Search results for: Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh

Authors: Aisha Liaquat Ali, Ghulam Sarwar Gachal, Muhammad Yusuf Sheikh

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The parrot (Psittacula krameri borealis) commonly known as ‘Tota’ belongs to the order ‘Psittaciformes’ and family ‘Psittacidea’. Its range inhabits tropical to subtropical regions. The parrot (Psittacula krameri borealis) has been categorized as least concern species. The core aim of the present study is to investigate the nesting of parrot (Psittacula krameri borealis); site observation was done a different interval from various adjoining areas of District Mirpurkhas from June 2017 to May 2018. During the study period, altogether 15 nests were observed, number of nests were high in June’s month (33.3%), July (13.3%), August (20.0 %), March (13.3%), April (13.3%) while the lowest number of nest was observed in September’s month (6.6%) and the nest was absent from October to February. It investigates that the number of nests was high June’s month when temperature range between '20 °C' and '45 °C'.

Keywords: District Mirpurkhas Sindh Pakistan, nesting, parrot (Psittacula krameri), presence

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Authors: Farooq A. Al-Sheikh, Ali Elkamel, William A. Anderson

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A fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is one of the effective units in many refineries. Modeling and optimization of FCCU were done by many researchers in past decades, but in this research, comparison between post- and oxy-combustion was studied in the regenerator-FCCU. Therefore, a simplified mathematical model was derived by doing mass/heat balances around both reactor and regenerator. A state space analysis was employed to show effects of the flow rates variables such as air, feed, spent catalyst, regenerated catalyst and flue gas on the output variables. The main aim of studying dynamic responses is to figure out the most influencing variables that affect both reactor/regenerator temperatures; also, finding the upper/lower limits of the influencing variables to ensure that temperatures of the reactors and regenerator work within normal operating conditions. Therefore, those values will be used as side constraints in the optimization technique to find appropriate operating regimes. The objective functions were modeled to be maximizing the energy in the reactor while minimizing the energy consumption in the regenerator. In conclusion, an oxy-combustion process can be used instead of a post-combustion one.

Keywords: FCCU modeling, optimization, oxy-combustion, post-combustion

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Authors: Wasim Ahmad, Bir Singh Chavan, Nazli Ahmad

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Objectives: The present investigation is an attempt to find out the efficacy of training the special educators on promoting self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. Methods: The study equipped the special educators with necessary skills and knowledge to train individuals with the intellectual disability for practicing self-determination. Subjects: Special educators (N=25) were selected for training on self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. After receiving the training, (N=50) individuals with an intellectual disability were selected and intervened by the trained special educators. Tool: Self-Determination Scale for Adults with Mild Mental Retardation (SDSAMR) developed by Keshwal and Thressiakutty (2010) has been used. It’s a reliable and valid tool used by many researchers. It has 36 items distributed in five domains namely: personal management, community participation, recreation and leisure time, choice making and problem solving. Analysis: The collected data was analyzed using the statistical techniques such as t-test, ANCOVA, and Posthoc Tuckey test. Results: The findings of the study reveal that there is a significant difference at 1% level in the pre and post tests mean scores (t-15.56) of self-determination concepts among the special educators. This indicates that the training enhanced the performance of special educators on the concept of self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. The study also reveals that the training received on transition planning by the special educators found to be effective because they were able to practice the concept by imparting and training the individuals with intellectual disability to if determined. The results show that there was a significant difference at 1% level in the pre and post tests mean scores (t-16.61) of self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. Conclusion: To conclude it can be said that the training has a remarkable impact on the performance of the individuals with intellectual disability on self-determination.

Keywords: experiment, individuals with intellectual disability, self-determination, special educators

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Authors: Emdad K. Z. Balanji, M. Neaz Sheikh, Muhammad N. S. Hadi

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This paper presents results of an experimental investigation on the behaviour of Hybrid Steel Fibre Reinforced High Strength Concrete (HSFR-HSC) cylinder specimens (150 mm x 300 mm) under uniaxial compression. Three different combinations of HSFR-HSC specimens and reference specimens without steel fibres were prepared. The first combination of HSFR-HSC included 1.5% Micro Steel (MS) fibre and 1% Deformed Steel (DS) fibre. The second combination included 1.5% MS fibre and 1.5% Hooked-end Steel (HS) fibre. The third combination included 1% DS fibre and 1.5% HS fibre. The experimental results showed that the addition of hybrid steel fibres improved the ductility of high strength concrete. The combination of MS fibre and HS fibre in high strength concrete mixes showed best stress-strain behaviour compared to the other combinations and the reference specimens.

Keywords: high strength concrete, micro steel fibre (MS), deformed steel fibre (DS), hooked-end steel fibre (HS), hybrid steel fibre

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Authors: V. Viswanathan, Md. Irshad Ahmad, Prashant K. Singh, Nayeem Ahmad, Pradeep Sharma, Sujata Sharma, Tej P Singh

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Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is a heme containing mammalian enzyme which uses hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to catalyze the conversion of substrates into oxidized products. LPO is found in body fluids and tissues such as milk, saliva, tears, mucosa and other body secretions. The previous structural studies have shown that LPO converts substrates, thiocyanate (SCN‾) and iodide (I‾) ions into oxidized products, hypothiocyanite (OSCN‾) and hypoiodite (IO‾) ions, respectively. We report here a new structure of the complex of LPO with an oxidized product, nitrite (NO2‾). This product was generated from NO using the two step reaction of LPO by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the solution of LPO in 0.1M phosphate buffer at pH 6.8 as the first step. In the second step, NO gas was added to the above mixture. This was crystallized using 20% (w/v) PEG-3350 and 0.2M ammonium iodide at pH 6.8. The structure determination showed the presence of NO2‾ ion in the distal heme cavity of the substrate binding site of LPO. The structure also showed that the propionate group, which is linked to pyrrole ring D of the heme moiety, was disordered. Similarly, the side chain of Asp108, which is covalently linked to heme moiety, was also split into two components. As a result of these changes, the conformation of the side chain of Arg255 was altered, allowing it to form new interactions with the disordered carboxylic group of propionate moiety. These structural changes are indicative of an intermediate state in the catalytic reaction pathway of LPO.

Keywords: lactoperoxidase, structure, nitric oxide, nitrite ion, intermediate, complex

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Authors: Jailan Mohamed El Demerdash

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In consideration of the challenges and the fierce global competition that have emerged in today’s hotel industry, it was important to shed light on the subject of strategic management. In addition, five-star hotels play a crucial role in supporting the tourism industry and investment in Egypt. Therefore, this study aims at exploring the scope of implementing strategic management practices in five-star hotels in Egypt and examining the differences between resorts and downtown hotels regarding the implementation of a strategic management process. The impact of the difference in hotel types on the implementation of the strategic management process will be examined. Simple random sampling technique will be employed to select the sample from the target population, including hotels from Sharm El- Sheikh, Cairo, and Hurghada cities. The data collection instrument employed in the current study is an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Eventually, combining the results of the study with the literature review helped to present a number of recommendations that have to be directed to hotel managers in the area of strategic management practices.

Keywords: strategic management, strategic tools, five-star hotels, resorts, downtown hotels, Egypt

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Authors: Umar Sheikh Tahir

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This paper focuses on the historiography of the relationship between Logic and Arabic grammar in the Muslim Medieval Ages (a period between 750 and 1100/ 150 and 500 Ah). This sensation appears in the famous debate among many others between grammarians represented by abū Sa'id al-Sairafī and logicians represented by abū Bishr Mattā on Logic and its validity. This incident took place in Baghdad around 932 AD. However, this study singlehandedly samples these debates as the base for the contributions of Islamic philosophers to philosophy of language as well as Epistemology. The question that shapes this research is: What is the intellectual development for Muslim thinkers to philosophy of language in regards to this debate? The current research addresses the Arabic grammar and logical debates by conducting historiography to emphasize on Islamic philosophers’ concerns about this issue. Consequently, this debate generates philosophical phenomena and resolutions in deep-thinking. In addition, these dialogues create a language impression for Philosophy in Islamic world from the period under study. Thereupon, Islamic philosophers’ discourse on this phenomenon serves as contribution to the Philosophy of Language.

Keywords: debates, epistemology, grammar and grammarians, Islamic philosophy, philosophy language, logic

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Authors: T. Imo, F. Latū, S. Aloi, J. Leung-Wai, V. Vaurasi, P. Amosa, M. A. Sheikh

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Contamination of heavy metals in coral reefs and coastal areas is a serious ecotoxicological and environmental problem due to direct runoff from anthropogenic wastes, commercial vessels, and discharge from industrial effluents. In Samoa, the information on the ecotoxicological impact of heavy metals on sediments is limited. This study presents baseline data on the concentration and distribution of heavy metals in sediments collected along the commercial and fishing ports in Samoa. Surface sediment samples were collected within the months of August-October 2013 from the 5 sites along the 2 ports. Sieved sample fractions were used for the evaluation of sediment physicochemical parameters namely pH, conductivity, organic matter, and bicarbonates of calcium. Heavy metal (Cu, Pb) analysis was achieved by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Two heavy metals (Cu, Pb) were detected from each port with some concentration below the WHO permissible maximum concentration of environment quality standard. The results obtained from this study advocate for further studies regarding emerging threats of heavy metals on the vital marine resources which have significant importance to the livelihood of coastal societies, particularly Small Island States including Samoa.

Keywords: coastal environment, heavy metals, pollution, sediments

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Authors: Ikram Hussain, Fuzail Ahmad, Tawseef Ahmad Bhat

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Tennis serve is characterized as one of the most prominent techniques pertaining to the success of winning a point. The study was aimed to explore the contributions of the upper body kinematics on the tennis performance during Davis Cup (Oceania Group). Four Indian International tennis players who participated in the Davis Cup held at Indore, India were inducted as the subjects for this study, with mean age 27 ± 4.79 Years, mean weight 186 ± 6.03 cm, mean weight 81.25 ± 7.41kg, respectively. The tennis serve was bifurcated into three phases viz, preparatory phase, force generation phase and follow through phase. The kinematic data for the study was recorded through the high speed canon camcorder having a shuttle speed of 1/2000, at a frame rate of 50 Hz. The data was analysed with the motion analysis software. The descriptive statistics and F-test was employed through SPSS version 17.0 for the determination of the undertaken kinematic parameters of the study, and was computed at a 0.05 level of significance with 46 degrees of freedom. Mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient also employed to find out the relationship among the upper body kinematic parameter and performance. In the preparatory phase, the analysis revealed that no significant difference exists among the kinematic parameters of the players on the performance. However, in force generation phase, wrist velocity (r= 0.47), torso velocity (r= -0.53), racket velocity r= 0.60), and in follow through phase, torso acceleration r= 0.43), elbow angle (r= -0.48) play a significant role on the performance of the tennis serve. Therefore, players should ponder upon the velocities of the above segments at the time of preparation for the competitions.

Keywords: Davis Cup, kinematics, motion analysis, tennis serve

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Authors: Ahmad Latif Virk, Naeem Ahmad, Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani

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Amid the present environmental crises, developing environment-resilient and cost-effective conservation agriculture strategies to feed the world's ever-growing population is pertinent. Therefore, a field study was conducted to test the hypothesis that residue retention under no-till (NTR) would enhance energy productivity (EP) and energy use efficiency (EUE) while offsetting the carbon footprints (CF), water footprints (WF) and greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs) in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) double cropping system. Two tillage systems viz., conventional tillage (CT) and conservation tillage (no-till; NT), with or without residue retention, were combined into four treatments as CT0 (puddled rice, conventional wheat - residue); CTR (puddled rice, conventional wheat + residue); NT0 (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat - residue); NTR (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat + residue) were evaluated. Overall, results showed that the NT system had 34.2% lower energy consumption, 1.2 times more EP than CT system. Moreover, NTR had 19.8% higher EUE than CT0. The overall system grain yield ranged from 7.8 to 9.3 Mg ha−1 under NT0 and CTR, respectively. The NTR had 56.6% and 17.9% lesser CF and WF, respectively, than CT0. The net GHGs emissions (CO2-eq kg ha−1) under CT0 were the highest, while NTR had the lowest emissions. The NTR enhanced carbon sequestration in soil that can offset half of the system's CO2 emissions. The findings of this study might help develop a suitable strategy for resource/energy conservation and higher productivity while offsetting GHGs emissions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Keywords: residue, yield, indirect emissions, energy use efficiency, carbon sequestration

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Authors: Aarti Suryawanshi

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Royal Tourism has always been a popular niche activity for many tourists around the world. The United Kingdom being at the heart of it, has been a pioneering nation for Royal tourists. Though many other countries with monarchies such as India, Thailand, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, and many more have attracted tourists with the motivation to see and experience the royalty to their nations, the Middle Eastern countries have never really been the attraction for Royal tourists. Royalty in the middle east is fast emerging as a tourist product and also paving way to marketing opportunity that may lead to the increased popularity of the Royal Houses of the region. Dubai has been garnering the centre stage for futuristic developments, economic growth initiatives, and continuous efforts towards urbanisation which has brought the lime light on the Royal house of the Al Maktoum globally, along with the younger royal members being extensively recognised and appreciated for their public and private adventures which are shared through various social media platforms. The objective of this paper is to analyse the popularity of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum through social media platforms and the possibility of inducing Royal Tourism in Dubai. An empirical study has been performed to describe the automated repositioning of the city of Dubai as a royal tourism hub.

Keywords: royalty, royal tourism, monarchy, marketing strategy, repositioning

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Authors: Bashir Ahmad, Daneji, Hamidu Aminu, Ahmad, Aliyu Mukhtar, Daneji, Haruna Mohammed

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It has been established and universally agreed that vibrant Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play significant roles in economic growth and development. In Nigeria, MSMEs are not playing the expected roles. Notable among the plethora of reasons is lack of prompt and sufficient finance. Government and other stakeholders attempted in several ways at different times to provide the required finance to MSMEs but the results were not encouraging and consequently, many failed. In recent past, Islamic financing emerged world over as promising alternative source of financing. However, its awareness among MSMEs entrepreneurs in north east region of Nigeria stands to be questioned. This study explored the 'Demographic Factors Influence on Awareness of Islamic Financing among MSMEs entrepreneurs in the North East Region of Nigeria'. The primary data used in this study were collected through questionnaire. In analyzing the collected data, the study used frequency, percentages, Pearson correlation, ANOVA and test of homogeneity test (Levene’s test) parameters generated from SPSS (version 15). The findings of the study revealed that entrepreneurs’ age, state of origin, religion and educational level influence their MSMEs awareness of Islamic Financing in the north east region of Nigeria. The study recommended that Islamic Financing institutions, government and relevant agencies should do more to enhance the awareness of Islamic financing among MSMEs entrepreneurs in the north east region of Nigeria.

Keywords: awareness, demographic factors, entrepreneurs, Islamic financing

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Authors: Abdullah Al-Alaian, Ahmad Al-Enzi, Hasan Al-Herz, Ahmad Bakri, Shant Tatorian, Amr Nounou

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Kuwait is a country that has an imbalanced economy since most of its national outcome comes from the oil trade. It is so risky for a country to be dependent on a single source for income, and this increases the need to diversify its economy. In addition, according to the Public Authority for Industry, the contribution of the industrial sector to the current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kuwait is low which is about 4.33%. Therefore, the development of the industrial sector can be one of the means to diversify the economy and increase the industry's contribution to the national outcome. This is in accordance with Kuwait’s vision of 2035 which aims at increasing the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP to 12%. In order to do so, this study aims at proposing a strategic plan that will accomplish certain objectives when implemented. It is based on analyzing the industrial sectors in Kuwait taking into consideration studying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing them. At the same time, it tends to gain from the experience of leading models and neighboring countries regarding the development of the industrial sector. In this study, the SWOT analysis technique will be conducted on all industrial sectors based on evaluation criteria in which it is determined whether any of them has a potential for improvement or not. In other words, it is determined whether the sectors are able to compete locally, regionally, or globally. Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, certain sectors will be chosen, assessed based on an assessment scheme, and their potentials for improvement will be aligned with the overall objectives. To ensure the achievement of the study’s objectives, an action plan will be proposed regarding recommendations for the related authorities, and for entrepreneurs. In addition, monitoring tools are going to be provided for the purpose of periodically checking the progress made in the implementation of the plan.

Keywords: industrial sector, SWOT analysis, productivity, competitiveness, GDP, Kuwait, economy

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Authors: Kanika Taneja, V. K. Soni, Kafeel Ahmad, Shamshad Ahmad

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A severe dust storm generated from a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Afghanistan affected the north-west region of India between May 28 and 31, 2014, resulting in significant reductions in air quality and visibility. The air quality of the affected region degraded drastically. PM10 concentration peaked at a very high value of around 1018 μgm-3 during dust storm hours of May 30, 2014 at New Delhi. The present study depicts aerosol optical properties monitored during the dust days using ground based multi-wavelength Sky radiometer over the National Capital Region of India. High Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 500 nm was observed as 1.356 ± 0.19 at New Delhi while Angstrom exponent (Alpha) dropped to 0.287 on May 30, 2014. The variation in the Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and real n(λ) and imaginary k(λ) parts of the refractive index indicated that the dust event influences the optical state to be more absorbing. The single scattering albedo, refractive index, volume size distribution and asymmetry parameter (ASY) values suggested that dust aerosols were predominant over the anthropogenic aerosols in the urban environment of New Delhi. The large reduction in the radiative flux at the surface level caused significant cooling at the surface. Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing (DARF) was calculated using a radiative transfer model during the dust period. A consistent increase in surface cooling was evident, ranging from -31 Wm-2 to -82 Wm-2 and an increase in heating of the atmosphere from 15 Wm-2 to 92 Wm-2 and -2 Wm-2 to 10 Wm-2 at top of the atmosphere.

Keywords: aerosol optical properties, dust storm, radiative transfer model, sky radiometer

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Authors: Ghadeer Jalloul, Nour Hijazi, Cassia Boyadjian, Hussein Awala, Mohammad N. Ahmad, ‎Ahmad Albadarin

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In this study, we applied Fe-sensitized TiO₂ supported over embryonic Beta zeolite (BEA) zeolite ‎for the photocatalytic degradation of Tetracycline (TC) antibiotic under visible light. Four different ‎samples having 20, 40, 60, and 100% w/w as a ratio of TiO₂/BEA were prepared. The ‎immobilization of solgel TiO₂ (33 m²/g) over BEA (390 m²/g) increased its surface area to (227 ‎m²/g) and enhanced its adsorption capacity from 8% to 19%. To expand the activity of TiO₂ ‎photocatalyst towards the visible light region (λ>380 nm), we explored two different metal ‎sensitization techniques with Iron ions (Fe³⁺). In the ion-exchange method, the substitutional cations ‎in the zeolite in TiO₂/BEA were exchanged with (Fe³⁺) in an aqueous solution of FeCl₃. In the ‎doping technique, solgel TiO₂ was doped with (Fe³⁺) from FeCl₃ precursor during its synthesis and ‎before its immobilization over BEA. (Fe-TiO₂/BEA) catalysts were characterized using SEM, XRD, ‎BET, UV-VIS DRS, and FTIR. After testing the performance of the various ion-exchanged catalysts ‎under blue and white lights, only (Fe-TiO₂/BEA 60%) showed better activity as compared to pure ‎TiO₂ under white light with 100 ppm initial catalyst concentration and 20 ppm TC concentration. As ‎compared to ion-exchanged (Fe-TiO₂/BEA), doped (Fe-TiO₂/BEA) resulted in higher photocatalytic ‎efficiencies under blue and white lights. The 3%-Fe-doped TiO₂/BEA removed 92% of TC ‎compared to 54% by TiO₂ under white light. The catalysts were also tested under real solar ‎irradiations. This improvement in the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ was due to its higher ‎adsorption capacity due to BEA support combined with the presence of Iron ions that enhance the ‎visible light absorption and minimize the recombination effect by the charge carriers. ‎

Keywords: Tetracycline, photocatalytic degradation, immobilized TiO₂, zeolite, iron-doped TiO₂, ion-exchange

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Authors: Sheikh, R. Author, Bhardwaj S. Author, Jr.

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The emphasis of this paper is to investigate the identity shifts experienced within the Indian community and among Muslim refugee women in Sydney. Using Goffman’s paradigm of everyday interactions, attention is paid to how migrants navigate and perform their multiple identities in their daily life. By focusing on narratives of the migrant- migration is understood as processual instead of a one time decision of re-location. The paper aims to highlight how individuals choose and re-adapt their cultural and social practices within the context of Australia. Migrant narratives are rooted in specific socio-cultural settings of one’s own community as well as the nature of migration to a specific country. Differences and similarities will be observed within the Indian community, and among Muslim refugee women in terms of how identity is negotiated, social networks are re-established in Australia. Some attention will also be paid to difficulties that are being faced by migrants-especially in terms of Muslim identity for Refugee women, particularly in terms of assimilation, building on Ghassan Hage’s use of appraisal theory and how a diversity of language and religion is accommodated within the Indian community. By using two diverse groups, it would be able to identify and contrast migrant experiences.

Keywords: identity, migrant, refugee, women, assimilation, narratives

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Authors: Santosh Kumar Yadav, Shobha Keswani, Nishat Quddus, Sohrab Ahmad Khan, Zuheb Ahmad Shiddiqui, Varsha Chorsiya

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Introduction: Early onset diabetes is more aggressive than the late onset diabetes. Diabetic individual has a greater spectrum of life period to suffer from its damage, complications, and long-term disability. This study aimed at assessing knee joint muscle performance under various durations of diabetes. Method and Materials: A total of 30 diabetic subjects (18 male and 12 females) without diabetic neuropathy were included for the study. They were divided into three groups with 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of duration of disease each. Muscle performance was evaluated through strength and flexibility. Peak torque for quadriceps muscle was measured using isokinetic dynamometer. Flexibility for quadriceps and hamstring muscles were measured through Ducan’s Elys test and 90/90 test. Results: The result showed significant difference in muscle strength (p<0.05), flexibility (p≤0.05) between groups. Discussion: Optimal muscle strength and flexibility are vital for musculoskeletal health and functional independence. Conclusion: The reduced muscle performance and functional impairment in nonneuropathic diabetic patients suggest that other mechanism besides neuropathy that contribute to altered biomechanics. These findings of this study project early management of these altered parameters through disease-specific physical therapy and assessment-based intervention. Clinical Relevance: Managing disability is more costly than managing disease. Prompt and timely identification and management strategy can dramatically reduce the cost of care for diabetic patients.

Keywords: muscle flexibility, muscle performance, muscle torque, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Raahil Sheikh, Abhishek Maurya, Priya Gujjar, Himanshu Dwivedi, Prathamesh Minde

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UAVs have been an initial member of our environment since it's the first used by Austrian warfare in Venice. At that stage, they were just pilotless balloons equipped with bombs to be dropped on enemy territory. Over time, technological advancements allowed UAVs to be controlled remotely or autonomously. This study shall mainly focus on the intensification of pre-existing manual drones equipping them with a variety of sensors and making them autonomous, and capable, and purposing them for a variety of roles, including thermal sensing, data collection, tracking creatures, forest fires, volcano detection, hydrothermal studies, urban heat, Island measurement, and other environmental research. The system can also be used for reconnaissance, research, 3D mapping, and search and rescue missions. This study mainly focuses on automating tedious tasks and reducing human errors as much as possible, reducing deployment time, and increasing the overall efficiency, efficacy, and reliability of the UAVs. Creation of a comprehensive Ground Control System UI (GCS) enabling less trained professionals to be able to use the UAV with maximum potency. With the inclusion of such an autonomous system, artificially intelligent paths and environmental gusts and concerns can be avoided.

Keywords: UAV, drone, autonomous system, thermal imaging

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Authors: I. Ahmad, A. Hannan, S. Ahmad, M. Asif, M. F. Nawaz, M. A. Tanvir, M. F. Azhar

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During this research, a comprehensive survey of tree growing areas of Faisalabad district of Pakistan was conducted to observe the symptoms, spectrum, occurrence and severity of A. nilotica and E. camaldulensis decline. Objective of current research was to investigate specific fungal pathogens involved in decline of A. nilotica and E. camaldulensis. For this purpose, infected roots, bark, neck portion, stem, branches, leaves and infected soils were collected to identify associated fungi. Potato dextrose agar (PDA) and Czepak dox agar media were used for isolations. Identification of isolated fungi was done microscopically and different fungi were identified. During survey of urban locations of Faisalabad, disease incidence on Kikar and Eucalyptus was recorded as 3.9-7.9% and 2.6-7.1% respectively. Survey of Agroforest zones of Faisalabad revealed decline incidence on kikar 7.5% from Sargodha road while on Satiana and Jhang road it was not planted. In eucalyptus trees, 4%, 8% and 0% disease incidence was observed on Jhang road, Sargodha road and Satiana road respectively. The maximum fungus isolated from the kikar tree was Drechslera australiensis (5.00%) from the stem part. Aspergillus flavus also gave the maximum value of (3.05%) from the bark. Alternaria alternata gave the maximum value of (2.05%) from leaves. Rhizopus and Mucor spp. were recorded minimum as compared to the Drechslera, Alternaria and Aspergillus. The maximum fungus isolated from the Eucalyptus tree was Armillaria luteobubalina (5.00%) from the stem part. The other fungi isolated were Macrophamina phaseolina and A. niger.

Keywords: decline, frequency of mycoflora, A. nilotica and E. camaldulensis, Drechslera australiensis, Armillaria luteobubalina

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Authors: Raahil Sheikh, Prathamesh Minde, Priya Gujjar, Himanshu Dwivedi, Abhishek Maurya

Abstract:

UAVs have been an initial member of our environment since it's the first used by Austrian warfare in Venice. At that stage, they were just pilotless balloons equipped with bombs to be dropped on enemy territory. Over time, technological advancements allowed UAVs to be controlled remotely or autonomously. This study shall mainly focus on the intensification of pre-existing manual drones equipping them with a variety of sensors and making them autonomous, and capable, and purposing them for a variety of roles, including thermal sensing, data collection, tracking creatures, forest fires, volcano detection, hydrothermal studies, urban heat, Island measurement, and other environmental research. The system can also be used for reconnaissance, research, 3D mapping, and search and rescue missions. This study mainly focuses on automating tedious tasks and reducing human errors as much as possible, reducing deployment time, and increasing the overall efficiency, efficacy, and reliability of the UAVs. Creation of a comprehensive Ground Control System UI (GCS) enabling less trained professionals to be able to use the UAV with maximum potency. With the inclusion of such an autonomous system, artificially intelligent paths and environmental gusts and concerns can be avoided

Keywords: UAV, autonomous systems, drones, geo thermal imaging

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Authors: Ahmad I. Ayesh

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This work reports on the fabrication of tin nanoclusters by sputtering and inert-gas condensation inside an ultra-high vacuum compatible system. This technique allows to fine tune the size and yield of nanoclusters by controlling the nanocluster source parameters. The produced nanoclusters are deposited on SiO2/Si substrate with pre-formed electrical electrodes to produce a nanocluster device. Those devices can be potentially used for gas sensor applications.

Keywords: tin, nanoclusters, inert-gas condensation, nanotechnology

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Authors: Sajid Iqbal Sheikh

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From almost last 100 years 'political islam' has diversity in its usage as terminology in the speculative works of both muslim and non-muslims theorists. 'Political islam' as a term was coined consciously as equal to the 'militant islam' and “Terrorist Islam” vs “Plain Islam” and “Modern Islam” etc. Many paradigm shifts tamed the term into one of the hottest debate of the day. This research paper aims to categorize historical linkage of its coinage, development phases and present status. Based on content analysis, Narrative approach has been utilized for the sake of dexterous conclusion. The paper treasures out that Western dominance on civilizational and political spheres of the holistic world considers 'political islam' a gigantic threat and plans to resist it in theoretic and practical fields simultaneously. Despite minor strategic variances, the ideological followers of Syed Qutab, Mulana Mudoodi and Hasan Al-Bana, are struggling hard for the achievement of their ultimate goal of Political change, specifically in the Muslim World in the prior phase. The paper concludes that Resistance to Islamic resurgence and its Political goals is being observed in most of the Muslim world, especially in the Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Tsunia and Yeman etc, which is a basic cause of contrary reaction in the Muslim World.

Keywords: electoral process, islamic resurgence, islamic political theory, muslim response, resistance, western hegemony

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Authors: M. A. Fiidow, Ahmad M. Alenezi

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In this work, we study the inner derivations of diassociative algebras in dimension two and three, an algorithmic approach is adopted for the computation of inner derivation, using some results from the derivation of finite dimensional diassociative algebras. Some basic properties of inner derivation of finite dimensional diassociative algebras are also provided.

Keywords: diassociative algebras, inner derivations, derivations, left and right operator

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Authors: Noryani Natasha Yahaya, Anas Ibrahim, Juraidah Ahmad, Azura Ahmad, Mohd Ikmal Fazlan Rosli, Zailan Ramli, Muhd Sidek Muhd Norhasri

Abstract:

The subgrade formation is an important element of the railway structure which holds overall track stability. Conventional track maintenance involves many substructure component replacements, as well as track re-ballasting on a regular basis is partially contributed to the embankment's long-term settlement problem. For subgrade long-term stability analysis, the geophysical method is commonly being used to diagnose those hidden sources/mechanisms of track deterioration problems that the normal visual method is unable to detect. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is one of the applicable geophysical tools that are helpful in railway subgrade inspection/track monitoring due to its flexibility and reliability of the analysis. The ERT was conducted at KM 23.0 of Pinang Tunggal track to investigate the subgrade of railway track through the characterization/mapping on track formation profiling which was directly generated using 2D analysis of Res2dinv software. The profiles will allow examination of the presence and spatial extent of a significant subgrade layer and screening of any poor contact of soil boundary. Based on the finding, there is a mix/interpretation/intermixing of an interlayer between the sub-ballast and the sand. Although the embankment track considered here is at no immediate risk of settlement effect or any failure, the regular monitoring of track’s location will allow early correction maintenance if necessary. The developed data of track formation clearly shows the similarity of the side view with the assessed track. The data visualization in the 2D section of the track embankment agreed well with the initial assumption based on the main element structure general side view.

Keywords: ground track, assessment, resistivity, geophysical railway, method

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Authors: Raees Khan, Sheikh Z. Ul Abidin, Abdul S. Mumtaz, Jie Liu

Abstract:

The present study is intended to assess gymnosperms pollen flora of Pakistan using Light Microscope (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for its taxonomic significance in identification of gymnosperms. Pollens of 35 gymnosperm species (12 genera and five families) were collected from its various distributional sites of gymnosperms in Pakistan. LM and SEM were used to investigate different palyno-morphological characteristics. Five pollen types (i.e., Inaperturate, Monolete, Monoporate, Vesiculate-bisaccate, and Polyplicate) were observed. In equatorial view seven types of pollens were observed, in which ten species were sub-angular, nine species were triangular, six species were perprolate, three species were rhomboidal, three species were semi-angular, two species were rectangular and two species were prolate. While five types of pollen were observed in polar view, in which ten species were spheroidal, nine species were angular, eight were interlobate, six species were circular, and two species were elliptic. Eighteen species have rugulate and 17 species has faveolate ornamentation. Eighteen species have verrucate and 17 have gemmate type sculpturing. The data was analysed through cluster analysis. The study showed that these palyno-morphological features have significance value in classification and identification of gymnosperms. Based on these different palyno-morphological features, a taxonomic key was proposed for the accurate and fast identifications of gymnosperms from Pakistan.

Keywords: gymnosperms, palynology, Pakistan, taxonomy

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Authors: Dina Ahmad Alkhodary

Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate the practices of Data Mining on the telecommunication companies in Jordan, from the viewpoint of the respondents. In order to achieve the goal of the study, and test the validity of hypotheses, the researcher has designed a questionnaire to collect data from managers and staff members from main department in the researched companies. The results shows improvements stages of the telecommunications companies towered Data Mining.

Keywords: data, mining, development, business

Procedia PDF Downloads 497

Authors: Norita Ahmad, Reza Barkhi, Xiaobo Xu

Abstract:

We design an experimental study to learn about the cognitive implications of the use of avatars in a Virtual World (VW) (i.e., Second Life). The results support our proposed model, where a positive flow experience with VW influences the attitude towards VW, in turn influencing intention to use VW. Furthermore, VW flow experience can itself be impacted by perceived peer influence, familiarity with VW, and personality of the individuals behind the avatars in VW.

Keywords: avatar, flow experience, personality type, second life, virtual world

Procedia PDF Downloads 598

Authors: Syed Towseef Ahmad, Fatima Amin, Pritha Acharya, Anil K. Gupta, Pervez Ahmad

Abstract:

Glaciers being the sentinels of climate change, are the most visible evidence of global warming. Given the unavailability of observed field-based data, this study has focussed on the use of geospatial techniques to obtain information about the glaciers of Pir-Panjal (PPJ) and the Great Himalayan Regions of Jhelum Basin (GHR). These glaciers need to be monitored in line with the variations in climatic conditions because they significantly contribute to various sectors in the region. The main aim of this study is to map the glaciers in the two adjacent regions (PPJ and GHR) in the north-western Himalayas with different topographies and compare the changes in various glacial attributes during two different time periods (1990-2020). During the last three decades, both PPJ as well as GHR regions have observed deglaciation of around 36 and 26 percent, respectively. The mean elevation of GHR glaciers has increased from 4312 to 4390 masl, while the same for PPJ glaciers has increased from 4085 to 4124 masl during the observation period. Using accumulation area ratio (AAR) method, mean mass balance of -34.52 and -37.6 cm.w.e was recorded for the glaciers of GHR and PPJ, respectively. The difference in areal and mass loss of glaciers in these regions may be due to (i) the smaller size of PPJ glaciers which are all smaller than 1 km² and are thus more responsive to climate change (ii) Higher mean elevation of GHR glaciers (iii) local variations in climatic variables in these glaciated regions. Time series analysis of climate variables indicates that both the mean maximum and minimum temperatures of Qazigund station (Tmax= 19.2, Tmin= 6.4) are comparatively higher than the Pahalgam station (Tmax= 18.8, Tmin= 3.2). Except for precipitation in Qazigund (Slope= - 0.3 mm a⁻¹), each climatic parameter has shown an increasing trend during these three decades, and with the slope of 0.04 and 0.03°c a⁻¹, the positive trend in Tmin (pahalgam) and Tmax (qazigund) are observed to be statistically significant (p≤0.05).

Keywords: glaciers, climate change, Pir-Panjal, greater Himalayas, mass balance

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Authors: Hesamaddin Khoshnoodi, Ahmad Rahbar Ranji

Abstract:

Corrosion in steel structures is one of the most important issues that should be considered in designing and constructing. Corrosion reduces the cross section and load capacity of element and leads to costly damage of structures. In this paper, the corrosion has been modeled for moment stresses. Moreover, the steel beam has been modeled using ABAQUS advanced finite element software. The conclusions of this study demonstrated that the displacement of the analyzed composite steel girder bridge might increase.

Keywords: Abaqus, Corrosion, deformation, Steel Beam

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: M. M. Nor, H. I. Sheikh, M. F. H. Hassan, S. Mokhtar, A. Suganthi, A. Fadhlina

Abstract:

Black grass jelly (BGJ) is a popular black jelly used in preparing various drinks and desserts. Food industries often use preservatives to maintain the physicochemical properties of foods, such as color and texture. These preservatives (e.g., phosphoric acid) are linked with deleterious health effects such as kidney disease. Using gelling agents, carrageenan, and gelatin to make BGJ could improve its physiochemical and textural properties. This study was designed to optimize BGJ-selected physicochemical and textural properties using carrageenan and gelatin. Various black grass jelly formulations (BGJF) were designed using an I-optimal mixture design in Design Expert® software. Data from commercial BGJ were used as a reference during the optimization process. The combination of carrageenan and gelatin added to the formulations was up to 14.38g (~5%), respectively. The results showed that adding 2.5g carrageenan and 2.5g gelatin at approximately 5g (~5%) effectively maintained most of the physiochemical properties with an overall desirability function of 0.81. This formulation was selected as the optimum black grass jelly formulation (OBGJF). The leaching properties and floating duration were measured on the OBGJF and commercial grass jelly for 20 min and 40 min, respectively. The results indicated that OBGJF showed significantly (p<0.0001) lower leaching rate and floating time (p<0.05). Hence, further optimization is needed to increase the floating duration of carrageenan and gelatin-based BGJ.

Keywords: cincau, Mesona chinensis, black grass jelly, carrageenan, gelatin

Procedia PDF Downloads 82