Search results for: external quality attribute

Authors: S. Jamshidi, E. Feizi Ashtiani, M. Ardestani

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Waste Load Allocation (WLA) strategies usually intend to find economic policies for water resource management. Water quality trading (WQT) is an approach that uses discharge permit market to reduce total environmental protection costs. This primarily requires assigning discharge limits known as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). These are determined by monitoring organizations with respect to the receiving water quality and remediation capabilities. The purpose of this study is to compare two approaches of TMDL assignment for WQT policy in small catchment area of Haraz River, in north of Iran. At first, TMDLs are assigned uniformly for the whole point sources to keep the concentrations of BOD and dissolved oxygen (DO) at the standard level at checkpoint (terminus point). This was simply simulated and controlled by Qual2kw software. In the second scenario, TMDLs are assigned using multi objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) method in which the environmental violation at river basin and total treatment costs are minimized simultaneously. In both scenarios, the equity index and the WLA based on trading discharge permits (TDP) are calculated. The comparative results showed that using economically optimized TMDLs (2nd scenario) has slightly more cost savings rather than uniform TMDL approach (1st scenario). The former annually costs about 1 M$ while the latter is 1.15 M$. WQT can decrease these annual costs to 0.9 and 1.1 M$, respectively. In other word, these approaches may save 35 and 45% economically in comparison with command and control policy. It means that using multi objective decision support systems (DSS) may find more economical WLA, however its outcome is not necessarily significant in comparison with uniform TMDLs. This may be due to the similar impact factors of dischargers in small catchments. Conversely, using uniform TMDLs for WQT brings more equity that makes stakeholders not feel that much envious of difference between TMDL and WQT allocation. In addition, for this case, determination of TMDLs uniformly would be much easier for monitoring. Consequently, uniform TMDL for TDP market is recommended as a sustainable approach. However, economical TMDLs can be used for larger watersheds.

Keywords: Waste load allocation (WLA), Water quality trading (WQT), Total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), Haraz River, Multi objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), Equity.

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Authors: Víctor D. Rodríguez, Edith P. Estupiñán, Juan C. Martínez

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The evolution in mobile broadband technologies has allowed to increase the download rates in users considering the current services. The evaluation of technical parameters at the link level is of vital importance to validate the quality and veracity of the connection, thus avoiding large losses of data, time and productivity. Some of these failures may occur between the eNodeB (Evolved Node B) and the user equipment (UE), so the link between the end device and the base station can be observed. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is considered one of the IP-oriented mobile broadband technologies that work stably for data and VoIP (Voice Over IP) for those devices that have that feature. This research presents a technical analysis of the connection and channeling processes between UE and eNodeB with the TAC (Tracking Area Code) variables, and analysis of performance variables (Throughput, Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR)). Three measurement scenarios were proposed in the city of Bogotá using QualiPoc, where two operators were evaluated (Operator 1 and Operator 2). Once the data were obtained, an analysis of the variables was performed determining that the data obtained in transmission modes vary depending on the parameters BLER (Block Error Rate), performance and SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio). In the case of both operators, differences in transmission modes are detected and this is reflected in the quality of the signal. In addition, due to the fact that both operators work in different frequencies, it can be seen that Operator 1, despite having spectrum in Band 7 (2600 MHz), together with Operator 2, is reassigning to another frequency, a lower band, which is AWS (1700 MHz), but the difference in signal quality with respect to the establishment with data by the provider Operator 2 and the difference found in the transmission modes determined by the eNodeB in Operator 1 is remarkable.

Keywords: BLER, LTE, Network, Qualipoc, SNR.

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Authors: Rozo D. Juan Felipe, Ramírez L. Leonardo Juan, Puerta A. Gabriel Alberto

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The telemedicine services require correct computing resource management to guarantee productivity and efficiency for medical and non-medical staff. The aim of this study was to examine web management strategies to ensure the availability of resources and services in telemedicine so as to provide medical information management with an accessible strategy. In addition, to evaluate the quality-of-service parameters, the followings were measured: delays, throughput, jitter, latency, available bandwidth, percent of access and denial of services based of web management performance map with profiles permissions and database management. Through 24 different test scenarios, the results show 100% in availability of medical information, in relation to access of medical staff to web services, and quality of service (QoS) of 99% because of network delay and performance of computer network. The findings of this study suggest that the proposed strategy of web management is an ideal solution to guarantee the availability, reliability, and accessibility of medical information. Finally, this strategy offers seven user profile used at telemedicine center of Bogota-Colombia keeping QoS parameters suitable to telemedicine services.

Keywords: Availability, medical information, QoS, strategy, telemedicine.

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Authors: Faraj El Dabee, Romeo Marian, Yousef Amer

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This paper implements the inventory model developed in the first part of this paper in a simplified problem to simultaneously reduce costs and risks in JIT systems. This model is developed to ascertain an optimal ordering strategy for procuring raw materials by using regular multi-external and local backup suppliers to reduce the total cost of the products, and at the same time to reduce the risks arising from this cost reduction within production systems. A comparison between the cost of using the JIT system and using the proposed inventory model shows the superiority of the use of the inventory model.

Keywords: Lean manufacturing, Just-in-Time (JIT), production system, cost-risk reduction, inventory model, eternal supplier, local backup supplier.

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Authors: Rana Khalid Naeem, Waseem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Akhtar, Asif Mansoor

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The Navier Stokes Equations (NSE) for an incompressible fluid of variable viscosity in the presence of an unknown external force in Von-Mises system x,\ are transformed, and some new exact solutions for a class of flows characterized by equation y f x a\b for an arbitrary state equation are determined, where f x is a function, \ the stream function, a z 0 and b are the arbitrary constants. In three, out of four cases, the function f x is arbitrary, and the solutions are the solutions of the flow equations for all the flows characterized by the equationy f x a\b. Streamline patterns for some forms of f x in unbounded and bounded regions are given.

Keywords: Bounded and unbounded region, Exact solution, Navier Stokes equations, Streamline pattern, Variable viscosity, Von- Mises system

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Authors: Hung T. Tsou, Hsuan Y. Hsu

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Service innovations are central concerns in fast changing environment. Due to the fitness in customer demands and advances in information technologies (IT) in service management, an expanded conceptualization of e-service innovation is required. Specially, innovation practices have become increasingly more challenging, driving managers to employ a different open innovation model to maintain competitive advantages. At the same time, firms need to interact with external and internal customers in innovative environments, like the open innovation networks, to co-create values. Based on these issues, an important conceptual framework of e-service innovation is developed. This paper aims to examine the contributing factors on e-service innovation and firm performance, including financial and non-financial aspects. The study concludes by showing how e-service innovation will play a significant role in growing the overall values of the firm. The discussion and conclusion will lead to a stronger understanding of e-service innovation and co-creating values with customers within open innovation networks.

Keywords: e-Service innovation, performance, open innovation networks, co-create value.

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Authors: Beata Cieniawska, Deta Łuczycka, Katarzyna Dereń

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When assessing the quality of the spraying procedure, three indicators are used: uneven distribution of precipitation of liquid sprayed, degree of coverage of sprayed surfaces, and deposition of liquid spraying However, there is a lack of information on the relationship between the quality parameters of the procedure. Therefore, the research was carried out at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the degree of coverage of sprayed surfaces and the deposition of liquid in the aspect of the parametric characteristics of the protected plant using selected single and double stream nozzles. Experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions. The carrier of nozzles acted as an independent self-propelled sprayer used for spraying, whereas the parametric characteristics of plants were determined using artificial plants as the ratio of the vertical projection surface and the horizontal projection surface. The results and their analysis showed a strong and very strong correlation between the analyzed parameters in terms of the characteristics of the sprayed object.

Keywords: Degree of coverage, deposition of liquid, nozzle, spraying.

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Authors: Dominika Crnjac Milic, Martina Martinovic, Vladimir Simovic

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The case study method in this paper shows the implementation of Information Technology (IT) and the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) in a Croatian company that deals with logistics operations and provides logistics services in the cold chain segment. This company is aware of the sensitivity of the goods entrusted to them by the user of the service, as well as of the importance of speed and accuracy in providing logistics services. To that end, it has implemented and used the latest IT to ensure the highest standard of high-quality logistics services to its customers. Looking for efficiency and optimization of supply chain management, while maintaining a high level of quality of the products that are sold, today's users of outsourced logistics services are open to the implementation of new IT products that ultimately deliver savings. By analysing the positive results and the difficulties that arise when using this technology, we aim to provide an insight into the potential of this approach of the logistics service provider.

Keywords: Logistics operations, serial shipping container code, SSCC, information technology, cost optimization.

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Authors: Jehad Al Dallal

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Class cohesion is an important object-oriented software quality attributes, and it refers to the degree of relatedness of class attributes and methods. Several class cohesion measures are proposed in the literature, and the impact of considering the special methods (i.e., constructors, destructors, and access and delegation methods) in cohesion calculation is not thoroughly theoretically studied for most of them. In this paper, we address this issue for three popular similarity-based class cohesion measures. For each of the considered measures we theoretically study the impact of including or excluding special methods on the values that are obtained by applying the measure. This study is based on analyzing the definitions and formulas that are proposed for the measures. The results show that including/excluding special methods has a considerable effect on the obtained cohesion values and that this effect varies from one measure to another. The study shows the importance of considering the types of methods that have to be accounted for when proposing a similarity-based cohesion measure.

Keywords: Object-oriented class, software quality, class cohesion measure, class cohesion, special methods.

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Authors: Fahimeh Golestani, Mohammad Kazemeini, Moslem Fattahi, Ali Amjadian

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In this research a mathematical model for direct oxidization of hydrogen sulfide into elemental sulfur in a fluidized bed reactor with external circulation was developed. As the catalyst is deactivated in the fluidized bed, it might be placed in a reduction tank in order to remove sulfur through heating above its dew point. The reactor model demonstrated via MATLAB software. It was shown that variations of H2S conversion as well as; products formed were reasonable in comparison with corresponding results of a fixed bed reactor. Through analyzing results of this model, it became possible to propose the main optimized operating conditions for the process considered. These conditions included; the temperature range of 100-130ºC and utilizing the catalyst as much as possible providing the highest bed density respect to dimensions of bed, economical aspects that the bed ever remained in fluidized mode. A high active and stable catalyst under the optimum conditions exhibited 100% conversion in a fluidized bed reactor.

Keywords: Direct oxidization, Fluidized bed, H2S, Mathematical modeling, Optimum conditions.

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Authors: Mary A. Bisi-Johnson, Kehinde A. Adediran, Saheed A. Akinola, Hamzat A. Oyelade

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Some of the main problems man contends with are the quantity (source and amount) and quality of water in Nigeria. Scarcity leads to water being obtained from various sources and microbiological contamination of the water may thus occur between the collection point and the point of usage. This study thus aims to assess the general and microbiological quality of domestic water sources and household stored water used within selected areas in Ile-Ife, South-Western part of Nigeria for microbial contaminants.             Physicochemical and microbiological examination were carried out on 45 source and stored water samples collected from well and spring in three different local government areas i.e. Ife east, Ife-south and Ife-north. Physicochemical analysis included pH value, temperature, total dissolved solid, dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand. Microbiology involved most probable number analysis, total coliform, heterotrophic plate, faecal coliform and streptococcus count.

The result of the physicochemical analysis of samples showed anomalies compared to acceptable standards with the pH value of 7.20-8.60 for stored and 6.50-7.80 for source samples. The total dissolved solids (TDS of stored 20-70mg/L, source 352-691mg/L), dissolved oxygen (DO of stored 1.60-9.60mg/L, source 1.60-4.80mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD stored 0.80-3.60mg/L, source 0.60-5.40mg/L). General microbiological quality indicated that both stored and source samples with the exception of a sample were not within acceptable range as indicated by analysis of the MPN/100ml which ranges between (stored 290-1100mg/L, source 9-1100mg/L). Apart from high counts, most samples did not meet the World Health Organization standard for drinking water with the presence of some pathogenic bacteria and fungi such as Salmonella and Aspergillus spp. To annul these constraints, standard treatment methods should be adopted to make water free from contaminants. This will help identify common and likely water related infection origin within the communities and thus help guide in terms of interventions required to prevent the general populace from such infections.

Keywords: Domestic, microbiology, physicochemical, quality, water.

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Authors: Sotiria Tzivinikou, Dimitra Kagkara

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Teacher’s sense of self-efficacy can affect significantly both teacher’s and student’s performance. More specific, self-efficacy is associated with the learning outcomes as well as student’s motivation and self-efficacy. For example, teachers with high sense of self-efficacy are more open to innovations and invest more effort in teaching. In addition to this, effective inclusive education is associated with higher levels of teacher’s self-efficacy. Pre-service teachers with high levels of self-efficacy could handle student’s behavior better and more effectively assist students with special educational needs. Teacher preparation programs are also important, because teacher’s efficacy beliefs are shaped early in learning, as a result the quality of teacher’s education programs can affect the sense of self-efficacy of pre-service teachers. Usually, a number of pre-service teachers do not consider themselves well prepared to work with students with special educational needs and do not have the appropriate sense of self-efficacy. This study aims to investigate the factors that contribute to the improvement of the sense of self-efficacy of pre-service special educators by using an academic practicum training program. The sample of this study is 159 pre-service special educators, who also participated in the academic practicum training program. For the purpose of this study were used quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. Teacher’s self-efficacy was assessed by the teachers themselves with the completion of a questionnaire which was based on the scale of Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale. Pre and post measurements of teacher’s self-efficacy were taken. The results of the survey are consistent with those of the international literature. The results indicate that a significant number of pre-service special educators do not hold the appropriate sense of self-efficacy regarding teaching students with special educational needs. Moreover, a quality academic training program constitutes a crucial factor for the improvement of the sense of self-efficacy of pre-service special educators, as additional for the provision of high quality inclusive education.

Keywords: Inclusive education, pre-service, self-efficacy, training program.

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Authors: B. Akhmetov, A. Doszhanova, A. Ivanov, T. Kartbayev, A. Malygin

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The article examines the methods of protection of citizens' personal data on the Internet using biometric identity authentication technology. It`s celebrated their potential danger due to the threat of loss of base biometric templates. To eliminate the threat of compromised biometric templates is proposed to use neural networks large and extra-large sizes, which will on the one hand securely (Highly reliable) to authenticate a person by his biometrics, and on the other hand make biometrics a person is not available for observation and understanding. This article also describes in detail the transformation of personal biometric data access code. It`s formed the requirements for biometrics converter code for his work with the images of "Insider," "Stranger", all the "Strangers". It`s analyzed the effect of the dimension of neural networks on the quality of converters mystery of biometrics in access code.

Keywords: Biometric security technologies, Conversion of personal biometric data access code, Electronic signature, Large neural networks, quality of converters "Biometrics - the code", the Egovernment.

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Authors: Steve J. Drew, Christopher J. Klopper

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In this paper, the action research driven design of a context relevant, developmental peer review of teaching model, its implementation strategy and its impact at an Australian university is presented. PRO-Teaching realizes an innovative process that triangulates contemporaneous teaching quality data from a range of stakeholders including students, discipline academics, learning and teaching expert academics, and teacher reflection to create reliable evidence of teaching quality. Data collected over multiple classroom observations allows objective reporting on development differentials in constructive alignment, peer, and student evaluations. Further innovation is realized in the application of this highly structured developmental process to provide summative evidence of sufficient validity to support claims for professional advancement and learning and teaching awards. Design decision points and contextual triggers are described within the operating domain. Academics and developers seeking to introduce structured peer review of teaching into their organization will find this paper a useful reference.

Keywords: Development loop, Multiple data sources, Objective reporting, Peer review of teaching.

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Authors: Pattama Ratana-Arporn, Pongtep Wilaipun

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White scar oyster (Crassostrea belcheri) is often eaten raw and being the leading vehicle for foodborne disease, especially Salmonella Weltevreden which exposed the prominent and most resistant to radiation. Gamma irradiation at a low dose of 1 kGy was enough to eliminate S. Weltevreden contaminated in oyster meat at a level up to 5 log CFU/g while it still retain the raw characteristics and equivalent sensory quality as the non-irradiated one. Process development of ready-to-eat chilled oyster meat was conducted by shucking the meat, individually packed in plastic bags, subjected to 1 kGy gamma radiation at chilled condition and then stored in 4oC refrigerated temperature. Microbiological determination showed the absence of S. Weltevreden (5 log CFU/g initial inoculated) along the whole storage time of 30 days. Sensory evaluation indicated the decreasing in sensory scores along storage time which determining the product shelf life to be 18 days compared to 15 days of nonirradiated one. The most advantage of developed process was to provide the safe raw oyster to consumers and in addition sensory quality retained and 3-day extension shelf life also exist.

Keywords: decontamination, food safety, irradiation, oyster, Salmonella Weltevreden

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Authors: E. A. Feilat, I. A. Metwally, S. Al-Matri, A. S. Al-Abri

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This paper presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of five blackouts that occurred on 28 August to 8 September 2011 due to bushing failures of the 132/33 kV, 125 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station. The investigation aims to explore the root causes of the bushing failures and come up with recommendations that help in rectifying the problem and avoiding the reoccurrence of similar type of incidents. The incident reports about the failed bushings and the SCADA reports at this grid station were examined and analyzed. Moreover, comprehensive power quality field measurements at ten 33/11 kV substations (S/Ss) in JBB Ali area were conducted, and frequency scans were performed to verify any harmonic resonance frequencies due to power factor correction capacitors. Furthermore, the daily operations of the on-load tap changers (OLTCs) of both the 125 MVA and 20 MVA transformers at JBB Ali Grid station have been analyzed. The investigation showed that the five bushing failures were due to a local problem, i.e. internal degradation of the bushing insulation. This has been confirmed by analyzing the time interval between successive OLTC operations of the faulty grid transformers. It was also found that monitoring the number of OLTC operations can help in predicting bushing failure.

Keywords: Modeling and simulation, power system, transformer, bushing, OLTC, power quality, partial discharge.

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Authors: Kyung-Jung Lee, Hyun-Sik Ahn

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This paper suggests a design methodology for the hardware and software of the electronic control unit (ECU) of safety-critical vehicle applications such as braking and steering. The architecture of the hardware is a high integrity system such thatit incorporates a high performance 32-bit CPU and a separate peripheral controlprocessor (PCP) together with an external watchdog CPU. Communication between the main CPU and the PCP is executed via a common area of RAM and events on either processor which are invoked by interrupts. Safety-related software is also implemented to provide a reliable, self-testing computing environment for safety critical and high integrity applications. The validity of the design approach is shown by using the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS)for electric power steering(EPS) systemswhich consists of the EPS mechanism, the designed ECU, and monitoring tools.

Keywords: Electronic control unit, electric power steering, functional safety, hardware-in-the-loop simulation.

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Authors: Yu Luan

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The bone-conducted objective occlusion effect (OE) is characterized by a discomforting sensation of fullness experienced in an occluded ear. This phenomenon arises from various external stimuli, such as human speech, chewing, and walking, which generate vibrations transmitted through the body to the ear canal walls. The bone-conducted OE occurs due to the pressure build-up inside the occluded ear caused by sound radiating into the ear canal cavity from its walls. In the hearing aid industry, artificial ears are utilized as a tool for developing hearing aids. However, the currently available commercial artificial ears primarily focus on pure acoustics measurements, neglecting the bone-conducted vibration aspect. This research endeavors to develop an artificial ear specifically designed for bone-conducted occlusion measurements. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling has been employed to gain insights into the behavior of the artificial ear.

Keywords: Artificial ear, bone conducted vibration, occlusion measurement, Finite Element Modeling.

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Authors: Sabrina Gaito, Andrea Greppi, Giuliano Grossi

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In this paper we present a technique to speed up ICA based on the idea of reducing the dimensionality of the data set preserving the quality of the results. In particular we refer to FastICA algorithm which uses the Kurtosis as statistical property to be maximized. By performing a particular Johnson-Lindenstrauss like projection of the data set, we find the minimum dimensionality reduction rate ¤ü, defined as the ratio between the size k of the reduced space and the original one d, which guarantees a narrow confidence interval of such estimator with high confidence level. The derived dimensionality reduction rate depends on a system control parameter β easily computed a priori on the basis of the observations only. Extensive simulations have been done on different sets of real world signals. They show that actually the dimensionality reduction is very high, it preserves the quality of the decomposition and impressively speeds up FastICA. On the other hand, a set of signals, on which the estimated reduction rate is greater than 1, exhibits bad decomposition results if reduced, thus validating the reliability of the parameter β. We are confident that our method will lead to a better approach to real time applications.

Keywords: Independent Component Analysis, FastICA algorithm, Higher-order statistics, Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma.

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Authors: Ali Ghodsbin Jahromi, Ehsan Moradi

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In this paper, the numerical study of buried steel pipe in soil is investigated. Buried pipeline under soil weight, after embankment on the pipe leads to ovality of pipe. In this paper also it is considered the percentage of soil compaction, the soil height on the steel pipe and the external load of a mechanical excavator on the steel pipe and finally, the effect of these on the rate of pipe ovality investigated. Furthermore, the effect of the pipes’ thickness on ovality has been investigated. The results show that increasing the percentage of soil compaction has more effect on reducing percentage of ovality, and if the percentage of soil compaction increases, we can use the pipe with less thickness. Finally, ovality rate of the pipe and acceptance criteria of pipe diameter up to yield stress is investigated.

Keywords: Pipe ovality, soil compaction, finite element, pipe thickness.

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Authors: Martin Lnenicka

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Governments collect and produce large amounts of data. Increasingly, governments worldwide have started to implement open data initiatives and also launch open data portals to enable the release of these data in open and reusable formats. Therefore, a large number of open data repositories, catalogues and portals have been emerging in the world. The greater availability of interoperable and linkable open government data catalyzes secondary use of such data, so they can be used for building useful applications which leverage their value, allow insight, provide access to government services, and support transparency. The efficient development of successful open data portals makes it necessary to evaluate them systematic, in order to understand them better and assess the various types of value they generate, and identify the required improvements for increasing this value. Thus, the attention of this paper is directed particularly to the field of open data portals. The main aim of this paper is to compare the selected open data portals on the national level using content analysis and propose a new evaluation framework, which further improves the quality of these portals. It also establishes a set of considerations for involving businesses and citizens to create eservices and applications that leverage on the datasets available from these portals.

Keywords: Big data, content analysis, criteria comparison, data quality, open data, open data portals, public sector.

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Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Asif Hussain Bhatti, Muhammad Fahad Nouman

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115 samples of Labeo calbasu ranged 8.0-17.9cm length with mean11.90±1.96 and 4.9-68.5g weight with mean 22.25±12.54 from the River Chenab, Southern Punjab, Pakistan were analyzed to investigate length-weight relationships (LWR) of fish in relation to condition factor (K). Standard length (SL), fork length (FL), head length (HL) head width (HW), body girth (BG), dorsal fin length (DFL), dorsal fin base (DFB), pectoral fin length (PcFL), pelvic fin length (PvFL) and anal fin length (AFL) are found to be highly correlated with increasing total length and wet body weight (r > 0.500). Wet body weight has positive (r=0.540) and total length has no correlation (r=0.344) with calculated Condition factor (K). The slope “b" in the relationship is 3.27 and intercepts -2.2258.

Keywords: Labeo calbasu, Length-weight relationship, Body weight, condition factor

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Authors: Harpreet Kaur, Sudipta Majumdar

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In this paper a method for image dehazing is proposed in lifting wavelet transform domain. Lifting Daubechies (D4) wavelet has been used to obtain the approximate image and detail images.  As the haze is contained in low frequency part, only the approximate image is used for further processing. This region is processed by dehazing algorithm based on dark channel prior (DCP). The dehazed approximate image is then recombined with the detail images using inverse lifting wavelet transform. Implementation of lifting wavelet transform has the advantage of auxiliary memory saving, fast implementation and simplicity. Also, the proposed method deals with near white scene problem, blue horizon issue and localized light sources in a way to enhance image quality and makes the algorithm robust. Simulation results present improvement in terms of visual quality, parameters such as root mean square (RMS) contrast, structural similarity index (SSIM), entropy and execution time.

Keywords: Dark channel prior, image dehazing, lifting wavelet transform.

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Authors: Nabil El Kadhi, Minerva M. Bunagan

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The dynamism in education, particularly in the area of teaching, learning and assessment has caused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide to seek for ways to continuously improve their educational processes. HEIs use outcomes of institutional audits, assessments and accreditations, for improvement. In this study, the published institutional audit reports of HEIs in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed to produce features of good practice; identify challenges along Teaching, Learning Assessment (TLA); and propose a framework that puts major emphasis in having a quality-assured TLA, including a set of principles that can be used as basis in succeeding an institutional visit. The TLA framework, which shows the TLA components, characteristics of the components, related expectation, including implementation tool/ strategy and pitfalls can be used by HEIs to have an adequate understanding of the scope of audit and be able to satisfy institutional audit requirements. The scope of this study can be widened by exploring the other requirements of the Institutional Audits in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly the area on Governance and Management and Student Support Services.

Keywords: Accreditation, audit, quality assurance, teaching, learning and assessment.

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Authors: J. Carlos Frutos Dordelly, M. Coillot, M. El Mankibi, R. Enríquez Miranda, M. José Jimenez, J. Arce Landa

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Natural ventilation systems have increasingly been the subject of research due to rising energetic consumption within the building sector and increased environmental awareness. In the last two decades, the mounting concern of greenhouse gas emissions and the need for an efficient passive ventilation system have driven the development of new alternative passive technologies such as ventilated facades, trombe walls or solar chimneys. The objective of the study is the assessment of PCM panels in an in situ solar chimney for the establishment of a numerical model. The PCM integrated solar chimney shows slight performance improvement in terms of mass flow rate and external temperature and outlet temperature difference. An increase of 11.3659 m³/h can be observed during low wind speed periods. Additionally, the surface temperature across the chimney goes beyond 45 °C and allows the activation of PCM panels.

Keywords: Energy storage, passive ventilation, phase changing materials, solar chimney, solar energy.

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Authors: Soon-ok Myong, Byong-soon Chun

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This paper intends to identify the ethnic Kazakhstani Koreans- political process of identity formation by exploring their narrative and practice about the state language represented in the course of their becoming the new citizens of a new independent state. The Russophone Kazakhstani Koreans- inability to speak the official language of their affiliated state is considered there as dissatisfying the basic requirement of citizens of the independent state, so that they are becoming marginalized from the public sphere. Their contradictory attitude that at once demonstrates nominal reception and practical rejection of the obligatory state language unveils a high barrier inside between their self-language and other-language. In this paper, the ethnic Korean group-s conflicting linguistic identity is not seen as a free and simple choice, but as a dynamic struggle and political process in which the subject-s past experiences and memories intersect with the external elements of pressure.

Keywords: Ethnic Kazakhstani Koreans, Soviet Korean's Russification, Linguistic Identity, Russian-Kazakh Dichotomy.

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Authors: N. Sanmanee, K. Panishkan, K. Obsuwan, S. Dharmvanij

Abstract:

The increments of aromatic structures are widely used to monitor the degree of humification. Compost derived from mix manures mixed with agricultural wastes was studied. The compost collected at day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 49, 77, 91, 105, and 119 was divided into 3 stages, initial stage at day 0, thermophilic stage during day 1-48, and mature stage during day 49-119. The change of highest absorptions at wavelength range between 210-235 nm during day 0- 49 implied that small molecules such as nitrates and carboxylic occurred faster than the aromatic molecules that were found at wavelength around 280 nm. The ratio of electron-transfer band at wavelength 253 nm by the benzonoid band at wavelength 230 nm (E253/E230) also gradually increased during the fermenting period indicating the presence of O-containing functional groups. This was in agreement with the shift change from aliphatic to aromatic structures as shown by the relationship with C/N and H/C ratios (r = - 0.631 and -0.717, p< 0.05) since both were decreasing. Although the amounts of humic acid (HA) were not different much during the humification process, the UV spectral deconvolution showed better qualitative characteristics to help in determining the compost quality. From this study, the compost should be used at day 49 and should not be kept longer than 3 months otherwise the quality of HA would decline regardless of the amounts of HA that might be rising. This implied that other processes, such as mineralization had an influence on the humification process changing HA-s structure and its qualities.

Keywords: Compost maturity, UV spectroscopy, humification, humic acid

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Authors: S. Gupta, R. Chadha

Abstract:

Five crystal modifications of water insoluble artesunate were generated by recrystallizing it from various solvents with improved physicochemical properties. These generated crystal forms were characterized to select the most potent and soluble form. SEM of all the forms showed changes in external shape leading them to be different morphologically. DSC thermograms of Form III and Form V showed broad endotherm peaks at 83.04oC and 76.96oC prior to melting fusion of drug respectively. Calculated weight loss in TGA revealed that Form III and Form V are methanol and acetone solvates respectively. However, few additional peaks were appeared in XRPD pattern in these two solvate forms. All forms exhibit exothermic behavior in buffer and two solvates display maximum ease of molecular release from the lattice. Methanol and acetone solvates were found to be most soluble forms and exhibited higher antimalarial efficacy showing higher survival rate (83.3%) after 30 days.

Keywords: Artesunate, Crystal modifications, in vivo studies, Recrystallization.

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Authors: Saad Mutashar Abbas, M. A. Hannan, S. A. Samad, A. Hussain

Abstract:

This paper presented a proposed design for transcutaneous inductive powering links. The design used to transfer power and data to the implanted devices such as implanted Microsystems to stimulate and monitoring the nerves and muscles. The system operated with low band frequency 13.56 MHZ according to industrial- scientific – medical (ISM) band to avoid the tissue heating. For external part, the modulation index is 13 % and the modulation rate 7.3% with data rate 1 Mbit/s assuming Tbit=1us. The system has been designed using 0.35-μm fabricated CMOS technology. The mathematical model is given and the design is simulated using OrCAD P Spice 16.2 software tool and for real-time simulation the electronic workbench MULISIM 11 has been used. The novel circular plane (pancake) coils was simulated using ANSOFT- HFss software.

Keywords: Implanted devices, ASK techniques, Class-E power amplifier, Inductive powering and low-frequency ISM band.

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Authors: Defne Akay, Bekir S. Kandemir

Abstract:

In this paper, we investigate the low-lying energy levels of the two-dimensional parabolic graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in the presence of topological defects with long range Coulomb impurity and subjected to an external uniform magnetic field. The low-lying energy levels of the system are obtained within the framework of the perturbation theory. We theoretically demonstrate that a valley splitting can be controlled by geometrical parameters of the graphene quantum dots and/or by tuning a uniform magnetic field, as well as topological defects. It is found that, for parabolic graphene dots, the valley splitting occurs due to the introduction of spatial confinement. The corresponding splitting is enhanced by the introduction of a uniform magnetic field and it increases by increasing the angle of the cone in subcritical regime.

Keywords: Coulomb impurity, graphene cones, graphene quantum dots, topological defects.

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