Search results for: continuous assessment

Authors: Asma Ben Yaghlane, Mohamed Naceur Azaiez

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In this paper, we briefly introduce the concept of Poisson attacks in the case of defense/attack strategies where attacks are assumed to be continuous. We suggest a game model in which the attacker will combine both criteria of a sufficient confidence level of a successful attack and a reasonably small size of the estimation error in order to launch an attack. Here, estimation error arises from assessing the system failure upon attack using aggregate data at the system level. The corresponding error is referred to as aggregation error. On the other hand, the defender will attempt to deter attack by making one or both criteria inapplicable. The defender will build his/her strategy by both strengthening the targeted system and increasing the size of error. We will formulate the defender problem based on appropriate optimization models. The attacker will opt for a Bayesian updating in assessing the impact on the improvement made by the defender. Then, the attacker will evaluate the feasibility of the attack before making the decision of whether or not to launch it. We will provide illustrations to better explain the process.

Keywords: attacker, defender, game theory, information

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Authors: Leena-Maria Alyedreessy

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Self-esteem is thought to be determined by ones’ own feeling of being included, liked and accepted by others. This research explores whether this concept may also be applied in the virtual world and assesses whether there is any relationship between Twitter users' self-esteem and the amount of interactions they receive. 20 female Arab participants were given a survey asking them about their Twitter interactions and their feelings of having an imagined audience to fill out and a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Assessment to complete. After completion and statistical analysis, results showed a significant correlation between the feeling of being Twitter elite, the feeling of having a lot of people listening to your tweets and having a lot of interactions with high self-esteem. However, no correlations were detected for low-self-esteem and low interactions.

Keywords: twitter, social media, self-esteem, narcissism, interactions

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Authors: Nathan Garcia

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The polarizing dialogue of contemporary political America results from core philosophical differences. But these differences are beyond ideological and reach metaphysical distinction. Good intellectual historians have theorized that fundamental concepts such as freedom, God, and nature have been sterilized of their intellectual vigor. They are partially correct. 19th-century pragmatist Charles Sanders Peirce offers a penetrating philosophy which can yield greater insight into the contemporary political divide. Peirce argues that metaphysical and ethical issues are derivative of operational logic. His triadic logical structure and ensuing metaphysical principles constructed therefrom is contemporaneously applicable for three reasons. First, Peirce’s logic aptly scrutinizes the logical processes of liberal and conservative mindsets. Each group arrives at a cosmological root metaphor (abduction), resulting in a contemporary assessment (deduction), ultimately prompting attempts to verify the original abduction (induction). Peirce’s system demonstrates that liberal citizens develop a cosmological root metaphor in the concept of fairness (abduction), resulting in a contemporary assessment of, for example, underrepresented communities being unfairly preyed upon (deduction), thereby inciting anger toward traditional socio-political structures suspected of purposefully destabilizing minority communities (induction). Similarly, conservative citizens develop a cosmological root metaphor in the concept of freedom (abduction), resulting in a contemporary assessment of, for example, liberal citizens advocating an expansion of governmental powers (deduction), thereby inciting anger towards liberal communities suspected of attacking freedoms of ordinary Americans in a bid to empower their interests through the government (induction). The value of this triadic assessment is the categorization of distinct types of inferential logic by their purpose and boundaries. Only deductive claims can be concretely proven, while abductive claims are merely preliminary hypotheses, and inductive claims are accountable to interdisciplinary oversight. Liberals and conservative logical processes preclude constructive dialogue because of (a) an unshared abductive framework, and (b) misunderstanding the rules and responsibilities of their types of claims. Second, Peircean metaphysical principles offer a greater summary of the contemporaneously divisive political climate. His insights can weed through the partisan theorizing to unravel the underlying philosophical problems. Corrosive nominalistic and essentialistic presuppositions weaken the ability to share experiences and communicate effectively, both requisite for any promising constructive dialogue. Peirce’s pragmatist system can expose and evade fallacious thinking in pursuit of a refreshing alternative framework. Finally, Peirce’s metaphysical foundation enables a logically coherent, scientifically informed orthopraxis well-suited for American dialogue. His logical structure necessitates radically different anthropology conducive to shared experiences and dialogue within a dynamic, cultural continuum. Pierce’s fallibilism and sensitivity to religious sentiment successfully navigate between liberal and conservative values. In sum, he provides a normative paradigm for intranational dialogue that privileges individual experience and values morally defensible notions of freedom, God, and nature. Utilizing Peirce’s thought will yield fruitful analysis and offers a promising philosophical alternative for framing and engaging in contemporary American political discourse.

Keywords: Charles s. Peirce, american politics, logic, pragmatism

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Authors: Jeugert Kujtila, Kristi Hoxhalli, Ramazan Dalipi, Erjon Cota, Ardit Murati, Erind Bedalli

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Clustering is a versatile instrument in the analysis of collections of data providing insights of the underlying structures of the dataset and enhancing the modeling capabilities. The fuzzy approach to the clustering problem increases the flexibility involving the concept of partial memberships (some value in the continuous interval [0, 1]) of the instances in the clusters. Several fuzzy clustering algorithms have been devised like FCM, Gustafson-Kessel, Gath-Geva, kernel-based FCM, PCM etc. Each of these algorithms has its own advantages and drawbacks, so none of these algorithms would be able to perform superiorly in all datasets. In this paper we will experimentally compare FCM, GK, GG algorithm and a hybrid two-stage fuzzy clustering model combining the FCM and Gath-Geva algorithms. Firstly we will theoretically dis-cuss the advantages and drawbacks for each of these algorithms and we will describe the hybrid clustering model exploiting the advantages and diminishing the drawbacks of each algorithm. Secondly we will experimentally compare the accuracy of the hybrid model by applying it on several benchmark and synthetic datasets.

Keywords: fuzzy clustering, fuzzy c-means algorithm (FCM), Gustafson-Kessel algorithm, hybrid clustering model

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Authors: N. A. D. P. Niwunhella, W. G. R. C. K. Sirisena

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Appendicitis is one of the most encountered abdominal emergencies worldwide. Proper clinical diagnosis and appendicectomy with minimal post operative complications are therefore priorities. Aim of this study was to ascertain the overall management of acute appendicitis in Sri Lanka in special preference to delayed primary suturing of the surgical site, comparing other local and international treatment outcomes. Data were collected prospectively from 155 patients who underwent appendicectomy following clinical and radiological diagnosis with ultrasonography. Histological assessment was done for all the specimens. All perforated appendices were managed with delayed primary closure. Patients were followed up for 28 days to assess complications. Mean age of patient presentation was 27 years; mean pre-operative waiting time following admission was 24 hours; average hospital stay was 72 hours; accuracy of clinical diagnosis of appendicitis as confirmed by histology was 87.1%; post operative wound infection rate was 8.3%, and among them 5% had perforated appendices; 4 patients had post operative complications managed without re-opening. There was no fistula formation or mortality reported. Current study was compared with previously published data: a comparison on management of acute appendicitis in Sri Lanka vs. United Kingdom (UK). The diagnosis of current study was equally accurate, but post operative complications were significantly reduced - (current study-9.6%, compared Sri Lankan study-16.4%; compared UK study-14.1%). During the recent years, there has been an exponential rise in the use of Computerised Tomography (CT) imaging in the assessment of patients with acute appendicitis. Even though, the diagnostic accuracy without using CT, and treatment outcome of acute appendicitis in this study match other local studies as well as with data compared to UK. Therefore CT usage has not increased the diagnostic accuracy of acute appendicitis significantly. Especially, delayed primary closure may have reduced post operative wound infection rate for ruptured appendices, therefore suggest this approach for further evaluation as a safer and an effective practice in other hospitals worldwide as well.

Keywords: acute appendicitis, computerised tomography, diagnostic accuracy, delayed primary closure

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Authors: Yiyang Su, Jörg Neumann, Jan Wetzlich, Florian Thiel

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Smart grid is a term used to describe the next generation power grid. New challenges such as integration of renewable and decentralized energy sources, the requirement for continuous grid estimation and optimization, as well as the use of two-way flows of energy have been brought to the power gird. In order to achieve efficient, reliable, sustainable, as well as secure delivery of electric power more and more information and communication technologies are used for the monitoring and the control of power grids. Consequently, the need for cybersecurity is dramatically increased and has converged into several standards which will be presented here. These standards for the smart grid must be designed to satisfy both performance and reliability requirements. An in depth investigation of the effect of retrospectively embedded security in existing grids on it’s dynamic behavior is required. Therefore, a retrofitting plan for existing meters is offered, and it’s performance in a test low voltage microgrid is investigated. As a result of this, integration of security measures into measurement architectures of smart grids at the design phase is strongly recommended.

Keywords: cyber security, performance, protocols, security standards, smart grid

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Authors: Adrian Garrido Sanchis, Richard Pashley

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The MS2 (ATCC15597-B1) virus was used as a surrogate to estimate the inactivation rates for enteric viruses when using a hot air bubble column evaporator (HBCE) system in the treatment of household wastewater. In this study, we have combined MS2 virus surface charging properties with thermal inactivation rates, using an improved double layer plaque assay technique, in order to assess the efficiency of the HBCE process for virus removal in water. When bubbling a continuous flow of dry air, at 200°C, only heats the aqueous solution in the bubble column to about 50°C. Viruses are not inactivated by this solution temperature, as confirmed separately from water bath heating experiments. Hence, the efficiency of the HBCE process for virus removal in water appeared to be caused entirely by collisions between the hot air bubbles and the virus organisms. This new energy efficient treatment for water reuse applications can reduce the thermal energy required to only 25% (about 113.7 kJ/L) of that required for boiling (about 450 kJ/L).

Keywords: MS2 virus inactivation, water reuse, hot bubble column evaporator, water treatment

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Authors: Yiqi Sun, Zhiyuan Zhang, Chenkun Ma

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Regeneration of outmoded urban forms and restorative environments are now recognized as major assets towards achieving sustainable development. Shanghai, like many Chinese cities, is now shifting from an agitated industrial past to more livable development schemes. Therefore, a sustainable approach to Shanghai development consists in turning industrial heritage into places with high potential for improving citizen’s daily life as regard to the three pillars of sustainability, namely: environment, economy, and society. As such, this study focuses on the Corniche in Xuhui West Bund district; a former industrial area converted into recreational public spaces in Xuhui West Bund. This area was the birthplace of the aviation industry of China, and many of the industrial features were preserved. Unused areas have been transformed into exhibition halls and green spaces, integrating some of the original industrial, architectural forms. Our case study investigates the effects of this approach associating urban regeneration with restorative design, as well as its impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Information extracted from visitors’ answers to a questionnaire survey; on-site systematic observation, counts, and measurements allowed us to assess the sustainability of this intervention in terms of accessibility, functionality, cultural and restorative qualities. In general, we found that cycling is not highly encouraged by the current design and level of connectivity, while visitors widely acknowledge the enhancement of cultural heritage resulting from the intervention. Moreover, recreational and restorative areas were found to have a very positive effect on local communities. Indeed, such an approach can provide valuable insights on how future interventions in Chinese major cities could take full advantage of existing assets in creating a more environmental, more livable, and culturally richer city.

Keywords: architectural heritage conservation, cultural urban identity, sustainability assessment, restorative environment, urban regeneration

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Authors: Nilgün Katrancı, Pınar Göv

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With the acceleration and assessment of quality and patient safety works in healthcare services in the 21st century, activities to reduce errors have gained importance. The prevention and reduction of unintended consequences related to healthcare services and errors made during the delivery of healthcare services can be achieved by understanding the causes of the errors. Communication is the basic reason most frequently seen in such cases. Nurses who communicate with patients more closely and for longer time play a more critical role in ensuring patient safety compared to other healthcare professionals. To reduce the risk of medical errors and increase the quality of care, it is important to raise the awareness of nurses about patient safety in training period. This descriptive study was conducted between February 2017 and May 2017 to assess intern students' attitudes towards and knowledge of patient safety and medical errors. The target population of the study consists of intern students at the Faculty of Nursing in Gaziantep University (N=180). The study did not apply any sample selection method, and the research group consisted of 90 female and 37 male senior students who were available and accepted to take part in the study (N=127). The study used personal information form and medical error attitude scale to collect data. The medical error attitude scale consists of 16 items and 3 sub-dimensions. The most frequently seen medical error in the clinics the interns worked at was found as ‘Failure to comply with asepsis rules’ with a rate of 67,7%. The most frequent case among reasons for not disclosing an error is ‘noticing and correcting the error before affecting the patient’ with the rate of 70,9%. The most frequently expressed implications of disclosing a serious error for the intern students participating in the study are ‘harming patient trust (78%)’ and ‘possibility of overreaction by patient (62,2%)’. According to the results of the study, the awareness of the students about the importance of medical errors and error reporting was found high (3,48 ± 0,49). Consequently, it is important to assess and positively improve the attitudes of nurses and other healthcare professionals towards medical errors for the determination of causes of medical errors and their prevention.

Keywords: healthcare service, intern student, medical error, patient safety

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Authors: Juhi Sah

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Habitat is characterized by the inter-dependency of environmental elements. Anthropocentric development approach is increasing our vulnerability towards natural hazards. Hence, manmade interventions should have a higher level of sensitivity towards the natural settings. Sensitivity towards the environment can be assessed by the behavior of the stakeholders involved. This led to the establishment of a hypothesis: there exists a legitimate relationship between the behavioral sciences, land use evolution and environment conservation, in the planning process. An attempt has been made to establish this relationship by reviewing the existing set of knowledge and case examples pertaining to the three disciplines under inquiry. Understanding the scarce & deteriorating nature of fresh-water reserves of earth and experimenting the above concept, a case study of a growing urban center's river flood plain is selected, in a developing economy, India. Cases of urban flooding in Chennai, Delhi and other mega cities of India, imposes a high risk on the unauthorized settlement, on the floodplains of the rivers. The issue addressed here is the encroachment of floodplains, through psychological enlightenment and modification through knowledge building. The reaction of an individual or society can be compared to a cognitive process. This study documents all the stakeholders' behavior and perception for their immediate natural environment (water body), and produce various land uses suitable along a river in an urban settlement as per different stakeholder's perceptions. To assess and induce morally responsible behavior in a community (small scale or large scale), tools of psychological inquiry is used for qualitative analysis. The analysis will deal with varied data sets from two sectors namely: River and its geology, Land use planning and regulation. Identification of a distinctive pattern in the built up growth, river ecology degradation, and human behavior, by handling large quantum of data from the diverse sector and comments on the availability of relevant data and its implications, has been done. Along the whole river stretch, condition and usage of its bank vary, hence stakeholder specific survey questionnaires have been prepared to accurately map the responses and habits of the rational inhabitants. A conceptual framework has been designed to move forward with the empirical analysis. The classical principle of virtues says "virtue of a human depends on its character" but another concept defines that the behavior or response is a derivative of situations and to bring about a behavioral change one needs to introduce a disruption in the situation/environment. Owing to the present trends, blindly following the results of data analytics and using it to construct policy, is not proving to be in favor of planned development and natural resource conservation. Thus behavioral assessment of the rational inhabitants of the planet is also required, as their activities and interests have a large impact on the earth's pre-set systems and its sustenance.

Keywords: behavioral assessment, flood plain encroachment, land use planning, river sustenance

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Authors: Sylvana A. Vega, Cesar E. Huilinir, Carlos J. Gonzalez

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Co-digestion in anaerobic biodigesters is a technology improving hydrolysis by increasing methane generation. In the present study, the dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is numerically analyzed using Ansys Fluent software for agitation in a full-scale Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) biodigester during the co-digestion process. For this, a rheological study of the substrate is carried out, establishing rotation speeds of the stirrers depending on the microbial activity and energy ranges. The substrate is organic waste from industrial sources of sanitary water, butcher, fishmonger, and dairy. Once the rheological behavior curves have been obtained, it is obtained that it is a non-Newtonian fluid of the pseudoplastic type, with a solids rate of 12%. In the simulation, the rheological results of the fluid are considered, and the full-scale CSTR biodigester is modeled. It was coupling the second-order continuity differential equations, the three-dimensional Navier Stokes, the power-law model for non-Newtonian fluids, and three turbulence models: k-ε RNG, k-ε Realizable, and RMS (Reynolds Stress Model), for a 45° tilt vane impeller. It is simulated for three minutes since it is desired to study an intermittent mixture with a saving benefit of energy consumed. The results show that the absolute errors of the power number associated with the k-ε RNG, k-ε Realizable, and RMS models were 7.62%, 1.85%, and 5.05%, respectively, the numbers of power obtained from the analytical-experimental equation of Nagata. The results of the generalized Reynolds number show that the fluid dynamics have a transition-turbulent flow regime. Concerning the Froude number, the result indicates there is no need to implement baffles in the biodigester design, and the power number provides a steady trend close to 1.5. It is observed that the levels of design speeds within the biodigester are approximately 0.1 m/s, which are speeds suitable for the microbial community, where they can coexist and feed on the substrate in co-digestion. It is concluded that the model that more accurately predicts the behavior of fluid dynamics within the reactor is the k-ε Realizable model. The flow paths obtained are consistent with what is stated in the referenced literature, where the 45° inclination PBT impeller is the right type of agitator to keep particles in suspension and, in turn, increase the dispersion of gas in the liquid phase. If a 24/7 complete mix is considered under stirred agitation, with a plant factor of 80%, 51,840 kWh/year are estimated. On the contrary, if intermittent agitations of 3 min every 15 min are used under the same design conditions, reduce almost 80% of energy costs. It is a feasible solution to predict the energy expenditure of an anaerobic biodigester CSTR. It is recommended to use high mixing intensities, at the beginning and end of the joint phase acetogenesis/methanogenesis. This high intensity of mixing, in the beginning, produces the activation of the bacteria, and once reaching the end of the Hydraulic Retention Time period, it produces another increase in the mixing agitations, favoring the final dispersion of the biogas that may be trapped in the biodigester bottom.

Keywords: anaerobic co-digestion, computational fluid dynamics, CFD, net power, organic waste

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Authors: Ahcene Boucied

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In this paper, a case study is conducted to analyze the effectiveness of web pages designed in Barbados for the tourism and hospitality industry. The assessment is made from two perspectives: to understand how the Barbados’ tourism industry is using the web, and to identify the effect of information technology on economic issues. In return, this is used: (a) to provide interested parties with accurate information and marketing insight necessary for decision making for electronic commerce/e-commerce, and (b) to demonstrate pragmatic difficulties in searching and designing web pages.

Keywords: segmentation, tourism stakeholders, destination marketing, case study

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Authors: Helen Coronel, Will Brewer, Peggy Bergeron, Clarissa Hall, Victoria Casson

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Simulation-based training provides the nurse practitioner (NP) student with a safe and controlled environment in which they can practice a real-life scenario. This type of learning fosters critical thinking skills essential to practice. The expectation of this study was that students would have an increase in their competency and confidence after performing the simulation. Approximately 8.4% of Americans suffer from depression. The state of Alabama is ranked 47th out of 50 for access to mental health care. As a result of this significant shortage of mental health providers, primary care providers are frequently put in the position of screening for and treating mental health conditions, such as depression. Family nurse practitioners are often utilized as primary care providers, making their ability to assess, diagnose and treat these disorders a necessary skill. The expected outcome of this simulation is an increase in confidence, competency and the empowerment of the nurse practitioner student’s ability to assess, diagnose and treat a common mood disorder they may encounter in practice. The Kirkpatrick Module was applied for this study. A non-experimental design using descriptive statistical analysis was utilized. The simulation was based on a common psychiatric mood disorder frequently observed in primary care and mental health clinics. Students were asked to watch a voiceover power point presentation prior to their on-campus simulation. The presentation included training on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of a patient with depression. Prior to the simulation, the students completed a pre-test, then participated in the simulation, and completed a post-test when done. Apple iPads were utilized to access a simulated health record. Major findings of the study support an increase in students’ competency and confidence when assessing, diagnosing, and treating an adult patient with depression.

Keywords: advanced practice, nurse practitioner, simulation, primary care, depression

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Authors: Tayirjan Taylor Isimjan, Essam Jamea, Muien Qaryouti

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The demand for efficient greenhouse production is escalating, necessitating continuous improvements in controlled plant growth environments. Central to maximizing growth are critical light-related factors, including quantity, quality, and geometric distribution of intercepted radiation. This becomes particularly crucial in regions like the Middle East, characterized by high solar radiation and dusty atmospheric conditions. Existing greenhouse technologies often rely on additional expensive equipment to manage light conditions effectively. In this study, we propose a distinct approach employing functional coatings to mitigate dust and block UV and IR radiation, thereby conserving energy and enhancing productivity. By combining UV-IR reflective coatings with dust mitigation strategies, we aim to address both environmental challenges and energy consumption issues faced by greenhouse agriculture in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: greenhouse, UV-IR reflective coatings, dust mitigation, energy efficiency, productivity

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Authors: D. M. Tshwane, R. R. Maphanga, P. E. Ngoepe

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Nanostructured materials are attractive candidates for efficient electrochemical energy storage devices because of their unique physicochemical properties. Nanotubes have drawn a continuous attention because of their unique electrical, optical and magnetic properties contrast to that of bulk system. They have potential application in the field of optical, electronics and energy storage device. Introducing nanotubes structures as electrode materials; represents one of the most attractive strategies that could dramatically enhance the battery performance. Spinel LiMn2O4 is the most promising cathode material for Li-ion batteries. In this work, computer simulation methods are used to generate and investigate properties of spinel LiMn2O4 nanotubes. Molecular dynamic simulation is used to probe the local structure of LiMn2O4 nanotubes and the effect of temperature on these systems. It is found that diameter, Miller indices and size have a direct control on nanotubes morphology. Furthermore, it is noted that stability depends on surface and wrapping of the nanotube. The nanotube structures are described using the radial distribution function and XRD patterns. There is a correlation between calculated XRD and experimentally reported results.

Keywords: LiMn2O4, li-ion batteries, nanotubes, nanostructures

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Authors: M. Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska, T. Wszołek, A. Dudarewicz, P. Małecki, M. Kłaczyński, A. Bortkiewicz

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Human tolerance to infrasound is defined by the hearing threshold. Infrasound that cannot be heard (or felt) is not annoying and is not thought to have any other adverse or health effects. Recent research has largely confirmed earlier findings. ISO 7196:1995 recommends the use of G-weighted characteristics for the assessment of infrasound. There is a strong correlation between G-weighted SPL and annoyance perception. The aim of this study was to propose exposure limits for infrasound from wind turbines. However, only a few countries have set limits for infrasound. These limits are usually no higher than 85-92 dBG, and none of them are specific to wind turbines. Over the years, a number of studies have been carried out to determine hearing thresholds below 20 Hz. It has been recognized that 10% of young people would be able to perceive 10 Hz at around 90 dB, and it has also been found that the difference in median hearing thresholds between young adults aged around 20 years and older adults aged over 60 years is around 10 dB, irrespective of frequency. This shows that older people (up to about 60 years of age) retain good hearing in the low frequency range, while their sensitivity to higher frequencies is often significantly reduced. In terms of exposure limits for infrasound, the average hearing threshold corresponds to a tone with a G-weighted SPL of about 96 dBG. In contrast, infrasound at Lp,G levels below 85-90 dBG is usually inaudible. The individual hearing threshold can, therefore be 10-15 dB lower than the average threshold, so the recommended limits for environmental infrasound could be 75 dBG or 80 dBG. It is worth noting that the G86 curve has been taken as the threshold of auditory perception of infrasound reached by 90-95% of the population, so the G75 and G80 curves can be taken as the criterion curve for wind turbine infrasound. Finally, two assessment methods and corresponding exposure limit values have been proposed for wind turbine infrasound, i.e. method I - based on G-weighted sound pressure level measurements and method II - based on frequency analysis in 1/3-octave bands in the frequency range 4-20 Hz. Separate limit values have been set for outdoor living areas in the open countryside (Area A) and for noise sensitive areas (Area B). In the case of Method I, infrasound limit values of 80 dBG (for areas A) and 75 dBG (for areas B) have been proposed, while in the case of Method II - criterion curves G80 and G75 have been chosen (for areas A and B, respectively).

Keywords: infrasound, exposure limit, hearing thresholds, wind turbines

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Authors: Alan Lai, Wilson Yik

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With rapid urbanization, there has been a dramatic increase in global urban population in Asia and over half of population in Asia will live in urban regions in the near future. Facing with increasing exposure to climate-related stresses and shocks, most of the Asian cities will very likely to experience more frequent heat waves and flooding with rising sea levels, particularly the coastal cities will grapple for intense typhoons and storm surges. These climate changes have severe impacts in urban areas at the costs of infrastructure and population, for example, human health, wellbeing and high risks of dengue fever, malaria and diarrheal disease. With the increasing prominence of adaptation to climate changes, there have been changes in corresponding policies. Smaller cities have greater potentials for integrating the concept of resilience into their infrastructure as well as keeping pace with their rapid growths in population. It is therefore important to explore the potentials of Asian cities adapting to climate change and the opportunities of building climate resilience in urban planning and building design. Furthermore, previous studies have mainly attempted at exploiting the potential of resilience on a macro-level within urban planning rather than that on micro-level within the context of individual building. The resilience of individual building as a research field has not yet been much explored. Nonetheless, recent studies define that the resilience of an individual building is the one which is able to respond to physical damage and recover from such damage in a quickly and cost-effectively manner, while maintain its primary functions. There is also a need to develop an assessment tool to evaluate the resilience on building scale which is still largely uninvestigated as it should be regarded as a basic function of a building. Due to the lack of literature reporting metric for assessing building resilience with sustainability, the research will be designed as a case study to provide insight into the issue. The aim of this research project is to encourage and assist in developing neighborhood climate resilience design strategies for Hong Kong so as to bridge the gap between difference scales and that between theory and practice.

Keywords: resilience cities, building resilience, resilient buildings and infrastructure, climate resilience, hot and humid southeast area, high-density cities

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Authors: Elizaveta Petelina, Anton Sizo

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Environmental remediation projects deal with a wide spectrum of data, including data collected during site assessment, execution of remediation activities, and environmental monitoring. Therefore, an appropriate data management is required as a key factor for well-grounded decision making. The Environmental Data Management System (EDMS) was developed to address all necessary data management aspects, including efficient data handling and data interoperability, access to historical and current data, spatial and temporal analysis, 2D and 3D data visualization, mapping, and data sharing. The system focuses on support of well-grounded decision making in relation to required mitigation measures and assessment of remediation success. The EDMS is a combination of enterprise and desktop level data management and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools assembled to assist to environmental remediation, project planning, and evaluation, and environmental monitoring of mine sites. EDMS consists of seven main components: a Geodatabase that contains spatial database to store and query spatially distributed data; a GIS and Web GIS component that combines desktop and server-based GIS solutions; a Field Data Collection component that contains tools for field work; a Quality Assurance (QA)/Quality Control (QC) component that combines operational procedures for QA and measures for QC; Data Import and Export component that includes tools and templates to support project data flow; a Lab Data component that provides connection between EDMS and laboratory information management systems; and a Reporting component that includes server-based services for real-time report generation. The EDMS has been successfully implemented for the Project CLEANS (Clean-up of Abandoned Northern Mines). Project CLEANS is a multi-year, multimillion-dollar project aimed at assessing and reclaiming 37 uranium mine sites in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The EDMS has effectively facilitated integrated decision-making for CLEANS project managers and transparency amongst stakeholders.

Keywords: data management, environmental remediation, geographic information system, GIS, decision making

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Authors: Ebrahim Farahmand, Ali Mahani

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Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can facilitate continuous monitoring of patients and increase early detection of emergency conditions and diseases. High density WSNs helps us to accurately monitor a remote environment by intelligently combining the data from the individual nodes. Due to energy capacity limitation of sensors, enhancing the lifetime and the reliability of WSNs are important factors in designing of these networks. The clustering strategies are verified as effective and practical algorithms for reducing energy consumption in WSNs and can tackle WSNs limitations. In this paper, an Energy-efficient weight-based Clustering Protocol (EWCP) is presented. Artificial retina is selected as a case study of WSNs applied in body sensors. Cluster heads’ (CHs) selection is equipped with energy efficient parameters. Moreover, cluster members are selected based on their distance to the selected CHs. Comparing with the other benchmark protocols, the lifetime of EWCP is improved significantly.

Keywords: WSN, healthcare monitoring, weighted based clustering, lifetime

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Authors: Seyed Abdol Majid Hosseinizadeh

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This study aims at an assessment of the part of interpretational issues on the Quran in Roozbihan Baqli Shirazi's books, who has been a mystic and Sufi in the 12th century. He has written many mystical books which Henry Corbin and others have introduced and researched, especially his commentary on the Quran called Ara'is al-Bayan, but he also has other interpretational viewpoints on the Quran spread throughout his mystical works, which have not been considered. In this paper, it has been shown through a documentary method that Quranic verses and their interpretations also have a great role in his other works.

Keywords: interpretation, Islamic mysticism, Quran, Roozbihan Baqli Shirazi

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Authors: Sofia N. Gonçalves, Duarte M. S. Albuquerque, José C. F. Pereira

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The energy transition is spurred by structural changes in energy demand, supply, and prices. Microwave technology was first proposed as a faster alternative for cooking food. It was found that food heated instantly when interacting with high-frequency electromagnetic waves. The dielectric properties account for a material’s ability to absorb electromagnetic energy and dissipate this energy in the form of heat. Many energy-intense industries could benefit from electromagnetic heating since many of the raw materials are dielectric at high temperatures. Limestone sedimentary rock is a dielectric material intensively used in the cement industry to produce unslaked lime. A numerical 3D model was implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics to study the limestone continuous processing under microwave heating. The model solves the two-way coupling between the Energy equation and Maxwell’s equations as well as the coupling between heat transfer and chemical interfaces. Complementary, a controller was implemented to optimize the overall heating efficiency and control the numerical model stability. This was done by continuously matching the cavity impedance and predicting the required energy for the system, avoiding energy inefficiencies. This controller was developed in MATLAB and successfully fulfilled all these goals. The limestone load influence on thermal decomposition and overall process efficiency was the main object of this study. The procedure considered the Verification and Validation of the chemical kinetics model separately from the coupled model. The chemical model was found to correctly describe the chosen kinetic equation, and the coupled model successfully solved the equations describing the numerical model. The interaction between flow of material and electric field Poynting vector revealed to influence limestone decomposition, as a result from the low dielectric properties of limestone. The numerical model considered this effect and took advantage from this interaction. The model was demonstrated to be highly unstable when solving non-linear temperature distributions. Limestone has a dielectric loss response that increases with temperature and has low thermal conductivity. For this reason, limestone is prone to produce thermal runaway under electromagnetic heating, as well as numerical model instabilities. Five different scenarios were tested by considering a material fill ratio of 30%, 50%, 65%, 80%, and 100%. Simulating the tube rotation for mixing enhancement was proven to be beneficial and crucial for all loads considered. When uniform temperature distribution is accomplished, the electromagnetic field and material interaction is facilitated. The results pointed out the inefficient development of the electric field within the bed for 30% fill ratio. The thermal efficiency showed the propensity to stabilize around 90%for loads higher than 50%. The process accomplished a maximum microwave efficiency of 75% for the 80% fill ratio, sustaining that the tube has an optimal fill of material. Electric field peak detachment was observed for the case with 100% fill ratio, justifying the lower efficiencies compared to 80%. Microwave technology has been demonstrated to be an important ally for the decarbonization of the cement industry.

Keywords: CFD numerical simulations, efficiency optimization, electromagnetic heating, impedance matching, limestone continuous processing

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Authors: Stoyanka Georgieva Vladeva, Elena Kirilova Kirilova, Nikola Kirilov Kirilov

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Summary: WHO (World Health Organization) recommends the elder people a certain amount of regular physical activity in order to prevent some of the health issues. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is one of the chronic diseases which requires the maintaining of regular physical activity. The regular activity combined with an adequate medical treatment greatly improves the quality of life of the patient. Objectives: Assessment of the effect of the regular physical activity recommended by WHO on the quality of life in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Material and methods: For the period of one year 68 female patients treated with Denosumab have been monitored. The bone density has been measured with the DEXA method in accordance to the T-score. No patients having any oncologic diseases and secondary osteoporosis have been included in the study. The subjects have been divided into groups by their age. The first group – women aged under 65 years (27 subjects) and the second group – women aged over 65 years (41 subjects). All patients have been advised to maintain regular physical activity included in the recommendations of the WHO in accordance with the age and the disease. The quality of life has been assessed in the beginning and at the end of the one-year period using the SF 36V2 questionnaire. Results: Only 31% of the subjects have engaged into regular increased physical activities for the whole period. Among them are mostly patients of the second group (aged over 65 years, 71%). The women from the both groups who were engaging into regular activities for this one-year period all experience an improvement of the quality of life. These results show that older patients understand the necessity of the physical activity for their health. The comparison of the output data to the scales of physical activity, durability, body pain, vitality, social activity and emotional stability has found an improvement at the end of the period in all patients. The osteodensitometry showed general improvement of the T-score. Patients with additional visits to their rheumatologist have better results. Conclusion: Combination of regular physical activity in accordance to the recommendations of WHO and medical treatment including anti-osteoporotic drugs improves the quality of life of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Keywords: elderly patients, osteoporosis, physical activity, quality of life

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Authors: Cindy Davis

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Higher education is changing globally and there is increasing pressure from professional social work accreditation bodies for academic programs to demonstrate how students have successfully met mandatory graduate competencies. As professional accreditation organizations increase their demand for evidence of graduate competencies, strategies to document and recording learning outcomes becomes increasingly challenging for academics and students. Studies in higher education have found support for the pedagogical value of ePortfolios, a flexible personal learning space that is owned by the student and include opportunity for assessment, feedback and reflection as well as a virtual space to store evidence of demonstration of professional competencies and graduate attributes. Examples of institutional uses of ePortfolios include e-administration of a diverse student population, assessment of student learning, and the demonstration of graduate attributes attained and future student career preparation. The current paper presents a case study on the introduction of ePortfolios for social work graduates in Australia as part of an institutional approach to technology-enhanced learning and e-learning. Social work graduates were required to submit an ePortfolio hosted on PebblePad. The PebblePad platform was selected because it places the student at the center of their learning whilst providing powerful tools for staff to structure, guide and assess that learning. The ePortofolio included documentation and evidence of how the student met each graduate competency as set out by the social work accreditation body in Australia (AASW). This digital resource played a key role in the process of external professional accreditation by clearly documenting and evidencing how students met required graduate competencies. In addition, student feedback revealed a positive outcome on how this resource provided them with a consolidation of their learning experiences and assisted them in obtaining employment post-graduation. There were also significant institutional factors that were key to successful implementation such as investment in the digital technology, capacity building amongst academics, and technical support for staff and students.

Keywords: accreditation, social work, teaching, technology

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Authors: Somruay Apichatibutarapong

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The purpose of this study was to address and comparison of the attitudes towards the statistics course for undergraduate students. Data were collected from 120 students in Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University who enrolled in the statistics course. The quantitative approach was used to investigate the assessment and comparison of attitudes towards statistics course. It was revealed that the overall attitudes somewhat agree both in pre-test and post-test. In addition, the comparison of students’ attitudes towards the statistic course (Form A) has no difference in the overall attitudes. However, there is statistical significance in all dimensions and overall attitudes towards the statistics course (Form B).

Keywords: statistics attitude, student’s attitude, statistics, attitude test

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Authors: Hyun-Woo Cho

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Continuous monitoring of industrial plants is one of necessary tasks when it comes to ensuring high-quality final products. In terms of monitoring and diagnosis, it is quite critical and important to detect some incipient abnormal events of manufacturing processes in order to improve safety and reliability of operations involved and to reduce related losses. In this work a new multivariate statistical online diagnostic method is presented using a case study. For building some reference models an empirical discriminant model is constructed based on various past operation runs. When a fault is detected on-line, an on-line diagnostic module is initiated. Finally, the status of the current operating conditions is compared with the reference model to make a diagnostic decision. The performance of the presented framework is evaluated using a dataset from complex industrial processes. It has been shown that the proposed diagnostic method outperforms other techniques especially in terms of incipient detection of any faults occurred.

Keywords: data mining, empirical model, on-line diagnostics, process fault, process monitoring

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Authors: M. Rodionov, Z. Dedovets

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This article discusses ways to implement a differentiated approach to developing academic motivation for mathematical studies which relies on defining the primary structural characteristics of motivation. The following characteristics are considered: features of realization of cognitive activity, meaning-making characteristics, level of generalization and consistency of knowledge acquired by personal experience. The assessment of the present level of individual student understanding of each component of academic motivation is the basis for defining the relevant educational strategy for its further development.

Keywords: learning activity, mathematics, motivation, student

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Authors: Natalie Rosales

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Based on an ethical vision which recognizes the vital role of human rights, shared values, social responsibility and justice, and environmental ethics, planning may be interpreted as a process aimed at reducing inequalities and overcoming marginality. Seen from this sustainability perspective, planning evaluation must utilize critical-evaluative and narrative receptive models which assist different stakeholders in their understanding of urban fabric while trigger reflexive processes that catalyze wider transformations. In this paper, this approach servers as a guide for the evaluation of Mexico´s urban planning systems, and postulates a framework to better integrate sustainability notions into planning evaluation. The paper is introduced by an overview of the current debate on evaluation in urban planning. The state of art presented includes: the different perspectives and paradigms of planning evaluation and their fundamentals and scope, which have focused on three main aspects; goal attainment (did planning instruments do what they were supposed to?); performance and effectiveness of planning (retrospective analysis of planning process and policy analysis assessment); and the effects of process-considering decision problems and contexts rather than the techniques and methods. As well as, methodological innovations and improvements in planning evaluation. This comprehensive literature review provides the background to support the authors’ proposal for a set of general principles to evaluate urban planning, grounded on a sustainability perspective. In the second part the description of the shortcomings of the approaches to evaluate urban planning in Mexico set the basis for highlighting the need of regulatory and instrumental– but also explorative- and collaborative approaches. As a response to the inability of these isolated methods to capture planning complexity and strengthen the usefulness of evaluation process to improve the coherence and internal consistency of the planning practice itself. In the third section the general proposal to evaluate planning is described in its main aspects. It presents an innovative methodology for establishing a more holistic and integrated assessment which considers the interdependence between values, levels, roles and methods, and incorporates different stakeholders in the evaluation process. By doing so, this piece of work sheds light on how to advance urban sustainability through the integration of evaluation methodologies into planning.

Keywords: urban planning, evaluation methodologies, urban sustainability, innovative approaches

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Authors: Bassma A. Abdel Haleem, Ehab K. Emam, George E. Yacoub, Ashraf M. Salem

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Background: Obesity is an increasingly common problem in childhood. Childhood obesity is considered the main risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) (diabetes type 2, dyslipidemia, and hypertension). Recent studies estimated that among children with obesity 30-60% will develop MetS. Visceral fat thickness is a valuable predictor of the development of MetS. Computed tomography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry are the main techniques to assess visceral fat. However, they carry the risk of radiation exposure and are expensive procedures. Consequently, they are seldom used in the assessment of visceral fat in children. Some studies explored the potential of ultrasound as a substitute to assess visceral fat in the elderly and found promising results. Given the vulnerability of children to radiation exposure, we sought to evaluate ultrasound as a safer and more cost-efficient alternative for measuring visceral fat in obese children. Additionally, we assessed the correlation between visceral fat and obesity indicators such as insulin resistance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 46 children with obesity (aged 6–16 years). Their visceral fat was evaluated by ultrasound. Subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), i.e., the measurement from the skin-fat interface to the linea alba, and visceral fat thickness (VFT), i.e., the thickness from the linea alba to the aorta, were measured and correlated with anthropometric measures, fasting lipid profile, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and liver enzymes (ALT). Results: VFT assessed via ultrasound was found to strongly correlate with the BMI, HOMA-IR with AUC for VFT as a predictor of insulin resistance of 0.858 and cut off point of >2.98. VFT also correlates positively with serum triglycerides and serum ALT. VFT correlates negatively with HDL. Conclusions: Ultrasound, a safe and cost-efficient technique, could be a useful tool for measuring the abdominal fat thickness in children with obesity. Ultrasound-measured VFT could be an appropriate prognostic factor for insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, and elevated liver enzymes in obese children.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, pediatric obesity, sonography, visceral fat

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Authors: J. K. Karapetyan

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In this paper seismological-statistical analysis of actual instrumental data on the main tremor of the Great Japan earthquake 11.03.2011 is implemented for finding out the dependence between maximal values of peak ground accelerations (PGA) and epicentric distances. A number of peculiarities of manifestation of accelerations' maximum values at the interval of long epicentric distances are revealed which do not correspond with current scales of seismic intensity.

Keywords: earthquakes, instrumental records, seismic hazard, Japan

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Authors: Heba I. Bakry

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Academic writing in the tertiary education has always been a challenge to EFL learners. This proposed study aims at investigating the academic English language needs for PhD students and candidates studying humanities and social sciences at Cairo University. The research problem arises from the fact that most of them study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or for specific purposes (ESP) in their undergraduate years. They are hardly familiarized with the different academic genres, despite the fact that they use academic resources written in English, and they are required to publish a paper internationally. Upon understanding the conventions and constraints of academic writing, postgraduates will have the opportunity to interact with the international academic spheres conveniently. There is, thus, a need to be acquainted with the generally accepted features of the academic genres, such as academic papers and their part-genres, such as writing abstracts, in addition to other occluded genres, such as personal statements and recommendation letters. The lack of practicing many of these genres is caused by the fact that there are clear differences between the rhetoric and conventions of the students' native language, i.e., Arabic, and the target language they are learning in the academic context, i.e., English. Moreover, apart from the general culture represented ethno-linguistically, the learners' 'small' culture represented in a national setting like Cairo University is more defining than their general cultural affiliations that are associated with their nationality, race, or religion, for instance. The main research question of this proposed study is: What is the effect of teaching a genre-based EAP course on the research writing competence of PhD candidates? To reach an answer to this question, the study will attempt to answer the following sub-questions: 1. What are the Egyptian PhD candidates' EAP perceived needs? 2. What are the requisite academic research skills for Egyptian scholars? The study intends to assess the students’ needs, as a step to design and evaluate an EAP course that is based on explaining and scrutinizing a variety of academic genres. Adopting a diagnostic approach, the needs assessment uses quantitative data collected through questionnaires, and qualitative data assembled from semi-structured interviews with the students and their teachers, in addition to non-participant observations of a convenience sample.

Keywords: course design, English for academic purposes, genre-based, needs assessment

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