Search results for: Power flow analysis

Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Saeideh Mohammadi

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Site response has a profound effect on earthquake damages. Seismic interaction of urban tunnels with surface structures could also affect seismic site response. Here, we use FLAC 2D to investigate the interaction of a single tunnel and twin tunnels-surface structures on the site response. Soil stratification and properties are selected based on Line. No 7 of the Tehran subway. The effect of surface structure is considered in two ways: Equivalent surcharge and geometrical modeling of the structure. Comparison of the results shows that consideration of the structure geometry is vital in dynamic analysis and leads to the changes in the magnitude of displacements, accelerations and response spectrum. Therefore it is necessary for the surface structures to be wholly modeled and not just considered as a surcharge in dynamic analysis. The use of twin tunnel also leads to the reduction of dynamic residual settlement.

Keywords: Superstructure, tunnel, site response, surcharge, interaction.

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Authors: Richard Pircher, Lukas Zenk, Hanna Risku

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Using activity theory, organisational theory and didactics as theoretical foundations, a comprehensive model of the organisational dimensions relevant for learning and knowledge transfer will be developed. In a second step, a Learning Assessment Guideline will be elaborated. This guideline will be designed to permit a targeted analysis of organisations to identify the status quo in those areas crucial to the implementation of learning and knowledge transfer. In addition, this self-analysis tool will enable learning managers to select adequate didactic models for e- and blended learning. As part of the European Integrated Project "Process-oriented Learning and Information Exchange" (PROLIX), this model of organisational prerequisites for learning and knowledge transfer will be empirically tested in four profit and non-profit organisations in Great Britain, Germany and France (to be finalized in autumn 2006). The findings concern not only the capability of the model of organisational dimensions, but also the predominant perceptions of and obstacles to learning in organisations.

Keywords: Activity theory, knowledge management organisational theory, "Process-oriented Learning and Information Exchange" (PROLIX).

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Authors: G. Gradinaru, S. Olteanu

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The quality improvements of the environmental elements could increase the recreational opportunities in a certain area (destination). The technique of the need for recreation focuses on choosing certain destinations for recreational purposes. The basic exchange taken into consideration is the one between the satisfaction gained after staying in that area and the value expressed in money and time allocated. The number of tourists in the respective area, the duration of staying and the money spent including transportation provide information on how individuals rank the place or certain aspects of the area (such as the quality of the environmental elements). For the statistical analysis of the environmental benefits offered by an area through the need of recreation technique, the following stages are suggested: - characterization of the reference area based on the statistical variables considered; - estimation of the environmental benefit through comparing the reference area with other similar areas (having the same environmental characteristics), from the perspective of the statistical variables considered. The model compared in recreation technique faced with a series of difficulties which refers to the reference area and correct transformation of time in money.

Keywords: Comparison in recreation technique, the quality of the environmental elements, statistical analysis model.

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Authors: Jean C. A. Sousa, Julio Cesar Maciel Santos, Andressa J. Rubio, Edneia A. S. Paccola, Natália U. Yamaguchi

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A bibliometric analysis in the Web of Science database was used to identify overall scientific results of graphene inks to date (2008 to 2018). The objective of this study was to evaluate the evolutionary tendency of graphene inks research and to identify its aspects, aiming to provide data that can guide future work. The contributions of different researches, languages, thematic categories, periodicals, place of publication, institutes, funding agencies, articles cited and applications were analyzed. The results revealed a growing number of annual publications, of 258 papers found, 107 were included because they met the inclusion criteria. Three main applications were identified: synthesis and characterization, electronics and surfaces. The most relevant research on graphene inks has been summarized in this article, and graphene inks for electronic devices presented the most incident theme according to the research trends during the studied period. It is estimated that this theme will remain in evidence and will contribute to the direction of future research in this area.

Keywords: Bibliometric, coating, nanomaterials, scientometrics.

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Authors: Yao Jie, Yeo Khoon Seng

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In recent decades, flapping wing aerodynamics has attracted great interest. Understanding the physics of biological flyers such as birds and insects can help improve the performance of micro air vehicles. The present research focuses on the aerodynamics of insect-like flapping wing flight with the approach of numerical computation. Insect model of hawkmoth is adopted in the numerical study with rigid wing assumption currently. The numerical model integrates the computational fluid dynamics of the flow and active control of wing kinematics to achieve stable flight. The computation grid is a hybrid consisting of background Cartesian nodes and clouds of mesh-free grids around immersed boundaries. The generalized finite difference method is used in conjunction with single value decomposition (SVD-GFD) in computational fluid dynamics solver to study the dynamics of a free hovering hummingbird hawkmoth. The longitudinal dynamics of the hovering flight is governed by three control parameters, i.e., wing plane angle, mean positional angle and wing beating frequency. In present work, a PID controller works out the appropriate control parameters with the insect motion as input. The controller is adjusted to acquire desired maneuvering of the insect flight. The numerical scheme in present study is proven to be accurate and stable to simulate the flight of the hummingbird hawkmoth, which has relatively high Reynolds number. The PID controller is responsive to provide feedback to the wing kinematics during the hovering flight. The simulated hovering flight agrees well with the real insect flight. The present numerical study offers a promising route to investigate the free flight aerodynamics of insects, which could overcome some of the limitations of experiments.

Keywords: Aerodynamics, flight control, computational fluid dynamics, flapping-wing flight.

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Authors: Ahmad Abdulkadir Ibrahim

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Observation of the methodology of Islamic economics laid down for the methods and instruments of analysis and even some of its basic assumptions in the modern world; is a matter that is of paramount importance. There is a need to examine the implications of different suggested definitions of Islamic economics, exploring its scope and attempting to outline its methodology. This paper attempts to deal with the definition of Islamic economics, its methodology, and its scope. It will outline the main methodological problem by addressing the question of whether Islamic economics calls for a methodology of its own or as an expanded economics. It also aims at drawing the attention of economists in the modern world to the obligation and consideration of the methodology of Islamic economics. The methodology adopted in this research is library research through the consultation of relevant literature, which focuses on the thematic study of the subject matter. This is followed by an analysis and discussion of the contents of the materials used. It is concluded that there is a certain degree of inconsistency in the way assumptions are incorporated that perhaps are alien to Islamic economics. The paper also observed that there is a difference between Islamic economists and other (conventional) economists in the profession. An important conclusion is that Islamic economists need to rethink what economics is all about and whether we really have to create an alternative to economics in the form of Islamic economics or simply have an Islamic perspective of the same discipline.

Keywords: Islamic economics, conventional economics, Muslim economists, modern economy.

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Authors: C. Cole, M. Osmani, A. Wheatley, M. Quddus

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EU and UK Government targets for minimising and recycling household waste has led the responsible authorities to research the alternatives to landfill. In the work reported here the local waste collection authority (Charnwood Borough Council) has adopted the aspirational strategy of becoming a “Zero Waste Borough” to lead the drive for public participation. The work concludes that the separate collection of food waste would be needed to meet the two regulatory standards on recycling and biologically active wastes.

An analysis of a neighbouring Authority (Newcastle-Under-Lyne Borough Council (NBC), a similar sized local authority that has a successful weekly food waste collection service was undertaken. Results indicate that the main challenges for Charnwood Borough Council would be gaining householder co-operation, the extra costs of collection and organising alternative treatment. The analysis also demonstrated that there was potential offset value via anaerobic digestion for CBC to overcome these difficulties and improve its recycling performance.

Keywords: England, Food Waste Collections, Household Waste, Local Authority.

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Authors: Er, A. C., Rosli, M. H., Asmahani A., Mohamad Naim M. R., Harsuzilawati M.

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Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that has peaked to an alarming rate in recent decades. It can be found in tropical and sub-tropical climate. In Malaysia, dengue has been declared as one of the national health threat to the public. This study aimed to map the spatial distributions of dengue cases in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor via a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistic tools. Data related to dengue was gathered from the various government health agencies. The location of dengue cases was geocoded using a handheld GPS Juno SB Trimble. A total of 197 dengue cases occurring in 2003 were used in this study. Those data then was aggregated into sub-district level and then converted into GIS format. The study also used population or demographic data as well as the boundary of Hulu Langat. To assess the spatial distribution of dengue cases three spatial statistics method (Moran-s I, average nearest neighborhood (ANN) and kernel density estimation) were applied together with spatial analysis in the GIS environment. Those three indices were used to analyze the spatial distribution and average distance of dengue incidence and to locate the hot spot of dengue cases. The results indicated that the dengue cases was clustered (p < 0.01) when analyze using Moran-s I with z scores 5.03. The results from ANN analysis showed that the average nearest neighbor ratio is less than 1 which is 0.518755 (p < 0.0001). From this result, we can expect the dengue cases pattern in Hulu Langat district is exhibiting a cluster pattern. The z-score for dengue incidence within the district is -13.0525 (p < 0.0001). It was also found that the significant spatial autocorrelation of dengue incidences occurs at an average distance of 380.81 meters (p < 0.0001). Several locations especially residential area also had been identified as the hot spots of dengue cases in the district.

Keywords: Dengue, geographic information system (GIS), spatial analysis, spatial statistics

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Authors: Y. Rathiranee, D. M. Semasinghe

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This study attempts to identify the factors influencing on women empowerment of rural area in Sri Lanka through micro finance services. Data were collected from one hundred (100) rural women involving self-employment activities through a questionnaire using direct personal interviews. Judgment and Convenience Random sampling technique was used to select the sample size from three Divisional Secretariat divisions of Kandawalai, Poonakari and Karachchi in Kilinochchi District. The factor analysis was performed on fourteen (14) variables for screening and reducing the variables to identify the influencing factors on empowerment. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between the three empowerment factors and the impact of micro finance on overall empowerment of rural women. The result of this study summarized the variables into three factors namely decision making, freedom to mobility and family support and which are positively associated with empowerment. In addition to this the value of adjusted R2 is 0.248 indicates that all the variables extracted can be explained 24.8% of the variation in the women empowerment through microfinance. Independent variables of these three factors have positive correlation with women empowerment as well as significant values at 5 percent level.

Keywords: Influencing factors, Micro finance, rural women and women empowerment.

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Authors: A. Ghanbari Mardasi, N. Wu, C. Wu

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In this study, a spatial wavelet-based crack localization technique for a thick beam is presented. Wavelet scale in spatial wavelet transformation is optimized to enhance crack detection sensitivity. A windowing function is also employed to erase the edge effect of the wavelet transformation, which enables the method to detect and localize cracks near the beam/measurement boundaries. Theoretical model and vibration analysis considering the crack effect are first proposed and performed in MATLAB based on the Timoshenko beam model. Gabor wavelet family is applied to the beam vibration mode shapes derived from the theoretical beam model to magnify the crack effect so as to locate the crack. Relative wavelet coefficient is obtained for sensitivity analysis by comparing the coefficient values at different positions of the beam with the lowest value in the intact area of the beam. Afterward, the optimal wavelet scale corresponding to the highest relative wavelet coefficient at the crack position is obtained for each vibration mode, through numerical simulations. The same procedure is performed for cracks with different sizes and positions in order to find the optimal scale range for the Gabor wavelet family. Finally, Hanning window is applied to different vibration mode shapes in order to overcome the edge effect problem of wavelet transformation and its effect on the localization of crack close to the measurement boundaries. Comparison of the wavelet coefficients distribution of windowed and initial mode shapes demonstrates that window function eases the identification of the cracks close to the boundaries.

Keywords: Edge effect, scale optimization, small crack locating, spatial wavelet.

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Authors: Pedro Pablo Ramírez Sánchez, Alassane Ballé Ndiaye, Roberto Rendeiro Martín-Cejas

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The aim of this paper is to analyse the different environmental policies adopted in Europe for car emissions, to comment on some of the possible perverse effects generated and point out these policies which are considered more efficient under the environmental perspective. This paper is focused on passenger cars as this category is the most significant in road transport. The utility of this research lies in this being the first step or basis to improve and optimise actual policies. The methodology applied in this paper refers to a comparative analysis from a practical and theoretical point of view of European environmental policies in road transport. This work describes an overview of the road transport industry in Europe pointing out some relevant aspects such as the contribution of road transport to total emissions and the vehicle fleet in Europe. Additionally, we propose a brief practice guide with the combined policies in order to optimise their aim.

Keywords: Air quality, climate change, emission, environment, perverse effect, road transport, tax policy.

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Authors: T. Kumar, Achinta Bera, Ajay Mandal

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Use of microemulsion in enhanced oil recovery has become more attractive in recent years because of its high level of extraction efficiency. Experimental investigations have been made on characterization of microemulsions of oil-brinesurfactant/ cosurfactant system for its use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Sodium dodecyl sulfate, propan-1-ol and heptane were selected as surfactant, cosurfactant and oil respectively for preparation of microemulsion. The effects of salinity on the relative phase volumes and solubilization parameters have also been studied. As salinity changes from low to high value, phase transition takes place from Winsor I to Winsor II via Winsor III. Suitable microemulsion composition has been selected based on its stability and ability to reduce interfacial tension. A series of flooding experiments have been performed using the selected microemulsion. The flooding experiments were performed in a core flooding apparatus using uniform sand pack. The core holder was tightly packed with uniform sands (60-100 mesh) and saturated with brines of different salinities. It was flooded with the brine at 25 psig and the absolute permeability was calculated from the flow rate of the through sand pack. The sand pack was then flooded with the crude oil at 800 psig to irreducible water saturation. The initial water saturation was determined on the basis of mass balance. Waterflooding was conducted by placing the coreholder horizontally at a constant injection pressure at 200 pisg. After water flooding, when water-cut reached above 95%, around 0.5 pore volume (PV) of the above microemulsion slug was injected followed by chasing water. The experiments were repeated using different composition of microemulsion slug. The additional recoveries were calculated by material balance. Encouraging results with additional recovery more than 20% of original oil in place above the conventional water flooding have been observed.

Keywords: Microemulsion Flooding, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Phase Behavior, Optimal salinity

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Authors: H. Shayeghi, H. A. Shayanfar, G. Azimi

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Short-Term Load Forecasting (STLF) plays an important role for the economic and secure operation of power systems. In this paper, Continuous Genetic Algorithm (CGA) is employed to evolve the optimum large neural networks structure and connecting weights for one-day ahead electric load forecasting problem. This study describes the process of developing three layer feed-forward large neural networks for load forecasting and then presents a heuristic search algorithm for performing an important task of this process, i.e. optimal networks structure design. The proposed method is applied to STLF of the local utility. Data are clustered due to the differences in their characteristics. Special days are extracted from the normal training sets and handled separately. In this way, a solution is provided for all load types, including working days and weekends and special days. We find good performance for the large neural networks. The proposed methodology gives lower percent errors all the time. Thus, it can be applied to automatically design an optimal load forecaster based on historical data.

Keywords: Feed-forward Large Neural Network, Short-TermLoad Forecasting, Continuous Genetic Algorithm.

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Authors: M. Chaichanyut, S. Tungjitkusolmun

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This research is presented with microwave (MW) ablation by using the T-Prong monopole antennas. In the study, three-dimensional (3D) finite-element methods (FEM) were utilized to analyse: the tissue heat flux, temperature distributions (heating pattern) and volume destruction during MW ablation in liver cancer tissue. The configurations of T-Prong monopole antennas were considered: Three T-prong antenna, Expand T-Prong antenna and Arrow T-Prong antenna. The 3D FEMs solutions were based on Maxwell and bio-heat equations. The microwave power deliveries were 10 W; the duration of ablation in all cases was 300s. Our numerical result, heat flux and the hotspot occurred at the tip of the T-prong antenna for all cases. The temperature distribution pattern of all antennas was teardrop. The Arrow T-Prong antenna can induce the highest temperature within cancer tissue. The microwave ablation was successful when the region where the temperatures exceed 50°C (i.e. complete destruction). The Expand T-Prong antenna could complete destruction the liver cancer tissue was maximized (6.05 cm³). The ablation pattern or axial ratio (Widest/length) of Expand T-Prong antenna and Arrow T-Prong antenna was 1, but the axial ratio of Three T-prong antenna of about 1.15.

Keywords: Liver cancer, T-Prong antenna, Finite element, Microwave ablation.

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Authors: S. Kamyabi, M. Salari, H. Shahabi

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One of the processes of slope that occurs every year in Iran and some parts of world and cause a lot of criminal and financial harms is called landslide. They are plenty of method to stability landslide in soil and rock slides. The use of the best method with the least cost and in the shortest time is important for researchers. In this research, determining the best method of stability is investigated by using of Decision Support systems. DSS is made for this purpose and was used (for Hasan Salaran area in Kurdistan). Field study data from topography, slope, geology, geometry of landslide and the related features was used. The related data entered decision making managements programs (DSS) (ALES).Analysis of mass stability indicated the instability potential at present. Research results show that surface and sub surface drainage the best method of stabilizing. Analysis of stability shows that acceptable increase in security coefficient is a consequence of drainage.

Keywords: Landslide, Decision Support systems, stability, Hasan Salaran landslide, Kurdistan province, Iran.

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Authors: Stephen Akuma, Isaac Terngu Adom, Evelyn Doofan Akuma

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Generation after generation of humans has experienced conflicts leading to needless deaths. Usually, it begins as a minor argument that occasionally escalates into a full-fledged conflict. There has been a lingering crisis in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) of Africa for over a decade leading to bloodshed that has claimed thousands of lives. The terrorist group, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for these deaths. Efforts have been made by the governments in the LCB region to end the crisis through kinetic approaches, but the conflict persists. In this work, we explored non-kinetic methods used by social scientists in resolving conflicts, with a focus on computational approaches due to the increasing processing power of the computer. Firstly, we reviewed the innovative computational methods available for researchers working on conflict, violence, and peace. Secondly, we described how an Agent-Based Model (ABM) can be linked with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to model the LCB. Finally, this research discusses the challenges and opportunities in constructing a Geographic Information System linked Agent-Based Model of the LCB region.

Keywords: Agent-based modelling, conflict, Geographical Information Systems, Lake Chad Basin, simulation.

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Authors: Zhao Hui, Yan Huaxiao, Zhang Mengmeng, Qin Song

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The pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of seven marine biomass, which are fixed Enteromorpha clathrata, floating Enteromorpha clathrata, Ulva lactuca L., Zosterae Marinae L., Thallus Laminariae, Asparagus schoberioides kunth and Undaria pinnatifida (Harv.), were studied with thermogravimetric analysis method. Simultaneously, cornstalk, which is a grass biomass, and sawdust, which is a lignocellulosic biomass, were references. The basic pyrolysis characteristics were studied by using TG- DTG-DTA curves. The results showed that there were three stages (dehydration, dramatic weight loss and slow weight loss) during the whole pyrolysis process of samples. The Tmax of marine biomass was significantly lower than two kinds of terrestrial biomass. Zosterae Marinae L. had a relatively high stability of pyrolysis, but floating Enteromorpha clathrata had lowest stability of pyrolysis and a good combustion characteristics. The corresponding activation energy E and frequency factor A were obtained by Coats-Redfern method. It was found that the pyrolysis reaction mechanism functions of three kinds of biomass are different.

Keywords: macroalgae biomass, pyrolysis, thermogravimetric analysis, thermolysis kinetics.

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Authors: Thomas O. Olwal, Michael A. van Wyk, Barend J. van Wyk

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In this paper we present a soft timing phase estimation (STPE) method for wireless mobile receivers operating in low signal to noise ratios (SNRs). Discrete Polyphase Matched (DPM) filters, a Log-maximum a posterior probability (MAP) and/or a Soft-output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) are combined to derive a new timing recovery (TR) scheme. We apply this scheme to wireless cellular communication system model that comprises of a raised cosine filter (RCF), a bit-interleaved turbo-coded multi-level modulation (BITMM) scheme and the channel is assumed to be memory-less. Furthermore, no clock signals are transmitted to the receiver contrary to the classical data aided (DA) models. This new model ensures that both the bandwidth and power of the communication system is conserved. However, the computational complexity of ideal turbo synchronization is increased by 50%. Several simulation tests on bit error rate (BER) and block error rate (BLER) versus low SNR reveal that the proposed iterative soft timing recovery (ISTR) scheme outperforms the conventional schemes.

Keywords: discrete polyphase matched filters, maximum likelihood estimators, soft timing phase estimation, wireless mobile systems.

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Authors: Rakesh Prajapati, Purvik Patel, Hardik Patel

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Productivity and quality are two important aspects that have become great concerns in today’s competitive global market. Every production/manufacturing unit mainly focuses on these areas in relation to the process, as well as the product developed. The electrical discharge machining (EDM) process, even now it is an experience process, wherein the selected parameters are still often far from the maximum, and at the same time selecting optimization parameters is costly and time consuming. Material Removal Rate (MRR) during the process has been considered as a productivity estimate with the aim to maximize it, with an intention of minimizing surface roughness taken as most important output parameter. These two opposites in nature requirements have been simultaneously satisfied by selecting an optimal process environment (optimal parameter setting). Objective function is obtained by Regression Analysis and Analysis of Variance. Then objective function is optimized using Genetic Algorithm technique. The model is shown to be effective; MRR and Surface Roughness improved using optimized machining parameters.

Keywords: Material removal rate, TWR, OC, DOE, ANOVA, MINITAB.

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Authors: Geeta Partap, Nitika Chugh

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The present paper deals with the flexural vibrations of homogeneous, isotropic, generalized micropolar microstretch thermoelastic thin Euler-Bernoulli beam resonators, due to Exponential time varying load. Both the axial ends of the beam are assumed to be at simply supported conditions. The governing equations have been solved analytically by using Laplace transforms technique twice with respect to time and space variables respectively. The inversion of Laplace transform in time domain has been performed by using the calculus of residues to obtain deflection.The analytical results have been numerically analyzed with the help of MATLAB software for magnesium like material. The graphical representations and interpretations have been discussed for Deflection of beam under Simply Supported boundary condition and for distinct considered values of time and space as well. The obtained results are easy to implement for engineering analysis and designs of resonators (sensors), modulators, actuators.

Keywords: Microstretch, deflection, exponential load, Laplace transforms, Residue theorem, simply supported.

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Authors: Amin Aghatabar Roodbary, Mohammad Hassan Bastani

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One of the defects of stepped frequency radar systems is their sensitivity to target motion. In such systems, target motion causes range cell shift, false peaks, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) reduction and range profile spreading because of power spectrum interference of each range cell in adjacent range cells which induces distortion in High Resolution Range Profile (HRRP) and disrupt target recognition process. Thus Target Motion Parameters (TMPs) effects compensation should be employed. In this paper, such a method for estimating TMPs (velocity and acceleration) and consequently eliminating or suppressing the unwanted effects on HRRP based on entropy minimization has been proposed. This method is carried out in two major steps: in the first step, a discrete search method has been utilized over the whole acceleration-velocity lattice network, in a specific interval seeking to find a less-accurate minimum point of the entropy function. Then in the second step, a 1-D search over velocity is done in locus of the minimum for several constant acceleration lines, in order to enhance the accuracy of the minimum point found in the first step. The provided simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: ATR, HRRP, motion compensation, SFW, TMP.

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Authors: Fardin Boustani , Mohammah Hosein Hojati

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The Beshar River is one aquatic ecosystem,which is affected by pollutants. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of human activities on the water quality of the Beshar river. This river is approximately 190 km in length and situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20' to 51° 48' E and 30° 18' to 30° 52' N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province next to the city of Yasuj in southern Iran. The Beshar river has been contaminated by industrial, agricultural and other activities in this region such as factories, hospitals, agricultural farms, urban surface runoff and effluent of wastewater treatment plants. In order to evaluate the effects of these pollutants on the quality of the Beshar river, five monitoring stations were selected along its course. The first station is located upstream of Yasuj near the Dehnow village; stations 2 to 4 are located east, south and west of city; and the 5th station is located downstream of Yasuj. Several water quality parameters were sampled. These include pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD), temperature, conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids and discharge or flow measurements. Water samples from the five stations were collected and analysed to determine the following physicochemical parameters: EC, pH, T.D.S, T.H, No2, DO, BOD5, COD during 2008 to 2009. The study shows that the BOD5 value of station 1 is at a minimum (1.5 ppm) and increases downstream from stations 2 to 4 to a maximum (7.2 ppm), and then decreases at station 5. The DO values of station 1 is a maximum (9.55 ppm), decreases downstream to stations 2 - 4 which are at a minimum (3.4 ppm), before increasing at station 5. The amount of BOD and TDS are highest at the 4th station and the amount of DO is lowest at this station, marking the 4th station as more highly polluted than the other stations. The physicochemical parameters improve at the 5th station due to pollutant degradation and dilution. Finally the point and nonpoint pollutant sources of Beshar river were determined and compared to the monitoring results.

Keywords: Beshar river, physicochemical parameter, waterpollution, Yasuj

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Authors: Junjie Gao, Guishi Deng

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In order to integrate knowledge in heterogeneous case-based reasoning (CBR) systems, ontology-based CBR system has become a hot topic. To solve the facing problems of ontology-based CBR system, for example, its architecture is nonstandard, reusing knowledge in legacy CBR is deficient, ontology construction is difficult, etc, we propose a novel approach for semi-automatically construct ontology-based CBR system whose architecture is based on two-layer ontology. Domain knowledge implied in legacy case bases can be mapped from relational database schema and knowledge items to relevant OWL local ontology automatically by a mapping algorithm with low time-complexity. By concept clustering based on formal concept analysis, computing concept equation measure and concept inclusion measure, some suggestions about enriching or amending concept hierarchy of OWL local ontologies are made automatically that can aid designers to achieve semi-automatic construction of OWL domain ontology. Validation of the approach is done by an application example.

Keywords: OWL ontology, Case-based Reasoning, FormalConcept Analysis, Knowledge Integration

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Authors: C. S. Wong, K. H. Badri, N. Ataollahi, K. P. Law, M. S. Su’ait, N. I. Hassan

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Novel bio-based polymer electrolyte was synthesized with LiClO4 as the main source of charge carrier. Initially, polyurethane-LiClO4 polymer electrolytes were synthesized via prepolymerization method with different NCO/OH ratios and labelled them as PU1, PU2, PU3 and PU4. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicates the co-ordination between Li+ ion and polyurethane in PU1. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicates PU1 has the highest glass transition temperature (Tg) corresponds to the most abundant urethane group which is the hard segment in PU1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows the good miscibility between lithium salt and the polymer. The study found that PU1 possessed the greatest ionic conductivity and the lowest activation energy, Ea. All the polyurethanes exhibited linear Arrhenius variations indicating ion transport via simple lithium ion hopping in polyurethane. This research proves the NCO content in polyurethane plays an important role in affecting the ionic conductivity of this polymer electrolyte.

Keywords: Ionic conductivity, Palm kernel oil-based monoester polyol, polyurethane, solid polymer electrolyte.

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Authors: Mallappa A. Devani, John U. Kennedy Oubagaranadin, Basudeb Munshi

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In this preliminary work, locally available husk of Cajanus cajan (commonly known in India as Tur or Arhar), a bio-waste, has been used in its physically treated and chemically activated form for the removal of binary Cu (II) and Zn(II) ions from the real waste water obtained from an electroplating industry in Bangalore, Karnataka, India and from laboratory prepared binary solutions having almost similar composition of the metal ions, for comparison. The real wastewater after filtration and dilution for five times was used for biosorption studies at the normal pH of the solutions at room temperature. Langmuir's binary model was used to calculate the metal uptake capacities of the biosorbents. It was observed that Cu(II) is more competitive than Zn(II) in biosorption. In individual metal biosorption, Cu(II) uptake was found to be more than that of the Zn(II) and a similar trend was observed in the binary metal biosorption from real wastewater and laboratory prepared solutions. FTIR analysis was carried out to identify the functional groups in the industrial wastewater and EDAX for the elemental analysis of the biosorbents after experiments.

Keywords: Biosorption, Cajanus cajan, multi metal remediation, wastewater.

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Authors: A. Yavar, S. Sarmani, K. S. Khoo

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The analysis of trace elements in human hair provides crucial insights into an individual's nutritional status and environmental exposure. This research aimed to examine the levels of toxic and essential elements in the scalp hair of school children aged 12-17 from three villages (Anglong Romiot (AR), Svay Romiot (SR), and Kampong Kong (KK)) in Cambodia's Kandal province, a region where residents are especially vulnerable to toxic elements, notably arsenic (As), due to their dietary habits, lifestyle, and environmental conditions. The scalp hair samples were analyzed using the k0-Instrumental Neutron Activation method (k0-INAA), with a six-hour irradiation period in the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA) research reactor followed by High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector use to identify the gamma peaks of radionuclides. The analysis identified 31 elements in the human hair from the study area, including As, Au, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Dy, Eu-152m, Hg-197, Hg-203, Ho, Ir, K, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Pa, Pt-195m, Pt-197, Sb, Sc-46, Sc-47, Sm, Sn-117m, W-181, W-187, Yb-169, Yb-175, Zn, and Zn-69m. The accuracy of the method was verified through the analysis of ERM-DB001-human hair as a Certified Reference Material (CRM), with the results demonstrating consistency with the certified values. Given the prevalent arsenic pollution in the research area, the study also examined the relationship between the concentration of As and other elements using Pearson's correlation test. The outcomes offer a comprehensive resource for future investigations into toxic and essential element presence in the region. In the main body of the paper, a more extensive discussion on the implications of arsenic pollution and the correlations observed is provided to enhance understanding and inform future research directions.

Keywords: Human scalp hair, toxic and essential elements, Kandal Province, Cambodia, k0-Instrumental Neutron Activation Method.

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Authors: Nuttanuch Munsakorn

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This questionnaire-based study, aimed to measure and compare the awareness of English reading strategies among EFL learners at Bangkok University (BU) classified by their gender, field of study, and English learning experience. Proportional stratified random sampling was employed to formulate a sample of 380 BU students. The data were statistically analyzed in terms of the mean and standard deviation. t-Test analysis was used to find differences in awareness of reading strategies between two groups (-male and female- /-science and social-science students). In addition, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare reading strategy awareness among BU students with different lengths of English learning experience. The results of this study indicated that the overall awareness of reading strategies of EFL learners at BU was at a high level (ðÑ = 3.60) and that there was no statistically significant difference between males and females, and among students who have different lengths of English learning experience at the significance level of 0.05. However, significant differences among students coming from different fields of study were found at the same level of significance.

Keywords: EFL learners, higher education, reading comprehension, reading strategies

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Authors: Alma Lucero Ortiz, Mario Gómez

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The purpose of this article is to conduct a theoretical and empirical study in order to analyze how the Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Supply Chain Responsiveness (SCR) affects the competitive advantage of the agrofood sector in 2017, in particular, the exporting companies of berries in Mexico. This work is presented in two parts, as a first part is developed a theoretical analysis of the main studies to measure the variables subject to the study. Subsequently an empirical study is carried out through field work and to process the data a logical econometric model is performed to be able to evaluate the effect of the SCM and SCR on the competitive advantage in the companies exporting berries. The results suggest that the SCM has a positive effect on the competitive advantage of the companies under study, so it is necessary to implement greater practices oriented towards a suitable SCM for the companies to achieve a competitive performance. In the case of SCR, it was found that this variable does not have effect on competitive advantage.

Keywords: Competitive advantage, econometric model, supply chain management, supply chain responsiveness, sustained competitive advantage.

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Authors: Joseph S. Ojo, Vincent A. Akpan, Oladayo G. Ajileye, Olalekan L, Ojo

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In this paper, the intelligent algorithm (IA) that is capable of adapting to dynamical tropical weather conditions is proposed based on fuzzy logic techniques. The IA effectively interacts with the quality of service (QoS) criteria irrespective of the dynamic tropical weather to achieve improvement in the satellite links. To achieve this, an adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) has been adopted. The algorithm is capable of interacting with the weather fluctuation to generate appropriate improvement to the satellite QoS for efficient services to the customers. 5-year (2012-2016) rainfall rate of one-minute integration time series data has been used to derive fading based on ITU-R P. 618-12 propagation models. The data are obtained from the measurement undertaken by the Communication Research Group (CRG), Physics Department, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The rain attenuation and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were derived for frequency between Ku and V-band and propagation angle with respect to different transmitting power. The simulated results show a substantial reduction in SNR especially for application in the area of digital video broadcast-second generation coding modulation satellite networks.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, intelligent algorithm, Nigeria, QoS, satellite applications, tropical weather.

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Authors: Acumsiri Tantiakrnpanit

Abstract:

This paper aims to examine the relationship between urbanization and income inequality in Thailand during the period 2002–2020, using a panel of data for 76 provinces collected from Thailand’s National Statistical Office (Labor Force Survey: LFS), as well as geospatial data from the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night band (VIIRS-DNB) satellite for 19 selected years. This paper employs two different definitions to identify urban areas: 1) Urban areas defined by Thailand's National Statistical Office (LFS), and 2) Urban areas estimated using nighttime light data from the DMSP and VIIRS-DNB satellite. The second method includes two sub-categories: 2.1) Determining urban areas by calculating nighttime light density with a population density of 300 people per square kilometer, and 2.2) Calculating urban areas based on nighttime light density corresponding to a population density of 1,500 people per square kilometer. The empirical analysis based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), fixed effects, and random effects models reveals a consistent U-shaped relationship between income inequality and urbanization. The findings from the econometric analysis demonstrate that urbanization or population density has a significant and negative impact on income inequality. Moreover, the square of urbanization shows a statistically significant positive impact on income inequality. Additionally, there is a negative association between logarithmically transformed income and income inequality. This paper also proposes the inclusion of satellite imagery, geospatial data, and spatial econometric techniques in future studies to conduct quantitative analysis of spatial relationships.

Keywords: Income inequality, nighttime light, population density, Thailand, urbanization.

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