Abstract: In conducting a case study to analyze the status-quo of
the extremists’ dominance in Egypt, the author of this paper uses
qualitative research method to analyze the evolution of extreme
Islamist groups in Egypt. In conducting this qualitative research, the
author of this paper intends to use several lenses to understand the
rise and the evolution of the hegemony of extremist groups, such as
the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups in Egypt. Therefore, unless
he intends to show an important nexus between the Egyptian groups
and their sister-groups in other countries, he will intentionally
exclude analyzing extreme Islamism of non-Egyptian origins. This
case study relies on the moral disengagement theory to shed light on
the ideological evolution of extremism in Egypt. The goal of this case
study is to help in understanding extreme-Islamism adverse to the
mainstream Islam; therefore, understanding the concept here should
help in preventing similar groups from threatening the international
community.
Abstract: The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in schools and higher education is proliferating. Due to its interactive and animated features, it is regarded as a promising technology to increase students- spatial ability. Spatial ability is assumed to have a prominent role in science and engineering domains. However, research concerning individual differences such as spatial ability in the context of VR is still at its infancy. Moreover, empirical studies that focus on the features of VR to improve spatial ability are to date rare. Thus, this paper explores the possible educational values of VR in relation to spatial ability to call for more research concerning spatial ability in the context of VR based on studies in computerbased learning. It is believed that the incorporation of state-of-the-art VR technology for educational purposes should be justified by the enhanced benefits for the target learners.
Abstract: Space-time block codes (STBC) and spatial multiplexing
(SM) are promising techniques that effectively exploit multipleinput
multiple-output (MIMO) transmission to achieve more reliable
communication and a higher multiplexing rate, respectively. In this
paper, we study a practical design for hybrid scheme with multi-input
multi-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMOOFDM)
systems to flexibly maximize the tradeoff between diversity
and multiplexing gains. Unlike the existing STBC and SM designs
which are suitable for the integer multiplexing rate, the proposed
design can achieve arbitrary number of multiplexing rate.
Abstract: Robots- visual perception is a field that is gaining
increasing attention from researchers. This is partly due to emerging
trends in the commercial availability of 3D scanning systems or
devices that produce a high information accuracy level for a variety of
applications. In the history of mining, the mortality rate of mine workers
has been alarming and robots exhibit a great deal of potentials to
tackle safety issues in mines. However, an effective vision system
is crucial to safe autonomous navigation in underground terrains.
This work investigates robots- perception in underground terrains
(mines and tunnels) using statistical region merging (SRM) model.
SRM reconstructs the main structural components of an imagery
by a simple but effective statistical analysis. An investigation is
conducted on different regions of the mine, such as the shaft, stope
and gallery, using publicly available mine frames, with a stream of
locally captured mine images. An investigation is also conducted on a
stream of underground tunnel image frames, using the XBOX Kinect
3D sensors. The Kinect sensors produce streams of red, green and
blue (RGB) and depth images of 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per
second. Integrating the depth information to drivability gives a strong
cue to the analysis, which detects 3D results augmenting drivable and
non-drivable regions in 2D. The results of the 2D and 3D experiment
with different terrains, mines and tunnels, together with the qualitative
and quantitative evaluation, reveal that a good drivable region can be
detected in dynamic underground terrains.
Abstract: In a world worried about water resources with the
shadow of drought and famine looming all around, the quality of
water is as important as its quantity. The source of all concerns is the
constant reduction of per capita quality water for different uses.
Iran With an average annual precipitation of 250 mm compared to
the 800 mm world average, Iran is considered a water scarce country
and the disparity in the rainfall distribution, the limitations of
renewable resources and the population concentration in the margins
of desert and water scarce areas have intensified the problem.
The shortage of per capita renewable freshwater and its poor
quality in large areas of the country, which have saline, brackish or
hard water resources, and the profusion of natural and artificial
pollutant have caused the deterioration of water quality.
Among methods of treatment and use of these waters one can refer
to the application of membrane technologies, which have come into
focus in recent years due to their great advantages. This process is
quite efficient in eliminating multi-capacity ions; and due to the
possibilities of production at different capacities, application as
treatment process in points of use, and the need for less energy in
comparison to Reverse Osmosis processes, it can revolutionize the
water and wastewater sector in years to come. The article studied the
different capacities of water resources in the Persian Gulf and Oman
Sea watershed basins, and processes the possibility of using
nanofiltration process to treat brackish and non-conventional waters
in these basins.
Abstract: In this paper, an artificial intelligent technique for
robust digital image watermarking in multiwavelet domain is
proposed. The embedding technique is based on the quantization
index modulation technique and the watermark extraction process
does not require the original image. We have developed an
optimization technique using the genetic algorithms to search for
optimal quantization steps to improve the quality of watermarked
image and robustness of the watermark. In addition, we construct a
prediction model based on image moments and back propagation
neural network to correct an attacked image geometrically before the
watermark extraction process begins. The experimental results show
that the proposed watermarking algorithm yields watermarked image
with good imperceptibility and very robust watermark against various
image processing attacks.
Abstract: Software developed for a specific customer under contract
typically undergoes a period of testing by the customer before
acceptance. This is known as user acceptance testing and the process
can reveal both defects in the system and requests for changes to
the product. This paper uses nonhomogeneous Poisson processes to
model a real user acceptance data set from a recently developed
system. In particular a split Poisson process is shown to provide an
excellent fit to the data. The paper explains how this model can be
used to aid the allocation of resources through the accurate prediction
of occurrences both during the acceptance testing phase and before
this activity begins.
Abstract: The prologue of new High Voltage (HV) transmission
mains into the community necessitates earthing design to ensure
safety compliance of the system. Conductive structures such as steel
or concrete poles are widely used in HV transmission mains. The
earth potential rise (EPR) generated by a fault on these structures
could result to an unsafe condition. This paper discusses information
on the input impedance of the over head earth wire (OHEW) system
for finite and infinite transmission mains. The definition of finite and
infinite system is discussed, maximum EPR due to pole fault. The
simplified equations for EPR assessments are introduced and
discussed for the finite and infinite conditions. A case study is also
shown.
Abstract: Fourty one strains of ESBL producing P.aeruginosa
which were previously isolated from burn patients in Kerman
University general hospital, Iran were subjected to PCR, RFLP and
sequencing in order to determine the type of extended spectrum β-
lactamases (ESBL), the restriction digestion pattern and possibility of
mutation among detected genes. DNA extraction was carried out by
phenol chloroform method. PCR for detection of bla genes was
performed using specific primer for each gene. Restriction Fragment
Length Polymorphism (RFLP) for ESBL genes was carried out using
EcoRI, NheI, PVUII, EcoRV, DdeI, and PstI restriction enzymes. The
PCR products were subjected to direct sequencing of both the strands
for identification of the ESBL genes.The blaCTX-M, blaVEB-1, blaPER-1,
blaGES-1, blaOXA-1, blaOXA-4 and blaOXA-10 genes were detected in the
(n=1) 2.43%, (n=41)100%, (n=28) 68.3%, (n=10) 24.4%, (n=29)
70.7%, (n=7)17.1% and (n=38) 92.7% of the ESBL producing isolates
respectively. The RFLP analysis showed that each ESBL gene has
identical pattern of digestion among the isolated strains. Sequencing
of the ESBL genes confirmed the genuinety of PCR products and
revealed no mutation in the restriction sites of the above genes. From
results of the present investigation it can be concluded that blaVEB-1
and blaCTX-M were the most and the least frequently isolated ESBL
genes among the P.aeruginosa strains isolated from burn patients. The
RFLP and sequencing analysis revealed that same clone of the bla
genes were indeed existed among the antibiotic resistant strains.
Abstract: System-level design based on high-level abstractions
is becoming increasingly important in hardware and embedded
system design. This paper analyzes meta-design techniques oriented
at developing meta-programs and meta-models for well-understood
domains. Meta-design techniques include meta-programming and
meta-modeling. At the programming level of design process, metadesign
means developing generic components that are usable in a
wider context of application than original domain components. At the
modeling level, meta-design means developing design patterns that
describe general solutions to the common recurring design problems,
and meta-models that describe the relationship between different
types of design models and abstractions. The paper describes and
evaluates the implementation of meta-design in hardware design
domain using object-oriented and meta-programming techniques.
The presented ideas are illustrated with a case study.
Abstract: The rheological properties, structure and potential synergistic interactions of whey proteins (1-6%) and inulin (20%) in mixed gels in the presence of CaCl2 was the aim of this study. Whey proteins have a strong influence on inulin gel formation. At low concentrations (2%) whey proteins did not impair in inulin gel formation. At higher concentration (4%) whey proteins impaired inulin gelation and inulin impaired the formation of a Ca2+-induced whey protein network. The presence of whey proteins at a level allowing for protein gel network formation (6%) significantly increased the rheological parameters values of the gels. SEM micrographs showed that whey protein structure was coated by inulin moieties which could make the mixed gels firmer. The protein surface hydrophobicity measurements did not exclude synergistic interactions between inulin and whey proteins, however. The use of an electrophoretic technique did not show any stable inulin-whey protein complexes.