Search results for: Earned Value Management System (EVMS)

Authors: M. Ahmadi Baseri, R. Mokhtari Malekabadi, A. Gandomkar

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Nowadays, one of the most important problems of the metropolises and the world large cities is the habitant traffic difficulty and lack of sufficient parking site for the vehicles. Esfahan city as the third metropolis of Iran has encountered with the vehicles parkingplace problems in the most parts of fourteen regions of the city. The non principled and non systematic dispersal and lack of parking sites in the city has created an unfavorable status for its traffic and has caused the air and sound pollutions increase; in addition, it wastes the most portions of the citizenship and travelers' charge and time in urban pathways and disturbs their mental and psychical calmness, thus leads to their intensive dissatisfaction. In this study, by the usage of AHP model in GIS environment, the effective criteria in selecting the public parking sites have been combined with each other, and the results of the created layers overlapping represent the parking utilitarian vastness and widths. The achieved results of this research indicate the pretty appropriate public parking sites selection in region number 3 of Esfahan; but inconsequential dispersal and lack of these parking sites in this region have caused abundant transportation problems in Esfahan city.

Keywords: Public parking lots, Parking site selection, Geographical Information System (GIS), Hierarchical Analysis Model, Isfahan city.

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Authors: Shiuh-Jer Huang, Yu-Chi Liu, Su-Hai Hsiang

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A novel low-cost impedance control structure is proposed for monitoring the contact force between end-effector and environment without installing an expensive force/torque sensor. Theoretically, the end-effector contact force can be estimated from the superposition of each joint control torque. There have a nonlinear matrix mapping function between each joint motor control input and end-effector actuating force/torques vector. This new force control structure can be implemented based on this estimated mapping matrix. First, the robot end-effector is manipulated to specified positions, then the force controller is actuated based on the hall sensor current feedback of each joint motor. The model-free fuzzy sliding mode control (FSMC) strategy is employed to design the position and force controllers, respectively. All the hardware circuits and software control programs are designed on an Altera Nios II embedded development kit to constitute an embedded system structure for a retrofitted Mitsubishi 5 DOF robot. Experimental results show that PI and FSMC force control algorithms can achieve reasonable contact force monitoring objective based on this hardware control structure.

Keywords: Robot, impedance control, fuzzy sliding mode control, contact force estimator.

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Authors: Yu-Lin Liao, Ya-Fu Peng

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An adaptive dynamic cerebellar model articulation controller (DCMAC) neural network used for solving the prediction and identification problem is proposed in this paper. The proposed DCMAC has superior capability to the conventional cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network in efficient learning mechanism, guaranteed system stability and dynamic response. The recurrent network is embedded in the DCMAC by adding feedback connections in the association memory space so that the DCMAC captures the dynamic response, where the feedback units act as memory elements. The dynamic gradient descent method is adopted to adjust DCMAC parameters on-line. Moreover, the analytical method based on a Lyapunov function is proposed to determine the learning-rates of DCMAC so that the variable optimal learning-rates are derived to achieve most rapid convergence of identifying error. Finally, the adaptive DCMAC is applied in two computer simulations. Simulation results show that accurate identifying response and superior dynamic performance can be obtained because of the powerful on-line learning capability of the proposed DCMAC.

Keywords: adaptive, cerebellar model articulation controller, CMAC, prediction, identification

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Authors: Subramaniam Chandran

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This paper explains how mobile learning assures sustainable e-education for multicultural group of students. This paper reports the impact of mobile learning on distance education in multicultural environment. The emergence of learning technologies through CD, internet, and mobile is increasingly adopted by distance institutes for quick delivery and cost-effective purposes. Their sustainability is conditioned by the structure of learners as well as the teaching community. The experimental study was conducted among the distant learners of Vinayaka Missions University located at Salem in India. Students were drawn from multicultural environment based on different languages, religions, class and communities. During the mobile learning sessions, the students, who are divided on language, religion, class and community, were dominated by play impulse rather than study anxiety or cultural inhibitions. This study confirmed that mobile learning improved the performance of the students despite their division based on region, language or culture. In other words, technology was able to transcend the relative deprivation in the multicultural groups. It also confirms sustainable e-education through mobile learning and cost-effective system of instruction. Mobile learning appropriates the self-motivation and play impulse of the young learners in providing sustainable e-education to multicultural social groups of students.

Keywords: E-Education, mobile learning, multiculturalism.

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Authors: Lalla Nezha Lakmiti, Abdelkahar Zahid

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Due to the setbacks on the international scene and the wave of cacophonic financial scandals affecting large international groups, the new Islamic finance industry is not immune despite its initial resistance. The purpose of this paper is to understand and analyze the meaning of the Corporate Governance (CG) concept in Moroccan Islamic banking systems with specific reference to their institutions. The research objective is to identify also the path taken and adopted by these banks recently set up in Morocco. The foundation is rooted in shari'a, in particular, no stakeholder (the shareholding approach) must be harmed, and the ethical value is reflected into these parties’ behavior. We chose a qualitative method, semi-structured interviews where six managers provided answers about their banking systems. Since these respondents held a senior position (directors) within their organizations, it is felt that they are well placed and have the necessary knowledge to provide us with information to answer the questions asked. The results identified the orientation of participating banks and assessing how governance works, while determining which party is fovoured: shareholders, stakeholders or both. This study discusses the favorable condition to the harmonization of the regulations and therefore a better integration between Islamic finance and conventional ones in the economic context of Morocco.

Keywords: Corporate governance, participating banks, stakeholders, shareholders, and interests.

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Authors: Francis O. Iyoha, Daniel E. Gberevbie, Charles T. Iruonagbe, Matthew E. Egharevba

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Cost of governance in Nigeria has become a challenge to development and concern to practitioners and scholars alike in the field of business and social science research. In the 2010 national budget of NGN4.6 trillion or USD28.75billion for instance, only a pantry sum of NGN1.8trillion or USD11.15billion was earmarked for capital expenditure. Similarly, in 2013, out of a total national budget of NGN4.92trillion or USD30.75billion, only the sum of NGN1.50trllion or USD9.38billion was voted for capital expenditure. Therefore, based on the data sourced from the Nigerian Office of Statistics, Central bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin as well as from the United Nations Development Programme, this study examined the causes of high cost of governance in Nigeria. It found out that the high cost of governance in the country is in the interest of the ruling class, arising from their unethical behaviour – corrupt practices and the poor management of public resources. As a result, the study recommends the need to intensify the war against corruption and mismanagement of public resources by government officials as possible solution to overcome the high cost of governance in Nigeria. This could be achieved by strengthening the constitutional powers of the various anti-corruption agencies in the area of arrest, investigation and prosecution of offenders without the interference of the executive arm of government either at the local, state or federal level.

Keywords: Capital expenditure, Cost of governance, recurrent expenditure, unethical behaviour.

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Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

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Cortisol is essential to the regulation of the immune system and yawning is a pathological symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Electromyography activity (EMG) in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved and with yawning is highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. Saliva samples from 59 participants were collected at the start and after yawning, or at the end of the presentation of yawning-provoking stimuli, in the absence of a yawn, together with EMG data and questionnaire data: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, health details. Exclusion criteria: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners, t (23) = -4.263, p = 0.000, as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli, which was nonsignificant. Significant evidence was found to support the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis suggesting that rises in cortisol levels are associated with yawning. Further research is exploring the use of cortisol as an early diagnostic tool for MS. Ethics approval granted and professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues are approved therein.

Keywords: Cortisol, Multiple Sclerosis, Yawning, Thompson’s Cortisol Hypothesis.

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Authors: Sara Ansari, Mohammad Hadi Sadreddini

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The increasing importance of data stream arising in a wide range of advanced applications has led to the extensive study of mining frequent patterns. Mining data streams poses many new challenges amongst which are the one-scan nature, the unbounded memory requirement and the high arrival rate of data streams. In this paper, we propose a new approach for mining itemsets on data stream. Our approach SFIDS has been developed based on FIDS algorithm. The main attempts were to keep some advantages of the previous approach and resolve some of its drawbacks, and consequently to improve run time and memory consumption. Our approach has the following advantages: using a data structure similar to lattice for keeping frequent itemsets, separating regions from each other with deleting common nodes that results in a decrease in search space, memory consumption and run time; and Finally, considering CPU constraint, with increasing arrival rate of data that result in overloading system, SFIDS automatically detect this situation and discard some of unprocessing data. We guarantee that error of results is bounded to user pre-specified threshold, based on a probability technique. Final results show that SFIDS algorithm could attain about 50% run time improvement than FIDS approach.

Keywords: Data stream, frequent itemset, stream mining.

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Authors: L. M. Ben Ali

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A retrospective study was undertaken to record the occurrence and pattern of fractures in small animals (dogs and cats) from year 2005 to 2010. A total of 650 cases were presented in small animal surgery unit out of which of 116 (dogs and cats) were presented with history of fractures of different bones. A total of 17.8% (116/650) cases were of fractures which constituted dogs 67% while cats were 23%. The majority of animals were intact. Trauma in the form of road side accident was the principal cause of fractures in dogs whereas as in cats it was fall from height. The ages of the fractured dog ranged from 4 months to 12 years whereas in cat it was from 4 weeks to 10 years. The femoral fractures represented 37.5% and 25% respectively in dogs and cats. Diaphysis, distal metaphyseal and supracondylar fractures were the most affected sites in dog and cats. Tibial fracture in dogs and cats represented 21.5% and 10% while humoral fractures were 7.9% and 14% in dogs and cats respectively. Humoral condyler fractures were most commonly seen in puppies aged 4 to 6 months. Fractured radius-ulna incidence was 19% and 14% in dogs and cats respectively. Other fractures recorded were of lumbar vertebrae, mandible and metacarpals etc. The management comprised of external and internal fixation in both the species. The most common internal fixation technique employed was Intramedullary fixation in long followed by other methods like stack or cross pinning, wiring etc as per findings in the cases. The cast bandage was used majorly as mean for external coaptation. The paper discusses the outcome of the case as per the technique employed.

Keywords: Animal, Fracture, Incidence, Occurrence.

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Authors: Niaz Gharavi, Hexin Zhang

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The shear modulus of a timber beam can be determined using torsion test or shear field test method. The shear field test method is based on shear distortion measurement of the beam at the zone with the constant transverse load in the standardized four-point bending test. The current code of practice advises using two metallic arms act as an instrument to measure the diagonal displacement of the constructing square. The size and the position of the constructing square might influence the shear modulus determination. This study aimed to investigate the size and the position effect of the square in the shear field test method. A binocular stereo vision system has been employed to determine the 3D displacement of a grid of target points. Six glue laminated beams were produced and tested. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed on the acquired data to evaluate the significance of the size effect and the position effect of the square. The results have shown that the size of the square has a noticeable influence on the value of shear modulus, while, the position of the square within the area with the constant shear force does not affect the measured mean shear modulus.

Keywords: Shear field test method, structural-sized test, shear modulus of Glulam beam, photogrammetry approach.

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Authors: Pil Woo Heo, Hyunse Kim

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Fish can breathe freely under water using dissolved oxygen and survive for a long time without going out of the water. A human can also survive under water using dissolved oxygens, if properly used. He needs more dissolved oxygens than the fish, so efficient separation device is required. Since the amount of oxygen contained in water is weak, a person needs a lot of surface area to breathe in water, which leads to a large-sized device. It can be applied to various fields if it is developed as a device which is advantageous to carry in small size. In this paper, we have carried out a study on the effective use of exhalations and proposed the separation characteristics of the gas containing dissolved oxygen in the state of mixed gas considering the components of exhalation. The system was configured to have a fine bubble when the gas mixture injected into the front end of the separator. While the fluid containing the fine bubbles was supplied to the separator, the dissolved gas contained in water was separated using a vacuum pump. The gas separation amount of the separating apparatus with respect to the supplied mixed gas was measured. The amounts of separation of dissolved gas were increased as the amounts of mixed gas supplied were increased.

Keywords: Small sized bubbles, synthesized exhalations, separation, hollow fiber module.

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Authors: Diako Azizi, Ahmad Gholami, Vahid Abbasi

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Optimal selection of electrical insulations in electrical machinery insures reliability during operation. From the insulation studies of view for electrical machines, stator is the most important part. This fact reveals the requirement for inspection of the electrical machine insulation along with the electro-thermal stresses. In the first step of the study, a part of the whole structure of machine in which covers the general characteristics of the machine is chosen, then based on the electromagnetic analysis (finite element method), the machine operation is simulated. In the simulation results, the temperature distribution of the total structure is presented simultaneously by using electro-thermal analysis. The results of electro-thermal analysis can be used for designing an optimal cooling system. In order to design, review and comparing the cooling systems, four wiring structures in the slots of Stator are presented. The structures are compared to each other in terms of electrical, thermal distribution and remaining life of insulation by using Finite Element analysis. According to the steps of the study, an optimization algorithm has been presented for selection of appropriate structure.

Keywords: Electrical field, field distribution, insulation, winding, finite element method, electro thermal

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Authors: Jamal R. Elbergali

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Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems are wireless systems with multiple antenna elements at both ends of the link. Wireless communication systems demand high data rate and spectral efficiency with increased reliability. MIMO systems have been popular techniques to achieve these goals because increased data rate is possible through spatial multiplexing scheme and diversity. Spatial Multiplexing (SM) is used to achieve higher possible throughput than diversity. In this paper, we propose a Zero- Forcing (ZF) detection using a combination of Ordered Successive Interference Cancellation (OSIC) and Zero Forcing using Interference Cancellation (ZF-IC). The proposed method used an OSIC based on Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) ordering to get the estimation of last symbol, then the estimated last symbol is considered to be an input to the ZF-IC. We analyze the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of the proposed MIMO system over Rayleigh Fading Channel, using Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. The results show better performance than the previous methods.

Keywords: SNR, BER, BPSK, MIMO, Modulation, Zero forcing (ZF), OSIC, ZF-IC, Spatial Multiplexing (SM).

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Authors: Nickolay Jelev, Andy Keane, Carren Holden, András Sóbester

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In aircraft design, the jump from the conceptual to preliminary design stage introduces a level of complexity which cannot be realistically handled by a single optimiser, be that a human (chief engineer) or an algorithm. The design process is often partitioned along disciplinary lines, with each discipline given a level of autonomy. This introduces a number of challenges including, but not limited to: coupling of design variables; coordinating disciplinary teams; handling of large amounts of analysis data; reaching an acceptable design within time constraints. A number of classical Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) architectures exist in academia specifically designed to address these challenges. Their limited use in the industrial aircraft design process has inspired the authors of this paper to develop an alternative strategy based on well established ideas from Decision Support Systems. The proposed rule based architecture sacrifices possibly elusive guarantees of convergence for an attractive return in simplicity. The method is demonstrated on analytical and aircraft design test cases and its performance is compared to a number of classical distributed MDO architectures.

Keywords: Multidisciplinary design optimisation, rule based architecture, aircraft design, decision support system.

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Authors: M. Aqeel Iqbal

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Fully customized hardware based technology provides high performance and low power consumption by specializing the tasks in hardware but lacks design flexibility since any kind of changes require re-design and re-fabrication. Software based solutions operate with software instructions due to which a great flexibility is achieved from the easy development and maintenance of the software code. But this execution of instructions introduces a high overhead in performance and area consumption. In past few decades the reconfigurable computing domain has been introduced which overcomes the traditional trades-off between flexibility and performance and is able to achieve high performance while maintaining a good flexibility. The dramatic gains in terms of chip performance and design flexibility achieved through the reconfigurable computing systems are greatly dependent on the design of their computational units being integrated with reconfigurable logic resources. The computational unit of any reconfigurable system plays vital role in defining its strength. In this research paper an RFU based computational unit design has been presented using the tightly coupled, multi-threaded reconfigurable cores. The proposed design has been simulated for VLIW based architectures and a high gain in performance has been observed as compared to the conventional computing systems.

Keywords: Configuration Stream, Configuration overhead, Configuration Controller, Reconfigurable devices.

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Authors: M. Vogiatzis, K. Perakis

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Spatial-explicit and up-to-date land use/land cover information is fundamental for spatial planning, land management, sustainable development, and sound decision-making. In the last decade, many satellite-derived land cover products at different spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions have been developed, such as the European Copernicus Land Cover product. However, more efficient and detailed information for land use/land cover is required at the regional or local scale. A typical Mediterranean basin with a complex landscape comprised of various forest types, crops, artificial surfaces, and wetlands was selected to test and develop our approach. In this study, we investigate the improvement of Copernicus Land Cover product (CLC2018) using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 pixel-based classification based on all available existing geospatial data (Forest Maps, LPIS, Natura2000 habitats, cadastral parcels, etc.). We examined and compared the performance of the Random Forest classifier for land use/land cover mapping. In total, 10 land use/land cover categories were recognized in Landsat 8 and 11 in Sentinel-2A. A comparison of the overall classification accuracies for 2018 shows that Landsat 8 classification accuracy was slightly higher than Sentinel-2A (82,99% vs. 80,30%). We concluded that the main land use/land cover types of CLC2018, even within a heterogeneous area, can be successfully mapped and updated according to CLC nomenclature. Future research should be oriented toward integrating spatiotemporal information from seasonal bands and spectral indexes in the classification process.

Keywords: land use/land cover, random forest, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2A MSI, Corine land cover

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Authors: Sanjib Kr Pal, S. Bhattacharyya

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Mixed convection of Cu-water nanofluid in an enclosure with thick wavy bottom wall has been investigated numerically. A co-ordinate transformation method is used to transform the computational domain into an orthogonal co-ordinate system. The governing equations in the computational domain are solved through a pressure correction based iterative algorithm. The fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed for a wide range of Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 5), nanoparticle volume concentration (0.0 ≤ ϕ ≤ 0.2), amplitude (0.0 ≤ α ≤ 0.1) of the wavy thick- bottom wall and the wave number (ω) at a fixed Reynolds number. Obtained results showed that heat transfer rate increases remarkably by adding the nanoparticles. Heat transfer rate is dependent on the wavy wall amplitude and wave number and decreases with increasing Richardson number for fixed amplitude and wave number. The Bejan number and the entropy generation are determined to analyze the thermodynamic optimization of the mixed convection.

Keywords: Entropy generation, mixed convection, conjugate heat transfer, numerical, nanofluid, wall waviness.

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Authors: K. A. Sumitra Devi, N. P. Banashree, Annamma Abraham

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Partitioning is a critical area of VLSI CAD. In order to build complex digital logic circuits its often essential to sub-divide multi -million transistor design into manageable Pieces. This paper looks at the various partitioning techniques aspects of VLSI CAD, targeted at various applications. We proposed an evolutionary time-series model and a statistical glitch prediction system using a neural network with selection of global feature by making use of clustering method model, for partitioning a circuit. For evolutionary time-series model, we made use of genetic, memetic & neuro-memetic techniques. Our work focused in use of clustering methods - K-means & EM methodology. A comparative study is provided for all techniques to solve the problem of circuit partitioning pertaining to VLSI design. The performance of all approaches is compared using benchmark data provided by MCNC standard cell placement benchmark net lists. Analysis of the investigational results proved that the Neuro-memetic model achieves greater performance then other model in recognizing sub-circuits with minimum amount of interconnections between them.

Keywords: VLSI, circuit partitioning, memetic algorithm, genetic algorithm.

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Authors: G. Kloudova, M. Stehlik

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Optimal human performance is a key goal in the professional setting of military pilots, which is a highly challenging atmosphere. The aviation environment requires substantial cognitive effort and is rich in potential stressors. Therefore, it is important to analyze variables such as mental workload to ensure safe conditions. Pilot mental workload could be measured using several tools, but most of them are very subjective. This paper details research conducted with military pilots using psychophysiological methods such as electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate (HR) monitoring. The data were measured in a simulator as well as under real flight conditions. All of the pilots were exposed to highly demanding flight tasks and showed big individual response differences. On that basis, the individual pattern for each pilot was created counting different EEG features and heart rate variations. Later on, it was possible to distinguish the most difficult flight tasks for each pilot that should be more extensively trained. For training purposes, an application was developed for the instructors to decide which of the specific tasks to focus on during follow-up training. This complex system can help instructors detect the mentally demanding parts of the flight and enhance the training of military pilots to achieve optimal performance.

Keywords: Cognitive effort, human performance, military pilots, psychophysiological methods.

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Authors: Dionisios Panagiotaras, Ioannis P. Kokkoris, Dionysios Koulougliotis, Dimitra Lekka, Alexandra Skalioti

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In the summer of 2021, Greece was affected by devastating forest fires in various regions of the country, resulting in human losses, destruction or degradation of the natural environment, infrastructure, livestock and cultivations. The present study concerns a pilot assessment of natural vegetation regeneration in the second, in terms of area, fire-affected region for 2021, at Ancient Olympia area, located in West Peloponnisos (Ilia Prefecture), Greece. A standardised, field sampling protocol for assessing natural regeneration was implemented at selected sites where the forest fire had occurred previously (in 2007) and the vegetation (Pinus halepensis forest) had regenerated naturally. The results of the study indicate the loss of the established natural regeneration of Pinus halepensis forest, as well as of the tree-layer in total. Post-fire succession species are recorded to the shrub and the herb layer, with a varying cover. Present findings correspond to the results of field work and analysis one year after the fire, which will form the basis for further research and conclusions on taking action for restoration schemes in areas that have been affected by fire more than once within a 20-year period.

Keywords: Post-fire regeneration, Pinus halepensis, restoration management, policy implications.

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Authors: Aaron A. R. Nwabude

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The research investigates the “impact of VLE on mathematical concepts acquisition of the special education needs (SENs) students at KS4 secondary education sector" in England. The overall aim of the study is to establish possible areas of difficulties to approach for above or below knowledge standard requirements for KS4 students in the acquisition and validation of basic mathematical concepts. A teaching period, in which virtual learning environment (Fronter) was used to emphasise different mathematical perception and symbolic representation was carried out and task based survey conducted to 20 special education needs students [14 actually took part]. The result shows that students were able to process information and consider images, objects and numbers within the VLE at early stages of acquisition process. They were also able to carry out perceptual tasks but with limiting process of different quotient, thus they need teacher-s guidance to connect them to symbolic representations and sometimes coach them through. The pilot study further indicates that VLE curriculum approaches for students were minutely aligned with mathematics teaching which does not emphasise the integration of VLE into the existing curriculum and current teaching practice. There was also poor alignment of vision regarding the use of VLE in realisation of the objectives of teaching mathematics by the management. On the part of teacher training, not much was done to develop teacher-s skills in the technical and pedagogical aspects of VLE that is in-use at the school. The classroom observation confirmed teaching practice will find a reliance on VLE as an enhancer of mathematical skills, providing interaction and personalisation of learning to SEN students.

Keywords: VLE, Mathematical Concepts Acquisition, PilotStudy, SENs, KS4, Education, Teacher

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Authors: Siqing S. Chen

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Landscape connectivity combines a description of the physical structure of the landscape with special species- response to that structure, which forms the theoretical background of applying landscape connectivity principles in the practices of landscape planning and design. In this study, a residential development project in the southern United States was used to explore the meaning of landscape connectivity and its application in town planning. The vast rural landscape in the southern United States is conspicuously characterized by the hedgerow trees or groves. The patchwork landscape of fields surrounded by high hedgerows is a traditional and familiar feature of the American countryside. Hedgerows are in effect linear strips of trees, groves, or woodlands, which are often critical habitats for wildlife and important for the visual quality of the landscape. Based on geographic information system (GIS) and statistical analysis (FRAGSTAT), this study attempts to quantify the landscape connectivity characterized by hedgerows in south Alabama where substantial areas of authentic hedgerow landscape are being urbanized due to the ever expanding real estate industry and high demand for new residential development. The results of this study shed lights on how to balance the needs of new urban development and biodiversity conservation by maintaining a higher level of landscape connectivity, thus will inform the design intervention.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Connectivity, Landscape planning, GIS

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Authors: Surinder Deswal

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The paper investigates the potential of support vector machines and Gaussian process based regression approaches to model the oxygen–transfer capacity from experimental data of multiple plunging jets oxygenation systems. The results suggest the utility of both the modeling techniques in the prediction of the overall volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (KLa) from operational parameters of multiple plunging jets oxygenation system. The correlation coefficient root mean square error and coefficient of determination values of 0.971, 0.002 and 0.945 respectively were achieved by support vector machine in comparison to values of 0.960, 0.002 and 0.920 respectively achieved by Gaussian process regression. Further, the performances of both these regression approaches in predicting the overall volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient was compared with the empirical relationship for multiple plunging jets. A comparison of results suggests that support vector machines approach works well in comparison to both empirical relationship and Gaussian process approaches, and could successfully be employed in modeling oxygen-transfer.

Keywords: Oxygen-transfer, multiple plunging jets, support vector machines, Gaussian process.

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Authors: Bashaiar Alsanaa

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Never has a revolution affected all aspects of humanity as the communication revolution during the past two decades. This revolution, with all its advances and utilities, swept the world thus becoming an integral part of our lives, hence giving way to emerging applications at the social, economic, political, and educational levels. More specifically, such applications have changed the delivery system through which learning is acquired by students. Interaction with educators, accessibility to content, and creative delivery options are but a few facets of the new learning experience now being offered through the use of technology in the educational field. With different success rates, third world countries have tried to pace themselves with use of educational technology in advanced parts of the world. One such country is the small rich-oil state of Kuwait which has tried to adopt the e-educational model, however, an evaluation of such trial is yet to be done. This study aimed to fill the void of research conducted around that topic. The study explored students' acceptance of incorporating communication technologies in higher education in Kuwait. Students' responses to survey questions presented an overview of the e-learning experience in this country, and drew a framework through which implications and suggestions for future research were discussed to better serve the advancement of e-education in developing countries.

Keywords: Communication technologies, E-learning, Kuwait, Social media

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Authors: Muqdad Al-Juboori, Bithin Datta

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Hydraulic structures such as gravity dams are classified as essential structures, and have the vital role in providing strong and safe water resource management. Three major aspects must be considered to achieve an effective design of such a structure: 1) The building cost, 2) safety, and 3) accurate analysis of seepage characteristics. Due to the complexity and non-linearity relationships of the seepage process, many approximation theories have been developed; however, the application of these theories results in noticeable errors. The analytical solution, which includes the difficult conformal mapping procedure, could be applied for a simple and symmetrical problem only. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to: 1) develop a surrogate model based on numerical simulated data using SEEPW software to approximately simulate seepage process related to a hydraulic structure, 2) develop and solve a linked simulation-optimization model based on the developed surrogate model to describe the seepage occurring under a concrete gravity dam, in order to obtain optimum and safe design at minimum cost. The result shows that the linked simulation-optimization model provides an efficient and optimum design of concrete gravity dams.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, concrete gravity dam, genetic algorithm, seepage analysis.

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Authors: Robersy Sánchez, Ricardo Grau

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A plausible architecture of an ancient genetic code is derived from an extended base triplet vector space over the Galois field of the extended base alphabet {D, G, A, U, C}, where the letter D represent one or more hypothetical bases with unspecific pairing. We hypothesized that the high degeneration of a primeval genetic code with five bases and the gradual origin and improvements of a primitive DNA repair system could make possible the transition from the ancient to the modern genetic code. Our results suggest that the Watson-Crick base pairing and the non-specific base pairing of the hypothetical ancestral base D used to define the sum and product operations are enough features to determine the coding constraints of the primeval and the modern genetic code, as well as the transition from the former to the later. Geometrical and algebraic properties of this vector space reveal that the present codon assignment of the standard genetic code could be induced from a primeval codon assignment. Besides, the Fourier spectrum of the extended DNA genome sequences derived from the multiple sequence alignment suggests that the called period-3 property of the present coding DNA sequences could also exist in the ancient coding DNA sequences.

Keywords: Genetic code vector space, primeval genetic code, power spectrum.

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Authors: Abdesselem Dakhli, Wajdi Bellil, Chokri Ben Amar

Abstract:

DNA Barcode provides good sources of needed information to classify living species. The classification problem has to be supported with reliable methods and algorithms. To analyze species regions or entire genomes, it becomes necessary to use the similarity sequence methods. A large set of sequences can be simultaneously compared using Multiple Sequence Alignment which is known to be NP-complete. However, all the used methods are still computationally very expensive and require significant computational infrastructure. Our goal is to build predictive models that are highly accurate and interpretable. In fact, our method permits to avoid the complex problem of form and structure in different classes of organisms. The empirical data and their classification performances are compared with other methods. Evenly, in this study, we present our system which is consisted of three phases. The first one, is called transformation, is composed of three sub steps; Electron-Ion Interaction Pseudopotential (EIIP) for the codification of DNA Barcodes, Fourier Transform and Power Spectrum Signal Processing. Moreover, the second phase step is an approximation; it is empowered by the use of Multi Library Wavelet Neural Networks (MLWNN). Finally, the third one, is called the classification of DNA Barcodes, is realized by applying the algorithm of hierarchical classification.

Keywords: DNA Barcode, Electron-Ion Interaction Pseudopotential, Multi Library Wavelet Neural Networks.

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Authors: Joseph E. Hummer

Abstract:

An efficient freeway system will be essential to the development of Africa, and interchanges are a key to that efficiency. Around the world, many interchanges between freeways and surface streets, called service interchanges, are of the diamond configuration, and interchanges using roundabouts or loop ramps are also popular. However, many diamond interchanges have serious operational problems, interchanges with roundabouts fail at high demand levels, and loops use lots of expensive land. Newer service interchange designs provide other options. The most popular new interchange design in the US at the moment is the double crossover diamond (DCD), also known as the diverging diamond. The DCD has enormous potential, but also has several significant limitations. The objectives of this paper are to review new service interchange options and to highlight some of the main features of those alternatives. The paper tests four conventional and seven unconventional designs using seven measures related to efficiency, cost, and safety. The results show that there is no superior design in all measures investigated. The DCD is better than most designs tested on most measures examined. However, the DCD was only superior to all other designs for bridge width. The DCD performed relatively poorly for capacity and for serving pedestrians. Based on the results, African freeway designers are encouraged to investigate the full range of alternatives that could work at the spot of interest. Diamonds and DCDs have their niches, but some of the other designs investigated could be optimum at some spots.

Keywords: Alternative, design, diverging diamond, freeway, interchange.

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Authors: B. Farahani, R. Fadil, A. Aboonabi, B. Hoffmann, J. Loscheider, K. Tavakolian, S. Arzanpour

Abstract:

Wheelchair users spend long hours in a sitting position, and selecting the right cushion is highly critical in preventing pressure ulcers in that demographic. Pressure Mapping Systems (PMS) are typically used in clinical settings by therapists to identify the sitting profile and pressure points in the sitting area to select the cushion that fits the best for the users. A PMS is a flexible mat composed of arrays of distributed networks of pressure sensors. The output of the PMS systems is a color-coded image that shows the intensity of the pressure concentration. Therapists use the PMS images to compare different cushions fit for each user. This process is highly subjective and requires good visual memory for the best outcome. This paper aims to develop an image processing technique to analyze the images of PMS and provide an objective measure to assess the cushions based on their pressure distribution mappings. In this paper, we first reviewed the skeletal anatomy of the human sitting area and its relation to the PMS image. This knowledge is then used to identify the important features that must be considered in image processing. We then developed an algorithm based on those features to analyze the images and rank them according to their fit to the user's needs. 

Keywords: cushion, image processing, pressure mapping system, wheelchair

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Authors: Yisheng Rong, Jian Sun, Weiqiang Liu, Renjun Zhan

Abstract:

A CFD study on heat flux reduction in hypersonic flow with opposing jet has been conducted. Flowfield parameters, reattachment point position, surface pressure distributions and heat flux distributions are obtained and validated with experiments. The physical mechanism of heat reduction has been analyzed. When the opposing jet blows, the freestream is blocked off, flows to the edges and not interacts with the surface to form aerodynamic heating. At the same time, the jet flows back to form cool recirculation region, which reduces the difference in temperature between the surface and the nearby gas, and then reduces the heat flux. As the pressure ratio increases, the interface between jet and freestream is gradually pushed away from the surface. Larger the total pressure ratio is, lower the heat flux is. To study the effect of the intensity of opposing jet more reasonably, a new parameter RPA has been introduced by combining the flux and the total pressure ratio. The study shows that the same shock wave position and total heat load can be obtained with the same RPA with different fluxes and the total pressures, which means the new parameter could stand for the intensity of opposing jet and could be used to analyze the influence of opposing jet on flow field and aerodynamic heating.

Keywords: opposing jet, aerodynamic heating, total pressure ratio, thermal protection system

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