Search results for: Rashid Ahmad

Authors: Jamaluddin Abd Rashid, Aris Abdul Rahman

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Mobile phones have become the most popular way to communicate with other individuals and it has created an unspoken social dependency. Making phone calls, instant messaging, playing online games and accessing the Internet are among the features added to a mobile phone, attracting teenagers to spend more hours fixated on their gadgets. As such, this study attempted to examine the frequency of time spent on mobile phones and how this influenced academic performance. A quantitative methodology was applied in this study, where face to face survey through the distribution of questionnaires was facilitated onto a group of 200 secondary school students from the Shah Alam community in Selangor,Malaysia. Both genders, male and females were assessed equally to find out if there exists a correlation between genders when measuring higher or lower frequency of attachment to mobile phones. It can also be seen that 100% correspondents have a mobile phone in their possession. The adolescents uses mobile phones daily, which shows students being somewhat addicted, as they tend to feel that it is necessary to use a mobile phone. The main findings of this research found out that, students that are mobile phone addictive received a lower grade in schools. Mobile phone addiction does affect academic performance negatively. As this study discusses the modern-day phenomenon, it is hoped that the findings and discussion could add to present literary works and help future researchers understand the relationship between mobile phone addiction and academic performance.

Keywords: academic performance, mobile phone addiction, social media, student

Procedia PDF Downloads 350

Authors: Shehzad Khan, Jehangir Khan, Shah Babar, Rashid Mahmood, Rizwan Khan, Sanya Hadi

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Ascaris lumbricoides are familiar with the roundworm that causes biliary infections in humans. Nevertheless, ascariasis is primarily found in the jejunum and transferred in numerous body parts with the intake of Ascaris lumbricoides present in food and water. These study methods were implemented at the Saidu Teaching Hospital Radiology Department from December 2021 to January 2023. This study includes the participants suffering from biliary ascariasis admitted or visited Saidu Teaching Hospital in that time frame. Clinical assessment of the participants was done based on the appearance of signs and symptoms present in them. The participant's laboratory test was done to determine the level of basic body parameters. After that ultrasonography was used to diagnose the presence and appearance of worms. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was used to extract worms from biliary channels, and the incidence of post-ERCP biliary ascariasis was accessed with ultrasonography. This study's results show the presence of numerous types of worms in the biliary channels of patients. Also, the level of body parameters, for instance, neutrophil, hemoglobin, and others, were compared at the time of admission and at the time of discharge from the hospital. Furthermore, the incidence of post-ERCP biliary ascariasis was reported as 4% in females, and 1% in males, respectively.

Keywords: Ascaris, biliary, ERCP, ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Gholamreza Nuei, Faisal Ahmad Shah

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The way religion defines people’s identity is quite important in the majority of Muslim countries. Yet, in most such countries the number of Muslims converting to other religions is not documented. The present research investigates a population of Iranians who have converted to Christianity and live in Malaysia. This article focuses on this subgroup of ex-Muslims with the aim of providing a window into how they experience and justify their conversion. The data was collected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was carried out through in-depth interviews with 13 people; also 45 people answered a questionnaire (quantitative). The research findings revealed some of the typical religious, social and personal reasons behind the conversion of this group of "ex-Muslims".

Keywords: conversion from Islam to Christianity, apostasy, Iran, Malaysia

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Authors: Homayon Ahmad Panahi, Amir Hesam Hassani, Akram Torki, Elham Moniri

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A new sorbent was synthesized through chemical modification of clinoptilolite zeolite using 2-naphtol, and characterized with fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis methods and applied for the removal and elimination of trace naphthalene from water samples. The optimum pH value for sorption of the naphthalene by modified zeolite was in acidic pH. The sorption capacity of modified zeolite was 142 mg. g−1. Isotherm models, Langmuir, Frendlich and Temkin were employed to analyze the adsorption capacity of modified zeolite, which revealed that naphthalene adsorption by this zeolite follows Langmuir model.

Keywords: zeolite, clinoptilolite, modification, naphthalene

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Authors: Ruchi Pathania, Ahmad Ahmad, Shireesh Srivastava

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Cyanobacteria is a promising microbe that can capture and convert atmospheric CO₂ and light into valuable industrial bio-products like biofuels, biodegradable plastics, etc. Among their most attractive traits are faster autotrophic growth, whole year cultivation using non-arable land, high photosynthetic activity, much greater biomass and productivity and easy for genetic manipulations. Cyanobacteria store carbon in the form of glycogen which can be hydrolyzed to release glucose and fermented to form bioethanol or other valuable products. Marine cyanobacterial species are especially attractive for countries with scarcity of freshwater. We recently identified a marine native cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. BDU 130192 which has good growth rate and high level of polyglucans accumulation compared to Synechococcus PCC 7002. In this study, firstly we sequenced the whole genome and the sequences were annotated using the RAST server. Genome scale metabolic model (GSMM) was reconstructed through COBRA toolbox. GSMM is a computational representation of the metabolic reactions and metabolites of the target strain. GSMMs construction through the application of Flux Balance Analysis (FBA), which uses external nutrient uptake rates and estimate steady state intracellular and extracellular reaction fluxes, including maximization of cell growth. The model, which we have named isyn942, includes 942 reactions and 913 metabolites having 831 metabolic, 78 transport and 33 exchange reactions. The phylogenetic tree obtained by BLAST search revealed that the strain was a close relative of Synechococcus PCC 7002. The flux balance analysis (FBA) was applied on the model iSyn942 to predict the theoretical yields (mol product produced/mol CO₂ consumed) for native and non-native products like acetone, butanol, etc. under phototrophic condition by applying metabolic engineering strategies. The reported strain can be a viable strain for biotechnological applications, and the model will be helpful to researchers interested in understanding the metabolism as well as to design metabolic engineering strategies for enhanced production of various bioproducts.

Keywords: cyanobacteria, flux balance analysis, genome scale metabolic model, metabolic engineering

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Authors: H. Ahmad Raji, R. Ziaie Moayed, M. A. Nozari

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Xanthan gum (XG) an eco-friendly biopolymer has been recently explicitly investigated for ground improvement approaches. Rheological behavior of this additive strongly depends on electrochemical condition such as pH, ionic strength and also its content in aqueous solution. So, the effects of these factors have been studied in this paper considering various XG contents as 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2% of water. Moreover, adjusting pH values such as 3, 5, 7 and 9 in addition to increasing ionic strength to 0.1 and 0.2 in the molar scale has covered a practical range of electrochemical condition. The viscosity of grouts shows an apparent upward trend with an increase in ionic strength and XG content. Also, pH affects the polymerization as much as other parameters. As a result, XG behavior is severely influenced by electrochemical settings

Keywords: electrochemical condition, ionic strength, viscosity, xhanthan gum

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Zunnurain Ahmad

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This work presents design of a dual band antenna for the 5G communications in the millimeter wave band. As opposed to conventional patch antennas which are limited to single narrow band operation a shared aperture concept is utilized for this antenna. The patch aperture is coupled through two rectangular slots etched on a thin printed circuit board (100μm). The patch is elevated in air thus avoiding excitation of surface waves and minimizing dielectric losses at millimeter wave frequencies. With this approach the radiator can cover lower band of 28 GHz and upper band of 37/ 39 GHz dedicated for the fifth generation communications. The simulated radiation efficiency of the antenna stays above 90%.

Keywords: antenna, millimeter wave, 5G, 3D

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Authors: Khalid Al-Tahat, Khaled Zuhair Mahmoud, Ahmad Al-Mughrabi

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This paper proposes a novel methodology for enabling debugging and tracing of production web applications without affecting its normal flow and functionality. This method of debugging enables developers and maintenance engineers to replace a set of existing resources such as images, server side scripts, cascading style sheets with another set of resources per web session. The new resources will only be active in the debug session and other sessions will not be affected. This methodology will help developers in tracing defects, especially those that appear only in production environments and in exploring the behaviour of the system. A realization of the proposed methodology has been implemented in Java.

Keywords: live debugging, web application, web resources, inconsistent bugs, tracing

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Authors: Ahmad Sabry Mohamad, Kai F. Hoettges, Michael Pycraft Hughes

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This study investigates nanowires using Dielectrophoresis (DEP) in non-aqueous suspension of Tin (IV) Oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles dispersed in N,N-dimenthylformamide (DMF). The self assembly of nanowires in DEP impedance spectroscopy can be determined. In this work, dielectrophoretic method was used to measure non-organic molecules for estimating the permittivity and conductivity characteristic of the nanowires. As in aqueous such as salt solution has been dominating the transport of SnO2, which are the wire growth threshold, depend on applied voltage. While DEP assembly of nanowires depend on applied frequency, the applications of dielectrophoretic collection are measured using impedance spectroscopy.

Keywords: dielectrophoresis, impedance spectroscopy, nanowires, N, N-dimenthylformamide, SnO2

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Authors: Teguh Sugiarto, Ahmad Subagyo, Ludiro Madu, Amir Mohammadian Amiri

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Recently, the significant fluctuations accosiated with Indonesian economy justifies the need for paying more attention to this issue. In this regard, the main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between two issues related to the macro Indonesia economy called consumption and GDP during the period of 1967 to 2014. This research method exploits short term and long term relationships using Granger and subsequently, models them by the causality method . However, using analysis of Granger with Johansen shows that there is not only a long term, but also a short-long relationship between GDP and consumption using lags the interval 5.

Keywords: cointegration, Granger causality, GDP, consumption

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Authors: M. Abdur Rashid Sarkar, Riffat Mahmud

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Boiling heat transfer plays a crucial role in cooling nuclear reactor for safe electricity generation. A two phase flow is susceptible to thermal-hydrodynamic instabilities, which may cause flow oscillations of constant amplitude or diverging amplitude. These oscillations may induce boiling crisis, disturb control systems, or cause mechanical damage. Based on their mechanisms, various types of instabilities can be classified for a nuclear reactor. From a practical engineering point of view one of the major design difficulties in dealing with multiphase flow is that the mass, momentum, and energy transfer rates and processes may be quite sensitive to the geometric configuration of the heat transfer surface. Moreover, the flow within each phase or component will clearly depend on that geometric configuration. The complexity of this two-way coupling presents a major challenge in the study of multiphase flows and there is much that remains to be done. Yet, the parametric effects on flow instability such as the effect of aspect ratio, pressure drop, channel length, its orientation inlet subcooling and surface roughness etc. have been analyzed. Another frequently occurring instability, known as the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability has been briefly reviewed. Various analytical techniques for predicting parametric effect on the instability are analyzed in terms of their applicability and accuracy.

Keywords: two phase flows, boiling crisis, thermal-hydrodynamic instabilities, water cooled nuclear reactors, kelvin–helmholtz instability

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Authors: Vahid Hosseinzadeh

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Salafism is a movement of thought-religion that was born into Sunni Islam and Hanbali sect. However, many groups and different attitudes call themselves Salafis, but they all have common characteristics, the main of which is radical and retrograde interpretation of Islamic sources. Taqi Ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah in the Muslim world was the first thinker who established these thoughts. The authors of this article initially tried to express the meaning of Salafism and its appellation in order to focus on the beliefs and thoughts of Ibn Taymiyyah. In this way, it was tried to extract the intellectual foundations of Ibn Taymiyya from the literature and scientific works of his own using a descriptive-analytical method. Extreme focus on the appearance of Quranic phrases and opposition to any new thing that did not exist in Qur'an, Sunnah and the first 3 centuries of Islam, are among the central feature of his thoughts.

Keywords: Salafism, Ibn Taymiyyah, radical literalism, monotheism, polytheism, takfir

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Authors: Ahmad Alwosheel, Ahmed Alqaraawi

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This work proposes an unsupervised text-independent probabilistic approach to recognize Quran reciter voice. It is an accurate approach that works on real time applications. This approach does not require a prior information about reciter models. It has two phases, where in the training phase the reciters' acoustical features are modeled using Gaussian Mixture Models, while in the testing phase, unlabeled reciter's acoustical features are examined among GMM models. Using this approach, a high accuracy results are achieved with efficient computation time process.

Keywords: Quran, speaker recognition, reciter recognition, Gaussian Mixture Model

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Authors: Ahmad Saleem

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Ethereum is the second largest crypto currency in blockchain ecosystem. Along with standard transactions, it supports smart contracts and NFT’s. Current research trends are focused on analyzing the overall structure of the network its growth and behavior. Ethereum addresses are anonymous and can be created on fly. The nature of Ethereum network and addresses make it hard to predict their behavior. The activity period of an ethereum address is not much analyzed. Using machine learning we can make early prediction about the disposability of the address. In this paper we analyzed the lifetime of the addresses. We also identified and predicted the disposable addresses using machine learning models and compared the results.

Keywords: blockchain, Ethereum, cryptocurrency, prediction

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Authors: Ahmad Almutairi

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Kuwait lies to the northwest of the Arabian Gulf. The levels of radionuclides are unknown in this area. Radionuclide like ²¹⁰Po, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁹⁰Sr accumulated in certain body tissues and bones, relate primarily to dietary uptake and inhalation. A large fraction of radiation exposure experienced by individuals comes from food chain transfer. In this study, some types of Kuwait fish were studied for radionuclide determination. These fish were taken from the Kuwaiti water territory during May. The study is to determine the radiation exposure for ²¹⁰Po in some fish species in Kuwait the ²¹⁰Po concentration was found to be between 0.089 and 2.544 Bq/kg the highs was in Zubaidy and the lowest was in Hamour.

Keywords: the radionuclide, radiation exposure, fish species, Zubaida, Hamour

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Authors: Alireza Sohrabi, Hamid Mohammadi

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The pistachio fruit is a strategic product in Iran. One of the problems caused the reduction of pistachio proceeds is related to biennial- bearing or alternative bearing. Biennial- bearing is very important and is happened because of the fallen female bloom buds in vintage year. This test was done according to random blocks of 6 orchards in the type of Ahmad Aghaie with 4 iterations. Vegetative properties of branch are investigated. The results are shown that if the bunch numbers are increased, the possibility of falling is increased in bloom buds. The least possibility of falling of bloom buds is specified in trimming of one bunch and has significant difference with other trimming.

Keywords: alternate bearing, pistachio, cluster, bud

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Authors: Rowanda Daoud Ahmed, Mansoor Abdulhak, Muhammad Azeem Afzal, Sezer Filiz, Usama Ahmad Mughal

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This paper discusses important aspects of AI in the healthcare domain. The increase of data in healthcare both in size and complexity, opens more room for artificial intelligence applications. Our focus is to review the main AI methods within the scope of the health care domain. The results of the review show that recommendations for diagnosis and recommendations for treatment, patent engagement, and administrative tasks are the key applications of AI in healthcare. Understanding the potential of AI methods in the domain of healthcare would benefit healthcare practitioners and will improve patient outcomes.

Keywords: AI in healthcare, technologies of AI, neural network, future of AI in healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Farzad Tofigh, Saeideh Najafi, Reza Heidari, Rashid Jamei

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In order to study the effects of magnetic field on the root system and growth of Phaseolus vulgaris, an experiment was conducted in 2012. The possible involvement of magnetic field (MF) pretreatment in physiological factors of Phaseolus vulgaris was investigated. Seeds were subjected to 10 days with 1.8 mT of magnetic field for 1h per day. MF pretreatment decreased the plant height, fresh and dry weight, length of root and length of shoot, Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and carotenoid in 10 days old seedling. In addition, activity of enzymes such as Catalase and Guaiacol peroxidase was decreased due to MF exposure. Also, the total Protein and DPPH content of the treated by magnetic field was not significantly changed in compare to control groups, while the flavonoid, Phenol and prolin content of the treated of the treated by magnetic field was significantly changed in compare to control groups. Lateral branches of roots and secondary roots increased with MF. The results suggest that pretreatment of this MF plays important roles in changes in crop productivity. In all cases there was observed a slight stimulating effect of the factors examined. The growth dynamics were weakened. The plants were shorter. Moreover, the effect of a magnetic field on the crop of Phaseolus vulgaris and its structure was small.

Keywords: carotenoid, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, DPPH, enzymes, flavonoid, germination, growth, phenol, proline, protein, magnetic field

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Authors: Ahmad Absetan, Mahdi Nooshyar

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The importance map is an image-based measure and is a core part of the resizing algorithm. Importance measures include image gradients, saliency and entropy, as well as high level cues such as face detectors, motion detectors and more. In this work we proposed a new method to calculate the importance map, the importance map is generated automatically using a novel combination of image edge density and Harel saliency measurement. Experiments of different type images demonstrate that our method effectively detects prominent areas can be used in image resizing applications to aware important areas while preserving image quality.

Keywords: content-aware image resizing, visual saliency, edge density, image warping

Procedia PDF Downloads 582

Authors: Ahmad Odeh, Ahmad Jrade

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Energy assessment is an evidently significant factor when evaluating the sustainability of structures especially at the early design stage. Today design practices revolve around the selection of material that reduces the operational energy and yet meets their displinary need. Operational energy represents a substantial part of the building lifecycle energy usage but the fact remains that embodied energy is an important aspect unaccounted for in the carbon footprint. At the moment, little or no consideration is given to embodied energy mainly due to the complexity of calculation and the various factors involved. The equipment used, the fuel needed, and electricity required for each material vary with location and thus the embodied energy will differ for each project. Moreover, the method and the technique used in manufacturing, transporting and putting in place will have a significant influence on the materials’ embodied energy. This anomaly has made it difficult to calculate or even bench mark the usage of such energies. This paper presents a model aimed at helping designers select the construction materials based on their embodied energy. Moreover, this paper presents a systematic approach that uses an efficient method of calculation and ultimately provides new insight into construction material selection. The model is developed in a BIM environment targeting the quantification of embodied energy for construction materials through the three main stages of their life: manufacturing, transportation and placement. The model contains three major databases each of which contains a set of the most commonly used construction materials. The first dataset holds information about the energy required to manufacture any type of materials, the second includes information about the energy required for transporting the materials while the third stores information about the energy required by tools and cranes needed to place an item in its intended location. The model provides designers with sets of all available construction materials and their associated embodied energies to use for the selection during the design process. Through geospatial data and dimensional material analysis, the model will also be able to automatically calculate the distance between the factories and the construction site. To remain within the sustainability criteria set by LEED, a final database is created and used to calculate the overall construction cost based on R.M.S. means cost data and then automatically recalculate the costs for any modifications. Design criteria including both operational and embodied energies will cause designers to revaluate the current material selection for cost, energy, and most importantly sustainability.

Keywords: building information modelling, energy, life cycle analysis, sustainablity

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Authors: Homayon Ahmad Panahi, Samira Tajik, Mohamad Hadi Dehghani, Mostafa Khezri, Elham Moniri

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In this research, poly urea-formaldehyde was prepared. The poly urea-formaldehyde was characterized by fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Then the effects of various parameters on Cd (II) sorption such as pH, contact time were studied. The optimum pH value for sorption of Cd(II) was 5.5. The sorption capacity of poly urea-formaldehyde for Cd (II) were 76.3 mg g−1. A Cd (II) removal of 55% was obtained. The profile of Cd (II) uptake on this sorbent reflects good accessibility of the chelating sites in the poly urea-formaldehyde. The developed method was utilized for determination of Cd (II) in environmental water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with satisfactory results.

Keywords: poly urea-formaldehyde, cadmium ion, environmental sample, determination

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Authors: Elham Moniri, Homayon Ahmad Panahi, Mitra Hoseini

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In this research, clinoptilolite zeolite was prepared. The zeolite was characterized by fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Then the effects of various parameters on Cr(III) sorption such as pH, contact time were studied. The optimum pH value for sorption of Cr(III) was 6 respectively. The sorption capacity of zeolite for Cr(III) were 7.9 mg g−1. A recovery of 89% was obtained for the metal ions with 0.5 M nitric acid as the eluting agent. The effects of interfering ions on Cr(III) sorption was also investigated. The profile of Cr(III) uptake on this sorbent reflects a good accessibility of the chelating sites in the clinoptilolite zeolite. The developed method was utilized for the determination of Cr(III) in environmental water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with satisfactory results.

Keywords: clinoptilolite zeolite, chromium, environmental sample, determination

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Authors: Ishtiaq Wahid, Masood Ahmad, Nighat Ayub, Sajad Ali

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Lifetime of a wireless sensor network (WSN) is directly proportional to the energy consumption of its constituent nodes. Routing in wireless sensor network is very challenging due its inherit characteristics. In hierarchal routing the sensor filed is divided into clusters. The cluster-heads are selected from each cluster, which forms a hierarchy of nodes. The cluster-heads are used to transmit the data to the base station while other nodes perform the sensing task. In this way the lifetime of the network is increased. In this paper a comparative study of hierarchal routing protocols are conducted. The simulation is done in NS-2 for validation.

Keywords: WSN, cluster, routing, sensor networks

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Authors: Shafqat Wahab, Waseem Tahir, Manzoor Ahmad, Sarfraz Khan, M. Azam

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Optimization and analysis of tool flank wear width and surface finish of alloy steel rods are studied in the presence of cryogenic media (LN2) by using Tungsten Carbide Insert (CNMG 120404- WF 4215). Robust design concept of Taguchi L9(34) method and ANOVA is applied to determine the contribution of key cutting parameters and their optimum conditions. Through analysis, it revealed that cryogenic impact is more significant in reduction of the tool flank wear width while surface finish is mostly dependent on feed rate.

Keywords: turning, cryogenic fluid, liquid nitrogen, flank wear, surface roughness, taguchi

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Authors: Shahbaz Ahmad, Muhammad Ali, Sahar Naz

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Corm rot is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. gladioli and it causes remarkable losses to the growers. Experiment was conducted in order to find some viable recommendations for this agronomically as well as economically important problem. Four fungicides, namely Carbendazim, Mancozeb, Thiophanate methyl and Chlorothalonil were used to control corm rot in gladiolus field. Fungicides were applied singly as foliar, in irrigation as well as with sulphuric acid in variable doses. The results revealed that application of all fungicides was variably effective to control corm rot in acid mixed irrigation followed by fungicide in irrigation. The application of all fungicides in various combinations was observed to be ineffective at all three doses.

Keywords: gladiolus, corm rot, Fusarium oxysporum, fungicides

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Authors: H. Mohammadi Aliabadi, M. S. Mansouri

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The effect of two different transplanting date (March and November) in five pistachio cultivars ('Ahmad Aghaei', 'Akbri', Momtaz', 'Ghazvini', and 'Ohadi') were evaluated in Rafsanjan Azad University, Iran. Seeds were planted in plastic bags in March 2012. The seedlings were transplanted to a field in November 2012 and March 2013. Vegetative growing factors such as plant length, stem diameter, number of leaves and fresh and dry weight were measured in date. The results obtained from collected data indicated that no significant differences were found for the traits of interest. Therefore, growers should not be concerned regarding these two transplanting dates.

Keywords: pistachio, seedling, success rate, transplanting date

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Authors: Nur Suraya Anis Ahmad Bakhtiar, Hazizan Md Akil

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In the present work, the dielectric properties of Epoxy/MWCNTs-muscovite HYBRID and MIXED composites based on ratio 30:70 were studies. The multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by two method; (a) muscovite-MWCNTs hybrids were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and (b) physically mixing of muscovite with MWCNTs. The effect of different preparations of the composites and filler loading was evaluated. It is revealed that the dielectric constants of HYBRID epoxy composites are slightly higher compared to MIXED epoxy composites. It is also indicated that the dielectric constant increased by increases the MWCNTs filler loading.

Keywords: muscovite, epoxy, dielectric properties, hybrid composite

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Authors: Muneeb Nasir, Misbah Masood, Farrukh Rashid, Abubabakar Shahid

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Introduction: Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is a potent option for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) as these tumours lack a clearly defined therapeutic target. Several recent studies lend support that pathological complete remission (pCR) is associated with improved disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) and could be used as surrogate marker for DFS and OS in breast cancer patients. Methods: We have used a four-drug protocol in T3 and T4 TNBC patients either N+ or N- in the neo-adjuvant setting. The 15 patients enrolled in this study had a median age of 45 years. 12 patients went on to complete four planned cycles of B-CAT protocol. The chemotherapy regimen included inj. Bevacizumab 5mg/kg D1, inj. Adriamycin 50mg/m2 D1 and Docetaxel 65mg/m2 on D1. Inj. Cisplatin 60mg/m2 on D2. All patients received GCF support from D4 to D9 of each cycle. Results: Radiological assessment using ultrasound and PET-CT revealed a high percentage of responses. Radiological CR was documented in half of the patients (6/12) after four cycles. Remaining patients went on to receive 2 more cycles before undergoing radical surgery. pCR was documented in 7/12 patients and 3 more had a good partial response. The regimen was toxic and grade ¾ neutropenia was seen in 58% of patients. Four episodes of febrile neutropenia were reported and managed. Non-hematatological toxicities were common with mucositis, diarrhea, asthenia and neuropathy topping the list. Conclusion: B-CAT is a very active combination with very high pCR rates in TNBC. Toxicities though frequent, were manageable on outpatient basis. This protocol warrants further investigation.

Keywords: B-CAT:bevacizumab, cisplatin, adriamycin, taxotere, CR: complete response, pCR: pathological complete response, TNBC: triple negative breast cancer

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Authors: Shenaz Ahmed, Hussain Jafri, Muhammed Faran, Wajeeha Naseer Ahmed, Yasmin Rashid, Yasmin Ehsan, Shabnam Bashir, Mushtaq Ahmed

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Low uptake of cascade screening for βeta-Thalassaemia Major (β-TM) in the ‘Punjab Thalassaemia Prevention Project’ (PTPP) in Pakistan led to the development of a ‘decision support intervention for relatives’ (DeSIRe). This paper presents the experiences of relatives of children with β-TM of the DeSIRe following its use by PTPP field officers in routine clinical practice. Fifty-four semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted (April to June 2021) with relatives in seven cities in the Punjab province (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahab, Kasur, Gujranwala, Multan, and Faisalabad). Thematic analysis shows that participants were satisfied with the content of the DeSIRe and its delivery by the field officers in a family meeting. They understood the main purpose of the DeSIRe was to improve their knowledge of β-TM and its inheritance, to enable them to make decisions about thalassemia carrier testing, particularly before marriage. While participants raised concerns about the stigma of testing positive, they believed the DeSIRe was an appropriate intervention, which supported relatives to make informed decisions. Our findings show the DeSIRe is appropriate for use by healthcare professionals in routine practice in a low-middle income country and has the potential to facilitate shared decision-making about cascade screening for thalassemia. Further research is needed to prove the efficacy of the DeSIRe.

Keywords: thalassemia, Pakistan, cascade screening, decision support

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Authors: Fatemeh Nikpay, Rodina Binti Ahmad, Babak Darvish Rouhani

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Enterprise Architecture (EA) is employed by enterprises for providing integrated Information Systems (ISs) in order to support alignment of their business and Information Technology (IT). Evaluation of EA implementation can support enterprise to reach intended goals. There are some problems in current evaluation methods of EA implementation that lead to ineffectiveness implementation of EA. This paper represents current issues on evaluation of EA implementation. In this regard, we set the framework in order to represent evaluation’s issues based on their functionality and structure. The results of this research not only increase the knowledge of evaluation, but also could be useful for both academics and practitioners in order to realize the current situation of evaluations.

Keywords: current issues on EA implementation evaluation, evaluation, enterprise architecture, evaluation of enterprise architecture implementation

Procedia PDF Downloads 529