Abstract: The research describes the implementation of a novel and stand-alone system for dynamic hazard warning. The system uses all existing infrastructure already in place like mobile networks, a laptop/PC and the small installation software. The geospatial dataset are the maps of a region which are again frugal. Hence there is no need to invest and it reaches everyone with a mobile. A novel architecture of hazard assessment and warning introduced where major technologies in ICT interfaced to give a unique WebGIS based dynamic real time geohazard warning communication system. A never before architecture introduced for integrating WebGIS with telecommunication technology. Existing technologies interfaced in a novel architectural design to address a neglected domain in a way never done before – through dynamically updatable WebGIS based warning communication. The work publishes new architecture and novelty in addressing hazard warning techniques in sustainable way and user friendly manner. Coupling of hazard zonation and hazard warning procedures into a single system has been shown. Generalized architecture for deciphering a range of geo-hazards has been developed. Hence the developmental work presented here can be summarized as the development of internet-SMS based automated geo-hazard warning communication system; integrating a warning communication system with a hazard evaluation system; interfacing different open-source technologies towards design and development of a warning system; modularization of different technologies towards development of a warning communication system; automated data creation, transformation and dissemination over different interfaces. The architecture of the developed warning system has been functionally automated as well as generalized enough that can be used for any hazard and setup requirement has been kept to a minimum.
Abstract: In this work, a new family of time marching procedures based on Green’s function matrices is presented. The formulation is based on the development of new recurrence relationships, which employ time integral terms to treat initial condition values. These integral terms are numerically evaluated taking into account Newton-Cotes formulas. The Green’s matrices of the model are also numerically computed, taking into account the generalized-α method and subcycling techniques. As it is discussed and illustrated along the text, the proposed procedure is efficient and accurate, providing a very attractive time marching technique.
Abstract: The energy-level structure of a pair of electron and positron confined in a quasi-one-dimensional nano-scale potential well has been investigated focusing on its trend in the small limit of confinement strength ω, namely, the Wigner molecular regime. An anisotropic Gaussian-type basis functions supplemented by high angular momentum functions as large as l = 19 has been used to obtain reliable full configuration interaction (FCI) wave functions. The resultant energy spectrum shows a band structure characterized by ω for the large ω regime whereas for the small ω regime it shows an energy-level pattern dominated by excitation into the in-phase motion of the two particles. The observed trend has been rationalized on the basis of the nodal patterns of the FCI wave functions.
Abstract: The primary objective of this paper is to study the thermal effects of the electric arc on the breaker apparatus contacts for forecasting and improving the contact durability. We will propose a model which takes account of the main influence factors on the erosion contacts. This phenomenon is very complicated because the amount of ejected metal is not necessarily constituted by the whole melted metal bath but this depends on the balance of forces on the contact surface. Consequently, to calculate the metal ejection coefficient, we propose a method which consists in comparing the experimental results with the calculated ones. The proposed model estimates the mass lost by vaporization, by droplets ejection and by the extraction mechanism of liquid or solid metal. In the one-dimensional geometry, to calculate of the contact heating, we used Green’s function which expresses the point source and allows the transition to the surface source. However, for the two- dimensional model we used explicit and implicit numerical methods. The results are similar to those found by Wilson’s experiments.
Abstract: Utmost care of human related issues are essentially required for sustainable growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of India, as these MSMEs are contributing enormously to socio-economic development of country. In this research, aspects related to human factors and functioning of MSMEs of India were studied. The investigation, based on a survey of 84 MSMEs of India cited that the enterprises are mostly employing unskilled labor whose wages are less with poor training. In spite of reported minor accidents, attention towards safety is poorly paid. To meet-out the production target, MSMEs generally employ over-time and payment towards this overtime is sometimes missing. Hence, honest and humanitarian attention for better human resources is needed to improve the performance and competitiveness of MSMEs of India.
Abstract: This paper studies the problem of exponential stability analysis for recurrent neural networks with time-varying delay.By establishing a suitable augmented LyapunovCKrasovskii function and a novel sufficient condition is obtained to guarantee the exponential stability of the considered system.In order to get a less conservative results of the condition,zero equalities and reciprocally convex approach are employed. The several exponential stability criterion proposed in this paper is simpler and effective. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our results.
Abstract: In this paper, utilizing the Lyapunov functional method and combining linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques and integral inequality approach (IIA) to study the exponential stability problem for neural networks with discrete and distributed time-varying delays.By constructing new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and dividing the discrete delay interval into multiple segments,some new delay-dependent exponential stability criteria are established in terms of LMIs and can be easily checked.In order to show the stability condition in this paper gives much less conservative results than those in the literature,numerical examples are considered.
Abstract: In the present investigation, free vibration of functionally graded material (FGM) skew plates under thermal environment is studied. Kinematics equations are based on the Reddy’s higher order shear deformation theory and a nine noded isoparametric Lagrangian element is adopted to mesh the plate geometry. The issue of C1 continuity requirement related to the assumed displacement field has been circumvented effectively to develop C0 finite element formulation. Effective mechanical properties of the constituents of the plate are considered to be as position and temperature dependent and assumed to vary in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution. The displacement components of a rectangular plate are mapped into skew plate geometry by means of suitable transformation rule. One dimensional Fourier heat conduction equation is used to ascertain the temperature profile of the plate along thickness direction. Influence of different parameters such as volume fraction index, boundary condition, aspect ratio, thickness ratio and temperature field on frequency parameter of the FGM skew plate is demonstrated by performing various examples and the related findings are discussed briefly. New results are generated for vibration of the FGM skew plate under thermal environment, for the first time, which may be implemented in the future research involving similar kind of problems.
Abstract: In this study, thermal elastic stress distribution occurred on long hollow cylinders made of functionally graded material (FGM) was analytically defined under thermal, mechanical and thermo mechanical loads. In closed form solutions for elastic stresses and displacements are obtained analytically by using the infinitesimal deformation theory of elasticity. It was assumed that elasticity modulus, thermal expansion coefficient and density of cylinder materials could change in terms of an exponential function as for that Poisson’s ratio was constant. A gradient parameter n is chosen between - 1 and 1. When n equals to zero, the disc becomes isotropic. Circumferential, radial and longitudinal stresses in the FGMs cylinders are depicted in the figures. As a result, the gradient parameters have great effects on the stress systems of FGMs cylinders.
Abstract: Religious place attachment is an affective bond that develops between people and their religious settings. The published literature shows that although religion has a significant impact on the public ‘place attachment’, the architectural features and attributes of the places could still play an influencing role in strengthening this attachment. However, the role of architectural characteristics and features of the religious places, as the components that give them meaning(s), has not been adequately explored. This paper reports the impacts of factors influencing the physical and ambience quality of different styles of Malaysian mosques from the Muslim public perspective. Thereby, a survey was conducted to investigate Malaysian public attachment to selected five Malaysian state mosques with respect to their architectural characteristics and features. The survey employed the results of series of interviews as its theoretical basis. The finding proved that Malaysian ‘Muslim’ society has equally strong attachment to all selected mosques in spite of their different architectural styles. The findings also confirmed that the emotional attachment to the impressive aspects of architectural features (e.g. dome, minaret etc.) and the unique identity of the studied mosques is irrespective of the architectural styles, e.g. Modern vs. Postmodern. The paper also argued that religious activities and pleasant architectural characteristic of the studied places including the functional facilities are equally important factors in forming place attachment. This is a new approach to the study of physical and ambience quality of mosques, hence providing sufficient theoretical basis for further investigations and improvements.
Abstract: Software maintenance is one of the essential processes of Software-Development Life Cycle. The main philosophies of retaining software concern the improvement of errors, the revision of codes, the inhibition of future errors, and the development in piece and capacity. While the adjustment has been employing, the software structure has to be retested to an upsurge a level of assurance that it will be prepared due to the requirements. According to this state, the test cases must be considered for challenging the revised modules and the whole software. A concept of resolving this problem is ongoing by regression test selection such as the retest-all selections, random/ad-hoc selection and the safe regression test selection. Particularly, the traditional techniques concern a mapping between the test cases in a test suite and the lines of code it executes. However, there are not only the lines of code as one of the requirements that can affect the size of test suite but including the number of functions and faulty versions. Therefore, a model for test case selection is developed to cover those three requirements by the integral technique which can produce the smaller size of the test cases when compared with the traditional regression selection techniques.
Abstract: Many researchers have suggested the use of zero inflated Poisson (ZIP) and zero inflated negative binomial (ZINB) models in modeling overdispersed medical count data with extra variations caused by extra zeros and unobserved heterogeneity. The studies indicate that ZIP and ZINB always provide better fit than using the normal Poisson and negative binomial models in modeling overdispersed medical count data. In this study, we proposed the use of Zero Inflated Inverse Trinomial (ZIIT), Zero Inflated Poisson Inverse Gaussian (ZIPIG) and zero inflated strict arcsine models in modeling overdispered medical count data. These proposed models are not widely used by many researchers especially in the medical field. The results show that these three suggested models can serve as alternative models in modeling overdispersed medical count data. This is supported by the application of these suggested models to a real life medical data set. Inverse trinomial, Poisson inverse Gaussian and strict arcsine are discrete distributions with cubic variance function of mean. Therefore, ZIIT, ZIPIG and ZISA are able to accommodate data with excess zeros and very heavy tailed. They are recommended to be used in modeling overdispersed medical count data when ZIP and ZINB are inadequate.
Abstract: Background: With the perceived pain and poor function experienced following knee arthroplasty, patients usually feel un-satisfied. Yet, a controversy still persists on the appropriate operative technique that doesn’t affect proprioception much.
Purpose: This study compared the effects of Cruciate Retaining (CR) and Posterior Stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and uni-compartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) on dynamic balance, pain and functional performance following rehabilitation.
Methods: Fifteen patients with CRTKA (group I), fifteen with PSTKA (group II), fifteen with UKA (group III) and fifteen indicated for arthroplasty but weren’t operated on yet (group IV) participated in the study. The mean age was 54.53±3.44, 55.13±3.48, 52.8±1.93 and 55.33±2.32 years and BMI 35.7±3.03, 35.7±1.99, 35.6±1.88 and 35.73±1.03 kg/m2 for group I, II, III and IV respectively. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS), WOMAC pain subscale and Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) and Stair-Climbing (SC) tests were used for assessment. Assessments were conducted four and eight weeks pre- and post-operatively with the control group being assessed at the same time intervals. The post-operative rehabilitation involved hospitalization (1st week), home-based (2nd-4th weeks), and outpatient clinic (5th-8th weeks) programs.
Results: The Mixed design MANOVA revealed that group III had significantly higher BBS scores, and lower pain scores and TUG and SC time than groups I and II four and eight weeks post-operatively. In addition, group I had significantly lower pain scores and SC time compared with group II eight weeks post-operatively. Moreover, the BBS scores increased significantly and the pain scores and TUG and SC time decreased significantly eight weeks post-operatively compared with the three other assessments in group I, II and III with the opposite being true four weeks post-operatively.
Interpretation/Conclusion: CRTKA is preferable to PSTKA with UKA being generally superior to TKA, possibly due to the preserved human proprioceptors in the un-excised compartmental articular surface.
Abstract: The spread of Islamic financial instruments is an opportunity to offer integration for the immigrant population and to attract, through the specific products, the richness of sovereign funds from the "Arab" countries. However, it is important to consider the possibility of comparing a traditional finance model, which in recent times has given rise to many doubts, with an "alternative" finance model, where the ethical aspect arising from religious principles is very important.
Abstract: This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences between teachers’ and students’ causal explanations of classroom misbehavior. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve teachers and eighteen Grade 7-9 students. The qualitative data were analyzed, in which the attributed causes of classroom misbehavior were categorized into student, family, school and peer factors. Findings showed that both interviewed teachers and students shared similarity in attributing to student factors, such as ‘fun and pleasure seeking’ and ‘attention seeking’ as the leading causes of misbehavior. However, the students accounted to school factors, particularly ‘boring lessons’ as the next attributed causes, while the teachers accounted to family factors, such as ‘lack of parent demandingness’. By delineating the factors at student, family, school, and peer levels, these findings help drawing corresponding implications for preventing and mitigating misbehavior in school.
Abstract: This article explores the language in the four plays of Samuel Beckett – Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape, and Footfalls. It considers the way in which Beckett uses language, especially through fragmentation utterances, repetitions, monologues, contradictions, and silence. It discusses the function of language in modern society, in the Theater of the Absurd, and in the plays. Paradoxically enough, his plays attempts to communicate the incommunicability of language.
Abstract: In order to reduce the transportation time and cost for direct interface between customer and manufacturer, the image processing technique has been introduced in this research where designing part and defining manufacturing process can be performed quickly. A3D virtual model is directly generated from a series of multi-view images of an object, and it can be modified, analyzed, and improved the structure, or function for the further implementations, such as computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). To estimate and quote the production cost, the user-friendly platform has been developed in this research where the appropriate manufacturing parameters and process detections have been identified and planned by CAM simulation.
Abstract: Using first-principles methods based on density functional theory and pseudopotentials, we have performed a details study of native defects in ZnO. Native point defects are unlikely to be cause of the unintentional n-type conductivity. Oxygen vacancies,
which considered most often been invoked as shallow donors, have high formation energies in n-type ZnO, in edition are a deep donors. Zinc interstitials are shallow donors, with high formation energies in n-type ZnO, and thus unlikely to be responsible on their own for unintentional n-type conductivity under equilibrium conditions, as well as Zn antisites which have higher formation energies than zinc interstitials. Zinc vacancies are deep acceptors with low formation energies for n-type and in which case they will not play role in p-type coductivity of ZnO. Oxygen interstitials are stable in the form of electrically inactive split interstitials as well as deep acceptors at the octahedral interstitial site under n-type conditions. Our results may provide a guide to experimental studies of point defects in ZnO.
Abstract: Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass is the basis process for production of fuels, chemicals and materials in the sustainable biorefinery industry. Saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass is an essential step which produces sugars for further conversion to target value-added products e.g. bio-ethanol, bio-plastic, g-valerolactone (GVL), 5-hydroxymethylfuroic acid (HMF), levulinic acid, etc. The goal of this work was to develop an efficient enzyme for conversion of biomass to reducing sugar based on crude fungal enzyme from Chaetomium globosum BCC5776 produced by submerged fermentation and evaluate its activity comparing to a commercial Acremonium cellulase. Five local biomasses in Thailand: rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, corncobs, corn stovers, and palm empty fruit bunches were pretreated and hydrolyzed with varying enzyme loadings. Saccharification of the biomass led to different reducing sugar levels from 115 mg/g to 720 mg/g from different types of biomass using cellulase dosage of 9 FPU/g. The reducing sugar will be further employed as sugar feedstock for production of ethanol or commodity chemicals. This work demonstrated the use of promising enzyme candidate for conversion of local lignocellulosic biomass in biorefinery industry.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose Hermite collocation method for solving Thomas-Fermi equation that is nonlinear ordinary differential equation on semi-infinite interval. This method reduces the solution of this problem to the solution of a system of algebraic equations. We also present the comparison of this work with solution of other methods that shows the present solution is more accurate and faster convergence in this problem.