Search results for: M. Shaheed Hartley

Authors: Selcuk Comlekci, Mohammed Aboajmaa

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Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is promising technique for the modern wireless communications systems due to its robustness against multipath environment. The high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signal is one of the major drawbacks of OFDM system, PAPR degrade the performance of bit error rate (BER) and effect on the linear characteristics of high power amplifier (HPA). In this paper, we proposed DHT-Clipping reduction technique to reduce the high PAPR by the combination between discrete Hartley transform (DHT) and Clipping techniques. From the simulation results, we notified that DHT-Clipping technique offers better PAPR reduction than DHT and Clipping, as well as DHT-Clipping introduce improved BER performance better than clipping.

Keywords: ISI, cyclic prefix, BER, PAPR, HPA, DHT, subcarrier

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Authors: M. Shaheed Hartley

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Science and mathematics are regarded as gateway subjects in South Africa as they are the perceived route to careers in science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM). One of the biggest challenges that the country faces is the poor achievement of learners in these two learning areas in the external high school exit examination. To compound the problem many national and international benchmark tests paint a bleak picture of the state of science and mathematics in the country. In an attempt to address this challenge, the education department of the Eastern Cape Province invited the Science Learning Centre of the University of the Western Cape to provide training to their science teachers in the form of a structured course conducted on a part-time basis in 2010 and 2011. The course was directed at improving teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical strategies and practical and experimental skills. A total of 41 of the original 50 science teachers completed the course and received their certificates in 2012. As part of their continuous professional development, 31 science teachers enrolled for BEd Hons in science education in 2013 and 28 of them completed the course in 2014. These students graduated in 2015. Of the 28 BEd Hons students who completed the course 23 registered in 2015 for Masters in Science Education and were joined by an additional 3 students. This paper provides a reflection by science educators on the training, supervision and mentorship provided to them as students of science education. The growth and development of students through their own reflection and understanding as well as through the eyes of the lecturers and supervisors that took part in the training provide the evaluation of the professional development process over the past few years. This study attempts to identify the merits, challenges and limitations of this project and the lessons to be learnt on such projects. It also documents some of the useful performance indicators with a view to developing a framework for good practice for such programmes.

Keywords: reflection, science education, professional development, rural schools

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Authors: M. Shaheed Hartley

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There has been increasing pressure on education researchers and practitioners at higher education institutions to focus on the development of South Africa’s rural and peri-urban communities and improving their quality of life. Many tertiary institutions are obliged to review their outreach interventions in schools. To ensure that the support provided to schools is still relevant, a systemic evaluation of science educator needs is central to this process. These prioritised needs will serve as guide not only for the outreach projects of tertiary institutions, but also to service providers in general so that the process of addressing educators needs become coordinated, organised and delivered in a systemic manner. This paper describes one area of a broader needs assessment exercise to collect data regarding the needs of educators in a district of 45 secondary schools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This research focuses on the needs and challenges faced by science educators at these schools as articulated by the relevant stakeholders. The objectives of this investigation are two-fold: (1) to create a data base that will capture the needs and challenges identified by science educators of the selected secondary schools; and (2) to develop a needs profile for each of the participating secondary schools that will serve as a strategic asset to be shared with the various service providers as part of a community of practice whose core business is to support science educators and science education at large. The data was collected by a means of a needs assessment questionnaire (NAQ) which was developed in both actual and preferred versions. An open-ended questionnaire was also administered which allowed teachers to express their views. The categories of the questionnaire were predetermined by participating researchers, educators and education department officials. Group interviews were also held with the science teachers at each of the schools. An analysis of the data revealed important trends in terms of science educator needs and identified schools that can be clustered around priority needs, logistic reasoning and educator profiles. The needs database also provides opportunity for the community of practice to strategise and coordinate their interventions.

Keywords: needs assessment, science and mathematics education, evaluation, teaching and learning, South Africa

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Authors: Melissa Hartley, Erika McCoy

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Military-connected children with disabilities often require services in different countries throughout their school career. This research and development text seeks to provide current practices in finding and obtaining comparable special education services globally. Considerations in service provision include: language of the service provider, service delivery format, current service availability and finding comparable services, location of services, and readily available services. After providing current practices, the researchers will engage the audience in brainstorming additional ways at finding and obtaining comparable special education services globally.

Keywords: collaboration, international education, service delivery, special education services

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Authors: Muhammad A. Nadeem, Shaheed Ullah

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The article reports the synthesis of Cr2O3/C nanocomposites obtained by the direct carbonization of PFA/MIL-101(Cr) bulk composite. The nanocomposites were characterized by various instrumental techniques like powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and the surface characterized were investigated via N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. TEM and SAED analysis shows that turbostatic graphitic carbon was obtained with high crystallinity. The nanocomposites were tested for electrochemical supercapacitor and the faradic and non-Faradic processes were checked through cyclic voltammetry (CV). The maximum specific capacitance calculated for Cr2O3/C 900 sample from CV measurement is 301 F g-1 at 2 mV s-1 due to its maximum charge storing capacity as confirm by frequency response analysis.

Keywords: nanocomposites, transmission electron microscopy, non-faradic process

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Authors: Alexander Sutor, David Demetz

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We present methods for developing wireless and traceable sensors for photobioreactors or photoreactors in general. The main focus of application are reactors which are wirelessly powered. Due to the promising properties of the propagation of magnetic fields under water we implemented an inductive link with an on/off switched hartley-oscillator as transmitter and an LC-tank as receiver. For this inductive link we used a carrier frequency of 298 kHz. With this system we performed measurements to demonstrate the independence of the magnetic field from water or salty water. In contrast we showed the strongly reduced range of RF-transmitter-receiver systems at higher frequencies (433 MHz and 2.4 GHz) in water and in salty water. For implementing the traceability of the sensors, we performed measurements to show the well defined orientation of the magnetic field of a coil. This information will be used in future work for implementing an inductive link based traceability system for our sensors.

Keywords: wireless sensors, photoreactor, internal illumination, wireless power

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Authors: Ghazaleh Monazami Tehrani, Zhamak Monazami Tehrani, Raziyeh Hadavand

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Optimal site selection for temporary housing is one of the most important issues in crisis management. In this research, district six of Tehran city with high frequency and geographical distribution of earthquakes has been selected as a case study for positioning temporary housing after a probable earthquake. For achieving this goal this study tries to identify and evaluate distribution of location according to some standards such as compatible and incompatible urban land uses with utility of GIS and AHP. The results of this study show the most susceptible parts of this region in the center. According to the maps, north eastern part of Kordestan, Shaheed Gomnam intersection possesses the highest pixels value in terms of areal extent, therefore these places are recommended as an optimum site location for construction of emergency evacuation base.

Keywords: optimal site selection, temporary housing , crisis management, AHP, GIS

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Authors: Muhammad Fiaz, Muhammad Saqlain, Abid Mahmood, S. M. Saqlan Naqvi, Rizwan Aziz Qazi, Ghazala Kaukab Raja

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Background: Metabolic Syndrome is a clustering of multiple risk factors including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia. These risk phenotypes of metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalent world-wide, Therefore we aimed to identify the frequency of risk phenotypes among metabolic syndrome subjects in local adult Pakistani population. Methods: Screening of subjects visiting out-patient department of medicine, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad was performed to assess the occurrence of risk phenotypes among MetS subjects in Pakistani population. The Metabolic Syndrome was defined based on International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Anthropometric and biochemical assay results were recorded. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (16.0). Results: Our results showed that dyslipidemia (31.50%) and hyperglycemia (30.50%) was most population specific risk phenotypes of MetS. The results showed the order of association of metabolic risk phenotypes to MetS as follows hyperglycemia>dyslipidemia>obesity >hypertension. Conclusion: The hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia were found be the major risk phenotypes among the MetS subjects and have greater chances of deceloping MetS among Pakistani Population.

Keywords: dyslipidemia, hypertention, metabolic syndrome, obesity

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Authors: Gholamhossein Hosseini

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Two earliness cotton genotypes I and II, which had been developed by hybridization and backcross methods between sindise-80 as an early maturing gene parent and two other lines i.e. Red leaf and Bulgare-557 as a second parent, are subjected to different environmental conditions. The early maturing genotypes with coded names of I and II were compared with four native cotton cultivars in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications in three ecological regions of Iran from 2016-2017. Two early maturing genotypes along with four native cultivars viz. Varamin, Oltan, Sahel and Arya were planted in Agricultural Research Station of Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar for evaluation. Earliness data were collected for six treatments during two years in the three regions except missing data for the second year of Kashmar. Therefore, missed data were estimated and imputed. For testing the homogeneity of error variances, each experiment at a given location or year is analyzed separately using Hartley and Bartlett’s Chi-square tests and both tests confirmed homogeneity of variance. Combined analysis of variance showed that genotypes I and II were superior in Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar regions. Earliness means and their interaction effects were compared with Duncan’s multiple range tests. Finally combined analysis of variance showed that genotypes I and II were superior in Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar regions. Earliness means and their interaction effects are compared with Duncan’s multiple range tests.

Keywords: cotton, combined, analysis, earliness

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Authors: Javeria Khurshid

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The aim of this study is to bring forth the interpretation that Agha Shahid Ali in his verses exhibits. The study will focus on the conflict and chaos in his verses, reflecting the sense of identity attached to Kashmir. His verse advertently depicts the political turmoil and social dissent in the 'un-silent' valley, and ultimately, it expresses the chaos, anguish, and suffering, a sense of longing and belonging to this conflicted state of 'being' as well as 'mind.' Agha Shahid Ali, Kashmiri- American poet who writes of Kashmiri tragedies that continue to remain unarticulated and unheard to the major parts of world, articulates the narrative that showcases the conflicted self of Kashmiris in general and Ali’s in particular. The focus of the paper will be his poetry that debunks the claims of civility and how Kashmiri identity is kept either maligned or obscured in the major narratives that arise from the mainstream writers. However, Ali’s verses are substantially broad and clear, and very brilliantly, he rewrites Kashmir in his avid and novel voice, his verses embracing the Kashmiri self, effectively anew in English language. The paper will clearly indicate how Ali remains true to his name, 'shaheed' and 'shahid,' both a martyr and witness. Ali’s fate has been intricately entangled with Kashmir, even after his untimely death. He has fully and beautifully immersed himself in the surreal world of the conflict prevalent in the Valley, and this paper will examine the grotesque and gory history that has been spanning over the years in Kashmir with never ending cycle of conflict. The originality and innovation of his poetry surfaces from the anarchy of Kashmir, spanning between its culture, historical context, the art of memory and imagery.

Keywords: identity, self, turmoil, Kashmir

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Authors: Alireza Abbassi Monjezi, Mohammad Hasan Shaheed

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Flood, caused by excessive rainfall, monsoon, cyclone and tsunami is a common disaster in many countries of the world especially sea connected low-lying countries. A stand-alone self-powered water filtration module for decontamination of floodwater has been designed and modeled. A combination forward osmosis – low pressure reverse osmosis (FO-LPRO) system powered by solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) energy is investigated which could overcome the main barriers to water supply for remote areas and ensure off-grid filtration. The proposed system is designed to be small scale and portable to provide on-site potable water to communities that are no longer themselves mobile nor can be reached quickly by the aid agencies. FO is an osmotically driven process that uses osmotic pressure gradients to drive water across a controlled pore membrane from a feed solution (low osmotic pressure) to a draw solution (high osmotic pressure). This drops the demand for high hydraulic pressures and therefore the energy demand. There is also a tendency for lower fouling, easier fouling layer removal and higher water recovery. In addition, the efficiency of the PVT unit will be maximized through freshwater cooling which is integrated into the system. A filtration module with the capacity of 5 m3/day is modeled to treat floodwater and provide drinking water. The module can be used as a tool for disaster relief, particularly in the aftermath of flood and tsunami events.

Keywords: flood resilience, membrane desalination, portable water treatment, solar energy

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Authors: Mohammadreza Hajialigol, Nargues Falahi Charkhabi, Fatemeh Shahryari, Saadat Sarikhani

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Iran is the third producer of Persian walnut worldwide. However, its walnut trees have been under threat from decline during last decade. Walnut canker caused by B. nigrifluens and B. rubrifaciens was recorded in multiple regions of Iran. Furthermore, Brenneria rosae subsp. rosae and Gibbsiella quercinecans were recently recognized as responsible for walnut decline in northwestern Iran. This study aimed to identify the causal agent of walnut decline in Kermanshah and Isfahan. MATERIAL AND METHODS Symptomatic samples were collected from affected walnut trees of Kermanshah and Isfahan provinces. The pathogenicity of strains was proved on immature walnut fruits cv. ‘Hartley’ and young green twigs of two-year-old walnut seedling cv. ‘Chandler’. Pathogenic strains were subjected to conventional phenotypic tests. 16S rRNA, gyrB, and infB genes were partially amplified and sequenced. RESULTS Irregular longitudinal cankers and dark lesions were observed in the outer and inner bark, respectively. Twenty-four strains were isolated on EMB-agar media. Fourteen strains were able to cause necrosis and a dark-colored region in the mesocarp and on young green twigs around the inoculation site 14 and 30 days post-inoculation, respectively. Strains were able to hydrolyze Tween 20, Tween 80, gelatin and esculin, however, did not produce indole or urease. Pairwise comparison, the 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequences of strain I2 were 100% identical with those of Rahnella victoriana FRB 225T. Moreover, a phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on the concatenated sequences of two housekeeping gene fragments, gyrB (601 bp) and infB (615 bp), revealed that the strains I2, I5, and KE6 were clustered with R. victoriana FRB 225T. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of R. victoriana in association with walnut decline. This result is necessary to find resistant genotypes.

Keywords: emerging pathogens, Iran, juglans regia, MLSA

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Authors: D. Berg, N. Hartley, L. Nasr

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This paper presents a conceptual model of human-robot interaction within service encounters and the effect on the well-being of both consumers and service providers. In this paper, service providers are those employees who work alongside frontline service robots. The significance of this paper lies in the knowledge created which outlines how frontline service robots can be effectively utilized in service encounters for the benefit of organizations and society as a whole. As this paper is conceptual in nature, the main methodologies employed are theoretical, namely problematization and theory building. The significance of this paper is underpinned by the shift of service robots from manufacturing plants and factory floors to consumer-facing service environments. This service environment places robots in direct contact with frontline employees and consumers creating a hybrid workplace where humans work alongside service robots. This change from back-end to front-end roles may have implications not only on the physical environment, servicescape, design, and strategy of service offerings and encounters but also on the human parties of the service encounter itself. Questions such as ‘how are frontline service robots impacting and changing the service encounter?’ and ‘what effect are such changes having on the well-being of the human actors in a service encounter?’ spring to mind. These questions form the research question of this paper. To truly understand social service robots, an interdisciplinary perspective is required. Besides understanding the function, system, design or mechanics of a service robot, it is also necessary to understand human-robot interaction. However not simply human-robot interaction, but particularly what happens when such robots are placed in commercial settings and when human-robot interaction becomes consumer-robot interaction and employee-robot interaction? A service robot in this paper is characterized by two main factors; its social characteristics and the consumer-facing environment within which it operates. The conceptual framework presented in this paper contributes to interdisciplinary discussions surrounding social robotics, service, and technology’s impact on consumer and service provider well-being, and hopes that such knowledge will help improve services, as well as the prosperity and well-being of society.

Keywords: frontline service robots, human-robot interaction, service encounters, well-being

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Authors: Mohammadreza Hajialigol, Nargues Falahi Charkhabi, Fatemeh Shahryari, Saadat Sarikhani

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Walnut canker is characterized by brown to blackish roundish blotches on the trunks and main branches, necrosis of inner bark and bleeding with dark brown to black-colored exudates. The present study aimed to identify the causative agents of walnut decline by their phenotypic features, approval of pathogenicity, the partial sequencing of the housekeeping genes in Razavi Khorasan. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ten Symptomatic samples were collected from walnut orchards of Razavi Khorasan in 2019. Pathogenicity of all isolated strains was carried out on walnut immature fruits cv. ‘Hartley’ and young green twigs of cv. ‘Chandler’. All pathogenic strains were subjected to physiological, morphological and biochemical tests. 16S rRNA and housekeeping genes (fusA, leuS, and pyrG) were partially amplified and sequenced. RESULTS Eight strains were able to cause necrosis and a dark-colored region in the mesocarp of immature walnut fruits, and three representative strains caused necrosis on young inoculated twigs. Strains utilized starch, however, did not utilized esculin, Tween 20, Tween 80, and gelatin. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain KH7 indicated 99.63 % similarity to that of Citrobacter braakii ATCC5113T. The phylogenetic analyses based on the partial sequencing of three housekeeping genes, fusA (633 bp), pyrG (305), and leuS (640 bp), demonstrated that strains KH1, KH3, and KH7 belong to C. braakii species in a monophyletic clade with high bootstrap support. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C. braakii as a new plant pathogen which cause walnut decline. Identification of bacteria associated with walnut decline will eventually improve our understanding of the etiology of the disease and may result in improved management techniques for control.

Keywords: emerging pathogens, Iran, juglans regia, MLSA

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Authors: Amna Imtiaz

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Aims: To correlate serum ferritin with left ventricular function in beta thalassemia major patients with increased transfusion dependence and to find out whether echocardiography can be used to assess pre clinical cardiac disease in these patients. Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted at Department of Pathology, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. 60 patients of beta thalassemia major with increased transfusion dependence were enrolled in this study. Serum ferritin levels of all patients were measured by using indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Echocardiography was performed on all patients by a consultant cardiologist by linking conventional echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging. Ejection fraction and E/A ratio were measured in all patients to assess left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. Results: On the basis of serum ferritin level, patients were divided into three groups. Group I consisted of patients having serum ferritin level equal to or less than 2500 ng/ml. A total of 25 patients were placed in this group. Group II included patients having serum ferritin level between 2500 to 5000 ng/ml. A total of 22 patients were placed in this group. Group III included patients having serum ferritin level more than 5000 ng/ml. This group consisted of 13 patients. All patients having serum ferritin below 2500ng/ml had normal systolic function, and only 16% of the patients in this group had diastolic dysfunction as reflected by abnormal E/A ratio. In group II, 27% of the patients had systolic dysfunction reflected by subnormal ejection fraction while 40% of the patients had diastolic dysfunction. In group III, 62% of the patients had abnormal systolic and diastolic function. Pearson correlation was used to find a correlation between serum ferritin and left ventricular function. A strong negative correlation was found which is reflected by a p value of less than 0.05 which is significant. Chi square test is used to correlate serum ferritin with E/A ratio. P value came out to be less than 0.05 which is significant.

Keywords: beta thalassemia major, left ventricular function, serum ferritin, transfusion dependence

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Authors: Abu S. Mustafa, Mohammad W. Khan, Faraz Shaheed Khan, Nazima Habibi

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Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide prevalence. There are at least four species and several strains of Brucella that cause human disease. Brucella genomes have very limited variation across strains, which hinder strain identification using classical molecular techniques, including PCR and 16 S rDNA sequencing. The aim of this study was to perform whole genome sequencing of clinical isolates of Brucella and perform bioinformatics and comparative genomics analyses to determine the existence of genetic differences across the isolates of a single Brucella species and strain. The draft sequence data were generated from 15 clinical isolates of Brucella melitensis (biovar 2 strain 63/9) using MiSeq next generation sequencing platform. The generated reads were used for further assembly and analysis. All the analysis was performed using Bioinformatics work station (8 core i7 processor, 8GB RAM with Bio-Linux operating system). FastQC was used to determine the quality of reads and low quality reads were trimmed or eliminated using Fastx_trimmer. Assembly was done by using Velvet and ABySS softwares. The ordering of assembled contigs was performed by Mauve. An online server RAST was employed to annotate the contigs assembly. Annotated genomes were compared using Mauve and ACT tools. The QC score for DNA sequence data, generated by MiSeq, was higher than 30 for 80% of reads with more than 100x coverage, which suggested that data could be utilized for further analysis. However when analyzed by FastQC, quality of four reads was not good enough for creating a complete genome draft so remaining 11 samples were used for further analysis. The comparative genome analyses showed that despite sharing same gene sets, single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions existed across different genomes, which provided a variable extent of diversity to these bacteria. In conclusion, the next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and comparative genome analysis can be utilized to find variations (point mutations, insertions and deletions) across different genomes of Brucella within a single strain. This information could be useful in surveillance and epidemiological studies supported by Kuwait University Research Sector grants MI04/15 and SRUL02/13.

Keywords: brucella, bioinformatics, comparative genomics, whole genome sequencing

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