax analysis, bottom-up parsing algorithm

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Authors: Qazi Mohammed Ahmed, Osman Sadiq Paracha, Iftikhar Hussain

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The study aims to explore the unaddressed relationship between social capital and consumers’ underlying behavioral intentions. The study postulates that this association is mediated by the role of attitudes and peer influence. The research attains evidence from a usable sample of 673 responses. The majority consists of the young and energetic social media users of Pakistan that utilize virtual communities as a way of life. A variance based structural equation modeling has been applied through SmartPLS 3. The results reveal that social capital exerts a statistically supportive association with both attitudes and peer influence. Contrastingly, this predictor variable shows an insignificant linkage with behavioral intentions but this relationship is fully mediated by consumer attitudes and peer influence. The paper enhances marketing literature with respect to an unexplored society of Pakistan. It also provides a lens for the contemporary advertisers, in terms of supporting their social media campaigns with affiliative and cohesive elements. The study also identifies a series of predictor variables that could further be tested with attitudes, subjective norms and behavioral responses.

Keywords: social capital, consumer attitudes, peer influence, behavioral intentions

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Authors: Ayoub Alsarhan, Ahmed Otoom, Yousef Kilani, Abdel-Rahman al-GHuwairi

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Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have emerged recently to improve internet access and other networking services. WMNs provide network access to the clients and other networking functions such as routing, and packet forwarding. Spectrum scarcity is the main challenge that limits the performance of WMNs. Cognitive radio is proposed to solve spectrum scarcity problem. In this paper, we consider a cognitive wireless mesh network where unlicensed users (secondary users, SUs) can access free spectrum that is allocated to spectrum owners (primary users, PUs). Although considerable research has been conducted on spectrum allocation, spectrum assignment is still considered an important challenging problem. This problem can be solved using cognitive radio technology that allows SUs to intelligently locate free bands and access them without interfering with PUs. Our scheme considers several heuristics for spectrum allocation. These heuristics include: channel error rate, PUs activities, channel capacity and channel switching time. Performance evaluation of the proposed scheme shows that the scheme is able to allocate the unused spectrum for SUs efficiently.

Keywords: cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, spectrum management, spectrum sharing, wireless mesh networks

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Authors: Muhammad Waqas, Shahan Waheed, Mohsin Qadeer, Ehsan Bari, Salman Ahmed, Iqra Patoli

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Objective: To determine the value of aPTT, platelets and INR as the predictor of unfavorable outcomes in patients with blunt isolated traumatic brain injury. Methods: This was an observational cohort study conducted in a tertiary care facility from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2012. All the patients with isolated traumatic brain injury presenting within 24 hours of injury were included in the study. Coagulation parameters at presentation were recorded and Glasgow Outcome Scale calculated on last follow up. Outcomes were dichotomized into favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Relationship of coagulopathy with GOS and unfavorable outcomes was calculated using Spearman`s correlation and area under curve ROC analysis. Results: 121 patients were included in the study. The incidence of coagulopathy was found to be 6 %. aPTT was found to a significantly associated with unfavorable outcomes with an AUC = 0.702 (95%CI = 0.602-0.802). Predictive value of platelets and INR was not found to be significant. Conclusion: Incidence of coagulopathy was found to be low in current population compared to data from the West. aPTT was found to be a good predictor of unfavorable outcomes compared with other parameters of coagulation.

Keywords: aPTT, coagulopathy, unfavorable outcomes, parameters

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Authors: Faduma Ahmed-Ali

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The up and coming new generation of travelers will change how the world will achieve its global connectivity. The goal is that through people and technological advancement world-wide, people will be able to better explore the culture and beauty, as well as gain a better understanding of the core values of each host countries treasures. Through Rika's unique world connection model approach, the tourist can explore their destination with the help of local connections. Achieving a complete understanding of the host country while ensuring equal economic prosperity and cultural exchange is key to changing the face of tourism. A recent survey conducted by the author at Portland International Airport shows that over 50% of tourists entering Portland, Oregon are more eager to explore the city through local residents rather than an already planned itinerary created by travel companies. This new model, Rika, aims to shed light to the importance of connecting tourists with the technological tools that increase connectivity to the locals for a better travel experience and that fosters shared economic prosperity throughout a community achieving the goal of creating a sustainable, people driven economy.

Keywords: RIKA, tourism, connection, technology, economic impact, sustainability, hospitality, strategies, tourism development, environment

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Authors: Fayzan Ahmed, Saad Bin Saeed, Abdul Qadir Jangda

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Gafchromic™ sheet are extensively used for the QA of intensity modulated radiation therapy and other in-vivo dosimetry. Intra-sheet Non-uniformity of scanner as well as film causes undesirable fluctuations which are reflected in dosimetry The aim of this study is to define a systematic and robust method to investigate the intra-sheet uniformity of the unexposed Gafchromic Sheets and the region of interest (ROI) of the scanner. Sheets of lot No#: A05151201 were scanned before and after the expiry period with the EPSON™ XL10000 scanner in the transmission mode, landscape orientation and 72 dpi resolution. ROI of (8’x 10’ inches) equal to the sheet dimension in the center of the scanner is used to acquire images with full transmission, block transmission and with sheets in place. 500 virtual grids, created in MATALB® are imported as a macros in ImageJ (1.49m Wayne Rasband) to analyze the images. In order to remove the edge effects, the outer 86 grids are excluded from the analysis. The standard deviation of the block transmission and full transmission are 0.38% and 0.66% confirming a higher uniformity of the scanner. Expired and non-expired sheets have standard deviations of 2.18% and 1.29%, show that uniformity decreases after expiry. The results are promising and indicates a good potential of this method to be used as a uniformity check for scanner and unexposed Gafchromic sheets.

Keywords: IMRT, film dosimetry, virtual grids, uniformity

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Authors: M. Mohemmed Sha Mohamed Kunju, Abdalla A. Al-Ameen Abdurahman, T. Manesh Thankappan, A. Mohamed Mustaq Ahmed Hameed

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Web service composition is an effective approach to complete the web based tasks with desired quality. A single web service with limited functionality is inadequate to execute a specific task with series of action. So, it is very much required to combine multiple web services with different functionalities to reach the target. Also, it will become more and more challenging, when these services are from different providers with identical functionalities and varying QoS, so while composing the web services, the overall QoS is considered to be the major factor. Also, it is not true that the expected QoS is always attained when the task is completed. A single web service in the composed chain may affect the overall performance of the task. So care should be taken in different aspects such as functionality of the service, while composition. Dynamic and automatic service composition is one of the main option available. But to achieve the actual functionality of the task, quality of the individual web services are also important. Normally the QoS of the individual service can be evaluated by using the non-functional parameters such as response time, throughput, reliability, availability, etc. At the same time, the QoS is not needed to be at the same level for all the composed services. So this paper proposes a framework that allows composing the services in terms of QoS by setting the appropriate weight to the non-functional parameters of each individual web service involved in the task. Experimental results show that the importance given to the non-functional parameter while composition will definitely improve the performance of the web services.

Keywords: composition, non-functional parameters, quality of service, web service

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Authors: Mohamed Abdelmongy

Abstract:

Autologous Blood for Conjunctival Autograft Fixation in Primary Pterygium Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Hossam Zein1,2, Ammar Ismail1,3, Mohamed Abdelmongy1,4, Sherif Elsherif1,5,6, Ahmad Hassanen1,4, Basma Muhammad2, Fathy Assaf1,3, Ahmed Elsehili1,7, Ahmed Negida1,7, Shin Yamane9, Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim8,9 and Kazuaki Kadonosono9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30277146 BACKGROUND: Pterygium is a benign ocular lesion characterized by triangular fibrovascular growth of conjunctival tissue over the cornea. Patients complain of the bad cosmetic appearance, ocular surface irritation and decreased visual acuity if the pterygium is large enough to cause astigmatism or encroach on the pupil. The definitive treatment of pterygium is surgical removal. However, outcomes are compromised by recurrence . The aim of the current study is to systematically review the current literature to explore the efficacy and safety of fibrin glue, suture and autologous blood coagulum for conjunctivalautograft fixation in primary pterygium surgery. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of fibrin glue compared to sutures and autologous blood coagulum in conjunctival autografting for the surgical treatment of pterygium. METHODS: During preparing this manuscript, we followed the steps adequately illustrated in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 5.3, and reported it according to the preferred reporting of systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines. We searched PubMed, Ovid (both through Medline), ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) through January 2017, using the following keywords “Pterygium AND (blood OR glue OR suture)” SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that met the following criteria: 1) comparing autologous blood vs fibrin glue for conjunctivalautograft fixation in primary pterygium surgery 2) comparing autologous blood vs sutures for conjunctivalautograft fixation in primary pterygium surgery DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the search results, assessed trial quality, and extracted data using standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. The extracted data included A) study design, sample size, and main findings, B) Baseline characteristics of patients included in this review including their age, sex, pterygium site and grade, and graft size. C) Study outcomes comprising 1) primary outcomes: recurrence rate 2) secondary outcomes: graft stability outcomes (graft retraction, graft displacement), operation time (min) and postoperative symptoms (pain, discomfort, foreign body sensation, tearing) MAIN RESULTS: We included 7 RCTs and The review included662eyes (Blood: 293; Glue: 198; Suture: 171). we assess the 1) primary outcomes: recurrence rate 2) secondary outcomes: graft stability outcomes (graft retraction, graft displacement), operation time (min) and postoperative symptoms (pain, discomfort, foreign body sensation, tearing) CONCLUSIONS: Autologous blood for conjunctivalautograft fixation in pterygium surgery is associated with lower graft stability than fibrin glue or sutures. It was not inferior to fibrin glue or sutures regarding recurrence rate. The overall quality of evidence is low. Further well designed RCTs are needed to fully explore the efficacy of this new technique.

Keywords: pterygium, autograft, ophthalmology, cornea

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Authors: Ahmed Alutaibi, Ganti Sudhakar

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Providing better Quality-of-Service (QoS) to end users has been a challenging problem for researchers and service providers. Building applications relying on best effort network protocols hindered the adoption of guaranteed service parameters and, ultimately, Quality of Service. The introduction of Software Defined Networking (SDN) opened the door for a new paradigm shift towards a more controlled programmable configurable behavior. Openflow has been and still is the main implementation of the SDN vision. To facilitate better QoS for applications, the network must calculate and measure certain parameters. One of those parameters is the delay between the two ends of the connection. Using the power of SDN and the knowledge of application and network behavior, SDN networks can adjust to different conditions and specifications. In this paper, we use the capabilities of SDN to implement multiple algorithms to measure delay end-to-end not only inside the SDN network. The results of applying the algorithms on an emulated environment show that we can get measurements close to the emulated delay. The results also show that depending on the algorithm, load on the network and controller can differ. In addition, the transport layer handshake algorithm performs best among the tested algorithms. Out of the results and implementation, we show the limitations of Openflow and develop suggestions to solve them.

Keywords: software defined networking, quality of service, delay measurement, openflow, mininet

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Authors: M. Bouhoun Ali, A. Y. Badjah Hadj Ahmed, M. Attou, A. Elias, M. A. Didi

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The extraction of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions has been investigated using 1-hydroxyhexadecylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HHDPA) and 1-hydroxydodecylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HDDPA), which were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 31P NMR spectroscopy. In this paper, we propose a tentative assignment for the shifts of those two ligands and their specific complexes with uranium(VI). We carried out the extraction of uranium(VI) by HHDPA and HDDPA from [carbon tetrachloride + 2-octanol (v/v: 90%/10%)] solutions. Various factors such as contact time, pH, organic/aqueous phase ratio and extractant concentration were considered. The optimum conditions obtained were: contact time= 20 min, organic/aqueous phase ratio = 1, pH value = 3.0 and extractant concentration = 0.3M. The extraction yields are more significant in the case of the HHDPA which is equipped with a hydrocarbon chain, longer than that of the HDDPA. Logarithmic plots of the uranium(VI) distribution ratio vs. pHeq and the extractant concentration showed that the ratio of extractant to extracted uranium(VI) (ligand/metal) is 2:1. The formula of the complex of uranium(VI) with the HHDPA and the DHDPA is UO2(H3L)2 (HHDPA and DHDPA are denoted as H4L). A spectroscopic analysis has showed that coordination of uranium(VI) takes place via oxygen atoms.

Keywords: liquid-liquid extraction, uranium(vi), 1-hydroxyalkylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acids, hhdpa, hddpa, aqueous solution

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Authors: Anas Fadlelmula, Elsafi M. M. Ahmed

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The efficacy of Defender 2% WS (tebuconazole) and Imidal 70 WS (imidacloprid) to control damping-off diseases and early insect pests in sesame crop under rain fed conditions at Damazine and Gedarif areas was evaluated. Defender 2% WS with dosage rates 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 g/kg of seeds and Imidal 70 WS at 2.25, 3.0, and 3.75 g/ kg of seeds were tested singly and as a mixture during 2010/2011 and 2012/013. Sesame seeds treated with Defender at the rates of 0.5 g and 0.75 g/ kg of seeds gave a high significant increase in percent seedlings emergence (84% and 85%) respectively. Imidal 70 WS at rate of 3g/kg seed showed the least percent damaged leaves by sesame webworm (1.7%). However, the mixed Defender at rate 0.75g with Imidal at 3 g/kg seed, significantly gave a highest percentage of sesame seedling emergence (85.1%) and reduced the incidence of post-emergence damping off and percent damaged leaves to the least per cent (2.1% and 0.4% ) respectively, compared to other treatments. Consequently, the mixed treatment of 0.75 g of Defender + 3 g of Imidal improved the crop stand and significantly gave the highest yield (405.2 kg and 418.8 kg/fed) respectively in both sites compared to the other treatments.

Keywords: seed dressers, damage, daming off, insects

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Adjebli Ahmed, Messis Abdelaziz, Ayeche Riad, Tighilet Karim, Talbi Melissa, Smaili Yanis, Lehri Mokrane, Louardiane Mustapha

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Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, and its incidence has been increasing in recent years. Data and fecal samples from colorectal cancer patients were collected at the Amizour Public Hospital's oncology department (Bejaia, Algeria). Microbiological and cohort study were conducted at the Biological Engineering of Cancers laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bejaia. All the data showed that patients aged between 50 and 70 years were the most affected by colorectal cancer, while the age categories of [30-40] and [40-50] were the least affected. Males were more likely to be at risk of contracting colorectal cancer than females. The most common types of colorectal cancer among the studied population were sigmoid cancer, rectal cancer, transverse colon cancer, and ascending colon cancer. The hereditary factor was found to be more dominant than other risk factors. Bacterial identification revealed the presence of certain pathogenic and opportunistic bacterial genera, such as E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Shigella sp, and Streptococcus group D. These results led us to conclude that dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiome is strongly present in colorectal cancer patients at the EPH of Amizour.

Keywords: microbiome, colorectal cancer, risk factors, bacterial identification

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Authors: Yahia I. Mohamed, Ahmed I. Marzouk, Mohamed A. Yacout

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Aim of this work was to study the genetic basis for oil accumulation in olive fruit via tracking DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) gene in three Egyptian Origen Olive cultivars namely Toffahi, Hamed and Maraki using molecular marker techniques and bioinformatics tools. Results illustrate that, firstly: specific genomic band of Maraki cultivars was identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) and identical for this gene in Olea europaea with 100 % of similarity. Secondly, differential genomic band of Maraki cultivars which produced from RAPD fingerprinting technique reflected predicted distinguished sequence which identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) in Fragaria vesca subsp. Vesca with 76% of sequential similarity. Third and finally, specific genomic specific band of Hamed cultivars was indentified as two fragments, 1-Olea europaea cultivar Koroneiki diacylglycerol acyltransferase type 2 mRNA, complete cds with two matches regions with 99% or 2-PREDICTED: Fragaria vesca subsp. vesca diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2-like (LOC101313050), mRNA with 86% of similarity.

Keywords: Olea europaea, fingerprinting, diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2 (DGAT2), Egypt

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Authors: Sidi Ahmed Maouloud, Cheikh Ba

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Much of West Africa’s cultural heritage is written in the Al-Soudani Arabic script, which was widely used in West Africa before the time of European colonization. This Al-Soudani Arabic script is an African version of the Maghrebi script, in particular, the Al-Mebssout script. However, the local African qualities were incorporated into the Al-Soudani script in a way that gave it a unique African diversity and character. Despite the existence of several Arabic datasets in Oriental script, allowing for the analysis, layout, and recognition of texts written in these calligraphies, many Arabic scripts and written traditions remain understudied. In this paper, we present a dataset of words from Al-Soudani calligraphy scripts. This dataset consists of 100 images selected from three different manuscripts written in Al-Soudani Arabic script by different copyists. The primary source for this database was the libraries of Boston University and Cambridge University. This dataset highlights the unique characteristics of the Al-Soudani Arabic script as well as the new challenges it presents in terms of automatic word recognition of Arabic manuscripts. An HTR system based on a hybrid ANN (CRNN-CTC) is also proposed to test this dataset. SAMRA is a dataset of annotated Arabic manuscript words in the Al-Soudani script that can help researchers automatically recognize and analyze manuscript words written in this script.

Keywords: dataset, CRNN-CTC, handwritten words recognition, Al-Soudani Arabic script, HTR, manuscripts

Procedia PDF Downloads 131