Search results for: Mohamed Hassan Gundu
978 A Feasibility Study of Crowdsourcing Data Collection for Facility Maintenance Management
Authors: Mohamed Bin Alhaj, Hexu Liu, Mohammed Sulaiman, Osama Abudayyeh
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An effective facility maintenance management (FMM) system plays a crucial role in improving the quality of services and maintaining the facility in good condition. Current FMM heavily relies on the quality of the data collection function of the FMM systems, at times resulting in inefficient FMM decision-making. The new technology-based crowdsourcing provides great potential to improve the current FMM practices, especially in terms of timeliness and quality of data. This research aims to investigate the feasibility of using new technology-driven crowdsourcing for FMM and highlight its opportunities and challenges. A survey was carried out to understand the human, data, system, geospatial, and automation characteristics of crowdsourcing for an educational campus FMM via social networks. The survey results were analyzed to reveal the challenges and recommendations for the implementation of crowdsourcing for FMM. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by synthesizing the challenges and opportunities of using crowdsourcing for facility maintenance and providing a road map for applying crowdsourcing technology in FMM. In future work, a conceptual framework will be proposed to support data-driven FMM using social networks.Keywords: crowdsourcing, facility maintenance management, social networks
Procedia PDF Downloads 173977 Identification of Successful Criteria for Measuring Large Infrastructure Projects Performance in Malaysia
Authors: M. A. N. Masrom, M. H. I. A. Rahim, G. K. Chen, S. Mohamed
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Large infrastructure project is one of significant category in the development of Malaysian construction industry. This type of project has been recognized as a high complexity project with numerous construction risks, large cost involvement, highly technical requirements and divers of resources. Besides, the development of large infrastructure such as highway, railway, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and airport are also needed a large investment of public and private sector. To accomplish the development successfully, several challenges has to be determined prior the project commencement. To date, a comprehensive assessment of key success criteria particularly for large infrastructure in developing country such as Malaysia, is still not systematically defined and therefore, it needs further investigation. This paper aims to explore the potential success criteria that would be useful in gauging overall performance of large infrastructure implementation particularly in developing country. Previous successful criteria studies were used to develop a conceptual framework that possibly suitable for measuring large infrastructure performance. The findings show that successful criteria of infrastructure projects implementation could be grouped according to several key elements as it seems significant to the participants in prioritizing project challenges more systematically.Keywords: successful criteria, performance, large infrastructure, Malaysia
Procedia PDF Downloads 408976 Evaluating Distance and Blended Learning during COVID-19: Experiences and Innovations from High School and Secondary Educators
Authors: Azzeddine Atibi, Khadija El Kababi, Salim Ahmed, Mohamed Radid
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The primary aim of the present study is to undertake an extensive comparative examination of distance learning and blended learning modalities, with a particular focus on assessing their efficacy during the period of confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This investigation is grounded in the firsthand experiences of educators at the high school and secondary levels across both private and public educational institutions. To gather the necessary data, we designed and distributed a meticulously crafted survey to these educators, soliciting detailed accounts of their professional experiences throughout this challenging period. The survey's objectives include elucidating the specific difficulties faced by teachers, as well as highlighting the innovative pedagogical strategies they developed in response to these challenges. By synthesizing the insights gained from this survey, we aim to foster an exchange of experiences among educators and to generate informed recommendations that will guide future educational reforms. Ultimately, this study aspires to contribute to the ongoing discourse on optimizing educational practices in the face of unprecedented disruptions.Keywords: distance learning, blended learning, covid 19, secondary/ high school, teachingperformance, evaluation
Procedia PDF Downloads 33975 Tombs Covers "Kiswa" in Ottoman Period
Authors: Tamer Mokhtar Mohamed Ahmed
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Throughout the ages the Caliphs, Sultans and rulers have paid great care to tomb covers and in particular to the cover of the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad as well as other prophets. For that purpose they established waqfs and ensured that the covers appeared in the most magnificent manner to befit their purpose, as we can see in the beautiful examples in museums across the world. In fact tomb covers are some of the most beautiful examples of Islamic art in their detail of craftsmanship which have made them great works of art. It became the custom that the Kiswa or the tomb covers were made of silk or satin with gold and silver threads. Museums across the word preserve examples of the highest craftsmanship of tomb covers produced in the capital of the Ottomans and other capital cities, all differing in their designs or colors reflecting the work of the individual cities like Cairo, Istanbul or Bursa. Other than the cover for the tomb of the Prophet, many other tomb covers were produced for the tombs of other prophets and their wives in Hebron. In addition tomb covers were made for the sufi saints as well as for the Ottoman sultans and for their wives and children. In this paper I will Study the Kiswa or the tomb covers in Ottoman period.Keywords: kiswa, ottoman period, textiles, silk, tomb of the Prophet Muhammad
Procedia PDF Downloads 75974 Molecular Docking of Marrubiin in Candida Rugosa Lipase
Authors: Benarous Khedidja, Yousfi Mohamed
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Infections caused by Candida species manifest in a number of diseases, including candidemia, vulvovaginal candidiasis, endocarditis, and peritonitis. These Candida species have been reported to have lipolytic activity by secretion of lipolytic enzymes such as esterases, lipases and phospholipases. These Extracellular hydrolytic enzymes seem to play an important role in Candida overgrowth. Candidiasis is commonly treated with antimycotics such as clotrimazole and nystatin, which bind to a major component of the fungal cell membrane (ergosterol). This binding forms pores in the membrane that lead to death of the fungus. Due to their secondary effects, scientists have thought of another treatment basing on lipase inhibition but we haven’t found any lipase inhibitors used as candidiasis treatment. In this work, we are interested to lipases inhibitors such as alkaloids as another candidiasis treatment. In the first part, we have proceeded to optimize the alkaloid structures and protein 3D structure using Hyperchem software. Secondly, we have docked inhibitors using Genetic algorithm with GOLD software. The results have shown ten possibilities of binding inhibitor to Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) but only one possibility has been accepted depending on the weakest binding energy.Keywords: marrubiin, candida rugosa lipase, docking, gold
Procedia PDF Downloads 245973 Lung Disease Detection from the Chest X Ray Images Using Various Transfer Learning
Authors: Aicha Akrout, Amira Echtioui, Mohamed Ghorbel
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Pneumonia remains a significant global health concern, posing a substantial threat to human lives due to its contagious nature and potentially fatal respiratory complications caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses. The reliance on chest X-rays for diagnosis, although common, often necessitates expert interpretation, leading to delays and potential inaccuracies in treatment. This study addresses these challenges by employing transfer learning techniques to automate the detection of lung diseases, with a focus on pneumonia. Leveraging three pre-trained models, VGG-16, ResNet50V2, and MobileNetV2, we conducted comprehensive experiments to evaluate their performance. Our findings reveal that the proposed model based on VGG-16 demonstrates superior accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, achieving impressive results with an accuracy of 93.75%, precision of 94.50%, recall of 94.00%, and an F1 score of 93.50%. This research underscores the potential of transfer learning in enhancing pneumonia diagnosis and treatment outcomes, offering a promising avenue for improving healthcare delivery and reducing mortality rates associated with this debilitating respiratory condition.Keywords: chest x-ray, lung diseases, transfer learning, pneumonia detection
Procedia PDF Downloads 42972 Numerical and Comparative Analysis between Two Composite Plates Notched in Different Shapes and Repaired by Composite
Authors: Amari Khaoula, Berrahou Mohamed
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The topic of our article revolves around a numerical and comparative analysis between two notched Boron/epoxy plates that are U-shaped and the other V-shaped, cracked, and repaired by a rectangular patch of the same composite material; the finite element method was used for the analytical study and comparison of the results obtained for determining the optimal shape of notch which will give a longer life to the repair. In this context, we studied the variation of the stress intensity factor, the evolution of the damaged area, and the calculation of the ratio of the damaged area according to the crack length and the concentration of the Von Mises stresses as a function of the lengths of the paths. According to the results obtained, we conclude that the notch plate U is the optimal one than notch plate V because it has lower values either for the stress intensity factor (SIF), damaged area ratio (Dᵣ), or the Von Mises stresses.Keywords: the notch U, the notch V, the finite element method FEM, comparison, rectangular patch, composite, stress intensity factor, damaged area ratio, Von Mises stresses
Procedia PDF Downloads 100971 NiAl-Layered Double Hydroxide: Preparation, Characterization and Applications in Photo-Catalysis and Hydrogen Storage
Authors: Ahmed Farghali, Heba Amar, Mohamed Khedr
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NiAl-Layered Double Hydroxide (NiAl-LDH), one of anionic functional layered materials, has been prepared by a simple co-precipitation process. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the formation of the desired compounds of NiAl hydroxide single phase and the crystallite size was found to be about 4.6 nm. The morphology of the prepared samples was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and the layered structure was appeared under the transmission electron microscope. The thermal stability and the function groups of NiAl-LDH were investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) respectively. NiAl-LDH was investigated as a photo-catalyst for the degradation of some toxic dyes such as toluidine blue and bromopyrogallol red. It shows good catalytic efficiency in visible light and even in dark. For the first time NiAl-LDH was used for hydrogen storage application. NiAl-LDH samples were exposed to 20 bar applied hydrogen pressure at room temperature, 100 and -193 oC. NiAl-LDH samples appear to have feasible hydrogen storage capacity. It was capable to adsorb 0.1wt% at room temperature, 0.15 wt% at 100oC and storage capacity reached 0.3 wt% at -193 oC.Keywords: NiAl-LDH, preparation, characterization, photo-catalysis, hydrogen storage
Procedia PDF Downloads 312970 Implementation of Successive Interference Cancellation Algorithms in the 5g Downlink
Authors: Mokrani Mohamed Amine
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In this paper, we have implemented successive interference cancellation algorithms in the 5G downlink. We have calculated the maximum throughput in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode in the downlink, where we have obtained a value equal to 836932 b/ms. The transmitter is of type Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) with eight transmitting and receiving antennas. Each antenna among eight transmits simultaneously a data rate of 104616 b/ms that contains the binary messages of the three users; in this case, the Cyclic Redundancy Check CRC is negligible, and the MIMO category is the spatial diversity. The technology used for this is called Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) with a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation. The transmission is done in a Rayleigh fading channel with the presence of obstacles. The MIMO Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) receiver with two transmitting and receiving antennas recovers its binary message without errors for certain values of transmission power such as 50 dBm, with 0.054485% errors when the transmitted power is 20dBm and with 0.00286763% errors for a transmitted power of 32 dBm(in the case of user 1) as well as with 0.0114705% errors when the transmitted power is 20 dBm also with 0.00286763% errors for a power of 24 dBm(in the case of user2) by applying the steps involved in SIC.Keywords: 5G, NOMA, QPSK, TBS, LDPC, SIC, capacity
Procedia PDF Downloads 103969 Beyond Adoption: Econometric Analysis of Impacts of Farmer Innovation Systems and Improved Agricultural Technologies on Rice Yield in Ghana
Authors: Franklin N. Mabe, Samuel A. Donkoh, Seidu Al-Hassan
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In order to increase and bridge the differences in rice yield, many farmers have resorted to adopting Farmer Innovation Systems (FISs) and Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs). This study econometrically analysed the impacts of adoption of FISs and IATs on rice yield using multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR). Nine-hundred and seven (907) rice farmers from Guinea Savannah Zone (GSZ), Forest Savannah Transition Zone (FSTZ) and Coastal Savannah Zone (CSZ) were used for the study. The study used both primary and secondary data. FBO advice, rice farming experience and distance from farming communities to input markets increase farmers’ adoption of only FISs. Factors that increase farmers’ probability of adopting only IATs are access to extension advice, credit, improved seeds and contract farming. Farmers located in CSZ have higher probability of adopting only IATs than their counterparts living in other agro-ecological zones. Age and access to input subsidy increase the probability of jointly adopting FISs and IATs. FISs and IATs have heterogeneous impact on rice yield with adoption of only IATs having the highest impact followed by joint adoption of FISs and IATs. It is important for stakeholders in rice subsector to champion the provision of improved rice seeds, the intensification of agricultural extension services and contract farming concept. Researchers should endeavour to researched into FISs.Keywords: farmer innovation systems, improved agricultural technologies, multinomial endogenous switching regression, treatment effect
Procedia PDF Downloads 425968 Biochar as a Strong Adsorbent for Multiple-Metal Removal from Contaminated Water
Authors: Eman H. El-Gamal, Mai E. Khedr, Randa Ghonim, Mohamed Rashad
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In the past few years, biochar - a highly carbon-rich material produced from agro-wastes by pyrolysis process - was used as an effective adsorbent for heavy metals removal from polluted water. In this study, different types of biochar (rice straw 'RSB', corn cob 'CCB', and Jatropha shell 'JSB' were used to evaluate the adsorption capacity of heavy metals removal from multiple-metal solutions (Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cd). Kinetics modeling has been examined to illustrate potential adsorption mechanisms. The results showed that the potential removal of metal is dependent on the metal and biochar types. The adsorption capacity of the biochars followed the order: RSB > JSB > CCB. In general, RSB and JSB biochars presented high potential removal of heavy metals from polluted water, which was higher than 90 and 80% after 2 hrs of contact time for all metals, respectively. According to the kinetics data, the pseudo-second-order model was agreed strongly with Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cd adsorption onto the biochars (R2 ≥ 0.97), indicating the dominance of specific adsorption process, i.e., chemisorption. In conclusion, this study revealed that RSB and JSB biochar have the potential to be a strong adsorbent for multiple-metal removal from wastewater.Keywords: adsorption, biochar, chemisorption, polluted water
Procedia PDF Downloads 150967 Analysis of Artificial Hip Joint Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Syed Zameer, Mohamed Haneef
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Hip joint plays very important role in human beings as it takes up the whole body forces generated due to various activities. These loads are repetitive and fluctuating depending on the activities such as standing, sitting, jogging, stair casing, climbing, etc. which may lead to failure of Hip joint. Hip joint modification and replacement are common in old aged persons as well as younger persons. In this research study static and Fatigue analysis of Hip joint model was carried out using finite element software ANSYS. Stress distribution obtained from result of static analysis, material properties and S-N curve data of fabricated Ultra High molecular weight polyethylene / 50 wt% short E glass fibres + 40 wt% TiO2 Polymer matrix composites specimens were used to estimate fatigue life of Hip joint using stiffness Degradation model for polymer matrix composites. The stress distribution obtained from static analysis was found to be within the acceptable range.The factor of safety calculated from linear Palmgren linear damage rule is less than one, which indicates the component is safe under the design.Keywords: hip joint, polymer matrix composite, static analysis, fatigue analysis, stress life approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 356966 Morphological Comparison of the Gustatory Papillae of New Zealand White Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Egyptian Fruit Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) Using Scanning Electron Microscopic Examinations
Authors: Mohamed Abumandour
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This research presents a comparison of the morphological structure of the gustatory papillae in New Zealand white rabbits as domestic mammals and Egyptian fruit bats as wild mammals. In this study, the tongues of adult healthy New Zealand white rabbits and Egyptian fruit bats of both sexes were used. In the New Zealand white rabbits, there are three types of the gustatory papillae; fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae while the Egyptian fruit bats tongue contain only two types; fungiform and circumvallate papillae. In New Zealand white rabbits, there only one subtype is the round shape fungiform papillae while in Egyptian fruit bats, there are two subtypes; small rectangular fungiform papillae and large round fungiform papillae. In New Zealand white rabbits, there only two circumvallate papillae while in Egyptian fruit bats, there are three papillae. The shape, size, number, and distribution of the lingual papillae were varied according to their location within the tongue (region-specific) in relation to the feeding habits, strategies for obtaining food, climate conditions, and types of food particles.Keywords: morphology, circumvallate papillae, fungiform papillae, foliate papillae
Procedia PDF Downloads 240965 The Implementation of the Multi-Agent Classification System (MACS) in Compliance with FIPA Specifications
Authors: Mohamed R. Mhereeg
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The paper discusses the implementation of the MultiAgent classification System (MACS) and utilizing it to provide an automated and accurate classification of end users developing applications in the spreadsheet domain. However, different technologies have been brought together to build MACS. The strength of the system is the integration of the agent technology with the FIPA specifications together with other technologies, which are the .NET widows service based agents, the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Oracle Data Mining (ODM). Microsoft's .NET windows service based agents were utilized to develop the monitoring agents of MACS, the .NET WCF services together with SOA approach allowed the distribution and communication between agents over the WWW. The Monitoring Agents (MAs) were configured to execute automatically to monitor excel spreadsheets development activities by content. Data gathered by the Monitoring Agents from various resources over a period of time was collected and filtered by a Database Updater Agent (DUA) residing in the .NET client application of the system. This agent then transfers and stores the data in Oracle server database via Oracle stored procedures for further processing that leads to the classification of the end user developers.Keywords: MACS, implementation, multi-agent, SOA, autonomous, WCF
Procedia PDF Downloads 274964 Real Time Lidar and Radar High-Level Fusion for Obstacle Detection and Tracking with Evaluation on a Ground Truth
Authors: Hatem Hajri, Mohamed-Cherif Rahal
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Both Lidars and Radars are sensors for obstacle detection. While Lidars are very accurate on obstacles positions and less accurate on their velocities, Radars are more precise on obstacles velocities and less precise on their positions. Sensor fusion between Lidar and Radar aims at improving obstacle detection using advantages of the two sensors. The present paper proposes a real-time Lidar/Radar data fusion algorithm for obstacle detection and tracking based on the global nearest neighbour standard filter (GNN). This algorithm is implemented and embedded in an automative vehicle as a component generated by a real-time multisensor software. The benefits of data fusion comparing with the use of a single sensor are illustrated through several tracking scenarios (on a highway and on a bend) and using real-time kinematic sensors mounted on the ego and tracked vehicles as a ground truth.Keywords: ground truth, Hungarian algorithm, lidar Radar data fusion, global nearest neighbor filter
Procedia PDF Downloads 171963 Life Cycle Cost Evaluation of Structures Retrofitted with Damped Cable System
Authors: Asad Naeem, Mohamed Nour Eldin, Jinkoo Kim
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In this study, the seismic performance and life cycle cost (LCC) are evaluated of the structure retrofitted with the damped cable system (DCS). The DCS is a seismic retrofit system composed of a high-strength steel cable and pressurized viscous dampers. The analysis model of the system is first derived using various link elements in SAP2000, and fragility curves of the structure retrofitted with the DCS and viscous dampers are obtained using incremental dynamic analyses. The analysis results show that the residual displacements of the structure equipped with the DCS are smaller than those of the structure with retrofitted with only conventional viscous dampers, due to the enhanced stiffness/strength and self-centering capability of the damped cable system. The fragility analysis shows that the structure retrofitted with the DCS has the least probability of reaching the specific limit states compared to the bare structure and the structure with viscous damper. It is also observed that the initial cost of the DCS method required for the seismic retrofit is smaller than that of the structure with viscous dampers and that the LCC of the structure equipped with the DCS is smaller than that of the structure with viscous dampers.Keywords: damped cable system, fragility curve, life cycle cost, seismic retrofit, self-centering
Procedia PDF Downloads 550962 The Ideology of the Jordanian Media Women’s Discourse: Lana Mamkgh as an Example
Authors: Amani Hassan Abu Atieh
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This study aims at examining the patterns of ideology reflected in the written discourse of women writers in the media of Jordan; Lana Mamkgh is taken as an example. This study critically analyzes the discursive, linguistic, and cognitive representations that she employs as an agent in the institutionalized discourse of the media. Grounded in van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis approach to Sociocognitive Discourse Studies, the present study builds a multilayer framework that encompasses van Dijk’s triangle: discourse, society, and cognition. Specifically, the study attempts to analyze, at both micro and macro levels, the underlying cognitive processes and structures, mainly ideology and discursive strategies, which are functional in the production of women’s discourse in terms of meaning, forms, and functions. Cognitive processes that social actors adopt are underlined by experience/context and semantic mental models on the one hand and social cognition on the other. This study is based on qualitative research and adopts purposive sampling, taking as an example a sample of an opinion article written by Lana Mamkgh in the Arabic Jordanian Daily, Al Rai. Taking her role as an agent in the public sphere, she stresses the National and feminist ideologies, demonstrating the use of assertive, evaluative, and expressive linguistic and rhetorical devices that appeal to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the addressee. Highlighting the agency of Jordanian writers in the media, the study sought to achieve the macro goal of dispensing political and social justice to the underprivileged. Further, the study seeks to prove that the voice of Jordanian women, viewed as underrepresented and invisible in the public arena, has come through clearly.Keywords: critical discourse analysis, sociocognitive theory, ideology, women discourse, media
Procedia PDF Downloads 108961 TAXAPRO, A Streamlined Pipeline to Analyze Shotgun Metagenomes
Authors: Sofia Sehli, Zainab El Ouafi, Casey Eddington, Soumaya Jbara, Kasambula Arthur Shem, Islam El Jaddaoui, Ayorinde Afolayan, Olaitan I. Awe, Allissa Dillman, Hassan Ghazal
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The ability to promptly sequence whole genomes at a relatively low cost has revolutionized the way we study the microbiome. Microbiologists are no longer limited to studying what can be grown in a laboratory and instead are given the opportunity to rapidly identify the makeup of microbial communities in a wide variety of environments. Analyzing whole genome sequencing (WGS) data is a complex process that involves multiple moving parts and might be rather unintuitive for scientists that don’t typically work with this type of data. Thus, to help lower the barrier for less-computationally inclined individuals, TAXAPRO was developed at the first Omics Codeathon held virtually by the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB) in June 2021. TAXAPRO is an advanced metagenomics pipeline that accurately assembles organelle genomes from whole-genome sequencing data. TAXAPRO seamlessly combines WGS analysis tools to create a pipeline that automatically processes raw WGS data and presents organism abundance information in both a tabular and graphical format. TAXAPRO was evaluated using COVID-19 patient gut microbiome data. Analysis performed by TAXAPRO demonstrated a high abundance of Clostridia and Bacteroidia genera and a low abundance of Proteobacteria genera relative to others in the gut microbiome of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, consistent with the original findings derived using a different analysis methodology. This provides crucial evidence that the TAXAPRO workflow dispenses reliable organism abundance information overnight without the hassle of performing the analysis manually.Keywords: metagenomics, shotgun metagenomic sequence analysis, COVID-19, pipeline, bioinformatics
Procedia PDF Downloads 220960 Gamma Irradiation Effect on Structural and Optical Properties of Bismuth-Boro-Tellurite Glasses
Authors: Azuraida Amat, Halimah Mohamed Kamari, Che Azurahanim Che Abdullah, Ishak Mansor
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The changes of the optical and structural properties of Bismuth-Boro-Tellurite glasses pre and post gamma irradiation were studied. Six glass samples, with different compositions [(TeO2)0.7 (B2O3)0.3]1-x (Bi2O3)x prepared by melt quenching method were irradiated with 25kGy gamma radiation at room temperature. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to explore the structural bonding in the prepared glass samples due to exposure, while UV-VIS Spectrophotometer was used to evaluate the changes in the optical properties before and after irradiation. Gamma irradiation causes a profound changes in the peak intensity as shown by FTIR spectra which is due to the breaking of the network bonding. Before gamma irradiation, the optical band gap, Eg value decreased from 2.44 eV to 2.15 eV with the addition of Bismuth content. The value kept decreasing (from 2.18 eV to 2.00 eV) following exposure to gamma radiation due to the increase of non-bridging oxygen (NBO) and the increase of defects in the glass. In conclusion, the glass with high content of Bi2O3 (0.30Bi) give the smallest Eg and show less changes in FTIR spectra after gamma irradiation, which indicate that this glass is more resistant to gamma radiation compared to other glasses.Keywords: boro-tellurite, bismuth, gamma radiation, optical properties
Procedia PDF Downloads 427959 Goblet cells and Mucin Related Gene Expression in Mice Infected with Eimeria papillata
Authors: Mohamed A. Dkhil, Denis Delic, Saleh Al-Quraishy
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Coccidiosis causes considerable economic loss in the poultry industry. The current study aimed to investigate the response of goblet cells as well as the induced tissue damage during Eimeria papilata infection. Mice were infected with sporulated E. papillata oocyts. On day 5 post-infection, the fecal output was determined. Also, the jejunum was prepared for the histological, histochemical and molecular studies. Our results revealed that the intestinal coccidian infection with E. papillata induced a marked goblet cell hypoplasia and depleted mucus secretion. Also, the infection was able to alter the jejuna architecture and increased the apoptotic cells inside the villi. In addition, the real time PCR results indicated that, the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, iNOS, IFN-y and IL-1β were significantly up-regulated. In contrast, the mRNA expression patterns of IL-6 in response to E. papillata infection did not differ significantly between control and infected mice. Moreover, the mRNA expression of TLR4 was significantly up-regulated, whereas the expression of MUC2 is significantly down-regulated upon infection. Further studies are required to understand the regulatory mechanisms of goblet cells related genes.Keywords: goblet cells, Eimeria papillata, mice, jejunum
Procedia PDF Downloads 275958 Sliding Mode Control of Variable Speed Wind Energy Conversion Systems
Authors: Zine Souhila Rached, Mazari Benyounes Bouzid, Mohamed Amine, Allaoui Tayeb
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Wind energy has many advantages, it does not pollute and it is an inexhaustible source. However, its high cost is a major constraint, especially on the less windy sites. The purpose of wind energy systems is to maximize energy efficiency, and extract maximum power from the wind speed. In other words, having a power coefficient is maximum and therefore the maximum power point tracking. In this case, the MPPT control becomes important.To realize this control, strategy conventional proportional and integral (PI) controller is usually used. However, this strategy cannot achieve better performance. This paper proposes a robust control of a turbine which optimizes its production, that is improve the quality and energy efficiency, namely, a strategy of sliding mode control. The proposed sliding mode control strategy presents attractive features such as robustness to parametric uncertainties of the turbine; the proposed sliding mode control approach has been simulated on three-blade wind turbine. The simulation result under Matlab\Simulink has validated the performance of the proposed MPPT strategy.Keywords: wind turbine, maximum power point tracking, sliding mode, energy conversion systems
Procedia PDF Downloads 611957 Practical Ways to Acquire the Arabic Language through Electronic Means
Authors: Hondozi Jahja
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There is an obvious need to learn Arabic language and teach it to other speakers through the new curricula. The idea is to bridge the gap between theory and practice. To that end, we have sought to offer some means of help to master the Arabic language, in addition to our efforts to apply these means, enriching the culture of the student and develop his vocabulary. There is no doubt that taking care of the practical aspect of the grammar was our constant goal, and this particular aspect is what builds the student’s positive values and refine his taste and develop his language. In addressing these issues, we have adopted a school-based approach based primarily on the active and positive participation of the student. The theoretical linguistic issues - in our opinion - are not a primary goal, but the goal is to be used them by students through speaking and applying them. Among the objectives of this research is to establish the basic language skills of the students using new means that help the student to acquire these skills and apply them in various subjects of interest in his progress and development. Unfortunately, some of our students consider the grammar as ‘difficult’, ‘complex’ and ‘heavy’ in itself. This is one of the obstacles that stand in the way of their desired results. As a consequence, they end up talking – mumbling - about the difficulties they face in applying those rules. Therefore, some of our students finish their university studies and are unable to express what they feel using language correctly. For this purpose, we have sought in this research to follow a new integrated approach, which is to study the grammar of the language through modern means of the consolidation of the principle of functional language, and that the rule implies to control tongues and linguistic expressions properly. This research is a result of a practical experience as a teacher of Arabic language for non-native speakers at the ‘Hassan Pristina’ University, located in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo and at the Qatar Training Center since its establishment in 2012.Keywords: arabic, applied methods, acquire, learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 158956 Improving Monitoring and Fault Detection of Solar Panels Using Arduino Mega in WSN
Authors: Ali Al-Dahoud, Mohamed Fezari, Thamer Al-Rawashdeh, Ismail Jannoud
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Monitoring and detecting faults on a set of Solar panels, using a wireless sensor network (WNS) is our contribution in this paper, This work is part of the project we are working on at Al-Zaytoonah University. The research problem has been exposed by engineers and technicians or operators dealing with PV panels maintenance, in order to monitor and detect faults within solar panels which affect considerably the energy produced by the solar panels. The proposed solution is based on installing WSN nodes with appropriate sensors for more often occurred faults on the 45 solar panels installed on the roof of IT faculty. A simulation has been done on nodes distribution and a study for the design of a node with appropriate sensors taking into account the priorities of the processing faults. Finally, a graphic user interface is designed and adapted to telemonitoring panels using WSN. The primary tests of hardware implementation gave interesting results, the sensors calibration and interference transmission problem have been solved. A friendly GUI using high level language Visial Basic was developed to carry out the monitoring process and to save data on Exel File.Keywords: Arduino Mega microcnotroller, solar panels, fault-detection, simulation, node design
Procedia PDF Downloads 465955 The Co-Simulation Interface SystemC/Matlab Applied in JPEG and SDR Application
Authors: Walid Hassairi, Moncef Bousselmi, Mohamed Abid
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Functional verification is a major part of today’s system design task. Several approaches are available for verification on a high abstraction level, where designs are often modeled using MATLAB/Simulink. However, different approaches are a barrier to a unified verification flow. In this paper, we propose a co-simulation interface between SystemC and MATLAB and Simulink to enable functional verification of multi-abstraction levels designs. The resulting verification flow is tested on JPEG compression algorithm. The required synchronization of both simulation environments, as well as data type conversion is solved using the proposed co-simulation flow. We divided into two encoder jpeg parts. First implemented in SystemC which is the DCT is representing the HW part. Second, consisted of quantization and entropy encoding which is implemented in Matlab is the SW part. For communication and synchronization between these two parts we use S-Function and engine in Simulink matlab. With this research premise, this study introduces a new implementation of a Hardware SystemC of DCT. We compare the result of our simulation compared to SW / SW. We observe a reduction in simulation time you have 88.15% in JPEG and the design efficiency of the supply design is 90% in SDR.Keywords: hardware/software, co-design, co-simulation, systemc, matlab, s-function, communication, synchronization
Procedia PDF Downloads 405954 Investigating the Suitability of Utilizing Lyophilized Gels to Improve the Stability of Ufasomes
Authors: Mona Hassan Aburahma, Alaa Hamed Salama
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Ufasomes “unsaturated fatty acids liposomes” are unique nano-sized self-assembled bilayered vesicles that can be easily created from the readily available unsaturated fatty acid. Ufasomes are formed due to weak associative interaction of the fully ionized and unionized fatty acids into bilayers structures. In the ufasomes constructs, the fatty acid molecules are oriented with their hydrocarbon tails directed toward the membrane interior and the carboxyl groups are in contact with water. Although ufasomes can be employed as a safe vesicular carrier for drugs, the extreme instability of their aqueous dispersions hinders their effective use in drug delivery field. Accordingly, in our study, lyophilized gels containing ufasomes were prepared using a simple assembling technique form the readily available oleic acid to overcome the colloidal instability of the ufasomes dispersions and convert them into accurate unit dosage forms. The influence of changing cholesterol percentage relative to oleic acid on the ufasomes vesicles were investigated using factorial design. The optimized oleic acid ufasomes comprised nanoscaled spherical vesicles. Scanning electron micrographs of the lyophilized gels revealed that the included ufasomes were intact, non-aggregating, and preserved their spherical morphology. Rheological characterization (viscosity and shear stress versus shear rate) of reconstituted ufasomal lyophilized gel ensured the ease of application. The capability of the ufasomes, included in the gel, to penetrate deep through the mucosa layers was illustrated using ex-vivo confocal laser imaging, thereby, highlighting the feasibility of stabilizing ufasomes using lyophilized gel platforms.Keywords: ufasomes, lyophilized gel, confocal scanning microscopy, rheological characterization, oleic acid
Procedia PDF Downloads 408953 A Study on Earthquake Activities and Tectonic Setting in the Northeastern Part of Egypt
Authors: Sayed Abdallah Mohamed Dahy
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Northeastern part of Egypt is considered one of the few regions of the world whereas evidence of historical activities has been documented during the last 48 centuries or more. Instrumental, historical and pre-historical seismicity data indicate that large destructive earthquakes have occurred quite frequently in the investigated area. The main aims in the present study were to redraw attention to the fact that the northeastern part of Egypt is seismically active and this result is associated with earthquake risk in the region. The interaction of the African, Arabian and Eurasian plates and Sinai subplate, is the main factor behind the earthquake activities of northeastern part of Egypt. All earthquakes occur at shallow depth and are concentrated at four seismic zones, these zones including the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, around the entrance of the Gulf of Suez and the fourth one is located at the south-west of great Cairo (Dahshour area). The seismicity map of the previous zones shows that the activity is coincide with the major tectonic trends of the Suez rift, Aqaba rift with their connection with the great rift system of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez-Cairo-Alexandria trend.Keywords: earthquake ectivities, Egypt, northeastern, tectonic setting
Procedia PDF Downloads 400952 Acceptance of Health Information Application in Smart National Identity Card (SNIC) Using a New I-P Framework
Authors: Ismail Bile Hassan, Masrah Azrifah Azmi Murad
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This study discovers a novel framework of individual level technology adoption known as I-P (Individual- Privacy) towards Smart National Identity Card health information application. Many countries introduced smart national identity card (SNIC) with various applications such as health information application embedded inside it. However, the degree to which citizens accept and use some of the embedded applications in smart national identity remains unknown to many governments and application providers as well. Moreover, the previous studies revealed that the factors of trust, perceived risk, privacy concern and perceived credibility need to be incorporated into more comprehensive models such as extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology known as UTAUT2. UTAUT2 is a mainly widespread and leading theory existing in the information system literature up to now. This research identifies factors affecting the citizens’ behavioural intention to use health information application embedded in SNIC and extends better understanding on the relevant factors that the government and the application providers would need to consider in predicting citizens’ new technology acceptance in the future. We propose a conceptual framework by combining the UTAUT2 and Privacy Calculus Model constructs and also adding perceived credibility as a new variable. The proposed framework may provide assistance to any government planning, decision, and policy makers involving e-government projects. The empirical study may be conducted in the future to provide proof and empirically validate this I-P framework.Keywords: unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, UTAUT2 model, smart national identity card (SNIC), health information application, privacy calculus model (PCM)
Procedia PDF Downloads 467951 Improvement of Bone Scintography Image Using Image Texture Analysis
Authors: Yousif Mohamed Y. Abdallah, Eltayeb Wagallah
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Image enhancement allows the observer to see details in images that may not be immediately observable in the original image. Image enhancement is the transformation or mapping of one image to another. The enhancement of certain features in images is accompanied by undesirable effects. To achieve maximum image quality after denoising, a new, low order, local adaptive Gaussian scale mixture model and median filter were presented, which accomplishes nonlinearities from scattering a new nonlinear approach for contrast enhancement of bones in bone scan images using both gamma correction and negative transform methods. The usual assumption of a distribution of gamma and Poisson statistics only lead to overestimation of the noise variance in regions of low intensity but to underestimation in regions of high intensity and therefore to non-optional results. The contrast enhancement results were obtained and evaluated using MatLab program in nuclear medicine images of the bones. The optimal number of bins, in particular the number of gray-levels, is chosen automatically using entropy and average distance between the histogram of the original gray-level distribution and the contrast enhancement function’s curve.Keywords: bone scan, nuclear medicine, Matlab, image processing technique
Procedia PDF Downloads 506950 The Influence of National Culture on Consumer Buying Behaviour: An Exploratory Study of Nigerian and British Consumers
Authors: Mohamed Haffar, Lombe Ngome Enongene, Mohammed Hamdan, Gbolahan Gbadamosi
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Despite the considerable body of literature investigating the influence of National Culture (NC) dimensions on consumer behaviour, there is a lack of studies comparing the influence of NC in Africa with Western European countries. This study is intended to fill the vacuum in knowledge by exploring how NC affects consumer buyer behavior in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. The primary data were collected through in depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with three groups of individuals: British students, Nigerian students in the United Kingdom, and Nigerian-based students. This approach and new frontier to analyze culture and consumer behaviour could help understand residual cultural threads of people (that are ingrained in their being) irrespective of exposure to other cultures. The findings of this study show that Nigerian and British consumers differ remarkably in cultural orientations such as symbols, values and psychological standpoints. This ultimately affects the choices made at every stage of the decision building process, and proves beneficial for international retail marketing.Keywords: national culture, consumer behaviour, international business, Nigeria
Procedia PDF Downloads 279949 Strengthening the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Shafallah Foundation as a Model
Authors: Osman Mohamed
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Over the past two decades, the global interest in the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) has increased that resulted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPWDs). In this regard, the Gulf States have witnessed remarkable efforts towards strengthening the rights of persons with disabilities, including enactment of laws and establishment of specialized government councils for the Persons with Disabilities. This study aims to highlight the efforts of Shafallah Foundation in strengthening the rights of persons with disabilities as a model for the Gulf States. The researcher will conduct interviews with officials at Shafallah Foundation, some persons with disabilities who have benefited from the Foundation's programmes, officials from government agencies related to Persons with disabilities. The study is expected to reveal the role of Shafallah Foundation in implementing the UNCRPWDs through its programmes and activities as well as an overview of the situation of the rights of PWDs in the Gulf States. The study is important for stakeholders, decision-makers, policy-makers, academics, and the disability’s organizations.Keywords: GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council, Shafallah Foundation, UNCRPWDs, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, PWDs, persons with disabilities
Procedia PDF Downloads 200